The trio is a new addition to the Blue Jackets this year, as Dubois is skating in his first NHL season. But, their little time together hasn't stopped the three from finding instant offense.
Panarin and Anderson sit first and second in team scoring, with 26 and 18 points on the season, respectively. As for Dubois, he's not far behind, as he's tallied five goals and eight assists through 30 showings.
The line has been a major factor in why Columbus has been one of the top team's this season, as the Blue Jackets sit atop the ultra-competitive Metropolitan Division with 39 points.
The trio is a new addition to the Blue Jackets this year, as Dubois is skating in his first NHL season. But, their little time together hasn't stopped the three from finding instant offense.
Panarin and Anderson sit first and second in team scoring, with 26 and 18 points on the season, respectively. As for Dubois, he's not far behind, as he's tallied five goals and eight assists through 30 showings.
The line has been a major factor in why Columbus has been one of the top team's this season, as the Blue Jackets sit atop the ultra-competitive Metropolitan Division with 39 points.
Former NHL defenseman Zarley Zalapski has died at the age of 49.
Ken King, president and CEO of the Calgary Flames, with whom Zalapski spent parts of five seasons, released the following statement:
We are deeply saddened with the news of Zarley's passing. We are proud that Zarley wore the Flames jersey; made Calgary his home following his playing career; represented our alumni executive; and we will always remember him as a member of the Flames family. This is a terrible loss of a man with great character who truly loved the game of hockey. We express our sincere condolences to the Zalapski family.
Zalapski logged 637 games from 1987-88 to 1999-2000 with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Hartford Whalers, Flames, Montreal Canadiens, and Philadelphia Flyers, collecting 384 points. His best season came in 1992-93 with Hartford, in which he collected 65 points.
Forward Corey Perry will be out week to week with a lower-body injury, the team announced Tuesday.
Perry's injury comes right after teammate Ryan Getzlaf played in his first game in nearly two months. Ryan Kesler has yet to play a game this season, and key defensemen Hampus Lindholm and Cam Fowler have also missed significant time this season with injuries.
Despite all of the adversity, the Ducks still find themselves just one point out of a playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Perry's scoring has tailed off, with just six goals and
Erik Karlsson was rumored to be one of several Senators asked to submit their 10-team no-trade lists to management, but the superstar isn't making a big deal over the situation.
"That's one of the things that's in my contract and it's just a formality and it's just business," he told Postmedia's Bruce Garrioch. "I don't read too much into it."
The request comes less than two weeks after Karlsson said he isn't interested in taking a hometown discount to stay in Ottawa when he becomes an unrestricted free agent following the 2018-19 season.
Karlsson has 18 points in 23 games this season as the Sens sit second-last in the Eastern Conference.
Team Canada didn't need Victor Mete, but it'll surely take him.
Mete has been given a chance to take part in Hockey Canada's selection camp for the upcoming World Junior Championship by the Montreal Canadiens.
The 19-year-old blue-liner had held his own in 27 games with the Habs this year, picking up four assists, just two penalty minutes, a plus-5 rating, and a 51.0 Corsi For percentage.
The former fourth-round pick is just 5-foot-9, 184 pounds, but he was deemed ready for the NHL as a teenager thanks to his exceptional skating ability and high hockey IQ.
While there's still no guarantees Mete makes the team, it's hard to imagine Canada would leave out a player who's spent all season facing the best players in the world.
Assuming he lands a spot after getting cut from last year's silver medal-winning team, Mete would join what projects to be a stacked blue line - maybe Canada's best in nearly a decade.
This year's D-men could come close. Here's a look at the rearguards vying for a spot:
The returnees
Name
Draft
Team
GP
G
A
P
Dante Fabbro
#17 (NSH '16)
Boston Univ.
18
4
8
12
Kale Clague
#51 (LA '16)
Brandon (WHL)
28
10
37
47
Jake Bean
#13 (CAR '16)
Calgary (WHL)
25
5
22
27
Fabbro, Clague, and Bean will be counted on to lead the way as the three returnees, and they should have no problem doing so. Clague is certainly the most offensive-minded of the three, while Fabbro might be considered the most reliable. Regardless, all three are exceptional skaters and should shine with prior experience in the high-pressure tournament.
The 2016 draftees
Name
Draft
Team
GP
G
A
P
Logan Stanley
#18 (WPG '16)
Kitchener (OHL)
30
7
18
25
Dennis Cholowski
#20 (DET '16)
Prince George (WHL)
28
8
17
25
Josh Mahura
#85 (ANA '16)
Regina (WHL)
27
11
18
29
Most of Canada's defensemen in camp are made from a similar mold: average-sized or undersized puck-movers who can skate like the wind. The 6-foot-7 Stanley brings a physicality and nastiness that the others don't, giving him a strong chance at making the team.
The 2017 draftees
Name
Draft
Team
GP
G
A
P
Cale Makar
#4 (COL '17)
UMass (Amherst)
16
1
8
9
Cal Foote
#14 (TB '17)
Kelowna (WHL)
30
6
24
30
Mario Ferraro
#49 (SJ '17)
UMass (Amherst)
16
3
5
8
Conor Timmins
#32 (COL '17)
Sault Ste. Marie (OHL)
28
6
28
34
Makar was chosen so high because of his incredible offensive talent, but given that Canada already has so much of that, it's possible he's left off this roster for someone who plays more of a low-risk game. Foote plays a lot like his old man, and will likely be brought in to play a shutdown role - much like he's done all year in Kelowna.
Projected starting seven
Here are Team Canada's projected starting seven defensemen, and possible pairings:
LD
RD
Kale Clague
Dante Fabbro
Victor Mete
Cal Foote
Jake Bean
Cale Makar
Logan Stanley
This would give Canada three right-handed shots and four left-handed shots. Mete has shown the ability to play his off-side in Montreal this season, giving head coach Dominique Ducharme further flexibility.
Despite these possible pairings, Clague, Fabbro, Bean, and Mete will likely be counted on to play the most minutes.
With Carter Hart (1.32 GAA, .961 SV% in WHL this year) returning in goal, Canada will be incredibly tough to score on with this defense corps in front of him. Moreover, the skating ability and aggressiveness the unit provides will help drive an offense that lacks a star presence up front.
If everyone plays to their abilities, this unit will be the backbone of Team Canada for its hopeful return to gold-medal glory.
Murray was injured Nov. 27 against the Philadelphia Flyers, and missed the last six games with a lower-body injury.
Rookie Tristan Jarry has been decent in relief of Murray, registering a record of 3-2-0 and a .927 save percentage across six starts.
The Penguins take the ice next against the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday, but the club has yet to announce which puckstopper will man the blue paint.
To make space for Murray on its roster, Pittsburgh sent third-string goaltender Casey DeSmith to the club's AHL affiliate.
The Minnesota Wild knew what they were up against when they faced off against superstar winger Johnny Gaudreau and the Calgary Flames last November - so they figured, if you can't beat him, slash him.
The result: Gaudreau was slashed 21 times in that fateful game, with one well-placed whack breaking his finger and forcing him out of commission for 10 games. Between Gaudreau's busted digit, the Sidney Crosby-Mark Methot lacerated finger incident, and countless other slashing-related injuries, the league finally decided it was time to significantly crack down on malicious stick work.
The news must have been music to Gaudreau's ears.
"He really got slashed last year," teammate Michael Frolik told theScore. "He's a guy that carries the puck a little bit more than me, but when he goes through the neutral zone and stuff with his speed, it's definitely good for him."
The NHL is sticking to its guns on the crackdown - and so far, the results have been astonishing. Officials called 791 slashing penalties last season; just over two months into the current campaign, we're already at 587. It's no coincidence, then, that Gaudreau, who ranks sixth in league scoring with 37 points through his first 30 games, has enjoyed having a little more space to create.
"Just (to) make that extra play, have the puck for that extra second," Gaudreau said to theScore. "A lot of teams in past years had their sticks to the hands and it's tough to make a play. You gotta make a play a little bit quicker, and now you have that half a second to keep your head up and try to find that open guy."
Since arriving on the NHL scene, Gaudreau has been one of the league’s most thrilling playmakers, and he’s no longer limited to generating chances from the perimeter. Able to manufacture offense fearlessly from anywhere in the attacking zone, it appears the game is suddenly tailor-made for his exhilarating abilities.
"That's a guy you don't want to give space," head coach Glen Gulutzan told theScore. "He can beat you wide, he can curl up and find guys. He's dynamic when he gets space, and now it allows him to go into traffic areas, which he does without getting the big whacks or pucks knocked off your stick."
Gaudreau has taken advantage of defenders' limitations on a nightly basis, drawing 16 penalties so far in all situations - the second-highest total in the league. There’s no denying the ripple effect the changes have had on long-time partner in crime Sean Monahan as well - he's comfortably on pace to smash his career high in goals.
Yet, as much as the slashing enforcement has set Gaudreau free, Gulutzan believes there’s more to the success of his top players this season.
"The biggest thing I've noticed about Johnny is his commitment to a 200-foot game," Gulutzan said. "I've kind of changed the way I've implemented those guys, they play against the top guys every night, and when they had their success - the 45 points in the month of November - they were committed to playing, getting above the puck, working above the puck, and playing defense and they got really rewarded for it."
Still, it's about what Gaudreau does at the offensive end that has people buzzing about his potential. And in one of the most eye-opening statements of the season, future Hall of Famer Jaromir Jagr - who out-produced just about everybody in the peak of the dead-puck era - proclaimed upon arriving in Calgary earlier this season that Gaudreau can win all the Art Ross trophies he wants.
Just over 12 months ago, Gaudreau unwillingly became the poster boy for a league-wide epidemic. Now, in the midst of his most productive season as a pro, his greatest adversity as a player has become an afterthought - and he's taking full advantage.
Pietrangelo took a puck off his foot in the first period of St. Louis' win over the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night. He left the contest, but returned to finish the game. However, he then missed the Blues' matchup against the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday.
St. Louis' captain could return as early as this Sunday, but that would still leave the club without its top defenseman for a tough three- to four-game stretch that includes tilts against the Lightning, the Anaheim Ducks, and a weekend back-to-back against the high-flying Winnipeg Jets.
Don't believe this to be too serious, he could be back as early as Sunday at Winnipeg although obviously depends how he feels then.... but sounds like just a week or so... https://t.co/Scf6HdyGS0
Through 30 games for the Blues this season, Pietrangelo is having one of the best seasons of his career, logging over 25 minutes a night to go along with seven goals and 16 assists.
In a corresponding roster move, St. Louis recalled defenseman Jordan Schmaltz from their
Over the course of the 2017-18 season, theScore will run a series of interviews with former players, coaches, and officials in which they recall some of the greatest moments of their career. This two-part edition focuses on Kerry Fraser, who spent 30 years as an official and worked 13 Stanley Cup Finals.
On growing up a hockey fan:
Every Saturday, the whole family gathered at Grandma Fraser's house; she cooked a huge pot of spaghetti and meatballs. My dad and his brothers played guitar, and my grandfather played the violin. After dinner, we gathered in the living room, and the guys got the instruments out and played - everybody sat around and tapped their feet.
And then, at 8 o'clock, the guitars were set aside, the violin was set aside. It was Hockey Night in Canada with Foster Hewitt. We were just glued to the television to watch the Leafs play. That happened every Saturday night for as long as I can remember. I remember being in that house and watching the Leafs win the Stanley Cup in '67.
On switching career paths from hockey player to official:
I gotta tell you, I fell out of the sky. My ascent to the NHL was very unique.
I'm looking at a picture of my desk of the Haliburton referee school I attended after playing my final season of Junior B hockey as the captain of the Sarnia Bees. I was a good little player. There was a lot of players in that league that ended up moving on to bigger and better things.
I had a bunch of U.S. Division I hockey scholarship offers. I wasn't so inclined academically at that point to take advantage of what I had offered to me. A friend of my dad, who was coaching the Port Huron Flags in the IHL, he said, "Listen, you're a good little player, you're tough ... you could certainly play in our league, but that'll be the extent. Why don't you get into officiating?"
He handed me a brochure for a referee school. And 1972, as you'll recall, was the initial formation of the World Hockey Association. There were opportunities for players, and there also were for officials. Bill Friday had jumped from NHL officiating to the WHA for a million bucks. So I went to this referee school, paid $250, and I really applied myself. I was going to learn to be an official.
During that week, I knew I was getting some attention from the instructors. And on the Thursday night, I was scheduled to referee 10 minutes of an intermediate-quality men's league.
Frank Udvari, former NHL referee and Hall of Fame member, attended the camp. I get off the ice after my 10 minutes, and Mr. Udvari met me and said, "I really like what I saw. I would like to invite you to the NHL training camp for officials. But if I get you a spot, you gotta get a haircut." I had a Beatle cut at the time. I said, "That's an easy fix."
So I get up really early ... 2 a.m. on Sunday morning. And I'm standing at the front desk at the Hilton Hotel (in Toronto) at five minutes to 5. And I say, "I'm Kerry Fraser, I'm here to check in with the National Hockey League officials." And the guy looks at me and says, "Man, you're awful early. You guys aren't supposed to be here until 5 o'clock tonight." (laughs)
On breaking into pro hockey in the mid-1970s:
The veterans would check out the invitees, and see whether they were decent guys, whether they were people they wanted to associate with. And after three days, I was welcomed into the fraternity. Dave Newell came up to me and said, "Man, I wish I could skate like you."
I knew enough as a rookie that you just had to keep your mouth shut and your eyes open, and you'd learn a lot. And I did. We didn't have a lot of coaching or supervision back then. I learned so much by sitting around the veterans, listening to them, and having them accept me into their hierarchy.
My first exhibition game I did as a linesman, it was the Minnesota North Stars and the Detroit Red Wings. I really didn't know what I was doing; I had to learn on the job. The following year, they put me in the American Hockey League. I did about 60 games that year. It was a real learning experience.
On his funniest colleagues:
Lloyd Gilmour was a very funny guy.
We had 10 days of training camp, and the days were long. And each day in the afternoon, we'd sit in the chalet in Mississauga by the ski hill, and (head of officiating) Scotty Morrison would have us reading the rule book, going through it rule by rule by rule. Reading them. Talking about them.
We were talking about spearing - and back in 1972, there were two parts to the spearing penalty. At the referee's discretion, it could be a minor penalty, or a major penalty. So I looked over to Lloyd and asked him, "What's the difference between a two-minute spearing penalty and a five-minute penalty?"
Lloyd looked at me, deadpan, and said, "Kid, if you see the stick go in, that's two. If you see it come out the back, that's five."
On the challenges of working with different officials:
When I started, there was no question that the referee was the boss. It was a rite of passage. The referee was in control; he made the call on everything. It was almost like serfdom, to the point where the junior linesman would arrange the cab, while the referee made the decision on where we would have lunch. It was really a strange dynamic.
When I was on the ice, I was in control. There was a situation that I had with (John) D'Amico in the first year I worked the Stanley Cup Playoffs; it was in Round 1. I was in St. Louis, and it was a three-out-of-five, and I had Game 4 in the St. Louis-Chicago series. It was very intense; the rivalry was incredible. More fights in the stands than there were on the ice.
Al Secord was playing for the Black Hawks. St. Louis wins the game and forces a deciding Game 5 in the series, but we had a line brawl near the end of the game. Any time there was a secondary fight, you had to eject the player with a game misconduct. Al Secord got into a secondary fight, and had accumulated a one-game suspension because of the misconduct.
As John D'Amico was escorting Secord off the ice, the fans were throwing shit and booing. And Secord gave the fans a gesture that was offensive to D'Amico, a man of very proud Italian heritage. He came to me and said, "You gotta give Secord another game misconduct. I said, "What did he do?" And John said, "He just gave the crowd an Italian salute." (laughs)
If I give him another game misconduct, he's suspended for the final game. D'Amico said, "I don't give a (blank). If you don't give him one, I will." I said, "OK, John, I just want you to realize, he's not playing two nights from now." So I get home, and the phone rings as soon as I walk in the door. And it's Scotty Morrison. And he says, "What the hell were you thinking?"
I explained the situation. And Scotty just said, "Oh my God." And then he called D'Amico. So that was my indoctrination into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
On working his first Stanley Cup Final:
The first one was special; it was 1985, between the Flyers and the Oilers.
I was the young kid on the block, the young gun. I received a tremendous among of media respect, and was being touted as the new "good" referee. It created some jealousy, and there is certainly that among peers. While it was exciting for me to be in my first Stanley Cup Final, I had to deal with some of the on-ice jealousy that moved into nastiness among a couple of colleagues.
It's disappointing, but I ended up working through it. John McCauley was a terrific mentor for me; he put me in Game 7 of that '85 playoff run (Quebec vs. Montreal) where I really broke out. The season before, I had worked two rounds in the playoffs; the season before that, I did one round. So I went one round, two rounds, boom. Stanley Cup Final. It was quite an ascent.
On his most memorable run-in with The Great One:
My success, I think, resulted from an awakening in a confrontation with Wayne Gretzky in 1980 in the Northlands Coliseum.
On his very first shift, Wayne took a dive. The guy just touched him, and Wayne went into the air - and he turned his head looking for me to see if my arm was up before he hit the ice. And my Type A personality was such that I thought, "I'm gonna show you." Every shift, the more he dove, the more stubborn I got. There wasn't one penalty he drew that night.
In saying, "I'm in control, I'm in charge," I was gonna make him pay. We didn't have a diving penalty at that time; the worst thing, for me, was to be fooled by a player. I didn't want to reward people that were trying to fool me or cheat.
The Philadelphia Flyers were up by a goal with just over a minute to play. And the crowd was on me all night; every time Wayne took a dive, they went crazy. The best opportunity (for Edmonton to tie the game) was a power play.
(Flyers netminder) Pelle Lindbergh caught the puck. I blew the whistle, killed the play. Wayne was standing behind the net, in his office. After I blew the whistle, he jumped in the air, threw his hands out one way, his feet out the other way, and boom - did a belly flop on the ice.
Bobby Clarke skated over to him with no teeth and said, "Get up, Gretzky, you (expletive) baby." I said, "Wayne, what are you doing? There was nobody within 15 feet of you." And Wayne said, "You wouldn't haven't called it anyway. You haven't called a (expletive) thing all night."
I said, "You're right. I'm gonna start right now. You've got two minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct." And he said, "Thanks. It's about effing time you called something." He stormed off the ice. And the Flyers won the game.
On how he dealt with the aftermath:
I went back to the hotel room after eating and having a few drinks with the guys, and I replayed the game. Was there something I could have done better? And it hit me like a board between the eyes.
I said to myself, "Kerry, you got into a battle with a player. And not just any player, but the best player in the game. You compromised your integrity, you compromised the rules, and you compromised your employer. You've gotta be better than that. You've gotta be bigger than getting involved in a confrontation with a player." And it was an amazingly valuable lesson for me.
I had to be part of the solution; instead, I was part of the problem. I needed to bring the temperature down. I needed to communicate better with players. So really, Wayne Gretzky taught me a valuable lesson that night. I had to be better. And from that moment, I did my best to be the best I could be.
