A significant shakeup in the football world will apparently have ramifications in hockey.
Tod Leiweke is leaving his post as NFL chief operating officer after three seasons in the role, commissioner Roger Goodell revealed in a letter to team executives Tuesday, as shared by ESPN's Adam Schefter.
He will be succeeded by Maryann Turcke, the president of NFL Media.
Leiweke, the brother of former MLSE president and CEO Tim Leiweke, is expected to join the Oak View Group in a top executive position, Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times reports.
OVG is overseeing the renovation of Seattle's KeyArena and is seeking to bring an NHL franchise to the city. Tim Leiweke is the group's CEO.
Tod Leiweke was touted as a possible successor to Goodell, according to Baker, but the commissioner recently inked a five-year extension. Leiweke has experience in the NHL, having spent five years as CEO of the Tampa Bay Lightning before joining the NFL head office.
The NHL hasn't officially awarded Seattle an expansion franchise, but OVG and its partners, including legendary Hollywood producer Jerry Bruckheimer and investment company billionaire David Bonderman, began a season-ticket drive on March 1, securing 10,000 deposits in the first 12 minutes.
The University of Wisconsin product signed his entry-level contract with Boston on Tuesday, along with an amateur tryout agreement that will see him join the AHL's Providence Bruins for the remainder of the 2017-18 season.
Boston selected Frederic with the 29th pick in 2016. The 20-year-old forward tallied 32 points in 36 games with Wisconsin this season.
With just a few weeks left in the regular season, there's plenty yet to be determined in the NHL standings.
Several teams are still jockeying for postseason positions in both divisional and wild-card races. However, there's an intriguing race at the bottom of the standings as well, with quite a prize, Swedish sensation Rasmus Dahlin, on the line for whoever wins the draft lottery.
Only seven points separate 31st and 27th place in the league standings, so with ample time for shakeup, let's take a peek at the stretch-run outlook for the bottom-five teams in the league.
(All stats entering Tuesday's games. ROW = Regulation/overtime wins, and is the first tiebreaker rule in the standings)
Arizona Coyotes, 55 points (22-35-11)
ROW: 21
Games Remaining
Home (record)
Away (record)
Games vs. playoff opponents
Odds at No. 1 pick
14
6 (13-18-4)
8 (9-17-7)
6
18%
After occupying 31st place all season, the Coyotes have picked the wrong time to get things straightened out. Thanks to strong play from goaltender Antti Raanta (who is sidelined again with a lingering issue), Arizona is 6-3-1 in its last 10 games and has made the tank race much closer than we could have imagined.
That said, the Coyotes face a five-game road trip that features two back-to-backs from March 21-29, which, considering their record in opposing arenas this season, is probably a good thing for their lottery odds.
Buffalo Sabres, 56 points (22-35-12)
ROW: 21
Games Remaining
Home (record)
Away (record)
Games vs. playoff opponents
Odds at No. 1 pick
13
7 (10-19-5)
6 (12-16-7)
6
12.5%
It hasn't been a banner year for the Sabres, who rank dead last with a minus-59 goal differential in the first season of the Jason Botterill-Phil Housely regime.
With three games versus the Toronto Maple Leafs, two against the Nashville Predators, and one date with the league-leading Tampa Bay Lightning down the stretch, Buffalo has serious potential to push ahead of the Coyotes in the race to 31st - a battle that will be kicked into overdrive when the clubs clash on March 21. Be sure to circle your calendars.
Vancouver Canucks, 59 points (25-36-9)
ROW: 25
Games Remaining
Home (record)
Away (record)
Games vs. playoff opponents
Odds at No. 1 pick
12
6 (12-17-6)
6 (12-16-7)
6
10.5%
Perhaps the hottest team in the Fallin' for Dahlin sweepstakes is the Canucks, who've lost four consecutive games - including two to the Coyotes - while managing just three goals in that span.
With Brock Boeser out for the season, it doesn't appear Vancouver's goal-scoring issues are soon to be rectified, either.
Ottawa Senators, 59 points (24-33-11)
ROW: 22
Games Remaining
Home (record)
Away (record)
Games vs. playoff opponents
Odds at No. 1 pick
14
7 (14-14-6)
7 (10-19-5)
6
9.5%
The Senators have their remaining games evenly split between home and away, but in addition to playing six teams currently slotted in the playoffs, they also have two matchups with the Florida Panthers - one of the hottest teams in the league which sits on the cusp of the postseason cut line.
Ottawa dropping a couple extra games to close out a tumultuous season - both on the ice and in the front office - to bolster its odds at landing a generationally talented Swedish defenseman may be the best course of action, just in case the other one already within the organization, pictured above, gets shipped out of town in the summer.
Montreal Canadiens, 62 points (25-32-12)
ROW: 23
Games Remaining
Home (record)
Away (record)
Games vs. playoff opponents
Odds at No. 1 pick
13
7 (16-10-8)
6 (9-22-4)
9
8.5%
The Habs face a tough task in erasing a seven-point gap, but could potentially increase their lottery odds with two road contests - Montreal's only won nine games away from the Bell Centre so far - versus the Pittsburgh Penguins and one in Toronto.
Additionally, Dallas, Florida, Winnipeg, New Jersey, and Washington all visit Montreal before season's end to face a team that's already shut down three key pieces in Shea Weber, Max Pacioretty, and Carey Price. Maybe that gap isn't so big after all.
Tkachuk left Calgary's most recent contest late in the third period, and the ailment is being labeled an upper-body injury, according to Aaron Vickers of NHL.com. Chris Stewart will draw in as his replacement, marking his first game since Feb. 28.
While it's unclear how long Tkachuk may be unavailable, any time the sophomore misses is tough for the Flames, who currently sit two points out of the second wild-card spot in the West. In 68 games this season, Tkachuk has notched 24 goals and 25 assists while playing more than 17 minutes per night.
Futa, the Kings' current assistant GM, has "respectfully withdrawn" his name from consideration, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.
Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon has been busy seeking a replacement for Ron Francis, who was relieved of his GM duties last week. It was reported Monday that the club had already interviewedBuffalo Sabres assistant GM Steve Greeley for the position.
The Hurricanes' new GM will report directly to Dundon.
Despite having been retired for 19 years, Wayne Gretzky still owns more than 50 NHL records - and it's fair to say that most of them are safe.
But the Great One may one day cede one of his most impressive marks - the league record in goals - to the Great Eight.
Washington Capitals uber-sniper Alex Ovechkin became the newest member of the 600-goal club Monday, and the fourth-fastest in history to reach the milestone. Considering that Ovechkin won't turn 33 until September, it's time to ponder whether he has a legitimate shot at becoming the league's all-time goals leader by the time his career is done.
Where he stands
Entering the Capitals' upcoming home-and-home set with the New York Islanders, Ovechkin has 600 goals in 990 career regular-season games.
More significantly, Ovechkin averages 0.606 goals per game over his career - the sixth-highest rate of all time, and 0.05 goals ahead of Gretzky himself, who set the standard with 894 goals. Two guys ahead of Ovechkin - Cy Denneny and Babe Dye - played when 24-game seasons were the norm, while two others - Mike Bossy and Mario Lemieux - saw their chances at the goal-scoring crown curtailed by injury.
Based solely on goals per game, Ovechkin has an excellent chance at racking up enough scores to pass Gretzky. But he's still trailing the Great One by 294 goals, so it'll take a lot of work.
What he needs
Health Ovechkin's had the good fortune to remain relatively healthy, which is by far the biggest contributing factor to his run at the crown. He credits a thorough training regimen with helping him stay on the ice, but every fan knows it doesn't take much for a player to wind up on the sidelines. Ovechkin needs to stay healthy - not just for now, but into the twilight of his career.
Production It's one thing to look at Ovechkin's goals-per-game output and extrapolate future production based on that number. But it isn't always that simple; Gretzky averaged an absurd .823 goals per game over his first 10 seasons before the well began to dry up. Ovechkin is a born goal-scorer, and should stay productive for several more seasons. But projecting a 0.606 GPG pace beyond even the next three years is optimistic.
Motivation Ovechkin seems satisfied to be playing in the top hockey league in the world. Then again, so did Jaromir Jagr before he stunningly bolted for Europe, spending three seasons overseas and effectively taking himself out of the running for the goal-scoring record. There's no indication Ovechkin would do the same - but it has happened before. And if he did, he'd have virtually no chance of catching Gretzky, even if he did return.
What will happen
Assuming Ovechkin stays reasonably healthy, maintains a decent level of production even into his late 30s, and remains in the NHL the entire time, he has a non-zero shot of catching Gretzky:
At his current GPG pace, Ovechkin would tie Gretzky's mark in 485 games, or roughly six seasons.
At a slightly reduced pace of .575 goals per game, Ovechkin would tie Gretzky's mark in 511 games, or roughly 6 1/2 seasons.
At a further reduced pace of .500 goals per game, Ovechkin would tie Gretzky's mark in 588 games, or just over seven seasons.
He may need to play into his early 40s, and it won't hurt to have a playmaking center attached to his hip. But if everything goes right, one of the greatest records in NHL history will one day belong to Alex Ovechkin.
Alex Ovechkin notched his 600th career goal Monday against the Winnipeg Jets, providing plenty of ammunition for a deep dive into his remarkable goal-scoring resume.
20 - Ovechkin is the 20th player in NHL history to reach 600 goals.
990 -The number ofgames he needed to record 600 goals - the fourth-fastest in league history.
0.61 - His goals-per-game average - the fifth-highest in league history among players with at least 300 games played.
7 - Ovechkin is seventh all time in era-adjusted goals.
0.69 - Era-adjusted goals per game - the most among anyone with at least 400 non-adjusted goals.
29 - Regular-season games missed throughout his 13-year career.
6 - Maurice"Rocket" Richard trophies - awarded to the player with the most goals each season.
2 - Seasons in which Ovechkin hasn't led the league in shots on goal during his career.
195 - Goalsseparating him and Sidney Crosby, who has the second-most tallies since coming into the league in 2005-06.
20 - Career hat tricks.
128 - Different goalies scored on.
22 - Goals scored on Henrik Lundqvist - the most of any goalie he has faced.
29 - Number of franchises Ovechkin has scored at least five goals against. The Golden Knights are the only team he hasn't scored on.
47 - Goals in 63 games against the Jets/Thrashers - the most against any single organization.
19 - Ovechkin leads the NHL in goals over the past 19 seasons, despite only partaking in 13 of them.
65 - His career high in goals, set in 2007-08.
32: The lowest single-season goal total of his career, recorded in 2010-11.
35.8 - The number of goals Ovechkin would need to average through his age-40 season to surpass Wayne Gretzky for the all-time lead, assuming he stays on his current 0.61 goals-per-game pace for the remainder of this season.
Eichel has been out since Feb. 10 with a high-ankle sprain, but it appears he's nearing a return. He resumed skating March 4.
With the Sabres sitting second-last in the NHL and battling Arizona and Vancouver for the best draft lottery odds to select Rasmus Dahlin, they likely want to take their time in bringing back their leading scorer.
Johnsson was drafted by Toronto in the seventh round in 2013. In his second full season with the Marlies, he leads the team with 54 points (26 goals, 28 assists) in 54 games.
Rosen, meanwhile, was signed by the Maple Leafs out of Sweden last summer. He appeared in four NHL games earlier in the season, but has since been with the Marlies, recording 17 points in 50 contests.
