CAROLINA HURRICANESdownloads.hurricanes.nhl.com/clips/clips011318.pdf · 2018-01-13 · Caps hand...
Transcript of CAROLINA HURRICANESdownloads.hurricanes.nhl.com/clips/clips011318.pdf · 2018-01-13 · Caps hand...
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Jan. 13, 2018
After 24 hours of celebration, grim reality
crashes down on Hurricanes
By Luke DeCock
RALEIGH
After 24 pretty good hours for the Carolina Hurricanes franchise, Friday night delivered a four-minute reminder that it isn't always sunshine and rainbows in the NHL.
In the wake of a win in Washington on Thursday and Thomas Dundon's introduction as the team's new owner Friday, things were looking up for the Hurricanes, right through the first 56 minutes and change Friday.
Then Noah Hanifin made his second catastrophic late play in the past three games to allow the Capitals to tie the score, both officials missed an obvious lip-splitting high stick on Jordan Staal and Victor Rask lost a faceoff in the Washington zone that allowed the Capitals to go end-to-end and score the winner with 1.3 seconds left, a potentially season-altering two-point swing in 3 minutes, 8 seconds and a 4-3 loss.
Instead of sending another message to the Metropolitan Division – the Hurricanes were 4-0-1 in their previous five division games – by sweeping this two-day set with the Capitals, they were left beaten and bereft. The giant big-screen TV in the locker room was splattered with unknown liquid, a visible sign of the barely hidden frustration.
“It's part of the game,” said Hurricanes forward Jeff Skinner, who scored what should have been the game-winner by turning Washington defenseman John Carlson inside out and rifling a top-shelf shot. “You play 82 games and this is one of 82. It was kind of a tough break, but at the same time, we've got more games. We've got to move on.”
That's how it goes in the NHL, especially for a team trying to bob and weave its way into the playoffs. Even little mistakes are harshly punished, let alone big ones. Hanifin, the team's sole All-Star, for reasons easily explained but difficult to justify, has made two in the past four days, single-handedly costing the Hurricanes points.
On Tuesday, Tampa Bay's tiny Tyler Johnson outmuscled Hanifin on the rush to score the game-winner, as embarrassing a fate as any NHL defenseman has ever suffered. Friday, with the Canes trying to protect a 3-2 lead, Hanifin threw a blind pass up the middle from behind the Carolina net, which Brett Connolly popped instantly past
Cam Ward. Off the glass and out, kid, like the old days. (And here, Glen Wesley nods sagely.)
There's so much good in Hanifin's game and so much “I hope my high-school buddies never see that clip.” He's only 20, but he has played 204 NHL games. He may not be a finished product, but it's fair to expect more than this at this point. Or less than this, if you just want to look at the self-sabotaging mistakes.
“Yeah, you got to stay with him, you've got to teach,” Hurricanes coach Bill Peters said. “You've to to learn from it. You've got to stay with people. It's easy to go away. Right now, we've got the opportunity to put a game away and we give up two in the last three (minutes) roughly. It would have been nice to lock it down.”
But this isn't entirely on Hanifin. It never is. The Hurricanes should have been on the power play with 32 seconds to go, with Staal's lip split open, and even if they didn't score they would have started overtime 4-on-3 with a chance to pick up an extra point.
There's no point in complaining about NHL officiating, which is like the weather. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad, it rains on everyone the same and it evens out in the end. In a way, it was karmic payback for Thursday, when Rask scored the game-winner after the Capitals thought the puck had been possessed on a delayed penalty and play should have been blown dead.
That won't make Peters feel any better or heal Staal's split lip. This wasn't a judgment call, or a debatable interpretation of a rule (like Justin Faulk's questionable interference penalty on Tom Wilson; you may not like it, but all you can do, or should do, is shrug). This was as glaring a missed call as you'll ever see, and no excuse for either referee – Steve Kozari and T.J. Luxmore – to miss it. Staal said he couldn't get an explanation, either.
The last goal was a chain of errors, with Rask losing the faceoff and Brock McGinn whiffing on a chance to clear the puck when Alexander Ovechkin lost control, breiefly, and Ward flopping around in the crease. It was basically a repeat of the N.C. State game in this same building Thursday, except the Capitals finished with a four-point play for the win.
Dundon was watching from a suite, and got a nice round of applause when he was shown on the scoreboard. (It was subtle and unannounced, and many fans may even have missed it.) He's been living and dying with the team for months now – he even went back to Peter Karmanos to offer more money after walking away from the deal initially,
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Jan. 13, 2018
because he was hooked – so these emotions won't be new to him.
But they will be fresh, as they will be for the team, and they will linger. Because if it comes down to the final days and a point or two, circle these as two that never should have gotten away.
Caps hand Hurricanes brutal 4-3 loss
By Chip Alexander
The Carolina Hurricanes, with new owner Tom Dundon in the
house Friday, were looking for a two-game sweep of the
Washington Capitals to please the new boss.
The Caps wouldn’t let it happen, beating the Canes 4-3 on
Jay Beagle’s goal with 1.3 seconds remaining in regulation.
Nicklas Backstrom swiped the puck from Canes forward
Brock McGinn and found Beagle open for the score, handing
the Canes what had to be a brutal loss.
“They all feel similar to me,” Canes coach Bill Peters said.
“It’s a loss, no points.”
The Canes topped the Caps 3-1 in Washington on Thursday,
the day Dundon’s deal to buy the Hurricanes was finalized.
They returned to PNC Arena on Friday to finish the back-to-
back on the day of Dundon’s introductory press conference
at the arena.
Jeff Skinner’s third-period goal gave the Canes a 3-2 lead,
scoring his 14th of the season on a perfectly placed shot that
beat goalie Philipp Grubauer. Forward Lee Stempniak,
playing his first game of the season, assisted on the Skinner
score.
But the Caps (28-14-3) tied it 3-3 at 16:52 of the third when
Brett Connolly scored after Canes defenseman Noah Hanifin
made a sloppy pass in the defensive zone that Connolly
picked off.
Jordan Staal and Sebastian Aho each had power-play goals
for the Canes, who have a game left Sunday against the
Calgary Flames before taking their mandated five-day break.
Steal was bloodied by a high stick from the Caps’ Evgeny
Kuznetsov with 32 seconds remaining in regulation, but there
was no call. It would have been a four-minute double minor
that would have carried over into overtime had the Canes not
scored in regulation.
"It was a stick in the face in front of (the ref) and he chose
not to call it,” Staal said.
Staal said there was no explanation from the ref, saying, "He
didn't want to talk to me tonight."
Lars Eller had a first-period goal and Alex Ovechkin a
second-period score for the Caps, the Metropolitan Division
leaders.
The Canes (20-16-8) had the fans roaring early with their first
power-play goal — and a textbook one, at that.
Steal won a faceoff, Aho got the puck low to Justin Williams
and Williams promptly found Staal in front for the score. It
was Staal’s 200th career goal, making him the fourth player
from the 2006 NHL draft class to reach that milestone.
The Canes’ second-power play goal, in the second period,
was scored as quickly as the first. Aho was open at the top of
the slot and unloaded a shot that Grubauer couldn’t track as
the Canes tied the score 1-1.
No one has a bigger blast than Ovechkin and it was his
second-period goal — his 28th of the season — that gave
the Caps a 2-1 lead.
Ellen was credited with the Caps’ first goal of the night after a
wild scramble in front of the Canes net that had Eller tangled
up on the ice with goalie Cam Ward.
Peters challenged the goal, claiming goaltender interference,
but the Caps won the ruling after a lengthy review.
The Canes played without defenseman Brett Pesce, who
was placed Friday on injured reserve, and forward Derek
Ryan, injured in Thursday’s game in Washington. Elias
Lindholm and Joakim Nordstrom were held out of the game
because of illness.
Returning to the lineup was Stempniak, who missed the
Canes’ first 43 games with various injuries. Stempniak
played on a line with center Lucas Wallmark and Skinner and
was effective.
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Jan. 13, 2018
Dundon says he couldn’t say no to a
chance to own the Hurricanes
By Chip Alexander
Tom Dundon says he’s not the type to circle back on a business deal.
Dundon, a Dallas billionaire, does his due diligence, sifts through the financial data and decides on a fair offer. If it doesn’t close the deal, that’s that.
Except with the Carolina Hurricanes.
Dundon, introduced Friday as the new majority owner and managing partner of the Hurricanes, said he made first made an offer to Peter Karmanos Jr. that the owner turned down. A week later, a somewhat depressed Dundon was back with a new one.
Money is money, he said. He’s made a lot of it. But there’s an emotional attachment involved in owning a major-league sports team, and Dundon said he already felt that attachment to the Hurricanes.
“Never in my life had I gone back on a deal,” Dundon said. “If we didn’t get it done it was over and I didn’t think about it again and went on to the next one.”
But Dundon said he had been watching the team and was emotionally invested in the team, excited when they won and miserable if they lost.
“Then it’s over and I’m done,” he said, speaking of the deal falling through. “I can’t do what I want to do with the organization.”
A week later, Dundon reached Karmanos again, with a higher offer. He wanted to own the hockey team.
“I called him back, groveling,” Dundon said. “That’s how we came to our deal. So I’ve already proven I will make an irrational financial decision.”
Dundon’s day
Dundon agreed to buy 61 percent of the franchise, which was valued at $550 million, with an option to purchase the remainder in three years.
On Friday, Dundon sat next to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman on a dais at PNC Arena, saying he first met Bettman three months ago and adding, “I think we’re best friends now.”
To Bettman’s right sat Karmanos, who will remain as a minority owner and was praised by Bettman for his contributions to the sport, both in bringing the Hurricanes to the Triangle and North Carolina and in his long-time support of youth hockey in Detroit. That earned Karmanos an ovation from the large crowd packed into the Arena Club.
But Friday was Dundon’s day. And he was Tom Dundon. He wore Hurricanes athletic gear to the press conference. He wore Under Armour sneakers.
He’s not a dress-up, coat-and-tie kind of guy. He looked as if he was ready to head to a nearby golf course and get in a quick 18 holes.
But Dundon, 46, is about results, not appearances. His mantra appears to be “Keep improving everything, every day, all the time” – a phrase he used Friday in describing the culture he wants in the organization moving forward.
Fresh blood
Among those at the Arena Club at PNC Arena was Abel Zalcberg, one of the Hurricanes’ investment partners.
“I think it’s going to be great for the franchise,” Zalcberg said of the ownership change. “It’s time we get fresh blood in here. … I think the team is definitely prepared for success for the next five, six years. I think he has all the right traits to take this to the next level and we hope he will do that.
“I think Tom Dundon knows what he’s doing from a business point of view. He didn’t become a billionaire from not knowing what to do.”
Karmanos, 74, said he would have an advisory role with the team and said one suggestion to Dundon was to double the season-ticket sales.
“That would make a huge difference because some of those crummy crowds are a result of not having enough season tickets,” Karmanos said.
The fan experience
The Canes rank 30th in NHL home attendance this season at 12,494 per game, but Dundon said that not the fault of the fans.
“If we don’t sell more tickets it’s our fault,” he said.
Dundon, as he did in an interview Thursday, again expressed the need to provide a better fan experience at PNC Arena. He noted at the games he has attended, “It didn’t look like what I would want it to look like.”
As far as the team on the ice, the Canes topped the Washington Capitals 3-1 on Thursday to again move into a
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Jan. 13, 2018
wild-card playoff position in the Eastern Conference. The Canes and Caps faced off again Friday at PNC Arena – with Dundon watching.
“He’s been like the Energizer bunny,” Canes general manager Ron Francis said. “He’s gathered as much information as he can to sort of help steer things and get a better understanding of how we can be better. He’s looking at every facet of the organization and see where we can do things that can give us an edge and make us better.”
An outdoor NHL game in Raleigh? Don’t rule it out, commissioner says
By Luke DeCock
RALEIGH
It wasn’t exactly a promise – and Gary Bettman has made, and delivered on, actual promises to this franchise before – but the NHL commissioner wouldn’t rule it out.
In the wake of the ownership change, from Peter Karmanos to Thomas Dundon, could the Carolina Hurricanes host an outdoor game at Carter-Finley Stadium?
“Tom has already asked,” Bettman said Friday at the PNC Arena press conference to announce the ownership transition.
And?
“An outdoor game across the street is not out of the question,” the commissioner said.
That’s not exactly the same as when he promised the 2004 NHL Draft to the Hurricanes back in 2001, with an All-Star Game to follow, in 2011 as it turned out. And it’s hard to imagine Bettman answering the question any other way. But it’s better than nothing.
Ice-making technology has advanced to the point where it’s possible to make a playable surface under almost any conditions, so it wouldn’t have to be below freezing like it was last weekend here. And N.C. State would have to be a willing partner.
“We are absolutely receptive to any creative ideas that serve Raleigh, Wake County and the state of North Carolina well,” an athletic department spokesman said.
Nothing would jump-start the Hurricanes in this market under Dundon’s ownership more than a Winter Classic, an event for which the Hurricanes have not heretofore been considered as a participant, let alone a host. It would also be
a step toward restoring the Hurricanes’ status as a model Sun Belt franchise, a distinction widely bestowed upon the team in the wake of the beyond-all-expectations All-Star Game in 2011.
So it’s a long way from happening. But for the first time, it’s actually worth talking about.
As Hurricanes move into a new era, their old owner is as excited as anyone By Luke DeCock RALEIGH These are new and exciting and uncertain days for the Carolina Hurricanes, the kind of days when a midday press conference at PNC Arena overshadows not only the massive divisional win the night before but the rematch with the Washington Capitals to come at the arena later that night. If it wasn’t clear Thursday just what a brand new day this is for the franchise when Thomas Dundon assumed control of the Hurricanes, it was clear Friday when he sat next to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, with Peter Karmanos on Bettman’s other shoulder. “Those lousy crowds are the result of not having enough season tickets,” Karmanos said. Moments later, without skipping a beat, Dundon laid down the new law. “If we don’t sell more tickets, it’s not the fans’ fault. It’s our fault,” Dundon said. Hallelujah. Dundon’s wardrobe alone indicated nothing is going to stay the same. Karmanos and Bettman wore suits, per their usual. Dundon wore a windbreaker, per his usual, and must have left his omnipresent hat in his office. A wild ride lies ahead. You might think, given Dundon’s determination to examine and, if necessary, upend every aspect of the franchise – even the hockey side, as much as Dundon thinks the team is on the right track, will be given upgrades in analytics and medical treatment – that Karmanos might look askance at some of this. For 24 years, this was his team, his baby, and while it’s fair to criticize his stewardship of it at times, none of this, from 2002 to 2006 to 2009, from the draft to the All-Star Game, even that dead-stinking-last season in 2003 that was a mesmerizing catastrophe to watch, would have happened without him. An orderly transition of power is the hallmark of any functioning democracy, and you never know how the one of end era will slide into a new one. Karmanos didn’t have the smoothest transition from Compuware, the software
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Jan. 13, 2018
company he founded, and the Hurricanes meant as much to him – if not more than Compuware. He choked up Friday talking about his silent partner Thomas Thewes, whose death in 2008 led Karmanos to consider selling the team in the first place. This team was his dream for a long time, and it was time to walk away. He knew it. That doesn’t make it easy. But Karmanos is entering this new era with the same optimism and anticipation as anyone else around the franchise. For the first time in decades, at age 74, he’s a fan again. No worries about profits or loss. No one asking where to park the pallet-jack. No memos from the NHL. “That’s the best part,” Karmanos said, smiling broadly. “It’s been that way for a few weeks.” One of the things I was concerned about as we did this is, we want to do a lot of great things and we want to change a lot of things. Pete, I talked to him a couple times about this, is it OK if we do things differently? And he’s been the biggest cheerleader for, let’s do everything we can with no limitations and not worry about what we did before, and I don’t think that means we don’t appreciate what he did. Thomas Dundon Karmanos’ new role as minority owner will be as a sort of senior adviser, but it’s clear Dundon is going to do things his way regardless of what Karmanos thinks, and Karmanos is fine with that. If anything, he’s as curious as anyone to see what happens.
“One of the things I was concerned about as we did this is, we want to do a lot of great things and we want to change a lot of things,” Dundon said. “Pete, I talked to him a couple times about this, is it OK if we do things differently? And he’s been the biggest cheerleader for, let’s do everything we can with no limitations and not worry about what we did before, and I don’t think that means we don’t appreciate what he did.” Or, from Karmanos’ side: “I knew from the first time I talked to Tom he was the real deal and he would be a good owner. That’s very important to Gary, and especially to me, as far as who you turn the team over to.” So this, as much as anything, will be a part of Karmanos’ complicated legacy. He brought the team here. He won a Stanley Cup. There were too many years where the franchise languished and failed to reach its potential. And then, when the time came, he turned the keys over to someone with a new vision, new ambition and new energy committed to making this work in Raleigh, as we all know it can. On his way out of the building Friday, Karmanos stopped by the sixth-floor office that used to be his. He never used it much, and Dundon was already in it Thursday afternoon, holding meetings and digging through merchandise samples. Karmanos slid the plate bearing his name off the wall and slipped it into his bag. Then he stepped outside to smoke a cigar, and for the first time in a long time, he was just another guy outside the arena hoping for a Hurricanes win on a Friday night.
Capitals score with 1.3 seconds left to
stun Hurricanes
Jay Beagle's last-second goal capped off a Washington rally
that kept Carolina from sweeping home-and-home
January 13, 2018
Cory Lavalette
RALEIGH — New Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon was
introduced Friday, and one of the things he said drew him to
owning an NHL team is how the margin between winning
and losing is very small and that slight advantages can tip
the balance in your favor.
He learned that first hand Friday night.
The Washington Capitals scored twice in the final 3:08,
including the game-winner from Jay Beagle with 1.3 seconds
remaining, to snatch a 4-3 win from Carolina at PNC Arena.
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Jan. 13, 2018
It was a loss that left a sour — and bloodied — taste in the
Hurricanes’ collective mouth.
In the final minute with the score knotted 3-3, Carolina center
Jordan Staal was high sticked by Capitals forward Evgeni
Kuznetsov in the Hurricanes zone. Staal was cut on his lip,
but no call was made.
“Pretty obvious, right? Thirty-two seconds to go in the game,
should be on the power play,” Carolina coach Bill Peters
said. “Don’t score there — power play’s good tonight — don’t
score there, you start 4 on 3 in OT.”
Instead, play continued, and a draw in the Washington zone
led to a Capitals rush up the ice. Hurricanes defenseman
Justin Faulk got the puck off Alex Ovechkin’s stick, but Brock
McGinn had the puck swiped away by Nicklas Backstrom.
Backstrom zipped the puck to the goal mouth and Jay
Beagle knocked it in for the winner with 1.3 seconds
remaining.
“It was a stick in the face in front of [the ref] and he chose not
to call it,” a dejected Staal, blood still dripping from his cut
upper lip onto his lower lip, said of the high stick.
It looked like Carolina would complete a home-and-home
sweep of the Capitals — the Hurricanes won 3-1 in
Washington the night before — when Jeff Skinner ripped a
shot past Washington goalie Philipp Grubauer 1:49 into the
third period to give Carolina the lead.
Brett Connolly, however, tied the game with just 3:08
remaining after T.J. Oshie’s forecheck forced Noah Hanifin to
throw a pass into the slot. Connolly quickly shot the puck
past Cam Ward (23 saves) to make it 3-3.
“You gotta stay with him, you gotta teach, you gotta learn
from it and you gotta stay with people,” Peters said of
Hanifin, who was named an All-Star for the first time this
week but suffered his second recent turnover that cost the
team points in the standings after getting steamrolled by
Tyler Johnson for a goal in Tampa Bay on Tuesday.
The shorthanded Hurricanes — playing without injured Brett
Pesce and Derek Ryan and ill Elias Lindholm and Joakim
Nordstrom — spent the first two periods exchanging special
teams goals with the Capitals.
With Connolly in the penalty box for interference, the
Hurricanes converted on their first power play opportunity of
the night.
A quick passing play from Sebastian Aho to Justin Williams
below the goal line and into the slot resulted in Staal’s 200th
career goal just 10 seconds into the man advantage, giving a
1-0 lead 3:20 into the game.
The Capitals got it back quickly, also on the power play.
Klas Dahlbeck was called for holding while trying to break up
a 2-on-1 Washington rush, sending a depleted Hurricanes
penalty kill that was without four frequent penalty killers out
to defend.
With just seconds remaining on the kill, a mad scrum in front
of Ward eventually kicked the puck out to Jakub Vrana, who
shot and hit the post. The rebound was banged in by forward
Lars Eller — to give him goals in four straight games — at
7:25.
Hurricanes coach Bill Peters challenged on the grounds of
goaltender interference, but the goal was upheld.
The teams exchanged goals again in the second, with
Ovechkin scoring right as a Capitals power play ended to
push Washington ahead just 28 seconds into the middle
frame.
While the Caps were using all of their power play time to
score, Carolina struck quickly again on their second chance.
Aho got his second point of the night when he one-timed a
Justin Faulk pass at the point just five seconds into the man
advantage to make it 2-2 at 8:50 of the second.
“PP’s been rolling, and on the flip side the PK’s gotta be
better, so if you want to win games you gotta get both,” Staal
said.
Skinner’s goal was assisted by Lee Stempniak, who was
playing his first game of the season after missing the first 43
with two different injuries.
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Jan. 13, 2018
“It’s easy to read off a guy like that because he’s consistent,
he makes good plays and you always know where he’s going
to be,” Skinner said of Stempniak, his frequent linemate last
season. “So it was a good game for him, hopefully something
he can build off. He’s a big piece.”
The Hurricanes now have to shake off the loss before
Sunday’s 3 p.m. home game against Calgary — their last
before a league-mandated bye week.
“It’s never a good feeling to lose,” Skinner said. “Obviously,
it’s a little bit worse feeling when you lose like that. It’s just
something that we’ve got to move on from.
“It sucks right now, but it’s something you can learn from, I
think,” he added. “You obviously don’t like the feeling. Yeah,
we’ll move on. We’ll get focused for the next game and be
ready for that challenge.”
Caps rally, beat Hurricanes on Beagle's
goal with 1.3 left
By JOEDY McCREARY, AP Sports Writer
RALEIGH, N.C. — The Carolina Hurricanes learned a tough
lesson over the past 1½ weeks: No lead is safe on home ice
against the Washington Capitals.
Jay Beagle scored with 1.3 seconds remaining and the
Capitals rallied to beat the Hurricanes 4-3 on Friday night.
Final 1 2 3 Tot
Carolina 0 1 2 3
Washington 0 1 0 1
Preview | Box | Gameview | Recap
Three Stars
1: Scott Darling, Car (27 Saves)
2: Victor Rask, Car (1G)
3: Lars Eller, Was (1G)
Copyright © 2018 by STATS LLC.
All rights reserved.
Brett Connolly notched the tying goal with 3:08 left, and Alex
Ovechkin added his NHL-leading 28th goal and two assists
for the first-place Capitals, who lost to the Hurricanes a night
before in Washington.
• New Hurricanes owner to focus on winning hockey, fan
experience
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"It kind of had almost a playoff atmosphere, especially in the
first, just seeing each other back-to-back," Beagle said. "It
kind of gets that little bit of hatred and little bit of rivalry
going."
Lars Eller scored on the power play and Philipp Grubauer
stopped 36 shots to help the Capitals earn their second
come-from-behind victory in Raleigh in less than two weeks.
Washington won 5-4 in overtime on Jan. 2 on two late goals
by Ovechkin.
"The character of the team, it shows it," Ovechkin said.
"Right now, we're starting to realize who we are. We have to
work hard. It's not going to be easy."
The Hurricanes got power-play goals from Jordan Staal and
Sebastian Aho — with each player assisting on the other's
goal — and an even-strength goal from Jeff Skinner.
"We had the opportunity to put a game away, we gave up ...
two in the last three minutes," Carolina coach Bill Peters
said. "Would have been nice to lock it down and get the two
points. Didn't happen."
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Jan. 13, 2018
Carolina appeared headed for a sweep of the back-to-back
series, but T.J. Oshie pressured All-Star Noah Hanifin into a
turnover behind the net and Connolly snapped the loose
puck between Cam Ward's legs.
Beagle then stuffed in a rebound past an outstretched Ward
in the closing seconds.
With Ovechkin chanting his name in the dressing room and
calling him a legend, Beagle said he was just "crashing the
net, eyes closed, and it hit my stick."
The goal came moments after Carolina co-captain Jordan
Staal appeared to take a high stick to the face, though no
penalty was called, with Staal saying the officials "chose not
to call it."
"Pretty obvious, right? Thirty-two seconds to go in the game,
should be on the power play," Peters said. "The power play's
good tonight, you don't score there, you start 4-on-3 in OT."
The game came hours after Carolina publicly introduced
Dallas billionaire Tom Dundon as the new majority owner
and successor to longtime owner Peter Karmanos Jr.
Dundon took over control of the team Thursday after the sale
closed.
Ward made 23 saves — including a tumbling gem midway
through the third to rob Evgeny Kuznetsov — for Carolina,
which was down a handful of regulars for the rematch of their
3-1 victory Thursday night .
Forward Derek Ryan didn't play after taking a hit from Tom
Wilson the night before, defenseman Brett Pesce was placed
on injured reserve earlier in the day and key forwards Joakim
Nordstrom and Elias Lindholm were scratched with illnesses.
Then, defensemen Trevor van Riemsdyk and Klas Dahlbeck
skated off after being hit in their legs with shots, though both
players quickly returned.
"It shows the value of those guys" on the penalty-kill unit,
Peters said. "They're unsung heroes, all of those guys."
NOTES: Aho has goals in three straight games, and Staal
has points in four straight. ... The Hurricanes recalled C
Lucas Wallmark from their AHL affiliate in Charlotte to
replace Pesce. ... RW Lee Stempniak made his season
debut for Carolina. He missed the first half of the season with
an upper-body injury. ... Washington recalled C Travis Boyd
from its AHL affiliate in Hershey, but he was scratched.
UP NEXT
Capitals: After their week off, they visit New Jersey on Jan.
18.
Hurricanes: Wrap up a two-game homestand against
Calgary on Sunday.
New Hurricanes owner to focus on
winning hockey, fan experience
Raleigh, N.C. — The Carolina Hurricanes have a new owner,
and Tom Dundon said Friday he won’t waste any time making
sweeping changes to the fan experience as he tries to bring a
winning culture back to a franchise that has missed the
playoffs for the last eight seasons.
The Dallas billionaire shared plenty of smiles during an
introductory news conference at PNC Arena, but he also spent
much of his time at the mic speaking on what he views as his
most important job – improving the fan experience and getting
people to the arena.
"We're just going to do stuff, and people will decide if they like
it. If they don't like it, we'll try to do better," Dundon said as he
spoke at length about figuring out ways to improve the fan
experience for those who visit PNC Arena for Canes games.
"We've got folks that know how to build a great hockey team,"
Dundon said. "I don't think I'm happy with what a fan gets
when they come here tonight. Other than the great hockey, we
need to do more than that. We want to make sure that when
someone comes here, they feel like they got value, they got
entertainment, they want to tell their friends and they want to
come back."
Former majority owner Peter Karmanos Jr. quipped that he’ll
recommend “doubling season ticket sales” to Dundon, but the
new owner said it’s incumbent on the franchise to make fans
want to come.
“If we don’t sell more tickets, it’s not the fans’ fault. It’s our
fault,” Dundon said.
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Dundon said one of the many things that attracted him to the
Hurricanes was the young roster that, in his mind, is set up to
win now and have sustained success – something that could
help his goal of getting more people in the seats.
Ahead of Friday’s game against the Washington Capitals, the
Hurricanes (20-15-8) sit in the final wild-card playoff spot in
the competitive Eastern Conference.
“I know we’ll get more fans and more revenues. I don’t think
we’ll wait for that if (Ron) has an opportunity. We’re going to
make good, rational decisions, and we’re going to win,”
Dundon said. “I value winning more than money, but it doesn’t
mean I want to burn it.”
The agreement transferring ownership of the franchise from
Karmanos to Dundon received final approval by the league
Thursday, about two months after Dundon signed a purchase
agreement for a 61 percent ownership stake in the club.
Karmanos will retain a minority ownership interest in the club,
but day-to-day operations now fall to Dundon.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, who came to the Triangle
to welcome Dundon to the league, said Dundon impressed the
NHL Board of Governors.
“He had us at hello. He came to us with us having done his
due diligence. We knew he had an extremely successful
business career,” Bettman said. “He knew what he was getting
in for, and his energy, his intelligence, his focus and perhaps
his lack of patience we all found intriguing.”
Bettman rebuffs relocation rumors – again
In response to continued reports about possible relocation that
have plagued the Hurricanes amid the sale process, Bettman
said in his opening statement that they were nothing more
than “innuendo and rumor.”
“Let me tell you, as I repeatedly said over the years. This
franchise wasn't going anywhere and isn't going anywhere.
And, you should feel good about the fact that Peter
(Karmanos) has made an arrangement, has brought on a
partner, who is not from here but has recognized what a great
community this is and wants to be a part of it,” Bettman said.
“There was way too much speculation about the future of this
franchise. I think a lot of those rumors started in other places
that would like to have a franchise. There was never a risk of
this team moving.”
Karmanos in 2015 said "we'd have to be idiots to move from
here," largely because of the team's PNC Arena lease, which
extends through 2024 and is considered one of the most
team-friendly in the league.
Dundon grew fortune as CEO of auto lending giant
Dundon, 46, is the former CEO and president of Santander
Consumers USA Inc., a giant subprime auto lender that he
founded and ran until July 2015.
Dundon is also the majority owner of Employer Direct, a
growth-stage health care services company, and is a large
investor and director of Topgolf, a premier global sports
entertainment business headquartered in Dallas that
incorporates technology, golf and entertainment.
Dundon is also a managing partner of Dundon Capital
Partners, a Dallas-based private investment firm. Dundon
Capital Partners and Employer Direct Healthcare currently
operate in a 33-story Dallas office building Dundon bought in
2015.
Dundon was born in New York but raised in Dallas, and he
earned an economics degree from Southern Methodist
University in 1993.
Karmanos remembered for vision that brought Canes, Stanley
Cup to Raleigh
Under Karmanos' leadership, the Hurricanes came to North
Carolina from Hartford in 1997 and have won a Stanley Cup,
two conference titles and three division championships in the
City of Oaks.
“A little over 20 years ago Pete had a vision. He had a vision
that a remarkable market like the Triangle in North Carolina -
that didn't have any professional sports - would be a great
place to bring hockey,” Bettman said.
“Over the last 20 years, we had a draft here. It was
sensational. We had an All-Star game here. It was
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sensational. You had a parade here after winning the Stanley
Cup. And if you think back over the last 20 years, there are
plenty of teams that haven't hoisted the Stanley Cup. This was
all part of Pete's vision.”
Karmanos said Dundon’s arrival comes at the right time.
“Nobody can take away 24 years of ownership, but there’s a
time, and this is the time,” he said. “And we have the right
person. “I put a lot of time and energy when I was younger
here. There is a time you know you have to move on, and I
realize that.”
Five Takeaways from Dundon's
Introduction
Dundon formally introduced as Hurricanes new majority
owner
by Michael Smith @MSmithCanes / CarolinaHurricanes.com
January 12th, 2018
It was a historic day at PNC Arena, as Peter Karmanos
passed the baton to Tom Dundon, who is now the majority
owner of the National Hockey League's Carolina Hurricanes.
Dundon was formally introduced at a news conference,
sitting alongside Karmanos, NHL Commissioner Gary
Bettman, Hurricanes Executive Vice President and General
Manager Ron Francis and team President Don Waddell.
Here are five takeaways from the introduction of Dundon as
the new owner of the Hurricanes.
1. A Thank You to Karmanos
Without the foresight and vision of Karmanos in the mid-90s,
today might have been just another Friday in Raleigh. But,
because he saw how hockey could thrive in the Triangle, the
Hurricanes were born and have rooted themselves within the
community.
"Transitions always make for opportunities and dreams and
visions as to what comes next, but I also think it's
appropriate today to recognize what Pete Karmanos has
meant to the Triangle and hockey, not just in the Triangle
and North Carolina but throughout the United States,"
Bettman said at the opening of the press conference. "A little
over 20 years ago, Pete had a vision. He had a vision that a
remarkable market, a growing market, a vibrant market like
the Triangle in North Carolina that didn't have any
professional sports would be a great place to bring hockey,
to have hockey grow, to make it part of the community.
"If you think about over the last 20 years, we had a draft here
and it was sensational. We had an All-Star Game here and it
was sensational. You had a parade here after winning the
Stanley Cup," Bettman continued. "This was all part of Pete's
vision as to what NHL hockey could be in North Carolina."
Karmanos' longtime business partner and friend, Thomas
Thewes, passed away in 2008, and his search for a new
partner and, ultimately, a successor has ramped up in the
last few years.
"I've been looking for someone I thought would move this
whole franchise forward, and I was extremely excited when
Tom came along," he said. "There is a time, and this is the
time. We have the right person."
Now in their 20th Anniversary season, a new era begins for
the Hurricanes.
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"One of the great things that Peter has done for this
franchise is ensured a smooth transition that will give this
franchise stability as far into the future as you can look,"
Bettman said.
"We want to do a lot of great things and we want to change a
lot of things," Dundon said. "[Karmanos] has been the
biggest cheerleader for let's do everything we can with no
limitations and not worrying about what we did before."
"You're going to see some pretty fantastic things going on
here, and I'm looking forward to it," Karmanos said.
2. Dundon is Getting Right to Work
The purchase transaction between Dundon and Karmanos
was officially finalized and approved by the league on
Thursday, but Dundon has been busy behind the scenes for
months.
He's had countless meetings with members of the hockey
staff and the business staff. He's spoken with the coaching
staff, medical staff, equipment staff and players in order to
ascertain what they need to be successful. He's discussed
next steps and tried to absorb as much about the business
as he can with confidants, friends and peers.
It's a new venture for the billionaire entrepreneur and
philanthropist, but it's one he's tackling with the same
enthusiasm, passion and drive as he's done throughout his
entire professional life.
"Everything Tom is going to do is part of his vision to not only
bring a championship, the Stanley Cup to Carolina, but to
make sure this franchise is a vibrant and important part of
this community," Bettman said.
"What we're doing today isn't good enough, and we're going
to do better," Dundon said. "What I was excited about is they
want to do better. Everyone here that works at the arena and
works for this team, they're ready. They're ready to do
something better than they did yesterday, and I think we can.
It's not even a choice. We're just going to do it."
3. Whatever it Takes
That phrase should be familiar to Hurricanes' fans: it was the
team's mantra en route to the 2006 Stanley Cup
championship. Dundon is embracing the same mentality, as
he works to provide the necessary resources to build a
perennial playoff contender.
"Having this culture where everybody knows - whether it's
the players or the people who work here - we're always
going to keep improving everything, every day, all the time,"
Dundon said. "It's never going to be enough."
"Whatever it takes" doesn't necessarily mean cutting checks
for this, that and the other without a purpose.
"We're going to make good, rational decisions, and we're
going to win," Dundon said. "I value winning more than
money, but that doesn't mean I want to burn it."
4. Improving the Fan Experience
In a basic sense, there are two sides to the Hurricanes as an
organization: the hockey side and the business side. Dundon
likes a lot about the hockey side already but will be looking
for ways to better support the players.
"Ron and Bill and the team, I feel pretty fortunate that
they've got something that works," Dundon said. "That
doesn't mean we won't keep trying to get better, but it's
pretty good right now.
"On the hockey side, the advice is repeatedly: you've got to
trust the people who know what they're doing," he continued.
"There's nothing super complicated about understanding
who the smart people are and giving them the resources to
do their job and supporting them."
Dundon sees the biggest opportunity for improvement on the
business side of the team, where he wants to first and
foremost improve the fan experience at PNC Arena.
"Other than the great hockey, we need to do more than that.
That's our focus right now," he said. "We want to make sure
when someone comes here, they feel they got value and
entertainment. They want to tell their friends, and they want
to come back."
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The fan support exists in the market. It's been seen before; it
just must be reinvigorated.
"All the stories I heard as I started looking at this opportunity
was about 2006 and the fan experience and the tailgating,"
Dundon said. "That already happened. We don't have to
hope for it. It's there. It's built in. Now we've just got to go get
it again."
5. The Hurricanes Stay in Raleigh
It's been said countless times, but here it is again, bolded,
underlined, italicized, emphasized in every single way
possible: the Hurricanes are remaining in Raleigh.
"This is a community that has embraced NHL hockey and
the Hurricanes," Bettman said. "I know over the years there
has been speculation and rumor and innuendo about the
future of this franchise. Let me tell you, as I've repeatedly
said over the years, this franchise wasn't going anywhere
and isn't going anywhere."
Tuck those unfounded rumors in bed and turn off the lights.
The Hurricanes have been and will continue to be committed
to the Triangle, especially with Dundon at the helm.
"I think there was way too much speculation about the future
of this franchise. I think a lot of those rumors started in other
places that would like to have a franchise," Bettman said.
"There was never a risk of this team moving. It used to drive
us crazy when we'd have to spend hours on the phone
refuting stories that were just made up and, in some cases I
suppose, wishful thinking - not wishful by us, but by the other
places that would like to have a team."
Potpourri
Friday's press conference clocked in at around 40 minutes,
so there was much discussed. Here are some additional
highlights.
Bettman: "When I was first introduced and you were nice
enough to not only be here today but to give some applause,
Don Waddell leaned over and said, 'Well, that doesn't
happen very often.'"
Dundon: "I didn't know Gary three months ago, and I think
we're best friends now."
Bettman: "We thought we were getting the real deal, and the
more I've gotten to know my new best friend, it's clear we've
gotten the real deal."
Dundon: "The thing that's great about sports is you get to
build an emotional attachment. If we can get the players and
the fans engaged with each other and give people a reason
to come - the team's winning, the experience is good, they're
getting value - then we'll sell more tickets. If we don't sell
more tickets, it's not the fans' fault, it's our fault."
Dundon: "When they win, I can't sleep. When they lose, I'm
just miserable. I just need more people on that with me."
Francis: "I'm with you." Dundon: "He's with me, for sure."
Bettman: "This is the one team that really can unite this
community. There's a lot of fragmented sports rooting
interests depending on which school you follow, which
school you went to or where your kids went."
Recap: Canes Drop Heartbreaker
by Michael Smith @MSmithCanes / CarolinaHurricanes.com
January 12th, 2018
The Carolina Hurricanes suffered a heartbreaking loss in the
tail end of a home-and-home, back-to-back set, dropping a
4-3 decision to the Washington Capitals in the final seconds
of regulation.
The Capitals erased the Hurricanes' 3-2 lead in the final five
minutes of regulation, and Jay Beagle tapped home the
game-winner at the 19:58 mark of the third.
Here are five takeaways from Caps-Canes, Part II.
One
This one hurts - literally, for Jordan Staal, who fielded
questions postgame with a bloody lip, the plain-as-day
remnants of an uncalled high-sticking infraction.
"It was a stick in the face right in front of him, and he chose
not to call it," Staal said. "He didn't want to talk to me
tonight."
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That would have given the Hurricanes a four-minute power
play in the final minute of regulation. Instead, the Capitals
made a play and won the game late.
"It's pretty obvious, right? 32 seconds to go in the game,
should be on the power play," head coach Bill Peters said. "If
you don't score there … you start 4-on-3 in OT."
Granted, that non-call didn't directly lead to the Capitals'
game-winner, but they certainly would not have been in the
same position had the correct penalty been assessed. Still,
it's up to the Hurricanes to play out regulation in the same
fashioned they played the first 55 minutes of the game.
"It would have been nice to lock it down and get the two
points," Peters said. "It didn't happen."
Two
So, what happened on that last-second, game-winning goal?
The Hurricanes lost an offensive zone draw, and the Capitals
then moved the puck up the ice. Alex Ovechkin gained the
zone and had the puck whacked off his stick. Nicklas
Backstrom was there to pick it up and centered to Beagle,
who banged it home.
"They made a play," Peters said. "Trying to go for the win.
Lost the draw, and they made some good plays coming up
the ice."
Four minutes prior, it was Brett Connolly taking advantage of
a giveaway off the stick of Noah Hanifin to tie the game at
three.
"A couple miscues. They capitalized on a couple mistakes,"
Jeff Skinner said. "You learn from it. Overall you look at the
game, and I felt like we played pretty well."
Three
Frustratingly, that was indeed the case for the Hurricanes, as
Skinner said: disregarding the final five minutes, the Canes
played a solid game, probably one good enough to win their
second against the Caps in as many nights. Alas.
"I thought we played a great game. A couple mistakes at the
end, but all in all a great game," Staal said. "It definitely hurt.
I thought we had a lot of guys step up and play really well. I
thought we controlled a lot of the game, too. Two good
teams going at it. A couple of frustrating things out there, but
that happens sometimes."
As was the case a night ago, the Hurricanes and Capitals
entered the third period all square on the scoreboard. On
Thursday, it was a 1-1 game. Friday, 2-2. Tonight, it was
Skinner breaking the deadlock as he accepted a pass from
Lee Stempniak - who was making his season debut with the
Canes - and walked around John Carlson before shooting
and scoring.
In the first period, Staal scored a power-play goal, his 200th
career tally, on a bang-bang play in the slot. In the second,
Sebastian Aho scored his ninth goal in his last 10 games, a
blast from the point on another Canes' man advantage.
"You take the positives - and there were a lot of positives -
and you move on," Skinner said.
Four
In game No. 44, Stempniak made his season debut with the
Hurricanes. It's been a frustrating 2017-18 for the veteran
forward, who had been sidelined with two separate upper-
body injuries for the first three-plus months.
Stempniak logged 13:35 of ice time, including 1:53 on the
power play, in his return. In addition to his primary assist on
Skinner's goal, he was a plus-1 with two shots on goal and a
hit.
"He looked real good. He's been around a while. He's real
smart and skilled," Skinner said of his linemate. "It's easy to
read off a guy like that because he's consistent. He makes
good plays, and you always know where he's going to be."
"I thought he skated good. I was impressed with the jump he
had," Peters said. "I thought he had a real good game."
Five
The Hurricanes' injury report was clean just a couple of days
ago. And tonight? It ballooned to four players, with Brett
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Pesce (morning skate in Washington) and Derek Ryan
(boarded by Tom Wilson in Washington) out with upper-body
injuries and Elias Lindholm and Joakim Nordstrom sidelined
with illnesses.
"It's good to see guys stepping up. It's nice to see Stemper
back there. A bunch of guys stepped up. That's what you
need in this league. It's good to see," Skinner said.
"Hopefully we can build on that, because you're always going
to need that."
Up Next
The Hurricanes will look to rebound when they host the
Calgary Flames on Sunday at 3 p.m. in their final game
before the bye week.
"Sunday is a big game. Tough letting points slip tonight. I
thought we battled hard," Staal said. "It's going to be a hard
one to swallow. We're going to have to get that one down the
hatch as soon as we can and come up with a big effort
against Calgary."
"You play 82 games. It's one game out of 82. It's obviously
not the result we wanted and kind of a tough break, but at
the same time it's one game," Skinner said. "We've got to
move on. Next game we have another opportunity to get two
points."
Tom Dundon Introduced as Carolina Hurricanes Majority Owner
“I value winning more than money,” the Canes’ new owner tells the media - and a fanbase who can’t get enough.
By Brian LeBlanc
RALEIGH - It was the wardrobe you noticed first.
There were NHL commissioner Gary Bettman,
Carolina Hurricanes president Don Waddell and
general manager Ron Francis, attired as you
would expect executives to be at an important
business function. There was now-minority owner
Peter Karmanos, in his standard blazer and button-
down shirt.
And there was new owner Tom Dundon, in what
amounted to a Canes-issue warm-up track suit,
fist-bumping Chuck Kaiton while making his way
onto the stage, taking ownership of the Triangle’s
only major-league sports franchise.
Welcome to a new era of Hurricanes hockey, one
in which the team’s owner is just as much a fan of
the club as the paying customers watching his
team.
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And much like every fan who walks through the
doors of PNC Arena 41 times a season, Dundon
has his own opinions of how things could be made
better. Spoiler alert: he isn’t happy, and he’s
making the fan experience job one.
“I don’t think I’m happy with what a fan gets
when they come here,” he told a crowd of about
125 media members and local dignitaries on
Friday. “We want to make sure that someone feels
they got value, they got entertainment, and that
they tell their friends. I’m not going to do a lot of
talking. We’re going to do things.”
The 46-year-old Dundon wasted no time firing
shots across the bow of the team staff, both the
hockey side and the business side. “We’re going
to have a culture where everybody knows we’re
going to keep improving everything, every day, all
the time. It’s never going to be enough.”
Dundon had taken in a few games at the arena
going all the way back to the preseason. And
when asked at what point he realized the fan
experience was going to be the most critical first
step of his ownership, he wasted no time saying
that he noticed it right away.
At one point, Karmanos, unsolicited, told Dundon
that he would like to see season ticket sales
double. Not thirty seconds later, Dundon turned
that statement on its head. “If we don’t sell more
tickets,” the new owner said, “it’s not the fans’
fault. It’s our fault.”
Dundon’s business experience is in leading
consumer-focused brands that don’t necessarily
have the rabid following of a sports team. No one
is going to be telling their friends, say, how
excited they were to make a car payment. But
Dundon showed on Friday that his passion for
doing things right by the customer supercedes any
specific line of business.
And he doesn’t mind spending money to do it,
drawing a contrast - even if he didn’t realize it
was happening - with the man sitting two seats to
his right. “We want to do a lot of great things,”
Dundon said. “Pete has been the biggest
cheerleader for doing everything we can with no
limitations.”
For Bettman, Friday was a victory lap. Similar to
past ownership transfers in Sun Belt markets like
Tampa with Jeff Vinik and Dallas with Dan
Gaglardi, Dundon represents the fulfillment of
Bettman’s long-view expansion strategy, one that
has never wavered in the face of any number of
Canadian dreams to the contrary.
And he relished it. “This is a community that has
embraced NHL hockey and the Hurricanes,” the
commissioner said. “Over the years there has been
speculation and innuendo and rumors about the
future of this franchise. As I have repeatedly said,
this franchise wasn’t going anywhere, and it isn’t
going anywhere.
“There was never a risk of this team moving. It
used to drive us crazy that we had to spend hours
on the phone refuting stories that were just made
up.”
Not going anywhere physically, maybe, but
Dundon made it clear that it would be going
places: on the ice, in the locker room, in the
marketing suite, and any number of places. “I’m
not patient,” he admitted. “The fact that they have
a team that can win right now, and we can do
some things to bring more fans and resources, that
was an opportunity. This is a market that has
supported this team and loves sports. This is a
winning place. I know we can fix it.”
CAROLINA HURRICANES
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Dundon will be commuting between Dallas and
Raleigh for the indeterminate future. With five
kids at home, he will have his attention somewhat
divided, but when he’s in Raleigh, he says that he
will be a regular presence at the arena, where the
team will have his undivided attention.
And he’ll have one goal in mind with every
decision he makes, every tweak he implements,
every shift he watches, every meeting he attends.
“I hope we set some new expectations that are
hard to meet, and we will keep working every day
to meet them.
“I value winning,” he said, “more than I value
money.”
Recap and Ranker: Caps Stun Canes, 4-3
That was the opposite of good.
By Kyle Morton
On a day where the Carolina Hurricanes gained an owner, they proved unable to shed another.
The Washington Capitals, a team that has long exerted dominance in their meetings with the Hurricanes, willed themselves to victory when Jay Beagle finished a centering pass from Nicklas Backstrom with about a second left to give the Capitals a 4-3 lead they wouldn’t be able to relinquish if they tried.
A buzzing crowd at PNC Arena hoped to be able to celebrate a victory on such a monumental day for their team, and an early power play goal by Jordan Staal felt like it had them on their way to being able to do so.
But Lars Eller scored on the Hurricanes for the second consecutive night to tie the game before the end of the first, and Alexander Ovechkin unleashed one of his patented one-time slappers from the circle to give Washington a 2-1 lead in the second.
Carolina answered when Sebastian Aho beat Philip Grubauer with a power play bomb of his own later in the second, and Jeff Skinner scored a dazzling goal early in the third to give the Hurricanes a 3-2 lead.
Then, with about three minutes to go, an ill-advised pass to the middle of the ice by Noah Hanifin found the stick of Washington’s Brett Connolly, who beat Cam Ward with a shot that neither player was entirely prepared for.
It looked like the Hurricanes at least had a point sewn up until the aforementioned goal by Beagle.
The Hurricanes return to action at home on Sunday when they welcome a surging Calgary Flames team to PNC Arena. Following that, they will embark upon their league-mandated five day “bye week.”
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Jan. 13, 2018
Tom Dundon takes over majority ownership of Carolina Hurricanes
New owner actively assumes immediate control and oversight of team
January 12, 2018 Peter Koutroumpis
RALEIGH, N.C. – National Hockey League (NHL) commissioner Gary Bettman kicked it all off midday on Friday at PNC Arena when he introduced entrepreneur and philanthropist Tom Dundon as the new majority owner of the Carolina Hurricanes.
Sitting alongside Bettman, Dundon was also joined by former majority owner and now minority owner Peter Karmanos, Jr., team president Don Waddell, and executive vice president and general manager Ron Francis.
“Tom Dundon sees the potential in the Hurricanes and in Raleigh,” Bettman said.
“Tom represents a bright and secure future for the team, here — let there be no doubt about this — here in North Carolina.
“You are going to like Tom and Tom is going to bring his energy and his vision for this franchise. He wants success for the Hurricanes, on and off the ice; he wants the team to be the pride of the Triangle and an even-more integral part of the community.”
In making the introduction of Dundon, Bettman also presented his appreciation for what Karmanos had done in bringing an NHL franchise to the Triangle.
“I also want to take a moment to express my appreciation to Peter Karmanos for his many contributions to the NHL and to the community,” Bettman said.
“I know how much the Hurricanes mean to him and I am glad to know he will remain connected to the team that he brought to North Carolina in 1997.”
Dundon indicated he would be very hands-on in working to improve all aspects of the club’s operation, particularly related to the fan experience.
“The blueprint for the business is fairly obvious – not too different from every other business in the world,” he said.
“I’m not patient. It’s not going to work for me to be patient. And the fact that they had a team that can win right now, and we can then hopefully do some things to bring more fans and more resources, and they can sustain what Ron and these guys have built.”
With the Hurricanes holding the second wildcard spot and facing the Metropolitan Division’s top team, the Washington Capitals, in the second of a back-to-back, home-and-home set Friday night, Dundon was active and visible all over the arena before the puck dropped.
He showed up and watched head coach Bill Peters during his pregame scrum and wished him luck following it.
He talked with local media, and made the rounds on various NHL radio and television outlets.
He was making good on what he said during the press conference, working to make the Hurricanes a successful and winning team once again.
“I’m probably not going to do a ton of speeches and talking – we’re just going to go do stuff,” Dundon said.
“Ways to be able to keep finding ways to improve this place, that’s the job, that’s the journey.”
CAROLINA HURRICANES
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Done deal! Tom Dundon becomes Carolina Hurricanes majority owner
Dundon to be formally introduced at press conference Friday
January 12, 2018 Peter Koutroumpis
RALEIGH, N.C. – Tom Dundon is the new majority owner of the Carolina Hurricanes, the team announced on Thursday.
To officially introduce and recognize Dundon accordingly, National Hockey League (NHL) Commissioner Gary Bettman will be on hand to do so at a press conference that will be held at PNC Arena at Noon on Friday.
Dundon, who formally closed his purchase transaction with Peter Karmanos, Jr. on Thursday, via league approval, will take over operation of the organization with Karmanos retaining a minority ownership interest in the Club.
The process comes to closure a little over a month since Dundon had signed an agreement to purchase a majority stake in team as was announced on Dec. 7, 2017.
“I am thrilled to continue to build upon what Peter Karmanos started in Raleigh,” Dundon said in a statement at that time.
“The Hurricanes are a team on the rise, and I believe we have an opportunity to take the franchise to the next level. I’m ready to get to work.”
Dundon who resides in Dallas, Texas with his wife Veruschka and their five children, is the chairman and
managing partner of Dundon Capital Partners, a Dallas-based private investment firm.
He has been involved in investment activities that have spanned the entertainment, healthcare, real estate and hospitality, technology, automotive and financial services sectors.
Karmanos originally purchased the Hartford Whalers franchise in 1994 before he moved it to Raleigh and renamed it as the Carolina Hurricanes in 1997.
Since relocation, under Karmanos’ ownership, the team has captured three division titles, two conference titles and the 2006 Stanley Cup Championship.
In 2015, Karmanos was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in the category of Builder, in recognition of his more than four-decades of achievements and contributions to the sport.
In seeking a buyer over the past few years, Karmanos was adamant in finding an individual who would work to keep the team in Raleigh while he could transition out of any ownership of the club in coming years after a sale was completed.
“Tom has had tremendous success in business, and I fully expect that to continue as he takes control of the Hurricanes,” Karmanos said.
“I look forward to working with him, and bringing another Stanley Cup to North Carolina.”
Caps rally, beat Hurricanes on Beagle's goal with 1.3 left
by STATS
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) The Carolina Hurricanes learned a tough lesson over the past 1 1/2 weeks: No lead is safe on home ice against the Washington Capitals.
Jay Beagle scored with 1.3 seconds remaining and the Capitals rallied to beat the Hurricanes 4-3 on Friday night.
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Jan. 13, 2018
Brett Connolly notched the tying goal with 3:08 left, and Alex Ovechkin added his NHL-leading 28th goal and two assists for the first-place Capitals, who lost to the Hurricanes a night before in Washington.
''It kind of had almost a playoff atmosphere, especially in the first, just seeing each other back-to-back,'' Beagle said. ''It kind of gets that little bit of hatred and little bit of rivalry going.''
Lars Eller scored on the power play and Philipp Grubauer stopped 36 shots to help the Capitals earn their second come-from-behind victory in Raleigh in less than two weeks. Washington won 5-4 in overtime on Jan. 2 on two late goals by Ovechkin.
''The character of the team, it shows it,'' Ovechkin said. ''Right now, we're starting to realize who we are. We have to work hard. It's not going to be easy.''
The Hurricanes got power-play goals from Jordan Staal and Sebastian Aho - with each player assisting on the other's goal - and an even-strength goal from Jeff Skinner.
''We had the opportunity to put a game away, we gave up ... two in the last three minutes,'' Carolina coach Bill Peters said. ''Would have been nice to lock it down and get the two points. Didn't happen.''
Carolina appeared headed for a sweep of the back-to-back series, but T.J. Oshie pressured All-Star Noah Hanifin into a turnover behind the net and Connolly snapped the loose puck between Cam Ward's legs.
Beagle then stuffed in a rebound past an outstretched Ward in the closing seconds.
With Ovechkin chanting his name in the dressing room and calling him a legend, Beagle said he was just ''crashing the net, eyes closed, and it hit my stick.''
The goal came moments after Carolina co-captain Jordan Staal appeared to take a high stick to the face, though no
penalty was called, with Staal saying the officials ''chose not to call it.''
''Pretty obvious, right? Thirty-two seconds to go in the game, should be on the power play,'' Peters said. ''The power play's good tonight, you don't score there, you start 4-on-3 in OT.''
The game came hours after Carolina publicly introduced Dallas billionaire Tom Dundon as the new majority owner and successor to longtime owner Peter Karmanos Jr. Dundon took over control of the team Thursday after the sale closed.
Ward made 23 saves - including a tumbling gem midway through the third to rob Evgeny Kuznetsov - for Carolina, which was down a handful of regulars for the rematch of their 3-1 victory Thursday night .
Forward Derek Ryan didn't play after taking a hit from Tom Wilson the night before, defenseman Brett Pesce was placed on injured reserve earlier in the day and key forwards Joakim Nordstrom and Elias Lindholm were scratched with illnesses. Then, defensemen Trevor van Riemsdyk and Klas Dahlbeck skated off after being hit in their legs with shots, though both players quickly returned.
''It shows the value of those guys'' on the penalty-kill unit, Peters said. ''They're unsung heroes, all of those guys.''
NOTES: Aho has goals in three straight games, and Staal has points in four straight. ... The Hurricanes recalled C Lucas Wallmark from their AHL affiliate in Charlotte to replace Pesce. ... RW Lee Stempniak made his season debut for Carolina. He missed the first half of the season with an upper-body injury. ... Washington recalled C Travis Boyd from its AHL affiliate in Hershey, but he was scratched.
UP NEXT
Capitals: After their week off, they visit New Jersey on Jan. 18.
Hurricanes: Wrap up a two-game homestand against Calgary on Sunday.
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Jan. 13, 2018
Capitals defeat Hurricanes on goal with
two seconds left Beagle breaks tie to give Washington split of home-and-
home
by Kurt Dusterberg
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Jay Beagle scored with two seconds
remaining in the third period to lift the Washington Capitals to
a 4-3 win against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena on
Friday.
Beagle took a pass from Nicklas Backstrom at the top of the
crease and slipped a shot past goalie Cam Ward to give the
Capitals a split of the home-and-home.
"Beagle doesn't always get the sexy stats," Washington
coach Barry Trotz said. "Great play by [Backstrom] getting it
over there, but Beagle went to the net hard. It was great for
us."
The goal was Beagle's first in 15 games.
"Backstrom makes an incredible play there," Beagle said.
"The stick lift [on Hurricanes forward Brock McGinn] and then
he throws it across. I'm just crashing the net, eyes closed,
and it hits my stick."
Brett Connolly tied the game 3-3 for the Capitals when he
scored from the slot with 3:08 remaining after T.J. Oshie
stripped the puck from Noah Hanifin behind the Hurricanes
net.
"[Oshie] is such a good player with the puck," Connolly said.
"He's always hunting pucks and backchecking and doing the
little things. You combine that with his really good skill set,
and that's why he such a good player."
Ovechkin had a goal and two assists for the Capitals (28-14-
3), whose five-game winning streak ended in a 3-1 loss to
the Hurricanes on Thursday. Philipp Grubauer made 36
saves.
Jordan Staal and Sebastian Aho each had a goal and an
assist for the Hurricanes (20-16-8). Ward made 23 saves.
The Hurricanes took a 1-0 lead 10 seconds into their first
power-play opportunity. Justin Williams fed Staal, who
flipped a shot under the crossbar at 3:10 of the first period for
the 200th goal of his NHL career.
The Capitals tied it 1-1 with a power-play goal of their own at
7:25. After a lengthy goal-mouth scramble, Lars Eller scored
from the left side of the crease after Jakub Vrana hit the right
post. Eller has scored in four straight games.
Ovechkin gave Washington a 2-1 lead 28 seconds into the
second period with a one-timer from the left face-off circle for
his NHL-leading 28th goal. John Carlson got his 300th NHL
point on the set-up pass.
Carolina scored five seconds into its second power play
when Aho beat Grubauer with a one-timer from above the
circles at 8:50 to tie the game 2-2.
Skinner gave the Hurricanes a 3-2 lead at 1:49 of the third
period when he skated through the Capitals defense and
beat Grubauer to the short side. Lee Stempniak had an
assist in his season debut after missing the first 43 games
because of back and upper-body injuries.
"We had an opportunity to put the game away, and we gave
up two in the last three minutes," Hurricanes coach Bill
Peters said. "It would have been nice to lock it down and get
the two points. It didn't happen."
The Capitals go into their five-day break on a roll.
"The character of the team shows," Ovechkin said. "We're
starting to realize who we are. We have to work hard. It's not
going to be easy. For us right now, a huge two points."
Eller nets PPG amid scramble
00:56 • January 12th, 2018
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Jan. 13, 2018
Goal of the game
Beagle's goal at 19:58 of the third period.
Beagle's last-second goal
01:05 • January 12th, 2018
Save of the game
Grubauer's saves on Hanifin at 10:40 and Stempniak at
10:41 of the second period.
Grubauer stops Stempniak in close
00:32 • January 12th, 2018
Highlight of the game
Ovechkin's goal 28 seconds into the second period.
Ovechkin drills one past Ward
00:50 • January 12th, 2018
They said it
"I think everybody realized we had to be a little bit better than
[Thursday] night. You got big goals when you needed it.
Connolly getting it, then the late one [from Beagle]. That's
going to leave a mark on [them]. I think we're in a real good
spot getting the win tonight. It will make the break a lot more
pleasurable." -- Capitals coach Barry Trotz
"All in all, a great game. It definitely hurt. We had a lot of
guys step up and play really well. I thought we controlled a
lot of the game too. It's going to be a hard one to swallow." --
Hurricanes forward Jordan Staal
Need to know
Beagle's is the latest go-ahead goal in Capitals history,
according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Alexander Semin
scored at 19:49 of the third period in a 3-2 win against the
Hurricanes on Nov. 6, 2008. ... The Capitals are 7-3-1 when
tied entering the third period. ... Aho has nine goals in the
past 10 games. … The Hurricanes played without
defenseman Brett Pesce, who was placed on injured reserve
with an upper-body injury sustained during the morning skate
Thursday, and forward Derek Ryan, who was injured in the
third period of the win at Washington.
New Hurricanes owner commits to Raleigh
market Dundon eager to get started, wants to enhance fan
experience
by Tom Gulitti
The news conference to introduce Tom Dundon as the
majority owner of the Carolina Hurricanes was being
delayed, and while they talked on the dais, NHL
Commissioner Gary Bettman could see Dundon fidgeting in
his chair, eager to get started.
"Tom is champing at the bit," Commissioner Bettman told the
media and Hurricanes staff members in attendance at PNC
Arena on Friday. "Punctuality will be at the cornerstone of
this franchise moving forward."
Dundon's impatience was clear throughout the news
conference, and he made it clear to anyone watching that he
wants to get to work immediately on transforming the
Hurricanes into the successful, profitable, championship
team he envisions.
"I'm not patient," Dundon said. "It's not going to work for me
to be patient."
Immediately after the news conference, Dundon sent out a
letter to the Hurricanes fans, expressing his commitment to
the market and some the immediate changes he's planning,
including supplementing the training and analytical staffs and
building a new practice facility.
The good news is Dundon, the 46-year-old chairman and
managing partner of Dundon Capital Partners, a Dallas-
based private investment firm, is taking over a young team
that appears on the verge of a breakthrough on the ice. The
Hurricanes held the second wild card into the Stanley Cup
Playoffs from the Eastern Conference entering their home
game against the Washington Capitals on Friday.
The Hurricanes haven't qualified for the playoffs since 2009,
but Dundon expressed confidence that general manager Ron
Francis, coach Bill Peters and their staffs have the team on
the right path hockey-wise. It will be up to him to produce
success business-wise.
"What I think is the most important thing we have to do,
knowing that we've got folks that understand how to build a
great hockey team and have a great foundation, is figure out
how to give a great fan experience," Dundon said. "I don't
think I'm happy with what a fan gets when they come here
tonight. Other than the great hockey, we need to do more
than that. And that's our focus right now."
The sale was completed Thursday, with Dundon purchasing
61 percent of the Hurricanes from Peter Karmanos, who
bought the Hartford Whalers in 1994 and moved them to
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Jan. 13, 2018
North Carolina in 1997, when they were renamed.
Karmanos, 74, retains a minority stake in the team and will
serve as an advisor to Dundon.
"Tom says he's not patient. There isn't an owner, I think,
that's patient in the true definition of the word," Karmanos
said. "But you have to put that aside and try to do the right
things."
Karmanos provided an example of how his own impatience
once cost him, referencing the five-year, $35 million
extension the Hurricanes gave forward Alexander Semin in
2013. The Hurricanes ended up buying out the final three
seasons in 2015 after the enigmatic Semin struggled to live
up to it.
"So one of the things that I can do, Gary can do, Ronnie can
do, is help Tom through those periods of time when you want
to do something stupid," Karmanos said.
Karmanos can also tell Dundon about how good the Raleigh
market can be if the Hurricanes can consistently have a
competitive team. Commissioner Bettman reminisced about
the scene outside PNC Arena before playoff games when
the parking lots would be filled with tailgating fans. Inside the
arena, the atmosphere was electric during the Hurricanes'
run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2002 and the Eastern
Conference Final in 2009.
The crowning moment came when they defeated the
Edmonton Oilers in Game 7 of the 2006 Stanley Cup Final
there.
"During the Stanley Cup Final, Game 7, this is the first time
at a professional sporting event that I can recall that
everybody stood for the entire game," the Commissioner
said. "This is a community that has embraced NHL hockey
and the Hurricanes. I know there has been speculation and
rumor and innuendo about the future of this franchise. Let
me tell you, as I repeatedly said over the years, this
franchise wasn't going anywhere and isn't going anywhere."
Hurricanes goaltender Cam Ward, the Conn Smythe Trophy
winner in 2006 when he was 22, would love to see those
glory days return. Having met with Dundon in the past
month, Ward can tell he's done his homework and
understands the potential of the market.
"He's genuinely really excited," Ward said. "The players feel
that excitement from him. I think he's a guy that makes an
impact, wants to win, wants to make a Raleigh a place where
players want to come and play. As players, that's always
exciting to hear that from your owner."
Dundon spoke Friday about increasing ticket sales and
getting the community engaged with the team.
Winning always helps. Dundon believes there are "a hundred
little things" he can do, as well.
He admitted he doesn't have an exact business plan yet and
didn't want to discuss the details he has figured out, but it
won't take long for them to be revealed.
"I'm probably not going to do a lot of speeches and talking,"
Dundon said. "We're just going to go do stuff. Then, people
will decide if they like it, and if they don't' like it, we'll try to do
better."
As for his financial commitment, Dundon said, "I value
winning more than money, but it doesn't mean I want to burn
it."
He then told the story of how he almost walked away from
the sale when Karmanos, "wasn't OK with my price." The
problem for Dundon was they'd begun talking during training
camp, and by that point, he was emotionally hooked.
"I'd been watching the team, and now I'm invested," Dundon
said. "And now I'm done, it's over. I'm irrelevant, and I can't
do what I want to do with the organization, so I called him
back, groveling. That's how we came to our deal.
"So I've already sort of proven that I'll make an irrational
financial decision if it means we can win."
Dundon becomes majority owner of
Hurricanes Sale from Karmanos official, will own 61 percent of team
NHL.com @NHL
Tom Dundon is now majority owner of the Carolina
Hurricanes.
The NHL announced Thursday that the sale, which was
agreed to in December, had been completed. Dundon will
own 61 percent of the Hurricanes, with Peter Karmanos
retaining a minority stake. The NHL Board of Governors
previously approved the transaction.
"Tom Dundon sees the potential in the Hurricanes and in
Raleigh," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said Friday at
PNC Arena, where Dundon was introduced. "Tom represents
a bright and secure future for the team, here -- let there be
no doubt about this -- here in North Carolina."
Dundon said Thursday he was 100 percent confident in
general manager Ron Francis and coach Bill Peters. The
Hurricanes have made the Stanley Cup Playoffs once (2008-
09) since winning the Cup in 2005-06.
He said Friday he plans to work to improve the experience
for fans on and off the ice.
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Jan. 13, 2018
"I'm probably not going to do a ton of speeches and talking ...
we're just going to go do stuff," he said. "Ways to be able to
keep finding ways to improve this place... that's the job, that's
the journey.
"I came to the games and it didn't look like what I would want
it to look like. If I'm going to be involved, I have what I
consider the right way to do things, and this isn't it. ... If
people are going to spend their money, they should get value
for it."
Dundon, 46, is chairman and managing partner of Dundon
Capital Partners, a Dallas-based private investment firm.
Commissioner Bettman said he is confident that the NHL has
the right man for the job.
"You could see it today," Commissioner Bettman said. "He's
the real deal. He's down-to-earth, he's really smart, he's
really passionate and emotional. He's going to create an
organizational culture in his image. I think that's going to be
exciting for the franchise."
Karmanos had owned the team since 1994, when he
purchased the Hartford Whalers. He moved them to North
Carolina in 1997, when they were renamed. They played in
Greensboro for two seasons before moving to Raleigh.
Karmanos was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in the
category of builder in 2015.
New Hurricanes owner Dundon values
'winning more than money'
Associated Press
RALEIGH, N.C. -- The new owner of the Carolina Hurricanes
is new to owning a professional sports team and, for that
matter, relatively new to hockey.
But Tom Dundon knows how to run a successful business _
and he wants to win soon.
``The blueprint for the business is fairly obvious _ not too
different from every other business in the world,'' Dundon
said Friday during his introduction as the team's majority
owner.
Carolina Hurricanes new NHL hockey team majority owner
Thomas Dundon smiles during an introductory press
conference at PNC Arena in Raleigh, N.C., Friday. Chris
Seward/AP Photo
``On the hockey side, the advice (has been) repeatedly,
you've got to trust'' his hockey-minded employees, he added.
``I don't think I'm going to walk in and understand more
hockey than (general manager Ron Francis). That would be
ridiculous.''
Dundon, a 46-year-old billionaire from Dallas, is the former
CEO of Santander Consumer USA, a Dallas-based lending
firm. He's also an investor in the Top Golf chain of golf and
entertainment facilities and a key financier of a new golf
course in Dallas.
ADVERTISEMENT
Now he's part of the exclusive club of pro sports owners.
``I value winning more than money,'' Dundon said, ``but it
doesn't mean I want to burn it.''
Dundon, who repeatedly described himself as impatient, has
taken over the team with the NHL's longest active
postseason drought _ eight years. Carolina entered Friday
night's home game against first-place Washington in playoff
position after beating the Capitals 3-1 on Thursday night.
``I'm not patient. It's not going to work for me to be patient,''
Dundon said. ``And the fact that they had a team that can
win right now, and we can then hopefully do some things to
bring more fans and more resources and they can sustain
what Ron and these guys have built, that was the big
difference.''
One of Dundon's top challenges is attracting more fans. The
Hurricanes rank next to last in attendance this season,
averaging about 12,500 at the 18,680-seat building. Their
average attendance of 11,776 last season was the team's
smallest since moving into PNC Arena in 1999.
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Jan. 13, 2018
``If we don't sell more tickets, it's not the fans' fault _ it's our
fault,'' Dundon said. ``Clearly, this is a winning town, this is a
winning place with a team that is ready to win. ... They'll
come when we give them a reason to come.''
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman says Dundon's purchase
of the team and commitment to the Raleigh area should bury
the talk about possible relocation.
``This is a community that has embraced NHL hockey and
the Hurricanes,'' Bettman said. ``I know over the years, there
has been speculation and rumor and innuendo about the
future of this franchise. Let me tell you, as I repeatedly said
over the years, this franchise wasn't going anywhere and
isn't going anywhere.''
Under the ownership transition, Peter Karmanos Jr. will
retain a minority piece of the club he purchased in 1994 and
moved from Hartford, Connecticut, to North Carolina three
years later.
Karmanos had been publicly seeking a local buyer for at
least three years. He acknowledged over the summer that he
and a group led by former Texas Rangers CEO Chuck
Greenberg had agreed to an outline but could not settle on
terms for a purchase agreement. He also said he was
looking for a sale price of about $500 million.
Dundon said Karmanos initially rejected his first bid for the
franchise. He said he usually can shake off a failed deal and
move on to the next one, but described himself as
``depressed'' because ``I was watching the team and now
I'm (emotionally) invested, and it's done.
``And I called (Karmanos) back, groveling, and that's how we
came to our deal,'' Dundon added. ``I've already sort of
proven that I'll make an irrational financial decision if it
means that we can win something.''
Carolina Hurricanes Sold To Tom Dundon
For $420 Million
Mike Ozanian
Tom Dundon has purchased the Carolina Hurricanes and the
operating rights to PNC Arena for $420 million.
Media outlets are reporting the value of the sale as $550
million. Not true. Two people with first-hand knowledge of the
sale have told me the enterprise value was $420 million. Still,
the sale price is 13.5% more than our valuation of the NHL
team last month.
Dundon now owns 61% of the Hurricanes with outgoing
owner Peter Karmanos retaining 39%. Dundon has an option
to purchase the remainder of the team in three years at a
significantly higher enterprise value.
For Karmanos, the $420 million (3.9 times 2016-17 revenue)
is a huge win. The Hurricanes generally have been losing
money and with no basketball team to help anchor PNC
Arena, which is run by the hockey team, the building's
economics are challenging.
For the NHL, the $420 million enterprise value hammers
home the point that expansion team prices do not equate to
a floor for team values. The expansion fee paid by Vegas
Golden Knights, which joined the league this season, was
$500 million. And the next expansion team, possibly in
Seattle, may indeed go for over $600 million.
But the Hurricanes were a debt-laden, thinly capitalized
franchise and Karmanos--who bought the team for $47.5
million in 1994--has wanted out for a few years.
The Hurricanes now have a much stronger balance sheet.
Prior to the sale the team was saddled with some $260
million of debt. The team's debt is now roughly $100 million.
The question for Hurricanes supporters is this: With much of
the money to buy the team used pay off past bills, does
Dundon have the money to market and support the
franchise?
Apparently, yes. A Dallas Morning News story from 2015
claims Dundon is a billionaire.
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Jan. 13, 2018
TODAY’S LINKS
http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/luke-decock/article194543569.html
http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/nhl/carolina-hurricanes/article194537319.html
http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/nhl/carolina-hurricanes/article194484799.html
http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/luke-decock/article194449319.html
http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/luke-decock/article194449239.html
https://nsjonline.com/article/2018/01/capitals-score-with-1-3-seconds-left-to-stun-hurricanes/
http://www.wralsportsfan.com/caps-rally-beat-hurricanes-on-beagle-s-goal-with-1-3-left/17253739/
http://www.wralsportsfan.com/new-hurricanes-owner-to-focus-on-winning-hockey-fan-experience/17252193/
https://www.nhl.com/hurricanes/news/five-takeaways-from-tom-dundon-hurricanes-introduction/c-294894628
https://www.nhl.com/hurricanes/news/recap-hurricanes-drop-heartbreaker/c-294903994
https://www.canescountry.com/2018/1/12/16885468/carolina-hurricanes-owner-tom-dundon-peter-karmanos-gary-bettman-ron-francis
https://www.canescountry.com/2018/1/12/16886982/recap-and-ranker-washington-capitals-stun-carolina-hurricanes-4-3-nhl
http://trianglesportsnet.com/carolina-hockey-network/tom-dundon-takes-majority-ownership-carolina-hurricanes/
http://trianglesportsnet.com/carolina-hockey-network/done-deal-tom-dundon-becomes-carolina-hurricanes-majority-owner/
https://www.cbssports.com/nhl/news/caps-rally-beat-hurricanes-on-beagles-goal-with-1-3-left/
https://www.nhl.com/news/washington-capitals-carolina-hurricanes-game-recap/c-294906196
https://www.nhl.com/news/carolina-hurricanes-owner-tom-dundon-commits-to-raleigh-market/c-294897848
https://www.nhl.com/news/tom-dundon-majority-owner-of-carolina-hurricanes/c-294871730
http://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/22060776/new-hurricanes-owner-tom-dundon-values-winning-more-money
https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2018/01/12/carolina-hurricanes-sold-to-tom-dungon-for-420-million/#6a62c79e73d8
1092808 Carolina Hurricanes
Dundon says he couldn’t say no to a chance to own the Hurricanes
BY CHIP ALEXANDER
January 12, 2018 05:47 PM
Tom Dundon says he’s not the type to circle back on a business deal.
Dundon, a Dallas billionaire, does his due diligence, sifts through the
financial data and decides on a fair offer. If it doesn’t close the deal,
that’s that.
Except with the Carolina Hurricanes.
Dundon, introduced Friday as the new majority owner and managing
partner of the Hurricanes, said he made first made an offer to Peter
Karmanos Jr. that the owner turned down. A week later, a somewhat
depressed Dundon was back with a new one.
Money is money, he said. He’s made a lot of it. But there’s an emotional
attachment involved in owning a major-league sports team, and Dundon
said he already felt that attachment to the Hurricanes.
“Never in my life had I gone back on a deal,” Dundon said. “If we didn’t
get it done it was over and I didn’t think about it again and went on to the
next one.”
But Dundon said he had been watching the team and was emotionally
invested in the team, excited when they won and miserable if they lost.
“Then it’s over and I’m done,” he said, speaking of the deal falling
through. “I can’t do what I want to do with the organization.”
A week later, Dundon reached Karmanos again, with a higher offer. He
wanted to own the hockey team.
“I called him back, groveling,” Dundon said. “That’s how we came to our
deal. So I’ve already proven I will make an irrational financial decision.”
Dundon agreed to buy 61 percent of the franchise, which was valued at
$550 million, with an option to purchase the remainder in three years.
On Friday, Dundon sat next to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman on a
dais at PNC Arena, saying he first met Bettman three months ago and
adding, “I think we’re best friends now.”
To Bettman’s right sat Karmanos, who will remain as a minority owner
and was praised by Bettman for his contributions to the sport, both in
bringing the Hurricanes to the Triangle and North Carolina and in his
long-time support of youth hockey in Detroit. That earned Karmanos an
ovation from the large crowd packed into the Arena Club.
But Friday was Dundon’s day. And he was Tom Dundon. He wore
Hurricanes athletic gear to the press conference. He wore Under Armour
sneakers.
News Observer LOADED: 01.13.2018
1092809 Carolina Hurricanes
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Jan. 13, 2018
As Hurricanes move into a new era, their old owner is as excited as
anyone
BY LUKE DECOCK
January 12, 2018 04:08 PM
RALEIGH
These are new and exciting and uncertain days for the Carolina
Hurricanes, the kind of days when a midday press conference at PNC
Arena overshadows not only the massive divisional win the night before
but the rematch with the Washington Capitals to come at the arena later
that night.
If it wasn’t clear Thursday just what a brand new day this is for the
franchise when Thomas Dundon assumed control of the Hurricanes, it
was clear Friday when he sat next to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman,
with Peter Karmanos on Bettman’s other shoulder.
“Those lousy crowds are the result of not having enough season tickets,”
Karmanos said.
Moments later, without skipping a beat, Dundon laid down the new law.
“If we don’t sell more tickets, it’s not the fans’ fault. It’s our fault,” Dundon
said.
Hallelujah.
Dundon’s wardrobe alone indicated nothing is going to stay the same.
Karmanos and Bettman wore suits, per their usual. Dundon wore a
windbreaker, per his usual, and must have left his omnipresent hat in his
office. A wild ride lies ahead.
You might think, given Dundon’s determination to examine and, if
necessary, upend every aspect of the franchise – even the hockey side,
as much as Dundon thinks the team is on the right track, will be given
upgrades in analytics and medical treatment – that Karmanos might look
askance at some of this. For 24 years, this was his team, his baby, and
while it’s fair to criticize his stewardship of it at times, none of this, from
2002 to 2006 to 2009, from the draft to the All-Star Game, even that
dead-stinking-last season in 2003 that was a mesmerizing catastrophe to
watch, would have happened without him.
An orderly transition of power is the hallmark of any functioning
democracy, and you never know how the one of end era will slide into a
new one. Karmanos didn’t have the smoothest transition from
Compuware, the software company he founded, and the Hurricanes
meant as much to him – if not more than Compuware. He choked up
Friday talking about his silent partner Thomas Thewes, whose death in
2008 led Karmanos to consider selling the team in the first place. This
team was his dream for a long time, and it was time to walk away. He
knew it. That doesn’t make it easy.
But Karmanos is entering this new era with the same optimism and
anticipation as anyone else around the franchise. For the first time in
decades, at age 74, he’s a fan again. No worries about profits or loss. No
one asking where to park the pallet-jack. No memos from the NHL.
“That’s the best part,” Karmanos said, smiling broadly. “It’s been that way
for a few weeks.”
Karmanos’ new role as minority owner will be as a sort of senior adviser,
but it’s clear Dundon is going to do things his way regardless of what
Karmanos thinks, and Karmanos is fine with that. If anything, he’s as
curious as anyone to see what happens.
“One of the things I was concerned about as we did this is, we want to do
a lot of great things and we want to change a lot of things,” Dundon said.
“Pete, I talked to him a couple times about this, is it OK if we do things
differently? And he’s been the biggest cheerleader for, let’s do everything
we can with no limitations and not worry about what we did before, and I
don’t think that means we don’t appreciate what he did.”
Or, from Karmanos’ side: “I knew from the first time I talked to Tom he
was the real deal and he would be a good owner. That’s very important
to Gary, and especially to me, as far as who you turn the team over to.”
So this, as much as anything, will be a part of Karmanos’ complicated
legacy. He brought the team here. He won a Stanley Cup. There were
too many years where the franchise languished and failed to reach its
potential. And then, when the time came, he turned the keys over to
someone with a new vision, new ambition and new energy committed to
making this work in Raleigh, as we all know it can.
On his way out of the building Friday, Karmanos stopped by the sixth-
floor office that used to be his. He never used it much, and Dundon was
already in it Thursday afternoon, holding meetings and digging through
merchandise samples. Karmanos slid the plate bearing his name off the
wall and slipped it into his bag. Then he stepped outside to smoke a
cigar, and for the first time in a long time, he was just another guy outside
the arena hoping for a Hurricanes win on a Friday night.
News Observer LOADED: 01.13.2018
1092810 Carolina Hurricanes
After 24 hours of celebration, grim reality crashes down on Hurricanes
BY LUKE DECOCK
January 12, 2018 11:14 PM
RALEIGH
After 24 pretty good hours for the Carolina Hurricanes franchise, Friday
night delivered a four-minute reminder that it isn't always sunshine and
rainbows in the NHL.
In the wake of a win in Washington on Thursday and Thomas Dundon's
introduction as the team's new owner Friday, things were looking up for
the Hurricanes, right through the first 56 minutes and change Friday.
Then Noah Hanifin made his second catastrophic late play in the past
three games to allow the Capitals to tie the score, both officials missed
an obvious lip-splitting high stick on Jordan Staal and Victor Rask lost a
faceoff in the Washington zone that allowed the Capitals to go end-to-
end and score the winner with 1.3 seconds left, a potentially season-
altering two-point swing in 3 minutes, 8 seconds and a 4-3 loss.
Instead of sending another message to the Metropolitan Division – the
Hurricanes were 4-0-1 in their previous five division games – by
sweeping this two-day set with the Capitals, they were left beaten and
bereft. The giant big-screen TV in the locker room was splattered with
unknown liquid, a visible sign of the barely hidden frustration.
“It's part of the game,” said Hurricanes forward Jeff Skinner, who scored
what should have been the game-winner by turning Washington
defenseman John Carlson inside out and rifling a top-shelf shot. “You
play 82 games and this is one of 82. It was kind of a tough break, but at
the same time, we've got more games. We've got to move on.”
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Jan. 13, 2018
That's how it goes in the NHL, especially for a team trying to bob and
weave its way into the playoffs. Even little mistakes are harshly punished,
let alone big ones. Hanifin, the team's sole All-Star, for reasons easily
explained but difficult to justify, has made two in the past four days,
single-handedly costing the Hurricanes points.
On Tuesday, Tampa Bay's tiny Tyler Johnson outmuscled Hanifin on the
rush to score the game-winner, as embarrassing a fate as any NHL
defenseman has ever suffered. Friday, with the Canes trying to protect a
3-2 lead, Hanifin threw a blind pass up the middle from behind the
Carolina net, which Brett Connolly popped instantly past Cam Ward. Off
the glass and out, kid, like the old days. (And here, Glen Wesley nods
sagely.)
There's so much good in Hanifin's game and so much “I hope my high-
school buddies never see that clip.” He's only 20, but he has played 204
NHL games. He may not be a finished product, but it's fair to expect more
than this at this point. Or less than this, if you just want to look at the self-
sabotaging mistakes.
“Yeah, you got to stay with him, you've got to teach,” Hurricanes coach
Bill Peters said. “You've to to learn from it. You've got to stay with people.
It's easy to go away. Right now, we've got the opportunity to put a game
away and we give up two in the last three (minutes) roughly. It would
have been nice to lock it down.”
But this isn't entirely on Hanifin. It never is. The Hurricanes should have
been on the power play with 32 seconds to go, with Staal's lip split open,
and even if they didn't score they would have started overtime 4-on-3
with a chance to pick up an extra point.
There's no point in complaining about NHL officiating, which is like the
weather. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad, it rains on everyone
the same and it evens out in the end. In a way, it was karmic payback for
Thursday, when Rask scored the game-winner after the Capitals thought
the puck had been possessed on a delayed penalty and play should
have been blown dead.
That won't make Peters feel any better or heal Staal's split lip. This
wasn't a judgment call, or a debatable interpretation of a rule (like Justin
Faulk's questionable interference penalty on Tom Wilson; you may not
like it, but all you can do, or should do, is shrug). This was as glaring a
missed call as you'll ever see, and no excuse for either referee – Steve
Kozari and T.J. Luxmore – to miss it. Staal said he couldn't get an
explanation, either.
The last goal was a chain of errors, with Rask losing the faceoff and
Brock McGinn whiffing on a chance to clear the puck when Alexander
Ovechkin lost control, breiefly, and Ward flopping around in the crease. It
was basically a repeat of the N.C. State game in this same building
Thursday, except the Capitals finished with a four-point play for the win.
Dundon was watching from a suite, and got a nice round of applause
when he was shown on the scoreboard. (It was subtle and unannounced,
and many fans may even have missed it.) He's been living and dying with
the team for months now – he even went back to Peter Karmanos to offer
more money after walking away from the deal initially, because he was
hooked – so these emotions won't be new to him.
But they will be fresh, as they will be for the team, and they will linger.
Because if it comes down to the final days and a point or two, circle these
as two that never should have gotten away.
News Observer LOADED: 01.13.2018
1092811 Carolina Hurricanes
Caps hand Hurricanes brutal 4-3 loss
BY CHIP ALEXANDER
January 12, 2018 10:14 PM
The Carolina Hurricanes, with new owner Tom Dundon in the house
Friday, were looking for a two-game sweep of the Washington Capitals to
please the new boss.
The Caps wouldn’t let it happen, beating the Canes 4-3 on Jay Beagle’s
goal with 1.3 seconds remaining in regulation. Nicklas Backstrom swiped
the puck from Canes forward Brock McGinn and found Beagle open for
the score, handing the Canes what had to be a brutal loss.
“They all feel similar to me,” Canes coach Bill Peters said. “It’s a loss, no
points.”
The Canes topped the Caps 3-1 in Washington on Thursday, the day
Dundon’s deal to buy the Hurricanes was finalized. They returned to PNC
Arena on Friday to finish the back-to-back on the day of Dundon’s
introductory press conference at the arena.
Jeff Skinner’s third-period goal gave the Canes a 3-2 lead, scoring his
14th of the season on a perfectly placed shot that beat goalie Philipp
Grubauer. Forward Lee Stempniak, playing his first game of the season,
assisted on the Skinner score.
But the Caps (28-14-3) tied it 3-3 at 16:52 of the third when Brett
Connolly scored after Canes defenseman Noah Hanifin made a sloppy
pass in the defensive zone that Connolly picked off.
Jordan Staal and Sebastian Aho each had power-play goals for the
Canes, who have a game left Sunday against the Calgary Flames before
taking their mandated five-day break.
Steal was bloodied by a high stick from the Caps’ Evgeny Kuznetsov with
32 seconds remaining in regulation, but there was no call. It would have
been a four-minute double minor that would have carried over into
overtime had the Canes not scored in regulation.
"It was a stick in the face in front of (the ref) and he chose not to call it,”
Staal said.
Staal said there was no explanation from the ref, saying, "He didn't want
to talk to me tonight."
Lars Eller had a first-period goal and Alex Ovechkin a second-period
score for the Caps, the Metropolitan Division leaders.
The Canes (20-16-8) had the fans roaring early with their first power-play
goal — and a textbook one, at that.
Steal won a faceoff, Aho got the puck low to Justin Williams and Williams
promptly found Staal in front for the score. It was Staal’s 200th career
goal, making him the fourth player from the 2006 NHL draft class to
reach that milestone.
The Canes’ second-power play goal, in the second period, was scored as
quickly as the first. Aho was open at the top of the slot and unloaded a
shot that Grubauer couldn’t track as the Canes tied the score 1-1.
No one has a bigger blast than Ovechkin and it was his second-period
goal — his 28th of the season — that gave the Caps a 2-1 lead.
Ellen was credited with the Caps’ first goal of the night after a wild
scramble in front of the Canes net that had Eller tangled up on the ice
with goalie Cam Ward.
Peters challenged the goal, claiming goaltender interference, but the
Caps won the ruling after a lengthy review.
The Canes played without defenseman Brett Pesce, who was placed
Friday on injured reserve, and forward Derek Ryan, injured in Thursday’s
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Jan. 13, 2018
game in Washington. Elias Lindholm and Joakim Nordstrom were held
out of the game because of illness.
Returning to the lineup was Stempniak, who missed the Canes’ first 43
games with various injuries. Stempniak played on a line with center
Lucas Wallmark and Skinner and was effective.
News Observer LOADED: 01.13.2018
1092812 Carolina Hurricanes
Dundon says he couldn’t say no to a chance to own the Hurricanes
BY CHIP ALEXANDER
January 12, 2018 05:47 PM
Tom Dundon says he’s not the type to circle back on a business deal.
Dundon, a Dallas billionaire, does his due diligence, sifts through the
financial data and decides on a fair offer. If it doesn’t close the deal,
that’s that.
Except with the Carolina Hurricanes.
Dundon, introduced Friday as the new majority owner and managing
partner of the Hurricanes, said he made first made an offer to Peter
Karmanos Jr. that the owner turned down. A week later, a somewhat
depressed Dundon was back with a new one.
Money is money, he said. He’s made a lot of it. But there’s an emotional
attachment involved in owning a major-league sports team, and Dundon
said he already felt that attachment to the Hurricanes.
“Never in my life had I gone back on a deal,” Dundon said. “If we didn’t
get it done it was over and I didn’t think about it again and went on to the
next one.”
But Dundon said he had been watching the team and was emotionally
invested in the team, excited when they won and miserable if they lost.
“Then it’s over and I’m done,” he said, speaking of the deal falling
through. “I can’t do what I want to do with the organization.”
A week later, Dundon reached Karmanos again, with a higher offer. He
wanted to own the hockey team.
“I called him back, groveling,” Dundon said. “That’s how we came to our
deal. So I’ve already proven I will make an irrational financial decision.”
Dundon agreed to buy 61 percent of the franchise, which was valued at
$550 million, with an option to purchase the remainder in three years.
On Friday, Dundon sat next to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman on a
dais at PNC Arena, saying he first met Bettman three months ago and
adding, “I think we’re best friends now.”
To Bettman’s right sat Karmanos, who will remain as a minority owner
and was praised by Bettman for his contributions to the sport, both in
bringing the Hurricanes to the Triangle and North Carolina and in his
long-time support of youth hockey in Detroit. That earned Karmanos an
ovation from the large crowd packed into the Arena Club.
But Friday was Dundon’s day. And he was Tom Dundon. He wore
Hurricanes athletic gear to the press conference. He wore Under Armour
sneakers.
He’s not a dress-up, coat-and-tie kind of guy. He looked as if he was
ready to head to a nearby golf course and get in a quick 18 holes.
But Dundon, 46, is about results, not appearances. His mantra appears
to be “Keep improving everything, every day, all the time” – a phrase he
used Friday in describing the culture he wants in the organization moving
forward.
Among those at the Arena Club at PNC Arena was Abel Zalcberg, one of
the Hurricanes’ investment partners.
“I think it’s going to be great for the franchise,” Zalcberg said of the
ownership change. “It’s time we get fresh blood in here. … I think the
team is definitely prepared for success for the next five, six years. I think
he has all the right traits to take this to the next level and we hope he will
do that.
“I think Tom Dundon knows what he’s doing from a business point of
view. He didn’t become a billionaire from not knowing what to do.”
Karmanos, 74, said he would have an advisory role with the team and
said one suggestion to Dundon was to double the season-ticket sales.
“That would make a huge difference because some of those crummy
crowds are a result of not having enough season tickets,” Karmanos
said.
The Canes rank 30th in NHL home attendance this season at 12,494 per
game, but Dundon said that not the fault of the fans.
“If we don’t sell more tickets it’s our fault,” he said.
Dundon, as he did in an interview Thursday, again expressed the need to
provide a better fan experience at PNC Arena. He noted at the games he
has attended, “It didn’t look like what I would want it to look like.”
As far as the team on the ice, the Canes topped the Washington Capitals
3-1 on Thursday to again move into a wild-card playoff position in the
Eastern Conference. The Canes and Caps faced off again Friday at PNC
Arena – with Dundon watching.
“He’s been like the Energizer bunny,” Canes general manager Ron
Francis said. “He’s gathered as much information as he can to sort of
help steer things and get a better understanding of how we can be better.
He’s looking at every facet of the organization and see where we can do
things that can give us an edge and make us better.”
Herald-Sun LOADED: 01.13.2018
1092813 Carolina Hurricanes
An outdoor NHL game in Raleigh? Don’t rule it out, commissioner says
BY LUKE DECOCK
January 12, 2018 04:09 PM
RALEIGH
It wasn’t exactly a promise – and Gary Bettman has made, and delivered
on, actual promises to this franchise before – but the NHL commissioner
wouldn’t rule it out.
In the wake of the ownership change, from Peter Karmanos to Thomas
Dundon, could the Carolina Hurricanes host an outdoor game at Carter-
Finley Stadium?
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Jan. 13, 2018
“Tom has already asked,” Bettman said Friday at the PNC Arena press
conference to announce the ownership transition.
And?
“An outdoor game across the street is not out of the question,” the
commissioner said.
That’s not exactly the same as when he promised the 2004 NHL Draft to
the Hurricanes back in 2001, with an All-Star Game to follow, in 2011 as
it turned out. And it’s hard to imagine Bettman answering the question
any other way. But it’s better than nothing.
Ice-making technology has advanced to the point where it’s possible to
make a playable surface under almost any conditions, so it wouldn’t have
to be below freezing like it was last weekend here. And N.C. State would
have to be a willing partner.
“We are absolutely receptive to any creative ideas that serve Raleigh,
Wake County and the state of North Carolina well,” an athletic
department spokesman said.
Nothing would jump-start the Hurricanes in this market under Dundon’s
ownership more than a Winter Classic, an event for which the Hurricanes
have not heretofore been considered as a participant, let alone a host. It
would also be a step toward restoring the Hurricanes’ status as a model
Sun Belt franchise, a distinction widely bestowed upon the team in the
wake of the beyond-all-expectations All-Star Game in 2011.
So it’s a long way from happening. But for the first time, it’s actually worth
talking about.
Herald-Sun LOADED: 01.13.2018
1092814 Carolina Hurricanes
As Hurricanes move into a new era, their old owner is as excited as
anyone
BY LUKE DECOCK
January 12, 2018 04:08 PM
RALEIGH
These are new and exciting and uncertain days for the Carolina
Hurricanes, the kind of days when a midday press conference at PNC
Arena overshadows not only the massive divisional win the night before
but the rematch with the Washington Capitals to come at the arena later
that night.
If it wasn’t clear Thursday just what a brand new day this is for the
franchise when Thomas Dundon assumed control of the Hurricanes, it
was clear Friday when he sat next to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman,
with Peter Karmanos on Bettman’s other shoulder.
“Those lousy crowds are the result of not having enough season tickets,”
Karmanos said.
Moments later, without skipping a beat, Dundon laid down the new law.
“If we don’t sell more tickets, it’s not the fans’ fault. It’s our fault,” Dundon
said.
Hallelujah.
Dundon’s wardrobe alone indicated nothing is going to stay the same.
Karmanos and Bettman wore suits, per their usual. Dundon wore a
windbreaker, per his usual, and must have left his omnipresent hat in his
office. A wild ride lies ahead.
You might think, given Dundon’s determination to examine and, if
necessary, upend every aspect of the franchise – even the hockey side,
as much as Dundon thinks the team is on the right track, will be given
upgrades in analytics and medical treatment – that Karmanos might look
askance at some of this. For 24 years, this was his team, his baby, and
while it’s fair to criticize his stewardship of it at times, none of this, from
2002 to 2006 to 2009, from the draft to the All-Star Game, even that
dead-stinking-last season in 2003 that was a mesmerizing catastrophe to
watch, would have happened without him.
An orderly transition of power is the hallmark of any functioning
democracy, and you never know how the one of end era will slide into a
new one. Karmanos didn’t have the smoothest transition from
Compuware, the software company he founded, and the Hurricanes
meant as much to him – if not more than Compuware. He choked up
Friday talking about his silent partner Thomas Thewes, whose death in
2008 led Karmanos to consider selling the team in the first place. This
team was his dream for a long time, and it was time to walk away. He
knew it. That doesn’t make it easy.
But Karmanos is entering this new era with the same optimism and
anticipation as anyone else around the franchise. For the first time in
decades, at age 74, he’s a fan again. No worries about profits or loss. No
one asking where to park the pallet-jack. No memos from the NHL.
“That’s the best part,” Karmanos said, smiling broadly. “It’s been that way
for a few weeks.”
Karmanos’ new role as minority owner will be as a sort of senior adviser,
but it’s clear Dundon is going to do things his way regardless of what
Karmanos thinks, and Karmanos is fine with that. If anything, he’s as
curious as anyone to see what happens.
“One of the things I was concerned about as we did this is, we want to do
a lot of great things and we want to change a lot of things,” Dundon said.
“Pete, I talked to him a couple times about this, is it OK if we do things
differently? And he’s been the biggest cheerleader for, let’s do everything
we can with no limitations and not worry about what we did before, and I
don’t think that means we don’t appreciate what he did.”
Or, from Karmanos’ side: “I knew from the first time I talked to Tom he
was the real deal and he would be a good owner. That’s very important
to Gary, and especially to me, as far as who you turn the team over to.”
So this, as much as anything, will be a part of Karmanos’ complicated
legacy. He brought the team here. He won a Stanley Cup. There were
too many years where the franchise languished and failed to reach its
potential. And then, when the time came, he turned the keys over to
someone with a new vision, new ambition and new energy committed to
making this work in Raleigh, as we all know it can.
On his way out of the building Friday, Karmanos stopped by the sixth-
floor office that used to be his. He never used it much, and Dundon was
already in it Thursday afternoon, holding meetings and digging through
merchandise samples. Karmanos slid the plate bearing his name off the
wall and slipped it into his bag. Then he stepped outside to smoke a
cigar, and for the first time in a long time, he was just another guy outside
the arena hoping for a Hurricanes win on a Friday night.
Herald-Sun LOADED: 01.13.2018
1092802 Calgary Flames
Flames win sixth in a row with 4-2 triumph over Panthers
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Jan. 13, 2018
Kristen Odland, Postmedia
Published on: January 12, 2018 | Last Updated: January 12, 2018 8:27
PM MST
SUNRISE, FLA. — The Calgary Flames are, officially, red hot.
Continuing a four-game road trip with a 4-2 win over the Florida
Panthers, they extended their win streak to six games and are now the
hottest team in the National Hockey League. They’d previously been tied
with the Colorado Avalanche with a five-game spree.
On a mission to gain ground in the Pacific Division standings, they now
sit only one point behind the Los Angeles Kings and have a 24-16-4
record.
They’re also a whopping 49-0-2 when leading after the second period, a
statistic which dates back to last season. They’re also 5-2-0 in the
second game of back-to-backs this season — which is impressive
considering they walloped the best team in the NHL on Thursday by
beating the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-1.
And the most mind-blowing stat of all?
Their powerplay has scored in two straight games. Plus, Johnny
Gaudreau scored on a slap shot — finishing on a perfect, patient set-up
pass by Mikael Backlund with 3:45 remaining in the second period.
But the difference maker was Sean Monahan’s 21st goal of the season,
which came just 33 seconds after Evgenii Dadonov capitalized on a Troy
Brouwer gaffe on the penalty kill.
With the score tied 1-1 and only one minute elapsed in the middle frame,
the Flames went to work. Matthew Tkachuk pulled Calgary ahead,
tapping in a rebound off Travis Hamonic’s shot.
Then came Gaudreau’s strike on the man advantage.
Dadonov made it close with 6:57 remaining in the third period. But
despite the Panthers taking control for most of the last half of the game,
David Rittich, Calgary’s back-up who was filling in for Mike Smith on the
second half of the back-to-back, was excellent.
With 1:40 left, the 25-year-old native of Jihlava, Czech Republic, turned
aside a Vincent Trocheck shot in close and denied Aaron Ekblad coming
in for the rebound. The Panthers, who deployed an extra attacker,
continued to press when Jonathan Huberdeau drove to the net and
landed on Rittich.
In the end, Rittich stopped 41 of 43 shots to improve to 4-1-1 on the
season while Mikael Backlund potted an empty netter with 45.1 seconds
left.
Flames head coach indicated that the Flames could expect a heavy
hitting game and he was right — the rough stuff was magnified between
Jamie McGinn and TJ Brodie in the second period. Meanwhile, Nick
Bjugstad and Travis Hamonic were taking turns face-washing each other.
It continued in the third with McGinn mixing it up with Garnet Hathaway
with 8:25 remaining.
A scoreless first period was made possible due to a handful of Rittich’s
saves. On the other side, Calgary had their momentum stalled in the first
period from a (temporarily) quiet Flames powerplay.
With 20 seconds left in the first frame, Rittich tripped Jonathan
Huberdeau as he flew by his crease and forced the Flames to burn it off
to start the second. So, it was inevitable that Florida would score just 27
seconds in.
Calgary Herald: LOADED: 01.13.2018
1092803 Calgary Flames
Game Day: With Tampa in the dust, Flames set sights on Panthers
Kristen Odland, Postmedia
Published on: January 12, 2018 | Last Updated: January 12, 2018 12:04
PM MST
The Calgary Flames are, for lack of a better term, coming in hot.
Winners of five in a row and fresh off beating the NHL’s best team on
Thursday — a 5-1 decision over the Tampa Bay Lightning — the Flames
are now facing another challenge. It’s the second half of a back-to-back,
on the road against a well-rested Florida Panthers team, with their back-
up netminder David Rittich between the pipes.
The good news is they’re 4-2-0-0 in the second game of back-to-backs
this season.
“I always think there’s some residual left in the tank after a game and you
can come out and get a good start,” said Flames head coach Glen
Gulutzan. “That can usually give you the energy to carry you through. We
know this is a team that’s waiting for us. They’re going to see what
happened last night and have some jump and I think there will be some
good jump left in us tonight.”
The Flames did not skate on Friday but Rittich, Marek Hrivik and Matt
Bartkowski did. Expect to see the same lineup as Thursday — the same
lineup that has carried them to five straight wins.
Gulutzan called the Lightning the “quickest team with the most skill” the
Flames have faced this season but the Panthers play a “heavier” game.
And while the 5-1 victory was the first time the Flames had won by more
than one goal since a 6-1 drubbing of the Vancouver Canucks on Dec.
17, the Flames head coach still wants his club to continue improving.
“If you take the specialty teams out of Thursday’s game, we had three
chances where we chased guys behind the net and they threw pucks out
front,” he said. “We tried to address that (Wednesday) and we addressed
that today. And our neutral zone for the first two periods wasn’t as good
as it needed to be and we could have prevented a couple of chances
from there. But there were some good things. We were good off the rush,
we made a few plays and our penalty kill was strong. The penalty shot.
We blocked shots and we played hard in the areas of the game we
needed to.”
A few notes …
Sean Monahan is just one game winning-goal away from tying Gary
Roberts for sixth all-time in franchise-history. Monahan currently has 26
while Roberts finished his career with the Flames scoring 27.
The Flames are 48-0-2 when leading after the second period over the
last two seasons … They’re 6-1 in OT this season and 24-7 since the
inception of three-on-three extra frames.
D TJ Brodie notched his 200th career point agains the Lightning … D
Dougie Hamilton needs five points to his 200 in his career.
Calgary’s top line of Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan and Micheal
Ferland have combined for 26 points during this win streak. Ferland has
four goals and four assists, Monahan has three goals and five assists
and Gaudreau has a goal and nine assists.
At 22 years-old, Aleksander Barkov is proving to be one of the brightest
stars in the National Hockey League. With 14 goals and 26 assists in 41
games, the second overall pick from the 2013 draft is on a three-game
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Jan. 13, 2018
goal-scoring streak and was just selected to represent the Panthers at
the NHL All-Star game in Tampa. After Mike Smith faced 34 shots on
Thursday, there’s a good chance the Flames will send their back-up
netminder into battle. David Rittich has played well in his own right, with a
3-1-1 record and 2.04 goals against average and .924 save percentage.
FIVE STORYLINES FOR THE GAME
1. FANTASTIC FERLAND
Micheal Ferland’s dream season continues as the left-winger extended
his goal-scoring spree to four games on Thursday in Calgary’s 5-1 rout of
the Tampa Bay Lightning. Of course, being on a line with Johnny
Gaudreau and Sean Monahan makes it a little easier to put the puck in
the net, but Ferland has still done the work. With 19 goals and nine
assists in 42 games, the 25-year-old has eclipsed his previous career
points (25) and goal (15) totals.
2. POWERPLAY SURGE?
Since RW Kris Versteeg was sidelined with hip surgery, the Flames are
nine-for-70 on their powerplay in 21 games. Heading into Thursday’s
game, they were two-for-14 in the previous four games. That changed
with Sam Bennett’s marker on Thursday against the Lightning which was
their first man advantage strike since the Flames New Year’s Eve win
against Chicago. “Special teams was huge (against Tampa),” said
Flames captain Mark Giordano. “Our penalty was really good but the
powerplay goal was a good one too.”
3. CHEERS TO JAGR … OH, WAIT
The Florida Panthers had planned to honour No. 68 on Friday, in a
tribute of sorts to the living legend that played parts of three seasons.
The Calgary Flames visit was originally supposed to be a return to
Sunrise, Fla., for Jaromir Jagr who had inked a one-year deal with his
first Canadian club in the off-season. Instead, Jagr is recovering from a
lower-body injury and did not travel with the team — and could,
potentially, be done for good.
4. THIS N’ THAT
Calgary is riding their first five-game win streak of the season and are
undefeated in 2018 (so far) … Following Thursday’s 5-1 win over the
Tampa Bay Lightning, Calgary moved into third in the Pacific Division
with a 23-16-4 record … They’re 11-5-4 on the road …. He said it: “It was
an even game at the start,” Mark Giordano said. “They had a good push
in the second period. After that, we really took over and I thought we had
a good second half of the game. You have to string together wins to get
in with the way the standings are.”
5. ABOUT THE PANTHERS
The Florida Panthers’ postponed road game against the Boston Bruins
was rescheduled for April 8 at Boston, the team’s regular season finale
… C Aleksander Barkov was named to the Atlantic Division All-Star team
… LW Jonathan Huberdeau leads the team with 16 goals and 27 assists
in 42 games … the Panthers are coming off a 7-4 victory over the Blues
at Scottrade Center on Tuesday.
Calgary Herald: LOADED: 01.13.2018
1092804 Calgary Flames
Game Day: Flames coach still sees room to improve after win over
Tampa Bay
Kristen Odland, Postmedia
January 12, 2018 12:04 PM UTC
After Mike Smith faced 34 shots on Thursday, there’s a good chance the
Flames will send their back-up netminder into battle.
The Calgary Flames are, for lack of a better term, coming in hot.
Winners of five in a row and fresh off beating the NHL’s best team on
Thursday — a 5-1 decision over the Tampa Bay Lightning — the Flames
are now facing another challenge. It’s the second half of a back-to-back,
on the road against a well-rested Florida Panthers team, with their back-
up netminder David Rittich between the pipes.
The good news is they’re 4-2-0-0 in the second game of back-to-backs
this season.
“I always think there’s some residual left in the tank after a game and you
can come out and get a good start,” said Flames head coach Glen
Gulutzan. “That can usually give you the energy to carry you through. We
know this is a team that’s waiting for us. They’re going to see what
happened last night and have some jump and I think there will be some
good jump left in us tonight.”
The Flames did not skate on Friday but Rittich, Marek Hrivik and Matt
Bartkowski did. Expect to see the same lineup as Thursday — the same
lineup that has carried them to five straight wins.
Gulutzan called the Lightning the “quickest team with the most skill” the
Flames have faced this season but the Panthers play a “heavier” game.
And while the 5-1 victory was the first time the Flames had won by more
than one goal since a 6-1 drubbing of the Vancouver Canucks on Dec.
17, the Flames head coach still wants his club to continue improving.
“If you take the specialty teams out of Thursday’s game, we had three
chances where we chased guys behind the net and they threw pucks out
front,” he said. “We tried to address that (Wednesday) and we addressed
that today. And our neutral zone for the first two periods wasn’t as good
as it needed to be and we could have prevented a couple of chances
from there. But there were some good things. We were good off the rush,
we made a few plays and our penalty kill was strong. The penalty shot.
We blocked shots and we played hard in the areas of the game we
needed to.”
A few notes …
Sean Monahan is just one game winning-goal away from tying Gary
Roberts for sixth all-time in franchise-history. Monahan currently has 26
while Roberts finished his career with the Flames scoring 27.
The Flames are 48-0-2 when leading after the second period over the
last two seasons … They’re 6-1 in OT this season and 24-7 since the
inception of three-on-three extra frames.
D TJ Brodie notched his 200th career point agains the Lightning … D
Dougie Hamilton needs five points to his 200 in his career.
Calgary’s top line of Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan and Micheal
Ferland have combined for 26 points during this win streak. Ferland has
four goals and four assists, Monahan has three goals and five assists
and Gaudreau has a goal and nine assists.
At 22 years-old, Aleksander Barkov is proving to be one of the brightest
stars in the National Hockey League. With 14 goals and 26 assists in 41
games, the second overall pick from the 2013 draft is on a three-game
goal-scoring streak and was just selected to represent the Panthers at
the NHL All-Star game in Tampa. After Mike Smith faced 34 shots on
Thursday, there’s a good chance the Flames will send their back-up
netminder into battle. David Rittich has played well in his own right, with a
3-1-1 record and 2.04 goals against average and .924 save percentage.
FIVE STORYLINES FOR THE GAME
1. FANTASTIC FERLAND
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Jan. 13, 2018
Micheal Ferland’s dream season continues as the left-winger extended
his goal-scoring spree to four games on Thursday in Calgary’s 5-1 rout of
the Tampa Bay Lightning. Of course, being on a line with Johnny
Gaudreau and Sean Monahan makes it a little easier to put the puck in
the net, but Ferland has still done the work. With 19 goals and nine
assists in 42 games, the 25-year-old has eclipsed his previous career
points (25) and goal (15) totals.
2. POWERPLAY SURGE?
Since RW Kris Versteeg was sidelined with hip surgery, the Flames are
nine-for-70 on their powerplay in 21 games. Heading into Thursday’s
game, they were two-for-14 in the previous four games. That changed
with Sam Bennett’s marker on Thursday against the Lightning which was
their first man advantage strike since the Flames New Year’s Eve win
against Chicago. “Special teams was huge (against Tampa),” said
Flames captain Mark Giordano. “Our penalty was really good but the
powerplay goal was a good one too.”
3. CHEERS TO JAGR … OH, WAIT
The Florida Panthers had planned to honour No. 68 on Friday, in a
tribute of sorts to the living legend that played parts of three seasons.
The Calgary Flames visit was originally supposed to be a return to
Sunrise, Fla., for Jaromir Jagr who had inked a one-year deal with his
first Canadian club in the off-season. Instead, Jagr is recovering from a
lower-body injury and did not travel with the team — and could,
potentially, be done for good.
Mark Giordano fires a shot on Tampa Bay goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy.
4. THIS N’ THAT
Calgary is riding their first five-game win streak of the season and are
undefeated in 2018 (so far) … Following Thursday’s 5-1 win over the
Tampa Bay Lightning, Calgary moved into third in the Pacific Division
with a 23-16-4 record … They’re 11-5-4 on the road …. He said it: “It was
an even game at the start,” Mark Giordano said. “They had a good push
in the second period. After that, we really took over and I thought we had
a good second half of the game. You have to string together wins to get
in with the way the standings are.”
5. ABOUT THE PANTHERS
The Florida Panthers’ postponed road game against the Boston Bruins
was rescheduled for April 8 at Boston, the team’s regular season finale
… C Aleksander Barkov was named to the Atlantic Division All-Star team
… LW Jonathan Huberdeau leads the team with 16 goals and 27 assists
in 42 games … the Panthers are coming off a 7-4 victory over the Blues
at Scottrade Center on Tuesday.
Calgary Sun: LOADED: 01.13.2018
1092805 Calgary Flames
Flames stay hot with sixth straight win
Kristen Odland, Postmedia
January 12, 2018 8:27 PM UTC
SUNRISE, FLA. — The Calgary Flames are, officially, red hot.
Continuing a four-game road trip with a 4-2 win over the Florida
Panthers, they extended their win streak to six games and are now the
hottest team in the National Hockey League. They’d previously been tied
with the Colorado Avalanche with a five-game spree.
On a mission to gain ground in the Pacific Division standings, they now
sit only one point behind the Los Angeles Kings and have a 24-16-4
record.
They’re also a whopping 49-0-2 when leading after the second period, a
statistic which dates back to last season. They’re also 5-2-0 in the
second game of back-to-backs this season — which is impressive
considering they walloped the best team in the NHL on Thursday by
beating the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-1.
And the most mind-blowing stat of all?
Their powerplay has scored in two straight games. Plus, Johnny
Gaudreau scored on a slap shot — finishing on a perfect, patient set-up
pass by Mikael Backlund with 3:45 remaining in the second period.
But the difference maker was Sean Monahan’s 21st goal of the season,
which came just 33 seconds after Evgenii Dadonov capitalized on a Troy
Brouwer gaffe on the penalty kill.
With the score tied 1-1 and only one minute elapsed in the middle frame,
the Flames went to work. Matthew Tkachuk pulled Calgary ahead,
tapping in a rebound off Travis Hamonic’s shot.
Then came Gaudreau’s strike on the man advantage.
Dadonov made it close with 6:57 remaining in the third period. But
despite the Panthers taking control for most of the last half of the game,
David Rittich, Calgary’s back-up who was filling in for Mike Smith on the
second half of the back-to-back, was excellent.
With 1:40 left, the 25-year-old native of Jihlava, Czech Republic, turned
aside a Vincent Trocheck shot in close and denied Aaron Ekblad coming
in for the rebound. The Panthers, who deployed an extra attacker,
continued to press when Jonathan Huberdeau drove to the net and
landed on Rittich.
In the end, Rittich stopped 41 of 43 shots to improve to 4-1-1 on the
season while Mikael Backlund potted an empty netter with 45.1 seconds
left.
Flames head coach indicated that the Flames could expect a heavy
hitting game and he was right — the rough stuff was magnified between
Jamie McGinn and TJ Brodie in the second period. Meanwhile, Nick
Bjugstad and Travis Hamonic were taking turns face-washing each other.
It continued in the third with McGinn mixing it up with Garnet Hathaway
with 8:25 remaining.
A scoreless first period was made possible due to a handful of Rittich’s
saves. On the other side, Calgary had their momentum stalled in the first
period from a (temporarily) quiet Flames powerplay.
With 20 seconds left in the first frame, Rittich tripped Jonathan
Huberdeau as he flew by his crease and forced the Flames to burn it off
to start the second. So, it was inevitable that Florida would score just 27
seconds in.
The Flames travel to Raleigh to face the Carolina Hurricanes for a
matinee on Sunday.
Calgary Sun: LOADED: 01.13.2018
1092806 Calgary Flames
Father Ferland enjoying career year with Flames
Kristen Odland, Postmedia
January 12, 2018 6:28 PM UTC
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Jan. 13, 2018
Brynlee Ferland is at that impressionable age where she can understand
what her dad does for a living.
But, although Micheal Ferland plays for the Calgary Flames and —
unbeknownst to her — plays with two of the biggest stars in the National
Hockey League while being a top 10 goal-scorer, the toddler is fairly
confident that every player she sees on the big screen is him.
“She watches all the games at home and points at the TV, I think, when
she sees any hockey player. She says, ‘Daddy,’” Ferland said with a
chuckle, relaxing before Friday’s game at BB&T Center.
“It’s pretty funny.”
But not as funny as when Brynlee and fiancee Kayleigh were at the
Flames skills competition at the Scotiabank Saddledome last Sunday…
“The Hitmen were getting ready to get on the ice and Brynlee was
running around, talking to all the players and saying, ‘Daddy,’” Ferland
said. “Unless she sees me in person and can see my face, she’ll know
who I am. But when she sees any other hockey player, she’s not too
sure.”
Ferland, however, will have a story to tell when Brynlee is older —
especially after this season, which has been a career campaign for the
25-year-old Swan River, Man., native.
For the majority of the last two seasons, Ferland has played on the
team’s top trio with Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan. Gaudreau, a
four-time NHL All-Star, was sitting seventh in NHL scoring with 51 points
in 43 games before Friday’s action, while Monahan was sitting ahead of
Ferland at No. 9 in goals scored with 20.
Ferland’s 19 goals and nine assists in 42 games is, by far, his best
statistical season with the Flames.
“It’s pretty cool,” he said. “They’re both great players and like to create
offence off the rush. I was more used to getting pucks deep and playing a
grinding game. But I found, playing with Johnny and Monny, you’re going
to get more looks off the rush.”
And it’s exactly how he’s been finding the back of the net.
Twenty-nine seconds into Thursday’s game at Tampa Bay, Gaudreau
made a play to keep the puck in the Lightning zone and fed Monahan.
Ferland joined him to create a two-on-one to beat Tampa Bay goalie
Andrei Vasilevskiy.
The snipe, which sparked the Flames to a 5-1 win over the Lightning,
extended his goal-scoring streak to four games and gave him six goals
and four assists in his last eight games.
Not surprising, according to Flames head coach Glen Gulutzan.
“When I saw his shot a year ago, and we put him with Johnny and Monny
and saw his ability to make plays, I did tell him at the end of the year that
scoring 20-plus goals is a reality,” Gulutzan said. “I’ve seen players that
didn’t quite have some of the talent that he has score 20. I thought it was
a very real possibility for him.”
And, at one point in his development with the Flames organization, it
seemed like an unreachable feat. His history and early struggles as he
learned how to be a professional, his battle with alcoholism, has been
well-documented.
The hard work has paid off and now Gulutzan sees a sense of belief
within the player.
“If you’ve never done something and you want to and you’re getting close
to it, sometimes that can spill over,” Gulutzan said. “It can continue on.
Monny has scored 20 goals in the past five seasons … the more guys
you get with confidence and belief, your team can get going.”
The Flames were looking to extend their five-game winning streak on
Friday and have one more stop on this four-game road trip (Sunday at
Carolina). The road trip will keep Ferland away from his family for a
week.
But while Brynlee is able to watch her dad on TV (she thinks, anyway),
they’re able to stay connected through the magic of FaceTime — “Five
times a day,” he estimates.
“I just love to watch her grow,” Ferland said. “And she’s definitely
changed me a lot. If you have a tough time at the rink, you can go home
and hang out with her. I’ve realized that hockey is my job and I’ve put
that much more into it so I can take care of her.”
Calgary Sun: LOADED: 01.13.2018
1092807 Calgary Flames
Dellow: After 41 games – Calgary Flames
By Tyler Dellow 19 hours ago
As the Canadian teams cross the 41-game threshold, we'll be taking a
look at how things have gone through the first 41 games. Having started
with Toronto and Winnipeg, we've wallowed in some more depressing
stories with Edmonton, Montreal and Vancouver. Before getting to
Ottawa – woof – we'll look at Calgary, the Canadian team whose season
doesn't seem certain to result in a playoff berth or a high draft pick. All
data in here is through 41 games, which excludes Calgary's wins against
Minnesota and Tampa Bay.
Record/goal difference: 21-16-4, -4
Regulation record/goal difference: 14-16-11, -7
OT: 5-1
SO: 2-3
Calgary's getting about what they deserve in regulation. Given their
regulation goal difference, you'd expect them to have 38.7 regulation
points; actual retail value, 39 points. They've managed to win an extra
bonus point or two in overtime and the shootout, so they're maybe a point
ahead of where you might expect.
So if the Flames look so average, why am I still confident they're a smart
darkhorse pick for the Stanley Cup? Let's get into it.
So four things jump out at me here. First, the team looks pretty good at 5-
on-5. Second, as we know, they've done well in overtime. Third, the
Flames have been generically bad at both 4-on-5 and 5-on-4, which adds
up. Amusingly, given that Calgary's been overshadowed by the team at
the other end of Highway 2 throughout most of their existence, Calgary's
blandly bad special teams (-6.7 goal difference relative to league average
4-on-5 and 5-on-4 combined) have been overshadowed by Edmonton's
meltdown (-15). Fourth, the team has been terrible when the opposition
has an empty net.
There is *a lot* about this year's Flames that reminds me of last year's
Nashville Predators, right down to being terrible when the opposition has
an empty net. Calgary's tied for the third most empty net goals allowed in
the NHL with four. You'd expect them to have allowed half of that.
Thought it's not something I'd worry about particularly if I was Calgary.
The special teams are a more real problem for the Flames. Neither unit
has been flat out awful, but they've both been bad enough that they're a
bit of a drag on the success the Flames can have. It's frustrating
watching bad special teams and there's a huge focus on them because
they're easy to talk about but you need to have a sense of perspective
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Jan. 13, 2018
about them, I think. Average special teams and the Flames maybe have
another couple points in the standings. That said, given Calgary's spot in
the standings, the marginal value of those extra points could be
enormous.
Starting with 4-on-5, Calgary's seen about 72 per cent of their 4-on-5
time against a 4F1D this year. League average is 66.8 per cent, so the
Flames have kind of been cursed by the opposition choosing the more
dangerous formation a little bit. That's unfortunate, in that it's not
something Calgary really controls and some of the teams they're in a
fight for the final spots with are at the other end of the scale.
You might think that this is the sort of thing that tends to even out over
the course of the season but there was a fairly similar spread at the end
of last year. Bad luck for the Flames that they catch teams when they
aren't indulging in their fears about giving up shorthanded goals, I guess.
Good luck for Colorado, Chicago and San Jose.
Calgary's been fairly average in terms of goals when the opposition runs
a 3F2D. The Flames have allowed 5.2 GA/60 — league average is 4.9
GA/60. Their goal difference is -5.2 per 60 — not having scored a
shorthanded goal hurts them. They're close enough to league average
that an extra goal for or one fewer goal against and they'd be average.
So whatever, not a big deal. They aren't great but they aren't terrible.
The one interesting wrinkle is that the Flames are pretty good in terms of
not allowing shot attempts — their 84.0 CA/60 is eighth in the league.
They allow a pile of shots though — their 51.8 SA/60 is 24th in the NHL.
The appropriate inference to draw there is this: the Flames don't force a
lot of shots wide or block a lot of attempts. 61.7 per cent of shot attempts
against the Flames have turned into shots on net against a 3F2D. The
Flames have allowed 50 shots on goal against a 3F2D. If they'd
blocked/forced wide a league average percentage of attempts, they'd
have allowed 43.2 shots on goal.
Fine, whatever, small sample, right? Except the exact same thing is
happening against a 4F1D. Calgary's allowing 101.8 CA/60. Pretty good,
ninth in the NHL. But they're allowing 60.1 SA/60, 23rd in the NHL. 59
per cent of the shot attempts against the Flames turn into shots on goal,
which is 28th in the NHL. Calgary's allowed 150 shots against a 4F1D; if
they blocked/forced wide a league average number, they'd have allowed
138.7 shots on goal. Whether 4F1D or 3F2D, the Flames don't block or
force a lot of shots wide.
Against a 3F2D, Calgary's received a .900 save percentage, which is
very good. They've gotten less against a 4F1D, with an .860. It all adds
up to an .870, which is a little below the league average 4-on-5 save
percentage of .878. It's all pretty close to league average.
It's that inability to block shots or force shots wide that I find fascinating.
Calgary's pretty average at 4-on-5…except that they've allowed 18 more
shots on goal than the average team would have from the same amount
of shot attempts. More shots on goal means more goals, as a general
rule. Calgary's got problems with both forwards and defencemen getting
their shots through from a 3F2D and with forwards getting their shots
through in a 4F1D.
Flipping through the players who are on-ice for the PK, Mark Giordano
and Travis Hamonic seem to have had particularly rough years in terms
of opposition forwards getting their shots on net. I'm not really sure much
can be taken about the forwards from this or even that there's necessarily
a real issue — it might just be sample size noise. It's something that,
along with a slightly below league average shooting percentage, a lack of
shorthanded goals and an unfavourable distribution of opposition PP
formations, is keeping the Flames from having an average PK.
Calgary's been through a bunch of iterations of PP1 this year, as they've
tried to find something that provided consistent success, while dealing
with injuries to Kris Versteeg. Three variants of the same sort of unit
show up in Calgary's five most commonly used units.
We'll start with what I think of as the Coke Classic version of this unit.
Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan and TJ Brodie are constants on all
three variants, with Micheal Ferland, Troy Brouwer and Kris Versteeg
also seeing time. Versteeg and Ferland appear on the good version.
So you have Brodie on the point, with Versteeg and Gaudreau on the
flanks. Monahan and Ferland are looking for garbage in front of the net.
Here's what I like about this group: they generate a ton of rebounds,
Brodie isn't shooting a lot and, unsurprisingly, given the rebounds, there
are a cluster of shots in close. Oh, and it's produced a pile of goals.
The Brouwer variant, with Brouwer replacing Ferland, is awfully similar.
In all honesty, I don't hate this version of the Flames PP1, although it
struggled to put the puck in the net. Like the Ferland version, it was
structured similarly, saw little in the way of point shots and generated a
pile of rebounds. If I was a team given the opportunity of taking these
underlying numbers from a PP unit for a season, I'd probably accept and
take my chances on the goals going in at some point.
Versteeg's injury saw Calgary try another version of this group, with
Ferland pushed out to the flanks. This turned into a thing where Ferland
was shooting from the circle. It didn't produce nearly as many rebounds
and it's probably for the best that the Flames abandoned it.
In the last five games Calgary played before Game 41, the Gaudreau unit
featured Gaudreau, Matthew Tkachuk, Mikael Backlund, Sean Monahan
and Mark Giordano. This is kind of an “all the eggs in one basket”
approach, presumably by virtue of the injuries to Michael Frolik and
Versteeg. It's been ok in the early going — it looks very similar to the
three units highlighted above, with Backlund into the Versteeg spot.
Obviously, it's a very small sample (and Calgary went o-fer on the PP in
Game 42 in Minnesota) but it doesn't look terrible. We'll see how it
unfolds. The key point for me with Calgary's power play is that we've
seen respectable underlying numbers and it's by no means cripplingly
bad. If Versteeg comes back or if the Flames acquire a right-handed
shooter to fill his spot, I would expect it to be, at the very least, average.
Which brings me to 5-on-5, which I see as the foundation of the Flames'
strength. The Flames are, quietly, one of the best Corsi% teams in the
NHL. As I pointed out above, they're in the black as far as 5-on-5 goals. If
you visualize things from a possession perspective, you see that it's fairly
broad-based success. Calgary's had, from an analyst's point of view,
delightfully stable lines. The lines/pairs referred to are, generally:
This…this is pretty good. Green is good here and red is bad, with the
numbers being the Corsi% that each combination has put up. Of note —
the third line has improved as the season's gone along. Given the
personnel changes — particularly, the introduction of Mark Jankowski —
it seems more likely that the improvement is real. The first pair is
outrageously good. Outside of the second pair struggling a bit, the
Flames are a pretty dominant looking group.
The ability of the 3M Line to excel on defensive zone faceoffs buys
everyone else more starts in the offensive zone. There's a nice synergy
there — Calgary's got, arguably, the best line in the world at starting a
shift in the defensive zone. So they can just roll them out and reap the
rewards.
The first line has been getting the benefit of a big save percentage this
year, which means that their numbers are a little inflated. Mike Smith's
made more saves than people expected and they're occurring
disproportionately when the first line is on the ice. It's not a crazy number
though and the distribution of the saves doesn't particularly concern me
— I'd expect some of the other lines to get a few more saves going
forward while the first line gets fewer.
The second line has really struggled to finish through 41 games. The
thing about that is they've got a track record of being able to score.
Where they've done it for long periods in the past, 41 games running a
little cold doesn't particularly concern me. If anything, it seems like they're
a reasonably good bet to score more as the season goes along. As I've
mentioned, the third line has really perked up with Jankowski.
The only really sour notes that I see with the Flames is that the fourth line
has been legitimately bad (and it's really expensive!) and the Hamonic
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Jan. 13, 2018
pair. I thought it was worth checking back in on them after I wrote a piece
in mid-November expressing some concerns about the early returns from
that pair. They're still getting run over on those on-the-fly shifts — of the
194 defencemen to play at least 250 OTF shifts so far this year, Brodie's
190th and Hamonic's 183 in terms of shot attempts allowed per shift.
With the state of the fourth line, it would be nice to see Calgary go to
eleven forwards and seven defencemen, giving some of their prospect
defencemen a shot to see what they have in a 7D slot and limiting the
impact that their fourth line has on results.
Still though, it mostly seems positive for the Flames, to me. I expect the
power play to be better so long as they don't revert to running a lot
through Ferland in a shooting role. The penalty killing should be fairly
average. And even with the disappointment of the second pair so far,
they look like a pretty solid 5-on-5 team that's likely to see more pucks go
in going forward. To me, that positions them well for a run at a playoff
spot and, if they get in, they'll face a Pacific Division with no elite team.
It's all there for Calgary. They just have to take it.
The Athletic LOADED: 01.13.2018
1092831 Detroit Red Wings
Wings eager to 'make a push' in standings after bye week
Ted Kulfan
4:51 p.m. ET Jan. 12, 2018
Detroit — The Red Wings feel they can do it, although they understand
not many people are there with them.
Not many folks believe the Red Wings can mount a successful second-
half run into the playoffs — and avoid missing the playoffs for a second
consecutive season.
The Red Wings are optimistic they can.
“We’ve talked about it here the last couple weeks,” said forward Gustav
Nyquist, just after the Red Wings’ closed the first half last Sunday with a
5-2 loss against Tampa that ended a four-game win streak.
“We all think that we are better team at his point than we were last year,
although (the record) looks very similar. We’ve made strides as a team.”
Individually, more players are having better seasons. But collectively,
especially in the most important statistic — the standings, the
improvement is difficult to see.
After 41 games — the halfway mark in the NHL schedule — the Red
Wings are 17-17-7 (41 points). That’s one point better than what the Red
Wings were last season (17-18-6, 40 points).
What gives the Red Wings added confidence is a 4-1-0 homestand that
often showed the team at its best, and what can be accomplished if every
facet is working.
The loss to the Lightning was the lone disappointment in a homestand
that kept the Red Wings on the cusp of playoff contention.
“We’re doing a lot of things to be successful,” said coach Jeff Blashill,
who added he hears positive reinforcement from coaches and players
around the NHL. “We have to stay on it and understand we’ll be in lots of
(close) games and we have to find a way to win them.
“We have to keep doing it right. We need points, we need wins, but we
need to keep doing it right. Just play as complete as we can and find a
way to win.”
The Red Wings entered play Friday seven points behind Carolina for the
second and final wild-card spot — and having played two less games
than the Hurricanes.
Four teams separate the Red Wings and the Hurricanes, which adds
another substantial hurdle.
But the Red Wings feel the obstacles are manageable — they also play
23 of the 41 remaining games on the road — as long as they continue
the positive momentum from the home stand.
“We’re a few points out right now but if we keep playing the way we’ve
been lately, we’ll have a good chance,” Nyquist said.
Said forward Dylan Larkin: “We’re right there (in the standings). We’ll
have a couple of games to make up (on other teams) when we get back.
It’ll be good to come back and dial it in and make a push (for the
playoffs).”
To open the second half of the season, the Red Wings take on Pittsburgh
at 1 p.m. Saturday (FSD/97.1) to start a weekend back-to-back road trip
that follows with a game in Chicago at 12:30 p.m. Sunday (NBC/97.1).
There are probably easier ways to come out of a bye week for an NHL.
The Red Wings flew into Pittsburgh late Friday afternoon and practiced.
They'll play the early Saturday afternoon game before flying to Chicago.
The switch by the NHL to cover Sunday’s game meant a time change
from early evening to late morning Chicago time, and canceled any
hopes for a morning skate.
But the Red Wings are eager to get back to work and battle for a playoff
spot.
“You look at the overall picture, we’ve had a really good stretch,” forward
Justin Abdelkader said. “We have to come back after (the bye) and really
go at it until the All-Star break and get ourselves back into the thick of
things. We still have work to do, but we have to continue to play as well
as we did this homestand.”
Red Wings at Penguins
Faceoff: 1 p.m. Saturday, PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh
TV/radio: FSD/97.1
Outlook: The two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Penguins (22-
19-3, 47 points) are outside the playoff picture…G Matt Murray (family
matter) returned to Ontario and is likely unavailable for Saturday…Both
teams are coming off a five-day break because of a “bye” week.
Detroit News LOADED: 01.13.2018
1092832 Detroit Red Wings
Red Wings' Jimmy Howard ready to return Saturday
January 12, 2018 at 5:57 PM
Ansar Khan
Detroit Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard will return to action
Saturday against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena (1 p.m.,
Fox Sports Detroit), when the teams come back from their bye week.
Howard told DetroitRedWings.com after practice Friday in Pittsburgh that
he is ready to go. He missed the previous game, Sunday's 5-2 loss to the
Tampa Bay Lightning, due to a knee injury. He told reporters after
practice that the stiffness in the knee went away during the break.
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Jan. 13, 2018
Howard is 4-2-0, with a 1.65 goals-against average and .952 save
percentage, in his past six starts.
Tristan Jarry will start in goal for Pittsburgh because Matt Murray has
returned home to Ontario for personal reasons. Jarry is 7-3-2, with a 2.46
GAA, .919 save percentage and two shutouts.
The Red Wings (17-17-7) went 4-1 during a homestand prior to the
break. They visit Chicago on Sunday, in a game that was moved to 12:30
p.m. ET for NBC.
#RedWings Howard said he is ready to go tomorrow.
-- Dana Wakiji (@Dwakiji) January 12, 2018
Michigan Live LOADED: 01.13.2018
1092833 Detroit Red Wings
Ask Ansar: On Red Wings signing young talent, future captain
January 12, 2018 at 06:07 AM
Staff Writer
Cap constraints, tough negotiations ahead?
Q: It seems that all of our young forwards are up for new contracts at the
same time. Any problems getting them all signed? Will there be enough
cap space or will they need to dump salaries? Can you envision any
scenario where they might have to move (Martin) Frk or, I hope not, AA
(Andreas Athanasiou) because of money problems? – Mark
A: I don't think we'll see any stalemates that extend into the season, like
we did withAthanasiou, which was a rare case. And since Athanasiou is
arbitration eligible this summer, if he files, that will assure him of having a
contract with the Red Wings by mid-July to early-August, depending on
the hearing date. If he doesn't file, the club can file, which again would
assure that he'll be in the fold well before training camp.
Frk also is arbitration eligible. Dylan Larkin, Anthony Mantha and Tyler
Bertuzzi are not eligible for arbitration. Perhaps negotiations will extend
into late August or even early September with Larkin or Mantha, but I
would be surprised if they're not done by camp.
Cap space isn't an issue. Mike Green and Petr Mrazek will come off the
books, creating $10 million to ink those young forwards plus backup
goalie Jared Coreau. And don't forget that whatever these players sign
for, you're only adding the raise to the cap, not the full amount (for
instance, if Athanasiou signs for $3 million a year, they'd be adding only
$1.62 million to the cap, since he's at $1.38 million currently).
Also, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in December that the cap is
projected to rise to between $78 million and $82 million, up from $75
million.
Who was best choice to represent at All-Star Game?
Q: Why (Mike) Green (as Red Wings' All-Star selection)? Maybe to boost
his trade value? I would have liked to seen (Henrik) Zetterberg get a
chance with his career winding down. Even Larkin would have been a
good pick, especially to see him in the fastest skater competition again. –
John
A: I don't think being named an All-Star will affect Green's trade value.
Anyway, the NHL's operations department assembles the roster,
consulting with clubs in some instances, after fan voting for the captains.
Larkin would have been the Red Wings' most deserving selection, but the
Atlantic Division is stacked at forward with Nikita Kucherov, Steven
Stamkos, Auston Matthews, Brad Marchand, Jack Eichel and Aleksander
Barkov.
Zetterberg has been selected a couple times before, but oddly enough,
both times he had to bow out a few days before due to an injury. He
might be a little banged up, but even if completely healthy, I think it's safe
to say he doesn't want to be there. At his age, he's much better off
resting. And three-on-three would be a further grind for him.
Possibilities for next captain, alternate
Q: I noticed last week you wondered whether this would be Zetterberg's
final season. If that's the case, they'll be naming a new captain sooner
than expected. I imagine it comes down to only two possibilities – Larkin
or (Justin) Abdelkader. Who would you project as the next captain? For
that matter, what about the (alternate captain) after (Niklas) Kronwall
retires? – J.S.
A: My guess is that Zetterberg plays one more season. After all, he has
appeared in 205 consecutive games, the team's longest current streak,
since sitting out the meaningless season finale at Carolina on April 11,
2015. I would be surprised if he plays in 2019-20, when he'll be 39 and
his salary dips to $1 million.
However, if goes on long-term injured reserve for the final two seasons
(which might be a hard sell to the NHL), he'll still be on the team,
technically, and I don't think they would name another captain. I think
they would wait to do that until Zetterberg officially retires. I think they'd
just go with three alternate captains. Larkin would surely get an 'A.' If
they need another alternate (when Kronwall retires), I could see it being
Jonathan Ericsson, if he's still around. If not, then Anthony Mantha, if
they feel he's ready for it, which they hope he will be eventually.
As for the next captain, if Zetterberg officially retires before his contract is
up, I think it will be Abdelkader. If Zetterberg officially retires in 2021, I
think Larkin will be the next captain, at the ripe old age of 25. In either
case, Larkin will be a future captain here.
Jared Coreau was hold and cold during his stint with the Red Wings in
2016-17. (MLive/Mike Mulholland)
Sorting out goaltending situation
Q: It's safe to assume Petr Mrazek is done here. Couple things, is Jared
Coreau good enough to be a regular backup in the NHL season or do
they seek an upgrade through trade or free agency? And if it is Coreau,
is he Jimmy Howard's heir apparent? – Mack.
A: Coreau will be backing up next season, I believe. He has earned that
opportunity by helping the Grand Rapids Griffins win the Calder Cup
championship last season, even though he hasn't been quite as sharp
this year (2.70 goals-against average, .909 save percentage, compared
to 2.33 and .917 in the AHL last season). But some of that likely is due to
the Griffins not being as strong.
Coreau played 14 games with the Red Wings last season. His numbers
weren't good (3.46 GAA. ,887 save percentage). But it was strange
because he looked real good in some games (shutouts against the Kings
and Canadiens and a 1-0 overtime loss to the Rangers) and pulled in
others (vs. the Sharks and Bruins).
I think next season, as Howard's backup, will indicate what his future is
with the organization. Howard will be 35 when his contract expires at the
end of the 2018-19 season. If he's playing well at that point, they might
sign him to a short-term extension for a lower salary than his current $5.3
million.
1092898 Vegas Golden Knights
Injuries create opportunity for Knights defenseman Brad Hunt
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Jan. 13, 2018
By David Schoen Las Vegas Review-Journal
3 minutes
January 12, 2018 - 8:31 PM
A dinged-up Golden Knights defense means more playing time for Brad
Hunt.
The veteran is one of six healthy defenseman and will be in the lineup
Saturday when the first-place Knights host the struggling Edmonton
Oilers at 7 p.m. at T-Mobile Arena.
“When I’m in the lineup, I’ve just got to play my game and help the team
be successful,” Hunt said Friday after the team’s late-afternoon practice
at City National Arena. “That’s what it’s all about.”
The five-day bye wasn’t enough time for defenseman Jon Merrill to heal
from his undisclosed injury, and he remains on the injured-reserve list.
Merrill did not participate in either of the Knights’ two 30-minute practices
that were conducted in front of a standing room-only crowd.
Defenseman Luca Sbisa was placed on IR on Wednesday and will miss
six to eight weeks after undergoing surgery on his left hand.
Hunt played in Sunday’s 2-1 win over the New York Rangers, his first
appearance since Dec. 9 at Dallas. In 18 games this season, Hunt has
seven assists.
”We’re excited to give him another opportunity again,” Knights coach
Gerard Gallant said. “He’s played well, and we always talk about depth at
the blue line, and now we’re getting tested a little bit.”
Hunt was alongside familiar partner Colin Miller at Friday’s practices and
also saw time working with the Knights’ No. 2 power-play unit.
”He’s a lot of fun to play with,” Hunt said. “He makes it easy for me. We
read off each other really well.”
“It wasn’t like Cabo Spring Break 2018 or something like that because of
the timing, but we had an unbelievable time,” forward Alex Tuch said.
“We’re a group of guys that came together and the chemistry started right
away on and off the ice. I think I have lifelong friends, honestly.
Hopefully, I’ll be playing with those guys for a really long time.”
LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 01.13.2018
1092899 Vegas Golden Knights
Golden Knights return from bye, welcome Connor McDavid, Oilers
By Steve Carp Las Vegas Review-Journal
3-4 minutes
January 12, 2018 - 8:16 PM
The Golden Knights’ first half was historic. But can they maintain their
success as they begin the second half of their inaugural NHL season?
By getting contributions from everyone, by playing a simple game and
displaying resiliency, the Knights have won 29 of their first 41 games,
have 60 points, lead the Pacific Division and have the best record in the
Western Conference.
They also know they haven’t accomplished anything entering a 7 p.m.
game Saturday against star center Connor McDavid and the Edmonton
Oilers at T-Mobile Arena.
“There’s a lot of hockey left to play,” coach Gerard Gallant said Friday
after the team returned from its bye week for two 30-minute practices at
City National Arena. “Why would we talk about the playoffs? We’re a long
way from the playoffs.”
Last season, 94 points were enough to make the Western Conference
playoffs. Using that number as a standard, the Knights would need 34
points in the next 41 games.
Nineteen of those games will be at T-Mobile Arena, where they have a
league-best 18-2-1 record. They have built enough of a cushion that they
probably could withstand a slump in the next three months.
“You don’t want to change anything,” defenseman Deryk Engelland said.
“We’ve had great chemistry here going back to training camp, and that’s
been a big part of our success.”
Forward James Neal, who was selected to the NHL All-Star Game on
Wednesday, said the team’s balance has allowed it to survive any major
lulls.
“We’ve got four lines that play similar and have been productive,” Neal
said. “If someone is struggling, the other guys pick him up.”
Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, the Knights’ other All-Star, said the key to
maintaining the first-half success is to not worry about the future.
“I think we have the right mindset to the way we approach games,” Fleury
said. “Nobody is talking about too far down the road. We’re focusing on
the next two points and playing hard night after night.”
Recent history shows that returning from the bye week might not be a
good thing. Last season, the 30 NHL teams went a collective 10-16-4 in
their first game back off the break.
“Yeah, everyone’s aware of it,” Engelland said. “That’s why you want to
go out and play the way you’ve been playing.”
But there’s another number that should motivate the Knights on
Saturday. That’s 8-2, the score of their Nov. 14 loss to the Oilers at
Rogers Place.
“I think our guys remember that,” Gallant said. “We didn’t play well that
night. The good thing was we came back two nights later and won in
Vancouver and played a good game. I think we won five in a row.”
Defenseman Nate Schmidt said the Knights will be well aware of
McDavid, who had two goals and an assist in the first meeting.
“I didn’t do a very good job with him, and he had his way with us,”
Schmidt said. “It just makes this game that much more exciting for us,
especially given the last time we played them.
“You can’t let him into those areas where he can make those plays.
You’ve got to take away his time and space if you can.”
LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: 01.13.2018
1092900 Vegas Golden Knights
Analysis: Can the Golden Knights continue their winning ways in second
half?
By Jesse Granger (contact)
Friday, Jan. 12, 2018 | 2 a.m.
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Jan. 13, 2018
The Golden Knights have reached the midway point of their inaugural
season, and the first half couldn’t have been better.
Vegas has shattered nearly every expansion record through 41 games
and leads the Western Conference with an impressive record of 29-10-2.
If the Golden Knights replicate that record over the final 41 games, they
would become only the fourth team since 1997 to break the 120-point
threshold. That’s unlikely.
Here are three things that are likely to stay the same for the Golden
Knights during the second half of the season, and three that will likely
change.
Stay the same:
The Golden Knights have allowed the 10th fewest goals in the NHL at 2.7
per game, and accomplished that despite the fact that starting goalie
Marc-Andre Fleury played two fewer games than fourth-stringer Maxime
Lagace.
The injuries at the goaltender position aren’t likely to repeat. With Fleury
back after missing two months with a concussion and Malcolm Subban
playing in his relief, the Golden Knights should be able to count on solid
goaltending for the remainder of the season.
In the 16 games this season started by Lagace and Oscar Dansk, who
started the year in the American Hockey League, Vegas allowed 3.38
goals per game. In the 25 games started by Fleury and Subban, Vegas
has allowed only 2.12 goals per game.
The Golden Knights are the only team in the NHL with two goalies
ranked in the top-10 in goals against average. Fleury ranks first at 1.73
and Subban 10th at 2.38.
Not only do the Golden Knights lead the Pacific Division at the midway
point of the season, they’ve dominated their divisional foes. Vegas has
an 11-1-0 record against teams in the Pacific, which is the best inter-
division record of any team in the NHL.
They may not continue at that pace, but the Golden Knights’ speedy
lineup matches extremely well with the older, slower teams in the Pacific
like the Kings, Ducks and Sharks. Add to that the Golden Knights may
play in the worst division in hockey, and it wouldn’t be crazy for them to
win nearly every divisional matchup.
At this point it seems likely the Central Division will get both wild card
spots and the Pacific will be limited to only three playoff teams.
The Golden Knights lead the NHL with 488 takeaways, which is 56 more
than the next closest team — Carolina with 432.
Certain things in hockey (and sports in general) can be attributed to
chance. Hockey people call it puck luck. Goal scoring can come and go,
with hot streaks and cold streaks, as can goaltending to a degree, but
one thing that can remain constant is effort.
Through the first 41 games the Golden Knights have consistently
outworked their opponents, and there’s no reason it won’t continue.
That’s because the Golden Knights have one of the deepest rosters in
the league, and coach Gerard Gallant spreads the ice time more evenly
than any coach in the NHL.
That means top-line players are fresher, and can forecheck for the entire
game without worrying about conserving energy for later. Nearly every
team that’s come into T-Mobile Arena has complimented the Golden
Knights’ relentless pressure.
Likely to change:
The Golden Knights have the best home record in the NHL at 18-2-1.
Whether it’s teams coming to town focused on something other than the
hockey game, the atmosphere inside T-Mobile Arena, or the fact that
Vegas is just a really good team, it’s clear the Golden Knights have one
of the best home ice advantages in the league.
Don’t expect that to change drastically. But they can’t keep up the pace
they’re currently on. If they did, it would tie the 1975-76 Philadelphia
Flyers for the most home wins in a single season in NHL history.
Vegas will host some talented teams in the second half of the season,
starting with a struggling-but-dangerous Oilers squad on Saturday. In
their first meeting on Nov. 14 the Oilers beat the Golden Knights 8-2.
Vegas is currently second in the NHL with 3.44 goals per game, behind
only Tampa Bay.
William Karlsson is tied for fifth in the league with 22 goals. He’s on pace
to record 72 points this season, and his career-high prior to this year was
only 36. The 25-year-old has turned a corner, centering the most
productive line in hockey and playing more minutes than he ever has, but
to expect him to continue scoring at this pace is unlikely.
James Neal has already seen a curtail in goals, scoring only six in his
last 20 games after netting 12 in the first 21 of the season.
Only 17 players in the entire NHL topped 70 points last season, and the
Golden Knights have three players (Karlsson, Jonathan Marchessault
and Reilly Smith) currently on pace for that.
While the Golden Knights could still finish in the top-10 in goals scored,
it’s doubtful they’ll maintain this pace.
While the production of some of the forwards is bound to slow down at
some point, the Golden Knights may get a boost from the blue line.
Miller has established himself as a clear offensive threat through the first
41 games but has struggled to put the puck in the back of the net. It’s not
a stat that’s recorded, but Miller has hit more posts than any player on
the team, many of which he had the goaltender beat on the play.
He leads all defensemen with 2:38 of power play ice time per game and
has 21 points on the season (five goals and 16 assists).
It’s no secret Miller launches missiles from the point with his slap shot. In
the 2015 AHL All-Star skills competition he had the hardest shot in the
20-year history of the event, clocking at 105.5 miles per hour.
Miller is tied for third on the Golden Knights with 93 shots on goal and a
lot more than five should find the net in the second half of the season.
LAS VEGAS SUN LOADED: 01.13.2018
1092917 Websites
The Athletic / Duhatschek Notebook: Pacific's flawed all-star roster, love
for Manson, what Senators need to do to keep Karlsson
By Eric Duhatschek 11 hours ago
Criticizing the NHL all-star selection process is a bit like shooting fish in a
barrel, which is why I rarely do it. But I’m making an exception for this
year’s choices because they were so egregiously random and puzzling
that it’s hard to turn a blind eye. So many choices were made, not to
recognize good play, which is what an all-star selection is supposed to be
about, but to acknowledge career achievements.
Imagine being a fan of the Vegas Golden Knights. First year in the NHL,
an unbelievable success story, mostly keyed by an expectedly strong
performance from their No. 1 line, consisting of William Karlsson between
Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith. All three are deserving of all-
star slots, but three can’t legitimately make it because you have to
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Jan. 13, 2018
shoehorn 11 names from eight teams onto a divisional all-star roster and
so someone is going to fall through the cracks. Understood.
But to not name any of the three? That made no sense. Instead, the NHL
went with goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury and forward James Neal. Fleury
is one of the nicest people on earth, but he missed seven-and-a-half
weeks recovering from a concussion and is one of four goaltenders to
contribute to their unexpected success story. He’s made 12
appearances. He’s played fewer games than Max Lagace. He doesn’t
belong based on the year he’s had to date (which has been exceptional
in the handful of games he’s played).
As for Neal, he had a great first month but he’s streaky, which has been
the pattern throughout his career and has fallen to fifth on the team in
scoring – behind the aforementioned three and David Perron. Neal too is
a nice guy, who came back earlier than expected from off-season hand
surgery and is making a contribution to Vegas’s success. But not to the
extent Marchessault is and not to the extent Karlsson is. Those two
should be going to Tampa to represent the Golden Knights instead of
Fleury and Neal.
And it would have been an easy fix, too. Mike Smith, Calgary’s first-half
most valuable player, should be there instead of Fleury. Without Smith,
they are not in the playoff mix. So put in Smith for Fleury, Marchessault
for Neal and Karlsson for Anze Kopitar, who is having a quality bounce-
back season, but is the third most valuable player on the Los Angeles
Kings behind goaltender Jonathan Quick and defenceman Drew
Doughty. As good as the Kings have been, there is no reason why they
should get three all-star spots and six other teams from the division
should be limited to a single player each. The Kings haven’t been that
much better.
The Pacific is the most flawed divisional all-star team, but there were
other curious choices, too. In Pittsburgh, Phil Kessel should be going
ahead of Sidney Crosby. In Montreal, Brendan Gallagher should be
going ahead of Carey Price. In Ottawa, Mark Stone should be going
ahead of Erik Karlsson. In Washington, John Carlson should be going
ahead of Braden Holtby.
If the NHL ever got around to explaining how this process works, they
would likely fall back on a familiar argument – if 44 all-star roster spots
need to be apportioned among 31 teams, you’re not going to make
everybody happy. True. But you wouldn’t face nearly the backlash if you
made choices more reflective of first-half performance than name and
reputation.
As crazy as it sounds, some players do earn bonuses for being named to
an all-star team. To do the work and then miss out because your stature
in the game pales compared to Price’s or Karlsson’s or Crosby’s is to do
a disservice to everyone involved in the process – those who were
chosen and those who were overlooked.
A modest all-star proposal
A few years ago, there was a bizarre Internet campaign to get tough guy
John Scott elected to the All-Star Game as a write-in candidate. It was
silly, but it was also successful and it made the point that if you put the
vote in the hands of the fans, any nonsensical thing can happen. Social
media can be a powerful tool, especially once a gag gets going. And
once the momentum for Scott’s candidacy got started, it couldn’t be
stopped. I didn’t love the fact that someone on the fringes of an NHL
roster made it to the All-Star Game, because it meant one far more
qualified candidate was passed over.
But what I’d really like to see is someone mount a campaign on behalf of
a deserving player who flies too far under the radar to have the big wigs
at the NHL pay attention.
Right now, I’m thinking of Josh Manson, the Anaheim Ducks’
defenceman. Here’s my case for Manson. Selection-wise, Anaheim was
tricky anyway this year because most of their key players have missed
significant time with injury. Hampus Lindholm wasn’t there for the first
month. Ryan Kesler didn’t get playing until just around Christmas. Ryan
Getzlaf lost time with that facial injury; Corey Perry came back for the
final game before the bye week but he was out for about a month with an
injury as well. The NHL settled on Rickard Rakell as Anaheim’s choice
because he leads the team in goals. But anybody who’s paid attention to
the Ducks this year can tell you Rakell’s been inconsistent and picked up
the scoring pace only after Getzlaf came back. Before that, they were
looking for far more from him than what they were getting.
That leaves us with Manson, who has 21 even-strength points in 43
games this year, the same as Doughty and Tampa’s Victor Hedman, two
of the front-runners for the Norris Trophy. Manson is a plus-18, fifth best
in the league. He and Lindholm are mostly coach Randy Carlyle’s
shutdown pair, when Anaheim has its top six defencemen healthy.
Manson plays with an edge – like his old man, Dave – but he is far more
versatile. Of late, there’s been a significant uptick on the offensive side of
his game. When Anaheim made a trade to send Shea Theodore to
Vegas, it was done mostly to protect Manson, a player they desperately
didn’t want to lose.
In a year when all the big names on the Ducks weren’t really all-star
factors, this was the perfect time to give an appreciative nod to what
Manson’s accomplished this year. But of course, he’s not all that well
known, so why reward someone for being really good on both sides of
the puck, even if coaches really value that. Every team has a handful of
quiet glue guys who don’t attract a lot of notoriety but make a difference
in winning. Just before the Ducks went on their bye week, I asked Carlyle
for his assessment of Manson. Carlyle doesn’t gush. He’s too old school
for that.
Here’s what he told me: “To say that we would have thought that he was
going to provide that level of offence would be incorrect. But anytime you
have a young player that has continued to show growth, you don't want
to put him into a position to stunt that growth. Obviously, we made the
commitment on a contract to him and we believe strongly that he has
more to give – and that there's more light at the end of the tunnel for Josh
Manson.”
Well, hopefully he’s right and hopefully that one day ends up with an all-
star appearance. But I would have picked him this year – and anybody
that closely follows Anaheim’s fortunes this year would probably agree.
The trading game
Every year, one of the characteristics of the NHL trade deadline is that
about half the players that get moved have been in the rumor mill for
months, and so you’re not surprised when a Martin Hanzal or a Kevin
Shattenkirk gets moved (as they did last year). But there are always a
bunch of other trades involving names that you didn’t see on the trade
boards, the ones GMs managed to keep on the QT and make you think,
‘huh, didn’t see that coming.’
For the 2018 trading deadline, the Ottawa Senators are already facing a
great deal of scrutiny just because of how poorly their season has gone
after making it to the Stanley Cup semi-final last year. Mathematically,
reeling in a playoff spot at this point of the season would require a
miracle, driven by an Andrew Hammond-style run. It can happen –
Ottawa fans know that – but it probably won’t, which is why you’ve been
hearing the names of Mike Hoffman and Zach Smith in the trade rumors
for a while now. Ottawa is in a tight spot, salary-cap wise, going forward
because both Matt Duchene and Karlsson have contracts that expire
after next season and they’re going to have extricate themselves from
payroll limbo.
Now, Duchene earns $6 million a year, wants to stay in Ottawa, and
probably will get a raise, but not so big a raise that it’ll necessarily affect
Ottawa’s cap structure too much. I don’t see an issue getting that done.
Karlsson is a little different. He makes $6.5 million per year. I can’t see
him signing an extension for anything less than $10 million per season
and if the cap is trending up, it will probably cost closer to $12 million to
get him signed. This year’s so-so first half notwithstanding, Karlsson is
one of the most dynamic players in the game. If you believe you need a
defined, difference-making No. 1 defenceman to win in the NHL
nowadays, then you need to pull out all stops to get Karlsson signed. But
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NEWS CLIPPINGS • Jan. 13, 2018
that creates issues for general manager Pierre Dorion, who has two
contract millstones standing in his way.
One is Bobby Ryan’s seven-year, $50.75 million contract which has four
years to run after this, at an AAV of $7.25 million. The other is Dion
Phaneuf’s seven-year, $49 million deal with three years to run after this.
Neither deal represents good value, so the question becomes: Is there
any way at all to extricate themselves from one or the other deal, in order
to pave the way for a Karlsson extension?
Or to put it another way, can you creatively find a way to move out
Ryan’s money, even though he’s 30 and has all those years left at $7.25
million? Seems impossible, at first blush. Vegas wasn’t interested last
June, back when they were preparing their expansion plans. Even Ryan
understood why the Senators left him exposed in the expansion draft,
knowing the only way he would be moving is if Ottawa sweetened the pot
for Vegas in a meaningful way. It didn’t happen then. Could it happen this
summer? Maybe. If Neal and/or Perron eventually move on, that would
create some cap flexibility in Vegas and also the need for another top-six
scorer. Vegas also has three more expensive contracts coming off the
books — $5 million of Mikhail Grabovski, $4.6 of Jason Garrison and
$3.25 million of Clayton Stoner. You could probably also throw Luca
Sbisa in there, who was probably on his way out at the deadline, until he
got hurt and now won’t be back playing until March. So Vegas will have
cap space to rent and once again they’d have to be incentivized to make
a deal happen. But it doesn’t stretch the bounds of credibility to think
they’d try.
In one year, Vegas has proven that they can take disparate parts from
other teams around the league and fit them into an intelligent whole.
Ryan injured his hand again this past week, which probably precludes
any chance that he could be moved by the 2018 trade deadline. I can’t
find a home for him at his going rate, but what if Ottawa was prepared to
absorb half that contract to make it go away? Is Ryan, at $3.625 million –
again, for additional four years – worth rolling the dice on? That’s the only
way you’d get someone to take him – that and to make the acquisition
cost negligible. That, by the way, is when it gets a little more interesting.
Some teams may balk at the asking price for this year’s primary rentals –
like Evander Kane. If you don’t have the assets to give up – or simply
don’t want to give high draft choices and quality prospects – but you do
want to supplement your lineup, then the only way to do it is to ponder
the risks and rewards of the overprice. Players like Bobby Ryan. He does
have four 30-goal seasons on his resume. He was the second player
selected in the 2005 NHL entry draft — by the Ducks and just behind
Sidney Crosby. The Anaheim GM at the time was Brian Burke. Burke
was also the GM that convinced the league to amend its policies and
allow teams to keep salary back in a trade, which has made trades a little
easier to do. Calgary already owes its two top 2018 draft picks to the
Islanders in the Travis Hamonic deal, so if the Flames want to add a
proven scorer, they may need to get creative. That Ryan injury history
and that contract term make it a challenging task. But once in a while, the
names you never hear do get traded at the deadline. Ottawa would be
one step closer to signing Karlsson if they could move Ryan’s money out
in the next 12 months. The question is, can they?
The Athletic LOADED: 01.13.2018
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The Athletic / A Canadiens fan finds the path to joy in a dying season
By Paul Campbell 12 hours ago
The TV was in the next room, too close to mine and my door never
closed right so hockey streamed in past bedtime as I pressed my face
close to watch. One sick night my father let me sit on the couch out there
with him, bleary and runny but absolutely rapt, the wide white expanse
cut so roughly and gracefully by the red streaks’ relentless pursuit, the
black smear endlessly drawing them. I had caught a fever.
Today, I watched people debating who to blame for a failed late first-
round draft pick made over seven years ago. There was no game, and
would be none for days. The team is languishing. It is raining and
somehow also desperately cold. It is dark now, dull ache in my broken
hand, the narrow slice of light streaming from my phone full of sadness.
The red is pale and dilute. I feel sick but it is nothing like the fever.
There is nothing unserious about Canadiens hockey. Even the bad jokes
and sarcastic laughs are wrung through wry smiles, hung too tightly
because they cut even the teller, closer to the bone than self-
deprecation. It’s a way of coping.
There are also numbers, and numbers to explain those numbers. 18-20-
4? -29! Yes, despite 51 percent, maybe because of 98.7? Expectations,
adjustments, regressions, abbreviations. Charts! Bring things into focus,
make them concrete, and anesthetise their emotional force.
Disinterested, rational, impartial. This is also a way of coping.
Or just scream at someone, white-hot anger so intense the phone drops
from blistered fingers scorching Marc and Claude and Max and Shea and
Carey HOW DARE YOU and Subban MOVE ON and Therrien BURN IT
ALL DOWN. This may not be coping.
Every fanbase loves to win. This fanbase hates to lose.
None of it matters though. None of the coping methods makes the losing
stop, makes the scorers snipe or the goalies save. We sit staring, utterly
helpless as the truck careens in an all-too-familiar, far-too-predictable
skid off the indifferent cliff, wincing at the inevitable fireball. It feels empty.
Maybe you turn away in disgust. Maybe you hate watch. I couldn’t blame
you. We all bear what we can however we can manage.
I think I found, or rediscovered, something better though, for me at least,
during that last game versus Tampa. It was a game in all the best senses
of the word. It was actually fun, and fast, and incredible players were
doing incredible things all night long. It was tense, and breathless, and
the outcome was in doubt from puck drop to the final shot. The
atmosphere in the building was palpable from my couch, and even cool,
sceptical Twitter was caught up in the excitement.
Everyone cared about this game, and they cared about it in a way that
had nothing to do with standings points, playoff pushes, or wildcard odds.
It was as though, for as long as it lasted, nothing else mattered. When
they won, Carey triumphantly staring down one of the world’s deadliest
shooters before dashing off to celebrate with his team, that feeling
justified everything, the whole futile, flailing drive out of playoff contention
swept aside in favour of this one exquisite outcome. I was five again, up
too late, missing my dad this time but still entirely spellbound.
At some point, a fundamental shift of meaning must have taken place for
me. Maybe this is true of most sports fans as they move from
enthusiastic children to jaded adults. The season became a long journey
to a hallowed grail, each game’s value assessed only by the progress it
helped achieve. The team’s personnel were also reduced to their
contributions to the ultimate goal, interchangeable engines with no value
beyond their output. Almost every year, by this way of thinking, is a
failure, a wasted effort, a blown opportunity at greatness.
It’s as though we collectively decided that sadness and disappointment
were the natural outcomes of a hockey season. We watch to be
miserable on the off chance that, once in a generation, perhaps, we get
to drink from that vicarious Cup of joy.
I think I was closer to being right about things when I was five. Each
game is an event that all these years of watching and learning have
given me gorgeously rich, detailed access to. Every game is a clean
fresh sheet with infinite possibilities. Amazing players will do incredible
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Jan. 13, 2018
things that astound and delight us. The brutal beauty of the game’s
unpredictable flow will sweep over us when we least expect it. Losing
season be damned, all thoughts of it purged from memory for as long as
the game, this game, goes on. The wonder of the game we fell in love
with waits to grace us still; all we need to do is let it in.
The Athletic LOADED: 01.13.2018
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The Athletic / Former Blue Jacket Sam Gagner ‘a little nostalgic’ on first
trip back to Columbus
Aaron Portzline 17 hours ago
Like a star-crossed summer romance, the relationship between Sam
Gagner and the Blue Jackets was only meant to last so long.
Gagner, now with the Vancouver Canucks, sat in the visitors' dressing
room in Nationwide Arena on Thursday and waxed poetic about his one
season in Columbus — the personal success he enjoyed, the career he
rekindled, the friends he made, the city he discovered.
“I'm definitely a little nostalgic coming back here, even though I had only
the one year,” Gagner said.
“I would have hoped for a little more playoff success after the season we
had, but in terms of the way the season went, the opportunity I had to
establish myself as a power-play guy … those were all really good things.
It was definitely a lot of fun.”
The Blue Jackets host the Canucks at 7 p.m. tonight, the first time
Gagner has faced his old mates since he was allowed to leave as an
unrestricted free agent last summer.
Gagner is one of the rare players who leaves an NHL club on entirely
good terms. No resentment. No bitterness. No confusion. From the start
— back in the summer of 2016 — both Gagner and the Blue Jackets
knew what they wanted out of the deal.
The Blue Jackets had question marks at center ice (sound familiar?) and
needed an infusion of skill among their hardworking forwards.
Gagner sat on the free-agent market so long that the Blue Jackets could
get him at a bargain basement price: one-year, $650,000, barely above
the NHL minimum.
From the Blue Jackets' perspective, the deal carried virtually no risk.
From Gagner's perspective, it was a chance to show the NHL he could
produce again after a frustrating season in Philadelphia, where he was in
and out of the lineup and up and down from the American Hockey
League for the first time in his career.
“I came to Columbus with a really open mind,” Gagner said. “To me, it
was all about the hockey and the hockey went really well.
“I don't think there have been many power plays that have run that hot for
that long a time like we did early last season. Our first 30 games …
looking back, that was really fun. Winning 16 games in a row … I've
never been a part of something like that. It's pretty incredible.”
Gagner finished with 18-32-50 and a plus-10 rating. He tied for fourth on
the Blue Jackets in scoring and fifth in points.
In the process, he became a luxury the Blue Jackets couldn't afford.
Gagner said the Blue Jackets' front office never closed the door on him
returning, but they wanted him to test the free-agent market before he
circled back.
The Blue Jackets had young players (Pierre-Luc Dubois, Oliver
Bjorkstrand, etc.) who needed spots in the lineup, and they had long-term
salary cap considerations.
Really, they couldn't promise Gagner much more than a similar one-year
contract, and he'd priced his way out of the league-minimum deals. On
the ice, the Jackets couldn't promise Gagner more than a fourth-line spot
with power-play duties.
“I understand the business of it; you have to understand that as a player,”
Gagner said. “The one thing I really enjoyed here is how professional
management was with me in terms of letting me know where I stood. I
have nothing but positive things to say.
“I was hoping something could work out. I would have loved to stay,
absolutely. But once I started looking … ”
In today's NHL, 50-point scorers don't last too far past the noon bell on
free-agency day. Sure enough, Gagner signed a three-year, $9.45 million
deal with the Canucks on July 1.
After spending his first seven NHL seasons in Edmonton, he's played for
four different teams over the past four seasons. The three-year term was
a magnet.
“I couldn't pass that up,” Gagner said.
Gagner bounced around the Canucks' lineup early in the season but has
since found a home as the second-line center between left winger
Thomas Vanek and right wing Brock Boeser, one of the league's top
rookies.
But it hasn't been an easy season in Vancouver. The Canucks are in a 2-
11-2 tailspin since Dec. 5, including a current five-game losing streak (0-
4-1). They own the third-fewest points in the NHL, ahead of only Arizona
and Buffalo.
“We've got some injuries and it's forcing guys to stand up and play bigger
minutes,” Gagner said. “We're fighting to find some confidence and
consistency in our game.”
Gagner played in the middle on the Blue Jackets' power play last season,
the “slot” forward in the 1-3-1 alignment. Through 46 games in 2016-17,
the Blue Jackets were lethal on the man advantage: 25.0 percent, tops in
the NHL.
After that, the power play struggled mightily through the end of the
season, and those struggles have dragged into 2017-18. The Jackets
have warmed on the power play in recent weeks, but still sit 30th in the
NHL at 13.0 percent.
“For sure they have the pieces,” Gagner said. “It's one of those things,
when the power play doesn't go well and you lose some confidence, it's
tough to get it back.
“That's what I remember about the power play (last season), we just had
so much confidence and fun, like we knew something good was going to
happen. Either we were going to score — which we did, a lot — or we
were going to have the puck for two minutes and really change or grab
the momentum of any game. That's how it's supposed to work.
“I'm sure when it matters they'll get it going. They're still finding ways to
win without it, so that's good.”
Gagner didn't get to see his former teammates on Thursday night
because the Blue Jackets were playing in Buffalo. But it was good, he
said, to be back in the city he once called home, if only for a short, sweet
time.
“I didn't know what to expect when I first got here, but I really enjoyed
everything about it,” Gagner said. “It's a great place to live. It's a great
family spot. The market here, in terms of the fan base and how
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Jan. 13, 2018
supportive they are, and what it's like to play here … it was a lot of fun to
be part of it. I'm glad I had that chance.”
Will he have money on the board tonight?
“Maybe a little something,” Gagner smiled. “A cup of coffee.”
The Athletic LOADED: 01.13.2018
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The Athletic / Jack Johnson has asked the Blue Jackets for a trade
Aaron Portzline 4 hours ago
Jack Johnson, citing a dramatically diminished role this season and a
desire to better position himself for free agency in the summer, has
asked the Blue Jackets to be traded, sources have confirmed to The
Athletic.
The veteran defenseman would not comment on the report when asked
by The Athletic after the Blue Jackets' 5-2 loss to Vancouver on Friday.
His agent, Pat Brisson, would not discuss the report publicly.
But sources said Johnson's request was made weeks ago in the hope
that something will be done, at the latest, by the NHL's trade deadline of
Feb. 26.
Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen declined to comment when reached
by The Athletic late Friday.
It's a stunning turn of events in the relationship between Johnson and the
Blue Jackets, who acquired him in a trade with the Los Angeles Kings
nearly six years ago.
Back then, Johnson was the Blue Jackets' top defenseman, a player
relied upon for 25-plus minutes per night.
Since then, he's been jumped on the depth chart by Seth Jones, Zach
Werenski and Markus Nutivaara, and his playing time has dwindled this
season. In Thursday's loss to Buffalo, he played only 13:43.
As recently as last summer the Blue Jackets were close to signing
Johnson to a multiyear extension, The Athletic has learned. A deal was
nearly signed in August, when the club expected to trade defenseman
Ryan Murray, perhaps in a deal to land center Matt Duchene.
Also, the Jackets gave Johnson an alternate captain's “A” earlier this
season when they stripped it from Brandon Dubinsky.
It's not a case in which Johnson is unhappy in Columbus or doesn't fit in
with his teammates. If he had remaining years on his contract, sources
said, this request would not have been made.
But Johnson, who turns 31 on Saturday, is feeling enormous pressure to
sign a multiyear contract when he hits unrestricted free agency July 1.
His well-publicized bankruptcy four years ago has cut sharply into his life
savings, such that Johnson will need his next contract — and perhaps
another one after that — to set up him and his family for the years after
his career.
“He doesn't have the nest egg that most 12-year NHL veterans would
have, obviously,” the source said.
Johnson is making $5 million this season in the final year of his contract.
But, per the terms of his settlement with creditors, per reports, he's been
allowed to keep $246,000 in “spending money” both last season and this
season.
The Blue Jackets and Johnson haven't had substantive contract talks
since August, but it would be tough for them to trade Johnson, despite
his shrinking role on the blue line.
Johnson gives the Blue Jackets a much-needed physical presence on
the back end, and he's been, historically, a strong playoff performer.
With youngster Gabriel Carlsson appearing not quite ready for regular
NHL duty and Murray injured — he's been out with a back injury since
mid-December — the Blue Jackets would suddenly be thin on the blue
line if Johnson were traded for something other than a defenseman in
return.
The Blue Jackets’ message to Johnson could be this simple: play better
here to help your market value.
Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella, who said he met with Johnson
before the game, spoke highly of Johnson after the loss to Vancouver.
“It has been an inconsistent year for Jack,” Tortorella said. “If we're going
to have any sniff at all to have extra games after the regular-season
hockey, he has to be a part of it.
“We know that. He has to be part of it. I believe he can be. I have so
much respect for him because I know he's such a great competitor. I
think he'll find his way.”
The Athletic LOADED: 01.13.2018
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Sportsnet.ca / Quick Shifts: 5 reasons Auston Matthews’ power-play time
is just fine
Luke Fox
@lukefoxjukebox
January 12, 2018, 3:34 PM
A quick mix of the things we gleaned from the week of hockey, serious
and less so, and rolling four lines deep.
1. The season before the Toronto Maple Leafs won the draft lottery, the
club’s power play was as weak as green tea, the second-worst in the
league (15.4 per cent).
Since Auston Matthews pulled on a blue-and-white sweater, assistant
coach Jim Hiller — overseen, as all things Leafs, by head coach Mike
Babcock — has operated the NHL’s third-best power play (22.8 per
cent). Pretty nice jump.
Even nicer when you consider the only two teams ahead of Toronto in
this category when you combine the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons:
2017 Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh and 2018 Stanley Cup favourite
Tampa Bay.
Guess which forward has averaged the most power-play time for the
Leafs in the last season and a half. Matthews, at 2:24 per night.
Matthews’ use on the man-advantage pales only when compared league-
wide to his fellow all-world snipers like Alex Ovechkin (4:08 this season),
Phil Kessel (4:05), Nikita Kucherov (3:52) and Vladimir Tarasenko (3:54).
Yet criticism of the future captain’s PP minutes percolated on Toronto’s
airwaves this week.
Not that Babcock should be beyond reproach (cough, Polak, cough), but
Matthews’ power-play time is a minor if not silly quibble to take with
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Jan. 13, 2018
Toronto’s effective special teams (the Leafs’ 83.8 per cent penalty kill
ranks No. 1 in the East). Even if the club’s sole All-Star Game
representative might secretly desire the chance to rack up more points
with a looming contract negotiation.
Why we’re not stressing this issue:
(i.) Matthews’ 2017-18 power-play production (two goals, four assists) is
fine but unspectacular. He’s tied for second among Leafs forwards in PP
ice time but ranks seventh on the team in PP points.
(ii.) The first forward unit of James van Riemsdyk (who, at 2:21, only
averages three more seconds on the man-advantage than AM34), Tyler
Bozak, Nazem Kadri and Mitch Marner has simply yielded better results.
JVR alone is 7-5-12 on the power play.
(iii.) Matthews is easily the Leafs’ best five-on-five player, and they rightly
save his breath so he can make an impact there. At 18:36 per game,
Matthews handily tops among all Toronto forwards (51 seconds more
than linemate and PK man Zach Hyman, who ranks second).
(iv.) Whose PP time do you subtract? Not JVR’s. Nylander could make
his own case for more ice. Kadri and Bozak have endured prolonged
slumps, and you need to give them opportunities to catch fire. Marner
and Connor Brown are top-six wings playing bottom-six roles; take away
some of their PP time, and how do they feel? There’s a whole team to
worry about here, folks.
(v.) Eighty-two games plus is a long haul. What good is forward depth if
you don’t use it? Edmonton is throwing Connor McDavid over the boards
every other shift, but is that a recipe for team success? Trust me, when
playoff position is in doubt or the Leafs need a mid-April win, Babcock
knows who needs the extra ice time. Best to keep his most dangerous
weapon as fresh as possible.
2. Before flying home to Minnesota to take care of some personal
business during the bye week, van Riemsdyk had himself a game to
make Corsi lovers swoon.
The Leafs lost to Ottawa Wednesday, squandering JVR’s 18 shot
attempts in 60 minutes. The big winger’s 11 shots on net eclipsed his
previous high of nine, set way back on Oct. 27, 2011, when he was with
Philadelphia.
“We were making smart plays with the puck,” van Riemsdyk explained.
“We were playing fast, and the D made a good job of getting the puck up
to us in stride so we could make plays coming into the zone.”
JVR chuckled when we asked if he purposely faked his patented
between-the-legs shot the one time he did beat Craig Anderson that night
(watch below). Yep.
“On that play I kinda expected him to be more over toward the far post
than he was,” van Riemsdyk said. “So when I looked up and saw that he
was there, I was trying to change [my plan] last minute on the fly and
ended up shovelling it in. I got a nice break there.”
3. Since the Artemi Panarin trade, the power plays of both the Columbus
Blue Jackets (30th) and Chicago Blackhawks (26th) have each taken a
step back.
Jackets captain Nick Foligno wants his team to look at the Bread Man —
they just call him “Bread,” by the way — as a complementary piece
instead of the sole focus. And shoot!
“Sometimes you feel like you need to make a prettier pass. Instead of
shooting, you may be thinking, ‘Oh, I have to find that guy back-door.’ It
hurt us early on,” Foligno says. “We didn’t have our identity going. Now
you’re seeing one or two passes, then it’s quick shots on net, and our big
bodies are around the net to score. That has to continue.”
Foligno always admired Panarin’s work in the offensive zone but has
been blown away by the completeness of the Russian’s game and his
intelligence.
“I never realized how good he is away from the puck, how hard he
competes on pucks, and that he can generate all the time. That’s a very
hard thing to do in this league. Every time you step on the ice be a threat
to score? There’s only a select few who can do it themselves. He’s one
of those guys who can literally make something out of nothing.”
This rush-dangle-snipe in Buffalo Thursday makes us want to order
another round of Bread:
4. What the heck has made the San Jose Sharks’ penalty kill so efficient?
In the first two seasons of coach Peter DeBoer’s tenure in Northern
California, the club’s PK ranked 18th overall. At 84 per cent this season,
it’s shot up to second.
DeBoer credits assistant Dave Barr, who was hired in June and used to
run DeBoer’s kill in New Jersey. The Devils, DeBoer notes, broke a
modern-day PK record in 2011-12, the year they went to Cup final. But
when the head coach got the San Jose gig, he tried switching
philosophies and didn’t bring Barr with him.
“Just thought the game was changing. We hired Dave and we went back
to that. I think that’s made a big difference. He’s done a great job
implementing it,” DeBoer said.
“It goes to show you, sometimes you can overthink things. Everyone
says, ‘The game’s changing, the game’s changing.’ A lot of the principles
still apply. It was just a matter of us re-instituting those.”
Of course, the players must buy in to a new system. Logan Couture
believes they have. The centre says the four-man unit is running with a
more aggressive approach.
“We’ve done a good job shutting down other teams’ entries into our zone.
We have a hard stand at the blue line, and when we’re in zone, we’re
hard on pucks when backs get turned or pucks get bobbled,” Couture
says. “We force other teams to make skilled plays. We get beat once in a
while, but our PK’s done a solid job winning us some games.”
5. All-Star Game host Tampa Bay had five members invited to the mid-
season party — coach Jon Cooper, Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos,
Victor Hedman and Andrei Vasilevskiy — but you could make a case for
a sixth.
Second-line centre Brayden Point, 21, actually has more even-strength
points than Stamkos (32 to 28), shuts down the opposition’s top lines and
has a team-high three points on the penalty kill.
Not bad for a third-rounder who stands five-foot-10 soaking wet.
“You guys see it every night,” Stamkos says. “He’s such a smart player.
He has the skill-set, but not very often do you see a guy of his age come
in with the mental part of the game down. That’s the preparation, the way
he practises. He’s probably the most low-key guy I’ve ever met. It’s a
great attitude to have, especially as a young guy.”
Point tore it up as a late-season call-up for the injury-plagued Bolts last
spring and was a big reason they nearly rallied for a wild-card spot.
When the playoffs didn’t come, Point shone again for Cooper’s Team
Canada at the world championships.
“As a young player, that’s all you can ask for — a chance to show what
you can do. He did that,” Stamkos says.
“I knew the moment I stepped on the ice in training camp and saw him for
the first time this summer, he was going to be special this year. He had
that extra jump. He had the confidence from playing a big role down the
stretch.”
6. If Hedman’s leg injury is serious enough to remove him from the all-
star game — and let’s hope not, as this could be the year he finally gets
a Norris — his Atlantic Division replacement should be Toronto’s Morgan
Rielly.
Rielly ranks sixth among all D-men in scoring with 31 points and leads
his team in assists (26). If not Rielly, expect Hedman’s teammate, Mikhail
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Jan. 13, 2018
Sergachev (26 points), to sub in and give the local kids another favourite
to root for.
7. It’s the final game of the regular season, your team has been out of the
playoff race forever, and — what’s this? — your coach benches you.
That’s what John Tortorella did to his best defenceman, Seth Jones,
versus Chicago halfway through the Blue Jackets’ final meaningless
game of 2015-16.
Jones was quickly a minus-2, and Torts decided his off-season might as
well start. The franchise D-man skated less than 14 minutes, half his
normal load.
“Jonesy wasn’t ready to play, and I benched him. I did that for a reason.
Not to embarrass him in the last game, a nothing game, but I wanted to
set the table with him — what’s expected of him as we start our next
year,” says Tortorella, thinking back.
“Right from then – I know he remembers – he’s just improved himself
mentally. That’s not skill; that’s mental readiness, mental toughness. He’s
grown so much, and he still has so much more to offer in his growth, so
it’s exciting for us.”
That benching was a season and a half ago. Jones’s ice time hasn’t
dipped that low since. Thrice this season he’s broken the 28-minute
barrier. He was named to his second all-star game this week and paces
all Columbus D-men with 29 points.
“I don’t look at it as growing offensively. I look at it as being a leader,”
Tortorella says.
“When Jonesy came to us after that [Ryan Johansen] deal, Jonesy just
kind of waded into games. It took him a period to get ready to play, quite
honestly. I think he has really taken a couple of huge steps in wanting to
make a difference right away. He has skating ability, he has the length of
his body, hands, he has everything that you need to be a top player, and
I think he is showing that.
“He has turned into a guy who wants to lead the way and I think that has
helped his offensive numbers.”
Jones and partner Zach Werenski each have a shot at breaking the
franchise record for blue-line scoring Jones set last season. Tortorella
has heard the calls to split up his best two young defenders, but keeps
them together because of their comfort with each other and ability to
dictate the rhythm of a game. Jones said he hopes Werenski (11 goals)
breaks his record.
Since Dec. 2, Jones has amassed 17 points in 19 games, but the
minutes-muncher downplays the remarkable run he’s enjoying.
“The year I got traded here, I had 11 points in 40 games in Nashville. I
got traded and had 20 in 40, half a point per game. It just happens.
Sometimes you get some secondary assists you shouldn’t get or you get
a couple shin pads and your shot goes in. I try to be aggressive. Things
are going well right now,” says Jones, who had to learn when to rush and
when to hang back and save his energy.
“I think I’ve gotten a lot smarter,” Jones says. “When I see an opportunity
offensively, I take it.”
8. I’m watching a hockey game at home. My wife walks in.
“What period?” she says.
“Second.”
“Second? Who watches the second? The first and third are the only
periods worth watching.”
At this point, I should note that my wife is not Guy Boucher. But we would
not blame the Ottawa Senators coach for averting his eyes during
minutes 20 to 40.
In first and third periods, the Sens’ goal differential has hovered around
even all season.
In the second? Yikes. Ottawa has been outscored by an incredible
margin of 62-35 in Period 2. The Sens’ middles have been softer than
Double Stuf Oreos.
There’s no explanation, only an admission.
“Our second periods have hurt us big-time this year,” Boucher says.
9. Love to see Connor McDavid speaking out on league issues.
Superstars should use their voice.
The first glimpse of this is when he voiced his displeasure about skipping
the Olympics this summer, and he sounded off on the oft-maligned
offside challenge this week when the Oilers got a critical goal called back
(watch below).
Interestingly, 10 months ago, Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli was a big
proponent of leaving the offside review as is.
“We think offside is working,” Chiarelli said at the GM meetings. He was
against the break-the-plane tweak.
(Columbus GM Jarmo Kekalainen also spoke publicly in favour of offside
video review this week.)
“It’s just changing the dynamic,” Chiarelli said at the time. “Now you have
to determine the dynamic if the leg is breaking the plane or not if it’s in
the air. So you’ve got a number of calls that were reversed because the
leg was in the air. But if you allow it, you still have to decide if it’s
breaking the plane. So there’s uncertainty on both sides.”
As a fan, I’d rather live with more goals, less delays for review, and the
odd bang-bang play that we can whine about the refs later.
10. Jake Virtanen cherishes his 2015 world junior championship medal,
so naturally he was thrilled to see Team Canada reclaim gold last Friday
with the kids’ win over Sweden. The victory also fattened the Canuck’s
pockets.
He bet teammates Loui Eriksson and Daniel Sedin $100 each that
Canada would upset their homeland.
Based on gross income, Sedin betting 100 bucks is equivalent to the
average full-time employee in British Columbia betting 70 cents.
11. Vancouver’s Erik Gudbranson is a fun guy to chat with.
When I spoke to the defenceman about the possibility of getting traded
again last weekend, he offered fun background into his being in Africa
during the Panthers-Canucks deal that never made the story.
A bunch of his buddies had toured Thailand and Australia. Gudbranson
and pal Shawn Matthias wanted something new.
“Let’s go somewhere no one else has been. Let’s do something
completely different. I love travelling. I like to find nature’s finest. We
spun the globe and ended up in South Africa,” Gudbranson said.
Which animals did he see?
“All of ’em. It’s just an incredible place. We did the great white shark
diving. We did three different safaris. We saw it all. We were five or six
feet away from a lion. We saw leopards pull an antelope up a tree. It’s
unbelievable. Elephants are just absolutely majestic. You see them on
Nat Geo Wild and they’re pretty cool, but once you see them with your
own eyes, it’s beauty at its finest,” said the bruising athlete, who admitted
to getting a little sacred once the sun went down.
“You go to these private game lodges. You’re stuck in the wilderness, so
we came around the around one day – I was with a ranger, thank God –
and there was a hyena 10 feet away from us. That was a quick [gulps]:
‘Oh. OK.’ But they walk you back. They keep you pretty safe. Just stay
inside.”
Not all hockey players have such an adventurous spirit.
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12. Brendan Shanahan was speaking at a coaches clinic in Toronto this
week and took a few questions from the audience.
The Leafs president was asked to think back to his playing days and
describe the most annoying trait a coach could have. After a moment of
thought, Shanahan said it always bugged him when a coach would yap
at opposing players from the bench. He said that former tough guys who
later became coaches never did that.
Shanahan never respected his coach “acting like Don King — setting up
a fight he wasn’t going to be in.”
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Sportsnet.ca / Morgan Rielly, Leafs still living with the good and the bad
Luke Fox
@lukefoxjukebox
January 11, 2018, 12:54 AM
TORONTO – If you could condense the Toronto Maple Leafs’ recent
past, frustrating present and boundless future into a single hockey player,
his name would be Morgan Rielly.
Monday night, Rielly turned the puck over to fellow 23-year-old No. 1
defenceman Seth Jones attempting a stretch pass that wouldn’t, and the
Columbus Blue Jackets tied that game on a late odd-man rush en route
to an overtime victory.
Rielly responded the best way possible Wednesday versus the Ottawa
Senators, whizzing and creating, slanting the ice toward Craig
Anderson’s net.
Skating a team-high 38 shifts, Rielly was on the ice for 34 shot attempts
and was the greatest reason the home side controlled 65 per cent of the
game’s possession. Rielly scored the tying goal on one of his six shots
on target, and made us question why — with his 31st point bumping him
ahead of all-star game invitees Jones, Erik Karlsson, Brent Burns, and
Drew Doughty in blue-liner scoring — he didn’t get called to the Tampa
showcase.
Then, with just 3:05 remaining in a 3-3 game, Rielly’s ambition got the
better of him again. Rielly pinched on Matt Duchene. Duchene blew Ron
Hainsey’s tires slamming the brakes on a 3-on-1 rush, and Ottawa’s Tom
Pyatt drilled the 4-3 winner.
For the second straight outing, a Rielly gaffe cost Toronto standings
points and the rested Leafs lost after failing to defeat an injured opponent
who limped into Air Canada Centre on the sleepy half of a back-to-back.
“Just some miscommunication between the forward and I. It’s my fault for
going,” Rielly said, wearing the Leafs’ fifth loss in their past seven games
and final defeat before they scatter for the mandated five-day bye week.
Toronto has yet to beat a team in regulation in 2018.
“A little break might not be the worst thing. We’ll come back re-energized.
It’s important that the guys in this room take care of our bodies and come
back rested and prepared to make a long push.”
Before we get to the happy stuff, let’s dash salt in Wednesday’s Ottawa-
inflicted wound: Bobby Ryan was injured, Anderson had been yanked
less than 24 hours prior, and coach Guy Boucher revealed that Karlsson
(game-high 27:06 played), Duchene (two pretty primary assists), and
Derick Brassard were among a group of Sens who all played through the
flu.
“Two nights in a row we were in a great position to win the game and
good players for us made big mistakes that, in the end, you’d love to
have back,” Leafs coach Mike Babcock said. “You win together and you
lose together, but there are things we’ve got to fix in order to win every
night.”
For all of the Leafs’ well-publicized firepower, their assault on the Sens
marked the first time the club scored three goals in one of January’s five
home games (we’re not counting shootouts, folks). Only twice in their
past 14 have they surpassed the three-goal barrier, something they
accomplished four times in their first five.
Through a combo of poor line changes, missed assignments, snake-
bitten shooters, and positional brain farts, Toronto has gradually slid from
first to seventh league-wide in goals per game. The details are a devil.
“Those are things we can be sharper with and things we will be sharper
with as the year goes on,” vowed James van Riemsdyk, who scored on
just one of a ridiculous 11 shots on goal (seven more JVR attempts were
blocked or veered wide).
Ottawa opened scoring with a Thomas Chabot pass that deflected off the
instep of Roman Polak’s skate. It was another defenceman error, and
one members of Leafs Nation might find gif-worthy, as the veteran has
excused himself from the bottom-pair tryout still being waged by
youngsters Andreas Borgman, Connor Carrick and Travis Dermott.
But Rielly’s mistakes are different, because the occasional flaw will give
some observers reason to step back from speaking of him in elite terms,
even during this, the 2012 first-rounder’s spectacular breakout year.
Babcock spoke tellingly Wednesday of the value of the players you draft,
how they wear an invisible team tattoo. Everyone’s a little more invested,
both ways.
We saw it in the coach’s strong defence of Rielly during his alternate
captain’s 2016-17 struggles and in the off-season effort made to hire
stay-at-home veteran Hainsey and shift Rielly to his natural left side.
“He’s just a kid. He might not have been in the league as early if the team
had been better, if that makes any sense,” Babcock said.
“The biggest difference, in my opinion, in his game is last year we never
played him in any offensive situations at all. We just told him to learn how
to play without the puck. Then we brought in a guy named Ron Hainsey
who tells him what to do every shift, sits with him on the bench every day,
and suddenly he’s not erratic in his play.
“Then he’s learned to shoot the puck, get the puck to the net on a regular
basis, and he goes when the opportunity is there and plays defence
when the opportunity is not there. He’s growing up.”
Growing up? Learning with a sprinkling of veteran guidance? Sounds a
lot like the Leafs as a whole. So does the coach’s assessment of Rielly’s
performance on this night.
“I thought he was really, really good,” Babcock said, “and he’d probably
like to have the mistake back.”
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Sportsnet.ca / Toronto Maple Leafs Prospect Report: Looking through a
fully-stocked system
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Jan. 13, 2018
Luke Fox
@lukefoxjukebox
January 12, 2018, 12:12 PM
Led by AHL all-stars Travis Dermott and Kasperi Kapanen — c’mon,
they’re NHL-ready already! — the Toronto Marlies have shot to the top of
the North Division and boast a roster brimming with prospects who could
earn a big-league chance when some Toronto Maple Leafs veterans
move on this summer, or be dangled as trade bait.
Toss in some intriguing European pros and a pair of world junior medal
winners, and the cupboards look stocked.
Here’s a peek at a mixed bag of mid-season returns from 13 of the most
notable prospects in the Leafs system.
Kasperi Kapanen, 21, RW
Drafted: First round, 22nd overall, 2014
Season to date: 28 GP | 12 G | 8 A | 20 P | +5 (NHL and AHL)
Remember him? The most NHL-ready of wingers in the Leafs system,
Kapanen has already enjoyed a six-game, two-goal peek at the NHL this
season — matching the length and output he had during the playoffs last
spring. But when all forwards are healthy, Kapanen is still a prospect.
Along with Dermott, the Son of Sami rightly earned an AHL All-Star
Game invite and is simply biding time as he awaits that Ricoh-to-ACC
cab ride.
AHL, TORONTO MARLIES
Travis Dermott, 21, D
Drafted: Second round, 34th overall, 2015
Season to date: 26 GP | 2 G | 15 A | 17 P | +15
Upon calling up Dermott for a two-game look with the big boys this
month, Leafs coach Mike Babcock revealed that had the Marlies’ best
defenceman been born a right shot, he would’ve been an NHLer all
season long.
Morgan Rielly has called Dermott one of the best skaters in the
organization, and yet he’s fighting with Connor Carrick and Andreas
Borgman to be a fixture on the Leafs’ third pair heading into the season’s
second half.
After being used exclusively on his natural left side last season, Dermott
has played a handful of AHL games on his unnatural right to prepare him
for the NHL club’s greatest need. It’s worked OK, considering he earned
an invite to the AHL’s All-Star Game.
“Mentally, you have to prepare a bit differently because you’ll be getting
the pass from a different angle,” Dermott says. “You usually had three
lefties and three righties growing up, at least on my teams. But hockey’s
hockey, and you end up in weird positions on the ice.”
Since registering an assist in his NHL debut, Dermott has been returned
to the AHL but is champing to get up and stay up.
“I’m not intimidated by this opportunity,” he says. “The nerves are pretty
much gone. Time to go to work.”
Timothy Liljegren, 18, D
Drafted: First round, 17th overall, 2017
Season to date: 17 GP | 1 G | 8 A | 9 P | +6
Honoured to just make the Swedish world junior team let alone play on
the power-play and win a silver medal, the Maple Leafs’ top pick in the
’17 draft has looked strong during his first half-season on small ice.
There’s expectation Liljegren will develop into the top-four right shot
Toronto craves, but that’ll take another year or two. Maybe more. For
now, the teenager is simply content with his decision to work on his craft
in North America as opposed to returning to the Swedish pro ranks.
“I play a minimum of 15 minutes a game for the Marlies, so that’s been
good,” Liljegren told the Toronto Star. “To really belong to one team is
something that I wanted, so it’s been good.”
Calle Rosen, 23, D
Drafted: N/A
Season to date: 34 GP | 0 G | 9 A | 9 P | -9 (NHL and AHL)
Earlier this week, Leafs GM Lou Lamoriello singled out the edgy Andreas
Borgman as the club’s pleasant surprise. Remember when Borgman and
fellow undrafted Swedish discovery Rosen were in a dogfight to stick in
the bigs?
The speedy Rosen is still adjusting to the North American style and is
settling into a steady defensive role in the AHL. The offensive upside
here appears low, and the left shot will have to hop over Dermott,
Borgman and possibly 21-year-old Marlie Andrew Nielsen to make the
cut.
Jeremy Bracco, 20, RW
Drafted: Second round, 61st overall, 2015
Season to date: 21 GP | 2 G | 7 A | 9 P | -3
Frequently healthy-scratching Bracco at the beginning of his first pro
season, Toronto has no reason to rush a skilled right winger up to a big
club that already has too many of those to squeeze into its top nine. For
both player and team, patience is the approach here. Bracco’s ice time
and production both jumped significantly in December. It took until Dec.
10 for the CHL champion to light the lamp in a Marlies uniform, but
teammate Kasperi Kapanen called it “one of the best first goals I’ve ever
seen.”
Adam Brooks, 21, C
Drafted: Fourth round, 92nd overall, 2016
Season to date: 27 GP | 3 G | 3 A | 6 P | +3
As dynamic Marlies rookie forwards go, it took 130-point WHLer Brooks
even longer than Bracco to pot his first goal, but the 5-foot-10 talent has
recently seen action on the top line.
Coach Sheldon Keefe has asked for more hunger from the undersized
kid in the O-zone, but is impressed by his intelligence and positioning.
Brooks himself admits he’s had to adjust to the evaporating time and
space he enjoyed in junior.
Andreas Johnsson, 23, LW
Drafted: Seventh round, 202nd overall, 2013
Season to date: 32 GP | 14 G | 11 A | 25 P | +7
A seventh-round flyer on Johnsson in 2013 is increasingly looking like it
might just pay off.
With two veteran Maple Leafs left wings on expiring contracts (Leo
Komarov, James van Riemsdyk), we wonder if Johnsson — who’s been
groomed well overseas and is now well on track for a second straight 20-
goal AHL season — could make the leap in 2018-19.
Among all Marlies, the 23-year-old ranks second to Ben Smith in both
goals and points and has been a beast on the man-advantage, with 10
power-play points.
Garret Sparks, 24, G
Drafted: Seventh round, 190th overall, 2011
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NEWS CLIPPINGS • Jan. 13, 2018
Season to date: 21 GP | 14-6-0 | 1.83 GAA | .937 SP | 2 SO
Despite a swelling number of supporters and a spectacular start to
Sparks’ season, when it came time for the Maple Leafs to recall a
goaltender, they instead opted for Calvin Pickard, who is a year older and
has 70 more NHL appearances under his belt. That shows you where
Sparks slots in the organizational depth chart: fourth. But goalies take
longer to groom. The Leafs have two in the AHL who are at least worthy
of a long look as an NHL backup, if not in Toronto then elsewhere. At a
bargain $675,000 cap hit through 2018-19, Sparks gives the Buds
options.
OHL
Eemeli Rasanen, 18, D, Kingston Frontenacs
Drafted: Second round, 59th overall, 2017
Season to date: 33 GP | 3 G | 20 A | 23 P | +7
The right-shot giant is off to an excellent start to his sophomore season in
the Ontario Hockey League, producing points and cutting down on his
defensive mistakes.
Rasanen has earned an alternate captaincy with the Frontenacs and was
selected (albeit barely) to Team Finland’s slightly disappointing world
junior squad. Heavy game, heavy shot.
Nikita Korostelev, 20, RW, Peterborough Petes
Drafted: Seventh round, 185th overall, 2015
Season to date: 37 GP | 18 G | 29 A | 47 P | -4
In his fifth OHL season and first one beginning in Peterborough,
Korostelev has picked up where he left off—filling nets at better than a
point-a-game, no worries. Yes, it’s another right wing in the Leafs system
who can create offence.
That Korostelev remains in junior is a testament to the forward depth of
the Marlies, but he’s no longer a teenager and it’s getting close to time
we see the Russian compete against men to find out if he can be a
legitimate pro.
KHL
Yegor Korshkov, 21, RW, Yaroslavl Lokomotiv
Drafted: Second round, 31st overall, 2016
Season to date: 48 GP | 8 G | 15 A | 23 P | +4
Due to a sluggish start, Yegor Korshkov’s numbers don’t leap off the
page, but he’s been a solid third-liner in the KHL who’s heating up lately.
After mustering just a single assist in Lokomotiv’s first 13 contests, the 6-
foot-4 two-way wing already has career highs in goals and assists this
season, his fourth as a Russian professional. Korshkov has added an
edge to his game and will easily double his career-high in penalties.
Leafs Fans: Yegor Korshkov had a goal and two assists yesterday in a 6-
5 win in a shootout.
Since Oct. 11, that's 19pts in 25gp. A 24.3%INV over that time. Roughly
a 35-45 point NHL pace. Contract expires this year. I'd expect him to
make the trip over.
SHL
Carl Grundstrom, 19, LW, Frolunda
Drafted: Second round, 57th overall, 2016
Season to date: 18 GP | 7 G | 2 A | 9 P | +2
Carl Grundstrom made noise in the AHL playoffs and in Leafs training
camp, winning over some of the diehard fans, but had to be returned to
his Swedish club this season. The hardworking, aggressive winger found
the net seven times in 18 contests for Frolunda before falling to injury.
Grundstrom underwent surgery to repair his left knee and isn’t expected
to return until later this month.
NCAA
Joseph Woll, 19, G, Boston College
Drafted: Third round, 62nd overall, 2016
Season to date: 7-6-2 | 2.90 GAA | .898 SP | 0 SO
Woll told us last summer that he was aiming to be Team USA’s starter in
the world junior tournament, and he did represent his country in the
semifinal — only to get victimized by the dangerous Swedes. After
getting pulled in the semis, the U.S. sat him in the bronze medal game.
Boston College has taken a step back in the NCAA ranks, and the
teenager has watched his save percentage plummet below the .900
threshold.
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Sportsnet.ca / Canucks finally get a break in win over Blue Jackets
Iain MacIntyre
@imacSportsnet
January 12, 2018, 9:46 PM
COLUMBUS, Ohio – It’s only funny when you win, so one day Brendan
Gaunce will be able to laugh about it. He’ll have to because his
teammates may be chirping him for a while.
The 23-year-old forward, whose only two goals through his first 103
National Hockey League games were scored off his shin pads, finally
scored one with his stick – sort of – as the Vancouver Canucks got
bounces and goals and a desperately needed 5-2 win Friday against the
Columbus Blue Jackets.
Late in the second period of a one-goal game, Gaunce skated off the
bench and on to a beautiful, blind backpass from Thomas Vanek. Visor-
to-mask with Columbus goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, Gaunce had a split-
second to pick his spot. Would he go high glove, back behind Bobrovsky,
or near-post on the goalie’s stick side? Or might he shoot five-hole, or
stickhandle around the netminder?
No, Gaunce would torque his stick so severely attempting a wrist shot
that the shaft snapped, de-powering the shot and sending the puck
skittering at half-speed towards Bobrovsky, who is Russian and, thus,
may never have been thrown a change-up in baseball.
As his stick exploded, Gaunce lost sight of the puck and figured it was
still un-propelled, somewhere down at his feet. To his surprise, he
discovered it had instead gone in the net, Bobrovsky frozen in place, to
make it 3-1 for Vancouver at 14:31 of a four-goal period that ended the
Canucks’ 0-4-1 winless streak.
“I put some pressure on my stick to whip it into the net,” Gaunce said. “I
didn’t know where it went. Luckily for me, it was kind of one of those ones
that just found a way. It caught (the goalie) off-guard and caught me off-
guard, but it counted.
And the guys will be on Gaunce.
We did not describe his goal in detail to make fun of Gaunce, who is due
a pile more kind bounces after going 95 games and 115 shots on target
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Jan. 13, 2018
without scoring until teammate Erik Gudbranson bounced one in off his
leg three weeks ago in San Jose.
We focus on it because Gaunce’s goal perfectly encapsulated a game in
which a lot of things that went wrong for the Canucks the last five weeks
went right for them against the Blue Jackets.
Gudbranson scored his first of the season and fellow defenceman
Alexander Edler, on a carom off Columbus defenceman Markus
Nutivaara, scored his second. Jake Virtanen managed his sixth, into an
empty net, and winger Sven Baertschi scored on another great Vanek
pass for his first goal since missing a month with a broken jaw.
“We got some good bounces,” Gudbranson said. “But the good part
about the way that game went is we earned those bounces. We played
well for 200 feet. The second period we took over. Our forwards were
skating like crazy and they created a lot of room for themselves. Winning
is huge. It’s tough losing, tough on the morale.”
The win was the Canucks’ first on the road since November and came
after a two-day “reset” that followed a 3-1 loss in Washington where
Vancouver’s erratic play – both excellent and awful stretches –
epitomized its 2-11-2 descent in the standings since Dec. 5.
Green held a team meeting, then staged a back-to-basics practice in
Columbus on Thursday.
“When you’re winning, it feels like you’re not going to lose,” Green said
after the win. “And when you’re losing, it feels like you might not win
again. That’s one of the parts we talked about before the game: ‘Let’s put
one foot in front of the other. It’s a 60-minute process. If we do that we’ll
be happy and at the end of the night, we should get the results.’”
Some of the goals were lucky, but the victory was not. The Canucks did
play their steadiest game in a long time, reducing unforced errors and
opposition scoring chances. Their power play went 2-for-3 and
Vancouver goalie Jacob Markstrom stopped 27 of 29 shots and was
excellent after allowing Seth Jones’ shot from above the faceoff circle to
beat him at 4:33 of the first period.
Baertschi tied it at 1:19 of the second, Gudbranson hammered a one-
timer past Bobrovsky at 5:38 and then Gaunce scored a winner that was
so bad it was good.
He had been healthy-scratched the previous game by Green and just
wanted to contribute in some way.
“When you get scratched, it’s tough on your ego,” Gaunce said. “That
shouldn’t happen, but everyone wants to play and help the team win. I
just wanted to get back in the lineup and have a positive impact – just do
everything I could to help the team win.
“Sometimes you just have to reset and remember that you’ve scored at
other levels. It will come with confidence and time. For me, I’ve had a lot
of time this year to think about becoming a better player away from the
puck. If I do that, goals will come.”
Eventually.
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Sportsnet.ca / Why the Vancouver Canucks are an example of a model
rebuild
Corey Hirsch
@@CoreyHirsch
January 12, 2018, 5:44 PM
Take a good look, Pittsburgh Penguins and Chicago Blackhawks. The
Vancouver Canucks today are what you get seven years after taking a
run at a Stanley Cup.
This is the fallout, a team with aging superstars and the daunting task of
restocking the cupboard of draft picks that were traded away or spent
having to pick in the late first round year after year.
Former Canucks general manager Mike Gillis sold the farm for that
chance at a Stanley Cup and was let go for Jim Benning in 2014. Now
seven years after those 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs, GM Jim Benning and
president Trevor Linden are faced with the monumental task of rebuilding
a team with two aging superstars, Henrik and Daniel Sedin, and what
was an empty cupboard of prospects left by the last regime.
Ask any GM around the NHL and they will tell you that they are building
their teams based on what the last GM left them with, good or bad.
Times in Vancouver right now couldn’t be any tougher. At the time of this
article, the Canucks are in a tailspin having won only three of their last 15
games and are 3-11-2 in those games.
I, however, am optimistic and feel good about the direction this team is
going in, and the reason is Benning and Linden.
They have done a terrific job restocking this team with prospects and
character free-agent signings that have given hope for the future.
The list of positives for prospects is long.
Twenty-year-old Brock Boeser is turning into a superstar right before our
very eyes. The comparisons to what other superstar NHL players have
done in their first 50 NHL games and what Boeser has done is right on
par with Alex Ovechkin, Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews in their
rookie seasons. He will represent the Canucks at this year’s all-star
game and will be a finalist for the Calder Trophy as the top rookie.
Nineteen-year-old phenom, Elias Pettersson, is fifth in scoring in the
Swedish Hockey League, only five points behind the leader. He is playing
against men in the top league in the SHL having played eight less games
than some of the leaders above him.
Forward Jonathan Dahlen, who just turned 20, is tied for fourth in scoring
in the Swedish second league. Dahlen has also played in eight less
games than the leaders above him, and is only four points behind the
leader. Benning stole Dahlen in a trade with Ottawa for Alexander
Burrows.
Twenty-one-year-old fifth-round draft pick Adam Gaudette is tied for first
in overall NCAA scoring and may win the Hobey Baker Award.
Nineteen-year-old Olli Juolevi is currently tied for first in rookie-
defencemen scoring in the top professional men’s league in Finland with
14 points.
Nineteen-year-old Jonah Gadjovich just won a gold medal with Canada
at the world juniors.
Waiting for these prospects to develop can be a long, painful process for
the big club, but until they are ready, Benning and Linden believe in
acquiring character people to help bring your rookies along and teach
them how to be pros.
Have all their signings been perfect?
No, but character is something that can be passed on.
Free-agent signing Sam Gagner is seen almost every other week on
social media doing something remarkably kind for a fan or a kid. Whether
it’s giving away a stick, puck, or a dressing-room tour for a special-needs
person, his kindness and character have not gone unnoticed to his
teammates.
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NEWS CLIPPINGS • Jan. 13, 2018
Michael Del Zotto, another 2017 free-agent signing, is seen spending a
lot of his off-time playing video games with sick kids at the Ronald
McDonald House. Erik Gudbranson can be seen there as well.
There is no crystal ball, and a rebuild is not an overnight process.
Realistically, Benning’s and Linden’s thumbprint on this team won’t be
known for five to seven years. The NHL is a results-oriented business
and one can only hope Benning and Linden are not building today for the
next Canucks GM and president.
I know times are tough, but the future is bright and they both deserve to
see it.
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Sportsnet.ca / Lightning coach Jon Cooper: Nikita Kucherov has ‘it’ factor
Emily Sadler
@EmmySadler
January 12, 2018, 10:06 PM
Nikita Kucherov has been dazzling crowds in Tampa Bay for five
seasons now, but he’s not often in the national spotlight.
Lightning head coach Jon Cooper has been behind the bench for all five
of those campaigns and gets to see first-hand what Kucherov is capable
of on a daily basis. He shared some insight into the talented winger
during an appearance on Tim & Sid on Friday.
“When he gets the puck in the offensive zone and he’s cutting across the
middle, every time he winds up to shoot, I think it’s going in the net,”
Cooper said. “And you don’t think about that with a lot of guys. It’s those
kind of hold-your-breath moments like, this ‘might go in.’”
This season, it often does go in. Kucherov leads the league in goals (27
— tied with Alex Ovechkin) and points (60) and is well on pace for his
best season yet as the Lightning sit atop the NHL standings.
Kucherov earned himself an all-star nod last year with his career-best 40-
goal, 85-point campaign, and will join teammates Steven Stamkos and
Andrei Vasilevskiy and coach Cooper at this year’s festivities on home
ice on Jan. 27-28. (Lightning defenceman Victor Hedman was also
named to the squad, but he’ll sit out the event due to a lower-body
injury.)
“He’s kind of got that ‘it’ factor when it comes to putting the puck in the
net,” said Cooper, who went on to share an off-season story that explains
much of Kucherov’s scoring success:
“Tampa is an unbelievable place to play, but Tampa in July may not be
the place you’re picking as your destination point right away just because
it’s so hot and humid. He comes back in July, gets the ice at our practice
ice facility, it’s a public rink and he rents it out and goes five days a week
every single day and just worked on his game,” said Cooper.
“I actually was a little nervous for him because I thought ‘He’s going to
burn himself out here.’ I’d go down and see him and he’d just be on the
ice himself or sometimes a player or two would trickle in – Vasilevskiy
came in for a week – and all he did was work on his game and he’d bring
skill guys in,” Cooper continued. “And to see what he’s doing now,
whoever’s listening out there, those are the things you have to do and
he’s earned his way to where he is right now.”
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Sportsnet.ca / 4 players who could replace Victor Hedman in the all-star
game
Josh Beneteau
@jbenny15
January 12, 2018, 7:05 PM
The Tampa Bay Lightning got a big blow to their blue line Friday when it
was announced that defenceman Victor Hedman would miss the next
three to six weeks with a lower-body injury. While the news is bad for the
Lightning, they’ve banked lots of points and should still be a favourite
come playoff time.
But the news does hurt the Atlantic Division all-stars, who will be without
one of the league’s best defenders for the 3-on-3 tournament at the end
of January.
While replacing a player who is third among all blueliners in scoring is
next to impossible, there are some good defencemen out there who
could represent the Atlantic during all-star weekend.
Morgan Rielly — Toronto Maple Leafs
Morgan Rielly is in the middle of a career year and has been so good that
experts are even suggesting he could have gone to the Olympics. With
31 points in 45 games, he’s only six points away from setting a career
high. In fact, Hedman is the only Atlantic defenceman with more points
than Rielly. Add in his smooth skating ability and great passing and the
Atlantic won’t miss a step.
Mikhail Sergachev — Tampa Bay Lightning
If the NHL wanted to please the local crowd, Mikhail Sergachev would be
a great choice. He’s only a rookie, but through his first 44 games he’s
been a huge surprise after the Lightning acquired him in an off-season
trade with Montreal. With 26 points he’s fourth among defencemen in
scoring in the Atlantic and his eight goals are tied for fourth among all D-
men.
Zdeno Chara — Boston Bruins
Who wouldn’t want to see 40-year-old Zdeno Chara blast some pucks in
the hardest shot contest one last time? With Hedman’s injury, it could
happen. Chara is obviously far from his prime, with only three goals and
11 points this season. And he probably wouldn’t be the most useful
player in a full 3-on-3 game. But it would be cool to see him in the skills
competition, especially with Shea Weber missing the fun with an injury.
Charlie McAvoy — Boston Bruins
If Chara’s unavailable, the Bruins have another defenceman ready to go.
Charlie McAvoy may not be the flashiest defenceman out there, but he’s
quickly become the most reliable blueliner in Boston. With 21 points,
including 16 assists, he’s still got a great offensive mind to go with his
reliable defence. If he doesn’t make it to this all-star game, there will be
plenty of other chances for him throughout his career.
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Sportsnet.ca / How Marc Bergevin can retool Canadiens in short order
Eric Engels
January 12, 2018, 9:12 AM
MONTREAL— This season has been a disaster for the Montreal
Canadiens, but suffering through it could prove to be the most important
step in the team’s eventual climb back to prominence.
The cupboard needs to be restocked, draft picks must be accumulated,
and falling out of contention as early as the Canadiens have enables
general manager Marc Bergevin to address some needs that have been
ignored in previous years of mostly successful hockey under his watch.
He’s not going to have a better chance to turn the Canadiens around
quickly than the one that’s currently in front of him, and if he plays his
cards right, he’ll do exactly that.
When you consider the parity of the NHL nowadays, the road to
redemption has seemingly become a lot less hard to travel than it was in
the past. Six teams that missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season are
currently locking down spots. Two of them (Tampa Bay Lightning and
Winnipeg Jets) are among the league’s three best teams.
And then there’s the expansion Vegas Golden Knights, who have won 29
of their first 41 games and accumulated the second-most points in the
NHL. If they can become great as quickly as they have, there’s no reason
the Canadiens — or anyone else having a tough season — can’t do the
same.
That Montreal has superstar goaltender Carey Price and franchise
defenceman Shea Weber locked into long-term deals gives them a head
start. Bergevin can retool the roster around them, promising young
defenceman Victor Mete, and young forwards Brendan Gallagher,
Jonathan Drouin, Alex Galchenyuk, Artturi Lehkonen and Phillip Danault.
Though the GM said this past Sunday at his press conference that he’s
not yet ready to throw in the towel on this season, there’s little doubt that
day is on the horizon. By the time the Canadiens resume play — they’re
currently idle until Saturday night —
they could be as many as 10 points out of the second wild-card position
in the Eastern Conference. They’re already 13 points behind the Toronto
Maple Leafs for third place in the Atlantic Division. It would take a miracle
for them to close the gap considerably between now and the Feb. 26
trade deadline, and this team hasn’t come close to showing it can
perform a miracle through its first 42 games.
No saviour is coming, either.
“In the perfect world, would I love to add a piece to help them? Of
course,” Bergevin said. “But to sacrifice the future and be taking a major
risk to hurt the organization for the long term? I’m not ready to do that.
And to be honest with you, the short-term solution, there’s nobody out
there that I’m aware of that’s going to come and turn this thing around.”
But there’s plenty of opportunity for Bergevin to pursue in order to get
things back on the rails before the puck drops next season.
One of the best assets Bergevin has at his disposal is $7.5 million in cap
space. Had he spent more than a million of the $8.5M the Canadiens
entered this season with, they may not be in such a precarious position in
the standings. But because he didn’t, he now has the ability to take on
more salary at the deadline than almost any other GM in the league, and
that could prove beneficial in the pursuit of picks and young players.
Doing his rivals a favour, by taking on expiring contracts, could net
Bergevin more picks and prospects — or higher quality assets — in such
deals than he would get by just selling players off his roster. The ability to
retain salary in trades offers him the same opportunity.
“I’m going to look at all our options,” Bergevin said.
Ryan Dixon and Rory Boylen go deep on pucks with a mix of facts and
fun, leaning on a varied group of hockey voices to give their take on the
country’s most beloved game.
Trading Max Pacioretty is another he simply can’t ignore.
The 29-year-old captain of the Canadiens has scored at least 30 goals in
five of his last six seasons and is on steal of a deal at $4.5 million
through 2019. As a result, he presents Bergevin with his best opportunity
to add a top centreman.
And Bergevin already has Pacioretty’s replacement on his roster.
“In an ideal world, he’s a winger,” said Bergevin of Drouin, who’s
currently playing out of position as Montreal top centre.
Bergevin also has a player (Danault) to replace veteran centre Tomas
Plekanec—should he choose to trade him.
The 35-year-old is in his final year of making $6 million, and he should
prove attractive to a contending team looking for an experienced player
who can still skate with the game’s best — and check them, too — on a
nightly basis.
Plekanec, who gets next to no power-play time, has 16 points in 42
games this season. He has the heaviest defensive responsibilities, but
he’s plus-3 on a Canadiens team that ranks 26th in the NHL in five-on-
five scoring. He’s also an excellent penalty killer. There’s no question he
has value on the trade market.
As does defenceman Jordie Benn, who carries a $1.1 million cap hit
through 2019 and has shown he can play above his paygrade.
Benn has 10 points, a plus-3 rating and has averaged 19:21 per game in
40 games this season.
Defencemen Joe Morrow and Jakub Jerabek are on expiring contracts
and might also be able to net Bergevin a couple of middling draft picks.
Every pick counts. As it stands, the Canadiens are looking at a good
position to choose from in the first round of the 2018 draft, they have
three second-round picks, a third rounder, and three fifth-round picks
(two of which are likely to become fourth-round picks thanks to conditions
agreed to in trades made with the Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton
Oilers earlier this year). Obtaining a few more by shedding some of the
players on the current roster will also free up significant space for a
shopping spree in unrestricted free agency this summer.
This isn’t the path Bergevin and his team set out on at the start of this
year, but it might be the one that gets them to a better place when all is
said and done.
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Sportsnet.ca / Toronto Maple Leafs Prospect Report: Looking through a
fully-stocked system
Luke Fox
@lukefoxjukebox
January 12, 2018, 12:12 PM
Led by AHL all-stars Travis Dermott and Kasperi Kapanen — c’mon,
they’re NHL-ready already! — the Toronto Marlies have shot to the top of
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NEWS CLIPPINGS • Jan. 13, 2018
the North Division and boast a roster brimming with prospects who could
earn a big-league chance when some Toronto Maple Leafs veterans
move on this summer, or be dangled as trade bait.
Toss in some intriguing European pros and a pair of world junior medal
winners, and the cupboards look stocked.
Here’s a peek at a mixed bag of mid-season returns from 13 of the most
notable prospects in the Leafs system.
Kasperi Kapanen, 21, RW
Drafted: First round, 22nd overall, 2014
Season to date: 28 GP | 12 G | 8 A | 20 P | +5 (NHL and AHL)
Remember him? The most NHL-ready of wingers in the Leafs system,
Kapanen has already enjoyed a six-game, two-goal peek at the NHL this
season — matching the length and output he had during the playoffs last
spring. But when all forwards are healthy, Kapanen is still a prospect.
Along with Dermott, the Son of Sami rightly earned an AHL All-Star
Game invite and is simply biding time as he awaits that Ricoh-to-ACC
cab ride.
AHL, TORONTO MARLIES
Travis Dermott, 21, D
Drafted: Second round, 34th overall, 2015
Season to date: 26 GP | 2 G | 15 A | 17 P | +15
Upon calling up Dermott for a two-game look with the big boys this
month, Leafs coach Mike Babcock revealed that had the Marlies’ best
defenceman been born a right shot, he would’ve been an NHLer all
season long.
Morgan Rielly has called Dermott one of the best skaters in the
organization, and yet he’s fighting with Connor Carrick and Andreas
Borgman to be a fixture on the Leafs’ third pair heading into the season’s
second half.
After being used exclusively on his natural left side last season, Dermott
has played a handful of AHL games on his unnatural right to prepare him
for the NHL club’s greatest need. It’s worked OK, considering he earned
an invite to the AHL’s All-Star Game.
“Mentally, you have to prepare a bit differently because you’ll be getting
the pass from a different angle,” Dermott says. “You usually had three
lefties and three righties growing up, at least on my teams. But hockey’s
hockey, and you end up in weird positions on the ice.”
Since registering an assist in his NHL debut, Dermott has been returned
to the AHL but is champing to get up and stay up.
“I’m not intimidated by this opportunity,” he says. “The nerves are pretty
much gone. Time to go to work.”
Timothy Liljegren, 18, D
Drafted: First round, 17th overall, 2017
Season to date: 17 GP | 1 G | 8 A | 9 P | +6
Honoured to just make the Swedish world junior team let alone play on
the power-play and win a silver medal, the Maple Leafs’ top pick in the
’17 draft has looked strong during his first half-season on small ice.
There’s expectation Liljegren will develop into the top-four right shot
Toronto craves, but that’ll take another year or two. Maybe more. For
now, the teenager is simply content with his decision to work on his craft
in North America as opposed to returning to the Swedish pro ranks.
“I play a minimum of 15 minutes a game for the Marlies, so that’s been
good,” Liljegren told the Toronto Star. “To really belong to one team is
something that I wanted, so it’s been good.”
Calle Rosen, 23, D
Drafted: N/A
Season to date: 34 GP | 0 G | 9 A | 9 P | -9 (NHL and AHL)
Earlier this week, Leafs GM Lou Lamoriello singled out the edgy Andreas
Borgman as the club’s pleasant surprise. Remember when Borgman and
fellow undrafted Swedish discovery Rosen were in a dogfight to stick in
the bigs?
The speedy Rosen is still adjusting to the North American style and is
settling into a steady defensive role in the AHL. The offensive upside
here appears low, and the left shot will have to hop over Dermott,
Borgman and possibly 21-year-old Marlie Andrew Nielsen to make the
cut.
Jeremy Bracco, 20, RW
Drafted: Second round, 61st overall, 2015
Season to date: 21 GP | 2 G | 7 A | 9 P | -3
Frequently healthy-scratching Bracco at the beginning of his first pro
season, Toronto has no reason to rush a skilled right winger up to a big
club that already has too many of those to squeeze into its top nine. For
both player and team, patience is the approach here. Bracco’s ice time
and production both jumped significantly in December. It took until Dec.
10 for the CHL champion to light the lamp in a Marlies uniform, but
teammate Kasperi Kapanen called it “one of the best first goals I’ve ever
seen.”
Adam Brooks, 21, C
Drafted: Fourth round, 92nd overall, 2016
Season to date: 27 GP | 3 G | 3 A | 6 P | +3
As dynamic Marlies rookie forwards go, it took 130-point WHLer Brooks
even longer than Bracco to pot his first goal, but the 5-foot-10 talent has
recently seen action on the top line.
Coach Sheldon Keefe has asked for more hunger from the undersized
kid in the O-zone, but is impressed by his intelligence and positioning.
Brooks himself admits he’s had to adjust to the evaporating time and
space he enjoyed in junior.
Andreas Johnsson, 23, LW
Drafted: Seventh round, 202nd overall, 2013
Season to date: 32 GP | 14 G | 11 A | 25 P | +7
A seventh-round flyer on Johnsson in 2013 is increasingly looking like it
might just pay off.
With two veteran Maple Leafs left wings on expiring contracts (Leo
Komarov, James van Riemsdyk), we wonder if Johnsson — who’s been
groomed well overseas and is now well on track for a second straight 20-
goal AHL season — could make the leap in 2018-19.
Among all Marlies, the 23-year-old ranks second to Ben Smith in both
goals and points and has been a beast on the man-advantage, with 10
power-play points.
Garret Sparks, 24, G
Drafted: Seventh round, 190th overall, 2011
Season to date: 21 GP | 14-6-0 | 1.83 GAA | .937 SP | 2 SO
Despite a swelling number of supporters and a spectacular start to
Sparks’ season, when it came time for the Maple Leafs to recall a
goaltender, they instead opted for Calvin Pickard, who is a year older and
has 70 more NHL appearances under his belt. That shows you where
Sparks slots in the organizational depth chart: fourth. But goalies take
longer to groom. The Leafs have two in the AHL who are at least worthy
of a long look as an NHL backup, if not in Toronto then elsewhere. At a
bargain $675,000 cap hit through 2018-19, Sparks gives the Buds
options.
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Jan. 13, 2018
OHL
Eemeli Rasanen, 18, D, Kingston Frontenacs
Drafted: Second round, 59th overall, 2017
Season to date: 33 GP | 3 G | 20 A | 23 P | +7
The right-shot giant is off to an excellent start to his sophomore season in
the Ontario Hockey League, producing points and cutting down on his
defensive mistakes.
Rasanen has earned an alternate captaincy with the Frontenacs and was
selected (albeit barely) to Team Finland’s slightly disappointing world
junior squad. Heavy game, heavy shot.
Nikita Korostelev, 20, RW, Peterborough Petes
Drafted: Seventh round, 185th overall, 2015
Season to date: 37 GP | 18 G | 29 A | 47 P | -4
In his fifth OHL season and first one beginning in Peterborough,
Korostelev has picked up where he left off—filling nets at better than a
point-a-game, no worries. Yes, it’s another right wing in the Leafs system
who can create offence.
That Korostelev remains in junior is a testament to the forward depth of
the Marlies, but he’s no longer a teenager and it’s getting close to time
we see the Russian compete against men to find out if he can be a
legitimate pro.
KHL
Yegor Korshkov, 21, RW, Yaroslavl Lokomotiv
Drafted: Second round, 31st overall, 2016
Season to date: 48 GP | 8 G | 15 A | 23 P | +4
Due to a sluggish start, Yegor Korshkov’s numbers don’t leap off the
page, but he’s been a solid third-liner in the KHL who’s heating up lately.
After mustering just a single assist in Lokomotiv’s first 13 contests, the 6-
foot-4 two-way wing already has career highs in goals and assists this
season, his fourth as a Russian professional. Korshkov has added an
edge to his game and will easily double his career-high in penalties.
Leafs Fans: Yegor Korshkov had a goal and two assists yesterday in a 6-
5 win in a shootout.
Since Oct. 11, that's 19pts in 25gp. A 24.3%INV over that time. Roughly
a 35-45 point NHL pace. Contract expires this year. I'd expect him to
make the trip over.
— Will Scouch (@Scouching) January 4, 2018
SHL
Carl Grundstrom, 19, LW, Frolunda
Drafted: Second round, 57th overall, 2016
Season to date: 18 GP | 7 G | 2 A | 9 P | +2
Carl Grundstrom made noise in the AHL playoffs and in Leafs training
camp, winning over some of the diehard fans, but had to be returned to
his Swedish club this season. The hardworking, aggressive winger found
the net seven times in 18 contests for Frolunda before falling to injury.
Grundstrom underwent surgery to repair his left knee and isn’t expected
to return until later this month.
NCAA
Joseph Woll, 19, G, Boston College
Drafted: Third round, 62nd overall, 2016
Season to date: 7-6-2 | 2.90 GAA | .898 SP | 0 SO
Woll told us last summer that he was aiming to be Team USA’s starter in
the world junior tournament, and he did represent his country in the
semifinal — only to get victimized by the dangerous Swedes. After
getting pulled in the semis, the U.S. sat him in the bronze medal game.
Boston College has taken a step back in the NCAA ranks, and the
teenager has watched his save percentage plummet below the .900
threshold.
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Sportsnet.ca / A look at Nathan MacKinnon, this year’s NHL superstar
breakout player
Dimitri Filipovic
@DimFilipovic
January 12, 2018, 1:14 PM
The Colorado Avalanche are one of 15 NHL teams currently enjoying
some time off on its league-mandated bye week.
When they finally get back to action this weekend, they won’t have to
wait long to start checking off some milestones. The next point they
secure will be their 48th of the season, matching their total from all of last
year. Their next win will be their 23rd, surpassing the pitiful sum they
were able to muster in 2016-17.
The transformation from one year to the next has been nothing short of
staggering. By essentially going from being an historical footnote for all of
the wrong reasons to a team hanging around the Western Conference
playoff picture, no team has improved by a greater margin from one
season to the next than the Avalanche.
Whenever a team improves as dramatically as this, it’s never due to just
one thing in isolation. Pretty much everything that could’ve gone wrong
for them last year did, including things that were out of their own control.
The biggest is that they were likely never as bad as their win-loss record
and goal differential would’ve indicated in the first place. From a talent
perspective, they were already fighting an uphill battle to begin with, but
the percentages – their combined save and shooting percentage (i.e.
PDO) at five-on-five was 96.94, the only instance of a team dipping
below 97 since we started keeping track of it in 2006 – were ultimately
what buried them under a mountain of losses.
The goaltending has gone from absolutely abhorrent to at least passably
average. To put the improvement into perspective, the combination of
Semyon Varlamov and Jonathan Bernier is stopping a higher percentage
of shots overall in all situations this season (90.7 per cent) than the four
goalies the team trotted out last year did at five-on-five (90.6 per cent).
The team has spiked in save percentage from 30th at five-on-five and
29th overall last season to 13th and 21st respectively this season. Part of
the reason for that is they haven’t had to dip into the AHL like last year,
when there was a 13-game stretch in which they fed poor Jeremy Smith
and Spencer Martin to the wolves.
And yet as big of a jump as they’ve made on that end, it pales in
comparison to the strides they’ve made on the other end of the ice.
Thanks to some combination of embracing the youth movement by
handing the keys to their next generation of talent, and getting more
favourable bounces as their shooting percentage rebounds, they’ve been
a top-10 offensive team by any measure. They’re eighth in goals per hour
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Jan. 13, 2018
at five-on-five, fifth in goals per hour on the power play, and fifth in overall
goals on a per-game basis.
The main driving force behind that success has been Nathan MacKinnon,
who will have a chance to smash some personal records when the
Avalanche resumes play. The next time he registers a point, MacKinnon
will match his output for all of last season. Assuming he gets 10 more
after that, he’ll match his career high for a single season, which he set all
the way back in his 2013-14 rookie campaign when he was still just a
fresh-faced teenager.
He’s been nothing short of a revelation this season, finally ascending to
the heights many of us had been stubbornly waiting for him to reach ever
since he took the league by storm in his rookie season.
The raw talent was never in question. If you sat down someone new to
the game and allowed them to watch MacKinnon play without any
additional context, you’d have a tough time convincing them that he
wasn’t widely considered one of the best or most productive players in
the sport. Connor McDavid may be faster and Blake Wheeler may be
more powerful, but no one in the league holds a greater abundance of
both traits than MacKinnon.
After years of tantalizing us with those god-given physical tools, the on-
results have finally started to come. At five-on-five, only Nikita Kucherov
has more total points than MacKinnon, and only Jaden Schwartz and
Brad Marchand have generated more offence on a per-minute basis. In
all situations, only Kucherov and Claude Giroux have accumulated a
higher point total (but MacKinnon has been more efficient than the latter
in terms of not relying on secondary assists as much, and doing it in
fewer minutes).
People have started to take note, vaulting him into the (super-duper
premature) discussion for Hart Trophy consideration. Because of the
nature of the award, whether that buzz lasts is ultimately dependant on
the team’s ability to keep winning games, but it’s tough to argue he’s not
deserving right now. Only Jack Eichel has been responsible for a higher
percentage of his team’s total offence (by either scoring or directly
assisting on any goal scored), and he benefits in a statistic like this
because of how incomparably miserable the rest of the team around him
is.
One of the most fun subplots of the season has been watching
MacKinnon come into his own and figure out how to best maximize his
physical abilities.
Where he used to just have the one gear, he’s now figured out that he
can be even more effective if he mixes things up by occasionally easing
up on the throttle and changing speeds.
Rather than trying to jam a square peg into a round hole by skating as
hard as he can until he’s either taken himself out of a position to be
dangerous with the puck or simply run into a wall and lose possession,
he’s now processing the game at a higher level, which makes him that
much tougher to defend.
Watch how he uses his speed on the rush to push the defence back on
its heels, before wisely stopping up short and using that extra breathing
room he’s created to survey the playing field and hit a teammate on the
fly.
Here he charges through the neutral zone with a full head of steam,
similarly pushing the defence back, before flipping the puck across the
royal road for a dangerous scoring opportunity.
The Avalanche don’t score on that initial chance, but they do recover the
rebound, and because everyone is now below the hashmarks,
MacKinnon is able to tee up Patrik Nemeth for a bomb from the point.
With everyone scrambling around, Devan Dubnyk and the Wild
defenders are unable to get set in time, and the Avalanche make them
pay.
Defensively, it’s a precarious ‘you’re damned if you do, and you’re
damned if you don’t’ situation, because if you do maintain a more
aggressive gap on MacKinnon to try and prevent that type of play from
materializing, he’s still capable of planting his foot in the ground and
turning the corner on you.
Exhibit A: Jaccob Slavin is one of the best true defenders in the game. If
people around the league somehow don’t know about him yet because
he’s young, doesn’t put up points, and plays in Carolina, they will soon
enough. He’s excellent in his own zone, but part of the reason why he’s
so successful – and why the Hurricanes control the puck as much as
they do when he’s out there – is because he’s especially excellent at
defending his blue line.
Here he reaches for the puck in an attempt to prevent the entry, and
misses. MacKinnon doesn’t waste any time making him pay for it.
Exhibit B: Aaron Ekblad is a big boy. He’s listed at 6-foot-4, 216 pounds.
Part of the reason why he went first overall in his draft class, and why
he’s still so highly regarded around league circles as a franchise
cornerstone on the blue line, is because he moves well with his size.
He’s the complete package.
Unfortunately, there’s only so much even he can do here as MacKinnon
a) burns him to the outside, and b) swats his attempt at a check away like
a fly before muscling the puck past James Reimer and into the net.
It surely won’t continue to be smooth sledding for the Avalanche. They’ve
been racking up a lot of these recent wins at home, and after a few more
games at Mile High coming out of the break, they’ll hit the road for a
more challenging six-game trip. Nine of their total 13 games in the month
of February will be away from home. And regardless of where they’re
playing, the underlying numbers suggest they’ve been performing above
their heads as a team anyways.
But none of that really matters. After last year’s season from hell, the
sheer fact that they’re this competitive, relevant, and entertaining has to
be welcomed with open arms. Their young players are playing well, and
providing hope for the future.
Most importantly, MacKinnon looks like he’s finally arrived as the
superstar we expected him to be coming into the league. Now that the
Avs can breath easily knowing they have a legitimate 22-year-old
cornerstone to build around, everything else is easier. Whatever happens
in the second half is just gravy.
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TSN.CA / Dreger Report: Examining ‘own rentals’ and players in play
By Darren Dreger
Bob McKenzie has referenced the term “own rental” a couple of times
this week and has given me credit for coining the phrase. I like it – it’s
catchy and appropriately describes a team/player scenario in a very blunt
manner.
When you hear me or Bob say it makes the most sense for the Toronto
Maple Leafs to use James van Riemsdyk as an “own rental,” chances
are you know exactly what that means. If not, here's a quick refresher
and history lesson on how “own rental” became a part of our hockey
vocabulary.
Simply put, any pending unrestricted free agent deemed too valuable to
his team to trade based on playoff expectations, but who isn't a lock for a
contract extension and is kept past the trade deadline despite the threat
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEWS CLIPPINGS • Jan. 13, 2018
of leaving the organization in the off-season for nothing, is an “own
rental.”
As much as I would like to take credit for this descriptive genius, the truth
is the Leafs were the first team (to my knowledge) to use the term.
Leading up to the 2013 NHL trade deadline, there was much speculation
about the future of Tyler Bozak. The Toronto centre was in the final year
of his contract and the vultures were circling. Leafs’ general manager
Dave Nonis had multiple trade offers for Bozak, but knew that if Toronto
was to make the playoffs and have any chance of advancing in the
postseason they would need their top centre to stay in the mix.
Toronto decided to gamble and kept Bozak for a playoff march that came
crashing to an end in the infamous Game 7 loss to the Boston Bruins in
the Eastern Conference quarter-finals. Bozak was injured and missed
Games 6 and 7 that year and the trauma that saw the Leafs squander a
4-1 third-period lead en route to a stunning 5-4 overtime defeat in the
deciding game.
TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger joined Scott and Matt to chat about
the first half of the season for the Maple Leafs, whether he believes that
they can make the changes needed to go deep in the playoffs, and if the
team should be concerned about Nazem Kadri's struggles.
Nonetheless, the gamble paid off. Amid offers to take his game
elsewhere, Bozak shed the label of “own rental” and signed a five-year,
$21-million dollar contract extension with the Leafs on July 5, 2013.
Will history repeat itself?
Bozak, van Riemsdyk and Leo Komarov are Toronto's most talked about
potential unrestricted free agents, although Dominic Moore and Roman
Polak also have expiring contracts. While some suggest Moore is or will
be available before the Feb. 26 trade deadline, most league executives
believe that, unless things take a sudden and ugly turn, Toronto is likely
to hold on to JVR, Bozak and Komarov in an effort to go as deep as the
team can in the playoffs.
So, this time, Bozak has company when it comes to being an own rental.
It will be interesting to see how Toronto reacts to the developing interest
in these three men as we creep closer to the deadline. The asking price
for Buffalo’s Evander Kane is reportedly a first-round draft pick, a
prospect and conditional pick, based on the assumption Kane signs with
the team he's traded to. If Sabres’ GM Jason Botterill lands in that return,
what might the Maple Leafs haul in for JVR?
It's believed van Riemsdyk wants six years and roughly $6 million per
year to stay in Toronto. That’s reasonable and, frankly, fits into the
category of hometown discount based on his goal production. But with
Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander in need of
extensions, plus the potential of bonus payouts, cap management is
going to be an ongoing challenge for the Maple Leafs.
A day after the trade market got back up and running, TSN senior hockey
reporter Frank Seravalli reviews the latest names on top of the TSN
Hockey Trade Bait board.
So, does the organization push all-in with the intent of trying to contend
for the Stanley Cup this season, or recognize the group is still too green
and, at the very least, sell off Bozak and Komarov for picks and
prospects?
As one NHL manager pointed out, if the Leafs were to move all three at
the deadline the return might be significant enough to roll those assets
over on the draft floor in June into a top-pair defenceman or other pieces
that might advance Toronto's chances of evolving into a legit contender
next season.
The more likely scenario: the Leafs decide to sit tight and continue to
develop the team while hoping their latest dive into the “own rental” pool
pays off.
With honourable mention to the Buffalo Sabres, the Ottawa Senators,
Edmonton Oilers and Montreal Canadiens continue to garner our
attention among the NHL clubs most likely to start selling sooner rather
than later. By the end of this month the standings should reveal if the
fight to save the season is over. The possibilities are endless as to what
direction these three teams might go.
Max Pacioretty and Alex Galchenyuk remain the most talked about trade
options in Montreal, but Andrew Shaw's name has surfaced as a player
of interest to a number of teams. With two Stanley Cup rings, Shaw
provides a wealth of postseason experience. His character and grit are
considered quality assets, and the fact he has 10 goals and 19 points in
42 games this season shows he can produce solid secondary scoring.
TSN Hockey insider Bob McKenzie joins The Morning Show to discuss
the value of certain Habs players that might be on the move at the
deadline.
It's the list of usual suspects in Ottawa. Mike Hoffman, Zack Smith and
Jean-Gabriel Pageau are targets of interest for teams looking to add.
Senators’ GM Pierre Dorion may get to a point where he has to unload
payroll or sees the upside of moving these guys based on the return, but
he hasn't reached that stage yet.
Oilers’ GM Peter Chiarelli is always looking. What choice does he have
given the state of this club? But unless he shifts his position in the near
future or is presented with a more significant opportunity, his class of
soon-to-be unrestricted free agents, which includes Patrick Maroon, Mark
Letestu and Mike Cammalleri, appears to be the bait he's dangling from
his roster.
The Detroit Red Wings are another team worth monitoring in the days
and weeks ahead. The Wings remain competitive even though it would
be best for the organization to flounder and sink into the mix of a top
lottery contender.
Mike Green is an obvious trade option in Detroit and there will be interest
in the veteran, right-shot defenceman. Petr Mrazek is also widely known
to be available. Based on his age, the 25-year-old goaltender might
attract interest from clubs wanting depth at the position.
Perhaps the most appealing among the options in Motown is talented
winger Tomas Tatar. Tatar scored 25 goals for the Red Wings last
season and has three more years remaining on his contract at $5.3
million per. The ask is believed to include a prospect and draft picks as
Detroit continues to retool.
With nine draft picks already in the bank, the Red Wings are aiming to
add at least another two or three through trades. The team hopes to go
into the NHL Draft in Dallas with a dozen picks or more.
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