Not even inanimate objects are safe from P.K. Subban's blistering slap shot.
The Nashville Predators defenseman laid waste to a water bottle at the morning skate Wednesday, and video of the destruction is particularly compelling in slow motion.
Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Predators and the Penguins goes Wednesday night in Pittsburgh.
Marc Savard knows a thing or two about getting your bell rung.
The former NHLer suffered six concussions during his 14-season career, and was forced to retire in 2011 due to his history of head injuries.
So when Savard spoke Wednesday about headshots and how the league should be addressing them, people took notice. Especially when the two-time former All-Star invoked the league's biggest name.
"As I sit here and I think back to the (Sidney) Crosby situation with (Matt) Niskanen - I know it doesn’t look deliberate but it’s still a headshot and I think there needs to be a suspension no matter what whether it’s deliberate or not," Savard said Wednesday, according to Sportsnet's Mike Johnston.
"You still hit the head whether you meant to or not."
Savard also argued that the NHL needs to be making a stronger statement with the number of games handed down for headshot suspensions, sending a clearer message to players that hits to the head won't be tolerated.
"There needs to be time served for that just so players are even more aware so no matter what it’s an area you can’t hit," said Savard. "It needs to start at, I don’t know, seven games. It needs to get up in the big numbers right away so it’s that clear."
Seven games may be a tad extreme, especially for first-time offenders, but Savard may be on to something with his desire for stiffer suspensions.
The NHL has come a long way in terms of player safety over the last decade, but it can still do a better job of protecting its players from serious injury. Implementing mandatory suspensions would go a long way to ensuring that the best players on the planet spend the most possible time on the ice.
Not only are Games 3-7 of the Stanley Cup Final scheduled over the first two weeks of the month (5-7 if necessary, of course), the addition of the Vegas Golden Knights will throw a few wrinkles into what's already a fairly active month on the offseason calendar.
Here's a look at key dates in June, with a hat tip to Cap Friendly:
June 1, 5 pm ET: Teams lose rights of certain unsigned drafted players.
Only a week away, here is the current list of drafted players whom their respective teams must sign by June 1, or lose their signing rights. pic.twitter.com/T65ePEqhbK
Later of June 15 OR 48 hours following completion of Stanley Cup Playoffs: First contract buyout period begins; deadline for first club-elected salary arbitration.
Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Lou Lamoriello suggested Wednesday the team may forego naming a captain for the 2017-18 season.
"Right now that isn't something in the forefront," Lamoriello told TSN's Pierre LeBrun. "I think we had tremendous leadership this year with a lot of young players."
The Maple Leafs improved dramatically in 2016-17 after finishing last in the league the year prior. Auston Matthews, the 2016 No. 1 overall pick, led the way with 40 goals and 69 points in his rookie season, and many expected him to be the heir to the team's "C." Lamoriello, however, insists there's no rush to change a system which led the team to a surprising playoff berth.
"I would not be surprised if we did not have a captain next year."
Columbus will send this year's second-round pick - No. 55 overall - to Vancouver as compensation for hiring Tortorella in October 2015, the Blue Jackets announced Wednesday.
The Blue Jackets had to cough up either this year's pick or a second-rounder in 2018 as a condition for hiring the former Canucks bench boss.
The practice of offering compensatory picks for coaches and executives from other teams was eliminated Jan. 1, 2016.
All charges filed against a Nashville Predators fan who tossed a dead catfish onto the ice in Pittsburgh during Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final will be dropped, Allegheny County district attorney Stephen Zappala announced Wednesday.
"Having reviewed the affidavit involving Mr. (Jacob) Waddell as well as the television coverage of the incident, District Attorney Zappala has made the determination that the actions of Mr. Waddell do not rise to the level of criminal charges," spokesman Mike Manko said in a statement Wednesday, per the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.
"As such, the three charges filed against Mr. Waddell will be withdrawn in a timely manner."
Waddell was charged with disorderly conduct, possessing an instrument of a crime, and disrupting a meeting after devising and executing an elaborate plan to sneak the fish into Game 1.
At the end of the day, however, the Pittsburgh-area judicial system appears to have bigger fish to fry.
Buffalo general manager Jason Botterill has reportedly interviewed San Jose Sharks assistant coach Bob Boughner for the Sabres' vacant head coaching position, according to Pierre LeBrun of TSN.
Hired by the Sharks in 2015, he helped San Jose reach the Stanley Cup Final last year. Prior to that, he won two Memorial Cups as head coach of the Ontario Hockey League's Windsor Spitfires - a team he also partly owns - in 2009 and 2010.
Boughner also served as an assistant with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2010-11, and had stints as bench boss in Windsor from 2006-10 and 2011-15 sandwiching that previous NHL experience.
Jordan Eberle has the support of Edmonton Oilers general manager Peter Chiarelli, despite being held without a goal in 13 playoff games this spring.
Eberle was called out by head coach Todd McLellan for not doing enough during the Oilers' playoff run, but Chiarelli is willing to cut the winger some slack.
"(He's) a very good offensive player and (I'm) happy to have him on our team," Chiarelli told TSN's Pierre LeBrun.
Futher to that, Chiarelli believes Eberle's playoff performance was unfairly characterized, and he doesn't feel the need to defend the player in the face of that.
Still, the GM did take some time to expand.
"I think outside of two players he probably had the most positive touches of the puck on our team," Chiarelli said. "I really don't feel the need to defend him, he didn't have a great playoffs - he didn't have a good playoffs - but he did a lot of things that we expected of him. He just didn't have the offence that we expected him to have in the playoffs. What he does, he creates space with his touches and I thought he played well."
Eberle made 507 regular-season appearances with the Oilers before finally getting a taste of the postseason, averaging 27 goals per every 82 games during that time. Chiarelli compared Eberle's playoff debut to that of Pavel Datsyuk, who registered three goals and six points in 21 games back in 2002. The difference here, though, is that Eberle is 27, whereas Datsyuk was only 22 at that time.
Eberle remains under contract with the Oilers for two more seasons at a cap hit of $6 million annually.
It's a three-year, entry-level contract worth an annual cap hit of $925,000.
The Flyers have taken their time with Lindblom's development, leaving him to play in Sweden since being drafted, with the exception of an eight-game stint with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the American Hockey League in 2015-16. Lindblom impressed during his brief taste of North American play, posting two goals and five assists across those eight games with the Phantoms.
It wasn't until this past season with Brynas IF Gavle of the Swedish Hockey League that Lindblom truly signaled his readiness to contribute in the NHL. He was named the SHL's forward of the year, finishing the season ranked second with 22 goals and fourth with 47 points in 52 games.
Lindblom wasn't finished there, as he went on to add four goals and 10 assists in 20 postseason games.
The 6-foot-2, 196-pound left winger will turn 21 on Aug. 15. According to Flyers general manager Ron Hextall, Lindblom's body and skill set have both grown to be NHL caliber.
“His biggest weakness his draft year was his skating; he’s cleaned that up,” Hextall said, according to Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “He’s become a much better skater. He’s worked at it, and the other part was he was a young kid and he’s added a lot of strength since then.”
Lindblom was a part of Hextall's first draft class as general manager of the Flyers, and his NHL debut could come at the dawn of a new era in Philadelphia. A full youth movement is expected for the Flyers next season, which Carchidi speculates could consist of as many as six rookies, including the upcoming second overall draft pick, playing prominent roles.