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Luca Sbisa

Marchand fights Ehlers after big hit in nasty Bruins-Jets game

By James O'BrienJan 31, 2020, 11:27 PM EST
3 Comments

The Boston Bruins beat the Winnipeg Jets 2-1 in a nasty affair on Friday. Brad Marchand fighting Nikolaj Ehlers after Ehlers landed a huge hit was the highlight, but far from the only violent moment.

(Watch that series of escalating events in the video above.)

Violence extended beyond Ehlers – Marchand

Again, the violence wasn’t limited to Ehlers vs. Marchand. People dusted off boxing glove emojis for three fights in the second period. Overall, the teams combined for 74 penalty minutes.

Brandon Carlo also fought Gabriel Bourque:

Also, Luca Sbisa dropped the gloves with Karson Kuhlman:

You’d expect this kind of animosity between division or at least conference rivals. Instead, the Bruins and Jets rarely meet. Maybe that’s for the best for everyone’s teeth, knuckles, and brains.

Mayhem overshadows Rask return

The Jets often charge Connor Hellebuyck with saving the day, but they can’t blame Friday’s starter Laurent Brossoit for the loss. In this case, Tuukka Rask was up to the task, making 37 saves as Boston won despite Winnipeg’s 38-25 shots on goal advantage.

Special teams ended up being the biggest difference, beyond a successfully returning Rask. While the Jets squandered their power-play opportunities (0-for-6), the Bruins scored both of their goals on the man advantage (2-for-4).

It’s tempting to wonder if Brad Marchand wanted a little pest’s attention, what with all of the attention going Matthew Tkachuk’s way. Instead, it just seemed like Marchand was enraged by a big, hard hit by Ehlers. Oh well, if you cannot always get the juiciest narratives, at least there’s the carnage of all of those fights.

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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.

PHT Morning Skate: Perry on facing Ducks; Kakko’s frustrations

By Sean LeahyOct 24, 2019, 9:00 AM EDT

Welcome to the PHT Morning Skate, a collection of links from around the hockey world. Have a link you want to submit? Email us at phtblog@nbcsports.com.

• Corey Perry on facing his old mates Thursday night: “It’s going to be exciting to see everybody. There’s a lot of good memories. A lot of good hockey people with that organization. You are going to have lifelong friends forever when you are there that long. We still keep in contact with certain people.” [NHL.com]

• How Ralph Krueger has helped turn around the 2019-20 Sabres. [ESPN]

• Will the Sabres fade away as they did last season? [The Hockey News]

• The Senators have recalled Logan Brown, reuniting him with childhood friend Brady Tkachuk. [TSN]

• Artem Anisimov (two weeks) and Colin White (3-5 weeks) will miss some time for the Senators with injury. [Silver Seven Sens]

• Kaapo Kakko was on the first line at Wednesday’s practice as he looks to change his fortunes with the Rangers. [NY Post]

• Luca Sbisa has been claimed on waivers by the Jets. [CP via Winnipeg Free Press]

• Red Wings defenseman Jonathan Ericsson cleared waivers. What now for him? [Free Press]

• With the Heritage Classic this Saturday (10 p.m. ET; NBCSN), a look at the best jerseys from the Canadian outdoor game’s history. [Hockey by Design]

• Cracks are starting to show in the Oilers’ good start. [Sportsnet]

• Interesting read on sleep science and the Blue Jackets. [Blue Jackets]

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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.

Linden: Canucks summer moves about ‘long-term vision’

By Ryan DadounSep 5, 2015, 7:35 PM EDT
9 Comments

The Vancouver Canucks have certainly had their critics this summer, but president Trevor Linden insists everything is going according to plan.

“There’s no question that, after seeing things for a year, I knew we had to make some changes and get to a better place,” Linden told the Vancouver Province. “There were things I wasn’t happy with. I knew we had to do some restructuring and put new processes in place.

“That’s what I’ve spent the last month doing, and I’m really excited about the changes we’ve made. Whether they show up in wins and losses this season, I don’t know, but this is a long-term vision.”

Convincing others that his and Canucks GM Jim Benning’s vision is the right one though will take some doing. After all, Benning got booed by season ticket holders when he revealed that he could have traded Ryan Miller, but opted to deal Eddie Lack instead (that trade came with a return of two picks — third and seventh rounders). There’s been a number of other divisive moves in Vancouver, from giving Luca Sbisa and Derek Dorsett’s significant contracts to the acquisition and five-year, $21.875 million signing of “foundation piece” Brandon Sutter.

How those moves work out will go a long way towards determining Benning and Linden’s popularity in the short-term. However, if Vancouver is to be successful, it will need to see results when it comes to the drafting and developing of prospects. That was an issue for the Canucks for years beginning with the start of the cap era, but Bo Horvat’s solid rookie season might someday be viewed as a turning point.

“To me, the two most important things moving forward are the amateur scouting side and the player development side, and there are many aspects to player development,” Linden said. “There’s strength and conditioning, there’s sports science, there’s the medical side, nutrition, and they all have to be integrated.

“The only way we’re going to get better is to draft and develop our players. Then we have to do a good job of developing them and getting them here as quickly as possible. That takes up most of my time.”

So for now the Canucks still have a pretty old core, but perhaps in a few years the franchise will start to see the rewards of Linden’s focus on drafting and developing. In the end, the work he’s doing there could pay far greater dividends than the more high profile trades and signings Vancouver has recently engaged in.

Under Pressure: Jim Benning

By Jason BroughAug 6, 2015, 10:07 AM EDT
6 Comments

For the last four months or so, it’s hard to find a Jim Benning move that wasn’t met with criticism.

It started in April when the Canucks signed Luca Sbisa and Derek Dorsett to hefty contract extensions and didn’t let up as the likes of Eddie Lack, Zack Kassian and Kevin Bieksa were traded.

Benning was even booed at an event for season ticket-holders when it was revealed that starting goalie Ryan Miller could’ve been traded instead of Lack, a fan favorite who’s not only younger and less expensive but had a higher save percentage than Miller last season.

Most recently, Benning’s claim that Brandon Sutter, acquired in a trade with Pittsburgh, would be a “foundation piece” for the Canucks was mocked by many. The five-year extension that Sutter proceeded to sign got the same treatment.

Suffice to say, the honeymoon is over for Vancouver’s general manager, who’s only been on the job since May of last year.

Benning, throughout it all, has not wavered.

“Sitting in my shoes, and when I talk to my management team, we have to make the decision that’s best for the organization going forward,” he said at the draft when asked about trading a fan favorite like Lack.

“I know if that’s the way we decide to go, I could get criticized. But that’s part of the job. There’s nothing I can do about that.”

Hired in large part for his experience as a scout, it won’t be entirely fair to judge Benning until his draft picks pan out, or don’t.

But there’s no doubt his recent moves have put him under increasing pressure. If Vancouver takes a step back next season — and many expect that to happen — that pressure will only build.

Stanton signs with Capitals after Canucks let him go to free agency

By Cam TuckerJul 25, 2015, 4:45 PM EDT
2 Comments

The Washington Capitals added organizational depth along their blue line, signing 26-year-old defenseman Ryan Stanton to a one-year, two-way contract in a deal announced Friday.

The Vancouver Canucks, having signed left-shooting defenseman Luca Sbisa to a contract extension this past season, didn’t tender Stanton a qualifying offer, eventually turning him into an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

From Alex Prewitt of the Washington Post:

An undrafted free agent who parlayed three American Hockey League seasons into his NHL debut with Chicago in 2012-13, Stanton will likely bring a veteran presence to an expectedly young blue line in Hershey, where three professional rookies — Madison Bowey, Tyler Lewington and Christian Djoos — will compete for time. Mike Moore, Erik Burgdoerfer and Connor Carrick round out the corps.

The Canucks, under former GM Mike Gillis, claimed Stanton off waivers from Chicago just prior to the start of the 2013-14 season. He showed potential in his first few months with Vancouver, before suffering an ankle injury that kept him out of the lineup for more than a month.

In 118 career games with the Canucks over two seasons, Stanton scored four goals and 27 points.