NHL Releases Celebrity Shootout Rosters
Today is the skills competition portion of the NHL All-Star weekend, and the league has combined the skill of the sport with the star power of Hollywood. The league released the rosters for the Celebrity Shootout, packed with former NHL stars as well.
The league will start with the Celebrity Shootout which features celebrities like Tim Robbins and Cuba Gooding Jr. Justin Bieber was name highlighted by the NHL. Both teams will wear patches honoring Alan Thicke who passed away in December. Thicke was a noted actor for his work on the 80’s television show Growing Pains, and was also a diehard hockey fan.
The Celebrity Shootout is scheduled for 4:15 pm CST. Below are the rosters for both teams.
Team Lemieux (Black)
77 Ray Bourque
21 Peter Forsberg
91 Sergei Fedorov
17 Jari Kurri
19 Larry Robinson
27 Scott Niedermayer
44 Chris Pronger
20 Luc Robitaille
26 Peter Stastny
24 David Boreanaz
37 Taylor Kitsch
91 Riker Lynch
32 Ross Lynch
7 Ron MacLean
13 Steven R. McQueen
8 Teemu Selanne
22 Vincent Piazza
4 Angela Ruggiero
2 Mr. Zhou (goalie)
Team Gretzky (White)
6 Justin Bieber
88 Patrick Kane
4 Rob Blake
11 Mike Gartner
88 Eric Lindros
5 Nicklas Lidstrom
19 Joe Sakic
18 Denis Savard
21 Borje Salming
12 Cuba Gooding Jr
19 Jerry Bruckheimer
25 Joe Nieuwendyk
44 Billy Flynn
7 Michael Rosenbaum
37 Tim Robbins
20 Carter Thicke
72 Ken Baker (goalie)
1 James Badge Dale (goalie)
NHL Names Top 100 Players Of All Time
Last night on the NBC Sports Network, the NHL released the top 100 players of all time and the debate, which has raged long before this was released, will continue on. Hosted by actor Jon Hamm, the ceremony honored players by decade, and categorized them by goalies, defensemen, and forwards.
The first thirty-three were released on New Years Day during the Centennial Classic in Toronto. The players named in the first thirty-three were active between 1917-1966. The rest, named last night, have played from 1967 to the present day.
There were a number of story lines:
- Jonas Siegel of the Canadian Press wrote that Mario Lemieux, Bobby Orr, and Wayne Gretzky agree that Gordie Howe is the greatest hockey player of all time. Gretzky added that while Sidney Crosby is the greatest in the game today, Connor McDavid is making the case to “chase him” as the next in line.
- Speaking of Crosby’s generation, the selection of the more recent players to the top 100 caused quite the debate around the hockey world. The arguments boil down into a couple ways: either include more current players by subtracting players from other decades or be more selective in the current generation. The six on the current list were Jaromir Jagr, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith, Crosby, and Alex Ovechkin.
- The Score’s Sean O’Leary thinks that Evgeni Malkin, Jarome Iginla, and Joe Thornton should have “cracked” the list. O’Leary believes that Malkin is a lock for the top 100, while Iginla, though never winning a Cup, was a dominant force in the league, scoring 617 goals in his long (and still active) career.
- Curtis Pashelka also wonders why Joe Thornton isn’t included on the list. His stats alone seem to qualify him for the top 100, but the lack of a Stanley Cup makes Pashelka think that it kept Thornton out of the illustrious club.
- Finally, Puck Daddy’s Greg Wyshynski includes his list of snubs which name the aforementioned Iginla, Malkin, and Thornton. But Wyshysnki also lists Zdeno Chara, Ed Belfour, Dale Hawerchuk, and Pierre Pilote as players deserving of inclusion.
Remembering The Early Trades From 2015-16
The month between the All-Star game and the NHL trade deadline is an interesting one. While most of the action happens right at the end, even sometimes extending past the official deadline due to trade calls, sometimes big moves happen early in February.
Last season, 33 trades happened in the last few days (from February 26-29) before the deadline, but there were also seven deals that happened in the weeks immediately after the All-Star break. Those deals were just as important to the futures of their teams as any made on the day itself. Let’s look back at the seven deals made between February 9th and 25th last season.
February 9th: Toronto trades Dion Phaneuf, Matt Frattin, Casey Bailey, Ryan Rupert and Cody Donaghey to Ottawa for Jared Cowen, Colin Greening, Milan Michalek, Tobias Lindberg and a 2017 2nd-round pick.
Starting with a whopper, the Maple Leafs continued their drastic tear-down by trading their current captain and highest paid player to a cross-province and divisional rival. The Senators had been looking for another big-minute defenseman and thought Phaneuf could become that player for them.
While it hasn’t worked out perfectly for the Senators, Phaneuf has logged over 23 minutes a night since coming over and is having a fine if unspectacular season offensively this year. While his massive looks like an albatross on their books – he’ll have a cap-hit of $7MM (more than Erik Karlsson) until 2020-21 – the actual salary is much lower. The team also rid themselves of dead money in Cowen, Greening and Michalek and only had to pay the price of a middling prospect in Lindberg and what looks like a fairly late second-round pick.
Lou Lamoriello and the Maple Leafs worked some accounting magic, and have effectively rid themselves of the cap-hits for all three players, burying Greening and Michalek in the AHL and buying out Cowen after a lengthy dispute. Moving Phaneuf was an integral part of the plan going forward, and both teams are fighting for playoff spots a year later.
Minor Transactions: 1/27/2017
As is customary over the NHL’s All-Star weekend, many teams have begun the day with sending waivers-exempt players down to the minors for some salary cap savings over the next few days. No team has been as enthusiastic to move some bodies as the New Jersey Devils, who announced that nearly half of their defensive corps will take a short trip to Albany to visit the AHL Devils. Joining the recently demoted Yohann Auvitu this weekend will be Steve Santini, Seth Helgeson, and Karl Stollery. Although the trio has only played in a combined 26 games in 2016-17, Santini and Stollery have formed the bottom pair for the Devils of late with Auvitu, Andy Greene, and John Moore sidelined with injuries. Helgeson has generally been the seventh defenseman this season, spending most games in the press box, but getting to see the ice in five contests. The 29-year-old journeyman Stollery has played in just eight games, but is already having the best season of his NHL career, recording his first big-league points and playing about 16 minutes per night.The rookie Santini has shown promise so far in the first half, skating in 13 games and scoring two goals and three assists while playing a sound defensive game as well. Expect Santini and at least one of Stollery and Helgeson to be back up in New Jersey after a brief break.
Elsewhere in minor moves:
- Another Metropolitan team has moved a majority of one position down to the AHL, but it should come as welcome news to the fans. The Carolina Hurricanes announced that, after a long hiatus dealing with concussion symptoms, goalie Eddie Lack has been activated from the injured reserve and has been assigned to the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers for a rehab stint. With Cam Ward having played in 41 of 48 games for the ‘Canes, including 22 of the last 24, he, the organization, and the fans will be happy to have Lack back in the fold as soon as possible. Joining him in the minors will be his recent replacement, veteran Michael Leighton, whose demotion could be more of the permanent variety this time around. However, Leighton, who is the AHL’s all-time leading goalie in games played, will at least get to participate in the AHL All-Star Game upon his return.
- The Washington Capitals have reassigned forward Chandler Stephenson to the Hershey Bears of the AHL for the time being. Unlike his last call-up to the Caps, Stephenson got to see some game action during this last trip. Though the young center was held scoreless and is still looking for his first NHL point through 11 games, Stephenson played confidently in the past two contests and has earned another promotion in the near future.
- The Columbus Blue Jackets have again returned forward Markus Hannikainen to the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters. The big Finnish winger, playing in just his second season in North America, scored his first NHL goal in the Jackets’ 3-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes last Saturday, his only game action on this trip to Columbus.
- The Buffalo Sabres announced that defenseman Casey Nelson has been assigned to the Rochester Americans of the AHL. Nelson has done his best to help Buffalo out with their rash of blue line injuries this season, but has struggled to make much of a difference in nine scoreless games.
- After his recent NHL debut and first career goal, the Arizona Coyotes’ Christian Fischer gets to continue his highlight-reel week by heading to the AHL All-Star Game. The Coyotes announced his demotion, but more than anything the move allows the AHL to honor the league’s top rookie in the first half of the season before he likely heads back to the NHL for the second half.
- In addition to placing Michael Bournival and Gabriel Dumont on waivers, the Tampa Bay Lightning have demoted forward Erik Condra to the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch, which has become common this season. The bottom-six groupings are set to change drastically following the All-Star break.
- The Ottawa Senators have activated Andrew Hammond from the injured reserve, and in a corresponding move and have sent down Chris Driedger to the Binghampton Senators of the AHL. However, this only partially helps the Sens’ logjam in net. Mike Condon has taken over as the starter with Hammond out and Craig Anderson on leave since early December, but with both soon back in the fold, Ottawa will still be carrying three goalies. Expect another move sooner rather than later.
- The San Jose Sharks are using All-Star weekend to get a whole group of guys some play time. The team announced that Barclay Goodrow, Kevin Labanc, Timo Meier, and Tim Heed have all be reassigned to the AHL Barracuda and will join the team in Michigan tonight for a game against the Grand Rapids Griffins.
- After just recalling Ivan Barbashev to replace the injured Kyle Brodziak, the St. Louis Blues have returns the AHL All-Star to the Chicago Wolves for this weekend. Expect he, or fellow All-Star Kenny Agostino, or possibly both, to be right back with the Blue after the break.
- The Boston Bruins have recalled goalie Anton Khudobin from the Providence Bruins and reassigned rookie keeper Zane McIntyre to the AHL. While McIntyre’s demotion was expected, as he has been the best goalie in the AHL this year and a highlight of the AHL All-Star Game, the subsequent recall of Khudobin could signal that the Bruins are ready to return to the veteran as their backup to begin the second half of the season.
- The Winnipeg Jets returned Brian Strait to the Manitoba Moose of the AHL, one day after recalling the six-year veteran defenseman from the minors, the team announced via Twitter. Strait was a healthy scratch last night as the Jets took a 5-3 decision from Chicago. The 6-foot-1, 206-pound blue liner has yet to see action in the NHL this season but has appeared in 182 regular season contests over parts of six seasons with the Pittsburgh and New York Islanders organizations.
- The Columbus Blue Jackets continue to flip-flop backup goalies, sending Joonas Korpisalo to Cleveland of the AHL and recalling Anton Forsberg from the same affiliate. The team announced the corresponding transactions via Twitter. Forsberg has made just one appearance this season for Columbus, allowing four goals on 27 shots in a 5-3 loss to Carolina. Korpisalo has won two of his three starts and has appeared in four games overall.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins have sent Carter Rowney back to the AHL after just a day with the big club. The forward came up last night with Evgeni Malkin out, but didn’t make it into the game against the Boston Bruins. Rowney will need to wait for his next shot with the big club.
- The Anaheim Ducks have signed some depth between the pipes, inking ECHL netminder Ryan Faragher to a one-year deal. The 26-year old Faragher has been in their system since 2014, but wasn’t under a pro-deal until now. He’ll earn $575K if he should ever make it to the NHL (which he most likely will not, unless something drastic happens in Anaheim) and $50K in the AHL.
Blues Notes: Allen, Bishop, Shattenkirk, Hunt
Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch conducted his weekly chat and understandably touched on several trade-related topics. It’s well worth a full read but here are the highlights.
- The Blues dealt goaltender Brian Elliott this past summer under the belief that Jake Allen was ready to be a full-time starter. It made sense in theory as the former second-round draft pick won 26 of his 44 starts and posted a GAA of 2.35 with a S% of 0.920. Unfortunately, Allen has struggled as the #1, allowing nearly 0.50 goals-per-60 more than he did in 2015-16 and stopping fewer than nine of every 10 shots on net. Rutherford feels that while Allen is certainly to blame for the soft goals he has allowed at times this season, the team in front of him simply isn’t good enough this year.
- Because of Allen’s struggles, some have suggested the team should look to acquire a proven starter with Ben Bishop‘s name surfacing as one possibility. In fact, one reader speculated on a possible Kevin Shattenkirk-for-Bishop swap since on the surface it addresses issues each team has. Rutherford pours cold water on that hypothetical scenario, however, citing uncertainty regarding whether Tampa Bay will be a buyer, seller or choose to stand pat at the deadline. Additionally, he questions whether the Lightning would be willing to pay a hefty price for a rental, assuming they remain either on the outside looking in or on the fringes of a playoff berth. It should also be noted that with several key RFA’s to re-sign next summer, it’s not likely that the Lightning would target a pending UFA with any notion of extending him beyond his current term, further diminishing the possibility GM Steve Yzerman engages the Blues in discussions for Shattenkirk.
- Speaking of Shattenkirk, Rutherford calculates the potential returns the Blues can expect if moving the skilled blue liner both as a rental and a sign-and-trade scenario where the acquiring team is allowed to negotiate an extension with the player. As a rental the scribe feels he can net the Blues a “pretty good prospect.” Even as part of a sign-and-trade, Rutherford is unsure whether the Blues would be able to attract offers including more than a “good player.” He reasons that teams would simply prefer to wait until Shattenkirk hits free agency as opposed to sacrificing valuable assets now. Either way, Shattenkirk is going to get paid and it might behoove teams to wait until the summer to make their move. Based on what significant rental players have cost acquiring teams in the past, Rutherford might be undervaluing Shattenkirk. Last year Carolina received a prospect and two draft choices for a couple months of Eric Staal. Winnipeg dealt Andrew Ladd and received a prospect (Marko Dano) and a first-round pick in return. Teams will pay steep prices for premium rentals. The real question, in my estimation at least, is whether St. Louis would be willing to move Shattenkirk for futures or if they will insist on receiving an NHL or NHL-ready contributor. If they have designs on competing for a Stanley Cup in the near future it’s more likely they’d prefer someone who can step in and play right away.
- Lastly, readers wanted to know why the Blues couldn’t find a trade partner for defenseman Brad Hunt rather than losing him for nothing on waivers. The undersized Hunt has been excellent in the AHL, netting 29 points in 23 games for the Chicago Wolves but as Rutherford points out, he has yet to see any game action since joining Nashville. Hunt also spent three years in the Edmonton organization, a team lacking NHL-quality defenders, yet saw nothing more than a cup of coffee with the Oilers. Could Hunt be an example of a player overlooked? Perhaps, but more likely he is what they refer to in baseball circles as a “4A” player; too good for the minors but not quite good enough to secure a permanent role in the big leagues.
Snapshots: Duchene, Fleury, Philadelphia, Wisniewski
After Matt Duchene set the hockey hot-stove on fire this morning when he reportedly told media he was open to the idea of a trade, Darren Dreger confirmed as much on TSN’s Insider Trading. Dreger reports that though Duchene is open to a deal, he hasn’t formally asked for one and GM Joe Sakic may wait until the summer to move the talented forward. Though he would likely command a hefty sum right now, the team might be able to pry an even greater package away in the summer when teams have a little more cap flexibility.
While it’s not guaranteed that this season will be Duchene’s last in Colorado, it is certainly seeming more likely. The former third-overall pick has had an up-and-down career in the NHL but certainly has the offensive talent to be a contributor for any team.
- In the same TSN segment, Bob McKenzie spoke about the growing frustration for Marc-Andre Fleury in Pittsburgh. The former first-overall pick hasn’t played in the last seven games for the Penguins and is starting to be considered the back up. With a no-movement clause in his contract, Fleury currently has control of his future. If he doesn’t waive it, the Penguins would be forced to protect him instead of Matt Murray in the expansion draft. If Murray was available, Las Vegas would surely select him (unless a deal was made behind the scenes) making Fleury the starter again. But since the team clearly doesn’t want him as the full-time starter any more, perhaps he’ll agree to a trade in-season or before the draft to move somewhere else around the league.
- McKenzie also reported on the Philadelphia goaltender situation, which is currently unresolved long-term. While the team has Anthony Stolarz looking closer and closer to providing NHL netminding, they have had talks about extending one of Steve Mason or Michal Neuvirth at some point before the expansion draft. The team is likely to wait until they have to though, with neither netminder really showing they deserve a long-term deal. If the Penguins weren’t bitter rivals of the Flyers, one might suggest that the two could be trading partners for the frustrated Fleury. The summer looks like it will have a handful of starting goaltender candidates available however, with Ben Bishop leading the way as an unrestricted free agent. If Philadelphia wants to move on from the Mason-Neuvirth combo, they could wait to see what is available after the season.
- Dreger added in a separate tweet that James Wisniewski has signed a 25-game tryout with the Chicago Wolves of the AHL. “The Wiz” was playing in the KHL after not being able to secure and NHL deal this summer. The former Blackhaws, Ducks, Canadiens, Islanders, Blue Jackets and Hurricanes defenseman was once a premiere right-handed puck mover in the NHL but injuries have limited his thirties to less than a full season of games. Chicago is the AHL squad of the St. Louis Blues, who may lose a right-handed defensemen in the next month in Kevin Shattenkirk. While Wisniewski is by no means a replacement for Shattenkirk, he does add some depth on the right side should he be able to find even a sliver of his former NHL talent.
Montreal Canadiens Acquire Nikita Nesterov From Tampa Bay Lightning
The Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning have completed a trade Thursday evening, which will see defenseman Nikita Nesterov head to Montreal in return for Jonathan Racine and a 6th round pick.
The 23-year old Nesterov signed a one-year deal with the Lightning this summer as a restricted free agent after playing in 57 games with the team last season. In 35 games this year he’s put up 12 points in 35 games playing on the team’s bottom pairing. After playing for Russia at the World Cup, he hasn’t quite been able to show that he’s deserved of big minutes at this point in his career.
Montreal has been looking for someone to add some depth to the back end of their defense corps for a while, which Nesterov will now do admirably. Racine had been one of the players they hoped could make the leap this year after acquiring him for Tim Bozon from the Florida Panthers this summer. He hasn’t made much of an impact at the AHL level and is slowly falling away from prospect status. The former third-round pick will turn 24 in May and has played in just one NHL game, back in 2013-14.
For Tampa, they had a tough summer ahead of them with no less than 20 RFAs to sign (though the minor league veterans aren’t really a problem). Nesterov likely would have needed a slight upgrade from the $725,000 he is earning this season, money which the Lightning simply won’t have.
As we wrote the other day, the team has some issues in front of them going into the expansion draft, so consider this the first move of a possible series before next month’s trade deadline. With some forwards at risk of selection, the team might still be open to moving a player off their top few lines.
Atlantic Division Snapshots: Marchand, Julien, Toronto
Brad Marchand has avoided a suspension for his “dangerous trip” of Detroit Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall in a recent game between the two clubs, the NHL Department of Player Safety has announced. Instead the pesky forward was assessed a $10,000 fine, the maximum allowed under terms of the CBA.
Given his history with the DoPS – he’s been suspended four times overall in his career and on three separate occasions since the start of the 2014-15 campaign – it seemed likely Marchand would be suspended. However, the fact Kronwall showed no apparent ill-effects from the incident may have saved the Bruins leading scorer from that outcome. Ultimately, not losing Marchand for any length is certainly great news for a Boston club fighting desperately for a postseason berth.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic Division:
- In an ESPN Insider piece (subscription required), Rob Vollman makes an argument utilizing analytics for the Boston Bruins to refrain from terminating embattled head coach Claude Julien. Vollman compares the season-to-date performance of Boston to that of the New York Islanders, who dismissed head coach Jack Capuano recently. On the surface, the two are quite similar but an analysis of shot-based metrics reveal a different outcome. The Bruins have the league’s best shot attempt differential with a plus-488 while the Islanders were a minus-293 at the time of Capuano’s firing. He also compares the career accomplishments of the two coaches, and again Julien holds a decided advantage. Ultimately Vollman concludes it would be foolish to let Julien go. While the scribe makes a compelling case, it is known every coach has a shelf life and Julien is in his 10th season as the head man in Boston. If Bruins management concludes the bench boss has lost his team, or that his message simply isn’t getting through anymore, it may be best to move on.
- Craig Custance, also of ESPN, believes the time is now for the Toronto Maple Leafs and the team’s management to add experienced talent to take advantage of the young guns currently on ELC’s. Custance compares the current Leafs roster with that of the 2007-08 Chicago Blackhawks. That happened to be the year both Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane debuted in the NHL. As Custance points out, even with the two talented young superstars leading the way, it wasn’t until Chicago added Brian Campbell (2008) and Marian Hossa (2009) did the team ultimately develop into a Stanley Cup contender. He maintains that the addition of Campbell helped turn the team’s defense corps into a quicker, more efficient puck-moving unit. Hossa, Custance adds, showed the team’s young stars how important it is to play smart, two-way hockey. The scribe suggests the Leafs should pursue a similar strategy and while there may be no player available comparable to Hossa, Kevin Shattenkirk could certainly fill the role for Toronto that Campbell did for Chicago. Shattenkirk might well be available via trade, though unless Toronto was able to ink the mobile defender to a contract extension, it would qualify as a risk to sacrifice the assets necessary to convince St. Louis to strike a deal.
Minor Transactions: 1/26/2017
PHR is monitoring all of the day’s roster transactions and will update this post throughout the day:
- The New York Rangers have announced via their official Twitter account that they have reassigned goaltender Magnus Hellberg to Hartford of the AHL. Hellberg was called up 10 days ago to serve as the backup to #1 goalie Henrik Lundqvist after Antti Raanta suffered a lower-body injury in his last appearance on January 14th. Hellberg appeared in one game in relief of Lundqvist, stopping all four shots faced. The reassignment indicates Raanta will be ready to go after the All Star break.
- St. Louis Blues center Kyle Brodziak has been placed on IR with a right foot injury and will be out at least five weeks, according to Lou Korac of NHL.com. Korac adds in a separate tweet that the team has recalled Ivan Barbashev. Brodziak has tallied six goals and 10 points in 47 contests this season for St. Louis. Barbashev was a second-round pick of the Blues in the 2014 entry draft. He is in his second professional campaign and has registered 19 goals and 37 points for the AHL’s Chicago Wolves. The Moscow native could make his NHL debut tonight.
- With Evgeni Malkin sidelined with a lower-body injury, the Pittsburgh Penguins have recalled forward Carter Rowney from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL, tweets Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Rowney, who has yet to appear in an NHL game, has tallied 10 goals and 21 points in 24 AHL games for the baby Pens.
- Jim O’Brien and Spencer Martin have been reassigned by the Colorado Avalanche to their AHL affiliate, the San Antonio Rampage, the club announced via Twitter. O’Brien was called up Tuesday but didn’t dress for the team’s game last night against Vancouver. Colorado doesn’t play again until next week Tuesday and obviously won’t need a backup goalie. The move will allow the team to bank some cap space and give Martin a chance to see some game action in the minors.
- Steve Oleksy, placed on waivers yesterday, has cleared, reports Pierre LeBrun of ESPN. At this point it appears he will remain with the team though he can be reassigned to the AHL at any point in the next 30 days without again being subject to the waivers process. Update (1:25pm): Oleksy has indeed been sent down to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
- The San Jose Sharks have activated center Tomas Hertl from IR and also recalled forwards Kevin Labanc and Timo Meier from the AHL, according to Kevin Kurz of CSN Bay Area. Hertl last appeared for San Jose on November 17th and has missed the last 32 games. Labanc and Meier both were reassigned to the San Jose Barracuda yesterday in what was essentially a procedural move designed to allow the Sharks to bank a little extra salary cap space.
- The Anaheim Ducks have announced that they have reassigned blue liner Shea Theodore and forward Kalle Kossila to San Diego of the AHL. Theodore has been a frequent mention in these posts as he’s been recalled by the club eight times this season, only to be returned to the Gulls each time. Kossila, meanwhile, was called up yesterday and made his NHL debut last night. He didn’t register a point but played 6:54 in the Ducks 4 – 0 loss to Edmonton.
Semyon Varlamov Set To Undergo Season-Ending Surgery
A tough season is only getting worse for the Colorado Avalanche. Earlier today a report surfaced indicating that star center Matt Duchene would be open to a trade from Colorado. On the heels of that news, The Denver Post’s Terry Frei is reporting that Semyon Varlamov will undergo season-ending surgery to solve the groin issues that have plagued the team’s #1 goalie this season.
Varlamov has struggled to stay on the ice this season due to the groin issues and the team’s medical staff finally decided the best course of action would be surgery. The hope, according to Avalanche GM Joe Sakic, is to have Varlamov fully healthy and ready to go for training camp next summer.
“After further evaluation from our team doctors, it was determined that the best road to recovery was surgery. Doing this procedure at this time ensures that Semyon will be fully healthy for the start of training camp.”
The 28-year-old netminder was in the midst of the worst statistical season of his career, winning just six of his 23 starts while posting a GAA of 3.38 and a S% of 0.898. Varlamov has battled inconsistency throughout his nine-year NHL career but when he is on he has shown he can be one of the better goalies in the league. As recently as the 2013-14 campaign, the Russian backstop finished second in Vezina trophy voting after winning 41 games while registering a GAA of 2.41 and a S% of 0.927. He has two seasons remaining on a contract that calls for a $5.9MM cap charge.
In the interim, Frei suggests the team will stick with Pickard and current backup, Spencer Martin, for the balance of the current season. It wouldn’t make sense for the team to sacrifice assets for a stopgap alternative in the midst of a lost season. However, if a long-term option were to be made available, it wouldn’t be entirely surprising to see the Avalanche entertain a move in that direction; especially if they harbor doubts about both Varlamov and Pickard as reliable starting goalies moving forward.
The Avalanche will have an interesting decision to make ahead of the June expansion draft. They will have to expose one goalie under contract for the 2017-18 season and it’s likely that netminder will be Varlamov. However, Calvin Pickard, who has taken over between the pipes in Varlamov’s absence, hasn’t exactly grabbed the starting job with his play this season. He has posted a S% of 0.906 with a GAA of more than three in 23 appearances in 2016-17. At this point it seems unlikely that the Vegas Golden Knights would gamble on Varlamov and his cap hit but it’s too early to dismiss the possibility altogether.