Tag Archives: Hockey

Draisaitl: ‘There’s more important things right now’ than winning trophies

Although Edmonton Oilers star Leon Draisaitl was in the midst of the best year of his career before the 2019-20 season was paused, he admits the personal hardware at stake isn't at the top of his mind at the moment.

"There's more important things right now in the world going on and much more important than winning a trophy or anything like that," Draisaitl told TSN's Darren Dreger on "Dreger's Cafe."

When the season was paused on March 12, Draisaitl was running away in the Art Ross Trophy race with 110 points - 13 ahead of his teammate Connor McDavid. He was also seen as one of the front-runners in the race for the Hart Trophy.

The 24-year-old spent some time on a line with McDavid earlier this season, but ended up anchoring his own. Halfway through the year, the German was paired with Kailer Yamamoto and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and the trio began to wreak havoc on the ice.

"If I told you that I don't like playing with Connor I'd be lying into your face. Getting a chance to play with probably the best player in the world, it's special and it's a lot of fun, no question," Draisaitl added. "But you know the line that I had at the end there with Yamo and Nuge, we've been clicking and I think it made our team more dangerous and that's what we all want - we want a dangerous team and we don't want one dangerous line."

Draisaitl amassed 43 goals and 67 assists before the stoppage. Sitting fourth in the league in goals, he was also starting to sneak into the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy race.

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Report: NHL team facilities must open around same time for players to return

Find out the latest on COVID-19's impact on the sports world and when sports are returning by subscribing to Breaking News push notifications in the Sports and COVID-19 section.

If the NHL does eventually return to the ice to finish off the 2019-20 season, teams won't be getting an unfair advantage in regards to training.

"Phase 2 can't really get started until the large majority of the NHL teams are able to open up and that means players coming back," TSN's Darren Dreger said Tuesday on "Insider Trading."

He continued: "Even though the majority of clubs may be able to open up, unless they can all open up at the same time or around the same time the NHL isn't going to allow players to go to their club facility again until the majority are able to do that."

With different guidelines set in place throughout North America for COVID-19, certain teams may be given the green light from their local government before others to return to work.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said last week that NHL players would not be exempt from the current strict quarantine policies if they enter the country.

Dreger added the NHL is "encouraged" by the markets that are loosening up, and the league is monitoring carefully for setbacks. He added the NHL remains hopeful it will be able to initiate Phase 2 in late May.

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Penguins’ Rutherford: ‘Very tough decisions ahead’ with Murray, Jarry

Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford is set to face yet another tough decision when it comes to managing his goaltenders.

"I'll say this: If we are going to keep both (Matt Murray and Tristan Jarry), we'd have to move a few things around on our team," Rutherford said, according to The Athletic's Josh Yohe. "There is a way to do things and to make that work, yes. There are some very, very tough decisions ahead."

Murray and Jarry, both 25, are set to be restricted free agents at the conclusion of the 2019-20 season. With more than $68 million already committed to the Penguins' 2020-21 roster, keeping the pair will be an even bigger challenge with so much uncertainty surrounding the future of the salary cap.

Rutherford compared the current situation to a similar one he faced in 2017 when he let longtime goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury go to the Vegas Golden Knights in the expansion draft.

"Letting (Fleury) go was really tough," Rutherford said. "I'd have loved to have kept them both (Murray and Fleury). Both great goaltenders, both championship goaltenders. But with Marc-Andre's cap number, it was just too hard to do without disrupting the rest of the team. And we may be in that place again. The cap isn't going up. No way is that happening. But we don't know precisely what it will be. And we know we have very good goalies in our system.

"So, we have to make some tough decisions coming up."

Jarry greatly outplayed Murray in his first full NHL season. He compiled a 20-12-1 record with a .921 save percentage and a 2.43 goals-against average while earning a spot in the All-Star Game.

Murray, meanwhile, struggled at times. He put together a 20-11-5 record to go with a .899 save percentage and 2.87 goals-against average. Still, the 25-year-old has an impressive resume after previously leading the Penguins to two Stanley Cup championships.

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Leafs’ Holl: U.S. players need ‘concrete plan’ before re-entering Canada

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Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Justin Holl isn't going to return to Canada until the NHL is fully prepared to do so.

"The general consensus amongst American players (on Canadian teams) is that we'll wait until we have a concrete plan before we go back," Holl told reporters, according to The Canadian Press' Joshua Clipperton. "Because you never know if you go back there and then you're sitting around for another month or two.

"Once we have a plan, being in Minnesota, I'll hop in the car that day basically and just drive back and then start that process, and hopefully I'll be good to go."

The NHL season has been on pause since March 12 amid the coronavirus pandemic. Many players left their clubs' cities for their hometowns once the league allowed them to do so while recommending they self-quarantine.

The Canada-U.S. border was closed to non-essential travel for 30 days on March 21. The closure was extended by another month on April 18.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Sunday that NHL players entering Canada would have to follow self-quarantine guidelines "in an extremely strict manner" if the season were to resume, cautioning that such a point in discussions hasn't yet been reached.

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Biggest NHL draft busts: Central Division

This week, theScore will be selecting each NHL team's greatest all-time draft bust. This edition focuses on the Central Division.

Metropolitan (Wednesday) | Pacific (Thursday) | Atlantic (Friday)

Chicago Blackhawks

Dave Sandford / National Hockey League / Getty

The pick: Kyle Beach (No. 11, 2008)
GM: Dale Tallon (2005-09)
Could've had: Tyler Myers (12), Erik Karlsson (15), Jake Gardiner (17)

In the two drafts prior to 2008, the Blackhawks used first-round selections on Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. Beach was supposed to be the physical complement to the two young stars, but as the NHL continued to rely more on skill and less on toughness, the hulking 6-foot-3 power forward was left in the dust.

Beach is the only player to be picked 11th or higher between the 1993 and 2015 drafts to never appear in an NHL game. He had a solid junior career, but fighting was his best asset in the AHL, and that rarely warrants a promotion in today's game.

Perhaps if the Blackhawks were more inclined to prioritize skill, Karlsson would've been the pick. Imagine him joining Duncan Keith, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Brent Seabrook on the blue line? Maybe Chicago's dynasty would've added another Stanley Cup or two.

Colorado Avalanche

Ken Andersen / NHLPA - The Players Collection / Getty

The pick: Joey Hishon (No. 17, 2010)
GM: Greg Sherman (2009-14)
Could've had: Nick Bjugstad (19), Kevin Hayes (24), Evgeny Kuznetsov (26)

If a team's biggest all-time bust is from the latter half of the first round, that means the organization generally does a pretty solid job drafting. But there's no denying Hishon was a major miss. He played in just 13 career NHL games, tallying one goal and one assist.

Hishon had a stellar junior career, but he suffered a concussion in the 2011 Memorial Cup right before turning pro. He ended up missing nearly two years with post-concussion syndrome, which was a major developmental setback.

The 2010 draft wasn't exactly loaded with talent in the back end of the first round, but there were evidently plenty of serviceable NHLers who could've provided far more value than Hishon.

Dallas Stars

Andre Ringuette / National Hockey League / Getty

The pick: Scott Glennie (No. 8, 2009)
GM: Joe Nieuwendyk (2009-13)
Could've had: Ryan Ellis (11), Nick Leddy (16), Chris Kreider (19)

Glennie was a prolific point producer in junior with the WHL's Brandon Wheat Kings, recording 308 points in 252 career games, but his offensive prowess never transitioned to the pros. His AHL career high in points was 39, and he played in just one NHL game. His career ended in 2016-17.

Glennie is one of two top-10 picks from 1993-15 to play in just one game or fewer. Brett Krahn, the No. 9 pick in 2000 by the Calgary Flames, is the other.

Just about any player from the first round of the 2009 draft would've been a better selection, but seeing Ellis go three picks later certainly stings for Stars fans.

Minnesota Wild

Dave Sandford / Getty Images Sport / Getty

The pick: A.J. Thelen (No. 12, 2004)
GM: Doug Risebrough (1999-09)
Could've had: Drew Stafford (13), Devan Dubnyk (14), Alexander Radulov (15)

The Wild have been pretty astute drafters in their existence, but Thelen was a huge swing and miss after never suiting up in an NHL game.

A local kid from Minnesota, the 6-foot-3, 212-pound defenseman had a stellar freshman season at Michigan State University, collecting 29 points in 42 games during his draft year. His sophomore campaign was disappointing, and he was dismissed from the program in 2005 for underage drinking the night before a game and missing a team function. Spartans head coach Rick Comley, who had previously criticized Thelen for being out of shape, said there was more than one incident.

Thelen joined the WHL's Prince Albert Raiders after his tenure at MSU, but he didn't produce like many expected, and he went unsigned by the Wild after his junior career.

To make matters worse, Thelen wasn't good enough to cut it in the AHL, either, playing all but 10 of his 220 career professional games in the ECHL. With back issues and a history of concussions, he retired at age 25.

It's a bad look when the three picks who directly followed Thelen all had productive NHL careers, but it helps that Dubnyk eventually ended up in Minnesota and enjoyed his best years with the Wild.

Nashville Predators

B Bennett / Bruce Bennett / Getty

The pick: Brian Finley (No. 6, 1999)
GM: David Poile (1997-present)
Could've had: Taylor Pyatt (8), Barret Jackman (17), Martin Havlat (26)

Drafting goalies in the first round, let alone the top 10, rarely works out. Poile learned this the hard way in 1999. In his defense, the draft that year is considered one of the worst ever.

Finley was outstanding in junior, leading the OHL's Barrie Colts to the franchise's only Memorial Cup appearance in 2000. He had some quality seasons in the AHL, too, but he never seized his NHL opportunity. In four career NHL games, he posted an .851 save percentage and a 4.70 goals-against average.

The Predators did strike gold later in the 1999 draft, though, selecting Martin Erat in the seventh round. He played in the fifth-most games of any player in the draft class, and was eventually traded for Filip Forsberg.

St. Louis Blues

Doug Pensinger / Getty Images Sport / Getty

The pick: Marek Schwarz (No. 17, 2004)
GM: Larry Pleau (1997-10)
Could've had: Travis Zajac (20), Cory Schneider (26), Mike Green (29)

The Blues have been one of the league's most consistent franchises, picking in the top 10 just twice since 1990. Of those two selections, Alex Pietrangelo (No. 4, 2008) was a home run, and while Erik Johnson (No. 1, 2006) may not be "first overall great," a 776-game career and counting is far from a bust.

There's no denying Schwarz's status as a flop, though. In three AHL seasons he never posted a save percentage above .900, and in six career NHL games he compiled an .809 percentage and a 4.32 goals-against average.

If Pleau was set on taking a goaltender in the first round, Schneider would've been a better selection in hindsight. He's struggled in recent years, but was a brick wall over his first six NHL seasons.

Winnipeg Jets

B Bennett / Bruce Bennett / Getty

The pick: Patrik Stefan (No. 1, 1999)
GM: Don Waddell (1998-10)
Could've had: Daniel Sedin (2), Henrik Sedin (3), Tim Connolly (5)

Since arriving in Winnipeg, the Jets have not drafted any outright busts, so we had to dig deeper into the franchise's roots.

The Atlanta Thrashers had some woeful draft picks, but none worse than Stefan, who's arguably the biggest bust in NHL history. The Czech center played seven NHL seasons, but never surpassed the 40-point mark. In his final campaign, then with the Stars, Stefan took center stage in one of the worst gaffes of all time. It's hard not to feel bad for the guy.

The 1999 draft is considered one of the worst in the league's history, but if Waddell was afraid of selecting one Sedin without the other, taking Connolly, a highly skilled center who was eventually slowed down by injuries, would've been the better choice.

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Panthers sign 2018 1st-rounder Grigori Denisenko

The Florida Panthers have signed forward Grigori Denisenko to a three-year, entry-level deal, the team announced Tuesday.

"Grigori is an exciting, dynamic, and highly skilled young forward who has been a top player on the international stage and served as captain of Team Russia at the World Juniors," Panthers general manager Dale Tallon said. "We are thrilled for his bright future with the Panthers for years to come."

Florida selected Denisenko with the 15th overall pick in the 2018 draft.

The 19-year-old tallied six goals and 12 points through 38 games in 2019-20 with the KHL's Yaroslavl Lokomotiv.

Serving as the captain for Russia at the 2020 world juniors, Denisenko posted a team-best nine points in seven games to help lead the nation to a silver medal.

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GOAT Uniforms: Sunbursts, bruised bananas highlight Part 2 of our countdown

"If you look good, you play good." - Deion Sanders

theScore is counting down the 100 best uniforms in sports history, with a new post every weekday until May 15.

May 4-8:
100-91 | 90-81 | 80-71 | 70-61 | 60-51
May 11-15:
50-41 | 40-31 | 30-21 | 20-11 | 10-1

90. Atlanta Falcons (1990s)

Al Pereira / Getty Images Sport / Getty

The Dirty Bird-era Falcons had a certain swagger about them, and these uniforms helped the cause. With no frills attached, the red trim around the numbers on the black jersey helped things pop, and it all blended perfectly with the simple stripes down the side of the pants. It's a shame Atlanta didn't go back to something similar with its recent redesign.

89. Phoenix Suns (1990s)

Sam Forencich / National Basketball Association / Getty

The Suns' vibrant purple-and-orange color scheme deserves a bold design, and the "sunburst" digs from the Charles Barkley days were the best in franchise history. The giant logo used by Phoenix helped inspire a trend mimicked across the NBA through the '90s, and many of those unis live on today as classics for an entire generation.

88. Arizona Coyotes (1990s)

Robert Laberge / Getty Images Sport / Getty

This uniform just screams '90s, but after relocating from Winnipeg to Phoenix, the Coyotes needed something to stand out from the pack. The Kachina design pays homage to Native American history in the southwestern United States, and the exclusive color scheme looks outstanding on the ice. Modernizing the look and using it as a third jersey beginning in 2018 was a brilliant decision.

87. New Jersey Nets (1970s)

Focus On Sport / Getty Images Sport / Getty

The Nets have sported some of basketball's best and worst looks across their ABA and NBA history, including an acid-washed monstrosity that lasted just the 1990-91 season. The 1970s jerseys, made famous by Dr. J, are a masterpiece of asymmetrical uniform design.

86. Arsenal (1991-93)

Neal Simpson - EMPICS / PA Images / Getty

As campy and polarizing as anything you'll find on our top 100 list, Arsenal's original "bruised banana" away kit, worn in the early 1990s, earned cult status among supporters, and Adidas recently relaunched a modern version. Even the sponsor's logo on the front (JVC is known primarily for developing the VHS video format) adds to the retro mystique.

85. New York Islanders (current)

Mike Stobe / National Hockey League / Getty

The Islanders have had some truly awful, miserable, and downright atrocious uniform ideas over the years, which is difficult to fathom considering how perfect their current home-and-away set is. This was the look the club rocked during four consecutive Stanley Cups wins in the early '80s, and now that it's back, it should never change again.

84. Denver Broncos (1980s)

Focus On Sport / Getty Images Sport / Getty

The Broncos' current navy-and-orange set is a rare '90s design that holds up today, but the best the franchise ever looked was in orange tops and royal blue helmets.

83. Hartford Whalers (1990s)

J Giamundo / Bruce Bennett / Getty

Adorned with a logo that makes the best use of negative space in sports history (once you see the H sitting on the W, you'll never unsee it), these beauties and their unique color scheme are sorely missed in the NHL.

82. Atlanta Braves (current)

Mike Zarrilli / Getty Images Sport / Getty

The Braves have donned dozens of uniforms over the course of a franchise history that dates back more than a century, but their current style is the best of the bunch. The tomahawk underlining the cursive wordmark is as iconic as it gets in MLB, and the subtle red piping surrounding the buttons and collar provides the perfect finishing touch.

81. Los Angeles Rams (1990s)

Lutz Bongarts / Bongarts / Getty

The shades of blue never quite matched between the various elements of the Rams' old uniforms, but the horned helmet is a truly inspired skeuomorphic design. Incorporating the same shape into the sleeve striping is a touch of genius.

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Laraque discharged from hospital after recovering from COVID-19

Find out the latest on COVID-19's impact on the sports world and when sports are returning by subscribing to Breaking News push notifications in the Sports and COVID-19 section.

Georges Laraque is back home after recovering from the coronavirus.

The former NHL enforcer was discharged from hospital Monday after checking in last week following his diagnosis.

"I was really struggling, but just the fact that since (Sunday) I didn't need extra oxygen to breathe, it was really encouraging because you know, gasping for air is one of the worst feelings when you can't breathe," Laraque told TSN's John Lu following his discharge.

Laraque, who suffers from asthma, thinks he contracted the virus while picking up groceries for seniors in the Montreal area.

"Elderly people don't want to go out of the house to get groceries, so I volunteered for them and I did that for them because it was advised for them to stay at home," he said. "So I just took their list of groceries and went to a couple different grocery stores to pick up stuff for them. And when I did that, you know how contagious this thing is, you could be picking up a product, touch your face after and that's it."

He added: "So it just shows you that you could pretty much get it anywhere and you just have to be really careful."

The 43-year-old revealed his condition Thursday, posting a photo of himself in a hospital bed with a caption reading, "I guess I'm not invincible, just got diagnosed with COVID, since I'm asthmatic, not the best news, will fight it off!"

Laraque said shortly thereafter that he couldn't even get up to brush his teeth without struggling and called it "the worst thing ever."

The former forward spent 12 seasons in the NHL, including eight with the Edmonton Oilers. He retired in 2010.

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