Category Archives: Hockey News

NHL Rumor Mill – June 20, 2016

Updates on the Oilers, Sabres, Blue Jackets, Islanders, Ducks and Avalanche in your NHL rumor mill. Oilers narrow options for defensemen. EDMONTON SUN: With the Anaheim Ducks re-signing Sami Vatanen and the Colorado Avalanche claiming they’re not shopping Tyson Barrie, Jim Matheson examines the Oilers’ narrowing options for landing a right-shooting top-two defenseman via trade. He notes […]

NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – June 20, 2016

Possible host change for Hockey Night in Canada and more in this morning’s collection of notable NHL headlines.  TORONTO STAR:  Sources claims George Stroumboulopoulos won’t be returning next season as host of Hockey Night in Canada. His replacement will reportedly be Ron MacLean, the man he replaced in 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS (VIA OTTAWA SUN): […]

Treliving has ‘every confidence’ Gaudreau, Monahan sign extensions

It was a busy week for the Calgary Flames. The club named Glen Gulutzan its new head coach, but general manager Brad Treliving still has a lot of work to do.

The draft is Friday, and still on Treliving's list of priorities are contract extensions for Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan, who are both restricted free agents.

"We continue to work away at it," Treliving said during his media availability at the Gulutzan presser. "As everybody knows, those are two top young players for us that need new contracts. Sometimes these take a little bit of time. This is not unusual, that we're sitting here at this time and they're not done.

"We'll continue to bang away at it. We've got to get to something that makes sense for them and for us.

"I have every confidence that we will."

Gaudreau and Monahan are the present and future of the Flames offensively. Gaudreau, 23 in August, had 78 points last season, and may be the best player to come out of the 2011 NHL Draft, where he was a fourth-round selection at 104th overall.

Monahan's third NHL season was his best. He had 27 goals and 36 assists for a career-high 63 points. He'll turn only 22 on Oct. 12.

Another high-scoring forward that needs a new contract is Joe Colborne. Also a restricted free agent, he put up career-best numbers across the board, with 19 goals, 25 assists, and 44 points.

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NHLers react to LeBron bringing a title to Cleveland

The Cleveland Cavaliers are NBA champions.

LeBron James made the impossible possible on Sunday night, and a number of NHLers were watching the thrilling finish to the most improbable comeback in NBA history.

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A look back at the 2011 NHL Draft: Gaudreau may be best in class

Five years. It's a lifetime in sports. So, ahead of the 2016 NHL Draft, we thought it would be fun to look back at the 2011 draft and commence the second-guessing.

The Edmonton Oilers had the first pick five years ago - obviously. They were followed by the Colorado Avalanche and Florida Panthers, to round out the top three.

Seven first-round picks from 2011 have over 100 points in the NHL. Two second-round picks have hit the century mark, one fourth-rounder, one fifth-rounder, and one seventh-rounder.

The Century Club

Player Team  Round Drafted Number  GP Points PPG
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins Oilers  1 1 313 222 0.71
Gabriel Landeskog Avalanche 1 2 356 246 0.69
Jonathan Huberdeau Panthers 1 3 272 172 0.63
Mika Zibanejad Senators 1 6 281 151 0.54
Mark Scheifele Jets 1 7 227 145 0.64
Sean Couturier Flyers 1 8 350 157 0.45
Dougie Hamilton Bruins/Flames 1 9 260 126 0.48
Brandon Saad Blackhawks/Blue Jackets 2 43 286 179 0.63
Nikita Kucherov Lightning 2 58 211 148 0.70
Johnny Gaudreau Flames 4 104 160 143 0.89
Andrew Shaw Blackhawks 5 139 322 137 0.43
Ondrej Palat Lightning 7 208 232 166 0.72
  • Johnny Gaudreau's sample size is the smallest at 160 games, but he may be the best player to come out of the draft, averaging a superb 0.89 points per game. The Calgary Flames are going to lock him up long term - they don't really have a choice.
  • You can't say the Oilers erred in drafting Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. He's one of only four players averaging more than 0.70 points per game.
  • The other two outside of Gaudreau and Nugent-Hopkins are Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat, who was the fourth-last player selected in the draft. Three months prior to drafting Kucherov and Palat, the Tampa Bay Lightning signed Tyler Johnson to an entry-level contract as a free agent. In other words, the spring of 2011 was one of the most crucial in Lightning franchise history.
  • The Chicago Blackhawks had a decent draft, considering their two first-round picks - Mark McNeill, 18th overall, and Phillip Danault, 27th overall - didn't pan out. While they eventually had to part with Brandon Saad, a Stanley Cup is forever.

1st-round Busts

Player Team Round Drafted Number GP Points
Duncan Siemens Avalanche 1 11 1 0
Joel Armia Sabres/Jets 1 16 44 10
Mark McNeill Blackhawks 1 18 1 0
Stefan Noesen Senators/Ducks 1 21 2 0
Tyler Biggs Maple Leafs 1 22 0 0
Matt Puempel Senators 1 24 39 6
Stuart Percy Maple Leafs 1 25 12 3
Phillip Danault Blackhawks/Canadiens 1 26 53 10
Zack Phillips Wild 1 28 0 0
Nicklas Jensen Canucks 1 29 24 6

The Gems

  • Boone Jenner turned out to be a nice find for the Columbus Blue Jackets. Taken in the second round, 37th overall, he has 95 career points in 185 games, and became a 30-goal scorer last season.
  • The Carolina Hurricanes took Victor Rask 42nd overall in the second round, and he potted 21 goals last season. He's a big piece of the Raleigh rebuild.
  • The Florida Panthers nabbed Vincent Trocheck in the third round, 64th overall, and he broke out in a huge way last season, scoring 25 goals and finishing with 53 points.
  • The Lightning drafted Nikita Nesterov 148th overall in the fifth round, and he played 57 games on the Tampa Bay blue line last season.

According to Hockey Database, 107 of the 211 players (107) taken in the 2011 draft have played in the NHL - 50.7 percent. Almost exactly the odds of a coin flip.

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MacLean to reportedly replace Stroumboulopoulos on Hockey Night in Canada

It appears the George Stroumboulopoulos era on Hockey Night in Canada is over.

The host won't return next season, reports The Toronto Star's Dave Feschuk, who adds that Ron MacLean - the man Stroumboulopoulos replaced - will take back his old gig.

MacLean will continue his duties on "Coach's Corner" with Don Cherry.

Stroumboulopoulos was brought in to attract a younger audience, but with all seven Canadian franchises missing the playoffs in 2015-16, ratings were down across the board.

In November 2013, Rogers paid over $5.2 billion for rights to broadcast NHL games for 12 years.

Sportsnet president Scott Moore refused to comment on Feschuk's report, writing it was "simply speculation."

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Flyers GM Hextall not planning on copying Penguins’ blueprint

Ron Hextall has a plan for his Philadelphia Flyers, and he's not going to waver from it.

Like every other general manager, his goal is to win the Stanley Cup, but Hextall isn't ready to copy the Pittsburgh Penguins' recipe for success.

"The one thing I learned over the years is you have to be very careful being a copycat," Hextall said, according to Tim Panaccio of CSNPhilly. "When you start chasing everybody, you go away from your foundation and the very next year a team that plays a totally different style wins a Cup.

"So you've got to be careful there, You've got to believe what you believe in, stick to your foundation and make little adjustments rather than flip from black to white."

Pittsburgh's strength throughout the postseason was speed and puck possession, but Hextall is relying on a more traditional approach in building a winner.

"I still believe (in) goaltending, defense, and centers," Hextall said. "Build through the middle. In terms of how far away we are ... talk is cheap. We need to keep building here and find ways to get better and allow our success to tell us when our time has come."

Hextall and the Flyers squeaked into the final playoff spot last season, ultimately eliminated in the first round by the Washington Capitals.

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Luongo wishes Happy Father’s Day to ‘daddy’ Marchand

Who's your daddy, Roberto Luongo?

That would be Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand, the notorious but talented pest who bested Luongo in the 2011 Stanley Cup Final when the Florida Panthers netminder played for the Vancouver Canucks.

Well played, Roberto.

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