Sabres’ Power excited to fight for playoff spot: ‘It’s going to be fun’

The Buffalo Sabres haven't made the playoffs in 12 years, but young defenseman Owen Power likes his team's odds of ending that drought in 2023-24.

"I think the team as a whole is confident coming into this year," he said, according to NHLcom's Dave McCarthy. "I think with us, for how young we are, we're going in with the goal to get better every day. And if we do that, we'll be in a good spot at the end of the year."

He added, "I honestly think we can go for a (Stanley) Cup, so I think that's the attitude everyone has got and the attitude we have to have."

The Sabres came close to snapping their lengthy playoff streak in 2022-23. They finished the season just one point behind the Florida Panthers for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference after posting their highest win and point totals (42 and 91, respectively) since the 2010-11 campaign.

Power, 20, played a part in his team's marked improvement during his first full NHL season. He posted four goals and 31 points in 79 games while averaging 23:48 minutes per contest, the most playing time out of all rookies last year by a near-two-minute margin. As a result of his efforts, Power was named a finalist for the Calder Trophy, but he ended up losing out to Seattle Kraken center Matty Beniers.

In order for the Sabres to force their way into the playoff picture, they'll have to battle some Atlantic Division heavyweights like the Panthers, Boston Bruins, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Toronto Maple Leafs. On top of that, Buffalo isn't the only up-and-coming team aiming to stick around in the spring, with the Ottawa Senators and Detroit Red Wings also looking to take the next step.

Despite the stiff competition, Power is looking forward to the battle at hand.

"It's going to be fun," he said. "Any time you get to play against the best teams in the league and compete for a playoff spot, it's a lot of fun. I'm excited, and I know our whole team is excited for the challenge."

The Sabres brought in defensemen Erik Johnson and Connor Clifton to aid in their pursuit and also re-signed the likes of Zemgus Girgensons, Tyson Jost, and captain Kyle Okposo.

After signing a one-year, $2.5-million extension in May, Okposo said Buffalo can't be afraid of the increased pressure in the new season.

"Last year, there (were) no expectations," he said. "Everybody's writing rosy articles: 'This group is a good team; it's becoming a good team.' And that's great, but how do you do that with expectations? ... There's going to be lofty expectations next year, and I think that we can't run from that."

Puck drops on the Sabres' 2023-24 campaign on Oct. 12 against the New York Rangers.

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August 24 2023 – Rob Williams & Nathan Rourke

Matt and Blake keep talking Petey. How the Auston Matthews extension affects him and the Canucks. The vacant captaincy and what his contractual status means for that decision. The wounds already apparent among Canucks fans. The possibility of an in-season deal. The possibility of a shorter-term deal. And what players usually say about their desire to stay with a team juxtaposed against Elias' comments this week.


Rob Williams stops by with his take on Pettersson's comments, and his concern level that this might be his last season in Vancouver. He also catches us up on changes to Rogers Arena for this season and beyond. Rob also hits on the Raptors, who remain a big draw on the West Coast.


Nathan Rourke takes us through his spectacular TD pass last week, the viral highlight on NFL preseason. He lets us know how he's doing in Jacksonville, the opportunity before him, and how touched he was that the BC Lions and their fans got to see the TD thrown on the big screen at B.C. Place.

 

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Oilers re-sign Bouchard to 2-year bridge deal with $3.9M AAV

The Edmonton Oilers re-upped restricted free agent defenseman Evan Bouchard with a two-year contract carrying an average annual value of $3.9 million, the team announced Thursday.

Bouchard will remain an RFA at the end of the new deal. He can't become a UFA until 2027.

The 23-year-old recorded 43 points in 2021-22 and 40 points last season but caught fire down the stretch in 2022-23 after the Oilers made a key trade with the Nashville Predators. Edmonton brought in Mattias Ekholm and immediately partnered him with Bouchard. Tyson Barrie was sent the other way, allowing Bouchard to quarterback Edmonton's top power-play unit.

The move proved exceptional, as Bouchard racked up 36 points in 33 regular season and playoff contests after the deal. He's projected to play with Ekholm again at five-on-five and run the Oilers' star-studded top power play.

To go along with the offensive production, Bouchard's underlying numbers were strong last season.

Evolving-Hockey

Bouchard's bridge deal compares to those of other up-and-coming RFA defensemen around the league. Colorado Avalanche blue-liner Bowen Byram ($3.85 million AAV) and New York Rangers stalwart K'Andre Miller ($3.872 million AAV) both signed two-year deals this offseason, too.

The signing puts the Oilers over the salary cap, but when the season begins they can become compliant by optioning a player to the minors and trimming the roster down to 19 skaters.

The Oilers drafted Bouchard 10th overall in 2018.

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What the odds say: How will Matthews’ 2023-24 season unfold?

Auston Matthews put pen to paper on a monster extension with the Maple Leafs, signing a four-year deal worth a league-high $13.25 million per season.

With a contract no longer looming over Matthews' head, he'll head into the 2023-24 campaign healthy, focused, and free of distractions.

What may Matthews' season look like? Let's look at some major betting markets to get a better indication.

"Rocket" Richard

Player Odds
Connor McDavid +200
Auston Matthews +600
Leon Draisaitl +800
David Pastrnak +850
Nathan MacKinnon +1000
Jack Hughes +1400
Matthew Tkachuk +1400
Mikko Rantanen +1600
Jason Robertson +2000
Tage Thompson +2000

Note: listed players 20:1 or shorter.

McDavid is understandably favored for the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy after a 64-goal campaign in which he took his finishing - and shot volume - to a new level. But Matthews is tucked in behind him, and the price gap is probably a little steep.

Matthews' 299 goals in 481 games since starting his career in 2016-17 is a league high. He's also by far the best chance generator, piling up 145 more than the next closest player (McDavid) over the past three seasons.

His goal outputs dried up a bit last season, but there were strong rumblings Matthews fought through an injury for the bulk of the campaign. There seemed to be something to that, as Matthews' shooting percentage was 5% lower than in 2021-22 and 6.3% lower than in 2020-21.

Getting Matthews the puck in good shooting spots is priority No. 1 at even strength and on the power play. Unlike McDavid, who has Leon Draisaitl in the mix, Matthews is the go-to scorer for his team, and there's nobody in the same realm. A fully healthy Matthews attached to a +600 price tag is appealing since he should be firmly in the mix.

Hart Trophy

Player Odds
Connor McDavid +115
Nathan MacKinnon +900
Leon Draisaitl +1000
Auston Matthews +1200
Matthew Tkachuk +1200
David Pastrnak +1600
Kirill Kaprizov +1800
Jack Hughes +2000
Nikita Kucherov +2000

Note: listed players 20:1 or shorter.

Matthews' 85-point 'down' season didn't put off the market in the slightest. He carries the fourth shortest odds to bring home the NHL's most prestigious individual award, and for good reason.

Despite dealing with an injury and shooting significantly below expectation, Matthews paced last season at a 97-point clip over a full 82 games. Had he matched his 2021-22 finishing rate, we'd be talking about someone with 56 goals in 74 contests rather than 40 in 74. That's a 62-goal pace.

The Maple Leafs made plenty of changes around their core, but they should remain one of the better teams during the regular season. Adding Tyler Bertuzzi, Max Domi, and John Klingberg - and the playmaking/passing ability those three bring - can't hurt a sniper like Matthews.

He should be in the hunt for the Hart if he can get back in the 55-plus goal range and produce a boatload of points on a very strong team.

Season totals

Prop Odds
O/U 51.5 goals -110/110
50+ goals -140
60+ goals +650

Matthews sits at -140 to score 50 goals, and I see value in backing him. Despite last season's shooting dip, the superstar center has averaged 57 goals per 82 games played over the past four seasons. That's a long track record of top-tier production.

He's 25 years old, so Matthews theoretically finds himself in the prime of his career. There's no reason to expect last season's shooting struggles to be the start of a decline.

It all comes down to health with Matthews. If we exclude his rookie campaign, last year's 74 contests played are the most we've seen from him in a season. With a handful of games being trimmed off his total each year, it makes it that much more imperative Matthews carries extreme efficiency.

I believe anything over 70 games will make 50 goals a very reasonable proposition, but 60-plus is difficult without playing a full schedule.

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

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Maple Leafs’ Matthews inks 4-year extension with record $13.25M AAV

The Toronto Maple Leafs locked up star sniper Auston Matthews to a four-year extension with a record-setting average annual value of $13.25 million, the team announced Wednesday.

Matthews, 25, has one season remaining on his current deal with an $11.64-million cap hit. He could have become an unrestricted free agent next summer.

With his new cap hit beginning in 2024-25, Matthews will be the highest-paid player in the league, surpassing Colorado Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon's $12.6-million price tag.

Matthews has been one of the league's top goal-scorers since his four-goal NHL debut on Oct. 12, 2016, and he won the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy in back-to-back years in 2021 and 2022. Matthews became the first player in Maple Leafs history to hit the 60-goal mark in a single season after scorching the league in 2021-22.

His 299 goals in 481 games since 2016-17 are the most in the league, beating out the likes of Alex Ovechkin (297 goals) and Connor McDavid (287 goals). Matthews is also a beast at five-on-five, pacing the entire field with 223 even-strength goals over seven seasons.

Matthews reached the 40-goal plateau for the fourth straight campaign in 2022-23 and registered 85 points in 74 games while averaging 20:17 minutes of ice time per contest. He also logged a career-high 92 blocks and 78 hits and placed 14th in Selke Trophy voting as he continues to grow his two-way presence.

He led the Maple Leafs with five tallies in six games against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs and was instrumental in propelling Toronto to its first postseason series win since 2004.

Matthews' best statistical season came in 2021-22 when he became the first Maple Leaf since Doug Gilmour in 1993-94 to eclipse the 100-point mark. He took home the Ted Lindsay Award and the Hart Trophy in honor of his efforts.

Despite not yet reaching 500 games played in his career, Matthews already ranks fifth all time in franchise history in goals, as well as seventh in even-strength goals and fourth in game-winning goals (53). His career 0.62 goals-per-game rate is also the highest in Leafs history among skaters to play in at least 200 games for the franchise.

Mats Sundin holds the title as Toronto's all-time leading scorer with 420 goals, meaning Matthews is 122 tallies away from taking the crown.

With the cap expected to rise to $87.5 million in 2024-25, Matthews' deal will eat up approximately 15% of Toronto's salary space, according to CapFriendly.

The Maple Leafs are projected to have about $33.4 million in available cap space next summer, even after singing Matthews. However, William Nylander, Tyler Bertuzzi, T.J. Brodie, and Ilya Samsonov will all be in need of new deals as unrestricted free agents, while Mitch Marner and John Tavares will both be eligible to sign extensions next July 1.

The Maple Leafs selected Matthews first overall in the 2016 NHL Draft. He's amassed 44 points in 50 career playoff contests.

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Report: Rangers sign Lafreniere to 2-year deal with $2.325M AAV

The New York Rangers signed restricted free-agent forward Alexis Lafreniere to a two-year extension with an average annual value of $2.325 million, reports the New York Post's Larry Brooks.

Lafreniere, the first overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, posted a career-high 39 points (16 goals, 23 assists) in 81 games last season.

More to come.

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August 23 2023 – Frank Corrado & Jeff Paterson

Matt and Blake discuss the big news from Sweden: Elias Pettersson will not be signing a contract extension with the Canucks before the season. They go over the implications for this season and beyond, wonder about the reasons, talk about the offshoots -- can he be named captain in this environment -- as well as parsing the good news about his love for Vancouver and the fishbowl of playing in a hockey market.


Jeff Paterson gives us his reaction to Elias Pettersson's comments, reminds us of the last time he played out a contract and awaited an extension, tells us what that means for the Canucks and explains why he's not yet worried that Petey will leave like Tkachuk in CGY, Dubois in WPG and DeBrincat in OTT.


Frank Corrado is even more optimistic for Canucks fans. He says he has "zero" concern that Pettersson will leave, believing that this is solely about getting off to a good start to the season, unlike the last two. Frank allows that there are positive and negative interpretations to the comments, and that direction of the team is going to be big in getting him signed long-term.

 

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NHL, NHLPA working on international competition for 2025

The NHL and its Players' Association are working to create an international event for February 2025, deputy commissioner Bill Daly confirmed to NHL.com's Dan Rosen.

The intention for the tournament is to kickstart a regular cycle of Olympic participation beginning in 2026 with a World Cup of Hockey played on the even years in between.

"So if we do a '25 international tournament, we do the '26 Olympics, the '28 World Cup of Hockey, the '30 Olympics, the '32 World Cup of Hockey, and so on," Daly said. "That's the goal."

The format of the proposed 2025 event is unclear to this point, as is a potential deadline for a final decision.

"I don't know exactly what form it will take," Daly said. "The goal is to make it an international competition of some sort. It's going to obviously be heavily NHL-centric in terms of the player base, maybe entirely NHL. We'll see what form it takes, but that's something we're working on with the Players' Association."

Russia and Belarus are still banned from IIHF events due to the invasion of Ukraine. The International Olympic Committee has also banned the countries, but allows its participants to compete provided they don't represent their native flags.

The NHL hasn't participated in a best-on-best international event since the World Cup in 2016. The league didn't go to the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang after sending players to the previous five games, and a return to Beijing in 2022 was nixed due to the pandemic.

In recent years, several prominent NHL voices, including Edmonton Oilers captain and reigning MVP Connor McDavid, have called on the league to coordinate a best-on-best event.

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