In today’s News & Notes, Nazem Kadri skated prior to practice, Marcus Johansson will wear No. 90 with the Boston Bruins and some thoughts on the aftermath of the 2019 NHL Trade Deadline.
Kadri Skates Prior to Maple Leafs’ Practice
Kadri skated by himself prior to the Toronto Maple Leafs’ practice Tuesday, one week after being sidelined with a concussion against the St. Louis Blues, Kristen Shilton reported. Kadri would leave the ice prior to the team’s practice but seeing him on the ice is a nice step forward nonetheless.
The veteran center has scored 15 goals and 35 points this season while skating on the Maple Leaf’s third line. Things have been changed for Kadri this season as he’s played primarily third-line center with John Tavares taking over his spot in the top-six after signing with the Maple Leafs in the offseason.
Despite this new role, Kadri has actually averaged roughly the same amount of ice time as he has throughout his entire career at 16:18 relative to his career average of 16:53. It’s not clear why Kadri has struggled to consistently produce points this season but he’s still an integral part of the Maple Leafs’ offense and will be a huge addition for them when he’s healthy.
Johansson to Wear No. 90 for Bruins
The Bruins made a smaller splash than they’d have liked at the 2019 Trade Deadline but did come away with Johansson who joins Charlie Coyle as the team’s two big additions. While Coyle has already played in a game for the Bruins, a shootout loss to the Blues, Johansson will make his debut for Boston on Tuesday night against the San Jose Sharks.
When Johansson does take to the ice for the first time in a Bruins’ uniform, he’ll be making history in a way as he’ll become just the first player to wear the No. 90 in a Bruins sweater.
The team has been around since the 1924 season and it’s pretty impressive that there’s still even one number that hasn’t been worn by anybody in Boston yet. There are actually multiple jersey numbers that haven’t been worn yet in Boston. Johansson isn’t even the first player to wear one for the first time in Boston this season as Trent Frederic’s No. 82 jersey is also a first-time number for the Bruins.
Other active players to wear first-time jerseys with the team include Kevan Miller (No. 86) and David Pastrnak (No. 88).
Trade Deadline Aftermath
One day after the NHL’s Trade Deadline took place, a new landscape has taken over the NHL. The buyers made sure to add pieces to bolster their team, be it through depth scoring, defenders, goaltending or even big top-six acquisitions.
The sellers, on the other hand, had a keen eye towards the future of their franchise while trading off pieces to help make their own respective rebuilds, retools or otherwise as successful as possible.
For a complete list of the trades that took place during the entire trade deadline period, the 2019 NHL Trade Deadline Deal Tracker is complete with each transaction and analysis.