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Metro Notes: Weise, Giroux, Elias

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Dale Weise was in the midst of a career season with 14 goals and 26 points in 56 games with Montreal until a trade deadline deal shipped the rugged winger to Chicago along with Tomas Fleischmann for Phillip Danault and a 2018 second-round pick. Ordinarily, going from a non-playoff squad to a serious Stanley Cup contender is usually a desirable situation for any player. But Weise doesn’t necessarily feel that way about his move to Chicago. He saw his ice time cut by nearly 4 1/2 minutes per contest after the trade and netted just a single point, an assist, in 15 games for the Hawks.

Weise would use the word “disaster,” to describe his move to Chicago in a piece appearing on Philly.com, written by Sam Carchidi.

“I had 14 goals by mid-February. Going to Chicago was a disaster because I played like five minutes a night. [Actually it was just under 10 minutes, which is still a paltry average.] It’s pretty tough to do anything when you play so little. It was a new experience for me.”

After signing a four-year deal worth $9.4MM with the Philadelphia Flyers in the offseason, Weise credited GM Ron Hextall with selling him on the opportunity to play in the City of Brotherly Love.

“I’m really excited. I really like what Hexy had to say and what he thought about my game. He was very honest, and I liked that we’re on the same page. I think I can play on any line and play in any role.”

Whether or not Wiese can be a consistent offensive producer for the Flyers remains to be seen – though it should be noted he did tally 29 points in 2014-15 offering some hope for solid future production. Regardless, the gritty winger will add size, toughness and versatility to the Flyers lineup and it’s pretty clear Weise feels as if he is in a better situation now than he was in Chicago.

Elsewhere around the NHL’s Metro Division:

  • Sticking with Philadelphia, Flyers fans were undoubtedly worried about the health of #1 center Claude Giroux after he missed a Team Canada practice Monday and was announced as a scratch for the team’s final exhibition match on Wednesday. Giroux absorbed a big hit from Team USA’s Joe Pavelski in Friday night’s tilt and appeared shaken up afterwards. However, quelling fears of a potentially lengthy absence, Hextall said today that his star center was fine and equated the injury to that of a normal bump or bruise a player would experience during the season, according to Tim Panaccio of CSN Philadelphia.

“There’s a difference between, well, he’s not injured. Throughout the year, you get a bump or bruise and that’s the case there.”

  • Even though veteran forward Patrik Elias is technically a UFA, it’s been widely assumed he would retire rather than play for anyone other than the Devils. Currently, there has been no indication from New Jersey on whether they will offer the franchise’s all-time leading scorer a contract for 2016-17. In his Fire and Ice blog, Andrew Gross also indicated that there is no time table to make such a decision, as Elias is still rehabbing from offseason knee surgery and won’t be ready for the start of training camp. Elias has spent his entire 20-year NHL career with the Devils, winning three Stanley Cups along the way. He’s also the franchise’s all-time leader in many offensive categories including: goals (408), assists (617) and power play goals (113). Even though the Devils have already added LW Taylor Hall via trade and are expected to give young forward Pavel Zacha a chance to earn regular time on the port side, it seems likely they would still welcome Elias back to the fold if the longtime Devil is healthy and wants to return.

2016-17 Season Preview: Nashville Predators

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As the NHL season is now less than a month away, we continue our look at each team’s offseason and preview the upcoming year. Today, we focus on the Nashville Predators.

Last Season: 41-27-14 record (96 points), 4th in the Central Division.  Defeated Anaheim 4-3 in Round 1, lost 4-3 to San Jose in Round 2.

Remaining Cap Space: $5.4MM as per Cap Friendly

Key Newcomers: D Matt Carle (free agency, Tampa Bay), D P.K. Subban (trade, Montreal), D Yannick Weber (free agency, Vancouver)

Key Departures: LW Gabriel Bourque (PTO, Colorado), C Paul Gaustad (Retirement), C Cody Hodgson (free agency, unsigned), G Carter Hutton (free agency, St. Louis), D Barret Jackman (buyout, unsigned), rights to LW Jimmy Vesey (trade, Buffalo), D Shea Weber (trade, Montreal)

[Related: Predators Depth Chart from Roster Resource]

Player to Watch: G Pekka Rinne: The Predators were quietly an effective offensive team last season and they have a strong blueline now anchored by Subban and Roman Josi.  If they get high level goaltending, this is a team that can really make a run, even through the highly difficult Central Division.

However, while Rinne’s reputation has been that of a high level goalie, he hasn’t been that as much in recent years with his save percentage being below the NHL average in three of the last four seasons.  There’s a case to be made that the team downgraded at the backup position from Hutton to Marek Mazanec which puts even more pressure on Rinne.  If he can get back to his pre-lockout form (or even his 2014-15 effort), the Predators should be a force to be reckoned with.  If not, they could find themselves in a dog fight for the final divisional or wild card spot again this season.

Key Storyline: With the Subban-Shea Weber trade and the additions of Carle and Yannick Weber over Jackman, Nashville has really shifted towards a mobile defense corps, more than arguably any other team in the league.  While analytics suggest teams should move more towards this type of player, most have been hesitant to make the type of jump that Nashville has.  How will that play out over the course of the season?

Still with the defense, how will Subban replace the long-time Predator captain?  Can he and Josi play on the same pairing or are the Preds better off splitting them up?  Head coach Peter Laviolette has a few options at his disposal now and it will certainly be interesting to see how it all plays out.  If things go as planned, it wouldn’t be surprising to see more teams follow Nashville’s lead in building their back ends down the road.

Atlantic Notes: Bruins, Ericsson, Leafs Cap Overage

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Bruins president Cam Neely is expecting some improvement from the team this season despite not making many substantial changes to the roster, writes Joe Haggerty of CSN New England.  Boston’s big offseason acquisition was signing center David Backes away from St. Louis but despite giving him $6MM per season for five years, Neely envisions Backes potentially as a bottom six forward at times:

“He could be a great third line centermen for us, and, depending on the game situation if we’re trying to shut somebody down while we’re protecting a lead, he could slide up with either [David] Krejci or [Patrice] Bergeron on the right side.”

One area that the team was seeking an upgrade in was the back end but aside from re-signing John-Michael Liles and buying out Dennis Seidenberg, nothing else has been done in that area.  Neely noted that GM Don Sweeney has been working hard to try to do something there and that they have the cap space (a little over $5.8MM according to Cap Friendly) to make some additions if the right fit presents itself.  Kris Russell remains the most prominent blueliner on the UFA market while Kevin Shattenkirk’s name continues to come up in trade speculation.

[Related: Bruins Depth Chart]

More from the Atlantic Division:

  • Red Wings defenseman Jonathan Ericsson has been dealing with a hip impingement for the last four years but continues to put off surgery, Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press writes. The surgery to correct the problem would take him out of action for four months.  Ericsson played in 71 games with Detroit last season, scoring three goals while adding 12 assists.  He averaged 18:32 of ice time per game, his lowest ATOI since 2011-12.  He’s under contract with the Wings through 2019-20, carrying a cap hit of $4.25MM per year.
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs are facing a bonus overage penalty from last year of roughly $512K, reports Cap Friendly on Twitter. The Leafs finished last season using LTIR (which brings cap space available to $0) and had three players achieve performance bonuses in their contracts.  As a result, Toronto will have a spending limit of $72.488MM (the salary cap less last year’s overage).  With Nathan Horton plus potentially any of Jared Cowen, Joffrey Lupul, and Stephane Robidas expected to be on LTIR this year and several prominent youngsters with bonuses in their deals, the Leafs may find themselves in a similar situation next season.

Poll: 2005 NHL Draft Take Two: Third Overall Pick

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Hindsight is an amazing thing, and allows us to look back and wonder “what could have been.” Though perfection is attempted, scouting and draft selection is far from an exact science and sometimes, it doesn’t work out the way teams – or players – intended. For every Patrick Kane, there is a Patrik Stefan.

We’re looking back at the 2005 NHL Draft, which kicked off the salary cap era and ushered in many of the current NHL superstars. The question we’re looking to answer is knowing now what we didn’t know then, how different would this draft look now with the benefit of hindsight?

Here are the results of our redraft so far:

1st Overall: Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins)
2nd Overall: Carey Price (Mighty Ducks of Anaheim)

Now we move forward to the third pick, which was held by the Carolina Hurricanes.

To recap how this works:

  • We will go through the 2005 NHL Draft and have our readers select, through a voting process, who they think should have been taken with the selection.
  • The entire first round will be redrafted, spanning picks one through thirty. The new selection is chosen by the majority of votes.

Back in 2005, Carolina chose defenseman Jack Johnson who has played the fourth most NHL games of any blueliner from this draft class.  He has twice been dealt in his career – most notably as part of the Jeff Carter to Los Angeles trade – and now patrols the back end for the Columbus Blue Jackets.

With the third pick of the 2005 NHL Draft, who should the Carolina Hurricanes select? Cast your vote below!

For Trade Rumors app users on iOS, click here to vote.

Canucks Ink Sheppard, Ruutu To PTO’s; Eight Teams Interested In Fleischmann

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The Vancouver Canucks have agreed on tryout contracts with free agent wingers James Sheppard and Tuomo Ruutu, GM Jim Benning confirmed to Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Province.

Sheppard spent last season with the Kloten Flyers of the Swiss NLA, recording 11 goals and 24 assists with 67 PIMS in 37 games.  He also represented Team Canada at the Spengler Cup back in December.

Originally a first round pick (ninth overall) of Minnesota back in 2006, Sheppard hasn’t had much in the way of NHL success so far.  He has suited up for three different teams (the Wild, Sharks, and Rangers), last seeing NHL action in 2014-15.  In 394 career games, he has 23 goals and 68 assists.

As for Ruutu, he has spent the last three years with the Devils but has seen his role decline sharply in that time.  He played in just 33 games last year, recording only a single assist.

He has two 50+ point seasons in his 12 year NHL career with Chicago, Carolina, and New Jersey but he hasn’t hit 30 points in four years.  In 735 NHL games, the ninth overall pick back in 2001 has 148 goals and 198 assists.

Both players will likely contend for a fourth line/reserve spot with the Canucks.

Another player receiving interest for a PTO is left winger Tomas Fleischmann.  His agent, Rich Evans, was on News 1130 in Vancouver and reported that eight teams have expressed an interest in bringing in the 32 year old to training camp.  He declined to confirm or deny if Vancouver is among those eight teams.

Fleischmann is no stranger to this situation as he attended Montreal’s training camp on an invite last year, eventually earning a one year, $750K contract.  He got off to a strong start with the Canadiens but tapered off and was eventually dealt before the deadline to Chicago where he collected five points in 19 games.

Fleischmann has 657 games of NHL experience under his belt with Washington, Colorado, Florida, Anaheim, Montreal, and Chicago, recording 137 goals and 198 assists but hasn’t hit the 30 point plateau since 2012-13.

It’s likely to be a busy week for tryout deals with training camps kicking off next week.  Keep track of who is trying out where with our Invite Tracker.

Senators Still In Talks With Several Free Agents

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While Senators GM Pierre Dorion is pleased with the look of his team, he is still in talks with several unrestricted free agents, including both forwards and defensemen, writes Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun.  It has been speculated during the summer that Ottawa would likely be looking to add to their blueline depth; Dorion had the following to say about their defense corps heading into camp:

“On the back end, I’d like it to be a healthy competition for roster spots so either we’re still looking at bring someone on a PTO or, at this point in time, maybe something more depending on what players are looking for.”

Among the defensemen still available, Garrioch reports that the Sens have ‘kicked tires’ on both Kris Russell and Dennis Seidenberg.  At this stage, neither of them are interested in a tryout deal so for them to land one, they’d have to offer up a guaranteed contract.

[Related: Senators Depth Chart]

When asked about bringing in someone else via the trade route, Dorion wasn’t as optimistic that they’d get something done through that avenue:

“I can’t see us making any trades between now and training camp and even through camp. We owe it to a lot of the players that have trained hard to get ready as best as they can for camp so I can’t see us making any types of deals.

The Senators made one of the more notable trades of the offseason back in July, dealing Mika Zibanejad to the Rangers as part of a trade that yielded Derick Brassard in return.  Ottawa is also hopeful that Clarke MacArthur will be able to return to action after missing all but four games with concussion trouble.  Dorion noted that the team is still looking at adding a veteran up front into the mix for training camp:

“Depth forward, maybe somebody who has played games in the NHL, maybe someone looking for a PTO … That’s more the route we’re going to go as we’ve seen a lot of teams are doing lately.”

From the salary cap perspective, Ottawa has plenty of room to work with as they have just shy of $6MM according to Cap Friendly.  However, the Senators have been more of a budget team than a cap spender in recent years so it’s possible that their actual budgetary space is lower than that.

Snapshots: Gudas, Maatta, Monahan, Byfuglien

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The wrist problem that caused Flyers defenseman Radko Gudas to withdraw from the Czech Republic’s entry into the World Cup of Hockey is one that lingered during last season, reports Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer.  Gudas didn’t get into specifics about the injury but noted that there was ligament damage and that a small issue could have turned into a bigger one.

Gudas believes that he is still 1-3 weeks away from the wrist being back to 100% (he is currently unable to shoot the puck) but expects to be ready to start the season.

Earlier this summer, Gudas inked a four year contract with a cap hit of $3.35MM.  He played in 76 regular season games with the Flyers, collecting 14 points while adding 116 PIMS, 304 hits, and 157 blocked shots.

[Related: Flyers Depth Chart]

Other news and notes from around the NHL:

  • Penguins defenseman Olli Maatta still has to fulfill his mandatory military obligations to Finland but has an agreement to delay that for at least another three years, tweets Sports Illustrated’s Alex Prewitt. Maatta had a challenging postseason, one where he suffered a concussion and was also a healthy scratch at times, but still picked up seven assists in 18 games.  He’s expected to be a key cog on Pittsburgh’s blueline this season.
  • Flames center Sean Monahan is expected to be ready for the start of Calgary’s training camp, writes Postmedia’s Kristen Odland. Monahan withdrew from the World Cup of Hockey earlier this month after straining his back in training.  Fresh off a seven year deal he signed in August, Monahan decided to take a pass on the tournament to make sure he’s 100% ready to start the season with the Flames.
  • Winnipeg defenseman Dustin Byfuglien is expected to play on the wing for Team USA in their final World Cup tune-up game against Finland tonight, reports Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press. Whyno adds that Brandon Dubinsky and Kyle Palmieri will be healthy scratches for the Americans.  Byfuglien is no stranger to playing the wing, seeing time there with the Jets off and on in recent years.

Hextall: No Plans To Extend Philly’s Goalies Currently

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The Philadelphia Flyers find themselves in an interesting situation with their goaltenders heading into the season as both Steve Mason and Michal Neuvirth are eligible for unrestricted free agency following 2016-17.  Despite that, GM Ron Hextall has no plans to negotiate a new deal with either netminder at this time, reports Dave Isaac of the Courier-Post.  When asked what the plan is, Hextall noted that there isn’t one in place at the moment:

“They’re both very good goalies. They both proved it last year. They both should be in their prime/entering their prime. We’re excited about both of them and essentially don’t have a fixed plan moving forward.  We’re just going to play this season and see how things go.”

Mason is entering his fifth season with the team and will earn $4.1MM this year.  He has been Philadelphia’s #1 goalie for each of the last three seasons, playing at least 51 games in each.  He posted a 23-19-10 record last season with a 2.51 GAA and a .918 SV% but struggled in the playoffs, going 0-3 with a 4.09 GAA and just a .852 SV%.

As for Neuvirth, he’s heading into his second year with the Flyers on a much cheaper deal, one that carries a $1.75MM salary and a $1.625MM cap hit for 2016-17.  Towards the back half of last season, he started to earn more starts, eventually finishing with 32 appearances with a better GAA (2.27) and SV% (.924) than Mason.  He also put up three fantastic starts in the postseason, going 2-1 with a 0.67 GAA and a .981 SV% against Washington after taking over from Mason mid-series.  If he has a repeat season, he should be in line for a nice raise.

In the system, the Flyers have a pair of quality youngsters in Anthony Stolarz and Alex Lyon but neither are ready to take on a #1 load in the NHL as soon as 2017-18.  As a result, it would seem likely that Hextall will look to eventually seek a new deal with at least one of Mason or Neuvirth unless he wants to try his luck next offseason with a UFA market that could feature Ben Bishop, Ryan Miller, and Brian Elliott, among others.

2016-17 Season Preview: Chicago Blackhawks

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As the NHL season is just weeks away, PHR begins to look at each team in-depth. Today, we focus on the Chicago Blackhawks.

Last season: 47-26-9 (103 points), 3rd place in the Central. Lost in the first round to St. Louis, 4-3.

Cap Space Remaining: $2.49MM  via CapFriendly

Key Newcomers: Brian Campbell (D) – free agent signing (Florida), Michal Kempny (D) – free agent signing (KHL);  Jordin Tootoo (F) – free agent signing (New Jersey).

Key Departures: Bryan Bickell (LW) – traded to Carolina; David Rundblad (D) – contract termination; Andrew Shaw (RW) – traded to Montreal; Teuvo Teravainen (LW) – traded to Carolina.

Player to Watch: Nick Schmaltz – Head coach Joel Quenneville has been known to keep his young players on a short leash and it will be interesting to see how much freedom Q will give the dynamic young forward. Schmaltz has been mentioned in the same breath as former Blackhawk Brandon Saad, who was a huge piece of the team that won the Stanley Cup in 2013 and 2015. Schmaltz turned heads during the World Juniors and has an opportunity to log significant ice time as the Hawks depth isn’t what it once was.

Key Storyline: After an early exit last Spring, do the Hawks have it in them to make another run at the Cup? They had a couple months of extra rest, but still have some holes up front. Marcus Kruger is already fighting an injury and Marian Hossa has slowed a bit from the form that made him a key part of the Hawks’ three Cups. The real question is can the Hawks find talent from the youngsters they’re now counting on, specifically Schmaltz, Tyler Motte, and Vinnie Hinostroza. Corey Crawford has shown he is the man between the pipes and bringing Campbell back will shore up a defensive corps that suffered with consistency last season. Patrick Kane and Artemi Panarin should continue to pace the team offensively while Jonathan Toews will be his usual steady self. For the Blackhawks, health and depth will ultimately determine their season and postseason success. Duncan Keith’s knee should hold up and ease some fan concern that something more serious is afoot following last year’s surgery.

General manager Stan Bowman may need to tinker a bit more at the trade deadline, but the assets to deal are dwindling. Then again, should Chicago’s “kids” step in, they could find themselves adding another Cup to its already impressive haul.

Blackhawks Depth Chart

Scooter Vaughan Garners PTO With St. Louis

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The St. Louis Blues extended a training camp invitation to defenseman Scooter Vaughan. The undrafted American last played for the Blues’ AHL affiliate Chicago Wolves, netting 3G, 11A, and 56PIM in 68 games. In his AHL career he’s put up 21G and 25A in 190 games between the Chicago Wolves and the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

This is St. Louis’s sixth PTO so far this offsesason, following T.J. Galiardi, Eric Nystrom, Chris Porter, Yan Stastny, and Mike Weber. St. Louis is known for its numerous invites—last year they had nine players on PTOs and signed three of them: Scott Gomez, Scottie Upshall, and Martin Havlat. Vaughan is not expected to earn an NHL contract, but a decent performance could garner a spot back with the Chicago Wolves.

The hard-nosed defenseman is known more for his gritty play than his scoring touch, and his veteran presence will provide guidance for the Blues’ young prospects. According to Hockeyfights.com, Vaughan participated in four fights last year, and eleven the year before. Even if Vaughan does not earn a contract, the exposure amongst NHL talent goes a long way to obtaining professional employment elsewhere in the AHL. If he does earn an NHL contract, it will be his first NHL opportunity.

 

 

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