Jake Gardiner appears to be appreciating his new home outside the Toronto fishbowl.
The Carolina Hurricanes defenseman, who joined the team this summer following eight seasons with the Maple Leafs, recently expressed as much to ESPN's Emily Kaplan during his first training camp with his new club.
"I can be pretty anonymous here," Gardiner said. "Especially now. My first fan experience was at the golf tournament; this guy came up and said, 'Can you take a photo of me with the mascot?' So I took the picture of him and the mascot. And I was on the team."
Carolina signed Gardiner to a four-year, $16.2-million contract as an unrestricted free agent in early September.
The 29-year-old struggled mightily in the Leafs' Game 7 loss to the Boston Bruins this past spring, taking responsibility for his performance in an emotional postgame scrum. He was scapegoated by Toronto fans and media throughout his Leafs tenure, and notably earned boos every time he touched the puck during the third period of a January home game against the Colorado Avalanche after a misplay led to a costly shorthanded goal.
Gardiner collected 245 points in 551 career games with the Maple Leafs.
If Byfuglien doesn't report by opening day, the Jets lose his cap hit until he shows up. The team granted the veteran blue-liner a leave of absence as he reportedly contemplates his future in the NHL.
The Jets still want Byfuglien to return, but they need to protect their roster and create cap flexibility until they know his intentions, McKenzie added.
Byfuglien has one year remaining on his contract with a $7.6-million cap hit. The Jets now have $23 million in projected cap space as restricted free agents Kyle Connor and Patrik Laine remain unsigned, according to CapFriendly.
Stelio Mattheos, who completed treatment for testicular cancer, walked into PNC Arena on Friday to join the #Canes at training camp. Today, he's back on the ice. pic.twitter.com/Lwg51jvDv0
Last month, the Hurricanes announced that Mattheos would miss training camp to undergo testicular cancer treatments. He was diagnosed in June, only two days after helping the AHL's Charlotte Checkers capture the Calder Cup.
Mattheos had surgery to remove a testicle, as well as multiple rounds of chemotherapy, before being initially ruled out in late August.
"Everyone's been so good to me throughout this whole process, and it just feels really good to get back on the ice," he told reporters after Saturday's session.
The 20-year-old forward also relayed a similar message to his supporters on Twitter.
I’d like to thank everyone for all the support and well wishes. Im excited to be back and ready to get to work. pic.twitter.com/AJdvgaljiz
Ahead of a highly anticipated storming of Area 51 in Nevada on Friday, Vegas players and coaches offered their thoughts to the Las Vegas Sun's Justin Emerson on whether aliens exist and the likelihood of aliens - dead or alive - being held at the top-secret facility.
The comments came following a practice session at which fans were encouraged to dress up in alien costumes.
Some Golden Knights were convinced of a paranormal presence, whether it be real or otherwise.
Brandon Pirri: “There’s something there. Why won’t they let you tour the place?”
About 3,000 people showed up to Area 51 to "see them aliens" Friday after 2 million people pledged in a Facebook event page to storm the site, according to CNN's Doug Criss, Christina Maxouris, and Nick Watt. The crowd ultimately opted not to rush the facility after being informed of the consequences.
Evaluating the top defensive units in the NHL isn't as cut and dry as determining the best offenses, as defensive play can be more difficult to quantify. Goaltending, while technically an element of defense, can skew true prowess and make it seem as though an average club is better than the underlying numbers truly indicate.
The New York Islanders are a prime example. They allowed the fewest goals in the NHL last season, but a closer look at their metrics shows that they placed near the middle or bottom of the pack at suppressing shots, preventing scoring chances, and killing penalties, and that the defense was bailed out by outstanding goaltending from Robin Lehner and Thomas Greiss.
We focused on which groups are the best at limiting opportunities and keeping the puck out of their respective nets.
Here are the top five defenses in the league for 2019-20, based on last season's performance, the personnel, and how each stack up for the upcoming campaign:
GA/G: Goals against per game SA/G: Shots against per game SCA: Total scoring chances against at 5-on-5 HDCA: Total high-danger chances against at 5-on-5 xGA: Expected goals against at 5-on-5 PK%: Penalty killing percentage (League rank in parentheses, all figures from 2018-19 season)
5. Nashville Predators
Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / Getty
GA/G
SA/G
SCA
HDCA
xGA
PK%
2.59 (T-3rd)
30 (9th)
1682 (10th)
704 (15th)
146.92 (10th)
82.1 (6th)
The Predators still boast one of the most effective groups in the NHL despite trading away P.K. Subban at the draft.
Roman Josi and Ryan Ellis remain one of the most rock-solid pairings and Mattias Ekholm is still a key member of a commendable group. Promising rookie Dante Fabbro will have a chance to carve out a top-four role, and he's one of the reasons general manager David Poile felt comfortable dealing Subban.
The loss of Subban's puck-moving abilities will hurt the Predators to a degree, and goaltender Pekka Rinne will be 37 in November, but Nashville's unit is still one of the best.
4. Minnesota Wild
Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / Getty
GA/G
SA/G
SCA
HDCA
xGA
PK%
2.84 (12th)
29.5 (T-6th)
1495 (1st)
603 (1st)
130.24 (1st)
81.7 (7th)
The Wild couldn't translate their defensive dominance into a playoff spot last season, as they were one of the league's worst offensive teams and got subpar goaltending from Devan Dubnyk. However, what their rearguards accomplished in their own end was quite remarkable, especially considering they were without Matt Dumba for the final 50 games.
Minnesota was the league's best team when it came to preventing scoring chances at five-on-five - both of the standard and high-danger variety - and the club also boasted excellent shot-prevention, expected goals against, and penalty-killing rates despite missing a key member of its top four for more than half of the season.
Ryan Suter's contributions to this unit are invaluable, as the 34-year-old workhorse led all NHL skaters in average ice time while playing every game. Jared Spurgeon and Jonas Brodin are also ultra-dependable, and with Dumba back taking part in the preseason, the Wild should once again be among the league's top defensive clubs.
3. Calgary Flames
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GA/G
SA/G
SCA
HDCA
xGA
PK%
2.72 (9th)
28.1 (1st)
1606 (3rd)
670 (6th)
139.42 (4th)
79.7 (19th)
Mark Giordano and T.J. Brodie are arguably the best pairing in the NHL, and the Flames possess impressive depth on the back end. While Giordano - the soon-to-be 36-year-old reigning Norris Trophy winner - will be hard-pressed to duplicate his 74-point campaign, Calgary boasts a formidable collection of blue-liners, as the numbers reinforce.
No team allowed fewer shots per game last season than the Flames did, and Calgary also limited scoring chances and expected goals to an elite degree.
The Cup finalists got very good goaltending from Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak in 2018-19, but their success in their own end was due to far more than just that. Only the Wild were better than the Bruins were at preventing scoring chances during the regular season, and Boston's ability to shut down opposing offenses clearly carried over into the playoffs, helping them come within a game of winning another championship.
Chara isn't what he once was, but he's still effective enough, while increased contributions from the likes of Connor Clifton and Matt Grzelcyk will ensure Boston once again ices one of the best defense corps.
1. St. Louis Blues
Scott Rovak / National Hockey League / Getty
GA/G
SA/G
SCA
HDCA
xGA
PK%
2.68 (5th)
28.6 (T-3rd)
1696 (12th)
626 (T-2nd)
137.49 (3rd)
81.5 (9th)
That old adage that defense wins championships certainly rang true last season, as the Blues locked down opponents en route to the Stanley Cup. With the same six primary rearguards set to suit up for St. Louis, the champs enter this season with the most well-rounded and proven group of blue-liners in the league.
The Blues performed well across the board in both the conventional defensive categories and the advanced ones. That wide-ranging success is a major reason they won the title in June, and there's little reason to believe it will drastically change.
Jordan Binnington may regress, but as the analytics illustrate, he benefited from his teammates' elite defensive play last season, and the largely veteran group in front of him should continue to do what they do best.
