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Maple Leafs, Senators Recall Goalies

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It’s a good thing that the Maple Leafs’ AHL affiliate is also based in Toronto.

The team has demoted Jhonas Enroth and recalled Antoine Bibeau, according to TSN’s Kristen Shilton. This is the second time the team has swapped the two goaltenders in four days, and the third time this month. Because he has not spent 30 days on an NHL roster since clearing waivers, Enroth does not need to go through waivers to be sent down.

Shilton believes Bibeau will get the start in one of the Maple Leafs’ upcoming back-to-back against Colorado and Arizona. Bibeau has appeared in just one NHL game earlier this month against Colorado. The Maple Leafs lost 3-1 as Bibeau made 26 saves on 28 shots. He appeared in two AHL games in his most recent stint there, going 1-1-0.

Moving northeast, the Senators have recalled goaltender Matt O’Connor on an emergency basis, as Andrew Hammond is unable to backup for Mike Condon for tonight’s game versus the Chicago Blackhawks. O’Connor was a highly sought-after prospect goaltender following his time at Boston University, but he’s struggled to find his form since turning pro. He’s appeared in just one NHL game; O’Connor started for the Senators opposite his new crease-mate in Condon, when the latter was with the Canadiens last season.

Hammond injured his ankle on Sunday night, and has appeared in just three games so far this season as he battles different injuries. The Senators’ regular number one Craig Anderson is with his wife while she undergoes cancer treatment and is not expected to re-join the team before Christmas.

Evening Snapshots: Spectacular Sophomores, Hartman

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  • The Hockey News’ Jared Clinton makes his case for five players who avoided the dreaded sophomore slump this season. At the top of his list is Edmonton’s Connor McDavid, who Clinton writes is the reason for the Oilers’ turnaround this season. Had it not been for the clavicle injury last season, McDavid would have had one of the best back-to-back seasons that rivaled Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin. Next is the Blackhawks’ Artemi Panarin, who Clinton believes the Hawks have to absolutely re-sign at all costs. That would certainly cause some financial posturing, but he believes Panarin to be a devastating personnel loss should he go elsewhere. The Winnipeg Jets’ Nikolaj Ehlers, the Hurricanes’ Jaccob Slavin, and the Blues’ Colton Parayko round out Clinton’s top five.
  • The Blackhawks have been on a tear lately and rookie Ryan Hartman has been one of the brightest spots for Chicago. Chris Hine writes that the young forward has learned quite a bit about being more patient on the ice and not corralling penalties as he would have in the past. Hine describes him as an irritant, there’s a reason for Hartman’s change of play:

“You have an opportunity to play in the NHL and be in the lineup every night. If you’re going to take penalties and do that kind of stuff, you’re not going to be in the lineup for long,” Hartman said. “I just try to stay out of the box as much as possible, and it related to me being on the ice more.”

Drawing penalties instead of causing them has been a boon for the Hawks and the young forward. He’s also shown a knack for scoring timely goals. Hartman notched the winner against San Jose on Sunday night and already has six on the season. Playing for a coach known to favor veterans, Hartman is making the most of his chance and certainly justifying his playing time from Joel Quenneville.

Evening Snapshots: Carolina-Detroit, Toronto-Anaheim

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A look at a couple of tonight’s games around the NHL:

  • 7:45 pm: Per St. James, who spoke with Red Wings general manager Ken Holland, the game has been cancelled.
  • 7:43pm: The next update looks to be in about 15 minutes tweets the Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James. More boos and St. James feesl the game may be called.
  • 7:08pm: The Detroit News’ Ted Kulfan tweets that repairs continue on the coolant that is causing the problems. Another update will be at 7:30pm CST. Kulfan reports that the crowd booed the announcement, which is understandable after the game was supposed to begin at 6:00pm CST.
  • The game tonight between the Carolina Hurricanes and the Detroit Red Wings will be delayed at least an hour (as of 6:55pm EST) due to a malfunctioning ice-cooling system. According to the team, they discovered a freon leak in the compressor and are working to fix the issue. Neither team has had its pre-game warmups yet, so fans are in for a bit of a wait. The Red Wings, however, are up against a time crunch because they play tomorrow night in Tampa Bay against the Lightning. According to Team President Don Waddell, the NHL imposes a “22-hour rule” between starts. That means that any game must start at least 22 hours before a team’s next start. If the ice cannot be repaired in time, the NHL may postpone the game to a mutually available time.
  • If the Detroit Red Wings end up playing, they will be without Tomas Jurco, reports the Detroit Free Press’s Helene St. James. Jurco has the flu and is considered day-to-day. Since returning from back surgery, the Czech forward remains scoreless in nine games and is averaging less than ten minutes of playing time a game.
  • Tonight’s matchup between the Anaheim Ducks and Toronto Maple Leafs marks returns for two people: current Ducks head coach Randy Carlyle, and current Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen. Carlyle coached the Toronto Maple Leafs from 2012-15 before management fired him midway through the 2014-15 season. Carlyle remained outside the NHL until the Ducks fired Bruce Boudreau and hired Carlyle this offseason. Andersen’s return pits him against his successor John Gibson. The Ducks decided to stick with the young Gibson, and trade the then-RFA Andersen to the Maple Leafs. Both goalies won the Jennings Trophy last year with the NHL’s fewest goals against.

Rick Nash Injured (Again)

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New York Rangers forward Rick Nash re-injured his groin and will be out for an undetermined amount of time, reports the New York Post’s Larry Brooks. Nash had just returned from a previous groin injury suffered on December 6th. Nash lasted three games in his return before injuring the other side of his groin.

Nash has 13G and 7A in 30 games for the Rangers, including 2G in 3 games after returning from his first groin injury. While the Rangers appreciate Nash’s goal-scoring prowess, the team has been getting scoring by committee so far as six players have 20 or more points. The Rangers should be able to weather Nash’s absence in the short term.

Depending on the injury’s severity, Nash may only miss two or three games. The Rangers play on December 20th (against the Pittsburgh Penguins) and 23rd (against the Minnesota Wild), but then not again until the 27th (against the Ottawa Senators). The NHL observes the holidays and does not play games from December 24th through the 26th.

Flyers Notes: Neuvirth, Injuries, Weise

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With the Philadelphia Flyers recently having a ten game winning streak, it’s difficult to imagine there being any frustrations.  As Dave Isaac of the Courier-Post writes though, that’s exactly the case when it comes to goaltender Michal Neuvirth.

Neuvirth entered this season poised to battle with Steve Mason for the number one job between the pipes after both goalies had an up-and-down season in 2015-16.  However, he got off to a slow start this season, posting a 3.59 GAA and a .859 SV%, both significantly worse than the league average.  Then in mid-November, he suffered a knee injury and hasn’t played since, allowing Mason to seize the starting role and run with it while Anthony Stolarz has also played well in limited action.

While that’s great for Mason and the Flyers, this certainly won’t help Neuvirth’s cause when it comes to getting a new contract this summer as an unrestricted free agent.  Neuvirth is making $1.75MM this season, the second of a two year contract that carries a $1.625MM cap hit.  A strong year where he took over as the starter while staying healthy could have allowed him to at least double his current salary but as things stand, that’s not likely to be the case unless his second half of the season goes a whole lot better than his first half has.

On the plus side, Neuvirth has been skating recently and he noted that there haven’t been any issues with his recovery so far:

“No setbacks, but it’s a difficult injury, especially for goalies. Can’t rush it back. Stolie and Mase are doing a good job, so there’s no pressure for me to rush it.”

Assuming there are no setbacks, Neuvirth is expected to return to the lineup sometime in January.

More from Philadelphia:

  • The ten game win streak has raised the bar when it comes to expectations for the rest of the season, GM Ron Hextall told CSN Philly’s Jordan Hall. Hextall acknowledged that he didn’t expect that the Flyers could pull off ten straight victories with as much parity as there is in the league.  He also provided some updates on their injured players.  He noted that there is a chance that center Sean Couturier (knee), defenseman Mark Streit (shoulder), and right winger Matt Read (oblique) could be back late this month but it’s more likely that all of those players will be out of the lineup until early January.
  • Right winger Dale Weise will be a healthy scratch as the Flyers take on the Predators, reports Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Weise’s first year with Philly has not gone as anyone had hoped as he has just two goals and two assists in 29 games and this is not the first time he has been scratched either.  The 28 year old is in the first of a four year deal with a cap hit of $2.35MM.  Center Boyd Gordon will slot into the lineup in Weise’s place.

Sam Gagner Wants To Stay With Columbus Beyond This Season

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Columbus center/right winger Sam Gagner has been the bargain of the season so far.  With 22 points (13-9-22) through 28 games, he has already surpassed last season’s point total of 16 in 53 games and he realistically has a chance of setting a new career high in scoring (49 points back in his rookie season in 2007-08) if he can maintain his current price.  The Blue Jackets are getting all that production for the very low price of $650K, or $75K above the league minimum salary.

Not surprisingly, given the success he has had so far, Gagner has already indicated that he would like to stay with the team beyond his current contract which expires in July, he told Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch:

“Obviously you want to find a place that’s a good fit, where you get a chance to play important minutes. That’s the main thing. You never want to look too far ahead, but I’ve enjoyed it here so far and want to keep going here.”

While his minute total isn’t particularly high at 13:35 per night, more than three minutes below his career average, he is among the team leaders in ice time per game with the man advantage and he has thrived with that ice time with five goals and five assists on the power play.

Going into the season, head coach John Tortorella called this season Gagner’s “last kick at the can”.  While on the surface that might sound odd for a 27 year old, this is his fourth different team in as many seasons and he had to wait a full month in free agency before he landed this contract.  The bench boss has been quite pleased with how Gagner has fit in so far:

“I know he’s not the big name player in the league and all that, but I think it’s a great story, him coming to the ’lowly’ Columbus Blue Jackets and trying to find his way back into the National Hockey League. I couldn’t be happier for him. He’s kind of a utility guy for us right now, but in these first (29 games), he’s given us some really good minutes.”

As things stand, the Blue Jackets already have over $67MM committed to their payroll for next season according to CapFriendly.  With a salary cap that’s likely to be similar to the $73MM that it is this year, that doesn’t necessarily leave a lot of wiggle room to get Gagner signed, especially since center Alexander Wennberg is a restricted free agent.  There is still plenty of time to make room for Gagner if the team wants to bring him back though; he can’t even sign an extension until January 1st at the earliest.

Garrioch’s Latest: Vegas Coaching Candidates, Leafs, Kings, Hanzal

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The NHL’s roster freeze kicks in tonight and as Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun writes, it’s likely that there won’t be any sort of significant movement between now and then.  Multiple league executives told Garrioch that the sense is that teams are content to get through the holidays before really starting to entertain any potential trades.

Part of the problem right now is that cap space is at a premium for a lot of teams (16 teams either have someone on LTIR or are less than $1MM under the cap which doesn’t allow for much wiggle room) while only a handful of teams could be classified as sellers as things currently sit in the standings.  Add those two elements together and it’s not difficult to figure out why the trade market is quiet at this stage.

Garrioch also provides some other notes from around the league:

  • The Vegas Golden Knights are looking at former Philadelphia head coach Craig Berube (currently the head coach with AHL Chicago) and current Montreal associate coach Kirk Muller as potential options to be their inaugural bench boss. Garrioch expects that GM George McPhee will be looking for a good communicator to work with their roster and both of those coaches fit that bill.  He also suggests Rick Bowness, the associate coach in Tampa Bay, as a potential option and notes that his experience with an expansion team (Ottawa) would be an asset.
  • Add the Toronto Maple Leafs to the list of teams looking for an impact defenseman. The problem for the Leafs (and any other team) is that as many as half the teams around the league are looking for blueline help.  Given where Toronto is in the standings as well as where they are in their rebuilding process, it’s more than likely that they’d be looking for a longer-term fit than a rental player.
  • The Kings are looking to add another goaltender with Jonathan Quick still out for several months but haven’t discussed Ondrej Pavelec with the Jets since the GM meetings. Ottawa’s Andrew Hammond was also on their radar a while back but doesn’t appear to be now.  GM Dean Lombardi told reporters last week that he won’t overpay to bring in another netminder.  They have about $1.5MM in cap space at the moment per CapFriendly.
  • Arizona has been looking to move center Martin Hanzal but teams remain unsure about what the Coyotes are looking to get in a return. Hanzal, a pending unrestricted free agent, has 10 points in 26 games this season and would slide in as a third option on a lot of teams.  Garrioch notes that the sense is that the price will involve a quality prospect and at least a second round pick if a deal gets done.  With a cap hit of $3.1MM, Hanzal is likely to be one of the cheaper impact rental players on the block which should help draw interest from several teams.

Atlantic Notes: Drouin, Khudobin, Vatrano, Panthers

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After a slow start to the season, Lightning left winger Jonathan Drouin has picked up his scoring at the right time, writes Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times.  After a slow start to the season with three goals in his first 17 games, Drouin has scored four times in the last seven contests while picking up a total of eight points over that span.

With injuries to four players up front, Drouin has been thrust into a top role, something he has been craving dating back to last year when he left the team midseason in the hopes of a trade.  (Among the injured players, right winger Ryan Callahan is expected to return during their current road trip while left winger Ondrej Palat hasn’t been ruled out of Tuesday’s game in Detroit.)

Drouin is a restricted free agent at the end of the season as he is in the final season of his entry-level deal.  His career numbers haven’t been too impressive for a former third overall pick (back in 2013) but if he can keep up this type of production on a more consistent basis, it would go a long way towards helping his case for a long-term contract this offseason.

More from the Atlantic Division:

  • The Bruins have not received the type of goaltending they were expected when they brought back Anton Khudobin to back up Tuukka Rask. He has just one win in six starts with a 3.20 GAA and a .886 SV%.  In a reader mailbag, CSN New England’s Joe Haggerty suggests that Khudobin may get another start or two to try to turn things around but if he continues to struggle, they should consider bringing back Zane McIntyre before looking outside the organization.  McIntyre didn’t have the best of starts to his career in a pair of games earlier this year but has been simply stellar in the minors with a 1.31 GAA and a .953 SV% in nine games, numbers that suggest he’s worthy of another look before too long.
  • Still with Boston, the team announced that they have recalled left winger Frank Vatrano from their AHL affiliate in Providence. The 22 year old has yet to play in the NHL this season after undergoing foot surgery in late September.  He got into a pair of games in the minors over the weekend, scoring twice.  Vatrano had 36 goals in just 36 AHL games last year, leading the league in that category despite playing in less than half the games and is an intriguing addition to a lineup that is looking for some secondary offense.
  • With Panthers owner Vinnie Viola being named as Secretary of the Army by U.S. President-Elect Donald Trump, alternate governor Doug Cifu will take over as the chairman and governor for the team, notes George Richards of the Miami Herald. Ownership of the team will remain in the Viola family but will be placed into a trust, subject to the approval of the Board of Governors, the team adds in a press release.

Snapshots: Three Stars, World Junior Captains, Iginla

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The NHL has named Artemi Panarin, Henrik Lundqvist, and Eric Staal as its Three Stars of the Week.

Panarin had three goals and seven assists for 10 points in four games. He bookended two thee-point performances with a pair of two-point nights as the Blackhawks continued their five-game winning streak. Panarin now has 34 points in 34 games this season

This week marks the second consecutive week with a New York Rangers goaltender as the second star. Last week, Antti Raanta was the second star as he temporarily took over the starting role from Lundqvist, but now the man they call The King has taken back over. Lundqvist went 3-0-0 and allowed just three goals to go with his 0.967 SV%. He and Raanta combined for a shutout when Lundqvist was forced to leave a game after being run over by Cody Eakin (for which he was suspended).

Staal had four goals and five points in three games as part of a 3-0-0 week. The Wild have now won seven straight and Staal is leading the team in goals, assists, and points; he has 24 points in 30 games in his first year in Minnesota.

  • Hockey Canada has named its leadership core for the upcoming World Junior Championships. Arizona Coyotes prospect Dylan Strome will wear the C for Canada, while Mathew Barzal and Thomas Chabot will serve as alternate captains. All three players played for Canada at last year’s tournament and appeared in the NHL at the start of the season. While they combined for just 10 games and one assist in the NHL, all three are 2015 first-round picks and dominant CHL players. Strome has 295 points in 191 games with the Erie Otters; Islanders sixteenth-overall pick Barzal has 281 points in 174 games with the Seattle Thunderbirds; Chabot, a defenseman picked eighteenth overall by Ottawa, has 128 points in 182 games with the Saint John Sea Dogs.
  • The Vancouver Canucks most recent first-round pick, Olli Juolevi has been named captain of Team Finland. Juolevi had nine assists in seven games in last year’s tournament, as Finland won gold. So far, Juolevi has 21 points in 26 games with the London Knights.
  • Today marks 21 years since the Calgary Flames acquired Jarome Iginla from the Dallas Stars for Joe Nieuwendyk. The trade worked out pretty well for both teams: the Stars won the Stanley Cup four years later with Nieuwendyk playing a key role, and Iginla became the face of the Flames franchise. Nieuwendyk was in the prime of his career, while Iginla was an eleventh-overall pick playing for the Kamloops Blazers. Amalie Benjamin of NHL.com tweeted that Iginla initially thought he had been traded to the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen. After turning pro, Iginla scored 1095 points in 16 years with the Flames, leading them to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2004. He’s bounced around between Pittsburgh, Boston, and Colorado in the four years since he was traded. Iginla could be on the move again this year, as the Avalanche are one of the worst teams in the NHL and he could want to go to a contender for the end of his career.

Snapshots: Crawford, Tavares, Lucic

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The Chicago Blackhawks could be getting a nice early Christmas gift on Friday night.

Despite having an appendectomy just two weeks ago, Corey Crawford has progressed enough in his recovery that he may start on Friday night against the Colorado Avalanche. Coach Joel Quenneville told Chris Hine that he would like to see Crawford get in a full practice before returning to the lineup.

The Blackhawks are off on Monday after playing back-to-back on the weekend, however Crawford will skate on his own. Backup Scott Darling has played the majority of games since Crawford has been out, including both games over the weekend. Darling is 6-2-1 since taking over from Crawford, which includes his current five-game winning streak.

  • Glen Schiller and Jamie McLennan on TSN’s That’s Hockey 2Nite discussed if there is any reason why John Tavares would want to re-sign with the Islanders. The Islanders have been “a mess” this year, following up a 100-point season with a 74-point pace. With the Metropolitan Division being the best division in hockey this year, there’s essentially no way the Islanders can climb back into the playoff picture without a 15-game winning streak. McLennan points to the free agency departure of Kyle Okposo, who had great chemistry with Tavares, and the struggles of his replacement, Andrew Ladd. Both players signed for similar contracts, but the Islanders chose the older player with no history with their superstar over the younger, right-handed player with years of success on Tavares’ wing. Tavares, McLennan argues, must be wondering who he would play with consistently and could look forward to playing with years from now if he signed an eight-year contract.
  • Over at OilersNation, Jonathan Willis wonders why the Oilers have not tried separating Milan Lucic and Connor McDavid to boost McDavid’s scoring. While he’s still leading the NHL in scoring by two points with 39 points in 33 games, he has just one even-strength assist in his last eight games. Lucic has just one goal in nine games this month. Despite Lucic’s struggles, the only changes made on the top line have been on the right side. Jesse Puljujärvi, Drake Caggiula, Jordan Eberle, Tyler Pitlick, and Leon Draisaitl have all had time with Lucic and McDavid, with varying degrees of success. Willis suggests moving Lucic to play with Draisaitl on the second line and bumping one of Benoit Pouliot or Patrick Maroon up to the top line; Willis points to chemistry between Draisaitl and Lucic and the dramatically better scoring numbers of when playing with McDavid as evidence of the merit of his suggestion.

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