Coyotes Announce New Arena Deal
After years of uncertainty, there is finally a bright light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to the Arizona Coyotes and their arena situation. The team announced on Monday that they have reached an agreement with Arizona State University on a new 16,000-plus seat arena as well as an additional 4,000 seat facility that would serve as their practice facility among other uses, including the home of the University’s Division I hockey team. Craig Morgan of Arizona Sports adds that the goal is to have the arena, located within the district along Tempe Town Lake, ready for the 2019-20 NHL season.
Team President/CEO Anthony LeBlanc released the following statement regarding the new agreement:
“Over the past year we have been exhaustive in our research regarding the most optimal location for our new home in the Valley. While we have tremendous fans all across the greater Phoenix metro area, not to mention the entire state, it became clear that the East Valley is home to a majority of our fans and corporate partners. Our fans in the West Valley have shown us tremendous support over the past 13 years, and we look forward to working with them as we transition to our new home in the future.”
This puts an end to what has been a frustrating saga with their current arena in Glendale. The city entered into an agreement to build a new home for the Coyotes back in 2001 but relations have soured between the team and city officials since then. In 2013, the city voted to enter into a $15MM per year revenue sharing deal with the team that would allow Coyotes ownership to operate the facility but just two years later, they opted to terminate that contract, putting the Coyotes’ future in jeopardy. The team had been searching for a new home over the last few years, leading to plenty of speculation about potential relocation of the franchise.
In the meantime, the team is expected to negotiate an extension on their current short-term lease agreement to allow them to remain in Glendale until construction on the new arena in the East Valley is complete, writes ESPN’s Scott Burnside.
The Coyotes have until the end of June to finalize the budget, design, and operational plan for their new arena. The team declined to provide any specifics regarding the funding but LeBlanc stated that the team will be the primary investor while Arizona State will also contribute to the project. He also added that the plan is to not seek general funds from any government organization:
“We’re not looking for general funds from any governmental organization, but we need to form a very strong partnership with the State of Arizona and the City of Tempe. We also have to work with a variety of stakeholder groups such as Goldwater Institute and others so they understand what it is we’re trying to do. These projects have a process.”
The arena is expected to cost around $400MM, Morgan notes via Twitter.
Luke Gazdic Clears Waivers, Assigned To Albany (AHL)
New Jersey Devils left Luke Gazdic has cleared waivers, the team announced (via Twitter). He has been assigned to their AHL affiliate in Albany.
Gazdic joined New Jersey back in the summer, signing a one year, two-way deal worth $700K in the NHL and $200K in the minors. However, he broke his foot during the preseason and has been on injured reserve ever since. Teams cannot waive injured players so it would appear that he is ready to return to action.
Injured players are eligible to have a two week conditioning stint in the minors without having to go through waivers. However, in those cases, the player is on the active roster and continues to count in full against the salary cap. By waiving him, the Devils get Gazdic off the roster and salary cap and will now be able to keep him in the minors as long as they deem necessary instead of being restricted to just two weeks.
The 27 year old enforcer has 136 career NHL games under his belt, recording just eight points (5-3-8) but also has 194 penalty minutes and 214 hits despite averaging just 6:21 of ice time per game.
[Related: Devils Depth Chart]
Snapshots: Three Stars, Olympics, KHL
The NHL has named Tuukka Rask, Mark Scheifele, and Pekka Rinne as the three stars of the week.
Rask went 4-0-0 with a 0.970 SV% and a 0.75 GAA. He had two shutouts, and has now won 10 of his first 11 games, making him the second Bruins goalie in their 92-year history to do so. Bruins legend Gerry Cheevers is the only other Bruins goalie to do so. Boston is proving to be rather dependent on Rask; they’re 0-5 without him and 10-1 with him.
Scheifele scored 3 goals and 6 points in 4 games, pushing him into a first place tie for the NHL scoring lead. The Jets earned 7 out of a possible 8 points during the week, bumping them to second in the Central Division.
Rinne went 3-0-0 during the week, with a sparkling 0.976 SV% and a 0.67 GAA to go alongside one shutout. Rinne has five wins so far this season, as Nashville makes their way back into playoff contention after a tough start.
- It’s not looking great for NHL fans hoping to see their favorite players in the 2018 Winter Olympics. Commissioner Gary Bettman has admitted that he has explored the idea of the NHL skipping 2018 in Pyeongchang but returning in 2022 in Beijing. The NHL has participated in every Winter Olympics since Nagano 1998. Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly noted the International Olympic Committee’s decision not to pay the NHL for what they have in the past has not changed. Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston points out that the NHL and NHLPA have “stated unequivocally that they’re unwilling to start paying the estimated $10-million while also interrupting the season.” That money is for player travel and insurance.
- Meanwhile, the KHL is considering trimming the number of franchises in their league. League president Dmitry Chernyshenko told R-Sport that they’re planning to talk about “an optimization of the number of clubs taking part.” Chernyshenko suggesting it’s possible that “the league could contract.” The KHL just expanded to China for this season, but Kunlun Red Star has struggled to attract fans. As well, the floundering price of oil has hurt the league’s funding in Russia.
Oilers Notes: Early Goals, Eberle, Depth
It’s been a tale of two seasons so far for the Edmonton Oilers.
The Oilers were 7-1-0 on October 30. That night, they lost an emotional game versus Craig Anderson and the Ottawa Senators. Since then, it’s been tough sledding for the Oilers. Including the Senators game, Edmonton has gone 2-5-1 in the last eight games.
Their recent losing streak has shown a tough tendency: the Oilers have been scored on in the first two minutes eight times so far this season. Six of those early goals have been scored in the last eight games, including the last three games straight.
It’s not clear why the Oilers keep surrendering early goals, but they do seem to be able to score their way back into games. Despite being down so early in half their games, they’ve only trailed at the first intermission twice in those eight games.
Perhaps no player embodies the Oilers recent struggles as much as Jordan Eberle. The longest-serving Oiler has five points in his last five games, but besides a two-goal outburst in last week’s loss against the Penguins, he hasn’t scored a goal since October 18. He spent his summer working on his shot and one-timer to help him playing with Connor McDavid, but Eberle’s shot hasn’t looked any better or helped him score on the power-play.
Eberle was pulled off McDavid’s wing during Sunday night’s loss to the Rangers., and coach Todd McLellan told reporters post-game that “based on tonight, Ebs wouldn’t get a passing grade in my books. Or else he would have stayed [on McDavid’s wing]. You earn your keep, and Ebs didn’t earn it tonight in my mind.”
Having a $6MM sniper like Eberle struggle like this is tough for any team, let alone one with little depth behind him. Beyond Eberle, the Oilers have Jesse Puljujärvi, Zack Kassian, and Tyler Pitlick.
Kassian has looked solid this season, but isn’t suited to playing above a third line checking/ depth scoring role. Pitlick has been a pleasant surprise for the Oilers, making the team in his sixth pro season and working his way up the lineup. His five goals tie him with McDavid, Milan Lucic, and Eberle for second-most on the Oilers behind Patrick Maroon. Pitlick was the one to replace Eberle on McDavid’s line during Sunday night’s loss.
Puljujärvi appeared to be getting the hang of the NHL game before missing a game with a Charley horse. He’s been held pointless since and looks like he could use a stint in the AHL to get his confidence back. That may not happen, unless the Oilers move Leon Draisaitl to the wing or add a veteran NHLer. TSN Edmonton radio host Allan Mitchell (aka Lowetide online) wrote that the Oilers “problems are identifiable, but the solutions will cost assets — and I wonder if Peter Chiarelli is willing to make those sacrifices at this point in the season.”
The Oilers appeared to be counting on college rookie Drake Caggiula to play third line center and move Draisaitl to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins‘ wing, but Caggiula suffered a hip injury in pre-season action and has been out since. It will be interesting to see how Chiarelli handles the Oilers season: despite a tough stretch, they’re still tops in the Pacific Division and are probably two or three pieces away from being a contender. If Chiarelli can add a veteran right winger and an offensive-minded defenseman to help the power-play, then Oilers fans can be confident that the team’s first eight games are more indicative of their real ability than the last eight games.
Snapshots: Islanders, Bickell, Hamilton
Travis Hamonic is a tough player to play against, and it turns out he’s also a tough player to keep out of the lineup.
Eight days ago, the Islanders announced Hamonic would miss between 4-6 weeks with an upper body injury. Despite that prognosis, Hamonic will dress on Monday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning. That’s a total of three games missed.
Islanders coach Jack Capuano told Arthur Staple and other reporters that the team would dress seven defensemen tonight, scratching forwards Alan Quine and Shane Prince.
Hamonic isn’t the only Islanders defenseman battling injury. Dennis Seidenberg was placed on Injured Reserve with an upper body injury, which Staple believes is a broken jaw. It’s a tough break for Seidenberg, who has been a success in Brooklyn after being bought out by the Bruins. Seidenberg has a nice statline, with 4 goals and 4 assists and a +10 rating in 15 games.
- Carolina Hurricanes winger Bryan Bickell spoke to Chris Hine from the Chicago Tribune about his recent diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis, telling Hine that he’s “just uncertain.” He says doctors were able to catch the disease “early in its progression” and he hopes to be able to return later this season. Bickell would not be the first NHLer to play with MS: Minnesota Wild goalie Josh Harding was diagnosed early in the 2012-13 season but went on to play for parts of two more seasons. Hine quoted Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews as hoping Bickell can “find ways to stay strong.”
- Calgary Flames defenseman Dougie Hamilton has already experienced his fair share of trade rumors during his time with the Boston Bruins. He was ultimately traded to Calgary for a first round pick and a pair of second round picks at the 2015 NHL Draft. Hamilton had a career-year in his first season with the Flames, but has just six points in 16 games this season, with half of those coming in just one game; he’s pointless and -10 in his last seven games. The Flames have not been good this year, with just five wins in 16 games. Two nights ago on Hockey Night In Canada, Sportsnet analyst Nick Kypreos reported that several teams have called Flames GM Brad Treliving to see about the big right-handed defenseman’s availability. Kypreos said he doesn’t “suggest for one second that Calgary is shopping this guy, but there are some teams inquiring.” He suggested Arizona and Pittsburgh have made calls about Hamilton. The Coyotes would love to have a big right-handed defenseman to compliment Oliver Ekman-Larsson, while the Penguins would just like to improve their defense. Hamilton told Wes Gilbertson of the Calgary Sun that he saw Kypreos’ report, but that trade rumors are “part of the game” and the latest round is “just a distraction, if anything.”
Chris Kreider Scratched For Rangers Against Edmonton
Update (8:35pm): Newsday’s Steve Zipay now adds that rookie RW Pavel Buchnevich will also miss tonight’s game with back spasms. The Rangers, with no spare forwards on the roster beyond Lindberg, will instead dress seven defenseman with Adam Clendening coming in. Buchnevich has four goals on the season, all coming during his current four-game goal scoring streak. Zipay also suggests the team could look to call a forward up from Hartford tomorrow – perhaps Cristoval Nieves, though that’s just my speculation – but that will likely depend on how long the team expects Kreider and Buchnevich to be out.
Chris Kreider, who returned earlier this month after missing four games with a neck problem, is being held out of the lineup tonight due to an undisclosed upper-body-issue, tweets Brett Cyrgalis. The power forward started the season on fire, tallying three goals and seven points in his first four games but has struggled somewhat since is return, failing to find the back of the net in any of his last seven and finding himself benched for parts of two recent contests. Still, Kreider is averaging a point-per-game on the season and is a valuable contributor when he is on his game.
Alain Vigneault was pushed for further details, but as Cyrgalis later tweeted, the coach was unable to do so. It’s uncertain whether this injury is in any way related to the neck spasms that forced him out of the lineup earlier this season. Kreider played 13:10 last night against Calgary, which is the lowest total he has seen in any game this year though he didn’t appear to have suffered any kind of injury either.
Cyrgalis has now added that Kreider is no longer in Edmonton, apparently elsewhere undergoing testing. As he tweets, that’s likely not good news for the Rangers.
In his place, Oscar Lindberg draws back into the lineup. Lindberg has seen action in just four games this season, missing the start of the campaign following hip surgery in the summer. He has failed to find the score sheet so far this season but had a solid rookie showing in 2015-16, registering 28 points with 13 goals in 73 contests. He’ll likely fill a spot on the fourth line with Michael Grabner moving up to take Kreider’s slot on the left wing of Derek Stepan and with Rick Nash on the right. Grabner leads the league in even-strength goals with eight on the young season.
The Rangers are off to a strong, 11 – 4 – 0 start largely as a result of their tremendous depth up front. With Kreider on the shelf again for an undetermined period of time, that depth may well be tested.
Blues Recall Ty Rattie From Chicago Following Conditioning Assignment
With 14 NHL-caliber forwards on the roster it’s proven to be a challenge at times for St. Louis Blues head coach Ken Hitchcock to find playing time for everyone. In fact, Ty Rattie, once the 32nd overall pick in the 2011 draft, has made just one appearance for the Blues, playing just eight minutes in an OT loss to Vancouver on October 18th. The inactivity prompted the team to send Rattie down to Chicago just to get him some game action. Today the team recalled the 23-year-old right wing from the AHL.
The Blues obviously still see potential in Rattie as evidenced by their refusal to expose him to waivers and risk losing him to another club. Still, the clock has to be ticking for Rattie on his Blues career and if he doesn’t impress the coaching staff at some point in the near future, it’s possible the team will finally choose to move on. Given the Blues roster situation and barring an injury to a top-nine forward, it doesn’t appear as if there’s a clear path to playing time in St. Louis.
Rattie has put up good numbers in the AHL, tallying 69 goals and 137 points in 196 games in Chicago. But he’s had limited chances in the NHL, seeing action in just 27 contests and averaging 9:18 of ice time. His junior pedigree suggests he has the talent to succeed at this level and perhaps only needs an extended opportunity with another team.
Pacific Division Notes: Burns, Kopitar, Virtanen
Assuming he resists overtures from the Sharks to sign a massive extension first, Brent Burns will hit free agency next July as one of, if not the top player on the market. In fact, as Curtis Pashelka of the San Jose Mercury News writes, his situation closely mirrors that which confronted Steven Stamkos last season.
Like Stamkos, Burns will be a much-desired commodity if he reaches the open market. And just like Tampa Bay, the Sharks surely want to retain their star player. Though again, like Tampa Bay, San Jose will want to do so at a price less than that which Burns will be able find in free agency.
Of course the situation has already generated a lot media attention and will continue to do so until a resolution is reached. For many players, his pending free agency can prove to be a distraction and perhaps even impact his performance on the ice. That doesn’t seem to be the case to date for Burns as the 31-year-old blue liner has already tallied six goals and 14 points through 15 contests. But should Burns struggle with the attention and seek advice on how to handle things, he has a good resource in his friend Stamkos.
As Pashelka notes, the two players have known each other for more than two decades and spent some time together this summer. But according to Stamkos, Burns didn’t broach the subject of his free agency:
“Can’t say we’ve had a lot of discussions about it. I’m definitely open to a conversation if it comes a point where he needs somebody to talk to. But I know Burnzie. He knows what he’s doing.”
Burns certainly enjoys playing in San Jose and likely will give the Sharks every opportunity to extend his contract. Surely the Sharks will hope that Burns, like Stamkos, decided to forsake the probability of more money to remain somewhere he is happy.
Elsewhere in the Pacific Division:
- It looks like the Kings may have dodged a bullet as the upper-body-injury suffered by team captain Anze Kopitar is considered day-to-day, reports Lisa Dillman of the Los Angeles Times. Kopitar appeared to injure his wrist/upper arm area when taking a spill along the boards in the third period of the team’s tilt with Ottawa. Kopitar, one of the NHL’s best centers, did miss this afternoon’s game against Winnipeg but the fact he’s been listed as day-to-day is good news for a team that dropped to 7 – 8 – 1 after today’s shootout loss to the Jets. The 29-year-old native of Slovenia is off to a slow start production-wise, with just eight points in 15 games.
- Earlier this week the Vancouver Canucks assigned 20-year-old winger Jake Virtanen to their AHL affiliate in Utica. However, as reported, the team recalled Virtanen today after he saw action in two games this weekend for the Comets. Virtanen is off to a tough start to the campaign with just one point, an assist, in 10 games with Vancouver. He was also held off the scoresheet this weekend while suiting up for Utica. Virtanen did not play today in the Canucks 5 – 4 win OT win over Dallas.
Central Division Notes: Jarnkrok, Eriksson Ek, Fabbri
In his mailbag feature published today, Adam Vingan of The Tennessean offers his thoughts on several Predators-related topics. Included among them is his take on which Nashville forward the team might leave unprotected in the expansion draft.
The Preds will have two options when it comes to determining who to keep. They can either protect seven forwards, three defensemen and one goalie or they can choose to protect eight skaters and one net minder. Vingan believes Nashville will go with the latter option so they can protect defensemen P.K. Subban, Roman Josi, Ryan Ellis and Mattias Ekholm.
Under that scenario the Predators would only be allowed to protect four forwards. Vingan considers Filip Forsberg, Ryan Johansen and James Neal as locks. For the last protected spot, Vingan believes it should go to Craig Smith. That leaves, in the opinion of the scribe, Calle Jarnkrok as the most appealing option for Las Vegas.
Jarnkrok, coming off a 16-goal, 30-point campaign, inked a six-year, $12MM extension with Nashville prior to the start of the 2016-17 campaign. Vingan thinks a young, versatile forward with upside and on an inexpensive, long-term contract is a perfect get for an expansion club.
More from around the NHL’s Central Division:
- The Minnesota Wild face a tough call with regards to young forward Joel Eriksson Ek. The team’s first round pick in 2015, Eriksson Ek has already seen action in nine games this season and has contributed two goals and five points during that time. Of course as a first-year player on an ELC, if Eriksson Ek makes one more appearance for the Wild he will burn a year off of his ELC, regardless of whether he spends the rest of the year in Minnesota or not. As Kent Youngblood of the Minneapolis Star Tribune writes, the team will likely make the 19-year-old a healthy scratch for this evening’s game in Ottawa in order to give them more time to make that decision. Eriksson Ek started out hot, tallying five points in his first four games but has been held scoreless in his last five. Head coach Bruce Boudreau indicated the decision will be based solely what’s going to be best for the player rather than any thought of ensuring themselves three full seasons at a fixed and bargain price: “If he doesn’t play tonight it gives us another 24 hours to think about what we want to do. He’s done really well. But again, in the long term, it’s what’s best for him that we’re thinking of.’’ Should the team elect to reassign Eriksson Ek, thus saving a year on his ELC, they have the option of sending him either to their AHL affiliate in Iowa or returning him to his Swedish team.
- Robby Fabbri, who was a healthy scratch for the first time in his playing career at any level of hockey on Thursday, was reinserted into the lineup for last night’s game against Columbus and as Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports, the young winger responded with a two-goal effort. Blues bench boss Ken Hitchcock believes it’s time for the talented Fabrri to grab hold of a top-nine role with the team: “He’s just got to be a good player. He played two really good games and then he had a tough night. When you’re going to play up the lineup like he is, you need a good player. It doesn’t matter who’s in that spot, he has to be a good player. You can’t be carrying a guy in that spot, otherwise you make yourself part of the group of 14. We need him to be part of group of 7 or 8. When he’s there, he’s really effective. That’s what we need. We need him to think, ‘I’m a go-to guy so I have to play like a go-to guy,’ so his tenacity and skill makes him a very effective player, but tenacity and work ethic has to be there every night.” Fabbri had a strong rookie season in 2015-16, scoring 18 goals and 37 points in 72 games. But until netting two man-advantage goals Saturday evening, Fabbri had netted just one marker in 14 appearances this season.
Michal Neuvirth Out Four To Six Weeks
The Philadelphia Flyers have announced that goaltender Michal Neuvirth will be out more than a month after suffering an injury Saturday in the Flyers’ game against the Minnesota Wild. Although it was unclear when Neuvirth was actually injured (he never returned after the first period) or what exactly the injury is, GM Ron Hextall, a former goalie himself, has stated that it is a lower body injury that will keep the net minder out four to six weeks. In the meantime, Steve Mason will see even more ice time than he had and rookie keeper Anthony Stolarz is expected to be called up.
Neuvirth, like Mason, has struggled between the pipes this season for the Flyers. The Czech goalie has stopped just 85.9% of the shots he has faced and has a goals-against-average of 3.54 in nine games so far. His performance in 2016-17 has dropped off considerably from a year ago when he won 18 of his 29 starts and finished with a 92.4% save percentage while allowing just 2.27 goals-per-game.
Stolarz, meanwhile, is off to a fine start for Lehigh Valley of the AHL, winning six of his eight starts and compiling a save percentage of 92.7. He was originally selected by Philadelphia in the second round of the 2012 draft – 45th overall – following two seasons between the pipes for the London Knights of the OHL. Stolarz has spent the last two campaigns in Lehigh Valley, seeing action in 78 games and stopping 91.2% of the shots he has faced.
While Mason is likely to get most of the starts in Neuvirth’s absence, he too has had his problems this year for Philadelphia. His 88.0% save percentage ranks 34th among all NHL goaltenders with at least eight appearances this season. If he continues to scuffle, it’s possible Stolarz will be given more opportunities to prove himself at this level.
*Glen Miller contributed to this post.