Find year-round coverage of betting news and insights for all sports by visiting our Betting section and subscribing to push notifications.We swept the board with our player props on Monday night, putting together a perfect 3-0 card.We'll look to replicate that effort with three more plays for a busy Tuesday slate.Aleksander Barkov: Under 2.5 shotsBarkov has gone under his shot total in eight of the last nine away games, averaging minuscule numbers over that span. He's recorded just 1.8 shots per game on only 3.3 attempts.This is a very tough spot for him to get back on track. For all the Devils' faults, they're good at limiting shots - particularly against centers. No team has conceded fewer shots per game to the position over the last 10 games.Barkov is also in a back-to-back situation, something he's struggled with this season. He's recorded less than three shots in all five of his back-to-backs thus far.Look for his road shooting woes to continue in New Jersey.Odds: -114 (playable to -130)Dylan Guenther: Over 2.5 shotsThe Coyotes' young sniper is heating up. He's gone over 2.5 shots in five straight games while averaging 7.4 shot attempts.Guenther seems to be meshing well with Jason Zucker, generating more than 24 shot attempts per 60 minutes of five-on-five play with the veteran on his line. That's high-end production.I love that Guenther's recent hot streak has come against a string of difficult opponents, having faced the Maple Leafs twice, the Avalanche, and a Capitals team just outside the playoff picture.He should have a much easier time generating offense against the Blackhawks, one of the worst defensive teams in the league. Chicago is bleeding shots to wingers, having allowed 16 shots per game versus the position over the last 10 games - nearly three more shots than the closest team.Don't expect Guenther to cool down here.Odds: -114 (playable to -135)Nikolaj Ehlers: Over 2.5 shotsGabriel Vilardi recently left a game against the Stars with an injury. Since then, Ehlers' usage has increased to more than 15 minutes in three straight games.That's his sweet spot: He's generated three shots or more in 68% of his games (27/40) when logging at least 15 minutes of ice time.I don't love targeting the low-event Kraken for shots, but this is worth an exception. They're on the road in a back-to-back situation and missing multiple forwards (most notably Andre Burakovsky and Alex Wennberg) due to injury or trade-related scratches.Kraken games also tend to be higher-paced away from Seattle. Their road games feature 5.9 more shots per game than their home games - the biggest road boost of any NHL team.As long as Vilardi remains out, I like Ehlers in this spot. But wait until closer to game time for certainty on Vilardi's status.Odds: -140 (playable to -160)Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. You can follow him on X at @ToddCordell.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

A handful of Stanley Cup hopefuls are inquiring about Ottawa Senators winger Vladimir Tarasenko.The Florida Panthers, Boston Bruins, Carolina Hurricanes, New York Rangers, Vegas Golden Knights, and Edmonton Oilers have kicked tires on the pending unrestricted free agent, reports the Ottawa Sun's Bruce Garrioch.Ottawa is reportedly seeking a second-round pick and a prospect in return for Tarasenko's services.The Russian has control over his situation due to his no-trade clause. He carries a cap hit of $5 million. The Panthers, in particular, are high up on Tarasenko's list of preferred destinations, a source told Garrioch.The 32-year-old ranks fourth on the Senators with 17 goals this season and fifth with 41 points in 57 games. Tarasenko said in mid-February that he was enjoying his time in Ottawa and was looking "at all options."The Senators are currently in last place in the Atlantic Division with a 25-31-3 record and own ghastly 0.2% odds of making the playoffs, according to MoneyPuck.Tarasenko was traded for the first time in his career last season when the St. Louis Blues sent him to the Rangers a month before the deadline. New York is in need of a top-six right winger following a leg injury to Blake Wheeler. Tarasenko put up eight goals and 21 points in 31 regular-season contests in the Big Apple.The Golden Knights similarly have a hole in their forward group due to the absence of captain Mark Stone.Tarasenko won the Stanley Cup as a member of the Blues in 2019. He's racked up 287 goals and 615 points in 732 career NHL games, as well as 64 points in 97 playoff contests.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Vegas Golden Knights had star center Jack Eichel back in the lineup for Monday's clash against the Columbus Blue Jackets.He registered five shots on goal in 19:55 minutes of ice time during Vegas' 6-3 loss.Eichel missed the last 19 games with a lower-body injury, for which he underwent surgery. The Golden Knights went 9-8-2 in his absence.Vegas activated him from long-term injured reserve earlier on Monday.Eichel, 27, last played Jan. 11 against the Boston Bruins. He departed the contest but was ultimately able to finish the game, capping off his night with one goal and one assist in just under 17 minutes of ice time.Despite missing time, Eichel still ranks third on the Golden Knights in both goals (19) and points (44).Vegas ranks third in the Pacific Division with a 33-22-7 record.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Edmonton Oilers spoke to the Anaheim Ducks about a multi-player deal involving forwards Adam Henrique and Sam Carrick, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.Both players are pending unrestricted free agents.Henrique remains productive in his age 34-season, boasting 18 goals and 24 assists in 60 games. He's primarily played center in his career but also has some experience on the wing, which would give the Oilers' lineup further malleability along with Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who often flip between the two positions. Henrique's $5.825-million average annual value, though, could be an obstacle for the Oilers, who are up against the cap.The Brantford, Ontario, native has only been to the playoffs twice in his 14-year career, but one of those instances included a trip to the 2012 Stanley Cup Final as a member of the New Jersey Devils.Carrick would merely be a depth piece for the Oilers. The 32-year-old doesn't provide much offense - though he has scored eight goals this season - but he brings energy, physicality, toughness, and is a right-handed faceoff option (he's won 51% of his draws this season). His cap hit is only $850,000.The Oilers appear to be active ahead of Friday's trade deadline, as they've reportedly also shown interest in Jake Guentzel and Vladimir Tarasenko, among others.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The New Jersey Devils fired head coach Lindy Ruff on Monday, the team announced.Travis Green was named interim head coach for the rest of the season.Ruff was in his fourth season as the club's bench boss. He led the Devils to one playoff berth - in 2023 - where they beat the New York Rangers in Round 1 before falling to the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round. Ruff finished as a finalist for the Jack Adams Award.But the current season has been disastrous for the Devils. The upstart club entered the campaign with monster expectations but finds itself eight points back of a playoff spot. Goaltending is the major issue, as the team's .882 save percentage is the second-worst mark in the league. Injuries have also played a part. Jack Hughes missed 16 games earlier in the season and Dougie Hamilton hasn't suited up since November."I hold our entire organization to the highest levels of accountability to focus on being a competitive team that expects to be a perennial playoff contender," general manager Tom Fitzgerald said. "Unfortunately, we are not currently at that level, and I needed to make this decision."This was an extremely difficult conversation to have with Lindy based on the relationship that he and I have. He was the right coach to develop our young players on the ice, and above all else, he is a tremendous person."Devils fans chanted "Fire Lindy!" for multiple stretches throughout Ruff's tenure in the swamp.Green served as head coach of the Vancouver Canucks for parts of five seasons from 2017-2021. He led the team to one playoff appearance in 2021 in which it lost in the second round against the Vegas Golden Knights. Green joined Ruff's staff for the 2023-24 campaign."Travis has key experience running benches at the junior, AHL, and NHL levels and knows that there are no shortcuts to success," Fitzgerald said. "He is a high-demanding individual who is familiar with the group and excited about working to get us back on track."Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Colorado Avalanche and New York Rangers are among the clubs that have shown interest in Seattle Kraken center Alex Wennberg, reports TSN's Chris Johnston.The Kraken are sitting Wennberg on Monday against the Calgary Flames for trade-related reasons.Wennberg is a pending unrestricted free agent with a cap hit of $4.5 million. The 29-year-old has registered nine goals and 16 assists in 60 games this season. Over the last three years - all with Seattle - he's proven to be a decent five-on-five play-driver but a liability on the penalty kill. Evolving-HockeyWennberg's best season came in 2016-17 with the Columbus Blue Jackets when he tallied 59 points as a 22-year-old. He's failed to surpass 40 points in any other campaign.Colorado and New York could both use help down the middle. The Avalanche acquired Ross Colton and Ryan Johansen in the offseason to serve as their middle-six centers, but the latter, in particular, has failed to meet expectations. The Rangers, meanwhile, lost Filip Chytil for the season back in November.While Wennberg is expected to be traded, the same can't be said for all of Seattle's pending UFAs. The Kraken and Jordan Eberle share mutual interest in a contract extension, reports TSN's Darren Dreger.Tomas Tatar, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, and Justin Schultz make up Seattle's other notable pending UFAs.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Find year-round coverage of betting news and insights for all sports by visiting our Betting section and subscribing to push notifications.Welcome to the second annual edition of "The 4% Club," where we evaluate the skaters who matter most to the moneyline.For five months, key players have shuffled in and out of their teams' lineups, and the market has responded by shifting their teams' moneylines.For example, a team that would otherwise be -200 to win might be bet to -150 for a 6.7% change in that team's implied win probability (IWP). Of course, some stars haven't missed any games, so we have to estimate their importance to their team.That can be hard to evaluate, as there are three types of player-team relationships:1. A star who makes everyone betterSure, the Oilers have Leon Draisaitl,and newly minted 40-goal scorer Zach Hyman, but their production can be expected to drop when Connor McDavid misses any time. Just look at how Edmonton fared early in the season when McDavid missed two games and was not himself for a few weeks. Other Hart Trophy candidates, Nathan MacKinnon and Nikita Kucherov, also fit this category.2. A star on a loaded teamAuston Matthews is on his way to 70 goals - something that may win him the MVP - but with so much depth in their forward group, the Maple Leafs can survive his absence in a given game. By comparison, when Connor Bedard isn't available, the Blackhawks are even less likely to win than usual without their only player who's averaging remotely close to a point per game.3. Teams that lack an impact skaterShield your eyes, Coyotes fan: If Clayton Keller (52 points in 57 games) missed a game, would the betting market drastically shift Arizona's moneyline? He's missed four this season, which has meant, at the most extreme, a 3% shift in the market's assessment of the Coyotes' chances without their leading scorer. Sadly, many teams and players fall into this category.If you boil it down to economics, the Oilers are getting everything they could want out of McDavid's $12.5-million salary. He's taking up 14.9% of their cap, and he's approaching a 15% implied win probability valuation.Dougie Hamilton's been out of sight and potentially out of mind, but it's no coincidence that a disappointing season in New Jersey lines up with getting just 20 games out of a near-point-per-game defenseman who was supposed to account for 10% of the Devils' salary cap.Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang have each other to blame for falling off our list. Karlsson's move to Pittsburgh makes him less valuable than when he was the best thing the Sharks had going. Meanwhile, any Letang absence is easier for the Penguins to swallow than last year.The Jets have the same "good problem" as the Leafs. By adding Gabriel Vilardi, Cole Perfetti, and Nino Niederreiter since we last did this exercise, their incumbent forwards are less singularly valuable. However, if Josh Morrissey missed time, that would leave a sizable hole in Winnipeg.Why is this important? As bettors, we need to be ready in case any of these players miss a game. If the market doesn't react (or overreacts), that creates enough of an edge to make a valuable bet.The cheat sheetThe betting world's dirty little secret is that, while there are no bad bets at the right price, the process of discovering a good price is hidden.Each week, we balance market information from regular-season point totals and in-season advanced metrics - with an even-strength focus - to determine the win probability for each team and the moneyline needed to bet on either side. The idea is to remove the cognitive bias of win-loss records, which can be skewed by outliers like special-team results, poor goaltending performances, and other unreliable events.You can use whatever parameters you like to decide how much of an edge you need to trigger a bet, but here are mine:

The Nashville Predators inked forward Tommy Novak to a three-year contract extension at an average annual value of $3.5 million, the club announced Monday.Novak was a pending unrestricted free agent whose current cap hit is $800,000, according to CapFriendly.The center, who'll turn 27 on April 28, has notched 13 goals and 21 assists in 51 games this season. He posted 17 and 26, respectively, over 51 contests in 2022-23.Novak has carved out a role as Nashville's third-line pivot in his third NHL campaign. He played 27 games with the Preds as a rookie in 2021-22, collecting a goal and six assists.Despite averaging only 14:22 of ice time in his current role, Novak has been one of the NHL's top point producers at five-on-five since Jan. 1, 2023. He has 45 points in those situations over the 96 games he's played in that span. That total is better than that of Brad Marchand, Mika Zibanejad, Nick Suzuki, Bo Horvat, and others.The Predators drafted Novak 85th overall in 2015.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Find year-round coverage of betting news and insights for all sports by visiting our Betting section and subscribing to push notifications.We have a fun six-game slate on the docket to begin the week. Let's take a look at a few of my favorite props.William Karlsson: Over 2.5 shotsThe Golden Knights are dealing with key injuries up front, most notably to Mark Stone. As a result, Karlsson has a more important offensive role.Karlsson has gone over his total in four of five games with his captain out of the lineup. And even as Jack Eichel returns, Karlsson should still have a prominent offensive role.He's averaging 5.6 shot attempts per game without Stone, which is 1.3 attempts more per game than when Stone is in the lineup.The Golden Knights face the Blue Jackets, who rank 28th in shots allowed over the last 10 games and 29th on the season. If you're into narratives, Karlsson may also have a little extra pep in his step facing his former team. Either way, this is a prime spot for him to make his mark offensively.Odds: -125 (playable to -150)Owen Tippett: Over 3.5 shotsTippett is firing on all cylinders. The Flyers forward has gone over his total in seven of the past 10 games, recording at least five shots more times (five) than he's fallen short of his line (three).All three of Tippett's failures came against teams that are currently playing strong defense, ranking top 12 in shot suppression over the past 10 games. He was a perfect 6-for-6 against teams outside the top 12, averaging a whopping 6.6 shots per game.Tippett is set to face another such opponent in the visiting Blues, a defensively exploitable team that sits 27th in shot suppression over its last 10 games.Since Tippett can pile up shots against weaker opponents, and the Blues don't have last change to send out their best personnel against him, this should be another big shooting night.Odds: -134 (playable to -145)Shea Theodore: Over 0.5 assists Theodore is an assist machine. The Vegas defenseman recorded 14 assists over his last 10 games, picking up at least one in seven of those games.He didn't get it done against the Stars, Penguins, and Sabres. The Stars are one of the best teams in the NHL, the Penguins (believe it or not) are top five in limiting goals against, and the Sabres have one of the league's hottest goaltenders in Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.Theodore has feasted on weaker defensive sides, picking up a point - nearly all assists - in 73% of his games against the bottom 15 teams in limiting goals.The Blue Jackets certainly fit the criteria. They're allowing 3.67 goals per game this season, putting them ahead of only the Sharks. And they aren't showing any signs of progress, having conceded 3.60 goals per game over the last 10.This is a spot where Vegas should be able to produce offense. With Eichel and Stone sidelined, the team relies even more heavily on Theodore to help create. Expect him to get involved.Odds: +105 (playable to -130)Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. You can follow him on X at @ToddCordell.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Find year-round coverage of betting news and insights for all sports by visiting our Betting section and subscribing to push notifications.Headlined by a couple of marquee matchups in New York and Toronto, we have a fun slate of games to begin the week.Let's dive into the best ways to attack it.Bruins (+110) @ Maple Leafs (-130)Things have gone a little south on the Bruins of late. They've won just three of their past 10 games while allowing more than 3.5 goals per contest.I don't think things are as bad as they seem on the surface. Boston has lost five overtime games in that span, falling short against the Lightning, Kings, and Canucks, among others.Had things gone differently in contests that amounted to coin flips, we could be talking about how the Bruins beat the Stars, Oilers, and some combination of the aforementioned playoff-bound clubs over the past 10 games. The perspective would be a whole lot different.This feels like the perfect spot to buy low on a veteran-laden Bruins team against the Maple Leafs, who are likely being overvalued right now.Toronto deserves credit for its recent success, but a lot of it came against bad or injury-plagued squads. It's also worth noting the process isn't sustainable.The Leafs have scored on just under 15% of their shots over the last 10 games. For perspective, only two teams are shooting over 12% this season.As much high-end talent as Toronto has, it won't continue scoring at anywhere close to this rate. The well will run a little dry at some point, and Jeremy Swayman, who owns a .919 save percentage this season, can bring on that regression.The Maple Leafs closed as -110 favorites the last time they hosted the Bruins. Toronto won, but it was a hotly contested affair.I think we're seeing a bit of an over-adjustment in this spot. There's value in backing Boston to answer the bell in a marquee divisional clash.Bet: Bruins (+110)Golden Knights (-195) @ Blue Jackets (+165)The Golden Knights haven't played their best hockey lately, but I love their chances of a ceiling game in this spot.First and foremost, star forward Jack Eichel is expected to return to the lineup in this meeting. He'll provide an immense boost to the team's offense and play-driving ability, which is much needed after recently losing Mark Stone to injury.The matchup is also as good as it gets for the Golden Knights. The Blue Jackets rank 31st in goals against per game this season and will turn to Daniil Tarasov between the pipes with Elvis Merzlikins sidelined.Tarasov owns a .888 save percentage this season and has won only four of 14 starts. And he's mostly played a soft schedule, facing off against four teams holding onto playoff spots.Put another way, Tarasov has struggled to provide NHL-level goaltending despite largely going against lower-tier competition.The Golden Knights, now equipped with their best player, certainly don't classify as such.I expect Vegas' offense to make a lot of noise in this game and provide real support for Adin Hill, who generally doesn't need much.Hill has struggled a little lately but still owns a .923 save percentage in 2023-24. His recent dip in form not so coincidentally aligns with a difficult string of games against the Bruins, Maple Leafs (twice), Hurricanes, and red-hot Predators.The Blue Jackets are nowhere near the class of any of those teams.Look for the Golden Knights to flex their muscles and take care of business within 60 minutes.Bet: Golden Knights in regulation (-130)Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. You can follow him on X at @ToddCordell.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Noah Hanifin, Jake Guentzel, Sean Walker.Those are some of the names that every hockey fan has heard many times over the past few weeks in the lead-up to the NHL's trade deadline March 8.And while those players remain some of the biggest names available, there are always intriguing targets flying under the radar at this time of year.Here are eight under-the-radar players who could move before the deadline and make an impact for a contender come the Stanley Cup Playoffs.Tommy Novak**Editor's note: The Predators signed Novak to 3-year extension after this article was published.GPGACap HitContract Status511321$800KPending UFANovak is a fascinating chip considering his scoring and contract.His 45 points at five-on-five since Jan. 1, 2023, are more than the likes of Brad Marchand, Mika Zibanejad, Bo Horvat, and Nick Suzuki, among numerous others.Novak has done so primarily as a third-liner, having played an average of 14:22 over the past two seasons. A player who can create up and down the lineup is an intriguing profile for many playoff teams in search of depth scoring.What puts him at the top of this list is his $800,000 cap hit. Any contending team can fit him on its roster with relative ease. That's not the case for other scoring options such as Vladimir Tarasenko ($5 million) or Jordan Eberle ($5.5 million).Novak is neither physical nor particularly adept at the faceoff dot. But if the Predators can't come to terms with the forward on a contract extension, many teams should be interested in his services.Yakov Trenin John Russell / National Hockey League / GettyGPGACap HitContract Status59104$1.7MPending UFASticking with the Predators, Trenin is more of the typical deadline target that general managers covet.The 27-year-old is listed at 6-foot-2 and 201 pounds, and he knows how to use his frame. He ranks in the 95th percentile in forecheck involvement per All Three Zones, and his 135 hits are in the top 20 among forwards.Trenin has also been one of the best penalty killers league-wide this season. He ranks seventh in shot attempts against per 60 among forwards with at least 75 shorthanded minutes, per Natural Stat Trick.As a good defensive forward with some finishing ability, he's a player who should generate a fair bit of interest if Nashville takes calls on the pending free agent.Oliver KylingtonGPGACap HitContract Status1321$2.5MPending UFAKylington recently returned from an extended absence, so this is a case where the player will dictate if anything happens.If Kylington is comfortable being traded, he's a smooth-skating defenseman who can win his minutes on a third pairing.Kylington broke out during his last full season in 2021-22 while playing alongside Chris Tanev. The duo dominated its minutes to the tune of 55.8% Corsi for and 57.5% expected goals for, outscoring the opposition 56-35 in the process.Kylington has proven he can be an effective NHL defender, particularly moving the puck up the ice. At the very least, a team in need of a defender should gauge the player's and the team's interest in a deadline trade.Max Pacioretty Dave Reginek / National Hockey League / GettyGPGACap HitContract Status25312$2MPending UFA (NMC)Pacioretty is a curious case as he'll make $4 million this season, but his cap hit will be just $2 million for any potential suitor. That's because of a $2-million performance bonus for 20 games played that would remain on the Capitals' books as he's already reached the total.Pacioretty doesn't need much of an introduction. His resume as an offensive weapon speaks for itself, as does his significant injury woes since 2022. He's been moderately productive while consistently appearing in Washington's lineup since January. The goal-scoring hasn't quite been there yet, but he's also fired 56 shots on goal and converted at only a 5.4% rate.Pacioretty controls his future with a full no-movement clause, but one would have to guess the 35-year-old would welcome a move to a true Cup contender.Johnny KovacevicGPGACap HitContract Status5163$767KSigned through 2024-25The Canadiens have too many defensemen. Eight blue-liners have played over 25 games this season for Montreal, and that's before Lane Hutson's likely arrival at season's end.Some are veterans with notable cap hits, while others are developing players who project to be on the team for years to come. Kovacevic doesn't quite fit into either group, making him a candidate whom a team could shake loose from the Habs.Signed through next season at a cap hit under the $775,000 league minimum, Kovacevic makes a lot of sense for teams right at the cap ceiling as a depth option on the backend. He's a right shot with size, listed at 6-foot-5 and 218 pounds, and he's produced good on-ice results relative to his team.His 12.7 expected goals above replacement since the start of the 2022-23 campaign rank second only to Nick Suzuki among Habs players, per Evolving Hockey.Kovacevic isn't the flashiest, but a lot of teams would love to add a defender of his profile and cap hit for a pair of playoff runs.Mathieu Joseph Kirk Irwin / Getty Images Sport / GettyGPGACap HitContract Status491020$2.95MSigned through 2025-26Joseph was a prime candidate to be shipped out of Ottawa after a tough 2022-23 campaign to fit Shane Pinto onto the team at the start of the season.Then came Pinto's suspension and a second chance for Joseph. He's made good on it, finding his form from late in the 2021-22 season to feature in the team's top six.Joseph is a speedy winger who creates off the rush as more of a playmaker than a finisher. He's good defensively and is adept at exiting the zone and turning it into entries with his skating ability. Joseph is also a regular penalty killer.As Ottawa looks to shake things up with a new regime in control, Joseph could again be a player on the move - this time as an asset.Justin DanforthGPGACap HitContract Status60910$975KSigned through 2024-25 at $1.1MDanforth signed a contract extension back in October, garnering a slight raise from $975,000 to $1.1 million. But that was when GM Jarmo Kekalainen was still in town. As a 30-year-old winger who plays in the bottom six, there's no reason the Blue Jackets should be opposed to moving Danforth.He's a remarkable story of perseverance. Danforth played college hockey at Sacred Heart, then had stints in the ECHL, Finland, and Russia before signing an NHL contract. That shows in the way he plays.Danforth is a water bug, flying around the ice as one of the league's fastest skaters. He's an aggressive forechecker and doesn't shy away physically, either, despite a 5-foot-9 frame. His 100 hits rank second on the Blue Jackets.Playoff teams are always looking to add speed and tenacity to their lineup. Danforth fits the bill and is inked through next season at a very reasonable cap hit.Nicolas Aube-KubelGPGACap HitContract Status45610$1.225MPending UFAAube-Kubel is physical, he's already played at the bottom of the lineup for a Cup-winning team, and he flies around the ice. That's a lot to like for buying teams.Aube-Kubel has chipped in a moderate amount offensively while being a strong defensive presence since being claimed off waivers by the Capitals in 2022. He's not going to play up the lineup, but you can do a lot worse when looking for a fourth-line upgrade.(Salary source: CapFriendly)Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Don't tell Sidney Crosby his struggling Pittsburgh Penguins should go into sell mode with the trade deadline approaching.Following Sunday's 6-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers, the future Hall of Famer gave a gruff response when asked if the bigger picture was starting to set in amid a three-game losing skid."The deadline date hasn't changed, and we still need to get points, so I don't know what picture you're talking about, but it's the same situation it was yesterday," Crosby said.A late February report indicated the Penguins would listen to trade offers on all non-core players. A day later, club president of hockey operations and general manager Kyle Dubas left the door open when asked whether he'd deal two-time 40-goal scorer Jake Guentzel.Pittsburgh was on the outside of the playoff picture looking in at the time and has fallen further out of the race since. The Pens entered Monday with an 18% chance of reaching the postseason, according to MoneyPuck.They came into the week sitting second last in the Metropolitan Division and 10 points back of the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with four games in hand on the Tampa Bay Lightning, who occupied that position.The Penguins have several pending unrestricted free agents who could be trade candidates if the team waves the white flag on the season. That list includes veteran forward Jeff Carter and backup goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic.Guentzel, another pending UFA, is injured but expected back about a week after the March 8 trade deadline.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin will miss around two weeks with a lower-body injury, head coach Derek Lalonde said Monday.Larkin exited late in a 4-0 loss to the Florida Panthers on Saturday and didn't take part in Monday's practice.The 27-year-old is the Wings' leader in goals (26) and points (54) this season. He missed six games earlier in the campaign, including four in December after he briefly lay motionless on the ice with an undisclosed injury against the Ottawa Senators.Detroit came into Monday occupying the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. The team has 21 regular-season games left, with seven of those scheduled through March 18.Larkin is in his ninth season with the Red Wings, who drafted him 15th overall in 2014.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Washington Capitals forward Evgeny Kuznetsov cleared waivers Sunday and has been loaned to the AHL's Hershey Bears, the team announced.Kuznetsov was made available Saturday, shortly after the NHL and NHLPA cleared him to resume practicing with the Capitals after entering the follow-up care phase of the player assistance program."It's about a fresh start for Kuzy," general manager Brian MacLellan said Saturday, according to The Associated Press. "He's been looking for a change in an environment, and I think this might set the wheels in motion for that to be accomplished."Kuznetsov isn't eligible to play any NHL games yet. He entered the assistance program Feb. 5.The 31-year-old recorded 17 points in 43 contests before being ruled out indefinitely. Kuznetsov is in his 11th season after the Capitals drafted him 26th overall in 2010.Kuznetsov is under contract through 2025 at a cap hit of $7.8 million. He has a 10-team no-trade clause for the remainder of his deal.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The New York Rangers announced a one-year contract extension for veteran veteran goaltender Jonathan Quick on Sunday.Quick's new pact will pay him $1.275 million for the 2024-25 season, according to The Athletic's Chris Johnston.New York signed the 38-year-old to a one-year deal last July, and he's been a rock behind Igor Shesterkin, posting a 13-5-2 record with a .916 save percentage this season.Quick spent the first 16 years of his career with the Los Angeles Kings, winning two Stanley Cups and a Conn Smythe while earning two Vezina Trophy nominations.He finished last season with the Vegas Golden Knights but didn't make any playoff appearances as the club marched to a championship.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Newly acquired Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin suffered a head injury Satruday after taking a hard hit from New York Rangers enforcer Matt Rempe, head coach Sheldon Keefe said postgame.The hit occurred toward the end of the second period in the Leafs' 4-3 shootout win. Lyubushkin didn't return to the game.

Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas has his sights set on the return package he's seeking for Jake Guentzel, should he trade the star winger ahead of the March 8 deadline.The Penguins prefer prospects over draft picks in exchange for Guentzel, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.Prospects could theoretically make an impact sooner than draft picks and thus have a better chance of providing help for Sidney Crosby and the rest of Pittsburgh's aging core before they're gone.Guentzel is arguably the most coveted rental player available ahead of the deadline. He entered Saturday with 52 points in 50 games this season. The 29-year-old also boasts a sterling playoff resume with 34 goals and 24 assists in 58 career postseason contests. He was part of the Penguins' last Stanley Cup triumph in 2017.Pittsburgh hired Dubas as GM in June. The Penguins hoped to compete this season after landing reigning Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson in the offseason, but they're on track to miss the playoffs for the second straight campaign.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Noah Hanifin, the top defender available at the trade deadline, isn't looking to move twice in 2024.The Calgary Flames and Hanifin are focused on dealing the 27-year-old to a team he'd be willing to sign a long-term extension with ahead of the March 8 trade deadline, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported on Saturday's edition of "Hockey Night in Canada."The Boston Bruins, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Florida Panthers have reportedly shown interest in acquiring Hanifin.The Lightning are believed to be Hanifin's No. 1 choice, Friedman added.Hanifin has tallied 11 goals and 34 points in 59 games this season while playing a career-high 23:44 per contest. He carries a $4.95-million cap hit and is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.Tampa Bay is without rearguard Mikhail Sergachev after he sustained a broken tibia and fibula in February. The Lightning have $7.4 million in space with Sergachev's $8.5-million cap hit on long-term injured reserve.Looking past this season, Tampa Bay will have just over $10.5 million of cap room this summer, per CapFriendly. Captain Steven Stamkos is the team's top pending free agent.The Bruins have a minuscule $57,500 of cap space available. Boston is without defenseman Hampus Lindholm, but the defender is expected back before the playoffs, meaning his $6.5-million cap hit won't make room for a potential Hanifin acquisition.But the Bruins will have a significant amount of room following this campaign, with $26 million in projected cap space this summer, according to CapFriendly. Boston's notable pending free agents include Jake DeBrusk, Matt Grzelcyk, and restricted free agent Jeremy Swayman.The Panthers are the most intriguing team among those linked to Hanifin, as Florida can afford the blue-liner this season and has maneuverability in the offseason. The team has over $5 million in space at the deadline but is also expected to have a whopping $28 million in cap room this summer, per CapFriendly.However, Florida has several pending free agents, including Sam Reinhart, Brandon Montour, and Gustav Forsling.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Florida Panthers are making a push for Calgary Flames defenseman Noah Hanifin, sources told ESPN's Kevin Weekes.The Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning - fellow Atlantic Division foes - are also reportedly interested in the pending unrestricted free-agent blue-liner.Hanifin has 11 goals and 23 assists in 59 games with the Flames this season while averaging 23:44 per contest. The 6-foot-3, 207-pounder combines ideal size with a smooth skating stride. His underlying numbers over the last three campaigns are stellar. Evolving-HockeyIn Florida, Hanifin could round out a top-four defense core already featuring Aaron Ekblad, Gustav Forsling, and Brandon Montour, pushing Niko Mikkola down to a more fitting role on the third pair.The Panthers would have the long-term cap space to keep the 27-year-old Hanifin beyond 2023-24. Forsling, Montour, and leading goal-scorer Sam Reinhart are all pending UFAs. Ekblad comes off the books in 2025.But a lack of trade assets could be an issue for the Panthers. They don't have a first-round pick until 2026 or own their second-rounder this year. Florida's farm system isn't considered overly strong, either.The Panthers and Flames are no strangers to blockbuster trades, having completed the Matthew Tkachuk swap in 2022. Current Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving was running the Flames then, but Calgary's replacement, Craig Conroy, was part of the front office as an assistant GM.The Flames have already shipped off pending UFAs Elias Lindholm, Chris Tanev, and Nikita Zadorov. However, Hanifin could yield their biggest return, especially if they find a suitor that inks him to an extension as part of a trade.The Carolina Hurricanes drafted Hanifin fifth overall in 2015 before trading him to the Flames in 2018.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Saturday night's marquee clash between the Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Rangers is an Original Six battle featuring two of the top five teams in the Eastern Conference, but all eyes will be on a couple of fourth-liners.Veteran enforcer Ryan Reaves and rookie sensation Matt Rempe will cross paths for the first time, and the Maple Leafs' tough guy won't turn down an opportunity to drop the gloves with the new kid on the block if the situation arises."I'm not just gonna square up with him at center ice," Reaves said, according to Sportsnet's Luke Fox. "But if something happens, whether I run somebody or he runs somebody, I got no reason to decline or not go after him. Or if he comes after me, I got no reason to say no."Rempe burst onto the scene in mid-February when he fought New York Islanders veteran Matt Martin at the Stadium Series in his first NHL shift.The 6-foot-7 rookie has fought three more times since his debut, and Reaves can relate to the position Rempe's in."I mean, he's obviously a kid trying to make a name for himself," Reaves said. "I was in that position when I was younger, too, just coming in and trying to fight everything that moved."And he's obviously doing a good job if we're talking about him."Rempe's logged more penalty minutes (32) than ice time (27:43) in his six-game career but has also chipped in with a goal and an assist in his limited action.Reaves has been credited with three fights this season, his first with the Maple Leafs.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Vancouver Canucks announced Saturday they signed star forward Elias Pettersson to an eight-year contract extension.Pettersson's deal carries an average annual value of $11.6 million, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reports. The contract also features a full no-movement clause beginning in 2025-26, according to CapFriendly.He'll be Vancouver's highest-paid player when the deal kicks in next season and the fifth-richest in the NHL behind Auston Matthews, Nathan MacKinnon, Connor McDavid, and Artemi Panarin."This is a very exciting day for me and my family," Pettersson said in a release. "I am very happy to be continuing my career as a member of the Vancouver Canucks. I love this city and playing in front of the fans. We have an exciting group and believe we can do good things in the future."Pettersson was scheduled to become a restricted free agent this summer and previously stated he was against negotiating a new deal during the season. However, it was reported earlier this week the two sides made significant progress on an extension after the Canucks engaged in trade talks with the Carolina Hurricanes.The 25-year-old is in the midst of another All-Star season with 75 points in 62 games. Pettersson's amassed 165 goals and 233 assists in 387 contests since entering the NHL in 2018-19.Vancouver is projected to have $24.7 million in cap space this offseason after signing Pettersson, according to Cap Friendly. However, the club only has 12 players signed for 2024-25.The Canucks are currently pacing the Pacific Division and are on track to make the playoffs for the second time in Pettersson's career. They appear to be all-in for their pursuit of the Stanley Cup, having acquired Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov in separate trades earlier this season.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

If things went right for Don Gallinger, he might have been remembered by history as a 17-year-old star who leapfrogged from Junior B to the NHL and became good enough to lead the Boston Bruins in scoring following World War II. But it's not how he entered the league that he's remembered for - it's how he left."There's absolutely no redemption in this story. But that's the real story," says hockey historian Fred Addis, who recently wrote "Gallinger: A Life Suspended," a book about Gallinger's fall from grace. "Once he fell off that pedestal, boy, he wasn't likable," Addis says.In 1948, Gallinger was handed an indefinite suspension from the NHL when it was discovered he'd been betting on Bruins games, along with teammate Billy Taylor. That cloud followed Gallinger's name ever since.Initially, Gallinger had all the hallmarks of a hero. When he first laced up his skates and took the ice for the Bruins in 1942, he was the youngest player to ever skate in the NHL at 17 years, 6 months, and 22 days old. By the end of that season, he placed third in voting for the Calder Trophy as the league's best rookie. During the Bruins' playoff run, his overtime goal against the Montreal Canadiens earned him the record for youngest player ever to score in overtime during the NHL playoffs, a distinction he still holds.Gallinger's hockey career was interrupted in 1944 when he enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force and spent 22 months in military service, but he returned to the Bruins in 1945 and led the team in scoring.That positive trajectory all came crashing down a few short years later when Gallinger played a role in a scheme that saw him bet on NHL games and also bet against his own team. In the fall of 1947, Taylor approached Gallinger with an offer: Taylor had a contact who'd guarantee 2-1 odds on any bet placed through him; in exchange, the two players needed to supply their contact with insider info on Bruins injuries and other intelligence not available to the public. The only catch: to prove the quality of their information, Gallinger and Taylor had to place bets on the Bruins themselves, even if it meant they'd be betting on the Bruins to lose.It wasn't long before the plot was uncovered and Gallinger was suspended."I don't know that he would have turned out any differently. If he'd been given another chance on a reinstatement, he may have just gone right back and offended again. He was a confident, cocky person and it was hard to tell him just about anything," says Addis, the past president of the Society for International Hockey Research who's spent years digging deeper into Gallinger's fate.Despite what he uncovered, Addis believes the NHL's handling of Gallinger's case was heavy-handed, and that the story is particularly relevant in today's sports betting environment. "The more I study this, the more I believe that Gallinger himself was predisposed to gambling. The higher the stakes, the better," he says. "It's easy to advocate for the hero; it's a little more difficult to suggest that someone who had a lot of trouble perhaps deserved a little bit more consideration."theScore recently talked with Addis about Gallinger's story. (The interview's been edited for length and clarity.)theScore: Out of all the stories you've come across in your work as a hockey historian, why did you write a book about this one?Addis: I knew the subject. I knew Don Gallinger myself. I lived in a little town called Port Colborne in Ontario. And it was there that Gallinger played his minor hockey and then graduated to the NHL.Gallinger was a larger-than-life story: his rocket ascent into the National Hockey League at the age of 17, right out of Junior B hockey, had never been done before. But you hear everything about a person in a small community. Some people said he was reckless, some people called him an idiot. Some people called him worse than that. This was all mostly based on the fact that he was suspended. But those that really knew him well spoke of him with a degree of respect, because they knew just how incredibly talented he was. And secondly, they knew all that he'd lost when he was suspended from the NHL.The story of Don Gallinger was largely written by the NHL: he was a cheat and he got exactly what he deserved. But the story is much more nuanced and complex than that.Q: Can you describe the type of player Gallinger was?First of all, he was big: 6-foot-1. Especially hockey players in the '40s and '50s - there weren't many guys that were six-foot. He was incredibly fast. A heck of a playmaker, and probably one of the biggest assets that he possessed: he was supremely confident.He was absolutely fearless and demonstrated that fearlessness right from the get-go, when he was at training camp with the Bruins at 17.Q: Gallinger entered the league during World War II, when many players were serving in the armed forces overseas. How did he stack up against those who returned to the NHL after the war?He made the club and he did extremely well in his first year. He scored an overtime goal in the Stanley Cup playoffs, Game 1 against Montreal. The following year, his season was interrupted when he enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force. He enlisted in the service of his king and country and came back after the war in the '45-46 season and led the team in scoring.This was after all of the greats of the team had returned from war service themselves. It was thought that these young players that came on during wartime as basically wartime substitutes wouldn't be able to make the grade when the other athletes returned from their war service, but Gallinger stuck with it, hung in there, and he not only stayed with the team, he led them in scoring.Teenagers Bill Shill (left), Gallinger (center), and Bep Guidolin (right) in a 1942 preseason game for the Bruins (Image courtesy Fred Addis) Q: When did Gallinger get into betting on NHL games?In September of 1947, his best friend and teammate Bep Guidolin was traded to the Detroit Red Wings for a gentleman by the name of Billy Taylor. Now, Taylor had come up through the Toronto Maple Leafs system and had been shipped off to Detroit, where he led them in scoring the year before. Almost out of the blue he was traded to the Bruins and moved right into the same rooming house as Gallinger. Taylor was 28 and Gallinger was 22 and somewhat impressionable.Taylor had a reputation for being a gambler and Gallinger liked that about him and aspired to be the same thing. He basically was taken into Taylor's confidence, which included being introduced to one of Taylor's contacts from Detroit, James Tamer, who was a convicted bank robber out on parole. Tamer had organized a gambling syndicate in Detroit through a couple of restaurants that he owned, and some other entities.Guidolin, above, was traded to Detroit in the fall of 1947 for Taylor, who was later suspended from the NHL alongside Gallinger for betting Bruce Bennett Collection / Getty Images Q: In order for the scheme to work, there were instances where Gallinger and Taylor had to bet against themselves and the Bruins. Was there any indication they wrestled with the ethics of that?Gallinger and I never spoke about that directly before his death in 2000. He left some manuscript materials that suggested they weren't overly concerned about it. I was able to establish in the Boston media itself (that) there were a number of columns that said there's no problem with betting on yourself or betting on your own team. In fact, it was considered a mark of confidence on the part of an athlete.Gambling was enforced at various levels in the various NHL cities of the day, and some police departments were a little more lenient, others were a little more heavy-handed. Certainly, in Boston, it wasn't considered a big deal.Sports reporters were always complaining about gamblers basically hawking their wares at Fenway Park in Boston during baseball games and at the Boston Garden during Bruins games. So, I think you could say it was an accepted part of the sports culture. But as far as betting against your own team, I think everyone understood that would be considered crossing the line.Q: How did the whole house of cards come crashing down on Gallinger?In the fall of 1947, Taylor and Gallinger, then teammates on the Bruins, set up an arrangement whereby Taylor would place the bets for or against (the team). He would make those bets directly with Tamer in Detroit. So, he was the pipeline.Early in February 1948, Taylor was traded to the New York Rangers, so that direct contact with Detroit no longer existed. But the next game that Boston played in Detroit, after the game in a restaurant, Tamer approached Gallinger and personally gave him his phone number and said, "Don't worry, nobody answers this phone but me."With that number, a couple of weeks later, while the team was in Chicago, Gallinger placed the bet through Tamer, and - on the one and only time that Gallinger placed the bet - the Detroit police had Tamer's phone wiretapped.Although it was never proven it was Gallinger on the other end of the line - in other words, he never identified himself, said his name, or gave any clue as to his identity - (NHL) president Clarence Campbell was so concerned about removing any specter of betting out of the game that he pursued a private investigation on behalf of the league.The Detroit police and the governor of Michigan had absolutely no interest in prosecuting charges. As far as they were concerned, all the evidence against Gallinger and Taylor was entirely circumstantial, it would never stand up in the court of law. But of course, the NHL had no interest in taking the case to court. They were just going to keep these two individuals out of the game for as long as possible, and therefore, they were suspended.Q: What was happening culturally at the time that made gambling such an important issue for the league?It was postwar America and they were perhaps hyper-concerned with guaranteeing that the American way of life was preserved. This is what they fought the war for. This is why thousands of men had died overseas: to preserve the American perception of the good life and life in a democracy. Gambling had no place in that life.It should be noted that the previous sentence or suspension for gambling in the NHL in Gallinger's time was to a gentleman by the name of Babe Pratt, who was at that time a defenseman for the Maple Leafs. He was suspended for betting on NHL games, though with a different NHL president, but he was suspended. He got six games and (a) nine days suspension, something like that. You might think, a year and a half later, Gallinger might reasonably expect to maybe get the rest of the season or the playoffs, something of that nature, maybe one season. But to have been suspended for more than 20 years, I think by anybody's definition, appears to have been draconian.Q: Can you talk about the fallout in Gallinger's life after he was suspended?It was immediate. He was suspended in March of 1948. Previous to that, in addition to playing hockey, he had tryouts with the Boston Red Sox and with the Boston Braves, as well as the Philadelphia Athletics, all Major League Baseball teams. They all wanted to sign him to minor-league contracts but Gallinger wasn't interested because he was making major-league money in hockey. That gives you a sense of the kind of athlete he was.Taylor was suspended for life immediately but Gallinger's was an indefinite suspension until further investigation, so he was kind of in limbo. He thought naturally, 'Alright, if I can't play hockey, I'll play baseball.' But he found out pretty quickly that those offers dried up. Basically, he'd become a bit of a pariah. Nobody wanted to touch him with a 10-foot pole. So, he didn't know what he was going to do.(Gallinger was eventually invited to play for and manage the Waterloo Tigers of the Intercounty Baseball League, a regional semipro league in southwestern Ontario.)During that time, he appealed to the NHL for reinstatement. He had an in-person appeal with a lawyer present and they were almost certain to have had the suspension lifted had a vote been taken. But Campbell intervened when the directors looked like they were going to vote in favor of reinstating Gallinger and his reinstatement was squashed.In 1963, Scott Young, the father of famous Canadian musician Neil Young, was writing for The Globe and Mail and ran a three-part series basically advocating for Gallinger and saying it was time his suspension be lifted. It was 15 years by that time, and still, the NHL hadn't budged.After his suspension was lifted, Taylor poses with a photo of the 1942 Maple Leafs, the only Stanley Cup winner he played for before the betting scandal Doug Griffin / Toronto Star / Getty ImagesIt wasn't until 1970, after some inner turmoil in the NHL, that the suspension was lifted. Conn Smythe, who was by then the retired manager and owner of the Maple Leafs, (saw) his own son was in trouble with the police and it looked like he might be charged, in terms of charges relating to the shareholders of Maple Leaf Gardens. Smythe's son passed away before the charges were laid. Consequently, it was thought that Smythe, seeing what had happened to his own son, called the NHL office and said it's time to clear Gallinger and Taylor.The suspension had gone on for 22 years. Gallinger had been married, had four children, and his marriage broke up as a result of it. He tried many different businesses. But always, the same thing happened when push came to shove: he just didn't have the capital and resources to carry through with them. He was considered somewhat of an outsider and an untouchable based on his reputation from the charges in the NHL. Eventually, he moved to California. No one knew where he was when the NHL tried to reinstate him. A letter was sent to one of his old employers in the hope they might be able to track him down. He was applying for a job in the classifieds in L.A. The person who he was calling said, 'Are you the same Don Gallinger who just had his suspension lifted by the NHL?' First time he'd heard of it.Q: Why is Gallinger's story relevant today?I think it's a story worth telling especially because of the prevalence of access to online gambling. It tells the story of someone who was hurt by their addiction to betting on sports.I think one of the primary concerns is not the fact that there is gambling and sports betting - of course, that's part of our contemporary culture, that's never going to go away. I think the lesson is that, despite the broad spectrum of the population that appears to be interested in sports betting, we shouldn't lose sight of the fact that there are people who fall through the cracks and fall by the wayside. And consequently, some considerations should be made for them.Jolene Latimer is a features writer at theScore.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The trade deadline is one giant puzzle for the NHL's 32 general managers.Each of them must contemplate what's right for their team in the moment and for seasons to come, decide on a plan, and be prepared to pivot to Plan B, C, or Z. Those pivots tend to come on the heels of another executive's actions.Consider what's happened since late January. Vancouver acquired center Elias Lindholm. Winnipeg responded a week later by picking up Sean Monahan, who's basically Lindholm lite. Then Dallas jumped the line on defensemen with Wednesday's crafty Chris Tanev trade. A day later, Toronto completed a trade for another right-handed blue-liner, Ilya Lyubushkin. Andy Devlin / Getty ImagesBuyers have been forced to recalibrate. With the deadline a week away, three Western Conference teams in particular need to act before it's too late.Edmonton: Leon Draisaitl's contract expires after next season. Connor McDavid is up in the summer of 2026. There are no guarantees that either re-signs. The Oilers must continue to acquire as much talent as possible to make the most of this era. Their priorities are adding a scoring winger and defensive defenseman.CapFriendly estimates that general manager Ken Holland has around $2 million in cap space. That's enough to yank Jake Guentzel out of Pittsburgh if the deal involves heavy salary retention. Plan B could be Anaheim's Adam Henrique, who's slightly cheaper. Plan C could be Washington's Max Pacioretty, who's even cheaper. Perhaps defenseman Joel Edmundson could be packaged with Pacioretty to kill two birds with one stone. As for outgoing assets, the Oilers have their first- and second-round picks in 2024 and 2026, as well as their first in 2025. However, the prospect pool isn't deep.Colorado: The 2022 Stanley Cup champions have been riding the Nathan MacKinnon MVP wave. Realistically, though, they're too top-heavy at forward. Even with Valeri Nichushkin returning from the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program and Gabriel Landeskog potentially joining the squad for the postseason, Colorado needs outside help - preferably the versatile Henrique.The Avalanche could also use a more experienced goalie than Justus Annunen to back up Alexandar Georgiev. Montreal's Jake Allen fits the profile. In any impact trade, the Avs will almost certainly need salary retained by the other team or a third party, or move the underperforming Ryan Johansen and his $4-million cap hit, as CapFriendly estimates around $1.2 million in space is available for GM Chris MacFarland. Like Edmonton, Colorado owns plenty of high picks in 2024 and beyond but doesn't boast many enticing prospects. Justin Berl / Getty ImagesVegas: The defending champs are, quite famously, obsessively aggressive. They've redefined what going "all-in" means for multiple years. Right now, thanks to star forwards Mark Stone and Jack Eichel landing on injured reserve, CapFriendly estimates GM Kelly McCrimmon has around $6.8 million in cap space. For the typically cap-strapped Golden Knights, that's oodles of cash.Vegas should be in on Guentzel and the other point-producing forwards believed to be available for a steep price - guys like St. Louis' Pavel Buchnevich, Seattle's Jordan Eberle, and Pittsburgh's Reilly Smith, who's an original Golden Knight. None of those deals would be simple to pull off, so maybe McCrimmon settles for two experienced and useful forwards. Think Nic Dowd and Pacioretty in Washington, or Alex Wennberg and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (another original) in Seattle. Vegas is motivated to beef up and owns the draft capital and prospects to pull off something meaningful.Sorokin's super underrated yearIlya Sorokin won't win the Vezina Trophy, and I'm not here to argue that the Islanders starter should be named goalie of the year over Connor Hellebuyck.But Sorokin deserves some recognition for what he's accomplished this season. Michael Mooney / Getty ImagesThe traditional statistics used to evaluate goalies don't paint a compelling picture of him. Among the 48 goalies with 20 or more starts, Sorokin is tied for 12th in wins (19), tied for 16th in save percentage (.909), and 32nd in goals-against average (3.11).However, dig into a few layers of context, and it's obvious Sorokin's constantly swimming upstream. Islanders goalies play behind the league's second-worst defensive environment, according to Sportlogiq's expected goals model. The analytics company's model factors in the quantity and quality of scoring chances generated throughout the season.Sorokin, who finished second in Vezina voting last season, has faced the most shots in the league this campaign, as well as the most shots from the inner-slot area. In other words, Sorokin's being peppered every night and shooters are often getting to the most dangerous pockets of the offensive zone. Darcy Finley / Getty ImagesAll of these Grade-A scoring chances would normally break a goalie down (see: John Gibson in Anaheim). Sorokin's instead fought back in a huge way. Despite the volume, his .848 inner-slot save percentage is tops in the NHL.Sorokin, 28, is second in the NHL with 23.8 goals saved above expected in 43 appearances, and he's third in goals saved above expected per 60 minutes (which accounts for varying workloads). Another illuminating data point: Sorokin is third in a metric called steal percentage. He's recorded a "steal" (which is awarded when a goalie's goals saved above expected value in a game is the difference in the final score) in a league-leading nine of his 19 victories.Based on Sportlogiq's data, Sorokin has been a top-five goalie in 2023-24.It's amazing how a little nuance can add so much to goaltending evaluation.Walman feasting on opportunity Josh Lavallee / Getty ImagesThe longer I cover this sport, the stronger I believe that dozens of NHL-caliber players are stuck competing in lower leagues. What's typically blocking these players from securing full-time NHL work is opportunity. An opening. A GM or head coach who believes in their potential.Jake Walman is a prime example.He was drafted by the Blues in the third round of the 2014 draft, developed well at Providence College and in the AHL, then hit a wall. Win-now St. Louis had an abundance of older blue-liners, which meant ice time was scarce. And, in those limited minutes, Walman wasn't entirely himself. He'd play to impress.Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman acquired Walman in a March 2022 trade that sent Nick Leddy (another veteran D-man) to St. Louis. Walman flourished almost immediately in his new home and is now a first-pairing defenseman."It really means a lot when you're in a place that wants you, and I'm wanted here in Detroit," Walman, who's in the first season of a three-year contract extension, told theScore this past December. "It's a totally different feeling than St. Louis. I feel like I fit in here, and I just love playing for this team." Icon Sportswire / Getty ImagesWalman's role is plainly defined under head coach Derek Lalonde. While his "Griddy" goal celebrations command attention (rightfully so, they're fun), Walman makes his biggest contribution on rush defense. He also blocks a bunch of shots, moves the puck well, and unleashes 100-mph howitzers.This season, Walman and partner Moritz Seider have been tasked nightly with facing the stiffest competition. The pair takes a beating in shot-attempt and expected-goal shares, but the two hold their own in actual goals: 35 goals for and 38 against in the 724 five-on-five minutes they've logged together."There's a time and a place for everything. You have to pick your spots. If we need a goal or we need offense, I don't have a problem playing more offensively," Walman said. "But there's also times when you've got to manage the game and know what the team needs from you. Playing against the top guys every night is not easy, and you can't lose focus of that responsibility."Call Walman a late bloomer. Or a case study in player development. He may be both. Most of all, though, he's someone who feasted on his first legitimate NHL opportunity and hasn't slowed down. The 33-21-6 Wings benefited from that hunger last season and - crucially for their trajectory - this campaign, too.Parting shotsTotal Ek-ache: Aleksander Barkov seems to be the front-runner to win the first Selke Trophy of the post-Patrice Bergeron era. There are a ton of other worthy candidates, including Sidney Crosby, Anze Kopitar, and Sean Couturier. That means, as of now, I'm completely undecided on which five forwards will fill out my ballot in April. That said, Joel Eriksson Ek of the Wild certainly has my attention. While the Swedish center's underlying numbers aren't spectacular, he passes the eye test with flying colors. His ability to minimize the other team's top offensive threat is real: he's always in the star's face, always giving maximum effort in puck battles, always issuing minor bumps all over the ice. Always being annoying. "He's a pain in the ass to play against," is how former Wild coach Bruce Boudreau put it in 2021. Eriksson Ek, 27, isn't a flashy player or marquee name. But he's damn effective in all three zones.

The New Jersey Devils added some toughness on Friday, acquiring enforcer Kurtis MacDermid from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for prospect Zakhar Bardakov and a 2024 seventh-round pick, the team announced.MacDermid has managed two goals and 23 penalty minutes in 29 games with the Avalanche this season while averaging 5:05 minutes per contest.The 29-year-old is a pending unrestricted free agent carrying a cap hit of $987,500.The 6-foot-5, 233-pound MacDermid has played both forward and defense throughout his seven-year NHL career between the Avalanche and Los Angeles Kings.Bardakov was a seventh-round pick by the Devils in 2021. The unsigned center has tallied six goals and six assists in 51 games with the KHL's SKA St. Petersburg.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Jacob Markstrom doesn't seem thrilled with how the Calgary Flames' front office has dealt with his future ahead of the trade deadline.The goaltender, who's been a prime candidate to be dealt despite being under contract through 2025-26, lauded his teammates' response but doesn't view the efforts of management the same way."Every player in here, I really respect them (considering) everything that's been going on and not going on," he told the media, including TSN, on Friday. "How everyone in this room has handled everything I think has been really good. And then the whole situation and everything, am I happy about that? No, I'm not, and I think it could've been handled a lot different from up top."In early February, Markstrom said a potential trade was "up to Calgary." About a week later, it was reported the Flames and New Jersey Devils had discussed a possible deal involving the netminder.The Devils got back in touch with the Flames this week to reiterate their interest in him, The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun reported Friday.The 34-year-old has a full no-movement clause on his contract, which carries a $6-million cap hit, per CapFriendly. The talks with the Devils reportedly didn't progress enough for the Flames to ask Markstrom to waive the clause.Calgary traded defenseman Chris Tanev to the Dallas Stars on Wednesday and also sent Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov to the Vancouver Canucks in separate deals ahead of the March 8 deadline.The Flames promoted former captain Craig Conroy to general manager last May after Brad Treliving vacated the role to join the Toronto Maple Leafs in the same capacity.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Find year-round coverage of betting news and insights for all sports by visiting our Betting section and subscribing to push notifications.The weekend NHL betting guide returns with a question: "What's going on with the Canucks?"Vancouver has been the biggest surprise this season from a betting perspective, as its market rating got cranked up within a few weeks.Before the season, the market assigned the Canucks an expectation of 89 regular-season points - a number that would have them on the outside looking into the playoffs and rated them marginally below average. By the All-Star break, they were considered 15% better than an average team.As March begins, Vancouver is headed toward comfortably cashing tickets on the over for regular-season point totals. However, the Canucks' first 50-plus games have altered the hope threshold in the Lower Mainland. With a 10-point lead in the division, no one should be freaking out in the dressing room like Will Ferrell's character did in the movie "Old School." However, when projecting forward into the playoffs, we should look at how they've played recently compared to those first 55 games.Let's evaluate their expected goals share (xG%), high-danger chance share (HDC%), high-danger conversion rate at even strength (HDCV%), and power play:xG%HDC%HDCV%PPGBefore Feb. 1651.850.616.842Since Feb. 1651.255.89.14The Canucks' xG% hasn't changed significantly, and they've been even better than their opponents at generating high-danger chances. However, the scorers have gone from being able to convert those high-danger looks at a rate well above league-average (12.5%) to well below. When people talk about regression due to sample size, this is what they mean.The Canucks are a talented enough group that they should convert more than 12.5% of their even-strength HDC, and even with this recent downturn, they're still clicking at 15.9% for the season.With 42 power-play goals in the first 55 games, they were averaging a goal with the man advantage in 76.4% of their games. More recently, they've added a goal in 57.1% of those seven contests. Meanwhile, their opponents have nine power-play goals in that stretch.Using their early metrics, which we saw as a shade above 50%, the Canucks weren't the best team in the NHL despite the standings points rolling in. High conversion rates on one end, combined with great goaltending, always mask any deficiencies. Thatcher Demko provided 25.83 goals saved above expectation (GSAx), and even backup Casey DeSmith was above average at 3.27 in limited work.However, in the last seven games, Demko has a GSAx of -3.63, and DeSmith's lone start in Minnesota was a borderline disaster (-4.25 GSAx).While it might seem complicated for those who aren't as comfortable with the numbers, it's rather simple. For the Canucks to be successful come playoff time, their high-end talent has to score at an above-average rate, and - surprise - you need good-to-great goaltending. Neither of those has happened in this seven-game stretch, but the sample size isn't big enough for anyone in B.C. to lose their composure.The cheat sheetThe dirty little secret in the betting world is that, while there are no bad bets at the right price, the discovery process of what a good price looks like is hidden.Each week, we balance market information from regular-season point totals and in-season advanced metrics - with an even-strength focus - to determine the win probability for each team and the moneyline needed to bet on either side. The idea is to remove the cognitive bias of win-loss records, which can be skewed by outliers like special-team results, poor goaltending performances, and other unreliable events.You can use whatever parameters you like to decide how much of an edge you need to trigger a bet, but here are mine:

Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving knows he has his work cut out for him before the March 8 trade deadline, but he's ready to put on his thinking cap.After reacquiring defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin from the Anaheim Ducks in a three-way trade Thursday night, the GM said Friday that his club will be "as creative as possible" in addressing other needs, according to The Athletic's Jonas Siegel.Treliving acknowledged that could include trading his most valuable draft commodities."I think (you've got to) be careful with first-round picks for short-term help," he said. "But if it makes sense at the end of the day when you do the final analysis ... you have to look at every option."The Maple Leafs gave the Ducks a 2025 third-rounder and sent the Carolina Hurricanes a sixth-round selection in this year's draft in the Lyubushkin swap. Toronto also acquired the rights to KHL forward Kirill Slepets from the Canes in the deal.Toronto reportedly tried to trade for Chris Tanev before the Calgary Flames sent him to the Dallas Stars on Wednesday.The Maple Leafs are projected to have around $1.45 million in deadline cap space, according to CapFriendly. That figure would increase slightly if and when Toronto puts Mark Giordano and his $800,000 cap hit on long-term injured reserve. Treliving said Friday the defenseman sustained a concussion Thursday night and will be placed on IR.It was reported Thursday night that Toronto also expressed interest in veteran blue-liner Matt Dumba. Both Lyubushkin and Dumba are right-shot rearguards, and the Leafs have been icing a fully left-handed defense corps of late.The Leafs have a first-round pick in June's draft, but no second-rounders for the next three years. They traded away their 2025 first-round pick in the deal that netted them defenseman Jake McCabe from the Chicago Blackhawks last February. Toronto doesn't own a pick until the fifth round next year.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Toronto Maple Leafs will place defenseman Mark Giordano on injured reserve due to a head injury sustained in Thursday's win over the Arizona Coyotes, general manager Brad Treliving announced, according to TSN's Mark Masters.A recovery timeline is unclear. Giordano was helped off the ice after crashing hard into the boards and didn't return to Thursday's contest.

Edmonton Oilers general manager Ken Holland is keeping his options open with a week remaining before the trade deadline."I can't tell you what's going to happen," Holland told Sportsnet's Mark Spector. "What I can tell you is, I have lots of irons in the fire. I have done lots of talking internally with my coaching staff. I've talked to Connor (McDavid) a couple of times in the last couple of weeks. I talk to (president) Jeff Jackson every day. Every day, I'm talking to other (general) managers."The Oilers are expected to be buyers after reviving their season under head coach Kris Knoblauch. Holland has a history of making numerous moves per campaign since taking over in Edmonton. He's already brought in veteran Corey Perry this year to supplement the club's forward depth."Since I've been a manager here, at the trade deadline - except for the pandemic - I got two players twice, and I got three players once," Holland said. "Whether you like the players or you don't like the players ... the reality is we make moves at every deadline."Holland made a big splash at last year's deadline, adding veteran defenseman Mattias Ekholm from the Nashville Predators and depth center Nick Bjugstad as a rental.Holland has approximately $2.3 million in deadline cap space, according to Cap Friendly.The Oilers are third in the Pacific Division, sitting one point behind the Vegas Golden Knights with three games in hand. The two clubs met in the second round of last year's playoffs, with Vegas prevailing in six games.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Ilya Lyubushkin is heading back to Toronto.The Anaheim Ducks traded the rugged defenseman to the Maple Leafs for a 2025 third-round pick, the teams announced.The Ducks will retain 50% of Lyubushkin's $2.75-million cap hit, while the Carolina Hurricanes will retain an additional 25%, bringing it down to $687,500. The Canes will receive a 2024 sixth-round pick from the Leafs for doing so. Toronto receives the rights to forward Kirill Slepets from Carolina.Lyubushkin, a pending unrestricted free agent, played 31 regular-season contests with the Maple Leafs after a midseason trade from the Arizona Coyotes in 2021-22. He dressed in all seven of Toronto's playoff games that campaign, too - often pairing with Morgan Rielly at five-on-five.While he provides little-to-no offense, Lyubushkin posted strong defensive metrics during that 2021-22 campaign. Evolving-HockeyHowever, his play has plummeted this season. He ranks second-last among NHL defensemen with minus-8.8 goals above replacement, and his minus-6.6 defensive goals above replacement is the fourth-worst at his position. Evolving-HockeyThe 29-year-old has produced just four assists in 55 games with the Ducks this season while averaging 17:09 per contest. He's still providing plenty of grit, though, as he's racked up 138 blocks and 112 hits.Timothy Liljegren is the only right-handed shot among Toronto's regular defensemen, but he's missed the last two games with an injury. Mark Giordano also suffered a head injury on Thursday against the Coyotes, and there's no timetable for his return. When fully healthy, the Leafs' blue line could look as follows:LDRDMorgan RiellyIlya LyubushkinT.J. BrodieJake McCabeSimon BenoitTimothy LiljegrenThe retention on Lyubushkin's contract gives the Leafs plenty of cap space to make further moves, but their trade assets are dwindling. Toronto still has its 2024 first-round pick but doesn't have a second-rounder for the next three years. The team is notably without a pick until Round 5 in 2025.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Vegas Golden Knights captain Mark Stone is expected to miss the rest of the regular season with an upper-body injury and is questionable to return for the playoffs, sources told TSN's Darren Dreger.Stone suffered the ailment during the Knights' 5-3 loss to the Nashville Predators on Feb. 20. Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli reported that the veteran forward is dealing with a lacerated spleen.The 31-year-old missed the last half of the 2022-23 campaign with a back injury, but he was ready for Game 1 of the postseason. He recorded 11 goals and 24 points in 22 games to help the Golden Knights lift the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history.With Stone and his $9.5-million cap hit on long-term injured reserve, Vegas was able to add forwards Ivan Barbashev and Teddy Blueger, as well as goaltender Jonathan Quick, at last year's trade deadline. Barbashev proved to be the most impactful acquisition of the three, slotting right into the Knights' top line. He tallied 18 points and 64 hits in the playoffs.The Golden Knights are now in a similar situation this season and are reportedly targeting a top-six forward like the New Jersey Devils' Tyler Toffoli, the St. Louis Blues' Pavel Buchnevich, and potentially Jordan Eberle of the Seattle Kraken if he's made available, per Dreger.Stone racked up 16 goals and 53 points in 56 games before suffering the injury. Vegas entered Thursday's action in second place in the Pacific Division with a 33-19-7 record.The Knights went 23-9-7 without Stone in the lineup last season.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The rumor mill keeps on churning for the Calgary Flames.The Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning are among teams showing interest in pending unrestricted free-agent defenseman Noah Hanifin, reports The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun.Hanifin is currently No. 1 on theScore's list of players who could be shipped out by the March 8 deadline.The puck-moving rearguard has racked up 34 points and a career-high 11 goals in 59 games this season while averaging almost 24 minutes of ice time per contest. He carries a cap hit of $4.95 million and has some control over his situation thanks to his eight-team no-trade list.A left-handed shot, Hanifin would address an area of need for both the Bruins and Lightning. Boston is currently without Hampus Lindholm, who's week-to-week with an undisclosed issue, while Mikhail Sergachev is out indefinitely for Tampa Bay with a leg injury.However, the two Atlantic Division squads are each missing their first-round pick in this summer's draft. The Lightning, in particular, don't own a first-rounder until 2026.The Flames have been the league's busiest team leading up to the deadline. They shipped out Nikita Zadorov and Elias Lindholm to the Vancouver Canucks in separate trades earlier this season, and they just sent Chris Tanev to the Dallas Stars on Wednesday night.Hanifin has been traded once before in his career. The Carolina Hurricanes packaged him and Elias Lindholm to the Flames in June 2018 in exchange for Dougie Hamilton, Adam Fox, and Micheal Ferland.The 27-year-old has totaled 60 goals and 273 points in 657 career NHL games.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

With Chris Tanev off the market as a defense target for the Toronto Maple Leafs, the club is now setting its sights on other right-handed blue-liners.The Leafs have shown interest in Arizona Coyotes defenseman Matt Dumba and checked in with the Anaheim Ducks about a reunion with Ilya Lyubushkin, reports The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun.Dumba has produced nine points in 54 games with the Coyotes this season. Selected two picks after Morgan Rielly at the 2012 NHL Draft, Dumba was a 50-point defenseman during his heyday with the Minnesota Wild, capable of running a top power play and delivering a crushing hit.But injuries have taken their toll, and the 29-year-old's play has tailed off in recent years. His underlying numbers over the past three seasons haven't been pretty. Evolving-HockeyDumba is a pending unrestricted free agent with a $3.9-million cap hit. The Coyotes' asking price for his services is reportedly a first-round pick.The Ducks, meanwhile, have yet to fully commit to moving on from Lyubushkin, LeBrun adds, but the club sits 30th in the NHL standings, and the 29-year-old is a pending unrestricted free agent. His cap hit is $2.75 million.Lyubushkin played 31 regular-season games with the Maple Leafs after a midseason trade from the Coyotes in 2021-22. He suited up in all seven of Toronto's postseason contests that year, too - often playing with Rielly at five-on-five.He signed with the Buffalo Sabres the following offseason and was dealt to the Ducks last summer.The 6-foot-2, 200-pound defenseman has produced just four assists in 55 games for the Ducks this season. But the "Russian Bear" brings plenty of grit, having recorded 138 blocks and 112 hits.Lyubushkin's defensive numbers were strong during his time in Toronto, but his overall metrics have been abysmal this year. He ranks second-last among NHL defensemen with minus-8.8 goals above replacement this season. His minus-6.6 defensive rating is the fourth-worst at his position.Timothy Liljegren, when healthy, is the only right-handed shot among Toronto's regular defensemen. T.J. Brodie and Jake McCabe both play their off side.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Before making reported significant progress on a contract extension, the Vancouver Canucks engaged with the Carolina Hurricanes in trade talks for star forward Elias Pettersson, sources told Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.Pettersson previously stated he preferred to wait until after the 2023-24 campaign to resume extension talks, but with the chance Vancouver could move him, the Swede allowed his agents to continue negotiations, Friedman added.The extension is expected to be for eight years and could be finalized in the coming days. The average annual value is unknown.It's also unclear what type of package the Hurricanes were willing to offer for Pettersson.The 25-year-old is a pending restricted free agent but could become unrestricted in 2025.Pettersson is on pace for his second straight 100-point season, as he's recorded 29 goals and 46 assists in 61 games for the NHL-leading Canucks this year. He won the Calder Trophy in 2018-19 and finished seventh in Selke Trophy voting last season.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

After missing Tuesday's 6-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning as a healthy scratch, it doesn't sound as though Cam Atkinson's return to the Philadelphia Flyers' lineup is imminent."He's going to wait his turn, and if I think it's time for him to come back in, I hope he sticks in," head coach John Tortorella told the media Thursday. "It really isn't confusing for me. I respect all our athletes no matter what their status is - veteran, young guy, this, that, the other thing."I just try to keep it right on the table: If you play well, you're going to get more minutes. If you play really bad, you're out, and I'm going to try someone else, and you're going to have to wait your turn. It's pretty simple."Atkinson hasn't recorded a point in his last 11 games and is a minus-7 over that span.He was also a healthy scratch Jan. 4 against the Columbus Blue Jackets, but Atkinson played the following game.The 34-year-old missed the entire 2022-23 campaign because of a neck injury. He got off to a strong start this season with eight goals and 12 points through 16 games, but he's registered just five tallies and 16 points in his last 42 outings.Tortorella hasn't been shy about sitting his players. Morgan Frost was in and out of the lineup earlier this campaign and watched six straight games from the press box in October. Kevin Hayes expressed his displeasure after being scratched last season in December 2022, as did Tony DeAngelo when he was benched for the last five games of the 2022-23 campaign.Even Sean Couturier's playing time has decreased as he's put up two points in six games since being named captain Feb. 14. His ice time has dipped below 13 minutes twice during that stretch, and he centered the fourth line Tuesday."I'm not going to run the bench based on what people think about you or where you sit as a veteran guy, a captain," Tortorella said. "I just don't do it that way."He added: "I think Coots understands how he's played, what's going on with his game. But I'm not going to give something for free just because of his status."The Flyers next play the Washington Capitals on Friday.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Buffalo Sabres head coach Don Granato and Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe were both fined $25,000 on Thursday for unprofessional conduct directed at officials, the NHL announced.Keefe was ejected late in the third period of a 6-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday.

Find year-round coverage of betting news and insights for all sports by visiting our Betting section and subscribing to push notifications.We have a massive 12-game slate on the docket Thursday night. I see the most value in getting involved in a couple of games with playoff implications for both parties. Let's take a closer look.Wild (+100) @ Predators (-120)The Predators are riding a six-game winning streak, but it's the Wild who have been more impressive of late.Minnesota has accumulated one more point over the past 10 games and posted a stronger underlying profile.The Wild have posted the league's sixth-highest expected goals share at five-on-five during that span. They've also been lethal on the power play.Only the Maple Leafs (13) have scored more power-play markers than the Wild (12) over the last 10 games. Conversely, just seven teams have conceded more power-play goals than the Predators in the same span. That figures to be a big advantage for the Wild.Minnesota's top line of Matt Boldy, Joel Eriksson Ek, and Kirill Kaprizov has been amazing at even strength while ripping teams apart on the man advantage.It'll be a tough task for Juuse Saros to slam the door. He has performed better lately, but his recent success came against the Senators, Sharks, Blues, and Kings. Not exactly top-tier offenses.I'm skeptical he can stay hot against the league's second-highest-scoring offense over the last 10.Bet: Wild (+100)Penguins (-105) @ Kraken (-115)The Kraken are quietly playing strong hockey on home ice. They own a 6-2-2 record over the last 10 in Seattle and possess strong defensive metrics.Seattle has conceded just 2.21 expected goals per 60 minutes of five-on-five in that span. The Kraken have fared even better in preventing goals, allowing 1.95 per 60 minutes at five-on-five. Terrific numbers.The Penguins have largely struggled to score goals against strong defensive sides. Over the past 10 games, they scored two goals against the Wild, one against the Jets, two against the Panthers, and one against the Kings.Aside from a shootout against the Flyers where Cal Petersen posted a .781 save percentage, the Penguins' best regulation performance against a strong team was a three-goal effort versus the Canucks.Jake Guentzel being sidelined was problematic enough. With Bryan Rust also out with an injury, the Penguins have lost a ton of scoring on the wings. These absences will be tough to overcome as they were already top-heavy to begin with.Seattle plays extremely low-event hockey at home. Kraken home games feature the lowest average shot volume (56.0) out of any team in the league.I expect the Kraken will be able to tighten the screws on the Penguins, who lack the dynamic ability needed to break through structured defenses.If Joey Daccord can continue to hold up his end of the bargain in goal, this is a spot where the Kraken should take care of business.Bet: Kraken (-115)Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. You can follow him on X at @ToddCordell.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Ottawa Senators head coach Jacques Martin said forward Josh Norris will miss an extended period with an upper-body injury, according to The Athletic's Ian Mendes.The club is still awaiting a more specific timeline, Martin added.Norris was injured midway through Tuesday's loss to the Nashville Predators. He left the contest after a collision behind Ottawa's net and didn't return.

Find year-round coverage of betting news and insights for all sports by visiting our Betting section and subscribing to push notifications.We had our first losing night of the week on Wednesday, dropping two of our three props.We'll look to get back on track with another three-pack for a monster slate of games Thursday night.Andrei Svechnikov: Over 2.5 shotsThe Blue Jackets are one of the worst shot-suppression teams in the NHL, sitting 30th on the year and 25th over the past 10 games. They should struggle again on Tuesday in a back-to-back situation against the Hurricanes, one of the league's most dominant possession teams.Although Svechnikov's shot generation has been somewhat inconsistent this season, he's consistently exploited bottom-tier defenses. The forward has gone over his total 70% of the time against bottom eight shot suppression defenses and posted a 64% hit rate versus those in the bottom 10.The Blue Jackets like to use their top line against the opposition's first unit, which should be music to Svechnikov's ears.The trio of Johnny Gaudreau, Boone Jenner, and Jack Roslovic has struggled mightily in its own end, giving up nearly 38 shots on goal per 60 minutes at even strength. Shooting opportunities should come early and often for Svechnikov.Odds: -125 (playable to -140)Mason McTavish: Over 2.5 shotsMcTavish has seen an increase in ice time lately, logging at least 17 minutes in four straight games. That's become a sweet spot for McTavish. He's averaged 3.6 shots on 6.2 attempts in the last five games he's played 17 minutes or more.He should see a similar workload on Thursday night. And McTavish has a strong history against the Sharks, recording at least three shots in three of the past four contests against San Jose.The Sharks tend to play high-event games and fail to limit shots. They aren't showing much progress in that area, sitting 31st in five-on-five suppression over the last 10 outings.McTavish has taken advantage of poor competition this season, recording at least three shots in eight of 12 games against teams in the bottom 10 in shot suppression.Expect that trend to continue in San Jose.Odds: -106 (playable to -130)Fabian Zetterlund: Over 2.5 shotsZetterlund is another player in a mouthwatering matchup on Thursday night. The Ducks have bled shots at five-on-five all season long and make frequent trips to the box. That's a disastrous recipe for suppressing shots.The Ducks rank 28th in shots against per game this season and 30th over the last 10. They're giving up an especially high volume of shots to wingers, with only the Blackhawks conceding more in the past 10 games.It's a dream scenario for Zetterlund, who's enjoyed a ton of success in such spots this season. He's averaging a healthy 3.45 shots per game against bottom-eight shot suppression teams and has gone over at a 64% clip, including both times he's faced Anaheim.Odds: -125 (playable to -140)Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. You can follow him on X at @ToddCordell.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The possibility of being traded from the Pittsburgh Penguins is weighing on Jake Guentzel."It's a lot more than you think it is," Guentzel told The Athletic's Rob Rossi. "It's moving everything. You're changing your whole lifestyle. You're meeting a bunch of new people, and if you've got a family ... it's just a lot."Then you've got to go play hockey, right? There's a different system, different guys to learn how to play with, where to go eat. It just seems like a lot of organizations are different in every aspect. How teams travel is different. You've got to get new gear - like, I don't like new gloves. That seems like a small thing, but I really don't like wearing new gloves. So it's something you think about in the back of your mind."It's unclear at this point if the Penguins will move Guentzel, a pending unrestricted free agent. Pittsburgh has won three games in a row but is still seven points back of a playoff spot with 26 games to go.Guentzel is the biggest rental forward name potentially on the block this year, and he's reportedly drawn interest from several Stanley Cup contenders. The 29-year-old is a two-time 40-goal scorer with a proven track record of playoff success and had 52 points in 50 games this season before an upper-body injury ruled him out for up to four weeks in mid-February.The Penguins drafted Guentzel 77th overall in 2013, and he's appeared in 503 regular-season games with the organization since. He stated before the season that he wants to stay in Pittsburgh, but he's coming to grips with that not being a guarantee."I don't know if you can get away from it," he said. "And if you want to stay, that doesn't make dealing with it any easier. I think it makes it harder."Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

While depth centers and right-shot defensemen usually garner most of the spotlight during NHL trade season, this year's goalie market has the potential to swing the deadline.Several contenders and teams on the bubble need help between the pipes for their playoff pushes, but there are limited options and even less cap space for potential deals to come to fruition. Below, we dive into which teams could be shopping and who they might be targeting.Who could use a goalie?New Jersey Devils ($9.4M in deadline cap space)The Devils have been linked to needing a new goalie perhaps more than any other team this season, and for good reason. New Jersey's trio of Vitek Vanecek, Nico Daws, and Akira Schmid each boast a sub-.900 save percentage, leaving the club behind the eight ball in a wild-card chase one year after a 112-point campaign.It was reported that the Devils were trying to acquire Jacob Markstrom from the Calgary Flames, but a deal fell through while trying to figure out compensation. It's difficult to imagine a better fit for New Jersey, one of the only teams in the league with ample cap space and additional assets to swing a move of this magnitude. That said, it might be too late in the season for the Devils to go all-in, as they need to make up five points in the standings with 23 games to go. If not Markstrom, surrendering assets for a rental goalie while facing an uphill climb to the playoffs could very well backfire, so waiting until the summer to find a new No. 1 might be the best course of action for Tom Fitzgerald and the Devils.Colorado Avalanche ($1.24M in deadline cap space) Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / GettyThe Avalanche are undeniably good enough to win the Stanley Cup again, but whether Alexandar Georgiev can take them there is the big question for Colorado leading up to the playoffs. The Avs' No. 1 netminder has racked up 31 wins but owns a .900 save percentage and ranks 36th league-wide in GSAx. He's been a difference-maker in the wrong way for one of the league's most feared teams, and many are wondering if the Avalanche may tweak their crease to improve their chances at a second championship in three years.It's not out of the question that Georgiev finds his game in the playoffs - he boasts a career .917 clip in the postseason - but Colorado would be wise to strengthen its backup options in case he doesn't. A lack of cap space will likely prevent the Avalanche from going big-game hunting in the goalie market, but acquiring a playoff-experienced veteran to take over No. 2 duties from Ivan Prosvetov and Justus Annunen would be a smart security measure.Carolina Hurricanes ($6.6M in deadline cap space)The Hurricanes have used five different goalies this season yet are still in the hunt for their fourth consecutive division crown. Carolina's three most-used options - Pyotr Kochetkov, Antti Raanta, and Frederik Andersen - have all missed time this season and have a history of injuries. Is it feasible for the Canes to add another goalie, or do they trust their incumbent group of netminders is good enough to go on a deep run?Carolina's been one of the best teams in the NHL for much of Rod Brind'Amour's tenure behind the bench, but his club's been swept in the Eastern Conference Final twice. There's a particular impetus for the Hurricanes to go all the way this spring, as they have 10 pending UFAs on the roster. Not doing everything possible to find stability in net in such a crucial year would be a mistake.Los Angeles Kings ($2.5M in deadline cap space) Toronto Star / Toronto Star / GettyThe Kings have needed a long-term solution in goal for a while, but they could benefit from an immediate fix, too. Cam Talbot, who looked like the bargain signing of the season after a brilliant start to the year, is 2-7-2 with an .892 save percentage since the calendar flipped to 2024. Los Angeles' next two options are David Rittich and Pheonix Copley.Despite a rocky couple of months, the Kings are in a strong position to make the playoffs. However, on the heels of back-to-back first-round eliminations, the clock could be ticking on L.A.'s current management group. The club already fired head coach Todd McLellan, and Rob Blake has admitted the heat is now on him. His job could depend on the playoff performance of his goalies, so it'll be fascinating to see if he's willing to gamble on a new netminder or stand pat.Who might be available?Jacob Markstrom ($6M cap hit through 2025-26)GPRecordSV%GSAx3720-15-2.91433.65Markstrom is the most talked-about name in the goalie market, but he controls his destiny with a full no-move clause. Calgary is also charging up the standings - in large part due to its star goalie's phenomenal play - so Markstrom may want to see that through. The Flames have other pieces they can focus on trading, but Markstrom would recoup the biggest return package, and there's no question he could take a playoff contender over the top if he's moved.Elvis Merzlikins ($5.4M cap hit through 2026-27) Dilip Vishwanat / Getty Images Sport / GettyGPRecordSV%GSAx3411-13-7.9037.12Merzlikins and the Columbus Blue Jackets agreed to find "a new scenario" for the netminder, but nothing's come to fruition since the story emerged in January. The 29-year-old's cap hit is significant, and his combined .899 save percentage over the past three seasons isn't attractive for teams hoping for reliability in the playoffs. Merzlikins also has a 10-team no-trade list, so there are plenty of factors working against a potential trade within the next week or so.Jake Allen ($3.85M cap hit through 2024-25)GPRecordSV%GSAx205-12-3.8920.52Allen's been the worst of the Montreal Canadiens' three goalies this season but has playoff experience and is the type of veteran a contending team might want as a safety net. The 33-year-old boasts an impressive .924 save percentage in his 29 career playoff appearances, but his contract for this year and next could scare off contenders. The Canadiens are already retaining salary on two contracts and may be reluctant to use their final slot on Allen when they could potentially be a third-party broker on a different trade and recoup an asset in the process.Alex Nedeljkovic ($1.5M cap hit through end of season) Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / GettyGPRecordSV%GSAx199-4-4.9152.85Nedeljkovic could be a dark horse in this year's goalie carousel, as the Pittsburgh Penguins have little reason to keep the 28-year-old around. Tristan Jarry is Pittsburgh's No. 1, and there are AHL options that could take Nedeljkovic's spot on the depth chart for the remainder of the season. The Penguins are a long shot to make the playoffs and restocking draft picks should be a priority for Kyle Dubas. Nedeljkovic's cap hit and stats this season surely have caught the attention of teams bound for the postseason.Kaapo Kahkonen ($2.75M cap hit through end of season)GPRecordSV%GSAx286-18-2.9014.26The 31st-place San Jose Sharks should be shopping Kahkonen as aggressively as possible. He's posted respectable numbers behind one of the worst defensive teams in the league and is a pending UFA. San Jose has a salary retention slot open and needs to snag as many draft picks as possible to accelerate its rebuild. Acquiring Kahkonen carries little risk and should be relatively low-cost compared to the previous names on this list.John Gibson ($6.4M cap hit through 2026-27)GPRecordSV%GSAx3812-20-2.89910.96Gibson has frequently been mentioned in trade rumors despite falling off his perch as one of the league's elite netminders. The 30-year-old has a .902 save percentage over the past five seasons but hasn't had much help in front of him from the rebuilding Anaheim Ducks. Gibson can still steal the odd game - he ranks 19th league-wide in GSAx this season despite Anaheim's futility - and one wonders if a move to a contender could be invigorating for the three-time All-Star. A deadline move feels unlikely unless the Ducks have their socks blown off, as Gibson has a 10-team no-trade list and the most expensive cap hit of any goalie on our list.(Stats source: Evolving-Hockey, CapFriendly)Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Chris Tanev Sweepstakes are officially over with more than a week to go before the NHL trade deadline. On Wednesday night, the Stars acquired Tanev in a three-way trade with the Flames - his team for four years - and the Devils.Here are the high-level details:Stars receiveFlames receiveDevils receiveD Chris TanevD Artem Grushnikov4th-round pick (2024)G Cole Brady2nd-round pick (2024)Conditional 3rd-round pick (2026)Calgary and New Jersey will combine to retain 75% of Tanev's $4.5-million cap hit. The veteran Canadian defenseman is a pending unrestricted free agent.Brady appears to be a pawn in this deal. The 23-year-old UMass goalie is unsigned despite New Jersey using a fifth-round draft pick on him in 2019, and the Devils wouldn't have been able to retain any salary without sending something (pick or player) to the Stars.OK, let's get into the trade grades.Stars Gerry Thomas / National Hockey League / GettyTanev immediately becomes Dallas' go-to shutdown defenseman at even strength. He also improves the breakout and levels up the penalty kill, which ranks seventh in the NHL. And Tanev raises the ceiling for a team that's fighting for home-ice advantage in the Western Conference.All of that at a $1.125-million cap hit.That's tremendous value for the Stars considering the assets general manager Jim Nill is sacrificing: a B-level prospect (Grushnikov), a second-round pick, and a fourth-rounder. (The 2026 third changes hands only if Dallas makes the 2024 Stanley Cup Final. Let's assume the Stars wouldn't mind that outcome.)Head coach Pete DeBoer must be licking his chops.Tanev, a 34-year-old righty, could join lefty Miro Heiskanen on Dallas' top pairing. This would allow Heiskanen to play his natural side and for Thomas Harley to slide down to the second pair with Jani Hakanpaa. You won't find a much better balance in the top four of a blue line than Dallas' after this trade.Or DeBoer could go in different directions. He has options with Esa Lindell, Ryan Suter, Nils Lundkvist, and Joel Hanley rounding out the defensive unit.Assuming all goes reasonably well down the stretch and into the playoffs, Tanev should be incentivized to re-sign. No state income tax and Texas weather make Dallas a destination, in general. On top of that, there might not be a team in the NHL except for the Stars that can claim to be very much in contention for the Cup this year and also for the next five-plus seasons.Impact NHLers Heiskanen, Harley, Roope Hintz, Jason Robertson, Jake Oettinger, and Wyatt Johnston are all 27 or younger. Call-up Logan Stankoven has impressed. Prospects Mavrik Bourque and Lian Bichsel are coming.This past draft was the first time since 2008 that the Stars didn't select a player in the first round. That conservatism - or smart asset management, depending on how you look at it - stretches back to before Tom Gaglardi took over as owner (2011) and Nill was hired as GM (2013). It's in Dallas' DNA.Right now, the Stars own their 2024 and 2025 firsts. So, they can add again before the deadline or continue to draft and develop at an efficient rate.There's no obvious downside to this deal for Dallas. Home run for Nill.Grade: A+Flames Bruce Bennett / Getty Images Sport / GettyTanev was the second-best rental defenseman available ahead of the deadline, behind only now-ex-teammate Noah Hanifin. Considering that status, this return is extremely disappointing for the Flames.The Stars are one of the NHL's top teams, so there's a good chance the second-round selection falls in the 56-64 range. While hitting on a pick in that radius isn't impossible, it's also not likely. That player will also take years to develop.The fact that Calgary only receives the third-rounder if Dallas makes it to the Cup Final is also very disappointing for the Flames, not to mention that they did the Stars a favor by retaining 50% of Tanev's cap hit.Grushnikov, meanwhile, doesn't appear to have a ton of upside. Daily Faceoff ranked him outside of the Stars' top 10 prospects in a preseason list. The Athletic ranked him as the club's No. 10 prospect in February. Dallas picked the 6-foot-2 Russian defenseman 48th overall in 2021. He's produced five points in 44 games during his first AHL season.While getting a first for Tanev might've been tough, it may have been worth it for Flames GM Craig Conroy to wait closer to the deadline to see if a desperate team would step up and pay the price. In a market where so many contenders need quality top-four blue-liners, there was no need to rush this deal for such a poor return. Even if Conroy couldn't land that first, he might've been able to get a package that at least included more quantity than this.To give Conroy the benefit of the doubt, it's possible Tanev forced his way to Dallas. Tanev had a 10-team no-trade list, so it's not too far-fetched to think he could've vetoed any possible landing spots - except the Stars - thus eliminating the Flames' trade leverage.But without knowing for sure, it's hard to give Calgary any positive marks. If Conroy doesn't nail the Hanifin trade, Flames fans will start losing faith in their rookie GM - if they haven't already.Grade: DCopyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Calgary Flames traded defenseman Chris Tanev to the Dallas Stars in exchange for a 2024 second-round pick, a 2026 conditional third-round pick, and defense prospect Artem Grushnikov, the teams announced Wednesday.The Flames are retaining 50% of Tanev's $4.5-million cap hit. The New Jersey Devils are also involved in the deal and are retaining a further 25% of Tanev's salary. The Devils were given the Stars' 2026 fourth-rounder in exchange, while Dallas received the rights to goaltender Cole Brady.As a result of the retention, Tanev only carries a cap hit of $1.125 million for the Stars this season.If the Stars advance to the Stanley Cup Final in 2024, the Flames will receive Dallas' third-rounder in 2026. If Dallas doesn't win three rounds this spring, then no additional pick will be sent to Calgary."We just felt at this point in time, this was the right deal for us," Flames general manager Craig Conroy said.He added, "The team's been playing really hard lately, so it's exciting just to kind of see where we're going. ... Someone else is going to get an opportunity. Chris is a big loss, but that's ice time for someone else."Tanev can become an unrestricted free agent this summer. A coveted right-handed shot, the veteran has chipped in with one goal and 14 points in 56 games this season while averaging just under 20 minutes of ice time per contest.The 34-year-old also ranks second in the league with 171 blocks."We are fortunate to have the opportunity to add a player of Chris' caliber to our team," Stars general manager Jim Nill said in a statement. "He is a proven defenseman with postseason experience that is comfortable in all situations on the ice. Chris is one of the best penalty killers in the NHL and will be a tremendous asset to our special teams play."Tanev led Calgary in shorthanded ice time per game (2:36) this campaign.The Devils selected Brady in the fifth round of the 2019 NHL Draft. The 23-year-old has spent the last two seasons at the University of Massachusetts. Brady owns an .886 save percentage in nine appearances this campaign.Grushnikov, meanwhile, was drafted by the Stars in the second round in 2021. The 20-year-old blue-liner has one goal and five points in 44 AHL games this season.The Flames have been busy on the trade market this season. Conroy shipped out Nikita Zadorov to the Canucks in November, and Elias Lindholm joined his teammate in Vancouver a little over two months later.The Stars have once again been one of the Central's top squads this season. They currently sit in second place in the division with a 35-17-9 record.There may be more decisions to come for the Flames, who own other hot deadline targets like goaltender Jacob Markstrom and pending unrestricted free-agent rearguard Noah Hanifin. Calgary currently sits five points out of a wild-card spot in the Western Conference.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Vancouver Canucks and star forward Elias Pettersson have made significant progress on a contract extension, sources told Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli.While not yet completed, the new deal is expected to be for eight seasons and could be finalized in the coming days, Seravalli added.Pettersson is a pending restricted free agent but could become unrestricted in 2025. His current cap hit is $7.35 million on a three-year pact signed in 2021. It's possible Pettersson's new deal could exceed the $11.5-million average annual value that Toronto Maple Leafs winger William Nylander signed for in January - the last major NHL deal to be handed out.The 25-year-old Swede is on pace to eclipse the 100-point mark for the second consecutive campaign, as he's tallied 29 goals and 46 assists in 61 games for the NHL-leading Canucks this season.The Canucks drafted Pettersson fifth overall in 2017. He won the Calder Trophy in 2018-19 and has recorded 398 points in 386 career games.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Find year-round coverage of betting news and insights for all sports by visiting our Betting section and subscribing to push notifications.Auston Matthews took over as the Hart Trophy favorite following his recent scoring surge that helped the Maple Leafs rattle off seven straight wins.Toronto's sniper is +185 (35.1% implied probability) at theScore Bet to be named the NHL's MVP thanks to his 52 goals in 57 games. He was held scoreless in his last two contests but potted 19 goals in his 15 games before that.However, Matthews has some stiff competition to fend off if he's going to claim his second career Hart Trophy. Oddsmakers believe it's a four-horse race, with Nathan MacKinnon, Nikita Kucherov, and Connor McDavid also in contention.On Feb. 1, MacKinnon was a -120 favorite to win the award and Matthews was +1300. Matthews' monstrous scoring month increased his implied win probability by 28%.Kucherov's and McDavid's odds remain largely unchanged since the beginning of February.Matthews has garnered 30% of all bets placed on the Hart Trophy market at theScore Bet, which is only available in Ontario. A large portion of those wagers on the Leafs superstar - 55% to be exact - came within the last two weeks.Furthermore, 80% of bets placed on the Hart Trophy market within the past two weeks were backing Matthews.The bet splits for the remainder of the Hart Trophy contenders are as follows: 14% for McDavid; 10% for MacKinnon; and 4.6% for Kucherov.Matthews is also -10000 (99% implied probability) to win the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy as the league's top goalscorer. He has a 13-goal advantage over second-place Sam Reinhart.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Minnesota Wild have indicated they don't plan to deal Marc-Andre Fleury ahead of the upcoming trade deadline, reports Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.Fleury, a pending unrestricted free agent, would've been the most accomplished goaltender available. However, he would've had to waive his full no-movement clause to approve a trade. He carries a $3.5-million cap hit on a two-year pact he inked with the Wild in the summer of 2022, according to CapFriendly.The 39-year-old is 12-10-3 with a .899 save percentage over 28 games this season, all but four of which were starts. On Sunday, Fleury said he didn't want to "just quit" on the Wild by abandoning them in the middle of a playoff race.The Wild entered Wednesday needing to leapfrog four teams by points percentage to land in the Western Conference's second wild-card spot. They're six points behind the Nashville Predators with a game in hand. Minnesota came into the day with a 14% chance of reaching the postseason, per MoneyPuck."If we were last in the conference, maybe it'd be a little bit different," Fleury said Sunday. "But this is my team. We've been battling together, right? I take pride in winning with this team. I want us to make the playoffs. That's my first priority."Fleury won three championships with the Pittsburgh Penguins (2009, 2016, 2017), with whom he spent the first 13 seasons of his career. He played the following four campaigns with the Vegas Golden Knights, helping them reach the final in their inaugural season of 2017-18. Vegas traded him to the Chicago Blackhawks in July 2021, and they dealt him to Minnesota in March 2022.The Quebec-born netminder ranks second on the NHL's all-time wins list and fourth in games played at the position.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Every season at this time of year, those who follow the NHL can't help but fantasize about potential blockbuster trades involving big-name players and blue-chip prospects.Many of those desired deals never come to fruition, but that shouldn't stop us from hoping to see some wild trades in the days leading up to the March 8 deadline.Here are five scenarios that would be very appealing for one reason or another, regardless of how likely they may be.Oilers grab Guentzel Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / GettyThe Pittsburgh Penguins are reportedly listening to offers on all of their non-core players, but team president and general manager Kyle Dubas must not consider Jake Guentzel part of the core. The executive left the door open for Guentzel to be moved when asked about the productive winger earlier this month.If Guentzel does become available, there'll be suitors lining up around the block. But the Edmonton Oilers would arguably be the most tantalizing destination for the Nebraska-born forward, simply because it would give fans a chance to see a two-time 40-goal-scorer on either Connor McDavid's or Leon Draisaitl's wing.Guentzel is expected to return from injury about a week after the deadline, so that likely wouldn't be too concerning for Edmonton. He's also on long-term injured reserve at the moment, which will make it easier to balance the money.A swap between these two clubs would be very tricky financially and perhaps further complicated by Guentzel's 12-team no-trade list. But if the Oilers could offer the Penguins a package featuring top prospect Dylan Holloway, a couple of high picks - including their first-rounder in the upcoming draft - and a roster player like forward Warren Foegele while satisfying cap and roster limit concerns, they might be able to make it happen.Flower the FlyerNote: Shortly after this was published, it was reported the Wild don't plan to trade Fleury. Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / GettyMarc-Andre Fleury recently made it clear he doesn't want to abandon the Minnesota Wild as they fight for a playoff spot. But the Central Division club's postseason hopes are pretty slim, so the closer we get to March 8, the wiser Fleury would be to consider approving a move to a contender.There are plenty of destinations for Fleury that could be fun. The Colorado Avalanche and Carolina Hurricanes could both benefit from his experience in goal. But what about pairing one of the NHL's most likable players with John Tortorella, one of the league's most quotable head coaches?The Flyers are surprisingly competitive but could use some help in the crease. Samuel Ersson and Cal Petersen have been subpar for Philadelphia in goal this season despite the team exceeding expectations as a whole. Numerous Flyers are trade candidates before the deadline, but general manager Daniel Briere shouldn't be a seller. His team has a good chance of qualifying for the postseason, so while it isn't time for him to go all-in for a deep run, it wouldn't be smart to start subtracting, either.Fleury's not worth a first-round pick at this stage of his career - in terms of his on-ice contributions, anyway - but the Flyers have two second-round picks in both this year's draft and the next one. They could send one of them to Minnesota along with a mid-level prospect or a roster player with some upside. The Flyers won't need to put together a hefty return for the 39-year-old's services, and they have the assets to make something happen.Golden Knights get Tarasenko Kevin Sousa / National Hockey League / GettyThe Vegas Golden Knights should be exploring deals for all types of forwards, be they wingers or centers. The Pacific Division squad has a lengthy injured reserve list at the moment, including numerous players up front like Mark Stone and Jack Eichel. The latter shouldn't be out for too much longer, but the former will be out for a while.Enter Vladimir Tarasenko, a right winger who could help fill the void in Stone's absence and then provide some depth if and when the Vegas captain returns. Tarasenko isn't as reliable as Stone at both ends, and his best days are behind him at 32 years old. But the Russian has been producing offense at a reasonable clip on a lackluster Ottawa Senators squad.The Golden Knights will have to jettison some salary when they activate Eichel and his $10-million cap hit. Moving Stone and his $9.5-million figure to LTIR would seemingly take care of that in the short term. After making that switch, Vegas is projected to have around $5.5 million in cap space at the deadline.Tarasenko's price probably won't be a first-round pick at this stage of his career. Even if it is, the Golden Knights still possess nearly all of their draft picks for the next three years, missing only a 2024 fourth-rounder and a 2025 seventh-round selection. They could take on the veteran's $5-million cap hit without forcing Ottawa to retain, and they might only need to give up one or two high (but not first-round) draft selections to facilitate this deal.Devils snag Markstrom Rich Graessle / National Hockey League / GettyThis move reportedly almost happened, and there's still plenty of time to get it done. Jacob Markstrom isn't as much of a lock to be traded as teammates Chris Tanev and Noah Hanifin, but the Calgary Flames goaltender is now a candidate to be dealt, and the New Jersey Devils make perfect sense as his destination.But it's not just that it's logical for both teams. The Devils have underachieved this season, thanks in large part to lackluster goaltending and injuries (especially to Dougie Hamilton). But they still boast a talented group of skaters, including Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, and Tyler Toffoli. This disappointing team was supposed to be fun to watch, so adding a proven netminder would make them more compelling.The Devils may not be full-fledged buyers at this deadline because of their distance from the playoff picture. But with a talented core already in place and Markstrom under contract through 2025-26, adding him wouldn't just be about trying to make the playoffs this spring. Yes, the Swedish puck-stopper is 34 years old, but he's playing well again on a lackluster Flames squad.Because of Markstrom's resume and the importance of his position, this would likely be a bit of a blockbuster involving numerous parts. The Devils have first-rounders in each of the next three drafts, plus prospects with upside like forward Alexander Holtz. New Jersey is also projected to have around $9.5 million in cap space at the deadline, so Markstrom's $6-million hit wouldn't be an issue.Avalanche scoop up Henrique Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / GettyNow that Sean Monahan's off the board, Adam Henrique is the best center available. The Anaheim Ducks pivot, who turned 34 earlier this month, is having a solid season, especially considering his age and current team. The veteran has proven he can still contribute and could solidify a contender's top six.The Colorado Avalanche will be getting the equivalent of a deadline add when Valeri Nichushkin returns to game action in short order. But he's only a winger, whereas Henrique can be even more versatile by playing multiple forward positions.The already electric Avalanche adding a player who can provide stability and experience in several ways would only make them more exciting come playoff time. Henrique's cap hit is a bit hefty at $5.825 million, and Colorado is only going to have about $1.2 million in cap space at the deadline at this rate. But it wouldn't be impossible if the Ducks were willing to retain some salary and take on an NHL contract in addition to other assets in return.The Avalanche still have picks they can offer, but they have one of the league's worst prospect pools by virtue of continuously dealing prospects away to stay competitive. However, they have enough depth and upside on the NHL roster to put a package together that would get this done.(Salary source: CapFriendly)Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Find year-round coverage of betting news and insights for all sports by visiting our Betting section and subscribing to push notifications.We're off to a strong start this week. Thanks to a 3-0 sweep with our player props, we put together a winning night on Monday. The script flipped with a mini-sweep on Tuesday's team bets, leading to a profitable 3-2 night.Let's take a look at a few plays that stand out on Wednesday's slate as we look to keep the ball rolling.Zach Werenski: Over 2.5 shotsThe Rangers are leaking on the back end. They've allowed 34.83 shots per game over the last 10 contests, which falls just 0.04 behind the last-placed Sharks in that span. They give up a ton of volume every night.This isn't just a difficult patch in the schedule. New York simply isn't defending well. Non-playoff teams like the Islanders, Devils, and Blue Jackets generated 40+ shots against the Rangers over the past two weeks.Werenski took advantage of the Rangers' struggles the last time he saw them, firing four pucks on net.The blue-liner is piling up the shots of late: Werenski's recorded three or more in seven of his past 10 games and averaged 3.5 shots on nearly seven attempts in that span. Those are very healthy outputs.With Werenski in fine form offensively and the Rangers bleeding shots, this is a favorable spot for another active shooting performance from the defenseman.Odds: -125 (playable to -140)Warren Foegele: Under 2.5 shotsFoegele recently had a cup of coffee riding shotgun with Connor McDavid, where he was very productive shooting the puck.He's back on the third line but is still priced as if he's getting prime minutes at even strength. Including the games Foegele played on McDavid's line, he's averaging slightly less than 14 minutes of ice time over the last 10 outings. We generally expect him to fall in the 12-14 range.Using that as a reference point, Foegele has cleared his shot total in only nine of 32 games when playing 14 minutes or less. That's a 28% hit rate.He's averaged 3.6 shot attempts per game at such usage. That leaves little margin for error in terms of hitting the target. If Foegele misses the net or has one blocked, it's difficult for him to go over on any given night.The matchup is scary - St. Louis isn't a good defensive team - but I'm happy to take my chances given Foegele's expected ice time.Odds: -118 (playable to -130)Robert Thomas: Over 0.5 pointsI think the price on this line is rather egregious. Thomas has been one of the most consistent point producers in the NHL this season, finding the scoresheet in 70% of his games.Using his success rate as a barometer, something in the ballpark of -230 would be a fair price for Thomas to get a point. Not all teams are equal - and the Oilers are quite good - but -140 is generous.However, we've seen a dip in the Oilers' defensive play lately. They've given up shots at a higher clip than usual and Stuart Skinner's play has regressed. He's allowed at least three goals in six of his past seven starts.There should be a couple of goals on the table for the Blues. Given how integral Thomas is to the offense - at five-on-five and on the power play - I like his chances of getting involved in one.Odds: -140 (playable to -165)Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. You can follow him on X at @ToddCordell.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman doesn't sound worried about the Winnipeg Jets' decline in attendance."I believe that this is a strong NHL market," he told reporters before the Jets' clash against the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night. "I believe that ownership has made extraordinary commitments to the Jets ... involving hundreds of millions of dollars. I'm not sure why people are now speculating that somehow they're not going to be here. At the end of the day, we can go through a litany of reasons ... as to how the attendance situation got to where it is."It kind of doesn't really matter because teams go through different ups and downs. I believe that the season ticket base and the attendance will evolve back to where it was."The club confirmed to The Athletic on Friday that its season ticket base had dwindled from approximately 13,000 to around 9,500 over the last three years. Jets chairman Mark Chipman expressed concern over the future of the franchise in Winnipeg, saying those numbers wouldn't "work over the long haul."Bettman offered his interpretation of Chipman's comments on Tuesday."What I believe Mark means by that ... (is) he didn't want to just be a member of the NHL; he wants a team that has the foundation for success," he said. "He wants to be competitive every year. He'd like to bring the Stanley Cup to Winnipeg."If the team is going to have the resources and the ability to compete at the highest level and spend to the cap as they have, it'd be important for the building to be full."The Jets entered Tuesday's action in second place in the Central Division. They've performed excellently following a turbulent offseason in which former captain Blake Wheeler and Pierre-Luc Dubois left the team. Winnipeg was also at risk of losing franchise cornerstones Mark Scheifele and Connor Hellebuyck, but both players signed matching seven-year, $59.5-million extensions in October."I'm mystified at the tension that seems to have developed here," Bettman said. "And by the way, this is a team, if they make the playoffs this year ... it'll be six of the last seven years. They're a cap team. The star players who had an opportunity to go elsewhere decided to stay here. Those are the substantive things that deliver the message that everybody seems to be focused on."Bettman himself appears to be confident in the Jets' future in Winnipeg, and he had a simple message for fans who might be feeling apprehensive."Get over your anxiety and come to games," he said. "No better way to deal with anxiety than rooting for your hometown team."Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Philadelphia Flyers are maintaining a long-term outlook despite Jamie Drysdale's injury ahead of the trade deadline."The reality is (Drysdale's injury) won't affect ultimately what they decide at the deadline with Sean Walker and Nick Seeler, the two pending UFA D that continue to garner interest on the trade market," TSN's Pierre LeBrun reported on Tuesday's edition of "Insider Trading."Drysdale is out and considered week-to-week after sustaining a shoulder injury on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The 21-year-old defenseman is set to be re-evaluated in two weeks.LeBrun added: "Just because their blue line is depleted now with Drysdale out ... it won't deter the Flyers from the bigger picture or the long-term vision, which is if a team steps up on Walker in particular, I believe they will deal him."Walker is No. 4 on theScore's list of candidates to be traded before the deadline, while Seeler comes in at No. 12.The duo have formed an impressive pairing on the surprisingly competitive Flyers, who hold the third spot in the Metropolitan Division. They have played over 580 minutes together this season, outscoring the opposition 30-25 in that time with a 56.8% expected goals share, per Evolving Hockey.Walker, 29, was acquired by the Flyers last summer in the Ivan Provorov three-team trade. The right-shot defender boasts 21 points in 56 games while playing 19:29 per contest. He has a $2.65-million cap hit.Seeler, 30, has 10 points and 76 penalty minutes in 59 games. The rugged defenseman leads the Flyers with 172 blocked shots and is fourth on the team with 105 hits. His cap hit of $775,000 is the league minimum.The NHL's trade deadline is Friday, March 8 at 3 p.m. ET.Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.