NHL Daily: Team Grades, Cam Fowler, Buffalo Sabres
By Ryan Ritchie
NHL Daily: ESPN hands out early grades for teams and players, GM Bob Murray reportedly has no interest in trading Cam Fowler, Buffalo Sabres now sitting in NHL’s basement following loss to Wild, and more! (Morning Coffee Headlines)
Grab your morning cup of coffee and join us here at Puck Prose for a compilation of NHL daily links that will help keep you updated with everything going on in the hockey world.
There were nine games on the schedule on Thursday night. Minnesota kept rolling against the struggling Sabres as Devan Dubnyk collected a shutout in a 4-0 win. The surging Canadiens knocked off the Lightning is a 3-1 win at home. Detroit beat St. Louis 2-1 in a close one-goal game that finished in a shootout. Rookie Patrik Laine helped lift the Jets to a 4-1 victory over Dallas scoring two goals.
As per usual, we highlight the top performers of the previous night:
F Phil Kessel, PIT (1 goal 2 assists)
F Brayden Schenn, PHI (1 goal 2 assists)
F Mitch Marner, TOR (3 assists)
F Jonathan Marchessault, FLA (2 goals)
F Tyler Bozak, TOR (2 goals)
F Patrik Laine, WPG (2 goals)
F Tomas Hertl, SJ (2 goals)
F Evgeni Malkin, PIT (1 goal 1 assist)
F Sidney Crosby, PIT (1 goal 1 assist)
D Travis Hamonic, NYI (1 goal 1 assist)
F Shane Prince, NYI (1 goal 1 assist)
D Ryan Suter, MIN (1 goal 1 assist)
F Brad Richardson, ARZ (1 goal 1 assist)
F Viktor Arvidsson, NSH (1 goal 1 assist)
F Brock Nelson, NYI (2 assists)
D Alec Martinez, LA (2 assists)
F Nic Dowd, LA (2 assists)
D David Schlemko, SJ (2 assists)
G Devan Dubnyk, MIN (38 save shutout)
G Connor Hellebuyck, WPG (Stopped 38 of 39 shots)
G Petr Mrazek, DET (Stopped 31 of 32 shots)
G Carey Price, MTL (Stopped 30 of 31 shots)
G Marc-Andre Fleury, PIT (Stopped 35 of 37 shots)
G Jake Allen, STL (Stopped 26 of 27 shots in SO loss)
G Martin Jones, SJ (Stopped 24 of 25 shots)
NHL Daily: Morning Coffee Headlines
Early Grades
Scott Burnside over at ESPN hands out early grades for teams/players in different categories. It should probably come as no surprise that Connor McDavid receives an A+ in the Stargazing 101 category. [ESPN]
Sabres in NHL’s Basement
All NHL
Following a disappointing 4-0 loss on Thursday night, the Buffalo Sabres now sit in the NHL‘s basement after a slow start. Here’s a team just itching to get Jack Eichel and Evander Kane back. [Sabre Noise]
Murray Not Interested in Moving Fowler
GM Bob Murray told ESPN’s Pierre Lebrun that he’s going to do his best to give the current lineup one more chance to win. This comes after the Hampus Lindholm signing, which some have speculated might force the Ducks hand in moving a significant contract. More in our daily rant. [The Score]
Disturbing Trends for Bruins
While all of the headlines are surrounding Boston Bruins goaltending with a rash of injuries, the struggles go much deeper. Joseph Ochs over at Causeway Crowd discusses some of those struggles, including immense trouble on the man advantage. [Causeway Crowd]
Why is Goal Scoring Up?
USA Today’s Kevin Allen was seeking answers for why goal scoring is up in the NHL this year. Among the numerous answers he received talking with executives, Stars GM Jim Nill noted that it’s simply the way the league is trending. [USA Today]
Blues Failing to Convert
After falling 2-1 to Detroit on Thursday night, Bleedin’ Blue’s Todd Panula aired his frustration with the team’s inability to finish, generate scoring quality chances, or hit the net in general. Only 32 of 60 shots actually hit the goal against the Red Wings. [Bleedin’ Blue]
NHL Daily Morning Rant
Keep posted in the near future as I elaborate further on this topic. I would like to take a moment to share a thought regarding the Anaheim Ducks current situation.
GM Bob Murray says he doesn’t plan to move Cam Fowler and that he wants another chance to win with this group. Even with the LTIR cap relief (which really only covers 80-90 percent of Despres’ contract), Anaheim still needs to shed at least a couple million dollars (estimated).
The comments tell me two things as I attempt to read between the lines.
First, he must believe or have plans to trade (1) of Jonathan Bernier, Nate Thompson, or Kevin Bieksa. Although, who wants any of those contracts?
To be honest, I think we’ve uncovered the real issue after his comments about wanting one more chance with the current group. Something tells me that Bob Murray is feeling a little more pressure from ownership than folks realize. In fact, he may very well be on the hot seat in 2016-17, needing to deliver a top performance to save his job.
If that’s the case, it would explain his insistence on keeping this group together opposed to making a move that will benefit this team for years to come.
Next: Week 3 NHL Power Rankings
He might be able to get cute with the salary cap and find a way to squeeze in Lindholm’s new $5.25 million dollar cap hit. But he’s still better suited to sell high on Cam Fowler well he can. If this team falls short of expectations once again, Murray will be forced to scramble to trade a defenseman or two just to avoid losing someone like Josh Manson or Fowler in the expansion draft.
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