Marty Walsh, the current U.S. Secretary of Labor, is set to be named executive director of the NHL Players' Association in the coming days, reports Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff.

He succeeds Donald Fehr, who's departing the position after 12 years.

The NHLPA has been searching for a new leader for roughly 10 months. Walsh emerged as a leading candidate over recent weeks and introduced himself to the executive board in a virtual meeting before All-Star Weekend. A formal vote requiring 18 approvals among the 32 team representatives still needs to take place, but Walsh is expected to be elected unanimously, Seravalli adds.

Walsh was mayor of Boston from 2014-21 until he joined President Joe Biden's cabinet. He made himself available for the NHLPA job after he wasn't selected as Biden's next chief of staff.

Former player agent and Vancouver Canucks general manager Mike Gillis was also a finalist for the job.

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We split our best bets Monday night. The Islanders picked up two points in Bo Horvat's debut, but the Lightning laid a complete egg in Florida to bring us back to square one.

We'll set our sights higher with a couple more plays for Tuesday's six-game slate.

Avalanche (-110) @ Penguins (-110)

The Avalanche currently sit eighth in the Western Conference and are holding on to a wild-card spot by a thread, but they remain a very dangerous team.

Their place in the standings is a result of an extreme amount of injuries - key players at that - from the word go. They just haven't been remotely healthy for any period of time and have struggled to find their footing as a result. Until now.

Colorado put together a healthy 7-3 run in the 10 games prior to the All-Star break. Now, it will welcome back a couple of important pieces - Valeri Nichushkin and Bowen Byram - set to return to the lineup against the Penguins. The importance of those players cannot be overstated.

Nichushkin is a near point-per-game forward who is as impactful defensively as offensively. This year's Avalanche are 15-3-2 with him in the lineup.

The smooth-skating Byram put up five points in 10 games while averaging nearly 21 minutes per night prior to going down with an injury.

Having those players healthy should lead to more consistent scoring beyond the big guns and allow the offense to really flourish.

A date with Casey DeSmith is a nice "welcome back" spot, as he owns an .897 save percentage in 2023 and has conceded five or more in three of his last four.

Alexandar Georgiev, who has been terrific all season, owns a .939 save percentage over the same period of time. He should give the Avalanche a clear edge between the pipes as a cherry on top.

Look for the Avalanche to pick up their eighth win in 11 games as they begin their ascension up the standings.

Bet: Avalanche (-105)

Oilers (-165) @ Red Wings (+140)

The Oilers are scorching hot. They own a 7-1-2 record over the last 10 games and are full value for it.

At five-on-five, they have scored a league-high 32 goals while conceding only 18, good for a plus-14 differential. Edmonton also ranks first with a high-danger chance share above 60% during that stretch.

Everyone knows the Oilers are as good, or better, as any team on the man advantage. When they're clicking at five-on-five, they're nearly impossible to beat, and we're seeing that right now.

I think they have a great chance of picking up where they left off when they meet the Red Wings in Detroit.

Despite all the offseason changes, the Red Wings remain a very underwhelming team at both ends. They rank bottom five in high-danger chance share over the last 10 games, and only the Blue Jackets have generated fewer high-danger opportunities.

It's going to be difficult for them to create enough offense to keep up with the high-flying Oilers, especially now that Stuart Skinner and Jack Campbell are providing competent goaltending every night.

The same can't be said of Red Wings starter Ville Husso, who has hit a bit of a rut of late.

The 28-year-old netminder has posted an .899 save percentage through 10 appearances this calendar year. That's not going to cut it for a team struggling to create offense.

With edges across the board, I expect the red-hot Oilers to take care of business inside 60 minutes.

Bet: Oilers in regulation (-115)

Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.

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New York Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant doesn't think captain Jacob Trouba should have to answer the bell every time he flattens an opponent.

Trouba was the center of attention throughout a thrilling 5-4 overtime win over the Calgary Flames on Monday night for a pair of punishing hits on Dillon Dube and Nazem Kadri. Both collisions sparked instantaneous fights.

"It's a shame you have to do that every time you throw a hit," Gallant said. "For me, the first one was a good, clean hockey hit. It wasn't a dangerous hit. You wouldn't think there would be retaliation to that, but there was, and that's fine."

"But the second one, he hit Kadri pretty hard," Gallant added. It looked like Kadri might have got hurt. I understand guys standing up for their teammates, but I think sometimes, it gets a little (bit of an) overreaction. Trouba's a big hitter; people know that."

Flames head coach Darryl Sutter didn't see a problem with either play.

"They were all clean, good hits," he said.

Trouba has built a reputation as one of the league's most dangerous open-ice hitters in recent years. Earlier this season, Chicago Blackhawks forward Andreas Athanasiou called out the Rangers' rearguard for "trying to hurt" players with high hits.

Trouba also sparked controversy during the playoffs last spring for hits on Sidney Crosby and Seth Jarvis. Neither play drew supplemental discipline.

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The 2022-23 NHL campaign is past its halfway point, and the Calder Trophy race keeps chugging along.

Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov made some noise in the last edition of these rankings, but the return of Frederik Andersen sabotaged his playing time - the rookie hasn't played since Jan. 15. Edmonton Oilers All-Star Stuart Skinner has been on the fringes of this list all season, but he only got into five games in January - and only earned one win - thanks in part to the reemergence of Jack Campbell. It's difficult to justify giving spots to rookies who aren't playing much.

In this edition, two forwards make their debuts on the list.

5. Mason McTavish, Ducks

Welcome to rankings, McTavish.

The Ducks forward's 17 points in 27 games are the most among rookies since Dec. 1. Thanks to his wintery push, McTavish now ranks third in rookie scoring and is one point behind Winnipeg Jets forward Cole Perfetti for second place. He's also tied with Columbus Blue Jackets youngster Kent Johnson for the fifth-most goals in the class.

What's more, after bouncing around as a winger and a bottom-six pivot throughout the first few months of the season, McTavish earned his first spin as Anahiem's No. 1 center on Jan. 4 against the Dallas Stars. He rewarded his coaching staff's faith with a goal and an assist in a 2-0 victory.

McTavish kept rolling two days later against the San Jose Sharks in his second straight game on the top line, becoming the first rookie to have a four-point game this season. Though he cooled off with two points in his last nine contests to close out January, McTavish stayed put as the Ducks' first-line center for the remainder of the month.

A window of opportunity has officially opened for the 2022 World Junior Championship MVP, and he's been a bright spot for the struggling Ducks. Time will tell if he can build a compelling Calder case in the second half of the campaign.

4. Kirill Marchenko, Blue Jackets

We're not sure if Marchenko will garner much Calder Trophy love from the people who determine the winner - the members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association - but we're giving him a spot here.

One thing's for certain: Marchenko can fill the back of the net. He's currently tied for the second-most goals in the rookie class alongside Stars youngster Wyatt Johnston despite playing in 24 fewer games. Marchenko's 2.06 goals per 60 minutes at all strengths constitute the fifth-highest mark in the league among players to suit up for at least 20 games, trailing the likes of David Pastrnak, Connor McDavid, Tage Thompson, and Jason Robertson. That's decent company to be in.

It's pretty weird that Marchenko, 22, has yet to register an assist. The Russian winger is one of three players in NHL history to have his first 13 career points come as goals, joining John McKinnon (13 in 1926-27) and Joe Malone (16 in 1917-18). He also tops all rookies with six power-play goals, was the first rookie to score a hat trick this season, and averages the least ice time of any first-year player to reach the 10-goal mark so far this campaign.

Marchenko spent the first few months of the season in the AHL and didn't make his NHL debut until Dec. 6. Who knows what his numbers would look like over a full campaign? We assume world domination.

3. Logan Thompson, Golden Knights

Thompson and the Golden Knights aren't the dominant forces they were for the first few months of the season, but an extended rough stretch isn't enough to completely eradicate the 25-year-old netminder's Calder Trophy case.

Thompson's save percentage and goals-against average are both still top 20 among goaltenders with at least 15 starts this season. He's also one of 12 goalies - and the only rookie - to face over 1,000 shots. He's still seeking his 20th win of the campaign, but he's tied with Nashville Predators stud Juuse Saros for the ninth-most victories in the league. Simply speaking, Thompson earned his spot at the All-Star Game.

Though Vegas has dropped out of first place in the Pacific Division, Thompson has put up a couple of big performances in recent defeats, including a 36-save effort during a shootout loss to the New York Islanders on Jan. 28.

The Calder chase no longer seems like a two-horse race between Thompson and Matty Beniers given the former's recent slide. But Thompson might be able to angle his way back into second place on this list if he and the Golden Knights can regain their early-season mojo. That task just became even harder, though, with captain Mark Stone sidelined indefinitely after undergoing back surgery.

2. Owen Power, Sabres

Power finally lit the lamp for the first time this season on Jan. 23 - then promptly went on a three-game goal streak. The power is on, so to speak.

His red-hot run set a franchise record for the longest goal streak by a Sabres rookie defenseman and made him the third-youngest NHL rearguard to post a goal streak of three-plus games over the past 35 years. Not too shabby for a 20-year-old.

His point totals aren't staggering, but that isn't what makes Power so impressive, anyways; he just remains a steady presence for the Sabres night in and night out. He leads all rookies in average ice time and logs the second-most minutes for Buffalo, trailing only Norris Trophy candidate Rasmus Dahlin. There's also something to be said about the fact that those minutes aren't disastrous for the young Sabres: Buffalo has outscored its opponents 55-40 with Power on the ice at five-on-five while controlling over 50% of the shot attempts, expected goals, and scoring chances.

Despite his workload, Power is a plus-12 on the season, the highest in the rookie class. He also ranks top five among first-year players in wins above replacement (1.2) and goals above replacement (6.9). Having discovered his scoring touch during his first full NHL season, can the 2021 first overall pick keep putting it all together?

1. Matty Beniers, Kraken

We told you Beniers would start scoring again. After the publication of the last edition of these rankings on Jan. 3, the Kraken center went on a five-game goal streak, setting a franchise record in the process. That kind of production is exactly what the Kraken want from their first-ever draft pick and budding star.

That kind of production also earned Beniers a selection to the initial Pacific Division All-Star roster. Unfortunately, the 20-year-old has missed Seattle's past two games due to an injury, and that ailment kept him out of the All-Star Game, which is a shame. Who wouldn't want to see the Calder Trophy front-runner strut his stuff against some of the best and brightest in the league?

Beniers holds the rookie lead in points - he's seven clear of runner-up Perfetti - and goals. He's cruising along with 2.71 points per 60 minutes at all strengths while proving extremely valuable to Seattle's playoff aspirations: Beniers averages the third-most ice time among all Kraken forwards, is tied with Vince Dunn for the third-most points on the team, and ranks second in even-strength goals.

Beniers was held pointless in his last five contests before his stint on the sidelines. Hopefully, the break gave him a chance to recover and return to help Seattle remain atop the division.

Honorable mentions: Matias Maccelli (ARI), Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (BUF), Jack Quinn (BUF), Kent Johnson (CBJ), Wyatt Johnston (DAL), Stuart Skinner (EDM), Calen Addison (MIN), Kaiden Guhle (MTL), Jake Sanderson (OTT), Cole Perfetti (WPG)

(Analytics sources: Natural Stat Trick, Evolving-Hockey)

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With former captain Bo Horvat on to greener pastures, incumbent Vancouver Canucks stars Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson are eager to grow into leaders as the franchise embarks in a new direction.

Both players will wear "A's" from here on out, and the responsibility isn't something they plan to take lightly.

"I've always not been the loudest guy," Hughes told Sportsnet's Iain MacIntyre. "I'm always respectful of guys that have been in the league a lot longer than me and they've seen so much more. But at the same time, me and Petey are good players and we have to do those things or the team's just going to stay the same. I feel like it's something that we have to do.

"But me and (general manager) Patrik (Allvin) have talked prior to that about trying to evolve as a person and as a player and teammate and leader in the group, and trying to elevate the group from within. I think that's me and Petey's job, and to keep getting better ourselves in every aspect of our life."

Horvat was named Canucks captain in 2019. He was dealt to the New York Islanders last week and subsequently signed an eight-year extension.

At All-Star weekend, Horvat said if he could choose Vancouver's next captain, Pettersson would be his successor.

"I think me and Quinn, we want more," Pettersson said. "First off, we focus on hockey and playing well, but of course it's good to grow into a leader. Lead by example or set a standard, show how it should be done."

The Canucks drafted Pettersson (fifth overall) and Hughes (seventh overall) in 2017 and 2018. The two have become cornerstone players since then, but Vancouver has only reached the playoffs once during their tenures.

Now that Horvat's gone, Pettersson and Hughes are the Canucks' top two scorers this season with 58 and 45 points, respectively.

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