CAROLINA HURRICANES NEWS CLIPPINGS June 21, 2016

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1 Canes home opener set for Oct. 28 By Chip Alexander Carolina Hurricanes fans will have to wait until Oct. 28 for the team s home opener to the season. A confluence of the World Cup of Hockey and the N.C. State Fair will cause the Canes to play their latest home opener, in a non-lockout season, since The game at PNC Arena will be against the New York Rangers. The World Cup, an international competition set Sept. 17- Oct. 1 in Toronto, is causing the NHL to push back the start of the regular season. The Canes annually have a scheduling conflict with the State Fair, which will be held Oct this year. The Winnipeg Jets announced Monday that they will host the Canes on Oct. 13 in their home opener. While the full NHL schedule will be released Tuesday, the game against the Jets will be the Canes season opener, and Carolina will play on the road the first two weeks of the season. It will be the latest home opener for the Canes since 1999, when PNC Arena then the Entertainment and Sports Arena was completed and Carolina played its first games in Raleigh after two seasons in Greensboro. The Canes faced the New Jersey Devils on Oct. 29, 1999, in the inaugural NHL game in Raleigh. Brind Amour, a son and the Stanley Cup: Dad, you have to win By Chip Alexander calexander@newsobserver.com Early on the morning of June 19, 2006, Rod Brind Amour slipped into his kids bedrooms to say goodbye before leaving for a long, very important work day. Skyler Brind Amour, then 6, was roused from his sleep. Dad, he said, you have to win. If Rod Brind Amour had a few knots in his stomach that morning, and he did, those five words caused another. Brind Amour was the captain of the Carolina Hurricanes and the only thing lacking his career, at 35, was a Stanley Cup championship. It takes 16 wins to take the Cup and the Canes, on that June 19 morning, needed one more, having had a 3-1 series lead over the Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup Final become a 3-3 stalemate, forcing a Game 7. Dad, you have to win. It made you realize again we weren t just playing for ourselves but for so many people, Rod Brind Amour said. Father and son would be together again June 19, late and on the ice after Game 7. The next morning, when Skyler Brind Amour awoke, his father and the Stanley Cup were in his bedroom. Ten years later, Skyler Brind Amour is 16. Sunday marks the 10th anniversary of the Canes winning the Cup and is Father s Day, allowing father and son time to reflect on all that happened in the last decade as Skyler developed into a promising hockey player at the time his dad was retiring as a player and becoming an assistant coach for the Canes. I think you realize now just how hard it was to win it, Skyler said. I have a different perspective now. Then, it was just go out and win the game. Now, you understand what it takes to really win, as you get older and watch these guys trying to do it. So, yes, there s added respect in how they did it. Lead by example Winning the Cup is a matter of endurance, perseverance, of being able to handle pain and injuries. It s the ultimate grind, one Rod Brind Amour once likened to climbing Mount Everest, knowing you can slip and fall at any point. Brind Amour was the quintessential team captain, playing all the meaningful minutes, scoring critical goals, taking the important draws, being tough defensively. The classic lead-by-example guy, said forward Matt Cullen, a member of the Canes 2006 champs. I don't know that I ve ever played with anyone who worked harder than Roddy. The way he played that season and the way he led, it was impossible not to follow. The Canes would not be denied in Game 7, not by the Oilers. Carolina won 3-1 and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman soon was presenting the Stanley Cup to Brind Amour, who quickly snatched it and lifted it high, eyes closed, his face flush with victory. That was something special, Skyler Brind Amour said. The fans were cheering so loud. Seeing my Dad do that, then touching the Stanley Cup for the first time, was one of the coolest moments I ve ever been a part of. As he grew older, Skyler joined the Junior Hurricanes hockey program. He s a center and he wears No. 17, the number his father wore, the one retired by the Canes. He s smart, got good hockey sense, Rod said. He s not the best player. He s not dominating. But he skates well and has put a lot of work in.

2 Hockey sense is one of the things you need to keep moving up. He has that. Now he has to put the other part to that, the physical part. He needs to be more aggressive, more assertive. Working hard The Junior Hurricanes U16 AAA team played against some of the nation s best and held its own. Rod Brind Amour has served as a volunteer coach, at times using a practice routine similar to that of the Canes. He wants us to succeed and he does push us, Skyler said. Brind Amour s daughter, Briley, was a volleyball star for Cardinal Gibbons and is headed to James Madison. While the Brind Amour name can open doors in hockey, there s also the expectation that son will be like father in terms of dedication and work ethic. Once the doors are open you have to make the most of it, Rod Brind Amour said. He s working hard. There s pressure, for sure. It s good for him. It s a good to put pressure on yourself. He s been afforded a great opportunity his whole life. He s been around this environment. Since he was 4 years old, he s been in he locker room hanging out. He s seen all the work the guys put in, to get here and to stay here. That s been an important learning curve for him. He s got dreams like every kid. But you ve got to go grab them. Michigan State Skyler s sports passion once included basketball, and at 6- foot-2 and 165 pounds he has a lanky basketball build. But after his freshman year of high school, he gave up hoops to focus solely on hockey. Skyler will be leaving home this year, attending South Kent (Conn.) School in the fall. The prep school has a strong hockey program, and Skyler said it will allow him to play 65 to 70 games. As for college, Skyler also has that decision made, committing to play at Michigan State, his father s alma mater. I visited a bunch of schools but felt comfortable with Michigan State and the coaching staff, Skyler said. And, Skyler said, smiling, it was his choice. No parental pressure. I just wanted him to experience the whole college thing, Rod Brind Amour said. College hockey allows more of a slower development, buying you more time to learn the game. Neither Brind Amour stayed up to see the Pittsburgh Penguins celebrate their Stanley Cup victory this past week. There was Cullen, still playing at 39, celebrating with the Pens. There was former Canes general manager Jim Rutherford, now the Pens GM, holding up the Cup. Skyler said he was too tired. As for Rod When I was playing I never watched those (Cup celebrations) because that was what I wanted, he said. Now that I ve had it, done it, I like to remember it only the way I remember it. Digging Deep Monday, / 5:30 PM ET / Tracking the Storm By Michael Smith With the first round of the NHL Draft comes a fair bit of pomp and circumstance primetime television, on-stage photo ops with the commissioner and teams front offices, interviews aplenty and the like. These are the most highly-regarded prospects, players that theoretically have the best chance of making an impact in the NHL. Day two, which features a blitzkrieg of picks through six rounds, is more business-like in its proceedings, an efficient call-and-response operation as teams continue to stockpile players they hope will develop into the NHLers of tomorrow. The players that get picked in the top five have multiple NHL assets. Those assets they have right now. As you go into those mid-round picks, they may have one or two of those assets at this point in time. You re saying, well, he s a smart hockey player, but maybe he has to work on his skating, Darren Yorke, the Canes video scout and assistant to the general manager, explained. These kids who make it into the NHL from the mid rounds have the internal drive to work on their deficiencies at that time and turn them into assets. It s really a testament to how hard these kids work and want to become NHL players. The Hurricanes and their scouting staff have recently assembled an impressive cast from later-round picks. On this year s second day of the draft, the team is set to make seven picks, including four in the second and third rounds alone. We talk about getting an Erik Cole in the third round or a Joe Vasicek in the fourth round or a (Jaroslav) Svoboda in the eighth round, said Tony MacDonald, the Canes head of amateur scouting, as he recalled the depth of the team s

3 1998 draft. When you have extra picks in more of a priority area, your chances [are higher] of hitting [on] a couple of guys. It allows you to maybe gamble a little bit on some of those guys; some of them turn out and some of them don t. We hope to be able to cash in on a couple of these extra picks with guys who would have a better than average chance of playing on our team at some point. With that in mind, here s a brief look at some notable names from rounds two through seven of the NHL Draft. Second Round The Hurricanes have made seven second-round picks in the last five drafts. Six players are still with the organization (defenseman Mark Alt was traded to Philadelphia in 2013), and a number of names already stand out as impact players in their young careers. Justin Faulk (37th overall, 2010): What s to be said that already hasn t? Faulk is an Olympian, an All-Star, an alternate captain. Oh, and he s just 24 years old. He s the anchor on a very young yet very talented Hurricanes blue line. Here s the story of how the Hurricanes scouted and drafted him. Victor Rask (42nd overall, 2011): Rask burst onto the scene as a rookie in , making the big squad after an impressive prospects tournament in Traverse City, Mich., and an equally impressive showing in training camp and preseason play. In , Rask surpassed the 20-goal mark and bettered his scoring output by 15 points. He s a crucial piece of the Canes depth down the middle and figures to be the team s second-line center in the upcoming season. Alex Nedeljkovic (37th overall, 2014): Arguably the Hurricanes top goaltending prospect, Nedeljkovic is set to begin his pro career in In addition to claiming a bronze medal with Team USA in the World Juniors with a 1.66 goals-against average and.943 save percentage, Nedeljkovic back-stopped the Niagara IceDogs to the OHL finals this season. Sebastian Aho (35th overall, 2015): All signs point to Aho heading to Raleigh for after the season he put together both in the Finnish Elite League and in international play. Aho was a point-per-game player with Karpat, notching 45 points (20g, 25a) in as many games. He won a gold medal at the World Juniors and a silver medal in the World Championship with Team Finland, and he ll join his countrymen at the World Cup of Hockey in September. Other notables: Phil Di Giuseppe (38th overall, 2012), Brock McGinn (47th overall, 2012) Third Round The Canes third-round selections of the last five years have seen a smattering of NHL experience, but one name stands out among the rest. Brett Pesce (66th overall, 2013): The Hurricanes made just four selections at the 2013 NHL Draft. After selecting Elias Lindholm fifth overall, the team waited 61 picks for their next. Pesce was one of three rookie defensemen who impressed and potentially exceeded expectations in He s a steady defender, and his NHL career is just getting started. Other notables: Danny Biega (67th overall, 2010), Keegan Lowe (73rd overall, 2011), Daniel Altshuller (69th overall, 2012) Fourth Round The Hurricanes have been especially busy in the fourth round, particularly in the last few years. The team made two fourth-round selections in both the 2015 and 2014 drafts and three in There s still a lot of potential among the organization s crop of fourth-rounders, but one has taken a giant step forward in his career. Jaccob Slavin (120th overall, 2012): Along with Noah Hanifin and Pesce, Slavin emerged as one of the organization s top defensemen in He s filled out his 6-foot-2, 205- pound frame, and he put together a 20-point campaign (2g, 18a) while playing big, important minutes in his rookie season. Other notables: Erik Karlsson (99th overall, 2012), Trevor Carrick (115th overall, 2012), Josh Wesley (96th overall, 2014), Lucas Wallmark (97th overall, 2014), Callum Booth (93rd overall, 2015), Nicolas Roy (96th overall, 2015) Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Rounds As the draft progresses into its deeper rounds, selections become increasingly hit or miss; some players pan out, but a majority don t. Frederik Andersen (187th overall, 2010): He ultimately chose to not sign with the Hurricanes, re-entered the draft and was selected in the third round by Anaheim in 2012, but what a steal he would have been with the 187th pick. Though he s now a Maple Leaf, it remains a credit to the Hurricanes scouting staff for eyeing Andersen in the final round. Other notables: Brendan Woods (5th round, 129th overall, 2012), Clark Bishop (5th round, 127th overall, 2014), Tyler Ganly (6th round, 156th overall, 2013), Brody Sutter (7th round, 193rd overall, 2011)

4 June 21: Rangers hire Vigneault as coach Plus: NHL announces 4-on-4 overtime; Fleury, Staal go at top of stellar first round of Draft by John / NHL.com Managing Editor 12:00 AM THIS DATE IN HISTORY: June : The New York Rangers name Alain Vigneault as the 35th coach in their history. Vigneault is available after he is fired by the Vancouver Canucks on May 22, two years after he guides them to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. The Canucks were under Vigneault and won six division titles in his seven seasons as coach. The Rangers' job is open after they fire John Tortorella, one week after the Canucks ax Vigneault. In what turns out to be a coast-to-coast exchange of coaches, the Canucks hire Tortorella four days after Vigneault gets the job with the Rangers. MORE MOMENTS 1999: The NHL announces some major changes to regularseason overtime. Under the new rules, each team will get a point in the standings for any game tied after 60 minutes; a team that scores during the five-minute overtime period will receive an additional point. Also, overtime periods will be played 4-on-4 (plus goaltenders), rather than 5-on : The Pittsburgh Penguins name Ivan Hlinka as their new coach, replacing Herb Brooks. Hlinka, a native of the Czech Republic, becomes the second coach in NHL history who's born and trained in Europe (following Alpo Suhonen). He coaches the Penguins to the Eastern Conference Final in 2001 but is fired four games into the following season. 2003: The NHL Draft, held at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, produces perhaps the best first-round haul of talent in League history. The top pick belongs to Pittsburgh, which selects goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. The Carolina Hurricanes, picking second, take center Eric Staal. Among the players taken later in the first round are forwards Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf (Anaheim Ducks), Jeff Carter and Mike Richards (Philadelphia Flyers), Zach Parise (New Jersey Devils) and Ryan Kesler (Vancouver Canucks), and defensemen Ryan Suter (Nashville Predators), Dion Phaneuf (Calgary Flames) and Brent Seabrook (Chicago Blackhawks). All 30 of the players taken in the first round go on to see action in the NHL; 27 of the 30 play at least 240 regular-season games.. NHL announces home openers for regular season Schedule starts with four games on Wednesday, Oct. 12 by NHL Public / NHL.com June 20th, 2016 NEW YORK -- The National Hockey League announced today the home openers for all 30 clubs for the regular season. The League's complete 1,230-game schedule will be released tomorrow - Tuesday, June 21 - at 1 p.m. ET. FULL LIST OF HOME OPENERS, SEASON Anaheim Ducks: Sunday, Oct. 23 vs. Vancouver Arizona Coyotes: Saturday, Oct. 15 vs. Philadelphia Boston Bruins: Thursday, Oct. 20 vs. New Jersey Buffalo Sabres: Thursday, Oct. 13 vs. Montreal Calgary Flames: Friday, Oct. 14 vs. Edmonton Carolina Hurricanes: Friday, Oct. 28 vs. NY Rangers Chicago Blackhawks: Wednesday, Oct. 12 vs. St. Louis Colorado Avalanche: Saturday, Oct. 15 vs. Dallas Columbus Blue Jackets: Thursday, Oct. 13 vs. Boston Dallas Stars: Thursday, Oct. 13 vs. Anaheim Detroit Red Wings: Monday, Oct. 17 vs. Ottawa Edmonton Oilers: Wednesday, Oct. 12 vs. Calgary Florida Panthers: Thursday, Oct. 13 vs. New Jersey Los Angeles Kings: Friday, Oct. 14 vs. Philadelphia Minnesota Wild: Saturday, Oct. 15 vs. Winnipeg Montreal Canadiens: Tuesday, Oct. 18 vs. Pittsburgh Nashville Predators: Friday, Oct. 14 vs. Chicago New Jersey Devils: Tuesday, Oct. 18 vs. Anaheim New York Islanders: Sunday, Oct. 16 vs. Anaheim New York Rangers: Thursday, Oct. 13 vs. NY Islanders Ottawa Senators: Wednesday, Oct. 12 vs. Toronto Philadelphia Flyers: Thursday, Oct. 20 vs. Anaheim Pittsburgh Penguins: Thursday, Oct. 13 vs. Washington San Jose Sharks: Wednesday, Oct. 12 vs. Los Angeles St. Louis Blues: Thursday, Oct. 13 vs. Minnesota Tampa Bay Lightning: Thursday, Oct. 13 vs. Detroit Toronto Maple Leafs: Saturday, Oct. 15 vs. Boston Vancouver Canucks: Saturday, Oct. 15 vs. Calgary Washington Capitals: Saturday, Oct. 15 vs. NY Islanders Winnipeg Jets: Thursday, Oct. 13 vs. Carolina

5 Flames hire Gulutzan as coach Was assistant with Canucks for past three seasons, coached Stars from by Aaron Vickers / NHL.com Correspondent June 17th, 2016 CALGARY -- The Calgary Flames ended an exhausting coach search by hiring Glen Gulutzan on Friday. Nearly seven weeks after firing Bob Hartley, Flames general manager Brad Treliving introduced Gulutzan as Calgary's coach at a press conference at Scotiabank Saddledome. The Flames fired Hartley on May 3; the hiring of Gulutzan filled the last coaching vacancy in the NHL. "We went through a real thorough process in this search," Treliving said. "This is an important person we need to bring into our organization. We spent the first while building a profile. 'What is it we're looking for in a coach? What's the best fit?' You talk about who the best coach is for a particular team, what kind of coach was our team ready for. We went through a lot of those attributes before we got into the field and the market and talking to people. "We built a real in-depth profile and started going through the process. As you went through it, it became very clear meeting with Glen early that this was a perfect match." Gulutzan, 44, spent the past three seasons as an assistant coach with the Vancouver Canucks. He coached the Dallas Stars from , going in two seasons but failed to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He coached the Texas Stars of the American Hockey League from , losing in the Calder Cup Finals in Gulutzan also coached Las Vegas of the ECHL for six seasons, from Las Vegas was the ECHL affiliate of the Flames during that time. "What a whirlwind here," Gulutzan said. "It's an honor to be the head coach of the Calgary Flames. "I started back here in this organization. When Darryl [Sutter] was running it I was in Las Vegas and it was one of the first calls I made, was to try to get an affiliation. I was there through that '04 run right behind the Flames but I was in Las Vegas. I watched [Mark Giordano] and [Deryk Engelland] and [Dennis Wideman] at rookie development camp here, all as free agents. I got my foot in the door here back then. "I never thought at some point that I would be coaching this team. It's quite an honor to be standing up here and be the coach of such a distinguished franchise." The Flames ( ) finished with 77 points this season, 10 points behind the Minnesota Wild for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference. They allowed 257 non-shootout goals, the most in the League. Calgary's penalty kill was last in the NHL at 75.5 percent, and the power play (17.0 percent) ranked 22nd. "There will definitely be a little bit of a style change in how we play," Gulutzan said. "It will lead to an exciting game. It'll be an exciting, connected team that you're going to see here. "What we want to be is a real connected group here. We want to be connected in fives in all three zones. We want to defend fast; we are going to defend fast. We are going to utilize the assets we have here. For me the trend is how quickly we can transition from offense to defense, how much we can stay connected so we can hold onto the puck but still play fast, and how quickly we can get it back and utilize the strengths of the players that we have here. The only way you can play that way is to stay connected as a group." Treliving said, "This is an individual who is smart. He's intelligent about the game, tactically, structurally. The interpersonal skills is what jumped out to me his ability to communicate to people, his ability to drive players, and ultimately at the end of the day from my perspectives, to maximize the ability each player has, the team has. That's the most important quality for a coach. "As we did our homework, the one thing that kept coming back we talked to all sorts of people that were around Glen in certain areas at certain times of his life, at certain stops, and it was not only the coach but the person who was drilled home. A very special person; a very special coach." TODAY S LINKS CAR home

6 Carolina Hurricanes Canes home opener set for Oct. 28 By Chip Alexander Carolina Hurricanes fans will have to wait until Oct. 28 for the team s home opener to the season. A confluence of the World Cup of Hockey and the N.C. State Fair will cause the Canes to play their latest home opener, in a non-lockout season, since The game at PNC Arena will be against the New York Rangers. The World Cup, an international competition set Sept. 17-Oct. 1 in Toronto, is causing the NHL to push back the start of the regular season. The Canes annually have a scheduling conflict with the State Fair, which will be held Oct this year. The Winnipeg Jets announced Monday that they will host the Canes on Oct. 13 in their home opener. While the full NHL schedule will be released Tuesday, the game against the Jets will be the Canes season opener, and Carolina will play on the road the first two weeks of the season. It will be the latest home opener for the Canes since 1999, when PNC Arena then the Entertainment and Sports Arena was completed and Carolina played its first games in Raleigh after two seasons in Greensboro. The Canes faced the New Jersey Devils on Oct. 29, 1999, in the inaugural NHL game in Raleigh. News Observer LOADED: Little other information about practice facility plans was available Monday, in advance of an expansion vote Wednesday by the NHL Board of Governors. Clark County spokesman Erik Pappa said in an that no records have been submitted to the county related to a proposed NHL practice facility. He deferred comment to Foley s organization. Foley said more information would be available after Wednesday s vote. NHL owners begin arriving in Las Vegas Tuesday and will meet Wednesday at Encore, where the vote to add a 31st team to the league is expected to be approved. The team would open play at the 17,500- seat T-Mobile Arena for the season. Before identifying the Far Hills site as the location for the practice facility, another site in unincorporated Clark County, at Warm Springs Road and Durango Drive, was in the mix. Las Vegas City Councilman Bob Beers, who represents the city s southwestern corner, said he didn t think a decision to move the practice facility outside Las Vegas city limits would be a major disappointment. The important point is you re going to have this really cool facility with two sheets of ice out here in Summerlin, Beers said. The potential for area youth to use the ice when the pros aren t skating is a benefit, Beers said. Earlier this year, when the Far Hills site was proposed for the practice facility, plans included locker rooms, coaches offices, a video room and bleachers, with rinks available for use by youth hockey groups. LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: NHL NHL Bill Foley to stay low key as wait for Las Vegas NHL team is almost over Hockey team s practice site in Summerlin remains unsettled By STEVE CARP By JAMIE MUNKS If the NHL gives the expected go-ahead Wednesday to a league expansion that puts a professional hockey team in Las Vegas, the practice puck likely will drop somewhere in Summerlin. Exactly which part of Summerlin still appears unsettled. Businessman Bill Foley, who s leading the bid for a Las Vegas team, said over the weekend he still plans to build the team s headquarters and practice facility in the master-planned community in the western valley, but that he hasn t finalized the site. That marks a change from earlier this year, when property on Far Hills Avenue just west of the 215 Beltway, in the city of Las Vegas, was identified as the future site of a two-rink practice facility. The two sites fall on opposite sides of the line separating the city of Las Vegas and Clark County that runs through a section of Summerlin. City of Las Vegas officials had been actively talking to Foley about the Far Hills site but said they heard Foley s organization decided to switch gears and look at Summerlin property outside city limits. If you thought Wednesday s expected news that Las Vegas is finally getting major league professional sports will trigger a mass celebration, guess again. Bill Foley, the billionaire businessman who has waited 2 1/2 years for the NHL to grant him a team, has a matter of hours left to lay low before he and the city can rejoice. The league s 30 owners will be arriving in Las Vegas on Tuesday and will meet Wednesday morning at Encore to deliberate, then vote on expansion to Las Vegas. Foley, who is prepared to pay $500 million to join the NHL, will lead the league s 31st team and begin play in We re almost there, Foley said last week. I don t want to say or do anything to upset the owners. We ve come this far. So the less I say right now, the better. In a perfect world, the NHL would have been able to keep the anticipated news under wraps. But word eventually got out and it sparked headlines across North America. Even commissioner Gary Bettman said on the eve of the Stanley Cup Finals that he doubted the June 7 recommendation of the league s nine-member Executive Committee would stay a secret until Wednesday. But that doesn t mean Foley has been given the green light to throw a party for Southern Nevada. He said there s a time and a place to hold a proper celebration and Wednesday is not the time. While good news is expected in Las Vegas, the same can t be said for Quebec City, which has been Las Vegas partner on this expansion journey since July when both cities applied.

7 The NHL is expected to put the Quebec City bid on hold and Foley probably doesn t think it s right to have a party the day the other expansion applicant gets turned down. His plan is to wait until the team s nickname, logo and colors are approved by the NHL. At the moment, the leader in the clubhouse for a name is either Black Knights or Knights. However, other names are supposed to be sent to the NHL. That process is under way and should be concluded in a few weeks after the team and league lawyers get everything copyrighted and signed off. Then a public celebration will be planned inside T-Mobile Arena, the team s 17,500-seat home. It would also be the first opportunity for fans to purchase team jerseys, hats, T-shirts, pucks and virtually anything that might have the team s logo on it. So how will Foley celebrate the anticipated good news? He will have a small gathering of his Founding 75 group along with other local businessmen and politicians Thursday night at his Summerlin office. It will be a private, low-key event. But a public party is planned for Wednesday beginning at 4 p.m. at O Aces Bar and Grill, 4955 South Decatur Boulevard. The Sin Bin Vegas blog is hosting the event, which is free. By Thursday, Bettman, deputy commissioner Bill Daly and the other 30 owners will be heading to Buffalo, New York, for Friday s 2016 NHL Entry Draft. It is an exercise in which Foley s team will participate in a year. Foley will be shifting into hire mode later this week. He needs to add a president of hockey operations, a general manager, a scouting staff, an office staff including sales people, marketing and public relations staffers. Opening night will be less than 16 months away. LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL LOADED: Websites ESPN / Take it from those who have been there -- expansion isn't the easiest road to travel 8:06 PM ET Scott Burnside If there is anyone who understands expansion, it's Nashville Predators GM David Poile. You might well say that expansion is in his blood, part of his hockey DNA. His father, Hall of Fame executive Bud Poile, helped build the expansion Philadelphia Flyers and Vancouver Canucks. As a young man out of college, David Poile landed a job with the fledgling Atlanta Flames and was on hand for the team's expansion draft in Montreal in He never forgot highly regarded hockey executive Wren Blair stopping by their table and clapping Flames GM Cliff Fletcher on the shoulder and praising him for their work at the expansion draft. Fletcher asked Blair if he really thought it had gone well. "And he says, 'Yeah, and as soon as you get rid of every one of those blanking guys, then you'll have a chance. Then you can start building your team," Poile recalled with a hearty laugh. It's been more than a decade and a half since the NHL last opened its doors to a fledgling franchise. On Wednesday afternoon, the league is expected to formally welcome Las Vegas to the club as the 31st franchise, setting in motion the machinery that will ultimately lead to that first-ever Las Vegas roster, which is expected to begin play in Talk to Poile or any of the players who have been selected in previous expansion drafts and they'll tell you that there is nothing quite like the process of being part of something that was, not so long ago, nothing. "I don't know if it's ego or not, but when you can have your handprints on everything that's happening in the franchise... I couldn't have asked for a better opportunity," Poile said. It will be no different for the men and women who breathe life into the Vegas franchise. No history, no baggage. An expansion team is the ultimate in fresh ice. Heck, when Poile was first introduced to Craig Leipold, the original owner of the Predators, via another top NHL executive, Leipold wasn't exactly sure who Poile was or whether he was applying for a marketing job. Once that got cleared up, and Poile was named the team's first general manager, he called other GMs who had been involved with earlier NHL expansions. The advice he received all touched on one consistent theme: hire a veteran staff because your team isn't going to be very good and you're going to go through a lot of players. "It was unbelievable how close [the advice] was," Poile recalled. "And I did the exact opposite." He hired Barry Trotz, who'd been to a couple of Washington Capitals training camps as a player but who'd been eased into the scouting and coaching ranks, as his first head coach. "Because somebody had given me a chance way back, and I knew this was going to take some time, I wanted to give a lot of new people opportunities in a higher position than they'd ever had before," Poile said. "And that's exactly what I did." During the summer of 1997 and throughout the season, Poile and his staff, including Trotz and assistant coach Paul Gardner, crisscrossed the hockey world, looking at how teams played but mostly searching for players who might be made available to them at the expansion draft. In Poile's office at Bridgestone Arena, there's a framed piece of paper bearing the handwritten names of a host of players up for consideration at the '98 expansion draft in Buffalo. "That's Paul Gardner's handwriting; it was done in the Buffalo hotel," Poile said. The expansion draft was grand stew of deals and side deals for Poile and his staff. Teams would add incentive in the form of picks or other prospects to take a certain player and leave another. Goalie Mikhail Schtalenkov, whose name gave Poile fits as he tried to practice saying it out loud before he did so in public, was selected and traded to the Edmonton Oilers before he ever played a game. The Predators picked up forward Sergei Krivokrasov from the Chicago Blackhawks but also got Greg Johnson for making that specific pick. One of the true gems of the expansion process was defenseman Kimmo Timonen, who was traded by the Los Angeles Kings to Nashville, along with Jan Vopat, after the Preds agreed not to select Garry Galley in the expansion draft. The Preds had to choose between Peter Zezel or Scott Walker from the Vancouver Canucks. Walker didn't play much at that point in his career and so had ended up chatting with Trotz, Poile or other Preds scouts in the press box during the season. "So we actually got to know him a bit," Poile recalled. Walker would go on to be one of the most popular early Predators, thanks to his hard-nosed play. "We weren't provided with many opportunities to get skilled [players], so we wanted to get the blue-collar, hard-working guys," Poile explained. "Veteran guys who we hoped would give us some credibility and who we could get something for to move along." The team's first captain was Tom Fitzgerald, who signed as a free agent with the Predators in the summer of 1998 and who brought with him a unique perspective on the expansion experience. Fitzgerald was a former first-round draft pick who'd made a mark with an emerging New York Islanders club. In the summer of 1993 Fitzgerald had been told by GM Don Maloney he needn't worry about being exposed in the expansion draft that would provide players for the Florida Panthers and Anaheim Ducks.

8 But while he was at a wedding rehearsal party in his soon-to-be-wife's backyard, Fitzgerald started hearing rumblings and ultimately got a call from Florida GM Bob Clarke telling him he was now a member of the Florida Panthers. "I thought, 'I just went through three years of this with the Islanders to get to this point of being on a good team. Now I've got to start over,'" Fitzgerald recalled. But the real estate agent called and asked whether he was thinking golf course, oceanfront or intracoastal living, and with the Panthers competitive right from the get-go, Fitzgerald, now the assistant GM of the New Jersey Devils, embraced his role as an original Panther. Fitzgerald recalled the first team meeting, where Clarke told the players assembled that if they thought they were going to be doormats like other expansion teams they could "get the [bleep] out of here." In year three, the Panthers reached the Stanley Cup finals. Those first few years were, in many ways, a high-water mark for the Florida franchise -- and they left an indelible impression on Fitzgerald, not just as a player but now as a team-builder who hoped to someday to have his own team to build. "When you talk expansion, you talk about opportunity for players," Fitzgerald said. "You talk about a new chapter in their careers." Will Auston Matthews go first overall to the Toronto Maple Leafs? Or will Patrik Laine sneak in there? Here's the round-by-round order of picks. Commissioner Gary Bettman has made it clear, in helping establish ground rules for a possible expansion draft next June, that he wants new teams to have a better opportunity than previous teams did. Regardless, it will be an uphill battle -- not to mention the challenge of connecting with a market that has never known professional hockey. Such is the way of all expansion teams. "I think one of the biggest things is to get the players involved with the community and get the community involved with the players," said goalie Mike Dunham, one of the first players to wear a Preds jersey. "It's very important to mesh the two together, especially from the beginning." After all, you only get one chance to step on that unblemished piece of ice that is an expansion team. ESPN LOADED: Websites ESPN / Source: New Leaf Frederik Andersen agrees to extension 8:44 PM ET Pierre LeBrun In an offseason in which several goalies are expected to be on the move, the first domino has fallen as the Anaheim Ducks have traded Frederik Andersen to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Andersen, 26, has also agreed to a five-year extension with the Leafs that carries an average annual value of $5 million, according to a source. He was to become a restricted free agent on July 1. "We were too far apart, I think," Andersen said of his negotiations with Anaheim. "I'm just happy about being in a big hockey market. It's going to be a lot of fun developing with this young team that's very hungry for success." GM Lou Lamoriello says he's willing to listen to offers as the draft approaches. Plus, are the Bruins kicking the Kevin Shattenkirk tires? In exchange, the Ducks will get Toronto's 30th overall pick this year, plus a second-rounder next year. "When you get a goaltender of this caliber, with the experience he's had and the success... I think acquiring them is the most important thing," Toronto general manager Lou Lamoriello said. "The price was secondary." That 30th overall pick was originally Pittsburgh's, but it was traded to the Leafs in the Phil Kessel deal a year ago. With Jonathan Bernier already on their roster, the Leafs made upgrading their goaltending a top priority. Anaheim has young John Gibson in goal and was long rumored to be putting Andersen on the trade market this offseason. "We're going forward with a guy that's three, four years younger, a guy that had one of the top five goals-against in the league, and won the Jennings Trophy already," Ducks general manager Bob Murray said. "I'm not worried about what I've got left, and we'll go and get a good backup. It's just about managing your assets." ESPN LOADED: Websites ESPN / Rumblings: Maple Leafs are open for business 5:35 PM ET Pierre LeBrun The Toronto Maple Leafs will be a fascinating team to watch this week and next -- and not just because they'll own the spotlight with the first overall pick in the draft Friday night in Buffalo. The rebuilding Leafs also have the 30th, 31st and 57th picks among 12 selections in this week's draft. They've also got three second-round picks, plus their first-round selection, coming in 2017; all are a result of the team selling off parts over the past two seasons. The question is whether some of those picks either this week or next year all become Maple Leafs prospects or some are dealt away in trades to upgrade the team? Veteran Leafs GM Lou Lamoriello said Monday his team is ready for both options. "Certainly we're ready to draft. [Leafs director of player personnel] Mark Hunter and his group have done a tremendous job -- they re ready," Lamoriello said over the phone. "But if opportunities come about, you certainly have to be open to them." The bottom line is that the Leafs are open for business. By now, we all know that Lamoriello is never going to tip his hand, so who knows exactly what the Leafs brass has in store for this week. But aside from the No. 1 pick -- Auston Matthews is the projected top pick, with Patrik Laine a close second -- I would suggest all bets are off otherwise as the team continues to try to find ways to build its foundation. That includes goaltending; there's been much speculation that the Leafs might try to improve there with Jonathan Bernier entering the final year of his contract. Update: The Leafs obtained Frederik Andersen from the Anaheim Ducks for a first-round pick in 2016 and a second-round pick in 2017 Monday afternoon. "Jonathan played very well at the end of the year," Lamoriello said when asked about upgrading his goaltending. "But I think we have to look at everything if we can get better, whether it's goaltending, whether it's defense, whether it's forwards. We did end up 30th in the league. There's nothing that we cannot or should not be looking at, no matter what it is, to get better. Wherever we can get better, we have to do that but not outside the framework of what we're going to do. It's an overused word, but the 'plan.' We're not going to rush anything, but whatever can be done will be done." And that's perhaps the most telling thing Lamoriello said in our interview Monday morning: Despite the excitement building for this revamping roster, Leafs management says it's not going to skip steps on the way to the long-term goal of building a team that contends for years.

9 Easier said than done, of course. Elsewhere: The Boston Bruins have an obvious need on defense, so it's no surprise to hear via sources that they've been in discussions on several fronts regarding acquiring a blueliner. Blues defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk, entering the final season of his contract, is among the several D-men I suspect the Bruins have had discussions about. Teams have already reached out to the Pittsburgh Penguins regarding goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, including Calgary -- the Flames I think doing their diligence on all possibilities. Again, it's still not decided from the Penguins' perspective whether they make a goalie move this summer or wait another year, but there's no question teams are monitoring that situation closely. The Penguins won the Stanley Cup with rookie goalie Matt Murray and have Jeff Zatkoff coming up as well. Fleury has a nomove clause and a partial no-trade. Speaking of goaltending, what about the Dallas Stars? The Game 7 meltdown in goal against the St. Louis Blues isn't going to force a move for the sake of it. Yes, the Stars need an upgrade in goal, and perhaps GM Jim Nill gets it over the next few weeks, if it makes sense. But I also think Nill is willing to be very patient and start the season with Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi and perhaps wait until closer to the trade deadline next March to see what's out there, especially with some teams needing to jockey ahead of a June 2017 expansion draft, where you can protect only one goalie. If I'm the Stars, there's no question I'm patient on this. It's not as though they didn't win the Central Division, even with their goalie issues, this past season. The Carolina Hurricanes made a nice deal picking up Teuvo Teravainen from the cap-strapped Chicago Blackhawks last week, and they might not be done. A few sources from around the league suggest the Canes are still sniffing around looking for another top-six impact forward. ESPN LOADED: Websites Sportsnet.ca / Lou Lamoriello laying down foundation in acquiring Andersen CHRIS JOHNSTON JUNE 20, 2016, 8:13 PM So now, they build. If there s anything to be taken from the Toronto Maple Leafs decision to hand goalie Frederik Andersen a $25-million, five-year contract in harmony with acquiring him from the Anaheim Ducks on Monday, it s that Lou Lamoriello is finally ready to lay down some foundational pieces. We knew those pieces were coming eventually with Auston Matthews set to be drafted into the organization this week, and prospects William Nylander and Mitch Marner among those expected to compete for jobs next season. But in Andersen, the Leafs are adding something altogether different. This is a player brought in from another organization at the cost of futures the No. 30 pick in Friday s draft and a second-rounder next year who is expected to be part of the Leafs group that eventually rises out of the abyss. I love his competitiveness, Lamoriello said on a conference call. If you look at his playoff history, he s always played well in the playoffs. He gives us size, which today is a necessity the way the game is played. But also, his athleticism is exceptional. You could argue that this is the most significant player acquisition made by the organization since the June 23, 2013 trade that landed Jonathan Bernier. All of the other deals since whether made by former GM Dave Nonis or once-interim GM Kyle Dubas or Lamoriello have been either tinkering around the margins or part of the teardown. Andersen instantly becomes the Leafs No. 1 goaltender, and unlike the Bernier situation three years ago, the team has a pretty good reason to believe he can handle the job. He s appeared in 97 regular season games over the last two seasons, posting a.916 save percentage. The Leafs have been watching him closely for months. When the Ducks visited Toronto in March, Lamoriello even found a discreet spot in the Air Canada Centre to monitor his morning skate routine. From what they d learned through scouting and other background research, the management team didn t think twice about dealing away two picks to get him. It helped that they had put themselves in excellent position to spend that kind of capital given all of the draft choices they ve been amassing. When you get a goaltender of this calibre with the experience he s had and the success, I feel like I ve had the good fortune to have similar goaltenders in the past, said Lamoriello. I think acquiring them is the most important thing. The price was secondary. A number of factors conspired to end the 26-year-old Dane s tenure in Anaheim. Not only are the Ducks an organization with an internal budget, but they already had 22-year-old John Gibson on a team-friendly contract that carries a $2.3-million AAV for the next three seasons. With Andersen in line for a raise and the Ducks only able to protect one of those goalies in an expansion draft next June, they had to make a choice. This was a situation that just had to happen at this point in time, explained Ducks GM Bob Murray. There was no way to avoid it. For Andersen, it will be a significant change of scenery. Not only will the atmosphere and attention be totally different, but he s also joining the NHL s 30th-place team after appearing in Stanley Cup playoff games each of the last three seasons in Anaheim. It says something about his buy-in with the Leafs that he agreed to a fiveyear contract. He could have become an unrestricted free agent next summer, but was willing to give up four UFA years as part of this deal. The Ducks are the only NHL team he s ever played for Carolina originally drafted Andersen in 2010, but he re-entered in 2012 and Anaheim snagged him in the third round and his agent, Claude Lemieux, had some contract discussions about an extension with Murray this offseason. At the end of the day it didn t work out, said Andersen. Now I m just happy about being in a spot, a big hockey market. It s going to be a lot of fun developing with this young team that s very hungry for success and it s going to be a very good experience. After an 18-month period where virtually every new member of the Leafs seemed to have the permanence of a grain of sand in a hurricane, this is something different. A six-foot-four goaltender that will shoulder some hopes and expectations for the organization. Who knows? It might even be safe to buy a sweater adorned with his name. The Leafs signalled a change in the landscape with this trade and the healthy contract that came with it. I think it s extremely important, said Lamoriello. I think that he has to know that he s our No. 1 goaltender and that the support is there, the confidence is there and the commitment s there. They aren t just acquiring placeholders and making rebuilding moves now. Sportsnet.ca LOADED: Websites Sportsnet.ca / A history of the Toronto Maple Leafs trading for goaltenders JOE PACK JUNE 20, 2016, 8:20 PM

10 The Toronto Maple Leafs stirred the NHL s trade frenzy pot Monday when they traded two draft picks (30th in 2016, a 2nd rounder in 2017) for Anaheim Ducks goaltender Frederik Andersen, a player longrumoured to be a target for the 30th-placed Toronto franchise. While the Leafs might have considered drafting a goalie with one of their many picks this June, this move appears to speed up the process of improving the club in the short term. Toronto has a history of trading for help in the blue ice, and the results are mixed. Take a long intake of breath and comb over the last few trades the Leafs have made for goaltenders. 1. Jonathan Bernier One doesn t have to look past the current Toronto roster to see the last goaltender the Maple Leafs traded for with the hopes of making him a starter. Jonathan Bernier, acquired on June 23, 2013 almost three years to the day of the Andersen deal was dealt to the Leafs from Los Angeles in exchange for goalie Ben Scrivens, Matt Frattin and a second round pick. The move seemed to represent a vote of no-confidence in James Reimer, whom the Leafs drafted. He came at an affordable price and began his career in blue and white admirably, but the team has struggled during his time with the club leading to a low point last season when he was assigned to the AHL s Toronto Marlies for a conditioning stint. LAMORIELLO ON ANDERSEN CONTRACT: "HE HAS TO KNOW THAT HE'S OUR NO. 1 GOALTENDER." CHRIS JOHNSTON (@REPORTERCHRIS) JUNE 20, 2016 With comments like that from GM Lou Lamoriello, it s perhaps evident that Bernier is not long for Hog Town. 2. Vesa Toskala Has the blue and white yet been washed from this backstop s equipment? When the Maple Leafs acquired Vesa Toskala from the San Jose Sharks on, wait for it, June 22, 2007, it was to create a tandem with another goaltender who had yet to impress (see below). In trading for the Finnish goalie, Toronto gave up a first, second and fourth round pick. They also acquired forward Mark Bell in the deal. San Jose used that first round choice to trade up and select Logan Couture. Toskala famously said to reporters after being dealt to the Anaheim Ducks in 2010 that he would be changing the colours on his mask Hopefully soon So I can wash that blue and white out of my gear. Toskala s best season with Toronto was in when he played 66 games, posting a 2.74 goals-against average and a.904 save percentage. 3. Andrew Raycroft If you re a Leafs fan and you ve made it this far, condolences. This will end on a high note; we promise. Outside of the Phil Kessel trade that cost Toronto the first round pick that ended up becoming Tyler Seguin, the deal to acquire Andrew Raycroft is likely the most talked about transaction the club has made over the last decade. Toronto lost Ed Belfour to free agency in 2006 and needed a replacement. Toronto had been on an extremely productive streak with goaltenders going back to Felix Potvin and Curtis Joseph who preceded Belfour. General manager John Ferguson Jr. only had to deal away the future Stanley Cup champion and Vezina trophy-winning Tuukka Rask. Rask, a prospect at the time with Toronto, was traded for Raycroft on you guessed it June 24, 2006, and one of the most lopsided deals in Maple Leafs history was written. Raycroft, of course, came to Toronto with some pedigree. He d won the 2004 Calder trophy as rookie of the year but was injured the following season and his numbers suffered greatly. He finished his tenure in the blue and white with a record, a 3.17 goals-against average and an.890 save percentage. The real poetry is that Raycroft still shares the organization s record for wins in a season with 37 ( ). 4. Grant Fuhr The pattern of Toronto trading for goalies in late June ends with Hall of Famer Grant Fuhr. When Trader Cliff Cliff Fletcher joined the Maple Leafs in 1991 as their new general manager, he promptly made two blockbuster deals. One was the 10-player deal that brought Doug Gilmour to Toronto from Calgary while the other was the one that brought Fuhr to the Leafs from Edmonton. Fletcher traded Vincent Damphousse, Peter Ing, Scott Thornton and Luke Richardson for Fuhr, Glenn Anderson and Craig Berube on Sept. 19, Damphousse would go on to win the Stanley Cup with the Montreal Canadiens in Grant Fuhr, Toronto Maple Leafs When Fletcher was hired in Toronto, it was seen as a move that brought credibility back to the organization after the disastrous 1980s. Acquiring Fuhr was partly a symbolic gesture, one that told the league that the Leafs weren t messing around anymore. Fuhr s performance with Toronto was less than stellar and he would go on to have extremely successful campaigns with Buffalo and St. Louis but he helped groom a young Felix Potvin who took over for Fuhr full time in the second half of the season when the Leafs well, you know. We promised a happy ending to this tale and there s plenty to be optimistic about with regard to Andersen. But with the team s spotted history of trading for netminders, you just never know. LAMORIELLO ON ANDERSEN: "ACQUIRING HIM WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING, THE PRICE WAS SECONDARY." CHRIS JOHNSTON (@REPORTERCHRIS) JUNE 20, 2016 Sportsnet.ca LOADED: Websites Sportsnet.ca / A history of the Toronto Maple Leafs trading for goaltenders JOE PACK JUNE 20, 2016, 8:20 PM The Toronto Maple Leafs stirred the NHL s trade frenzy pot Monday when they traded two draft picks (30th in 2016, a 2nd rounder in 2017) for Anaheim Ducks goaltender Frederik Andersen, a player longrumoured to be a target for the 30th-placed Toronto franchise. While the Leafs might have considered drafting a goalie with one of their many picks this June, this move appears to speed up the process of improving the club in the short term. Toronto has a history of trading for help in the blue ice, and the results are mixed. Take a long intake of breath and comb over the last few trades the Leafs have made for goaltenders. 1. Jonathan Bernier One doesn t have to look past the current Toronto roster to see the last goaltender the Maple Leafs traded for with the hopes of making him a starter. Jonathan Bernier, acquired on June 23, 2013 almost three years to the day of the Andersen deal was dealt to the Leafs from Los Angeles in exchange for goalie Ben Scrivens, Matt Frattin and a second round pick. The move seemed to represent a vote of no-confidence in James Reimer, whom the Leafs drafted. He came at an affordable price and began his career in blue and white admirably, but the team has struggled during his time with the club leading to a low point last season when he was assigned to the AHL s Toronto Marlies for a conditioning stint. With comments like that from GM Lou Lamoriello, it s perhaps evident that Bernier is not long for Hog Town.

11 2. Vesa Toskala Has the blue and white yet been washed from this backstop s equipment? When the Maple Leafs acquired Vesa Toskala from the San Jose Sharks on, wait for it, June 22, 2007, it was to create a tandem with another goaltender who had yet to impress (see below). In trading for the Finnish goalie, Toronto gave up a first, second and fourth round pick. They also acquired forward Mark Bell in the deal. San Jose used that first round choice to trade up and select Logan Couture. Toskala famously said to reporters after being dealt to the Anaheim Ducks in 2010 that he would be changing the colours on his mask Hopefully soon So I can wash that blue and white out of my gear. Toskala s best season with Toronto was in when he played 66 games, posting a 2.74 goals-against average and a.904 save percentage. 3. Andrew Raycroft If you re a Leafs fan and you ve made it this far, condolences. This will end on a high note; we promise. Outside of the Phil Kessel trade that cost Toronto the first round pick that ended up becoming Tyler Seguin, the deal to acquire Andrew Raycroft is likely the most talked about transaction the club has made over the last decade. Toronto lost Ed Belfour to free agency in 2006 and needed a replacement. Toronto had been on an extremely productive streak with goaltenders going back to Felix Potvin and Curtis Joseph who preceded Belfour. General manager John Ferguson Jr. only had to deal away the future Stanley Cup champion and Vezina trophy-winning Tuukka Rask. Rask, a prospect at the time with Toronto, was traded for Raycroft on you guessed it June 24, 2006, and one of the most lopsided deals in Maple Leafs history was written. Raycroft, of course, came to Toronto with some pedigree. He d won the 2004 Calder trophy as rookie of the year but was injured the following season and his numbers suffered greatly. He finished his tenure in the blue and white with a record, a 3.17 goals-against average and an.890 save percentage. The real poetry is that Raycroft still shares the organization s record for wins in a season with 37 ( ). 4. Grant Fuhr The pattern of Toronto trading for goalies in late June ends with Hall of Famer Grant Fuhr. When Trader Cliff Cliff Fletcher joined the Maple Leafs in 1991 as their new general manager, he promptly made two blockbuster deals. One was the 10-player deal that brought Doug Gilmour to Toronto from Calgary while the other was the one that brought Fuhr to the Leafs from Edmonton. Fletcher traded Vincent Damphousse, Peter Ing, Scott Thornton and Luke Richardson for Fuhr, Glenn Anderson and Craig Berube on Sept. 19, Damphousse would go on to win the Stanley Cup with the Montreal Canadiens in Grant Fuhr, Toronto Maple Leafs When Fletcher was hired in Toronto, it was seen as a move that brought credibility back to the organization after the disastrous 1980s. Acquiring Fuhr was partly a symbolic gesture, one that told the league that the Leafs weren t messing around anymore. Fuhr s performance with Toronto was less than stellar and he would go on to have extremely successful campaigns with Buffalo and St. Louis but he helped groom a young Felix Potvin who took over for Fuhr full time in the second half of the season when the Leafs well, you know. We promised a happy ending to this tale and there s plenty to be optimistic about with regard to Andersen. But with the team s spotted history of trading for netminders, you just never know. Sportsnet.ca LOADED: Websites Sportsnet.ca / A history of the Toronto Maple Leafs trading for goaltenders JOE PACK JUNE 20, 2016, 8:20 PM The Toronto Maple Leafs stirred the NHL s trade frenzy pot Monday when they traded two draft picks (30th in 2016, a 2nd rounder in 2017) for Anaheim Ducks goaltender Frederik Andersen, a player longrumoured to be a target for the 30th-placed Toronto franchise. While the Leafs might have considered drafting a goalie with one of their many picks this June, this move appears to speed up the process of improving the club in the short term. Toronto has a history of trading for help in the blue ice, and the results are mixed. Take a long intake of breath and comb over the last few trades the Leafs have made for goaltenders. 1. Jonathan Bernier One doesn t have to look past the current Toronto roster to see the last goaltender the Maple Leafs traded for with the hopes of making him a starter. Jonathan Bernier, acquired on June 23, 2013 almost three years to the day of the Andersen deal was dealt to the Leafs from Los Angeles in exchange for goalie Ben Scrivens, Matt Frattin and a second round pick. The move seemed to represent a vote of no-confidence in James Reimer, whom the Leafs drafted. He came at an affordable price and began his career in blue and white admirably, but the team has struggled during his time with the club leading to a low point last season when he was assigned to the AHL s Toronto Marlies for a conditioning stint. LAMORIELLO ON ANDERSEN CONTRACT: "HE HAS TO KNOW THAT HE'S OUR NO. 1 GOALTENDER." CHRIS JOHNSTON (@REPORTERCHRIS) JUNE 20, 2016 With comments like that from GM Lou Lamoriello, it s perhaps evident that Bernier is not long for Hog Town. 2. Vesa Toskala Has the blue and white yet been washed from this backstop s equipment? When the Maple Leafs acquired Vesa Toskala from the San Jose Sharks on, wait for it, June 22, 2007, it was to create a tandem with another goaltender who had yet to impress (see below). In trading for the Finnish goalie, Toronto gave up a first, second and fourth round pick. They also acquired forward Mark Bell in the deal. San Jose used that first round choice to trade up and select Logan Couture. Toskala famously said to reporters after being dealt to the Anaheim Ducks in 2010 that he would be changing the colours on his mask Hopefully soon So I can wash that blue and white out of my gear. Toskala s best season with Toronto was in when he played 66 games, posting a 2.74 goals-against average and a.904 save percentage. 3. Andrew Raycroft If you re a Leafs fan and you ve made it this far, condolences. This will end on a high note; we promise. Outside of the Phil Kessel trade that cost Toronto the first round pick that ended up becoming Tyler Seguin, the deal to acquire Andrew Raycroft is likely the most talked about transaction the club has made over the last decade. Toronto lost Ed Belfour to free agency in 2006 and needed a replacement. Toronto had been on an extremely productive streak with goaltenders going back to Felix Potvin and Curtis Joseph who preceded

12 Belfour. General manager John Ferguson Jr. only had to deal away the future Stanley Cup champion and Vezina trophy-winning Tuukka Rask. Rask, a prospect at the time with Toronto, was traded for Raycroft on you guessed it June 24, 2006, and one of the most lopsided deals in Maple Leafs history was written. Raycroft, of course, came to Toronto with some pedigree. He d won the 2004 Calder trophy as rookie of the year but was injured the following season and his numbers suffered greatly. He finished his tenure in the blue and white with a record, a 3.17 goals-against average and an.890 save percentage. The real poetry is that Raycroft still shares the organization s record for wins in a season with 37 ( ). 4. Grant Fuhr The pattern of Toronto trading for goalies in late June ends with Hall of Famer Grant Fuhr. When Trader Cliff Cliff Fletcher joined the Maple Leafs in 1991 as their new general manager, he promptly made two blockbuster deals. One was the 10-player deal that brought Doug Gilmour to Toronto from Calgary while the other was the one that brought Fuhr to the Leafs from Edmonton. Fletcher traded Vincent Damphousse, Peter Ing, Scott Thornton and Luke Richardson for Fuhr, Glenn Anderson and Craig Berube on Sept. 19, Damphousse would go on to win the Stanley Cup with the Montreal Canadiens in Grant Fuhr, Toronto Maple Leafs When Fletcher was hired in Toronto, it was seen as a move that brought credibility back to the organization after the disastrous 1980s. Acquiring Fuhr was partly a symbolic gesture, one that told the league that the Leafs weren t messing around anymore. Fuhr s performance with Toronto was less than stellar and he would go on to have extremely successful campaigns with Buffalo and St. Louis but he helped groom a young Felix Potvin who took over for Fuhr full time in the second half of the season when the Leafs well, you know. We promised a happy ending to this tale and there s plenty to be optimistic about with regard to Andersen. But with the team s spotted history of trading for netminders, you just never know. LAMORIELLO ON ANDERSEN: "ACQUIRING HIM WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING, THE PRICE WAS SECONDARY." CHRIS JOHNSTON (@REPORTERCHRIS) JUNE 20, 2016 Sportsnet.ca LOADED: Websites Sportsnet.ca / Sam Cosentino s 2016 NHL Mock Draft SAM COSENTINO JUNE 20, 2016, 12:51 PM Look for a flurry of activity surrounding this year s draft. Five teams possess two first round picks, while another six teams have multiple picks in the second round, led by Calgary with the 35th, 54th and 56th picks. Multiple first round selections present teams with several options. First, you can afford to be a little more risky with your second first-rounder. Secondly, a team can really address an organizational deficiency by selecting two players at the same position. Conversely, you can broaden your scope by addressing needs at two positions. Lastly, the extra asset can be used in a trade scenario. There seems to be a fairly strong feeling about the first players in the first round, adding a premium to those slots. At No. 2, Winnipeg will have its decision made by Toronto, but things will be interesting with their 22nd overall selection. The Jets and Coyotes both have two picks in the top 22 and will get potential star players with their first selections but keep an eye on what they do with their second first-round picks. nhldraftboardforarticles Just about every team will tell you that they will select the best player available, but when I look at Edmonton, it needs a defenceman, while Calgary needs to address its depth of skill at the forward position. But if the board falls the way I expect it, both of Alberta s teams will test the best-player-available mantra, as the top player available at No. 4 for Edmonton will be a forward, while Calgary will likely be presented with a defenceman as the best player with the sixth overall selection. The 60 CHL teams should provide at least half of the first 30 players selected. Windsor and London should provide six first round selections, while the QMJHL and WHL should see up to five players selected from their leagues in the first 30 picks. Here s how I see things playing out. 1. TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS Auston Matthews, C, Zurich (Swiss), 6-foot-2, 216 pounds: Team greatness begins with greatness down the middle of the ice. 2. WINNIPEG JETS Patrik Laine, LW, Tappara (Finland), 6-foot-3, 201 pounds: Few have ever done what Laine accomplished this season playing against the best in the world in and out of his age group. 3. COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS Pierre-Luc Dubois, LW/C, Cape Breton (QMJHL), 6-foot-2, 205 pounds: This is based on a belief this pick will move, and whomever gets it guarantees they ll get the player they desire out of Dubois, Tkachuk or Puljujarvi. Having said that, Dubois is as complete a player as there is in this draft. He learned to play centre mid-season, and has hockey in his blood. 4. EDMONTON OILERS Matthew Tkachuk, LW, London (OHL), 6-foot-1, 202 pounds: Ferocious competitor, dangerous in front of or behind the net and equally as dangerous as a shooter or distributor. 5. VANCOUVER CANUCKS Jesse Puljujarvi, RW, Karpat (Finland), 6-foot-3, 208 pounds: He s a big right shot winger who competes at both ends of the ice. Slight slippage due to thoughts about his hockey IQ. 6. CALGARY FLAMES Alexander Nylander, LW, Mississauga (OHL), 6-foot-1, 178 pounds: The Flames are in need of organizational skill and Nylander is loaded with it. 7. ARIZONA COYOTES Mikhail Sergachev, D, Windsor (OHL), 6-foot-2, 221 pounds: Has the highest ceiling of any defenceman in this draft. 8. BUFFALO SABRES Olli Juolevi, D, London (OHL), 6-foot-2, 188 pounds: What you see is what you get and there s a lot to like in this highly efficient, smoothskating defenceman. 9. MONTREAL CANADIENS Logan Brown, C, Windsor (OHL), 6-foot-2, 208 pounds: Had a monster second half where he started to utilize his size and shooting ability. Was already a good skater with excellent vision. 10. COLORADO AVALANCHE Tyson Jost, C, Penticton (BCHL), 5-foot-11, 190 pounds: There was no better interview at the NHL Combine. You get a pro player in every sense of the word. 11. NEW JERSEY DEVILS Jakob Chychrun, D, Sarnia (OHL), 6-foot-2, 200 pounds: Has slipped due to concerns about his ability to process the game at a high pace. Pro body, pro skater, pro mentality. 12. OTTAWA SENATORS

13 Clayton Keller, C, USNDTP (USHL), 5-foot-10, 164 pounds: Ridiculous skill set, with high hockey IQ. Wants the puck in all the difficult situations hockey can provide. 13. CAROLINA HURRICANES Kieffer Bellows, USNDTP (USHL), 6-foot, 197 pounds: Has the goalscoring gift, and great hockey pedigree. 14. BOSTON BRUINS Charles McAvoy, D, Boston University (NCAA), 6-foot, 199 pounds: Amazing freshman season playing against men, has just scratched the surface en route to becoming a pro. 15. MINNESOTA WILD Jake Bean, D, Calgary (WHL), 6-foot-1, 168 pounds: Much like his defence partner Travis Sanheim two years ago, Bean has come out of nowhere to be a first round pick. Puck mover, skater, with unique ability to get pucks through to the net. 16. DETROIT RED WINGS Mike McLeod, C, Mississauga (OHL), 6-foot-2, 185 pounds: Full speed, full-time. Once his mitts catch up to his boots, he ll impact the game in all three areas on the ice. 17. NASHVILLE PREDATORS Dante Fabbro, D, Penticton (BCHL), 6-foot, 192 pounds: Slightly undersized, but extremely intelligent with the puck. Can move it with his feet or great first pass. 18. PHILADELPHIA FLYERS Max Jones, LW, London (OHL), 6-foot-2, 206 pounds: Plays like his hair is on fire. Straight line power forward with unique combination of size and speed. 19. NEW YORK ISLANDERS Luke Kunin, C, U of Wisconsin (NCAA), 5-foot-11, 193 pounds: Next-best interview at the combine, plays with edge. 20. ARIZONA COYOTES (FROM RANGERS) Julien Gauthier, RW, Val d Or (QMJHL), 6-foot-3, 231 pounds: A physical specimen who protects the puck well, has a deadly shot and skates like the wind. 21. CAROLINA HURRICANES (FROM LOS ANGELES) Riley Tufte, LW, Blaine HS (Minnesota), 6-foot-5, 211 pounds: Tough to gauge with the back and forth between Minnesota High School hockey and the USHL. 22. WINNIPEG JETS (FROM CHICAGO) Logan Stanley, D, Windsor (OHL), 6-foot-7, 224 pounds: Sneaky offensive upside that will come once he fully adjusts to a body that recently stopped growing. 23. FLORIDA PANTHERS Brett Howden, C, Moose Jaw (WHL) 6-foot-2, 190 pounds: Has solid guidance from a brother that was picked in a similar spot in Playing for Tim Hunter has allowed the creativity to grow in his game. 24. ANAHEIM DUCKS Dennis Cholowski, D, Chilliwack (BCHL), 6-foot-1, 177 pounds: Meteoric rise started at the World Junior A Challenge, he s a raw talent who has experienced a couple of growth spurts. 25. DALLAS STARS German Rubstov, C, U-18 (Russia), 6-foot, 190 pounds: So many questions to be answered, but once you get past the luggage, there s a player in waiting. 26. WASHINGTON CAPITALS Libor Hajek, D, Saskatoon (WHL), 6-foot-1, 205 pounds: Under the radar defenceman, has plenty of character, and performed admirably on a poor Saskatoon team. 27. TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING Tage Thompson, C, U of Connecticut (NCAA), 6-foot-5, 195 pounds: Some have questioned 13 of 14 goals scored on the power play. Has impressed with his defensive play. 28. ST. LOUIS BLUES Vitali Abramov, RW, Gatineau (QMJHL), 5-foot-9, 175 pounds: Has skill and bite in his game not unlike similar-sized Robby Fabbri who has turned out to be a gem for the Blues. 29. BOSTON BRUINS (FROM SAN JOSE) Wade Allison, RW, Tri-City (USHL), 6-foot-1, 204 pounds: Had a chance to get a defenceman they liked at No. 14, now the Bruins can address the forward spot. 30. ANAHEIM DUCKS (FROM TRADE WITH MAPLE LEAFS) Alex DeBrincat, RW, Erie (OHL), 5-foot-7, 160 pounds: Has 102 goals in 127 regular season games, only 34 of which have been scored on the PP. Sportsnet.ca LOADED: Websites Sportsnet.ca / Yzerman on Stamkos: I can t force him to sign a contract LUKE FOX JUNE 20, 2016, 4:40 PM Countdown to Stammergeddon: T minus five days. On Saturday, Steven Stamkos will be free to negotiate with the 29 clubs not named Tampa Bay Lightning. Six days after that, if still without contract, he will become the National Hockey League s most coveted unrestricted free agent in years. Both Stamkos and the Lightning have agreed to keep negotiations private. Both sides have maintained publicly a desire to come to terms on a multi-year extension. Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman spoke with Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times Monday and updated the talks. Yzerman has had discussions with Stamkos and his representative, Don Meehan, since the captained recovered from his blood-cot issue in time to participate in Tampa's final playoff game, but told Smith there has been no change in Stamkos's contract status. "We're doing all we can to sign him," Yzerman said. "What we look like if Stammer re-signs with us, it effects what we can do with our team. "For us, we'd like to know sooner than later." Yzerman, who said a Stamkos extension was a top priority more than a year ago is feeling the crunch, with core players Nikita Kucherov, Victor Hedman, Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat, Jonathan Drouin, Ben Bishop and Andrei Vasilevskiy all in need of new deals in the next two years. The 2015 GM of the Year is hoping for clairty on the two-time Rocket Richard winner's future in Tampa by the draft this weekend. "At some point on other players, I have to make a decision, whether it'd be restricted free agents, or potential trades or qualifying offers and things like that. I've got to make decisions and they can't be put off forever," Yzerman said. STAMKOS: "WE HAVE UNFINISHED BUSINESS HERE. THIS GROUP HAS BEEN UNBELIEVABLE. THIS CITY HAS BEEN UNBELIEVABLE." TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING (@TBLIGHTNING) MAY 28, 2016 Stamkos, 26, has said his decision will not be made lightly or quickly. Toronto, Detroit, Buffalo, Montreal and New York are among the teams that have been rumoured to take a run at Stamkos if he becomes available, but surely all other clubs should at least inquire about the 60- goal centre.

14 "I definitely want to stay. That hasn't changed since the beginning," Stamkos told reporters upon conclusion of the playoffs. "We'll continue to engage and talk now that it's not a distraction to the team and myself and the playoffs." As reported by Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, Yzerman had previously offered Stamkos an extension worth $8.5 million per season. "To be honest with you, it's out of my control," Yzerman said Monday. "He's an unrestricted free agent on July 1. I can't force him to sign a contract with us if he doesn't want to. If he wants to go to July 1, he has that right." Sportsnet.ca LOADED: Websites Sportsnet.ca / NHL Trade Rumours: Latest on Fleury, Shattenkirk, Datsyuk LUKE FOX JUNE 20, 2016, 4:30 PM Call it the storm before the calm. The busy season for NHL news schedule, awards, draft, free agency is upon us, and with it comes plenty of trade and transaction gossip. Here s a quick look at some of the popular rumours, trade and otherwise, circulating around the league. What does the future hold for Fleury? Last week three teams stuck out as landing spots for proven No. 1 goaltenders. Then the Carolina Hurricanes decided to re-up impending free agent Cam Ward, leaving two gaping holes in Toronto and Calgary. If Manitoba native James Reimer the top UFA goalie available is to be awarded a top job this summer, those are his options, and we'd be surprised to see Toronto bring him back for a second tour. Reimer would cost the Flames nothing but money, but what of Marc- Andre Fleury? The Penguins might not have qualified the playoffs were it not for their 31-year-old goalie standing on his head, but it was rookie Matt Murray who took the crease and ran with it all the way to a championship when Fleury suffered a concussion just prior to the post-season. The looming expansion draft suggests Pittsburgh will protect the younger, cheaper goalie, which means Fleury's days are numbered in Pittsburgh. Pens GM Jim Rutherford said "in a perfect world" he'd start with both men, but newsflash the world ain't so. Flames GM Brad Treliving has already called Rutherford to gauge Fleury's price, Eric Francis reports. Fleury's contract ($5.75-million cap hit through ) carries a nomovement clause and a limited no-trade clause. He can submit a list of 12 teams he cannot be traded to. With Maple Leafs GM Lou Lamoriello swearing he'll look at every opportunity to improve his club, it's safe to assume he's dialed Rutherford as well. "Jonathan [Bernier] played very well at the end of the year," Lamoriello told ESPN's Pierre LeBrun when asked about upgrading his goaltending. "But I think we have to look at everything, if we can get better: whether it's goaltending, whether it's defence, whether it's forwards. We did end up 30th in the league. There's nothing that we cannot or should not be looking at, no matter what it is, to get better." Toronto and Pittsburgh have a recent history of summer blockbusters. Will we see a sequel? You have to imagine (a) Rutherford's trade leverage drops if Fleury isn't dealt early this off-season and (b) Fleury doesn't want to wear the ballcap for the bulk of MURRAY: "I DON'T KNOW WHERE I'D BE IF FLOWER (MARC-ANDRE FLEURY) WASN'T AROUND TO GUIDE ME. HE'S BEEN A HUGE MENTOR FOR ME." PITTSBURGH PENGUINS (@PENGUINS) JUNE 16, 2016 The Detroit conundrums Poor Ken Holland is on the hook for prematurely retired NHLer Pavel Datsyuk's $7.5-million cap hit, and his options to trade that hit to a salaryfloor club are drying up. With the New Jersey Devils taking on Marc Savard's contract from Florida, Holland's best options should be Arizona and Carolina. On Monday's Hockey Central at Noon Holland said he has "kicked tires" with more than one team about taking Datsyuk's contract but the price was high. Savard's contract riddance cost the Panthers a second-round pick, and he's $3.47 million cheaper than Datsyuk. It s a huge hole. It s a huge blow. It s put us in a difficult situation, Holland said of Datyuk's departure for the KHL. I wish he d stay, but I certainly understand where he s at. The hope to sign a high-profile free agent forward like Steven Stamkos or Alexander Radulov adds pressure on Holland to get rid of Datsyuk's cap drain. Another headache for Holland: When he gives a hefty raise to impending RFA Petr Mrazek, whom he calls the Wings' No. 1 goalie heading into training camp, he might have the most expensive crease in the league. We expect Holland will try to trade Jimmy Howard, but with Ward sticking in Carolina, his best option has vanished. "I thought our goaltending was a strength of our team this year," Holland said, noting that when "the wheels fell off" one, the other picked up the slack. "We're going to need two really good goaltenders." Like Dallas, Detroit may have little choice but to roll with a pricey yet decent tandem for the Columbus listens to offers for No. 3 On Monday, Blue Jackets beat reporter Aaron Portzline told Boomer and Pinder in the Morning that Columbus GM Jarmo Kekalainen has received "two really good, legitimate offers" for his third-overall pick at Friday's draft, projected to be Jesse Puljujarvi out of Finland. After dealing Ryan Johansen to Nashville, Columbus would love to get its hands on a No. 1 centre. Sobotka returning to Blues? Vladimir Sobotka has played the last two seasons in the KHL while still owing the St. Louis Blues one more season at a cap-friendly $2.7 million. That agreement looks like it will be fulfilled in "I've been told by the agent [Petr Svoboda] he's coming back. I haven't gotten anything official," Blues GM Doug Armstrong told Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Dispatch. I haven t gotten anything official paperwork-wise, so I m going on what he s telling me. We ll know by July 1. ARMY ON SOBOTKA: "I'VE BEEN TOLD BY THE AGENT HE'S COMING BACK. I HAVEN'T GOTTEN ANYTHING OFFICIAL...SO I'M GOING ON WHAT HE'S TELLING ME." JEREMY RUTHERFORD (@JPRUTHERFORD) JUNE 18, 2016 The return of centre Sobotka a member of the Czech Republic's World Cup squad who put up 72 points in 97 games for Omsk Avangard should help ease the potential loss of veteran forwards David Backes and Troy Brouwer to free agency this summer. Sticking with the Blues for a moment, the Boston Bruins who have been upfront about their desire for a top-end defenceman have inquired about trading for top-four D-man Kevin Shattenkirk, according to the Ottawa Sun's Bruce Garrioch. Shattenkirk, 27, has no trade protection and will become an unrestricted free agent in The thinking is, with rookie Colton Parayko (an RFA in 2017) excelling, it will all but impossible for the Blues to keep both Parayko and Shattenkirk beyond next season.

15 ARMY ON SHATTENKIRK: "I DON'T THINK EITHER OF US ARE NAIVE. I'D LOVE TO FIND A WAY TO KEEP SHATTY HERE AND WE'RE GOING TO WORK...(1/2) JEREMY RUTHERFORD (@JPRUTHERFORD) JUNE 20, 2016 ARMY CONT'D: "... TOWARD SEEING IF THERE'S COMMON GROUND. BUT YOU JUST CAN'T KEEP EVERYBODY." (2/2) #STLBLUES JEREMY RUTHERFORD (@JPRUTHERFORD) JUNE 20, 2016 New York's Travis Hamonic retracted his trade request; Joe Sakic says he's not parting with Tyson Barrie, and now Anaheim has committed to speculative trade bait Sami Vatanen. The list of potentially available young D-men is shrinking faster than attendance at the LeBron Haters' Ball. Jonas Brodin, Mat Dumba, Jacob Trouba, Hampus Lindholm and Fedor Tyutin are a few names rumoured to be available for the right price. New York Islanders GM Garth Snow to Sirius XM on Friday: I don t think we ll try to move up [from the 19th-overall pick]. It s tough. We don t have a second-round pick. We used that in a trade to get Johnny Boychuk. We traded our third-round pick to get Shane Prince at the deadline this year. "We re happy with the prospects we have, so I don t envision us trading one of them, or anyone from our current lineup to move up. We know we ll get a good player. He ll be a few years away from our club, but the draft has always been the day that we really try to build the foundation for the future. According to a report out of Russia, the agent for Ilya Bryzgalov said that already six NHL clubs have inquired about his UFA client, who's willing to work for mostly bonuses in order to return to the NHL. #MNWILD GM CHUCK FLETCHER SAYS HE'S FIELDED SOME CALLS ON DARCY KUEMPER BUT ADDS HE'S "A LITTLE HESITANT" TO TRADE HIM. CHAD GRAFF (@CHADGRAFF) JUNE 20, 2016 The Anaheim Ducks would be better off long-term dealing either John Gibson, 22, or Frederik Andersen, 26, before next season begins. Andersen is an RFA. "If I can get Freddie signed one way or the other, I ve got to move one because I ll lose one for sure in expansion," Ducks GM Bob Murray told the Orange County Register. "It just will happen. It s just something that s in front of us. It s there. We have a lot of defencemen... So we have to turn some of these things into assets." Vancouver-based News 1130 Sports offered up a few updates on the status of the Canucks' restricted free agents Monday: THE #CANUCKS HAVE QUALIFIED ANDREY PEDAN AND ALSO MIKE ZALEWSKI, UTICA GM PAT CONACHER RAVED ABOUT ZALEWSKI AT END OF SEASON. NEWS 1130 SPORTS (@NEWS1130SPORTS) JUNE 20, 2016 THE AGENT FOR GRENIER SAYS THEY WONT ACCEPT QUALIFYING OFFER, WILL TRY AND NEGOTIATE BETTER DEAL. #CANUCKS NEWS 1130 SPORTS (@NEWS1130SPORTS) JUNE 20, 2016 AS OF NOW, EMERSON ETEM HAS NOT HAD HIS CONTRACT QUALIFIED, COULD CHANGE ANY MINUTE, AGENT WAS TOLD TO TALK WITH #CANUCKS AT DRAFT. NEWS 1130 SPORTS (@NEWS1130SPORTS) JUNE 20, 2016 LINDEN VEY CAMP TALKED WITH JIM BENNING ON FRIDAY, SOURCE SAYS HE DOESN'T EXPECT A QUALIFYING OFFER FROM #CANUCKS FOR VEY. NEWS 1130 SPORTS (@NEWS1130SPORTS) JUNE 20, 2016 Sportsnet.ca LOADED: Websites TSN.CA / Off-Season Game Plan: San Jose Sharks By Scott Cullen The San Jose Sharks had a respectable regular season, but made the most of their postseason berth, reaching the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in franchise history. Off-Season Game Plan looks at Sharks team that has lots of talent, but may be too old to expect them to be back in Cup contention next season. Five of San Jose's top six scorers, and five of their top seven in average time on ice, are 30-years-of-age or older. The Sharks can still be very good next season, but if they are going to survive the Western Conference gauntlet, they could use more contributions from younger players. The season was special for the San Jose Sharks, as they overcame a history of playoff failures to get within a couple of games of winning hockey's ultimate prize. In the wake of that special season, the question is, can San Jose do it again? Since 2000, there have been 13 seasons (by 10 players) in which a player 35 or older recorded at least 80 points, and 36-year-old Joe Thornton put up 82 last season. He leads the league in assists over the past three seasons and controls play like few others when he's on the ice. Even though he's not terribly fleet afoot, Jumbo makes his linemates better. To think, the Sharks wanted to get rid of him after they lost to Los Angeles in the 2014 playoffs. Consider that, a bullet dodged. Having Thornton play the setup role works well for team captain Joe Pavelski, who has 116 goals over the past three seasons; only Alex Ovechkin (154) has more. As effective as both Thornton and Pavelski are, they're both over 30 and their style of play is measured and calculating. While Patrick Marleau remained productive, scoring 25 goals as a 36- year-old, his points-per-game (0.59 ppg) was his lowest rate since He also spent more time as the number three centre, his 525 faceoffs his most since Marleau requested a trade early in the season, but was kept through the season and now that he has one year left on his deal, the Sharks may be inclined to have him play it out. If costs are a consideration, moving Marleau for younger (and cheaper) assets could work too. 35-year-old winger Joel Ward surpassed 20 goals and 40 points for the second time in his career. He's a strong, sturdy winger with a little offensive upside, a nice fit in the top nine. Logan Couture had a rough regular season then led all playoff scorers. Injuries knocked Logan Couture out of 30 games during the regular season and he struggled to create offence when he was in the lineup. Then the playoffs started and he couldn't be stopped, leading all postseason scorer with 30 points in 24 games. As a number two centre, behind Thornton, Couture should frequently create an advantage for the Sharks. Joonas Donskoi is a quality complementary winger, skilled enough to play in a scoring role and a reliable enough player - even as a rookie - to deliver favourable possession numbers. If the 24-year-old is going to build his offensive profile, he can start by generating more shots. 21-year-old centre Chris Tierney is still developing. He loses on the possession game while starting more shifts in the defensive zone. Though he had a productive postseason (5 G, 4 A in 24 GP), it was driven by unsustainable percentages (33.3 SH$, 12.5 OiSH%). But, he's still just 21, so the Sharks can wait and see how he develops. Melker Karlsson's ice time was cut back in his second NHL season, but he's a useful, versatile winger, who can move up and down the lineup. A new coaching staff meant almost three minutes fewer per game for hard-hitting winger Tommy Wingels. He had 31 goals and 74 points over the previous two seasons, so he is capable of providing secondary offence, but might need a fresh start to rebound offensively. The Sharks have tried to play Tomas Hertl at centre and, long-term, maybe that's still in the cards but, right now, he's a valuable contributor

16 when he's skating on the left side with Thornton and Pavelski. He's skilled, creative, and a big part of the Sharks' future. Matt Nieto's ice time was reduced by a couple of minutes per game last season, but the speedy winger is probably capable of contributing more, whether in San Jose or elsewhere. The Sharks are solid through their top-nine forwards, but can do some tweaking on the lower parts of the depth chart. If at least one of prospects Timo Meier and Nikolay Goldobin are ready, that would add some more skilled youth to the lineup. Last season was a tour-de-force for Brent Burns, the 6-foot-5 defenceman who tallied a career-high 27 goals and 75 points, and his 353 shots on goal were the most by a defenceman since Ray Bourque in He's a difference-maker, apparently even moreso on defence than when he was a winger. Brent Burns had a career year for the Sharks. One of the better shutdown defenders in the game, Marc-Edouard Vlasic tallied a career-high 39 points, despite missing 15 games. He's a rocksolid presence who consistently gets tasked with handling the opposition's best forwards. Often paired with Vlasic, Justin Braun does his part as a defensive defenceman in a top-four role. He's a no-frills player, who tied his career high with 23 points last season. Veteran defenceman Paul Martin's smart and steady game was a perfect complement to Burns, allowing him to run free offensively. Martin stayed healthy - his 78 games was his most and, as he always does, he played more than 20 minutes per game. 25-year-old Brenden Dillon appeared to regress last season, struggling on the Sharks' third pairing. He has good size and plays a physical game, but he wasn't as effective as he had been in previous years and his ice time was reduced. Dylan DeMelo is on the fringe of the NHL lineup, but he was solid enough in a limited role as a rookie, though apparently not solid enough to prevent the Sharks from going out to acquire Roman Polak. If the Sharks are prepared to move on from Polak, an unrestricted free agent, they could give DeMelo a bigger role, or perhaps 2013 firstrounder Mirco Mueller, who has played 50 games for the Sharks over the past couple of seasons. San Jose made a bold play, at last year's draft, to acquire Martin Jones and Mr. Jones responded well to his first starting job in the NHL, putting up above-average numbers while starting 65 games. He followed up with a strong playoff performance (.923 SV% in 24 GP) and the 26-year-old is set as San Jose's number one in net. James Reimer ended the season as Jones' backup, but he would presumably like more playing time next season, which would suggest that he's likely to leave as a free agent. The Sharks could look to the likes of Karri Ramo, Jhonas Enroth, Chad Johnson or Al Montoya, among others. TSN.CA LOADED: Websites TSN.CA / Matthews goes wire to wire as TSN's top prospect By Bob McKenzie It was billed in September as the Auston Matthews draft. Ten months later, not much has changed. The big American centre from Scottsdale, Ariz., who played this season in the Swiss League, went wire to wire as TSN's No. 1 prospect for the 2016 NHL Draft. Matthews faced a stiff challenge from precocious Finnish goal-scoring winger Patrik Laine, but in TSN's final draft rankings that were unveiled Monday, eight of 10 NHL scouts surveyed by TSN had Matthews at No. 1. Laine, who is No. 2 on TSN's top 80 final rankings for the 2016 draft, received the other two top-spot votes. Laine was especially incredible in April and May. He was named Finnish League playoff MVP and followed it up by being named tournament MVP at the senior men's IIHF World Championship. Laine may have given many scouts something to think about, but a strong performance by Matthews at the World Championship, not to mention a tremendous season in Switzerland and perhaps a little positional bias, allowed the American to firmly remain the consensus No. 1. "Franchise No. 1 centres with that much size, speed and skill don't come along that often," one NHL scout said. "Laine is going to be a great NHL goal scorer, but so is Matthews and he'll impact the game on so many levels playing centre." Auston Matthews joins SportsCentre to explain how he got into playing hockey growing up in Arizona, if he's anxious heading into this Friday's draft, talk about his skating coach Boris who implores a very unique style of teaching and more. Laine was described by multiple scouts as the "best goal-scoring winger prospect to come along since Alexander Ovechkin in 2004." Laine was ranked no lower than No. 3 (by one of the 10 scouts) and was a clear No. 2 on TSN's final list. Another Finn, big hard-shooting, strong-skating winger Jesse Puljujarvi, completed TSN's Big Three of this draft by securing nine of 10 third-place votes. That trio is a cut above the rest of this draft class. Not one prospect other than Matthews, Laine and Puljujarvi was ranked in the top three in our survey. "They all have size, strength, speed and skill in a combination that is greater than any of the other players in the draft," a scout said. "'They clearly separated themselves." It was quite a year for Finland on the international scene. Laine and Puljujarvi led the Finns to a gold medal at the 2016 World Junior Championship; Puljujarvi led Finland to the 2016 Under-18 World Championship in Grand Forks, N.D., in April; and Laine led the Finnish men's team to a silver medal at the men s IIHF World Championship, losing to Canada in the gold-medal game. Perhaps it's only fitting that the Year of the Finn extends to the draft Finnish defenceman Olli Juolevi of the London Knights sits at No. 6 on the TSN list, giving Finland three of the top six ranked players this year. Americans are also likely to be well represented in this year's draft. In addition to Matthews at No. 1, London Knight winger Matthew Tkachuk, who like Matthews was born in Arizona though he played his minor hockey in St. Louis, is No. 4 on the TSN list. Joining Tkachuk in TSN's top 10 are two more products of the St. Louis minor hockey system diminutive 5-foot-10 centre Clayton Keller of the U.S. National development team program is No. 8, while towering 6-foot-6 centre Logan Brown of the Windsor Spitfires is No. 10. A Canadian, a Swede and a Russian round out TSN's top 10 Pierre- Luc Dubois, who played both wing and centre for the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, is the top-ranked Canadian at No. 5; Alex Nylander, the Mississauga Steelheads elite skilled winger and younger brother of Toronto Maple Leaf prospect William Nylander, is No. 7; and smoothskating Windsor Spitfire offensive defenceman Mikhail Sergachev is the top Russian prospect, at No. 9. Dubois is the only Canadian ranked in our top 10, but all-around centre Tyson Jost of the Penticton Vees at No. 11, offensive defenceman Jake Bean of the Calgary Hitmen at No. 12, shutdown defenceman Jakob Chychrun (American-born and -trained but with dual citizenship and who opted to play for Canada) of the Sarnia Sting at No. 13, and Mississauga Steelhead hard-driving two-way centre Michael McLeod at No. 15 are all threats to crack the top 10 and upgrade Canadian content. American puck-moving and power-play defenceman Charlie McAvoy of Boston University rounds out TSN's top 15. It's an intriguing draft from the perspective of how subjective it is beyond the Big Three of Matthews, Laine and Puljujarvi. It's a draft that seems to have "layers" or "clumps" of prospects to pick from. For example, the first layer beyond the Big Three is a four-man grouping that includes three different types of wingers Tkachuk, who is strong

17 from the top of the circles down; Dubois, who has a strong 200-foot game; and Nylander, whose skill and hockey sense are considered elite and the one defenceman Juolevi, who's viewed as the best all-around blueliner in the draft. The next clump, if you will, runs from around Nos. 8 to 15 and is heavy with centres and defencemen. The centres: Keller is small but has elite skill and playmaking ability; Brown is huge but moves well for a big man and put up points in a very strong second half of the season; McLeod is an elite skater and has a relentless work ethic. The defencemen: Sergachev has size and elite-level speed and skill; Bean is perhaps the most gifted offensive blueliner; Chychrun is a man amongst boys in term of his physical tools and skating ability but a bit of a wild card due to some erratic play in his draft year; and McAvoy is a good puck mover who can also run a power play. Outside of Juolevi, who had nine of 10 votes as a top-10 prospect, consensus wasn't easy to come by on the defencemen. Five of 10 scouts viewed Sergachev as a top-10 prospect; four of 10 had Bean in their top 10; three of 10 had Chychrun in their top 10; two of 10 had McAvoy in the top 10. What is clear, however, is there is a consensus top 20. The next "layer" of prospects is Nos. 16 through 20, featuring Penticton Vees' two-way threat from the blueline, Dante Fabbro, at No. 16; Val d'or Foreurs physical specimen and speedster winger Julien Gauthier at No. 17; pure shooting winger Kieffer Bellows, the son of former NHLer Brian Bellows and linemate of Clayton Keller with the U.S. U-18 program, at No. 18; raw power winger and mercurial talent Max Jones of the London Knights at No. 19; and University of Wisconsin high-energy, two-way forward threat Luke Kunin at No. 20. Fabbro warrants being put in the same grouping as the six defencemen ahead of him, giving teams a seven-pack of blueliners to choose from in the top 20. Those 20 prospects, at least in terms of determining consensus, came out a notch ahead of the rest of the 2016 draft class. Again, that isn't to say big Minnesota high school forward Riley Tufte at No. 21 or towering 6-foot-9 Windsor defenceman Logan Stanley at No. 22 or strong two-way Russian centre German Rubtsov at No. 23, for example, couldn't crack the top 20. It's just that there's a much broader base of support for those players ranked in TSN's top 20. Even though there are four "layers" within that top 20, there could be some prospects moving up or down a layer. There seems to a relatively high degree of subjectivity this season, which could lead to some teams picking in the top 20 to eschew the "best player available" mentality for filling a positional need. It would also be fair to say that perhaps from Nos. 20, certainly 25 anyway, through to almost 50, there's a high degree of interchangeability. That's especially true of prospects ranked from 25 to 35. American U-18 team defenceman Ryan Lindgren, for example, is ranked No. 46 on TSN's list but did have three scouts rate him as a late firstround prospect. Every other scout surveyed had him outside of the second round. Lindgren is just one of a number of difficult reads. No netminders were ranked in the Top 30 this year. Swede Filip Gustavsson, at No. 44, was the top-ranked goalie, followed closely by London Knight Tyler Parsons, at No. 48. It's not considered a particularly strong year for goalies but for any team that needs to stock up, the goalies could start flying off the shelves at any point in the second round. Finally, a word about the process used to determine the TSN rankings. Unlike many of the fine scouting services out there, which attempt to evaluate which prospects will turn out to be the best players in the NHL over the next five years, TSN's rankings are more a narrow prediction or forecast of when on draft day a prospect is most likely to be chosen. TSN's top 80 is determined on the basis of a survey of 10 NHL scouts to get a consensus ranking. From our end, it's a highly objective exercise in numerically plotting the highly subjective views of the NHL scouts surveyed. If you're looking for a more subjective and personal scouting report aimed at discerning which players will turn out to be the best professionals, you should check the work of TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button. His final Craig's List rankings can be found here. TSN.CA LOADED: Websites TSN.CA / Statistically Speaking: Leafs land a new goalie By Scott Cullen The Toronto Maple Leafs are going to be a lot better next season and they started their quest by dealing for a new starting goaltender. Statistically Speaking breaks down Toronto s trade for Frederik Andersen. Anaheim was dealing from a position of strength, and Toronto addressed a need. Andersen, 26, has been an above-average puck-stopper for the Ducks, posting a.918 save percentage (.925 at even strength) in 125 career games. He also has a.916 save percentage in 28 playoff games. He doesn't appear to be a star but, more and more, we've seen that a star in net isn't what is needed to have success. The difficulty for Andersen was that he had been battling John Gibson for playing time in Anaheim, and it s a battle that was tilting in Gibson s favour, not least of all because Gibson is a highly-touted, 22-year-old so, at least theoretically, he offers more seasons of prime performance. Andersen is a 6-foot-4, 220-pounder who hails from Denmark that has the size teams tend to seek out in goaltenders and that stands in contrast to the goaltender that the Maple Leafs currently have under contract, Jonathan Bernier, who is listed at 6-foot and 184 pounds. While Bernier has struggled in the past couple of seasons with the Maple Leafs his.915 career save percentage isn t far off of Andersen s track record and it s likely going to be what the Leafs try to sell on the trade market. There aren t a lot of teams with needs for a starting goaltender, or at least a goaltender with a $4.15-million cap hit, but it won t be a surprise if Bernier is playing somewhere other than Toronto next season; either that, or he will be an expensive backup. Andersen, who made $1.3-million last season, was set to be a restricted free agent, but has signed a new five-year contract with the Maple Leafs. He s the present and the future in goal for the Toronto Maple Leafs. The first pick that the Ducks receive will be the 30th pick in this year s draft (which originally belonged to the Pittsburgh Penguins). The 30th pick typically offers a little less than a 40% chance of turning into an NHL player. The Ducks now have a couple of late first rounders to play with in Friday's first-round. There s some variance with the 2017 second-round pick that the Ducks will receive, since it depends on the standings, but a secondround pick, generally, presents just barely better than a one-in-three chance of becoming an NHL player. Between the two picks, there is a fair opportunity for the Ducks to find a player that will have some value to them long-term, and this is a case of Anaheim dealing from a position of strength. Gibson is a very good young goaltender so it made no sense for the Ducks to pay a big price to keep Andersen too. Verdict: While the price of the picks might appear significant, there s a lot of uncertainty there, more than would reasonably be expected when evaluating a goaltender with Andersen s track record. Thus, the Maple Leafs get the nod for acquiring the better player at a fair, but not unreasonable, price. (projected line-ups include projected acquisitions) TSN.CA LOADED: Websites TSN.CA / Off-Season Game Plan: St. Louis Blues

18 By Scott Cullen The St. Louis Blues topped 100 points for the fourth consecutive full season (excluding ) and, more importantly, got over a playoff hurdle, reaching the Western Conference Final, where they lost to San Jose. Off-Season Game Plan looks at a Blues team that showed itself to be a Cup contender, but is facing potentially significant lineup losses this summer. They won t be losing head coach Ken Hitchcock, who will stick around for one more season while Mike Yeo bides his time as associate coach, ready to replace Hitchcock in The Blues have been a competitive team for quite some time and have the skill to compete with other powerhouse teams in the Western Conference. Now, they embark on a summer that could see significant departures forwards David Backes and Troy Brouwer are free agents, while defenceman Kevin Shattenkirk is one of the most popular names in the trade rumour mill so there is work to be done, but the core of this team is strong enough that the Blues should expect to contend again next season. One more time, with feeling, for Hitch. Over the past two seasons, Vladimir Tarasenko has scored 57 evenstrength goals, two behind league-leader Alex Ovechkin. A sturdy and skilled winger who can create his own opportunities, Tarasenko has backed up his offence with strong possession stats and he s the gamebreaker that gives the Blues a chance to be a Cup contender. Alexander Steen and Paul Stastny were two of three Blues forwards to play at least 19 minutes per game. Veteran forward Alexander Steen has been one of the premier two-way forwards in the game, and he has earned massive trust from Ken Hitchcock, playing a career-high 20:22 per game last season. Steen is a four-time 20-goal scorer, has surpassed 50 points in each of the past three seasons, and does so while facing the toughest matchups. He s 32 and heading into the final year of his contract, so it will be interesting to see whether the Blues are interested in a further long-term investment. While he missed time with injuries and finished with a career-low 1.61 shots on goal per game, Paul Stastny was productive for the Blues; he finished with 19 points in his last 15 regular-season games and his 49 points in 64 games was a relative bounce-back season compared to his first year in St. Louis. He s strong on face-offs (57.1% over the past two seasons) and pushes play forward, but his point production has been less than ideal for a player commanding a $7-million cap hit. The 21st pick in the 2014 Draft, Robby Fabbri turned in a strong rookie season. He s a little undersized, but it didn t deter him from creating offence, particularly as the season progressed. Fabbri tallied 37 points in his last 51 (regular season plus playoff) games. He should be a big part of the St. Louis offence moving forward. Jori Lehtera s second season with the Blues wasn t quite as productive as his first and he needs to be better, especially when considering his role (Tarasenko was his most common linemate). Earlier in his career, Patrik Berglund was an effective point producer who primarily played centre, but in recent seasons, he s shifted more to the wing and has managed 42 points in 119 games over the past two years. With one year left on his contract, it would make sense for the Blues to explore a trade, but it might be difficult to find a taker. 23-year-old winger Dmitrij Jaskin continues to battle for a regular spot in the lineup, and has 31 poins in 119 games over the past two seasons. To his credit, though, he s put up excellent possession stats too, so it s not unreasonable to consider him in a more significant role. Ryan Reaves is a physically punishing player, an enforcer who can be a devastating hitter when he s not fighting but, like most tough guys, the Blues fare tangibly worse with Reaves on the ice. A broken ankle sabotaged Jaden Schwartz s season, but he s a skilled first-line winger who ought to be better when healthy next year. He s usually a terrific complement to Tarasenko on the top line. Unddoubtedly a disappointment since he was drafted 10th overall in 2009, Magnus Paajarvi is still a very capable depth forward and could at least warrant a full-time spot, whether it s with the Blues or elsewhere. St. Louis is looking at some holes in the lineup because David Backes, Troy Brouwer, Kyle Brodziak, Scottie Upshall and Steve Ott are all unrestricted free agents. It s one thing to fill in for depth forwards, but if Backes and/or Brouwer leave, those are voids that need to be addressed. At the very least, the Blues should get centre Vladimir Sobotka back from the KHL. He s a strong two-way player, who scored more (72 points in 97 games) over the past couple of seasons with Avangard Omsk. The Blues could look into another veteran scorer. Depending on price, Eric Staal, Loui Eriksson and Andrew Ladd could be viable alternatives. RETURNING DEFENCEMEN NAME GP G A PTS CF% RELCF% PDO OZS% ATOI CAP Kevin Shattenkirk :25 $4.25M Alex Pietrangelo :18 $6.5M Colton Parayko :23 $859K Jay Bouwmeester :07 $5.4M Carl Gunnarsson :23 $2.9M Joel Edmundson :56 $1.05M Robert Bortuzzo :16 $1.05M In the past five seasons, there are six defencemen that have recorded four 40-point seasons, and Kevin Shattenkirk is one of them. Nevertheless, with one season left on his contract, it appears that he s a prime candidate for trade this summer. There s plenty of appeal for a right-shooting, puck-moving defenceman who can play in the top four, so the Blues should get a decent return, with some combination of picks and prospects. Embedded Image Alex Pietrangelo is a workhorse on the St. Louis blueline. In each of the past four seasons, Alex Pietrangelo has logged more than 25 minutes, hitting a career-high 26:18 last season. His point production was relatively low last season, but that was a function of a low on-ice shooting percentage because he was generating more shots on goal. He also performed well in the postseason, especially in the first round against Chicago, but it s also noteworthy that, as a first-pair defender, he has negative relative possession stats over the past couple of seasons. One of the reasons that the Blues would consider moving Shattenkirk is that Colton Parayko quickly emerged as a top-four defenceman as a rookie. A 6-foot-6, right-shot defenceman who can skate, handle the puck and has a bomb from the point, Parayko was a revelation coming out of Alaska-Fairbanks, and the 23-year-old is a cornerstone of the St. Louis defence. Veteran blueliner Jay Bouwmeester has played more than 24,000 minutes in 990 career games; Zdeno Chara is the only active defenceman to log more minutes. He s no longer a factor offensively, but he s consistently paired alongside Pietrangelo and has struggled in terms of puck possession. That decline could be trouble, since the 32-year-old remains under contract for three more seasons. Carl Gunnarsson s ice time has been declining, to a career-low 17:23 per game last season, and while he s a serviceable defensive defenceman, his offensive limitations result in subpar possession numbers.

19 A physical presence on the back end, Joel Edmundson earned a bigger role as his rookie season progressed. He uses his 6-foot-4 frame effectively and posted solid possession stats, so there is some reason to believe that Edmundson could continue to develop into a more significant player. Another 6-foot-4 banger on the blueline, Robert Bortuzzo was a part-time player last season, but he s been effective enough in his limited role with the Blues. If the Blues are looking for internal candidates to contend for playing time, Petteri Lindbohm and 2012 first-rounder Jordan Schmaltz are the leading challengers for playing time. RETURNING GOALTENDERS NAME GP W L T SV% EV SV% CAP Brian Elliott $2.5M Jake Allen $2.35M Jake Allen was the Blues second-best goaltender last season, but there s nothing wrong with a 25-year-old goaltender posting a.920 save percentage in a career-high 47 games. Allen has yet to show that he can handle a full-time starter s workload, but does seem to have the edge in St. Louis. Over the past five seasons, among goaltenders to play at least 150 games, there is one goaltender with a better save percentage than Brian Elliott, the veteran netminder who has really come into his own with the Blues. Even so, since he was replaced in the postseason, played less than Allen last season and is heading into the last year of his contract, it s conceivable that a team in need of a starting goaltender could make a pitch for Elliott s services. If does remain in St. Louis, Elliott gives the Blues terrific goaltending depth. TOP PROSPECTS PLAYER POS. GP G A PTS +/- TEAM (LEAGUE) Ivan Barbashev C Chicago (AHL) Jake Walman D Providence (HE) Jordan Schmaltz D Chicago (AHL) Ville Husso G HIFK Helsinki (SML) Vince Dunn D Niagara (OHL) Ty Rattie RW Chicago (AHL) Petteri Lindbohm D Chicago (AHL) Tommy Vannelli D Medicine Hat (WHL) Samuel Blais LW Charlottetown (QMJHL) Jordan Binnington G Chicago (AHL) Niko Mikkola D KalPa Kuopio (SML) Mackenzie MacEachern LW Michigan St. (Big 10) Glenn Gawdin C Swift Current (WHL) Pheonix Copley G Chicago (AHL) Yannick Veilleux LW Chicago (AHL) DRAFT 28th Samuel Girard, Dennis Cholowski, Tage Thompson, Boris Katchouk FREE AGENCY The Blues have approximately $58.8M committed to the salary cap for 17 players. NEEDS Two top-nine forwards, depth forwards WHAT I SAID THE BLUES NEEDED LAST YEAR One top-nine forward, depth forwards, depth defencemen THEY ADDED Troy Brouwer, Robby Fabbri, Scottie Upshall, Kyle Brodziak, Colton Parayko, Joel Edmundson TRADE MARKET Patrik Berglund, Kevin Shattenkirk, Brian Elliott TSN.CA LOADED: Websites TSN.CA / Sens sound ready to move on from Wiercioch By Ian Mendes Pierre Dorion is looking to solidify his defence in the coming weeks, but don t expect Patrick Wiercioch to be one of the candidates to help the Ottawa Senators blueline next season. Speaking to reporters on Monday ahead of this week s NHL Draft in Buffalo, the Senators general manager sounded rather pessimistic about Wiercioch s chances of returning to the club next season. The 25-yearold defenceman is a restricted free agent on July 1 and it sounds like the Senators are hesitant to submit a qualifying offer to retain his rights. There is an appetite, but we have to think that it s 2.7 [million dollars] to qualify him. Is he worth that money? Is he better off going somewhere else? Dorion said. I said we d explore options. At 2.7 to qualify him, that s a significant number. We ve talked to his agent and we ll see what happens going forward over the next 10 days. Dorion called his exit meeting with Wiercioch in April brutally honest after Wiercioch produced only five assists in 53 games during the campaign. While hinting that Wiercioch is likely not in their plans for next season, Dorion admitted he s searching for a depth defenceman to come in and possibly work as a partner for either Chris Wideman or Mark Borowiecki essentially the role that Wiercioch occupied last season. If there s a defenceman who could come in here and solidify our defence corps, that s something we re definitely going to look at, Dorion said. Because the Senators are comfortable with their top four defencemen Erik Karlsson, Marc Methot, Dion Phaneuf and Cody Ceci Dorion said he s not going to be in the market for a splashy, high-priced free agent on July 1. Are we going to be active? No. We re going to be smart, explained Dorion. You look at what teams have done in the past around July 1 and sometimes you say, At the end of the day, was that worth it? In an interesting twist, the Senators appear to be set to part ways with Wiercioch just as they finally embrace the role of analytics in their hockey operations department. In the past, Wiercioch was the darling of the analytics community in Ottawa, who often argued his possession and underlying numbers warranted more ice time. However, Wiercioch s role

20 was diminished over the past season due to injuries and inconsistent play. Dorion said he wants to bring an analytical element into his hockey operations department and that new assistant coach Rob Cookson and former video coach Tim Pattyson will be in charge of the new division. Analytics are something you have to use, said Dorion. At the end of the day, I come from a scouting background, so the eyes of a scout or analysis of a coach are very important. But I think the way the game has gone, you have to use hockey analytics to sometimes make you understand things. It doesn t always give you answers, but you have to use it as a tool so you don t lose ground to the other teams. While they will be looking for a replacement for Wiercioch, the club could also be in the market for a bottom-six forward when the free agency period opens up in 10 days. Unlike his predecessor Bryan Murray who was constantly searching for an upgrade at the forward position Dorion appears content with his group up front at this point. Definitely feel comfortable with our group of top-six forwards, said Dorion. We were ninth in scoring last year and we feel there could be nine guys who could score 20 goals here. If we re looking for anything, it would be to improve our depth on defence. Dorion refused to shed any light on the negotiations with RFA Mike Hoffman simply stating that a cone of silence was to be adhered on both sides. He did suggest that a meeting with Ceci s camp was imminent and there could be several options on the table for the RFA defenceman. Last week, Ceci told TSN 1200 that he would prefer a longterm deal with the Senators, but it s unclear if management is leaning towards a bridge contract at this stage of the game. The Senators have the 12th overall pick at this week s draft and Dorion doesn t believe that his team is going to move up significantly with only four days to go until the teams are on the draft floor in Buffalo. If I was a gambling man, which I m not really, I d say we ll end up picking twelfth, added Dorion. There are probably guys that I like in the first round. I know at 12 we re going to get a real quality player. TSN.CA LOADED: Websites USA TODAY / Sabres acquire top prospect Jimmy Vesey from Predators Kevin Allen, USA TODAY Sports 4:47 p.m. EDT June 20, 2016 The Buffalo Sabres have landed a major prospect four days before the NHL draft by giving up a 2016 third-round pick to the Nashville Predators for the negotiating rights to Harvard standout left wing Jimmy Vesey. Vesey, 23, was drafted by the Predators, but announced this spring that he was going exercise his right to become an unrestricted free agent this summer. He is considered NHL-ready. The expectation is that Vesey wants to play in Buffalo, where he would have the opportunity to play with his friend Jack Eichel. Vesey scored 56 goals in his last 70 games at Harvard. The Predators essentially get back the third-round pick they used to draft Vesey. He was picked 66th overall. The Predators didn t make a move at the trade deadline because they wanted to leave a spot for Vesey to move into their lineup late in the season. USA TODAY LOADED: Anaheim Ducks The Ducks officially transitioned into the John Gibson era Monday when they traded goaltender Frederik Andersen to the Toronto Maple Leafs for draft picks: a first-rounder, the 30th pick, in this weekend s draft and a second-rounder in The Ducks have two first-round picks, including the 24th, in the draft that starts Friday. Arizona Coyotes The Coyotes upped their number of 2016 draft picks to eight Monday after acquiring the Sharks' fourth-round pick and a 2017 third-rounder in exchange for prospect center Maxim Letunov and a 2017 sixth-round pick. Buffalo Sabres When it comes to negotiating with top NHL free agent prospect Jimmy Vesey, the Buffalo Sabres have given themselves a head start. In a bold move typical of general manager Tim Murray, the Sabres sent a third-round pick (76th overall) in this week s draft being held in Buffalo to the Nashville Predators for the rights to Vesey, a big left winger and the 2016 Hobey Baker winner at Harvard. In other news, the Sabres announced a two-year contract extension with forward Nicolas Deslauriers. He had 12 points and 59 penalty minutes in 70 games last season. He ll make $775,000 a year, a raise of around $100,000. Edmonton Oilers Edmonton Oilers saw enough good things from puck-moving defenceman Jordan Oesterle last season to re-sign him to a one-year contract but it s still a two-way deal not a bigger reward, one-way. Oesterle, who played 17 games last season and many with more than 20 minutes ice-time a night, got a new $585,000 NHL contract if he plays in Edmonton and $85,000 if he s back in Bakersfield in the AHL. Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers didn t wait for this weekend s NHL draft or for start of free agency to acquire a defenseman to take the place of the recently traded Erik Gudbranson. On Monday, the Panthers traded a sixth-round pick and a conditional fourth-round pick in 2017 to the New York Rangers for the negotiating rights of impending free agent defenseman Keith Yandle. The trade is moot if Yandle and the Panthers can t come to terms. However, Panthers general manager Tom Rowe said that he s confident they ll be able to sign the offensive-minded defenseman before the freeagency period begins on July 1. Nashville Predators With the NHL draft days away, the Predators acquired a third-round selection from the Sabres on Monday for the rights to forward prospect Jimmy Vesey. The Predators now have two picks Nos. 76 and 78 in the third round of the draft, which begins Friday in Buffalo, N.Y. They have eight picks in all as of Monday, starting with No. 17 in the first round. The Sabres, who are hosting this year's draft, have an exclusive window through Aug. 15 to potentially sign Vesey. He shares an agent with Sabres forward Jack Eichel, the No. 2 pick in last year's draft. "It's been pretty clear since late March that we're not going to be able to sign Jimmy Vesey," Predators general manager David Poile said. "We were fully aware of what the rules are, that he'd become an unrestricted free agent in mid-august, and at that time, we'd receive no compensation of any kind for our investment and our asset. By trading him today, in my opinion, we recouped the (third-round) pick we used to acquire him." New York Rangers That s it for Keith Yandle as a Ranger. The Blueshirts traded the negotiating rights for the defenseman, an unrestricted free agent to be, to the Panthers on Monday in exchange for a sixth-round pick in next week s draft, plus a fourth-round pick if Yandle signs with Florida. There was very little to no effort from the Rangers to try to sign him before free agency starts July 1, and barring any shocking development such as Yandle hitting the open market and wanting to give