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Brutal blow to Jack Campbell’s confidence ahead of postseason

Andy Devlin/NHLI via Getty Images

The Edmonton Oilers rolled past the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday night, getting the 7-4 win with goaltender Stuart Skinner in net. Because the season has been tough on goalie Jack Campbell…

As the Oilers are making the Pacific Division playoff race even tighter in the last stretch of the regular season, we cannot credit Campbell with any of it…

And if you think this is tough on Campbell, you need to see the evaluation he was given by insider Pierre LeBrun in his latest column in the Athletic: Grading the NHL’s best and worst offseason goalie moves.

Yes, Campbell is the one with the lowest grade, an F, not even a passing one, and the comments by LeBrun and former NHL goalie and goalie coach Jamie McLennan won’t boost his confidence ahead of the postseason…

“[…] he reasoning and the process that led to the Campbell signing, in my mind, was sound. But the result has not been so far. And the lack of confidence Campbell has in himself at times is noticeable.”

“But flat out, he’s not performed this year, there’s no getting around it,” adds McLennan.

While LeBrun won’t write him off, he believes Campbell needs to reset in the summer to come back better in 2023-24. Not encouraging for the goalie and the Oilers as the postseason is just around the corner.

It can’t be as discouraging as GM Ken Holland’s decision to sign Campbell to a five-year, $25 million deal in free agency with the Oilers last summer.

Let’s hope next season his grade will come up, or else he needs to go!

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NHL asked to push president and CEO out of league!

NHL

The NHL has another issue to handle on Wednesday as insider Darren Dreger reports that multiple teams in the American Hockey League are pushing for the exit of president and CEO Scott Howson. NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly is involved in discussions with club executives at the AHL level.

On last night’s Insider Trading on TSN, Dreger provided more details on the AHL teams’ displeasure with Howson, who is on an expiring contract.

“Yes, it’s a developing story around Scott Howson, who is the CEO and president of the AHL,” Dreger said. “Sources say that four or five teams are trying to have Howson replaced. Now, this approach is a curious one, as it isn’t supported by all of the AHL teams and what’s also interesting here is that the NHL has largely been kept out of the mix until very recently.

“NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly is now actively involved in trying to sort through what exactly is going on here, so it’s something we continue to monitor. It’s also important to note that Howson is on an expiring contract at the end of the season but he went in with a lot of support replacing David Andrews who was the long-time AHL boss.”

In February 2020, Howson was elected as the 10th president in AHL history. He had previously held front-office roles with the Edmonton Oilers and Columbus Blue Jacket over the previous 26 years.

The NHL is now forced to look into this situation to determine if a change at the helm of the AHL is needed.

There will certainly be more to come on this developing story in the coming days…

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Investigation launched on parents paying teams for their sons to be drafted!

OHL

TSN’s Rick Westhead is coming out with another scandelous story on Wednesday, reporting that OHL Commissioner David Branch has confirmed that the league hired an investigator to probe allegations that several hockey parents paid for their sons to be selected in 2022 OHL draft.

There are reports that three GTHL coaches have told me they have evidence, including text messages, of parents paying $30K+.

Westhead adds that Branch did not respond to questions about who was hired to scrutinize claims that parents were paying for their sons to be drafted, the scope of the OHL’s investigation and how long it lasted, or how much the OHL paid its investigator.

More to come as the story develops…

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Minnesota Wild to be severely shorthanded vs. Avalanche

Sportskeeda

The Colorado Avalanche and Minnesota Wild are battling for supremacy in the NHL’s Central Division, and tonight’s matchup in the Rocky Mountains at Ball Arena is certainly of the important variety. 

But if the Wild are to gain a valuable two points in the standings, they’ll have to do so while even more shorthanded than they already are. Of course, they’re without the services of sniper forward Kirill Kaprizov, who continues to rehabilitate from his injury and doesn’t appear to have a solid timeline on a return; additionally, the newly acquired Gustav Nyquist continues rehabilitation of an injury of his own. 

Tonight, the Wild will be missing some serious sandpaper in their lineup owing to the absence of bruising forward Ryan Reaves thanks to an upper body injury, while forward Brandon Duhaime is battling an illness. But the good news is that a durable veteran could be taking shifts with Minnesota’s forward group. 

Defenseman Alex Goligoski is ready to make the leap to forward should the situation arise, according to head coach Dean Evason.

“A lot of different options for us, and we feel very comfortable,” coach Dean Evason said. “Talked to Goose this morning that he’s very comfortable playing forward. He’s excited about it if he gets the opportunity.”

Tonight’s projected lineup for the Wild is as follows: 

Forwards

Marcus Foligno-Ryan Hartman-Mats Zuccarello

Marcus Johansson-Joel Eriksson Ek-Matt Boldy

Sam Steel-Frederick Gaudreau-Oskar Sundqvist

Mason Shaw-Connor Dewar-Alex Goligoski

Defensemen

Jake Middleton-Jared Spurgeon

Jonas Brodin-Matt Dumba

Jon Merrill-John Klingberg

Goaltenders

Filip Gustavsson

Marc-Andre Fleury

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Bruins admit uncomfortable truth after rare loss

Boston.com

Things didn’t go according to plan for the NHL-leading Boston Bruins last night against the visiting Nashville Predators, who were able to dole the President’s Trophy frontrunners an extremely rare regulation home setback thanks to killing off five power play opportunities. 

And after battles against top Eastern Conference foes in the Carolina Hurricanes and Tampa Bay Lightning, the Bruins admit they may have overlooked the Predators, who are battling for their playoff lives. Forward Brad Marchand admitted as much, but said that it’s a good learning opportunity. 

“We obviously took them lightly. We seem to get up for the games [against the] teams that we could potentially face down the road,” Marchand said. “I think we were just a little disrespectful of the game tonight against this team, and I think definitely fatigue comes into it.

“But we’re going to run into situations where we are tired moving forward and we still need to be able to show up. It is what it is. Learn from it and move on.”

As far as captain Patrice Bergeron is concerned, the Bruins have nobody but themselves to blame for the loss on home ice. 

“Tonight was one of those nights where we did it to ourselves,” said Bergeron. “No disrespect to them because I obviously think they played a great game and they did what they had to, but we just didn’t execute and that’s what you’re going to get.

“To me it was just that we didn’t play to our standards and to our process, and our details. When you do that, you force plays and you don’t respect the way you want to play the game while getting away from what makes you successful. That’s what you get.”

Boston will have a chance to earn their 58th win of the season when they take on the tanking Columbus Blue Jackets.

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Derek Lalonde sounds off on his ejection

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It was a first last night for Detroit Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde, who was given a game misconduct and tossed from their game at Little Caesars Arena against the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins. 

Lalonde was irate after it was ruled by the on-ice officials that Jeff Carter legally scored a goal, despite forward Jason Zucker pushing goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic’s pad across the red goal line along with the puck. After an expletive-filled outburst, cameras caught Lalonde calmly walking back to the dressing room; it was soon announced that he’d been assessed a misconduct, the first of his coaching career. Assistant coach Bob Boughner would take over for the remainder of the night. 

Following practice this morning, Lalonde explained his side of things while keeping it classy. 

“It was the accumulation of my reaction on the initial calls, which was a little much, and then our conversation at the timeout, which was three minutes later. It was very calm but I just think he (the official) had enough of a combination of both,” Lalonde said. “I was a little shocked. I don’t know if it was warranted but he has every right to do that. He’s trying to manage a game.” 

“It was very calm. I asked him one question and said I felt it was under the pad. He said it wasn’t. I had my comment and he probably didn’t like it and didn’t say a word and calmly skated out and gave the sign. I assumed it was an ejection. It was not a heated exchange. As far as the call, I would make that challenge 100 out of 100 times. I’m very comfortable with it.”

While drawing a comparison to baseball managers getting ejected, Lalonde said that he doesn’t want to be known for losing his temper. 

“It’s a little unfortunate,” Lalonde said. “It’s just not the culture of our sport. Other leagues, getting ejected, being demonstrative on the sidelines or on the bench, it’s applauded sometimes. Our culture is calm demeanor. Obviously, I don’t want to put myself in those situations.”

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Bruins get upset with Taylor Hall’s latest report!

NHL.com

The Boston Bruins are calling TSN insider Darren Dreger a liar. On Tuesday night’s Insider Trading on TSN, Dreger explained how the Bruins cannot welcome forward Taylor Hall back from long-term injured reserve because they don’t have the cap space to facilitate such a roster move.

“We know, according to reports and video, that Hall has been skating with the Bruins for several days now. Sources say that he feels he is ready. The problem is the Bruins don’t have the cap space to activate Hall. Now the NHL playoffs are less than three weeks away so it’s going to be interesting to see how the Bruins manage this situation or, if like the Tampa Bay Lightning a few years ago, they try and stretch it out until the start of the postseason so it’s something that I’m sure other clubs are paying attention to as well.”

Head coach Jim Montgomery denied the reports, calling it a false, saying that Hall simply isn’t cleaned to return, and not held out for cap reasons, per Matt Porter.

Hall has been absent since February 25 thank to a lower body injury. When he was placed on LTRI, the Bruins were able to absorb the salary of Tyler Bertuzzi, whom they acquired in a swap with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL trade deadline. Boston saved as much as $6 million by placing Hall on LTIR.

However, money is tight… That’s the truth. Per Cap Friendly, Boston currently has just $39,062 in available cap space, which is far from enough to bring Hall back.

But sure Montgomery, it has nothing to do with money…

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Luke Schenn is now neighbors with Tomas Kaberle

Editor in Leaf

The Toronto Maple Leafs welcomed back an old friend into the fold earlier this month with the acquisition of defenseman Luke Schenn from the Vancouver Canucks. As you may remember, Schenn was Toronto’s 1st round selection (6th overall) in the 2008 NHL Draft, and he played the first several years of his career wearing the Maple Leaf crest before being traded to the Philadelphia Flyers in 2012 that sent forward James van Riemsdyk the other way. 

And as fate would have it, he moved in directly across the street from a former teammate of his during his first go-around with the Leafs in defenseman Tomas Kaberle.

“It’s a small world. You don’t anticipate that,” Schenn explained of his new living arrangements and new neighbor. “Different paths in life, but here we are.”

Kaberle was dealt from the Leafs to the Original 6 rival Boston Bruins in 2011, and would go on to win the Stanley Cup that year. He would later sign with the Carolina Hurricanes. However, he’s still held in high regard by Leafs fans for his time with Toronto. 

“It’s pretty cool. We were together when I first started, and he was a great mentor for me,” Schenn said. “Taught me a lot. He was a true pro.”

“He’s taking care of me, too,” Schenn said. “Showing me the lay of the land.”

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Jim Montgomery pushes back on Taylor Hall report

NHL.com

Boston Bruins bench boss Jim Montgomery is pushing back on a report from SportsNet Canada’s Darren Dreger, who said that forward Taylor Hall is healthy enough to return to action but is being held out due to salary cap restraints. 

For those of you who may not have seen Dreger’s initial comments, you can view them below: 

“While we were at the general managers’ meetings in Florida earlier this month, there was some discussions about the salary cap and how it related to players that are on long-term injured reserve; is that a key topic of discussion right now with the Boston Bruins, Darren?” host Gino Reda asked Dreger during the latest episode of ‘TSN Insider Trading’ during Tuesday night’s game against the Nashville Predators. 

“Yes it is, specific to one player and maybe two – Taylor Hall and Nick Foligno of the Bruins,” Dreger replied. “We know, according to reports and video, that Hall has been skating with the Bruins for several days now. Sources say that he feels he is ready. The problem is the Bruins don’t have the cap space to activate Hall. Now the NHL playoffs are less than three weeks away so it’s going to be interesting to see how the Bruins manage this situation or, if like the Tampa Bay Lightning a few years ago, they try and stretch it out until the start of the postseason so it’s something that I’m sure other clubs are paying attention to as well.”

Hall was placed on Long Term Injured Reserve by the Bruins after suffering a lower body injury in early March, but has made recent appearances at Bruins practice sessions while wearing a non-contact jersey. And according to Montgomery, Dreger’s report isn’t true. 

“The only thing I can say is that I know he is not cleared. That’s what I know so that report to me is false,” Montgomery said.

Hall has scored 16 goals with 20 assists in the 58 games that he’s appeared in this season with Boston.

The Bruins are back in action later tonight against the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets.

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Optimistic update provided on Ville Husso

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While it was originally being speculated earlier this week that Detroit Red Wings goaltender Ville Husso’s season could be finished after playing in a career high 51 games, it seems as though there is a bit of good news to be shared on his status as the regular season schedule winds down to a close. 

According to Detroit Free Press beat writer Helene St. James, Husso is expected to be able to make a return to action, though it won’t be for tonight’s game against the visiting Carolina Hurricanes or in Detroit’s following contest on the road against the Winnipeg Jets.

She writes: 

“Alex Nedeljkovic starting Thursday for Red Wings. Derek Lalonde says Ville Husso not done for season after all, but won’t be available Thursday or Friday.”

It was Nedeljkovic who was between the pipes for Tuesday night’s victory at Little Caesars Arena against the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins. Despite allowing four tallies, the pending unrestricted free agent made several strong saves as he continues to make the case that he deserves a new contract. 

Husso, who is in his first year with the Red Wings after being acquired from the St. Louis Blues in a trade last summer, has amassed a record of 25-19-6 with a 3.02 goals against average, .899 save percentage and three shutouts.

The Red Wings and Hurricanes will battle one another tonight starting at 7:30 PM EST in a nationally televised game (ESPN Plus/Hulu).