Suspension
The NHL has suspended Sammy Blais for two games for an illegal check to the head on Devon Toews.
Daily Faceoff is a news site with no direct affiliation to the NHL, or NHLPA
Ottawa Senators News
The Senators have signed Tim Stuetzle to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Stuetzle was the No.3 overall pick in this year's draft and is currently representing Team Germany at the World Juniors, where he has one goal and one assist in two games thus far. Stuetzle is expected to join the Senators for training camp after the WJC and should start the season in Ottawa.
The Hurricanes signed Warren Foegele to a one-year contract worth $2.15 million.
The Sabres have signed Linus Ullmark to a one-year deal worth $2.6 million.
Given Carter Hutton's struggles since signing with the Sabress, Ullmark has become their No.1 netminder over the last two seasons. He's coming off of a solid campaign in 2020 but ranks tied for 26th in SV% (.910) and tied for 35th in GAA (2.91) since the start of 2019. The Sabres have improved this offseason but Ullmark remains nothing more than a low-end No.2 fantasy netminder.
The Avalanche have re-signed Andre Burakovsky to a two-year extension worth $9.8 million ($4.9M AAV).
Burakovsky earns a nice raise (from $3.25M to $4.9M) after setting career-highs in goals (20), assists (25), points (45) and PPP (11). Burakovsky has found a home in Colorado's top-6, sometimes on a line with Nathan MacKinnon, so he could take his point totals to another level in 2021.
The Predators have signed Nick Cousins to a two-year deal worth $3.0 million ($1.5M AAV).
Cousins will be on his fourth team in three years but has turned into a reliable third-line winger in recent years. Cousins has chipped in 27 and 25 points in each of the last two seasons and should have similar production in Nashville.
Line Change
Cousins will come out of the Golden Knights lineup for Game 2.
Line Change
Cousins will replace Ryan Reaves in Game 1 of the Western Conference Final.
Burakovsky is on the ice for warmups; expected to play in Game 5 vs. Arizona.
Burakovsky is expected to be "good to go" for Game 5 on Wednesday.
The Kings have signed Jordan Spence to a three-year, entry-level contract.
The Senators have signed Artem Zub to a one-year, entry-level contract.
Zub was an undrafted free agent defenseman out of Russia, who is coming off of a career-year in the KHL. The 24-old set new career-highs in goals (13), assists (9) and points (22) in 57 games with St. Petersburg SKA. In 2018 he represented Russia in the Olympics, where he had four assists in six games to help the team win gold.
The Islanders signed Samuel Bolduc to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Bolduc was selected in the second-round (No.57 overall) in 2019 and just finished his fourth year in the QMJHL. Bolduc started the year with Blainville-Boisbriand Armada but was moved to Sherbrooke Phoenix midway through. Overall, the 19-year-old defenseman tallied 11 goals and 32 assists (43 points) in 61 games. His 43 points was a career-best and was eighth among QMJHL blueliners.
The Blues signed Sammy Blais to a two-year contract extension worth $3.0 million ($1.5M AAV).
After splitting time between the NHL and AHL in the last two years, Blais was a full-time NHLer in 2019-20. He missed some time due to right wrist surgery in November but produced 13 points (6G / 7A) in the 40 games he appeared in before the league was paused. Blais was a physical force when in the lineup, leading the Blues with 155 hits (3.9 Hits/GP).
The Kings have signed Kurtis MacDermid to a two-year contract extension worth $1.75 million ($875K AAV).
MacDermid was set to become an RFA this offseason but signed an extension that takes him through the 2022 season. MacDermid set career-highs in games played (45), goals (3), assists (5) and points (8) in his third season with the Kings.
The Coyotes signed Cameron Crotty to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Crotty was a third-round pick in 2017 and wrapped up his third-year at Boston University with nine points (4G / 5A) in 30 games. Crotty is a 6-foot-2, 190 lbs. blueliner who will likely head to Tucson (AHL) when he turns pro.
Goalie Start
Ullmark will start against the Capitals on Monday.
Ullmark has missed the last 18 games with a lower-body injury but will make his first start since January 28th tonight vs. the Capitals. Before getting hurt, Ullmark was 5-3-0 with a 2.17 GAA and .929 SV% in eight January starts and is 10-5-1 with a 2.59 GAA and .917 SV% in 16 home games this season. In his first start against the Capitals, Ullmark surrendered six goals on 34 shots in a 6-1 loss.
Ullmark (leg) will return as the Sabres backup on Saturday.
Ullmark has been out since January 28th but will serve as Carter Hutton's backup on Friday. Ullmark was playing great before getting hurt, winning five of his last eight with a 2.17 GAA and .919 SV%.
Burakovsky (lower-body) did not travel to Vancouver.
The Avalanche start a three-game road trip Friday in Vancouver but Burakovsky did not join the team for the star of the trip. This isn't that surprising since Colorado already said that he would likely miss a few more games but head coach Jared Bednar said he could join the team at some point.
Burakovsky (lower-body) is expected to miss a few more games.
Burakovsky did not come out for Colorado's morning skate and will not play tonight vs. the Ducks. Head coach Jared Bednar expects him to miss a few more games, so don't expect to see him Friday in Vancouver or Sunday in San Jose. Vladislav Namestnikov will remain on the top line with Burakovsky out.