Leon Draisaitl became the first Germany-born and 10th Europe-born player to lead the NHL in points. The Edmonton Oilers forward had 110 points (43 goals, 67 assists) in 71 games.
It’s the third time in four seasons an Oilers player won the Art Ross Trophy; Edmonton is the first team to achieve that feat since the Pittsburgh Penguins won seven straight scoring titles from 1994-95 to 2000-01 (Jaromir Jagr, 1994-95 and 1997-01; Mario Lemieux, 1995-97).
Draisaitl and teammate Connor McDavid (97), the Art Ross winner in 2016-17 and 2017-18, were first and second in points. It’s the seventh time in 44 seasons that teammates finished first and second in the scoring race.
For the fifth time in NHL history, the top-four scorers were born in different countries (McDavid, Canada; David Pastrnak of Boston Bruins, 95 points, Czech Republic; Artemi Panarin of New York Rangers, 95 points, Russia). This also occurred in 2018-19, 2005-06 (top five), 1998-99 and 1997-98.
Richard race ends in tie: Pastrnak and Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals each scored 48 goals to share the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy, introduced in 1998-99 and given annually to the top goal-scorer in the NHL. Pastrnak is 23; Ovechkin is 34. It’s the first time in 57 seasons that one player 23 or younger and another 34 or older were the top two goal-scorers in the NHL. Bobby Hull of the Chicago Black Hawks (50 goals) was 23 and Gordie Howe of the Detroit Red Wings (33 goals) was 34 when they finished first and second in 1961-62.
Pastrnak is the first player since Phil Esposito (61 in 1974-75) to lead the NHL in goals for the Bruins. He also joined Esposito (three times) and Bobby Orr (twice) as the third Boston player with at least four hat tricks in one season.
Ovechkin topped the NHL in goals for the third straight season and an NHL-record ninth time overall. He had an NHL career-high four hat tricks and is the fourth player in NHL history to score at least 48 goals in one season at age 34 or older, joining Jaromir Jagr of the New York Rangers (54 in 2005-06 at 34), Johnny Bucyk of the Bruins (51 in 1970-71 at 35) and Teemu Selanne of the Anaheim Ducks (48 in 2006-07 at 34).
Ovechkin became the eighth player in NHL history to reach the 700-goal mark when he scored against the New Jersey Devils on Feb. 22. He finished the season with 706, passing Hockey Hall of Famers Luc Robitaille (668), Teemu Selanne (684), Lemieux (690), Steve Yzerman (692) and Mark Messier (694) along the way.
Pastrnak and Ovechkin were among 56 NHL players with at least one hat trick.
The five 40-goal scorers in the NHL this season were born in different countries, the seventh time that’s happened (Ovechkin, Russia; Pastrnak, Czech Republic; Auston Matthews of Toronto Maple Leafs, 47 goals, United States; Draisaitl, Germany; and Mika Zibanejad of the Rangers, 41, Sweden).
It was the first season in NHL history to end without a Canada-born player among the top eight in goals.
Rookie defensemen shine:Quinn Hughes of the Vancouver Canucks (53 points; eight goals, 45 assists in 68 games) and Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche (50 points; 12 goals, 38 assists in 57 games) finished first and second among rookies in points. It’s the first time in the NHL modern era (since 1943-44) that defensemen finished first and second in rookie scoring.
Hughes became the third modern-era defenseman to lead rookies in scoring, joining Orr (1966-67) and Brian Leetch of the Rangers (1988-89).
Blackhawks forward Dominik Kubalik topped NHL rookies with 30 goals. He’s the first player born in the Czech Republic or the former Czechoslovakia to lead NHL rookies in goals, and the third to reach the 30-goal mark in his first NHL season after Petr Klima of the Red Wings (32 in 1985-86) and Petr Prucha of the Rangers (30 in 2005-06).
D-man leaders:Zach Werenski led defensemen with 20 goals, the most by a Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman since they entered the NHL in 2000-01.
Werenski is the eighth active NHL defenseman to score at least 20 goals in one season.
John Carlson of the Capitals led defensemen with 60 assists and 75 points. He was on pace to finish with 89 points, which would have been the most by an NHL defenseman since Hockey Hall of Famer Sergei Zubov had 89 for the Rangers in 1993-94.
Goalie leaders and achievements:Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning won 35 games to lead the NHL in victories for the third consecutive season. He’s the second goalie to lead the League in wins in at least three seasons before his 26th birthday, joining Terry Sawchuk, who did it in five straight seasons for the Red Wings (1950-55). Vasilevskiy is the first goalie of any age to lead the NHL in wins for at least three consecutive seasons since Martin Brodeur of the Devils did it in four straight (2002-07).
Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets led the NHL with six shutouts, tying the single-season Jets/Atlanta Thrashers record he set in 2017-18. He was second to Vasilevskiy with 31 victories, the third time in his NHL career he won at least 30 games.
Boston’s Tuukka Rask was No. 1 in goals-against average (2.12) and second in save percentage (.929) to Anton Khudobin of the Dallas Stars (.930) among goalies who played at least 23 games. Rask and Jaroslav Halak combined to win the William M. Jennings Trophy, awarded to the goalie(s) whose team allows the fewest goals.
Pekka Rinne of the Nashville Predators made NHL history Jan. 9 when he scored the 13th goal credited to a goalie during the regular season (there have been two in the Stanley Cup Playoffs).
Rinne shot the puck into an empty net against the Blackhawks for the first goal by an NHL goalie since Mike Smith of the Phoenix Coyotes scored against the Red Wings on Oct. 19, 2013.
Comebacks galore: Leads were rarely safe this season.
There were 457 games won by a team that trailed at some point, tied for the second-most comeback wins through 1,082 games in NHL history (474 in 2005-06 and 457 in 2018-19). The Capitals and St. Louis Blues shared the League lead with 21 comeback victories.
Of those 457 comeback wins, 125 came after a team trailed by multiple goals, the most in NHL history through 1,082 games. There were 43 games won by a team that trailed by multiple goals in the third period, the second most in NHL history through 1,082 games (45 in 2009-10). In 21.5 percent of all games (233 of 1,082), a team at least tied the score after trailing by more than one goal.
There were five games when a team won after trailing by at least four goals. That’s tied for the most in a single season, matching the mark set in 1983-84 and equaled in 1985-86.
Close games were also the rule, with 70.4 percent (762 of 1,082) decided by one goal or by multiple goals with at least one into an empty net.
Youth will be served: Younger players continue to excel.
Ten of the 17 players to score at least 30 goals were age 24 or younger, and the top three in the points race (Draisaitl, 24; McDavid and Pastrnak, each 23) all were under 25. It’s the fifth time in NHL history that’s happened, but the first since 2009-10 (also 1983-84, 1984-85, 1994-95).
None of the League’s top five in points has reached his 30th birthday (also Panarin, 28, and Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon, 24, who had 93 points).
Rookie goalies accounted for 10 shutouts, with five by Elvis Merzlikins of the Blue Jackets.
A total of 16 players born in the 2000s played at least one game this season. That includes five members of the 2019 NHL Draft class (Jack Hughes of the Devils, Kaapo Kakko of the Rangers, Kirby Dach of the Blackhawks, Ville Heinola of the Jets and Tobias Bjornfot of the Los Angeles Kings).
DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings made another investment this week in a young standout, signing Moritz Seider to a seven-year contract worth nearly $60 million.
The Red Wings announced the move with the 23-year-old German defenseman on Thursday, three days after keeping 22-year-old forward Lucas Raymond with a $64.6 million, eight-year deal.
Detroit drafted Seider with the No. 6 pick overall eight years ago and he has proven to be a great pick. He has 134 career points, the most by a defenseman drafted in 2019.
He was the NHL’s only player to have at least 200 hits and block 200-plus shots last season, when he scored a career-high nine goals and had 42 points for the second straight year.
Seider won the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie in 2022 after he had a career-high 50 points.
Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman is banking on Seider, whose contract will count $8.55 million annually against the cap, and Raymond to turn a rebuilding team into a winner.
Detroit has failed to make the playoffs in eight straight seasons, the longest postseason drought in franchise history.
The Red Wings, who won four Stanley Cups from 1997 to 2008, have been reeling since their run of 25 straight postseasons ended in 2016.
Detroit was 41-32-9 last season and finished with a winning record for the first time since its last playoff appearance.
Yzerman re-signed Patrick Kane last summer and signed some free agents, including Vladimir Tarasenko to a two-year contract worth $9.5 million after he helped the Florida Panthers hoist the Cup.
Veterans Tyson Beukeboom and Karen Paquin will lead Canada at the WXV 1 women’s rugby tournament starting later this month in the Vancouver area.
WXV 1 includes the top three teams from the Women’s Six Nations (England, France and Ireland) and the top three teams from the Pacific Four Series (Canada, New Zealand, and the United States).
Third-ranked Canada faces No. 4 France, No. 7 Ireland and No. 1 England in the elite division of the three-tiered WXV tournament that runs Sept. 29 to Oct. 12 in Vancouver and Langley, B.C. No. 2 New Zealand and the eighth-ranked U.S. make up the six-team WVX 1 field.
“Our preparation time was short but efficient. This will be a strong team,” Canada coach Kevin Rouet said in a statement. “All the players have worked very hard for the last couple of weeks to prepare for WXV and we are excited for these next three matches and for the chance to play on home soil here in Vancouver against the best rugby teams in the world.
“France, Ireland and England will each challenge us in different ways but it’s another opportunity to test ourselves and another step in our journey to the Rugby World Cup next year.”
Beukeboom serves as captain in the injury absence of Sophie de Goede. The 33-year-old from Uxbridge, Ont., earned her Canadian-record 68th international cap in Canada’s first-ever victory over New Zealand in May at the Pacific Four Series.
Twenty three of the 30 Canadian players selected for WXV 1 were part of that Pacific Four Series squad.
Rouet’s roster includes the uncapped Asia Hogan-Rochester, Caroline Crossley and Rori Wood.
Hogan-Rochester and Crossley were part of the Canadian team that won rugby sevens silver at the Paris Olympics, along with WXV teammates Fancy Bermudez, Olivia Apps, Alysha Corrigan and Taylor Perry. Wood is a veteran of five seasons at UBC.
The 37-year-old Paquin, who has 38 caps for Canada including the 2014 Rugby World Cup, returns to the team for the first time since the 2021 World Cup.
Canada opens the tournament Sept. 29 against France at B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver before facing Ireland on Oct. 5 at Willoughby Stadium at Langley Events Centre, and England on Oct. 12 at B.C. Place.
The second-tier WXV 2 and third-tier WXV 3 are slated to run Sept. 27 to Oct. 12, in South Africa and Dubai, respectively.
WXV 2 features Australia, Italy, Japan, Scotland, South Africa and Wales while WXV 3 is made up of Fiji, Hong Kong, Madagascar, the Netherlands, Samoa and Spain.
The tournament has 2025 World Cup qualification implications, although Canada, New Zealand and France, like host England, had already qualified by reaching the semifinals of the last tournament.
Ireland, South Africa, the U.S., Japan, Fiji and Brazil have also booked their ticket, with the final six berths going to the highest-finishing WXV teams who have not yet qualified through regional tournaments.
Canada’s Women’s Rugby Team WXV 1 Squad
Forwards
Alexandria Ellis, Ottawa, Stade Français Paris (France); Brittany Kassil, Guelph, Ont., Guelph Goats; Caroline Crossley, Victoria, Castaway Wanderers; Courtney Holtkamp, Rimbey, Alta., Red Deer Titans Rugby; DaLeaka Menin, Vulcan, Alta., Exeter Chiefs (England); Emily Tuttosi, Souris, Man., Exeter Chiefs (England); Fabiola Forteza, Quebec City, Stade Bordelais (France); Gabrielle Senft, Regina, Saracens (England); Gillian Boag, Calgary, Gloucester-Hartpury (England); Julia Omokhuale, Calgary, Leicester Tigers (England); Karen Paquin, Quebec City, Club de rugby de Quebec; Laetitia Royer, Loretteville, Que., ASM Romagnat (France); McKinley Hunt, King City, Ont., Saracens (England); Pamphinette Buisa, Gatineau, Que., Ottawa Irish; Rori Wood, Sooke, B.C., College Rifles RFC; Sara Cline, Edmonton, Leprechaun Tigers; Tyson Beukeboom, Uxbridge, Ont., Ealing Trailfinders (England);
Backs
Alexandra Tessier, Sainte-Clotilde-de-Horton, Que., Exeter Chiefs (England); Alysha Corrigan, Charlottetown, P.E.I., CRFC; Asia Hogan-Rochester, Toronto, Toronto Nomads; Claire Gallagher, Caledon, Ont., Leicester Tigers (England); Fancy Bermudez, Edmonton, Saracens (England); Julia Schell, Uxbridge, Ont., Ealing Trailfinders (England); Justine Pelletier, Rivière-du-Loup, Que, Stade Bordelais (France); Mahalia Robinson, Fulford, Que., Town of Mount Royal RFC; Olivia Apps, Lindsay, Ont., Lindsay RFC; Paige Farries, Red Deer, Alta., Saracens (England); Sara Kaljuvee, Ajax, Ont., Westshore RFC; Shoshanah Seumanutafa, White Rock, B.C., Counties Manukau (New Zealand); Taylor Perry, Oakville, Ont., Exeter Chiefs (England).
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.
PENTICTON, B.C. – Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko says he’s been working his way back from a rare lower-body muscle injury since being sidelined in last season’s playoffs.
The 28-year-old all star says the rehabilitation process has been frustrating, but he has made good progress in recent weeks and is confident he’ll be able to return to playing.
He says he and his medical team have spent the last few months talking to specialists around the world, and have not found a single other hockey player who has dealt with the same injury.
Demko missed several weeks of the last season with a knee ailment and played just one game in Vancouver’s playoff run last spring before going down with the current injury.
He was not on the ice with his teammates as the Canucks started training camp in Penticton, B.C., on Thursday, but skated on his own before the sessions began.
Demko posted a 35-14-2 record with a .918 percentage, a 2.45 goals-against average and five shutouts for Vancouver last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
