NHL Draft 2015: A Look at Toronto Maple Leafs' Pick

source : bleacherreport.com

The NHL Draft Lottery is complete for this year, and the Toronto Maple Leafs will select at the No. 4 spot, as per NHL.com.

Obviously the Leafs would have loved to have won the lottery and had the No. 1 pick. But at least it was the Edmonton Oilers that won the lottery, a team that was already slotted to pick before the Leafs. Because the Oilers were ahead of the Leafs heading into the lottery, the Leafs did not get bumped down to the No. 5 spot.

While Connor McDavid will be an Edmonton Oiler and Jack Eichel seems destined to join the Buffalo Sabres, the draft order becomes much less clear after that.
Let's take a look at the most likely picks for the Toronto Maple Leafs who should get an excellent player at No. 4.

4. Mitch Marner, Centre, London Knights

Mitch Marner is not a large young man, but his game screams big-time talent. If Marner were two inches taller and weighed another 25 pounds, he would be in the conversation as a top-three pick.

Marner has great vision and explosive speed. He's capable of making great plays at break-neck speed. At 5'11" and 160 pounds, he may have to begin his career on the wing, but he has all the tools to be a No. 1 centre at the NHL level.
Marner earned 126 points in 63 games this season. He finished second in OHL scoring in 2014-15. He has to get stronger, but he has elite puck skills. Players that can put up big numbers at the NHL level are not easy to find.
Expect Marner to get a long look from the Leafs in the coming months.

3. Ivan Provorov, Defenceman, Brandon Wheat Kings

Some Leafs fans might not be interested in adding a defenceman, but Ivan Provorov could change their minds. 

Provorov could end up being the best defenceman out of this draft class. He is a great passer, a wonderful skater and an underrated competitor. Provorov makes the game look easy on most nights.
He's not huge at 6'1" and 200 pounds, but with his skill level, that should be absolutely no issue at the pro level.
Provorov has the toolkit to be a top-pairing defender. He would not be in Toronto in 2015-16, but with the Leafs focused on rebuilding, there's absolutely no need to rush him at all.

2. Noah Hanifin, Defenceman, Boston College

Noah Hanifin played most of his freshman year at Boston College as a 17-year-old. That alone is impressive, but earning 23 points in 37 games is eye-popping. He is 6'3" and over 200 pounds. He will get bigger.

Hanifin has a complete game. He's got good offensive instincts, but is an above-average defender in his own end. He's very agile and has great composure with the puck.

He has improved by leaps and bounds this year. That's a great sign for a young defender.
He isn't likely to make the jump to the NHL next season, but he is a lock to become an impact NHL defender.

1. Dylan Strome, Centre, Erie Otters

 

Dylan Strome has been playing in the shadow of Connor McDavid, but don't be fooled into thinking that Strome isn't a superb hockey player.

Strome is 6'3" and nearly 200 pounds. The Leafs must continue to add centres, and Strome would be a great pick for the organization. Strome finished with 129 points in the OHL, which earned him the scoring title.

He's got exceptional on-ice vision and anticipates the play extremely well. He also has great reach and can create something out of very little. He's creative and is one of those players that improves his linemates' play.

Strome is a sure bet to be a No. 1 centre at the NHL level. If he's available at No. 4 at the upcoming draft, the Leafs would be well served to select this talented pivot.

 

Montreal Canadiens vs. Ottawa Senators - 4/17/15 NHL Pick, Odds, and Prediction

source : sportschatplace.com

Ottawa Senators (43-26-13) at Montreal Canadiens (50-22-10)

NHL Hockey: Friday, April 17, 2015 at 7:00 pm (Bell Centre)

The Line: Montreal Canadiens / Ottawa Senators --- Over/Under: See the Latest Odds

The Montreal Canadiens shoot for another win at home versus the Ottawa Senators on Friday.

The Ottawa Senators put up a strong fight on enemy ice but couldn’t close the deal in a 4-3 defeat at Montreal in game one of their series. The Senators played well offensively but struggled to stop the Canadiens. The Sens drew first blood in the first when Habs defenseman Andrei Markov tipped the puck in to his own net with Milan Michalik getting credit for the goal. Kyle Turris scored with the man advantage with Mika Zibanejad also scoring on the power play. Andrew Hammond struggled in the second with all four goals allowed on 39 shots to absorb the loss.

The Montreal Canadiens survived a monster performance from the visiting Ottawa Senators to squeeze out a 4-3 win for a 1-0 series lead. The impressive part of the Canadiens win was they did it without leading scorer Max Pacioretty who is still out with an ‘upper body’ injury. The Habs scored four times in the second with Brian Flynn, Tomas Plekanec, Torrey Mitchell and Lars Eller finding the back of the net while Flynn, PK Subban and Patrick Wiercioch logged a pair of assists each as neither team seemed capable of slowing the other. Carey Price emerged with the win with 30 stops with neither team scoring in the final 20 minutes. 

The  Senators are 5-1 in their last 6 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600 while the under is 7-2-2 in Senators last 11 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600 with the Senators going  6-2 in their last 8 vs. Eastern Conference. The over is 4-0-1 in Canadiens last 5 home games and  6-0-1 in Canadiens last 7 vs. a team with a winning record while the  Canadiens are 5-0 in their last 5 Conference Quarterfinals games. Head to head the over is 5-0-1 in the last 6 meetings in Montreal and  7-1-1 in the last 9 meetings while the home team is 16-6 in the last 22 meetings. No line is out with goalies and injuries a question so please check back….

 

2015 NHL draft lottery: Here are every team's odds at landing Connor McDavid

Connor McDavid will be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 NHL draft. But which team will win the honor of selecting him? Here are the odds.

source : broadstreethockey.com

The NHL draft lottery was bad to us back in 2007.

The Flyers were by far the worst team in the NHL that year -- the only time in their history they finished as the worst team in hockey, which through nearly 50 seasons is pretty impressive -- and yet, when the ping pong balls fell, the top pick was awarded to the Chicago Blackhawks instead of the Flyers.

Philadelphia missed out on consensus top choice Patrick Kane and instead drafted James van Riemsdyk with the No. 2 overall pick. As it turned out, Philly was not a patient enough place for the 

Central Jersey native JvR, and he was traded in 2011 after "disappointing" in his time here. Meanwhile .... well, we all know what Patrick Kane has done in Chicago since his draft year, including one particular goal that we shall not speak of.

Anyway, the point is that the draft lottery sucks -- and this year, it could suck a whole lot more. There are two prized prospects in this year's draft, Erie Otters forward Connor McDavid and Boston University stud Jack Eichel, so the NHL-worst Buffalo Sabres are guaranteed at least one of those two players. But the second-worst Arizona Coyotes could get bumped back to third in the draft order after the lottery, leaving them without one of those two big-name stars.

That's not to say any of the potential No. 3 picks in this draft are bad. There's Boston College defenseman Noah Hanifin or McDavid's Erie teammate Dylan Strome, and surely they would be good picks too. But neither has the name recognition or flat-out game-changing potential that Eichel and McDavid do, so the Coyotes are certainly hoping that the Sabres win the lottery and that the draft order doesn't change.

How does the draft lottery work?

It's pretty simple. One team will win the lottery. That team will select first overall in the draft, and every other team will subsequently select in order of finish. If Buffalo wins the lottery, nothing changes. If Buffalo loses the lottery, they will select No. 2 overall behind the team that wins the lottery, then Arizona will select No. 3 overall, and then we'll go down the list.

The Philadelphia Flyers finished with the seventh-worst record in the NHL this season. That means they will select either No. 1 overall (if they win the lottery), No. 7 overall (if a team worse than them wins the lottery) or No. 8 overall (if a team better than them wins the lottery).

The odds of winning are slightly different this year versus in previous years, as you'll see in the chart below.

Non-Playoff Team (Rank)	2015 Draft Lottery (Old Odds)	Odds of Staying Put	Odds of Falling
Buffalo (1)	20% (25%)	20.0%	80.0%
Arizona (2)	13.5% (18.8%)	20.0%	66.5%
Edmonton (3)	11.5% (14.2%)	33.5%	55.0%
Toronto (4)	9.5% (10.7%)	45.0%	45.5%
Carolina (5)	8.5% (8.1%)	54.5%	37.0%
New Jersey (6)	7.5% (6.2%)	63.0%	29.5%
Philadelphia (7)	6.5% (4.7%)	70.5%	23.0%
Columbus (8)	6.0% (3.6%)	77.0%	17.0%
San Jose(9)	5.0% (2.7%)	83.0%	12%
Colorado (10)	3.5% (2.1%)	88.0%	8.5%
Florida (11)	3.0% (1.5%)	91.5%	5.5%
Dallas (12)	2.5% (1.1%)	94.5%	3.0%
Los Angeles (13)	2.0% (0.8%)	97.0%	1.0%
Boston (14)	1.0% (0.5%)	99.0%	-

So ... the Flyers have a 6.5 percent chance of landing Connor McDavid. Not likely. But hey, you never know.

The NHL draft lottery will reportedly be held next Saturday, April 18 before that evening's NHL playoff action.

Coyotes and Sabres meeting in high stakes draft tanking battles

source : si.com

Off The Draw

Under different circumstances, games between the Coyotes and Sabres would be an afterthought on a schedule that features compelling playoff races.

Buffalo and Arizona, after all, are a pair of terrible hockey teams. Cellar dwellers in their respective conferences, they offer little competitive intrigue as opponents

NHL Draft Lottery simulator shows how Connor McDavid derby may go

by Allan Muir

But circumstances being what they are, their two meetings promise to be closely watched contests. What’s at stake here is not the points to be gained but the ground to be given up in the standings. The Sabres' 4–3 loss in OT on Thursday night brought the beleaguered franchise a step closer to stuffing the greatest possible number of draft lottery balls into the hopper on April 18. And that means a greater opportunity to transform its future by landing Connor McDavid, the player who is regarded as being the best draft prospect since Sidney Crosby.

No surprise that the crowd at Buffalo’s First Niagara Center was fiercely pro-Coyotes.

The Sabres, who enter the weekend holding the league’s basement apartment with 48 points, have eight games left on their schedule. The Coyotes are six points ahead of them. Arizona had lost eight straight games, and 18 of its last 19, before stunning the Red Wings in overtime on Tuesday night. 

The Yotes have seven games remaining.

Sabres' Mike Weber voices frustration with fans for rooting for Coyotes

by SI.com Staff

Buffalo’s loss, had it been in regulation, might have sealed the deal. Arizona probably needed to lose on Thursday and in next Monday’s rematch in Glendale to make the race interesting.

Not that it’s a race the NHL wants to see run. Despite (or perhaps because of) all the attention it is generating, tonight’s Tank Bowl is bad for business. In fact, tanking to secure a better draft position became such a concern that the NHL felt compelled to dramatically alter its lottery rules ahead of this season. Under those revisions, the league’s worst team now has only a 20% chance of landing the top pick.

But for this year anyway (the rules will change again next summer) that team can drop no lower than the second selection, which means it is guaranteed to land either McDavid or Jack Eichel, the Boston University star who could turn out to be the best consolation prize since Evgeni Malkin went second behind Alex Ovechkin back in 2004.

The team that finishes 29th could land the second pick, but it has a 67% chance of dropping to third and missing out on both players.

Blackhawks may lose another prized prospect in UVM's Michael Paliotta

by Allan Muir

All that said, these games won’t be a farce of turnovers, ignored defensive assignments, sloppy goaltending—though on Thursday the Sabres countered Arizona's Mike Smith (left, photo above) with Matt Hackett (right) and his .893 save percentage instead of Anders Lindback who would weigh in at .926 since arriving in Buffalo via a February trade) and comically blown offensive chances ... at least, no more than normal for these two clubs. In fact, it could end up being a thriller. 

Because while these organizations might be thinking of the future, the players on the ice are only worried about the present. Their honor is on the line tonight. They don’t want to be embarrassed. They’re sick of losing. And no one wants to be seen as the guy who can be jettisoned to make room for McDavid next season.

And they might even be aware of this noteworthy fact: In each of the past three seasons, the team that finished 29th has won the lottery.

Maybe a win will be a win after all.

Hot links

Coyotes broadcaster arrested for allegedly biting cop at casino

by Allan Muir

• Team owner Ed Snider thinks his Flyers can compete for the Stanley Cup next season. He’s not allowed to drive, is he?

• The Las Vegas Aces? Here’s a peek at a possible uniform for an NHL expansion team in Sin City.

• Lawyers working the concussion case brought by former players against the NHL are hoping to get Gary Bettman to testify under oath before July 1. Think that might get interesting?

• Want to celebrate the success of Andrew Hammond by chucking a burger on the ice? The Hamburglar has a better idea.

• You think diminutive Colorado forward Daniel Briere has a tough job battling through oversized defenders? Wait until you hear about what his girlfriend does.

Player of the day : Derek King

Derek King (born February 11, 1967) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger who played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League from 1986–87 until 1999–2000.

Height	6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight	220 lb (100 kg; 15 st 10 lb)
Position	Left Wing
Shot	Left
Played for	New York Islanders Hartford Whalers Toronto Maple Leafs St. Louis Blues
National team	Canada
NHL Draft	13th overall, 1985 New York Islanders
Playing career	1986–2004

King was drafted 13th overall by the New York Islanders in the 1985 NHL Entry Draft. He played 830 career NHL games, scoring 261 goals and 351 assists for 612 points. He was a three-time 30-goal scorer, including one 40-goal season. He scored the last Maple Leafs goal in Maple Leaf Gardens in 1999

King was named the assistant coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs AHL affiliate the Toronto Marlies on August 21, 2009.

Career Statistic : 

Hockey card of the day : 1990-91 Score #439 Martin Brodeur RC #card #hockey #trade

                                                     FRONT

                                                     BACK

 Source : Beckett.com   

     Item Details

• Set: 1990-91 Score
• Player: Brodeur, Martin
• Sport: Hockey
• Team: New Jersey Devils
• Attributes: RC
• Card Number: #439
• Manufacturer: Pinnacle/Score
• Brand: Score

Best pick at No. 5: Jaromir Jagr, Penguins

Source : Nhl.com

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first NHL Draft, NHL.com assembled a 13-member panel to select the best first-round picks of all time, based on selection number. NHL.com will feature one of the top first-round picks each day, beginning with the best No. 30 pick on June 1 and culminating with the all-time No. 1 pick on June 30, the day of the 2013 NHL Draft.

Today: The best No. 5 pick: Jaromir Jagr, Pittsburgh Penguins, 1990

When the Philadelphia Flyers arrived at the 1990 NHL Draft, they had a skinny Czechoslovakian forward at the top of their board, and when their turn with the fourth pick came up, Jaromir Jagr was there waiting for them. Instead, Flyers general manager Russ Farwell got nervous about picking a European player so high and opted for Canadian center Mike Ricci.

With the next pick, the Pittsburgh Penguins were more than happy to select Jagr. Two Stanley Cups and a treasure trove of trophies later, NHL.com's Dream Draft panel voted Jagr the best No. 5 first-round pick.

Jaromir Jagr

CAREER STATISTICS

G: 681 | A: 1,007 | P: 1,688
SOG: 4,881 | +/-: 278

Jagr made an immediate impact in Pittsburgh on and off the ice. He played a key role in the team winning the Stanley Cup in his first two seasons, and his productivity -- along with his iconic, thick, black mullet -- made him one of the most popular players in team history.
Jagr moved from complementary piece to a starring role in 1992-93 with the first of back-to-back 90-point seasons. In the lockout-shortened 1994-95 season, he won his first of five Art Ross trophies with 70 points in 48 games.

Jagr was even better in 1995-96, setting career-highs with 62 goals and 149 points, each second to teammate Mario Lemieux among League leaders.

With Lemieux retiring after that season, Jagr became the Penguins' top star. He hit the 100-point mark again in 1997-98, with his 102 leading the League and winning the first of four straight Art Ross trophies. His best season in that span was 1998-99, when he had 127 points and was second with 44 goals. He won the Hart Trophy as League MVP and the Lester B. Pearson Award as the League's most outstanding player as voted by the players.

He won the Pearson/Ross duo in 1999-2000, and in 2000-01 won his fifth Art Ross with 121 points, to go with 52 goals. But with the Penguins unable to meet Jagr's contract demands, he was traded to the Washington Capitals in the summer of 2001, ending an 11-season run in Pittsburgh that saw him total 439 goals, 640 assists and 1,079 points in 806 games, numbers that rank second to Lemieux in each category.

Jagr signed a seven-year, $77 million contract, then led the Capitals in scoring in each of his two full seasons in Washington. However, he never scored more than 80 points, got the team into the playoffs once, and with the Capitals looking to cut costs, was traded to the New York Rangers on Jan. 23, 2004.

After playing in Europe during the 2004-05 lockout, Jagr returned to New York re-energized and
finished second in the League with 54 goals and 126 points, each a single-season Rangers record. He finished second in voting for the Hart Trophy and won the Pearson for the third time.

NHL DREAM DRAFT BOARD

POSITION	TEAM	PLAYER
5		Jaromir Jagr, RW 1990
6		Paul Coffey, D 1980
7		Bill Barber, LW 1972
8		Ray Bourque, D 1979
9		Brian Leetch, D 1986
10		T. Selanne, RW 1988
11		Jarome Iginla, RW 1995
12		Marian Hossa, RW 1997
13		Dustin Brown, RW 2003
14		B. Propp, 1977 S. Gonchar, 1992
15		Mike Bossy, RW 1977
16		D. Andreychuk, LW 1982
17		Zach Parise, LW 2003
18		Ken Daneyko, D 1982
19		Keith Tkachuk, LW 1990
20		Martin Brodeur, G 1990
21		Kevin Lowe, D 1979
22		Claude Giroux, RW 2006
23		Ryan Kesler, C 2003
24		Mike Richards, C 2003
25		Cam Ward, G 2002
26		Martin Havlat, RW 1999
27		Scott Gomez, C 1998
28		Corey Perry, RW 2003
29		Mike Green, D 2004
30		Simon Despres, D 2009

FULL NHL DREAM DRAFT ARCHIVE ›

Named captain prior to the 2006-07 season, he responded by scoring a goal on his first shift, 29 seconds into a season-opening 5-2 win against the Capitals at Madison Square Garden. He went on to have his 10th 90-point season and led the team with 30 goals, 66 assists and 96 points, eighth-highest in the League.

Along the way he scored his 600th goal and 1,500th point, and tied Mike Gartner's NHL record with his 15th straight 30-goal season.

Jagr left the Rangers after the 2007-08 season and spent the next three playing in Russia. He returned to the NHL at age 39 with the Philadelphia Flyers in 2011-12 and had 54 points in 73 games while serving as a respected leader. He signed with the Dallas Stars in the summer of 2012 and was leading the team with 14 goals and 26 points when he was traded to the Boston Bruins. Four months past his 41st birthday, Jagr remains a vital contributor to the Bruins' run to the Stanley Cup Final.
Jagr ranks 10th in NHL history in goals (681) and eighth in points (1,688), and is one of 12 players with more than 1,000 assists. He's the leading scorer among non-Canadian players.

Those marks made him a convincing choice by NHL.com's Dream Draft panel, ahead of Hall of Fame member Scott Stevens and Jagr teammate Tom Barrasso.

"Happily, for various reasons, the perception of Jaromir Jagr the person has now evolved to match the reality: that he is a hard worker who deeply cares about the game and his teammates," NHL Vice President of Public Relations and former Rangers beat writer John Dellapina said. "The talent never has been in question, an extremely rare combination of dazzling skill and overwhelming strength. And anybody with access to an NHL Guide and Record Book must acknowledge that there have been only a handful of players in League history who have been more relentlessly productive.
"There were some brilliant players chosen fifth overall. Jagr is a cut above. Jagr is special."