Monthly Archives: December 2020
NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – December 15, 2020
Foligno a fan of Domi-Anderson swap for both Blue Jackets, Canadiens
Nick Foligno was sad to see Josh Anderson leave the Columbus Blue Jackets, but he believes the trade that sent Anderson to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Max Domi will work out well for all parties.
"(Anderson's) a great player. Obviously, last year he had an injury season and couldn't find his way back, but he's a big asset," the Blue Jackets captain Monday on TSN Radio 690. "It was, I'm sure, not an easy decision for (general manager) Jarmo (Kekalainen) to make, and for all of us - we all love Josh, he's a great teammate.
"I think he's going to fit in really well there and do great things. I'm really happy that he seems to be in a place where he's excited about, and we'll miss him."
Foligno added: "It was hard to see him go, but that's the business."
The Blue Jackets and Canadiens swapped the young forwards in October. Both players were restricted free agents at the time, and both have since signed fresh deals with their new clubs. Domi inked a two-year, $10.6-million pact with Columbus, while Anderson agreed to a seven-year, $38.5-million contract with Montreal.
Domi and Anderson both enjoyed their strongest NHL season in 2018-2019: Domi set career highs in goals (28), assists (44), and points (72), while Anderson also recorded personal bests with 27 goals, 20 assists, and 47 points.
But both forwards struggled in 2019-20. Domi, 25, often found himself in a reduced role with the Canadiens and finished with 17 goals and 27 assists in 71 games; Anderson, 26, battled a shoulder injury and managed just one goal and three assists in 26 contests.
Despite Domi's lackluster performance with Montreal last season, Foligno likes what he's previously seen from the 2013 first-round pick and is expecting him to return to form with the Blue Jackets.
"I think we gained a really good player coming back in Max Domi," Foligno said. "I know things maybe didn't work out the last year for him there, but I remember his first year there (in Montreal) and how dominant he was. For him to find that footing again and get all the opportunities that he's going to get here, it could be a really, really good thing for our team."
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Foligno a fan of Domi-Anderson swap for both Blue Jackets, Canadiens
Nick Foligno was sad to see Josh Anderson leave the Columbus Blue Jackets, but he believes the trade that sent Anderson to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Max Domi will work out well for all parties.
"(Anderson's) a great player. Obviously, last year he had an injury season and couldn't find his way back, but he's a big asset," the Blue Jackets captain Monday on TSN Radio 690. "It was, I'm sure, not an easy decision for (general manager) Jarmo (Kekalainen) to make, and for all of us - we all love Josh, he's a great teammate.
"I think he's going to fit in really well there and do great things. I'm really happy that he seems to be in a place where he's excited about, and we'll miss him."
Foligno added: "It was hard to see him go, but that's the business."
The Blue Jackets and Canadiens swapped the young forwards in October. Both players were restricted free agents at the time, and both have since signed fresh deals with their new clubs. Domi inked a two-year, $10.6-million pact with Columbus, while Anderson agreed to a seven-year, $38.5-million contract with Montreal.
Domi and Anderson both enjoyed their strongest NHL season in 2018-2019: Domi set career highs in goals (28), assists (44), and points (72), while Anderson also recorded personal bests with 27 goals, 20 assists, and 47 points.
But both forwards struggled in 2019-20. Domi, 25, often found himself in a reduced role with the Canadiens and finished with 17 goals and 27 assists in 71 games; Anderson, 26, battled a shoulder injury and managed just one goal and three assists in 26 contests.
Despite Domi's lackluster performance with Montreal last season, Foligno likes what he's previously seen from the 2013 first-round pick and is expecting him to return to form with the Blue Jackets.
"I think we gained a really good player coming back in Max Domi," Foligno said. "I know things maybe didn't work out the last year for him there, but I remember his first year there (in Montreal) and how dominant he was. For him to find that footing again and get all the opportunities that he's going to get here, it could be a really, really good thing for our team."
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Labor Trouble Brewing Again In The NHL?
Canadian Gold: Remembering the 1994 World Junior Championship
In the lead-up to the 2021 World Junior Championship, we're taking a look back at each of the 18 Canadian teams to capture the gold medal, culminating Dec. 25 with the start of the latest edition of the tournament.
In the 18th edition of the annual tournament, Canada was seeking its second straight gold medal. The 1994 world juniors marked the second last year using the round-robin format, with no quarterfinals, semifinals, or gold-medal game.
The roster
Player | Position | Age |
---|---|---|
Jason Allison | F | 18 |
Jason Botterill | F | 17 |
Curtis Bowen | F | 19 |
Anson Carter | F | 19 |
Brandon Convery | F | 19 |
Yanick Dube | F | 19 |
Jeff Friesen | F | 17 |
Aaron Gavey | F | 19 |
Martin Gendron* | F | 19 |
Rick Girard | F | 19 |
Todd Harvey | F | 18 |
Marty Murray | F | 18 |
Mike Peca | F | 19 |
Chris Armstrong | D | 18 |
Drew Bannister | D | 19 |
Joel Bouchard* | D | 19 |
Bryan McCabe | D | 18 |
Nick Stajduhar | D | 19 |
Brent Tully* | D | 19 |
Brendan Witt | D | 18 |
Manny Fernandez | G | 19 |
Jamie Storr | G | 18 |
*Denotes returning player
All ages are as of the start of the tournament
The tournament
A repeat after winning gold in 1993 may have seemed unlikely at the time considering Canada had only won back-to-back world junior titles just once in the tournament's history.
The odds seemed to be stacked against this group, too. Canada had five eligible returnees unavailable for the tournament because the NHL came calling: Paul Kariya, Chris Pronger, Chris Gratton, Alexandre Daigle, and Rob Niedermayer. This tournament was a true test of the nation's depth.
Canada got off to a decent start, neutralizing Switzerland with a 5-1 victory to open the tournament before taking down Germany 5-2. Wider margins of victory were ideal against lesser opponents considering goal differential was used as the tiebreaker in this tournament - it's how Canada previously won in 1985 despite sharing an identical 5-0-2 record with Czechoslovakia.
The Canadians were up for the challenge against difficult opponents as well. Despite tying Russia 3-3, Canada bounced back with victories against Finland, the United States, and Czech Republic by a combined score of 20-10. This set up a tournament-deciding contest against the 6-0-0 Swedes.
With a tie on their record, Canada needed a victory to claim gold, while the Swedes - led by Kenny Jonsson, Fredrik Modin, Mattias Ohlund, and Niklas Sundstrom - could play for the draw. In the de facto gold-medal game, Canada led 5-4 late in the the contest and managed to stave off Sweden's comeback attempt, adding an empty-netter to win 6-4 and capture its seventh world junior gold.
The stars
Team Canada was not overly star-heavy compared to other teams that won gold. Not one Canadian was named to the media All-Star team, although Jamie Storr received the IIHF Directorate Award as the top goaltender, sporting a 2.50 goals-against average and a tournament-leading .891 save percentage in four games while splitting time with Manny Fernandez. Fernandez's .877 save percentage was second in the tournament.
Canada still had standout offensive performers, though. Martin Gendron - one of Canada's three returnees - and Yanick Dube led the way with 10 points apiece, one behind tournament leader Sundstrom. Jason Allison - who quietly had 485 points in 552 career NHL games during the dead-puck era - and Rick Girard both had nine points in seven contests.
The fallout
Canada went on to win its third of five straight gold medals in 1995, with seven returnees from the 1994 squad. Murray, Allison, and McCabe finished first, second, and third in tournament scoring, respectively. The 1995 roster was considered a "dream team" thanks to the NHL lockout.
Several players on the 1995 squad went on to have successful NHL careers, most notably Allison, Carter, Friesen, Peca, McCabe, Witt, and Fernandez. A couple of these players continued to shine on the international stage, too. Peca was a member of Canada's 2002 Olympic team in Salt Lake City, and Carter scored the OT winner at the 2003 worlds.
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Thornton leaving Davos to join Maple Leafs
"Jumbo Joe" appears to be on the verge of boarding a jumbo jet.
Swiss hockey club HC Davos thanked Joe Thornton and bid him farewell Monday morning.
👋🏼 Thank you and goodbye!
— Hockey Club Davos (@HCDavos_off) December 14, 2020
Der Start in die @NHL-Saison rückt näher, Big Joe bekam gestern Abend den "Marschbefehl" der @MapleLeafs und verlässt in den nächsten Stunden die 🇨🇭 Richtung 🇨🇦.
Uns bleibt nur THANK YOU zu sagen für die gemeinsame unglaubliche Zeit. Für immer💙💛!#HCD pic.twitter.com/i5IX0oa6BR
Thornton collected five goals and six assists in 12 games with Davos this season in his third stint with the team.
The 41-year-old is presumably departing the squad to join the Toronto Maple Leafs as they prepare for the potential start of the NHL campaign next month.
Thornton signed a one-year, $700,000 contract with Toronto on Oct. 16 after spending his previous 15 seasons with the San Jose Sharks.
The veteran forward also played for Davos during the NHL lockouts in 2004-05 and 2012-13.
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NHL Rumor Mill – December 14, 2020
NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – December 14, 2020
Benning: Canucks’ core stars will be part of group when we win Cup
Vancouver Canucks general manager Jim Benning is confident his club's young group of stars will ultimately lead the franchise to a Stanley Cup - he just needs to sign them first.
Elias Pettersson, Quinn Hughes, and Thatcher Demko are all restricted free agents after the 2021 season, and Benning believes the impending salary cap restructuring will be easily resolved by then.
"They're real important players for our franchise," Benning told NHL.com's Pete Jensen. "We can figure out a way that makes sense for those guys and for the organization to get them signed, and that's going to be our intention. They're going to be part of our core group, we think, for when we do win the Cup. We're excited to have them."
Vancouver projects to have $24 million in cap space for the 2021-22 campaign but only has 14 players signed to this point. Pettersson and Hughes combined could take up the vast majority of that available money if the Canucks opt to sign the pair of superstars long term, and Demko, 25, will be worth much more than the $1.05 million he's currently making if he emerges as the goaltender of the future.
All three players are eligible to sign extensions. In November, Benning said the club and Pettersson had yet to engage in substantive contract talks.
The Canucks are coming off their most successful season in nearly a decade. The club won a playoff round for the first time since 2011, ultimately losing to the Vegas Golden Knights in the second round in seven games.
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