Tag Stanley Cup

BOSTON ROSTER BATTLES COULD MAKE THE BRUINS EVEN STRONGER

How often do NHL teams get to witness training camp battles right before the playoffs? This notion could be one of the few positive wrinkles in the league’s Return to Play tournament and the Boston Bruins may be one of the biggest beneficiaries. As it is, the Bruins will be a favorite to win the Stanley Cup thanks to their excellent combination of talent, experience and depth. And that depth will be on full display in Toronto as coach Bruce Cassidy decides on his lines when the Bruins begin playing their round-robin games as one of the East’s top-four seeds. Part of this development is about necessity, of course. Trade deadline acquisition Ondrej Kase has been mysteriously absent from most team activities and has yet to fly to Toronto from Boston, though he is on the roster. Once he does arrive, he will have to quarantine for four days – so his absence will be extended no matter soon he is deemed ‘fit to play’ in the parlance of our times. In Kase’s absence comes opportunity, however. Youngsters such as Jack Studnicka and Anders Bjork can both play right wing and if either of them…

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JOE PAVELSKI FOUND EXACTLY WHAT HE WAS LOOKING FOR IN DALLAS

Joe Pavelski was synonymous with the San Jose Sharks for years – heck, the center/right-winger was the captain of the team for four seasons – but last summer introduced a change to the gifted two-way veteran. With the Sharks unable to sign all their free agents under the salary cap, Pavelski’s departure was pretty much telegraphed ahead of time, but it was nonetheless strange to hear him joining another Western Conference franchise. That team turned out to be the Dallas Stars, which inked Pavelski to a three-year contract worth a total of $21 million. Pavelski, who won a USHL title with Waterloo and an NCAA championship with the University of Wisconsin, has gotten close to the Stanley Cup but has yet to hoist it. His Sharks fell to Pittsburgh in 2016 final and that’s been his NHL apex to date. But with Dallas putting together a tough, veteran crew for 2019-20, Pavelski was a key pick-up in the off-season. “You can never have enough guys who have learned how to win,” said Dallas GM Jim Nill. “Winning doesn’t just happen, you have to go through the trials and tribulations and Joe Pavelski has done that.…

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MOST GOALS, POINTS & WINS: THE NHL’S LEADING CANDIDATES AND LONG SHOTS IN 2019-20

Well, we’re almost there. This time next week the 2019-20 NHL regular season will be underway, and we can forget about the previews and predictions and projections for another year and instead focus on the action on the ice. But, before the puck drops on the real thing, here’s one more prediction-filled preview projecting the NHL’s top candidates to lead the league in points, goals, and goalie wins in 2019-20, with a few long shots — and long long shots – thrown in. MOST POINTS: Don’t overthink it, go with Nikita Kucherov or Connor McDavid. The Lightning superstar is coming off the most productive season in nearly a quarter of a century, the Oilers superstar could one-up Kucherov and approach 150 points. Sure, someone like Patrick Kane or Nathan MacKinnon or Sidney Crosby or Johnny Gaudreau could rip off a career year and claim the Art Ross Trophy. But don’t overthink it. Go with Kucherov or McDavid. Long shots: David Pastrnak missed 16 games last season but his points-per-game average ranked seventh in the league. He’s entering his sixth NHL season at the tender age of 23 and he’s an integral member of the ‘Perfection…

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BRUCE CASSIDY HAS ECLIPSED ALL EXPECTATIONS EN ROUTE TO HIS EXTENSION WITH BRUINS

When the Boston Bruins fired Claude Julien in February 2017, right in the midst of a hotly contested playoff race, it couldn’t have seemed more misguided. By all measures, underlying or otherwise, the Bruins appeared prepared to punch their ticket to the dance and contend for the Stanley Cup. Boston boasted a talented core, strength at all positions and possession numbers that suggested it was nothing more than a bout of bad luck – six losses in nine games at a crucial point in the campaign – along with the threat of a third consecutive season on the outside of the post-season looking in that made the Bruins panic just enough to give Julien the axe. And replacing Julien with assistant Bruce Cassidy, well, that seemed to be cause for even greater concern. Had Cassidy done great work down on the farm? Undeniably. He was fresh off of a run of four consecutive playoff appearances in five seasons behind the Providence Bruins’ bench. But his NHL track record was next to non-existent. He had spent parts of two seasons, a total of 107 regular seasons and six playoff games, behind the Washington Capitals’ bench and…

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