The Minnesota Wild will have to take on the Dallas Stars without two of their top forwards.
Zach Parise and Thomas Vanek won't travel with the team for Games 1 and 2 of the Wild's first-round series versus the Stars. Parise is out indefinitely with an upper-body injury, while Vanek is week to week with an upper-body injury of his own.
Parise, who's believed to be dealing with disabling back pain, led the team with 25 goals. Vanek disappointed this season with only 18 goals, but remains a threat to score whenever he's on the ice.
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The Toronto Maple Leafs see Morgan Rielly and Nazem Kadri as key pieces of a winning future.
Related: Maple Leafs sign Rielly, Kadri to 6-year contracts
That was the clear message general manager Lou Lamoriello delivered on a conference call Wednesday to confirm their respective six-year contracts signed earlier in the day.
"It was extremely important (to sign Kadri and Rielly to extensions), because it was a message to the commitment to both of them," he said. "This is just another step towards what we want to be in building the foundation for this franchise."
As far as Lamoriello is concerned, Rielly can be penciled in as a No. 1 defenseman with All-Star potential.
Lou Lamoriello says Rielly has All-Star potential: "He certainly is the key to our defence. He's our leader there."
— Jonas Siegel (@jonassiegel) April 13, 2016
For his part, the young defenseman is ready and willing to be part of the long-term solution in Toronto.
"It's just about commitment," Rielly said. "I certainly don't want to go anywhere. It's about being in Toronto and being part of this."
Kadri admitted he's experienced some growing pains over the past few years, but he's done everything he can to show his desire to make a positive and meaningful contribution.
"I've worked hard to achieve this goal. It means a lot to be rewarded for that," he said. "Toronto is where my heart is. For them to show this kind of commitment towards me meant a lot. I couldn't be more happy."
As for his role moving forward, that's up to Mike Babcock to decide, and contingent on other pieces added or subtracted from the roster at the center position.
Lamoriello on Kadri upside: "Naz showed he can be put in any role. He found him i a shut-down role. He found himself on the power play."
— Rob Longley (@longleysunsport) April 13, 2016
"(Kadri) knows the level of respect the organization has for him," Lamoriello added.
Rielly and Kadri, both of whom were set to become restricted free agents this summer, are now on the books through to the end of the 2020-21 - by which point, if all goes well, the Leafs are expected to have climbed high above the depths of the current rebuild. And they're banking on this pair to help get them there.
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The Stanley Cup Playoffs begin Wednesday, with the biggest names in the sport taking aim at Lord Stanley's mug. Casting terror into the hearts of their opposition, these three players have established themselves as the most feared stars in the NHL postseason.
Pos: C | Postseason record: 55-45
Stanley Cups won: 1
No player's been hotter since the All-Star break than Sid the Kid, who paces all skaters in points since the start of February. He'll be on a mission come playoff time, looking to get his Penguins back to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since winning the silver chalice in 2009. Among players that have played at least 100 playoff games, only four - Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Mark Messier, and Mike Bossy - average more points per game in the postseason than Crosby.
Pos: C | Postseason record: 73-44
Stanley Cups won: 3
"Captain Serious" saves his best for when the lights are brightest. Prior to his arrival in Illinois as the third overall selection in the 2006 draft, the Blackhawks were mired in the second-longest Stanley Cup drought in NHL history. Since, they've claimed The Holy Grail three times - equaling their bounty from their first 80 years of existence. In 117 postseason games, Toews has totalled 39 goals and 102 points while averaging more than 20 minutes of ice time.
Pos: G | Postseason record: 45-31
Stanley Cups won: 2
Quick's last three postseason results speak for themselves - a Stanley Cup win in 2012, a loss to the eventual champion Blackhawks in the Western final in 2013, and a Stanley Cup win in 2014. Over 64 games in that time, Quick went 41-23 with a 2.01 GAA and .928 save percentage, and his eight shutouts were more than any other goaltender. His next postseason shutout will break a tie with Mike Richter for most career playoff shutouts by an American goaltender.
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The Toronto Maple Leafs have locked up a pair of core, young players.
Defenseman Morgan Rielly and forward Nazem Kadri have signed six-year contracts, the club announced Wednesday.
Rielly's deal is worth $30 million ($5-million cap hit), while Kadri's is set at $27 million ($4.5-million cap hit), according to Bob McKenzie of TSN.
Both players were set to become restricted free agents this summer.
A six-year deal buys up two of Morgan Rielly's potential UFA years and four of Nazem Kadri's.
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) April 13, 2016
Rielly, 22, led all Toronto defensemen with a career-high 36 points (nine goals, 27 assists) while appearing in all 82 games this year. Drafted fifth overall in 2012, he's recorded 92 points (19 goals, 73 assists) in 236 regular-season games.
Kadri, 25, led the Maple Leafs with 45 points (17 goals, 28 assists) in 76 games this season. A seventh overall pick in 2009, he has amassed 197 points (81 goals, 116 assists) in 326 regular-season games with the club.
The new deals will keep the pair in Toronto through to the end of the 2021-22 season.
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The NHL playoffs can turn lifelong friends into temporary enemies, but one thing every hockey fan can agree on is how great it is watching a grizzled veteran hoist the Stanley Cup, knowing the chance may never come again.
From 36-year-old Calgary Flames co-captain Lanny McDonald lifting the trophy for the first time in 1989, to Ray Bourque finally winning the championship with the Colorado Avalanche to end his 22-year career, there have been plenty of memorable Cup moments involving veteran players.
Here's a trio of experienced NHLers who are likely taking their last shot at claiming hockey's Holy Grail in 2016.
The 37-year-old Detroit Red Wings forward says he hasn't decided whether to return to Russia or remain in the NHL next season, after admitting he's considering going home to finish out his career.
Datsyuk doesn't have much left to prove in North America, with a pair of Stanley Cup championships, three Selke trophies and four Lady Byng awards in a 14-year NHL career.
The Magic Man still has his moments, though, and his revelatory statements over the weekend make it more evident than ever that it's time to savor every one of them while we still can.
The Los Angeles Kings forward plans to retire at season's end, so unless he has a Datsyukian change of heart, this is it for Lecavalier.
The former Tampa Bay captain won the Cup with the Lightning in 2004, but it's eluded him since.
The Kings are always a threat to win come playoff time, and Lecavalier has shown occasional flashes of his former dominance since being traded to L.A. by the Philadelphia Flyers in January.
The Florida Panthers captain hasn't played in months due to concussion symptoms that may force him into retirement.
Mitchell is skating with the team every day, and if he's able to play this spring, his mere presence will provide the Panthers' young core with some added motivation.
The 38-year-old won the Cup twice with the Kings, in 2012 and 2014, and could ride off into the sunset with a third championship if Florida is able to keep its regular-season momentum going with a title run.
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Alex Khokhlachev is frustrated.
The 22-year-old center, a second-round pick of the Boston Bruins in 2011, has appeared in only nine NHL games despite posting strong numbers for the team's AHL affiliate over the past three seasons.
According to his agent, Bruins coach Claude Julien is to blame.
Alex Khokhlachev's agent blames Julien for not giving a chance to his client,says #Bruins disrupted all the possible deals involving Koko1/2
— Igor Eronko (@IgorEronko) April 13, 2016
Khokhlachev expressed anger over his situation before the season even began.
"Boston should make a decision with me," he told reporters during training camp. "I've waited for my chance already. Two years. I'm just still waiting. We'll see. They should make a decision. Give me a chance, or I don't know. We’'ll see (what) they'll do."
In 57 AHL games this season, he scored 23 goals and added 43 assists, but was held pointless in the five appearances he was afforded at the NHL level.
His agent wouldn't comment on whether Khokhlachev, a restricted free agent, would look to return to Russia this summer, but he didn't rule out the possibility.
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Russian defenseman Nikita Zaitsev appears set for a move to Canada.
CSKA Moscow general manager Sergei Fedorov said Wednesday the 24-year-old has committed to joining the Toronto Maple Leafs.
GM of #CSKA Sergei Fedorov to @rsportru: 'Right from the start of the season we knew Nikita Zaitsev agreed to terms with #MapleLeafs'
— Igor Eronko (@IgorEronko) April 13, 2016
Zaitsev met with the Maple Leafs in Toronto last summer and said he was "pleasantly shocked" by the reception. It was reported in January he'd sign an entry-level deal with the Maple Leafs.
In 46 KHL games this season, Zaitsev scored eight goals and added eight assists.
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