Down the Frozen River

Tag: P.K. Subban

  • 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.

  • Avalanche of Trades Coming

    By: Nick Lanciani

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    We’re still about a month and a half away from this year’s NHL trade deadline, but it’s never too early to start talking about who might get traded or what teams will be active.

    There’s a lot of chatter on Twitter in the last couple of days that Arizona Coyotes general manager, John Chayka, will be a busy GM from now through the deadline working the phones and trying to acquire assets. And of course, everyone knows the current dire situation of the Colorado Avalanche and the mountain of work that’s facing their general manager, Joe Sakic.

    But let’s be realistic here for a moment– anything is possible.

    Although, there’s probably one thing we can rule out at this point, and that’s the Montreal Canadiens trading P.K. Subban (because they already did that, in June, to the Nashville Predators in exchange for Shea Weber— what have you been under a rock for the last several months?).

    While the Coyotes are likely to be unpredictable past the potentially looming Martin Hanzal and Shane Doan deals, Colorado is sure to be playing host to this year’s trade deadline fire sale and mostly predictable in regards to who may be dealt.

    Defenseman Tyson Barrie has had his name tossed around more than a few times in the last couple of seasons, but recently the Av’s have taken a long hard look at trading forwards Matt Duchene and Gabriel Landeskog.

    With everybody but Nathan MacKinnon at their disposal, Sakic remains firm on driving a steep price for either Duchene or Landeskog.

    Moving Duchene would likely yield a forward or a defenseman, but not much more, as those teams that have expressed interest do not seem to be all to bent on a package deal for the center who has two-years left on his contract at $6 million AAV. The 30 goal scorer last season has had two 65+ point seasons aside from last year’s 30-29-59 totals in 76 games played.

    Duchene remains a tremendous attraction, but one that has been quietly shopped, most recently inquired about by the Carolina Hurricanes as per Bleacher Report’s Adrian Dater.

    Of course, the Pittsburgh Penguins remain very much in on trying to add a piece or two to their roster, as well as the Boston Bruins and just about anyone else, but that’s where Landeskog comes in.

    It’s no doubt that Landeskog will be traded at some point or another. When is the golden question, considering how Sakic will continue to play hardball and could hold out until the Entry Draft in June when more teams are open to moving pieces that may or may not have previously been important to their successful/failed playoff run prior to June.

    Boston has several pieces that they could be willing to move with Ryan Spooner, Joseph Morrow, Jimmy Hayes and others as “expendable”, however even the combination of Bruins GM Don Sweeney‘s dreams would not add up to the value of Landeskog alone or with other components.

    Sakic is insistent on bringing home Colorado Springs native, Brandon Carlo, from the Bruins, but trading Carlo should be the last thing on Boston’s mind (along with disrupting any of their core players in Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak, David Krejci, Zdeno Chara, Torey Krug and Tuukka Rask, just to name a few).

    The B’s are buyers this season– and they have to be, in order to remain in the hunt, with Toronto a point behind after Tuesday night and five games in hand over the Bruins. But Boston cannot add and subtract, like they’ve seem to have done the last couple of seasons in lateral moves that have kept them complacent with their standing in the Atlantic Division.

    Pittsburgh might be keen on moving a defenseman, such as Kris Letang, but Sakic remains stern on wanting to do more than just a one-for-one deal, considering the state of the rebuild in Colorado.

    Of the teams with perhaps the best situation for trading (without looking into the salary cap, of course), the Los Angeles Kings could play the role of the dark horse that sweeps Landeskog away with a plethora of prospects in the AHL and a few options to trade from their NHL roster.

    Any team that is willing or has room for Landeskog’s $5.571 million cap hit over the next five years is easily in the running behind closed doors and on phones we haven’t heard ring yet.

    Among the other players likely to leave the Avalanche in an ever looming avalanche of trades, Jarome Iginla, Carl Soderberg, Patrick Wiercioch and Semyon Varlamov remain attractive options.

    Iginla’s name has been tied to the Chicago Blackhawks in their annual search for an older veteran who’s looking to finally win the Cup, but there could be more teams at play, for the right price. Meanwhile, Soderberg’s name has gone under the radar, however he remains an attractive option for any team looking into solidifying themselves down the middle with a little veteran experience and NHL caliber seasoning.

    Wiercioch appears to be the most expendable defenseman other than Barrie or Erik Johnson, but won’t pull enough weight in a deal on his own. A Wiercioch-Soderberg-something package certainly might be more appealing to a team looking to dump rental contracts in return.

    Finally, Varlamov may be left exposed in the expansion draft if he isn’t moved prior to then. Certainly there are some teams that could utilize Varlamov’s starting goaltender status, including the Kings, Winnipeg Jets or others depending on their plans down the road (the Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings and/or Penguins to name a few).

    Though if there’s going to be a goalie moved at or before the deadline, it’ll likely be Ondrej Pavelec, Jaroslav Halak, Marc-Andre Fleury or Ben Bishop before other teams get on board with their plans to change things in goal before Vegas swoops in.

    Look, it’s the end of an era one way or another for Colorado.

    It’s just crazy that it might have to come down to trading Duchene and Landeskog (both top-5 draft picks in their respective draft years) to do so. Then again, things already got pretty crazy when Cody McLeod was sent to Nashville after spending his entire career until then in an Av’s uniform.

  • January 3 – Day 80 – Remember Weber

    It’s back to normal in the NHL with seven contests going down this evening. The action starts at 7 p.m. with four games (New Jersey at Carolina, Buffalo at the New York Rangers [NBCSN], Toronto at Washington [TVAS] and Edmonton at Columbus), followed half an hour later by Winnipeg at Tampa Bay. 8 p.m. marks the puck drop of Montréal at Nashville (RDS), with tonight’s nightcap – Los Angeles at San Jose (NBCSN) – waiting until 10 p.m. All times eastern.

    Short list:

    • Montréal at Nashville: Shea Weber played 11 seasons in the Music City, but he was traded this offseason to the Canadiens.
    • Los Angeles at San Jose: Another edition of the Battle for California.

    It seems like every time the Kings and Sharks meet up, another big matchup takes place the same night. Tonight is no different.

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    Do you remember when you moved for the first time? You’d lived your entire life in the same town around a lot of the same people. Everything was familiar. You could walk to your friend’s house blindfolded.

    Welcome to the life of Weber. He was drafted 49th overall by the Predators in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, and by the 2006-’07 he had a full-time locker in Nashville‘s dressing room.

    Since then, he was named captain before the 2010-’11 season and made four trips to the All-Star game (well, three trips and one in Bridgestone Arena, the Predators‘ home surface). He earned those accolades by twice leading the Preds in assists, points and blocks (2012-’13 and ’13-’14).

    While he only minutely regressed following those impressive seasons, he was traded to Montréal this summer in exchange for P.K. Subban. Assuming an alternate captain role with his new club, he’s continued to be one of the best offensive blueliners in the NHL. His nine goals are most on the team and tied for second-most in the league, and his blocks are tops in the Habs‘ dressing room.

    One part of his game he’s vastly improved since joining the Habs has been his +/- effort. Regardless of how much stock you put in the statistic, it’s easy to say a positive number is certainly more desired. During Weber’s most successful scoring seasons, he was sacrificing his play on the defensive end to the point he gave up more goals than he created. Nowadays in Montréal, he’s maintaining his offensive production while still keeping a +16 rating, the second-best mark of his career.

    Weber and the Habs come to Athens of the South with a 22-9-6 record, the best mark in the Atlantic Division. They’ve found that success by playing some impressive defense, allowing only 85 goals so far this season – the fifth-best mark in the league.

    Manning the crease for most of the season has been 18-5-4 Carey Price, the netminder whose .93 save percentage and 2.07 GAA ranks fourth and seventh-best in the NHL.

    It’s a scary combination for opposing offenses when you pair a solid defense with an exemplary goaltender, and that’s the situation the Preds are in this evening. The Habs allow an average of only 29.8 shots-per-game to reach Price’s net, the 12th-lowest average in the league. Weber’s 78 blocks leads the club, but a total of three defensemen have 64 or more shot blocks to their credit.

    Playing host this evening are the 16-14-6 Predators, the fifth-best team in the Central Division. Nashville‘s offense has plagued them this season, managing only 101 goals, tying them for 15th-fewest in the NHL.

    Ryan Johansen has been involved in 27 of those scores for the clubhouse scoring lead, but James Neal has buried the most goals at 14. Neal’s effort ties him for 20th in the league, but the Predators have struggled to find scoring beyond him, Viktor Arvidsson and Mike Fisher. Those three skaters combine for 34 tallies, over a third of the Preds‘ goals.

    If only the Predators had more power play opportunities, as that is when they are most effective. Successful on 20.3% of their man-advantages, Nashville is 10th-best in the league in that situation. Who else to lead that effort than the great facilitator Johansen? His 13 power play points are tops on the club. One of his line-mates with the extra man is Fisher, whose five man-advantage goals leads the Preds.

    Some players to keep an eye on include Montréal‘s Price (18 wins [tied for fifth-most in the league] on a .93 save percentage [fourth-best in the NHL] and a 2.07 GAA [seventh-best in the league], including two shutouts [tied for ninth-most in the NHL]) and Nashville‘s Johansen (27 points, including 20 assists [both lead the team]).

    Vegas gives a slight edge – -115, to be exact – to the home team, but I’m not very comfortable with that prediction. The Predators are going to be unable to break through Price, and the Habs are no joke offensively. I expect Montréal to get out of Nashville with two points.

    Hockey Birthday

    • Bobby Hull (1939-) – The Golden Jet’s career spanned 23 seasons (most with Chicago), and all he did was win trophies. The Hall of Famer was a 12-time All Star, winning the Ross Trophy thrice, the Hart twice, the 1965 Byng and the 1961 Stanley Cup. His number nine has been retired by both Arizona (the new home of the original Jets) and Chicago.
    • Cory Cross (1971-) – Most players selected in the now-extinct Supplemental Draft never saw an NHL arena. This defenseman wasn’t most players, playing half his dozen seasons in Tampa Bay.
    • Reto Berra (1987-) – Drafted by St. Louis in the fourth round of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, this goaltender has made 64 appearances over his three-season career, most of which in Colorado.
    • Matt Frattin (1988-) – Another fourth round selection, Toronto selected this right wing from North Dakota in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. Although he’s played most his games with the Leafs, he’s currently under contract with Stockton.

    A dominant third period performance by First Star of the Game Vladimir Tarsenko gave St. Louis a 4-1 victory in the 2017 Winter Classic, yesterday’s DtFR Game of the Day.

    Only one goal was scored in the first period, and it was the Blackhawks‘ lone tally. Michal Kempny (Artemi Panarin and Third Star Duncan Keith) takes credit with his slap shot only 62 seconds into the game.

    The same goes for the second period, but it was the Blues that earned the goal. Patrik Berglund‘s (Jay Bouwmeester and Alexander Steen) wrister at the 7:45 mark leveled the score at one-all.

    St. Louis broke the draw with 7:55 remaining in regulation, courtesy of Tarasenko’s (Robby Fabbri) tip-in goal. Only 1:53 later, Tarasenko (Jori Lehtera and Fabbri) struck again for the Notes‘ first insurance tally. Steen sealed the game with 74 seconds remaining by burying a wrister into Chicago‘s empty net.

    Second Star Jake Allen earns the victory after saving 22-of-23 shots faced (95.7%), while Corey Crawford takes the loss, saving 31-of-34 (91.2%).

    St. Louis‘ victory at Busch Stadium is the second straight for home teams in the DtFR Game of the Day series, setting the season record at 46-24-12, 17 points better than the visitors.

  • December 17 – Day 66 – Vesey vs. Nashville

    A total of 10 games are on tap today, more than enough for us hockey addicts. The action starts at 2 p.m. with two matinees (Philadelphia at Dallas and Arizona at Minnesota), but the excitement really starts at 7 p.m. when five contests drop the puck (Pittsburgh at Toronto [CBC], New Jersey at Ottawa [SN360], Anaheim at Detroit, Montréal at Washington [CITY/NHLN/TVAS] and Buffalo at Carolina). Another pair get underway at 8 p.m. (Chicago at St. Louis and the New York Rangers at Nashville), with tonight’s nightcap – Tampa Bay at Edmonton (CBC/SN360) – getting green lit two hours later.

    Short list:

    • Anaheim at Detroit: These days, Detroit fans probably need the reminder of the glory days, and this old rivalry might do the trick.
    • Chicago at St. Louis: In case it was ever in question, these towns don’t like each other.
    • New York at Nashville: Ah, the drama.

    I know there’s some good rivalries on , but since this is the only trip the Blueshirts will take to the Music City, we’ll follow the Jimmy Vesey saga to its conclusion.

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    Vesey is just like you and me. He graduated from college (Harvard, so I guess he’s not exactly like you and me…) and was eager to look for a job. But, he had already been drafted by the Predators in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. Sounds like a great situation, right? Immediate employment out of school! It’s everyone’s dream!

    It was actually better than that. David Poile, the Predators‘ general manager, did not want to send Vesey to Milwaukee to play in the AHL. His plan was to have Vesey participating with the Predators as soon as possible for their playoff run.

    Turns out, Vesey wasn’t too interested in being told where to go. The Crimson graduate showed his smarts – like you do with an Ivy League education – and played the NHL’s CBA like a fiddle. Drafted in 2012 and not singing a contract by 2016, Vesey had the right to decline the contract and become a free agent.

    As you might expect, that rubbed the Predators organization the wrong way, but they realized they had to get something out of the situation. Poile shipped Vesey off to Buffalo, where he again declined the Sabres‘ offers. As made evident by his eighth-most points by a forward in Madison Square Garden, the rookie has laid down roots with the Rangers.

    Those Blueshirts have an impressive 21-10-1 record that is good enough for second in both the Metropolitan Division and Eastern Conference. Besides signing Vesey, New York added tons of offensive talent this offseason, and that has yielded 108 goals, the second-highest scoring average in the NHL.

    It seems the points leader in Manhattan changes game by game. Going into tonight’s contest in Nashville, Kevin Hayes and J.T. Miller co-lead the offense, each with 22 points to their credit. Of course, the most dangerous Ranger as far as a netminder is concerned is Michael Grabner, who has lit the lamp a team-leading 13 times.

    As one might expect, that success has carried into the power play, where the Rangers‘ 21.9% success rate is tied for seventh-best in the league. An incredible six players top the Blueshirts with six power play points apiece, but once again a goalies’ biggest concern is the final goalscorer. Rick Nash, Brandon Pirri and Vesey all have four man-advantage goals to their credit to account for 57% of New York‘s extra-man tallies.

    If the Predators were planning on taking advantage of New York‘s penalty kill they have another think coming. The Blueshirts refuse to yield a goal on 86.9% of opposing power plays, the third-best rate in the NHL. Kevin Klein gets this accolade, as his 13 shorthanded blocks are tops in Manhattan.

    The Vesey-less Predators have had more bad than good happen to them this season (Vesey no doubt being one of the first line items), as their 13-12-4 record is good enough for only fifth place in the Central Division. On the ice, their biggest issue has been their goaltending that has allowed 84 goals already this year – at only 29 games played, that’s the 10th-highest rate in the league.

    12-8-4 Pekka Rinne has started between the pipes for Nashville in all but five games, and has notched a .916 save percentage and 2.5 GAA in that time – the (t)18th and (t)20th best efforts, respectively, in the NHL among the 42 goaltenders with a dozen or more appearances.

    The Preds are a defensive-minded team, made apparent by their 29.9 shots-against average that ranks 13th-lowest in the team. Mattias Ekholm takes most of the credit for that, as his 54 shot blocks are the most on the squad. That being said, a total of four skaters (Ekholm, Ryan Ellis, Roman Josi and P.K. Subban) have 40 or more blocks, so it has certainly been a team effort.

    That defensive presence breaks down on the penalty kill though. Nashville ranks 10th-worst in the league at nullifying their penalties, successful only 80% of the time. This has been where Josi has shined, with a team-leading 13 shorthanded blocks to his name.

    Some players to keep an eye on this evening include Nashville‘s Matt Irwin (+9 [leads the team]), Ryan Johansen (21 points [leads the team]) and James Neal (12 goals [leads the team]) & New York‘s Hayes (+15 [tied for seventh-best in the NHL]), Grabner (+18 [tied for second-best in the league]) and, should he play, Antti Raanta (1.67 GAA on a .941 save percentage [both second-best in the league]).

    Since Nashville‘s defense and goaltending will not be good enough to handle the Rangers‘ offense, this boils down to the Predators‘ breaking though New York‘s tough defense and keeping up on the scoreboard. I don’t think it will happen, and Vesey will be able to laugh himself to back to Manhattan with another two points for his club.

    Hockey Birthday

    • Ken Hitchcock (1951-) – Hitch got his first head coaching job in the NHL in 1996, and he’s been involved in almost every season since. This season marks his sixth and final with the St. Louis Blues, who he got to the Western Finals a season ago. The highlight of his career came in 1999, when his Dallas Stars hoisted the Stanley Cup.
    • Frantisek Musil (1964-) – More commonly known by Frank, this defenseman was the 38th-overall pick in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft by the Minnesota North Stars. That being said, he played 335 of his 797 games in Calgary and notched a +93 over his 14-season career.
    • Craig Berube (1965-) – After going undrafted, this left wing had a physical 17-season career, spending most of his days in Washington. By the time he hung up his skates, he notched 159 points to go with his 3149 penalty minutes. Currently, he spends his days in Chicago as the head coach of the AHL’s Wolves.
    • Vincent Damphousse (1967-) – Although drafted sixth-overall in the 1986 NHL Entry Draft by Toronto, this center played most of his 18-season careeer with the rival Canadiens. He hoisted the Stanley Cup in 1993, his first campaign playing in hometown Montréal.
    • Samuel Pahlsson (1977-) – Drafted by Colorado in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft, this center played eight of his 11 seasons in Anaheim, where he won the Stanley Cup in 2007.  He finished his career with 199 points.
    • Matt Murley (1979-) – Some draft picks don’t pan out. Murley is one of those. Although a second-round pick by Pittsburgh in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft, he only played 62 total games in the league.
    • Erik Christensen (1983-) – Another center, Christensen played seven NHL seasons after being drafted by Pittsburgh in the 2002 Entry Draft. By the time his NHL career was through, he’d notched 163 points after playing with five different clubs.

    The 4-2 score is misleading, as the Sharks had control of yesterday’s DtFR Game of the Day from the get-go, scoring three goals in the first period in Montréal.

    Aided by a Paul Byron hooking penalty, the Sharks got on the board only 6:50 into the contest when Second Star of the Game David Schlemko (Mikkel Boedker and Joonas Donskoi) buried a power play wrist shot to give the Sharks an early lead with his first goal of the season. That lead doubled 3:10 later when Patrick Marleau (First Star Joe Thornton and Third Star Brent Burns) score another power play wrister. Finally San Jose scored in a five-on-five situation, as Timo Meier (Schlemko and Donskoi) scored his first NHL goal in his first NHL game with 6:42 remaining in the first period, made only better by the fact that it was the eventual game-winner. The Sharks‘ 3-0 lead lasted them into intermission.

    The only tally of the second period was the fourth-straight by San Jose. Melker Karlsson (Micheal Haley) takes credit with a backhanded shot at the 6:44 mark.

    Montréal tried their hardest in the third period to stage a comeback. In the span of 3:20, Brian Flynn (Tomas Plekanec and Zach Redmond) and Jeff Petry (Michael McCarron and Daniel Carr) both lit the lamp once each to pull the Habs within two scores, but they were unable to do anymore damage.

    Martin Jones earns another victory after saving 26-of-28 shots faced (92.9%), while Carey Price takes the loss, saving 14-of-18 (77.8%). He was replaced following Karlsson’s goal by Al Montoya, who saved all five shots he faced.

    Just like the home sides did last week, the road teams in the DtFR Game of the Day series are on quite a little streak. They’ve won their last five contests to pull themselves within seven points of the hosts, who still have a 36-22-10 record.

  • November 22 – Day 41 – Where were you in 1917?

    Guess what: yesterday was Monday. You know what that means: it’s Tuesday.

    Now that we’re on the same page, let’s get to why we’re really here: to watch hockey. The action gets underway at the usual 7 p.m. starting time with a couple games (St. Louis at Boston [NBCSN/SN] and Carolina at Toronto), followed half an hour later by two more (Ottawa at Montréal [RDS/RDS2] and Philadelphia at Florida [TVAS]). After those games are over, the New York Islanders at Anaheim (SN) gets green-lit at 10 p.m. All times eastern.

    There’s a couple good games this evening, but the one I’m more excited for is happening north of the border.

    Unknown-6Unknown-1

     

    It may not officially have been these Senators that played the Canadiens in the first-ever NHL game in 1917, but since Ottawa returned to the league in ’92, this rivalry has also returned to form, specifically with two playoff meetings in three seasons. Although words were exchanged in both those series, things truly came to a point when P.K. Subban broke Mark Stone‘s wrist with a slash in the 2015 Eastern Quarterfinals. In Game 1. The defenseman may have moved on this off-season, but something tells me Stone has a particularly bad taste in his mouth every time he this red sweater.

    Ottawa enters the Bell Centre with a 10-7-1 record, pinning them in fourth place in the Atlantic Division. What worries me about the Senators this season is that they have a lot of trouble finding scoring, managing only 37 goals so far this season.

    As has been true the last four seasons, defenseman Erik Karlsson leads the Sens in scoring with 14 points, but Kyle Turris has been the one completing Karlsson’s plays with a team-leading eight goals. While the leaders’ numbers aren’t necessarily poor, it’s the fact that only 16 skaters have gotten involved in the scoring this year, leaving the Senators with the second-fewest goals in the league.

    It’s probably no coincidence that Ottawa also ranks second-worst in the league on their power play, successful on only 9.4% of their attempts.

    While offense has been an issue, the Sens have found success defensively, specifically on the penalty kill. Ottawa is home to the third-best kill, neutralizing 88.5% of their infractions.

    Playing host this evening are the league-leading 14-3-2 Canadiens. They’ve certainly been impressive to earn that standing, but I’ve especially liked their offensive efforts, as their 60 goals ties for third-most in the NHL.

    Alex Galchenyuk has been nearly unstoppable so far this campaign, notching 19 points to average a point-per-game. Impressive. Maybe even more impressive, three different skaters (Paul Byron, Galchenyuk and Shea Weber) have notched seven goals, which ties for the club-lead.

    Montréal‘s power play has certainly been something to see as well. Ranking fifth-best in the league, the Habs have found success on 22.8% of their man-advantages, led by Weber’s eight power play points.

    Some players to watch this evening include Montréal‘s Galchenyuk (19 points [tied for seventh-most in the league] for a +12 [tied for eighth-best in the NHL]), Carey Price (11 wins [tied for the league lead] on 1.58 GAA and a .95 save percentage [both third-best in the NHL], including two shutouts [tied for fifth-most in the league]) and Weber (+16 [third-best in the NHL]) & Ottawa‘s Craig Anderson (two shutouts [tied for fifth-most in the league] among eight wins [tied for ninth-most in the NHL]).

    I think we’ve got another game with no line, but something tells me I didn’t look in the right spot today. While I do respect Ottawa‘s defense, Montréal is easily the superior team in tonight’s contest. Plan on the Habs defending home ice and earning two points.

    Hockey Birthday

    • Albert Leduc (1902-1990) – How convenient that a defenseman that played for both of today’s featured clubs was born today? Most of his time was spent with the Habs, where he hoisted the Stanley Cup twice.
    • Jacques Laperriere (1941-) – Another Canadien defenseman, Laperrière hoisted the Cup five times and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1987.
    • Yvan Cournoyer (1943-) – You guessed it, another Hab. Cournoyer played right wing for 16 seasons, and won the Cup eight times in the process. He also won the 1973 Smythe Trophy with 15 goals to go with his 10 assists in 17 playoff games.

    Colorado keeps surprising me. They’ve been featured in the DtFR Game of the Day series twice. I’ve picked against them twice. Yet they’ve come away from both those games with four total points.

    Columbus opened the scoring with the only goal of the first period. Exactly nine minutes after beginning the game, First Star of the Game Cam Atkinson (Brandon Dubinsky and Brandon Saad) gave the Blue Jackets a 1-0 lead with a tip-in tally.

    The Avalanche pulled even 3:05 into the second period with a Tyson Barrie (Mikko Rantanen and Carl Soderberg) slap shot. The nine minute mark seems to be magic in Nationwide Arena, but not always for the home side. Erik Johnson (Nathan MacKinnon and Fedor Tyutin) scored his first goal of the year to give Colorado a 2-1 lead.

    Columbus scored their game-tying goal by the skin of their teeth, waiting until only seven seconds remained in regulation before Atkinson (Sam Gagner and Zach Werenski) buried a snap shot to force overtime.

    In his first game back after missing four with a concussion, Third Star Matt Duchene (Johnson) picked up right where he wanted with a snap shot 1:49 after beginning the three-on-three overtime period to earn the Avs a road victory.

    Second Star Semyon Varlamov earns the victory after saving a whopping 40-of-42 shots faced (95.2%), leaving the overtime loss to Curtis McElhinney, saving 24-of-27 (88.9%).

    With our second-straight game that extended beyond regulation, the DtFR Game of the Day series now stands at 24-12-7, favoring the home clubs by 11 points over the roadies.

  • Realistic Predictions for the 2016-2017 Season

    Realistic Predictions for the 2016-2017 Season

    By: Nick Lanciani

    Anaheim Ducks

    Unknown-1The Anaheim Ducks added Jared Boll in the offseason to help bolster Team USA’s heart and grit rating at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. Oh wait. Anaheim also brought back Randy Carlyle as head coach.

    So basically it’ll be Throwback Thursday everyday this season for the Ducks, since it’ll be ten years since their 2007 Stanley Cup championship with Carlyle and crew. Why not bring back the maroon and jade uniforms while we’re at it?


    Arizona Coyotes

    Unknown-3Youth is not just prevalent on the Arizona Coyotes roster this season, but in their front office as well, as 27-year-old, John Chayka, was hired as the youngest GM in NHL history.

    Max Domi and Anthony Duclair do all they can to convince Shane Doan to become the next Jaromir Jagr and maybe then we can start talking about a potential Cup run for the Coyotes. A plethora of defensemen fight for six roster spots and are narrowed down throughout the season, Hunger Games style.

    Boston Bruins

    Unknown-7Big and Bad are Backes. Wait, that’s not it. The Boston Bruins added David Backes, Riley Nash and Dominic Moore to their group of forwards this offseason all while seeming to forget that they still need another top-4 defenseman (let alone an entire defense).

    Like most years of Boston sports (okay, with the exception of the last fifteen years), the Bruins will probably narrowly miss the playoffs again, much to the dismay of their hardcore fan base that still goes to every game like it’s their job. Or am I confusing them with the guys on the roster? At least 63 + 37 = 100.

    Buffalo Sabres

    Unknown-2So the Buffalo Sabres look to do things this year. That’s a thing, I’m pretty sure. Major loss? Chad Johnson left the team via free agency and went to Calgary. Major gains?

    They brought in Kyle Okposo and everything else remained pretty much the same, so they should probably be on the outside looking in again, unless they become the new Ottawa Senators (forged by youth and a backup goalie that takes over from February through their early first round playoff exit in April).

    All kidding aside, the Sabres remain hopeful. Meanwhile, Rasmus Ristolainen finally got paid (at a discount, none the less— Flo from Progressive would be happy).

    Calgary Flames

    Unknown-4What did the Calgary Flames do this offseason? They got some goaltending. Brian Elliott was acquired via a trade with St. Louis and Chad Johnson came over from Buffalo in free agency, so that’s two new goalies for a total of about half as many goalies that the Philadelphia Flyers have played in the last twenty years (though Calgary is starting to catch up).

    Johnny Gaudreau is still unsigned, so that could be problematic, since he’s like, Calgary’s entire offense. At least, that’s what the fake Kanye West account told me— just kidding, he finally signed the other day. Given the state of the Western Conference, it’s safe to say they won’t be flaming their competition in the standings.

    Carolina Hurricanes

    Carolina Hurricanes LogoBiggest additions: Lee Stempniak, Viktor Stalberg and Teuvo Teravainen (so basically just Teravainen, if you’re playing along with the rebuild at home). Matt Tennyson was also brought in on the blue line via free agency from San Jose, so there’s that.

    Hurricanes fans, take solace in the fact that the Columbus Blue Jackets exist in your division, because at least Carolina won’t finish last with an improved New Jersey Devils team (minus their defense) looking to jump ahead of the Hurricanes in the standings.

    Chicago Blackhawks

    Unknown-22013, 2015— shoot, this year’s Stanley Cup Final is in an odd numbered year, isn’t it? Well, forget all of the season predictions, congrats to the Chicago Blackhawks. They’ll probably just insert some prospect alongside Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa, Artemi Panarin, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook or someone and be fine.

    I mean, that’s been the formula since 2010 anyway. Win the Cup, trade a bunch of people because of the salary cap over the next offseason or two, win the Cup again and do it all over again. The only problem is, the Blackhawks have got the toughest division, so they’ll probably still make the playoffs, at least.

    Colorado Avalanche

    Unknown-1The Colorado Avalanche added two Bourques to their team (Gabriel Bourque and Rene Bourque) so they’re obviously hoping to double their efforts of their 2001 Stanley Cup championship with legendary defenseman Ray Bourque. What’s that? They’re not related? Nice try Joe Sakic.

    While the Av’s were perfect in the preseason, sadly none of it counted and they’ll start 0-0-0 just like everybody else. New head coach, Jared Bednar, won’t be dismantling any stanchions this year, so that’s good news, glass between the benches at Pepsi Center.

    Columbus Blue Jackets

    Columbus Blue Jackets LogoZach Werenski made the team, so now they’ll have a defense. Oh, sorry, didn’t you there Ryan Murray, Seth Jones and Jack Johnson. But all kidding aside, these guys just need to stay healthy— I’m looking at you Sergei Bobrovsky.

    Their group of forwards kind of have it going on. But sadly, this isn’t the year for the Columbus Blue Jackets, unlike the rest of the teams in Ohio it seems. Also, how it is possible for Werenski, a player from Michigan University, to not get run out of Ohio? I’ll wait.

    Dallas Stars

    Unknown-2The Dallas Stars have the same goaltending tandem of Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi, the same core group of forwards primarily in Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn and an improved defense with the loss of Kris Russell.

    Somehow every year, this band of veterans impresses the hockey world by combatting speed and skill with heart and grit (minus some of the grit). But just like last year, they probably still won’t figure it out in the playoffs between their two goaltenders and fail miserably (in the eyes of Stars fans).

    Detroit Red Wings

    UnknownThe Detroit Red Wings added Steve Ott (grit), Thomas Vanek (heart) and Frans Nielsen (actually, kind of good), this offseason to their group of forwards that doesn’t include Pavel Datsyuk for the first time in like, forever.

    Datsyuk was traded to Arizona at the draft after he announced his retirement from the NHL to go play in the KHL back home before ultimately wrapping up his professional hockey career. And with that, so ends the Red Wings playoff appearance streak this season. But at least Petr Mrazek will be their number one goalie, right?

    Edmonton Oilers

    Unknown-5Rogers Place looks pretty cool. Milan Lucic Bruinsinizes the team. Peter Chiarelli traded Taylor Hall to the New Jersey Devils for Adam Larsson. And that is all. Just kidding, Chiarelli also traded Nail Yakupov to the St. Louis Blues for practically nothing (so just like the Hall trade).

    Connor McDavid was named captain and the team got worse. Kris Russell was added to the defense and Eric Gryba was not re-signed, then PTO’ed, then signed to a new deal with Edmonton, then probably placed on waivers. Sounds like things are business as usual for the Oilers.

    Florida Panthers

    Florida_Panthers_logo_2016James Reimer signed as the backup goaltender to Roberto Luongo for the Florida Panthers this offseason, so if you’re a fan of the 2013 Toronto Maple Leafs or 2011 Vancouver Canucks, maybe Florida is your team (until games actually matter in the playoffs).

    Jason Demers and Keith Yandle were two major additions to the Panthers blue line, while they managed to finagle Jared McCann out of Vancouver in exchange for Erik Gudbranson. So basically, the Panthers are poised to dominate the Atlantic Division once again in the regular season. Can I get a Jaromir Jagr for the Hart Trophy to with it?

    Los Angeles Kings

    Unknown-3The Los Angeles Kings most recently added Devin Setoguchi to their batch of forwards, so that summarizes everything about their offseason. Props to Setoguchi for making a comeback in the NHL. Shouts to the Kings for having a cool arena by the way. I stopped by there in August.

    Drew Doughty, Jonathan Quick and Anze Kopitar all won awards last season, so that should have some indication of how they’ll do this season. They’ll probably make the Western Conference Final and have to play the Chicago Blackhawks again, won’t they?

    Minnesota Wild

    Unknown-2The Minnesota Wild added Eric Staal to their roster this offseason and most recently (and more important than Staal), Teemu Pulkkinen.

    Chris Stewart returned to the Wild organization after a trip around the league (or so it seemed) and everything else pretty much remained the same.

    So if you’re a Minnesota fan, first, good luck surviving the winter (as usual). Second, nobody knows how the Vikings are doing it, but they’re doing it. And third, the Wild aren’t going to be that great this season, so pick one of the first two options to bandwagon, if you would please.

    Montreal Canadiens

    Unknown-1The Montreal Canadiens traded P.K. Subban. That is all.

    But seriously, how could you, Montreal? Other than that, Alexander Radulov, Andrew Shaw and Shea Weber are all part of the team now, while Carey Price will miss the first game with the flu and Mike Condon got claimed off waivers by Pittsburgh. Looks like the team’s all yours, Al Montoya.

    Nashville Predators

    UnknownThe Nashville Predators acquired P.K. Subban this offseason. What were the Montreal Canadiens thinking?

    The Preds are letting their forwards develop and made their defense significantly better by getting rid of Shea Weber for Subban. Now if only Pekka Rinne would return to vintage Pekka Rinne form, then this could the year for Nashville. Then again, they’re in the same division as Chicago in an odd numbered playoff year, so…

    New Jersey Devils

    New Jersey Devils LogoThe New Jersey Devils restructured their forwards with the additions of Taylor Hall, Beau Bennett, Vernon Fiddler and P.A. Parenteau, but they still lack a defense (mostly). Brandon Gormley, Ben Lovejoy and Kyle Quincey are notable (somewhat) additions to the blue line in the Garden State.

    Andy Greene remains one of the strangest trivia questions when someone asks you “who is the current captain of the Devils?” And Cory Schneider is still a highly underrated goaltender that somehow manages to survive without a team in front of him. But at least New Jersey is gearing up for the underdog of the year status.

    New York Islanders

    New York Islanders LogoThe New York Islanders added a lot of veteran presence to their noticeably Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum-less organization (yes, I took a shot at Barclays Center, there). Jason Chimera, Andrew Ladd and Dennis Seidenberg are now members of the Islanders and well, at least Seidenberg’s contract is only for a year.

    As long as Jaroslav Halak plays like he did at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey (minus the final loss to Canada) and stays healthy, John Tavares and crew could lead this team further in the playoffs than in recent memory. Time may be winding down on their Cup contention clock, since Tavares is looking for an extension and well, everyone else on their roster is getting older.

    New York Rangers

    New York Rangers LogoIf winning the Jimmy Vesey sweepstakes counts for anything than the New York Rangers are winners. But they probably won’t be winners of much this season. Granted, they could make a playoff run (or miss it altogether), the same tune rings true, Henrik Lundqvist cannot be a team on his own.

    Josh Jooris and Mika Zibanejad are big name additions to the offense. Okay, so they’re just names added to the roster. Nick Holden is new to the Blueshirts blue line and well, they’re still an aging defense. Best of luck to the youth in the New York, like Vesey, Jesper Fast, Oscar Lindberg, Kevin Hayes and others for getting to play more than one position this year on the same shift.

    Ottawa Senators

    Unknown-6Chris Kelly is back with the Ottawa Senators this season after playing 11 games last year with the Boston Bruins and recovering from a broken femur. Derick Brassard was acquired from the Rangers in exchange for Mika Zibanejad and Bobby Ryan switched his number from 6 to 9 (get your mind out of the gutter, Internet).

    Otherwise, the Senators remain virtually the same. On the outside looking in, but probably raising a few eyebrows for their late season surge. They’re still waiting on their youth, which is at least working better than it is for their counterparts in Ontario, the Toronto Maple Leafs (who, although contrary to popular belief, might actually be better this year).

    Philadelphia Flyers

    Philadelphia Flyers LogoThe Philadelphia Flyers already appear to be in midseason form, what with Radko Gudas‘s six-game suspension and their apparent preference for Steve Mason as their number one goalie, as usual.

    Boyd Gordon and Dale Weise are additions (though, can you really call them that?) and Travis Konecny and Ivan Provorov made the team from training camp (and the last couple of years of drafting), so the Flyers appear to be a middle of the pack team again this year.

    Additionally, they’ll face off with the Pittsburgh Penguins in this season’s Coors Light NHL Stadium Series game at Heinz Field on February 25, 2017 as part of the league’s 50th season celebration of the 1967 expansion. So yeah, that’s all I got for Philadelphia.

    Pittsburgh Penguins

    pittsburgh_penguins_logoThe Pittsburgh Penguins have virtually the same team from Game 6 of the 2016 Stanley Cup Final and look to defend their championship title without Sidney Crosby for at least game one of an 82 game regular season schedule.

    New goaltender, Mike Condon, could make things interesting when comes time to decide between Marc-Andre Fleury and Matt Murray before the 2017 expansion draft, since he could likely become Murray’s backup.

    San Jose Sharks

    UnknownJust like the Penguins, the San Jose Sharks roster remains virtually untouched since their loss in Game 6 of the 2016 Stanley Cup Final, which kind of makes you wonder, did anyone remember that there was an offseason?

    Matt Tennyson jettisoned to Carolina (I was dying to juxtaposition those words), where he was now sent down to the Charlotte Checkers. Roman Polak went back to Toronto and honestly, that was probably for the better for San Jose. Aaron Dell is the new backup to Martin Jones and would someone just let Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau win a Cup this year? I mean, if Phil Kessel can, then surely those guys can too.

    St. Louis Blues

    UnknownThe St. Louis Blues will be consciously uncoupling with Ken Hitchcock at the end of the season in his farewell to coaching tour. Mike Yeo has already been named as his replacement and has begun barking out orders at practice, similar to his meltdown in Minnesota (though I have not confirmed that).

    They lost David Backes to free agency, because the salary cap exists and good luck to the front office in St. Louis to try figure that one out in the next few years. Meanwhile they added Nail Yakupov for virtually nothing, though in their defense, they already had their own Yakupov in Magnus Paajarvi on their roster, so maybe this time they can make it work.

    Tampa Bay Lightning

    Unknown-3Nikita Kucherov and the Tampa Bay Lightning finally agreed to a three year bridge deal extension, so Lightning fans rejoice, your fountain of youth is still intact for now. Steven Stamkos stuck around for eight more years and GM Steve Yzerman can now take the next six months off until the playoffs when he has to start worrying about how far his team will go and what to do with Ben Bishop and Andrei Vasilevskiy.

    The Bolts look like geniuses here, for having developed their players well over the last few seasons and will more than likely dominant the Atlantic Division with their in-state rivals, the Florida Panthers. Sadly, Tampa probably won’t win the Cup because the Blackhawks exist and that whole 2013, 2015, 20??? pattern exists.

    Toronto Maple Leafs

    UnknownAuston Matthews.

    (Colby told me to just write that. I think it works).

     

     

     

     

    Vancouver Canucks

    UnknownLoui Eriksson joined fellow Swedes, Daniel and Henrik Sedin in Vancouver this offseason. So in other news, Team Sweden, feel free to send the Canucks some of your jerseys, because after looking at the rest of the roster, I’m sure they don’t want to be associated with whatever Vancouver’s front office is doing.

    Vancouver added Erik Gudbranson. At the cost of Jared McCann to the Florida Panthers. Actually, from the sound of it, it wasn’t a cost at all. The Canucks hate youths. Millennials ruin everything. Best of luck to you Ryan Miller and Jacob Markstrom.

    Washington Capitals

    Washington Capitals LogoThe Washington Capitals acquired Lars Eller this offseason, so that’s good, but they also signed Brett Connolly via free agency (so that’s bad). But let’s be honest, the Capitals will probably make the former 6th overall pick better than he’s ever been. Or at least playing on a line with Alex Ovechkin, T.J. Oshie, Evgeny Kuznetsov or Nicklas Backstrom will probably help with that.

    So basically, the outlook for Washington is this: they’re a good team, they’ll do well, Braden Holtby is elite and they’ll win a lot. Maybe a Cup run is in their future.

    Winnipeg Jets

    Unknown-4Patrik Laine was selected 2nd overall at this year’s draft by the Winnipeg Jets, Blake Wheeler was named captain and Winnipeg finally moved on from Ondrej Pavelec (by sending him to Manitoba).

    What’s that? Jacob Trouba is still a RFA? He wants to be TRADED? Forget all of the good storylines going for the Jets, the Trouba dilemma overshadows everything especially after Rasmus Ristolainen re-signed with the Sabres and began the end of the stare down between Ristolainen, Hampus Lindholm and Trouba as to which RFA defenseman would make a move first. So Kevin Cheveldayoff, who are you going to trade Trouba to? Asking for a friend. No, but seriously, he doesn’t want to miss playing time.

    *Honorable mention* Las Vegas _____ Knights

    Honestly, somebody just name the team already. I want to start working on coming up with a uniform in NHL 17’s Franchise Mode for you, Bill Foley.

    President’s Trophy Winner

    If you’re Canadian, this doesn’t matter. If you’re American, good luck. Oh, you meant the President’s Trophy, as in “the team with the best record at the end of the regular season in the NHL”? Well, probably can’t go wrong with the Washington Capitals for that one, unlike their other Washington counterparts that have marred records.

    1st Place in the Atlantic Division at season’s end– Florida Panthers or Tampa Bay Lightning, basically the entire state of Florida

    One of the teams in Florida will win the Atlantic Division, that’s really all I know.

    1st Place in the Metropolitan Division at season’s end– Pittsburgh Penguins

    It’s no cakewalk, but Matt Murray and Marc-Andre Fleury live up to that “two is better than one” mantra (sorry Jaroslav Halak and Thomas Greiss).

    1st Place in the Central Division at season’s end– Nashville Predators

    It doesn’t really matter who clinches the Central Division this season because they’re still going to lose in the 2nd or 3rd round of the playoffs.

    1st Place in the Pacific Division at season’s end– Los Angeles Kings

    Winning the division isn’t everything. Just ask the 2015-2016 Anaheim Ducks and the late 2000s/early 2010s San Jose Sharks. Unfortunately what this means for Los Angeles is that they’ll be out in seven games in the first round.

  • Down the Frozen River Podcast #33- We’re Baaack!

    Down the Frozen River Podcast #33- We’re Baaack!

    The Down the Frozen River crew returns as Colby, Frank and Nick discuss several of the offseason’s biggest stories, including Las Vegas, the day hockey Twitter erupted and some of the best and worst free agent signings. As well, the DTFR crew talks about some World Cup of Hockey replacements. As always, stayed tuned for weekly coverage of the latest news and notes around the NHL every week on the Down the Frozen River Podcast.

    *Editor’s note: Due to a technological crisis that was averted, this episode was recorded on Friday of last week and finally salvaged to being released this week. We’ll have another episode that should go smoothly this Friday. Oh and don’t mind the flushing toilet sound in this one… Connor’s not our next door neighbor anymore so stuff like that might happen because we can’t control strangers (please come back Connor).*

    Join the conversation, make a suggestion, or ask a question for our next podcast using #AskDownTheFrozenRiver or #DTFRPodcast on Twitter and/or drop us a line on Facebook– your thoughts might make it on our show!

  • Vesey’s Pieces

    By: Nick Lanciani

    Bad forced play-on-word attempts are my middle name, so in “Vesey’s Pieces” I take a look at what teams have the right pieces in place to lock up Jimmy Vesey on August 15th (if he doesn’t re-sign with the Buffalo Sabres before then).

    Here’s a list of teams that could sign Vesey:

    Anaheim Ducks, Arizona Coyotes, Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Calgary Flames, Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche, Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings, Edmonton Oilers, Florida Panthers, Las Vegas, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Wild, Montreal Canadiens, Nashville Predators, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Ottawa Senators, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, St. Louis Blues, San Jose Sharks, Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks, Washington Capitals, Winnipeg Jets

    Yes, that list includes Las Vegas, because wouldn’t it be funny if Jimmy Vesey decided to wait another year just to mess with everyone and give him 31 options instead of 30?

    Also, I know the salary cap exists, but teams are allowed to exceed the cap by 10% without facing penalty in the offseason. By training camp each organization must be cap compliant, meaning that any team could sign Vesey to the maximum amount of $925,000 on August 15th and spend the rest of the offseason figuring out who they’ll trade or send down to the AHL to fit under the salary cap.

    Realistically, let’s take a look at who’s in play, shall we?

    The fact of the matter is that Jimmy Vesey’s agent seems to confirm just about anything that’s been asked. Are the Bruins interested? Are the Blackhawks interested? Are the Sabres interested? Is Toronto interested? Does Jimmy think a hot dog is a sandwich?

    All of these questions seem to be met with a “yes” or “there’s a mutual interest something something they’re expected to be on the short list something something get out of here with your hot dog takes.”

    Enough foolishness aside, Colby Kephart and I agreed on Tuesday in a private conversation that we’re both tired of the media circus that’s become the Vesey Decision 2016. It’s nothing against Vesey as a player, or his right to explore all of his options per the collective bargaining agreement in the manner that he is, but rather it’s the hype that we’re annoyed about.

    Nobody is questioning his ability, having amassed 24-22-46 totals in 33 games this season with the Harvard Crimson and 32-26-58 totals the year before that in 37 games played. That’s 104 points in 70 games over his final two seasons with the Crimson, if you can’t do the math. Vesey’s numbers have grown and his playing style has developed as he’s gone through four years at Harvard, in the midst of one of the greatest college hockey cities in the United States- all while not being put against Hockey East universities on the regular, mind you.

    That’s not to discredit the ECAC either. Vesey is a college standout. He’s the real deal, but like any prospect, there’s a chance he won’t make as much of an impact as one would expect.

    And that is what hinges me from being able to say without a doubt he’s apt to be going to one team or another, because it all depends on how much of a risk teams are willing to take.

    Could he sign with his hometown team in Boston? Absolutely, but it’s not like the Bruins won’t be fine offensively if they don’t sign Vesey. Their top-six forwards are Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak, David Krejci, Matt Beleskey, David Backes and/or Frank Vatrano (which technically breaks the rules of limiting the discussion to just six players if one includes Vatrano).

    Would a solidified top-nine make the Bruins a better team? I guess you could say so, but that does nothing to improve their defense.

    Buffalo has been trying their hardest to keep Vesey around longer than just for this summer with their Jack Eichel diplomacy, but even there, it’s not like they’ll be that much better of a team or that much worse if they lose out on Vesey for only the cost of a third round pick. Keep in mind Boston traded a third round pick for Zac Rinaldo after all.

    The Sabres have a quality roster with the addition of Kyle Okposo this offseason and rising sophomore Eichel and friends. Tim Murray’s been making the right moves as their general manager and this could be the season that they get back into the playoffs if they play their cards right, their guys stay healthy and the right additions without subtracting reveal themselves throughout the season.

    They won’t lead the Atlantic Division, because hello, the entire state of Florida is good at hockey right now. Yet Buffalo will definitely be more competitive against a weakened, P.K. Subban-less Montreal Canadiens, the Ottawa Senators (who’ll end up overpaying Cody Ceci, just watch), Detroit Red Wings (who’ll probably miss the playoffs for the first time in forever) and Bruins (what’s a defense).

    As for Chicago, what are the odds that Vesey will win the Cup in his first season if he signs with them? Pretty great probably, but what are the odds that he’d get traded that offseason or in his first few years in the league from the Blackhawks? Also pretty good, since his last name isn’t Kane, Toews, Panarin, or Hossa (or any of their other core guys).

    It’s hard to crack the core in Chicago, even if they are to move Marian Hossa in the coming season(s). But it also looks like poor salary cap management may finally be catching up to them, ignoring the fact that this is what is said every other year about the Blackhawks.

    The Maple Leafs seem to be largely at play, what with Auston Matthews being a main attraction and Vesey’s family ties to the organization. While we’re on the subject of Toronto, why not take a look at the Arizona Coyotes who have done everything the Maple Leafs have dreamed of in one offseason at this point?

    There’s a great chance he’ll end up with an Original Six team, because that’s where it seems his interest resides. In the end it’s all about the best fit, which could sway Vesey to a team like the Coyotes where he has the chance to standout on the roster and against other teams, if that’s what he’s after. Or he could stay with the Sabres.

    Then again, he’ll probably sign with a team none of us expected him to sign with and disappoint every fanbase that was on edge, awaiting a signature on a piece of paper with their team’s logo on it.

    But hey, for the record, I’ve never had Reese’s Pieces which might shock you even more than Jimmy Vesey getting your hopes up and signing with a different team. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

     

  • Taylor or Tyler or Neither

    By: Nick Lanciani

    Unknown-5

    To kick off Wednesday afternoon’s unbelievable trades, Edmonton Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli made history. The wrong kind of history. Chiarelli already notoriously traded Tyler Seguin (the 2nd overall pick of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft) from the Boston Bruins to the Dallas Stars in a seven player deal in the 2013 offseason, but now he’s traded the 1st overall pick in 2010— Taylor Hall.

    Yes, left winger, Taylor Hall got traded on Wednesday from the Oilers to early candidate for the 2017 General Manager of the Year Award, Ray Shero’s New Jersey Devils— the other presumptive finalist is David Poile in Nashville, for landing P.K. Subban on the same afternoon— in exchange for defenseman, Adam Larsson.

    Chiarelli is the first general manager in any of the four major professional sports in North America to trade the first two picks in a draft (Hall and Seguin, 2010). Of note, he also acquired former 6th overall pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning that same year, Brett Connolly in his waning days as general manager of the Boston Bruins, in March 2014.

    To recap, the first six players from the 2010 NHL Entry Draft have all been traded.

    1. Taylor Hall (drafted by EDM, traded to NJ)
    2. Tyler Seguin (drafted by BOS, traded to DAL)
    3. Erik Gudbranson (drafted by FLA, traded to VAN)
    4. Ryan Johansen (drafted by CBJ, traded to NSH)
    5. Nino Niederreiter (drafted by NYI, traded to MIN)
    6. Brett Connolly (drafted by TB, traded to BOS)

    New Jersey finds themselves with a steal of a trade, having surrendered their 4th overall pick from the 2011 NHL Entry Draft in Adam Larsson to the struggling, but in bad need of a top-4 defenseman, Edmonton Oilers.

    New Jersey Devils LogoOf course, there’s the fact that Larsson had been sent to the Albany Devils (AHL) a couple of seasons ago for a conditioning stint, but that should be no distraction as to the lack of exponential growth that was expected from the 4th overall pick in 2011 that’s now expected to likely play top-2 minutes in Edmonton with a depleted blue line, unless the Oilers have more tricks up their sleeves.

    Hall is a 24-year-old left winger who’s $6.000 million AAV contract runs out at the end of the 2019-2020 season. In his six years with the Oilers he had 132-196-328 totals in 381 career NHL games. Hall led Edmonton in scoring in three of the last four seasons. He had 26 goals, 39 assists and 65 points in 82 games this season.

    Larsson is a 23-year-old defenseman who has played in 274 regular season games with the Devils. His $4.167 million AAV contract expires after the 2020-2021 season and he has recorded 69 points in his career (9 goals, 60 assists). Larsson’s made five appearances in the postseason and scored one goal in that span.

    It took Peter Chiarelli nine days to find a job after the Bruins fired him on April 15, 2015. It took him one star player involving trade to make Oilers fans feel just as Bruins fans did on July 4th, 2013 (when Boston traded Seguin under Chiarelli’s reigns).

  • Patrick Roy Part Deux

    By: Nick Lanciani

    Unknown-1

    The Montreal Canadiens made a blockbuster trade on Wednesday that might now result in the Colorado Avalanche winning the Cup with Patrick Roy, oh excuse me, I read that wrong. The Canadiens made a trade on Wednesday that might result in the Nashville Predators winning the Cup in 2017 with P.K. Subban.

    About fifteen minutes after Edmonton Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli traded the 1st overall pick of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, LW Taylor Hall to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for D Adam Larsson in one of the most lopsided one-for-one trades in the NHL, the Montreal Canadiens decided to one up their Canadian comrades.

    After Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin remained adamant about not having an interest in trading P.K. Subban, he traded P.K. Subban.

    What else is there that needs to be said?

    UnknownSubban is signed with a $9.000 million cap hit through the 2021-2022 season, while Shea Weber heads from Nashville to Montreal with a $7.857 million contract that runs out after the 2025-2026 season when he’ll be 40 years old.

    Again, that’s Subban— in the early days of his prime— heading to Nashville for Weber— who might be the next Andrei Markov— in return. Granted, both of these guys have 100 MPH slap shots.

    This entire ordeal has the smell of Patrick Roy’s goaltending equipment still fresh from the mid-90s all over it, since apparently Subban had his quarrels with Montreal’s head coach, Michel Therrien, reminiscent of the days of Roy and Mario Tremblay.

    Wikipedia didn’t take too kindly to the trade.

    Screen Shot 2016-06-29 at 5.09.14 PM.png

    Subban is a 27-year-old defenseman that is a product of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft (43rd overall). He had 278 career points (63 goals, 215 assists) with Montreal in 434 career regular season games since making his NHL debut in 2009. In 55 career playoff games, Subban had 11-27-38 totals and won the Norris Trophy as the league’s best defenseman in 2013 with the Habs.

    Weber is a 30-year-old defenseman that was selected 49th overall by the Predators in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft and served as Nashville’s captain from 2010 to 2016. In 763 career games, he had 166-277-443 totals. Weber has been a finalist for the Norris Trophy on three occasions in his career.

    Finally…

    …I rest my case.