NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – May 4, 2021

by | May 4, 2021 | News, NHL | 54 comments

The Oilers and Bruins clinch playoff berths, Connor McDavid gets closer to 100 points, the players of the week are announced, and more in today’s NHL morning coffee headlines.

NHL.COM: Connor McDavid scored twice and set up two others as the Edmonton Oilers (64 points) clinched a playoff spot in the Scotia Central Division by defeating the Vancouver Canucks 5-3. McDavid has 31 goals and a league-leading 91 points on the season. The Oilers are eight points behind the division-leading Toronto Maple Leafs. They’re the only two Canadian clubs to secure postseason berths thus far. Canucks forwards Brandon Sutter and Marc Michaelis missed the game with upper-body injuries.

Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid (NHL Images).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: McDavid has six games remaining to reach 100 points for the season.

Montreal Canadiens rookie Cole Caufield tallied his second straight overtime goal in a 3-2 win over the Maple Leafs. Nick Suzuki and Jeff Petry each collected three assists as the Canadiens (57 points) moved into a tie with the third-place Winnipeg Jets. Leafs center Auston Matthews netted his league-leading 39th goal of the season while teammate Nick Foligno left the game in the second period with an upper-body injury.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Canadiens are getting closer to clinching a playoff spot. They’ve opened a 10-point lead over the fifth-place Calgary Flames.

The Jets, meanwhile, suffered their seventh straight defeat by dropping a 2-1 decision to the Ottawa Senators. Nikita Zaitsev tallied the game-winner for the Sens late in the third period. The Jets still hold third place with three more wins than the Canadiens. Ottawa defenseman Thomas Chabot left the game with an upper-body injury.

A 20-save shutout by Tukka Rask carried the Boston Bruins to a 3-0 shutout of the New Jersey Devils to clinch a playoff spot in the MassMutual East Division. Patrice Bergeron had a goal and an assist as the Bruins moved into third place with 68 points.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Bruins join the Washington Capitals, Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Islanders in clinching the four playoff berths in the East.

The Capitals (71 points) regained first place in the division by dropping the New York Rangers 6-3 to end the latter’s playoffs hopes. A nagging lower-body injury forced Washington captain Alex Ovechkin from the game within the first minute. The Capitals are tied with the Pittsburgh Penguins but hold a game in hand.

Capitals winger Tom Wilson could once again face supplemental discipline for punching Rangers winger Pavel Buchnevich in the back of the head while Buchnevich was face down on the ice. When Blueshirts winger Artemi Panarin jumped on Wilson’s back to restrain him, the Capitals forward pulled Panarin to the ice by the hair, punched him and slammed him to the ice again. Wilson received a double minor and 10-minute misconduct while Panarin suffered a lower-body injury that could sideline him from his club’s remaining three games.

Speaking of the Penguins, they were upset 7-2 by the Philadelphia Flyers. Claude Giroux, Jakub Voracek and Joel Farabee each collected three points for the Flyers. Pittsburgh center Evgeni Malkin collected an assist in his first game since suffering a lower-body injury on March 18. Earlier in the day, the Penguins announced defenseman Mike Matheson is week-to-week with a suspected facial injury.

The Buffalo Sabres upset the New York Islanders 4-2. Michael Houser made 34 saves for the win in his NHL debut while teammate Sam Reinhart scored two goals. Islanders goalie Semyon Varlamov’s shutout streak ended at 248 minutes as his club slipped to fourth place with 67 points.

A hat trick by Sebastian Aho carried the Carolina Hurricanes over the Chicago Blackhawks 5-2, eliminating the latter from playoff contention in the Discover Central Division. The Hurricanes extended their points streak to 11 games and sit atop the division with a league-leading 77 points.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Hurricanes have a good shot at winning the Presidents’ Trophy for the first time in franchise history.

Aleksander Barkov’s overtime goal gave the Florida Panthers a 5-4 victory over the Dallas Stars. The Stars overcame a 4-2 deficit to force the extra frame with Tyler Segun tallying the game-tying goal in his season debut following offseason hip surgery. The Panthers sit two points behind the Hurricanes with 75 points. The Stars playoff hopes took a hit as they sit four points behind the fourth-place Nashville Predators.

As for the Predators (60 points), Roman Josi’s overtime goal lifted them past the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3. The Jackets forced the extra frame on a third-period hat trick by Emil Bernstrom.

Two goals within 26 seconds by Kirill Kaprizov and Jonas Brodin late in the third period powered the Minnesota Wild over the Vegas Golden Knights by a score of 6-5. Nick Bonino scored twice and set up another for the Wild (70 points), who remain two points behind the Avalanche in the Honda West Division.

An overtime goal by Andre Burakovsky gave the Colorado Avalanche a 3-2 win over the San Jose Sharks, eliminating the latter from playoff contention. Burakovsky, Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen each had two points while Evander Kane scored twice for the Sharks. The Avalanche (72 points) are two behind the Golden Knights. Avs goalie Devan Dubnyk missed the game after testing positive for COVID-19 and is expected to miss the next two weeks.

Third-period goals by Robert Bortuzzo and Ryan O’Reilly gave the St. Louis Blues a 3-1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks. St. Louis winger David Perron collected an assist for his 600th career point. The Blues (55 points) opened a five-point lead over the Arizona Coyotes for fourth place in the division.

The Coyotes’ playoff hopes grew dimmer as the Los Angeles Kings beat them 3-2. Kings captain Anze Kopitar had a goal and an assist to reach 999 career points. Teammate Jonathan Quick left the game after allowing two goals on 19 shots through two periods with an undisclosed injury.

Detroit Red Wings goaltender Thomas Greiss, Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid and New York Islanders goalie Semyon Varlamov are the NHL’s three stars for the week ending May 2.







54 Comments

  1. One thing we’re learning about that little Caufield kid – you don’t want to go to 3-on-3 OT and give him all that space.

    The injury to Chabot didn’t look good – shoulder? – it was a bone-crunching hit by that big ‘Peg D-man just 2 minutes into the game. The rest of the D stepped up nicely, especially Zaitsez and Zub. If Chabot’s out I guess we’ll see some more of Bernard-Docker the rest of the way.

    If the Jets don’t pull out of this tail-spin it looks like they’ll open against the Leafs. A Habs-Oilers series should be entertaining.

    • Yeah, the Habs play McDavid as well as anyone can play him and I like our chances against the Oil — if that is the match up.

      Tough break for the Sens if Chabot is out for any time but the silver lining is that it isn’t in the midst of a playoff battle; no pressure for him to come back too early.

      Give Dorian a call again George: let the guy rest until Thursday 😉

      • LOL. Is that after the Habs game? I don’t think they’ll rush him back. Why take any chances? Besides, they needed to find an opening to get Bernard-Docker some more games. I’m surprise they haven’t tried to squeeze a couple in for Thompson as well.

      • Oops. I see now Chabot is done for the season. Didn’t mean to make fun of his injury.

      • It looked like it wasn’t just the usual bump-and-bruise thing with the way he was holding it and grimacing. Ahh well, as you say, at least it didn’t happen in the heat of a playoff race and if, as a result, they drop a notch or two in the standings It’s that close) no bad thing if it increases their lottery odds a bit.

  2. Without the usual back and forth about Wilson and how every team would love to have him. The guy has issues. He took a bad penalty in 2nd period. It was an obvious call as for no reason he grabbed Fox around the neck. Of course Wilson didn’t like call. Go figure. His enabling coach screams at refs and Wilson stews in box as Rangers score on PP… And that’s how it started. As mentioned many times after the melee later on. The guy has no respect for the game or other players safety. Punching a helpless Buchnevich in back of head. Ragdolling Panarin. Punching him when he had him on his back and clearly saw who it was. Does anyone think Probert, Domi, or any other tough guy wouldn’t done that? Colton Orr texted Rangers studio analyst SteveValiqiette after game and pretty much called out Wilson as a coward who avoided him whenever they played.

    • Slick62 i just watched the replay of the incident. Wilson has 0 respect and hopefully he will be suspended for his actions.

      I don’t know if he can be suspended for rag dolling Panarin and body slamming him, Panarin with no helmet on, was extremely dangerous and could’ve easily ended his career with that body slam.

      I do think he can be suspended for the driving Buchnevich head into the ice and then for good measure punching him while defenseless in the back of the head.

      He should absolutely be suspended and miss some playoff games not just a meaningless end of the season games.

      • It’s rare that I agree with Larry Brooks and this morning he is his usual melodramatic self but I agree with him. Tom Wilson must be suspended for the rest of the season and the post-season. It’s time to send him a clear message.
        Living through the old Habs-Nords rivalry, it’s hard not to think of Dale Hunter, another punk who specialized in cheap shots. Of course, all of the old school guys kept enabling him, talking about how hard he played. I remember one Habs-Nords game in particular. The seconds were ticking down. The Habs had a big lead. Chris Chelios was skating the puck for the final few seconds. Hunter started slashing and spearing him. Then, as the buzzer sounded, he wound up and took a baseball style swing at Chelios’ ankle which could have caused serious injury had he connected. Hunter was allowed to get away with all that crap. And then the playoff incident with Pierre Turgeon that was an embarrassment to the NHL. It’s time to clamp down on Wilson before it gets worse.
        But enough of what brings the game down. Focus on what makes it exciting. How about Cole Caufield? And that McDavid guy looks pretty good too.

    • Unfortunately what we saw last night is the reason the Rangers never win. Wilson is crazy and Buchnevich and Panarin could have both been seriously hurt but the Rangers never have anyone to protect their stars or fight back. Brendan Lemieux was the only guy they had and he was traded so they could bring in another 20 year old scorer. Do you think Wilson could do to Crosby, Pasternak, Barzal or Giroux what he did to Panarin with retribution? The next shift Backstrom or Oshie would have been put through the boards. Its been a Ranger problem forever. Meanwhile the league needs to look in the mirror because Wilson only received a 5000 fine.

      • Pasternak got into it with Wilson.
        Turned into a dog pile, like you would expect.

  3. ECHL 28yr old Michael Houser won his first start as an NHL goalie with Buffalo 4-2 over the NY. Houser stopped 34-36 shots in the win.

    It’s a nice story being a 28yr old and finally getting an NHL start then getting a win in which was an important game for the NYI.

    NHL.com had a nice read up on it, then i went to TSN.ca to red their story but they didn’t have one or I couldn’t find it. Which was disappointing to me.

    Anyways congrats to Michael Houser on his first nhl start and win.

  4. Cole Caufield is impressive, finding the spots, changing his angles, doing the things a real scorer does. If he remains consistent a lot of teams will regret passing on him in the draft.

    I’v had my rant on TSN plugging 5G like snake oil salesmen, I watch on RDS now as a result. RDS is the French sister station to TSN.

    What does Jake Allen have to do to become one of the three stars of the game? He stops a Nylander breakaway, a Marner breakaway. a Matthews/Marner breakaway and barely gets a mention.

    Tom Wilson has to be banned from the NHL.

    • Hasn’t he only scored goals at 3v3 ? Goal scorers rarely have trouble finding open space and finding soft spots in 3v3 OT , Is that the consistency and basis of praise ? . I haven’t watched him like I’m sure you have but is he doing anything 5v5 ? A little over 12 minutes a game and heavy o zone starts , which is to be expected, good young player , no doubt .

      • Craig,
        I didn’t mention Caufield’s goals, I mentioned what he does on the ice and its with regularity in the small sample size.

        Most rookies have to grow into the game while he finds the open spaces and has the angles from the get go.

        Full disclosure I was one of those who didn’t want to see him play with the Habs till next season.

      • Caufield has hit 3 posts 5 on 5 creates offence and has one of the best shots in the league already! Jake Allen needs to stop letting weak goals in at the start of games, price will be rested for the playoffs

      • I can’t figure out why there are so many snarky comments about Caufield? From what I’ve read in here no one is touting him for even the Rocket Richard one day, let alone the HofF.

        I recall my only observation on his future when drafted was his size … but from what I’ve seen so far (and in a couple of AHL games on RDS) that doesn’t seem to be hindering him in any way. Hell, if he can be another St. Louis the Habs have themselves a real good one.

    • hf30,

      TSN is being paid well for those in game commercials. That money is used to keep NHL hockey on TSN.

  5. What Wilson did last night to Panarin should be at least 10 games and a final chance.

    He ripped Panarin by the back of the hair and tried to intentionally smash the back of his head on the ice. This is beyond attempt to injure, this is an attempt to end the career of one of the best players in the nhl.

    Ny needs to add toughness beyond Lindren to this lineup. I’m not one that believes that will stop guys like Wilson from taking his liberties against their star players, but I do believe they need to be able to defend and retaliate if necessary against guys like Wilson.

    Enough is enough.

    • As I stated above, original penalty set something off in him. There was zero reason for him to even get involved with Buchnevich. Buch was in front of net going for rebound and dman flattened him. Whistle blows and plays over. Buchnevich is pinned face down and for no reason except a need to take his anger out, he attacks a prone player. He’s a joke. And if league doesn’t send a clear message, they’re a joke and so called “dept of player safety” is as well

  6. Something snaps in Wilson like a prodded bull…

    the NHL literally ran almost every similar player out of the league over the last decade who did not change their tune. If Tom Wilson is that important to his team’s success we will see every team roster a goon again

  7. Tom Wilson will NEVER change how he plays the game, he is wired for mayhem and total disregard. And it doesn’t help that his head coach puts his head in the sand every time he commits a violent act.

    Tom Wilson is exactly why Brian Burke tried to get Nicolas DesLauriers from Anaheim … the sad part is he failed to acquire him. Pens up 3-0 with seconds left in the game the other night and who does Laviolette put on the ice? You guessed it …

    When the player safety portion of the league is run by an ex-goon does anyone really think anything will happen long term to Tom Wilson? At least in the past every team had at least one enforcer so these incidents could be policed by other tough guys. Nowadays a lot of teams, especially Pittsburgh don’t see the need to carry an enforcer, although they gave Ryan Reaves away for nothing, so when a guy like Wilson strikes they rely on “team toughness” … that doesn’t cut it.

    Washington is loaded with cheap shot artists, from Wilson, to Dillon to Hathaway to Oshie and now Raffl. And a coach who promotes dirty play. While the league turns a blind eye. One thing for certain, won’t factor this year but next year I guarantee the Penguins will have at least two or maybe even three guys who can throw ’em in the lineup. Brian Burke won’t tolerate any team of his being on the short-end of physical play. Truculence.

    • Dalton Prout looks to be a UFA at present, Could he be one of the two or three on Burke’s checklist? He’s ruined Wilson in the past.

  8. McD… McWow… on 82 game pace for 149 points and + 43….. this is not mid 80’s with goalies much smaller and waaaaay smaller equipment…. u-n-b-e-l-i-e-v-a-b-l-e

    Wilson …. goon …. plain and simple…. he can always be relied upon to be a goon….. plain and simple….should be suspended for a few games; I’d suspend him for the rest of season AND playoffs…. he never learns ……. but the big question is what the UNRELIABLE and grossly INCONSISTENT knucklehead George will actually do…. why the league has a retired enforcer as head of DOPS is strange to say the least

    Leafs got bested… and Caulfield certainly hustles and has a great shot… ‘nough said

    Jets…. ouch…. the slide is continuing

    Knights…. especially Lehner…. what a collapse… Lehner just seemed completely out of sorts flopping all over the place

    Pens….. let’s just call it ….. discombobulated… the line jumbling certainly effed up chemistry; and Pens lacked motivation against a full action full tilt Flyers squad

    East….. still no way to tell match-ups …. and only Div with playoffs bound teams set… tight Div

    Looking more and more that Predz will hold off Stars

    • Pengy, to be fair, the Jets have played well enough in their past 2 games to have ended the slide and neither of those two losses can be attributed to lack of effort. Last night they were stonewalled by a rookie goalie and a seeing-eye shot from Zaitzev.

      Add to that the fact that, for the past month and a bit, the Senators can no longer be viewed as an “easy” 2 points. They can beat anyone if the opposition takes them lightly.

      Almost all of the sad-sack teams of the early season have made adjustments that have made them much better and a whole lot tougher to defeat.

  9. I wouldn’t call Oshie and Raffl cheap shot artist.
    Wilson needs to get his lights punched out. A couple of times.
    Guys like Reaves would be an answer. Frederick from the Bruins has taken him on and Quite well I might add

    Panarin did come at him at Buchnevich defence. Not sure he will get playoff suspension. Chara has rag dolled a few in his career

  10. Wilson just blew his teams chances at another cup with his bullying he rag dolled a bunch of rangers they have no one on the team capable of laying a beating on that thug,. Wilson gone for the season and most of the playoffs just watch. Panarin is the best Ranger and he can’t fight. Great performance by b’s & with the slide of the Isles obeys injury and Wilson’s upcoming suspension first place isn’t out of the question.

      • That is absolutely sickening. The Department of Player Safety is like the goalie interference rule. A sick joke in which no one can figure out what they’re doing.
        Someone tweeted that he can’t understand why Wilson does these things. Kypreos responded that it’s because no one on the ice tells him he can’t. So since the league obviously doesn’t care, very soon we will be seeing teams bring in 6’5” 240 lbs. goons who can barely skate. The type of player the NHL has been working to get rid of.
        Great job as usual DPS. See you next time

      • Well, to understand why just look at the retired goon who heads the Department. Talk about putting the inmates in charge of the prison!

      • I am surprised you folks are surprised that it was just a fine?
        First Strome, then Panarin, jumped on Wilson to defend Buch, so those were not considered as Wilson was deemed to be defending himself. Which is actually consistent with how the DOPS views these things. OK, but what choice did they have?

        Not saying I agree, just saying it is being consistent.

        So just the initial infraction was considered.

        Wilson knew it was Panarin, he knew what he was doing with Buch. He did it anyway. He doesn’t give a crap if he injures another player when that player is exposed and an easy target. Never has.

        Wendel and I discussed that teams should bring the tough guys back, and there needs to be an actual deterrent as the league wasn’t doing anything. My example was how Wilson played when Reaves was on the other side. Different animal. I even suggested an extra roster spot.

        I got some negative feedback. Sounds like Ranger fans may agree this AM.

      • Ray Bark. I don’t believe team should remake lineup for one nutcase but yeah, keeping a guy on roster that can actually fight isn’t a bad idea. So long as he can skate. Rangers have kid in AHL they’re trying to convert from D yo hopefully play some 4th line role. Geertson hoping they bring him up for tomorrow

      • Now that ruthless pugilists have become largely extinct from the NHL, I was wondering where the Wilson deterrents would come from if teams are forced into fending for themselves. Then, Dalton Prout came to mind, as he is the only one I remembered having a clear advantage in a fight with Wilson. I found that he is currently an unrestricted free agent who hasn’t played in the NHL this season and who is eligible for the expansion draft.

        That gave rise to a couple of questions that I hope somebody familiar with the rules of free agency will address: (1) If he has been a UFA since last season, could he be signed by a team this season after playoff rosters expand?; (2) If he were signed and then became a UFA again after the playoffs and was then selected by the Kraken, would the last team he played for get credit for his being its relinquished draft selection?

      • I truly don’t understand how anyone thinks that a fighter could possibly do anything to stop Wilson. Even if he is on the ice at same time Wilson has to fight back. Wilson is a puss. So he won’t. If dude jumps Wilson he draws a penalty then goes after another star.

        There is no code anymore when it comes to him. Otherwise his teammates and coach would be calling him out.

      • You make a valid point Chrisms.
        And there is no “good” solution.
        What I am suggesting is chosen tough guy goes after him and start throwing whether he turtles or not. He goes after defenceless guys all the time. Next shift, do it again.
        All good IMO, he has earned it.

        Bottom line the league has proven it won’t do it, team have to take care of it themselves. Unless you want star players like Panarin giving it a go, I can’t think of another solution.

        Or just keep complaining about it.

      • When, as Chrisms says, there is no (enforced) code, perhaps the way to stop Wilson isn’t for teams to find somebody to fight him, but to find somebody like him. That could result in the savagery that might move the league to action, but on the other hand, a standoff might ensue if one coach could say to another, “If your grunt does that to my guys, my grunt will do the same to your guys.”

      • The underlying problem with that theory is that the vast majority of grunts can’t do anything else so you wind up wasting a roster spot. Wilson, unfortunately, has some offensive talent to go along with his goonery and that’s why the Caps tolerate his idiocy.

      • Your solution Francis makes sense but isn’t realistic. Right now there are a select few like Wilson with him being the duschyest dusch of dusch harbor. If each team had one the stars wouldn’t just hope to not get jumped… they’d know it. They would step up and raise a fuss. Teams arnt going to want the negative publicity so they avoid doing this.

        Unfortunately part of the problem is Wilson is a rare breed like Cooke and stevens etc who can do this crap but also help teams win.

      • This problem will continue until the actual players demand better. It is the players who must demand their union do better in making sure players safety is of utmost importance. It is the collective bargaining agreements soft stance on discipline that holds back the department of safety from being able to deal with players discipline better.

        Until the players themselves want this culture to change, it won’t happen for a long time. They are the ones who need to stand up and stop this brutal behavior and make sure there can be better accountability.

  11. Lyle, I think the tie breaker rule is wins in regulation which Jets only have one more over the Habs. At least that’s what I heard on TSN

  12. Washington Capitals’ Tom Wilson fined $5K; no further discipline from NHL

    Typical response from the Garage League … Mario was right all along …

    Not that I am advocating further violence but I sincerely hope that John Davidson and Jeff Gorton respond to this by inserting a couple of “physical” taxi leaguers for the rematch Wednesday night … if Parros refuses to do anything about the scum of the earth then let the players handle it.

    • There isn’t a single player on the Rangers roster that scares Wilson….not even close.

      More likely, a few of the Rangers more physical players do target the Capitals with some big hits, roughing after the whistle etc…NY has nothing to lose.

      • I meant to write the Capitals skilled players, not just the Capitals.

      • Rangers probably still without Trouba and Kreider wednesday vs Caps . Not like CK going to be the type to go after Wilson. Smith could try but he can hang there same as Lindgren if healthy.

    • Ed

      Sad to say that this is likely what will happen.

      While I don’t condone violence…if the league can’t police Wilson and teach him a lesson somebody on the ice will eventually deliver a cheap shot on him to teach him one.

  13. Wow 5 grand fine?!?! I think unless they lay a major suspension and fine on Wilson, I’m not talking about 10 games either, this guy is really going to hurt someone and I don’t mean concussion or separated shoulders. Ryan reeves is one of the few people other than Adam Mcquaid that can lay a supreme whopping on this clown. How long is the NHL going to put up with this nonsense. I like fighting in the nhl and a good legal check is part of the game Wilson head hunts he aims to maim.

    • He should be done for the rest of the season, including the playoffs. I’m a big fan of physical play, and fighting when the time and matchup are right but Wilson is an absolute embarrassment.

      • $5000 fine for Wilson for punching Buchnevich. NOTHING ( ! ) about Panarin. OFFICE OF PLAYER SAFETY!!! What a disgrace!

  14. I know 6 games is still a small sample size! But WOW, Gustavsson 3-1-2, 1.86 GAA, .944 SV% … is there really any doubt about who the Sens should protect? I mean, you have to take the gamble that this is the real Gustavsson at this point?

    Also, Sens 7-2-1 in the last 10! Sadly playing themselves right out of a good draft pick, but also really showcasing the talent the team has and what their future could look like! Dzingle really settling into a checking role, makes me wonder if he could be back in Ottawa next year.

    Also, Zub! Sign me up for a 3-5 year extension on him! Really love his play and he is definetly proving to be a steal for Ottawa! Certainly proving to be a solid top 4 d on the right side! Which we need!

    Defense in Ottawa feels like it will probably be
    Chabot – Zaitzev
    Brannstrom – Zub
    Mete – Brown/Docker

    Murray/Gustavsson in net

    Sorry for the long post, just exciting to see my club playing such good hockey and our future stars carrying the way … plus Connor Brown, guy has really stepped up! Glad we have him locked in for another 2 seasons.

    • JJB, this year’s draft will be even more of a crap-shoot than in the past with so few games to base anything on (for the OHL no games at all) so here is where the scouting departments will earn their spurs. Whatever happens from here to the end they’ll still be drafting – barring trades – somewhere in the Top 14.

      Agree 100% on Zub – glad they won the bidding on that UFA. Also, as I’ve listed in the past, I think they will definitely protect big Gustafsson. Seattle won’t pick Murray anyway and may not even take Daccord, although that will depend on what – if any – other goalies they draft before getting to Ottawa.

      Dzingle could well be re-signed as a UFA IF he doesn’t expect anything in excess of 3 years. I like what he brings – but not if he’s seeking 4+ years.

      • Yeah for Dzingle, I would be looking at 2-3years at max $2.5 million a year! Will be interesting to see what happens.

        Gustavsson & Daccord need to be resigned
        Zub & Mete on defense, hoping 3-5 on Zub and a one year prove it on Mete

        Hoping for Tkatchuk to get an 8yr around $6.8-$7.2 million. A 3 or 4 year bridge on Batherson! Honestly, my guess on the team next year.

        Tkatchuk – Norris – Batherson
        Stuetzle – White/Pinto – Dadonov
        Forementon – White/Pinto – Brown
        Paul – Tierney – Dzingle
        (Abromov/Sokolov/Watson competing for spots)

        Chabot – Zaitsev
        Brannstrom – Zub
        Mete – Brown
        (Docker/Thomson competing for spots)

        Murray – Gustavsson/Daccord

        Overall, I like that even with what we can easily get all our players under contract and create a ton of healthy competition on the team! With still so much coming through the pipeline as well! Our C situation is a bit sketchy until we figure out the ceilings of some of these guys and what we are doing with Stueztle and I’d like either an upgrade on Dadonov or see him return to form in the top 6. I mean, really, I’d love a 30+ goal scorer haha.

        But having a team that is full of competitions and depth for once, is an amazing feeling.

    • While I believe Wilson should be suspended, I remember when Jake Muzzin body slammed Mantha, broke his ribs, a year ago and there were many Leaf fans who said nothing or defended Muzzin. Alot of people on this very site spoke about Mnatha had it coming and that is hockey. I believed Muzzin deserved something and did not even get a fine.

      Wilson is a repeat offender and he deserved a suspension, bit O am amazed by the people now calling for Wilson to be suspended for the rest of the year and the playoffs. Do not remember those say calls a year ago.

  15. So I guess The answer to Tom Wilson would be to do the same to Backstrom Kutnetsov . Let the Washington bench know in advance what is going to happen. I have not seen Wilson do anything against the Islanders -Martin
    Flames -Lucic

    Washington is a modern day Broad Street Bullies.
    Hathaway is a puke. Drop the gloves tough guy or do you need them to face wash. All yap