Monthly Archives: June 2016
Kings sign McNabb to 2-year extension
The Los Angeles Kings signed defenseman Brayden McNabb to a two-year contract extension Saturday, the team announced.
The 25-year-old is coming off his second season with the Kings, when he contributed two goals and 14 points in 81 games and led the team with 92 penalty minutes.
McNabb avoids arbitration with the deal as he was set to become a restricted free agent on July 1.
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Team Canada GM: Thornton among world’s top 3 passers
Joe Thornton may be 36 years old, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have something to offer Team Canada.
The San Jose Sharks forward nabbed one of the final roster spots on Canada's World Cup of Hockey roster, and while he may be the oldest member of the team - by nearly four years - general manager Doug Armstrong believes he brings a couple of obvious skills to the table.
"He doesn’t play as much down low in his own zone, so he’s gone to a three-quarter ice game, which allows him to play with more speed in the neutral zone," Armstrong said Friday, according to Postmedia's Michael Traikos. "He’s still one of the best power-play players, and in my opinion he’s one of the top three passers - if not the best - in the world."
Thornton finished second to Ottawa Senators captain Erik Karlsson with 63 assists during the regular season and sits tied for 13th on the all-time assists list.
After earning a gold medal with Canada at the 2010 Olympics, Thornton will make his seventh international appearance in September and will surely be looked upon to continue threading the needle.
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Sharks coach Pete DeBoer recalls meeting Muhammad Ali as teenager
Sharks’ DeBoer recalls meeting Ali – at prom
Muhammad Ali has apparently touched almost everybody in the sports world - including San Jose Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer.
At the end of his press conference Saturday, unprompted, DeBoer shared the story of when he met the boxing legend, who died Friday at 74.
It was at his prom, of all places, where he met "The Greatest."
"I just want to end with a quick thing on Muhammad Ali," DeBoer said. "Lost a great person. The reason I want to speak about him, I'm not a collector of sports memorabilia, but I have three things in my basement: I have a Wayne Gretzky stick, a Bobby Orr print, a Mike Weir Masters print, and I have a Quran signed by Muhammad Ali.
"I wouldn't normally share this with you, but I think considering the circumstances today. I got it 30 years ago. I was at my prom at the Royal Connaught Hotel in Hamilton. I was a 17-year-old kid. Had my tux on. I was in the lobby.
"Muhammad Ali walked in with his entourage. He was there for some type of appearance. I asked one of the entourage if I could meet him with my friends. He said to give him a minute. He came back to me and he said, 'Muhammad Ali is up in this room. Meet him up in his room in five minutes.'
"Me and three or four of my buddies went up to the room. He got out a Quran for each of us. He wasn't preaching or trying to convert us, he just personalized each one for us, asked us some questions about what we were doing.
"It was an unbelievable life experience for me. I think, considering the circumstances, how this guy transcended not just boxing and sport, but how many people he's touched, it's an appropriate story to tell."
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Sharks excited for 1st Final game on home ice
When the puck is dropped for Game 3 on Saturday night, history will be made.
For the first time in franchise history, the San Jose Sharks will host a Stanley Cup Final game, and despite facing a 2-0 hole, the team is looking forward to relishing home ice.
"You can feel the energy going around the city right now," captain Joe Pavelski told Nicholas Cotsonika of NHL.com.
The Sharks and their fans endured a rough patch after squandering a 3-0 series lead to their in-state rival Los Angeles Kings in 2014, then missing the playoffs in 2015.
The only California-based team to not win a Cup, San Jose is happy to be where they are after all the past adversity.
"(Losing that way to the Kings) was as low as you can get as a professional athlete, individually and team-wise, and then last year obviously tough times missing the playoffs, going through some stuff as a team," said leading scorer Logan Couture. "But I really think everything we've gone through has made us a lot stronger as a group."
"I think we're just excited to be home and an opportunity to play in front of our fans who have been waiting 25 years for this game," Couture added.
Sharks forward Joe Thornton expects the home crowd to be ready.
"I think once you get into the Shark Tank, you'll know why (home ice has been an advantage)," Thornton said. "It's extremely loud, extremely intimidating."
The Sharks own a 7-2 record at home in the postseason thus far.
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Sharks F Tomas Hertl to miss Game 3 with lower-body injury
Sharks without injured Hertl for critical Game 3; Karlsson or Zubrus to fill in
Sharks’ Hertl won’t play in Game 3
San Jose Sharks forward Tomas Hertl will not play in Game 3 against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday due to a lower-body injury, according to head coach Pete DeBoer.
The news comes a day after Hertl was absent from practice, only taking the ice briefly in a tracksuit before leaving.
The 22-year-old was the Sharks' best player through the first two games of the Stanley Cup Final, according to DeBoer. He netted one of the club's only three goals.
He finished third in ice time among all Sharks forwards in Game 2 - behind only captain Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton - with 20:20 logged in the club's overtime loss.
In 20 games this postseason, Hertl has amassed six goals and 11 points.
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