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Lundqvist Expected To Miss 2 – 3 Weeks

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The New York Rangers will be without star goaltender Henrik Lundqvist for 2 – 3 weeks with what the team is calling a “lower-body injury,” according to Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston, via Twitter. The scribe adds that the team has recalled Magnus Hellberg from Hartford of the AHL.

The worst case scenario would see Lundqvist return for the team’s final four or five contests, allowing the 35-year-old netminder enough game action to shake off any rust ahead of the postseason. “The King” was apparently injured at some point during the Blueshirts 5 – 2 win over Florida Tuesday night. The victory was number 404 of Lundqvist’s career and propelled him past Grant Fuhr for 10th place on the league’s all-time wins list. It also represented the 30th win of the 2016-17 campaign with Hank becoming the first goaltender in NHL history to record 11, 30-win seasons in his first 12 years in the league. The only season in which Lundqvist has failed to reach the 30-win plateau was the lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign in which The King managed 24 victories in 43 starts.

Hellberg has made just one relief appearance in 2016-17 for the Rangers, stopping all four shots faced in a wild 7 – 6 loss to Dallas on January 17th. With four back-to-back sets over the next 15 days, it’s inevitable Hellberg will see some action in the next couple of weeks. In 31 AHL appearances Hellberg has recorded 11 wins against 11 losses with a GAA of 2.91 and a Save % of 0.902.

New York will likely rely heavily on Antti Raanta in Lundqvist’s absence. Raanta has turned in a stellar campaign as Hank’s understudy, winning 13 of 19 starts with a GAA of 2.33 and a Save % of 0.922. He’ll have to continue his strong play for the Rangers to have a realistic chance of catching either Pittsburgh or Columbus and sneaking into the top-three in the highly competitive Metro Division. Then again their best chance for a lengthy playoff run might come by securing the top wild card spot and shifting over into the Atlantic Division bracket thus avoiding a potential match-up with any of their Metro rivals until the Conference Final.

Lightning Recall Forward Matthew Peca

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The injury-riddled Tampa Bay Lightning recalled center Matthew Peca from the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL, the team announced this morning. Thursday night, the team lost centers Tyler Johnson, Vladislav Namestnikov and Cedric Paquette to in-game injuries and Peca will help provide the Lightning with additional depth at the center position.

At this point the injuries to Johnson, Namestnikov, and Paquette appear minor, with the trio each considered day-to-day, according to Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times. However, it’s unlikely any of the three will be able to suit up for tonight’s contest against Florida, necessitating the call-up of Peca.

In nine games this season with the Lightning, the 23-year-old Peca has registered two points while posting a -3 plus-minus rating. He has tallied eight goals with 22 assists in 53 appearances for the Crunch. After a strong four-year stretch with Quinnipiac University, Peca joined the Crunch and has scored 17 goals and 77 points in 126 career AHL matches. Peca was originally a seventh-round draft choice by the Lighting in the 2011 entry draft.

July 1st Free Agent Frenzy Reflection

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The National Football League officially opened the 2017-18 league year yesterday at 4:00pm ET, and the annual onslaught of massive free agent signings has been ongoing ever since, keeping our friends over at Pro Football Rumors pretty busy. The NHL has a similar ritual, as flurry of free agent activity is common each and every July 1st, when a new hockey season officially begins. Last summer, a handful of huge contracts were handed out on July 1st. With the season winding down, how have those players performed in their first seasons? (Hint: mostly really bad)

Milan Lucic

Signed: Seven-year, $42MM deal with the Edmonton Oilers

2016-17 stats: 66 games, 14 goals, 22 assists, 36 points, -7 rating, 134 shots, 17:13 ATOI

Of all six players who received the biggest contracts on July 1st, Lucic is the only one on a team that appears to be a lock for the postseason in 2016-17. Now, that may say more about the effectiveness of hastily giving out money to the best players on the market, but Lucic at least deserves some credit. His offensive production doesn’t quite match up with his $6MM yearly price tag, but Lucic has added the same degree of grit and toughness that made him a fan favorite and Stanley Cup champion with the Boston Bruins. Lucic is always a physical threat on the ice and can make plays through his ability to crash the net and win battles along the boards. He’s never been able to score much more than 60 points per season, with just one 30-goal campaign in his career, but he earns his money through protecting the talented players on the ice while also having the ability to skate alongside them. Lucic is also spending an abnormal amount of time not in the penalty box, with just 41 penalty minutes as opposed to a career average closer to one hundred. Lucic is spending more time on the ice, most recently with his new line of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jordan Eberle, than he is in the box, and as long as that continues, this contract will pay off for the Edmonton Oilers.

Kyle Okposo

Signed: Seven-year, $42MM deal with the Buffalo Sabres

2016-17 stats: 63 games, 19 goals, 24 assists, 43 points, -6 rating, 151 shots, 19:04 ATOI

Okposo may have been named an All-Star in his first season in Buffalo, but the Sabres were likely expecting more from their major 2016 investment. The Sabres were likely expecting more from the 2016-17 season overall, but Okposo’s lack of production doesn’t help the matter. As it stands, Okposo is on pace to have his worst scoring season since 2012-13 unless he picks up the pace over Buffalo’s final 15 games. At $6MM a year for six more seasons to come, the Sabres can only hope that Okposo hasn’t already begun his decline at just 28 years old. Okposo has looked good alongside Ryan O’Reilly for stretches this season, but there hasn’t been enough consistency. He is still a safer asset than many of the other older players on this list, but we’ll have to wait until next year to know for sure whether this was a bad call by Buffalo.

Andrew Ladd

Signed: Seven-year, $38.5MM deal with the New York Islanders

2016-17 stats: 62 games, 19 goals, 6 assists, 25 points, -11 rating, 112 shots, 15:56 ATOI

The Islanders have made an impressive comeback from a dismal beginning to 2016-17, but even if they find a way into the playoffs, that won’t be enough to make them feel good about the deal they gave Ladd this summer. At just 31 years old, no one could have predicted that the veteran winger would fall off a cliff this quickly. After scoring 46 or more points in each of the past six seasons, Ladd will be lucky to reach 3o this year. His $5.5MM cap hit over six more seasons could be yet another big mistake by a team with a long history of issues with long-term contracts. John Tavares and the Islanders can only hope that 2016-17 was a fluke and that they’ll get the real Ladd next season, but don’t count on it.

Loui Eriksson

Signed: Six-year, $36MM deal with the Vancouver Canucks

2016-17 stats: 65 games, 11 goals, 13 assists, 24 points, -9 rating, 132 shots, 18:41 ATOI

From bad to worse, we move from Ladd to Eriksson, who may be the worst signing of the summer at this point in time. After a stellar 63-point season with the Bruins in 2015-16, Eriksson signed a long-term deal worth $6MM annually in Vancouver, and the Canucks brass expected that his addition would keep the championship window opened a bit longer. Instead, the team has faltered and appears headed toward a rebuild. One of the main factors to this collapse has been an utter lack of production out of Eriksson. The Swedish winger supposed to put up huge numbers alongside Daniel and Henrik Sedin, but with a month to go, he has been off the top line for a while now has has less than half the points as he did at this time last year. Whether it is a poor fit or simply poor play, this signing could end up being a long-term headache for the Canucks if Eriksson can’t turn it around in 2017-18.

Frans Nielsen

Signed: Six-year, $31.5MM deal with the Detroit Red Wings

2016-17 stats: 62 games, 13 goals, 17 assists, 30 points, -17 rating, 125 shots, 17:09 ATOI

Though the streak of failures was over? Not yet. Nielsen left the Islanders this summer, like Okposo, to help keep the postseason hopes of the Detroit Red Wings alive, like Eriksson in Vancouver, and like Okposo and Eriksson he has struggled. Because of this, the Red Wings’ historic playoff streak is all but snapped and they are left scratching their heads with a roster full of veterans on long-term contracts who didn’t perform up to snuff in 2016-17. Nielsen may be the worst of the bunch, as his 30 points teeters on the edge of being the worst full season of his career. Beyond just the lack of production, Nielsen’s -17 rating is atrocious, especially compared with his numbers in New York, where he was considered a good two-way center. No one on the Red Wings has exceeded expectations this season – now that Thomas Vanek has been traded – but that’s no excuse for Nielsen. He finally got the big pay day he had always wanted, but if really wants to earn that yearly $5.25MM and stay in Detroit for the remaining five years, his play will need to pick up next season.

David Backes

Signed: Five-year, $30MM deal with the Boston Bruins

2016-17 stats: 59 games, 13 goals, 18 assists, 31 points, even rating, 140 shots, 17:21 ATOI

Finally we get to Backes, who despite scoring less than Okposo and not much more than the other two, can count his first season in Boston as a success. Backes has taken his fair share of criticism in 2016-17, but at the end of the day he has always been a two-way threat more than an offensive threat and has done well in that role this season. Backes’ 31 points is well behind his 45 points in St. Louis last year and 58 the year before, but the 32-year-old has also been asked to move from his old first-line center role to a top-six winger role this season, on a team that hasn’t been great at scoring goals. Despite all that, Backes may still end up with about 40 points, as he has been playing his best hockey of the year of late, now a member of the team’s top line with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand since the Bruins’ coaching change. Like the role Lucic once played in Boston, Backes has provided a dominant physical presence wherever he has played in the lineup this season and has contributed some offense along the way. Might the Bruins regret this contract in year four or five? Possibly, but for now Backes is a good fit and will continue to be this season, postseason, and beyond.

Snapshots: Devils, Blackhawks, Red Wings

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News and notes from around the NHL this evening:

  • The New Jersey Devils face lineup uncertainties before tomorrow night’s game against the Arizona Coyotes. Andrew Gross of the NJ Record reports that backup goalie Keith Kinkaid may not be ready to dress tomorrow night, and that goaltender Ken Appleby will stay with the team as insurance. Kinkaid suffered a right knee injury in Tuesday’s 2-0 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Appleby—an undrafted free agent—has a 2.44 GAA and a .909 SV%  in 27 games with the AHL Albany Devils this year.
  • Staying with the Devils, Andrew Gross also reports that forward Miles Wood should play in tomorrow’s game despite crashing into the board today in practice. Wood is having a decent rookie season—though he did dress for one game last season—scoring 8G and 7A in 47 games. The Buffalo, NY native was taken in the 4th round of the 2013 NHL draft.
  • The Chicago Blackhawks will sit defensemen Johnny Oduya and Niklas Hjalmarsson tonight against the Detroit Red Wings, but Chicago Sun-Times writer Mark Lazerus reports that coach Joel Quenneville is resting the pair rather than holding them out for injury concerns. Tonight’s game is the second game of a back-to-back, and the second of three in four nights. As the playoffs get closer, it is common for coaches to rest their veteran players in anticipation of a gruelling post-season. The Blackhawks known better than any other team the value of maintaining fuel for a long playoff run. The team has a reputation for not playing in its highest gear until the playoffs start.
  • Detroit Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard returns from a long absence tonight against the Chicago Blackhawks. Howard sprained his knee on December 20th against the Tampa Bay Lightning, and then suffered a setback in February on a conditioning stint in the AHL. Howard’s injury came at a grossly unfortunate time as he was posting career-best numbers. In 17 games before his injury Howard had a .934 SV% and a 1.96 GAA. The presumptive backup to start the season, Howard made life difficult for coach Jeff Blashill by outplaying fellow goaltender Petr Mrazek. The Red Wings have to protect one of the two goaltenders, and Howard’s stellar play so far has complicated that decision for management. He will start tonight against Chicago.

Snapshots: Schultz, Fines, Zajac

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When Justin Schultz came out of the University of Wisconsin to sign with the Edmonton Oilers, it started out well. With 48 points in 34 AHL contests during the lockout, it did look like he had Norris-trophy potential, as then-GM Craig MacTavish said later. As Mark Spector of Sportsnet writes, it started to erode for Schultz soon after. The defenseman now sits among the leaders in points in the league from defensemen, and has been a perfect fit in Pittsburgh this season.

While Spector goes through the history of his demise in Edmonton, it will be interesting to follow his contract negotiation this summer. At just $1.4MM this season, Schultz is due for a huge raise as he becomes a restricted free agent on July 1st. At 26 years old, the Penguins will be buying out almost entirely UFA years if they extend him long-term, meaning the AAV will be substantial. Pittsburgh will have an interesting off season, with Schultz, Conor Sheary, Brian Dumoulin and Derrick Pouliot all RFAs, and several key players set to hit the open market. While Schultz will likely be priority #1, it will be a tough negotiation.

  • The NHL has handed down $2000 embellishment fines to both Jake Muzzin and Johnny Gaudreau for separate incidents. The league gives out a warning on the first instance, meaning that Muzzin and Gaudreau have been told already to stop diving. Muzzin in particular was given his warning after an October 14th game against Philadelphia, and this fine comes from an incident against Vancouver last weekend. Subsequent fines will increase to a maximum of $5000, but will also carry a financial penalty for the head coach should the player receive five citations.
  • Travis Zajac will miss the New Jersey Devils next game as he left the team today to return home. His wife is expecting their third child any day now. With the Devils out of a playoff race and stuck at the bottom of the standings, Zajac likely won’t be rushed back into the lineup. Their quest now for the best draft pick available is more important than winning games.

Fifteen Teams Interested In Zach Aston-Reese

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The season of college free agents is upon us, as we’ve seen several names already go to teams around the league. When the Washington Capitals signed Kristofers Bindulis and Hampus Gustafsson, the frenzy was on. Today, Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News reports that as many as 15 teams have shown interest in Northeastern’s Zach Aston-Reese. Zach Aston-Reese

The juggernaut of a winger has been dominating the college scene all year, scoring 30 goals and 62 points through 36 games in his senior season. Already 22, Aston-Reese uses his physicality and strength to create room for himself and teammates, scoring goals mostly from the front of the net on rebounds and tips. His game is almost pro-ready as he likely won’t ever move past a team’s bottom-six at the next level.

Like with any other college free agent, he does come with his share of weaknesses. His foot speed has long been an issue, and may be exposed at the professional level against other players who are just as strong as him. He lacks the high-level creativity that scouts look for, but makes up for it with work ethic and body positioning. In a stationary battle he’s as good as anyone in the college ranks right now, but that won’t be true when he suddenly has to take on fully-grown men.

There is upside however, as with an NHL skating coach he could get that extra jump to help him keep up and his shot release is already fairly quick. Likely he’ll be looked at to add immediate depth to an AHL squad and NHL bottom-six, with the opportunity at some point to see some powerplay time if his net-front play continues.

He does play with several prospects from around the league, even skating full-time with Blues’ prospect Nolan Stevens (when he has been healthy). Adam Gaudette and Dylan Sikura—of Vancouver and Chicago respectively—also spend time with Aston-Reese, and are each better than point-per-game players for Northeastern. It will be interesting to see if one of these teams brings on the big winger, as they would be very familiar with him.

Snapshots: Jackals, Lightning, Oilers

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The ECHL continues to shrink, as the Elmira Jacksls announced today that they will cease operations at the end of the season. That’s the second team in less than a month to announce they are shutting down, after the Alaska Aces broke the news to their fans a few weeks ago. The Jackals have been around for 17 years, and are currently the affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. They will play out their remaining 14 games but, as they are at the very bottom of the league standings, will be shutting their doors immediately afterwards.

Vancouver Canucks Recall Alexandre Grenier From Utica

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The Canucks are getting some scoring help from the minor leagues. The team announced today that they’ve recalled Alexandre Grenier from the Utica Comets. The team missed Nikolay Goldobin last night with the flu and had to dress seven defensemen. The call-up is likely insurance against having to do that again in case Goldobin can’t go tomorrow night against Pittsburgh.

Grenier is 25 now, but has still not received a decent shot at an NHL job despite his size and proven scoring ability in the minor leagues. The 6’5″ forward has four straight AHL seasons of at least 16 goals and 39 points, yet has played just eight contests in with the Canucks. He was selected in the third round of the 2011 draft, and is perhaps now ready to take the next step in his professional career.

For the Canucks, giving Grenier an extended look as they continue to fight for the playoffs doesn’t seem like a bad idea. After the team sold assets at the deadline, and resigned themselves to a short rebuild, they’ve gone 2-1-2 and acquired six of a possible ten points. Just six points out of a playoff spot, the Canucks still at least have a reason to sell tickets down the stretch and giving players this time to see what they can bring to the table is expected. We’ll see if Grenier gets a chance in the lineup, or if he’s just up for insurance reasons.

Toby Enstrom Out Indefinitely With Concussion

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It took so long because of the swelling in his face, but Paul Maurice has finally given an update on injured defenseman Toby Enstrom. The Winnipeg Jets head coach reports that he’s out indefinitely with a concussion after sustaining a blow from behind by the Penguins’ Tom Sestito. Sestito was suspended four games for the hit, which caused Enstrom to go straight to the hospital with expected facial fractures.  Sara Orlesky of TSN reports that there are no fractures, actually good news for the Winnipeg defenseman.

With Tyler Myers still out, and Josh Morrisey banged up and missing practice—though the latter is still expected to play—the Jets’ usually deep defense corps is dwindling by the day. Enstrom has logged close to 22 minutes a night for Winnipeg this season, which will now have to be spread out mostly to Morrisey and Ben Chiarot. Enstrom’s regular partner Dustin Byfuglien already logs the most minutes in the NHL at 27:23 per game, and will now be relied on even more if the Jets still have playoff aspirations.

In a year where the Western Conference is actually wide open, the Jets remain just five points out of the final playoff spot. They have, however, played three more games than the St. Louis Blues, the team currently occupying that final wildcard position. The Jets will need some sort of streak over their last 14 games to both catch St. Louis and fend off the Los Angeles Kings, something that they haven’t proved capable of this year. At 30-32-6, it looks like not even Patrik Laine’s emergence and Mark Scheifele’s climb to the top of the center ranks can help them in 2017.

Red Wings Notes: Mantha, Howard, Russo

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The Detroit Red Wings are firmly in the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings and losers of four straight games. They’ll look to shake things up tonight when they take on the Chicago Blackhawks for the last time in the Joe Louis Arena. Anthony Mantha is being held out of the lineup according to Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press, and he was extremely frustrated when he first heard the news. After a few hours to settle down though, Mantha is taking it as a learning experience.

Last few games, I haven’t really played the game I wanted. Winning a few battles one-on-one and being more intense in general, I think I can do that. That’s the message he’s sending me right now. I need to prove him wrong and be better the next few games.

Mantha has been a nice bright spot for the Red Wings in this otherwise gloomy season, with 33 points in 50 games and showing at times the immense potential that made him a first-round pick. At just 22-years old, he looks like a building block for the rebuilding Red Wings and a core piece of their top-six for the foreseeable future.

  • Jimmy Howard will be back in net for Detroit for the first time since December 20th as he works his way back to full strength. The former all-star netminder was off to the best start of his career before getting injured and needing almost three months to return. Several setbacks and a team struggling to make an impact in the playoff race let the medical staff and Howard be slow and steady with his return, and he’ll now have at least a handful of games to prove he can still compete at this level. The Wings will almost assuredly shop the goaltender around this summer, looking for a taker for him and his nearly $5.3MM cap-hit for the next two seasons.
  • Despite coming into a tough situation, Robbie Russo is showing that he should be in the plans for next year’s NHL team. The 24-year old defender hasn’t looked out of place on the Red Wings’ blueline, and has had good possession numbers through his first two games. Obviously more of a sample is needed to determine his future with the club, but after racking up points in the AHL the last two seasons he looks ready for the next challenge.
  • The fact that the salary cap is in fact increasing next season will be a big one for the Red Wings, who currently only projected to have about $6MM to spend next year. That wouldn’t go very far after raises to Tomas Tatar and Andreas Athanasiou, not even considering their other restricted free agents. If they can move Howard, and perhaps move out Mike Green for a package of picks or prospects, they could be in fine shape this summer.

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