HockeyNation

Saturday, November 04, 2017

HockeyNation Headlines: November 2017

Our archive of notes for November

November 8 -- So this is Game 1 of Life Without Matthews
November 7 -- McDavid scores in OT to life Oilers past host Islanders
November 6 -- Kyle Turris trade shows Predators GM David Poile's Cup obsession runneth over
November 5 -- Senators acquire Matt Duchene, trade away Kyle Turris in three-team trade
November 4 -- KHL may pull out of Olympics over Russia doping cases, could affect Team Canada
November 3 -- Putin Team idea just Ovechkin being Ovechkin, rather than 'politic stuff'
November 2 -- Three weeks to fix an NHL franchise: Five turkeys that have until U.S. Thanksgiving to fly right
November 1 -- Team Canada Olympic hockey jerseys unveiled

Archive of 2017-18 Season

Monday, October 09, 2017

Through Opening week ... everyone is a contender!

Dreams of raising Lord Stanley's Mug may seem a ways off just now, what with the playoffs far over the horizon of the Spring of 2018, but as we head towards the end of the first week for the 2017-18 campaign, everyone is a contender for the glory and has a shot to see their name engraved on the fabled trophy.

Well perhaps almost everyone, some cracks have already appeared in the pre-season planning, with the Winnipeg Jets finding Goals Against once again providing more than a few issues, though they have at least cracked the win column after three outings.

Not so a number of squads, including the Buffalo Sabres who have had a rough go of it three games into a brand new year. Joining the Sabres in the quest for a first win are the Ottawa Senators, Minnesota Wild, Dallas Stars, Nashville Predators, Arizona Coyotes and the San Jose Sharks.

Now obviously, the first week of the season is hardly the time to be sending out the SOS calls, and head coaches probably don't have to start thinking about who has the best rates when it comes to moving companies.

After all, for most all it will take is a quick run of a few games to reverse the bad karma and keep the home town fans (and one or two owners) on the bandwagon.

That task seems to be a lot easier in a few places as the first seven days of the 2017-18 season get close to completion on Wednesday.

The Leafs fans already have the plans in hand for the parade for Stanley, Washington is out of the gate fast, as are the Blues.

Chicago is not far off the pace and scoring goals at will, something they have in common with a few of the teams of the Central division who have been active around the net early in the season.

The defensive division to this point is the Pacific, where no team has yet to hit double digits in the Goals For stats, and the Goals Against markers for the most part tell a story of tight contests over the first few games of the year.

The young guns as expected are showcasing their stuff, with Connor McDavid, Austin Matthews and Evgeny Kuznetsov all finding their form quickly into the season.

The veterans are also serving notice that they still have something to say, Alex Ovechkin is off to a torrid pace early on with 7 goals, thanks to back to back hat tricks to open the season.

Also making some noise in the first week of play, the Vegas Golden Knights a team playing with little of those expansion team struggles, set to host their home opener on Tuesday night as an undefeated squad with a 2-0 record.

As the teams move towards Halloween, the distances will begin to grow between the contenders and those that will quickly learn that there is still much work ahead should they hope to be part of the long haul story of the 2017-18 season.

That's our goal as well as we return to the blog for a new season, holding through for the long haul, chronicling the high profile stories, the side interest items and previewing the upcoming tournament season, including an Olympic Games without NHLers.

We hope you'll come along for the ride.

Saturday, October 07, 2017

HockeyNation Headlines: October 2017

Our archives of notes for October

October 31 -- NHL relocation game heating up: Over the Boards
October 30 -- Why the Buffalo Bills' success might be a good thing for the Sabres
October 29 -- At the moment, the Leafs just need good, not great goaltending from Andersen
October 28 -- Alex Ovechkin helps out homeless man in downtown Edmonton
October 27 -- Gaudreau's scoring but wants to be better in both ends
October 26 -- Shane Doan brings new perspective to NHL office
October 25 -- Power Play lifts Blues to Victory
October 24 -- Who are the Vegas Golden Nights and how are they off to such a good start?
October 23 -- Jagr could be back by Sunday
October 22 -- Golden Knights' Subban 'probably out weeks' after injury versus Blues
October 21 -- Williams Karlsson's heroics lift Knights to 3-2 OT win
October 20 -- NHL admits Avalanche wuz robbed by video review
October 19 -- Oilers end four-game losing skid with win in Chicago
October 18 -- Hayley Wickenheiser says Downie's death feels like 'we lost a teammate'
October 17 -- Edmonton Oilers fail to show up again in loss to Carolina Hurricanes
October 16 -- Calgary man makes multimillion dollar donation to B.C. Junior Hockey Team
October 15 -- Golden Knights beat Boston 3-1 behind backup goaltenders Malcolm Subban
October 14 -- Flyers rout Capitals as Laughton, Couturier, Giroux net two goals each
October 13 -- Shutout goaltending and power play goals lift Senators past Flames
October 12 -- Luongo ties for 4th on wins list, Panthers beat Blues 5-2
October 11 -- Patric Hornqvist's return fuels Penguins to win over Capitals
October 10 -- James Neal, Golden Knights roll to 5-2 win in home opener
October 9 -- Matthews sparks Leafs past Blackhawks in OT
October 8 -- Henrik Lundqvist backs Rangers to first win after shaky start
October 7 -- Alex Ovechkin has second consecutive hat trick
October 6 -- Golden Knights win inaugural NHL game, 2-1
October 5 -- Brandon Saad becomes second Blackhawks player to score hat trick in season opener
October 4 -- McDavid runs wild on Flames with opening night hat-trick
October 3 -- As season starts, hockey fans deserve to be mad about NHL's Olympic decision
October 2 -- Reports say NHL Star Jaromir Jagr to join Calgary Flames
October 1 -- Longtime NHL Broadcaster Dave Strader Passes at 62

Archive of 2017-18 Season

NHL Headline Archives: 2017-18

Our archive of the headlines posted daily and archived by the month.

2017

November
October

NHL Suspensions 2017-18

As the new season begins, so to will the need for a watchful eye on nightly action for play beyond the rules and that puts player safety at risk through.

The task of NHL Justice falls to George Parros in 2017-18 the latest of former NHL enforcers tasked to oversee the day to day needs of Justice in the NHL

They will be reviewing on ice incidents and assessing what punishment, if any will be required on a nightly basis.

As they have in past years, video is becoming key to the league announcements when it comes to punishment delivered by league officials, a helpful way of explaining to fans just what has been taken into consideration with each infraction.

Our listings of his deliberations can be found below, outlining those that have been summoned to the tribunal.

Offenders may now approach the bench, the court is now in session. Chief Justice Parros presiding.

Cases up to date as of October 16, 2017

The Case files of George Parros

Regular Season Suspensions

October 4 -- Washington -- Tom Wilson suspended for four games for boarding (details)

Total Regular Season Games suspended (by team)

Anaheim --
Arizona --
Boston --
Buffalo --
Calgary --
Carolina --
Chicago --
Colorado --
Columbus --
Dallas --
Detroit --
Edmonton --
Florida --
Los Angeles --
Minnesota --
Montreal --
Nashville --
New Jersey --
New York Islanders --
New York Rangers --
Ottawa --
Philadelphia --
Pittsburgh --
San Jose --
St. Louis --
Tampa Bay --
Toronto --
Vancouver --
Washington -- 4
Winnipeg --

Total Regular Game Suspensions to date -- 4

Pre Season Suspensions

September 25 -- New York Rangers -- Andrew Desjardins, suspended two games for illegal check to the head (details)

September 23 -- Washington -- Tom Wilson, suspended two pre-season games for interference (details)

Monetary punishment

October 9 -- St. Louis -- Robert Bortuzzo -- fined $3,091.40 for cross checking (details)

Other Notes related to the Department of Player Safety

October 4 -- Whitney happy to have 'hand in the game' with Player Safety
October 4 -- Ray Whitney joins NHL Department of Player Safety

Resources From the Department of Player Safety

Department of Player Safety background

NHL Rule Book 2017-18

NHL Rules videos and explanations

News from the Department of Player Safety

Friday, October 06, 2017

The Expandables: Kansas City Archive

Our notes on developments from Missouri, where talk continues of a potential return for Kansas City to the NHL.

Kansas City

October

--

September

September 29 -- Lamar Hunt Jr. talks future of KC as possible NHL expansion market
September 27 -- Toronto Maple Leaf's sojourn to Quebec City brings up all sorts of bittersweet hockey memories

August

August 16 -- Kansas City on NHL expansion radar
August 15 -- Is Kansas City a viable NHL expansion location?
August 5 -- Kansas City has some holes to fill before it can become an NHL Expansion Destination

The Trading Post 2017-18

For many NHL teams, Septembers rosters will be pretty well set through the season, barring a major injury the teams that roll into the new season in high gear, rarely make major changes through the year, with only a trade deadline acquisition to perhaps shore up a weak spot or bring in depth for the playoff battle ahead.

Others however, quickly learn that the planning of July and August and September's training camps haven't really solved a lot of their problems and that the only way to get back on track is to bring new faces and ship out those that aren't fitting into where the team hopes to be going by the time the Spring rolls around.

It's at those points that the General Managers of each of the NHL's member clubs start to earn their pay, making decisions on which players need a fresh start, or which perhaps have seen their best days slip by, or when it's time to just shake things up and snap a team out of its lethargy.

Below we will track the deals of 2017-18, providing some background for the names that suddenly find that movers and change of address notifications are part of the NHL experience.

It all of course leads up to the Spring time madness known as the Trade Deadline, a day where hockey fans perhaps suddenly come down with a bad cold or some other suitable malady that will require at least a day at home, perhaps even in front of the television.

The preamble to the Spring trading deadline starts with the first puck drop of game one, the listings of the relocated can be found below:

Regular Season Trading Period commenced as of October 4, 2017.
Trade Deadline -- February 26, 2018

Trades updated as to October 16, 2017

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

October 9 -- Philadelphia/Anaheim -- the Flyers acquire goaltender Dustin Torkarksi from the Anaheim Ducks for future Considerations

October 6 -- Toronto/Las Vegas -- the Maple Leafs acquire goaltendar Calvin Pickard from the Golden Knights, in exchange for Tobias Lindberg and a sixth round pick in the 2018 draft (NHL Trade Alert)

October 4 -- Chicago/Montreal -- the Blackhawks acquired forward Andreas Martinsen from the Canadiens for forward Kyle Baun (NHL Trade Alert)

October 4 -- Buffalo/ Montreal -- The Sabres send forward Nicholas Deslauriers to the Canadiens in exchange for defenceman Zach Redmond (NHL Trade Alert)

Transactions Counter: 4 Trades to date
(As of start of Regular Season)

Anaheim Ducks -- 1
Arizona Coyotes --
Boston Bruins --
Buffalo Sabres -- 1
Calgary Flames --
Carolina Hurricanes --
Colorado Avalanche --
Columbus Blue Jackets --
Chicago Blackhawks -- 1
Dallas Stars --
Detroit Red Wings --
Edmonton Oilers --
Florida Panthers --
Las Vegas Knights -- 1
Los Angeles Kings --
Minnesota Wild --
Montreal Canadiens -- 2
Nashville Predators --
New Jersey Devils --
New York Islanders --
New York Rangers --
Ottawa Senators --
Philadelphia Flyers -- 1
Pittsburgh Penguins --
San Jose Sharks--
St. Louis Blues --
Tampa Bay Lightning --
Toronto Maple Leafs -- 1
Vancouver Canucks --
Washington Capitals--
Winnipeg Jets --

The link to these Trading Post dispatches can be found in our right hand column in the GM's Office section.

NHL Trade Tracker can be viewed here

Attendance Watch: 2017-18

For those that crunch the numbers on the NHL, beyond the salary caps, a free agency calculations, the bottom line for many NHL teams comes from one simple thing, bottoms in the seats.

And this year like the last few of the past, there are some locations that are giving indications that hockey just isn't winning the battle for hearts, minds and wallets.

With Las Vegas now aboard the NHL Club of member franchises and two more potential expansion franchises yet to be awarded, locations such as Quebec City, Seattle and Kansas City among others now look to get on the short list for that expansion, though they may also have an interest in going the relocation route should that option present itself.

At some time this season, someone is going to look at the listings of the NHL's trouble spots and
go, "how long can the league let this go on".

When they do, somebody somewhere will have a ready to go market up for consideration.

Once again this year, we will track the teams that some suggest are on the bubble, secure leadership or not, financially flush as they may say they are, no one likes to lose money, so we'll scan the attendance numbers through the year, looking for those bargain basement teams that could be looking for a relocation plan.

As we have in the past, we shall use attendance at the 13,000 mark as our cut off for review. Only those games that have drawn less than 13,000 or less in attendance will be listed below.

We also will list which team was in town as the visiting squad for the night, perhaps offering an explanation as to the night's recorded attendance.

The review can be accessed from our GM's office links on the right hand sidebar.

Attendance Figures as of November 7, 2017

Bottom Feeders (our three dim star selection)

The three teams with the lowest attendance, teams the most times below the 13,000 benchmark.

1. New York Islanders (6)
2. Carolina Hurricanes (5)
3. Florida Panthers (4)

The Breakdown by Franchise location

Arizona Coyotes (3)

November 4 -- 12,019 (Carolina) (Event Summary)
November 2 -- 11,477 (Buffalo) (Event Summary)
October 18 -- 11,225 (Dallas) (Event Summary)

Carolina Hurricanes (4)

November 7 -- 8,828 (Florida) (Event Summary)
October 29 -- 10,108 (Anaheim) (Event Summary)
October 27 -- 10,069 (St. Louis) (Event Summary)
October 24 --10, 498 (Tampa Bay) (Event Summary)
October 10 -- 7,892 (Columbus) (Event Summary)

Colorado Avalanche (2)

November 2 -- 12,048 (Carolina) (Event Summary)
October 24 -- 12,823 (Dallas) (Event Summary)

Florida Panthers (4)

November 2 -- 9,311 (Columbus) (Event Summary)
October 30 -- 9,493 (Tampa Bay) (Event Summary)
October 26 -- 10,545 (Anaheim) (Event Summary)
October 12 -- 10,846 (St. Louis) (Event Summary)

New Jersey Devils (1)

November 7 -- 12,317 (St. Louis) (Event Summary)

New York Islanders (6)

November 7 -- 12,281 (Edmonton) (Event Summary)
November 5 -- 10,927 (Colorado) (Event Summary)
October 30 -- 11,113 (Las Vegas) (Event Summary)
October 24 -- 9,795 (Arizona) (Event Summary)
October 21 -- 11,877 (San Jose) (Event Summary)
October 9 -- 10,673 (St. Louis) (Event Summary)

Hired to Be Fired: 2017-18 Season

As sure as there are wins and losses (usually associated with the latter), there also will be change somewhere along the way between now and the end of June.

The day eventually comes for many NHL coaches, where they receive the phone call, or tap on the shoulder to go see the GM or owner.

A summons where the usual things are said, "you gave it a good shot, but we're going in a different direction", or variations of the theme.

Of the thirty members of the NHL coaching and managerial fraternity, sometime this year, maybe early, maybe late, the word will come that their services are no longer required.

We will provide the compilation of the summoned from this spot, listing those unlucky members of the club that find themselves outsourced in this 2017-18.

The archive of our list can be quickly referenced on our right hand side bar, in the Owner's Box section.

Tick, tock, tick, tock... the reaper stands ready...

The Listings to Date

The Reviews of the Dismissals

The Owners Box 2017-18

Our Archive of items regarding ownership of NHL franchises, highlighting the moves in the structure of team ownership and other newsworthy notes surrounding the NHL's 30 Franchises and Administration.

NHL Issues and Events

October

September

The Expandable NHL 2017-18

With the Las Vegas Golden Knights franchise now successfully in the fold and ready to welcome fans from far beyond Nevada, the NHL will turn its thoughts towards two more locations in the years to come

As the tire kickers come on by we'll keep track of who has the potential to become a pin on the NHL map and who may just have fanciful dreams that will never come true.

Along with those ready to embark on the NHL expansion process, others perhaps will be standing by, to take any wards of the NHL that may arrive from existing locations that may be struggling to attract fans in their current locations.

All of the items of note will be gathered below:

Looking for a seat at the table

Houston

Kansas City

Quebec City

Seattle

Sunday, January 01, 2017

Centennial Classic delivers a pond hockey finish at BMO field

New Years' Day brought the Centennial Classic to Toronto's BMO field
(from NHL.com)

In the end, after sixty minutes of play and a last second tying goal from Detroit to push it to overtime, the rink on the wide expanse of BMO field resembled most what the NHL wants us to take from these stadium spectacles, the vision of hockey stoking memories of the game on a pond.

With the skies blue, the air crisp and the ice fast; if somewhat unpredictable, the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs provided the visual centerpiece to launch the 100th centennial of the NHL for the over 40,000 in attendance just off the shores of Lake Ontario.

In fact, the skies were too bright as the scheduled start time beckoned, the sun shining from an angle that made for unsafe conditions that required a delay of thirty minutes before the teams could drop the puck.

When they did, the action at times did very much resemble that of an outdoor pond, shots fired down ice would take mysterious bounces, the players seemed to struggle at first to the outdoor conditions, taking a bit of time to make a sense of it all.

The first period, that of a scoreless tie was indicative of that tentative nature, though the Red Wings seemed to figure it out first, taking a 1-0 lead in the second, only to see the Leafs launch their comeback of four goals in the early stages of the final twenty minutes.

Such was the shift in momentum that up until the fourteen minute mark of the final period it appeared as though the home town side would be claiming a convincing victory in regulation time.

That was until the Red Wings took advantage of some Toronto miscues and put their game into another gear, scoring three goals in the final six minutes. The final marker, a frantic last second scramble in the Leafs end which delivered the tying goal by Anthony Mantha, who had already had a pretty impressive day and put the signature on his afternoon by sending the game into OT.

That perhaps might have been a cue for Leafs' fans of the past to sit in stunned disbelief as another victory suddenly slipped away from the win column, but perhaps 2017 may offer a different resolution after all when it comes to the Toronto squad.

For the hometown fans, the game could not have had a more storybook ending, the OT period offering up the opportunity for the highly acclaimed rookie Auston Matthews to tap in the winning goal, reinforcing for many the impact he has already had on the Leafs and providing a sense of what is to come.

Matthews rewarded the faith of head coach Mike Babcock who had been giving the rookie, and some of his young team mates, more and more responsibility as the game moved forward. Sending them over the boards for additional ice time in key situations and assigning defensive face off duties that indicate that the coach is allowing Matthews and the young up and comers the opportunity to grow into their roles with the Leafs.

On Sunday afternoon, on the first day of 2017 all of those decisions delivered much of what the Leafs fans and the NHL wanted to see, the young colts of the stable starting to show their stuff. While the marquee player for the team made the play that became the exclamation point for the event.

The final moments of the game, forgiving a shaky start and near disastrous late third meltdown to put an entertaining finish to the day of hockey.

The full Box Score and Game Notes can be reviewed here.

A glimpse into the work that goes into putting one of these outdoor showcase games on can be found from this Globe and Mail article, which highlights the achievement of the staff at BMO field who have had two of their busiest months just come to an end. Along with the Centennial Classic, the outdoor Toronto venue has played host to the CFL's Grey Cup Championship and the MLS Final.

Monday, if the weather Gods cooperate, the NHL is back to the outdoors as St. Louis takes its turn to host the Winter Classic, bringing the Blues and Black Hawks together in the shadow of St. Louis's famed Arch.

Rain in forecast for start of Winter Classic
Blackhawks prepared for potential rain delays in Monday's Winter classic

The Centennial Classic not only made for some entertaining hockey on the Toronto lakefront, but has also created an archive of notes on the game at 100, some of the reviews from a day at Toronto's urban pond can be found below, along with a few side items on the history of the game as well.

Globe and Mail

Leafs score OT winner to capture Centennial Classic
Maple Leafs stick to rebuilding plan after win over Detroit Red Wings

Toronto Star

Rookies write Leafs' Classic ending
Matthews sparks Maple Leafs' win in Centennial Classic OT thriller
Overtime in Centennial Classic? Naturally
Dave Keon honoured as an all-time NHL Great

Toronto Sun

Leafs snag OT win over Wings in Centennial Classic
Coreau thrilled to face off against 'world class' Matthews at Centennial Classic
NHL's most iconic living players show up for Centennial Classic
Leafs' Rielly pumped about team's direction after Centennial Classic

National Post

Auston Matthews rises to the moment with overtime winner for Maple Leafs in Centennial Classic
Toronto Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan starting to see 'promise' as young team creeps into playoff contention
Goals, heartbreak and a fractured skull: The Toronto Maple Leafs' greatest season was also their most remarkable

Detroit Free Press

Red Wings provide thrills for overtime game, but fall, 5-4 in OT
Red Wings' Anthony Mantha playing 'best hockey of young career'
Detroit Red Wings approach outdoor game with humour, hard work

Detroit News

Red Wings' flurry falls short in OT loss to Leafs
Centennial Classic a 'great gift' for Wings, Leafs
Outdoor games are old hat for Wings' Glendening

USA Today

Young Maple Leafs take step forward with thrilling Centennial Classic win
Matthews, Maple Leafs top Red Wings in Centennial Classic

NHL.com

Auston Matthews, Maple Leafs win Centennial Classic
Auston Matthews makes memories at Centennial Classic
33 of 100 Greatest NHL Players revealed
NHL history comes full circle at Centennial Classic

The Hockey News -- Maple Leafs' Young Guns Save the Centennial Classic - and their own bacon
The Hockey News -- Centennial Classic Slips through Red Wings fingers. Is their season next?
The Hockey News -- NHL announces the first 33 players on list of 100 greatest of all time
Canada's History -- The Greatest Game