NHL trade deadline early reactions: Good (Bruins), bad (Patrick Kane) from new acquisitions
Forward Ryan O’Reilly experienced both highs and lows after the St. Louis Blues captain was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Feb. 17.
He had an assist in his debut and a hat trick in his third game. Held off the scoresheet since, he was injured in his eighth game when a teammate’s shot hit him in the hand.
The Maple Leafs announced Monday that the 2019 playoff MVP will be placed on long-term injured reserve with a broken finger and is out indefinitely. He is expected to be back for the playoffs.
It takes a while for players to adjust to new teammates and systems, but here’s a look at who has had strong starts or tougher times in the early going after the trade deadline:
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Strong starts
Defenseman Dmitry Orlov and other Bruins newcomers: Orlov, brought in for the defensive part of his play, has provided big-time offense to the NHL’s No. 1 overall team. He was named first star of the week and has three goals and nine points in five games. Tyler Bertuzzi had an assist in his Boston debut and Garnet Hathaway (two assists, 10 hits) also has played well. “They understand how much we value what they bring to our team and they can make us better and help us be even more successful,” coach Jim Montgomery told reporters.
traded twice in two days, won his Golden Knights debut. … Kings defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov has been a steady presence and scored his first goal with Los Angeles on Monday. … Jets forward Nino Niederreiter has three points in his first four games.
Tougher times
Forward Patrick Kane, Rangers: Kane and Artemi Panarin decided whose habit of being last off the ice would prevail (Panarin), and they’re working on re-establishing the chemistry they had in Chicago. Kane is a minus-4 with no points over his first two games, but they’re getting in some practices before their next game on Thursday.
Defenseman Riley Stillman, Sabres: He was hurt in a fight with Lightning newcomer Tanner Jeannot in his second game and is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
Who has best chance to land generational talent?
Defensemen Gustafsson and Luke Schenn, Maple Leafs: They’re averaging less than 12 minutes a game because of Toronto’s depth on the blue line. Gustafsson (11:57) had averaged 20:22 with Washington and Schenn (11:26) had averaged 17:11 with Vancouver.