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NEWS CLIPPINGS • January 25, 2019

‘It’s quite an accomplishment.’ Canes’ Sebastian Aho ready for his NHL All-Star weekend.

By Chip Alexander

If he had his druthers, Carolina Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour probably would like to see Sebastian Aho somewhere on a sunny beach the next few days, off the ice, taking it easy.

“The way we play is uptempo and really hard and in-your-face hockey,” Brind’Amour said. “It takes a toll on the mental side of things. You grind all season and you push and push.”

That said, Brind’Amour doesn’t in any way begrudge Aho heading off to the 2019 NHL All-Star Weekend in San Jose, Calif. The Finnish center is making his first All-Star Game appearance at age 21, representing the Canes, playing for the Metropolitan Division.

“I’m happy he’s going. It’s well-deserved,” Brind’Amour said. “He’s been good all year, steady, consistent. He’s kind of establishing himself as an all-star type caliber player, and obviously that’s a nice honor for him.

“Those are memories he’ll be able to cherish. It’s quite an accomplishment.”

And think of what Aho has been able to accomplish in this, his third NHL season. He has scored 22 goals, making it three straight years with 20-plus, and 57 points in 50 games. He had his second career hat trick. He began the season with a 12-game point streak that included at least one assist in each game, setting franchise records.

Aho had two assists Wednesday in the Canes’ 5-2 win at Vancouver.

“I think he could play defense, if we had to,” Brind’Amour said. “He’s a very smart hockey player.”

One of Aho’s Finnish friends, forward Patrik Laine of the Winnipeg Jets, said Aho’s “mind is like a computer,” that he’s always thinking ahead on the ice, processing plays and situations quickly.

All-Star peers

In going to the All-Star Game, Aho will be surrounded by others who fit the same mold. On the Metro team is Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins, one of the craftiest centers in NHL history. During a game in Aho’s rookie season, Crosby once glanced over to see the name on the back of Aho’s jersey, impressed with his play. Now, they can sit in the same locker room and talk things over.

“It’s going to be cool,” Aho said. “It’s my first time going and it will be a great experience for me, and I’m going to go enjoy it. To be around some of the world’s best players, that should be cool. In our division, we have some superstars. I don’t know what to expect but it should be fun.”

Canes captain Justin Williams has watched as Aho has grown as a player the past season and half. The two sit next

to each other in the Canes’ room at PNC Arena, and Aho in recent games centered a line with Williams and newly acquired winger Nino Niedereitter.

Williams has been on Stanley Cup champions with players such as Brind’Amour with the Canes and Anze Kopitar of the Los Angeles Kings. In two years with the Washington Capitals, he played with Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom.

But he likes all that he has seen with Aho. His temperament, his resolve.

“He strives to be great, right?” Williams said. “That’s what you want. That’s what the team wants to see. You don’t want to see a guy happy with being a good player. You want them to be great. And after they’re great you want them to be a star.

“It’s his first taste of being an all-star. And he’ll tell you, too, he’s obviously got a long way to go. That’s awesome because he’s already really good.”

Brind’Amour, in his first year as head coach, initially was hesitant to use Aho at center but that’s no longer an issue. Not that there aren’t mistakes. And when there are mistakes, none slip past Brind’Amour, a veteran of more than 1,600 regular-season and playoff games.

Still learning

In Tuesday’s road game against Calgary, Aho’s goal with 44 seconds left in regulation tied the score, forced overtime and earned the Canes a point. But he lost the faceoff to begin the OT and was caught drifting defensively as the Flames’ Mikael Backlund quickly scored for a 3-2 win.

“He’s a young kid, still learning,” Brind’Amour said. “We still show him stuff, talking about details, things he can be a little better at. He’s answered the bell for the most part. He’s risen to the occasion more than he hasn’t.”

More than anything Brind’Amour admires Aho’s competitiveness. He burns to win, much as his coach once burned to win.

“That’s what makes him a special player, for me,” Brind’Amour said. “We know he’s talented, he works hard on the ice. But the intangibles are what will make him a special, special player. He hates to lose and he will do anything he can to win.”

2019 NHL All-Star Weekend

SAP Center, San Jose, Calif.

Friday: All-Star Skills Competition, 9 p.m., NBCSN

Saturday: NHL All-Star Game, 3-on-3 tournament, 8 p.m., NBC

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Grading all 31 NHL teams at the All-Star break

By Scott Burnside

As the clock ticks inexorably toward the 2019 trade deadline and most teams now having roughly 30 games left on their schedules, the annual NHL All-Star break is a natural point at which to take stock.

Which teams have exceeded expectation? Which teams are miserably failing to live up to preseason prognostications? Which stars are hitting their stride? Which ones need a shot of adrenalin to carry their respective teams forward over the final third of the season?

Here’s our All-Star break report card for all 31 NHL teams.

Anaheim Ducks: C-minus

The Ducks, not unlike Arizona, battled injury from the get-go. And were it not for the otherworldly (at least on most nights) goaltending provided by John Gibson, the Ducks would be thinking draft lottery not wild card. Still, the fact GM Bob Murray had to publicly throw his support behind head coach Randy Carlyle tells you that this Ducks team is very much in transition.

Arizona Coyotes: C

Hard to assess the Yotes given their never-ending list of walking wounded, a list that may now include captain Oliver Ekman-Larsson who was set to undergo an MRI Thursday. Maybe they deserve a better grade given that they hit the break just two points out of the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. But that’s more a function of the mediocrity in lower echelons of the conference than the team itself.

Boston Bruins: B

If the Bruins got to play Toronto every night they’d be an A-plus team, but I digress. Tuukka Rask’s injury (he was concussed in a collision in net just before the All-Star break) is problematic given that he returned to form in recent weeks, but Jaroslav Halak is a more than adequate Plan B. The offense is middle of the pack but Bruce Cassidy’s group is hard to play against (they are tied for third in goals allowed per game) and playoff tested.

Buffalo Sabres: C-minus

The Sabres ran the gamut from A-plus play to D or worse of late, which sees them settle in here with a C-minus. The problem for the Sabres is that, having won 10 straight games early in the season, the expectations went through the roof. They hit the break four points back of the second wild card and now the pressure is on head coach Phil Housley to get the team back in its earlier groove. There is also no small amount of pressure on GM Jason Botterill to take advantage of the team’s surprising start to make some adds at the trade deadline to give this squad it’s best opportunity to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2011.

Calgary Flames: A-plus

GM Brad Treliving and head coach Bill Peters should both be in consideration for some postseason hardware, along with Mark Giordano, who is a contender for what would be his first Norris Trophy as the league’s top defenseman. The Flames, whose plus-45 goal differential is tops in the Western Conference, far exceeded expectations, opening up a six-point lead on San Jose for the top spot in the Pacific Division and top seed in the Western Conference.

Carolina Hurricanes: C

A season that began with high hopes for Scott Darling, and newcomers Dougie Hamilton and Micheal Ferland sees the Canes enter the break once again outside the playoff bubble. Ferland will likely be traded by the deadline, Darling has seen his career go off the rails once again and Hamilton’s name has even surfaced in trade talks – while former Hurricanes Elias Lindholm and Jeff Skinner enjoy career seasons in Calgary and Buffalo, respectively. Still, the Hurricanes are just four points back of what would be their first playoff berth since 2009, and Rod Brind’Amour has his team playing an entertaining up-tempo style.

Chicago Blackhawks: D

How the mighty have fallen as the once powerhouse Blackhawks parted ways early in the season with future Hall of Fame head coach Joel Quenneville. In spite of brief spasms of life, they remain mired in 14th place in the Western Conference, ranking 30th in the league in goals allowed per game and headed for a second straight playoff miss.

Colorado Avalanche: C-plus

If we did this ranking six weeks ago, the Avs would be an ‘A’ club for sure, but inconsistent goaltending from both Philipp Grubauer and Semyon Varlamov, and a lack of depth up front caused the Avs’ fall to the edge of the playoff picture. The Avs should still should be among the top eight in the West when the dust settles, but they aren’t making it easy on themselves.

Columbus Blue Jackets: B-plus

The Blue Jackets have had lots of off-ice stuff to digest, including the possible departure of stars Sergei Bobrovsky and Artemi Panarin and then more recently the one-game suspension of Bobrovsky for departing the bench after being lifted in a game against Tampa. Through it all they managed to stay competitive and they hit the break just four points out of first place in the Metropolitan Division and with a real chip on their shoulder.

Dallas Stars: C-plus

Never a dull moment in Dallas, eh? President Jim Lites calls out Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn, rookie head coach Jim Montgomery bemoans the culture of mediocrity, and the team, once again, can’t find ways to win consistently on the road (they are 9-13-2 away from American Airlines Center). A team that missed the playoffs in eight of the past 10 seasons is desperate to make the tournament this season,

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but they need to be much better down the stretch to make that happen.

Detroit Red Wings: D

We knew the Red Wings weren’t going to be very good this season and well, they aren’t. Lots of questions moving forward about GM Ken Holland’s future with the team, whether – or when – Steve Yzerman ends up managing the team and what will become of head coach Jeff Blashill. Short-term Holland has to decide what to do with netminder Jimmy Howard, who is the team’s most consistent performer but who will be an unrestricted free agent in the summer.

Edmonton Oilers: F

Sorry, a team with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl shouldn’t be this bad, this dysfunctional. But the Oilers are what they are and that is a mess. The firing of Todd McLellan early in the season didn’t change that and the abrupt firing of GM Peter Chiarelli in the middle of a game this week doesn’t fix that. Maybe they make the playoffs, maybe they don’t, but as president Bob Nicholson noted this week, there’s something in the water in Edmonton that needs to be addressed. Sadly pretty much the same thing has been said for more than a decade.

Florida Panthers: D-minus

The Panthers were expected to be vying for a playoff berth, maybe even challenging for one of the top three spots in the Atlantic Division this season but it didn’t turn out that way as goaltending and injuries derailed yet another season for the Cats. Too much talent for this team to be where they are and that is 10 points out of a playoff spot.

Los Angeles Kings: D-minus

Another for the ‘mighty have fallen’ category as the Kings are dead last in the conference and also fired their coach. Willie Desjardins is a place holder as GM Rob Blake figures out a way to reroute what became a dead-end train. The team has an embarrassing minus-36 goal differential, worst in the league, and the league’s most impotent offense with just 2.26 goals per game. The signing of Ilya Kovalchuk to a three-year deal in the offseason is symptomatic of a team needing to reboot but not taking the proper steps to do so.

Minnesota Wild: B-minus

Zach Parise’s return to health and return to form are pivotal for the Wild as they are starting to put some distance between themselves and the rest of the pack in the battle for playoff positioning. The third-place Wild won three straight hitting the break in spite of dealing popular Nino Niederreiter to Carolina.

Montreal Canadiens: A-minus

Carey Price is back to being Carey Price, the Habs kept the ship afloat long enough for Shea Weber to return from injury and all of a sudden the Habs are pushing the Maple Leafs for second place in the Atlantic Division. Kudos to much-maligned GM Marc Bergevin for staying the course, and Claude Julien has done a masterful job behind the bench as the Canadiens appear headed for an unexpected playoff berth and perhaps even a long-awaited matchup with the Leafs.

Nashville Predators: A

The Predators have muddled through a series of injuries and suspensions, which prevented them from being the dominant regular season team they were a year ago when they won the Presidents’ Trophy. But as they get healthier watch for them to continue to pile up the points in a bid to win a second-straight division title. They hit the break tied with Winnipeg atop the Central, although the Jets have four games in hand.

New Jersey Devils: D-minus

Perhaps a drop-off in play was to be expected this season after the Devils, behind Hart Trophy-winner Taylor Hall, earned a surprise trip to the playoffs last spring. But no one expected this kind of fallback as the Devils find themselves tied with woeful Ottawa with the fewest points in the league. The emergence of rookie netminder MacKenzie Blackwood is a lone bright spot but not nearly enough to cover the other blemishes displayed by the Devils.

New York Islanders: A-plus

The problem for Bill Peters vis a vis the Jack Adams as coach of the year is that Barry Trotz is likely going to walk away with the prize if his Islanders continue their confounding level of play. No John Tavares? No problem for an Islander team that is the league’s stingiest and is getting it done by committee under Trotz, who looks to follow up his Stanley Cup turn in Washington with an unexpected playoff berth and possibly a Metropolitan Division championship as the Islanders hit the break with three-point bulge on Washington.

New York Rangers: C-minus

This was expected to be a season of transition for the Rangers and it is just that under rookie head coach David Quinn. The Rangers have decisions on players like Mats Zuccarello (he’ll almost certainly be dealt) among others in the coming weeks, but the challenge for a team with a minus-25 goal differential is to stay competitive and that’s no small task given this lineup.

Ottawa Senators: F

Another team with myriad issues that aren’t all related to on-ice play and must be dealt with before any hope of a renaissance can be contemplated. And while the Senators were expected to be near the bottom of the standings, being dead last in goals allowed per game merely reinforces just how far this team has fallen. Interesting days ahead for GM Pierre Dorion as he must either sign Mark Stone and/or Matt Duchene or get good return in trades.

Philadelphia Flyers: D-minus

Another team that began the season looking to be in the playoff mix but ended up with major upheaval that included the dismissal of GM Ron Hextall and head coach Dave Hakstol. Wayne Simmonds is likely out the door but the work ahead of new GM Chuck Fletcher is significant given the steps taken back by many of the team’s promising young players as the Flyers rank 29th in goals allowed per game.

Pittsburgh Penguins: B-minus

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The Penguins are making a bid for a 13th-straight playoff appearance, which is pretty mindboggling, but it hasn’t all been a straight line with netminder Matt Murray struggling to find consistency and then overcome injury. Evgeni Malkin is not having a Malkin-like season but still the Pens, led by the indomitable Sidney Crosby, are just five points out of first in the Metropolitan.

St. Louis Blues: D-plus

Sure, the Blues are just three points out of a playoff spot at the break, but for a team that should have been competing with Nashville and Winnipeg atop the Central Division, this season is a major disappointment as witnessed by the firing of head coach Mike Yeo. Jordan Binnington is a revelation in goal but can the kid help salvage the Blues’ season? Seems like a lot to ask.

San Jose Sharks: A

It took some time for Erik Karlsson to hit his stride with the Sharks but now that the two-time Norris Trophy winner is back to being the Karlsson of old, and the Sharks have once again established themselves as a legitimate Stanley Cup contender. The challenge will be in holding off Vegas for the second spot in the division, which would give them home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

Tampa Bay Lightning: A-plus

The Lightning are crushing the competition in the Eastern Conference and have a comfortable lead over Calgary as the presumptive Presidents’ Trophy winners. They give up more than they’d like (tied for 21st in goals allowed per game) but a top-ranked offense, top-ranked power play, a top-10 penalty kill and league-best plus-59 goal differential make the Lightning the All-Star break Stanley Cup favorites.

Toronto Maple Leafs: B-plus

The bar was set pretty high for the Leafs and they’d likely be an ‘A’ squad had they not gone flat in the days leading up to the All-Star break. William Nylander struggled after missing the first quarter of the season waiting for a new contract, and Auston Matthews had his own ups and downs when it comes to production. Still, the Leafs are a deep, dynamic offensive team led by John Tavares and, with strong goaltending

provided by Frederik Andersen, are headed to the postseason for the third straight season. Now they need to prove they can hang with the big boys by winning a round or two.

Vancouver Canucks: A-minus

What a revelation Elias Pettersson is to long-suffering Canucks fans to say nothing of his teammates. Even with a couple of injuries Pettersson is running away with the rookie scoring race and appears a shoo-in to win the Calder Trophy as the top first-year player. Meanwhile head coach Travis Green has the Canucks, tied in points for a wild-card spot, believing in the playoffs –something that would have been unthinkable in September.

Vegas Golden Knights: B-plus

When the Golden Knights got off to a middling start to the season lots of people felt this was the team finally acting like they should have acted a year ago when they were an expansion squad. But defending Jack Adams Trophy-winner Gerard Gallant has his crew back where they belong, firmly ensconced in a playoff spot thanks to the return from suspension of defenseman Nate Schmidt and the play of Marc-Andre Fleury in net.

Washington Capitals: C

The defending champs waited until just before the All-Star break to have their Stanley Cup hangover, going winless in seven – a stretch that saw them give up three hat tricks. They’ve allowed 30 goals in the past five games. This is still a talent-laden team with the ability to present a vigorous title defense. They just don’t look like it right now.

Winnipeg Jets: A

The Jets are where most expected them to be: battling with Nashville for the top spot in the Central Division. Interesting goaltending debate upcoming for head coach Paul Maurice as Laurent Brossoit (2.01 goals-against average and .943 save percentage in 12 appearances) put pressure on incumbent Connor Hellebuyck, but it’s a good problem to have for a Jets team that is built, once again, for the long haul.

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Category 5: Notes from the Carolina Hurricanes, Jan. 25

Niederreiter's fast start; Ned, Darling and the goalies; and what to expect from Dougie the rest of the way

The Carolina Hurricanes entered the All-Star break with a 2-0-1 run through western Canada that included two high-scoring wins — both with two-goal performances by newcomer Nino Niederreiter — and a point stolen in Calgary when Sebastian Aho scored with 44 seconds remaining and the goalie pulled for an extra attacker. With their bye week coming after this weekend’s All-Star break, the Hurricanes won’t play again until Feb. 1. Here are some thoughts after 50 games.

Category 1: It’s still early, but the Hurricanes’ swap of Victor Rask for Nino Niederreiter seems like a huge win for Carolina. After a Hurricanes’ debut in which Rod Brind’Amour apologized to him for how poorly his new team played, Niederreiter has scored four goals in the past three games, including a pair of two-goal efforts.

As far as in-season trade acquisitions go, it is arguably the best start for a new player since the franchise relocated to North Carolina.

No one is likely to match Tuomo Ruutu’s debut game on Feb. 26, 2008. A refresher course on that one: Ruutu was late arriving to the game, then climbed on the bench — after a crash course in the Hurricanes’ systems from Ron Francis on the ride from the airport — and proceeded to hit everything in sight, immediately cementing his status as a fan favorite. Then, with a little over three minutes left in the eventual win of New Jersey, Ruutu was on the wrong end of a Patrik Elias follow through and gushed blood all over the ice. The wound required 40 stitches, but the next day Ruutu met with media — looking worse than Frankenstein, with a Family Circus-esque path of stitches down his face and one eye swollen shut — and was all smiles.

Ruutu had an assist in that debut, and had a goal and two assists in his first four games with Carolina. He finished with 11 points (including four goals) in 17 games for the balance of the season.

A few others had standout debuts. Martin Gelinas had a goal and an assist in his first game with Carolina on Jan. 5, 1998, but was held without a point in the next three. Jaroslav Spacek had two assists in his first game as a Hurricane on Dec. 9, 2011, his only multipoint game in 34 with Carolina. And Andrej Nestrasil scored one of the 17 goals he had in 115 games with Carolina in his first Hurricanes game on Nov. 22, 2014.

But as far as getting off to this hot of a start through a handful of games, few match Nino.

Radim Vrbata, traded straight up for Bates Battaglia in 2003 in a deal with Colorado, also had four goals in his first four games, then added another in his fifth. He fizzled out from there, managing just 14 goals and 30 points in his last 101 games with Carolina.

A season earlier, Carolina sent Shane Willis and enforcer Chris Dingman to Tampa Bay, bringing back goalie Kevin Weekes. Weekes won his two regular season games, then went 3-2 with a 1.62 goals-against average and .939 save percentage in the playoffs, seizing the job from Arturs Irbe. Weekes was solid as the No. 1 the next season, but he then left for the Rangers via free agency following the lost lockout year. That contributed to Carolina getting the only other Swiss player to skate for the NHL franchise, goalie Martin Gerber.

Finally — and this is cheating a bit — Erik Cole’s return to the franchise in 2009 via a three-way trade that sent Justin Williams from Carolina to L.A. and Patrick O’Sullivan to Edmonton worked out perfectly. Cole had six points (1-5-6) in his first four games back with the Hurricanes — including a goal in his re-debut and a four-assist game in the second — and finished with 15 points (though just two goals) in 17 games. He added five assists in 18 playoff games as Carolina reached the Eastern Conference Final.

And while we learned that a fast start doesn’t necessarily mean long-term success, we can also point to Brind’Amour (no points in his first four games with the Hurricanes; got his first goal in his ninth game) and Williams (a serviceable five goals and 18 points in 32 games after coming over from Philadelphia in 2004) as proof some players just take time to adjust to their new surroundings.

For now, Niederreiter has been everything Carolina could have asked for — and more.

Category 2: Speaking of Niederreiter, I asked Jordan Martinook what it was like to play against the Swiss power forward back in their Western Hockey League days. Martinook got a bit wide-eyed recalling what a handful the tandem of Niederreiter and center Ryan Johansen were with the Portland Winterhawks back in 2010-11.

“I don’t think I won a faceoff (against Johansen) and Nino kept crushing me in the corners,” said Martinook, who was in his first season with the Vancouver Giants that year. Mark Martinook down as one guy who’s happy to have Niederreiter on his side now.

Category 3: Another newcomer, goalie Alex Nedeljkovic, earned a win in his first NHL start Wednesday, stopping 24 of 26 shots in Carolina’s 5-2 victory at Edmonton. Nedeljkovic has seen NHL action one other time, making all

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17 saves in relief of Cam Ward in a 4-1 loss at Columbus on Jan. 17, 2017.

The Hurricanes now have four goalies with a win this season: Curtis McElhinney (11 in 18 appearances), Petr Mrazek (10 in 24), Scott Darling (2 in 8) and Nedeljkovic (1 in 1). The last time the Hurricanes did that was in 2009-10. Ward had 18 wins in 47 appearances, while Manny Legace (10 in 30), Justin Peters (6 in 9) and Michael Leighton (1 in 7) also all earned W’s.

Category 4: It’s hard not to think where Carolina could be without Darling’s struggles. The Hurricanes rightfully gave Darling a shot at the start of this season after he dedicated himself to getting in shape and being as prepared as possible following a nightmare first season in Raleigh.

Simply put, it didn’t work.

Darling was 2-4-2 with Carolina — with a save percentage and GAA even worse than last season — to start the year before the team determined it’d had enough. One surprising silver lining was Darling’s injury in the preseason finale: It opened the door on the team claiming a goalie off waivers right as several were hitting the wire ahead of the start of the season, and management made the right call in picking McElhinney over Calvin Pickard in a decision that involved two Maple Leafs castoffs.

Still, Carolina got just six of a possible 16 points when Darling played this season (.75 points percentage) compared to 48 points in 42 games with a different goalie (1.14). That’s roughly three points left on the table — which would put Carolina right on the back bumpers of Pittsburgh, Boston, Columbus and Washington in the playoff race.

In 11 games with the Checkers this season — including a post-injury conditioning assignment game in late October that proved to be his best performance — Darling is 5-4-1

with a 3.48 goals-against average and .880 save percentage. Charlotte’s other goalies are 25-6-4 on the season.

Category 5: Much has been made of Dougie Hamilton’s slow start with the Hurricanes. He’s playing nearly two minutes less than he did last year with the Flames (19:33 compared to 21:32) and is on the second power play unit while Justin Faulk holds onto the spot on PP1.

While the assists (just 11) still aren’t there, Hamilton now has eight goals in his first 50 games with the Hurricanes — three more than fellow defenseman Jaccob Slavin’s five and seventh most on the entire team. That puts Hamilton on pace for 13 goals — just a touch behind his average goal output heading into this season.

But there’s reason to believe Hamilton will best that total given that he has scored five goals in the last 12 games. In his career, Hamilton has scored more goals in January (14 in 75 games) and February (16 in 68 games) than any other month. February has seen him score nine of his 23 career power play goals, and even March is impressive — 12 goals along with a whopping 42 assists in 86 games.

In all, Hamilton is a player who performs better after the calendar flips to a new year each season. His totals in October through December games: 28 goals, 62 assists and 90 points in 218 games. January through April? Hamilton has 44 goals, 105 assists and 149 points in 255 games.

If we average those out on a per game basis and then apply them to an 82-game season, it looks like this:

Oct-Dec: 10.5 goals + 23.3 assists = 33.8 points

Jan-April: 14.1 goals + 33.8 assists = 47.9 points

That’s close to a 50 percent increase in point production. The Hamilton we’re seeing now will likely be the one we see the rest of the way.

All-Star: Aho Introduced at Media Day

Aho meets the press at All-Star Weekend

by Michael Smith

SAN JOSE - The puck dropped on NHL All-Star Weekend festivities in San Jose with media day.

Moved to primetime this year, media day provided not only an opportunity for reporters from around the globe to fetch soundbites from the league's stars, but also a unique perspective for fans to take in the action and listen in on live interviews.

Media day festivities sprawled across the stage and floor at City National Civic in downtown San Jose. Players were introduced one-by-one by division before they dispersed into

various interview pods. Using earpieces handed out at the door, fans in the stands could then tune their earpiece to any of the pods and hear an interview as it happened, and video from each pod projected onto screens at the front of the theatre. There were also live on-stage interviews and hits with NHL Network.

It was a bustling, high-tech affair.

Aho sported the black All-Star sweater - created in partnership by Adidas and Parley for the Oceans, the first-ever NHL hockey jerseys to feature repurposed and upcycled materials with a tonal Hurricanes' primary crest on the chest - while fielding questions in both English and Finnish at his designated pod.

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Here are some highlights.

On what's made his season successful so far: "I'm still a young player. I can be physically even more stronger, faster, all that. That helps when you get a little bit stronger. Good linemates. Coach lets my play and gives me a lot of ice time."

On if there's another level to his game: "Of course I believe there's a next level. I'm still a young player. I'm not done here. I want to be a better player every year. That's my goal."

On being considered an elite player as an All-Star: "I don't like to compare myself to other players. These guys have been here for so many years, and they've been so great for so many years in this league. At the same time, it's cool to be in the same group with these guys now."

On watching the best players in the league: "I look at the best players in the league and try to learn something every day. That's who I am. I like to watch the best players play and maybe learn something from them."

On Teravainen's new contract: "He's a great player. I'm so happy for him. He deserved that deal. It was a good deal for both the Hurricanes and Teuvo. I'm happy for him. He's going to be great for the Hurricanes for five-and-half years."

On Finnish hockey: "We are producing great players every year, and we're playing pretty good against the big countries in the tournaments, too."

On why the mullet is no longer a trend in the NHL: "I don't know. That's a good question. I don't think it's trendy anywhere."

All-Star: Aho Representing Canes in San Jose

Aho set for first All-Star appearance

by Michael Smith

SAN JOSE - Sebastian Aho is ready for the bright lights of NHL All-Star Weekend.

The 21-year-old Finnish forward is making his first of what will likely be many All-Star appearances, as he represents the Carolina Hurricanes in Silicon Valley.

"It's pretty exciting," Aho said after being named to the Metropolitan Division All-Star team. "It will be a cool experience for me, I'm sure."

"He's been good all year. Steady and consistent. It's a well-deserved honor," head coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "Who wins and loses and all that - it's just about really taking advantage of being around the people you wouldn't normally be around. He'll have some great teammates, get to know them a little bit, watch them, see what they're doing. Just take in the experience."

Aho recorded a pair of assists to help the Hurricanes defeat the Vancouver Canucks, 5-2, on Wednesday night in their final game before the break.

Riding the high from the five-point road trip, Aho and I caught an early-morning flight out of Vancouver, and we touched down in San Jose before the lunch hour.

The weekend will kick off on Thursday evening with media day, which will feature a car wash of interviews and photoshoots. The 2019 NHL Skills Competition, which features six events, begins at 9 p.m. ET on Friday (NBCSN). The 2019 NHL All-Star Game, featuring a 3-on-3 tournament between the club's four divisions, takes place at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday (NBC).

CarolinaHurricanes.com will have this weekend covered from every angle, as always, and our social media properties will have up-to-the-minute content, as well.

All-Star Media Day Buzz

Howard hoping for reunion with Datsyuk; Giroux big fan of Gritty

by NHL.com

Welcome to 2019 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend. The festivities kicked off Thursday with NHL All-Star Game Media Day presented by adidas at the City National Civic Auditorium in San Jose. Players from all four division teams took their turn with the media. Here are some highlights put together by the NHL.com staff.

Datsyuk return 'would be awesome' for Howard

Jimmy Howard hadn't heard about Pavel Datsyuk's potential interest in returning to the NHL next season, but the Detroit Red Wings goalie was downright giddy when he got the word.

"This is news to me," a smiling Howard said, "but that would be awesome."

Datsyuk, 40, who spent his entire 14-season NHL career with the Red Wings before announcing his retirement from

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the League on June 18, 2016, could soon look into returning to the NHL, his agent, Dan Milstein, told Match TV in Russia this week.

Milstein told the Detroit Free Press on Thursday that he believes the Red Wings are the only NHL team Datsyuk would consider. Datsyuk played 953 games with the Red Wings and is seventh on their all-time scoring list with 918 points (314 goals, 604 assists).

"It would be appropriate to return to Detroit where he spent all his North American career," Milstein said. "Though it's up to Datsyuk. Will he want to make this comeback?"

Datsyuk is in his third season with SKA St. Petersburg in the Kontinental Hockey League. He has 34 points (nine goals, 25 assists) in 44 games this season. His KHL contract runs out at the end of the season.

"I miss Pav," Howard said. "I haven't talked to him in probably about a month. He's a good friend, and I'd welcome him back with open arms."

Howard, whose contract with the Red Wings runs out after this season, said he hasn't heard anything about what Detroit's plans could be with Datsyuk. However, he said he believes his former teammate would have no problem assimilating back into the NHL.

"Oh, absolutely," Howard said. "He's the magic man."

Gritty ready for All-Star debut

Claude Giroux knows he might not be the most popular member of the Philadelphia Flyers at All-Star Weekend. After all, Gritty is here.

"He is a big deal. He is a big deal," Philadelphia's captain said. "I remember the first preseason game he was on, he got booed and then I think it was a big motivation for him to kind of do better and he's been shining still."

Gritty, the Flyers mascot and a rookie sensation, is here to participate in the fifth annual NHL Mascot Showdown presented by Playmobil. Among the 29 mascots participating are hometown favorite S.J. Sharkie and last year's Most Valuable Mascot, ThunderBug from the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Giroux was slow to warm to Gritty -- "I think I was booing with the fans" -- but he's come around and now he's all in.

"He's going to win, for sure," Giroux predicted. "He's a very intense guy. Competitive. He's always ready mentally. So the other mascots are in trouble."

Tavares impressed by Islanders

John Tavares played his first nine NHL seasons with the New York Islanders before signing a seven-year, $77 million contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs on July 1. And though the Maple Leafs (30-17-2) are second in the Atlantic Division and third in the Eastern Conference with 62 points, they are one point behind the Islanders (29-15-5), who lead the Metropolitan Division and are second in the conference at the All-Star break.

"They're having a tremendous season," said the 28-year-old center, who made five All-Star Game appearances with the

Islanders. "Obviously it's a complete 180 in terms of the defensive side and obviously goaltending has been a big part of that, just not giving up really a whole lot defensively."

Under first-year coach Barry Trotz, the Islanders have allowed the fewest goals (118) in the NHL this season after allowing the most in the League (293) in 2017-18. Goalie Robin Lehner, in his first season with the Islanders, is 15-7-4 and has a 2.02 goals-against average, the best among goalies who've played at least 25 games.

"It's obviously leading to a lot of success, a lot of wins," Tavares said of his former team's improved defense. "It's good to see they're doing well, but my focus is on the Maple Leafs, and control what I can control. But certainly they're having a very good season."

Tavares, who faced the Islanders for the first time in his career at Scotiabank Arena on Dec. 29, will play his first game at his former team when the Maple Leafs come to Nassau Coliseum on Feb. 28.

Jumping the Sharks

Pacific Division coach Bill Peters isn't going to be radical when it comes to line combinations for the All-Star Game.

He knows the crowd at SAP Center will want to see the three representatives of the host San Jose Sharks play together whenever possible, so he plans to give the fans what they want by keeping forward Joe Pavelski and defensemen Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson on the ice at the same time whenever he can.

"I think there is going to be a lot of common sense. [Keeping] the San Jose guys together to a certain degree, we would like to do that," said Peters, coach of the Calgary Flames. "Obviously, we will probably have to split Karlsson and [Burns] to have two (forwards) and one (defenseman) everywhere we go. It'll be a lot of fun and they will figure it out."

Peters was reminded that Burns spent time as a forward after being traded by the Minnesota Wild to the Sharks on June 24, 2011, before he was returned to the role of a full-time defenseman in 2014-15. He won the Norris Trophy as the NHL's best defenseman in 2017.

"He can play anywhere, you're right," Peters said with a smile, suggesting that the three Sharks might see some shifts together in the 3-on-3 format.

Burns leads the Sharks in points with 55 (nine goals, 46 assists) in 52 games. Karlsson has 43 points (four goals, 39 assists) in 47 games, but has 28 points in his past 21 games. Pavelski has 45 points (18 goals, 27 assists) in 52 games.

The Pacific Division plays the Central Division in the first game. If it wins, the Pacific Division would play the winner of the Atlantic Division vs. the Metropolitan Division game in the championship.

Players from the other divisions admitted they were excited to see how the hometown heroes are received and how they perform.

"They are obviously great hockey players, and they deserve to be here," said Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Seth

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Jones, who will represent the Metropolitan Division. "I'm sure they are happy it is in their home building, their hometown. I'm sure they are going to get warm receptions."

Aho happy for Teravainen

Sebastian Aho was glad to see linemate and good friend Teuvo Teravainen agree to a five-year, $27 million contract extension with the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday, though he said that will have no impact on his own talks with the Hurricanes.

"That doesn't change anything," said Aho, a center who will play for the Metropolitan Division in his first All-Star Game appearance. "Obviously, I'm hoping I can stay with the Hurricanes for a long time, but I don't think that one deal changes my mindset here."

Aho, 21, can become a restricted free agent on July 1. His agent, Gerry Johannson, had some discussions with Carolina general manager Don Waddell during the summer and in October before agreeing to temporarily halt negotiations.

"There's nothing much to say about that right now," Aho said.

Aho leads the Hurricanes with 22 goals, 35 assists and 57 points. Teravainen, 24, is second on Carolina with 43 points (11 goals, 32 assists).

"He's a great player," Aho said. "I'm so happy for him. He deserved that deal. That was a good deal for both the Hurricanes and Teuvo."

Kane now an All-Star elder statesman

Patrick Kane said it doesn't feel like that long ago that he was playing in his first NHL All-Star Game at Bell Centre in Montreal in 2009. Now the Chicago Blackhawks forward is in San Jose for his eighth, the most among players participating in this year's game. At age 30, he feels like he's been thrust into the role of elder statesman.

"I'm the old guy here this year," Kane said. "I don't know. … Pretty crazy, it's eight All-Star Games here. At the same time, it's cool to see that number growing. I feel pretty good about myself and my game and where it's at, so hopefully [I'll] keep growing that number."

Kane is tied with Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche for fifth in the NHL with 71 points (29 goals, 42 assists), and he has 21 points (seven goals, 14 assists) during a nine-game point streak. He has fond memories of his first All-Star Game, when he was excited to meet Mike Modano, Joe Thornton and Alexei Kovalev.

"All of a sudden, you're considered to be an all-star with these guys," he said. "That was pretty wild."

Reirden trying to forget losing streak with Capitals

Washington Capitals coach Todd Reirden will try to push his team's seven-game losing streak to the back of his mind and enjoy coaching the Metropolitan Division at his first All-Star Game. He knows it won't be easy.

"I spend a lot of time thinking about it and how to make things better," Reirden said. "In this situation, it's coming off a little bit of a harder scenario. But I definitely need to leave it alone and enjoy this opportunity because what I'm doing here is I'm representing our organization and our players and our coaching staff. It's important that I enjoy that and represent us properly."

Reirden hopes goaltender Braden Holtby and defenseman John Carlson, who will also represent the Capitals at the All-Star Game, will do the same and return mentally refreshed from their mandatory five-day break after All-Star Weekend for Washington's next game against the Calgary Flames on Feb. 1.

"I want all of our players to feel that way," Reirden said. "So a little bit of the end message was we have to get away and you have to get your mind clear. That's the one of the benefits to having this kind of a break."

Reirden flew home with the Capitals after their 6-3 loss at the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday, then took a 6 a.m. ET flight to San Jose on Thursday with his wife, Shelby, and their 16-year-old son Travis.

"They've been a huge part of the success I've had," he said. "They've had to make a lot of sacrifices. We've lived a number of places over the years trying to climb this ladder and certainly didn't envision having this opportunity [to be] an All-Star Game coach my first year. It's pretty amazing."

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Metropolitan Division Weekly Roundup: Teams Jostle for Position Ahead of All-Star Weekend

Who is winning and who is losing ahead of the all-star break and bye weeks?

By Zeke Lukow

1. New York Islanders: 63 Points (29-15-5)

The Islanders enter the all-star break on a six-game point streak, having won eight of their last 11 games. This has led to a pretty fun scenario where the Isles have more points than the Leafs heading into the break, allowing for the always polite Long Island fanbase to take shots at John Tavares. Last weekend the Islanders had two straight 19-shot shutouts against the Caps and the Ducks. The Isles are being powered by their .942 even strength save percentage.

The Islanders have made a remarkable 180 and have gone from one of the worst defensive teams in the league to one of the best. Last season they allowed a league-worst 293 goals, equating to 3.57 goals against per game. This season, though, they are the league’s best, giving up just 112 goals or around 2.5 per game. They have shaved off an entire goal against each game under Trotz, which is a huge reason why they are in first place in the Metro heading into the break.

2. Washington Capitals: 60 Points (27-17-6)

The Caps have not only lost their last seven games, they have also given up 21 goals in their last three. They have now given up six or more goals in three of their last four games, hitting bottom in that fourth game when they were shut out. This has seen the Caps go from first place in the Metro to two points away from the bottom wild card position. To make things worse, the Caps will be opening up after the break against the Flames, a playoff team in the West, but at least it will be at home.

The team is looking for home runs and playing overly aggressive which is leading to way too many chances for the other team. This will be a huge test for first time head coach Todd Reirden. A lot of teams can struggle with this, but it’s even harder when you have a team this full of veterans listening to a rookie head coach.

The Caps must completely revamp the way that they are playing hockey and thinking about the game. They cannot continue to play defense as poorly as they have been, because they will not be able to win until they do.

3. Columbus Blue Jackets: 59 Points (28-17-3)

The Blue Jackets penalty kill is one of the best in the league, at an 82.9% success rate. However, their power play is as bad as the penalty kill is good. At just 14.6% they are sitting in 28th place in the league. Their struggles with the man advantage prompted the Blue Jackets to hire Martin St. Louis to help the team in this area. St. Louis was a great two-way

player who was able to play on top power play and penalty kill units and will bring a great perspective to a team that is struggling to put it together.

This also comes at a good time as the Blue Jackets have fallen into a slump heading into the break with back-to-back losses. This will give the coaching staff plenty of time to draw up new special teams strategies. When they return, they can test out their new strategies with some good opportunities. They play the Sabres, Jets, Blues, and Avalanche in their first four games. Those teams rank 9th, 12th, 19th, and 26th respectively on the penalty kill which should help them get their confidence back.

4. Pittsburgh Penguins: 58 Points (26-16-6)

Matt Murray made headlines in the Penguins game against the Arizona Coyotes. When he was run into by Jakob Chychrun and no penalty was called he voiced his displeasure with the no call to Tim Peel, which led to a penalty which ended up costing them a goal against in a game that ended up going to overtime. I like this move — I don’t think goalies and the crease are protected enough by the refs. When you also consider all of Matt Murray’s concussions and injury issues, this is an important issue for him, if this caused another concussion his whole season would be in jeopardy, if not more.

I would also think that, much like quarterbacks are in the NFL, goalies have the largest impact on a game and touch the puck more than anyone else on the ice. When you take that into consideration with the fact that the NHL wants to reduce goalie padding, there is a lot for goalies to complain about. I would also think the NHL would want to protect them, so they don’t run into issues that Pittsburgh and Montreal have had with hurt goalies hurting the team in the long run in the standings.

5. Carolina Hurricanes: 54 Points (24-20-6)

The Canes end the Western Canada road trip with five out of six possible points and now sit just four points out of the playoffs heading into the all-star break and bye week. The Canes played this road trip mainly with 11 forwards and seven defensemen but that didn’t stop them from scoring. The biggest contributor is also a new face in town: Nino Niederreiter.

The new winger has four goals in four games with two two-goal games. Niederreiter has been playing on a line with Sebastian Aho, and that line is playing incredibly well. Niederreiter wins a ton of battles along the boards and behind the net, but still has the ability to finish or find players in better position. He has come in and made Micheal Ferland

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a redundancy, allowing the Canes to trade him for more pieces.

Alex Nedelkjovic won his first NHL start last night stopping 24 of 26 shots that he faced. This is the first time he has seen any NHL action since the 2016-2017 season, when he had one relief appearance in which he stopped all 17 shots that he faced. Nedeljkovic is a smaller goalie, listed at 6’0” but does look much smaller than what he is listed. As an undersized goalie he has to rely on movement to shut down angles which leads to a more frantic look and feel, but also more excitement.

6. New York Rangers: 49 Points (21-20-7)

There is a lot of disbelief around Ryan Spooner being put on waivers by the Edmonton Oilers after they traded Ryan Strome for him one for one. With everyone criticizing the Oilers’ move, it’s worthwhile to look to see just how well Strome has worked for the Rangers.

It was big for the Rangers to bring a center back in the deal. Strome has been able to fill in for Kevin Hayes who has been out for the last five games with an upper-body injury. He has thirteen points on the year, but 11 of them have come in the 29 games that he has played with the Rangers, which includes six goals and five assists.

The Rangers are also looking to move a center at the deadline, and Strome allows them to do that without taking a large step back. He is under contract through next year at just $3.1 million. Strome’s presence allows them to move Kevin Hayes, while getting younger and saving money. Even if he doesn’t want to stay with the Rangers long term, it still gives them another piece to move next year in the rebuild that certainly has more value than Spooner.

7. Philadelphia Flyers: 44 Points (19-23-6)

The Flyers are currently in their bye week and now would be a great time to hire a new coach. Since Dave Hakstol was fired on 12/17, Scott Gordon came up from the AHL to coach on an interim basis. However, since Gordon got to Philly not much has changed. While they did enter the break on a three-game win streak, his tenure also features an eight-game losing streak. The Flyers’ special teams are still terrible, with a combined rank of 58 out of 62.

A second mid-season coaching change would be an aggressive move, since the new coach would not have a lot of time to implement a new system. But, they need to get a long-term solution in place, or a system that the younger players can build around. It’s also not like the Flyers are trying to win now; for purposes of a rebuild, if they tank the rest of the season with a new coach (a la the Colorado Avalanche last season with Jared Bednar) it could set them up for success down the road.

8. New Jersey Devils: 43 Points (18-23-7)

The Devils will limp into the break on a three-game losing streak. After taking an electric 8-5 win against the Blackhawks, the Devils struggled to keep it going. One interesting story to keep track of is Cory Schneider’s road to return from injury. In his first rehab start in the AHL, Schneider allowed two goals in the first period in an eventual 2-1 loss to Syracuse. In his second start last night against Rochester, he let up six total goals on 27 total shots.

These have been less than ideal starts for Schneider, but he needs these starts to gain confidence and conditioning. He has been out since 12/15 with an abdominal strain and hasn’t been able to workout while recovering from this injury. He is likely to play one more game this Saturday before the Devils start up again next Monday. Hopefully he can find his game before then, so he can return to the NHL with some confidence.

About Last Night: A Long Time Coming

It took nearly 20 years, but the Hurricanes finally got another win in Vancouver.

By Cody Hagan

The date was October 15, 1999 and the Carolina Hurricanes had just defeated the Vancouver Canucks 4-1 thanks to goals by Sami Kapanen, Bates Battaglia, and Jeff O’Neill. Since then the Canes have failed to win a game in Vancouver — until last night. To put that into perspective, the Hurricanes organization would appear in two Stanley Cup Finals, another conference final, host an NHL draft and All-Star Game, hire the best player in franchise history to be their head coach, and then draft a player born three months after that win before they won a game in Vancouver again.

Carolina finally left Vancouver with a 5-2 victory thanks to an offensive explosion in the second period. Team toughness was a major factor and a lot of relatively new faces lead the way sending the Canes to the All-Star break/bye week with two points.

The Good - Responding to Adversity

Coming off a tough loss to the Calgary Flames in overtime with overnight travel, it would have been understandable for the Hurricanes to come out flat. It’s happened numerous times and, with a rookie goaltender making his NHL debut, one had to fear the worst was coming. The Hurricanes set out to ensure that did not happen.

Getting the first goal of the game in the second period got the ball rolling on what would be a crazy 20 minutes of hockey.

Nino Niederreiter got loose in the slot on the power-play and tapped home a loose puck to get the Canes on the board. Since being acquired from the Wild, El Nino has been a perfect fit for the Hurricanes and his play is already starting to soften the potential blow of Micheal Ferland leaving.

After the Canucks jumped ahead 2-1, Carolina needed a lift and they got more than just a lift, they got a stand. Greg McKegg sniped a wrist shot past Jacob Markstrom to tie the game at 2-2.

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Already facing the adversity of playing a back to back after a tough loss and starting a rookie goalie, the Canes would need to overcome more adversity after Justin Williams was penalized halfway through the period. In what was certainly one of the worst penalties in the NHL this season, Williams was called for embellishment after he was tripped by Troy Stecher and somehow Stecher got no penalty at all.

Needless to say, this call did not set over well with Williams or head coach Rod Brind’Amour. But the Canes put up a gutsy penalty kill that featured some huge saves by Alex Nedeljkovic. After the penalty was over the Canes responded by scoring three in less than five minutes to take a commanding 5-2 lead.

With the position the Hurricanes are in with the standings they absolutely needed to have a good west coast trip. It took overcoming some serious adversity but they were able to do it and will go home with five points because of it.

The Bad - Simple Breakdowns

Last night was another one of those games were there were minimal bad things to call out. The Canucks did manage to score two goals and both could have been stopped with better defensive play so we will focus on those.

The first goal was caused by miscommunication between Trevor van Riesmdyk and Calvin de Haan as to who was supposed to be covering Josh Leivo. The lack of communication led to Leivo being able to get free and he redirected the puck in to the net.

Vancouver’s second goal of the game was certainly one of beauty. Elias Pettersson created the tic-tac-toe play and would be the primary assist on Sven Baertschi’s goal. You’d like to see Justin Faulk take the pass away on the play instead of just looking lost.

It seems to be normal for as good as the Hurricanes’ defense is, they always allow one to two goals per game that just leave you scratching your head and this was that goal.

The Great - The New Kids On The Block

If you are still wondering how Don Waddell got Nino Niederreiter straight up for Victor Rask you aren’t alone.

Niederreiter has stepped in and made an immediate impact which is something Rask had not done in a very long time.

Nino scored two goals last night and had a couple good looks for a hat trick. He’s earned more minutes and could prove to be a major steal for the Canes since he has multiple years remaining on his contract.

Another still relatively new guy who played a large role last night was Greg McKegg. All keg-stand jokes aside, McKegg has solidified the fourth line center role that Rask was playing in and other guys like Clark Bishop were trying to fill. With four points in ten games, McKegg has likely earned a roster spot in Raleigh for the rest of the season.

We can’t write an article about last night (no pun intended), without mentioning the ultimate newcomer - Alex Nedeljkovic. Getting his first NHL start against a quality team in Vancouver could go either way but he proved himself more than capable of handling the job. Stopping 24 of 26 shots, Ned was beyond just solid, he was outstanding. Before puck drop Justin Williams came over and gave him a tap and it must have settled any lingering nerves.

There is a lot of uncertainty going in to next season with Carolina’s goaltending situation but Alex Nedeljkovic with his play last night, and his play this season in the AHL, is certainly making his case to be in Raleigh next year.

Moral of the Story

From overcoming adversity to having newcomers take over the game, last night’s win over Vancouver was truly a team win. The Canes stood up for each other when needed and found the back of the net at the right times.

Now they get to rest and heal, with the exception of the Canes’ All-Star, Sebastian Aho. Carolina has cut the margin to just four points going in to their break but that will surely extend as Pittsburgh, Buffalo, and Boston all play multiple games before the Canes take the ice again. The Hurricanes continue to linger around the wild card race and this three game road trip will go a long way toward keeping them in the mix. If they can continue to play like they did last night it will make for a very interesting rest of the season.

TODAY’S LINKS

https://www.newsobserver.com/sports/article224985800.html#storylink=cpy https://theathletic.com/785449/2019/01/25/grading-all-31-nhl-teams-at-the-all-star-break/

https://nsjonline.com/article/2019/01/category-5-notes-from-the-carolina-hurricanes-jan-25/ https://www.nhl.com/hurricanes/news/all-star-aho-introduced-at-media-day/c-304203692

https://www.nhl.com/hurricanes/news/all-star-sebastian-aho-representing-canes-in-san-jose/c-304203270 https://www.nhl.com/news/all-star-media-day-buzz-howard-reunion-with-datsyuk/c-304210676

https://www.canescountry.com/2019/1/24/18193897/metropolitan-division-weekly-roundup-1-24-19 https://www.canescountry.com/2019/1/24/18195545/about-last-night-long-time-coming-carolina-hurricanes-defeat-vancouver-canucks-nino-

nedeljkovic-aho

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1127537 Carolina Hurricanes

‘It’s quite an accomplishment.’ Canes’ Sebastian Aho ready for his NHL

All-Star weekend.

BY CHIP ALEXANDER

If he had his druthers, Carolina Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour probably would like to see Sebastian Aho somewhere on a sunny beach the next few days, off the ice, taking it easy.

“The way we play is uptempo and really hard and in-your-face hockey,” Brind’Amour said. “It takes a toll on the mental side of things. You grind

all season and you push and push.”

That said, Brind’Amour doesn’t in any way begrudge Aho heading off to

the 2019 NHL All-Star Weekend in San Jose, Calif. The Finnish center is making his first All-Star Game appearance at age 21, representing the

Canes, playing for the Metropolitan Division.

“I’m happy he’s going. It’s well-deserved,” Brind’Amour said. “He’s been

good all year, steady, consistent. He’s kind of establishing himself as an all-star type caliber player, and obviously that’s a nice honor for him.

“Those are memories he’ll be able to cherish. It’s quite an accomplishment.”

And think of what Aho has been able to accomplish in this, his third NHL season. He has scored 22 goals, making it three straight years with 20-plus, and 57 points in 50 games. He had his second career hat trick. He began the season with a 12-game point streak that included at least one assist in each game, setting franchise records.

Aho had two assists Wednesday in the Canes’ 5-2 win at Vancouver.

“I think he could play defense, if we had to,” Brind’Amour said. “He’s a very smart hockey player.”

One of Aho’s Finnish friends, forward Patrik Laine of the Winnipeg Jets, said Aho’s “mind is like a computer,” that he’s always thinking ahead on

the ice, processing plays and situations quickly.

ALL-STAR PEERS

In going to the All-Star Game, Aho will be surrounded by others who fit the same mold. On the Metro team is Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh

Penguins, one of the craftiest centers in NHL history. During a game in Aho’s rookie season, Crosby once glanced over to see the name on the back of Aho’s jersey, impressed with his play. Now, they can sit in the same locker room and talk things over.

“It’s going to be cool,” Aho said. “It’s my first time going and it will be a great experience for me, and I’m going to go enjoy it. To be around some of the world’s best players, that should be cool. In our division, we have some superstars. I don’t know what to expect but it should be fun.”

Canes captain Justin Williams has watched as Aho has grown as a player the past season and half. The two sit next to each other in the

Canes’ room at PNC Arena, and Aho in recent games centered a line with Williams and newly acquired winger Nino Niedereitter.

Williams has been on Stanley Cup champions with players such as Brind’Amour with the Canes and Anze Kopitar of the Los Angeles Kings. In two years with the Washington Capitals, he played with Alex Ovechkin

and Nicklas Backstrom.

But he likes all that he has seen with Aho. His temperament, his resolve.

“He strives to be great, right?” Williams said. “That’s what you want. That’s what the team wants to see. You don’t want to see a guy happy

with being a good player. You want them to be great. And after they’re great you want them to be a star.

“It’s his first taste of being an all-star. And he’ll tell you, too, he’s obviously got a long way to go. That’s awesome because he’s already

really good.”

Brind’Amour, in his first year as head coach, initially was hesitant to use Aho at center but that’s no longer an issue. Not that there aren’t mistakes. And when there are mistakes, none slip past Brind’Amour, a veteran of more than 1,600 regular-season and playoff games.

STILL LEARNING

In Tuesday’s road game against Calgary, Aho’s goal with 44 seconds left in regulation tied the score, forced overtime and earned the Canes a point. But he lost the faceoff to begin the OT and was caught drifting defensively as the Flames’ Mikael Backlund quickly scored for a 3-2 win.

“He’s a young kid, still learning,” Brind’Amour said. “We still show him stuff, talking about details, things he can be a little better at. He’s

answered the bell for the most part. He’s risen to the occasion more than he hasn’t.”

More than anything Brind’Amour admires Aho’s competitiveness. He burns to win, much as his coach once burned to win.

“That’s what makes him a special player, for me,” Brind’Amour said. “We know he’s talented, he works hard on the ice. But the intangibles are what will make him a special, special player. He hates to lose and he will do anything he can to win.”

2019 NHL ALL-STAR WEEKEND

SAP Center, San Jose, Calif.

Friday: All-Star Skills Competition, 9 p.m., NBCSN

Saturday: NHL All-Star Game, 3-on-3 tournament, 8 p.m., NBC

News Observer LOADED: 01.25.2019

1127538 Carolina Hurricanes

Teravainen, Niederreiter lead Hurricanes over Canucks 5-2

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -Alex Nedeljkovic’s first NHL start could not have gone much better.

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The young goalie made 24 saves and Nino Niederreiter scored twice as the Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Vancouver Canucks 5-2 on Wednesday night.

Nedeljkovic got called up this month when Curtis McElhinney sustained a lower-body injury. The 23-year-old netminder was 20-5-2 with the Charlotte Checkers of the American Hockey League.

His parents flew in to watch him play and Nedeljkovic picked them out in the crowd early. He was excited to get the opportunity to start, but kept some sage advice in the back of his mind.

“One of my goalie coaches told me growing up, ‘Play every game like it’s

the biggest game of your life so when you play the biggest game of your life it’s just another game.’ So that’s just kind of how I looked at today,”

Nedeljkovic said. “Just another Wednesday night game and we came out on top.”

Teuvo Teravainen had a goal and two assists for Carolina. Greg McKegg and Dougie Hamilton each added a goal and an assist as the Hurricanes

snapped Vancouver’s five-game point streak in the final game for both teams before the All-Star break.

Sebastian Aho had two assists, and Carolina took five points during a three-game road swing through Canada.

“That wasn’t very good,” Vancouver’s Bo Horvat said. “We gave ourselves a chance there in the second period. And right after that, I think we just kind of took our foot off the gas.”

Teravainen’s big performance came two days after the forward agreed to a five-year contract extension worth $27 million.

Niederreiter has four goals since Minnesota traded him to Carolina for Victor Rask last week. The 26-year-old right wing said his new teammates have been creating opportunities for him to score.

“They are great playmakers. You try to find the hole. You have to move around,” he said. “You can’t stand still and wait for something to happen.

You have to open areas so guys can find you, that’s what has been working well.”

Josh Leivo and Sven Baertschi scored for the Canucks. Jacob Markstrom stopped 29 shots.

“They forecheck really hard and they were all over us in the second. They won the most battles. And their scoring chances paid off, too,” Markstrom said.

“They wanted these two points more than we did.”

Nedeljkovic’s first real test of the night came early in the second period

after Canucks rookie Elias Pettersson made a no-look pass to Baertschi in front. Baertschi took the shot, but Nedeljkovic was there to gobble up the puck.

Carolina opened the scoring 1:54 into the second with a power-play goal

after Loui Eriksson was called for tripping. Markstrom stopped a shot from Teravainen but couldn’t corral the rebound and it popped out to Niederreiter, who put it into the empty side.

Vancouver responded just more than a minute later with Troy Stecher getting a high pass to Leivo in front of the net. The left wing flicked it in for his ninth goal.

The Canucks went up by one after some stunning stickhandling by Pettersson.

The 20-year-old center started with a behind-the-back pass to Brock Boeser, who got the puck back to him down low. Instead of shooting,

Pettersson sliced a pass to Baertschi and he tipped it in through a hole on Nedeljkovic’s blocker side.

Less than two minutes later, McKegg tied it by beating Markstrom with a rocket of a one-timer. Carolina added three more unanswered goals

before the end of the period.

“We got down 2-1 and just stuck to the game plan, got pucks in deep, got pucks to the net and got on them,” McKegg said. “And it paid dividends in that period.”

Tempers flared in the third, with two Canucks getting ejected.

Fists started flying 6:30 into the period after Vancouver’s Antoine Roussel took an elbow to the face. The fiery Frenchman pushed through officials to go after Niederreiter and was handed minor penalties for cross-checking and unsportsmanlike conduct, plus a 10-minute misconduct.

Erik Gudbranson joined Roussel in the Canucks dressing room about 10

minutes later.

The defenseman tried to drop the gloves with Andrei Svechnikov after

the Carolina right wing banged him into the boards. The play sparked a melee in front of the Hurricanes net, and Gudbranson was given a

double-minor for roughing, plus a 10-minute misconduct.

Both teams are now off for the All-Star break followed by a bye week.

The Canucks sit just outside a wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

“We can take this as a fresh start and come back mentally tough and play that much better,” Horvat said. “Over the break, it’s definitely going to be in the back of our minds that we weren’t good enough and we’ll have to push that much harder.”

NOTES: Hurricanes left wing Michael Ferland was scratched with an upper-body injury. He left Tuesday’s game against Calgary in the second period. ... Carolina leads the NHL in shots per game with 35.8. “We knew they were going to come out hard, be a fast team and put lots of pucks on net. We didn’t execute well enough to stop that,” Horvat said. ... Boeser got his 18th assist. He has six points in his last five games.

UP NEXT

Hurricanes: Back in action Feb. 1 when they host Vegas.

Canucks: Begin a four-game road trip Feb. 2 in Colorado.

News Observer LOADED: 01.25.2019

1127615 Vegas Golden Knights

Sharks replace Golden Knights in NHL All-Star media spotlight

By David Schoen / Las Vegas Review-Journal

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The Golden Knights were a popular topic at their first All-Star Game when they had three representatives and topped the Western Conference standings.

A year later, it was a different scene at Thursday’s NHL All-Star Media

Day.

Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, the Knights’ lone representative, was one

of a handful of players who were not in attendance for the event at City National Civic Auditorium.

Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby, Los Angeles’ Drew Doughty and Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon were among the all-stars that were absent.

Fleury was unable to attend due to a change in his schedule, according to a Knights team spokesperson.

Coach Gerard Gallant, Fleury and James Neal represented the Knights at last year’s All-Star Game in Tampa, Florida, and had media from across Canada and the U.S. asking about the expansion team’s historic 32-12-4 start.

CAROLINA HURRICANES


This season, the Knights hit the break third in the Pacific Division at 29-19-4 and were no longer a curiosity.

The host Sharks drew much of the attention during the Pacific Division team’s availability, with at least two “Let’s go, Sharks” chants from the teal-clad crowd.

San Jose defensemen Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson joined captain Joe Pavelski, and each had a large media throng at their pods.

“We definitely want to put on a good show for them and give them something to cheer about,” Pavelski said. “We’re going to go out and have some fun and hopefully score a couple goals and make a few plays

and go from there.”

Karlsson confirmed he will participate in Friday’s skills competition along

with the 3-on-3 tournament Saturday at SAP Center.

He missed the Sharks’ past three games with a lower-body injury.

“It’s in San Jose. It’s for this organization, and this city, and this community, this fan base, and I’m a part of that,” Karlsson said. “I want to give my part and it’s important for me to be there for this weekend to give them back something. So I’m very happy that I was fortunate to participate and I’m looking forward to this just as much as everybody else, especially my two teammates.

“I feel good. It’s the All-Star Game and I’m going to be able to do everything, so that’s a good start.”

There were plenty of other storylines from the Pacific Division, with Calgary’s MVP candidate Johnny Gaudreau and Vancouver’s rookie sensation Elias Pettersson stepping into the spotlight.

Meanwhile, Edmonton’s Connor McDavid faced questions about fired general manager Peter Chiarelli.

“I’m not going to comment on it here,” McDavid said. “We’re here for the All-Star Game, and I want to enjoy that as much as I can. Obviously I understand the situation, but I think personally I want to enjoy the experience and focus on that later.”

This is the first All-Star Game in San Jose since 1997, a contest that is best remembered for Sharks forward Owen Nolan’s “called shot” goal against Buffalo’s Dominik Hasek.

Winnipeg coach Paul Maurice was an assistant coach for the Eastern

Conference and shared his memories from that game 22 years ago, including Hall of Fame defenseman Scott Stevens being “wired at the end of the game like it was Game 7.”

“He didn’t hit anybody, but he was available if that needed to happen,”

Maurice said with a smile.

For the final shift, the Eastern Conference sent out defensemen Ray

Bourque and Paul Coffey, along with forwards Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Mark Messier.

Maurice recalled a buzz in the building that was called San Jose Arena at the time for the five Hall of Famers.

“That was what was great,” Maurice said. “You’re in a southern market and they still have that awareness of who was on the ice. It was a really big deal.”

LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 01.25.2019


Golden Knights’ Marchessault gives tour of Las Vegas home — VIDEO

By Susan Stone Real Estate Millions

One of Las Vegas’ most celebrated new residents, Golden Knights forward Jonathan Marchessault, has found the perfect place to spend time off the ice.

Marchessault and his wife, Alexandra, graciously invited Real Estate Millions into their Summerlin home, on her birthday, no less. The home was buzzing with three children, ages 9 months to 4; family members and a team representative trying to facilitate our interview.

The house, located in Canyon Fairways, is on a one-third acre custom lot with a greenbelt view and was built in 2001. It has all the space and potential a family of five — soon to be six, they just announced — could

wish for, including six en suite bedrooms, two powder rooms, two fireplaces, formal living and dining rooms, family room, pool and outdoor

kitchen.

They bought the two-story, 6,600-square-foot house last March after

Marchessault signed a six-year extension of his contract with the Knights worth $30 million, and they say they’re planning to live here for a very

long time. They love the area and wanted a home where all their children could have their own rooms.

“We like to do a little design for every kid,” Marchessault said. “They have their own personal space, which we really like about the house.”

Their 2-year-old daughter, Victoria, has a room that is painted pink and purple and holds a canopy bed.

“She has the biggest bathroom, because at some point, she’s gonna need it, if she’s like her mom,” he said, joking that Victoria walks about the house with a backpack filled “with makeup, a cellphone, a couple credit cards … the usual.”

With two of the bedrooms on the first floor, it is a multigenerational house, and family members have already made use of them. All of the

bedrooms are a good size, including the master, at 20-feet-by-18-feet.

In a Jan. 21 Las Vegas Review-Journal interview, Marchessault said one

of his strategies is to not over-think his game, to just stick to the basics.

That appears to be the strategy the couple have applied in their approach to making the house their own.

They didn’t hire a designer, Alexandra Marchessault said, because: “We know what we want. We have similar tastes, and we used to remodel houses (in their native Quebec).” But they left the actual work to be done by professionals, Jonathan Marchessault said, “because I’m not that much of a handyman.”

The family is well into a full remodeling of the house, and they plan tackling a few DIY landscape projects this summer when their children go off to camp.

“We don’t know anything about it, but we will try,” he said.

Restoration Hardware is their go-to resource for design inspiration.

They have updated the two downstairs powder rooms with new cabinets and fixtures and added a black-and-white floral wallpaper.

A first-floor gym and office were combined into a large playroom where the children have space to do crafts or shoot hoops. They also created a mini-hockey rink on the patio, where James, their oldest son, butts sticks with his famous father, when he’s not taking lessons at City National Arena, where the Golden Knights practice.

The carpeting on the main floor was replaced with wood flooring,

blending with the original marble floors and new light fixtures.

The kitchen layout works for them, so they kept it intact, but the

mahogany cabinets didn’t, so they painted them white. The sink, backsplash and granite countertops were replaced with clean,

contemporary choices. Overall, the home has a casual, light feel,

CAROLINA HURRICANES


expansive but without any sense of clutter — something that’s hard for parents with three children in residence to pull off.

They want to redo all of the bathrooms on the upper floor next, especially the spacious master bath, which has the original elevated spa tub with separate shower and original granite countertops. It has an exterior balcony with a lovely view of the backyard pool and greenbelt.

With all the time Marchessault spends on the road, he said he prefers to spend time at home rather than going out a lot.

“I’m a big fan of cooking and staying home with the kids,” he said. He added that he especially enjoys summertime barbecues held after the

children have their in-home swimming lessons.

Their community offers a swimming pool and tennis courts, so they

haven’t felt the need nor had the time to join the nearby TPC Summerlin Golf Club.

For their first Christmas in the new house, they erected a tall tree in the home’s two-story, cupola-topped foyer and invited teammates Reilly

Smith, Cody Eakin, Nick Holden and Jon Merrill, who had no family in town, over for Christmas dinner.

When asked how they feel their home stacks up against some of the other Knights’ residences they’ve visited, they disregarded the opportunity to brag, saying that their tastes are all different.

“Everyone has a really nice house. I would move in every one. There’s not a bad one,” Alexandra Marchessault said. What matters, they agreed is, “everyone makes it their own.”

The home will be theirs as long as the family lives in Las Vegas, she insisted.

“With the kids, it’s the perfect setup for us. We like it here. It’s a good neighborhood, there’s a lot of trees. We’re not moving,” she said.



Finger biting in Golden Knights-Predators game in dispute

By Ben Gotz / Las Vegas Review-Journal

The Golden Knights game against the Nashville Predators turned into a hockey version of the viral video “Charlie bit my finger” Wednesday.

Predators defenseman P.K. Subban got tangled up with Knights center Pierre-Edouard Bellemare in front of the Nashville net with 27 seconds left in the second period and came out claiming his right hand had been bitten.

Bellemare was hunched over and Subban had his arm around

Bellemare’s neck and mouth. Subban tried to pull him up, but the French forward denied biting down.

“Obviously, when he put his hand there, he removed my mouth guard and he tried to pull me up, so obviously he’s feeling teeth and he’s acting

on it,” Bellemare said after the Knights’ 2-1 loss. “He started yelling ‘I bit him, I bit him.’ I mean, if you put your hand all the way in the mouth and

you pull up you’re going to feel the teeth.”

Tensions flared after the incident as Subban, after shaking his right hand,

came back and started to talk to Bellemare. Knights forward Ryan Reaves skated at Subban to protect his teammate and was pinned to the glass by an official.

Subban and Reaves both were given unsportsmanlike conduct penalties for the incident, and Subban was also given a roughing minor.

“He bit me. My finger was bleeding,” Subban said. “All I tried to do was grab him, I grabbed him by the head to pull him up and he bit me. That’s it, I don’t know what to say. I don’t know how I walk out of there with four minutes in penalties.”

Bellemare, who appeared to have cuts on his lip after the game, said he appreciated his teammate sticking up for him. Reaves just said he wanted Subban to “stop shaking his hand.”

“I think it’s a teammate sticking up for a teammate,” Knights assistant

coach Mike Kelly said. “I think it’s a good thing.”

The viral video comparisons continued Thursday when a billboard

appeared on East Tropicana Avenue and Swenson Street with a picture of Subban and the caption “BELLEMARE bit my finger….and it really

HURT!,” a reference to “Charlie bit my finger.”

Subban’s real and imagined protestations aren’t helping his cause

though. The NHL Department of Player Safety will issue no extra punishments for the incident, per a league spokesperson.

“For me, if it was anything other than that I probably wouldn’t have reacted the way I did,” Subban said. “When you get bit, when someone is biting your finger, I don’t know. It’s completely unexpected and it is what it is.”



Golden Knights recall Oscar Dansk, reassign Maxime Lagace to AHL’s Wolves

By Adam Hill / Las Vegas Review-Journal

January 24, 2019 - 12:18 am

Golden Knights goaltender Maxime Lagace has been reassigned to the team’s American Hockey League affiliate in Chicago in a move

announced late Wednesday.

Oscar Dansk has been recalled from Chicago to take his place on the roster.

The transaction was likely made to allow Lagace, who has not played for the Knights since being recalled on Jan. 9, the opportunity to play while the Knights are on the All-Star break followed by the team’s bye week.

Dansk is 14-6-1 for the Wolves this season with a 2.80 goals-against average and a .898 save percentage. The 24-year-old went 3-0-0 with a 1.78 GAA and .946 save percentage in four games for the Knights last season.

Lagace, 25, is 9-6-0 for Chicago this season. He has a 2.72 GAA and a

.898 save percentage after posting a 6-7-1 record with a 3.92 GAA and

.867 save percentage in 16 games for the Knights last season.

The Knights return to action on Feb. 1 in Carolina. Chicago plays at Cleveland on Thursday and Saturday.

It’s unclear when backup goaltender Malcolm Subban will be able to return from injured reserve. He hasn’t played since recording a 3-2 win

over New Jersey on Jan. 6.

CAROLINA HURRICANES




Analysis: Predators add to Golden Knights' struggles against top teams

By Case Keefer

Advanced metrics and betting odds agree on the Stanley Cup picture as

the NHL heads into its All-Star break: There are nine primary contenders.

The good news is the Vegas Golden Knights are among that group. The bad news is the Golden Knights have stood about as much of a chance as a small pile of snow against a Zamboni when they’ve encountered those peers this season.

Vegas has routinely gotten flattened against the best teams in the league, going 4-10 versus the eight teams listed at 12-to-1 or less in the futures market at the Westgate Las Vegas Superbook. The latest loss was particularly deflating, as the Golden Knights dropped a 2-1 decision to the Nashville Predators Wednesday night to head into an eight-day

vacation having lost two straight games and four of their last six.

“It’s tough right before the break to lose like that,” defenseman Nate

Schmidt said.

The game against the Predators seemed set up to show that the Golden

Knights had arrived and reached prime form to defend last year’s Western Conference championship over the second half of the regular

season.

It was the final nationally televised game ahead of Saturday’s All-Star

festivities in San Jose, pitting two teams with identical 29-18-4 records. It drew a crowd of 18,477 fans to T-Mobile Arena, the third largest in regular-season history of a venue that’s turned into one of the NHL’s toughest places to play.

And the Golden Knights appeared as hyped as their faithful, zipping to one of its best starts of the season in the opening 10 minutes. Vegas got one goal to show for it, when Max Pacioretty finished off perfect passes from Paul Stastny and Alex Tuch, but nothing else.

Everything turned in the second period, as much of the raucous atmosphere drained from the building when Nashville’s Ryan Johansen

and Nick Bonino scored in an early two-minute span. Like has happened all too often against fellow teams at the top of the standings, the Golden

Knights couldn’t respond.

That’s not to say they didn’t try. They controlled possession more often

than the Predators, and posted edges in all shot metrics including a lopsided 26-15 in scoring chances.

But they simply couldn’t solve Nashville goalie Juuse Saros, a fledgling Vegas villain who’s now 3-0 against the Golden Knights with 113 saves on 115 shots. The Predators had less trouble with Marc-Andre Fleury, as it took sensational late defensive plays from Schmidt and Colin Miller to prevent the margin from swelling beyond one goal.

The Predators got fortuitous bounces on each of their two goals, which surely helped fans, and perhaps even players, console themselves after the loss.

“I thought we played really hard and played a really good game,” assistant coach Mike Kelly said. “(Saros) was excellent.”

That was the consensus in the locker room, though it was a little jarring coming from the same team that railed against the idea of bad puck luck

contributing to its slow start of the season.

They’ve certainly got some valid excuses for coming up short in some of their biggest games — the back-to-back and rare Fleury rest day in a 7-2 loss at Calgary, a stronger-than-the-score-indicated performance in a 4-1 loss at Winnipeg last week — but they only go so far when the losses are piling up. In the 14 aforementioned games against fellow contenders, the Golden Knights have now been outscored 45-35.

“It feels like we’ve lost to good teams but we’re a good team too and we should have won some of those, but sometimes that’s how it goes,” Fleury said. “Overall, we’re in a good spot right now so we’ll relax a bit and get back at it when we come back.”

The Golden Knights have every reason to be happy with their current standing. They’re comfortably in the playoffs with a chance to play into at

least home-ice advantage in the first round.

It’s somewhat petty to isolate how they’ve played against an arbitrary set

of opponents and make an issue out of it. But that’s also what the expectations demand for a team that shattered records in its expansion

season and sought to top it this season.

Fourteen games also remains a relatively small sample size. The Golden

Knights still have 10 games left against the apparent elite eight — Tampa Bay, Nashville, Winnipeg, Calgary, Pittsburgh, Toronto, Washington, San Jose and Boston — and it would be no major surprise to see them reverse the trend and push for a winning record against those teams over the rest of the regular season.

That would be a welcome sight for fans, because if the Golden Knights are to reach their goals, they’re going to have to improve against the top of the league.

“Tonight, San Jose the other day and Winnipeg I thought were all low-scoring games,” Fleury said. “We had the puck a lot tonight, against San

Jose and Winnipeg also. I don’t think we’re far off.”

LAS VEGAS SUN LOADED: 01.25.2019


Inside the dressing rooms after ‘Bite-gate’ incident in Vegas

By Jesse Granger Jan 24, 2019

It’s the most famous biting-related incident in Las Vegas since Mike

Tyson sunk his teeth into Evander Holyfield’s ear in 1997.

In a matter of moments, Nashville defenseman P.K. Subban went from

administering a headlock on Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, to tossing his glove to the ice and shaking his bloody finger in agony, to nearly fighting

Ryan Reaves.

The scene in front of the Predators’ net during Wednesday night’s contest between the Golden Knights and Predators was bizzare and chaotic.

It began with a relatively routine play. Bellemare crashed the front of the net as goaltender Juuse Saros covered a loose puck, and Subban tied Bellemare up in front of the net.

Subban wrapped his right arm tightly around Bellemare’s neck with his hand smothering his face.

“I’m in front of the net and I’m trying to get the rebound, and suddenly I’m

in a headlock with an entire glove in my mouth,” Bellemare told The Athletic, impassioned in the dressing room with cuts around his mouth.

CAROLINA HURRICANES


“I’m choking, so obviously when he put his hand in there he removed my mouth guard, and then he tried to pull me up and he feels my teeth.”

Subban immediately pulls away, both gloves falling to the ice, and is waving his fingers and motioning to the officials that he had been bitten.

“He started yelling that I bit him, I bit him,” Bellemare said. “I don’t know what you have in your mouth, but if you put your hand all the way in at one point, and you pull up then you’re going to feel the teeth. I don’t know what the fuck he’s doing.”

Subban obviously saw the situation differently.

“He knows he bit me,” Subban said. “I’m not trying to rip his head off or anything like that, I’m not that type of player. So, it is what it is. He bit me, so, my finger was bleeding. All I tried to do was grab him. I grabbed him

by the head to pull him up and he bit me, so that’s it.”

After a few seconds of Subban pleading his case to the officials, he made a move toward Bellemare and teammate Ryan Reaves immediately intervened and attempted to fight Subban.

“After that he came back and started to talk to me so I was like ‘All right, fuck, let’s go,’” Bellemare said. “Before anything happened Reavo jumped in there to protect me, so respect to him for that. That’s my (linemate) and I know he’s the kind of guy who’s going to jump and take a bullet for me. You have the biggest respect for those guys. ”

Subban and Reaves never engaged as the officials quickly separated the two. The linesman clung desperately to Reaves’ waist, pulling him into the boards behind the Predators’ net as another grabbed Subban and escorted him in the opposite direction.

“I don’t even know what started it, I just saw Subban coming at Belly with his gloves off, and I’m not going to let that happen,” Reaves said. “I know he had his gloves off before, but either way he’s coming at Belly with his

gloves off so I’m obviously going to step in there.”

Reaves and Subban exchanged words before Reaves made his way to

the penalty box, and Subban to the dressing room.

“I told him to stop shaking his hand,” Reaves said, implying Subban was

embellishing.

“Then he’s acting on it, so I don’t know what to tell you really,” Bellemare said, corroborating Reaves’ point. “He started yelling that I bit him, I bit him.”

A frustrated Subban remained adamant after the game that he was unjustly punished for the whole situation.

“I mean refs are human, they don’t have X-ray vision,” he said. “But once

there’s evidence and there’s blood, I know you can’t assume to do it, but you are giving me four minutes in penalties for what? Because I reacted because a guy bit me? What am I supposed to do?”

The officials spoke with Bellemare on the ice, who maintained that he

never bit Subban.

“I don’t know why he’s going absolutely crazy there,” Bellemare said. “I don’t know what to do in this situation. I have a half of a glove in my throat, and playing with the back of it and pulling me up.

“The ref didn’t say anything to me,” Bellemare said. “He came to me and said (what is) the situation and I told them ‘I don’t know what to tell you. I got choked. Choked and head locked.’”

In the end Subban and Reaves received matching unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, and Subban was given an additional two-minute minor for roughing.

“I wasn’t involved with the referees conversation,” Golden Knights assistant coach Mike Kelly said. “We looked at it in the dressing room

after and it looked like a scuffle. We didn’t get a clear picture of it. As far as I’m concerned it was a scuffle. Tempers ran high.”

In the moment it seemed more violence in the third period was inevitable, but very little happened.

“(Subban) came a few times and hit me in the back of the head,” Bellemare said. “That’s the game. We lost the game and that has nothing to do with it, so it’s a tough loss.”

The Predators went on to erase an early one-goal deficit to escape T-Mobile Arena with a 2-1 win despite being outshot 48-27. Saros stopped a career-high 47 shots to improve to 3-0 against the Golden Knights and help Nashville enter the All-Star break with a huge road win and momentum.

Meanwhile Vegas limps into the break losing 4-of-6, but with the confidence that it has played well and controlled play in most of those

games.

The Athletic LOADED: 01.25.2019


Golden Knights Head Into Break With Loss To Nashville and Increasing

Attendance

By ALAN SNEL

LVSportsBiz.com

Another monster crowd poured into T-Mobile Arena Wednesday evening, with 18,477 fans bearing witness to a red-hot back-up goalie by the name of Juuse Saros walling the Vegas Golden Knights in a 2-1 VGK loss to

fellow Western Conference contender Nashville Predators.

It was another close loss for the Golden Knights to a Western Conference playoff team as the VGK head into the All-Star Game break and bye week sitting in third place in the Pacific Division behind first place Calgary and San Jose.

The crowd, the third biggest regular season gathering in Golden Knights history, watched Saros make every conceivable type of stop. His 47 saves were a personal record and Saros’ record improved to 12-6-1 — a

top record for a back-up goaltender.

Nashville goalie Juuse Saros was red-hot in the 2-1 win over VGK.

I asked Schmidt after the game how a team solves a red-hot goalie.

The VGK’s Pierre-Edouard Bellamare got involved with a scrap at the end of the second period.

Predators star defenseman P.K. Subban, brother of injured VGK goalie Malcolm Subban and a popular celebrity in Nashville, shoved his gloved hand into Bellamare’s mouth and ripped Bellsy’s mouthguard out. At one point, Subban’s gloved hand was rubbing against Bellamare’s teeth inside his mouth, according to Bellsy.

Here’s Bellsy during the scuffle and a video interview after the game.

The Golden Knights played their 25th home game out of 52 games so far, showing a record of 29-19-4 for 62 points.

The Knights’ attendance has been outstanding in season two, with VGK averaging 18,304 fans a game and filling T-Mobile Arena to 105.4

percent of capacity thanks to standing room only areas near the castle area, the top of upper bowl and the Hyde Lounge.

Here’s one of the Knights’ top fans, Christopher Green.

CAROLINA HURRICANES


Official capacity is considered 17,367 at the Big Ice House on the Strip. The Knights rank 11th out of 31 NHL teams in attendance — but third in percentage capacity, trailing only Chicago (106.2 percent) and Minnesota (105.5 percent).

Wednesday’s crowd was so huge that the game posters showing star goalie Marc-Andre Fleury were gone by 6:31 p.m. and the VGK staff were breaking down tables in the arena lobby, a VGK poster collector told LVSportsBiz.com.

It was another game that the Golden Knights had a lead — forward Max Pacioretty scored to give the VGK a 1-0 edge in period one –but could

not hold the lead.

There’s Max Pacioretty getting congrats from his teammates after his

goal.

The Golden Knights’ popularity in the Las Vegas market makes T-Mobile

Arena the place to be and be seen. Raiders owner Mark Davis is a frequent attendee, like he was tonight.

Only one day earlier, the Golden Knights released information about season ticket price increases. VGK fans with five-year and 10-year deals

will not face a season ticket price increase for year three in 2019-20, but fans with three-year deals faced double-digit-dollar increases per game.

LVSportsBiz.com LOADED: 01.25.2019

1127534 Calgary Flames

No-nonsense coach has Flames playing at top of their game

Wes Gilbertson

Without a doubt, head coach Bill Peters deserves a whole heap of credit for what has been a splendid season so far for the Calgary Flames.

He’s not one of the sharpshooters or shutdown specialists, not one of the puck-stoppers or penalty-killers, and he only needed stitches that one time.

Without a doubt, though, head-coaching hire Bill Peters deserves a

whole heap of credit for what has been a splendid season so far for the Calgary Flames.

“It’s a different feeling in our dressing room, and he is a big part of that,” said Flames first-line centre and alternate captain Sean Monahan. “The

mentality of our dressing room now, it’s completely different, and I think that’s a big credit to what he’s brought in for us.”

Peters seems to deflect praise with the same proficiency that Matthew Tkachuk — the net-front presence on Calgary’s top power-play unit —

deflects slappers from the point, but the 54-year-old won’t be able to avoid it this weekend.

Thanks to the Flames’ stellar first half, Peters scored an invite to the 2019 NHL All-Star Game in San Jose, where he’ll be running the bench for familiar face Johnny Gaudreau and the rest of the Pacific Division standouts at the annual show-off.

On Thursday, when the Professional Hockey Writers Association unveiled the results of its mid-season ballots, he was ranked second in voting for the Jack Adams, the annual nod to the coach ‘adjudged to have contributed the most to his team’s success.’ The skipper-of-the-year

honours are ultimately determined by the NHL Broadcasters’ Association, but it is another feather-in-the-cap for Peters that writers from across the

league had him so high on their lists.

And deservedly so.

Playoff outsiders last spring, the Flames have been one of the NHL’s holy-smokes stories up to the all-star break. Peters’ posse is currently perched atop the Western Conference — and sitting second in the overall standings — with a 33-13-5 record.

At every mileage marker, this current crew is earning comparisons to the 1988-89 Flames, the only edition in local lore that capped their campaign with a championship parade. (The latest? Gaudreau, Monahan, captain Mark Giordano & Co. zoomed past the 70-point plateau in just 51 dates, one slower than that special squad from three decades ago.)

In anticipation of a long and raucous playoff party, watering-holes on the so-called Red Mile are already pleading with city officials to delay

springtime construction along 17th Avenue.

Perhaps the new head coach could help.

He certainly seems to be able to get his point across.

“He came in and right away he dealt with the issues from last year, and I think that was important,” revealed Flames alternate captain Mikael Backlund, the bonus-session sniper in Tuesday’s 3-2 overtime victory against the Carolina Hurricanes at the Saddledome. “I think since then, we’ve been a team that has been growing and we’ve had a lot of success. I think that was a big key for this team to have success — to talk about things that are not always comfortable to talk about.”

With a reporter digging for details, Backlund smiled and shook his head in protest.

“I just want to keep it in the room what we talked about,” he replied. “It wasn’t maybe comfortable for him or for anyone, but it was the right thing to do and I think that was a good start for the season to do that.”

After the Flames flopped last winter, underachieving their way to an 11th-

place finish in the Western Conference, Treliving started his off-season overhaul by firing former head coach Glen Gulutzan.

The Alberta-bred Peters — born in Three Hills, raised in Killam and with most of his family now in Red Deer — could have returned for a fifth

campaign in Carolina but instead opted out of his contract after an ownership change.

He was the only candidate that Treliving interviewed for the job.

Although some initially wondered about the logic of handing the reins to a guy who’d never managed to guide the Hurricanes into the playoffs, nobody is second-guessing the hire of this no-nonsense sort now.

“He definitely has the locker-room,” said defenceman Noah Hanifin, one

of a hat-trick of ex-Hurricanes on Calgary’s roster. “When he starts talking, everybody listens. I think he does a really good job of getting our team organized. Obviously, we have a lot of skill, but I think his ability to get it all organized and structured has been great.

“I think his coaching and his strategy has mostly been the same (as past seasons). But we have a lot of really high-end players who can score goals, and I think that helps fit into his system really well.”

With Peters at the helm, the Flames have an encouraging habit of finding ways to win.

Averaging 3.73 snipes per night, they can sometimes overpower opponents and simply out-score their mistakes. They’ve prevailed in some tight-checking slogs, too.

The Saddledome-dwellers lead the league with seven third-period comebacks, many of them prompted by their boss bringing out the

blender to reimagine his line combinations and sometimes ever his defence pairings. (“He’s great on the bench at finding ways to win,” summed up Gaudreau, tied for third in the league scoring race with 73 points and the PHWA’s current runner-up for the Hart Trophy. “Whether it’s the fourth line, first line, whoever is playing well is going to be out there at important moments.”)

CAROLINA HURRICANES


And it can’t be complete coincidence that so many of the key pieces — Gaudreau, Monahan, Giordano, etc., etc. — are on pace to shatter their career-best stat-lines. Some guys already have.

“I can’t say enough about the job Bill has done,” Treliving praised as the Flames split for their break/bye vacations, with their next contest coming Feb. 1 against the defending champion Washington Capitals in D.C. “Every coach is different and he has his own style that, I think, has made him a successful coach. He’s a driver. He pushes and pulls and maximizes players. He does it in a way that I think, also, is in a positive manner.

“He never leaves a stone unturned. He’s 24/7 … He’s a high-energy, high-intensity guy. I think players sort of feed off that, right?”

It sure seems that way.

Peters isn’t afraid to switch things up

‘I think it’s a real good team’: New coach says Flames are on verge of greatness

Former player on Bill Peters: ‘He’s intense. All the time, he’s intense’

“I think it’s the attention to detail — that’s really one thing that I’ve noticed,” said hard-nosed forward Garnet Hathaway, tops on the team with 113 hits. “What we do in a game, what other teams do in a game, faceoffs, any small detail … We have it covered. Every drill in practice, there are a few details that have to be hit. Otherwise, you’re up in the stands so you see that when we don’t get the details rights, we’ll start the drill over.

“I think that has helped us stay accountable and I think it’s helped us stay structured in our whole game. You can build off the small things. When you have those pretty strong foundations, I think it’s easier to keep improving.”

Peters is, no doubt, detail-oriented.

Asked about his first trip to the NHL All-Star Game, he rattled off his own itinerary — he arrived Thursday in San Jose — before turning to the travel arrangements for his wife Denise and son Ayden, their schedule a

bit more cramped because his bantam-aged boy has exams at school.

“They come in Friday — they’re coming in hot, landing in San Francisco and the car service is bringing them direct to SAP Center,” Peters said. “They’re not checking a bag because I want them there on time for the skills competition. I want my son — he’s 14 — to be on the bench with me.

“He’s excited, knowing he’s going to be around some unbelievable people and get a chance-of-a-lifetime to witness it up-close-and-personal.”

With each victory, each comeback, each celebratory squirt of purple Gatorade or post-game bear-hug between Tkachuk and breakout backstop David Rittich, Flames fans are growing more and more

optimistic that they could be witnessing the start of something special.

Peters has been a big part of it.

“I think he’s been a huge impact,” said Giordano, the frontrunner in the PHWA’s mid-season rundown of Norris Trophy candidates. “His message is clear and direct and his in-game adjustments are great. It doesn’t matter who you are, he’s going to shake it up if it’s not going well,

and I think guys have responded to that well. For players, when that happens, you’re always wondering why it’s getting switched. It maybe

perks you up a bit, makes you play better.

“I think he just came in and he set a tone. There was no messing around. It was his way, and good on our guys — everyone bought in. We all want to win. We all want to find a way to win. I just think it’s worked.”

Midseason results for the PHWA’s NHL awards:

Hart Trophy(most valuable player)

1. Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning

2. Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary Flames

3. Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers

Norris Trophy(best all-round defenceman)

1. Mark Giordano, Calgary Flames

2. Morgan Rielly, Toronto Maple Leafs

3. Brent Burns, San Jose Sharks

Selke Trophy(best defensive forward)

1. Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins

2. Aleksander Barkov, Florida Panthers

3. Mark Stone, Ottawa Senators

Calder Trophy(top rookie)

1. Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks

2. Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo Sabres

3. Miro Heiskanen, Dallas Stars

Lady Byng Trophy(sportsmanship with high standard of skill)



3. Sean Monahan, Calgary Flames

Vezina Trophy(top goaltender)

1. John Gibson, Anaheim Ducks

2. Marc-Andre Fleury, Vegas Golden Knights

3. Frederik Andersen, Toronto Maple Leafs

Jack Adams Award(top coach)

1. Barry Trotz, New York Islanders

2. Bill Peters, Calgary Flames

3. Jon Cooper, Tampa Bay Lightning

GM of the Year

1. Brad Treliving, Calgary Flames

2. Doug Wilson, San Jose Sharks

3. Lou Lamoriello, New York Islanders

Rod Langway Award(best defensive defenceman)

1. Mattias Ekholm, Nashville Predators


3. Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning

Comeback Player of the Year

1. Robin Lehner, New York Islanders

2. Jeff Skinner, Buffalo Sabres

3. Zach Parise, Minnesota Wild

Source: PHWA

Calgary Sun: LOADED: 01.25.2019


CAROLINA HURRICANES


No-nonsense coach has Flames playing at top of their game

Wes Gilbertson

Without a doubt, head coach Bill Peters deserves a whole heap of credit for what has been a splendid season so far for the Calgary Flames.

He’s not one of the sharpshooters or shutdown specialists, not one of the puck-stoppers or penalty-killers, and he only needed stitches that one

time.

Without a doubt, though, head-coaching hire Bill Peters deserves a whole heap of credit for what has been a splendid season so far for the Calgary Flames.

“It’s a different feeling in our dressing room, and he is a big part of that,” said Flames first-line centre and alternate captain Sean Monahan. “The mentality of our dressing room now, it’s completely different, and I think that’s a big credit to what he’s brought in for us.”

Peters seems to deflect praise with the same proficiency that Matthew Tkachuk — the net-front presence on Calgary’s top power-play unit —

deflects slappers from the point, but the 54-year-old won’t be able to avoid it this weekend.

Thanks to the Flames’ stellar first half, Peters scored an invite to the 2019 NHL All-Star Game in San Jose, where he’ll be running the bench

for familiar face Johnny Gaudreau and the rest of the Pacific Division standouts at the annual show-off.

On Thursday, when the Professional Hockey Writers Association unveiled the results of its mid-season ballots, he was ranked second in

voting for the Jack Adams, the annual nod to the coach ‘adjudged to have contributed the most to his team’s success.’ The skipper-of-the-year honours are ultimately determined by the NHL Broadcasters’ Association, but it is another feather-in-the-cap for Peters that writers from across the league had him so high on their lists.

And deservedly so.

Playoff outsiders last spring, the Flames have been one of the NHL’s holy-smokes stories up to the all-star break. Peters’ posse is currently

perched atop the Western Conference — and sitting second in the overall standings — with a 33-13-5 record.

At every mileage marker, this current crew is earning comparisons to the 1988-89 Flames, the only edition in local lore that capped their campaign

with a championship parade. (The latest? Gaudreau, Monahan, captain Mark Giordano & Co. zoomed past the 70-point plateau in just 51 dates,

one slower than that special squad from three decades ago.)

In anticipation of a long and raucous playoff party, watering-holes on the

so-called Red Mile are already pleading with city officials to delay springtime construction along 17th Avenue.

Perhaps the new head coach could help.

He certainly seems to be able to get his point across.

“He came in and right away he dealt with the issues from last year, and I think that was important,” revealed Flames alternate captain Mikael Backlund, the bonus-session sniper in Tuesday’s 3-2 overtime victory against the Carolina Hurricanes at the Saddledome. “I think since then, we’ve been a team that has been growing and we’ve had a lot of success. I think that was a big key for this team to have success — to

talk about things that are not always comfortable to talk about.”

With a reporter digging for details, Backlund smiled and shook his head

in protest.

“I just want to keep it in the room what we talked about,” he replied. “It wasn’t maybe comfortable for him or for anyone, but it was the right thing to do and I think that was a good start for the season to do that.”

After the Flames flopped last winter, underachieving their way to an 11th-place finish in the Western Conference, Treliving started his off-season overhaul by firing former head coach Glen Gulutzan.

The Alberta-bred Peters — born in Three Hills, raised in Killam and with most of his family now in Red Deer — could have returned for a fifth campaign in Carolina but instead opted out of his contract after an ownership change.

He was the only candidate that Treliving interviewed for the job.

Although some initially wondered about the logic of handing the reins to a

guy who’d never managed to guide the Hurricanes into the playoffs, nobody is second-guessing the hire of this no-nonsense sort now.

“He definitely has the locker-room,” said defenceman Noah Hanifin, one of a hat-trick of ex-Hurricanes on Calgary’s roster. “When he starts

talking, everybody listens. I think he does a really good job of getting our team organized. Obviously, we have a lot of skill, but I think his ability to

get it all organized and structured has been great.

“I think his coaching and his strategy has mostly been the same (as past seasons). But we have a lot of really high-end players who can score goals, and I think that helps fit into his system really well.”

With Peters at the helm, the Flames have an encouraging habit of finding ways to win.

Averaging 3.73 snipes per night, they can sometimes overpower opponents and simply out-score their mistakes. They’ve prevailed in some tight-checking slogs, too.

The Saddledome-dwellers lead the league with seven third-period

comebacks, many of them prompted by their boss bringing out the blender to reimagine his line combinations and sometimes ever his

defence pairings. (“He’s great on the bench at finding ways to win,” summed up Gaudreau, tied for third in the league scoring race with 73

points and the PHWA’s current runner-up for the Hart Trophy. “Whether it’s the fourth line, first line, whoever is playing well is going to be out

there at important moments.”)

And it can’t be complete coincidence that so many of the key pieces — Gaudreau, Monahan, Giordano, etc., etc. — are on pace to shatter their career-best stat-lines. Some guys already have.

“I can’t say enough about the job Bill has done,” Treliving praised as the Flames split for their break/bye vacations, with their next contest coming Feb. 1 against the defending champion Washington Capitals in D.C. “Every coach is different and he has his own style that, I think, has made him a successful coach. He’s a driver. He pushes and pulls and maximizes players. He does it in a way that I think, also, is in a positive

manner.

“He never leaves a stone unturned. He’s 24/7 … He’s a high-energy,

high-intensity guy. I think players sort of feed off that, right?”

It sure seems that way.

Peters isn’t afraid to switch things up

‘I think it’s a real good team’: New coach says Flames are on verge of

greatness

Former player on Bill Peters: ‘He’s intense. All the time, he’s intense’

“I think it’s the attention to detail — that’s really one thing that I’ve

noticed,” said hard-nosed forward Garnet Hathaway, tops on the team with 113 hits. “What we do in a game, what other teams do in a game, faceoffs, any small detail … We have it covered. Every drill in practice, there are a few details that have to be hit. Otherwise, you’re up in the stands so you see that when we don’t get the details rights, we’ll start the drill over.

CAROLINA HURRICANES


“I think that has helped us stay accountable and I think it’s helped us stay structured in our whole game. You can build off the small things. When you have those pretty strong foundations, I think it’s easier to keep improving.”

Peters is, no doubt, detail-oriented.

Asked about his first trip to the NHL All-Star Game, he rattled off his own itinerary — he arrived Thursday in San Jose — before turning to the travel arrangements for his wife Denise and son Ayden, their schedule a bit more cramped because his bantam-aged boy has exams at school.

“They come in Friday — they’re coming in hot, landing in San Francisco

and the car service is bringing them direct to SAP Center,” Peters said. “They’re not checking a bag because I want them there on time for the

skills competition. I want my son — he’s 14 — to be on the bench with me.

“He’s excited, knowing he’s going to be around some unbelievable people and get a chance-of-a-lifetime to witness it up-close-and-

personal.”

With each victory, each comeback, each celebratory squirt of purple

Gatorade or post-game bear-hug between Tkachuk and breakout backstop David Rittich, Flames fans are growing more and more optimistic that they could be witnessing the start of something special.

Peters has been a big part of it.

“I think he’s been a huge impact,” said Giordano, the frontrunner in the PHWA’s mid-season rundown of Norris Trophy candidates. “His message is clear and direct and his in-game adjustments are great. It doesn’t matter who you are, he’s going to shake it up if it’s not going well, and I think guys have responded to that well. For players, when that happens, you’re always wondering why it’s getting switched. It maybe

perks you up a bit, makes you play better.

“I think he just came in and he set a tone. There was no messing around.

It was his way, and good on our guys — everyone bought in. We all want to win. We all want to find a way to win. I just think it’s worked.”

Midseason results for the PHWA’s NHL awards:

Hart Trophy(most valuable player)




Norris Trophy(best all-round defenceman)




Selke Trophy(best defensive forward)




Calder Trophy(top rookie)




Lady Byng Trophy(sportsmanship with high standard of skill)




Vezina Trophy(top goaltender)




Jack Adams Award(top coach)




GM of the Year




Rod Langway Award(best defensive defenceman)




Comeback Player of the Year




Source: PHWA

Calgary Sun: LOADED: 01.25.2019


Hockey know-it-all Matthew Tkachuk’s love for the game blossomed

early and continues to grow

By Scott Cruickshank Jan 24, 2019

Certain assumptions can be made about the toddling days of Matthew

Tkachuk.

That, with his pacifier chewed flat and hanging from the corner of his

mouth, he openly smirked at passersby.

That, mini-stick in his gummy mitts, he teetered around the premises, fearlessly courting confrontation.

That, obsession already taking hold, he knew more about hockey than any of his diaper-dragging peers. Because even then, Tkachuk was immersing himself in the game.

Thanks to his parents.

His mother Chantal and his father Keith, who was skating for the Phoenix Coyotes in those days, had discovered a simple way to engage their frenetic first-born.

“We would drill him on names and numbers,” Chantal said with a chuckle. “I would say, ’27,’ and he would say, ‘Teppo Numminen.’ Or I

CAROLINA HURRICANES


would say, ‘Dallas Drake,’ and he would say, ’11.’ It was really funny. That started way back. He was probably two or three years old.”

How often did he mess up?

“Never,” she said. “It was really, really tough to stump him. It was just a fun game we would play. It was a good way for him to learn his numbers because he’d just associate them with hockey players.

“Honest to god, he’s been hockey-obsessed ever since he was a toddler. Everything was hockey, hockey, hockey.”

Not much has changed since then.

Anyone spending even a little time with the young man can attest that the Calgary Flames winger’s knowledge of the sport is broad and deep and actually kind of infectious.

His desire to scour the NHL landscape — for old-school feats and current goings-on, for statistics and controversies, for streaks and trends — remains ever high.

(Courtesy of Chantal Tkachuk)

“I’m embarrassed to say this, but he probably knows a lot more than me right now when it comes to all that,” said Keith, who retired in 2010 — after 1,201 games, 1,065 points, 2,219 penalty minutes — and now

scouts for the St. Louis Blues. “He’s a history buff. It’s unbelievable how much he knows. He just has that gift where he’s a hockey guy and the

only thing that matters to him is hockey. He knows everything, I’m telling you. Plays. Players. Coaches. Drafts. Everything.

“If I talk to him today, he’ll fill me in on everything about the (Flames’ next opponents) and their players — what they do and how they do it. He’s

got a bit of that coaching mentality in him. That’s the only thing that matters to him right now – playing hockey and trying to become a better student of the game and becoming better.”

There are players like former Flames winger Steve Begin, who once told reporters that the first NHL game he watched from start to finish was the first one he played in. A television broadcast could simply not hold his attention.

At the other end of the spectating spectrum is Tkachuk, who has already soaked up thousands of telecast hours — with countless more ahead of him. It’s a staggering pace he merrily maintains.

On non-game days at home, he luxuriates in his downtown condo. Well-worn remote in hand, he eagerly clocks full shifts.

Should he choose to monitor one of the pregame shows, his viewing day begins at 4:30 p.m. and goes through the late slate, which wraps up

about six hours later.

“Then I shut it down,” said Tkachuk. “I have every hockey channel, so I’ll

go to every game and I’ll have tabs on the games, so I just go back and forth throughout (the night), it’s pretty easy.”

Suppertime barely disrupts the evening’s routine. Occasionally he’ll zip out for a bite. Often, he orders in.

“So I don’t miss anything,” he said. “A lot of time, I have people in town” — Mom recently spent a week with him — “and they like to cook for me, so I have dinner right in front of the TV or from the table where you can see the TV. I’m not really missing too much.”

Nor does he downplay his fixation. When something big happens — wins, fights, deals, hits — he’ll make sure others know about it the next day.

“He’ll come in and he’ll be like, ‘Hey, did you see this last night?'” Jamie

Pringle, video coach for the Flames said. “You wonder how much players are watching, but I know he’s one guy who definitely does, for sure.

Some guys are just wired that way. Chucky, he’s just a fiend for that.”

Tkachuk is hardly alone, of course.

With a stake in the sport, players do follow developments around the league. Paying close attention to their workplace just makes sense.

“Some guys maybe won’t admit it, but if you play in the NHL you’re keeping tabs around the league,” Sean Monahan said. “You’d be lying if you said you’re not. It’s the best game. If I’m not playing, I’m usually watching. I would say that’s the same with a lot of guys.

“Some guys have kids, some guys are in different situations. As a younger guy, you can learn a lot. It’s pretty cool to watch other players throughout the league.”

As for Tkachuk’s appetite for hockey content?

“Obviously, he’s a great player,” Monahan said, “but he’s a big student of the game.”

Given that this is their job — and a pressure-packed one at that — it becomes necessary to unplug, just for a breather. Hockey every waking hour can be a bit much.

“Sometimes guys, to mentally free themselves up, like to watch something else or get away from the game a bit,” Noah Hanifin said. “Sometimes if a good game’s on, I’ll throw it on, watch for a bit. Or if we’re playing a team (soon), and they’re on TV, I’ll watch. Usually, when I do get home — we’re so busy and we do so much work at the rink — it’s nice to unwind and free yourself up mentally to get ready to go the next day.

“But (Tkachuk) is all-in. He knows what’s going on. He’s watching hockey every night.”

Asked to assess his viewing habits, Tkachuk was adamant that he’s not “extreme, extreme.” Oh, OK. Then who spends more time than you tracking the NHL?

He laughed.

“I don’t know,” Tkachuk said. “I think guys are very passionate about it, but I don’t know what everybody does every second of the day.”

What about the idea of just letting go, even briefly? To revel in some healthy in-season distance from the game?

The 21-year-old laughed again. “I don’t feel the need. That’s what I want to watch, so I watch it. Even if you don’t want to watch it and things aren’t going great, you still watch it.”

Tkachuk’s idea of stepping away? Instead of toggling back and forth between a handful of NHL contests, he’ll mix in an NFL game. That’s as

big a concession as he’s likely to make.

This passion, naturally, was fuelled by his upbringing. Being around rinks

and being around players helped to forge a keen interest in the sport, which went hand in hand with his boyhood clip — described as “pretty

active” by his mom.

(Courtesy of Chantal Tkachuk)

In fact, only one thing could cut through his whirling dervish-ness.

Yup, you guessed it.

“If I put hockey on at night, he would actually sit down and watch,” Chantal said. “It became a bit of a babysitter for me because I knew he would relax a little bit, instead of running around.”

Tkachuk, shortly after the family settled in St. Louis and he started attending elementary school, ironed out his own weekday plan. “I don’t know why I remember this,” he said before offering the details.

In order to get to Oak Hill School on time, they needed to be out the door by 7:30 a.m., so he’d wake up at 6 — without an alarm — to shower and

dress. Then, with a couple of slices of toast, he’d curl up in front of the TV to watch the NHL Network. Since the highlight program began at the

top of the hour, he’d see the second half first — 6:30 to 7 — and the first half second.

CAROLINA HURRICANES


“So I’d catch it all, but it would be in reverse order,” he said. “My dad always thought that was pretty cool.”

Told of her son’s recollection, Chantal chuckled.

“That is absolutely true.”

Chantal added that, while her eldest had been glued to the replay

stream, he was rarely alone. Brady — 21 months younger — was there to keep him company.

“Par for the course,” she said. “I mean, if Matthew was down watching the hockey highlights, well, Brady was watching them because Matthew

was watching them.

“I know they were both big on going on YouTube — looking up hits and fights and goals and goal celebrations, all that stuff. They enjoyed doing that.”

Said Tkachuk of his baby brother: “He is a pretty happy-go-lucky guy. He’ll just go along with anything. Honestly, I don’t know if he was as interested (in hockey as me) at the time – but I know he is now.”

These days, as Brady breaks in with the Ottawa Senators, it is each other’s performances the brothers are observing over. For efficiency’s sake, there’s even software that allows them to cherry-pick video files of their sibling’s shifts.

Further, they take advantage of the two-hour time difference between

their home bases.

“On nights we both play, after his game he gets to watch mine,” said

Tkachuk. “And before our meeting here, I’ll be in the back room watching his game. It works out well.”

Without a doubt, Tkachuk’s fascination is legitimate. You couldn’t fake that many hours of hockey-watching, no matter how much you want to

please the old man. But one question — did all the screen time actually make him better?

Keith thinks so.

“Honestly, doing that helped him understand,” he said. “I used to say all the time to Matthew and his brother, ‘Whatever you do, I want you to watch only one player — Pavel Datsyuk.’ Not only because he was highly skilled, but the way he played.”

Tkachuk kept a close eye on Datsyuk — and every other player in the

hockey universe. He, too, figures that all of those hours aided in his ability to play the game, even now.

“You pick up on things, other guys’ habits and stuff. It’s like repetition, right?” he said. “You watch enough, some stuff becomes natural. There’s

certain teams you watch more than others. I like watching Pittsburgh a lot. I like watching Tampa a lot. I like watching Toronto a lot. So when

you play those teams, you get what guys do.”

Beyond committing to memory the tendencies of today’s trailblazers,

Matthew has an appreciation for those who came before him.

Spoiler: Keith, in no uncertain terms, demands appropriate levels of reverence.

“Dad gets all over me when he brings up a player’s name – like former players that are coaching now – and I’m like, ‘Who are they?'” said Tkachuk. “And he’s, ‘How do you not know that? It’s embarrassing.'”

Soon after the Flames drafted the kid sixth overall in 2016 there came a crash course in the team’s history — at his dad’s insistence.

“I honestly knew not much, if anything, about Calgary and he (emphasized that I should) know who played here before, who was on

the Stanley Cup team,” he said. “He wanted me to be very interested in the Battle of Alberta. Who were the big rivalry teams? Who was on them

back in the day? He thinks it’s important for you to know the former players. He knows from experience that former players come to games,

they come to the rink a lot. It’s important to pay your respects.”

Added Keith: “Hopefully, he listened to me. A lot of these young kids are video-game freaks and all this stuff, but I think it’s important to know the game and know the people in front of you — what they meant to the organization, what they meant to the game.”

Tkachuk also stays well-versed on the statistical side of things. Every morning, teams provide packages, filling both sides of more than 30 pages and detailing everything from standings to individual data.

His base of knowledge extends to salaries. About everyone: “I would have a pretty good idea, ballpark, I’m sure.”

Soon enough, Tkachuk’s own pay packet will be a topic of discussion

around the NHL (and behind closed doors at the Saddledome). For a restricted free agent who’s thrived throughout his entry-level pact — with

its average annual value of $1.775 million— there is a meaty raise coming.

That’s the business side of this venture.

But the zeroes Tkachuk envisioned when he was daydreaming of big-

league exploits were scoresheet-related. For instance, he thought it was fantastic that he and linemate Mikael Backlund hit the 20- and 10-goal

plateaus, respectively, the same night. Those are the kind of numbers that resonate.

His own point totals — 48, then 49, now 57 and counting — are trending upward. As a livelihood, puck-chasing is not something that’s going to be pried away from him.

“I trust him — knock on wood — to make good decisions,” said Chantal. “As a mom, you just hope that everything goes well all the time. Not unlike a lot of other little kids, it’s a goal he’s had for the majority of his life. I mean, he did everything he could possibly do to get here. It wasn’t just saying it, it was actually doing it. Shooting pucks all the time.

Working out. Whatever he felt he needed to do, he did — and never with any complaints. It’s a dream for a lot of kids, but I think not a lot of people

realize just how much work goes into it. And he really did work very, very hard.”

Said Keith: “I know he’s not going to mess around. He wants to be a hockey player. He’s going to do all the right things. He’s a lot more

mature than I was at that age, for sure. I don’t have to worry about him.”

Chantal’s take is slightly different. “I’m a mother, so I worry about everything.” Including her boy’s culinary deficiencies. “I’m not even sure he could successfully scramble an egg,” she laughed. “I just pray there’s no massive storm and he’s snowed in — he would starve.”

Tkachuk, who lived with Monahan for only the first two months of his rookie campaign before getting his own pad, realizes his parents have faith in him. Which is meaningful considering his father travelled a similar path — from first-round pick to star forward in a Canadian market.

“He knew when I came up here I wouldn’t be going crazy or getting

distracted a lot,” said Tkachuk. “He was confident, at a young age, at 18 years old, that I wanted to be a player, that I wanted to make a

difference, that I was going to be smart with everything I did.

“Since I was younger I never thought about anything other than being a

player. I love hockey. Hockey’s my life. It’s been a huge part of me since I was born.”

From the days when he could recite the Coyotes’ roster — Who is No. 22? Which sweater does Greg Adams wear? — until now when, with

ease, with enthusiasm, he delves into a rival team’s action without skipping a single spin of his brother’s outing.

“I couldn’t imagine there being a night when he doesn’t have a hockey game on,” said Chantal. “Any time I’m here, it’s kind of automatically what we do at nights.”

She laughed again.

CAROLINA HURRICANES


“He definitely does not unplug from hockey, that’s for sure,” Chantal said. “There’s no question that he’s driven to be a hockey player. I don’t think he had a Plan B. It was Plan A or nothing.

“If it didn’t work out, he’d probably be on my couch right now.”

Clicker in hand, eyes on the screen, you-know-what in progress.


1127587 Pittsburgh Penguins

Penguins need second-half consistency to emerge as title contenders

JONATHAN BOMBULIE | Thursday, Jan. 24, 2019, 6:18 p.m.

Good point(s)

Nine of the last 10 Stanley Cup champions finished the regular season in the top 10 in the league's overall standings. This year's Penguins are

13th with 58 points.

Season Team Rk Pts

2018 Capitals 7th 105

2017 Penguins 2nd 111

2016 Penguins 4th 104

2015 Blackhawks 7th 102

2014 Kings 9th 100

2013 Blackhawks 1st 77

2012 Kings 13th 95

2011 Bruins 7th 103

2010 Blackhawks 3rd 112

2009 Penguins 8th 99

Editor’s note: As the Pittsburgh Penguins hit their bye week, beat writer Jonathan Bombulie looks at four characteristics usually shared by Stanley Cup champions and where this year’s team stacks up in those areas.

As Phil Kessel undoubtedly knows, there’s a motto sometimes repeated by players at the World Series of Poker. No matter how small the stack is in front of them, they have a chance to win the first-place bracelet if they

have “a chip and a chair.”

A lot of people talk about the Stanley Cup playoffs in much the same

way. As long as a team gets into the 16-team tournament, it has as good a chance to raise the fabled trophy as any other club, right?

Not really.

Instances of lower-seeded teams pulling off a series of upsets to claim a

championship have become few and far between in the last decade in the NHL. The last five Stanley Cup champions have finished the regular

season with at least 100 points in the standings.

Fans of underdogs like to point to the 2012 Los Angeles Kings for motivation. Coming into the playoffs as the eighth seed in the Western Conference didn’t stop them from winning a championship.

In reality, though, the dark-horse label doesn’t fit them all that well.

They finished with 95 points in the standings, just two points out of first place in their division. That’s way better than the average eighth seed.

Second, they were a team with a 21-year-old Drew Doughty, 24-year-old Anze Kopitar and 25-year-old Jonathan Quick just coming into their own.

Far more frequently, the teams that prove themselves the most capable over a long, 82-game regular season have the most success during the two-month playoff grind as well.

Pundits sometimes ascribe the postseason success of those teams to the acquired skill of knowing how to win.

Penguins defenseman Jack Johnson doesn’t have much time for that kind of talk, though.

“I don’t know exactly what people mean by knowing how to win,” he said. “It’s just having confidence. Teams that are good, that’s a confidence in itself. You go into the game, and you expect to win. That’s step one, as

opposed to hoping to win. You have to be comfortable in tight games, in one-goal games, and keep making plays and having confidence. I think

it’s all a swagger and a confidence that makes teams good.”

Have the Penguins put together a strong enough regular-season track

record to be considered a legitimate Stanley Cup contender in the spring?

That jury is still out. Having fashioned a 26-16-6 record before hitting their bye week, the Penguins are on pace to finish the season with 99 points. That should get them into the playoffs relatively comfortably, but it falls a little short of the standard set by the last five champs.

To put it charitably, they still are trying to find championship-level consistency.

“I think learning to play with consistency night in and night out and not taking nights off or having very few of those off games allows those teams to be successful and keep building and play well in the playoffs,” winger Bryan Rust said.

Johnson said he figures the Penguins have enough time left to reach that goal.

“Teams need to peak at the right time,” he said. “It does you no good to peak in November. A team needs to be steadily getting better as the

season goes on and peaking in the playoffs. There’s a lot of factors that go into playoff hockey. The hardest thing to win is the Stanley Cup.

You’ve got to go through four rounds of seven-game series. You need some luck involved. Injuries are a factor. You can run into a hot goaltender. All those things are factors. There’s a lot of things that go into it.”

Tribune Review LOADED: 01.25.2019


Ex-Penguins, Israeli hockey player's love of Pittsburgh combine to help

Jewish community

MATT ROSENBERG | Thursday, Jan. 24, 2019, 4:36 p.m.

It took one trip to Pittsburgh for Shai Maaravi to be hooked.

Traveling with the Canada Israel Hockey School as an assistant coach, Maaravi and his team from Israel were brought to Pittsburgh in 2015 as part of Emily Pressman's Bat Mitzvah project. Stacey Pressman, Emily's mom, said Emily always has loved hockey and hoped to tie that in.

While Maaravi and the team were in Pittsburgh, they played and trained

and spent time with local families. That's when he became close with the Pressmans.

"We pretty much quasi-adopted him," Stacey Pressman said.

CAROLINA HURRICANES


Labeled an "elite athlete" by Israel, Maaravi was granted an extra 90 days per year to -- among other perks -- train and travel to the IIHF World Championships with the Israeli National Team. He used some of that time -- every three or four months for three weeks or so -- to visit Pittsburgh to train, play and live with the Pressmans.

By his second or third trip back to visit, he said, Pressman suggested Maaravi try to move to the area.

"It was always kind of my dream to maybe get settled here, try to live here," Maaravi said.

After serving his required three years in the Israeli military between 19

and 22 through June 2018, Maaravi is here, a freshman at Duquesne, living on campus and playing ACHA Division I hockey. But he still spends

some time and weekends with the Pressmans in Squirrel Hill, a community that, within a few months of Maaravi starting school, was

struck by horror.

The Tree of Life Congregation massacre nearly three months ago sent

shockwaves through his community, and he wants to be sure no one brushes it aside.

That's why the Hockey Sticks Together Foundation, Maaravi and the Pressmans all took part in organizing this weekend's "Hockey is Stronger Than Hate" events. A group of Israel Selects alumni will travel to Pittsburgh to face Maaravi's Duquesne club team and a Pittsburgh Penguins alumni team -- featuring some other special guests -- Saturday and Sunday nights.

Proceeds from the games, silent auctions and sale of merchandise and apparel will benefit the Hillel Jewish University Center of Pittsburgh and the Israel Hockey Federation.

The Israel National hockey team is led by former Penguins coach, Michel

Therrien. All proceeds from the event will go to the Hillel Jewish University Center of Pittsburgh in memory of the Tree of Life Victims.

https://t.co/UgcvKqPfvU pic.twitter.com/XwJG5EklL4

— HockeySticksTogether (@HkyStx2gether) January 22, 2019

"We want to show that it didn't just happen, we dealt with it a couple of months and it's done," Maaravi said. "It's not done."

Having lived in Israel, Maaravi was "used to this kind of event," he said, and it wasn't unheard of to hear about a person you know dying because of a terrorist attack. Stacey Pressman said Maaravi reached out immediately upon hearing about the Tree of Life shooting.

"As he was horrified, it was a very different level of 'Are you OK? Where are you? Let's get you home,' " Stacey Pressman said. "He was so systematic about how you had to deal with this."

Though conflict in Israel exists, Maaravi said he doesn't believe that to be based in religion. He said Arab-Israeli conflict is related to the country itself, not that its people are Jewish.

Which is what made the Tree of Life shooting different: That was rooted in the growing anti-Semitism around the world, he said.

"I never expected to move to Pittsburgh and my family's Squirrel Hill neighborhood and my community targeted because of hate and terrorism

simply because we're Jews," Maaravi said during a vigil at Duquesne in the aftermath.

And that played a big role in wanted proceeds from the games this weekend to go to the Jewish University Center.

"Students like me, my age, my generation basically are the ones who face this anti-Semitism," he said. "They're going to be the ones who have to maybe find a solution for this."

A few weeks after the shooting, Hockey Sticks Together organized a fundraising weekend, honoring victims Cecil and David Rosenthal in a tournament for developmentally disabled hockey players. Maaravi

dropped a ceremonial puck while donning his Israeli National Team jersey at that event.

Among Pittsburgh athletes playing in the alumni event Sunday will be former Penguins winger Tyler Kennedy and former Steelers kicker Shaun Suisham. Former Penguins coach Michel Therrien will coach the Israeli team.

Brett Keisel will coach the alumni team with some help from Neil Walker. Sean Casey also will be there with members of the Miracle League of the South Hills, an organization he founded to help wheelchair-bound or visually impaired children play baseball.

"It's about all the Pittsburgh sports guys and Pittsburgh community all coming together for a greater good and try to find some healing," said

Michele Humphreys, executive director of Hockey Sticks Together. " There's something so much bigger here."

Tickets for the 7 p.m. Saturday game between the Israel Selects and Duquesne at Alpha Ice Complex in Harmar are $10. Tickets for Sunday's

7:30 p.m. game between the Pittsburgh athletes and Israeli team at UPMC Sports Complex are $15. They can be purchased in advance

here.



Heinz History Center exhibit celebrates Penguins, Pittsburgh hockey, local Olympians

JONATHAN BOMBULIE | Thursday, Jan. 24, 2019, 2:27 p.m.

When U.S. Paralympic gold medalist Dan McCoy stopped by the Heinz History Center on Thursday morning, it was like he was visiting an old friend.

McCoy, a Cheswick native, was in attendance for a preview of the museum’s new exhibit, “A Great Day for Hockey,” which will open to the public Saturday. In addition to a multitude of artifacts from the history of the Pittsburgh Penguins and pro hockey in the city, the exhibit will also

include an area dedicated to Olympians with local ties.

That’s where McCoy was reunited with the first sled he ever played

hockey in.

“We called it the coffin because it’s just a wooden bucket,” McCoy joked.

For years, it had been in the possession of Sue Birkmire from Shriner’s Hospital in Erie, who started the program that became the Mighty

Penguins sled hockey team more than two decades ago.

Now it’s on display for all hockey fans to see at the museum, juxtaposed

with the modern, high-tech sled he used at the 2014 Paralympics in South Korea.

“I felt 5 years old seeing it again, reliving the memories of that,” McCoy said.

Reliving childhood memories is a big part of the appeal of the exhibit, which expands and showcases in a new light the hockey-related collection the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum has displayed since its opening in 2004.

From the warm-up jacket coach “Badger” Bob Johnson wore during the 1991 season to sticks, helmets and jerseys from Sidney Crosby and

Evgeni Malkin, the meat of the exhibit is memorabilia related to the five Stanley Cup championships the Penguins have won.

CAROLINA HURRICANES


A vast collection of goalie masks on loan from Penguins equipment manager Dana Heinze spans every era of the team’s existence.

The exhibit also includes a life-size statue of Mario Lemieux lifting the Stanley Cup over his head.

“The who’s who in the hockey world has been through Pittsburgh. We’ve been very fortunate,” said Penguins president and CEO David Morehouse. “When you see it all together, you realize we’ve been able to witness history here.”

For Morehouse, a Beechview native, artifacts related to Lemieux stirred up memories of attending games at the Civic Arena as a man in his 20s.

“Looking at the clip of Mario scoring, I remember it was like a Pavlov’s dog thing. If Mario got the puck over center ice, you counted the goal,”

Morehouse said. “I don’t know what his percentage was – I bet he could tell you – but on a breakaway, he scored.”

The exhibit includes artifacts from the pre-Penguins era of the city’s hockey history, including bricks from Duquesne Gardens, which first

hosted pro hockey in 1915, and a jersey won by Willie Marshall of the AHL’s Pittsburgh Hornets in the 1950s. It also spotlights the Pittsburgh

Pennies, a traveling women’s hockey team from the 1970s.

As the team’s vice president of communications, few people are more well-versed in the history of the Penguins than Tom McMillan. The exhibit reminded him, however, of the breadth and depth of the sport’s history in the area.

“It’s been here for a long time. There were forebearers of the Penguins and women’s hockey and now it’s expanding all other sorts of hockey,” McMillan said. “I think one day we’ll have a display in here of all the Pittsburgh players in the NHL, whether they played for the Penguins or not.”



Joe Starkey: Duquesne's Israeli hockey player the perfect point man in fight against hate

JOE STARKEY

It’s hard to hate somebody when you know somebody.

Those aren’t my words. They are Stacey Pressman’s. Unspeakable hate

erupted a block from her home on the morning of Oct. 27, at the Tree of Life synagogue in Squirrel Hill.

Stacey was alone that morning. Her husband was away. She was at the Shadyside Whole Foods when she began to hear word of something

terrible happening at Tree of Life. She grew panicky. She knew a lot of those people. Her daughters had gone to Hebrew school there.

Shai Maaravi, a 22-year-old freshman at Duquesne University, was headed toward Squirrel Hill at the very same time. Headed toward Stacey’s house, in fact. Shai came to know the Pressmans four years earlier, when they helped organize his very unusual hockey team’s trip from Israel to Pittsburgh.

Shai Maaravi, who plays hockey for the Duquesne University club team as well as the Israel national team, takes part in a ceremonial puck drop at the first USA Hockey Special Hockey Classic at UPMC Lemieux

Sports Complex in Cranberry in November.

Bob Batz Jr.

Israeli hockey team to play former Penguins and Duquesne team to show support

Why unusual?

The team included Jewish kids, Arab Christians, Arab Muslims and others who would not normally mix. Over their time at a hockey school in Israel, however, and especially on trips like this, they came to learn just how hard it is to hate somebody when you know somebody.

Shai was an assistant coach with the team — and a huge Penguins fan. He fell in love with Pittsburgh at first sight. He can’t really say why. But he kept coming back and ultimately chose to follow his dreams here, joining

Duquesne’s club team and pursuing a degree in business management.

The Pressmans became Shai’s second family. He eventually landed at

Duquesne, where you can spot him fairly easily on the small Catholic school campus. He’s the one with the white hockey scar on his chin and

the Star of David draped around his neck.

“I’m proud of my heritage, never hiding it,” Shai says. “And the spirit here

at Duquesne really connects with my spirit as a Jewish person.”

Spirit’s the right word when you’re talking about Shai Maaravi. I don’t pretend to know him. We met for an hour. But I listened to his “Pittsburgh mom,” Stacey, describe him, and it squared with my observation.

I asked her what stood out about Shai.

“His heart, basically,” she said. “He loves his family, and he really wants to make a difference in this world. You can see that. I’ve never met anybody who has a stronger work ethic. For someone so young, he knows exactly what he wants and what he needs to do to get there.”

On the morning of Oct. 27, Shai wanted to know Stacey was OK. So he made sure of it. He met her at Whole Foods, accompanied her home and stayed. She was in “complete and total shock,” as she recalls, and even

though her family did not belong to Tree of Life, she knew nine of the 11 victims by sight. Her daughter Emily wound up organizing the vigil near

the site later that night.

“Shai — he was a very comforting presence,” Stacey said. “It’s nice to

have somebody who’s been in the military. You feel slightly more protected. You just feel somebody understands — and one of the things

that hit me most is that for Israelis, this is their existence. They wake up to bombings and stabbings and car rammings. He was very calm in the crisis. This is what they live through. It really opened my eyes.”

Indeed, though Shai’s childhood was mostly peaceful, he’d spent some harrowing days in his hometown of Katzrin — near the Syrian border — running to bomb shelters. Incredibly, he also discovered hockey in Israel, a country he says has only three rinks. He didn’t like soccer or basketball, so he was eager to try out this strange, new sport when a Russian man who worked with his mother invited him to try it.

“First time, I liked it,” Shai recalled. “Ice skates, hockey stick — not the

usual stuff. Unique stuff. I became different. Through school, kids would say, ’Oh, he’s the guy who plays hockey.’ ”

Shai wound up graduating from an amazing place called the Canada-Israel Hockey School, which luckily was situated only 45 minutes from his

home and was chronicled in a TSN documentary called “Neutral Zone.” He went to play for the Israeli national team (and still does).

One theme at the school to form teams of children from different backgrounds — Jews and Arabs — in hopes they come to find more

similarities than differences and pave the way for improved relations.

The team Shai accompanied to Pittsburgh in 2015 was formed at the school. The Penguins hosted them. Shai’s life changed forever that week. This is where he wanted to be.

Fast forward four years, to this weekend. Shai felt called to help organize a puck-filled event called “Hockey is Stronger than Hate.”

CAROLINA HURRICANES


In the first game, 7 p.m. Saturday, the Israel Selects will play Duquesne at the Alpha Ice Complex in Harmarville. Shai, a defenseman, will play half the game for each team. In the second game, 7:30 p.m. Sunday at UPMC Lemieux Sports Center in Cranberry, the Israelis will play Penguins alumni and friends, including ex-Penguins Tyler Kennedy and goaltender J.S. Aubin.

Former Steelers kicker Shaun Suisham also is expected to play. Ex-Steeler Brett Keisel, with an assist from Neil Walker, will coach that team. Former Penguins coach Michel Therrien will coach the Israeli team. Proceeds will go to The Edward and Rose Berman Hillel Jewish

University Center of Pittsburgh — an organization involved with Jewish undergraduate students around the city.

“First, this is about not forgetting what happened (at Tree of Life),” Shai said. “There is a quote related to The Holocaust — ’Never Forget.’ This is

also about standing in solidarity and pushing hate away from our life. We’re the next generation that has to stand up against hate and anti-

semitism.”

Who better as a point man in that endeavor?

Post Gazette LOADED: 01.25.2019


Sidney Crosby skates with locals in Jackson Hole, Wyo.

PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE

Sidney Crosby used the Penguins’ bye week to escape to a quiet place

again.

Buckrail.com reported Thursday that the team’s captain was spotted in Jackson, Wyo., skating at that town’s Snow King Sports and Event Center. Sporting his Penguins practice jersey, he went through drills and took pictures with members of the Jackson Hole Moose senior team.

“He’s the nicest guy you’ll ever want to meet. Just a regular guy like anyone you would meet in Pittsburgh,” Dustin Stolp, a Penguins fan and former Moose player, told Buckrail.

“It’s a dream come true for me,” Stolp said of skating with Crosby. “His power and speed; the way he opens up for a shot from anywhere and

can take even the worst pass and have it on his stick. And that laser shot. You can’t even see it with the naked eye. He just hear it ring off the

post.”

The Vegas Golden Knights celebrate a goal against Pittsburgh Penguins

goaltender Casey DeSmith (1) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Jan. 19, 2019, in Las Vegas.

Buckrail wrote that Crosby was in town with goalie Matt Murray, who was having engagement photos taken in the area.

It’s the second year in a row that Crosby has surprised hockey fans with an appearance far from an NHL arena. Last year, he joined a 19-year-old juniors player for a workout in Mont-Tremblant, Quebec.

He’ll be back on more familiar ice soon, as he’s slated to play in the NHL All-Star Game Saturday in San Jose, Calif.



History Center's 'A Great Day for Hockey' exhibit opens Saturday. Here's what's on display.

BOB BATZ JR.

You’d expect a Pittsburgh hockey exhibit to put halos on heroes such as Mario Lemieux, Sidney Crosby and “Badger Bob” Johnson.

And to be sure, those Pittsburgh Penguins and the team’s five Stanley Cup wins are a big focus of the Senator John Heinz History Center’s

new, expanded hockey exhibit, which opens to the public Saturday.

But there are all kinds of heroes who are part of the story here.

The Pens’ championship history didn’t start until the 1990-91 season, when the team won its first Cup with a still-skating Lemieux and Coach Johnson, who coined the now-famous phrase, “It’s a great day for hockey!”

Hence, “A Great Day for Hockey” is the name of this new permanent exhibit at the history center’s Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum. Its director, Anne Madarasz, said at a media preview Thursday morning that it is more than twice as big and has three times the number of objects as

the former hockey exhibit.

An original 1952 wool jersey from the Pittsburgh Hornets' Willie "The

Whip" Marshall will be part of the new "A Great Day for Hockey" exhibit opening Saturday at the Senator John Heinz History Center.

(Lake Fong/Post-Gazette)

And a lot of it documents the Penguins, from the flightless baby-blue

birds’ start in the National Hockey League in 1967 to the hard-earned hoisting of the Stanley Cup, which is depicted by a life-sized and lifelike

figure of Lemieux. There’s a slowly turning replica of Lord Stanley’s trophy, too, on which visitors can read all the winners’ tiny names, and bigger actual letters that once spelled “Arena,” as well as a piece of the retractable roof, from the former Civic Arena that fans called the Igloo. There’s Coach Johnson’s Penguins practice jacket, Marc-Andre Fleury’s and many other players’ sticks, piles of pucks and the pure-Pittsburgh pysanky eggs that may have been as elemental to the franchise’s 1990s success.

But the exhibit goes even wider than that, Ms. Madarasz stressed, to encompass “all that has happened here on the ice since the turn of the last century.”

That goes back to the 1890s and previous pro hockey teams such as the

Yellow Jackets and the Pirates — yep; the exhibit tells how Pirates coach Odie Cleghorn pioneered the use of set lines of players. Those early teams played at Duquesne Gardens, billed as the world’s biggest ice rink. So did the Hornets, the 1951-52 roster of which is painted on one of the wooden plaques from that old barn. (The plaque was found in the

garage of the wife of the late Hornets goalie, coach and general manager “Baz” Bastien, with the help of dogged historian Bob Grove.) The Hornets

won three cups, but they were Calders.

The rinks part of the exhibit also acknowledges that these buildings

weren’t just for ice hockey. There’s a vintage program for Ice Capades, which many may not know started in the late 1930s in Pittsburgh, and

pairs of vintage figure skates as well as speed skates, which scored the ice before Lemieux’s CCMs that also are on display. Check out the

bronze plaque dedicated to performer Elvis Presley.

A classic Pittsburgh Pennies nylon jacket from the 1970s female team, complete with commemorative patches, is part of the new "A Great Day for Hockey" exhibit at the Senator John Heinz History Center.

(Lake Fong/Post-Gazette)

Women get a cool 1970s shout-out in a display that includes a nylon jacket covered with hockey patches and other gear from the Pittsburgh

CAROLINA HURRICANES


Pennies, a program that helped break through some icy barriers long before Brianne McLaughlin went on from minding nets for the Robert Morris Colonials to winning silver medals in the 2010 and 2014 Olympics.

Another Olympic story told here is that of Canadian-born Pittsburgher Herb Drury. His actual 1924 Olympics silver medal is probably the rarest and most valuable of the exhibit’s artifacts, says Ms. Madarasz, who notes about acquiring such things, “Sports memorabilia is hard, because some of it is so valuable.”

The new exhibit benefits from the collecting and kindness of people such as Penguins equipment manager Dana Heinze, who loaned his vast and

perhaps, to some, creepy collection of masks from all areas for the goalie area.

Interactive elements include a custom-made bubble hockey game that visitors can play that pits, to organ music, plastic Penguins vs. plastic

Philadelphia Flyers, and one of many videos explores that traditional cross-state rivalry. There is to be a clothes dryer into which visitors can,

like Sid the Kid did, fire pucks.

Near exhibit center ice will be a display dedicated to Dan McCoy, who

was born with spina bifida and who became so good at sled hockey that he won a gold medal at the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games. That display will include two of his sleds, including the wood one with which he started, and other equipment, including one very important piece of his hockey mom, Angie: Her rosary.

“A Great Day for Hockey,” which is supported by businessman and Pens’ co-owner Bill Kassling’s family and UPMC, will continue to evolve, and it presages a transformation of the rest of the Strip District history center’s sports museum.

You can learn more at heinzhistorycenter.org/exhibits/hockey.

The History Center is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily at 1212 Smallman St., Pittsburgh, PA 15222. More info: 412-454-6000;

heinzhistorycenter.org.



Dave Molinari: What’s my line? If it’s the 4th, you really do matter

DAVE MOLINARI

Working on a fourth line in the NHL isn’t the worst way to make a living.

The pay is awfully good and the perks, like traveling on charter flights

and staying in five-star hotels, aren’t bad, either.

Still, being a fourth-liner is a pretty low-profile job, relative to most others

in the league.

Playing time and points are harder to come by, and nobody got into the All-Star Game this weekend by virtue of their work as a bottom-three forward.

Which is not to suggest that fourth lines are an afterthought for their teams, counted on to contribute nothing more than giving the other forwards an occasional opportunity to rest and recharge between shifts.

“Our fourth line, in my tenure, has played a vitally important role in the success we’ve enjoyed,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said.

That’s quite an endorsement, considering the Penguins won the Stanley

Cup in two of his first three seasons behind their bench.

While the composition of the Penguins’ fourth line changes frequently, its basic makeup and duties don’t vary much.

“The way our fourth line is (constructed), we have real good, conscientious 200-foot players who have the ability to kill penalties, who have the ability to take faceoffs,” Sullivan said. “Most of the time, we have two center-ice men on that line.”

He likes to deploy two centers on that unit because if often does much of its work in the defensive zone, where securing possession of the puck is particularly important. And the fourth line doesn’t necessarily spend so much time in its own end because of any shortcomings on its part.

“We utilize them, 5-on-5, in difficult situations,” Sullivan said. “They get a lot of defensive-zone starts, for example, against the other teams’ top

players.

“What it allows us to do is, if our game plan on a given night is to go

power-against-power and we play (Sidney Crosby’s) line against (the opponent’s top line) … by using the fourth line in certain situations –

defensive-zone starts, for example – it takes some of the load off Crosby’s line, so that maybe we can utilize them in offensive situations,

or get a mismatch.

“Maybe we can get (Crosby’s line) against a third defense pair, or against a line that might not be quite as good, and it gives us a competitive advantage. But we have to have the faith and trust in our fourth line that they can get the job done and play against those types of (top-line) players.”

Crosby, not surprisingly, has handled a team-high 130 draws in the Penguins’ zone this season. After all, he leads them in overall faceoffs taken with 1,013; that’s 400 more than Evgeni Malkin, who is second on the list.

But the guys immediately behind Crosby in defensive-zone faceoffs are Riley Sheahan (101) and Matt Cullen (92), both of whom have spent

considerable time on the No. 4 line and embrace the responsibilities that come with playing there.

“Sometimes, we’re counted on to take a lot of defensive-zone draws and, at times, play against other teams’ top couple of lines which, to me, is a

lot of fun,” Cullen said. “It’s a fun challenge.

“You learn to take pride in what you do. If you’re taking all of the (defensive)-zone draws and you win them and go down to the other end and it means the top line can get on with an offensive-zone faceoff, you know you’ve done your job.

“Obviously, you score when you can and chip in when you can, but being strong defensively – shutting down other teams’ top couple of lines and being strong on the penalty-kill – those are things that you take pride in. When you evaluate your game at the end of the night, you look at those things.”

Not everyone does, of course. Casual fans, for example, might be inclined to overlook the value of a strong fourth line because of the blue-

collar job description for the guys who labor there.

Teammates, though, are well aware of what the fourth-liners contribute,

even though it often is not reflected on the stat sheet.

“I don’t think the average spectator probably appreciates the value of

what they bring,” Sullivan said. “But inside our dressing room – among our organization, our coaching staff, our management team and even our

core players – there’s so much respect and so much appreciation for the role they play and helping our team win.”



CAROLINA HURRICANES


PHWA midseason awards released; no Penguins make cut

Jason Mackey

The Professional Hockey Writers Association released its midseason

awards on Thursday, although no Penguins players made the cut.

The closest local hook comes with the Vezina Trophy, where Whitehall’s

John Gibson of the Anaheim Ducks was the No. 1 vote-getter, and former Penguin Marc-Andre Fleury was second.

The Penguins’ top two candidates are their All-Stars, Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang, who could’ve possibly received consideration for the Hart and Selke trophies and the Norris Trophy, respectively.

Here’s the full list:

Sidney Crosby was spotted working out in Jackson, Wyo.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Sidney Crosby skates with locals in Jackson Hole, Wyo.

Hart Trophy - to the player adjudged to be most valuable to his team.




Norris Trophy - to the defenseman who demonstrates the greatest all-round ability in the position.



Kris Letang #58 of the Pittsburgh Penguins scores on Carey Price #31 of the Montreal Canadiens in the second half during the 2018 Honda NHL All-Star Game between the Atlantic Division and the Metropolitan Divison at Amalie Arena on January 28, 2018 in Tampa, Florida.

Jason Mackey

Everything you need to know about NHL All-Star Weekend


Selke Trophy - to the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of

the game.




Calder Trophy - to the player selected as the most proficient in his first

year of competition.




Lady Byng Trophy - to the player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high

standard of playing ability.




Vezina Trophy - to the goaltender adjudged to be the best at his position.




Jack Adams Award - to the coach adjudged to have contributed the most to his team's success.




GM of the Year Award - to the General Manager adjusted to have

contributed most to his team's success.




Rod Langway Award - to the defenseman who best excels in the defensive aspect of the game.




Comeback Player of the Year Award - to the player who returned to a previous high level of performance that was interrupted by subpar play, long-term injury or major illness.






Israeli hockey team to play former Penguins and Duquesne team to show support

Bob Batz Jr.

Players from Israel’s national ice hockey team — yep, there is one and it’s pretty good — will play Penguins alumni and the Duquesne University

hockey team this weekend to show support for the Pittsburgh community, Jewish and otherwise.

They’re calling it Hockey is Stronger than Hate weekend.

In the first game, the Israel Selects will take on the Dukes ACHA Division

1 club team at their home rink, Alpha Ice Complex in Harmarville, at 7 p.m. Saturday. One of Duquesne’s players is Shai Maaravi, an Israeli

citizen and member of the Tree of Life, the Squirrel Hill synagogue where 11 people were killed in October’s mass shooting.

In the second game at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at UPMC Lemieux Sports Center in Cranberry, the Israelis will play Pittsburgh Penguins alumni and friends.

The Vegas Golden Knights celebrate a goal against Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Casey DeSmith (1) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Jan. 19, 2019, in Las Vegas.

CAROLINA HURRICANES


Jason Mackey


The Penguins alumni team will include former winger Tyler Kennedy and goaltender J.S. Aubin, plus former Steelers kicker Shaun Suisham and members of the Icemen, the Pittsburgh Police team, including Brad Rupp, son of former Penguin Duane Rupp. Also added: Former National Women’s Hockey League player Ashley Vesci, George Saad (brother of Chicago Blackhawk Brandon) and Josh Getzoff, the Penguins broadcaster.

The head coach will be former Steeler Brett Keisel with help from former

Pirate Neil Walker. Former Penguins coach Michel Therrien will coach the Israeli team.

Sunday’s game will be preceded by a presentation of a check for money raised from “Stronger Than Hate” merchandise sold by the Pittsburgh

Penguins Foundation and the Hockey Sticks Together Foundation.

In November, the foundations and Penguins honored Tree of Life victims,

and in particular brothers Cecil and David Rosenthal, during the first-annual USA Hockey Special Hockey Classic tournament for

developmentally disabled hockey players from around North America. Mr. Maaravi, wearing his Israeli jersey, was part of the ceremonial opening puck drop.

The foundations sold “Stronger Than Hate” logo T-shirts and hoodies ($25 and $45) and helmet decals ($5 or six for $20). Proceeds were directed to ACHIEVA, which works with people with disabilities and their families, and The Friendship Circle “to create more inclusive and welcoming communities for people with disabilities.” The Rosenthal brothers had lived in a Squirrel Hill house supervised by ACHIEVA staff, at least one of whom plays hockey.

Before Sunday’s game, the checks — $1,600 each for ACHIEVA’s new Cecil and David Rosenthal Memorial Fund and Friendship Circle — will

be presented to Rabbi Mordy Rudolph, Friendship Circle’s executive director.

Tickets, $10 for Saturday’s game and $15 for Sunday’s game, are available at https://bidr.co/events/israelhockey and at the door. All

proceeds will go to The Edward and Rose Berman Hillel Jewish University Center of Pittsburgh.

At the first USA Hockey Special Hockey Classic in Cranberry in November, Shai Maaravi wore a Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation

Joe Starkey

Joe Starkey: Duquesne's Israeli hockey player the perfect point man in fight against hate

There will also be a silent auction of items. Buy merchandise and apparel at https://hockeystickstogether.typeform.com/to/IxCS5y and https://bidr.co/events/israelhockey/items.

“There’s a bigger purpose,” says Hockey Sticks Together executive director Michele Humphreys.

She said the weekend is also meant to thank the Pittsburgh community for coming together after the Squirrel Hill shooting. It’s about “bringing

people of all faiths and walks of life together through the power of sport and our shared love of the game.”

Where will Mr. Maaravi play? “Good question!” he says. “I was offered a solution by Tom McMillan of the Pittsburgh Penguins to change my

jersey on the 30 minutes mark at the Duquesne game” and play for both teams Saturday.

On Sunday, he’ll play solely for Israel — with other players and friends from around North America and a goalie from Israel — because he’s not a Pens alumnus, he says. “Not yet.”



Penguins' contracts make one thing clear: Young core has to perform

Peter Diana/Post-Gazette

Beginning with Brian Dumoulin’s contract extension in July 2017, Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford has identified key members of

his team’s younger core and moved swiftly to sign them to reasonable contracts.

It’s been good business for Rutherford, as Dumoulin (six years, $24.6 million), Bryan Rust (four years, $14 million) and Jake Guentzel (five years, $30 million) are all proving they’re worth the money, while Matt Murray’s previous deal (three years, $11.25 million, expiring after 2019-20) might be the biggest steal considering how he played during a pair of Stanley Cup runs and what he’s done lately.

It’s also been — and will continue to be — necessary, given the team’s salary-cup structure into the twilight years of the Sidney Crosby/Evgeni

Malkin Era.

If the Penguins are going to keep this window from closing the way it has

in Chicago and Los Angeles, this group of younger players must continue to outperform these contracts the same way they did their old ones,

whenever the Penguins were winning back-to-back Cups.


“I think it’s great for our organization,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said of the team’s younger core. “One of the things that’s allowed us to be

successful is the chemistry we have within our room. I think having a veteran group like we do that provides the leadership and as talented as they are, when you combine that with some of the younger players that have brought an infusion of enthusiasm and energy into the locker room, it makes for a real good formula.

“These guys have played extremely well for us. The young guys have brought that energy, that enthusiasm, the juice you need day in and day out to be at your best. We like the chemistry we have with the group.

Those young guys are a big part of it.”

The energy and enthusiasm that Sullivan referenced — not to mention

production — must continue because of the tightrope Rutherford and the Penguins are trying to walk. They’re not old, per se, but they’ve certainly

made some decisions or commitments when it comes to their future.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette examined the contract structure of all NHL

clubs as it pertains to the next couple of seasons, to see what other teams had committed to having on their 2021-22 team.

That’s a notable marking point for a variety of reasons.

Per their contract status, after that season Malkin, Phil Kessel, Rust, Kris Letang and Olli Maatta can become unrestricted free agents, in addition to backup goaltender Casey DeSmith. Patric Hornqvist, Dumoulin and Jack Johnson are up the next year.

It’s also when Seattle’s NHL club will begin play, which will throw an expansion draft and protected lists into the mix.

But on their books, in total, for the 2021-22 season, the Penguins have 11 players, six of them who are currently 30 or older. Those numbers lead the NHL by a wide margin.

The average NHL club has 5.4 players on its payroll for 2021-22, with just 1.7 currently 30 or over. Money-wise, the Penguins are also at the

top — or potentially the bottom.

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They have $59,733,333 committed to their 2021-22 payroll, while the average NHL team has just $31,304,396. Tampa ranks second at $57,791,666, though none of the Lightning’s nine players under contract for 2021-22 are currently 30 or older.

What does this mean? That the Penguins better like what they have because, in the NHL, there isn’t much you can do about it. Sure, they could buy somebody out, but it’s not like the NFL where you can cut a guy. And if things go south, chances are your amount of tradable assets will diminish.

None of this, of course, is a problem for now.

Dumoulin ranks third among all NHL defensemen in plus/minus at plus-26, while Rust has 10 goals and 15 points over his past 18 games.

Murray is 10-1 since returning from a lower-body injury with a 1.81 goals-against average and .944 save percentage — numbers that both rank

second among regular netminders during that stretch. Guentzel is in the middle of a breakout season, with 24 goals and 47 points in 48 games.

As a group, they’re understandably thrilled with the stability.

“It’s nice to know we’re under contract for a while,” Guentzel said. “The

younger guys, we kind of hang out with each other, and we’ve gotten to know each other. Definitely cool to be under contract with those guys and have them as teammates.”

One neat thing about these four is that they’re all homegrown.

While Dumoulin was drafted by Carolina, his development occurred in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Rust, Murray and Guentzel are all former third-round picks for the Penguins who also came up through the club’s minor-league system.

“It is nice to have guys who have had success here and have been homegrown to be able to be locked up for a little bit,” Rust said. “These

are guys I’ve become really good friends with, too, so it’s nice to be around them.”

The Penguins will need all four to continue playing the way they have to ensure success during the latter part of this championship window,

especially when you consider how some of the other players on the Penguins depth chart may age.

“I think it says a lot about the organization that we can have guys throughout Wilkes-Barre and have success down there, come up here and do the same,” Dumoulin said. “It’s fun playing with those guys.

“We’ve played a lot of years together. It’s good to be with them, hopefully for a longer amount of time.”


1127634 Websites

The Athletic / The evolution of the dressing room speech, from emotional outbursts to tactical adjustments

By Joshua Kloke

Jan 24, 2019

Down 1-0 to the Panthers, Mike Knuble sat in the Capitals dressing room during the second intermission. The veteran forward knew coach Bruce Boudreau was going to be upset, given the team’s three-game losing streak. But he couldn’t have predicted what came next.

With the HBO cameras rolling for the “24/7: Road to the Winter Classic” series, viewers were treated to what Knuble calls “one of the all-time

great rants” he’s heard from a coach. And considering Knuble has been coached by some of the game’s greats, that’s saying something.

“So shit’s not going right. It’s not fuckin’ working the last 10 days. Fuckin’ get your heads out of your ass and fuckin’ make it work by outworking the opposition,” Boudreau said in a speech that included 15 expletives.

“It just felt like it was your Dad up there, disappointed in you,” said Knuble, now an assistant coach with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins.

As memorable as Boudreau’s speech was, expletive-filled intermission speeches that offer no constructive feedback or specific instructions are becoming a thing of the past.

“I honestly think that’s on its way out,” said 25-year-old Canucks defenceman Ben Hutton.

As the NHL skews younger, one by-product is the fact that coaches must now be more attuned to more effective communication methods with younger players. Simply echoing clichés and screaming in the middle of the game does not motivate, or benefit players. To effectively connect

with players in the middle of a game, young players insist coaches must be aware of a player’s emotional intelligence and how that can impact

their play.

“For younger guys to come in and just get carved apart, it might kill their confidence,” Hutton said. “Whereas older guys have been around the block, they have experience so they can handle it.”

In today’s NHL, players insist coaches cannot waste the little time they are afforded in-game to garner the attention of an entire team. Instead of spouting platitudes, many NHL players believe the best dressing room speeches from coaches should focus on how a team can implement their own tactical adjustments in a game.

“It’s more systematic and figuring out what the other team is doing,” said

Maple Leafs forward Tyler Ennis.

What works in today’s NHL is a far cry from what worked for Ennis and

others in junior hockey. As a rookie with the Medicine Hat Tigers in 2007, Ennis and the Tigers were down 2-1 in the second intermission of Game

7 of the WHL finals. Head coach Willie Desjardins walked into the middle of the room and placed a 2004 championship rings on a table. The

message was clear: “This is what we’re playing for.”

The Tigers won in double overtime.

Blue Jackets forward Riley Nash remembers playing in a provincial final in minor hockey. His coach, in an attempt to motivate players, turned the lights off in the dressing room and played the audio from the iconic speech from Al Pacino’s character in “Any Given Sunday.”

“I was ready to run through the wall for him,” said Nash with a smile.

But in today’s NHL, coaches are not leaned upon to inspire players.

“You hope that you don’t need to motivate guys quite like that,” Nash

said.

Many players, including Nash, now believe that for the vital time between periods to be used well, coaches should give players specific instructions to change the course of a game.

“Most coaches now are Xs and Os focused,” Nash said. “They want to make a couple of adjustments to our game plan and look at trends that they’re seeing.”

Timing is important too. Players insist intermissions must be used to deliver concrete and concise messages to ensure that every player is aware of their specific tasks before they head out on the ice.

“It has to be straight to the point,” said Avalanche forward J.T. Compher. “Usually there’s some Xs and Os talk, but they have to make sure guys

are re-focused going into the next period, no matter what happened in the period before.”

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According to many players interviewed for this story, an effective intermission speech from their coach ensures players flush any mistakes made in the previous period and then go into the next period with a clear conscience. And that’s something Avalance coach Jared Bednar does well.

“He doesn’t waste a lot of time,” Compher said.

Panthers defenceman Mike Matheson said head coach Bob Boughner uses the time between periods to critically analyze how the Panthers are executing their own approach. The intermission speeches Matheson has heard from NHL coaches differ from those he heard in college.

“It has to be,” said Matheson, “because it’s such a systematic way of playing.”

In an age when players utilize short videos to gain a better understanding of the strengths and weaknesses in their game, simply spouting off

mantras as a means to inspire a team often rings hollow. Players now demand evidence-based constructive criticism, including the use of

effective and often personal communication. Verbal lashings, or, “the hairdryer treatment,” a term often associated with famed Manchester

United coach Sir Alex Ferguson who would scream at his players so heavily that players felt like their hair was being blown back, simply doesn’t resonate.

“Why hammer the screw if you don’t have a nail?” asked Predators forward Craig Smith. “Dealing with people is the way to go. If you know your players, and know what makes everyone tick, that can work to your advantage.”

Smith said Predators head coach Peter Laviolette tends to be very motivating between periods and can lift the room by maintaining a pulse on the team.

“He can go around the room and get a great sense of how everyone feels,” said Smith.

Another effect of players emerging in the NHL in a digital age is a shortening attention span. In that sense, an effective intermission speech

also needs to possess an economy of words.

“The shorter the better in that sense,” said Matheson. “If a coach comes

in and gives you ten things to focus on…you can’t remember ten things.”

Maple Leafs centre Nazem Kadri has played for four different head coaches in Toronto. What sets current coach Mike Babcock apart, according to Kadri, is how tight he keeps the message he delivers between periods.

“You’ve always got to be prepared and on your toes because you never really know what (Babcock) is going to say. He might ask you a question. He usually gets everyone’s attention,” said Kadri. “That’s important because as a player, if you’re sitting in a film room or listening to a coach for too long, you might fade in and out. Babs does a good job at keeping

them slim.”

Babcock has perhaps had to tighten his intermission speeches and keep

them positive to cater to a young roster. It’s one of many changes in Toronto during the club’s rebuild.

Babcock was asked how his own work with mental health initiatives has influenced his approach to coaching. His awareness of the importance of

individual communication and players feeling supported by their coaching staff is compelling.

“One of the questions I ask a guy when we meet is, ‘What are you thinking?’ And usually, you know what they say? ‘Nothing.’ So then you ask again. And if you ask enough, usually you get a pretty good dial on it,” Babcock said. “But I think it’s the same when you’re thinking of your kids. When you’re thinking about anybody in your family. You want people to be doing well. You want them to feel good. No athlete performs at his highest level when he’s not feeling good. You want everyone to be feeling good”

Babcock’s approach is perhaps at odds with former coaches. Another long-serving Leaf, Jake Gardiner, contends that of all the Leafs coaches he’s played for, Randy Carlyle would give the team the most verbal lashings between periods.

Leafs forward Patrick Marleau, who currently leads the NHL in games played among active players, has heard thousands of intermission speeches from coaches. The “rah rah” speeches meant to inspire players do not stick out to Marleau. Instead, it’s speeches that don’t complicate the message.

“Sometimes the simplest ones are best,” said Marleau, providing a basic

example of an effective message: “We’ve put ourselves in this position so if you put in the work, you can get yourself out.”

That trend of keeping intermission speeches brief while focusing heavily on analytical discourse could very well continue. Knuble now coaches

one of the AHL’s best teams, one stocked with talent that could change the course of the Red Wings future. Having been involved in professional

hockey for well over 20 years now, Knuble sees a massive generational shift in the way coaches treat players.

“Back in the day, there was a general ‘My way or the highway’ attitude, where the coaches were the be all and end all. And the players were asked to conform to how the coaches wanted them to play as a group or as individuals,” said Knuble.

Now, Knuble contends that players understand how much their influence on a team has grown.

“The players make up the game,” said Knuble. “They know they’re the talent.”

Coaches now possess much more empathy for players, according to Knuble. And that shift is manifested in dressing room speeches that cater

to players demands instead of coaches.

“You’re almost a little more partner-ish,” Knuble said.

And more readily available technology makes detailed review of plays much easier between periods.

“That ability to get immediate feedback has led to players who now really like getting feedback,” said Knuble. “They want to know immediately

what’s just happened. Coaches now have that ability.”

This isn’t to suggest that anger or frustration now has no place in a coach’s message during a game. Those emotions just have to be delivered in a genuine manner, is all.

Knuble remembers having a coach, who he didn’t want to name, that would purposefully set up fans throughout the dressing room just to have something to kick in anger during intermissions.

These days, Knuble insists players won’t respond to that kind of vitriol if it isn’t on display day in and day out.

“You can’t have a guy who never swears coming in and kicking a fan,” said Knuble. “Guys will get a chuckle out of that.”

Coyotes defenceman Jakob Chychrun believes while coaches will express anger if a team is “laying an egg,” that approach pales in comparison to a coach that uses positivity in his messaging.

“More often than not, coaches try to focus on the positives,” Chychrun said. “Obviously you touch on things you could do better but at the end of the day, you don’t want to only focus on negative ideas and then you go out there with negative thoughts in your head. You need to focus on what you do really well and continue to do those things well and just touch on areas you need to do better. That seems to be the best tactic.”

It’s clear that every coach possesses a different approach when it comes to communicating with players in the middle of games.

According to Nash, Canadiens head coach Claude Julien’s intermission

speeches are lengthier than other coaches. And Blue Jackets coach

CAROLINA HURRICANES


John Tortorella’s speeches can be animated, but also incredibly honest to the point that every player knows where they stand with their coach.

“I think (the media) zero in on him at his absolute best,” said Nash.

Yet anger as a means to inspire players seems to be just another element of bygone time in the NHL. As young players become more empowered, there’s an increased understanding of how important clarity and specific instructions is in the feedback they receive during a game.

“That’s when you execute the best,” said Kadri, “when everyone knows what they’re doing.”


1127635 Websites

The Athletic / The Surge: The NHL’s influx of 100-point scorers and why it’s unlikely to end anytime soon

By Dom Luszczyszyn

Jan 24, 2019

Today’s goalies are probably getting real tired of the red light behind them constantly flashing; constantly flashing at the hands of the same players night after night.

The goals keep coming — 6.12 per game for those counting at home, the highest mark since 2005-06 — and it’s because players are finding ways to score outside the power-play. The league is currently averaging 4.9 goals-per-game there, the highest figure since the 1992-93 season. More importantly for the NHL, it’s the league’s best and brightest, the superstars, that are leading the way.

Fans pay to see the stars shine and the NHL’s most talented players have delivered this season. Going into the All-Star break, there has been a surge of potential 100-point scorers this year with 14 players currently playing at a 100-point pace or higher:

Nikita Kucherov, TBL – 130 points

Connor McDavid, EDM – 123 points

Mikko Rantanen, COL – 122 points

Johnny Gaudreau, CGY – 120 points

Nathan MacKinnon, COL – 117 points

Patrick Kane, CHI – 117 points

Brayden Point, TBL – 109 points

Blake Wheeler, WPG – 104 points

Mitch Marner, TOR – 104 points

Sidney Crosby, PIT – 104 points

Patrice Bergeron, BOS – 102 points

Auston Matthews, TOR – 102 points

Mark Scheifele, WPG – 101 points

Sean Monahan, CGY – 100 points

This assumes every player plays all 82 games and while that won’t happen (and for Bergeron and Matthews missing over 10 games each, 100 points is very improbable), the fact these players are playing at this

rate is still a magnificent feat, one that is nearly unprecedented in the salary cap era.

Since the 2005-06 season, there have been 46 players who have scored at a 100-point pace or higher, or 3.8 per year. What’s more is that 33 of those were in the first five seasons after the cancelled season. Since then, there have been 13 players in seven years (one less than this year) on pace for the mark and only eight actual 100-point seasons. The century club has been the gold standard for scoring for most of hockey’s history, but has felt almost unattainable since 2010. That’s changed drastically this season, leading to an explosion of potential 100-point

seasons. The 14 players currently playing above a 100-point pace would be the most since the 1995-96 season where there were 16 such players

(with 12 actually earning 100 points or more).

The 2018-19 season has been a renaissance, back to the days of the

high-flying early-90s, representing a shift from where the game was trending just five seasons ago. It was then that the league sensed it

needed change and it seems to have found the right path thanks to being proactive (goalie equipment changes are likely a big part of this) as well

as the natural development of the next generation. It’s likely no coincidence that many of the potential 100-point scorers are part of the NHL’s next wave of stars, with the median age of the group being 24.5-years-old and 10 of the 14 being 25 or younger. That extends a bit to the 15 others on pace for 90-or-more points. Of those 29 players, 17 are 25-or-younger and the group has a median age of 25.

On top of the influx of 100-point seasons, 90 points has become the expectation for a team’s best player – the new normal. Yes, that’s 29 players who are on pace for 90 points or more, the most since the 1992-93 season when there were 31. Remember when a 90-point season screamed superstar? As it has been in the last two decades where there have been zero seasons with more than 20 such players, three with 15 or more, and just seven with 10 or more? This year, it’s almost one per team on average. There are only 10 teams without a point-per-game scorer and nearly half have a 90-point scorer. Eight of those teams have two, and five of those teams have three.

The scoring surge has led to some astronomically silly scoring

leaderboards. The question now is will it continue?

The important thing to remember with a player’s current pace is that it

doesn’t always last, not with two-and-a-half months of hockey left to play. It was at this time last season that Josh Bailey was on pace for 96 points

(with 54 points in 46 games). He closed the season with 17 points in his last 30 games to finish with 71 in 76, a 77-point pace. A career high, yes,

but far off from the pie-in-the-sky numbers he had going into the All-Star break. For Bailey, a player who’s never scored at that level, regression

was obvious, but it effects all players, not just the expected targets like him.

My current projections have six players maintaining their 100-point pace and 16 players at 90 points. Both marks would be the highest since 2006-07, but perhaps too far off the current numbers shown this season, a year that looks poised to be a special one for high-end scoring totals. While I adjust my projections for higher scoring rates, it’s difficult to account for teams leaning on their stars much more than usual. On average, a team’s highest scoring player has accounted for over one-third of a team’s offence this season, peaking at a mind-boggling 52

percent for McDavid. That figure has risen over the last five years, another likely factor accounting for this year’s surprising rise.

2018-19: 34.5%

2017-18: 32.3%

2016-17: 31.0%

2015-16: 30.9%

2014-15: 30.4%

2013-14: 30.5%

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While my projections might be a bit too conservative, it is still fair to expect a small drop-off over the remainder of the season, at least based on past season’s scoring marks at the All-Star break.

In terms of pace, there is a high retention rate at both 100 and 90 point paces, with about 87 percent of players staying the 100-point course and 93 percent for 90 points. That means by season’s end you can expect roughly 12 players at a 100-point pace and 27 at a 90-point pace. But actually hitting those marks? That’s where things change much more drastically as many players don’t get into enough games to reach the required marks. The retention rate there is 56 percent for 100-point

players and 65 percent for 90-point players, meaning that based on historic scoring rates since 1990 at this point of the season, the 2018-19

campaign should see about eight 100-point scorers (two more than my model projects) and 19 90-point scorers (three more than my model

projects).

If those figures come to pass, the end of this season could see one of the

most prolific scoring seasons for the NHL’s best since 2005-06 (7/19 split) or maybe even 10 years before that in 1995-96 (12/22 split).

Either way, the 2018-19 season has and looks to be a truly magical year — and hopefully a sign of things to come for the league.


1127636 Websites

The Athletic / Goaltending, weaponized: How the next generation of goalies is ready to dominate

By Fluto Shinzawa

Jan 24, 2019

AVON, Conn. — A warning to shooters: You are in trouble.

The next wave of goalies is approaching. They are equipped with tools granted to no other generation.

Today’s teenage puckstoppers are holding their edges, reading plays to

their conclusion, stickhandling brashly, attacking pucks with their hands, studying video and building resilience. They are not going down

automatically, camping out in reverse vertical-horizontal (RVH) position, sliding needlessly from side to side on limited threats, or hanging their

heads after an early goal.

Meanwhile, NHL teams are learning that sky-scraping size is no longer a

priority. Shorter goalies once bypassed without a second thought are now given proper consideration.

The result: a deeper pool of smart, technical, athletic and confident goalies.

“Now we have all this other information. Now we have all these other tools,” said Jared Waimon, founder of Pro Crease Goaltending and goalie coach at Quinnipiac University (currently ranked No. 6 in the NCAA). “How can we use those? What’s the emphasis? The emphasis is on reading longer, having great skating, having patience, having edge control. Then you can use all these other things we have developed over the past years.”

So dangle, one-time, and go bar down as much as you want. The goalies

of the future will stop most of them. The pucks that slip through will not bother them.

If anything, they will be more determined to keep everything that follows out of the net.

Thumbs down to being down

Steve Mason is 30 years old. Only two years ago, Mason was Philadelphia’s No. 1 goalie. But one reason Mason is unemployed is because the NHL’s speed and skill ran him out of the league.

Like most goalies of his generation, the 6-foot-4, 210-pound Mason was taught to take away everything down low. He slid from side to side to make spectacular last-second stops. Mason incorporated RVH into his game, keeping his lead pad down and trail pad cocked at 45 degrees to

seal strong-side posts and negate low-flying threats.

But today’s turbocharged game has blunted these tools. Skaters fly.

Passes are accurate. Pucks zoom off blades over shoulders or slip through slivers that bigger gear once sealed shut.

It’s why goalie coaches like Waimon have turned their teaching manuals upside down. Stay up, they say. Shuffle, don’t slide. Think through the

game instead of executing pre-programmed technique.

Older goalies raised on going down are struggling to adjust movements long baked into their games. Younger goalies such as John Gibson (25) and Andrei Vasilevskiy (24) have had to relearn some of their tactics.

Teenage goalies have the least to rewire.

On Dec. 21, 18 youngsters, from bantams to collegians, attended Pro Crease’s one-day clinic at Avon Old Farms, a boarding school and longtime hockey powerhouse in central Connecticut. During two on-ice sessions, the goalies worked at six separate stations positioned around the rink, overseen by Pro Crease coaches and targeted by shooters.

Pro Crease students stretch after their second on-ice session at Avon Old Farms.

The goalies were accompanied by one hockey reporter who is wobbly, at best, on his skates. But from the ice, instead of my usual seat in the press box, I could process some of the factors in play when it’s time to make a save.

There are plenty: defensemen joining the rush, forwards driving to the far post, passes crossing the middle of the ice, attackers parked in front for tips. Everything is happening. It’s why one of Waimon’s principles is expanding the window of gathering information.

“The No. 1 thing I’m about now is reading longer,” Waimon told his students. “I’m not saying ‘patient’ anymore. It’s, ‘read longer.’ If you skim a page — I’m assuming a couple of us can read — versus read a page, you know the difference. The only way to do that is invest time in it. So off the play, we’re going to read longer. Off the shot, we’re going to read longer. We’re going to push ourselves to wait it out for more. Results of that should be longer on the release, holding your edges more, more shuffles, hopefully some lateral release, and no slides.”

Waimon’s coaches were well aware of the latter. Before the clinic began, Waimon distributed printouts detailing the drills of the day.

For one drill, a two-pass scenario across the middle of the ice, Waimon dispensed with subtlety when describing how he wanted his goalies to

play the situation.

“NO FUCKING SLIDES,” read the instructions. “GET BETTER AND

FASTER.”

Waimon, like most goalie coaches, is leading a movement away from previous teachings. As recently as five years ago, they were telling their netminders to take away the ice. By going down, and often staying there, goalies could close off low pucks, remain tall enough to obstruct high shots, eliminate the holes that open by standing back up, and block everything that approached.

Shooters and their sticks have since progressed. Elite attackers think nothing of popping a puck past a goalie’s ear when parked in RVH. They

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are good at exposing the goalie that slides to meet an expected shot and cannot recover when a pass cuts across the grain.

Sliding captures what goalies are doing wrong.

There are times to slide. Waimon is OK when a goalie slides to track a pass that travels below the hashmarks.

But in today’s speed game, a slide should be a last-ditch save, not a crutch of a technique. Sliding and going down early are like a goalie crossing his or her fingers, hoping to arrive at the same time as the puck.

“Being down is becoming more of a style instead of a save selection. I

think it’s becoming a problem at the younger ages,” former AHL veteran Scott Munroe, a Pro Crease instructor and assistant coach at Trinity College, told the students. “I really like how at Pro Crease, we’ve worked

on holding edges longer. The one thing I’ve been talking a lot about in practice is making sure we see the puck leave the blade of the stick

before we make any kind of reaction. Then we can go to the puck instead of dropping and having our hands come down. Then we have to react up

from it.”

Every year, the NHL spits out goalies who cannot keep pace with

modernity. Mason is a recent casualty. Cam Ward could be next. Part of the reason is that they were not raised on principles being taught today.

By contrast, when the 18 Pro Crease pupils execute their drills, going down and sliding are not common maneuvers. They are up. They are reading plays. They are slamming their pads down only when necessary.

These are the new-school goalies.

Hockey sense matters

Waimon likes Arthur Smith. He believes the 14-year-old has the potential to play for USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program. Waimon notes Smith’s athleticism and tracking. He saves his highest praise for

the most critical component of any successful goalie: intelligence.

One of the critiques Waimon has about goalies, in general, is their tendency to lean on prescribed movements. They are programmed to select saves that can be predictable.

Modern shooters incorporate deception to add another layer of devilry on their targets. Waimon believes goalies should respond in kind.

It’s why he likes to remind his charges they are hockey players first and

goalies second. So when he runs clips of Mike Smith, Calgary’s puckhandling wizard, Waimon wants his goalies to process the game similarly. Look to one teammate and pass to another. Use the net as protection from forecheckers.

“Your chance to impact the game might not be a save,” Waimon told his goalies. “It might be a touch. It might be a stop, a quick up, and now you’re going 200 feet. Your guys score, or you have a chance.”

Mike Smith handles the puck like he’s Sidney Crosby. But the 36-year-

old veteran could not stickhandle like he does without reading what’s happening and thinking about what he’d like to do. His brain is at work. Young puckstoppers are taught to mimic this trait.

Quick thinking is what Matt Michno, University of Connecticut goalie coach and Pro Crease director of coaching, explains to the students after the morning session. With the sweaty goalies stuffed in a locker room, Michno connects his laptop to a TV and breaks down a clip of Adam

Huska, his No. 1 goalie at UConn.

On a play against the University of Massachusetts, Huska reacts to a pass out front to an initial attacker. Huska drops into RVH to play the threat.

But when the puck pops over the attacker’s stick and onto the blade of a second-wave forward, Huska has to react to the broken play. Instead of staying down, Huska gets back on his feet, giving himself more options. As he reads the release, Huska is square to the shooter. When the shot arrives, he goes down and gobbles up the puck.

“When he’s back on his feet, everything is tracking toward where the puck is,” Michno explained.

“These are really basic things. What are we looking for you guys to do? See the thing, not chase it. Not get crazy, reaching and sprawling for pucks. We want to see us put all the pieces together because our eyes are telling us what to do. When we get so caught up in, ‘I need to go into RVH here, I need to keep my feet here,’ we lose sight of the simplicity of the game. Which is, ‘Where’s the puck in relation to my body? Where’s my body in relation to the net?’ That’s what we’re looking for you to do with this theme of reading plays, reading longer.”

Reading plays is not the only activity required of a goalie’s brain.

Building resilience

After the first on-ice session, the Pro Crease goalies gather for a presentation by Dr. Jason Emery, founder of Northeast Psych. The

theme of the psychologist’s talk is about fortifying the muscle that is regularly under attack from bad goals, surging crowd noise, teammates’

misplays and equipment malfunctions. The trick for every goalie is to maintain performance when things go sideways.

“It’s not a trait you’re born with. It’s just not,” Emery tells the students. “Anybody can develop this. It is a process.”

Emery presents a checklist for the goalies to follow to build resilience: be optimistic in problem-solving, be motivated, be robustly confident amid stress, practice selective focus, and insist on social support.

“Not doing this part,” Emery said, “is not training.”

Prior to the second on-ice session, which Emery joins for one-on-one chats with the goalies, he reminds the students it’s OK to fail. This aligns with Waimon’s approach.

During the clinic, Waimon wants his goalies to try a technique that isn’t

comfortable, read a play a hair longer, or play a puck that might lie outside a comfortable perimeter. In fact, Waimon tells his coaches to take

away the net if any of the goalies boil over after allowing too many goals.

So when the goalies return to the ice, they are pushing the boundaries of

their abilities. As Waimon watches over Arthur Smith and fellow bantam Brendan Holahan, nodding his head forcefully in sync with every

expected save, some of the pucks they should be stopping slip through. He has no problem with goals allowed at his clinic.

“Where do you want success?” Waimon asks Holahan with a smile. “Now, or at nationals?”

Holahan does not need to respond. The answer is obvious.


1127637 Websites

Sportsnet.ca / Oilers' Connor McDavid: 'I'm here to be part of the solution'

Luke Fox | @lukefoxjukebox

January 25, 2019, 12:15 AM

SAN JOSE, California – Connor McDavid had skillfully stick-handled through more than seven minutes of uneasy questions about the tenuous

state of the Edmonton Oilers, the franchise luck gave him to save, when finally, mercifully, a reporter floated a softball about how fun he thinks 3-on-3 hockey is.

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“Oh. My God,” he exhaled, half-smiling for the first time. “I was gonna get off the seat, it was so hot. I love the 3-on-3.”

McDavid’s first meeting with reporters since the man who drafted him but failed to surround him with enough working parts, Peter Chiarelli, was fired just happened to coincide with Thursday’s All-Star Media Day — typically a session made for lighter topics.

But these are dark, confusing, angry days in the city McDavid captains: another round of coaching and GM overhaul, enforced in a backwards order; another round of chatter about something rotting the water; another rebuild refusing to acknowledge itself as one; another season

where the most awe-inspiring player in the game is on the outside of the playoff picture looking in.

The Oilers are at risk of missing the playoffs in three out of four seasons with McDavid. A waste.

But maybe it’s lazy of us on the outside to paint the whole thing black when McDavid sees hope.

“What positives? We’re three points out of a playoff spot. I think that gets lost. I think that really is lost. We’re going through a lot of different

changes but we’re three points out and have a chance to make the playoffs,” said McDavid, looking forward to a chance to make the haters eat their words after a much-needed bye-week.

“Things seem pretty down on us. There’s a sense of negativity within media, within everyone around the team. We get to prove people wrong. We get to decide how we’re going to finish the second half. That’s what I’m looking forward to.”

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Cup Playoffs and more.

He’s right. The West’s wild-card spots are wide open for the two subpar

clubs who decide they actually want them down the stretch.

McDavid is encouraged by the impending return of a healthy Oscar

Klefbom, noting that the one year he did make the post-season, Klefbom and Andrej Sekera were the Oilers’ best two defencemen and they’ve

been out for the bulk of the past two losing seasons.

But Oilers CEO Bob Nicholson, who has spent much time speaking with McDavid over the past 24 hours, came clean that the issues with the 23-24-3 club go beyond a dearth of skill.

“We need to get the character straightened out,” Nicholson told Hockey Central at Noon Thursday. “We have to build a real positive environment here when the players get back.”

McDavid, riding for his friends like a good captain should, sees things differently.

“Character-wise, I think it’s easy to think we have turmoil in our locker

room or we have this and that. We don’t have that at all. We’re a tight group. Guys love to play for each other. So it’s not that,” he asserted.

“Losing isn’t fun. It’s not fun for anyone. I’m no different. You want to win. You want to build something special, something you’re proud to be a part

of. We gotta still build that.

“You’ve got to believe. We have to believe that we’re going to turn it

around.”

McDavid arrived in California with a fresh haircut, free of his flowing

hockey hair (“It was getting a little bit shaggy and a little bit long,” he explained, “so it was a good time to get it cut”) but, as is too often the case, looking like he’d just made more room for the weight of the world on his shoulders.

He declined comment on Chiarelli’s firing, saying this weekend was for fun. That he and teammate Leon Draisaitl, whom the fans voted into the exhibition, have earned that right.

He wants to relax. Breathe.

“He deserves that. He needs that,” Nicholson said. “He’s fully on-board, he wants the team to get better. We just gotta take a little of the pressure off him. He’s the best player in the world.”

A weekly deep dive into the biggest hockey news in the world with hosts Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek. New episodes every Thursday.

So even though McDavid couldn’t quite hide his annoyance for the line of questioning, he dutifully got through another long shift.

He described his relationship with new interim GM Keith Gretzky as

“basic”: “I know him a little bit. I don’t know him a tremendous amount, but that [the case] with a lot of GMs.”

He touched on Wayne Gretzky’s involvement as a mentor: “Wayne’s around for sure once a month, every couple weeks. He’s obviously a busy guy. He does what he can to be around the team and offer advice where he sees fit.”

And he answered, briefly, some hard questions on how he feels about the incongruity between a sagging team and a soaring superstar.

Does Connor McDavid feel let down personally by what he’s been given to work with?

“I’m not going to comment too much on that at all. I’m just as much a part of this group as anyone, if not more,” McDavid said. “It’s on all of us as

players. It’s on me being part of that. It’s on me being the captain.”

Has he reached a point, as some have speculated, where he no longer

wants to be part of the losing? Maybe taste some other water?

“That’s just not the case at all,” McDavid said.

“I’m here to be part of the solution, and that’s all I’ll say on that.”

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1127638 Websites

Sportsnet.ca / Last-place Senators stumble into all-star break with UFAs

unsigned

Wayne Scanlan January 24, 2019, 1:11 PM

The Ottawa Senators vowed to go into the all-star break on a strong note.

Instead, the final game before the break squelched like a whoopee cushion, beneath the seats of a small and quiet crowd announced as 12, 236 at the Canadian Tire Centre.

After 50 games, the Senators are dead last in the NHL with 43 points off a record of 19-26-5. For comparison, in the 2017-18 season that registered historic disappointment, Ottawa also had 43 points after 50

games (17-24-9).

So, this team is keeping pace with that snail. Then, there was worry

about losing defenceman Erik Karlsson at the deadline (he was moved in September instead). This year, one month ahead of the trade deadline

Ottawa’s top three forwards are all pending unrestricted free agents – winger Mark Stone, centre Matt Duchene and winger Ryan Dzingel.

As the rebuild ensues, it is expected that two of the three will be moved at or before the deadline, with Stone considered most likely to remain

with the organization.

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Regardless, the final 32 games will be a challenging exercise in maintaining some level of professionalism and focus for a rebuilding team that doesn’t have its 2019 first round draft pick (traded to Colorado in the Duchene deal).

Veteran defenceman Mark Borowiecki admitted it will be difficult for players to battle the distraction of potential trades and their fallout, heading into the deadline and beyond.

"Arguably, the core of our team, two guys especially (Stone, Duchene) are big, huge names on this team — foundational pieces — they’re in contract years where, we haven’t had quite the team success we would

have liked to have had," Borowiecki says, putting it politely. "And that leaves a lot of questions unanswered.

"As a player you work and work and get that chance at free agency and what do you do? It can be a distraction personally, individually, but as a

group too.

Whatever happens, we have to do what we can as players to help this

team grow and win more games."

That 26th regulation loss of the season, and 31st in all, was telling.


Against an Arizona Coyotes team with few recognizable names and several players injured, including starting goaltender Antti Raanta, the Senators got outworked, outplayed and were full value for the 3-2 defeat.

The Coyotes lost captain and top defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson to an injury in the second period. And still they beat Ottawa to nearly every loose puck, putting on a work ethic clinic, just as the Coyotes did in Toronto against the Maple Leafs two nights earlier.

Arizona doesn’t have a single player with as many as 40 points, yet head

coach Rick Tocchet has the team playing as though the players won’t get fed after the game if they don’t display a degree of hunger within it.

No category better defines work ethic and coaching than the PK stats and the Coyotes are the best penalty killers in the NHL with a success

rate of 86.9 per cent. The Senators are 29th in PK (75.5 per cent), which shows that Duchene’s infamous Uber video chirp about Ottawa’s lame

penalty killing strategy continues to ring true.

Much like the first 50 games, the final 32 will be about assessing and developing young players, that is if head coach Guy Boucher can forget about trying to save his job long enough to let the kids play. Against Arizona, Boucher and defensive coach Marc Crawford played veteran Cody Ceci 21:11 and rookie Christian Wolanin all of 8:08, despite the Senators trailing for most of the night. Wolanin has offensive upside, evidenced by his recent nomination for the AHL all-star team. Ceci is among those who could be moved at the deadline.

The Senators sent two of their young players, Wolanin and Rudolf

Balcers, back to Belleville to get some playing time this weekend during Ottawa’s eight-day break.

Wolanin will likely rejoin the NHL club for Ottawa’s Feb. 1 game in Pittsburgh.

The best news for Senators fans after the all-star break will probably arrive in an off-ice development, rather than a win here or there — or the

shallow victory of keeping Colorado from getting a lottery pick.

1. A Stone signing would go a long way toward lifting spirits, signalling

that this franchise can keep the occasional star player, after letting such luminaries as Karlsson, Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza, Zdeno Chara and Marian Hossa get away, for one reason or another.

2. Positive news from the LeBreton Flats bid would warm the hearts of hockey fans throughout the National Capital Region. Mediator Warren (Don’t call me Henry) Winkler has until Feb. 28, just three days past the trade deadline, to find a resolution for the stalled RendezVous LeBreton

proposal of Melnyk and his RendezVous partners John Ruddy and Graham Bird.

The wild card in this last-minute pitch to get the project approved, which would involve a downtown NHL arena, is the involvement of Devcore Canderel DLS, backed by Quebec billionaires Guy Laliberte and Andre Desmarais. Devcore appears willing to take on responsibility for financing and building the arena, with the Senators as tenants. It’s also possible Devcore could take an ownership stake in the franchise or buy the team outright.

These kinds of life-giving developments would put this lousy hockey

season in a very different light.


1127639 Websites

Sportsnet.ca / New Oilers GM will inherit tall task, but it won't be Mission: Impossible

Mark Spector | @sportsnetspec

January 23, 2019, 4:59 PM

EDMONTON — "There is something in the water here in Edmonton."

As the latest CEO stepped behind the latest microphone to announce the latest firing which will lead to the latest rebuild in Edmonton, these were the words that really stood out.

"There is something in the water," said Bob Nicholson.

After missing the playoffs for 11 of the last 12 years, the Oilers are soon

to hire their fifth general manager in a dozen seasons. He will subsequently hire the ninth head coach in the same time frame.

By my count, it is Rebuild 4.0. Though Nicholson begs to differ on that count.

"We’re not into a rebuild, I truly believe we’re not into a rebuild," he said. "We have the best player in the world, we have other really good players

in that dressing room."

Ex-GM Peter Chiarelli, fired during the second intermission of Tuesday’s loss to Detroit, will go down in hockey history as the guy who was gifted Connor McDavid yet managed somehow to make his team worse. Failure cum laude — he’ll never work as a GM again.

But even though his name is attached to inexplicable transactions that landed players like Ryan Spooner (dispatched to Bakersfield, where he’ll earn his $4 million this year and next), Brandon Manning (a sixth or seventh defenceman who makes $2.25 this year and next), the $6-million Milan Lucic, or paid all of Leon Draisaitl, Mikko Koskinen and Kris Russell at least $1 million too much annually, Chiarelli had help.

He has a pro scouting department full of men who haven’t helped

enough. Scouts who haven’t done the extra work to find a gem in someone else’s minor league system; who aren’t connected enough to have heard from a colleague about a player who was available for some reason, who could be acquired quietly.

Scouts who didn’t have the eyes or the courage to tell Chiarelli that the Spooners of the world can’t play. "And by the way, Pete. You’re killing Jesse Puljujarvi and Kailer Yamamoto by playing them in the NHL."

Were they yes men? Or would Chiarelli simply not listen?

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Whatever — the Oilers pro evaluation team needs an overhaul, big-time. The proof of their work lies in the lack of depth in Edmonton lineup, where one injury to Oscar Klefbom is somehow insurmountable.

And after nearly 20 years of rushing young players before they’re ready — organizational DNA that makes us crazy — if it happens even one more time this reporter will be calling for Nicholson’s head.

"We’re going to push back," Nicholson promised on Wednesday. "We want our younger players to develop more in the American Hockey League."

Really, that’s a metaphor, isn’t it?

If you keep smacking your head against the wall in ruining young prospects, in watching Puljujarvi fail nightly in the NHL but never making

a change, in what other areas are you making the same mistake, over and over and over again?

"We have to look at all parts of this organization," said Nicholson. "We have some really good players. We have some really good staff. But

there’s something in the water here in Edmonton that we don’t have right and we have to get that figured out."

When they hired former Boston GM Chiarelli, and he brought in former San Jose coach Todd McLellan, we celebrated the break from the history of nepotism that is woven into the fabric of this organization. But with both having been fired within a couple of months of each other, now what?

Does a deeper cleanse of the Old Boys Club need to occur, or should the next GM be allowed to hire or retain whomever he sees fit, regardless of where they played their hockey a couple of decades ago?

Should the Oilers be trying to make the playoffs, or become sellers with an eye to next season? How far should they go in attaching assets to bad

contracts in order to shed some of the awful, awful contracts that Chiarelli managed to collect?

"We’re not trading away our first (round) pick," Nicholson promised. "When you look at some of our other top prospects, we’re not giving them

away unless we get some really good pieces back."

The Oilers have some pieces around which a very good team can be

built.

McDavid, Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Klefbom, Adam Larsson, Darnell Nurse … a few other NHL pieces like Jujhar Khaira, Russell and Caleb Jones — players who are just fine when playing minutes and roles they can handle.

Filling in the bottom-six forwards, finding a couple of defencemen who can pass the puck, grabbing a veteran to share time with Koskinen, it’s not Mission: Impossible.

But Chiarelli has crippled this team with his scorched earth approach to the salary cap, so the new GM had better bring a shovel, and be ready to

trade some draft picks to move out some money.

And then, they’ll need to hire a plumber. To figure out what’s the matter

with the water in Edmonton.

"The way that you figure that out is to talk to people," Nicholson said. "I’m going to try and open up more doors, in all aspects of this organization, to find out those little things that just haven’t been fixed over the last

number of years."

If it is true that bad things come in threes, then welcome to Rebuild 4.0.

The water can only taste better from here.


1127640 Websites

Sportsnet.ca / 'Hockey over strength' mantra fuels Pettersson's rise to all-star

Iain MacIntyre | @imacSportsnet

January 24, 2019, 6:23 PM

VANCOUVER – Everyone has a favourite Elias Pettersson story, and

Vancouver Canucks teammate Erik Gudbranson didn’t need to wait long for his.

It was Pettersson’s first National Hockey League pre-season game, long before the Swedish rookie scored with a rocket on opening night against Calgary.

It was the first period of his first game on NHL ice, the Canucks’ second power play against the Edmonton Oilers. Gudbranson was watching from the press box, keeping his eye on the new kid, when Oilers penalty-killer Ryan Strome pressured Pettersson near the top of the right-wing circle.

The teenager fooled Strome so badly with a lateral puck dangle that the

Oiler lost his balance and literally fell over. It hardly mattered that a few seconds later, Pettersson swung so hard and missed on a one-timer that

he, too, dusted the ice.

He made Strome look ridiculous.

"That was the first moment where you go, ‘Oh, my God,’" Gudbranson said. "He nearly broke Ryan Strome’s ankle. I was like, ‘Whoa.’ The days

when Pavel Datsyuk would literally throw guys for a loop are pretty much over. That was the first time where I was like, ‘Wow, that was pretty

nice.’"

Canucks winger Sven Baertschi could feel Strome’s embarrassment.

"I didn’t expect him to just come into camp and tear some of our players apart," he said. "Even I was like: ‘Holy, what is going on?’"

There have been plenty of "holy" moments since then for Pettersson.

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Cup Playoffs and more.

On Thursday, as most teammates boarded flights to Hawaii or Mexico or

drove up to Whistler for the Canucks’ week-long schedule break, Pettersson flew to San Jose for the NHL’s All-Star Game. Selected as a

rookie to join the best players in the world, the lanky centre competes in the skills competition on Friday and the three-on-three tournament

Saturday.

Pettersson became the fifth NHL player in 100 years to score 10 goals in

his first 10 games. Then he turned 20 on Nov. 12.

He reached the all-star break as the Canucks’ leading scorer with 23 goals and 45 points in 40 games, and has a 19-point lead in the rookie scoring race despite missing six games with a concussion and another five due to a sprained knee.

Unless he is injured again or Buffalo Sabres defenceman Rasmus Dahlin plays like Ray Bourque in the final third of the season, Pettersson will win the Calder Trophy by a landslide.

"I don’t expect anything," Pettersson told reporters this week. "I work hard. I believe in myself, believe in the team. I do my best to win hockey

games. And then, of course, I’m happy with my personal prizes, but it’s a team game and that’s what I focus on most."

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Later, in possibly his most revealing moment so far, he said: "I always believe in myself. But when I was growing up, I didn’t think I would play in the NHL. I was just practising hard, always working, took it step by step, and now I’m here living my dream. But nothing has come easy. I will still continue working although I had some success lately. There’s a lot of work behind it."

At six-foot-two, Pettersson is listed in NHL game notes as weighing 176 pounds – about 20 pounds more than he weighed two and a half years ago at the start of his draft season in Sweden’s second division. Had he been heavier, Pettersson wouldn’t have slipped to the Canucks with the

fifth pick of the 2017 draft.

Just 19 months later, the Canucks wouldn’t trade Pettersson for both

Nico Hischier and Nolan Patrick, the forwards drafted first and second overall in what was considered a two-horse race.

Pettersson’s size has rarely been an issue this season. He is smart and agile enough to avoid big hits, yet plays a two-way game and goes into

traffic.

But all those questions about his size and strength helped him become a

star. They’re why he’s at the All-Star Game.

"Oh, yeah," he said of the motivation. "I was doubted that I could play because I’m not a big person. ‘Too skinny.’ But I came up with a way to use that as an advantage – to think hockey before strength. So far, it’s going good."

Pettersson’s linemate, Brock Boeser, was only a West Coast story until he went to last year’s All-Star Game and became the first rookie to be named its MVP. Boeser won the target-shooting competition and returned to the Canucks as an NHL sensation.

Pettersson is already there. He has changed the landscape in

Vancouver. He is the Canucks’ best player and has accelerated the team’s rebuild by a year. The Canucks are challenging for a playoff spot

this season instead of next year.

"It’s just kind of humbling to be in the same room as all of these older

guys," Boeser said of his all-star experience. "When I got to meet Sidney Crosby and other guys – Brent Burns, Anze Kopitar and other guys on

my team – it was an eye-opening experience. Just enjoy the whole thing."

Asked if the shooting accuracy competition should be Pettersson’s event, too, Boeser said: "I sure hope it is. But he’s so skilled at everything, I don’t know what events they’ll put him in."

Pettersson said he doesn’t know what to expect, but he’ll be nervous walking into a dressing room filled with NHL stars he grew up watching.

"Yeah, of course I get nervous," he said. "I’m nervous a little before games and important games. But like my dad told me, when you’re nervous that’s a good thing because that means you’re ready."


1127641 Websites

Sportsnet.ca / 31 Thoughts: What’s next for Oilers after Chiarelli firing

Elliotte Friedman

January 24, 2019, 11:58 AM

“There’s something in the water,” Oilers CEO Bob Nicholson said

Wednesday, “here in Edmonton that we don’t have right.”

It’s time to start swimming in a different lake.

I’m not buying the “old Oilers are interfering” narrative. Oh, they’ve got opinions, but how much did they really stand in the way of anything Edmonton did or didn’t do the past four seasons? I’m not convinced it happened often, if at all. And it will be important for the organization to line up in support of Nicholson during this search, rather than splintering into separate fiefdoms.

But, what must be addressed is if there is a comfort zone with familiar ideas. Or, more importantly, if the organization falling further and further behind what other teams are doing in the areas of scouting, sports

science, analytics, draft research or whatever else you can think of. You don’t have to believe in everything, but you have to know about them. I

have a theory: that there are more “quiet hirings” in these positions across the NHL than anyone wants to admit.

For Edmonton, this is more than just a GM search. This is an audit, an investigation into every pore of the Oiler way. For several months now,

this has been happening throughout the business side of the operation. Now it is time to extend into hockey. Nicholson made one immediate

change in philosophy: more AHL time is coming for younger players. But why stop at that? The timing allows him the opportunity to talk to a wide swath of people. Information is powerful currency. Interview lots. Ask about best practices. Find what else is out there. There is plenty to discover.

No matter what you think of the situation, there is going to be no shortage of interest. The Oilers are resource-rich, featuring a nuclear weapon as the number-one centre. (A “Weapon of McDavid Destruction,” as NHL Network’s Stephen Nelson called him.)

As Doug MacLean said Wednesday, Nicholson has to gauge Steve

Yzerman’s interest. It’s unlikely to be a fit, but you have to shoot your shot. Nicholson has a long history with the Hall of Famer, although one

executive joked, “Doesn’t everyone have history with Nicholson if they are Canadian?”

Potential first-time GM options include Bill Guerin, Mark Hunter and Kelly McCrimmon. Sources indicate all have been discussed internally, and not

just in the last few days. Hunter (a serious candidate) could be an immediate hire if that’s what the Oilers wanted to do. I don’t know if Winnipeg assistant GM Craig Heisinger desires the job, but if I’m Nicholson, I’m asking. The Jets, in an intense market, held off pressure to deviate from process and are reaping the benefits. The Oilers should

be asking how Winnipeg management sold its vision and stayed on path despite criticism for doing so.

Nicholson promised not to trade their young players and assets for short-term fixes, but the playoffs are not merely an option. They are an

expectation, a directive from ownership. Daryl Katz has made that very clear, even to the players themselves. There will be temptation to do what you don’t want to do.

That is also Ron Hextall’s strength. There is some doubt he wants to jump back in so quickly, but, again, no harm in asking. Nicholson’s history with Doug Armstrong and Ken Holland puts them into the picture if their current situations change. I’m not sure if Mike Gillis is a candidate, but it would be a waste if the Oilers didn’t reach out. He brought a lot of different ideas to Vancouver, an organization with similar location-related issues as Edmonton. Why not hear what worked, what didn’t, and what

he’d do differently?

You know the old saying: “Good artists copy; great artists steal.” Time for

the Oilers to commit some grand larceny.

31 THOUGHTS

1. Tyler Dellow, who worked for Edmonton from 2014 through 2016, is going to be hired by another NHL team. The question is not if, but when.

If there’s one thing I believe, it is that we are always being judged and graded by the right people. He’s blunt, but his work in The Athletic is not going unnoticed by those people. And I’d bet there are still some in the

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organization who respected his stuff. He grew up an Oilers fan. Why let him help someone else?

2. On Monday, McDavid told assembled media, “If there’s guys that believe [this group can’t get it done], they should get out of the room. If you don’t believe in this group and you’re in the locker room then you need to leave.”

Apparently, he told his teammates the exact same thing he said publicly. There’s a lot of Mats Sundin in McDavid — goes about his business, loyal to the cause, determined to succeed no matter the circumstances. There’s a lot of debate about his mood. He despises losing, but it is not

DEFCON 1.

3. The thing I liked most about Nicholson’s presser was that, given the

chance to throw Peter Chiarelli under the bus one final time for the Mikko Koskinen signing, he didn’t do it. He called it a collaborative effort. The

Oilers checked in on Washington’s Andre Burakovsky, but a couple of sources threw cold water on that. They like Detroit’s Andreas Athanasiou,

whose speed seems a perfect complement to McDavid, but there’s no guarantee the Red Wings want to do anything and the price would be

costly. There were also rumblings they were talking to Chicago about something bigger and are trying to move Tobias Rieder to open some cap room. Whatever the case, it should be a smooth transition for Keith Gretzky, since he’d be part of the group working on these files.

4. There was a rumour flying around yesterday that, in all the craziness of the last few weeks, at least one team asked about Evan Bouchard. It went nowhere.

5. A final one on Chiarelli: In the fall of 2016, a few sources indicated he came close to a blockbuster at the 2016 NHL Draft, days before the Taylor Hall–Adam Larsson deal. Asked about it, he laughed but said he

wouldn’t tell. Believe me, I tried. The Oilers had the fourth selection, snaring Jesse Puljujarvi after Columbus grabbed Pierre-Luc Dubois.

There was a potential three-way that would have moved the Flames to third, the Blue Jackets down a spot and the Oilers to sixth. That obviously

never happened.

In Monday’s 31 Thoughts: The Podcast interview, Arizona GM John

Chayka admitted the Coyotes were working on something with the Oilers to make sure they got Clayton Keller. (They succeeded, staying in the seventh spot.) There are two teams suspected to have taken big swings as well: the Rangers and St. Louis. New York did not have a pick until 81st, but, as Jeff Marek has said several times, loved Keller. The Blues

were picking 26th. Someday, it will all shake loose.


6. Koskinen’s extension will have an effect down the highway in Calgary. Because that’s a contract for a pending unrestricted free agent, it cannot be used as an arbitration comparable for David Rittich. The Flames’ rapidly improving goalie is a year from UFA status, but if he keeps trending in this direction, they’re going to be happy to take care of him.

7. On Burakovsky: The Capitals have asked for a couple of mid-to-high round draft picks in exchange (seconds and thirds would be a good get) for him. That would give them more flexibility and assets to chase what they need. Even with a seven-game losing streak, absolutely no one is writing them off.

8. How to interpret Toronto GM Kyle Dubas’s proclamation that the

Maple Leafs are having good dialogue with Auston Matthews? My take is this: both team and agent Judd Moldaver see an eight-year deal as

extremely unlikely. The salary would be too high for the team, which wants to keep the best possible team around him and knows Mitch

Marner’s agent, Darren Ferris, is waiting to see Matthews’s cap number. A four-year contract walks him right to unrestricted free agency, so that’s

not happening. We’re looking at a five- or six-year contract. That puts the number under Connor McDavid’s $12.5 million, but exactly where is what’s still to be decided. Dubas’s proclamation that they’d like to know

before the deadline means February will be an important month in the process.

9. The highest five-year contracts in the salary-cap era belong to Sidney Crosby (2008–09 to 2012–13) and Evgeni Malkin (2009–10 to 2013–14), at $8.7 million. The largest six-year deal went to Dany Heatley (2008–09 to 2013–14) at $7.5 million. Assuming Matthews and the Maple Leafs choose either of these lengths, we’re going to have a new record. This term — rather than the max eight — will be the choice for some teams and their restricted free agents.

10. Why? One reason is the choice to keep the AAV down as younger

players increasingly grab a larger share of the salary pie. Another is speculation on the next U.S. television deal. (NBC has two more seasons

on its current contract.) If the NHL gets a spike, some will want the ability to capitalize sooner. Not every player (or their agents) feel this way, but

others do.

11. The CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game Wednesday in Red Deer gave

teams a choice the night before: either the similar CJHL event in Okotoks, Alta., or the Hurricanes/Flames in Calgary. The Maple Leafs

chose Option B, but I don’t believe the scouting target was Dougie Hamilton. Process of elimination indicates Brett Pesce, but I can’t say it for sure.

12. If Dubas chooses a left-handed option, the top target is Jake Muzzin. But he has made it clear to those who have asked that Kasperi Kapanen is a no-go and 2018 first-rounder Rasmus Sandin has similar status.

13. Nick Kypreos reported Ottawa’s eight-year, approximately $64-million offer to Matt Duchene last week. We all know tampering does not exist in the National Hockey League, but those numbers getting out allows other potential suitors to decide how that fits in their plans. According to a

couple of sources, Mark Stone’s situation is slightly different. The Senators did not initially present an offer as much as a “concept” of what

they’d be comfortable with. I believe that cap number is higher than Duchene’s. There is a quiet optimism Ottawa can keep Stone, but

hurdles always exist.

14. As of earlier this week, didn’t sound like there was much negotiation

with Ryan Dzingel. Contenders always look for scoring. Ottawa should get some nice assets if that’s the route they choose.

15. I think a few contenders (Calgary makes a lot of sense) are considering Chicago’s Chris Kunitz. It makes a lot of sense. Another Blackhawk being watched is John Hayden. He’s had nine straight games under 10 minutes, and Drake Caggiula’s arrival affects his role. He’s got an edge, and someone else might see some value.

16. Tuesday night, Vancouver GM Jim Benning told Sportsnet 650 radio hosts Scott Rintoul and Andrew Walker that he will begin conversations with Alexander Edler about the defender’s future with the team upon returning from the two prospect games.

17. The mystery of Sergei Bobrovsky’s future continues in Columbus.

The Blue Jackets are wisely playing this very close to the vest, and there’s an understanding he will consider other situations — but has he actually committed to them on paper? One of the theories was that he and agent Paul Theofanous verbally considered some possibilities, but didn’t want to give Columbus an actual written list. Once you agree to that, the team has more control.

18. BSN Denver’s Adrian Dater reported that Rangers scouts

consistently tailed the Avalanche over the last little while. Unless that’s about something Colorado would want the Rangers to take from their

roster to facilitate, say, a Kevin Hayes trade, I don’t think New York’s primary interests would be at the NHL level. The obvious connection is

Shane Bowers, who Rangers bench boss David Quinn coached at Boston University. But the Rangers will be seeking much more. The

Avalanche will zealously protect their most appealing draft assets.

19. Colorado, however, will see what Nikita Zadorov can return.

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20. Alexander Radulov did Dallas a huge favour, accepting blame for his first-period benching last Thursday against Los Angeles. The last thing the Stars needed was more controversy, especially as GM Jim Nill works on repairing the relationships with Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin. According to a couple of sources, Nill wants to show them the last few weeks “are not who the Dallas Stars are.” If Radulov reacts negatively, it is another five-alarm blaze. Instead, they recover with a great win over Winnipeg and get their schedule break at a perfect time. No one needs a refresh and reset more than the Stars do — it’s an excellent opportunity for a mental clean-out.

21. In addition to Valeri Nichushkin and Brett Ritchie, Dallas is also dangling Mattias Janmark. A couple of years ago, they felt his injuries

removed sorely needed speed from the roster. Janmark scored 14 even-strength goals in 2015–16, and, after returning from injury, 13 more in

2017–18. He’s got just three in 49 games this season. He’s better than he’s shown.

Stream over 500 NHL games blackout-free, including the Flames, Oilers, Leafs and Canucks. Plus Hockey Night in Canada, Rogers Hometown

Hockey, Scotiabank Wednesday Night Hockey and more.

22. For about 10 seconds, Anders Lee admitted, the Islanders were annoyed at themselves for losing a point Tuesday night in Chicago. Then, the players remembered Mathew Barzal lining up on the wrong side of the ice to take his shootout attempt.

“How could we not laugh and razz him?” the’ captain asked, the smile obvious through the telephone.

What a first half for the Islanders, the NHL’s most pleasant surprise — leaders of the Metropolitan Division. Asked about All-Star Weekend vacation plans, Lee said, “I’m going to be with half the league in the

Bahamas.”

But you’re going there much happier than most, right?

“Yes, we’ll have bragging rights,” he replied with a laugh. “We’re going to walk around proudly.”

What would he have said if told in September this would happen?

“‘Where do I sign?’”

23. Another NHL executive said the Islanders’ strength is that they play their system so well they keep themselves in games. That increases the chances of finding a way to win.

“Every night we have a feeling that there’s not much to worry about,” Lee said. “We’re poised on the bench. Calm. If you stick to the plan and play the right way, you’re in a good spot. Getting production from different guys every night is a huge part of the morale. A lot of us believe in the guys in our room and who we have. The work we have done is validating that. It’s different. Things are different.”

24. Did any of Lou Lamoriello’s rules surprise him, or seem unusually

difficult?

“Well, I can barely grow a beard, so that’s not much of an issue for me,”

he laughed. “You just do it. Don’t argue.”

Lee paused.

“We needed it in a way. If you understand what I’m saying here, the rules were easy to follow because they are perfect timing for us.”

25. Lee is unrestricted this summer. “This is my home. I don’t see anything that makes me want to do anything different. I’m not worried about it.”

26. Whenever I’d ask Garth Snow or Doug Weight about prospects to come, both would mention Devon Toews. That prediction is looks better by the day.

Ryan Dixon and Rory Boylen go deep on pucks with a mix of facts and fun, leaning on a varied group of hockey voices to give their take on the country’s most beloved game.

27. In the weeks after All-Star, the league will bring something new to the three iPad Pros on each NHL bench. Currently featuring real-time video highlights, what is called the SAP-NHL Coaching Insights App will be added to the system. These will be data-based, eliminating the wait for printed sheets for updates. Done in consultation with the teams and their coaches, each staff will be able to customize what they wish to see.

“For example,” said David Lehanski, the NHL’s senior vice-president of

business development & global partnerships, “a team could set up notifications for a certain amount of time on ice. Once a player reaches

the threshold set by their team, his name could turn red or be highlighted.”

Another thing the app can do is show faceoff results in each circle as opposed to each zone.

“Our job is to put the information out there, and [teams] can decide what and how much to access,” he said.

28. Lehanski said most teams were curious about ice time and faceoff numbers. Were there many disagreements?

“Shootout stats,” he replied, after thinking about it for a few seconds. “Some teams said they knew who their guys are. T.J. Oshie, for example, is going out no matter what, whether he’s hot or cold. Some teams wanted more histories… current streaks or certain player versus certain goalie. Tendencies versus each other.”

Do teams ever say, “Oh my God, enough with the iPads, we want our guys watching the game?”

“There was concern in 2017 when we launched before the playoffs….

Nobody wanted to change what they were doing. But it got back to us the behaviour was not as bad as feared. Players came back with interesting

insights into what they were looking for. Sometimes it is different than what coaches look for. Players and coaches want to be the best they can

be.”

29. You guys want to know, so I always ask: Will this be available to the

public?

“Yes,” Lehanski says, “but we don’t know exactly what. We haven’t sat down and completely gone through this with the NHLPA and the people here. But it is part of the plan.”

30. Saskatoon Blades forward Kirby Dach — who played for Kelly Hrudey at the CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game — is No. 2 among North American skaters on the Central Scouting 2019 NHL Draft list. But that’s not the most impressive thing about him. Dach joined with the Howe Foundation to create a program called First Blades, giving kids the opportunity to skate. The initiative gifts a pair of skates to those who

might not otherwise be able to purchase them. It’s a great thing.

31. Twenty-Five years ago, I was a young magazine reporter looking for

an interview with Calgary Stampeders quarterback Doug Flutie. I was new. The startup publication I worked for, The Sports Pages, lasted two

issues. But I called the Stampeders, who were going to Hamilton, and made a request. A few days later, following their day-before walkthrough,

I was talking with Flutie for five minutes in the middle of Ivor Wynne Stadium. It was definitely not what I expected, and it was appreciated.

Most people remember Peter Watts as a reporter. I didn’t know him too well in that role, but I was always thankful how, in a brief stint as Calgary’s media-relations contact, he was generous to a young reporter. All the best to his friends and family.


1127642 Websites

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Sportsnet.ca / Four left-shot defencemen the Canadiens should target in a trade

Andrew Berkshire

January 24, 2019, 12:10 PM

The Montreal Canadiens have had a resurgent season, one that almost no one expected, especially after Carey Price struggled for a large part of

the first half of the season. Depth, speed, and a never-say-die attitude seems to be the secret sauce so far. The Canadiens have subsisted on about league average levels of goal scoring, winning tight games and regularly coming from behind.

As the Toronto Maple Leafs have cooled and the Boston Bruins haven’t returned to last season’s heights, the upstart Habs are within reach of pushing out of a wild card spot and into a seeded position in their division. Now you have to wonder if they’ll add at the deadline.

General manager Marc Bergevin has been abundantly clear that the direction now is to be patient, and he has repeatedly claimed he will not

mortgage the future for a rental, and that the Canadiens’ first round pick specifically would not be on the table.

The operative word in his quotes is rental. The Canadiens have more than $9 million in cap space this season, but according to CapFriendly

Montreal can add more than $23 million in contract value by the deadline, given the percentage of the season that has passed.

Next season they have just $63 million in committed salary, with only Joel Armia, Artturi Lehkonen, Brett Kulak, Mike Reilly, and Charles

Hudon up for contract as restricted free agents, and Antti Niemi, Jordie Benn, and Kenny Agostino up for unrestricted free agency.

The only looming big contracts they have in the next two years are Max Domi and Victor Mete who will both be up after next season, so you have to think the Canadiens have the cap flexibility to add any contract in the short term. Bergevin isn’t looking for a rental, but he might be willing to deal for the right player with term.

Bergevin has been attempting to address the left side of his defence for

almost two years now, adding players with at least some term on a consistent basis. But so far they’ve all been third-pair guys — Karl Alzner, Jordie Benn, David Schlemko, and Mike Reilly. Each acquisition has failed to address the problem the Canadiens face in their top-four.

It seems like Mete is either ready or almost ready to take one of those spots next to either Jeff Petry or Shea Weber, but the Canadiens still need another left-handed shot who can play tough minutes.

Their cap flexibility and the glut of solid prospects they’ve accrued in

recent drafts gives Montreal a real chance to fix that problem. Let’s look at some players who could be available from teams that should be sellers, and who fit the bill as top-four defencemen on the left side with

term remaining.

Unfortunately, of the teams that are currently out of a playoff spot, there just aren’t many great left side options. Most of the defensive talent available are right shots, which Montreal already has, but I did find four

names who would fit the Habs.

The caveat is that all of these guys would require serious packages to acquire.

Obviously, Cam Fowler is having an extremely difficult season – he and Josh Manson form one of the worst defensive pairings in the league so far, not to mention he missed a bunch of time due to injury. Fowler is a controversial player in the analytics community because he’s historically played with horrible partners and had poor on-ice numbers, but the individual metrics make him look like an all-star.

I hold him in higher esteem than most, but considering he’s having such a bad go at things with a much better partner this season I’d be a little gun shy if I were trading for him. And despite a history of great transition play and a personal skill set that looks like it would mesh extraordinarily well with Shea Weber, Fowler’s contract that runs through 2025-26 is a real risk.

Hampus Lindholm hasn’t been immune to the terrible play of the Anaheim Ducks, and while his on-ice numbers are generally positive, his slot pass differential is still bad. Like Fowler, Lindholm has a long history of strong play and he’s been one of the best neutral zone defenders in

the NHL for the past three seasons. He’s probably the blueliner the Ducks want to hang on to most, but if they’re truly going to revamp their

team there are probably a couple scenarios where Lindholm could be had.

Oscar Klefbom may be more of a long shot to target, but considering the Oilers are in chaos right now after firing Peter Chiarelli, you have to think

all options are on the table. Klefbom’s name has regularly appeared in trade rumours since signing what can only be seen as a bargain $4.167

million (AAV) contract and it’s not as though Edmonton is overflowing with tradeable assets to change its look.

Klefbom is currently injured, but in terms of differentials he looks to be having a very strong season. With the Oilers still seeing themselves as a playoff team this would be a very expensive trade to make right now, but maybe that’s why they should at least explore it. If it’s a possibility at all, Klefbom would be a great fit for the Habs. Edmonton has already contributed one of Montreal’s best defencemen over the past decade in Jeff Petry, so why not another?

The player having the strongest season of this group is Los Angeles’

Jake Muzzin, who is at or near the top of every trade list right now. The Kings want a huge haul for him, and you can see why. Los Angeles is a different team when Muzzin is on the ice, breaking even or better everywhere while they get absolutely pounded when he’s on the bench.

Differentials can tell us how things are going while each player is on the ice, but the Canadiens’ needs on the left side are relatively specific. They need puck movers and players who can stop passes in the defensive

zone, especially passes into and through the slot. Allowing dangerous passes has been Montreal’s biggest weakness the past two seasons and

is a large reason why Price has struggled over that time.

With that in mind, let’s look at these players and see who stands out in

pass suppression and defensive zone control.

All four players are on the ice for fewer passes to the slot than the average Canadiens blueliner, which is impressive because all four play tough minutes and passes to the slot is an area where quality of

competition matters a lot.

Klefbom and Muzzin are the more aggressive pass blockers, getting in lanes and changing possession at higher rates than any defenceman on the Canadiens.

In recovering loose pucks, Muzzin stands out as a premier battle winner. He aggressively takes pucks away from opponents and relatively few of his loose puck recoveries come on dump-ins, meaning he’s more likely to be defending the blue line and forcing those dump-ins.

In recovering rebounds, Fowler and Klefbom stand out, but we’re talking small samples with that statistic and there isn’t a ton of variability.

In moving the puck out of the defensive zone once possession is gained, Muzzin seems to struggle a bit more, while both Ducks defencemen look stronger, especially Lindholm.

Lindholm’s biggest standout in this area is his ability to skate the puck out of danger, but he also leads the group in dump-outs, which shows that he’s not going to hesitate to clear the zone and play simple when under pressure.

Ultimately any of these four players would be a drastic upgrade for the Canadiens on the left side of the ice, but Muzzin is probably the biggest

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impact player for the immediate need the Canadiens have – and perhaps the most attainable. He’s an aggressive player in his own zone and, at the same time, capable of staying in good position, which is relatively rare combination.

Muzzin wouldn’t necessarily personally make the Canadiens a better team at exiting the defensive zone, but his ability to shut down opposing cycle plays creates more opportunity for his teammates to control breakouts and launch counter attacks, which shortens opposing possessions drastically.

There’s a reason the Kings want a huge package in return.


1127643 Websites

Sportsnet.ca / Revealing My PHWA Mid-Season Awards Ballot

Luke Fox | @lukefoxjukebox

January 24, 2019, 9:45 AM

For the second year, the Professional Hockey Writers Association voted on its mid-season awards Tuesday ahead of the all-star break. The winners were announced Thursday morning.

It should be noted that the Hockey Writers do not receive an end-of-season vote on the actual Vezina, Jack Adams, or GM of the Year trophies, but we do here for fun and to infuriate fans of teams that got snubbed.

Also of note: The Rod Langway Award (best defensive defenceman) and Comeback Player of the Year acknowledgements are purely creations of the association.

Here, in full, is my ballot and some brief reasoning for why I voted the way I did.

Hate me in the comments!

Hart Trophy




The Oilers would be a lottery lock without McDavid, Johnny Hockey is having an otherworldly campaign, and Kucherov is running away with the scoring race — and still I was tempted to replace his name with Brayden Point’s. This debate is far from settled. I could see Nathan MacKinnon, Sidney Crosby, Mark Scheifele or Jack Eichel surging onto my ballot by year’s end.

Norris Trophy


2. John Carlson, Washington Capitals

3. Kris Letang, Pittsburgh Penguins

Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson are the victims of each other’s awesomeness, and leaving Morgan Rielly off my ballot was a tough decision, but workhorses Carlson and Letang are getting taken for

granted. As for Gio? He’s topping all D-men with 1.08 points per game, leads the world in plus/minus (+29), plays in all situations, and is the best

explanation for the Flames rising to the top of their division without a clear No. 1 goalie.

Calder Trophy




Petterson’s points per game (1.13) crushes all comers (Ottawa’s Colin

White ranks second at 0.59). Heiskanen and Dahlin are already top-four defenders and power-play contributors on teams in the wild-card mix — a

ridiculous accomplishment for a couple of teenagers.

Lady Byng Trophy



3. Alexsander Barkov, Florida Panthers

In which I (sort of) make it up to the uber-humble Rielly, whose shoulda-been-an-all-star season is all the more remarkable when you consider he’s taken two measly minor penalties despite shutting down the opposition’s best forward line most nights (he’s plus-23 with 48 points).

Frank J. Selke Trophy


2. Brayden Point, Tampa Bay Lightning


I gave serious consideration to Sidney Crosby, Mark Scheifele, Patrice Bergeron (the injury hurts) and Ryan O’Reilly here, but Stone — a takeaway monster — plays in all situations and finding a way to be a plus-15 player on a minus-31 train wreck is some kind of special. A rare Selke vote for a winger!

Vezina Trophy


2. Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning


Using 25 appearances as my minimum, the potentially overworked

Fleury leads the ballot with his league-best 27 wins, and Flower’s six shutouts doubles that of anyone else. Sustainability is a question here.

Vasilevskiy’s save percentage (.925) is tops among undisputed No. 1s, and Andersen is the most important Maple Leaf. The Islanders’ Robin Lehner (15-7, .930 save percentage) has popped on the radar of late, but he needs more starts.

Jack Adams Award


2. Claude Julien, Montreal Canadiens


What Trotz is doing in the wake of John Tavares’ departure — guiding the red-hot Islanders to the Metropolitan penthouse — is remarkable.

Julien has made the most out of the least; Cooper has made the most out of the most. But it takes a good coach to motivate a proven team that

could afford to coast but instead has a shot at the best regular season in the salary cap era.

I gave serious consideration to Bill Peters for his role in the Flames’ resurgence as well as Travis Green, but his Canucks have lost more

games than they’ve won. John Tortorella gets an honourable mention for his work through the dramatics in Columbus.

GM of the Year

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3. Jason Botterill, Buffalo Sabres

Highlighted by the Jeff Skinner heist, Boterill’s moves have jolted the Sabres into relevance. Wilson found a way to acquire the purest blueline

talent of our time. And Treliving’s bold off-season has paid off in spades, overhauling his bench and making critical tweaks to his top-six and his top-four.

Rod Langway Award



3. Brian Doumolin, Pittsburgh Penguins

Giordano is a force all over the ice, so I opted not to punish him for his offence. Ekholm and Doumolin don’t get enough credit for how solid they are at their jobs, and they’ll never win the D-men scoring race.

Comeback Player of the Year Award


2. Cam Atkinson, Columbus Blue Jackets

3. Joe Pavelski, San Jose Sharks

I was very tempted to give this award to Laurent Broissoit, who went from 3-7-1 in Edmonton to 10-1-1 in Winnipeg and raised his save percentage by 60 (!) points year over year, but his 12 appearances felt too tiny.

Skinner and Pavelski — both in platform years — are scoring in bunches. Skinner has flipped from a minus-27 to a plus-13 and already has six more goals (30) than he did in 82 games last season with Carolina. Atkinson is humming above a point-per-game and a top-line threat; he had hit a three-year low in his injury-plagued 2017-18. With 27 goals

already, he should set new career bests at age 29.


1127644 Websites

TSN.CA / McDavid: ‘I look forward to proving people wrong’

Frank Seravalli

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The fastballs were coming in at rapid fire on Connor McDavid at All-Star Weekend Media Day, as you’d expect for the face of the game less than 48 hours after his GM was whacked.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

Then there was the mother of all questions, when one intrepid reporter wondered aloud whether McDavid wanted out of Edmonton, whether all

of this losing has just been too much.

No. 97 just shook his head.

“That’s just not the case at all,” McDavid said. “I’m here to be part of the solution. That’s all I’m going to say on that.”

With that, after eight minutes of grilling, a local reporter threw McDavid a welcomed lifebuoy asking about the All-Star Game itself.

“My god, I was going to get off the seat it was so hot,” McDavid said, laughing.

McDavid looked different on Thursday night. No, literally different, he cut his shaggy hair –joking that he didn’t want it flopping around on his face to obstruct his vision without a helmet during the fastest skater contest in Friday night’s Skills Competition.

But this is all different for McDavid.

These are uncharted waters the Edmonton Oilers’ 22-year-old captain is navigating. In a span of two months, the only coach and general manager he has known in the NHL have been fired. The entire organization is in a state of disarray.

This weekend in San Jose is the beginning of a nine-day break,

supposed to be his refresh, but McDavid is already looking forward.

“I look forward to coming back from the break and trying our best to

prove everyone wrong,” McDavid said. “We have an opportunity here. Things seem pretty down on us. There’s a sense [of] negativity with the

media and with everyone around the team.

“We get to prove people wrong and we get to decide how we finish the

second half.”

McDavid and the Oilers’ leadership group met with CEO Bob Nicholson after Tuesday night’s loss to the Red Wings and were informed of the decision to fire GM Peter Chiarelli. He said the message from Nicholson was similar to the one shared with the media on Wednesday, that Nicholson “didn’t like the way we were heading and wanted to make a change.”

One of the other things Nicholson addressed in Wednesday’s press conference was the chemistry within the dressing room, trying to fix some of that. McDavid seemed to bristle at that notion.

“I think it’s easy to think we have turmoil in our locker room or we have this and that. We don’t have that at all,” McDavid said. “We’re a tight-knit

group. Guys love to play for each other. It’s not that.”

McDavid addressed the team directly in the last week, sharing the same

message that he did publicly, one that generated headlines.

“You gotta believe,” McDavid said. “You have to believe that we’re going

to turn it around. If you don’t, you don’t have to be here. It’s nothing new. No teammates watched that interview and were surprised.”

His frustration has been both evident and understandable. Even as one of the few players who has shown up every night for the Oilers, everyone is looking to him for answers that he does not have.

“We’ve obviously strayed pretty far from where we were at,” McDavid said. “We need to get back to it. I don’t know how else to explain it.”

The hard truth is there is no easy fix for the Oilers. Yes, Oscar Klefbom and Andrej Sekera are soon returning from injury, but interim manager Keith Gretzky – or whoever Chiarelli’s successor is – won’t be able to simply wave a magic wand and fill the substantial holes on the roster.

Fellow All-Star Leon Draisaitl, voted by fans as the “Last Man In” for the Pacific Division, said the onus in the meantime is on those who are in the lineup.

“We have to take some ownership as players. We haven’t been good enough,” Draisaitl said. “We have to figure out how to get this team playing the right way. We’ve got to figure that out really quick here.”

Meanwhile, McDavid is choosing to remain positive. What is keeping him going is the fact that as bad as it’s been, the Oilers are somehow still within striking distance.

“We’re three points out of a playoff spot. I think that gets lost,” McDavid

said. “We’re going through a lot of different changes, but we’re three points out and have a chance to make the playoffs.”

His message was clear. McDavid hates losing as much as anyone, but he isn’t going to run for the hills. He is digging in. He’s going to stare this

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down head on, just like the bullets he took on Wednesday for his manager’s failures.

“Losing isn’t fun. It's not fun for anyone. I’m no different,” McDavid said. “You want to build something special, something you’re proud to be a part of, and we’ve got to still build that. I’m just as much a part of that as anyone else.”

TSN.CA LOADED: 01.25.2019

1127645 Websites

TSN.CA / Expect the McDavid MVP debate to rage again

Frank Seravalli

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Worthy or not? The hot-button debate about Connor McDavid’s worthiness of the Hart Trophy raged up until ballots were distributed last April.

It’s only January, but that discussion is beginning to percolate again.

Because if this season’s standings are any indication of how the rest of the campaign will play out, fellow voters from the Professional Hockey Writers Association may have some soul-searching to do about McDavid’s candidacy for the top individual honour.

Last year, voters spoke loudly and clearly with a mandate that has historical precedence: no playoffs, no Hart Trophy.

The Edmonton Oilers finished 17 points back of the pack for the second time in three seasons. McDavid finished six points clear of every other skater in the Art Ross race, but received just five first-place votes for the Hart. Former teammate Taylor Hall took home the honour; McDavid finished fifth in voting. But his fellow players awarded him the Ted Lindsay Award for most outstanding player.

This year, the Oilers limped into the All-Star break just three points out of the playoffs. Yes, it’s a historically low bar in the West this season. Yes, McDavid doesn’t lead the league in scoring.

But McDavid still did not appear on nearly half of the ballots (62 of 127)

submitted by members of the PHWA this week in their annual Midseason Awards.

Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov was the midseason Hart winner for the second year in a row, followed closely by Calgary’s Johnny Gaudreau.

McDavid was a distant third to close out the group of finalists.

My midseason Hart Trophy ballot was the inverse order. I felt McDavid was the clear No. 1 choice because without him the Oilers had no chance of even sniffing the Stanley Cup playoffs at the halfway point. He

has singlehandedly kept them in the race, practically dragged them to this point, kicking and screaming.

McDavid has 29 goals and 73 points in 49 games. He is four points off Kucherov for the scoring lead, already 19 points more than he had at the All-Star break last season. He has done all of that with a revolving door of linemates – flanked by Jujhar Khaira and Zack Kassian for a stretch this season – on a one-line team.

“The other team can sit back against one line and defend,” Oilers coach Ken Hitchcock said postgame Tuesday when asked if he has enough talent to coach a winning team.

That hasn’t stopped McDavid, who has no quit in his game. He doesn’t take nights off, even when most of his teammates fail to show up.

The question now for McDavid’s candidacy for the Hart is: If the Oilers don’t make the playoffs, how far out of it is too far?

The line was drawn at 17 points last year. Anything double digits will probably derail his campaign.

The last player to win the Hart Trophy on a non-playoff team was Mario Lemieux in 1987-88, when the Pittsburgh Penguins fell one point short of the playoffs. There are a lot of parallels between the start of Lemieux’s career with a disastrous Penguins franchise – one that didn’t make the playoffs in each of his first four seasons – and McDavid’s early run in Edmonton.

But what if the Oilers finish five or six points back? What then?

That will make for a fascinating conversation.

The Oilers have a lot of work to do to make it one. But if McDavid’s recent second-half surges are any indication, he could well haul them into the playoffs on his own.

As the games get notoriously tougher to win, McDavid gets better. He has torched the NHL after the All-Star break in each of the last two seasons. Last year, he closed with 53 points and 26 goals in 33 games.

There is plenty of time for ballots to change. For proof, Hall was not on anyone’s Midseason Awards radar at this same time last year. The question now is whether McDavid can change the stance of voters should the Oilers fall short again.


1127646 Websites

TSN.CA / Expect the McDavid MVP debate to rage again

Frank Seravalli

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Worthy or not? The hot-button debate about Connor

McDavid’s worthiness of the Hart Trophy raged up until ballots were distributed last April.

It’s only January, but that discussion is beginning to percolate again.

Because if this season’s standings are any indication of how the rest of the campaign will play out, fellow voters from the Professional Hockey Writers Association may have some soul-searching to do about McDavid’s candidacy for the top individual honour.

Last year, voters spoke loudly and clearly with a mandate that has historical precedence: no playoffs, no Hart Trophy.

The Edmonton Oilers finished 17 points back of the pack for the second time in three seasons. McDavid finished six points clear of every other skater in the Art Ross race, but received just five first-place votes for the

Hart. Former teammate Taylor Hall took home the honour; McDavid finished fifth in voting. But his fellow players awarded him the Ted

Lindsay Award for most outstanding player.

This year, the Oilers limped into the All-Star break just three points out of

the playoffs. Yes, it’s a historically low bar in the West this season. Yes, McDavid doesn’t lead the league in scoring.

But McDavid still did not appear on nearly half of the ballots (62 of 127) submitted by members of the PHWA this week in their annual Midseason

Awards.

CAROLINA HURRICANES


Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov was the midseason Hart winner for the second year in a row, followed closely by Calgary’s Johnny Gaudreau. McDavid was a distant third to close out the group of finalists.

My midseason Hart Trophy ballot was the inverse order. I felt McDavid was the clear No. 1 choice because without him the Oilers had no chance of even sniffing the Stanley Cup playoffs at the halfway point. He has singlehandedly kept them in the race, practically dragged them to this point, kicking and screaming.

McDavid has 29 goals and 73 points in 49 games. He is four points off Kucherov for the scoring lead, already 19 points more than he had at the

All-Star break last season. He has done all of that with a revolving door of linemates – flanked by Jujhar Khaira and Zack Kassian for a stretch

this season – on a one-line team.

“The other team can sit back against one line and defend,” Oilers coach

Ken Hitchcock said postgame Tuesday when asked if he has enough talent to coach a winning team.

That hasn’t stopped McDavid, who has no quit in his game. He doesn’t take nights off, even when most of his teammates fail to show up.

The question now for McDavid’s candidacy for the Hart is: If the Oilers don’t make the playoffs, how far out of it is too far?

The line was drawn at 17 points last year. Anything double digits will probably derail his campaign.

The last player to win the Hart Trophy on a non-playoff team was Mario Lemieux in 1987-88, when the Pittsburgh Penguins fell one point short of the playoffs. There are a lot of parallels between the start of Lemieux’s career with a disastrous Penguins franchise – one that didn’t make the playoffs in each of his first four seasons – and McDavid’s early run in Edmonton.

But what if the Oilers finish five or six points back? What then?

That will make for a fascinating conversation.

The Oilers have a lot of work to do to make it one. But if McDavid’s recent second-half surges are any indication, he could well haul them

into the playoffs on his own.

As the games get notoriously tougher to win, McDavid gets better. He has torched the NHL after the All-Star break in each of the last two seasons. Last year, he closed with 53 points and 26 goals in 33 games.

There is plenty of time for ballots to change. For proof, Hall was not on anyone’s Midseason Awards radar at this same time last year. The question now is whether McDavid can change the stance of voters should the Oilers fall short again.


1127647 Websites

USA TODAY / Opinion: Don't blame the coach for Capitals' recent slide: This is on players to fix

Kevin Allen, USA TODAY

Published 11:02 a.m. ET Jan. 24, 2019 | Updated 1:18 p.m. ET Jan. 24, 2019

Washington Capitals defenseman John Carlson believes it wasn’t only last season’s Stanley Cup success, but also years of failing, that gives his team a reasonable shot at being repeat champions.

With the Capitals sputtering lately, Carlson has a collection of bad playoff memories to remind him what the team needs to do to return to the playing level they were at last spring.

“When you have that swagger you can get over stuff a lot quicker,” Carlson, a first-time All-Star, told USA TODAY Sports last week. “In a playoff series, it seems like you really need to shelve whatever happened in the game before and start fresh.”

What the Capitals, who are 27-17-6 and second in the Metropolitan Division, have to get over are some bad defensive habits that have led to a seven-game losing streak heading into the All-Star break.

The Capitals don’t seem to have the same attention to detail they had last spring when won the first Stanley Cup in franchise history.

The question people are asking is whether the team’s struggles reflect a case of Stanley Cup hangover or the loss of coach Barry Trotz, the

architect of last year's successful playoff run. With his contract expiring, Trotz left the team last summer and agreed to coach the New York

Islanders. They have the NHL’s sixth-best record.

The Capitals’ recent problems can’t be blamed on an adjustment to a

new coach because Todd Reirden was an associate coach under Trotz. This isn’t a case of a coach dramatically changing the way the Capitals do business on the ice. The players know what must be done. They just aren't executing.

The recent swoon can’t be blamed on Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin, who has scored 37 goals. At 33, he is on pace for more than 60 goals. He has eight goals and 12 points in Washington’s 12 January games.

According to Carlson, the key is simply rediscovering their push-back. He says “mental strength” is paramount.

“In (past years) it seemed like one bad thing wouldn’t go our way and

we’d pile on with the next game,” Carlson said. “I remember a lot of being up 3-1 (in a series), being up 3-2 and lose one game and I didn’t like our

responses the following game. I think last year we put an end to that.”

Trotz changed the Capitals’ attitude even more than their defensive

scheme.

“It was more about being aggressive,” Carlson said. “When things were

going our way, we would play ourselves into a good position in the game, a good position in the series."

The Caps, who have advanced to the playoffs in 10 of the past 11 seasons, came to realize they were trying not to lose, more than they were trying to win.

“We were a lot more aggressive last year than we were in year’s past,” Carlson said. That carried us through those scenarios that we used to get stumped on.”

This is on the players. They won’t have Ovechkin for a game when they come from the All-Star break and bye week because he has chosen to sit

out the All-Star Game. The penalty is sitting out one regular-season game directly before or after the break.

“We’d like to be playing a lot better right now,” Carlson admits, adding “(But) I think the confidence is there and that’s what carries you through

tough times toward the end of the season and playoffs.”

USA TODAY LOADED: 01.25.2019

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