Nico Hischier

NHL Power Rankings: Best landing spots for Taylor Hall

By Adam GretzDec 2, 2019, 1:52 PM EST

Taylor Hall‘s contract situation with the New Jersey Devils was always going to be a big storyline this season, and with the team off to a disappointing start and the possibility of him re-signing looking slimmer by the day it was only a matter of time until trade talk picked up.

Over the weekend The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun reported that teams around the league are calling the Devils regarding their top player, and general manager Ray Shero is starting to listen.

With that in mind, this week’s PHT Power Rankings takes a look at the best possible landing spots for the former league MVP.

Which teams make the most sense?

To the rankings!

1. New Jersey Devils. Honestly the ideal situation is Hall staying right where he is in New Jersey with one big if — If he is willing to re-sign there. I am just looking at this from a Devils perspective because trading Hall would be a pretty significant blow to what general manager Ray Shero has tried to build here. It is nearly impossible to get fair value for players of this caliber in trade, they have the salary cap space to make a new contract work, and even though he is no longer considered “young” by NHL standards, he is still at an age where he can absolutely be a part of a contending team in New Jersey around Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes. Will it work out that way? It is looking less and less likely with each passing day. But you have to keep trying!

Having to trade him after getting just one playoff appearance out of his four years with the team would just seem like a waste and missed opportunity.

So what are the best options assuming they have to trade him?

2. Colorado Avalanche. The worst nightmare for the rest of the Western Conference, and something that is absolutely possible given their situation. The Avalanche roster is already loaded with top-line talent, they have more salary cap space than all but two teams in the league, they have young assets to deal, and they are in a position to win right now. Could you imagine Hall on a team that already has Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, Gabriel Landeskog, Nazem Kadri, and Cale Makar? They would go from Stanley Cup contender to Stanley Cup favorite.

3. Montreal Canadiens. They have been hoarding salary cap space and desperately trying to find an impact forward, going as far as to actually signing a restricted free agent offer sheet (Sebastian Aho) over the summer. They need a star, they need an impact forward, they need something to try and break the cycle of mediocrity the Marc Bergevin era has produced.

4. St. Louis Blues. The salary cap is a real obstacle here, but smart teams can find ways to make that work to get the player they want (or need). The Blues look like a Stanley Cup favorite again, but with Vladimir Tarasenko sidelined for most of the season they have a huge hole on the wing. It is a long shot, but it works from a hockey standpoint.

5. Pittsburgh Penguins. The Penguins could definitely use another winger with some finish, and let’s be honest here, finding a way to trade for an impact player like Hall is exactly the type of blockbuster move the Penguins are known for going after as they try to maximize the best years of the Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang core. Salary cap space is tight, but it only seems to be a matter of when Jim Rutherford dumps Alex Galchenyuk and/or Nick Bjugstad (once he returns from injury) to clear more space.

6. New York Islanders. They have the goaltending, they are shutting teams down defensively, and they are showing their 2018-19 performance was no fluke. They just need one more impact player up front to bring the whole thing together.

7. Edmonton Oilers. After wasting the first part of Hall’s career then trading him for pennies on the dollar, there has been speculation that they could be interested in a reunion with their former No. 1 overall pick. On one hand it would also give us an opportunity to see the Connor McDavid-Hall combination that we never really had a chance to see. On the other hand, they already had their chance with Hall and blew it.

8. Calgary Flames. After finishing the 2018-19 season with the best record in the Western Conference the Flames have badly regressed this season and have been one of the league’s worst offensive teams. It would also add a fascinating twist and storyline to the Battle of Alberta.

9. Nashville Predators. This entire team is built on big trades and free agent acquisitions, so you know general manager David Poile is not afraid to do something like this. They are not a bad offensive team at this point so it is not like Hall would be addressing a huge need, but the team does look stale and in need of a spark. Their window should not be closing, and with no truly dominant team in the Western Conference they should still have a chance to do something this season.

10. Boston Bruins. They would have to get extremely creative with the salary cap and convince New Jersey to eat some salary, but the Bruins have a window to win right now and need some offense beyond the David Pastrnak–Brad Marchand duo.

11. Carolina Hurricanes. Not sure how realistic it is given the salary cap, but I am including them just because I think it would be a fun match. They have a ton of draft picks at their disposal to use as trade chips, they are obviously a contender, and adding another impact player like Hall to an already underrated group of forwards would make them a fierce team to defend.

12. San Jose Sharks. It makes no sense, but would it really surprise you if it happened? Or if they tried for it? They have very limited salary cap space, no first-round draft pick this year, and their biggest need is still a goalie. All of that makes it tough to consider them an option. But they are desperate to win a Stanley Cup for Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, and Erik Karlsson, and with the goalie trade market being slim maybe they just try and outscore their hole in net.

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Adam Gretz is a writer forPro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line atphtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.

Canadiens have strangest disallowed goal of season (Video)

By Adam GretzNov 16, 2019, 11:55 PM EST

3 Comments

The final minute of the third period in Saturday’s Montreal-New Jersey game devolved into weirdness when the Canadiens thought they had scored a late goal to gain the upper hand on the Devils.

It was not to be after a review because it was determined that Canadiens forward Phillip Danault had “kicked” the puck into the net with his … leg? … Knee? … Hip? Whatever it was, it was a body part that he wasn’t allowed to use to guide the puck into the net. That ruling sent the game to overtime where Kyle Palmieri scored on the power play to give the Devils a 4-3 win after overcoming a two-goal deficit.

They have now won three out of four games.

But let’s get back to that bizarre non-goal for the Canadiens because there was a lot going on in that sequence. Including…

It all started with Shea Weber trying to blast a one-timer from the blue line only to have his stick shatter upon making contact with the puck.
The puck slowly rolled to Brendan Gallagher who was in perfect position to get a point-blank shot at the net, only to have Mackenzie Blackwood get a piece of it.
From there, the puck trickled along the goal crease where Devils forward Nico Hischier appeared to cover the puck which should have resulted in a penalty shot. The referees either did not see that or did not feel it was worthy of being called. There was also a trip in there, just for good measure.
It was at that point that Danault saw the puck sitting on the goal line and attempted to — for lack of a better word — thrust it over the line. “A” for effort, high marks for creativity and doing whatever it takes, but that is against the rules.

From NHL Rule 78.1:

A goal cannot be scored when the puck has been deliberately batted with any part of the attacking player’s body into the net.

So there you go.

You can see the entire sequence in the video above.

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Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.

The Buzzer: Tkachuk leads another Flames comeback; Faksa keeps Stars rolling

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By Adam GretzNov 6, 2019, 2:13 AM EST

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Three Stars

1. Matthew Tkachuk, Calgary Flames. A little less than a week ago Tkachuk helped the Flames complete a pretty improbable comeback in Nashville by scoring the game-tying goal late in the third period and then winning it in overtime. He had a similar night on Tuesday, helping the Flames erase a two-goal deficit late in the third period against Arizona. He scored his eighth goal of the season to bring the Flames to within one, a goal that was followed by Mark Giordano‘s game-tying goal less than a minute later. That set the stage for Tkachuk to score another overtime winner. Opponents may hate him, but he is turning into a star.

2. Radek Faksa, Dallas Stars. Don’t look now, but the Stars are starting to put things together. After winning just one of their first nine games — and looking ugly in the process — the Stars have now won seven of their past eight games and are back to .500 on the season. They continued that surge on Tuesday with a 4-1 win over a banged up Colorado Avalanche team. Faksa was the offensive star of the night with a pair of goals.

3. Reilly Smith, Vegas Golden Knights. Smith provided all the offense for the Golden Knights in a 2-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets, scoring both goals to give him nine on the season. It helped the Golden Knights snap out of a mini funk that had seem them lose four of their previous six games.

Other notable performances from Tuesday

Victor Mete scored two goals for the Montreal Canadiens in their win over the Boston Bruins. He scored one goal in his career entering the night. Read more about it here.
Carter Hart needed a big performance and he gave the Philadelphia Flyers one on Tuesday, stopping 33 out of 34 shots in a 4-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes.
Patrick Marleau has scored three goals since re-joining the San Jose Sharks. All three of them have come against the Chicago Blackhawks. He scored another one on Tuesday in their dominant 4-2 win. Read all about it here.
Nico Hischier scored his second goal of the season and Nikita Gusev tallied a goal in the shootout to help the New Jersey Devils get a much-needed win against the Winnipeg Jets.

Highlights of the Night

The Islanders won their 10th game in a row on Tuesday and the highlight of the night had to be Cole Bardreau scoring his first career goal on a penalty shot. Read all about the Islanders’ win here.

This could qualify as a both a blooper and a highlight, but we are going to focus on the highlight here as the Blues continue their great play by finishing a 3-on-0 rush in overtime, made possible by two Canucks players colliding at the other end of the ice.

One of the best plays in hockey is the perfectly time breakaway out of the penalty box. Mats Zuccarello is the lucky recipient of it here in the Minnesota Wild’s 4-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks.

Blooper of the Night

Fortunately for John Tavares and the Toronto Maple Leafs they were able to beat the Los Angeles Kings, but this shot in his first game back was not what he wanted.

😮 pic.twitter.com/MtNnJbM32t

— Jordan Horrobin (@JordanHorrobin) November 6, 2019

Factoids

San Jose Sharks forward Patrick Marleau became the sixth player in NHL history to skate in 800 consecutive games in their 4-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. [NHL PR]
Bardreau is just the seventh player in NHL history to score their first career goal on a penalty shot. [NHL PR]
Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara skated in his 1,500th NHL game. [NHL PR]

Scores

New York Islanders 4, Ottawa Senators 1
Philadelphia Flyers 4, Carolina Hurricanes 1
Vegas Golden Knights 2, Columbus Blue Jackets 1
Montreal Canadiens 5, Boston Bruins 4
Toronto Maple Leafs 3, Los Angeles Kings 1
New Jersey Devils 2, Winnipeg Jets 1
Dallas Stars 4, Colorado Avalanche 1
Calgary Flames 4, Arizona Coyotes 3 (OT)
St. Louis Blues 2, Vancouver Canucks 1 (OT)
Minnesota Wild 4, Anaheim Ducks 2
San Jose Sharks 4, Chicago Blackhawks 2

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Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.

The Buzzer: Sharks keep sinking; Jets, Byfuglien to arbitration?

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By James O'BrienNov 3, 2019, 1:16 AM EDT

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Saturday’s been such a busy — and violent/scary — night in the NHL, that it feels acceptable to commandeer the beginning of The Buzzer for some developing stories before we get to the three stars, highlights, and factoids.

Choppy waters for the Sharks

If you can zoom out a bit, it’s fair to remember that the Sharks sent a bucket of pucks Connor Hellebuyck‘s way on Friday, only to lose. They were probably a little tired on Saturday, and also maybe feeling a little bit like they wouldn’t get the bounces that come from whatever hard work they could squeeze out.

(It’s worth asking if a team that also leans so much on older players might be especially prone to weak efforts on the second half of back-to-backs.)

Those caveats out of the way … yikes.

The Sharks’ 5-2 loss to the Canucks represents San Jose’s fifth loss in a row, and the Sharks have only won once in their last eight games (1-6-1 stretch), pushing their 2019-20 record to a deeply worrisome 4-10-1. When the Sharks decided to extend Erik Karlsson, it felt like the right move now, even if there’d likely be pain down the road. That pain instead took the express lane.

More than a few people wonder if Peter DeBoer will lose his job, among other changes. That’s a situation to watch, whether things heat up this weekend, this week, or further down the line. Either way, it’s pretty shocking, even if it’s early.

Arbitration for Buffy?

The latest episode of “As the Buffy Turns” comes from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, who reports that the Winnipeg Jets might have to go to arbitration with possibly retiring defenseman Dustin Byfuglien. It kicks off around the two-minute mark:

This seems less optimistic than Bob McKenzie’s update from earlier this week on NBCSN. The gist of the disagreement can be broken down in two basic phases, via Friedman’s report:

The NHL/Jets argue that Byfuglien was deemed “fit to play” at an end-of-season exit physical. Byfuglien’s side notes that it was well-known that he played hurt through the playoffs, and tried to take the summer to heal. Once his ankle acted up again, he reportedly decided it might be time to retire. Thus, on Byfuglien’s side, they argue it’s a legitimate hockey injury.
Once Byfuglien underwent surgery, a broken foot was discovered. At least, that’s Byfuglien’s side; there are arguments over when that injury might have happened.

It ultimately seems like this may come down to whether or not Byfuglien will be paid while he’s on the shelf — possibly without ever returning. But we’ll see.

*Phew*

Three Stars

1. Mike Smith, Edmonton Oilers

If you only look at the exhilarating game-winner, you’d think Leon Draisaitl was the one who stole the show from Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid. Overall, though, it was Mike Smith.

The Penguins peppered Smith with 52 shots on goal, including 13 high-danger chances at even-strength alone, according to Natural Stat Trick. Smith only yielded a single goal, stealing a win for the Oilers. Read more about that game in Adam Gretz’s three takeaways.

2. David Rittich, Calgary Flames

While Smith nabbed a remarkable 51 saves, it was “Big Save Dave” who finished Saturday night without a single blemish. Rittich pitched a 43-save shutout to help Calgary beat the Blue Jackets 3-0.

I’m giving Smith the edge because he faced so many dangerous chances, but Rittich’s night was plenty impressive in its own right.

3. Kyle Connor, Winnipeg Jets

The Jets entered the third period against the Golden Knights down 3-1, closing off a back-to-back in Vegas, one of the toughest buildings to snag such a win in.

Winnipeg wouldn’t be denied, and Connor was a big part of a comeback win. He collected two primary assists to help push the game into overtime, then baffled Malcolm Subban after Subban made a tremendous save earlier in the period. Getting the OT winner, plus two primary assists, helps push Connor just a bit ahead of the pack.

There were some other great performances, including David Pastrnak posting another three-point night (1G, 2A).

Highlight of the Night

The Devils got a much-needed win by beating the Hurricanes, and Nico Hischier scored a much-needed goal:

Factoids

The Islanders are on a nine-game winning streak, tied for the second best streak in franchise history. You can read more about that here, but Isles Blog points out another impressive stat: the team is 14-1-1 in the second half of back-to-back sets under Barry Trotz.
NHL PR notes that the Kings have scored 41 OT goals since the 3-on-3 format was introduced in 2015-16, six more than any team.
Speaking of highest marks since 2015-16 (also compiled by NHL PR), Sergei Bobrovsky holds the most shutouts with 23. That 23rd came on Saturday, and marks his first with the Panthers.
From Sportsnet Stats: David Pastrnak’s 27 points rank as the third-most through 13 games in Bruins history. Pastrnak’s only behind Phil Esposito (31 in 1973-74) and Bobby Orr (28 in 1974-75).

Scores

EDM 2 – PIT 1 (OT)
NYR 2 – NSH 1
BOS 5 – OTT 2
NYI 1 – BUF 0
FLA 4 – DET 0
TOR 4 – PHI 3 (SO)
NJD 5 – CAR 3
CGY 3 – CBJ 0
DAL 4 – MTL 1
STL 4 – MIN 3 (OT)
ARI 3 – COL 0
WIN 4 – VGK 3 (OT)
VAN 5 – SJS 2
LAK 4 – CHI 3 (OT)

MORE:
• Pro Hockey Talk’s Stanley Cup picks.
• Your 2019-20 NHL on NBC TV schedule

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James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.

Roman Josi signs eight-year extension with Predators

By Sean LeahyOct 29, 2019, 11:13 AM EDT

3 Comments

It’s been a good month for Swiss hockey players and their bank accounts.

A little over a week after Nico Hischier inked a $50.75 million extension with the Devils, the Predators have signed defenseman Roman Josi to an eight-year deal worth $72.472 million. The contract, which carries a $9.059 million cap hit, kicks in beginning with the 2020-21 NHL season and features $33.75 million in signing bonuses. He’ll also be the owner of the third-highest cap hit among defenseman behind Erik Karlsson ($11.5 million) of the Sharks and the Kings’ Drew Doughty ($11 million).

“Roman Josi is one of the top defensemen in the National Hockey League and our team leader as captain,” said Predators GM David Poile. “As he enters his prime, we look forward to Roman continuing to showcase his elite skills in Smashville and guiding our team in pursuit of the ultimate goal, the Stanley Cup.”

Per Pierre LeBrun, here’s the year-by-year breakdown:

2020-21: $750,000 salary / $11 million signing bonus
2021-22: $750,000 salary / $10 million signing bonus
2022-23: $1 million salary / $8.75 million signing bonus
2023-24: $5 million salary / $4 million signing bonus
2024-25: $9 million salary
2025-26: $8 million salary
2026-27: $7.222 million salary
2027-28: $7 million salary

In 574 career games in Nashville Josi has 98 goals and 361 points. He’s been a regular in the positive possession department (53% Corsi rating since 2014-15).

Josi is now one of seven Predators who are signed through at least the 2023-24 NHL season, joining Matt Duchene, Ryan Johansen, Kyle Turris, Viktor Arvidsson, Colton Sissons, and Ryan Ellis.

How much do the Predators value the 29-year-old Josi, who Poile dubbed “our Roger Federer” after naming him captain in Sept. 2017? His deal will include a full no-move clause for the entire length of the contract. The only other time that’s happened was when Pekka Rinne signed a seven-year extension in 2011 and the first four years of the deal featured such trade protection.

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Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.