Snapshots: Bickell, Alumni, Finland
Bryan Bickell opened up to Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun Times and other reporters tonight for the first time since his announcement that he has multiple sclerosis, a disease that attacks the nervous system and can cause a wide array of debilitating symptoms. For anyone, the diagnosis would be life-shattering, but for Bickell it came at least as an explanation.
Before I was, like, frustrated in my game and things. But you’re relieved, knowing how I was feeling. Something wasn’t right. … The circumstances kind of suck, but to have it known — knowing you can move on is the biggest thing.
Bickell is determined to get back to the NHL, despite having to undergo intravenous drug treatments monthly. He’s obviously no where near returning, but is taking it one step at a time.
It’s going to take steps. It’s not a sprint, it’s going to be a marathon, and it’s going to take some time to get things right, ideally, to get me back on the ice. That’s what I’m hoping for. … It could be a month, it could be a couple months to get back on the ice.
We wish Bickell well on his recovery, and hope he makes it back to the NHL sooner than later. Here are some other notes from around the league:
- Outdoor games are becoming something of a regularity in the hockey world, with the Maple Leafs and Red Wings set to square off this Sunday in Toronto, and the World Juniors announcing that Canada and the USA will play outside at next year’s tournament in Buffalo. The AHL is getting in on the action, as the Ontario Reign (the Kings’ affiliate) and the Bakersfield Condors (Oilers) will play an outdoor game on January 7th. The teams will have an alumni game the day before, featuring a long list of NHL greats. Wayne Gretzky, Kevin Lowe, Luc Robitaille, Rob Blake and even Bernie Nicholls will play in the event, making it one not to miss if you live in the San Joaquin Valley.
- Amazingly, Team Finland will have to play in the relegation round at this year’s World Junior Championships, despite winning the tournament last year. It’s the first time in the history of the even that a defending champion will have to fight to stay in the event. With the Swiss team beating Denmark today in a shootout, Finland was guaranteed a last place finish in their group. In a surprising move, the team has fired head coach Jukka Rautakorpi and his three assistants mid-tournament. Jussi Ahokas has taken over the coaching duties.
Garth Snow Explains Why Jaroslav Halak Was Waived
Earlier today the New York Islanders finally did what many have expected for a few weeks now. The struggling Jaroslav Halak, who has been in a three-way goalie battle for more than a year, was placed on waivers and will likely be sent to the AHL.
General Manager Garth Snow explained why:
We want to give Thomas [Greiss] and JF [Berube] an opportunity to play, get ice time. Obviously get a chance to get some wins that we desperately need.
You’re looking for ways to help the team any way that you can, that may be to get a boost of confidence, build some momentum and ultimately win hockey games.
Halak, who is still only 31 years old, has played outstanding at times throughout his career. Getting Vezina trophy votes in two different seasons before coming to New York, the netminder set a franchise record with 38 wins in his first season with the team.
If Halak does clear and is sent to the minors, Snow expects big things:
Coming to the rink and being the hardest worker, having a great attitude, that’s something that doesn’t matter who you are and what position you play and what role you have in the organization, that’s what we expect out of everyone in this organization. We expect nothing less form Jaro in that regard.
Obviously Halak isn’t done at his relatively young age, and should make his way back to the NHL at some point – perhaps even this year. He’s also an intriguing candidate for some teams around the league who lack stability in net. Calgary, Los Angeles and Dallas among others have uncertainty in goal, and though Halak wouldn’t be a clear upgrade on paper the way he’s played this season, perhaps just a change of scenery would be enough to spark him.
The problem, is that Halak carries a $4.5MM cap hit this year and next, while being owed even more actual salary due to the back-loaded nature of his deal. Even though the Islanders are clearly willing to move on, they’d likely have to eat some of that money or kick in a prospect. Not an easy pill to swallow for a team looking to work it’s way back into playoff picture next year, if not sooner.
For Berube in particular, the move to waive Halak means more time in net. After playing just four games so far this season, Snow made it clear he’ll play more.
[After the break] it becomes a condensed schedule again and you need more than one goalie to carry the mail. It’s not the NHL of old when a goalie could play 70, 75 games, there are just too many games in a short span of time.
Edmonton Oilers Recall Jordan Oesterle, Assign Mark Fayne To AHL
After the Edmonton Oilers beat the Los Angeles Kings 3-1 last night to improve their record to 4-1 in their last five games, the team has recalled Jordan Oesterle from the AHL Bakersfield Condors. In addition, the team has activated Mark Fayne from injured reserve and assigned him to the minor league team.
According to Mark Spector of Sportsnet, the team is claiming that Andrej Sekera is sick and may not be available for Saturday’s game against the Vancouver Canucks. Sekera took a shot off his foot in his final shift on December 23rd and apparently hasn’t been seen around the team since – including missing the Kings game last night.
If Sekera is out for any length of time the Oilers defense will take a big hit, as the veteran blueliner has been logging close to 22 minutes a night for the club. He was also anointed as the team’s No. 1 defender just a few days ago by head coach Todd McLellan.
Oesterle hasn’t played with the NHL club this year but has gotten into 23 games over the past two years. An undrafted free agent out of Western Michigan University, the 24-year old has turned into an excellent puck moving defenseman in the minors. With eight points in fourteen games this season, he’s continued his strong play and deserves another chance in the NHL.
Fayne on the other hand has fought injury all season, playing in just four games thus far. Gone are the days of him logging big minutes for this team now that they’ve improved the right side immensely. He’ll head down to Bakersfield to try to get back into game shape and be ready for the next injury. A veteran of almost 400 career games and owner of a $3.625MM cap hit this season (and next), it’s surely not the last we’ve seen of him in the NHL.
Extension Candidates: 2017 Restricted Free Agents
After Artemi Panarin signed a two-year extension earlier today that will pay him $6MM per season and take him right up to unrestricted free agency, the RFA pool for this summer got a little bit smaller. Other extensions that have already been signed include Aaron Ekblad (Eight years, $60MM), Jake Allen (Four years, $17.4MM) and Victor Hedman (Eight years, $63MM).
Even though these big names are already locked up long-term, there are a ton of other restricted free agents that will be negotiating extensions between now and July 1st. Here are a few big names who become RFAs this summer.
Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton: The former third-overall pick who once scored 192 points in 29 German junior-league games, has broken out this season with 31 points in 36 games. Already coming off a 50 point season, this 70 point pace puts him in elite territory up front. Only 21 years old, the Oilers will be looking to lock him up long-term to ride shotgun with Connor McDavid well into their peak years.
Alex Galchenyuk, Montreal: Another third-overall pick who put up a 50+ point season a year ago, Galchenyuk was off to a brilliant start before going down with injury early this month. Because he’ll be out for another month at least, Galchenyuk won’t rush into a contract that may not be representative of his development. This one might head into the summer, but if he comes back strong perhaps the two sides can come together before what looks like a long playoff run.
David Pastrnak, Boston: Not quite the same situation faces Pastrnak, who before this year showed promise but hadn’t played a full season in the NHL. With 26 points already he’s about to set his career-high and has a chance at a 40-goal season. Boston has a lot of money already tied up long-term in their forward group, with David Krejci, Patrice Bergeron, David Backes and Brad Marchand all under contract through at least 2020-21. They may not be able to afford buying out UFA years this summer, meaning a one or two year pact is more likely.
New Jersey Devils Place Vernon Fiddler On IR
After suffering a lower-body injury on Tuesday night against Pittsburgh, the New Jersey Devils have placed Vernon Fiddler on injured reserve. The team has recalled Luke Gazdic from Albany to replace him on the roster.
Earlier today it was reported that Fiddler will miss 3-4 weeks. That would keep him out of at least 11 games for the Devils, who at 13-15-7 are already in trouble this season. The team is already 11 points behind the Philadelphia Flyers for the last wildcard spot, and find themselves last in the conference. For a team that traded for Taylor Hall and signed several free agents (including Fiddler) the season has been a massive disappointment.
The 36-year old Fiddler has been a solid contributor throughout his long career, scoring at least 20 points in eight of his ten full seasons. He’s taken a step back this year though, with only three points through 35 games. His presence is mostly felt on the penalty kill and in the faceoff dot, where he’s winning a career-high 55.3% of his draws.
Gazdic has played in four games for New Jersey this season and 140 in his NHL career. The hulking winger will add some toughness to the fourth line if he gets into the lineup. Since Hall will also miss Thursday’s game, he probably will.
Two Players Sent To AHL As Roster Freeze Ends
With the NHL’s holiday roster freeze over, Washington and Toronto made a pair of minor transactions on Wednesday morning.
The Capitals sent rookie Zachary Sanford back to Hershey of the AHL, the Bears announced this morning. Sanford has played for both the Bears and Capitals this season, with one assist in 20 NHL games and four goals and seven points in just six AHL games. The Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan isn’t surprised by the move, considering Sanford had been a healthy scratch for three of the past four games after being recalled on December 17.
Meanwhile the Toronto Maple Leafs’ goaltending carousel continues, as the team demoted backup goaltender Jhonas Enroth to the AHL. The move has not been announced by the team as of this being written, but the move is already up on the AHL’s official transaction page and Enroth is listed on the Marlies roster. This comes one day after the Leafs recalled a trio of players, including goaltender Antoine Bibeau. Enroth was expected to be a solid backup for new starter Frederik Andersen, but has struggled mightily with no victories in six appearances and a 0.872 SV%. Because he makes under $950K, ($750K), he will not count against the Maple Leafs’ salary cap.
Enroth joins Karri Ramo, Garret Sparks, and Jeff Glass as goaltenders on the Marlies’ roster. Enroth and Sparks are under contract with the NHL club, Ramo is with the team on a tryout basis, and Glass is on an AHL-only deal after spending the past seven years in the KHL.
Central Division Snapshots: Haula, Parise, Varlamov
The Minnesota Wild have been on quite the run recently winning 10 in a row and earning points in all 11 games they’ve played in the month of December. They put that streak on the line tonight when the Wild travel to Nashville to play the Predators. But as Mike Russo of the Star Tribune reports, boosting Minnesota’s chances to extend their streak is the return of forwards Erik Haula, who missed three games with a hip injury, and Zach Parise, who was out for two games with strep throat.
Strep throat has become an all too common occurrence for Parise as he’s come down with the condition four times since the World Cup tournament. Parise considered having his tonsils removed to prevent an additional recurrence but was told by doctors that the surgery would “sideline him for a bit,” as Russo notes. The repeated illnesses have likely contributed to a lackluster start to the season as Parise has registered just five goals in 24 contests, though he seemed to be heating up with four points in the five games prior to coming out of the lineup.
Haula’s return is also a welcome one for the Wild. Minnesota bench boss Bruce Boudreau is glad to be able to slot the 25-year-old back into his usual third-line pivot role.
“Centers a very difficult position up front,” Boudreau said. “[Haula’s] probably going to be a little rusty. Grao played pretty good for us, and now he’s the fourth-line center, so it gives you more things to do if people aren’t going.”
Haula has contributed five goals and 10 points in 23 games while averaging 14:13 of ice time per game. He set career highs in goals and assists last season with 14 and 20 respectively while leading the club in plus-minus with a +21 rating.
Elsewhere in the Central Division:
- Semyon Varlamov‘s troublesome groin is once again keeping the Avalanche’s starting goalie sidelined, according to Terry Frei of The Denver Post. Frei notes that this will be the third stretch of games Varlamov has missed due to the groin and also a wrist ailment. Calvin Pickard, who earned the win in Colorado’s 2 – 1 victory over Chicago Friday night, will be between the pipes against Calgary tonight and Jeremy Smith was recalled from San Antonio to serve as the backup. Smith, 27, has never appeared in an NHL game but has spent eight seasons in the minors, primarily in the AHL, in the Nashville, Boston, Minnesota and now the Colorado organizations. Spencer Martin was up with the team last week but was left in the AHL in order to get some game action.
Metro Division Injury Updates: Faulk, Lundqvist, Raffl, Couturier
With teams resuming their normal practice and game-day routines after the three-day holiday break, news and updates regarding several Metro Division players have been released today. Here’s a quick roundup:
- Justin Faulk, Carolina’s #1 defenseman, is week-to-week with a lower-body injury evidently suffered in the latter half of the team’s recent game against Boston, according to Michael Smith, who covers the team for the Hurricane’s official NHL.com website. Faulk is averaging better than 23 minutes-per-game for Carolina and has tallied seven goals and 16 points in 30 games this season. He currently leads the team’s blue line corps in scoring and is second behind Jaccob Slavin in ice time.
- The New York Rangers have recalled goalie Brandon Halverson from Hartford to backup Antti Raanta tonight as the Rangers host the Ottawa Senators at MSG, according to this tweet from the team’s official Twitter account. New York’s starter, Henrik Lundqvist is battling the flu and has been ruled out for the game. Though unlikely, should Halverson see any action tonight, it would qualify as the 20-year-old netminder’s NHL debut.
- Sam Carchidi of Philly.com has several developments after the Flyers practiced today. With Michael Raffl expected to miss up to two weeks with an upper-body injury suffered against New Jersey last Thursday night, rookie winger Taylor Leier is likely to fill in on the team’s top line. Leier scored his first NHL goal on December 17th and has two points in eight games this season.
- Meanwhile, Flyers GM Ron Hextall is hopeful that center Sean Couturier will be back in the lineup for the first time since November 22nd. Couturier has missed the last 16 games with a knee injury.
- Michal Neuvirth is nearing a return to the team after practicing with the team today, though he is not expected to play during the Flyers upcoming three-game road trip. Neuvirth has not played for Philadelphia since November 12th because of a knee injury. In his absence, Anthony Stolarz has given the Flyers two quality starts, winning both and posting a GAA of 1.84 and a Save % of 0.932.
World Junior Championships: Day 1 Notes
On Boxing Day afternoon, the IIHF World Junior Championships started in Montreal and Toronto with eight teams facing off on day one. The United States, Canada, Czech Republic and Sweden were all winners, while Latvia, Russia, Finland and Denmark all started their tournament off on the wrong foot.
Finland was the biggest upset of the day, falling to the Czech team 2-1 after Michael Spacek’s late winner. The defending champions were overwhelmed by the upstart Czechs, losing several key puck battles and being dominated in the shot totals.
Among the teams there were several standout performances:
Mathew Barzal, Canada: The New York Islanders prospect Barzal had the puck basically all game for the Canadian squad, quarterbacking their powerplay and dominating 5-on-5 play. His three points lead the tournament so far, and gives him an early lead in the tournament MVP race.
Carl Grundstrom, Sweden: A selection of the Toronto Maple Leafs this summer, Grundstrom has already been playing in the Swedish professional ranks and it showed in his tournament opener. Not expected to be an elite offensive option in the NHL, he carried the puck a ton for the Swedish team against Denmark and had two points in a team leading 15+ minutes.
Tage Thompson, USA: While teammate Clayton Keller was the big story with two goals for Team USA, Thompson deserves a lot of credit himself. With two primary assists and a team-leading +3 rating, Thompson continued what has been an outstanding year for him. After being selected 26th overall by St. Louis, Thompson has scored 20 points in 18 games at the University of Connecticut.
As for notes from the tournament, Team Canada has announced that Connor Ingram will start in net tonight instead of Carter Hart, who looked shaky at times against the skilled Russians. Ingram is a prospect in the Tampa Bay Lightning system and has dominated the WHL as a member of the Kamloops Blazers this year.
Mathieu Joseph, who is playing for Canada at the tournament, signed his entry-level contract with the Lightning yesterday with details coming down today courtesy of Cap Friendly. It’s a three-year deal that contains some solid bonuses. Not bad for a fourth-round pick.
Day two has just gotten underway with Switzerland facing off against the Czechs and three games to follow. The full preliminary round schedule can be found here.
Roster Moves: Auvitu, O’Connor, Dickinson
With the Holiday Roster Freeze still in effect for one more day, teams are headed back to the ice today after a (hopefully) restful Christmas. Six games are on the schedule for tonight, and teams are making minor moves to prepare their teams for the unofficial second half.
- In New Jersey, they’ve recalled Yohann Auvitu ahead of their matchup with the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight. Auvitu has played 23 games with the Devils this season filling in for various members of their blue line. The 27-year old French-born Auvitu is a rookie in North America this year despite playing in the Finnish leagues for many seasons. He has registered four points across his NHL time.
- The continuing Ottawa goaltending saga has another chapter today, as Matt O’Connor has been recalled once again to backup Mike Condon tonight. The Sens face the New York Rangers tonight, and Craig Anderson will not be with the team. With Andrew Hammond still on the shelf for a while, O’Connor will head to the arena to suit up again after playing last night in the AHL.
- Antoine Roussel hasn’t played since the 20th and will be out for a bit still. The forward was placed on IR today retroactive to his last game. Dallas has recalled Jason Dickinson in his absence, his second appearance in the NHL this season. Dickinson has 14 points in 19 games at the AHL level, and is starting to show the promise that made him a first round pick (29th overall) in 2013.
- The Maple Leafs have recalled goaltender Antoine Bibeau today with the club scheduled for a back-to-back on Wednesday and Thursday against the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning. The Leafs have played musical chairs with the backup goaltender of late, trying to get Bibeau as much ice time as possible while still having him with the NHL club if needed. Jhonas Enroth, signed in the offseason to be the primary backup to Frederik Andersen, has not performed well enough for the team to trust him any further.
- The Maple Leafs have also recalled both Byron Froese and Frederik Gauthier. The duo was with the team before the holiday break but was given the chance to play in the Marlies’ first game back yesterday. With Tyler Bozak still out and Ben Smith on IR, the team will use the two young centers for the immediate future.