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Archives for December 2017

Red Wings Notes: The Process, Athanasiou, Mantha

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Count the Detroit News’ Gregg Krupa as one of the voices in the Detroit media calling it as he sees it. Through the ups and downs of what is considered an unacceptable season in Hockeytown, Krupa argues that “the process” of rebuilding on the fly is not working and a change is certainly due. What does that change look like? Playing the kids. Tyler Bertuzzi and Joe Hicketts, Krupa writes, should both be in Detroit getting minutes instead of, borrowing from general manager Ken Holland, “over-ripening.” Goaltender Petr Mrazek should be played and given chances to showcase his talent–which when confident–is immense. That same talent could be flipped for a draft pick or prospect. As for the “process” that head coach Jeff Blashill has extolled through the last few weeks of struggles, Krupa believes that such terminology is an affront to progress. The last 15 games are reason enough for the Red Wings to abandon any dim hopes of a playoff appearance, and instead, begin to plan for the future. But transactions through the last five seasons and coupled with comments this season seem to indicate the Red Wings front office believes in their plan.

  •  Andreas Athanasiou has struggled to replicate the success he saw last season, as the speedy forward is in the midst of an 11-game goal drought. Anthony Mantha also finds himself mired in a slump, having no points in six games while only having two goals and an assist in his last 13. MLive’s Ansar Khan writes that Blashill believes Athanasiou has actually played stronger while Mantha has struggled with turnovers. The 23-year-old Mantha likens his struggles to passing up shots and making things more complicated than they need to be. Athanasiou attributes his struggles to “bad bounces.” The one positive is that the supposed friction that existed between Blashill, and Athanasiou is apparently no more. Blashill complimented his young forward, saying he’s been “receptive” to coaching.

Injury Notes: Palmieri, Zibanejad, Islanders, Boeser

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The New Jersey Devils will get an important player back tonight, as Kyle Palmieri has been activated from injured reserve. Palmieri had been out for the past dozen games with a broken foot. Taylor Hall, out the last two with a knee injury, is also expected to get back into the lineup when the Devils welcome the Anaheim Ducks to town.

Adam Henrique and Sami Vatanen will be facing their former teams for the first time, adding a little extra incentive on both sides. The Devils, who sit in second place in the competitive Metropolitan Division, already had scored five goals in each of their last two matchups with Western Conference opponents and will try to replicate that effort with some of their top players back on the ice.

  • The New York Rangers, currently trying to catch the Devils in the Metro, will welcome back their own offensive star tomorrow night when Mika Zibanejad returns from his concussion problems. Zibanejad has been out since November 26th, but was among the leaders on the team with 22 points through his first 24 games. The 24-year old center is rounding into an excellent offensive piece, and will skate between Chris Kreider and Pavel Buchnevich upon his return.
  • The New York Islanders, not to be outdone by their Metro counterparts, also made a move to activate Thomas Hickey off injured reserve today. Unfortunately, it came along with the announcement that Calvin de Haan is headed to IR with his upper-body injury. You could see de Haan writhing in pain after breaking up a 2-on-1 opportunity in overtime against the Los Angeles Kings, though it’s not clear yet how much time he will miss.
  • Brock Boeser went for an MRI on his foot today after blocking a Mark Giordano shot, but all the team announced was that he avoided a fracture. That’s good news for the Vancouver Canucks, but still doesn’t answer when we’ll see Boeser back on the ice. The team will update further as more details become available.

Belmont Park Decision Expected Wednesday Morning

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Jim Baumbach of Newsday reports that the decision regarding a potential new home for the New York Islanders at Belmont Park is expected on Wednesday morning. The Islanders are competing with MLS franchise New York City FC for rights to build a new facility in the area.

Fans of the hockey team have been following the story closely, as the future home is expected to be an influencing factor in the decision of John Tavares this summer. Tavares is a pending unrestricted free agent, and has said that he’d wait to see what kind of plan the team had for a new building before making any decision. The 27-year old superstar would be arguably the biggest name ever to hit free agency, and could potentially break Connor McDavid’s $12.5MM cap hit as the league’s highest-paid player.

A new arena would go a long way for the Islanders, who admitted they don’t have a “Plan B” behind the Belmont proposal. While that demonstrates the confidence they have that the city will award them the site, NYCFC has a strong proposal of their own. When the decision is made, we’ll know more about how the Islanders plan to go about construction, and whether they’ll use the upcoming Janurary deadline to opt out of the current lease at Barclays Center.

Shea Weber “Shut Down” By Montreal Canadiens

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The Montreal Canadiens were without top defenseman Shea Weber at practice today, and afterwards coach Claude Julien told reporters including Irfaan Gaffar of Sportsnet that they would “shut [Weber] down for a bit” following a re-injuring of his foot. Weber had missed several games with the injury already this season, but was trying to play through the pain. Instead, the team will give him some time to try and get back to full health.

In 26 games this season, Weber has been arguably the most important player on the team for Montreal. Logging more than 25 minutes a game and registering 16 points, Weber was has been the most consistent defender on the club. Losing him for another long stretch could be devastating to the team, who still find themselves fighting to stay relevant in the playoff picture.

Weber has been relatively healthy throughout his career, but is 32 now and will finish with his lowest number of games in a season since 2007-08 (excluding the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season, in which he played all 48 contests). That’s something to monitor closely by the Canadiens, as the All-Star defender still has eight additional seasons remaining on his contract, with a cap hit of $7.86MM. If he continues to miss time as he enters his mid-thirties, the contract could start to be more and more troublesome for Montreal.

How long Weber will miss this time isn’t clear, but it could mean additional NHL time for Victor Mete after the World Juniors end in January. Mete had slowly been removed from the Montreal lineup as other options became available, but with Weber out the team could try to inject Mete’s offense back in. The Canadiens could also return Mete to the London Knights of the OHL after the tournament—who could actually look to move the defender to a more competitive team for the remainder of the OHL season as they look to rebuild their program after several seasons of graduating players.

Patric Hornqvist Sent Back To Pittsburgh With Upper-Body Injury

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The Pittsburgh Penguins had a noticeable absence from their morning skate today when Patric Hornqvist was missing, and Josh Yohe of The Athletic reported that there was no locker for the winger in the dressing room.

Yohe reports that the team has sent Hornqvist back to Pittsburgh with an upper-body injury, another blow to a team that has struggled to find their footing this season. The Penguins now sit in sixth place in the Metropolitan Division, and are only two points ahead of both the Philadelphia Flyers and Carolina Hurricanes despite having played two more games than each team. The premise of finding themselves at the bottom of the division isn’t a familiar one to the team, and losing Hornqvist just makes it even tougher.

The 31-year old winger has 21 points this year, and is tied for the team lead with six powerplay goals. Though he’s scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent this summer, he’s an important part of the Penguins offensive group and isn’t expected to be moved unless the team falls out of the race entirely.

Dominik Simon was also missing from the skate due to illness.

Snapshots: Three Stars, Mahura, Boeser

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The NHL released their three stars of the week, and Patrick Kane comes home with top honors. Kane had five points in three games including two game-winning goals, and moved into fifth on the all-time Chicago Blackhawks goals list.

Brian Elliott and Josh Bailey rounded out the list after a pair of incredible performances. It was Elliott’s second straight appearance on the list, as the Philadelphia Flyers goaltender has now won his last six starts, allowing just nine goals in the process. Amazingly that has followed a stretch where Elliott lost nine straight starts, as he echos the Flyers inconsistent season.

  • Josh Mahura is back with the Canadian World Junior team despite being among the final cuts last week. The Anaheim Ducks defensive prospect will fill in for the injured Dante Fabbro during the pre-tournament games, but likely will return to the WHL before the start of the tournament. Mahura, a third-round pick by the Ducks in 2016, has developed quite well over the last two years and looks like he’ll be a full-time NHL defender one day. With 29 points in 28 games, Mahura is one of the most impressive defenders in the WHL and will try to compete for a role on the Ducks next training camp.
  • Brock Boeser is undergoing an MRI on his injured foot today to find out exactly how much damage was done when he blocked a Mark Giordano shot last night. Boeser crawled to the Vancouver Canucks bench in obvious pain, and wasn’t able to return. Having an incredible rookie season, it would be a tough blow for the Canucks to lose Boeser for any length of time, especially with Bo Horvat dealing with injury already.

No Urgency In Maple Leafs’ Defenseman Search

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When Nikita Zaitsev was surprisingly placed on injured reserve this weekend, many believed it could push the Toronto Maple Leafs to make a move ahead of the upcoming holiday roster freeze. Zaitsev, who logs the most ice time of any Maple Leafs player, is expected to be out for at least two weeks with a lower-body injury, hurting what was already seen as a Toronto weak point.

The Maple Leafs have been tenuously linked to several defenders this season like Ian Cole in Pittsburgh and Erik Gudbranson in Vancouver, but haven’t yet made a move to strengthen the back end. Instead, they recalled Martin Marincin from the minor leagues and that could be all they do for some time. Darren Dreger was on TSN radio this morning and spoke about the Maple Leafs’ search, pointing out that he doesn’t believe there is an increased level of urgency.

I don’t get the sense that [Maple Leafs GM] Lou Lamoriello is calling 28 general managers like his partner [Senators GM] Pierre Dorion in Ottawa trying to find something. But the word is out there that if something surfaces on the market, Toronto would have considerable interest.

Dreger goes on to explain that Toronto does have some interesting assets in the form of players like Josh Leivo and Kasperi Kapanen, but reiterates that there is no sense of urgency coming out of the Toronto front office.

All of this comes as the team is mired in a three-game losing streak, thanks in large part to the absence of Auston Matthews. Matthews is out with an upper-body injury, and isn’t expected to play tomorrow against the Carolina Hurricanes in the 100-year anniversary of the first NHL game in Toronto. If he isn’t a late addition, the Maple Leafs will have to look to other places to get them out of their scoring slump.

With the roster freeze kicking in tomorrow night, it’s likely that we’ll have to wait and see what the Maple Leafs have planned for new year on their blueline. For now, Marincin and Connor Carrick will be the beneficiaries of Zaitsev’s injury.

Minor Transactions: 12/18/17

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A new week begins in the NHL and teams must make their final few roster moves before a freeze is put in effect tomorrow night. We’ll keep track of any last minute moves around the league right here. Make sure to refresh throughout the day.

  • As expected, Madison Bowey and Jakub Vrana have both been recalled today. Their assignment to Hershey yesterday was nothing more than a cap saving measure, and both players weren’t expected to miss any time. Vrana is skating with T.J. Oshie—back at Washington Capitals practice today after missing several games with a concussion—and Evgeny Kuznetsov, an impressive line for the young forward.
  • Ville Pokka is on his way back to the AHL without having played a game for the Chicago Blackhawks. Unfortunately, the 23-year old hasn’t been able to make an impact with the team since being acquired several years ago, and is still waiting to make his NHL debut. The Rockford IceHogs will welcome him back, but he’ll have to do more to crack the Blackhawks lineup down the road.
  • The St. Louis Blues have recalled Tage Thompson from the AHL, while moving Samuel Blais to injured reserve. Thompson, 20, is a top prospect for the Blues who has already played four games for the club this season. Selected in the first round of the 2016 draft, Thompson turned pro out of the University of Connecticut last spring and so far has 16 points in 24 games for the San Antonio Rampage of the AHL.
  • With Brock Boeser out with a foot injury for the time being, the Vancouver Canucks have recalled Reid Boucher to help up front. Because the extent of Boeser’s injury is unclear and he hasn’t been placed on injured reserve yet, the team sent down defensmean Ashton Sautner to make room for Boucher’s return.
  • Edmonton has activated Adam Larsson from injured reserve and sent Anton Slepyshev to the minor leagues to make room. Larsson will be welcomed back with open arms after the team has started to play better of late. While still several points out of playoff contention, the Oilers have started to turn around what was a dreadful start of the year. Getting Larsson back after missing nearly three weeks will be sure to help.
  • With Jacob Josefson returning to the lineup, the Buffalo Sabres have sent Hudson Fasching back to the minor leagues. Fasching has been held scoreless in five games for the Sabres this season, and has yet to make much of an impact on the organization since being acquired in 2014.
  • The Ottawa Senators have recalled Ben Harpur from the minor leagues, bringing them to just 22 players on the active roster. The Senators had been operating with just 21 players on the active roster for some time, likely connected with the recent comments of owner Eugene Melnyk about cutting payroll. Harpur has played 12 games for the Senators this season, recording one point. It’s unclear if he’ll get into the lineup right away, or if he’s just up for insurance as the team takes on the Minnesota Wild tomorrow night.

Snapshots: Reaves, Reilly, Carrier

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The Penguins paid a notable price to acquire winger Ryan Reaves back at the draft, trading down from the end of the first round to the middle of the second plus losing forward Oskar Sundqvist to secure his services.  The hope was that Pittsburgh’s lineup would benefit from his toughness.  However, his ice time has steadily declined in recent weeks to the point where Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette suggests that it may be time to take Reaves out of the lineup in an effort to play someone who can have more of an impact overall in winger Josh Archibald, at least against teams that aren’t overly physical.  At any rate, GM Jim Rutherford can’t be too pleased with what Reaves has provided as of late, especially given the price they paid to get him.  If this continues, it will be interesting to see if Reaves finds himself on the trade block, especially since several teams look to add grit as the playoffs get closer.

More from around the league:

  • Mike Reilly’s inclusion in the lineup tonight for the Wild is notable as Michael Russo of The Athletic points out (Twitter link) that he is now waiver-eligible. Minnesota had sent him down on three separate occasions this season for short-term salary cap savings and roster reasons.  Obviously, that will no longer be an option for the cap-strapped Wild as they won’t want to risk losing him on waivers moving forward.  Center Joel Eriksson Ek is now the lone regular that they can shuttle back and forth without going through the waiver wire.
  • Golden Knights winger William Carrier has resumed practicing, albeit with a non-contact jersey, notes Steve Carp of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The 22-year-old has been out of the lineup since sustaining an upper-body injury back on November 25th.  Head coach Gerard Gallant wouldn’t commit to a timeline for when Carrier might be given the green light to return to the lineup.

Five Key Stories: 12/11/17 – 12/17/17

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This was the last full week before the holiday roster freeze kicks in but there wasn’t a whole lot of activity.  Here are the top five stories from a relatively quiet week around the league.

Dubinsky Out Six-To-Eight Weeks: The Blue Jackets will be without a core forward until sometime in the New Year as Brandon Dubinsky suffered a fractured orbital bone in a fight with Edmonton’s Zack Kassian and will miss the next six-to-eight weeks.  GM Jarmo Kekalainen confirmed that the damage will not affect his long-term vision which is certainly good news.  However, Dubinsky’s physical presence and faceoff prowess will undoubtedly be missed as Columbus continues to battle for top spot in the Metropolitan Division.

Red Wings Willing To Retain On Mrazek: 2017-18 hasn’t been a kind year for Detroit goaltender Petr Mrazek.  His goals against average and save percentage are career-worsts by a considerable margin and as a result, he went from a possible timesharing role to being Jimmy Howard’s backup.  With a qualifying offer of $4.15MM due in June, he’s a strong non-tender candidate.  With that in mind, the Red Wings have indicated that they are willing to retain salary in a trade and there are reports that there is some lukewarm interest around the league even after Edmonton bowed out of trade discussions.

Erik KarlssonKarlsson Would Prefer To Stay In Ottawa: Following his comments earlier this month which intimated that he would be going to the highest bidder in free agency, Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson stated that his preference would be to remain in Ottawa.  He’s still more than 18 months away from hitting unrestricted free agency but with a window opening up to sign an extension on the horizon (July 1st, 2018), there has already been plenty of speculation as to what it might cost to lock him up and if the Sens will have to move him if they’re unable to reach an agreement over risking losing him for nothing a year later.

Turris Comments On His Trade: From a current Senator to a former one, Predators center Kyle Turris raised some eyebrows when he commented publicly about his trade to Nashville.  The deal came on the heels of extension negotiations and when the trade was made, he signed a seven-year pact with the Preds.  Turris stated that it was his belief that the Senators GM Pierre Dorion wanted to get a deal done to keep him in Ottawa (a six-year offer was believed to be on the table) but owner Eugene Melnyk did not feel the same way.  In the end, the trade has worked quite well for Nashville and Turris while Matt Duchene, who was acquired in the three-way swap, hasn’t fared as well for the struggling Sens.

Blues Seeking Top-Six Forward: On the heels of Jaden Schwartz’s injury that will keep him out for the considerable future, St. Louis is on the lookout to add a top-six forward to the mix with Buffalo’s Evander Kane among those that they have interest in.  Adding another scorer has been something they’ve been looking for since Robby Fabbri tore his ACL before the season even got underway.  However, with very limited cap space, they may have to get creative to make a move or at least match salaries going the other way.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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