Anaheim Ducks defenseman Kevin Bieksa is expected to miss two to five weeks as he undergoes surgery to remove scar tissue in his left hand, the team announced Friday.
The procedure could mark the end of his season, as the Ducks sit one point outside the final wild-card spot in the West with 11 games remaining.
The 36-year-old is playing out the conclusion of his two-year, $8-million contract, and has eight assists in 59 games this season.
James van Riemsdyk's 2017-18 season was always going to be under the microscope.
Entering the final year of an incredibly team-friendly deal that carries a $4.25-million cap hit, the Toronto Maple Leafs faced a tough decision. They could've used him as an offseason trade chip while he still had term, presumably to fetch reinforcements for a blue line everybody knew needed some work.
They opted to hold off, then did so again at the trade deadline, keeping the 28-year-old winger in-house for their playoff push, while taking the risk he could walk away in the offseason for nothing.
For the moment, at least, it's a gamble that's provided quality returns.
Van Riemsdyk is fresh off back-to-back three-point games - including five goals in less than four periods - to propel the Leafs to two wins while passing the sidelined Auston Matthews for the team lead in goals with 31, a new career-high despite averaging just 14:48 of ice-time (10th among Leafs forwards).
His value to the Leafs has never been more apparent than it is right now, and while there's surely more to squeeze out of Van Riemsdyk down the stretch and into the postseason, he's likely played himself out of the slim possibility of re-signing with the club in July.
Van Riemsdyk is one of three Maple Leafs forwards bound for unrestricted free agency, joining longtime linemate Tyler Bozak as well as Leo Komarov. There's no question JVR is the most difficult of the trio to replace, yet as is general manager Lou Lamoriello's wont, no indications of any contract talks between the two parties have seeped through the impenetrable walls of Toronto's front office.
Even if some sort of information were to leak to the public, it's difficult to imagine a scenario where the Leafs and Van Riemsdyk reach an agreement.
Plain and simple, Van Riemsdyk is going to be one of the hottest commodities in this summer's free-agent class. Behind John Tavares, who's scored the same number of goals and might not end up hitting the market at all, JVR is the top player available.
Since arriving in Toronto via a one-for-one deal in exchange for Luke Schenn (we'll call that trade a win for the Leafs), Van Riemsdyk has been one of the league's premier goal scorers. His 149 tallies - 43 on the power play - in Leafs colors since 2013 ranks 18th in the NHL. Narrowed down to left wingers, JVR sits third among his peers, tied with Jeff Skinner and James Neal, while trailing Max Pacioretty, Brad Marchand, and Jamie Benn (173 each), and the incomparable Alex Ovechkin (261).
The Maple Leafs have one more season before Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and Mitch Marner are off their entry-level contracts, and the negotiations of those three will be the ultimate priority for Toronto management. Unless Van Riemsdyk takes significantly less term and salary, the Leafs won't be able to match offers from around the league, and will likely end up filling his void with internal options.
Glancing at some recent deals, it's easy to infer Van Riemsdyk is bound for a considerable raise. Here's a look at a few examples of contracts signed by free agent wingers over the past two offseasons, which could serve as the basis of JVR's asking price.
Player (Team)
Years
AAV
Career P/GP
T.J. Oshie (WSH)
8
$5.75M
0.69
Kyle Okposo (BUF)
7
$6M
0.68
Patrick Marleau (TOR)
3
$6.25M
0.71
Based on those deals alone, and the quality of the players in comparison to Van Riemsdyk (0.64 points per game), it's fair to assume he'll have his fair share of suitors willing to commit at least $6 million - $7 million per season, with notable term included.
Van Riemsdyk may not bring as much to the table as those players in terms of all-around play, but he's established himself as one of the NHL's most consistent goal scorers.
The Professional Hockey Writers Association (PHWA) has decided to reveal each voter's ballot for the 2018 NHL awards.
After debating the subject for months, the PHWA voted 81.3 percent in favor of the decision. Approximately 170 ballots are set to be revealed.
"As journalists we expect full transparency from the teams and people we cover," PHWA President Mark Spector said. "Our Members are aware that the same is expected of us from our readers, and many voters have voluntarily revealed their ballots in the past. As a group, we have concluded that it is time to make full transparency part and parcel of voting on the NHL Awards."
PHWA members vote to determine winners of the Hart, Norris, Calder, Selke, Masterton, Lady Byng, and Conn Smythe trophies, along with All-Star and All-Rookie teams.
James Reimer came to play against a key divisional rival.
The Florida Panthers' backup goaltender stopped all 46 shots he faced in a 3-0 victory over the Boston Bruins on Thursday night.
Florida is now three points behind the New Jersey Devils for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot with two games in hand and one more regulation-or-overtime win than the Devils.
The Bruins sit comfortably in second place in the Atlantic Division with 96 points and 41 ROW through 69 games.
Boston was once again playing without star center Patrice Bergeron and promising rookie defenseman Charlie McAvoy, and was also missing veteran blue-liner Zdeno Chara and rookie forward Jake DeBrusk. The latter two were ruled out for Thursday's game as well as Saturday's contest in Tampa Bay.
"The Islanders just gave us a lot of room to skate on from the beginning," the Capitals forward told reporters after the lopsided victory, according to The Washington Post's Isabelle Khurshudyan. "I mean, my first three shifts, I was skating around and around and around with the puck and making plays. We didn't really expect that out of them."
Burakovsky scored the eventual winner on a deflection early in the second period.
The Islanders outshot the Capitals 38-22 and controlled possession by way of a 62.79 to 37.21 advantage in even-strength Corsi For rating, according to Natural Stat Trick.
Still, New York's defensive woes have been their downfall all season. The Islanders are allowing an NHL-worst 3.56 goals per game despite ranking ninth in the league with 3.17 goals for per contest.
The Philadelphia Flyers are in crisis mode as they've seen their once comfortable hold on a playoff spot start to slide away over the past few weeks.
With a 5-3 defeat to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night, the team has now lost seven of its last eight games. As a result, they are now in jeopardy of falling into a wild-card spot and potentially out of a playoff spot altogether.
Thursday's loss prompted the club to reportedly hold a team meeting postgame, according to Philly.com's Sam Carchidi.
The Flyers currently sit third in the Metropolitan Division with 81 points - after leading the Metro back on Feb. 26, the game that preceded their current streak. However, they sit tied in points with the Blue Jackets - who occupy the first wild-card spot - but have the tie-breaker with one extra win in regulation or overtime. Meanwhile, the New Jersey Devils also sit just two points back of the Flyers with a game in hand.
It seems that going on long streaks of either wins or losses has been the Flyers' MO all season.
The Flyers still have time to right this ship, but if they don't correct things quickly, they just may find themselves on the outside of the playoff picture looking in for the second straight season - and third time in four years.
Atkinson scored in the first period to give Columbus a 3-1 lead, buried the eventual game-winner that made it 4-2 in the second period, and added an empty-netter with one second left in the third.
The Blue Jackets equaled the Flyers' 81-point total with the victory, but Philadelphia remains ahead of Columbus for third place in the Metro by virtue of having one more regulation-or-overtime win in the same number of games played.
Atkinson's had a disappointing season by his standards, with 16 goals and 33 points in 55 games. He enjoyed a career year in 2016-17, pouring in 35 goals and 62 points en route to signing a seven-year, $41.125-million contract extension.
David Backes may be hearing from the Department of Player Safety after catching Florida Panthers centerman Vincent Trocheck with an unsuspecting, open-ice hit late in the first period on Thursday.
The Boston Bruins forward was assessed a match penalty on the play.
The hit sparked a fight between Backes and Florida's Mike Matheson. The Panthers defenseman was ejected after receiving an instigator for fighting penalty and a game misconduct.
Earlier this month Backes was suspended three games for interference on Detroit Red Wings forward Frans Nielsen. For that, he would now be considered a repeat offender.
Laine has recorded 16 goals and 24 points over the stretch. Just how long can Laine extend the streak? He doesn't turn to 20 until April 19, after the Jets play the final 11 games of their regular-season schedule.
The 19-year-old leads the Jets with 41 goals and sits second in team scoring with 66 points.
Prior to Thursday, the streak was held by Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon, who during the 2013-14 campaign netted 18 points across 13 contests.
The Toronto Maple Leafs forward scored two goals in a span of exactly three minutes against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday, one night after potting a hat trick in a win over the Dallas Stars.
He threw one in off Sabres goaltender Robin Lehner from below the goal line to open the scoring Thursday night.
