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Archives for September 2016

Poll: 2005 NHL Draft Take Two: Sixth 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)
3rd Overall: Anze Kopitar (Carolina Hurricanes)
4th Overall: Jonathan Quick (Minnesota Wild)
5th Overall: Kris Letang (Montreal Canadiens)

Now we move forward to the sixth pick, which was held by the Columbus Blue Jackets.

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, the Blue Jackets selected Vancouver Giants center Gilbert Brule.  Suffice it to say, that pick did not work out well.  He spent three seasons with Columbus before being dealt to the Oilers for rugged winger Raffi Torres.  After a couple of years there, it was off to Phoenix for a cup of coffee with the Coyotes.  He is currently playing in this third straight KHL season after collecting just 95 points in 299 NHL games.

With the sixth pick of the 2005 NHL Draft, who should the Columbus Blue Jackets select? Cast your vote below!


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

Devils Notes: Hynes, Palmieri, Schneider, Elias

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In his second season behind the bench for the New Jersey Devils, head coach John Hynes is looking to pick up the pace, writes Fire and Ice’s Andrew Gross.  Hynes noted to Gross that the trend around the league is moving towards playing with speed and tempo and that the Devils will need to follow suit:

“We’d like to play a faster game, more of a territorial game this year where there’s more emphasis on spending more time in the offensive zone and playing a fast game, getting out of our zone quick and getting up ice and being able to be an attacking and aggressive team. We feel our team is trending that way with some speed and we believe our core main players can play that way so we’re trying to influx that into how we want to play and be more of an aggressive, attacking team over the course of a 60-minute game. “

The Devils were somewhat busy this offseason, highlighted by the trade of defenseman Adam Larsson to Edmonton in exchange for Taylor Hall to give them a legitimate top line winger.  They also added forwards Beau Bennett and Vernon Fiddler as well as defenseman Ben Lovejoy, giving them several new faces in their lineup heading into the season.

[Related: Devils Depth Chart]

Other notes from New Jersey:

  • In the same article, Hynes mentioned to Gross that right winger Kyle Palmieri and goaltender Cory Schneider, who represented Team USA at the World Cup of Hockey, are expected to return to practice either Wednesday or Thursday after receiving some time off to rest following the tournament.
  • There is still no timetable for unrestricted free agent left winger Patrik Elias to decide whether he will return to the Devils this season but as Gross notes in a separate piece, the 40 year old is with the team and is taking part in team meetings. Elias is skating on his own as he continues to recover from offseason knee surgery.  He is their all-time leading scorer with 1,025 points in 1,240 games and has only played for New Jersey in his career.

Marian Gaborik Suffers Injury, Out Eight Weeks

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Kings left winger Marian Gaborik suffered a leg injury in Sunday’s Team Europe victory over Sweden at the World Cup of Hockey and left practice today on crutches, head coach Ralph Krueger told reporters, including Postmedia’s Michael Traikos.  GM Dean Lombardi told Helene Elliott of the LA Times that Gaborik is expected to miss eight weeks as a result of the injury.

Gaborik has a pair of goals in four games so far at the tournament, ranking him fourth on Europe’s team in scoring.  He is no stranger to the injury bug, missing considerable time over the years with various ailments and has only completed a full 82-game season once in his 15 year career.

Last season, the 34 year old played in 54 games with Los Angeles, scoring 12 goals while adding 10 assists; his 22 points were a career low as was his average ice time which came in at 14:57 per game.  He missed 28 games due to a knee injury at the end of the year, one that also caused him to miss the beginning of the playoffs.

[Related: Kings Depth Chart]

Gaborik has five years remaining on his current contract with a cap hit of $4.875MM and is expected to be a top six forward for the Kings when he’s able to return to their lineup.

Islanders Sign Steve Bernier To Tryout Deal

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The New York Islanders have signed unrestricted free agent right winger Steve Bernier to a PTO contract, reports Newsday’s Arthur Staple (via Twitter).  The team also signed forward Connor Jones and defenseman Patrick Cullity to tryout deals; both players played in New York’s minor league system last season and are already signed to minor league deals for 2016-17.

Bernier played a sparing role with the Islanders last season, playing in just 24 games, notching a goal and five assists after making the team off a PTO last year.  He also suited up in six playoff contests, being held off the scoresheet.  However, he’s only one year removed from a 16 goal, 32 point campaign with the Devils.

Bernier has bounced around in his career, spending time in six different organizations since being a first rounder of San Jose back in 2003.  He has 633 NHL games under his belt, scoring 105 goals while adding 125 assists.

If he were to crack the roster once again, it’s likely that he would reprise his role as an injury fill-in/depth forward.  He earned $750K last year with New York and would likely earn a similar amount if he can secure a contract.

[Related: Islanders Depth Chart]

Bernier isn’t the only veteran forward in camp looking for a spot as Stephen Gionta inked a PTO last month.  Coincidentally, the two were teammates in the past with New Jersey.

Many players have signed tryout deals as they look to earn an NHL roster spot.  Keep track of who has signed where with our Invite Tracker.

World Cup Snapshots: USA National Team, Getzlaf, Krueger

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Coming off a tremendously disappointing World Cup appearance, the USA National Team appears to be on the precipice of making some changes. Craig Custance broke down the World Cup roster’s chances of returning, should the NHL participate in the 2018 Olympics (ESPN Insiders link).

The obvious returning players, according to Custance, are Patrick Kane, Ryan Suter, Ryan McDonagh, John Carlson, and goalie Cory Schneider.

The “bubble” players are Joe Pavelski, Blake Wheeler, Ryan Kesler, Dustin Byfuglien, T.J. Oshie, and Ben Bishop. These guys will be in the conversation to appear in the red, white, and blue in two years.

Jonathan Quick headlines the “thank you for your service” category. Quick’s play sunk the Americans at the World Cup, with an 0.836 SV% and a 3.56 GAA in two games. The other notable players who Custance believes have played their last game for the USA at the national level are Zach Parise and Max Pacioretty, among the rest of the roster. Parise and Pacioretty have not performed well in best-on-best tournaments recently, and will need big efforts to survive the coming youth movement.

  • Ahead of the first game of the World Cup Final on Tuesday night, Team Canada forward Ryan Getlzaf is taking a maintenance day. Claude Giroux is taking his place alongside John Tavares and Steven Stamkos on the Canadian “third line”. He’s not expected to miss any of the final. Other than Getzlaf, the Canadians have not made any lineup changes.
  • Before the World Cup began, Team Europe coach Ralph Krueger said any team who wants to beat Canada will need a “magical day” and a “world-class goaltending performance”. TSN’s Frank Seravalli believes Krueger is the secret weapon that Europe will need to utilize to defeat Canada, citing Krueger’s defeat of Canada in the 2006 Olympics prior to joining the Canadian front office for Sochi. Canada GM Doug Armstrong said Europe is a big story, and “shame on [Canada] if we don’t take them seriously for what they’ve done to this point.”

Bruins Sign Brad Marchand To Long-Term Extension

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It’s been a great week for Brad Marchand.

He’s playing on Canada’s top line at the World Cup, and now the Boston Bruins forward has some contract security.

According to TSN’s Bob McKenzie, Marchand has signed an 8-year, $49MM extension. That works out to $6.125MM per season, a notable increase from Marchand’s current AAV of $4.5MM.

ESPN’s Craig Custance reports Marchand will have a full no-move for the first five seasons on the deal, before changing to a limited no-trade clause. As well, $24MM of the contract is paid via signing bonuses, according to CapFriendly.

Contract-wise, recent comparable players include Mark Scheifele, Sean Monahan, Nathan MacKinnon, Milan Lucic, Andrew Ladd, and Kyle Okposo. Marchand is entering the prime of his career, and looks to live up to his new deal.

Marchand scored 37 goals and 61 points in 77 games last season, playing on the Bruins top line with Patrice Bergeron and now former-Bruin Loui Eriksson.

 

Jets’ High Asking Price For Trouba

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TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie discussed Jacob Trouba’s trade request out of Winnipeg on TSN 690 in Montreal on Monday morning, saying, based on the asking price of a similar caliber left-shot defenseman, “not all that many teams that are positioned well to get him.”

On Sunday, Pro Hockey Rumors’ Zach Leach explored some of the teams that would have interest in the young Trouba.

The asking price has lead to names like Hampus Lindholm and Darnell Nurse being floated about. McKenzie doesn’t believe the Ducks are willing to move Lindholm for Trouba, as Lindholm is more proven at this time.

TSN’s Ryan Rishaug appeared on TSN 1260 in Edmonton later on Monday morning, saying if he was the Oilers he wouldn’t be willing to move Nurse to acquire Trouba, because the money wouldn’t make sense for someone who hasn’t shown an ability to produce on the power-play. Nurse has “home-run potential”, and Rishaug couldn’t guarantee that Trouba would be better than Nurse in four years.

Rishaug would be more willing to move young left-handed defenseman Brandon Davidson, who blossomed into a top-four defenseman last season, while adding draft picks.

The Jets have to ask for the moon initially, as a public trade request has a certain way of tanking a player’s perceived trade value. It’s why the Lightning ultimately didn’t trade Jonathan Drouin; the trade offers that come in for players publicly on the trading block are dramatically lower than what the team is willing to accept.

However, the Jets are right to ask for a major haul in exchange for Trouba according to Travis Yost, analytics columnist for TSN. Yost wrote that Trouba’s advanced stats are a “recipe to earmark a young player for a long career as a first-pairing type in the NHL.”

Camp Notes: Marner, Grigorenko, Weal

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While it’s true that exhibition results and preseason predictions often mean nothing, fans of each team do like to see and hear strong results from some of their young players. In Toronto, uber-prospect Mitch Marner is really turning heads, as Rob Longley of the Toronto Sun writes. Marner is undersized by all accounts, but is starting to make believers out of his coaching staff and front office that he’ll be able to use his elite offensive ability to succeed right away at the next level. Even veteran teammates like Brooks Laich are impressed:

He’s good at tying up a stick so the other guy can’t make a play and then getting body position so he can kick the puck to his stick. I saw some little things that are very impressive.

Marner has to either make the NHL club or return to the OHL, a level which he absolutely dominated last season, winning every individual and team award available, including the Memorial Cup. While it wouldn’t ruin his career to head back to London for another season, he’s clearly too good for that level and would be at risk of slowing his development.

  • One of the big parts of the Ryan O’Reilly deal between Colorado and Buffalo was Mikhail Grigorenko, once selected 12th overall and considered a top prospect. While never delivering on his apparent high-ceiling offensively, Grigorenko did make strides last season in his first go-round with the Avs. Now considered a “veteran forward” by Terry Frei and the Denver Post, Grigorenko scored the only goal in an intrasquad game today and by all accounts has had a strong camp. Still only 22, he has plenty of time to develop into the strong two-way center Buffalo envisioned when spending such a high pick on him.
  • Another youngster is enjoying the World Cup, but not because of Team America. Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Jordan Weal has been suiting up on the top line in Flyers camp between Brayden Schenn and Wayne Simmonds while Claude Giroux is off in Toronto, and he’s been showing he may be ready for a full time NHL role as soon as this season. An elite AHL scorer (his last two seasons there he recorded 70 and 69 points), Weal spent all of last season trapped between the injured reserve list and the waiver wire, and only got into 14 total contests, all at the NHL level.

‘Yotes Notes: Rieder, Camp Cuts, OEL

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Sarah McLellan of AZCentral gives us a number of interesting tidbits from the Arizona Coyotes training camp, including one from Tobias Rieder’s agent Darren Ferris. The restricted free agent remains unsigned, and Ferris says that he will not report to camp without a deal.

Rieder is currently at the World Cup as part of the Cinderella Team Europe, but will not report after the tournament ends. There has been much discussion this offseason, though a deal does not seem close. Rieder scored 14 goals and 37 points last season, but has considered a move to the KHL if something cannot be worked out with the Coyotes.

  • In an expected move, the Coyotes have trimmed their roster at training camp, releasing Austin Lotz, Olivier LeBlanc and MacKenzie Braid. Head coach Dave Tippet says there will be more cuts on Wednesday and next weekend.  Braid is the son of the Coyotes skating coach Dawn Braid, and had only been brought to camp a few days ago out of Wilfred Laurier University in Ontario.
  • Oliver Ekman-Larsson of the recently eliminated Swedish World Cup team, will not be travelling back to the club today, and isn’t expected to get into an exhibition game until sometime next week. Larsson is set to begin his seventh season with the club, despite only being 25 years old. After back to back twenty-goal seasons from the back end, ’OEL’ is one of the most dangerous weapons on any team’s blueline, and is set to become a free agent after the 2018-19 season (when he’ll still only be 27, at least for a few more days).

Snapshots: Fortin, Flames, Team Europe

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When the Chicago Blackhawks invited Alexandre Fortin to prospect camp this summer, even they didn’t expect to sign him to a three-year entry level contract just a few weeks later. It’s a huge step for the twice-undrafted forward from the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies of the QMJHL.

The 19-year old is the nephew of former NHL goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere and never did really blow away scouts during his junior years.  But now, in Hawks rookie camp he turned enough heads to be kept around when the pro camp started, and then enough for the Hawks to invest in him.  As assistant coach Kevin Dineen says in Chris Kuc’s latest Chicago Tribune article:

He’s a smart, cerebral kid who has a nice offensive skill set that he’s been able to show here early. He’s off to a real good start and he’s working his way in to trying to find a way into one of our exhibition games.

The Hawks have found overlooked players before, most notably with last year’s Calder trophy winner Artemi Panarin, who, while on the hockey world’s radar, was never believed to be able to step into a top-line, all-star role right away. With Fortin, perhaps they found another late-bloomer who they can shape into an offensive dynamo.

  • The Flames have decided to send four players back to their individual WHL teams today; the group includes Brayden Burke, Aaron Hyman, Matthew Phillips and Nick Schneider. Only Phillips was actually drafted by the club (166th overall this year).  The team has also cut Dennis Kravchenko from the NHL camp, and invited him to their AHL camp (which he accepted).  Kravchenko has scored 61 points in 68 games the past two seasons while playing for UMass-Amherst in the NCAA. An undersized winger, he’s trying to follow the path of Johnny Gaudreau and prove offense is more important than stature.
  • Team Europe, the overwhelming underdogs of the World Cup, have now advanced to the final series following an overtime win against Team Sweden. Tomas Tatar, the young flashy Red Wings forward scored twice, including the winner, to send home the defensive powerhouse.  The makeshift squad will take on Canada in the best-of-three final series, starting Tuesday night.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

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