In today’s News & Notes, the Carolina Hurricanes have signed Teuvo Teravainen to a contract extension, Ryan Spooner and Ty Rattie have been placed on waivers, Andreas Johnsson is out with a concussion and the NHL has announced their three stars of the week.
Teravainen Signs Contract Extension
The Hurricanes have signed Teravainen to a five-year contract extension worth $27 million that comes with a cap hit of $5.4 million. The deal will start in 2019-20 and will extend through the 2023-24 season.
“Teuvo has improved every year of his NHL career and has established himself as a cornerstone forward for the Hurricanes now and into the future,” said general manager Don Waddell. “He has shown that he is capable of adapting and expanding his role with our team, becoming a key penalty killer for Rod this season. He’s still just 24 years old and we believe he will only continue to grow as a player.”
Teravainen has scored 10 goals and 39 points in 48 games with the Hurricanes this season, his third with the team. He’s coming off of a career-high 23 goals and 64 points in 82 games last season.
In 326 games in the NHL, Teravainen has scored 65 goals and 189 points. He’s also scored four goals and 11 points in the postseason though he hasn’t played in a playoff game since being acquired by the Hurricanes from the Chicago Blackhawks ahead of the 2016-17 season.
Spooner and Rattie Placed on Waivers
The Edmonton Oilers have placed Spooner and Rattie on waivers.
Though Rattie was once a highly-touted player coming out of the WHL, the 25-year-old has failed to make an impact in the NHL despite playing in the NHL and AHL since 2013. Stops with the St. Louis Blues, the Hurricanes and most recently the Oilers just haven’t led to the desired results.
In a very surprising move, however, the Oilers have also placed Spooner on waivers despite just trading Ryan Strome to the New York Rangers in exchange for Spooner a few months ago.
Spooner signed a two-year contract with the Rangers in the offseason after being acquired by the team at the trade deadline last season. Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned and the team cut-bait early.
For the Oilers, this was just another example of bad asset management as the team had previously sent Jordan Eberle to the New York Islanders in exchange for Strome. From Eberle to Strome to Spooner on waivers. It’s been an unfortunate turn of events in Edmonton.
In 24 games with the Oilers this season, Spooner has only scored two goals and three points.
Johnsson Out With Concussion
The Toronto Maple Leafs will be without Johnsson on Wednesday when they take on the defending Stanley Cup Champion Washington Capitals. The 24-year-old Johnsson sustained a concussion in the Maple Leafs loss Sunday night to the Arizona Coyotes. The injury occurred when Johnsson collided with Coyotes’ defender Niklas Hjalmarsson.
In 43 games this season, Johnsson’s rookie campaign with the Maple Leafs, he’s scored 10 goals and 22 points. He would make some appearances in 2017-18 as well, however, catching on with the team at the end of the season and scoring two goals and three points in nine games before adding another goal and assist in six postseason games.
The Maple Leafs have also recalled Trevor Moore from the Toronto Marlies in a subsequent move. Moore has played in six games with the Maple Leafs this season, scoring one goal and three points. In 32 games with the Marlies in the AHL, Moore has shined, however, scoring 19 goals and 27 points.
NHL Three Stars of the Week
Patrick Kane has been named the NHL’s third star of the week. The Blackhawks’ winger scored four goals and 10 points in three games last week, including a four-point game and a five-point game. He’s now up to 29 goals and 70 points in 49 games this season and is on an eight-game point streak that includes seven goals and 20 points.
Mika Zibanejad has been named the NHL’s second star of the week. Zibanejad scored the game-winning goal in all three games he played for the Rangers last week and led the league with five goals last week. He’d also add two assists, bringing his total to 17 goals and 44 points on the season.
Robin Lehner has been named the NHL’s first star of the week after the Islanders’ netminder made 65 saves on 67 shots, good for a .970 save percentage and a 0.67 goals-against average and a 3-0-0 record last week.
Lehner has been one of the NHL’s best goaltenders this season and now leads the NHL with a 2.02 goals-against average and is second with a .930 save percentage. Since Dec. 18, he leads the league with 11 wins in 12 games and a sparkling 1.30 goals-against average and .953 save percentage with two shutouts.
