Snapshots: Top Rookies, Tougher Oilers, McKeown
It’s been a good start to the season for rookies in the NHL. Auston Matthews scored a stunning four goals in his debut and Finnish top picks Patrik Laine and Jesse Puljujärvi also scored in their debuts. William Nylander had two assists.
However, two of the more impressive rookies to TSN’s Bob McKenzie are the Flyers’ Travis Konecny and Ivan Provorov. McKenzie appeared on TSN 1260 in Edmonton, saying it’s “ridiculous how good [Provorov] is” and saying Konecny was their “maybe their best player” in their first game.
Despite their early success, McKenzie didn’t see either of them being in the Calder Trophy conversation, because neither will post the offensive numbers. He also joked that “everybody knows they already awarded the Calder the other night after the first game. People didn’t see that presentation afterwards, but Auston Matthews was presented with it after the game.”
McKenzie compared the style of play over the first two nights to Team North America in the World Cup, saying hopefully “the kids … will triumph because the first two nights of this season have been a joy to watch.”
In other new from around the hockey world:
- David Staples of the Edmonton Journal took a look at how GM Peter Chiarelli turned the formerly soft Oilers into a much tougher team. The Oilers have added four tough and dependable NHLers in Eric Gryba, Zack Kassian, Patrick Maroon, and Milan Lucic for a total cost of two fourth round picks and three players who had no future in Edmonton: former starter Ben Scrivens who was toiling in the AHL, and fringe minor leaguers Travis Ewanyk and Martin Gernat. Scrivens and Gernat are now overseas, and Ewanyk signed with the Idaho Steelheads of the ECHL. Staples writes that the new-look Oilers are able to “[answer] the bell if it comes to clobberin’ time, as it surely will.”
- The Carolina Hurricanes have assigned defenseman Roland McKeown to the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL. McKeown was a healthy scratch in the Hurricanes season opening loss in Winnipeg. McKeown is a former second round pick of the Los Angeles Kings, acquired in the Andrej Sekera trade back at the 2015 trade deadline. The Raleigh News & Observer Chip Alexander believes the team is expecting newly-acquired defenseman Jakub Nakladal to be available for Sunday night’s game in Vancouver.
Successful Waiver Wire Pickups
As teams frantically worked to trim their rosters to the league-mandated, 23-man limit this week, several interesting players were exposed to waivers, eligible to be picked up by new teams for nothing more than assuming the remaining term of the player’s contract. Occasionally the claiming team lands a talented young player who simply didn’t have an opportunity to crack the lineup of his former employer due to the presence of experienced veterans. Other times it doesn’t work out, but it’s still a worthwhile gamble for clubs that may not have better options already on their roster.
In the last few days, Emerson Etem (Vancouver to Anaheim), P.A. Parenteau (New York Islanders to New Jersey), Teemu Pulkkinen (Detroit to Minnesota) and Martin Frk (Detroit to Carolina) changed clubs via waivers. All, with the exception of Parenteau, are younger players still looking to establish themselves as regular NHL contributors. Obviously, their new teams are hoping their faith in these players will be rewarded. Here are a few examples of younger players who have changed teams via waivers and have gone on to carve solid NHL careers for themselves.
Chris Kunitz – Originally signed in 2003 as an undrafted free agent by Anaheim, Kunitz would appear in 21 games with the Mighty Ducks, as they were known then, during the 2003-04 campaign. Following the lockout which wiped out the entire 2004-05 schedule and just before the 2005-06 season began, Kunitz was picked up by the then Atlanta Thrashers on waivers. He would last just two weeks in Atlanta, seeing action in two games before being placed on waivers again and being claimed by Anaheim.
Kunitz would go on to tally 192 points in 313 regular season games over parts of the next four seasons with the Might Ducks/Ducks as he firmly established himself as a quality middle-six winger. He was later dealt to Pittsburgh where he really blossomed as a top-six scorer. Kunitz has potted 20+plus goals in four of his seven full seasons with the Penguins and has netted 359 points in 498 games during that time.
I once had occasion to speak with a high-ranking member of the Ducks front office who told me that of all the acquisitions he personally had a hand in, both the original signing of Kunitz and bringing him back via waivers qualified as two of his proudest achievements.
Kyle Quincey – Quincey was Detroit’s fourth-round selection in the 2003 draft and would suit up for 13 contests over parts of three seasons. He would be placed on waivers in October of 2008 and was claimed by the L.A. Kings. In his first season in Southern California, Quincey scored 38 points which is still the 11-year veteran’s career best total. In 495 career NHL games, Quincey has tallied 30 goals and 140 points, while averaging better than 20 minutes of ice time.
David Schlemko – While not a household name and maybe not young by today’s standards, Schlemko has proven himself to be at least a quality third-pair defender since the start of the 2015-16 season. An undrafted free agent signing by the Arizona/Phoenix franchise back in 2007, Schlemko would spend parts of seven seasons with the Coyotes before being placed on waivers during the 2014-15 season. The Stars would grab Schlemko and he would spend five games in Dallas before hitting the waiver wire again, with the Calgary Flames winning the claim. He would finish without a point in 19 games with Calgary and became an unrestricted free agent following the season, ultimately joining the Devils on a one-year deal. Schlemko would finish with career-highs in games played, goals, assists and points with the Devils and would parlay that steady play into a four-year deal with San Jose this past summer.
Andrej Nestrasil – Nestrasil was chosen by Detroit in the third-round of the 2009 draft and spent most of his time in the organization playing in the minors with Grand Rapids in the AHL and Toledo in the ECHL. His best minor league campaign came in 2013-14 with Grand Rapids, scoring 36 points in 70 games. He debuted in the NHL with Detroit during the 2014-15 campaign but was placed on waivers after appearing in 13 games and claimed by Carolina. Finally given a regular role, Nestrasil has responded for the Hurricanes, totaling 41 points in 96 games for Carolina. He’s also been an excellent puck possession driver, recording a 55.0% Corsi For % since joining the Hurricanes.
Of course with the possible exception of Kunitz, none of the above mentioned players can be considered stars, either today or at any point in their respective careers. But they’ve each developed into quality NHL players who can fill a regular role and that has value in today’s NHL. Any of the teams who claimed a player this week would be happy if their new acquisition developed into a quality regular.
Evander Kane Injured, Taken To Hospital
A bad night gets even worse for the Buffalo Sabres, who as of this writing are losing 4 – 1 to Montreal in both teams’ season-openers. LW Evander Kane was injured tonight while chasing a loose puck into the corner, tweets John Vogl of the Buffalo News. Kane was chasing a puck into the corner along with Canadiens defenseman Alexei Emelin when the Sabres winger lost his footing and crashed heavily into the end boards.
The Sabres announced via Twitter that Kane had been taken to the hospital “for further evaluation and precautionary measures.”
Vogel reminds us that Kane recently underwent surgery on his left shoulder, implying tonight’s injury might be related to that earlier procedure.
More to come.
Snapshots: Sabres, Oilers, Kings
News and notes from around the NHL this evening:
- The Buffalo Sabres inked GM Tim Murray to a multi-year contract extension today. The Sabres hired Murray in January 2014 to replace Darcy Regier. In his first full season, Murray orchestrated a 27-point jump in the standings. The team is building through drafting and with smart acquisitions, a hallmark of the burgeoning Murray era. So far in his short tenure Murray has acquired Dmitry Kulikov, Ryan O’Reilly, Robin Lehner, Evander Kane, and Zach Bogosian.
- The Edmonton Oilers have placed defenseman Brandon Davidson on Injured Reserve today after suffering an apparent upper body injury last night against the Calgary Flames. Davidson was tangled up with Flames’ forward Matthew Tkachuk and fell backwards onto the ice. In response to the injury, the Oilers have called up defenseman Eric Gryba. Davidson played 51 games for the Oilers last season, scoring 4G and 7A. The defenseman is no stranger to injury— he overcame testicular cancer during his first year of professional hockey.
- The Los Angeles Kings have called up goaltender Peter Budaj in the wake of Jonathan Quick‘s injury, reports LA Kings insider Jon Rosen. Budaj led the AHL in wins as well as GAA and SV% among goalies who played more than 25 games. The Kings are fortunate that Budaj was not claimed off of waivers last week when they sent the Slovak goalie back to the AHL. While calling up an AHL goalie is automatic when a starter is out with an injury, Budaj’s veteran presence could mean that current starter Jeff Zatkoff is on a short leash.
Metropolitan Notes: Alzner, Berube, Rust
Washington defenseman Karl Alzner is one of a slew of Capitals players who aren’t currently under contract for next season. As Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post notes, a potential hold up to re-signing Alzner may be the looming Las Vegas expansion draft next June.
Teams can protect three defensemen under what will be the most common option used by teams (there is also the ability to protect eight skaters regardless of position but it’s unlikely that many teams will go that way). The Capitals already have John Carlson and Matt Niskanen that are likely to be protected which would leave one slot for Alzner and pending RFA Dmitry Orlov. Keeping Alzner unsigned would allow them to safely protect Orlov but GM Brian MacLellan noted it could be a priority to get Alzner signed to an extension before then:
“Depending on the value, it would be, yes. We can protect three defensemen, so there’s going to be a decision to be made here at some point. I mean, we have guys that are pretty good.”
Alternatively, the team could come to an agreement on terms and just wait until after the waiver draft to make the deal official. That way, the team could leave Alzner exposed, allowing them to protect Orlov or another defender. MacLellan doesn’t anticipate going that route, nor does he expect other teams to:
“I think that’d be a risky move. I don’t know that anybody’s going to try that. There’s probably a window, I mean, but I don’t know that you can really wait until then. … I don’t think there’s a guarantee. I don’t think you can come to an agreement and say, ‘We’ll sign you after that,’ you know? I don’t anticipate that would work.”
Alzner has spent his entire career with the Capitals, playing in 509 regular season games. While his point total in that time isn’t particularly strong (16 goals and 88 assists), he has been a reliable shutdown rearguard and would have no shortage of suitors if he were to hit the open market.
Other news from the Metropolitan:
- The Islanders considered placing goalie Jean-Francois Berube on waivers, Newsday’s Arthur Staple reported in a reader mailbag. However, they feared that at least one team (San Jose) would have had interest in claiming him so they have opted to keep three goalies up again at least to start the season. While the Sharks didn’t claim a goalie off the waiver wire, one possible suitor for Berube is no longer on the market for a backup with the Penguins adding Mike Condon from the Canadiens earlier this week. With Jonathan Quick out for the Kings though, it’s possible that they could have some interest in repatriating their former farmhand in Berube.
- Pittsburgh right winger Bryan Rust skated for the first time since the playoffs on Wednesday as he works to return to the lineup from an undisclosed injury, notes Bill West of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Rust had a quiet regular season with 11 points in 41 games but played an important role for the Penguins in the playoffs, picking up six goals and three assists in just 23 postseason contests. While he is now skating, there remains no timetable for his return to game action.
Poll: 2005 NHL Draft Take Two: Eleventh 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)
Now we move forward to the eleventh pick, which was held by the Los Angeles Kings.
To recap how this works:
- We will go through the 2005 NHL Draft and have our readers select, through a voting process, who they think should have been taken with the selection.
- The entire first round will be redrafted, spanning picks one through thirty. The new selection is chosen by the majority of votes.
Back in 2005, the Kings selected Slovenian center Anze Kopitar. While it’s uncommon for someone from a ‘non-hockey’ nation to make it big in the NHL, it’s safe to say that Kopitar has done more than anyone could have hoped for. He has played in 765 games so far in his career – all with Los Angeles – and has 685 points, making him the second highest scorer of this draft class only behind Sidney Crosby and now serves as their team captain as well. Back in January, the Kings handed him the richest deal in franchise history, an eight year pact worth $80MM.
With the eleventh pick of the 2005 NHL Redraft and Kopitar now off the board (having gone third overall), who should the Los Angeles Kings select? Cast your vote below!
Mobile users, click here to vote.
Snapshots: Rieder, Bartkowski, Gaudreau, Pederson, Waivers
Despite signing his two year, $4.45MM bridge deal more than a week ago, Coyotes winger Tobias Rieder was only able to join the team to practice on Wednesday, reports AZCentral’s Sarah McLellan. The reason for the delay was that Rieder needed to a new his work visa, a process that took longer to complete than anticipated.
Although he joined the team so late, head coach Dave Tippett expects Rieder to be in the lineup on Saturday night for their season opener. The team isn’t worried about there being much rust either as Rieder played in six games for Team Europe at the recent World Cup of Hockey (recording one assist). He’s expected to start the season alongside rookie center Dylan Strome and third year winger Anthony Duclair.
Elsewhere around the league:
- The Boston Bruins have inked UFA defenseman Matt Bartkowski to a minor league PTO, Providence GM John Ferguson Jr. told Mark Divver of the Providence Journal (Twitter link). Bartkowski was in training camp with Ottawa this preseason but failed to secure a contract. He spent last year with Vancouver but before that, he played 131 games over five seasons with the Bruins.
- Calgary left winger Johnny Gaudreau has a five team trade-allowed list in the final year of his contract. Among the five teams he would accept a trade to is the Philadelphia Flyers. As Jonathan Tannenwald of the Philadelphia Inquirer notes, Gaudreau has already expressed an interest in joining the Flyers at some point in his career though it remains to be seen if Calgary would even entertain the idea of trading him there at some point in this contract.
- The Coyotes announced that they have signed undrafted center Lane Pederson to a three year entry level contract. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Pederson attended Arizona’s rookie camp and is off to a strong start this season with Swift Current of the WHL, picking up nine points in his first seven games.
- Anaheim has placed center Joseph Cramarossa on waivers, reports TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie (Twitter link). The 23 year old made the team out of training camp but a roster spot needed to be freed up to accommodate the acquisition of Emerson Etem off the waiver wire. Cramarossa had 11 goals and six assists in 61 games with Anaheim’s AHL affiliate in San Diego last season.
- Edmonton defenseman Eric Gryba cleared waivers today but will remain with the team as they have placed fellow blueliner Brandon Davidson on IR, notes Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal (Twitter link). The Oilers inked Gryba to a one year, two-way deal worth $950K at the NHL level on Wednesday.
Canucks Sign Jack Skille
Jack Skille‘s tryout with the Canucks has proven to be a successful one as the team announced on Thursday that they have signed the right winger to a one year, one-way contract. The deal will pay him $700K.
Skille played in 74 games with Colorado last season, scoring six goals and added eight assists while averaging just 8:50 of ice time per contest. The former first round pick of the Blackhawks (7th overall) in 2005, Skille has yet to make his mark in the NHL and has bounced around in recent years, playing for three different teams since the last lockout. In his career, he has 38 goals and 37 assists in 313 games over nine NHL seasons.
The 29 year old placed in four preseason games with the Canucks, being held off the scoresheet while taking eight shots on goal and recording five penalty minutes. He played an average of 13:25 in those contests.
Skille takes a place on the roster over Emerson Etem, who was waived on Wednesday and claimed by Anaheim earlier today. He will likely battle with the likes of Brendan Gaunce and Jake Virtanen for a spot in the lineup but should start the season as their 13th/reserve forward.
[Related: Canucks Depth Chart]
Pittsburgh Penguins No Longer For Sale
After deciding to review their options a little more than a year ago, Pittsburgh owners Ron Burkle and Mario Lemieux have pulled their team off the market, Penguins CEO David Morehouse told Newsradio 1020 in Pittsburgh. Morehouse did acknowledge that the ownership group gave consideration to selling the team during that time:
“We did look at a bunch of different things; one of them included the outright sale of the franchise. We’re not looking at that right now.”
One possible option that remains under consideration, however, is adding minority partners.
There were rumblings back in January that a potential sale for a little over $700MM had been nixed by Burkle due to his belief that the duo could get more for the team. However, both owners issued a statement at the time denying that a firm asking price had been set or that a sale agreement had been reached.
Back when they were considering selling, it was believed that they were looking to sell while the team was at its peak value. Lemieux and Burkle purchased the team in September of 1999 for $107MM. Since then, they’ve won a Stanley Cup, secured a new naming rights deal for the arena, and will be receiving expansion money from the new Las Vegas franchise so as it turns out, the value today is likely higher than it was when they were considering selling.
Even had the team been sold, Joe Starkey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette notes that Lemieux was still expected to retain a minority stake in the franchise, a team that he has been associated with for a big chunk of his life. On top of owning the team for the past 17 years, he spent his entire 17 season playing career with the Pens, ranking eighth in NHL history in scoring with 1,723 points.
Ducks Claim Emerson Etem Off Waivers
The Anaheim Ducks have claimed winger Emerson Etem off waivers, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. The speedy forward will now rejoin the organization that first drafted him (29th overall in 2010).
Last season, Etem started the year with the Rangers after being acquired in the offseason as part of a package for Carl Hagelin (who the Ducks later dealt to Pittsburgh). He spent 19 games on Broadway, picking up just three assists while logging a little more than 11 minutes per game in ice time before being dealt to Vancouver in exchange for Nicklas Jensen and a sixth round pick.
Etem played more of a regular role with the Canucks, suiting up in 39 contests while scoring seven goals and five assists. His ice time also jumped to 14:10 per game, a career high. However, he was beat out for the final spot on Vancouver’s roster to start the season which resulted in him being waived on Wednesday.
In his career, the 24 year old has played in 170 games between the Ducks, Rangers, and Canucks, scoring 22 goals while adding 24 assists. He’ll likely battle for a spot in Anaheim’s bottom six as he looks to make good on his second go-round in California.
[Related: Ducks Depth Chart]