Franchise Faceoff: Maple Leafs vs Oilers
It’s a tough thing rebuilding. For all the excitement and hope that prospects give fans, many of them don’t fulfill the promise they show, or just don’t seem to fit into the system you’re trying to build.
For two teams, last year was another one bouncing off the bottom of the league standings, jockeying for the first overall pick. The Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers both have storied histories, championships and hall of fame alumni. But even as one finally retires the numbers of some of its greats, and the other welcomes back the greatest of all time, they both look to young players to find that excitement, and hope.
McDavid, Draisaitl, Eberle or Matthews, Marner, Rielly. Both have a wonderful group of young players led by generational talents, and have shown them off this week. The top two stars of the NHL were Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews this week, both 19-year old kids leading their teams out of the basement.
[Maple Leafs Depth Chart vs Oilers Depth Chart]
We’d love to hear what you think about these two teams. If you were buying a roster (not all the franchise perks that go with it) to build a championship team, which would you take?
Goalie Notes: Price, Dell, McCollum
Carey Price will be out again tonight as the Montreal Canadiens take on the Pittsburgh Penguins on home ice. Price is battling a flu to start the year, and hasn’t been able to play for the team yet. While Price’s absence really caused problems for the Habs last season, perhaps bringing in Al Montoya was a better decision than anyone even expected.
Through two games, Montoya and the Habs have picked up three of a possible four points and the netminder carries a 1.92 GAA and .942 sv%. While Montoya has never had to carry the load of a full NHL schedule, his presence means that the Canadiens can likely give Price a little more rest this season and still be very competitive.
Montoya will be backed up by Charlie Lindgren tonight, who made one start for the club last season.
- Steve Zipay of Newsday is reporting that the San Jose Sharks will give rookie Aaron Dell his first NHL start in net tomorrow night against the Islanders. Dell has worked his way through the minor-league system and deserves a chance to show what he can do at the highest level. The undrafted 27-year old has spent time in the ECHL during his career, but posted solid numbers at every level.
- Newest Calgary Flames netminder Tom McCollum joined Sportsnet 960 today, and had a clear answer for why he signed with the Flames. “Calgary was far and away the best opportunity for myself.” McCollum mentions that after being cut from a PTO with Los Angeles, there wasn’t all that much interest from anyone else, until Calgary offered him a deal. A former first-round pick by the Red Wings, McCollum has had a ton of success with Grand Rapids, but never got a foothold in the NHL.
Snapshots: Reilly, Kokkonen, ‘Canes
The Minnesota Wild have sent defenseman Mike Reilly to the AHL after just one game, allowing the 23-year old to play bigger minutes and be in the lineup every night. Reilly was a scratch against the Los Angeles Kings, and instead of watching from the press box he’ll go down and lead.
The Columbus Blue Jackets selected Reilly in the fourth round of the 2011 draft out of the BCHL and watched as he flourished in the NCAA, increasing his scoring totals in all three years at the University of Minnesota. They couldn’t sign him however, and he ended up getting a contract from the Wild in 2015. Last year for the Iowa Wild he put up 23 points in 45 games and earned himself an extended look in the NHL.
Though this is a setback in his career, it won’t be long until he’s back up with the NHL squad if his development continues as it has. His long wingspan and offensive pedigree will be excellent tools once he improves his work in his own end.
- According to FinnProspects.com, 15-year old Mikko Kokkonen will make his Liiga debut for Jukurit tomorrow, making him the youngest player to ever play in the league. The defenseman was born in 2001, and isn’t NHL draft eligible until 2019, but has turned heads already in Europe. Kokkonen played in a pre-season tournament against this same level, but will now experience it when it counts. His 5’11”, 190-lb frame is already big enough to handle some punishment, but is almost certainly still growing.
- The Carolina Hurricanes have made some lineup changes going into Tuesday’s tilt with the Oilers, as Michael Smith reports. Phillip Di Giuseppe, Martin Frk and Jakub Nakladal will all dress according to coach Bill Peters.
Yann Danis Signs With St. John’s IceCaps
After being unable to find an NHL job, former Canadiens goaltender Yann Danis has signed an AHL contract with the Montreal farm-team, the St. John’s IceCaps.
The epitome of the term journeyman, Danis has suited up for 13 different professional clubs in three different leagues in his 13-year career, never settling in with a club for any length of time. His 55 career NHL matches are spread over 10 years, with the latest coming last season with the New Jersey Devils.
In the one opportunity he had as at least a part-time starter in New York almost eight years ago, Danis put up a .910 save percentage and 2.86 goals against average in 31 games. While his career numbers are nothing that will wow you, he’s a dependable depth option to have in case of emergency.
Oilers Recalling Goaltender; Gustavsson Unable To Play
Update 2:26pm: It will indeed be Brossoit coming up for the Oilers, according to Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal.
1:34pm: According to a team release, the Edmonton Oilers will recall a goaltender from the AHL to fill in while Jonas Gustavsson nurses a head injury sustained last night on a collision with teammate Adam Larsson.
Gustavsson was one of the first examples of the NHL’s new concussion spotting protocol, and though he was initially left in the game, he was pulled later in the period due to a spotter reporting the collision. Now, seeing as he is unable to dress for the next game, it seems as though the system worked perfectly. Gustavsson had indeed suffered a head injury, but had convinced his trainers that he was good enough to continue.
With concussions and brain trauma at the forefront of every contact sport now, this is a shining example of how athletes can be seemingly unaware that anything has happened, or stubborn enough to think they can play through it. These protocols are a step in the right direction for limiting CTE and other brain injuries.
On the hockey side, it’s unclear who the Oilers plan to bring up from their AHL club. Nick Ellis, the Provedince College import is a possibility, though it would be his first professional game at any level, as he didn’t get into any with the Condors last spring. The most likely candidate is Laurent Brossoit, who actually started five games for the Oilers last year in similar situations.
Coyotes Send Zbynek Michalek To AHL
After clearing waivers just before the season started, the Arizona Coyotes have now sent Zbynek Michalek to their AHL affiliate Tucson Roadrunners, according to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet.
Michalek, a former stalwart of the Coyotes’ blueline has seen his play deteriorate greatly in recent seasons, perhaps due to the multiple concussion or concussion-like injuries he’s suffered on the ice. While the 33-year old isn’t the shutdown defender he once was, this move is clearly one to save cap space for a team who suddenly finds themselves right up against it.
John Chayka, the league’s youngest GM, has openly spoken about how valuable cap space is as an asset in the new NHL, and has used it often to acquire talent. Pavel Datsyuk, Dave Bolland, and Chris Pronger are all examples of the team using their space (but not neccessarily actual money) to gain prospects or draft picks to fuel their rebuild.
With Michalek earning $3.2MM this season, it will save the Coyotes close to a million dollars in cap space to bury him in the minors for the entire year. While the player might not like it, these are the realities of a cap-driven league.
Mason Raymond On Waivers
Oct. 18: Raymond has cleared waivers. Eric Stephens notes via Twitter that remains with the big club for the time being.
Oct. 17: The Anaheim Ducks have place veteran winger Mason Raymond on waivers, according to TVA Sports reporter Renaud Lavoie.
Raymond was brought in to Anaheim on a one-year, two-way contract worth $675K. He made the team out of training camp, but was held pointless in three games with a -2 rating. The Ducks are 0-2-1 so far this season.
The speedy Raymond played six seasons with the Vancouver Canucks before signing with Toronto in 2013. He had a successful 45-point season with the Maple Leafs, which earned him a three-year, $9.45MM contract from the Calgary Flames in 2014. He’s scored 28 points in 89 games since then.
Raymond was bought out of the final year of his contract by the Flames in June.
Speaking of the Flames, newly-signed depth goaltender Tom McCollum has cleared waivers and has been assigned to the Stockton Heat of the AHL.
Snapshots: NHL Three Stars, Oilers Fallout, Montoya
It’s been a pretty good start to the NHL season for two of the best young players in the game.
Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews have been dominant to start the year, and they’ve been named the NHL’s first and second stars of the week. Veteran goaltender Roberto Luongo has been named third star.
The newly-minted youngest captain in NHL history scored 3 goals and 6 points in three games. McDavid had three points in each of the Oilers’ first two games before being held pointless in Sunday night’s 6-2 loss.
Matthews scored four goals in his NHL debut on Wednesday, breaking the record for most goals in an NHL debut. He was also held pointless on Saturday night, but his debut showing was more than enough to secure the second star of the week.
The Panthers are 2-0-0, and Luongo has been a major part of that. He’s won both games, allowing just two goals; he’s sporting a sparkling 0.957 SV% and a 0.98 GAA.
- After getting blown out by the injury-plagued Buffalo Sabres on Sunday night, the Edmonton Oilers are in need of a shake-up. They’ve postponed their CBA-mandated day off from Monday to Wednesday. Coach Todd McLellan told the media after the game that “we took [a day off] today, so we’ll skate tomorrow.” Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston reported the NHLPA is reviewing the decision.
- Oilers winger Benoit Pouliot has always had a penchant for taking poor penalties. While he’s usually been able to draw penalties to make-up for them, he’s not done well the last two games. He was benched for the second period on Friday after taking three bad penalties in a short period of time, but returned and played well in the third. On Sunday night, he took another two penalties in the first period and was stapled to the bench for the final 40 minutes. TSN’s Ryan Rishaug told TSN 1260 that he thinks Pouliot could find himself in the press box on Tuesday night. “I think they’re going to healthy-scratch him. That’s what I would be doing. At least one, if not more games. Because enough has to be enough. The message needs to be sent … I could see Todd [McLellan] coming down really, really heavy.”
- Carey Price will miss the Canadiens home opener with the flu. New backup Al Montoya will get the start against the Penguins on Tuesday night. Price did skate with goaltending coach Stephane Waite before team practice.
Top KHL Salaries And Their NHL Comparables
The KHL has long been labelled a place where fringe NHLers can go to get a bigger opportunity and paycheck. However, a report by KHL writer Aivis Kalniņš suggests that might not be the case.
Kalniņš tweeted a list of the top 30 player salaries in the KHL this season, and the salaries have a much lower ceiling and drop off quite quickly. The top 30 in the KHL add up to a shade over $55MM, while the NHL’s top 30 cap hits amount to an astounding $291.15MM.
Here are some notable names on the list, and comparable salaries in the NHL. It is important to note that Kalniņš’ list does not include bonuses, which could bump many of the numbers up. All numbers are from Kalniņš or Cap Friendly.
- Former NHL superstar Ilya Kovalchuk tops the list at $5.5MM. There are 99 NHLers making more than Kovalchuk. Some NHL players with that cap hit include John Tavares, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Tyson Barrie, Andrew Ladd, Andrej Sekera, and Jeff Petry.
- Recently-retired NHL star Pavel Datsyuk cashes in at $4.5MM. NHLers in that range include Max Pacioretty, Nazem Kadri, Anton Stralman, and Brad Marchand (in the last year of his previous deal before his new extension kicks in)
- Former NHL defenseman Slava Voynov also makes $4.5MM. Voynov left the NHL in 2014 after being arrested for felony domestic violence. He was recently ruled ineligible to take part in the World Cup because of his history.
- Former St. Louis Blues forward Vladimir Sobotka makes $3MM in the KHL, only marginally more than he would earn in the NHL. Sobotka owes the Blues one season at $2.725MM, as part of the contract he signed in 2014 before departing to the KHL. Evgeni Kuznetsov, Andrew Cogliano, Martin Jones, and Tomas Hertl are notable NHL comparisons.
- Vadim Shipachyov and Yevgeni Dadonov come in at $2MM and $1.4MM respectively. The two men played with Artemi Panarin before Panarin signed in Chicago last summer, and have many teams interested in bringing them to the NHL for next season.
- A pair of NHL RFAs in Valeri Nichushkin and Alexander Khokhlachev come in at $1.21MM and $1.2MM. In the NHL, this is bottom-six forward, third-pairing defense, and backup goaltender range. While their salaries rank 24th and 25th in the KHL, this would put them 445th and 446th in the NHL.
Kalniņš notes that new Montreal Canadiens forward Alexander Radulov was offered $7MM by CSKA, but chose to sign in Montreal for $5.75MM back in July.
The KHL has never released player salaries. Kalniņš speculates that this reveal could lead to full disclosure about KHL salaries. While some NHL teams are beginning to release numbers, most of what we know is based on reports from insiders.
Red Wings Notes: Early Struggles, Mantha, Svechnikov
An 0-2 start for the first time since 2009 has Red Wings fans in a frenzy and bench boss Jeff Blashill has only liked two of his defenseman’s play writes the Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James. Only Jonathan Ericsson and Xavier Ouelett have played well enough to garner Blashill’s praise and for the Wings, it’s been a brutal stretch early as they’ve struggled to score goals, generate shots on goal, and be responsible in their own end. The Detroit News’ Ted Kulfan reports quoted captain Henrik Zetterberg as saying that the Wings’ efforts haven’t been good enough:
“We’re not really connected right now. We should be able to create more than we have been in these two games. Can’t blame it on chemistry. We’re supposed to be better hockey players than that and should be able to create more.”
Positives are free agent pick ups Thomas Vanek and Frans Nielsen have been effective in the first two games, and Petr Mrazek has kept games from getting completely out of control. But there is a glaring need on defense, and it will be interesting to see if the Wings address it soon.
With the early woes, many fans have already begun calling for the heads of anyone in management, but fan blog Winging It In Motown writes that a steady course is the best bet for Detroit. Though the Red Wings have struggled out of the gate, and looked poor through stretches of both games, the column states that Blashill can only do so much. As stated by Zetterberg, time and familiarity could bring success.
In other Wings news:
- Evgeny Svechnikov and Anthony Mantha both scored goals in Grand Rapids’ 3-2 victory over the Chicago Wolves, making the calls for Mantha’s promotion louder. Mantha has now scored in both Griffins victories, with one goal coming on the power play. Mantha was on the bubble of making the final roster, but the spot went to Andreas Athanasiou, who spent considerable time with the Red Wings last season. Mantha, who bulked up in the offseason, continues to make strong impressions in the hope of getting a longer stay with the big club. Svechnikov, who wasn’t expected to make the roster, has shown his own flashes of brilliance and while the team is struggling in Detroit, there still appears to be a solid pipeline of talent that could come up should the season turn disastrous.