"That's the juggernaut team for me," Brind'Amour said, according to Sportsnet's Luke Fox. "That management (group) has done a great job in the way (it's) assembled that team. There's no weaknesses.
"They play to their identity, which all the top teams do," he added. "You’re going to get high-octane. You've got to be on your toes ... It’s a fun team to watch, not so much fun to play against."
The Panthers lead the Atlantic Division and are third in the NHL standings based on points percentage. Florida has the most points in the league at the break, but the club has played more games than most of the other top teams.
Still, Florida has been a force to be reckoned with this season. The team is tied with the Colorado Avalanche for the league lead with 4.09 goals per game and leads the NHL with 36.6 shots per contest. The Panthers haven't been great at suppressing shots or goals overall, posting the 20th-best rate of shots against and 16th-fewest goals allowed per contest.
However, Florida is dominating the possession game at five-on-five, ranking second in scoring chances for percentage and third in expected goals percentage in those situations, according to Natural Stat Trick.
The Hurricanes sit atop the Metropolitan Division with five games in hand on the New York Rangers, who share Carolina's 64-point total. The Hurricanes are second in the overall standings by points percentage, with a narrow edge over the Panthers.
Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Jack Campbell will become a free agent this summer, but his focus this season is squarely on helping the team succeed.
"I love being a Toronto Maple Leaf,” Campbell said, according to the Toronto Star's Chris Johnston. “Leafs Nation has been unbelievable for me personally, and then supporting our team. The coaches, my teammates, it’s just incredible how spoiled we are, just the support we get from them.
"It’s a dream to play in Toronto and I’m just so motivated to try to help us win. To win in Toronto would just be a dream come true."
In his first season as a starting goalie, the 30-year-old has been one of the NHL's best netminders and just wrapped up his first All-Star appearance.
In 32 contests, he owns a 21-6-3 record alongside a .925 save percentage and 14.19 goals saved above average. Campbell is currently making $1.65 million and will be in line for a significant raise this offseason against the Leafs' minimal cap space.
The netminder said he tries not to think about the uncertainty surrounding his future.
"I mean, I’d love to say absolutely not, but of course we’re all human,” Campbell said.
"I just think to myself, ‘Just go out and compete for the guys.' That’s all it’s about, anyway. Obviously, we all have good days, bad days, but it’s all about just being in the right mindset for your teammates and just competing for them."
The NHL tabbed Claude Giroux as its All-Star MVP on Saturday.
The Philadelphia Flyers captain collected three goals and an assist over two games - including a pair of markers in the final - to lead the Metropolitan Division to the title.
Giroux is the third Flyer to earn the award, joining Reggie Leach in 1980 and Wayne Simmonds in 2017.
The forward's future in Philadelphia is unclear as he's a pending unrestricted free agent. Giroux has spent his entire 15-year career with the Flyers, who drafted him 22nd overall in 2006.
Giroux ranks second all time in games played, assists, and points for Philly. He also sits ninth in goals. The 34-year-old has 15 markers and 20 helpers in 42 contests this season.
The Metropolitan Division advanced past the Pacific with a 6-4 victory to book a spot in the All-Star Game final Saturday afternoon.
The Metropolitan team will play the winner of the upcoming Atlantic-Central clash.
Enforcer Tom Wilson opened the scoring just 13 seconds in. Timo Meier netted the equalizer a couple of minutes later, but the Metropolitan squad carried a 3-1 lead into the intermission.
The Pacific Division tied things up midway through the final frame, but a pair of goals from Jack Hughes and Jake Guentzel ultimately made the difference.
The Metropolitan has won the All-Star Game twice since the NHL adopted the divisional format in 2016.
The NHL's All-Stars hit the ice in Las Vegas on Friday night to showcase their skills. With two brand-new events that took place outside on the famous Vegas strip, there was no lack of excitement from start to finish.
Let's take a look at who won each competition and how everything went down.
Kyrou claims Fastest Skater 💨
Christian Petersen / Getty Images Sport / Getty
All eyes were on Connor McDavid here, but Jordan Kyrou came out of nowhere to win this one. The St. Louis Blues forward clocked a speed of 13.55 seconds, slightly edging out Adrian Kempe's time of 13.585.
Dylan Larkin surprisingly came in second last after posting a time of 13.172 in 2016.
Player
Time (seconds)
Jordan Kyrou
13.55
Adrian Kempe
13.585
Chris Kreider
13.664
Connor McDavid
13.69
Cale Makar
13.834
Kyle Connor
13.851
Dylan Larkin
14.116
Evgeny Kuznetsov
14.559
Campbell, Vasilevskiy win Save Streak 🚫
The Atlantic Division tandem of Jack Campbell and Andrei Vasilevskiy recorded a save streak of nine consecutive stops to win the competition.
However, Chris Kreider scored on Vasilevskiy by taking a page out of Nikita Kucherov's book, using Kucherov's signature move against the Russian's Tampa Bay Lightning teammate.
The NHL took to the famous Bellagio Fountains for a new target practice event. Zach Werenski came out victorious, but Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson was the highlight of the event. She sat in first place until Roman Josi dethroned her, but she ultimately finished in third.
The field for this competition wasn't as dazzling as in years past, but Adam Pelech, Timo Meier, Tom Wilson, and Victor Hedman all cracked shots of at least 100 miles per hour. Hedman came out on top with a 103.2 mph shot. Pelech finished in second at 102.2, Wilson in third at 101.1, and Meier in fourth at 100.1.
Trevor Zegras - who was brought to Vegas specifically for this challenge - followed him up by scoring one of the most incredible goals you'll ever see. Dressed up as Peter LaFleur from "Dodgeball," Zegras walked in blindfolded and somehow scored an absurd spin-o-rama goal.
Alex DeBrincat took a page out of Zegras' book and paid homage to "The Hangover" movies, dressing up as Zach Galifianakis' character. He even brought out Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr to help him out.
Last but not least was hometown favorite Alex Pietrangelo. He may have had the most underwhelming shot, but he evidently had the judges in his pocket to secure the win, considering he didn't even score on his attempt.
The second event that took place out on the Strip was the 21 in '22 challenge. Players were tasked with shooting pucks at a wall of cards in a modified version of Blackjack. Joe Pavelski dominated the competition. He rarely missed any of his shots and edged out Steven Stamkos to take home the trophy.
Sebastian Aho took out his opponents with ease in the final competition of the night. He knocked off all four targets in a quick 10.937 seconds. Jake Guentzel was a close second, taking 12.017 seconds to knock off all of his targets.
Sebastian Aho's flawless four-for-four performance wins him the 2022 Honda NHL Accuracy Shooting competition!
The Boston Bruins will host the 2023 Winter Classic at Fenway Park, the NHL announced Friday.
The league also revealed that the Florida Panthers will host next year's All-Star festivities at FLA Live Arena in Sunrise.
Additionally, the Carolina Hurricanes' previously planned Stadium Series game at NC State's Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh is now scheduled for next year. That event was originally tabbed for 2021 before being postponed due to COVID-19.
If and when the Hurricanes are ultimately able to host the Stadium Series tilt, it would be Carolina's first outdoor affair.
Lastly, the NHL's Global Series will make its return in 2022-23 with games in Czechia, Finland, Germany, and Switzerland. Preseason contests will be held in Germany and Switzerland, while regular-season matchups will be slated for Czechia and Finland.
The remaining teams, dates, and unknown cities for these events will be revealed at a later time. The Winter Classic has taken place on New Year's Day on 13 of 15 occasions.
This will be the Bruins' fifth regular-season outdoor game and the second Winter Classic at Fenway.
The Panthers will host All-Star Weekend for the first time since 2003 when they did so in the same building, which was then known as the Office Depot Center. The club was awarded the 2021 All-Star Game, but that was postponed due to the pandemic. The Vegas Golden Knights got the 2022 event.
The club also completed interviews with current interim GM Kyle Davidson and Carolina Hurricanes assistant GM Eric Tulsky, the team announced Friday.
Mellanby spent the last decade working in the Montreal Canadiens' front office. He started as director of player personnel before moving up the chain to assistant GM. He resigned in November after learning he was out of the running to become Montreal's next GM.
The 55-year-old spent 21 years in the NHL as a player, suiting up in 1,431 games between the Philadelphia Flyers, Edmonton Oilers, Florida Panthers, St. Louis Blues, and Atlanta Thrashers.
Tulsky has worked in the Hurricanes' front office since 2014, beginning as an analyst. He then served as director of analytics, vice president of hockey management, and most recently, assistant GM. The Harvard grad is a widely respected analytical mind in the hockey world.
Davidson became Chicago's interim GM after Stan Bowman resigned from his post in October. He previously served as the team's assistant GM and manager of hockey administration.
The Blackhawks will also reportedly interview former Boston Bruins and Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli.
Chicago is planning to speak to at least five candidates for the job, a source told Powers.
Former Blackhawks players Marian Hossa, Patrick Sharp, and Eddie Olczyk are assisting CEO Danny Wirtz and president of business operations Jaime Faulkner in the GM search.
Wirtz confirmed the team won't hire a president of hockey operations above the GM. The club has also stated it would like to fill the GM role before the March 21 trade deadline.
