CAROLINA HURRICANES NEWS CLIPPINGS April 16, 2014

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1 NEWS CLIPPINGS April 16, 2014 Canes' Eric Staal, Cam Ward not immune from trading block By Chip Alexander 15, 2014 Updated 6 hours ago RALEIGH It s hard to imagine the Carolina Hurricanes without Eric Staal or Cam Ward. They starred on the Canes 2006 Stanley Cup team. They ve become fixtures with the franchise. Staal has been the team captain since January But the Hurricanes now have missed the Stanley Cup playoffs five straight years, and change is on the way. What once was unthinkable the possibility of Staal or Ward being traded could be part of the conversation should the Canes decide major moves are necessary. Odds are, both will continue to be Hurricanes. Next season will begin, and Staal will be at center, wearing No. 12 with the C, and Ward in No. 30 and back in net. But so much uncertainty surrounds this team heading into the offseason, and anything seems possible. Staal was asked Tuesday if he could conceive of himself playing for another team. I ve never thought that, dreamed that or wanted that, he said. But obviously with where we re at and where it s been at the last little while, everything is going to be evaluated. And I know that. I m smart enough to know everyone s going to be in a position to be looked at and figure out what s best for this organization and this team. For me personally, I think I can be part of the right things going forward. Obviously, my career isn t going to be forever, and I want to play in the playoffs. I don t want to continually miss the playoffs and have these type of interviews at the end of a season. The Canes Jordan Staal said he has sensed his brother s growing frustration, especially late in the season as the team fell out of playoff contention. You could really hear it in his voice and see it in his eyes he wants so much more, Jordan Staal said. But despite the disappointment of the season, Eric Staal did not sound like a player saying he has done all he can for a franchise and now was willing to move to a new team or Cup contender should the Canes believe it s best to deal him. I ve been here a long time. I love it here, he said. I ve had success here, and I know and believe that we can have it again and I can be a part of that. Hopefully we can continue to improve and get better and get back there. Staal noted the end-of-season evaluations don t just involve the players. While saying he believed Canes coach Kirk Muller and his staff did a good job, he said everyone must held accountable when a team fails to reach the playoffs. Everybody has to do a better job than we did, Staal said. That includes the coaches. Everyone comes under the microscope and is evaluated when we miss the playoffs. Ward won the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2006 as the MVP of the playoffs and became a workhorse goalie. But back issues, a knee injury and then a groin problem this season have limited his appearances, hindered his effectiveness and led to questions about his durability at age 30. Ward played in 30 games this season, his fewest in a full NHL season since He had a record, with a 3.06 goals-against average and.898 save percentage, as Anton Khudobin emerged as the Canes No. 1 goaltender. I struggled to get comfortable all season long, Ward said Tuesday. Obviously I got the injury, and coming back from that I felt like I was playing catchup. I wasn t able to get consecutive games to try and get my game going. Anton had a great season. I was never able to get into a rhythm. Before the NHL trade deadline, speculation began that Ward might be available, given Khudobin s good play, or that the Canes could wait and deal him in the offseason. Obviously it s not something that you want to hear, Ward said. My family and I consider this our home and have for nine years and I definitely want to be a Hurricane moving forward. To hear those rumors is difficult but you don t want to make too much of it because I wasn t told anything. I do believe I ll overcome this and get my game back to where it used to be. I hope that s here in Carolina. Forward Jiri Tlusty said he didn t want to think about a Canes team missing either Staal or Ward. Both are really classy guys and have been the core of the team, Tlusty said. It will be interesting what management will do, but it s always a pleasure to be around them.

2 NEWS CLIPPINGS April 16, 2014 DeCock: Eric Staal has to get fans back on his side By Luke DeCock - staff columnist ldecock@newsobserver.comapril 15, 2014 Updated 6 hours ago RALEIGH It wasn t anything Eric Staal said Tuesday, as he autopsied the Carolina Hurricanes failure for the fifth straight time as captain, that touched on the real problem. It was something he said Thursday night, after a heartless, soulless loss to the Washington Capitals that encapsulated every complaint fans have about this team. Whether people think that or not, I m out there competing as hard as I can, Staal said. So there are no secrets here. Staal is aware the fans aren t happy with what they perceive as a lack of effort and leadership, correctly or incorrectly, and he acknowledged Tuesday there s work to be done to rebuild that relationship. For me, personally, I m just as frustrated with what s gone on here, this year and the lockout year, Staal said. The pressure s on, but I enjoy that. I think anytime you start winning and get back in the win column, which I think we can do, it will all be forgotten. There s no getting around it: just like the Hurricanes aren t getting it done, Staal isn t getting it done. He carries a salarycap hit of $8.25 million, tied for fifth in the NHL. That s superstar money, Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin money. At this point in his career, it s clear Staal is a good player, a very talented one, but not a superstar. He s not alone. Staal, his brother Jordan and Alex Semin were paid $22.25 million this season and combined for 58 goals, still better value than the $6.6 million Cam Ward was paid for a 3.06 goals-against average and.898 save percentage. If the Hurricanes decide to move Staal, they ll get something for him. There are too many teams in the NHL that would like to have a player like that, or exchange their own similarly restless star for another the Ottawa Senators are having a familiar debate right now over Jason Spezza. But Staal and the Hurricanes have come too far down this road together to part ways now. It s not time to give up yet, even if fans would accept his departure. (It could be worse: Ward s exit would be downright celebrated at this point.) There are factors that are out of Staal s control and will continue to be out of his control: Who his linemates are and how they perform. The coaching staff. The style of play. The unrealistic expectations created by his contract. But there are many factors he does control, and it s imperative he grasps the opportunity he has this summer to make the most of them. He has to come back this fall in the best shape of his life, beyond anything he has approached in his career. If that means getting out of Thunder Bay to work with Gary Roberts or someone like that, so be it. With no knee injury to worry about this summer, he must leave no doubt about his physical condition. And he has to embrace exerting the same effort at both ends of the ice. It s no coincidence he played some of his best offensive hockey in recent years shortly after Kirk Muller took over with Staal mired in the worst slump of his career. Muller told him not to worry about offense, just go out and set an example by working hard. That has to be the mantra going forward. Staal may be right: Get the team to the postseason and the fans will be back on his side. The only way to find out is if he does everything in his power to make it happen. And that starts this summer, both physically and mentally. Canes to pick 7th in 2014 draft Posted by Chip Alexander on April 15, 2014 Updated 13 hours ago The Canes weren t lucky enough to win the NHL draft lottery Tuesday but are hoping to have good luck with the No. 7 pick again. The lottery was held Tuesday and the Florida Panthers were the winner, taking the No. 1 pick. The Canes had a 4.7 percent chance of winning. Canes' refrains remain the same Posted by Chip Alexander on April 15, 2014 The refrains were familiar. The Canes had the seventh pick in the 2010 draft, taking forward Jeff Skinner of the Kitchener Rangers (OHL). Skinner was the Calder Trophy winner in The draft is set June at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. "It was a frustrating season "

3 NEWS CLIPPINGS April 16, 2014 "We found ways to lose " "It's really disappointing to miss the playoffs again " "We have to remember this feeling and make sure we don't have it again " So it went Tuesday at PNC Arena as the Hurricanes talked with the media and packed up their gear for the offseason. For all that was said, it was, in fact, a feeling some were experiencing for the fifth straight year. "I thought we had a pretty good team this year," forward Jeff Skinner said. "I think as everyone said, it's frustrating, it's disappointing not being in the playoffs. It keeps happening and we keep saying coming into the year it's going to be the year we turn it around. We still haven't done it yet." Skinner scored a career-high 33 goals, one of the highlights of the season for the Canes. But he's now played four NHL seasons without being in a playoff game. "The consistency in our game wasn't there," he said. "To be good in this league you have to be consistent." The Canes closed the season with 83 points, winning the last two games for a record. "That's very average and not good enough to get us close to where we wanted to be or where we thought we could be," defenseman Ron Hainsey said. The Canes had one five-game winning streak in the season, beginning it with the stirring comeback win over Montreal on New Year's Eve at PNC Arena. But after a four-game winning streak in late-january, they never won more than two in a row and were in the final 20 games. Nash the middle man in 'young guns' line Posted by Chip Alexander on April 15, 2014 Hands up for everyone who predicted the line of Jeff Skinner, Riley Nash and Elias Lindholm would be the Canes' most productive late in the season. No one saw that coming. But Canes coach Kirk Muller gave it a try and the three clicked pretty well -- Nash the "old man" at 24. Not that it was hard, Nash said Tuesday. "We worked well together and each of us fed off each other," Nash said. "For me, being in the middle, I was just trying to be consistent and just let those two guys play because they're incredibly skilled. It was just me trying to keep things going in the right direction and let them do what they do best." Skinner scored seven goals in the last 11 games to finish with a career-high 33, getting two Sunday against the Philadelphia Flyers. Lindholm ended his rookie season with a flourish, scoring a pair of goals at Pittsburgh on April 1 and adding another in a 2-1 victory at Detroit last Friday while providing some solid, at times physical two-way play. "We found ways to lose games," center Jordan Staal said. "There were so many games where we went into the third period and just beat ourselves, or starting games and beating ourselves." Winger Pat Dwyer said the Canes were hurt by a poor start when the NHL season resumed after the Olympic break. Carolina had a five-game road trip, took a tough loss at Buffalo to start, then dropped games against Dallas, the L.A. Kings and Anaheim Ducks before an overtime win against San Jose. "That slide on that trip to the West Coast I think ultimately put us in a position where we couldn't get back in the race," Dwyer said. "That set us back to where we couldn't recover." Not enough to make the playoffs. Since winning the Stanley Cup in 2006, the Canes have been just once -- in "It's like a snowball. It keeps rolling," Dwyer said. "The first year you're disappointed and by year five you're completely frustrated. It's tough year after year having your (end-of-year) meetings in April and getting ready to go home and watch the playoffs with your son. Eventually you want to be in it and playing for that ultimate prize. Canes captain Eric Staal has played for and won that prize, the Cup. He said he will watch the playoffs but will ache in doing it. "I know everyone is frustrated," Staal said. "I know our fans are frustrated. I know management, staff, everyone is." Asked about the desperation level late in the season, Staal quickly replied, "The desperation has been there, don't worry about that. It was there the first time you miss the playoffs. Obviously, with how many years it has been in a row now it's amped up even more and the frustration level is even higher." "I would say that was more of my game, more of an all-around player," Lindholm said. "Hit bodies, score some goals, try to make some plays out there." Nash had two goals and four assists in his last 12 games, scoring the game-winner March 22 in a 3-2 victory at Winnipeg. He set up Skinner for his first goal Sunday against the Flyers with a sharp cross-ice pass. Of Lindholm, Nash said, "He's going to be a world-class player in no time. He's only 19 years old and you could see in the last month he's already starting to take over games. He's getting that mindset where he knows he can do it. He has a confidence and that aura about him that he's ready to take that next step." And Skinner? "Skins is in a league of his own out there," Nash said. "In my opinion he's one of the best goal-scorers in this league. Me and Lindy were talking about him the other day, just give him the puck somewhere in that shooting area and he'll find a way to put it in. I wish I had that."

4 NEWS CLIPPINGS April 16, 2014 The Canes went into the season believing they needed a reliable third-line center after Eric and Jordan Staal, and that kind of talk continued up to the trade deadline. Nash was given the opportunity and at times centered the fourth line as Manny Malhotra moved up to the third line. Few Canes competing in World Championship Posted by Chip Alexander on April 15, 2014 The Canes won't have a heavy representation at the 2014 IIHF World Championship in Minsk, Belarus. Forward Andrei Loktionov said he would attend Russia's training camp but was not sure if he would compete in the event that begins next month. Goalie Anton Khudobin is another possibility for the Russian team. Defenseman Justin Faulk (Team USA) and forward Jeff Skinner (Canada) have participated in the Worlds in past years but both will pass this year. Skinner had bandages around both big toes Tuesday and said he needed treatment for painful ingrown toenails. Jiri Tlusty said he would not play for the Czech Republic, saying he had a contract to resolve -- the forward will be a restricted free agent -- and a sore shoulder that needs time to heal. Jordan Staal played for Canada last year in Sweden but said he had not been given an invitation, smiling and adding, "Been Malhotra pushed Nash. He also helped him improve on faceoffs. And Nash responded just as Muller hoped he would, accepting the competitive challenge and getting better. Nash's improvement over the course of the season, and the play of his line late, has given management something to think about looking ahead to next season. that kind of year." Elias Lindholm, who competed for Sweden in the 2014 World Junior Championship, said he also had not gotten an invite, noting he's probably too young at 19. General manager Jim Rutherford said Eric Staal's injury at the Worlds last year might have had a chilling effect. Staal was the Canadian team captain and hopeful of being on Team Canada's Olympic team in Sochi, only to suffer a serious knee injury after a knee-on-knee hit from Alex Edler of Sweden. "He went and got hurt and it affected his season and he was not picked after winning a gold medal for Canada (in 2010)," Rutherford said. Forward Nathan Gerbe said he received an invitation from Team USA but would not go, preferring to spend time with his family. Gerbe's brother-in-law was killed in a Michigan traffic accident last fall. Former Canes coach Peter Laviolette has been named head coach for Team USA. Canes goalie Peters pulls positives out of unusual season Posted by Chip Alexander on April 15, 2014 Cam Ward called it an "unusual" season and it was, given his injuries and competition for playing time from Anton Khudobin. But if it was unusual for Ward, what about Justin Peters? "Definitely something I haven't experienced before," Peters said Tuesday. When Khudobin and Ward both went out with injuries in October, Peters took over in net and started a career-best 10 straight games. After losing the first five, he then went and had a 1.16 goals-against average in a five-game homestand, including wins over Colorado and Anaheim. Peters stopped 47 shots on Dec. 21 against Tampa Bay in a 3-2 overtime loss. But after starting against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Dec. 27, a 4-3 overtime loss, he played in only one more game -- Jan. 19 against Tampa Bay, allowing three goals on seven shots in 15 minutes. Khudobin and Ward returned, and rather risk exposing Peters to waivers, the Canes kept him on the roster and gave him as much work as possible before, during and after practices. "I spent a lot of time with Roddy and the staff," Peters said, smiling, referring to assistant coach Rod Brind'Amour. "Roddy got to work on his shot a lot. "But every day we showed up and worked. I try to take the positives out of it and look at it as a chance to work on my game. I think I was able to do that." Peters, 27, had an NHL contract this season that paid him $550,000 and is due to become an unrestricted free agent. His numbers GAA,.919 save percentage -- could make him attractive to teams looking for a capable backup goalie. That includes the Hurricanes, who still must decide how to resolve having three goalies on the roster. "The business side of it you never know what's going to happen," Peters said. "At the same time I want to be a part of this team. I feel I'm an NHL goaltender, and I want to be here and see this team right the ship and I want to be a part of that. "We'll see how thing shake out in the summer. I think from a year ago to now, I'm a better goalie and I'm in a better position than I was a year ago."

5 NEWS CLIPPINGS April 16, 2014 Panthers jump Sabres to win NHL draft lottery, Canes to pick 7th Posted 8:47 p.m. yesterday Updated 11:44 p.m. yesterday By JOHN WAWROW, AP Sports Writer The Florida Panthers bucked the odds by jumping up a spot to win the NHL draft lottery and earn the right to the top pick in June. The Panthers, who finished 29th in the league, vaulted ahead of the last-place Buffalo Sabres, who had the best odds of winning the lottery held in Toronto on Tuesday night. The Panthers ( ) had an 18.8 percent chance of winning the lottery, behind only Buffalo ( ), which had a 25 percent shot. Florida will have the first pick for the fourth time in franchise history. The top two projected prospects are left wing Samuel Bennett, of OHL Kingston, who finished first in the final rankings released by NHL Central Scouting last week, and OHL Barrie defenseman Aaron Ekblad. The draft will be held in Philadelphia on June The first 13 draft picks are: 1. Florida Panthers 2. Buffalo Sabres 3. Edmonton Oilers 4. Calgary Flames 5. New York Islanders 6. Vancouver Canucks 7. Carolina Hurricanes 8. Toronto Maple Leafs 9. Winnipeg Jets 10. Anaheim Ducks (from Ottawa Senators) 11. Nashville Predators 12. Phoenix Coyotes 13. Washington Capitals The Panthers' move up marked the fourth straight year in which the last-place team failed to win the lottery. Since the NHL lottery system was introduced in 1995, the last-place team has earned the No. 1 pick only six times. The remaining 11 teams maintained their draft order based on the final regular season standings, starting with the Edmonton Oilers staying with the No. 3 draft pick. Calgary will select fourth followed by the New York Islanders. The New Jersey Devils, who finished 20th, were included in the lottery to maintain the weighted odds, but were not eligible to be selected. The Devils are already slotted to pick 30th after being sanctioned by the NHL. The league ruled New Jersey circumvented the collective bargaining agreement by attempting to skirt the salary cap by signing Ilya Kovalchuk to a 17-year, $102 million contract in The Devils were initially scheduled to forfeit the pick this year, before the league reduced its penalty last month. The first 13 draft slots were set by the lottery, and included the Pacific Division champion Anaheim Ducks, who will select 10th. They acquired a first-round pick in a trade with Ottawa, which finished 21st. The Panthers had the No. 1 pick in the 2002 and 2003 drafts, but traded them away both times. They also had the No. 1 pick in 1994, when they selected defenseman Ed Jovanovski. Earlier in the day, Sabres general manager Tim Murray reflected on the number of times his team lost this season by hoping Buffalo's fortunes would change in the lottery. "I want to win the lottery," Murray said. "I want to win something here." Buffalo's 51 losses were a franchise worst, and the most losses in the NHL since the New York Islanders went in Center Sam Reinhart (WHL Kootenay) and left wing Leon Draisaitl (WHL Prince Albert) were ranked third and fourth among North American skaters, while the top-ranked European skater is Finnish right wing Kasperi Kapanen. The Sabres actually have a shot at holding three first-round picks based on two trades they made this year. The Islanders have to until June 1 to decide whether to hand over their firstround selection to Buffalo this year or next year. Islanders head amateur scout Trent Klatt said the team has not yet determined its plans. The Sabres will also acquire the Blues' first-round pick should St. Louis reach the Western Conference finals.

6 NEWS CLIPPINGS April 16, 2014 Hurricanes Cap Season Tuesday, / 3:45 PM / Tracking the Storm By Michael Smith After meeting internally with management on Monday, the Carolina Hurricanes cleaned out their lockers and met with the media at PNC Arena on Tuesday for the final time before the summer ahead. Understandably, frustration and disappointment were the reigning themes of the day, as the Canes failed to qualify for the postseason for the fifth year in a row. CanesVision captured each player s media scrums, and links to those videos can be found bellow. Embedded are some of the highlights from what was said to cap the season. Eric Staal On frustration: I know everybody is frustrated. I know our fans are frustrated. Management, staff, players everyone is. That s not a secret, and that needs to change. On desperation: The desperation has been there. Don t worry about that. For me, it s been there since the first time we missed the playoffs. With how many years in row it has been now, it s amped up even more and the frustration level is getting higher, but we need to respond. On if he s ever imagined a future without the Canes: No, I ve never thought that, dreamed that or wanted that. I think I can be part of the right things going forward. Obviously my career isn t going to be forever, and I want to play in the playoffs. I don t want to continually miss the playoffs and have these type of interviews at the end of the season. On success in the future: I ve been here a long time, and I love it here. I ve had success here. I know, and I believe, we can again, and I can be a part of that. Jordan Staal On talking with his brother, Eric: I ve talked to him plenty of times in the last couple of weeks, and you can just really hear it in his voice and see it in his eyes that he wants so much more. It s frustrating to me to watch that and want to be better for this team and for him. On pressure: The pressure I put on myself can be a little too much sometimes. For me, I ve got to start getting back to just enjoying the game, getting out there, playing, letting it happen and using my abilities. Manny Malhotra On playing in the NHL again: For me, it wasn t just a one-anddone. It s wanting to continue my career. I love coming to the rink, and I love being part of a team. Justin Faulk On his new haircut: Yeah, someone found a buzzer yesterday. I was kind of joking around telling someone I was going to do a mohawk of some sort, so I just did it, I guess. On the Olympic experience: Just the mindset of knowing that you can go out there and play with anybody I think that about myself as it is already because you play against those guys in the NHL anyway but that level is another step up. It s a faster game, and it s smoother, and I think it s even better than NHL hockey. It was huge for me, and I think about it still once in a while, and it helped my confidence a bit. On the team: I think we have the right guys in the room, that s for sure. I don t think any team would complain about the core we have. It s just whether we put it all together. Jeff Skinner On Lindholm: He s had a pretty crazy season with all the things he s been through going over to the World Juniors, being in the minors and having some injuries out of camp. But I think we found some confidence, and it s nice to grow together. As the season went on, we became more comfortable with each other, and that allowed us to be more successful on the ice. On leadership: The older you get and the longer you ve been here, it s not going to happen overnight or in one season or in one training camp, but it s something you have to continually work on. I don t think it will be new or out of my nature. Every guy deals with that sort of thing in their own way. I was a leader in junior, and I feel more comfortable every year I m here. It s not something that you can set out and say you re going to do this. It s a little bit more abstract than that, for me personally. I think it s something you grow into and learn as you go. Elias Lindholm On his rookie season progression: I started feeling better and better as the season went on. I think it was good for me to go back to Sweden to play in the World Juniors. When I got back, I had a lot of confidence, and hopefully I can keep building on that for next season. On Skinner: The more we played together, we started to figure out where we were out there. He s an amazing player, so I just tried to feed him as much as possible. He s one of the guys I hung out with the most outside (of the rink). He s been taking good care of me out there and on the ice, too.

7 NEWS CLIPPINGS April 16, 2014 Cam Ward On establishing rhythm: I just struggled to get comfortable all season long. I had the injury, and coming back from that I just felt like I was playing catch up. Our margin for error was so small that I obviously wasn t able to get consecutive games to try to get my game going. On trade rumors: It s not something you want to hear. Raleigh, my family and I, consider this our home. I definitely want to be Hurricane moving forward. To hear those rumors is difficult, but you don t want to make too much of it. Jay Harrison On frustration: I think this season is a paramount of that frustration, seeing the team that we had this year, seeing the success we generated against some really good hockey teams this year, the fact that we couldn t limit the damage in certain parts of the season and get the points that slipped away on us. On the possibility of offseason changes: This is the nature of the business. To think that a year like this could go by without those questions being asked, that just doesn t happen in our world and business of results. Hurricanes look back at another lost season by Peter Koutroumpis on April 16, 2014 RALEIGH, N.C. The Carolina Hurricanes held player exit interviews and final media availabilities at PNC Arena on Tuesday. Taking place once again in mid-april, the process has become more of a regular routine than anyone in the dressing room wanted to go through after failing to make the playoffs for the fifth straight season. I know everybody s frustrated, captain Eric Staal said. I know our fans are frustrated. I know management, staff, players I mean everyone is. That s not a secret. That needs to change, so it s a chance for us to regroup again this summer. It s the same story, but nothin else you can do. You look forward to starting next season. The expectation to make the playoffs was there back in August, but as the season progressed, the Hurricanes once again encountered challenges that kept them close, but not close enough, to earn a place in the postseason mix. That was the goal and they fell short of it again. Being in the mix seemed to be the team s mantra that head coach Kirk Muller used and was comfortable with following many nights when the team came up with more losses in close games that ended up with single point accumulations following losses in overtime or shootouts. As those close-game losses mounted, it was becoming more evident that letting leads slip or falling behind too early and not earning regulation-time wins would work against the Hurricanes. It did. Not helping the situation, an anemic power play greatly hindered the team s ability to truly be successful and highlighted the inability of the team s scorers to not do just that score. Thus, many following and watching the team started to mull over the idea that maybe starting over would be necessary. That thinking increased speculation that focused on the possible movement of franchise cornerstones in Staal and goaltender Cam Ward, the franchise s leaders in many categories and the two sitting at the top of the payroll list. They are the key remaining members of the 2006 Stanley Cup winning team, a great accomplishment, but one that has lost its luster, particularly after another lost season. However, it wasn t supposed to happen this way. Ward thought he had set the tone of what he expected to see of the team back in August. Obviously, we have a strong foundation here, Ward said back then. It s about having everybody buying into the system and having a winning attitude. Obviously missing the playoffs four years in a row clearly enough is enough. I think the leaders are going to lead by example with the fire and motivation, and come this camp, we re not messin around. This is a big year for us, and there s gonna be no excuses. Ward was right that it was a big year and no one could deny that the core of a potentially successful team was there. The expectations were high and justifiably so, but the finish wasn t as high for both Staal and Ward who both indicated that they found it difficult to play as they needed and wanted to as both entered the season coming off knee injuries.

8 NEWS CLIPPINGS April 16, 2014 Ward s inability to get to the point where he expected to help lead his team was compounded with more injury problems he encountered during the season. It was evident that those setbacks impacted his performance and ultimately the team s, even as then back-up goaltender Anton Khudobin took up the slack and had a career season to keep Carolina contending for a playoff spot. Very unusual, Ward described the past season. Personally, for myself, I just struggled to get comfortable all season long. Obviously I had the injury and comin back from that, it just felt like I was playin catch up. Our margin for error was so small. I wasn t able to get consecutive games to try to get my game goin. Anton had a great season, played extremely well for the team, and like I said, I just was never able to get comfortable and get that opportunity to get into a rhyhm. As both Staal and Ward may not necessarily know what will come next for them as there is imminent movement expected to take place in the organization, they both still want to be a part of it. However, they must realize that they will not necessarily be the only faces of the organization as they have been portrayed as in the past. If they are ready to transition their games to the next level in their careers, they must share or maybe give up some of it. Allowing themselves to help younger and up-and-coming players to realize their potential will actually help them individually to become more successful and more helpful to the organization. They cannot help their team to just be in the mix, and instead must push to get to themselves and the team to another level by helping others to get them there. Staal and Ward don t need to permanently pass the proverbial torch off, but they must share it and be comfortable with the thought that it may not come back quickly to them. That s what veteran players and leaders do. Ward seemed to get that and stated as much. I want to be here, Ward said. I ve been fortunate enough to be in this organization for nine years and it s something that I wanna still be here for with Anton. I think he ll be able to tell you what a great relationship he and I have. I was very supportive of him and I think he was the same way when I was in the net. If we re both on our game, I think you can look at us a very good combination moving forward. Obviously, let s just wait and see what happens. Florida Panthers win No. 1 pick in NHL Draft Lottery Tuesday, / 9:09 PM / News NHL.com It's been 20 years since the Florida Panthers headed to the NHL Draft with the No. 1 selection, but they will do so this summer in Philadelphia. The Panthers will pick first in the 2014 NHL Draft after winning the lottery Tuesday. As the 29th-place team in the final NHL standings, the Panthers entered with an 18.8 percent chance (second best) of getting the No. 1 pick. The Buffalo Sabres had the best chance to win the lottery (25 percent) based on their 30th-place finish but will pick second. The draft will be held June at Wells Fargo Center, with the Philadelphia Flyers as host. It will be the first time the Panthers have the No. 1 pick since 1994, when they selected defenseman Ed Jovanovski. Florida won the lottery in 2002 and 2003 but each year it traded the pick prior to the draft. "It means a lot to us, we're very excited," Panthers vice president of hockey operations Travis Viola told TSN. "We're looking to continue to build on [our] top core talent of young players. It's just a great opportunity for us to really build high." The Panthers could use the first pick on defenseman Aaron Ekblad, who had 23 goals and 30 assists in 58 games for the Barrie Colts of the Ontario Hockey League this season, his third with the team. "It's kind of hard to say what's going to happen come draft day, but nonetheless I'm pretty excited," Ekblad told TSN. "It's going to be a pretty fun week down there in Philadelphia." Many scouts believe Ekblad is ready to play in the NHL next season. Five of the top six picks from last year's draft played in the NHL in "The goal is always to play in the NHL, ever since you were a little kid," Ekblad said. "I'm going to keep working as hard as I possibly can over the summer so I can hopefully achieve that goal." Center Sam Reinhart is an option for Florida; he had 105 points (36 goals, 69 assists) in 60 games for the Kootenay Ice of the Western Hockey League.

9 Florida finished with the fewest points in , but the Colorado Avalanche won the lottery and selected right wing Nathan MacKinnon with the No. 1 pick. The Panthers took center Aleksander Barkov at No. 2. The Sabres haven't had the No. 1 pick since 1987, when they selected center Pierre Turgeon. "I'm not disappointed," Sabres general manager Tim Murray told The Buffalo News. "We had a 25 percent chance driving up here.... It's kind of what I was expecting. "We probably have a better chance of getting the guy that we have [at No.] 1 than we had a chance today of getting the first pick." There's a chance Buffalo could have two of the top five picks. The New York Islanders, who hold the fifth pick, have the option to keep their selection or transfer it to the Sabres as part of the in-season trade involving forward Thomas Vanek. Should the Islanders hold on to the pick, Buffalo will get New York's first-round selection in the 2015 NHL Draft. "Staying at five, there's a better possibility of us getting their pick versus if they had moved to one," Murray said. The weighted odds of winning the lottery were determined by the regular-season point totals for teams that did not qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. After Florida, the remaining 12 teams that were eligible to win the lottery are slotted in reverse order of their point totals. Here are the top 13 picks: 1. Florida Panthers 2. Buffalo Sabres 3. Edmonton Oilers 4. Calgary Flames 5. New York Islanders 6. Vancouver Canucks 7. Carolina Hurricanes 8. Toronto Maple Leafs 9. Winnipeg Jets 10. Anaheim Ducks (from Ottawa Senators) 11. Nashville Predators 12. Phoenix Coyotes 13. Washington Capitals The New Jersey Devils did not make the playoffs but were not be eligible to win the lottery due to punishments relating to salary-cap circumvention. The Devils will select 30th in the first round. The first-round drafting positions of the 16 playoff teams (picks 14-29) will be determined by the results of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, which get underway Wednesday. The drawing was conducted at the NHL office in Toronto. Laviolette to coach U.S. at World Championship Jones, Gardiner, Trouba among first 15 players named to roster Tuesday, / 6:29 PM / News NHL.com Peter Laviolette has been named coach of the United States Men's National Team that will compete at the 2014 IIHF World Championship in Minsk, Belarus beginning next month, USA Hockey announced Tuesday. Laviolette, who will be coaching the U.S. for the third time, will be assisted by Joe Sacco, Phil Housley and Don Granato. The Americans are coming off a bronze medal in Laviolette, 49, was coach for the U.S. at the World Championship in 2004 and 2005, guiding the Americans to the bronze medal in He was coach for the U.S. at the 2006 Torino Olympics and served as an assistant to Dan Bylsma at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Laviolette served as an assistant coach for the U.S. in the 2004 World Cup of Hockey, where it reached the semifinal round. Laviolette appeared in the 1988 and 1994 Winter Olympics as a player, serving as captain in Lillehammer in Laviolette won the Stanley Cup in 2006 as coach of the Carolina Hurricanes and most recently spent parts of five seasons coaching the Philadelphia Flyers, going before he was fired Oct. 7, 2013 and replaced by Craig Berube. When Laviolette opened this season as coach, he joined Fred Shero as the only men in Flyers history to coach them in a fifth season. Shero lasted seven seasons and won the Stanley Cup in 1974 and Laviolette is in 12 seasons as an NHL coach with the New York Islanders, Hurricanes and Flyers. A native of Franklin, Mass., Laviolette played 11 seasons of professional hockey, mostly in the American Hockey League and International Hockey League, and appeared in 12 games with the New York Rangers in USA Hockey also announced the first 15 players on the team: FORWARDS Jimmy Hayes (Florida Panthers) Kevin Hayes (Boston College) Peter Mueller (Kloten) Brock Nelson (New York Islanders) Drew Shore (Florida Panthers)

10 Craig Smith (Nashville Predators) Tim Stapleton (AK Bars Kazan) Vincent Trocheck (Florida Panthers) DEFENSEMEN Matt Donovan (New York Islanders) Jake Gardiner (Toronto Maple Leafs) Seth Jones (Nashville Predators) Jake McCabe (Buffalo Sabres) Jeff Petry (Edmonton Oilers) Jacob Trouba (Winnipeg Jets) GOALTENDERS Connor Hellebuyck (UMass Lowell) Signings roundup: Union's Bodie agrees with Rangers Tuesday, / 2:14 PM / News NHL.com Defenseman Mat Bodie, who recently captained Union College to an NCAA championship, signed a free-agent contract with the New York Rangers on Tuesday. Financial terms were not disclosed. Bodie, 24, had a goal and an assist in a 7-4 win against the University of Minnesota in the championship game Saturday at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. He finished his senior season leading all Union defensemen with 39 points (eight goals). "We have been tracking his development for four years," Rangers assistant general manager Jeff Gorton told BlueshirtsUnited.com. "He's a real character kid who we think adds a hard to find element to our defensive depth going forward. Being captain of a championship team just adds to what he is as a player." Bodie scored 32 points in his first season at Union, setting a record for a freshman defenseman. He finished his collegiate career with 28 goals and 124 points in 154 games. "We really like his skating and his ability to manufacture offense," Gorton said. "He is very poised with the puck. He's a guy we have liked for some time because of his skill and character." According to ESPN.com, Bodie intends to remain at Union to finish his degree and will join the Rangers at their summer development camp. In other signings Tuesday: * The Nashville Predators signed forward Felix Girard to a three-year entry-level contract. Financial terms were not disclosed. Girard, a fourth-round pick (No. 95) in the 2013 NHL Draft, won the Guy Carbonneau Trophy as the top defensive forward in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League for the second consecutive season in after posting 11 goals, 43 points, 130 penalty minutes and a plus-30 rating for the Baie- Comeau Drakkar, while leading the league in faceoff winning percentage for the second consecutive season (64.5 percent). In his fourth season with Baie-Comeau and second as team captain, the 5-11, 193-pound center helped the Drakkar win the QMJHL regular-season title and sweep their first two playoff series; they'll host the winner of the Blainville- Boisbriand/Rimouski series in the QMJHL semifinals. Girard, 19, also represented Team QMJHL in the 2013 Subway Super Series, helping them beat Russia by scores of 3-2 and 4-3. The Quebec native also helped Canada earn bronze at the 2012 Under-18 World Championship. * The Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday signed defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere to an entry-level contract. Terms were not disclosed. Gostisbehere, 20, had a goal, two assists and a plus-7 rating in Union's 7-4 victory against Minnesota on Saturday to win the national title. Gostisbehere, a third-round selection (No. 78) by the Flyers in the 2012 NHL Draft, will report to the Adirondack Phantoms of the American Hockey League for the remainder of the season. Over the course of three years at Union, Gostisbehere had 22 goals and 60 assists for 82 points in 118 games. Malkin back at Penguins practice, could play Game 1 Tuesday, / 2:10 PM / Penguins vs Blue Jackets SCP First Round By Wes Crosby - NHL.com Correspondent PITTSBURGH -- Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin returned to practice Tuesday after missing the final 11 games of the regular season. Malkin sustained a foot injury during his first shift in Pittsburgh's 1-0 loss to the St. Louis Blues on March 23. He had skated on his own prior to practices and game-day skates recently, and participated in Pittsburgh's morning skate Sunday, but Tuesday marked his official return to practice. He said he felt good during the practice, but stopped short of saying he would play in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC). In 11 games without Malkin, the Penguins went averaging 2.27 goals per game during regulation. Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said Pittsburgh will see how Malkin responds to practice before determining its lineup for Wednesday. Bylsma said having Malkin in the lineup could force the opposition to change its strategy.

11 "Teams change matchup and [defense] pairings in particular depending on whether they're home or away, in particular, or how they perceive the way the lines to be playing," Bylsma said. "It changes fairly often. I think in terms of the playoffs, you probably saw it in the biggest regard in '09 in the third series [the Eastern Conference Final against the Carolina Hurricanes] was probably the biggest case of that." Malkin scored six goals and nine points during Pittsburgh's four-game sweep of Carolina on his way to winning the 2009 Conn Smythe Trophy. Linemate Jussi Jokinen said he thought Tuesday was one of the Pittsburgh's more energetic practices in some time, and some of that had to do with Malkin's intensity. "I think there was a lot of jump. Everyone was flying out there and was having a lot of fun, and you could sense the playoffs are coming," Jokinen said. "I think he's just having fun. He's skating really fast. I think he was one of the fastest players out there, and you can just tell that he looks ready and he looks like he's hungry to start playing again. He also said he doesn't expect Malkin to need much time to regain his form. "It seems like every time he's come back from an injury, he's played really well," Jokinen said. "I think he's had a lot of injuries throughout his career and every time he's come back, he's played really well, so we hope that's going to happen again." Jokinen, who has been primarily used as the second-line left wing this season, filled Malkin's role as second-line center during his absence. Malkin returned to his normal position Tuesday between Jokinen and forward James Neal. Malkin also took his usual spot at the point on the Penguins' top power-play unit. Jokinen was brought in by Pittsburgh late in the season to fill a void caused by an injury to forward Sidney Crosby. Crosby, who missed the last 12 games of last season with a broken jaw, dealt with a situation similar to the one Malkin is experiencing. "There's only so much you can do to get ready and you do everything you can, but I think until you get out there and get your feet under you and play a couple games, it's not going to feel as comfortable as maybe you'd like it to," Crosby said. "Other than that, I just think you try to keep it simple and make sure you're stopping and doing the little things and everything else kind of takes care of itself. "I think he's proven he can come back pretty strong, so I'm sure he'll adjust pretty quickly. Despite missing 22 games, Malkin finished the season second on Pittsburgh with 72 points, 32 behind Crosby, the NHL scoring champion. Malkin scored 23 goals centering a line that accounted for nearly 30 percent of the Penguins' 241 goals. Neal was third on the Penguins with 27 goals, most of which came playing alongside Malkin, and said he was pleased to see his linemate return to the ice. "It's good to see him back. He's skating well and it looks like he's back to his old self," Neal said. "He's been a big part of our line, with myself and [Jokinen], so he's going to be a big boost for our club, and getting healthy at the right time is big and going into the playoffs, it just makes it that much more exciting with everybody coming back in the lineup." Five Questions: Bruins' Iginla set to chase elusive Cup Tuesday, / 3:00 AM / Five Questions With By Dan Rosen - NHL.com Senior Writer Jarome Iginla won't dare talk about it yet, not before playing his first game in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with the Boston Bruins, but he knows his best shot to win a championship might be right now, this spring, with the deepest team he's ever played for. The Bruins are the Presidents' Trophy winners. They have the ability to roll four lines and three defense pairs in front of a potential Vezina Trophy winner in Tuukka Rask. They also have a potential Selke Trophy finalist in Patrice Bergeron and former Norris Trophy winner Zdeno Chara, who might be in line to win it again. Nine players on the Bruins scored at least 40 points. Iginla and Bergeron led the team with 30 goals each. David Krejci had 50 assists. Milan Lucic, Brad Marchand and Reilly Smith scored at least 20 goals. "I think we've got a really good team and a really good shot," Iginla told NHL.com. "I understand playing and watching over the years that you've gotta get some good breaks, but with this group we're going to work hard and there is a lot of experience, guys who have won before and have been close. There are a few of us new guys who haven't, so we're hungry too." Iginla knows Boston is a popular pick among pundits everywhere, and that if the Bruins do win the Cup, Chara will likely hand the trophy to him after taking it out of the hands of NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. He laughs nervously when that scenario is brought up. "I've tried to keep myself from thinking about the big picture, because it doesn't help if you don't and you want to enjoy the ride too," Iginla said. The ride starts Friday in Game 1 against the Detroit Red Wings at TD Garden (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, TSN). Iginla spent 15 minutes on the phone Monday talking about the journey he's experienced so far in Boston. Here are Five Questions with Jarome Iginla: Can you compare this Bruins team that you're on now with some of the other teams you've played for? Is it the best team you've been on? Is it one of the best teams you've been on? How do you measure it? Has anything surprised you?

12 "I think we're still writing that story. I think we're a really good team. It's definitely one of the best I've ever played on. It's one of the deepest as far as the depth at all the different positions. I think that it's definitely one of the most competitive groups of guys that I have played with. "Before I got here I knew they were a very hard group to play against, but when you get here and you see it daily, I shouldn't say it doesn't surprise me because of how focused the guys are when they come to the rink and when it's time to be on, but maybe I'm pleasantly surprised. I did expect a lot, but it's good to see it up close, the whole group of guys, the group of leaders that really share in it. It's almost like everybody just does it. Chara, Bergie, Tuukka, Thorty [Shawn Thornton], [Gregory] Campbell, [Chris] Kelly, Looch (Lucic), Krejci -- the list goes on and on. They have built that culture of hard work to go along with the skill here. You can tell for years they've had a lot of really good habits." I don't know if you necessarily needed a refresh or a restart after how everything went down at the end of your tenure with the Calgary Flames, the trade situation last season and losing in the playoffs last year, but has playing for this team rejuvenated you in any way? "I would say the last couple of years have been pretty tough emotionally, and when I say tough I don't mean really tough because I know it's hockey, it's the NHL and it's still fun, but it's just about realizing things. In Calgary, we weren't getting it done and for the last couple of years it was about are we going to be rebuilding, or are we not? Am I going to be moving, or am I not? It was a lot of those things and the uncertainty, it gets to you a little bit. You try to stay focused, but it's nice when you don't have to worry about those things. A lot of guys do have to in their career and it was my turn to go through it last year, but it's the uncertainty that's tough. It's the uncertainty away from the ice too. I really did enjoy playing in Calgary and living there, but I wanted to win too. It was really nice this year to come and be settled at the beginning of the season, to get the kids in school, get training camp underway with the group and just know that I had that behind me. You have the fear of the unknown because you're not sure how it's going to be, but my wife has enjoyed Boston and my kids have loved their school and hockey here. It's been great. It's been fun winning too." I wasn't going to go there yet, but it's a perfect segue to your answer. You've had such success this season playing on a line with Krejci and Lucic. You seem to have so much chemistry, and they will likely be back in Boston next season. It begs the question: Do you want to stay? Have you had those conversations with your family? "Oh yeah, for sure we discuss what things are possible in the future and what we see. We've really enjoyed it here, there's no question. There is a nice mix of older guys and guys who are still young and coming into their prime. I think the Bruins are going to be a very competitive team for a while. It's been a lot of fun playing here. My family has really enjoyed it. We hope it works out that we can stay, but at the same time we know a lot of that is based on how things go in the playoffs. At the end of the year, teams always have tough decisions to make as far as trying to balance it now and think about the future. Still, a lot of it is out of our control and at this point in time, and during the regular season I was just trying to focus on playing and not worrying about it. Going through the last couple of years, I'm getting better at doing that. It's the NHL and however many years more I play, they're going to go quick and it's been a great experience this year and a lot of fun winning. I hope that it works out and I would love to be back, but I know there are so many things that go into it that are out of my control, so I just try to focus on playing and keep trying to win." You're 36 and there were people wondering if Jarome Iginla could still bring it, could still do it. Thirty goals again, for the 12th straight 82-game season. Did you surprise yourself at all? "I don't know. The long part of it is last year was a shortened year and it was actually going alright in Pittsburgh until we ran into the last series against the Bruins, and that's what everybody remembers. Yeah, it was a tough series. Yeah, I had a tough four games and we had a tough four games as a team. But I wasn't doubting whether or not I could play, it was just a tough stretch. But that's part of getting older. You always have to prove it. "But even over the course of my career, and I think a lot of hockey players would agree, you're always trying to prove something. That's kind of what keeps you going, keeps you sharp. If you're a young guy and you just had a great first season, you're trying to follow it up and show it wasn't just a fluke. As you get older, you're trying to prove you can still contribute at a high clip to be counted on. There's always something, a little extra motivation. As far as myself, there's guys who are quite a bit older than me in the League and doing very well, so I like that part of it. I hope to play for longer still and hope to do well." Your line has been together since Day 1, and that usually never happens because of how coaches tinker today. But Claude Julien hasn't had to tinker at all because the line has been so good. Why has it worked, and can you go back into your memory bank to come up with if and when you have experienced something like this before? "It's definitely rare to be on the same line all year. The only one I can remember is the year I won the scoring title ( ) playing with Craig Conroy and Dean McAmmond, we had good chemistry and I don't even know if we played all year together. We have literally played all year together here, and I've never been through that right from training camp. It's been fun. "There have been different times when we've gone through stretches where maybe we didn't feel we were as good as we could be and had to work on some stuff, but it's been good, especially being the new guy on the line working through it with the guys to build that chemistry. "Claude gave us a chance. I definitely had a slow start, but the line was doing pretty good. Yet you're still wondering if they put someone else in there will he do better? I appreciated the opportunity. I've loved playing with them. They work very hard. They're talented guys. They take a lot of pride in the forecheck. Krejci is a great passer. Lucic doesn't get enough credit for his

13 playmaking ability either because he's such a big and rugged guy, but I've been the beneficiary of some great passes from him this year too. He just keeps getting better and better. He's a quick guy, especially for how big he is. He causes a lot of turnovers." Checkers Working, Hoping for Playoff Opportunity in Final Week Created: April 15, :54 pm Written by Paul Branecky The last week of the regular season will be an awfully long one. Having played more games than most AHL teams, the Checkers will be off until beginning a back-to-back set that takes them through Milwaukee and Rockford starting Friday. It s a lot of time to sit around and contemplate what their most recent defeat has done to their playoff chances that, until recently, looked quite promising. Because of the lull in their schedule, they ll be spectators for one of the most important days of their season on Wednesday, when the other teams on the Western Conference bubble play their games in hand. In addition to making sure they get as many points as possible this weekend, the Checkers need Rochester and Oklahoma City to drop far more than they earn. All that contributed to what coach Jeff Daniels called a quiet focus at Tuesday s practice, their first since losing to 2-1 to Grand Rapids two days earlier. They understand the situation they re in and they understand that we need some help, but at the same time the work was there today, said Daniels of his players. They ve been a group that s worked hard all year for me, and I know with the leadership in that locker room we ll be ready to go Friday night. Like many of their losses in a start to April that has seen them fall out of the playoff position they earned with a recordsetting month of March, they didn t play poorly on Sunday. Teams run into hot goaltenders, as the Checkers did with Tom McCollum that day, over the course of the season. With points at a premium due to missteps earlier in the year, the Checkers could scarcely afford for it to happen when it did. You can t sit here and say we wish we could have done this or that, said Daniels, also citing a 1-0 loss to Oklahoma City exactly one week earlier. We did everything but score goals. As the Checkers sit in ninth place and two points behind the cutoff line, all eyes will be on Wednesday s scoreboard that features seventh-place Rochester visit Utica, another playoff hopeful, and eighth-place Oklahoma City host high-flying Texas. To make the playoffs, Charlotte needs at least one of those teams, recently reinforced by their NHL affiliates missing the postseason, to slip out of the top eight. In order to catch Rochester, the Checkers would need to win both of their games and hope that the Americans go pointless in their remaining three. They wouldn t necessarily have to win both of their games to catch Oklahoma City, but even if they did, the Barons can put themselves out of Charlotte s reach by earning three points in their final three games, two of which are against Iowa, the conference s last-place team. Factored into those scenarios is the fact that the Checkers own ROW (regulation/overtime wins) tiebreaker over both teams. That makes it something of a longshot and also possible that the Checkers could be eliminated before their last game against Rockford on Saturday, even if they win the night before. Conversely, that game could also be a winner-take-all contest between two bubble teams, showing how many possibilities still exist. We re keeping an eye on it, but first of all we have to focus on our game and make sure we win them, said defenseman Michal Jordan. There s still a chance. If we win those two games we re still in the hunt. Until then, there s nothing to do but practice, wait, watch and hope that they re lucky enough to have both games matter. Even with so much out of their control at this point, they re ready to do their part. It starts with (Brett Sutter) and those guys that lead by example, said Daniels. They could have gone out to practice today and kind of gone through the motions, but they were ready. When your hardest workers are your leaders, that s a pretty good start.