Player and rookie of the month for January revealed, updated injury list and more in your NHL morning coffee headlines.
Notable NHL Headlines.
Capitals forward Evgeny Kuznetsov named NHL star of the month for January 2016.
THE WASHINGTON POST: Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov was named NHL star of the month for January 2016, netting 16 points in 10 games.
THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC: Coyotes goaltender Louis Domingue was named NHL rookie of the month for January 2016. “Domingue went 6-3-2 in 11 appearances, posting a 2.20 goals-against average and .925 save percentage with one shutout.”
EDMONTON SUN: After being sidelined since early-November with a broken clavicle, rookie center Connor McDavid returns to the Oilers lineup tonight against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
KUKLA’S KORNER: “The 2016 NHL All-Star Game on NBCSN was the most-watched and highest-rated All-Star Game in the network’s history, averaging 1.595 million viewers and a 0.90 household rating, according to Fast National data from The Nielsen Company.”
SPECTOR’S NOTE: As the press release notes, the ratings were buoyed in part by the new three-on-three format and John Scott’s presence in the game.
THE VANCOUVER SUN: The Canucks re-signed defenseman Alex Biega to a two-year, one-way contract extension worth $700K in 2016-17 and $800K in 2017-18.
TSN.CA: “The Devcore Candarel DLS group, one of two groups to submit a multi-billion dollar bid for the redevelopment of Ottawa’s LeBreton flats, appears to have interest in buying the Senators.”
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Current Senators owner Eugene Melnyk last week proclaimed he wasn’t interested in selling the Senators “at any price.” We’ll see if he means it, because “everybody’s got a price.”
NHL Injury Update.
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS: Rangers winger Rick Nash (bone bruise) will miss tonight’s game against the New Jersey Devils.
DETROIT FREE PRESS: Niklas Kronwall (knee) will be sidelined until mid-February.
NBC SPORTS: The New Jersey Devils placed winger Mike Cammalleri (hand injury) on injured reserve, Colorado Avalanche defenseman Brad Stuart (back surgery) is sidelined long term.
CSN MID-ATLANTIC: Washington Capitals forward Marcus Johansson (upper-body injury) will miss tonight’s game against the Florida Panthers.
ESPN.COM: The Boston Bruins placed goaltender Jonas Gustavsson on injured reserve as they await his final test results. Gustavsson was briefly hospitalized last week due to illness.
TORONTO SUN: Maple Leafs winger Michael Grabner underwent six root canals to repair the damage from taking a puck in the mouth during last week’s game against Florida.
The interesting thing about Devcore, is that they seem open to letting Melnyk put his money where his mouth is and letting him possibly buy the venue if they win the bid….seems like they are maneuvering to stick him in a corner with LeBreton flats.
On the other hand, Melnyk owns the existing arena in Kanata and if he refuses to sell the team to the other bidder they’d wind up with a downtown rink and no team. I would think, therefore, that their chances of winning the bid in the first place have to be predicated upon them HAVING a team with which to fill the place. I doubt very much the NCC is interested in seeing a world-class venue without an NHL franchise so, from this distant vantage point (like everyone else’s in here) Melnyk has the inside track if the rest of the proposal is even close to that of the other bidder.
True enough its his team and he has an aging arena that he owns, that for the past few years he has used as an excuse for his losses…not saying 1 has a leg up on the other just that this is going to be very interesting to watch as it unfolds…like most things Melnyk is involved in I sure this will be a great story as it develops.
Aging arena? It’s 20 years old, opening in 1996 so by your reckoning I guess Le Centre Bell in Montreal is also aging as it opened the same year. The ACC in Toronto, on the other hand is, I suppose, still in its prime, having been opened in 1999!
Well like most of us after 20 we are not getting any younger my friend. 20 years old for a sports venue is the point of midlife crisis it seems anymore judging by recent events in all north american sports
As someone living in the west end, I have little interest in busing it downtown to watch games and likely won’t go if they move to LeBreton. Here is hoping that the status quo will prevail!
As for Melnyk, he will do what he feels gives him the best value. I suspect that he has a proposal ready in his back pocket to develop around the rink in Kanata which may look more interesting as there has been significant building up around there in the last 5 years. With the Outlets now open and the new Cabella’s going in across the street as well next year, it is becoming a huge destination area that he could capitalize on with his hotel/casino plan from a few years ago. He already has the parking there, the ramps, the major highway and the team as a draw and I would suggest that would be way more valuable than sharing something downtown.
Interesting point on the location, I know myself and many others from eastern ontario that similarly dont mind the current location its am easy drive little traffic issue to get to a Sens game from Kingston Brockville Cornwall area that I think having the team downtown may effect aswell right now I can make it in about an hour and a half even with traffic and a ticket may cost 40 bucks (if that I had great seats for the Islanders game that cost me 25 bucks which was less than a ticket to most OHL games thanks kijiji!). putiing a team in a new arena
downtown is going to cost more money for a ticket and a headache of
a commute which could effect how often Id go. Last minute I think Ill go to a Sens game would be fewer and far between.
The area will be the hub of light rail when it’s completed meaning there will all sorts of “park and ride” on the city perimeters to park your car and jump on a train to the rink. Sort of like it used to be going to the Big Owe in Montreal when the Expos were there. Both the Centre Bell and ACC are also right downtown and it doesn’t seem to hamper fans in Montreal and TO from getting to the games. Besides, most of those coming in from Kingston etc. are Leafs fans so who cares if that becomes an inconvenience for them (LOL)
George no offense but Toronto metro pop is 6 million montreals is 4 million people little different than Ottawa. The sens Market has to be regional compared to that….its not the commute that stops me from going to Leaf games its the ticket price when taking my family Im looking multiple hundreds of dollars to watch a game parkingking food etc where I can take my wife and son to ottawa go to the game get a meal drinks snacks at a game and gas there and back and it dosent cost me 2 or 3 days pay…lol
I just cant bring myself to do it with 5he rebuild…ive been a sucker for 5his team all my life and gladly gave them my money, now this year they say “ya know what?..we admit we are going to be bad” and still have the highest priced tickets in the league…I gotta draw a line somewhere so Sens tickets when they are playing other teams I wanna watch it is, maybe if the Habs make the playoffs I might go catch a game or 2 there.
A few winters back me and the family went and caught a couple jays spring training games and vacationed in Florida for just over a week and it was less money than I spent on 4 trips to the smoke to see the Leafs play that year.
Why would I take offense at the fact TO has a pop of 6 mil (GTA)?? It’s also a fact they have a much larger concentration of people from countries who have little or no interest in hockey, so when you boil it down to that portion that DOES have an interest in the game it’s not as pronounced.
lol been a while since youve been to a Leaf game if you think its just white Canadians going or care about the Leafs
Your right the downtown is projected to be a hub of light rail, but when is light rail going to get all the way to Kanata? 2025? 2030? 2040? And that is just the east/west corridor – what about those in the southern reaches of the city? Until then you’ll have to take at least one bus to get to Tunney’s Pasture and then jump onto light rail. Not as appealing as getting on one bus and shooting down there like the current park and rides allow (terry fox or Eagleson in my case). I can’t imagine how those coming from outside the city would enjoy that either. Then there is the fact that are the park and rides all that great? Coming back at night means it is dark out and it is now a larger priority for the cops instead of the current lots at the rink where everything is condensed to the area for the most part (and I believe the team pays for off duty cops as well) – cheaper for taxpayers. Plus I don’t know about you, but if the rink seats 18500 (throwing it out there, I don’t know what they are looking to build seat wise) and 90% or so are coming by bus, wouldn’t that clog up the park and rides? Try getting parking at Eagleson any time after 7 or 7:30am during the week. So that means headaches with the park and ride and/or the city needs to build new facilities (not great for my taxbill). For me, it’s more than I prefer to drive myself and not be confined to a schedule (or worry about the bus passing me by full which does happen more than you think).
As for Montreal and Toronto, there is a huge difference there. First of all, there is no light rail – it’s heavy rail run through the GO system. That makes a huge difference as far as load capabilities, frequency, etc. We could have had heavy rail in this city through the existing CN Beachburg Sub to Walkley Yard, but obviously the Mayor felt light rail (basically fancy streetcars) is best. In fact, we could have run a spur line from the existing heavy rail line to the current rink. As for the GO system, the other key thing here is that the province has a huge role in this. The province paid for the infrastructure which is great for city taxpayers and has become the core of a solid transit system in Toronto. We just don’t have that here and I doubt the light rail as proposed will address it in a similar fashion.
Does being downtown hamper fans in Montreal and Toronto? I believe it does. I lived several years in Barrie and I never knew anyone with season tickets or who went regularly. Usually it was a Saturday night game and they’d make an afternoon of it. Unfortunately for teams, they play beyond Friday or Saturdays. I also believe you have such a large fan base in each city that it is less relevant that fans would be turned off from the location of the rink as there would be other fans closer or willing to trudge down there. I just don’t see the same in Ottawa.
Your right the downtown is projected to be a hub of light rail, but when is light rail going to get all the way to Kanata? 2025? 2030? 2040? And that is just the east/west corridor – what about those in the southern reaches of the city? Until then you’ll have to take at least one bus to get to Tunney’s Pasture and then jump onto light rail. Not as appealing as getting on one bus and shooting down there like the current park and rides allow (terry fox or Eagleson in my case). I can’t imagine how those coming from outside the city would enjoy that either. Then there is the fact that are the park and rides all that great? Coming back at night means it is dark out and it is now a larger priority for the cops instead of the current lots at the rink where everything is condensed to the area for the most part (and I believe the team pays for off duty cops as well) – cheaper for taxpayers. Plus I don’t know about you, but if the rink seats 18500 (throwing it out there, I don’t know what they are looking to build seat wise) and 90% or so are coming by bus, wouldn’t that clog up the park and rides? Try getting parking at Eagleson any time after 7 or 7:30am during the week. So that means headaches with the park and ride and/or the city needs to build new facilities (not great for my taxbill). For me, it’s more than I prefer to drive myself and not be confined to a schedule (or worry about the bus passing me by full which does happen more than you think).
Montreal and Toronto is different. First of all, there is no light rail – it’s heavy rail run through the GO system. That makes a huge difference as far as load capabilities, frequency, etc. We could have had heavy rail in this city through the existing CN Beachburg Sub to Walkley Yard, but obviously the Mayor felt light rail (basically fancy streetcars) is best. We could have run a spur line from the existing heavy rail line to the current rink. As for the GO system, the other key thing is the province. The province paid for the infrastructure (great for city taxpayers) and has become the core of the transit system in Toronto that took decades to set up. We just don’t have that here and I doubt the proposed light rail addresses it in a similar fashion.
Does being downtown hamper fans in Montreal and Toronto? I think so. I lived several years in Barrie and never knew anyone with season tickets. Usually people went to a Saturday night game and they’d make an afternoon of it. Unfortunately they play beyond Friday or Saturdays. I also believe you have such a large fan base in each city that it is less relevant that fans would be turned off from the location of the rink. I just don’t see the same in Ottawa.
Montreal and Toronto is different. First of all, there is no light rail – it’s heavy rail run through the GO system. That makes a huge difference as far as load capabilities, frequency, etc. We could have had heavy rail in this city through the existing CN Beachburg Sub to Walkley Yard, but obviously the Mayor felt light rail (basically fancy streetcars) is best. We could have run a spur line from the existing heavy rail line to the current rink. As for the GO system, the other key thing is the province. The province paid for the infrastructure (great for city taxpayers) and has become the core of the transit system in Toronto that took decades to set up. We just don’t have that here and I doubt the proposed light rail addresses it in a similar fashion.
Does being downtown hamper fans in Montreal and Toronto? I think so. I lived several years in Barrie and never knew anyone with season tickets. Usually people went to a Saturday night game and they’d make an afternoon of it. Unfortunately they play beyond Friday or Saturdays. I also believe you have such a large fan base in each city that it is less relevant that fans would be turned off from the location of the rink. I just don’t see the same in Ottawa.