The Philadelphia Flyers are all the rage these days, the Carolina Hurricanes are still causing a storm, what’s bedeviling the New Jersey Devils and, uh, is Sergei Bobrovsky still good?
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A four-goal afternoon– the first of his career– for David Pastrnak was enough to lift the Boston Bruins over the Anaheim Ducks, 4-2, Monday afternoon at TD Garden.
Jaroslav Halak (2-1-0, 1.69 goals against average, .951 save percentage in three games played) made 30 saves on 32 shots against for a .938 SV% in the win for Boston.
Ducks goaltender, John Gibson (3-2-0, 1.82 GAA, .941 SV% in five games played) stopped 19 out of 23 shots faced (.826 SV%) in the loss.
Pastrnak became the 19th Bruin in franchise history to have a four-goal game. Prior to Monday, Patrice Bergeron had the most recent four-goal game in franchise history in a, 7-1, win at home over the Carolina Hurricanes on Jan. 6, 2018.
Bergeron and Pastrnak are the only members on the current roster for Boston to have scored four goals in a game.
No. 88 in black-and-gold became the first Bruin to score four in game in the month of October since Dave Andreychuk had a four-goal effort in a, 7-3, victory on home ice against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Oct. 28th, 1999.
He (Pastrnak) was also the first to score all four of his team’s goals in a game in the win.
Boston improved to 5-1-0 (10 points) on the season and temporarily moved up to 1st in the Atlantic Division while the Buffalo Sabres were in action against the Dallas Stars Monday afternoon.
Meanwhile, Anaheim fell to 4-2-0 (8 points) and dropped to 3rd in the Pacific Division by virtue of the Vegas Golden Knights holding the tiebreaker in the standings (goal differential), since the two teams have the same record and have not faced each other yet this season.
B’s head coach, Bruce Cassidy, made one change to his lineup from Saturday night’s matchup with the New Jersey Devils, scratching Connor Clifton in favor of Steven Kampfer on defense.
Kevan Miller (knee) and John Moore (shoulder) missed their sixth game of the season due to lingering injuries from last spring, while Par Lindholm, David Backes and Clifton were healthy scratches for the Bruins.
Prior to the game, the Bruins held a moment of applause and celebration for former blue liner, Ted Green, who died on Oct. 8 at the age of 79.
Shortly after being on the receiving end of an open-ice hit from Kampfer, Ducks defender, Michael Del Zotto slashed Bruins forward, Brett Ritchie, and was charged with a minor infraction at 4:10 of the first period.
Eight seconds into the ensuing power play, Pastrnak (3) scored with a one-timer on a pass from Bergeron from the faceoff dot to Gibson’s right side.
Boston cycled the puck from the initial faceoff, which led to Pastrnak’s appearance in the open for the goal.
Bergeron (4) and Torey Krug (2) had the assists on the goal at 4:18 and the Bruins led, 1-0.
Late in the period, Bergeron slashed Ondrej Kase and was sent to the penalty box with a minor at 17:16. Anaheim did not convert on the resulting power play.
Heading into the first intermission, Boston led, 1-0, on the scoreboard and in shots on goal, 11-8. The B’s also held the advantage in takeaways (1-0), giveaways (4-3), hits (11-10) and faceoff win percentage (53-47), while both teams had four takeaways aside.
Anaheim was 0/1 on the power play after 20 minutes, while the Bruins were 1/1 on the skater advantage entering the second period.
David Krejci left the action during the first period with an undisclosed injury and did not return to the game.
Early in the middle frame, Pastrnak “tripped” Maxime Comtois and the Ducks went on the power play at 4:40 of the second period, but Anaheim wasn’t able to capitalize on the phantom call.
Moments later, Kampfer took a trip to the sin bin for a legitimate hooking penalty against Max Jones at 9:28, but again the Ducks were unsuccessful on the skater advantage.
Shortly after killing off Kampfer’s minor, Boston pounced at even strength on a rush.
Pastrnak (4) received a pass from Brad Marchand and released a one-timer past Gibson to give the B’s a two-goal lead, 2-0, at 11:38.
Marchand (4) had the only assist on Pastrnak’s second goal of the game.
About a minute later, Sam Steel was penalized for holding Joakim Nordstrom at 12:50, but the Bruins weren’t able to take advantage of their second power play of the day.
Late in the period, Rickard Rakell (2) snapped a shot wide of Charlie McAvoy and past Halak on the far side to cut Boston’s lead in half and get Anaheim on the scoreboard, 2-1, at 17:52.
Adam Henrique (1) and Cam Fowler (1) had the assists on Rakell’s goal.
A minute later, McAvoy sent the puck clear over the glass and received an automatic delay of game penalty at 18:53.
Boston would be on the penalty kill heading into the third period.
Through 40 minutes of play, the Bruins led, 2-1, on the scoreboard and were being outshot by the Ducks, 24-17– including a, 16-6, advantage in shots on goal for Anaheim in the second period alone.
The Ducks also led in blocked shots (8-4), takeaways (5-4) and hits (18-17) entering the second intermission, while Boston held the lead in giveaways (8-4) and faceoff win% (56-44).
Anaheim was 0/4 on the power play and the B’s were 1/2 on the skater advantage heading into the final frame of regulation.
Pastrnak (5) scored his hat trick goal in Monday afternoon’s action off a faceoff in the attacking zone after the Ducks iced the puck.
The puck bounced off an Anaheim skater right in front of Pastrnak for the unassisted effort at 2:20 of the third period and the Bruins led, 3-1.
Almost 100 seconds later, Comtois was guilty of holding Charlie Coyle and sent to the penalty box at 3:37.
The Bruins capitalized on their third power play of the day as Marchand sent the puck through the low slot for Pastrnak (6) to redirect while getting his stick in the crease upon the puck’s entrance into the blue paint for his fourth goal of the game.
Marchand (5) and Krug (3) tabbed the assists on the power play goal at 4:34, as Boston took control of the game, 4-1.
Late in the period, Halak misplayed the puck behind his own net, leaving the goaltender defenseless as Nick Ritchie fished the loose puck to his teammate.
Henrique (2) scored while Halak struggled to get back in front of the net and the Ducks cut the lead to two goals.
Brett Ritchie’s brother on the opposing team, Nick Ritchie (2) had the only assist on Henrique’s goal at 16:08 and the Bruins still led, 4-2.
With about three minutes left in the action, Anaheim’s head coach, Dallas Eakins, pulled Gibson for the extra attacker.
Almost 90 seconds later, Eakins used his timeout after a stoppage to instruct his players what to do in the event of anything in effort to try to comeback and tie the game, but it was to no avail.
Boston’s defense stood tall and things got a little out of hand when Ryan Getzlaf lost his composure and got into a tangle with Chris Wagner after a stoppage at 19:41.
Both players received roughing minor penalties and the teams finished the game 4-on-4.
At the final horn, Halak and the Bruins picked up the, 4-2, win on home ice over the Ducks, despite trailing in shots on goal, 32-23.
Anaheim left TD Garden leading in hits (26-24), while Boston finished the afternoon leading in blocked shots (12-10) and giveaways (13-7).
Both teams were split even (50-50) in faceoff win%.
The Ducks went 0/4 on the power play, while the Bruins were 2/3 on the skater advantage.
Boston wraps up their three-game homestand (2-0-0) against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday before the Bruins travel to Toronto for a home and home series on Oct. 19th at Scotiabank Arena and Oct. 22nd at TD Garden.
It will be Boston and Toronto’s first meeting since their 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs First Round matchup.
The 2019-20 season has begun, so naturally we handed out awards in our 4th Annual Participation Trophies After One Game ceremony.
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Brad Marchand scored the game’s only goal and Jaroslav Halak turned aside every shot he faced en route to the Boston Bruins’, 1-0, victory over the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena on Saturday.
Halak (1-0-0 record, 0.00 goals against average, 1.000 save percentage in one game played) made 35 saves on 35 shots for his 1st shutout of the season (48th of his career).
Coyotes goaltender, Darcy Kuemper (0-2-0, 1.54 GAA, .945 SV% in two games played), stopped 25 out of 26 shots faced for a .962 SV% in the loss.
The B’s have won their last 15 games against Arizona, which is tied for the longest active win streak versus an opponent. The Tampa Bay Lightning have also won 15 in a row against the Detroit Red Wings.
Boston was once again without the services of Kevan Miller (knee), John Moore (shoulder) and Joakim Nordstrom (foot), but David Krejci (lower body) returned to the lineup Saturday night.
Krejci missed Thursday night’s season opener in Dallas and was a game-time decision both nights, but Bruce Cassidy told reporters prior to Saturday night’s game that he expected Krejci to play.
Cassidy also informed reporters that Nordstrom could return to the lineup during the road trip.
With Krejci back in the lineup– making his season debut– centering the second line, Cassidy moved Par Lindholm to the fourth line center and shifted Sean Kuraly to the left wing and Chris Wagner to the right wing.
As a result, David Backes joined Steven Kampfer on Boston’s list of healthy scratches.
Danton Heinen, Charlie Coyle and Brett Ritchie remained together on the third line, while the “Perfection Line” of Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak went untouched (as always).
On defense, Matt Grzelcyk and Connor Clifton remained as the third pairing with Miller and Moore out due to injury.
The last time the B’s lost to the Coyotes was on Oct. 9, 2010. That night, the game was in Prague, Czech Republic as part of the Compuware NHL Premiere that season. The team then known as the Phoenix Coyotes beat the Bruins, 5-2, in the 2010-11 season opener.
Boston went on to win the Cup that season, though.
Phil Kessel made his home debut for Arizona as the Coyotes played their first home game of the season at Gila River Arena on Saturday.
Midway through the first period, Charlie McAvoy was penalized for interference when he tied up Lawson Crouse for too long away from the puck.
Arizona went on the power play for the first time of the night at 13:01 of the first period and could not convert on the skater advantage.
Late in the opening frame, after defending multiple chances for the Coyotes, Boston worked their way into the attacking zone and cycled the puck to generate a shot on goal.
Marchand (1) unleashed a shot from the faceoff circle that squibbed through Kuemper to give the B’s the, 1-0, lead.
Bergeron (1) had the only assist on Marchand’s goal at 18:41.
After one period, the Bruins led, 1-0, on the scoreboard, despite trailing, 10-6, in shots on goal. Arizona also led in blocked shots (8-4), hits (11-9) and faceoff win percentage (59-41) entering the first intermission.
Boston led in giveaways (6-4), while both teams had three takeaways each. The Coyotes were 0/1 on the power play and the B’s had yet to see any action on the skater advantage heading into the second period.
Midway through the middle frame, Clifton and Crouse receiving roughing minors at 11:05 of the second period after a post-whistle scuffle.
After two minutes of 4-on-4 action, both sides resumed full strength with no issues.
Christian Dvorak caught Clifton with a high stick late in the period and presented the Bruins with their first power play opportunity of the night at 17:59 of the second period.
Eight seconds later, Pastrnak interfered with Michael Grabner while Grabner was on a shorthanded breakaway for Arizona.
Pastrnak was charged with an infraction at 18:07 and the two teams played 4-on-4 once again for 1:52.
The Coyotes couldn’t muster anything with their abbreviated power play thereafter.
Through 40 minutes of action, Boston still led on the scoreboard, 1-0, despite trailing in shots on goal, 21-15 (including an, 11-9, advantage in the second period alone for the Coyotes).
Arizona continued to lead in blocked shots (16-12), hits (20-18) and faceoff win% (67-33), while also taking the lead in takeaways (7-4) after two periods.
The B’s led in giveaways (9-6) and were 0/1 on the skater advantage entering the final frame of regulation. Arizona was 0/2.
Just 48 seconds into the third period, Karson Kuhlman was penalized for interference, but the Coyotes were unable to capitalized on the power play.
Less than a minute after killing off Kuhlman’s minor, the Bruins went on the power play thanks to Jordan Oesterle’s slashing infraction at 3:24 of the third period.
Boston did not score on the skater advantage.
With less than a minute remaining in the game, Coyotes head coach, Rick Tocchet, pulled his goaltender for an extra attacker, but it was too little, too late for Arizona as time expired
At the final horn, Halak and the Bruins locked up the, 1-0, shutout victory, while finishing the night trailing in shots on goal, 35-26.
Arizona also led in the final statistics for blocked shots (19-15), hits (27-25) and faceoff win% (65-35), while both teams managed 11 giveaways aside.
The Coyotes finished the night 0/3 on the power play and Boston went 0/2.
The Bruins improved to 2-0-0 on the season and are tied for 2nd in the Atlantic Division with the Buffalo Sabres, while Arizona fell to 0-2-0 and remain tied for 6th in the Pacific Division with the Vancouver Canucks.
Boston travels to T-Mobile Arena for a Tuesday night meeting with the Vegas Golden Knights before wrapping up their four-game road trip with a stop in Denver to face the Colorado Avalanche next Thursday.
The B’s will play the New Jersey Devils next Saturday in Boston’s home opener.
Danton Heinen scored the eventual game-winner early in the first period and the Boston Bruins held on for a, 2-1, victory on the road against the Dallas Stars to kick off the 2019-20 season.
Tuukka Rask (1-0-0 record, 1.00 goals against average in one game played) made 28 saves on 29 shots faced for a .966 save percentage in the win at American Airlines Center for Boston, while Ben Bishop (0-1-0, 2.07 GAA, .900 SV% in one game played) turned aside 18 out of 20 shots against in the loss for Dallas.
Boston began their 96th season in franchise history, while Dallas kicked off their 27th season since relocating from Minnesota (53rd season if you include their North Stars days).
David Krejci (lower body), Kevan Miller (knee), John Moore (shoulder) and Joakim Nordstrom (foot) were all out of the lineup for the Bruins.
Krejci was a game-time decision, per B’s head coach, Bruce Cassidy.
Miller and Nordstrom were placed on injured reserve earlier in the week with Miller on track for a hopeful return to game action by mid-October.
Moore was placed on long-term injured reserve to start the season and likely won’t be back with the team until mid-November.
Prior to the start of the regular season, Boston placed Peter Cehlarik and Maxime Lagacé on waivers for the purpose of assignment to the Providence Bruins (AHL). Both players cleared and were assigned to Providence.
Others, like Anders Bjork, Trent Frederic, Cameron Hughes, Jack Studnicka and Jakub Zboril, were sent to Providence without having to clear waivers as part of Boston’s final cuts upon the conclusion of the preseason.
Joe Pavelski and Andrej Sekera made their Stars debuts, while Corey Perry remains out of the lineup due to injury.
In his first shift for his new team in his first game against his old team, Brett Ritchie (1) scored on his first shot of the season to give Boston their first, 1-0, lead of the season 69 seconds into the action.
Charlie Coyle (1) had the only assist on Ritchie’s goal at 1:09 of the first period, as the duo collaborated on the Bruins’ first goal of the 2019-20 season.
About a few minutes later, Stars forward, Alexander Radulov, was penalized for holding at 4:23 and presented Boston with their first power play opportunity of the season.
After receiving the puck from Matt Grzelcyk, Heinen (1) fired a wrist shot over Bishop’s blocker side to give the Bruins a two-goal lead at 5:59 of the first period.
Grzelcyk (1) and Charlie McAvoy (1) had the assists on Boston’s first power play goal of the season as Cassidy’s second power play unit converted on the skater advantage.
Late in the period, Radek Faksa caught Sean Kuraly with a high-stick and was assessed a minor penalty at 17:33.
The Bruins did not score on the ensuing power play.
Prior to the stoppage for the delayed call, however, Brad Marchand tried to chip the puck across the ice to a teammate and inadvertently deflected the puck off of Sekera’s stick into Blake Comeau’s face, leaving the Dallas forward with a bloody mouth.
After 20 minutes of play into the 2019-20 season, Boston led Dallas, 2-0, on the scoreboard and, 6-4, in shots on goal.
The Stars led in blocked shots (9-3), takeaways (2-0), giveaways (6-5) and faceoff win percentage (58-42), while hits were even (7-7).
Boston was 1/2 on the power play and Dallas had yet to see time on the skater advantage heading into the first intermission.
Early in the second period, Stars defender, Roman Polak, went to make a hit on Bruins forward, Chris Wagner, and pushed Wagner’s lower body with enough force to help spin the forward out of the way, but in doing so, exposing himself to the brunt of the boards– head first, right about at the back of his neck– as Polak tumbled into the corner.
He was stretchered off the ice and sent to a nearby hospital for further evaluation.
Roope Hintz (1) went top-shelf on Rask’s glove side to cut Boston’s lead in half, 2-1, a mere 51 seconds after the stoppage for Polak’s injury.
Mattias Janmark (1) and Pavelski (1) recorded the primary and secondary assists on Hintz’s breakaway goal at 7:55 of the second period.
The secondary assist was Pavelski’s first point with Dallas in his first game with the club since signing with the Stars in free agency on July 1st– leaving the San Jose Sharks (where he had played since the 2006-07 season after being drafted by San Jose in 2003).
Almost a couple of minutes later, Radulov tripped Bruins newcomer, Par Lindholm, at 9:30 of the middle frame and was assessed a minor infraction.
Boston did not convert on the ensuing power play.
After killing off Radulov’s second penalty of the night, Dallas found themselves shorthanded once again as Janmark was sent to the penalty box for interference at 16:00 of the second period.
During the resulting media timeout, the Stars tweeted that Comeau suffered a lower body injury, Jason Dickinson suffered an upper body injury and that Polak had been transported to the hospital for evaluation.
All three players would not return Thursday night’s game.
A little more than halfway into Boston’s power play, McAvoy was penalized for interference against Tyler Seguin at 17:12.
Both teams would play 4-on-4 for 48 seconds, then Dallas would have an abbreviated power play.
Neither team took advantage of the special teams opportunities.
Through two periods of play, the Bruins led the Stars, 2-1, on the scoreboard, while shots on goal were even (13-13).
Dallas held a, 9-7, in shots on goal in the second period, while the Stars also led in blocked shots (12-9), takeaways (8-1), giveaways (12-7) and hits (11-7) entering the second intermission.
Boston led in faceoff win%, 53-37, after 40 minutes.
The Stars were 0/1 on the power play and the B’s were 1/4 on the skater advantage heading into the third period.
Less than a minute into the third period, Zdeno Chara was penalized for interference. Dallas did not score on the ensuing power play, but went on to establish complete control of the stat sheet in the final frame of regulation.
Stars head coach, Jim Montgomery, pulled Bishop for an extra attacker with about 85 seconds remaining in the game, but Dallas couldn’t muster one past Rask.
Boston sealed the deal on the, 2-1, win for their first victory of the season, despite being outshot, 29-20, in the game.
The Stars held a, 16-7, advantage in shots on goal in the third period alone and led in blocked shots (18-16), giveaways (17-10), hits (15-12) and faceoff win% (53-47).
The Bruins finished the night 1/4 on the power play, while Dallas went 0/2 on the skater advantage.
The B’s improved to 1-0-0 on the season and continue their four-game road trip to kick things off with a stop in Arizona against the Coyotes on Saturday, before visiting the Vegas Golden Knights next Tuesday and the Colorado Avalanche next Thursday.
Boston makes their home debut at TD Garden against the New Jersey Devils on Oct. 12th.
Chara began his 14th season as captain of the Bruins, trailing Ray Bourque for the most consecutive seasons as captain in franchise history (Bourque was captain for 15 seasons). Only Steve Yzerman and Joe Sakic served as captains of their franchises for longer than Chara and Bourque.
Yzerman served as the captain of the Detroit Red Wings for 19 seasons and Sakic was captain of the Québec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche for 16 seasons. Both are now the current General Managers of the aforementioned clubs (Yzerman with Detroit, Sakic with Colorado).
Meanwhile, Patrice Bergeron remains the longest active tenured alternate captain in the league, having assumed his current role since the 2006-07 season.
All of the (good) RFAs have been re-signed, the Carolina Hurricanes keep making moves, 2020 Winter Classic logos have been revealed and DTFR’s season previews conclude with the Central Division.
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San Jose Sharks
46-27-9, 101 points, 2nd in the Pacific Division
Eliminated in the Western Conference Final by St. Louis
Additions: F Jonny Brodzinski, D Trevor Carrick (acquired from CAR), D Nicolas Meloche (acquired from COL), D Dalton Prout
Subtractions: F Joonas Donskoi (signed with COL), F Micheal Haley (signed to a PTO with NYR), F Jonathon Martin (signed with Tucson, AHL), F Gustav Nyquist (signed with CBJ), F Joe Pavelski (signed with DAL), F Francis Perron (traded to VAN), F Tom Pyatt (SHL), F Alex Schoenborn (signed with Orlando, ECHL), D Justin Braun (traded to PHI), D Michael Brodzinski (signed with Belleville, AHL), D Cody Donaghey (signed with Orlando, ECHL), D Cavan Fitzgerald (signed with Charlotte, AHL), D Joakim Ryan (signed with LAK), D Kyle Wood (re-signed, then traded to CAR), G Antoine Bibeau (traded to COL)
Still Unsigned: F Rourke Chartier, F Tim Clifton
Re-signed: F Kevin Labanc, F Maxim Letunov, F Timo Meier, F Antti Suomela, F Joe Thornton, D Nick DeSimone, D Tim Heed
Offseason Analysis: After making it back to the Western Conference Final for the first time since 2016, the San Jose Sharks were looking to capitalize on their momentum from their miraculous comeback against the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 7 of their First Round matchup.
Unfortunately for the Sharks, sometimes injuries pile up and get in the way of forward progress.
Though they lost to the St. Louis Blues in six games in the Western Conference Final, the mere fact San Jose made it that far after nearly blowing it against Vegas is impressive– especially considering how close of a series their Second Round matchup with the Colorado Avalanche was, which also went seven games.
Whether they were exhausted from multiple overtimes, one long series after another, the Sharks found themselves with a longer than anticipated offseason to rest and recover.
In the meantime, General Manager, Doug Wilson, had his work cut out for him.
Wilson signed Erik Karlsson to an eight-year, $92 million extension worth $11.500 million per season, making Karlsson the highest paid defender in the league.
The Sharks GM also managed to re-sign 22-year-old star in the making, Timo Meier, to a four-year contract worth $6.000 million per season. By the end of the deal, Meier will still have one year of restricted free agency left, which really speaks to the fact that it’s a great– team friendly– extension at an affordable price with the future in mind.
Last season, Meier had 30-36–66 totals in 78 games. He had 21 goals and 15 assists (36 points) in his first full season (81 games played) in 2017-18.
But the cost of re-signing key pieces of San Jose’s core comes with a price– losing depth.
First, Joe Pavelski priced himself out of the Sharks, in part, thanks to his consistent scoring and 38 goals last season at 35-years-old, as well as San Jose’s cap crunch thanks to Karlsson’s pay raise.
Pavelski signed a three-year deal with the Dallas Stars worth $7.000 million per season, but it’s not about the money for San Jose (even though it was)– it’s about having to make up for a 38-goal deficit heading into this season.
Second, to get themselves squared away with the salary cap, Wilson had to move one of his durable top-four defenders via a trade, sending Justin Braun to the Philadelphia Flyers on June 18th for a 2019 2nd round pick and a 2020 3rd round pick.
Trading Braun left Wilson with no choice but to sign Dalton Prout as a cheap replacement and to perform this season’s Micheal Haley duties. Haley, himself, signed a PTO with the New York Rangers in hopes of filling New York’s Cody McLeod/Tanner Glass role opening.
On the plus side, the Sharks will be able to replenish their pool of prospects with the transaction. On the other hand, Braun was a versatile component when others (like Karlsson) were injured.
Even with the additional $3.800 million addition in cap space, San Jose was not able to convince Joonas Donskoi to stay in town, regardless of whether or not Wilson had any plans for the top-nine forward.
Instead, Donskoi joined the Colorado Avalanche on a four-year deal worth $3.900 million per season– providing both job security and a chance to win the Cup, since the Avs are on the rise.
Sharks fans were hoping to see a reunion of Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton back on the same team, but Wilson guaranteed Marleau wouldn’t be signed as long as Thornton was back for his 22nd season in the National Hockey League.
The good news? “Jumbo Joe” isn’t going anywhere– take that Father Time!
The bad news? Marleau isn’t going anywhere in free agency (yet) either.
It’s a good move for the Sharks though, as their younger players did exactly what Wilson explained– they played better and worked their way up the lineup to where Marleau had been prior to his departure to join the Toronto Maple Leafs on July 2, 2017.
San Jose has something special in Meier, Kevin Labanc, Barclay Goodrow and even Dylan Gambrell, meanwhile Logan Couture was named captain in wake of Pavelski’s departure– fully cementing the Logan Couture Era legacy in Sharks history.
Head coach, Peter DeBoer, will have a lot of leadership in the dressing room to rely on with Couture as captain and Karlsson, Thornton, Tomas Hertl and Brent Burns serving as alternate captains throughout the season.
Offseason Grade: C-
Considering Karlsson’s cap hit, it would’ve been a “D+” if it weren’t for the redeeming qualities of Meier’s contract. Other than that, the Sharks are destined to be a divisional berth in the Pacific Division as recent history has dictated, but they don’t seem to have what it takes on paper to be leapfrogging over the competition.
Oh, and there’s the near 3.00 goals against average of both Martin Jones and Aaron Dell to consider from last season. That’s terrible for a team with or without Karlsson and Burns on the defense.
Dallas Stars
43-32-7, 93 points, 4th in the Central Division
Eliminated in the Second Round by St. Louis
Additions: F Tanner Kero, F Joe Pavelski, F Corey Perry, D Andrej Sekera
Subtractions: F Erik Condra (signed with Colorado, AHL), F Ryan Hartman (signed with MIN), F Valeri Nichushkin (bought out), F Tyler Pitlick (traded to PHI), F Brett Ritchie (signed with BOS), F Jason Spezza (signed with TOR), F Mats Zuccarello (signed with MIN), D Niklas Hansson (SHL), D Ben Lovejoy (retired), D Chris Martenet (signed with Brampton, ECHL), G Philippe Desrosiers (signed with FLA)
Still Unsigned: D Julius Honka, D Marc Methot
Re-signed: F Jason Dickinson, D Gavin Bayreuther, D Dillon Heatherington, D Reece Scarlett, G Landon Bow
Offseason Analysis: Dallas Stars General Manager, Jim Nill, had one thing to do this offseason and one thing only– improve the offense.
Dallas’ defense is still growing into its own and will take care of itself as one of the better underrated blue lines in the league, plus Ben Bishop and Anton Khudobin make a strong tandem in the crease.
While the additions of Joe Pavelski and Corey Perry are great on paper to the Stars’ offense, each comes with a price.
Pavelski is 35-years-old and tallied 38 goals in 75 games played last season– tying a career-high that he set in the 2015-16 season. Perry is 34-years-old and six goals in 31 games played last season.
The former was injured in the playoffs, but doesn’t seem to show signs of slowing down, even if he only scores 20-25 goals a season. Over the course of Pavelski’s three-year deal with Dallas, that’s not a terrible amount of offense, but if he deviates from the norm and regresses at all… well, he still carries a $7.000 million cap hit.
It’s a gamble considering the age factor, but it’s not the worst contract in the world.
Perry, on the other hand, has been oft-injured as of the last couple of seasons and looks like a shell of his former “Scorey” self.
The good news? Nill was smart and signed Perry to a one-year contract worth $1.500 million.
It’s a low-risk, high-reward– no foul– signing.
But with Pavelski, Perry and newcomer, Andrej Sekera, all added to the roster, Dallas’ average age across the board has only gotten older.
In a league that emphasizes youth, speed and hand-eye coordination, let’s just hope the Stars have discovered the Fountain of Youth and can beat the aging curve.
Other than that, head coach, Jim Montgomery knows what to expect out of his core and can depend on Pavelski to make something happen when Alexander Radulov falls into a lull from time-to-time.
Offseason Grade: C+
The Stars didn’t have to go out and land the biggest star in free agency, so they went out and got a modest harvest instead. Nill signed Pavelski at a steep price on what would otherwise be a bad contract if it were longer than three-years, but it’s really only as bad as when the Toronto Maple Leafs signed Patrick Marleau for three-years and over $6.000 million.
Something about ex-Sharks in the 35-plus category… Other general managers have learned from Toronto’s mistake to stay away– even if there’s a boost in the locker room for a season or two. At least Dallas had the room to make it work and has enough pending free agents in July 2020 to ease their salary cap concerns.
Mitch Marner finally re-signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Boston Bruins announced a couple key extensions, more RFA deals were signed and the NHLPA decided not to re-open the current collective bargaining agreement as DTFR’s season previews continued with the Metropolitan Division.
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Minnesota Wild
37-36-9, 83 points, 7th in the Central Division
Missed the postseason for the first time in seven years
Additions: F Gabriel Dumont, F Ryan Hartman, F Luke Johnson, F Drew Stafford (signed to a PTO), F Mats Zuccarello, D Fedor Gordeev (acquired from TOR)
Subtractions: F Pontus Aberg (signed with TOR), F Eric Fehr (NLA), F Landon Ferraro (signed to a PTO with VAN), F Cal O’Reilly (signed with Lehigh Valley, AHL), F Matt Read (signed to a PTO with TOR), F Dante Salituro (signed with Indy, ECHL), D Anthony Bitetto (signed with WPG), D Gustav Bouramman (traded to FLA), D Michael Kapla (signed with Toronto, AHL), D Nate Prosser (signed with PHI), G Johan Gustafsson (DEL), G Andrew Hammond (signed with BUF)
Still Unsigned: F Chase Lang
Re-signed: F Ryan Donato, F Joel Eriksson Ek, F Kevin Fiala, D Brad Hunt, D Carson Soucy, D Hunter Warner
Offseason Analysis: It’s a wild time for the Minnesota Wild on what will likely be a wild ride to the bottom of the standings before things get better.
At the very least, Minnesota tried to jumpstart things and stave off a rebuild by firing Paul Fenton one season after naming Fenton as General Manager and replacing the now former GM of the franchise with Bill Guerin.
Guerin– who spent parts of 18 seasons as winger with the New Jersey Devils, Edmonton Oilers, Boston Bruins, Dallas Stars, St. Louis Blues, San Jose Sharks, New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins– was most recently the assistant general manager for the Penguins and is just the fourth general manager in franchise history for the Wild.
Bruce Boudreau returns as head coach, despite finishing in last place in the Central Division en route to Minnesota missing the playoff last season for the first time since 2012.
Before Fenton was fired, he signed Mats Zuccarello on July 1st to a five-year, $30 million contract worth $6.000 million per season.
Zuccarello has never scored more than 26 goals in a season– a feat he accomplished in 81 games with the New York Rangers in 2015-16– and is 32-years-old.
He usually amasses at least 50 points a season, however, so it’s not quite an overpay, but rather a bit of a concern due to the long-term nature of the contract, plus the fact that he has a no-movement clause through the first three years and a modified no-trade/no-movement clause in the final two years.
Basically, it’s a great deal for Zuccarello because it protects him from the Seattle Expansion Draft in 2021, which is exactly why it could come back to bite the Wild.
Minnesota’s defense is aging and the entire roster only has three pending-unrestricted free agents at the end of the upcoming season, which means Guerin’s going to have to get creative at restructuring some of the mess left behind without just letting players walk in free agency.
If the Wild are confident this season will be better than last season– it’s make or break.
When things don’t work out, at least the inevitable front office turmoil has already been taken care of (hopefully).
Offseason Grade: F
This offseason, Minnesota pulled the equivalent of making just enough of an effort on an exam to get one or two answers right, but missed the mark on everything else.
Having said that, firing Fenton and hiring Guerin is probably the one or two questions on the exam that they got right. Other than that, there’s not much else that went well for the Wild to assure the Hockey Gods that they’re prepared for the 2019-20 season.
Down the Frozen River 
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