Minor Moves: Fucale, Renouf, Pedrie
The Montreal Canadiens won the most important game of the season on Saturday night against the Ottawa Senators, putting them up by three points in the Atlantic Division. That had them flying high until this morning when the team announced that Al Montoya has suffered a lower-body injury and will be unavailable for the game tonight against the Dallas Stars. Instead, the Canadiens have recalled Zach Fucale from the ECHL Brampton Beast to back up Carey Price tonight.
Fucale was drafted in the second round in 2013, and Montreal still has high hopes for the 21-year old. The young netminder has struggled since his draft year at different levels, but still has the raw talent to put it all together as his body matures. Goaltenders often put it together much later than skaters, meaning Fucale could still improve drastically. For now, he’ll get a taste of the NHL from the bench.
- The Detroit Red Wings have re-assigned Dan Renouf to the AHL after making his NHL debut just last night. He was called up on an emergency basis, and will now return to Grand Rapids for the time being. The 22-year old was an NCAA free agent last spring, and has had a solid professional debut this season. With 15 points in 58 games, he has provided a little offense for the Griffins in addition to his normal physical brand of defense. Renouf’s departure likely means the return of Niklas Kronwall to the Detroit lineup for the game against Carolina tonight.
- As expected, the Rangers have signed Vince Pedrie to an entry-level contract. The Penn State defenseman broke the news himself last night on Instagram, before deleting it and waiting for the team’s announcement. 23-years old and just finished his sophomore year, Pedrie will instead turn to the professional ranks for the next chapter in his hockey career. The puck-moving defenseman is a nice addition to a Rangers prospect system that has been stripped bare in recent years.
Evening Snapshots: Radulov, Fleury, Oilers
If not for a certain one-for-one swap in late June, Alexander Radulov would have been the most fascinating move of the summer for the Montreal Canadiens.
Radulov spent the better part of eight seasons in the KHL, with two controversial stints in Nashville, before signing a one-year, $5.75MM contract with the Canadiens. The term suggested this was very much a “show-me” contract, and show them he has. Radulov has been one of the Canadiens best players, with 42 points in 59 games thus far. Now, the Canadiens will have to lock up their Russian star long-term.
They won’t be the only team with interest in the big winger. TVA’s Renaud Lavoie reported that Radulov is a “strong position” to negotiate with the Canadiens (link in French). Radulov and T.J. Oshie are the only big names under the age of 35 set to hit unrestricted free agency. The KHL is also an outside option for Radulov, but staying in the NHL with Montreal appears to be his first choice.
[Related: PHR’s Midseason UFA Power Rankings]
This advantage give Radulov “every reason” to wait until July 1st, according Lavoie. Even though he’s expressed interest in staying in Montreal, this summer is likely his last chance to hit a home run in free agency. His former coach and friend Barry Trotz suggested he would be “shocked” if Radulov didn’t end up signing long-term in Montreal. Last Saturday, Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos reported that Radulov wants to sign long-term, perhaps even looking for a six-year pact. That would take him to age 37, which might make the Canadiens uncomfortable. Power forwards tend to drop off a cliff sometime in their mid-thirties, so GM Marc Bergevin would be taking a risk to sign Radulov for that kind of term.
Kypreos suggested the Canadiens could offer Radulov a five or six year contract worth somewhere around $4.5 or $5MM per season, but would need to go to the $7MM neighbourhood to keep the term to three years. The Canadiens have some money coming off their cap this summer, but have Radulov, franchise goaltender Carey Price, and captain Max Pacioretty due for new contracts in each of the next three summers. With those big money signings on the horizon, it’s no wonder that Bergevin is considered “all-in” on this playoff run.
- Despite needing to address his goaltending situation before this June’s expansion draft, Penguins GM Jim Rutherford would prefer to keep both Matt Murray and Marc-Andre Fleury for the remainder of this campaign, according to Adam Gretz of NBC Sports. Murray has been significantly better this season, and with Fleury’s no-move clause (NMC), the Penguins need to make a move to avoid losing their young starter. If Rutherford doesn’t trade Fleury before next Wednesday, then the wily GM will have to convince him to waive his NMC in the spring for either the Golden Knights or a trading partner. Two teams to watch are the Calgary Flames and Winnipeg Jets. Bob McKenzie of TSN reported on Thursday that the Flames are looking to improve their current goaltending duo of Brian Elliott and Chad Johnson; while there hasn’t been any reports of interest on the part of Winnipeg, they’re currently two points out of a wildcard spot while only one of their three goaltenders have a SV% above 0.900 (Connor Hellebuyck). Should the Jets get stable netminding, then they could be a darkhorse candidate in the Western Conference.
- Speaking of goaltenders, an interesting tidbit came out of Edmonton today regarding their 2015 acquisition of Cam Talbot. The Oilers acquired Talbot at the 2015 NHL Draft, trading three picks (2nd, 3rd, and 7th) for the then-unproven goalie and a seventh round pick. While discussing the Oilers’ interest in trading for Kevin Shattenkirk, TSN’s Frank Seravalli reported that Talbot “told the Oilers point-blank ‘don’t trade for me because I’m not going to re-sign here.'” Just six months later, Talbot signed a three-year extension to stay with the rising Oilers. Talbot has been the Oilers’ MVP (non-Connor McDavid category) with 30 wins and a 0.921 SV% in 54 games so far this season. Seravalli’s anecdote is notable as Talbot and Shattenkirk share an agent, and it shows GM Peter Chiarelli has previously been able to pitch Edmonton to players who were originally not interested in staying long-term.
Injury Notes: Goalie Pads, Stastny, Dumba
Since February 4th, every goaltender in the league has had to wear the new tighter fitting pants in games. While some goalies like Robin Lehner and Pekka Rinne have come out in favor of the new style, others are having difficulty adjusting. Eric Engels of Sportsnet spoke to both Carey Price and Al Montoya about them, who told him they are considering sending pictures of the new bruises they’ve suffered because of the lack of protection. Price in particular showed Engels that he got hit in the inside of his thigh with a shot, where there is almost no protection.
While it’s unclear if the two would actually send the pictures, it is a concern as the league moves forward with smaller equipment. With shots becoming harder and harder in the game, and players moving at a faster pace, protection of goaltenders is still a huge point of contention for the NHL and NHLPA. While the league (and many players) wants higher scoring and believe that reducing equipment would help that, safety is still of a high importance. When a player of Price’s caliber speaks out, the player’s union is sure to listen.
- Paul Stastny is back in the lineup tonight for the St. Louis Blues after missing the previous four games with a lower-body injury. He’ll skate with Alex Steen and Vladimir Tarasenko tonight on a line that has found tremendous success in the past. Patrik Berglund will be the second line center besides Jaden Schwartz and Magnus Paajarvi, while Ivan Barbashev—who has impressed in his short time with the club—will move to the wing beside Jori Lehtera.
- Mathew Dumba, who hasn’t played since February 10th is physically ready to play according to head coach Bruce Boudreau. The coach hasn’t committed to letting him play tomorrow against the Chicago Blackhawks, and since Jonas Brodin has returned recently he could play it a little slowly with Dumba to make sure he is at no risk of re-injuring himself.
- Mike Chambers of the Denver Post reports that Erik Johnson and Rene Bourque both skated today at Colorado Avalanche practice. Both players were in red non-contact sweaters, but it is a good sign for them going forward. Bourque has just 13 points this season, but could be someone who could fill a bottom-six role on a contender if he can prove he’s healthy enough to contribute.
Writers, Analysts Weigh In On Julien’s Hire, Therrien’s Exit
Well that was fast. PHR’s Mike Furlano asked yesterday if Michel Therrien was on the hot seat, along with others in the hockey world, and well, it’s obvious now as the Habs canned Therrien and (re) hired Claude Julien for a second stint with the club.
The Canadiens pushed their chips into the middle and are ready to see if Julien can take them further than Therrien. It worked in Pittsburgh when the Pens, half a season removed from a Stanley Cup Final appearance, fired Therrien in favor of Dan Bylsma. The Penguins went on to win the Cup that season.
Here are some thoughts from around the league:
- CSNNE’s Joe Haggerty writes that it’ll be interesting if the Habs gamble works out. Haggerty is surprised that the Bruins would allow Julien to interview in Montreal, in light of the historic rivalry between the teams. However, Haggerty argues that the Bruins have seen an uptick in play since relieving Julien of his post, and that the Habs, in their own right, gain a French-Canadian–which is important to many in the fanbase. What Haggerty loves most is how this should heat up the rivalry even more–which only makes for good hockey.
- USA Today’s Kevin Allen explains that Julien will get the most out of the younger players, and be “more open minded” when it comes to deploying them on the ice. Additionally, adding a coach of Julien’s caliber makes Allen believe that it’ll add a spark. Finally, should he be able to restore Carey Price‘s confidence, Allen believes the Habs are a sleeper in the Eastern Conference.
- Puck Daddy’s Greg Wyshynski indicates that it’s a wonderful opportunity for the Canadiens, and a potentially embarrassing one for the Bruins. The Boston front office has taken its fair share of heat since letting Julien go, especially after fans and analysts wondered aloud if it was the front office to blame for the B’s woes. Should Marc Bergevin trade for more assets, Wyshynski believes this to be a potential curveball in what looked like a one division race for the Eastern Conference crown.
- Wyshynski’s colleague Josh Cooper points out that the Habs hopped on the hiring before anyone could get a chance to acquire Julien’s services. Noting that Julien is considered one of the NHL’s top coaches this decade, it was a no-brainer to swap him in for Therrien as there’s been a noticeable drop off for the Canadiens. But he says the pressure is on Julien to prove that this was indeed, the best move for the organization.
Snapshots: Ericsson, Canadiens, Oilers
After leaving Thursday night’s game with an upper-body injury, Red Wings defenseman Jonathan Ericsson will undergo surgery next week and will be out for the next 12 weeks, effectively ending his season, GM Ken Holland told MLive’s Brendan Savage (Twitter link). Originally, the team was hopeful he’d only miss six-to-eight weeks.
Ericsson was injured after an awkward hit by Washington’s Nicklas Backstrom (video link). Backstrom hit Ericsson into the boards as the defenseman was skating towards the boards behind his own net.
He has nine points in 50 games this season, while averaging 19:29 minutes a night on Detroit’s second pairing. This is the third year of Ericsson’s six-year, $25.5MM contract.
- The Montreal Canadiens have a short window to win the Stanley Cup with their current roster. Superstar goaltender Carey Price has one more year left at $6.5MM and captain Max Pacioretty has two years left at a steal of $4.5MM. That combined $11MM will likely jump to $17MM or so, which will cause quite the cap crunch. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman has suggested that GM Marc Bergevin “has got his fingers in everything” (transcribed by Chris Nichols of FanRagSports). On Toronto radio this morning, Friedman shared an anecdote from Bergevin’s time in Chicago, where the Blackhawks had a chance to trade for Chris Pronger in the summer of 2006 but passed on making the deal because they “weren’t ready [to contend].” As Friedman put it, Bergevin’s philosophy is to hit singles to build a team, then swing for the fences when his team has a chance to win. Following this philosophy, Friedman suggested that “if there’s a big name, you can assume that Montreal has inquired.”
- Speaking of windows of contention, Jonathan Willis wrote a piece for Sportsnet arguing that the Edmonton Oilers need to be a legitimate Stanley Cup contender by next season to follow the paths set out by Chicago and Pittsburgh. This means a deep playoff run while Connor McDavid is still on his entry-level contract. No team has a smooth ride to the top, Willis writes, pointing at Chicago and Boston’s struggles to keep their teams together as their stars take up more money. If the Oilers aren’t a serious contender in 2017-18, then “they may be too far behind Pittsburgh and Chicago to catch up” to their path to the Cup.
Goalie Extensions And The Expansion Draft
In-season extensions in the NHL are not all that common. In-season extensions of pedestrian back-up goalies are even more rare. So the recent re-signings of Al Montoya by the Montreal Canadiens and Dustin Tokarski by the Anaheim Ducks likely stuck out to many as being strange, especially when they occurred within days of each other. While the Habs may talk about their desire for a “quality backup” to Carey Price and the Ducks say they need depth in net behind John Gibson with Jonathan Bernier headed to free agency, the teams and players know what the reality of these extensions are and fans should too. Montoya and Tokarski earned extensions not because of their play, but simply because of their mere existence as goalies on their respective teams. They won’t be the last either, as the impending NHL Expansion Draft will force a few other teams to make a move in net before it’s too late.
When the NHL laid out rules for this June’s Expansion Draft, they required that each team leave at least one eligible goalie exposed. For the majority of teams, this wasn’t a difficult criteria to meet. They could protect their starter as long as they had any other goalie with two years of pro experience and term on their contract. For a select few though, it remained a problem that needed to be solved in-season. Montreal and Anaheim were two such teams. Heading into 2016-17, the Candiens has a goalie stable of Price, Montoya, who they signed to a one-year deal this summer, and impending unrestricted free agent Mike Condon. Without any extension or acquisition, Montreal would have been forced to expose the best goalie in the world as their other two keepers held no further term on their contracts. After Condon failed to clear waivers earlier this season, it left the Habs with just two options: extend the veteran Montoya or trade for a third goaltender with term. Since many other teams are depending on their under-contract backups for expansion protection, it was a much easier task to extend Montoya, and given his early-season success, it became an even more obvious decision. While the journeyman goalie is happy to have a “permanent” home into his mid-30’s and the best deal of his career, the true intention of the Canadiens is to offer him up to the Vegas Golden Knights instead of their MVP, Price. Meanwhile in Anaheim, the league’s deepest goalie group also would not be able to protect their starter. The Ducks have five good-to-decent goalies signed, but the best of the bunch, Gibson, was the only one signed beyond 2017. The 23-year-old is coming off the best season of his young career and looking good again in 2016-17. There was no way that they could leave him exposed, but NHL backup Bernier was headed to unrestricted free agency, as were AHLers Tokarski and Matt Hackett and former college standout Kevin Boyle was ineligible for selection. With trading for yet another goalie not much of an option, Anaheim was left with three choices for extension. Bernier would be the most expensive to re-sign, and has also had a disappointing season, so it came down to a choice between San Diego Gulls’ keepers. Neither has impressed this season, but the Ducks chose to keep the more seasoned Tokarski around as depth. Tokarski stands almost no chance of being selected by Las Vegas, but will serve to protect Gibson and will stay employed in pro hockey a while longer.
Two more teams have similar decisions to make in 2017. As soon as the Expansion Draft rules came down, the Philadelphia Flyers knew that they were in somewhat of a pickle. Both Steve Mason and Michal Neuvirth were impending free agents and only the then-unproven Anthony Stolarz was an eligible goalie to be exposed. The Flyers’ situation has become only more difficult as both Mason and Neuvirth have struggled this season, while Stolarz made his NHL debut and looked good in a short stint as Mason’s backup. A young, promising goalie would almost surely be picked up by the Knights, so Stolarz now needs to be protected. However, are Mason or Neuvirth worthy of an extension? Maybe not, but the Flyers may look to simply use one or the other to bridge the gap to their talented goalie prospects. Mason may even be good enough that he is looked at by Las Vegas, but only time will tell. Expect the Flyers to extend Mason, or possibly Neuvirth, or else make a trade prior to the NHL Trade Deadline. The Minnesota Wild are also in this predicament, but their situation seems more cut-and-dry. Devan Dubnyk is the only goaltender on the roster who is eligible for exposure, but he has been a revelations since arriving in Minnesota, transforming into one of the best goalies in the NHL. The Wild won’t leave him exposed, but have the option of simply handing out an affordable extension to backup Darcy Kuemper or AHL starter Alex Stalock. Kuemper has seen a bit of a drop-off in 2016-17, but has been solid during his career in Minnesota. It seems likely that the Wild reward him with an extension, even if it carries a risk of him being selected in the Expansion Draft.
Should either team instead opt to make a trade, either just for the purposes of expansion or for added depth in the postseason, there are a few teams who could be sellers. The Columbus Blue Jackets could look to move one of their talented young goalies rather than risk losing them for nothing in the draft, and could afford to do so with all three of Joonas Korpisalo, Anton Forsberg, and Oscar Dansk being eligible for selection. The New York Islanders have moved on from Jaroslav Halak and could move him without repercussions. Similar acquisitions on the more expensive side could be Dallas’ Antti Niemi or Kari Lehtonen. The St. Louis Blues may be looking to add another high-end goalie to share the net with Jake Allen, in which case Carter Hutton could also become available. However, trading will be more difficult and more expensive for Philadelphia and Minnesota, especially if they end up competing with each other or with teams in need of a goalie for non-expansion reasons. The simple solution to the problems posed by the upcoming NHL Expansion Draft are more easily solved by extension, as Montreal and Anaheim have shown, so expect to hear about Mason, Kuemper, Neuvirth, or Stalock in the not too distant future.
NHL All-Star Captains Announced
After the conclusion of the fan voting that took place from December 1st to January 2nd, the results are finally in on who will be leading each divisional team in the upcoming All-Star Weekend 3-on-3 tournament. The Metropolitan Division will be led by none other than the best player in the league, Sidney Crosby. He’ll be opposed by the young stud gunning for his title, Connor McDavid, who will captain the Pacific Division team. Leading the charge for the Atlantic Division team, and from the most important position as well, will be Carey Price. If healthy, a new addition to the loaded Central Division, P.K. Subban, will captain his squad.
While the rest of the rosters have yet to be filled out, fans nailed at least three of their four selections. The building rivalry between Crosby and McDavid as to who is the best player in the world has really take off in 2016-17. At 29 years old, and already a surefire Hall of Famer, Crosby may be having the best season of his career. With 26 goals in just 32 games, he’s scoring at a career-best clip and seems likely to shatter his personal best of 51 goals in a season. Crosby is also third overall in points with 42. The Penguins are bona fide contenders again, as they look to defend their Stanley Cup title, and Crosby is leading the way. However, just above him at 43 and tied for the league lead in points is the prodigy McDavid. McDavid also has complete control over the league lead in assists with 29. The Oilers have finally climbed out of the NHL’s basement, and the owe a lot, if not all, of their success to McDavid. As good as he’s been, many expect better. With Evgeni Malkin hogging a lot of points for himself in Pittsburgh, most believe that McDavid will eventually pull away from the Penguins’ dynamic duo and claim the Art Ross, and likely the Hart, for himself. We’ll get a preview of the stretch run points race at All-Star weekend.
Price is also the obvious choice, especially to lead a division that is lacking in offensive superstars with Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos sidelined. Price is the undisputed best goalie in the league, and is at it again in 2016-17. Price is currently fourth in save percentage at .930, seventh in goals against average at 2.07, and fifth in wins with 18. The collapse of the Canadiens last season was due completely to Price’s injury absence, as he proved to be the most valuable asset in the entire league. As long as he stays healthy, Montreal appears to be a lock to win the Atlantic, with their all-world goalie leading the way.
The selection of Subban follows a different thought process. Despite moving from Montreal to Nashville, which in fairness has become quite a hockey city itself, Subban remains one the most popular players in the NHL. With one of the biggest personalities in the league and a persona that exceeds the boundaries of the game, fans want to make sure that they see the talented blue liner in action whenever they can. However, their votes may not be enough this time. Subban was just placed on injured reserve by the Predators on Sunday, as he has struggled with a herniated disk in his back for weeks. Rather than surgery, Nashville has opted to let Subban rest and recover until he is game-ready. Returning to action for an All-Star tournament doesn’t quite align with that task. Unless the team has cleared Subban for action prior to the end of the month, it seems unlikely that he will be able to captain the Central team. However, don’t expect him to pass up the opportunity to stop by and get his face in front of a camera regardless.
All-Star Weekend takes place on January 28th and 29th. Stay tuned for more info on the complete rosters in the coming weeks.
Montreal Canadiens Sign Al Montoya To Two-Year Extension
Despite having arguably the best goaltender in the world, the Montreal Canadiens have always needed a quality backup. Well, now they have one for another two seasons. The team has announced today that Al Montoya has been extended for two years. Renaud Lavoie reports that the deal is worth $1.065MM per season. 
While Montoya does represent a solid backup netminder – a .909 save percentage that includes that awful 10-0 game against Columbus earlier this year – one of the biggest reasons the Canadiens needed to get this done is to have a goaltender to expose for the expansion draft. Prior to this extension, the only possible choice would have been Carey Price, since he’s the only one signed past this year. His no-movement clause conflicts with this however, as he also requires protection in the draft.
For Montoya, this represents the largest contract in his career (though not by very much) and will make him 34 at the expiration of the deal.
The Canadiens know what it means to have a solid backup, as they found out last year when Carey Price was injured for most of the season. The team did not perform well behind Mike Condon for the majority of the year, finishing with a 38-38-6 record despite starting 10-2. This year, the squad is 22-9-6 and is first place in the Atlantic Conference.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Poll: 2005 NHL Draft Take Two: Twenty-Sixth Overall Pick
Hindsight is an amazing thing, and allows us to look back and wonder “what could have been.” Though perfection is attempted, scouting and draft selection is far from an exact science and sometimes, it doesn’t work out the way teams – or players – intended. For every Patrick Kane, there is a Patrik Stefan.
We’re looking back at the 2005 NHL Draft, which kicked off the salary cap era and ushered in many of the current NHL superstars. The question we’re looking to answer is knowing now what we didn’t know then, how different would this draft look now with the benefit of hindsight?
Here are the results of our redraft so far:
1st Overall: Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins)
2nd Overall: Carey Price (Mighty Ducks of Anaheim)
3rd Overall: Anze Kopitar (Carolina Hurricanes)
4th Overall: Jonathan Quick (Minnesota Wild)
5th Overall: Kris Letang (Montreal Canadiens)
6th Overall: Tuukka Rask (Columbus Blue Jackets)
7th Overall: Bobby Ryan (Chicago Blackhawks)
8th Overall: Marc-Edouard Vlasic (San Jose Sharks)
9th Overall: Ben Bishop (Ottawa Senators)
10th Overall: James Neal (Vancouver Canucks)
11th Overall: T.J. Oshie (Los Angeles Kings)
12th Overall: Keith Yandle (New York Rangers)
13th Overall: Paul Stastny (Buffalo Sabres)
14th Overall: Marc Staal (Washington Capitals)
15th Overall: Patric Hornqvist (New York Islanders)
16th Overall: Niklas Hjalmarsson (Atlanta Thrashers)
17th Overall: Anton Stralman (Phoenix Coyotes)
18th Overall: Jack Johnson (Nashville Predators)
19th Overall: Matt Niskanen (Detroit Red Wings)
20th Overall: Justin Abdelkader (Florida Panthers)
21st Overall: Martin Hanzal (Toronto Maple Leafs)
22nd Overall: Andrew Cogliano (Boston Bruins)
23rd Overall: Kris Russell (New Jersey Devils)
24th Overall: Darren Helm (St. Louis Blues)
25th Overall: Cody Franson (Edmonton Oilers)
Now we move forward to the 26th pick, which was held by the Calgary Flames.
To recap how this works:
- We will go through the 2005 NHL Draft and have our readers select, through a voting process, who they think should have been taken with the selection.
- The entire first round will be redrafted, spanning picks one through thirty. The new selection is chosen by the majority of votes.
Back in 2005, the Flames took defenseman Matt Pelech from the Sarnia Sting. Since being drafted, Pelech played a total of 13 games in the NHL, tallying four points (1-3). Of those 13 games, Pelech spent five with the Flames and the other eight with San Jose. During the 2013-14 season, Pelech spent time in the ECHL with the Utah Grizzlies after playing for both San Jose and its AHL affiliate Worcester. A season later, Pelech recorded 39 games with the Rochester Americans. Last season, Pelech appeared in 49 games for the Schwenningen Wild Wings in the DEL (Germany) and has played the current season with Graz EC in the Austrian league.
With the 26th pick of the 2005 NHL Redraft, who should the Flames select? Cast your vote below! Mobile users, you can vote here!
Weekend Milestones: Meier, Zaitsev, Lundqvist
It’s finally #TimoTime. After fans have been calling for him since the start of the season, the San Jose Sharks finally brought up prized prospect Timo Meier to the NHL after Logan Couture suffered an injury. The former top-ten pick showed his physical play early on, scoring a goal on his first NHL shot, a loose puck in front of Carey Price midway through the first period. Meier basically caught a shot from David Schlemko with his stick inches from the blue paint, then tucked it around the Montreal netminder on his backhand.
Though the 20-year old winger played just 10 minutes, he recorded three shots and two hits and flew around the ice. His power-forward style is a perfect fit for a Sharks team that loves to forecheck and possess the puck as much as possible down low. If Meier can continue to put up points in limited minutes, perhaps he’ll move up the lineup as the season progresses. For now, he’ll just soak in every second of being in the NHL – even if it is coming easy to him thus far.
- In Toronto on Saturday night, another player recorded his first NHL goal, though it is by no means his first professional one. Nikita Zaitsev, a Maple Leafs rookie who has played seven seasons in the KHL, notched his first in a 2-1 overtime victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Zaitsev only turned 25 a month ago, having played in the Russian professional league since he was 17. Skating alongside Morgan Rielly for the majority of his icetime, Zaitsev has 11 points in 30 games and has garnered high praise from head coach Mike Babcock. His best season in Russia was in 2014-15 when the Moscow native scored 32 points in 57 games for his hometown team. Logging 22 minutes a night, he’ll look to provide that kind of impact for the Maple Leafs this season. He’s a restricted free agent at the end of the year.
- For one of the most well-respected goaltenders in the history of the game, Saturday night was just another win. In reality it put Henrik Lundqvist needs just one win away from tying Dominik Hasek as the leader all-time among European-born goaltenders. As Dan Rosen reports, Lundvist now has 388 wins in 708 games, while it took Hasek 735 to amass his 389. Passsing Hasek would put Lundqvist 12th all-time, and within striking distance of the top 10. The play of Antti Raanta may have caused some to question who the best goaltender in New York is currently, but if you ask people about the best in Rangers history, you’ll be sure to get a lot of ‘King Henrik’ answers.
- One of the most polarizing figures in hockey for his entire career has been John Tortorella. Always in the headlines for something he’s said or a new coaching method, he often wears out his welcome in cities sooner than later. You can’t exactly argue with his resume though, with a Stanley Cup victory and Jack Adams award with his name on it. Not only does he have the upstart Columbus Blue Jackets in a playoff spot currently (and way ahead of their pace from last year) he’ll go for his 500th career win Sunday against Vancouver, the team that fired him in 2014 after just a single (disastrous) season. Only 23 other coaches have ever reached the mark, and at 58 he still has many years left. While he’ll never reach the all-time mark set by Scotty Bowman (1244 wins is still more than 400 more than second place, Joel Quenneville), he’ll likely end up somewhere in the top-20. If Columbus continues their current pace and development of young players, maybe he’ll go down as the first coach to take the franchise past the first round.