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.
Defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere, Hurricanes: He has two goals and two assists, all on the power play, in his first two games. The Hurricanes had gone four games with a power-play goal before his arrival. They are 7-for-9 since.
Forward Ivan Barbashev, Golden Knights: He has two goals and five points in four games since leaving the Blues. His point totals had dropped off this season, but he’s looking more like last season’s 60-point scorer.
Defenseman Rasmus Sandin, Capitals: Sandin, who was acquired in the Erik Gustafsson trade, had three assists in his debut and a goal and an assist in his second game. He has averaged three minutes a game on the power play with John Carlson out and Orlov and Gustafsson traded.
Others: Timo Meier scored in his Devils debut, as did Nick Bjugstad for the Oilers and Nick Ritchie for the Flames. … Goalie Jonathan Quick, 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.
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.
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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.
Defenseman Filip Hronek, Canucks: Hurt in his final game with Detroit, he has yet to make his Vancouver debut. “I don’t know if it’s a week thing or a day-to-day thing,” said coach Rick Tocchet, who added that the defenseman was scheduled to arrive on Monday night. The Canucks gave up the Islanders’ top-12 protected 2023 first-round pick (previously acquired in the Bo Horvat deal) for Hronek, who has another year on his contract before becoming a restricted free agent.
Others: Penguins forward Mikael Granlund, added to boost the bottom six, has no shots or points in his first two games. … Sharks winger Fabian Zetterlund, acquired in the Meier trade, was a minus-5 in his first three games before being a plus-1 on Monday.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NHL scores from trade deadline: Good (Bruins) and bad (Patrick Kane)
