Down the Frozen River

Tag: Roman Polak

  • What does Don Sweeney need to do to make it up to you by the 2022 trade deadline? (Part 1)

    What does Don Sweeney need to do to make it up to you by the 2022 trade deadline? (Part 1)

    Chapter One- In The Beginning… (2016)

    With over two months until the 2022 NHL trade deadline on March 21st, there’s plenty of time to start speculating about what kind of moves— if any— would make the most sense for the Boston Bruins in their 2021-22 endeavor.

    Though it wasn’t easy at the start of his tenure as General Manager, Don Sweeney, has significantly improved his trading prowess as the deadline approaches from season to season in Boston.

    That said, not every trade has yielded a gold mine for the Bruins and they’ve yet to win the Stanley Cup since 2011, despite making it all the way to Game 7 of the 2019 Stanley Cup Final on home ice and winning the Presidents’ Trophy the following season (2019-20).

    For the record, a lot has changed in both the league itself, as well as the team’s development since the days of acquiring guys like John-Michael Liles and Lee Stempniak on Feb. 29, 2016, instead of swinging for the fences and landing, uh, guys like Pat Maroon, Kris Russell or Mikkel Boedker at the 2016 trade deadline.

    In retrospect, maybe there really wasn’t that much of a market that season.

    Sure, Eric Staal was traded to the New York Rangers the day before the 2016 trade deadline on Feb. 28th, but he only managed to amass six points in 20 games with the Rangers down the stretch.

    Staal then joined the Minnesota Wild in free agency on July 1, 2016, and had four seasons of a career resurgence before he was traded to the Buffalo Sabres prior to the 2020-21 season— whereby he was later flipped to the Montréal Canadiens— only to end up losing in the 2021 Stanley Cup Final to the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games.

    These days he has been invited to Team Canada’s training camp for the 2022 Winter Games as he’s currently an unrestricted free agent.

    More and more recently, the bigger trades happen in the last couple of weeks leading up to the deadline itself, so let’s widen the scope a bit for 2016, just for a second.

    The Florida Panthers added Jakub Kindl from the Detroit Red Wings, Jiri Hudler from the Calgary Flames and Teddy Purcell from the Edmonton Oilers on Feb. 27th that year.

    Kindl spent parts of two seasons in Florida before leaving for Europe after the 2016-17 season, Hudler joined the Dallas Stars for 2016-17, and promptly retired thereafter, while Purcell joined the Los Angeles Kings in 2016-17, before joining the Bruins on a PTO at training camp in 2017, prior to being released then spent the 2017-18 season in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) and retired thereafter.

    One other team tried going for it in the rental market, as Chicago acquired Tomáš Fleischmann and Dale Weise from the Montréal Canadiens for Phillip Danault and a 2018 2nd round pick (38th overall, Alexander Romanov), added Christian Ehrhoff from Los Angeles for Rob Scuderi and dealt Marko Dano, a 2016 1st round pick (later flipped to the Philadelphia Flyers, 22nd overall—selected German Rubtsov) and a conditional 2018 3rd round pick (the condition was not met) to the Winnipeg Jets for Jay Harrison, Andrew Ladd and Matt Fraser.

    Fleischmann retired after that season, Weise left for the Philadelphia Flyers in free agency that summer, Ehrhoff went back to Europe, Harrison never suited up for Chicago, Ladd had 12 points in 19 games— then joined the New York Islanders in free agency— and Fraser also never suited up in a Chicago uniform.

    So, the rental market didn’t really pan out that year.

    The San Jose Sharks added James Reimer and Jeremy Morin from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for Ben Smith, Alex Stalock and a 2018 3rd round pick (83rd overall, Riley Stotts) the same day the Panthers made all of their moves.

    Reimer went on to serve as a decent backup to Martin Jones in San Jose’s 2016 Stanley Cup Final appearance before ultimately losing in six games to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

    The Sharks also bolstered their blue line five days prior in a separate trade with Toronto on the 22nd, in which San Jose acquired Roman Polák and Nick Spaling from the Maple Leafs for Raffi Torres, a 2017 2nd round pick (later flipped to the Anaheim Ducks, 50th overall— Maxime Comtois) and a 2018 2nd round pick (52nd overall, Sean Durzi), but again, neither of those deals were earth-shattering.

    Polák was in search of a Cup ring late in his career (despite playing four more seasons afterward) and had three assists in 24 games with San Jose in the regular season before failing to put up a point in 24 Stanley Cup Playoff games as a Shark prior to rejoining Toronto via free agency that summer.

    Spaling at least had 2-4—6 totals in 24 games down the stretch with the Sharks and even recorded an assist in 24 playoff games before— like the rest of the team— losing to the Penguins in the Final and leaving the NHL for the Swiss League that summer.

    In terms of immediate impact, the Sharks got their money’s worth (kind of), but for a trio of rental players.

    San Jose’s deals might have been the biggest trades not involving the Bruins in the buildup to one of Sweeney’s most often criticized trade deadlines because first impressions mean a lot to some in the Boston fanbase.

    What was made available, however, didn’t amount to much.

    Although, there is enough credibility to the thought that the Bruins should’ve sold high on Loui Eriksson at the time when they could’ve shipped him out of the Hub at a premium before missing the playoffs for a second-straight year.

    Instead, Eriksson went on to amass 63 points (30 goals, 33 assists) in all 82 games with Boston in his first healthy season in the three years he had been there after the Tyler Seguin trade (which happened under previous General Manager, Peter Chiarelli, while Sweeney worked in a player development role)— and signed on the dotted line with the Vancouver Canucks on July 1, 2016, leaving Boston with nothing in his wake.

    This, after the Bruins (42-31-9, 93 points, 4th in the Atlantic Division) missed the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs by virtue of a tiebreaker with the Red Wings (41-30-11, 93 points, 3rd in the Atlantic) who had 39 regulation plus overtime wins (ROW) to Boston’s 38.

    Two teams from the Metropolitan Division— the Islanders and the Flyers— clinched the Eastern Conference wild card playoff berths with 100 and 96 points, respectively, in the standings.

    As for the biggest deal leading up to the 2016 trade deadline, you’d probably have to move the goalposts a little bit on the “within two weeks before the deadline itself” rule to find the best deal.

    But the Ottawa Senators were the beneficiary of a revival on Feb. 9, 2016, when they traded Colin Greening, Milan Michalek, Jared Cowen, Tobias Lindberg and a 2017 2nd round pick (59th overall, Eemeli Räsänen) to Toronto for Dion Phaneuf (captain of the Maple Leafs at the time), Matt Frattin, Ryan Rupert, Casey Bailey and Cody Donaghey.

    Phaneuf had a late career renaissance with the Sens and proved to be pivotal in their run to the 2017 Eastern Conference Final the following year— only to lose on the road in a Game 7 against the Penguins, 3-2, in double overtime.

    Pittsburgh, by the way, went on to repeat as Stanley Cup champions that June.

    Frattin never suited up for the Senators and left for the KHL after spending a year with the Stockton Heat (AHL) in 2016-17.

    Rupert was mired in the minors until going to Europe in 2018-19, while Bailey played in seven games for Ottawa in 2016-17, then spent time split between the American Hockey League and Europe since then (currently in the DEL).

    Donaghey, on the other hand, played in one AHL game in 2017-18, before spending the majority of his time in the ECHL prior to leaving for Europe last season (currently in the ELH).

    But Phaneuf brought his $7.000 million cap hit to the Sens and actually saved the team money since they shipped out Greening ($2.650 million), Michalek ($4.000 million) and Cowen ($3.100 million) as part of the package— adding about $2.750 million towards the cap for Toronto in the deal.

    Of course, the Leafs went on to win the 2016 Draft Lottery and selected Auston Matthews 1st overall that June, so it wasn’t all that bad.

    In 51 games with the Maple Leafs prior to the trade in the 2015-16 season, Phaneuf had 3-21—24 totals. In 20 games with Ottawa, he had 1-7—8 totals.

    The following year, he had 9-21—30 totals in 81 games and put up five points (one goal, four assists) from the blue line in 19 playoff games in 2017.

    He then had 3-13—16 totals in 53 games with Ottawa in 2017-18, before he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings in another deal that— you guessed it, saved the Senators some money (only about $1.100 million this time around).

    Phaneuf had 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in 26 games with Los Angeles and recorded an assist in the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs as the Kings were swept by the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2018 First Round.

    Then in 2018-19, he amassed 1-5—6 totals in 67 games and had the last two years of his contract bought out by Los Angeles on June 15, 2019.

    He didn’t officially retire until Nov. 16, 2021, and spent parts of two seasons following Brendan Shanahan around in his role as president and alternate governor of the Leafs.

    Though he wasn’t scoring 40, 50 or even 60 points as a defender like he did in his prime with the Calgary Flames, Phaneuf was still the rugged and durable veteran blue liner that he was in his short tenure from before the 2016 deadline until about his final season and injury was really the only thing that did him in at the end due to his physical style.

    He had value and the Leafs just gave him up to their intra-provincial rivals about three years before Toronto repeated themselves in giving Ottawa a better defender (Nikita Zaitsev) for a younger defender (Cody Ceci) that just didn’t really pan out as part of a larger package in a trade on July 1, 2019.

    Anyway, that last part was really just for those of you that made it this far and care about things outside of just the Bruins organization.

    We’ll move on to analyzing Sweeney’s deadline deals since 2016, in the next chapter.

  • DTFR Podcast #201- Summer School (Since Summer Camp Is A Sponsored MLB Thing Now)

    DTFR Podcast #201- Summer School (Since Summer Camp Is A Sponsored MLB Thing Now)

    Dates, awards finalists, opting out, new faces, exhibition schedule and the Ottawa Senators rebrand.

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

  • Bruins depth shines in Dallas, win, 2-1

    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.

  • DTFR Podcast #162- Battle For Gloria (Part Four- The Blues Have Won)

    DTFR Podcast #162- Battle For Gloria (Part Four- The Blues Have Won)

    The Battle For Gloria concludes. The Jeff Skinner extension is analyzed. What to do with Corey Perry? As well as everyone’s favorite game returns.

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

  • Marchand wins it in OT, 2-1, Rask, Khudobin battle in net

    For the first time since 1967, the Boston Bruins have an overtime win against the Dallas Stars/Minnesota North Stars franchise in the regular season. As a result of Brad Marchand‘s game-winning goal on the 5-on-3 power play in overtime, the Bruins are now 1-3-8 overall against the Stars when the game goes past 60-minutes in the regular season.

    Former teammates and (still) good friends, Tuukka Rask and Anton Khudobin were in goal for their respective teams as Rask minded the net for Boston and Khudobin took to the crease for Dallas.

    Rask (4-3-0, 2.78 goals against average, .909 save percentage in 7 games played this season) made 24 saves on 25 shots against for a .960 SV% in 64:29 time on ice in the win for Boston, while Khudobin made (2-1-1, 2.21 GAA, .929 SV% in 4 GP) 33 saves on 35 shots faced for a .943 SV% in the loss.

    The Bruins improved to 8-4-2 (18 points) on the season and remained in 3rd place in the Atlantic Division, while the Stars fell to 8-5-1 (17 points) and moved into 3rd place in the Central Division.

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    Bruce Cassidy made a few minor adjustments to his lineup Monday night, sliding Danton Heinen down to the third line with David Backes and Anders Bjork to start the night, while Joakim Nordstrom kicked things off with David Krejci and Jake DeBrusk on the second line.

    On defense, Zdeno Chara remained paired with Brandon Carlo and Torey Krug remained partners with John Moore, while Matt Grzelcyk returned to the lineup from a lower body injury.

    Grzelcyk took his usual spot on the third defensive pair to the left of Steven Kampfer while Jeremy Lauzon was left as the odd man out as a healthy scratch.

    Anton Blidh was recalled from the Providence Bruins (AHL) on emergency basis in case Chris Wagner wouldn’t be good enough to go as a game-time decision, but was not needed in Monday night’s matchup.

    Charlie McAvoy (upper body), Urho Vaakanainen (concussion) and Kevan Miller (hand) remain out of Boston’s lineup due to injury.

    Early in the first period Roman Polak interfered with Bruins forward, Brad Marchand, and was sent to the box with a minor penalty at 3:25.

    Less than 30 seconds later, Boston’s power play unit was more than power less as Radek Faksa (3) entered the zone without any deterrent for an unassisted short handed goal, firing a shot past Rask and giving Dallas the 1-0 lead at 3:51 of the first period.

    Though they could’ve gotten behind the eight-ball, the Bruins trudged on and capitalized on the same special teams advantage moments later.

    Patrice Bergeron found David Pastrnak (12) in the open to the left of Khudobin acting as the bumper on the power play and sent a crisp pass for the one-timer power play goal at 5:11, tying the game, 1-1.

    Bergeron (13) and DeBrusk (1) were tabbed with the assists on Pastrnak’s goal and the Bruins not only leveled the scoreboard, 1-1, but the momentum swing game too. Boston had scored 1:20 after Dallas opened the game’s scoring.

    After their power play goal, Boston didn’t let up on the gas pedal, pressuring the Stars in every inch of the ice and supplying Khudobin with a tremendous workload.

    Through one period of play the game was tied, 1-1, on the scoreboard while the B’s led in shots on goal, 13-4. Dallas held onto the advantage in blocked shots (3-0), takeaways (5-4), giveaways (2-0) and face-off win percentage (53-47) after 20 minutes of play, while both teams notched nine hits aside.

    The Stars had yet to see any time on the power play, while the Bruins were 1/1 on the skater advantage.

    Despite allowing more shots on goal than putting pucks on net in the second period, Boston maintained a, 21-13, advantage in shots on goal entering the second period as the game remained tied, 1-1, through two periods.

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    Dallas continued to lead in blocked shots (9-0), giveaways (7-6) and hits (24-19) heading into the dressing room for the second intermission, while the Bruins led in face-off win% (53-47). Both teams recorded nine takeaways through 40 minutes of play.

    Neither club added any penalty minutes to the scoresheet heading into the third period.

    Krug took the only penalty for Boston in the game past the midpoint of the third period as he collided with Gemel Smith and received a boarding minor at 11:15.

    The Stars failed to convert on their only power play opportunity of the game, while the Bruins successfully killed off Krug’s infraction.

    After 60 minutes, the game was still tied, 1-1, and the Bruins were outshooting Dallas, 32-23 (11-10 in the third period). The Stars maintained a stronghold in blocked shots (13-3) and led in hits (30-26) after regulation, while Boston led takeaways (14-12) and face-off win% (52-48).

    Both teams had nine giveaways aside heading into overtime, while Dallas was 0/1 on the power play and the B’s were 1/1.

    Entering overtime, Boston had yet to win past 60 minutes this season, dropping a game in Edmonton, 3-2, and a game in Vancouver, 2-1, last month– both in overtime, while the Stars were 1-0 in overtime this season.

    After a bungled line change resulted in a too many men bench minor for Dallas, Mattias Janmark was sent to the both to serve the infraction and Stars head coach, Jim Montgomery rallied his remaining skaters on the ice, despite facing an uphill 4-on-3 penalty kill to climb with 1:44 remaining in overtime.

    That’s right, regardless of the outcome, Boston would have a power play until the end of the game– win or lose.

    Things got worse for Dallas when Esa Lindell cross-checked Marchand 11 seconds later along the boards and the Stars went from being down one skater to facing a two-skater disadvantage to finish the night.

    While on the 5-on-3 power play, Boston worked the puck around the goal firing a quality shot on Khudobin that the Stars netminder denied before finally cracking the code.

    After working the puck around the zone, Krejci found Marchand working the low slot– point blank– on the left side of the Dallas goaltender. Marchand (5) promptly elevated a snap shot past Khudobin’s blocker and into the goal for the game-winning overtime power play goal at 4:29 of the overtime period.

    Krejci (8) and Krug (2) picked up the primary and secondary assists on the Bruins franchise leading overtime game-winning goal scorer’s goal and Boston secured the 2-1 victory Monday night at home.

    Boston finished the night leading in shots on goal (35-25) and face-off win% (55-45), while Dallas led in blocked shots (13-4), giveaways (10-9) and hits (32-26). The Stars were 0/1 on the power play, while the Bruins went 2/3 on the skater advantage.

    With Monday night’s win, the Bruins look to build the momentum against the Vancouver Canucks this Thursday at TD Garden as Boston continues their four-game home stand.

    The Toronto Maple Leafs are in town Saturday and the Vegas Golden Knights swing through on Sunday before Boston hits the road for a four-game road trip starting in Colorado.

  • Game of the week: October 29-November 4

    As the calendar flips from October to November, the NHL’s powers are beginning to flex their muscles while the league’s less-talented members are already counting the days until April 6.

    Some of that can be seen in the games already played this week (take a look at what a good Devils team suffered in its trip to Tampa), while there’s more than a few games coming up in the remaining four days that will help us better predict some teams’ playoff potentials.

    NHL SCHEDULE: OCTOBER 29-November 4
    TIME (ALL TIMES EASTERN) VISITOR HOST NATIONAL BROADCAST(S)/
    Result
    Monday, October 29
    7 p.m. Calgary Toronto 3-1
    10 p.m. Minnesota Vancouver 2-5
    Tuesday, October 30
    7 p.m. Calgary Buffalo 2-1 (OT)
    7 p.m. New York Islanders Pittsburgh Penguins 6-3
    7 p.m. Boston Carolina 3-2
    7 p.m. Detroit Columbus 5-3
    7:30 p.m. Dallas Montréal 4-1
    7:30 p.m. New Jersey Tampa Bay 3-8
    8 p.m. Vegas Nashville 1-4
    9 p.m. Minnesota Edmonton 4-3
    10 p.m. Ottawa Arizona 1-5
    10 p.m. Philadelphia Anaheim 3-2
    10:30 p.m. New York Rangers San Jose Sharks 4-3 (SO)
    Wednesday, October 31
    10 p.m. Chicago Vancouver 2-4
    Thursday, November 1
    2 p.m. Winnipeg Florida NBCSN
    7 p.m. Dallas Toronto
    7 p.m. Pittsburgh Penguins New York Islanders SN360
    7:30 p.m. Washington Montréal RDS, TSN2
    7:30 p.m. Buffalo Ottawa RDS2
    7:30 p.m. New Jersey Detroit
    7:30 p.m. Nashville Tampa Bay
    8 p.m. Vegas St. Louis
    9 p.m. Colorado Calgary SN1
    9 p.m. Chicago Edmonton
    10 p.m. New York Rangers Anaheim Ducks
    10:30 p.m. Philadelphia Los Angeles
    10:30 p.m. Columbus San Jose
    Friday, November 2
    2 p.m. Florida Winnipeg NHLN
    10 p.m. Colorado Vancouver NHLN
    10 p.m. Carolina Arizona
    saturday, November 3
    2 p.m. Ottawa Buffalo RDS
    7 p.m. Tampa Bay Montréal CITY, SN360, TVAS
    7 p.m. Edmonton Detroit SN
    7 p.m. New Jersey Devils New York Islanders
    7 p.m. Toronto Pittsburgh CBC, NHLN, SN1
    7 p.m. Dallas Washington
    8 p.m. Minnesota St. Louis
    8 p.m. Boston Nashville
    10 p.m. Carolina Vegas
    10 p.m. Chicago Blackhawks Calgary Flames CBC, CITY, SN, SN1, SN360
    10:30 p.m. Columbus Los Angeles
    10:30 p.m. Philadelphia San Jose
    SunDay, November 4
    7 p.m. Tampa Bay Ottawa NHLN, SN, TVAS
    7 p.m. Buffalo Sabres New York Rangers
    9 p.m. Columbus Anaheim

    As usual, there’s more than a few tilts that caught my attention on this week’s slate. I’m always a big fan of rivalries (New York at Pittsburgh, Chicago at Vancouver, Pittsburgh at New York, Buffalo at Ottawa and Ottawa at Buffalo) and players returning to their former home arenas (W Tom Kuhnhackl and F Joakim Nordstrom made their first trips back to Pittsburgh and Carolina, respectively, on Tuesday, while D Roman Polak is heading back to Toronto tonight), but we also get the added benefits of this year’s NHL Global Series between Florida and Winnipeg in Finland as well as an Eastern Conference Quarterfinal rematch between New Jersey and Tampa Bay.

    However, with all of that being said, there’s another huge matchup happening this Thursday that rivals last week’s Toronto-Winnipeg showdown.

    The reigning regular season conference champions are going at it tonight, so grab your popcorn and settle in to enjoy a great game!

    Wait, what? This showdown isn’t on national T.V. in either Canada or the States, but a game between two one-win NFL teams is?

    This is lunacy.

    I’m not saying to stream this tilt by any means necessary, but I’m not saying not to stream this tilt by any means necessary.

    Regardless of the legality of your decision, it’s a choice you certainly won’t regret as both the Preds and Bolts are off to hot starts this season, surely inspired at least somewhat by dreams left unfulfilled during the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Both were their respective conferences’ No. 1 seeds this spring, but they both got knocked off on home ice in a winner-take-all Game 7 (the Predators fell to Winnipeg in the Second Round, while Tampa lost to Washington in the Eastern Conference Final).

    At least Smashville got the Presidents’ Trophy, right? Not to mention its prestigious “Regular Season Western Conference Champions” banner.

    Sorry, that’s the last time I’ll point out the Predators’ unprecedented award that should probably be penalized for excessive celebration.

    Hopefully.

    Just as they did last season, the 9-3-0 Predators currently sit atop the Central Division, the Western Conference and the NHL with the best record of all 31 teams.

    The major reason for the Preds’ success is undoubtedly their goaltending tandem of 3-1-0 Pekka Rinne and 6-2-0 Juuse Saros. Even though they do have the luxury of playing behind the league’s 11th-best defense in terms of shots against per game (W Viktor Arvidsson‘s 12 takeaways, D Ryan Ellis‘ two blocks per game and F Zac Rinaldo‘s 2.3 hits per game have been major factors in Nashville’s 29.92 shots against per game), both have been integral in keeping the Predators’ goals allowed per game at 2.42 – the (t)third-best mark in the league. Both boast save percentages better than .915 and GAAs at or below 2.5, not to mention a shutout apiece.

    After being activated from Injured Reserve yesterday (G Troy Grosenick made room on the roster by heading back to Milwaukee), it seems likely that Rinne will be the starter this evening. In his first five starts this season before going down with an undisclosed ailment, the Finn posted a .929 save percentage and 2.1 GAA – both of which are top-six among the 36 netminders with at least five starts to their credit.

    Regardless of who’s in net, don’t focus too much on that or you’ll miss Nashville’s outstanding offense that ranks second-best in the conference and (t)sixth-best in the league by averaging 3.5 goals per game. In particular, no Predator has been as dominant as F Filip Forsberg, who’s 10-4-14 totals leave no doubt as to who’s the best scorer in Tennessee.

    Forsberg’s 10 goals are (t)third-most in the NHL, trailing league-leaders F Patrick Kane (CHI) and RW David Pastrnak (BOS) by only one marker. After scoring a hat trick against Edmonton on Saturday (he scored all of Nashville’s goals in a 5-3 loss), the Swede was totally kept off the scoreboard Tuesday against Vegas, so he’ll be extra motivated to notch another tally tonight.

    The team the Predators are leading for the Presidents’ Trophy are none other than the 8-2-1 Lightning, last season’s preseason darlings that have been ignored – rather unwisely, I might add – by the media in favor of division-rival Toronto so far this year.

    The Leafs might be getting all the attention, but it’s business as usual in central Florida as the Bolts are leading the Eastern Conference just like last campaign. Tampa still boasts a dominant offense, not to mention a stellar goaltender and overpowering special teams.

    Led from the second line by F Brayden Point and his 7-7-14 totals – not to mention RW Nikita Kucherov and F Yanni Gourde‘s respective 5-7-12 and 4-8-12 efforts – Tampa’s attack is among the most feared in the league, scoring 3.64 goals per game to rank third-best.

    Only two days ago against New Jersey in an 8-3 victory, Point notched an outstanding five-point game, but if recent performances are any indication, he likely won’t find the scorecard tonight: his last five games saw him score 5, 0, 1, 0 and 3 points respectively.

    Defensively, there’s not much to talk about with the Lightning since D Victor Hedman is still on Injured Reserve. The Bolts’ blue line has suffered during his absence, allowing a 12th-worst 32.36 shots against per game for the season.

    However, who needs a defense when you have 6-1-1 G Andrei Vasilevskiy playing for your team? Vasilevskiy has already been confirmed to be starting this game and will look to improve upon his .935 save percentage and 1.98 GAA that both already rank top-five among the 36 goalies with at least five starts to their names.

    If this game boils down to special teams, there’s no way the Lightning aren’t coming away with two points. Tampa Bay leads Nashville in both statistics, including owning the league’s top-rated penalty kill (93.2 percent) that will be more than enough to counteract anything the Preds’ fourth-worst power play (13.3 percent) can muster.

    Similarly, Tampa Bay’s power play will be a Halloween hangover to the Predators tonight, as a 29.3 success rate is good enough to rank sixth-best in the NHL – especially when it gets to go to work against the 10th-worst penalty kill (75 percent).

    If Nashville’s penalty kill is going to have any success, it should probably try to keep F J.T. Miller under wraps as much as possible. Of his 3-7-10 totals on the year, 3-2-5 have occurred with the man-advantage. If those numbers don’t communicate just how potent he’s been, Miller’s .571 power play face-off winning percentage and .429 power play shooting percentage should do the trick.

    An interesting note surrounding this game is its location. While it would be assumed that the Lightning would have the advantage considering they are at home, their 5-1-0 record at Amalie Arena is challenged by the Predators’ outstanding 5-0-0 road mark. With that in mind, there is no doubt Smashville is going to throw everything it has at tonight’s host.

    There’s no doubt that this is going to be a showdown of the ages, just as should be expected from the top two teams in the league. But which one wins?

    That’s the tough question.

    I’m going to go out on a limb and take the Predators tonight. I think their offense is more than good enough to take advantage of the Lightning’s weakened defense corps. That being said, Vasilevskiy is going to be a difficult wall to break (as should Rinne be for the Bolts), so I’m predicting only a 2-1 victory for the visitors.

  • DTFR Podcast #125- 2018-19 Metropolitan Division Season Preview

    DTFR Podcast #125- 2018-19 Metropolitan Division Season Preview

    Injuries, Stealth, Miles Wood, Brian Gionta’s retirement, Gritty, Ottawa, Shea Theodore and our 2018-19 Metropolitan Division Season Preview. Bring on the regular season already.

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

  • Toronto Maple Leafs 2018-2019 Season Preview

    Toronto Maple Leafs

    49-26-7, 105 points, third in the Atlantic Division

    Lost in First Round to Boston, 4-3

    Additions: RW Adam Cracknell, F Tyler Ennis, C Josh Jooris, C Par Lindholm, G Eamon McAdam, D Igor Ozhiganov, D Jordan Subban, C John Tavares

    Subtractions: F Miro Aaltonen (signed with Vityaz Podolsk, KHL), RW Kyle Baun (signed with Belfast Giants, EIHL), C Tyler Bozak (signed with STL), W Martins Dzierkals (signed with Dinamo Riga, KHL), F Colin Greening (signed with Toronto Marlies, AHL), F Leo Komarov (signed with NYI), W Matt Martin (traded to NYI), C Tomas Plekanec (signed with MTL), D Roman Polak (signed with DAL), F Ben Smith (signed with Adler Mannheim, DEL), LW James van Riemsdyk (signed with PHI), LW Nolan Vesey (traded to EDM)

    Offseason Analysis: Let’s just get this out of the way early: Johnny T is coming home!

    I’m not even a Maple Leafs fan and that gets me mildly excited.

    After all, Tavares is departing a team that qualified for the playoffs only thrice during his nine-year tenure and joining one that scored a (t)third-best 270 goals last season without his offensive acumen. With Tavares’ 272-349-621 career totals effectively replacing Bozak’s 136-229-365 marks in just as many seasons (the only difference being Tavares will play no lower than on the second line, while Bozak was the Leafs’ third-line center), it’s safe to say Toronto’s offense – which was already stacked by simply mentioning C Auston Matthews‘ name – is now rivaled only by Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay and Winnipeg.

    So, that means the Leafs are locks for the Stanley Cup, right? I mean, that’s what all the Toronto fans have been telling me…

    Regrettably, I must poke a hole in that balloon, at least until the squad proves me wrong in the first month or so of the regular season.

    Don’t get me wrong, I have no doubts about the Leafs’ offense. Few are going to keep up with Toronto’s attack, which may very well be capable of flirting with the 300-goal mark this year (that’s 3.66 goals per game, Leafs fans).

    Instead, my concerns reside along Toronto’s blue line, and I’m sure G Frederik Andersen agrees with me. With Andersen in net last season, the Maple Leafs allowed at least 30 shots on goal 44 times.

    He started 66 games last campaign.

    For those struggling to do the math, Andersen – who started 80 percent of the Maple Leafs’ games last season and accrued 3889 minutes – faced at least 10 shots per period in two-thirds of his appearances.

    Talk about a heavy workload.

    To Andersen’s credit, he posted five shutouts and a solid .918 save percentage last season, so he performed marvelously given the immense pressure on him. However, there’s no doubt he would have preferred to see fewer than the 33.9 shots against per game coming his way, a regression from the 32.6 shots the Leafs allowed in 2016-2017.

    In my last season preview, I mentioned how Pittsburgh might be a team looking to trade a defenseman should Juuso Riikola continue to impress. If that proves to be the case, General Manager Kyle Dubas would be wise to get in contact with counterpart Jim Rutherford to at least inquire about an asking price, as the Pens have exactly what the Leafs are in the market for: an established, NHL-ready defenseman with significant playoff experience.

    The asking price would likely be high considering both are expected to be major players in the Eastern Conference. However, with visions of Stanley Cups dancing in their dreams, the initial cost of addressing the Maple Leafs’ defensive deficiencies likely pale in comparison to the time wasted in a contention window with a porous blue line.

    Offseason Grade: B+

    Yes, the Maple Leafs landed Tavares. As a result, they automatically earn better than a passing grade. However, doing little to improve a blue line that allowed the fourth-most shots has me very concerned that this club won’t see much of an improvement on that end of the ice. Dubas had better have a plan to address that issue soon, as Matthews’ contract next summer is not going to be cheap, which will make it difficult to retool the defense. In the meantime, hopefully the offense will meet or exceed expectations, as Scotiabank Arena could see more than a few high-scoring games this year.

  • Dallas Stars 2018-19 Season Preview

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    Dallas Stars

    42-32-8, 92 points, 6th in the Central Division

    Additions: Head Coach Jim Montgomery, F Blake Comeau, F Erik Condra, D Joel Hanley, G Anton Khudobin, F Michael Mersch, D Roman Polak

    Subtractions: Head Coach Ken Hitchcock (retired), D Andrew Bodnarchuk (signed, DEL), F Brian Flynn (signed with STL), D Dan Hamhuis (signed with NSH), G Mike McKenna (signed with OTT), F Curtis McKenzie (signed with VGK), D Greg Pateryn (signed with MIN), D Brent Regner (signed, Austria), F Antoine Roussel (signed with VAN)

    Still Unsigned: G Kari Lehtonen, D Andrew O’Brien, F Cole Ully

    Re-signed: G Philippe Desrosiers, F Jason Dickinson, F Remi Elie, D Dillon Heatherington, F Mattias Janmark, F Devin Shore, F Gemel Smith

    Offseason Analysis: After missing the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs by a few points, Ken Hitchcock finally hung up the pen and paper(?) behind the bench. Hitchcock’s one-year reunion with the Dallas Stars proved two things– that the Stars weren’t a playoff caliber roster in the long run and that Hitchcock’s coaching style had run its course in the contemporary NHL.

    Outside of John Klingberg and Marc Methot, Dallas’s defense didn’t scream high-caliber. Jamie Benn, Alexander Radulov and Tyler Seguin alone couldn’t generate enough offense to ease the barrage of pucks Ben Bishop faced in net.

    Whatever the reasoning, the fact of the matter is the Stars didn’t have a complete team in 2017-18, so General Manager Jim Nill had some cracks to fix.

    First, Dallas brought in 49-year-old head coach, Jim Montgomery, out of the University of Denver and into the National Hockey League. Montgomery expects to bring a new-age pace to the Stars, but there’s always a catch– rookie NHL coaches rarely exceed expectations in their first season, especially if they’re coming from college hockey straight to the NHL level of the professional game.

    Second, Nill didn’t make any trades. Instead he opted to let Antoine Roussel and his 17 points in 73 games last season walk in free agency, along with Curtis McKenzie and other bottom-six role forwards. Also gone are Dan Hamhuis– once thought to be a steal from free agency not so long ago– and Greg Pateryn, who, after all things considered, played a durable bottom-pair worthy role on the Dallas blueline.

    Nill signed 32-year-old Roman Polak to a one-year, $1.300 million contract to appease veteran presence on the backend with a friendly short-term deal while the Stars look to implement Miro Heiskanen in the North American game.

    Blake Comeau, Erik Condra and Michael Mersch will all file down the line of bottom-six “glue guy” roles on the depth chart all the way to being a healthy scratch most nights– let alone emergency call-up go-tos.

    The fact of the matter is the Stars need to get younger and it could start with Heiskanen, but it should also include Jason Robertson among the forwards. Past that, there’s not much going on in the Big D.

    After Kari Lehtonen, 35, couldn’t hold his weight as a starter, Dallas brought in Ben Bishop– a surefire number one goalie– to lead them back to glory. Bishop’s year didn’t fully go as planned, but Lehtonen actually improved from 2016-17 to 2017-18 in his more limited role.

    Lehtonen’s 2.85 goals against average and .902 save percentage in 59 games played in 2016-17 dropped to a 2.56 GAA and rose to a .912 SV% in 37 appearances last season. The Atlanta Thrashers 2nd overall pick in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft rebounded quite nicely and is still unsigned.

    Meanwhile, Nill brought in Anton Khudobin, 32, most recently from the Boston Bruins on a two-year contract to become become Bishop’s backup. Khudobin’s can be streaky at times, but when he’s good, he’s great good. Just good.

    Case in point, Khudobin bounced back from a 2.64 GAA and .904 SV% in 16 appearances with the Bruins in 2016-17 while bouncing back-and-forth between Boston and Providence (AHL) to a 2.56 GAA and .913 SV% in 31 games last season with the Bruins.

    Khudobin’s GAA last season was the same as Lehtonen’s in six fewer games. He faced almost 100 fewer shots than Lehtonen and allowed seven fewer goals. His save percentage was .001% better than Lehtonen.

    If Nill’s getting really technical, he “improved” Dallas’s backup option. Sure he’s not paying a guy $5.900 million to play fewer than 40 games, but Khudobin’s making $2.500 million for… pretty much the same results if he’s playing well.

    If Lehtonen was going to re-sign, he surely was going to have to sign for much less than what he was making ($5.900 million) and wouldn’t have been able to capitalize as much as Khudobin did on his comeback (Khudobin more than doubled his salary from his last contract with Boston to his current one with Dallas).

    I mean, Lehtonen improved much like his former teammate with the Stars, Antti Niemi did, but without the immense failures in Pittsburgh and Florida before being picked up off waivers by the Montreal Canadiens.

    But enough about subprime goaltending, lack of offense and not enough drive from a mediocre defense outside of John Klingberg.

    The Stars aren’t on the rise and that should concern fans deeply.

    You see, there’s another guy wearing No. 91 in the NHL that’s a pending-UFA in July 2019 and nearly every armchair GM has already set their sights on him. His name is Tyler Seguin and he’s Dallas’s biggest star.

    After talking about an extension before the 2018 NHL Draft– conveniently held in Dallas– Seguin’s heard nothing from the Stars front office. Another season without a postseason might just be enough to push the 26-year-old center over the edge and into the waters of free agency next summer.

    Offseason Grade: D+

    There’s areas of concern that go further than just shaking things up behind the bench in Dallas. It’s not that Montgomery won’t be a great coach, but rather that Nill hasn’t pulled off the necessary moves with the roster to really set them over the bar and into the playoffs.

    Betting on other teams regressing to the mean, while counting on your stars to perform better than they did last season isn’t safe if you’re not actually improving. Plus there’s the whole “they might lose Tyler Seguin for nothing next offseason a la the New York Islanders and John Tavares“. First impressions for the future are everything, and Nill and the Stars aren’t sending the right one(s).

  • 2018 NHL Free Agency– July 1 Signings Recap

    This post will be updated throughout the day as signings are officially announced. Be sure to check our Twitter account (@DtFrozenRiver) for all of the latest signings, news, and analysis throughout the day.

    Free agency begins at noon (technically 12:01 PM ET) on July 1st. All that is known is shown and will be updated throughout the day. More analysis will come later as the day wraps up.

    Reported free agent signings

    These are reported agreements in place leftover from the interview period/yet to be confirmed and/or announced by a playing club.

    F Zac Rinaldo and the Nashville Predators have come to terms on a two-way contract. Confirmed– announced by club on July 2nd.

    Free agent signings

    These are confirmed/announced signings.

    F Ilya Kovalchuk officially signed his three-year, $6.250 million AAV, deal with the Los Angeles Kings.

    D Mike Green signed a two-year contract extension with the Detroit Red Wings worth $5.375 million per season.

    D Martin Fehervary signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Washington Capitals.

    F Paul Stastny agreed to a three-year contract with the Vegas Golden Knights worth $6.500 million per season.

    The Philadelphia Flyers and F James van Riemsdyk agreed top a five-year contract worth $7.000 million per season.

    D Thomas Hickey and the New York Islanders have agreed on a four-year, $2.500 million per season, contract extension.

    F Ryan Reaves signed a two-year, $2.775 million per season, contract extension with the Vegas Golden Knights.

    The Minnesota Wild re-signed D Nick Seeler to a three-year contract worth $2.175 million ($725,000 cap hit).

    The Boston Bruins signed G Jaroslav Halak to a two-year contract worth $2.750 million per season.

    F Chris Kunitz signed a one-year, $1.000 million, contract with the Chicago Blackhawks.

    Chicago also signed G Cam Ward to a one-year deal and D Brandon Manning to a two-year contract.

    G Jonathan Bernier signed a three-year deal with the Detroit Red Wings.

    Detroit also signed F Thomas Vanek to a one-year contract worth $3.000 million.

    D Roman Polak agreed to terms with the Dallas Stars on a one-year, $1.300 million contract.

    The Montreal Canadiens signed F Tomas Plekanec to a one-year deal worth $2.250 million.

    D Eric Gryba signed a one-year contract with the New Jersey Devils worth $700,000 at the NHL level.

    D Xavier Ouellet signed a one-year, two-way, $700,000 contract with the Montreal Canadiens.

    F Brian Flynn signed a one-year, two-way, deal with the St. Louis Blues worth $650,000 at the NHL level.

    F Joakim Nordstrom agreed to a two-year contract with the Boston Bruins worth $1.000 million per season.

    F Valeri Nichushkin signed a two-year contract ($2.950 million cap hit) with the Dallas Stars.

    The Tampa Bay Lightning re-signed D Ryan McDonagh to a seven-year contract extension worth $47.250 million ($6.750 million AAV).

    F Matthew Peca signed a two-year, $1.300 million per season, contract with the Montreal Canadiens.

    F Jared McCann signed a two-year extension with the Florida Panthers.

    D Oliver Ekman-Larsson signed an eight-year extension with the Arizona Coyotes.

    F Josh Jooris signed a one-year, $650,000 contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

    F Adam Cracknell (one-year, $650,000) and D Jordan Subban (one-year, two-way, $650,000 at the NHL level) signed deals with Toronto as well. The Leafs also re-signed D Martin Marincin (one-year, $800,000).

    D Nick Holden signed a two-year contract worth $2.200 million per season with the Vegas Golden Knights.

    The Arizona Coyotes signed F Michael Grabner to a three-year deal worth $3.350 million per season.

    G Petr Mrazek signed a one-year, $1.500 million contract with the Carolina Hurricanes.

    G Harri Sateri signed a one-year deal with the Detroit Red Wings.

    Dallas signed G Colton Point to a three-year, entry-level contract.

    F Tyler Bozak agreed to terms on a three-year contract worth $5.000 million per season with the St. Louis Blues.

    The Chicago Blackhawks signed 2018 first round pick, D Adam Boqvist, to a three-year entry-level contract.

    F Jesperi Kotkaniemi signed a three-year entry-level deal with the Montreal Canadiens.

    G Chad Johnson signed a one-year, $1.750 million contract with the St. Louis Blues.

    F J.T. Brown signed a two-year, $1.375 million contract with the Minnesota Wild.

    F David Perron agreed to a four-year, $16.000 million ($4.000 million AAV) deal with the St. Louis Blues.

    D Matt Bartkowski signed a one-year, two-way, contract worth $650,000 at the NHL level with Minnesota.

    The Washington Capitals signed F Nic Dowd to a one-year contract worth $650,000.

    D Tommy Cross signed a two-way contract worth $650,000 at the NHL level with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

    G Carter Hutton signed a three-year contract ($2.750 million cap hit) with the Buffalo Sabres.

    The Capitals re-signed F Travis Boyd to a two-year contract with an $8000,0000 cap hit.

    Montreal signed F Kenny Agostino to a one-year, two-way contract worth $700,000 at the NHL level.

    The Canadiens also agreed to terms on a two-year, two-way deal with F Michael Chaput.

    F John Tavares signed a seven-year, $77 million ($11.000 million AAV) contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

    The Minnesota Wild signed F Mike Liambas to a two-year, two-way contract.

    G Andrew Hammond signed a one-year, two-way contract worth $650,000 with the Minnesota Wild.

    G Michael Hutchinson signed a one-year, $1.300 million deal with the Florida Panthers.

    D John Moore signed a five-year contract with the Boston Bruins.

    D Ian Cole agreed to terms on a three-year, $4.250 million per season, contract with the Colorado Avalanche.

    D Jack Johnson signed a five-year contract worth $3.25 million per season with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

    Pittsburgh also signed F Matt Cullen to a one-year contract worth $650,000.

    Buffalo signed D Brandon Hickey to a two-year entry-level deal.

    Detroit signed F Wade Megan and D Jake Chelios to one-year contracts and F Chris Terry to a two-year contract.

    The Vancouver Canucks agreed to terms with F Jay Beagle on a four-year contract worth $3.000 million per season.

    G Anton Khudobin and the Dallas Stars agreed on a two-year deal worth $2.500 AAV.

    The Stars also signed F Michael Mersch to a two-year, two-way deal and D Joel Hanley to a one-year, two-way contract.

    G Scott Wedgewood signed a one-year, two-way deal with the Buffalo Sabres.

    F Antoine Roussel and the Vancouver Canucks agreed on a four-year deal worth $3.000 million per season.

    The Tampa Bay Lightning signed D Cameron Gaunce to a one-year, two-way contract.

    The Columbus Blue Jackets signed D Adam Clendening to a one-year, two-way contract.

    F Logan Couture signed an eight-year extension with the San Jose Sharks.

    F Eric Fehr signed a one-year, $1.000 million contract with the Minnesota Wild.

    F Matt Calvert signed a three-year contract with the Colorado Avalanche with a $2.800 million cap hit.

    G Maxime Lagace re-signed with the Vegas Golden Knights to a one-year, two-way contract. Vegas also signed G Zachary Fucale to a one-year deal.

    F Tobias Rieder signed a deal with the Edmonton Oilers.

    D Dillon Simpson signed a two-year, two-way deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

    F Daniel Carr signed a one-year, $750,000 contract with the Vegas Golden Knights.

    F Derek Ryan signed a three-year deal with the Calgary Flames worth $3.125 million per season.

    Calgary also signed F Austin Czarnik to a two-year contract worth $1.250 million per season.

    The Flames re-signed D Dalton Prout to a one-year, $800,000 deal.

    The Winnipeg Jets signed G Laurent Brossoit to a one-year, $650,000 contract.

    F Matt Hendricks signed a one-year, $700,000 contract with the Minnesota Wild.

    D Tyler Wotherspoon signed a one-year, two-way contract with the St. Louis Blues worth $700,000 at the NHL level.

    Edmonton signed D Kevin Gravel to a one-year contract.

    D Stefan Elliott signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins worth $650,000 at the NHL level.

    The Dallas Stars agreed to terms with F Blake Comeau on a three-year, $2.400 million AAV, deal.

    F Tim Schaller signed a two-year, $1.900 million cap hit, deal with the Vancouver Canucks.

    D Fredrik Claesson signed a one-year, $700,000 contract with the New York Rangers.

    The Rangers also re-signed F Vladislav Namestnikov to a two-year deal worth $4.000 AAV.

    F Erik Condra signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Dallas Stars.

    Pittsburgh signed F Jimmy Hayes, D Zach Trotman and G John Muse to one-year contracts. All three deals are worth $650,000 at the NHL level.

    The Ottawa Senators signed G Mike McKenna to a one-year, two-way contract.

    F Riley Nash signed a three-year, $2.750 million AAV contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

    F Kyle Brodziak agreed to a two-year contract with the Edmonton Oilers.

    F Paul Carey signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Ottawa Senators.

    Boston signed D Cody Goloubef and F Mark McNeill to one-year, two-way contracts worth $650,000 at the NHL level.

    The Bruins also announced the signing of their 2018 second round pick, D Axel Andersson to a three-year entry-level contract with an annual cap hit of $825,833.

    F Chris Wagner signed a two-year contract with the Boston Bruins worth $1.250 million per season.

    F Leo Komarov signed a four-year, $12 million ($3.000 million per season) deal with the New York Islanders.

    F Sven Baertschi re-signed with the Vancouver Canucks on a three-year deal ($3.367 AAV).

    Vegas signed F Brandon Pirri, F Alex Gallant, F Curtis McKenzie, and D Jimmy Oligny.

    The Winnipeg Jets signed F Dennis Everberg, F Seth Griffith and re-signed D Cameron Schilling to one-year, two-way, $650,000 contracts.

    In their first official signing of the day, the Nashville Predators and F Connor Brickley came to an agreement on a one-year, two-way contract worth $650,000 at the NHL level.

    F Rocco Grimaldi signed a one-year, two-way contract worth $650,000 with the Nashville Predators.

    The Calgary Flames signed F Tyler Graovac and F Alan Quine to one-year, two-way contracts. Graovac’s cap hit is $650,000 and Quine’s is $700,000 at the NHL level.

    Nashville signed D Jarred Tinordi to a one-year, two-way contract worth $650,000 at the NHL level.

    New Jersey signed D John Ramage to a one-year, two-way contract worth $650,000 at the NHL level.

    F Joel L’Esperance signed a two-year, entry-level contract with the Dallas Stars.

    G Jared Coreau signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Anaheim Ducks worth $650,000 at the NHL level.

    F Valtteri Filppula signed a deal with the New York Islanders.