The Senators are in the initial stages of a move to downtown Ottawa.
On Thursday, the National Capital Commission announced it has signed an agreement in principle with RendezVous LeBreton for the redevelopment of LeBreton Flats, a downtown Ottawa neighborhood where the hockey team wants to build a new arena.
The Senators currently play out of the Canadian Tire Centre in suburban Kanata. The hope is that a move to a more accessible arena in the downtown core will improve attendance figures.
A joint venture between Trinity Development and the Senators, RendezVous LeBreton now holds exclusive negotiation rights as it works toward a master agreement with the National Capital Commission. That process could take more than one year, reports Postmedia's Bruce Garrioch.
Senators owner Eugene Melnyk, on hand for Thursday's announcement, said in a statement, "(I am) thrilled to move one step closer to bringing fans a more enjoyable experience."
The Florida Panthers are down another netminder, as James Reimer will miss two weeks with a pulled groin, head coach Bob Boughner confirmed Thursday.
Reimer left Tuesday's contest versus the Dallas Stars and will join Roberto Luongo on the shelf, as the veteran is still recovering from a lower-body injury suffered in early December.
In 30 starts this season, Reimer owns a 13-12-5 record with a .911 save percentage. With both top options unavailable, the Panthers will turn to Harri Sateri in goal.
Russia has revealed its men's roster for the upcoming 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang.
Among those named to the roster includes former NHL superstars Ilya Kovalchuk and Pavel Datsyuk, both of whom are competing in the KHL this season.
The roster also features a number of other recognizable names to North American hockey fans, such as Vadim Shipachyov, Mikhail Grigorenko, and Alexei Marchenko.
Here's a look at the full roster:
Goalies:
Igor Shestyorkin
Ilya Sorokin
Vasily Koshechkin
Defensemen:
Artyom Zub
Dinar Khafizullin
Vladislav Gavrikov
Vyacheslav Voynov
Andrei Zubarev
Alexei Marchenko
Bogdan Kiselevich
Nikita Nesterov
Forwards:
Ivan Telegin
Sergei Mozyakin
Sergei Andronov
Pavel Datsyuk
Sergei Kalinin
Mikhail Grigorenko
Ilya Kablukov
Kirill Kaprizov
Sergei Shirokov
Ilya Kovalchuk
Nikolai Prokhorkin
Vadim Shipachyov
Alexander Barabanov
Nikita Gusev
After finishing in a disappointing fifth place at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, the Russians hope to come home with some hardware in South Korea.
Russia last medalled in 2002, winning a bronze, and has not won Olympic gold since the Unified Team, made up of former Soviet republics, won in 1992 in Albertville, France.
The incident occurred late in the third period of Tuesday night's game. Player Safety determined Marchand - who argued he was protecting himself - initiated the contract with Johansson.
Marchand is considered a repeat offender and will forfeit $373,475.60 for the infraction. It marks the sixth time the 29-year-old has been suspended to go along with three previous fines, for a total of just under $873,000 in forfeited money over his career, according to CapFriendly.
Marchand is still invited to the All-Star Game. The suspension does not change that.
Word out of New Jersey is that Johansson suffered a concussion on the play, TSN's Bob McKenzie reports. The Swede sustained a concussion earlier this season that kept him out of the lineup from Nov. 3 to Nov. 27.
The Pacific Division All-Stars have lost a key piece between the pipes.
Jonathan Quick won't participate in this weekend's All-Star festivities as he "needs to take care of (a) nagging injury," LA Kings GM Rob Blake told TSN's Pierre LeBrun via text message.
Quick will be forced to sit out a minimum of one game - either in LA's matchup with Calgary on Wednesday night, or upon his return - for late withdrawal from the All-Star Game, NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly told LeBrun.
The Kings' netminder owns a .921 save percentage and a 2.44 goals-against average this season. However, his save percentage is just .876 over his last seven games, so it's possible the persistent injury is affecting his performance.
With Marc-Andre Fleury now the only remaining goalie left on the Pacific Division roster, someone will be added to replace Quick. Calgary's Mike Smith and Anaheim's John Gibson headline the most deserving candidates.
With their first pick of the 2011 NHL Draft, the Philadelphia Flyers selected centerman Sean Couturier from the QMJHL's Drummondville Voltigeurs.
As an eighth overall pick, the Flyers expected Couturier to become a forward the franchise could rely on for the foreseeable future. But they couldn't have known the 6-foot-3 pivot would average the fifth-most ice time among forwards and grow into one of the NHL's most complete players.
To say Couturier is turning heads this campaign would be a massive understatement. Sure, his offensive production is impressive, as he's racking up points at a career-best clip (through 48 games, he has 26 goals and 23 assists). But that's just one dimension of the 25-year-old's game.
Couturier can literally do it all at both ends of the ice.
Power-play proficiency
Couturier sits 35th in the league in power-play minutes and has six goals and four assists with the man advantage, good enough for fifth-most on a Philadelphia squad stacked with offensive weapons.
He plays more power-play minutes than the likes of Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn, and Artemi Panarin. His ability to eat up time and contribute with the extra man is downright stellar.
The Flyers own the ninth-best power-play unit in the NHL, and a major reason for that is Couturier's versatility and ability to win faceoffs.
Dominating the dot
Claude Giroux might own the official title as the Flyers' top faceoff man, but Couturier is right behind him.
His 323 faceoff wins are more than any Philadelphia player not named Claude, and he's converting his draws at a solid 54 percent pace.
(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)
Sprinkle in his solid 5-on-5 Corsi For percentage of 54.29, and Couturier is a big reason the Flyers find themselves sitting pretty in the third playoff spot in the insanely tight Metropolitan Division.
Penalty-killing piece
Sure, Philly still sits near the bottom of the NHL in PK efficiency (75.2), but that doesn't change the fact Couturier might be at his best playing in his own zone.
The offensively gifted center has a versatile defensive game, and has built a reputation as a forward always willing to sacrifice his body and get back on D. This is especially evident on the penalty kill, where he's relied on to anchor the top PK unit alongside Wayne Simmonds, Ivan Provorov, and Andrew MacDonald.
Couturier plays more shorthanded minutes than any other Philadelphia player, racking up 96 so far this season. The next-closest is Scott Laughton at 71 minutes.
No other forward has played more than 150 minutes on the power play and 95 on the penalty kill. The next-closest player in terms of minutes on special teams is perennial Hart Trophy threat John Tavares, who has 161 and 90, respectively.
The complete package
Goals, assists, faceoffs, possession, special teams. You name it, and Couturier can do it - and do it exceedingly well.
The smooth-skating big man can also get it done at even strength, racking up 14 goals and 12 assists at five-on-five - good enough for 24th-best in the NHL. That puts him ahead of players like Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Huberdeau, and Leon Draisaitl.
As he continues to evolve into a player who contributes effectively in any scenario, look for him and the Flyers to further their hunt for a playoff seed.
The San Jose Sharks' path to securing a playoff spot just got considerably more difficult, as star centerman Joe Thornton will miss several weeks with an injury to his right MCL, general manager Doug Wilson announced Wednesday.
Wilson says the club is awaiting the results of an MRI to determine whether surgery is necessary, according to Kevin Kurz of The Athletic.
Thornton got tangled with teammate Mikkel Boedker late in Tuesday's contest versus the Winnipeg Jets and was forced out of the game.
The 38-year-old injured his other knee late last season, and played in the club's first-round playoff series versus the Edmonton Oilers with tears in his ACL and MCL.
The Sharks currently sit second in the Pacific Division with 59 points, but maintaining that pace without Thornton will be difficult - he's second on the team with 36 points in 47 games.
Many labeled the Edmonton Oilers one of the Western Conference's greatest threats for a Stanley Cup entering this season, but the team's sky-high expectations for 2017-18 have cratered catastrophically.
While Edmonton has bigger organizational problems, the Oilers' latest loss boils down to one thing: a miserable effort on the penalty kill. The 30th-place Buffalo Sabres and their 26th-ranked power play strolled into Rogers Place and tuned up the Oilers for three goals in four chances with the man advantage, setting the tone for a 5-0 victory.
The strangest aspect of Edmonton's penalty kill is the home and road splits. The Oilers at home rank 31st - an unfathomable 54 percent. On the road, though, they're the best in the league, successfully fending off 86.6 percent of opposing power plays.
What? How? No seriously, how?
Tuesday's loss perfectly illustrated the horrific home side of the Oilers' bizarre special-teams discrepancy. Below, we'll break down the penalty kill's struggles in one of the unit's worst performances yet.
Goal No. 1: Reinhart deflection squeaks past Talbot
Buffalo opened the scoring with a power-play tally late in the first period. A deflection off the stick of Sam Reinhart trickled through Cam Talbot - who owns a save percentage of .802 while shorthanded this season.
While it looks like an unlucky break, the Oilers' diamond formation allowed it to happen, particularly after Zack Kassian shifted all his attention to Jack Eichel - who definitely warrants an extra check or two.
Eichel evaded the flailing Kassian with ease and set up Rasmus Ristolainen. The defenseman had enough time and space to wind up, read a short novel, and fire a slap shot through a sea of players - including the idle Mark Letestu, pictured between the circles.
As we've mentioned, Eichel is a player you should keep your eye on. Unfortunately, Connor McDavid didn't.
The idea of McDavid killing penalties makes some sense, as his speed could quickly create a chance the other way, but No. 97 was one of four Oilers tracking the puck here rather than remaining conscious of what could unfold due to a missed assignment.
That coverage is less than ideal.
Eichel received the pass in prime position to unload a shot with just 11 seconds gone on the power play. If he gets a chance like this, he's rarely going to waste it.
Goal No. 3: O'Reilly passing clinic
There's that pesky diamond again.
With the Oilers in their planned formation, the Sabres moved the puck around the zone like the Harlem Globetrotters on ice, and Ryan O'Reilly ultimately reaped the benefits of being left alone between the hash marks.
At this point of the contest, the Oilers may have been discouraged by the 4-0 scoreline, perhaps dropping their effort level to close out yet another lost game. Still, even in a season rife with disappointment, it's reasonable to expect some attempt at adaptation.
Then again, with opponents scoring on just under half of their power-play opportunities in Edmonton's rink, maybe it isn't.
