NHL Atlantic

The Toronto Maple Leafs will be without one of their top defensemen for the next several games.

Maple Leafs veteran Morgan Rielly received a five-game suspension for cross-checking Senators forward Ridly Greig in the head in Saturday's 5-3 loss to Ottawa.

ESPN's Kevin Weekes first reported the suspension.

With just seconds remaining in Saturday's game between the Maple Leafs and Senators, Greig buried an empty-netter with a slap shot to put Ottawa up 5-3. Rielly appeared to take exception and cross-checked Greig in the head.

Typically with empty-net goals, players just push the puck into the net or fire in a quick wrist shot to not disrespect their opponent. Greig's slap shot was a rare moment, especially with it coming so close to the blue paint.

"I thought it was appropriate," Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe told reporters of Rielly's response to the goal after the loss.

Keefe added: "I think he's just reacting to a play. Their player has the right to do what he wants in that moment and our players have the right to react. That's the emotions of the game."

Senators head coach Jacques Martin viewed the incident differently.

"He put the puck in the net," Martin told reporters of Greig. "Whether he shoots it or pushes it, [Rielly's reaction], that shouldn't happen.

"That's not a hockey play. That's just frustration or something. It's not part of the game."

Rielly, the longest-tenured Maple Leaf, had never been suspended prior to Tuesday's ruling. He'll now miss two matchups against the St. Louis Blues and games against the Philadelphia Flyers, Anaheim Ducks and Arizona Coyotes.

The 29-year-old will be eligible to return to the lineup on Feb. 22 against the Vegas Golden Knights.

Toronto selected Rielly fifth overall in the 2012 draft. He made his debut during the 2013-14 campaign and has appeared in 769 games across his 11-year career.

Through 50 games this season, Rielly has notched seven goals and 36 assists for 43 points.

The Maple Leafs currently sit fourth in the Atlantic Division with a 26-16-8 record and will greatly miss Rielly's presence in the lineup as they look to keep up with the Boston Bruins, Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning.

The NHL has officially unveiled the captains and celebrity captains for the 2024 NHL All-Star Game, and the list includes some pretty popular names.

Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews, Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon, Edmonton Oilers phenom Connor McDavid and brothers Quinn Hughes of the Vancouver Canucks and Jack Hughes of the New Jersey Devils will captain the four teams.

Each team has been given a celebrity captain and an assistant captain.

Matthews, who will lead the team wearing blue, was paired with Canada native and avid Maple Leafs fan Justin Bieber as his celebrity captain. Toronto defenseman Morgan Reilly will serve as his assistant captain.

MacKinnon's celebrity captain is Canadian singer/songwriter Tate McRae and his assistant captain is Avalanche teammate Cale Makar. His team will be sporting yellow jerseys.

McDavid's team will be wearing white, and his celebrity captain is Canadian actor Will Arnett. His assistant captain is Oilers teammate Leon Draisaitl.

Finally, Quinn and Jack Hughes, who will lead the team wearing red, are paired with Canadian singer/songwriter Michael Bublé. The Hughes brothers were not given an assistant captain as they are designated as co-captains.

Each team will also be assigned a coach, which are selected based on the head coach atop each of the league's four divisions—Boston Bruins' Jim Montgomery, New York Rangers' Peter Laviolette, Winnipeg Jets' Rick Bowness and Vancouver's Rick Tocchet.

After splitting up the All-Star Game by division over the last several years, the NHL opted to reinstate the player draft for this year's event. The captains and their celebrity captains will participate in a player draft to select their teams on Feb. 1 before the game kicks off on Feb. 3.

At least one player from each of the NHL's 32 teams was selected for the All-Star Game. A fan vote determined the remaining players selected for the event.

The final 12 players voted into the 2024 NHL All-Star game by fans were announced on Saturday ahead of the game on Feb. 3.

Colorado Avalanche defenceman Cale Makar and Toronto Maple Leafs right wing Mitch Marner were among the 12 players voted into the game by fans. In 37 games this season, Makar has notched nine goals and 39 assists, while Marner has scored 17 goals and picked up 28 assists on the year.

Makar had 1,065,367 fan votes while Marner had 946,154. NHL All-Star weekend is Feb. 1-3 and will take place at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

While Makar and Marner were among the top-voted players, Vancouver Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko received the most votes with 1,398,699. Demko has been dominant for the league-leading Canucks, notching a 21-8 record with a save percentage of .916.

Of the skaters selected by fans, Maple Leaf's right wing William Nylander led the way in fan votes with 1,393,578. Nylander has picked up 21 goals and 36 assists this season.

The Canucks had the most players voted into the All-Star game with Demko, Elias Pettersson, JT Miller and Brock Boeser all getting the nod. The Male Leafs had three players voted in by fans in Marner, William Nylander and Morgan Rielly getting bids.

While fans had the chance to vote their favorite players into the All-Star game, they will also get the chance to select which All Stars appear in this year's skills challenge.

The Toronto Maples Leafs and superstar right-winger William Nylander have reached an eight-year contract extension worth $11.5 million per season, putting the total value at $92 million.

According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the deal will include a full no-movement clause for the entirety of the deal, meaning he couldn't be traded, waived or sent down to the minors without his consent.

Nylander, 27, had a career year in the 2022-23 campaign, setting career highs in both goals (40) and assists (47). He was probably on pace for an even bigger year, but a late-season slump that saw him only post five goals and eight points in his last 16 games—and one he admitted was at least partly due to being distracted over a potential contract extension—slowed his pace.

"I think it was more so thinking if I finish off the season great we could have a contract done by summer," he told The Athletic's Jonas Siegel. "I think that was putting a little bit too much pressure (on me)—maybe after some games where maybe the puck didn't go in and then that dragged on."

Still, it was his second straight season with 80 or more points, and the former No. 8 overall pick in the 2014 draft is well on pace for another monster year, with 21 goals and 33 assists through just 37 games. His 54 points have him tied for fifth in the NHL in scoring with Edmonton Oilers' superstar Connor McDavid.

In Nylander, Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and John Tavares, the Maple Leafs have one of the game's most dynamic attacking groups and rank seventh in goals scored per game (3.49). That has the team sitting on 47 points and in third place in the Atlantic Division.

The goal is a Stanley Cup this season, which would end a drought dating back to the 1966-67 season. But Nylander now has more than a decade to help the Maple Leafs reclaim their former glory.

"That would be a dream to stay here," he told reporters over the weekend. "I mean, to play for such an organization. And I call Toronto home. So I think that'd be a very special feeling."

The dream has come true.

Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander could be set to become the team's second-highest paid player with his next contract.

The Maple Leafs could offer Nylander an eight-year, $11.25 AAV extension this season, according to TSN's Darren Dreger.

Dreger believes that an eight-year extension could increase to as high as $11.5 million per year.

"I don't doubt for a second that it is top priority for the Maple Leafs to get this guy extended," Dreger said Wednesday on TSN 1050. "It's getting to the place where I think he can appreciate as a star player, he's likely earned it."

Nylander is currently set to become an unrestricted free agent following this season.

He has 51 points (19 goals, 32 assists) through 36 games, putting him on pace for the first 100-point campaign of his career.

This explosive pace, following two straight 80-point seasons and a 40-goal campaign in 2022-23, could mean 27-year-old Nylander would fetch an even bigger price on the open market than he could earn in Toronto.

That is something Dreger believes the Leafs will try to avoid, especially given the uncertainty surrounding the team's other upcoming contract negotiations. Both John Tavares and Mitch Marner, who are set to become free agents following the 2024-25 campaign, will be looking for extensions of their own next season.

"If you're William Nylander, why would you expect or negotiate for less, or what is team-friendly?" Dreger asked. "And conversely, the team is sitting there and going, 'Okay, well, we're not sure what we're doing with Marner going forward... can we really allow William Nylander to play hardball and go to free agency? If he's willing to look for $13 million out there— and it might be out there— are we going to lose him for nothing?'"

"I just don't think the organization can do that."

The extension projected by Dreger would leave only Auston Matthews ($13.25 million AAV) with a larger cap hit than Nylander next season.

A deal north of $11 million per year would exceed what the Leafs are paying for Tavares ($11 million AAV) and Marner ($10.9 million AAV) in 2024-25.

Even with the cap set to increase by more than $4 million next season, that means Toronto could spend over half of their total cap space on their top four players.

That might be worth it if the Leafs can hang onto a player currently producing at a pace on par with the Edmonton Oilers' Connor McDavid.

Ottawa Senators president of hockey operations and interim general manager Steve Staios announced Monday that head coach D.J. Smith has been fired amidst an 11-15-0 start to the season, leaving the team in last place in the Atlantic Division.

Assistant coach Davis Payne was also fired and Jacques Martin was appointed interim head coach.

Smith, 46, was on an expiring contract, and the club's new leadership—Michael Andlauer became the majority owner in September and fired general manager Pierre Dorion in early November—was going to have to make a decision on his future before the start of next season regardless.

That decision came a bit earlier than expected, though it was the decision most folks anticipated the team ultimately making at some point:

"I think Staios would have, in a perfect world, preferred to have waited until after the season to make this change," TSN's Pierre LeBrun reported Monday. "But this is almost like a mercy fire. I think things have gone off the rails so badly, and I think this is a situation where they're almost doing the guy a favor at this point."

Indeed, the Senators are mired in a four-game losing streak. Smith, meanwhile, hadn't built the type of résumé in his career that would have bought him more leeway, going 131-154-32 in parts of five seasons with no playoff berths.

Granted, his tenure started in a rebuild focused on developing younger players. But that period is over, and expectations of a potential playoff run this season haven't come to pass, at least not early on. In that regard, a change doesn't come as a surprise.

As for the 71-year-old Martin, he spent nine years as the head coach of the Senators between the 1995-96 and 2003-04 seasons, leading the team to a 341-215-20 record and playoff berths in eight of those campaigns.

The Senators hired Martin earlier in December to serve as a senior advisor to the coaching staff, a bit of foreshadowing to Monday's major moves. Now, he's tasked with salvaging a sinking ship.

"Show Time" is officially ready for action in Motown.

Patrick Kane is expected to make his Detroit Red Wings debut on Thursday night against the San Jose Sharks at Little Caesars Arena, head coach Derek Lalonde told reporters Wednesday.

Kane signed a one-year, $2.75 million contract with the Red Wings last week after recovering from hip resurfacing surgery.

There were rumors about Kane potentially suiting up against the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night but Lalonde held him out of the lineup so he could get another practice in before making his debut.

Kane spent the 2022-23 season between the Chicago Blackhawks and New York Rangers. He was traded from Chicago, where he spent the first 15 and a half seasons of his career, to New York at the deadline.

The 35-year-old was underwhelming in his short stint with the Rangers, notching five goals and seven assists for 12 points in 19 games. He also tallied just one goal and five assists for six points in seven playoff games.

Kane told reporters earlier this month that his time in New York was "challenging," which could be why he didn't live up to expectations.

"Going to New York was a new challenge for me," Kane said. "I was really excited about it but it didn't really go the way I expected or the team expected. I figured at that point it was probably time to do something to give myself a chance to get back to a high level—almost more mentally rather than physically. I don't want to say [I was] miserable, but I was thinking about [my hip] every day."

The three-time Stanley Cup champion's decision to join the Red Wings was surprising to some, though he now gets to play alongside his former Chicago teammate in Alex DeBrincat.

Additionally, Kane's decision was influenced by his childhood. He played for a Triple-A program in Michigan when he was a teenager and "fell in love with Detroit, which was just as obsessed with hockey as he was. He adored the Red Wings' history and tradition."

The Red Wings have been one of the NHL's best surprises this season as they sit second in the Atlantic Division with a 14-7-3 record. The addition of Kane should only help Detroit better contend for a playoff spot.

The Red Wings haven't reached the postseason since the 2015-16 campaign, but considering how they've played through the early stages of the 2023-24 season, that's bound to change this year.

Veteran winger Patrick Kane is set to sign with the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet and Chris Johnston of The Athletic.

Friedman later reported it "sounds like" Kane agreed to a one-year contract worth $2.75M.

Of note, Detroit's Daniel Sprong wasted little time in offering to let Kane wear No. 88:

The timing of his decision comes as no surprise, as Larry Brooks of the New York Post reported on Nov. 14 that Kane was expected to sign around Thanksgiving and that the New York Rangers were out of the sweepstakes.

Kane spent the 2022-23 season split between the Chicago Blackhawks and Rangers, who acquired him from Chicago at the trade deadline.

The star winger hit the open market this summer in search of a lucrative deal. He underwent hip surgery in June and was projected to miss four-to-six months, so he began the 2023-24 season unsigned as he worked on his recovery.

Kane said in May he would welcome a return to the Rangers in 2023-24 and beyond, but he also appeared to acknowledge it may not happen due to other free agents the team needed to sign.

"With this team and with this opportunity, I would love that chance," he told reporters. "I know they have young guys to sign and probably other priorities—you know, I'm turning 35 next year, but it's not like I feel old. I still feel young. I feel like the passion is still there. I know that I could be a top player, you know, if my focus is like solely on hockey."

In 19 regular-season games with the Rangers during the 2022-23 season, Kane had five goals and seven assists for 12 points. He added one goal and five assists for six points in seven playoff games.

Kane primarily played on New York's second line alongside Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck.

It's unclear where he'll slot into the Red Wings' lineup, though he'll be playing alongside the likes of Dylan Larkin, Alex DeBrincat and Lucas Raymond.

Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff initially reported on Oct. 17 that Kane was "keeping an eye on" the Red Wings. It's thus no surprise he found himself in Detroit.

"Certainly, a surprise to me when I first heard it, but I have to tell you that the idea of getting Kane and Alex DeBrincat relinked has stood out to many," Seravalli wrote.

Kane and DeBrincant were teammates for five seasons in Chicago, and they both enjoyed a great deal of success together, so the reunion makes plenty of sense.

Also, the Red Wings have been among the NHL's most pleasant surprises this season, as they have the fourth-most points in the Eastern Conference.

With Detroit looking to make a playoff push, it can benefit from a three-time Stanley Cup winner and future Hall of Famer like Kane.