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Oilers pulled the plug on a trade at the deadline!

Oilers / PR

The Edmonton Oilers kept their red-hot play since the trade deadline going, shutting out the Los Angeles Kings 2-0 on Thursday night. Edmonton is 12-2-1 in March. They passed LA into second place in the Pacific Division and might have given fans a potential playoff preview for the first or second round of the postseason.

The Oilers have especially been sending the message that the added pieces at the trade deadline were the right call. Defenseman Mattias Ekholm, who had a game-high three blocked shots, has been exactly what Edmonton needed.

However on Friday, fans found out how the Oilers had targeted an additional player on the trade market and also pursue a transaction. Head coach Jay Woodcroft, who was a guest on the 32 Thoughts podcast, however explained how the Oilers declined to pull the trigger on that trade. But he had a good reason for it. Elliotte Friedman wrote it down in the written of 32 Thoughts on Sportsnet:

“A few listeners asked about something in the Jay Woodcroft podcast interview. Woodcroft confirmed the Oilers declined to pursue a particular player at the trade deadline because he felt someone already on the roster could fill the role. I believe the player Woodcroft believes in was Vincent Desharnais.”

Desharnais has indeed proven to be a great boost to the Oilers’ blue line. He is a rugged defenseman and his impressive size, 6-foot-6, 215 pounds, gets rivals to think twice about messing with him. His late arrival in the NHL just proves that he was worth waiting for…

And maybe that explains why Woodcroft believed Desharnais was the best “acquisition” the Oilers could bring on board instead of pulling another trade before the final buzzer of the deadline.

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Connor Bedard goes viral with latest picture ahead of postseason

Sportsnet / WHL

Connor Bedard is ready for the postseason. And I’m not just talking about his performance on the ice, racking up 71 goals and 72 assists in just 57 games for the Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League this season. He’s got the looks too!

To be ultimate-ready for the postseason, Bedard paid homage to one of his favorite players with a Patrick Kane-inspired mullet. The projected top draft pick wanted to rock the same hair style Kane did on several occasions for the Blackhawks, most-notably when Chicago won the 2010 Stanley Cup for their first championship in nearly 50 years.

“Patty Kane did it when he had his mullet, so I had a photo of him to the hairdresser and held it out there a bit,” Bedard said on Tuesday. “His was a little nicer, but I think mine’s alright.”


Photo credit: NHL.com 

He even got his teammates to sport the same look to mark this important event in Pats’ history. This is their first Western Hockey League playoff appearance since 2018. The Pats begin a best-of-7 Western Hockey League playoff series at Saskatoon with Game 1 on Friday.

“I don’t know who’s idea it was [to get the haircuts], but a lot of guys obviously went through with it and it kind of brings the team closer together,” Bedard added.

All eyes remain on Bedard whether we talk about his record-setting performance at this year’s World Juniors, his run ahead of the 2023 NHL Draft or his looks!

Bedard was the first player to earn exceptional status in the WHL after scoring 43 goals and 84 points in 36 games for West Van Academy Prep’s U18 team, leading the Canadian Sports School Hockey League (CSSHL) in scoring and earning MVP honours as a 14 year old.

And he keeps catching the attention – whatever he does!

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Nazem Kadri on the move again?!

NHL / Presser

When the Flames signed forward Nazem Kadri as a free agent this past summer, they were expecting him to bring his career-high production from last season to Calgary. But Kadri has failed to replicate it and recent chatter has emerged that he could be traded out after the playoffs. So far in 2022-23, the veteran center has put up 51 points in 75 games, well below last season’s career-high 87 points with the Colorado Avalanche.

On top of that, there have been reports of a riff between he and head coach Darryl Sutter, which prompted Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman to point out Kadri had seen a recent reduction in his ice time.

While the veteran forward himself downplayed the chatter about this relationship with the bench boss, there remains doubts that he could be in the right place in Calgary…

One reader even asked The Athletic’s Eric Duhatschek if the Flames would attempt to trade Kadri this summer.
Duhatschek is cautious in his answer but explains how expensive free agents happen to struggle with their new clubs in the first season of their new contracts.

“But the short answer on trading Kadri is “not yet.” And that’s mainly because what we’ve seen from Kadri this season is often typical of what you see from expensive free agents in their first year with new teams — they struggle to meet the expectations associated with the lucre of their new contracts (in Kadri’s case, a seven-year, $49 million deal). Often, in Year 2 after settling in, they show better results.”

But the main thing is that even if the Flames wanted to part ways with Kadri after just one season, his full no-movement clause would be a significant hurdle in the situation, along with the six years left on his contract at $7 million annually.

Got a feeling Kadri will stay put…

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Jonathan Toews makes official statement on retirement

NHL.com

Earlier on Friday, it was confirmed that Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews will return to the lineup for Saturday’s game against the visiting New Jersey Devils.

The 34-year-old forward last played on Jan. 28 and has been sidelined since then with what he’s revealed were the effects of long COVID-19 and chronic immune response syndrome. It also sidelined him for the entire 2021-22 campaign.

He returns tomorrow, but reporters still wanted to know if he’ll return next season. Once he was sidelined and announced that he would stay in Chicago ahead of the trade deadline, rumours emerged that Toews was considering retirement.
On Friday, he made an official statement to address any long-term plans such as retirement.

“To be fully honest, I’m not near making that decision yet,” Toews said to reporters. “I don’t feel like with what I’ve been through this year and this past season that I have enough clarity on what that decision is going to be.”

In 46 games this season, Toews has put up 14 goals and 28 points. The three-time Stanley Cup champion (2010, 2013, 2015) is playing in the final season of an eight-year, $84 million contract.

But we don’t know if it is the final season of the his career. As of now.

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Maple Leafs announce emergency roster move

Sportsnet

Because the Toronto Maple Leafs continue to deal with a few various ailments, they’ve announced an emergency roster move in the form of a reinforcement being brought up from the American Hockey League affiliate Toronto Marlies. 

With Noel Acciari and Wayne Simmonds both less than perfectly healthy, the Leafs summoned Radim Zohorna from the Marlies: 

According to the Leafs, Acciari is dealing with whiplash in his neck, while Simmonds was absent from practice due to an undisclosed illness. 

Zohorna, who was acquired by the Leafs from the Calgary Flames in the early March trade that sent Dryden Hunt to Alberta, has played in 46 AHL games this season, tallying 11 goals 20 assists. 

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Andrei Kuzmenko refuses to wear Pride Night jersey and cites new reason

Sportsnet

Are you even surprised by now?

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman recently commentary on the latest spate of players refusing to don Pride Night jerseys. But it did not stop Canucks’ Andrei Kuzmenko to refuse to wear the Pride jersey for tonight’s celebrations in Vancouver.

According to head coach Rich Tocchet, Kuzmenko made his choice with his family’s input. A different statement than previous religious beliefs, but it remains that Kuzmenko is from /, Russia.

Last week, Florida Panthers brothers Eric and Marc Staal said they wouldn’t don the jerseys — citing their Christian beliefs. Buffalo’s defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin did no participating in warmups this weekend when the Sabres welcome the Montreal Canadiens.  San Jose Sharks goalie James Reimer had previously stated he wouldn’t wear the jersey because it went against his Christian beliefs as well.

The Chicago Blackhawks opted as a team not to wear their jerseys last week, saying they didn’t want to subject their Russian players to new laws in that country prohibiting LGBTQ+ “propaganda.”

The New York Rangers, Islanders and Minnesota Wild also canceled plans to wear the jerseys in past weeks. It all started back in January when Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Ivan Proporov cited his Russian Orthodox beliefs for skipping warmups instead of wearing the jersey.

This even got Bettman wondering if the league should consider canceling Pride Nights in the NHL.

“Overwhelmingly, our league and our teams support Pride Night,” Bettman said, per the Seattle Times. “Overwhelmingly, our players support it. But there are some players — not most, far from it — that have made personal decisions and personal choices and you have to respect that.”

And so, Kuzmenko is added to the list and will not take part in warmups tonight in Vancouver.

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Huge update on Jonathan Toews

NHL.com

Since it was reported that captain Jonathan Toews isn’t unsure about playing again next season, the Chicago Blackhawks fanbase has been impatiently awaiting an update on his absence.

On Friday, we finally got the update we wanted: according to Ben Pope of the Sun Times, Toews will return to the Blackhawks’ lineup tomorrow against the New Jersey Devils.

Toews has only played in 46 games this season, missing action since Jan. 28 due to Chronic Immune Response Syndrome and long-COVID, which also sidelined him for the entire 2021-22 campaign.

It’s been said that the veteran player is “seriously considering retiring after the season,” but it remains to be seen. And it might start with how he feels on the ice on Saturday against the Devils. Head coach Luke Richardson revealed what his captain told him when he was given the green light.

“He’s like, ‘Well, it’s not going to be perfect. It might be ugly.'”
“I said, ‘We’re a little bit ugly right now, so you’ll fit right now.'”

The former No. 3 overall pick has spent his entire career with Chicago and issued the following statement after announcing his decision to remain with the Blackhawks on Feb. 19. His contract is coming to an end this summer and Toews will be an unrestricted free agent. He could decide to keep playing and stay in Chicago despite not being the right match for a Hawks team that is still in the early stages of a complete rebuild, but today’s huge update is the first step in that decision-making process.

He played 1,060 career NHL regular-season games and has recorded 371 goals and 509 assists for 880 points. He led the Blackhawks to three Stanley Cup Championships, won the 2010 Conn Smythe Trophy as Playoff MVP, the Frank J. Selke Trophy in 2013 and the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award in 2015. He also won two gold medals with the U.S. Olympic team. And he is coming back.

At least on Saturday.

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Matthew Tkachuk caught in unexpected situation with 6 games to go!

NHL.com

The Florida Panthers aren’t sure to make the postseason as they sit one point back of an Eastern Conference wild-card slot with six games to go. And that’s not what star forward Matthew Tkachuk expected when he was traded to Miami.

“I’ve never been in this position where we’re like the one team on the outside fighting for the last, last spot,” Tkachuk told ESPN on Wednesday. “I’ve either been out of the playoffs with x-many games left, or you’re in first place. I’ve been in the playoffs for most of my career, so I still have that itch and that drive and a hunger to make it. We have to do it. Have to. We’ve got to keep turning the page.”

It does not appear that Tkachuk has lost faith that the Panthers will be able to make it. The forward has pulled his weight putting up top-10 numbers in the league and has been doing everything he can to make sure he plays in the postseason even during the stretch in which the Panthers dropped four consecutive games before topping the Maple Leafs in overtime Wednesday.

“Oh, we’ve fought,” Tkachuk said. “We’ve fought from 10 points back to get ourselves in the mix. Just to be in the race at the end of the year, that’s all you want. That’s all you can ask for. But it’s hard to make the playoffs. I just think back to how around Christmas and early January we were not in a great spot standings-wise, and the fact that we’ve been able to fight our way back to being in the hunt here, it’s really good to be able to do that.”

Tkachuk may not like the unexpected scenario he finds himself into, but he keeps focused on the last six games on the schedule to make sure he and the Panthers don’t go out soon to play golf.

“I know that it will help our team if I’m playing and I’m going. I have to get back to my game. I haven’t maybe had my best last couple of games, but I still feel like my best hockey is yet to come. So hopefully I get a chance to show that here and help us make playoffs.”

Do you think Florida will clinch a spot in the coming weeks?

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Rick Tocchet, Elias Pettersson call out the NHL’s officiating.

Bob Frid/USA TODAY Sports

The Vancouver Canucks are out of the playoff picture and have been out of it for quite a while now but, since the mid-season addition of head coach Rick Tocchet, the team has done a relatively good job of playing out the National Hockey League’s 2022-23 regular season as though the games are still meaningful.

On Friday night, in spite of the fact that many of their fans would like to see the team lose for a better chance at winning the NHL draft lottery and selecting Connor Bedard, the Canucks lost a hard fought game to the Calgary Flames, one that many Canucks felt they should have won.

Following the game both head coach Rick Tocchet and Canucks star forward Elias Pettersson were noticeably frustrated with the officiating surrounding a penalty call that had gone against Pettersson, a penalty that led to a game-tying goal for the Flames.

“Yeah very frustrating,” admitted Pettersson after the game. “I don’t know what to say, I’m just pissed off.”

“I don’t wanna comment because I’ll probably get fined, they did their best and they made a call I didn’t agree with. They’re stubborn and they said it was right, so I just gotta accept it.”

According to Thomas Drance, both Pettersson and Tocchet cited a rule from the NHL’s own rulebook that appears to indicate the officials on the ice did in fact make an error, but unfortunately that will do little to remedy the actual impact of the call itself.

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Sutter credits 1 player for keeping the Flames’ playoff hopes alive.

The Calgary Flames are barely clinging onto their playoff lives with the team 2 points out of a playoff spot with only 6 games remaining on the regular season schedule, but they are still in the hunt.

That came in large part thanks to a huge comeback win for the Flames on Friday night when they overcame a third period deficit for the first time all season long, after previously going 0-18-3 when trailing after 2 during the regular season this year.

Following the game Darryl Sutter, the usually reserved head coach of the Calgary Flames, had a ton of praise for one of his players in particular when he was asked about the play of Tyler Toffoli. Toffoli, who had a major impact in the comeback with a pair of goals against the Vancouver Canucks on Friday night, was cited by Sutter as the only reason the team has remained competitive following the departure of 2 of the team’s top stars in Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk last summer.

“What’s he got? 33? Take those two 40s out (Gaudreau and Tkachuk) and that’s exactly why we’re still in it, those guys who are scoring big goals for us,” said Sutter when asked about Toffoli.

Toffoli has quickly endeared himself to fans in Calgary and his comments following the comeback on Friday night will no doubt only add to that. Toffoli expressed how desperately he wanted the comeback win, a sentiment that was no doubt echoed by every single Flames fan that tuned in for last night’s game.

“It’s about time we came back and won a game,” admitted Toffoli. “We needed it, obviously feels good.”