Category Archives: Hockey News

Report: Byfuglien doubtful to play next season

Dustin Byfuglien appears close to calling it a career.

"It's very unlikely Dustin Byfuglien's going to play," Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported on the latest edition of "Saturday Headlines."

"Teams have asked," Friedman continued. "One of the teams that has asked is the Minnesota Wild. They figured because Byfuglien obviously has a lot of ties to Minnesota, he'd want to play there, and they could use him. They're probably the only team that has a chance, but I checked with Byfuglien's agent, Ben Hankinson, (and) he said it's doubtful that Byfuglien will play again."

The 35-year-old defenseman sat out the 2019-20 campaign amid a contract dispute with the Winnipeg Jets, which stemmed from a difference of opinion over his health entering this season. He and the club agreed to a contract termination in April, which made him an unrestricted free agent.

Byfuglien originally had one year remaining on his contract with Winnipeg and would have received payments through 2020-21.

The gargantuan rearguard would be one of the top free-agent blue-liners if he chose to resume playing, despite his age and his extended NHL absence.

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Rangers trade Marc Staal to Red Wings

The New York Rangers have traded defenseman Marc Staal and a 2021 second-round draft pick to the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for future considerations, the team announced Saturday.

Staal appeared in 52 games for New York during the 2019-20 regular season, recording two goals and nine assists. He had a 37.31 Corsi For percentage and 36.22 expected goals for percentage in all situations.

The 33-year-old has one year remaining on a deal carrying a $5.7-million annual cap hit. He's spent his entire 13-season career with the Rangers after they selected him 12th overall in the 2005 NHL Draft.

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Stars’ Hintz out for Game 5 after crashing into boards

Dallas Stars forward Roope Hintz is unfit to play in Saturday's Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning, head coach Rick Bowness told NHL.com's Tom Gulitti.

Hintz took a hard tumble into the boards in Friday's Game 4 after tripping over Tyler Johnson's stick. He left the game and did not return.

No penalty was called on the play.

Hintz tallied 19 goals and 14 assists in 60 games during the regular season and has added 13 points in 25 playoff contests. Justin Dowling will draw into the lineup in Hintz's absence.

The Stars will also continue to be without forwards Blake Comeau and Radek Faksa for the die-or-die tilt. Additionally, goaltender Ben Bishop remains unfit to play, so Anton Khudobin is starting on back-to-back nights.

Dallas trails 3-1 in the series and needs a victory Saturday to keep its Stanley Cup hopes alive.

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Red Wings sign Sam Gagner to 1-year extension

The Detroit Red Wings signed veteran forward Sam Gagner to a one-year contract extension, the team announced Saturday.

The deal is worth $850,000, according to Cap Friendly. Gagner was set to become an unrestricted free agent after playing out the final season of a three-year, $9.45 million contract signed with the Vancouver Canucks.

Gagner joined the Red Wings prior to this season's trade deadline in a move that sent Andreas Athanasiou to the Edmonton Oilers. The 31-year-old suited up in six games for Detroit before the pause, notching a single goal while averaging just over 15 minutes per night.

The Red Wings, who finished the shortened season in 31st place, have over $34 million in projected cap space this offseason with a few key restricted free agents to sign, including forwards Tyler Bertuzzi and Anthony Mantha.

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Pavelski laments OT penalty call on Benn: ‘We expect to battle it out’

Joe Pavelski wasn't happy with an overtime penalty call against Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn that ultimately led to the Tampa Bay Lightning's game-winning power-play goal in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final on Friday.

"The ref's got a tough job. I see it. It's in front of (referee) Kelly (Sutherland), he's got a great look at it, the back ref calls it," Pavelski said postgame. "I don't have a ton of time for a play where (Lightning forward) Tyler Johnson steps in front of Jamie Benn and has no real effect in the play.

"Jamie breathes on the guy and he falls over. Whether that's the case or not, there's a little battle going on there. It's playoffs, it's overtime, we expect five-on-five. We expect to battle it out."

Benn was called for tripping just over five minutes into overtime after taking down Johnson while the two battled for a loose puck. It was Dallas' fourth penalty of the game. Lightning defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk scored on the ensuing power play to give Tampa the win.

Stars head coach Rick Bowness also disagreed with the call.

"I saw two guys going for a loose puck, their guy hooking our guy, and our guy trying to fight through the hook. ... That's a hockey play," Bowness said. "That's what I saw. I looked at the replay a couple of times, and it's two guys in the playoffs and you're going for a loose puck."

He continued: "The players want to dictate the end of the game, and they're right. They want to play five-on-five and let's see what happens here. ... Let the players decide the game."

With the loss, the Stars have their backs against the wall and trail 3-1 in the series. Game 5 is set for Saturday at 8 p.m. ET.

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Lightning move within 1 win from Stanley Cup with OT victory in Game 4

The Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Dallas Stars in a thrilling 5-4 overtime victory in Game 4 on Friday to take a commanding 3-1 series lead in the Stanley Cup Final.

The teams traded goals all night but the Lightning ultimately prevailed in overtime when Kevin Shattenkirk scored the game-winner.

Shattenkirk's marker came on the power play after Stars forward Jamie Benn took a tripping penalty. It was the Lightning's third goal of the game with the man-advantage.

The Stars got off to a hot start, scoring the game's first two goals thanks to John Klingberg and Joe Pavelski. The Lightning answered just before the buzzer in the opening frame when Brayden Point burst into the offensive zone and put one past Anton Khudobin.

Point was able to bat the puck out of the air to score again just minutes into the second period to tie it up.

An incredible solo effort by Tyler Seguin led to a goal from Corey Perry, who managed to jam the puck into a wide-open net to put the Stars back on top. But, similarly to the first period, the Lightning netted a power-play marker at the end of the second to tie the game back up.

Alex Killorn got on the board for the Lightning to take the lead minutes into the final frame, but Pavelski scored his second minutes later to tie things up once again.

With the goal, Pavelski became the oldest player in NHL history to score 12 goals in a single postseason and also tied Joe Mullen for the most playoff goals scored by an American skater (60).

Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy ended the night with 26 saves on 30 shots, while Khudobin stopped 30 of the 35 he faced.

Game 5 is set for 8 p.m. ET on Saturday.

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Heiskanen, Klingberg join exclusive company with offensive output

John Klingberg and Miro Heiskanen became on Friday the second pair of defensemen on the same team to record at least 20 points each during a single postseason, according to TSN's Statscentre.

The Dallas Stars teammates joined Paul Coffey and Charlie Huddy as those to accomplish the feat. Coffey and Huddy did it with the Edmonton Oilers during the 1985 playoffs when they recorded 37 and 20 points, respectively.

Klingberg's goal in the opening frame of Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final helped him reach the 20-point mark, while Heiskanen already had 24 points entering the contest. They've each appeared in 25 games this postseason, including Dallas' three contests in the round robin of the qualifying round.

The pair are leading the way for the Stars this postseason, with Heiskanen sitting at No. 1 and Klingberg second in team scoring.

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