Columbus Blue Jackets head coach Mike Babcock denied allegations made by a podcast Tuesday that he forced players to show them photos on their phones and then projected them onto a larger screen.
Paul Bissonnette, the former NHLer and current TV analyst and host of "Spittin' Chiclets," mentioned claims from an anonymous player about Babcock previously making the request and a recent one pertaining to the Blue Jackets.
"This player who texted me said he has about 20 stories exactly like the one I'm about to tell you ... (Babcock) called in players from his team and he'll say, 'Let me see your phone. Open up your photos and I want to see who you are as a person,'" Bissonnette said on Tuesday's show.
"So the players in the past have obviously handed over their phone, they plug it in - I think the video coach plugs it in - and then they bring it up on a flatscreen and he goes through the camera roll on your phone."
Bissonnette said one of the first things Babcock did upon getting to Columbus was ask team captain Boone Jenner to show the bench boss his phone for that reason.
Later on Tuesday, Babcock acknowledged requesting photos from players but denied how the process was portrayed on the podcast.
"While meeting with our players and staff I asked them to share, off their phones, family pictures as part of the process of getting to know them better," the head coach said in a statement. "There was absolutely nothing more to it than that.
"The way this was portrayed on the Spittin' Chiclets podcast was a gross misrepresentation of those meetings and extremely offensive. These meetings have been very important and beneficial, not only for me but for our players and staff as well, and to have them depicted like this is irresponsible and completely inaccurate."
Jenner said Babcock asked for family photos, which he says they exchanged, and the player characterized their first encounter as a positive one.
"While meeting with Babs he asked me about my family and where I'm from, my upcoming wedding and hockey-related stuff," Jenner said in a statement of his own. "He then asked if I had pictures of my family and I was happy to share some with him. He showed me pictures of his family.
"I thought it was a great first meeting and good way for us to start to build a relationship. To have this blown out of proportion is truly disappointing.”
Bissonnette responded emphatically and skeptically to the statements from Babcock and Jenner, claiming he's "had tons of players confirm" the version of the events he described.
NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly confirmed both the league and the NHLPA looked into the matter, according to NHL.com's Nick Cotsonika. Daly said Bissonnette's characterization of what occurred "isn't consistent" with what players are telling the players' association and added none of them felt their interactions with Babcock were inappropriate.
The Blue Jackets hired Babcock on July 1 after firing Brad Larsen in April. Babcock had been out of the NHL - coaching at the University of Saskatchewan before resigning after one season - since November 2019, when the Toronto Maple Leafs fired him.
Babcock has an apparent history of humiliating players. Mitch Marner confirmed in 2019 that when he was a rookie with the Leafs, Babcock asked him to rank his teammates based on work ethic, and the head coach later shared the list with the team.
Chris Chelios claimed on "Spittin' Chiclets" in 2019 that Babcock berated Johan Franzen to the point where the Detroit Red Wings forward had a nervous breakdown during the 2012 playoffs.
Tatar scored 20 goals for the seventh time in his 12-year career last season for the New Jersey Devils. He added 28 assists and averaged 15:07 of ice time while playing all 82 games for the fourth time.
The veteran forward, who turns 33 on Dec. 1, spent the last two campaigns with the Devils. He played the previous three with the Montreal Canadiens after splitting the 2017-18 season between the Detroit Red Wings and Vegas Golden Knights.
The Golden Knights shipped him to Montreal in the trade that also sent Nick Suzuki to the Habs and Max Pacioretty to Vegas.
Detroit traded Tatar to the Golden Knights for three draft picks in February 2018. The Slovakian winger played his first six seasons with the Wings, and then 62 games in the next campaign before they traded him to Vegas. Detroit drafted him 60th overall in 2009.
The Winnipeg Jets handed Adam Lowry the "C" on Tuesday, making him the 10th captain in franchise history and the third since they relocated from Atlanta.
Lowry is entering his 10th season with the club, which stripped Blake Wheeler of the captaincy last September. The Jets then bought out Wheeler's contract June 30.
Wheeler had been Winnipeg's captain since 2016. He succeeded Andrew Ladd, who the then-Atlanta Thrashers named captain in 2010 before moving to Winnipeg prior to the 2011-12 season.
Alex DeBrincat's exit from the Ottawa Senators appears to have stemmed from his desire to be higher on the team's depth chart than the cornerstone of the franchise.
On Friday, Senators star Tim Stutzle strongly hinted at DeBrincat's apparent disgruntlement when asked about convincing players to stay during an appearance on Sportsnet's "32 Thoughts" podcast.
"If he doesn't want to be there, I don't want to make him have to be there," Stutzle said. "That's fine to us. I think the whole group, we've been saying it, we want him to stay. We want him to be part of this group and he's a great guy, great player.
"If you don't want to be there, then good luck on your way."
Tkachuk, the team's captain, posted 35 goals and 48 assists while playing all 82 games last season. He also ranked among the league leaders with 242 hits. DeBrincat collected eight fewer tallies and nine fewer helpers while also suiting up for every regular-season contest.
The Senators traded DeBrincat to the Detroit Red Wings in July, and he instantly signed a four-year contract with his hometown squad.
Ottawa acquired the previously productive forward from the Chicago Blackhawks at the 2022 draft with one year remaining on his contract. He was a restricted free agent this summer but reportedly wasn't interested in inking an extension with the Senators.
DeBrincat racked up 41 goals and 37 assists with Chicago in 2021-22, tying the career high in tallies he established with the Blackhawks in 2018-19, his second NHL season. His 78 points were a personal-best at the highest level, and the 39 helpers he registered last season represented his best total since he entered the league.
The 25-year-old poured in 32 markers over 52 contests during the abbreviated 2021 campaign. He's been durable as well, playing every regular-season game in four of his six seasons and all but four contests in that same campaign that was shortened due to COVID-19.
Tkachuk is a two-time 30-goal scorer, setting career highs in all three primary scoring categories last season. The Senators signed him to a seven-year, $57.5-million contract in October 2021 after he led the team in points and ranked second in the NHL in hits during the previous campaign.
Ottawa named Tkachuk captain not long after the two sides agreed on the extension, handing him the "C" in November of that year. He's now the club's second-highest-paid player behind Stutzle, who signed an eight-year, $66.8-million pact with the Sens in September 2022.
The Pittsburgh Penguins are inviting Colin White to training camp on a professional tryout, the club announced Saturday.
White spent last season with the Florida Panthers after playing his first six with the Ottawa Senators. The 26-year-old forward suited up for all 21 of the Cats' playoff games this past spring on their improbable run to the Stanley Cup Final.
He collected eight goals and seven assists over 68 games during the regular season, adding a pair of postseason helpers. White averaged a career-low 9:38 of ice time prior to the playoffs, and that figure dipped to 7:25 in the postseason.
The Senators drafted the Boston College product 21st overall in 2015. He signed a one-year deal with the Panthers as a free agent in July 2022 and was a pending restricted free agent heading into this summer. The Cats opted not to issue him a qualifying offer, putting him on the open market.
White tallied a career-best 14 goals and 27 assists across 71 contests in 2018-19. He then inked a six-year, $28.5-million pact with Ottawa in August 2019, but the Sens placed him on unconditional waiviers and bought him out of the final three years on July 5, 2022.
He won gold with the United States at the Under-18 World Championship in 2015, as well as the World Junior Championship two years later. White also helped the U.S. claim bronze at the World Championship in 2018.
The Winnipeg Jets' two biggest trade chips appear to be off the market - at least for now.
When asked about Connor Hellebuyck on Friday, general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff said he expects the Jets goaltender to be in the opening-night lineup and isn't seeking to deal him or fellow pending unrestricted free agent Mark Scheifele.
“The narrative took on a life of its own,” Cheveldayoff said, according to The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun and Michael Russo. “Obviously we made some changes to our organization and we think we’re situated to be in a real good, competitive spot."
The GM also said the team and the two players in question have talked over the summer and plan to meet in-person when training camp opens later in September.
In June, it was reported Hellebuyck wasn't interested in signing an extension with Winnipeg. Not long after that, another report indicated the Jets had a conversation with the New Jersey Devils about the three-time Vezina Trophy finalist and 2019-20 recipient of the honor.
The organizational change Cheveldayoff is referring to began later that month, when he signed and then shipped disgruntled forward Pierre-Luc Dubois to the Los Angeles Kings for Gabriel Vilardi, Alex Iafallo, Rasmus Kupari, and a second-round pick in next year's draft. A few days later, the Jets bought out former captain Blake Wheeler's contract.
“Our singular focus is winning,” Cheveldayoff said Friday. “That’s what we’re all about. So every challenge that we approach, every opportunity, or every time we get a chance to look at a different situation, it’s about putting us in the best perspective, the best place to win. That hasn’t changed and it won’t change for our organization.”
Hellebuyck has spent his entire eight-year career with the Jets, who drafted him 130th overall in 2012. The 30-year-old American has been Winnipeg's unquestioned starter since 2016-17. He's been a model of consistency and elite play for much of that time, posting a .916 career save percentage in addition to his frequent appearances on Vezina ballots.
Scheifele has been one of the most reliable offensive centers in the league for years in his own right. The Canadian, who's also 30, racked up a career-high 42 goals and added 26 assists over 81 games last season.
Hellebuyck's cap hit is $6,166,666, while Scheifele is on the books at $6.125 million, according to CapFriendly.
It's been another eventful offseason in the NHL. Many of this summer's moves can be justified - but some left a lot to be desired.
The Toronto Maple Leafs raised eyebrows by signing aging enforcer Ryan Reaves (who'll be 37 in January) to a three-year contract. The Los Angeles Kings shipped promising defenseman Sean Durzi to the Arizona Coyotes - who could flip him to one of the Kings' rivals at the trade deadline - for a mere second-round pick. The Ottawa Senators gave historically mediocre (until last season's small sample) ex-Kings goalie Joonas Korpisalo a five-year deal.
Those weren't even the most perplexing decisions made by the league's general managers. Here are five offseason happenings that had us scratching our heads:
Sharks get underwhelming return for Karlsson
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The fact that the San Jose Sharks traded Erik Karlsson wasn't surprising in the least. The swap had been in the works for months and seemed inevitable by the end of the 2022-23 season. By the time August rolled around, it was simply a matter of where the reigning Norris Trophy winner would end up.
What was bizarre about the transaction - once the Pittsburgh Penguins and Montreal Canadiens completed it with San Jose on Aug. 6 - was just how little the Sharks got back. San Jose received Mikael Granlund and Jan Rutta from the Pens, Mike Hoffman from the Habs, and a first-round selection in next year's draft that's top-10 protected.
The Penguins likely weren't going to pick in the top 10 regardless - especially after landing Karlsson - but still. Landing only that pick was a major disappointment for the Bay Area-based club. In addition, all three players Grier acquired are on the wrong side of 30 and will simply be roster fillers preventing younger players with more upside from getting opportunities to grow on the rebuilding squad.
Grier did minimize the percentage of Karlsson's contract the Sharks will retain - they'll only be on the hook for $1.5 million per season through 2026-27. But the Sharks needed to get more prospects and real assets considering they were trading a superstar.
Avalanche knock on Wood with 6-year deal
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Colorado Avalanche GM Chris MacFarland had a solid offseason as a whole, but one of his moves stands out as a real puzzler. The 2021-22 Stanley Cup champions brought in Miles Wood on a six-year pact with an average annual value of $2.5 million. Yes, the AAV is quite digestible, but why does Wood deserve a contract that's two years shy of the maximum term?
The answer, apparently, is that Wood is 6-foot-2 and weighs 195 pounds. "I think Miles is a big-body winger that can skate," MacFarland said upon signing him. The GM also noted Wood's "wrecking-ball" style of play and clearly considered physicality up front a team need. But in an offseason where shorter-term deals have been the rule and not the exception, why commit to a one-dimensional player like Wood through 2028-29?
Wood's AAV might look good in the future with the cap rising, especially if he excels. His offensive numbers should increase given his new teammates, but this is a player who, in seven full seasons, only scored more than 13 goals twice. His career-high of 19 came six years ago. It's not all about goals and points, but Wood's career best in the latter category is 32, which he posted in that same 19-goal campaign.
The Buffalo-born forward has been slowed by injuries at various points in his career. But that's another reason why handing him a six-year contract is a bad idea. We may never see a stranger overpay than the Lightning giving up five draft picks for Tanner Jeannot, but Wood's new deal could come close.
What exactly are the Predators doing?
Jeff Vinnick / National Hockey League / Getty
No one doubts Barry Trotz's qualifications as a head coach, but his early performance as a GM is about what you'd expect from someone who's never held the job at the NHL level before. He and his Nashville Predators have had a strange summer.
However, Trotz isn't solely to blame. Nashville's bewildering offseason actually started before the now-retired David Poile handed him the reins on July 1. One week before free agency opened, the Preds sent Ryan Johansen to Colorado for the rights to Alex Galchenyuk - who they didn't ultimately sign - while retaining half of Johansen's $8-million cap hit for the next two seasons. Then, on June 30, Nashville bought out Matt Duchene, who had the same cap hit but for three more campaigns.
So the Predators are rebuilding, right? Well, a team built around Filip Forsberg, Roman Josi, and Juuse Saros can't just tear it down. So they signed the still-effective but 32-year-old Ryan O'Reilly to a four-year agreement, another veteran ex-Maple Leaf in Luke Schenn for three years, and Gustav Nyquist (a 34-year-old who was limited to 51 games last season due to injury) to a two-year pact.
Nashville needed to improve significantly on paper to return to its status of years gone by as a Stanley Cup contender. But this team appears destined to once again battle for a wild-card spot and face a tough first-round matchup - if it even qualifies for the playoffs.
Lamoriello's obsession with term goes too far
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New York Islanders president of hockey operations and GM Lou Lamoriello has no shame. This much we know from following his decades of experience running NHL teams. He's never been shy about locking players into long-term deals, which is fine when it's a star like winger Mathew Barzal (eight years, $73.2 million last October), center Bo Horvat (eight years, $68 million in February), or goaltender Ilya Sorokin (eight years, $66 million on July 1).
But someone needed to grab Lou's phone before he inked Pierre Engvall to a seven-year pact on free agency's opening day. Engvall's AAV is only $3 million because of the length of the deal, and again, that will look better with the cap rising. But committing to a bottom-six forward until he's 34 is ill-advised. To make matters worse, Lamoriello also signed Scott Mayfield - a soon-to-be 31-year-old third-pairing defenseman - to a seven-year contract of his own at $3.5 million annually.
The Islanders are built around defense, so Lamoriello inking blue-liners Adam Pelech (eight years, $46 million in August 2021) and Ryan Pulock (eight years, $49.2 million two months later) didn't seem as misguided at the time. But New York now has seven players signed through 2028-29, with six of them on the books through the following season and three of them under contract until at least the conclusion of 2030-31. That won't end well if they decline at the typical rate or get derailed by injuries as they age.
Red Wings fail to learn from Copp blunder
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Steve Yzerman is not the same GM with the Detroit Red Wings that he was with the Tampa Bay Lightning. The first major hint came in July of last year when he signed overachieving Michigan-born free-agent forward Andrew Copp to a five-year deal at $5.625 million annually.
Copp found his game as a multi-positional offensive contributor over parts of two seasons - his final ones with the Winnipeg Jets - before they traded him to the New York Rangers at the 2021-22 deadline. He posted over a point per game with the Blueshirts down the stretch of that regular season and then had a great postseason, too. But after cashing in with the Wings, the local boy collected only nine goals and 33 assists while posting subpar underlying numbers over 82 games last season.
Fast-forward to July 1, 2023. Yzerman signed eight players that day, but he gave the most money and longest term (five years, $25.5 million) to J.T. Compher, a similarly versatile but limited forward. Compher came off a career year offensively, having produced 52 points in 82 games with the Colorado Avalanche. He's a fairly dependable second-line center and proved he can play on the top line when necessary.
But the Red Wings now pay their middle-six pivots, Compher and Copp, more than $5 million each for five and four more seasons, respectively. Yzerman traded for and extended Alex DeBrincat eight days later, but handing out significant term and money to middle-of-the-lineup players like Compher could haunt the GM if Detroit eventually develops into a contender.
The Buffalo Sabres are exploring ways to give local supporters an advantage when buying tickets for their games.
A new experiment by the club will likely give preference to in-market fans based on their ZIP code, according to The Buffalo News' Mike Harrington.
"Obviously, last year, there were a handful of games where we saw the wrong color blue or the wrong color red coming into the building, depending on the jersey we were wearing," Sabres vice president of sales and service Frank Batres-Landaeta told Harrington. "It's something that we've been talking about and discussing and trying to figure out: How do we get tickets in the hands of Buffalo fans?"
The Sabres won't fully restrict people from other areas from purchasing tickets to Buffalo's KeyBank Center, but the team's goal is to put them behind locals in line.
"There will be a presale for Buffalo-area fans within our database to go in and purchase tickets before any other fans outside of our dedicated marketing area will get access," Batres-Landaeta said. "We're hopeful this experiment will work. It's part of the conversations with (Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams), and making sure we're having that dialogue is important."
Fans from cities like Toronto, Montreal, and Pittsburgh frequently flock to Buffalo because - particularly in the first two cases - getting tickets to the opponent's building is easier and cheaper.
Whether the Sabres' plan, which isn't official yet, will succeed remains to be seen. But it's often failed in other cities when teams try to keep visiting fans out during the playoffs.
"It's not going to work," Nick Giammusso, the Buffalo-based owner of ticket reseller VIP Tix, told The Toronto Star's Kevin McGran. "Season-ticket holders are used to selling their tickets to fans from southern Ontario. It's a big payday. It ends up helping them pay their season-ticket bill to the Sabres."
The Sabres' home record ranked 27th in the NHL last season at 17-20-4. However, they won 25 of their 41 road games. The home struggles included a 6-3 loss to the Maple Leafs on Feb. 21, in which Toronto fans dominated the crowd and cheered wildly when their team exploded to an early 4-0 lead. Applause also overwhelmed the booing as the teams skated off for the first intermission.
We've reached the point in the offseason when things typically slow to a crawl, so it's time to have a little fun.
Connor Bedard is poised to enter and excel in the NHL after the Chicago Blackhawks drafted him first overall. Connor McDavid is the best active player in the world, coming off his second Hart Trophy-winning season in three years and the third MVP nod of his career.
The league's abundance of elite Connors doesn't end there. Fans in Winnipeg know all about them. The Jets boast not one but two stellar players who go by that name, with perennially underrated sniper Kyle Connor and consistently dependable goaltender Connor Hellebuyck.
There are so many Connors in the NHL that we wondered how a team full of them would look and fare. But despite the high-level talent at the top, there weren't quite enough players who use the more common spelling, so we decided to allow single "n" Conors, as well.
Without further ado, let's explore the would-be roster for this hypothetical squad on which every active player shares a first or last name with each of their teammates.
Forwards
Codie McLachlan / Getty Images Sport / Getty
Left wing
Center
Right wing
Kyle Connor (WPG)
Connor McDavid (EDM)
Connor Brown (EDM)
Conor Sheary (TBL)
Connor Bedard (CHI)
Conor Garland (VAN)
Drew O'Connor (PIT)
Connor Dewar (MIN)
Logan O'Connor (COL)
Connor Zary (CGY)
Connor McMichael (WAS)
Connor Bunnaman (UFA)
Conor Geekie (ARI)
The top six is clearly formidable. Garland might make more sense on the top line to some, but Brown and McDavid played together in junior and recently reunited when the Edmonton Oilers signed Brown as a free agent on July 1.
Bedard hasn't played a minute in the league yet. However, his sky-high potential cements him as the second-line center between a pair of experienced wingers. The bottom six leave something to be desired, but it's not bad considering the limitations in forming this roster. We made another exception by including the two O'Connors, and this third line isn't terrible as a result.
The fourth line is thin, with a trio who played primarily in the AHL this past season. Zary is a center by preference, but he played as a left-winger in junior. Bunnaman, also a left-shot center, has to play out of position by necessity here. Zary gets to line up on his strong side because he's coming off a 21-goal, 58-point effort over 72 games with the Calgary Wranglers.
Geekie has no NHL experience, but the 19-year-old - whom the Arizona Coyotes drafted 11th overall last year - impressed over his previous two WHL seasons with the Winnipeg Ice. He's also older than Connor Hvidston, a winger with seven games of AHL experience who turns 19 in September and whom the Anaheim Ducks chose 139th in the same draft.
Defensemen
Stacy Revere / Getty Images Sport / Getty
Left defense
Right defense
Connor Clifton (BUF)
Connor Murphy (CHI)
Connor Mackey (NYR)
Conor Timmins (TOR)
Connor Carrick (SEA)
Connor Corcoran (VGK)
Connor McCarthy (Slovakia)
As the above chart makes clear, defense is the one significant area of concern for this imaginary team. Mackey would play his natural position on the left side, but Clifton and Carrick need to slide over due to the team's lack of depth on the back end. But hey, at least they'd have Murphy and his 10 years of NHL experience to provide leadership and log heavy minutes.
The club has to rely on a less-than-inspiring group to round out the defense corps. Corcoran is a 22-year-old Vegas Golden Knights farmhand who has yet to play an NHL game, while the 27-year-old McCarthy only has pro experience in the AHL and ECHL.
In June, McCarthy signed with Slovakian side Banska Bystrica for next season. We're betting he'd rather play - or even ride the pine - for this star-studded collection of namesakes.
Goaltenders
Jonathan Kozub / National Hockey League / Getty
Depth chart
Player
Starter
Connor Hellebuyck (WPG)
Backup
Connor Ingram (ARI)
Third
Connor Murphy (CGY)
As far as crease tandems go, this team would be in better shape than many NHL clubs. Hellebuyck won the 2020 Vezina Trophy and is a perennial contender for the hardware. He's about as consistent as they come. Ingram is a solid No. 2, though his experience at the highest level is limited.
Murphy - the netminder, not the aforementioned blue-liner - signed with the Wranglers in March after four years in the NCAA split between Northeastern University and Union College. As fun (and confusing) as it would be to see two Connor Murphys on the ice simultaneously, we have a feeling that might not be preferable for this team.
The coaching staff
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Our options are even more limited in this category, but we found our bench boss. Former NHL and WHA winger Cam Connor (seen above battling with The Great One during the Heritage Classic Megastars game in 2003) gets the honor of leading this illustrious group. He's a Manitoba Hockey Hall of Famer and was best friends with WWE legend "Rowdy" Roddy Piper growing up, so that sounds like coaching material to us.
The Winnipeg-born 68-year-old would likely gel well with this team considering all the Winnipeg connections on the roster. He also had a few productive seasons as a WHA player in the '70s. And even though he didn't make much of an impact in the NHL, he learned from legendary head coach Scotty Bowman while playing for the Stanley Cup champion Montreal Canadiens in 1978-79.
Rounding out the staff (remember, there aren't a lot of choices here) is Peterborough Petes assistant coach Patrick O'Connor. He'd presumably be happy to get promoted from the OHL even while keeping the same job description. The English-born leader captained Great Britain's national junior team and won the British Hockey League championship after turning pro.
There you have it. We initially didn't foresee an entire 23-player roster of Connors, Conors, and O'Connors capable of competing at the highest level, but here we are.
Could this team beat an actual NHL club like the basement-dwelling Ducks of this past season or the rebuilding San Jose Sharks after recently trading Erik Karlsson? We'll never know. But despite its defensive deficiencies, we'd give this unique, talented squad the edge against several subpar real-life teams.
Given that the NHL (led by commissioner Gary Bettman) and NHLPA have experimented with numerous All-Star and World Cup formats over the years, why not assemble this group for real and see how it does in a one-off exhibition game for charity? We'd pay to see that, and we know some other people reading this would as well.
Mark Stone may be relishing the offseason and his time with the Stanley Cup, but the Vegas Golden Knights captain is already thinking about the club's quest for a repeat.
"It's been a short summer but a great summer," Stone told NHL.com's Darrin Bauming and Amalie Benjamin. "I'd do anything to do this all over again next year, but I'm excited to get back again."
Stone had his time with the Cup earlier this week, taking it to a children's hospital in his hometown of Winnipeg with family. Vegas won the trophy in mid-June, and training camp is scheduled to start in mid-September. But the 31-year-old wants to hit the fast-forward button.
"We are getting the itch to get back in the gym, getting the itch to get back on the ice," Stone said. "Sometimes you think (a teammate) wants the time off, and then you get a month in, and you're ready to get back. I'm ready to get back."
Stone underwent his second back surgery in a nine-month span on Jan. 31 after injuring it less than three weeks earlier. He missed the rest of the regular season but returned for the playoffs, racking up 11 goals and 13 assists over 22 games to help Vegas triumph over the Florida Panthers in the championship round.
The two-way dynamo has been limited to 80 regular-season games combined over the last two campaigns due to injuries.
Stone has spent four full seasons and part of another with Vegas. The Golden Knights acquired him in a trade with the Ottawa Senators in February 2019. He played parts of seven campaigns with the Sens to begin his career.
