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Andrei Vasilevskiy

Trade Deadline Primer: Tampa Bay Lightning

April 7, 2021 at 9:11 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 2 Comments

We are now less than a week away from the NHL Trade Deadline and talks are heating up. Where does each team stand and what moves should they be looking to make?  We continue our look around the league with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning needed to look for a new challenge this season after stomping the competition in the 2020 postseason. They decided that if the league’s teams weren’t good enough to beat them, they would just take on the league itself. This season, the Lightning have stretched the NHL’s hard salary cap to it’s limit. Some might even throw the word “circumvention” out there. Tampa has managed to hold on to it’s extremely talented and fairly compensated roster due almost entirely due to the timely injury of Nikita Kucherov and the acquisitions of other injured players Marian Gaborik and Anders Nilsson. The Bolts have over $17MM in salary on Long-Term Injured Reserve – and they’ve used up all but $370,500 of it. There is zero space for the Lightning to do anything at the trade deadline beyond a minor depth addition, but they will get a major boost in the postseason with the return of Kucherov. Barring another opportunistic injury or a hockey trade that no one sees coming, the Bolts may have to settle for that this season.

Record

26-11-2, .692, 3rd in Central Division

Deadline Status

Stand Pat

Deadline Cap Space

$0MM in full-season space ($371K in LTIR space), 0/3 retention slots used, 45/50 contracts used per CapFriendly

Upcoming Draft Picks

2021: TBL 1st, TBL 3rd, TBL 4th, TBL 5th, TBL 6th, NJD 7th, NSH 7th, TBL 7th
2022: TBL 1st, TBL 3rd, TBL 4th, TBL 5th, TBL 6th, TBL 7th

Trade Chips

There is a difference between what the Lightning could offer and what they will offer, given that they are in no position to make much of a trade. It is unlikely that the team is going to move any of their roster players to open up space, so even though pieces like Tyler Johnson and Alex Killorn may seem expendable, it is hard to imagine the team trading them in-season as opposed to waiting for the off-season.

As a result, Tampa has little space to work with and that means their targets will not be high-priced pieces. The most likely result for the Bolts is that they add a cheap depth piece in exchange for a late pick or low-end prospect. Those are the “chips” that will probably move, if there is any move at all.

In the event that Tampa tries to make a bigger move, using the very limit of their salary cap potential despite the risks, they will still be looking at a picks-and-prospects scenario in this buyer’s market. Without a second-round pick for the next two years, the Lightning’s first-rounders are probably off the table unless they are asking a team to give up one of the top rentals on the market and retain the maximum 50% of his salary in order to make the deal work under the cap. The likelihood of such a deal is low. Expect for them instead to dangle multiple mid-round picks and prospects like Jack Finley or Jack Thompson if they really want to make a splash.

Others to Watch For: F Taylor Raddysh ($833K, RFA), F Boris Katchouk ($833K, RFA), F Alex Barre-Boulet ($759K, RFA), F Sam Walker (Draft Rights), D Eamon Powell (Draft Rights)

Team Needs

1) Defense – If, and it’s a big if, the Lightning are able to find a way to clear enough cap space to add a player of note at the deadline, it has to be on the blue line. The forward corps is deep and talented and will only get better once the postseason arrives and Kucherov can return. The net is well-manned, with Andrei Vasilevskiy enjoying another Vezina-caliber season. Both of those units remain largely unchanged from last season’s title-winning lineup. However, the defense has taken a hit. The top four is still stout, but the bottom pair and depth options range from young and inexperienced to old and ineffective. Tampa could really use a stabilizing force on the back end, especially with Jan Rutta sidelined and Erik Cernak dealing with a nagging injury. Of course, cost will be a factor. Without making a trade to move out salary, the Bolts can only open up another $1.5MM max and still be able to ice a full lineup, demoting the likes of Luke Schenn and Ben Thomas. That leaves the Bolts with a maximum $1.9MM or so to acquire a defenseman, but adding that much salary is a risk should another injury occur. The need is there, but the means to address it are problematic. The team likely thinks small with a value addition.

Deadline Primer 2021| Injury| Prospects| RFA| Tampa Bay Lightning Alex Barre-Boulet| Alex Killorn| Anders Nilsson| Andrei Vasilevskiy| Erik Cernak| Jack Finley| Jan Rutta| Luke Schenn| Marian Gaborik| Nikita Kucherov| Pro Hockey Rumors Originals| Salary Cap

2 comments

Snapshots: Trade Board, Joshua, Three Stars

March 1, 2021 at 3:00 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 2 Comments

It’s March now and the NHL trade deadline is just over a month away. Names like Mattias Ekholm have already been thrown around as potential difference-making acquisitions, but making deals won’t be easy. Still, that won’t stop people from speculating on who will switch teams later this season.

Today, The Athletic released its “Big Board” curated by Craig Custance and Eric Duhatschek, including 26 players that could be dealt by the deadline. The list includes Ekholm, but also Jack Eichel, despite the piece still suggesting that a deal for the Buffalo Sabres captain would be much more likely in the offseason if it happens at all. The rest of the list is good reading and includes some names that may surprise.

  • The St. Louis Blues are expected to have Dakota Joshua in the lineup tonight centering the fourth line between Kyle Clifford and Mackenzie MacEachern. Joshua was acquired for future considerations from the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2019 following four years at Ohio State University, and quickly signed his entry-level deal. Now, less than two years later and after a stint in the ECHL, the 24-year-old is about to make it to the NHL. Jacob de La Rose, who previously skated in that fourth line spot, is out with a lower-body injury that head coach Craig Berube says will keep him out for a “significant time.”
  • Andrei Vasilevskiy is the NHL’s First Star for last week after stopping 79 of 81 shots he faced. The 2019 Vezina Trophy winner is looking like he might take home another one as he currently leads the league in wins with 12 and is second in save percentage at .938 (Vegas goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury leads the way at .941). Patrick Kane and Mats Zuccarello are last week’s second and third stars. Kane scored the 400th goal of his career yesterday, becoming the 100th player in league history to hit that milestone.

Snapshots| St. Louis Blues Andrei Vasilevskiy| Jacob de la Rose| Mats Zuccarello| Patrick Kane

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Trade Rumors: Ekman-Larsson, Mrazek, Virtanen, Tampa Bay

September 29, 2020 at 7:48 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 24 Comments

Name a top trade target or impending free agent and they seem to be linked to the Edmonton Oilers. While the team clearly needs to help superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, they have cap constraints because of those players as well and holes to fill all over the roster. The team must be confident that they can perform some cap magic, as they have their sights set on making a big splash this off-season. TSN’s Darren Dreger backed up previous rumors today that the Oilers have been talking to the Arizona Coyotes about elite defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson. In fact, Dreger notes that discussions have been preliminary, but the interest is serious. It’s a complex situation given the cap situations in both Edmonton and Arizona, but the teams appear to be working through their options when it comes to moving Ekman-Larsson, a proven top-pair commodity. Of course, it’s worth noting that Ekman-Larsson has a full No-Movement Clause and could nix a deal to Edmonton if he chooses. Dreger adds that the Boston Bruins also remain interested; Ekman-Larsson may very well prefer landing alongside Charlie McAvoy on the top pair of a perennial contender.

  • The Oilers are also known to be eyeing an addition in goal and have kicked the tires on a number of netminders on the trade block. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that the latest name on that list is the Carolina Hurricanes’ Petr Mrazek. LeBrun believes that Mrazek could be more of a fallback option if Edmonton cannot add Pittsburgh’s Matt Murray or Arizona’s Darcy Kuemper or can’t woo Jacob Markstrom in free agency. Of course, if Mrazek is even available for trade, it may mean that Carolina has already landed one of those three Oilers targets for themselves. Mrazek had a fine season for the ’Canes, but the team is looking to upgrade at starter. Unfortunately for Edmonton, Carolina’s castoff would still be an upgrade for them.
  • From GM Jim Benning’s comments since his Vancouver Canucks were eliminated from the postseason, it should come as no surprise that he is listening to offers for restricted free agent forward Jake Virtanen, according to Dreger. Virtanen has failed to live up to the expectations of being the 2014 sixth overall pick, but is still due a significant upgrade over his expiring $1.25MM AAV. The cap-strapped Canucks have greater needs than Virtanen’s third-line scoring totals and may be able to put his cap space to greater use via trade. Dreger reports that there is plenty of interest in the 24-year-old power forward, who could still grow into the dangerous scorer that he was in junior.
  • The Tampa Bay Lightning are less than a day removed from taking home the 2020 Stanley Cup title, but GM Julien BriseBois is already back at work. LeBrun speculates that Tampa must clear at least $10MM in cap space in order to re-sign RFA’s Anthony Cirelli, Mikhail Sergachev, and Erik Cernak and to rebuild a defense with numerous pending UFA’s. As such,  BriseBois can’t afford to waste any time with free agency approaching. LeBrun notes that the two most talked-about names on the Lightning roster right now are forwards Tyler Johnson and Yanni Gourde. However, he notes that both players have full No-Trade Clauses and would have to accept any trade. As a result, LeBrun believes there is a growing suspicion that the Bolts may trade a player or two that no one is suspecting in order to clear cap space. That could mean one of the RFA’s themselves is dealt, or perhaps it could be a player lacking trade protection, such as Brayden Point or Andrei Vasilevskiy. One way or another, the Cup-winning roster will look very different next season.

Boston Bruins| Carolina Hurricanes| Edmonton Oilers| Free Agency| Jim Benning| RFA| Tampa Bay Lightning| Utah Mammoth| Vancouver Canucks Andrei Vasilevskiy| Anthony Cirelli| Brayden Point| Charlie McAvoy| Connor McDavid| Darcy Kuemper| Jacob Markstrom| Jake Virtanen| Julien BriseBois| Leon Draisaitl| Matt Murray (b. 1994)| Mikhail Sergachev| Oliver Ekman-Larsson| Petr Mrazek| Trade Rumors

24 comments

Connor Hellebuyck Wins 2020 Vezina Trophy

September 21, 2020 at 5:50 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 5 Comments

The Vezina Trophy has been announced and the 2019-20 winner is the Winnipeg Jets’ Connor Hellebuyck. Presented to the best goaltender each season, the award is voted on by the NHL’s general managers. Hellebuyck was selected as the recipient over the Boston Bruins’ Tuukka Rask and the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Andrei Vasilevskiy.

While quality is often a stronger argument than quantity when it comes to goaltending performance, Hellebuyck’s impressive campaign was an exception. While Rask led all starters in both save percentage and goals against average by a wide margin this season, he did so in just 41 games. Hellebuyck meanwhile played in 58 games, more than 80% of the Jets’ games. He led the league in total shots against and saves, as well as shutouts, and finished second in wins and total time on ice. Yet most impressively given his heavy workload, Hellebuyck finished second to Rask in save percentage among starters and sixth among starters in goals against average. Of the 31 NHL GM’s, 19 cast a first-place vote for Hellebuyck versus ten for Rask, allowing the Jets keeper to edge out the victory.

Hellebuyck, a former college standout at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, has had an up-and-down NHL career, but finally put everything together this year. While he has previously led the league before in wins and saves, he has also had seasons where he has struggled immensely. Winnipeg can likely put those worries to rest after the 27-year-old established himself as one of the best in the game with an outstanding 2019-20 season.

Winnipeg Jets Andrei Vasilevskiy| Connor Hellebuyck| Tuukka Rask

5 comments

2020 Vezina Trophy Finalists Announced

July 17, 2020 at 11:34 am CDT | by Gavin Lee 9 Comments

The NHL continues to release the finalists for the major regular season awards, this time announcing the nominees for the Vezina Trophy. The award is given to the best goaltender in the NHL and is voted on by the league’s general managers.

The finalists are Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets and Tuukka Rask of the Boston Bruins.

Vasilevskiy took home the award last season after putting up a .925 save percentage in 53 games, but couldn’t maintain quite the same level this time around. His save percentage dropped to .917, though he led the league in wins for the third consecutive season with 35. The Russian goaltender has had just about as much success as anyone to start his career, recording 159 regular season wins in his first 260 games. Amazingly, that already puts him 118th all-time despite not turning 26 for another week. A three-time Vezina finalist, he’ll likely be in the conversation for a while longer.

Hellebuyck meanwhile is only a little over a year older than Vasilevskiy and has experienced his own prolonged success to start his career. He led the NHL in starts this season with 58, putting the Jets on his back for long stretches when they were trying to patch a defensive corps together with spare parts. His .922 may not lead the league, but his 1,656 saves do as did his six shutouts. Hellebuyck could potentially be a candidate for the Hart Trophy as one of the most valuable players in the league given where the Jets would be without him.

Rask, 33, is an aging veteran compared to the two other finalists, but he is not slowing down in terms of performance. The Bruins netminder has benefited from having a strong backup the last few years and played just 41 games this season, but posted an incredible .929 save percentage in those appearances. After raising his career save percentage to .922, Rask is now third all-time behind only Dominik Hasek and Johnny Bower (among goaltenders with recorded shot totals). He already won the Jennings Trophy as part of the goaltending duo with the lowest goals against average, and took home the Vezina in 2014.

Boston Bruins| Tampa Bay Lightning| Winnipeg Jets Andrei Vasilevskiy| Connor Hellebuyck| Tuukka Rask

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Stretch Run Storylines: Tampa Bay Lightning

March 29, 2020 at 5:59 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg Leave a Comment

As things stand, the NHL is planning to have games resume at some point over the coming weeks.  Assuming the regular season continues, there will be plenty of things to watch for over the stretch run.  Over the coming weeks, PHR will examine the top stretch run storylines for each team.  We look at the Atlantic Division with Tampa Bay.

It’s been a strange year for the Tampa Bay Lightning, who many felt would step into the 2019-20 season with vengeance in their minds after an embarrassing first-round exit in the playoffs last year when they were the most dominant team in hockey. Instead, the team started slowly and quickly found themselves sitting outside the playoffs. There was even some discussion that the team could let go head coach Jon Cooper, although general manager Julien BriseBois gave him a vote of confidence. Then everything changed around Christmas when the Lightning went on a 10-game winning streak and followed that up in late January with an 11-game winning streak that vaulted them into a solid second place standing in the Atlantic Division.

Stamkos Return?

The timing of his injury couldn’t have been worse back in early March when it was announced that Steven Stamkos would be out for six to eight weeks to have surgery to repair a core muscle injury. That would likely have required the top-line star to miss the first round of the playoffs in the best case scenario. The suspension of play is only going to be an advantage to injured players as it gives them time to heal and Stamkos could receive the biggest advantage as he now should have plenty of time to recover and be ready to hit the ice when play resumes. So far he’s close to reaching the half-way point of his recovery process and in a few weeks time could be ready for action again, which should be plenty of time.

Stamkos is second on the team in scoring with 29 goals and 66 points and while those numbers are down compared to previous seasons, likely due to his core muscle injury that has slowed him down, a healthy Stamkos could be a difference-maker in the playoffs.

Salary Cap Issues

The Lightning also have to start looking to the 2020-21 season when their salary cap could be significantly affected, especially if the cap flatlines. The team doesn’t have any significant contracts that are set to expire and those that are, like Kevin Shattenkirk or Pat Maroon, are players the Lightning are likely going to want to extend.

Throw in the fact that goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy’s new contract will kick in as his AAV will go from $3.5MM to $9.5MM, and the fact that defenseman Mikhail Sergachev’s entry-level deal expires, meaning a raise is in order for the fast-developing blueliner and Tampa Bay has some issues.

That likely will require BriseBois to make some trades to fix those cap concerns and even out their roster. He had some success at that last year when he was able to trade forward J.T. Miller to Vancouver for a conditional first-rounder that since has been traded away for more immediate help. The team may have to unload even more this offseason to balance the cap.

Potential Meeting With Maple Leafs

If the playoffs do hit, it almost seems inevitable that the Lightning will find themselves with the inconsistent, but potential playoff wrecker in the Maple Leafs. The team avoided their top-heavy Atlantic last season, clinching first place and a wild-card opponent. Unfortunately, that didn’t go well as they were swept by Columbus.

However, with Boston eight points ahead of the Lightning, it’s obvious that they will face off against Toronto. While the Maple Leafs have been erratic all season, that doesn’t mean the Lightning are looking forward to the combination of John Tavares, Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander, any of which can change the outcome of playoff games. It could be the most interesting of the first-round matchups, assuming the playoffs happen.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Stretch Run Storylines 2020| Tampa Bay Lightning| Toronto Maple Leafs Andrei Vasilevskiy| Kevin Shattenkirk| Mikhail Sergachev| Pro Hockey Rumors Originals| Salary Cap| Steven Stamkos

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Poll: If The Season Ended Today, Who Would Win The Vezina?

March 29, 2020 at 2:59 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 6 Comments

While the NHL has made it clear it intends to do everything it can to save its season this year, there are many who feel that while the playoffs are still likely, even if they come at the end of the summer, the likelihood of the regular season playing out are a little less likely. Pro Hockey Rumors has already conducted polls on who might win the Calder Trophy and the Hart Trophy. So, the next question is, if the season ended on Mar. 11, who would walk away with the Vezina Trophy?

Perhaps the top candidate to receive the award is the goaltender for the best team. The Boston Bruins have dominated all year with a 44-14-12 for 100 points and much of their success could be credited to goaltender Tuukka Rask, who has had one of the best seasons of his career, which compares to his Vezina Trophy season in 2013-14 when he had a 2.04 GAA and a .930 save percentage in 58 starts. This year, Rask has accumulated 28 wins in 41 appearances with a 2.12 GAA and a .929 save percentage after carrying his team to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. He also has accomplished that with an often injured blueline in which has seen almost every member of the defense see injured reserve at different points throughout the season.

Perhaps his top competition would be Winnipeg Jets’ Connor Hellebuyck. The 26-year-old’s numbers might not compare well to Rask, however, the netminder has had a tougher road in terms of challenges. The Jets lost quite a bit on defense last offseason, which included the losses of Dustin Byfuglien, Tyler Myers, Ben Chiarot and Jacob Trouba with only Neal Pionk being a major addition to the team. Despite the major losses on defense, however, Hellebuyck was the difference-maker, keeping Winnipeg relevant for much of the season and helping them to a current wild card spot, if the playoffs began today. He has already appeared in 58 out of 71 games and, while his 2.58 GAA is just OK, he’s had an impressive .922 save percentage this year.

The other candidate would be Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy, last year’s Vezina winner. While the goaltender got to a slow start early on in the season, he’s been much more dominant in the second half of the season. In 28 appearances through December, Vasilevskiy had just a .906 save percentage, not up to his usual greatness. However, he was more dominant once 2020 hit, posting a 9-0 record in 10 appearances in January, while boasting a dominant .948 save percentage and was looking to have a good March as well before the season got cut down. In all, Vasilevskiy has a 2.53 GAA and a .918 save percentage.

One other interesting candidate, Arizona’s Darcy Kuemper, might be an interesting one affected by injury. The 29-year-old was near the top of Vezina Trophy consideration in December before suffering a lengthy lower-body injury that held him out for nearly two months. Unfortunately, he has only appeared in 29 games for the season, but his 2.22 GAA and .928 save percentage were dominant. However,

It’s impossible to include every candidate and there are other interesting goaltenders in there not getting consideration like Dallas’ Ben Bishop and St. Louis’ Jordan Binnington, but we’ll keep the list to four goaltenders.

If the season ended today, who would win the Vezina?
Winnipeg's Connor Hellebuyck 48.85% (719 votes)
Boston's Tuukka Rask 41.71% (614 votes)
Tampa Bay's Andrei Vasilevskiy 5.98% (88 votes)
Arizona's Darcy Kuemper 3.46% (51 votes)
Total Votes: 1,472

For Pro Hockey app users, click here to vote.

Boston Bruins| Polls| Winnipeg Jets Andrei Vasilevskiy| Ben Bishop| Connor Hellebuyck| Darcy Kuemper| Jordan Binnington| Tuukka Rask

6 comments

Snapshots: Three Stars, Fenton, Hamonic

February 10, 2020 at 2:16 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee Leave a Comment

The NHL has released the Three Stars for last week, and to no one’s surprise Elvis Merzlikins has received the top honor. The Columbus Blue Jackets’ goaltender went nearly 180 consecutive minutes without allowing a goal, posting two shutouts and a minuscule 0.67 goals against average. The 25-year old rookie now has a .930 save percentage on the season.

Second and third place go to more familiar faces, as Kyle Connor and Andrei Vasilevskiy take home the honors. The Winnipeg Jets forward had eight points last week and now is just two goals away from his third consecutive 30-goal season. Tampa Bay meanwhile has been on fire with the reigning Vezina Trophy winner showing exactly why he should never be counted out. Vasilevskiy now leads the league in wins with 29 after a slow start to the season and is all the way back up to a .918 save percentage.

  • After being fired by the Minnesota Wild just 14 months into his tenure as general manager, Paul Fenton has found a new home. The long-time Nashville Predators assistant GM is working his way through the turn of the century expansion clubs, now taking a job with the Columbus Blue Jackets’ scouting department according to Michael Russo of The Athletic. Fenton has always been known as a strong judge of talent, but things quickly went south when he was put in charge of the Wild.
  • Travis Hamonic has left the Flames and returned to Calgary for further testing according to Wes Gilberton of Postmedia. The defenseman left Saturday’s game against the Vancouver Canucks, complicating the upcoming trade deadline even further for the Flames’ front office. Hamonic was one of several defensemen that are on expiring contracts and could have been moved, but with captain Mark Giordano already out it will be hard to subtract from the Flames’ blue line at this point. The team has recalled Alexander Yelesin from the minor leagues.

Calgary Flames| Columbus Blue Jackets| Paul Fenton| Snapshots| Winnipeg Jets Andrei Vasilevskiy| Elvis Merzlikins| Kyle Connor| Mark Giordano| Travis Hamonic

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Snapshots: Three Stars, Fabbri, Nesterov

February 1, 2020 at 2:45 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 2 Comments

The NHL announced it’s three stars for the month of January and they happen to be three bona fide NHL superstars. The first star is Alex Ovechkin, the Washington Capitals’ cornerstone and captain, who recorded a whopping 13 goals as well as a pair of assists in just ten games. In doing so, Ovechkin passed Teemu Selanne, Mario Lemieux, Steve Yzerman, and Mark Messier to move into eight place on the NHL’s career goals list. At 695 career goals, Ovechkin is just five away from joining an elite group with 700 career goals and would need just nine more after that to pass Mike Gartner, the next name on the list. Career numbers aside, the 34-year-old is also tied for the league lead in goals this season with David Pastrnak and could be on his way to yet another Rocket Richard Trophy. The second star belongs to Leon Draisaitl, who has shown this season that he is far more than just Connor McDavid’s right-hand man. With 17 points in just nine games, Draisaitl led the league in per game scoring in January and overtook McDavid with a league-leading 79 points. Draisaitl and McDavid are currently on pace for 127 and 124 points respectively and have a chance at becoming just the fourth pair of teammates and the first since Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr in 1995-96 to each crack 130 points on the year. Finally, the third star went to Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy. After a slow start to the season for both Vasilevskiy and the Bolts, January could not have gone much better. The team went 10-2-1 behind a 9-0-1 record from Vasilevskiy, who posted a stunning .948 save percentage and 1.58 GAA. All three marks from Vasilevskiy, as well as Tampa’s record, led the NHL this past month.

  • One other player who has been hot of late is Detroit Red Wings forward Robby Fabbri. Fabbri, whose career with the St. Louis Blues got off to a fast start but had been derailed by injury and inconsistency over the past two years, has found new life since being acquired by the Red Wings back in early November. Fabbri has recorded 25 points in 35 games, trailing only Anthony Mantha for the team lead in points per game. Fabbri is on pace to shatter his offensive career highs across the board in his first season with Detroit and understandably would like to stay. He tells Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press that he sees the upside in the young, rebuilding club and would like to be a part of it for as long as possible. Fabbri will be a restricted free agent this summer and will look to sign on long-term with the Red Wings if he can.
  • Despite NHL interest, it does not sound as though KHL defenseman Nikita Nesterov is looking to return to the league just yet, if at all. The CSKA Moscow standout has been dominant both in the KHL and on the international stage since he last played in the NHL with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Montreal Canadiens in 2016-17, transforming into one of the top defensemen in Russia. With his current contract coming to a close, there had been some speculation that he would try to use his success in the KHL over the past three years as a platform to return to the NHL, but it seems his career aspirations lie elsewhere. CSKA has shared a recent Q&A in which Nesterov claims that he is hoping to stay in Moscow. He acknowledges that the NHL is the best league in the world and that he enjoyed his time there and has at least considered offers to return, but in the end he feels his KHL career has been more meaningful. That is why, as he notes, he has instructed his agent to begin negotiations on an extension with CSKA with hopes of signing on for another five years. That lengthy term, even for a 26-year-old, could mean that his NHL days are over, but at the very least it will likely be some time before he ever returns to action in North America.

Detroit Red Wings| KHL| Snapshots| Tampa Bay Lightning| Washington Capitals Alex Ovechkin| Andrei Vasilevskiy| Connor McDavid| Leon Draisaitl| Mario Lemieux| Nikita Nesterov| Robby Fabbri

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2020 NHL All-Star Skills Participants Announced

January 23, 2020 at 8:33 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 7 Comments

Before Saturday’s All-Star Game three-on-three tournament, the NHL’s best will take the ice on Friday night in the annual All-Star Skills event. There has been considerable hype around this year’s competition, given both the new “Shooting Stars” event, in which players will fire the puck at targets on the ice from platforms in the stands, and the participation of stars from the women’s game, including their own three-on-three scrimmage. Now, the league has announced who specifically will be taking part in each event, both new and classic. Below is the lineup for each event:

Fastest Skater

Jack Eichel, Buffalo Sabres
Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche
Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
Mathew Barzal, New York Islanders
Chris Kreider, New York Rangers
Anthony Duclair, Ottawa Senators
Travis Konecny, Philadelphia Flyers
Quinn Hughes, Vancouver Canucks

Save Streak

David Rittich, Calgary Flames
Tristan Jarry, Pittsburgh Penguins
Jordan Binnington, St. Louis Blues
Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning
Frederik Andersen, Toronto Maple Leafs
Jacob Markstrom, Vancouver Canucks
Braden Holtby, Washington Capitals
Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets

Accuracy Shooting

Jaccob Slavin, Carolina Hurricanes
Tyler Bertuzzi, Detroit Red Wings
Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers
Jonathan Huberdeau, Florida Panthers
Nico Hischier, New Jersey Devils
Tomas Hertl, San Jose Sharks
Alex Pietrangelo, St. Louis Blues
Mark Scheifele, Winnipeg Jets

Hardest Shot

Mark Giordano, Calgary Flames
Seth Jones, Columbus Blue Jackets
Shea Weber, Montreal Canadiens
Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning
Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks
John Carlson, Washington Capitals

Shooting Stars

David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins
Matthew Tkachuk, Calgary Flames
Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks
Tyler Seguin, Dallas Stars
Brady Tkachuk, Ottawa Senators
David Perron, St. Louis Blues
Ryan O’Reilly, St. Louis Blues
Mitch Marner, Toronto Maple Leafs
American Women’s Elite All-Star (TBD)
Canadian Women’s Elite All-Star (TBD)

Women’s Three-On-Three

Team Canada: Meghan Agosta, Mélodie Daoust, Ann-Renée Desbiens, Renata Fast, Laura Fortino, Rebecca Johnston, Sarah Nurse, Marie-Philip Poulin, Natalie Spooner, Blayre Turnbull

Team USA: Kacey Bellamy, Alex Carpenter, Kendall Coyne Schofield, Brianna Decker, Amanda Kessel, Hilary Knight, Jocelyn Lamoureux-Davidson, Annie Pankowski, Alex Rigsby Cavallini, Lee Stecklein

All the action kicks off at 7:00pm local time in St. Louis, with coverage from NBCSN in the U.S and CBC, SN, and TVAS in Canada.

Boston Bruins| Buffalo Sabres| Calgary Flames| Carolina Hurricanes| Chicago Blackhawks| Colorado Avalanche| Columbus Blue Jackets| Dallas Stars| Detroit Red Wings| Edmonton Oilers| Florida Panthers| Montreal Canadiens| NHL| New Jersey Devils| New York Islanders| New York Rangers| Ottawa Senators| Philadelphia Flyers| Pittsburgh Penguins| Players| San Jose Sharks| St. Louis Blues| Tampa Bay Lightning| Team USA| Toronto Maple Leafs| Vancouver Canucks| Washington Capitals| Winnipeg Jets Alex Pietrangelo| Andrei Vasilevskiy| Anthony Duclair| Braden Holtby| Brady Tkachuk| Chris Kreider| Connor Hellebuyck| Connor McDavid| David Pastrnak| David Perron| David Rittich| Elias Pettersson| Frederik Andersen| Jaccob Slavin| Jack Eichel| Jacob Markstrom| John Carlson| Jonathan Huberdeau| Jordan Binnington| Leon Draisaitl| Mark Giordano| Mark Scheifele| Mathew Barzal| Matthew Tkachuk| Nathan MacKinnon| Nico Hischier| Patrick Kane

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