That's the inscription on a helmet sticker to be worn by the Ottawa Senators this season in honor of Bryan Murray, who died on Aug. 12 after a three-year battle with colon cancer.
After New Jersey Devils head coach John Hynes declared Boyle a possibility for opening night, the veteran forward - who was recently diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia - is tapping the brakes
"The bottom line is, it's progressing," Boyle said Monday, per Mike Morreale of NHL.com. "I said (on Sept. 19) that I wanted to play in the season opener, because doesn't everyone? But it's not the be-all, end-all if it didn't happen. Even if I'm cleared to practice with the team, I'm not just going to jump in. I need to get my own training here at some point and get into situations that are real instead of just skating."
Boyle has been skating on his own to date, and wants to make sure he can contribute when he joins his fellow Devils on the ice for game action.
"I haven't bumped or hit anyone, and that's a huge part of your conditioning, so that's still something hanging over my head so that when I come back, I want to have an impact," he said. "I'm doing everything I can now to make sure that happens, but it's going to take some time."
Boyle signed a two-year, $5.5 million contract with the Devils as an unrestricted free agent on July 1. He scored 13 goals and added 12 assists in 75 games last season split between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs.
Hossa was ruled out for the duration of the 2017-18 campaign due to a progressive skin disorder, propelling the league to review the situation with an independent doctor.
The ruling serves as a huge relief for the cap-crunched Blackhawks, who can stash Hossa's $5.275-million cap hit for the length of the season. Chicago also placed defenseman Michal Rozsival on LTIR on Monday.
Hossa, 38, still has four years remaining on the mega-contract he signed with the Blackhawks in 2009. Over his first eight seasons in the Windy City, he's suited up for 534 games, accumulated 415 points, and won three Stanley Cups.
The Blackhawks begin their 2017-18 season Thursday night versus Pittsburgh.
It was reported that Anderson ended his summer-long holdout Monday night.
Per Blue Jackets policy, terms were not disclosed, but Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports the pact is worth $5.55 million over three seasons.
"Josh was an important contributor on our team a year ago and we believe he will continue to be an important part of our team in the years to come," said general manager Jarmo Kekalainen. "He brings size, speed, and grit to our lineup, and as a young player, is still growing and developing with his best years still to come."
The 23-year-old Anderson registered a career-high 17 goals in 2016-17.
As part of our extensive season preview coverage, theScore's hockey editors are taking a look at who we think will earn some of the NHL's biggest honors at season's end.
The next round of NHL Awards won't be officially handed out until next June, but that doesn't mean we can't get a head start on projecting them.
Some players are virtual locks to repeat as recipients of certain trophies, while we should see some new winners in several key categories.
Here's who we believe will take home the hardware:
Hart Trophy - Connor McDavid
Josh Gold-Smith: We've now seen what McDavid is capable of in a full season, and there's no reason to believe he won't replicate his MVP form of a season ago.
The 20-year-old superstar hauled in both the Hart and Art Ross trophies in 2016-17, hitting triple digits in the points column while playing every game.
Barring another injury, McDavid is surely due to improve on his 30-goal output, and another season of growth at the NHL level will leave no doubt that he's the league's most valuable player.
Vezina Trophy - Matt Murray
Ian McLaren: We've all witnessed how good Murray has been in the postseason, serving as the goalie of record while the Pittsburgh Penguins raised the Stanley Cup the last two seasons.
His sample size in the regular season is not huge, but he's proven to be as good during the winter months as he's been in spring. Over the past two seasons, he's tied for first in save percentage with Carey Price after stopping 92.5 percent of all shots against, only a slight dip from the 92.8 percent success rate achieved in the playoffs.
Now that Marc-Andre Fleury is gone, he'll get even more starts, and he'll have Kris Letang back on defense to help keep the puck away.
Murray has emerged as one of the best goalies in the game, and he'll further back it up with some hardware earned when the games don't mean quite as much.
Norris Trophy - Erik Karlsson
Craig Hagerman: Karlsson played arguably the best hockey of his career last spring, as he spearheaded the Ottawa Senators' unlikely run to the Eastern Conference Final, all the while playing on just one healthy leg. Who can forget his rink-long saucer pass to Mike Hoffman against the Boston Bruins?
As the 2018 season nears, Karlsson will be cautious about his return, to be sure his leg is 100 percent healthy before getting into game action. However, it's partially for that reason that Karlsson will win the Norris Trophy.
He's the most electric defenseman in the league, and at 100 percent health, he should be that much better. Karlsson isn't expected to miss any major time to begin the season, so a lengthy absence shouldn't be an issue. Offensively and even on the other side of the puck now, Karlsson is the best defenseman in the league. End of discussion.
Calder Trophy - Clayton Keller
Sean O'Leary: There are plenty of intriguing rookie of the year candidates entering the league this season, but Keller gets the nod. The 19-year-old is a dynamic offensive talent, and will have every opportunity be the centerpiece of a young Arizona Coyotes attack under new head coach Rick Tocchet.
Keller put up 45 points in 31 games at Boston University last season, then recorded two assists in a three-game stint with Arizona to close out the season.
If Keller played in a bigger market, the spotlight on his potential would be much brighter, but he'll put himself and the Coyotes on the map with a season worthy of Rookie of the Year honors in 2017-18.
Selke Trophy - Patrice Bergeron
(Photo courtesy: Action Images)
Cory Wilkins: Until we're given reason to say otherwise, the stalwart Bruins center will lock up the Selke Trophy. Again.
Bergeron has captured this honor in three of the past four years, and he's won it four times since 2011-12. That success rate puts him in the same category as Montreal Canadiens legend Bob Gainey, with both taking home the award four times.
Maybe it's time to rename the Selke as the Bergeron.
Jack Adams Award - Phil Housley
Josh Wegman: The Jack Adams Award is rarely given to the league's best coach, but rather the coach of the most overachieving team, or the most improved team. The Buffalo Sabres will fall into the latter category this season.
Housley spent the last four seasons as an assistant coach with the Predators, primarily working with their defensemen. Anyone who watched them during the playoffs knows how much they like to activate their D. This aggressive, attacking style of coaching will bring out the best in some key Sabres, such as Jack Eichel, Ryan O'Reilly, Evander Kane, Rasmus Ristolainen, and Zach Bogosian.
As long as the Sabres can stay healthy (they were hampered by injuries a year ago) they will make the playoffs for the first time since the 2010-11 season. That will be enough for Housley to earn a coach of the year nod in his first season behind the Sabres' bench.
GM of the Year - David Poile
(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)
Flip Livingstone: Poile may have already taken home the honors by winning last year's GM of the Year Award, but, that doesn't change the fact that he is one of the sharpest hockey minds in the game today.
Not only are the Nashville Predators a testament to that fact as one of the deepest teams in the NHL, but Poile's built his team from the net out with mostly homegrown talent.
While Nashville's lineup won't need a ton of work over the course of the 2017-18 season, expect Poile to be at the ready to do whatever it takes to ensure that his group will be one of the clubs in contention for Lord Stanley's Mug.
Portzline notes that though the sides have agreed to terms, no deal has been officially signed.
Anderson, a restricted free agent, failed to report to Blue Jackets training camp and hasn't played in any preseason games. Last week, he requested a trade out of Columbus.
Anderson, 23, finished with 17 goals and 12 assists in 78 games while averaging just over 12 minutes per game a year ago. His 1.07 goals per 60 minutes at five-on-five was the best on the Blue Jackets, and
Jaromir Jagr will be back in the NHL this season, but at 45 years old, he's well aware of the circumstances of the team he's joining.
On Monday, the veteran agreed to a one-year contract with the Calgary Flames. At his age and with the Flames' depth, chances are Jagr will feature prominently on the third or fourth line, but to the NHL's second-leading scorer of all time, that's just fine.
"I'm not against it," Jagr said, according to NHL.com. "I can play against third or fourth lines of the opposing teams in that case. Let's see how it's gonna fit me and what I can do there."
While much of the hockey community appears to be enthusiastic about his return, Jagr admits that, in the end, the number of opportunities for him to make a return was few and far between.
"One thing is there were not many options (in the NHL)," Jagr said. "The offers have been much alike. But the factor for me was also that Calgary had been in play since the beginning; not very intense, but there have been some talks all the time. Then (the) St. Louis (Blues) experienced some unpleasant things, many injuries. But those players will come back during the season. I would be kind of a supplement there. (In Calgary) I can still take it as some real chance."
Jagr confirmed he won't be in the lineup for the Calgary's season opener on Wednesday against the Edmonton Oilers, meaning Saturday's home opener against the Winnipeg Jets could mark his Flames debut.
If Flames head coach Glen Gulutzan opts to put the 45-year-old Jagr alongside his two best forwards, it could pay massive dividends.
Monahan and Gaudreau have been very productive over the last three seasons, despite posting pedestrian possession numbers. Here is a look at their Corsi For percentages by season since 2014-15, according to Hockey Reference (all at five-on-five).
Year
Monahan CF%
Gaudreau CF%
2014-15
46.1
47.3
2015-16
49.3
50.5
2016-17
50.3
51.8
Though Jagr doesn't move like he used to, his ability to possess the puck still might be second-to-none in the entire NHL. He uses an exceptionally long stick, has great puck control, and is able to use his big rear end to shield off defenders. Here is a look at his Corsi For percentages since returning to the NHL in 2011-12 after a three-year stint in the KHL.
Year
Team
CF%
2011-12
PHI
54.3
2012-13
DAL/BOS
53.5
2013-14
NJ
58.7
2014-15
NJ/FLA
52.3
2015-16
FLA
51.2
2016-17
FLA
55.4
As you can see, Jagr has been a mark of consistency when it comes to puck possession, even in his old age. If he's on a line with Monahan and Gaudreau, their possession numbers should sky-rocket. More time with the puck will lead to more scoring chances.
This proved to be evident when Jagr played alongside Barkov and Huberdeau in Florida. Though Barkov and Huberdeau both missed significant time due to injury last season, the trio was very effective when they were all on the ice together.
Among lines that played at least 200 minutes together at five-on-five, Florida's trio of Jagr, Barkov, and Huberdeau ranked 13th in CF% and 24th in Goals For percentage, according to Corsica.
(Photo courtesy: Action Images)
Oddly enough, centers Barkov and Monahan have plenty in common. They were chosen just four picks apart in the 2013 draft, both stand at 6-foot-3, shoot left, and play very similar games. Gaudreau and Huberdeau don't have as much in common, but they're both highly skilled left-handed shots with soft hands and great vision.
Even though Jagr missed all of training camp and preseason, it's conceivable that he could jump onto a line with Monahan and Gaudreau and find instant chemistry. After all, he's one of the smartest players of all time and shouldn't be difficult for any intelligent player with skill to gel with.
Yet, perhaps more importantly than any sort of offensive skill or ability Jagr possesses, it's his leadership qualities that could truly help Monahan, Gaudreau, or any other Flames player take the next step in their careers.
Jagr may not be the "stand up and give the team a pep talk" type of leader anymore, but he leads by example. When players see how Jagr trains in the gym, they'll take notice. When they see him stay late after practice, or hear about how he came to rink at 3 a.m. the night before to skate around with weights on his skates and stick, they'll understand why he's still an effective player at 45.
A 50-point season out of Jagr is still very likely, and with a base salary of $1 million, that would be a steal. The progress of Monahan, Gaudreau, and the rest of the team because of Jagr's presence will just be the cherry on top.
