Jets sign Simon Lundmark to a three-year, entry-level contract

WINNIPEG, MB – The Winnipeg Jets announced today they have agreed to terms with their 2019 second round pick (51stoverall) Simon Lundmark on a three-year, entry-level contract with an average annual value of $925,000.

Lundmark, a 20-year-old defenceman, has spent the past four seasons with Linkopings in the Swedish Elite League and set personal bests with two goals and eight assists for 10 points in 47 games this season. The Stockholm, Sweden native has recorded 16 points (2G, 14A) in 118 games during his SHL career and he has represented Sweden in numerous tournaments, including winning the gold medal at the 2016 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge.

 

Travis Zajac traded to Islanders by Devils

NEWARK, NJ – Travis Zajac and Kyle Palmieri were traded to the New York Islanders by the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday.

New Jersey receives minor league forwards A.J. Greer and Mason Jobst, a first-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft and a fourth-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft.

Palmieri and Zajac can each become an unrestricted free agent after this season.

Palmieri has scored 17 points (eight goals, nine assists) in 34 games this season and scored at least 24 goals in each of the prior five seasons. The 30-year-old forward is in the final season of a five-year contract he signed with the Devils on July 7, 2016.

“The opportunity to go and be a part of a team that has a chance to do something special is something every player wants,” Palmieri said. “That’s all you can ask for. I’m really looking forward to this opportunity.”

Jack Campbell’s joy in record night for Leafs a reminder of human side of game

TORONTO, ONT – Jack Campbell has emerged from unlikely circumstances to keep the Toronto Maple Leafs humming along amid a campaign that might otherwise have been swallowed whole by an injury to his goaltending partner.

And in establishing a new franchise record for consecutive wins on Wednesday night, Campbell went one further: He managed to show us the kind of real genuine emotion this sanitized pandemic season has so sorely been missing.

Riley Damiani started his AHL career with a bang, and the Dallas Stars have taken notice

AUSTIN, TX – When he was named the AHL’s Rookie of the Month on Thursday, Stars prospect Riley Damiani was busy shooting an 80 on the golf course.

Some guys just have it.

Damiani, the Stars’ fifth-round pick in 2018, has started his AHL career with a bang, entering the weekend tied for second in the league in both points (23) and assists (17). The 21-year-old has cracked the scoresheet in 13 of the 17 games he’s played and had his five-game multi-point streak snapped on Wednesday night.

No Debate, Jack Campbell is the Maple Leafs’ Starting Goaltender

TORONTO, ON – An absent Frederik Andersen, an undefeated record this season and back-to-back wins against 2020 Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellybuck make it clear that Jack Campbell is the Toronto Maple Leafs’ starting goaltender.

With goaltender Frederik Andersen missing in action due to a lower-body injury and no clear timetable to return, Jack Campbell has stepped in and continued to help the Toronto Maple Leafs pile up victories.

On Friday, Campbell made 31 saves as his team defeated the Winnipeg Jets 2-1 in a shootout and improved to 8-0-0 this season with a .951 save percentage.

Mackey settling into marquee role for Flames’ farm club

CALGARY, AB – This was not ‘just another game.’

Maybe it’s easier to admit that when you’re not on the ice.

In this case, Calgary Flames defence prospect Connor Mackey — the rookie pro has three NHL appearances on his resume and is currently logging major minutes with the American Hockey League’s Stockton Heat — had just finished a day’s work and was nervously tracking his alma mater as the Minnesota State (Mankato) Mavericks quested to make school history and ultimately advance through the regional round to the NCAA’s Frozen Four.

Mackey was a workhorse for the Mavericks for three seasons before signing with the Flames last spring.

Riley Damiani Named AHL Rookie of the Month

Austin, TX-  The Texas Stars, American Hockey League affiliate of the NHL’s Dallas Stars, announced that rookie center Riley Damiani has been named the CCM / AHL Rookie of the Month after recording four goals and 11 assists for 15 points in 10 games in March. Damiani’s run to the award included a stretch of five consecutive multi-point games from Mar. 13 to Mar. 30.

Damiani helped the Stars to a sweep of their three-game visit to Tucson to begin the month, notching an assist each on Mar. 3 and Mar. 5 before netting the game-winning goal and another assist on Mar. 6. He recorded his first pro hat trick on Mar. 13, scoring all three Texas goals against Colorado, then registered four straight outings with two assists apiece to move one point off the league lead in scoring.

Grimaldi Scores Four, Preds Set Records in Win Over Red Wings

NASHVILLE, TN – Rocco Grimaldi did his part to rewrite the Predators’ record books on Thursday night.

Grimaldi tallied his first-career hat trick in just 2:34 in the first period – and he finished with four goals in total – as Nashville cruised to a 7-1 win over Detroit to complete a two-game sweep of the Red Wings at Bridgestone Arena. The result gives the Preds their third consecutive win and a 5-1-0 mark in the past six outings.

Nashville exploded to score four goals within a 2:34 span before Thursday’s game was eight minutes old, and that outburst, along with Grimaldi’s franchise-record-tying four goals for himself, gave the Predators yet another satisfactory effort to win game No. 16 on the season.

And, of course, Grimaldi, who scored all four goals with his hockey stick he named Trudy, had himself a night.

Andrew Copp constantly pushing for more as Jets continue to climb

WINNIPEG, MB – As he sat in front of a microphone with his arms folded and a wide smile stretching across his face, Andrew Copp did his best to dig into his lifetime of hockey memories to identify a similar moment.

Doing the exercise in real time at a podium during a Zoom interview was probably not how the Winnipeg Jets‘ versatile forward envisioned celebrating the first four-goal game of his NHL career.