Latest news with #MattBoldy
National Post
5 days ago
- Business
- National Post
Canucks: Trading Vasily Podkolzin wasn't bad. Not drafting Matt Boldy wasn't good
Article content A more important and pressing query is what were the Canucks thinking at the Rogers Arena draft table in 2019? There must have a been debate. Article content They passed on enticing options — especially with a bumper crop of U.S. National Development Team prospects accounting for three of the first nine picks and seven of the first 15 — but made the surprise selection of Podkolzin. Article content It was somewhat stunning because highly-coveted USNTDP right-winger Matt Boldy was sitting there and taken two picks later by the Minnesota Wild. After his rookie season of 39 points (15-24) in 47 games, compared to 26 points (14-12) for Podkolzin in 79 games, Boldy took off. Article content He had 31, 29 and 27 goals respectively the following three seasons and point totals of 63, 69 and 73. That's nearly a point-per-game pace of 244 in 285 games, the true measure of potency and consistency plus future promise. Article content Boldy became a first-liner for the Wild, was on the U.S. roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off and could warrant Olympic team consideration. Team scouting efficiency is a pick piling up 200 career NHL games for its club. Podkolzin had 137 here and Boldy already has 285 with the Wild. Article content Article content The Canucks have had limited success with drafting forwards 10th overall. They got three successive 20-goal seasons from 1975 pick Rick Blight. They also traded rookie Cody Hodgson, a 2008 selection, after he amassed 16 goals in 63 games in 2011-12. Article content The kicker in all this what-could-have-been hindsight is the current status of Canucks unrestricted right-winger Brock Boeser. Article content He will test the market July 1 and could leave a considerable scoring void, unless he pivots back to the Canucks, which is hard to fathom. After a concussion, too much drama, odd management optics at the trade deadline, and still managing 25 goals, he may need a change of scenery. Article content Boeser, 28, is looking for term and salary and there's a gap between a five-year offer and the seven he covets. The money isn't as big a stumbling block as term. Article content AFP Analytics projects Boeser could get a six-year deal at $8.5 million annually in free agency. The Canucks offered $8 million so the gap isn't huge. If that's still too rich, free agent Nikolaj Ehlers could get six years at $8.1 million annually, if he doesn't re-sign with the Winnipeg Jets. Article content Article content
Edmonton Journal
06-05-2025
- Sport
- Edmonton Journal
'Major wildcard': Vegas analyst worried about star VGK defender vs Edmonton Oilers
Article content Said Gawlik: 'Alex Petrangelo is a major wild card question mark of this series. Anyone that watched the last round, watched Kirill Kaprizov and more importantly, Matt Boldy, just do circles around the entire Golden Knights defense. Last couple of games, Matt Boldy, he just basically made Alex Pietrangelo become a turnstile.' BOLDS LIGHTS THE LAMP🚨 #EasyToCelebrate x @budlight — Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) April 30, 2025
New York Times
02-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Russo and Smith: The playoffs felt different for the Wild, but ended with the same hollow result
ST. PAUL, Minn. — This time, it looked different. It felt different. The way the Minnesota Wild played. The way they battled and banged bodies and created chances. How their stars, Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy, shined. How they handled adversity. How strong Filip Gustavsson was in net. One could say, after two overtime losses and a third consecutive one-goal loss to end the season, that the Wild's first-round series against the Vegas Golden Knights was a coin flip. Advertisement 'They gave us everything we can handle,' Vegas' Jack Eichel said. But in the end, the result was the same. Once again, in the franchise's 24th season, passionate, patient Wild fans were left unsatisfied, as the kings of the one-to-two-week postseason exited early again, without a trip to the final eight — never mind a chance for their first Stanley Cup championship. With largely the same core since the 2020 qualifying round in the Edmonton bubble, the Wild wasted an early series lead for a fifth consecutive postseason when they bowed out Thursday night with a 3-2 loss in Game 6 to the Golden Knights at Xcel Energy Center. The Wild remain without a second-round appearance since 2015. They are 1-2 at home in each of their last four postseasons. So much for getting over the 'hump.' 'It's tough,' Marcus Foligno said, 'especially when you felt like you deserve better. I think in those past ones, we didn't. And this one, we did. I mean, if you think about what we've done and overcame this year, and the steps we took, and the guys that took steps — big steps — we always say the future's bright. But, I mean, I really do believe we're right there.' This series was so close that it's also rife for second-guessing. • The Wild showed stubbornness in sticking with Gus Nyquist, their trade-deadline addition, despite him being one of the worst five-on-five forwards in the NHL this season. Nyquist ended up with just two goals in 29 games (none at even strength) with the Wild and had the game-costing offside call in Game 5. It might not have been as damning as Gary Anderson or Blair Walsh's 'Wide Lefts,' but the clip of him being inches offside on Ryan Hartman's go-ahead goal will live long in this franchise's nightmares. • Coach John Hynes played top prospect Zeev Buium in a six-on-five situation in his NHL debut in Game 1, then went away from him in overtime in Game 4 and sat him the rest of the way. It may have cost them, as a tired Jake Middleton made the fatal error on Ivan Barbashev's overtime goal. Advertisement Hynes reacted by playing Jon Merrill in Game 5, and coincidentally, the third-pair tandem with Zach Bogosian, which was such a liability during the regular season, had its paw prints all over Brett Howden's overtime goal. • Marco Rossi, who could be a trade option this summer, was the team's second-leading scorer in the regular season but mostly was stuck on the fourth line with Justin Brazeau and Yakov Trenin. He scored two goals, but the Wild brass likely will point to him also being out for Howden's OT winner and the fact that he had the worst expected goals percentage on the team in the series. There also was Rossi's double-minor high-sticking penalty early in Game 6, which led to Shea Theodore's power-play goal (replays showed, however, that Brayden McNabb lifted Rossi's stick into his face). Despite Freddy Gaudreau finishing the series with zero points and two shots, Rossi was never elevated over him and averaged just 11 minutes, 8 seconds a game — third-fewest on the team, ahead of only his linemates. Rossi double minor… — Spoked Z (@SpokedZ) May 1, 2025 • Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said he thought the Wild might put together a traditional checking line against the Golden Knights' loaded top line of William Karlsson, Eichel and Mark Stone. But Hynes, who had the advantage of last change, primarily kept putting his top line of Boldy, Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek against Eichel and Co. The fact that the Golden Knights' top guys came through late in the series might have been the difference between the Wild moving on and not. What's more, not getting Kaprizov and Boldy away from Stone, one of the sport's best defensive forwards, and Karlsson, who also has been strong defensively since he was moved onto Vegas' first line, could explain why Kaprizov and Boldy were largely bottled up the last two games. Kaprizov had two points in the final three games (and a minus-4 rating) after racking up seven points (four goals) in the first three games. Boldy had one point in the last three (minus-3) after six points (four goals) in the first three. Neither had a point in Game 6. "Saucered in front — Stone scores!" "Flips it in out of mid-air!" 🎙 @Dan_DUva Mark Stone bats a puck into the net for Vegas' third goal of the game. — Golden Knights Radio (@VGKRadioNetwork) May 2, 2025 'We all feel like we could have won the series,' Hynes said. 'It's coming against a team, a really good team. Credit to them, they found a way to get it done. But our guys were right there. That's where it all stings the most. Sometimes, you get into a playoff series, and you're like, 'Well, there was an area that was exposed or something you couldn't figure out or you were overmatched.' And that wasn't the case for us in this series. We just couldn't find a way to win.' Advertisement The Wild were once again resilient in Game 6. Foligno and Hartman, veteran core players who each had terrific series, combined for the game-tying goal at the end of the first period. Foligno grabbed the puck from the boards and fed Hartman above the right circle, and he sent a knuckler past Adin Hill. But they came up one goal short for the third straight game. that one counted btw — x – Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) May 2, 2025 'I mean, you feel a little gut-punched,' Foligno said. 'It does feel a little bit like that. You feel like, you know, what do we have to do in order to get by, right? 'So what's next?' type thing. That's the game of hockey. I mean, that's why it's frustrating to play it, but it can give you the best thing in the world and what we all dream of. Winning the Stanley Cup. 'That's our goal and always will be. But it feels like we had something a lot better, a lot different this year.' The Wild outscored Vegas 15-11 at even strength in the series, but once again, their special teams let them down. The power play went 3-for-13 and the penalty kill finished at 72.2 percent, including giving up a goal early in Game 6. Something has got to change with the PK. It's been an issue for way too long. Except for veterans such as Marc-Andre Fleury, Marcus Johansson and Jon Merrill, and failed trade deadline pickups Nyquist and Brazeau, this will largely be the same group coming back next season for the Wild, though they will have some money to bolster their roster in free agency/trade market. Finally, the majority of the pain from the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter buyouts will be gone. The Wild's anticipated cap overage next season is $2.766 million ($1.66 million for Parise and Suter, $1.1 million for bonus overages this season for Rossi and Brock Faber). As Foligno pointed out, the Golden Knights are a deep, deep team, and the reality is, they were spending nearly $16 million less than other teams in the NHL. 'We all know what the summer holds,' Foligno said. 'We're all looking forward to that just to have a clean slate, so to speak, and a team that isn't handcuffed, so to speak. We're excited for that opportunity, and at the end of the day, it's up to us in here to do something with it. Advertisement 'But are we excited? For sure. You would have liked to have seen us defy the odds a little bit this season, with that against us, and prove people wrong.' The No. 1 priority will be to re-sign their superstar in Kaprizov, who will be one year away from unrestricted free agency. Make him the NHL's highest-paid winger, perhaps? Gustavsson has shown enough to where he's Minnesota's No. 1 of the present — and future — with potential extension talks coming this summer. The NHL's free-agent class isn't particularly strong, but the Wild could go after Brock Nelson or Brock Boeser (or use Rossi as a trade chip). Touted prospect Danila Yurov is expected to join the roster this fall. Buium could be a full-timer on the blue line. Marc-Andre Fleury salutes the crowd and leaves the ice for the final time in his NHL career 👏 — B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) May 2, 2025 This does end the Hall of Fame career of Fleury, who had a profound impact on the Wild, both on the ice and in shaping their culture. His final win was in the team's regular-season finale, when he came in for overtime. The Wild didn't clinch their playoff berth until Eriksson Ek's game-tying goal with 21 seconds left in their final game. The team's theme was 'Choose Your Hard,' and they very rarely did things the easy way. 'Yeah, emotional,' Foligno said of Fleury. 'I mean, honestly he's turning into a brother, that guy. I think you see guys' careers at the end of it, and you kind of do like a little quick flash by of what you've gone through personally. And you hope you never have to get to that point and you can play this game as long as he has. 'You feel for him. I think we all pushed really hard for him and tried to extend this as long as we could. We're all very fortunate we got to play with him.' The Minnesota fans chant 'Fleury' as the Golden Knights and Wild make their way through the handshake line. 😭 — Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 2, 2025 There was a lot to like about this year's playoff series against Vegas, compared to all the other disappointing ones since 2015. But in the end, the Wild once again couldn't get it done, and that was with a healthy lineup after an injury-ravaged season. They may have deserved better, but just like the previous first-round exits, the feeling was just the same. The quiet locker room felt like all the others. Advertisement 'Not fun,' Kaprizov said. 'I feel we played pretty good. Better than two years ago in the (Dallas) series. It was a nice series. Tough series. I don't think it was easy for Vegas to beat us. You can see games. It's overtime, overtime and 3-2 today.' Only this time, Wild players awkwardly had to go gather their suitcases after packing for the next eight days. That's how much they believed this group could be different, how they'd not only win Thursday night to force a Game 7, but also win on Saturday in Las Vegas so they could continue on to the second round with a Sunday flight to Edmonton. Instead of driving to the airport after Thursday's game for a three-hour flight west, their season is over early yet again. 'We hear the noise of getting by the first round,' Foligno said. 'We understand it, and we really felt like we could have done it this year, and that's the disappointing part.'
Washington Post
26-04-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
Wild playing above playoff status as only wild-card team with series lead, entering Game 4 vs Vegas
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The wild-card berth has suited Minnesota well. It's part of the franchise's nickname, after all. With game-breaking production from Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy, shut-down defense on the first line for the Vegas Golden Knights and stellar goaltending by Filip Gustavsson , the Wild have a 2-1 lead in their first-round Western Conference series. For a team that barely got in the NHL playoffs , struggling to stay afloat while Kaprizov and fellow first-line forward Joel Eriksson Ek recovered from long-term injuries, the Wild have sure flipped a switch to meet the moment in the playoffs against a Golden Knights team that finished with the third-best record in the regular season. Since the NHL realigned and revamped the postseason format starting with the 2013-14 season, this is the fourth time Minnesota qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs as a wild-card team. The Wild won first-round series in 2014 and 2015, before losing in 2016. That six-game victory in 2015 over St. Louis was the last time they won a series. This spring, Minnesota is the only one of the four wild-card teams with a lead in the series. 'Down the stretch at the end of the regular season, it was a grind. We had some teams that were pushing from behind us. We had Kirill and Ekky come back and we had some different dynamics coming in with our team,' coach John Hynes said. 'I think that the team really believes that we're really good team if we play a certain way.' When/Where to Watch: Game 3, Saturday, 1 p.m. EDT (TBS/truTV/Max) Series: Panthers lead 2-0. Florida returns home with the chance to finish off its in-state rival, facing a game both sides know will be even more rugged than before — especially after Tampa Bay left wing Brandon Hagel's major-drawing-penalty kept Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov from playing in the final 10 minutes of Game 2 . 'I think the intensity is going to ramp up,' Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. 'I think the physicality will definitely ramp up.' Barkov has not been cleared for Game 3, or ruled out. Florida will have defenseman Aaron Ekblad back from a 20-game suspension for a violation of the league's performance-enhancing drug policy. The Lightning will surely play with desperation. They lost the first two games of the East finals in 2022 to the New York Rangers — albeit on the road — before winning that series. 'You've just got to try to win one,' center Brayden Point said. 'Series isn't over, and all we can do is just focus on the next game. Down 2-0, that's what it is. You can't change it, and I think there's some stuff that we can build on.' Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky has stopped 39 of 41 shots in the series, and the 2-0 victory on Thursday was his fourth postseason shutout. 'Obviously, we've seen it for the last couple of years now,' Florida center Sam Bennett said. 'When the moment gets bigger, that's when he just seems to be more on his game.' The frustration was clear from Tampa Bay, an inevitable carryover from last year — and, well, even some of the year before that — for NHL scoring leader Nikita Kucherov. The back-to-back league points champion has gone 12 playoff games without a goal, going back to Game 1 of the first-round series in 2023 against Toronto. When/Where to Watch: Game 3, Saturday, 4 p.m. EDT (TBS/truTV/Max) Series: Wild lead 2-1. Gustavsson quietly had a solid bounce-back regular season for the Wild and has kept that up against the Golden Knights with 83 saves in three games. 'It just feels like every time we need it most, he makes those saves. It's so comforting and builds so much confidence,' defenseman Brock Faber said. The Golden Knights outhit the Wild 42-26 in Game 3, including a punishing blow that forced second line left wing Marcus Johansson out of the game in the third period, putting his status for Game 4 in question. 'I think we've got to be harder on them,' left wing Ivan Barbashev said. 'I think we let them off the hook a little bit in Game 1 and Game 2. But to us, it's a little wakeup call. Just got to be harder as a team.' When/Where to Watch: Game 3, Saturday, 7 p.m. EDT (TBS/truTV/Max) Series: Maple Leafs lead 3-0. The coaching change in Toronto with Craig Berube taking over this season has so far helped facilitate a fresh look for the playoffs for the Maple Leafs. They're one win from a sweep of intra-Ontario rival Ottawa with the franchise's first 3-0 lead since 2001. Toronto's power play is 5 for 9 in the series, righting a past spring problem. In five postseasons under coach Sheldon Keefe, the Maple Leafs won only one series, a first-round victory in six games over Tampa Bay in 2023. They were 16-21 in the playoffs overall with Keefe despite entering their first series as the higher seed four out of five times. After losing a second straight 3-2 overtime decision in Game 3 , Senators left wing David Perron had a unique perspective on the way the Maple Leafs were playing — and winning. Perron played for Berube on the 2019 championship team with the St. Louis Blues. 'I do see some stuff that pops in my head,' he said. 'And I know where it comes from.' When/Where to Watch: Game 4, Saturday, 9:30 p.m. EDT (TBS/truTV/Max) Series: Stars lead 2-1. Home ice has been anything but an advantage for the Avalanche against the Stars over the last two postseasons. Colorado has now lost four straight games at Ball Arena in the playoffs to Dallas. The return of captain Gabriel Landeskog following a nearly three-year absence wasn't enough to help end the skid in Game 3, when the Stars won in overtime on Tyler Seguin 's goal. Avalanche coach Jared Bednar wasn't willing to put much stock in the streak hanging over his team's heads entering Game 4. 'If you're thinking about that,' Bednar said, 'you shouldn't be in our locker room come game night. We've got to be thinking about that game and in the moment and what we have to do to have success.' For Colorado, success can be boiled down to the power play. The Avalanche were 0 for 6 in Game 3 and might make some changes, like perhaps giving right wing Valeri Nichushkin more time with the man advantage. Nathan MacKinnon and the fast-flying Avalanche have been having a difficult time finding much open ice against the Stars and their high-pressure defense. 'You don't do that unless you've got five guys on the ice on the same page, with that recognition,' Dallas coach Pete DeBoer said. 'Our attention to detail has been the reason.' ___ AP Sports Writers Pat Graham in Denver and Tim Reynolds in Sunrise, Florida, contributed to this report. ___ AP NHL:
Fox Sports
26-04-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Wild playing above playoff status as only wild-card team with series lead, entering Game 4 vs Vegas
Associated Press ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The wild-card berth has suited Minnesota well. It's part of the franchise's nickname, after all. With game-breaking production from Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy, shut-down defense on the first line for the Vegas Golden Knights and stellar goaltending by Filip Gustavsson, the Wild have a 2-1 lead in their first-round Western Conference series. For a team that barely got in the NHL playoffs, struggling to stay afloat while Kaprizov and fellow first-line forward Joel Eriksson Ek recovered from long-term injuries, the Wild have sure flipped a switch to meet the moment in the playoffs against a Golden Knights team that finished with the third-best record in the regular season. Since the NHL realigned and revamped the postseason format starting with the 2013-14 season, this is the fourth time Minnesota qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs as a wild-card team. The Wild won first-round series in 2014 and 2015, before losing in 2016. That six-game victory in 2015 over St. Louis was the last time they won a series. This spring, Minnesota is the only one of the four wild-card teams with a lead in the series. 'Down the stretch at the end of the regular season, it was a grind. We had some teams that were pushing from behind us. We had Kirill and Ekky come back and we had some different dynamics coming in with our team," coach John Hynes said. "I think that the team really believes that we're really good team if we play a certain way.' Tampa Bay Lightning at Florida Panthers When/Where to Watch: Game 3, Saturday, 1 p.m. EDT (TBS/truTV/Max) Series: Panthers lead 2-0. Florida returns home with the chance to finish off its in-state rival, facing a game both sides know will be even more rugged than before — especially after Tampa Bay left wing Brandon Hagel's major-drawing-penalty kept Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov from playing in the final 10 minutes of Game 2. 'I think the intensity is going to ramp up,' Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. 'I think the physicality will definitely ramp up.' Barkov has not been cleared for Game 3, or ruled out. Florida will have defenseman Aaron Ekblad back from a 20-game suspension for a violation of the league's performance-enhancing drug policy. The Lightning will surely play with desperation. They lost the first two games of the East finals in 2022 to the New York Rangers — albeit on the road — before winning that series. 'You've just got to try to win one,' center Brayden Point said. 'Series isn't over, and all we can do is just focus on the next game. Down 2-0, that's what it is. You can't change it, and I think there's some stuff that we can build on.' Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky has stopped 39 of 41 shots in the series, and the 2-0 victory on Thursday was his fourth postseason shutout. 'Obviously, we've seen it for the last couple of years now," Florida center Sam Bennett said. "When the moment gets bigger, that's when he just seems to be more on his game.' The frustration was clear from Tampa Bay, an inevitable carryover from last year — and, well, even some of the year before that — for NHL scoring leader Nikita Kucherov. The back-to-back league points champion has gone 12 playoff games without a goal, going back to Game 1 of the first-round series in 2023 against Toronto. Vegas Golden Knights at Minnesota Wild When/Where to Watch: Game 3, Saturday, 4 p.m. EDT (TBS/truTV/Max) Series: Wild lead 2-1. Gustavsson quietly had a solid bounce-back regular season for the Wild and has kept that up against the Golden Knights with 83 saves in three games. 'It just feels like every time we need it most, he makes those saves. It's so comforting and builds so much confidence,' defenseman Brock Faber said. The Golden Knights outhit the Wild 42-26 in Game 3, including a punishing blow that forced second line left wing Marcus Johansson out of the game in the third period, putting his status for Game 4 in question. 'I think we've got to be harder on them," left wing Ivan Barbashev said. 'I think we let them off the hook a little bit in Game 1 and Game 2. But to us, it's a little wakeup call. Just got to be harder as a team.' Toronto Maple Leafs at Ottawa Senators When/Where to Watch: Game 3, Saturday, 7 p.m. EDT (TBS/truTV/Max) Series: Maple Leafs lead 3-0. The coaching change in Toronto with Craig Berube taking over this season has so far helped facilitate a fresh look for the playoffs for the Maple Leafs. They're one win from a sweep of intra-Ontario rival Ottawa with the franchise's first 3-0 lead since 2001. Toronto's power play is 5 for 9 in the series, righting a past spring problem. In five postseasons under coach Sheldon Keefe, the Maple Leafs won only one series, a first-round victory in six games over Tampa Bay in 2023. They were 16-21 in the playoffs overall with Keefe despite entering their first series as the higher seed four out of five times. After losing a second straight 3-2 overtime decision in Game 3, Senators left wing David Perron had a unique perspective on the way the Maple Leafs were playing — and winning. Perron played for Berube on the 2019 championship team with the St. Louis Blues. 'I do see some stuff that pops in my head,' he said. 'And I know where it comes from.' Dallas Stars at Colorado Avalanche When/Where to Watch: Game 4, Saturday, 9:30 p.m. EDT (TBS/truTV/Max) Series: Stars lead 2-1. Home ice has been anything but an advantage for the Avalanche against the Stars over the last two postseasons. Colorado has now lost four straight games at Ball Arena in the playoffs to Dallas. The return of captain Gabriel Landeskog following a nearly three-year absence wasn't enough to help end the skid in Game 3, when the Stars won in overtime on Tyler Seguin 's goal. Avalanche coach Jared Bednar wasn't willing to put much stock in the streak hanging over his team's heads entering Game 4. 'If you're thinking about that," Bednar said, "you shouldn't be in our locker room come game night. We've got to be thinking about that game and in the moment and what we have to do to have success.' For Colorado, success can be boiled down to the power play. The Avalanche were 0 for 6 in Game 3 and might make some changes, like perhaps giving right wing Valeri Nichushkin more time with the man advantage. Nathan MacKinnon and the fast-flying Avalanche have been having a difficult time finding much open ice against the Stars and their high-pressure defense. 'You don't do that unless you've got five guys on the ice on the same page, with that recognition,' Dallas coach Pete DeBoer said. 'Our attention to detail has been the reason." ___ AP Sports Writers Pat Graham in Denver and Tim Reynolds in Sunrise, Florida, contributed to this report. ___ AP NHL: recommended
