The Columbus Blue Jackets have acquired defenseman Kyle Quincey from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for defenseman Dalton Prout, according to TSN's Darren Dreger.
With the deal the Blue Jackets add more depth to their relatively young blue line. In Quincey Columbus receives a verteran pivot with 548 games under his belt and 54 playoff games of experience.
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You're going to be hearing a lot about the Florida Panthers between now and the end of the regular season in April.
The Cats made one of the best deals on NHL trade deadline day, acquiring Thomas Vanek from the Detroit Red Wings for a conditional third-round draft pick and defenseman Dylan McIlrath.
Here's why the deal is a big win for the Panthers:
Not only did the Panthers land Vanek, a pending unrestricted free agent who has 15 goals and 38 points, they got the Red Wings to cover 50 percent of what the forward is owed for the rest of the season.
Vanek will cost the Panthers only $289,000 for the rest of the regular season, according to NHL Numbers. That's nothing for one of the more productive players who was available on the market.
The 33-year-old joins a resurgent Panthers club that only recently got healthy, seeing Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau return to the lineup after lengthy absences. A deep group up front just got deeper.
There's more: At 5-on-5, Vanek's been the fifth-most productive player this season, averaging 2.80 points per 60 minutes, trailing only Conor Sheary, Jason Zucker, Evgeni Malkin, and Sidney Crosby.
(Photo courtesy: USA Today Sports)
A third-round pick isn't nothing, but the Panthers had two in the coming draft. For now, they're sending their own third-rounder to Detroit. If Florida makes the playoffs, which is clearly the club's goal, Detroit will receive Arizona's third-round pick in 2017, which Florida acquired in a trade that sent Dave Bolland and Lawson Crouse do the desert.
As for McIlrath, he played only five games for the Panthers this season, and saw fewer than 10 minutes of ice time in four of those games. He clearly wasn't part of Florida's long-term plans.
So consider it a third-round pick for Vanek, and that's a fair price for a rental player, and Florida will undoubtedly hand over Arizona's pick with a smile come spring.
Vanek's been through this before.
He was a trade-deadline acquisition by the Montreal Canadiens in 2014, after the New York Islanders sent him packing, and it was, for the most part, a fruitful move.
Vanek had six goals and 15 points in 18 games with the Canadiens down the stretch, playing 18:11 a game. He chipped in five goals and five assists in 17 games for the Habs in the playoffs.
While the days of Vanek logging a ton of ice time are over, he can still put the puck in the net, and he's going to have every opportunity to do so in Florida, surrounded by highly skilled players.
The Panthers won the Atlantic Division last year. They're hell bent on going back to the playoffs and winning a round this time.
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P.K. Subban is back where it all started.
The Nashville Predators defenseman is back in Montreal for his club's contest against the Canadiens on Thursday and to receive the Sovereign's Medal for Volunteers for his contributions to the Montreal Children's Hospital.
On Wednesday, Subban spoke to reporters where he reflected on his former club, while giving his well wishes to former head coach Michel Therrien who was fired in lieu of Claude Julien two weeks ago - despite reports of a rocky relationship during his time with the Canadiens.
"He taught me a lot about the game and being a professional and I wish him the best," Subban said, according to TSN's John Lu.
Of course, in returning to the city he spent the first six seasons of his career, Subban couldn't help but reflect on his trade to the Predators - a move he insists left him with one burning regret.
#Preds Subban says he made a promise to fans, teammates, team to bring a Cup to Mtl. Not following through is what upsets him about trade.
— John Lu (@JohnLuTSNMtl) March 1, 2017
Subban, however, also joked about the situation, suggesting the move to Nashville was made easier with few family ties holding him back.
"I've made it to 27 without any kids... at least none that I know of," said Subban.
In all, Subban is thrilled to be back in Montreal and admits the thing he is looking forward to most is seeing Mme. Beliveau in the stands Thursday night.
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By recording seven goals and 11 assists in 10 games, red-hot Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews was named the NHL's first star of the month for February, the league announced Wednesday.
Toews has skyrocketed his season total to 46 points as the Blackhawks pursue the Minnesota Wild for the Central Division crown.
Joining Toews for last month's honors is Nashville Predators winger Filip Forsberg, who led the NHL with 11 goals and added six assists in 13 games. Particularly of late, Forsberg has been on a special kind of tear that featured consecutive hat tricks and three game-winning goals.
Washington Capitals netminder Braden Holtby took home third star honors, posting an 8-0-1 record with a 1.88 GAA and save percentage of .928.
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Jarome Iginla is headed to Hollywood.
The Colorado Avalanche have dealt the 39-year-old forward to the Los Angeles Kings for a 2018 conditional pick, the Kings announced Wednesday.
It's a conditional fourth-rounder, according to ESPN's Pierre LeBrun, and the Avalanche will retain 50 percent of Iginla's salary, per TSN's Bob McKenzie.
TSN's Darren Dreger reports that there are two conditions on the deal, one being playoff-related and the other being based on whether Iginla re-signs with the Kings for next season.
If Iginla doesn't sign a new deal with Los Angeles and the playoff condition isn't met, the Avalanche won't receive the fourth-round pick, according to Dreger.
Iginla told TSN following the trade that he hasn't decided on his future but said that there's a 50 percent chance he'll play next season.
He's a pending unrestricted free agent carrying a cap hit of $5.33 million in 2016-17.
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Here are the fantasy ramifications of the Florida Panthers acquiring W Thomas Vanek from the Detroit Red Wings:
FLA gives up Dylan McIlrath and a third round pick to DET for Thomas Vanek. DET retains 50 per cent of salary.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) March 1, 2017
Vanek is enjoying his most successful season on the offensive end of the ice since his final full year with the Buffalo Sabres in 2011-12. He has 15 goals and 38 points through 48 games, while primarily playing with C Frans Nielsen and Ws Gustav Nyquist and Andreas Athanasiou at 5v5. Both lines had Corsi For ratings above 56 percent. Eleven of his 38 points have come via the power play.
He is registering more than two shots on goal per game and is benefiting from a 15.2 shooting percentage, his highest since 2012-13. He has been shooting from close proximity, averaging a shot distance of just 24.72 feet, which includes 11 rebound chances. Despite Detroit's poor season and overall struggles on offense, Vanek has been a consistent option, going without a point for more than two games just once this year.
Florida is averaging 0.09 more goals per game than Detroit for the season, though the Red Wings have averaged more scoring chances and expected goals per 60 minutes than the Panthers since Feb. 1. Florida ranks 25th in team power-play percentage while Detroit ranks last at just 13.1 percent.
(Photo courtesy Action Images)
Per Daily Faceoff, the Panthers' top two lines have been lining up as such (Corsi For ratings are courtesy of Corsica.Hockey):
| LW | C | RW | CF% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jonathan Huberdeau | Aleksander Barkov | Jaromir Jagr | 54.47 |
| Jussi Jokinen | Vincent Trocheck | Reilly Smith | 54.53 |
Due to the strong play of both trios, it's likely Vanek will be relegated to the third line with LW Jonathan Marchessault and C Nick Bjugstad at 5v5. His power-play time is likely to come with Trocheck and Smith, with Jokinen and D Aaron Ekblad playing the points on the second unit. Vanek is unlikely to see a significant increase in his average time on ice of 14:37, making him an option in only deep season-long leagues.
An improved opportunity on the power play and more consistent linemates at 5v5 will bolster his daily fantasy outlook.
(All statistics courtesy of Corsica.Hockey)
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The Philadelphia Flyers are reportedly nearing a contract extension with forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare.
The deal is for two years and will be worth $2.9 million, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.
Bellemare, 31, will almost double his salary after playing on a cap hit of $712,500 over the past two seasons.
In 62 games in 2016-17, he's scored three goals and added three assists while playing a checking forward role.
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The Montreal Canadiens have announced the acquisition of forward Dwight King from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for a conditional 2018 fourth-round pick.
If King - who is set to become an unrestricted free agent at season's end - signs with the Canadiens, the fourth-round pick will become a third-round selection, according to TVA's Renaud Lavoie.
It adds to a recurring theme, in that the Canadiens have added another depth forward.
King had spent his entire seven-year career with the Kings, who drafted him in the fourth round in 2007.
The 27-year-old has 69 games of playoff experience and has eight goals and 15 points in 63 games this season.
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The Vancouver Canucks claimed forward Joseph Cramarossa off waivers from the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday, according to multiple reports.
The 24-year-old has four goals and six assists in 49 games, and averaged 9:49 of ice time in Anaheim.
Cramarossa, claimed by the Canucks for reasons best known to themselves, has unfathomably bad numbers given his deployment. pic.twitter.com/3aE4fLYqA0
— Micah Blake McCurdy (@IneffectiveMath) March 1, 2017
Cramarossa was drafted 65th overall in the third round by the Ducks in 2011.
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The Calgary Flames are walking with some swagger thanks to a five-game winning streak.
The Flames have been living up to their moniker of late with seven wins in their last 10 games and after a thrilling 2-1 overtime win over the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night, head coach Glen Gulutzan admits his team has the right to feel good about itself.
"We are confident - and we should be," Gulutzan said, according to Kristen Odland of the Calgary Herald. "We've been trying to build that up all season. Right from the start, I know a lot of our conversations have gone that way. That's what we said between the first and second periods.
"We said, 'There's a reason they're trailing us in the standings. Let's go and show them why.'"
Thanks to the Flames' recent streak, the club has jumped up to within two points of the Anaheim Ducks for the third place in the Pacific Division and created a five-point cushion between them and the St. Louis Blues, who currently occupy the second wild-card spot.
More importantly, with Tuesday's win, the Flames also created some separation between them and the Kings, who are one point out from that final wild-card berth.
For the Flames, victories over the Kings are something they hope to see more of as the teams will meet three more times down the stretch.
"Now, after our first performance in L.A., we're going to have to be on our toes for the next ones," Gulutzan said. "They realize we're going to be battling tooth and nail."
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