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Archives for November 2017

Drew Doughty Pondering His Next Contract

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If you look early enough, the 2019 unrestricted free agent class looks like it could be historical. Erik Karlsson, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Ryan Ellis, Tyler Seguin, Jeff Skinner, Joe Pavelski, Artemi Panarin, Sergei Bobrovsky, Cam Talbot and many, many more are all set to become UFAs. Obviously the majority of those names will likely be re-signed by their current clubs, and many aren’t likely even thinking about their next contract just yet. One that is however is Drew Doughty, who recently spoke with Craig Custance of The Athletic concerning his upcoming free agency.

Drew DoughtyDoughty, always unfiltered, speaks about what he thinks negotiations would start at for both him and Karlsson and explains how he’ll try to be in touch with the Ottawa defenseman throughout the process. One specific quote, on where he thinks his salary would sit is extremely telling:

Right now, I guess we’d be gauging off what P.K. [Subban] makes. I think both of us deserve quite a bit more than that.

Subban currently holds the highest cap hit for any defenseman in the league at $9MM, with Brent Burns’ extension bringing him closest at $8MM next season. The idea that Doughty and Karlsson will command “quite a bit more” than that may be a tough thing for any team (especially an internal-budget team like Ottawa) to swallow, even if it is for a franchise defenseman.

Custance lists the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings (two lead markets of The Athletic) as potential suitors for Doughty if he does hit free agency, though the defenseman is quick to point out that he loves the Los Angeles organization and is by no means saying he’ll be a free agent when his current contract ends. If he or any of the other franchise players do though, another interesting market to watch for will be the NHL’s newest landscape: Vegas.

We’ve examined the Golden Knights’ salary structure in the past, but it is important to once again note something in particular. Vegas has just four one-way contracts on the books for the 2019-20 season, one of which is David Clarkson who will continue to be on long-term injured reserve. The team has basically all but $10MM of the salary cap—which could be well in excess of $80MM by then—with which to spend the next few seasons, making them a dangerous player in free agency. While other teams are hampered by re-signing their own young players or dealing with the effects of bad contracts from the past, Vegas will have free rein to do what they please in the summer of 2019.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Injury Notes: Berglund, Parise, McQuaid

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The St. Louis Blues have officially activated Patrik Berglund from injured reserve, and intend to insert him into the lineup tonight when they play the Anaheim Ducks. Berglund has been out since June after injuring his shoulder and needing surgery. Originally slated to return at some point in December, the 29-year old center will get back into the lineup a little early.

Berglund joins what is already one of the deepest and most dangerous forward groups in the NHL, and gives them another big body down the middle that can contribute. A three-time 20-goal scorer, Berglund is coming off a 34-point season and looking to make an immediate impact. More importantly, he gives them another option in the middle where Brayden Schenn and Paul Stastny have already dominated.

Nate Prosser, Kyle Quincey, Jordin Tootoo Placed On Waivers

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The St. Louis Blues will be forced to make a move as Patrik Berglund returns from injured reserve, and it is Nate Prosser exposed to waivers this time around after being absent from the morning skate. Prosser had played in just one game this season with the Blues, but the team had shielded him from waivers even when it meant carrying eight healthy defensemen for long stretches. Now the 31-year old will be up for grabs, though a claim is far from certain.

Prosser signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Blues this summer after spending the first eight seasons of his professional career with the Minnesota Wild. An undrafted free agent out of Colorado College, Prosser jumped right to the NHL in 2010 and has played 238 games since. Though he’s never played more than 63 games in a single season, he is a potential depth option for teams looking for a bit of help on the back end. The 6’2″ 206-lbs defender is a capable penalty killer known for his shot blocking, and is willing to engage physically when needed.

If he does clear, he’ll St. Louis will have to decide where exactly to send him. The Blues are operating without a primary AHL affiliate this season, instead sending players to the Chicago Wolves, San Antonio Rampage and other clubs. Next season will see them start a five-year agreement with San Antonio, but Prosser could end up anywhere on loan if they feel there isn’t a spot for him there.

The Minnesota Wild will similarly make a veteran defenseman available by placing Kyle Quincey on waivers. Quincey is on a one-year, $1.25MM contract with the Wild but has been generally underwhelming in his 18 games. The former Detroit Red Wings defenseman hasn’t been able to find a home on three different clubs in the past year, and looks like his NHL viability is coming to an end.

Quincey was once a very effective two-way option in the league, even recording a career-high 38 points in 2008-09 with Los Angeles. The 32-year old had just three this season though, and has clearly lost a step in both ends of the rink. With Minnesota pushing right up against the salary cap ceiling this year, burying Quincey in the minors (if he’s not claimed) would save them a prorated $1.025MM and allow some breathing room. With younger, more affordable options available to them it seemed only a matter of time before he was waived.

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet believes that Minnesota had previously let teams around the league know Quincey was available, which could perhaps mean a deal is coming should he clear. Like we saw with Calvin Pickard earlier in the year, clearing waivers and gaining the ability to be sent to the minors actually improves a player’s trade value somewhat. Should he clear, it would also mean the Wild would have the ability to bring him up and down without waivers for 30 days on the active roster, or 10 NHL games. It wouldn’t change how much actual money they pay him, but they could use that to manipulate the salary cap and bank some extra space by having Quincey technically in the minors on off days.

Jordin Tootoo is the third player on waivers, likely meaning he’s now healthy enough to return from his long-term injured reserve stint. It will be interesting to see what happens to the veteran forward, as the Blackhawks don’t seem to have room for him on the NHL roster at the moment. Tootoo signed a one-year, $700K contract extension with the Blackhawks last season to help with expansion draft requirements, but hasn’t suited up this season so far.

Aaron Ness of the Washington Capitals has cleared and can be assigned to Hershey of the AHL.

Buffalo Willing To Retain Salary In Evander Kane Trade

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On the latest edition of TSN’s Insider Trading, the panel—Darren Dreger, Pierre LeBrun and Bob McKenzie—discuss several interesting rumors around the league including Evander Kane. LeBrun reports that the Buffalo Sabres have started telling teams that they would be willing to retain part of Kane’s $5.25MM cap hit in a potential trade, though the insider is quick to point out that any deal is still likely six or seven weeks away if it even happens at all.

Kane is a pending unrestricted free agent, and despite his strong play the Sabres find themselves near the bottom of the standings once again. While there has been rumblings that perhaps the team would consider a long-term extension, if the player isn’t willing to sign it before the trade deadline there probably has to be a trade of some sort. Kane does not have any trade protection on his current deal—which pays him $6MM this year in actual salary—and could be used as one of the very best chips at the deadline.

The 26-year old already has 12 goals and 23 points on the season, a 75-point pace that would easily eclipse his career high to this point. He’s found a nice chemistry with Jack Eichel, but may be more interested in what he can get on the open market as one of the very best free agents available next summer. If he does make it all the way there without incident, he would presumably—despite what Dreger has heard to this point—command a seven-year deal at an impressive salary. 30-goal players in the prime of their careers don’t hit the open market very often.

Minor Transactions: 11/29/17

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The NHL was busy last night with twenty teams taking the ice to try and continue or turn their seasons around. Today is much quieter with only four games on the docket, meaning teams there will likely be several fringe roster moves to get ready for the rest of the week. As always, we’ll keep track of all the minor transactions right here. Be sure to check back throughout the day.

  • The Columbus Blue Jackets have returned Gabriel Carlsson and Jordan Schroeder to the AHL. Carlsson was called up yesterday on emergency conditions when Ryan Murray couldn’t go last night. Schroeder had played six games for the Blue Jackets, but cleared waivers already this season and can be moved up and down for the time being without having to go through the process again.
  • The Calgary Flames have recalled Garnet Hathaway from the Stockton Heat of the AHL, while placing Kris Versteeg on injured reserve. Versteeg is out with a lower-body injury and has missed the last two games for the Flames already. Hathaway meanwhile has 19 points in 18 games for the Heat, and can offer a bit of size and energy to the Calgary lineup should he be inserted. The Flames lost 4-1 at the hands of the Toronto Maple Leafs last night, a game in which they were thoroughly outplayed.
  • After clearing waivers, the Washington Capitals have sent Aaron Ness to Hershey of the AHL. Ness’ departure opens the door for a return of Christian Djoos to the Washington lineup, which is expected tomorrow night against the Los Angeles Kings.
  • Danick Martel is headed back to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms after a short stint with Philadelphia. Martel played four games with the Flyers over the past week, but wasn’t able to record his first NHL point. The 22-year old was signed out of the QMJHL in 2015 after going undrafted, and has been a solid offensive contributor in the AHL.
  • After Niklas Hjalmarsson left last night’s game against the Edmonton Oilers with an upper-body injury, the Arizona Coyotes have recalled Andrew Campbell from the AHL. Campbell signed a two-year deal to return to the Coyotes organization this summer after two seasons with Toronto, but hadn’t gotten into an NHL game yet. The 29-year old defenseman has just 42 contests and two points under his belt, and is just a short-term depth option for the club at this point.

Injuries Unending In Boston; Krejci, DeBrusk Join Sidelined

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Boston Bruins beat writer Joe Haggerty could not have said it better: “You can’t make this stuff up”. The unbelievable rash of injuries continues in Boston, as center David Krejci and rookie winger Jake DeBrusk have been ruled out for Wednesday night’s match-up against the Atlantic-leading Tampa Bay Lightning.

The sheer number of injuries suffered by the Bruins this season, especially among the forward corps, is hard to comprehend. 22 games into the 2017-18 campaign the only forward to have played every game are David Pastrnak and energy-liners-turned-top-nine-mainstays Riley Nash, Sean Kuraly, and Tim Schaller. While there is no word yet on the extent of DeBrusk’s injury, the young scorer has been one of the Bruins’ more dependable forwards with 12 points in 21 games, but of course he now joins the long list of casualties. Currently out of the lineup alongwith DeBrusk and Krejci, who had only just returned to action, are 2016-17 leading scorer Brad Marchand, veteran David Backes, power play catalyst Ryan Spooner, promising rookies Anders Bjork and Peter Cehlarik and, of course, defenseman Adam McQuaid as well. Spooner just recently re-injured the groin that had kept him out all but eight games on the season. In the same game, Cehlarik suffered a leg injury that should keep him out at least a month. Marchand and Bjork have been sidelined since November 13th and there has been no concrete information on when exactly either can be expected back.  Backes has made a remarkably quick recovery from major surgery to cure his diverticulitis, but he too is not quite ready to return and there are doubts about how he will play once he is back. Other Bruins forward who have missed time already this season: Patrice Bergeron (5 games), Noel Acciari (13 games), and Matt Beleskey (2 games).

The defense has done a bit better though, with captain Zdeno Chara and talented youngsters Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo all suiting up for every game. Kevan Miller has missed only one game, while Torey Krug’s four-game absence seems like nothing. A platoon of Paul Postma, Rob O’Gara and Matt Grzelcyk has performed well enough in the absence of McQuaid.

In total, the Bruins have missed a whopping 100 man-games already this season, far more than any other team in the league and heavily weighted toward their forwards. That makes it all the more impressive that the team is still sitting pretty in the Atlantic Division. In terms of points percentage, the B’s are third in the Atlantic and just behind the two-time Cup-champion Pittsburgh Penguins overall. Their 60 goals for may a bottom-five number in the NHL, but what would you expect from a two-way team missing most of its offensive talent? A recent winning streak showed that the Bruins and head coach Bruce Cassidy can get it done, even with a makeshift roster. There is no sign of when Boston will get back to full strength, if ever this season, but if they do it could be dangerous for the rest of the NHL.

Poll: Fairness In NHL’s Fines And Suspensions?

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In a season where penalties are down, there has been a surprising amount of newsworthy fines and suspensions early on in 2017-18. The unfortunate thing for the NHL is the only common theme between these instances of league punishment seem to be inconsistency and a lack of sense.

Three players – Steven Stamkos, Kevin Hayes, and most recently Matt Dumba – have been fined $5,000 apiece this season for water squirting. It’s not exactly a lethal offense, but is probably worthy of a minor infraction. Except, Alex Killorn received the same $5,000 fine in the same game as Stamkos’ and Hayes’ water fight for viciously jabbing Hayes until he received a slashing penalty. J.T. Brown and Steven Kampfer then riled up the benches with a long, intense fight and received no additional penalty minutes outside their matching majors and no fines. In a separate instance the other night, Patrick Kane also received a $5,000 fine. His offense: this two-handed swinging slash on Nick Ritchie which could have been much worse had it landed cleanly.

The curious thing about all of these fines is that they are the maximum under the NHL CBA. This came up earlier in the season as well, when Robert Bortuzzo’s received the max fine of just over $3,000 for pinning down and repeatedly cross-checking Brock Nelson. So in summary, water squirting has been a fine-able offense three times this season, and for the same maximum amount as slashing and more than the maximum amount for cross-checking.

Then, there are suspensions. The ten-game ban for perennial bad guy Radko Gudas was well-earned, while the ten-game suspension for leaving the bench handed out to Luke Witkowski is a tried and true policy. Yet, Witkowski was responding to this jab from Matthew Tkachuk which more or less also happened off the ice. For that offense, Tkachuk received only a one-game suspension. As minor a “spear” as it might have been, Tkachuk still made contact with a player off the ice, but the NHL thought Witkowski stepping back on the ice to have words with Tkachuk was ten times worse? Tkachuk was back in the spotlight the other night, drawing a four-game suspension for Gabriel Landeskog, who NHL Player Safety even acknowledged was not intending to hurt Tkachuk, so much as get him away from the puck.

On it’s face, the NHL’s fines and suspensions – a product of both the league and NHLPA – seem inconsistent at best. But what say you? Do you think these are isolated incidents? Or a pattern of inequitable punishment?

[Mobile users click here to vote!]

What Your Team Is Thankful For: Columbus Blue Jackets

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As the holiday season approaches, PHR will look at what teams are thankful for as the season nears the quarter point of completion. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We take a look at what’s gone well in the first month and what could improve as the season rolls on. So far we’ve covered ANA, ARZ, BUF, CGY, CAR, COL, DET, LAK, NYI, STL, WSH, and VGK.

Sergei BobrovskyWho are the Columbus Blue Jackets most thankful for?

Sergei Bobrovsky.

It’s simple, the Blue Jackets aren’t scoring enough this season. Artemi Panarin leads the team in points with just 16 through 24 games, but another Vezina-worthy season by Bobrovsky and solid defensive play still has them as one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference.

The Russian netminder is actually putting up better numbers than either of his Vezina-winning years, both of which put him in the top-5 in Hart Trophy voting as well. In 2012-13 he recorded a .932 save percentage and 21-11-6 record in a lockout-shorted season, while last year he went 41-17-5 with a .931 mark. This year he’s off to an incredible 14-5-1 record with a .935 save percentage. He’s allowing just 1.92 goals per game and already has three shutouts.

Bobrovsky is an unrestricted free agent following the 2018-19 season.

What are the Blue Jackets most thankful for?

Their 15-8-1 record.

With just 69 goals scored this year the Blue Jackets could have easily found themselves near the bottom of the Metropolitan. After all, five other teams in the division have more goals than them on the year and they’re tied with Philadelphia who have lost eight in a row.

That’s the effect of good goaltending and defense though, and you can certainly bank on the offense coming around at some point. With Alexander Wennberg returning to the lineup tonight, and Cam Atkinson looking more dangerous of late the Blue Jackets should start lighting the lamp with more frequency. If that happens while Bobrovsky is still at the top of his game, watch out.

What would the Blue Jackets be even more thankful for?

A working powerplay.

The Blue Jackets rank dead last in powerplay efficiency this season with just six goals in 67 chances, and have scored just once with the man advantage in their last eleven games. That number is driving their poor offensive showing and it simply must be fixed. Last year saw Sam Gagner deliver powerplay points by the bushel early in the year, and Wennberg racked up assists all year long.

If head coach John Tortorella had his way the media would stop talking about the powerplay all together. Speaking to Brian Hedger of NHL.com last night Tortorella showed his frustration:

I am tired of dissecting our power play. We had 10 chances on the power play. Tonight’s problem was we didn’t finish. We developed a lot of scoring chances on it. This is my last night speaking on the power play, because I’m tired of talking about it. I’ll leave it at that.

What should be on the Blue Jackets Holiday Wish List?

A top-six forward, preferably with some powerplay talent.

The Blue Jackets were in on Matt Duchene, but Colorado waited for the perfect package and ended up with a haul when they involved a third team in the swap. While that doesn’t neccessarily mean the Blue Jackets will be in on every top name, it’s clear that they want an upgrade. While a center would be nice, another scoring winger could help them at this point in several different situations.

You have to wonder if players like Evander Kane, James van Riemsdyk and James Neal would be a fit for Columbus given their goal-scoring abilities and big frames, but whether the team wants to give up a considerable asset for a rental is another story. The Blue Jackets aren’t just built to contend this season, and don’t have to make a move out of desperation just yet.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Snapshots: Team USA, Fines, Murray

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With rosters for the upcoming World Junior tournament released in the next few weeks, Bob McKenzie of TSN took a look at the potential names for Team USA. The club is expected to be one of the favorites after taking home the gold medal last season at both the U20 and U18 events. McKenzie figures the top line to be a trio of Casey Mittelstadt–Logan Brown–Kailer Yamamoto, a group that would likely hold their own in the NHL let alone a junior tournament. Brown and Yamamoto both played in the NHL this season, while Mittelstadt is starring at the University of Minnesota.

One player McKenzie doesn’t mention is Sean Dhooghe, the 5’2″ forward that earned the respect of his teammates at San Jose prospect camp this summer. Dhooghe isn’t one to overlook because of his size though, as he has eight points in 17 games as an undrafted freshman for the University of Wisconsin, and led the U18 team in scoring at last year’s tournament. Dhooghe, 18, could also attend next year if he’s not selected this time around, as there is plenty of talent to choose from for this year’s tournament. It will be held in Buffalo starting December 26th.

Jakob Chychrun Sent To AHL On Conditioning Loan

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Arizona Coyotes fans get ready, Jakob Chychrun is almost back. After getting back on the ice recently, the team has sent the young defenseman to the Tucson Roadrunners of the AHL on a conditioning stint to acclimate to game action. Chychrun has been working his way back from knee surgery in early August, and has made incredible progress so far.

Jakob ChychrunChychrun of course jumped right from junior hockey to the NHL last season for the Coyotes, playing in 68 games and recording 20 points. The fact that an 18-year old defenseman even held his own in the NHL was impressive enough, but Chychrun did more than just get by. The son of former NHL tough guy Jeff Chychrun, Jakob showed he had a little more offensive upside than dad, trailing only Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Alex Goligoski in points among Coyotes defenders.

An interesting case heading into his draft year, Chychrun had once been considered a potential top-3 pick with his blend of size, skill and mobility. He dropped significantly down boards though as some believed his game regressed in 2015-16, or that a lack of dedication and work ethic was shown. It may have simply been a case of Chychrun not being challenged at the junior level, as he seemed to get his drive back to make the Coyotes out of camp.

There are still some who question his decision making and offensive ceiling, but the Coyotes will certainly be happy to get him back and plug him into an overhauled defensive unit. With Niklas Hjalmarsson and Jason Demers added, the team was supposed to be a more dangerous group on the back end but have still struggled immensely to keep the puck out of their net. With 95 goals allowed (the most in the NHL), any added depth will be a tremendous help.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

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