Category Archives: Hockey News

Puljujarvi touts Edmonton as ‘real hockey town’ after Columbus snub

Jesse Puljujarvi dropped the mic after dropping to fourth overall at the NHL draft.

Expected to be selected third by the Blue Jackets, the Finnish forward is now property of the Edmonton Oilers after Columbus decided instead to pick Pierre-Luc Dubois, who they had tabbed all along as their man.

Puljujarvi's reaction?

Edmonton will travel to Columbus for a game on Jan. 3, 2017, where Blue Jackets fans may get their first chance to prove to Puljujarvi that they do indeed live in a hockey town.

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Wild make qualifying offers to Dumba, Kuemper, Zucker, 4 others

The Minnesota Wild made qualifying offers to seven players before the NHL draft's second round began Saturday.

Defenseman and former first-round pick Matt Dumba headlines the group after a career-best 26-point campaign last season, while goaltender Darcy Kuemper was also qualified despite being the subject of trade rumors.

Forwards Jason Zucker, Zac Dalpe, Jordan Schroeder, and Tyler Graovac, and defenseman Zach Palmquist were also qualified.

Meanwhile, the Wild announced five players who did not receive qualifying offers: goaltender Brody Hoffman and forwards Brett Bulmer, Raphael Bussieres, Jared Knight, and Scott Sabourin.

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Report: Sharks beginning extension negotiations with Burns, Hertl

The San Jose Sharks have begun the process of locking up their star defenseman.

The team's in the preliminary phase of discussions with Brent Burns on a contract extension, TSN's Bob McKenzie reported during Saturday's "Insider Trading" segment.

The Sharks have also started contract negotiations with forward Tomas Hertl, according to McKenzie.

Burns has one year remaining on his contract before he becomes an unrestricted free agent, while Hertl will become a restricted free agent on July 1.

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Best tweets from 1st round of NHL draft

As the first round of the NHL draft took place Friday, the entire league watched as the newest crop of hockey players donned their new jerseys, and many players took to Twitter to give their take on the night's proceedings:

Toronto Maple Leafs forward James van Riemsdyk was one of many to rave about his team's new jerseys, revealed as Auston Matthews went No. 1:

Florida Panthers forward Quinton Howden watched as brother Brett was drafted by the rival Tampa Bay Lightning:

Jamie Benn considered 6-foot-5 forward Riley Tufte a perfect fit for his squad:

After Nathan MacKinnon welcomed Tyson Jost to the Colorado Avalanche, free-agent defenseman Tyson Barrie gave fans some hope he may be sticking around in Denver:

It wasn't just NHLers commenting on the draft. After NHL Network compared Matthew Tkachuk to Rob Gronkowski, the New England Patriots tight end expressed his excitement for the newest member of the Calgary Flames:

One of many family connections from Friday's first round, Washington Capitals forward Michael Latta provided some advice to cousin Logan Stanley after being drafted by the Winnipeg Jets:

And finally, undrafted Boston Bruins defenseman Torey Krug may have to wait yet another year for his name to be called:

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Report: Senators will try to trade Alex Chiasson at NHL draft

The Ottawa Senators are looking to deal in Buffalo.

With the hockey world gathered at First Niagara Center for the NHL draft, general manager Pierre Dorion will try to trade winger Alex Chiasson before heading home, according to Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun.

A few teams are believed to have expressed interest in the 25-year-old, who has recorded 19 goals and 21 assists in 153 games since being acquired from the Dallas Stars in the Jason Spezza trade.

Chiasson, a restricted free agent, made $1.2 million on a one-year contract in 2016-17.

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NHL Rumor Mill – June 25, 2016

Updates on Steven Stamkos, Kevin Shattenkirk, Ben Bishop and many more in your NHL rumor mill.  Stamkos, Shattenkirk, Bishop, Reimer. TSN:  Pierre LeBrun reports Tampa Bay Lightning center Steven Stamkos, a pending unrestricted free agent, can now speak with other clubs. However, Lightning GM Steve Yzerman said all avenues remain open to re-sign him. He […]

Blue Jackets always planned on selecting Dubois with 3rd pick

The Columbus Blue Jackets stuck to their script.

While it was widely expected that general manager Jarmo Kekalainen would call the name of Finnish forward Jesse Puljujarvi when announcing the third overall selection at the NHL draft on Friday, the Blue Jackets instead decided to pick Pierre-Luc Dubois, the top-ranked North American skater.

Apparently, though, that was the plan all along.

"(Dubois) is the guy we had our eye on all year," Kekalainen said of the selection, according to Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Post-Dispatch. "He was No. 3 on our list. He's everything that we're looking for: smart, skilled, big, a player with a lot of character and leadership qualities.

"Very seldom do you get a player where everything checks, where you're excited about him on the ice, but you go through the testing, through the psychological testing, through the interviews, and everything just screams that, yes, this is our guy."

Dubois, who began last season on the wing before switching to center in late December, recorded 42 goals and 57 assists in 62 games with Cape Breton of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

In time, the hope is Dubois can fill the void left at center upon this past season's trade of Ryan Johansen.

"I think I can play center in the NHL," Dubois said. "It was a new position, but I learned fast.

"I want to be the guy you can count on, whether it's power play, penalty kill, whether you're winning 1-0 and losing 1-0, and I think in a couple of years I can be that guy."

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Marc Bergevin: Benning ‘crossed the line’ with Subban comments

After Vancouver Canucks general manager Jim Benning revealed he was exploring a trade to acquire defenseman P.K. Subban, Montreal Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin wasn't going to let that go without consequences.

"I was not happy and I’m still not happy about that," Bergevin said Friday, per Jason Botchford of the Vancouver Sun.

Bergevin filed a complaint with the league regarding Benning's radio interview. "The league is looking into it," he said.

Related: NHL looking into tampering complaint after Benning's comments

Benning also said he planned to call Steven Stamkos' agent when the free agent interview period begins Saturday. After the NHL spoke with Benning about the tampering allegations, he refused to discuss any players that belonged to other organizations.

"He crossed the line," Bergevin said. "I don't know where the line was crossed but he definitely crossed the line. It can't happen."

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Alter: Drafting Matthews at No. 1 puts Maple Leafs in accelerated rebuild

BUFFALO - It wasn't very different than your typical drive down the Queen Elizabeth Way to see the Toronto Maple Leafs in Buffalo. The First Niagara Center venue was the same, except this time, the trip wasn't to play the Sabres, but to pick up the future of the franchise.

Auston Matthews got a full dose of what it was like to be a Maple Leaf on Friday night. The Buffalo fans were hostile when Toronto took the podium to select its first overall selection, while Maple Leafs fans were passionate - especially a row of them wearing "Auston 20:16" t-shirts.

Change is good

Toronto's management team has been hard at work over the last two years putting the right pieces together to transform its team. First, Brendan Shanahan became team president. After gutting the front office and hiring new bodies, Toronto lured Mike Babcock out of Detroit in May 2015. The team was filled out when Lou Lamoriello was named general manager in July of last year.

On Friday, once Lamoriello passed the microphone to director of player personnel Mark Hunter to announce Toronto's first No. 1 pick since 1985, it was finally official. Matthews was a Toronto Maple Leaf. He embraced his family and friends, who got him to this point. The kid from Arizona, who made a stop in Switzerland, will now ply his trade in the pressure cooker that is Toronto.

"It’s going to be an adjustment for sure, but I think it's something that I can handle well," Matthews said. "Over time, I'll get better at it."

On stage, Matthews became the first player to wear the new Maple Leafs' jersey emblazoned with the club's new logo. The moment was symbolic of the transformation the franchise has gone through over the past year.

Pain and patience

Judging by fan sentiment during the 2015-16 rebuilding season in which Toronto finished last, Matthews should have a lot of rope to get acquainted with the NHL. However, given recent moves the Maple Leafs have made, the need to produce wins will be significantly higher than last season.

But Matthews can't do it alone.

"Hockey is a team game, there really is no savior," Matthews said. "I want to be an impact player. A centerman, a No. 1 centerman in the NHL, that's my ultimate goal."

The Maple Leafs have ensured a crop of young talent will surround Matthews as he adjusts. Skilled forwards William Nylander and Nikita Soshnikov will likely play full seasons with the big club. Mitch Marner is also a candidate to join the Maple Leafs, since the American Hockey League isn't an option.

"Those young guys, Marner and Nylander, are two very special players," Matthews said. "It's definitely exciting and I'm looking forward," he added.

Later in the draft, the Sabres selected Nylander’s brother Alexander, adding another wrinkle to the Buffalo-Toronto rivalry.

Fast forward

The cadence by which the Maple Leafs have built their team has seemingly accelerated, and it all stems from the night of April 30, when Toronto won the draft lottery. Immediately, the franchise saw what could be possible with something it hasn't had in 31 years - first dibs.

Last week, Toronto made a move to solidify its goaltending, acquiring Frederik Andersen from the Anaheim Ducks for a pair of draft picks. The club immediately locked him up to a five-year contract, giving him the title of No. 1 goaltender.

It appeared to be a decision that resembled Toronto goaltending trades of the past, but management was quick to caution.

"Please, be assured that the thought process of the plan is in place, we're not pushing it forward," Lamoriello said in a conference call with reporters after acquiring Andersen. "We've said all along that if we were able to put ourselves in a position to get better and not interrupt what we are doing, we would do it. And I believe that's what we tried to do today."

Comparing Matthews to center Connor McDavid, last year's No. 1 pick, may be a bit unfair, but Shanahan's comments prior to the lottery were quite telling.

"It would certainly speed things up" Shanahan said when asked about drafting first overall would mean. Before he could answer the next question, he added, "I’m sorry, I'm still smiling at that last one."

Shanahan's comments were reaffirmed when Lamoriello looked back on Friday night.

"Today was twofold. This draft gave us the ability to come out of here better up front as far as getting a talented young man who can play center. And also getting a goaltender," the 73-year-old said. "It was because of this draft, we were able to get a goaltender."

Looking ahead

Toronto has clearly been licking its chops since realizing it would be adding Matthews. Now, the focus shifts to free agency, with the window to talk to potential additions opening Saturday.

"Everyone has always told me when (Toronto's) winning, it's the best place to be in the league," Matthews said. "That’s something I'm looking forward to."

With the good comes the bad, but Toronto hasn't given any indication it's deviating too much from the master plan, even if it has accelerated quite a bit since that fateful night in late April.

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