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Archives for December 2016

Aleksander Barkov Out Two To Three Weeks

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The Florida Panthers will be without top center Aleksander Barkov for the next 2-3 weeks with an undisclosed injury, reports NHL.com’s Alain Poupart.  While Barkov left Wednesday’s game against Toronto after taking a shot to the ribs from Keith Yandle, head coach Tom Rowe stated that this is not the injury that will keep Barkov out of the lineup.  He noted that the injury occurred a couple of games ago and that the 21 year old had been trying to play through it.  Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman adds (Twitter link) that Florida has placed him on injured reserve.

Barkov leads the Panthers in scoring this season with nine goals and 18 assists through 36 games and had a five game point streak snapped against the Leafs.

The injury opens up a spot on Florida’s top line alongside Jaromir Jagr and Seth Griffith.  Center Nick Bjugstad, who has struggled mightily since returning from a broken wrist, got the first look in that spot last night against Montreal.  Through 18 games, he has just a single goal and an assist but has put up at least 15 goals in each of the last three seasons.

Pacific Notes: Sharks, Puljujarvi, Getzlaf, Perry

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While it’s still a couple of months before the trade deadline, CSN Bay Area’s Kevin Kurz suggests in a reader mailbag that San Jose’s roster isn’t likely to change much between now and the end of February.

Like quite a few teams this season, the Sharks find themselves quite tight to the salary cap.  Tomas Hertl is currently on LTIR which frees up a bit of extra space in the short-term but any payroll they add between now and his return would have to be freed back up before they could activate him off of injured reserve, which should be sometime late next month.

Further complicating things potentially is the strong play of recent call-ups Timo Meier and Kevin Labanc.  Both have played well enough to lock down a spot full-time which could force the Sharks to make some tough decisions once Hertl is ready to return, assuming no one else gets hurt between now and then.

One area that Kurz thinks they could try to make a move in is between the pipes to get another backup goalie to take Aaron Dell’s spot.  The rookie has started only four of 35 games this season which has forced Martin Jones to play more than the Sharks probably would like.  Of course, their limited cap space would limit their options but there typically are a couple of cheap, veteran backups that are made available close to the deadline.

More from the Pacific Division:

  • Despite making him a healthy scratch more than he has played this month, the Oilers plan to keep rookie Jesse Puljujarvi up with the big club instead of sending him to their AHL affiliate in Bakersfield, notes Robert Tychkowski of the Edmonton Sun. Head coach Todd McLellan anticipates that the rookie, who has played in in just five of the last 13 games, will see more ice time with the season-ending injury to Tyler Pitlick.  Puljujarvi’s rookie campaign hasn’t gone as anticipated as he has just one goal and seven assists in 25 games.
  • In an effort to jump-start their two top veterans, the Ducks have split up long-time linemates Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, writes Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register. While the two have combined for 56 points this year, only 11 of those have been goals which isn’t enough from one of the highest priced forward duos in the league with a combined cap hit just shy of $17MM.

David Backes Leaves Game With Head Injury

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Boston Bruins forward David Backes was the victim of boarding in tonight’s game against the Buffalo Sabres, as William Carrier hit the veteran with a hard, high shot up against the boards in front of the Bruins bench. The team announced shortly afterward that Backes would not return to the game with an “upper body injury”. Carrier will likely face a suspension or fine for the dirty hit.

Backes has been somewhat of an iron man in his NHL career, playing in 72 games or more in all nine of his seasons as a starter with the St. Louis Blues. However, Backes has also had his fair share of concussions as well, with at least two reported in his NHL tenure. Neither kept Backes out of the St. Louis lineup for very long, but now in Boston and on the wrong side of 30, the concussion symptoms can start to pile up, and the Bruins have to worry about long-term repercussions. While it will be some time before we know the full extent of this concussion, expect the team to be cautious with it’s approach. The Bruins face the Sabres again on Saturday, and then New Jersey, Edmonton, Florida, and Carolina to begin the new year. Although no game has been easy for the underachieving team, this is as good a time as any to give Backes some time off. The return of Frank Vatrano has had an instant impact and he can help to make up for a short-term absence of Backes while he rests and recovers. The last thing that Boston wants is to rush Backes back to action only to end up losing him again later on in the season to post-concussion syndrome. With one of the league’s worst scoring offenses and already missing Matt Beleskey until February, the Bruins cannot afford another long-term absence up front.

On a separate note, Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid tried to return the favor later in the game by jumping Carrier late in the first period. For the second time in as many games, McQuaid was restrained before he could even throw a real punch. If the NHL wants to ban fighting, they should, but instructing the refs to instead instantly break up fights is not the way to go. McQuaid expressed a similar opinion arguing with the linesman that pulled him away from Carrier. In tying up McQuaid, the refs allowed Carrier to get several punches off that were direct hits to the Bruins defenseman and to which he had no chance to respond. McQuaid required stitches as a result. To add insult to injury, McQuaid was also given an instigator penalty and a ten-minute misconduct. The entire ordeal was handled incorrectly and the NHL needs to look into alternative methods of handling fighting.

Penguins Notes: Fleury, Pouliot, Jarry

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With the news that Matt Murray is out again and considered “week-to-week” with a lower body injury, Marc-Andre Fleury will again resume the duties of starting goaltender for the Pittsburgh Penguins. However, the question of the net share for the Penguins now needs to expand beyond just the next few weeks. With yet another injury this season, Murray is beginning to get a reputation of being “fragile”. Still technically a rookie, it’s too early for any definitive judgement on Murray, but his injury tendencies need to be considered when planning for the near future. As was discussed earlier this season, the Penguins face one of the more difficult Expansion Draft scenarios this season, as they would be forced to protect Fleury, due to his no-movement clause, and leave Murray exposed to selection should both remain on the roster into June. Many have thus presumed that Pittsburgh will trade Fleury at all costs this season. With growing concerns about Murray’s reliability, that may no longer be the plan. Even though Murray has been vastly superior to his veteran teammate in 2016-17, Fleury still represents a far better option than most potential replacements on the market right now. If the Penguins, surely a Stanley Cup contender again this season, trade Fleury and Murray goes down again, it would cripple their title chances. Same goes for next season as well. Although teams like the Dallas Stars or St. Louis Blues will likely make plays for Fleury in the coming months, Pittsburgh will likely now look at options that include keeping both keepers through the end of this season. More confusion being added to one of the most intriguing stories of the season.

  • With Murray out again, the Penguins have recalled goalie Tristan Jarry from the AHL. The player headed back to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is defenseman Derrick Pouliot. Once thought to be the future on the blue line in Pittsburgh, Pouliot is struggling again this year and has seen limited play time, prompting his move to the minors for the second time this season. Although he is an analytics darling, Pouliot’s possession ability has not translated into meaningful production at the NHL level. The eighth overall pick in the 2012 NHL Draft, Pouliot was a superstar with the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks as a junior player. He was expected to contribute right away at the highest level, and did play in 34 games in Pittsburgh in his first pro season. However, that dropped to just 22 regular season games and 2 postseason games for the eventual Stanley Cup champions last season and just seven game thus far in 2016-17. Over that time, Pouliot has just two goals and 12 assists (zero points this season) in 63 games while posting a career rating of -10.  He also has no points and is a -4 in seven AHL games this year. In a normal season, this could simply be written off as a promising 22-year-old defenseman developing slowly and any premature judgement would be unwarranted. However, this is not a normal season, with the Expansion Draft looming this off-season, and the Penguins need to make a decision on Pouliot. If, as expected, Pittsburgh chooses to protect seven forwards and three defenseman rather than protecting eight skaters overall and risking losing a Patric Hornqvist or Carl Hagelin, then Pouliot appears to be the odd-man-out on the back end. Kris Letang, Olli Maatta, and Brian Dumoulin are the obvious choices to be protected by the Penguins. With good defensive depth on the roster and even more NHL experience down at the AHL level, Pittsburgh is not desperate for blue line help right now. While that may change down the line with injuries, the Penguins may still need to look at trading Pouliot while they can. If he fails to move the young defenseman, GM Jim Rutherford will likely lose him for nothing to the Las Vegas Golden Knights, who will certainly be intrigued by a recent top ten pick. On the other hand, if Pouliot continues to play this poorly, the Penguins may not lose him after all.
  • Meanwhile, Jarry will get his first real NHL experience with Murray out of the lineup. Although Jarry has spent time on the Pittsburgh roster both this season and last, he has yet to make his debut. The Penguins claimed Mike Condon off of waivers earlier this season when Murray was first injured, and he performed well as the backup to Fleury before being traded to the Ottawa Senators. With no such option this time around, expect Jarry to get his first start in the next week or two in relief of Fleury, who has adjusted to part-time work in 2016-17. A 2013 second-round pick of the Penguins, Jarry was a standout prospect from the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings and has played well in his first two pro seasons with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

The Busiest Day Of The Summer: Six Months Later

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Thursday, December 29 marks the six-month anniversary of the wildest 23 minutes in NHL history.

On June 29, the Oilers traded Taylor Hall to the New Jersey Devils for Adam Larsson, the Canadiens traded P.K. Subban to the Nashville Predators for Shea Weber, and the Tampa Bay Lightning signed captain Steven Stamkos to an eight-year extension. All three of those moves came between 2:34pm and 2:57pm.

So far, the results have been mixed for the teams involved: the Devils are last in the Metropolitan Division, the Oilers are finally a playoff contender, the Canadiens are back to tops in their division, and Stamkos is likely to miss the last four-to-six months of the season.

Let’s take a closer look at the initial results for each team:

Edmonton Oilers — The decision to trade Hall was not popular in the Edmonton market. The former face of the Oilers rebuild had become one of the top left wingers in the world, behind only Alex Ovechkin and Jamie Benn on most rankings. Hall had 328 points in 381 games with the Oilers, despite the Oilers lack of NHL defensemen and centers for much of his tenure there. Ultimately, Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli felt comfortable replacing Hall with free agent Milan Lucic in order to secure a young, right-handed defenseman on a good contract. So far, Larsson has helped stabilize the Oilers defense with solid, if unspectacular play. Larsson has just six points in 36 games, but has developed chemistry with Oscar Klefbom on the Oilers future top pairing. The Oilers are currently second in the Pacific Division, and are showing real improvement over the last seven seasons. However, they are still a few pieces away from becoming a real contender, despite Connor McDavid’s excellent play. While Larsson has been solid, the Oilers definitely gave up value on the trade, making this trade, at best, a passing grade for Chiarelli. Devils GM Ray Shero told Elliotte Friedman that “people want to decide winners and losers right away, but you have to build a team.” If the Oilers don’t manage to make the playoffs this season, then the pressure on Chiarelli will increase tenfold.

Montreal Canadiens — If the decision to trade Hall was considered unpopular in Edmonton, the Subban trade was even more so when the deal was announced. Subban had been a key fixture of the Montreal community in his six full seasons there. However, the final year of his tenure was full of controversy, beginning with Subban’s $10MM donation to the local children’s hospital. Many read into Max Pacioretty being named captain over Subban, and the conspicuous lack of a King Clancy nomination (for community leadership and humanitarian contributions) from his teammates. Then Carey Price got hurt and the Canadiens season went to hell. Whispers of trade rumors began. In particular, a February incident where Canadiens coach Michel Therrien singled out Subban for a give-away that led to a game-winning goal versus the Avalanche led to intensified rumors. Nothing seemed likely until the Predators offered Shea Weber just after the draft in June. The trade was much maligned for Weber’s age and the perception that his abilities were declining. That hasn’t proven to be the case just yet, as Weber has been the catalyst for the Canadiens resurgence. He has 20 points in 35 games so far, on pace for 25 goals and 57 points, both of which would represent career-highs. TSN’s Darren Dreger appeared on Montreal radio on Thursday morning and declared the Canadiens as the current winners of the trade. Weber’s presence and style of play is, by Dreger’s estimation, a better fit “for what the Montreal Canadiens needed.”

Nashville Predators — When news of the Subban-Weber trade came down, most in the hockey world couldn’t believe the news. No one could think of the last time two superstar captains and giants in their local community were traded for each other, one for one. The enormity of the deal was not lost on the two teams, with one front office member telling Friedman “I think both teams had moments where they couldn’t believe what they were considering.” Weber had been a pillar in Nashville since he first broke into the NHL, but the tough Western Conference was beginning to catch up with him. Defense partner Roman Josi was considered to be the better passer and skater, and some argued Josi was carrying the pair. With the Predators entering a new window of Cup contention, getting younger and more mobile became a priority, especially after trading Seth Jones in January. Subban’s style of play fits the Predators’ plans better. So far, Subban has 17 points in 29 games (a 58-point pace) but has been hurt since the middle of December. The Predators are barely above .500 and two points out of the final wildcard spot in the Western Conference. The trade definitely looks better for the Canadiens as of this writing, but the Predators are sure to figure things out soon. Considering Subban is four years younger than Weber, Nashville’s window should be open longer with Subban over Weber. That’s what GM David Poile wanted when he took the risk to move Weber, but he obviously feels the reward is worth it to add Subban to an already dynamic group of defensemen in Nashville. Let’s call this one a temporary win for Montreal with Nashville looking better long-term.

New Jersey Devils — After the trade went through, Shero told Friedman that he felt the Devils had the defensive depth to make the trade, referencing his time with the Penguins, where he traded Ryan Whitney and Alex Goligoski with with the knowledge that Kris Letang was up and coming. The Devils clearly believe that Damon Severson has the ability to become a top-pairing defenseman and replace Larsson. What New Jersey did not have was an up and coming offensive dynamo remotely close to Hall’s skill level. Shero told Friedman that teams had asked about Larsson’s availability and were told the only way that he would trade Larsson “is if it really makes sense.” Acquiring a franchise offensive player made sense. Hall has performed admirably for the Devils, and is currently on pace to score 54 points in 64 games while battling injuries. Unfortunately for the Devils, they remain in last place in their division and look unlikely to make the playoffs. The situation must be frustratingly familiar for Hall, who spent six seasons in Edmonton scoring at a high level with little defensive support. As mentioned above, the Devils clearly won the trade based on trade value, but as Shero said it’s all about building a team. Shero will need to build more support for franchise players Hall and Cory Schneider to work their way up the standings. If you ignore Edmonton being in contention for a playoff spot and New Jersey being in the lottery watch, New Jersey won the trade, hands down. Take team building into consideration, and the trade looks a little closer. It’s still a clear win for the Devils to acquire a legitimate superstar for less than full trade value.

Tampa Bay Lightning — Had it happened on any other day during the previous year, Stamkos re-signing in Tampa Bay would have dominated the news cycle for at least two or three days. But after the craziness of the half-hour preceding the announcement, it seemed to take something of a backseat to the pair of blockbuster trades. Stamkos took less than his perceived market value to stay in Tampa Bay where his heart is. He’s expressed his desire to retire as a member of the Lightning. Lightning GM Steve Yzerman told Friedman that he really didn’t know what would happen: “I wasn’t really sure what was going to happen. In the last week, we had no control.” But Stamkos ultimately chose to stay in Tampa Bay. With his blood clot and contract cleared up, Stamkos got off to a torrid start, scoring 20 points in 17 games. He was on pace for a 52-goal, 105-point season before a lateral meniscus tear put his season on hold until March at the earliest. There is some risk to having a player signed for eight years with three consecutive season-ending injuries (fractured tibia, blood clot, and meniscus tear). Injuries aside, signing a superstar scorer for $8.5MM per season long-term is a great deal for the Lightning, and leaves Yzerman room to do his best to keep the Lighting’s core together. Should Stamkos be able to stay healthy, then there’s no question that both sides will consider this contract a win.

Atlantic Notes: Kadri, Alfredsson, Green, Sabres

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While Toronto center Nazem Kadri isn’t known for his defensive prowess, he has made considerable strides in his two-way game this season, writes Mark Zwolinski of the Toronto Star.  With the Leafs welcoming number one overall pick Auston Matthews into the fold, they wanted to shield him from checking the best players from the opposition which meant that Kadri would have to assume the role.

[Related: Toronto’s Depth Chart]

Already with the reputation of being an agitator, Kadri has quietly been effective at slowing down the opposition this year while also contributing at the offensive end, where he sits third on the team in goals with 12 and fifth in points with 20.

Needless to say, Toronto is certainly pleased with Kadri’s play this year, the first of a six year, $27MM pact signed last season.  Has his defensive play been good enough to realistically be considered for the Selke Trophy, awarded to the best defensive forward in the league?  That may still be a stretch at this point but if he keeps up this level of two-way play the rest of the way, he’ll certainly garner some attention for that award.

Other notes from the Atlantic:

  • It will be a banner-raising night in Ottawa as the Senators will be retiring the jersey of long-time captain Daniel Alfredsson in a pre-game ceremony tonight. Alfredsson sits second in games played in franchise history (one behind Chris Phillips) while he holds the club record for goals, assists, points, and shots on goal, among others.  He played for only one other organization in his career, the Red Wings, who are taking on the Sens tonight.
  • Detroit defender Mike Green is hoping to return to the lineup late next week, reports MLive’s Ansar Khan. He has missed the last three games with an upper body injury and will likely miss the next three as he has January 7th in mind as a potential return date.  Green is Detroit’s highest scoring blueliner this year with 18 points (7-11-18) in 32 games.
  • Home ice hasn’t been particularly friendly to the Sabres, notes John Vogl of the Buffalo News. Buffalo is playing in their 38th and final home game of 2016 tonight and have posted just a .500 points percentage in those contests, going 15-15-7.  In 17 games at home this year, the Sabres have scored just 35 goals, or 2.06 per night.  Only Colorado (34 in 17 games) has scored less in the friendly confines of their own arena.

Injuries And Recalls: December 29

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Injury Updates:

  • 4:20pm: The Kings have activated defenseman Brayden McNabb off IR, Elliott Teaford of the Southern California News Group relays.  He last played on October 29th before suffering a collarbone injury.
  • 1:20pm: The Devils announced that center Jacob Josefson has been activated off of injured reserve.  He had missed the last five games with a concussion and has two assists in 14 games this year.
  • 11:17am: The Lightning announce that rookie forward Brayden Point will miss the next four-to-six weeks with an upper-body injury. Point has 15 points in 36 games so far this season.
  • 10:28am: After leaving last night’s game, Florida Panthers center Sasha Barkov will undergo an MRI. This is according to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun, who says Barkov’s injury does not appear to be serious at this time. Barkov has been one of the Panthers’ few bright spots in an otherwise difficult year, with 27 points in 36 games. He will not be in the lineup on Thursday night when the Panthers host the Montreal Canadiens.
  • According to Bill Hoppe of the Buffalo Times-Herald, Sabres defenseman Dmitry Kulikov will be out of the lineup on Thursday night. Kulikov aggravated a prior back injury and will be replaced by Cody Franson, who is returning from a mid-to-lower-body injury. Kulikov was one of the Sabres’ bigger additions this past summer, but only has one assist in 20 games, and that came on Tuesday night.
  • Also via Hoppe, Tyler Ennis is once again skating with the team seven weeks after undergoing surgery. His initial timeline was around six weeks. There is no timetable for his return.
  • Oilers winger Iiro Pakarinen is skating, according to Mark Spector. Pakarinen has yet to play a game this season after suffering an ugly knee injury in a pre-season game versus the Kings on October 2. He has 16 points in 80 games over the past two seasons with the Oilers.

Recalls:

  • 5:20pm: The Minnesota Wild announced that they have demoted forward Kurtis Gabriel to the AHL’s Iowa Wild. The 2013 third-round pick recorded his first NHL point while on recall, an assist in an early December win over the Toronto Maple Leafs, but has failed to build on that. He has just the one point in 13 games with Minnesota over the past two seasons. The fourth liner was averaging just under six minutes of ice time so far this season. Not known for his offensive ability, the 23-year-old Gabriel will have to prove in the AHL that he is an NHL-caliber checker to earn another shot.
  • In light of Point’s injury, the Lightning have recalled Erik Condra and Yanni Gourde from Syracuse. Condra has played seven games for the Bolts so far this season, but has been held pointless. He does have 19 points in 21 AHL games. Gourde has just two NHL games under his belt, both last season. He has 26 points in 29 AHL games so far.
  • Columbus has recalled left winger Markus Hannikainen as they look to win their fourteenth straight game. He’s not expected to be in the lineup on Thursday night versus the Jets. Hannikainen has no points in five NHL appearances this season, but has 13 points in 23 AHL games in Cleveland.
  • The Panthers have recalled Michael Sgarbossa to fill Barkov’s roster spot, according to NBC Sports. The Panthers originally acquired Sgarbossa last month from the Ducks. He has 12 points in 14 games for the Panthers’ AHL affiliate.

Reactions To The Artemi Panarin Signing

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While many expected that Artemi Panarin would land a new contract between $6MM-$7MM, the fact that he only got two years was a bit of a surprise.  Speaking with Chris Hine of the Chicago Tribune, Panarin’s agent, Tom Lynn, noted that Panarin was willing to take a small discount to stay on a short-term deal but wasn’t willing to on a long-term pact:

“We both, in a friendly way, recognized a long-term deal wasn’t feasible (and) not only moneywise. He’s two years away from getting no movement clauses. … that wasn’t feasible to give up unrestricted years on a discounted deal. At the same time neither side was into a one-year deal, just putting off the same conversation (until next year).”

Talks between the Blackhawks and Panarin had been ongoing since the summer; he had been eligible to sign an extension as of July 1st.

Hine suggests that center Marcus Kruger (with a cap hit of just under $3.1MM) could become one of the cap casualties and that he’s a prime candidate to be left unprotected in the upcoming Las Vegas expansion draft.  He also notes that Rob Scuderi’s retained cap hit of just over $1.1MM will be off the books next season but that may still not be enough to squeeze in Panarin’s $6MM cap hit beginning next year.

More notes on the deal:

  • USA Today’s Kevin Allen argues that the signing is a compromise in which neither side is happy but both sides are pleased with. While it’s not the long-term signing that both sides would have liked to get done, it at least gets him locked in for two more years alongside Patrick Kane as one of the most dynamic duos in the league and buys GM Stan Bowman more time to find a way to make room for him as a long-term fixture in a couple of years.  Finding a way to fit him in on UFA money could be a challenge though as Allen suggests that Panarin could be worth upwards of $9MM when he hits the open market in the summer of 2019.
  • One of the keys towards being able to fit in Panarin on his next deal will be the state of the Canadian dollar, writes Mark Lazarus of the Chicago Sun-Times. It has been trending downwards in recent years which has played a big role in the cap largely stagnating.
  • While the smaller than anticipated cap hit provides a sliver of optimism that Bowman may be able to keep the entire core intact, it’s still an unlikely proposition, suggests Charlie Roumeliotis of CSN Chicago. Instead, it’s likely that they will have to further rely on young players on their entry-level deals to round out the roster such as defenseman Ville Pokka or winger Alex DeBrincat, who was a second round pick of the Blackhawks back in June.

Metropolitan Notes: Islanders, Devils, Miller, Nash

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The New York Islanders looked into what it would cost to acquire Colorado center Matt Duchene, Newsday’s Arthur Staple reports in a reader mailbag.  However, the Isles experienced some “sticker shock” with regards to how high the cost would be.

Duchene has three years remaining on his contract (including this season) and potentially could provide the team with a bit of insurance behind captain John Tavares, a potential unrestricted agent in the summer of 2018.  However, as the two play the same position, he wouldn’t necessarily be a fit alongside Tavares, something the team has been searching for this season as newcomer Andrew Ladd has not been able to thrive in that role.

Staple also provided an update on injured center Mikhail Grabovski.  The 32 year old has been dealing with a concussion all season long and is nowhere near close to returning to the lineup.  Staple notes that the assumption in training camp was that Grabovski was never going to be cleared to play.  He has another year left on his contract after this season with a cap hit of $5MM.

Elsewhere in the Metropolitan Division:

  • While defense and strong goaltending have been the hallmarks of the Devils for many years now, that hasn’t been the case lately, writes Chris Ryan of NJ Advance Media. New Jersey has allowed four or more goals in 14 of the last 19 games, a big step back after they allowed three or more just six times through the first 16 contests.  As a result, they have seen their goals against average jump to 2.85 per game while goalie Cory Schneider is posting the worst numbers of his career.  With the Devils also being one of the lowest scoring teams in the league, their margin for error is quite slim if they want to get out of the basement of the Eastern Conference.
  • Rangers winger J.T. Miller was dropped to the fourth line during Tuesday’s victory against Ottawa and head coach Alain Vigneault has not been pleased with his play as of late, notes Larry Brooks of the New York Post. The bench boss believes Miller needs to be better in his decision making, particularly when it comes to not forcing things and just making the safer play.  Not only has he been moved to the fourth line for now, the Rangers have also dropped him off their second power play unit.  After a hot start to the season with 18 points in 20 games, Miller has been much quieter since then, recording just four points in his last 17 outings.
  • Brett Cyrgalis, also of the New York Post, provided an update (Twitter link) on injured Rangers winger Rick Nash, who is out with a groin injury for the second time this month. He’s not yet ready to practice with the team but hopes to skate on his own on Friday.  However, Nash told Cyrgalis that he is still “a while away” from being ready to return to the lineup.  Nash is second on the team in goals with 13 this season, one behind team leader Michael Grabner.

Brian Campbell To Play In Chicago Or Retire Next Season

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Chicago defenseman Brian Campbell hasn’t yet decided if he wants to play next season but if he does, it would only be with the Blackhawks, he told John Dietz of the Daily Herald:

“I don’t want to go anywhere else. One hundred percent. … I even mentioned to (general manager) Stan (Bowman) last summer — it would be a case of I’d like to come back here and I don’t see myself going anywhere (else). If I can keep playing and you still want me here, then I don’t plan on going anywhere else.”

This past summer, Campbell declined a sizable offer from Florida believed to be two years and a total of $8MM to take a one year deal worth a guaranteed $1.5MM from Chicago, plus another potential $750K in games played bonuses which he met when he played his tenth game of the season.  That said, he noted that money will still play a role in his decision for next season:

“…Money obviously plays a part in everything because you’ve got to want to get up and do your job every day and do it to the highest of your ability.

I’ve always said if it was for a lot less (than $2.25 million), I don’t think I would have made the sacrifice to come back here. … That’s where the money aspect comes in. You’ve got to get up and want to do it for what you’re being paid.”

Campbell’s numbers are down considerably this year as he has been asked to take on a lot less of a load than he had with the Panthers.  He has played in all 37 games this season (but may be scratched tonight, snapping a 423 game ironman streak, reports Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times), recording ten points (3-7-10).  However, his average ice time (18:59) is down more than three minutes per night compared to last season as he has settled into a role on the second pairing.

Finding a way to fit Campbell into Chicago’s payroll next season could be quite the challenge though, especially if he’s hoping for a contract somewhat close to the one he has right now.  Following the extension for Artemi Panarin, the Blackhawks already have over $66MM committed to just 15 players for next season, per CapFriendly.  That amount could increase depending on what their bonus overage is for this year as well.  Suffice it to say, if Campbell does decide to return for next season, he and Bowman may have a tough time finding a number that fits for both sides.

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