After Vancouver Canucks general manager Jim Benning revealed he was exploring a trade to acquire defenseman P.K. Subban, Montreal Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin wasn't going to let that go without consequences.
Benning also said he planned to call Steven Stamkos' agent when the free agent interview period begins Saturday. After the NHL spoke with Benning about the tampering allegations, he refused to discuss any players that belonged to other organizations.
"He crossed the line," Bergevin said. "I don't know where the line was crossed but he definitely crossed the line. It can't happen."
Auston Matthews leads record of American selected in opening round of NHL draft. Details and more in your NHL morning coffee headlines. NHL.COM: As expected, center Auston Matthews was selected first overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2016 NHL Draft. Matthews was just one of a record 12 American-born players selected in the opening […]
BUFFALO - It wasn't very different than your typical drive down the Queen Elizabeth Way to see the Toronto Maple Leafs in Buffalo. The First Niagara Center venue was the same, except this time, the trip wasn't to play the Sabres, but to pick up the future of the franchise.
Auston Matthews got a full dose of what it was like to be a Maple Leaf on Friday night. The Buffalo fans were hostile when Toronto took the podium to select its first overall selection, while Maple Leafs fans were passionate - especially a row of them wearing "Auston 20:16" t-shirts.
Change is good
Toronto's management team has been hard at work over the last two years putting the right pieces together to transform its team. First, Brendan Shanahan became team president. After gutting the front office and hiring new bodies, Toronto lured Mike Babcock out of Detroit in May 2015. The team was filled out when Lou Lamoriello was named general manager in July of last year.
On Friday, once Lamoriello passed the microphone to director of player personnel Mark Hunter to announce Toronto's first No. 1 pick since 1985, it was finally official. Matthews was a Toronto Maple Leaf. He embraced his family and friends, who got him to this point. The kid from Arizona, who made a stop in Switzerland, will now ply his trade in the pressure cooker that is Toronto.
"It’s going to be an adjustment for sure, but I think it's something that I can handle well," Matthews said. "Over time, I'll get better at it."
On stage, Matthews became the first player to wear the new Maple Leafs' jersey emblazoned with the club's new logo. The moment was symbolic of the transformation the franchise has gone through over the past year.
Pain and patience
Judging by fan sentiment during the 2015-16 rebuilding season in which Toronto finished last, Matthews should have a lot of rope to get acquainted with the NHL. However, given recent moves the Maple Leafs have made, the need to produce wins will be significantly higher than last season.
But Matthews can't do it alone.
"Hockey is a team game, there really is no savior," Matthews said. "I want to be an impact player. A centerman, a No. 1 centerman in the NHL, that's my ultimate goal."
The Maple Leafs have ensured a crop of young talent will surround Matthews as he adjusts. Skilled forwards William Nylander and Nikita Soshnikov will likely play full seasons with the big club. Mitch Marner is also a candidate to join the Maple Leafs, since the American Hockey League isn't an option.
"Those young guys, Marner and Nylander, are two very special players," Matthews said. "It's definitely exciting and I'm looking forward," he added.
Later in the draft, the Sabres selected Nylander’s brother Alexander, adding another wrinkle to the Buffalo-Toronto rivalry.
Fast forward
The cadence by which the Maple Leafs have built their team has seemingly accelerated, and it all stems from the night of April 30, when Toronto won the draft lottery. Immediately, the franchise saw what could be possible with something it hasn't had in 31 years - first dibs.
Last week, Toronto made a move to solidify its goaltending, acquiring Frederik Andersen from the Anaheim Ducks for a pair of draft picks. The club immediately locked him up to a five-year contract, giving him the title of No. 1 goaltender.
It appeared to be a decision that resembled Toronto goaltending trades of the past, but management was quick to caution.
"Please, be assured that the thought process of the plan is in place, we're not pushing it forward," Lamoriello said in a conference call with reporters after acquiring Andersen. "We've said all along that if we were able to put ourselves in a position to get better and not interrupt what we are doing, we would do it. And I believe that's what we tried to do today."
Comparing Matthews to center Connor McDavid, last year's No. 1 pick, may be a bit unfair, but Shanahan's comments prior to the lottery were quite telling.
"It would certainly speed things up" Shanahan said when asked about drafting first overall would mean. Before he could answer the next question, he added, "I’m sorry, I'm still smiling at that last one."
Shanahan's comments were reaffirmed when Lamoriello looked back on Friday night.
"Today was twofold. This draft gave us the ability to come out of here better up front as far as getting a talented young man who can play center. And also getting a goaltender," the 73-year-old said. "It was because of this draft, we were able to get a goaltender."
Looking ahead
Toronto has clearly been licking its chops since realizing it would be adding Matthews. Now, the focus shifts to free agency, with the window to talk to potential additions opening Saturday.
"Everyone has always told me when (Toronto's) winning, it's the best place to be in the league," Matthews said. "That’s something I'm looking forward to."
With the good comes the bad, but Toronto hasn't given any indication it's deviating too much from the master plan, even if it has accelerated quite a bit since that fateful night in late April.
Auston Matthews is indeed in blue, and Patrik Laine a darker shade, but what followed the first two picks in the first round of the NHL Draft on Friday night in Buffalo, N.Y. was completely unpredictable.
Here are the winners and losers for the first round of the NHL draft.
Winner: Red Wings
Moving Pavel Datsyuk's contract opens up a world of possibilities for the Red Wings this summer. His hands no longer tied, Ken Holland can now target a No. 1 center, (there's a pretty decent one now free to negotiate, by the way), instead of paying the price to have one play elsewhere.
This single transaction, and one that really didn't come at a significant cost, could be the difference in not just extending one of the more remarkable streaks in sport for one season, but for many more to come.
Loser: Bruins
Don Sweeney's made five picks during the first round in just two drafts in charge of the Bruins - and he's infuriated fans with each and every one.
Winner: John Chayka
The Arizona Coyotes rookie GM's first foray into the NHL playground was a successful one.
Chayka made his intentions known with the seventh overall pick, surprising some with a lottery selection spent on Clayton Keller - a slight, exceedingly dynamic and inventive forward. Keller now joins what could be the greatest assembly of attacking prospects in the game. But it wasn't until a few picks later that Chayka made his biggest statement. He, of course, volunteered to house Datsyuk's contract on his payroll to slot another big-name prospect under the Arizona banner in Jakob Chychrun.
Loser: Jakob Chychrun
Not a single player was displaced more than Chychrun, who required Chayka to step in at No. 16 to stop a slide that began when he was ranked second among North American prospects at the start of the season.
Winner: Calgary
The acquisition of Brian Elliott could be the difference in fielding a competitive or a non-competitive roster next season, and the Flames are not yet locked into a long-term commitment. But adding this player, maintaining the No. 6 pick, and having Matthew Tkachuk fall into that slot, makes for a favorable night.
Loser: Senators
Logan Brown could very well turn out to be the class of the 2016 NHL Draft, but there's no need to flatter him right now. New Jersey's willingness to move down one spot really should've been all the intel Pierre Dorion required.
Winner: St. Louis
There were a record 12 American-born players taken in the first-round of the NHL Draft, most of which were outsourced from an unlikely hockey hotbed in the Midwest.
Five Missouri-bred prospects were chosen in the first round, including four in the front half of the round.
Loser: Blues
It's not that the Blues traded one of the NHL's best statistical goaltenders from a season ago - and truly one of the best values at all positions in terms of production on the dollar - in Elliott. It's that they ceded far too easily to a team quickly becoming desperate for a capable body in net for such a ho-hum return.
Winner: Oilers
And c'mon, it wouldn't be a draft without a little fortune for Oil Country. Jesse Puljujarvi is an absolute coup, and a prospect that makes Edmonton's top six (or is it now nine?) laughably talented.
BUFFALO, N.Y. - The Edmonton Oilers didn't win the draft lottery this year, but they may have hit the jackpot with Jesse Puljujarvi at the NHL draft.
Touted by many as a top three prospect, Edmonton snagged the dynamic Finnish right winger at...
BUFFALO, N.Y. - Auston Matthews is a Toronto Maple Leaf.
The American centre became the first No. 1 overall pick of the franchise in 31 years and instantly the most significant piece of an ascending rebuild in Toronto.
Hailing from the unl...
The Dallas Stars general manager let head coach Lindy Ruff make the club's first-round pick at the NHL Draft in Buffalo, and the fans at First Niagara Center showed their appreciation for the former Sabres bench boss.
Ruff coached the Sabres for nearly 15 seasons from 1997 to 2013, guiding them to eight playoff appearances and a Stanley Cup Final appearance in 1999.
He won the Jack Adams Award as the NHL's top head coach with Buffalo in 2006 and earned a nomination as a finalist this season with Dallas.
Credit Nill for being aware of the moment, and to the Buffalo fans, who took a break from booing many of the other clubs to pay Ruff respect.
The Montreal Canadiens made a splash at Friday's draft well before they picked defenseman Mikhail Sergachev with the ninth overall pick, as general manager Marc Bergevin crafted a trade to land Chicago Blackhawks forward Andrew Shaw.
The Canadiens also dealt forward Lars Eller to the Washington Capitals, but in adding Shaw, Montreal sent two second-round picks to Chicago for a player Bergevin thinks can have an immediate impact.
#Habs MB: "(Shaw) is a proven winner. I know he can help our room. I don't know exactly what he's going to cost us, we had to make some room
Shaw's resume with the Blackhawks also had an impact on the acquisition.
"I believe in leadership and character, he's won two Stanley Cups, only played five years in the NHL," Bergevin said.
Shaw is a restricted free agent, and reportedly asked the Blackhawks for a new contract in the realm of $4.5 million, and though he doesn't know what it will cost, Bergevin is adamant on getting a deal done soon.
#Habs MB re speaking with Shaw's agent Pat Brisson tonight: "We're going to start the conversation pretty soon about getting him signed."
BUFFALO, N.Y. - With time running out, Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman isn't ready to give up on the possibility of re-signing captain Steven Stamkos.
Speaking at the NHL draft Friday night, Yzerman declined to provide an up...
