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Sabres Star Nearing Impressive New Career Highs
Buffalo Sabres defenseman Owen Power is an important part of the club's future. The Sabres selected him as the first overall pick of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, and he is continuing to develop at the NHL level.
As a 22-year-old defenseman, Power naturally has had some bumps along the way as he works on growing his game. However, at the same time, he is continuing to hit new levels.
In 66 games this season, the Mississauga, Ontario native already has seven goals - a new career-high - to go along with 28 assists and 35 points. There is also a good chance that he will hit more career highs before the season is over.
Power needs just four more assists and one more point to reach new career highs. He set his current ones of 31 assists and 35 points during the 2022-23 season in 79 games.
When noting that the Sabres have 16 games left this season, Power undoubtedly has a real shot of hitting both of these new career highs before the season is over. He is also red-hot, too, as he has four points in his last three games. This includes recording a goal and two assists in the Sabres' last matchup against the Boston Bruins on March 17.
Nevertheless, it will be intriguing to see if Power hits these new career highs from here.
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In 2016, Young Stars Marner And Nylander Were Foundational Pieces Of Leafs' Blueprint For Success
The Toronto Maple Leafs were fortunate to draft phenoms William Nylander and Mitch Marner as foundational parts of their blueprint for success. And in this cover story from THN's March 4, 2016 edition -- our 2016 Future Watch edition -- senior writer Ken Campbell put together a deep-dive profile of Marner and Nylander:
THE RIGHT WAY
The Toronto Marlies are generally treated as the bastard child of the Toronto Maple Leafs, an afterthought in a hockey market where fans call into talk radio and wonder why their NHL team can’t just trade for P.K. Subban, like it’s that easy, or simply snap their fingers and sign Steven Stamkos and John Tavares when they become free agents. Toronto’s AHL franchise plays in a former horse palace, albeit a wonderfully refurbished one that makes for a great viewing experience, and despite being in the AHL’s biggest city and the Center of the Hockey Universe™ where they’re in first place and the NHL team is dead last, you can always get a ticket. Sometimes you might even have to pay for it. But there’s a lot of foot room for patrons since the arena is usually only about two-thirds full.
On this day in early February, however, the Marlies have the rule of the roost. The Maple Leafs are out of town on an extended road trip, so the Marlies take over the big club’s practice facility, a four-pad rink in the west end of the city. At one point during practice, Marlies coach Sheldon Keefe breaks the team into two groups, with one traipsing over to one rink to work exclusively on skill development and the other staying behind to work on systems.
It is brilliant. And it’s just one of a myriad of reasons why, for the first time in years, there is a light at the end of the dark tunnel that does not resemble an oncoming train. From the top down, the Maple Leafs have gone from being an organization that relied on free agency and trades to one whose primary focus is drafting the right players and developing them properly. The Leafs are aiming to become one of those franchises that uses its financial might to stock its front office with the best talent identifiers in the game and then trust them to draft the best players, develop them into stars and use that to attract top free agents. “We want to become the New York Yankees of the NHL,” said first-year GM Lou Lamoriello. “There’s no reason why we can’t.”
One of those players is William Nylander, a quiet 19-year-old with great blond flow and on-ice moves that are just as impressive. He’s a little undersized by NHL standards, but he has wonderful puck skills, can score and set up plays with equal aplomb, and gets around the ice pretty well. And like his father, former NHLer Michael Nylander, William comes with great expectations. In our 1992 Future Watch edition, we ran a story on a 19-year-old Michael that might have just slightly raised expectations. The headline read, “The G-Word,” and made references to how Michael, then a Hartford prospect playing in Sweden, was being compared to Wayne Gretzky.
The son doesn’t face the same burden of expectation, but it is there. You’d better believe it is. The Maple Leafs are in complete rebuild mode, and the pain that coach Mike Babcock forecasted when he signed the richest coaching contract in the history of the game last summer is coming to fruition. Quite nicely, actually. The Maple Leafs could have the firstoverall pick this year if the Edmonton Oilers don’t steal it from them.
And thanks to a tear-down orchestrated by team president Brendan Shanahan, they could be picking in the top five for the next couple drafts, quite an about-face for an organization that has made a cottage industry of frittering away draft choices. A few days before the trade deadline, the Leafs had two first-round picks, including a conditional pick from the Penguins that could be used this year, giving the team potentially 12 picks at the 2016 draft. Stamkos and Auston Matthews await, and fans are expecting the first real rebuild in decades to lead to a Stanley Cup parade through Canada’s financial district and down Bay Street.
And Nylander is a large part of that. He has moved up nine spots in our individual Future Watch rankings to second overall among NHL-affiliated prospects playing outside the league. And Mitch Marner, who is tearing up the OHL with the London Knights, is right behind him at No. 3. It’s rarified air for the Maple Leafs and almost uncharted territory for anyone. Since THN began compiling its top-50 prospect list in 1994, a two-three punch has occurred only once – in 2000 when Henrik and Daniel Sedin were the No. 2 and 3 prospects. (Do those guys do anything apart?) Two years before, the New York Islanders had the No. 2 and 4 prospects in Eric Brewer and Roberto Luongo, and in 2006 the Pittsburgh Penguins had the No. 1 and 6 prospects in Evgeni Malkin and Marc-Andre Fleury.
The Leafs, meanwhile, are showing tangible signs of putting out the tire fire that has been their program of drafting and developing. The salary cap era hasn’t been kind to them, to say the least. Since 2006, the Leafs have never placed higher than 18th in our Future Watch rankings and have had an average ranking of 26th since 2006. The past three years, they’ve been ranked 25th, 29th and 27th.
That’s all changing with the additions of Nylander and Marner and will only improve as the prospects keep coming. Going into March, Nylander had spent the entire season in the AHL despite repeated howls to call him up to the Maple Leafs. As of mid-February, the Maple Leafs had called up a total of 14 players from the Marlies, not once bringing up Nylander. As they struggled through bad play and a rash of injuries, Nylander was still waiting to play his first NHL game. And the lack of a recall was not based on his play. With 40 points in 32 games, Nylander was behind only two other players among the AHL’s top 100 scorers in points per game.
The sense is the Maple Leafs, an organization where blue-chippers have gone to watch their careers go down a sinkhole, are doing right by Nylander. No sense in making him a part of this mess. But with that grooming comes expectation. Perhaps not the Gretzky-esque projections his father faced, but there is certainly that savior element to all of it. It’s a delicate balance of managing expectations and dealing with the reality that he’s playing in the AHL when he’s better than most of the players he sees on the big team.
“From the time I was young, people have looked at my father and what he did and just expected me and my brother (Alex, the leading scorer for the Mississauga Steelheads of the OHL and a first-round prospect for the 2016 draft) to be good players,” Nylander said. “It hasn’t really changed. It’s just there are more expectations and they’re bigger. But you don’t think about that. You just go out and play.”
His ability to do just that has undoubtedly been aided by the family support he has had around him. Michael landed a gig as an assistant coach for the Steelheads this season, so he and his two sons live in a small house together in Toronto, where Dad does all the cooking. Mom, Camilla, and the three younger sisters – aged nine, 11 and 15 – were due to move into a new house sometime in March so the family could be together. For all the great things that have happened to him this season, there have been some setbacks, and it was comforting for Nylander to have his family with him.
In Sweden’s first game of the World Junior Championship, Nylander absorbed a blindside hit and was knocked out of the tournament with a concussion, a crushing blow considering he was cherishing the opportunity to perform on the world stage with his younger brother and best friend.
“How often does a guy get to play in the world juniors with his brother on the same line?” Nylander said. “Before the hit came, we had played two shifts together and scored one goal. And you’re thinking, ‘This can’t be happening.’ I think if I had played, we would have had a good chance of winning the gold medal.” Then when he was recuperating from his concussion, he came down with appendicitis and was on medication for about a week. “We caught it early so they were able to give me some medicine,” Nylander said. “If I get it again, they’ll have to take it out. It was a short fix, and hopefully it stays that way.”
Ask any NHL scout and he’ll tell you that the biggest adjustment a player has to make in his career is getting to the AHL level, not the NHL. When a player, particularly a teenager, shows up in the AHL for the first time, he comes to the realization he’s playing for keeps now. He’s playing with men, some of them veterans in their 30s with NHL experience, whose success in the AHL is directly linked to their ability to put food on their family’s table. But it has been an almost seamless transition for Nylander, who came to the AHL from Sweden in the middle of last season. Projected over a full season, Nylander’s numbers from parts of two seasons equate to an 80-point campaign, all of which has been accomplished as a teenager who doesn’t turn 20 until May.
There is a good reason for that. Nylander, as well as the rest of the family, followed Michael on almost all his NHL stops. After his dad was traded from the Hartford Whalers to the Flames, Nylander was born in Calgary and followed his father to Tampa, Chicago, Washington, Boston, New York, then back to Washington. William has been a hockey nomad, jumping between Sweden and North America as a kid, playing at the age of 14 for the Chicago Mission bantam team that lost the national championship to Belle Tire from Detroit, a team that would later have nine NHL draft picks, including first-rounders Dylan Larkin, Zach Werenski, Brendan Perlini and Kyle Connor.
Nylander had hoped to dominate the 2016 WJC with Sweden like he’d been doing in the AHL with the Marlies, but a blindside hit knocked him out of the tournament early. A case of appendicitis then delayed his return to the Maple Leafs’ farm club.
But the other reason is that this season is the fifth one that Nylander has been playing with men, going back to playing in the Allsvenskan, Sweden’s secondtier pro league, with his father. From there he moved to the Modo hockey factory of the tier-1 Swedish League in northern Sweden before joining the Marlies. “I’ve been playing with men since I was 16, so coming here and playing with men wasn’t really that big of a difference,” Nylander said. “The way the game is played over here was the only real difference. ‘Kapi’ (fellow Maple Leafs’ prospect and world juniors hero Kasperi Kapanen), we both were playing with men when we were really young.”
But there is no hiding in a city where even prospects can be under a microscope at times. Despite playing in the minors, Nylander often gets identified in public. He is happy to pose for pictures and sign autographs, and he doesn’t get rattled when fans tell him to go out and win a Stanley Cup for them before they die. Before that happens, he has to become a player who is ready for the rigors of the NHL and the demands of playing in the best league in the world. “He wants to be great,” Keefe said. “Willie is a strong guy. His leg strength and power is right up there with anybody on our team. It’s intensity and competitiveness on both sides of the puck and consistency in his game. It’s up to us to make sure that he’s ready when that call comes.”
The Maple Leafs have made a statement on how they want to handle their young players in the way they’ve dealt with Nylander. And they’re making a statement about their future by staying with a plan that will exchange all of this pain into pleasure for their success-starved fans down the road. For the first time, there are no shortcuts, no blustery GM proclaiming a disdain for five-year plans and talking about how they name schools after you if you win a Stanley Cup in Toronto.
Now at the helm is Lamoriello, who won three Stanley Cups with the Devils and made a career out of being able to accurately and continually gauge the worth of players. Instead of having a front office filled with highly paid executives, the Leafs have put their resources into young minds, top scouts and people with backgrounds in assessing players both with eyeballs and flow charts.
“You never duplicate a situation,” Lamoriello said of the experience he brings over from the Devils. “Coming here, we’re going to have a Leaf way of doing things. Maybe it’s a combination of Detroit, maybe it’s a combination of New Jersey and a combination of Toronto making us who we are. What excites me most about this (scouting) staff is you cannot be afraid of making a mistake, and you cannot be afraid of taking a risk. They don’t all work out, but safe decisions are not always the best.”
Case in point, Mitch Marner. His potential is enormous, and he’s a player director of player personnel Mark Hunter recruited and developed for the London Knights. When the Carolina Hurricanes came to Toronto in late January, Leaf fans got to see Noah Hanifin, taken one pick after Marner in 2015, play 21 shifts at the NHL level totalling 21:35 in ice time and look very good. And Hanifin may turn out to be a better player than Marner, but the upside with Marner is very high. He’s a sublimely gifted offensive talent who makes jaw-dropping plays and is well on his way to his second consecutive 100-point season in the OHL. Hanifin will be a very good NHLer, but Marner has an opportunity to be a great one.
Maple Leafs brass wasn’t afraid to take a risk on the high-end potential of Marner.
And so it goes with the Maple Leafs, an organization that has seen more transition over the past couple years than any other. Change is difficult, something the Maple Leafs can attest to as they look up at 29 other teams in the standings, but change can also bring better days. With Shanahan at the helm and seemingly able to convince anyone to do what he wants – whether it’s by convincing the team’s board of governors to dispense with playoff revenues and commit to a rebuild or convince the likes of Babcock and Lamoriello to join him in his quest – there has never been a steadier hand at the tiller.
Hunter is regarded as one of the hardest working and best assessors of young talent in the game, Keefe is one of the games brightest up-and-coming coaches, and the Maple Leafs have a stable of young players they can finally point to and have a sense of hope.
“It’s an exciting time, but we haven’t done anything yet,” Lamoriello said. “Yes, there’s a vision, which is real. There’s a process, which is real. There’s a plan, but we have to stick with it and not think there’s an easy way. I’m very comfortable with it, and all our people are comfortable in their own skin. This is a good environment, but we’re not there yet.”
Devils Q&A: 5 Random Questions With Timo Meier
There is something about the month of March that brings out the best in New Jersey Devils power forward Timo Meier.
In nine games this month, the 28-year-old has seven points, including two game-winning goals. In his last game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Meier earned his 20th goal of the season. It is a mark he has reached in four consecutive seasons. Per NHL Pr, Meier tied Kevin Fiala and Nino Niederreiter (both with seven) for the most 20-goal seasons by a Swiss-born player in NHL history.
After a recent practice, The Hockey News sat with Meier for a mini Q&A. During the interview, he spoke about his love for the game, career trajectory, and more.
The Hockey News: Lisa Kudrow has publicly spoken about how it took a few years to settle into her Friends character, Phoebe Buffay. How long did it take you to get comfortable and understand what it takes to be an NHLer, day in and day out?
Timo Meier: Probably three years.
The first year, for me, was up and down in the AHL (American Hockey League) and kind of exploring a little bit and seeing both sides. After that, you then get a full year in (the NHL), and then after that, you know what it takes after having a full season. Going into the third year, I really knew what I had to do for the most part to have success. So, I would say the third year.
THN: Is there a particular moment in your career that you would love to show to your younger self to say this is going to be you in the future?
Meier: I think there are many moments - not just the good ones but also the ones where you struggle, where you show strength, and come through adversity. Obviously, you dream of playing in the NHL, but facing adversity and the way you handle it is what I would say are the proud moments.
THN: Was there ever a moment in your career when you started to lose your love for the game?
Meier: Honestly, there are tough days, but I think it helps when you love the game.
When you play for a while, it is tough sometimes, but then you remind yourself of why you do this. (It is) coming back to when you were a little kid, dreaming of being in this moment. Sometimes you get caught up in all the distractions that you forget about that stuff. So it is good to remind yourself sometimes why (we do this), and then will (rediscover) that you love to do this, and it is a privilege.
THN: What has hockey given you?
Meier: So much. Just the emotions. The bonds between the teammates. You go through good times and bad times together; you build life-lasting friendships.
THN: At this point, does hockey feel like a job to you, or is it still your passion that you have had since you were a kid?
Meier: I don't think it is a job. Like I said, it is a privilege to do what we do here, playing hockey for a living. Definitely not always easy, but it is a dream come true. So, I would say it is a pretty good job.
Make sure you bookmark THN's New Jersey Devils site for THN's latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more.
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Screen Shots: Reacting To NHL Commissioner's Comments On All-Star Game, Draft And Overtime
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman wrapped up the league’s GM meetings Wednesday by updating reporters on upcoming events, collective bargaining agreement negotiations and other news.
Regarding the CBA negotiations with the NHL Players Association, Bettman said he wants a quick, quiet and painless process, beginning with negotiations in early April. That's optimistic news in hopes of avoiding another painful lockout, which didn't happen during negotiations in 2020 but did happen three times before, most recently in 2012-13 and most notably in all of 2004-05.
We’re reacting to other standout points in a new edition of Screen Shots, where we break down hockey news into smaller columns below. Let's get right to it.
The 2026 NHL All-Star Weekend is scheduled for February 2026 at UBS Arena, home of the New York Islanders. However, based on Bettman's question about whether it's still on, how the event will look seems to be up in the air.
“We’re re-evaluating how we want to do things because I think we've raised the bar about as high as you can for an All-Star Game in any sport, and so we want to make sure whatever we do is up to the standards that we've created,” Bettman said.
While it certainly feels at first glance like the NHL is shoehorning this event into their pre-Olympics schedule, the league is committing to it.
“I don’t want to start speculation. We promised the Islanders an event, and Islanders fans deserve events that we’ve promised, so we’re focused on what we need to do,” Bettman said. “I don’t want to be pinned down at this moment.”
The biggest issue is returning to an all-star format that now seems dated after the competitively dynamic 4 Nations Face-Off. The 4 Nations tournament raised the bar for what the league’s fans expect in terms of player effort, and an all-star format likely won’t please everyone in that regard.
The league and NHL Players Association must be extremely creative to put together an event that will capture the attention of consumers the way the 4 Nations Face-Off did. We’ll be watching closely to see what type of all-star-ish event they settle on as a spark for the pre-Olympics event.
Bettman said he doesn't like prolonging overtime during the regular season because of the ice conditions and the wear and tear on players. But there’s a trend the NHL can capitalize on by slightly extending the length.
There’s been a new high in the percentage of games decided in overtime before shootouts – from 68.5 percent in 2022-23 (a high at the time) to 69.9 percent last season and now to 74.2 percent this season. NHL GMs should want to keep the needle moving in that direction and get as many games settled in OT as possible.
From our perspective, extending overtime by another two minutes wouldn’t be catastrophic for players or the playing surface. Although the shootout must be in place to guarantee a winner in a relatively timely fashion during regular-season games, the more games that can be settled in some type of team format, the better. So we’re all for slightly extending OT. If there proves to be a problem with a seven-minute overtime, they can just switch it back later.
NHL Commissioner Won't Speculate On Putin And Trump's Discussion About A USA-Russia CompetitionNHL commissioner Gary Bettman told reporters on Wednesday that the league was caught off guard about the conversation that Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump previously had regarding a hockey competition between American and Russian players.
Finally, Bettman said will be trying out a decentralized draft in Los Angeles this summer, but they aren't committed to it for years to come. The teams were the ones who asked for this decentralized draft format, and if it doesn’t work out as hoped, there’s clearly a way for them to go back to a centralized format.
That flexibility is a good thing, and the league deserves kudos for (a) being willing to try something new and (b) keeping a return to the long-held format in their back pocket. It’s all about options in many, if not most, things the NHL does. And experimenting to try to improve is something the league should always be doing.
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Flyers' Zavragin Drawing Big Praise from Decorated KHL Coach
Philadelphia Flyers goalie prospect Egor Zavragin has the attention of hockey fans all over the world with his stellar play for SKA St. Petersburg in the KHL, but he’s managing to make headlines back home locally in Russia, too.
Longtime KHL head coach and former Russia boss Vladimir Krikunov, who’s coached in the Soviet leagues and KHL since the 1980s, is Zavragin’s latest admirer.
In a recent interview with Championat, Krikunov backs Zavragin to become a “high-class goalie,” should the Flyers prospect continue on the path he’s on.
“A young, interesting goalie. If he continues to work as hard in training as he does now, he can grow into a high-class goalie. Any hockey player, when he appears in the KHL, needs time to adapt, to get used to the speed, shots, level. Goalies sometimes have it harder than field players,” Krikunov said of Zavragin. “The SKA coaching staff trusts Zavragin, and for a goalie this is very important. I think that Egor will be able to prove himself in the playoffs. The recent match with HC Sochi showed that Egor is getting into shape and will approach the playoffs in full combat readiness."
Krikunov has coached a number of notable players in the KHL, including current Flyers goalie Ivan Fedotov, Vadim Shipachyov, Mark Giordano, Victor Hedman, Ryan McDonagh, Nik Antropov, Artemi Panarin, Alex Ovechkin, Maxim Afinogenov, Pavel Datsyuk, Andrei Markov, Martin Havlat, and Mikhail Grabovski.
Internationally, at the helm of Russia’s national team, Krikunov has coached some of the names above, as well as Ilya Kovalchuk, Evgeni Malkin, Alexander Semin, Alexei Kovalev, and Nikolay Kulemin, among others.
This is all to say that, yes, the 74-year-old has coached some good hockey players in his day. He knows what good hockey players look like, and Zavragin, in his eyes, has the potential to become one of them.
Still just 19 years old, Zavragin was recently named the KHL Goalie of the Week for Week 27 of the regular season and has already racked up 41 appearances at Russia’s highest level of hockey.
Now, despite that, the Flyers are still likely to have to wait at least a few more years to see Zavragin donning the Orange and Black as an NHL regular.
Rushing the development of a young goalie in a time of need at the position would be terribly unwise, and it is equally uncommon. Plus, Philadelphia still needs to respect the contract the former third-round pick has with SKA, which lasts until 2027
However, it is worth continuing to monitor Zavragin’s progress as he becomes older and more experienced. Igor Shesterkin and Ilya Sorokin were studs in the KHL before coming to the NHL, and the same could ultimately be true of Zavragin as well.
Imagine a Flyers tandem of Zavragin and Aleksei Kolosov or Carson Bjarnason if everything goes according to plan.
And if Zavragin becomes as good as Krikunov thinks he can be, Flyers fans will be happy campers for years to come.
Gary Bettman Announces Start Date For The 2025-26 Regular Season, Plans For 2026 NHL All-Star Game & Details About The 2025 NHL Draft
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman met with the media on Wednesday following the annual three-day general managers' meetings in Florida. Bettman gave a recap of the discussion from the three days, as well as provide some details on plans for the 2025-26 season. There was also an update on the 2025 NHL, which will be decentralized this year.
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Starting with the regular season, Bettman announced that next season will begin on October 8, 2025. This lines up with the schedule from the 2024-25 season, as the main kickoff date for this year's season was October 8, 2024. It was also announced earlier in the week that the NHL would be having another Global Series, with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators playing in Sweden on November 14 and 16, 2025.
Bettman also discussed the 2026 NHL All-Star Game, which the New York Islanders will host. The event will happen just before the 2026 Winter Olympics, with players departing for Italy once the weekend is concluded. Thanks to the success of the 4 Nations Face-Off, the NHL is looking at ways to improve the All-Star Game so that there is a similar level of engagement from both the players and the fans.
Lastly, Bettman also provided some information about the 2025 NHL Draft. While the event will be held in Los Angeles, it will be decentralized, meaning all management groups will be located in their home cities. The top 50 draft picks will be invited to the event, while picks outside of first overall will be announced by celebrities or people with ties to the franchise.
Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, be sure to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum.
Golden Knights Defenseman Has Injury Status Upgraded
Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore practiced in full contact at this morning's skate.
Theodore returned to practice for the first time in a non-contact jersey since suffering an arm injury in the first game of the 4 Nations Face-Off. Prior to the injury, Theodore had scored seven goals and 48 points in 55 games, leading all Golden Knights defensemen in multiple offensive categories.
Following yesterday's practice, HC Bruce Cassidy mentioned that the 29-year-old "likely won't be cleared this week, but being on the ice is a good step in returning to the lineup."
The step Theodore took in his return process was much larger today, practicing with contact. He wore a grey jersey and not a white one, white indicating skating inside the top four, and Theodore wore grey, skating alongside healthy scratch Ben Hutton.
As the season slowly inches to a conclusion and the playoffs begin, allowing William Karlsson and Theodore to get multiple games in before the postseason would be a major boost. They can shake off the rust of missing an extended period of time and rebuild the chemistry with their linemates. Vegas has dealt with their fair share of injuries this season, but they look to be getting healthy at the right time.
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'It's Been A Positive': Explaining The David Jiricek Situation
ST. PAUL - Wild defenseman David Jiricek has not played in a game since Feb 28. His last game was in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Iowa Wild.
The Wild recalled him on March 1st with injuries to Zach Bogosian and Jonas Brodin. Before the next game, Bogosian was healthy to play which left Jiricek out of the lineup. He has now been a healthy scratch for eight consecutive games and could be on his way for the ninth consecutive game.
Despite Jiricek being with the team and healthy, the Wild don't feel they need to place him into the lineup. They are 4-3-1 in the eight games that he has been a scratch.
"Yeah, you know what? It's a difficult one with David," Wild head coach John Hynes said. "He's been great. We've tried to use it where he hasn't gone in, but he's put in a lot of extra work. We've done some things I think are beneficial to him individually as a player. He knows the situation. We have to keep him here right now. If there is an injury, then he's going to be the next man up. So I think being around the team, being around the environment, getting the extra work he's put in, is not a bad thing."
The Wild feel that even though Jiricek has not played in 19 days, being with the NHL club is beneficial for him. He hasn't been super productive with the Iowa Wild in the AHL either.
In 26 AHL games with Iowa, Jiricek has zero goals and six assists. He is a minus-3 in those 26 games as well.
Having him up with the Wild has given Jiricek the opportunity to learn from the Wild's coaching staff and skate with one of the best skating coaches in the NHL. If there are any more injuries, Jiricek is the next man up.
That being said, once Brodin comes back and that seems soon, Jiricek will likely be sent down.
So the rational that you are healthy scratching a 21-year-old and former 6th overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft for eight consecutive games, and maybe soon to be nine, may seem confusing.
But the Wild view this as something of benefit to him but they also understand he needs to play.
"Obviously, the game action is important as well. So if, let's say, [Jonas] Brodin comes back or we don't get any injuries, it is on our mind to let him go down [and] play for his development. So I think overall, it's been a positive."
When the Wild traded for Jiricek along with a 5th-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft for Daemon Hunt, a 1st-round pick in 2025, 3rd-round and 4th-round picks in 2026 and a 2nd-round pick in 2027, General Manager Bill Guerin said that the move was more of a future move.
The plan wasn't to play him in the NHL right away. That being said, Jiricek played in six games with the Wild in January and had one goal and one assist.
“Look, he’s young. He’s a young player. He just turned 21 on Thanksgiving day. He’s a young player. He's got a lot to learn," Guerin said after the trade. He’s going to continue to improve just like all young players. Brock Faber’s got to get better, Matt Boldy’s still going to get better. All these guys are going to continue to improve because they’re so young. So just because they’re in the NHL doesn’t mean they’re not going to develop their game and get better. That’s our job as the coaches, management. That’s our job to help him get better.”
He has played ok in the AHL with the Iowa Wild but the Wild felt he deserved the call-up after the trade deadline.
"I actually think he can bring a lot. Look, he's got all the tools. He's just young. But when he's, I mean, you guys watch the games too, like he's got a different element to him, moving the puck, getting in the play, he makes some nice outlet passes, and he's not afraid to jump in in the offensive zone," Guerin said on March 2nd. "So it's just a matter of kind of getting him back into it at this level."
Unfortunately, it doesn't look like we will see Jiricek at 'this level' for the time being. That being said, the Wild gave up a haul for the young 6-foot-4 defenseman. He has a future in Minnesota and despite low point production in the AHL and nine consecutive healthy scratches in the NHL, Jiricek's future with the Wild is still bright.
As Guerin said the day they acquired him, he is an investment. It might not make sense with how they handle him to the general fans but there is a plan for him.
"Yeah, now we are getting into that phase where we can do that – we did. Yeah, so it just made sense. He’s not 30, he’s not a rental. He’s a 21-year-old defenseman that we can invest in," Guerin said. "And we did. That’s how I look at it. It’s an investment."
NHL Power Rankings: Are The No. 1 Washington Capitals Disrespected? Habs Rise, Blue Jackets Fall
Welcome back to The Hockey News' NHL power rankings, where we rank all 32 teams based on their weekly performance.
“As of now, you guys are in a playoff spot.”
The words said to Josh Anderson following their 6-3 win over the Ottawa Senators drew huge cheers in Montreal, and it was very apt. As of now, the Canadiens are indeed in a playoff spot.
The key phrase is “as of now” because things can change quickly in one week. A week ago, the Columbus Blue Jackets still felt destined to make the playoffs, the Florida Panthers had a five-point lead over the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Atlantic, and the Los Angeles Kings were on the verge of moving ahead of the Edmonton Oilers.
This week, the Canadiens are in the wild-card spot, and the Jackets are now three points out, the Panthers are barely clinging onto the division lead, and the Oilers are on the verge of moving ahead of the Vegas Golden Knights. A lot can still change.
For the first time in seven (!) weeks, the Washington Capitals are back in the No. 1 spot. A win against the Detroit Red Wings and the Winnipeg Jets’ loss to the Vancouver Canucks gives the Caps the highest points percentage in the NHL. The great chase is on – not just for Alex Ovechkin and his quest to be the league’s all-time goal scorer, but for the Capitals to secure their fourth Presidents’ Trophy and first since 2016-17.
1. Washington Capitals (45-15-8, +72. Previous: 2)
It’s weird to say the NHL’s No. 1 team is getting disrespected, but going into the playoffs, are you more terrified of the Capitals, Lightning or Panthers? I think most would still pick the latter two. The Caps have rattled off seven wins in their last eight games with some thanks to an easy schedule. Saturday’s matchup against the Panthers will be a big litmus test.
2. Winnipeg Jets (47-18-4, +77. Previous: 1)
A loss to the Canucks and a Caps win drops the Jets to second in the standings based on points percentage even though they have two more wins than the Caps. The good news: barring some sort of dramatic drop-off, the Jets can lock up the division and conference titles – both will be firsts for the franchise.
3. Carolina Hurricanes (41-22-4, +39. Previous: 6)
The Hurricanes have rattled off seven wins in a row, including four since the trade deadline after moving Mikko Rantanen, and they’ve allowed on average of 1.29 (!) goals per game during their winning streak. It was not an easy schedule, either, with wins over the Jets and Lightning. The question is if they can continue this in the playoffs and if you can win with a goalie rotation.
4. Colorado Avalanche (41-24-3, +31. Previous: 5)
An overtime win over the Stars vaults the Avalanche ahead in the power rankings, even though they’re four points behind with one more game played. After a tough January, the Avs are first in points percentage (.767) since Feb. 1. The Avs will only face divisional opponents three times in their remaining 14 games, and none of them are against the Stars or Jets, which means we won’t get to see a final tune-up to gauge the matchups before the playoffs.
5. Dallas Stars (43-21-3, +52. Previous: 3)
The Stars went 1-2-1 during their road trip since winning seven of eight games. It’s important for the Stars to stay ahead of the Avs in the standings since neither team is particularly good on the road. The Stars play eight of their remaining 15 games at home while the Avs play six of their remaining 14 at home, and that could decide the final standings.
6. Florida Panthers (41-24-3, +37. Previous: 4)
The Panthers have dropped three of their last four, including two blown leads against the Bruins and Islanders. Scoring has suddenly become a problem, and their lead in the Atlantic is now very precarious with just a two-point lead on the Lightning and Leafs.
7. Tampa Bay Lightning (39-23-5, +57. Previous: 7)
Andrei Vasilevskiy isn’t getting enough attention for his brilliant campaign, and he’s a worthy challenger to Connor Hellebuyck for the Vezina. The Lightning are not a good road team (15-15-3), which means winning the Atlantic or finishing at least second is most ideal. They are, however, 1-5-0 against the Panthers and Leafs this season, so it may be moot.
8. Edmonton Oilers (40-24-4, +26. Previous: 8)
Here’s the question no one dares to really ask about the Oilers: what if Calvin Pickard is their best option in net right now? The Oilers have allowed just three goals in three games, but two of them were with Pickard in net, and a key matchup looms on Thursday against the Jets.
9. Los Angeles Kings (36-21-9, +14. Previous: 9)
The Kings have been powered by Quinton Byfield, whose six-game goal streak was snapped in a 3-1 loss to the Wild. The Kings are one of the biggest Jekyll-and-Hyde teams in the league with only three (!) regulation losses at home but 18 on the road. Good thing only five of their remaining 11 games are on the road.
Five NHL Teams That Are Elite At Home But Shocking On The RoadHome-ice advantage is a real thing for a handful of NHL teams, especially when seeing how ugly their results are on the road.
10. Vegas Golden Knights (39-20-8, +38. Previous: 10)
They’re slumping at a bad time right now with four losses in their last five games and are in danger of losing the top spot in the Pacific. It’s the difference between facing the Wild in the wild-card spot of facing the Kings or Oilers in the first round.
11. Montreal Canadiens (33-27-7, -16. Previous: 15)
What a statement game Tuesday against the Sens, rallying with a five-goal third period. The Bell Centre was absolutely rocking, and we’ve missed a playoff atmosphere in that building for four seasons. It’s a pretty incredible turnaround for a team that went through five- and six-game losing streaks earlier this season, and they’re back in playoff position for the first time since Jan. 21.
12. Ottawa Senators (36-26-5, +5. Previous: 13)
The loss against the Canadiens definitely stung after blowing two one-goal leads, but the Senators are still firmly in control of their own destiny with a four-point lead on the Habs in the wild-card race. If the Maple Leafs win the division and we get Leafs-Sens and Panthers-Lightning in the first round, NHL TV ratings will blow through the roof.
13. Toronto Maple Leafs (40-24-3, +17. Previous: 11)
It’s a bit like rock-paper-scissors. The Leafs lost to the Senators, and the Sens lost to the Habs. The Leafs are still the best team of the three, and they’re still in the fight for the division title, but they’ve also lost five of their last seven with only one regulation win. A 6-2 win against the Flames was a nice reprieve, and the schedule softens up with the Preds, Sharks and Ducks coming up. The Leafs need to take advantage.
14. New Jersey Devils (37-26-6, +28. Previous: 12)
Jake Allen has won three straight, and the Devils are slowing working their way into a rotation in net. It’s highly unlikely the Devils fall out of third spot in the Metro, but they might be the weakest team entering the playoffs right now. The Devils announced Dougie Hamilton likely will not be available for Round 1, further hurting their chances of going on a deep playoff run.
15. St. Louis Blues (34-28-7, +3. Previous: 19)
Since play resumed after 4 Nations, guess who has earned the most points? The Blues are 9-2-2 with the NHL’s best offense since Feb. 22 and tied with the Canucks at 75 points for the last wild-card spot. I joked previously about shades of 2019 if the Blues make the playoffs, but I don’t think the other teams are laughing anymore.
16. Minnesota Wild (38-25-5, -8. Previous: 16)
Scoring continues to be an issue. The Wild are 4-0-0 when they score at least three goals and 3-8-1 when they don’t since Feb. 1, and they rank 25th in points percentage during that span. Like the Devils, the Wild may be the weakest team heading into the playoffs due to the lack of momentum and injuries to key players.
17. Utah Hockey Club (30-27-11, -14. Previous: 21)
Rock-paper-scissors, part 2: the Flames lost to the Canucks, and the Canucks lost to Utah. This is the very mushy middle where rankings and standings can change dramatically over the course of a week. Utah needs to be much better defensively with a tough schedule coming up, facing the Lightning twice and the Panthers in their next five games.
How Blues And Utah Climbed Into NHL's Western Playoff Race – And How Canucks And Flames Let ThemAll season long, a handful of the NHL’s Eastern Conference clubs have been jockeying for playoff positions. By comparison, the West looked straightforward.
18. Vancouver Canucks (32-25-11, -14. Previous: 22)
It’s been more good than bad lately. A shootout win against the Flames gave them an extra point over a key rival and they secured emphatic wins against the hated Hawks and the West-leading Jets. The loss to Utah left a lot to be desired, but most importantly, their recent surge has a lot to do with Quinn Hughes returning to the lineup and Elias Pettersson’s resurgence. The center has eight points in his last seven games.
19. Calgary Flames (31-25-11, -24. Previous: 20)
The Flames’ playoff chances rests on Dustin Wolf’s shoulders. They’re arguably the league’s worst team on offense and will need to grind through all their games. They have not been able to win consecutive games since Feb. 23 to 25, and they’re averaging just 2.08 goals per game after the 4 Nations, second-worst in the league.
20. New York Rangers (33-30-6, -1. Previous: 17)
Speaking on behalf of everyone: what the heck was that? Playing the Flames, which just got shellacked the night before, the Rangers mustered just 13 shots on goal in a whimpering loss, ceding their wild-card spot to the surging Habs. It’s not outrageous to say that without Igor Shesterkin, the Rangers belong in the lottery.
21. Columbus Blue Jackets (31-28-8, -5. Previous: 14)
All of a sudden, the scoring has dried up and that’s really worrisome for a team that can only win when they score a lot of goals. They’ve lost six of their last seven, including three shutout losses. Even when they put in a valiant effort Monday with 46 shots against the Devils, they ended up getting goalied and lost 2-1. It feels like they’re losing steam, and quickly, too.
22. New York Islanders (31-28-8, -15. Previous: 24)
The Islanders have won two straight games via comebacks, putting them right back in the midst of a playoff race. It’s been an impressive stretch – albeit short – aided by some losses suffered by the Rangers, Wings and Jackets. Only Linus Ullmark has made more saves (226) than Ilya Sorokin (215) in March.
23. Detroit Red Wings (32-30-6, -20. Previous: 18)
They’re 2-8-0 in their last 10 after looking like they were going to lock up a playoff spot just two weeks ago. The Red Wings are incredibly streaky, and their hope is to string together a bunch of wins, but their schedule to finish the season is super tough. Their final eight games are against opponents currently in playoff position, with the Habs being the only team who isn’t a top-three seed in their division.
24. Seattle Kraken (30-34-5, -14. Previous: 28)
The Kraken have secured at least a point in five of their last six games, and mathematically they’re still in the playoff race, but this is the unofficial playoff cut-off line. The Kraken will need to run the table and hope all the other teams fall off in the race to make the post-season.
25. Pittsburgh Penguins (28-32-10, -50. Previous: 29)
Who would’ve thought Tristan Jarry would do this? He still stopped 34 of 37 shots (.919 SP) he faced when his four-game winning streak was snapped, and he continues to be excellent despite the loss. It’s too little, too late for the Pens, but this late-season surge does provide a glimmer of hope for next season.
26. Anaheim Ducks (29-31-8, -33. Previous: 25)
There were high hopes for the Ducks, but it’s hard to make the playoffs when you lose two games for every win – at least they’ve been pretty consistent that way. They’ve allowed seven goals twice in their last five games, and they just don’t have enough high-end, consistent scoring talent to overcome that.
27. Buffalo Sabres (27-33-6, -23. Previous: 30)
They were close calls in extra time, but wins are wins, and the Sabres have earned three of them in their last four games. Their playoff chances were shot following their six-game losing streak, but this (again) provides a glimmer of hope for their future. They’ve still got a really young, talented core. OK, I’m just trying to find the silver lining, OK?
28. Boston Bruins (30-30-9, -35. Previous: 23)
It’s a big drop for the Bruins, but since Feb. 1 only four teams have been worse than the Bruins in points percentage and three of them are ranked below. They have trouble scoring goals, don’t defend very well and are not getting enough quality goaltending.
29. Nashville Predators (25-34-8, -46. Previous: 27)
The Predators scored 17 goals during a four-game stretch – all wins – and then scored just two goals during the next three-game stretch – all losses. Their recipe to success is obviously scoring, but their problem is they can’t score consistently.
30. Philadelphia Flyers (28-33-8, -42. Previous: 26)
Aside from their goaltending, just about everything for the Flyers has come crashing down. They’ve managed to score at least two goals just twice in March, and they’re 1-1-0 in those games with no regulation win. The Flyers’ rebuild is not a linear path, but this season was definitely a step back.
Flyers Vs. Penguins: Who Will Be Cup Contenders Sooner?Remember when the Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins rivalry was arguably the best in the NHL, matching hated cross-state rivals who were usually among the league’s elite?
31. San Jose Sharks (18-41-9, -77. Previous: 32)
The Sharks are losing a lot of games, there’s no mistake about that, but at least they don’t look miserable all the time. They’re one win away from tying last season’s total with 14 more gams to play. Will Smith and Macklin Celebrini look like the dynamic duo the Sharks can build around for the next decade.
32. Chicago Blackhawks (20-39-9, -59. Previous: 31)
The Hawks lost 4-2 to the Sharks in the toilet bowl last Thursday, and a five-game losing streak pits them dead last in this week’s rankings. They had zero response to the Canucks in a blowout loss when Connor Bedard was mugged, and then blew a 2-0 lead to the Kraken in their following game.
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