Legendary broadcaster Bob Cole will be back in the booth for one final go around this season, Sportsnet announced on Thursday.
The 85-year-old will be on the mic for 10 games - starting with the Montreal Canadiens versus the Pittsburgh Penguins on Oct. 6 - during the first half of the schedule, marking his 50th season on Hockey Night in Canada.
"Hockey has been my passion for as long as I can remember," Cole said. "It's been an honor and a privilege serving Canadian hockey fans across the country and being part of the Hockey Night in Canada institution. I'm looking forward to getting to the rinks for this last season, seeing familiar faces and getting out there to do what I love most in the world."
Cole is a member of the Order of Canada and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a recipient of the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award in 1996.
Winnipeg Jets superstar Mark Scheifele envisions a lengthy career for himself because of his meticulously crafted diet and an unrelenting love for the game.
"I want to play until I'm 40," Scheifele told ESPN's Emily Kaplan. "That's my goal. There are so many opportunities now to innovate to get a little bit of an edge, and I'd love exploring that. Doing the right things now will affect me 10 years from now and will give me the longevity to play until I'm old."
Scheifele's mission is sounding similar to the goals made by 41-year-old New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. Brady also cites his regimented diet as one of the reasons he feels several good years are still ahead for him.
"Tom Brady is the best in the world and only seems to be getting better with age," Scheifele said. "Why wouldn't I want to learn from him?"
Scheifele is 25 years old, and he's developed into one of the NHL's top producers. Over his last two seasons, he's registered 142 points in 139 games, cementing his status as one of the league's elite with 14 goals in 17 playoff games over the spring.
Scheifele has a long way to go and is aiming high with his goals. Entering the 2018-19 season, only two players in the NHL - Matt Cullen and Zdeno Chara - are 40-plus years old and still playing.
Winnipeg Jets superstar Mark Scheifele envisions a lengthy career for himself because of his meticulously crafted diet and an unrelenting love for the game.
"I want to play until I'm 40," Scheifele told ESPN's Emily Kaplan. "That's my goal. There are so many opportunities now to innovate to get a little bit of an edge, and I'd love exploring that. Doing the right things now will affect me 10 years from now and will give me the longevity to play until I'm old."
Scheifele's mission is sounding similar to the goals made by 41-year-old New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. Brady also cites his regimented diet as one of the reasons he feels several good years are still ahead for him.
"Tom Brady is the best in the world and only seems to be getting better with age," Scheifele said. "Why wouldn't I want to learn from him?"
Scheifele is 25 years old, and he's developed into one of the NHL's top producers. Over his last two seasons, he's registered 142 points in 139 games, cementing his status as one of the league's elite with 14 goals in 17 playoff games over the spring.
Scheifele has a long way to go and is aiming high with his goals. Entering the 2018-19 season, only two players in the NHL - Matt Cullen and Zdeno Chara - are 40-plus years old and still playing.
Making the playoffs in consecutive seasons in today's NHL is no easy feat.
Each year, the cycle of teams to qualify features some fresh faces, and since we've already guessed who those newcomers will be,let's estimate who they might be replacing.
New Jersey Devils
Nobody anticipated that New Jersey would qualify for the playoffs within a calendar year of drafting first overall, but the feisty Devils shocked naysayers with a fast-paced attack, a collection of breakout campaigns, and an MVP season from Taylor Hall.
Hall's Hart-worthy effort was so dominant that his 93 points were 41 clear of Nico Hischier, who finished second in team scoring despite the former missing six games. Hall will be the central figure in New Jersey's offense again, but the gap in production down the roster is too vast to comfortably rely on the Devils squeaking back into the playoffs.
New Jersey certainly has some nice pieces outside of their MVP. Hischier, Kyle Palmieri and Will Butcher are all solid players, but even in last year's dream season, the Devils only eked into the dance by one point, fending off the charging Florida Panthers. Not to mention, a loaded Metropolitan Division will make it even more difficult for New Jersey to qualify in back-to-back seasons.
Colorado Avalanche
Michael Martin / National Hockey League / Getty
Just call them Devils West.
Mirroring New Jersey, Colorado came out of nowhere last season to claim the final Western Conference playoff spot, and like the Devils, did so on the strength of MVP-level play from Nathan MacKinnon. The 23-year-old's 1.31 points per game trailed only Connor McDavid league-wide, but a middling Avalanche team will need more than his individual brilliance to reach for the postseason again.
MacKinnon's linemates Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen also put forth standout seasons in 2017-18, but Colorado's output as a whole is underwhelming for a team that needs to stay afloat in the Central Division gauntlet. Last year, a 10-game win streak in the middle of the schedule largely inflated the Avs playoff odds. Beneath the surface, the numbers suggest a repeat bid is unlikely.
Even with one of the best lines in hockey on their side, at five-on-five, Colorado ranked 27th in possession at 47.57 percent and 28th in expected goals for percentage 46.29, according to Corsica. However, a gaudy PDO (shooting percentage plus save percentage) of 101.45 was enough to mask their flaws and erase the memory of a dreadful last-place finish 2016-17.
They have the pieces to contend soon - and could make another major addition with the Senators' first-round pick in their back pocket - but don't count on the Avalanche to be in the Western Conference playoff picture this season.
Los Angeles Kings
Andrew D. Bernstein / National Hockey League / Getty
The Kings are an interesting team.
Their core is strong, although not exactly young. They have a world-class goalie in Jonathan Quick and landed a major piece in Ilya Kovalchuk via free agency. So, what's holding them back?
Primarily, it's the pieces supplementing Los Angeles' nucleus. Outside of Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty, Jeff Carter, and Kovalchuk, the Kings lack impact players down the roster. That collection of players is by no means anything to scoff at, but with Dustin Brown's gigantic shooting percentage increase last season, factored in with a less-than-stellar bottom six, L.A.'s offense - which ranked 16th in goals for in 2017-18 - has to be better in order to contend in the Pacific. The Kings face the same problem on their blue-line, which apart from Doughty and Jake Muzzin, features some sizable holes.
Overall, the Kings have the pieces to compete if they stay healthy and things continuously fall their way over 82 games, but that's not exactly an encouraging diagnosis for a team looking to get back to the postseason.
These were the teams no one expected to qualify for the playoffs last season. But hockey gods be damned, they surprised us all and made the dance. Every year the postseason features a handful of newcomers. Here, we venture our best guess as to who those might be in 2018-19.
Florida Panthers
A second-half surge brought the Panthers within one point of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference last season, and they appear poised to build upon their late success and barge their way into the dance in 2018-19.
The team was sunk by a mid-season injury to goalie Roberto Luongo, who recovered to go 12-5-1 with a .930 save percentage down the stretch to give his club a chance. His health will be imperative for the Panthers to be in the playoff mix again. Florida enhanced its odds of a postseason berth with the savvy acquisition of Mike Hoffman to bolster a top-six forward group that also features superstar and new captain Aleksander Barkov, as well as Jonathan Huberdeau, Vincent Trocheck, and Evgenii Dadonov.
However, Florida resides in a top-heavy Atlantic Division that could very well feature the conference's top three teams in the Tampa Bay Lightning, Boston Bruins, and Toronto Maple Leafs. The Panthers probably aren't cut from the same cloth as those powerhouses, but on the opposite end of the division lies a slew of teams much more likely to be contending for a lottery pick than a wild-card spot. Florida needs to feast on its weaker competition to qualify for the playoffs for just the fifth time in franchise history.
St. Louis Blues
Derek Leung / Getty Images Sport / Getty
Like the Panthers, the Blues missed out on the playoffs by a single point, losing five of their final six contests of the regular season, including a crushing winner-take-all Game 82 to the Colorado Avalanche. The skid snapped a six-season playoff streak, but St. Louis, on the strength of a highly active offseason, looks like a threat to compete once again.
After surprisingly shipping Paul Stastny to the Winnipeg Jets at the trade deadline, general manager Doug Armstrong got back on the horn over the summer and acquired Ryan O'Reilly. He'll join Brayden Schenn and free-agent signee Tyler Bozak to make up one of the deepest trios of centermen in the NHL. Armstrong also signed wingers Pat Maroon and David Perron to give his club enviable forward depth on top of a highly reliable blue line built around captain Alex Pietrangelo and Colton Parayko.
The Blues' biggest X-factor is in goal, where Jake Allen will need to rebound from last season's struggles and a .906 save percentage that ultimately led to Carter Hutton taking over the reins as St. Louis' starter. If he can't, there could be significant trouble in the Gateway City. But if he can, the Blues have added all the pieces they need to contend in the deadly Central Division.
The surplus of transactions creates some uncertainty surrounding the Flames, but for the most part, their new additions should play a significant role in helping them rebound from an 84-point output last season and back into the playoffs. The biggest question is whether Hanifin can adequately replace Hamilton on the blue line, but otherwise, each of Calgary's forward acquisitions should help fix its greatest pitfall from 2017-18: offensive depth.
The Flames lacked much of an attack behind Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan on the team's first line. Neal could give that unit two elite finishers and create several enviable options down the lineup, which features mainstays like Matthew Tkachuk and Mikael Backlund along with a new mix of offensively capable players.
The Flames also benefit from a wide-open Pacific Division. Aside from Vegas and San Jose, there's a pack of middling teams vying to claim the third playoff spot, and Calgary appears equipped to be in the thick of the race.
The 30-year-old signed a four-year contract with the club in January 2017 and has three seasons remaining on his current deal at $3.25 million per season. If he clears waivers, he'll report to the AHL's Belleville Senators, which would give Ottawa just over $1 million in salary cap relief, per Cap Friendly.
Smith registered five goals and 14 assists in 2017-18 while averaging over 16 minutes per night. With the recent Erik Karlsson trade, Smith stood as the longest-serving Senator, having played 542 games for the franchise since being drafted in the third round of the 2008 draft.
Byron's new deal will pay him $3.4 million annually beginning in 2019-20, when he was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent. Until then, he'll count for $1.116 million against Montreal's cap as he plays out the final season of his current contract.
The 29-year-old joined the Canadiens in 2015-16, and last season marked his second consecutive 20-goal campaign.
Detroit Red Wings defenseman Mike Green could be out for the start of the regular season as he deals with a virus, head coach Jeff Blashill said Friday.
"He's got a virus that attacked his liver, so he's seen an infectious disease (specialist) today and we should know more here in the next little bit. I don't know how long he's going to be out," Blashill said, according to MLive's Ansar Khan.
Green had surgery in April for a herniated disc but his current ailment is unrelated, according to general manager Ken Holland.
"The day before camp he saw the doctor in New York on his neck, he was totally cleared, cleared for contact," Holland said. "The plan was to ramp him up and play him the two of the last three preseason games. As we got into camp and were on the ice two, three, four days he didn't feel like he had his energy, he felt a little bit fatigued. Our doctors did some initial bloodwork, and now we're trying to get him to see a doctor today or Monday gather more information."
Green signed a two-year, $10.75-million contract in July to stick with the Red Wings. Last season, the 32-year-old recorded eight goals and 25 assists in 66 games.
"It's a real tough situation, obviously, for everyone involved. I feel bad about it. It's not the way I wanted to handle that. It's an emotional game. Obviously, I'm an emotional player. I've known Aaron for a long time. Grew up playing against each other. We always play hard, always battle, whether it was in minor hockey, junior, the national level, and now the NHL, too. By no means did I want to hurt him. I feel bad about it and I hope he's OK. But, you know what, I got to suffer the consequences of it. It's unfortunate, but it is what it is and I definitely respect the league's decision."
The incident occurred Wednesday, Domi's first game in a Canadiens sweater since being acquired from the Arizona Coyotes over the offseason.
Ekblad avoided serious injury but called Domi's actions "stupid" and believes scores will be settled when the two clubs meet in the regular season.
Domi is eligible to suit up for the Habs' regular-season opener Oct. 3 in Toronto.
While settling into his new surroundings on the West Coast, newcomer Erik Karlsson shed some light on the longstanding disconnect between himself and the Ottawa Senators' front office, which culminated in last week's trade to the San Jose Sharks.
"I haven't spoken to any of them really since November of last year when they asked for my no-trade list," the star defenseman told Postmedia's Michael Traikos. "That's the way it is, I guess. That's the only situation I know that's been like this. It was what it was. I was there to play hockey and I did that to the best of my ability with what we had. That's all that I worried about.
"Everything else around it is above my pay grade. That's not my question to ask."
At the time, Karlsson downplayed the significance of submitting his no-trade list, simply calling it a contractual obligation. And he ultimately stuck with the Senators beyond the trade deadline until the end of the season.
Still, if there was indeed no contact between Senators' brass and their captain for the last 10 months, that would mean the club later offered Karlsson a contract extension, reportedly worth $10 million per season, without any direct communication.
Karlsson played nine seasons in Canada's capital, earning two Norris Trophies and four first-team All-Star selections while collecting 518 points in 627 games.
