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Tampa Bay Lightning Recall Byron Froese

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The Tampa Bay Lightning have flipped prospects today, calling up Byron Froese from Syracuse and assigning Matthew Peca. The Lightning will take on the New York Rangers tonight at Madison Square Garden, before travelling to Ottawa for the second half of their back to back tomorrow night.

Froese was acquired by Tampa Bay from the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Brian Boyle deal late last month, and had showed off in his three games in the AHL. Three points in two games was worth a call-up, and with the team desperately needing help at center he should get a chance to prove his NHL readiness.

The 26-year old Froese has 58 games of NHL experience, almost all of which came last year on the last place Maple Leafs. He is a very effective scoring threat at the AHL, with 26 goals and 42 points in 50 games this season. Likely never going to turn into a top-line player, he’ll try to force his way the bottom-six plans of GM Steve Yzerman before becoming a restricted free agent this summer.

Evening Snapshots: Spooner, Gibson, Enroth

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News and notes from around the NHL this evening:

  • The Boston Bruins announced that forward Ryan Spooner will not play tomorrow night against the Vancouver Canucks. Spooner suffered a concussion last Monday in a tilt with the Ottawa Senators. Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy stated that Spooner is progressing well through the concussion protocol. Spooner has 11G and 23A in 65 games for the Bruins, and the Bruins hope to get his offense back as soon as possible. The team holds down the third playoff spot in the Atlantic Division by only two points, and a bad stretch could have the Bruins on the outside looking in.
  • The Anaheim Ducks announced that goaltender John Gibson will not play tonight against the Washington Capitals. Gibson is day-to-day with a lower body injury. Gibson missed time with a lower body injury before returning on Friday against the St. Louis Blues, but heappears to have aggravated something and will take more time off. So far this season Gibson has earned a  .921 SV% and a 2.28 GAA in 49 games. Expect back up goaltender Jonathan Bernier to make the start tonight.
  • To deal with Gibson’s injury, the Anaheim Ducks have recalled goaltender Jhonas Enroth from the San Diego Gulls, the team announced this evening. Enroth was sent down on March 10th to make room for Gibson, but Gibson’s injury necessitated that Enroth return and back up goaltender Jonathan Bernier. With only 13 games remaining after tonight’s match, the Ducks are comfortably in a playoff spot, but are on the brink of becoming a wild card team and playing a much tougher opponent.

Coyotes Hope To Sign Clayton Keller Soon

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The Arizona Coyotes plan to sign highly-touted prospect Clayton Keller as soon as the NCAA season ends, reports the USAToday’s Kevin Allen. The Coyotes drafted Keller seventh overall in the 2016 Entry Draft but have not yet inked him to a contract. Keller currently plays for Boston University in NCAA Division I hockey.

Keller is having a stellar year so far. The 18 year-old has 19G and 21A in 28 games for Boston University as a rookie. More importantly career-wise, however, was Keller’s performance at the World Junior Championships for Team USA. He scored 3G and 8A in seven games on his way to a gold medal and being named a tournament all-star. His success against his peers bodes well for his future in the NHL

Keller’s stock rose dramatically since draft day, and that gives the young American prospect additional leverage to negotiate for bonuses in his ELC. Coyotes GM John Chayka told USAToday that Keller would’ve played in the AHL and given NHL stints as roster spots opened up. That may not sounds like much, but only six players from the 2016 NHL draft have played in the NHL this year, and only four have played for most of the season.

The Coyotes may be anxious to sign Keller after seeing how the Nashville Predators lost Jimmy Vesey through college free agency. Vesey, a 2nd round pick for Nashville, played in the NCAA for four years after being drafted, and chose to pursue free agency instead of sign with the Predators. Nashville’s rights to Vesey—traded to the Buffalo Sabres in the summer—expired on August 15th, and Vesey signed with the New York Rangers.

Five Key Stories: 3/5/17 – 3/11/17

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The trade deadline has now come and gone but that hasn’t stopped there from being any key storylines throughout the hockey world.  Here are five from the week that was.

1) News From GM Meetings – There weren’t many proposed changes coming from the GM meetings but there will be a couple of recommendations for next season.  It was suggested that teams should no longer be able to use a timeout following an icing while the managers would also like to see some tweaks to the bye week system.  Surprisingly, there wasn’t enough support to recommend any changes to the offside rule, one that has come under fire more frequently with the challenge system.  The league also suggested the salary cap should come in between $75.5MM-$76MM but that’s assuming that the NHLPA exercises their full 5% inflator.  Given the state of escrow at the moment, that’s no guarantee.

2) Bettman Comments On Glendale – The trouble surrounding the Coyotes and their arena situation has been well documented.  NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman entered the discussion on Wednesday, issuing a letter to Arizona officials detailing why the team needs a new home in the area.  While some have suggested the team could and should remain in Glendale but Bettman is certainly not a fan of that option, stating that “The Coyotes cannot and will not remain in Glendale”.

Curtis McKenzie3) Stars Extend Two – Dallas, in need of having some NHL forwards eligible to be exposed in June’s Vegas expansion draft, inked a pair of wingers to contract extensions in Adam Cracknell and Curtis McKenzie.  Both players received one year deals worth $675K and $700K respectively.  Each team must expose at least two forwards who have played either 40 games this season or 70 over the past two years combined.  McKenzie meets the first requirement while Cracknell fulfills the latter.

4) Vegas Signs Their First Player – Speaking of the Golden Knights, they completed their first transaction in franchise history, signing Reid Duke to a three year, entry level contract.  Duke was a 6th round pick of the Wild back in 2014 but didn’t sign and is in the middle of his final WHL season with Brandon.  He already has set career highs in goals (36), assists (34), and points (70) through 56 games with the Wheat Kings this season.

5) College Free Agency Opens – NCAA teams are starting to be eliminated from their playoffs and as a result, the free agent market is beginning to open up.  The Capitals struck early, agreeing to contracts with defenseman Kristofers Bindulis and winger Hampus Gustafsson.  Both deals begin next season and each player will report to AHL Hershey for the rest of this year on amateur tryout contracts.  With more teams being eliminated next weekend, several more players are expected to sign in the coming days.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

2017 College Free Agent Market: Defensemen

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With the college playoffs starting to get underway, we’re starting to see a few free agents that were eliminated early sign with NHL teams. Many more players will become available in the coming weeks and quite a few will sign fairly quickly.

Here is a closer look at some of the defensemen that could be of interest to teams in the coming weeks. All of these players are undrafted (and are too old to be drafted this year making them eligible for free agency) and unless they’re in their senior season, they could opt to return to their schools for the 2017-18 season.

Gavin Bayreuther (St. Lawrence)

Offense isn’t a concern for the 22 year old senior, who checks in with a point per game average just shy of 0.8 in his four collegiate seasons.  He has the tools to be a threat with the man advantage but it’s his play in his own end that caused him to be passed up in the draft despite a 36 point freshman campaign.  He had some NHL interest last year and should receive some offers again this time around.

Daniel Brickley (Minnesota State)

Brickley still has two years of eligibility left but it’s expected that he’ll be one of the more sought after defensemen in what isn’t a particularly deep class.  He came in at just over a point per game on the season (with half of those coming with the man advantage) while also missing some time due to a wrist injury.  At 6’3, he has the size that all teams covet while having the mobility and passing skills that is becoming more and more important each season.  Buffalo had him at their rookie camp and will likely be among the interested teams.

Jordan Gross (Notre Dame)

Teams have been less hesitant in recent years to hand out entry-level deals to undersized defensemen if they’re strong skaters which should bode well for Gross, who stands just 5’10.  He has a well-rounded offensive game which has made him a consistent scoring threat at the college level.  Gross has one year of eligibility left and could be a candidate to return for his senior season as it’s unlikely that teams will be looking at him to make an NHL impact right away.

Josh Healey (Ohio State)

TSN’s Bob McKenzie reported last month that the 22 year old has received interest from almost every NHL team.  The senior set a career high in points with 24 but isn’t expected to be much of a point producer at the professional level.  Instead, Healey embraces the physical side of things and is one of the most dominant players in that element at the college level.  Last month, McKenzie suggested that Calgary, Edmonton, and Nashville will be among his suitors after Healey attended their rookie camps over the past two years.

Michael Kapla (UMass-Lowell)

Like Gross, Kapla is a bit on the smaller side (listed at 6’0) but his mobility and puck moving skills will help him garner NHL interest.  He wasn’t much of a scorer this season (just two goals) but has been a strong playmaker, picking up a career best 24 assists.  Kapla isn’t someone who teams will be looking to sign to play right away (and burn the first year of his contract) but he should still have several suitors and will turn pro as this was his senior season.

Neal Pionk (Minnesota-Duluth)

Pionk is also undersized at just 5’11 but boasts a powerful shot that makes him stand out amongst the rest and could make him a power play threat in the pros.  His two-way game has improved considerably this season as well while he’s also a strong skater.  As a sophomore, he has two years of eligibility left but it may be hard for him to resist the temptation to turn pro as he should have no shortage of contract offers.

Jimmy Schuldt (St. Cloud State)

The 21 year old received a lot of attention after his freshman season, receiving invites to at least eight different development camps (he went to the ones for the Blackhawks and Islanders).  He took over as the captain at St. Cloud this season and frequently played on their top defensive pairing.  Schuldt’s production dipped a little bit (from 26 to 19 points although he played six fewer games) so he’s a candidate to return for his junior year.

Garrioch’s Latest: Kulikov, Franson, Kane, Sakic, Olympics

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While the Sabres were expected to be active at the trade deadline earlier this month, they wound up being quiet.  In his latest Insider Trading column, Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun reports that teams weren’t interested in pending UFA defenseman Dmitry Kulikov as a result of the various injuries he has dealt with this season while there was limited interest in fellow UFA rearguard Cody Franson.

Winger Evander Kane was also a player that some thought could be moved but the scribe notes that interest in him was only mild before the deadline.  He expects that GM Tim Murray will revisit those talks in the summer.  Kane has one season left on his contract after this one with a cap hit of $5.25MM.

As always, the full article is worth a read (including plenty on the potential coaching carousel) but here are a couple of the other highlights:

  • Despite their struggles this year, Avalanche GM Joe Sakic is likely to hold onto his title and will be tasked with completing the widely anticipated Matt Duchene deal in the offseason. Colorado is heading for what appears to be a significant rebuilding process so if Sakic is allowed to retain his role now, there’s a good chance he’ll be given a long leash to work with as it wouldn’t make sense for the team to have Sakic start the rebuild and then change course shortly thereafter.
  • The wait continues for any concrete information regarding whether or not the NHL will stop their schedule to allow their players to play in the Olympics next season and there wasn’t any coming out of the GM meetings this past week. Garrioch suggests a couple of possibilities for the delay – it’s still a big issue for the players and the TV rights holders in the US (NBC – who also holds the Olympic rights) could very well be pushing the owners to allow them to go as well.  There has been talk that the league may be willing to change its stance if they get the right concessions either from the players in the form of CBA elements or perhaps the International Olympic Committee in terms of access and content rights.

College Notes: Hayden, Aston-Reese, Stevens

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The Blackhawks announced that have signed center John Hayden to a two year, entry level contract.  Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.  Hayden was Chicago’s third round pick (74th overall) back in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.

The 22 year old posted career highs across the board offensively this year at Yale in his senior season.  In 33 games with the Bulldogs, he had 21 goals and 13 assists.

Scott Powers of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that Hayden is expected to report to the Blackhawks right away and will burn the first of the two years this season.  That will allow him to get out of the entry level system and into restricted free agency in the 2018 offseason.  Had Hayden waited until August to sign, he could have opted for unrestricted free agency and it’s likely that he was able to use that as leverage to play the first year of the deal now.  As Hayden was a draft pick and not a free agent signing, he is eligible to participate in the postseason, adds Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times via Twitter.

Other news from around the college market:

  • With Northeastern Universty being eliminated by Boston University yesterday in the college playoffs, the focus will quickly shift to undrafted forward Zach Aston-Reese. The 22 year old is widely perceived as the top college free agent available this year and it was reported earlier this week that as many as 15 teams are expected to be interested in his services.  Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that the Senators, Oilers, Canucks, and Penguins are among the teams that are expected to go after the forward.  It’s worth noting that Aston-Reese attended Edmonton’s summer development camp while he was teammates with defenseman Matt Benning, who the Oilers signed in the offseason.  Given all of the expected interest, Aston-Reese should be able to land a contract that will allow him to play between now and the end of the season like Hayden did.
  • Friedman adds via Twitter that Northeastern center John Stevens is expected to draw some interest on the open market as well. The senior played in just 25 games this season and passed the point per game mark for the first time with five goals and 23 assists.  Stevens is the son of Kings’ associate coach John Stevens.

Kevin Shattenkirk Suspended Two Games

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2:15 pm: Shattenkirk has been suspended for two games, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced (video link).  He will miss the games against the Ducks and Wild and will be eligible to return to the lineup on Thursday.  Shattenkirk will forfeit a little over $47K in salary as a result of the suspension.

11:59 am: Following last night’s Capitals-Kings contest, NHL Player Safety announced that Washington defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk would have a disciplinary hearing over the phone with league officials following his charge against Los Angeles defender Kevin Gravel. With the Capitals in California on a west coast trip and scheduled to play the Anaheim Ducks tonight, the league acted quickly to schedule the hearing and is expected to make a swift decision prior to puck drop. This is Shattenkirk’s first career disciplinary review and the first for any Capitals player this season.

In the game, a 4-2 Kings win, Shattenkirk was called for a charge late in the third period after a check on Gravel and was given a minor two-minute penalty. Shattenkirk swung around the L.A. net as Gravel played the puck and, after the pass had been made, followed through on his hit, seemingly launching himself shoulder-first at the head area of Gravel. Gravel hit the boards and then fell to the ice, before exiting the ice and heading to the locker room for the short remainder of the game. There has been no word on whether or not Gravel suffered a head injury or other impairment as a result of the impact.

Shattenkirk, the prize of the 2017 NHL Trade Deadline, has played well since he was acquired on February 27th, recording four assists and over 20 minutes of ice time a night in six games. However, the Capitals have not been so lucky in that time. The NHL points-leaders are just .500 with Shattenkirk in the fold, having won their first three games after he was acquired, but then losing their last three. This recent stretch is the first time all season that the team has lost three games in a row in regulation time, and face a significant threat of dropping their fourth straight tonight in Anaheim, especially if Shattenkirk is out of the lineup. The Capitals may wrap up this tough west coast road trip tonight, but that doesn’t necessarily mean things will get right back on track, as they host the Minnesota Wild and Nashville Predators upon their return to D.C.. The team would again greatly benefit from having Shattenkirk, a player with knowledge of Central Division competition, in the lineup for those contests. A suspension seems likely based on the visuals of the hit, but anything longer than a game or two may be a stretch. However, we won’t know for sure until the hearing later on today. Stay tuned.

Ekblad, Malgin Diagnosed With Concussions

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After leaving last night’s game against the rival Tampa Bay Lightning with an apparent head injury, it has now been confirmed that Florida Panthers star defenseman Aaron Ekblad suffered a concussion. To add insult to injury – or really injury to injury – Ekblad’s teammate Denis Malgin also received a concussion diagnosis after missing last night’s game. Speaking with Miami Herald reporter George Richards following their 3-2 loss, Florida head coach and general manager Tom Rowe confirmed the injuries.

While Malgin’s concussion event is harder to pinpoint since he was ruled out prior to the game and thus must have sustained the injury in the Panthers’ prior game against the Minnesota Wild, the origin of Ekblad’s injury is obvious. Ekblad took an elbow to the head from Lightning winger Gabriel Dumont, who drove him into the glass and down to the ice. Ekblad left the game and did not return. Should Ekblad be out long-term, the 20-year-old’s absence will surely be felt in South Florida. Ekblad, the 2015 Calder Trophy winner, has been the Panthers’ most reliable blue liner since he was drafted #1 overall three years ago. This season, Ekblad is averaging the second-most time on ice for Florida, behind only Keith Yandle, and has contributed 10 goals and 11 assists thus far. However, his offensive and defensive play have slipped in 2016-17, but then again, so has the play of the entire team. Meanwhile, Malgin is a big loss in his own right as well. The rookie center has skated in 42 games this season, at just 20 years old. While Malgin has just four goals and four assists, he has been a threat at both ends of the ice in his bottom-six role.

Normally, the loss of two players at once would hurt any team. For Florida at this point in the year though, it could be the death knell on their season. The Panthers have won just once in their last nine games and has not won in regulation since February 20th, the final contest of a five-game win streak. The team is without any sort of win since the NHL Trade Deadline on March 1st. While many applauded the Panthers for acquiring Thomas Vanek from the Detroit Red Wings at the relatively low cost of a third-round pick, others felt that it was a waste, as he alone would not be enough to get Florida to the postseason. Their recent play seems to support this hypothesis. Granted, the Panthers recent stretch of games has included difficult match-ups against the Minnesota Wild, New York Rangers, and Ottawa Senators, but Florida also dropped games against the Dallas Stars and Philadelphia Flyers and had to go to a shootout against the Carolina Hurricanes to get their lone win. Things aren’t about to get any easier either. The injuries to Ekblad and Malgin come at an inopportune time, as the Panthers’ next four games are against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Columbus Blue Jackets, New York Rangers, and Pittsburgh Penguins. By this time next week, Florida’s playoff run could already be over.

 

Carl Hagelin Out At Least Four Weeks

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The Pittsburgh Penguins were without Carl Hagelin when they squared off with the Vancouver Canucks last night – a 3-0 shutout for the Pens –  and we now know why. Coach Mike Sullivan confirmed after the game that Hagelin had suffered a lower body injury the previous night -(likely a broken foot), versus the Edmonton Oilers, and the preliminary estimation is that he will be out for a minimum of four weeks. There is nothing on the specifics or extent of the injury just yet, but this timeline already puts Hagelin’s playoff availability in doubt.

Fortunately for Pittsburgh, though Hagelin is a good player, he is putting up only replacement-level numbers in 2016-17. Through 61 games, Hagelin has just six goals and sixteen assists for 22 points. Last season, Hagelin scored 27 points for the Penguins, but that was in only 37 regular season games following a January trade from the Anaheim Ducks. Sullivan has somewhat moved away from the “HBK Line”, which helped to fuel the Penguins’ Stanley Cup run last year, but individually Phil Kessell and Nick Bonino are both having strong seasons, having already matched their 2015-16 production. It seems as though Hagelin is the only one who has struggled, but this could make his absence easier to cope with. Veterans Tom Kostopoulos or Kevin Porter may be replacement options, as could first-year pro Thomas Di Pauli, who just recently returned from injury.

The problem in Pittsburgh is not Hagelin’s individual issue, but rather the sheer amount of players who are sidelined right now. Hagelin joins defensemen Kris Letang, Olli Maatta, and Trevor Daley and forwards Patric Hornqvist, Matt Cullen, and Bryan Rust as Penguins that currently have clipped wings. That makes for a total of seven opening day starters who are out of the lineup with injury, with only so many options to replace them. However, the Penguins have been able to deal with the problem so far; they’re 7-3 in their last ten. Yet, in that stretch Pittsburgh has only beaten one team who is currently in playoff position. In their next ten games, they face three such teams: the red-hot Calgary Flames, the Chicago Blackhawks, who they just recently lost to, and the division-rival New York Rangers, so they will truly be tested in the next few weeks.

Perhaps fortunately for Pittsburgh, Hagelin is the latest (and least important) in a recent rash of Metropolitan injuries, with the Rangers losing Henrik Lundqvist and the Columbus Blue Jackets losing Ryan Murray over the past few days, as both teams try to close gap with the Penguins in the division.

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