They'll be playing in the Buffalo Bills' building, so it's only natural that Team USA's jerseys will have a football feel.
The governing body for American hockey revealed the sweaters its world junior squad will don for the first-ever outdoor game in tournament history at New Era Field in Buffalo on Dec. 29.
Team USA will wear a special commemorative jersey for its outdoor game against Canada on Dec. 29, 2017 pic.twitter.com/PaAD2wu3hM
Ray Shero isn't completely ruling out trading the first overall pick, but he's leaning toward keeping it.
"I've gotten calls asking if there's interest moving down and other calls where it's been more specific and it's something to think about," the New Jersey Devils general manager told NHL.com's Mike Morreale. "But I haven't called them back. The idea is we'll probably be picking, but we're open to a lot of things."
Shero doesn't have a specific price in mind for a potential deal.
"What would it get me to trade the No. 1 pick outright? I couldn't even tell you," he said. "It hasn't been done that much, but if we did do something like that it would be pretty apparent it was the right thing to do. You have to be ready for all different scenarios in moving up or down, and in this case down."
Nolan Patrick topped Central Scouting's final rankings for North American skaters, but either he or Nico Hischier could conceivably be selected first.
"I think Nico is a little better skater; they both are good defensively," Devils director of amateur scouting Paul Castron said.
"Patrick has the size edge and both are so smart. It's all projection for us and we stress that in all our meetings. No matter what round we're picking, the guy that scores 90 points and the guy that scores 60 points must be looked at separately because there are a lot of factors that come into play. Some guys get more ice time and it's no different than in the NHL. The guys with the most points are usually the guys that get the most power-play time."
We'll find out what the Devils do with the top pick when the draft begins June 23 in Chicago.
Florida Panthers general manager Dale Tallon announced Wednesday that former NHL defenseman Bryan McCabe has been promoted to the position of director of player personnel.
McCabe has worked in the Panthers' organization over the past five years, most recently holding the title of director of player development.
The 42-year-old suited up for six NHL franchises over the course of his 16-year career, including three seasons in Florida between 2008-11 when he served as the team's sixth captain in franchise history.
With the NHL offseason now underway, we're looking at what's in store for each club in the coming months.
2016-17 Grade: A-
Take a bow, Nashville. You truly were the feel-good story of the NHL year.
Although the Predators backed into the playoffs, losing five of their last seven regular-season games and finishing eighth in the Western Conference, their postseason run put the league on notice.
Nashville proved playoff seedings are really just numbers on a page, knocking out the powerhouse Chicago Blackhawks in the first round with an impressive four-game sweep en route to the Stanley Cup Final - and we all know what happened there.
Free Agents
Once the dust settles on Nashville's playoff run, general manager David Poile's busy summer kicks off with the expansion and entry drafts.
Not only will Poile have to decide what players to protect, which should be interesting due to how well his entire roster played during the playoffs, a hefty list of talented free agents requires his attention.
Nashville is currently stacked in net with Pekka Rinne and Juuse Saros firmly entrenched in the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, respectively, so retaining third-stringer Marek Mazanec would strictly be a depth move.
Goalie
2017-18 Status
Age
2016-17 Cap Hit
2016-17 SV%
Marek Mazanec
RFA
25
$575K
.839
2017 Draft Picks
Selecting 30th in the first round would represent a challenge for most GMs, but Poile has a proven knack for finding diamonds in the rough - Rinne was drafted in the eighth round.
Round
Picks
1
1
2
1
3
1
4
0
5
1
6
1 (From NYR)
7
1
The Preds may also be inclined to move their first-rounder in some kind of package deal to address one of their needs listed below.
Summer Priorities
(Photos courtesy: Action Images)
1. Re-sign Johansen and Arvidsson
Nashville's top scorers from the 2016-17 campaign are in line for significant raises this summer.
Not only did Johansen and Arvidsson lead the team in goals, assists, and points, but they're key cogs in Peter Laviolette's speed-first approach and contribute on special teams, too - Arvidsson led the league in shorthanded goals with five.
Johansen and Arvidsson make the Preds tick. Replacing either of them now would be a mistake that Poile will surely avoid.
2. Leave Neal unprotected, or trade him
James Neal is coming off his worst offensive showing in three seasons.
He's also 29 years old, and if his regular-season performance - 23 goals and 18 assists - is any indication of what he has left in the tank, the Preds would be wise to move on from the streaky scorer and go with a younger, cheaper option like Calle Jarnkrok.
Both players are candidates for Poile's expansion-list chopping block, and if Neal is left unprotected and goes unselected, he may be moved to the trade block.
3. Land a top-six center
After Johansen, Nashville's roster is a bit sketchy up the middle.
Credit is due to guys like Mike Fisher, Colton Sissons, and Jarnkrok for their efforts, but realistically, those players just don't have the talent the Predators need to take the club over the top.
This is the section that usually says your team's future looks bright - and yes, get the shades ready, because the potential for sustained success in Nashville is downright dazzling.
The Predators arguably tout the best defensive core in the game, and they have P.K. Subban, Roman Josi, Mattias Ekholm, and Ryan Ellis all locked down for at least the next two seasons.
Playoff puck will be back on Broadway in 2018. Ready the catfish accordingly.
The adorable Predators fan had a message for her favorite team, suggesting they shouldn't be sad for losing, because they already did great. You know what? She isn't wrong.
The Predators should be in a good spot to challenge again next year, and if they do, they'll have at least one superfan pulling for them the entire way.
Evgeni Malkin is one of the greatest players ever, yet still seemingly underrated and underappreciated by the hockey world.
Sidney Crosby was awarded this year's Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. There's no question he was deserving, but the award easily could have gone to Malkin. He had 10 goals and a playoff-leading 28 points in 25 games.
In fact, Malkin's career playoff numbers are downright absurd. His 157 playoff points are the 26th-most all time, and his 1.054 points per game in the postseason ranks 21st. Oh, and he's just 30 years old and is playing in one of the lowest-scoring eras in NHL history.
Malkin doesn't just wait until the playoffs to elevate his game, though.
Malkin also sits 14th all time in regular-season points per game, ahead of players such as Pat LaFontaine, Steve Yzerman, and Eric Lindros.
However, when it comes to era-adjusted points per game, which is arguably the best tool to compare players from different eras, Malkin is truly among the game's elite:
Player
GP
Adj. Pts
Adj. PPG
1. Mario Lemieux
915
1540
1.68
2. Wayne Gretzky
1487
2475
1.66
3. Sidney Crosby
782
1143
1.46
4. Peter Forsberg
708
977
1.38
5. Bobby Orr
657
878
1.34
6. Evgeni Malkin
706
928
1.31
7. Alex Ovechkin
903
1159
1.28
8. Eric Lindros
760
942
1.24
9. Gordie Howe
1767
2190
1.24
10. Joe Sakic
1378
1679
1.22
Statistically, Malkin is clearly one of the best ever, and he also has the hardware to back it up, having won a Calder Trophy, two Art Ross Trophies, a Conn Smythe Award, a Hart Trophy, a Lester B. Pearson Award, and now three Stanley Cups.
So, why doesn't he get more credit?
Though there are certainly many reasons, two stand out:
Sid's sidekick
(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)
The duo of Crosby and Malkin is the biggest reason why the Penguins have three Stanley Cups in the past decade. How many Cups would Crosby have without Malkin? How many would Malkin have without Crosby? The answer to both: probably none.
Regardless of both of their contributions, Malkin has seemingly lived in Crosby's shadow his entire career. Crosby was a No. 1 overall pick, debuted in the NHL first, won a Hart Trophy first, and is the team's captain.
Crosby quickly became the face of the league after debuting, while Malkin had to overcome a language barrier early in his career, and was seen in interviews far less often than his All-World counterpart, which brings us to reason No. 2:
From Russia, but no love
(Photo courtesy: Action Images)
If Malkin was born in Canada and Crosby was born in Russia, how would their careers be different?
Would Malkin be the one with two Olympic golds and a World Cup? Would he have been the "face" of the league? Would he have ended up being Pittsburgh's captain? Would he have been taken ahead of Alex Ovechkin in the 2004 NHL Draft and never even became a Penguin at all? It's an alternate universe that we can only imagine.
Regardless, anyone who believes that being from Russia doesn't affect Malkin's position in the hierarchy of the game's stars is ignorant.
Legacy
(Photo courtesy: Action Images)
Malkin's absence from the NHL100 list was a flat-out joke. He's arguably among the 20 greatest players of all time - maybe even cracking the top 10 when all is said and done. Remember, he is still just 30 years old.
Even at 6-foot-3, he still gets lost in Crosby's shadow, as well as amidst the slew of great North American players in the NHL today. Fans of the game sometimes need to be reminded how truly great Malkin is, and how we shouldn't take a generational player like him for granted.
Sidney Crosby is about to add a Cy Young Award to his collection.
Not really, but the Pittsburgh Penguins captain - and recent repeat winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy and Stanley Cup - threw a solid opening pitch at PNC Park on Tuesday ahead of the Pittsburgh Pirates' clash with the Colorado Rockies.
It's good to see that Crosby was able to make such an accurate throw, as the team looked to be doing a little celebrating on Monday.
