Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Coaches

Central Notes: Dallas Stars, Byfuglien, Hellebuyck, Crawford

at CDT | by 2 Comments

The Dallas Stars made the news Friday when Dallas Stars CEO Jim Lites went on a rant due to the poor play of franchise stars Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin. The must-read rant suggests that ownership is not happy with the duo’s production and expect to see immediate changes on the ice.

In hopes of getting more answers and whether ownership is ready to make some major changes regarding those two players or whether general manager Jim Nill’s job is in jeopardy, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman interviewed owner Tom Gaglardi.

“Our best players have to be our best players,” Gaglardi said. “This is not about trading anyone. This is not about firing anyone. We are in danger of missing the playoffs for the third straight year, and this team is built to win and contend now. We need to take advantage of the opportunity we have in front of us.”

While Gaglardi made it clear that the franchise hopes to impart the importance of turning their season around now, Friedman believes that major changes are coming if the team fails to make the playoffs again. The Stars are currently in fourth place in the Central Division with a 19-16-3 record and 41 points, just two points in front of Minnesota. The Vancouver Canucks, in the Pacific, are one point out of that wildcard spot with 40 points.

  • The Winnipeg Jets have to hold their breath after Dustin Byfuglien went down with an apparent leg injury during the third period of Saturday’s game against the Minnesota Wild and didn’t return. Winnipeg head coach Paul Maurice had no update on their star blueliner after the game, according to Sportsnet’s Emily Sadler. The 6-foot-5, 260-pound defenseman collided with Minnesota’s Luke Kunin midway through the period and replays show that Kunin’s leg collided with Byfuglien’s knee. The 33-year-old is having a solid season, posting four goals and 29 points in 32 games. Any long-term loss could be crippling for a team that is trying to hold off both Nashville and Colorado in the Central Division.
  • Staying with the Jets in the Central, Luke Fox of Sportsnet wonders how long they can keep up their solid play with the play of goaltender Connor Hellebuyck this year. A Vezina finalist just last year, the 25-year-old ranks 27th in the NHL in save percentage (among goalies that have appeared in 12 or more games) with a .909 percentage, same as the league average. Last year, Hellebuyck had a .924. Hellebuyck was vocal at the beginning of the year about the shrinking goalie equipment and more recently about players entering the crease with more frequency. “They don’t want it to change,” Hellebuyck told reporters, referring to the league. “They like the goals. They want more goals and want to take more from us … What needs to happen is a penalty needs to be called.”
  • Chicago Blackhawks head coach Jeremy Colliton said that there remains no timetable on a potential return for starting goaltender Corey Crawford, who suffered another concussion on Dec. 16, according to the Daily Herald’s John Dietz. Colliton said he’s reached out to Crawford via texts, but he refuses to push the veteran goaltender for a timeline on when he may be ready to return. “That’s part of what my experience (is) going through this,” said Colliton, who retired at age 28 due to concussions himself. “There is no timeframe. You get better when you get better, and putting pressure or me asking him everyday how he’s feeling, that serves no purpose. When he feels better, I’ll know. And then we’ll proceed accordingly.”

Injury Notes: Senators, Miller, Marchand, Eberle

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The blue line of the Ottawa Senators is going to have a different look for the next few weeks. Speaking with the media today, head coach Guy Boucher confirmed that both Thomas Chabot and Christian Jaros are out long-term with injuries suffered in the team’s match-up with the New York Islanders on Friday night. Jaros, who fought the Isles’ Ross Johnston in the games, suffered a broken finger and will be out up to a month. Chabot, who took a big hit from Matt Martin, left the game and did not return. His ailment is being deemed an upper-body injury and is expected to keep him out three weeks. Chabot had played in all 38 of the Senators’ games to this point and is second on the team in scoring with an equal 38 points. He also leads the team in average time on ice by a substantial margin. Chabot’s absence will be crippling to an already-struggling Senators team. Jaros has also played a surprisingly large role for Ottawa, skating in 28 games and providing consistency in his own end. The corresponding call-ups of Christian Wolanin and Stefan Elliott will be hard-pressed to replace Chabot and Jaros by any means, making the outlook for the next month a bleak one for Ottawa. More short-term, Boucher also mentioned that Magnus Paajarvi is day-to-day with an upper-body injury and Marcus Hogberg will make his NHL debut in net tonight with Craig Anderson still sidelined with a concussion.

  • Tampa Bay Lightning GM Julien BriseBois held a press conference today to discuss many aspects of the team and it was overwhelmingly positive, as one would expect from the team with an impressive lead over all their competitors in the league. However, one negative note was BriseBois’ update on forward J.T. Miller. The GM stated that Miller is out “week-to-week” with an upper-body injury and will be placed on injured reserve. He is not expected to be re-evaluated for at least another week. Miller is tied for fifth on the Lightning in scoring and also provides a physical presence to the team’s top-six, which will be sorely missed. Fortunately for Tampa, they have more than enough scoring to go around to make up for Miller’s absence from the score sheet.
  • The Boston Bruins may have gotten Zdeno Chara, Kevan Miller, and Jake DeBrusk back from injury for their last game, but they lost Charlie McAvoy (IR – lower body) and David Backes (suspension). Add another name to that list, as head coach Bruce Cassidy announced that Brad Marchand will also be absent from the line-up tonight when the Bruins take on the Buffalo Sabres. While the team did not disclose the nature of the injury, it is reportedly an upper-body issue. For at least one game, the Bruins will have to make do without the dynamic winger and his team-leading 29 assists. Luckily, Cassidy left open the possibility that both Marchand and McAvoy could return to the team in time for the Winter Classic, which would be as close to full health as Boston has had all season long.
  • As the New York Islanders get set to visit John Tavares and the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight, they will do so without star forward Jordan Eberle. Eberle missed the team’s last game with an undisclosed injury, but the Isles have now officially placed him on the injured reserve with an upper-body injury. A difficult campaign continues for Eberle, who has struggled to score – 17 points in 35 games – and now finds himself sidelined for an indefinite amount of time. The Isles hope that recall Michael Dal Colle can help to offset Eberle’s absence, given that his presence has not been overwhelming so far this year anyway.
  • Zemgus Girgensons is out week-to-week with an upper-body injury, the Buffalo Sabres announced, and the team will have to find a replacement to anchor their fourth line. The exact nature of the injury is unclear, as is when it occurred, but the Sabres need to address the absence in short order with the Boston Bruins on the docket tonight. Girgensons leads all Buffalo forwards in hits and has been a dependable defensive forward all season long, posting some of the best possession numbers of his career.

Coaching Notes: Robinson, Huffman, Ruutu

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

When the St. Louis Blues removed Mike Yeo as head coach last month and replaced him with assistant Craig Berube in the interim, experienced hockey mind Larry Robinson left his front office post to assist with the transition behind the bench. Robinson, the Blues’ Senior Consultant to Hockey Operations, took over as an temporary assistant coach, with GM Doug Armstrong noting that it would be for “three weeks to a month”. The brief change of duties lasted a bit longer than expected, but St. Louis has now announced that Robinson has returned to his front office role. A legendary player with the Montreal Canadiens and Los Angeles Kings, Robinson was a nine-time Stanley Cup champion, two-time Norris Trophy recipient, and a Conn Smythe Trophy winner, and holds the NHL record for plus/minus at +730. Robinson was also a member of the New Jersey Devils coaching staff that won three Stanley Cups in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. While his coaching experience was surely a big help in the successful changeover process behind the St. Louis bench, the team clearly wants to make use of his full set of hockey knowledge back up in the front office.

  • Another interim head coach, Scott Gordon of the Philadelphia Flyers, left an opening at the AHL level, where he had been the head coach of team’s minor league affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. When Gordon was promoted earlier this month, assistant Kerry Huffman took over temporarily while the organization decided on its next steps. Today, the Phantoms announced that the decision has been made to keep Huffman as interim head coach for the remainder of the season. Huffman has been an assistant for the Lehigh Valley for three years after making a big jump from the junior level as the head coach of the NAHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights. He also skated in more than 400 NHL games with the Flyers, Quebec Nordiques, and Ottawa Senators, bringing ample experience as a pro player. The Flyers have brought in some outside help for Huffman though, adding that Terry Murray has returned to the organization as an assistant for the Phantoms for the rest of the year. Murray, a long-time NHL and AHL coach, has previous stints as the head coach of the Flyers as well as the Phantoms, not to mention time as the bench boss for the Washington Capitals, Florida Panthers, and Los Angeles Kings. Murray brings an incredible amount of experience and intelligence to Lehigh Valley which should help the team and its young players through this transition.
  • One of the more recognizable names at the ongoing World Junior Championships is not on the ice, but behind the bench. Team Finland counts recent NHLer Tuomo Ruutu as one of their assistants at the tournament, which by all accounts is Ruutu’s first official coaching experience. Ruutu, 35, last played in the NHL in 2015-16 and retired from playing after a year abroad in the NLA in 2016-17. A veteran of 735 NHL games, Ruutu was a hard-working, intelligent two-way player over many seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks, Carolina Hurricanes, and New Jersey Devils. Ruutu has all the makings of a good coach and it will be interesting to see where the next stage of his hockey career goes after this World Juniors experience.

Eastern Notes: Vanek, Bruins, Hickey, Ennis

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

It’s been a quiet year for Thomas Vanek who was signed to a one-year deal by Detroit to provide some veteran scoring while the team waits for its young talent to develop. However Vanek, who has scored 20 goals in 11 of his last 13 seasons in the NHL, hasn’t really done much of that. Despite scoring the lone goal in Detroit’s 2-1 loss to Florida on Saturday, Vanek has just five goals and is on a pace to score a career-low 14 goals this year.

Granted, the winger is 34 years old now and is averaging just 13:24 minutes per game, a career-low as well. However, with recent injuries to players like Mike Green, Anthony Mantha and most recently Andreas Athanasiou, Vanek needs to get going and he says he’s losing sleep over his dropping numbers, according to MLive’s Ansar Khan.

“It’s been a frustrating year,” Vanek said. “Even tonight, I felt good and should’ve had two, should’ve had three, and I walked away with one. It’s frustrating. I’m losing sleep over it, but at the same time, I got to stay positive and keep getting to the net, and hopefully it will turn quick.”

  • The Boston Bruins announced that while Jake Debrusk, Kevan Miller and Zdeno Chara would all be out for today’s game against Carolina, head coach Bruce Cassidy said that all three could be back immediately after the Christmas break on Thursday when they play New Jersey. Debrusk hasn’t played since Dec. 6, while Miller has been out since Nov. 26. Chara has been out the longest since Nov. 14. If all three come back, the Bruins might be as close to fully heathy as they ever have been.
  • Newsday’s Aaron Gross writes that New York Islanders defenseman Thomas Hickey, who has been out for a week with a concussion, participated in the team’s optional morning skate. He also skated on Friday and hasn’t suffered any setbacks in his recovery. There is no timeline yet for his return, but the team hopes it will be soon.
  • While the Toronto Maple Leafs have already recalled forward Trevor Moore, the youngster could find himself with the team for quite a bit longer than a simple cup of coffee after Saturday night’s injury to Tyler Ennis. Dave Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reported late last night that Ennis broke his ankle on a shot from Morgan Rielly in the second period. Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock said “he’ll be out a while.” Ennis was having a impressive season in a bottom-line role as he already had seven goals and 11 points in 33 games.

Pacific Notes: Oilers Depth, Vilardi, Edler

at CDT | by 3 Comments

The Edmonton Oilers looked to be a team on the rise after Ken Hitchcock took over coaching duties back on Nov. 20. The team went on a 9-2-2 run and looked to be heading to the top of the Pacific Division. However, suddenly after a three-game losing streak and a tough loss to the NHL’s best team in the Tampa Bay Lightning, many questions are being raised whether the team has enough offense to compete with the Lightning or other top teams in the league.

In fact, Sportsnet’s Mark Spector writes that there is practically no depth on this team as the Oilers are fielding two lines that can score and another two that aren’t posing any offensive threat at all. Only six forwards have more than 10 points and only four of them have 20 points or more. Unfortunately for the team, the Oilers have invested a lot of money unwisely as it’s well known that the team is paying Milan Lucic $6MM and he has totaled just one goal and seven points this year. Ryan Spooner, who is making $3.1MM, has scored just two goals and five points between Edmonton and the New York Rangers, while Tobias Rieder hasn’t scored a goal yet at his $2MM contract.

The scribe adds that the team needs that depth scoring even if they have to find it in Bakersfield. However, at the moment, the team is relying more and more on their top players. Connor McDavid played 23:27 on Saturday against Tampa Bay, which is too much.

  • The Los Angeles Kings have had quite a bit to worry about when it comes to prospect Gabe Vilardi, who was cut from Canada’s World Junior roster last week as he still remains out with a back injury. The 19-year-old has played a total of 36 games in the past season and a half, 32 with the Kingston Frontenacs of the OHL last season and four with the AHL’s Ontario Reign in a conditioning stint this year. While Vilardi is expected to return to the OHL as soon as he’s healthy enough, there is concern about his development as well as whether he can get healthy, according to Josh Cooper of The Athletic (subscription required). General manager Rob Blake’s main concern is his health. “We’re more concerned about getting him healthy,” Blake said. “I’m not looking at the other part of that. We want to make sure he gets healthy first.”
  • TSN’s Jason Brough writes that the Vancouver Canucks need to start thinking about moving some of their defensemen, especially defensive blueliner Alexander Edler. The veteran has been playing big minutes for Vancouver as he averages 22:46 of ATOI and played 27:30 in Saturday’s game against Winnipeg. The scribe writes that the team needs to convince Edler to waive his no trade clause, so the team get some assets for him and then maybe re-sign him for next year to help work with the incoming youth.

What Your Team Is Thankful For: Philadelphia Flyers

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

As the holiday season quickly approaches, PHR will take a look at what teams are thankful for as the season heads past the one-quarter mark. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. Let’s take a look at what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Philadelphia Flyers.  Click here for the other articles in this series. 

What are the Flyers most thankful for?

The Flyers should be thankful that the team has made the necessary front-office and coaching changes and can now move forward for the rest of the year. While the firing of general manager Ron Hextall came as a shock to many, the team has since hired GM Chuck Fletcher who has replaced Dave Hakstol and seems poised to stick with current coach Scott Gordon for the remainder of the season at the very least, which gives the team some current stability. The hope is that between Fletcher and Gordon, the team can attempt to refocus their energy on the ice and try to fix some of the issues that have plagued the team.

Fletcher is likely going to make several moves, whatever those are going to be. There are questions whether Fletcher will attempt to trade for a goaltender now that Carter Hart has debuted in Philadelphia, but the team may also be more inclined to focus more on their defensive struggles as the team just isn’t getting it done on the blueline. Regardless, change is coming and should be here within two months.

Who are the Flyers most thankful for?

While the Flyers had one of the best first lines in hockey a season ago with Claude Giroux, Jakub Voracek and Sean Couturier, only Giroux seems to be keeping with an impressive pace this year. Giroux is the only player who averaging more than a point per game as he has 12 goals and 42 points, which is good for 16th in the NHL. While his goal totals aren’t as high as last season when he tallied 34 goals for the season, Giroux continues to work his magic and set up as many of his teammates as possible.

While he hasn’t seen as much time with both Voracek and Couturier, the team has opted to move Giroux back to the center position to focus on getting some of their wingers moving. The most recent attempts is pairing him up with Travis Konecny and James van Riemsdyk, but he has seen time with a number of players to get more involved in the team’s 18th-ranked offense.

What would the Flyers be even more thankful for?

An improved blueline. The team had high expectations with their defense, especially from their top two as Shayne Gostisbehere and Ivan Provorov were expected to continue their ascent to develop among the top NHL D-men. Instead, both have struggled a bit, especially on offense. Gostisbehere has a team-low minus-15 rating and just 15 points on offense so far this season, quite down from his 65-point season. Provorov hasn’t performed much better with a minus-8 rating and has just 11 points after a 41-point campaign. Few others on the blueline have stepped up either. The team ranks third in the league in goals against as they have allowed an average of 3.62 goals per game.

What should be on the Flyers’ Holiday Wish List?

The team must figure out its goaltending situation as soon as possible. Hextall spent most of his time waiting for his multitude of goalies to return from injury, but neither the original intended starters, Brian Elliott or Michal Neuvirth, have been able to stay healthy for any significant amount of time. Elliott has fared adequately in 14 appearances this year as he boasts a 2.59 GAA and a .911 save percentage. Neuvirth has been a disaster. Anthony Stolarz showed some success recently, but when he went down, the Flyers had no choice but to bring up Hart, who has fared well in his first three starts. However, at 20 years old, few believe that he can keep up the pace at the NHL level. The team must decide whether to use some of their assets to acquire an interim goaltender.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Central Notes: Hartman, Crawford, Davidson, Dickinson

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Department of Player Safety announced they have fined Nashville Predators forward Ryan Hartman $1,000 for spearing Boston Bruins’ Chris Wagner Saturday with less than a minute left in the second period.

Hartman has been in trouble with the Department of Safety before as he was suspended for one game on Apr. 19 for an illegal check to the head against Colorado’s Carl Soderberg and then was fined for $2,320 for slashing Brayden McNabb in Oct. of 2017 against Vegas.

  • The Chicago Blackhawks may get a better idea today of where starting goaltender Corey Crawford is at after he sustained another concussion on Dec. 16. According to NBC Sports’ Charlie Roumeloitis, head coach Jeremy Colliton confirmed this morning that Crawford was in the building, but still hadn’t talked to the coach. “As far as I know he’s still in the protocol. He is here, so that’s a positive,” Colliton said. Crawford missed quite a bit of time when he suffered a concussion last year in December as he still wasn’t ready to return at the start of this season. The team hopes Crawford can return much earlier this time.
  • John Dietz of the Daily Herald reports that defenseman Brandon Davidson says that he should be ready to return to the Blackhawks lineup in 7-10 days. The blueliner underwent surgery on Nov. 27 on his right knee and was expected to be out for six to eight weeks, which suggests he could be ready at the six-week mark. The 27-year-old has only appeared in seven games for Chicago this year.
  • The Dallas Stars may have lost one of their own Saturday when forward Jason Dickinson was forced out of the second period of Dallas’ game against Minnesota with an upper-body injury, according to NHL.com’s Mark Stepneski. Head coach Jim Montgomery said that Dickinson was doubtful for their game today against the Islanders. The 23-year-old has been a mainstay for Dallas on the bottom-six as he has five goals and 11 points in 34 games.

 

Pacific Notes: Karlsson, Wagner, Miller, Puljujarvi

at CDT | by 2 Comments

The Department of Player Safety announced that San Jose Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson will have a hearing tomorrow for an illegal check to the head on the Los Angeles Kings’ Austin Wagner during the second period of Saturday’s game. Karlsson has never been suspended in his career and was fined just once for a slash in 2012.

While there was no penalty on the ice, Wagner was forced to leave the game and never returned. While there was some contact to the head, it might be more challenging for the Department of Player Safety to determine if the hit was intentional and meant for the head. Wagner and Karlsson also had an issue earlier in the shift, which could suggest that there may have been payback involved, something the league will factor into their decisions as well.

  • As for Wagner, the 21-year-old left the game not long after the hit and a representative of the team referred to him out with an upper-body injury. The hope is that he isn’t out long, if at all. The team is already without a number of key players, including Trevor Lewis, Alec Martinez, Carl Hagelin, Jonny Brodzinski and Dion Phaneuf. However, Helene Elliott of the Los Angeles Times writes that Wagner is expected to join the team for their road trip to Las Vegas for Sunday’s game against the Golden Knights, although that doesn’t mean he will be cleared to play.
  • Speaking of the Vegas Golden Knights, David Schoen of the Las Vegas Review-Journal writes that defenseman Colin Miller remains day-to-day with an upper-body injury after missing his second straight game. He, however, has not been placed on injured reserve. However, Miller is expected to be back soon. Miller has been critical to the team’s offense since the return of Nate Schmidt. Miller has two goals and six assists since Schmidt returned from a suspension in mid-November.
  • Sportsnet’s Mark Spector writes that Edmonton Oilers winger Jesse Puljujarvi has gotten a second life with new head coach Ken Hitchcock as the struggling 20-year-old has gone from a exiled player in the AHL to a first-line winger next to Connor McDavid. However, the scribe writes one of the biggest challenges that Puljujarvi has struggled with is the language barrier, considering he knew no English when he come over to North America two years ago. “It’s more challenging for a Euro player who’s played in Europe to just come over and play in the NHL,” said Hitchcock. “What happens is, when you’re not comfortable in the lifestyle, you kind of stay to yourself. So you’re worried about how you fit in, you’re worried about the length of the season, you’re worried about a lot of things. Now, we’re starting to see his natural personality.”

Central Notes: Grubauer, Perlini, Brossoit

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Colorado Avalanche went out of its way to bring in goaltender Philipp Grubauer via trade during the offseason to be their heir apparent in goal, but with Semyon Varlamov playing well throughout this season, Grubauer hasn’t had much of a chance to claim that role. However, that might be changing.

With the team having lost five of their last seven games and Varlamov struggling, the team got a brilliant performance from Grubauer on Tuesday as he saved 35 shots in a 2-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens. After that performance, The Athletic’s Ryan S. Clark (subscription required) wonders if this is the turning point where Grubauer takes over as the team’s No. 1 goaltender. With Varlamov slated to hit unrestricted free agency this summer, the team needs for Grubauer to take that next step and that looks to be the case. In the last six starts (not including Friday’s 2-1 loss to Chicago), the 27-year-old is 5-0-1 with a 2.29 GAA and a .936 save percentage.

“(Grubauer) gives us a chance. He gives us a real good chance,” head coach Jared Bednar said. “He keeps it at 1-0 and guys are saying the right things on the bench. … I just felt like he looked really solid in the net. Like he was in control tonight. I haven’t felt that way about our goaltending for the last little bit and that’s what we need.

  • The Athletic’s Scott Powers (subscription required) writes that when winger Brendan Perlini was traded from the Arizona Coyotes to Chicago Blackhawks, he had high hopes that a change of scenery would jumpstart his career as he has struggled to put up points. However, while the Blackhawks liked what they have seen from center Dylan Strome, Perlini quickly found himself on the team’s fourth line and even found himself a healthy scratch early on. “To be honest, you never like to sit, but it’s good because I can watch the game and say, OK, here’s certain spots where maybe I can get the puck or things like that or realize watching I can settle down there, there’s a lot more time than I actually think. Like I said, you never like watching, but you can take good things from it. I think I’ve done that and just try to build off it and learn every day.” Perlini since then has looked much more comfortable and has picked up a couple of goals in the past four games. The hope is he continues to make adjustments in Chicago’s lineup.
  • Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun writes that with the impressive play shown by Winnipeg Jets’ goaltender Laurent Brossoit can be attributed back to last year when the back-up lost his job in Edmonton to Al Montoya and he found himself in the AHL for the remainder of the season. That experience made him work harder to get back to the NHL. “Now I’m more aware of who I am as a goalie and as a professional, if that makes any sense,” said Brossoit. “It was unfortunate I had to go through those growing pains during my biggest opportunity with that club. I wouldn’t say that I performed at the level I normally do.” Brossoit was offered to return to Edmonton, but instead opted to start fresh in Winnipeg.

Snapshots: Three Stars, Rinne, Dumba

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The NHL released their Three Stars of the Week earlier today, and to absolutely no one’s surprise Alex Ovechkin received the top honors. Ovechkin recorded back-to-back hat tricks last week and seven goals total in his three games, giving him 29 on the season. That puts him on a pace for a career-high, something unthinkable for the 33-year old winger. Ovechkin now has 636 career tallies, and should challenge some of the all-time leaders in the category before he’s finished.

While Ovechkin is racking up his usual accolades, two young centers are trying to carve out their own legacies in the NHL. Mark Scheifele and Jack Eichel were second and third stars respectively, after outstanding weeks. Scheifele especially was a dominant offensive presence, recording 11 points in just four games for the Winnipeg Jets including two overtime winners.

  • Pekka Rinne was expecting retirement after the 2018-19 season. That’s what the goaltender told Alex Prewitt in his latest profile for Sports Illustrated. The Nashville Predators goaltender believed that he would sail off into the sunset after his current seven-year $49MM deal expired at the end of this year, but that all changed when he inked a new two-year extension in November. Rinne is still playing at an incredible level, and going into tonight led the league with a .929 save percentage and 1.96 goals against average. That puts him in prime position to challenge for the Vezina Trophy once again, an award he took home last season after previously finishing as a finalist three times.
  • Mathew Dumba is off to an exceptional start for the Minnesota Wild, with 12 goals and 22 points in just 32 games. The right-handed defenseman also doesn’t shy away from the physical side of the game, as seen this weekend when he took on Matthew Tkachuk of the Calgary Flames in a round of fisticuffs. Unfortunately, Dumba will now be out for at least a week with an upper-body injury. Head coach Bruce Boudreau wouldn’t give much more information on the subject, but did note that it’s not necessarily the worst timing for the team given the holiday break that they’ll enjoy next week.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

scroll to top