Central Notes: Campbell, Yakupov, Avalanche, Nashville Injuries
Although defenseman Brian Campbell wound up declining a bigger contract offer from Florida both in terms of years and dollars, he told George Richards of the Miami Herald that he has no regrets about spurning that in order to return to Chicago:
“I’m smiling now, I’m happy. I don’t look back and I know I made the right decision when I signed here. I did it for my family and for myself as a hockey player. Hopefully I have a bunch of years left but I want to make the most of them.”
Back in June, GM Tom Rowe offered Campbell a two year, $8MM deal in the hopes that negotiations would ensue from there. However, the 37 year old had his heart set on going back to Chicago where he and his family kept a summer home there despite the fact that he had been traded from the Blackhawks back in 2011. Given that Chicago is perpetually hovering right near the salary cap though, they weren’t able to come close to matching Florida’s initial offer; he wound up for signing for a $1.5MM guarantee and a $750K games played bonus, one that has already been achieved.
Campbell is playing a smaller role than he had with the Panthers as his average ice time is down over three and a half minutes per game from last season. However, he has been a quality contributor so far for the Blackhawks in a depth role, picking up eight points in 24 games while logging a regular role on the power play.
Elsewhere in the Central Division:
- Although he has been a healthy scratch in seven of the last 12 games, St. Louis GM Doug Armstrong still stands by his acquisition of Nail Yakupov, writes Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Armstrong feels that the low acquisition price (a conditional third round pick and ECHL prospect Zach Pochiro) makes the move a worthwhile gamble, even if Yakupov only plays a sparing role. He also highlighted the recent play of right winger Dmitrij Jaskin as one of the reasons that Yakupov hasn’t played as much recently. Still, it’s fair to wonder if the former number one overall pick in 2012 could be in need of another change of scenery given that his $2.5MM cap hit is steep for the depth role Yakupov currently has.
- Colorado prospect left winger Sam Henley will make his NHL debut tonight against Columbus, reports Terry Frei of the Denver Post. Henley, an undrafted free agent signing back in 2014, has just four points in 19 games this season with AHL San Antonio but the team is interested in his ability to kill penalties as they’re set to take on the number one power play in the league. Gabriel Bourque, another checking forward, will also make his season debut and should see time on the penalty kill as well.
- The Predators have downgraded the status of left winger James Neal from day-to-day to week-to-week, The Tennessean’s Adam Vingan notes. He suffered an upper body injury against Winnipeg last week. Also, defenseman Anthony Bitetto, who just last week returned after missing 18 games with an upper body injured, suffered a broken hand on Tuesday and will be back on the shelf for another six weeks.
Poll: 2005 NHL Draft Take Two: Twenty-Second Overall Pick
Hindsight is an amazing thing, and allows us to look back and wonder “what could have been.” Though perfection is attempted, scouting and draft selection is far from an exact science and sometimes, it doesn’t work out the way teams – or players – intended. For every Patrick Kane, there is a Patrik Stefan.
We’re looking back at the 2005 NHL Draft, which kicked off the salary cap era and ushered in many of the current NHL superstars. The question we’re looking to answer is knowing now what we didn’t know then, how different would this draft look now with the benefit of hindsight?
Here are the results of our redraft so far:
1st Overall: Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins)
2nd Overall: Carey Price (Mighty Ducks of Anaheim)
3rd Overall: Anze Kopitar (Carolina Hurricanes)
4th Overall: Jonathan Quick (Minnesota Wild)
5th Overall: Kris Letang (Montreal Canadiens)
6th Overall: Tuukka Rask (Columbus Blue Jackets)
7th Overall: Bobby Ryan (Chicago Blackhawks)
8th Overall: Marc-Edouard Vlasic (San Jose Sharks)
9th Overall: Ben Bishop (Ottawa Senators)
10th Overall: James Neal (Vancouver Canucks)
11th Overall: T.J. Oshie (Los Angeles Kings)
12th Overall: Keith Yandle (New York Rangers)
13th Overall: Paul Stastny (Buffalo Sabres)
14th Overall: Marc Staal (Washington Capitals)
15th Overall: Patric Hornqvist (New York Islanders)
16th Overall: Niklas Hjalmarsson (Atlanta Thrashers)
17th Overall: Anton Stralman (Phoenix Coyotes)
18th Overall: Jack Johnson (Nashville Predators)
19th Overall: Matt Niskanen (Detroit Red Wings)
20th Overall: Justin Abdelkader (Florida Panthers)
21st Overall: Martin Hanzal (Toronto Maple Leafs)
Now we move forward to the 22nd pick, which was held by the Boston Bruins.
To recap how this works:
- We will go through the 2005 NHL Draft and have our readers select, through a voting process, who they think should have been taken with the selection.
- The entire first round will be redrafted, spanning picks one through thirty. The new selection is chosen by the majority of votes.
Back in 2005, the Bruins selected defenseman Matt Lashoff out of Kitchener of the OHL. He was billed as an offensive blueliner and he showed signs of living up to those expectations after being drafted, picking up 47 points in just 56 games in 2005-06 at the junior level. He also averaged 0.59 points per game at the AHL level on his entry-level contract which is strong production for any defender.
However, that failed to translate into much NHL success. He played in 46 games with the Bruins (recording just eight points) before being dealt to Tampa Bay as part of a package for Mark Recchi, who went on to play two more years in Boston. Lashoff didn’t fare much better with the Lightning, seeing just 17 games of action before getting traded to Toronto, where he played in just 11 contests. All in all, Lashoff has played in 74 career NHL games and none since the 2010-11 season.
Since then, he has bounced around, playing in five different countries and leagues over the past five seasons. This year, he has caught on with San Antonio of the AHL (affiliate of Colorado), playing in 13 games. He has five points in those contests but also possesses a -15 plus/minus rating, ranking him last out of 865 skaters to play in at least one AHL game this season.
With the 22nd pick of the 2005 NHL Redraft, who should the Bruins select? Cast your vote below!
Mobile users, click here to vote.
Islanders Notes: Tavares, League Record, Seidenberg
Although Islanders center John Tavares isn’t slated to become an unrestricted free agent until July 1st, 2018, that hasn’t stopped the early speculation about whether or not he will re-sign with New York or look to go elsewhere. Speaking with TSN 690 in Montreal, TSN’s Darren Dreger commented on his situation (transcription via Fan Rag’s Chris Nichols):
“This one’s a little different bit than even, say, a year ago when the Stamkos watch really kicked into full gear because at least I believe at that point with Steven Stamkos that it was more likely he was going to stay in Tampa. Because above all else, he wanted a chance to win a Stanley Cup championship and that’s as good with the Tampa Bay Lightning, when healthy, as anywhere in the National Hockey League. And the term and the money is ultimately going to look after itself.”
Stamkos ultimately did re-sign with the Lightning, inking an eight year, $68MM deal back on June 29th, before the formal opening of free agency but he did speak with a handful of other teams during the free agent interview period. Dreger suggests that Tavares isn’t as likely to follow that path:
“[GM] Garth Snow can’t engage until July 1 in talking about a contract extension and I can’t see any way that John Tavares bites on an extension prior to late next season at the earliest. And why wouldn’t he go into July free agency in 2017 and see what the open market looks like. I mean, that’s good business sense and there’ll be a long list of teams that are probably a better fit to contend for a Stanley Cup in the near future than perhaps the Islanders might be.”
The 2018 UFA class is a lot more intriguing than the 2017 one with Tavares heading up a forward group that includes Henrik Sedin, Daniel Sedin, Rick Nash, and Kyle Turris. Montreal’s Carey Price is also a headline free agent that year, barring an extension getting done beforehand.
More Islanders news:
- Despite blowing a 3-0 lead to the Penguins, the team tied an NHL record last night, notes Brian Compton of NHL.com. Anders Lee scored in the final minute to give New York the lead and just three seconds later, Nikolai Kulemin put home an empty netter. That ties the Minnesota Wild (in 2004) and the St. Louis Eagles (in 1935) for the fastest two goals in a game in league history.
- Defenseman Dennis Seidenberg, who has been out since November 12th with a broken jaw, is targeting this Sunday for a return to the lineup, reports Newsday’s Arthur Staple. The 35 year old is off to a strong start this season after being bought out by Boston in the summer with eight points in 15 games. For comparison purposes, his highest point total in the past three years is only 14.
Injury Updates: Jets, Lehner, Chara, Toews
After getting a pair of key players back from injured reserve over the past week in center Bryan Little and right winger Drew Stafford, the Jets appear to be set to receive some more good news on the injury front as center Mathieu Perreault is nearing a return to the lineup, notes Mike Sawatzky of the Winnipeg Free Press. Perreault believes he’s ready to play as soon as tonight against the Oilers but head coach Paul Maurice isn’t ready to say he’s definitely in the lineup:
“We’ll let him get through another day and into the morning. So he has a good skate today and (has) gone full contact for a few days and if he declares himself ready to play, we’ll meet with the medical staff and make a decision.”
If Perreault does return to the lineup, Sawatzky adds that it will likely be on the wing as the team is happy with their four centers at the moment, Mark Scheifele, Little, Adam Lowry, and Andrew Copp. Perreault has played in 11 games for the Jets this season, picking up three points (1-2-3). He has three straight 40+ point campaigns heading into this one so he should give them another offensive boost.
[Related: Jets Depth Chart]
Maurice also stated that Marko Dano, who took a high stick to the face that caused some serious swelling, is likely to play tonight barring any setbacks. He’ll likely have a full cage on his helmet for a little bit though.
More injury news from around the league:
- Sabres goalie Robin Lehner estimates that his hip is about 90 percent but he won’t play tonight against the Rangers, he told John Vogl of the Buffalo News. Lehner left Tuesday’s game against Ottawa in the first period after experiencing some discomfort while playing a dump-in. He’s targeting Saturday against the Bruins as a return date.
- Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara skated with the team today but will not play tonight, the team announced via their Twitter page. Chara has missed the last four games with a lower body injury and while his offensive numbers are down this season (six points in 19 games), he still leads the team in ice time per game, averaging 22:41 per game.
- Chicago center Jonathan Toews, who has missed the last week with a back injury, will not play tonight and is doubtful to play Saturday, reports CSN Chicago’s Tracey Myers (Twitter link). Head coach Joel Quenneville is hopeful that the captain will skate over the weekend and his status will be assessed from there.
Avalanche Place Eric Gelinas On Waivers
The Colorado Avalanche have placed defenseman Eric Gelinas on waivers, reports Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link).
Gelinas is in his first full season with Colorado after being acquired by the team at the trade deadline last year from New Jersey in exchange for a 2017 3rd round pick. However, he has played a sparing role this season, suiting up in just seven games, recording one assist while averaging just 12:30 per game.
The 25 year old is best known for his offensive skill set and size. He has 55 points (14-41-55) in just 169 games and at 6’4, possesses ideal size for a defender. However, his play in his own end isn’t the sharpest and as a result, he had been deployed by the Devils as a forward or strictly a power play specialist at times before they dealt him last season.
Gelinas is in the final season of a two year deal that carries a cap hit of $1.575MM. He’s eligible for restricted free agency at the end of the season and will be due a qualifying offer of $1.65MM.
Still on the waiver wire, Friedman also reported in that tweet that Nashville defender Adam Pardy cleared waivers. He signed a one year, two-way NHL deal with the team on Wednesday but had to clear waivers to return to Milwaukee of the AHL.
Nicklas Grossmann Signs With Orebro (SHL)
After having his contract terminated by the Flames last month, unrestricted free agent defenseman Nicklas Grossmann has signed with Orebro of the SHL, the Swedish team announced (link in Swedish). The deal is believed to be for the remainder of the 2016-17 season.
Grossmann attended Calgary’s training camp on a tryout, eventually landing a one year deal for the league minimum salary of $575K. He had spoken with Orebro about a deal at that time but preferred to try to stay in the NHL first. However, he had just a limited role with the Flames, getting into just three games before they waived him in early November. Instead of reporting to their AHL affiliate, the two sides agreed to terminate the contract, allowing him to pursue other opportunities.
The 31 year old had seen his role diminish in recent years as the league progresses more towards mobility on the back end over physicality and shot blocking. Nonetheless, Grossmann has carved out a pretty good career so far with 592 games of NHL experience, recording 86 points (13-73-86) while averaging over 2.1 hits and 1.5 blocks per game. A strong showing in Sweden could get him back on the NHL radar for next season or at the very least allow him to secure a longer-term deal back home.
Metropolitan Notes: Wilson, Cousins, Schenn, Teravainen
After being predominantly a fourth line physical presence through the first three years of his career, Washington right winger Tom Wilson is looking to redefine himself as more of an all-around player, writes Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post. The Capitals made Wilson their first round pick (16th overall) back in 2012 but he has primarily been known for his hitting and fighting and not the scorer he was back in junior where he had 91 points in 125 OHL games with Plymouth.
Considering the role he had as a junior-aged rookie (he had more fights than points by a 14-10 margin), some members of Washington’s front office have expressed some regret in rushing him to the NHL as an energy player instead of allowing him to hone his all-around game at the junior level.
Wilson is hardly the first high draft pick to start out as a fourth line tough guy and then develop more of an offensive game over the years as both Milan Lucic and Wayne Simmonds have had career paths like that. As Wilson does that, he is passing up on more opportunities to fight (his fight totals have dropped each year) and in turn, he is spending a lot less time on the penalty box. He’s on pace for 82 PIMS this season and while that total may seem high, his career low in that regard is 151 which came in his rookie year.
Head coach Barry Trotz hasn’t hesitated to trust Wilson more this season as he is averaging over 13 minutes of playing time per game (a career high) while he also is playing a regular role on the penalty kill. While that hasn’t translated into offensive success just yet as he has just a single goal in 21 games, the fact that he is playing a bigger role should pay dividends down the road even if the production isn’t there yet.
More from the Metropolitan Division:
- The Flyers appear to be moving Nick Cousins back to the left wing, notes Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Cousins has played the last four games down the middle but has struggled at the faceoff dot, winning just 13 of 53 draws, a success rate of just 24.5%. Brayden Schenn, a natural center but a player who has spent most of his career on the left side, will move back to the middle and play on the second line. Sean Couturier, Philadelphia’s regular second line pivot, is out for another three-to-five weeks with a sprained MCL.
- Teuvo Teravainen is getting the first shot at replacing Jordan Staal (concussion) as Carolina’s top line center but as Michael Smith of the Hurricanes’ website reports in a reader mailbag, the team envisions him the 22 year old Finnish forward at that position long-term. Head coach Bill Peters likes his two-way game and feels that will allow him to play down the middle successfully: “He’s very good defensively, and that’s what allows him to play center and have the coach’s trust, so I can play him against anybody. … He’s a playmaking center. We’re excited about seeing him there for the foreseeable future.” Teravainen is in his fourth NHL season but short of a small stint at center last year with Chicago, he has spent the bulk of his career on the left wing. He’s off to a decent start this season with five goals and five assists through 22 games while averaging a career high in ice time per game at 15:37.
Snapshots: Anderson, LeBrun’s Power Rankings, Blues
The Associated Press reports that Ottawa Senators’ net minder Craig Anderson will take another leave of absence to be with his wife during her battle with throat cancer. Anderson will not be available to play Thursday when the Sens take on the Flyers in Ottawa. In turn, the Senators recalled Andrew Hammond and also have Mike Condon ready to go. Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen writes that Sens’ bench boss Guy Boucher said that there is no timetable for Anderson’s return but that the earliest he could be back is Saturday. Warren added a quote from Condon who said: “I can’t even begin to imagine what he’s going through and I wish him the best.”
In other NHL news:
- The Chicago Blackhawks remain #1 on Pierre LeBrun’s Power Rankings as the first of December approaches. Though they went 3-3-1 on the annual Circus Trip, the Hawks were able to survive without captain Jonathan Toews, who has missed the past three games. Seated second are the Montreal Canadiens, followed by the New York Rangers, who are tops in scoring in the NHL. Fourth and fifth in LeBrun’s rankings are the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Ottawa Senators jumped six spots to number six, while the Tampa Bay Lightning, St. Louis Blues, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Nashville Predators round out LeBrun’s top ten respectively. In the power rankings basement? The Islanders hold the spot, due to only a pair of wins in November. LeBrun wonders if ownership will still be as patient if similar results follow in December.
- Despite an earlier report indicating that the St. Louis Blues could be cutting ties with AHL affiliate the Chicago Wolves, KSDK Sports Director Frank Cusumano was contacted directly by a Blues Executive who denied such reports. NHL.com’s Lou Korac wrote earlier that the Blues were readying to put a new AHL team in Kansas City, and the report, via his blog “In the Slot,” was posted on KSDK’s site. Though Korac said the Blues have not made the plans official, a source told him that it’s pretty much a “done deal.” That news conflicted with what a Blues executive told Cusumano, saying that, “No decisions are close to being made. We are talking to a lot of people.”
Across The Pond: KHL
Roughly halfway through the Kontinental Hockey League season, things are looking good… for prospective NHL off-season buyers. The majority of the “second best” league’s top scorers thus far are impending free agents and a majority of that subset play for the best team in the league and may be in search of a new challenge should they take home the league championship without much of a struggle.
When SKA Saint Petersberg added Pavel Datsyuk, Viktor Tikhonov, Sergei Plotnikov, and Alexander Khokhlachev this summer, it was assumed that they would be the team to beat in 2016-17. However, no one could have expected that 35 games in they would be 29-2-4 with a goal differential of 99 and a 30-point lead in their division. SKA appears poised to breeze to a league championship this season. Then what? Leading scorer, and a name known to NHL fans, Ilya Kovalchuk has made it known that he would consider returning to the NHL. Kovalchuk is currently second in the KHL in points (to veteran winger Sergei Mozyakin of Mettalurg Magnitogorsk) with 49. The former #1 overall pick is still only 33 years old, and could use Jaromir Jagr as a model of how a few years out of the NHL early in your career can extend your career in North America. For Kovalchuk to rejoin to the New Jersey Devils, the rest of the teams in the league would have to approve of his return from NHL retirement. While they may not want to make a competitor stronger, the decision could also open doors for Kovalchuk’s teammates to follow suit.
Kovalchuk’s linemate, and the fifth leading scorer in the KHL, is Vadim Shipachyov. The 29-year-old skilled center has been on the radar of NHL teams for years, especially after back-to-back seasons of over a point-per-game production and elite postseason performances with SKA. He’s putting on a repeat performance in 2016-17, with a league-leading 30 assists and nine goals in 28 games. Shipachyov could finally make the jump to North America if he follows friend and role model Kovalchuk. Likewise, SKA’s Evgeni Dadonov could join his teammates overseas. The 2007 third-round pick of the Florida Panthers couldn’t stick in the NHL in his first go-round, despite scoring 20 points in 55 games in parts of three seasons, but has dominated the KHL since his return to Russia. The 27-year-old winger is on pace for his best season yet, and could draw the attention of a Florida team that has had more than it’s fair share of struggles so far this season. A small, fast forward, Dadonov has the tools to excel in today’s NHL. Another player in Saint Petersberg having an unbelievable year is Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Nikita Gusev. The KHL’s third ranked scorer with 44 point in 33 games, the 24-year-old was a steal by the Bolts in the seventh round of the 2012 draft. While he’s still signed on in Russia for a couple more years, don’t be surprised to see the talented scorer join Tampa sooner rather than later and make a contender that much more dangerous.
Metro Notes: Sanford, Vrana, Bennett, Quenneville
The Washington Capitals have swapped top prospects with their AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears. The team announced that they have recalled Jakub Vrana, as well as veteran Paul Carey, from the AHL and re-assigned rookie Zach Sanford.
This is the first call up for the 20-year-old Vrana, the 13th overall pick by the Capitals in 2014 NHL Draft, who could make his NHL debut tomorrow night against the division rival New York Islanders. The young Czech winger is a fast, skilled forward with scoring ability, much like fellow countryman and 2016-17 breakout star David Pastrnak of the Boston Bruins. Vrana was nearly a point-per-game player with the Bears last season, but only played in 36 contests due to injury. Off to the same torrid start tho this season, with nine goals and seven assists in 18 games, Washington has decided to give him a chance to prove himself at the highest level. With another skilled winger, T.J. Oshie, currently sidelined with an injury, don’t be surprised to see Vrana slot in to Oshie’s spot tomorrow night.
The demotion of Sanford is nothing for Capitals fans to be discouraged about. As team beat writer Isabelle Khurshudyan points out, Washington is pressed for salary cap space and could not have promoted Vrana without making the corresponding move of exchanging him for the 2013 second-rounder. A Massachusetts native who starred at Boston College for two years before leaving early, Sanford jumped right into the Washington lineup out of training camp without ever playing a minor league game. Although a strong player at the college level, Sanford’s pro career has gotten off to a slow start with just one assist in 19 games with the Capitals. With his NHL ice time diminishing, Washington likely felt it was the right move to send the young forward down to the AHL, where he can re-discover his scoring touch.
From the Capitals to the Devils:
- New Jersey has placed Beau Bennett on the injured reserve, retroactive to this past Monday. During practice that day, Bennett suffered a bad cut on his right leg and had to leave the ice. He did not return to practice and was left behind when the team departed on its current road trip. Injuries have been an unfortunate story line in Bennett’s young career, but this one at least appears to be minor. Expect Bennett to be back on the ice when the Devils return home, unless New Jersey wishes to keep him sidelined longer as precaution or to give other players a longer look while he is out. Bennett has just seven points in 20 games so far in 2016-17.
- In his stead, New Jersey has recalled 2014 first-round pick John Quenneville from the AHL’s Albany Devils. The young forward, who has 17 points in 19 games thus far in his first pro season, will fly out to Chicago to join the team on their road trip. It’s possible that he will make his NHL debut against his own second cousin, Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville. The younger Quenneville will look to earn a regular spot on the team during this call-up stint. If he shows the scoring ability he has displayed in juniors and early on in the AHL, he might just stick around long enough to face his uncle, Johnny Boychuk, in February.