Recaps of Friday’s games, how the three-team trade that sent Mikko Rantanen to the Hurricanes went down, the Islanders unveiled their Quarter-Century Team, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
RECAPPING FRIDAY’S ACTION
NHL.COM: A hat trick by Cole Perfetti powered the Winnipeg Jets to a 5-2 win over the Utah Hockey Club, snapping the latter’s three-game win streak. Jets winger Nikolaj Ehlers had a goal and two assists as the Jets (69 points) moved within three points of the league-leading Washington Capitals. Nick Schmaltz and Barrett Hayton scored for Utah with team captain Clayton Keller picking up two assists.
Winnipeg Jets winger Nikolaj Ehlers (NHL Images).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: This was a milestone game for Ehlers, becoming the first Dane in NHL history to reach the 500-point plateau.
Tampa Bay Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov scored in overtime and collected two assists in regulation play to down the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3. Nick Paul and Jake Guentzel scored two unanswered goals as the Lightning overcame a 3-1 deficit. Frank Nazar and Louis Crevier each had a goal and an assist for the Blackhawks.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: This was Kucherov’s 100th career multi-point game. The win moved the Lightning into third place in the Atlantic Division with 55 points.
Dallas Stars winger Jason Robertson tallied twice in a 4-3 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights. Wyatt Johnston, Matt Duchene and Evgenii Dadonov each collected two assists for the Stars, who moved ahead of the Minnesota Wild into second place in the Central Division with 61 points. Jack Eichel scored two goals for the Golden Knights, who’ve lost five of their last six games and cling to first place in the Pacific Division with 64 points.
The New York Islanders picked up their third straight win by defeating the Philadelphia Flyers 3-1. Brock Nelson had a goal and an assist while Ilya Sorokin made 29 saves for the Islanders (47 points), who sit six points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for the final Eastern Conference wild-card berth. Tyson Foerster replied for the Flyers (50 points), who remain three points behind the Blue Jackets.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Islanders announced yesterday the signing of Tony DeAngelo to a one-year contract for the remainder of this season. This move suggests Isles blueliner Noah Dobson will be sidelined for the rest of the season. DeAngelo must first clear waivers before he can join the Islanders.
HEADLINES
The NHL world is still buzzing over Friday night’s blockbuster trade that saw the Colorado Avalanche ship Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes in a three-team deal involving the Chicago Blackhawks.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Follow this link for trade details and my reaction. The Hurricanes also acquired prospect forward Nils Juntrop from the Blackhawks in the deal.
THE ATHLETIC: Chris Johnston reports the Hurricanes may have been the only suitor for Rantanen given the Avalanche’s asking price. He revealed Hurricanes general manager Eric Tulsky was involved in trade talks with the Vancouver Canucks involving Elias Pettersson earlier this month and J.T. Miller earlier this week before shifting to Rantanen.
According to Johnston, the origins of this trade go back to last June when the Hurricanes were at an impasse in contract talks with Martin Necas. The Avalanche raised the issue at the time but a deal didn’t take place. The discussions resumed two months ago and eventually grew more serious.
League sources told Johnston that there were no advanced discussions with the Rantanen camp about a contract extension before the deal went down. The 28-year-old forward is UFA-eligible on July 1. Johnston claims Rantanen was blindsided by this move by the Avalanche.
SPORTSNET: Elliotte Friedman reports the Blackhawks brokered this deal between the Avalanche and Hurricanes. If Rantanen hits the open market on July 1, Friedman wouldn’t be surprised if the Blackhawks pursued him.
THE DENVER POST: Corey Masisak believes the Avalanche replaced Rantanen in the short term with a very good player in Necas. However, he noted that the 26-year-old lacks Rantanen’s track record of success, especially in the postseason.
Masisak also observed the move gave the Avalanche some salary-cap wiggle room for the rest of the regular season and possibly much more in the offseason.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Rantanen deal was the biggest in-season NHL trade in the salary-cap era since the Boston Bruins shipped Joe Thornton to the San Jose Sharks 20 years ago. It could open the floodgates to more creative moves involving big-name talent before the March 7 trade deadline. I’ll have more about that in today’s Rumor Mill update.
NHL.COM: The New York Islanders revealed their Quarter-Century Team on Friday.
The First Team comprises forwards Brock Nelson, John Tavares and Josh Bailey, defensemen Nick Leddy and Adam Pelech, and goaltender Ilya Sorokin.
The Second Team features forwards Anders Lee, Mathew Barzal and Frans Nielsen, defensemen Kenny Jonsson and Ryan Pulock, and goalie Semyon Varlamov.
THE HOCKEY NEWS: Derek O’Brien cites reports from several Swedish media sources indicating Vancouver Canucks center Elias Pettersson was defrauded by a Swedish real estate broker who is now in prison.
Pettersson lost the deposit on a luxury villa north of Stockholm that was revealed to have many flaws that required repairs. He successfully sued the broker to have the mortgage contract cancelled but it’s unlikely he’ll ever get the deposit back.
DAILY FACEOFF: Carolina Hurricanes winger William Carrier underwent surgery to repair a lower-body injury and is expected to be sidelined for at least two months.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: If Carrier is out for the season the Hurricanes could place him on long-term injury reserve and use the salary-cap savings to add another player before the trade deadline. He’s in the first season of a six-year contract with an AAV of $2 million.
Boston Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman is expected to return to action on Saturday against the Avalanche. He missed the Bruins’ 2-0 win over the Ottawa Senators on Thursday with a minor upper-body injury.
Pittsburgh Penguins winger Bryan Rust is listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
NHL.COM: St. Louis Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist was fined $2,000.00 for embellishment by the department of player safety.
TORONTO SUN: The Maple Leafs recalled goaltender Matt Murray and returned Dennis Hildeby to their AHL affiliate.
CALGARY SUN: The Flames assigned little-used defenseman Tyson Barrie to their AHL affiliate for conditioning. He’s appeared in nine games this season, the last being on Nov. 12.
THE BUFFALO NEWS: Sabres center Ryan McLeod is expected back in the lineup when his club faces the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday. He missed the last three games with a nagging injury.
DAILY FACEOFF: The San Jose Sharks signed center Colin White for the remainder of the season on a two-way contract. He began this season on a minor-league deal with their AHL affiliate.
