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Archives for March 2017

The All-Star Expansion Team That Never Was

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With the Vegas Golden Knights coming into existence just over a week ago and signing the first player in franchise history, prospective fans are combing through rosters to see who could be taken at the upcoming expansion draft. The roster will be released in a televised event on June 21st, and with it a generation of new fans will meet the first iteration of their new favorite team.

Expansion drafts are funny things, changing over the decades to include or exclude various player types—this time, the overpaid, underachieving veteran seems to be on the menu for the Golden Knights to pick from—but there have always been interesting names available. Back in 2000 when the Minnesota Wild and Columbus Blue Jackets came into the league, they were fighting each other to try and get the best mix of youth and experience to make their team’s viable right from the start.

If Vegas had been coming into the league then they could have gone for a different approach. With all the lights and excitement of the gambling town, why not assemble a group of the greatest careers available, regardless of where they were in them or how much they had left in the tank. Since the league did make the exposure lists public back then, we can take a look to see what they might have selected. If name recognition and all-star appearances were first and foremost, I present to you the 2000 expansion team.

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Follow @pfrumors On Twitter For Today’s NFL Free Agency News

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NFL free agents can’t officially ink their deals with clubs until this afternoon, but the transaction frenzy is already in full swing.

The Patriots shocked everyone by signing cornerback Stephon Gilmore, the Browns landed wide receiver Kenny Britt, and the Bears have agreed to pay quarterback Mike Glennon upwards of $45MM on a three-year deal.   Meanwhile, defensive lineman Calais Campbell is apparently waffling on a rumored deal with the Jaguars and could sign with the Broncos.  Some big names have come off the board, but tons more remain including Texans free agent cornerback A.J. Bouye, Bears wide receiver Alshon Jeffery, and Chiefs defensive tackle Dontari Poe.

On top of that, we still don’t know where superstars Tony Romo and Adrian Peterson will wind up, and the Patriots just might complete their second trade of the week by acquiring stud wide receiver Brandin Cooks from the Saints.

Whether you’re an NFL diehard or just a casual fan, you won’t want to miss out on all of this.  You can check out PFR’s Free Agent Power rankings, follow @pfrumors on Twitter and head to ProFootballRumors.com now to get up-to-the-second updates on everything going down.

Snapshots: Cunningham, Halverson, Sestito

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Earlier this season Tucson Roadrunners captain Craig Cunningham collapsed on the ice and was rushed to hospital. The 26-year old forward’s heart had stopped for an unknown reason, and needed ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation) treatment to save his life. The procedure affected the circulation in his leg, and he had to make a decision. Tucson’s general manager Doug Soetaert put it this way to AZCentral’s Jeremy Cluff:

It’s life or limb, and obviously you pick life over limb, right? That was the way he’s moving forward. He’s been battling through the whole thing. We continue to battle with him. He’s going to make it.

Cunningham had part of his left leg amputated, but is now walking again with the help of a prosthetic. Ray Ferraro sent out a video of Cunningham walking down a hallway, dubbing it “the most awesome thing [he’s] seen in while.” It truly is awesome to see Cunningham up and walking again, and most importantly smiling as he approaches the camera. Everyone is wishing him luck as he gets his life back on track.

  • The New York Rangers will be without Rick Nash and Henrik Lundqvist tonight when they take on the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh. Both are day-to-day with minor injuries. The team has recalled Brandon Halverson from the ECHL on an emergency basis to replace Lundqvist, meaning Antti Raanta will be in net. Halverson was the Rangers’ second-round pick in 2014 and made his professional debut this season for the Hartford Wolfpack before heading to the ECHL. The 20-year old will get a taste of an NHL arena at least as he backs up Raanta tonight.
  • Tom Sestito will have a phone hearing with the NHL today after his hit on Toby Enstrom last night. The check from behind sent Enstrom to the hospital with possible facial fractures, and led to more aggressive play between the two teams last night. Amazingly, Sestito was only on the ice for 62 seconds last night, and was involved in a fight and this illegal check before being thrown out of the game. The 29-year old enforcer had been called up earlier that day to lend some physicality to the Penguins line up not, as Jets’ head coach Paul Maurice put it, “to dangle”.

Montreal Canadiens Agree To Terms With Simon Bourque

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The Montreal Canadiens have locked up a prospect of their own, giving Simon Bourque a three-year, entry-level contract. The contract will come into effect in 2017-18, and Bourque will likely stay with his CHL team for the remainder of the season.

A sixth-round selection in 2015, Bourque actually played three games for the Canadiens’ AHL team at the end of last season on an amateur tryout. The 20-year old defenseman is capable of putting up big minutes in the QMJHL, where he was traded midway through this season from Rimouski to Saint John. With 51 points in 57 games split between the two squads, Bourque is a big part of the blueline for the first place Sea Dogs and will be headed to the playoffs for a shot at the Memorial Cup tournament.

Bourque has turned himself from an offense-first defenseman to an all-around talent this year, capable of shutting down the opposition’s top line. Still an excellent contributor on the powerplay, his ability to feed passes through sticks and find open teammates is one of his strongest assets. Along with Thomas Chabot and Jakub Zboril, Bourque is part of a defense corps that can rival any in the CHL. His jump to professional hockey next season should be an interesting on to follow.

Morning Notes: Expansion, Enstrom, Butcher

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As the expansion draft gets closer and fans start to guess what the new Vegas Golden Knights will look like, anticipation for the upcoming season has started to grow in Las Vegas. In a conversation with Josh Cooper of Puck Daddy, the league disclosed that the announcement of the roster will be televised along with the NHL Awards show, which is always held in the city.

Because the team doesn’t go team-by-team for the draft, it wouldn’t be possible to televise the actual process. But be sure that the league will make a spectacle out of the announcement—it is Las Vegas after all. Teams have to submit their list of protected players on June 17th, with the Golden Knights selecting the players by June 20th and revealing them the next day.

  • Toby Enstrom is in the hospital following a brutal hit from behind by the Pittsburgh Penguins tough-guy Tom Sestito. The enforcer was called up for the game against Winnipeg because of the expected payback against Evgeni Malkin for a hit on Blake Wheeler—except Malkin took his punishment early in the first period when he dropped the gloves with Wheeler himself. Sestito would go on to fight Chris Thorburn before taking a run at Enstrom. The Winnipeg defender is being treated for possible facial fractures, according to Sportsnet.
  • As teams begin to lock up their prospects to entry-level contracts, Mike Chambers of the Denver Post reminds Avalanche fans of a deadline approaching for one of their own. Will Butcher, a former fifth-round pick of Colorado who went on to excel at the University of Denver, will become a free agent on August 15th much like Jimmy Vesey did last summer. Though the Avalanche will try everything they can to sign him, with a deadline so close many prospects are tempted to just wait and see where the could go on the open market. Butcher would likely have several teams after him should he become a free agent, after another outstanding campaign as the captain of his university team.

Snapshots: Review Timer, Grundstrom, Vegas

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As the GM Meetings came to a close today, we had several bits of news leak out. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reported something that wasn’t touched on earlier, the idea of review timers. Next season, the officials have been instructed to drop the puck immediately after the review process ends. Don’t go to the bench, don’t explain anything to the coaches or let them argue for five minutes.

Friedman also includes that a set time limit is being discussed and could be instituted, though hasn’t been decided on. With reviews periodically taking as many as 8-10 minutes, the league will try to do everything it can to keep them short.

  • John Shannon of Sportsnet is hearing that the Toronto Maple Leafs have signed Carl Grundstrom to an entry-level contract, and will announced the deal soon. The 57th-overall pick in last summer’s draft, Grundstrom has 12 goals and 18 points for Frolunda in the Swedish Elite League this year. Playing at the highest level, the tenacious winger has shown his professional capabilities. The 19-year old should come over to North America soon enough and could make his NHL debut as soon as next year.
  • Kevin Allen of USA Today penned a piece regarding the Vegas Golden Knights and the unique opportunity for GM George McPhee. Only a handful of people have experienced the expansion process, and McPhee has enjoyed it more than he even expected. “I’ve read about analytics for two years,” McPhee said when asked about where the Golden Knights will fall on the scouting-analytics scale. He makes it clear that it will have a big part in the new franchise, but not at the cost of the scouting department. We’ll likely see exactly where they stand on expansion draft day, when there are decisions like Chris Wideman or Mark Borowiecki to be made.

Central Notes: Lehtonen, Blackhawks, MacKinnon

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With the Stars struggling and the fact they have the highest paid goaltending tandem in the league, it’s quite possible that netminder Kari Lehtonen could be on another team next season either from a trade or even a potential buyout.  He admitted to Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News that the thought of where he may wind up next season has crossed his mind:

“It’s hard sometimes not to think about it, but you have a job to do. It’s part of this sport, and you do best when you concentrate on controlling what you can control.”

Although Lehtonen has the better numbers between himself and Antti Niemi this season, he also has the more expensive cap hit at $5.9MM which could make him the more likely candidate to not return.  If the Stars were to buy him out, he’d cost them a cap hit of $2.57MM in 2017-18 and $1.67MM in 2018-19; the higher amount next year coming from the fact his deal is slightly front loaded.  (For comparison, a buyout of Niemi’s $4.5MM cap hit would be an even $1.5MM for the next two years.)

More from the Central:

  • The back end for the Blackhawks will get a boost tomorrow night against Anaheim. Chris Hine of the Chicago Tribune reports that Niklas Hjalmarsson will return to the lineup after missing the last four games with an upper body injury.  The recently re-acquired Johnny Oduya will also suit up for Chicago in what will be his first game in his second stint with the team.  There’s a good chance that Michal Kempny and Michal Rozsival will cede their spots on the blueline and be healthy scratches.
  • Terry Frei of the Denver Post suggests that GM Joe Sakic would be wise to at least listen to any overtures other teams might have regarding center Nathan MacKinnon this offseason even though just last month he declared the 21 year old as one of only a handful of untouchable players on the team. The former number one overall pick back in 2013 has just 13 goals through 65 games despite averaging over 20 minutes per game for the first time in his career.  That’s likely not encouraging for a team that will likely be counting on him even more next season with Matt Duchene and/or Gabriel Landeskog potentially on the move with the team reportedly prioritizing defensive help in a return.

Canucks Non-Committal On Willie Desjardins’ Future

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The job security of Canucks head coach Willie Desjardins has been in question dating back to last season and it appears those questions will last for a little while yet.  In a recent interview on TSN 1040 in Vancouver (audio link), team president Trevor Linden didn’t exactly give Desjardins a glowing vote of confidence but certainly didn’t rule him out from returning either:

“I think we’re going to take our time and look at our options at the end of the season. I’ll have to do a full assessment of our organization, as I always do, and we’ll move forward from that point.”

It’s worth noting that around this time last year, Linden was unequivocal when answering a similar question about Desjardins, clearly stating that the decision had already been made to bring him back at that time.

The 59 year old is in his third season behind the Vancouver bench and has a 107-97-26 record through his first 230 games.  He’s been tasked with guiding a Canucks team that is at the end of their window of legitimate contention and are likely headed towards a rebuilding (or at least a retooling) process.

However, some of his decisions have been called into question and there is some cause for criticism for the way some of the young players have been handled, even though the likes of Bo Horvat and Troy Stecher, among other youngsters, have progressed this season.  If Linden has concerns about the way some young players are being deployed, the time may be right in the offseason to make a move.  That said, Desjardins has spent plenty of time working with young players at the junior level (plus one year in the AHL) so he should have a good handle on the situation the team is heading for.

If he were to be let go, TSN’s Darren Dreger suggested on TSN 1040 that there would likely be a market for him, going as far as noting that at least one team has already asked him about what he thinks will happen (transcription via Fan Rag’s Chris Nichols):

“But you know what’s interesting about that is I’ve actually had other teams – and I can’t be specific to the team or teams who have asked me – but I have been asked about Willie’s future and whether or not the sense is that Vancouver will go in a different direction. And the reason I’ve been asked is there are teams out there who see him as a prime candidate. He’s a respected coach from an NHL perspective.”

Given Linden’s statements about waiting until the end of the season before making a decision, it’s safe to say that Desjardins should be around through to mid-April so the questions about his future should get a short reprieve though only for a few weeks.

Snapshots: Canadiens, Ducks, Flames

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The Montreal Canadiens are cruising, winners of six straight games and leading the Atlantic by six points. They’ll have to continue to play short handed for a while though, as Alexander Radulov, Tomas Plekanec and Brian Flynn are all likely out for tomorrow’s matchup against the Calgary Flames. None of the three practiced this morning due to varying injuries, but the Canadiens are carrying enough players to fill their role should they be held out.

Radulov and Plekanec were both absent yesterday when the team slipped by the Vancouver Canucks in overtime, and Flynn was injured during the first period and did not return. In their absence, Andrew Shaw led the forwards in ice time with over 22 minutes, seven more than his average this season. They’ll likely ask Shaw to step up again tomorrow if all three are out, though perhaps Micheal McCarron will draw back in and take some of that weight.

  • John Gibson has been out since February 20th for the Anaheim Ducks, but Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register reports that he is with the team on their current road trip. The Ducks will face the Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues on back to back nights starting tomorrow, and could definitely use Gibson in one of the games. In his absence Jonathan Bernier has shouldered the load admirably, but saw a slip last night against Nashville. Asking him to play back to backs would be extreme, and would likely turn to Jhonas Enroth against the Blues if Gibson isn’t ready.
  • The Calgary Flames have seen a rejuvenated Micheal Ferland since moving him onto a line with Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau and now they’ll insert him periodically onto the first powerplay unit as well according to Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet. The young winger has continued to compete physically all over the ice and has five goals in his last seven games. Trailing only Troy Brouwer in hits on the club despite playing more than five minutes less a game than him, Ferland can create space for skilled players just by being on the ice with them.
  • Jannik Hansen finally showed up in San Jose after dealing with visa issues since his trade from the Vancouver Canucks. He was immediately rewarded with time on the first line according to Curtis Pashelka of the Mercury News. It looks like he’ll skate alongside Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski for his first game tomorrow night. With Kevin Labanc sent down, an opening was created beside the Sharks top duo and Hansen will get a crack at it to begin his San Jose career.

Carolina Hurricanes Recall Valentin Zykov From AHL

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The season for testing young prospects is upon us. The Carolina Hurricanes have brought up Valentin Zykov from their AHL team for the first time in his career. With the Hurricanes all but eliminated from post season contention after losing to the Colorado Avalanche and falling more than 10 points out of the race, they’ve decided to give one of their promising young forwards a chance at the NHL.

Zykov is the prospect the Hurricanes acquired last season when they dealt Kris Versteeg to the Los Angeles Kings at the trade deadline. Since being drafted 37th overall in the 2013 draft, the Russian winger has developed into a solid AHL player capable of scoring goals and leaning on people physically. While he doesn’t have the biggest frame, he often outworks players in board battles and can create offensive chances all by himself.

The 21-year old forward isn’t expected to step in and contribute in Carolina’s top six right away, but does look like he will be able to make an impact in some way as soon as next season. If the Hurricanes are serious about his development, giving him a look for the rest of the NHL season instead of wallowing on a struggling Charlotte Checkers team will give them a chance to see how close he is to being ready for the big-time.

We’ll likely see several callups of this nature over the coming weeks, as teams both test their prospects and reward AHL veterans with a few games (and paid days) on an NHL roster. For the Hurricanes, seeing what they have in the pipeline is about all they have left this season barring a miraculous run over the last 19 games.

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