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Archives for April 2017

NHL Central Scouting Releases Final Rankings

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NHL Central Scouting has released their final rankings of the eligible prospects for the 2017 Entry Draft, and Nolan Patrick has retained his #1 spot. Despite an injury-riddled season that saw him miss much of the first half and the entire first round of the playoffs—Brandon was swept without their best player—the Wheat Kings’ superstar will fend off Nico Hischier and his rising stock.

This doesn’t necessarily mean Patrick will be selected first overall by whoever wins the draft lottery, but it does bode well for how confident scouts are with his ability to bounce back from the injuries and still be an impact player at the next level.

Hischier does hold the second spot among North American skaters, while Casey Mittelstadt takes the third spot after his outstanding season split between high school and the USHL. Mittelstadt has already committed to the University of Minnesota, but that won’t stop many teams from picking him in the top five.

Among the other notable rankings is Timothy Liljegren, who at one point was expected to be the second-overall pick in June. Now all the way down at #6 among international skaters, he may be a big prize for a mid-round selection. His draft season has been even worse than Patrick’s, after battling mono early on and fighting for ice time late in the season. He may be the third defenseman off the board behind Cale Makar and Miro Heiskanen.

Jake Oettinger easily climbs to the top ranking among North American goaltenders, and has a chance to go in the first round after his standout season at Boston University. Despite being just 17 for much of the season, Oettinger ranked among the nation’s best goaltenders putting up a .927 save percentage while going 21-11-3.

One of the biggest drops was Maxime Comtois, who was ranked 15th at mid-season but is now listed down at 30. The Victoriaville winger had a very disappointing season, but still possesses the size and offensive ability to make him an interesting choice, especially if he falls into the second round. Any team selecting him would be betting on his future development, instead of evaluating on this season.

Maxim Shalunov Ends Negotiations Due To Olympic Decision

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While it’s still not clear how the NHL’s decision to forego the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang will affect the contract negotiations of certain free agents already in the league, it has now officially claimed its first victims overseas. In a piece from AFP published this morning on Yahoo Sports, the agent for Maxim Shalunov and Anton Burdasov has reportedly shut down negotiations with NHL clubs for next season due to their hope to suit up for Russia at the Games.

Shalunov was a fourth-round pick of the Chicago Blackhawks in 2011, and was considering coming to the NHL as recently as February though it was admittedly still an outside chance. His breakout last year in the KHL was followed up by an even more successful campaign, scoring 37 points in 49 games this year. Burdasov on the other hand has no ties to any NHL club, but had 17 goals in 35 games for Omsk and added four more in the playoffs. At just 24 and 25 respectively, both would be attractive pieces to NHL clubs.

Now, when agents make claims like this it is always good to take them with a grain of salt, as it could easily be a negotiating tactic or saving face for a client who overestimated his market. Neither player would be a lock for the Russian Olympic team even if no NHL players went, making it a little suspicious. Their relative youth and strong play though does make it noteworthy, as each could have provided an interesting option to clubs next season.

Morning Notes: Lombardi, Coaches, Rangers

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Huge changes were laid down yesterday in Los Angeles, with the team firing both GM Dean Lombardi and coach Darryl Sutter. Lombardi had been with the team since 2006, and ushered in the first two Stanley Cups in Kings history in 2012 and 2014. The general manager was highly respected by his players, including those he drafted like Drew Doughty and others he brought in like Jeff Carter. It’s no surprise then that Gord Miller of TSN reported today that many Kings’ players showed up at his home last night to “console him”.

While the GM can certainly be critiqued for moves he made to try and keep the Kings relevant the last few years, Miller reminds us that most were due to loyalty for the players who took the team to the Stanley Cup. Whether that is an ideal way to run a franchise (it’s not), it is at least understandable from a man who found no such success with the San Jose Sharks in his previous stint as GM. He’ll definitely land on his feet somewhere, if only because of the loyalty and respect he’s earned over the years. The Kings though, are likely better off moving in a new direction.

  • As for Sutter, he joins the rest of the recently fired coaches that will be looking for new employment this offseason. Craig Custance of ESPN took a shot at predicting who will fill the other four vacancies, with Ken Hitchcock (Dallas), Travis Green (Vancouver), Dallas Eakins (Florida) and Jack Capuano (Vegas) getting the nods. He also mentions coaches like Jim Montgomery of the University of Denver, David Quinn from Boston University, and Todd Nelson of the Grand Rapids Griffins as names to watch this summer for the vacancies. All three are considered excellent up-and-coming options, who should find their way into the NHL eventually if they so choose.
  • The Rangers have made their playoff cuts, sending Taylor Beck and Magnus Hellberg back down to the Hartford Wolfpack for the last few games. Hartford has been the worst team in the AHL this season and will end their season in a few days with an ugly record. While that’s not neccessarily emblematic of a poor farm system, the Rangers haven’t selected in the first round since 2012 and it is obviously hurting their pipeline. They don’t have their second, third or fourth picks this year, but when they missed out on Kevin Shattenkirk at the deadline, they kept that first-rounder for the time being.

Minnesota Wild Sign UMD Defenseman Carson Soucy

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The Minnesota Wild have wrapped up an immensely successful regular season and have turned their attention toward preparing for the postseason, but the front office is still working hard to prepare for the future. The Wild announced this evening that they have inked 2013 fifth-round pick Carson Soucy to a two-year entry-level contract that will begin in 2017-18. Soucy will join the AHL’s Iowa Wild for the remainder of the season.

Soucy is coming off a strong season playing for NCAA runner-up, the University of Minnesota-Duluth. The 6’4″ 22-year-old defenseman was a dominant force skating on the Bulldogs’ top pairing as they fought for the top spot in the nation all season long. Soucy, who wore the “A” in his senior season, was a model of defensive responsibility and physical play for four seasons in Duluth. Although he lack much offensive upside, with a career-high 15 points this season, he makes up for it in a solid stay at home game.

Although the Wild are known for having one of the deepest defensive units in hockey, their strength is also their weakness in the upcoming Expansion Draft. Able to protect only three or four defenseman, Minnesota faces a conundrum with five defenseman on the roster that would be very attractive to George McPhee and the Vegas Golden Knights. Ryan Suter must be protected, but it seems likely that only two of Jared Spurgeon, Jonas Brodin, Marco Scandella, and Matt Dumba will join him. One of the other two is prime for the picking. With that in mind, the Wild have begun stockpiling young depth options like Gustav Olofsson, Mike Reilly, and now Soucy. Assuming Minnesota is out a defenseman this summer, Soucy has a chance to make his NHL debut next season if his defensive game translates to the next level.

Kings Fire Head Coach Darryl Sutter And GM Dean Lombardi

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In a massive overhaul of their front office, Los Angeles Kings ownership group AEG announced that head coach Darryl Sutter and General Manager Dean Lombardi have been relieved of their positions. A pair of former players and current executives have been promoted with Luc Robitaille named President and Rob Blake named the new General Manager and Vice President. The duo will oversee all of hockey operations which now includes finding a new coach. The Kings will hold an official press conference tomorrow to introduce Robitaille and Blake in their new capacities.

The sweeping changes come after a disappointing season that saw the perennial contenders miss the playoffs entirely. Despite a long-term injury to starting goalie Jonathan Quick, it was instead the offense that struggled for much of the season. Anemic at times, the offense finished 24th in the league with 2.4 goals per game behind poor production from Anze Kopitar, Marian Gaborik, and Dustin Brown and a step backward in development for Tyler Toffoli. Much of the blame for the goal-scoring struggles fell on Sutter’s dated style and slow-paced structure and Lomdardi’s inability to add scoring via trade. Lombardi likely sealed his fate with a strange deadline deal to acquire Tampa Bay Lightning starting goaltender Ben Bishop in exchange for expectation-shattering veteran backup Peter Budaj and other pieces just as Quick had finally gotten healthy. The move did little to help the Kings down the stretch, whereas those same pieces or others could have been used to acquire a scorer instead. Los Angeles finished in tenth in the Western Conference, eight points behind the Nashville Predators and Calgary Flames for a playoff berth.

AEG CEO Dan Beckerman called the move “an extremely difficult decision… made with an enormous amount of consideration”, but in the end they felt that it was the best for the team. Beckerman expressed his gratitude to both Sutter and Lombardi in the company’s statement, as the pair did build and operate a Kings team that won two Stanley Cups in a five-year span, but simply felt it was time to move on. Sutter joins a growing list of highly decorated  veteran coaches available on the open market, but only time will tell if his old-school style is appealing to one of the teams in the hunt for a new bench boss. Sutter is a Hall of Famer, but his NHL future is currently in doubt. Lombardi meanwhile is not long removed from being considered a top team builder in the NHL. Lombardi built a winner in L.A., but simply forgot to keep building. Nevertheless, he will find a job in a front office sooner rather than later. The new team of Robitaille and Blake have their work cut out for them this off-season, as the Kings faces a difficult Expansion Draft scenario, likely a middling first-round pick unable to contribute next season, several contracts that should be shed if possible, and, of course, a desperate need for scoring help up front.

 

McDavid, Crosby, Holtby Take Home Statistical Awards

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We are still a couple months out from the naming of the majority of NHL Awards – Hart, Vezina, Norris, Selke, Calder, and more – but as the regular season came to end last night, three phenoms of the game clinched some impressive hardware.

Connor McDavid, at just 20 years old, added two assists last night in a winning effort to finish the season with an even 100 points and seal the title of Art Ross Trophy winner. Awarded annually to the player with the most points in the regular season, McDavid took the lead in the scoring race early in the season and never looked back. He faced some competition along the way, such as last year’s winner, Chicago’s Patrick Kane, Boston’s Brad Marchand, and a certain superstar on the Pittsburgh Penguins, but in the end finished with 11 more points than the nearest challenger. McDavid’s point totals were mostly due to a league-leading 70 assists, seven more than second-place Nicklas Backstrom of the Capitals, and his 30 goals were not too shabby either, placing him just outside the top 25 in that category. McDavid is the second youngest winner of the Art Ross and even more impressively, won the award playing for a team that had only one other player, Leon Draisaitl, who has both 25 goals and 25 assists or better. Edmonton recorded 247 goals this season, good enough for eighth in the league, and McDavid contributed to over 40% of that scoring. The Art Ross winner is often the leading candidate for the Hart Trophy, given to the league’s Most Valuable Player, and don’t expect it to be any different for McDavid, whose efforts have almost single-handedly turned around the franchise and transformed them into a playoff team. The scary thing: he’s just getting started.

Not to be outdone, Sidney Crosby, the youngest Art Ross winner on record at 19 years old (he added another a few years later too) fell just short of a third crown in 2016-17 with 89 points, but managed to secure the goal-scoring title and the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy. Crosby’s 44 goals were best in the league, just ahead of Toronto rookie Auston Matthews and Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov, while Crosby too was pressured by Brad Marchand for much of the season. In the end, the Penguins captain proved to be too good. The last time that Crosby scored over 40 goals was in 2009-10, when his 51 tallies earned him a share in the Richard with Lightning star Steven Stamkos. Crosby now joins Stamkos, rival Alexander Ovechkin, and former teammate Jarome Iginla as the only active players to have won the award multiple times. In a season marked by injury for the Penguins, the team still managed to lead the league in goals for with 282 and Crosby led the way, potting 16% of those goals. Amazingly, Crosby is still not even 30 years old, so fans have plenty of years left to look forward to Crosby-McDavid scoring races.

On the other end of the ice, it was Washington Capitals’ brick wall goaltender Braden Holtby who backstopped his team to a league-best 182 goals against. The William M. Jennings Trophy is awarded each year to the goalie (or goalies) on the team that allowed the fewest scores and by a wide margin of 13 less than the Columbus Blue Jackets, Washington led the way behind Holtby. Holtby was near the top of nearly every statistical category for keepers this regular season with a league-best 42 wins (tied with Edmonton’s Cam Talbot), a second-place goals against average of 2.07, just one hundredth worse than the Blue Jackets’ Sergei Bobrovsky, and a top-five save percentage of .925. Holtby has certainly put him self in the mix for the Vezina Trophy this season, but faces stiff competition from Bobrovksy. Not to be forgotten in the Capitals’ stingy winning equation is backup Philipp Grubauer. The Jennings  can be awarded to multiple goalies if each plays in a minimum of 25 games. Grubauer was fantastic in 2016-17, with numbers rivaling Holtby’s, albeit in a lesser sample size, but with just 23 games under his belt failed to qualify for the award. Nonetheless, Grubauer’s 2.05 GAA and .926 SV% were astounding and should earn him a look as a starter next year, whether by Washington trade or selection by the Vegas Golden Knights in the upcoming Expansion Draft.

Minor Moves: Canucks, Devils, Sabres, Red Wings

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With the Utica Comets two points out of a playoff spot with three games remaining, their parent club the Vancouver Canucks have sent them some reinforcements. Nikolay Goldobin, Richard Bachman and Yan-Pavel Laplante have all been sent down to the AHL. The trio were all up with the Canucks for the final game of the season, but will now try to go on a Cup run of their own.

Despite never having suited up for the Comets, Goldobin is actually playoff eligible thanks to a paper transaction on March 1st. In fact, the same type of transaction was needed for Bachman because he was up with the club at the time. Goldobin should provide a solid offensive presence for the Comets, after he scored 41 points in 46 games for the San Jose Barracuda before being traded for Jannik Hansen at the deadline.

  • New Jersey has sent their own troops down to try and hold off those Comets, as the Albany Devils will welcome back Joseph Blandisi, Blake Coleman, Ben Thomson and Miles Wood from the NHL. Albany is the team just two points ahead of the Comets for the last playoff spot in the North Division. Coleman and Blandisi especially will help the offense of the Devils, with both scoring nearly a point-per-game during their AHL time this season. The group will try to improve on a round two exit last season, despite a much worse record heading into the playoffs.
  • Buffalo has returned Alexander Nylander, Evan Rodrigues and Linus Ullmark to the Rochester Americans, though the team is not headed for the playoffs. The trio will play the last few games before hanging up the skates for the summer and working to win full-time jobs again next fall. All three are in contention for the NHL come September, with Ullmark hoping the team decides not to bring back pending UFA Anders Nilsson.
  • Matt Lorito, Tomas Nosek, Ben Street and Robbie Russo are all headed to Grand Rapids for their own Calder Cup run, as Detroit sends them down to keep playing. The quartet should be welcomed into the second place Griffins who look as dangerous as anyone in the AHL this year. Head coach Todd Nelson will be happy to get the group back after a recent 4-5-1 stretch that has seen them lose their first place standing to the Chicago Wolves.

Toronto Maple Leafs Rookie Bonuses May Impact Offseason Flexibility

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Though the Toronto Maple Leafs and their crop of rookie talent has been one of the most exciting story lines this year, the impressive season each of them has had may negatively impact the team’s ability this summer. As reported by Chris Johnston of Sportsnet, the team will pay out a minimum of $5.37MM in entry-level bonuses this season, most notably to Auston Matthews who earned a whopping $2.85MM extra. The team could have to pay $5.5MM should Nikita Zaitsev be named to the all-rookie team, with his main competition being the Rangers’ Brady Skjei and Flyers’ Ivan Provorov assuming Zach Werenski gets the first defenseman spot.  Nikita Zaitsev

Johnston outlined the bonuses earlier this year, noting that because the Maple Leafs finished the season roughly $178K under the cap (according to CapFriendly), more than $5MM will be carried over to next year’s cap in the form of an overage. The problem that poses is that teams must be salary cap compliant before the season starts, and before any player can be put on LTIR. Despite Stephane Robidas coming off the books for the Maple Leafs, the team still has $10.55MM tied up in Nathan Horton and Joffrey Lupul, and another $2.53MM locked up in Phil Kessel and Tim Gleason (retained salary and buyout respectively). That means nearly $20MM of the rumored ~$76MM cap will be consumed in dead money this summer for the Maple Leafs, not giving them much flexibility to improve the team.

Three of those rookies—Zach Hyman, Connor Brown and Zaitsev—will be restricted free agents this summer, and all deserve hefty raises from the sub-$1MM cap hits they had this season. Zaitsev in particular has reportedly agreed to a new deal that will pay him $4.5MM per season, eating a good chunk of the money the Maple Leafs will have to play with. With a backup goaltender and another defenseman on the shopping list, the team won’t have a lot of cap space to use in the summer, but will have a ton come the season. It’s an odd situation they find themselves in, but one their management team should be able to work their way out of. It is important to note that any team is allowed to be up to 10% over the cap at any point during the summer, but must be back down by the last day of training camp.

If there is anyone around the league who you’d be willing to bet has a way out of this situation, it’s “Loophole” Lou Lamoriello, who has made a name for decades finding ways around salary issues. After such a successful season—regardless of whether they get past the Washington Capitals in round one—the Maple Leafs will be one of the more interesting teams to watch this summer and leading up to the expansion draft. Perhaps Vegas will be one of the ways they shed a contract, making a deal with the Golden Knights to take someone like Eric Fehr off their hands. Regardless, someone will likely be moved out this summer to give them a little bit of breathing room and perhaps a chance to take a run at one of the big free agents.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Tyler Moy Signs Two-Year Contract With Nashville Predators

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A few months before he would become an unrestricted free agent, Tyler Moy has decided to sign with the team that drafted him. The Harvard standout has agreed to a two-year entry-level contract with the Nashville Predators. Fans that were having flashbacks to Jimmy Vesey, another Predators draft pick and Harvard forward who refused to sign last year, now have nothing to worry about as Moy is in their system.

The 21-year old forward broke out with Harvard this year after he was given a bigger responsibility and registered 45 points in 36 games, tying him with Alexander Kerfoot for the team lead. His 22 goals also led the team, and helped the Crimson to the Frozen Four for the first time since 1994. The forward was drafted in the sixth round in 2015, but already completed his four-year stint at the university.

Moy can play any forward position and up until this year was relied upon as a defensive specialist. He plays a mature two-way style, but showed off some impressive offensive skill this year while still dominating in his own end. Should that offensive production continue at the next level, he has a chance to be a solid contributor to a Nashville franchise that suddenly looks poised to have some real depth at the center position in a few years. He’ll turn 22 this July, meaning he is nearly done growing as a player and needs to make an impact within the next few seasons. For now, he’ll likely be tried at center in the AHL and push for an NHL audition at some point in 2017-18.

Afternoon Notes: Vrbata, Fontaine, Khaira

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Radim Vrbata is an interesting case this summer, as he heads into free agency once again following a very successful bounce-back campaign. In 81 games for the Arizona Coyotes, Vrbata scored 20 goals and 55 points showing that he is still a capable offensive player even at his advanced age. He’ll be 36 this summer, and told Craig Morgan of AZ Sports today that if he came back to the Coyotes it would be on a one-year deal.

It’s unclear whether that means he would consider a multi-year deal somewhere else, but after not trading him at the deadline it was clear that Arizona hoped he would stay past this season. The winger would be an early candidate for trade deadline fodder again, as the Coyotes will have a hard time competing again next season as they continue their rebuild.

  • The New York Rangers have signed Gabriel Fontaine to an entry-level contract, despite him still being deep in a playoff run with the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. The sixth-round pick had 52 points in 59 games this season and projects and will likely join the Rangers’ AHL affiliate next season. Though he has the size to make the NHL one day, it is still a long way away for Fontaine as he’ll need to perfect his two-way game. Without the high-end skill that would allow him to play in the top-six, he will make it in professional hockey by continuing to play solid defensively and improve in the faceoff dot. The Huskies will continue their series against Chicoutimi tomorrow night.
  • Edmonton has brought  Jujhar Khaira back up prior to their playoff series against the San Jose Sharks. The 22-year old forward played 10 games for the Oilers this season, registering just a single goal. Khaira represents some center depth for the Oilers and a heavy forward who could be inserted onto the fourth line if the team feels it needs a change.
  • According to Dan Rosen of NHL.com, the Los Angeles Kings have sent Adrian Kempe, Jonny Brodzinski and Paul LaDue back to the AHL for the Ontario Reign’s playoff run. The three have all played the majority of the season in the minors and will be a big part of any Calder Cup aspirations the Reign may have.
  • In a similar move, the Tampa Bay Lightning have sent Cory Conacher, Jake Dotchin, Gabriel Dumont, Adam Erne and Yanni Gourde all back down to the Syracuse Crunch to help the AHL team in the playoffs. The sheer amount of players that Tampa Bay had pulled from their minor league team shows how decimated they were by injury this year, while still only missing the playoffs by one point. The Crunch were in first place for much of the season, but after losing almost half their starting lineup to the NHL slipped slightly in the last month. They’ll go in as one of the favorites now that they have this group back.
  • Both Joe Thornton and Logan Couture were back at San Jose Sharks’ practice today according to Kevin Kurz of NBC. The two centermen were both in regular sweaters, though Couture skated with a full cage on his helmet. It wouldn’t be surprising to see both of them suit up for game one of their series on Wednesday night, which would be a huge boost to a Sharks team that struggled down the stretch.

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