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Rangers legend Henrik Lundqvist headlines newest group of inductees

The 2023 Hockey Hall of Fame inductees have been announced, and the class is headlined by New York Rangers legend Henrik Lundqvist. The class also features two of his goaltending peers, Tom Barrasso and Mike Vernon.

On Wednesday, the Hockey Hall of Fame revealed the class of 2023 inductees. Lundqvist, Barrasso, Vernon, Pierre Turgeon and Caroline Ouellette were all selected as players. Ken Hitchcock and Pierre Lacroix will also be inducted as builders.

Lundqvist played in 887 games — all for the Rangers — and was one of the best goalies of his generation. Lundqvist won the Vezina Trophy in 2012 after posting a 1.97 GAA and .930 save percentage that season. He was a finalist for the award four more times throughout his career. Lundqvist was a five-time All-Star, and he ranks sixth all-time in wins (459), 13th in save percentage (.918) and 17th in shutouts (64).

Lundqvist never won a Stanley Cup, but that was no fault of his own. He had a 2.30 GAA and .921 save percentage in 130 playoff games.

Barrasso won the Vezina Trophy as a rookie with the Buffalo Sabres in 1983-84, and he was a runner-up for the award the following season. In 1991 and 1992, Barrasso backstopped the Pittsburgh Penguins to back-to-back Stanley Cup victories, and he managed to play 10 more seasons after that. Barrasso finished his career with a 3.24 GAA, .892 save percentage and 38 shutouts in 777 games played.

Like Barrasso, Vernon was a two-time Stanley Cup champion. Vernon powered the Calgary Flames to their first Stanley Cup in 1989, and he won a Stanley Cup as the Detroit Red Wings’ starting goaltender in 1997. En route to his second Stanley Cup, Vernon earned a GAA of 1.76 and a save percentage of .927. Vernon was a five-time All-Star, and he was known to mix it up after the whistles, especially against the Colorado Avalanche.

Turgeon spent 19 seasons in the NHL, and he was a prolific goal-scorer in his prime. From 1988-89 to 1993-94, Turgeon scored a total of 242 goals, which ranked eighth in that time span. After that, Turgeon was a consistent 20-goal scorer, and he hit the 30-goal mark three more times. Turgeon, who played for six different franchises, finished his career with 515 goals, 812 assists and 1,327 points in 1,294 games.

Caroline Ouellette had a highly-decorated career with the Canadian women’s national team. Ouellette recorded 30 points in 20 Olympic games and 68 points in 59 World Championship Games. Between the Olympics and the World Championships, Ouellette racked up 10 gold medals throughout her career. Ouellette also played 10 years in the NWHL and CWHL, and she recorded 199 goals and 264 assists in that time.

Hitchcock is the fourth-winningest coach in NHL history with 849 victories over the course of 22 seasons. Hitchcock led the Dallas Stars to their first and only Stanley Cup in the 1998-99 season, and he took them to the Stanley Cup Final the next season before losing to the New Jersey Devils. Hitchcock coached five different NHL teams, and he went to the playoffs in 14 of his 22 years behind the bench.

Lacroix served as general manager of the Quebec Nordiques and Colorado Avalanche from 1994 to 2006, and the franchise reached the playoffs in every season. Lacroix built two Stanley Cup champions in 1995-96 and 2000-01, and the Avalanche won eight division titles with him at the helm. Lacroix, who died in 2020, will be inducted posthumously.

How Connor Bedard’s accomplishments stack up against Connor McDavid, other recent top prospects

The Chicago Blackhawks have the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, and as such, the Connor Bedard hype train has reached terminal velocity ahead of Wednesday night.

It may seem like too much buzz for a 17-year-old stud who has yet to play an NHL shift, but Bedard really does have the pre-draft resume to justify it.

Few of the top NHL Draft prospects over the last decade have received as much attention as Bedard — and that list includes Nathan MacKinnon, Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews. It’s because Bedard completely dominated his draft year, both in the Western Hockey League and at the World Junior Championship.

In his time with the WHL’s Regina Pats, Bedard posted some eye-popping numbers, especially for his age.

2021-22: Bedard became the first 16 year old to score 50 goals in a single WHL season.
2022-23: Bedard tallied 143 points (71 goals and 72 assists), which led the WHL by 36 points.
2023 playoffs: Bedard notched 10 goals and 10 assists in seven playoff games.
In addition to those numbers in junior hockey, Bedard has two World Junior Championship gold medals. He was a superstar at the 2023 tournament.

2022: Bedard scored four goals and added four assists in Canada’s gold-medal run.
2023: Bedard set a Canadian record with 23 points and was named tournament MVP.
Even before 2023, Bedard cemented his place atop the 2023 NHL Draft board. He compares quite favorably to some of the most highly-touted No. 1 overall picks in recent memory. To prove it, let’s look at how Bedard stacks up with MacKinnon, McDavid and Matthews.

Nathan MacKinnon, 2013 draft class
In the 2013 NHL Draft, MacKinnon was the top pick, selected ahead of players like Aleksander Barkov and Seth Jones.

Entering that draft, MacKinnon was highly regarded as a franchise player after a fantastic career with the Halifax Mooseheads of the QMJHL. Even at the age of 16, MacKinnon put up gaudy numbers in Halifax.

2011-12: MacKinnon totaled 31 goals and 47 assists in 58 games as a 16-year-old.
2012-13: MacKinnon scored 32 goals and tallied 75 points in just 44 games.
MacKinnon’s junior hockey career was good enough to make him the best prospect in the 2013 draft, but he wasn’t able to find as much success as Bedard in the World Junior Championships. MacKinnon earned a spot on Team Canada in 2013, but he tallied just one assist in six games as the team stumbled to a fourth-place finish.

Connor McDavid, 2015 draft class
McDavid was the definition of a generational prospect. He had the size, speed, production and intangibles necessary to succeed at the NHL level, and he has delivered on the goods (he still hasn’t won a Stanley Cup, though) in eight seasons with the Edmonton Oilers.

Even at an early age, McDavid had the makings of a potential NHL superstar. He was only 15 years old when he began his career with the OHL’s Erie Otters, but didn’t look out of place at all.

2012-13: McDavid scored 25 goals and 66 points in 63 games in his first junior hockey season.
2013-14: McDavid displayed his elite passing ability with 71 assists and 99 points in 56 games.
2014-15: McDavid took his goal-scoring to another level with 44 tallies in 47 games while posting 120 points.
2015 OHL playoffs: In just 20 playoff games, McDavid recorded 21 goals and 28 assists.
McDavid was already a superstar before the draft because of the way he torched the OHL, but he also played well in two World Junior tournaments. He played in the 2014 tournament at 16 and helped lead Canada to a gold medal in 2015.

2014: McDavid scored one goal and added three assists while Canada finished fourth.
2015: McDavid was tied for the tournament lead in points (11) as Canada won gold.
Between his physical tools and his production in the OHL and World Junior Championship, there wasn’t any doubt that McDavid was an incredibly rare prospect. The fact that Bedard has the statistics and the accolades to match McDavid only makes him more tantalizing to NHL scouts.

Auston Matthews, 2016 draft class
Matthews’ pre-draft path to the NHL was a less traditional than others, but it was still clear that he was an elite prospect.

In his final season on the U.S. National U-18 Team, Matthews led the team in scoring by 10 points, and that roster included players like Matthew Tkachuk and Jack Roslovic. In his draft year, Matthews went to play for Zurich SC of the Swiss-A League and held his own against professionals in Europe.

2014-15: Matthews led the U.S. national team in goals (20), assists (28) and points (48).
2015-16: Matthews led Zurich SC in goals (24), which was tied for fourth in the league — despite missing 14 games.
Matthews’ goal-scoring ability also translated to the World Junior Championship. He had a relatively quiet tournament as an 18 year old in 2015, but he bounced back in 2016.

2015: Matthews scored one goal and notched two assists as Team USA failed to medal.
2016: Matthews tallied seven goals and 11 points in seven games; USA won bronze.
Matthews was a big center who could score goals at an impressive clip, and that has translated very well at the NHL level. Bedard doesn’t have Matthews’ size, but he has shown a similar penchant for filling the net.

The verdict
No matter how you slice it, Bedard is in rare air in terms of his pre-draft resume. Even those best prospects of the last 10 years above struggle to compete when it comes to Bedard’s achievements in junior hockey and on the international stage.

In a recent poll of five NHL scouts and executives conducted by The Athletic, Bedard was ranked as the second-best No. 1 prospect of the last decade, dating back to 2014. Only McDavid ranked ahead of Bedard, due to the Oilers star’s larger size and unmatched speed.

That doesn’t mean Bedard will be just as good or better than McDavid, Matthews and MacKinnon. Physical traits like size and speed can’t be overlooked when projecting a prospects NHL career, and no two prospects develop at the same rate.

That said, it’s easy to look at what Bedard has done to this point in his career and imagine him as one of the top five players in the league sooner rather than later.

Flyers send forward to Blues in exchange for sixth-round pick

The Philadelphia Flyers are making moves ahead of Wednesday’s NHL Draft. Philly traded forward Kevin Hayes to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for a 2024 sixth-round pick, the team announced on Tuesday.

The Flyers are also retaining 50% of Hayes’ $7.142 million salary in the deal.

Hayes just completed his fourth season with the Flyers after signing a seven-year contract with the franchise in the summer of 2019. After a strong first season in Philadelphia, Hayes has battled health and off-ice tragedy (his brother and fellow NHLer Jimmy Hayes died in 2022 at 31), and his production has taken a step back as a result. Over the last three years, Hayes has tallied 40 goals and 76 assists in 184 games.

In 2022-23, Hayes did have somewhat of a bounce-back season by tying his career high in assists with 36 and posting 54 points, which is the second-highest total in his eight NHL seasons. If Hayes can play at that level more often in St. Louis, this deal will prove to be a bargain for the Blues, especially at just over $3.5 million per year.

Hayes has three years remaining on his contract, and he joins a talented forward group in St. Louis that already includes Jordan Kyrou, Robert Thomas, and Brayden Schenn. That foursome should be able to provide plenty of offense for the Blues.

The Flyers were able to move out some salary and create more flexibility as they continue their rebuild under new general manager Danny Briere. There is a good possibility that more moves are on the way for Philadelphia this summer.

 Kevin Durant vs. Nets, Marcus Smart’s return to Boston among 10 reunion dates to circle

The NBA schedule was released on Thursday and we’ve tracked key dates from all angles, including games to circle for the Lakers, Celtics, Knicks and Warriors. Below we are looking at reunion dates, when a marquee player who has switched teams will be making his first trip back to his former home arena as a visiting player (Gabe Vincent or Max Strus returning to Miami is cool and all, but it’s not going to make this list, nor is Grant Williams going back to Boston or Bruce Brown returning to Denver). We’re looking at the big fish here.

Games are listed in chronological order. Let’s get to it.

*LP denotes League Pass

  1. Chris Paul in Phoenix: Warriors at Suns — Nov. 22 (ESPN)
    Paul returns to the Valley with the Warriors after spending three seasons with the Suns and helping lead them to the 2021 Finals. Paul basically aged out in Phoenix, which brought in Bradley Beal to form a big three with Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, but he was the key figure in getting that franchise on a title-contending trajectory.
  2. Mikal Bridges in Phoenix: Nets at Suns — Dec. 13 (LP)
    Bridges wasn’t a marquee player in Phoenix, but he became one in Brooklyn and he’ll surely have an extra hop in his step for this one. Bridges was traded to Brooklyn in the Kevin Durant deal but didn’t come back to Phoenix post-trade last season.
  3. Jordan Poole in Golden State: Wizards at Warriors — Dec. 22 (ESPN)
    Poole was a big part of the Warriors’ 2022 championship but only lasted one season after signing a four-year $140 million contract. Things ended pretty badly for Poole with Golden State, starting with the punch heard round the basketball world from Draymond Green and finishing with an abysmal postseason showing in 2023. He’ll be a go-to guy in Washington and will surely be looking to jack up plenty of shots against his old team.
  4. Jalen Brunson in Dallas: Knicks at Mavericks — Jan. 11 (LP)
    Brunson didn’t play in New York’s only trip to Dallas last season, so this will actually mark his first time on the American Airlines court as a visiting player. This will be a tough one for Mavericks fans. Letting Brunson get away looked bad at the time. It’s borderline stomach-turning now.
  5. Kevin Durant in Brooklyn: Suns at Nets — Jan. 31 (ESPN)
    Durant only played eight regular season games for the Suns after the trade last year and none of them were in Brooklyn. Durant’s time with the Nets was muddled. He performed at an MVP level when he played, but they never made it past the second round and he eventually tried to get his coach and GM fired before he forced his way out.
  6. Marcus Smart in Boston: Grizzlies at Celtics — Feb. 4 (ESPN)
    Smart will receive a massive ovation when he returns to face the Celtics as a member of the Memphis Grizzlies. With Derrick White arguably supplanting him as the better player, Smart became expendable. Kristaps Porzingis is in Boston as a result.
  7. Bradley Beal in Washington: Suns at Wizards — Feb. 4 (NBA TV)
    It’s only fitting that on the same night Smart returns to Boston, Beal’s return to face the Wizards will get the stepchild NBA TV treatment, where Wizards playoff games were stuck for years in the Wall-Beal era.
  8. Kyrie Irving in Brooklyn: Mavericks at Nets — Feb. 6 (TNT)
    Like Durant, Irving will also be making his first trip back to Brooklyn as Dallas didn’t play the Nets following last year’s trade. This is the one I’m looking forward to the most. Irving absolutely torpedoed the Nets over multiple seasons. I would assume a massive round of boos are in order.
  9. Fred VanVleet in Toronto: Rockets at Raptors — Feb. 9 (LP)
    VanVleet was an integral part of the Raptors’ first championship as a franchise. He got a huge deal with the Rockets and rightfully left as Toronto continues to toe the line of keeping its core intact and finally entering the rebuild phase.
  10. Damian Lillard in Portland? Heat at Blazers — Feb. 27 (TNT)
    Well, look what we have here, the Miami Heat in Portland, for the Blazers’ lone nationally televised game of the season, almost directly AFTER the trade deadline. Might the league be anticipating a Damian Lillard deadline trade to Miami? It hasn’t happened yet, but keep the date circled on your calendar. Adam Silver certainly has done so.