Archives for February 2017

Morning Snapshots: Bruins, Penguins, Leafs, Lightning

February 18, 2017 at 9:36 am CDT | by Mike Furlano Leave a Comment

News and notes from around the NHL this morning:

The Boston Bruins recalled forward Peter Cehlarik from the AHL Providence Bruins this morning, reports the Providence Journal’s Mark Divver. Cehlarik was sent down during the Bruins’ bye week to get more ice time. He didn’t actually play in any games, but practiced with the team and worked on his game. The Slovak prospect has impressed in his short stint with the Bruins, recording 2 assists in his second NHL game. Cehlarik currently has 18G and 15A in 40 AHL games.
The Pittsburgh Penguins have reassigned forward Josh Archibald to the AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins this morning, reports the Post-Gazette’s Dave Molinari. Archibald scored two goals in his season debut with the Penguins on February 11th, but followed it up the next night with no points and only 8 minutes played. The small forward returns to the AHL where he has 11G and 11A in 48 games.
Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston speculates that Toronto Maple Leaf forward Mitch Marner is out tonight against the Ottawa Senators. The Leafs expect prospect Nikita Soshnikov to play tonight, implying that Marner is out of the lineup. Marner suffered a shoulder injury Wednesday against the Columbus Blue Jackets, and is listed as day-to-day. Soshnikov is coming off an upper-body injury himself, and looks to make the most of his return.
The Tampa Bay Lightning have recalled Cory Conacher, reports the Tampa Bay Times Joe Smith. Conacher is lighting up the AHL right now, with 10G and 32A in 41 games. He’s been less productive at the NHL level, recording only 1G and 1A in 7 games. Smith speculates that the recall acts as insurance in case Lightning forward Tyler Johnson cannot play. Johnson missed the last two games with a lower-body injury.

Where Do The Dallas Stars Go From Here?

February 17, 2017 at 9:12 pm CDT | by natebrown 4 Comments

In a couple pieces written about the Dallas Stars, The Dallas Morning News’ Mike Heika and Fan Rag’s Carolyn Wilke both look at what has gone wrong with the Stars and how best to reverse course. Heika calls them “toast,” recognizing that a 1-7-0 run sunk the Stars chances at the playoffs. Heika notes that though the Stars have missed the playoffs six out of the last eight seasons, it isn’t often in February that their season obituary could be written. While some fans may think it’s unfair to write the Stars off so early, he shows that unless the Stars go 18-5 the rest of the way, it’s pretty hopeless.

Heika offers advice, noting that the Stars need to evaluate their young defensemen, determining which ones should be kept since the expansion draft is around the corner. He also believes they need to assess their best veterans, seeing if they should take a flier on Ales Hemsky, Lauri Korpikoski, Adam Cracknell and Jiri Hudler beyond this season. It would also be best if the Stars chose one goaltender between Antti Niemi and Kari Lehtonen since it’s leading to a financial impasse.

Wilke takes a different look, wondering if the coaching staff is to blame, and takes the approach that Ruff simply cannot be the sole blamed for the season they’ve endured. A roster decimated by injury didn’t help matters, she writes, but Ruff can still shoulder some blame with his playing decisions and deployment, not to mention an anemic penalty kill. But going in Ruff’s favor is a lack of coaches on the market, none of whom seem a good fit for the young and fast Stars. Wilke sees the Stars selling off and warns fans to wave goodbye to some of their favorite players. She also asks some questions about Jim Nill’s job.

PHR’s Glen Miller wondered a few weeks ago if the Stars are going to follow in Minnesota and Columbus’ footsteps, finding success only a year after a throw away season. Injury is certainly the greatest factor in Dallas’ fall. Further, coaches or front office executives don’t suddenly become geniuses or buffoons over one season’s time. Nill sat a little too long on the goalie issue, as Wilke points out, but without Nill, the Stars don’t have last season’s successes. His aggressiveness and eye for talent, especially with prospects, will pay dividends for the Stars. Further, looking at Jim Rutherford, who made a few tweaks to a Penguins roster and shuttled a coach, suddenly found himself hoisting a Stanley Cup six months later.

There is no secret formula. Teams like the Detroit Red Wings have shown that not everything can last forever, especially with a loyalty that has been one of the strongest in the NHL Rutherford’s example shows that sometimes it takes a few changes to win. Others, like the Avalanche, struggle to find success no matter how many changes they make.

The Stars have the roster to compete. It may just be a few Rutherford-like moves that shows this season was an anomaly.

Central Notes: Blackhawks, Mitchell, Predators

February 17, 2017 at 8:05 pm CDT | by natebrown Leave a Comment

The Daily Herald’s John Dietz writes that the Blackhawks are aiming for a strong start following their bye week.When returning from a bye week, teams are 3-10 after playing their first game. The Hawks don’t start up again until Saturday night, but head coach Joel Quenneville thinks that while the break can cause “hiccups,” the break can be a source of good. Defenseman Duncan Keith and Patrick Kane both think the team will be fine, while Keith realizes that Edmonton has been on a roll and will give the Hawks their best, despite a 5-1 beating the Hawks handed them just a week ago.

In other Central Division news:

The Wild returned Zack Mitchell to the Iowa Wild after being recalled earlier in the week. Mitchell has played in 11 games this season with the Wild, but has failed to register a point with the big club. It contrasts with his performance in Iowa, where Mitchell led the team in scoring last season. This season he has 14 points (8-6).
The Predators are on pace to sell out all of their home games this season reports the Tennessean’s Nate Rau. This would be the first time in franchise history that the Preds would sell out, and team officials say that the Preds have been on a “hot streak” in term of sales since hosting the All-star game. Rau writes that only seven years ago, the Predators were in danger of being sold and possibly moved due to a lack of interest. But another key has been the creativity of season ticket packages. After offering two-year plans, and now three-year plans, the job done by the team on the ice and the front office have allowed for such creativity.
Related: Deadline Primer: Nashville

Trade Candidate: Drew Stafford

February 17, 2017 at 6:59 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

With the trade deadline quickly approaching, we will be profiling several players in the weeks ahead that are likely to be dealt by March 1st.

Winnipeg’s Drew Stafford is often an overlooked piece of the Evander Kane blockbuster back in 2015. He had a good first full season with the Jets but has underachieved this year which makes him a player that they may be looking to move in the coming days.

Contract

Final year of a two year, $8.7MM deal ($4.35MM cap hit and salary) – Will be a UFA in July.

2016-17

This hasn’t been a good walk year to say the least for the 31 year old. He has missed 21 games due to a pair of injuries this season and now that he’s healthy again, he has found himself on the Jets’ fourth line in recent games.

On top of those problems, his production has dried up. After a 21 goal season in 2015-16, he has just four tallies on the year which, for a player who was expected to be a top six forward, isn’t getting the job done. Stafford’s game isn’t ideally suited to a checking role either which is why he has been dropped even further and looks like a prime change-of-scenery candidate.

Season Stats

39 GP, 4 goals, 8 assists, 12 points, -3 rating, 12 PIMS, 66 shots, 13:16 ATOI, 46.2 CF%

Potential Suitors

Stafford isn’t going to fit into a top six role on a contending team but is the type of big winger that several teams may like on an offensive-minded third line. As teams look to deepen their rosters at this time of the year, there should be some fits around the league.

In the West, the Kings line up as a potential fit. Head coach Darryl Sutter likes size on the wing and while they’re a deep team on paper, several of their wings have failed to live up to expectations so an addition in that area is likely to happen. While Stafford is also underachieving, he may prove to be a better fit in a third line role for them. Nashville may also be one to watch for. They have a good crop of wingers on the roster currently but their better prospects aren’t fully ready for prime time action if injuries strike which makes someone like Stafford an intriguing insurance policy.

Out East, Senators GM Pierre Dorion has talked about the importance of forward depth all season. While they’ve already added Tommy Wingels, Curtis Lazar’s name has been popping up in trade speculation as of late and Stafford could serve as a replacement if the youngster moves. The Bruins have played their way back into the playoff picture and have plenty of cap space to work with. They have some underachieving wingers as well and may be looking to give a look to someone outside of the organization.

Likelihood Of A Trade

Considering Winnipeg’s depth up front, it’s reasonable to think that they will likely want to move him regardless of what route they decide to go on deadline day. That said, Stafford’s cap hit isn’t something that many teams will want to absorb in full, especially considering how much he has struggled this season. If GM Kevin Cheveldayoff is willing to retain to get a deal done, there’s a very good chance he’ll move as some teams will look at his track record and deem him worthy of a shot at a discounted price. If they’re not willing to hold any money back in the deal though, the odds of a move will drop considerably.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Red Wings Notes: Vanek, Larkin, Mantha, Holland, Howard

February 17, 2017 at 5:55 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

The Red Wings have had a few discussions with Thomas Vanek’s agent Steve Bartlett regarding a possible contract extension, reports ESPN’s Craig Custance (Insider required). However, it will take a no-move clause for Vanek to consider signing prior to the trade deadline.

The reason for that is the upcoming expansion draft. Bartlett wants to avoid a scenario where he signs now and then is left unprotected in that draft, creating the risk that he could wind up with the Golden Knights; a full no-move clause would alleviate that but also force Detroit to leave another forward exposed. From the Red Wings perspective, that may not be the best move especially considering they appear to be heading towards selling at the deadline. With that in mind, Custance argues that GM Ken Holland would be wise to move Vanek now even though he has expressed a willingness to remain with the Wings beyond this season.

[Related: Vanek’s trade candidate profile]

Other news and notes from Detroit:

Skating is an area of focus for a pair of young players but for entirely different reasons, writes Dana Wakiji of the Wings’ team site. Head coach Jeff Blashill noted that they’ve been working with center Dylan Larkin to stop more often instead of just playing with speed at all times. While Larkin’s speed was a major weapon early on last season, he has been guilty of trying to play too quickly at times this year which have contributed to some struggles. On the flip side, Blashill noted that they’re working with winger Anthony Mantha to skate more frequently instead of stopping and watching or slowing the play down.
In a reader mailbag, MLive’s Ansar Khan suggests that Holland is likely to retain his job beyond this season. With the team set to miss the playoffs for the first time in a quarter-century, some have wondered if the timing would be right to turn the team over for someone else to build; Holland has held the GM title since 1997. Khan also doesn’t expect a decision to be made regarding Blashill’s future and the rest of Detroit’s coaching staff until after the season.
Goalie Jimmy Howard was on the ice today but won’t be available to play before the Wings hit their bye week on February 22nd, reports George Sipple of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter link). Howard suffered a setback earlier this week as he continues to recover from a sprained MCL. It’s expected that Howard will return to Grand Rapids of the AHL during the bye week with the hope that he’ll be able to get into another game down there.

Injury Updates: Blues, Marner, Hartnell, Schultz, Bernier

February 17, 2017 at 4:50 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

The Blues will be getting center Kyle Brodziak back in their lineup earlier than expected. The team announced that they’ve activated him off of injured reserve two weeks ahead of schedule. Brodziak suffered a foot injury three weeks ago and was expected to be out until the end of the month but he recovered quicker than expected. The 32 year old has ten points (4-6-10) in 47 games with St. Louis this season. To make room for him on the roster, the team assigned center Wade Megan back to Chicago of the AHL.

Still with the Blues, center Paul Stastny is expected to travel with the team to Buffalo in advance of their games against the Sabres tomorrow, notes Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He remains day-to-day for the time being with a lower body injury. If Stastny is ready to return, another player will have to be sent back to the AHL to make room for him.

Other injury updates from around the league:

Maple Leafs winger Mitch Marner is day-to-day as a result of a shoulder injury sustained on Wednesday in Columbus, notes Jonas Siegel of the Canadian Press. However, he hasn’t been ruled out of the lineup for tomorrow’s game against the Senators. Marner is tied for first overall in rookie scoring (with Winnipeg’s Patrik Laine) this season with 48 points (15-33-48) in 56 games. Still with Toronto, winger Nikita Soshnikov is nearing a return from his upper body injury and could be in the lineup against Ottawa.
Columbus left winger Scott Hartnell will miss his second straight game tonight with a lower body injury, reports Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch (Twitter link). The injury was originally sustained on Monday night against the Rangers. That means that right winger Oliver Bjorkstrand will get at least one more game after being recalled on an emergency basis on Tuesday. Hartnell has spent a lot of time on the fourth line for the Blue Jackets this season but has been rather productive in that role, picking up 30 points (13-17-30) in 55 games.
The Penguins continue to get tough news from the infirmary. After it was noted earlier today that Olli Maatta will miss six weeks as he recovers from hand surgery, the team announced via Twitter that blueliner Justin Schultz is dealing with a concussion and is in concussion protocol. There’s no timetable for his return to the lineup. Schultz is having a career year in his first season with Pittsburgh with 39 points (9-30-39) in 56 games. That point total ranks sixth overall among NHL defenders.
Ducks netminder Jonathan Bernier is dealing with an illness, reports Elliott Teaford of the Southern California News Group (Twitter link). However, the team is hopeful that he will still be able to serve as the backup tonight to John Gibson as Anaheim takes on Florida.

Pacific Notes: Marleau, Flames, Domingue

February 17, 2017 at 3:45 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 1 Comment

San Jose forward Patrick Marleau has seen his stock rise in recent weeks after a relatively quiet start to the season. Accordingly, talk has turned as to whether or not the team will look to sign him beyond this season. As Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News suggests though, a decision on that probably wouldn’t come until after the year. The same can be said for center Joe Thornton, another pending unrestricted free agent.

As is likely to be the case with a lot of potential UFAs in the next few months, the expansion draft will play a role. Neither veteran has a no-move clause so the Sharks could leave them exposed, allowing them to protect some other players. Then, after the draft is completed, they could look at giving them an extension. While it’s believed that Thornton is seeking a three year deal, there is no indication yet on how long of a contract that the 37 year old Marleau would be looking for.

Elsewhere in the Pacific:

While the Flames are among the NHL leaders in spending on their blueline this season (and that doesn’t include Ladislav Smid’s $3.5MM on LTIR), they have a glaring weakness on their back end which is holding them back, argues Eric Francis of the Calgary Sun. Mark Giordano, T.J. Brodie, and Dougie Hamilton comprise a high-end top three but the team is lacking a quality number four to have that unit take another step forward. Recently, Deryk Engelland (who Francis reports the team would like to sign to a contract extension, likely after the expansion draft) has moved into a top four spot but he’s better suited as a third pairing option. Calgary may be able to add a rental player to help now but will probably have to wait until the offseason to add a player that would fill that role long-term.
After faring relatively well in the second half last season due to an injury to Mike Smith, Coyotes goaltender Louis Domingue has struggled considerably so far this year, writes Sarah McLellan of the Arizona Republic. Among goalies to play at least 22 games this season, he has the lowest save percentage (.895) and the second highest goals against average (3.29). With Smith now healthy, Domingue’s playing time has dropped considerably which likely is contributing to the struggles. Goalie coach Jon Elkin suggests that his struggles are more from adapting to being a full-time NHL player for the first time. At any rate, with Arizona well out of the playoff picture, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the younger Domingue play more in the weeks ahead which should help turn his season around somewhat.

Deadline Primer: Winnipeg Jets

February 17, 2017 at 2:40 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 1 Comment

With the trade deadline now just weeks away, we’re going to start taking a closer look at each team. Where do they stand, what do they need to do, and what assets do they have to fill those needs?

It has been a bit of a strange season for the Winnipeg Jets. Despite being one of the highest scoring teams in the league, they find themselves out of a playoff spot in large part due to some below average goaltending. However, they’re still somewhat close enough to a Wild Card berth that they could go either way when it comes to the trade deadline.

Record

26-29-5 record, 5th in Central Division

Deadline Status

Likely seller but could also be a buyer depending on the position they’re acquiring.

Deadline Cap Space

$25.4MM – full-season cap hit, 43/50 contracts

Draft Picks

2017: WPG 1st, WPG 2nd, WPG 3rd, WPG 4th, WPG 5th, WPG 6th, MTL 7th, WPG 7th
2018: WPG 1st, WPG 2nd, WPG 3rd, WPG 4th, WPG 5th, WPG 6th, WPG 7th

Trade Chips

Considering where they are in the standings, it’s fair to think that they will be open to moving out at least most of their pending unrestricted free agents, especially up front where they have strong depth with youngsters such as recent first rounders Kyle Connor and Jack Roslovic who aren’t far away from being NHL ready.

They also have a decision to make regarding winger/center Mathieu Perreault. While they gave him a contract extension prior to the start of the season, he is a candidate to be left unprotected in June’s expansion draft. With that in mind, do they look to move him by the beginning of March and ensure they get something for him in return?

Five Players To Watch For: RW Scott Kosmachuk, G Ondrej Pavelec, LW Mathieu Perreault, D Paul Postma, RW Drew Stafford

Team Needs

1) Goaltending Upgrade – While the Jets were certainly hoping Connor Hellebuyck would be able to shoulder the number one job this season, he has been consistently inconsistent between the pipes which isn’t all that uncommon for a young goalie. Michael Hutchinson has struggled in a backup role and while Pavelec picked up a few wins after being summoned from the minors, he hasn’t exactly played like a starter either (and is currently on injured reserve).

Winnipeg remains hopeful that Hellebuyck can be their starter of the future but he’s not a true number one now. If they intend to compete for a playoff spot this season, they would do well to bring in a more established starter with a shorter term remaining on his contract (either an expiring deal or someone with a year left after this one). Even if they’re looking towards next season, this would make some sense as considering how many goalies are believed to be available, it would be a great time for GM Kevin Cheveldayoff to try to capitalize on what should be a buyers’ market at that position.

2) Third Pairing Blueline Help – While the Jets are thought of as a team with a lot of defensive depth, that isn’t exactly the case at the moment. Head coach Paul Maurice has leaned heavily on their top two pairings and have only used third pairing players like Postma, Ben Chiarot, and Mark Stuart in limited situations. The fact that Tyler Myers recently underwent surgery and is set to be out until mid-to-late March at the earliest means that this is set to continue for a while yet.

If Winnipeg is going to push for the playoffs, adding someone who can take some pressure off of their top blueliners would be a very welcome pickup. Even if they don’t envision making the postseason this year, it’s still an area that they should be looking to address for next year. If they do opt to sell, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them try to add a young defender who could push for a depth spot next season instead of just looking for draft picks.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Blue Jackets Looking To Add Depth Players

February 17, 2017 at 1:36 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

Although the Blue Jackets have been one of the bigger surprises around the league this season, they don’t plan on making any significant additions to their roster between now and the March 1st trade deadline, GM Jarmo Kekalainen told Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch. Kekalainen suggested that their window for success isn’t closing this year so the timing to make more of an all-in move isn’t now:

“Our window is not closing in 2017, it’s just starting to crack open. I don’t see any reason to go crazy because we have a crack open in our window. We’re trying to widen it by making wise, long-term decisions, and get better from within.”

Instead of looking towards a bigger name, Columbus is likely to look to add some depth players by the deadline. Kekalainen also hinted that any additions are probably going to be pending unrestricted free agents as a result of the upcoming Golden Knights expansion draft in June:

“The price (in trade) is not only what you give up right now to get the player, but also the risk you now have to take by having to expose another player. It’s not a normal year.”

Portzline suggests a trio of pending UFAs that would make sense for Columbus in centers Brian Boyle (Tampa Bay) and Martin Hanzal (Arizona) as well as right winger Radim Vrbata (Arizona) as players that would make sense to add. However, Arizona’s asking prices are known to be extremely high while it has been suggested that Boyle may be able to fetch a first round pick which might be too rich for the Blue Jackets.

In our deadline primer for the team, we highlighted center depth in particular as an area that they may want to address by the deadline. They have Boone Jenner playing on the wing which gives them an extra option down the middle but they’re lacking in NHL-ready centers with their AHL affiliate in Cleveland. We also suggested adding a veteran goalie to the fold with both Joonas Korpisalo and Anton Forsberg battling inconsistency in their NHL outings this season.

Regardless of who they look to add, the Jackets shouldn’t have to worry about the cap as they currently can add a player making nearly $6.3MM as a full-season cap hit per CapFriendly, an amount that would jump to over $8MM by deadline day. Accordingly, they could look to some of the more expensive rentals in terms of their cap hit that not as many teams will be able to afford which should give them plenty of options to consider in the days ahead.

Devils Place Sergey Kalinin On Waivers

February 17, 2017 at 12:28 pm CDT | by Zach Leach Leave a Comment

As predicted in their recent Trade Deadline Primer, the New Jersey Devils appear to have reached the end of their rope with young forward Sergey Kalinin. TVA’s Renaud Lavoie reports that the Devils have placed Kalinin on waivers today. It’s unknown whether or not GM Ray Shero explored trading the center beforehand, but one way or another, they appear willing to lose him at this point in time.

Kalinin is far from a lock to be claimed on waivers in the next 24 hours, though. After breaking into the KHL at just 19 years old and establishing himself as a consistent two-way player capable of producing decent offensive numbers, many thought that his signing by the Devils was a shrewd move by Shero. When Kalinin contributed 15 points in his rookie year and showed that he could be a dominant physical threat, the future seemed bright for a solid bottom-six role. Yet, just a year later, his development seems to have hit a wall. Kalinin has just four points in 42 games, continues to struggle mightily at the face-off dot, and for some reason has disappeared defensively. The 25-year-old forward has lost the majority of his value since he was an unknown commodity in Russia and now that other teams have gotten a good look at what Kalinin is, they may shy away from taking a chance of their own.

Kalinin will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season, so New Jersey or another team will have some control over his future if they’re interested in retaining him. However, since he is in just his second season in North America, he does not qualify to be exposed in the Expansion Draft, in case any teams hoped to scoop him up and offer him to the Vegas Golden Knights. Without that added bonus, Kalinin seems very likely clear waivers and head to Albany of the AHL by this time tomorrow. If he isn’t able to make up some NHL good will by the end of the season, Kalinin will likely be back in the KHL next year.

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