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Atlantic Notes: Yandle, Gionta, Duchene, Coreau

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Although things haven’t gone the way the Florida Panthers expected this season, GM and interim head coach Tom Rowe is quite pleased with the play of their key offseason acquisition, defenseman Keith Yandle, he told Harvey Fialkov of the Sun-Sentinel:

“He’s fit in terrific. He’s such a positive influence on our young guys and in our locker room in general. We targeted him as our No. 1 free agent signing [because we] thought he’d really complement our forwards.”

The team was hoping he’d add another dimension to their power play but injuries to Jonathan Huberdeau, Nick Bjugstad, and Aleksander Barkov has resulted in a drop from 2015-16’s 16.9% success rate.  However, Yandle, who signed a six year, $44.45MM contract after Florida traded for his negotiating rights, leads all Panther blueliners in points with 23 and is tied for the team lead in assists with 20 (while also tying for the team lead in power play points) so their struggles can’t all be attributed to him.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic:

  • Although he recently turned 38 and is slated to become an unrestricted free agent in July, Sabres captain Brian Gionta isn’t planning on retiring at the end of the season, writes John Vogl of the Buffalo News. The veteran added that he isn’t worried about his situation heading into the trade deadline either.  It’s worth noting that Gionta doesn’t have a full no-trade clause this year as he has a five team list that he can be traded to, per CapFriendly.  Gionta may not be the top six forward he was with New Jersey and Montreal but with 10 goals and 22 points on the season, he can still be a productive bottom six option on a contending team if he’s moved by March 1st.
  • While the Senators haven’t been linked to Colorado center Matt Duchene, Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen argues that they should make a run at acquiring him. Not only would he replace Clarke MacArthur who is out for the year with a concussion, his addition would also likely help their attendance, where they rank in the bottom ten league-wide.  Warren adds that the Ottawa’s window to win revolves around blueliner Erik Karlsson, whose contract expires after 2018-19 so they should be thinking about adding and winning now while he’s still on a below-market contract.  Duchene’s contract, by the way, also expires following the 2018-19 season.
  • Red Wings goalie Jared Coreau had an awful rookie professional season in 2013-14, winning just one of 25 appearances. It was there that he first met current Detroit bench boss Jeff Blashill who was very direct in telling him what needed to be done if he was to succeed as a pro, writes Nick Cotsonika of NHL.com.  Coreau credits his success since then to Blashill’s bluntness, which resulted in him losing weight, seeing a sports psychologist, and undergoing special vision training.  Having won five of his first eight decisions, the 25 year old has held his own since being recalled to cover for Jimmy Howard who has been out since late December with an MCL sprain.

Golden Knights Moving Closer To Hiring Their Head Coach

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The Vegas Golden Knights have accelerated their process to hire their inaugural head coach, owner Bill Foley told Steve Carp of the Las Vegas Review-Journal:

“We might have our hire made before the end of the season.  At this point, I’d say it’s 50-50 we have our head coach in place before the season’s over.”

Originally, the expectation was that a coach would be hired following the regular season and potentially before the upcoming expansion draft in June.  The fact that the timeline is accelerating suggests that the Golden Knights have their preferred target in mind and may have to act sooner rather than later in order to get their top choice.

If that is indeed the case, one of the options that would be among the favorites is former Florida bench boss Gerard Gallant.  The team asked for permission to talk to him and it’s believed they received the green light to do so.  Foley wouldn’t confirm or deny that Gallant is who they were hoping to hire:

“No comment. But I believe we’re going to get a very good coach.”

Carp suggests that the Islanders’ decision to let Jack Capuano go as their head coach is what likely precipitated the decision to try to move up the timetable to hire a coach.  Not only does their decision mean that there is another team currently with a vacancy (Doug Weight is filling in on an interim basis but isn’t believed to be a strong candidate to take the role permanently) but Gallant has history with New York, having served as an assistant with the team from 2007-2009.

Whether it’s Gallant, Capuano, or someone else, it appears that GM George McPhee has a desired hire in mind and may be moving to lock that coach up earlier than originally expected.

Snapshots: Panik, Greene, Wild, Miller, Selanne

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A little more than a year ago, Chicago and Toronto made a small trade of underperforming players that wound up yielding the Blackhawks a productive forward in Richard Panik, a move that is really paying dividends now, writes Chris Hine of the Chicago Tribune.

Panik has played several roles this season, spending time in the bottom six in a defensive role while logging plenty of minutes on their top line as a scorer well.  He has responded by matching his career high in goals with 11 and setting a new career best in points with 20.

The 25 year old has provided the Blackhawks with solid value on the salary cap as well as he is earning just $875K.  He is slated to become a restricted free agent this summer.

Meanwhile, the player Chicago gave up, Jeremy Morin, is now on Tampa Bay’s farm team.   The Leafs flipped him to San Jose last February and then the Sharks failed to tender him a qualifying offer back in June, making him an unrestricted free agent.  It may have been a minor move at the time but suffice it to say, the Blackhawks came out on top of that one.

Other news and notes from around the hockey world:

  • Although it was looking like Devils defenseman Andy Greene was nearing a return from an arm injury, it’s looking like he won’t be back until after the All-Star break, notes NJ Advance Media’s Chris Ryan. Greene had started to participate in full practices but has been scaled back to skating on his own over the past week.  Fellow blueliner John Moore (concussion) is also expected to be out until after the break.
  • The Minnesota Wild made a pair of roster moves today, assigning right Kurtis Gabriel to Iowa of the AHL while recalling Christoph Bertschy (Twitter links). Gabriel has played in 13 games with Minnesota this year while Bertschy has seen action in five games; both players have a single NHL assist this season.  Center Mikko Koivu missed Sunday’s game due to illness and is questionable to play tomorrow although he did make the trip to Dallas.
  • After sending him to the minors earlier today upon clearing, the Red Wings have recalled left winger Drew Miller, reports MLive’s Ansar Khan. The roster spot for him to return was created when Dylan Larkin was placed on injured reserve with an upper body injury.  Miller can remain on the Red Wings’ roster for 30 days or ten games played without having to go through waivers again.
  • Although former NHL winger Teemu Selanne served as an advisor for the Finnish entry into the World Cup of Hockey, he has no plans to move into a management or advisory role on an NHL team in the near future, he told NHL.com’s Lisa Dillman. He wouldn’t rule out getting back into the game at some point in one of those capacities although he does not have any plans to coach in the future.

Jets Notes: Pavelec, Laine, Perreault, Stanley

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Ondrej Pavelec’s return to the NHL has been a successful one so far as he has reeled off a pair of wins for the Jets since being recalled last week.  As Mike Sawatzky of the Winnipeg Free Press writes though, he’s not thinking ahead towards next season and if he could be more than just a short-term stopgap for Winnipeg:

“I’m not thinking about next year — at all.  I don’t know what’s gonna happen. I’m gonna be a free agent, I guess, for the first time. I have no idea what I’m gonna do. There’s no point, there’s no reason to think about next year. Whatever happens, happens.”

Pavelec is in the final year of a five year, $19.5MM contract and while it’s unlikely he’ll be able to command a new deal near that same $3.9MM AAV, he should be able to catch on as a backup somewhere.  Although the Jets have youngsters Connor Hellebuyck and Michael Hutchinson in the fold beyond this season, both have battled inconsistency which has led some to believe that a veteran number two would be a good idea for Winnipeg to play behind Hellebuyck.  The 29 year old Pavelec should get a chance in these final few months to make his case that he could be that veteran.

Other notes from Winnipeg:

  • The team is hoping high scoring rookie winger Patrik Laine will be available to play the Sharks on Tuesday, Sawatzky notes in a separate column. He has missed the last seven games after sustaining a concussion on January 7th against the Sabres.  Head coach Paul Maurice wouldn’t say for sure if Laine will return but said he is “very, very close”.
  • After a slow start that was compounded by a lower body injury that caused him to miss 14 games, left winger Mathieu Perreault is starting to round back into form, writes Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun. After recording just eight points in his first 25 games, he has picked up eight more in his last ten outings alongside Bryan Little and Blake Wheeler.  Perreault is a popular choice to be left unprotected in June’s expansion draft and accordingly, some have wondered if the team will try to trade him even though he signed a four year, $16.5MM extension back in July.  If he continues his current stretch over the next month, the Jets could have some options when it comes to moving him if they decided to go that route.  [Update: Perreault sustained an upper body injury tonight against Anaheim, the team reports via Twitter.]
  • 2016 first rounder (18th overall) Logan Stanley will miss the next four months after undergoing surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee, the Windsor Spitfires (his junior team) announced. Not only will that end his regular season, it also should keep him out of the lineup through the playoffs and will leave his participation in the Memorial Cup in question as well.  The Spitfires get an automatic entry into the Canadian junior tournament as they are the hosting team.

The Islanders’ Expansion Dilemma

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The upcoming Las Vegas expansion draft is going to throw an added wrinkle into the trade deadline plans for several teams.  One of those is the New York Islanders who are going to have some tough decisions to make when it comes to their back end.

As a refresher on the rules, teams can protect seven forwards, three defensemen, and a goalie or eight skaters plus a goaltender.  While most teams will opt for the former, New York may have to go with the latter route if they want to hold onto as many defenders as possible.

The Islanders have the following blueliners on their active roster who are either signed or under team control (as a restricted free agent) for next season that require protection:

Johnny Boychuk
Calvin de Haan
Travis Hamonic
Thomas Hickey
Nick Leddy

Of those on that list, Boychuk has a no-move clause which makes him an automatically protected player unless the Islanders get him to agree to waive it.

Also worth noting is that youngster Ryan Pulock is also eligible to be selected, Newsday’s Arthur Staple confirmed with the league back in the summer (Twitter link).  While his NHL experience is limited to just 16 games in total (and only one this season), he’s still only four years removed from being a first round pick and is expected to be a part of their back end in the near future.

How many can they realistically protect?  Hamonic and Leddy are no-brainers which, when added to Boychuk, would make up the standard three that most teams will protect.  That would expose a trio of quality defenders, all of which should carry some trade value around the league.

Up front, John Tavares and Andrew Ladd have no move clauses while young core forwards like Anders Lee and Brock Nelson seem like reasonable locks to be protected as well.  If they opted to go with the eight skaters route, they could potentially protect these four plus one of de Haan, Hickey, or Pulock which would allow them to keep at least one more defender in the fold though it would also mean some quality forwards would have to be left unprotected as well, including Ryan Strome, Casey Cizikas, and Josh Bailey (who could all be protected if they went with 7-3-1).

Here’s the dilemma for GM Garth Snow.  As things stand, it seems highly likely that the Islanders will lose a blueliner to Las Vegas, headed up by GM George McPhee, previously a special advisor to Snow and the team.  With that in mind, should the Isles look at trading one or more of those defenders now knowing that so many teams are on the lookout for quality defensemen and that it’s shaping up to be a sellers’ market?  Or, does he decide to keep all of the blueliners he has and just bite the bullet that they’re going to probably lose one?  Doing so would at least allow them to keep most of their depth intact.

With a bit more than a month between now and the trade deadline, a decision doesn’t have to be made for a little while yet.  However, this may be one of the more interesting themes to keep an eye on between now and then when it comes to the Islanders.

Friedman On Lightning: Candidate To Stand Pat At Trade Deadline

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While Lightning GM Steve Yzerman is believed to be active in trade discussions as they look to get themselves back into the playoff race, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman suggested to Sportsnet 960 in Calgary (audio link) that there’s a chance that they won’t be as big a participant on the trade market as some expect (transcription courtesy of Fan Rag’s Chris Nichols):

“One guy told me on the weekend that Tampa may not be as active as everyone thinks because Steve Yzerman could just say, ‘You know what? Our team isn’t good enough. Why would I start to make moves and trade stuff away when our team isn’t good enough.’ So I’m kind of wondering what Yzerman is thinking here.”

A popular pick to be a top threat in the Eastern Conference, Tampa Bay surprisingly finds themselves tied for dead last in the conference with Buffalo (although they’re only five points out of the final Atlantic playoff spot).

Injuries have a lot to do with their struggles.  Top scorer Steven Stamkos remains out long-term as he recovers from meniscus surgery while forwards Ryan Callahan and Brayden Point are hurt now and have missed extended time this season.  On top of that, goalie Ben Bishop as well as forwards Jonathan Drouin, Nikita Kucherov, J.T. Brown, and Ondrej Palat (among several others) have all missed at least five games at some point which has really put their depth to the test.

[Related: Lightning Depth Chart]

Goaltending, which was thought of as a strength for the Lightning heading into the season, has surprisingly been a concern for them.  Bishop, the starter for the past few years, is expected to be gone as an unrestricted free agent next season in order to save some money on the cap while handing youngster Andrei Vasilevskiy a three year, $10.5MM extension in the summer with the expectation that he would take over as the starter.  Bishop has posted a mediocre 2.78 GAA and a .905 SV%, his worst numbers as a number one while Vasilevskiy hasn’t fared much better, coming in with a 2.85 GAA and a .907 SV%.

While it’s fair to wonder if the uncertainty surrounding his future is playing a role in Bishop’s struggles, he has never really had long-term contract security wherever he has played as the longest deal he has had since his entry-level pact lasted just two years.  However, this is the first time he has been slated to become a UFA so that extra pressure hasn’t been there before.

All of a sudden, Yzerman faces a situation where there are multiple holes that need to be filled.  The goaltending hasn’t been good enough, the defense needs to be improved (and Tampa has been active in discussions to shore up that situation) while they’re routinely missing several forwards out of their lineup.  Perhaps this just isn’t their year and that has Friedman wondering if they may be more inclined to stand pat at the deadline:

“I wonder if Yzerman is looking at all of this and saying, ‘This is not the year for me to start making trades that sacrifice the future because we just don’t have the team that’s good enough to win.’”

The Lightning have a strong core to work with (although they’ll have to re-sign the likes of Palat, Drouin, and Tyler Johnson to name a few this offseason).  Yzerman has stated that he doesn’t want to take away from that core but rather add to it which would result in a less-than-typical non-selling situation for a non-playoff team.

As they’re only a handful of points out of the playoff race, a decision on whether to go for it or stand pat is still likely several weeks away.  All of a sudden though, the Lightning are becoming a team to watch for in the weeks ahead.

Senators Sign Zack Smith To Four Year Extension

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The Ottawa Senators announced that they have signed center Zack Smith to a four year contract extension.  The deal will carry a cap hit of $3.25MM and will pay that amount in each year of the deal which runs through the 2020-21 season.  Smith also receives a limited no-trade clause, ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun adds (Twitter link).

The contract represents a sizable jump in pay as he’s currently earning a $2.3MM salary (with a cap hit of $1.88MM) this season.  He was slated to become an unrestricted free agent in July.

Mar 28, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Ottawa Senators center Zack Smith (15) warms up before playing against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY SportsSmith has spent his entire career with Ottawa after being drafted in the third round (79th overall) back in 2008.  After spending the early part of his career as a bottom six grinder, he has shown more offensive upside as of late.

This season, Smith has 11 goals and 11 assists in 22 games while averaging a career best 16:13 of ice time per game.  This comes on the heels of a career-best 25 goal and 36 point campaign in 2015-16.

In his career, the 28 year old has played in 443 NHL games, scoring 75 goals and 61 assists while adding 530 penalty minutes.  He has turned himself into a reliable player at the faceoff dot as well, winning more than half of his draws in four of the last five seasons, including a 52.8% clip this year.

The contract ensures that their top three centers are locked up for next season; Kyle Turris has one year left on his deal after this season while Derick Brassard is inked for two more years.  Overall, the Sens have seven forwards signed for 2017-18 at a combined cap hit of $32.3MM, per Cap Friendly.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Canadiens Notes: Radulov, Beaulieu, Galchenyuk

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While many have taken notice of how much of an impact Alexander Radulov has had with the Canadiens on the ice, he has also been a major positive in the dressing room, writes Sportsnet’s Ryan Dixon.

In what many termed one of the riskier deals of the offseason, GM Marc Bergevin inked Radulov, who hadn’t played in the NHL since 2012, to a one year, $5.75MM contract.  The perception was that he wasn’t a great teammate with some attitude problems, a reputation he started to garner in his time with Nashville.

Instead, he has become one of Montreal’s more dominant forwards, posting 35 points (10-25-35) in 46 games to sit second in scoring behind captain Max Pacioretty.  Several teammates have also lauded his enthusiasm on and off the ice, praising his ability to be a leader on the team despite it being his first year with the team.

Last summer, some questioned the decision to sign him.  Now, the question has turned to how much will it be to keep him?

More out of Montreal:

  • Defenseman Nathan Beaulieu went into last offseason knowing other teams were calling about him and vowed to get in the best physical condition of his career. As Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette writes, he has been rewarded with a career year so far, collecting 17 points in 42 games while averaging nearly three minutes per night more than last season at a touch over 20 minutes per night.  The timing couldn’t be any better for him as second half that’s comparable to his first half should have him in line for a healthy raise as a pending restricted free agent with arbitration rights this July.
  • Despite just returning to the lineup, center Alex Galchenyuk will not suit up tomorrow night against the Flames, the team announced via Twitter. The 22 year old slightly re-aggravated his previously-injured knee on Saturday night against Buffalo although he didn’t leave at any time due to the injury.  The Canadiens noted (Twitter link) that he is listed as day-to-day.  Galchenyuk sits fifth in team scoring despite already missing 18 games because of that knee injury with 27 points in 30 games.

Roster Notes: January 23, 2017

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  • For the second straight game, Blues starting goaltender Jake Allen will be a healthy scratch. Tom Timmerman of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that backup Carter Hutton will get the start tomorrow night after third-stringer Pheonix Copley started last game; Copley will back up Hutton. Allen is scheduled to start on Thursday, after what coach Ken Hitchcock called a week of “tech workload.” Allen has really struggled this season, with his SV% dropping below 0.900 after posting a 0.920 in 47 games last season. Allen begins a four-year, $17.4MM contract extension next season.
  • Staying in the Central Division, the Dallas Stars announced via Twitter that Radek Faksa will miss the next two games with a lower-body injury and superstar center Tyler Seguin is questionable for tomorrow’s game with an illness. Seguin has quietly had a good season so far, with 45 points in 48 games. Meanwhile, Faksa has improved his point totals in his sophomore season with 22 points in 48 games, after posting 12 points in 45 games in his rookie year.
  • A day after clearing waivers, Drew Miller has been loaned to the Grand Rapids Griffins. However, as Dana Wakiji of DetroitRedWings.com writes, Miller could be back up with the big club quickly because of recent injuries to Dylan Larkin and Thomas Vanek. Miller has has five goals and an assist in 34 games with the Red Wings, after re-signing him to a one-year, $1.025MM contract in July.
  • The San Jose Sharks will get rookie Timo Meier back after missing two games with an upper-body injury. The 2015 ninth-0verall pick will play with Melker Karlsson and Tommy Wingels on the Sharks’ fourth line, according to Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. Meier has two goals and four points in 15 games with the Sharks, and 15 points in 17 game with the San Jose Barracudas of the AHL. Meanwhile Tomas Hertl is travelling with the team but will not play tomorrow night.

Snapshots: NHL Three Stars, Flames, Lightning

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The NHL has named Conor Sheary, Thomas Greiss, and T.J. Oshie as their Three Stars of the Week.

The undrafted Sheary had six goals and nine points in four games as the Penguins went 4-0-0. He had two three-point games to bookend the week. He had two goals, including the overtime winner, in the Penguin epic 8-7 win over Washington, and the same statline in the Penguins 5-1 win over Boston. Sheary now has 17 goals and 34 points in 39 games this season, a significant increase over his 10-point rookie season.

Greiss had two shutouts and an overtime loss in a week where he had a 0.971 SV%.  The Islanders shutout the Bruins 4-0 then fired head coach Jack Capuano the next day. They followed the firing with a 3-0 shutout of the Stars and a 3-2 overtime loss to the Flyers. Greiss is 12-7-3 with a 0.928 SV% so far this season, taking over the starting job from Jaroslav Halak.

Oshie had three goals and three assists in three games as the Capitals went 2-0-1 last week. Three of those points came in the 8-7 OT loss to the Penguins. The pending-UFA has 31 points in 38 games for the Capitals, and ranked fourth on PHR’s Top 20 UFA list.

  • The Calgary Flames are facing a crisis of confidence after being hammered by their division rivals, writes Mark Spector. The organization is facing some big questions, notably surrounding their top players’ ability to lead a championship team. Are Sean Monahan and Sam Bennett, with 30 and 18 points respectively, a Stanley Cup-calibre one-two punch up the middle? Does Johnny Gaudreau have the speed and temperament to get past the tight coverage? Who is the starting goalie of the future? The Flames are a fragile team, with Edmonton speeding past them in the rebuilding process and tonight’s opponent, Toronto, looking like they’re on a much better path back to the playoffs.
  • It’s not looking good for the Tampa Bay Lightning. After their 5-3 loss to the lowly Arizona Coyotes, the Lightning are currently last in the Eastern Conference. Tampa Bay Times writer Joe Smith tweeted a bleak stat for Lightning fans: since 1993-94, only two teams have made the playoffs after sitting last in their conference on January 22. The 1997 Ottawa Senators and 2009 St. Louis Blues are the only two teams to accomplish the feat.

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