Atlantic Notes: Howard, Detroit Injuries, Stone, Ottawa Arena

While many have expected the Red Wings will try to move goaltender Petr Mrazek before the trade deadline, MLive’s Ansar Khan reports that Detroit will look to move netminder Jimmy Howard.  The 33-year-old is having a down year compared to his stellar 2016-17 campaign and has posted a 2.82 GAA and a .911 SV% in 38 games this season.  However, what makes him a tougher candidate to deal than Mrazek (eligible for restricted free agency with a $4.15MM qualifying offer) is Howard’s contract, which has one year left on it beyond this season with a cap charge just shy of $5.3MM and a 10-team no-trade clause.  The goalie market isn’t expected to be too robust in the next month and expiring contracts will likely yield more attention for those teams seeking help or additional depth.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic:

• Still with the Red Wings, they’re expected to get both center Darren Helm (leg) and winger Justin Abdelkader (groin) back on Wednesday, reports Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press. Both players have been out of the lineup since sustaining their injuries back on January 13th against the Penguins.
• The Senators are hoping to have winger Mark Stone back on Tuesday, their first game following the All-Star break, notes Postmedia’s Ken Warren. He has missed the last three games due to a knee injury.  The 25-year-old is Ottawa’s leading point-getter with 18-26-44 in 44 games so far this season and is one of the few players believed to be untouchable for the Sens in trade talks.
• Also from Ottawa, although they have reached a preliminary agreement on a new downtown arena, Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch cautions that it may take until the 2022-23 season if not longer before the arena is actually built and ready for use. It will still be another year or two before everything is finalized for the site to start being cleared and the arena being built so while brighter days appear to be on the horizon for the Senators in terms of a new place to play, they will still be waiting a while before they can move in.