5 years after move, Thrashers-Jets franchise still lacks playoff win

It's almost hard to believe it's been five years already.

On May 31, 2011, fans gathered at Portage and Main to celebrate the return of the NHL to Winnipeg after a 20-year absence.

Earlier that month, the Atlanta Thrashers were sold to Manitoba-based ownership group True North Sports & Entertainment, signalling the end of NHL hockey in Georgia for the second time in league history.

Season tickets sold out within minutes, and Jets 2.0 supporters quickly became known as some of the most boisterous, filling MTS Centre with raucous encouragement for the home team and creative chants directed at the opposition.

What a ride it's been so far.

The "more to come" teased in that tweet undoubtedly references the hoped-for end to a dubious distinction for the franchise: being the only NHL club without a single playoff victory.

Ever.

In 11 seasons in Atlanta, the Thrashers made one postseason appearance (2007) and were swept by the New York Rangers. The Jets advanced to the playoffs in 2015, but were also swept, this time at the hands of the Anaheim Ducks.

In terms of regular-season success, or lack thereof, the Jets are at least posting a greater winning percentage.

Team Games Record (W-L-T-OTL-SOL) Win %
Atlanta Thrashers 902 342-437-45-49-29 0.447
Winnipeg Jets 376 176-156-0-22-22 0.527

The Jets do have some exciting young players on the roster and in the pipeline, with long-term commitments from star players like Blake Wheeler and Dustin Byfuglien. On top of that, they also have the No. 2 overall pick in hand at this year's NHL Draft.

How soon the playoff win drought will end remains anyone's guess, however.

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Report: Bruins prospect Khokhlachev to sign with KHL team

Alex Khokhlachev is heading home.

The frustrated Boston Bruins prospect is set to sign with SKA Saint Petersburg of the KHL, reports rsport.ru, according to Sport-Express' Igor Eronko.

Khokhlachev was drafted 40th overall by the Bruins in 2011, but has only played in nine NHL games despite putting up impressive numbers for Providence, Boston's AHL affiliate. This season, he scored 68 points in 60 games, but only earned five contests with the big club, failing to register a point.

The 22-year-old has voiced his displeasure with his playing time in the past, and in April, Khokhlachev's agent blamed Bruins head coach Claude Julien for his lack of chances.

Khokhlachev would join a Saint Petersburg team that features former NHLers Ilya Kovalchuk and Slava Voynov.

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Quiet Vlasic content with underrated reputation

With Mark-Edouard Vlasic, it's always the same: Consistency, smart decisions and tough minutes - game in and game out.

The San Jose Sharks defenseman is one of the best the league has to offer, but hardly garners any time in the spotlight. It could be the market he plays in, or it could be his modest style of play. But whatever it is that pushes the deserved attention away from him, he doesn't care.

"I'm here to play my game, help the team win," Vlasic told The Canadian Press. "If I get credit or I don't I'm not worried about that. I get it from the players, the coaches, the GMs throughout the league. That's the No. 1 thing. In order to make teams (like Canada) the GMs have to like the way you play and that's where I get my credit."

Vlasic won gold with Team Canada in Sochi, and was one of four defensemen named to the Canadian preliminary World Cup roster.

On top of Hockey Canada's brain trust, his teammates take notice of his play, too. Especially his playing partner, Justin Braun.

When people wake up on the East Coast and they watch highlights he might not be on there for a good stick, a blocked shot, or shutting guys down all night," Braun said.

"He'd probably be known as one of the best shutdown D-men in the league (if he played in a major market) more than he already is."

Vlasic is facing the unenviable task of shutting down the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Stanley Cup Final, and though he was minus-2 in Game 1, the hockey world should be able to catch a glimpse of his talents on the game's biggest stage as the series wears on.

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Teemu Selanne posts hilarious video of friend’s golf shot gone wrong

You rather wanna be one day as Lion than 100years as a lambπŸ‘πŸ‘πŸ’ͺ😜

A video posted by Teemu Selanne (@sel8nneteemu) on

NHL legend Teemu Selanne spent Memorial Day weekend golfing with some friends, one of whom took an unfortunate tumble into a pond.

The friend was attempting to hit a shot while balancing on the edge of the water when he fell backward, completely submerging himself. Everyone had a good laugh about the mishap, especially this cigar-smoking fellow:

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Mark Arcobello signs 2-year deal with Swiss club

Free-agent center Mark Arcobello has signed a two-year contract with SC Bern of the Swiss League.

Arcobello, who was set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, spent this past season in the Toronto Maple Leafs organization on a one-year, $1.1-million contract. He appeared in 20 games for the NHL club, with three goals and one assist to his credit.

The majority of 2015-16 was spent with the AHL's Toronto Marlies, for whom Arcobello recorded 25 goals and 34 assists in 49 games.

The undrafted 27-year-old heads to Europe with 139 NHL appearances on his record since 2012-13.

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Blues GM: Signing Schwartz a priority, uncertain about retaining Backes

With head coach Ken Hitchcock officially back in the fold for one more season, the St. Louis Blues will turn their attention to roster composition.

During an end-of-year press conference Tuesday, general manager Doug Armstrong addressed key decisions facing the club this summer, saying signing restricted free agent Jaden Schwartz is priority number one, while remaining less sure about the ability to re-sign captain David Backes.

"I'd love to keep him here. But it has to work out for David and his family and work out in our math equation," Armstrong admitted.

Armstrong, to be sure, is demonstrating some forward thinking when it comes to Backes.

Based on the strength of his 2016 playoff performance, the 32-year-old is expected to command much attention on the open market - and a raise over his $4.5-million cap hit - and re-resigning Backes with a much younger and talented Schwartz in need of a new deal would limit the already high-spending Blues.

Troy Brouwer, Steve Ott, Kyle Brodziak, and Scottie Upshall are also scheduled to become unrestricted free agents this summer.

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Blues’ Tarasenko ‘too pissed off’ to immediately address playoff loss

Vladimir Tarasenko needed time to gather himself.

Called out in St. Louis for not addressing the media on locker clean-out day, the 24-year-old spoke Tuesday and cleared the air in regards to his silence immediately following a Western Conference Final loss at the hands of the San Jose Sharks.

Tarasenko also laughed off the suggestion of growing friction with the club, exacerbated by being called out by head coach Ken Hitchcock after Game 5 of the series with San Jose.

The winger - who carries a cap hit of $7.5 million through to the end of the 2022-23 season - is seen as a key piece to the puzzle in St. Louis moving forward, and rightfully so.

Over the past two regular seasons, he's scored 77 goals in 157 games, with 15 tallies in 26 playoff contests.

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Blues, Hitchcock agree to 1-year extension

The St. Louis Blues have signed head coach Ken Hitchcock to a one-year contract extension, the club announced Tuesday.

The 2016-17 season will be Hitchcock's sixth behind the Blues' bench, and 20th as a NHL head coach. He has a lifetime 757-453-194 record, and a 224-103-36 record in the Gateway City.

After three straight first-round playoff exits, the Blues advanced to the third round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs this season. They were defeated by the San Jose Sharks in six games in the Western Conference Final.

St. Louis enjoyed a tremendously successful regular season, their 107 points the fourth-highest in franchise history, despite a myriad of injuries to key contributors.

They knocked off the Chicago Blackhawks, the reigning Stanley Cup champions, in seven games, and eliminated the Dallas Stars - the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference - in another seven-game series.

The Blues have finished first or second in the Central Division in each of Hitchcock's five seasons at the helm, and his .667 winning percentage is the highest of any St. Louis coach in franchise history.

Hitchcock won a Stanley Cup with the Dallas Stars in 1999, and has a lifetime 76-72 record in the postseason.

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Burns’ prolific spring puts him in elite company

Lost in the San Jose Sharks' defeat in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final was another multi-point game from Brent Burns, his eighth of the playoffs.

Burns and his beard assisted on both Sharks goals Monday, and he now has 22 points (six goals, 16 assists) this spring, which puts him in elite company. Only four defensemen have put up more points in a single postseason dating back to 1986 - and they were great ones.

D-Man Postseason Points
Brian Leetch 1994 34
Al MacInnis 1989 31
Ray Bourque 1991 25
Larry Murphy 1991 23
Burns 2016 22

There's a good chance Burns ends up third on that list, behind only Leetch and MacInnis, by the time the Cup is awarded.

Considering how much the game has changed since the late 1980s and early 1990s, and how much better goaltenders are today, Burns' playoffs are that much more impressive.

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