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Patrice Bergeron, Tuukka Rask Undergo Surgery

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The Boston Bruins kept things short and sweet in a press release today, as GM Don Sweeney announced that both Patrice Bergeron and Tuukka Rask underwent successful surgery over the past two days. Barring any unforeseen complications, both players are expected to make full recoveries and be ready for the start of the 2017-18 season.

Unlike defenseman Torey Krug, Brandon Carlo, and Adam McQuaid, whose injuries kept them out for the first round of the playoffs and seemed like the likely cause of the Bruins collapse at the hand of the Ottawa Senators, both Bergeron and Rask played through their ailments in the six-game series. It was revealed that Bergeron not only played through his injury, a sports hernia, for the postseason but the entire regular season as well. The Bruins’ alternate captain and perennial Selke candidate is no stranger to playing through pain; he memorably skated in Game Six of the 2013 Stanley Cup Final with a punctured lung. Rask is a different case, as he his physical and mental toughness has often been questioned by skeptics of the Boston keeper’s ability. Some minds may be changed after they find out that Rask played through a groin tear, perhaps the most taxing injury for a goalie, in the playoffs and still managed to post a .920 save percentage and 2.24 goals against average.

Luckily, both Bergeron and Rask – as well as half the defense – are on their way to health and should be ready to go for next season. Although Rask won a career-high 37 games, including a career-best and 2nd-best in the league 8 shutouts, and Bergeron scored 53 points, led the league in face-off wins, and was named a Selke finalist yet again, it was actually a down year for both players. Rask, the 2013-14 Vezina Trophy winner and the current holder of the best career save percentage all-time was streaky this season and helped him to finish a second straight season with an uninspiring .915 save percentage. Bergeron, who has the best Expected +/- all-time was just +12 on the year, third on the Bruins and outside the top 50 in the NHL. He also saw a drop off in goals from 32 in 2015-16 to just 21 in 2016-17 and with it a slight decrease in five-on-five and power play ice-time. Certainly neither player was disappointing this past season, but at full strength they can be better and the Bruins can build on their success this season with another impressive effort in 2017-18.

Snapshots: Gavrikov, Montgomery, Brodeur

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In the continuing saga of Vladislav Gavrikov, Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch reports that rumors of his signing in the KHL already are completely false. Dan Milstein of Gold Star who represents Gavrikov reiterated that no decision will be made on his future until after the World Championships are over.

Gavrikov is still just 21, and despite being drafted in the sixth round has developed into a legitimate NHL prospect. The young defender apparently has two KHL teams chasing him after his solid season for Yaroslavl. After already convincing Gabriel Carlsson to come over earlier this spring, the Blue Jackets could make another important addition to their defense pipeline with Gavrikov. While Team Russia spreads their ice time out fairly evenly, Gavrikov is used in tough defensive matchups and has been effective in the tournament. His future lies as a shutdown third-pairing player, though he still has time to develop even further.

  • The Florida Panthers have met with Jim Montgomery from the University of Denver twice now, according to George Richards of the Miami Herald, and have booked a second interview with Michel Therrien as well. The club is still searching for their next head coach, and many believe that Nashville Predators assistant Phil Housley will be given a chance to interview before they make a decision. Housley of course is still working in the playoffs as Nashville is off to the Western Conference Finals for the first time. Montgomery and Therrien represent two very different directions for the club, showing that they’re looking in every direction for their next bench boss. Therrien has 814 games of head coaching experience in the NHL, while Montgomery—and in the same vein Housley—has none.
  • Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Martin Brodeur will not continue as goalie coach for the Blues next season, instead returning to his post as assistant general manager. The team will hire a new coach who will hopefully be able to continue the work Brodeur did with Jake Allen in the second half. When the Blues fired Jim Corsi—the man the divisive Corsi stat was named after—along with Ken Hitchcock on February 1st, Allen held a .895 save percentage and was the focus of much hand-wringing among those watching the team. Following Brodeur and Ty Conklin taking over coaching duties, Allen posted a .928 save percentage (including playoffs) and was key in the Blues turnaround. Conklin, previously the goaltender development coach, will surely be in the running to take over the job full-time.

Kings Sign Tanner Pearson To Four-Year Extension

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It has been a busy day for the Los Angeles Kings and new GM Rob Blake. After trading impending free agent goaltender Ben Bishop to the Dallas Stars for a fourth round pick earlier, the Kings have announced another shrewd deal no more than an hour later: young winger Tanner Pearson has agreed to a four-year, $15MM extension to stay in Los Angeles. An impending restricted free agent, Pearson had only limited leverage, but will carry a $3.75MM AAV for the next four seasons which is a number that both sides are likely very happy with.

In a season that was an overall disappointment for the Kings, Pearson was one of the few bright spots of the campaign. The 24-year-old posted a career-high 24 goals and 44 points and took on a much larger role on the team. Pearson led the team in shorthanded scoring and shooting percentage, finished behind only stars Jeff Carter and Anze Kopitar in points and just Carter in goals and his 20 assists, +5 rating, and 124 hits ranked in the top ten as well.

Yet, with just 44 points on the year and only 101 career points through four seasons, the Kings still held a significant degree of control in negotiations and were able to lock up a valuable young asset for a very reasonable rate. Pearson, who still shows signs of growth, will be a King until he is 28 at under $4MM per year. While he will make more than fellow youngster Tyler Toffoli next year, Pearson will likely be the fifth highest-paid forward on the team despite performing like the second or third-best in 2017-18. On the other hand, his contract compares to those of New York Islanders center Anders Lee and Dallas Stars forward Cody Eakin, whose play and skill set compare favorably to Pearson as well. It appears to be a good compromise all around for Pearson and Los Angeles, and the Kings can now turn to helping Pearson and his teammates out more by adding some more speed and skill to the forward corps this off-season.

Ben Bishop Traded To The Dallas Stars

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The Dallas Stars have acquired Ben Bishop from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for a fourth-round pick. Bishop is a pending unrestricted free agent and is still not under contract for next season. The pick originally belonged to Montreal, and was acquired by the Stars in the Jordie Benn deal from earlier this year."<strong

After being dealt mid-season from Tampa Bay to Los Angeles, Bishop is heading into free agency coming off just 39 games played and a .910 save percentage. Neither of these numbers show the lofty heights that Bishop is capable of, as prior to this season he received Vezina votes two out of the last three years. If Dallas could get him signed, he’d easily become the best goaltender in town, even if it is a quite crowded crease.

The Stars already have Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi under contract for next season at a combined cap-hit of $10.4MM, meaning at least one goaltender will have to be either bought out or traded before the start of the season. The pair put up very substandard goaltending this season, a big reason why the Stars dropped right out of the playoff picture just a year removed from leading the Western Conference.

Bishop represents a potential huge upgrade in the crease, but doesn’t come without his own warts. He’ll turn 31 this season and has a lot of leverage now that Scott Darling has been taken off the market. Bishop would hit free agency as the clear #1 available goaltender even after his down year, and likely demand a contract in excess of $5MM per season on a multi-year deal. If he were to repeat the season he had this year the Stars would be in exactly the same situation but with a longer term deal on their hands.

In the end though, the Stars had to do something to improve the situation as they start a new era under a familiar face. Ken Hitchcock is back behind the bench and the team will be expected to have some immediate success as they continue through the primes of Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin. The latter is only under contract for two more seasons, after which he could legitimately bolt for a cup contender if there isn’t any improvement on the ice in Dallas.

For Los Angeles, they recoup some of the value they sent to Tampa Bay at the deadline and move Bishop out before he left for nothing. Helene Elliott of the Los Angeles Times reports that former Kings GM Dean Lombardi had been interested in keeping Bishop, though that would have been difficult considering Jonathan Quick is firmly entrenched as the starter. The team will now look around at other backup options for next season, including Jack Campbell a former Stars’ prospect that has had a renaissance of sorts with Ontario of the AHL.

Multiple reports have the two sides ready to start talking contracts over the next few days, though they haven’t actually discussed anything yet. Had Bishop hit the open market, Dallas would likely have been an attractive landing spot given their recent success and lack of goaltending competition—despite the big salaries. John Shannon of Sportsnet seems to confirm this, reporting that Bishop told the Kings that he preferred certain teams including Dallas. If they can get a deal done, the biggest losers of this deal may be much further north as both Calgary and Winnipeg (among others) would have likely had interest in the 6’7″ netminder. Unfortunately Calgary was on his no-trade list, though that doesn’t necessarily mean he wouldn’t have been interested. They’ll now have to look elsewhere to find an upgrade in net, and with options dwindling in free agency, perhaps it will have to be through trade.

Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News was first to hear about the deal.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

San Jose Sharks Sign Manuel Wiederer

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The San Jose Sharks have inked a draft pick from last summer, signing Manuel Wiederer to a entry-level deal. No financial details were released, but it will be a three-year deal starting next season.

Wiederer played the past two seasons in the QMJHL after coming over from Germany, scoring 29 goals in both years. While his assist totals took a step back this season, Sharks’ GM Doug Wilson had this to say about the forward.

Manuel mixes a defensively responsible two-way game with speed and offensive creativity and has proven that he can play with players much older than he is. He takes pride in his defensive game, but has also shown that he can produce when asked to provide offense. We look forward to him developing his overall game with our organization.

It’s true that Wiederer has proven an ability to skate with older players, as he spent most of the 2014-15 season playing in the DEL, Germany’s highest professional league. He was just 17 playing against men mostly a decade older than him. While he didn’t put up many points there, the Canadian junior ranks came a little easier and he showed his offensive potential in the playoffs both seasons. Last year, he scored 12 goals in 17 games for the Moncton Wildcats before registering 10 points in 12 playoff games for the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies this spring.

The winger has upside as a potential secondary scoring threat, but is more likely to develop into an excellent defensive player. Should that game be able to transfer all the way to the NHL is still up for debate, but he’ll likely head to the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda next season to test it against North American professionals.

Toronto Maple Leafs To Announce European Signings Soon

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While he didn’t give Darren Dreger of TSN much in an interview featured on “Dreger’s Cafe”, Mike Babcock did let it slip that the team will soon announce some signings that will “add to [their] group”. Dreger confirmed that Babcock didn’t mean any restricted free agents, but European players that have been scouted by the Leafs’ staff all season.

Recently Toronto was linked to Calle Rosen, and has also been rumored to be involved in the Evgeni Dadonov sweepstakes. Babcock himself is attending the World Championships to scout some players of interest, where the Russian winger is currently playing. It’s unclear who else the Maple Leafs coach would be referring to as obviously there are hundreds of eligible players throughout Europe.

Babcock also talked about his team’s needs for next season, joking that if he could pluck a right-handed defenseman able to log 25 minutes a night off a tree in the backyard he would. The coach mentioned that they could use help up front and on defense, and it’s clear that they will be busy this offseason exploring any avenue to make their team better. That said, Babcock again made it clear that the team will stick to their plan of building a “program” that looks for consistent success instead of short windows and even with their success this season will not stray.

On Auston Matthews, Babcock heaped praise upon the character of his young superstar saying that he knew he would be a good man the second he met his parents. He won’t commit to the idea that Matthews will be captain next year, though does think of him as a future leader. The Maple Leafs haven’t had a captain since they traded Dion Phaneuf to the Ottawa Senators in 2016, and have had a combination of Morgan Rielly, Matt Hunwick, Leo Komarov and Tyler Bozak in the alternate captain role over the past year.

New Jersey Devils Sign Viktor Loov To One-Year Extension

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After coming over in mid-February from the Toronto Maple Leafs, defenseman Viktor Loov has re-signed with the New Jersey Devils for another year. The two-way deal will cover the 2017-18 season and pay Loov $650K at the NHL level. Loov was set to become a restricted free agent with arbitration rights this summer, and will try again next season to crack an NHL roster full-time.

Loov was drafted in the seventh round by the Maple Leafs back in 2012, but quickly progressed as a defender in the SHL. His impact was immediate upon coming over to the AHL, but he’s slowly slipped out of prospect consideration as his game has plateaued. The Devils acquired him this season for Sergey Kalinin, who at the time provided the Maple Leafs with some depth for the fourth line center position—one that was later filled by Brian Boyle at the deadline. Kalinin never did suit up for the Maple Leafs, and is a restricted free agent himself this summer.

For the Devils, moving on from Kalinin wasn’t much to give up for a bit of defensive depth given his struggles in the faceoff dot and overall ineffectiveness. While Loov doesn’t offer a ton of upside as he inches closer to his 25th birthday, perhaps he can be a valuable seventh defenseman in the coming seasons. He’ll still be waiver-eligible next year, and thus will likely spend a few days up with the big club at some point.

Loov is also eligible for the expansion draft but does not fill the defensive requirement of 40 games played this season or 70 the past two combined. While that means he technically would need protection, it would be a surprise for the Vegas Golden Knights to select him when there will be other more established names available.

Sam Carrick Recalled By Anaheim Ducks

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It’s not often that you see a player make his season debut in game seven of the second round of the playoffs, but that’s just what might happen tonight for Sam Carrick. The 25-year old forward was recalled today from the San Diego Gulls and was skating in Nate Thompson’s spot on the fourth line at practice this morning. Patrick Eaves and Logan Shaw both weren’t skating with the team, while Ondrej Kase participated fully.

A former Maple Leafs draft pick, Carrick was acquired by the Ducks earlier this year from Chicago along with Spencer Abbott in exchange for Kenton Helgesen and a seventh-round pick. Mostly done for depth at the AHL level, the Ducks may now rely on Carrick to play a few minutes in a deciding game. Carrick actually scored 11 points for the Gulls down the stretch, and has another four through their first seven playoff games. The former fifth-round pick is much more of a grinder than sniper even at the AHL level, and will be relied upon to provide energy and physicality should he get into the lineup.

For Anaheim, relying on Carrick is the last thing they expected as they headed into the playoffs relatively healthy up front. But after several key injuries, they’ll likely put even more pressure on their top two centers to lead them to the Western Conference Finals again this season. The team last went to the third round in 2014-15, but were eliminated by the Chicago Blackhawks in an epic seven-game series.

St. Louis Blues Had Multiple Chances To Trade Vladimir Sobotka

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Mike Yeo and Doug Armstrong met with the media today during the St. Louis Blues locker cleanout, and provided some details on several issues. One of those was the situation they found themselves in regarding Vladimir Sobotka before he finally decided to return to the NHL. Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Armstrong had multiple offers of a second-round pick for the rights to Sobotka, but held on hoping that he’d eventually return. Return he did, as Sobotka was a key player for the team in the playoffs and now heads into next season with a new three-year contract. Vladimir Sobotka

While there is no word who would have offered a second for Sobotka, it doesn’t come as any surprise that there was an appetite for the 29-year old around the league. Even before he left for the KHL, Sobotka looked like a capable third-line center or middle-six winger capable of defending well and adding some secondary scoring. After putting up strong offensive numbers in Russia front offices around the league likely thought there was perhaps even more skill in him than he’d previously shown. In the playoffs, Sobotka scored 6 points in 11 games and was one of the Blues’ best forwards at times. His physical style and elite faceoff skill was on display, winning 54% of his draws and recording 21 hits.

Now that Sobotka will be starting a new three-year deal that will pay him $3.5MM, the Blues have some decisions to make about their depth chart down the middle. They now have Sobotka, Paul Stastny, Alex Steen, Patrik Berglund, Kyle Brodziak, Jori Lehtera and Ivan Barbashev all with plenty of experience in the middle, and though most have been effective on the wing at times, would carry value on the open market to other teams looking for center depth. With players like Zach Sanford and Robby Fabbri expected to step into even bigger roles next season, there may not be enough room for everyone up front. The fact that they need money for a Colton Parayko extension nags even more at the idea that someone may be on their way out in St. Louis.

Morning Notes: Parayko, Dotchin, Kings

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Colton Parayko will be heading to Europe to join Team Canada for the remainder of the World Championships, marking the end of a breakout season for the 23-year old. Though he scored just two more points than last season, Parayko firmly entrenched himself as the future on the blueline in St. Louis and skated more than 21 minutes a night for the team. When the Blues were forced to move on from Kevin Shattenkirk, Parayko received more time on the powerplay and showed off his incredible skill down the stretch and into the playoffs.

This summer, Parayko will be at the top of the to-do list for the Blues as he will become a restricted free agent on July 1st. A long-term extension is obviously what the team would prefer, but with such little cap space it will be difficult to accomplish. The team already has more than $68MM dedicated to players next season, and will need to move out some money if they want to buy out any free agent years from Parayko. Otherwise they could do a shorter-term bridge deal with him and revisit the issue after veterans like Jay Bouwmeester and Paul Stastny are off the books or retained at a lower price.

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