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Pacific Notes: Bernier, Meier, Maroon

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While no talks have been held regarding a potential contract extension, Ducks goaltender Jonathan Bernier told Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register that he’s hopeful that he’ll be able to stick around with the team beyond this season.  Anaheim brought him in early in July after Toronto paid his $2MM signing bonus that was due July 1st and he has had a resurgent season, posting a 2.49 GAA and a .918 SV% in 32 games, much better numbers than he had with the Leafs over the last couple of years.

What may be a challenge is finding the right cap hit for both sides for next season.  While it’s a certainty that Bernier will come in below the $4.15MM he’s getting this year, it’s not a given he’ll be willing to accept regular backup money either.  However, the Ducks won’t really be able to afford a premium backup as things stand as they already have nearly $70MM committed next season to 19 players which doesn’t leave them a lot of wiggle room to work with.   While a potential extension for Cam Fowler will dominate the offseason discussion, Bernier’s case will need to be addressed by then as well.

More from the Pacific:

  • Sharks coach Peter DeBoer detailed to CSN Bay Area’s Kevin Kurz the reasoning for winger Timo Meier’s return to the AHL last month. One area in particular that they wanted the 20 year old to focus on was shot selection.  While he has done well at getting the puck through to the net (he’s averaging 2.4 shots per game), the coaches have asked him to pick and choose his spots better instead of just putting the puck on net for the sake of doing so.  Meier has played in San Jose’s last two games since being recalled but could find himself on the outside looking in once Jannik Hansen (upper body) returns to the lineup.
  • Oilers winger Patrick Maroon acknowledged to Robert Tychkowski of the Edmonton Sun that he needs to be more selective in terms of when he drops the gloves. He has long had the reputation of being a willing fighter but as his role increases with Edmonton, the team needs him on the ice more often and not in the box.  The 28 year old already leads the team in fights with nine but he also happens to be tied for the team lead in goals with 25.  Maroon also noted that his hands are starting to hurt from fighting which may force him to put a stop to that part of his game for a while.

Injury Updates: Stastny, Devils, Lundqvist

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St. Louis will be without center Paul Stastny on a week-to-week basis due to a lower body injury sustained last night in the first period against Colorado, reports Chris Pinkert on the Blues’ team website.  Stastny had been centering the top line alongside Jaden Schwartz and Vladimir Tarasenko.

Further compounding the problem for the Blues is the fact that center Jori Lehtera is also out of the lineup having missed the last six games with an undisclosed injury.  Schwartz and Alex Steen both have predominantly played the wing this season but have experience playing down the middle so it wouldn’t be surprising if one of them shifts spots for the time being.  Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch adds (Twitter link) that the team is not planning to call anyone up in Stastny’s absence.

Other injury notes from around the league:

  • Although New Jersey forwards Mike Cammalleri (upper body), Jacob Josefson (upper body) and Devante Smith-Pelly (lower body) aren’t close to returning, head coach John Hynes isn’t prepared to call any of them out for the remainder of the season, notes NJ Advance Media’s Chris Ryan. With the Devils out of the playoff race, it would make some sense for them to shut the veterans down to allow their youngsters to get some more NHL playing time down the stretch.  Cammalleri and Josefson are skating on their own while Smith-Pelly has yet to skate since being injured last week.  None of the players are expected back at practice in the coming days.
  • The Rangers will have goaltender Henrik Lundqvist back in the lineup either Saturday against the Kings or Sunday against the Ducks, head coach Alain Vigneault told reporters, including Justin Tasch of the New York Daily News. He also acknowledged that the veteran netminder could play now if they needed him but with their postseason situation all but carved in stone as the first Wild Card team in the East, they can afford to give him a few extra days off to make sure he’s fully healthy.

Buffalo Sabres Send Three Players To AHL

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With the Buffalo Sabres off until Saturday night, they’ve re-assigned three players to the American Hockey League. Justin Bailey, Brady Austin and Casey Nelson will all be headed down to the Rochester Americans for at least a few days, while the team figures out who will be healthy for their weekend matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Bailey, 21, has spent 32 games with the Sabres this season, registering just four points. The second-round pick in 2013 has established himself as an effective power forward at the minor-league level, and looks like he’ll be an NHL player for years to come. While he doesn’t possess elite skill, he has shown he can play the net-front on a powerplay and remove pucks from defenders (or defenders from pucks) in the corner.

Austin and Nelson both were only called up on Monday after Taylor Fedun and Cody Franson were struck by injury. The pair have played the past two games and were forced into extended action after Rasmus Ristolainen was ejected early from last night’s contest. Both are young enough to develop into something more than organization depth, but haven’t shown much promise of locking down an NHL job full-time just yet.

West Notes: Vegas, Brodzinski, Janmark

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The Vegas Golden Knights are primed to use every dollar allowed under the salary cap, and they’ll be willing to do so in various different ways. As Dan Marrazza of NHL.com writes, the team will look at examples like last summer’s Pavel Datsyuk deal as ways to use their cap space to gather assets as quickly as possible. Remember, the Arizona Coyotes acquired Datsyuk’s cap-hit that had no salary attached to it, in order to move up in the draft and select Jakob Chychrun 16th overall. Bill Foley, owner of the Golden Knights, explained it this way:

Cap space is valuable, and there will be people willing to give us good assets to take certain contracts, because they have cap issues. There are teams that have cap stress, there re teams that have expansion stress, there are teams that have both. We’re here willing to talk to all these clubs.

Indeed, Vegas would be wise to take a book from the Coyotes asset collection strategies of the past couple of season, but they can go even further. With Foley willing to pay up to the cap, it doesn’t have to be just dead cap-hits that they acquire for assets, but real salary that is hurting teams. That opens up all 30 franchises as potential customers at the Golden Knights cap-space saloon, hoping to clear out some room to go after the big fishes on this year’s market.

  • Jon Rosen of NHL.com tells us that we shouldn’t be surprised if a Jonny Brodzinski call-up is announced tomorrow. The 23-year old winger has been lighting it up at the AHL level where he has 47 points in 56 games this season. Armed with a shot that can score from anywhere in the offensive zone, Brodzinski has been a pure goal-scoring threat at every level without possessing any other standout skill. His ability to be in the right spot at the right time has always followed him, which will now be tested at the NHL level. With the Kings now eight points back of a playoff spot and still struggling to score goals, there isn’t much risk in seeing what Brodzinski can do.
  • The Vancouver Canucks will be without Jayson Megna or Joseph Cramarossa for the rest of their current road trip after both missed practice today. Cramarossa is having trouble walking after blocking a shot in last night’s game, while Megna is dealing with an upper-body injury. The Canucks face off against the St. Louis Blues, Minnesota Wild and Winnipeg Jets before heading home at the end of the month.
  • Mark Stepneski of NHL.com relays that though Mattias Janmark was on the ice at practice today, he won’t play for the rest of the season. The young forward had surgery in September to fix a congenital knee condition that has been affecting him since he was a teenager. After scoring 29 points in his rookie season, the Stars were hoping for a big sophomore performance—one that never even got started. He says he’ll be ready for camp next fall.

Minor Moves: McKenzie, Green, Beauvillier, Hronek

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As many non-professional seasons come to an end across North America and the world, players are starting to sign with their respective organizations to get a taste of the AHL and what lies beyond for them in their hockey careers. Here are some of the latest signings around the league:

  • The Utica Comets have signed Brett McKenzie to an amateur tryout after his season ended in the OHL. The North Bay Battalion forward was a point-per-game player for the first time in his junior career and led his team in goals with 29. Selected in the seventh round last season in his final year of draft eligibility, McKenzie will try to adapt his all-around game to the AHL level.
  • Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun reports that the Manitoba Moose have signed Luke Green an ATO. The third-round pick of the Jets this past draft had an outstanding year in the QMJHL, scoring 37 points in 60 games split between the Saint John Sea Dogs and Sherbrooke Phoenix. The 19-year old defenseman will have to return to the junior ranks next year if he doesn’t make the Jets out of camp—which would be quite a feat considering the names he would have to beat out on the right side.
  • Wiebe also tells us that the Moose have given Francis Beauvillier an ATO, one of the first out of the CIS (Canadian University) ranks this season. Beauvillier was originally drafted by the Florida Panthers in 2012, but failed to sign with the team before heading to the University of New Brunswick. He even played eight games for the San Antonio Rampage of the AHL in 2013 on a similar deal.
  • The Detroit Red Wings have assigned both Givani Smith and Filip Hronek to Grand Rapids after their OHL seasons ended. Both players are already signed to their entry-level contracts, but will not burn a year due to their age as long as they stay in the AHL. Smith leaves the Guelph Storm after another season of moderate point totals and big penalty minutes. A second-round pick in 2016, the winger scored 44 points while collecting 139 penalty minutes in 64 games. Hronek on the other hand—also a second-round pick last summer—excelled in his first taste of North American hockey, scoring 61 points in 59 games. The Czech defenseman was the fourth-highest scoring defender in the OHL, showing his immense upside for the Saginaw Spirit.
  • As expected, Adam Ollas-Mattsson has joined the Stockton Heat on an ATO, coming over from his Swedish team. The 20-year old was a sixth-round pick for the Flames in 2014, and has been playing professional hockey since he was 17.

Snapshots: Hayden, Centennial, Healey

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When the John Hayden finished his season at Yale University, other teams must have hoped that he would wait just a few more months before making a decision on his playing future. The Chicago Blackhawks forward could have become a free agent in August, but according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, never considered anywhere else.

What’s not to like about playing here? There was an opportunity, you know you’re going to have a chance to win, they supported me staying in school. There was no reason to go anywhere else. 

That kind of thinking has paid off for Hayden already, as it didn’t take long for the Blackhawks to insert him into an important position alongside captain Jonathan Toews. Hayden has responded with three points in his first four games, and has shown he can be a physical presence at the highest level. The big forward—who is actually a natural centerman—is turning heads around the league, and is just another example of the exemplary drafting Chicago has shown over the past decade. As they ship players out due to salary limitations, they back-fill with talented youngsters like Hayden, Nick Schmaltz and Ryan Hartman. Each of those three will likely play a key role down the stretch and into the playoffs for the Blackhawks, who once again look like the team to beat in the Western Conference.

  • Friedman also notes that the NHL is looking towards next New Year’s Eve to celebrate the end of the league’s centennial season with some sort of event. While Friedman guesses it could have to do with Montreal, the Canadiens are already confirmed to be the opponents of the Ottawa Senators in their outdoor game on December 16th. While that doesn’t rule them out, it would be odd to see the team involved in events so close together.
  • Josh Healey has been suspended for the third time this season and fifth in his time at Ohio State, but that isn’t scaring off teams around the league. Friedman points out that many teams believe several of the incidents wouldn’t have even been penalized at the professional level, and enjoy his physical play. That said, Healey is apparently down to a short list for where he will sign once his college season eventually ends. He’s been linked to several teams in the past, including Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg. Born in Edmonton, he has twice attended their development camps but actually lists St. Louis as his favorite team on his Ohio State bio.

KHL Forwards Shipachyov, Dadonov Looking For Big Payday

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As we discussed at length earlier this year, KHL forwards Vadim Shipachyov and Evgeni Dadonov could be headed to the NHL as soon as next season. The two St. Petersburg players enjoyed excellent seasons and have considered a change to the North American game to see if they can compete at this level and cash in on their prime seasons. Cash is exactly what seems to be on their minds, as Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet writes in his latest “30 Thoughts” column.

Asking for per-season amounts around $5.5MM and $3.5MM respectively, Shipachyov and Dadonov will come at a high cost to a team looking to upgrade in their top-six. While both have produced at better than a point-per-game pace in the KHL, there is no guarantee that success would translate to the NHL. Playing for the powerhouse St. Petersburg squad alongside Ilya Kovalchuk and Pavel Datsyuk has helped improve their games, but both come with an element of risk.

Shipachyov just turned 30, and has never before experienced quite the amount of success he’s found this year skating almost exclusively with Kovalchuk. A deal that stretched into his mid-thirties could easily backfire for a team if his scoring touch is limited at this level. He does however come with a bit more size and strength than his teammate Dadonov, who struggled as a youngster with the Florida Panthers after being drafted in 2007. Dadonov is (exactly) two years younger and comes with reported smaller ask, which will likely give him a wider net of teams interested in his services.

Friedman notes that the Vegas Golden Knights have been previously linked to the pair, which would give the expansion team a big, unknown name to market around for their inaugural season. With owner Bill Foley apparently willing to spend right up to the cap in his first season, making a big international splash like either Russian sniper could be an interesting play as they try to entice new fans.

Atlantic Notes: Soshnikov, Melnyk, White

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Maple Leafs fans will see Eric Fehr in action for the first time tonight when they take on the Columbus Blue Jackets according to Kristen Shilton of TSN. The veteran forward will draw into the lineup for his first game since being acquired at the deadline from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Frank Corrado. He will be taking the place of Nikita Soshnikov, the young winger who was involved in multiple incidents in Monday’s game against the Boston Bruins.

Soshnikov first got under the skin of Bruins’ players and fans alike when he sent Patrice Bergeron into the boards head first with a crosscheck across the back, earning him just a two minute penalty (which Bergeron would match when he got up and went after the Leafs’ winger). Later in the game he took a hard hit from Zdeno Chara that seemed to rattle him, as he was seen rubbing his neck and skating unsteadily for the rest of the game. It was that unsteady nature that caused him to fall when Dominic Moore would collide with him in the dying minutes, giving the Maple Leafs a powerplay that ended up winning the game. There is no word on what the extent of the injury is for Soshnikov, but a concussion would not be out of the question.

Winnipeg Jets Recall Brandon Tanev From Manitoba

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With the Winnipeg Jets heading out to the west coast for a two game road trip that will see them take on the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks, they’ve recalled Brandon Tanev from the Manitoba Moose on an emergency basis. Though Chris Thorburn returned to the lineup, he skated only 2:47 last night.

Tanev has actually played 42 games with the Jets this season, but was sent down during the Jets’ bye-week and never brought back up. The forward had four points in those games and saw his ice time reduced heavily in the dozen games before his re-assignment. The younger brother of Vancouver’s Chris Tanev, Brandon went undrafted before being signed out of Providence College last spring.

The Jets find themselves out of the playoff picture once again as they sit 10 points back of Nashville for the final spot with just nine games to play. It has been a year with tremendous highs and lows for the Winnipeg franchise, who will try to avoid injury and go into next year with an excellent young group.

Snapshots: Ristolainen, Sobotka, Monsters

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Not known for a dirty or over-the-line style, Rasmus Ristolainen nevertheless was ejected from last night’s Buffalo Sabres-Pittsburgh Penguins game after delivering a bone-crushing open ice hit on Jake Guentzel without the Penguins’ forward ever touching the puck. Ristolainen had decided to hit him before the pass was deflected, and carried through the check likely not realizing it had changed direction.

Guentzel was bloodied, and lost his footing when he tried to stand up. He wouldn’t return to the game, and was immediately diagnosed with a concussion. John Vogl of the Buffalo News writes that Ristolainen may face further discipline from the league, but his head coach doesn’t think he should. “I don’t like the fact that he got ejected,” coach Dan Bylsma told Vogl, saying that his defenseman was committed to the hit, and unfortunately the puck didn’t get there. The Buffalo defender will have a hearing with the Department of Player Safety tomorrow afternoon.

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