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Columbus Blue Jackets General Manager Jarmo Kekalainen checked everything off his shopping list, both in the days leading up to and including the 2019 NHL Trade Deadline.
Kekalainen got a number one center on Friday in Matt Duchene, he added a quality top-nine forward in Ryan Dzingel on Saturday, added depth in the crease with Keith Kinkaid early Monday morning, then completed the puzzle among current NHLers in a transaction with the New York Rangers on Monday afternoon.
The Blue Jackets acquired Adam McQuaid from the Rangers in exchange for Julius Bergman, a 2019 4th round pick and a 2019 7th round pick.
McQuaid, 32, was originally drafted in the 2nd round (55th overall) by Columbus in the 2005 NHL Draft, but was traded to the Boston Bruins on May 16, 2007.
He went on to become a solid top-six defender with the Bruins, winning the Stanley Cup in 2011, while remaining a stay-at-home, shot blocking machine.
John Tortorella is going to like having him around in the defensive zone.
For the first time since being drafted by the Blue Jackets, McQuaid will have a chance to suit up in Columbus red, white and blue.
In 36 games for the Rangers this season, he has two goals and three assists (five points), with a plus-three rating and 33 penalty minutes.
Hampered by injuries in his final season with Boston, McQuaid amassed 1-3–4 totals in 38 games with the Bruins in 2017-18 and has 15-56–71 totals in 498 career NHL games with New York and Boston.
In 68 career Stanley Cup Playoff games, he has three goals and eight assists (11 points) along with a plus-13 rating and 30 penalty minutes.
McQuaid scored the only goal in Boston’s series clinching sweep of the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2013 Eastern Conference Final and had four assists in the B’s 2011 Stanley Cup championship.
He should slide in place of Scott Harrington or Dean Kukan down the stretch for Columbus and help bring some vital postseason experience, along with veteran leadership, to the Blue Jackets blue line.
Bergman, 23, was previously acquired by Columbus from the Ottawa Senators on Feb. 22nd as part of the Duchene trade and appeared in 33 American Hockey League games with the Belleville Senators this season prior to being assigned to the Cleveland Monsters (before being traded once again).
The young defender had six assists with Belleville and has 16-51–67 totals in 223 career AHL games with the Worcester Sharks, San Jose Barracuda and Belleville.
He was originally drafted by the San Jose Sharks in the 2nd round (46th overall) of the 2014 NHL Draft.
With the addition of a 4th round and 7th round pick in this year’s draft, the Rangers now have ten picks in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft in June.
Boston Bruins general manager, Don Sweeney, apparently wasn’t done after acquiring Nick Holden earlier in February and Rick Nash on Sunday. The Bruins GM was on the hunt for even more depth and that’s just what he got.
The Chicago Blackhawks traded F Tommy Wingels to the Boston Bruins in exchange for a conditional 5th round pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. The draft pick involved becomes a 4th round selection if Boston advances past the First Round of the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs or if the Bruins re-sign Wingels.
Wingels, 29, has seven goals and five assists in 57 games this season for Chicago.
The 6-foot, 200-pound, Evanston, Illinois native was signed by the Blackhawks as a free agent on July 1, 2017 after splitting last season with the San Jose Sharks and Ottawa Senators.
He spent his first six NHL season with the Sharks and notched career highs in all offensive categories in 2013-14 with 16 goals, 22 assists and 38 points in 77 games.
In 430 career NHL games with the Blackhawks, Senators and Sharks, Wingels has amassed 60 goals and 78 assists (138 points). He has two goals and six assists (eight points) in 54 career Stanley Cup Playoff games.
He was originally drafted by the Sharks in the 6th round (177th overall) of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft and returns to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as part of this trade since his AHL playing days as a member of the Worcester Sharks from 2010-12.
As a result of the trade, Chicago now has nine picks in the 2019 Draft, including two selections in the 5th round and two selections in the 7th round.
Sunday witnessed a flurry of trade activity before Monday’s NHL trade deadline– even if some of the moves were minor, all things considered.
The San Jose Sharks traded F Brandon Bollig and G Troy Grosenick to the Nashville Predators in exchange for a 6th round pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft.
San Jose now has six picks in the 2018 Draft (one in the 1st round, one in the 4th round, one in the 5th round, two in the 6th round and one in the 7th round).
Bollig, 31, has eight goals and two assists (ten points) in 45 games with San Jose’s AHL affiliate– the San Jose Barracuda– this season. He was a member of the 2013 Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks and has 10-13–23 totals in 241 career NHL games from 2011-16.
A native of St. Charles, Missouri, the 6’2″, 220-pound winger was signed in free agency by the Blackhawks after finishing his second year at St. Lawrence University in 2010.
He was previously traded to the Calgary Flames at the 2014 NHL Entry Draft before signing a one-year contract with the Sharks on July 4, 2017.
Grosenick, 28, is 6-9-4 with a 2.98 goals-against average and .902 save percentage in 20 games with the Barracuda this season. He played in two career NHL games with the Sharks in 2014-15, notching his first career NHL win– a shutout on November 16, 2014 at Carolina– and amassing a 1.53 GAA and .948 SV% in 119 minutes played.
The 6’1″, 185-pound goaltender began his professional career with the Worcester Sharks in the 2013-14 season (prior to their relocation to San Jose and rebrand as the Barracuda). In 168 AHL appearance, the Brookfield, Wisconsin native has an 85-56-16 record with a career 2.59 GAA and 13 shutouts.
Following his third year at Union College, Grosenick signed a one-year entry level contract with the Sharks on April 8, 2013.
Tuesday is one of those moving days in the NHL when the standings can look vastly different after all the games have been played.
Eleven contests in total will be held this evening, starting with five (Winnipeg at New Jersey, Nashville at Boston [SN1/TVAS], Ottawa at Philadelphia [RDS2], Detroit at Carolina and Buffalo at Columbus) at 7 p.m., followed by two more (Florida at Toronto and Dallas at Montréal [RDS]) half an hour later. Washington at Minnesota (NHLN) drops the puck at 8 p.m., and Los Angeles at Edmonton follows at 9 p.m. The West Coast gets involved at 10 p.m. when Anaheim visits Vancouver, and tonight’s nightcap – the New York Rangers at San Jose – drops the puck 30 minutes after. All times eastern.
Short list:
Given the vast playoff implications a win or loss could have for the Bruins or Predators, let’s catch tonight’s activity at the TD Garden.
For starters, let’s tackle Irwin’s story real quick.
Undrafted out of the University of Massachusetts, the defenseman began his professional hockey career in 2010 in nearby Worcester with the Sharks‘ AHL affiliate.
He scored 73 points over his first two seasons of AHL play, which prompted an NHL contract from the parent club after injuries to Brent Burns and Jason Demers.
Irwin finally got his opportunity to play in the big league in 2013, and he made the most of his opportunity. Though he did return to Worcester for most of February 2013, he quickly rejoined the Sharks by the end of the month. He never returned to the DCU Center.
Instead, he spent the remainder of the 2012-’13 season in San Jose, as well as the following two campaigns. In all, he played 153 games for the Sharks, earning 50 points on 16 goals. Additionally, he also appeared in 13 playoff games, registering two points.
Though originally from British Columbia, Bay Staters seemed to have fallen in love with the blueliner – or so Don Sweeney thought. The Bruins general manager signed Irwin to a one-year, two-way deal last season, yet it only felt like a one-way since he played only two games for Boston before being sent down to Providence for the remainder of the year. The biggest reason? He registered a -5 goal-differential over those two games, an absolutely horrid mark for a defender.
Some would not have taken the demotion well. Instead, Irwin seemed to retool his game while in Rhode Island. Fortunately for him, someone took notice.
That someone would be David Poile (okay, it was probably a Predators scout; but that’s not quite as fun a story, now is it?). Irwin has been an effective addition this season, as he’s claimed 14 points on three goals and a +14 goal differential in 66 games played.
What remains to be seen is if his 39-25-11 Predators can continue this impressive run they’re on. Currently occupying third place in the Central Division, the Preds have won their last four games and are 7-1-2 since March 7.
Just like it has been all season, offense has been the name of the game over this stretch. Tied for seventh-most goals on the season, Smashville has scored 33 goals in their last 10 games to tie for fourth-most in that time-span. The culprit? None other than Viktor Arvidsson, who has nine points since early March, including six goals – a top-10 effort over that stretch.
That success shouldn’t come as a surprise. He and Filip Forsberg have been the dominant strikers for the Preds all season, as both have 29 tallies to their credit to co-lead the club.
After beating the Islanders on Saturday to end their four-game losing skid, the 39-30-6 Bruins will get back to work defending their playoff position tonight. When Boston has found success this season, it’s usually been on the offensive end of the ice, as its 212 goals is the 12th-highest total in the NHL.
If you haven’t heard, Brad Marchand is pretty good. Actually, he’s an offensive machine with his team-leading (and fourth-best in the league) 80 points. 37 of those points have been goals, which – you guessed it – also leads the team.
To put things in perspective, since you flipped your calendar to March, Marchand has struck nine goals. Nine! That’s tied for third-most in the league this month, better than scorers of the likes of Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid, T.J. Oshie, Joe Pavelski and Vladimir Tarasenko – just to name a few.
Playing into that, the Bruins‘ power play has also been playing very well. Though only the third-best effort in the Atlantic Division, David Pastrnak has led Boston to a 26.5% conversion rate in March with his three power play goals this month.
The penalty kill has been extremely solid for the entire season. Boston is third-best in the league with its 84.9% kill rate, led by 33-20-4 Tuukka Rask. Though he’s faced the 10th-most power play shots among the 39 goaltenders with at least 30 appearances, he’s saved .884 percent of them – the 14th-best effort of the group.
The Bruins‘ visit to Bridgestone Arena on January 12 did not go the way they wanted to. Though they fired 36 shots on Juuse Saros‘ net, he saved all but Torey Krug‘s second period power play goal to lead Nashville to a 2-1 victory.
Should a Boston win be paired with regulation loss by the Maple Leafs, the Bruins will jump into third place in the Atlantic if only for a day.
As for the Predators, they are also in a fight for third place in their division with St. Louis. Since the Blues are inactive tonight, Nashville is giving them a game-in-hand by playing tonight. A win puts the pressure on the Notes to hold serve, while a loss would put the Preds in limbo until St. Louis plays the extra contest.
Some players to keep an eye on this evening include Boston‘s Marchand (37 goals [third-most in the NHL] for 80 points [fourth-most in the league]) and Rask (six shutouts [fifth-most in the NHL] among 33 wins [sixth-most in the league]) & Nashville‘s Pekka Rinne (30 wins [tied for eighth-most in the NHL]).
As much as I want to pick the Bruins since they’re playing at home, I like the Predators‘ offense too much to pick against them. Boston has not been playing well on the defensive end of late, and I think Smashville will be able to take advantage.
Hockey Birthday
The storm rages on in Carolina, as a 4-3 overtime loss to the Red Wings in yesterday’s DtFR Game of the Day extends its point streak to 11 games.
The Hurricanes found the ice-breaking goal relatively quickly with Jeff Skinner (Jaccob Slavin and Lee Stempniak) scoring a slap shot only 5:15 into the game to give them an early lead. The 1-0 score held to the intermission.
At Carolina‘s 10:30 a.m. practice today, I expect Bill Peters to be harping on his guys about limiting the opposition’s breakaway opportunities, because the Red Wings – specifically First Star of the Game Anthony Mantha – absolutely torched them in that situation. Mantha scored twice in 70 seconds (Third Star Andreas Athanasiou and Danny DeKeyser assisted on the second tally) to give Detroit the lead. But it didn’t end the period with that lead. Instead, Second Star Justin Faulk (Slavin and Derek Ryan) tied the game with a snap shot 58 seconds before heading to the dressing room for the second intermission.
Tomas Tatar (Gustav Nyquist and Henrik Zetterberg) buried a power play snapper 8:30 into the third period to reclaim the lead for the Red Wings, and they nearly held it to the end of regulation. Once again: “instead, Faulk.” With six skaters on the ice and only 52 seconds remaining in regulation, he scored a snapper (Noah Hanifin and Victor Rask) to force three-on-three overtime.
After 1:59 of overtime play, Athanasiou (Nyquist) scored a backhanded shot to win the game, but that quickly became of lesser importance. As the center dove towards Eddie Lack‘s crease, he made contact with the netminder in the head and neck area.
Lack remained nearly motionless on the ice, moving only his legs. He had to be stretchered off the ice and transported to the hospital for further evaluation. Fortunately, he tweeted around midnight that he was discharged with a clean bill of health.
Petr Mrazek earned the victory after saving 39-of-42 shots faced (92.9%), forcing Lack to take the overtime loss after saving 23-of-27 (85.2%).
Within the DtFR Game of the Day series, the Wings‘ victory has expanded the 82-57-23 road teams’ lead over the hosts to two points.
By: Nick Lanciani
The San Jose Sharks traded backup goaltender Alex Stalock, forward Ben Smith and a conditional fourth round pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for goaltender James Reimer and forward Jeremy Morin. The conditional pick involved in the deal can become a third round pick in the 2018 draft if the Sharks reach this year’s Stanley Cup Final as reported by TSN’s Darren Dreger.
Reimer is a 27-year-old native of Morweena, Manitoba who has played in 207 NHL games, all with the Maple Leafs. He posted a 85-76-23 record with a .914 SV%, 2.83 GAA and 11 shutouts during his time with Toronto.
He is most notably remembered as the Maple Leafs goalie in their 2013 Eastern Conference Quarterfinal matchup with the Boston Bruins, posting a 3-4 record with a .923 SV% and 2.88 GAA in seven career Stanley Cup Playoffs games.
He has represented Canada twice at the World Championships (2011 and 2014) and posted a cumulative record of 7-1 with a .915 SV% and 2.13 GAA in eight games. Reiner was originally selected by Toronto in the fourth round (99th overall) in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.
Morin is a 24-year-old forward who is currently playing with the Toronto Marlies in the American Hockey League (AHL). Through 41 games with the Marlies and the Rockford IceHogs, Morin has 11-17-28 totals, 32 penalty minutes and a plus-7 rating. He has played in 82 career NHL games with the Chicago Blackhawks and the Columbus Blue Jackets and has 10-12-22 career totals, as well as 69 penalty minutes and a plus-8 rating.
He was drafted by the Atlanta Thrashers in the second round (45th overall) of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. Morin has previously played for San Jose’s assistant coach, Steve Spott, during his Junior hockey days with the Kitchener Rangers in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL).
Stalock is a 28-year-old goaltender who has split time with the Sharks and their AHL affiliate San Jose Barracuda this season. In 62 career NHL games, spanning five seasons with the Sharks, Stalock posted a 24-19-7 record with a 2.37 GAA and a .911 SV%. This season alone, he was 3-5-2 in 13 games with a 2.94 GAA.
The St. Paul, Minnesota native is 2-0-0 with the Barracuda this season with a 1.96 GAA. He was originally drafted by the Sharks in the fourth round (112th overall) in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. He was also a pleasure to watch with the Worcester Sharks, as an aside.
Smith is a 27-year-old native of Winston-Salem, North Carolina who has split the season with the Sharks and the Barracuda. He was previously acquired by San Jose in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks last season and played in 25 games with the Sharks this season, notching two goals and three assists. Smith has 8-2-10 totals in 14 games with the Barracuda this season.
He has played in 181 career NHL games split between San Jose and Chicago and has 25-19-44 career totals. Smith was a sixth round (169th overall) draft pick of the Blackhawks in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.
As a result of the trade, the Maple Leafs have recalled goaltender, Garret Sparks, from the Marlies to serve as the backup to Jonathan Bernier tonight as Toronto squares off with the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre. Meanwhile, San Jose’s additions may join the team as early as Sunday when the Sharks take on the Vancouver Canucks on the road at Rogers Arena.
Down the Frozen River 
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