McDavid beat out fellow rookies Shayne Gostisbehere, Artemi Panarin and Joonas Korpisalo for the honor. Gostisbehere had four goals, and nine assists for 13 points in 15 games played during the month, setting the rookie record for a defenseman earning a point in 15 games straight. Panarin had five goals, six assists and 11 points in nine games played. Korpisalo had a 7-3-2 record to go with a 2.46 goals against average and a .922 save percentage in 12 games.
McDavid missed 37 games after he suffered a broken collarbone against the Flyers on November 3. He returned to the Oilers lineup on February 2 against the Columbus Blue Jackets and picked up right where he left off. He scored a goal, two assists and tallied three points in a 5-1 win. McDavid played in 14 total games in February and tallied five goals, 12 assists and 17 points. He ranked first among his fellow rookies with 12 assists and 17 points during the month.
The forward managed three multiple-point games in February. He had the aforementioned three-point night against the Blue Jackets on February 2, which was followed up by a dual assist night in Ottawa against the Senators. The Oilers won that game by a score of 7-2. His other multiple-point game was in Edmonton against the Toronto Maple Leafs, where he tallied two goals and three assists for five total points. McDavid became the ninth-youngest player to have a five-point game in NHL History. The only other Oilers rookies to put up five points in a game are Dave Lumley and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
McDavid registered at least one point in 10 of his 14 games played during the month. He was held scoreless against the Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings, Winnipeg Jets and Montreal Canadiens. The Oilers lost three of the four games where he was held scoreless, only beating the Ducks in overtime on February 26. This is the second time this season that McDavid has won the honors. The other occasion was in October when he had five goals, seven assists and 12 points in 12 games played. McDavid averages 1.07 points per game this season, but has only played in 27 because of injury.
NEW YORK (March 1, 2016) – Boston Bruins forward Zac Rinaldo has been suspended for five games, without pay, for an illegal check to the head of Tampa Bay Lightning forward Cedric Paquette during NHL Game No. 933 in Boston on Sunday, Feb. 28, the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety announced today.
The incident occurred at 10:49 of the first period. Rinaldo was assessed a minor penalty for illegal check to the head.
Rinaldo is considered a repeat offender under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and, based on his average annual salary, will forfeit $51,829.25. The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.
Only games played by his team while Rinaldo is on an NHL roster will count as those fulfilling the terms of the suspension.
As of Monday, February 29th, 2016 Rinaldo was assigned to the Bruins’ AHL affiliate in Providence.
The Leafs traded forward Daniel Winnik and Anaheim’s fifth round 2016 draft pick to the Washington Capitals for forward Brooks Laich, defensive prospect Connor Carrick and a second round pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.
Winnik goes from a team that is towards the bottom of the league to a team that is the best in the National Hockey League. In 56 games played this season, he has four goals, 10 assists, 14 points was a minus three and averaged 14:16 of ice time per game. The forward had 41 hits, 35 blocked shots, 30 takeaways and seven giveaways. In 625 games played in his career, Winnik has scored 62 goals, 136 assists, 198 points, is a plus 25 while averaging 15:16 of ice time per game. He also has 14 shorthanded points to go with 431 blocks and 321 takeaways.
Winnik is a versatile forward that can play any of the three forward spots. The forward is very good defensively and he has good size. He never gives up on the puck but he is not very physical. He is also prone to long scoring droughts. He will have one year left on his contract and will be an unrestricted free agent. Winnik can be used on the penalty kill where he logs most of his ice time per game. He can play on either the third or fourth line for the stretch run. He is also a guy that can be used in pivotal situations during the playoffs.
On the flip side, Brooks Laich will be going from the top team in the NHL to one of the worst. In 60 games played for the Capital this season, he has one goal, six assists, seven points, is a minus seven and is averaging 10:33 of ice time per game. He one game-winning goal to go with 12 takeaways and nine giveaways. In 743 games played, Laich has 133 goals, 191 assists, 324 points, is a minus eight and has averaged 15:30 of ice time per game. He also has 42 power play goals, 88 power play points and 24 game-winning goals.
Laich is a veteran that will add leadership to a very young Leafs locker room. He can be effective in front of the net blocking the vision of the goalie or to dig for the loose puck. He can play on the power play and has played on the penalty kill in his career too. He can block shots, but he can be injury prone. The forward is streaky in his point production, but will be able to be leaned on down the stretch. He has one year left on his contract after this season at a $4.5 million cap hit.
Connor Carrick has spent most of his season with the Hershey Bears, the Capitals’ American Hockey League Affiliate (AHL). In 47 AHL games played, he has 10 goals, 16 assists, 26 points, a plus 23 and has 104 shots on goal. The 26 points were the best among the Bears’ defenseman. Carrick can move the puck and is mobile on the back-end. He has the ability to quarterback the power play, but can make mistakes with and without the puck. In 133 AHL games, he has 18 goals, 54 assists, 72 points and is a +12.
The Leafs also got the Capitals second round draft pick in the upcoming draft.
The Dallas Stars needed some help on the blue line for the stretch run and into the playoffs so they went out and got it.
The Stars acquired defenseman Kris Russell from the Calgary Flames in exchange for defenseman Jyrki Jokipakka, forward prospect Brett Pollock and a conditional second round pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.
The Stars gave up a lot for a player that could wind up being a rental player. Russell is in the last year of his contract that has a $2.6 million cap hit per season. The defenseman is expected to ask for a big raise and that was part of the reason that the Flames made him available. Dallas could trade his rights to another team in the offseason if they don’t think that they’ll be able to resign him at a fair price.
In 51 games this season, he has four goals, 11 assists, 15 points, is a minus four and has averaged 22:52 of ice time per game. Russell has two power play goals, 174 blocks, 19 takeaways and 34 giveaways. In 562 career games played, he has 38 goals, 133 assists, 173 points, is a minus seven and has averaged 19:06 of ice time per game. He has 59 power play points, two shorthanded points, 466 hits and 1143 blocked shots. Russell has 189 takeaways and 233 giveaways in his career.
Russell is known for his ability to block shots. The defenseman has been used on the power play and the penalty kill throughout the course of his career. He is a puck moving defenseman, but he does lack size. He also lacks consistency when playing in the offensive zone. He can log a lot of minutes and play in the top four defensive pairings. The Stars can use him on one of their power play units if they choose to. He needs to make good, quick decisions with the puck since he isn’t very big, which could pose some trouble for him with the bigger forwards.
In 40 games played this season, Jokipakka has two goals, four assists, six points, is a plus one and averaged 14:30 of ice time per game. He has 47 hits,43 blocks, 23 takeaways and 58 giveaways. In 91 career games, he has two goals, 14 assists, 16 points, is a minus one and averaged 15:38 of ice time per game. He has one game winning goal and 66 shots on goal to go with 89 hits. He hasn’t seen much ice time in Dallas this season.
Jokipakka has a big frame and can play a decent game in his own zone. He can move the puck, but will also turn it over at times. Jokipakka needs to learn to shoot the puck more or at least get more pucks to the net so his teammates can have a shot at a deflection in front. The defenseman also is very physical given his size, which he doesn’t use to his advantage.
In Dallas, he was only seeing third pairing minutes when he was in the lineup. He should see some more minutes with the Flames since Russel now plays for the Stars. Jokipakka never really got a chance to develop with the Stars, but should get a chance to do that with the Flames. The Flames will want to see what Jokipakka can do and how he can make an impact on their lineup.
Brett Pollock is currently playing for the Edmonton Oil Kings in the WHL. In 64 games, he has 25 goals, 42 assists, 67 points, four power play goals and 68 penalty minutes. In his WHL career, Pollock has played 245 games, has 85 goals, 104 assists, 188 points, is a +52 and has 194 penalty minutes. Pollock signed a three year entry level contract worth $2.775 million.
In 63 games played, McGinn has 14 goals, 13 assists, 27 points, is a -10 and has 10 penalty minutes. The forward has six power play points to go with three power play assists for a total of 9 points while on the power play. He averages 14:10 of ice time per game. He has 113 hits, 19 blocks, 15 takeaways and 12 giveaways. In 429 career NHL games, he has 83 goals, 72 assists, 155 points, is a -53 and averages 13:24 of ice time per game.
He ranked in the top 10 in many of the key offensive areas for the Sabres. He was fifth on the team with 14 goals and tied for fourth on the team with 14 assists. McGinn ranked fifth on Buffalo with 27 points, and was tied for second with six power play goals. The forward was tied for first with three game-winning goals.
McGinn will be a decent addition to the top nine of the Ducks. He can score at even strength and chip in offensively while on the man advantage. He works hard when on the ice and doesn’t give up on a play. The forward can be physical whether throwing hits or going in on the forecheck. He is a -53 in his career but the plus/minus stat can be deceiving as he plays decent in his own end.
McGinn is a streaky goal scorer. He can be cold for a while and then all of a sudden catch fire and go on a goal scoring streak. McGinn is known to be injury prone but has stayed healthy so far this season. The forward needs to be more consistent in all facets of his game to be an impact player in the NHL.
He could wind up just being a rental player since he is in the last year of his current contract. McGinn is due to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. He could be a cheap option for a team looking for a top nine forward that needs some help on the power play.
In 56 games played this year, Maroon has four goals, nine assists, 13 points, is a minus 13 and averaged 11:23 of ice time per game. He has three power play goals, one power play assist and 65 shots on goal. The forward has 114 hits, five takeaways and 22 giveaways. In 204 career games, he has 26 goals, 53 assists, 79 points, is a minus eight and averages 12:35 of ice time per game. Maroon has five power play goals, 15 power play points and four game-winning goals in his career. He also has 384 hits, 36 blocks, 42 takeaways and 62 giveaways.
Maroon is in his first year of a three year, $6 million deal with a $2 million salary cap hit per season. He is set to become an unrestricted free agent after the 2017-18 season.
The Oilers needed size and Maroon is a 6’3″, 230 pound forward. He is a big body that will help the Oilers on the forecheck and to win battles along the boards. Maroon will also bring some grit to the Oilers’ lineup since he isn’t afraid to mix it up with opponents. He can help to get the cycle game going since he is a decent passer. Maroon isn’t good in his own zone and his decision-making can be iffy at times, which is reflected in his play by all of the turnovers he’s committed in his career.
Maroon lacks the consistency to be anything better than a bottom six forward and he will also take a game off from time to time. The forward will also give the Oilers another option to add to one of their power play units. He can be the screen in front of the goalie because of his size and the fact that he isn’t afraid to go into the crease area to get goals. Maroon goes from a team that is in playoff contention to a team that is in the lottery hunt for the first overall draft pick.
With the clock ticking on trade deadline, Chicago BlackhawksWizard General Manager Stan Bowman made serious roster moves and the team that had lost five of its previous seven games beat the league-leading Washington Capitals3-2 Sunday.
It started Thursday, when Bowman snapped up former Hawk and Winnipeg Jets Captain Andrew Ladd (forward) as well as defenseman Jay Harrison and winger Matt Fraser in a deal that sent forward Marko Dano to Winnipeg and gave the Jets a first round draft pick this summer as well as a conditional (if Chicago repeats the championship) pick. The Jets retained 36 percent of Ladd’s remaining salary/salary cap hit. Harrison and Fraser were sent to the Blackhawks’ AHL affiliate Rockford IceHogs.
“I knew that it was a probability that I was going to end up being traded and I think Chicago was on the top of my list for places I wanted to be,” Ladd said on a media conference call. “I”m familiar with the organization and guys already on the team and that would ease the transition for me.”
Ladd, who was a part of the Hawks’ 2010 Stanley Cup-winning team (and the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006), was a welcome (re)addition to the Blackhawks locker room. Marcus Kruger, out on long-term injured reserve, even gave Ladd his number, 16, back. When Kruger returns, it will be as 22.
Ladd had 34 points in 59 games this season with the Jets. He had an assist in his first game back in Chicago, where he found a spot with on Toews’ line.
A Friday deal with the Montreal Canadiens further solidified Bowman’s commitment to this year’s run. He picked up forwards Tomas Fleischmann (20 points in 57 games) and Dale Weise (26 points in 56 games) in exchange for forward Phillip Danault and the Hawks’ 2018 second-round draft pick.
“They’re both decent-sized wingers. [Weise] gives you some energy, gives you up-and-down, scores goals, goes to the net and is a good fore-checker. Fleisch gives you experience in playing a lot of different situations as well,” coach Joel Quenneville told CSN Chicago. “I think you look at the lines and potential lines we can have down the road, we’re looking forward to getting them together to see how that works.”
They already have the Patrick Kane–Artemi Panarin–Artem Anisimov line, which has the league’s points leader in Kane (85 points–36 goals, 49 assists) and the hottest rookie in Panarin (57 points–22 goals, 35 assists).
But the new additions, including Habs pickup Fleischmann, helped put the “turbo” back in Teuvo Teravainen.
Bowman blamed lineup fluctuation on his varying performance recently.
“I think sometimes people overlook the fact that more than anybody on our group of forwards, he’s bounced around and had to be the most versatile guy. That’s not easy to do for a young guy who’s trying to get established in the league. He’s a very important player for us and will continue to be,” he told CSN Chicago. “But I think in fairness to him, if we can give him more stability it might enhance his profile a bit.”
That showed in Sunday’s game against the Capitals where Teravainen proved himself a strong two-way player, tallied an assist, and earned the “first star of the game” recognition.
Teravainen was quick to recognize Fleischmann after the game.
“We made really nice plays out there and he plays with his head up and he has really nice offensive skills,” Teravainen said. “That’s nice. I think we can really create a lot of things this season.”
The Blackhawks are still waiting for Weise as he deals with work visa issues, but fans should be confident.
In other dealings, the Hawks traded 37-year-old defenseman Rob Scuderi to the Los Angeles Kings for 33-year-old Christian Ehrhoff. Ehrhoff reported to Rockford while Scuderi hit the ice in LA. The Hawks picked up Tim Jackman from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Corey Tropp and a 2017 seventh-round draft pick.
Kruger isn’t expected to return in the regular season as he recovers from his wrist injury. Forward Marian Hossa is still recovering, but is returning to practice this week.
The new-ish Blackhawks now hit the road. They’re first in the Western Division now by one point and they’re heading east to face the:
The Philadelphia Flyers and forward Michael Raffl have agreed to a three year extension worth $7.05 million with a cap hit of $2.35 million per season.
In 61 games played this season, Raffl had eight goals, nine assists, 17 points, is a plus five and averages 14:18 of ice time per game. He has 18 penalty minutes, 106 hits, 26 takeaways and 17 giveaways. The eight goals rank eighth on the Flyers current roster, and his nine assists rank 10th on the team. Only eight of his teammates have more points than him (17), and his plus five is fourth best among his teammates. Raffl has one power play goal this season to go with two game-winning goals.
Raffl has 38 goals, 29 assists, 67 points and is a plus 13 in 196 NHL games played. He has three power play goals, one shorthanded goal and seven game-winning goals in his career while averaging 13:49 of ice time per game. He has 391 hits, 118 blocks, 72 takeaways and 56 giveaways in his three seasons in the NHL. Raffl can play at even strength, on the power play or on the penalty kill. He has played some on the power play this season, but isn’t a regular on the penalty kill this season.
The forward has decent size and doesn’t shy away from contact, whether he is looking to finish his check or he’s getting hit going to the crease area looking for a loose puck. Raffl is usually in good position in all three zones, which would explain why he has more takeaways than giveaways. He has good instincts and is willing to go to the crease area to score goals. He has shown the potential to be strong on the puck and win the board battles along the wall. The forward does need to prove that he can produce consistently in the NHL and be a force in the offensive zone.
Raffl is a versatile player that can play down the middle or on the wing. He has won 122 faceoffs and lost 138 for a 46.9 faceoff win percentage during his career, which isn’t bad for a guy that is flipping between the center and the wing position. The forward is a solid two-way player. On any given night, Raffl could be playing anywhere in the lineup from the top line to the third line. As of late, Raffl has been a steady second line winger, but that could change at any given moment. He can be used on either the power play or as an emergency fill in on the penalty kill.
He has struggled this season producing points consistently, but that could have been because he was set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season before he signed the extension. He started the season on the top line with Claude Giroux and Jake Voracek, but has been playing on either the second or third line for a majority of the season. There were also trade rumors going around that he could be traded before the deadline.
Hopefully with the contract extension and trade rumors out of the way, Raffl can just go on the ice, play his game and produce consistently for the rest of the season.
Saturday evening’s game began with the recognition of the six seniors on Northeastern University’s hockey team: Dustin Darou, Jarrett Fennell, Mike McMurtry, Derick Roy, Kevin Roy and Colton Saucerman. Flowers were given by the players to family or girlfriends and undoubtedly the seven players continue to try to put the end of their collegiate time in the back of their minds while they focus on the game at hand and the play-offs forthcoming.
After Friday’s game, Huskies’ head coach Jim Madigan stressed that while his team garnered the two points, he wasn’t pleased with their overall play—felt they hadn’t brought the level of play he knew was possible. As the puck dropped on the game, the University of Maine Black Bears seemed to pick up where they left off in the third period on Friday—controlling the play. It was more than seven minutes before Northeastern would register their first shot on net, while Maine already had four. Of course, that first shot for the Huskies would find twine and Adam Gaudette would get Northeastern on the scoreboard first during the power play, so definitely a good shot. Three minutes later, the Huskies registered their second shot on goaltender Matt Morris, and this time it was Nolan Stevens with the goal. That was a familiar score on Friday, so there was wonder if Maine would be the next to capitalize. Instead, Kevin Roy would get his fifth of the season and put Northeastern up 3-0. Just nine seconds later Sam Kurker got whistled for interference and Maine went on their first power play of the game. Nolan Vesey would be able to capitalize. As the first period came to an end, the score stood at 3-1 in favor of NU, but the shots on goal favored Maine at 10-7.
Second period began in much the same as the first—Maine outshooting Northeastern, though the Huskies were able to get back on their game more quickly. Penalties in the second increased, the first coming just 15 seconds after the puck dropped to start the middle stanza, when Nolan Stevens was sent off for slashing. Northeastern killed that one and then just over a minute later found themselves down a man once again as Roy went off for slashing. Five minutes later Cedric Lacroix for Maine headed off for crosschecking. Four minutes after that Eric Shurhamer would go for a retaliatory whack after Tanner Pond checked him. It was while the Huskies were up a man on this power play that they would pot their fourth goal of the game from Colton Saucerman. Amazingly, there was a brief time where the teams were even strength and Mike McMurtry was off to the side of the crease where he cleaned up the trash and got Northeastern their fifth goal of the game and second of the period at 16:09. However, the teams weren’t done. With just 1:42 remaining in the period, a big scrum erupted behind Morris’ net that would take a bit of time to sort out.
It was clear from the number of penalties handed out in that dust up at the end of the second that emotions were running high on both sides. One side metes out a shove at the whistle and someone from the other team responds in kind. Such had been the case at the end of the second. Unfortunately for the Black Bears, the tally of penalties assessed found Vesey in the box for 14 minutes: two for roughing, two for elbowing and a ten-minute misconduct.
The third period saw the Black Bears kill off the remaining 18 seconds of their penalty time from that ruckus and then the teams actually managed to get some even strength play for a little more than five minutes before the whistles were blowing again, sending Dan Renouf off for interference. Maine would again make the kill.
With the Huskies up by four goals Ruck sat out approximately the last nine minutes of the game and Derick Roy came in to play. The emotions and frustrations continued to come to the surface with Maine receiving a high-sticking call on Cam Brown and Swavely getting his second roughing of the night. It was while the Huskies were up a man on the Brown penalty that Aston-Reese would be the recipient of a great feed from Matt Benning to add to the goal total in favor of the Huskies. Pond got his first goal of the season during the Swavely penalty, giving Northeastern their seventh goal of the game and their fourth power play goal.
3rd period penalties
This may have been the spark that lit the fuse on the powder keg, but shortly after matching unsportsmanlike conducts were issued to Aston-Reese and Conor Riley, the game became all about the emotion and it would have been difficult to prove that there is no fighting in NCAA hockey, given the number of players involved and the penalties that came out of the overflow of frustration of the Maine players.
As the buzzer signaled the end of the game, part of which was played three-on-three and then finished four-on-four, the teams lined up to shake hands and the Huskies saluted their faithful fans. In the end all of the seniors played in the game: and four of them had major contributions: Fennell (1 assist); McMurtry (1 goal); Derick Roy (1 goal, 1 assist); and Colton Saucerman (1 goal).
With the quarter final pair rankings released by Hockey East, Northeastern will welcome back the Black Bears for a best of three tournament this next weekend. Both coaches will expect more control of emotion from their players. And the players know that nothing of the regular season matters when that puck drops to start the game Friday night, March 4th. Slates have been wiped clean when it comes to the playoffs.
In 61 games played this season, Purcell has 11 goals, 21 assists, 32 points, is a minus nine and averages 17:27 of ice time per night. He also has 27 hits, 14 blocks, 22 takeaways to go with 29 giveaways. The forward can play either the left wing or the right wing. In 544 NHL games, he has 98 goals, 196 assists, 294 points, and is a minus 43. He has 14 game winning goals, three overtime winning goals and has averaged 15:36 of ice time per game throughout his career.
Purcell will be another veteran in the locker room for a young Panthers team during a pivotal time of the season. The Panthers are first in the Atlantic Division with 78 points, but the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning are only four points behind them in the standings. Purcell also has 22 games worth of playoff experience from when he played for the Lightning in both the 2011 and 2014 seasons. In that time, Purcell has seven goals, 11 assists, 18 points, and averaged 14:02 of ice time per game. The Panthers now have 11 10-goal scorers on their current roster.
Purcell can both set up his teammates or finish on a pass from his line mate. He has the offensive ability that is a benefit on the power play, and he is also responsible enough in the defensive zone that he can be used on the penalty kill, where he has a point this season. Purcell does tend to lack the game-to-game consistency, but the Panthers have enough players around him that can score and produce. The forward could stand to be a little bit more physical, but that isn’t really his style of play. He will be a nice complementary addition to the Panthers lineup that will be able to provide leadership, if needed.
Purcell is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. This will be an audition for Purcell, who will be looking to land another NHL contract in the offseason.
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