BUFFALO, N.Y. - Former Buffalo Sabres player Andrew Peters won't face charges following an on-ice brawl involving the youth hockey team he coaches.
The Erie County district attorney's office and Buffalo police began looking into the Saturday fight after video appeared to show Peters reaching across the Buffalo Junior Sabres' bench and shoving to the ice a player from the Hamilton, Ontario, team.
District Attorney John Flynn said Tuesday the parents of the teenage player don't want to pursue criminal charges against Peters, so his office won't take legal action.
The 36-year-old Peters was suspended from coaching Buffalo's 15-and-under team. Neither the Buffalo Junior Sabres nor Peters has responded to requests for comment.
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Here is a look at the Squad Up daily NHL fantasy picture for Tuesday, Feb. 28 (all advanced statistics courtesy of Corsica.Hockeyand apply to 5v5 situations):
Dynamic Duos
LW Nick Foligno (44K) & C Alexander Wennberg (38K), Blue Jackets (at Canadiens): The Canadiens return home following an overtime victory over the New Jersey Devils, Monday. The lack of rest will further test their poor forward depth. Columbus' third line has a Corsi For rating of 55.17 percent, and they played 21.24 percent of all 5v5 minutes last game. Montreal's has just been assembled.
C Evgeni Malkin (77K) & RW Phil Kessel (57K), Penguins (at Stars): Malkin, Kessel and LW Chris Kunitz played 16.98 percent of 5v5 minutes in the Penguins' most recent game. The Stars have been allowing 11.21 opponent scoring chances per 60 minutes since Feb. 1, the third-highest rate in the league. Their 3.09 expected goals allowed per 60 is second most.
LW Jonathan Huberdeau (55K) & C Aleksander Barkov (64K), Panthers (vs. Hurricanes): The Hurricanes have been expected to allow 2.78 goals on 8.32 scoring chances per 60 minutes of 5v5 play since Feb. 1. Floriday's 'first' line has been used less than the second line of LW Jussi Jokinen, C Vincent Trocheck and RW Reilly Smith at 5v5, but they remain the top power-play unit.
Goalie Breakdown
TARGET - Ryan Miller (94K), Canucks (vs. Red Wings): Miller's moderately expensive following a recent run of five starts where he allowed three or more goals in four of the five appearances. The Red Wings are averaging 9.98 scoring chances per 60 minutes but are expected to score just 2.52 goals.
BARGAIN - Ben Bishop (75K), Kings (at Flames): Bishop is the minimum salary entering his expected debut for the Kings. He allowed just six goals in five February starts and picked up his first shutout of the season. Los Angeles is allowing fewer scoring chances, goals and shots on goal per 60 minutes than Tampa Bay this season.
FADE - Petr Mrazek (81K), Red Wings (at Canucks): The Canucks average a moderate 7.35 scoring chances per 60 minutes but average just 27.44 SOG per 60 minutes. Mrazek won't be able to rack up enough saves to overcome the detriment of just a couple goals allowed.
CONTRARIAN - Darcy Kuemper (78K), Wild (at Jets): Kuemper is expected to replace G Devan Dubnyk for the second half of Minnesota's back-to-back. The Wild allow 31.08 shots on goal per 60 minutes but just 5.97 scoring chances at 5v5. He represents a significant drop from Dubnyk's talent, but he has made 30-plus saves in five of his past seven games.
Bargain Plays
LW Peter Cehlarik (27K), Bruins (vs. Coyotes): Cehlarik is easily the most affordable member of the Bruins' top-six forwards. He also comes with the lowest upside, but if he can replicate his 17:48 of ice time in his most recent game he'll have a good shot of returning value against the Coyotes' porous defense. The line of Cehlarik, C David Krejci and RW David Pastrnak have a CF% of 52.43.
C Christian Dvorak (25K), Coyotes (at Bruins): Dvorak should be given the first opportunity to replace C Martin Hanzal as the Coyotes' first-line center. He is also likely to move from the second power-play unit to the top trio with the man advantage. He had two SOG in each of his past two games with the count likely to rise with more ice time.
RW Craig Smith (27K), Predators (at Sabres): Smith has more shots on goal in February than any other month this season, tallying at least two in each of his past five games. He has played between 11:50 and 16:09 during the span, with the majority of his 5v5 time coming on the right side of C Mike Fisher and LW Kevin Fiala. The three have a CF% of 55.36 and face a Sabres team with a rating of just 46.84 for the season.
Top Fades
C Jonathan Marchessault (46K), Panthers (vs. Hurricanes): Marchessault has remained a fantasy asset since the return of Huberdeau to Florida's top line. A lot of his retained value has come via his role on the point on the top power-play unit. The Hurricanes, however, allow the lowest power-play conversion rate in the league, further limiting Marchessault's potential.
D Dustin Byfuglien (62K), Jets (vs. Wild): While a high shot on goal count is typically all owners seek in a defenseman, Byfuglien's lofty salary requires some point production. As stated above, the Wild are among the league's best teams at limiting scoring chances, with Byfuglien unlikely to pose a threat with his average shot distance of more than 40 feet.
RW David Pastrnak (75K), Bruins (vs. Coyotes): Pastrnak has oddly been bumped from his spot on the first line with LW Brad Marchand and C Patrice Bergeron and joins Cehlarik and Krejci on line two. While he'll still be playing with a top-tier center, he won't have quite the same upside indicative of his salary.
Contrarian Options
D Colton Parayko (34K), Blues (vs. Oilers): Parayko should take over the majority of the offensive role vacated by D Kevin Shattenkirk. The Oilers rank just 23rd in penalty-kill percentage. Nine of his 28 points on the season have come via the man advantage.
C Nathan MacKinnon (49K), Avalanche (at Flyers): MacKinnon is having a disastrous season as part of an even worse year for the Avalanche. He did notch seven SOG in his past two games, playing a high of 21:08. The Flyers allow 3.00 goals per game, ranking fifth-worst in the NHL.
LW Jason Zucker (37K), Wild (at Jets): Zucker is expected to replace LW Zach Parise on the top line. While he has a lower offensive ceiling, he still has 19 goals and 42 points on the season, and he provides more blocked shots and hits than Parise, translating to a higher floor in equal ice time.
Doug Armstrong did what had to be done with the knowledge that Kevin Shattenkirk would not be returning to the St. Louis Blues next season.
Rather than lose the defenseman for nothing as an unrestricted free agent, the general manager sent Shattenkirk to the Washington Capitals for a first-round pick in 2017, a conditional pick at the 2019 NHL Draft, as well as forwards Zach Sanford and Brad Malone.
Armstrong: "We did what we thought was right for the St. Louis Blues moving forward." #stlblues
"We said it last year in the summer, we were transitioning to a new group of players (and) this is a continuation of that," Armstrong added.
Indeed, the Blues are building around captain Alex Pietrangelo and young Colton Parayko - who will need a new deal this summer - on the blue line, and have parted ways with older forwards in lieu of fresh legs in recent years.
Quite simply, Shattenkirk's next deal would have proven difficult to fit under the salary cap and into the team's long-term plans.
In regards to the return, Armstrong said the market was set by the buyer.
"We talked to a lot of teams. The value of Kevin was dictated to us," he admitted," according to Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo Sports. "Sometimes the value of something you cherish isn't the value that other people have."
Earlier Tuesday, Capitals GM Brian MacLellan shed some light on the process and what St. Louis definitely wanted in return.
On Sanford “We spent a lot of time developing him… He’s a good player, a good person. We tried to steer away from him but Blues insisted."
The Sens signed the veteran to a two-year extension Tuesday after orchestrating a trade for the longtime Canucks agitator on Monday, sending prospect Jonathan Dahlen to Vancouver in return.
The deal runs through the 2018-19 season and features a 10-team no-trade list. Additionally, Burrows, 36, will earn $2.5 million annually, the club announced.
Both players were set to become unrestricted free agents July 1.
Valuations have not been announced.
Rozsival has one goal and one assist in 51 games this season, while Tootoo has zero points and 21 penalty minutes, but here's the important thing to keep in mind:
Those moves give the Blackhawks flexibility for the expansion draft.
The defenseman is expected to make his Washington Capitals debut Tuesday after being traded the night before, but took some time to tweet some thoughts about his time with the St. Louis Blues:
Thank you St. Louis for 7 amazing years. I am honored to have shared the Blue Note with so many great players and I will never forget it 1/2
Shattenkirk arrived in St. Louis via Colorado, the club that drafted him 14th overall in 2007. Shattenkirk, along with Chris Stewart, was traded to St. Louis for Erik Johnson in early 2011, and in 425 regular-season games with the Blues, he recorded 59 goals and 199 assists.
He also helped the Blues advance to the Western Conference Finals, the closest they've come to a championship in recent years.
Yes, the NHL's best team claimed the biggest fish in the rental pond, becoming an even more complete unit. But, that said, the Caps still play in the Metropolitan Division - the best in hockey - and until they actually advance past the second round of the playoffs, they haven't accomplished anything of merit.
That's not a slight on Washington, they've sent a loud, clear message to fellow competitors they're in it to win it, hoping to erase a decade of postseason disappointment.
Still, thanks to the NHL's faulty playoff format, the Capitals - should they advance to the second round - will likely have to play the Penguins, Rangers, or Blue Jackets. Not an easy out.
Year after year, it's never as easy as it seems for the on-paper postseason favorites, and here's some potential deals from Washington's divisional foes that can thwart the Capitals' strengthened Cup aspirations.
Penguins
Face it, we all want to see another Washington versus Pittsburgh series this Spring, and wouldn't it be something if the Penguins went out and matched the Capitals' seismic splash, say, by acquiring Matt Duchene?
The rumors surrounding the Colorado trigger man have quieted lately, but Pittsburgh was said to be interested in the speedy center before.
Pittsburgh vied to shore up its depleted blue line by acquiring Ron Hainsey in a pre-deadline deal, and another depth rearguard could certainly be on Jim Rutherford's radar.
However, when Pittsburgh upset Washington en route to the Stanley Cup last May, it did so with unmatchable speed on offense. With Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin down the middle of the ice and a slew of gifted wingers to boot, adding a player like Duchene creates a matchup nightmare for any opponent.
Rangers
(Photo Courtesy: Getty Images)
New York's high-flying offense doesn't need any altering, but some blue-line tinkering would certainly help the Rangers against a fellow Metropolitan juggernaut.
Now that Shattenkirk - who has been linked to Broadway from the get-go - is off the board, the Rangers should search for a plan B. Brendan Smith of the Red Wings is rumored to be available, and would prove useful in all situations.
The Rangers' D-corps isn't exactly young, and without many draft picks at its disposal, New York would have to give a player to get a player. A declining Kevin Klein and Nick Holden - who's at the peak of a career season - could fit as suitable options.
Blue Jackets
It's still surprising to some, but the Blue Jackets are in this, too.
Columbus currently sits third in the Metropolitan Division, one point back of Pittsburgh and five back of Washington, while holding just a single point advantage over the Rangers.
Short on playoff experience, a veteran such as Patrick Sharp could be of assistance for the Jackets, though he's trudged through an injury-riddled season with just 15 points in 36 games.
Despite scoring the fifth-most goals league-wide this season (three of the four teams ahead of Columbus in that department are Pittsburgh, New York, and Washington), the Blue Jackets will need to continue putting pucks in the net to survive in the playoffs.
Columbus would be wise to call on Duchene, while fellow Avalanche trade subject Gabriel Landeskog plays with the type of snarl head coach John Tortorella appreciates on his roster.
"He’s a good player. One of the top power-play guys in the league, offensive defenseman, breakout passes ... those are his strengths," MacLellan said, adding the team could look to re-sign Shattenkirk in the offseason, meaning he's not necessarily a pure rental player.
Shattenkirk had recorded 11 goals and 31 assists in 61 games for the Blues so far this season, with 20 of those points coming with the man advantage.
The Capitals head toward Wednesday's trade deadline sitting first overall in the standings and could very well win the Presidents' Trophy for the second straight season. That's definitely not the lone goal in Washington, however.
“Winning a championship” - Brian MacLellan when asked what ‘success’ means to the team. #RockTheRed
