Down the Frozen River

Tag: Thomas Hickey

2017 NHL Trade Deadline Preview: Metropolitan Division

1. Washington Capitals– 39-12-7 (85 points, 58 GP)

Don’t let the sluggish return from their bye week fool you, the Washington Capitals are the league’s best team, as is customary in the regular season. The competition for this year’s President’s Trophy remains fierce between the Minnesota Wild, Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington, but the Capitals will more than likely pull away with yet another President’s Trophy, unless they want to let the Wild take it this year and deal with the President’s Trophy curse in the playoffs.

Washington is tight on the salary cap as they approach the trade deadline, though it would be unwise to unload salary at this point, with plenty of pending free agents to re-sign, as well as the expansion draft in June. If anything, the Capitals could make a move to acquire some depth or replenish some draft picks, should they decide it’s time to do a little restocking of prospects in Hershey.

Potential assets to trade: F Daniel Winnik, D Brooks Orpik

Potential assets to acquire: F Radim Vrbata (ARI), D Joe Morrow (BOS), D Taylor Fedun (BUF), F Jarome Iginla (COL), D Johnny Oduya (DAL), F Thomas Vanek (DET), D Nick Jensen (DET), D Adam Pardy (NSH), D Yannick Weber (NSH), F Patrik Berglund (STL), F Scottie Upshall (STL), D Kevin Shattenkirk (STL)

2. Pittsburgh Penguins– 36-14-8 (80 points, 58 GP)

The defending Stanley Cup champions are right where they want to be this time of year. The Pittsburgh Penguins are well on their way to returning to the playoffs comfortably with much of the roster from last season still intact. Of course, there’s always the pressing question of when will they trade Marc-Andre Fleury?

With the Vegas Golden Knights joining the league and the expansion draft coming up in June, the Penguins are bound to lose an exceptional player. It could be one of their goaltenders– Matt Murray, since Fleury would have to automatically be protected– or Pittsburgh could save their future in goal by moving Fleury ahead of time. Plenty of teams are in the market for a solidified starting goaltender.

Other than that, the Pens won’t be active on March 1st. They’ll be buying some depth in the form of a rental player or two, but they won’t be moving much to attain someone they’ll likely pass on come July 1st (unless they’re replacing Chris Kunitz and/or Matt Cullen– both of whom are pending unrestricted free agents).

Potential assets to trade: F Eric Fehr, D Cameron Gaunce, D Steve Oleksy, G Marc-Andre Fleury

Potential assets to acquire: F Shane Doan (ARI), F Martin Hanzal (ARI), F Radim Vrbata (ARI), G Anders Nilsson (BUF), F Jarome Iginla (COL), F Gabriel Landeskog (COL), D Johnny Oduya (DAL), F Thomas Vanek (DET), G Jaroslav Halak (NYI), F Patrik Berglund (STL), F Scottie Upshall (STL), G Carter Hutton (STL), F Brian Boyle (TB), G Ryan Miller (VAN), G Michael Hutchinson (WPG)

3. Columbus Blue Jackets– 37-16-5 (79 points, 58 GP)

The Columbus Blue Jackets are next to impossible to figure out. They went on an insane 16-game winning streak earlier this season and followed it up with a bit of a decline as of late, but it appears as though head coach, John Tortorella, has righted the ship again.

Taking a look at the Blue Jackets roster, there’s a lot of youth and not that much that you’d want to give up (unless a deal that was too good to pass up presented itself, a la the Brandon Saad trade with the Chicago Blackhawks after Chicago’s 2015 Stanley Cup championship). Columbus GM Jarmo Kekalainen would certainly love to add to his roster without subtracting, if he can. It seems like it would never happen, but the Blue Jackets are buyers on March 1st.

Potential assets to trade: F Matt Calvert, umm, draft picks, I guess…

Potential assets to acquire: F Martin Hanzal (ARI), F Radim Vrbata (ARI), D Michael Stone (ARI), F Matt Duchene (COL), F Jarome Iginla (COL), F Patrick Eaves (DAL), F Patrick Sharp (DAL), D Dennis Seidenberg (NYI), G Jaroslav Halak (NYI), F Patrik Berglund (STL)

4. New York Rangers– 38-19-1 (77 points, 58 GP)- currently the first Wild Card in the Eastern Conference

The New York Rangers are in a bit of a predicament thanks to the current qualifying format for the Stanley Cup Playoffs (someone should probably fix that– and it’s an easy fix, just go back to the 1-8 seeding).

But for all of the nonsense that is the playoff format, the Rangers really don’t have that much to worry about at the end of the day. They should try to add if they can, but they’re neither huge buyers nor are they sellers on March 1st and well, given how past years have gone, that still doesn’t do too much to help Henrik Lundqvist, but it’s a sensible strategy this season.

While New York’s defense is aging, there really aren’t that many solid options they could utilize in a top-4 position. Although, adding a depth defenseman usually isn’t a bad idea in the long run (to the Stanley Cup Final, that is). The Rangers should be really active in the offseason, if we’re being honest.

Potential assets to trade: F Tanner Glass, D Steven Kampfer, D Kevin Klein

Potential assets to acquire: D Cam Fowler (ANA), F Radim Vrbata (ARI), D Kevan Miller (BOS), D Joe Morrow (BOS), D Michael Stone (ARI), D Kevin Shattenkirk (STL)

5. New York Islanders– 27-21-10 (64 points, 58 GP)

Something’s in the water in New York, and I’m not just talking about the usual suspect– the Hudson River. No, I’m talking about whatever it is assistant GM– turned interim head coach– Doug Weight has been feeding his players.

The New York Islanders have been on the rise since they looked dead in the water. They’re bound to make some marginal moves on March 1st, but nothing like whatever move they might end up having to make because of the looming pressure of being kicked out of Barclays Center/ wanting out on their own/ the eventual “mutual agreement” that will probably come by 2019.

If they can add without subtracting too much, the Islanders will be looking for as much as they can get to offset some of the awful contracts they signed in the offseason (most notably the Andrew Ladd deal).

Potential assets to trade: F Josh Bailey, F Ryan Strome, D Thomas Hickey, D Dennis Seidenberg, G Jaroslav Halak

Potential assets to acquire: F Radim Vrbata (ARI), F Ryan Spooner (BOS), D Joe Morrow (BOS), F Andrew Desjardins (CHI), F Matt Duchene (COL), F Jiri Hudler (DAL), D Johnny Oduya (DAL), F Thomas Vanek (DET), D Jonas Brodin (MIN), F Curtis Lazar (OTT), F Patrik Berglund (STL), F Scottie Upshall (STL), F Brian Boyle (TB), F Valtteri Filppula (TB), G Michael Hutchinson (WPG)

6. Philadelphia Flyers– 28-24-7 (63 points, 59 GP)

With the way things work in the new NHL, nobody’s really out of the playoff picture, except for the Colorado Avalanche. The Philadelphia Flyers have a plethora of youth and could be the team that just might be on the verge of making a serious run in another year or two. Until then, they’re a little cap strapped.

But this season it’s a mixed bag at the trade deadline for the Flyers.

They should use the chance to dump some bad contracts on the blue line and do a little retooling with their group of forwards. They have a team that’s built for the future, but they’re lacking the right glue guys currently. Besides, it might do them good to finally commit to a goaltender.

Potential assets to trade: F Boyd Gordon, F Matt Read, F Jordan Weal, D T.J. Brennan, D Andrew MacDonald, D Nick Schultz, D Mark Streit, G Steve Mason

Potential assets to acquire: D Cam Fowler (ANA), F Martin Hanzal (ARI), F Radim Vrbata (ARI), D Michael Stone (ARI), G Jaroslav Halak (NYI), F Curtis Lazar (OTT), G Andrew Hammond (OTT), F Patrik Berglund (STL), D Kevin Shattenkirk (STL), F Ondrej Palat (TB), G Ben Bishop (TB), G Michael Hutchinson (WPG)

7. New Jersey Devils– 25-24-10 (60 points, 59 GP)

After acquiring Taylor Hall in the offseason from the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for Adam Larsson, the New Jersey Devils have found themselves on the outside looking in, despite perhaps making a steal of a trade from the 2016 offseason. Of course, one player does not make up an entire team.

New Jersey took on the contract of Marc Savard’s to help get them to the cap floor and that’ll be coming off the books on July 1st, unless they look to trade his contract to a team that’s selling and selling everything (like the Colorado Avalanche, for example). The Devils are by no means out of the playoff hunt and are likely to be dark horses at the trade deadline this year as buyers who are willing to part with some components in order to land bigger components.

General manager, Ray Shero, is destined to replenish New Jersey’s talent pool a lot sooner rather than later, at least compared to how the previous GM ran the team.

Potential assets to trade: F Jacob Josefson, D Ben Lovejoy, D John Moore, G Keith Kinkaid

Potential assets to acquire: D Cam Fowler (ANA), F Radim Vrbata (ARI), D Joe Morrow (BOS), F Matt Duchene (COL), F Jarome Iginla (COL), F Gabriel Landeskog (COL), F Tomas Jurco (DET), F Tomas Plekanec (MTL), G Jaroslav Halak (NYI), F Patrik Berglund (STL), F Scottie Upshall (STL), D Kevin Shattenkirk (STL), G Michael Hutchinson (WPG), G Ondrej Pavelec (WPG)

8. Carolina Hurricanes– 24-23-8 (56 points, 55 GP)

After playing a game of money puck, the Carolina Hurricanes find themselves in dead last in the Metropolitan Division so far this season, despite being nine points out of a wild card spot in the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Now, there’s nothing wrong with taking the money puck approach, provided you have the right mix of players and, well, aren’t trying to do so in the most dominant division in the league. Oh, wait.

The Hurricanes are a young team that should be getting better with time, only time will tell. Things haven’t looked so good since the 2009 Eastern Conference Final and especially with the decline in attendance, maybe we’re better off talking about potential cities to relocate to instead of potential transactions to be made by March 1st?

Potential assets to trade: F Jay McClement, F Andrej Nestrasil, F Jeff Skinner, F Viktor Stalberg, F Lee Stempniak, F Derek Ryan, D Justin Faulk

Potential assets to acquire: D Cam Fowler (ANA), D Shea Theodore (ANA), F Matt Duchene (COL), F Gabriel Landeskog (COL), F Ryan Strome (NYI), F Brandon Pirri (NYR), F Curtis Lazar (OTT), F Patrik Berglund (STL), F Scottie Upshall (STL)

February 20, 2017
January 19 – Day 96 – Worth his Weight behind the bench? We’ll see…
It’s time to start taking our hockey-watching seriously, as there’s only eight days until the All-Star break. The first two pucks of the night drop at 7 p.m. (Dallas at the New York Islanders and Ottawa at Columbus [RDS]), followed half an hour later by the New York Rangers at Toronto. 8 p.m. marks the beginning of another pair of games (Washington at St. Louis [SN/TVAS] and Arizona at Minnesota), with Nashville at Calgary waiting an hour before getting underway. Colorado at Anaheim gets started at 10 p.m., with tonight’s nightcap – Tampa Bay at San Jose (SN/SN1) – waiting 30 minutes before getting green-lit. All times eastern.

Short list:
- Dallas at New York: Welcome to the coaching game Doug Weight.
- New York at Toronto: Not only is this an Original Six rivalry, but Michael Grabner also played for the Leafs last season.
It’s been a long time since we’ve featured either the Islanders or the Stars, so let’s head off to Brooklyn!

A long, long time ago, in a borough not too far from Brooklyn…

Wait, we’ve got to set the mood…

There we go.

Anyways, Jack Capuano was called up to the big-time from New York‘s AHL club in Bridgeport – where he had held the same position since 2007 – to coach the Islanders on November 15, 2010.

To put things lightly, it was not the miraculous transition you read about in history books. After taking on a 4-10-3 club from Scott Gordon, the Islanders ended the season with a 30-39-13 record and in last place in the Atlantic Division.

The 2011-’12 season was better, as the Isles improved to 34-37-11, but Capuano’s teachings could not get them out of the Atlantic basement.

Playoff chances weren’t looking good for the Islanders during the lockout-shortened 2012-’13 season either. New York sat in 12th place in the Eastern Conference with 18 games remaining, due in part to the Isles spoiling a seven-game home-stand by earning only three points.

Let’s give credit to Capuano for New York‘s spark to end the season. They earned a point in the last 11 games to force themselves all the way into eighth place in the Conference and earn a playoff date in Pittsburgh. Although they would fall in six games, making the playoffs for the first time since 2007 was a big step forward for New York.

Capuano continued to build the club. Even though they didn’t qualify for the playoffs in 2013-’14, New York got back into the postseason in 2015 and missed out on advancing to the Eastern Semifinals by only a goal, falling to Washington 2-1 in a deciding Game 7.

The Islanders finally earned that playoff series victory last year when they beat the Panthers in six games. It was their first postseason series victory since 1993.

Unfortunately, this season did not get off to a great start. The Isles currently have a 17-17-8 record and sit in last place in both the Metropolitan Division and Eastern Conference. Because of that, he was released on Tuesday, even though his record with the Isles is an impressive 227-192-64, given the team he started with six years ago.

In what is probably the most hilarious turn of events, Capuano was replaced this season by none other than Weight.

Why is that funny? Any good Islander fan can tell you who the captain of their club was when Capuano made his NHL coaching debut. Yes, that’s right: it’s none other than Weight.

Even more hilarious is that Weight is the assistant general manager of the Islanders. Even though he wasn’t the one making the final decisions, it’s partially his fault that Capuano struggled this season. Matt Martin, Frans Nielsen, Kyle Okposo and Brian Strait were all allowed to walk in free agency this offseason, and Garth Snow and Weight only brought in Jason Chimera, Andrew Ladd (currently injured), P.A. Parenteau (who they’ve since waived) and Dennis Seidenberg to fill the holes.

Martin: left wing. Nielsen: center. Okposo: right wing. All three forwards. Is it any surprise the Isles have struggled to score? Last season, those three players combined for 135 points, a total the Isles have struggled to replace. That is made evident by an offense that has managed only 119 goals, the 12th-fewest in the NHL.

Captain John Tavares has done all he can to try to save the Islanders, as his 32 points lead the team. In comparison to the three forwards lost, he has the best points total, leading Okposo by three. Tavares also has the club-lead in goals, with 16 to his credit, and once again he leads Okposo by three tallies.

The issue with the Islanders does not seem to be their primary or secondary scorer, but instead the tertiary Brock Nelson. Even though he’s the third-best forward on the squad this season, his nine goals among 23 points are not enough of a threat.

The Isles‘ power play has been a major point of concern, as they tie for third-worst with their 13.6% conversion rate. Nick Leddy joins Tavares in leading the club in that effort with eight power play points, but once again the captain has headed the charge in scoring with four man-advantage goals.

While not as bad as the power play, the penalty kill cannot be ignored as it yields goals on 20% of opposing power plays, which ties for ninth-worst. Calvin de Haan may spend only 1:39-per-game on the penalty kill (well below Thomas Hickey‘s 2:08), but he certainly makes an impact. His 20 shorthanded blocks are tops on the team.

Visiting the Barclays Center this evening are the 19-19-8 Stars, the fifth-best team in the Central Division, and 11th in the Western Conference. Dallas‘ issue this year is the same one they faced a season ago: goaltending. They’ve allowed 144 goals against, which ties for second-most in the NHL.

With four more starts to his credit, 9-12-4 Kari Lehtonen has been the man between the pipes more often than not this season for the Stars. But as his record indicates, things haven’t been going quite so swimmingly. He has a season .9 save percentage and 2.86 GAA, which is only (t)40th and (t)35th-best in the league among the 49 netminders with 13 or more appearances to their credit.

Even though they know their goalie has struggled, Dallas‘ defense has only offered average help. Led by Kris Russell‘s 115 shot blocks, the Stars have allowed 30.2 shots-per-game to reach Lehtonen’s crease, tying for 14th-most in the NHL.

Lehtonen continues to struggle on the penalty kill, leading Dallas to a second-worst 74% success rate. Even with Mark Giordano‘s impressive 32 shorthanded blocks, Lehtonen saves only 79% of opposing power play shots – the worst in the league.

Some players to keep an eye on include Dallas‘ Tyler Seguin (44 points [eighth-most in the league] on 28 assists [tied for ninth-most in the NHL]) and New York‘s Thomas Greiss (.925 save percentage [fifth-best in the league]).

The experts in the desert have marked New York a -105 favorite to win tonight’s contest. Given the fact that both the Islanders‘ offense and Dallas‘ goaltending are poor, it boils down to who wins the other end of the ice. Personally, I like the Stars‘ offense more than New York‘s defense, so I predict a closely contested upset this evening.

Hockey Birthday
- Sylvain Cote (1966-) – The 11th-overall pick in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft by Hartford, this defenseman played most of his 19-season career in Washington. He finished his career with a +39, but notched a +60 over his tenure with the Capitals.
- Ian Laperriere (1974-) – This left wing was a seventh-round pick by St. Louis in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft, but he spent most of his career in Los Angeles. The 2011 Masterton Trophy winner, he notched 336 points before being forced to retire with post-concussion syndrome.
- Mike Komisarek (1982-) – Montréal selected this blueliner seventh-overall in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, and that’s where he spent most of his 11-season career. He was voted to the 2008 All-Star game during a 227 block, +9 campaign – the best season of his career.
- Thomas Vanek (1984-) – The fifth-overall pick in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft by Buffalo (still his longest tenured club), this left wing is playing his first season in Detroit. Although he’s in the 12th season of his career, he’s on track to have one of his best campaigns, averaging .55 assists per night (ties his 2012-’13 effort with the Sabres).
Thanks to Third Star Joe Pavelski‘s second-period insurance goal, the Sharks were able to knock-off bitter-rival Los Angeles 3-2 in yesterday’s DtFR Game of the Day.

Brent Burns (First Star of the Game Joe Thornton and Melker Karlsson) opened the scoring early, burying his snap shot only 3:31 after taking to the ice. The Kings were quick to respond, scoring only 2:15 later on a Tanner Pearson (Derek Forbort and Second Star Dustin Brown) tip-in. The score remained tied until 4:18 remained in the first period when San Jose‘s Tommy Wingels (Michael Haley) scored his snapper to give the Sharks a 2-1 lead going into the first intermission.

That lead doubled to two at the midway point of the frame when Pavelski (Joel Ward and Thornton) scored his wrister, but Los Angeles pulled back within a score off a Marian Gaborik (Kyle Clifford and Brown) wrister. That set the score at 3-2 going into the second intermission, which ultimately held to the end of the game.

Martin Jones earns the victory after saving 22-of-24 shots faced (91.7%), with Peter Budaj taking the loss, saving 24-of-27 (88.9%).

The Sharks‘ win was a big one in the DtFR Game of the Day series, as it pulled the visitors within five points of the hosts. Home teams have a 51-33-14 record in the series.
January 19, 2017
November 12 – Day 31 – Fixing Florida
It’s Saturday, so you know what that means: lots of hockey!

Exactly.

Like always, we get glued to our televisions at 7 p.m. when eight pucks are dropped (Detroit at Montréal [SN/TVAS], San Jose at Tampa Bay, the New York Islanders at Florida, Buffalo at New Jersey, Minnesota at Philadelphia, Toronto at Pittsburgh [CBC/CITY/NHLN], Washington at Carolina and St. Louis at Columbus), followed an hour later by two more (Boston at Arizona and Anaheim at Nashville). Finally, the New York Rangers visit Calgary at 10 p.m. (CBC/SN1) to act as our nightcap. All times eastern.

Short List:
- New York at Florida: It’s a rematch of an Eastern Conference Quarterfinal a season ago between two teams still searching for their identity.
- Detroit at Montréal: Original Six alert.
- Anaheim at Nashville: Another 2015-’16 Quarterfinal rematch, but this one is in the Western Conference.
- New York at Calgary: If Josh Jooris weren’t on injured reserve, this would be his first return to the Saddledome since leaving the Flames. Guess he’ll have to wait until next year.
In a peculiar way, I’m drawn to the Eastern rematch from a season ago. Not only have we not featured the Panthers yet this season, but I want to get to the bottom of why they are not finding the success they were projected to have.

Probably the best explanation of the 5-7-2 Islanders is that they’re 1-2-2 in their last five game played. While the offense has been only average in comparison to the rest of the league, it has been the defense and goaltending that has been the major pitfall.

Jaroslav Halak has started nine games so far this season to earn a 3-4-2 record on a .903 save percentage and 3.03 GAA, which rank 25th and 26th-worst in the league, respectively, among all goaltenders to play this season. While these numbers are far from good, the skaters in front of him have not been providing him much help. Even thought Johnny Boychuk, Dennis Seidenberg, Calvin de Haan and Thomas Hickey all have 32+ blocks to their credit, the Islanders have allowed 432 shots against, well over the league average.

One of the major reasons for the high shots against totals given the great efforts by those four blueliners is New York‘s inability to avoid the power play. Even though he hasn’t played since last Saturday due to a broken right thumb, Travis Hamonic leads a club that averages 10:55 in the box (tied for 10th-most in the NHL) with 23 penalty minutes. As would be expected by the taxed special team, the Isles have been burned by opposing power plays and allowed a goal on 24.1% of opposing attempts, the worst effort in the Eastern Conference.

Brooklyn is also home to one of the worst power plays in the league, as the Isles are successful on only 10.5% of their attempts.

Hosting them this evening are the 6-7-1 Florida Panthers, a team that has been only average this season. Unlike tonight’s opponent, what has probably been most impressive about them has been their defense and goaltending.

Roberto Luongo has started nine games this season to earn a 4-5-0 record on a .917 save percentage and 2.36 GAA to rank 12th and 15th-best, respectively, among goaltenders with seven or more starts to their name.

Part of the reason he and James Reimer have been able to find their success has been the blue line playing in front of them. Even though Michael Matheson leads the club with only 16 blocks, Florida has allowed only 401 shots to reach net, six fewer than the league average.

As stated before, these squads met up last year in the opening round of the Atlantic Division’s playoff bracket. After the clubs split the first four games, the Islanders won two double-overtime games in a row to advance to the Eastern Semifinals. It truly was an upset seeing as the Panthers were not only the Atlantic champion, but they had won the regular season series against New York 2-1-0.

Some players to keep an eye on tonight include Florida‘s Jon Marchessault (seven goals [tied for eighth-most in the league]) and New York‘s John Tavares (11 points on five goals [both lead the team]).

Florida is marked a -150 favorite by Vegas, and that’s a line I definitely agree with. Their offense should be more than capable of scoring on the Islanders‘ week defense.

Hockey Birthday
- Denis DeJordy (1938-) – This goaltender played 316 games over his 11 NHL seasons, 62.7% of which were with Chicago. He earned a 124-128-51 career record, and won the 1966-’67 Vezina trophy.
- Mark Hunter (1962-) – This right wing was the seventh overall selection in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft by Montréal, but he spent 34.7% of his playing days in St. Louis. He hoisted the Stanley Cup once in his career, with the 1988-’89 Calgary Flames. Nowadays, he’s an assistant with the Maple Leafs.
- Bryan Little (1987-) – The 12th overall pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft by ~~Atlanta~~Winnipeg, this right wing has appeared in 614 games with the franchise. He scored a career-best 64 points in his 2013-’14 campaign.
- Adam Larsson (1992-) – This defenseman was the fourth overall pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft by New Jersey. He was the Devil sent to Edmonton this off-season in the trade for Taylor Hall.
I picked Philadelphia to beat Toronto in last night’s Game of the Day. I got embarrassed, as the Leafs won 6-3 on a four-goal third period.

Toronto earned a 1-0 lead only 2:54 into the contest when Nazem Kadri (Star of the Game Morgan Rielly and Nikita Zaitsev) scored a wrister, but Philly pulled even 1:05 later when Wayne Simmonds (Claude Giroux and Shayne Gostisbehere) capitalized on a power play opportunity. The Flyers pulled ahead only 26 seconds after drawing even when Travis Konecny‘s (Radko Gudas and Michael Del Zotto) backhand found the back of the net. The final goal of the period wasn’t registered until only 52 seconds remained in the frame. Rielly (Mitch Marner and James van Riemsdyk) takes credit for the power play score with his first goal of the season to set the score at 2-2.

The Flyers returned to the ice intent on imposing their will, made evident by Mark Streit getting caught for tripping Zach Hyman and earning a seat in the sin bin two minutes into the frame. Philly responded well though, as Simmonds (Sean Couturier) scored a shorthanded snapper 53 seconds later to take a 3-2 lead. It was the lone score of the second period.

4:03 into the third period, Martin Marincin (Rielly and Kadri) scored his first goal of the season with a slap shot to pull the Leafs into a 3-3 tie. Another first goal of the season proved to be the eventual game-winner, as Hyman (Auston Matthews and Connor Carrick) scored a snap shot 4:31 later to take the lead. The Leafs didn’t look back, as they scored two insurance goals, courtesy of Leo Komarov and Marner (Rielly and Tyler Bozak), to secure the victory.

Frederik Andersen earned the victory after saving 30-of-33 shots faced (90.9%), while Steve Mason saved 17-of-23 in the loss (73.9%).

Toronto‘s victory sets the DtFR Game of the Day series at 19-11-3, favoring the home squads by nine points over the roadies.
November 12, 2016
Tampa Emerges Victorious in OT For Second Straight Game, Stretches Series Lead to 3-1.

The New York Islanders lost a heartbreaker at home in overtime by the score of 2-1 to the Tampa Bay Lightning. This was the second straight game that went past 60 minutes and where the Lightning came from behind to tie and eventually win in OT.

New York looked to avenge their 5-4 OT loss to the Lightning on Tuesday Night. Both teams had a couple bone crunching hits in Game 3, so everyone was wondering if that would boil over into tonight’s game. Besides that fact, tonight’s matchup will be intense for sure and I was not wrong.

Both New York and Tampa Bay started out very physical with the teams combining for 6 hits in the first 2:30 of the game The Islanders got the first chance to score in the opening frame with an opportunity in front that was shut down by Tampa goalie Ben Bishop. After Bishop froze the puck, a big scrum ensued in front of the net with all the Islanders trying to poke the puck in. While all the Lightning players took offense to the Islanders poking their goalie and stood their ground.

From this scuffle the games first penalty was taken thanks to Lightning enforcer Mike Blunden getting called for a two-minute infraction for roughing on New York center Ryan Strome at 2:44 of the first. New York would go to their first manpower advantage of the game looking to strike early. The Islanders would get their wish thanks to Kyle Okposo aka Booker T. The Islanders chance to strike on the power play was winding down and things were not looking so good. Fortunately, Islanders center Frans Nielsen held the puck in at the left-hand dot and slid the puck down to fellow line-mate Nikolay Kulemin below the goal line. Kulemin spotted alternate captain Kyle Okposo in the slot and hit him with a one touch pass. Okposo wasted no time with the puck on his stick and roofed it high glove side to put the Islanders up 1-0 just 4:20 into the first. This was Okposo’s first goal since scoring in Round 1 Game 1 against the Florida Panthers.

The games next scoring chance would fall to the Islanders as well. Just five minutes later Islanders rookie Shane Prince came down the left-hand side and put a wrister on net. Prince’s shot was turned away by Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop, but he put the rebound right in the slot. Islanders superstar John Tavares picked the puck up and put a shot on net that beat Bishop blocker side but not the post and hit the iron and came right out. A definite chance that we will probably look back to as this game goes on.

Tampa Bay vet Ryan Callahan would then take a double minor for roughing Islander D-man Thomas Hickey. New York would go on a four-minute power play looking to cash in again to double their lead before the period ended. Although thanks to stellar penalty killing, Tampa Bay was able to kill off the long man advantage and only gave up 1 shot in the process. The first period ended with the Islanders up by the score of 1-0.

The second period started off just like the first one did with a penalty early. This time just 1:33 into the period, the roles were reversed and the Islanders went on the penalty kill with 4th liner Casey Cizikas getting a two-minute tripping call on Lightning star Ondrej Palat. To start the PP, New York goalie Thomas Greiss lost a skate blade and had to leave the ice for a repair. So New York was forced to call upon newcomer goaltender Jean-Francois Berube (first NHL playoff action) while Greiss is being attended too in the locker room. Tampa’s first power play of the game was ineffective as they only managed two weak shots and Berube shut them down so New York killed it off with poise.

Thomas Greiss was able to come back after only missing 4:47 in total time. Berube only faced two shots in his brief call to action and showed a strong confidence in himself. If he were to be called upon again, I am sure Islanders coach Jack Capuano will have a lot of faith in Berube to get the job done.

New York would get the next prime scoring chance again at the 10:22 mark of period two. Islanders 1st line center John Tavares dished some backhand sauce and sent Kyle Okposo in on a mini-breakaway in the slot. Okposo received the puck on his backhand and quickly turned the puck to his forehand and released a quick shot on net. Tampa’s Ben Bishop was up to the task and stoned Okposo with his glove and kept the score at 1-0 half way through the second frame.

The Lightning would get their second power play of the game with 11:42 gone as New York defender Johnny Boychuk slashed Tampa winger Ondrej Palat. New York penalty killers made that kill look easy and didn’t even allow a single shot and killed off the penalty. Then almost seven minutes later the Lightning would get their third power play and another chance to tie the game as they went back on the power play. Islander winger Brock Nelson got two minutes for tripping Tampa’s Jonathan Drouin. Just 17 seconds later, on the penalty kill no less, New York defenseman Calvin de Haan was in alone in front and tried going 5-hole on Lightning goalie Ben Bishop. Haan was robbed on the breakaway with Bishop’s pad. Bishop was able to keep his team’s deficit still at one.

After that mishap, Tampa was able to stay in the offensive zone for almost the whole power play. Tampa was only able to get two shots on net, and thanks to killer shot blocking from the Islanders penalty killers they were able to get back to full strength. The second period ended with the score still sitting at 1-0.

The third period started off with a 5-10 minute delay because the glass/stanchion was broken in the rink so they had to fix it. As the game resumed, both teams started out strong. New York and Tampa Bay traded shots and chances back to back but no team was really able to gain momentum.

Tampa Bay was finally able to break through and get one past Thomas Greiss. Tampa went to work behind the net in the offensive zone to try and get the puck. Lightning center Tyler Johnson was able to come out of the pile of players with the puck below the goal line. He found fellow 1st liner, Nikita Kucherov on the left-hand dot. Johnson delivered a perfect pass right in Kucherov’s wheelhouse. Kucherov one-timed the puck short side on Greiss to level the score to 1-1 at the 7:49 mark of the third. This was Kucherov’s league leading 8th goal of the playoffs.

After Kucherov’s tieing goal the Islanders and the Lightning had a couple prime scoring chances. Goalies Thomas Greiss and Ben Bishop were both stellar and didn’t let anything get past them. The third period ended 1-1. So now the game will be decided in sudden death overtime, just like Game 3 did. Tampa won Game 3 in OT thanks to Dan Boyle so the Islanders were definitely looking for revenge.

Well, Tampa Bay and New York obviously did not want to play triple OT like the Predators and the Sharks did last night because it took just 1:34 into the first overtime frame to get a winner. Tampa Bay had ALL the pressure to start off the OT and that’s how they scored the game winner. Tampa defensemen Andrej Sustr corralled fellow D-man Jason Garrison’s blocked shot in the left-hand corner and slid up to the point. Sustr located Garrison at the right-hand point and threw a beautiful pass over into Garrison’s sweet spot. Garrison unloaded a nasty one-timer that beat New York goalie Greiss far side past his blocker to end the game. It was the shortest overtime played this postseason.

Islanders goalie Thomas Greiss saved 20 out of 22 shots for a .909 SV% as well as J.F. Berube stopped the two shots he faced in emergency relief. Tampa goalie Ben Bishop stopped 27 out of 28 shots for a .964 SV%.

New York led in shots (28-24), faceoffs (29-22), and hits (45-29). Tampa only led in blocked shots (22-10). While the teams tied in penalty minutes (6-6) and giveaways (13-13). The Islanders were 1/3 on the Power Play and the Lightning were 0/3.

Tampa Bay put a major dagger in New York’s playoff hopes with tonight’s win. Their win now has them leading 3 games to 1 in the series (3-1). These two teams will play again on Sunday afternoon at 3 pm in Tampa, Florida where the Lightning will look to end the series on home ice.

May 6, 2016
Tampa Takes one in New York

The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the New York Islanders 5-4 in overtime to take game 3 on the road. Brian Boyle scored the game winning goal in overtime. Josh Bailey had a strong game in his return scoring 2 goals in a losing effort.

Going into game 3, Josh Bailey was a game time decision after missing the past few games. It proved to be a great choice as 8 minutes into the game Josh Bailey opened the scoring of the game. Travis Hamonic dumped the puck into the offensive zone and Nikolay Kulemin got in on the fore-check and managed to get the puck to Bailey in front of the net and made no mistake to beat Ben Bishop.

The Islanders continued to pressure Tampa as they threw puck after puck at the net, but Bishop was up to the task. Bishop had a great first period making 16 saves on 17 shots. It looked like the Islanders were going to take the lead into the second period, but with 1:30 left in the period Casey Cizikas took a tripping penalty. Tampa made no mistake on the power-play as Alex Killorn’s slap shot from the point was deflected by Ryan Callahan past Thomas Greiss with just 13 second left in the period.

The second period started with the Islanders throwing their weight around and no one felt it more than Jonathan Drouin who was hammered by Thomas Hickey crossing over the blue line. It was a little questionable with a lot of contact to Drouin’s head. It was also pointed out that Drouin lowered his head and Hickey had no option but make contact with his head. Drouin didn’t return until halfway thru the 3^rd period.

A few minutes later Tampa took its first lead of the game, Tyler Johnson won an offensive zone faceoff back to Victor Hedman who stepped into a slap shot and hammered it past Greiss. The lead lasted for about six minutes until the 4^th line for New York was out grinding. Cal Clutterbuck got the puck back to Nick Leddy who let a slap shot go with big Matt Martin in front of the net and the puck beat Bishop. The 2^nd period finished with both teams tied at 2 going into the final 20 minutes of the game.

The 3^rd period got underway and Jason Garrison took a high sticking penalty, giving the Islanders their 4^th powerplay of the game. This time they were able to capitalize on the man advantage as Josh Bailey scored his second goal of the game after a great pass from Thomas Hickey making the game 3-2 just 2 minutes into the game.

This lasted 58 seconds as Tampa answered with a goal of their own. Valtteri Filppula was behind the net and made a great pass to find Vladislav Namestnikov who’s one timer hit the back of net. Alex Killorn also picked up an assist on the goal. The game slowed down a little as both teams began to play conservative hockey.

With 8 minutes left in the period the Islanders’ 4^th line struck again as they won a battle along the boards and found Cal Clutterbuck in the high slot who buried his shot past Bishop to retake the lead.

Tampa was looking to tie the game, so with just over 2 minutes left in the game they pulled Bishop for the extra attacker. It proved to be a great decision as Nikitia Kucherov receives a pass from Drouin to tie the game with 38 seconds left in the game. This meant overtime was needed to decide a winner.

Overtime lasted a whole 2:48 as Brian Boyle scored his first ever playoff winning goal. Victor Hedman took a shot that missed the net and came off the boards to Boyle who made no mistake in finding the net with Greiss down and out.

The next game will be Friday, May 6^th at 7pm eastern standard time in New York.

May 3, 2016
Johnson and Drouin lead Lightning to 4-1 victory in Game 2

By: Nick Lanciani

Tyler Johnson and Jonathan Drouin led the charge in the Tampa Bay Lightning’s 4-1 victory over the New York Islanders in Game 2 of their 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs Second Round matchup on Saturday afternoon at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.

Ben Bishop made 19 saves on 20 shots against for a .950 SV% in the win, while Thomas Greiss stopped 27 shots out of 30 shots faced for a .900 SV% in the loss. Drouin’s game winning goal came shortly past the halfway mark of the first period after a successful penalty kill by the Lightning. Tampa has now tied the series at 1-1.

The Islanders failed to secure a 2-0 series lead in what would have been their first 2-0 series lead since the 1983 Stanley Cup Final. The Lightning, meanwhile have now won their last six Game 2s in recent playoff history.

Ondrej Palat took the game’s first penalty at 3:12 of the first period for interference, sending New York on their first power play of the afternoon. After failing to get much generated on the power play, the Islanders surrendered the first goal of the game at 6:03 of the first period when Tyler Johnson received a pass from Palat that he sent past Greiss on a backhand to give Tampa a 1-0 lead.

Johnson’s goal was his 3^rd of the postseason and was assisted by Palat (1) and Victor Hedman (3).

After killing off Ryan Callahan’s holding penalty, the Lightning capitalized on a surge in momentum after a successful penalty kill, 11:55 into the 1^st. Drouin received a pass from Valtteri Filppula that he then sent through Greiss’s five-hole with a backhand shot to give Tampa a 2-0 lead.

Brian Boyle sent the puck over the glass for a delay of game penalty 13:32 into the first period and sent New York on a power play. Nikolay Kulemin scored the lone Islanders goal on the ensuing man advantage at 15:15 of the first period to make it a 2-1 game. Thomas Hickey (3) and Alan Quine (4) assisted on Kulemin’s first goal of the playoffs.

Travis Hamonic closed off the end of the period with a cross checking minor heading into the first intermission.

The Islanders led in shots on goal (12-5), giveaways (4-3) and takeaways (3-2) after twenty minutes, while the Lightning led in hits (16-12) and faceoff wins (10-7) after one period of play.

Drouin tripped Cal Clutterbuck early into the second period and gave the Islanders another power play, which they were unable to capitalize on. Marek Zidlicky took a trip to the sin bin for interference at 5:40 of the 2^nd period, but the Lightning were unable to convert on the man advantage.

When Clutterbuck was sent to the box for goaltender interference at 11:11 of the 2^nd period, Tampa went on the aggressive on the ensuing power play opportunity. Their quick puck movement and possession management led to a rocket of a slap shot from Hedman that beat Greiss to put the Bolts up 3-1 at 11:59 of the 2^nd. Hedman’s goal, his first of the postseason, was assisted by Tyler Johnson (6) and Jonathan Drouin (6).

Alex Killorn was penalized for elbowing John Tavares at 18:59 of the second period, but it was not enough to get Tavares to enact revenge on the scoreboard like he did in Game 1. Less than a minute later, Frans Nielsen was sent to the box for holding and the game witnessed its first 4-on-4 action that would extend into the third period.

The third period began with Jonathan Marchessault and Ryan Strome both being sent to the box and forcing 4-on-4 play at 6:33 of the 3^rd period. Marchessault went to the box for slashing, while Strome was sent to the box for roughing.

When full strength hockey resumed, both teams remained rather disciplined and nobody could figure out how to beat either goalie. Then with under four minutes to go in the game Greiss vacated the Islanders net for an extra attacker, but it was to no avail.

At 17:42 of the 3^rd period, Johnson pocketed his 4^th goal of the postseason on an empty net goal. Johnson’s goal was assisted by Jason Garrison (4) and put Tampa on top of New York by a score of 4-1.

Matt Martin was penalized for charging Victor Hedman at 18:20 of the period and Cal Clutterbuck had a part in creating a 5-on-3 power play for the Lightning at 19:22 of the 3^rd period. Marchessault was also penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct and with 20 seconds to go in the game, tempers between Killorn and Hickey flared enough for Killorn to receive two minutes for roughing and Hickey to receive two minor penalties— one for interference and the other for slashing.

At the final horn the Tampa Bay Lightning had even the series at 1-1 with a 4-1 rout of the New York Islanders on home ice in Game 2 of their series. The Bolts finished the game leading in shots on goal (31-20), faceoff wins (30-26), giveaways (8-7) and takeaways (12-3), while the Isles led in hits (33-31) and blocked shots (14-7). Both teams finished the afternoon 1/5 on the power play.

Game 3 is scheduled for Tuesday night in Brooklyn, New York at the Barclays Center. Puck drop is set for a little after 7:00 PM EST and the game can be viewed on NBCSN in the United States and on CBC and TVA Sports in Canada.

May 1, 2016
Quine’s First Goal a Huge One For the Islanders in 2OT, Lead Series 3-2

By: Nick Lanciani

The New York Islanders took home the win in Game 5 versus the Florida Panthers at BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida on Friday night in double overtime by a final score of 2-1.

Alan Quine scored the game winning goal at 16:00 of the second overtime period on the power play for the Islanders while Thomas Greiss made 47 saves on 48 shots faced for a .979 SV% in the win. Roberto Luongo made 40 stops on 42 shots against for a .952 SV% in the loss for the Panthers.

The win was the first win in a Game 5 in any series for the Islanders for the first time since 1987. The Islanders broke an 11 game losing streak in Game 5’s, with 10 out of the last 11 having been on the road. It was just the 2^nd time that the Panthers and the Islanders needed at least one overtime to determine a winner in a game in this series.

Coming into Friday night, Florida center, Vincent Trocheck was a game time decision, but it was announced prior to warmups that Trocheck would make his return to the lineup in Game 5 for the first time since sustaining a foot injury on March 29^th.

The first period began with an early high sticking penalty against Nick Bjugstad just 2:53 into the opening period. New York was unable to capitalize on their first power play opportunity of the night.

At 13:31 of the 1^st period, Frans Nielsen sent one past Luongo with a wrist shot that resulted in his 3^rd goal of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Nielsen’s goal put the Islanders up 1-0 and was assisted by Thomas Hickey (1).

Late in the period Jonathan Huberdeau put the Panthers on the penalty kill while receiving a minor penalty for hooking Casey Cizikas. Once again, though, New York was unable to convert on the man advantage (a theme that would remain true until their final power play of the night). After one the Islanders led the Panthers 1-0 and led in shots on goal (11-10), hits (13-7), takeaways (7-4) and blocked shots (8-2). Florida led in faceoff wins (10-9) after twenty minutes of play. Both teams had 5 giveaways each.

Other than swapping power play opportunities in the second period, the score remained unchanged through forty minutes of play. Florida failed to convert on their only power play of the night as John Tavares took the only penalty for New York at 17:28 of the 2^nd period. Tavares was sent to the box for slashing, if you were wondering.

After two, the Islanders led on the scoreboard 1-0 and in every other department except for shots on goal, which the Panthers led 24-16.

Almost two minutes into the third period the Florida Panthers tied the game, 1-1, with a goal from Aleksander Barkov. The goal was Barkov’s 2^nd of the series and was assisted by Alex Petrovic (3) and Jaromir Jagr (2).

New York used their coach’s challenge to see if the play entered the zone offsides, however after review, it was determined to be inconclusive by the ref, resulting in the loss of an Islanders timeout.

By the end of regulation, New York and Florida were tied 1-1 on the scoreboard and the Panthers were leading in shots on goal 30-24. New York led in just about everything else including hits (45-24), giveaways (14-10), takeaways (15-13) and blocked shots (16-6). Both teams were 26 and 26 on the faceoff dot at the end of sixty minutes of play.

In the first overtime, more NHL history was made.

At 7:19 of the first overtime period, Calvin de Haan covered the puck in the crease with his hand before promptly tossing it aside. This resulted in an automatic penalty shot to be rewarded to the Florida Panthers, as Aleksander Barkov was elected to shoot. Barkov became the third shooter in NHL history to be award a penalty shot in overtime in a Stanley Cup Playoff game. However, for all the effort Barkov put into his backhander, Greiss made the save and denied a game winning penalty shot goal and kept goalies a perfect 3-for-3 in OT penalty shot attempts in the playoffs.

Both teams continued to swap chances, but nobody could seem to find the back of the net with the superb goaltending from Greiss and Luongo in net.

Heading into double overtime, Florida had a 41-36 advantage in shots on goal and a 41-35 advantage in faceoff wins. New York, on the other hand, was leading in hits (58-28), giveaways (20-13), takeaways (17-14) and blocked shots (24-7).

The second overtime got underway and early into it Nick Bjugstad caught a rut in the ice and ended up going face first into the boards. Bloodied, Bjugstad made his way off the ice under his own power after spending some time slowly getting up and returning to his feet. No penalty was called on the play as replay showed that no Islander was responsible for the mishap.

The Islanders were unable to convert on their first power play of double overtime when Jaromir Jagr went to the box for tripping Tavares at 5:06 of the period, however they soon struck on their next man advantage that came about at 14:31 of the second overtime.

Derek MacKenzie was called for slashing Tavares and New York began a usual 5-on-4 power play. After a couple of great opportunities, Alan Quine found the back of the net with a slap shot from the slot that beat Luongo for the 2-1 victory. Marek Zidlicky and Thomas Hickey assisted on Quine’s first career Stanley Cup Playoff goal.

With the goal, Quine became the first Islanders rookie to score an OT playoff goal since Ken Morrow did just that on April 11, 1980.

The Panthers finished the night leading in shots on goal (48-42), faceoff wins (52-43) and takeaways (19-18), while New York ended the night leading in hits (65-34), giveaways (24-16) and blocked shots (27-14). The Islanders finished the night 1/5 on the power play while Florida ended the night 0/1 on the man advantage.

With the win on Friday night, the Islanders now lead the series 3-2 and have the chance to eliminate the Panthers on home ice at Barclays Center in Game 6 on Sunday. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 PM EST and can be seen in the United States on NBCSN.

April 23, 2016
The Islanders Takes Game 3 in Overtime

On Sunday April 17^th the New York Islanders defeated the Florida Panthers 4-3 in overtime. Thomas Hickey scored the winner in overtime. The New York Islanders have a 2-1 series lead now. Both Thomas Greiss and Roberto Luongo had strong nights. Reilly Smith had a great night for Panthers, as he had 1 goal and 2 assists in a losing effort.

The Barclays Center saw its first ever playoff action and it didn’t take long for the arena to see its first playoff goal. Unfortunately, it came for the visitors, as Reilly Smith scored his 4^th goal of the playoff just around 2 minutes into the game. Alex Petrovic and Michael Matheson picked up the assists on the play. Florida was dominating play, getting a lot of chances and peppering Thomas Greiss. As the period went on, the Islanders got their feet going and began exchanging chances, but Roberto Luongo was up to the task. Both teams were throwing their weight around as there were 34 hits thrown in the first.

The second period was much more eventful with 5 goals being scored. The first goal of the period went to Florida as Aleksander Barkov scored just a minute into the game. He turned the puck in off the back wall after a missed shot by Reilly Smith. Aaron Ekblad thought he had his first career playoff goal as he beat Greiss. Upon a coach’s challenge they saw the play was offside, canceling his goal. The Islanders scored the next goal as Ryan Pulock got his first career playoff goal on a 5-3 powerplay. Pulock shot from the point, beat Luongo, and Kyle Okpose and John Tavares picked up assists on the goal.

The Panthers were able to regain their two goal advantage with Nick Bjugstad getting his second of playoffs. Dmitry Kulikov and Reilly Smith picked up assists on the goal giving Smith 3 points on the night. The Islanders weren’t going to be denied however, as Shane Prince got his first career playoff goal with just 8 minutes remaining in the 2^nd period. The comeback was completed with three minutes remaining as Frans Nielsen scored on a backhand for his second of playoffs. Both Kyle Okposo and John Tavares picked up their second assists on the game.

The 3^rd period saw both teams exchanging chances but neither team could find the back of the net, thus we head to overtime. Both Luongo and Greiss had a strong overtime period making some great saves keeping their teams in it. The game ended with Thomas Hickey finding the back of the net 12:31 into overtime.

The next game will be Wednesday, April 20^th 8pm at Barclays Center. The game can be seen on USA network.

April 17, 2016
2015 NHL Free Agency- July 1st Signings Recap

– Nick Lanciani

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

Free agency begins at noon (12:00 PM EST) 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.

F Artem Anisimov signed a 5-year, $22.75 million extension with the Chicago Blackhawks worth an AAV of $4.5 million.

D Kevin Bieksa signed a 2-year, $8 million extension with the Anaheim Ducks.

F Mike Ribeiro signed a 2-year, $7 million extension with the Nashville Predators.

G Kari Ramo signed a 1-year $3.8 million extension with the Calgary Flames.

F Patrick Eaves and the Dallas Stars agreed to a 1-year, $1.15 million contract extension.

The Detroit Red Wings resigned F Andy Miele to a 1-year, $575,000 contract.

The Minnesota Wild announced that they have resigned F Mikael Granlund to a 2-year, $6 million ($3 million AAV) contract.

F Stanislav Galiev signed a 2-year, $1.15 million, contract extension with the Washington Capitals.

D Yannick Weber signed a 1-year, $1.5 million extension with the Vancouver Canucks.

G Tom McCollum resigned with the Detroit Red Wings.

The Toronto Maple Leafs signed D Matt Hunwick to a 2-year deal, $2.4 million contract worth an AAV of $1.2 million.

The New York Islanders signed G Thomas Greiss to a 2-year, $3 million deal.

D Francois Beauchemin signed a 3-year, $4.5 million deal with the Colorado Avalanche.

D Taylor Chorney signed a 1-year deal, worth $700,000 with the Washington Capitals.

D Adam Pardy and the Winnipeg Jets agreed to a 1-year, $1 million contract extension.

F Matt Halischuk signed a 1-year, two-way, $750,000 deal with the Winnipeg Jets.

The New York Islanders and D Thomas Hickey agreed to a 3-year contract (resign).

D Nate Prosser signed a 2-year extension with the Minnesota Wild.

D Paul Martin and the San Jose Sharks agreed to a 4-year contract worth $4.85 million AAV.

The Edmonton Oilers signed D Andrej Sekera to a 6-year deal worth $5.5 million in AAV.

F Blake Comeau signed a 3-year, $2.4 million AAV deal with the Colorado Avalanche.

NYI signed 2008 draft pick, Kirill Petrov, to an entry-level contract.

Edmonton also signed F Mark Letestu to a 3-year, $5.4 million contract.

The Philadelphia Flyers have agreed to a 2-year deal with G Michal Neuvirth.

D Chris Butler resigned with the St. Louis Blues, 1-year, $675,000.

F Brad Richardson signed a 3-year, $6.25 million deal with the Arizona Coyotes.

The Chicago Blackhawks and F Viktor Tikhonov agreed to a 1-year, $1.04 million deal.

The Arizona Coyotes agreed to a 1-year, $1.75 million deal with F Steve Downie.

D Matt Bartkowski signed a 1-year, $1.75 million deal with the Vancouver Canucks.

Carolina Hurricanes resigned F Riley Nash to a 1-year, $1.15 million deal.

D Zybnek Michalek signed a 2-year, $6.4 million deal with the Arizona Coyotes.

The Calgary Flames signed F Michael Frolik to a 5-year, $4.3 million AAV contract.

G Anders Lindback signed a $875,000 contract with the Arizona Coyotes.

Jori Lehtera signed a 3-year, $14.1 million contract extension with the St. Louis Blues.

D Rasmus Rissanen resigned with the Carolina Hurricanes on a 1-year, two-way contract.

The Carolina Hurricanes signed D Jaccob Slavin to a 3-year entry-level contract.

G Jhonas Enroth agreed to a 1-year deal with the Los Angeles Kings worth $1.25 million.

D Barrett Jackson agreed to a 2-year, $4 million contract with the Nashville Predators.

The Montreal Canadiens signed D Greg Pateryn to a 2-year, $1.6 million contract extension.

F Alexander Burmistrov and the Winnipeg Jets agree on a 2-year contract extension worth $1.55 million AAV.

G Mike McKenna signed a deal with the Florida Panthers.

The Florida Panthers signed D Sena Acolatse to a contract.

F Shane Harper signed a deal with the Florida Panthers.

F Ryan Carter signed a 1-year, $625,000 contract with the Minnesota Wild.

D David Warsofsky signed a 1-year deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

D Raphael Diaz signed an extension with the New York Rangers.

The Vancouver Canucks signed G Richard Bachman to a contract.

F Erik Condra signed a 3-year contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning worth an AAV of $1.25 million.

F P.A. Parenteau signed a 1-year deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs worth $1.5 million.

The New York Rangers signed F Jayson Megna to a contract.

F Matt Lindblad signed a deal with the New York Rangers.

F Cody Hodgson signed a 1-year, $1.05 million, deal with the Nashville Predators.

F Cal O’Reilly signed a 2-year deal with the Buffalo Sabres, worth $700,000 per year.

The Ottawa Senators agreed to a 1-year, two-way, contract with F Eric O’Dell worth $700,000 at the NHL level, $300,000 in the AHL.

The Buffalo Sabres signed D Matt Donovan to a 1-year contract.

The Dallas Stars signed F Curtis McKenzie to a 2-year contract extension.

D John Moore signed a 3-year deal with the New Jersey Devils.

F Zach Stortini signed a 2-year, two-way, contract with the Ottawa Senators.

F Blake Coleman signed an entry-level contract with the New Jersey Devils.

The Vancouver Canucks signed D Taylor Fedun.

F Derek Grant and the Calgary Flames agreed to a two-way contract worth $700,000 at the NHL level.

The New York Rangers agreed to a contract with F Viktor Stahlberg worth $1.1 million.

F Jack Eichel and the Buffalo Sabres agreed to a 3-year entry-level contract.

F Ruslan Fedotenko agreed to a two-way contract with the Minnesota Wild.

The Montreal Canadiens signed D Joel Hanley to a 1-year, two-way, contract.

The Carolina Hurricanes signed D T.J. Hensick to a 1-year, two-way contract.

F Sergei Plotnikov agreed to a 1-year entry-level contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

D Mike Kostka agreed to a two-way deal with the Ottawa Senators.

The Toronto Maple Leafs signed F Richard Panik to a 1-year extension worth $975,000.

The New York Rangers signed F Brian Gibbons.

F Conor Sheary agreed to a 2-year entry-level contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

F Kael Mouillierat and the Pittsburgh Penguins agreed to a 1-year contract.

The Minnesota Wild resigned F Jared Knight to a 1-year, two-way, $761,000 contract.

D Mike Green signed a 3-year deal with the Detroit Red Wings worth $6 million AAV ($18 million total).

F Kevin Porter signed a 1-year, two-way contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Boston Bruins resigned F Ryan Spooner with a 2-year, $1.9 million contract.

D Cameron Gaunce agreed to terms with the Florida Panthers.

The Florida Panthers also signed D Brett Regner.

The Arizona Coyotes signed D Dylan Reese to a 1-year, two-way contract.

F Mark Arcobello agreed to a 1-year deal, worth $1.1 million, with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Minnesota Wild signed F Zac Dalpe to a two-way contract.

D Steven Oleksy signed a 1-year contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

F Paul Thompson signed a 2-year, two-way, extension with the New Jersey Devils worth $575,000 a year.

The Minnesota Wild signed F Marc Hagel to a contract extension.

F Brad Richards signed a 1-year, $3 million contract with the Detroit Red Wings.

The St. Louis Blues agreed to terms with F Pat Cannone.

The Buffalo Sabres signed F Jason Akeson to a two-way deal.

The Minnesota Wild signed G Steve Michalek to a two-year, entry-level contract.

In a bundle of signings, the Washington Capitals signed F Carter Camper, F Sean Collins, D Mike Moore, and D Aaron Ness to 1-year, two-way, contracts.

The Anaheim Ducks signed G Matt Hackett to a 2-year contract and F Chris Mueller and D Joe Piskula to 1-year contracts in a bundle of their own.

The Philadelphia Flyers signed F Tim Brent and D Davis Drewiske to 1-year, two-way, contracts and F Chris Conner to a 2-year, two-way contract.

F Gregory Campbell signed a 2-year deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets worth $1.5 million AAV.

The Montreal Canadiens signed D Mark Barberio to a 1-year, two-way, $600,000 contract.

The Tampa Bay Lightning agreed to terms with D Matt Taormina on a 1-year, two-way, contract.

F Matt Beleskey and the Boston Bruins agreed to a 5-year, $19 million ($3.8 AAV) contract. NMC on the first 2 years.

D Kevin Gravel signed an extension with the Los Angeles Kings with a 2-year deal.

The Montreal Canadiens and F George Halloway agreed to a 1-year, two way contract.

F Daniel Winnik returns to the Toronto Maple Leafs on a 2-year deal, with an AAV of $2.25 million, after splitting time with Toronto and Pittsburgh in 2014-2015.

The Arizona Coyotes signed D Dakota Mermis to an entry-level contract. Arizona also signed F Dustin Jeffrey to a 2-year contract.

F Antoine Vermette and the Arizona Coyotes reached an agreement on a 2-year contract, worth $3.75 million AAV.

The New Jersey Devils signed F Jim O’Brien to a 1-year, two-way contract.

F Shawn Horcoff signed a 1-year, $1.75 million, deal with the Anaheim Ducks.

G Nathan Lieuwen signed his qualifying offer from the Buffalo Sabres, agreeing to a 1 year, $605,000, two-way contract.

The San Jose Sharks signed John McCarthy to a 1-year, two-way, $600,000 contract.

G Jeremy Smith and the Boston Bruins agreed to a 1-year, two-way, $600,000 extension.

The New York Islanders signed Joe Whitney to a 1-year, two-way, $750,000 contract.

F Justin Williams signed a 2-year deal with the Washington Capitals worth $6.5 million ($3.25 million AAV).

Trades made on July 1^st:

The Toronto Maple Leafs traded F Phil Kessel, F Tyler Biggs, D Tim Erixson, and a conditional 2016 2^nd round pick to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for F Nick Spaling, D Scott Harrington, F Kasperi Kapanen, a 2016 3^rd round pick and a conditional 2016 1^st round pick. Toronto retained 15% of Kessel’s salary ($1.25 million a year).

The Vancouver Canucks sent F Zack Kassian to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for F Brandon Prust and a 2016 5^th round pick.

F Max Reinhart was traded to the Nashville Predators by the Calgary Flames in exchange for a conditional 4^th round pick.

The New York Rangers acquired G Magnus Hellberg from the Nashville Predators in exchange for a 2017 6^th round pick.

The Boston Bruins sent F Reilly Smith and the contract of F Marc Savard to the Florida Panthers in exchange for F Jimmy Hayes.

July 1, 2015