Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Connor McDavid

NHL All-Star Captains Announced

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

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.

Auston Matthews Scores 20th Goal Of Rookie Season

at CDT | by 1 Comment

Since the 2005-06 season when the NHL brought itself into a new era, 33 players have scored 20 or more goals in their rookie year. Headlined by the unbelievable rookie campaigns of Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin (the latter of which who scored more than 50, the first of seven such seasons) it’s a group of all-stars and perhaps even more than a handful of hall of fame players. It also includes Petr Prucha and Peter Mueller, showing that it’s not a guarantee for success though a pretty good indicator.

This year, the group will likely have a handful of entrants. With players like Patrik Laine in Winnipeg and Matthew Tkachuk in Calgary having great success, this may be the best rookie crop in years. But today it’s Toronto that took the rookie spotlight, with Mitch Marner, Connor Brown and Auston Matthews all scoring in the Centennial Classic. Matthews, who scored twice (including the overtime winner) has already punched his ticket as the 34th player to score 20 as a rookie in the salary cap era.

The rookie phenom now has 32 points in 36 games, and is on pace to score more goals that even Crosby did as a rookie. The league hasn’t seen a teenager score 40 goals in his rookie season since Eric Lindros did it in 1992-93, and there may be two (with Laine) that do it this year. That exclusive group includes just five players: Lindros, Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Dale Hawerchuk and Sylvain Turgeon.

When you add Connor McDavid to the teenage mix (though no longer a rookie), it’s an unbelievable group that is doing unprecedented things in the NHL. With 14 goals in his last 17 games, Matthews is likely on an unsustainable pace, just as Laine was earlier in the year. But even if his production slows down, he’s already in the discussion as an elite center in the NHL and should be for a long time.

The Calder Trophy run should be a heck of a battle down the stretch, with no clear winner emerging so far. We’re excited to watch.

Extension Candidates: 2017 Restricted Free Agents

at CDT | by 1 Comment

After Artemi Panarin signed a two-year extension earlier today that will pay him $6MM per season and take him right up to unrestricted free agency, the RFA pool for this summer got a little bit smaller. Other extensions that have already been signed include Aaron Ekblad (Eight years, $60MM), Jake Allen (Four years, $17.4MM) and Victor Hedman (Eight years, $63MM).

Even though these big names are already locked up long-term, there are a ton of other restricted free agents that will be negotiating extensions between now and July 1st. Here are a few big names who become RFAs this summer.

Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton: The former third-overall pick who once scored 192 points in 29 German junior-league games, has broken out this season with 31 points in 36 games. Already coming off a 50 point season, this 70 point pace puts him in elite territory up front.  Only 21 years old, the Oilers will be looking to lock him up long-term to ride shotgun with Connor McDavid well into their peak years.

Alex Galchenyuk, Montreal: Another third-overall pick who put up a 50+ point season a year ago, Galchenyuk was off to a brilliant start before going down with injury early this month. Because he’ll be out for another month at least, Galchenyuk won’t rush into a contract that may not be representative of his development. This one might head into the summer, but if he comes back strong perhaps the two sides can come together before what looks like a long playoff run.

David Pastrnak, Boston: Not quite the same situation faces Pastrnak, who before this year showed promise but hadn’t played a full season in the NHL. With 26 points already he’s about to set his career-high and has a chance at a 40-goal season.  Boston has a lot of money already tied up long-term in their forward group, with David Krejci, Patrice Bergeron, David Backes and Brad Marchand all under contract through at least 2020-21. They may not be able to afford buying out UFA years this summer, meaning a one or two year pact is more likely.

Pacific Division Snapshots: Russell, Kassian, Hertl

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Kris Russell was believed to be one of the top free agent blue liners available this summer and was expected to land a lucrative multi-year contract as a result. After all, Russell was just 29, an age still young enough to reasonably expect that a long-term deal would include multiple campaigns of steady production before an inevitable age-related decline set in. Additionally, the former Flame had posted a 34-point campaign as recently as 2014-15, suggesting Russell would be able to contribute some offense from either a team’s second or third pairing. However Russell remained available deep into the offseason before inking a one-year, $3.1MM pact with Edmonton, which made him just the fifth highest-paid defender on the Oilers.

Much of the reason for Russell’s stagnant summer market is due to the wide chasm in the analytics community regarding the defenseman’s actual value, as the Edmonton Journal’s David Staples opines. Staples writes that analysts who favor possession-based metrics have never thought highly of Russell’s work while others who rely more on tracking “the individual actions of players in game, such as zone entries, crucial good and bad defensive and offensive plays, and shots and passes that lead to scoring chances,” like Edmonton GM Peter Chiarelli for example, rate Russell more favorably.

Essentially, the former sees Russell as nothing more than a competent third-pair defenseman, one who excels at blocking shots and plays a physical game and should be compensated as such. The latter would be comfortable putting Russell out on their second-pair and paying him accordingly. Edmonton clearly saw Russell as a top-four option and has awarded him with ice time commensurate of such. Currently, he is averaging nearly 21 1/2 minutes per game, two minutes more than his career average.

What remains to be seen, however, is how much effort, if any, the Oilers put into extending Russell prior to July 1st when he becomes a UFA again. The team is projected to have more than $19MM in cap space available and only Leon Draisaitl stands out as a pending free agent that will warrant a hefty outlay. But Edmonton is just one summer away from Connor McDavid becoming a restricted free agent and may wish to keep as much cap space available to get what is likely going to be an expensive long-term deal done with their franchise player. That could limit their interest in a reunion with Russell to a one-year term and the veteran defenseman may not be amenable to another short-term pact.

Elsewhere in the Pacific Division:

  • Staying with Edmonton, it was one year ago nearly to the day that Chiarelli swung a deal with Montreal to acquire physical forward Zack Kassian. Kassian had just completed a suspension for violating the league’s substance abuse policy and while the trade was certainly a risk for Edmonton, 12 months later the gamble is paying off for both the team and the player, as Terry Jones of the Edmonton Journal writes. While Kassian is not lighting up the score sheet with just two goals and nine points in 33 games this season, Chiarelli says the power forward is playing well: “He’s kept clean. He’s in terrific shape. He’s settled down. And at some point he’ll start scoring. He’s playing well. He’s skating. He’s providing the physical element.” Kassian was originally selected the 13th overall by Buffalo in the first-round of the 2009 draft but was dealt to Vancouver during his rookie campaign for Cody Hodgson. His best season came in 2013-14 when the 6-foot-3, 217-pound forward tallied 14 goals and 29 points with 124 penalty minutes in 73 games for the Canucks. It’s certainly possible Kassian can match or even better those numbers playing on a skilled Oilers team headlined by McDavid, Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
  • Perhaps a bit of good news for San Jose as young winger Tomas Hertl was spotted this morning skating for the first time since undergoing knee surgery. Kevin Kurz of CSN Bay Area tweeted a photo of Hertl on the ice, apparently by himself. He’s still expected to be out for a while but this at least suggests his recovery is moving along relatively well. Hertl appeared in 17 games for the Sharks before the injury and registered four goals and nine points.

Snapshots: Oilers, NHL Debuts, Blackhawks, Laine

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The last time the Oilers beat the Blues in St. Louis, Nikolai Khabibulin made 43 saves and the Oilers won 3-0. The Oilers then-top line of Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Jordan Eberle combined for eight points. That was in March of 2013.

Since then, the Oilers have lost four straight in St. Louis by a combined score of 17-8. But last night, the Oilers came back twice from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits to win 3-2 in overtime. The Oilers moved Nugent-Hopkins, normally a center, to the right wing on a line with Leon Draisaitl and Patrick Maroon, and were rewarded with the tying and winning goal from them. The St. Louis-native Maroon tipped in a shot in the third period, leading to a feel-good moment after the game when he was asked about his son, who lives in St. Louis, cheering him on.

Nugent-Hopkins was set up by Connor McDavid in overtime and the Oilers got the victory. TSN’s Ryan Rishaug appeared on Edmonton radio on Tuesday morning and said this about the win: “to be down multiple times to that team in a building where they never win… that’s definitely a ’big boy’ win. They didn’t come by that one easily.”

McDavid and Draisaitl now have a combined 70 points this season, the highest of any duo in the NHL. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are second with 68 points.

  • The Tampa Bay Lightning have dealt with quite a few injuries this season, but out of injury springs opportunity. Jonathan Drouin has stepped up lately, and now there’s opportunity for Tanner Richard to appear in his first NHL game. Richard was initially supposed to make his NHL debut on Saturday night, but his plane was delayed in New York, which lead to him missing his connecting flight to Edmonton. With no chance of making it to Alberta for game time, Ricard was sent back to Syracuse. Richard told Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times that he was “devastated” to miss the game, but had an inkling that he could be recalled for Tuesday. When asked what he expects to bring to the Lightning lineup, Richard said “I’m pretty hated by most teams in the AHL, so that tells me I’m doing an alright job being a little rat.” Richard will play with Brayden Point and J.T. Brown on the fourth line.
  • Also making his NHL debut tonight is Pat Cannone. The 30-year-old center has played 377 games in the AHL, notching 222 points. As Michael Russo put it, the debut will be one for the aged. Cannone has 16 points in 28 games for the Iowa Wild so far this season. Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said “Hey listen, I was in the minors so long, anytime you can bring up a young man to give him a shot at the NHL, I think it’s great.”
  • According to Mark Lazerus, Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford is taking part in the team’s morning skate. We reported yesterday that Crawford could start as soon as Friday, which would be under three weeks since his appendectomy. Coach Joel Quenneville said he would like to see Crawford take part in a full practice before returning. While a morning skate is not as intense as a regular practice, it’s still a good step in the road back for Crawford.
  • Notably absent from Chicago’s morning skate is center Artem Anisimov. Anisimov missed the Blackhawks previous game, and it’s not known if he will be in the lineup tonight versus the Senators. So far this season, he has 27 points in 34 games, which puts him on pace to easily surpass his previous career high of 42 which he set last season.
  • After his gorgeous goal on Sunday night versus the Avalanche, where he one-timed a Mark Scheifele pass on a two-on-one, Patrik Laine told a Finnish newspaper that “from a chance like that, I will score 99 times out of 100. The stick will break once.” Laine has 18 goals and 29 points, one behind Scheifele for the Jets’ lead, and five points clear of Auston Matthews for the rookie scoring lead.

Evening Snapshots: Spectacular Sophomores, Hartman

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

  • The Hockey News’ Jared Clinton makes his case for five players who avoided the dreaded sophomore slump this season. At the top of his list is Edmonton’s Connor McDavid, who Clinton writes is the reason for the Oilers’ turnaround this season. Had it not been for the clavicle injury last season, McDavid would have had one of the best back-to-back seasons that rivaled Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin. Next is the Blackhawks’ Artemi Panarin, who Clinton believes the Hawks have to absolutely re-sign at all costs. That would certainly cause some financial posturing, but he believes Panarin to be a devastating personnel loss should he go elsewhere. The Winnipeg Jets’ Nikolaj Ehlers, the Hurricanes’ Jaccob Slavin, and the Blues’ Colton Parayko round out Clinton’s top five.
  • The Blackhawks have been on a tear lately and rookie Ryan Hartman has been one of the brightest spots for Chicago. Chris Hine writes that the young forward has learned quite a bit about being more patient on the ice and not corralling penalties as he would have in the past. Hine describes him as an irritant, there’s a reason for Hartman’s change of play:

“You have an opportunity to play in the NHL and be in the lineup every night. If you’re going to take penalties and do that kind of stuff, you’re not going to be in the lineup for long,” Hartman said. “I just try to stay out of the box as much as possible, and it related to me being on the ice more.”

Drawing penalties instead of causing them has been a boon for the Hawks and the young forward. He’s also shown a knack for scoring timely goals. Hartman notched the winner against San Jose on Sunday night and already has six on the season. Playing for a coach known to favor veterans, Hartman is making the most of his chance and certainly justifying his playing time from Joel Quenneville.

Snapshots: Crawford, Tavares, Lucic

at CDT | by 2 Comments

The Chicago Blackhawks could be getting a nice early Christmas gift on Friday night.

Despite having an appendectomy just two weeks ago, Corey Crawford has progressed enough in his recovery that he may start on Friday night against the Colorado Avalanche. Coach Joel Quenneville told Chris Hine that he would like to see Crawford get in a full practice before returning to the lineup.

The Blackhawks are off on Monday after playing back-to-back on the weekend, however Crawford will skate on his own. Backup Scott Darling has played the majority of games since Crawford has been out, including both games over the weekend. Darling is 6-2-1 since taking over from Crawford, which includes his current five-game winning streak.

  • Glen Schiller and Jamie McLennan on TSN’s That’s Hockey 2Nite discussed if there is any reason why John Tavares would want to re-sign with the Islanders. The Islanders have been “a mess” this year, following up a 100-point season with a 74-point pace. With the Metropolitan Division being the best division in hockey this year, there’s essentially no way the Islanders can climb back into the playoff picture without a 15-game winning streak. McLennan points to the free agency departure of Kyle Okposo, who had great chemistry with Tavares, and the struggles of his replacement, Andrew Ladd. Both players signed for similar contracts, but the Islanders chose the older player with no history with their superstar over the younger, right-handed player with years of success on Tavares’ wing. Tavares, McLennan argues, must be wondering who he would play with consistently and could look forward to playing with years from now if he signed an eight-year contract.
  • Over at OilersNation, Jonathan Willis wonders why the Oilers have not tried separating Milan Lucic and Connor McDavid to boost McDavid’s scoring. While he’s still leading the NHL in scoring by two points with 39 points in 33 games, he has just one even-strength assist in his last eight games. Lucic has just one goal in nine games this month. Despite Lucic’s struggles, the only changes made on the top line have been on the right side. Jesse Puljujärvi, Drake Caggiula, Jordan Eberle, Tyler Pitlick, and Leon Draisaitl have all had time with Lucic and McDavid, with varying degrees of success. Willis suggests moving Lucic to play with Draisaitl on the second line and bumping one of Benoit Pouliot or Patrick Maroon up to the top line; Willis points to chemistry between Draisaitl and Lucic and the dramatically better scoring numbers of when playing with McDavid as evidence of the merit of his suggestion.

Snapshots: Sabres, McDavid, Meier, Burakovsy

at CDT | by 2 Comments

The Buffalo Sabres will be getting back a defenseman soon.

NHL Buffalo correspondent Joe Yerdon reported that one Sabres coach Dan Bylsma expects one of Zach Bogosian or Taylor Fedun to travel with the team on their upcoming road trip. Meanwhile, injured forward Tyler Ennis is skating on his own as he makes his way back from groin surgery. Bogosian and Ennis have been out since early November, while Fedun has been out since the beginning of December.

The Sabres host the New York Islanders on Friday night, so new Sabres winger Kyle Okposo will face his former team for the first time after nine years on Long Island/ Brooklyn. Okposo leads the Sabres in scoring with 21 points in 29 games, while his replacement on the Islanders, Andrew Ladd, has just seven points in that stretch. Okposo’s 21 points would rank second on the Islanders, behind only John Tavares.

  • Edmonton Oilers center and budding superstar Connor McDavid should win the Hart Trophy, argues Ryan Lambert of Puck Daddy. Lambert took a look at the Oilers advanced stats with McDavid on the ice compared to when he’s not on the ice, and it isn’t pretty: when McDavid isn’t on the ice, the Oilers are in the bottom-half in every category for each stat for all teams from 2007-2016, but jump to mostly the top end (including some NHL bests) when McDavid is on the ice. Lambert compares McDavid’s affect to that of Taylor Hall’s tenure in Edmonton, in that the Oilers are awful without but the player is so strong that he lifts them to respectability. David Staples of the Edmonton Journal suggests that the Oilers need Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jordan Eberle to “twist the throttle harder” in order to boost their scoring numbers. Eberle has 23 points in 32 games but could have more, having missed some glorious opportunities while being set up by McDavid; Nugent-Hopkins has struggled with a 5.7% shooting percentage and 15 points in 32 game. More was expected from the pair of $6MM men to help mitigate the loss of Hall.
  • San Jose Sharks rookie Timo Meier will play his first NHL game on Friday night in Montreal, according to lineups posted by TSN 690’s Amanda Stein. Meier, who played junior in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, has 15 points in 17 games in the AHL so far this season. He was the Sharks’ first pick, ninth overall, in the 2015 NHL draft.
  • The Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan reports that the Capitals have no timetable for getting Andre Burakovsky back into the lineup. Burakovsky was a healthy scratch in the Capital’s last game, a 4-2 win over the Islanders. He has just two goals and 10 points in 28 games this season.

Snapshots: Best Player, Lightning, Darling

at CDT | by 2 Comments

Who is the best player in the NHL right now? If you were to ask 100 people, in 100 different cities you might get 100 (okay, maybe you’d get five) different answers. The debate between Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid has been raging since the young Oiler hit the ice last season. Could he immediately take the mantle of the NHL’s top dog?

ESPN posed the question to several other players around the league, and it’s a resounding win for the old-timer. Here is a taste of some of the quotes:

Oh, Sidney Crosby. I’m a Sidney Crosby fan. He’s ultracompetitive. Great speed, great shot, great passer. — Joe Thornton, San Jose Sharks

Sid is playing great, but man, Connor McDavid is good, oh my God. But I still think today. … I’ve got to say I still think Sid. It’s tough but I really do. — Zach Parise, Minnesota Wild

I think Sidney Crosby has established himself with what he’s doing right now. It’s amazing to see how he just does whatever he needs to do. — Shane Doan, Arizona Coyotes

While McDavid does get some love, the overwhelming sentiment seems to be that Crosby is still at the top of the NHL food chain. Perhaps in a year or two things will be different, but for now it’s still the soft spoken kid from Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia.

  • In a piece for the Chicago Sun Times, Mark Lazerus profiles backup goaltender Scott Darling and the Blackhawks upcoming decision on whether they can afford to extend him in the summer. Darling will be an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career, and is showing that he may be ready to be a starter somewhere in the league. While even Darling says Chicago is “bar none, the best place to be” a backup, the intrigue of perhaps becoming “the guy” somewhere else is still there. With Corey Crawford entrenched as the starter in Chicago, and the team needing every penny it can save to re-sign sniper Artemi Panarin this summer, Darling’s time is likely running out.
  • Pierre LeBrun of ESPN caught up with Steve Yzerman for his latest piece, discussing the struggling Tampa Bay Lightning and what they may be after on the trade market. While Yzerman knows better than to say exactly what he wants, LeBrun opines that the team is after a top-four defenseman. It doesn’t seem like anything is imminent however, as Yzerman frustratingly tells LeBrun, “as I’ve said time and time again, I’ve got to find someone who’s willing to work with me.” For the Stamkos-less Lightning, it has been a struggle of late, losing seven of their last eight games with only a shootout victory over the Capitals during that stretch. At 30 points, they’re only four points behind Boston for a playoff spot, but also only two from last place in the division.

This Week In Hockey Blogging: A Dozen Articles To Read

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Here are a handful of articles from various hockey bloggers this week:

Winging It In Motown looks at the ongoing discussion of toughness in the NHL and how it’s unfairly used to criticize players.

Pension Plan Puppets  closely scout Auston Matthews.

Lighthouse Hockey likens their Islanders to the Walking Dead and take a deep dive into how the Islanders got to where they are.

The Committed Indian examines how the salary cap has created the parity intended, but in a ho-hum way.

Raw Charge analyzes Tampa Bay’s problem with developing first round draft picks.

Down Goes Brown lists the ten lies that every hockey fan is guilty of reciting.

Blueshirt Banter talked to Ryan McDonagh about the team and the season so far.

Bleedin Blue suggests that the Blues look into why they’re struggling so much on the road.

Copper and Blue discusses everything from Connor McDavid’s wingers to players in Bakersfield who should see time with the big club down the road.

Pensburgh compares Bryan Rust’s three-goal performance to a legendary Penguin’s five goal performance.

Hockey Wilderness  suggests two players for Chuck Fletcher to acquire.

Finally, Canucks Army offers advice to ownership: new management.

We’re always looking to add to the list. Tweet us some articles you like @prohockeyrumors or let us know through our comments section.

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

scroll to top