Category Archives: Hockey News

Laraque jabs Penner with welcoming tweet to Lucic

Georges Laraque's still instigating.

The longtime enforcer welcomed, honored, and also denounced Edmonton Oilers chuckers of past and present with 140 characters Sunday morning.

Dave Semenko racked up 981 penalty minutes in eight seasons policing for Edmonton, and Laraque tallied 826 over the same time period. In parts of four seasons, meanwhile, Penner accumulated 189 minutes. But he also scored 93 goals and collected 186 points in an Oilers uniform - far more than both Semenko and Laraque, and in far fewer games.

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Patrik Laine signs bonus-laden entry-level deal with Jets

The Winnipeg Jets have agreed to terms on a three-year, entry-level contract with second overall draft pick Patrik Laine, the team announced Sunday.

Laine will net the maximum entry-level base salary under the league's CBA, and can earn up to $3.575 million on an annual basis with $2.65 million in bonuses tied to the agreement.

His earning potential is just $200,000 short of the maximum allowable on an entry-level deal.

The reigning MVP of the World Championship will be unable to participate in on-ice activities at the club's development camp this month, after undergoing a knee procedure after the NHL Combine.

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Panthers sign Reilly Smith to 5-year extension

The Florida Panthers can't stop making deals.

The same day they officially locked down forward Vincent Trocheck to a six-year extension, the Panthers finalized a five-year extension for Reilly Smith on Sunday, the team announced.

The team didn't disclose terms, but TSN's Gary Lawless reports the deal is worth $25 million.

Related: Panthers riding impressive offseason after front-office shake-up

Along with Trocheck and now Smith, the Panthers signed defensemen Jason Demers and Keith Yandle, as well as inking Aaron Ekblad to an eight-year extension in what's been a busy offseason for newly appointed general manager Tom Rowe.

"Reilly was a key player for our team last season," Rowe said. "He is a valuable contributor to our offense and special teams and is an important part of our talented group of forwards."

Smith, a 25-year-old winger, scored a career-high 25 goals last season, adding 25 assists and suiting up in all 82 games for Florida. He also notched eight points in six playoff contests.

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Stars fans respond to Cracknell signing by demanding Ben Bishop

Dallas Stars fans would like the club to acquire Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop.

The Stars announced the one-year signing of forward Adam Cracknell on Sunday, but rather than welcoming the news with open arms, the team's faithful wondered why Cracknell wasn't Bishop instead.

While Bishop has one year remaining on his deal with the Lightning, his name has come up in trade talks. During the draft weekend it was reported that the Lightning had given the Calgary Flames permission to talk the Vezina Trophy nominee.

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Blue Jackets GM content with depth at center

Columbus Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen isn't concerned with his team's depth down the middle.

Kekalainen dealt 23-year-old pivot Ryan Johansen last season to the Nashville Predators for Seth Jones, and disputes the notion the team still lacks a No. 1 center.

"People might say that we don't have a first-line center," Kekalainen said, according to Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch. "But I think we have real solid, 200-foot centers."

Columbus is likely to roll out Boone Jenner, Brandon Dubinsky, and Alexander Wennberg down the middle, with Gregory Campbell and William Karlsson also available.

Kekalainen went so far as to challenge Karlsson's game to motivate him.

"I think William Karlsson is going to get a lot better," Kekalainen said. "I challenged him at the year-end meeting, just asked him: 'Do you want to be a fourth-line center for the rest of your life?'"

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5 former stars who returned to past teams

What was once old is new again in the NHL.

After the first two days of free agency, there appears to be a growing trend of teams becoming more willing to bring back players who once donned their jersey in years past.

The St. Louis Blues have brought back David Perron, the New York Islanders are giving P.A. Parenteau a second chance, and the Toronto Maple Leafs are welcoming back Roman Polak.

The phenomenon is certainly nothing new, but is nevertheless intriguing. That being said, similar moves have also included some of the game's greats.

Here are five former stars who also made returns to former teams:

Mark Messier

After enjoying his first 12 - and arguably his most prolific - years of his NHL career with the Edmonton Oilers, Messier was traded to the New York Rangers ahead of the 1991-92 season.

In his first season with the Rangers, he captured the Hart and Lester B. Pearson trophies. Two years later, he would make Rangers history by capturing the Stanley Cup on a run that included his famous guarantee to win Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final.

Messier would eventually leave for the Vancouver Canucks via free agency, spending three seasons there before returning to the Rangers for the 2000-01 season.

Messier was reintroduced as captain, and would play four more seasons for the Rangers before calling it a career.

Teemu Selanne

After a blazing start to his career with the Winnipeg Jets that saw himset an NHL record with 76 goals and 132 points as a rookie - Teemu Selanne was abruptly dealt to the Anaheim Mighty Ducks during the 1995-96 campaign.

However, all worked out well. Selanne would go on to form an instant chemistry with Paul Kariya and enjoyed great production for five years. But as fate would have it, Selanne was dealt once again, this time to the San Jose Sharks.

Two years in San Jose and a failed Stanley Cup quest with the Colorado Avalanche later, and Selanne rejoined the Ducks; where the rest (506 more points) is history.

Luc Robitaille

Luc Robitaille not only rejoined the Los Angeles Kings once, he did so on two separate occasions.

Robitaille played the first eight seasons of his Hall of Fame career with the Kings before being traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1994. He would spend one season with the Penguins and two with the Rangers before landing back in Los Angeles.

He would put up three 35-plus goal seasons in four years with the Kings, before joining the Detroit Red Wings in pursuit of a Stanley Cup. Robitaille succeeded in his quest, capturing the Cup with the Red Wings in 2002 with a team boasting the likes of Brendan Shanahan, Steve Yzerman, Sergei Fedorov, Brett Hull, Nicklas Lidstrom, and Dominik Hasek.

After a down second year where he amassed just 31 points, Robitaille would return to the Kings, where he would play out the final two years of his career.

Denis Savard

Denis Savard burst on to the scene with the Chicago Blackhawks after being drafted third overall in 1980.

By his eighth year in the league, he had already amassed five 100-point seasons. However, following the 1989-90 season, he was famously traded to the Montreal Canadiens in a deal for defenseman Chris Chelios.

While Savard's numbers started to decline, he still managed to capture the Stanley Cup with the Canadiens during the 1992-93 season. That offseason, he was sent to the Tampa Bay Lightning where he would play just over a season before being sent back to Chicago for a sixth-round pick.

Savard played two more seasons following the trade before retiring at the end of the 1996-97 season. He still sits as the Blackhawks leader in points per game, and third on the franchise's all-time points list with 1,096 to his name.

Ron Francis

While Ron Francis didn't officially rejoin the same team, he did rejoin the same franchise.

After being drafted fourth overall in 1981 by the Hartford Whalers, Francis enjoyed a long tenure with the club, finally being traded 67 games into his 10th season with the team.

He was traded to the Penguins as part of a six-player deal that worked out incredibly well, as Francis would capture back-to-back Stanley Cups in his first two seasons with the Penguins. He would spend eight seasons in total with the Penguins - the most productive campaigns of his career.

Following the 1997-98 season, Francis would sign with the Carolina Hurricanes - formerly the Whalers - as a free agent. He would spend the next six seasons in Carolina before being dealt to the Maple Leafs at the trade deadline in 2004, which was his final season in the league.

Honorable Mention

Brendan Shanahan

Brendan Shanahan was drafted second overall in the 1987 Draft and spent his first four years with the New Jersey Devils.

After a polished career spent with the Blues, Whalers, Red Wings, and Rangers over 17 years, Shanahan agreed to rejoin the Devils midway through the 2008-09 season. There he would contribute six goals and eight assists in 34 games and another three points in seven playoff games.

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Watch: Subban sends his love to Predators on Europe vacation

Let's go!!!!!! 🌊

A video posted by P.K. Subban (@subbanator) on

Nothing can stop P.K. Subban from having fun.

Days after the trade that shook the hockey world, Subban gave a shout out - literally - to his new club, the Nashville Predators while on vacation in Europe.

Tough life, P.K.

- With h/t to BarDown

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