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2017 PTO Tracker

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Over the course of the offseason more and more players will accept invitations to join team training camps. Usually these are players trying to resurrect their career or to show that they have one or two more years left before retirement.

Making a team as an invitee is harder than just being one of the top-12 forwards or top-6 defensemen. Teams are usually looking for specific needs, such as a speedy second line forward or a defenseman who can eat minutes. Teams may want to save their bottom roster spots for developing prospects, so invitees risk being cut unless they meet a team’s identified need.

Here are the notable players who have been invited to training camps thus far. The list excludes players that are attending camps but are already signed to minor league contracts or prospects who are hoping to earn a minor league deal. Check here often for updates.

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2017-18 Primer: St. Louis Blues

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With the NHL season now just a month away, it’s time to look at what each team has done this summer and what to watch for in the year to come.  Today, we focus on the St. Louis Blues.

Last Season: 46-29-7 record (99 points), third in Central Division (lost in the second round to Nashville)

Remaining Cap Space: $2.43MM per CapFriendly

Key Newcomers: F Brayden Schenn (trade, Philadelphia), F Beau Bennett (free agency, New Jersey), F Chris Thorburn (free agency, Winnipeg), F Oskar Sundqvist (trade, Pittsburgh)

Key Departures: F Jori Lehtera (trade, Philadelphia), F David Perron (expansion draft, Vegas), F Scottie Upshall (free agency, Vancouver), F Ryan Reaves (trade, Pittsburgh), F Nail Yakupov (free agency, Colorado)

[Related: Maple Leafs Depth Chart From Roster Resource]

Robby FabbriPlayer To Watch: F Robby Fabbri – With respect to Colton Parayko and his expected ascension to the elite level of NHL defender, Fabbri may have even more impact on the success of the Blues this season. After a rookie season in 2015-16 when he showed off his offensive upside with 18 goals and 37 points, Fabbri was well on his way to eclipsing that total when he suffered a torn ACL and would be out for the rest of the season. With 29 points in his first 51 games, he amazingly still finished in the team’s top-10 in scoring and should push higher than that this year.

An established presence on the powerplay and a dynamic puck-handler at even strength, Fabbri had only barely turned 21 when he went down to injury. If he can stay healthy this year—he’ll be with the team when training camp starts this week—he could push 50 points or more in his third season in the NHL. The 21st-overall pick from 2014, Fabbri is ready to become a star forward in this league and has the depth and team to do it with.

It will be interesting to see where he lines up to start the year, as the Blues have a lineup filled with different types of players. Should he find himself alongside sniper Schenn and two-way dynamo Alex Steen, the trio could push Vladimir Tarasenko’s line for the most productive on the team. He’s also headed into a contract year, as Fabbri’s entry-level contract will expire at the end of the season. While he likely doesn’t need any more motivation, the contracts handed out to players like Leon Draisaitl, Jonathan Drouin and soon David Pastrnak should have him flying up and down the ice (and scoresheet).

Key Storyline: When the Blues fired legendary coach Ken Hitchcock in the middle of last season, the team was treading water at 24-21-5 and not making much of an impact in the Western Conference. After promoting Mike Yeo, they took off and went 22-8-2 down the stretch, with much of the credit going to young goaltender Jake Allen. Allen had been struggling tremendously to the tune of a .895 save percentage, and looked completely lost at times in the net.

When Yeo took over, assistant GM Martin Brodeur came down from the front office to work with Allen, and along with new coach Ty Conklin turned the goaltender’s season completely around. Whether it was the system, luck or something Brodeur noticed, Allen would post a .938 save percentage through the end of the season and then completely shut the door on the Minnesota Wild in the first round of the playoffs.

Though Nashville would eventually get the best of him, Allen is probably the most important player for the Blues this season if they want to get to the next level. The team needs him to be at his best, and he has all the talent to do it. Brodeur will be back upstairs this year, but the team brought in David Alexander to be the team’s goaltending coach. Alexander has known Allen since he was 14-years old in New Brunswick, and the two have a solid comfort level already. Hopefully that shows on the ice, where the Blues are a potential Stanley Cup contender.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Alan Quine Suffers Upper Body Injury, Out 4-6 Weeks

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The New York Islanders will be without another one of their expected forwards for the start of the regular season, as the team announced Alan Quine has suffered an upper body injury and will be out for four to six weeks. The team had already lost Shane Prince to injury earlier this summer, though he is on a much longer recovery timetable.

Quine, 24, played in 61 games for the Islanders last season and was expected to compete for a role—likely at center—in the team’s bottom six. In his rookie year last season he put up 18 points, but was an impressive offensive player in the minor leagues. Quine was originally drafted by the Detroit Red Wings, but opted not to sign with them and went back into the draft in 2013. He was subsquently picked by the Islanders in the sixth round, and quickly made it through their system to debut in 2015-16.

With Quine out for training camp and likely at least the first few games of the season, young players like Mathew Barzal could get an even longer look. Barzal has played both wing and center in his junior career, and has looked ready to make an immediate impact at the professional level. Whether that comes with the Islanders or the Bridgeport Sound Tigers isn’t decided yet, but he’ll be an interesting name to watch regardless.

Snapshots: Fleury, Letang, Top 100

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Marc-Andre Fleury would have likely waived his no-trade clause to go to Calgary last season, according to Eric Francis of Sportsnet who caught up with him in New York. Fleury was very cognizant of all the trade rumors surrounding him at the deadline, and knew Calgary was a potential landing spot.

I heard all the rumors – Winnipeg, Calgary and Vegas.

I didn’t know what was going to happen. At the trade deadline I couldn’t sleep that night, wondering, ‘where am I going?’

Fleury eventually ended up in Vegas with the Golden Knights, where he’s primed to be a starting goalie again and one of the early faces of the league’s 31st franchise. He’ll hope to improve on the .909 save percentage he put up last year, his lowest since the 2009-10 season.

  • Fleury’s old teammate Kris Letang has been cleared to rejoin the team at practice after neck surgery in the spring. Jonathan Bombulie of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that Letang will be on the ice on Friday when Penguins’ camp starts. Obviously the team will still be taking it slow with him, but it’s a big step to getting Letang ready for the start of the regular season. The Penguins found success even without him in the playoffs, but will be relying on him quite a bit again this season.
  • The Athletic’s Corey Pronman released the final 50 of his Top 100 Under 25 list that was started yesterday, and—surprise, surprise—Connor McDavid takes the top spot. The rest of the list is a great read, with under-appreciated players like Brayden Point and Jaccob Slavin both making appearances. The sheer number of star players listed is incredible, and continues to show how the NHL is skewing younger and younger in recent years.

Poll: Where Would You Like To See The Next NHL Franchise?

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With news this morning that Seattle will approve a plan for a new arena, expansion and relocation talk has ramped up around the league once again. The NHL will head into next season with 31 teams, and though that’s not impossible to carry forward is far from ideal. A 32nd franchise is expected at some point, and Seattle now will have a new, privately funded arena and a backer—billionaire David Bonderman—who according to John Shannon of Sportsnet has privately expressed interest in a team.

The question now is whether expansion or relocation is right for Seattle (if they are to get a team at all) and if there are any other markets that could be in the running for the 32nd franchise. Obviously, Quebec City has long been rumored as a potential expansion location and even put in a bid in the last round. Houston, Milwaukee, Kansas City, Portland and Hamilton have all been mentioned as possible fits, along with a potential second team in Toronto. Nothing is imminent in any of these markets, but the idea of expansion is at least interesting in each of them.

Where do you think will be the next city with an NHL franchise, either through expansion or relocation? We’ve listed some options below, but feel free to comment with others you feel could be a good market for a growing US hockey base. Whatever you choose, make sure to tell us which method it will be, and if relocation which franchise you see packing up and leaving.

[Mobile users click here to vote!]

Minor Transactions: 09/12/17

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With rookie tournaments coming to an end for some teams, and training camp set to open in just a few days several transactions have already been made.

Seattle To Announce New Arena Deal

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In an interesting turn of events in Seattle, King 5 News is reporting that the city will announce a formal agreement with Oak View Group (OVG) to build a $600MM arena at Seattle Center. OVG is a group led by former Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment CEO Tim Leiweke, and would propose to have the new building finished by 2020. It’s a big first step towards any potential NHL expansion to the city, and the group already apparently has billionaire David Bonderman as part of their financing group. That could draw interest from the league, as a brand new privately funded arena and strong financial backing is exactly the type of thing they look for in expansion.

The deal would potentially include a 39-year lease with two eight-year options, and would provide the city with tens of millions of dollars for transportation improvements and funding for community needs. While the NBA has apparently said they have no plans to expand right now, it does seem like the plan hinges on professional sports expansion. The NHL would be at the forefront of that, though it likely wouldn’t come for several years.

If the NHL did happen to go to Seattle, it would require another slight re-alignment to the divisional structure. Though the Western Conference still holds one less team than the East and would be the easy place for expansion, the Pacific division would be the likely landing spot for Seattle given its proximity to the other teams. Given Vegas’ entrance into the same division, someone would have to move to the Central division. That would be tough, as the NHL would be hesitant to break up the Edmonton-Calgary rivalry, and Arizona and Vegas are so close to the California-based teams. It would be interesting to see what direction they go—of course, this is predicated on the divisions and league staying the same until 2020, something that isn’t certain until Arizona gets onto stronger footing themselves.

While this is likely a step in the right direction, it by no means signals a definite expansion to Seattle. Though there has been an appetite for a team in the past by both league and market, there are a lot of hoops to still jump through before anything actually happens.

Daniel Winnik Signs PTO With Minnesota

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The Minnesota Wild have always held defensive responsibility in high regard. All of their forwards are expected to contribute in their own end, with leaders like Mikko Koivu and Nino Niederreiter being among the best two-way players in the game. Now they’ve brought in another winger known for his defensive prowess in Daniel Winnik, who will attend Wild camp on a PTO.

Winnik was listed 36th on our Top 50 Free Agent rankings earlier this summer, but will have to settle instead just for a camp tryout. The 32-year old put up another solid season a year ago, registering 25 points while once again being a solid defensive presence at even strength and on the penalty kill. Winnik is one of the more consistent bottom-six wingers in the league, recording between 19 and 34 points in each of the past eight seasons (including the shortened 2012-13 season).

Minnesota will also be bringing a no longer retired Ryan Malone to camp, with his main goal to earn an AHL contract and Olympic spot. Alex Prewitt of Sports Illustrated goes in depth on Malone’s comeback attempt, and perhaps he’ll be writing a similar story about Winnik in the near future. If he can’t find an NHL job, Winnik would almost certainly be considered for Team Canada at the upcoming Olympics, something that would have seemed far-fetched four years ago. Winnik has never represented Canada at a major international tournament, but is clearly still good enough to make an impact.

Prospects Tournament Update: DeBrincat, Hronek, Kostin

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The Athletic’s Scott Powers reports that Chicago Blackhawks prospect Alex DeBrincat believes he can “play better” despite potting two goals in as many games during the tournament so far. All eyes are on the scoring dynamo, who was a major contributor for the Erie Otters last year in the OHL. Some have projected the 19-year-old to make the Hawks roster while others believe it may take some seasoning in Rockford before the youngster is ready. The Chicago Sun-Times Mark Lazerus wrote yesterday that it will ultimately boil down to how the shorter teenage phenom will compete when he’s fighting bigger, stronger, NHL players for not only space on the ice, but also puck battles. There’s no doubt that the talent is there: it’s more about how the rookie responds when he’s put on the ice against elite talent.

  • Powers’ colleague Craig Custance weighs in on the Red Wings’ young talent and who tops the list in terms of having the best chance of playing in Detroit. Defenseman Filip Hronek leads the pack, and though he’s shown growing pains, appears to be on the same course as forward Evgeny Svechnikov, who didn’t make his first appearance in Detroit until April. More than anything, it was to ensure the young forward wasn’t rushed and the Red Wings look to take the same approach with Hronek.
  • The championship game seems all but set as the Blackhawks pasted Carolina 9-2 this evening. The Red Wings beat the Rangers 4-1,  creating a championship contest between Chicago and Columbus. St. Louis’ Tage Thompson leads all players with six points in the tournament (2-4) while DeBrincat leads all scorers with three goals.
  • Thompson’s teammate, Klim Kostin, has turned a lot of heads during the camp, and has shown that the shoulder injury that caused him to drop a bit in the draft has done nothing to limit his dangerous scoring ability. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Jim Thomas writes that Blues GM Doug Armstrong cautions patience, but even he seems ready to see what Kostin can do during training camp with the big club.

The Latest On Andreas Athanasiou

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It’s not a lot, but there were some mild updates on the Andreas Athanasiou situation in Detroit.

Detroit News beat writer Ted Kulfan reports that while there is little more to report about Athanasiou’s status with the Red Wings, time is running out for both sides to figure out how to get something done.

Kulfan writes today that though he has overtures to play in the KHL, Athanasiou’s reluctance to sign indicates a glimmer of hope that he re-ups with Detroit. Kulfan indicates that not only are they still apart in negotiations, but the Wings are tight to the Cap, even before even re-signing Athanasiou. From Kulfan’s standpoint, the Wings are setting the bar for the slew of young free agents expected to see raises next season, namely Dylan Larkin, and Anthony Mantha.

Winging it in Motown ’s John Curran takes another look, indicating that the recent silence from both sides could be a good sign for the Red Wings when it comes to the speedster returning. Curran, like Kulfan, shows both sides of the argument–writing that Athanasiou could easily be a 20-goal scorer for a Red Wings squad starving for consistent scorers. Conversely, he could be another in a long line of Red Wings players inked to lucrative deals who fail to live up to their new pay.

The Athletic’s Craig Custance notes that there is an “undercurrent of belief” in some NHL circles that Athanasiou is seeking a trade out of Detroit. What the Red Wings could fetch remains to be seen, but unless it netted something significant, it wouldn’t go over well with a fanbase that appears ready to storm Holland’s office with pitchforks and torches.

Regardless, Holland hasn’t helped his standing with his decision making lately, and many wonder if this will be his final year in Hockeytown. The Athanasiou saga hasn’t helped matters, either. On one hand, he believes the playoffs are the end goal for a team who wasn’t close last season. On the other, the roster has seen little change while Holland is struggling to sign one of the team’s better goal scorers. It certainly doesn’t help the perception that Holland’s over-spending for players during the 2016 offseason (and before that) has cost the Wings now and into the future.

As the season nears, it remains to be seen whether either side budges, or if Athanasiou calls Detroit’s bluff and heads over to Russia.

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