ToHN Daily: Brady Tkachuk, Charlie McAvoy cash in with new deals

Brady Tkachuk signed a new seven-year, $57.5 million contract with the Ottawa Senators Thursday.

Tkachuk, 22, has been a productive player in his first three NHL seasons. He has scored 125 points (60 G, 65 A) in 198 games but points only tell part of the story with Tkachuk. He is a 6-foot-4 winger who is a physical force in every game.

In his first three seasons, Brady Tkachuk has recorded 725 hits, ranking second among forwards in that time, behind only Ryan Reaves. Tkachuk has fired 3.50 shots on goal per game in the past three seasons, which ranks 10^th.

He is the leader of this young Senators team and the contract signifies that he will be there for the long haul.

The challenge for Tkachuk is to become more of a finisher, if possible. He can generate the shots, and he’s not afraid of going to the net, however Tkachuk has scored on 8.7% of his shots, which is a little below average. If he starts burying more and becomes a 30-goal scorer, there is a lot of value in a scoring winger who is also a dominant physical presence.

His defensive play appears to have slipped last season so that bears watching, too, but Brady Tkachuk has a chance to be a core piece of the Senators future.

credit: hockeyviz.com

Charlie McAvoy  a cornerstone piece for Bruins

The Boston Bruins signed Charlie McAvoy to an eight-year, $76-million contract Friday.

McAvoy has been one of the premier defencemen in the league for the past couple of seasons. He finished fifth in Norris Trophy voting last season and the main thing holding him back, it seems, is that he has not been padding his point totals on the power play.

That may change this season but McAvoy’s value at evens and shorthanded is already outstanding, so if he becomes a legitimate first-unit power play quarterback then he would seem to be a Norris Trophy candidate for many years to come.

credit: hockeyviz.com

THURSDAY GAMES

Los Angeles: Anze Kopitar (3 G, 2 A) and Drew Doughty (1 G, 3 A) were the driving forces behind the Kings in a 6-2 win against Vegas.

Tampa Bay: The Lightning stars led a comeback in a 7-6 overtime win at Detroit. Nikita Kucherov had four points (1 G, 3 A), Victor Hedman had four helpers, and Steven Stamkos had three points (2 G, 1 A). Detroit’s Tyler Bertuzzi scored four goals in the loss.

Seattle: Brandon Tanev scored a couple of goals while Jared McCann and Alexander Wennberg both had a goal and an assist in a 4-3 win at Nashville, the first win in franchise history.

Buffalo: Zemgus Girgenson and Victor Olofsson both had a goal and an assist. Jeff Skinner, Jacob Bryson, and Colin Miller each picked up a pair of assists in a 5-1 win vs. Montreal. Craig Anderson stopped 30 0f 31 shots for the Sabres.

Columbus: Oliver Bjorkstrand put up four points (2 G, 2 A) in an 8-2 win over Arizona. Max Domi had a goal and two assists while Zach Werenski had a goal and an assist.

Florida: Carter Verhaeghe and Aaron Ekblad both had two goals in a 5-4 overtime win against Pittsburgh.

Carolina: In a 6-3 win against the Islanders, Andrei Svechnikov had two goals and an assist, Teuvo Teravainen had a goal and an assist while Tony DeAngelo had two assists.

Ottawa: Anton Forsberg turned away 46 of 48 shots in a 3-2 win against Toronto.

Dallas: Miro Heiskanen scored the overtime winner goal and an assist in a 3-2 OT win at the Rangers.

Heiskanen scores the @DallasStars OT winner! #NHLFaceOff pic.twitter.com/FXgs2QkHae

— NHL GIFs (@NHLGIFs) October 15, 2021

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AROUND THE RINK

Vegas: Golden Knights captain Mark Stone suffered what appeared to be a lower-body injury midway through a 6-2 defeat in Los Angeles.

Dallas: Stars defenceman John Klingberg left the game at the Rangers with a lower-body injury. Goaltender Braden Holtby suffered what appeared to be a head injury and was replaced by Anton Khudobin in the Stars net.

Detroit: Red Wings center Dylan Larkin received a match penalty for taking a wild retaliatory swing at Lightning winger Mathieu Joseph following a hit from behind. It probably means a suspension is coming for Larkin.

Buffalo: The Sabres lost two young players for a couple of weeks. Centre Casey Mittelstadt (lower body) and Henri Jokiharju (upper body) were both injured against Montreal.

Colorado: Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog was suspended two games for his hit on Chicago centre Kirby Dach.

Toronto: 5 Takeaways from Toronto’s 3-2 loss at Ottawa. (ToHN+)

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