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Bad trade comes back to haunt the Senators as they run out time to make the playoffs…

NHL / Presser

Ottawa Senators general manager Pierre Dorion was quite busy throughout the summer to make sure he was putting a contender this season to get into the postseason.

With just four games to go, nothing is set in stone for the Senators as the battle is tight in the Eastern conference, but there is a sense that Ottawa will once again miss out on the postseason and there is already fingers getting pointed to the main reason why.

During the summer, Dorion acquired goalie Cam Talbot from the Minnesota Wild in return for netminder Filip Gustavsson in a one-for-one trade. And now looking back, this trade is coming back to haunt Dorion as the 2022-23 campaign comes to an end and the Senators aren’t in the playoff picture.

Talbot has not delivered in between the pipes for Ottawa and has been injured than ever before in his career. Meanwhile, Gustavsson has been a real revelation in Minnesota. When comparing the stats of the two goalies, there is a world of difference.

  • 35-year-old Cam Talbot is 16-14-2 with a 2.89 goals-against average and .900 save percentage in 35 games this season. He is currently in the final year of his contract, which pays him $3.67 million. He is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.
  • 24-year-old Filip Gustavsson holds a 20-9-6 record with a 2.03 goals-against average and .932 save percentage in 36 games this season. He is currently playing the last year of his deal an AAV of $787,500. He will become a restricted free agent this summer.

On top of having four more victories in as many games than Talbot, Gustavsson allows an average of one less goal per game than the veteran goalkeeper, while their respective efficiency rates are simply not in the same league with Gustavsson ranking second in the entire NHL.

After Tuesday’s overtime loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, the Senators are still six points from the last wild-card spot.
The Senators already had their number one goalie in Gustavsson before moving him to Minnesota and now, Dorion will have to spend the offseason fixing that mistake as Talbot likely won’t be back in Ottawa.

There is no doubt that Dorion made some good moves on the market lately, but you have to admit that this one was definitely a significant mistake.

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Alex DeBrincat-like trade in the works

Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP

This past summer, the Ottawa Senators acquired forward Alex DeBrincat from Chicago for three draft picks, including the No. 7 overall selection which the Blackhawks used to select defenseman Kevin Korchinski. In DeBrincat, the Senators get a two-time 40-goal scorer to add to their young core.

And now the Detroit Red Wings are reportedly looking to do the same thing. The Athletic’s Max Bultman believes Wings GM Steve Yzerman should acquire young scorer could help the roster in a similar way the Senators acquired DeBrincat last summer. Bultman still believes the Red Wings should make a significant move despite trading away wingers Tyler Bertuzzi and Jakub Vrana at the trade deadline.

Detroit has the money to go shopping for a scorer this summer. Per Cap Friendly, the Red Wings have $29.7 million in projected cap space for 2023-24 with 16 roster players under contract, including all his core talent.

While there will be big names on the UFA market, notably New York Rangers’ Patrick Kane and the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Ryan O’Reilly, Yzerman should focus on a younger player that can boost the future in Hockey Town. Bultman strongly believes the acquisition of a younger star comparable to DeBrincat last summer is a perfect solution for the near future in Detroit. Yzerman holds five picks in the first two rounds of this year’s draft and can use it as capital to make a significant trade.

However, let’s see what suitable trade target the Red Wings can find.

Detroit is currently on its way to tie a franchise record of seven straight seasons without a post-season berth.

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Penguins GM Ron Hextall blasted for “gross error”

NHL.com

If the Pittsburgh Penguins are to make the playoffs for a 17th straight season, they’ll have to scratch and claw their way in. And even then, their prospects of actually making any noise are looking dismal. It wasn’t long ago that the Penguins were warned that they were playing a dangerous game similar to that of what the Detroit Red Wings found themselves doing near the end of their postseason streak, doing everything possible to try and squeeze every last bit out of the toothpaste tube despite having no realistic shot at competing for the Stanley Cup. 

Of course, Penguins general manager Ron Hextall has felt the heat from the fans this season, even experiencing a noticeable “Fire Hextall” chant at PPG Paints Arena in a game earlier this year. And one particular move (or lack of a move, really) that he’s being absolutely blasted for is the fact that he entered this season sticking with the tandem of Tristan Jarry and Casey DeSmith between the pipes.

Take a look at what Rob Rossi of The Athletic had to say about the situation, which he referred to as a “gross error” on the part of Hextall: 

“He (Jarry) hasn’t been someone you could depend on. I think they probably need him for these final five games, and I guess he would be the starter for the final five games. He’s been pulled four times in the last four weeks. 

We’ve seen him go into the crease in certain games and just look like he’s not able to do the basic things you would need a goaltender to do. It’s been very frustrating for the Penguins because they don’t really have a sense of which guy they’re going to get.

It’s why I’ve been writing and, and saying that, it was a gross error, one of many, I believe by this management team to depend on Jarry and Casey DeSmith, again this season when you have been let down by that tandem in two consecutive post-seasons, whether it’s because of performance or injury. But now it’s kind of a combination of performance and injury that has put the Penguins in a precarious situation and they often play like a team that chases chances because they don’t feel like their goaltenders can make enough stops. They’re not the most disciplined defensive team to begin with, so I think it’s going to be all about goaltending in the final five games.”

Extremely strong words from someone who knows what they’re talking about. Are the Penguins guilty of not doing everything possible to maximize the rapidly closing window while the likes of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang are still around? 

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Another huge change in the Connor Bedard sweepstakes!

WHL

Who would have thought that one of the craziest race in the NHL at this time would be happening at the bottom of the standings?

Last night, the Chicago Blackhawks managed to play troublemakers to the Flames, getting the 4-3 win in Calgary. The Flames are running out of time to clinch a playoff spot, playing against the Winnipeg Jets later today in a battle for the last wild-card spot in the Western conference. With the two points they earned last night in Calgary, the Blackhawks, the Columbus Blue Jackets and Anaheim Ducks are now in a three-way tie with 56 points in the race for 32nd place and the best draft lottery odds. But there is a new leader in the Connor Bedard sweepstakes as Corey Masisak of the Athletic points out:

“Anaheim was the only team that didn’t play Tuesday, but the Ducks moved into pole position for the Connor Bedard Grand Prix, but only by a tiebreaker. By virtue of having the fewest regulation wins (13), the Ducks are officially in last place.”


Last week, the Hawks held the prized spot of the best odds in the upcoming draft lottery. But now, the Ducks have landed in the best position.

All four teams aforementioned by Masisak above have five games left to the 2022-23 season. As the reporters reminds fans: “The 32nd-placed team has a 25.5 percent chance at the No. 1 pick, the 31st team a 13.5 percent, 30th 11.5 percent and that continues to drop to three percent for the 11th-placed team.”

While Bedard keeps blowing us away in the first round of the WHL playoffs, recording a goal and two primary assists, NHL fans are focused on which team will land him at the draft lottery.

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Red Wings announce Marco Kasper likely won’t return

ESPN

In a cruel twist of irony, you can go ahead and add the 1st round selection of the Detroit Red Wings in last year’s 2022 NHL Draft to their extensive list of the walking wounded this season. 

Forward Marco Kasper, who made his NHL debut with the Red Wings on Sunday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs, won’t play again in the final remaining games on Detroit’s regular season schedule thanks to a lower body injury that he suffered at some point over the course of the game. He didn’t play in last night’s victory over the Montreal Canadiens, and it was announced by head coach Derek Lalonde earlier today that he likely won’t be able to suit up again this year. 

The 18 year old Austria native drew high praise from his coaching staff and teammates for his performance on the ice against the Leafs in which he racked up a total of just under 15 minutes total ice time. If his time with the Red Wings in 2022-23 is indeed finished, he’ll have a chance to earn a more permanent place on the roster when the team gathers for training camp later this fall. 

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Ryan O’Reilly provides crucial health update

Sportsnet

For fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs hoping to catch a glimpse of newly acquired forward Ryan O’Reilly for their next game, you may be in luck. 

O’Reilly, who recently underwent surgery to repair a broken finger, stated today that he’ll be back in the lineup tomorrow when the Leafs take on their Original 6 and Atlantic Division rival Boston Bruins.

Since being acquired from the St. Louis Blues in mid-February, O’Reilly has scored three goals with two assists in the eight games he’s played in.

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Bruins release crucial health updates

WCVB

The NHL-leading Boston Bruins are next in action tomorrow night against their Original 6 and Atlantic Division rival Toronto Maple Leafs, and it appears as though not only will they continue to be without forward Taylor Hall, but veteran forward David Krejci as well. 

According to several Bruins beat writers, Krejci departed practice early this morning for an unknown reason. Head coach David Montgomery later stated that he was experiencing some discomfort, and that his status for tomorrow night’s game isn’t set in stone. 

Meanwhile, Hall continues to work towards a return to the lineup, and hasn’t been ruled out of playing tomorrow. 

“There’s still some steps and conversations I have to have before I’m fully playing,” Hall told 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Ty Anderson after practice. “We’ll know that by (Thursday) morning.”

Krejci has scored 16 goals with 40 assists for the Bruins since making his return to the team after playing a year in his native homeland. Meanwhile, Hall has also tallied 16 goals along with 20 assists as he’s settled into a 3rd line role with the President’s Trophy winners.

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Evidence shows how Leafs’ Michael Bunting is being unfairly officiated!

Twitter / Broadcast

After Toronto Maple Leafs forward Michael Bunting was called for embellishment and got a 10-minute misconduct in Sunday’s game against the Detroit Red Wings, head coach Sheldon Keefe revealed how general manager Kyle Dubas was going to call the league and deal with it.

Darren Dreger reported on last night’s Insider Trading on TSN that there will indeed be a discussion about it at the league’s meeting with head coaches and general managers prior to the start of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

In the meantime, Jonas Siegel of the Athletic has put together a full article on evidence that shows how Bunting is being treated unfairly by officials.

Siegel targeted different incidents in which Bunting was being mistreated. The reporter started off with the same example Dreger offered when commenting on the situation:

“An example of that is a game against Evander Kane and the Edmonton Oilers. Kane is all over Bunting, Bunting gets mauled by Kane, and both of these players end up in the penalty box. I’m sure Bunting is thinking “look I don’t know what I did there.”

In a second example, Siegel recalls how Bunting received two minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct while Columbus Blue Jackets’ Mathieu Olivier got nothing and then later in the same game with Boone Jenner on this sequence:

Siegel only used different incidents from past weeks, but Bunting knows it’s been happening for a while. But that won’t stop him from keeping his playing style.

“Obviously I play on that edge and in that role that draws a little bit more attention to myself,” he said to Siegel. “And I know that and I’m OK with that. I’ve played that (way) my whole life. I played that (way) in every level, even in the American League. I don’t plan on changing because it got me here (to the NHL ). I just gotta keep playing, keep being focused on playing my game and not worrying about anything else.”

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Mitch Marner speaks after avoiding gruesome injury

Twitter

Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner was narrowly able to avoid what could have been a gruesome and perhaps even career threatening injury during last night’s game at Scotiabank Arena against the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets. 

Blue Jackets forward Kent Johnson inadvertently stepped on Marner’s leg after the latter had stumbled along the boards; Marner immediately reacted in understandable pain, but thankfully, was eventually no worse for wear. As Marner would explain afterward, while he was wearing protective socks on his wrists, he wasn’t doing so on his lower body. 

“Right away it just felt weird. I didn’t know, really, what it was … when I got back I just asked our trainers if there was a cut or anything … pretty lucky, but definitely a freak, little incident there,” Marner explained.

“I got the cut-proof stuff on my wrists, but not on my legs. Maybe I was lucky that he just wasn’t a heavy guy. You know, it was a bit freak play there, but lucky enough nothing came out of it.”

We’ve seen some frightening injuries in recent years, including the scary incident in which Evander Kane was accidentally sliced by the skate of Pat Maroon earlier this season, causing him to miss several months.

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Zach Aston-Reese reaches new career high with Leafs

NHL.com

The Toronto Maple Leafs are getting the most out of forward Zach Aston-Reese, who first arrived at training camp last fall on a professional tryout. And while he’s occasionally been made a healthy scratch, he’s made his return to the lineup matter.

During last night’s game against the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets, he tallied his career high 10th goal in what would eventually be a 4-2 triumph for the Leafs. And you can bet that he was feeling good about being a contributor afterward.

“It’s pretty special,” he explained in his postgame presser. “It was a long summer not knowing what was going to happen. I always believed in myself and it’s nice to be in a place that believes in me.”

“I know they want me to be physical and finishing checks, and it doesn’t have to be blowing up guys every night. It’s just being stiff and aggressive on the puck,” he continued.

Meanwhile, head coach Sheldon Keefe was full of praise for how Aston-Reese has handled himself in the last couple of weeks.

“I would say it has been more than a couple of weeks,” Keefe said. “He has been excellent, I would say, from the trade deadline and maybe even a week or two before the trade deadline. He has really settled in. He has played a lot of time with Kampf. The guys have really had some great chemistry. They are talking a lot. They know what the expectation is and what we need from them. He has scored some good goals for us which has got his confidence going offensively. He is scoring the right kind of goals for a guy like him.”

“He is not getting odd-man rushes or anything like this. He is working for it. He is around the net, whether it is pucks hitting him, him tipping it, or finding pucks in the slot.”