Articles in NHL Teams

The Rangers are going to experience culture shock with Laviolette, who was officially introduced Tuesday as the club’s head coach, replacing Gerard Gallant behind the bench. They are going to be challenged mentally and physically. That will start in training camp, maybe even in summer introductory phone calls. They are going to be in for some motivational talks and some that might tear the paint off the locker room wall. The Blueshirts are going to be coached up.

-Larry Brooks of the New York Post where you read more on Peter Laviolette.

from Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet,

If Calgary wants to return to the playoffs next season, their goaltending needs to at least return to the middle of the pack. That fact is even more pronounced when you consider the combined $8.2 million Markstrom and tandem-mate Dan Vladar will be counting against the cap.

Markstrom is coming off a miserable season and perhaps the most difficult of his NHL career. His .892 save percentage was his worst since becoming a full time NHLer in 2015-16 and ranked him 46^th of 56 goalies with 20 or more starts.

Flames fans found those numbers even harder to stomach considering Markstrom’s sparkling .922 the season prior en route to finishing second to eventual winner Igor Shesterkin in Vezina voting. And, per Evolving Hockey’s model, Markstrom went from 29.1 goals saved above replacement to just 2.1 from one season to the next.

Even after good nights or strong weeks, Calgary’s $6 million man was never able to even out his game last year.

“It’s been a battle for me personally to find my game and find my way and get on my roll,” Markstrom admitted at April’s locker clean-out day.

“You know, as a goalie it’s tough. You’re there and you want to find it, you know you have it and when it doesn’t show…you almost try too hard, if that makes sense. (You) tense up and you want it too much instead of just…go out and play and enjoy it and, you know, just trust it.”

The question now becomes: was 2022-23 just a down year for 33-year-old Markstrom? Or was it a sign of things to come?

read on

We're a week out from the NHL draft and trade talks have picked up around the league. The TSN Hockey Insiders discuss the latest on Jets stars Connor Hellebuyck and Pierre-Luc Dubois, the expectations that the Flames will be busy on the trade market, Ryan O'Reilly's future, and more in the latest edition of Insider Trading.

Watch at TSN

Fifteen goals in just under eight minutes.

MONTREAL - Montreal Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes announced on Tuesday that the team has agreed to terms on a one-year, $1.985 million contract extension (2023-24) with forward Sean Monahan.

Monahan, 28, scored six goals and added 11 assists in 25 contests with the Canadiens in 2022-23 before suffering a season-ending lower-body injury on December 5 in Vancouver.

Since the beginning of his career, the Brampton, ON native has tallied 479 points (218 goals, 261 assists) in 681 games with the Canadiens and the Calgary Flames, who drafted him sixth overall in 2013.

The 6-foot-2, 196-pound centerman was acquired from the Flames in a trade on August 18, 2022.

from the Philadelphia Flyers,

The Philadelphia Flyers unveiled today the club's new home and road uniforms featuring a collection of design elements and new features which officially usher in the team's New Era of Orange. The design changes are the first alterations to the team's primary home and away uniforms since 2010.

"This New Era of Orange is all about honoring our franchise's storied past while writing an exciting, new chapter of Flyers history," said Daniel J. Hilferty, Comcast Spectacor Chairman & CEO and Governor of the Philadelphia Flyers. "These new uniforms represent that sentiment perfectly with details to honor previous eras paired with a fresh, modern design. And there's no better company than Independence Blue Cross to be our first jersey patch partner! It is an organization that has meant so much to me personally and the entire Philadelphia region."

The club collaborated with the NHL's League-wide uniform partner, adidas, to bring the design to life. Many key stakeholders across the organization including Flyers season ticket members, Flyers alumni and broadcasters were consulted throughout the process. To honor its tradition while carving out a new era for the franchise, the Flyers are combining notable components of its past jerseys to form a modern adaptation of its storied history.

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Promo video is below.

from David Dwork of The Hockey News,

Goaltending played a major role in the Florida Panthers reaching the Stanley Cup Final.

The importance lies not only in the skill, but also in the depth of the position, which for Florida was put on display by AHL veteran Alex Lyon in the final weeks of the regular season.

The 30-year-old was called into action after Sergei Bobrovsky fell ill during a road trip in Canada, and Lyon responded by going on a season-saving stretch that propelled the Panthers into the final Eastern Conference playoff spot.

Once into the postseason, Bobrovsky reclaimed his crease and played some of the best hockey of his career. He played a pivotal role in Florida going on an 11-1 stretch that saw them cut through the playoff field like butter en route to the team’s first Final appearance in 27 years....

Looking ahead to next season, the Panthers currently have Bobrovsky and Spencer Knight under contract, and at the minor league level, Mack Guzda and recently signed Swiss goalie Ludovic Waeber are locked up for the year.

With Knight, however, there is still some unknown regarding his status for the upcoming season.

Knight left the Panthers in late February to enter the NHL and NHLPA’s shared player assistance program.

He moved back home to Connecticut to participate in the program, which he has since completed.

read on

from Jonas Siegel of The Athletic.

3. Tyler Bertuzzi

Age: 28
Position: Left/right wing
Evolving Hockey and AFP Analytics contract projections: $5.5 million cap hit/4-year deal, $5.3 million cap hit/6-year deal

Let’s look at two similar players for a second.

Player A had 46 goals, 66 assists and 112 points over 161 games the last two seasons. Player A turns 28 in September. Player A is 6 feet and 192 pounds.

Player B had 38 goals, 54 assists and 92 points over 118 games the last two seasons. Player B turned 28 in February. Player B is 6-1 and 186 pounds.

Player A is Michael Bunting.
Player B is Tyler Bertuzzi....

2. Connor Brown

Age: 29
Position: Left/right wing
Evolving Hockey and AFP Analytics contract projections: $2 million cap hit/1-year deal, $3.3 million cap hit/4-year deal

Brown feels like the right kind of buy for the Leafs for a variety of reasons.

One, he missed all but four games last season with a torn ACL, which means bargain potential as he looks to rebuild his value. And yes, we’re told Brown is now back to 100 percent....

1. Dmitry Orlov

Age: 31
Position: Left/right defence
Evolving Hockey and AFP Analytics contract projections: $6.3 million cap hit/5-year deal, $6.3 million cap hit/5-year deal

The thorny elements with Orlov are going to be his age — he turns 32 in July — and the large contract he’ll demand and get in free agency. Somewhere between five and seven years, in all likelihood, at more than $6 million annually on the cap....

more ($) on the above plus 9 more names...

from Ken Wiebe of Sportsnet,

The good news for the Golden Knights is that they’ve got the majority of their core pieces under contract for at least one more season and most for multiple campaigns.

The list of pending unrestricted free agents includes forwards Ivan Barbashev, Phil Kessel, Teddy Blueger along with goaltenders Adin Hill, Laurent Brossoit and Jonathan Quick.

Barbashev was unequivocally the best deadline acquisition made by any NHL team this season and while it would take some salary cap gymnastics to keep him in the fold, you can be sure the Golden Knights would love to keep him around.

The biggest area of uncertainty is in goal, where Logan Thompson (who was in the NHL All-Star Game before he got hurt) is under contract for two more seasons on a contract close to the league minimum and Robin Lehner remains a big question mark after missing the entire season with an injury despite having two more seasons under contract at $5 million.

As for the pending UFAs for 2024, that list includes Conn Smythe winner Jonathan Marchessault, Chandler Stephenson, Michael Amadio and William Carrier up front, along with defencemen Alec Martinez and Ben Hutton.

The Golden Knights found the right mix in 2022-23 and you can expect they’ll use a similar recipe moving forward.

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Eichel got too much too soon in Buffalo because it was the only card Pegula and then-GMs Tim Murray and Jason Botterill could play. He got the big-money contract and the captaincy before he had done a whole lot to deserve it. We’ll never know the course of franchise history if the Sabres had made O’Reilly the captain instead of Eichel, like they probably should have. Eichel could have grown into his career and played without that burden, like he can now in Vegas.

-Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News where you can read more on this and other hockey topics too.

from Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun,

- For his first trick as general manager, Brad Treliving must make Jake Muzzin and Matt Murray and their salaries disappear.

- The Golden Knights have made six first-round draft picks since entering the NHL: Five of them have been traded away, the biggest ones in parts of deals for Jack Eichel, Mark Stone, Ivan Barbashev, and Max Pacioretty. That’s not taking advantage of expansion rules: That’s just smart asset management.

- There is so much talk about Connor Hellebuyck being available, and the high price he should bring in a deal, which is nice. But consider this, in seven seasons as starting goaltender for the Winnipeg Jets, Hellebuyck has won three playoff rounds, lost in the first round three times, and missed the playoffs twice.

- Juuse Saros, another of the truly great goalies in hockey has yet to win a playoff round as the starter in Nashville. The last two goalies to win the Stanley Cup: Adin Hill and Darcy Kuemper. And before Andrei Vasilevskiy won two, the four previous winners were Jordan Binnington, Braden Holtby, and Matt Murray twice.

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It was a parade and a party in Las Vegas Saturday night.

Here are the highlights.

The official stream for the Cup parade, is on now and the parade is scheduled to start at 10pm ET.

They are not allowing embedding of the video, so click the link or watch on the NHL Network.

I also found an alternate stream that can be watched below but it is hit or miss right now and when it does work all I see is people walking on the street.

from Larry Brooks of the New York Post,

It is important for an NHL head coach to have assistants in whom he has utmost trust, both personally and professionally. Peter Laviolette deserves to have a staff largely of his choosing when he steps behind the bench for the Rangers.

But I also believe the Blueshirts are in need of a young presence and voice on the staff even if not necessarily a member of the head coach’s retinue. This is a veteran team with a veteran head coach, but there is a critical youthful component to the mix, too. Staff diversity is required. There is no reason for same-old, same-old. This is not a time for cronyism.

In addition, the Rangers’ power play became stagnant last season, and no, that was not because of Patrick Kane. The unit underachieved all season. Pass, pass, pass, one-timer by Mika. Pass, pass, pass, one-timer by Mika. Pass, pass, pass, the first unit staying on for 1:25 regardless.

The OHL Windsor Spitfires have had a dynamic power play the last two seasons. They are coached by the dynamic offensive former player, Marc Savard, originally a Ranger before he was unfortunately sent away to Calgary at age 21 in the deal that yielded Jamie Lundmark and Jan Hlavac in June 1999.

Nearly a quarter of a century later, it is time to explore bringing Savard back to New York as an assistant coach to preside over the power play and work with the forwards. In two years a head coach in the OHL, in which he had Will Cuylle for a spell, Savard’s team won the West both seasons while finishing second overall in the league.

continued plus more topics including this...

Finally, I’d like to see Steve Larmer be elected to the HHOF, I’d like to see Butch Goring gain induction, I’d be happy if Claude Provost were recognized. And I wonder if Matthew Tkachuk’s dramatic rise to prominence will invite another look at the candidacy of his dad, Keith “Big Walt” Tkachuk.

from Luke Fox of Sportsnet,

The first time Ivan Barbashev lifted the Stanley Cup, back in 2019, he was an impending free agent. He made his arbitration case on three goals and six points over a 25-game championship run as an RFA depth forward with the St. Louis Blues.

The second time Barbashev won the Cup, Tuesday, he is an impending free agent. But after the rental pickup’s seven goals and 18 points in Vegas’s 22-game championship run, the edgy winger holds all the leverage.

Following impressive playoffs, Barbashev will have many suitors in free agencyPlay VideoPlayMuteCurrent Time 0:00/Duration 3:01Loaded: 5.44% CaptionsFullscreen

The 27-year-old let the world know he can hang with elite forwards (Jonathan Marchessault and Jack Eichel) and deliver painful checks to hardnosed opponents (Radko Gudas).

That’s a rare combination, and it will get the Moscow native paid.

“I’ve always played some kind of a physical game. I think that’s what I brought over here. Just trying to bring some energy,” Barbashev says.

“They didn’t ask me to play a skill role, to be honest. It was up to me. Because when you play with Jack and Marchy, you got to make some plays for them, and you got to be an option for them as well.”

Until 2021-22, when he broke out for 26 goals and 60 points in St. Louis, Barbashev had been a career fourth-liner. Now that he has a taste of top-six life, he doesn’t want to look back.

more and other topics too

via the NHL PR department,

The 2023 Upper Deck NHL Draft will be held at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville over two days. Round 1 will begin at 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday, June 28 (ESPN, Sportsnet, TVA Sports), followed by Rounds 2-7 starting at 11 a.m. ET on Thursday, June 29 (NHL Network, Sportsnet, TVA Sports).

* The Order of Selection was announced Thursday, June 15.

* NHL Central Scouting’s Final Rankings: N.A. Skaters, Goalies & International Skaters, Goalies.

* 2023 NHL Draft Prospect Bios: 70+ Profiles and Scouting Reports.

* NHL Ties & Bloodlines: A list of ranked prospects with family ties to the NHL.

Five minutes of mic'd up moments.

from Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic,

If there was any further proof needed of the NHL’s current salary-cap system making it difficult to move money, Erik Karlsson is providing it.

Likely to be named the Norris Trophy winner on June 26 in Nashville, there’s no guarantee the Sharks will be able to move Karlsson this summer despite the most concentrated intention on doing just that.

That’s what four more years on a contract at an $11.5 million average annual value does for you.

Surely, though, there’s a way to move a 101-point defenseman about to pick up his third Norris Trophy?

We’re about to find out.

Sharks management met with Karlsson’s camp, Newport Sports, recently at the combine in Buffalo, and both sides came out of it absolutely on the same page as far as wanting to seek a trade for the 33-year-old Swedish magic man.

Let’s put it this way: While the Sharks were listening on Karlsson before the March 3 trade deadline this season — and did speak to a few teams about him, including the Oilers — this is more of a proactive endeavor.

The Sharks really want to move him. And Karlsson really wants to be moved to a team where he’s got a chance to win.

Karlsson’s full no-movement clause means he’s got a say in where he lands, but my impression is he’s going to be fairly open-minded. He really wants a chance to win before his career is over, and it’s not coming with the rebuilding Sharks.

I’m told that a few teams have already kicked tires over the past week, so the process has commenced, but it’s been described to me as very much in the early stages.

continued ($) plus more topics around other UFAs

Regular season and playoffs, all in four minutes.

.The TSN Hockey Insiders discuss where the Sharks and Erik Karlsson are right now on a possible trade, the Senators going to arbitration with Alex DeBrincat, the many options between the pipes in the off-season and the Oilers focusing on bolstering their defence.

Watch at TSN

NEW YORK (June 15, 2023) -- The National Hockey League announced today the current order of selection for the 2023 Upper Deck NHL Draft, June 28-29 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

The host Nashville Predators own a League-high 13 selections, including a pair in the first round at 15th and 24th overall. The most picks made by a club in one year since the introduction of the 7-round draft in 2005 is 13 (NY Islanders in 2006 and 2008, Florida in 2010 and Carolina in 2021).

The 2023 Upper Deck NHL Draft will take place over two days. Round 1 will be held on Wednesday, June 28 (7 p.m. ET, ESPN, SN, TVAS), followed by Rounds 2-7 on Thursday, June 29 (11 a.m. ET, NHLN, SN, TVAS).

added 1:58pm, Press release is below.

10 saves.

In 3 1/2 minutes, relive the highlights from the post season of the NHL.