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Matt Murray (b. 1994)

Morning Notes: Doughty, Portland, Granato

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Start your engines Toronto Maple Leafs fans, because the speculative signings are about to get crazy. Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty was on TSN 1050 radio today and dropped a quote that will be shared all over the internet:

I think all of us Southern Ontario players, we secretly want to play for the Leafs, you know, we all have that kind of soft spot.

Doughty would go on to explain that he’s not sure how he would react to being that big of a “celebrity” in the city and said that’s the issue a lot of players have when deciding whether to sign with Toronto. Doughty of course plays in Los Angeles where he’s a small fish, but would become a megastar should he ever return to Ontario. The 27-year old defenseman has two years remaining on his current contract, and is set to become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2019.

  • The people of Portland, Maine will be getting a professional hockey team soon enough, as the parent company of the Philadelphia Flyers has purchased the defunct Alaska Aces of the ECHL and will move them to the northeastern city according to Dave Isaac of the Courier-Post. The team is still unnamed and will hope to have an NHL affiliation before long.
  • Don Granato will indeed join the Chicago Blackhawks coaching staff for the upcoming season, working with Joel Quenneville and the also-announced Ulf Samuelsson among others. It was reported last week that Granato was in the running for an assistant coaching job, after working with the University of Wisconsin this season.
  • Shelley Anderson spoke to the Pittsburgh Penguins today as they cleaned out their lockers, and shared a ton of interesting information. Not the least of which was that Matt Murray’s injury sustained in the warm up of game 1 of the playoffs was a torn hamstring, making it impossible for him to play through it.
  • Ottawa Senators GM Pierre Dorion is looking at all options when it comes to the draft, willing to move up or down in the first round according to Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia. Ottawa currently holds the 28th overall pick, but could potentially deal it for the right addition to their squad after going deep into the playoffs this season. With Erik Karlsson only under contract for another two seasons, they may feel pressure to go after a Cup run right now.

Pittsburgh Penguins Win The 2017 Stanley Cup

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After a back-and-forth battle and a goaltending showcase for the ages, the Pittsburgh Penguins finally broke a 0-0 tie with the Nashville Predators with 1:35 remaining in the third period of Game Six on Sunday night and added a empty netter with seconds left to take a 2-0 win and capture the 2017 Stanley Cup title. The Penguins successfully defended their 2016 championship to become the first team since the Detroit Red Wings in 1997 and 1998 to win back-to-back titles. It is the first time in the salary cap era of NHL hockey that any team has won consecutive Stanley Cups.

On their road to another championship, the Penguins entered as the #2 seed out of the Atlantic Division and wiped out the upstart Columbus Blue Jackets in just five games. Pittsburgh then took on the top-seeded Washington Capitals, knocking out the President’s Trophy-winners for the second straight season, in a hard-fought seven-game series. The Ottawa Senators, out of the Atlantic Division, also took the Penguins to a Game Seven in the Eastern Conference final, but again the Penguins were victorious. The Stanley Cup Final was a face-off against an unexpected opponent, a Nashville Predators team that had entered as the second wild card team in the Western Conference and the 16th-seed overall, but swept the powerhouse Chicago Blackhawks and beat both the St. Louis Blues and Anaheim Ducks in six games. The performance of the Predators and the enthusiasm of the city of Nashville should not be understated and will likely be how many remember the 2017 playoffs. However, the Penguins were too much for the Predators, outscoring Nashville 17-4 in their four wins, including a shutout in the series-clinching win on the road.

The Conn Smythe Trophy, awarded to the MVP of the Stanley Cup playoffs, was given to Sidney Crosby. The captain of the team and the NHL’s leading scorer, Crosby notched 8 goals and 19 assists on his way to the title. Crosby became just the third player to ever win back-to-back Conn Smythe Trophy’s, joining Bernie Parent and Penguins owner Mario Lemieux. Other standouts of the playoff run include Crosby’s partner in crime, Evgeni Malkin, who outscored the captain by one point to lead all postseason scorers with ten goals and 18 assists. Both goalies, veteran Marc-Andre Fleury and rookie Matt Murray were phenomenal, with Fleury winning nine games while Murray was sidelined, and the youngster taking over to win the final seven and take home his second Stanley Cup despite still being a rookie. Murray posted a .931 save percentage and 1.87 goals against average in 10 appearance as he continues to develop a legacy as a clutch performer. Chris Kunitz lifted the Stanley Cup for the fourth time, the most among active players, while on the flip side trade deadline acquisition Ron Hainsey, who at 35 years old had never even played in the postseason, made the most of his first appearance. Justin Schultz was incredible as the surrogate leader of the defense for the sidelined Kris Letang, as he fought through injuries himself and posted 12 points during the Cup run. And who could forget rookie Jake Guentzel, who led the team with 13 goals, including an amazing five game-winners. In an ironic twist, Patric Hornqvist the final pick of the NHL Draft by the Nashville Predators in the same year that Crosby went #1, got the game winning goal to deny his former franchise their first ever Stanley Cup.

The frightening part for NHL fans is that, unlike their dynastic rivals in Chicago among others, the Penguins should remain largely intact heading into 2017-18. Fleury will likely be gone, but is no longer the starter anyway. Several veteran defenseman and bottom-six forwards could go as well, but Pittsburgh will for the most part return at full strength in October as they look to keep this incredible streak going. Crosby is still just 29 years old and he and the Penguins are far from finished. Congratulations to the 2017 Stanley Cup champs from the staff at PHR.

Expansion Primer: Pittsburgh Penguins

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Over the next few weeks we will be breaking down each team’s situation as it pertains to the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft. Which players are eligible, and which will likely warrant protection or may be on the block. Each team is required to submit their protection lists by 4pm CDT on June 17th. The full rules on eligibility can be found here, and CapFriendly has provided a handy expansion tool to make your own lists.

With the Penguins up two games to zero in the Stanley Cup Finals, the team’s success under the guidance of GM Jim Rutherford cannot be understated. Potential back-to-back championships following a long list of playoff disappointments and identity crises would all but erase the sting of many poor management decisions under former GM Ray Shero.

After the acquisition of Phil Kessel, the team has not looked back in the slightest offensively. They sat out and relished their summer last off-season with minimal movement, but this year Rutherford has decisions to make. Although the makeup of the team will surely be different come October, there are many options to be considered.

Eligible Players (Non-UFA)

Forwards:

Sidney Crosby (NMC), Evgeni Malkin (NMC), Phil Kessel (NMC), Patric Hornqvist, Carl Hagelin, Bryan Rust, Tom Kuhnhackl, Scott Wilson, Josh Archibald (RFA), Oskar Sundqvist (RFA), Jean-Sebastien Dea (RFA)

Defense:

Kris Letang (NMC), Olli Maatta, Ian Cole, Brian Dumoulin (RFA), Derrick Pouliot (RFA), Justin Schultz (RFA), Frank Corrado (RFA), Tim Erixon (RFA), Stuart Percy (RFA)

Goalies:

Marc-Andre Fleury (NMC), Matt Murray

Jake Guentzel, Conor Sheary, Daniel Sprong, Carter Rowney, Tristan Jarry, Zach Aston-Reese, Thomas DiPauli, Teddy Blueger, Dominik Simon,  Jeff Taylor, Ethan Prow, Lukas Bengtsson, Sean Maguire

Key Decisions

To get the elephant in the room cleared aside, it seems a foregone conclusion that Marc-Andre Fleury will waive his No Movement Clause in order for the franchise to protect Matt Murray. This arrangement would suit him, as he performs far better statistically in a starting role, and it allows him to be “the guy” in a new city. If for some unforeseen reason Fleury opts against waiving his NMC, Rutherford will assuredly find a trade elsewhere prior to the expansion draft. At the end of the day, Murray, with two amazing playoff performances at only 23 years-old, is going nowhere.

The other four players who must be protected are those which will not give management any sleepless nights. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are both future hall of famers playing prime hockey, providing great value for their contracts. Kessel, at his reduced rate, has absolutely exceeded expectations when his contract was shipped from Toronto. Kris Letang is the only player who some fans have balked out, as he has missed substantial chunks of time, consistently hitting LTIR and wasting cap dollars. Letang, however, is easily a top-10 defenseman in the league,. Watching how these playoffs have been far less decisive than last for Pittsburgh, there is no doubt the entire organization is willing to take the risk to have him return to the blueline.

The major decision right off the start will be whether Rutherford will decide to go with the 7 forwards-3 defensemen-1 goalie model, or the 8 total protected alternative. It seems apparent that most teams will opt for the former, because it provides protection to two additional players. The Penguins, however, are facing truly unique circumstances, and it seems slightly more likely that they will opt for the latter.

Assuming they go that route to protect their defensive corps (one of Justin Schultz/Olli Maatta), the decision at forward will not be an easy one. Beyond the big three up front who must be protected, there are a few names which could intrigue Vegas. Considering the cost to acquire him (James Neal), and his absolutely pivotal net-front presence, Patrick Hornqvist seems the safest bet to secure protection. Rutherford is a big fan, and many in management have placed a lot of faith in him. The downside of this, of course, is that it would leave Bryan Rust exposed. Rust has already made a name for himself in big games, with multiple game-winning and series-clinching goals. He has the same net-front mentality that Hornqvist does, and is five years his junior. Hornqvist is the more proven offensive commodity, but Rust’s 15 goals and 28 points are nothing to look down upon. In the wake of a potential loss of the hard nosed but unrestricted Chris Kunitz, this would be a painful blow to the team’s physicality. Thankfully, both Conor Sheary and Jake Guentzel are exempt from selection, which helps solidify their top lines regardless of this decision.

The defense if the 4-4-1 model is adopted is quite easy to predict. Although Ian Cole has been a completely perfect shot-blocking minute muncher this playoff run, he is 28 years old and relatively ineffective at driving offense with speed. Assuming that Schultz re-signs and doesn’t command an absolute robbery of a contract, he will be protected. His playoff run has been mostly solid, if spotted with occasional mishap, and his 51 points last season was good for 6th among defenseman in the league, just behind the likes of Dustin Byfuglien and Duncan Keith. That sort of production isn’t easily replaced, and especially considering Letang’s precarious health situation, he is the go-to offensive defenseman in his absence.

Maatta could certainly find himself on the outs, but it’s difficult to imagine him being exposed in the expansion draft. The team showed a great deal of confidence in him by inking him to a 6 year contract after limited sophomore season action, and his contract at $4.083 is certainly manageable. The 23 year-old two-way defender will certainly need to improve his skating to keep up with the high-flying organizational mentality, and there is the possibility his sluggishness has landed him in serious disfavor. If Rutherford were intent on moving on from Maatta, however, it would not be via expansion – he is too valuable a piece to lose for nothing. A trade is certainly a possibility, but the smart money is on the front office praying for a healthy summer of training and improvement for the young Finn.

It is certainly conceivable that the Penguins do opt for the 7-3-1 option, if they truly value Rust more than Schultz or Maatta. This would result in Rust, Scott Wilson, and one of Tom Kuhnhackl, Josh Archibald, and Carl Hagelin to be the additional protect-ees. (Hagelin’s $4 MM contract would likely make him a prime target for sacrifice under this scenario.) Maatta would be the likely claim in this potentiality, as he is less favored internally for purely stylistic reasons when contrasted with Schultz.

However, it seems more likely that Pittsburgh has already worked out a scenario between Fleury, his agent, and Vegas management regarding Marc-Andre Fleury. Rutherford’s lack of panic around the draft last year has led many to believe that this situation has already been handled, and that perhaps a sweetener will be thrown in for not claiming Bryan Rust or a young defenseman.

Projected Protection List

F Sidney Crosby (NMC)
F Evgeni Malkin (NMC)
F Phil Kessel (NMC)
F Patrick Hornqvist

D Kris Letang (NMC)
D Brian Dumoulin
D Justin Schultz
D Olli Maatta

G Matt Murray

If for whatever reason one of Maatta and Schultz is left to dry in the place of this prediction, the re-signing of Trevor Daley and perhaps even Ron Hainsey would likely follow suit. The loss of Rust would be difficult to sustain on an emotional level, as he has been a leader for the younger Wilkes-Barre call-ups since last season. But with young players like Zach Aston-Reese and Daniel Sprong looking to claim a roster spot in training camp next season, his offensive production would likely be easy to absorb. Ultimately, however, it seems probable that Fleury will be Vegas’ selection. Following his impressive resurgence in the first two round of the playoffs, and his difficult situation in Pittsburgh behind the legendary Matt Murray, it seems a fit that would work for all parties involved.

Snapshots: Sakic, Mironov, Sobotka, Murray

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Changes are coming in Colorado, according to Joe Sakic. The Avalanche GM was on Altitude Sports 950 yesterday (h/t Sportsnet) and was quite clear with his plans for this summer. Sakic said there will be a “lot of turnover” this offseason, and that the team is going to get younger. When Sakic named his untouchables earlier in the season, he only listed Nathan MacKinnon, Tyson Jost, and Mikko Rantanen, three of the youngest players on the team.

While there were many rumors of Matt Duchene potentially being moved at the deadline, it seems an inevitability that the young center—if he is indeed considered a center around the league still—is moved before the 2017-18 season begins. Sakic mentioned Jost and J.T. Compher in particular as future centers for the Avalanche, which wouldn’t leave much room for Duchene in the future.

  • Sakic also confirmed that the team has reached an agreement with Andrei Mironov, but is just waiting for the official KHL release before announcing the contract. The GM did caution though that anything can happen before the release is announced, though he certainly hopes it will come through in the next few days. Mironov is currently playing in the World Championships with Russia.
  • Vladimir Sobotka will be skating against Mironov, as the Blues’ forward is heading to the World Championships for the Czech Republic. Sobotka finally returned from the KHL to help the Blues in the playoffs, who held onto him despite the interest over the years from teams around the league. Sobotka will be a big part of the Blues going forward as he starts in on a three-year contract extension next season. Able to play both center and the wing, he’ll fit in somewhere on a team that will have their sights set on the playoffs once again.
  • Matt Murray won’t start game 7 for the Penguins tonight, but he will be in uniform. The goaltender has recovered enough to backup Marc-Andre Fleury, posing a bit of a dilemma for the next series should Pittsburgh defeat the Capitals and move on. After injuring himself in warm up during the first game of the first round, Murray hasn’t played a single minute of these playoffs. The 22-year old led the Penguins to the Stanley Cup last spring, but will now wait for the veteran Fleury to falter in order to get back into the lineup.

Injury Updates: Murray, Steen, Bozak, Sekera

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While Marc-Andre Fleury is off to a strong start this postseason, the Penguins could soon have a decision to make between the pipes as starter Matt Murray skated for over an hour on Friday and appears to be getting closer to being able to return to the lineup, notes Alex Iniguez of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.  The 22 year old suffered a lower body injury in the warmup of Pittsburgh’s postseason opener and hasn’t played since.

It’s the exact opposite situation compared to last season where Fleury was hurt when the playoffs started and Murray took over the starting role.  Presumably, even if Murray is able to return, it’s hard to imagine that they’d look away from Fleury who has a strong .935 save percentage this postseason.

Other injury notes from around the league:

  • St. Louis left winger Alex Steen missed his first game of the playoffs on Friday night with a lower body injury. Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Steen has been in a walking boot since being injured in their postseason opener against the Wild and that he was on crutches on Friday, hardly a good sign for his potential availability in another elimination game on Sunday afternoon.
  • Toronto center Tyler Bozak was playing with a lingering back issue down the stretch and into the playoffs, reports Sportsnet’s Luke Fox. Bozak noted that it caused him to miss several practices and game day skates although he was able to stay in the lineup for the most part, skating in 78 regular season games as well as all six playoff contests.
  • Edmonton blueliner Andrej Sekera left Friday’s game against Anaheim with what’s believed to be a lower body injury sustained on a hit from Anaheim’s Ryan Getzlaf. Ryan Frankson of the Oilers’ team website notes that there was no update on his condition following the game nor is there a timetable for his return.  With Sekera going down in the first period, fellow Adam Larsson had to pick up a big chunk of the slack, logging just shy of 45 minutes in their 4-3 double overtime defeat.

Penguins Notes: Fleury, Sullivan, Hagelin

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The Washington Post’s Jesse Dougherty believes that Marc-Andre Fleury should be a-ok with an unpredictable series against the Washington Capitals. After starter Matt Murray went down with an injury, Fleury, the former #1 overall pick in 2003, has been stellar between the pipes for the Penguins. Once considered trade bait, Fleury is now the calm in the middle of the playoff storm Dougherty writes. The decision for the Penguins to hold onto Fleury, instead of trading him at the deadline, seems to be yet another great decision by general manager Jim Rutherford. Whether Fleury ends up leaving down the road is one thing, but for now, his steady play has the Penguins on a path to a possible second consecutive Stanley Cup.

  • Chase Williams of WPXI quotes Pittsburgh head coach Mike Sullivan as saying that the team needs to remain “hungry” as they face the Capitals against tonight for game two. Williams says that Sullivan expects the desperation level from the Capitals to be higher and Williams believes another victory gives the Penguins a stranglehold on the series.
  • Williams and Dougherty both list forward Carl Hagelin as a “game-time” decision tonight. Dougherty reports that Hagelin was not on the ice for an optional skate this morning, and while Sullivan dismisses it by saying “it doesn’t mean anything,” the truth is that Hagelin hasn’t played since March 10. Hagelin did skate before game one, with Dougherty describing him as “zipping around” the ice. He adds that reinserting Hagelin to the lineup would pose another mismatch for the slower Capitals, who have struggled to corral faster players. Dougherty adds that should he play, Hagelin will be a player who capitalizes on Washington’s sloppy zone exits. Because of his speed, Hagelin would be another speedy forward disrupting the Caps, and causing defensive zone mistakes that could turn into Pittsburgh scoring chances, and ultimately, goals.

Atlantic Division Snapshots: Pastrnak, Brassard, Red Wings

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Despite a first round elimination at the hands of the Ottawa Senators, the 2016-17 campaign has to be considered a success for the Boston Bruins organization. The team returned to the postseason after back-to-back non-playoff seasons and showed tremendous resilience during their six-game series loss, nearly overcoming injuries to key regulars Brandon Carlo, David Krejci, Torey Krug and Adam McQuaid to push Ottawa to OT in game six. Perhaps the silver lining to the season was the development of young Czech winger David Pastnak, who in his third year saw a marked increase across the board in terms of offensive production, setting career-highs in goals (34) assists (36) and points (70). Pastrnak stuggled some in the postseason, finishing with just five shots on goal and regularly turning the puck over, but as Joe Haggerty of CSNNE writes, the 20-year-old will be a better player long term in part because of the playoff experience.

Pastrnak also wrapped up his ELC, making him a RFA this summer. Boston will have a decision to make; do they try to lock up the talented offensive right wing to a long term deal or employ a short term bridge contract to keep the AAV down? Should the team choose the latter, Haggerty speculates a deal similar to that given by Chicago to Artemi Panarin (two years, $12MM) could work for both sides. If Boston chooses the former, they might have to approach the value of the accord signed by Calgary winger Johnny Gaudreau last summer, in Haggerty’s estimation. According to Cap Friendly, the Bruins are projected to have around just $10MM in cap space available with Drew Stafford set to hit unrestricted free agency and Ryan Spooner joining Pastrnak as a RFA. The team should have room as it stands to accommodate a new Pastrnak contract regardless of whether it’s a lucrative long term pact or a shorter term bridge deal. Still, what Boston does will likely have a great impact on what other moves the team can make this summer to fill holes on the roster.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic Division:

  • One of the second round’s more interesting subplots involves Ottawa center Derick Brassard facing his old team, the New York Rangers, and the player for whom he was acquired just last July, fellow pivot Mika Zibanejad. Expecting to contend for the playoffs in 2016-17, Ottawa GM Pierre Dorion wanted to add the more experienced and established Brassard to his lineup. It also didn’t hurt that the skilled center from Hull, Quebec is a proven playoff performer known in some circles as “Big Game Brass.” For their part, the Rangers needed to get bigger and younger and did so by adding the talented Zibanejad to the team. Neither player had the regular season they hoped – Brassard finished with just 14 goals and 39 points while Zibanejad missed time with a broken leg and scored 37 points in 56 contests. With scoring expected to be at a premium in the series between Ottawa and New York, it was widely felt whoever performed better between the two would give their team a significant edge. Well, after one game, Don Brennan of the Ottawa Sun has the two players even, though the Senators are up in the series. As Brennan noted, neither player registered a point and both finished with roughly 17 minutes of ice time. Brassard was credited with five shots on goal, Zibanejad with four. While it would be unfair to paint the winner of the series as also the winner of last summer’s trade, it’s evident the two players will be heavily relied upon to help their respective team advance to the Eastern Conference Final and at this point in the season that’s really all that matters.
  • With their 25-season playoff streak broken, the Detroit Red Wings enter the offseason with a lot of work to do to reshape their roster into a contender, and without the resources (i.e. cap space) to easily tackle the challenge. In all probability, the team will be forced seek roster improvement via the trade market and with limited chips the team can afford to move, it’s likely Detroit will have to deal one of their starting-caliber goalies, if for no other reason than to open up much-needed cap space. Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press expressed the same belief in a recent mailbag feature. As the scribe notes, the Wings are currently projected to have less than $6MM in cap space with key forwards Andreas Athanasiou and Tomas Tatar scheduled to be RFA’s. The offseason goalie market is expected to be full of starting options, with Pittsburgh likely to entertain a trade of Marc-Andre Fleury rather than risk losing Matt Murray in the expansion draft. Ben Bishop, Brian Elliott, Jonathan Bernier and Ryan Miller headline the UFA crop of netminders and could represent viable starting options for any team looking for a #1. Those factors will hamstring the Red Wings in their attempt to move either Jimmy Howard or Petr Mrazek in return for fair value. In all likelihood, the team will have to be satisfied primarily with cap relief as opposed to acquiring young assets to further their retooling effort. Although St. James does offer up one intriguing possibility, noting that current Stars GM Jim Nill, formerly an assistant GM in Detroit, knows Mrazek and Howard well from his time with the Wings and could pursue one in an effort to upgrade his options between the pipes.

Penguins Injury Updates

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The Pittsburgh Penguins took care of business in the first round, beating the Columbus Blue Jackets in five games. They did so without several players in the lineup, including their starting goalie.

Coach Mike Sullivan spoke with the media on Saturday, and gave updates on several players (per Wes Crosby of NHL.com):

LW Carl Hagelin – suffered lower-body injury on March 11 – Hagelin likely broke his foot in early March against the Edmonton Oilers. The preliminary estimate was four weeks, but that deadline passed ten days ago. Sullivan reports that Hagelin is undergoing off-ice rehab. It’s still not known when he might return to the lineup.

LW Chris Kunitz – suffered lower-body injury on March 31 – Kunitz has made “significant progress” and skated today.

D Kris Letang – Out of the lineup since late February, Letang underwent season-ending surgery on a herniated disc in his neck earlier this month. Sullivan had no update.

G Matt Murray – suffered lower-body injury before Game 1 vs Blue Jackets – Murray has not skated since leaving the pre-game warmup on April 12. Sullivan says Murray has been rehabbing his injury off-ice, and his return date is not known. Center Evgeni Malkin told Crosby that he expects Marc-Andre Fleury to start when the second round begins.

D Chad Ruhwedel – suffered upper-body injury on April 11 – Similar to Kunitz, Ruhwedel has made progress and is skating.

The Penguins will be watching closely on Sunday night, when the Washington Capitals can eliminate the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 6 and clinch a third Capitals-Penguins playoff series in the Sidney Crosby–Alex Ovechkin era.

Golden Knights Expansion Roster Will Be Revealed At NHL Awards

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The NHL announced today that the 2017 NHL Awards will return to Las Vegas for an eighth straight year on Wednesday, June 21 at the T-Mobile Arena and this year will include Las Vegas like it never has before. The NHL plans to incorporate the NHL Expansion Draft into the festivities as it will announce the 30-player roster that the Las Vegas Golden Knights select in a two-hour broadcast.

The show, which will air at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN in America and in Canada on Sportsnet, is expected to put quite a bit of emphasis on the new expansion franchise, highlighting majority owner Bill Foley, general manager George McPhee, new head coach Gerard Gallant and even highlight some of the players the Golden Knights will select.

NHL Awards and nominations for the awards will begin being revealed day-by-day, starting tomorrow with the Selke Award. Here are a list of some of the top awards and potential nominees:

Selke Trophy (nominations will be out tomorrow) — It should be a tight race, but the leading candidates for the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game come down to a handful, including Anaheim’s Ryan Kesler, Washington’s Niklas Backstrom, Boston’s Patrice Bergeron and possibly even Calgary’s Mikael Backlund.

Calder Trophy (nominations to be released Thursday, April 20) — The trophy that goes to the top rookie is almost guaranteed to go to Toronto’s Auston Matthews, but other possible candidates include Winnipeg’s Patrik Laine, Pittsburgh’s goaltender Matt Murray and Columbus’ Zach Werenski.

Norris Trophy (nominations to be released Friday, April 21) — The top defenseman award will come down to a few including the Senators’ top blueliner Erik Karlsson, Lightning’s Victor Hedman and Sharks’ veteran Brent Burns.

Vezina Trophy (nominations to be released Saturday, April 22) — The top netminder award falls to a few including Columbus’ Sergei Bobrovsky, Washington’s Braden Holtby and Minnesota’s Devan Dubnyk.

Other nominees that will be announced before the June 21 awards include Lady Byng Trophy on Sunday, April 23; Masterton Trophy on April 24; NHL Foundation Player Award on April 25; Jack Adams Award on April 26; Mark Messier Leadership Awards on April 27; Hart Trophy on May 1 and the Ted Lindsay Award on May 2.

Marc-Andre Fleury To Start Game 2 For Penguins

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After helping the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 1-0 series lead last night, Marc-Andre Fleury will be back in net for Game 2 on Friday night. Matt Murray is day-to-day with a lower-body injury suffered in the warm up last night, so Tristan Jarry will be the backup. Murray of course was expected to start for the Penguins throughout the playoffs, but will likely now need to wait for Fleury to falter even when he does return to full health. Marc-Andre Fleury

All season people have critiqued GM Jim Rutherford’s decision to keep Fleury around, despite the looming expansion draft where he will lose one of his talented netminders. This is exactly the situation he was preparing for, and he looks like a genius now as Fleury stopped 31/32 shots to guide Pittsburgh to a 3-1 win over the Blue Jackets. Fleury’s wealth of playoff experience—he’s now played in 101 career postseason games—will be relied upon for the Penguins to get past the dangerous Columbus squad and keep their hopes of another Stanley Cup alive.

Interestingly, Fleury actually has struggled over his career in the playoffs, registering just a .906 save percentage. Save for an outstanding run in 2008 to take the Penguins to the finals and some outstanding performances dotted throughout the years, he’s been regularly below average when the games mattered most. Perhaps now, when he steps in without much preparation he’ll be able to turn things around and stake a claim as the starter for their entire run. He may just be auditioning for his next team, as the Penguins are still widely expected to move Fleury prior to the expansion draft in order to protect Murray. A strong playoff performance could help them facilitate that.

As for Murray, this latest injury comes at the most inopportune time as he was set to show once again what he can do in the playoffs. As a rookie last year (which he technically still is), he registered a .923 save percentage in taking the Penguins to the Stanley Cup, and followed it up with an outstanding first full year. Already locked into a three-year extension which will see him earn $3.75MM per year, the Penguins will be paying pennies relative to the performance he’s given them thus far.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

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