Chayka Speaks About Lawson Crouse, Dawn Braid
Arizona Coyotes GM John Chayka joined Jeff Blair on Sportsnet 590 yesterday to talk about his coaching hires and the big trade from yesterday. The 27-year old hired three coaches including the NHL’s first full-time female coach, and dealt two draft picks for Dave Bolland and Lawson Crouse.
On why he decided to make the deal:
It’s about Lawson Crouse. It’s about a guy who we think is a rare asset. Usually when you acquire a power forward like this you’re giving up something in terms of speed or skill. We think that not only is he speedy and skilled, he’s going to enhance that for our group as well.
Usually these guys (power forwards) when they’re at the caliber Lawson is, they’re hard to find. Usually they don’t become available until they’re in their thirties. At that point you’re paying a premium for a guy who is not on the right side of his career, and we didn’t want to do that.
Minnesota Signs Gustav Bouramman To ELC
The Minnesota Wild have come to an agreement with their seventh round pick from last year’s entry draft, defenseman Gustav Bouramman, on a three-year entry-level deal.
Bouramman, 19, played the past two seasons for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the OHL, putting up 100 points in 135 games after coming over from Sweden. Playing in the shadow of Darnell Nurse in his first season, Bouramman excelled in his second season, providing quick puck movement and strong possession play, despite the team’s step backwards in the standings.
While the Wild certainly don’t see him as a top contributor right away, there is some hope that Bouramman will be a diamond mined out of the late rounds of the draft after his strong transition to the North American ice. Though recent reports had him considering a professional contract in Sweden, his signing today would seem show that he has his eyes set on the NHL at some point down the road. Whether he plays in Sweden this year, or returns to the Greyhounds for one more season, he will probably see time in the AHL next spring (he turns 20 on January 24th, 2017).
Islanders Hire Chris Lamoriello As Director Of Player Personnel
The Islanders have brought in a famous hockey name to join Garth Snow in the front office. Chris Lamoriello, son of Toronto Maple Leafs’ GM Lou Lamoriello has been hired as the new director of player personnel in New York.
The younger Lamoriello had been part of the New Jersey Devils organization since 1995, as a vice president of hockey operations (since 2001) and the general manager of their AHL affiliate Albany. He resigned from the club last September after his father left. During his time running Albany, the team never won a Calder Cup, in fact only making the playoffs on a handful of occasions.
On Lamoriello, Snow said “Chris brings a tremendous amount of knowledge to our organization. He has more than 20 years of experience in the industry and we are thrilled to have him on board.”
The Islanders are coming off back-to-back 100+ point seasons and are primed for another strong campaign on the back of captain John Tavares. If Lamoriello can work some magic and bring in some additional pieces or young talent, the somewhat-homeless Islanders could see themselves back in the Stanley Cup final before long.
Las Vegas Adds Scott Luce To Front Office
Late last night the Las Vegas expansion franchise announced that they had hired another former director of player personnel to their front office, this time in the form of Scott Luce. The former Florida Panther director will now serve in the role of director of amateur scouting for the Vegas franchise, a role which he should excel at.
Luce has spent time as a scout for the Panthers, Lightning and Senators over his hockey career, one that has spanned more than three decades. A goalie in his playing days, Luce made it all the way to the AHL with the Rochester Americans in 1990-91 before calling it a career a year later.
He was fired from the Panthers early this summer when the team decided it needed a shake-up in their front office, despite coming off the most successful season in their history. The team shuffled the chairs and Luce was left without a seat when the music stopped, even though he’d been a huge part of the turnaround in Florida.
Aaron Ekblad, Vincent Trocheck, Erik Gudbranson, Nick Bjugstad, Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau are just a few of the names that Luce had been instrumental in drafting over the past few years, building a young core almost unrivaled among other NHL teams. While no scout has a perfect record, Luce seems to be a well respected judge of talent and will be another strong signing by GM George McPhee and the group in Las Vegas. If the team is to succeed they’ll need strong drafts in their first few years, giving young players for the city to latch onto.
World Cup Notes: Enroth, Holtby, RFAs
With news hitting the wire that Swedish goaltender Robin Lehner is still recovering from foot surgery and is unable to participate in the upcoming World Cup, newly signed Toronto Maple Leafs backup Jhonas Enroth has been added to the team. He’s not expected to play much, as the team has Henrik Lundqvist and Jacob Markstrom as the primary goaltending tandem.
Lehner played extremely well in his first season with the Buffalo Sabres, despite the relatively low talent iced in front of him. The team will be looking to him to take the reins has the number one goaltender this year with Chad Johnson having moved on. Anders Nilsson, another Swedish born goaltender will be his primary backup this season after coming over from the Blues earlier this summer.
- Staying with goalie notes, Team Canada has one of the best trios in the tournament, with Braden Holtby, Carey Price and Corey Crawford suiting up for the squad. Despite winning the Vesina trophy for the league’s best goaltender last season Holtby thinks the starting job should go to Price: “All of us want to play, but if Carey’s healthy, there’s no reason to not go with him. He has all the experience internationally and the smart choice obviously would be that.” Indeed, Price has represented Canada multiple times over his career, winning an U-18 silver, World Junior gold, and an Olympic gold medal in 2014.
- Multiple players will be heading into this World Cup without a contract in hand for 2016-17, and have had to purchase extra insurance on themselves to guard against a potential injury. Two such players, Johnny Gaudreau and Jacob Trouba are suiting up for the North American team and should play big parts in the tournament. Gaudreau has been quoted as saying he will not negotiate while the tournament is ongoing, meaning that if it’s not within the next few days, the team will have a very short window to iron out a deal before the season begins.
Atlantic Notes: Luongo, Panthers, Ceci
Panthers goalie Roberto Luongo appears to be ahead of schedule in his recovery from offseason hip surgery and hopes to be ready for opening night, he told George Richards of the Miami Herald. Luongo underwent the operation back in May and was expected to miss the first month of the season, which played a role in their June trade for Reto Berra (and to a lesser degree, the signing of James Reimer). The 37 year old had the following to say about his rehab:
“I’m not 100 percent; it’s a five month rehab. But I’m feeling better than I thought I would. I thought it would be a slower progression, especially on the ice. It has gone fairly quickly and I’m happy about that. If the season were to start tomorrow, I probably wouldn’t be able to go. But I feel good where I’m at and I’m excited about it.”
Luongo noted that he was dealing with periodic groin pain throughout the season but didn’t think much of it as it would go away before too long. He tore his labrum in early March but was able to finish out the year and play in Florida’s playoff first round loss to the Islanders.
In the article, Richards also reports that Reimer is expected to play more than former backup Al Montoya (who signed with Montreal last month). Montoya saw action in 25 games last year, a mark that Reimer has surpassed in each of his six NHL seasons.
More from the Atlantic:
- Earlier today, the Panthers traded Dave Bolland to Arizona in what basically amounts as a cap dump for them, particularly since Bolland isn’t likely to play in 2016-17. The cost to do so was Lawson Crouse, a first round pick back in 2015. While that price may seem steep, Florida’s assistant GM Eric Joyce noted to the AP’s Stephen Whyno that it’s just “the cost of the business”. The fact that Bolland has three years left on his deal meant that it was going to be more expensive in terms of assets to move him than it was Marc Savard, whose rights were dealt with a second round pick to the Devils back in June.
- Ottawa defenseman Cody Ceci is hoping to have a larger role with the man advantage in 2016-17, writes Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen. Ceci averaged just 32 seconds per game in power play time last year and had just a pair of assists. As Warren notes, Ceci should have a chance to make an early impression on new head coach Guy Boucher since Erik Karlsson (who logged 4:39 per game in PP time, second most in the NHL) will not be with the team to start training camp due to the World Cup of Hockey. Ceci signed a two year, $5.6MM bridge deal with the Senators earlier this week.
Free Agent Updates: Strome, Orlov, Gryba, Horcoff, Bartkowski
With training camps just a few weeks away now, several free agents are still jockeying to find a new home or in the case of some restricted free agents, are looking to get new deals with their current teams done. Here is the latest on several players still looking for new contracts:
Restricted Free Agents
- Islanders GM Garth Snow and representatives for Ryan Strome continue to talk about a new deal. Newsday’s Arthur Staple reports that they are likely talking about a two year bridge contract. Strome is coming off a down season as he recorded just 28 points (8-20-28) in 71 games, considerably lower than the 50 points (17-33-50) he put up in 81 games in 2014-15.
- Washington defenseman Dmitry Orlov has spoken with CSKA Moscow of the KHL, reports Igor Eronko of Sport-Express. However, he indicated that he is concentrating on securing an NHL deal. Orlov had a career year with the Caps last season, notching 29 points (8-21-29) in 82 games. He will suit up for Russia in next month’s World Cup of Hockey, even if a new deal hasn’t been reached by then.
Unrestricted Free Agents
- Defenseman Eric Gryba, who spent last season with Edmonton, has received training camp offers from three different teams so far, notes Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal. Gryba’s first choice is to remain with the Oilers but they have yet to offer him a contract. He suited up in 53 games with Edmonton last year, picking up six points (1-5-6) while seeing greater than a two minute jump in his ice time per game compared to the year before (from 15:39 to 17:53).
- More from Matheson, center Shawn Horcoff has no interest in taking a tryout contract and is closer to retirement than continuing his playing career (Twitter links). Horcoff played in 59 games with the Ducks last year, tallying 15 points (6-9-15) but most notably was suspended for 20 games back in January after testing positive for a performance enhancing substance.
- Blueliner Matt Bartkowski is still holding out hope for a one-way contract, reports Sam Werner of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Bartkowski told Warner that his agent has been in touch with “a ton” of teams but evidently nothing has materialized in terms of an offer just yet. He played in a career high 80 games with Vancouver in 2015-16, collecting 18 points (6-12-18).
Five Questions: Columbus Blue Jackets
The Columbus Blue Jackets were picked as a sleeper threat by many last season but instead struggled from start to finish, ending the year in dead last in the Metropolitan Division. They haven’t changed much with their roster over the summer but are hoping a healthier squad with a return to form from some key veterans will lead to better results in 2016-17.
Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch was kind enough to chat with us about the key questions and storylines surrounding the team as we head towards the start of the season.
PHR: The decision to draft Pierre-Luc Dubois third overall over Jesse Puljujarvi back in June was a shocker to many. Why did GM Jarmo Kekalainen feel he was the better fit for the Blue Jackets?
AP: Many will point to the fact that Dubois played center for a half-season in major junior, and the need for a skilled center has been significant since the trade of Ryan Johansen to Nashville. But the answer is much simpler than that. They just like Dubois better as a prospect. They like his motor, his work ethic, his personality, the straightforward style of his play. This is going to be an easy one to track — Puljujarvi vs. Dubois — in the years that follow, but I give the Blue Jackets and Kekalainen credit for taking the guy they believed was the right pick, even though it subjected them to ridicule. If the Blue Jackets had done that in 2005 — they had Anze Kopitar No. 3 on their list before Doug MacLean chickened out — they would have drafted Kopitar, not Gilbert Brule.
PHR: Columbus is likely to have several players from their Calder Cup winning squad last year up with the big club in 2016-17. Who are some of the youngsters that are likely to push for a roster spot?
AP: Unless Zach Werenski has a poor training camp, he’s on the club. Josh Anderson and Oliver Bjorkstrand need good camps to make the club, but both could do it. I think Sonny Milano needs more seasoning, but he could blow people away in camp. If I’m the Blue Jackets, I want to see Milano playing like an offensive star in the AHL — that’s his profile, right? — before he’s called up to the NHL. One of the two young goaltenders, Joonas Korpisalo and Anton Forsberg, will likely make the club as Sergei Bobrovsky‘s backup, putting the other youngster and Curtis McElhinney back to AHL.
PHR: The core of this team didn’t change much this offseason. Why should fans be confident that the Jackets can rebound after finishing in the Metropolitan Division basement last year?
AP: Frankly, they shouldn’t be. I’m not saying they won’t climb out of the basement; in fact, I suspect they will. But this club has made a habit out of crushing the fans’ hopes right out of the gate. Last five years combined, in the first 20 games of the season, the Blue Jackets are 30-60-10. Season over. There are plenty of cynical, pessimistic fans in Columbus. They’re the ones who will be pleasantly surprised if this club actually plays up to its ability and becomes a consistently competitive NHL franchise. It’s long overdue.
PHR: There have been rumors dating back to last season that the team has been shopping Scott Hartnell. Do you expect him to continue to be on the trade block into 2016-17 and will they be able to move him at some point?
AP: I don’t think anything has changed that would take him off the trade market. It’s an awkward spot, to be sure, because now the whole world knows that his team has tried to trade him. Hartnell is an old-school guy. He’s a professional. He can block this stuff out and play. But I can’t imagine he’s as excited about being in Columbus as he expected to be two years ago when he waived his no-trade clause to facilitate the trade. Remember, he came here because he expected playoff runs, rivalries, big games. There’s been none of that. If the Blue Jackets are out of it at the trade deadline, and Hartnell has remained productive, I think they’ll be able to move him then.
PHR: What would you peg as the biggest strength and weakness for the Blue Jackets?
AP: Biggest strength? The entire organization should have a massive chip on their shoulder. They’ve had back to back unacceptable seasons, despite being a salary cap team in a small market. In 2014-15, they used injuries as an excuse, even though hockey players and coaches always say it’s never an excuse. Last season … no excuses. They should be motivated — if not by pride or competitive spirit — by embarrassment. The spirit of this group will be interesting to monitor. Weakness? The franchise goaltender has a chronic groin condition that has sidetracked three straight seasons now. Can Bobrovsky get past this? Huge question in Columbus. If the answer is ‘yes’, the Blue Jackets are competitive. If the answer is ‘no’, the Blue Jackets have big trouble.
Aaron Portzline has been with the Dispatch since 1988 and has covered the NHL since 1999. He is currently the Chair of the Columbus Chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association and we thank him for taking the time to talk with us. Give him a follow on Twitter at @Aportzline.
Avalanche Invite Rene Bourque To Training Camp
Shortly after hiring Jared Bednar as their new head coach earlier today, the team has added free agent winger Rene Bourque on a tryout deal, reports James Mirtle of the Globe and Mail.
Bourque played in just 49 games with Columbus last season, picking up a career low three goals and five assists while logging just 10:27 per game so it’s no surprise that he has to go for the PTO route to try to secure an NHL deal for next year. He earned $2.5MM in salary last season in the final year of a front loaded six year, $20MM contract.
Bourque has played in 660 career NHL games between the Blue Jackets, Ducks, Canadiens, and Flames, picking up 151 goals and 147 assists. The Avs have four forwards at the World Cup (Matt Duchene, Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon, and Carl Soderberg) so Bourque should have a chance to get into several preseason games to make his case for a full-time roster spot.
[Related: Updated Avalanche Depth Chart]
Bourque is now the 11th player to receive a training camp tryout. Keep tabs on all of the invites with our Invite Tracker.
Metropolitan Notes: Carlson, Cammalleri, Blandisi, Crosby, Hurricanes
Washington defenseman John Carlson isn’t experiencing any further issues with a broken ankle he sustained late in February, writes CSN Mid-Atlantic’s Tarik El-Bashir. He had screws inserted in his ankle at the time of the surgery but doesn’t expect that he will need to have those removed:
“Only if it’s really, really bugging me, and it’s not. It’s perfect, has been the whole summer. It’s good.”
Carlson was a force on the Capitals’ blueline in the postseason, averaging a point per game while logging nearly 27 minutes per night against the Flyers and Penguins. He’ll be expecting to log big minutes in 2016-17 as a top pairing rearguard for Washington.
More from the Metropolitan Division:
- Devils winger Mike Cammalleri is fully recovered from a right hand issue that caused him to miss considerable action last season, he told Sportsnet’s Luke Fox. The 34 year old suited up in just 42 games in 2015-16, his lowest total since becoming an NHL regular. Despite missing so much time, he had quite the productive season, picking up 14 goals and 24 assists, giving him his highest points per game rate since 2008-09. Cammalleri also told Fox that he expects to surpass the 70 games played plateau in 2016-17, something he hasn’t done since ’08-’09.
- More with New Jersey, the Devils are expected to keep some spots on the roster open for their prospects (and the potential return of Patrik Elias). Among the youngsters vying for a spot up front is Joseph Blandisi, who told NJ.com’s Chris Ryan that ankle swelling that forced him to miss development camp last month has subsided and that he’ll be ready to push for a regular role in training camp. Blandisi recorded 17 points in 41 games last season but failed to score a goal in his final 23 contests.
- Hockey Canada has named Penguins captain Sidney Crosby as team captain for their entry into the upcoming World Cup of Hockey. Chicago’s Jonathan Toews and Montreal’s Shea Weber were named alternates.
- The Hurricanes have announced their roster for the upcoming Traverse City prospect tournament in mid-September. Among the notable invitees are 2016 first rounders Jake Bean and Julien Gauthier, 2014 first round pick Haydn Fleury, and forward Sergey Tolchinsky, who got into a pair of games with Carolina last season.