Connor Murphy

Brent Seabrook, Calvin De Haan Out For The Season

December 27, 2019 at 4:50 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 7 Comments

Friday: In an update, the Blackhawks announced that both Seabrook and de Haan have undergone successful surgery. The recovery timeline for de Haan will be four to five months, while Seabrook’s will be revealed after he undergoes additional surgeries on his hips.

Thursday: The status quo in Chicago will shift dramatically when the team returns to action. The Blackhawks have announced that two of their starting defensemen will miss the remainder of the season due to injury. Both Brent Seabrook and Calvin de Haan will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery. Seabrook will also have surgery on both hips. The duo have been placed on Long-Term Injured Reserve.

This singular announcement means that one-third of the Blackhawks’ starting blue line is now out of action for the rest of the year. Seabrook and de Haan are not exactly offensive dynamos, combining for just ten points so far this year. However, their defensive presence will be missed. De Haan leads the team in both hits and blocked shots, and Seabrook is among the the best on the team in both categories as well. The pair also chew up considerable minutes, with each averaging nearly 20 minutes per game this season. While Chicago is not without hope on the back end, with Duncan Keith, Connor Murphy, Olli Maatta, sand Erik Gustafsson still present on a deep unit, but these losses will nevertheless still be felt.

Also on the sidelines for Chicago is Brandon Saad, announced as missing the next three weeks with a right ankle injury. Saad, while underwhelming so far this season, is still the Blackhawks’ second-leading goal-scorer and fifth in points on the team. With the Blackhawks already in the basement of the Central Division and now missing Saad for several weeks and Seabrook and de Haan for the rest of the year, today’s announcement will more or less mark the end of Chicago’s season, barring an unexpected boost in the absence of their established veterans.

Minor Transactions: 11/16/19

November 16, 2019 at 9:25 am CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

It’s a very busy Saturday in the NHL today as 30 of 31 teams are in action with Columbus being the lone squad with a night off following their overtime victory over St. Louis last night. There is only one other time where that will happen this season and that’s on April 4th (where Columbus will once again be the only squad not playing). There will likely be plenty of roster movement around the league as a result of the 15 games on the schedule and we’ll keep track of those here.

The Penguins announced that they have recalled center Joseph Blandisi from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on an emergency basis. This will be his second stint with Pittsburgh this season after he collected a goal and an assist in a seven-game stint last month. The 25-year-old has played in 87 games over his NHL career and has been reasonably productive overall in that span with 28 points under his belt. To make room for Blandisi on the roster, the team has transferred Sidney Crosby to injured reserve as he’s expected to miss at least six weeks after undergoing core muscle surgery earlier this week.
With Washington only having enough cap room to dress 11 forwards (with seven defensemen) last night, they’ve announced some roster shuffling to get them a 12th forward. Blueliner Tyler Lewington and goalie Ilya Samsonov have been assigned to Hershey (AHL) while center Travis Boyd and goalie Vitek Vanecek have been recalled. Samsonov has fared well with the Capitals this season but makes a bit over $200K more than Vanecek so sending him down temporarily at least gives them the short-term ability to dress the usual number of forwards.
The Chicago Blackhawks announced they have activated defenseman Connor Murphy off of long-term injured reserve. The 26-year-old blueliner has been out 11 games with a groin injury, but is ready to return to action Saturday against the Predators. Murphy has no points in six games this season, but should help the team’s defense.
The Colorado Avalanche announced they have assigned defenseman Kevin Connauton to the Colorado Eagles of the AHL. Connauton was recalled Tuesday and played Thursday against Edmonton where he played 17:14.

Adam Boqvist Returned To AHL

November 14, 2019 at 9:50 am CDT | by Gavin Lee Leave a Comment

The Chicago Blackhawks will be getting Connor Murphy back soon, meaning they had to move out one of their defensemen. They’ve decided that will be 19-year old Adam Boqvist, who has been reassigned to the Rockford IceHogs after six games with the NHL club. Since Boqvist didn’t play in ten games, his entry-level contract is still eligible to slide another year. That is assuming of course that he doesn’t return at some point later in the season.

Boqvist made quite an impact in his short time in Chicago, scoring his first NHL goal and generally looking dynamic whenever the puck was on his stick. Some of the expected troubles in the defensive zone were apparent, but his overall impact will likely be judged as positive.

That’s a strong sign for his future in the NHL, given that he is still young enough to be playing junior hockey. The eighth overall pick from 2018 is a key building block for the Blackhawks’ future.

Injury Updates: Larsson, Murphy, Hagelin, Lewis

November 9, 2019 at 1:59 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

The Oilers have been without blueliner Adam Larsson after he sustained a broken leg in the first game of the season (one that he played through for two periods) but it appears that he’s getting closer to returning. He told Postmedia’s Jim Matheson that he feels he’s a bit ahead of schedule and is hoping to return in about a week and a half. Larsson is presently on Long-Term Injured Reserve (LTIR) but as Edmonton is currently in salary cap compliance even if he was back on their books, they won’t have to make any moves to activate him when he gets the green light to return.

More injury notes around the league:

Blackhawks defenseman Connor Murphy appears to be on track to be activated off LTIR on November 16th, notes Jimmy Greenfield of the Chicago Tribune. That’s the first day he’s eligible to come off as he has to miss at least ten games or 24 days. The veteran has skated a couple of times in recent days as he works his way back from a groin injury. Murphy has been an important part of Chicago’s back end as they’ve won just 12 of 39 games that he has missed over the past two seasons while posting a .578 points percentage when he has been in the lineup.
Capitals winger Carl Hagelin won’t play tonight due to an upper-body injury, reports Samantha Pell of the Washington Post. Hagelin didn’t miss any action during his last game on Thursday and head coach Todd Reirden indicated the issue was discovered on Friday. He’s currently listed as day-to-day. With Richard Panik eligible to return off LTIR on Monday and Washington’s tenuous salary cap situation, Hagelin’s issue, even though it appears to be minor, could complicate things for them on the cap compliance front.
The Kings will be without forward Trevor Lewis for today’s game against Montreal at the very least but head coach Todd McLellan told reporters, including Jon Rosen of LA Kings Insider, that Lewis will be out longer than originally anticipated though he didn’t specify how long he’ll be out. Lewis sustained the lower-body injury early in Thursday’s overtime loss to Ottawa.

Connor Murphy Placed On LTIR

October 23, 2019 at 4:12 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee Leave a Comment

The Chicago Blackhawks will be without Connor Murphy for the next while and have placed him on long-term injured reserve with a groin injury. That means he will have to miss a minimum of ten games and 24 days. The team has recalled Dennis Gilbert from the AHL in the meantime, and acquired Ian McCoshen from Florida last night.

Murphy hasn’t been quite the player that the Blackhawks hoped for when they acquired him from the Arizona Coyotes in 2017, but he was still logging more than 21 minutes a night this season in the five games for which he was (relatively) healthy. The 26-year old never developed a ton of offensive ability but can still use his long reach and physicality to shut down things in the defensive zone.

The Blackhawks have revamped a large part of their defense this season with the additions of Calvin de Haan, Olli Maatta and Slater Koekkoek, and will now have to rely on the newcomers even more.

Gilbert, who was picked in the third round of the 2015 draft, has only played two games in his NHL career so far, but is still an interesting prospect for the Blackhawks. A solid presence on the Notre Dame blueline, it will be interesting to see if he gets much of an opportunity in Murphy’s absence.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Chicago Blackhawks

September 1, 2019 at 4:29 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 5 Comments

Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM. Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2019-20 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

Chicago Blackhawks

Current Cap Hit: $78,163,461 (under the $81.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Kirby Dach (three years, $925K)
F Dominik Kubalik (one year, $925K)
F Anton Wedin (one year, $925K)
D Adam Boqvist (three years, $894K)
F Dylan Strome (one year, $863K)
F Alexander Nylander (two years, $863K)
F Alex DeBrincat (one year, $778K)

Potential Bonuses

Dach: $2.5MM
Strome: $2.48MM
Nylander: $850K
Kubalik: $850K
Boqvist: $850K
DeBrincat: $33K

The Blackhawks have done quite a bit of work to bring in a number of top players on entry-level contracts over the past few years in hopes of taking a team that was loaded with high-priced, aging talent and getting them back into playoff contention. They have hit the jackpot with DeBrincat, who immediately stepped onto the ice and has been a phenomenal top-six player for the past two years, scoring 69 goals so far, including a key 41-goal season last year. The diminutive winger was passed up by many teams in the 2016 draft and has proven that his size isn’t an issue on the team. The only problem is that his entry-level deal will be up at the end of the season, meaning the Blackhawks will likely have to pay a high price to lock him up. Strome, in the meantime, has been a solid trade acquisition. The top prospect, who couldn’t seem be able to turn the corner in the pros, broke out once arriving in Chicago, putting up 17 goals and 51 points in 58 games. If he can produce at a similar level, the Blackhawks will have to offer pay up again, giving them two potential significant contracts the team will have to pay out one year from now.

Chicago also is banking on a number of their draft picks to make an impact. Dach, the third-overall pick in this year’s draft, could be an option for the team if he can prove he’s ready for NHL action now, but with a number of young forwards pushing for playing time on their roster, he’d have to dominate and prove he might be ready to assume a third-line center position. Boqvist, the team’s eighth-overall pick in 2018, will challenge for playing time as well, but could just as easily spend time in the AHL to get used to playing against adults for part of the season first. Regardless, the team has two core pieces that are close to joining the organization.

General manager Stan Bowman has also made an effort in bringing in talent from outside the organization as the team has brought in a pair of prospects over from Europe in Wedin and Kubalik. The 26-year-old Wedin broke out in his rookie season in the SHL with 14 goals, while Kubalik scored 25 goals and 57 points in 50 games in the NLA. The team also surprised a few people earlier this summer when it traded top defensive prospect Henri Jokiharju to Buffalo for Alexander Nylander. The team hopes to get Nylander going as the eighth-overall pick in 2016 has so far struggled with consistency in three AHL seasons.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

G Corey Crawford ($6MM, UFA)
G Robin Lehner ($5MM, UFA)
F Drake Caggiula ($1.5MM, RFA)
D Erik Gustafsson ($1.2MM, UFA)
D Slater Koekkoek ($925K, RFA)

The team did a phenomenal job of bringing in some goaltending help by stealing away UFA goaltender Lehner with a one-year, $5MM deal. That’s a steal if Lehner can produce anything close to last year’s numbers of a 2.13 GAA and .930 save percentage in 46 games. The 2018-19 Jennings and Masterton Trophy winner last year, Lehner can stabilize the Blackhawks goaltending situation, which has struggled due to concussion issues that Crawford has sustained over the past two years. Without Crawford, the team has struggled in goal. The hope is that both will be healthy this year and can share the workload, but if Crawford has trouble getting on the ice again, Chicago can now turn to Lehner. With both players down to one year remaining before unrestricted free agency, the Blackhawks can look at how both players fare this year and offer a long-term deal to the player they feel can best help them in the future.

The team may have their most challenging decision to make about Gustafsson next season. The rising defenseman put up impressive numbers in a full season last year after looking sharp in the second-half of 2017-18. The 27-year-old scored 17 goals and 60 points and if he can duplicate a season like that could find himself to be one of the most marketable UFA blueliners next year. With the Blackhawks having to hand out big contracts to DeBrincat and Strome, the team may have to move Gustafsson at the trade deadline or let him go at the end of the season for nothing.

Two Years Remaining

F Brandon Saad ($6MM, UFA)
F Zack Smith ($3.25MM, UFA)
F David Kampf ($1MM, RFA)
D Carl Dahlstrom ($850K, RFA)
F Dylan Sikura ($750K, RFA)
F John Quenneville ($750K, RFA)

The team has two contracts that they might want to see gone soon. The team re-acquired Saad back in 2017 in hopes of bringing back a big-time goal scorer. However, Saad hasn’t been nearly as dominant since returning, although he did rebound with a 23-goal campain last season. However at $6MM AAV, Saad could easily be a candidate to move on from when they need to free up some extra cash next offseason. Smith is in a similar situation. The team acquired Smith this summer in a swap of bad contracts as the team managed to unload Artem Anisimov. Smith, however, scored just nine goals last season in Ottawa and could have a hard time locking down a spot in the bottom-six with so many younger players pushing for playing time.

The team can only hope that some of their younger players like Sikura and the newly acquired Quenneville can contribute immediately, but both would have to take their game up a notch to prove themselves at the NHL level. Sikura, signed out of Northeastern University after the 2018 season, fared well in the AHL, but failed to register a goal in 33 games with the Blackhawks. The team also hopes that Kampf and Dahlstrom can prove themselves in their lineup.

Three Years Remaining

D Calvin de Haan ($4.55MM, UFA)
D Olli Maatta ($4.08MM, UFA)
D Connor Murphy ($3.85MM, UFA)
F Andrew Shaw ($3.9MM, UFA)
F Ryan Carpenter ($1MM, UFA)
G Collin Delia ($1MM, UFA)

In hopes of improving its defense, the team went out and acquired a pair of defenders in de Haan and Maatta over the summers. The Blackhawks picked up de Haan from Carolina and while he’s currently dealing with a shoulder injury and isn’t expected to start the season, he has proven to be a solid defender for years and should upgrade the team’s top-four. The team also moved some of its young forward depth by sending Dominik Kahun to Pittsburgh to get the defensive-minded Maatta. The two veteran blueliners should bolster a defense that had plenty of issues over the past few years. However, both come with significant contracts, especially if either defenseman struggles to succeed in Chicago. The team also has Murphy, who the team acquired two years ago from Arizona, who has three years remaining and has found himself a solid contributor on the team’s blueline.

The team also has acquired Shaw this summer to improve their depth in hopes of getting Chicago back in the playoffs. The former Blackhawk should add a significant presence on their bottom-six and add an element of physicality to the team. Carpenter, signed away from Vegas, should also improve the team’s bottom-six.

Four Or More Years Remaining

F Patrick Kane ($10.5MM through 2022-23)
F Jonathan Toews ($10.5MM through 2022-23)
D Brent Seabrook ($6.88MM through 2023-24)
D Duncan Keith ($5.54MM through 2022-23)

Things will likely change next season, but Chicago’s four biggest contracts haven’t changed with all of them, minus Seabrook’s, down to four more years and starting to look more and more manageable. Kane continues to amaze at age 30 as he posted 44 goals and a career-high in points with 110. His contract doesn’t even look like it’s a questionable one. The 31-year-old Toews also had a resurgent season as he tallied a career-high 35 goals and 81 points, showing that as long as he has talented players around him, he is more than capable of justifying his $10.5MM AAV.

Keith is somewhat of a different story. He’s 36 now and will be 40 when his contract ends and while there has been an evident decline, the veteran has still shown that he’s a solid defender, scoring six goals and 40 points last year and is averaging more than 23 minutes of ice time a game still. The question will be how long can Keith keep up those numbers and will his game decline even more over the next couple of years. Seabrook, however, has that extra season on his deal as he is locked up for five more years. At 34-year-old, Seabrook has seen an obvious decline that even saw his minutes drop under 20 minutes a game for the first time in his career, not a good sign when the team has him under contract until 2024. The team can only hope that he can come back and prove that he still has the skills to be a top-four defenseman.

Buyouts

None

Retained Salary Transactions

None

Still To Sign

F Brendan Perlini

Chicago still has one restricted free agent and must find a number that will make the youngster happy, but considering his inconsistent season, the team may have some trouble figuring out how much to pay him. Perlini, also acquired with Strome in the Nick Schmaltz trade during the season last year, struggled at first in Chicago, but finally broke out in March with eight goals and 10 points in 13 games. A one-year or bridge deal would be the most likely course of action to see whether Perlini’s late success can be duplicated. The former first-round pick from 2014 could be a major asset if Chicago can get the most out of the team.

Best Value: Lehner
Worst Value: Seabrook

Looking Ahead

The Blackhawks have done quite a bit in the last year to improve their team with the hopes of getting their veteran core back in the playoffs once again after a two-year absence. Chicago has added a bunch of veteran players and young and cheap roster additions that should be able to turn their team around. The key, of course, is the team needs their veterans to continue to thrive, while their younger players must continue to improve. On top of that, the Blackhawks must hope that a number of their roster additions can take that next step in their development and prove to be valuable to the team’s overall depth.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Morning Notes: Dzingel, Hall, Kadri

July 7, 2019 at 9:48 am CDT | by Zach Leach 4 Comments

Ryan Dzingel is arguably the top remaining unrestricted free agent, ranked No. 12 overall by PHR and the leading scorer this past season among all available names. Yet, there’s been surprisingly little noise surrounding Dzingel, a 27-year-old coming off of a career high’s across the board. The New York Post’s Larry Brooks writes that some teams are skeptical about Dzingel’s potential for production, not based on his year overall but rather his late-season stint with the Columbus Blue Jackets. After being moved at the NHL Trade Deadline by the Ottawa Senators, Dzingel recorded just 12 points in 21 games with Columbus and eventually lost the trust of the coaching staff in the postseason, with one point in nine games earning him a healthy scratch. Brooks remarks that the Blue Jackets’ lack of interest in retaining Dzingel, a former star at nearby Ohio State University, is one of several “red flags” for the young winger this off-season.

It’s likely that price is playing a role in Dzingel’s market as well. After a 56-point campaign, Dzingel’s camp was though to be seeking a $5MM AAV over a long-term contract. In a vacuum, that would seem to be a fair offer, but in a market where many teams are closer to the salary cap limit than expected, a player who is coming off a disappointing final few months of the season may need to lower his expectations. That rings especially true if he wants to land with one of his reported top destinations and a team known to have interest, the Chicago Blackhawks. Dzingel is an Illinois native and his skill set would seem to fit in perfectly with his hometown Blackhawks, who could still use another top-six winger. However, The Chicago Sun-Times’ Ben Pope writes that the team would have to move out a player, likely Artem Anisimov or Connor Murphy, to accommodate Dzingel’s salary demands. Until that happens, Pope cites GM Stan Bowman, who recently said his roster is “pretty full” and currently only in need of “housekeeping”. That doesn’t mean that Chicago, whose off-season moves have pointed toward a deep desire to return to contender status, will not continue to pursue Dzingel, but it may prove too difficult at his current asking price. If the scoring winger wants to ensure he has a long-term fit in a place that he’d like to be, Dzingel could consider taking a lesser deal to join the Blackhawks.

Another team looking to return to the playoffs are the New Jersey Devils and GM Ray Shero and company have certainly done their part in that pursuit this summer, drafting Jack Hughes, trading for P.K. Subban, and signing Wayne Simmonds. While the ultimate goal is to become a contender as soon as possible, the more pressing need – also with that goal in mind – is to convince superstar forward Taylor Hall that New Jersey is a team worth staying with to win a Stanley Cup. Hall is an impending free agent next summer and could be in line for a record-breaking contract, whether he tests the open market or not. The Devils have the cap space to meet his salary demands, but needed to focus this off-season on improving the talent around him after a season in which the team finished well outside the playoff picture. On paper, New Jersey should return to relevance next season and early indications are that Hall is happy with the transformation. In an interview with TSN, the 2018 Hart Trophy winner said that seeing the summer used to improve the talent level of the team and inject new blood after a disappointing campaign is exactly what you want to see. He added that Shero asked his opinion of the Subban trade before it was made and that he was totally on board and excited to play with his fellow star. All signs point to Hall being in favor of these off-season changes and eager to get started with the new season. If the Devils perform to the level they should on paper, Hall will have much more reason to consider a long-term extension to stay in New Jersey.
New Colorado Avalanche center Nazem Kadri could have gone elsewhere if he wanted. The Toronto Sun’s Steve Simmons reports that Kadri flexed his No-Trade Clause to block a trade to the Calgary Flames. Even after taking calls from Flames GM Brad Treliving and head coach Bill Peters, Kadri nixed a deal that would have seen he and Connor Brown, now an Ottawa Senator, go to Calgary in exchange for T.J. Brodie and Mark Jankowski. Simmons did not explain why Kadri was anti-Calgary, but did note that the fit in Colorado is better. As for the end result for the Leafs, Tyson Barrie and Alexander Kerfoot are a better package, but cost the the team young defenseman Calle Rosen, who Simmons states they did not wish to move, as well as a third-round pick. Also, Brodie would have been a more affordable defenseman to re-sign compare to Barrie, who could very well price himself out of Toronto after one year. It’s a toss up on which deal would have been better had Kadri not put his foot down.

2019 Rosters Announced For CPHL

June 24, 2019 at 2:35 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 1 Comment

Last summer saw the launch of the Chicago Pro Hockey League (CPHL), a charitable offseason league meant to give fans a chance to see some of their favorite players for a reasonable price and give professionals a real game environment to hone their skills. Players like Vinnie Hinostroza and Ryan Hartman will return to the league this time around, though several other interesting names will be taking part. Perhaps most notable is Kendall Coyne-Schofield, who will be playing in the Pro Division after impressing at the All-Star festivities earlier this year. Coyne-Schofield has a long history of domination in women’s hockey, including seven World Championship medals, two Olympic medals and an Isobel Cup as NWHL champion this past season. She was also part of the recent boycott, which indicated that she and more than 200 other top women’s players will not play in the NWHL this year.

The full rosters:

Centric Wealth Management:

F Sean Dhooghe
F Anthony Louis
F T.J. Tynan
F Terry Broadhurst
F Chad Kolarik
F Vinnie Hinostroza
F Austin Wagner
F Bailey Conger
F Anders Bjork

D Robbie Russo
D Vas Kolias
D Bobby Nardella
D Graham Lillibridge
D Louie Belpedio

Chem Station/Delaney:

F Ryan Hartman
F Dan DeSalvo
F Owen Lindmark
F Cole Coskey
F Joe Widmar
F Nick Lappin
F James Sanchez
F Luke Sandler
F Matt Ustaski
F Michael Mersch

D Alex Vlasic
D Chris Joyaux
D Joey Keane
D Vincent LoVerde
D Jake McCabe
D Conor Allen

G Cam Rowe

Jack Phelan Auto Group:

F Sam Povorozniouk
F Thomas Di Pauli
F Sam Herr
F Christian Dvorak
F Michael Floodstrand
F Kendall Coyne-Schofield
F Jack Drury

D Alex Green
D Ivan Chukarov
D Connor Murphy
D Jake McLaughlin
D Connor Carrick

G Cody Karpinski

Warrior Hockey:

F Nick Schilkey
F Seamus Malone
F Scott Pooley
F Josh Nelson
F Brandon Bollig
F Jeff Kubiak
F Brandon Pirri
F Luke Toporowski
F Dave Gust

D Brennan Kapcheck
D Peter Tischke
D Vince Pedrie
D Colin Swoyer

G Alex Sakellaropoulos

Games will be played on Wednesday nights starting in July and proceeds will go to various charities including St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and Special Olympics Chicago.

Snapshots: Marchand, Tippett, Ruck

May 1, 2019 at 8:23 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 10 Comments

Boston Bruins agitator Brad Marchand was caught “punching” Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Scott Harrington in the back of the head as time expired on Game Three on Tuesday night. While unnecessary and unsportsmanlike, the NHL Department of Player Safety has decided that the otherwise innocuous play is not suspension-worthy. As The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline points out, there are no fines in the postseason, only suspensions, as players aren’t paid for playoff games and thus there is no mechanism for calculating fines. Even with Marchand’s track record, it would have been hard to imagine a postseason suspension for the incident as well. Commissioner Gary Bettman opined that Marchand should have received a penalty on the play, but given the timing of the incident and the result holding, it would not have made a difference. One might expect the Blue Jackets to thus police the situation themselves through the rest of the series, but Portzline believes that no retaliation is coming after speaking with several players. While Marchand is capable of getting fans riled up better than anyone in the league, it seems this issues could be over as soon as it began.

There have been rumors for some time that Dave Tippett has been itching to get back behind an NHL bench, despite his current adviser position with the Seattle expansion team, and he is now officially taking steps toward such a move. Sportsnet’s Elliott Friedman writes that Tippett has interviewed for the Buffalo Sabres head coaching vacancy, as some speculated he might. Tippett now joins Jacques Martin and less established options like Rikard Gronberg and Sheldon Keefe among Buffalo’s top options, according to Friedman. Tippett, who has nearly 20 year of NHL coaching experience, held both the head coach and VP of Hockey Operations positions with the Arizona Coyotes when he was last in the league in 2016-17 and would still be a great option for the Sabres even after a few years off.
After losing starting keeper Cayden Primeau to the pros after a remarkable year, Northeastern University was hoping that graduate goaltender Ryan Ruck may stay with the program to help bridge the gap. That won’t happen, as Colorado College announced today that they have received a commitment from Ruck to join the program as a graduate transfer. Although he played in only six games last season for the Huskies, Ruck was nearly unstoppable, posting a .956 save percentage and 1.01 GAA. Those numbers should give Ruck the leg up on the starter competition at Colorado College, who lost this year’s starter Alex Leclerc to the pros. Meanwhile, Northeastern will likely have to lean on true freshman Connor Murphy in net next season.

Snapshots: DeBrusk, Daley, Jokinen, Forsling

December 8, 2018 at 2:45 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

Bruins winger Jake DeBrusk will miss both games this weekend, notes Joe Haggerty of NBC Sports Boston. Head coach Bruce Cassidy noted that DeBrusk is “not feeling well physically” which has led to some speculation he may be dealing with a delayed onset of concussion symptoms after he took a puck to the head late last month; the winger indicated he wasn’t feeling particularly well on Thursday against Tampa Bay either. His absence will open up a spot for center Gemel Smith who was acquired via waivers earlier this week.

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