Will Butcher wins Hobey Baker award

University of Denver defenseman Will Butcher has been named the 2017 winner of the Hobey Baker Award as the top NCAA men's hockey player.

The 22-year-old captain of the Pioneers recorded seven goals and 30 assists in 42 games this season, while also displaying a rock-solid defensive game and leading his team to the NCAA men's hockey championship game to be played against Minnesota-Duluth on Saturday.

Butcher beat out fellow finalists Mike Vecchione (Union College) and Zack Aston-Reese (Northeastern).

Butcher, a fifth-round pick of the Colorado Avalancahe back in 2013, is the sixth defenseman to take home the honor in the 37-year history of the award.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

PETA urges Wings to fine, ban fans who bring octopus to Joe Louis finale

Keep the octopus on ice, not the playing surface.

That's the message PETA is sending to the Detroit Red Wings and their fans with two final games to be played at Joe Louis Arena, a building wherein many a cephalopod mollusc has been thrown from the stands over the years.

In a letter to team president and CEO Chris Ilitch, PETA suggests a $5,000 fine against anyone who brings an octopus into the arena, as well as a permanent ban from all future Wings games.

More from the letter, via Kukla's Korner:

Octopuses are extraordinarily intelligent and self-aware and have 10,000 more genes than humans do. Like other sea animals - including fish - they use tools, communicate with one another, and form social bonds. They've even been observed using coconut shells as shelter and wielding the poisonous tentacles of Portuguese men-of-war like swords. They can navigate mazes, solve puzzles, and open childproof jars ... They are sentient beings, capable of feeling pain. It's no more acceptable to kill them for a decades-old tradition than it is to harm any other living beings. Please, won't you prohibit fans from engaging in such insensitive acts?

PETA further encouraged the organization to encourage fans to bring stuffed octopi to the rink in lieu of the real thing.

Time will tell whether the message wraps its tentacles around the Wings and their fans in time to avoid such an incident.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Ducks’ Ritchie suspended 2 games for roughing Blackhawks’ Rozsival

Anaheim Ducks forward Nick Ritchie has been suspended two games for roughing Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Michal Rozsival, the NHL has announced.

As the video shows, Ritchie was assessed a match penalty for punching Rozsival during Thursday's game in Anaheim. The incident occurred after Rozsival delivered a cross-check to Corey Perry, and another to Ritchie after being confronted for his actions.

The league, however, deemed Ritchie's punch on a unsuspecting Rozsival to be inexcusable and disproportionate, especially in light of the officials being in the process of penalizing the defenseman.

The Ducks have only one game remaining in the regular season, meaning Ritchie - who has recorded 14 goals and 28 points in 77 games - will miss the opening game of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

(Video courtesy: NHL.com)

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Tiger Williams: Trevor Linden ‘the worst guy’ to run Canucks

A former member of the Vancouver Canucks does not think highly of current team president Trevor Linden.

Speaking on TSN 1040 on Friday, Williams - who played five seasons with the Canucks in the early 1980s - said anyone but Linden would be a better choice to lead the club into the future.

"You know, Linden was loved by all the fans in the Lower Mainland and in British Columbia, but he's the worst guy you could have running the Vancouver Canucks," Williams said, per TSN. "He's had no experience, and to throw him into that job that was a bad decision by the ownership group and it's still a bad decision.

"If the ownership group, if they don't know what they're doing either, they're hiring the wrong people, then you've really got an issue. And I think they've really got an issue."

Williams then lauded head coach Willie Desjardins as a winner, adding the team's failures over the past few seasons boil down to Linden's inexperience and ownership's decision to put him in charge.

The Canucks currently sit 29th in the NHL after finishing 28th a year ago, while Linden - who played 16 seasons with the Canucks - has served as president of hockey operations since April of 2014.

Williams appeared in 962 career NHL games with the Canucks, Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings, and the Hartford Whalers.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Craig Cunningham receives award for dedication to hockey

Former Tucson Roadrunners forward Craig Cunningham was named the recipient of the Fred T. Hunt Memorial Award on Friday, recognizing the AHL player who best exemplifies sportsmanship, determination, and dedication to hockey.

The Roadrunners then-captain suffered an on-ice medical emergency prior to a Nov. 19 game. He was rushed to a Tucson, Ariz., hospital where the expert care of the medical team saved his life. Cunningham suffered acute cardiac arrest due to ventricular fibrillation.

The 26-year-old Cunningham lost part of his left leg as a result of the cardiac arrest. While his playing days are over, Cunningham returned to the ice in late March, skating with a prosthetic foot while continuing his rehabilitation.

When the Arizona Coyotes, the parent club of the AHL Roadrunners, close out their season Saturday against the Minnesota Wild, Cunningham will be on hand to drop the puck in a ceremonial faceoff.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Canadiens to rest Price vs. Wings; Weber, Benn will be ready for playoffs

Montreal Canadiens head coach Claude Julien is picking his spots as the club heads toward the playoffs.

Ahead of Friday's game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Julien laid out plans for his goaltender and a number of players who are dealing with various injuries:

The Canadiens have already clinched the Atlantic Division, so the results of their next two games will have no impact on their playoff seeding.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Ducks GM rips Giordano for knee-on-knee hit: ‘He’s done this before’

Bob Murray is less than impressed.

The Anaheim Ducks general manager isn't too happy with Calgary Flames blue-liner Mark Giordano after his knee-on-knee hit to Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler.

The play occurred in the third period of Tuesday's contest. Giordano was not whistled following the incident, but that didn't negate a response from the Ducks' Josh Manson, who dropped the gloves with the Flames captain.

"It was dismissed very quickly by the people in charge. That's their job. So I guess that's the standard. If that's the standard, that's the standard," Murray told Greg Beacham of the Associated Press. "The big thing in hockey today is concussions, but I still, as an old player, have no use for knee-on-knee hits, especially if I think they are somewhat intentional."

Murray did not elaborate if he believes the hit had an intent to injure.

"I hear how Gio is a good guy, and he's this and he's that," Murray added. "Well, he's done this before. I have no respect for people who go after knees. I'm sorry, but knees, they wreck your careers real quick. I don't like it."

Related - Carlyle: It's a 'travesty' Giordano wasn't penalized for Fowler hit

On Thursday, Anaheim announced Fowler will miss the next two-to-six weeks as a result of the injury. Depending on his return, that timeframe could keep him off the ice for part of the postseason.

It's a devastating loss for the Ducks, as Fowler leads all Anaheim blue-liners with 39 points. He's also first on the team in time on ice, averaging just under 25 minutes a night.

Tuesday's contest was the second in a home-and-home series between Calgary and Anaheim. The Ducks came away with the victory in both games, but tempers boiled over in the closing frame of the second game, as the two sides combined for 106 penalty minutes in the third period alone.

The Ducks took four of five regular-season meetings with the Flames this season, and the possibility remains the two sides could meet again in a playoff series.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Fuhr congratulates Talbot on breaking his single-season wins record

Cam Talbot's record-breaking win on Thursday night didn't go unnoticed.

The Edmonton Oilers netminder recorded his 41st win of the season, setting a new franchise record. The 29-year-old surpassed Grant Fuhr's previous mark of 40, and on Friday the Hall of Famer offered his congrats and best wishes for Talbot heading into the postseason.

Talbot still has a long way to go if he is to surpass the franchise record for all-time wins, though. Fuhr leads all Oilers goalies with 226 wins in 423 games - 164 more than Talbot.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Golden Knights’ Duke signs pro tryout with AHL’s Wolves

The Duke is headed to Chicago.

Reid Duke, the first player to sign with the expansion Vegas Golden Knights, will join the AHL's Chicago Wolves on a professional tryout agreement, the Golden Knights announced Friday.

Duke, 21, signed with the Golden Knights after playing parts of six seasons in the WHL. Duke spent the 2016-17 campaign with the Brandon Wheat Kings, posting 71 points in 59 games.

"We are appreciative of the Wolves organization for affording Reid this opportunity, which will be beneficial for his development as a player," Golden Knights general manager George McPhee said in a statement.

The Wolves are the minor-league affiliate of the St. Louis Blues. The Golden Knights have not yet made an announcement about their own minor-league club.

The team could share an affiliation during its first few seasons, with owner Bill Foley noting the eventual plan is for Vegas to have its own AHL club. Possible locations include Reno, Nev., Fresno, Calif., and Salt Lake City, Utah.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Comrie, Gillies record 1st NHL wins on same night

A pair of netminders picked up their first wins in the NHL on Thursday night.

More impressively, it was the first start in the big leagues for both goaltenders.

Jon Gillies came away with the victory for the Calgary Flames, defeating the Los Angeles Kings 4-1. Gillies turned aside 27 shots in the win, with the lone goal coming from Kings winger Trevor Lewis.

"That was an unbelievable effort by our team. It was fun to be behind and fun to play behind," Gillies told reporters. "When you play behind an effort like that, it's easy to see why they've had so much success this year."

It's been a long road to the NHL for Gillies after the Flames selected him with the 75th pick in the 2012 draft. He spent the following three seasons at Providence College before turning pro with the AHL's Stockton Heat, the Flames' minor-league affiliate.

Gillies has appeared in 38 games with the Heat this season, posting a 17-14-1 record alongside a .909 save percentage and 2.95 goals-against average.

No doubt he made the most of his opportunity, joining the Flames on an emergency recall after backup Chad Johnson was lost to a lower-body injury.

Meanwhile, Eric Comrie got the call for the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday, putting up a huge effort in his NHL debut. He made 35 saves as the Jets defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets on the road.

"He was very, very good, as you saw," Jets coach Paul Maurice told reporters following the victory. "The little things though - rebound control, the number of quick shots that came to him that he got off into the corner - so we didn't have to fight for (the pucks). A smaller goalie has to be positionally really sound to play in this league, and there were three or four that he got with his shoulder or blocker that was all technique."

Canadian hockey fans will recall Comrie from his performance at the 2015 World Junior Championship. The Edmonton native appeared in two games at the tournament, winning both contests and posting a .933 save percentage in the process. Comrie was a part of that year's gold medal-winning squad.

Drafted 59th overall by the Jets in 2013, Comrie completed two more seasons with the WHL's Tri-City Americans before moving on to the AHL.

He owns a 17-25-2 record with a .906 save rate and 2.98 GAA in 48 games this season with the Jets' minor-league affiliate, the Manitoba Moose.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Remember, we are all Canucks!