Articles in NHL Teams

* Connor McDavid placed first in four of the six events he competed in to accumulate the most points, outlast 11 elite All-Stars, and claim the $1 million prize at 2024 NHL All-Star Skills presented by DraftKings Sportsbook.

* A pair of international announcements on Friday included plans for NHL players to participate in the 2026 and 2030 Olympic Winter Games and a new international event, the 2025 NHL 4 Nations Face-Off, a tournament slated for next February featuring NHL Players from Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United States.

* Saturday’s conclusion to NHL All-Star Weekend will be headlined by the 2024 Honda (U.S.) / Rogers (Canada) NHL All-Star Game, continuing the 3-on-3 format used in each of the last seven All-Star Games. The opening contest will see Team MacKinnon face Team McDavid, followed by Team Hughes versus Team Matthews.

10 saves in 5 1/2 minutes.

6 1/2 minutes of your time.

NEW YORK (Feb. 1, 2024) – Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon, Edmonton Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner and Vancouver Canucks center Elias Pettersson have been named the NHL’s “Three Stars” for the month of January.

from Eric Francis of Sportsnet,

Not that Craig Conroy needed to justify anything about the significant haul he’d just procured from Vancouver, but when asked about the curious timing of it all, the Flames GM was direct.

“What I was looking for in return, I got it,” said Conroy of the all-star week trade Wednesday that saw him send Elias Lindholm to Vancouver for a first-round pick, a conditional fourth-rounder, Andrei Kuzmenko and prospects Hunter Brzustewicz and Joni Jurmo.

“I was looking to get younger, and picks, and a roster player — they checked all the boxes, and it was the best deal moving forward.

“I didn’t have a timeline set, I thought it would be closer to the deadline, but about four days ago Vancouver got aggressive, so I circled back with other teams and told them I was getting pushed and needed a decision.

“I’m thinking it’s a fair deal, a good hockey trade for both teams.”

Unlike his summertime Yegor Sharangovich swap for Tyler Toffoli that was erroneously panned by many, this one is a massive win for the first year GM and his organization.

And the deal could get even better, as the fourth-rounder turns into a third-rounder if the Canucks make it to the conference final.

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* The 2024 NHL All-Star Weekend gets underway tonight in Toronto, home of the first-ever “All-Star” game 90 years ago – a benefit contest for Ace Bailey – as well as the first official NHL All-Star Game in 1947. The annual event, expanded to three days this year, opens tonight with NHL All-Star Thursday which includes the return of the Tim Hortons NHL All-Star Player Draft, a tribute to the Stanley Cup-winning 1967 Maple Leafs and the Canadian Tire PWHL 3-on-3 Showcase.

* The Kings picked up two crucial points to maintain their position as the first Wild Card in the Western Conference heading into All-Star break while the Senators and Ducks were victorious in overtime Wednesday night.

Vancouver, B.C. – Vancouver Canucks President, Hockey Operations Jim Rutherford announced today that General Manager Patrik Allvin has signed a multi-year contract extension.

“Patrik has done a terrific job in helping us rebuild our hockey team both on and off the ice,” said Rutherford. “He has worked tirelessly to create a new culture and identity that embodies the important attributes of hard work, structure and dedication. With an ever present win the day mentality, Patrik’s leadership skills will be a key driver for our organization moving forward.”

from Kent Wilson at the Calgary Sun,

This is the emotional paradox facing both the team’s decision-makers and the fans as Calgary’s contention aspirations erode. The spectre of being bad on purpose only to be trapped in the basement indefinitely naturally makes the Flames’ faithful withdraw in revulsion.

Staring pensively at that sort of abyss, one can only think “Win now, win now, we should always be trying to win now.”

Unfortunately, the debts of the Brad Treliving regime are becoming increasingly due. The cost of trying to compete in the short term will continue to climb while the possibility of contending will recede further and further into the future.

As things stand, Calgary ranks somewhere between 19th and 24th in the league by almost any metric you care to name — points, goal differential, points percentage, expected goals ratio, etc. Five other teams stand between them and a Western Conference wild-card spot.

more

from Eric Duhatschek of The Athletic,

In the end, there are only two choices. Doing the right thing or doing the greedy thing.

The right thing is to let the Coyotes move to Salt Lake City. Player-wise, it’s an appealing franchise. The heavy lifting, in terms of stocking the team with young talent, has already been done. With a little bit of financial backing from a well-heeled ownership to flesh out the payroll, the Coyotes could be formidable fairly soon. Shifting Arizona to Salt Lake City would leave the league at 32 teams and wouldn’t even require the divisions to realign.

Will the league go ahead with expansion? Maybe. Probably.

Should it? Probably not.

And the main reason is competitiveness. If you keep adding teams, it just makes it harder and harder to win a championship.

more ($)

* The Blue Jackets and Sharks each skated to shutout victories during a two-game Tuesday and did so with the help of a 44-game rookie and a 1,267-game veteran, respectively.

* The NHL announced that Mathew Barzal will replace injured Jack Hughes in the 2024 NHL All-Star Skills presented by DraftKings Sportsbook, while teammate Jesper Bratt will replace him on the player roster for 2024 NHL All-Star Weekend. Hughes will still be in Toronto to co-captain Team Hughes alongside his brother, Quinn Hughes.

* The NHL will reveal which players are slated to compete in each of the first six events of 2024 NHL All-Star Skills presented by DraftKings Sportsbook during the first intermission of tonight’s Ottawa-Detroit game on Sportsnet.

from Rick Westhead of TSN,

Content Warning: The following article contains references to sexual assault.

Four National Hockey League players – Carter Hart, Michael McLeod, Dillon Dube, and Cal Foote – have been directed to surrender to police in London, Ont., to be charged with sexual assault in connection with an alleged incident that occurred during a Hockey Canada event in the city in June 2018, two sources familiar with the matter told TSN.

The players are expected to surrender before the London Police Service holds a press conference on Monday to update the public on the high-profile case.

Lawyers for the four players either declined to comment or did not respond to a request for comment.

The Globe and Mail reported on Jan. 24 that London police have instructed five members of Canada’s 2018 World Junior team to surrender to be charged with sexual assault. Former Ottawa Senators player Alex Formenton, who currently plays in Switzerland, reported to police on Jan. 28 to be officially charged.

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NEW YORK (Jan. 29, 2024) – Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov, Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid and Florida Panthers left wing Matthew Tkachuk have been named the NHL’s “Three Stars” for the week ending Jan. 28.

If Crosby should suddenly pull a 180 when he comes back from this 10-day break and says, “You know what? We aren’t winning. I do want outta here. Trade me,” I would have a problem with that....

I’m not naive enough to think that Crosby absolutely, positively has to stay in Pittsburgh until he retires. He has stated that would be his preference. Fenway Sports Group has stated the same thing. Unfortunately, if Gretzky can get traded, Crosby can play elsewhere too. Should Crosby make that move himself (for the reasons Hayes points out) when his contract expires after the 2025 season ends, so be it.

Crosby’s status as the franchise’s greatest and most important player, aside from Lemieux, will be unimpacted. He will have given 20 years and three championships of service. And if he wants to play somewhere else after that, with a franchise that is closer to Cup competition, then we’ll just have to deal with it.

-Tim Benz of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review on Sidney Crosby. Benz has more on this topic.

* The Blues came back from multiple deficits Sunday before ultimately winning their third consecutive game in overtime – their five such victories in 2023-24 trail only the Stars (7).

* Jordan Eberle matched a franchise mark with a three-point first period to lift the Kraken within two points of the final Wild Card position in the Western Conference.

* Monday’s sole contest will feature the Predators and Senators on Sportsnet, TVA Sports and NHL Network at 7 p.m. ET.

from the NHL's website,

Filip Chytil is out the rest of the regular season for the New York Rangers with an upper-body injury.

The Rangers said the forward had a thorough evaluation after he was helped off the ice at Madison Square Garden on Friday, a setback from the injury that has kept him out of the lineup since early November.

"The organization's top priority throughout this process has been Filip's health and we will continue to support him in his recovery with an aim to return for the 2024-25 season," the team said in a statement.

Chytil went down during an optional morning skate before New York's 5-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights. Team trainers tended to Chytil, and he was assisted to his feet and off the ice by defenseman Zac Jones and forward Jake Leschyshyn.

Chytil is home in New York. He, Jones and Leschyshyn were the only Rangers skaters on the ice at the time.

"It's obviously tough," coach Peter Laviolette said after the game Friday. "He's an important piece to our team. He's a good young player for us, so it's tough to see that.”

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NEW YORK/TORONTO (Jan. 28, 2024) – The National Hockey League Players’ Association and National Hockey League announced today that forward Patrik Laine of the Columbus Blue Jackets will be unavailable to his Club for an indefinite period while he receives care from the Player Assistance Program of the NHLPA and NHL.

Under the terms of the joint program, he will return to the Club when cleared for on-ice competition by the program administrators.

NEW YORK (Jan. 28, 2024) – Vancouver Canucks defenseman Tyler Myers has been fined $5,000, the maximum allowable under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, for elbowing Columbus Blue Jackets forward Sean Kuraly during NHL Game No. 772 in Vancouver on Saturday, Jan. 27, the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety announced today.

The incident occurred at 11:51 of the third period. Myers was assessed a major penalty and game misconduct for elbowing.

The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

Watch below.

from Larry Brooks of The New York Post,

Patrick Roy did not have to talk about the “magnitude of me,” to borrow a phrase from Reggie Jackson of 1978 vintage. The Canadiens took those words out of his mouth upon the iconic No. 33’s return to Montreal on Thursday when he strode behind the Islanders bench in his capacity as head coach.

We have always known that Roy is Royalty in Montreal, but a national monument across the border? Conflating the Hall of Fame netminder with the country of Canada was a bit much, don’t you think, when the Habs welcomed him back with a video tribute synched to the national anthem?

Roy was back in his element in the Montreal rink at which he had not been featured since Nov. 14, 2015, when he coached the Avalanche against the Habs. Nearly nine years of hearts growing fonder for the legend who somewhat incongruously returned with the Islanders.

The coach had been exiled from the NHL following his messy exit from Colorado and unkempt split from Joe Sakic following the 2015-16 season. Job after job came up. Job after job went without Roy getting an interview, even last summer after coaching the QMJHL Quebec Remparts to the Memorial Cup. Somehow, Roy had become radioactive. Somehow, Roy had become too big for an organization.

Until Lou.

continued and more hockey talk too...

* The Oilers moved within one game of tying the longest winning streak in NHL history and did so thanks in part to Connor McDavid’s fourth four-point game of the season and Leon Draisaitl reaching the 800-point milestone.

* Auston Matthews became the third U.S.-born player in NHL history with six 40-goal seasons, while Nikita Kucherov grabbed the outright scoring lead once again.

* The top five teams in the Atlantic Division each captured victories on a 14-game Saturday, a grouping that features seeds No. 3-5 separated by just two points, including the Panthers who benefited from Sam Reinhart’s 20th power-play goal of the season.

* Sunday’s two-game slate begins with a matinee matchup between the Kings and Blues broadcast on NHL Network and TVA Sports.

via Sportsnet,

In this edition of Saturday Headlines, Elliotte Friedman discusses the ongoing 2018 World Juniors investigation, whether Montreal Canadiens forward Sean Monahan could be a trade target for the New York Rangers, and more.

Watch below.