Hunter Shinkaruk traded for Kerby Rychel

         The Calgary Flames have acquired forward Kerby Rychel from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for forward Hunter Shinkaruk.

         Since this is a minor trade, I'll do one paragraph for both teams. Both Rychel and Shinkaruk were once decent prospects who haven't found a place to play. Both now get a change of scenery, which could help them. Also, both were RFAs, having not signed at all this whole offseason.

         Rychel, 23, scored a goal and an assist for two points in four games for the Canadiens this past season. In his NHL career for the Canadiens and Columbus Blue Jackets, Rychel has scored three goals and 11 assists for 14 points in 41 games.

         Shinkaruk, also 23, has scored two goals and two assists for four points in 15 career games for the Flames and Vancouver Canucks.

Where will these current free agents land?

             Well, it's currently August 18th. It's been almost 50 days since NHL UFAs could sign with other teams. But, there is still some players who haven't signed with other teams. The most notable are ex 40 goal scorer Rick Nash, goalies Kari Lehtonen and Steve Mason, forwards Mike Cammalieri and Troy Brouwer, plus defenseman Luca Sbisa. Since they have to sign eventually, here are my predictions to where they will go.

              Rick Nash, winger, Dallas Stars

              Nash, a 34 year old winger who scored 21 goals and 13 assists for 34 points in 71 games for the Rangers and Bruins last season, is the most notable player left on the market. He has scored 30 goals eight times, including three 40 goal campaigns. The Stars have been in need for a winger in recent years, and added Alex Radulov before the 2017-18 season. This offseason, they've only added 4th liner Blake Comeau. Plus, they regained Valeri Nichushkin, an old star who played in Russia the past two seasons. But, they could still use more, as they are in need for a top six winger. Getting Nash on a 1-2 year deal with a $3-5 million AAV would be ideal.

               Mike Cammalieri, winger, Boston Bruins
            
               Cammalieri, a 36 year old who is definitely going to sign with a contender to go cup chasing, led all current UFAs in assists last year with 22 for the Kings and Oilers. A two time 30 goal scorer, Cammalieri would bring veteran presence to the Bruins bottom six, which has 27 year old Chris Wagner as their oldest bottom six player. Cammalieri would certainly accept another one year, $1 million deal.

               Luca Sbisa, defensman, Ottawa Senators

               Sbisa, one of the youngest players on the market at 28, is a decent top 6 defenseman that I think should be signed by now. At 28, he's not at the age where he'd only go to a contender. Ottawa's most experienced left defenseman is Mark Borowiecki, with his 269 career games. Sbisa would be a good fit.

                Kari Lehtonen, goalie, Winnipeg Jets

                Lehtonen, a 34 year old who had a 2.56 GAA and .912 SV% in 37 games for the Stars last year, is going to have to settle in to a backup role this next season. Winnipeg lost both Steve Mason and Michael Hutchinson, leaving Connor Hellebuyck with just Laurent Brossoit as his backup. WInnipeg is going to be very competitive this next season, and a backup like Lehtonen would help them win some games.

                 Steve Mason, goalie, Pittsburgh Penguins

                  The Penguins experimented with having a formerly bought-out goalie as their backup in Antti Niemi last season. Mason has been solid in his career, but was bought out following a trade to Montreal. He's an improvement over Casey Desmith as Matt Murray's backup.

Best NHL player by number!

           I know, you've probably seen a lot of these around the internet. But I looked around, and a lot of the articles I found with the same idea were missing numbers for no reason. Since 99 is forever retired by Wayne Gretzky, as no one stepped on the ice this season wearing numbers 69, 80 and 84. this should be a 95 section list, and is. Also, if this hits big, say 200 pageviews, I'll do one for the MLB at the end of the season. Finally, a lot of credit goes to Hockey-reference.com, where I found pretty much all of this info. So, let it begin. The top player to suit up in 2017-18 per jersey number, NHL.

          #1: Roberto Luongo    Other: Mike Condon, Semyon Varlamov, Keith Kinkaid
          #2: Duncan Keith        Other: Nick Leddy, Matt Niskanen
          #3: John Klingberg      Other: Keith Yandle, Seth Jones
          #4: Tyson Barrie          Other: Cam Fowler, Ryan Ellis, Justin Schultz, Niklas Hjalmarsson
          #5: Aaron Ekblad         Other: Mark Girodano, Noah Hanifin
          #6: Brock Boeser          Other: Shea Weber, Jake Muzzin, Collin Miller
          #7: Jordan Eberle          Other: T.J. Brodie, Kyle Turris, Brent Seabrook
          #8: Alex Ovechkin        Other: Drew Doughty, Joe Pavelski, Zach Werenski
          #9: Taylor Hall              Other: Artemi Panarin, Filip Forsberg, Mikko Koivu
          #10: Brayden Schenn    Other: Alex Wennberg, Corey Perry
          #11: Anze Kopitar         Other: Mikael Backlund, Jonathan Huberdeau, Zach Parise
          #12: Josh Bailey            Other: Eric Staal, Patrick Marleau
          #13: Johnny Gaudreau  Other: Mat Barzal, Cam Atkinson    
          #14: Jamie Benn           Other: Sean Couturier, Mattias Ekholm, Tomas Plekanec
          #15: Jack Eichel            Other: Ryan Getzlaf, Artem Anisimov
          #16: Aleksander Barkov Other: Mitch Marner, Max Domi
          #17: Wayne Simmonds   Other: Ryan Kesler, Jaden Schwartz
          #18: James Neal             Other: Ondrej Palat, Bryan Little
          #19: Jonathan Toews      Other: Nick Backstrom, Joe Thornton, Reilly Smith
          #20: Ryan Suter              Other: Sebastian Aho (CAR), Brandon Saad, Chris Kreider
          #21: Kyle Palmieri          Other: Vincent Trocheck, Brayden Point, Derek Stepan
          #22: Kevin Shattenkirk   Other: Daniel Sedin, Nino Niederreiter
          #23: Oliver Ekman-Larsson Other: Sean Monahan, Sam Reinhart
          #24: Matt Dumba             Other: Travis Hamonic, Kasperi Kapanen
          #25: James van Riemsdyk Other: Mike Green, Jonas Brodin
          #26: Blake Wheeler          Other: Jimmy Vesey, Thomas Vanek
          #27: Alex Pietrangelo      Other: Anders Lee, Ryan McDonagh, Dougie Hamilton, Nikolaj Ehlers.

           #28: Claude Giroux        Other: Damon Severson, Elias Lindholm    
           #29: Nathan MacKinnon Other: Marc-Andre Fleury, Leon Draisaitl, Patrik Laine
           #30: Matt Murray            Other: Henrik Lundqvist, Ben Bishop
           #31: Carey Price              Other: Martin Jones, Frederik Andersen
           #32: Jonathan Quick        Other: Antti Raanta, Kari Lehtonen
           #33: Dustin Byfuglien      Other: Henrik Sedin, Zdeno Chara, Viktor Arvidsson, Cam Talbot
           #34: Auston Matthews     Other: James Reimer, Jake Allen
           #35: Pekka Rinne             Other: Cory Schneider, Steve Mason, Jimmy Howard
           #36: John Gibson             Other: Mats Zuccarello, Jussi Jokinen
           #37: Patrice Bergeron      Other: Connor Hellebuyck, Yanni Gourde, Brian Elliott
           #38: Ryan Hartmen         Other: Boone Jenner, Nikita Scherbak
           #39: Logan Couture        Other: Anthony Mantha, Toby Enstrom
           #40: Tukka Rask             Other: Carter Hutton, Devan Dubnyk, Michael Grabner
           #41: Paul Byron              Other: Mike Smith, Craig Anderson
           #42: David Backes          Other: Joel Ward, Tyler Bozak
           #43: Nazem Kadri           Other: Conor Sheary, Tom Wilson
           #44: Morgan Reilly         Other: Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Josh Morissey, Calvin de Haan
           #45: Sami Vatanen          Other: Jonathan Bernier, Lukas Sedlak
           #46: David Krejci           Other: Jared Spurgeon, Pontus Aberg
           #47: Alex Radulov          Other: Hampus Lindholm, Sven Baertschi, Torey Krug
           #48: Tomas Hertl            Other: Vinnie Hinostroza, Matt Grzelcyk
           #49: Victor Rask             Other: Ivan Barbashev, Sam Girard (on Colorado)
           #50: Corey Crawford      Other: Adam Pelech, Antoine Vermette
           #51: Frans Nielson          Other: Jake Gardiner, David Desharnais
           #52: Sean Kuraly            Other: Michael Amadio, Jonathan Ericsson, Martin Marincin
           #53: Shayne Gostisbehere Other: Bo Horvat, Jeff Skinner
           #54: Charles Hudon         Other: Adam McQuaid, Oskar Lindholm
           #55: Mark Scheifele         Other: Colton Parakyo, Rasmus Ristolainen, Johnny Boychuk
           #56: Eric Haula                Other: Magnus Paajarvi, Marko Dano
           #57: Tyler Myers              Other: David Perron, Trevor van Riemsdyk
           #58: Kris Letang               Other: David Savard, Anton Slepyshev
           #59: Roman Josi               Other: Jake Guentzel, Jake Dotchin
           #60: Markus Granlund      Other: Collin Delia, Carson Soucy
           #61: Rick Nash                 Other: Mark Stone, Justin Braun
           #62: Carl Hagelin             Other: Denis Malgin, Andrej Sustr
           #63: Brad Marchand         Other: Tyler Ennis, Jesper Bratt, Evgeni Dadonov
           #64: Mikael Granlund       Other: Tyler Motte, Nail Yakupov
           #65: Eric Karlsson             Other: Andre Burakovsky, Danny DeKeyser
           #66: Josh Ho-Sang            Other: None
           #67: Max Pacioretty          Other: Rickard Rakell, Michael Frolik
           #68: Mike Hoffman           Other: Jaromir Jagr, Melker Karlsson
           #69: None, last worn by Andrew Desjardins in 2011-12
           #70: Braden Holtby           Other: Tanner Pearson, Joonas Korpisalo
           #71: Evgeni Malkin           Other: William Karlsson, Nick Foligno, Dylan Larkin
           #72: Sergei Bobrovsky      Other: Patric Hornqvist, Anthony Beauvillier
           #73: Tyler Toffoli               Other: Charlie McAvoy, Brandon Pirri
           #74: John Carlson              Other: Jake Debrusk, Jaccob Slavin
           #75: Ryan Reaves              Other: Jaycob Megna, Brandon Halverson
           #76: P.K. Subban              Other: Brady Skjei
           #77: Victor Hedman           Other: T.J. Oshie, Jeff Carter, Oscar Klefbom
           #78: Beau Bennett              Other: Filip Chlapik, Maxim Mamim
           #79: Michael Ferland         Other: Justin Auger, Nathan Walker
           #80: No one, last worn by Matt Tennyson in 2015-16.
           #81: Jonathan Marchessault Other: Phil Kessel, Kyle Connor
           #82: Nathan Beaulieu          Other: Jordan Oesterle, Justin Kloos
           #83: Trevor Daley               Other: Ales Hemsky, Jay Beagle, Matt Nieto
           #84: None, last worn by Mikhail Grabovski and Phil Varone in 2015-16
           #85: Mathieu Perreault       Other: None
           #86: Nikita Kucherov         Other: Teuvo Teravainen, Nikolay Kulemin
           #87: Sidney Crosby            Other: Vadim Shipachyov, Liam O'Brien
           #88: Patrick Kane               Other: Brent Burns, David Pastrnak, Andrei Vasilevskiy
           #89: Alex Tuch                   Other: Mikkel Boedker, Pavel Buchnevich, Sam Gagner
           #90: Ryan O'Reilly             Other: Marcus Johansson, Vladislav Namestnikov, Jason Spezza
           #91: Steven Stamkos          Other: John Tavares, Tyler Seguin, Vladimir Tarasenko
           #92: Ryan Johansen            Other: Evgeny Kuznetsov, Jonathan Drouin, Gabriel Landeskog
           #93: Jakub Voracek             Other: Mika Zibanejad, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Sam Bennett
           #94: Sam Girard (on NSH)  Other: Andrei Mironov
           #95: Matt Duchene              Other: Justin Bailey, Henrik Borgstrom
           #96: Mikko Rantanen          Other: None
           #97: Connor McDavid         Other: None
           #98: Mikhail Sergachev       Other: Jesse Puljujarvi
           #99: Retired forever by Wayne Gretzky

           Hope you guys all enjoyed this article. If you disagree, comment below your opinion, and share with your friends, and follow me on Twitter @Carterhudblog.

Our interview with New York Islanders rookie Mat Barzal

           At the beginning of the 2017-18 NHL season, there was talk about who would win the Calder trophy. Now, there isn't any conversation. New York Islanders center Mat Barzal has absolutely run away with the trophy, awarded to the best rookie of the season. The 20 year old Coquitlam, British Columbia native was drafted 16th overall by the Isles in the 2015 NHL draft. The pick was acquired from the Edmonton Oilers along with the pick the Isles traded up for Barzal's best friend, Anthony Beauvillier for defenseman Griffin Reinhart. In his rookie season, Barzal has scored 18 goals and 49 assists for 67 points in 66 games, first among rookies by far. He played in two games in 2016-17, so his career totals are 67 points in 68 games. Also, he became the first rookie to score five assists in a single game twice. He's also the first rookie with three five point games since Joe Malone in the NHL's inaugural season, 100 years ago. Many players, like Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty, have commented on Barzal's play. At teammate Anders Lee's kancer jam, I asked Barzal about those comments, Beauvillier and more.

             Carter LaCorte (me): Many players around the league have commented on your play. How did you react to that?

             Mat Barzal: It's so cool hearing it from other guys around the league. Knowing that they have seen my game and that kind of stuff. It's really flattering.

              CL: Many teams passed on you in the draft, including the Boston Bruins three times. Did that motivate you to work harder to get where you are now?

              MB: It did at the time. You just have to be self-motivated. At the time I wanted to prove everybody wrong.

                 CL: Do you think you could beat Connor McDavid in a race?

                MB: No, I'm not sure of that.

                CL: Can you tell us more about your "bromance" with teammate Anthony Beauvillier?

                MB: He's my best friend on the team. We've had a lot of fun together. We're kind of crazy too. We have a lot of fun.

               CL: Would you rather get an assist or a goal?

               MB: I love scoring but I love getting assists too. I like both. Either one is good for me.

               CL: Do you consider yourself a playmaker or a goal scorer?

               MB: I'm more of a playmaker.

               CL: The team has been very good on offense this season, but has struggled on defense. How can the forwards help prevent more goals from scoring?

              MB: We have to work harder and block more shots.

              CL: What's it like being here at Anders' kan jam event?

              MB: It's the best. Anders is an amazing guy. This is so great, and being his teammate I want to show him as much support as I can.

              CL: You played in Seattle in the WHL. Do you think it's a good NHL venue?

              MB: It's great, definitely.

              CL: What would you name an NHL team there?

               MB: I would have it... maybe the Metropolitans.

               CL: Who has the biggest personality on the team?

               MB: Jason Chimera (he hadn't been traded to the Ducks yet at the time of this recording). He's so funny.