Chris Mason Signs PTO With ECHL Team
After spending the last two seasons in Europe with various professional clubs, veteran NHL goaltender Chris Mason is headed back to North America. According to Mike Ashmore of the Trentonian and My Central Jersey Sports, the Colorado Eagles of the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) have signed Mason to a PTO, expecting the goaltender only to suit up in emergency situations.
According to the goaltender himself, it’s not about coming in to win a job:
…they brought up a scenario where I could come in and maybe be an emergency goaltender. I know that the Eagles have had a lot of issues the last couple of years with guys getting hurt and bringing guys in, so this is a chance to maybe have a little more stability in that position. I’m not looking to come in and win a job or anything…
Mason is a veteran of 317 NHL games, most notably with the Nashville Predators where he even received Vezina votes on occasion. The 40-year old netminder once was a star in the league, and holds a 137-113 career record with a .909 save percentage and 2.66 goals against average.
Perhaps the netminder will find himself more active than he thinks however, as the Eagles had six different goaltenders suit up for them last season, four of them for at least 10 games.
Barret Jackman To Retire After 14 Years In NHL
Tuesday, 1:50pm: According to Lou Kourac of NHL.com, the team will sign Jackman to a one-day contract so he can officially retire as a member of the St. Louis Blues.
Monday: Longtime St. Louis Blues defenseman Barret Jackman is set to retire after 14 seasons in the NHL.
The Blues have scheduled a press conference to announce Jackman’s departure from the game. Jackman played the first 803 games of his career with the Blues before playing 73 games with the Nashville Predators last season. The Predators bought out the final year of Jackman’s two-year, $4MM contract back on June 30. He’ll receive $666K per season for the next two years as a result of that buyout.
Jackman was a dependable stay-at-home defenseman for much of his career. He won the Calder Trophy for rookie-of-the-year in 2002-03, beating out Henrik Zetterberg and Rick Nash.
He finished with 29 goals, 186 points, 1102 PIM, and a +54 rating in 876 career regular season games. In 53 playoff games, Jackman scored twice and had 7 points, but finished with a -18 rating. His deepest playoff run was this past post-season with the Predators, when Nashville lost Game 7 of the second round to San Jose.
Tuesday’s press conference will be posted to the Blues website following the event.
Injury Notes: Monahan, Seguin, Kronwall
When Sean Monahan had to pull out of the World Cup with a back injury, many Flames fans clutched their hearts and hoped for the best. Indeed, with Johnny Gaudreau still without a contract, a Monahan injury could have spelled the end for the Flames before the season even started.
After returning to the ice a few days ago however, Monahan skated without the dreaded no-contact jersey today, according to Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet. A full participant in practice, Monahan should be ready for the start of the regular season. With a Gaudreau contract sounding at least a bit closer to a reality, perhaps Flames fans have nothing (or at least less) to worry about.
- Another World Cup deserter, Tyler Seguin, will ramp up his skating workload today, according to Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News. Seguin suffered a hairline fracture in his foot just before the tournament began, but has never been expected to miss the start of the regular season. Lindy Ruff stands by that, telling Heika that he assumes Seguin will be ready for opening night.
- Niklas Kronwall, one of the injured Red Wings was on the ice for the first time today during his rehab of a knee injury. While Kronwall isn’t expected to take part in any preseason games, Ansar Khan of MLive reports that head coach Jeff Blashill thinks he has a chance at opening night in Tampa Bay next Thursday. Tomas Tatar, Frans Nielsen and Thomas Vanek all re-joined in practice today as well, the trio coming off the silver medal winning Team Europe.
Snapshots: Patrick, Gudas, Tootoo
The NHL’s Central Scouting has released their initial rankings for the 2017 draft today, and 29 players have received ‘A’ grades, the first-round stamp of approval. Among them is expected top pick Nolan Patrick of the Brandon Wheat Kings, who is already getting unfair comparisons to hall of fame players like Jonathan Toews.
Whether Patrick develops into an elite two-way center or not, he does look like a blue-chip prospect at this point, after scoring 102 points in 72 matches last season. He’s off to a nice start this year, having scored three points in his first two games.
- According to multiple reports including Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo! Sports, Radko Gudas will not receive any supplementary dicipline for his hit on Jimmy Vesey last night. The Flyers’ defenseman was ruled to not have time to change his path once Vesey turned his back to him. Vesey was not seriously injured on the play, though he easily could have been as his head hit the glass. This comes after the league issued a one-game suspension to Niklas Hjalmarsson for his hit on Ty Rattie. The league is also considering additional punishment for Tanner Pearson after an illegal check to the head.
- No stranger to league discipline himself, Jordin Tootoo is trying to make the Blackhawks’ roster this fall and as Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun Times writes, it’ll take more than just his leadership. Tootoo understands that the game has changed in the past decade, and his place as an enforcer on the fourth line is no longer safe. He’ll have to prove he can play an effective style of hockey with his stick and skates before lending his fists to the team. Tootoo has shown he can contribute in the past, scoring double digit goals twice in his career, most recently in 2014-15.
Tobias Rieder Agrees To Terms With Arizona
One down, six to go.
The Arizona Coyotes and restricted free agent Tobias Rieder have agreed on a two-year, $4.45MM contract, according to Elliotte Friedman. The contract will pay Rieder $2MM this season and $2.45MM in 2017-18.
Rieder scored 14 goals and 37 points in 82 games last season. He’s developed nicely for a fourth round pick, growing into a dependable two-way top-nine forward with upside.
We reported earlier today that Friedman believed Rieder was close to publicly asking for a trade after several months of tough negotiations. Rieder’s agent had also recently stated he believed a trade would be in both sides’s best interest.
The Coyotes acquired Rieder from the Edmonton Oilers back in 2013 for fellow 2011-fourth round pick Kale Kessy. The Oilers did not qualify Kessy this summer; he’ll suit up for the ECHL’s Tulsa Oilers this season.
There are now six high-profile RFAs remaining on the market: Hampus Lindholm and Rickard Rakell in Anaheim, Rasmus Ristolainen in Buffalo, Johnny Gaudreau in Calgary, Nikita Kucherov in Tampa Bay, and Jacob Trouba in Winnipeg.
Red Wings Roster Crunch: Analyzing the Forwards
What will the Detroit Red Wings do as the exhibition season only has one week left? General manager Ken Holland had a lot of people scratching their heads when it came to his offseason signings, no one more than Steve Ott, who adds an element of grit, but already irritated the Red Wings faithful with his hit on teammate Tomas Nosek during a scrimmage. Holland made it a priority to get “tougher” and while that’s certainly a sure bet with Ott in Detroit, head coach Jeff Blashill wants to feature speed in his lineup, which favors the younger players.
So what to expect if you’re a Red Wings fan? Seasons past certainly favors the veterans, but with Anthony Mantha having a solid preseason and Andreas Athanasiou picking up where he left off, it would certainly behoove the Wings to watch those two younger players closer than just sending them back to Grand Rapids because they’re safe getting through waivers. Three seasons ago, the Wings did just that with Gustav Nyquist, who when finally given the chance, went on a torrential scoring binge that helped the Wings into the playoffs.
Sure Bets
Henrik Zetterberg, Dylan Larkin, Justin Abdelkader, Tomas Tatar, Frans Nielsen, Gustav Nyquist, Thomas Vanek, Darren Helm, Riley Sheahan, Luke Glendening, Steve Ott.
These guys are all in, though Zetterberg is still iffy based on his knee. Should he not play, it would open up a spot for one of the younger kids to get a chance to stick longer with the big club. Nielsen is looking like a great pickup after he had a terrific World Cup of Hockey performance, along with teammate Tomas Tatar. Larkin has looked strong on his skates and made immediate contributions upon his return from the World Cup. He will also move to center, relinquishing Zetterberg from a heavier workload. Abdelkader, Helm, and Glendening will be counted on to grit out scoring chances and chip in with goals. Detroit is hoping Vanek will have a bounce back year with at least 20 goals. Sheahan, who has also been strong in the preseason, is also being looked upon to add more in scoring.
This is where it gets interesting. Miller and Ott’s contracts can be buried in the AHL because of the minimal amount they’re making: Ott at $800K and Miller at $1.025MM. Ott will most assuredly be on the opening night roster, but isn’t guaranteed to stay there. Ott will make the roster only because the team is in love with the grit narrative that doomed Team USA in the World Cup.
Though it bothers Red Wings fans that the loyalty is shown to players like Miller, who despite supposed penalty killing prowess, adds very little in terms of productivity on the ice at full strength. Going off of previous trends, it’s a safe bet that Miller will most likely end up on the Detroit roster, which if it sends Athanasiou and Mantha to Grand Rapids, will cause the fanbase to howl with disgust.
Finally, should Nyquist get the ice time he deserves, he should have no problem reaching the 20 goal plateau and in theory, should get close to his first 30 goal campaign.
Bubble players:
Martin Frk, Tomas Nosek, Tyler Bertuzzi Anthony Mantha, and Andreas Athanasiou.
With Mantha and Athanasiou making strong cases, it should give Holland pause as to going with his “over ripen” strategy and sending younger players to the minors. Mantha beefed up in the offseason and has been a force on the ice, netting goals in consecutive games. Athanasiou has been his usual disruptive self, using his speed to force turnovers and make plays on the offensive side of the ice. But basing it off previous Detroit decision making, no matter what the younger players do, unless they prove them indispensible as Larkin did last preseason, they will end up in the AHL because of the “Red Wings way” of favoring veterans.
Frk is an interesting case. After struggling and going back to the ECHL to retool his game, he has been steady and making his case during the preseason. The problem is Frk is not waiver exempt and would likely be claimed should he be exposed.
Bertuzzi is scrappy and has a knack to find the net, but needs just a little more seasoning before making the final roster–not to mention that Mantha and Athanasiou will block his path.
Nosek will start the season in the AHL with chances to make appearances in Detroit should there be injuries.
Injured: Teemu Pulkkinen and Tomas Jurco.
Jurco is not expected back until November while Pulkkinen is projected to play later this week.
Long Term Injured Reserve: Johan Franzen and Joe Vitale.
2016-17 Season Preview: Tampa Bay Lightning
With the NHL preseason underway, PHR continues to look at every team prior to the regular season. Today, we look at the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Last season: 46-31-5 (97 points), Finished 2nd in NHL Atlantic Division. Defeated Detroit 4-1 in the first round; Defeated New York Islanders 4-1 in the second round; Lost to Pittsburgh 4-3 in Eastern Conference Finals.
Cap Space Remaining: $5.55MM via CapFriendly.
Key Newcomers: None
Key Departures: None
Player to Watch: Ben Bishop. There are so many players to keep an eye on (namely Nikita Kucherov), but Bishop is intriguing because of what general manager Steve Yzerman will do as the netminder enters the final year of his contract. With Andrei Vasilevskiy waiting patiently behind him, Bishop has become a valuable commodity. Does Yzerman hold onto him for insurance purposes and unbelievable goaltending depth? Will he peddle him at the trade deadline or even before that, trying to pick up additional depth for a deep Stanley Cup run? While many wonder what he’ll do, Yzerman has proven to be the master negotiator and a front office executive who will do whatever it takes to strengthen the team. With Bishop coming off of a stellar season, it will be interesting to see if Bishop can replicate the performance, and if so, whether it will be with the Bolts or another team starved for a great goaltender.
Key Storylines: Is this the season Tampa Bay puts it all together and wins the Cup? Tampa is one of the deepest, if not the deepest team in the NHL, and a major contributor to that is Yzerman. As problem after problem faced the team, Yzerman barely broke a sweat navigating every issue. Jonathan Drouin demands a trade? No problem. Yzerman remained firm, let the situation blow over, and when trouble brewed in the way of injuries, Drouin was brought back to the big club and amazingly, peace was restored. Drouin also went on to be a major factor in the Bolts’ return to the conference final.
Steve Stamkos had a number of suitors lining up for what could have been the biggest free agency bonanza since Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, and Yzerman locked him up before free agency could even begin. He then re-upped with Alex Killorn, Vladislav Namestnikov, J.T. Brown, Cedric Paquette, Victor Hedman, and Vasilevskiy. While they didn’t add or subtract any major players, Yzerman locked up significant pieces with the exception of Kucherov, who is holding out for a new contract. If there’s anything to be said, it’s that Yzerman will find a way to solve the problem, be it through a trade (think the Martin St. Louis deal that Yzerman won) or a new contract–though the latter will be more difficult to maneuver. If Yzerman does trade Bishop down the road, expect him to find a defenseman to help shore up the blueline.
Should the Lightning stay healthy, there are few teams that could rival them in the regular season or playoffs. This could be the season that Yzerman, Jon Cooper and company bring a second Stanley Cup back to Tampa.
Snapshots: Vegas, Hjalmarsson, Pearson, Elias
The expansion Las Vegas may not yet have a team name but they now have a team president as the team announced the hiring of Kerry Bubolz to that position today. He departs the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers where he most recently served as their president of business operations.
Bubolz has a bit of a hockey background having served as president and alternate governor for the AHL’s Cleveland (formerly Lake Erie) Monsters while also spending some time in the Carolina Hurricanes organization.
While the team name hasn’t been announced, everything else appears to be falling into place for Las Vegas. They have an experienced GM running the show in George McPhee while also bringing in scouting directors. Recently, reports surfaced that the team may be permitted to make trades in advance of next June’s expansion draft which would be a first for an expansion team in league history.
Elsewhere around the league:
- Chicago defenceman Niklas Hjalmarsson has been suspended for the remainder of the preseason and one regular season game, the NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced. As a result, Hjalmarsson will miss the season opener against St. Louis on October 12th and will forfeit a little more than $22K in salary.
- The Department of Player Safety also announced (via Twitter) that Los Angeles left winger Tanner Pearson will have a telephone hearing for his illegal check to the head on Edmonton defenseman Brandon Davidson on Sunday night. The hit occurred in the second period and Pearson was ejected for the hit.
- Unrestricted free agent left winger Patrik Elias is taking a “month-by-month approach” when it comes to his hopeful return to the Devils this season, he told Mike Morreale of NHL.com. Although he isn’t under contract, he is still participating in team meetings and has a stall in the dressing room in anticipation of a return. Elias is their all-time leading scorer with 1,025 points in 1,240 games and has only played for New Jersey in his 20 year NHL career.
Injury Notes: Duchene, Andersen, Johansson, Wilson
Colorado forward Matt Duchene played through a separated shoulder for Team Canada at the recently completed World Cup of Hockey, writes Terry Frei of the Denver Post. The injury was sustained on September 13th, four days before the opening round of the tournament.
Duchene noted to reporters that it was a Grade One separation which equates to a small displacement of the joint. He practiced with the Avalanche for the first time today since returning from the tournament and while it doesn’t sound like he is fully healed, he isn’t likely to miss any time from it either:
“It’s better. It’s a little stiff in the mornings, but once I get warmed up, I don’t feel it. Obviously, the first time you go out, you’re a little tentative on it, but after that, it’s just fine. I feel good.”
After a discussion with new head coach Jared Bednar, Duchene expects to start the season on the right wing but wouldn’t be surprised if he still spends time at center, his natural position.
[Related: Avalanche Depth Chart]
Other injury news from around the league:
- After suffering an upper body injury while representing Denmark at the Olympic Qualifying tournament last month, Toronto goaltender Frederik Andersen will make his preseason debut with the team on Tuesday night, reports the Toronto Sun’s Terry Koshan. Head coach Mike Babcock wouldn’t confirm how much action he’ll see but noted that Andersen will play at least one period. The Leafs acquired the 27 year old netminder from Anaheim back in June for first and second round draft picks and immediately signed him to a five year, $25MM contract. Assuming there are no setbacks tomorrow, he should be on pace to start the season next week.
- Capitals winger Marcus Johansson skated on his own before practice today but is expected to miss a few days, notes Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post. He suffered a lower body injury in Sunday’s preseason contest against the Islanders. In the same report, right winger Tom Wilson participated with limited contact at practice as he continues to recover from an upper body injury suffered last week.
Mike Santorelli Retires
Barely two months after leaving the NHL and signing a two year deal with Geneve-Servette in the Swiss league, center Mike Santorelli has announced his retirement, the NLA team announced (link in French). The decision came as a result of injuries as Santorelli was expected to be out long-term. The 30 year old suited in six games for the team before hanging up the skates, picking up a goal and three assists.
Santorelli played in 406 games over an eight year NHL career with Nashville, Florida, Winnipeg, Vancouver, Toronto, and Anaheim, scoring 64 goals and 74 assists. His best year came in 2010-11 where he had his lone 20 goal season, tallying 20 goals and 21 assists while playing in all 82 games.
As a result of his retirement, Geneve-Servette now has an import spot open and appear to once again have their eyes on Rangers forward Nathan Gerbe. Back in June, it was reported that he was close to signing with the team; one Swiss paper reports (via Swiss Hockey News) that a deal was actually signed but was dissolved at the time he signed with the Rangers. If that is true, Gerbe could be loaned to them if he is cut by New York and clears waivers. The 5’6 forward had just seven points in 47 games with Carolina last year but had 28 and 31 point campaigns in the last two seasons with the Hurricanes.
The same report suggests Rangers forward Josh Jooris may also be targeted by Geneve-Servette if he were to be cut by New York; his father played for the team back in 1998-99. Jooris suffered a groin injury in his first preseason game and has yet to suit up since which certainly won’t help his chances of cracking their opening night roster.