The Columbus Blue Jackets bench boss detests when coaches interact with the opposition, but that was just the situation he found himself in Monday after Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin fell victim to a butt-end.
Ovechkin was knocked to the ice and left bloodied by Blue Jackets forward Matt Calvert after he was hit with the end of Calvert's stick. But that wasn't the angle Tortorella saw from the bench, as he accused Ovechkin of diving.
Tortorella corrected himself in the postgame press conference.
"That's my fault. I thought (Ovechkin) dove and I signaled to him, and he took exception," Tortorella told reporters following Monday's 5-1 win. "I have no business making any gesture or saying anything to a player. That's not on him. That's just stupidity on my part."
Ovechkin on his chat with Tortorella: "Oh, it was nothing. We just talk about how's everything, what's going on? You know, he's a nice guy."
On-ice interactions should be left between the players, as Tortorella first stated during the 2004 playoffs, when he called out then-Philadelphia Flyers coach Ken Hitchcock.
"When it comes to a coach to an opposing player, it's disrespectful and it's wrong. It's gutless," Tortorella said at the time. "That's got to stop. Park your ego, shove it in your pocket. It's about the two teams ... I'm not in the battle. He isn't in the battle. Shut your yap."
In the days leading up to the deadline, the league saw two three-team trades and on more than a handful of occasions, salary was retained on players who were traded.
The salary cap has forced teams to get creative and at no time was that more apparent than over the last couple days. Of course, while players will always be at the forefront of all moves made on trade deadline day, don't forget the other big motivator ... the money.
Good trades come in threes
When it comes to pulling off a blockbuster trade, things are no longer as easy as they once were. With draft picks at a premium and the salary cap being what it is, it's not always possible for a single club to provide all the assets needed to get it done. So, when that's the case, you need to call on your friends.
While the second deal was fairly straightforward, the first included eight different pieces, including players, prospects, picks, and even some salary retention on Brassard.
Money was tight in Pittsburgh and the Golden Knights - with all the cap space in the world - ultimately got in on the action to retain 40 percent of Brassard's salary. The Penguins likely couldn't have made this deal without the Knights' involvement.
Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford called the trade the most complex deal of his career, but they could become the norm as cap-stricken teams look for ways to balance the books.
Salary retention, no problem
NHL clubs appear to be in the giving mood these days.
If there is one trend we saw more than any other during this deadline, it was that teams don't mind eating salary if it means getting more value in a trade.
In the four days leading up Monday's 3:00 p.m. ET deadline, five players had salary retained by their former club.
Deal
Salary Retained
Rangers trade Nash
50%
Bruins trade Beleskey
50%
Blues trade Stastny
50%
*Golden Knights trade Brassard
40%
Canadiens trade Plekanec
50%
* = Brassard traded from Senators to Golden Knights, from Golden Knights to Penguins.
In each deal, it seems, in retaining salary, the receiving club was able to get something more from their counterparts. In all four trades above (Nash and Beleskey were included in the same deal), three included a first-round pick and the other - the Plekanec trade - included a second-round pick.
With Nash, Plekanec, and Stastny on expiring contracts, the salary retention is not a long-term endeavor, so the retaining teams aren't handcuffed going forward. In the end, it comes down to the old adage: "help me help you."
Rangers free up a pretty penny in McDonagh deal
Three weeks ago, the Rangers brass warned fans the team could be parting with many fan favorites, and after the dust settled on Monday night, the Rangers had given up just Ryan McDonagh and J.T. Miller after trading away Nash and Michael Grabner days earlier.
In dealing the two to the Tampa Bay Lightning in a giant five-player, two-pick deal, the club freed up over $5.5 million in cap space, giving it a cushion of $14 million.
The space means very little now as New York looks to be trending toward a potential lottery pick with its poor play of late, but it sets the Rangers up nicely to potentially be active in free agency.
The team should have roughly $25 million in cap space going into next season and that number could go up if it looks to sell off further pieces at the draft.
The Buffalo Sabres netminder was not dealt prior to Monday's trade deadline, nor was he hoping for a move, despite a report indicating the opposite.
"That was fake news," Lehner told Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News. "It's funny how it works. Some blogger puts something out. I don't even know who that guy is and people jump on it.
"It's hilarious. This day and age, you don't have to put a source on it. It's not true."
A pending restricted free agent whose future in Buffalo remains undetermined, Lehner was a candidate to move Monday, given the limited goaltending market and the possibility that a few teams were likely seeking some insurance between the pipes.
In the end, Lehner remained a member of the Sabres.
Lehner has held the No. 1 duties in Buffalo for the past three campaigns and has posted a 13-23-8 record and .910 save percentage in 46 games this season.
Karlsson also said he never requested a trade and he's open to signing a long-term contract with the Senators, but he'll leave that until the summer, according to Garrioch.
Following Monday's deadline, general manager Pierre Durion told reporters he plans to offer Karlsson a long-term deal if he's still a Senator on July 1.
As for Karlsson, he can put the trade deadline noise behind him and focus solely on playing his game. The club has lost four straight, but the 27-year-old has been productive, putting up six points in his last seven games.
Boston Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron has been sidelined with a fractured right foot and will be re-evaluated in two weeks, the team announced Tuesday.
Bergeron suffered the injury Saturday against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Initial X-rays were negative and Bergeron played Sunday against the Buffalo Sabres.
Further evaluation revealed a small fracture.
Bergeron missed five games earlier this season with a lower-body injury.
The Detroit Red Wings were unable to find a taker for Mike Green ahead of Monday's trade deadline, but an extended stay in the Motor City may be an option for the veteran blue-liner.
The Red Wings have expressed an interest in a contract extension, reports Ansar Khan from MLive.com.
A prime candidate to be moved Monday, Green was still with the Red Wings when the deadline came. The fact he's been sidelined for the past six games with an upper-body injury may have impacted his trade value.
No timeline has been provided on how long Murray could be out of the lineup.
An extended absence could have playoff implications, as the Penguins currently sit in third place in the Metropolitan Division with the trailing New Jersey Devils and Columbus Blue Jackets still in the mix.
Murray has appeared in 41 games this season, posting a 23-13-2 record with a .909 save percentage.
In the interim, the Penguins will turn to backup netminder Tristan Jarry.
The New Jersey Devils should soon have their starting netminder back in the fold.
The team assigned Cory Schneider to the Binghamton Devils of the AHL for a conditioning loan on Tuesday, the team announced.
Schneider is expected to rejoin the #NJDevils on Wednesday in Florida to continue working under the observation of team training staff. https://t.co/Y07jUxnUXJ
Schneider has been out of the lineup since Jan. 23 with a groin injury.
The 31-year-old will play in a game against the Belleville Senators on Tuesday night, after which the club hopes he will be well enough to start either Thursday or Friday when the Devils play on back-to-back nights against the Florida Panthers and the Carolina Hurricanes.
