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- Morning Skate - Wednesday, August 10
Morning Skate - Wednesday, August 10
Morning Skate - From WJC to NHL & a Helping Glove Hand
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Last Night's News 📰
PATCHING UP PACIORETTY: Max Pacioretty will undergo surgery today to repair a torn Achilles, needing six months to recover. Recently acquired from the Vegas Golden Knights on July 13, the Carolina Hurricanes will be without their new forward until February.
NOT DONE YET: On Monday, the Boston Bruins re-signed 37-year-old forward Patrice Bergeron and 36-year-old center David Krejčí, who spent last season in Czechia after 15 years in Boston. Bergeron had 65 points (25 goals, 40 assists) in 73 regular season games last season and seven points (three goals, four assists) in seven playoff games. Both players were signed to one-year deals, as did 25-year-old Pavel Zacha, avoiding his arbitration hearing set for Thursday.
NEW CAPTAIN ON BROADWAY: The New York Rangers named defenseman Jacob Trouba captain, the 28th in franchise history. Trouba will be the first Blueshirt to don the "C" since trading Ryan McDonagh to Tampa Bay in 2018 and only the sixth since 2000.
RESTRICTIONS LIFTED: Yesterday, the Hurricanes agreed to a two-year, $6 million extension with 23-year-old forward Martin Nečas. Nečas recorded 14 goals and 26 assists in 78 games for the Canes before netting five assists in 14 playoff games last season. This signing came one day after the Golden Knights and Arizona Coyotes reached separate five-year deals with 25-year-olds Nicholas Roy and Lawson Crouse, respectively. Roy's contract will carry an average annual value (AAV) of $3 million, while Crouse's extension will hold an AAV of $4.3 million.
Who Said It
"It's turned out to be a great scenario. I'm definitely excited to get things going—especially with [player], he's one of those generational players who is that good. We became really good friends this past year, so it's nice to have that familiarity in coming to a new team."
Mathieu Olivier
Patrik Laine
Erik Gudbranson
"I still remember those days, being in those kids' shoes and dreaming of what it would be like to play in the NHL. Whether it was a meet and greet or going to hockey camp where you could meet someone, it was a big deal. I can answer a question for these kids, maybe that helps spark their dream—giving those kids hope, letting them know that if I can get there, so can they—it means a lot to me."
Jake Allen
Carey Price
Jack Campbell
"I'm there for anyone to bounce ideas off of, to listen, to answer any questions, to help in any way I can. It's a great situation for me to be in, to have so many talented players so eager to want to get better, and to want to succeed, all with a team-first attitude."
Damon Severson
Jeff Skinner
Jacob Trouba
Answers can be found at the bottom of the email.
World Juniors MVP: Blessing or Curse?
With the World Junior Championships upon us (again), hockey fans will be checking in to see how prospects belonging to their favorite NHL teams will fare. But for as exciting as it may be to see a recent draft pick put up big numbers on an international stage, caution is needed in using one tournament to evaluate these young players.
For every teen who uses the World Juniors as a springboard to immediate NHL success, there's another who hit at least a speed bump—if not crashing out entirely—upon arriving in the league. Here are two recent former tournament MVPs who hit the ground running at hockey's highest level and who that couldn't continue the momentum of their tourney play.
Hit the Ground Running: Trevor Zegras
The U.S. won the most recent World Junior tournament on the strength of seven goals and 18 points from Trevor Zegras, who you might have heard had a decent start to his NHL career, too. Zegras finished second to Moritz Seider in Calder Trophy voting after notching 61 points in 75 games for the Anaheim Ducks, including some pretty memorable highlights.
Couldn't Keep It Up: Alexis Lafrenière
In all fairness, Alexis Lafrenière showed signs of growth this past season with 19 goals for the 110-point New York Rangers, so there's still hope for the No. 1 pick of the 2020 Entry Draft. But even by the standard of the shortened 56-game 2020-21 season, Lafrenière's 12-goal rookie campaign was pretty underwhelming. After all, the Quebec native potted four goals in just five World Junior games.
Hit the Ground Running: Filip Forsberg
Less than eight years before Filip Forsberg signed last month's massive eight-year, $68 million extension, he led Sweden to a silver medal with four goals and 12 points in seven games at the 2014 tournament. That breakout carried over to his first NHL season, where he somehow missed out on being a Calder Trophy finalist despite finishing in the top three in goals (26) and points (63).
Couldn't Keep It Up: Ryan Poehling
As excited as Montreal Canadiens fans may have gotten watching Ryan Poehling win MVP honors for Team USA at the 2019 tournament, it was probably a reach to expect stardom from the St. Cloud State alum. Poehling's tournament production (five goals and three assists in seven games) has yet to happen at the NHL level, and the 23-year-old was most recently an add-on to the Jeff Petry/Mike Matheson swap with Pittsburgh.
Milestones Aided by Goalies
During the offseason, the NHL Network is full of reruns of historic games throughout the league's history. One such game, the Dec. 30, 1981, regular season tilt between the Edmonton Oilers and Philadelphia Flyers, happened to be playing before the World Juniors yesterday and featured Wayne Gretzky scoring his 50th goal in only 39 games, an NHL record.
While watching the game, which ended in a 7-5 victory for the Oilers, we noticed that Edmonton goaltender
recorded an assist on Gretzky's fifth goal—and 50th of the season. That got us thinking about other times goaltenders set up meaningful goals, and although not the most common of occurrences, here are a couple of other historic feats initiated by netminders.
Goalie Grant Fuhr was credited with an assist on Wayne Gretzky's historic 50th goal of the 1981-82 season (NHL.com)
Jeff Reese, 3 of Calgary's Franchise-Record 13 (2/10/1993)
Although he wasn't involved in a single milestone goal, Calgary Flames goalie
, the most ever by a goalie in a single NHL game, against the San Jose Sharks on Feb. 10, 1993. Reese wasn't the only one who made history that night, as the Flames scored a franchise-record 13 goals, tied for
.
Aside from the three apples, Reese also made 26 saves in the 13-1 Calgary victory in one of his 174 career NHL games. By comparison, Fuhr, who ranks second in NHL history in career goaltender assists with 47, played in 868 games, while
, the all-time leader with 48, played 777. However, those two never registered three assists in one game, as Reese is the only goalie who has accomplished that feat.
Darcy Kuemper, OT Goal in Stanley Cup (6/22/2022)
Darcy Kuemper has had a good summer, becoming the first goalie to assist an OT winner in a Stanley Cup Final game, winning the Cup, and signing a lucrative contract during free agency (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
One of the most historic goaltender assists in NHL history happened less than two months ago, during the 2022 Stanley Cup Final. Colorado Avalanche
on Nazem Kadri's overtime goal that won Game 4 for the Avalanche over the Tampa Bay Lightning, becoming the first goalie ever to assist on an OT goal in the Stanley Cup Final.
Unfortunately for Kuemper, controversy over whether Colorado had too many men during the play
. Fortunately, the Avalanche took a commanding 3-1 series lead over the Lightning and went on to win the Cup in six games.