The Florida Panthers are honoring the life of former Miami Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez before the team's game on Thursday night by auctioning off warmup jerseys with his name and No. 16 on the back.
Fernandez lost his life in a boating accident on Sept. 25 in Miami. Shortly after, the league retired his No. 16 and several major-league players finished the season by honoring Fernandez with #JDF16 on their ball caps and jerseys.
Tim Murray insists he's not actively looking to move Evander Kane.
"I wouldn't rule it out, (but) I'm not pursuing a trade with him," the Buffalo Sabres general manager told WGR 550's Mike Schopp on air Friday evening.
"I haven't made a call with regard to him to other teams," Murray added. "I'm a big fan of his game. He plays in our top six, (and) he plays a hard, gritty, heavy game with speed, and that's a rare combination."
The GM reiterated that there's always the chance he could be blown away by an offer, but stressed again that he isn't initiating talk with respect to Kane.
"Is there a crazy deal that somebody could throw at me that would force me to do it? I guess there is, (and) I've said that all along about every player," Murray said.
"So I'm not going to back down on that now, but I can tell you that I'm not making calls trying to trade him. I'm not throwing rumors out there or getting a media guy to help me out and say, 'Evander is available,' (or) that type of thing. Not at all. He's the type of guy I think we need if we want to be competitive every night and be a playoff team."
Kane scored twice including the game-winner in overtime to beat the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night, and he ranks second on the Sabres behind Kyle Okposo with 16 goals in 10 fewer games than his teammate.
He's also been embroiled in several controversies away from the rink, but Murray says the club has addressed them.
"The off-ice stuff, we've worked through that, we continue to work with him and work through that. It'll never be forgotten ... but on the ice, what I see now is what we traded for, and I'm a fan of his game," said the GM.
Kane carries a $5.25-million cap hit this season and next, before potentially becoming an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2018.
Pavelec suffered the injury Tuesday against the Minnesota Wild, after which Connor Hellebuyck relieved him midway through the second period.
Pavelec has appeared in eight games since his recall on Jan. 17. The veteran netminder has posted a 4-4-0 record in that time, alongside an .888 save percentage and 3.55 goals-against average.
As per the league, Yandle was issued a warning after an incident during the team's game against the New Jersey Devils on Nov. 3 and was slapped with a second citation - resulting in the fine - after an offense on Jan. 31 against the Ottawa Senators.
If Yandle is caught diving for a third time he will be assessed a fine of $3,000.
Love it as he may, with Claude Julien now on the market after the Boston Bruins fired him Tuesday, the Panthers present a potential landing spot.
Rowe confirmed Thursday that the team hasn't asked permission to speak to Julien yet, but a Panthers source told Richards that the team will do so at the end of the regular season.
"It will be a group decision," Rowe said of whether or not he would return as coach next season.
In February, Panthers owner Doug Cifu said Rowe would remain the team's head coach through the rest of the regular season and "then we'll see how things shake out."
Of course, all this speculation depends on Julien remaining unemployed by season's end, which might not be the case given his track record.
That was the message from co-owner Anthony LeBlanc, who also serves as team president and CEO, on Thursday.
LeBlanc was responding to a local report that team officials had recently scouted Seattle's KeyArena and Portland's Moda Center, foreshadowing a relocation to the Pacific Northwest.
"It couldn't be farther from the truth. It is 100 percent false," LeBlanc told the "Doug and Wolf" show on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM. "There is absolutely no facts whatsoever in that story."
The Coyotes' search for a new arena was back on the front burner Friday after Arizona State University announced it would not go forward with a proposal to build a new facility at its Tempe campus.
But the Coyotes aren't without other opportunities for a new home in the Valley of the Sun.
"The good news for us, as we've said over the past year, is we have a number of options. (Phoenix) mayor Greg Stanton has been incredibly forthright in his statements that he'd like to see us downtown, and that's something we're very interested in," added LeBlanc, who also described a site in nearby Mesa as "intriguing."
In the meantime, the Coyotes believe their current home in Glendale is only a short-term option.
"The decision to build the facility in Glendale was prior to our ownership group. The honest answer is it was a mistake. It was the wrong location for this franchise," LeBlanc said. "We're OK staying in Glendale if we know that there is certainty of a new facility coming online and shovels in the ground."
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If you're either firmly in a playoff spot or cemented at the bottom of the standings of your fantasy hockey keeper league, it's time to seek out some value for next year. Excellent trade targets are owners who are desperately in win-now mode and focused solely on the 2016-17 season. Give them a piece to help with their goals this season, in order to acquire a much better player for the years to come.
Here are five targets who will almost certainly see their value grow next season:
D Shayne Gostisbehere, Philadelphia Flyers
Gostisbehere has gone from putting up 46 points in just 64 games last season to being a semi-regular healthy scratch for the Flyers in 2016-17. After a plus-8 rating in his shortened NHL stint last year, he is minus-19 this season. He is shooting more often than he did as a rookie, but his shooting percentage has collapsed from 11.2 to just 3.5 percent. His average time on ice has dropped by 15 seconds.
Owners desperate to make the playoffs or win this season will be getting frustrated with Gostisbehere's occasional and unpredictable scratches. Give them a steady provider with guaranteed ice time in exchange for a defender who'll spend the next few seasons playing behind C Claude Giroux, and RWs Jakub Voracek and Wayne Simmonds.
LW Max Domi, Arizona Coyotes
Injuries caused Domi to miss most of December and all of January, but he has returned for both of his team's first two games of February. He has played just 28 games, scoring five goals and totaling 16 points. His shooting percentage had dropped last season, but he is shooting slightly more often.
Though it's status quo for the Coyotes, they are again expected to be big sellers at the trade deadline. C Martin Hanzal and RW Radim Vrbata are highly expected to leave town, opening up more ice time for Domi for the remainder of this season. He's the best of the Coyotes' young forward corps which includes Ws Anthony Duclair and Lawson Crouse. Grab him before his upcoming breakout season.
(Photo courtesy Getty Images)
C Dylan Larkin, Detroit Red Wings
Larkin was 2015-16's breakout star until the late season emergence and surge of Gostisbehere. Like his counterpart, his 2016-17 season has been a shell of the predecessor. He has stayed healthy, playing 51 games, but he has totaled just 12 goals and a paltry seven assists. His ice time has dropped nearly 30 seconds per game from his rookie average. He's shooting similarly often and converting at a near-equal rate.
His linemates have been highly variable this season, spending similar portions with Gustav Nyquist, Frans Nielsen, Riley Sheahan, Tomas Tatar and Thomas Vanek at 5v5, per Corsica.Hockey. These combos have sub-50% Corsi For ratings. Last season he played exclusively on the wing with LW Justin Abdelkader and C Henrik Zetterberg. While they still had a negative CF%, they averaged more scoring chances per 60 minutes than any of this year's trios.
Burakovsky's role stands to grow dramatically next season, as RWs Justin Williams and T.J. Oshie are both set to become unrestricted free agents. The Capitals have plenty of young talent on the wings, and they should be expected to let one or both depart this summer. This will assure Burakovsky of significant minutes in a top-six role, playing beside either Backstrom or Kuznetsov at 5v5.
(Photo courtesy Action Images)
D Roman Josi, Nashville Predators
Josi entered 2016-17 off a 61-point season and a third consecutive year scoring at least 13 goals. His career progression was still on the upward swing as a 26-year-old, and he was expected to reach new career highs playing primarily with new defense partner P.K. Subban.
While Subban's extended injury absence has capped some of the production, it's Josi's own 3.8 shooting percentage seriously capping any upside. He is taking 2.98 SOG per game, the highest game average of his career, but he is converting at nearly half his career rate. Though his offensive production has tailed off this season, he'll be an anchor on the Predators' blue line for a long time.
Mike Babcock is doing his best to avoid starting another goalie controversy in Toronto.
Despite the fact goaltender Frederik Andersen has given up 19 goals in his last four starts - including one that saw him pulled after 11 minutes - and Curtis McElhinney was nearly perfect in the team's 3-1 win over the Dallas Stars on Tuesday, the Maple Leafs bench boss will turn to his No. 1 on Thursday night against the St. Louis Blues.
"It hasn't been good enough. But there are times in the year when you have little dips and you just have to make sure you work hard every day and those dips are shorter and they don't happen as often and that's the challenge for him," Babcock said, according to TSN's Kristen Shilton. "He was in a situation last year where I think he played around 42 games last year. We want him to play a lot more, so the challenge for him is to be able to handle that.
"(McElhinney) did a really good job for us last game. Freddie goes tonight with an opportunity to bounce back. Our team was no good against St. Louis, we weren't competitive, so this should be a better opportunity for Freddie because our team will play better, and now he has to do his start."
Exactly a week ago Thursday, the Blues demolished the Maple Leafs 5-1 in St. Louis' first game since Ken Hitchcock's firing, with Andersen giving up all five goals on 31 shots.
Andersen started the regular season by allowing 22 goals in his first five games, but followed that up with one of the most consistent stretches of quality performances from any goalie this season, allowing two or fewer goals in 18 of his next 24 games.
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Here is a look at the Squad Up daily NHL fantasy picture for Thursday, Feb. 9 (all advanced statistics courtesy of Corsica.Hockeyand apply to 5v5 situations):
Dynamic Duos
C Mitch Marner (48K) & LW James van Riemsdyk (51K), Maple Leafs (vs. Blues): Marner leads all rookies in scoring, yet he comes at a bargain. He and JVR make for an affordable duo considering they play on such a high-powered offensive team. St. Louis' goaltending has vastly improved since Mike Yeo took over has head coach, but Jake Allen's road numbers are horrendous: .892 SV%, 3.11 GAA.
C Sidney Crosby (76K) & LW Chris Kunitz (33K), Penguins (at Avalanche): The Penguins are thin up front right now, but as we all know, Crosby has the ability to put the team on his back. Kunitz, 37, has jumped up to the top line and recorded five points in his last five games. His 145 hits give him a high floor in Squad Up relative to his low salary. Colorado allows more goals against per game than any other team.
LW Max Pacioretty (65K) & RW Alexander Radulov (52K), Canadiens (at Coyotes): Pacioretty and Radulov have been Montreal's two most consistent offensive producers all season long. They could each easily record multi-point games against the Coyotes, who rank dead last in xGA60 (expected goals against per 60 minutes) and SCA60 (scoring chances against per 60 minutes).
Goalie Breakdown
TARGET - Sergei Bobrovsky (91K), Blue Jackets (vs. Canucks): Bobrovsky has scuffled a bit lately, but expect him to bounce back on Thursday. The Canucks have the NHL's third-worst offense and are just 6-16-3 on the road.
BARGAIN - Carey Price (75K), Canadiens (at Coyotes): Price has also endured some struggles lately, but it's nearly impossible to overlook the best goaltender on the planet at the minimum price with a matchup against the NHL's second-worst team. Just try to look past his disastrous outing against the league's worst team, Tuesday.
FADE - Calvin Pickard (120K), Avalanche (vs. Penguins): Pickard is coming off a shutout but forking up 120K for any goaltender will significantly handcuff the rest of your lineup, let alone a goalie who plays for the league's worst team.
CONTRARIAN - Peter Budaj (75K), Kings (at Panthers): Budaj has been shelled in back-to-back starts, so his ownership will be down, but he had back-to-back shutouts in the two starts prior. Five of his league-leading seven shutouts have come on the road.
Bargain Plays
RW Connor Brown (25K), Maple Leafs (vs. Blues): Brown is fortunate enough to skate on a line with C Auston Matthews at both 5v5 and on the power play. He has been quiet offensively lately, but he could wake up at anytime. At 25K, he is worth the risk in tournament lineups.
LW Phillip Danault (25K), Canadiens (at Coyotes): Danault is also granted first-line real estate, centering the Canadiens' top two offensive players, LW Max Pacioretty and RW Alexander Radulov.
D Nikita Zaitsev (25K), Maple Leafs (vs. Blues): Zaitsev is averaging just a hair below 0.5 points per game. He has seven points in his last eight games, however. He can be drafted in both cash games and tournaments, since his willingness to throw hits (115) and block shots (90) give him a high floor.
Top Fades
C Martin Hanzal (55K), Coyotes (at Canadiens): Hanzal didn't practice Wednesday because of an illness, but even if he is able to suit up for Thursday's game, he isn't worth 55K against Carey Price.
LW Tomas Tatar (46K), Red Wings (at Capitals): Tatar has picked up his play a bit lately, but there are wiser ways to spend 46K than with a middling winger against the red-hot Capitals.
D Tyson Barrie (48K), Avalanche (vs. Penguins): Barrie has missed six of the last eight games with a lower-body injury. Even if he plays Thursday, he doesn't present much value at 48K.
Contrarian Options
C Tyler Toffoli (51K), Kings (at Panthers): Toffoli has failed to record a point in three games since returning from injury. It's a shame the right winger is listed as a center and can't be paired up with linemate Jeff Carter, but nonetheless, Toffoli, who scored 31 goals last year, will have little to no ownership.
RW James Neal (49K), Predators (at Rangers): Neal has a respectable 17 goals, but only seven assists this year. A reunion on Nashville's top line with C Ryan Johansen and LW Filip Forsberg should lead to a more consistent point total for the veteran sniper.
LW Evander Kane (46K), Sabres (vs. Ducks): Kane might be faded with a tough matchup, but the rugged winger has been placed on a line with C Jack Eichel and RW Sam Reinhart. His willingness to hit (77) provides an even higher ceiling.
That seems to be the approach of Connecticut governor Dannel Malloy, who proposed that his state invests $250 million to renovate the XL Center - the former home of the Hartford Whalers - in an effort to return the NHL to the state capital.
Partial funding for the proposed project was included in Wednesday's state budget announcement. The project would add a second concourse to the XL Center and increase its seating capacity from the current number of 14,750.
Connecticut made headlines on Friday when Malloy and Hartford mayor Luke Brodin offered use of the city-owned facility to the New York Islanders after it was reported the Brooklyn club may need to vacate Barclays Center following the 2018-19 season.
The XL Center was home to the Whalers until 1997, when the NHL franchise uprooted for Raleigh and became the Carolina Hurricanes. The arena currently houses the AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack, the minor-league affiliate of the New York Rangers.
