The 32-year-old left Saturday's contest against the Vancouver Canucks in the third period after taking a clearance attempt off his hand. He scored twice in the game.
Simmonds has been a key player for the Leafs early in the season, recording five goals in 12 games. Three of his tallies have come on the power play, which Toronto ranks No. 1 in the league with a 38.5% success rate.
The Columbus Blue Jackets aren't happy about being victimized by a controversial NHL mistake Sunday.
Columbus was unsuccessful in challenging a Carolina Hurricanes goal for a potential offside. After the fact, however, the league revealed there was a miscommunication and the goal should have been overturned.
"During the review, a miscommunication occurred between the video replay booth in Columbus, the linesmen and the situation room and play resumed before all replays could be reviewed to confirm the offside," the league announced in a statement. "The challenge by Columbus should have resulted in the Carolina goal being disallowed. Subsequently, Columbus was assessed a delay of game penalty. After confirmation in the intermission that the play was offside, the remaining 0:45 of the delay of game penalty issued was rescinded to begin the third period."
Blue Jackets forward Patrik Laine wasn't impressed with the league's blunder.
The Ottawa Senators are looking to trade forward Derek Stepan, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported on Saturday's "Headlines" segment during Hockey Night in Canada.
Ottawa dealt a second-round pick to acquire Stepan from the Arizona Coyotes shortly before the beginning of the season. The 30-year-old is in the final campaign of his contract, which carries a $6.5-million cap hit.
Stepan has been fairly productive for most of his career, but his numbers have fallen off over the past few seasons. He's tallied one goal and three assists while averaging 15:53 minutes of ice time over 11 games with the Senators this campaign.
However, Stepan isn't believed to be on the trade block due to his on-ice production.
"I don't think this is a performance issue as much as it's a family issue," Friedman said. "He's away from his family and I think they want to get him closer."
The Ottawa Senators are looking to trade forward Derek Stepan, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported on Saturday's "Headlines" segment during Hockey Night in Canada.
Ottawa dealt a second-round pick to acquire Stepan from the Arizona Coyotes shortly before the beginning of the season. The 30-year-old is in the final campaign of his contract, which carries a $6.5-million cap hit.
Stepan has been fairly productive for most of his career, but his numbers have fallen off over the past few seasons. He's tallied one goal and three assists while averaging 15:53 minutes of ice time over 11 games with the Senators this campaign.
However, Stepan isn't believed to be on the trade block due to his on-ice production.
"I don't think this is a performance issue as much as it's a family issue," Friedman said. "He's away from his family and I think they want to get him closer."
Welcome to the third edition of "Looking North," our weekly Friday dive into the all-Canadian division. This installment dates back to Jan. 29.
The rundown
The Vancouver Canucks had a week to forget, dropping three of their four contests while getting outscored 19-12. The Montreal Canadiens finally suffered their first two regulation losses of the season. The Edmonton Oilers currently find themselves on a three-game winning streak, while the Ottawa Senators snapped a nine-game skid Thursday.
Team
Points over last week
Edmonton Oilers
6 (3-0-0)
Winnipeg Jets
5 (2-1-1)
Montreal Canadiens
4 (2-2-0)
Calgary Flames
4 (2-2-0)
Toronto Maple Leafs
3 (1-0-1)
Ottawa Senators
2 (1-2-0)
Vancouver Canucks
2 (1-3-0)
The stars
Andy Devlin / National Hockey League / Getty
Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl put on a show this week. The pair combined for 19 points in Edmonton's three games, all of which were wins. At all strengths, the duo combined for 96 scoring chances while only allowing 37 against. After a big week, McDavid is now on pace to put up 112 points across 56 games, while Draisaitl isn't far behind with a 102-point pace.
Jeff Petry's incredible run to begin the season doesn't seem to be coming to an end any time soon, as he racked up three goals and five points over the Canadiens' last four games. He led all Habs defensemen with a Corsi For rating of 61.59% this past week and also generated a team-high 58 scoring chances.
Calgary Flames made a big commitment to Jacob Markstrom during the offseason, and so far it seems to be paying off. He made a number of big saves over his past three starts and kept Calgary in games. He helped his team win two of three, recording an impressive 3.25 goals saved above average and a .934 save percentage.
Canadian of the week
Andy Devlin / National Hockey League / Getty
After one of the worst seasons of his career with the Leafs, Oilers defenseman Tyson Barrie seems to be back on track with his new club. He started the season slowly but is once again looking like one of the league's premier offensive defensemen.
Barrie has totaled one goal and five assists over Edmonton's past three games. He ranked second on the team with an impressive Corsi For of 60.28% and is tied for second with 47 scoring chances. During that span, he also ranked second on the club with 22:03 minutes of ice time per contest. He's firmly established himself as a vital cog in the Oilers machine.
The moments
Jason Spezza turned back the clock Thursday night, potting his first hat trick since April 2016. After being put on waivers earlier in the season, Spezza has more than proved his worth to the Maple Leafs as a prominent bottom-six center and a key part of the locker room. The 37-year-old netted his third goal in remarkable style.
Tyler Toffoli already torched the Canucks for six goals in his first four outings against them, but he added insult to injury when he faced off against his former team for the fifth time. In what was becoming a blowout, Toffoli undressed Jordie Benn before unleashing a wicked backhand past Thatcher Demko.
Chris Tanev was one of Calgary's biggest offseason additions, and he finally secured his first goal with the club earlier this week. Just as he surely envisioned it would happen, Tanev corralled the puck after the opening faceoff in the second period and dumped it in toward Connor Hellebuyck - the puck took a couple of wild bounces and found twine.
Over the past week, the Canadiens played four times and Jake Allen appeared in net twice. He impressed with a .944 save percentage, though he only came away with one win. The big question in Montreal is whether Allen can keep up his great play as the season goes on.
The Canadiens made it clear when they acquired Allen that they were committed to getting Carey Price a legitimate backup for once. Allen has so far established himself as one of the best backups in the league, ranking seventh among all netminders with a .930 save percentage while earning a 3-1-0 record.
Quote of the week
After Jets captain Blake Wheeler was criticized for his recent play, head coach Paul Maurice didn't mince words when defending his team's leader.
"I've been in awe of this guy since I got here," Maurice said, per TSN. "His worth (ethic), like he's unimpeachable - and his character, how he runs that room and how he plays. He's got f------ 11 points in 10 games."
He continued, "You get a guy in your town that plays that hard and is such a fine, fine leader, and a fine man. Let's be real careful. If his plus-minus number isn't what you want - like he's prorated out at about 88 points, man. And we're 10 games in, we're 6-3-1, and you're beaking my captain. I'm offended by it."
Games to watch
Hockey fans will finally get their first taste of the Battle of Alberta this season when Edmonton meets Calgary on Saturday night. Ottawa will look to redeem itself Monday and Tuesday night when it takes on the Oilers after being steamrolled their last two meetings. Finally, Montreal and Toronto will square off after their sole matchup on opening night.
As the NHL continues to work through the logistics of its current season, the draft - currently set to begin July 23 - could be the next thing to be significantly affected.
There are ongoing conversations at the NHL level surrounding the idea of pushing back the 2021 draft until the following year, TSN's Darren Dreger reported on Thursday's edition of "Insider Trading."
"There's lots of talk across the National Hockey League about the draft being pushed from 2021 - this summer - to 2022 - the summer - and the NHL hosting back-to-back drafts," Dreger said.
General managers are very much in favor of the idea of delaying the draft, Dreger added. Many 2021-eligible players currently aren't playing hockey due to their respective leagues being on pause as a result of the pandemic.
The NHL has never hosted two drafts in the same year.
The league indicated prior to the start of the campaign that July 15 would be the last possible day to award the Stanley Cup. With numerous games already postponed due to COVID-19 outbreaks, it's unclear if the end of the season will need to be pushed back.
Vancouver Canucks general manager Jim Benning wanted to re-sign Tyler Toffoli during the offseason, but the timing wasn't on his side.
"It was our intention to try and get him signed, and if we could have had a little more time, we could have tried to work through that,” Benning said, according to The Province's Ben Kuzma. "It got to a point where I know Tyler wanted to come back, and we were trying to figure it out.
"We kind of ran out of time with him getting offers and one he needed to take. We would have had to move money out."
The Canucks acquired Toffoli at last season's trade deadline, and the forward made an immediate impact. He scored six goals and added four assists in 10 regular-season games, and played through an injury to contribute four points in seven playoff contests.
The Canucks finished 10th in the league in scoring last year with 224 goals, which Benning reportedly pointed to as a reason for letting Toffoli walk. The GM said there were other priorities to address, such as defense and goaltending, since the club proved its ability to score, according to Kuzma.
Toffoli is off to a scorching start with the Montreal Canadiens, who signed him to a four-year, $17-million contract. He's played especially great against Vancouver, scoring eight goals in the five games between the two teams this season.
Maurice spoke candidly to reporters Wednesday regarding recent jabs at Winnipeg's captain, who has been on the ice for more five-on-five goals against than any other Jets skater this season.
Wheeler has been out for three Winnipeg goals at five-on-five and 14 against through 10 games, and some reporters called out the 34-year-old for his lackadaisical effort on a goal scored by Matthew Tkachuk in Tuesday's game against the Calgary Flames.
"The goal that you're beaking him on (Tuesday) night, he got put in a real tough spot by a horseshit backcheck by somebody else," Maurice said, according to TSN. "I'm sensitive to it because I've been in awe of this guy since I got here.
"His worth (ethic), like he's unimpeachable, and his character. How he runs that room and how he plays. He's got f------ 11 points in 10 games."
Maurice added that while he doesn't have an issue with criticism, he does expect criticism to be accurate.
"I'd just like you to be right about it," Maurice said. "You'll do your deep dives and analytics, and god, they do a horseshit job of telling you what five guys do."
He continued: "So, I'm not so much protective of Blake Wheeler; I'm more protective of the Winnipeg Jets. You get a guy in your town that plays that hard and is such a fine, fine leader, and a fine man? Let's be real careful.
"If his plus-minus number isn't what you want - like he's prorated out at about 88 points, man. And we're 10 games in, we're 6-3-1, and you're beaking my captain. I'm offended by it."
Wheeler has notched three goals and eight assists this season while carrying a plus-minus rating of minus-9.
DeAngelo's agent, Pat Brisson, said he and Gorton are talking to clubs interested in acquiring the blue-liner, according to TSN's Darren Dreger.
Brisson added he's confident a move will come to fruition soon, and DeAngelo will remain at home while awaiting a deal. DeAngelo went unclaimed Monday after being placed on waivers Sunday.
The 25-year-old reportedly got into an altercation with teammate Alexandar Georgiev following the squad's 5-4 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday.
DeAngelo has been a healthy scratch for two games this season after a breakout 2019-20 campaign. He's recorded one assist through six contests while averaging 18:29 minutes of ice time.
Gorton said DeAngelo "wasn't able to move on" from being scratched, according to TSN's Frank Seravalli.
"I told him if his name came up in anything at all that he would be on waivers. ... I felt like I had to stay true to my word, the organization's word," Gorton said, according to Seravalli.
New York signed DeAngelo to a two-year, $9.6-million contract in October.
MacKinnon played the first two periods of Sunday's contest and didn't come out for the third. It's unclear when the forward suffered the injury.
"I haven't even talked to the trainers yet. I just know he wasn't able to go for the third period," head coach Jared Bednar said postgame, according to the Denver Post's Mike Chambers.
The 25-year-old had 15:24 of ice time through two periods and registered two assists.
MacKinnon has amassed two goals and 12 assists through 10 games this season, including Sunday's contest.
