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Boston Bruins acquire pending UFA Tyler Bertuzzi from Detroit Red Wings

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The Detroit Red Wings have traded winger Tyler Bertuzzi to the Boston Bruins for a top-10 potected 2024 first-round pick and a fourth-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.

Bertuzzi, 28, has four goals and 14 points while being limited to 29 games this season due to injury. The Red Wings are retaining half of his $4.75 million cap hit.

TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun notes the Red Wings and Bertuzzi had not discussed a contract extension since December.

Bertuzzi had a career year in 2021-22, scoring 30 goals and adding 32 assists in 61 games. He is in the final season of a two-year, $9.5 million contract.

The Sudbury, Ont., product has 88 goals and 202 points in 305 career NHL games with the Red Wings.

Bruins loading up, adding depth in case of injury

TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger notes injuries in the Bruins’ lineup factored into their decision to add Bertuzzi.

Winger Taylor Hall is seeking a second opinion for his lower-body injury which will determine how much time he will miss.

The NHL-leading Bruins made their first move ahead of the deadline last week, acquiring Dmitry Orlov and Garnet Hathaway in a deal with the Washington Capitals.

Red Wings emerge as sellers

The moves comes one day after the Red Wings appeared to set their status as sellers with Wednesday’s deal sending defenceman Filip Hronek to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for draft picks.

The Red Wings also signed captain Dylan Larkin, who was a pending unrestricted free agent, to an eight-year contract Wednesday.

Amid a three-game skid, the Red Wings have slipped to five points back of the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, which they held last week.

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Coronato sparks Flames in 6-3 road win over Oilers

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EDMONTON – Matt Coronato is making his case to become a full-time Calgary Flame.

Coronato scored a pair of goals and Jonathan Huberdeau recorded three assists as the Flames remained perfect in NHL pre-season play, defeating the hometown Edmonton Oilers 6-3 in one of a pair of split-squad games between the provincial rivals on Monday night.

“We built a lead which was nice. We saw their lineup, they had a lot of their main guys in,” said Flames assistant coach Brad Larsson. “I’m proud of the guys, it’s been a hard camp, we played in Seattle and some of these guys are playing back-to-back, which is really tough. A guy like Matt Coronato had a heck of a game for us and played there last night and was going off about four or five hours sleep.”

A Harvard alum and 13th overall pick by Calgary in the 2021 NHL entry draft, Coronato split his time between the Flames and their AHL affiliate, getting into 34 NHL games and notching three goals and six assists.

“It’s always nice to come out and win against a good team. I think we worked really hard as a group, we played the right way and I think that work ethic led to success again,” Coronato said. “The start was huge for us and really I thought the team continued to play well throughout.”

Yan Kuznetsov, Anthony Mantha, Rasmus Andersson and Justin Kirkland also scored for the Flames, who improved to 3-0 in exhibition action after also winning the game between the two teams in Calgary 6-1.

Zach Hyman, Noel Hoefenmayer and Connor McDavid replied for the Oilers, who dropped to 1-2 in pre-season proceedings.

“I thought the legs got better and better as the game went on, it was more the battling and stuff,” McDavid said. “You can skate up and down the rink all day, but it is the battling at that level that is tough. It was obviously not good enough all around. There is lots to work on.”

The Oilers came out flying, but it was Calgary that struck first seven minutes into the opening period as the Flames were allowed to get a couple of shots on Edmonton goalie Calvin Pickard before converting on their third crack on net, as Kuznetsov wired it home.

Edmonton had a chance to get the equalizer with three minutes remaining in the first period, but Devin Cooley made a huge stop on Oilers forward Corey Perry.

Calgary made it 2-0 with 1:38 left in the first on a two-on-one as Huberdeau dished it back to Mantha, who had a wide-open net to blast it into.

The Flames continued to stymie the home squad on the power play seven minutes into the second period as Andersson unleashed a bullet from the point that went off the post and in.

Just a minute later it was 4-0 for the Flames as Coronato took a drop pass and sent a wicked wrist shot past Pickard.

Brett Brochu took over in the Edmonton net midway through the second.

Cooley continued his strong play with five minutes left in the middle period, making another huge save on Leon Draisaitl.

Edmonton finally got on the board with 2:43 remaining in the second period as McDavid made a nice feed to Hyman and he lifted it over Cooley.

The Oilers got another one back less than a minute into the third period as Hoefenmayer was credited with the goal after it caromed in off a Flames defender.

However, Calgary got that goal back just 32 seconds later as Sam Honzek dropped it back to Coronato and he blasted in his second of the contest.

The Flames restored their four-goal lead four minutes into the third as a huge rebound came out to Kirkland, who had an empty cage to rifle it into.

Edmonton’s power play finally got an opportunity and made the most of it with seven minutes to play as McDavid took it in himself and used a defender as a screen before sending a wrist shot past Cooley.

The Oilers outshot Calgary 47-26.

NOTES

Edmonton had both McDavid and Draisaitl in their lineup, as well as their entire first power-play unit that has proven so deadly for the past three seasons. … The Oilers had most of their veterans in action between the two split-squad games, other than Stuart Skinner, Darnell Nurse, Brett Kulak, Connor Brown, Mattias Janmark and Ty Emberson.

UP NEXT

Oilers: Visit the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday.

Flames: Face the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday in Abbotsford, B.C.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 23, 2024.

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Flames score 4 in second period to burn Oilers 6-1 in Calgary

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CALGARY – Looking to build on a solid rookie campaign, Connor Zary is off to a terrific start.

Zary scored twice and added an assist on Monday to lead the Calgary Flames to a 6-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers in part of a split-squad NHL pre-season doubleheader.

“You’ve got to feed off what you did in the summer and how much work you put in there and that gives you the confidence to come in here to camp, to pre-season, into the season, and to really be confident in your abilities and the way you play,” said Zary, who turns 23 on Wednesday.

Zary scored 14 goals and had 34 points in 63 games last season in finishing eighth in voting for the Calder Memorial Trophy, which goes to the NHL’s best rookie.

Calgary’s first-round pick in 2020, Zary has opened training camp playing left wing on a line with captain Mikael Backlund and Blake Coleman.

“You try to find a little bit of a combination like (Andrew Mangiapane) had with those two guys, and Connor has some of the same characteristics,” explained Flames coach Ryan Huska. “He’s maybe not quite the dog on a bone that (Mangiapane) was for that line to have so much chemistry, but he does such a good job of holding onto pucks and creating.”

While Backlund and Coleman have played together for years, this is Zary’s first stint alongside the two veterans and the signs of chemistry were evident in the second period when the Flames erupted for four goals to blow open a game that was tied 1-1 after 20 minutes.

Zary gave the home side the lead for good at 5:14 when he went to the net and deflected Backlund’s shot past Olivier Rodrigue.

After Zary displayed a goal-scorer’s hands firing a shot just inside the goalpost on a perfectly executed drag-and-shoot move on the power play at 9:12, his line went back to work.

At 14:20, Backlund set up Zary again on a cross-ice pass and while Rodrigue got across to make a terrific pad stop, Miromanov was right there to shovel in the rebound and make it 4-1.

“They just play such a well oriented, detailed game and they’ve been two guys who’ve been tops at playing a two-way game in the league for a long time,” said Zary. “(Backlund) is a captain and (Coleman) has won cups, and when you got guys like that and you’re playing beside those guys, you want to do your part and feed off them and learn from them.”

With the team having undergone major changes from a year ago with several veterans gone, Zary will be counted on to play a bigger role this season.

“I’d like to see him be a guy that’s responsible defensively like he’s learned to be,” said Huska. “Playing on that line, it’s something he’s going to have to do because we know that line plays against top players, but it also makes them more of a threat.”

Yegor Sharangovich with a pair of goals, Nazem Kadri and Daniil Miromanov, also scored for Calgary.

Mike Hoffman scored for Edmonton.

Dan Vladar got the start in goal for Calgary and stopped 18 of 19 shots before giving way to Waltteri Ignatjew for the third period.

At the other end, Rodrigue stopped 20 of 25 shots in his 40 minutes of action before he was replaced by Nathaniel Day.

With Jacob Markstrom traded to New Jersey, Vladar is battling Dustin Wolf for the Flames’ No. 1 goaltender job. He’s now doing so pain-free after having hip surgery last March.

“Obviously, at the beginning, I didn’t play for six-and-a-half months, so I was probably more nervous than before my first NHL game, but I think my body felt good,” said Vladar.

Among his stops was a blocker save on Viktor Arvidsson on a second-period breakaway.

“After the first few saves that he made, he settled in, and he made some big saves for us tonight,” said Huska. “He looked like the Dan Vladar of old, which was nice.”

VYING FOR A SPOT

Hoffman, in Edmonton’s camp on a professional tryout, played alongside Lane Pederson and Matt Savoie. He also logged 5:08 of power-play ice time. The 34-year-old has played 745 career NHL games with five teams after starting his career with the Ottawa Senators. He played last season in San Jose where he scored 10 goals and had 23 points in 66 games.

UP NEXT

Oilers: Visit the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday.

Flames: Visit the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 23, 2024.

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Rasmus Dahlin’s evolution as Sabres leader grows with defenseman hosting summer camp in Switzerland

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BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Rasmus Dahlin was so determined to not spend another lengthy offseason working out alone in his native Sweden that the Buffalo defenseman invited his teammates to attend an informal weeklong minicamp and bonding session near the Swiss Alps in July.

“Usually, I never see anyone during the summer,” Dahlin recalled “So it was good to meet my teammates when it’s no pressure, no games involved. Just hang out.”

They skated and ate together. Boated on Lake Geneva. And they golfed — poorly, goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen joked.

Most importantly, the dozen or so Sabres in attendance — many of them Europeans, with defensemen Owen Power and Mattias Samuelsson traveling from North America — enjoyed an opportunity to connect amid the wondrous scenery of Lausanne without the distractions that arise once the season opens.

“You really got to know the real person, not the in-season person, which is different,” Dahlin said.

Of significance, the get-together represented the latest step in Dahlin’s evolution as the Sabres’ leader, coupled with the seventh-year player’s urgency to end what’s become an NHL-record 13-year playoff drought.

“He took charge right away,” forward JJ Peterka said of how Dahlin booked the ice, gym, hotel rooms and organized post-practice outings. “I think Ras really took the next step and took the whole team under his wing.”

Captain consideration

Buffalo enters the season planning to name a new captain after the title was left vacant once Kyle Okposo was traded to Florida in March.

Dahlin, the No. 1 pick in the 2018 draft and now the longest-tenured member of the roster, is considered the favorite to fill the role, though there’s no timetable for when the announcement will be made.

The Sabres opened training camp under a tight schedule. They played two preseason games in Buffalo before traveling to Europe, where they will play an exhibition game against German pro team Red Bull in Munich on Friday. They then head to the Czech Republic to open the season playing two games against New Jersey in Prague on Oct. 4-5.

Dahlin has not addressed reporters since camp opened Wednesday, when he sustained a mid-body injury early into the first practice. The injury is considered minor, and he’s resumed skating.

What’s not in question is Dahlin’s growing influence.

“For Ras to be able to do that, show how big of a leader he is, and he’s not doing it for show, he’s doing it because he wants to help guys,” said Alex Tuch, who was unable to partake in Dahlin’s camp due to family reasons. “It’s easy to follow a guy like that with so much compete and battle in him. It’s incredible. It make everyone’s else’s life around him easier.”

Dahlin’s ascension

Dahlin has gone from being a shy 18-year-old rookie, who was still learning English and adapting to the rugged NHL game, to becoming a vocal presence and star playmaker. He’s topped 50 points in each of his past three seasons, and last year had a team-leading 39 assists while becoming Buffalo’s second defenseman to score 20 goals, and first since Phil Housley in 1989-90.

His biggest disappointment remains Buffalo’s inability to make the playoffs, with the Sabres making another coaching change with Lindy Ruff replacing Don Granato.

“We need a better focus in practice. We need to push ourself,” Dahlin said in April following Granato’s firing. “I think my role moving forward is to lead by example. … So we need some good meetings during the summer, and figure out what we have to do.”

He backed up his words with action at a camp teammates described Dahlin as playing a focal role.

“He was pretty hard on me in that camp getting my one-timer going,” said Peterka, noting Dahlin would spend time feeding him passes. “It was a no-brainer for both of us to work on that. I feel it was like pushing each other.”

Luukkonen said the turnout reflects well on Dahlin and on how tight-knit the group has become.

“He wants to set the bar high by example by how he plays, how he practices. And that’s kind of the way he pushes other guys, too,” the goalie said. “It shows how the younger guys are ready to take the next step, and they want to take the step to be leaders on the team and make sure that we have the best chance to make it into the playoffs.”

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AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno and AP freelance writer W.G. Ramirez contributed to this report.

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