Participating teams were asked to each declare three players last month.
"It goes without saying that Sid is Sid, Connor is Connor, and Alex has got a wealth of experience from the (2014 Sochi Olympics) team, to the (World Cup of Hockey 2016) team, to the captain of a Stanley Cup champion (St. Louis Blues in 2019)," Armstrong said Friday. "Those guys are at the top of their game in the league, too, and they're proven winners."
This will be Crosby's third time playing for Canada at the Olympics. He delivered the memorable golden goal at the 2010 Winter Games and led the team to gold again in 2014 as its captain.
Armstrong didn't go as far as to name Crosby the captain of this year's team, but he sees him as the undisputed leader.
"He'll lead our team. He'll be a great help to the coaching staff by delivering their message to the rest of the players," Armstrong said. "To me, he's just Sidney Crosby. He's the best player on the planet for more than a decade."
McDavid, 24, has yet to play on an Olympic team after the NHL didn't send players in 2018. This will mark Pietrangelo's second appearance after playing in 2014.
The next item on the agenda for Armstrong and Team Canada's management group is to submit a list on Oct. 15 of 55 players who will be candidates to make the team in Beijing, which begins on Feb. 4.
The NHL is returning to an 82-game regular season for 2021-22, which can only mean one thing: More games equals more ice time for the league's biggest stars, which means more points. It's simple math.
Regardless of their final point totals, these five players will certainly feature on every highlight reel as the top contenders in the race for the Art Ross Trophy.
Panarin had a monster year in 2020-21. With 58 points in 42 contests, he was on pace to score 113 points in 82 games. Despite missing 14 games, he finished tied for 13th in league scoring and trailed only Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid in points per game for the second straight season.
Panarin, 29, has led the Rangers in points in two consecutive campaigns and holds the reins of a young squad facing heightened expectations. Expect the Breadman to thrive under new head coach Gerard Gallant, who helped the misfit Golden Knights reach unexpected heights.
An angry MacKinnon is a scary MacKinnon. After leading the Avalanche with 15 points in 10 playoff games, the 26-year-old ended the year royally ticked off thanks to a third straight second-round exit. In his own words, MacKinnon is entering his ninth NHL campaign and hasn't "won shit."
The intense star is clearly motivated and looks primed to unleash his wrath on the Central Division. He has 212 points in 216 career games against his current Central opponents.
MacKinnon ranked fourth with 1.35 points per game last season and averaged the same production in 2019-20. His 65 points in 48 contests translated to a 111-point pace across 82 games, and he remained the most crucial component of the Avalanche's power play. After finishing third in power-play points in 2020-21, he should continue to feast on a division that featured three of the league's 10 worst penalty-killing units last season in the Blues, Blackhawks, and Predators.
A Hart Trophy finalist in three of the last four seasons, MacKinnon seems poised to guide the defending Presidents' Trophy winners to a big year.
After the Russian star led all players in postseason scoring en route to the Lightning's second straight Stanley Cup win, 2021-22 will mark the official return of regular-season Kucherov.
It's been a while since the 28-year-old winger played a non-playoff contest, so here's a refresher on how that usually goes. Kucherov notched 85 points in 68 games in 2019-20, leading the Bolts and ranking seventh in the NHL. He put up an absurd 128 points in 82 games the year prior, a showing that won him the 2019 Art Ross and Hart trophies. All told, he's averaged more than a point per game since the 2016-17 campaign.
Extrapolating somewhat, his 32 points in 23 playoff contests last year translates to 114 points over 82 games. That's despite a 12.9% shooting percentage below his regular-season average of 14.9%.
Even a return to a stronger Atlantic Division shouldn't faze him too much. Kucherov has 27 career points across 26 contests against the Maple Leafs and Sabres, 29 points in 25 games against the Red Wings, and 31 points in 27 outings against the Senators.
With an incredible 84 points in 56 games last season, Draisaitl would have won his second straight Art Ross Trophy if not for McDavid.
An absolute workhorse, Draisaitl played the third-most minutes among all forwards last season, trailing only Patrick Kane and Mitch Marner. The 25-year-old has played at a 1.5 points-per-game pace for the past two seasons and looks primed to do it again; the Pacific Division features four teams that finished among the league's bottom 10 in goal differential last season.
The German star has also proven he's more than McDavid's running mate. The two freakish forwards spent far more time apart at five-on-five than they did together in 2020-21, and Draisaitl performed better in some categories without McDavid than McDavid did without Draisaitl. The Oilers scored 58% of the goals at five-on-five when Draisaitl was on the ice without McDavid, but they broke even with 31 goals for and 31 goals against when McDavid played at five-on-five without Draisaitl, according to Natural Stat Trick.
There's plenty of overlap in the arguments for Draisaitl and the player who takes No. 1 on this list, so let's move on. Bet you can't guess who it is.
There are no hot takes to be found here. There's simply no way McDavid and Draisaitl don't belong at the top of this list, and McDavid has the edge after eclipsing 100 points in a shortened campaign. It can be argued that the North Division featured weaker goaltending and defense than the rest of the league last season, but was it really all that bad? After all, the Canadian squads were the only ones that had to defend against Edmonton's terrifying duo.
Regardless, McDavid made history by notching 105 points in 56 games - an outlandish 154-point clip over 82 contests. That doesn't happen by accident. Now, the 2021 Art Ross Trophy and Hart Trophy winner gets to feast on the likes of the Ducks, Kings, and Sharks; he already has 75 points in 56 career games against the California teams.
McDavid led the league in power-play points last season, while Draisaitl finished first in power-play goals with 15. The Oilers boasted the league's top power play in 2020-21, and their success on the man advantage depends entirely on the pair's connection. Luckily for Edmonton, neither player should have much trouble following a return to the Pacific. The Flames, Ducks, Canucks, and Sharks were all firmly in the middle of the pack on the penalty kill last season.
Further fueling the McDavid supremacy argument is the Oilers' free-agency addition of Zach Hyman. The forechecking aficionado put up 33 points in 43 contests with the Maple Leafs in 2020-21 and was a vital part of their top six. With Hyman on the ice at five-on-five, Toronto controlled 52% of the shot attempts and 63% of the high-danger chances, according to Natural Stat Trick.He'll undoubtedly provide a boost for Edmonton's forward corps and can only make McDavid - and Draisaitl - even more dangerous.
It certainly looks like the Art Ross Trophy will be heading to Edmonton for the third straight year.
Edmonton Oilers forward Josh Archibald is out indefinitely due to myocarditis and had COVID-19 over the summer, head coach Dave Tippett said Sunday.
In late September, Oilers general manager Ken Holland confirmed Archibald was unvaccinated.
The forward is the second Edmonton player to have myocarditis, the inflammation of the heart muscle, after contracting COVID-19. Goaltender Alex Stalock is expected to miss this entire season after suffering the same fate.
Archibald has previously shared vaccine conspiracy theories. He was Canada's only unvaccinated NHL player, according to Sportsnet's Mark Spector.
The 28-year-old played the last two seasons with the Oilers. He collected seven goals and six assists over 52 games in 2021, which he spent largely in a bottom-six role. Archibald has also suited up for the Arizona Coyotes and the Pittsburgh Penguins, who drafted him 174th overall in 2011.
The Montreal Canadiens signed forward Jake Evans to a three-year contract extension with an average annual value of $1.7 million, general manager Marc Bergevin announced Sunday.
Evans, selected 207th overall by the Canadiens in the 2014 draft, tallied three goals and 10 assists across 47 regular-season games with Montreal during the 2020-21 campaign. The Toronto, Ontario, native also posted one goal and one assist in seven appearances over the team's run to the Stanley Cup Final last postseason.
The 25-year-old is projected to slot in as Montreal's third-line center behind Nick Suzuki and Christian Dvorak to begin the 2021-22 season.
Cooper is entering the final season of a three-year deal worth $3.5 million annually, according to LeBrun. Cooper inked that pact in March 2019.
The 54-year-old guided the Lightning to their second straight Stanley Cup championship in early July. About a month later, Hockey Canada named him bench boss of the nation's Olympic men's hockey team for next year.
Cooper also helped Tampa Bay reach the Cup Final in 2015 and the Eastern Conference Final in 2016 and 2018.
The NHL's longest-tenured head coach helmed the Lightning for the last eight full seasons and for 16 games in 2012-13. Tampa Bay hired Cooper to lead its AHL affiliate - then the Norfolk Admirals - in 2010, and he led them to the Calder Cup in 2011-12. After the Lightning changed affiliations for the following season, he began the campaign as head coach of the Syracuse Crunch before Tampa Bay promoted him.
Joel Quenneville of the Florida Panthers is reportedly the NHL's highest-paid head coach with a salary of approximately $6 million.
Every hockey player develops at their own pace. Some are instant stars in the NHL, while others take longer to find their footing. Below, we look at five players primed for breakout seasons who could provide immense value relative to their fantasy draft slot.
Eeli Tolvanen, LW/RW, Predators
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It's taken Tolvanen longer to establish himself in the NHL than many expected after he set the KHL record for goals by a teenager in 2017-18. He didn't produce out-of-this-world numbers in the AHL in subsequent seasons, but he finally arrived in 2020-21, tallying 11 goals and 11 assists in 40 games for the Predators during his rookie campaign last season.
Tolvanen, 22, especially caught fire down the stretch, recording 13 points in his final 18 contests, which has him trending in the right direction entering 2021-22.
The Preds are entering a transition stage, having sold off assets such as Viktor Arvidsson in the offseason. That opens the door for Tolvanen to grab a top-six role and run with it. He currently projects to be on the team's second line and top power-play unit, putting him in a strong position to log more than the 14:48 per game he did a season ago.
Tolvanen also offers substantial upside in leagues that reward hits, as he averaged nearly two per game last season.
Jared McCann, C/LW, Kraken
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McCann is set for a huge breakout season, largely thanks to his new surroundings in Seattle. The 25-year-old has spent most of his career as a secondary player, but with the Kraken, he's projected to center the team's top line alongside Jaden Schwartz and Jordan Eberle and play the left flank on the top power-play unit.
Last year with the Pittsburgh Penguins, McCann recorded 14 goals and 18 assists in 43 games while averaging 14:07 per contest. A career-high 15.1 shooting percentage helped his personal-best season, and while that figure may not be sustainable, playing four-plus more minutes per night should more than make up for it.
Sam Bennett, C/LW, Panthers
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No player benefited from a change of scenery last year more than Bennett did. After struggling to carve out a consistent top-nine role for himself in six seasons with the Calgary Flames, the 25-year-old hit his stride after being dealt to the Panthers, racking up 15 points in 10 games while averaging 18:04 with his new club down the stretch. He also added a goal and four assists in five playoff contests.
Yes, it was a small sample size with his new team, but it provided a glimpse of what the former fourth overall pick is capable of over 82 games. Bennett is firmly entrenched as Florida's No. 2 center behind Aleksander Barkov, but he'll get the benefit of playing on a line with an elite playmaker in Jonathan Huberdeau and skating on the team's No. 1 power-play unit.
Bennett also averaged over two hits per game last season and nearly three per contest after he got dealt to the Panthers, giving him added value in leagues that reward such stats.
Rasmus Dahlin, D, Sabres
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Dahlin appeared bound for stardom after his rookie 2018-19 campaign, in which he recorded the second-most points ever (44) for an 18-year-old defenseman. He followed that up with another strong season, but 2020-21 was a disaster for both him and the team on multiple fronts.
Ralph Krueger's ultra-safe system proved to be ineffective and also counterproductive to the development of the team's young players. Dahlin seemed restricted and unsure of himself in his first 28 games. After Don Granato took over for the final 28 contests, Dahlin started to play with more confidence.
The difference didn't show up in his basic counting stats, but it did in the underlying numbers. Under Granato, Dahlin's expected goals share increased by 4% and his individual expected goals per 60 minutes doubled, per Natural Stat Trick.
The team around him isn't great, but with Granato back as full-time head coach, look for the uber-talented Dahlin to take a massive leap in his development.
Miro Heiskanen, D, Stars
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Heiskanen is already an elite defenseman at age 22. However, he hasn't quite fulfilled his offensive potential, as he's played at around a 40-point pace in each of the last two seasons. The 2017 third overall pick is capable of much more, though.
Banking on a breakout campaign from Heiskanen is simply just betting on his abilities. He's one of the most talented skaters in the entire league, and he possesses exceptional intelligence, vision, and puck skills to go with it. It's only a matter of time before he grows offensively and produces in the 50-to-60-point range. Don't be surprised if it's this season.
The NHL's goaltending landscape has drastically changed in recent years. Long gone are the days of Martin Brodeur appearing in 78 contests during a season. Teams are increasingly embracing the idea of having multiple NHL-ready goalies on the roster, which has led to numerous impressive duos forming around the league.
This list takes into account both goalies' individual talent rather than the overall strength of a team's tandem. For this reason, a duo like Andrei Vasilevskiy and Brian Elliott doesn't appear on here due to the lack of stability in the backup role.
5. Spencer Knight and Sergei Bobrovsky, Florida Panthers
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Bobrovsky hasn't found his footing with the Panthers since signing a monster contract in 2019. He finished last season with a .906 save percentage and seemed to take a small step forward, but he still had a measly minus-2.50 goals saved above average.
Knight has been the most talked-about goalie prospect in the NHL since the Panthers selected him with the 13th pick in the 2019 NHL Draft. He appeared in just four regular-season games last year but won them all and showed he might be worth all of the hype. Knight also played in two playoff contests, recording an impressive .933 save percentage by allowing four goals on 60 shots.
Bobrovsky is a two-time Vezina Trophy winner, so there's no reason to believe his talent vanished the moment he showed up in Florida. The team committed a ton of money and years to him, and he'll likely be the club's de facto No. 1 for the near future despite Knight breathing down his neck. The duo possesses a ton of talent between them, but a lot of it is riding on Bobrovsky finally rebounding and Knight producing a stellar rookie season.
4. Thatcher Demko and Jaroslav Halak, Vancouver Canucks
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Demko shined last year in his first season as the Canucks' starter. His counterpart Braden Holtby didn't fare as well, as he struggled for most of the year and was eventually bought out by the club. Vancouver replaced Holtby with Halak, who served as one of the NHL's best backups while playing behind Tuukka Rask on the Boston Bruins the last three seasons.
Demko is the clear-cut starter in Vancouver, and Halak's arrival will complement him greatly. Halak's .918 save percentage over the last three seasons ranks 16th among all goalies, and he's shown that he can handle a big workload if needed.
Demko's NHL sample size is small, with just 72 games to his name, but he's done exceptionally well since entering the league. He's posted a career record of 34-31-1 with a .911 save percentage. The Canucks are expecting to make the jump back to being a playoff contender this year, and a lot will be riding on Demko and Halak's play.
3. Carey Price and Jake Allen, Montreal Canadiens
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Price had another subpar regular season last year but reminded the hockey world just how good he can be during the Canadiens' surprise run to the Stanley Cup Final. There's no doubt the 34-year-old is still among the league's best, but he struggles with consistency.
Meanwhile, Allen performed adequately last season with a hot run of games during Price's lengthy injury absence. He managed a .907 save percentage and 2.68 goals-against average over 29 games in 2020-21. Allen undoubtedly played more than he would have expected when he initially signed in Montreal, but he held the fort for the most part.
All eyes will be on Price this upcoming campaign to see if he can build off his playoff performance and return to being dominant during the regular season. It'll be helpful to have a seasoned veteran in Allen to relieve a good chunk of the workload and allow Price to stay rested.
2. Philipp Grubauer and Chris Driedger, Seattle Kraken
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The Kraken are entering the NHL with one of the league's best goaltending tandems. After revealing Driedger as Seattle's No. 1 goalie alongside Vitek Vanecek and Joey Daccord at the expansion draft, the team went a different direction when free agency opened by snatching up Grubauer.
Grubauer had a stellar 2020-21 campaign with the Colorado Avalanche, recording a 30-9-1 record while posting a .922 save percentage and 1.95 goals-against average. He hasn't produced a season save percentage below .916, but that comes with a caveat that he's only played on some stacked Avalanche and Washington Capitals squads.
Driedger has considerably less experience with just 38 games under his belt. It's a small sample size, but he was the Panthers' best goalie over the last two seasons and consistently outperformed Bobrovsky. Driedger has a .929 career save percentage, and playing alongside Grubauer could be beneficial as it takes considerable pressure off him as the pair will likely split starts.
1. Ilya Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov, New York Islanders
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Sorokin absolutely lived up to the hype surrounding him during his rookie year last season, and Varlamov continued to be as reliable as they come. The pair certainly combine to be the league's best tandem, with each goalie more than capable of stealing a game on any given night.
Varlamov still seems to be the true No. 1 in Long Island entering the season. He ranked second in the league last year with 16.75 goals saved above average and received the bulk of the starts during the team's lengthy playoff run. Still, Sorokin had an impressive debut campaign with a .918 save percentage after dominating the KHL for five seasons.
The team in front of the goalies plays an extremely tight defensive game, ranking eighth in high-danger scoring chances against at five-on-five last year (402). This makes the netminders' lives much easier, but it doesn't take away from the fact they're both supremely talented and among the league's best at their position.
Honorable mentions: Jack Campbell and Petr Mrazek, Mackenzie Blackwood and Jonathan Bernier, Linus Ullmark and Tuukka Rask (injured)
