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Red Wings Notes: Leadership Questions

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George Sipple of the Detroit Free Press writes that while Detroit Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill appreciates Henrik Zetterberg taking one for the team, the Wings’ poor play against both Florida and Boston rests with him. From Blashill:

Ultimately, it’s on me. That’s my job … to make sure they’re ready. I appreciate Henrik saying that. I would say this — without question, you have to look yourself in the mirror and make sure you’re ready to go. We had too many guys not ready to go.

Zetterberg commented that it was on him to prepare the team better, and that Detroit needs to be play better at home. Blashill seemingly stamped out the question of leadership issues in the locker room. Blashill continued with MLive’s Ansar Khan:

“I have 100 percent belief in the group in this locker room, so I’m not concerned long-term at all,” Blashill said. “All I’m concerned about is tonight, which wasn’t good enough. I don’t have any worries about the level of leadership or the level of character that we have to a man in this locker room.”

Khan expanded further, speaking to several of the same players that Sipple did. Danny DeKeyser doesn’t believe there are leadership issues in Detroit, saying that:

“Leadership is important, but at the end of the day everyone is here in the NHL and they need to do whatever they need to do to get going and ready to play. I wouldn’t put much up on the captaincy or leadership, just guys doing what they need to do to be ready to go.”

If the Red Wings rip off another six game winning streak, the questions will fade. But should Detroit look listless through another pair of games,  the questions will likely multiply.

Kings Call Rob Scuderi Up From Ontario

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The Los Angeles Kings have called up veteran defenseman Rob Scuderi from Ontario tweets Joe Rosen.  Kings writer Elliott Teaford confirmed the move as well.  Teaford writes that Scuderi is a call up after Brayden McNabb suffered an upper body injury in Sunday’s game and was placed on injured reserve. Teaford points out that Scuderi has not played a game for the Kings or Reign this season, and was cut from the Kings’ training camp just a few weeks back.

Last season was a whirlwind for Scuderi, who was dealt from the Pittsburgh Penguins to the Chicago Blackhawks in a deal that involved Trevor Daley. Scuderi was then spun off by the Blackhawks to the Kings for Christian Ehrhoff. In 63 games with the Penguins, Blackhawks, and Kings, Scuderi had 10 assists. Scuderi suited up for all five of the Kings’ playoff games but registered no points.

Snapshots: Coyotes, Lightning, Backes

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News and notes from around the NHL this evening:

  • The Phoenix Coyotes have assigned center Christian Dvorak to the team’s AHL affiliate Tuscon Roadrunners. Dvorak has zero goals and three assists in seven games for the Coyotes. The Coyotes did not immediately recall another player, which means young prospect Dylan Strome looks to have an extended playing opportunity tonight. Strome—Arizona’s 3rd overall draft pick last year—has only played three games this season. AZ Sports writer Craig Morgan says not to expect Dvorak to be in Tucson for long because Arizona will be shuttling AHL-eligible players back and forth to both save cap space and provide additional playing time.
  • The Tampa Bay Lightning have recalled defenseman Slater Koekkoek and reassigned Matt Taormina. The move comes ahead of the Lightning’s Tuesday night game against the New York Islanders. Koekkoek was originally drafted 10th overall in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, but has not yet lived up to expectations. He made the Lightning out of camp this season, but was a healthy scratch for the team’s first three games. Tampa Bay then sent Koekkoek down to the Syracuse Crunch (AHL) to get more playing time. Taomina has been a career AHLer, and was called up for one game before being sent back down.
  • Boston Bruins forward David Backes is expected to miss the next two games, according to head coach Claude Julien. Backes underwent surgery last week to remedy his olecranon bursitis (elbow inflammation) and has been out since October 25th. The Bruins are holding Backes out now to prevent infection and to ensure that he heals properly. Backes has been productive since signing with the Bruins in the offseason, scoring 2G and 2A in 5 games.

Snapshots: All-Star Ballot, Zacha, Hunwick, Korpisalo

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The NHL is expected to revise its eligibility criteria for the All-Star ballot, writes Ken Campbell of The Hockey News.  There was plenty of debate over the controversial push made to get enforcer John Scott into the game and was further fueled by the fact that he played while suiting up with the AHL’s St. John’s IceCaps (minor league affiliate of Montreal) and was not on an NHL roster.

In particular, the league plans to add the criterion that to be eligible to participate, the player must be a ‘bona fide NHL player’.  While there is some ambiguity as to what that exactly is intended to mean, at the very least it would suggest that someone suiting up in the minor leagues like Scott was last year would not be eligible to play.  There could also be minimums for games played, ice time, etc to further reduce the likelihood of another write-in campaign like Scott’s was last year or in the past with defenseman Rory Fitzpatrick.

As it turned out, there was a happy ending to Scott’s controversial appearance at All-Star Weekend as he scored twice and was voted as the MVP.  The whole adventure resulted in a screenplay being written to chronicle the event but it would appear that something like that won’t be permitted to happen again with this planned change.

The official ballot should be released sometime in mid-November.

Elsewhere around the league:

  • The New Jersey Devils are expected to keep center Pavel Zacha through the first of two key deadlines for junior aged players, Andrew Gross of Fire and Ice reports. The 19 year old has played in eight games so far this season while recording three assists.  He has seen his ice time jump in recent games, playing over 15 minutes in each of his last four outings.  Once he plays in his tenth game, he will burn the first year of his entry-level contract.  The next key deadline for Zacha will be the 40 game mark – if he is on New Jersey’s roster for 40 games, he will accrue one season towards unrestricted free agency.
  • Toronto has placed defenseman Matt Hunwick on injured reserve with a lower body injury according to James Mirtle of the Globe and Mail (Twitter link). Hunwick has missed the last three games and it’s likely that his IR stint will be backdated retroactive to his last game played on October 25th.  The 31 year old has seen his role drop considerably in the early going this season; his average ice time (16:59) is down by over five and a half minutes per game compared to last season (22:34).
  • Columbus activated goaltender Joonas Korpisalo off of season-opening injured reserve and have assigned him to their AHL affiliate in Cleveland, the team announced. Korpisalo has been out since the start of the season with a groin injury.  He led the team in wins, GAA, and SV% last season after getting into 31 games with the Blue Jackets.  Once he’s back in game shape, he’ll try to make a push to supplant Curtis McElhinney as the backup to Sergei Bobrovsky.

Central Notes: Wild Roster Woes, Bourque, Eakin, Sharp

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The Minnesota Wild are finding themselves in a bit of a cap crunch due to a rash of recent injuries, writes Michael Russo of the Star-Tribune.  The team is currently without forwards Zac Dalpe and Zach Parise as well as defenseman Marco Scandella, who are all week-to-week.  Additionally, wingers Erik Haula (injured, out 7-10 days) and Chris Stewart (sick) were also unable to skate on Monday.  As a result of the injuries, the team had just 14 skaters at practice.

The team currently has just shy of $1.5MM in cap space according to Cap Friendly but that’s only enough cap space for two recalls.  The team could put Scandella on LTIR but that would make it that he’d have to be out for at least 24 days (retroactive to October 27th when he was injured) and if he’s not expected to be out that long, that’s far from an ideal scenario for the Wild.  The team could also put Victor Bartley on LTIR but his cap hit doesn’t count in full already as he is currently on season-opening injured reserve (his cap hit only counts for the percentage of time he was on an NHL roster last year) so that wouldn’t free up much more space for Minnesota to work with.  Dalpe underwent arthroscopic knee surgery on Monday so he too is a potential LTIR candidate.

Suffice it to say, it’s going to be a busy time for GM Chuck Fletcher as he navigates the cap in order to give the Wild a full roster (or as close to one as possible) in advance of their next game on Tuesday against Buffalo.

Other news from the Central:

  • The Avalanche have assigned left winger Gabriel Bourque to San Antonio of the AHL, the team announced (Twitter link). Bourque has played in five games with Colorado so far this season after earning a contract off a PTO, being held pointless while logging 10:46 per game.  The 26 year old cleared waivers just prior to the start of the year and since less than 30 days had passed since then, he was able to be sent down now without going back on waivers.  The team does not plan to call anyone up to take Bourque’s spot on the roster, adds Mike Chambers of the Denver Post.
  • Dallas center Cody Eakin has done some light skating and head coach Lindy Ruff told reporters including Mark Stepneski of Stars Inside Edge (Twitter link) that he is about 2-3 weeks away from returning. Still with the Stars, Patrick Sharp (concussion-like symptoms) worked out on Sunday.  Both of those should come as positive signs considering it was announced earlier today that Ales Hemsky is out for the next 5-6 months after undergoing hip surgery.

The Latest On Jacob Trouba

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It appears that the stalemate between RFA defenseman Jacob Trouba and the Winnipeg Jets is set to extend into November.  TSN’s Bob McKenzie notes that both sides have indicated that the situation remains “status quo”.

At this stage, it appears both sides have their lines drawn in the proverbial sand.  Trouba has made it known that he wants to play on his natural right side, something that is more challenging in Winnipeg since Dustin Byfuglien and Tyler Myers, both righties with long-term contracts are also there.  While they could conceivably play Trouba or one of them on the third pairing allowing all three to play their natural side, that wouldn’t be the best use for them as all are capable of playing greater than 20 minutes a night.

As for the Jets, the asking price remains very high and so far no team has been willing to meet it.  It’s believed that GM Kevin Cheveldayoff is looking for basically the left handed equivalent of Trouba, an established top four blueliner that has several years of team control remaining.

Further complicating things is that while Trouba is motivated to move on, the team doesn’t appear to be anywhere near as motivated to move him.  McKenzie adds that teams that have shown interest in Trouba don’t believe that they are eager or even likely to move him any time soon.  TSN’s Darren Dreger reported late last week that the team is still willing to offer a six year, $33MM contract to get him to stay in Winnipeg, something that Trouba has declined to this point.

We’re nearly a month away from the key deadline in all of this, December 1st.  At that time, if an RFA remains unsigned, he is ineligible to play for the remainder of the season.  Is Trouba really willing to sit an entire year to try to get his wish?  McKenzie feels that’s one of only two real options for the 22 year old – he can sit and wait or bite the bullet and take the contract Winnipeg’s offering while structuring it creatively to limit the amount of salary lost this season.  He could also potentially sign a shorter-term deal while maintaining his trade request in the hopes that a trade can be reached later in the year or next offseason although Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that does not appear to be something he’s willing to consider at this time.

In his time with the Jets, Cheveldayoff has proven himself to be a very patient general manager.  Does Trouba and his representation have the same level of patience?  We’re about to find out over the next month.

Pacific Notes: Flames, Nurse, Canucks, Capobianco

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One of the concerns for the Calgary Flames so far this season has been their struggles with staying out of the penalty box.  Through nine games, the team has taken 49 minor penalties and are killing penalties with a success rate of only 73.2%.  As Postmedia’s Kristen Odland notes, head coach Glen Gulutzan is beginning to bench players who commit too many unnecessary fouls.

Recently, Sam Bennett, Matthew Tkachuk, and Kris Versteeg were all sat down for a long stretch during a game after taking bad penalties, two of which came back to bite them in the form of a power play goal allowed.  In particular, Bennett has been a frequent offender as his ten penalties taken leads the entire league.  He’s already more than halfway to surpassing his penalties minute total from last season in just the first month of the season alone.

Last season, Bennett was ineligible to be assigned to the AHL as he was still of junior age.  That isn’t the case this time around which means that if his penalty troubles continue, Gulutzan could opt to send him down to send him a message.  There is precedence for him sending a young player down for that reason too as he did that back in Dallas with Antoine Roussel.  With six points through nine games, Bennett is off to a good start offensively but could be even more effective if he can stay out of the sin bin more consistently.

More from the Pacific Division:

  • Edmonton defenseman Darnell Nurse has seen his role and ice time scaled back this year and is responding with a strong start to his sophomore campaign, writes Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal. Head coach Todd McLellan acknowledged that due to injuries last season, the team gave Nurse too many tasks and have made a concerted effort to scale back on those this season.  As their top blueline prospect, McLellan also added that the team still plans to give him more responsibility over time.  Nurse has a goal and two assists through eight games so far this season while averaging 17:19 per night, down nearly three minutes per contest compared to 2015-16.
  • Vancouver wingers Alexandre Burrows (neck) and Derek Dorsett (shoulder) could be ready to play in time for their next game on Wednesday in Montreal, reports Iain MacIntyre of the Vancouver Sun. Both players have missed the last four games and are currently on injured reserve.  The Canucks sit dead last in the NHL in goals per game with just 1.78 so even though Burrows and Dorsett aren’t big offensive contributors for the team, they still might be able to give Vancouver a boost as they embark on a six game Eastern road trip.
  • The Coyotes announced that they have signed defenceman Kyle Capobianco to a three year, entry-level contract. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.  Capobianco was Arizona’s third round pick (63rd overall) back in 2015.  He’s off to a strong start with Sudbury of the OHL this season with four goals and seven assists in 12 games so far.

Jiri Tlusty Signs In Finland

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Unrestricted free agent left winger Jiri Tlusty has found a new home for this season as he has signed with Karpat Oulu of the SM-liiga, the Finnish team announced (link in Finnish).

It has been a rough year and a half for Tlusty to say the least.  Despite a decent 31 point season in 2014-15, he struggled to find work, eventually settling for a one year, $800K deal with New Jersey after a training camp tryout which at the time seemed like a significant bargain.

Things didn’t go too well for Tlusty with the Devils.  He had a minor role with the team and found himself as a healthy scratch at times before a wrist injury ended his season in January.  He finished with just two goals and two assists in 30 games while averaging 13:43 per night.

He once again struggled to find a contract during the summer and eventually agreed to join Colorado on a tryout deal.  However, he wound up failing his physical and was released before ever suiting up for the Avalanche.  He wasn’t able to secure a shot with another team so he has now turned to Finland to try to restore his value.

Tlusty is still just 28 years old and has some success under his belt in the NHL, collecting 177 points (89-88-177) in 446 games with Toronto, Carolina, Winnipeg, and New Jersey.  If he has a strong season with Karpat, he could be back on the NHL radar before too long.

Ales Hemsky To Miss 5-6 Months

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The Dallas Stars will be without Ales Hemsky until at least March, after the skilled right winger underwent surgery to repair a labral tear in his hip this morning.

Stars GM Jim Nill released a statement saying the injury was sustained at the World Cup, where Hemsky represented for the Czech Republic.

The Stars will be without Hemsky and Mattias Janmark for essentially the whole season, with the two wingers combining for one game played this season. Winger Valeri Nichushkin signed for two seasons in the KHL back in September, meaning the Stars are missing three top-nine wingers who were on their roster in August.

The Stars just got Jason Spezza and Jiri Hudler back from injury, but Patrick Sharp and Cody Eakin remain out with a concussion and knee injury respectively.

Hemsky has 565 points in 824 career NHL games, with the Oilers, Senators, and Stars.

Snapshots: Sergachev, Frk, Bauer

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The red-hot Montreal Canadiens have assigned rookie defenseman Mikhail Sergachev to the Windsor Spitfires of the OHL. The ninth overall pick of the 2016 draft started the season with the Canadiens, going pointless in 3 games. The Canadiens are 8-0-1 so far this season.

Sergachev is expected to play a big role for the Spitfires, where he scored 57 points in 67 games last season. He was one of the top-ranked defensemen for last summer’s draft, alongside Olli Juolevi and Jakob Chychrun.

As a result of him not reaching nine games played, his contract will slide to next year. There are now 20 slide-eligible rookies in the NHL.

  • The Carolina Hurricanes have placed Martin Frk on waivers. Frk went pointless and -3 in 2 games played with the Hurricanes, his first two NHL games. Carolina claimed Frk on waivers earlier this month from the Detroit Red Wings. The Red Wings will get first waiver priority to claim their 2012 second rounder, then the remaining order is the reverse standings order from the end of the 2015-16 season. The waiver priority will change to this season’s standings on November 1st.
  • Some high profile NHLers may be without endorsement deals as soon as today. Players like Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, and Alex Ovechkin all make between $300K and $500K per season for using Bauer equipment. However, Bauer’s parent company, Performance Sports Group (PSG), has filed for bankruptcy protection. TSN’s Rick Westhead quoted a source as saying a bankruptcy judge can “cancel those endorsement contracts and list the players as creditors.” PSG is expected to have more than $400MM in debt by the end of the year. There are also shareholders preparing to file a lawsuit for inflated sales figures and growth prospects. PSG bough Bauer from Nike in 2008, and also purchased equipment makers Cascade and Easton in recent years.

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