Senators’ Stone diagnosed with concussion

Ottawa Senators forward Mark Stone has been sidelined with a concussion, coach Guy Boucher confirmed Saturday.

It's believed Stone suffered the head injury during scrimmage action Friday. No timetable has been set for his recovery.

Stone, 24, recorded 23 goals and 38 assists last season, finishing second in team scoring.

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GM Fletcher: Fleischmann done at Wild camp

Tomas Fleischmann's short stint with the Minnesota Wild has come to a close.

After failing his training camp physical, Fleischmann will not attend main camp, Wild general manager Chuck Fletcher told Michael Russo of the Star Tribune.

Fleischmann originally agreed to attend Wild camp on a professional tryout. The 32-year-old split last season between the Montreal Canadiens and Chicago Blackhawks, scoring 25 points in 76 games.

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Penguins’ Murray out 3-to-6 weeks with broken hand

Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Matt Murray will miss three-to-six weeks after breaking his hand at the World Cup, the team announed Saturday.

Murray, 22, was a critical piece in last year's Stanley Cup victory, winning 15 games in the playoffs.

The Penguins will turn to goalie Marc-Andre Fleury while Murray recovers.

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Season preview: Red Wings depth chart

theScore is previewing each team leading up to the 2016-17 season.

The Detroit Red Wings have not missed the playoffs since 1990, but there's a very real possibility that Joe Louis arena will not host a game past the upcoming regular season, thanks in no small part to the premature departure of Pavel Datsyuk.

Here's a look at the projected depth chart for 2016-17.

Forwards

LW C RW
Henrik Zetterberg Dylan Larkin Gustav Nyquist
Justin Abdelkader Frans Nielsen Thomas Vanek
Tomas Tatar Darren Helm Andreas Athanasiou
Drew Miller RileySheahan Luke Glendening
  • Veteran center Steve Ott will be battling for playing time, while Teemu Pulkkinen and Tomas Jurco will also be attempting to assert their presence in the lineup.
  • Dylan Larkin is the new face of the franchise, but it's probably too soon to expect him to serve as the top-line center.

Defense

LD RD
Danny DeKeyser Mike Green
Niklas Kronwall Jonathan Ericsson
Brendan Smith Alexei Marchenko
  • The state of the blue line could be the biggest reason why Detroit's playoff streak comes to an end.

Goalies

G
Jimmy Howard
Petr Mrazek
  • Jimmy Howard is at the top simply because of his salary, but Petr Mrazek is the better option and will take over the starting job for good sooner than later.

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Moulson ready to prove doubters wrong

A new season means a new opportunity for Buffalo Sabres winger Matt Moulson.

The 32-year-old is coming off a career-worst campaign with the Sabres, playing in all but one game and finishing with just eight goals and 21 points.

Despite the miserable season, though, the three-time 30-goal scorer is set on reversing his fortunes this year.

"I definitely have a chip on my shoulder coming in to prove a lot of people wrong who maybe lost a little belief," Moulson told John Vogl of The Buffalo News.

Where Moulson fits in the Sabres' lineup is unclear, with the top-six winger slots likely filled by Tyler Ennis, Evander Kane, Sam Reinhart, and new addition Kyle Okposo. He may also need to earn back coach Dan Bylsma's trust, after seeing his ice time drop to 11:54 last season, down from 17:41 the year prior.

The veteran winger has three years remaining on his contract, carrying a $5-million annual cap hit.

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Season Preview: 3 players to watch on the Red Wings

theScore is previewing each team leading up to the 2016-17 season.

The post-Pavel Datsyuk era is set to begin in earnest.

The Detroit Red Wings will be decidedly less magical in 2016-17 without the presence of the dynamic Russian center, but life goes on in Hockeytown. Those still on the roster will do their best to make sure Joe Louis Arena sees playoff hockey for the 26th straight year, in its final season hosting the club.

Here are three players to watch in Detroit this season.

Dylan Larkin

Notorious for bringing young, developing players along slowly, the Red Wings appear set to hand 20-year-old Dylan Larkin the first-line center role.

Larkin's ascendance has been necessitated by Datsyuk's move to the KHL, but is also well-earned following a 23-goal, 45-point performance in 80 games as a rookie last season.

Selected 15th overall by Detroit in 2014, Larkin appears to possess the tools needed to succeed at a high level in today's NHL, and he should produce playing alongside Henrik Zetterberg.

Whether the role's responsibilities prove to be "too much, too soon" for Larkin, and whether he can stave off the dreaded sophomore slump, remains to be seen.

Danny Dekeyser

General manager Ken Holland signed 26-year-old defenseman Danny Dekeyser to a six-year, $30-million contract extension this offseason, signalling a serious commitment toward building around the Michigan native.

The extension came after Dekeyser recorded a career-high eight goals, but only 12 assists in 2015-16, a full 11-point drop from his previous campaign.

As a defenseman capable of munching minutes in all situations, Dekesyer is entering his prime, and is now being paid as someone expected to carry a heavy workload while contributing offensively.

With Niklas Kronwall entering the season a little banged up and with Mike Green no longer the offensive machine he once was, Dekeyser will need to start earning that new deal immediately.

Thomas Vanek

The Red Wings are banking on a bounce-back season for Thomas Vanek, after the veteran was bought out by the Minnesota Wild. Detroit then pounced, signing him to a relatively low-risk, high-reward one-year contract worth $2.6 million.

The 32-year-old has traditionally been a consistent scorer, but his 18 goals in 2015-16 marked the lowest output of his career, forcing the Wild to cut bait on a big-ticket deal that wasn't providing expected value.

Still, Vanek has averaged 31.7 goals per 82 games since entering the league over a decade ago, and should be motivated to score with increased regularity if he wants stability in his next contract.

If the Red Wings are getting back to the playoffs this season, they'll need significant contributions from Vanek.

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Boudreau era begins for Wild

ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Bruce Boudreau era has begun for the Minnesota Wild.

For the players, the demands will be many. The expectations will be as straightforward as can be. The experience also promises to be a lot of fun.

''Sometimes he doesn't even know what's coming out of his mouth when he's talking,'' forward Charlie Coyle said.

The rotund new head coach, well-regarded for his regular-season success, well-known for his profane rants and well-liked for his down-to-earth and self-deprecating manner, formally took over Friday for the first two practices of training camp. The squad split into two groups and, in addition to plenty of time with the white board picking up Boudreau's defensive scheme, went through a grueling conditioning test during which skaters had to complete several laps around the rink under certain times.

The drills were no joke, but Boudreau made sure to keep the mood light even while barking encouragement to the participants.

''We're huffing and puffing,'' Coyle said, ''and he's still making us laugh.''

NHL training camps began about a week later than usual because of the World Cup of Hockey, and six Wild players were given a break for the first three days in their transition back home from competition: forward Zach Parise and defenseman Ryan Suter from Team USA, forwards Mikko Koivu, Mikael Granlund and Erik Haula of Team Finland and forward Nino Niederreiter of Team Europe. Only Niederreiter's team is still alive in the tournament, so he could be delayed further.

The learning process won't wait, though.

''We want to ramp it up as quick as we can. We want to have a lot of pace in our practice. It's a real mixture, because we have to teach at the same time. It's not going to be like a practice in December,'' Boudreau said. ''At the same time, we don't want anything slow. We want a lot of moving parts.''

The first exhibition game is on Monday against Buffalo in State College, Pennsylvania, and the season opener is Oct. 13 at St. Louis. That's less than three weeks away. Hence the hard work on the first day, even though players train year-round these days and don't typically need to get back into shape.

''Everyone's just excited to get this thing going and start playing some real hockey,'' defenseman Matt Dumba said.

There will be differences in style, for sure.

''I think they're still trying to figure me out. `What's this guy like? He seems to be smiling a little too much.' Or, `He's joking around with me. Is he really joking or is he sarcastic?''' Boudreau said. ''I think it takes a little bit of time for guys to get to know me.''

Impressions are there to be made for the players, most of whom have never played for Boudreau before.

''Everyone's here to get a job and knock people out of their jobs, so everyone came prepared,'' Coyle said. ''It's good to see that intensity and that competition right away.''

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