CarterHud

     The Anaheim Ducks have acquired G Jhonas Enroth from the Toronto Maple Leafs for a 2018 7th round draft pick. Here\’s why it happened:
      The leafs have been looking for a guy to backup starting goalie Frederik Andersen ever since the season started. That seemed to be Enroth, who the leafs signed to a 1 year. $750k deal in late August. But things didn\’t go well, as in 6 appearances for the team, 4 starts, Enroth had a save percentage of .872, then was sent to the AHL. G Antoine Bibeau was called up, but he wasn\’t there for long, as when the leafs recently claimed G Curtis McElhinney from Columbus to be their backup, they sent Bibeau to the AHL. That left them with 3 healthy AHL starters, Enroth, Bibeau and G Garrett Sparks, making Enroth expandable.
        The Ducks, who haven\’t been afraid to talk trades around goalies with the leafs, giving the leafs Andersen last offseason and acquiring Jonathan Bernier from Toronto soon after, needed an AHL goalie with both Dustin Tokarski and Matt Hackett going down with an injury, so they saw that Toronto was looking to sell low on Enroth, and dealt him for next year\’s 7th round pick. Enroth will report directly to the San Diego Gulls, the Ducks AHL affiliate.

    On the trade deadline in the NHL (or Christmas, if you\’re in Canada,) we see A LOT of trades, some blockbuster, some not. And, I\’d say about 30 of the 30 teams make deals on deadline day, even the ones their own fan base didn\’t really know. Here\’s who I think is the most likely player to get traded on each team.
  
     Anaheim Ducks: Cam Fowler. With the expansion draft upcoming, the Ducks have a problem with the no move clause on 36 year old defenseman Kevin Bieksa. Most likely, the Ducks will ask Bieksa to waive his NMC, but if he says no, then they\’ll have to retreat. They have 4 quality defenseman age 25 or younger in Fowler, Sami Vatanen, and the injury prone Simon Despres, who are all 25, and Hampus Lindholm, who is 22. The Ducks seem to rather have Vatanen and Lindholm than Cam, and if they protect 4 forwards and 4 defenseman, they\’ll likely lose 26 year old RW Jakub Silferberg. Though small rumors about Toronto, Fowler can nicely slot in with the Bruins, or his hometown Wings.
        Arizona Coyotes: Michael Stone. The 26 year old has always been a reliable defenseman, but he will be a UFA on July 1st, and as a rebuilding team, the Coyotes should try to do what they did a couple of years ago with Zbynek Michalek, trade him, then sign him again on July 1st. Like Fowler, the Bruins and Wings might have interest in Stone, with a defenseman being on the top of their to-do list.

          Boston Bruins: Frank Vatrano. The 22 year old winger seemed poised for a breakout season this year. But, due to an injury suffered during preseason, Vatrano missed the first 3 months of the season. Vatrano\’s back now, but during the 3 months he was gone, forwards Noel Acciari, Austin Czarnik, and Anton Blidh stepped up. Besides their need for a defenseman, Boston has 9 natural centers, including Vatrano, and just 1 RW (Jimmy Hayes) on their roster. They could deal Vatrano for a solid defenseman, or a natural RW. With the Coyotes\’ youth movement in process, they\’d be interested in him and the B\’s could trade for Stone, or RW Ryan White.
             Buffalo Sabres: Dmitry Kulikov. Kulikov, who was acquired in a trade during the draft, and is going to be a UFA on July 1st. So far, the trade hasn\’t worked out well because Kulikov has been on the IR a couple times this season, and in his 20 games, he\’s had 1 point, an assist, and is a -10. The teams that need a defenseman have better options via trade, but Buffalo could make something work.
              Calgary Flames: Dennis Wideman. The Flames\’ roster is very balanced, (unlike Boston) so they don\’t need a certain position. They could deal a goalie, but the 33 year old d-man is an upcoming UFA, and can be dealt for some picks/prospects. Not a lot of teams need a defenseman, but Wideman, as a right handed defenseman, can slot in nicely for the NY Rangers, or Leafs.
               Carolina Hurricanes: Jay McClement. The Canes have been in a rebuild for the last few years, and have obtained young players. That leaves out room for guys like the 33 year old McClement. He provides solid depth for teams that need it, so he might fit well in the Blackhawks\’ lineup.
                Chicago Blackhawks: Jordin Tootoo. The Hawks\’ depth has decreased in skill over the years as players come and go. The 33 year old Tootoo can provide toughness for other teams, and the Hawks don\’t seem to be a \”perfect match\” for him. Dallas or Vancouver might be a better match.
                 Colorado Avalanche: John Mitchell. Currently, the Avs have just 3 forwards who are right handed. The 31 year old Mitchell is one of many lefties on the team, and is their 4th line center. If they move Mitchell, Andreas Martinsen can be his replacement.
                  Columbus Blue Jackets: Scott Hartnell. The Jackets just had a 16 game winning streak, so they\’re no reasons to trade somebody. But if they go south, then they could deal Hartnell, who is 34, and is owed a lot of money.  
                  Dallas Stars: Mattias Janmark. The C/LW will probably miss the rest of the season, and could be traded if other teams will bet he can bounce back. In return will be another winger, probably.
                    Detroit Red Wings: Jonathan Ericsson. The Wings have a total of 9 defensemen on their roster, and might look to deal someone, take the 32 year old Ericsson, who\’s the 2nd oldest on the team to Niklas Kronwall, and deal him to another team, for picks.
                    Edmonton Oilers: Zack Kassian. The 25 year old grinder doesn\’t have a spot on the team with younger players coming up, and could be dealt, maybe for a Ryan Reaves or Ales Hemsky.
                    Florida Panthers: Greg McKegg. On their roster, the Panthers have 11 natural centers and 5 wingers. One of those centers should be dealt, including McKegg. They could trade him for a mid round pick.
                     Los Angeles Kings: Dustin Brown. The former captain was stripped after the 2015-16 season. It looks like things between the 2 have come to an end. The only problem is that the Kings would need to eat up some salary, but they should be able to pull this off.
                     Minnesota Wild: Alex Stalock. Stalock might be the starter for the Iowa Wild, Minnesota\’s AHL affiliate, but with some teams needing a goalie, Stalock can be their backup.
                       Montreal Canadiens: Alexei Emelin. The 30 year old d-man is one of many Habs defensemen on the roster, and they don\’t really need Emelin any more, so a trade could be intact.
                       Nashville Predators: Mike Ribeiro. The 36 year old centerman has seen better days. While he\’s still okay at faceoffs, Nashville can deal him, but it might cause them to eat up some salary.
                        New Jersey Devils: Vernon Fiddler. The 36 year old is a 4th liner at best. The absolute highest they can trade him for is a conditional 4th rounder. They can trade him. It\’s not a must.
                         New York Islanders: Jaroslav Halak. The goalie has a big cap hit and is in the AHL, but he needs out. They\’ll have to eat up salary, but it should be fine.
                          New York Rangers: Kevin Klein. The 32 year old blueliner fits in as a top 6 d-man at most, but the rise of Brady Skjei signals that Klein needs to go.
                           Ottawa Senators: Chris Kelly. Here\’s another 36 year old center who can be a nice PKer, and a nice 4th line center.
                            Philadelphia Flyers: Boyd Gordon. The 33 year old C/RW is another gu
y who\’s great at faceoffs and PKing. Some teams might want that.
                            Pittsburgh Penguins: Chris Kunitz. Kunitz has played for the Pens since the 08-09 season, but he\’ll be a UFA at the end of the year so they might want to trade him.
                             San Jose Sharks: Joel Ward. The 36 year old winger has some energy left in the tank, but San Jose might want to trade him before he drops off TOO much. This could also open up space for younger guys like Timo Meier and Kevin LeBlanc.
                               St. Louis Blues: Nail Yakupov. The Blues did get Yakupov for cheap, and didn\’t expect him to do much this year, but injuries and illness has sidelined this year, and therefore, he hasn\’t been a success – yet. They could just flip him or hold on.
                                Tampa Bay Lightning: Valtteri Filppula. The 32 year old center hasn\’t really been loud at all this season, and might need out. He\’s one of the better depth centers on this list.
                                 Toronto Maple Leafs: Matt Hunwick. 31 might not seem too old, but Hunwick already seems to have taken the falling off process. Trade him before it\’s too late.
                                  Vancouver Canucks: Alex Burrows. It might be too late to trade the 35 year old, but the Canucks should still try to.
                                   Washington Capitals: Brooks Orpik. The 36 year old, like many on this list, is at the end of his career. The Caps might want to get some value for him before he retires.
                                    Winnipeg Jets: Chris Thorburn. I wouldn\’t be surprised that instead of trading him, the Jets lose the 33 year old Thorburn to waivers, but if not, they could deal him for a conditional pick.

       On January 2nd, 2017, the St. Louis Blues and the Chicago Blackhawks went outdoors to Busch stadium, the home of the MLB\’s St. Louis Cardinals for the annual NHL Winter Classic. Before the game, the Golden Jet (Bobby Hull) and the Golden Brett (Brett Hull) dropped the ceremonial first puck drop.
         Both teams went with their starting goalies, with Corey Crawford protecting the crease for Chicago, and Jake Allen tending the net for the Blues. 1:02 into the game, defenseman Michal Kempny, who had scored his first NHL goal the night before, beat Allen for his 2nd career goal (and of the season). RW Artemi Panarin recorded his 24th assist, and Duncan Keith got assist no. 25. That held to be the only goal of the period.
           At 7:45 of the second period, St. Louis defenseman Jay Bouwmeester skated with the puck behind the net, then passed it in front to RW Patrik Berglund, who beat Crawford for his 6th goal of the season. Bouwmeester got his 7th \”A\” of the season and LW Alex Steen got no. 12 on the season, career assist no. 300 and point 500.
             Going into the 3rd period, tied at 1, both teams tried very hard to break the tie. coming in on a 3 on 2, Blues RW Vladimir Tarasenko intended to pass the puck to his left, but the puck hit off the skate of CHI defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson and passed Crawford for the goal, Tarasenko\’s 17th of the season. LW Robby Fabbri gets his 13th assist of the year. Just 1:52 later, Tarasenko\’s shot off the rush beat Crawford, for his 2nd of the period and 18th of the season. Fabbri got is 14th assist and C Jori Lehtera recorded helper no.7, making it a 3-1 game. Later in the game, Chicago pulled Crawford, going with 6 skaters. St. Louis couldn\’t find a way to score, yet being so close to. Defenseman Brent Seabrook kept blocking them from scoring, keeping it a 3-1 game. Finally, Steen scored an empty netter, an unassisted goal, his 4th of the season. The game ended that way, 4-1 Blues.
                Shots were 35-23 in favor of the Blues. We\’ll see if next year\’s winter classic can also be intense, next New Year\’s day.

       On January 1st, 2017, the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Detroit Red Wings took the game of hockey outside, to BMO Field in Toronto, Canada, to celebrate the 100th year of the NHL. Before the game, the top 33 of the top 100 NHL players of all time were to be announced.
        The Wings, surprisingly elected to start backup Jared Coreau in the crease, over regular starter Petr Mrazek. Toronto went with starter Fredrik Andersen between the pipes.
         The first period didn\’t really live up to its hype of an outdoor game, with both goalies going perfect. During the first intermission, Toronto born singer Bryan Adams performed in front of the crowd, giving better intermission entertainment than normal.
          At 5:33 of the second period, center/captain/veteran Henrik Zetterberg make a nice cross ice pass to rookie Anthony Mantha, who faked a shot, then put one passed Andersen, making it a 1-0 Detroit lead. That was the only goal of  the second period, with Mantha scoring his 8th goal of the season, with Zetterberg tallying his 19th helper of the year. Winger Tomas Tatar recorded his 8th assist of the season on the play as well.
           After 2 periods, the game seemed like a boring one. But everyone in the world hadn\’t known that it would soon become a thriller. It started when Toronto winger Leo Komorav beat Coreau for his 6 goal of the season to tie the game. Jake Gardiner (13) and William Nylander (17) got assists on the play. About 7 minutes later, Toronto rookie Mitch Marner beat Coreau, his 9th of the season, giving the Leafs a 2-1 lead. The helpers go to Morgan Reilly (16) and James van Riemsdyk (13). 71 seconds later, another rookie in Connor Brown beat Coreau for his 7th \”G\” of the season. The \”As\” go to Zach Hyman (10) and Connor Carrick (3). A couple of minutes later, ANOTHER ROOKIE for the Leafs, former 1st overall pick Auston Matthews scored one, his 19th of the season, tied for most by a freshmen. assists go to Brown (8) and Hyman (11). But after this, the period changed drastically.
               It started when defenseman Jonathan Ericsson netted his 1st on the year, to make it a 4-2 game. Anthony Mantha (7) and Xavier Ouellet (4) tallied helpers. With the goalie pulled and down by 2,  Dylan Larkin put in his 11th of the season. Zetterberg and Tatar recorded assists 20 and 9 on the play. Once again, Detroit pulled Coreau, going with 6 skaters. They failed to beat Andersen, and suddenly, Zetterberg had the puck in the offensive zone corner, were he whipped it to the front of the net, where Mantha was able to whack in it, where it was recorded to go in with 1.1 seconds left. The refs reviewed the goal, to see if he beat the clock, or if there was goalie interference on Thomas Vanek, who was also in front of the net, but the call stood, and the game was going to OT. Zetterberg and Vanek got assists on the play.
                 In OT, both teams were trading chances, and eventually Reilly broke out on a breakaway, but was stopped by Coreau. Matthews got a chance and… HE SCORES!!!! Matthews wins the game for the Leafs in overtime!!!
               Shots in the game was 37-29 in favor of the Wings, but alas, they lost, 5-4. The next outdoor game will be played on January 2nd, 2017 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri when the St. Louis Blues face the Chicago Blackhawks in the NHL Winter Classic.

      On December 31st, 2016, the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Minnesota Wild were set to make history. They were going to play the first game in professional sports history where both teams had a double digit win streak, with the Jackets winning 14 straight, and the Wild being victors in 12 consecutive.
       The goalie matchup was scheduled to be both teams\’ starters, Sergei Bobrovsky in net for Columbus, and Devan Dubnyk between the pipes for Minnesota.
        In the first period, only one goal occurred when Columbus winger Cam Atkinson scored on a breakaway, his 16th goal of the season. Center Brandon Dubinsky got the only assists, no. 12 on the campaign. 1-0 Blue Jackets.
        The second period was just as calm. I\’m just kidding because there was a total of 4 goals in the period. First, defenseman Jack Johnson, at 3:29 of the period, beat Dubnyk, giving the Jackets a 2-0 lead. It was the vet\’s 2nd time this season lighting the lamp, with winger Brandon Saad getting his 17th helper, and center Alex Wennberg\’s 25th. Later in the period, it\’s Atkinson beating \”Dubby\” again, his 17th of the season, giving \”CBJ\” a 3-0 lead. Defenseman Ryan Murray (4) and Markus Nutivaara (5) record assists on the goal. It seemed like the Wild weren\’t even trying, or were they?
          When Johnson scored at 3:29, Atkinson scored at 3:44, 25 seconds later. At this point, the Wild were mad. Generating chances in the offensive zone, C Mikael Granlund finally beat Bobrovsky, his 10th of the season, at 5:58, making it a 3-1 game. defenseman Jared Spurgeon (11) and center/captain Mikko Koivu (15) get helpers on the PPG. The Jackets came right back, as defenseman Seth Jones beat Dubnyk, the fourth time this night. Jones scored his 7th of the season. Saad got another assist, no. 18 on the year, and winger/captain Nick Foligno got his 20th helper, giving Columbus a 4-1 lead, as the second period ended.
        The only goal in the 3rd period was scored by Minnesota winger Jason Zucker, netting his 9th on the year. Granlund tallied his 19th assist on the season, and Spurgeon put up his 2nd of the game, now with 12 helpers on the year. That was the only tally of the period, as the Jackets held on to win 4-2.
     The loss ended a franchise record win streak at 12 games for the Wild. The Jackets continue their franchise long streak, now at 15 games, 2 wins away from tying the 1992-93 Pittsburgh Penguins record of 17 consecutive wins. Shots in the game were actually 31-25 in favor of the Wild, but Bobrovsky stood strong. All 14 games in December for the Jackets were Ws. We\’ll see if the Jackets can make it 18 straight, in 2017.