Yakupov Trade Reactions
For the second time in a few months Edmonton Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli has traded away a former #1 overall draft pick, sending RW Nail Yakupov to St. Louis in exchange for a minor league prospect and a conditional draft choice. At least when the team moved Taylor Hall, they did it to fill a dire need by acquiring right-shooting defenseman Adam Larsson. With yesterday’s trade of Yakupov, the Oilers simply appear to have made the best deal possible in order to satisfy both the player’s and team’s desire to move on from one another.
While Yakupov has failed to live up to his superstar billing, the trade is still notable on a number of fronts and there has been no shortage of opinions of the deal. Here’s a roundup of some of those reactions.
- David Staples of the Edmonton Journal feels the two sides failed each other: Yakupov for his lackluster practice habits and for failing to work on his two-way game and the Oilers for too frequently playing the skilled winger with weak teammates. Ultimately Staples feels it was time to move on as it was made evident head coach Todd McLellan didn’t see Yakupov as “part of a winning equation.”
- Considering the relatively low price paid to acquire Yakupov – Zach Pochiro and a conditional pick – the deal is a classic low risk investment for the Blues, as Benjamin Hochman of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes. Hochman compares the trade to that which sent another former #1 pick, Erik Johnson from St. Louis to Colorado. At the time of that trade, Johnson also had yet to live up to his lofty status as the top pick in his draft year, but since moving on to the Avalanche, he has developed into a pretty good defenseman. It should be noted that unlike the Oilers, the Blues received a sizable package in return that included Kevin Shattenkirk and Chris Stewart. Hochman also calculates that if Yakupov follows the same sort of career trajectory as Johnson, the Blues will be pleasantly surprised. He points out that even if the worst case scenario plays out – an output of 8 – 10 goals – then Yakupov will have sufficiently replaced the expected production of Vladimir Sobotka, who was expected to return to the NHL but now appears stuck in the KHL.
- Even though the Oilers received very little in return aside from cap savings, Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Sun believes the trade is an instance of addition by subtraction. Matheson points out that the Oilers coaches simply did not trust Yakupov to play a responsible two-way game and that his offense simply wasn’t enough to offset his poor defensive play. The lack of consistent linemates also played a role in Yakupov’s struggles, according to Matheson, and although he found good chemistry with Connor McDavid for a brief time last season, McLellan was of the belief a former #1 overall pick should have been able to make the players around him better.
- The Oilers may have sold low on Yakupov and in return did not acquire any assets likely to help the team today, but The Score’s Sean O’Leary says the team still has a brighter future today after the trade. O’Leary also argues that Oilers fans will soon forget Yakupov, even if the talented winger does realize his vast potential in St. Louis. Lastly, O’Leary reasons that with McDavid now leading the way and after trading away the likes of Taylor Hall and Yakupov, the Oilers have changed their culture for the better.
Western Conference Snapshots: Seguin, Hemsky, Birgas, Setoguchi, Kempe
One concern with allowing NHLers to participate in international tournaments such as the Winter Olympics and World Cup is the prospect of losing key players to injury either during the season or just prior. The Dallas Stars, for example, saw star center Tyler Seguin suffer a hairline fracture to his foot which has prevented him from playing in any exhibition games. Top-nine winger Ales Hemsky injured a groin during the recent World Cup and has also been held out of preseason action with the Stars.
Mike Heika of The Dallas Morning News has the latest updates on the health of the two forwards and the roster shuffling the team has undergone in their absence. The news on Seguin is optimistic even though he has yet to see any game action. Heika reports Seguin is a full participant during practice and according to head coach Lindy Ruff, should “in all likelihood,” be available to play opening night.
On the flip side, Hemsky’s rehab is not going well. He experienced a setback recently and is expected to be re-evaluated early next week.
Dallas recently added Justin Fontaine via PTO to add depth. Fontaine netted 16 points in 60 games with the Minnesota Wild this past season and was recently released from his PTO with Florida.
In addition to being without Seguin and Hemsky, the Stars are also missing Cody Eakin – out until November – and Mattias Janmark – out until April – both due to knee injuries. With nearly $6MM in available cap space, it’s possible the Stars could look to the trade market or waiver wire to bring in additional depth up front or they could simply try to weather the storm with what they already have on the roster.
More from the Western Conference:
- The Colorado Avalanche recently sent defense prospect Chris Bigras to their AHL affiliate in San Antonio but as Terry Frei of the Denver Post writes, the demotion had little to do with his play in training camp and more to do with ensuring the 21-year-old blue liner gets plenty of quality ice time. The Avalanche have plenty of quality players to fully staff the big league blue line and Bigras likely would have spent much of his time in the press box had he remained in Colorado. Bigras made his Avalanche debut last year, recording his first NHL goal and adding two assists in 31 games. With offseason free agent acquisition Fedor Tyutin set to hit the open market again next summer, and with three other defensmen – Eric Gelinas, Nikita Zadorov and Patrick Wiercioch – scheduled for restricted free agency, Birgas’ chances of making the team and earning a key role next year should be much better.
- As teams continue to trim down their rosters in advance of the start of the regular season, Jon Rosen of LA Kings Insider writes about two players facing very different challenges as they try to survive final cuts. Devin Setoguchi, who is in camp on a PTO, realizes this could be his final chance to make an NHL club and is aware his performance in the team’s final two exhibition contests is vital: “I think it comes down to these last two games, and obviously I’m still here and have done something to this point to maybe keep them a little intrigued. Definitely I feel like there’s a lot riding on these next two games that I have to play.” Meanwhile, Adrian Kempe, the 20-year-old selected by the Kings in the 2014 draft, is just beginning his pro career and should he fail to make the Kings team this year, he’ll likely have many more opportunities to do so: “I came over really wanting to take a spot and that’s my goal. That’s been my goal the whole last year. It’s going to keep being my goal till I make it. I made a good camp, I think I played good in the games too and I’m still up, so I don’t know what’s going to happen after this weekend, but we’ve got two games left here and we’ll see what happens, but I feel good out there, so that’s good.” While not necessarily in direct competition for a roster spot, Rosen notes that Kempe’s versatility – he can play both wing and center – could prove to be an advantage. On the flip side, if the Kings like what they see from Setoguchi and feel he can again resemble the player who once netted 31 goals in a season, he could help fill the void created by Marian Gaborik‘s foot injury.
‘Yotes Notes: Rieder, Dvorak, Smith
One of the more interesting training camps this fall has been that of the Arizona Coyotes, with their glut of young players trying to make it, and ongoing speculation about Tobias Rieder‘s situation. On Monday, the German forward inked a new deal with the team, ending his holdout. Today, as Sarah McLellan reports, he has still yet to travel to Coyotes camp due to a visa issue. While head coach Dave Tippett hopes that he’ll join the team tomorrow, there is no guarantee either way.
Rieder signed a two-year, $4.45MM deal, a deserved raise after scoring 14 goals and 37 points last season. An excellent checker, Rieder provides a two-way game with enough secondary scoring to make him a very valuable player for any team, especially one that will have so many young faces up front this season.
- Also from McLellan, Tippett tells her that Christian Dvorak and Jamie McGinn will both miss tonight’s game with minor injuries. They’re both hoping to practice tomorrow, but won’t know until the morning. Dvorak is expected to make the leap from the OHL straight to the NHL club this season after posting 121 points in 59 games last season for the London Knights. He added 35 more in 18 playoff games and would have had a shot for the player of the year award, had it not gone to his linemate (and Toronto Maple Leafs prospect), Mitch Marner.
- McLellan also penned a piece about Mike Smith, mentioning that he worked hard this summer to build up his strength and change his mental approach to games. The goaltender will have to be sharp this season if Arizona has any dreams of the playoffs, as the 34-year old is still their best option between the pipes. The former Vezina trophy finalist got into just 32 games last season, but is feeling healthy this camp. He’ll start for the Coyotes tonight against the Sharks in their final preseason game.
New Jersey Devils Sign Michael McLeod To ELC
According to a team release, the New Jersey Devils have signed first-round pick Michael McLeod to a three-year, entry-level contract. The Devils took the center 12th overall in this year’s entry draft.
McLeod, 18, was drafted out of the OHL where he played for the Mississauga Steelheads. He was assigned back to the team the other day, but will now be under a professional contract during the year. In 57 games, McLeod scored 61 points including 21 goals, and is seen as a future top-six center with some grit and physical play.
While McLeod is still at least a year away from sniffing the NHL, his maturity and leadership have long been talked about as one of his best attributes. He’ll wear the ‘C’ for Mississauga this season, as he plays for his hometown team. If fellow top draftee Alex Nylander (Buffalo) heads back to Mississauga as well, they’ll form one of the top duos in the league once again. Nylander however could head straight to the AHL due to a rule quirk discussed earlier this summer.
Clayton Stoner Clears Waivers; Stays With Ducks
After placing Clayton Stoner on waivers this week, the Anaheim Ducks were hoping a team would take a shot at the veteran defender and take the entirety of his cap hit off their hands. Instead, the 31-year old has cleared and will remain in camp according to Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register.
Stoner has become the odd man out in Anaheim after the development of their young defense corps, and is dead cap space for a team trying desperately to re-sign Hampus Lindholm and Rickard Rakell. The two young stars are still both without contracts as opening day approaches, with some believing that the team doesn’t have enough room to sign both to long-term deals.
The Anaheim blueline is very crowded even without Lindholm in camp however, as the team sent down two blue-chip prospects in Brandon Montour and Shea Theodore today. As discussed previously, the team will have to sort out the situation before next year’s expansion draft, or risk losing one of them for nothing.
Stoner for now will continue to skate in camp, and may perhaps find a spot on the team if Lindholm is not signed in time. More likely however, the veteran of 346 career NHL games will be buried in the AHL to save as much money as possible.
2016-17 Season Preview: Toronto Maple Leafs
With the start of the regular season less than a week away, we continue to look at each team’s offseason and preview the upcoming year. Today, we focus on the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Last Season: 29-42-11 record (69 points), 8th in the Atlantic Division.
Remaining Cap Space: $2.03MM as per Cap Friendly (Roster Size of 23), expected to increase to by ~$14MM when Stephane Robidas, Nathan Horton, Joffrey Lupul are placed on LTIR.
Key Newcomers: W Matt Martin (UFA, NY Islanders), C Auston Matthews (draft, NLA), RW Mitch Marner (draft, OHL), D Roman Polak (UFA, San Jose), G Frederik Andersen (trade, Anaheim), G Jhonas Enroth (UFA, Los Angeles), D Nikita Zaitzev (UFA, KHL), W Kerby Rychel (trade, Columbus)
Key Departures: RW P.A. Parenteau (UFA, NY Islanders), RW Brad Boyes (UFA, unsigned), RW Michael Grabner (UFA, NY Rangers), C Shawn Matthias (UFA, Winnipeg), C Mark Arcobello (UFA, NLA), G Jonathan Bernier (trade, Anaheim)
[Related: Leafs Depth Chart from Roster Resource]
Players To Watch: C Mitch Marner – Obviously, one of the biggest storylines this year will be first-overall draft pick Auston Matthews and his ascension to the number-one center position on the Maple Leafs. Not to be forgotten however, is the other top-five draft pick that the Leafs have yet to unveil: Mitch Marner. Marner is coming off a season where he basically won every team and individual trophy possible, leading the OHL’s London Knights to the Memorial Cup and scoring 160 points in 75 total games (regular and post-season).
The diminutive forward played some center in junior, and was once expected to take that position on the Maple Leafs. Now that Matthews is in the fold though, the Leafs have been playing Marner on the wing to fully utilize his elite offensive skills. In fact, for the last two days at least, Marner has been skating beside Matthews on what would be one of the youngest lines in the NHL regardless of the third player.
D Nikita Zaitsev – One of the most underrated signings of the offseason may come in Leafland, as Nikita Zaitsev will make his NHL debut this year after a number of successful seasons in the KHL. The 24-year old has already completed seven seasons in the Russian professional league, starred internationally for Russia and even made his Toronto debut in the recent World Cup. His right-handed shot fits in nicely with a group sorely lacking them, and should immediately jump to the Leafs top two pairings (depending on if Morgan Rielly moves back to his natural left side or not).
Zaitsev is an all-around blueliner who can work in both ends of the rink, and contribute on both special teams. While he may not possess any one elite skill, he’s proven that he can compete at the highest level. Already turning heads at Maple Leafs camp, Zaitsev scored his first preseason goal against Montreal on Sunday night and, according to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet, should already be considered part of the Leafs’ core.
Key Storyline:
While the Maple Leafs were clearly headed for the basement of the league last year (some would say on purpose), this year has a slightly different feeling in Toronto. While they’re not expected to make the playoffs or contend for any trophies, the youth injection is exciting enough to hope for a much improved club. With head coach Mike Babcock in no danger of losing his seat, the team can take a slow approach to development and shelter their young prospects.
In truth, the Leafs brass are just hoping for a slightly improved season, but will hope for another high draft pick to continue the rebuild. If they were to select in the top-10 once again, they could add another top prospect to their stocked cupboard, and focus on the free agent market next summer. With cap room, a hugely experienced front office and youth at all positions, the team is poised to succeed in the near future; whether that means contention for the Stanley Cup remains to be seen.
Flyers Lose Laughton, Manning To Injury
According to Dave Isaac of the Courier-Post, the Philadelphia Flyers have lost two players to injury today. Scott Laughton will be out 3-4 weeks with a lower-body injury, while Brandon Manning is week-to-week with an injury to his upper-body.
Laughton, a former first-round pick of the Flyers, had his first full NHL season last year, contributing 21 points in 71 games. The 22-year old was hoping to improve on those numbers as he headed into this season, but will now have to wait for a few weeks to join the club. With the season starting in less than a week, his timeline should keep him out for the first 10 games or so.
Manning, 26, was an option for the Flyers on the back end after spending 56 games with them last season. The undrafted blueliner has built quite a career since his days with the Chilliwack Bruins, making his NHL debut as a 22-year old and finding a ton of success at the AHL level. In 2014-15 he put up 43 points in 60 games for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms while also racking up 150 penalty minutes (he had 31 and 231 the year before).
The Flyers had some tough decisions coming in camp, especially around youngsters Travis Konecny and Ivan Provorov, both of whom should benefit from these injuries. The two 19-year olds are trying to make the jump from the CHL to NHL and have turned heads at camp this year. Each was a first-round pick in the past and look ready to contribute at a professional level.
Oilers Name McDavid Team Captain
As expected, the Edmonton Oilers have announced that Connor McDavid will be the team’s captain for the 2016-17 season and likely well beyond. At just 19-years-old, McDavid becomes the youngest team captain in NHL history, as the team tweeted, edging out Vincent Lecavalier for the honor by about six weeks.
The top overall selection in the 2015 draft, McDavid has the potential to be a generational talent. McDavid was one of only five players last season to average better than a point-per-game, tallying 48 in 45 contests as a rookie. It’s likely had he not missed nearly half the season due to injury that he would have been an easy choice for the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie.
Despite his youth, McDavid appears perfectly suited for the role of captain. He served in the same capacity for both his junior club, the Erie Otters, and for Team North America at the World Cup.
In addition to giving McDavid the “C,” the Oilers also appointed Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jordan Eberle and Milan Lucic as alternates.
While it’s a near-certainty McDavid will soon be one of, if not the best hockey player on the planet, it remains to be seen whether he can finally lead the long-suffering Oilers back to the postseason in 2016-17. The Oilers have long boasted tremendous talent and skill but have failed to reach the playoffs in a decade. After several high-profile offseason acquisitions and with their best player now leading the way, Edmonton looks poised to make a jump in the standings.
Metro Notes: Pirri, Leighton, Wilson
The hardest skill to find on the open market is goal-scoring yet one of the NHL’s most prolific when it comes to finding the back of the net, Brandon Pirri, remained unsigned as a UFA late into the summer. Pirri is tied for 30th in goals scored for every 60 minutes of ice time he plays at even strength over the last two seasons. Eventually, the New York Rangers decided to roll the dice and invest in a one-year deal with Pirri and as Sean Hartnett of CBS New York writes, the Blue Shirts might have scored the steal of the summer.
Despite his offensive prowess, Pirri has bounced around the league quite a bit since breaking into the league with the Blackhawks during the 2010-11 season. He wouldn’t earn a regular role until dealt from Chicago to Florida during the 2012-13 campaign. Pirri would spend parts of three seasons with the Panthers before a trade deadline deal to Anaheim this past season. The Ducks chose not to qualify Pirri after the season, thus making the forward a free agent.
Recently, after a preseason loss to Philadelphia, Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault acknowledged the offensive abilities but also pointed out other areas Pirri needs to improve upon before earning the bench boss’ trust.
“There’s no doubt that he’s got the knack to find the net and score. Tonight, he scored a big goal for us. But there’s other areas where I need to be sure he’s going to be able to make the play, get the puck out, be strong on the wall. And tonight, in certain areas, he needed to make a better play. But there’s no doubt offensively that he’s got good hands and he can find the back of the net.”
Pirri is also locked in a tight battle for a roster spot. Even after placing Marek Hrivik and Nicklas Jensen on waivers for the purpose of sending them down to the AHL, the Blue Shirts have four or five players competing for perhaps three spots. Additionally, Vigneault has previously said Pirri would be best served in a top-nine role and he might have a hard time beating out some of his competition despite a four goal, six point preseason. But as Hartnett notes, Pirri’s versatility could be key as he can play either wing and even fill in at center if needed. If Pirri can find enough playing time in New York and continues to put the puck in the net as he has done for much of his career, the minimal investment the Rangers made this summer could prove one of the wisest moves of the offseason.
Elsewhere in the Metro Division:
- When goalie Michael Leighton inked a deal with Carolina in September, he knew in all likelihood he was destined to spend most of the season in the AHL with the Charlotte Checkers. But as Chip Alexander of The News & Observer writes, the veteran of 106 regular season NHL contests is content being the #3 netminder in the organization and with his role mentoring the teams goalie prospects. “They’ve got two solid goalies up here, I knew that coming in. I just want to go down there and help the young guys, hopefully show them a little bit of leadership and kind of guide them toward what they should be doing in the future. And also play well. I want to win. If I go down to Charlotte I want to win games and hopefully win a championship.” Of course Leighton is aware he is just an injury away from NHL duty. Last season, while in the Chicago organization, Leighton got that call and would see action in a single NHL contest. Leighton is perhaps best known for back-stopping the 2009-10 Philadelphia Flyers to within two wins of an improbable Stanley Cup championship. He won eight of his 13 starts that spring and recorded three shutouts during the Eastern Conference Final against Montreal. Regardless of whether Leighton sees any NHL action this season or not, his experience should prove valuable to the Hurricanes organization.
- LW Scott Wilson of the Pittsburgh Penguins is doing his best to land a plum job skating next to one of the elite centers in the game today. As Seth Rorabaugh of DKPittsburghSports.com writes (subscription required), Wilson has taken advantage of the absence of several high profile players due to their World Cup commitments and impressed the Penguins coaches with his play. He is being rewarded with an opportunity to skate along side Evgeni Malkin and Patric Hornqvist in tonight’s preseason tilt with Detroit. Whether the Penguins leave Wilson in the spot to open the season is open for debate. But assuming the Carl Hagelin – Nick Bonino – Phil Kessel line that was dominant in the postseason remains intact, the Penguins will need to find four wingers to play with Sidney Crosby and Malkin. Hornqvist, Chris Kunitz and Conor Sheary figure to fill three of those vacancies but that does leave open the possibility Wilson could force his way into that last spot.
Devils Lose Merrill, Gazdic For Four Weeks
The New Jersey Devils announced today that they will be without the services of defenseman Jon Merrill and forward Luke Gazdic for four weeks each due to injury. Merrill broke his index finger in Saturday’s preseason tilt against the New York Rangers, while Gazdic suffered a broken left foot on September 26th.
The loss of Merrill is a particularly tough one for the Devils as their top-six was already a bit thin. Merrill recorded a goal to go along with four assists in 47 games in 2015-16 but missed the final three weeks of the season due to a shoulder injury. He had surgery on that shoulder in May and was expected to miss four months but recovered quickly enough to participate in training camp.
The Devils could choose to roll with Seth Helgeson or perhaps Yohann Auvitu to pick up the slack on the back end until Merrill is healthy. Or the club could look to the waiver wire where a number of interesting players could be available. Jakub Kindl, cut by Florida, or Matt Bartkowski, released from his PTO with Ottawa, could represent solid, short-term fixes for the Devils.
While Kindl might have name recognition going for him, he would also represent a fairly sizable financial commitment should the Devils claim the 6-foot-3, 199-pound blue liner. He is in the final year of a contract that has an AAV of $2.4MM but with Detroit retaining $360K as part of last year’s deadline trade with Florida, any team claiming Kindl would be on the hook for just over $2MM.
On the other hand, Auvitu is an intriguing player. The French-born blue liner was named the top defenseman in the Finnish League in 2015-16 and attracted plenty of interest from teams in both the NHL and the KHL this summer before choosing to sign with the Devils. The 27-year-old Auvitu also speaks five different languages: English, Russian, German, Finnish and French.
Gazdic, a big LW, spent the last three seasons with Edmonton, seeing action in 129 games for the Oil and accumulating just five goals and eight points. He was expected to add some size and toughness to the organization in a depth role.