The International Ice Hockey Federation has stepped in to help ensure NHL player participation at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, but work still needs to be done in order to reach an agreement with the International Olympic Committee.
The NHL is seeking something equivalent to IOC Top Sponsor status in order to market the Olympics on its various platforms, reports Karolos Grohmann of Reuters.
"Obviously, this time the owners of the NHL clubs are putting more commercial conditions to the IOC and the Olympic movement," IOC spokesman Mark Adams said.
The IIHF has agreed to cover NHL players' travel and insurance costs, as the organization initially announced in November 2016. Those expenses had been paid by the IOC in the past.
Special treatment for the league from the IOC may not be in the cards, however.
Adams continued, "The IOC knows that the NHL understands that the Olympic movement cannot treat the owners of a commercial franchise of a national league better than an international sports federation or other professional leagues with regard to the Olympic Games."
From the IOC's point of view, participation alone brings a great deal of exposure to the NHL, especially in 2018 and 2022 when the Games will be played in markets serving billions in prime time.
Auston Matthews, of course, scored four times in the first two periods of the team's season opener in Ottawa, not only becoming the first player to score four goals in his NHL debut, but kick-starting what's become a historic rookie season.
In Tuesday's win over the Panthers, Matthews broke Clark's rookie record for goals in a season with his 35th, and still has seven games left on the schedule in which to improve on that total.
Clark will always hold a special place in Leafs lore, but Toronto now belongs to a kid who learned how to play the game in Arizona.
Through the remainder of the regular season, we'll take a look at how the night's action impacts the playoff race, highlighting which teams' postseason odds went up or down significantly.
The Carolina Hurricanes experienced the tiniest of bumps thanks to a win over the Detroit Red Wings, who saw their 25-season playoff streak come to an end. Unfortunately for the former, the late surge probably won't be enough.
Here's where they all stand after Tuesday's action.
Team
Result
Playoff Chances
Change
Bruins
W 4-1 vs. Predators
74.1%
+8.2%
Maple Leafs
W 3-2 vs. Panthers
84.6%
+4.4%
Hurricanes
W 4-1 vs. Red Wings
6.8%
+0.2%
Lightning
Idle
24.5%
-7.7%
Islanders
Idle
10.9%
-4.8%
The Western Conference race is over, by the way. The Los Angeles Kings haven't been eliminated, but their chances are down to 0.1 percent.
Goaltender Zachary Fucale has been recalled from the ECHL's Brampton Beast on an emergency basis after Al Montoya suffered a lower-body injury during Tuesday's morning skate.
Montoya was slated to start against Dallas, but Carey Price will now draw the assignment with Fucale serving as backup.
Fucale was selected in the second round of the 2013 Draft and has yet to make his NHL debut.
Max Pacioretty isn't picking up what Gary Bettman is putting down.
On Tuesday, the NHL commissioner stated people should assume the league will not be shutting down in order to allow player participation at the 2018 Winter OIympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, citing an inability to quantify any benefit for doing so in the past.
Respectfully, the Montreal Canadiens captain and 2014 Team USA member disagrees.
"People want to see us go, we want to go," Pacioretty said, per Eric Engels of Sportsnet. "I think it helps the league. I know it helps the league."
Pacioretty added, "For me, it’s a no-brainer that players should be there and players should go."
In regards to what Bettman said Monday, Pacioretty sees it as part of the negotiation process.
"(Bettman) is a smart guy. That’s what you do. You never try and fold or give up too much too easily. That’s what smart negotiators do, but players want to go, and we’ve heard rumblings of owners wanting players to go. It’s no surprise. We’ll see what happens, but I expect us to be there."
It was reported in November the NHL offered to extend the current collective bargaining agreement with the players in order to ensure Olympic participation, a notion that was soundly rejected.
While Bettman hasn't slammed the door shut, clearly some middle ground needs to be found in order to make it happen.
Another trade deadline has come and gone, and while this year's mill didn't churn as much water, there are no shortage of talking points.
Here are three clear winners and losers.
Winners
Jarome Iginla
Sweet freedom.
Possibly in the final days of his NHL career, Jarome Iginla was mercifully cut loose by the woeful Colorado Avalanche and traded to the Los Angeles Kings, with whom he could have a shot at landing a long sought-after Stanley Cup.
First, though, the Kings need to clinch a playoff spot. At the deadline, Los Angeles sits one point behind St. Louis and six behind Calgary in the race for a wild-card berth.
Still, Iginla's in a much better spot this afternoon than he was this morning.
Vancouver Canucks
Canucks general manager Jim Benning veered further to the right on the "goat to G.O.A.T" scale with a pair of deals that brought nice pieces to Vancouver.
Out went Alex Burrows and Jannik Hansen, and in come promising forward prospects Jonathan Dahlen and Nikolay Goldobin (along with a fourth-round pick) from Ottawa and San Jose, respectively.
In truth, the rebuilding process should have begun a few years ago, but these are steps in the right direction.
Detroit Red Wings
Ken Holland recognized the reality in Detroit, and the Red Wings' GM entered sell mode for the first time in a while.
Forwards Thomas Vanek, Tomas Jurco, and Steve Ott, along with defenseman Brendan Smith were all shipped out of town, with rearguard Dylan McIlrath and a handful of draft picks coming back in return.
Detroit now holds 11 picks in 2017, nine in 2018, and seven in 2019.
With all due respect, getting anything for Ott was a win in and of itself.
Losers
Radim Vrbata
The Arizona Coyotes failed to find a new home for Radim Vrbata, and missing out on playoff hockey will cost him.
Built into his contract are the following bonuses:
Qualify for playoffs - $250,000
Playoff round win - $250,000 per round
Vrbata, who has 15 goals and 32 assists to his name, did sign the one-year, $1-million base deal with a Coyotes team unlikely to qualify to begin with, but surely he was hoping to be moved - not only for a chance at those bonuses, but more importantly, a Stanley Cup.
Maybe next year.
Colorado Avalanche
Apparent sellers for weeks now, the last-place Avalanche dealt Iginla to Los Angeles for a fourth-round draft pick that carries two conditions - one playoff-related and the other based on whether Iginla re-signs with the Kings for next season.
The merits of saving potential trades involving Matt Duchene and Gabriel Landeskog for the offseason are clear, but to come out of the deadline with that lone pick is pitiful, especially with useful veterans like John Mitchell and Fedor Tyutin to sell.
As it stands, Colorado will enter the 2017 draft with just two picks in the top 90, with the first likely being No.1 overall.
Godspeed.
Buffalo Sabres
Losers of four in a row heading into the deadline and all but dead in the water in the playoff race, the Buffalo Sabres did ... absolutely nothing.
That, with at least four soon-to-be unrestricted free agents who should have been able to command at least a draft pick in return:
Tampa Bay will retain 50 percent of Streit's salary over the remainder of the season, LeBrun reports.
Streit spent the past four seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers, and had five goals and 16 assists in 49 games this season.
The 39-year-old, who brings added skill and depth to a banged-up Pittsburgh blue line, will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.
Lazar has been mentioned in trade talks for some time now, based mostly on the fact he's mustered one assist in 33 games this season.
The 22-year-old was fighting a bout of mononucleosis during training camp, and never seemed to find his stride under new head coach Guy Boucher, who gave Lazar only 8:49 ice time on average.
He was selected 17th overall by the Senators in 2013, and the Flames seem to believe this season is a bump on the road, albeit a large one.
Jokipakka, by the way, has recorded three goals and 25 assists in 147 career games at the NHL level after being drafted with the 195th pick in 2011.
