from Matt Porter of the Boston Globe,

Turning talk into trade, when it comes to a potential Eichel-to-Boston deal, is another matter.

Can the Bruins afford the cost of one of the game’s premier centers? From a cap-space perspective, sure. The 24-year-old Eichel has been hurt much of this season, but is paid like a player who put up 36 goals and 78 points in 68 games last season on a struggling team. He carries a $10 million hit for the next six years.

One way to afford him: let unrestricted free agents David Krejci ($7.25 million), Jaroslav Halak ($2.25 million), and Sean Kuraly ($1.275 million) walk, which would free up $10.775 million in cap space. That’s without considering a Hall extension, and other UFAs (Mike Reilly, due a raise on his $1.5 million AAV). The Bruins will also shed David Backes’s $1.5 million retained cap hit this summer. Money doesn’t have to be the holdup.

Do they have a need for Eichel? Certainly not at this moment. The Capitals entered Saturday’s Game 1 against the Bruins trying to find ways to stop Patrice Bergeron’s line and the Hall-Krejci-Craig Smith connection, both firing with equal fury. Imagine if that continues this postseason, Krejci takes a haircut ($5 million on a short-term deal) and Hall falls a bit behind Brad Marchand ($6.125 million) on the salary scale. That’s one formidable top six entering 2021-22.

Given the ages of Bergeron (36 in July) and Krejci (35) and their mileage, it wouldn’t last forever. Bergeron’s contract expires after next season. Krejci, if he returns, could be year to year. Bringing in a 24-year-old, all-world talent from North Chelmsford, and showing him how Bergeron and Marchand operate (see: Hall, Taylor), could be ideal.

Whether they want to ante up for Eichel, the Bruins do need centers.

more plus other topics...

Questions will be answered.

from Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe,

For the first time since dropping Game 7 of the 2019 Stanley Cup Final, the Bruins will be on the ice Saturday night for a playoff game with real live fans in the stands, and that sweet, intoxicating scent of postseason acrimony in the air.

Bubble-free hockey, Stanley Cup play as we used to know it — albeit with the crowd still downsized because of COVID protocols — begins anew with the Bruins and Capitals set to slug out a best-of-seven series.

It will be fast, for sure, and it could be a rough one from the start. Neither side will need to ease into this one. All the “feeling out” died between the Capitals and Bruins over the course of eight regular-season matchups, including March 5 at the Garden when Washington forward Tom Wilson drove Brandon Carlo’s noggin hard into the glass and was suspended for seven games.

“I think it will come to a head quicker,” Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy predicted, just before his club flying here for Saturday’s 7:15 p.m. puck drop. “Bad blood’s already there.”

“Discipline is what we talk about,” added Capitals coach Peter Laviolette, noting the importance of controlled emotions, intelligent play at this time of the year. “But then the games get played and you hope you are on the good side of that.”

continued

from Don Brennan of the National Post,

“When we’re skating and we’re physical, I think we give them a lot of issues, whether that’s forechecking or defending,” said the St. Louis Blues captain, whose team takes on the Avalanche in a West Division first-round matchup that begins Monday. “When we play our heavy game and commit to it, and put pucks in and don’t feed their rush, we make it tough on them, and find ways to beat them. That’s what we’ve got to do. That’s got to be our focus. We know that they have a lot of talent over there. They work hard, but for us, it’s an exciting challenge.”

And then, in dropping the hammer, the 2019 Conn Smythe Trophy winner added:

“We’re going to have some fun, and we’re going to beat them.”

Bam!

more

“I didn’t come here to lose in the first round and hopefully get a nice contract. I want to have a deep playoff run and when it’s time to take care of that other stuff, that’s what I’ll look to do. But it really hasn’t been on my mind and it really shouldn’t be.

“I think we’re all here to win a Stanley Cup. If we made that happen or we had a great run and some good things happen, I think everyone will be taken care of and we’ll figure that out later.”

-Taylor Hall of the Boston Bruins. Michael Traikos has more on Hall at the National Post.

note- original post was 11:33pm on 5/13/21

Raise your hand if you thought we would not be seeing the playoffs until April, 2022.

You have until Saturday at 7pm ET to get your picks in.

For the first timers, I make it very easy for you to pick the winner, just copy and paste the teams involved in each series, make your pick and if you'd like, tell us how many games each series will last. Extra credit if you want to name the team who will win the Cup.

My plans, I will be putting up an open post every day a game(s) is scheduled right through the SCF.

Of course, I will be doing what I do on a regular basis to keep all of you informed about our great game.

First round matchups are below.

THREE HARD LAPS

* Opening night of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs is upon us. The Capitals and Bruins are set to take to the ice in Game 1 of their First Round series at Capital One Arena.

* Forty-four-year-old Zdeno Chara can join rare company when he takes to the ice against the franchise he captained for 14 seasons.

* Teams that take a 1-0 lead in a best-of-seven series hold an all-time record of 490-222 (.688), including a 7-1 mark in the 2020 First Round.

2021 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS OPEN WITH CAPITALS, BRUINS ON NBC, HNIC AND TVAS

The 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs begin today with Game 1 between the Capitals and Bruins taking the spotlight on opening night. The primetime showdown begins at 7:15 p.m. ET on NBC in the United States and on Sportsnet, CBC and TVA Sports in Canada.

Stanley Cup Playoffs, 2021.

3 1/2 minutes long.

from Marty Klinkenberg of the Globe and Mail,

Ten years ago, Ron MacLean and Elliotte Friedman gathered in a hotel room in Raleigh, N.C., to swap stories about the broadcast business and the NHL all-star game they had covered together that day for CBC.

Over a beer or three, MacLean told Friedman he didn’t know how much longer he was going to stay on as the host of the iconic television program Hockey Night in Canada.

“I told Elliotte I would keep the chair warm for him until he was ready,” MacLean recalls.

Friedman, who had dreamed of such an opportunity earlier in his career, dismissed the idea.

“They’re not looking for someone like me,” he said modestly.

He was self-deprecating then and remains unpresuming today. That is the part of the charm that has won him legions of followers. There is a folksiness – similar to the enduring MacLean – that draws viewers in. The difference between then and now is that he has fine-tuned his approach.

continued

What I am hearing from an insider, one of my few, is Jeff Blashill will be returning as the coach of the Detroit Red Wings.

It will be a two-year contract.

Many people are saying you have to assume Blashill will be returning. My question is then why not announce it?

Same can be said his contract won't be renewed, but then again why not announce it.

The GM has us wondering and confused.

I am still sticking with my prediction that Jeff Blashill will take on another role in the organization.

from Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press,

“I got some play some pretty good minutes and was trusted in all areas of the ice,” Veleno said. “It definitely boosted my confidence. Now I’ve got a little bit of a taste of it, how those NHL games are, and what to bring to the table. It was just good to have that experience.”

Veleno, 21, was assigned to the Grand Rapids Griffins when the Wings’ season ended May 8; the Griffins are scheduled to wrap up Saturday, after which Veleno plans to return to the Montreal area for the offseason. That’s where he spent much of 2020, after COVID-19 shuttered sports in mid-March. The extra time Veleno (6 feet 2, 220 pounds) was able to spend working out and training paid off when he was loaned to the Swedish Hockey League in October. Veleno tallied 11 goals and nine assists in 46 games for Malmö, averaging around 16 minutes per game....

“He is bigger, he’s stronger,” Griffins coach Ben Simon said. “He’s playing with confidence. His experience in Europe, it’s helped him mature not only as a hockey player but as a person. He’s got a little bit more of a presence about him. That confidence is translating and correlating on the ice.

“He’s a high-end player who can make plays and he’s got the confidence to make plays. But his play away from the puck — he’s a pretty smart hockey player. He puts himself in good spots. He competes hard. He has a tremendous future ahead of him.”

more (paid sub.)

I ppsted this in the wrong place earlier today, now it is in its proper place.

THREE HARD LAPS

* Colorado scored five unanswered goals to rally past Los Angeles and clinch the 2020-21 Presidents’ Trophy, becoming the first team to claim the award in its final game of the season since Vancouver in 2011-12.

* The Avalanche’s win also finalized the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs bracket, confirming that Colorado will meet St. Louis in a series for the first time since 2001 when current general manager Joe Sakic scored one of his NHL-record eight postseason overtime goals.

* The Maple Leafs and Jets conclude their regular season tonight at Bell MTS Place before opening First Round series versus the Canadiens and Oilers, respectively, next week.

NEW YORK (May 13, 2021) – The Colorado Avalanche have claimed the Presidents’ Trophy as the team with the best overall record, winning their final game of the 2020-21 regular-season to overtake the Honda West Division rival Vegas Golden Knights.

The Avs can win the Presidents' Trophy tonight with a win over the LA Kings.

Scenario is below and Nathan MacKinnon will not play again tonight.

Gerard Gallant is Canada's head coach for the upcoming World Hockey Championships, but could there be an opportunity for him to get back behind an NHL bench? The Oilers have a number of players becoming free-agents this summer, so how close are they to locking up some of their blueliners? TSN Hockey Insiders Darren Dreger and Frank Seravalli discuss this and more.

Watch at TSN and/or read the transcrpt of the show, here is part of it...

Is Gerard Gallant being considered for a full-time coaching position in the NHL?

Embedded ImageDarren Dreger: Yes, he most definitely is with the New York Rangers. The Rangers have been granted permission by the Vegas Golden Knights to interview Gerard Gallant so clearly he is one of the top candidates in the process that has been started by new general manager Chris Drury.

The timing is more to do with the travel plans for Gallant. He is the head coach for Team Canada and he is on his way to Latvia this weekend. The Rangers at least want to spend some time and have at least one conversation with Gallant before he begins taking on the responsibility of running Canada at the World Men's Ice Hockey Championship.

from Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News,

As the world awaits the identity of the next Red Wings coach — will it remain Jeff Blashill or be someone else — it appears there’s one less question mark regarding the team.

Jakub Vrana is going to be an exciting and possibly impactful player for the Wings. The 11 games at the end of the season, though a snippet of information, sure looked promising.

General manager Steve Yzerman, who hasn’t yet announced his decision whether to retain Blashill, has made a flurry of deals already in his two years retooling the roster.

But acquiring Vrana at this season’s trade deadline (along with Richard Panik and two draft picks) for Anthony Mantha could be an important one going forward.

The draft picks were Washington's 2021 first-round pick and 2022 second-round pick, so both players could be legitimate prospects. But more so, Vrana, in a brief sample size, looked special.

continued

via Ben Munson of Fierce Video,

Despite securing streaming rights as part of its new deal with the NHL, WarnerMedia doesn’t have plans to put live hockey on HBO Max this year.

However, CEO Jason Kilar, speaking today at a MoffettNathanson investor conference, said NHL content on HBO Max is absolutely something that could happen down the road a little further. He added that when his team built the new HBO Max platform, it made a conscious decision to not just design it around on-demand programming.

from Wayne Scanlan of Sportsnet,

Players and coaches alike took turns trying to describe this bizarre, unmatching bookends of a 2020-21 campaign by the Ottawa Senators.

“It was the tale of two seasons,” said head coach D.J. Smith.

“NIght and day,” was how veteran forward Nick Paul, Ottawa’s Masterton Trophy nominee, described the horrendous 2-12-1 start for Ottawa before a turnaround that sparked a 10-3-1 finish.

“We just wish we could keep going here,” Brady Tkachuk said, the day after completing the season with a 4-3 overtime victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs. Ottawa finished 23-28-5, for 51 points in 56 games, eight points behind the Montreal Canadiens holding down fourth place and the final playoff spot in the North Division.

continued

What would the plays of the week be without Connor McDavid? Others too.

SEATTLE (May 13, 2021) — Today, Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS), an Amazon.com, Inc. company (NASDAQ: AMZN), and the National Hockey League (NHL) announced they will debut two new advanced analytics during the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs. These new stats powered by AWS will appear as on-screen graphics and data visualizations during NHL games and give fans a better understanding and deeper appreciation of how their favorite players and teams perform during crucial moments. The first two stats, shot analytics and save analytics, will debut on Saturday, May 15, during the first day of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs and be used throughout the 2021-22 season. For more information about AWS and its involvement with the world’s premier professional hockey league, please visit https://aws.amazon.com/sports/nhl/.