Atlantic Division Snapshots: Maple Leafs, Babcock, Andersen, MacArthur, Howard
The Toronto Maple Leafs have won just one of their first three contests but by virtue of two overtime/shootout defeats, the team has accumulated four of a possible six points. As Mark Masters of TSN writes, Leafs bench boss Mike Babcock is “relatively pleased” with where his team sits in the standings.
“We’ve had an opportunity, I believe, to be 3-0. We’ve got four out of six points, which if you told me that before this started I would’ve said, ‘That’s fine,’ but we could’ve had more and I’m a bit greedy and so are the guys.”
Toronto is one of the youngest teams in the league, with six rookies – Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Zach Hyman, Connor Brown, Mitch Marner and Nikita Zaitsev – skating regular shifts for the Leafs. With that much youth it’s likely the team will understandably have plenty of ups and downs during the season. Babcock noted that the team’s top line, for example, which consists of Matthews, Nylander and Hyman, has some room to grow based on Wednesday’s performance against the Jets:
“I thought it was really dangerous offensively and not very good defensively.”
Toronto may or may not be ready to challenge for a playoff berth this season, but the arrow is certainly pointing up for a Leafs team that boasts a ton of young, high-end skill and talent.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic Division:
- Also from the Masters piece, goaltender Frederik Andersen has struggled out of the gate as the Leafs new #1 goalie, posting a 3.61 GAA and a Save % of just 87.6% in three starts, but Andersen is not yet worried. “If you just look at stats it doesn’t look pretty, but I thought I played pretty well. Obviously, some small things I got to clean up and me and Stevey (goalie coach Steve Briere) got to work today in practice so small fixes. I’m not too worried.” The Leafs paid a steep price to land Andersen from the Ducks – a 2016 first-round pick and a 2017 second-round pick – then rewarded the Danish netminder with a five-year, $25MM contract with the belief he would solve the team’s longstanding issues in goal. It’s a small sample size of course, but so far Andersen has not lived up to expectations in Toronto.
- Veteran forward Clarke MacArthur, concussed during Ottawa’s initial intrasquad practice in training camp, is expected to join the Senators on their three-game, Western Canadian road trip beginning this weekend, writes Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen. MacArthur is still not close to playing and may have only recently started skating but the news is still encouraging. This is the fourth documented concussion within the last 18 months for the 31-year-old winger. The hope for the Senators, according to head coach Guy Boucher, is that just having MacArthur around the team on the trip will be good for him: “Obviously, he’s not going to play. We’re talking about being with the guys, being part of the routine. It would be good for him mentally, but we still haven’t 100% decided that.”
- For six seasons, Jimmy Howard was the #1 goalie for the Detroit Red Wings before losing the job to Petr Mrazek last season. Howard struggled in the backup role in 2015-16 but coming into the season knowing Mrazek would again be the starter has helped the veteran netminder adapt, according to Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press. Said Howard: “I think I know how to handle the situation a lot better now. Last year I didn’t quite understand how to be the backup, never had been it before. So I fully understand the role now and how to stay mentally sharp in between starts.” Howard qualifies as an expensive backup with a contract that runs through the 2018-19 season and that calls for a cap hit of nearly $5.3MM per. Detroit was rumored to be looking to trade the 32-year-old goalie this summer and could do so again this offseason, assuming he isn’t claimed in the expansion draft by Las Vegas.
Pittsburgh Content To Keep Both Murray and Fleury For Time Being
Once Matt Murray capped off an impressive postseason run by helping the Pittsburgh Penguins to the 2015-16 Stanley Cup championship, it appeared Marc-Andre Fleury‘s days in Western Pennsylvania might be numbered. That belief was further cemented with Murray signing a three-year extension this week, tying him to the Penguins through the 2019-20 campaign. The Penguins will be able to protect only one goalie for the upcoming expansion draft and Fleury has a NMC, meaning unless he waives it at some point to facilitate a move, Pittsburgh could be forced to leave Murray exposed. While it seemed a forgone conclusion the team would at some point approach Fleury about waiving his NMC so they can trade him – and consequently protect Murray in the expansion draft – GM Jim Rutherford is focused on winning a second Stanley Cup and keeping his goaltending duo together “helps with that objective,” writes Sam Werner of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Fleury’s late-season concussion opened the door for Murray in the first place and keeping the pair together guards against an injury to one possibly derailing the Penguins Stanley Cup hopes. The fact Murray was forced to start the 2016-17 season on the shelf due to an injury he suffered playing in the World Cup, serves as a valuable reminder that having two quality options between the pipes is essential in today’s NHL.
Werner also points out that Rutherford believes he’ll be able to address the situation prior to the expansion draft and is therefore in no hurry to make a deal now: “Our focus this year is winning, and we’ll deal with the expansion draft at the appropriate time. This signing of Matt doesn’t go hand-in-hand with any of that.”
However, Pittsburgh will eventually have to convince Fleury to waive his NMC and commit to Murray for the long haul. Murray, 22, is nine years Fleury’s junior and has the potential to be a franchise goalie at least for the next decade. He’s also now slated to make $3.75MM per season from 2017-18 through 2019-20, while Fleury has two years remaining beyond 2016-17 on a contract with an AAV of $5.75MM. Not only can one make the argument Murray is better than Fleury right now, he will undoubtedly be substantially cheaper over the next three seasons and comes with more team control.
If Pittsburgh cannot move Fleury and leaves Murray exposed in the expansion draft, Las Vegas will jump at the chance to add a 23-year-old franchise goalie just coming into his prime. He would represent a strong foundation piece at a key position and at a price too good to pass up. It’s simply impossible to fathom the Penguins allowing that scenario to play out.
Ultimately, when push comes to shove, the Penguins will almost certainly find a way to keep Murray even if that means they have to trade Fleury during the season to do so. As Werner notes, Pittsburgh is usually right up against the cap ceiling and the $5.75MM the team would save against the cap by moving Fleury might well prove to be as valuable to the organization as any asset or assets they could acquire in return for their long-time goalie.
Snapshots: Trocheck, Czarnik, Metropolit
Injuries to LW Jonathan Huberdeau and C Nick Bjugstad have forced Panthers head coach Gerard Gallant to shuffle his forward lines at the start of the season. However, as George Richards of the Miami Herald writes, the one constant Gallant can rely on is the Vincent Trocheck line with Reilly Smith and Jussi Jokinen on the wings. The trio has combined for two goals – both from Trocheck – and five points through three games.
Gallant initially put the line together last December and the trio “clicked from the start,” notes Richards. Trocheck believes the familiarity from last season is a big reason why the line is off to a good start in 2016-17.
“Last year we got used to each other. We got on a roll. Once you have chemistry with linemates, it’s hard to play with anyone else. You know their tendencies. Jokinen is such a smart player, Smith is so skilled; those two guys make it easy.”
Jokinen shares that belief:
“I bounced around on every line and it was nice to find a home. You feel comfortable when you get to play with guys you have chemistry with. I feel like I can now really use my strengths to help this team because we’re all making each other better. I make them better; they make me better.”
With Huberdeau expected to miss 3 – 4 months, the success of the Trocheck line becomes even more important to the Panthers. The three players combined for 68 goals and 163 points last season and will be counted on to provide consistent offense until Huberdeau and Bjugstad return to the lineup.
Elsewhere in the NHL:
- The Boston Bruins demoted third-line pivot Austin Czarnik to Providence of the AHL so that he may rediscover his game, writes Joe Haggerty of CSNNE.com. The 5-foot-9, 160-pound forward made the club out of training camp but as Haggerty notes, since suffering a concussion late in the preseason Czarnik has not played with the energy the team expected. Czarnik was pointless in two games with Boston and posted a -3 plus-minus rating. Last season with Providence, the diminutive center netted 61 points in 68 AHL games and it was hoped he would add some scoring punch to Boston’s bottom-six.
- Glen Metropolit, a veteran of more than 400 NHL games, has agreed to a contract with BC Bolzano of the Austrian Hockey League (EBEL), according to Elite Pro Prospects. Metropolit, 42, has not appeared in the NHL since suiting up for 69 games with Montreal back in 2009-10. He scored 16 goals and 29 points for the Habs. Since departing the NHL, Metropolit has spent four seasons in Switzerland and another two in Germany.
Injury Updates: Leddy, Hossa, Fayne, Brodziak, Gunnarsson
The New York Islanders, off to a 1 – 3 – 0 start this season, recalled defenseman Ryan Pulock from Bridgeport of the AHL on an emergency basis due to an injury to one of the team’s regular blue liners, according to Arthur Staple of Newsday. Staple later tweeted that it was Nick Leddy who was injured and was not practicing with the team this morning. Head coach Jack Capuano revealed that Leddy had suffered an upper-body-injury and was day-to-day suggesting that he might be able to play in the Islanders next game on Friday.
Pulock was expected to make the Islanders out of training camp but once the team inked free agent defenseman Dennis Seidenberg and made the decision to keep three goaltenders, sending the young blue liner, who isn’t subject to waivers, to Bridgeport was the easiest solution to the team’s roster crunch.
Leddy, who is averaging close to 24 minutes of ice time per game so far this season, has two points through four games but has a plus-minus rating of -7. He led Islanders blue liners with 40 points and ranked fifth overall on the team in scoring in 2015-16.
- Marian Hossa, who was hurt blocking a shot in Chicago’s 7 – 4 victory over Philadelphia, has been ruled out of tomorrow’s game against Columbus, tweets Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times. The tweet leaves open the possibility Hossa could be available for Saturday’s contest with the Leafs, however. Hossa is off to a strong start for the Hawks, with one goal and three assists. He has tallied one point in each of Chicago’s four games this season.
- The Edmonton Oilers have placed blue liner Mark Fayne on IR with a leg injury and according to Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal, the veteran defender could miss “weeks” as a result. In a related move, the team recalled Ben Betker from Bakersfield of the AHL to fill the role of 7th defenseman. Matheson notes the team elected to call up Betker as opposed to other options for salary cap reasons. though with Fayne on IR the Oilers have just south of $4MM in cap space according to Cap Friendly.
- The St. Louis Blues will welcome back center Kyle Brodziak for tonight’s game against the Oilers, tweets Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Brodziak, who missed the team’s last contest, has been held off the score sheet in three appearances this season. Meanwhile, defenseman Carl Gunnarsson is still out but is said to be “close” to a return. Robert Bortuzzo has been filling in with Gunnarson out of the lineup.
Bergeron Officially Set To Make Season Debut
Patrice Bergeron has gotten healthy just in time for the Boston Bruins home opener tonight against the New Jersey Devils. Coach Claude Julien confirmed the speculation that the career Bruin is healthy and ready to go. The face of the franchise suffered a lower body injury in his final preseason game, causing him to miss the Bruins’ season-opening road trip. Big free agent acquisition David Backes took his place, skating between Bergeron’s partner in crime, Brad Marchand, and the up-and-coming David Pastrnak and the trio combined for 16 points and a +21 rating as Boston went 2-1 in their first three.
However, when Julien was asked if there was any chance that he would stick with the top line while they’re playing so well, thereby separating Bergeron and Marchand, the head coach answered with a definitive “not a chance”. Bergeron led the Bruins in points in 2015-16 with 32 goals and 36 assists, and played alongside Marchand in every game that the pair were both healthy, as Marchand scored a career-high 61 points. The dynamic duo then lit up the World Cup of hockey, playing with Sidney Crosby, and now look to reignite their chemistry and lead the Bruins back to the playoffs.
The alternate captain is expected to jump right in on the current top line for the Bruins, while Backes will likely change lines and positions, switching to right wing on David Krejci‘s line. The Bruins will have to work out some balance in their forward lines, as they are center-heavy with Bergeron, Krejci, Backes, last year’s breakout star Ryan Spooner, and free agent acquisitions Riley Nash and Dominic Moore.
One guy no longer in the mix is Austin Czarnik, who played well in preseason, earning himself an NHL gig while Bergeron was out. Czarnik has been assigned to their AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins, according to a team release. Czarnik was scratched in the Bruins last game, and the organization felt that getting him play time at any level was more valuable than keeping in Boston without a full-time role. However, Czarnik put up big numbers in the AHL last season, playing with Frank Vatrano and the now-departed Seth Griffith, and is likely to find more success as the center of the P-Bruins top line, between veteran Peter Mueller and 2015 first-rounder Jake DeBrusk, so don’t be surprised to see the Miami University product back on the B’s at some point this season.
Bobby Hull A No-Show At Own Ceremony
One of hockey’s greatest legends decided not to go attend a ceremony celebrating his career, as Bobby Hull skipped out on his jersey retirement by the Winnipeg Jets this week. Hull and his teammates from the 1970’s “Hot Line”, Anders Hedberg and Ulf Nilsson, were the inaugural class inducted into the Jets Hall of Fame, and the trio had their jerseys raised into the rafters at MTS Centre. To the surprise of many, Hull wasn’t there to see it.
Others were not as surprised. The 77-year-old Hull has somewhat of a dark personal history since his playing days ended. Allegations of domestic abuse emerged not long after he retired, claiming that both during and after his career he threatened his now ex-wife with bodily harm. Hull has also made comments over the years that were blatantly racist and anti-Semitic. There is always an issue in sports as to where to draw the line between player and person. When Hull was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1983 without much worry over his personal life, and his public support of son Brett Hull was rarely met with public comment or further inquiry as well. Since the Hull family has left the NHL though, the lack of hockey relevance for Bobby has led to more focus on his past words and actions, creating a large population of fans who are now disgusted by a player they once revered.
Love him or hate him, there is no doubt that as a player, Bobby Hull has earned his spot in Winnipeg Jets history. No player had a greater impact on the establishment of the team, and on the World Hockey Association altogether, than Hull. Fans from his playing days in both Winnipeg and Chicago will always remember Hull as a champion, All-Star, and all-around legend on the ice. However, as time passes and fewer fans from 60’s and 70’s remain, Hull will not be able to escape his negative past if he chooses to expose himself to the spotlight of the hockey world. Likely looking to stay irrelevant and to avoid further damage to his tarnished reputation and legacy, Hull did not attend his own ceremony last night. For many reasons and for many people, it is a sad situation.
Central Notes: Trouba, Campbell, Hossa, Yakupov
While making an appearance on NBCSN last night, TSN’s Bob McKenzie provided an update on the Jacob Trouba situation. At this time, the Jets appear to be no closer to trading the restricted free agent as GM Kevin Cheveldayoff continues to ask for a young, left shot blueliner with plenty of upside. In other words, they’re looking for a left handed version of Trouba. While many teams have interest in the 22 year old, very few of them have that type of player that they’re willing to part with.
McKenzie also believes that the Jets would still be willing to keep Trouba with the team despite the trade request, similar to Tampa Bay’s Jonathan Drouin, who left the team midseason to await a trade, only to return closer to the start of the playoffs. Whether Trouba is willing to have a change of heart remains to be seen but it appears this particular situation will drag on for a while yet without a resolution in sight.
Elsewhere from the Central Division:
- The Blackhawks are likely to make free agent acquisition Brian Campbell a healthy scratch on Friday night, notes Brian Hedger of the Chicago Sun-Times. Head coach Joel Quenneville stated that he doesn’t want the same defensemen sitting each night, suggesting the scratching isn’t necessarily performance-related. Campbell is off to a quiet start with Chicago, picking up an assist in four games while averaging 17:03 per night, down more than five minutes a game from last season in Florida.
- Also from Hedger, Chicago right winger Marian Hossa is questionable for the next couple of games after getting injured from blocking a shot from Philadelphia’s Shayne Gostisbehere on Tuesday night. Hossa has four points in four games so far this season.
- Louis right winger Nail Yakupov makes his return to Edmonton tonight as he faces off against his former team for the first time. Despite frequent struggles with the team, he told Robert Tychkowski of the Edmonton Sun that he doesn’t have any ill will towards the Oilers for trading him. Yakupov is off to a decent start in a limited role with St. Louis this season, picking up a goal and an assist in four games. Head coach Ken Hitchock noted that they expect that it will take a lot of the season for the team to figure out what they have in Yakupov and whether or not he’s a top line option or more of a middle six forward.
Atlantic Notes: Cowen, Larkin, Bergeron, Koekkoek
The Maple Leafs and Jared Cowen held their arbitration hearing on Wednesday regarding the contested buy out of his contract back in June, notes Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star. Toronto opted to pay Cowen $750K in each of the next two seasons over carrying his $3.1MM cap hit (and $4.5MM salary) for 2016-17. Doing so created a $650K cap credit for this year and a charge of $750K next season.
However, the CBA stipulates that an injured player cannot be bought out and Cowen and his representatives are contending that he remained injured with long-term hip problems at the time the Leafs executed the buyout. Cowen was acquired late last season as part of the Dion Phaneuf trade but Toronto allowed him to go home early to work on rehabbing his hip.
If Cowen wins and has his contract reinstated, the Leafs will technically be over the salary cap. However, given that Cowen isn’t healthy enough to play, he would be eligible to be placed on long-term injury reserve which would get them back under. There is no timetable for the arbitrator to make his decision.
More from the Atlantic:
- Detroit’s Dylan Larkin is off to a slow start this season but as Ansar Khan of MLive writes, part of his struggles could be attributed to his conversion back to center. Last season – in his rookie campaign – the team often played him on the left wing to take some of the pressure off of him. With long-time Red Wing Pavel Datsyuk now retired from the NHL, the team needs Larkin to step into his vacated position at center. Through four games, the 20 year old has a single assist and a -5 rating although he has been a bit better at the faceoff dot, winning 44.4% of his draws which is above his 41% mark from last season.
- Boston center Patrice Bergeron is on track to make his season debut tonight against New Jersey, Joe Haggerty of CSN New England reports. He has missed the first three games of the season so far and should step back into his top line role assuming there are no setbacks. Boston coach Claude Julien also noted that defenseman Adam McQuaid won’t play against the Devils but he believes the blueliner is only a few days away from returning to the lineup.
- The Lightning re-assigned defenseman Slater Koekkoek to the minors yesterday but Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times believes that the demotion will be a short-lived one. Koekkoek has yet to play this season despite making the opening night roster and with him being waiver exempt, he’s expected to get into a couple of AHL games to stay in game shape before being recalled sometime next week.
Penguins Sign Matt Murray To Three Year Extension
The Pittsburgh Penguins announced that they have signed goaltender Matt Murray to a three year contract extension. The deal will carry a cap hit of $3.75MM and will commence in the 2017-18 season.
Murray made an immediate impact last season with the Penguins. He took over as Marc-Andre Fleury’s backup midseason and when Fleury was injured going in to the playoffs, Murray assumed the #1 job early in the first round and never looked back. In 13 regular season games, he posted a 9-2-1 record with a 2.00 GAA and a .930 SV% and put up similar results in 21 postseason contests, going 15-6 with a 2.08 GAA and a .923 SV%.
His strong play earned Murray a spot on Team North America at the World Cup of Hockey. However, he broke his hand and missed the majority of the tournament and as a result, has yet to play this season. He skated on Wednesday for the first time since the injury and is likely a couple of weeks away from returning to game action. In the meantime, waiver acquisition Mike Condon will continue to back up Fleury.
Moving forward, the Penguins have a lot of money tied up in their goalies as Fleury carries a cap hit of $5.75MM for two more seasons after this one. They can only protect one goalie in the upcoming expansion draft and Fleury has a no-move clause so this will be a situation to closely follow moving forward. With the contract, Pittsburgh now has just over $60MM committed to 14 players for next season.
The Future Is Now For The NHL
The Toronto Maple Leafs are in Winnipeg on Wednesday night to visit the Jets in a battle of two young teams trying to take a big step this season. It’s the first matchup between the top two picks of the 2016 NHL Draft, Auston Matthews and Patrik Laine.
However, Laine and Matthews are far from the only two rookies in the game; 11 of the 40 players dressed are rookie NHLers. The Globe and Mail’s James Mirtle called it “The Calder Bowl.”
League-wide, 592 players have played in at least one game this season, and 11 per cent (67 players) of them are rookies. The NHL defines rookies as players under the age of 26 who have played less than 25 games the prior season, or more than six games in each of the two preceding seasons.
The NHL has been getting younger year-over-year, for three reasons: rookies are cheap, fast, and skilled. With the salary cap not going up as much as expected, and the game faster than ever, rookies are more valuable than ever.
Last year, 226 of the 898 players who appeared in at least one game were rookies. That’s a full one-quarter of the NHL.
Here’s a look at the rookies on each NHL roster:
Anaheim Ducks – D Jacob Larsson and RW Nick Sörensen
Arizona Coyotes – D Jakob Chychrun, LW Lawson Crouse, C Laurent Dauphin, C Christian Dvorak, and C Dylan Strome
Boston Bruins – C Noel Acciari, D Brandon Carlo, C Austin Czarnik, C Danton Heinen, and D Rob O’Gara
Buffalo Sabres – RW Nicholas Baptiste, RW Hudson Fasching, and D Casey Nelson
Calgary Flames – D Brett Kulak and LW Matthew Tkachuk
Carolina Hurricanes – RW Sebastien Aho and RW Martin Frk
Chicago Blackhawks – D Gustav Forsling, C Vincent Hinostroza, and C Tyler Motte
Columbus Blue Jackets – RW Josh Anderson, RW Oliver Bjorkstrand, D Markus Nutivaara, and D Zach Werenski
Dallas Stars – D Stephen Johns, D Esa Lindell, and C Devin Shore
Edmonton Oilers – RW Jesse Puljujärvi and LW Anton Slepyshev
Florida Panthers – C Denis Malgin and D Michael Matheson
Los Angeles Kings – D Derek Forbort
Montreal Canadiens – LW Artturi Lehkonen and D Mikhail Sergachev
Nashville Predators – LW Kevin Fiala
New Jersey Devils – C Blake Speers, LW Miles Wood, and C Pavel Zacha
New York Islanders – C Mathew Barzal, C Anthony Beauvillier, and C Alan Quine
New York Rangers – LW Pavel Buchnevich, LW Jimmy Vesey, and D Brady Skjei
Ottawa Senators – D Thomas Chabot
Philadelphia Flyers – C Travis Konecny, D Ivan Provorov, and LW Roman Lyubimov
Pittsburgh Penguins – LW Scott Wilson
Tampa Bay Lightning – C Brayden Point
Toronto Maple Leafs – C Connor Brown, LW Zach Hyman, RW Mitch Marner, C Auston Matthews, C/RW William Nylander, and D Nikita Zaitsev
Winnipeg Jets – LW Kyle Connor, LW Patrik Laine, D Josh Morrissey, and LW Brandon Tanev