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Connor McDavid, Others Give Thoughts On Playoffs

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During this indefinite suspension of the 2019-20 season and the rest of the professional sports landscape, the NHL is working to stay relevant and provide some content for their fans around the world. One way they’ve done that is to provide player access to reporters by way of conference video calls, where they can give their thoughts on a variety of subjects. Today’s players were captains from the Pacific Division, including Connor McDavid, Mark Giordano, Bo Horvat and Oliver Ekman-Larsson.

The quartet of stars were asked how they would go about resuming play and whether the teams could step right into the playoffs once they’re allowed back on the ice. Chris Johnston of Sportsnet relays McDavid’s answer, which noted that a “fair season’s a full season” and poked fun at the Calgary-Edmonton rivalry.

Horvat, the captain of the Vancouver Canucks, agreed that in order for the season to be deemed “fair” more regular season games would have to be played. As Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press points out however, the Canucks are technically outside the playoff picture at the moment but would get a wildcard spot if the league decided to use points percentage to determine seeding.

While those two focused on how to maintain the season’s credibility, Giordano had a different take on the situation. The Flames’ captain is excited about the idea of the playoffs this year, noting that they would be extremely competitive because every team will be relatively healthy. The 36-year old defenseman has dealt with injuries of his own this season and knows exactly how much of a toll the playoffs can be on a player’s body.

It’s hard to know what the future holds for the NHL at this point, but if the playoffs do ever played you can bet it will be a tournament to watch closely. Not only will health be a factor, but players won’t have a lot of time to shake off the rust before they’re playing elimination games. It could be some of the most compelling hockey in a long time, but we’ll have to wait to find out if it even happens.

WHL Designates Connor Bedard With First Ever Exceptional Player Status

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Exceptional player status in the CHL is only declared for those elite 15-year-olds deemed worthy of joining the major junior ranks a year early. Exceptional player status has been granted five times in the OHL – John Tavares, Aaron Ekblad, Connor McDavid, Sean Day, and Shane Wright – and just once in the QMJHL – Joe Veleno – but never before in the WHL. That is, until today. Just one day after the WHL was forced to make the disappointing announcement that the remainder of their season had been canceled, tonight they made the exciting revelation that for the first time exceptional player status has been awarded.

The lucky 15-year-old-to-be is Connor Bedard of North Vancouver, British Columbia. Bedard played this season with the U-18 team of West Vancouver Academy in the Canadian Sports School Hockey League. In 36 games, Bedard recorded a whopping 43 goals and 84 points. He led the league in both categories by a significant margin and contributed on nearly 50% of his teams total goals on the year. While Bedard is still undersized at 5’8” and 165 lbs., he is still four years away from his draft year and will spend all of that time in the WHL growing his already-impressive skills in addition to growing physically.

The WHL Bantam Draft is set for April 22, 2020 and Bedard is now expected to be the prize at No. 1 overall. The 2020 WHL Bantam Draft Lottery is scheduled for tomorrow, Wednesday March 25 and will determine the order of the first six selections of the draft. In the running for the top spot are the the Swift Current Broncos, Moose Jaw Warriors, Tri-City Americans, Prince George Cougars, Regina Pats, and Red Deer Rebels. Just one will end up fortunate enough to land the first ever “exceptional” player in league history.

West Notes: McDavid, Kuemper, Holland, Lehner, Samberg, Simmonds

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The Edmonton Oilers are getting back a familiar face in Connor McDavid as the team announced the star forward returns tonight against the Los Angeles Kings. That might be perfect timing with Edmonton barely holding onto third place by just one point, although they are also just one point away from second place. McDavid has missed six games with a quadriceps injury.

In fact, it looks like McDavid will be teamed with Sam Gagner and Alex Chiasson for Sunday’s game and is expected to join the power play. McDavid has 31 goals and 81 points through 55 games this year and should be able to add some extra offense for the Oilers for the team’s stretch run. The Oilers have gone 3-2-1 without their star player.

  • It looks like the Arizona Coyotes will get a significant boost to their team as well. The Coyotes announced they have recalled goaltender Darcy Kuemper from the Tucson Roadrunners of the AHL from his conditioning stint. The netminder has been out with a lower-body injury since Dec. 19. He was close to a comeback several weeks ago, but suffered a setback. Kuemper played Saturday for Tucson, stopping 26 of 28 shots, and looks ready to join the Coyotes’ lineup. Kuemper was one of the top goaltenders in the league before his injury, posting a 15-8-2 record with a 2.17 GAA and a .929 save percentage.
  • NHL.com’s Tim Campbell writes that Edmonton Oilers general manager Ken Holland isn’t interested in moving the team’s 2020 first-round pick just to add a piece to the team at the trade deadline. Edmonton is currently one point out of second place in the Pacific Division, but the GM is resistant to moving such a pick, considering the team is still building. “I’m hoping that we can compete for a playoff spot and more on an every-year basis,” said Holland. “You can’t be in the trading game every deadline, well maybe with secondary pieces, but you can’t trade first-round picks [every year].”
  • The Athletic’s Mark Lazerus reports that while the Chicago Blackhawks have discussed trading goaltender Robin Lehner to the Carolina Hurricanes after the team lost both their goaltenders Saturday night. However, the scribe adds that at this moment, Carolina considers Chicago’s asking price for the goaltender far too high. However, both teams will continue to talk up to the trade deadline on Monday.
  • In an interview with the Winnipeg Sun’s Scott Billeck, University of Minnesota-Duluth defenseman and Winnipeg Jets’ 2017 second-rounder Dylan Samberg, said that he is focused on winning a third-straight NCAA championship. However, he also said, after that, he has every intention of joining the Winnipeg Jets after his season is complete. The Jets were hoping the 6-foot-4, 215-pound blueliner would sign with the team last summer where he would have likely played a significant role with Winnipeg this year. However, Sampson would like to help his school be the first to win three straight national titles. “They took a chance on me, they wanted me for a reason and I respect that,” said Samberg. “I respect the organization, they have a lot of great people, and it’s not that far from home, which is nice. I want to eventually get to the Jets.”
  • TSN’s Rick Dhaliwal reports that Vancouver Canucks are no longer in the running for New Jersey Devils forward Wayne Simmonds. There was a time that Vancouver was quite interesting in adding the veteran leader to their roster, but the team is evidently looking in a different direction.

Five Key Stories: 02/10/20 – 02/16/20

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Can you really pick just five? In a news cycle in which superstar Erik Karlsson being ruled out for the season doesn’t even crack the top ten headlines, here are the five most important stories (admittedly with some other notes sprinkled in) of the week that was:

Bouwmeester Suffers Cardiac Incident: The hockey world stood still on Tuesday night, after the game between the St. Louis Blues and Anaheim Ducks was suspended under very scary circumstances. Veteran defenseman Jay Bouwmeester suffered a “cardiac event” while on the bench during the first period of the contest, collapsing onto the ground. Bouwmeester required resuscitation by the teams’ training staffs to re-start his heart before he was rushed to the hospital. While awaiting word on his condition, there was an outpouring of support from teams and players in all corners of the hockey world for the well-respected veteran. Fortunately, the team issued a statement that Bouwmeester was in stable condition, followed by a report on Friday that he had undergone successful heart surgery. While questions remain about Bouwmeester’s availability to the reigning Stanley Cup champs this season, as well as the future of the impending free agent’s career, the focus will be on rest and rehabilitation for a while still to come.

Minnesota Fires Boudreau: In 13 seasons as an NHL head coach, Bruce Boudreau has only missed the playoffs twice and those seasons occurred seven years apart. However, one of those seasons was 2018-19 and things were not looking good for a return to the postseason in Minnesota this year. New GM Bill Guerin opted to cut ties with his veteran coach on Friday before he could miss consecutive postseasons for the first time in his career. Assistant Dean Evason was named the interim replacement, while Boudreau will begin looking for a new home – a process that historically has not taken him very long.

Elsewhere in the division, Winnipeg Jets head coach Paul Maurice received the opposite treatment, despite similar struggles this season. Already one of the longest-tenured coaches in the NHL, Maurice received a three-year contract extension from the Jets.

Penguins Acquire Zucker: Firing Boudreau was not the only major shake-up in Minnesota this week. Long-time Wild star Jason Zucker was finally traded on Monday after more than a year of speculation, even through front office changes. In the end, he winds up with the Pittsburgh Penguins, the same team that nearly acquired him this summer for Phil Kessel. Former Pittsburgh executive Bill Guerin made good on his major trade as Minnesota GM, landing a 2020 first-round pick, top prospect defenseman Calen Addison, and a capable forward and potential extension candidate in Alex Galchenyuk. Meanwhile, the Penguins add the forward they have been seeking – especially in light of Jake Guentzel’s season-ending injury – in Zucker, a veteran with the speed and skill to keep up with Sidney Crosby and three more years remaining on his contract at a reasonable rate. Zucker scored two goals in just his second game with the Penguins on Friday.

Devils Deal Two Key Players: The trades kept rolling on Sunday with the New Jersey Devils as the center of attention. Another new GM, Tom Fitzgerald, is making good on his promise to maximize the return on tradable assets from the rebuilding club. In two separate deals, the Devils added a first-round pick and second-round pick in 2020, promising forward prospect Nolan Foote, and minor leaguer David Quenneville. Of course, it came at a cost, as long-time captain Andy Greene was dealt to the rival New York Islanders and fan-favorite forward Blake Coleman was moved to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Still, with such strong returns and pieces like Sami Vatanen, Wayne Simmonds, and more expected to go as well, this is the beginning of potentially franchise-altering deadline for New Jersey.

Oilers Extend Nurse: The Edmonton Oilers needed some good news this week, with superstar Connor McDavid out two-to-three weeks with an injury and fellow forward Zack Kassian suspended for seven games. They got it with news of a contract extension for young defenseman Darnell Nurse. Nurse, 25, signed a two-year, $11.2MM deal prior to restricted free agency and a potential arbitration battle this summer. The new AAV for Nurse represents a sizeable salary bump, but for good reason, as he has established himself as a dependable top-pair defender and a point-producer. While the relationship between Nurse and the Oilers was once a concern, it now seems to be in good order, with expectations already that the two sides will negotiate a more long-term extension after next season.

Connor McDavid Out 2-3 Weeks

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The Edmonton Oilers have lost their captain for at least a few weeks. Oilers GM Ken Holland announced today that Connor McDavid will be out two to three weeks with a quad injury. McDavid is returning to Toronto to work with his rehab team in the meantime. Holland was clear to point out that this injury has nothing to do with the major knee injury that McDavid suffered last year. No surgery will be required.

Losing one of the most exciting players in the world is bad for the NHL, but for Edmonton it could be disastrous. The Oilers currently sit in second place in the Pacific Division, but that doesn’t really show the real precariousness of the situation. The Vegas Golden Knights and Calgary Flames are both tied with Edmonton with 64 points, while the Arizona Coyotes sit just behind them with 63. The Winnipeg Jets also sit at 63 and are battling for the wild card, meaning the Oilers could fall right out of a playoff spot if they have a bad stretch.

The Oilers have an especially busy scheduling coming up as they catch up to the teams around them in games played as well. With eight games over the next two weeks and 12 over the next three, McDavid could miss a good chunk of the most important part of the season.

That puts the onus on Leon Draisaitl to prove his Hart Trophy candidacy and lead the Oilers through this stretch with his quick strike offensive ability. Already leading the league in scoring with 85 points in 55 games, the 24-year old forward will have even more attention put upon him every night.

Snapshots: Three Stars, Fabbri, Nesterov

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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.

Pacific Notes: Oilers Offseason, Green, Hughes, Gretzky

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The Edmonton Oilers are still trying to put together a impact top-six. The team seems to have formed a new No. 2 line between Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Kailer Yamamoto, but the team is still trying to find partners for their No. 1 line centered around Connor McDavid.

The Athletic’s Allan Mitchell (subscription required) writes that throughout his career McDavid has always had a physical winger with him he wonders if that is even necessary any more. While the team is limited in its current options, this summer is likely to be a different story. The scribe writes that general manager Ken Holland will be looking to spend some money this offseason with names such as Taylor Hall and perhaps a more likely candidate could be Mike Hoffman, who might be the perfect linemate for McDavid if the two were paired together.

  • While Vancouver Canucks general manager Jim Benning said recently that the team will wait until the summer to discuss a possible contract extension with head coach Travis Green, The Athletic’s Rick Dhaliwal (subscription required) writes that the team needs to lock up Green, considering the work he has put in over the last few years and how the team currently sits in first place in the Pacific Division. Of course, with four teams just one point behind them, Green’s extension could be tied with the team making the playoffs (especially considering the team traded their first-round pick to Tampa Bay to get J.T. Miller this summer). However, the scribe points out that the team needs Green locked up, not dealing with a new coach next season.
  • In a seperate tweet, Dhaliwal notes that Vancouver’s Quinn Hughes finds himself in a good position for an extension on July 1. Agent Pat Brisson said they will deal with it as they get closer to July 1. Hughes has had an impressive rookie year, which includes a trip to the All-Star game and could score quite an extension if Benning is willing. “We can start talking with Canucks on July 1st,” said Brisson. “We will cross that bridge when we get there. He is sure building a case as a strong asset. We will see how it goes.”
  • As rumored, Pacific Division’s head coach Rick Tocchet, who agreed to take over for fired Gerard Gallant at the All-Star game today, has got NHL icon Wayne Gretzky to serve behind his bench as an assistant coach, according to The Athletic’s Craig Morgan. Gretzky served as head coach of the Coyotes from 2005 to 2009,

2020 NHL All-Star Skills Participants Announced

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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.

PHWA Announce 2019-20 Midseason Awards

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Though they have no bearing on the eventual winners, each season the Professional Hockey Writers Association vote for the Midseason Awards to give fans an idea of who is leading the charge around the NHL at the halfway point. Today those ballots have been tallied and the midseason trophies were given out:

Hart Trophy – Most valuable player

1. Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
2. Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche
3. David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins

Norris Trophy – Best defenseman

1. John Carlson, Washington Capitals
2. Roman Josi, Nashville Predators
3. Dougie Hamilton, Carolina Hurricanes

Selke Trophy – Best defensive forward

1. Sean Couturier, Philadelphia Flyers
2. Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins
3. Ryan O’Reilly, St. Louis Blues

Calder Trophy – Best rookie

1. Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche
2. Quinn Hughes, Vancouver Canucks
3. Victor Olofsson, Buffalo Sabres

Lady Byng Trophy – Sportsmanship & gentlemanly conduct

1. Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche
2. Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs
3. Ryan O’Reilly, St. Louis Blues

Vezina Trophy – Best goaltender

1. Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets
2. Ben Bishop, Dallas Stars
3. Darcy Kuemper, Arizona Coyotes

Jack Adams Award – Best coach

1. Mike Sullivan, Pittsburgh Penguins
2. John Tortorella, Columbus Blue Jackets
3. Craig Berube, St. Louis Blues

Jim Gregory GM of the Year Award

1. Joe Sakic, Colorado Avalanche
2. John Chayka, Arizona Coyotes
3. Doug Armstrong, St. Louis Blues

Rod Langway Award – Best defensive defenseman

1. Jaccob Slavin, Carolina Hurricanes
2. Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning
3. Roman Josi, Nashville Predators

Comeback Player of the Year Award

1. William Nylander, Toronto Maple Leafs
2. Anthony Duclair, Ottawa Senators
3. Max Pacioretty, Vegas Golden Knights

Snapshots: McDavid, Manning, Milano

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The legend of Connor McDavid is about to grow at the NHL All-Star Game, where not only will he be a participant, but a documentary will air examining his return after a knee injury at the end of last season. Ryan Rishaug of TSN spoke today about how McDavid turned down the surgical option that could have kept him out for the entire 2019-20 campaign, and instead went down a road of grueling rehab.

McDavid, who turned 23 just over a week ago, is having another outstanding season with 76 points through 49 games. The young forward is on track for his fourth consecutive season with more than 100 points, and third Art Ross Trophy as the top offensive player in the league.

  • While McDavid is heading to St. Louis to represent the Edmonton Oilers organization, Brandon Manning won’t even be getting on the ice for a while. The Oilers’ minor league defenseman has been suspended five games for using a racial slur towards an opponent last night. Keith Gretzky, the Bakersfield Condors’ general manager, released a statement supporting the league’s suspension and condemning Manning’s actions.
  • Sonny Milano missed Columbus Blue Jackets practice today due to a court appearance in New York, according to Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch. Milano and Colorado Avalanche forward A.J. Greer had their assault charges dismissed after showing proof of community service and paying the medical bills of the victim.

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