Injury Updates: Chara, Boyle, Scandella, Connor, Eichel
Zdeno Chara is day to day after the Bruins released a very short release on his status. Chara left the game after one shift in the second period, and bench boss Claude Julien reported that he knew nothing further about the injury. In the statement, the Bruins characterized the injury as lower body, while Mike Loftus tweets that the Bruins don’t expect Chara to play Thursday and that he’s “iffy” for Friday’s game. Chara is a +12 this season and has six points (1-5) in 19 games.
In other injury news:
- Bryan Burns tweets that Tampa Bay center Brian Boyle is day-to-day with an upper body injury. Erik Eriendsson also tweets his day-to-day status and writes that he’ll be out for the game tonight. Boyle was also not at the morning skate.
- The Minnesota Wild’s Marco Scandella is back in the lineup after missing the last 10 games. Mike Halford writes that Scandella has been skating for the past 10 days after suffering an ankle injury. He also writes that his Scandella’s return will bolster a blue line tasked with stopping the Jets’ Patrik Laine.
- Speaking of the Jets, Kyle Connor has taken his non-contact jersey off in practice tweets Ken Wiebe. Connor has been out with an upper body injury since last week.
- Jack Eichel might be back in 3-5 games tweets Mike Harrington. Head coach Dan Bylsma believes that “the end is near” for the Sabres being without their star center, though there is no expected timetable per Bylsma.
Jack Eichel Skating At Practice
The Buffalo Sabres certainly have a reason to be thankful. Jack Eichel was skating this morning and from the video is moving rather well for the young center who has been out since mid-October with a high ankle sprain. Mike Harrington also tweets that Eichel’s progress is going well.
Eichel was injured during an October practice and the Sabres have slumped in his absence. Buffalo has been salvaged by injury, and with Ryan O’Reilly returning and Eichel close, it certainly spells relief for a team expected to build on last year’s successes.
With O’Reilly, Harrington tweets the lines skating at practice and O’Reilly is working in with Matt Moulson and Kyle Okposo. Joe Yerdon tweets that O’Reilly could also see time on the power play.
Las Vegas Reveals Name And Logo
At long last, the Las Vegas expansion team finally has an identity. Team ownership and management announced that taking the ice in 2017-18 as the 31st member of the NHL, will be the Vegas Golden Knights. Five months to the day since it became official that Las Vegas would get a hockey team, the announcement tonight comes as the culmination of months of speculation surrounding countless rumors of trademark filings and legal roadblocks.
After all the talk and guesswork as to what the expansion team could be called, it turns out that a report from NHL.com back in August all but spoiled it. It was reported that the team had filed for trademarks for “Desert Knights”, “Silver Knights”, and… “Golden Knights”. Team owner Bill Foley reportedly wanted the team to be named the “Black Knights”, after the Army Black Knights of the U.S. Military Academy, which he attended. The shortened version of just “Knights” seemed like the next best option, but the team had trademark contention with the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League and would have faced legal issues in Canada with the moniker. After considering their options, the team has now settled on Golden Knights. While the double entendre of “Las Vegas Knights” won’t be as clean, that is likely what they will referred to as in the shorthand anyway, and the first team called the Knights in major North American pro sports will still be a nice addition to the National Hockey League.
In addition to revealing the team name, Las Vegas also gave fans their first look at the logo. A gold and black helmet, hearkening back to the days of King Arthur, appears to be the primary logo for the new NHL competitor. Although the Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins have their claim on various shades of gold and yellow to go along with black, the Western Conference is lacking such a team and the logo looks promising for some good-looking jerseys down the road. Other team colors will reportedly be gray and red.
Although many hoped for a gambling reference with the Las Vegas team name, the NHL made it clear that they did not approve of that. The goal of any professional franchise is to have a nickname that simply makes sense, represents the team, and, above all else, sells merchandise. Any new team usually doesn’t have trouble with the latter, but with a cool logo that is a reference to both bravery and a killer instinct, as well as a classic color scheme, Las Vegas is well on their way to selling out lots of gear.
Pro Hockey Rumors is happy to officially welcome the Las Vegas Golden Knights to the National Hockey League. We look forward to continuing to follow along with the teams further announcements (jerseys, coaching staff, AHL affiliate) and keeping up with all of the rumors surrounding the team’s trades, free agent signings, and, of course, the NHL Expansion Draft in June.
Bruins Notes: Backes, Franchise Goals, Vatrano
David Backes and the Boston Bruins taking on the St. Louis Blues tonight has been a big story around the hockey world today, even with so much else going on. It speaks measures about how much the former Blues captain meant to his former franchise. A second-round pick by St. Louis in 2003, the big power forward quickly established himself as one of the best two-way players in the league, as well as a strong leader in the locker room. Backes ranks in the top ten in Blues’ franchise records for games, goals, assists, points, and penalty minutes and has had a lasting effect on the team beyond just the record books.
With the Blues struggling defensively this season (51 goals allowed vs. 40 by the Bruins), there has been a lot of talk about the negative effects that the loss of Backes has had on the team and questioning the decision to let him walk. So when the two teams lined up at TD Garden in Boston tonight, St. Louis fans could only hope that Backes wouldn’t directly harm them as opposed to his absence indirectly hurting the team against other teams. Fittingly, it was Backes who scored the first goal of the game, early in the first period. Backes had told NHL.com’s Amalie Benjamin that he was worried about shooting on the wrong goal tonight, but got it right when he he jammed home a rebound to put Boston up 1-0.
The goal was also a significant career achievement for Backes, as it officially gave him a goal against all 30 NHL teams. The long-time Blue has been a great addition in Boston, scoring his fourth goal and eighth point of the season early in the game, playing in only his 14th game. A big, strong player, who also wears the alternate captain “A” on the road (and at home tonight for this special personal circumstance), Backes has helped the Bruins to get back to the physical, defensively sound game that led them to two Stanley Cup appearances in three years not long ago, but has been lacking the past couple of seasons.
- Backes’ goal was also a milestone for the Bruins franchise, as it marked 20,000 goals for the team. An Original Six franchise with a winning history, Boston joins their arch-rival, the Montreal Canadiens, as the only two teams to accomplish the feat.
- Although the Bruins are off to a strong start, their is still room for improvement. The top line of Brad Marchand – Patrice Bergeron – David Pastrnak has been excellent, but a lack of consistency and cohesion among their other forward lines has limited an offense that was among the league’s best in 2015-16. The line combinations may finally sort themselves out when Frank Vatrano returns to the lineup and, fortunately for the Bruins, that appears to be coming sooner rather than later. Vatrano injured his foot in off-season conditioning, and was forced to undergo surgery that was expected to keep him out at least through the calendar year. Instead, he took the ice this morning in his first skate with the team and is ahead of schedule to return. The AHL’s leading goal-scorer in 2015-16 (36 goals in 36 games), Vatrano also contributed eight goals in 39 games in Boston last year. The former UMass star was expected to win a top nine job in camp and was a prime candidate for a breakout year. With line chemistry still unclear, a prime spot will surely still be up for the 22-year-old with a knack for finding the back of the net.
The Post-Burns Free Agent Market
Unlike the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Steven Stamkos saga of this past summer, the San Jose Sharks have spared hockey fans the drama and re-signed the top free agent on the market well before the trade rumors or free agency speculation could begin. Brent Burns inked an eight-year, $64MM extension earlier today, removing one of hockey’s most dynamic players from play next summer. So where does that leave the rest of the market?
With the Las Vegas expansion team joining the NHL this year by way of an expansion draft and some special free agency privileges, the 2017 off-season was already shaping up to be unique and unpredictable. However, the one constant that many agreed upon was that if Burns hit the open market, he would be the most sought after player this summer. The Sharks put an end to that potential narrative early on and what’s left is a free agent market filled with mostly question marks.
Regardless of Burns availability, the forward market was already lacking in excitement. Burns’ San Jose teammates Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau are likely the biggest names available, but both are way past their prime at 37 years old. Jaromir Jagr and Jarome Iginla qualify for the “future Hall of Famer with little upside” group as well, and Patrick Sharp and Radim Vrbata may as well join the old-timers too. With Burns gone, is it possible that T.J. Oshie is now up for best player available?
Perhaps goalie Ben Bishop now claims the title of top free agent. He was the only one who could realistically give Burns a run for his money, and now faces little competition. The 30-year-old Tampa Bay keeper is set to hit free agency with his team seemingly committed to the young Andrei Vasilevskiy. With one less player out there to command a top contract, Bishop will now likely cash in with a deal close to the $8.5MM yearly pact given by the New York Rangers to Henrik Lundqvist. Without another all-world player like Burns available for teams to weigh against Bishop, expect him to be signed early, leaving money and interest open for the likes of Brian Elliott, Thomas Greiss, Steve Mason and potentially this season’s early surprise star, Peter Budaj.
Where the Burns signing really makes an impact is among the free agent defenseman. Suddenly Kevin Shattenkirk has been thrust into the position of best available blue liner and will be able to command whatever salary he likes. However, reports this past summer indicated that Shattenkirk only had eyes for the Eastern Conference, specifically Boston and New York. So where do the other 28 teams look? Like the majority of big-name forwards, Andrei Markov presents limited upside at 37 years old, and Mark Streit even more so at 38. Brian Campbell, Johnny Oduya, Ron Hainsey: same thing. Burns absence from open competition is likely to instead benefit some younger defenseman who have yet to establish themselves as bona-fide top pair guys. Dmitry Kulikov, who was traded from Florida to Buffalo this summer, has yet to score a point for his new team but may just end up being the most sought-after defenseman. Injury-prone risk/reward players like Michael Del Zotto and Michael Stone will also draw more interest. Even players who have struggled for a couple seasons now, like Dennis Wideman or Cody Franson, could be in a position for a pay day this summer.
What it boils down to is this: take a weak free agent market and remove it’s best player and things are likely to get messy. With the expansion process removing talent from every NHL roster, the 2017 off-season will be one where nearly every team has a need to address. The re-signing of Brent Burns just changed the free agency market dynamics completely and teams will likely be scrambling to make additions (with several overvalued contracts guaranteed). With a dearth of talent available to sign, there will likely be an active trade market this summer as well. This off-season was already going to be crazy, but the San Jose Sharks just took it to the next level with their massive extension for the best impending free agent.
Atlantic Notes: Kane, Jurco, Hoffman, Ryan
Buffalo left winger Evander Kane has seen his name pop up in trade rumors recently with Vancouver and Minnesota but no deal has taken place. Speaking with Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News, Kane doesn’t seem to be fazed by having his name in trade chatter:
“It’s nothing new for me, something I’ve dealt with. There’s been bad reporting, inaccurate reporting, confused reporting, silly reporting. And then you have accurate reporting too. I’m used to it all. For me, I really don’t care because you can’t worry about it. … I’m happy with what I’m doing. I’m focused on hockey.”
Kane has been no stranger to having his name out there, both for on and off-ice reasons. His off-ice issues have been well documented while on the ice, he has shown flashes of being the high end power forward he was pegged to be after being the fourth overall pick of Atlanta back in 2009 but also has had moments of inconsistency that have prevented him from being a top liner wherever he plays.
In the meantime, Kane is working his way back into Buffalo’s lineup after being injured in the season opener with four cracked ribs. He has played in the last seven games but has only two assists. He has surpassed the 20 minute mark in each of his last two outings though as he earns more responsibility from head coach Dan Bylsma.
With two years remaining on his contract with a cap hit of $5.25MM and a salary of $6MM in each season, any sort of deal involving the 25 year old would require a high salaried player coming back Buffalo’s way if they were to decide to deal him which could complicate any potential trade. Harrington adds that the Sabres aren’t shopping Kane but are listening to offers if a team wants to inquire about him.
More from the Atlantic:
- The Detroit Red Wings have assigned right winger Tomas Jurco to Grand Rapids of the AHL on a conditioning assignment, reports MLive’s Ansar Khan (Twitter link). He’s expected to play two games for the Griffins and then return to Detroit on the weekend. Jurco has yet to play this season due to offseason back surgery.
- Senators left winger Mike Hoffman will be back in the lineup tonight after missing the last two games with a groin problem, writes Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen. However, Bobby Ryan (broken finger) is not yet ready to return. Head coach Guy Boucher is hopeful that Ryan will be able to play on Thursday night against Boston.
Sharks Sign Brent Burns To An Eight Year Extension
The San Jose Sharks announced that they have signed an eight year extension with defenseman Brent Burns. ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun was first to report that the deal was done (Twitter link). LeBrun also adds that the deal is believed to carry a cap hit of $8MM. Earlier today, it was reported that that the two sides had made considerable progress towards a new deal. In a follow-up tweet, LeBrun notes that the deal is front loaded and contains signing bonuses. He also will not have a no-move clause but will have a limited no-trade clause. Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston reports (via Twitter) that Burns has a three-team trade list.
The breakdown of the contract is as follows, per CapFriendly:
2017-18: $3MM salary, $7MM signing bonus
2018-19: $4MM salary, $6MM signing bonus
2019-20: $5MM salary, $5MM signing bonus
2020-21: $2MM salary, $8MM signing bonus
2021-22: $4MM salary, $3.5MM signing bonus
2022-23: $3MM salary, $3.5MM signing bonus
2023-24: $3MM salary, $2MM signing bonus
2024-25: $3MM salary, $2MM signing bonus
GM Doug Wilson issued the following statement as part of San Jose’s announcement:
“Brent is one the most dynamic players in the National Hockey League and we’re very excited to get this deal done. He has worked extremely hard to be an elite defenseman and at six-foot-five, 230-pounds, his abilities on this ice are unique and rare. I also want to thank Hasso Plattner and our entire ownership group for their commitment to our franchise and the fans in San Jose by stepping forward and making this commitment to Brent.”
Burns has evolved into one of the NHL’s elite defensemen after being converted back to the back end following the 2013-14 season. Two years ago, he posted a career high of 60 points and then followed that up with a 75 point campaign last season, the second highest point total among NHL defenders. That earned him a nomination for the Norris Trophy for the top defenseman in the NHL; he finished third in the voting.
The 31 year old is off to another strong start this season with seven goals and nine assists in 19 games to lead all NHL blueliners in scoring. In 815 career NHL games, Burns has 437 points (147 goals and 290 assists) along with 535 penalty minutes.
While the cap hit of $8MM per season isn’t too surprising, him getting eight years may catch some by surprise. He’ll now be paid through his age 40 season and it’s very rare for defensemen to remain elite into their early 40’s. However, as is often the case with long-term deals for veteran players, the Sharks are likely content with the risk knowing that Burns is currently in the prime of his career. Back in September, we took a closer look at his contract situation and projected a seven year extension with an AAV of $7.875MM.
His $8MM cap hit places him second in the NHL among defensemen behind Nashville’s P.K. Subban ($9MM) and just ahead of Montreal’s Shea Weber ($7.857MM).
The deal takes the best blueliner (and arguably the best pending unrestricted free agent period) off of the market next summer. Kevin Shattenkirk (St. Louis), Dmitry Kulikov (Buffalo), Andrei Markov (Montreal), and Michael Stone (Arizona) are among the prominent pending UFAs on the back end at the moment.
The Sharks can now turn their focus to their two other prominent pending UFAs up front in forwards Joe Thornton ($6.75MM) and Patrick Marleau ($6.67MM).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Poll: 2005 NHL Draft Take Two: Twenty-First 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)
Now we move forward to the 21st pick, which was held by the Toronto Maple Leafs.
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, Toronto selected goaltender Tuukka Rask out of Ilves Tampere of the SM-liiga in Finland. His selection was one of the top picks in the trade as you may have noticed he went sixth overall in our redraft. Unfortunately for the Leafs, they never really got to reap the benefits of this selection. Just one year after picking him, Toronto dealt him to Boston in exchange for Andrew Raycroft, a goalie only two years removed from getting the Calder Trophy as Rookie of the Year.
The Leafs were hoping that Raycroft would be their goalie of the present and future. It didn’t exactly work out that way as he spent just two years in Toronto, recording 39 wins in 91 games. He bounced around the NHL for a few more years with stops in Colorado, Vancouver, and Dallas, before heading overseas to play in Italy and Sweden before retiring following the 2013-14 season.
As for Rask, he has become one of the better goalies in the league with the Bruins. He has played in 343 games, going 176-105-43 with a career 2.21 GAA and a .925 SV%. He also won the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s best goalie in 2013-14. While Toronto may not want a mulligan on their selection back in 2005, they’d surely like a do-over on their decision to trade Rask before ever playing a game in their system.
With the 21st pick of the 2005 NHL Redraft, who should the Maple Leafs select? Cast your vote below!
Mobile users, click here to vote.
Snapshots: Burns, Ramo, Pouliot, Steen
The Sharks and pending unrestricted free agent defenseman Brent Burns are making progress on a contract extension, reports ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun (Twitter link). He does, however, note that the deal is not yet done. LeBrun also adds in a follow-up tweet that there are still some deals to be ironed out but that lots of progress has been made. Speculatively, one of the areas that likely would be getting worked on is the amount of no-trade or no-move protection and how it may vary – if at all – over the life of the contract.
Last season, Burns finished second in points among all NHL defensemen with 75 while he averaged just shy of 26 minutes per game. He’s off to another strong start this season with seven goals and nine assists in 19 games; his 16 points lead all blueliners.
Back in September, we took a closer look at his contract situation and suggested that he could be in line for a seven year extension with an AAV of $7.875MM.
Other news from around the league:
- Unrestricted free agent goaltender Karri Ramo is close to receiving the green light from doctors to return to game action, reports Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston (Twitter link). Ramo is currently skating with the Maple Leafs but does not have a contract, similar to UFA left winger Brandon Prust. While the goalie market has been quiet as of late with Andrew Hammond passing through waivers, Ramo could draw some attention as potentially a cheaper option for teams. He could also take a minor league deal to get in some game action and showcase himself to potential teams that way.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins have assigned defenseman Derrick Pouliot to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL on a conditioning stint, the team announced. The former first round pick has spent the bulk of the season on injured reserve with a lower body injury and last played on October 21st, his lone game of the season. The Penguins plan to play him in three minor league contests and then be re-evaluated by team doctors next week.
- Blues forward Alex Steen is not with the team on their two-game road trip although the team hasn’t ruled him out of playing the second game on Wednesday in Washington, writes Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He has missed the last two games with concussion-like symptoms (though the team is stressing that it’s not a concussion). Steen has two goals and eight assists through 17 games this season.
Chicago Unlikely To Be Active In Trade Market
Over the last couple of years, the Chicago Blackhawks have gone for it at the trade deadline. Last season, they made moves with Winnipeg and Montreal to land forwards Andrew Ladd, Dale Weise, and Tomas Fleischmann while the year before that, they dealt for center Antoine Vermette and defenseman Kimmo Timonen. In the process, they moved first and second round picks in each of those seasons (though the second rounder to Montreal last year was a 2018 pick). The Hawks are once again near the top of the NHL standings, but as ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun writes, they’re not expected to be as willing to move picks for that final piece or two again this season.
There are a couple of reasons for the plan to not be as aggressive moving their picks this year. For starters, they are pretty much capped out – they sit less than $50K under the cap according to CapFriendly – so unless the team trades away a big salary (unlikely given that they’re not expected to be sellers) or someone gets hurt long-term opening up some potential LTIR relief, they’re not going to have a whole lot of money to work with.
The other main reason is that Chicago is hosting the draft in June and are looking to hold on to as many picks as possible to make the event as fun for the hometown fans as possible. The Blackhawks have ten selections so far and as GM Stan Bowman noted, they’ve been stocking up on picks for this year by design:
“We did that on purpose. We do have a lot; we want to make a splash out of it. Hopefully it will work out well. I don’t know if it’s a great draft; early returns are mixed on it. But there are always players in the draft.”
Barring any changes to their cap situation, Chicago will more or less be forced to be on the sidelines on the trade market this season. Instead, they’ll be looking to their rookie class (which consists of forwards Nick Schmaltz, Tyler Motte, Vincent Hinostroza, and Ryan Hartman as well as blueliners Gustav Forsling and Michal Kempny) to take steps forward between now and the end of the season with their progression acting basically as their in-season or trade deadline acquisitions.
[Related: Blackhawks Depth Chart]