As the Boston Bruins development camp got underway on Tuesday, there was one participant whose presence many may question—Malcolm Subban. The 22-year-old goalie has spent two seasons now with the Providence Bruins, AHL affiliate of the Boston club. Traditionally this would indicate that he has graduated from the summer camp roster, usually devoted to the up and coming prospects who have not yet entered their professional careers. Of course, Subban experienced a horrific accident during the last season that certainly halted his development with the team, though not his positive approach nor his sense of humor. The puck he took to the throat during warm-ups of the game on February 6, 2016 was not only an extremely terrifying injury, but it was also season-ending.
Subban has been declared healthy once more, but his absence from the game for almost half the season means that he is unfortunately behind now in his quest for a full-time NHL job. It’s for this reason that he is once again making an appearance at the July development camp.
Assistant Coach Jay Pandolfo
“He’ll be a hundred percent and ready to go [for training camp]. He is now. It’s just we wanted to get him in here and get some more reps just in the summer time because like I said, he didn’t play, I think since February, so that’s a long time to be out for a goalie,” assistant coach Jay Pandolfo expressed.
Though not on the ice Tuesday during the sessions with the rest of the prospect roster, Pandolfo told media after the on-ice sessions that Subban had spent some of the morning working alone on the ice with Goalie Bob (Essensa) and was expected to take to the ice with the group during Wednesday’s on-ice practice.
Subban in net in Providence
For Subban, the injury was obviously at first upper most in his mind, but once he was making progress healing, he was probably frustrated at how it had stalled his momentum with the Bruins. After all, his goal is to play in Boston, and he felt he was on that track as did the Bruins’ management.
“It was unfortunate the injury that he had. He’s definitely on the right track,” Pandolfo shared. “I think that is part of the reason that we brought him in here was because he hasn’t played in a long time.”
Subban’s commitment is evident with his appearance at development camp once again. In the end that commitment will undoubtedly carry him forward in his overall advancement as a goalie. In the meantime the Bruins have signed Anton Khudobin to ensure Subban doesn’t feel an inordinate amount of stress as he refreshes his skills. Of course it is likely that Subban will do everything he can to push for the backup goalie position once training camp gets going in September.
Bernier was relegated to the backup role for most of the season after struggling early in the season. Bernier played in 38 games last year and started in 36 of them. He was 12-21-3 with a .908 save percentage, a 2.28 goals against average and three shutouts. He started four games for the Leafs’
AHL Affiliate, the
Toronto Marlies, and was 4-0-0 with a 1.25 goals and three shutouts. In 213 career NHL games, he is 88-88-23 with a 2.67 goals against average. He also has a .915 save percentage and 12 shutouts in his career.
Bernier was selected in the first round (11th overall) of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft by the
Los Angeles Kings. He was traded to the Maple Leafs by the Kings in 2013 for Ben Scrivens, Matt Frattin and a second round draft pick in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.
The goalie has quick reflexes and he can shake off bad goals and turn his game around pretty quick. When he is on his game,
Bernier plays with confidence, is square to the shooter, tracks the puck well and will even make the spectacular save. The downside is that he when he is off his game, he plays poorly and isn’t focused. He allows too many bad goals and can fight the puck at times. He went 0-8-3 to start the season, but he only played in two games in November. He then had another stretch where he went 0-6-1, but in his defense, the Maple Leafs didn’t have the best defense last season.
The Ducks needed a backup goaltender so they went out and got one. The move could be good for Bernier since he will reunited with Randy Carlyle, the former Maple Leafs coach. Carlyle took over after the Ducks fired Bruce Boudreau after they failed to get passed the
Nashville Predators in the first round of the playoffs. The starting job will go to the soon to be 23-year-old
John Gibson, who had a pretty good season for them last year.
There weren’t many options in the free agent market for a backup goalie and the Ducks get an expiring contract in the deal. Bernier’s cap hit is $4.15 million for the season, but Toronto already paid him the $2 million signing bonus so the Ducks will only be on the hook for $2.1 million.
Bernier is a veteran goalie who can spot Gibson when he’s hurt or just needs a game off. He can also step into the starter’s role should Gibson struggle. Bernier will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.
The Leafs will now need to go and find a backup goalie of their own whether it is through free agency or via trade.
For half the month of June and the start of July, like many of my fellow co-workers, I was stricken with the plague. Obviously not the actual plague, but the way it ran through each of us and lingered, it may as well have been.
More often than not, I will try to choose the homeopathic route. It isn’t about being a “tree-hugger”, or “earthy, crunchy, granola”, despite numerous people making that assumption. Simply put, it’s about caring what goes into my body, and doing everything in my power to appreciate what I’ve been given.
But once in awhile, a sickness takes hold, and despite a never ending list of at home remedies, it lingers and wins. After over two weeks of non-stop coughing throughout the day and night, sore throat, fever, runny, stuffy, back to runny nose, I decided that pairing some western medicine with the at home remedies would be worth a try.
Diagnosed with bronchitis and a severe sinus infection, I began my trip down antibiotic lane and yes, the antibiotics helped. But pairing the antibiotics with the following remedies helped to ease the discomfort, all while aiding in my recovery. The next time you find yourself feeling under the weather, try my go-to’s for surviving the sickness.
- Usnea, “Old Man’s Beard“: If given the opportunity, I would rename this to “Miracle in a Bottle”. Originally given to me last winter, this clear liquid can be taken straight up, or mixed with juice (orange is the best). It contains ingredients that have been thought to help fight germs, inflammation, pain and fever. Keeping a bottle on hand and starting a healthy treatment of it a few times a day at the first sign of sickness has helped me in the past. You can purchase it online, or in your local health food store.
2. Texas Tea: This homemade drink has been saving my hide for over ten years. The recipe, given to me by a friends mom residing in Germany has guided me through countless colds and infections. Packed with Vitamin C, its citrus flavor is mild and sweet. For those with nut allergies, omit the almond extract and try substituting with a coconut extract instead.
8 c. Boiling Water
1 Lemon Sliced
Boil 5 minutes
*Meanwhile steep 3 tea bags in 2 c. hot water (Regular black tea such as Lipton works well, but feel free to get creative) then add to above with:
2 c. Orange Juice
1/2 c – 1 c. Lemon Juice
2 tsp. Almond Extract
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
Drink hot or cold. Mixture keeps well in the refrigerator for approximately 3 days but chances are it won’t last that long since it’s so delicious! This makes a great thermos drink for those days spent in an and out of the rink, or to combat the sickness that often takes hold during hockey season.
3. Young Living, Thieves Essential Oil: Diffuse it, mix it with a carrier oil and place in on your chest, neck, and soles of your feet. Or, my personal favorite, in a hot bath, mix 1 cup baking soda and 15-20 drops of Thieves and soak. The mixture helps to draw toxins out of your body, while soothing any aches and congestion that you may have.
Fun fact, mixing a few drops of Thieves essential oil with water in a spray bottle and spritzing your hockey gear is a must try. First, the smell is delicious, second, the mixture has antibacterial properties helping to skill a lot of the stink growing in your bag!
4. Honest Company, Breathe Easy Chest Rub: Perhaps I spent way too much of my childhood lathered in Vicks Vapor Rub, but the smell alone could bring on sickness. However, there is no denying that it quickly clears the sinuses, getting the job done. Cue the Breathe Easy Chest Rub for Honest Company — essentially a better smelling, calming version of old faithful. Made with essential oils, I used the rub on the soles of my feet, under my nose, rubbed into my glands and on my chest throughout my sickness and it really helped.
No one ever wants to be sick, but it is part of life. Hopefully these remedies will help aid you in your next cold or infection. Try one or try them all, I promise you wont be disappointed.
Brennan is a native of Moorestown, NJ and played for the Philadelphia Little Flyers before joining the Quebec Junior Hockey League in the 2006-07 season. He was taken in the second round of the 2007
NHL Entry Draft by the
Buffalo Sabres. In 53 career NHL games, the defenseman has five goals, eight assists, 13 assists in 15:58 of ice time per game. He has played for three different organizations over the course of this career which include the Sabres,
Toronto Maple Leafs and
Florida Panthers.
Brennan has spent the last season and a half with the Maple Leafs organization. He had mostly played for the Maple Leafs’
AHL Affiliate, the
Toronto Marlies. In 69 games played last season, Brennan had 25 goals, 43 assists and 68 points. He had four multi-goal games and 17 multipoint games during the 2015-16 season. The defenseman had a four point game where he tallied one goal and three assists on March 26, 2016, against the
St. John’s IceCaps.
In 15 playoff games last season, he had five goals, four assists and nine points. Brennan won the Eddie Shore Award as the AHL’s best defenseman for the second time in his career, becoming only the seventh player in AHL History to win the award multiple times. He also won the Award for his play during the 2013-14 season. Brennan also played in seven NHL games over the course of the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons where he registered one goal and one assist for two points.
He will bring some much needed offense to the
Lehigh Valley Phantoms’ blueline. He is a good skater and has good offensive zone ability. He can move the puck and can be a major asset on the power play because of that ability to be able to move and shoot the puck.
Brennan ranks fifth all-time in AHL history in goals scored by a defenseman behind only John Slaney (166), Bryan Helmer (129), Jim Wiemer (124) and Ed MacQueen (123). He led all blueliners in goals (25), and points (68) while finished second in assists (43) and he was third among all defenseman in plus/minus (+34).
If there is a downside to
Brennan, it’s that he can make mistakes while pressured with the puck, and he can improve his play without the puck. Brennan will bring a veteran presence to what should be a young blueline, which should include
Sam Morin,
Robert Haag,
Travis Sanheim and
Mark Alt.
The Phantoms agreed to contracts with forward Mark Zengerle and goaltender Martin Ouellette.
Vancouver, B.C. – Vancouver Canucks General Manager Jim Benning announced today that Doug Jarvis has been named Assistant Coach. Jarvis joins Head Coach Willie Desjardins’ staff alongside Assistant Coaches, Doug Lidster and Perry Pearn, Goaltending Coach, Dan Cloutier, Skills Coach Glen Carnegie and Video Coach, Ben Cooper.
“Doug Jarvis is an accomplished coach with multiple Stanley Cup championships and NHL Finals experience,” said Jim Benning. “He has a teaching mentality and draws from his knowledge as a former player and coach spanning almost 40 years. We are very pleased to have Doug and his family join our team.”
Doug Jarvis (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)
Jarvis’s coaching career spans 26 years and follows a 13-year NHL playing career. The Brantford, Ontario native is a six-time Stanley Cup champion, winning four times as a player with Montreal and twice as an assistant coach with Dallas (1999) and Boston (2011). Jarvis still holds the NHL iron man record with 964 consecutive games played, never missing a game his entire NHL career. He recorded 403 career points (139-264-403) with Montreal, Washington and Hartford. Jarvis won the Selke Trophy as top defensive forward in 1984 and the Masterton Trophy for perseverance and dedication in 1987.
Following his playing career Jarvis was named an assistant coach with the Minnesota North Stars in 1989, where he worked 14 seasons and moved with the club to Dallas. In 2003 he assumed head coaching duties with Montreal’s AHL affiliate, the Hamilton Bulldogs and two years later was named associate coach with Montreal in 2005. In 2010 Jarvis joined Boston’s coaching staff where he’s spent the past six seasons.
The Dallas Stars were looking to add another defenseman and they found their man. Dan Hamhuis agreed to a two year contract worth $7.5 million, which makes for a reasonable cap hit of $3.75 million per season.
Hamhuis played the last six seasons with the Vancouver Canucks, playing a total of 387 games in which he had 23 goals, 119 assists, 142 points and averaged 22:49 of ice time per game. In the 58 games played last year, he had three goals, 10 assists, 13 points in 21:25 of ice time per game. Facial fractures suffered from being hit in the face with a puck were the cause of his limited number of games last year. In 872 career NHL games, he has 55 goals 248 assists, 303 points and 10 game-winning goals.
The defenseman will likely be the final piece to the puzzle on the Stars’ blue line for next year. Hamhuis is a sound defensive defenseman that can log big time minutes. He can be expected to play in the top four for the Stars. If needed, the defenseman could be used in a shutdown role. He can move the puck well out of his own zone, which seemed to be a problem for the Stars against the St. Louis Blues in the second round of the playoffs. Hamhuis can also be utilized on the penalty kill.
He has good hockey sense, but lacks a physical side to his game. Also, don’t expect him to contribute much in the offensive zone since his career high in any one season has been seven goals. Hamhuis is a savvy, veteran defenseman that can eat up minutes. If he can stay healthy then he can be a solid second or third pair defenseman, who leads by example while on the ice.
The signing of Hamhuis is a good bridge deal since he is 33-years-old, and he can be a leader on the blue line for the Stars, who will have a lot of young defenseman defending their own zone.
The Stars also re-signed forward
Patrick Eaves to a one-year, $1 million contract.
The Philadelphia Flyers didn’t have much cap space to work when the NHL‘s free agency period opened up at noon on Friday. It was thought that the Flyers could get a mid-level free agent that would help in the scoring department, but instead they added some depth players.
Dale Weise agreed to a four-year, $9.4 million contract with a $2.3 million cap hit per season. Boyd Gordon agreed to a one year contract worth $950,000.
Dale Weise
Weise split the season between the Montreal Canadiens and the Chicago Blackhawks last year. He played in 71 games with 14 goals, 13 assists and had 27 points. The forward averaged 13:25 of ice time per game and added three power play goals. In four postseason games with the Blackhawks, he had one goal that just happened to be a game-winning goal. In 329 games, he has 37 goals, 29 assists, 86 points, 260 penalty minutes and five game-winning goals.
He will help to improve the Flyers’ bottom six, which didn’t contribute much offensively last season. Weise has decent size to go with a good work ethic. He is good on the forecheck, which should help the Flyers to be in the offensive end a little bit more this season. If he needs to, he isn’t afraid to drop the gloves. He tends to score goals in bunches, but can also go without a goal for stretches.
Weise needs to be engaged physically in the game to be useful. He isn’t afraid to throw his weight around. The forward tends to be inconsistent on the offensive side of the puck. He will most likely get third to fourth line minutes with the Flyers next season. He adds size and some speed and will bring some depth to the bottom six.
He scored 10 or more goals in each of the past two seasons. He will most likely play at even strength and may even get some power play time on the second unit.
Boyd Gordon
Boyd Gordon was specifically brought in as a face-off and penalty kill specialist. He has a career 56.9 face-off win percentage. In 65 games last year, Gordon had two goals, two assists and four points. He also won 57.8% of face-offs taken. The center is an effective defensive players that works hard.
Gordon does lack offensive zone consistency and is somewhat injury prone. He can play either center or right wing. By bringing in Gordon, Claude Giroux won’t be tasked to take as many defensive zone face-offs during the penalty kill. Gordon should be a help to the Flyers’ PK, which was awful last year. He will most likely take Ryan White’s place on the fourth line and he will block shots.
The contract, worth $42 million, has a $6 million cap hit per season. Chiarelli was the General Manager of the Boston Bruins in 2011 when Lucic won his one and only Stanley Cup.
Milan Lucic
In 81 games played with the Los Angeles Kings last season, he had 20 goals, 35 assists, 55 points, 124 shots, 244 hits and averaged 17:14 of ice time per game. Lucic added five game-winning goals and 79 penalty minutes. The left winger had only three assists in five games in the playoffs against the San Jose Sharks, as the Kings were eliminated in the first round. In 647 career NHL games, he has 159 goals, 238 assists, 397 points, 31 game winning goals, and has averaged 15:56 of ice time per game.
Lucic will bring some size and grit to the lineup for the Oilers. He has good offensive zone skills and instincts. The left winger can score goals and set up teammates. He isn’t afraid to hit or mix it up with opponents. Lucic is a prototypical power forward, who will get to the front of the net to score some goals. A downside to Lucic is that he is only an average skater. He also has been known to take the occasional bad penalty and can be over aggressive.
He has scored 20 or more goals in four seasons and 50 or more points in four seasons too. He is one of five players to score more than 100 goals over the last six seasons while accumulating at least 500 penalty minutes.
Jonas Gustavsson
Lucic will bring some veteran leadership to the Oilers. He will also be able to replace some of the offense lost when Edmonton traded Taylor Hall to the New Jersey Devils. Lucic should be a good fit in Edmonton, but time will tell.
The Oilers also signed goaltender, Jonas Gustavsson to a one year contract. Gustavsson will make $800,000 next year. He will be the backup to Cam Talbot, who eventually won the starting job last season. In 24 games last season with the Bruins, Gustavsson was 11-9 to go with a .908 save percentage and a 2.12 goals against average. He also had one shutout last season.
Gustavsson has a huge frame and can cover most of the net. He is a butterfly style goalie, who can sometimes go into the butterfly too quickly. His great flexibility sometimes makes saves look easy. He has been injury-prone throughout his career. He needs to work on limiting rebound chances, but he is a quality backup when he’s healthy.
As the July 1 free agent frenzy got underway, announcements were coming left and right from many teams. For the Boston Bruins, what was originally announced as a one-year deal turned out to actually be a five-year deal for David Backes. And Friday afternoon he opened the doors to questions as he met via teleconference with the media.
“From all [of my discussions with management and a couple of players] and my knowledge of playing against Boston, the games against Boston in St Louis the last ten years, always seem to be tight-checking, heavy games which, that’s the kind of hockey I like playing and [the Bruins] play in a style that I really fit into,” Backes said in his opening remarks. “I guess if there are any questions that are out there, I’d love to answer them and let people in Boston and the media get to know me a little bit better and we can build this relationship question by question, day by day, to have some familiarity.”
Such an invitation shows that Backes is not just hockey smart, but that he understands that the fans need to get to know him. After all, he spent the last ten years wearing the colors of an enemy in the form of the St. Louis Blues. His hockey sense and his game definitely fit the style of the Bruins. Coupling that with his experience as a leader and his drive to win, and he is certainly a strong addition to the Bruins for the coming season.
“It’s the package. Obviously the leadership qualities, [St. Louis] went for a real deep run. {Backes is] hungry to have another opportunity to win,” Bruins general manager Don Sweeney told media Friday evening. “During our conversations he spoke about knowing our team and how hard they are to play against, respecting our leaders and our club.”
Sweeney’s comments about Backes’ hunger and his respect for the leaders already on the Bruins roster were not mere lip service. Backes, though he doesn’t know any of the Bruins’ players on a personal level, has gotten to know many of them as opponents, and what he saw from them resonated, especially when the Bruins organization reached out to him.
David Backes
He spoke strongly about playing wherever head coach Claude Julien feels is best. Though usually a center, he is willing to play wing. Such a flexibility offers the Bruins an opportunity to have an extensibility with their lineup that perhaps hasn’t been there in the last couple of years. Knowing that Backes can slot into the center position if needed, or if his center gets tossed from a face-off, provides a stronger start to a shift. After all, the best defense is a strong offense and if the Bruins start out the shift with puck possession that increases their scoring chances.
Backes talked of the importance of leadership, something that was questioned this last year at certain points in the season when the Bruins struggled—usually on home ice.
“I think without getting too deep into it, the difference level is that we need a cohesive leadership group that’s made up of prominent players that have a loud voice and walk the walk and not just talk the talk,” Backes described. “If you have that—a good four to five guys with those qualities—the rest of the team has no option but to jump on board and fall in line.”
All eyes will certainly be on the team when the season opens to see who is buying in to the system and following the leaders. But it is clear that Backes intends to be one of those loud voices of a “cohesive leadership.”
Perhaps the most remarkable thing he shared though was his obvious respect for Patrice Bergeron, which also illuminated his own intense competitive drive.
“I can maybe flatter a little bit now that he’s my teammate, but I hate giving players credit, giving them any edge when I’m playing against them. But he’s a guy you were pissed at by the end of the game because he never made a mistake,” Backes proffered. “That’s a good way to be successful defensively and then, by the end of the game he typically was producing something [on the] offensive side of the score sheet too.”
The 32-year-old Minnesota native may not have envisioned moving to another team after ten years, but he certainly sounds ready to give Boston his all both on the ice and in the locker room.
On Wednesday, June 29, the Tampa Bay Lightning announced that they had re-signed Steven Stamkos to an eight-year, $68 million contract. This came just two days before the opening of free agency, and many had been wondering if Stamkos would find himself entering the free agent market.
Throughout the season there had been questions about when a deal would be finalized. And as the regular season came to an end and the playoffs began, the conjecture only increased. As the start of free agency hovered every closer, there was some speculation as to whether or not Stamkos would ultimately become the hometown hero and sign with the Toronto Maple Leafs once he became an unrestricted free agent. Only those in on the negotiations will ever know how close that came to happening because, despite numerous questions on Thursday from the media, Stamkos insisted on remaining mum on the entire negotiation process. He cited his respect for the process. In fact, though it was known that he had met the mayor of Toronto, he wouldn’t even comment on that experience.
“For me, like I’ve mentioned quite a few times throughout the year, that my intention all along was to hopefully work something out with Tampa,” Stamkos told media. “You know, it’s been a great eight years that I’ve been there. I grew up, as a kid there, and this team is on the verge of hopefully competing for Stanley Cups for years to come.”
Another aspect of the negotiations that had become knowledge was the fact that Stamkos left money on the table. In a world where most people are out to get the most money possible, it was nice to see that the decision for Stamkos wasn’t just about the money, but included other aspects of his past relationship with the team and where he saw things moving forward.
Steven Stamkos getting ready
“Well, I think you understand the process that for me, some people when they’re in this position chase the most money possible. I understood that there could have been some money left out there but for me, that’s not what it’s all about,” Stamkos shared. “It’s about going to an organization that I was comfortable with and something that gave me the best chance to win in my mind and it was a very tough decision, it truly was. I can’t sit here and say that this past week has been fun. I’m sure everyone experiences different things when they go through free agency and through the process but it was pretty stressful to be honest. So I’m glad it’s over with and I’m very happy with my decision and I’m looking forward to winning a lot in Tampa.”
When the agreement was announced on Wednesday the Lightning’s vice president and general manager, Steve Yzerman shared his thoughts.
“We are very appreciative of the effort and commitment that Steven and his representatives have exhibited in getting a deal done,” Yzerman said. “We are excited to have him as a cornerstone part of the team for the next eight years as we continue in the franchise’s ultimate pursuit of winning another Stanley Cup.”
As the 26-year-old forward continued to respond to questions, it was evident that the entire process had affected him—perhaps given him a new maturity.
“It was an experience. You know I think I got stronger as a person and as a player and how to deal with some of that stuff. I think I did the best job I could to leave that stuff from creeping into the dressing room.,” he expressed. “You wouldn’t be human if you didn’t think about it, but at the same time you live and learn through your experiences. I feel fortunate to have gone through that experience and ultimately been able to make the decision on my own and in my mind make the right choice.”
“In my mind [I made] the right choice.” — Steven Stamkos
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