March 22 — Immediate Impacts & Men’s D-I Tournament Preview

Yesterday’s NHL Scores


Last Night’s News 📰

A WILD DEADLINE: Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin made his intentions clear after partaking in an active trade deadline by acquiring goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, defenseman Jacob Middleton, and forwards Tyson Jost and Nicolas Deslauriers. Although the team has not won a playoff round since the 2014-15 season, it looks like they are prepared to make a substantial postseason run this year. 

NOT YOUR AVERAGE MONDAY: On a frantic day of pre-deadline activity, 33 trades involving 54 players took place as teams across the league got busy positioning themselves for the stretch run and beyond. The Hockey Writers has you covered with a breakdown of everything that happened at the deadline.

BOSTON BRU-WIN: After bolstering their defensive corps with the additions of Hampus Lindholm and Josh Brown, the Boston Bruins pulled even with the Toronto Maple Leafs for the third spot in the Atlantic Division with a 3-2 overtime win over the Montreal Canadiens. Brad Marchand scored the OT winner in a come-from-behind victory for the Bruins.

BRING ‘EM BACK: Lost in the shuffle of all the moves made on Monday, multiple players signed contract extensionsJake DeBrusk (two-year, $8 million) of the Boston Bruins, Jesperi Kotkaniemi (eight-year, $38.56 million) of the Carolina Hurricanes, and Anton Forsberg (three-year, $8.75 million) of the Ottawa Senators were just three of the pieces secured by their teams. 


Trivia Tuesday

How Well Do You Know the NHL Trade Deadline?

  1. On March 5, 2014, Martin St. Louis was traded from the Tampa Bay Lightning to the New York Rangers in exchange for which player?
    • Ryan Callahan
    • Ryan McDonagh
    • J.T. Miller
    • Daniel Girardi

  2. In March 2002, the New Jersey Devils traded Jason Arnott and Randy McKay for which two players?
    • Jamie Langenbrunner & Stéphane Richer
    • Jamie Langenbrunner & Valeri Kamensky
    • Joe Nieuwendyk & Valeri Kamensky
    • Joe Nieuwendyk & Jamie Langenbrunner

  3. Who was the first player in Seattle Kraken history to move at the NHL Trade Deadline?
    • Nathan Bastian
    • Marcus Johansson
    • Calle Järnkrok
    • Mark Giordano

Answers can be found at the bottom of the email.


Trade Deadline: The Winners

Monday saw both a flurry of trades and a trade of Fleury. All told, 33 moves transpired as 54 players switched addresses, and that is before counting the busy lead-up to deadline day. Amidst all of that, a few teams stood out. Objectives may have differed, but various front offices found success alternately by loading up for a run at this year’s Stanley Cup or accumulating future assets for players who didn’t fit their current direction.

Regardless of what they were ultimately looking to accomplish, here’s to the clubs that got to work ahead of the deadline and emerged as early winners:

Florida Panthers

Claude Giroux, a major addition for the Florida Panthers. (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)

By adding Claude Giroux and Ben Chiarot to solidify one of the league’s deepest rosters, the Florida Panthers secured some of the biggest speculated names among the forward and blue line corps. The wheeling and dealing, which also brought Robert Hägg into the fold, forced Florida to part with promising youngster Owen Tippett and a handful of picks, including two future first-round selections. In the end, the Panthers have positioned themselves nicely for a deep run this spring.

Anaheim Ducks

An exciting start to the season for the young Anaheim Ducks gave way to inexperience and inconsistency, taking them out of playoff contention in the Pacific Division. In response, new Ducks GM Pat Verbeek didn’t hesitate in off-loading pending free agents while weaponizing the team’s cap space to add seven picks and six players in the past week. None of Josh Manson, Nicolas Deslauriers, Hampus Lindholm, or Rickard Rakell were likely to remain with the team past this season, so Anaheim seriously maximized value here.

New York Rangers

Andrew Copp, formerly of the Winnipeg Jets (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)

Maybe Chris Drury is not so bad at this whole GM thing. Drury helped solidify the New York Rangers in front of all-word goalie Igor Shesterkin, adding Andrew Copp, Justin Braun, Tyler Motte, and Frank Vatrano for the stretch run. Somehow the Rangers landed four bonafide NHL regulars without sacrificing anyone from their current roster, including rumored trade candidate Alexandar Georgiev, or a guaranteed first-round pick. Although, the conditional second for Copp becomes a first-rounder if the Rangers win two playoff series.

Chicago Blackhawks

Any potential full-blown tear-down will have to wait until the summer. However, Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson picked up two first-round picks in the Brandon Hagel deal while flipping Marc-André Fleury’s expiring contract into a second-rounder that could become a first if Minnesota reaches the Western Conference Final. Given that Flower was acquired for AHLer Mikael Hakkarainen nine months ago, that’s a solid return on investment.


Men’s NCAA Division I Tournament Preview

Yesterday, we took a look back at the NCAA Division I Men’s conference tournaments. Today, we’re taking a look ahead to the NCAA D-I Men’s national championship tournament, with the seedings and matchups revealed on Sunday evening. The bracket consists of 16 teams in four regionals, with the first round beginning on Thursday.

Michigan, Minnesota State, Minnesota Duluth, UMass, Harvard, and America International all received automatic berths by winning their conference tournaments, while the other teams got in as at-large bids.

(Courtesy NCAA)

Participants

#1 Michigan Wolverines

Location: Ann Arbor, MI
Rank: 2nd (Big Ten Champion)
Record: 29-9-1
Top Scorer: Matty Beniers (19 Goals, 22 Assists, 41 Points)
Top Goalie: Erik Portillo (2.06 Goals-Against Average, .928 Save Percentage)

#4 American International Yellow Jackets

Location: Springfield, MA
Rank: 17th (Atlantic Hockey Association Champion)
Record: 22-12-3
Top Scorer: Blake Bennett (18 G, 14 A, 32 P)
Top Goalie: Jake Kucharski (2.39 GAA, .910 SV%)

#2 Quinnipiac Bobcats

Location: Hamden, CT
Rank: 7th (Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference At-Large)
Record: 31-6-3
Top Scorer: Zach Metsa (9 G, 25 A, 34 P)
Top Goalie: Yaniv Perets (0.96 GAA, .948 SV%)

#3 St. Cloud State Huskies

Location: St. Cloud, MN
Rank: 11th (National Collegiate Hockey Conference At-Large)
Record: 18-14-4
Top Scorer: Kevin Fitzgerald (17 G, 18 A, 35 P)
Top Goalie: David Hrenak (2.26 GAA, .914 SV%)

#1 Denver Pioneers

Location: Denver, CO
Rank: 4th (NCHC At-Large)
Record: 27-9-1
Top Scorer: Bobby Brink (14 G, 41 A, 55 P)
Top Goalie: Magnus Chrona (2.20 GAA, .908 SV%)

#4 UMass Lowell River Hawks

Location: Lowell, MA
Rank: 13th (Hockey East At-Large)
Record: 21-10-3
Top Scorer: Carl Berglund (9 G, 19 A, 28 P)
Top Goalie: Owen Savory (1.89 GAA, .927 SV%)

#2 Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs

Location: Duluth, MN
Rank: 3rd (NCHC Champion)
Record: 21-15-4
Top Scorer: Blake Biondi (17 G, 11 A, 28 P)
Top Goalie: Ryan Fanti (1.87 GAA, .926 SV%)

#3 Michigan Tech Huskies

Location: Houghton, MI
Rank: 14th (Central Collegiate Hockey Association At-Large)
Record: 21-12-3
Top Scorer: Brian Halonen (21 G, 23 A, 44 P)
Top Goalie: Blake Pietila (1.91 GAA, .918 SV%)

#1 Western Michigan Broncos

Location: Kalamazoo, MI
Rank: 5th (NCHC At-Large)
Record: 25-11-1
Top Scorer: Drew Worrad (9 G, 35 A, 44 P)
Top Goalie: Brandon Bussi (2.60 GAA, .910 SV%)

#4 Northeastern Huskies

Location: Boston, MA
Rank: 12th (Hockey East At-Large)
Record: 25-12-1
Top Scorer: Aidan McDonough (24 G, 14 A, 38 P)
Top Goalie: Devon Levi (1.52 GAA, .9 ory (1.89 GAA, .927 SV%)

#2 Minnesota Golden Gophers

Location: Minneapolis, MN
Rank: 6th (Big Ten At-Large)
Record: 24-12-0
Top Scorer: Ben Meyers (16 G, 21 A, 37 P)
Top Goalie: Justen Close (1.89 GAA, .928 SV%)

#3 UMass Minutemen

Location: Amherst, MA
Rank: 9th (Hockey East Champion)
Record: 22-12-2
Top Scorer: Bobby Trivigno (20 G, 28 A, 48 P)
Top Goalie: Matt Murray (2.27 GAA, .919 SV%)

#1 Minnesota State Mavericks

Location: Mankato, MN
Rank: 1st (CCHA Champion)
Record: 35-5-0
Top Scorer: Drew Worrad (9 G, 35 A, 44 P)
Top Goalie: Brandon Bussi (2.60 GAA, .910 SV%)

#4 Harvard Crimson

Location: Cambridge, MA
Rank: 15th (ECAC Champion)
Record: 21-10-3
Top Scorer: Matthew Coronato (18 G, 17 A, 35 P)
Top Goalie: Mitchell Gibson (2.11 GAA, .919 SV%)

#2 North Dakota Fighting Hawks

Location: Grand Forks, ND
Rank: 8th (NCHC At-Large)
Record: 24-13-1
Top Scorer: Riese Gaber (15 G, 22 A, 37 P)
Top Goalie: Zach Driscoll (2.36 GAA, .907 SV%)

#3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Location: South Bend, IN
Rank: 10th (Big Ten At-Large)
Record: 27-11-0
Top Scorer: Max Ellis (16 G, 12 A, 28 P)
Top Goalie: Matthew Galajda (1.98 GAA, .930 SV%)

Schedule – All Times Eastern

Albany (NY) Regional

Thursday, March 24: #1 Minnesota St vs. #4 Harvard (Noon, ESPNU) | #2 North Dakota vs. #3 Notre Dame (6:00 PM, ESPNU)

Saturday, March 26: Albany Regional Championship (4:00 PM or 6:30 PM, ESPNU)

Loveland (CO) Regional

Thursday, March 24: #2 Minn. Duluth vs. #3 Michigan Tech (3:00 PM, ESPNU) | #1 Denver vs. #4 UMass Lowell (9:00 PM, ESPNU)

Saturday, March 26: Loveland Regional Championship (4:00 PM or 6:30 PM, ESPNU)

Worcester (MA) Regional

Friday, March 25: #1 Western Mich. vs. #4 Northeastern (Noon, ESPNU) | #2 Minnesota vs. #3 UMass (6:00 PM, ESPNU)

Sunday, March 27: Worcester Regional Championship (4:00 PM or 6:30 PM, ESPNU)

Allentown (PA) Regional

Friday, March 25: #1 Michigan vs. #4 American Int’l (3:00 PM, ESPNU) | #2 Quinnipiac vs. #3 St. Cloud St. (8:00 PM, ESPNU)

Sunday, March 27: Allentown Regional Championship (4:00 PM or 6:30 PM, ESPNU)

Frozen Four (TD Garden, Boston, MA)

Thursday, April 7: Allentown Regional Champion vs. Loveland Regional Champion (5:00 or 8:30 PM, ESPN2) | Worcester Regional Champion vs. Albany Regional Champion (5:00 PM or 8:30 PM, ESPN2)

Saturday, April 9: National Championship (8:00 PM, ESPN2)


Trivia Answers

  1. Ryan Callahan
  2. Joe Nieuwendyk & Jamie Langenbrunner
  3. Calle Järnkrok

NHL Standings


NHL’s Leading Scorers


Today’s NHL Schedule