MacLellan helped his team set a franchise record with 56 wins while capturing the second Presidents' Trophy in franchise history. MacLellan's biggest acquisitions this season were T.J. Oshie and Justin Williams, who combined for 48 goals and 103 points during the regular season.
Nill helped his club reach its highest point total in a season since 2005-06, amassing 109 - good enough for top spot in the Western Conference. Nill was responsible for acquiring Patrick Sharp, Johnny Oduya, and Antti Niemi ahead of this season.
Rutherford is the only finalist whose team is still competing in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Not only did Rutherford change coaches this season - firing Mike Johnston and promoting Mike Sullivan - but he picked up depth additions Nick Bonino, Eric Fehr, and Matt Cullen, while also making a huge splash in the offseason by acquiring sniper Phil Kessel from the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Pittsburgh Penguins continue to march while Evgeni Malkin remains quiet.
Heading into Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday, the superstar center is mired in the longest scoring drought of his career.
Evgeni Malkin: no points in his last 6 games, longest single-season scoring drought, regular or postseason, in his career (via @EliasSports)
The Penguins, it should be noted, have gone 4-2 in the six games, a testament to their depth.
Overall, Malkin has recorded three goals and six assists in 12 postseason games, decent production but far below his regular-season career average of 1.18 points per contest.
Seven of those points came in the first round, and Malkin hasn't hit the score sheet since Game 2 of the second round against Washington.
Still, he doesn't seem to be sweating it.
"Maybe I'm not (scoring), but I'm happy how I played (in Game 2)," Malkin said Monday, according to Frank Seravalli of TSN. "I know the puck is coming and I know the goals coming."
Via Corsica Hockey, Malkin ranks fourth on the Penguins in terms of playoff shot attempts (65), behind Phil Kessel (91), Kris Letang (85), and Sidney Crosby (66). In 5-on-5 play, however, he drops to 11th on the team, meaning most of his action is coming on the power play.
Crosby was in a bit of a funk heading into Game 2, but emerged as a hero with the overtime winner. Time will tell if Malkin can break out in his own right as early as Game 3 on Wednesday in Tampa.
SAN JOSE, Calif. - When Peter DeBoer took over as coach in San Jose one of the first tasks he wanted to complete was making sure the Sharks were more than just a power-play team.
Improved depth and 5-on-5 play helped get San Jose back to the ...
Brent Burns had himself a night Monday in St. Louis.
In Game 2 of the Western Conference finals, the San Jose Sharks defenseman scored a pair of goals to help his team draw even in the third-round series with the Blues.
Burns also set the franchise records for most goals and points by a defenseman in a single postseason, and put himself right in the conversation for the Conn Smythe Trophy, provided the Sharks make good on this long-awaited run of playoff success.
Even for non-Sharks fans, Burns is emerging as one of the game's best and most popular players, as well as one of hockey's great characters.
Here's the proof.
The game
For those who haven't been paying attention, Burns has not only established himself as one of the best defensemen in the NHL, he's also been outproducing most forwards since the beginning of the regular season.
In 96 regular season/playoff games this year Brent Burns has 33 goals and 93 points. As a defenseman. Insanity.
Not only is Burns a viable Smythe candidate based on his postseason play, he's already been named a finalist for the Norris Trophy, awarded to the NHL's best defenseman.
He may not overtake Erik Karlsson or Drew Doughty for the award, but he'd certainly be a worthy winner.
The look
At this point, few words are necessary when it comes to Burns' beard.
Last summer the Burns clan left their San Jose home on the morning of Aug. 3, three months after Brent had won a gold medal and best defenseman honors with Team Canada at the 2015 IIHF world championships and two months before he began his 12th NHL season and fifth with the Sharks. For 15 days Brent, his wife, Susan, and their two kids drove around North America, covering some 6,000 miles and stopping whenever roadside attractions caught their fancy.
Really, the only routines came at dawn, when Burns awoke at the campsite and pedaled toward the nearest highway entrance ramp, and at night, when he worked out wherever there was room. He squatted with weighted vests on the porch of a Michigan family they had met at Disneyland. He practiced yoga in the garage of his wife’s family ranch in Texas. He sprinted up grassy hills near gas stations and trained in supermarket parking lots. "Unreal setup at the Walmart," he says.
On top of that, he cooks, breeds snakes, raises Siberian huskies, studies martial arts, carries a deep interest in Asian culture, and is an herbal tea nut.
By all accounts, he's a great teammate, and his vivacious personality off the ice only helps to further endear him to those who fully appreciate what he's able to do during the course of action.
Brent Burns is quickly becoming the face of hockey, wild facial hair and all. Embrace it, because uniqueness is all too rare in sports these days.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - General manager David Poile believes patience might be the remaining ingredient needed for the Nashville Predators to take that "next step."
The Predators are coming off the longest playoff run in their history and Poile no...
The Minnesota Wild agreed to terms on a two-year entry-level contract with goaltender Adam Vay, the team announced Wednesday.
Vay, 22, appeared in three games for the Hungarian team at the World Championship in Russia, including a 48-save performance in a 3-0 loss to the United States. He finished the tournament with a .911 save percentage.
After two seasons in the Western States Hockey League, Vay spent last season with Hungarian club Debreceni HK, leading the league with a .927 save percentage.
MONTREAL - The Montreal Canadiens announced Wednesday that playmaking forward Martin Reway has signed a three-year contract with the club.
The five-foot-nine Reway, drafted 116th overall in 2013 by Montreal, split last season between Sparta P...
"We are very pleased to have reached an agreement with Martin Reway," Bergevin said. "A young forward with tremendous offensive skills, Martin has the potential to become a very good player."
The 21-year-old was selected by the Canadiens in the fourth round of the 2013 NHL draft. He spent the last two seasons with Sparta Praha in the Czech Republic after a two-year stint with the QMJHL's Gatineau Olympiques.
He recently represented Slovakia at the IIHF World Championship, finishing with one assist and a minus-5 rating in seven games.
Nashville Predators general manager David Poile updated the statuses of several pending free agents during his team's end-of-season press conference Wednesday, revealing that negotiations have begun on a contract extension for star forward Filip Forsberg.
"The goal and intention is there on both sides to get him signed," Poile said, adding that he's already working with Forsberg's agent on a new deal.
The 21-year-old set career highs this season with 33 goals and 64 points, but had a disappointing playoff run, recording just four points in 14 postseason games.
