Yes, it's the preseason, and yes, it came at the expense of a Detroit Red Wings team that's not expected to do much in the coming months, but head coach Joel Quenneville believes it may portend what's to come in Saad's second tour of duty with the club.
"I still think there's room where he can go to another level as far as production goes," the coach said after the game, according to Eric Lear of Blackhawks TV.
Saad began his career in Chicago, winning two Stanley Cups while establishing himself as a presence at both ends of the ice.
Traded to Columbus in 2015, he enjoyed career highs in goals (31) and points (53) as a member of the Blue Jackets.
During the offseason, Chicago general manager Stan Bowman pulled the trigger on a deal that brought Saad back at the cost of dynamic winger Artemi Panarin.
"It's always nice to be wanted and welcomed and these fans are the best fans in the league," Saad said, according to Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times, "so it's good to be back."
Anderson is one of two restricted free agents across the NHL, along with Detroit Red Wings forward Andreas Athanasiou, who has threatened to play next season in the KHL if an agreement doesn't come to fruition.
With the start of regular season under two weeks away, Anderson still hasn't reported to Blue Jackets camp. If the two sides don't reach a deal before Dec. 1, he'll be forced to sit out the entire 2017-18 campaign.
Anderson only has one full season of NHL experience, but was a key contributor to Columbus' wildly successful 2016-17. In 78 games, the 23-year-old scored 17 goals and added 12 assists, while averaging 12:01 per night.
The club is selling limited-edition vials of melted ice from the team's old rink, with proceeds benefiting the Detroit Red Wings Foundation's mission to grow hockey.
Want to have a piece of the “Farewell Season at the Joe?” Melted ice vials from JLA are on sale now!
"The Detroit Red Wings Foundation is thrilled to offer a unique opportunity for fans to support our cause while honoring the history of Joe Louis Arena," said Foundation director Kevin Brown. "These commemorative ice vials serve as a wonderful keepsake, capturing the essence of (Joe Louis Arena's) electrifying farewell."
The vials will cost $85 and be featured inside an individually numbered 6x8 inch shadowbox frame photo of Joe Louis Arena, lest anyone be tempted to quench their thirst with some nearby water.
Only 3,000 will be made available. Get them before they H2-GO.
The Joffrey Lupul health saga took another turn Thursday, as a league source told The Athletic's James Mirtle that the injured forward will undergo an independent medical examination to determine his health status.
In his apology, Lupul also stated that he would not be seeking a second medical opinion.
But, as Mirtle reports, the NHL has apparently decided to step in, and Lupul will undergo an independent evaluation to determine whether he is physically able to compete.
Lupul hasn't played in a regular-season game since February 2016, and was placed on LTIR in July. As a result, his $5.25-million salary for the 2017-18 season won't count against Toronto's cap.
When the Toronto Maple Leafs signed veteran winger Patrick Marleau to a hefty three-year, $18.75-million deal in July, many pundits - and media members - around the league expected him to be a natural fit on the top line, replacing Zach Hyman on Auston Matthews' wing.
While the calls for Marleau to join Matthews and replace Hyman continue to gain volume and media attention, head coach Mike Babcock isn't prepared to make any hasty moves just yet.
"I'm not dumb," Babcock told reporters Thursday, according to The Athletic's Jonas Siegel. "That's what I read - that you guys want. But here's what I'm going to do, I'm going to coach the team and you guys are going to write the articles."
Despite previously being a vocal supporter of Hyman and what he brings to the table, Babcock was prompted to once again voice his fondness over the 25-year-old Toronto native and his style of play.
"Hyman's a guy who gets the puck back all the time," said Babcock. "When you're a good player, I've learned from good players, they like to have the puck. When you have three guys who want the puck - like Datsyuk used to tell me all the time, 'No, put him on someone else's line. I want a guy to get me the puck.' He (Hyman) gets the puck back better than anyone."
Hyman might not light the lamp on the regular, registering only 14 goals across 98 career regular-season games, but it's clear that his work ethic and sound two-way game have left a positive impression on his head coach.
So much so, that Babcock has already seemingly decided that Hyman will be on the top line with Matthews when the puck drops on the 2017-18 season in just under two weeks' time.
Marc-Edouard Vlasic is not afraid to make his feelings about the Olympics known.
In April, the San Jose Sharks defenseman tweeted a picture of the Olympic logo after the NHL announced its players would not be going to the 2018 Games in South Korea. He was back at it Thursday after the medals that will be handed out in Pyeongchang were revealed.
Vlasic couldn't help but point them out to the league's Twitter account.
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) General manager Jim Johannson has ruled out the possibility of the U.S. men's hockey team having NHL draft-eligible prospects competing at the Winter Olympics in February.
Johannson tells The Associated Press he doesn't view anyone from the 18-and-younger pool of prospects capable of cracking the projected lineup of non-NHL players, many of whom are opening this season playing in Europe.
USA Hockey's assistant executive director says he's also targeting a number of established college players, and would not rule out keeping a spot or two open for members of the U.S. team competing at the World Junior Championships this winter.
Johansson spoke in Buffalo, New York, on Thursday, where he is attending USA Hockey's sixth annual All-American Prospects game. The game features the top 42 U.S.-born players eligible to be selected in the NHL draft in June.
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For more AP NHL coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/NHLhockey
The St. Louis Blues are adding one of the best defensemen of all time to their front office.
Larry Robinson is joining the Blues as the senior consultant to hockey operations.
The Hall of Fame blue-liner left the San Jose Sharks in May after occupying multiple roles with the club over the last five years, including associate coach and director of player development.
Robinson first became a coach with the New Jersey Devils when he was named an assistant in 1993, and guided the Devils to a Stanley Cup championship as head coach in 2000.
The 66-year-old won the Cup six times as a player, and he ranks ninth all time among defensemen in NHL history with 750 assists and 958 points.
With the NHL's crackdown on both stick infractions and faceoff violations in full force, the Winnipeg Jets are going the extra mile to give them a special teams advantage.
The club will welcome former NHL referee Paul Devorski to training camp to help the club curb penalties, according to Sportsnet's Sean Reynolds.
Head coach Paul Maurice reached out to the NHL to help them fix their penalty woes. The plan is to have Devorski on the ice with the club while they do battle drills where the former ref of 26 years will point out ways the club can avoid taking penalties, per Reynolds.
The ploy is not just to help with the league's new stricter sanctions, but also to correct the team's previous discipline issues:
3/ Planned since summer it's an effort to fix the team's penalty issues. Jets finished 6th, 6th & 2nd in NHL in PIM's the last 3 seasons.
On top of finishing sixth in the NHL last season with 835 penalty minutes, the Jets also boasted the fifth-worst penalty kill, so figuring out a way to take fewer penalties is imperative for the club.
In their first two preseason games, the Jets have taken 12 penalties, but surprisingly just three slashing minors and none for faceoff violations.
The diminutive forward signed a two-year, $1.5-million contract with the Panthers last summer and went on to score 30 goals.
The following five players all signed new contracts in the offseason. Whether they were RFAs and re-upped with their current clubs or UFAs who signed with new (or old) teams, these five deals will all prove to be steals:
Connor Brown, Maple Leafs
Term: 3 years Average annual value: $2.1 million
A 20-goal campaign from a Toronto-born Maple Leafs rookie would have been the talk of the town in any other season. But in 2016-17, the big three of Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and Mitch Marner stole the spotlight.
Brown's stellar rookie campaign went seemingly unnoticed by the hockey world, partly because he isn't a flashy player. The 23-year-old doesn't have blazing speed or a lethal shot. What he does have, though, is a high hockey IQ. He's creative in the offensive zone and smart enough defensively to play on a checking line and kill penalties.
Despite his 20-goal, 36-point season, he isn't a lock to play in Toronto's top nine. The offseason addition of Patrick Marleau creates an even bigger logjam among Toronto's forwards. However, as a sixth-round pick who had to claw his way into the NHL, this will no doubt provide added motivation for the youngster.
Brown's defining moment may not come this season, but with James van Riemsdyk, Tyler Bozak, and Leo Komarov all being pending UFAs, he could be counted on for big minutes come 2018-19 and 2019-20.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Senators
(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)
Term: 3 years AAV: $3.1 million
Jean-Gabriel Pageau's point total fell from 43 in 2015-16 to 33 in 2016-17. It's understandable considering head coach Guy Boucher implemented his 1-3-1 neutral zone trap. However, Pageau made up for it during Ottawa's magical run to the Eastern Conference Final, scoring eight goals in 19 playoff games.
With Colin White (wrist) out for six-to-eight weeks and Derick Brassard (shoulder) potentially out to begin the season, Pageau will be relied upon to center the team's second line. Considering Brassard was largely unimpressive in his first season in Canada's capital, it wouldn't be shocking if the 24-year-old Pageau stuck in that role.
He's already an elite faceoff man with a strong two-way game, finishing in the top 25 in Selke Trophy voting each of the past two years. With more ice time (he averaged just 16:08 per game last year), he could conceivably collect 45-50 points.
Scott Hartnell, Predators
Term: 1 year AAV: $1 million
Hartnell signed a one-year prove-it deal after what was considered a down season in Columbus. He scored 13 goals and added 24 assists in 78 games, but his ice time plummeted to 12:04 minutes per game. However, his 2.45 points per 60 minutes at five-on-five was his best since Natural Stat Trick began recording it in 2010-11.
Returning to the team that drafted him sixth overall way back in 2000, Hartnell could have a bounce-back season - especially if he's reunited with former linemate Ryan Johansen. A 25-goal season isn't out of the question.
Patrick Sharp, Blackhawks
Term: 1 year AAV: $1 million
Sharp also signed a one-year prove-it deal with his former team after tallying just 18 points in an injury-riddled 48-game campaign.
The departure of Artemi Panarin opens up a gaping hole at left wing opposite Patrick Kane. At 35, Sharp clearly isn't the player Panarin is, but he could easily have a bounce-back season of 50 points if he can avoid the Q blender (coach Joel Quenneville is known for constant line juggling) and stick with Kane for the majority of the season.
Andre Burakovsky, Capitals
Term: 2 years AAV: $3 million
The Capitals lost some key forwards in the offseason, most notably Marcus Johansson and Justin Williams. That opened up a top-six role for Burakovsky, who averaged just 13:16 minutes per game a year ago. In the limited role, here's where he ranked among Caps players in the following categories (all at five-on-five, excluding players who played less than 20 games):
Stat
Burakovsky's ranking
Goals per 60 minutes
9th
Assists/60
2nd
Points/60
3rd
Shots/60
3rd
Individual scoring chances for/60
2nd
Takeaways/60
2nd
Corsi For/60
1st
As the stats show, all Burakovsky needs is an opportunity. At $3 million per season, the Caps could have a legitimate top-six forward. That would be extremely valuable for a team that's right against the cap.
