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Five Key Stories: 9/17/17 – 9/23/17

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With puck drop on the regular season getting closer, activity around the league is starting to pick up as well.  Here are the biggest stories around the game over the past week.

Boyle Diagnosed With Leukemia: Devils center Brian Boyle was diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia, a form of bone cancer.  Doctors revealed that they caught the disease early and the expectation is that it will be able to be treated with medication although more tests will still be performed.  Boyle remains hopeful that he will be able to suit up on opening night which is certainly a promising sign.  Everyone here at PHR wishes Boyle the best as he goes through the treatment and recovery process.

Sep 29, 2015; Buffalo, NY, USA; Toronto Maple Leafs right wing Joffrey Lupul (19) during the game against the Buffalo Sabres at First Niagara Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY SportsThe Lupul Saga: It has been an eventful week for Maple Leafs winger Joffrey Lupul.  He suggested on social media that Toronto cheats the system when it comes to LTIR but he later deleted those comments.  Although he elected not to opt for a second opinion on his failed physical, the league has stepped in and decided that they’d like a second look.  They have ordered an independent evaluation of Lupul and it’s possible that they could block Toronto from placing him on LTIR if they deem he is healthy enough to play.  It was also reported that the NHL is in the middle of the same procedure with Blackhawks winger Marian Hossa.

Panthers/Coyotes Trade: September trades aren’t particularly frequent in nature but Florida and Arizona made a somewhat notable swap of veterans with defenseman Jason Demers heading to the desert in exchange for winger Jamie McGinn.   The deal gives the Coyotes another top-four defender with the Panthers paying 15% of his $4.5MM contract for the next four years while Florida adds some depth up front having lost several wingers this offseason while shedding some financial obligations in the future.

St. Louis Injuries: The injury bug has not been kind to the Blues so far.  Over the past week, they lost forward Zach Sanford for the next five-to-six months as he required surgery to fix a disclosed shoulder as well as defenseman Jay Bouwmeester to a fractured ankle with no firm timeframe for his return (he will be re-evaluated closer to the start of the season).  Then it was revealed that winger Alex Steen will miss the rest of training camp with a hand injury and he will also be re-evaluated at the end of the preseason which calls his availability to start the year into question as well.  (And this week didn’t get off to a great start either with Robby Fabbri now on the shelf as well.)

Wild Extend Koivu: Minnesota will be keeping its longest-tenured player in the fold for a while longer as the team reached an agreement on a two-year, $11MM extension with center Mikko Koivu.  The 34-year-old (who also serves as team captain) has been with the Wild since they drafted him sixth overall back in 2001 and is the franchise leader in many categories including games played, assists, and points.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Vancouver Canucks

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Navigating the Salary Cap is probably one of the more important tasks for any general manager to have. Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2017-18 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

Vancouver Canucks

Current Cap Hit: $73,012,499 (under the $75MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Brock Boeser (Two years remaining, $925K)
F Jake Virtanen (One year remaining, $894K)

Potential Bonuses

Boeser: $850K
Virtanen: $850K

Boeser is one of the Canucks hope for the future. The team’s 2015 first-round pick has been playing exceptionally well in camp and looks ready to take a major role on the team. After two years at the University of North Dakota, Boeser managed to play in nine games for Vancouver last year, putting up four goals and an assist in that span and averaged 2.78 shots per game as well. Virtanen, on the other hand is just trying to cement a starting role on the team. The sixth overall pick in the 2014 draft, Virtanen has been disappointing and has had trouble finding a role with the club, playing 55 games two years ago and then settling for just 10 games last year. A solid camp so far suggests, he might have turned it around as he looks to take his game to the next level.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

F Daniel Sedin ($7MM, UFA)
F Henrik Sedin ($7MM, UFA)
D Erik Gudbranson ($3.5MM, UFA)
F Thomas Vanek ($2MM, UFA)
F Sven Baertschi ($1.85MM, RFA)
D Troy Stecher ($925K, RFA)
F Markus Granlund ($900K, RFA)
F Alexander Burmistrov ($900K, RFA)
F Anton Rodin ($700K, UFA)
F Reid Boucher ($688K, RFA)
D Patrick Wiercioch ($625K, UFA)

On a positive note, there are many contracts that are set to expire next year, which could give the Canucks quite a bit of cap space. What the team will do with the Sedin brothers, long-time franchise players, is still up in the air. Rumors that they have no interest in going to a contender to finish out their careers suggest that they may choose to retire or sign up for a much shorter, much cheaper deal with Vancouver. While both have been leading the franchise, their numbers have begun to decline now that they are 36 years old with Daniel Sedin putting up just 15 goals and 44 points a year ago, while brother Henrik also just putting up 15 goals and 51 points.

There are very few potential unrestricted free agents that are critical to the team’s building of the future. While Gudbranson is just 25 years old, the team has shown a willingness to move on from the defenseman and has been talked about in trade rumors all offseason. The former third-overall pick in 2010 didn’t fare well in his first year in Vancouver, suffering a wrist injury and playing in only 30 games. The team may want to move on before they lose him. Vanek, signed late in the offseason, is also likely a trade chip at the trade deadline.

As for restricted free agents, the team still has high hopes that Baertschi will continue to improve. After struggling to break into the Calgary Flames starting unit, Vancouver picked him up and got 15 goals in 2015-16 and another 18 last year. The 24-year-old could easily wind up on the team’s second line and have a big year. Granlund, 24, is another youngster who stepped up a year ago, putting up 19 goals as a full-time starter. Stecher will also be a free agent. The 23-year-old undrafted free agent had a solid rookie season after coming to the Canucks from the University of North Dakota. He is penciled in as a first-line defender. The team also has high hopes they can turn around Burmistrov’s career. The former top-10 pick in 2010 was signed away from Arizona with the hopes he can fill a need in the bottom six.

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Ekman-Larsson Injury Not Considered Serious

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2:40: The Arizona Coyotes tweeted that Ekman-Larsson’s was examined by team doctors today and it was determined there is no structural damage and he is currently listed as day-to-day.

9:17: NBC Sports Cam Tucker writes that Arizona’s Oliver Ekman-Larsson will be re-evaluated today after suffering a lower-body injury during overtime against the San Jose Sharks in Saturday’s preseason game. The defenseman had to be helped off the ice. The 26-year-old has been one of the few bright spots on the Coyotes roster the last few years and was expected to lead a renewed effort to get out of the basement of the Western Conference. It’s also rumored that Ekman-Larsson is next in line to be named captain to replace long-time leader Shane Doan.

Fabbri Will Miss 10 Days After Re-Injuring Knee

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Already having lost several key players to injuries, the St. Louis Blues just found about another injured player in star young forward Robby Fabbri. The 21-year-old forward, who went down with a knee injury and had surgery on his ACL, re-injured his knee during Saturday’s preseason game, according to NBC Sports James O’Brien. He will miss the rest of training camp and sit out for 10 days and then be re-evaluated.

The injury is just another blow to the Blues, who have already lost several key players, including Patrik Berglund, Zachary Sanford, Jay Bouwmeester and Alex Steen. Berglund underwent left shoulder surgery on June 27 and is expected to be out until at least December. Sanford also injured his shoulder and is expected to be out for at least five or six months, while Bouwmeester fractured his ankle and will sit out for two to three weeks before being re-evaluated. Steen injured his hand and has been ruled out for the remainder of training camp and will be evaluated in two to three weeks, just like Bouwmeester.

As for Fabbri, knee injuries can be difficult to recover from, so despite just a re-evaluation after 10 days, the worry is he might be out for much longer. Fabbri, the team’s first-round pick in 2014, scored 18 goals and had 19 assists in his rookie season. He was on his way of equaling or even surpassing those totals when he went down with the knee injury. Fabbri finished the year with 11 goals and 18 assists and many were counting on him to take over the team’s second-line center spot this year, although the team left him at the wing position during yesterday’s game.

Training Camp Cuts: 09/24/17

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The more than fifty cuts made from training camps around the league yesterday was only the beginning. Weekend or not, expect the announcements to keep flooding in, and we’ll keep track of it all right here:

Arizona Coyotes
F Michael Bunting – Tucson (AHL)
D Kyle Capobianco – Tucson (AHL)
F Conor Garland – Tucson (AHL)
D Joel Hanley – Tucson (AHL)
D Pierre-Olivier Joseph – Charlottetown (QMJHL)
F Jens Looke – Tucson (AHL)
D Dysin Mayo – Tucson (AHL)
F Lane Pederson – Tucson (AHL)
F Mike Sislo – Tucson (AHL)
D Jalen Smereck – Tucson (AHL)
D Tyson Strachan – released from PTO

Boston Bruins
D Christopher Breen – Providence (AHL)
D Connor Clifton – Providence (AHL)
D Taylor Doherty – Providence (AHL)
F Zachary Senyshyn – Providence (AHL)

Carolina Hurricanes
F Patrick Brown – Charlotte (AHL)
F Julien Gauthier – Charlotte (AHL)
D Brenden Kichton – Charlotte (AHL)
D Roland McKeown – Charlotte (AHL)
F Andrew Miller – Charlotte (AHL)
D Dennis Robertson – Charlotte (AHL)
D Philip Samuelsson – Charlotte (AHL)

Dallas Stars
D Gavin Bayreuther – Texas (AHL)
G Landon Bow – Texas (AHL)
G Philippe Desrosiers – Texas (AHL)
F Sheldon Dries – Released from ATO
F Max French – Released from ATO
F Austin Fyten – Released from PTO
D Shane Hanna – Released from ATO
D Niklas Hansson – Texas (AHL)
D Dillon Heatherington – Texas (AHL)
F Samuel Laberge – Released from ATO
D Matt Mangene – Released from PTO
F Colin Markison – Released from PTO
F Cole Ully – Texas (AHL)

Edmonton Oilers
F Mitch Callahan – Bakerfield (AHL)
F Grayson Downing – Bakersfield (AHL)
D Caleb Jones – Bakersfield (AHL)
F Joey Laleggia – Bakersfield (AHL)
D Keegan Lowe – Bakersfield (AHL)
D Ryan Mantha – Bakersfield (AHL)

Montreal Canadiens
F Daniel Audette – Laval (AHL)
F David Broll – Laval (AHL)
G Zachary Fucale – Laval (AHL)
F Jeremy Gregoire – Laval (AHL)
D Brett Lernout – Laval (AHL)
F Martin Reway – Laval (AHL)
F Nikita Scherbak – Laval (AHL)

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NHL Snapshots: Penguins, Karlsson, Oleksiak, Callahan

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The Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins released a statement saying they will attend an invitation from President Trump to come to the White House. No date has been announced.

The Pittsburgh Penguins respect the institution of the Office of the President, and the long tradition of championship teams visiting the White House. We attended White House ceremonies after previous championships – touring the historic building and visiting briefly with Presidents George H.W. Bush and Barack Obama – and have accepted an invitation to attend again this year.

Any agreement or disagreement with a president’s politics, policies or agenda can be expressed in other ways. However, we very much respect the rights of other individuals and groups to express themselves as they see fit.

  • NHL.com’s Chris Stevenson writes that Ottawa Senators’ star Erik Karlsson skated with his teammates Saturday for the first time since having surgery to repair torn tendons in his left foot on June 14. The star defenseman wore a light blue non-contact jersey while skating, but did not participate in drills. “It’s a positive thing, but we don’t want to get too excited. It’s a second step,” Senators coach Guy Boucher said. “It’s a positive thing, but we don’t want to get too excited. It’s a second step.” Karlsson is expected to take a couple of days off to see how his ankle responds. No timetable has been set as the Senators regular season starts on Oct. 5.
  • NHL.com’s Scott Burnside writes that the Dallas Stars are close to identifying their top-four defenseman as the team is leaning towards Marc Methot, John Klingberg, Esa Lindell and Jamie Oleksiak. The scribe writes that Oleksiak has in particular garnered praise from head coach Ken Hitchcock. “This is now 10 days of hockey for Jamie that he’s played outstanding. If he continues at this pace he looks like a guy that can help,” the coach said. “I don’t think you can win in the National Hockey League unless you can lock down your top four guys.”
  • Tampa Bay Times’ Joe Smith writes that Tampa Bay Ligntning’s Ryan Callahan reported a successful preseason game after playing in his first contest Saturday since Jan. 7. He ended his season after that as a nagging hip injury plagued him to the point that he decided to undergo surgery to correct the problem. The 32-year-old wing only played 8:25, but he said he felt comfortable and felt good playing his physical style 0f game. “I didn’t think about my hip or anything when I was out there,” Callahan said. “It’s a big thing for me to get the first game out of my system, blocking shots, taking some hits, giving some hits. It’s a good step.”

 

Morning Notes: NBC Olympics, Ekman-Larsson, Desjardins

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The NHL will be going dark on national television during the two and a half weeks that the Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea will be on the air, according to the New York Post’s Larry Brooks. The NHL, who will not be participating in this year’s Olympics, have been informed that no NHL games will be televised by any NBC affiliate during the dates of Feb. 7-26.

While the original TV schedule had no games listed, it was believed that NBC would add games into their TV lineup to air NHL hockey games. However, Brooks writes that he believes it’s NBC’s way of “giving a symbolic middle finger” to Gary Bettman and the Board of Governors for withholding its players from this Olympics, which NBC will also be televising. Last year, the NHL previously aired 20 NHL hockey games during those same dates.

The NHL has stated previously that it did not want to participate in the Olympics next year for many reasons, but chief among them was they didn’t want to take a 17-day break at a time when the NHL should get its highest ratings with the NFL season completed and MLB’s season not having gotten started. However, now without national TV exposure, it looks as if they may not get that exposure anyhow.

  • NBC Sports Cam Tucker writes that Arizona’s Oliver Ekman-Larsson will be re-evaluated today after suffering a lower-body injury during overtime against the San Jose Sharks. The defenseman had to be helped off the ice. The 26-year-old has been one of the few bright spots on the Coyotes roster the last few years and was expected to lead a renewed effort to get out of the basement of the Western Conference. It’s also rumored that Ekman-Larsson is next in line to be named captain to replace long-time leader Shane Doan.
  • In a separate story, NBC Sports Cam Tucker writes that New York Rangers’ Andrew Desjardins will face a disciplinary hearing on Monday with the NHL Department of Player Safety for his hit on New Jersey Devils forward Miles Wood during Saturday’s preseason game. Desjardins received a match penalty for an illegal hit to the head during the middle of the first period. Wood was slow to get to his feet and went through concussion protocol, but was cleared and allowed to return to the game. The 31-year-old center was on a PTO with the Rangers. He previously played three years with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Los Angeles Kings

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Navigating the Salary Cap is probably one of the more important tasks for any general manager to have. Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2017-18 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

Los Angeles Kings

Current Cap Hit: $68,168,560 (under the $75MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

D Oscar Fantenberg (One year remaining, $925K)

Potential Bonuses

None

This is not a very young team and the only player to have an entry-level deal is Fantenberg, who is the 25-year-old blueliner, who signed a one-year, two-way deal earlier this year. The defenseman has never played in the U.S. before, but he opened some eyes recently when he found himself on the Kings’ roster to travel to Japan for some exhibition games, suggesting he has a legitimate chance to earn a starting job on the team’s defense.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

F Mike Cammalleri ($1MM, UFA)
F Jordan Nolan ($950K, UFA)
F Nick Shore ($925K, RFA)
D Christian Folin ($800K, UFA)
D Derek Forbort ($650K, RFA)
D Kevin Gravel ($650K, RFA)
G Darcy Kuemper ($650K, UFA)
F Nic Dowd ($640K, UFA)

Have originally started his career in L.A., Cammalleri returns to his former team after a three-year stint in New Jersey, which came after a three-year stint in Calgary and after a three-year stint in Montreal. The 35-year-old wing isn’t the same guy who put up many 20-plus goal seasons, but the hope is he can fill a back-six line for the coming season at a low price. Nolan will fight for a fourth-line role, while Gravel may also have to fight for a bottom pairing on defense, especially since he is still waiver-exempt.

Shore is one of those young players the Kings hope will have a breakout year. The 24-year-old wing has not been able to put it all together yet. He finished last year with six goals and 11 assists for 17 points, but is capable of more if he can put it all together.

Forbert played on the first line a year ago and managed to play in all 82 games. The team now hopes the 25-year-old starts to cash in on the team’s promise when they drafted him in the first round back in 2010. His defensive proficiency is designed to allow others to focus on offense more. The team also hopes Folin, signed away from Minnesota this offseason, will grab one of the last couple of defensive openings. The 26-year-old played 51 games for the Wild last season, but has had trouble getting a full-time role.

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Evening Notes: Husso, Flyers, Fabbri

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While Ville Husso’s performance in goal last night caught a lot of people’s attention, the St. Louis Blues are not expected to keep him on their roster for this year. The 22-year-old netminder made 27 saves Friday against a veteran Washington Capitals team in the Blues’ 4-0 preseason win. It was his second appearance this preseason and he has yet to allow a goal in four periods of action.

While he was always considered to be a top prospect, according to The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford (subscription required), Husso is establishing himself as the team’s top young goaltending prospect. Rutherford writes that Husso has shown maturity and is handling his time up with the Blues with no nervousness or anxiety and has proven to be ready for a chance to soon play with his NHL club.

Husso did well, but had a tough time last season. Having come over from Finland last year, the former fourth-round pick in 2014, was one of three goalies assigned to the Chicago Wolves and struggled to find ice time. He was then demoted to the Missouri Mavericks of the ECHL, but didn’t give up, eventually getting promoted back to Chicago and finished the season having played in 22 games. He played well and had a 2.37 GAA and a .920 save percentage.

While the Blues already have 27-year-old Jake Allen in goal for the near and likely long-term future, St. Louis might have to reassess their thoughts about him in goal and if all goes well, Husso might have a chance to snare the backup job next year if the team doesn’t re-sign Carter Hutton.

  • With the most recent cuts, the Philadelphia Flyers are almost a complete team, according to Sam Carchidi of Philly.com. The team has just 26 players remaining in camp and plan to keep 23, but that had been the team’s plan all along. “We have four [exhibition] games left, and our big guys have to play,” general manager Ron Hextall said after the camp session Saturday in Voorhees. “We’re getting ready for the season now and there are still players in the mix, but you get down as quick as you can and go from there.” One decision the team must make is to choose from three defensemen for the final two spots, including Sam Morin, Robert Hagg and Travis Sanheim, although Hextall said they wouldn’t rule out keeping all three and cutting a veteran.
  • Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that the St. Louis Blues are happy with the progress of youngster Robby Fabbri, who played in his first exhibition game since tearing ligaments in his knee on Feb. 4. Despite the fact the Blues want to switch him to center this year, he played at the wing position yesterday to keep things simple. While he didn’t score any points, the belief is that he skated well and ready for more challenges, which will still include a possible position change.

Washington Worried About Filling Out Its Defense

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Decimated by losses this offseason, the Washington Capitals are focusing on rebuilding their team as quickly as possible so they can contend once again, but while there is some progress on the offense as some young players have stepped up, there hasn’t been that infusion of new talent on the Capitals’ blueline, writes Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan.

After a disappointing playoff run which ended in the second round to the eventual champion Pittsburgh Penguins, the team endured multiple losses, including Kevin Shattenkirk, Karl Alzner, Justin Williams, Marcus Johansson, Nate Schmidt and Daniel Winnik. All of the losses were due to the fact the team was up against the cap, but the team instead focused on re-signing some of their core, including extending stars Evgeny Kuznetsov, Dmitry Orlov and T.J. Oshie.

While the offense seems to have found replacements for their top lines in youngsters like Andre Burakovsky and Jakub Vrana, fixing the defense might be a totally different story, according to Khurshudyan. The scribe writes that Washington head coach Barry Trotz said that no defenseman has stood out so far into training camp to claim the final two spots in the team’s top six. Even with the losses of Shattenkirk, Alzner and Schmidt, the team still has a solid top four in Matt Niskanen, Brooks Orpik, Orlov and John Carlson. However, the team must fill in those final two spots.

Amongst those defensemen attempting to win one of those two spots is Taylor Chorney, who has been the team’s extra defenseman for the past two years. The team also brought in two of their solid AHL defenseman in Madison Bowey and Christian Djoos, who the team hopes will be ready to take on a new challenge. The team also has several others ready to take a spot, including 2016 first-rounder Lucas Johansen, Aaron Ness, Tyler Lewington, and Connor Hobbs.

Chorney has spent the last two years on the Capitals roster, but has managed to get into 73 games in those two years and just 18 last season. The 30-year-old defenseman accululated 11 points in those two years, but is trying to break the label of journeyman.

Much of their defensive hopefuls come from their AHL affiliate, the Hershey Beras. Bowey, 22, is coming off an injury-shortened season in the AHL after suffering a gruesome ankle injury with the Hershey Bears. He managed to play only 34 games, but has lost 12 pounds and is skating faster than he did a year ago. Many people thought Djoos, 23, had the best shot to make the team’s roster this year as he had a great season for Hershey a year ago. He scored 15 goals and 45 assists for 66 points for them last year. Ness has also been in the Washington system, playing the last two years in Hershey. He also managed to get called up and get into 10 games over the past two years. A quality skater, he has played a total of 39 NHL games over the course of his career. Lewington, 22, played 72 games for the Bears last season, compiling 142 penalty minutes to go with 17 points.

Johansen,19, was the 28th overall pick in the 2016 draft and many feel he might be ready to step into the team’s lineup, while Hobbs, the team’s fifth-round pick in 2015 had a breakout year with his junior team. The 20-year-old prospect, known for his hard shot, had 31 goals and 54 assists with the WHL Regina Pats.

With the team right up against the cap, a trade would seem unlikely to aid the defense. So, the team hopes that two of these defensemen will step up soon to solidify the Capitals defense.

 

 

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