The good, bad from 2020 NHL All-Star skills competition
Mathew Barzal dethrones Connor McDavid, Shea Weber wins hardest shot and women's game thrills, but Tomas Hertl's Justin Bieber ploy falls flat.But McDavid was dethroned Friday by a 22-year-old from Coquitlam, Canada, named Mathew Barzal during the NHL All-Stars skills competition at Enterprise Center.
Kyle Connor has reportedly signed a seven-year extension worth upwards of million US with the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday. The Winnipeg Jets have solidified their roster in time for the regular season by re-signing their last key restricted free agent.
With Kyle Connor putting pen to paper in Winnipeg , every major restricted free agent will be under contract from the upcoming season. The 22-year-old left winger has proven to be a consistent secondary scorer on a team with some of the best offensive talent in the league.
© Jeff Curry-USA TODAY SportsWith the Winnipeg Jets continuing to slide further and further from playoff contention this season, the team will have to begin entertaining trade offers. While impending free agents like Dmitry Kulikov, Luca Sbisa and Gabriel Bourque could be the most likely trade casualties, Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press writes that the team is receiving considerable interest in top-line winger Kyle Connor.
Normally, a player like Connor, who is skating more than 20 minutes per night and leading the team in goalscoring at the age of 23, would be untouchable. However, the Jets are deep up front and in desperate need of a new cornerstone on defense, and the possibility of landing an elite young player or prospect who could fill that void may have them at least listening to offers for Connor.
Eric Robinson signs two-year extension with Blue Jackets
The blazing fast forward, affectionately called “Wheels” in the announcement on Twitter, has five goals and nine points through 31 games for Columbus this season. Signed as an undrafted free agent out of Princeton University in 2018, he has 45 career games in the NHL.The Blue Jackets still have quite a few restricted free agents to sign before next season, including Pierre-Luc Dubois, Josh Anderson, Joonas Korpisalo and Elvis Merzlikins.
Daily news & opinion on the Winnipeg Jets by our crack team of beat reporters. Laine Likely to Stay With Jets Ken Wiebe of Sportsnet has updated the situation on Patrik Laine this week and notes that unless the Winnipeg Jets are blown away by a trade offer, he expects Laine to report to training camp.
RAW: Winnipeg Jets Kyle Connor – Sept. 30. Connor had spent most of last season on Winnipeg ’s top line with Scheifele and right- winger Blake Wheeler. Connor declined to answer whether he and his agent were presented with an offer sheet by another club, saying, “It’s part of the business.
The division rival Colorado Avalanche are reportedly leading the hunt, with 2019 No. 4 overall pick Bowen Byram being the core piece who would head to the Jets. A young defenseman of Byram’s caliber would be a huge addition to the Winnipeg pipeline, but he would not be able to play a top-pair role for a few years still to come.
Is that enough to part with a player like Connor? McIntyre is skeptical and reiterates that in no way are the Jets shopping their young star. After all, they just signed Connor to a seven-year, $50M extension back in September. However, given their disappointing season and bleak outlook on the blue line, it cannot be ruled out that the right price — Byram or otherwise — could entice the Jets to move Connor.
Here are some more trade rumors...
Winnipeg Jets GM awaits Dustin Byfuglien injury status before proceeding with trades
In each of the last two seasons, the Jets have made big splashes at the trade deadline to bring in rental centers Paul Stastny and Kevin Hayes. If head coach Paul Maurice has his way, they’ll go with a different approach at this year’s deadline. Speaking with reporters, including Paul Friesen of the Winnipeg Sun, Maurice indicated he’s hoping the team doesn’t part with a top young asset for someone that’s set to be unrestricted in July:So paying a high price for a rental, I don’t know that that makes a whole lot of sense for us. If we get a guy that can come in and play maybe more than the rest of the season, you’d think about doing that.
In this video I discuss the news that Kyle CONNOR has signed a 7 Year, Million Contract Extension with the WINNIPEG JETS !!! It carries an AAV of 7.1
Kyle Connor has had a quiet postseason, but that Rockets reportedly agree to trade Westbrook to Wizards for Wall, first-round pick. Kyle Connor has had a quiet postseason, but that all changed with three points in Game 5 and he's expected to continue his offensive production in Game 6 in Winnipeg .
- A difficult season for Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere continued not only in his last game, but in his last practice as well. Gostisbehere, who has missed 13 games this season due to injury and has struggled even when healthy, drew back into the Flyers’ lineup on Thursday night. The team proceeded to drop an embarrassing 5-0 loss to the New Jersey Devils, in which the pairing of Gostisbehere and Justin Braun were of little help. The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Ed Barkowitz recounts that Gostisbehere’s frustration boiled over in practice on Friday. The blue=liner whiffed on a shot late in practice and responded by hurling his stick over the glass and storming off the ice. While Barkowitz makes no mention of any possible discipline for Gostisbehere as a result of this incident, there is a strong chance that he will take a seat for Saturday’s matchup against the Washington Capitals. While it may seem like Gostisbehere is wearing out his welcome in Philly with lacking results and now visible distress, head coach Alain Vigneault did acknowledge to Barkowitz that the team likely erred in rushing Gostisbehere back from his knee surgery rather than allowing him to serve a rehab stint in the AHL. But with the deed done, both sides have to live with the current situation. Or do they? Gostisbehere remains a hot name on the trade market, and with the Flyers fighting for a playoff spot and needing help up front, a trade seems like a strong possibility. Gostisbehere is only 26 and has three years remaining on his current contract, but this seems like a situation where both sides might benefit from a fresh start. With each of their next five games coming against an Eastern Conference team currently in playoff position — a crucial stretch for the Flyers’ own postseason hopes — perhaps a Gostisbehere deal will come sooner rather than later.
- The Flyers are one of a number of teams that could benefit from bringing in a center at the deadline. However, TSN’s Frank Seravalli points out that this is the weakest position in the current trade market. The top available option is Ottawa’s Jean-Gabriel Pageau, who some believe the team would rather re-sign than deal. Beyond that, the only other two centers on TSN’s Trade Bait List are Nashville’s Kyle Turris, and his remaining four years and $24M, and Detroit’s veteran pivot Valtteri Filppula. Beyond that, Seravalli lists impending UFA’s Derek Grant of Anaheim and Nate Thompson of Montreal and younger players like San Jose’s Barclay Goodrow and Ottawa’s Chris Tierney as the top options. Once Pageau is off the board — or worse, if he isn’t traded at all — it is slim pickings down the middle on the trade market. Seravalli lists the Oilers, Capitals and Jets as teams joining Philadelphia in the pursuit of a center, but not all of these teams will leave the deadline happy.
Related slideshow: The most underrated player on every NHL team (Provided by Yardbarker)
Report: Toronto Maple Leafs 'kicked tires' on Kings' Jack Campbell
One potential hiccup, however, is the increasing salary Campbell is going to get moving forward. Though he carries just a $675K cap hit this year and could fit into the Maple Leafs’ tight financial picture, a new two-year extension kicks in for 2020-21 that has an average annual value of $1.65M. Toronto, thanks to some incredibly large contracts signed by their star forwards, may not be able to afford a backup with that kind of deal — especially if they have any thoughts of an Andersen extension after his contract expires in 2021.
NEW YORK— Winnipeg Jets left- winger Kyle Connor was named NHL second star of the week on Monday after leading the league with eight points over four games. He had three goals and five assists over the stretch to help the Jets gain seven of a possible eight points and move back into the playoff
Kyle Connor scored two goals and added an assist as the Winnipeg Jets dominated the Nashville Predators in Game 5 to take a 3-2 series lead. Coach Paul Maurice recently suggested the left winger may have been snubbed by the writers who did not elect Connor as one of the Calder Trophy
-
The most underrated player on every NHL team
The superstars are the foundation of every Stanley Cup winning team and they sell the tickets, but every team is more than just them. Here we take a look at one under-the-radar player on every NHL team who is also the most underrated.
-
Anaheim Ducks: Adam Henrique
He is not the flashiest or most productive player, but Henrique has been a strong addition to the Ducks lineup since they acquired him from the New Jersey Devils a few years ago. He is having an especially strong season this year that is sneaking under the radar. He has 15 goals in 48 games and has posted dominant possession numbers (53 percent shot attempt share) on one of the league's worst possession teams.
-
Arizona Coyotes: Conor Garland
The Coyotes have quietly and quickly become a larger payroll team and have spent the past couple of years acquiring some bigger-name players. Phil Kessel, Taylor Hall, Derek Stepan, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Carl Soderberg have all been recent additions, while the team maintains big commitments to a lot of its own young players. Garland has been one of the bigger surprises over the past couple of years and is on track for close to 30 goals this season. Not bad for a 2015 fifth-round pick.
-
Boston Bruins: Jake DeBrusk
During the 2015 NHL draft, the Bruins had three consecutive first-round picks and passed on a lot of outstanding players. (Mathew Barzal, Kyle Connor, Thomas Chabot were the next three picks after the Bruins' picks.) While that is not ideal, they still ended up getting a really good young player in DeBrusk. The 23-year-old is already up to 57 goals in his first 183 games and looks like he should have a nice career as a 25-30-goal winger and outstanding second-liner behind the Bruins' All-Star top line of Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak.
Valentines Gift Idea: Hand-made Photo Album for your precious memories
Ad Microsoft
Buffalo Sabres: Henri Jokiharju
Jokiharju was supposed to be a key part of the Chicago Blackhawks defense, but the team made the shocking decision to trade him before the season for Alex Nylander. It has not worked out well for Chicago; it is looking promising for the Sabres. He is still only 20 years and looks like he can be a part of the Sabres' long-term defense as a key building block next to 2018 No. 1 overall pick Rasmus Dahlin.
-
Calgary Flames: David Rittich
Goaltending has been the one big question for this Flames team, but Rittich has really taken big steps toward solidifying that spot. This is his first year as the team's full-time starter, and he played his way into the NHL All-Star Game. Considering how his career began (undrafted, playing for two years in the Czech League), he is quite the success story.
-
Carolina Hurricanes: Teuvo Teravainen
Sebastian Aho is the established star in Carolina, and Andrei Svechnikov is the emerging superstar. But Teravainen has been one of the Hurricanes' best all-around players since arriving on the team via trade before the 2016-17 season. When he first arrived in the NHL in Chicago he always had sky-high potential, and he has reached all of it in Carolina. He is just not always the first player (or even second or third) to come to mind when people think of the Hurricanes. He probably should be.
-
Chicago Blackhawks: Dominik Kubalik
The Blackhawks are no longer Stanley Cup contenders as currently constructed, but they can get back to that level again in the Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane era if they find more young talent to complement them. Kubalik has fit that bill so far. At 24 he is a little older than your average rookie, but he has played extremely well for the Blackhawks and been one of their bright spots.
-
Colorado Avalance: Joonas Donskoi
The Avalanche have the best young core in the league and had more salary cap space than any other team to work with over the summer. (They still have more than all but two teams during the season.) Donskoi was one of their big pickups and has been a fantastic addition to their lineup thanks to his strong two-way play. He is quietly the fourth-leading scorer on the Avalanche this season.
-
Columbus Blue Jackets: Cam Atkinson
You probably do not realize it, but Atkinson has been one of the NHL's best goal scorers over the past five years. Columbus said goodbye to several free agents over the summer but is still in the thick of the playoff race because the organization was a lot deeper than most realized. A healthy Atkinson can be a difference maker for the Blue Jackets.
Hot New Makeup Releases on Amazon - see now!
Ad Microsoft
Dallas Stars: Denis Gurianov
The Stars were the most top-heavy playoff team in the league a year ago and needed to find some secondary scoring to complement their big three of Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn and Alexander Radulov. Joe Pavelski and Corey Perry were brought in from outside the organization as free agents. Internally they have bigger roles for Roope Hintz and Gurianov. Gurianov is a fast, talented player who has flashed moments of brilliance but just needs to find a little more consistency.
-
Detroit Red Wings: Robby Fabbri
Fabbri looked like he was going to be a star for the St. Louis Blues until injuries completely sidetracked his career, costing him three key seasons of his development. The Red Wings, in desperate need of young talent anywhere they can find it, picked him up for next to nothing. So far he has been a great addition with 10 goals and 23 total points in his first 33 games with the Red Wings.
-
Edmonton Oilers: Oscar Klefbom
The Oilers do not have a lot of bright spots on their blue line, but Klefbom has been one of them. Only two things have held him back over the years: injuries and the fact the Oilers have not surrounded him with any help on defense.
-
Florida Panthers: Brett Connolly
The Panthers made a bunch of huge investments this offseason, and so far Connolly has worked out the best. A former No. 6 overall pick, Connolly never became the front-line player in that spot who tends to produce but he has still carved out a nice career for himself as a middle-six player who can chip in the occasional 20-goal season.
-
Los Angeles Kings: Jack Campbell
Campbell never panned out in Dallas after the Stars made him a first-round pick, but he has found a nice spot for himself with the Kings. Jonathan Quick is still locked in as the starter due to his past performance and his contract, but Campbell has been the better goalie the past two seasons.
-
Minnesota Wild: Jared Spurgeon
He is "undersized" for a defenseman, does not score a ton and plays in the shadow of more productive players like Ryan Suter and Mathew Dumba on the Minnesota blue line. All of that masks what an outstanding defensive player Spurgeon has been with the Wild. New general manager Bill Guerin's first move in Minnesota was to get Spurgeon signed to a long-term deal, and for good reason.
Valentines Day Gift Idea: Ambient Moonlight Shadow Lamp
Ad Microsoft
Montreal Canadiens: Jeff Petry
The Canadiens got Petry for a steal from the Edmonton Oilers six years ago when he was an undervalued defenseman on a bad team. All he has done since arriving in Montreal is become one of the steadiest defenders in the league. With more offensive firepower than he gets credit for, Petry is a legitimate top-pairing NHL defender and part of a lengthy list of players the Oilers gave up on far too soon.
-
Nashville Predators: Ryan Ellis
The Predators have always been built around their defense, and they have consistently had superstars on their blue line. Ellis has probably always been the second or third player on the list when looking for impact. But when you put together his ability as a shutdown defender and possession driving, he is one of the most complete defensemen in the league and one who does not get much attention outside of Nashville. He has been sidelined after a hit from Corey Perry in the Winter Classic this season.
-
New Jersey Devils: Nico Hischier
He falls under the category of underrated because he is a No. 1 overall pick who has not really put up huge numbers offensively. Combine that with the fact he just signed a huge contract extension before the season, and it is probably easy for people to look at him as a disappointment. But that is not the case. Not every top pick immediately becomes a superstar. Sometimes it takes a few years. Hischier still has that sort of upside, and even though his offensive numbers are not great, he is still performing at a high level and is an excellent two-way player.
-
New York Islanders: Thomas Greiss
Greiss has never been the full-time starter for the Islanders and has shared the net the past two seasons with Robin Lehner and Semyon Varlamov, but all Greiss does is produce and play at a well-above-league-average level. Since the start of the 2015-16 season (when he joined the Islanders), his .916 save percentage is 16th out of 53 goalies (minimum 100 starts) across the league, while he has topped a .920 mark in three of those five seasons. He is not just the most underrated Islander, but he also is one of the most underrated players in the league.
-
New York Rangers: Mika Zibanejad
The Rangers' struggles and ongoing rebuild have made it easy to overlook Zibanejad's performance the past couple of years, but he is a legit top-line center in the NHL and in the middle of a great season. He and Artemi Panarin are a dynamic duo and help make the Rangers worth watching every night no matter what their record is.
-
Ottawa Senators: Anthony Duclair
Duclair has always had big-time potential but has never really been given a consistent opportunity to let it shine. When he was in Columbus a year ago, he was the focal point of a public John Tortorella rant where the coach questioned if Duclair even knew how to play the game. A couple of days later he was traded to Ottawa. All he has done with the Senators has become a top-line goal scorer with 29 goals in his first 68 games with the team.
-
Philadelphia Flyers: Travis Konecny
Even if he maintains his current production, his $4.5 million salary cap hit is going to be a bargain for the Flyers. But he still has a ceiling that might be even higher than his current production. He is quickly becoming one of the Flyers' best and most important players and he is still only 22 years old. He could be a 30-goal, 70-point player for years.
-
Pittsburgh Penguins: Jared McCann
McCann is still only 23 years old, was the No. 24 overall pick in his class, scored 19 goals in 78 games a year ago and is on pace to score close to 30 goals this season. He is fast, has a rocket of a shot, is good defensively and has the versatility to play center or wing. Pretty valuable player. Even with all of that, though, he has been traded two times in his career, both for underwhelming returns for the team that traded him. The Penguins, though, are benefiting from the missed evaluations in Vancouver and Florida and are getting an outstanding young player whose peak years are just now starting.
-
San Jose Sharks: Kevin Labanc
He has regressed a little bit this season, but there is also an element of some bad puck luck on a team that has been full of disappointing performances. But he is still on track for more than 20 goals and is one of the Sharks' best possession drivers. He signed a bargain one-year contract for this season and should be able to get a solid raise this summer in restricted free agency.
-
St. Louis Blues: David Perron
Perron is in his third different stop with the Blues and is playing the best hockey of his career. With Vladimir Tarasenko sidelined for most of the season, the Blues needed someone else at forward to stepup and make an impact. That player has been Perron. He leads the team in goals and total points and has already scored eight game-winners for the defending Stanley Cup Champions — a team that looks even better than a year ago when they won. Perron has been a huge, and at times, overlooked part of that success.
-
Tampa Bay Lightning: Anthony Cirelli
The Lightning just keep finding young impact players, and Cirelli is the latest. He is only 22 years old, is showing improvement across the board offensively and is already an outstanding defensive forward. In his rookie season, he finished sixth in Calder Trophy voting and 11th in Selke Trophy voting. He is even better this season.
-
Toronto Maple Leafs: William Nylander
Yes, he is underrated. Very underrated, actually. Ever since his restricted free agent contract saga and the way he struggled after reporting to the team a year ago, Nylander has been a lightning rod for criticism in Toronto with fans and media always trying to trade him. But man, this guy is a heck of a player and is in the middle of a career year that puts him on a pace for close to 40 goals. He is just now entering his peak years in the NHL and is looking like he might actually be a bargain against the salary cap. Trading him would be madness. Completely nonsensical. He is key piece of this team.
-
Vancouver Canucks: Bo Horvat
Can a team captain be under the radar? Yes, and this is one example. Horvat is one of the Canucks' core players, but he gets the least attention league-wide. Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser, and Quinn Hughes are the young stars (and maybe superstars). J.T. Miller was the high-profile offseason pickup and is having an amazing year. Horvat, meanwhile, just quietly goes about his business and has been the rock for this team since becoming a regular in the lineup. He is in his prime years and going to give the Canucks at least 25 goals and 60 points a year for the foreseeable future.
-
Vegas Golden Knights: William Karlsson
It might seem weird mentioning him as the "underrated" player on this team given his 43-goal season a couple of years ago, but he might still be the under-the-radar player on this team. Mark Stone, Max Pacioretty and Marc-Andre Fleury are the big name players here, and it seems that since Karlsson has not been able to duplicate his initial success with the team. That is not exactly the case. He may never score 40 goals in a single season again, but he has still become a steady 20-goal, 50-point forward who contributes defensively. That is an extremely valuable player.
-
Washington Capitals: Jakub Vrana
The Capitals foundation is built around superstars Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Braden Holtby and John Carlson. But it is not just about them. Vrana is quickly becoming part of that Stanley Cup-caliber core and is in the middle of a breakout season that has him on pace for more than 35 goals. It is easy for him to get overlooked in the shadow of the superstars, but he is quickly becoming a bona fide, top-line player in his own right.
-
Winnipeg Jets: Neal Pionk
Pionk was the key piece acquired by the Jets in the offseason trade that sent veteran defenseman Jacob Trouba to the New York Rangers. At the time it seemed like a loss for a Jets team that had seen almost its entire defense from the previous year find new teams. But Pionk has not only been one of the bright spots on their blue line, but he also has arguably outperformed Trouba for a fraction of the price and at a few years younger.
-
-
-
Canadiens trade defenseman Marco Scandella to Blues .
Marco Scandella is set to join this third team already this season.This kind of a return is huge for the Canadiens, given that they only paid a fourth-round pick to get Scandella in the first place. That move came just over a month ago, when the Buffalo Sabres moved the defenseman and flipped the return for Michael Frolik. Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reports that Montreal GM Marc Bergevin did try to extend the pending unrestricted free agent, but Scandella wanted to wait until the end of the season to discuss any contract.
Mathew Barzal dethrones Connor McDavid, Shea Weber wins hardest shot and women's game thrills, but Tomas Hertl's Justin Bieber ploy falls flat.But McDavid was dethroned Friday by a 22-year-old from Coquitlam, Canada, named Mathew Barzal during the NHL All-Stars skills competition at Enterprise Center. 
The blazing fast forward, affectionately called “Wheels” in the announcement on Twitter, has five goals and nine points through 31 games for Columbus this season. Signed as an undrafted free agent out of Princeton University in 2018, he has 45 career games in the NHL.The Blue Jackets still have quite a few restricted free agents to sign before next season, including Pierre-Luc Dubois, Josh Anderson, Joonas Korpisalo and Elvis Merzlikins. 
In each of the last two seasons, the Jets have made big splashes at the trade deadline to bring in rental centers Paul Stastny and Kevin Hayes. If head coach Paul Maurice has his way, they’ll go with a different approach at this year’s deadline. Speaking with reporters, including Paul Friesen of the Winnipeg Sun, Maurice indicated he’s hoping the team doesn’t part with a top young asset for someone that’s set to be unrestricted in July:So paying a high price for a rental, I don’t know that that makes a whole lot of sense for us. If we get a guy that can come in and play maybe more than the rest of the season, you’d think about doing that. 
One potential hiccup, however, is the increasing salary Campbell is going to get moving forward. Though he carries just a $675K cap hit this year and could fit into the Maple Leafs’ tight financial picture, a new two-year extension kicks in for 2020-21 that has an average annual value of $1.65M. Toronto, thanks to some incredibly large contracts signed by their star forwards, may not be able to afford a backup with that kind of deal — especially if they have any thoughts of an Andersen extension after his contract expires in 2021. 
The good, bad from 2020 NHL All-Star skills competition 
Eric Robinson signs two-year extension with Blue Jackets 
Winnipeg Jets GM awaits Dustin Byfuglien injury status before proceeding with... 
Report: Toronto Maple Leafs 'kicked tires' on Kings' Jack Campbell 
With resurgence in Montreal, veteran forward Ilya Kovalchuk could be in demand 
Edmonton Oilers reportedly have 'looked into" Tomas Totar 
Veteran winger Jason Spezza is hoping to play in 2020-21 
Canadiens trade defenseman Marco Scandella to Blues 
