The Toronto Maple Leafs have acquired defenseman Jake Muzzin from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for forward Carl Grundstrom, the rights to defenseman Sean Durzi, and Toronto's first-round pick in the 2019 draft, the team announced Monday.
"We feel this trade was necessary for the future of the organization," Kings general manager Rob Blake said in a statement. "Moving Jake was not easy as he has been a key player for us and a significant part of our most historic and memorable achievements. We are grateful for his contributions to the Kings and we wish him the best of luck in the future."
Muzzin gives the Maple Leafs an immediate boost to their back end, something the team has desperately been lacking for some time.
Muzzin will partner with Morgan Rielly and allows Babcock to move Hainsey down to 3rd pairing. Will be an excellent resource for Dermott.
The 29-year-old has one year remaining on his current contract after this season with a cap hit of $4 million. He registered four goals and 17 assists in 50 games for the Kings this season after putting up a career-high 42 points last season.
Grundstrom was a second-round pick of the Maple Leafs in 2016 and has posted 29 points in 42 games with the Toronto Marlies of the AHL this season.
Durzi, meanwhile, was taken 52nd overall in last June's draft. This season, he's put up a combined eight goals and 28 points in 26 games with the Owen Sound Attack and Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey League.
After meeting over the weekend in Miami, Milstein called a second meeting with his client before informing the team on Panarin's willingness to negotiate a new contract, according to The Athletic's Aaron Portzline.
The decision puts Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen in a difficult spot, as he must now decide whether to deal the star forward before the Feb. 25 deadline. If he chooses to try and sign Panarin in the offseason, he risks losing him for nothing.
The 27-year-old is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1 and will draw immense interest around the league.
With the Feb. 25 trade deadline looming, Philadelphia Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher is making it clear that he will not be moving team captain Claude Giroux.
"We have a lot of good players here, but I would never say never to almost anybody besides Giroux," Fletcher said, according to Philly.com's Sam Carchidi. "He's probably one of the best players in the history of the franchise."
Although the GM discussed Philadelphia's potential to shake things up at deadline day, Fletcher doesn't appear interested in trading assets for a rental.
"I don't expect us to trade our first-round pick for a rental, but we could both buy and sell," he said, according to NHL.com's Adam Kimelman.
The Flyers sit 14 points out of a wild-card seed in the Eastern Conference heading into Monday night's action. Although Fletcher acknowledged Philadelphia was a long shot to make the playoffs, he remains hopeful the team can earn a postseason berth.
"We're at a stage where we need a big run here," he said, according to Carchidi. "We finished well before the break and we have an opportunity here - six of the next eight are at home - and clearly we need to get a lot of points."
Fletcher has said longtime Flyer Wayne Simmonds - who's a pending unrestricted free agent at the end of the year - could be moved before the deadline if the two sides can't come to terms on a new contract.
BOSTON - When the Boston Bruins lost captain Zdeno Chara and alternate captain Patrice Bergeron to month-long injuries in mid-November, they needed someone new to wear an "A."
And in a decision that surprised some observers, Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy slapped the letter on forward Brad Marchand’s sweater. Yes, the same Marchand who's been suspended and fined by the NHL on numerous occasions, and who'd recently shown up officials by mocking Nashville Predators forward Colton Sissons for embellishing a high-sticking penalty, earning an additional 12 minutes in the box.
"I picked (Marchand) to show that he's a leader, and maybe that'll help him with the refs a little bit if they see that," Cassidy told theScore.
Things didn't start well. After receiving a questionable slashing penalty against the Dallas Stars during his first game wearing the "A," Marchand earned an additional 10-minute misconduct for "waving the white flag" with a towel on his stick - not exactly the behavior expected from those in leadership positions.
"There's times when things go right or things go wrong. I think that things just happen, and I was ending up in the box," Marchand told theScore. "I was definitely retaliating for some things and maybe I wasn’t happy enough with my game or how things were going."
Indeed, Marchand went into a slump when Bergeron was injured, scoring just once in the first 11 games without his linemate. But then - more importantly - he also began to stay calm.
In fact, Marchand hasn't been whistled for a major infraction or misconduct since the Dallas game, and he's spent just two minutes in the penalty box over his last 13 appearances.
"I feel a lot more in tune with my control, my emotions, and stuff like that," Marchand said of his newfound discipline. "Out on the ice, I don’t feel like I’m getting as heated as I was early in the season."
It's a key development for Marchand, who's one of the NHL's most productive players - he entered the All-Star break with 19 goals and 53 points - but who's also served six suspensions and paid three fines since breaking into the league (not to mention his involvement in many more confrontations, including the infamous licking incidents from last year's playoffs, which drew a warning from director of hockey operations Colin Campbell).
"(Staying calm) can easily change in a split second but I wasn't doing a very good job of being disciplined for the group or the team early on," Marchand continued. "So I definitely had to be better at that. I feel that I have been the last little bit. I can’t be in the box every game."
The Bruins certainly hope those split seconds will take place less and less as the 30-year-old Marchand matures. And there's optimism that he can make it happen given his burning desire to succeed, which has already carried him further than most expected.
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Richard Wolowicz / Getty Images Sport / Getty
Considering all the notoriety Marchand's gained since becoming an NHL regular eight years ago, it’s hard to believe he once flew under the radar.
Nova Scotia-based performance coach J.P. MacCallum was there during the forward's humble beginnings - long before the 30-goal seasons, the 2011 Stanley Cup championship, the 2016 World Cup of Hockey gold medal, and the much-publicized run-ins with NHL disciplinarians.
"It's certainly been a wild ride with Brad," MacCallum told theScore.
"It’s been 17 years now, 17 offseasons that we’ve worked together. So starting with when he was a 13-year-old, at the Bantam level in Nova Scotia. He always had the competitive spirit. … You saw the competitive factor, he was a good player, but there was nobody that would've said at the time that he was going to play in the NHL.”
As an undersized player coming up just before the NHL's evolution into a smaller man's game, Marchand wasn't an obvious target for scouts. Still, he committed to proving himself and saw that hard work pay off as a second-round selection in the 2004 QMJHL Draft, and then as a third-round pick (71st overall) by the Bruins in the 2006 NHL Draft. His junior career was highlighted by an 80-point season with Val-d'Or in 2006-07 and two selections to Team Canada's world junior rosters, leading to a pair of gold medals.
"And still the doubters were always there," MacCallum recalled. "The guy that never doubted was Brad. 'I’m going to make it, I'm going to make it, I’m going to do it.' He competes hard for everything and he hasn't stopped. That's what got him on the Bruins and what keeps him there and made him an elite player in the world.”
While following in the footsteps of smaller players like Theo Fleury and Martin St. Louis, Marchand - now listed at 5-foot-9 and 181 pounds - has worked to cancel out his size disadvantage by improving his elusiveness. And to do so, Marchand and MacCallum designed workouts that largely target the forward's legs.
“I think in hockey if you look at a lot of the guys, their body makeup, a lot of them have very big lower bodies,” Marchand said. “That’s a focus nowadays. Before I think a lot of guys worried about their strength and getting big and strong, but the game, the way it is now, it’s all speed and endurance and skill, so you know it’s pretty much all legs.”
Scouts and coaches alike marvel at Marchand’s ability to win battles in tight areas and to pull up on rushes to make plays. The drills he does and the videos he watches - often of other players around league - help him improve and conjure up new moves every summer. In 2015-16, he cracked 30 goals for the first time and finished with 37. That earned him a spot on Team Canada for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, but Marchand wasn’t satisfied with just being named to the elite team.
“If it was possible, his focus sharpened even more (heading into the World Cup)," MacCallum said. "I think he really got a taste of, 'Now I can do it.' Not that he ever doubted himself, but he knew he needed a little bit more focus in the offseason - a little bit more work on his on-ice focus in the offseason could take him to that next level. And when you’ve already got a guy that’s ultra-competitive and finds a way to dial it in even more, you see incredible results.”
Amid a star-laden Team Canada roster at the World Cup, Marchand wound up playing on a top line with Bergeron and Pittsburgh Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby. He helped lead the team to gold while recording seven points in 10 games.
Marchand's positive momentum continued in the NHL, as he scored 39 goals for Boston the following season and another 34 in 2017-18. This year, he's on pace to surpass 30 yet again.
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Mark Blinch / National Hockey League / Getty
There are other sides to Marchand beyond the dynamic two-way player and the noted super-pest. There's the Marchand who paid for a family to attend the 2016 NHL All-Star weekend, which is the same Marchand who once rescheduled a summer training session with MacCallum to work with a young, aspiring player instead.
"He shows this 12-year-old kid, 'Wow, this is what it takes, this guy’s doing it,'" MacCallum said. "And (the kid is) completely baffled that an NHLer is his training partner for the day. But (it was) an incredible experience that kid will never forget."
These days, Marchand's also a family man, as he got married in 2015 and gained a stepson in the process. Now with a young daughter as well, his new responsibilities off the ice are contributing to his maturity as a player.
“It’s no coincidence, you’re committed to a partner at the same time you’re committed to a family. ... I think (it) only increased his focus," MacCallum said.
For their part, the Bruins previously showed faith in Marchand's development by inking him to an eight-year, $49-million contract extension in September 2016 - 10 months before he could’ve become an unrestricted free agent. The deal all but assured Marchand would be a big part of the team for years to come, and it came with the hope that his maturity would catch up to his skill set.
It appears he's now taking that step by accepting a bigger leadership role with the Bruins. It earned him the "A" during Bergeron's absence, and the leadership ability was evident when Marchand took the lead in personally addressing 21-year-old defenseman Charlie McAvoy's tardiness issues this season.
To Marchand's teammates, this side of his persona was always present, but it was often hidden beneath his public image.
"He’s certainly the clown still, but he sometimes wears a different hat while he’s in the clown suit," David Backes, another one of Boston's alternate captains, told theScore.
"He’s a guy that on the ice, he’s got some antics, but they're good-intentioned to help our team win or try to distract the opponent. And when you’re outside the circle and you’re looking at it, especially if you’re not a Boston fan, he's annoying and he’s a pest and you throw darts at his picture on a dartboard perhaps.
“But when you’re in the room, those guys tend to be the best teammates and he’s not an exception there. He cares about his teammates, he’ll do anything for you, and he’s a 'win at all cost' kind of guy, and you love those kind of guys.”
Of course, you don’t reach the heights Marchand's reached without exhausting all means to get there. And it's an approach that will probably push him over the line again, regardless of how hard he tries to stay out of trouble. On the other hand, Cassidy's decision to hand over an "A" - even a temporary one - showed that Marchand's leadership skills and discipline are trending in the ideal direction.
"It’s going to be a process and I’m not going to sit here and say that I’m not going to make mistakes, because I’m not going to promise the world and not deliver,” Marchand added. "So, it's a fine line that I got to watch and work on, and hopefully things can play themselves out the right way.”
Coincidentally, the Penguins acquired Oleksiak from the Stars in December 2017 for the same cost.
Oleksiak was a first-round pick (14th overall) of the Stars in 2011 and spent the first six seasons of his career in Dallas, racking up 22 points in 140 games.
In Pittsburgh, the towering blue-liner appeared in 83 regular-season contests, with 25 points to his credit.
Oleksiak signed a three-year contract with the Penguins in July and carries a $2,137,500 cap hit until 2020-21.
Dan Milstein met with Panarin in Miami during All-Star weekend to discuss the pending unrestricted free agent's future, a plan that was first reported in November.
The meeting holds significant weight for the Blue Jackets, as Panarin already informed the club prior to training camp that he wouldn't negotiate a contract extension in-season.
If the 27-year-old doesn't have an interest in staying in Columbus, general manager Jarmo Kekalainen will have to work swiftly to deal the dynamic winger before the Feb. 25 trade deadline or risk losing him for nothing in the offseason. The team could also opt to keep him for a playoff run.
Panarin is putting together another outstanding campaign, leading the Blue Jackets with 53 points in 46 games. He carries a $6-million cap hit.
Less than a week after Peter Chiarelli was fired as general manager of the Oilers, new details have emerged regarding a potential move that could have altered the club's future.
According to Brooks' sources, the foundation of the trade would have sent McDonagh, a member of the New York Rangers at the time, to the Oilers in exchange for the fourth overall selection in the 2016 NHL draft.
Talks reached a serious stage according to Brooks, but the deal failed to come to fruition, as Chiarelli held onto the pick and selected Finnish prospect Jesse Puljujarvi instead.
Though underwhelming with 37 points in 132 career games so far, Puljujarvi was a consensus top lottery pick, making the decision defensible even three years after the fact. It's what came later that has left a sour taste for Oilers fans, and makes this latest revelation more difficult to grasp.
Less than a week removed from their chance to nab McDonagh, the Oilers made a bold gamble by shipping star forward Taylor Hall to the New Jersey Devils for defenseman Adam Larsson.
The decision to pass on McDonagh and trade Hall, has set Edmonton back at both ends of the ice. Hall went on to capture a Hart Trophy as league MVP, while Larsson has failed to round into form for a young and vulnerable defense core.
The Oilers currently own the league's 19th ranked offense and 23rd ranked defense, with 144 goals for and 163 against this season, despite rostering the game's top talent in Connor McDavid.
For a team that's been mired by poor judgement, this latest discovery adds to the Oilers' laundry list of sliding door moments.
“He’s really trying to work through some things to feel better,” Devils coach John Hynes said. “He is progressing. It’s just not at the rate we or he would have liked or anticipated.”
The reigning Hart Trophy winner has been sidelined since Dec. 23 and has missed the team's last 13 contests. New Jersey is 7-7-1 without Hall in the lineup this season.
Despite the time missed, the 27-year-old winger remains second in team scoring with 37 points in 33 games. He earned the fifth All-Star selection of his career but was replaced at the event by teammate Kyle Palmieri, as the injury kept him from participating.
The Devils headed into the All-Star break fresh off a bye week, and are slated to play their first contest in nine days on Monday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
