CAROLINA HURRICANES

NEWS CLIPPINGS • Nov. 22, 2017

Gameday: Rangers vs. Hurricanes

by Michael Smith @MSmithCanes / CarolinaHurricanes.com

12:00 AM

Happy Thanksgiving!

This is the gameday hub, where you can find all the latest news and information you need to know for tonight's divisional match-up between the New York Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes. Make Hurricanes.com a regular stop throughout the day, as we update this hub with notes, videos, photos and more as puck drop draws near.

The Hurricanes will be on the ice at PNC Arena for an 11:30 a.m. morning skate, and we'll be rinkside to bring you the latest.

Last updated: 12:00 a.m.

CANES HOST RANGERS TO CONTNUE HOMESTAND 12:00 a.m.

The Carolina Hurricanes will play their fourth straight game against a team from the state of New York when they host a Metropolitan Division opponent, the New York Rangers, on Thanksgiving Eve.

The Hurricanes have captured 11 of a possible 14 points in their last seven games (5-1-1) and are coming off back-to-back wins on the weekend. Following a 3-1 win in Buffalo, the Hurricanes returned home for their second game against the New York Islanders in four days and skated away with a 4-2 victory.

Teuvo Teravainen and Sebastian Aho each remained hot in the Canes' most recent win, as they each tallied three points. Teravainen was named the NHL's first star of the week for his four-game performance from Nov. 12-19, in which he posted 10 points (5g, 5a) and his first career hat trick. Aho had a notable week himself with nine points (4g, 5a) and goals in four straight games in that same stretch.

"There are things we're doing on a night in and night out basis that we're real happy with," head coach Bill Peters said after practice on Tuesday.

Wednesday night's game against the Rangers marks the second in a series of four straight at home, the longest such stretch of the season until early February.

"It's a huge opportunity. It's absolutely huge. We're looking forward to it," Peters said. "It's going to be a good, fun week.

It's a special week in the United States with American Thanksgiving. A lot of people traveling, lots of family, lots to be thankful for. Let's go out and play well."

The Rangers bring a 10-9-2 record (22 points) into this match-up, the first of four between the divisional foes this season. New York strung together a six-game winning streak that was snapped just last week in Chicago. Most recently, the Rangers shut out the Ottawa Senators 3-0 in New York on Sunday.

The Hurricanes will ice virtually the same lineup that faced the Islanders on Sunday. Haydn Fleury will draw back into the lineup on defense and pair with Justin Faulk, while Victor Rask will remain out of the lineup as a healthy extra.

"I was to see that group that we had dressed for the Islanders game play more 5-on-5 to get a feel for those lines the way they were set up," Peters said.

CANESPR NOTES: The Hurricanes have won three straight games against the Rangers at PNC Arena. … With his win against the Islanders on Sunday, Cam Ward moved within two victories of becoming the 32nd goaltender in NHL history (fifth active) to reach the 300-win milestone.

CLICKS AND CLIPPINGS

Articles

Recap: Hurricanes Power Past Islanders

Teravainen Named NHL's First Star of the Week

Audio

CanesCast, Ep. 18 feat. Justin Faulk

Video

In the Room: Bill Peters, Nov. 21

In the Room: Marcus Kruger, Nov. 21

In the Room: Derek Ryan, Nov. 21

Teravainen on NHL Network

Highlights: CAR 4, NYI 2

Gameday Links

Buy Tickets

First Goal Contest presented by Kayem

CAROLINA HURRICANES

NEWS CLIPPINGS • Nov. 22, 2017

Quick Whistles: Teuvo Teravainen Emerging, Strong Goalie Tandem, and the Shell of Victor Rask

Teravainen is emerging as a key contributor, the goalie tandem builds strength, and Rask sits in the press box.

by Brett Finger@brettfinger Nov 21, 2017, 5:00pm EST

A blown third period lead in Brooklyn wasn’t an ideal way to kick off the week, but consecutive wins over the weekend put the Carolina Hurricanes in a very good spot entering the final week of November.

With games in hand on every team in the Metropolitan Division, the Canes sit just five points out of first place after an up and down opening month and a half.

The re-emergence of the TSA line and stability in goal are causes for optimism moving forward, but the shortcoming of a couple of mainstays certainly give reasons for mild pessimism.

Here are this week’s quick whistles.

Teuvo Teravainen led the Hurricanes’ offensive charge this past week, piling up ten points in four games and earning the NHL’s first star of the week honors in the process.

Even before the young Finn’s offensive breakout, there were signs of him turning a corner which he had yet to find. The confidence he has played with exceeded even my lofty expectations entering the season.

His two-way game has reached a new level, he is shooting the puck more, and he is dishing the puck around with more confidence and decisiveness compared to his first season with the team.

All of his improvements are to be expected out of a young player in his second year with his new club after spending the first several years of his pro career in Chicago, but he has risen to a level that very few could have expected.

Will he stay at a point-per-game through the rest of the season? Probably not, but the Hurricanes certainly don’t need that from him as long as he can provide a steady flow of offense over an 82-game stretch.

Right now, there’s very little reason to think that this is just a flash in the pan as he showed flashes of brilliance last year. It was just a matter of doing it consistently, which he has done so far this season. It’s important to remember that Teravainen was a highly touted prospect in the 2012 NHL draft, even getting consideration from the Hurricanes with the eighth overall pick before trading it in a package for Jordan Staal.

Hindsight being 20/20, it was a pretty good call by the organization as they ultimately got both of those high-level talents at the expense of Brandon Sutter, the pick that turned into Derrick Pouliot, Brian Dumoulin, and a pair of draft picks.

That’s a convincing win for the Hurricanes.

Speaking of convincing wins, I think you’d find very few people disappointed in the play of Carolina’s goalie tandem.

Scott Darling is still trying to hit his rhythm and establish consistency, but the early results have been incredibly promising. He currently sits at a .909 save percentage, but if you take some of the ugly games out of the equation, you’re looking at a goalie who has been far above league average. Again, once the consistency is there, Darling is undoubtedly a number one guy.

Cam Ward has thrived in a backup role, posting a .922 save percentage in five starts. If you exclude the November 2 game in Colorado, in which the team in front of him put up one of their worst performances of the season, that number jumps up to .943.

The mix that the Hurricanes are forming in net has worked. Their team save percentage of .908 ranks 13th in the league, and it should stay around that number, if not get better, as Ward and Darling see their individual numbers level out.

Perhaps the most discouraging development of the early season is Victor Rask’s extended stay in the realm of mediocrity.

This team signed Rask to replicate, and preferably build on, his first two seasons in the NHL. A contract that once looked like a steal has quickly turned into a hindrance. The Swedish center is producing at a 25-point pace over an 82-game slate over his last 58 games and was finally removed from the lineup on Sunday.

Bill Peters’ comments on him were very telling, saying that the team needed a win, thus requiring the coaching staff to ice the best lineup they could. That lineup did not include Rask but instead featured Phil di Giuseppe in the team’s top-nine.

At their best, Rask is undoubtedly better than di Giuseppe, but Rask has been far from his best since the start of the 2017 calendar year.

At this point, I’m not sure what the coaching staff can do to get the most out of the player. This isn’t an X’s and O’s thing, it’s mental. Will sitting him out a game turn things around? I wouldn’t bet on it, but perhaps the move could get the ball rolling in the right direction.

CAROLINA HURRICANES

NEWS CLIPPINGS • Nov. 22, 2017

For the team’s sake, let’s hope Rask takes the steps necessary in order to return to a respectable level of play because he’s not only failing to play up to his $4 million cap hit, he’s barely playing like an NHL regular.

Justin Faulk is another underperforming player that the Hurricanes are often winning despite of.

Faulk enters Wednesday’s matchup against the Rangers with just one goal and five points in 19 games and there hasn’t been much of any improvement as his decision making and defensive play continues to be lacking to a degree that the multiple-time all-star has never shown.

Unlike Rask, the 25-year-old blueliner has at least shown signs of still being himself. His offense has been there at times, and while his defensive consistency has been absent all year, he has made key plays in his own end.

That being said, Faulk has been far from the player he has been over the past three seasons, which begs the question of what’s different.

Has the co-captaincy added more pressure? Has Jaccob Slavin, Brett Pesce, and Noah Hanifin’s rise up the hierarchy affected him mentally? Confidence shouldn't be an issue given that this team has stuck with him all along and even rewarded him with a bigger role in the leadership group.

It’s definitely not time to panic with Faulk as it is still just a 19-game sample size, but if he can get back to the level he has been at, this team will be that much more dangerous and their top-four will rival any team in the league.

If he can’t get back to that level, perhaps his name will be thrown out in trade rumors yet again as his value could be significant enough to bring in some talent up front. That may be far-fetched right now, but the team will have to trade a defenseman at some point and Faulk’s recent play shouldn’t make him untouchable.

Only time will tell.

A player that has stuck out to me more and more as the season has worn on is Noah Hanifin.

We’ve seen the flashes from Hanifin ever since he broke into the league as an 18-year-old, but his run of late feels different and more sustainable.

His defense has improved markedly, his confidence with the puck is nearing an all-time high, and his removal from the powerplay hasn’t stopped him from being the player he needs to be.

When Hanifin was removed from the manpower advantage group, I feared that his confidence could be shaken, but so far, that hasn’t been the case. I am, however, still shocked that he was taken off the powerplay, to begin with, though that is likely a short-term solution to the powerplay woes that have been game-changing-ly bad for the Hurricanes.

While Columbus’ Zach Werenski has become the big blue line standout from that 2015 draft class, Hanifin is starting to catch up and shape into the all-around defender that this team wants and needs him to be. His play has even masked Faulk’s issues to an extent, with regards to point production and generation of offense.

He’s still just 20-years-old, which is nearly impossible to fathom, and he is starting to take huge steps leaps forward in his game. There’s a lot to like from him and, from where I see it, he has been the best defenseman on the Hurricanes this season, especially dating back to the start of November.

He leads the club in shot attempt differential, he’s moving his feet in all three zones, and he is shooting the puck when he gets the chances. If I was to nitpick one thing, it would be that he is struggling to get pucks on net through traffic from the point. His 43.9% thru rate (percentage of shots taken that go on net) is the worst among Carolina’s top-six on the blue line.

Hurricanes’ Ward Says There Was No Message

By Mark Shiver November 21st, 2017

Cam Ward, who recently moved to “backup” goalie for the Carolina Hurricanes, was in goal on Sunday night against the New York Islanders. As a writer, I cannot find the superlatives to describe his game. To say, “He stood on is head” would seem cliché. To say he was unconscious might be better, but honestly, he was just so amazing that it defies description. I’ll just say, “Cam Ward was stupid good.”

I can’t help but wonder if Ward was trying to send a message to the coaching staff, or to Scott Darling who has replaced Ward as the starting goalie, that he still has the game to

return to his spot as the starter. I asked him after the game if he was sending a message and Ward said,

No, I mean ‘Darls’ played awesome last night, and I think that’s kind of the key. You need both goaltenders. I’m just trying to play the way that I can play.

Whether or not Ward was consciously trying to boost himself to his coaches or the fans or to anyone, his play spoke volumes. And, Darling should have received the message either way: Ward still has game and being the starter is something that has to be earned with consistent performances.

CAROLINA HURRICANES

NEWS CLIPPINGS • Nov. 22, 2017

Cam Ward Then

Ward has been the starting goaltender for the Hurricanes since he was called into action in the NHL playoffs during his rookie season in 2006. His outstanding play helped the Hurricanes win the Stanley Cup and earned him a Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. Along with Eric Staal, whose Cup play cemented his leadership on the team, Ward emerged from that remarkable run as the team’s star goaltender.

He held that spot for a decade, through good and bad, through several coaching changes and a few challenges from other goaltenders. Though no other goalie seriously got close enough to knock him out of the starting role, Ward was pushed at times to do better. Anton Khudobin stayed around for several years, and challenged Ward at times. It seems like ages ago that I penned these words about Ward v Khudobin:

When Coach Peters and staff are reviewing the performance Khudobin brought against the Rangers, it may tip the scales in his favor in Peters’ desire to name a starting goaltender. He was not without praise for “Dobby: “He was solid,” Peters said. “I thought Anton played real well.” We will no doubt see Cam Ward in between the pipes again soon – maybe against Winnipeg. But Khudobin made a strong statement that may cement him as the team’s starter.

It’s tough to remember that was a question in 2014 as Ward eventually emerged on top and remained the Hurricanes’ starter. He has been resilient and steadfast in his position and it has been hard to envision life with the ‘Canes with someone other than Ward in nets.

Khudobin took a tour around the NHL heading west to play briefly with the Anaheim Ducks and then returning to the Boston Bruins in 2016. He has played well lately, putting the heat on the struggling Tuukka Rask.

Cam Ward Now

Here we are in 2017 and things have changed dramatically for Ward. After two years of being the Hurricanes’ workhorse in goal, Ward has been relegated to the back row. GM Ron

Francis announced at the end-of-season press conference that finding a new starting goaltender was a top priority. Enter Darling, who had a successful tenure with the Chicago Blackhawks as the backup to starter, Corey Crawford. Darling did very well in that role. The Hurricanes’ website noted this about Darling when they announced he had signed a four-year deal with the team:

In 75 career NHL games with Chicago, he has posted a 39-17-9 record, a 2.37 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage. In 2015, Darling went 3-1 in five opening-round playoff appearances against Nashville, helping the Blackhawks win their first-round series en route to their third Stanley Cup championship in six years.

There is no argument that Darling’s resume as a backup goaltender is impressive. However, there have been times this season when it has looked as if he was not quite ready to be the number one. There have also been times when he shows shades of excellence as he did in the Hurricanes’ win over the Buffalo Sabres last Saturday night:

Regardless of how well Darling plays in the immediate future, if Ward continues to play like he did on Sunday evening, the message will be loud and clear even if unintentional. Darling had better keep his team in games or there may be a role reversal in nets.

Ward has been the consummate professional during this transitional time. He has supported Darling completely and assumed his role as the backup with grace and an exemplary attitude. To be sure, he is not interested in playing 60 or more games in a season but, Ward has shown that he is still a very capable goalie in the NHL.

If Darling can be more consistent, then the Hurricanes’ chances of putting a playoff-caliber team on the ice increases dramatically. They are in an enviable position of having a backup with Ward’s talent. And, with a certain pair of forwards burning it up, the ‘Canes’ offense has come alive. The Hurricanes are becoming a good team, and their backup goalie still has game.

Checkers Come Back to Snap Skid Against Belleville

Written by Nicholas Niedzielski

Published: November 21, 2017

Finally returning to their home ice after a lengthy road trip, the Checkers were able to right the ship and snap their losing streak with a 4-2 triumph over the Belleville Senators.

CAROLINA HURRICANES

NEWS CLIPPINGS • Nov. 22, 2017

It was a rocky start for the home team as Belleville pumped in a pair of tallies within the first three minutes of play to put the Checkers in an early hole. That advantage was no match for Charlotte’s power play, however, a unit that was pumping on all cylinders. It struck twice to pull them back into a tie, first with a point blast from Brenden Kichton and then a slick snipe from Aleksi Saarela.

Deadlocked at two heading into the final frame, the Finnish duo of Saarela and Janne Kuokkanen connected once again, with the former notching his second goal of the night on another rocket shot and the latter picking up his third helper on the feed. With the lead in their possession for the first time, the Checkers fought back Belleville’s attack for the remainder of regulation until a Kuokkanen empty netter, his fourth point of the game, put the final nail in the coffin and snapped Charlotte’s losing skid. After surrendering those two quick tallies early on, netminder Alex Nedeljkovic locked in and frustrated the Senators for the rest of the night, stopping 21 of the 23 pucks he saw to end his personal two-game losing streak and claim his eighth win of the season, tying him for the league lead.

QUOTES

Coach Mike Vellucci on the game Not early, obviously we got behind. Two shots, two goals. We didn’t compete. I just talked to them about it in there – we’ve got to find a way to start out better. If it’s a mindset that we’re down by two already, then that’s it. That’s the negative. The positive is that we didn’t get down on each other and we stayed with it. We scored two big power-play goals and then got the one in the third. The team is close, they’re not negative, and that’s the good part for me. Vellucci on the power play Both units are getting opportunities, but the reason that one clicked tonight was because we shot it. It was a deflection that goes in and we get some traffic in front. We had two power plays right after that where we were passing too much, then we got back to the basics and shot it. Saarela’s got a great shot. It’s pretty much a one-on-one with the goaltender and he’s going to make that goal nine out of 10 times. Vellucci on the line of Saarela, Kuokkanen and Brown That line played really well. The two Finns like playing with each other, and then Brownie gives them stability because he’s a leader, a hard worker and hunts down all the pucks for them. They’re a good combination. Vellucci on Saarela’s game We always knew he had the shot, but now he’s getting open to do it. Before he wasn’t hustling and wasn’t competing and wasn’t skating, but tonight he was beating guys one-on-one and manhandling them physically. That’s the key for him.

Brenden Kichton on getting back in a rhythm after missing several games to injury this season It felt good. I’ve got to try to get my legs under me because with that much time out it’s hard to get in a rhythm. I’ve got to tighten up a few things here, but it’s key for me to get back and playing. Kichton on coming back tonight We just persevered. Everyone stayed pretty positive on the bench, and that was key. To get those power play goals was huge for us, and it was a big two points. Kichton on returning home Eighteen days on the road is a long time, so it’s key for us to get back into a rhythm at home. That’s going to come with building some momentum here. Janne Kuokkanen on playing with Saarela and Brown We have a good, fast line there and everyone can see each other. (Saarela) is more like a sniper and I’m more of a playmaker. That’s why I like to find him, because he has such a good shot and can pretty much score from everywhere. Kuokkanen on increased confidence from ending the losing streak When you get points and you play a good game you get some confidence. It’s a huge thing for us and we’ll have much better confidence tomorrow than we had today. This was a good turning point.

NOTES

Saarela scored for the second consecutive game and how has four goals in his last five outings. This was his second career multi-goal game and first of the season … With a goal and three assists tonight, Kuokkanen has 10 points (3g, 9a) in nine AHL games since the Carolina Hurricanes assigned him to Charlotte … Trevor Carrick’s assist on Saarela’s first goal gave him six points, all assists, in his last six games … The Checkers have scored the first goal in just five of their 18 games this season. This was the second consecutive game in which they fell behind 2-0 in the first period … The Checkers had multiple power-play goals for the second consecutive game (4-for-9 during that time). In between Kuokkanen’s goal at Springfield on 11/15 and Saarela’s second goal tonight, they went 10 straight periods without scoring at even strength … The Checkers avoided losing five straight games for the first time since Nov. 27-Dec. 7 of last season … Forward Lucas Wallmark and defensemen Jake Chelios and Dennis Robertson missed the game due to injury … Forwards Mike Ferrantino and Zack Stortini were healthy extras.

UP NEXT

The Checkers’ busy week at Bojangles’ Coliseum continues tomorrow night for the first Winning Wednesday of the season, which includes $1 beer and a free ticket to the next Wednesday game should they win.

CAROLINA HURRICANES

NEWS CLIPPINGS • Nov. 22, 2017

TODAY’S LINKS

https://www.nhl.com/hurricanes/news/gameday-preview-new-york-rangers-vs-carolina-hurricanes/c-293224386

https://www.canescountry.com/2017/11/21/16687068/carolina-hurricanes-quick-whistles-teuvo-teravainen-emerging-victor-rask-scott-darling-cam-

ward

https://thehockeywriters.com/carolina-hurricanes-cam-ward-message/

http://gocheckers.com/game-recaps/checkers-come-back-to-snap-skid-against-belleville

1084499 New York Rangers

Ryan McDonagh will miss Wednesday’s game for Rangers with

abdominal strain

JUSTIN TASCH

Ryan McDonagh had yet to miss a game due to the abdominal strain that

kept him out of practice Tuesday, an issue that led to him sitting out of a

few practices earlier this season. But the strain will now sideline the

Rangers’ captain for tonight’s game in Raleigh against the Hurricanes.

McDonagh was being checked out Tuesday afternoon and Alain

Vigneault didn’t know how long he would be out.

“I just know it’s been bothering him,” Vigneault said. “Obviously our docs

have been on top of this here. It’s just been lingering a little bit.”

His absence from three previous practices this season suggested

something might be amiss with McDonagh, who after one of the

“maintenance days” he received in October said the issue was small and

he was fine. The ab strain could also partially explain some of the

struggles McDonagh had out of the gate.

Without McDonagh, Vigneault shifted Brendan Smith to the left of Nick

Holden, whom McDonagh had played with throughout this month, and

Steven Kampfer was paired with Marc Staal. Kampfer was scratched the

last two games when Smith was reinserted following a healthy six-game

absence.

“Huge void when (McDonagh’s) out of the lineup,” said Kevin Shattenkirk,

who remains paired with Brady Skjei. “So it’s not just one guy who has to

step in there and fill the role. It’s gonna be everyone. He plays so many

roles on this team that each guy is gonna be asked at different points in

the game to carry that.”

McDonagh, who plays both shorthanded and on the second power-play

unit on which he’ll be replaced by Kevin Hayes — a center — for

tonight’s game, is averaging 23:22 of ice time per game, about one

minute shorter than his average last season but a minute longer than his

2015-16 average.

“So many guys are always looking to get more minutes: Here’s an

opportunity to play some more important minutes,” Vigneault said. “I’m

expecting our ‘D’ group as a group to step up.”

The Rangers (10-9-2) have won seven of nine heading into the first of

four games against Carolina, which is tied with the Blueshirts on points

but has two games in hand.

“I feel like we’re more consistent,” said Henrik Lundqvist, who is set to

start for the 10th straight game and 19th time in 22 matches.

“You look at all teams, even the teams at the top of the standings, they

don’t play great all the time, but they’re pretty consistent. They have

some dips. Just have to make sure you bounce right back. I like the way

we’re heading right now.”

New York Daily News LOADED: 11.22.2017

1084500 New York Rangers

The standard Rangers GM faces before franchise-altering decision

By Larry Brooks November 21, 2017 | 3:01pm | Updated

Jeff Gorton, the third-year general manager plotting the course for a

Rangers team that is attempting to retool on the fly, will face moments of

truth as the fork-in-the-road trade deadline approaches.

Of his predecessors, perhaps only Neil Smith in 1994 — who, urged by

coach Mike Keenan to change the club’s makeup heading into the

playoffs, ripped up the NHL’s best regular-season squad — dealt with as

weighty a challenge as Gorton will confront at the deadline.

There are 10 who preceded Gorton, whose first day on the job was July

1, 2015 following four seasons as Glen Sather’s chief lieutenant and

eight overall in the New York front office. And while it is too early to rate

his performance, it is the time for The Post to rank the men who came

before him.

From top to bottom:

1. Lester Patrick, 10/26-2/46: The job description was somewhat less

complex back then, but the Silver Fox was largely responsible for the

procurement of players who formed the greatest generation of Rangers

in winning the Stanley Cup in 1928, 1933 and 1940 while going to the

finals three other times. Was behind the bench from the inaugural 1926-

27 season through 1938-39. Owns the ultimate tie-breaker with his iconic

performance in Game 2 of the 1928 finals against the Montreal Maroons

when, at age 44, the retired defenseman replaced the injured Lorne Carr

in nets during the second period and limited his foes to one goal on 19

shots in the Blueshirts’ 2-1 overtime victory.

CAROLINA HURRICANES

NEWS CLIPPINGS • Nov. 22, 2017

2. Neil Smith, 7/89-3/00: Despite the fact that it ended so darn bloody, it

is impossible to minimize the GM’s role in building the only team to win

the Cup on the Broadway over the last 77 years. When Smith took over,

the Blueshirts had not won a thing since finishing first in the seven-team

NHL in 1941-42. The Rangers captured the Patrick Division title in

Smith’s first year on the job in 1989-90, won the Presidents’ Trophy in

1991-92 and then again in 1993-94 on their way to the momentous ride

up the Canyon of Heroes. Traded bold and traded big, not always to his

benefit. All that followed 1994 has kept Smith from being officially

recognized at the Garden but does not diminish his standing in this

ranking.

3. Emile Francis, 10/64-1/76: The beloved Father of the Rangers’ Modern

Era, the Cat resurrected the franchise that had been an Original Six

doormat and brought it to prominence by assembling what likely stands

as the NHL’s best team never to win the Stanley Cup. Drafted brilliantly,

traded aggressively but perhaps not always wisely in the eternal effort to

find the one missing link. Greatest blunder was allowing Fred Shero to

get away to Philadelphia after having coached clubs in the Blueshirts’

minor league system to three titles within eight years on three different

levels. Francis’ choice of interim guys surrounding his own lengthy stints

behind the bench — Boomer Geoffrion, Larry Popein and Ron Stewart —

were particularly uninspiring.

4. Craig Patrick, 11/80-7/86: Generated a handful of extremely popular

clubs coached by Herb Brooks that ultimately came as close as possible

to derailing the Islanders’ dynasty before the Oilers did it in 1984. Draft

picks included Brian Leetch (ninth overall in the GM’s final act a month

before his dismissal), Mike Richter, John Vanbiesbrouck, James Patrick,

Tony Granato, Tomas Sandstrom and Jan Erixon.

5. Glen Sather, 6/00-6/15: The Last Lion of Winter’s reign was as

polarizing as they come. Had a disastrous first four years on the job—

that included the hiring of Bryan Trottier as head coach and a stint of his

own behind the bench — after claiming from afar in Edmonton that he’d

win the Cup every year with the Rangers’ payroll. But Sather reinvented

himself and the team following the 2005-06 inception of the hard cap, first

turning New York into Prague, NHL for Jaromir Jagr and a gaggle of

Czechmates including Martin Straka, Martin Rucinsky, Petr Sykora,

Michal Rozsival and Marek Malik, then importing Brendan Shanahan and

Sean Avery, before constructing a conference finals team under John

Tortorella and a Cup final squad under Alain Vigneault. Under his watch,

the Rangers are one of only four teams — with Pittsburgh, Detroit and

San Jose — to make the playoffs 11 of the 12 years under the hard cap.

6. Fred Shero, 6/78-11/80: A minimalist in the front office, whose duties

were largely assigned to his partner Mickey Keating, Freddie’s great

achievement was bringing himself along to coach the charismatic Ooh-

La-La club to a surprising run to the 1979 finals. Sympatico with Garden

chairman Sonny Werblin, oversaw the Beck Job, the trade in which

projected franchise monster defenseman Barry Beck came to New York

from Colorado for a package fronted by Mike McEwen, Pat Hickey and

Lucien DeBlois.

7. Muzz Patrick: 4/55-10/64: Chants of “Muzz Must Go” that rang out

through the early sixties formed the sound track of the old Garden.

Qualified for playoffs first three years, but franchise thereafter fell into

disrepute, though he did have the creativity to bring Doug Harvey to New

York as player-coach for the 1961-62 season in which No. 2 won the

Norris Trophy and led the team to its only playoff berth in what would be

an eight-year stretch. Engineered the trade with Montreal in which Gump

Worsley went to Montreal for Jacques Plante, Phil Goyette and Donnie

Marshall and was in charge when Andy Bathgate went to Toronto for a

package featuring Bob Nevin, Rod Seiling and Arnie Brown.

8. John Ferguson, 1/76-6/78: Ran Rod Gilbert into retirement, had the

audacity to change the traditional uniforms to the logo design he would

later implement with the WHA Jets, hired Jean-Guy Talbot to coach the

club, traded Rick Middleton for Ken Hodge, and oversaw the 1977 draft

in which he selected Ron Duguay and DeBlois in the first round while

Mike Bossy was on the board. Counterpoint: was a primary reason

Anders Hedberg and Ulf Nilsson signed as free agents, even if the

process was completed following his dismissal to make way for Shero.

9. Frank Boucher, 2/46-4/55: The fabled Blueshirt center, who had

coached the club to the 1940 Cup, was in charge when the team made

an unexpected charge to the finals in 1950 before losing a double

overtime Game 7 to the Red Wings. Club, though, missed the playoffs for

the next and final five years of his tenure.

10. Phil Esposito, 6/86-5/89: The clown prince of Ranger management,

who traded a first-round pick to Quebec in order to hire Michel Bergeron

as coach, whom he fired with two games remaining in his second season

so Espo himself could go behind the bench for what became a

humiliating first-round sweep by Pittsburgh. Traded Mike Ridley and Kelly

Miller to Washington for Bobby Carpenter on New Year’s Day of 1987

three months before wheeling Carpenter to LA for a last-legs Marcel

Dionne.

New York Post LOADED: 11.22.2017

1084501 New York Rangers

Surging Rangers dealt big blow with Ryan McDonagh injury

By Zach Braziller November 21, 2017 | 2:14PM

Just when the Rangers were starting to find their game, winning seven of

their last nine contests, crawling out of that large hole they dug for

themselves, comes this: Ryan McDonagh, their most valuable player not

named Henrik Lundqvist, their captain, will miss a game Wednesday

against the Hurricanes.

The Rangers have termed it an abdominal strain, and offered very little

details otherwise. McDonagh didn’t practice Tuesday, and won’t even

travel with the team to Raleigh, N.C. He will see team doctors, and more

information will be offered Wednesday, according to Rangers coach Alain

Vigneault. His absence from practice this year on occasion, described as

“maintenance days,” was the result of the abdominal strain he’s now

dealing with.

“It’s something that has been there for a little bit, doesn’t seem to be

getting better right now,” Vigneault said. “So we just want to check it out.

I’ll have more for you tomorrow.”

When asked if McDonagh would be out for longer than a game, Vigneault

said he had “no idea.”

“I just know it’s been bothering him,” the coach said. “It’s been lingering a

little bit. We want to double check things.”

Steven Kampfer, a healthy scratch the last two games, will replace

McDonagh in the lineup. Vigneault will keep the Brady Skjei-Kevin

Shattenkirk pairing together. Kampfer will be paired with Marc Staal, and

Brendan Smith with Nick Holden.

“‘Mac’ plays anywhere from 22 minutes to 28 minutes depending on the

game, and they are important minutes,” Vigneault said. “So many guys

are always looking to get more minutes, and here’s an opportunity to play

more minutes. I’m expecting our ‘D’ group, as a group here, to step up,

and be good defensively, and good with the puck, and to make the plays

we need to make.”

It would be a good time for Smith, signed to a four-year, $17.4 million

deal this summer after coming over to the Rangers from the Red Wings

in a trade deadline deal, to emerge after a shoddy start. He dressed in

just 11 of the team’s first 19 games, but did appear in the last two

contests after he was a healthy scratch in the previous six matches,

CAROLINA HURRICANES

NEWS CLIPPINGS • Nov. 22, 2017

performing well. But there is no replacing McDonagh, a two-time All-Star

with 12 assists and a plus-6 rating in 21 games this year

“Huge void when he’s out of the lineup,” Shattenkirk said. “It’s not just

one guy who has to step in there and fill the role. It’s going to be

everyone. He plays so many roles on this team that each guy is going to

be asked at different times to carry that, and we have a lot of capable

bodies.”

It comes on the heels of arguably the Rangers’ best defensive

performance of the year, a 2-0 shutout of the Senators when Lundqvist

saw only 20 shots. Now, without their captain and ace defenseman, the

Rangers (10-9-2, 22 points) will face a hot opponent in the Hurricanes,

who have won five of their last seven games and feature a group of

young, speedy and skilled players like Teuvo Teravainen and Sebastian

Aho.

“It’s never a good time to lose your captain,” Lundqvist said. “It’s never a

good time to lose anybody. But it’s part of the game. It happens. We just

have to make the most of it here, and make sure the guys that do get that

extra playing time, they’re on top of it.”

New York Post LOADED: 11.22.2017

1084502 New York Rangers

Examining Rangers extremes: Joe Thornton run, Ryan McDonagh sell-

off

By Larry Brooks November 20, 2017 | 4:35PM

A quarter of the season down and the Rangers are essentially as

projected: a flawed bubble team capable of capturing an eighth

consecutive playoff but unlikely to end the franchise’s 23-year Stanley

Cup drought.

The downward progression for this group is stark in the wake of the trip

to the 2014 final and of finishing with the NHL’s best record a year later.

The Blueshirts rank 16th in five-on-five goals scored, after finishing

seventh in that category a year ago, third in 2015-16 and first in 2014-15.

They are 25th in five-on-five goals-against after finishing 18th last year

and seventh two years ago. They are 24th in five-on-five GF/GA

percentage after finishing 12th last season and third in the league each

of the previous two years.

But this does not appear to be an especially strong league or conference.

Of course not. The toll of the punishing cap combined with the expansion

draft that produced a stronger club in Vegas at the expense of the other

30 teams whose fans had paid their dues for years has created the

lowest-common denominator NHL envisioned for years by Sixth Avenue.

So you watch the Rangers every night, pick apart every flaw, and

inevitably reach the no-brainer conclusion that a Cup is out of the

question and that pending free agents Rick Nash, Michael Grabner and

Nick Holden must be bartered for futures while potential 2019 UFA’s

Ryan McDonagh and Mats Zuccarello should be aggressively marketed

as well.

But then you watch other teams, identify all of their flaws, and you think

that if Henrik Lundqvist’s revival holds, the Blueshirts could win a round

the way they did last year and then based on the draw, maybe even

another one, and then, well, what if Neal Pionk and Filip Chytil are ready

to contribute the second half and the club is augmented by adding Joe

Thornton as a rental?

But it is not important if that is my thought process or your thought

process. It is only important if that is the thought process of general

manager Jeff Gorton, who in my opinion faces the diciest challenge

approaching the Feb. 26 trade deadline as any Ranger in that position

since Neil Smith in 1994.

Because it is going to be on Gorton, with advice if not necessarily

consent from hockey department personnel including president Glen

Sather and coach Alain Vigneault — but most certainly with both advice

and consent from Garden chairman Jim Dolan — to make the call

between taking a rather far-fetched run at a title with many of the same

guys who have come close before or to divest and kick the can down the

road by investing in a future that is always more uncertain in practice

than presented in theory.

Everyone knows the history here, from Emile Francis dealing Curt

Bennett, Syl Apps, Jr., Don Luce and Mike Murphy (the second time) for

immediate help to Sather and then Gorton wheeling a succession of first-

rounders and high picks to go for it all. The temptation when as close as

the clubs of the early ’70s and through this decade were is

understandable.

Wrong deals, maybe, but for the right reasons. It is not that yielding a pair

of seconds and a prospect for Eric Staal in 2016 was necessarily

misguided, it was that the Blueshirts didn’t know what to do with him

when he got here. It is not that sending away Anthony Duclair and a

handful of first-rounders was more ill-advised than dealing Doug Weight,

Tony Amonte and Todd Marchant, it is that the 1994 team won in the

wake of a series of dramatic deadline trades whereas the 2014, 2015,

2016 and 2017 clubs fell short.

The Rangers have never quite been in this position before as a bubble

team with pending free agents whose value to the team on the ice may

be outweighed by their value on the market. Could the Rangers get a

first-plus for Nash, and if the first is in the lower third of the order, is that

enough for one of the team’s best two or three forwards? Could the

Rangers wheedle a first (or a high second) for Grabner?

The bounty, though and of course, could be expected in the return for

McDonagh, who is eligible to go free in 2019 and who will command

seven years for between $45 and 50 million on his next deal. This is a

legit, blue chip top-pair defenseman whose acquisition would

immediately vault the Maple Leafs and Lightning into prime position.

If Gorton could create a bidding war between the clubs that appear the

East’s elite, perhaps the Rangers could come back with Mitch Marner

from Toronto or perhaps Mikhail Sergachev from Tampa Bay in

exchange for the player who for a half-decade has been the Rangers’

most important athlete other than Lundqvist and who still would have

another year and another playoff remaining on his contract.

Of course, trading McDonagh would represent as dramatic a course

correction as possible and all but eliminate any chance the 2017-18

Rangers have of winning anything, including a playoff berth. It would

represent Gorton saying in so many words, wait ’til next year, with next

year no more of a guarantee than 75 of the last 76 seasons.

New York Post LOADED: 11.22.2017

1084503 New York Rangers

Ryan McDonagh out for Rangers vs. Hurricanes

By Steve Zipay

GREENBURGH, N.Y. — Rangers captain and top-pair defenseman

Ryan McDonagh will miss Wednesday’s game against the Hurricanes in

Carolina with an abdominal strain, a nagging issue that could keep him

sidelined longer.

CAROLINA HURRICANES

NEWS CLIPPINGS • Nov. 22, 2017

McDonagh has appeared in all 21 games, averaging more than 23

minutes a night, including more than five minutes per game on special

teams. He has played through the “lingering” issue, coach Alain

Vigneault said after Tuesday’s practice.

“It’s something that has been there for a little bit, doesn’t seem to be

getting better right now . . . so our doctors are checking it out,” said

Vigneault, who acknowledged that the problem was why McDonagh was

given practice days off for “maintenance” or treatment in recent weeks,

including Oct. 18, Oct. 24 and Nov. 1.

Asked if McDonagh could play Friday against the Red Wings, Vigneault

said: “No idea. I just know it’s been bothering him . . . our docs have

been on top of it. We just want to double-check things. We’ll know more

(Wednesday).”

Injuries have not been a factor for the Rangers, with the fewest man-

games lost to injuries (eight) in the NHL.

Without McDonagh, who blocked three shots in Sunday’s 3-0 victory over

Ottawa, defenseman Brendan Smith was moved up into his spot with

Nick Holden. Steven Kampfer will move into the lineup on the third pair

with Marc Staal. Kevin Hayes will replace McDonagh on the second

power-play unit.

“Mac plays anywhere from 22 minutes to 28 minutes, and they’re

important minutes,” Vigneault said. “So many guys are always looking to

get more minutes, here’s an opportunity to play some more important

minutes. I’m expecting our d-group to step up.”

The second pair of Brady Skjei and Kevin Shattenkirk also is expected to

see more time against the Hurricanes (9-6-4), who have collected points

in eight of their last 10 games.

“Mac’s a warrior, as you know” said Smith, who played with McDonagh at

the University of Wisconsin. “They’ve decided that it’s best to keep him

out so he can be ready down the line. So we’ve all got to be working

smarter, not harder.”

BLUE NOTES

At least 15 minutes of practice was spent on power play entries, which

has been the key reason the Blueshirts (10-9-2) are 0 for 9 with the man-

advantage in the last three games and dropped from third-ranked in the

league to sixth. “We haven’t lost confidence,” said Shattenkirk, who

quarterbacks the first unit. “We know what we’re doing wrong. We need

to be clean entering the zone. Once we’re in, we’ve had some

opportunities, made some good plays.” . . . The Rangers, who have won

seven of nine, are 2-5 on the road . . . Henrik Lundqvist, coming off his

second shutout of the season, will start his 10th straight game . . . Center

David Desharnais will be a healthy scratch for the second consecutive

game.

Newsday LOADED: LOADED: 11.22.2017

1084531 Toronto Maple Leafs

Wednesday game preview: Toronto Maple Leafs at Florida Panthers

By MARK ZWOLINSKI

BB&T CENTER

PUCK DROP: 7 PM

TV: Sportsnet

RADIO: TSN 1050

KEY PLAYERS

Trocheck/Nylander

Vincent Trocheck leads the Panthers in goals with nine, and has goals in

the past two games. The Leafs’ William Nylander is trying to find his

scoring touch, and could use a breakout game. He has one goal — an

overtime winner —in his last 14 games.

NEED TO KNOW

The Panthers are 7-11-2, and are coming off a 3-2 loss in Anaheim when

they had a season=high 52 shots on goal … Trocheck, Jonathan

Huberdeau, and Aleksander Barkov all have 21 points for the Panthers.

They have combined for 170 shots, and all are over 50 per cent in the

faceoff circle (Huberdeau is at 62.5 per cent) . . . The Panthers are 30th

in the NHL in goals against per game (3.6) and 30th on the penalty kill …

Former Leafs goaltender James Reimer, the backup to Roberto Luongo,

is off to a slow start with a 3-6 record, a 3.70 goals-against average and

an .888 save percentage.

UP NEXT

Friday, at Carolina, 7 p.m.

Toronto Star LOADED: 11.22.2017

1084532 Toronto Maple Leafs

Leaf fans shouldn’t get used to Marner and Matthews together

By MARK ZWOLINSKI

Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner can do a lot of things together, like

go to Argos games, share costume ideas, play video games, and just

hang out.

But playing together on the same line? That’s not going to happen.

Leafs coach Mike Babcock underlined that fact again Tuesday, and

wrapped it in his usual, iron-clad assurance, when asked about the

recurrence of a Matthews-Marner combination.

“That’s great everyone wants that, but what we like to do is win every

night,” Babcock said Tuesday, as his team prepared for a road game

against the Panthers in Florida Wednesday night.

“It’s the responsibility of both guys to drive their line every night, that’s

their job here. We’re about winning games ... if we thought that would

help us win more, that’s what we’d do.

“I don’t foresee that (playing on the same line) happening any time soon.

When we aren’t playing well, we move people around, that’s a different

thing. But for us, to be the best team we can be, both (players) have to

drive their lines, that’s their job.”

Babcock initially doused hopes and dreams of that combo Saturday

night, after the two players lit up the Montreal Canadiens with a pair of

Matthews goals, assisted by Marner.

The potential for explosive offence from that duo, though, lingered on into

Tuesday’s practice. Babcock remained steadfastly against the potential

partnering of his two, brightest young stars, and for good reason.

Matthews, after missing four games with an injury, is still slightly below

his pre-injury skating level. He’s appeared in two games since his return

to the lineup, looking dangerous offensively, but still shy of the

conditioning needed to fulfill his defensive responsibilities.

Matthews admitted Tuesday that he needs more time to rebuild himself

to his former performance levels, after such a long layoff.

CAROLINA HURRICANES

NEWS CLIPPINGS • Nov. 22, 2017

“Getting back to feeling good, it’s something you can’t put a (solid) time

line on,” he said. “You work as hard as you can, and hopefully it will

come back.”

With regards to lines, and whether they’re juggled, or kept intact,

Matthews said he (and the team) respect Babcock’s decisions.

“Of course, at the end of the day, it’s the coach who makes the decisions,

so you play with whoever he puts you with,” Matthews said.

“We have so many skilled players on this team, so you feel good with

whoever you play with.”

The Leafs, after building a season high six game winning streak,

including a pair of shutouts in the fifth and six games, took a step

backwards in their loss to Arizona Monday. The key to the game was

Arizona’s attention to clogging the neutral zone, which made the Leafs

look slower than they are, and commit costly turnovers.

Matthews took part of the blame on his own shoulders, acknowledging

the fact he was guilty in turning the puck over against the Coyotes.

“It’s like going down to our rink, the Air Canada Centre, there’s a lot of

traffic down there, but if you do the drive enough times, if you do it every

day, you’ll figure out the best way to get through it,” Babcock said.

When a reporter thought that Babcock lived close enough to the arena to

walk, Babcock smiled and said, “no, I drive …”

“And that last block takes me the longest time to get through. But (in

hockey), you work on it and you get through the neutral zone. You don’t

turn the puck over and you don’t hurt yourself.”

NOTE: Nylander said he isn’t paying attention to a trade rumor, which

has the Leafs and Coyotes trading straight up, Nylander for defenceman

Oliver-Eckman Larsson. “I don’t pay attention to that, so I don’t know

what’s going on,” Nylander said Tuesday.

Toronto Star LOADED: 11.22.2017

1084533 Toronto Maple Leafs

Matthews and Marner combo only temporary, Babcock tells Leaf fans

By MARK ZWOLINSKI

Leafs coach Mike Babcock said Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner

playing together regularly is something that “isn’t happening any time

soon.”

When pressed — again — on the subject at the team’s practice Tuesday,

Babcock said it’s the responsibility of both players to “drive” their

respective lines.

Matthews bagged a pair of goal Saturday when he worked on a line with

Marner in a win in Montreal. Babcock temporarily shook his lines up,

placing the two friends together, in an effort to spark the Leafs out of a 0-

0 deadlock in the first period.

Matthews has since remained on his usual line, with William Nylander

and Zach Hyman, while Marner remains entrenched with Tyler Bozak

and James van Riemsdyk.

Leafs fans, though, have often envisioned a scenario where Matthews

and Marner are together on the same line. The two-goal outburst over

the weekend fueled that vision, and led to questions for Babcock on

Monday and Tuesday.

“That’s great everyone wants that, but what we like to do is win every

night,” Babcock said Tuesday, as his team prepared for a road game

against the Panthers in Florida Wednesday night.

“It’s the responsibility of both guys to drive their line every night, that’s

their job here. We’re about winning games ... if we thought that would

help us win more, that’s what we’d do.

“I don’t foresee that (playing on the same line) happening any time soon.

When we aren’t playing well, we move people around, that’s a different

thing. But for us, to be the best team we can be, both (players) have to

drive their lines, that’s their job.”

In the meantime, Nylander said he isn’t paying attention to a trade rumor,

which has the Leafs and Coyotes trading straight up, Nylander for

defenceman Oliver-Eckman Larsson.

“I don’t pay attention to that, so I don’t know what’s going on,” Nylander

said Tuesday.

Toronto Star LOADED: 11.22.2017

1084534 Toronto Maple Leafs

Leafs’ unique development program paying dividends for Marlies’

Marchment

By DHIREN MAHIBAN

Spending the bulk of last season as a spectator wasn’t easy for Mason

Marchment, but the development program put in place by the Maple

Leafs has paid off for the undrafted forward.

Marchment is third in scoring for the Toronto Marlies with five goals and

six assists, and is 10th amongst American Hockey League rookies in

points, despite playing in just 12 of 17 games this season.

Two weeks ago the AHL recognized Marchment as its player of the week

after the 22-year-old scored a goal and added six assists in three games.

“He’s come a long way it seems like in a short period of time,” said

linemate Ben Smith. “He’s got a great shot, he can skate, he knows how

to get up and down the ice, be physical — it’s nice when you’re six-foot-

four, also. If he can get that shot off, find open ice, and if we can play

with the puck, we’re able to be productive.”

Marchment dressed in just 44 games last season split between the

Marlies and the ECHL’s Orlando Solar Bears. The Uxbridge, Ont., native

spent the rest of the season working with Leafs skating development

consultant Barb Underhill and skill development consultant Mike Ellis.

“You see great potential, but (he) just wasn’t in the place where we felt

he could contribute every single day,” said Marlies coach Sheldon Keefe.

“We just tried to have a little bit of a bigger picture. We felt he needed to

take care of his body first and foremost.

“I think development is individual. You need to cater the program for what

they need whether it’s skating, strength what have you. In Mason’s case,

we thought it was a little bit of everything.”

Marchment, the son of former NHL defenceman Bryan Marchment, has

always been a late bloomer. He didn’t start playing minor hockey until the

age of eight, he joined the Tier II Cobourg Cougars at 18 and was

already 19 by the time he made the jump to the OHL with the Erie Otters.

Following his second OHL season, Marchment signed an amateur tryout

with the Marlies to conclude the 2015-16 season. He then signed an AHL

contract for the 2016-17 season and agreed to an extension for 2017-18.

CAROLINA HURRICANES

NEWS CLIPPINGS • Nov. 22, 2017

Though it was difficult at the time, Marchment now has better

appreciation for the college-like approach the organization took with his

development last season.

“It wasn’t always easy, but I just kind of stuck with it and kept on working

hard and obviously it paid off,” said Marchment.

The six-foot-four, 200-pound forward’s dedication to improving his game

earned him a longer look from the Maple Leafs during training camp in

September as he survived the first round of cuts.

“I think he’s just worked hard and competed hard,” Leafs head coach

Mike Babcock said during camp. “He’s a guy obviously who has gotten

better. We seem to like him and so we’re giving him every opportunity to

see what’s going on and see what it’s like to be a pro and try to get

better.”

While serving a recent two-game suspension for cross-checking,

Marchment spent extra time after practice working with Underhill as he

continues to improve his skating.

“I’ve been working with her for two years. It’s been a big improvement,”

he said. “Just edge work and stuff like that. Overall she’s definitely

helped my all-round game a lot. Just being more stable on my feet

probably. Working on edges and speed out of the gate.

“Just being stronger on one foot at all times, just being in a good position

at all times and harder to knock off the puck.”

Marchment is one of just three players currently on the Marlies roster

without an NHL contract. As he continues to put in the work this season,

he hopes the Leafs will come knocking with that entry-level deal.

“It’s definitely a big goal,” he said. “I think I’ve still got a lot of work to do

and I just need to keep on working hard.”

Toronto Star LOADED: 11.22.2017

1084535 Toronto Maple Leafs

OHL scoring leader Jordan Kyrou ready to step into world junior spotlight

for Canada

By JOHN CHIDLEY-Tues., Nov. 21, 2017

GUELPH, ONT.—As far as Sarnia Sting head coach Derian Hatcher is

concerned, Jordan Kyrou is meeting his expectations. And Hatcher set

that bar as high as possible.

“Going into the year we knew he would potentially be the best player in

the league,” Hatcher said. “That’s what we feel about him and I think that

as of now, he’s held up to that.

“I think that’s sums it up. We feel we have the best player in the league.”

The 19-year-old Kyrou leads the Ontario Hockey League with 29 assists

and is tied for second with 18 goals. He leads the league with 47 points,

seven more than Windsor’s Aaron Luchuk.

Kyrou had 94 points (30-64) in 66 games in the 2016-17 campaign — his

highest total in three OHL seasons — and is well on his way to

surpassing that.

As captain and the focal point of Sarnia’s offence, Kyrou was a key part

of the Sting’s recent 14-game win streak that helped them to an OHL-

best record of 18-4-1. Sarnia is also No. 1 on the Canadian Hockey

League’s weekly power rankings.

“I just try to play my game every night,” Kyrou said in a recent interview.

“Just try to do the little things right, like winning my battles, getting on

pucks quicker.

“Try to help my team win every game. That’s my mindset: just help my

team win.”

His play this season — and as a participant at Hockey Canada’s Summer

Showcase in August — has made him a likely candidate for selection to

Canada’s world junior team next month.

Kyrou can also draw on some international experience. He had five goals

and three assists in seven games at the 2016-17 under-18 world

championships, where Canada placed fourth.

“He’s a player that anywhere, any roster that he makes for the rest of his

life he has the possibility to be an offensive guy,” said Joel Bouchard,

Hockey Canada’s team lead for this year’s world junior squad. “He has a

flair, he has the ability and he understands the offensive side of the

game.

“He can be a 200-foot player, that’s the way the game is played these

days, but he has a tool box that allows him to play with offensive

players.”

Kyrou, who was selected in the second round of the 2016 NHL Entry

Draft by the St. Louis Blues, will be attending Canada’s world junior

selection camp in St. Catharines, Ont., from Dec. 12-15.

The camp will include two exhibition games against an all-star team from

Canadian universities on Dec. 13 and 14 and a pre-tournament matchup

against Denmark on Dec. 15. Unsurprisingly, Kyrou would love to pull on

Canada’s red and white sweater again.

“That would be unbelievable,” said Kyrou. “It’s a thing you dream of

growing up, watching that tournament. I’m excited.”

Bouchard has managed Kyrou before. The GM of the Quebec Major

Junior Hockey League’s Blainville-Boisbriand Armada also worked with

Hockey Canada in 2015-16 as manager of the country’s under-17

program.

“(Kyrou) is a guy that’s impressed because he keeps progressing in his

style of play,” Bouchard said. “He’s a dynamic player with offensive ability

and he’s interested in getting better all the time. It’s a good

characteristic.”

Hatcher certainly expects Kyrou will not only make Canada’s roster, but

be an impact player at the Dec. 26-Jan. 5 world junior tournament in

Buffalo, N.Y.

“You’re playing against the best, right?” Hatcher said. “Honestly, I would

expect Jordan would go there and have a great tournament, nothing

less.”

Toronto Star LOADED: 11.22.2017

1084536 Toronto Maple Leafs

Game Day: Maple Leafs at Panthers

Terry Koshan

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (14-8-0) at FLORIDA PANTHERS (7-11-2)

7 p.m., BB&T Center

TV: Sportsnet Ontario

Radio: 1050 AM

CAROLINA HURRICANES

NEWS CLIPPINGS • Nov. 22, 2017

THE BIG MATCHUP

William Nylander vs. Aaron Ekblad

The Maple Leafs and Panthers’ top picks, respectively, from in the 2014

NHL draft continue to evolve and are among the top players on their

clubs now. Ekblad, the first pick overall in 2014, has demonstrated

leadership and growth for Florida, while the ability of Nylander, taken

eighth by the Leafs, to see the game has been a boon for Toronto. Both

have the capacity to influence the outcome on Wednesday.

FIVE KEYS TO THE GAME

Bounce back

The Maple Leafs had some stuffing taken out of them when they were

beaten by the Arizona Coyotes on Monday, and coach Mike Babcock is

steadfast in keeping his lines together. The trios have done well in the

past, and could have success against a Florida team that allows 3.55

goals a game (second-most in the NHL).

Draw the line

The Panthers’ line of Jonathan Huberdeau, Aleksander Barkov and

Evgeny Dadonov has been sharp, recording 59 of the Panthers’ 167

points (35%). Coach Bob Boughner will have last change, but Babcock

likely won’t have trouble putting the AustonMatthews line or Nazem

Kadri’s group out as a match.

Take possession

Neither team is the best at keeping the puck when it has it, as the Leafs

were third in the NHL with 286 giveaways and the Panthers fifth with 255.

The Leafs are a shade over 50% in possession at 5-on-5 play, while the

Panthers come in just under 50%. The team willing to grab that extra inch

should be rewarded.

Luongo loves the Leafs

Roberto Luongo is slated to start in the Panthers net over ex-Leaf James

Reimer, and will be looking to build on a fine career record against

Toronto. Luongo is 20-9-3 with a .926 save percentage and a 2.25 goals-

against average in 34 games. He has more career wins against only

Colorado, Edmonton and Calgary.

Hey, remember when?

The Leafs owned the Panthers last season, winning four of the five

meetings including one in Sunrise. Connor Brown had six points against

the Panthers, while Leo Komarov recorded five. Rookies at the time,

Matthews, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander combined for 10 points.

MAPLE LEAFS LINES

LW-C-RW

Zach Hyman-Auston Matthews-William Nylander

Patrick Marleau-Nazem Kadri-Leo Komarov

James van Riemsdyk-Tyler Bozak-Mitch Marner

Matt Martin-Dominic Moore-Connor Brown

Defence pairs

Morgan Rielly-Ron Hainsey

Jake Gardiner-Nikita Zaitsev

Andreas Borgman-Connor Carrick

Goaltenders

Frederik Andersen

Curtis McElhinney

PANTHERS LINES

LW-C-RW

Jonathan Huberdeau-Aleksander Barkov-Evgeny Dadonov

Connor Brickley-Vincent Trocheck-Nick Bjugstad

Jamie McGinn-Jared McCann-Colton Sceviour

Micheal Haley-Chase Balisy-Dryden Hunt

Defence pairs

Keith Yandle-Aaron Ekblad

Michael Matheson-Mark Pysyk

Ian McCoshen-MacKenzie Weegar

Goaltenders

Roberto Luongo

James Reimer

INJURIES

Panthers —F Derek MacKenzie (lower body), F Radim Vrbata (face).

Maple Leafs — None.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Power play

Panthers: 16.7% (22nd)

Maple Leafs: 22.9% (5th)

Penalty kill

Panthers: 72% (30th)

Maple Leafs: 80% (17th)

Toronto Sun LOADED: 11.22.2017

1084537 Toronto Maple Leafs

Maple Leafs stick to company line as they head on southern road trip

Lance Hornby

Winning points for artistic presentation and points in the NHL standings

have no co-relation for Mike Babcock.

So Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner will remain on different lines,

despite the Maple Leafs coach putting the two playmakers together the

past two games when “a spark” was badly needed.

That was Saturday in Montreal, where the duo, with fourth-liner Matt

Martin, scored twice with the Habs already flat on the canvas and

Monday’s loss to Arizona when a potential tying goal by Matthews was

scrubbed on an Arizona challenge for interference.

But on Tuesday, Matthews, Zach Hyman and William Nylander came out

together again for practice, while Marner stayed with James van

Riemsdyk and Tyler Bozak. Afterwards, the Leafs jetted south for games

in Florida and Carolina, Babcock again pooh-pooing the idea of a

permanent Matthews — Marner move.

“That’s great everyone wants it,” Bacock said of fan preference. “If we

thought that would help us win more games, that’s what we do. We’re

about winning games. I don’t foresee (putting them together) anytime

soon. When we aren’t playing good, we move people around, that’s a

CAROLINA HURRICANES

NEWS CLIPPINGS • Nov. 22, 2017

different thing. But for us to be the best we can be, they’re both split to

drive a line.”

Matthews and Marner are frequent off-ice buddies, but leading scorer

Matthews won’t lobby for an extended union. Babcock seems to think

Nylander provides any creative outlet Matthews requires while Hyman

hunts down pucks for both.

“At the end of the day, the coach makes the decisions and you play with

whoever he sticks you with,” Matthews said. “We have so many talented

and skilled players on this team.”

TRAFFIC JAM

The Leafs had won six straight before the Coyotes flustered them 4-1 on

Monday.

The methodical visitors gave the Leafs no room in the middle and did

their damage on two power-play goals and two empty-netters. Expect

more of the same defensive tactics from the Panthers and Hurricanes,

but Babcock came up with a Toronto-centric analogy for how best to deal

with the thicket of checkers.

“I think we’re a pretty good team and the other team, when they get an

opportunity, clog up the neutral zone. What do you think they’re saying

about us? The same thing. So it’s who does it best, who stays patient,

who gets through it.

“It’s like going to the ACC at 5 p.m. There is traffic, but the more you go

there at 5 p.m., the more you know what lane is open and what street to

go on. I drive it and the last block takes me half an hour. But it’s the same

principle, if you’re stubborn and turn pucks over it hurts you. You stay

patient, you do things right, you stay in the offensive zone and have a lot

of fun.”

THEMS THE BREAKS

No storybook finish was in the cards for Matthews on Monday, a huge

third-period goal against his childhood team in his 100th NHL game

wiped out by a Hyman penalty. He later rang one off the post.

Other gremlins hexing the Leafs were a rare penalty to Ron Hainsey, a

late Arizona power-play goal just as Connor Carrick was going to exit and

only one man advantage all night compared to four for the visitors. After

leading the league in first-period goals, Toronto has been blanked in the

opening frame three straight games.

“We’ve got some pretty fortunate bounces throughout these last 10

games,” said centre Nazem Kadri, who did improve a personal points

streak to seven games with an assist. “We understand it’s not always

going to be that way and we have to fight through some adversity. But I

felt we were able to turn the page today and move on to the next one.”

RON RARELY IN THE WRONG

Hainsey has taken 629 shifts, 11th most in the NHL as of Tuesday

morning, but Monday’s holding call, whistled by the ref at the other end

off the ice, was just his second minor this season. In 929 career games,

he has 394 penalty minutes.

“The idea is certainly to defend without taking penalties, including

myself,” said the 36-year-old member of the 2016 Cup champion

Penguins. “To defend without reaching, slashing or using your stick,

hooking or whatever.

“We didn’t generate a lot, it wasn’t the worst game I’ve ever seen. We

didn’t spend a lot of time in our end, but the flip side is we didn’t do

enough going towards their net. You do have to score at some point and

other than the power play goal, we didn’t have a lot of traffic like we

normally do. So it was kind of a dud, blah game for us.”

Carrick predicted the upcoming road matches will be “sticky”.

“Both teams we’re playing have some size up front, good sticks, skilled

players off the rush and have some active D-men with good size. It’ll be

our job to get underneath the net and bother them.

“For the most part it’s a copy-cat league, most teams doing the same

thing. Maybe there is a tweak here or there on a face-off or a power play

wrinkle, but for the most part the NHL game is skate, shoot, pass,

execute and bother people, take away time and space, have a good stick

and disrupt plays.

“You play in their end, the easier the game will get over 60 minutes.”

Toronto Sun LOADED: 11.22.2017

1084538 Toronto Maple Leafs

Maple Leafs' 3M Line didn't last long

Lance Hornby

Mike Babcock is sorry for all those hockey poolies who picked up Matt

Martin on the weekend, but the experiment with him and Auston

Matthews is one-and-done.

The coach returned to regular lines to start against the Coyotes. In the

midst of the scoreless stalemate in Montreal on Saturday, Babcock got

out the blender and among the new groupings was Matthews centring

the equally creative Mitch Marner and fourth-line forechecker Martin.

They produced two of the nicest goals at the end of a 6-0 rout.

But Marner was restored to right wing Monday with James van Riemsdyk

and Tyler Bozak, with Matthews between WilliamNylander and Zach

Hyman. Martin was given back his pick and shovel.

“When you get to coach the team, you get to do what you want; when I’m

coaching, I’m going to do what I want,”

Babcock said of those who yearned to see Marner and Matthews and

enjoyed the novelty of Martin being up there. “I like to win every night. So

I try to put the right people together for that. I think it was good

entertainment for us, but the score was 6-0 and the shifts in a lot of it

didn’t matter.”

CLUB 100 GROWING

Babcock does not think Matthews has completely recovered,

conditioning-wise, from four games away with a suspected back injury.

“With two goals (people) think he’s back, but he’s not. We have to get

him back skating like he can, playing without the puck and being

dominant.”

The first injury of Matthews’ NHL career did create a scheduling quirk

where the Arizona resident’s 100th career game came against the team

he grew up watching. His friends on the Coyotes include U.S. national

development program centre Clayton Keller, a candidate to follow him as

Calder Trophy winner.

“He’s had a nice 99 games and we expect him to get better and better,”

Babcock said of his leading scorer. “One thing about leadership, you

have to do it right every day. It’s not what you say, it’s what you do. He

has to keep improving, but he knows that, he wants that so it shouldn’t be

an issue.”

Matthews, Hyman, Marner, Connor Brown and defenceman Connor

Carrick are all around the 100-game mark.

“They’re (still) kids, trying to learn how to get better, trying to learn how to

play,” Babcock opined. “Brownie’s level of consistency is different than

Mitch’s. Mitch is still trying to find his game every day, what he’s going to

be and the level’s he’s at. He’s a lot younger. It doesn’t matter how much

skill you have, you have to become a pro, learn to do it every day. He

CAROLINA HURRICANES

NEWS CLIPPINGS • Nov. 22, 2017

has to continue to work on his body like he has. He wants to be great, but

it will take some time.”

DOGS HAVE THEIR DAY

Is Canada Coyote country?

That’s what coach Rick Tocchet’s last place team had to be thinking on

this road trip, which before Monday had produced two come-from-behind

wins against Montreal and Ottawa.

Lots of players and personnel with Toronto connections populate the

roster. That includes ex-Leaf first rounder Luke Schenn, TieDomi’s son

Max, and the Scarborough-born Tocchet.

“There’s no better hockey city for me,” Tocchet said. “I get to see my

family and it’s good for our guys, too.”

DOMIS GET THEIR KICKS

Domi held an unusual distinction Monday as the only player whose father

played for the Leafs and the Argos. Tie Domi, a soccer player of note as

a kid, tried out as a place kicker for the Argos in pre-season games in the

mid-1990s while a Leafs enforcer.

As Max was a baby at the time, he was a little skeptical.

“A kicker eh? I don’t know if that actually happened,” Max said. “I’ve seen

a photo, but no video. “Realistically, I have to see some footage it

actually happened. I think it was a pre-season game, some cherry

picking. But he claims he was a football player. I’ll have to do some

research.”

SCHENN HANGING IN

It has been almost 10 years since the Leafs drafted defenceman Schenn

and put him into their lineup right away. He was one of the few young

resources the Leafs had at the time.

“The cupboard is full now,” the Coyote observed. “They’ve done a great

job with the Marlies and prospects outside.

“I’m an old guy now, 10 years since I started playing. Time flies, but I

enjoyed the chance to play as a young guy. A lot of things change in the

game and we all know it’s a business (Schenn traded to Philadelphia for

van Riemsdyk). You get moved around here and there, but I enjoyed my

time in Toronto.”

Toronto Sun LOADED: 11.22.2017

1084539 Toronto Maple Leafs

Maple Leafs winning streak snapped by frustrating Coyotes

Lance Hornby

TORONTO — It seems whenever the Desert Dogs come to Toronto, they

drop a cold front on the Maple Leafs.

What looked like a mis-match on paper, the Leafs on a six-game winning

streak at home against the NHL’s last-place club, became a complete

dog, a 4-1 result decided by power-play goals, two by the Coyotes to the

Leafs’ one — and a coach’s challenge that reversed an Auston

Matthews’ tying goal with 3:50 to play. Zach Hyman was judged to have

used his stick to knock netminder Antti Raanta off his angle. Matthews

later hit the post.

That’s points in eight straight games at the Air Canada Centre for

Arizona, but Matthews and coach Mike Babcock thought the Leafs

shouldn’t have left their fate in the hands of the replay gods anyway.

“We should start on time,” Matthews said, as the Leafs reached a

season-high three games without a first-period goal. “They clogged up

the neutral zone, they have a really good power play, we took too many

penalties (with only one power play themselves).

“I didn’t play very well tonight, I didn’t like the plays I made, turning the

puck over.”

As the game wore on, Babcock started changing his lines as he did in

Montreal on Saturday. He didn’t go as far as putting fourth-liner Matt

Martin back with Matthews and Mitch Marner, but did have Matthews and

Marner out with Hyman when the goal was overturned.

Babcock started his post-game comments by apologizing for his flippant

remark to a reporter who wondered in the morning briefing if he’d keep

the odd assortment lines together. Babcock said “the beauty of this is

when you get to coach the team, you get to do what you want. When I

coach, I do what I want. I like to win every night.”

In any case, it ended the Leafs’ attempt to match the seven victories last

compiled here by Pat Quinn’s club in 2003-04 and Frederik Andersen’s

bid for three straight shutouts.

“In my opinion (the Hyman call) did not affect the outcome,” Babcock

said. “The one-on-one battles, not being ready to compete at the start

affected the outcome. When you don’t start on time, you’re unprepared to

go, you don’t deserve good results.”

Arizona, with wins over the Canadiens and Senators earlier on this

Eastern road trip, no doubt had a few in Leafs Nation snickering, have

hardly looked like pushovers north of the border.

“It was pretty frustrating for awhile,” said Coyotes forward Max Domi. “But

we stuck with it and knew it was going to come. We’re playing good

hockey right now. We have to find a way to put everything else behind

us.”

Monday’s result spoiled Matthews’ 100th NHL game as Toronto’s leading

scorer celebrated what he thought was the equalizer, sweeping around

the net and going up top.

“That’s always tough,” said James van Riemsdyk, who had Toronto’s

only goal. “There are lots of times when the goalies are smarter than we

give them credit for, maybe try to incite some of that contact.

“I like at least now (the league) is taking a closer look at that where

before it was just a guess.”

Matthews was blanked, while Clayton Keller had two points to stay in the

race atop the rookie scoring parade and perhaps follow Matthews to the

Calder Trophy table in June.

Keeping the score close was Anderson, named NHL second star of the

week before the game with a record of 6-1 this month before Monday. He

made 27 saves, but Raanta slammed the door on Toronto at even

strength.

“We can all speculate, but November seems to be kinder to him than

October,” Babcock said of two straight uneven opening months since

Andersen came to Toronto. “I don’t know why. Is it harder for the goalie

to be ready at training camp? Or was it our team being so loosey-goosey

they didn’t care as much and wanted to race you to 10 (goals)? That

probably led to it as well, but I don’t know.”

Andersen had begun the evening with 75 straight saves on as many

shots and a chance at becoming just the third Leafs goalie since the start

of 1930-31 to get three bagels. Lorne Chabot and Turk Broda (1950-51)

were the others as posted by the Elias Sports Bureau.

But the slow-starting Leafs fell back into over reliance on their Danish

defender and though he did make it to double figures in saves, the

Coyotes broke his streak midway through the first period. Brendan

Perlini, whose father Fred wore Matthews’ 34 among many others in his

brief Leafs career, was alone near the end of a Connor Carrick minor.

With the penalty-killing tandem of Nikita Zaitsev and Ron Hainsey near

CAROLINA HURRICANES

NEWS CLIPPINGS • Nov. 22, 2017

exhaustion as Arizona kept the puck inside the line for a long stretch,

Perlini collected his fifth.

Nazem Kadri drew a Kevin Connauton penalty in the dying seconds of

the first period, costing the Coyotes when the puck was dropped after

intermission, Kadri assisting on van Riemsdyk’s club-leading fifth power-

play goal.

With Marner off in the third, Arizona controlled the face-off in short order

with a successful screen shot by Oliver Ekman-Larson.

“This is what I was concerned about today,” Babcock said. “Their record,

even though we tried to tell our players how they’ve played lately and

come from behind, we got what we deserved. You get ready for the

game you’re playing today, that’s what good pros do. A lot of the guys

who were driving us, the young skilled guys … not today.”

Toronto Sun LOADED: 11.22.2017

1084540 Toronto Maple Leafs

Maple Leafs' Marner basking in Argos Grey Cup run

Lance Hornby

Rarely have the Toronto Argonauts been of such interest to the Maple

Leafs.

But with mutual playoff success of late, and shared ownership, the

hockey gang was out in force for Sunday’s CFL East Final win over

Saskatchewan.

“It was exciting,” said forward Mitch Marner, a regular attendee this

season at BMO Field. “I was worried that last little bit with 10 minutes left,

but I had no doubt.”

Marner won an undisclosed bet against Regina-born centre Tyler Bozak,

who had provincial native and coach Mike Babcock on his side, too.

“I walked in here this morning and Babs and Ty were at the breakfast

table,” chortled Marner. “I walked in with my Argos hat, arms up and

celebrating. It was time to rub it in.

“I’m going with the Argos again (in Sunday’s Grey Cup over Calgary), no

doubt. It’s going to be great.”

Ironically, the Leafs’ first game after the CFL title tilt will be in Calgary

next Tuesday, which would be an even better stage for Marner to bask in

if Toronto wins.

Marner brought a few teammates, including Auston Matthews, to BMO

on Sunday, the latter’s first live CFL game. Marner said the Arizona

resident liked it — once he got used to three-down football.

“I left after the third quarter,” a sheepish Matthews said. “It was a bit cold

and I was tired. When I got home and watched on TV, it turned into a real

barnburner. I probably should have stayed.”

Babcock endured the elements with the green-garbed Rider Pride gang

in the stands.

“I took the different route with the fans, instead of the sitting in the

secured suite and watching it on TV,” Babcock said. “It was a great

experience. I grew up a Roughrider fan (but) I’m really happy for Toronto,

for the team and for Larry Tanenbaum and the ownership. It’s a great

opportunity. Anytime you have a chance to win a championship, it’s really

special.”

Saskatoon-born ex-Leaf and now Coyotes’ defenceman Luke Schenn

was also at the game, set up by a high school friend who has a Rider

connection.

“We pretty much watched the whole game from the Roughriders bench,”

Schenn said. “It was a great experience.”

Toronto Sun LOADED: 11.22.2017

1084541 Toronto Maple Leafs

Could Igor Ozhiganov be the Maple Leafs next steal from the KHL?

By Alessandro Seren Rosso

In May 2016, the Toronto Maple Leafs announced the signing of KHL

defenceman Nikita Zaitsev. Fast forward to today and Zaitsev logs more

ice time than any other Maple Leaf and has already inked a long-term

contract extension. It seems Maple Leafs GM Lou Lamoriello pulled a

rabbit out of his hat (Zaitsev is a common surname in Russia which

means “rabbit”), and will probably try to the same this summer with

another KHL defenceman: Igor Ozhiganov.

The Athletic’s Craig Custance noted the Maple Leafs are heavy

favourites to sign Ozhiganov and placed him 17th on his list of the top 20

UFAs.

A former teammate of Zaitsev's — both played for CSKA Moscow —

Ozhiganov is a solid two-way defenceman, and at 6-foot-2, 207 pounds,

he has an NHL-sized body. He also has a booming shot from the

blueline. While Zaitsev is a solid shooter, too, and scored more at the

KHL level, Ozhiganov’s shot is more powerful, proven by his triumph at

the 2017 KHL All-Star Game in the hardest shot competition. He won the

event with a 99 mile an hour blast.

To shed some light on the little-known Ozhiganov, I spoke to Gennady

Kurdin, his minor hockey coach in Moscow.

Kurdin played professionally in the Soviet Union and in Finland before he

started coaching junior hockey in Russia. During his pro career, he won

two Soviet titles playing for CSKA Moscow and a gold medal at the 1979

world junior championship in Sweden, playing alongside players like

Vladimir Krutov, Igor Larionov and Alexei Kasatonov.

Kurdin has had success coaching young players. Working with the Belye

Medvedi academy in Moscow, he paved the way for other notable

Russian players like Nikita Kucherov and Nikita Gusev to turn pro.

“Since his childhood, (Ozhiganov) played different sports, but he had

some problems with running and physical loads. He was being (raised)

by his grandmother, Lidia Ivanovna, who always helped us during the

camps,” Kurdin said.

Ozhiganov, 25, was a late bloomer. He didn’t play for any national teams,

like Kucherov and Gusev did, until the 2012 world juniors, where he won

a silver medal. This is an unusual career path for a high-level Russian

player. Usually, the best players start getting called to the national level

at a young age and rise up the ranks. For Ozhiganov, it didn't unfold like

that.

“Ozhiganov got a good (weight) only at 21. He went away from me a

number of times when he was younger. I am a demanding coach and I

force my guys to work. But pretty much at 15, he stopped being lazy and

changed his attitude with hockey. He still has that great attitude,” Kurdin

said.

Kurdin recalled that there were flashes of that “great attitude” when

Ozhiganov was a young player.

CAROLINA HURRICANES

NEWS CLIPPINGS • Nov. 22, 2017

“When he was 11, he almost had to quit hockey due to an injury following

a boarding incident. He really wanted back (on the) ice when he was

injured. He started working back on his shot at his place and broke

everything. After a couple of months, he already started skating and

played only one month later, even if the doctors recommended to wait

one year,” Kurdin said.

Despite not suiting up for the national team at a young age, Ozhiganov

was an above-average player. He played his first KHL game when he

was just 18, in 2011-12, and scored a memorable first goal a year later.

It went something like this: During a power play in the dying minutes of a

1-1 game between CSKA Moscow and Dinamo Riga, Kucherov picked

up the puck at the half boards. Initially, he was looking for the slot, but

with no one open, he found Ozhiganov on the blueline. The defenceman

got the puck, took a half step forward and unleashed a booming slapshot

that found the back of the net.

This type of goal is common for offensive defencemen like Ozhiganov.

His biggest weapon is his slapshot. He also possesses above-average

vision and an ability to read the play.

“Even when he was younger, I always played him on the power play

because of his unordinary way of thinking the game. He was often

playing with Nikita Gusev. Gusev and Ozhiganov think hockey the same

way Kucherov does. I didn’t play him on the penalty kill. (Ozhiganov) is a

creative player who likes to play the puck. He always had a great shot,

even when he was 14 or 15 and now he has just improved it further,”

Kurdin said.

Starting with that first goal against Dinamo Riga, Ozhiganov has gone on

to score 27 goals in 297 regular-season KHL games. Most of his goals

have come from the blueline, as expected, but he also scored a couple of

goals that demonstrate his stick-handling skills. He scored a career high

eight goals in 50 games last season.

For a comparison, by age 24, Zaitsev had scored 95 points in the KHL.

Ozhiganov has 83. At age 22, Ozhiganov had 45 points, but that was

likely due to receiving more ice time while playing for Sibir Novosibirsk.

While Ozhiganov had three very good seasons he's off to a rough start in

2017-18. He has yet to score and has just two assists in 24 games, a

surprise considering his offensive abilities.

“He usually plays best when he feels the trust of his coach,” Kurdin said.

Perhaps a coaching change is the reason for Ozhiganov's poor start to

the season. This off-season, former Kazakhstan Olympian Igor Nikitin

replaced former Boston Bruins forward Dmitri Kvartalnov as CSKA

Moscow's head coach. Nikitin was also a former assistant coach with

Sibir Novosibirsk. It looks like the move didn’t work in Ozhiganov’s

favour.

“I think that (Ozhiganov) didn’t (have) a good relationship with Nikitin

when they were in Novosibirsk,” Kurdin said. “This year (Ozhiganov) isn’t

playing on the power play. It shows that he lost ice time if compared to

the situation with Kvartalnov. I think that Nikitin is too much of a short-

term specialist, he limits to play his team to a run-and-gun system. It’s

needed to better use players, according to their skills. (CSKA) don’t play

a player of such a level, but in North America they wouldn’t sit a player

like him. But (Ozhiganov) has a great attitude and can play at a very high

level, he can get out of this situation.”

At this point, it looks like the Maple Leafs are the most likely candidate for

Ozhiganov’s move to the NHL, even if Kucherov has praised him publicly

and reportedly asked Lightning GM Steve Yzerman to sign him.

“We’ll see how he will adapt to the North American hockey, however,

because he needs to work on his mobility. In the NHL, you do need to

have more maneuverability and to switch faster from offence to defence,

and vice versa,” Kurdin said.

There’s definitely a place in the NHL for an offensive defenceman with a

big shot from the blueline. NHL success, however, doesn’t depend on

skill or physicality alone, even when a player has plenty of both, as is the

case with Ozhiganov.

NHL success, especially for Russian players, depends a lot on

adaptation. On the other hand, it’s hard to imagine Leafs coach Mike

Babcock and Lamoriello personally visited a player to simply have a look

at him. They have scouts for that kind of task.

Ozhiganov’s NHL career has yet to begin, but at this point, it’s hard to

imagine that he will sign a new contract with CSKA Moscow in the KHL. If

the Leafs are able to sign him, they may have themselves another

diamond in the rough.

The Athletic LOADED: 11.22.2017

1084493 Nashville Predators

Predators' Kevin Fiala surging since Kyle Turris' debut

Adam Vingan, USA TODAY NETWORK — Tennessee Published 9:33

a.m. CT Nov. 21, 2017 | Updated 12:27 p.m. CT Nov. 21, 2017

Throughout the Predators' season, "Morning Skate" will highlight the

odds and ends surrounding the team. Consider this a one-stop shop for

Predators-related information.

With a quick pirouette and a flick of his wrist, Kevin Fiala backhanded the

Predators into the lead Monday against the Winnipeg Jets.

This is what the Predators were waiting for, the spark that would set the

talented forward afire. The 21-year-old had two points Monday, the first

time in his brief NHL career that he has recorded consecutive multi-point

games.

"I really think that helps build confidence inside of a player," Predators

coach Peter Laviolette said. "To me, that's what showed most out there

(Monday) is that he looked extremely confident with the skating and the

moves and the cuts that he was trying to make and delivering pucks and

trying to beat people and create."

The Predators' offense has been resurrected this month after a sluggish

October with a league-leading 37 goals in nine games.

Fiala, like many others, has been a part of that turnaround, totaling six

points in his past five games. He leads Predators forwards with 15 shots

over that span, matching his output through his first 14 games this

season.

It seems too coincidental that those five productive games coincide with

the Predators debut of Kyle Turris, who has centered Fiala's line with

Craig Smith since arriving via trade more than two weeks ago.

"I feel great with them," Fiala said. "Both are hard workers and very

skilled and very great. Kyle (coming) into the lineup, he's a very offensive

guy."

As a unit, their combined speed and offensive instincts have

overwhelmed opponents in the offensive zone. It appears that Turris has

unlocked Fiala's true potential.

"He's a very good player that I'm trying to gain chemistry with," Turris

said. "Get him the puck and let him fly."

Tennessean LOADED: 11.22.2017

1084494 Nashville Predators

Is Predators' Filip Forsberg a star? NHL players, coaches weigh in

CAROLINA HURRICANES

NEWS CLIPPINGS • Nov. 22, 2017

Adam Vingan, USA TODAY NETWORK — Tennessee Published 8:00

a.m. CT Nov. 21, 2017 | Updated 10:48 a.m. CT Nov. 21, 2017

The definition of what constitutes a star in the NHL depends on the

criteria used.

From a statistical standpoint, Predators forward Filip Forsberg qualifies.

Eleven NHL players before Tuesday’s games had scored more goals

than Forsberg's 99 since the start of the 2014-15 season. Twenty-three

had more points.

But he’s routinely overlooked in discussions of the young difference

makers that have overtaken the league.

For the past month, The Tennessean has asked NHL players and

coaches some variation of the following question — "Is Filip Forsberg a

star?"

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The Athletic / Bourne: Brent Burns is still without a goal this season —

what's going on?

By Justin Bourne

There’s something weird going on with Brent Burns (a writer writes yet

again). But this time it’s not his snake and rodent heavy home zoo or the

months spent RVing around North America instead of training

traditionally, or his wild man appearance.

It’s this: The all-star defenseman, the Canadian Olympian, the Norris

Trophy-winning star, only has three primary points all season, and not a

single one at 5v5. Over 19 games. Over the past two seasons alone he’s

totalled ONE HUNDRED AND SEVEN primary points, among his grand

total of 151. He sits with zero goals. With a second assist, his current

number of 5v5 points sits at a lonely one. All told he has seven points,

partly thanks to some secondary power-play assists.

A closer look makes things even more confounding.

Through a quarter of the season, he’s logging the second most minutes

of his career — well over 25 a night. That’s ninth-most in the league and

most on the Sharks. At even strength, he’s averaging around 18 minutes,

so yeah, it’s not like he’s had fewer opportunities to produce than in

previous years.

If we can continue the spiral of crazy here, he’s also never averaged

more shots (per minutes played) than he currently is in his entire career.

He’s a human rapid-fire machine. His 82 shots – a total creeping up to

Alex Ovechkin-level numbers at over four per game — are the sixth most

in the league, while his even strength total is the third highest in the

entire NHL. And some-freaking-how, he hasn’t found the back of the net,

despite his shot being a bomb. I mean, he hasn't even had one of those

shots turn into a rebound for a primary assist. What are the odds of that?

And more importantly, what the hell is going on?

All we can really do is theorize – if he or the team knew, they’d certainly

fix it – but there are a couple things I noticed while digging through his

stats and watching his past few games.

One is that his shooting percentage over his career has always fluctuated

wildly. That makes sense; he's played different positions, and on D he’s a

volume shooter from distance. Those pucks are more prone to being

affected by things largely out of Burns’ control – tips, pucks off pants,

goalie screens, etc. But that takes me to something I noticed in watching

him play – yes, he shoots a lot, but boy, does he take a lot of rips from

the worst spot in the offensive zone (near the blueline by the boards).

On Monday night, Burns had another seven shots (and untold attempts)

in a shootout loss to the Anaheim Ducks. Below is a quick look at a

chunk of the attempts he took over those 65 minutes.

I mean there’s a couple decent looks in there, but for the most part, he’s

throwing Hail Marys. There’s also the issue that once players recognize

they’re in a slump, they become prone to over-thinking opportunities:

Oof.

But back to the distance thing: if you check out his “high danger” shot

attempt numbers – basically the percentage of his shots that come from

the house area around the net, which go in most regularly – it’s never

been worse in his career. Like, not even close.

Over the past three seasons, his shot attempts that come from that area

(per 60 minutes) are 0.92, 0.99, and 0.79. This year? 0.12. The

percentage of his own shots that come from that area this year is over

five percent lower than any previous year of his career.

Over the past six seasons, the average distance of an NHL

defenseman’s shot has edged closer to the net like clockwork (down to

49.8 feet last season). Burns is doing the opposite. His average shot

distances have moved farther from the net in each of the past four years,

pushing back nearly four feet over that time, including a foot and half

from last year alone. His average shot comes from about 54 feet this

year. So on average, he shoots from over four feet farther than your

average defenseman.

Obviously, this wasn’t a problem over the past year or two — his very

particular style was extremely effective — but as the number pushes

farther and farther away from the net, I think it’s fair to expect fewer

pucks to find their way in.

Now, it’s possible that this is something system based. As Burns logs

more minutes and gets older, it’s possible they’ve asked him to jump into

the rush less. They may not want him getting as involved in the offensive

zone, worrying that he won’t have the wheels to get back to the D-side

quickly if things go wrong.

It might also be none of those things. Obviously, he’s had bad luck – it’s

almost impossible to shoot the puck on net as often as he has and not

score. His expected goal total so far sits between three and four. But it’s

also possible that, as I’ve heard from people around the team, the eye

test hasn’t been great either.

(Not to scare Sharks fans too much, but the scoring chances against

when he’s on the ice are also through the roof compared to his career

norms.)

Whatever the case is, the team has to be concerned that one year

(almost to the day) of signing an eight-year by eight million dollar

contract, their Norris Trophy-worthy offensive force suddenly isn't

producing offense. It’s still shy of game 20 for Burns, but you can’t help

but look at a big guy who turns 33 this season with a big deal in his

pocket and do the awkward collar-tug thing for San Jose.

The reality is, Burns is still an exceptional player — not producing offense

yet doesn’t make that untrue. He kills rushes against early, he makes

nice first touches in the D-zone, and obviously, he’s still creating major

shot volume. His shot metric numbers (possession, if you like) are still

more than good, and still good relative to his teammates.

So yeah, this is going to get better. There is zero fear that his offensive

numbers stay this feeble. But when things get this statistically drastic,

you have to believe that at least some portion of it goes beyond luck.

And that’s where the Sharks team, fans and even Burns himself have to

wonder: how far will this correct this year, and the year beyond? That

group of people better hope a lot, or the “beyond” part of that deal could

— like Burns — get a little weird.

CAROLINA HURRICANES

NEWS CLIPPINGS • Nov. 22, 2017

The Athletic LOADED: 11.22.2017

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The Athletic / Why Jim Benning's contract situation should matter to

Canucks fans

By Jason Brough

Do the Vancouver Canucks need to make the playoffs for Jim Benning to

keep his job as general manager?

I'll admit, I don't know the answer to that question. But what I do know is

there are plenty of good reasons to ask it. Benning is in the final year of

his contract, and the Canucks are in no rush to hand him an extension.

What possibly could they be waiting for?

A few weeks ago, Canucks owner Francesco Aquilini may have provided

a clue when he went on the radio and got asked about his GM's job

status.

“With Jim, those contract talks are private, so it’s not something I want to

discuss here,” Aquilini said. “(But) I think from what Jim has

accomplished in his last 15 games, I think it’s pretty exciting. I think the

games have been very entertaining, they've been fun to watch as a fan.

Every game this year has been competitive.”

At the time, the Canucks were 7-5-2 and playing some decent hockey.

They've since fallen to 9-8-3, no longer holding down a playoff spot.

What struck me most about Aquilini's remarks was his focus on the short

term. He was asked about his GM's job status, and his first thought was

that the “last 15 games” have gone well. It wasn't about Brock Boeser or

Thatcher Demko or Elias Pettersson, three excellent prospects that

Benning has drafted. It was about the current season and how the team

was playing.

Now, there's no question that a big part of Benning's job is to ice a

competitive team. He said so himself during our chat in October when

asked if there was any temptation to tank for Rasmus Dahlin.

“When you sit in this chair, you walk a fine line,” Benning said. “You have

paying customers that want to come to the games and be entertained.

And part of being entertained is your team's competitive and they have a

chance to win at the end of the night.”

But the other big thing that ownership has demanded of Benning is that

he builds for the future by making the Canucks younger and more

talented. Draft well. Develop well. All that stuff. Just don't forget about

staying competitive and keeping the fans entertained!

Since becoming GM in 2014, Benning's moves have reflected those dual

objectives. Unlike most GMs of rebuilding teams, he hasn't stockpiled

draft picks. Instead, he's chosen to target other teams' prospects like

Sven Baertschi and Nikolay Goldobin, i.e. players who are close to being

NHL ready. Heck, the only first-round pick he did acquire — the one the

Canucks used to draft Jared McCann in 2014 — ended up getting flipped

to Florida for Erik Gudbranson.

Benning has also signed the likes of Ryan Miller and Loui Eriksson in

free agency. Those two were added to remain competitive, not so they

could get flipped at the deadline. They didn't come cheap, either.

Even the veterans that have been traded, you could argue that Benning's

hand was forced. Jannik Hansen was probably going to be lost in the

expansion draft, so he went to San Jose for Goldobin. Alex Burrows was

a pending UFA, so he went to Ottawa for another prospect in Jonathan

Dahlen.

What does all this have to do with Benning's job status?

To answer that, let's take a quick detour into the business world. Have

you heard of Amazon? It's a pretty successful company. Worth over $500

billion now, according to a share price that's quadrupled the past couple

years.

One of the many interesting things about Amazon is its steadfast focus

on the long term. CEO Jeff Bezos doesn't waste time worrying about

quarterly results or what Wall Street thinks on a day-to-day basis. That

would be short-term thinking.

“I ask everybody to not think in two-to-three-year time frames, but to think

in five-to-seven-year time frames,” Bezos said earlier this year, per

CNBC. “When somebody congratulates Amazon on a good quarter, I say

thank you. But what I'm thinking to myself is that those quarterly results

were actually pretty much fully baked about three years ago. Today, I'm

working on a quarter that is going to happen in 2020. Not next quarter.

Next quarter for all practical purposes is done already and it has probably

been done for a couple of years.”

Look, I realize that building a hockey team is different than building an e-

commerce giant. For one thing, hockey teams require fewer drones.

But “short-termism” — yes, they actually have a phrase for it — can be a

real problem for CEOs. Because if earnings go down, the share price

goes down. And if the share price goes down, you can bet the CEO is

going to start feeling the heat from the shareholders.

Do you know what can cause earnings to go down in the short term?

Investing in the future.

“It’s one of the most dysfunctional things going on in the marketplace

today,” former Xerox CEO Ann Mulcahy said back in 2005. “I applaud

companies that have pulled back from setting earnings expectations and

are trying to reshape the rules of the road. If I could take Xerox private,

I’d do it yesterday.”

Mulcahy added, “I talk with a lot of CEOs, and quietly to each other, we

say, ‘I’d love to say that I just don’t care and I’m just focused on the long

term, but the pressure is extraordinary.'”

If you think about it, the NHL standings are a lot like quarterly earnings.

All they show is the short-term picture. They don't show which teams

have the best prospects. Nor do they show which teams have too many

aging veterans on bad contracts.

So getting back to the Canucks, how might short-termism rear its ugly

head?

Well, what if Benning were to get a trade offer for Chris Tanev? We've all

seen how badly the team misses him when he's out. But at the same

time, we know that top-four defencemen are an extremely valuable

commodity in today's NHL. Tanev could be worth a first-round draft pick

and a good prospect to a contending team.

I did ask Benning at the draft about the possibility of trading Tanev.

“Well, he's one of our best defencemen,” he said. “I'm going to look at all

our options, but for us to move him off our blue line, we'd have to get a

good defenceman back.”

I pushed back. Shouldn't the Canucks' focus be more long term, like five

years down the line?

“That's a good point,” Benning said, “but I think we're going to have a lot

of young players in our lineup next year, and we want to be competitive

in the games. Chris Tanev is still a relatively young player for a

defenceman. We're going to have him for the next seven or eight years.”

For the record, Tanev turns 28 next month, and he's only signed through

the 2019-20 season, after which he can become an unrestricted free

agent. But fine, I'll allow there's some merit to keeping Tanev and trying

to re-sign him.

CAROLINA HURRICANES

NEWS CLIPPINGS • Nov. 22, 2017

The Canucks also have some pending UFAs. So what if they got an offer

for Thomas Vanek at the deadline? And what if they were still in the

playoff race then? And if they were, what if Benning felt he had to make

the playoffs to keep his job? Is he really going to trade a contributor for,

say, a second-round pick?

Then there's the tricky situation with Gudbranson. At this point, trading

Gudbranson for pennies on the dollar might be the smart play. (At the

very least, it beats throwing good money after bad.) But what if Benning

is worried he'll look bad if he takes an L on one of the signature moves of

his tenure? If he had some job security, might he approach the situation

differently?

Trevor Linden, the Canucks president of hockey ops, understands why

those sorts of questions might get raised.

“That's fair,” he told The Athletic Monday from Philadelphia. “But Jim and

I, we're very much in agreement on where the future of this team is, and

where we have to be. I don't see that as being an issue. I get where that

comes from, but at the same time I'm not concerned about that.”

I asked if there was a time frame for deciding on Benning's future.

“No, we're pretty focused on what we're doing here,” said Linden. “I'm in

contact with Jim daily, so it hasn't been an issue.”

I asked if he could picture finishing the season without a decision being

made on Benning.

“That's possible,” he allowed. “Like I said, we're focused on what we're

doing and the day-to-day operations of the club right now, focused on

winning games.”

I asked if the Canucks were waiting to see what shakes out in places like

Detroit and St. Louis where Ken Holland and Doug Armstrong are also in

the final year of their contracts.

The answer was no.

Finally, I asked Linden how much Benning was being judged on the

short-term versus the long-term.

Not surprisingly, the phrase “fine line” came up again.

“I'm really encouraged by what's happening in the organization, not

necessarily at the NHL level,” said Linden. “Whether it be in Utica, where

there's some positive things with some young players coming in and

playing some meaningful roles down there. Or whether it be the junior

leagues or college or the European leagues. We've had some players

really step forward and I'm excited about a group of players that aren't

currently on our team.

“I guess there's always a part of it where your eye's on the future and

what that looks like. At the same time, when the season starts, you want

to be competitive. You want to have a chance to win. You want to

compete every night. But we're certainly not going to mortgage the future

to win now.

“It's always a bit of a balancing act. Our fans want to come to the rink

every night and have a chance to win. So you kind of walk the fine line. I

think we've done a good job of that to this point.”

We shall see if ownership agrees.

But when we'll see?

That's hard to say.

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The Athletic / Dellow: Canadiens one of league's best at 5-on-5…except

after faceoffs

By Tyler Dellow

Through games played Sunday night, Claude Julien's old team, the

Boston Bruins, has the second worst goal difference in the NHL within 15

seconds of a 5-on-5 faceoff at -4. They're tied with his division rival, the

Buffalo Sabres, who are also at -4. It's always good to see divisional

rivals struggling at something but, regrettably, the Canadiens are a

remarkable -11 within 15 seconds of a 5-on-5 faceoff.

Montreal is currently -13 at 5-on-5, so most of their problem has occurred

within 15 seconds of a faceoff. The problem actually runs a little deeper

than this. I've got a way of slicing the game into segments, based on

when the last faceoff occurred and what the result of that faceoff was.

After a certain point, which is tied to the first defenceman changing, I

classify it as on-the-fly (OTF) hockey – the players are changing on the

fly, and the game has turned back into a flow game, up the ice and back.

In non-OTF minutes, the Canadiens have been out-scored 32-11. They

have an .881 save percentage and are shooting just 4.3 per cent. Their

goal difference on these shifts is the worst in the NHL, six goals worse

than the forlorn Arizona Coyotes. On OTF shifts, which account for about

47 per cent of Montreal's time at 5-on-5, the Canadiens have very good

numbers. They're sixth in the league by Corsi%. They're tied for fifth in

goal difference. They're a nice, normal, good team. Unfortunately, it's all

been undermined by the half of the game in which they're the 1974-75

Washington Capitals.

I tend to think that this distinction between OTF and non-OTF hockey is

important because non-OTF shifts tend to unfold in very specific ways.

Take a shift starting with a defensive zone win. A team has to execute a

series of steps to turn that into an offensive zone opportunity. Win the

faceoff. Get control of the puck. Break out cleanly. Transit the neutral

zone. Enter the offensive zone. A defensive zone loss has a difference

sequence that's required. An offensive zone loss is something else

altogether. And so on. You get the idea. Separating these out makes it

easier to see where things have gone wrong.

Let's start with defensive zone loss minutes. The Canadiens have been

outscored 7-1 in these minutes. Unsurprisingly, NHL teams tend to do

extremely poorly in these minutes. The average team having played the

same amount of defensive zone loss minutes would expect to have been

outscored 4.6 to 1.3. So most of Montreal's problems relate to goals that

they've allowed.

Montreal's worse than the average team in terms of allowing shots in

these minutes – the Canadiens have allowed 62.7 SA/60 as compared to

a league average of 54.5 SA/60 but what's really killed them is the .883

goaltending. Six of the seven goals Montreal has allowed on these shifts

have been within 15 seconds of the faceoff. I took a look at the goals that

they've allowed within 15 seconds of a defensive zone faceoff loss to see

if any commonalities show up. I see two groups, with Saturday's loss

against Toronto introducing a third class.

There's another thread that I see running through this, both with the

defensive zone wins and the defensive zone losses. On a lot of these

goals, you'll see the Montreal centre let the opposing centre go after the

faceoff. That centre frequently seems to end up alone in front of the net.

Watch for it as you go through these goals.

Deflected shots

0:00

0:00

0:00

Carey Price moving awkwardly

Matt Cullen scores on the rebound here. He's completely unmarked after

winning the faceoff.

CAROLINA HURRICANES

NEWS CLIPPINGS • Nov. 22, 2017

0:00

0:00

Terrible Coverage

0:00

If Montreal's coaches are asking the centre to try and block shots instead

of staying with the opposing centre after the faceoff, then responsibility

for this goal isn't on Phillip Danault. As I've mentioned, it shows up

enough that I suspect that this is what the coaching staff wants.

Outside of issues with centres letting their counterparts go, I'm not sure

what Claude Julien could realistically do in order to improve the save

percentage and, by extension, the goals against, in defensive zone loss

minutes. Carey Price returning to health and to being Carey Price would

help. While the Canadiens allow more shots than average team here, the

real issue is getting some saves. Analytics guys are notorious for

chalking things up to bad luck but between deflections making their way

past the goalie and whatever is wrong with Price, I think that accounts for

most of Montreal's difficulties here.

Defensive zone wins are another story. Again, the Canadiens are much

worse than we'd expect, given the amount of time they've played

following a defensive zone win. Montreal's been outscored 8-1; we'd

expect a team that's played as much time in this state as the Canadiens

to have been outscored 2.9 to 1.7. The save percentage that the

Canadiens are getting here is outrageously awful: .810. Offensively, they

aren't going in but it's a very small difference. Again, it's the defensive

issue that I find more interesting.

If we look at the video, we see that four goals against have occurred

within 15 seconds of a defensive zone faceoff win. Again, I looked for

commonalities. They're harder to find here.

Bad Luck

0:00

(The clip below is bad luck – watch the referee's foot – and then bad

coverage.)

0:00

This next goal is another example of the centre releasing his counterpart

after a faceoff in order to occupy a lane and then seeing him score on a

deflection.

0:00

Bad defending

0:00

There's no real smoking gun here that I can see, although if I was Claude

Julien, I'd be looking for winger wins on faceoffs and better coverage if

the puck is turned over. While it's a small sample, part of a coach's job is

worrying about stuff before the numbers say he's got a problem.

Moving out to the neutral zone, Montreal has been out-scored 5-2 after

neutral zone losses. The average team with the same amount of time

would have been outscored 3.7 to 2.7 – the problem is a little more

evenly balanced here. The Canadiens have a very nice Corsi% in this

situation – 47.9 per cent against a league average of 40.0 per cent,

which suggests that they're generally doing a good job of retrieving pucks

and exiting the zone.

Of the five goals allowed by the Canadiens after neutral zone losses,

only one came within 15 seconds. Carey Price was really, really

struggling before he took some time off. Here's another example of a

goal that's largely on him.

0:00

Amazingly, after neutral zone wins, Montreal's problem continues to be

an inability to stop the puck. The Canadiens have been outscored 7-3; an

average team would have been outscored 3.7 to 3.1. Montreal's

possession numbers are fabulous here, with a 63.4 per cent Corsi%; a

league average team would be at 51.7 per cent. A .750 save percentage

won't take you very far though and that's what the Canadiens have.

That doesn't necessarily mean it's a goaltending thing. Going through the

goals, I see a lot of terrible breakdowns. You'd like your goalie to bail you

out but it's not always going to happen.

0:00

0:00

Outside of the 15 second window I was looking at, the goals against after

neutral zone wins seemed to follow the same pattern: some ugly play by

the defencemen leading to a gilt edged opportunity for the other team.

Offensive zone losses have been a net neutral for Montreal. They've

scored two goals and allowed two goals in those minutes. We'd expect

an average team to have scored 3.1 and allowed 3.2 in those minutes

but they're not doing any material harm to their goal difference.

Offensive zone wins are another story. As with offensive zone losses, the

Canadiens have scored two goals and allowed two goals in offensive

zone win minutes. The difference is that the expectations here are much

higher. An average team playing the same amount of minutes would

have scored 5.2 goals and allowed 2.2 goals. So defensively, the

Canadiens are fine but offensively, they're not producing. Montreal's shot

attempt and shots on goal numbers in this situation are in line with

league norms, which leaves shooting percentage. The Canadiens are

shooting 3.4 per cent; league average is 8.4 per cent. That's a problem.

It's an issue that's harder to find a solution to. One wonders if the

Canadiens are finding enough ways to generate shots close to the net

out of these situations – there are coaches who seem to have perpetual

success from offensive zone faceoffs.

The big picture isn't all bad here for Montreal. It's just suggestive of

certain specific areas that need to be cleaned up. Clean up who's

defending whom after faceoffs. Clean up the breakouts. Clean up Carey

Price's game. It's hard to recall a team in as precarious a position as the

Canadiens that had the obvious strengths they seem to have.

The more concerning possibility is that Montreal simply doesn't have the

horses on defence; that the defencemen can't consistently identify their

responsibilities or execute clean breakouts, which leads to catastrophic

failures. If that's the case, as opposed to something that Julien and his

staff can clean up with some work, some health and some luck, the

Canadiens are doomed to a long, unhappy season.

The Athletic LOADED: 11.22.2017

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The Athletic / Five months after trade, Buffalo-Minnesota swap still a

culture shock for players

By Michael Russo

BUFFALO, N.Y. – If Jason Pominville had to be traded from the Wild,

being shipped back to the Buffalo Sabres was the perfect situation.

Pominville truly realized this when he moved his family from their

offseason home near Montreal and his 8-year-old son Jayden not only

remembered a few of his old Buffalo buddies, but somehow also his one-

time babysitter.

Jayden, born in Buffalo, was 3 ½ when his dad, then the Sabres’ captain,

was traded to Minnesota in 2013.

CAROLINA HURRICANES

NEWS CLIPPINGS • Nov. 22, 2017

“We were pretty impressed that he remembered our babysitter,”

Pominville said, laughing.

Since that June 30 trade that sent Pominville and Marco Scandella

packing in return for Marcus Foligno and Tyler Ennis, it has been a

simple transition for Pominville back to western New York, a place he

lived for parts of nine seasons after the Sabres drafted him 55th overall in

2001.

The only noticeable change after playing parts of five seasons for the

Wild is the fact Pominville is now 34 and a tad more grizzled than that

baby-faced picture of him pasted on a mural outside KeyBank Center.

VANEK NEXT TO POMINVILLE ON THE #SABRES' ALUMNI PLAZA

#MNWILD PIC.TWITTER.COM/BDDJJJRGC1

— MICHAEL RUSSO (@RUSSOHOCKEY) OCTOBER 14, 2013

“The first time I drove to the rink was kind of weird,” Pominville said. “We

live close to the neighborhood we lived last time, so the first drive I was

trying to find my way back to the same route I used to go through. And

even walking into the rink and seeing all of the people that I’m used to

seeing was a little weird, but I got used to it pretty quick.

“I loved Minny. I was disappointed obviously, but once I found out where I

was going, it made it easier. I was pretty fortunate on that part to come

back to a spot where we’re familiar with.”

Pominville figured all June that a defenseman would be on the move

from the Wild. He was caught off guard to be part of that package,

however.

“I finished my workout, I got home, and I see that I had missed a phone

call from [GM] Chuck [Fletcher],” said Pominville, who immediately

dropped an expletive when he saw his cell phone. “I gave Chuck a call

and that’s when I found out. But to say that I was really expecting it? No,

I wasn’t really expecting it at all. But to say that it was a complete shock?

Probably not.

“You know what, I have zero hard feelings about it at all. I had too much

fun there to hold any grudge on anyone.”

Wednesday night will be the first meeting between the Wild and Sabres

since that four-player summertime trade, which was consummated in

large part so the Wild could afford to re-sign restricted free agents Mikael

Granlund and Nino Niederreiter a month later.

Out the door for Minnesota was Pominville’s $5.6 million cap hit and

Scandella’s $4 million hit. In came Ennis’ $4.6 million cap hit and

eventually once he was signed Foligno’s $2.875 million hit for a net cap

savings of $2.125 million.

Plus, there was a significant cash savings. Pominville and Scandella

were owed $23.25 million, while Ennis and Foligno total $15.925 million.

Financially, the move made sense.

Hockey-wise, the deal so far hasn’t had the benefits both teams had

hoped.

The Sabres are last in the Eastern Conference and a point ahead of

Arizona for the NHL cellar.

The Wild have gotten off to a pedestrian 9-8-3 start and clearly miss

Pominville and Scandella, as they have had a tough time assimilating a

struggling Ennis into a spot where he can remain consistently or produce.

Wednesday’s game will be odd for all players involved, especially

Scandella, Foligno and Ennis, who were drafted by and grew up as

NHLers with their opponent.

The change in cultures is also taking time to get used to.

Coming from Minnesota, Pominville and Scandella are transitioning from

a team that made the playoffs five consecutive seasons to a rebuilding

franchise that has missed the playoffs six years in a row. Foligno and

Ennis are coming from a losing culture to a place where there are high

expectations.

“I think everyone [in Buffalo] knows it’s going to take time,” Foligno said.

“[Pominville and Scandella are] going from a place where the ‘time is

now’ to where ‘it’s the future.’ From training camp here, it was

competitive and it was demanding of correction every day. And not that

you haven’t been [competitive] as an athlete, but in Buffalo, it was OK to

just work hard. So that’s a different mentality and I think it kind of screws

with you with the transition.”

Losing makes coach Bruce Boudreau erupt like a volcano, a

phenomenon the two got to experience a few weeks ago after a third

consecutive loss and “embarrassing” defeat in Boston.

“[They’re] learning in a hurry that losing is really not accepted,” Boudreau

said recently. “You can't make positive things out of losing. The only way

to have fun or anything is to win. Nothing else matters. The sacrifices

guys have to make whether it's in practice or the game are probably

something that [Foligno and Ennis] haven't been used to.”

In advance of Wednesday’s game, The Athletic talked to all four players

– Pominville and Scandella by phone – about the upcoming contest and

how life has been, albeit early, in their new spots.

TYLER ENNIS

Age: 28

Career with Sabres: 97 goals, 139 assists, 236 points, 419 games, three

20-goal seasons, missed 90 games to injury the previous two seasons.

Career with Wild: 3 goals, 2 assists, 5 points, 20 games

It has not been an easy transition for Ennis, who has been relegated to a

fourth-line role and little power-play time for much of his first couple

months with the Wild.

Boudreau has made it quite clear he has not been enamored with the

under-sized Ennis’ lack of winning battles and, frankly, his production.

Ennis has bit his tongue for the most part, although he has made it clear

he has long been a power-play guy who has barely got a sniff in

Minnesota.

As for his start, Ennis said, “I definitely think mixed emotions. It’s great to

be a part of a team that wins. Ideally, you want to be contributing more

on a team that wins, but I think for me right from day one my goal was to

establish and show and prove that I can play winning hockey, I can play

defensively without the puck, and play hard and play the right way.

“I think that my job is to, historically, generate offense. This team has a

lot of depth and a lot of offense, so my goal is to continue to just improve

and prove that I can play both ways.”

Ennis smiled when asked about the fact that even on those occasions he

has gotten a top-six role, he’s usually off the line by the middle of the

game or, at the very least, the next game.

“I think everyone wants to be on the top line,” he said. “Growing up,

everyone wants to be in that spot, but you’ve got to put your ego aside

and you’ve got to be a team guy and you’ve got to do what it takes to win

games. My goal is to be on a team that wins the Stanley Cup. I’m going

to do whatever is asked of me on a team that wins the Stanley Cup.

“There’s a culture here, which is really awesome to be a part of. You

grow up and you want to play hockey and you want to have fun, but you

want to win. We’ve still got improving to do, but there’s just a mindset

here and it’s been fun from day one.”

MARCUS FOLIGNO

Age: 26

Career with Sabres: 49 goals, 67 assists, 116 points, 347 games, 334

penalty minutes, 1,023 hits, including 279 last season (fifth in the NHL).

CAROLINA HURRICANES

NEWS CLIPPINGS • Nov. 22, 2017

Career with Wild: 3 goals, 4 assists, 7 points, 19 games, 61 hits (leads

team)

Foligno, who will spend Tuesday night visiting with his sister, Cara, who

works for the Sabres, was thrilled when he was drafted by the Sabres, a

team his father, Mike, starred with.

But losing began to weigh on Foligno.

“It’s one of the worst habits out there,” he said. “I mean, when you lose,

you know how to lose and that’s the worst part. You find yourself up in

games and blow leads and this and that, and that’s what we saw a lot of

in my time in Buffalo.”

In Minnesota, Foligno and Ennis are trying to rid themselves of losing

habits.

“You look around at the experience and talent and hard work we have on

this team, so when you put that all together for 60 minutes, you’re going

to bode yourself well.”

Foligno believes his transition has gone a lot smoother than Ennis.

“I mean at first, I think a little bit after [the broken cheekbone], I had to

take some time to get back into things. After that, I feel like it’s been

good,” he said. “I feel like I’ve played my role pretty well here and kind of

given that extra jump that we need when it comes to forechecking and

things like that. I think that we have all the pieces in this room to do great

things this year and when you have an identity like this team does, it’s

easy to kind of fit yourself in.”

JASON POMINVILLE

Age: 34

Career with Wild: 76 goals, 130 assists, 206 points, 327 games, led Wild

with 30 goals in 2013-14.

This season with Sabres: 6 goals, 7 assists, 13 points, 21 games.

There’s no doubt Pominville drove Wild fans nuts with his propensity of

missing the net or fanning on shots, but for a Wild team that gets no

production from its third and fourth lines — in the past 27 periods,

Granlund, Niederreiter, Jason Zucker and Eric Staal are the only Wild

forwards with goals — the Wild badly miss him.

Two years ago, once John Torchetti took over, he was on the team’s

most productive line with Erik Haula and Niederreiter, and last season in

the second half, he was one of the Wild’s most productive players.

In fact, he ranked 15th in the NHL in points per 60 minutes at 5-on-5

(2.39).

In Buffalo, Pominville got off to a fast start with four goals and three

assists in the first five games playing on a line with Jack Eichel and

Evander Kane. He later moved onto a line with Ryan O’Reilly and Wild

first-round pick Benoit Pouliot. He has since slowed down with one assist

in the past eight games and has settled into a third-line role. Last week in

Detroit, he even played on a line with Johan Larsson, one of the former

Wild prospects sent Buffalo’s way in the Pominville 2013 trade.

“I think we’ve got to find a way to score more goals, so we need more

depth on all of the lines,” Pominville said. “That way, it helps us hopefully

create more offense and get more out of it because we’re in a lot of our

games. We go to Pitt, and we play a great game and we’re up one in the

third. We’ve got to find a way to close games, you know?

“That’s what’s been a little bit tough, just defending a little bit better

because, if you want to win, you have to be able to defend. And when

we’re not defending as well as we can, it hurts us.”

Buffalo has changed a lot since he was captaining the team. In fact, the

only former teammates he had remaining on the team from before he

was traded happened to be Ennis and Foligno.

Despite the early excuses, he has enjoyed playing for Hall of Famer Phil

Housley, a South St. Paul native.

“He’s been really positive,” Pominville said. “He’s got that way of being

positive and keeping it loose but at the same time holding everyone

accountable when needing to. He’s still hard, he’s positive, but when the

doors are closed and he’s got something to say, he’ll definitely let us

know and he’ll let us know when we need to be better.”

MARCO SCANDELLA

Age: 27

Career with Wild: 27 goals, 62 assists, 89 points, 373 games.

This season with Sabres: 0 goals, 5 assists, 5 points, 21 games.

Scandella seemed to be most looking forward to the game.

He planned to go out Tuesday night with his “crew” of Niederreiter Jared

Spurgeon, Matt Dumba, Jonas Brodin and Charlie Coyle.

“It’s weird. You spend every day with these guys, then you just stop

seeing them,” Scandella said. “Once you come to a new team, it’s a little

hard to keep your close relationships. You just [don't] talk to those guys

every day anymore because you’re so consumed by learning your new

team, being part of a new crew, getting to know everybody and making

friends. So I can’t wait to see the guys and chatting.”

After the trade, Pominville immediately got in touch with Scandella to tell

him how great a place Buffalo is to live and play. Buffalo gets a bad rap,

Pominville said, so he wanted Scandella to embrace the new challenge.

“I knew he was obviously going to play a lot of minutes and he’ll be in a

big role, so I tried to help him out as much as I can with everything I

could,” Pominville said. “Most guys that don’t know the city or just come

in as a visiting team might say, ‘Ohhhh, Buffalo this, Buffalo that,’ but as

soon as you live there and realize how good of a city it is and what the

city has to offer, … I mean, a lot of guys end up living there once they’re

done.”

Scandella says he came in with a positive mind frame. Because the

Sabres’ blueline is ravaged by injuries, he’s actually playing on the top

pair with former Wild teammate Justin Falk.

“Life’s good. It’s a new situation for me,” he said. “We’re building

something. I’m coming in at the beginning of a rebuild, so I’m getting an

opportunity to be a big piece of the puzzle. It’s been challenging for us.

New coach, new GM, some new faces, and we’re trying to build

something altogether. It’s a process. It’s not going to turn overnight.

“I just think it’s important to be positive and make sure we’re all keeping

this going in the right direction. I’m trying to take everything I learned in

Minnesota, coming from a winning situation, and applying it here. I’m

trying to better myself as a player and as a teammate and help other

guys, too. I have more of a leadership role here. But seven years being in

a winning culture, I was taught very well how to play the game.”

Scandella is excited for the game and to see familiar faces across the ice

from him in warmups.

“It’s going to be something new,” Scandella said. “I’ve never played

against a former team before. I’ll always have a soft spot for Minnesota. I

loved my experience there. It was home.”

The Athletic LOADED: 11.22.2017

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The Athletic / Pronman: Around the farms — All the latest on prospects

from every NHL team

By Corey Pronman

CAROLINA HURRICANES

NEWS CLIPPINGS • Nov. 22, 2017

After being on the road for a few weeks and catching up on how some

prospects fared during the many international tournaments in November,

I’m going to share some notes on players in every NHL farm system.

Anaheim Ducks: The 2016 first-round pick, Max Jones, has had a bit of

an up and down season, but the most important takeaway from his early

play is a significant decrease in stupid penalties. Jones is a dynamic

talent who can skate and score at a terrific rate for 6-foot-3 forward. But

his main criticism has always been his lack of discipline. It's early, but so

far people around the OHL have noticed a slightly tamer Max Jones.

Arizona Coyotes: Nick Merkley is off to a fantastic start in the AHL this

season. The former first-round pick and AHL rookie is around three shots

per game, playing with skill and creating a lot of chances, has eight goals

in 11 games. It is a good sign from a player whose star was dwindling

last season. After destroying the WHL through the first two months of the

season, Tyler Steenbergen had a disappointing Canada-Russia series,

and as a bubble candidate for the World Junior team, he didn’t make a

strong case for himself. I think he’ll still be in consideration, but he didn’t

do himself any favors.

Boston Bruins: The Bruins' first rounder from 2017, Urho Vaakanainen,

has been quite good so far this season in Finland’s Liiga, justifying his

18th overall draft slot. He’s played No. 1 defenseman minutes for SaiPa

and is looking like a player ready to make the jump soon. He’s not

dynamic, but he’s a very smart two-way defenseman. I saw a pair of

games from the 2016 49th overall pick, defenseman Ryan Lindgren, two

weeks ago and didn’t leave impressed. His lack of skill and offensive

instincts hurt his projection even with his physical and defensive play.

Buffalo Sabres: Casey Mittelstadt, the Sabres eighth-overall pick last

summer and a player in the mix for best player outside the NHL, probably

had his worst weekend of the season when I saw him. He created almost

no offense and was indifferent off the puck. Center Cliff Pu had a good

Canada-Russia series, creating offense with his speed and IQ, and

making a case for the final Canadian team. At the very least, he should

be invited to the December camp.

Calgary Flames: Adam Ruzicka has been getting a lot of points and

shots in his second OHL season. I went out to see the 6-foot-4 center

last week and didn’t come away loving what I saw. He has nice hands for

his size, can shoot the puck well and has flashes of brilliance, but those

flashes are too spread apart. His footspeed holds him back, and he

doesn’t battle all that great for pucks.

Carolina Hurricanes: I’ve generally liked what Carolina has done at the

draft table the past few years, including their first-round pick from 2017,

Martin Necas, who looked dynamic at the Canes' camp and early on this

season in the Czech Republic. The Canes have generally drafted high

upside players and gotten value from a lot of picks. I’m saying all this to

soften the blow because I don’t know what was going on with their 2017

second-round picks, center Eetu Luostarinen and defenseman Luke

Martin. I saw Martin live and Luostarinen on video a few times these past

few weeks, and I fail to see why such a valuable investment was made in

them. Martin’s offensive upside is quite low, even if he skates and

defends fine. Luostarinen also skates and handles the puck fine for his

size, but there is a lack of a wow factor to him.

Colorado Avalanche: Colorado fans have been used to me beating them

up, but I’m glad to say I only have good news to share about their farm

system. At the U20 Four Nations Tournament recently, their fifth-round

pick from 2017, Igor Shvyryov was a standout forward for Russia. He’s a

skilled and smart player who was all over the ice making plays, and

made a strong case for Russia’s World Junior team. Also in the series in

Canada, 32nd-overall pick Conor Timmins was a rock on the OHL blue

line. I don’t love his skating, but his sense is high-end at both ends. After

a poor summer camp, Timmins put himself on the radar for Canada’s

December World Junior camp.

Columbus Blue Jackets: Columbus recently signed Maxime Fortier, an

overage forward in the QMJHL, which I was a fan of. He’s a very quick

player with nice hands and should have been picked in a previous NHL

draft. He's a player with intriguing offensive upside at the pro level but

also the work ethic to overcome his size.

I also saw Robbie Stucker, a seventh-round pick by Columbus, for the

third time this season. He’s putting up a lot of points in the USHL this

season, but despite that, I’m not sure I see a dynamic/high-end offensive

defenseman. However, he’s quite smart at both ends of the rink. I’d like

to see him be a little quicker, though.

Chicago Blackhawks: Chicago’s 70th-overall pick in 2017, Andrei

Altybarmakyan, was one of the best players for Russia in the Canada-

Russia series. He’s a great skater who battles every play. His skill isn’t

outstanding, but he showed decent hands and got a lot of chances by

burning to the outside and taking pucks to the net. Altybarmakyan told

The Athletic’s Sunaya Sapurji at Game 3 of the series that he might

consider going to the AHL after his current deal expires in Russia.

Dallas Stars: Riley Tufte has really turned his game around as a

sophomore, after a disappointing freshman season. The big winger and

former first-round pick in 2016 has been a top player for Minnesota-

Duluth, using his speed and size to create a lot of offense. Tufte is

currently second among all underclassmen in shots on goal and first

among drafted underclassmen.

Detroit Red Wings: When Detroit picked Gustav Lindstrom 38th overall

last summer, I somewhat saw the argument. He’s a good puck-moving

defenseman who had a dominant U19 tournament in February and

showed flashes of a top prospect. However, this season he hasn’t been

all that impressive and, while he shows some offense in his game, I’m

skeptical if he can justify his draft slot. I also caught Givani Smith, the

46th-overall pick in 2016, in his first game of the season. He wasn’t great,

but some rust is to be expected. He has nice hands for a guy his size, but

he’s not a lock to be a scorer as a pro, especially without addition to his

speed.

Edmonton Oilers: I’ve seen the Oilers' 2017 third-round pick Dmitri

Samorukov live twice and once on video in the past week. He’s a mobile

defenseman who can move the puck with size. In the OHL, he’s been

quite bland, but at the international level, he always seems to raise his

game. I’m not sure how much upside he has, but there’s enough in the

toolkit that he has a chance.

Florida Panthers: The 2017 66th-overall pick, Max Gildon, has been very

good as an 18-year-old freshman defender at the University of New

Hampshire. He’s one of the better offensive defensemen in his

conference. Gildon’s decisions need to be better, but he’s looked in part

like the top prospect he was touted as when he was 15 and 16 years old.

Los Angeles Kings: Defenseman Mikey Anderson, the 103rd-overall pick

in 2017, has been quite good early on in his first season at Minnesota-

Duluth. From what I’ve heard, he should be a strong candidate for the

USA’s World Junior team, joining his brother and Devils prospect, Joey

Anderson.

Minnesota Wild: Jordan Greenway was converted to center at Boston

University the past few weeks. I haven’t watched a game since this

happened, but from people I’ve talked to, the results have been mixed —

as they have been throughout the Boston University lineup. It’s still a

rather interesting twist in Greenway’s development, as I’ve never seen

him play center before, and he seems to be doing so competently.

Montreal Canadiens: One player I’ve been thinking about an above-

average amount is Lukas Vejdemo, Montreal’s third-round pick in 2015.

My colleague at The Athletic Mitch Brown wrote about him recently. The

21-year-old center is getting points for Djurgarden in the SHL, has size,

kills penalties, and can skate and handle the puck competently. So,

what’s the problem? I fail to see next level skill and instincts from him that

could translate to being a scorer in the NHL. As Brown notes, he’s not

currently on a power play unit in the SHL despite his point production.

Nashville Predators: Second-round pick Grant Mismash has also looked

quite good as a freshman at North Dakota. I haven’t seen the team yet

this season, but scouts I’ve talked to note Mismash is not only making

CAROLINA HURRICANES

NEWS CLIPPINGS • Nov. 22, 2017

chances happen with his skill but also winning battles. Yet another Eeli

Tolvanen update as well, as the 18-year-old continues to thrive. He was

a top power play guy for Finland at the recent Karjala tournament, in

what could be a preview of his usage at the Olympics as he will likely

make the team and be leaned on in a significant role.

New Jersey Devils: Devils fans should be optimistic about the

development of Mikhail Maltsev, the 102nd overall pick in 2016. Maltsev

was arguably Russia’s best forward in their series with Canada. He’s a

skilled big man who displays good offensive instincts and works hard to

win pucks. His skating is not great, but at 6-foot-3, one could argue he

could be slower. Maltsev should play a big role for Russia at the World

Juniors.

New York Rangers: Sometimes players have a good NHL camp and it

can be a bit of a mirage, and then when they are sent down to junior or

the AHL, reality strikes. That hasn’t happened with Filip Chytil. He’s been

ridiculously good, when healthy, for an 18-year-old forward, and he has

been one of Hartford’s top players. His progression the last few months

has been one of the most interesting stories in the prospect world, as he

continues to establish himself as a truly elite prospect.

New York Islanders: On the good side, Devon Toews has been great in

the AHL. He skates and moves the puck well, and while he may not

become an impact NHL player, he’s taken his game to another level and

has earned an opportunity when one presents itself. On the bad side,

one NHL scout on Andong Song, who is currently in the USHL, called

him one of the worst draft picks he’s ever seen.

Ottawa Senators: I saw Alex Formenton live twice in the past two weeks,

and for a player who made his NHL team out of camp, I was expecting a

little more from him at the junior level. His skating is elite and stands out,

he also works hard at both ends. However, I don’t see real high-level skill

or IQ that leads to him generating a ton of offense. But I do see that in

2017's 121st overall pick, Drake Batherson, who could be a sleeper

choice for Canada’s December camp. He’s a highly impressive skilled

forward with size, although not the quickest.

Philadelphia Flyers: I wasn’t a huge fan of Isaac Ratcliffe at 35th overall

last summer, but he’s growing on me. I saw him last week and I like the

skill level and creativity he’s showing as a 6-foot-6 forward. He skates

fine for his size, but he’s not explosive and could produce some more

offense. But I do think there’s a lot of pieces there to be a good NHL

player where I see a more reasonable argument at the 35 slot.

Pittsburgh Penguins: Two Penguins defensive prospects drew my

attention these past few weeks: Niclas Almari and Zachary Lauzon. Both

don’t have the greatest upside but still played fine at their respective

international tournaments. I was critical of the Penguins for picking

Lauzon at No. 51 and still am to an extent given his low offensive

potential, but I definitely see some shutdown potential as he skates well,

is quite good in his physical play and can make stops. Almari will be

pressed for ice time on a loaded D-unit for Finland at the World Juniors,

but looks like a nice two-way defenseman who can skate and move the

puck OK.

St. Louis Blues: Robert Thomas has been fantastic all season long. He

was great at the Blues' camp, he was great at the Canada-Russia series

and he has put himself in the argument for the top player in the OHL. “He

really controls the game. We have the puck 90 percent of the time when

he’s on the ice,” said Rick Steadman, London’s assistant coach. Thomas

stands out in so many ways and doesn’t have a glaring weakness. “He’s

a very complete player,” said one NHL scout. While he was picked later,

Thomas should be considered among the top OHL players in his age

group, alongside Owen Tippett, Nick Suzuki and Gabriel Vilardi.

San Jose Sharks: In the two games I saw Sharks 2017 first-round pick,

Josh Norris, he wasn’t great, but people around the Michigan team told

me it was an off weekend for him. The positives in his game are his

hockey sense and his ability to play center well at both ends. I do have

some concerns with the lack of dynamic elements in his game, but he is

playing well in a tough role as a freshman and generating a lot of shots.

Tampa Bay Lightning: Boris Katchouk, the 44th-overall pick in 2016, has

shown good progression in his game this season from training camp to

the OHL. He’s a ball of energy who plays the game at a fast tempo. His

skill level isn’t high-end, but he creates offense through his feet, will and

good hockey IQ. He’s a bubble guy for Canada’s junior team, but he

should reasonably be in consideration.

Toronto Maple Leafs: I saw the Leafs' fourth-round pick in 2017 Vladislav

Kara play the other day. I can see what was attractive to Toronto. He’s a

big, strong forward who can skate and handle the puck fine, and has a

decent power game. I’m not really sold on his hockey sense though and

not convinced that his offense is going to be significant at the top level.

Vancouver Canucks: I’m a huge fan of Will Lockwood, the 64th pick in

2016. He’s a skilled two-way forward who, despite his diminutive frame,

can win battles and kill penalties. After a fine freshman season at

Michigan, he seems a lot more comfortable making offensive plays in his

sophomore season, and he can flash some dynamic traits. In my opinion,

he should be on the USA World Junior team.

Vegas Golden Knights: I saw Jack Dugan, the 142nd overall pick from

their inaugural draft, a few days ago in USHL action. He didn’t wow with

explosive speed and skill, but his hockey sense stood out to me, and he

made a few high-level passes where it made me think he could have a

shot in the NHL.

Washington Capitals: I’ve never been a huge fan of Lucas Johansen,

Washington’s first-round pick in 2016, but he’s steadily winning me over.

He’s been playing all situations for Hershey in the AHL, including

manning their first power play unit. I don’t see top-level skill from him, but

the offense has been there to date, he’s smart and skates well. If he

keeps this up over the next few months, he might make a believer out of

me.

Winnipeg Jets: Scouts have been noticeably flocking to Minnesota State

games to watch top college free agent Daniel Brickley. Quietly, they are

also watching C.J. Seuss, drafted by the Jets in 2014 (his name was then

C.J. Franklin, which he since has changed) who also could become a

free agent in August. Suess leads Minnesota State in scoring and is an

intriguing hard-working two-way center.

The Athletic LOADED: 11.22.2017

1084567 Websites

The Athletic / LeBrun Notebook: Canadiens still in wait-and-see mode,

more Oilers tinkering to come?

By Pierre LeBrun

To suggest the Montreal hockey market is a powder keg these days,

well, that might be putting it mildly.

There is anger beyond anger and a lot of it is directed at Canadiens GM

Marc Bergevin.

It is always interesting to hear what other teams think when things like

this are happening.

For starters, Bergevin is still held in good esteem by his colleagues, and

they empathize with how things are for him in his market right now.

“I feel bad for Marc,’’ is a comment I’ve gotten from a dozen or so hockey

execs over the past week.

The only thing that truly matters, though, is how Habs owner Geoff

Molson feels. And I’m told that has remained constant including through

the tough losses to Arizona and Toronto of late, Molson very much still

believes in his GM, the GM’s staff and a roster which I’m told he believes

CAROLINA HURRICANES

NEWS CLIPPINGS • Nov. 22, 2017

is better than it has shown even if like the rest of us, obviously also sees

its shortcomings.

Which is to say, don’t expect any drastic, panicky moves from the Habs

owner anytime soon.

Now, if the Canadiens miss the playoffs, no question it’s a natural time if

you’re the owner to look at everything. But for the time being, my sense

is that Molson still believes in the man running his hockey team.

In chatting with team execs around the league over the past few days,

one popular answer I got about what they would do if they were Bergevin

is not do anything until you see what franchise goalie Carey Price does

when he finally returns and how it impacts the team.

Which, of course, makes sense although they’re not the ones sitting in a

frying pan in Montreal with a fan base losing its mind.

One thing I was wondering about: the Habs will have three second-round

picks in June once Mikhail Sergachev appears in 40 games with Tampa

Bay, which appears like a foregone conclusion now, and the Canadiens

get that second-round pick back (Montreal will have their own second-

rounder, plus Washington’s and Chicago’s).

Could those picks be in play? One source told The Athletic on Tuesday

that Bergevin does not intend to trade away draft picks at this point.

And if that’s the case, it tells you the GM certainly has a firm grasp of his

team’s big picture given the start to the season.

OILERS TRADE MARKET

So what do you do if you’re the Edmonton Oilers now?

There's no easy fix, that is for sure.

But if I’m GM Peter Chiarelli, I continue to tinker. Even smaller moves,

one at a time, can change the mix. He acquired winger Mike Cammalleri

last week in a move I don’t mind at all.

Judging from sources I’ve talked to over the last few days, I think

tinkering on the blueline is something he’s looking at. Veteran blueliner

Andrej Sekera will be back at some point over the next few weeks and

that’s going to be huge, but surely it’s going to take him some time to find

his game. But if there’s anything on the market for a serviceable

defenceman — I highly doubt there’s a top-two guy out there, but if

there’s any way even to snatch up a 4/5 type, someone with decent pace

and first-pass ability — I think it’s something the Oilers would look at.

Columbus seems to have solid depth at the position and it just so

happens Chiarelli was at the Jackets-Sabres game Monday night,

although it’s always dangerous too read too much into that. That trip

could very well have been booked a long time ago, as is often the case.

The reality in the salary cap NHL is that it is mighty hard to fix all your

problems mid-season; the off-season, particularly June, is the most

important window of the year the way this system works now.

But I think even some tinkering, however small the move might be, would

at least send a message in that Oilers’ dressing room that the brass isn’t

happy and isn’t sitting still.

It’s interesting talking to different people around the league about their

observations on the Oilers. There are many different areas you can look

at — their general team speed and several underperforming players. But

one Western Conference GM on Monday said it starts in net for him.

“(Cam) Talbot was outstanding for them last season and simply hasn’t

been this year, I know they’ve got other issues, but that’s where I look

first,’’ he said.

JETS A TEAM OF INTEREST

Sources around the league suggest teams have begun to check in with

Winnipeg and inquire about the Jets’ obvious depth at forward. I don’t

sense any front-burner type discussions yet but clubs are checking in to

know if they should keep in touch as the weeks and months get to the

Feb. 26 trade deadline.

Veteran blueliner Toby Enstrom is on the shelf now for two months but I

don’t sense GM Kevin Cheveldayoff is going to use that as a reason to

go out right away and make a deal for a defenceman. The Jets are high

on Tucker Poolman, 24, and will want to see what he can do.

Having said that, because of that depth up front, I think it allows the Jets

to sit back on their own terms and see what comes at them. If a team

makes an appealing pitch, they will certainly listen. It’s a good spot to be

in if you’re Winnipeg's front office; the team is playing well and there's no

desperate need to make a trade. You can have teams come at you.

RODIN CUT LOOSE

Anton Rodin cleared unconditional waivers Tuesday and is now free to

reignite his career overseas.

You feel for the Swedish winger, whose two knee surgeries over the past

two years have really halted his career.

Never mind that he was passed over by several players at Vancouver

Canucks camp, but he was buried in a bottom-six role even in AHL Utica

this year.

So his camp asked for his release and to the Canucks’ credit, they gave

it to him. It’s not like GM Jim Benning didn’t try to move him to get an

asset back, he absolutely called around, but not surprisingly teams were

reluctant to give up even a low pick for a player who has barely played

the last two years.

The 2009 second-round pick is a former Swedish League MVP and still

only 26. Perhaps a good season in Europe will put him back on the NHL

radar this summer.

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The Athletic / Karolina Urban: Chinese road trip comes with delays,

disadvantages

By Karolina Urban

Last week, the Canadian Women's Hockey League embarked on their

first-ever road trip to China. Both the Toronto Furies and the Markham

Thunder travelled to China's Shenzhen region to play four games against

the league's Chinese expansion teams, the Kunlun Red Star and Vanke

Rays.

Markham forward Karolina Urban is in China and will be chronicling the

historic road trip for The Athletic. Here is part one.

Thursday Nov. 16, two days before game day:

The trip started with our 16-hour flight to Hong Kong being delayed, while

we sat and waited on the plane. Although a long trek somehow we made

it through. We were met by a crew from Kunlun Red Star at the airport

who helped organize us on buses to Shenzhen. At the time we thought

we only had to clear one border out of Hong Kong and into the region of

Dongjong.

What we thought was an hour drive to the hotel ended up being a five-

hour commute involving two border crossings. And let me tell you these

were not what we would consider normal border crossings: We had to

take all our bags, separate our sticks and head through security on two

separate occasions. In addition we were travelling with the Furies, refs

and CWHL staff, which only slowed the trip as we had to wait every time

CAROLINA HURRICANES

NEWS CLIPPINGS • Nov. 22, 2017

for everyone (on three buses). Finally we arrived at the hotel around 9:30

p.m. local time. We were all starving (we thought it would only take an

hour so we didn’t buy any food at the airport) and tired, finally getting to

bed at 10:30.

Saturday Nov. 18, game day:

Our day started with a buffet breakfast at the hotel (a five-star hotel near

the rink). The buffet does have a variety of options, from eggs and toast

to Chinese dumplings and soft buns (I think that’s what they are called, or

maybe it’s sweet buns). Most of us were still quite lethargic but we got a

team warm-up and stretch in to get the blood flowing. Not going to lie —

the legs were quite heavy. Although we tried to do small workouts,

drinking tons of water and vitamin mixes on the flight we all felt this way.

We all thought that a 7 p.m. game was the best case scenario in

comparison to the Toronto Furies who played at 3 p.m. against Red Star.

My body felt pretty good when we got to the rink and following through

the warm-up. Although looking back on it we were all a bit sleepy, and a

bit more quiet than we were for a typical game.

Game time:

People always talk about it being in the details. Well I can say coming out

to the dim lights after the light show ended felt like one step closer to an

NHL game. Most of the pregame stuff, like food in the dressing room,

was like our regular setup back at home. However one huge difference is

that the rink is the primary rink of both teams (Vanke and Kunlun),

whereas we all share our home rinks with minor hockey organizations

(which we love since it keeps us closer to the grassroots of hockey and

the community). Another cool feature for both teams were the banners all

over the rink and on the streets leading up to the arena advertising the

teams and league. In addition, my guess would be that there were

between 3,000 to 4,000 fans at the game.

The Olympic size ice was a bit soft (perhaps due to the humidity).

Interestingly the regulation size in our league is standard NHL ice, so I’m

still a bit puzzled why this is allowed. The game is so different and not

getting to practice on that size of ice is just an advantage to the other

teams. However, the Toronto Furies and Calgary Inferno also tend to

play on the big ice, so maybe one day this will all be sorted out — can

you imagine each NHL rink varying in sizes?!

Needless to say our team crashed in the third period, making mental

mistakes and those ended up in the net. There were some points in the

third where you'd come off the ice and find yourself in a daze — trying to

focus but not being able to. To put this in perspective the referees

struggled just as much as us (some suspect calls), perhaps due to the

fatigue as well. At the end of the day we needed to put it behind us and

get ready for the next game on Sunday.

Sunday Nov. 19, game day No. 2:

Most of us had a great night's sleep. I know I personally slept great out of

sheer exhaustion, however there were a few girls who woke up at 4 a.m.

or several times throughout the night. The time difference is 13 hours

between here and Toronto so it’s like switching to working night shifts all

of a sudden.

We may have felt slightly less fatigue on this day but the change in food

was catching up to us. Although we had pregame meals designed to

cater to our needs like spaghetti and chicken with vegetables, it was

clearly a bit different. Many were struggling to gobble down enough food

for fuel. Those who were able, didn’t feel so fine during pregame. This

may have contributed to our slow start and Vankes strong start to the

game.

At the end of the weekend you could say it was a successful start for the

Chinese teams, with Kunlun sweeping the Furies and Vanke sweeping

us. However I think given all the factors it wasn’t exactly an equal playing

field. Another difference is the amount of ice time the Chinese teams get.

They are on the ice every day compared to our two practices a week.

These girls are living the dream: they're getting paid to play, while most

of us work full-time jobs and typically head to practice exhausted from the

busy days.

Now after a day off on Monday and a practice (Kunlun's head coach

refused to let us use their practice pucks) we head into Wednesday's

game fired up.

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Sportsnet.ca / Takeaways: Oilers hit new low after quitting against Blues

Brayden Schenn, Jaden Schwartz and Vladimir Tarasenko all recorded

four points in leading the St. Louis Blues to the win over the Edmonton

Oilers.

Mark Spector

They quit.

Walked over in Dallas, now crushed in St. Louis, the good ship Oiler rolls

into Detroit on Wednesday at its nadir, one day before American

Thanksgiving and as far away from the playoffs as it is from an identity

forged last season.

The Edmonton Oilers were not remotely competitive in an 8-3 loss to the

St. Louis Blues Tuesday, and the saddest part? They quit.

That’s right. Quit.

We watched, took some notes, and offer you these wholly negative

takeaways on a pre-season favourite whose season is circling the bowl:

• As a team, this was embarrassing and somewhat sad. Against the best

club in the Western Conference, the Oilers stacked up as so far away

from being competitive, it’s impossible to quantify the gap.

Their record is a pungent 7-12-2, a disappointment of Herculean

proportion that does not appear repairable. The final score was 8-3, but

the Blues built a 7-1 lead before laying back and letting Edmonton have

the puck. As such, the Oilers scored two un-celebrated goals in garbage

time. The starting goalie was awful, the Top 4 defencemen were worse,

and the guys who get paid the big bucks up front were absolute no-

shows.

The Oilers, to a man, did not compete. It doesn’t get worse than this,

folks. When you quit, it reveals something. We learned something about

these Oilers Tuesday.

Exactly what? We’ve got 60 games to figure that out — if you can bear to

watch.

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• Last season, all anyone wanted was to see the oft-injured Oscar

Klefbom play an entire season. Well, he played all 82 games and was

generally fantastic, leading to a solid belief that Klefbom could anchor the

Oilers top pairing again this season. He might even improve!

Alas, this season has marked a massive regression for Klefbom’s game,

and it is simply killing the Oilers. If Drew Doughty is awful, the L.A. Kings

are in trouble. Same with Duncan Keith in Chicago, or Alex Pietrangelo

on the Blues.

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NEWS CLIPPINGS • Nov. 22, 2017

Klefbom isn’t of the same pedigree as those aforementioned D-men, but

he is the Oilers’ best rearguard, and they count on him. He had yet

another stinker on Tuesday, getting knocked off a puck far too easily on

the Blues’ first goal, and drifting softly through another pointless, minus-4

evening.

The old cliché says your best players have to be your best players.

Klefbom has consistently been one of Edmonton’s worst players, and it

shows in the standings.

• There isn’t a team in hockey that can survive when their No. 1 goalie

gives them a .902 save percentage. So if it all starts in goal, maybe we

shouldn’t be surprised that the Oilers haven’t moved off the starting line

yet, 21 games into the season.

Cam Talbot let the first shot on goal in for the umpteenth time this

season, this one on a very unfortunate deflection off of Adam Larsson’s

stick. But then the death knell: a long wrist shot from the sideboard snuck

over his shoulder, and Talbot was on the bench just 7:35 into the

evening.

One save, three shots faced, and a long night in a ball cap. Who ever

saw Talbot’s game dipping this far after two seasons as a very

competent goalie in Edmonton?

• Leon Draisaitl had two cheap points in garbage time, but when this

game was on the line, he was a rumour. When they pay you $8.5 million,

a game like this one is a siren call. The Oilers needed their best players

to be great, and Draisaitl was opaque.

Then again, so were about 15 other players. Which leads us to…

• General manager Peter Chiarelli will take a lot of heat for this, as will

head coach Todd McLellan and his staff. And they should, as a team that

was primed to contend in the West has fallen back into cellar.

Everything has gone wrong, and the guys who are paid to see those

things coming were winding their watches when the rain rolled past.

Almost every player that Chiarelli counted on to get his club to the trade

deadline, when he planned to augment for a playoff run, has let him

down. From Zack Kassian, who we are not sure has even reported for

camp yet, through to an uncharacteristically bad Mark Letestu, to

Draisaitl, to a seriously in-decline Pat Maroon.

If you’re the type who thinks the GM should have seen these

performances coming, then you’ve got Chiarelli squarely in your

crosshairs.

Me? He hasn’t done a good job, and grades out like his team at a D-

minus. But I won’t blame him when players digress for no particular

reason. The players play, and in Edmonton, too many of them have let

the jersey down this season.

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Sportsnet.ca / Oilers pull Cam Talbot early after ugly start vs. Blues

Mike Johnston

Edmonton Oilers goalie Cam Talbot‘s night ended early Tuesday after

allowing two goals on three shots in just 7:35 of playing time against the

St. Louis Blues.

Talbot was beaten by a deflected Vladimir Tarasenko shot 3:13 into the

game and a few minutes later Dmitrij Jaskin fired a puck over Talbot’s left

shoulder. Talbot went down early on both goals.

The Oilers as a whole have disappointed this season and Talbot’s less

than stellar play has been a contributing factor. The 30-year-old went 42-

22-8 with a 2.39 goals-against average and .919 save percentage in a

career-high 73 games last season, yet prior to Tuesday’s poor

performance he had a 7-10-1 record, 3.10 GAA and .903 save

percentage.

“My target is .920 to .925. I set my target at .923 this season,” Talbot told

reporters Monday when talking about his save percentage. “Maybe I

don’t have to steal games, but I have to give us a chance to win. The

difference [between] this year and last is my consistency. I’ve had some

good games but others I want back and I have to eliminate those ones.

… You have to do your job night in and night out, and sometimes, you’re

going to come out on the losing end. But you have to find consistency in

your own game and the team game will follow.”

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Sportsnet.ca / Canucks super rookie Brock Boeser shoots his way past

Flyers

Brock Boeser scored two goals to help the Vancouver Canucks defeat

the Philadelphia Flyers.

Iain MacIntyre

PHILADELPHIA – This wasn’t supposed to happen because Brock

Boeser wasn’t supposed to be here.

It’s not like the Vancouver Canucks didn’t want him on their team this

season, they just didn’t count on it. There was as much chance as not

that Boeser’s first full season in professional hockey would start in the

American League rather than the National Hockey League.

The Canucks wanted to send him to the Utica Comets to start his pro

development when the winger from Burnsville, Minn., signed his NHL

contract last March after leaving the University of North Dakota. But

Boeser, eager to finally contribute something to the household so his

mom might give up one of her three jobs, pushed for a chance to play in

Vancouver last spring.

He scored four goals in nine games in garbage time at the end of the

Canucks’ season. But there were enough deficiencies and rawness in his

game that, after Boeser chose to attend the Canucks’ prospects camp in

July, new coach Travis Green made sure the 20-year-old rookie

understood how much work he needed to do to make the NHL team this

fall.

Implied, if not spoken, was that Boeser might need to start with the Utica

Comets.

“We just talked,” Green recalled again Tuesday. “We talked about his

game, talked about expectations, talked about where he was at. I don’t

need to get into it any more than that.”

“We had a serious talk,” Boeser said. “He gave me goals I needed to

accomplish, things I needed to work on if I wanted to make the team and

stay on the team. I knew it was up to me, how hard I worked. It’s been

going pretty well but, obviously, I can be better.”

Well, that will be something to behold because when Boeser scored

twice Tuesday to drive the Canucks toward a 5-2 victory over the

Philadelphia Flyers, he became the first Vancouver rookie since Jason

King in 2003 to score in three consecutive games.

Boeser leads the Canucks with nine goals and 19 points in 18 games,

has the best release since Markus Naslund was challenging for NHL

CAROLINA HURRICANES

NEWS CLIPPINGS • Nov. 22, 2017

scoring titles near the start of this century, and could be the first

Vancouver freshman to score 30 since Pavel Bure won the Calder

Trophy in 1992.

Boeser has formed a dynamic first line with Bo Horvat and Sven

Baertschi, and lifted a re-made power play by providing something it has

lacked for years: a pure finisher.

We all knew Boeser was good, but nobody expected this so soon in his

professional career.

“I don’t know if surprised is the word,” Green said. “I’m happy with his

game. It seems like we talk about it a lot. It’s not just his goal-scoring that

I like. I’ve talked about details away from the puck, his ability to win puck

battles, his conditioning, all that. It’s all part of being a pro.”

All part of why Green has given Boeser the chance that the winger has

seized.

Nineteen seconds after Daniel Sedin tied Tuesday’s game 1-1 on a

breakaway at 9:42 of the first period, Boeser overpowered Michal

Neuvirth with a wrist shot from the right wing that blew past the Flyers

goalie on the stick side.

And when Daniel feathered a pass to Boeser in the slot during a Canucks

power play early in the second, the 2015 first-round pick scored the

opposite way, burying a shot over Neuvirth’s catching glove.

Sedin, who joined the Canucks in 2000, said the only former teammates

he saw shoot the puck as well as Boeser were Ryan Kesler and Naslund.

“Power play and five-on-five, you know he’s going to score when he gets

a decent chance,” Sedin said. “I think it gives the whole unit confidence.

If you make good passes and give him good chances, he’s going to

make it count. He doesn’t miss much. His shot has a way of finding the

back of the net. It doesn’t matter where he is, he’s going to get his shot

through and it’s going to be hard.”

The Canucks power play, which looked like it might sink them during their

exhausting November schedule, is 5-for-12 since assistant coach Newell

Brown blended his two units four games ago in Los Angeles and put

Boeser and Horvat out with Daniel and Henrik Sedin.

The unit, which includes defenceman Alex Edler, did not practise

together before scoring twice in a 3-2 win against the Kings. The new

second power play, which features Sven Baertschi with Thomas Vanek

and Loui Eriksson, also contributed a goal Tuesday in Philadelphia.

Baertschi scored his eighth, tying him with Horvat for second on the

Canucks.

“I honestly don’t know,” Boeser said when asked if he has a go-to shot, a

preferred target. “Whatever’s open, I shoot at. I love shooting. I like to

make sure I get my shot on net.”

Canucks goalie Jacob Markstrom was excellent against the Flyers,

making 36 saves in a game Vancouver badly needed to start a six-game

eastern road trip that includes a test Wednesday against the Stanley Cup

champion Pittsburgh Penguins.

“The confidence and chemistry we have out there is getting better every

game,” Horvat, 22, said of his line. “I knew Brock had a great chance (to

make the team). He had great games when he came up and played with

us at the end of last year. It was his spot to get. He obviously worked

hard in the summer and had an amazing pre-season. And he keeps

getting better and better.”

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Sportsnet.ca / Terrible habit costs Canadiens once again vs. Stars

Tyler Seguin and Devin Shore both scored and recorded an assist to

help the Dallas Stars beat the Montreal Canadiens.

Eric Engels

DALLAS—It was a game plan followed to the letter by the Montreal

Canadiens before things blew up in their faces in a matter of 59 seconds.

The result: A 3-1 loss to the Dallas Stars.

Devin Shore finished off a beautiful play by Stars defenceman John

Klingberg with 1:38 remaining in the second period and Jason Spezza

delivered the coup de grace right after, making it the ninth occasion in 22

games this season that the Canadiens have surrendered two goals in

less than a minute.

To a man, there wasn’t a player on the Montreal side who could explain

how this trend could continue after so much breath had been spent

discussing it internally after the eighth time it happened in a 6-0 loss to

the Toronto Maple Leafs this past Saturday.

"At one point, I don’t know if I’m going to have to call a timeout after we

get scored on," said Canadiens coach Claude Julien. "It’s just something

that’s gotta get better, and we need to be strong."

The lack of response after two goals went in has to be just as

disconcerting for the Canadiens as the lack of focus after one, especially

when you consider the way they started the game.

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They came to Dallas as heavy underdogs and had the tough task of

matching up against the team with the Western Conference’s best home

record. Without starting goaltender Carey Price available, with star

defenceman Shea Weber ruled out late in the afternoon due to a lower-

body injury, the odds were stacked heavily against them. And yet they

had spent the first 39 minutes strangling the life out of the Stars offence,

plugging up the neutral zone, and frustrating them at every turn.

Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher scored his ninth goal of the

season with less than eight minutes remaining in the second period. He

and his teammates were comfortably in the driver’s seat. Even after they

allowed the goals from Shore and Spezza, they had an intermission to

regroup and 20 minutes to get themselves back into the game.

So you have to wonder how the Canadiens came out of the gate in the

third period looking like a downtrodden, discouraged group. They had

two power plays in the opening seven minutes of the period and recorded

only four shots on net through the first 14. A push came in the 15th

minute, another power play was earned, and some glorious chances

were missed by Montreal’s secondary scorers.

The Canadiens spent almost all of the final three minutes of the game in

their own zone before two of Dallas’ top players, Tyler Seguin and former

Canadien Alexander Radulov, combined on an empty-net goal and put

them out of their misery.

When Julien was asked how he felt his top line of Alex Galchenyuk,

Jonathan Drouin and Max Pacioretty performed, he quipped in French,

"Just look at the stat sheet."

They are the guys you look towards to pull you up by the bootstraps

when things get hairy, and they combined for a whopping one shot on

net, which came off Pacioretty’s stick in the first period. Drouin won two

of 10 faceoffs, had zero shot attempts, and unquestionably played his

worst game of the season. And Galchenyuk missed the net three times

CAROLINA HURRICANES

NEWS CLIPPINGS • Nov. 22, 2017

and ended up looking like a ping pong ball trying to figure out which man

to cover on the backbreaking goal scored by Spezza.

The rest of the team performed admirably under the circumstances. They

played hard—and to the best of their limited ability—with their two best

players sidelined by injury.

"Considering the adversity of the situation, we played well enough to win

the game 1-0 and one minute of the game cost us the whole thing," said

Julien, who argued that Stars captain Jamie Benn should’ve been

assessed a penalty for breaking his stick on a crosscheck on Gallagher

before Shore found the back of the net to tie the game 1-1.

But Julien wasn’t using that as an excuse for why his team managed to

fall back into what has to be considered one of the worst habits in the

NHL this season.

"When you get scored on, the biggest thing you gotta do is push back,"

he said. "Right now it’s not happening, so we gotta keep working on

that."

And…

"Our best players have to be our best players. It’s as simple as that,"

Julien added.

Claude Julien says Shea Weber is a possibility in Nashville

— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) November 22, 2017

We’ll see what they offer in Nashville, against the Predators on

Wednesday.

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Sportsnet.ca / Oilers pull Cam Talbot early after ugly start vs. Blues

St. Louis Blues take the a 1-0 lead after a puck shot by their forward

Vladimir Tarasenko tips off the stick of two Edmonton Oilers players and

past goalie Cam Talbot.

Mike Johnston

Edmonton Oilers goalie Cam Talbot‘s night ended early Tuesday after

allowing two goals on three shots in just 7:35 of playing time against the

St. Louis Blues.

Talbot was beaten by a deflected Vladimir Tarasenko shot 3:13 into the

game and a few minutes later Dmitrij Jaskin fired a puck over Talbot’s left

shoulder. Talbot went down early on both goals.

The Oilers as a whole have disappointed this season and Talbot’s less

than stellar play has been a contributing factor. The 30-year-old went 42-

22-8 with a 2.39 goals-against average and .919 save percentage in a

career-high 73 games last season, yet prior to Tuesday’s poor

performance he had a 7-10-1 record, 3.10 GAA and .903 save

percentage.

“My target is .920 to .925. I set my target at .923 this season,” Talbot told

reporters Monday when talking about his save percentage. “Maybe I

don’t have to steal games, but I have to give us a chance to win. The

difference [between] this year and last is my consistency. I’ve had some

good games but others I want back and I have to eliminate those ones.

… You have to do your job night in and night out, and sometimes, you’re

going to come out on the losing end. But you have to find consistency in

your own game and the team game will follow.”

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Sportsnet.ca / Canucks’ Dorsett returns home because of neck, back

stiffness

Iain MacIntyre

PHILADELPHIA – The Vancouver Canucks hope Derek Dorsett will not

be away from the team for long, but general manager Jim Benning said

Tuesday there is no timeline for his return.

Dorsett, a feel-good story in Vancouver this season after his successful

return from career-threatening spinal surgery, flew home from

Philadelphia due to a recurrence of neck and back stiffness. The winger

will undergo further medical testing at home and is expected to travel to

Los Angeles to meet with Dr. Robert Watkins, the surgeon who

performed a cervical fusion on Dorsett last December.

“We’re at the preliminary stage of finding out what this is all about,”

Benning said. “He always plays hard, so Dorse is always a little sore. But

the last few days, he started feeling a little bit stiff. It could be related to

the procedure he had done, so this is precautionary.”

Benning said it was the seriousness of the surgery that Dorsett

underwent 11 months ago that led to the decision to send him home,

rather than simply have him sit out a couple of games and stay with the

team.

Dorsett aborted practice Monday in Philadelphia. It’s unlikely the 30-year-

old from Kindersley, Sask., will return to the Canucks during their six-

game road trip, which opened Tuesday against the Flyers.

Although criticized by some for his poor possession numbers while

deployed by Canucks coach Travis Green against the opposition’s top

forward lines, Dorsett was on pace for a career season offensively with

seven goals and nine points through Vancouver’s first 20 games. He

averaged 15:16 of ice time.

Dorsett also had four fighting majors this season, twice after opponents

took runs at Canucks skill players and once, last week against the Los

Angeles Kings, to spark his team after it fell behind 1-0 after 23 seconds.

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Sportsnet.ca / Down Goes Brown: 2017–18 NHL quarter-season awards

Sean McIndoe

• Who wins quarter-season MVP: Kucherov or Stamkos?

• Karlsson has competition for best defenceman

• ALSO: best coach, GM, comeback and off-season move

We’re almost at the quarter-mark of the NHL schedule, which means it’s

time to do a few things. First, and most importantly: Start wildly panicking

if your team isn’t doing as well as they should be. You guys on that,

Montreal and Edmonton? You are? Great, nice work as always.

For the rest of us, we may as well hand out some quarter-season

awards. Sure, most of these will turn out to be regrettable in hindsight by

CAROLINA HURRICANES

NEWS CLIPPINGS • Nov. 22, 2017

the end of the year, and some of them will look bad within weeks. But

that’s part of the fun.

So let’s do it. You can vote for your own picks right here with results

revealed this week on Wednesday Night Hockey. In the meantime, here’s

who we’d be handing out the tiny quarter-sized trophies to, based on the

season’s first six weeks.

Most valuable player

Every sport that features an MVP award has the same debate over how

exactly we should define “valuable.” Some see it as simply a fancy way

of saying the best player, while others look for some deeper meaning

related to a player’s relative importance to his teammates in terms of his

team’s playoff chances.

Some years, one player emerges as the favourite under either definition

and we can skip the semantic debate. This year, we may not be so lucky.

Because based on the first quarter of the season, Hart Trophy voters

could end up facing a dilemma: What do you do when the season’s two

best performers are on the same team?

With Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos racking up big numbers while

helping the Lightning to top spot in the standings, some will try to argue

that they can’t be considered more valuable than someone like Connor

McDavid or Johnny Gaudreau, who are the clear offensive leaders on

their team. Others would point out that points aren’t everything, and that

a two-way force like Anze Kopitar should get some consideration.

Of course, if we’re not going to just look at the top of the scoring race

(like Hart voters usually do), we could make the case for a goalie or

defenceman. That would bring guys like Sergei Bobrovsky, Alex

Pietrangelo and Corey Crawford into the conversation. And then you’ve

got guys who’ve missed time to injury, but are clearly their team’s most

valuable players when healthy — that group would include Erik Karlsson

and Auston Matthews.

Luckily, we fall into the category of voters who keep it simple. The

league’s most valuable player is the one that’s having the best season,

period. That means Kucherov gets the nod, edging out Stamkos. And

we’ll toss Bobrovsky a third-place vote, if only because non-forwards

rarely get enough Hart love.

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Sportsnet.ca / Acknowledging and analyzing the NHL’s top five lines this

season

Andrew Berkshire

Since we’re about one quarter of the way through the NHL’s schedule,

we’re going to look at which groups of players are working the best so far

and why. Starting out with forward lines (to be followed by defence pairs

and goalies this week), we have to set some parameters because after

just 20 or so games, there can be some wild results.

When you’re looking for the best lines, there has to be some level of

sustainability, so you want good shot differentials and strong expected

goals numbers, but we also want to capture lines that are red hot through

the first quarter, so actual goal differential matters a lot, too.

One thing we have to keep in mind is we want to look at line

combinations that play the tougher minutes and don’t just benefit from

soft competition in a small sample. We’re looking at top lines that do it all.

Finally, we’ve got to take special teams out of it, because lines don’t

always stick together there, so we’ll cut it down to 5-on-5 hockey, and the

lines have to have played at least 100 minutes together in that situation

to count. Luckily, Corsica.Hockey has all the tools necessary to get this

information.

Here’s what I came up with as the top-five lines through the NHL’s first

quarter:

Based on point production in the early season, many would assume

Tampa Bay’s electric first line would easily be the best out there, but that

isn’t the case at even strength. They’re still great, but they have been

most potent on the power play, which isn’t factored in for our purposes.

Meanwhile, the surprising St. Louis Blues have built a line that’s strong

by every measure, and trails only the Matthews line in Toronto in terms of

goal control.

Top five NHL forward lines of the first quarter

Hyman-Matthews-Nylander, TOR

Schwartz-Schenn-Tarasenko, STL

Namestnikov-Stamkos-Kucherov, TB

Giroux-Couturier-Voracek, PHI

Forsberg-Johansen-Arvidsson, NSH

The JOFA line that powered the Predators’ offence last season remains

strong this season, while the new experiment with Claude Giroux in

Philadelphia has produced the most dynamic line the Flyers have seen in

years.

What’s interesting isn’t simply the fact these lines have been incredible,

though, it’s how they get it done. So let’s break down how each line

creates offence, and how sustainable their success is long term.

My assumption going in was that due to Auston Matthews, the Leafs’ top

unit would be the leaders in high danger chances. But Sean Couturier

actually leads the NHL in those this season and Jakub Voracek isn’t far

behind, so the Flyers’ line ends up edging the Leafs’ in quality chances,

and they also lead the pack in volume of scoring chances both on net

and attempts.

Puck movement in the offensive zone adds another layer, and that’s

where it becomes clear how the Blues’ line produces so much offence

without getting to high quality locations as often, and missing lots of their

shots. The Blues lead the pack in passes to the slot, and are tied for

second in their ability to both attack off the rush and move the puck East-

West.

The Lightning, meanwhile, don’t get the puck to the slot as often as you

would think because they like to set up Kucherov and Stamkos on

opposite sides and move the puck East-West to exploit teams and use

two of the best one-timers in the NHL.

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The Flyers remain strong here with two elite playmakers in Voracek and

Giroux on the same line consistently getting the puck to dangerous areas

and making goalies move laterally. Based on shot locations and pre-shot

movement, I think it’s fair to say the Flyers’ trio is the strongest pure

offensive line.

The Predators trio, however, looks less special than the others

offensively. Sespite strong differentials, they’re struggling to create

quality chances. That was a problem for the Predators as a whole for the

first quarter of the season and their hope is the added depth of having

Kyle Turris down the middle should make it tougher for teams to focus

entirely on the JOFA line and shut them down.

CAROLINA HURRICANES

NEWS CLIPPINGS • Nov. 22, 2017

But even with the lack of quality chances, something has to be going

right for the Preds’ top line, right? So let’s look at the defensive

components of these lines.

Positioning is pretty tough to measure effectively, but two things we can

measure are how often players take the puck off an opponent’s stick, a

successful defensive play, and how often they recover a loose puck.

Those two actions that cause possession changes are the biggest factors

in defensive play that we can accurately measure at the moment.

In the offensive zone, it’s actually the Lightning that provide the most

intense forechecking presence, recovering the most loose pucks and

stealing possession more than the rest of the group. This area is where

Namestnikov truly shines, creating extra opportunities for his linemates

instead of having to backcheck.

On the strength of Auston Matthews, the Leafs are right there with the

Lightning, as he’s second in the NHL in loose puck recoveries among

forwards, after finishing first last season. Matthews also gives the Leafs

unit a strong presence in the defensive zone, where he has been

stripping opponents of the puck at the same rate as Patrice Bergeron.

The Predators’ to line starts to shine in the defensive and neutral zones

— they lead the pack in the neutral zone, causing changes in possession

that result in odd-man rushes the other direction.

The Flyers and Blues lines are a bit behind the other teams in the

offensive and defensive zones, making them a bit easier to exploit

defensively, but the gap is pretty small there.

Ultimately, all these lines are punching slightly above their weight right

now, but that’s what 20-game sample sizes in hockey are all about. The

most interesting question I can see from this group of excellent lines is

whether that Predators’ top line comes crashing down to earth, or if they

start to produce better chances because of the team’s increased depth.

It’s one to watch.

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Sportsnet.ca / NHL Quarter Mark Report: Maple Leafs developing into a

scary team

Luke Fox

Expectations for the 2017-18 Toronto Maple Leafs came in hot following

last spring’s nail-biting playoff cameo and some aggressive off-season

spending, but fans should feel encouraged by how their Buds have

performed through the season’s first 22 games.

Winners of six of their past seven, the Maple Leafs’ spiffy record (14-8-0)

and goal differential (+13) place them second overall in the Eastern

Conference, behind the early Presidents’ Trophy favourite Tampa Bay

Lightning. Anything but a first- or second-place finish in a soft Atlantic

Division should be seen as a disappointment for a talented squad that is

still searching for an optimal lineup, consistent effort, and improving its

play without the puck.

Optimism abounds as this group still has time and space to improve.

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THE GOOD: Skill and scoring, for starters.

Auston Matthews leads the pack with 12 goals, 11 of them at even-

strength, but Nazem Kadri (10 goals) is well on pace for back-to-back 30-

goal campaigns, and James van Riemsdyk (11 goals, 17 points) is

enjoying a contract year that should pay handsomely.

The Leafs’ power play rates among the NHL’s most dangerous, with both

units equally frightening.

All of Toronto’s free agency signings—Ron Hainsey (nine assists, 22

minutes per night), Patrick Marleau (team-high three game-winners),

Dominic Moore, Curtis McElhinney (2-1)—have met or exceeded

expectations, and Morgan Rielly (17 points) has surged back from an

underwhelming 2016-17 in which he hobbled through a high ankle sprain.

“He might be the Number 1 [defenceman] they’ve been looking for, the

way he’s going,” a source working for an opposing team said Tuesday.

Starting goalie Frederik Andersen looked shaky in October, but recently

put together 141 minutes of shutout hockey.

“Is it because our team was so loosey-goosey and we were scoring so

much we didn’t care and we’d just race you to 10?” Babcock says. “I

don’t know the answer.”

As the most-used player in the NHL, are the Leafs in danger of burning

out Andersen?

“We’re monitoring [his workload],” Babcock says. “If we feel it’s getting

too heavy we’ll back him off. Right now, it looks like he’s just starting to

get in a groove, so that’s a good thing for us.”

THE BAD: Toronto’s gaudy scoring numbers—a league-high 79 goals,

11 different players registering at least 10 points already—obscure the

fact that they’ve been outshot by about three pucks per game.

After a scorching, freewheeling start to the year, Toronto suffered from

poor defensive breakouts and questioned its collective confidence during

a miserable 1-3 reality-check road trip through California and Missouri.

MVP Matthews missed a week and a half due to a suspected back injury

and hasn’t looked the same since. Stud sophomores William Nylander

and Mitch Marner each endured scoring droughts, since snapped.

Connor Brown (eight goals) is too good to be on the fourth line.

“They’re kids trying to get better and trying to learn how to play,” Babcock

says. “Brownie’s level of consistency is different than Mitch’s. Mitch is still

trying to find his game every day and what he’s going to be and the level

he’s at.”

The Leafs’ team defence is average, as is their penalty kill, which relies

too heavily on just two defenders, Hainsey and Nikita Zaitsev.

Signing UFA Roman Polak was intended as a quick fix in this

department, except Polak has looked too slow and thus has been mostly

scratched. This leads us to believe Toronto will be an active buyer for

blue line help at the trade deadline.

TRENDING: Up. With six consecutive victories—including two shutouts

and four wins without their best player—the Maple Leafs were the hottest

team in the league prior to Monday’s lacklustre effort against Arizona.

BOLD PREDICTION: Before he retires from the National Hockey

League, Auston Matthews will win the following trophies — Hart, Maurice

Richard, Frank J. Selke, Ted Lindsay, Lady Byng, Conn Smythe, Stanley

Cup – but not all at once. That’s how special and well-rounded of a

centreman he is.

The Jeff Blair Show

An Arizona kid hits a milestone with the Toronto Maple Leafs

Originally aired November 21 2017

Remarkable as it is, coming off a standout performance in the Maple

Leafs’ one playoff series last spring, Matthews has entered 2017-18 and

upped both his wow factor and his defensive responsibility. He’s a born

goal scorer with one of the snappiest releases in the biz, his takeaway

CAROLINA HURRICANES

NEWS CLIPPINGS • Nov. 22, 2017

and puck-hounding skills are among the best, and he always turns the

other cheek.

With two beautiful OT winners already this season only adding to his get-

out-of-your-seat moments in his NHL debut, the Centennial Classic and

the Washington series, Matthews has a flair for the dramatic—and we’re

only 100 games into his NHL life.

GRADE: B+. Flights of inconsistency, some alarming defensive lapses,

and another sub-par start by Andersen remind Leafs fans that this is still

a young, developing group whose flaws get exposed when running up

against savvy, patient teams like Los Angeles, San Jose, and Ottawa.

But when Andersen is dialled in and they don’t lay off the gas against

beatable opponents, the scariest shooters north of Tampa Bay feel free

to run wild.

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TSN.CA / Babcock: Matthews, Marner won’t start a game together - at

least for now

By Mark Masters

TSN Toronto reporter Mark Masters checks in daily with news and notes

from Maple Leafs practices and game-day skates. The Maple Leafs

practised on Tuesday before heading to Florida.

Mike Babcock has switched up his forward lines midway through the last

two Leafs games in an attempt to spark the offence. On both occasions,

he united Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. On Saturday in Montreal,

the pair combined for two goals although they were the final two goals in

a 6-0 blowout. On Monday, the duo nearly struck lightning again, coming

one goalie interference call away from tying the game late in the third

period. But at Tuesday's practice, the original combinations were

restored.

The possibility of a line featuring the sharp-shooting Matthews and the

play-making brilliance of Marner has fans salivating, but it’s unlikely to

happen to start a game.

“That’s great that everyone wants that (but) we’re just trying to win every

night,” Babcock explained. “It’s the responsibility of both guys to drive a

line. That’s their job here.”

On Monday morning, Babcock bristled when asked why he didn’t keep

Marner and Mathews together, and after the game he apologized for his

“disrespectful” answer. But he didn’t offer much insight on his motivations

until after Tuesday’s practice.

“If we thought that’d help us win more games that’s what we’d do, so I

don’t foresee it happening any time soon,” Babcock noted. “When we’re

not playing good and you move people around, I think that’s a different,

but for us to be the best we can be they’re both supposed to drive a line.”

Matthews and Marner have become good friends off the ice and seemed

eager to play together following Saturday’s game at the Bell Centre, but

both understand the need for balance in the lineup.

“It’s his lineup,” Marner said of Babcock. “He’s the one who makes it so

he knows what he’s doing, so you just got to trust that. I don’t really think

it matters who you get on the ice with, everyone’s got a lot of skill and

talent.”

“We got a lot of really good players,” Matthews said, “so when you

spread it out we have a lot of depth and are pretty tough to play (against)

when we do that.”

Don't expect Matthews and Marner to play together any time soon

Mike Babcock explains why having Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner

on separate lines gives them a better chance of winning then if they were

playing together and as Mark Masters explains, both players respect the

coaches decision.

Matthews unsure when he’ll be back on track

These types of questions probably wouldn't be getting asked if Matthews

was playing like he did before missing four games with an upper-body

injury.

“I didn’t play very well,” Matthews said on Monday night following the 4-1

loss to the Coyotes, his second game back. “I don’t really like a lot of

plays I made, just turned the puck over. I think it’s just getting back to the

level I was playing at before I was injured. It’s obviously frustrating ...

definitely tonight I wasn’t very good myself.”

On Tuesday, the 20-year-old said he wasn't sure how long it would take

for him to get on track.

“It’s just getting back to just feeling good and all that stuff so I don't really

have a time estimate for you,” Matthews said. “It’s just something you

can’t really anticipate on the time. You just got to keep working hard

every day and hopefully it will come.”

“It's always hard when you miss a few games,” said linemate William

Nylander. “Everything’s a little off so it takes a few games to get back into

top shape.”

When will Matthews regain his top form? 'I don’t really have a time

estimate'

Auston Matthews admits that he can't really put a time estimate on when

he will be back to 100% but says he's going to keep working hard and is

hopeful it will be sooner than later.

Nylander: ‘I want to get going here’

For most of the season, the Matthews connection with Nylander has

been producing. However, Nylander was struggling a bit even before

Matthews went down with his injury and has failed to register a shot on

goal in the two games since his return.

Is he feeling a bit looser since snapping an 11-game goal drought last

Thursday against the New Jersey Devils?

“It has loosened up a little bit,” said Nylander, who admitted to being

rattled by the dry spell, “but still can play better and want to get going

here.”

Babcock singled out his young skilled players for not playing well enough

in the loss to the Coyotes and the trio of emerging stars received the

message.

“I don’t think we were playing to the level that we could play at,” Nylander

admitted. “I mean, it happens. We just have to come back stronger

tomorrow (Wednesday night against the Panthers in Florida).

“I just think we didn’t come ready to play,” Marner said. “They pushed

right off the start. We were late to the party. In the third maybe we got

back to what we wanted to do, but we can’t keep doing this to ourselves.”

Clogged neutral zone similar to Toronto traffic

Babcock took issue with a reporter who suggested Toronto’s coach

wasn't happy with how his players dealt with teams who clog up the

neutral zone.

“That's not a complaint at all,” Babcock said. “I never ever said that.

Teams clog up the neutral zone. All you need to do is look at our record

(14-8-0), I think we’re a pretty good team that plays pretty well. The other

team, when it gets an opportunity, clogs up the neutral zone. But what do

you think they’re saying about us? The same thing. So, who does it best?

Who stays patient? Who gets through it?

CAROLINA HURRICANES

NEWS CLIPPINGS • Nov. 22, 2017

“It's like going to the ACC at 5 p.m. There’s traffic, but the more you go

there at 5 p.m. the more you know which lane is open and which street to

go on and you get to figure it out.”

There’s an exception to every rule and Babcock joked that the last block

of his drive to the Air Canada Centre always takes 30 minutes on game

days regardless of the route.

“Anyway, the reality of the situation is it’s the same principle,” Babcock

said in conclusion. “You got to find your way through it and if you’re

stubborn and you turn pucks over it hurts you. If you stay patient and you

do things right you end up spending a lot of time on the O zone and have

a lot of fun.”

Babcock compares neutral zone to Toronto traffic

Mike Babcock was asked about how they appear to struggle against

teams that clog up the neutral zone and the Maple Leafs head coach

shared a real life example of what he thinks is happening on the ice.

Lines at Tuesday’s practice

Forwards

Hyman-Matthews-Nylander

Marleau-Kadri-Komarov

van Riemsdyk-Bozak-Marner

Martin-Moore-Brown

Soshnikov, Leivo

Defencemen

Rielly-Hainsey

Gardiner-Zaitsev

Borgman-Carrick

Polak

Goalies

Andersen

McElhinney

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TSN.CA / Road trip stern test for Canucks young scoring leaders

By Jeff Paterson

PHILADELPHIA, PA – For the better part of five years, the Vancouver

Canucks and their fans have awaited the arrival of a new wave of

legitimate scoring threats to take the torch from Daniel and Henrik Sedin.

With the performance of Bo Horvat, Brock Boeser and Sven Baertschi

over the first 20 games of the 2017-18 National Hockey League season,

it appears that transition is finally taking place.

Horvat leads the team in goals with eight with Boeser and Baertschi both

just one behind. The rookie Boeser tops the team scoring parade with 17

points one better than Horvat and two in front of Baertschi. All three are

on pace for 60+ points at the quarter-mark of the schedule. Last season

only 42 players in the NHL posted 60 point seasons. So by today’s

standards, that production rate – more than a goal and nearly two and a

half points per game -- makes the Horvat trio a legitimate scoring line.

Now comes the hard part. With success comes notoriety and as the

Canucks embark on a gruelling six-game road trip starting in Philadelphia

tonight, they won’t be able to dictate match-ups as they do on home ice.

As such, the Horvat line is surely to see its share of top defencemen and

checking forwards.

Of the line’s 48 points this season, 31 have come on home ice. Baertschi

leads the team with four road goals while Horvat has three. Boeser is

sitting on just one goal away from Rogers Arena so far this season – and

it came in Ottawa on October 17th in the team’s first road game more

than a month ago. So, as it is for many young players and emerging

scorers, life on the road has presented plenty of challenges for the

Canucks new offensive leaders.

However, if this team is going to have success on this road trip, the

Horvat-Boeser-Baertschi combination is going to have to find a way to

overcome what will surely be unwelcome attention of opponents tasked

with keeping those three in check.

“It makes it a little harder, I think,” Baertschi conceded after practice here

Monday. “We’ve played against top lines or shutdown lines and we were

able to get things done and that’s part of the game. I’m excited about

going on the road and playing against top lines and usually that’s the

most fun. We’re creating a lot out there. We spend a lot of time in the

offensive zone and that’s where the magic happens.”

The Canucks have to be hoping Baertschi and his linemates can pull a

few rabbits out of hats as they make their way from Philadelphia to

Pittsburgh then visit New Jersey, the New York Rangers, New York

Islanders and finish this two-week odyssey in Nashville. By the time the

trip is done, the Canucks will have cleared 15 of their 41 road games off

the schedule before the end of November.

They’ve been a strong road team going 6-3 in their first nine away from

home – in fact, the Canucks have twice as many road wins as home

victories. Their last road game was a gritty 3-2 come-from-behind triumph

in Los Angeles which included power play goals from Horvat and

Baertschi.

“Teams are going to key in on us and put their best lines against us and

we have to be ready for that,” Horvat says. “Every night we’re going to be

playing against top two lines and we know that and we have to be good

at both ends of the ice. But you want to be that guy and when you’re

having success, you’re going to get the tough match-ups and you have to

be ready for it.”

Travis Green isn’t ready to anoint his young scorers as a top line in the

league just yet, but the coach is certainly encouraged by their emergence

and is well-aware how much those three mean to his hockey club. With a

collection of veterans rounding out the depth chart – many of them

struggling to produce offence with regularity or consistency – Green has

no choice but to lean on the Horvat line these days.

He has been able to protect them from difficult match-ups on many nights

this season, but knows they’ll be in the crosshairs of opponents on this

road trip.

“They’re getting a lot of offensive opportunities and they’re facing the

other teams’ top defensemen a lot and that’s a pretty good sign that other

teams are considering them a scoring line,” the coach says. “That’s what

we envisioned all three of those guys being. When will they become a top

offensive line in the league? Time will tell.”

Best case scenario for the Canucks: that time is now and the Horvat-

Baertschi-Boeser line takes a big step forward on this road trip.

“On the road they’re going to have to battle through,” Green adds. “That’s

just the way it is. All the good lines in the league face that every time they

go on the road. I think they realize it. But there is a part of just staying

focused and not thinking too far ahead is what you talk about with you

players a lot. It’s important that young players keep their foot on the

pedal, but they don’t get away from their game – if they have success it

doesn’t change anything and they still play the same way. That’s part of

CAROLINA HURRICANES

NEWS CLIPPINGS • Nov. 22, 2017

the evolution of a lot of young players in the league is consistently being

an offensive threat and that’s not easy to do.”

It may be unfair to pin so much pressure on the Canucks new top line,

but the reality of the situation is that as those three go, so goes the

hockey club. That trio has scored six of the last seven Canucks goals

and eight of the last 11. It’s obvious the much wanted and needed

change for the organization has taken place before our eyes.

Now we’ll see if Bo Horvat, Brock Boeser and Sven Baertschi can

shoulder the load to deliver results on this long and arduous road trip.

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TSN.CA / An improbable, but not impossible Shea Weber trade

By Travis Yost

The Montreal Canadiens’ big gamble backfired.

That’s the reality of the now infamous P.K. Subban-for-Shea Weber

trade, the hallmark of GM Marc Bergevin’s tenure in Montreal.

The trade has been discussed ad nauseam by this point, but it’s worth

mentioning that the biggest driver behind Montreal’s side of the deal was

that Weber would help the Canadiens win now. Montreal knew full well

that Weber had a poisonous contract – a mega contract that isn’t set to

expire until the 2025-26 season.

So the bet was simple: try to put the team over the top now, and deal

with the financial ramifications later.

It hasn’t played out as planned.

Montreal has been reeling for some time now. They’ve played to an 87-

point pace over the last 50 games, and are currently on pace for a 70-

point season in 2017-18. And while the team’s underlying numbers

suggest they are better (perhaps considerably better) than the results

observed in the win/loss column, the reality is the pressure has been

turned way up in Montreal. A few more losses, and there will be calls for

organizational change. Heck, those calls are already coming.

It’s hard to put the team’s results on Weber. I’ve long argued that

Weber’s been a bit overrated in the modern era of hockey – an era that

really requires guys to skate well and move the puck with speed and

precision. But, from his shot and defensive capabilities alone, he’s still a

top-pairing talent and Montreal has played very well with him on the ice.

The Canadiens’ failures really have more to do with what they have built

(or haven’t built) in support of Weber.

Considering the organizational pressure, the fact that Montreal’s probably

further away from a title today than they were a couple of years ago, and

the fact that Weber can definitely still play, you have to wonder if there’s

any way his name could be kicked up in the trade market. The contract

remains as treacherous as ever, but you would have to envision that

there are a number of teams who – at least in a vacuum – would

significantly improve by adding him to their roster.

Let me first emphasize that Weber’s skills haven’t eroded – not yet

anyway. He’s still one of the league’s preeminent defensive defenders,

and obviously his versatility allows him to be played in all situations. If

you compare his results against his peers since the time of the trade, you

can see that he still grades out incredibly well (raw data via Corsica;

where 100 per cent would indicate a player is better by that measure

than all of his peers):

Weber’s numbers are really impressive. His individual offence generated

is at the level of a first-pairing talent (he generates shots and points

better than about 75 per cent of league defenders, for one example.) And

his defensive measures – both goals against and expected goals against,

which considers both shot quantity and quality – are at elite first-pairing

levels, beating out more than 90 per cent of other defenders around the

league.

His areas of weakness remain the same: He still gives up shots against

at a decent rate, and team offence (“GF/60”) tends to die when he’s on

the ice. In summary: Weber’s resume remains eerily consistent. His

teams don’t generate a ton of goals offensively, but they give up even

less. Thus, he continues to win on the margins.

Considering the above and his reputation around the league, I submit

that he’s still valued – perhaps highly valued –by other franchises across

the NHL. And yet it’s going to be tough to find trade partners, even in a

hypothetical deal. The contract just runs for so long, and, at 32, he’s no

longer in the prime of his career. Add a pride factor to this on the

Montreal side, and you have a series of complications.

But you have to wonder if a team like the Toronto Maple Leafs would

take a shot here. We know they have been sniffing around top-four

defenders for basically a year – in the last few months alone it’s believed

they have shown interest in both Boston’s Zdeno Chara, who’s now 40,

and 27-year-old Flame Travis Hamonic.

The Leafs have recognized two key elements: (1) the team is very close

to being a Stanley Cup contender; and (2) the team’s fatal flaw is a

young and inexperienced blueline that doesn’t have that elite, No.1

defender. But there are so many other reasons for why the Leafs’ interest

in Weber could make sense:

They have a number of enticing young and talented pieces (especially

forwards) in need of their next contracts who could be offered as both a

trade piece and a salary offset;

They have over $5 million in cap space today;

They are in win-now mode thanks to a number of their players

developing on an accelerated curve, and are already good enough to be

considered a top-tier team in the Eastern Conference;

Their head coach, Mike Babcock, has fawned over Shea Weber’s talents

for years;

It’s Nashville, not Montreal (or Toronto) that could be burned by cap

recapture in the event Weber retires early; and

As noted earlier, they have recognized that their blueline is an area of

weakness, and have been searching for personnel upgrades for some

time

So, what type of trade could make sense here? For starters, Montreal

would need to retain salary. The only way to offset the sheer length of

this deal would be to allow a team to escape some of his annual cost –

Weber’s cap hit, for what it’s worth, is $7.8 million. A deal simply cannot

happen without the Habs retaining a cost here.

Beyond that, it becomes a game of finding the right pieces that would

encourage Montreal to get off of their current position of “win now” and

start thinking about a plausible retool or rebuild. If Montreal agrees to

swallow a large portion of salary in order to get a better piece, then the

Leafs could seriously consider including someone like William Nylander

or Mitch Marner. Nylander is due for his next contract at the end of the

year, and Marner a year after.

To me, those would be the core pieces of any plausible deal – a deal I

concede is, at best, improbable right now. But if the Habs do seriously go

through another losing stretch and incur some organizational change, a

new regime might be much more inclined to get out of that Weber

contract and reset their clock for contention.

CAROLINA HURRICANES

NEWS CLIPPINGS • Nov. 22, 2017

And if that occurs, it’ll be their divisional rival who could have the most

intriguing package to offer. So intriguing that it could be a win-win for

both sides, depending on how it’s structured.

TSN.CA LOADED: 11.22.2017