St. Louis Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, who was selected to wear the 'C' following the departure of David Backes this past offseason, addressed the firing of head coach Ken Hitchcock after practice Wednesday, saying it's time the team pulls itself together.
Certainly it's on the back end where new bench boss Mike Yeo needs to focus, as the Blues have allowed 157 goals against to date, the fifth-highest total among all teams.
Gold is a good color for Matt Duchene. He proved as much in September's World Cup of Hockey, and at the 2014 Winter Olympics.
In keeping with that trend, maybe the 26-year-old should be draped in those colors full time as a member of the Nashville Predators.
Duchene's name continues to be thrown around in trade rumors, and he said he's open to the idea of joining a new club. The number of teams that have inquired about him is reportedly extremely high.
The Anaheim Ducks and New York Islanders have been discussed as potential destinations for the former third overall pick, but it's the Predators that make the most sense. Here are a few reasons why:
Lineup fit
Sure, the Ducks and Islanders could use the services Duchene can provide as a dependable offensive center, but the fact is he can't just slot right into either team's top six that easily.
Moving Duchene into the Ducks' lineup means one of Ryan Getzlaf, Ryan Kesler, and Duchene would be either playing on the third line, or forced to play the wing.
Duchene has experience on the wing, where he played as a member of Team Canada at the World Cup. The biggest difference there - and why that ultimately worked - was the ridiculous talent that Canada has. It makes sense when the world's elite are involved, and when the team is made up almost entirely of centermen.
It could work in the short term for a playoff run, but given Duchene's contract carries an extra two years, that's a long-term commitment.
A similar conundrum exists with the Islanders. Sure, Brock Nelson would certainly get pushed down from the second line in favor of Duchene, but considering Nelson has posted nearly identical numbers to Duchene this year, you could be messing with his potential success.
The Predators, on the other hand, have the luxury in that after Ryan Johansen, each center could slot down one spot. Plus, the thought of James Neal on Duchene's wing is intriguing, and could provide the team with a potentially lethal second line.
Predators expansion preparation
Acquiring Duchene could also help the Predators fix their expansion protection problem.
As it stands, the team is likely to go with the second protection option, wherein the club will elect to protect eight skaters (forwards or defensemem) and a goalie over the potential to save seven forwards, three defensemen, and a goalie.
This is because the Predators have one of the strongest quartets of defensemen in the league, and they would be silly not to try to hold on to it.
It would likely be either Ekholm or Ellis, and, while it hurts, the fact is it comes in the form of Duchene, and gives the team the ability to in turn save three extra forwards. It's a blessing in disguise, especially with the club boasting many young, budding forwards, such as Austin Watson, Jarnkrok, Craig Smith, and Colin Wilson.
Goals wanted
The Predators hold the third playoff spot in the Central Division, but it's far from cemented, with Winnipeg just four points behind.
With that in mind - along with the fact the team will need to compete with the offensive juggernauts of the West in Chicago and Minnesota - the Predators need to keep pace, and Duchene can help them do that.
The Predators sit in the middle of the pack with 2.76 goals per game and the 15th-ranked power play. The team does muster the seventh-most shots, though, so they could simply need a finisher, and Duchene could help in that department.
There are still many clubs throwing their hat into the Matt Duchene sweepstakes, but the Predators are the best fit.
Sheary ranks third on the Penguins in goals (17) and fourth in points (35). He'd been clicking with Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust since being bumped up to Pittsburgh's top line earlier in the season.
The 24-year-old had scored nine goals in nine games before collecting just a single point over his last three contests.
Sheary is in his second NHL season, both with the Penguins who signed him after he went undrafted out of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.
It's official - Evgeny Kuznetsov has gotten his game back on track.
After a miserable start to the season, the Washington Capitals forward earned first-star honors for the month of January. Kuznetsov finished second in the league with seven goals and 20 points in 15 games.
The 24-year-old recorded seven multi-point games in the month and was instrumental in the Capitals reclaiming top spot in the standings. He now sits third in team scoring with 39 points in 50 games.
Despite a $10,000 fine for his dangerous trip on Niklas Kronwall, Brad Marchand was equally lethal on the scoring sheet in January.
The Boston Bruins forward earned second-star honors, leading the NHL with 11 goals in the month - including a five-point outing against the Philadelphia Flyers - while pacing the league with three shorthanded goals and four shorthanded points.
Brent Burns also continued to do his thing and earned the month's third star. The San Jose Sharks pivot extended his lead in the defensemen scoring race by putting up a league-best six goals and 18 points in 14 games.
Burns now has a 12-point cushion in league scoring by defensemen, while his 53 points are fourth overall.
The Toronto Maple Leafs center has been named the NHL’s Rookie of the Month for January after recording four goals and 11 assists for 15 points in 13 games.
Marner joins teammates William Nylander (October) and Auston Matthews (December) to earn the honor during the current campaign, making the Maple Leafs the first NHL team with three different Rookie of the month honorees in a single season.
As a result of his productive month, Marner sits in a tie with Winnipeg's Patrik Laine for first in rookie scoring with 41 points. Matthews ranks second (39), while Nylander is in a tie for third (31).
It was a difficult day for Ken Hitchcock, but Doug Armstrong didn't have an easy one, either.
The St. Louis Blues general manager fought back tears during his opening remarks Wednesday at the first press conference of the Mike Yeo era, after Armstrong named the former Blues associate coach Hitchcock's replacement earlier than initially planned.
Blues GM Doug Armstrong visibly shaken, overcome with emotion during Ken Hitchcock replacement news conference #stlbluespic.twitter.com/PxrEZntwcb
Yeo also expressed regret that his early promotion had to come at the expense of Hitchcock.
"I learned a great deal from him and I'm very appreciative," Yeo said. "I feel extremely bad that I'm sitting up here today."
Armstrong said he spoke to Hitchcock after Tuesday night's loss to the Winnipeg Jets, adding that the decision was especially tough because the veteran coach is "probably my best friend."
The GM gave an unprompted and topical comparison in reference to his outpouring of emotion Wednesday.
"As a Canadian citizen, I gave you my best impression of (U.S. Senator) Chuck Schumer," the GM quipped. Schumer teared up over the weekend discussing President Donald Trump's controversial immigration and travel ban.
The Blues have struggled mightily over the last two months or so, and are now clinging to the second and final Western Conference wild-card spot after losing five of their last six games.
"It's my responsibility why we're off track, and it's my responsibility to get them back on track," Armstrong said.
Yeo wasn't supposed to take over for Hitchcock until next season, as initially dictated by Armstrong when Yeo was brought on as associate coach last summer.
A dominant run of play has put the Washington Capitals back atop the latest Stanley Cup odds list.
The Capitals - who won 12 of 15 games in January - now sit first in the NHL standings, and by extension have the best odds of being the last team standing in the playoffs, according to Bodog.
Also of note on the list below: the St. Louis Blues - who fired head coach Ken Hitchcock on Wednesday - dropped well down, while the Toronto Maple Leafs made a bit of a leap.
The situation behind St. Louis' bench this season was a bit odd to begin with.
Early in the offseason, the Blues added Mike Yeo - former head coach of the Minnesota Wild - to serve as an assistant to longtime bench boss Ken Hitchcock. There was nothing odd about that, except for the fact it was concurrently announced that Yeo would take over for Hitchcock at the end of 2016-17.
The best laid plans often go awry, as they say, and on Wednesday the club decided to expedite the succession process, relieving Hitchcock of his duties and promoting Yeo to the head coach position effective immediately.
And so ends a successful run for one of the NHL's most experienced head coaches.
Over 6 seasons Ken Hitchcock led the Blues to a 248-124-41 regular season record and ranks second on the Blues' all-time wins list
The move comes with the Blues sitting in the Western Conference's second wild-card spot, albeit with a record of 24-21-5 and a minus-16 goal differential with 32 games remaining on the schedule. This after St. Louis finished third in the league last season with 107 points before advancing to the Western Conference Final, where they lost to San Jose in six games.
So what went wrong?
It doesn't take too much digging to see one of the major issues that plagued Hitchcock this season, and that Yeo will now have to contend with.
Last season, #stlblues led #NHL with .919 save percentage. This season, dead last at .887.
Following the trade of Brian Elliott to Calgary, the goaltending duties were handed to Jake Allen, with Carter Hutton brought in to serve as backup. The results to date have been disastrous.
Player
Games
Record
GAA
Save %
Jake Allen
36
17-13-3
2.87
895
Carter Hutton
22
7-7-2
2.81
.896
These numbers come in a season where the Blues are allowing the fifth-fewest shots per game (27.6), but also the third-most goals per game (3.12). Looking a bit deeper, they rank fifth with a Corsi rating of 51.68 in five-on-five play, and 28th in save percentage (90.67) in the same situation.
In other words, they're regularly recording more shot attempts than the opposition, but simply unable to keep the puck out of their own net.
That imbalance - in conjunction with a slightly above average 11th-ranked offense in terms of goals per game - is enough to make even the best of coaches want to tear their hair out.
This falls largely on Allen, to whom general manager Doug Armstrong handed a six-year contract extension worth $17.4 million based on the belief he could carry the load as a bona fide starting goalie. It wasn't without merit, as Allen started 44 games for the Blues last season, posting a .920 save percentage.
The 26-year-old, however, has taken a big step back, costing Hitchcock his job and leaving Yeo hoping he can turn things around, and fast.
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Here is a look at the Squad Up daily NHL fantasy picture for Wednesday, Feb. 1:
Dynamic Duos
C Jeff Carter (62K) & LW Tanner Pearson (49K), Kings (vs. Avalanche): The Avalanche surrender a league-high 3.4 goals against per game. Carter is tied for second in the league with 24 goals, yet he remains relatively affordable.
C Nicklas Backstrom (55K) & LW Alex Ovechkin (74K), Capitals (vs. Bruins): Bruins GTuukka Rask has a save percentage of just .869 in his last nine games. Knowing Ovechkin will take a healthy amount of shots each game, he is bound to find twine at least once.
C Eric Staal (39K) & RW Nino Niederreiter (41K), Wild (at Flames): The Flames have lost four of their last five games, surrendering at least four goals in all four of those losses. Minnesota is on the second of a back-to-back while Calgary hasn't played since Jan. 26, but it's still tough to ignore the bargain of Staal.
Bargain Plays
G Devan Dubnyk (75K), Wild (at Flames): The Wild may have played last night, but Dubnyk did not. The road matchup against a rested team is likely the reasoning he is just 75K, but the guy is a near lock to win the Vezina Trophy. Don't overthink this.
LW Matthew Tkachuk (29K), Flames (vs. Wild): Tkachuk is having a fantastic rookie season with 31 points. He has additional value in Squad Up thanks to his 92 PIMs and 51 hits. A matchup with Dubnyk is daunting, but he can return value in other ways.
C Frank Vatrano (29K), Bruins (at Capitals): Vatrano has just eight points in 18 games this year, but he is averaging nearly three shots per game. He has also chipped in with 25 hits. The matchup is tough, but bargain plays are limited on a three-game slate.
Top Fades
C Patrice Bergeron (53K), Bruins (at Capitals): Bergeron isn't having the type of offensive season to which we've become accustomed. Yet, he is still priced like a valuable offensive fantasy asset. His main priority will be shutting down Ovechkin and Co., so don't expect much offensive production.
RW Kris Versteeg (40K), Flames (vs. Wild): To be frank, Versteeg has done absolutely nothing to warrant a salary of 40K, especially with a matchup against Dubnyk and the first-place Wild.
D Jake Muzzin (38K), Kings (vs. Avalanche): Even against the lowly Avalanche, it's not worth investing 38K in Muzzin with cheaper options who can provide the same results.
Contrarian Options
LW Johnny Gaudreau (64K), Flames (vs. Wild): The Flames are the only team on Wednesday's slate who didn't play last night. Gaudreau and his high salary will be faded by most against Dubnyk, but Johnny Hockey is by far the most dangerous offensive talent Calgary has to offer.
C Anze Kopitar (72K), Kings (vs. Avalanche): Carter is having a better season and comes cheaper than Kopitar, so the Slovenian's ownership will surely be down despite the great matchup. He has 10 points in his last nine games.
RW David Backes (36K), Bruins (at Capitals): Backes is averaging just 0.5 points per game, but he makes up for it with 115 shots, 121 hits, 54 PIMs and a surprising 32 blocks for a forward. Any points he can muster up would be a huge bonus.
