The Toronto Maple Leafs center has been named the NHL’s Rookie of the Month for January after recording four goals and 11 assists for 15 points in 13 games.
Marner joins teammates William Nylander (October) and Auston Matthews (December) to earn the honor during the current campaign, making the Maple Leafs the first NHL team with three different Rookie of the month honorees in a single season.
As a result of his productive month, Marner sits in a tie with Winnipeg's Patrik Laine for first in rookie scoring with 41 points. Matthews ranks second (39), while Nylander is in a tie for third (31).
Despite sitting one point out of a Western Conference wild-card spot, team president Trevor Linden confirmed the club won't deviate from a plan designed around sustained, as opposed to short-term, success.
"There's no question we won't be in the rental-player market, regardless of what (the playoff picture) looks like," Linden said Tuesday on TSN 1040. "If there's an opportunity ... with a young player that we feel is an upgrade, we'll certainly look at that. But there will be no situation where we'll go and mortgage any future pieces to make a playoff push."
That said, general manager Jim Benning could still be active in advance of the NHL's March 1 trade deadline.
"If it make sense on the whole philosophy of getting younger and developing then we'll do that," Linden said, "but we'll see how the second half plays out."
The Canucks have posted a 23-21-6 record through 50 games with a minus-21 goal differential, and are already without their fifth- and sixth-round draft picks in 2017.
The Rocket - named after Canadiens legend Maurice 'Rocket' Richard - will be represented by the following logo and jerseys when the team begins play at Place Bell in nearby Laval in 2017-18:
"We reached our objective by creating a logo and uniform that solidifies the historic link between the Rocket de Laval and the Canadiens, while honoring a Quebec legend, and by creating a new identity for a new generation of fans," Place Bell president Vincent Lucier said.
The team will also use the following tagline for marketing purposes.
Laval Rocket - #Habs AHL affiliate starting next season - are going with "History is Our Fuel" as a tag line. I really like that. #TSN690pic.twitter.com/2chqVFoL6p
The Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators are somewhat surprisingly in position to challenge for a playoff spot, and both clubs will have their work cut out for them as play resumes following the All-Star break.
By way of having played the second-fewest games among all teams to date, the Maple Leafs and Senators are among four clubs with the busiest upcoming schedules, along with the Colorado Avalanche and New York Islanders.
There are 69 days remaining in the NHL's regular season. Four teams (COL, NYI, TOR, OTT) will average more than a game every other night.
In other words, both teams have 35 games remaining on the schedule - all of which will be fit into the next 69 days. Toronto will play seven sets of back-to-back games, while Ottawa is in line for six.
The Senators and Maple Leafs rank sixth and seventh, respectively, in terms of point percentage, with the former chasing Montreal atop the Atlantic Division standings and the latter looking to overtake Boston for third spot.
And in terms of a wild-card spot, those aforementioned Islanders have put themselves in position to contend after a seemingly disastrous start.
A compressed schedule, therefore, may make things a bit more difficult for teams expected to be on the playoff bubble at best in 2016-17.
After eight weeks away from the Ottawa Senators while his wife underwent radiation and chemotherapy treatments for throat cancer, Craig Anderson returned to the team Monday with a different outlook on the game he's fortunate enough to play for a living.
It makes you realize how lucky and fortunate we are to play a game we love. Win or lose, it's a hockey game, there's more to life. You learn that when you have kids, but when you go through something this traumatic and difficult, hockey is a job. I'm passionate about it, but at the end of the day, hockey will go on, whether I'm in it or not. You don't know how much time you have with someone. Life is precious.
Having said that, Anderson is looking to resume his duties as the team's starting goalie, and has been working with goaltending coach Pierre Groulx toward that end.
The time away, however, has basically put him back in training camp mode.
"Timing is everything," Anderson said. "I skated for a few days before coming in here, but nothing replaces actual shots. It's going to be a work in progress. I have to find a way to battle through it and get my game as quickly as possible."
Mike Condon will continue to start in the meantime, with Andrew Hammond serving as backup until Anderson is back in game shape. At that point, general manager Pierre Dorion will have a decision to make regarding who stays and who goes.
Anderson has appeared in 19 games for the Senators this season, posting a 12-6-1 record with a .924 save percentage.
After eight weeks away from the Ottawa Senators while his wife underwent radiation and chemotherapy treatments for throat cancer, Craig Anderson returned to the team Monday with a different outlook on the game he's fortunate enough to play for a living.
It makes you realize how lucky and fortunate we are to play a game we love. Win or lose, it's a hockey game, there's more to life. You learn that when you have kids, but when you go through something this traumatic and difficult, hockey is a job. I'm passionate about it, but at the end of the day, hockey will go on, whether I'm in it or not. You don't know how much time you have with someone. Life is precious.
Having said that, Anderson is looking to resume his duties as the team's starting goalie, and has been working with goaltending coach Pierre Groulx toward that end.
The time away, however, has basically put him back in training camp mode.
"Timing is everything," Anderson said. "I skated for a few days before coming in here, but nothing replaces actual shots. It's going to be a work in progress. I have to find a way to battle through it and get my game as quickly as possible."
Mike Condon will continue to start in the meantime, with Andrew Hammond serving as backup until Anderson is back in game shape. At that point, general manager Pierre Dorion will have a decision to make regarding who stays and who goes.
Anderson has appeared in 19 games for the Senators this season, posting a 12-6-1 record with a .924 save percentage.
Add Connor McDavid to the list of NHL players keen on a trip to PyeongChang in 2018.
The Edmonton Oilers superstar and burgeoning face of the league is fully in favor of NHL player participation at the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea.
"One hundred percent. NHL players should be there," McDavid stated at the end of All-Star weekend, according to Mike Zeisberger of Postmedia. "I certainly hope they are there. But ultimately it isn’t up to me. There’s a lot of people a lot higher than me who will make that decision.
"But 100% they should go. I couldn’t really picture an Olympics without it, to be honest."
McDavid, of course, is hoping to be part of a Canadian roster set on defending the gold medal won in Sochi back in 2014.
"It would mean everything," McDavid said of being part of the team. "Just to get the chance to chase down a spot on the team. Just to have that opportunity. It would be very special.
"We’re very lucky in Canada to have a long list of great Canadian players who are available. It’s a tough team to make."
We're pretty sure you'd have a good chance of cracking the roster, Connor.
McDavid, who was born in 1997, has never witnessed an Olympic Games without NHL players present, seeing as the last men's hockey tournament without them took place in 1994. If the NHL wants to grow the game worldwide, McDavid is certainly the kind of player to build around at the next opportunity.
No firm timeline has been set for a decision on this matter.
Erik Karlsson enters Sunday's All-Star Game in Los Angeles with a bit of a cold stick.
The offensively gifted defenseman has failed to hit the back of the net in each of the Ottawa Senators' past 20 games dating back to Dec. 7 in nearby San Jose.
Perhaps the California sun and, more importantly, the three-on-three All-Star format can help Karlsson find his scoring touch, but either way, he doesn't seem all that concerned about being stuck on seven goals through 47 games this season so long as his team continues to impress.
"I’ve been around long enough to know things like this are going to happen," Karlsson said, per Don Brennan of the Ottawa Citizen. "I haven’t been needing to score that many goals in order for us to win. At the end of the day, that’s the thing you can’t take away from it. Still trying out there, but we’ve been playing good hockey. Guys have been stepping up. We’ve been getting a lot of creativity and goal-scoring from different guys. Obviously that’s huge for us."
Senators head coach Guy Boucher echoes the sentiment.
"Every game he’s so menacing, it’s not an issue. And the team is winning," Boucher said. "That’s the thing with Erik. At the beginning of the year when we talked, he says, 'Coach, I don’t care about my points. I just want to win. I’m at the point in my career, I want to win.'
"For him, it’s all about winning. Big smile after every game. Goal, point, no point, it made no difference. He’s been unbelievable for that. But he is pushing hard, because he wants to make a difference. He’s a top gun, and that’s what top guns do. And he’s got character, so it’ll happen."
What's more concerning, perhaps, is that Karlsson's shot rate has been dropping consistently over the past two seasons after he recorded a career-high 21 goals in 2014-15.
Season
Games
Goals
Shots
Shots/GP
2014-15
82
21
292
3.6
2015-16
82
16
248
3
2016-17
47
7
108
2.3
His shooting percentage (6.5) sits at half a percent lower than his career average (7.0), meaning a barrage of shots on net down the stretch could bring him on pace for the 15-20 goal range.
The Senators sit second in the Atlantic Division at the break, but rank 11th in the Eastern Conference with 127 goals. A bump from Karlsson would go a long way to securing a playoff spot.
theScore's new series, "The Noise," is published every Monday. It kicks off each week with a quick look at three teams or players making headlines, good or bad.
When general manager Pierre Dorion added the journeyman goaltender for the price of a fifth-round draft pick in October, the expectation was that he would give the club the occasional spot start while Craig Anderson was on personal leave and in relief of Andrew Hammond.
Three months later, we have tweets like this:
Another win for Mike Condon, season-saving pickup by rookie GM Pierre Dorion
This came after a shootout win over rival Toronto, and a day before Condon allowed seven goals in an overtime loss to Columbus. The latter result aside, the fact Condon was pressed into back-to-back starts is evidence of how heavily the Senators have relied on him with Anderson away and Hammond sidelined by an ankle injury.
Ottawa sits second in the Atlantic Division, a place in the standings that would be far less secure without the 13 wins and three shutouts Condon's posted in 23 starts for the Senators this season.
When Anderson returns and Hammond gets healthy, Dorion will have a big decision on his hands.
The other Conor
In need of some inspiration on a Monday? Consider the following:
Conor Sheary went from being an undrafted college free agent to riding shotgun with Sidney Crosby within two years. Anything is possible.
Over the past week, 24-year-old Conor Sheary led the NHL with six goals and three assists in four games, boosting his season totals to 17 goals and 34 points in 39 games played mostly on Sidney Crosby's left wing.
Sheary's production has surprised even Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan.
"I'm not going to sit here and suggest to you that I thought he'd have 17 goals halfway through the season, but I knew he could play in this league and I felt strongly that he could be a solid player at the NHL level," Sullivan said, according to Jonathan Bombulie of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "I think his game is just growing by the day."
Speaking of Sheary, his latest two goals came at the expense of the Boston Bruins, a team that has lost its past four games, leaving head coach Claude Julien to answer questions about his job security.
His response following Sunday's 5-1 loss to Pittsburgh spoke volumes about the state of the club.
Claude: "This is a team that needs all 20 guys going to win. We don't have enough talent to think we can get away with a mediocre game."
Julien is not alone in pinning Boston's struggles more on roster composition than the system being employed by the coaching staff, but the reality is that the Bruins are facing a third straight season out of the playoffs, and that could lead to a change behind the bench, at the very least.
While the Bruins sit third in the Atlantic Division, they're the only team in the NHL to have played 50 games, and in terms of point percentage, they rank 11th out of the 16 Eastern Conference teams.
Boston hosts Detroit and Pittsburgh prior to the All-Star break - two games that could determine the Bruins' short- and long-term future.
