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Deadline Primer: Tampa Bay Lightning

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With the trade deadline fast approaching, we will be taking a closer look at the situation for each team. Where do they stand, what do they need to do, and what assets do they have to fill those needs? Next up is a look at the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Tampa Bay Lightning have been one of the league’s best teams right from the start of the season. Many predicted this would happen if they could avoid the same injury bug that ruined their 2016-17 season, but few may have thought they would be as incredibly deep and well-rounded as they’ve shown. Their goaltending has taken a step forward and their forward group has seen impressive performances from unheralded youngsters. At the deadline, they’ll look to add to that group and take a legitimate shot at the Stanley Cup.

Record

38-16-3, first in Atlantic Division

Deadline Status

Buyer

Deadline Cap Space

$8.95MM full-season cap hit due to LTIR, 0/3 retained salary transactions, 44/50 contracts per CapFriendly

Draft Picks

2018: TBL 1st, TBL 2nd, TBL 3rd, TBL 4th, TBL 5th, TBL 6th, TBL 7th, LAK 7th
2019: TBL 1st, TBL 2nd, TBL 3rd, TBL 4th, TBL 5th, TBL 6th, TBL 7th

Trade Chips

Taylor RaddyshSomehow, GM Steve Yzerman and the Tampa Bay front office has managed to bring three superstars together while maintaining some level of cap flexibility. Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov and Victor Hedman are all under contract for another season at a combined $21.1MM, while the rest of the roster is littered with palatable contracts.

That salary work and some deft trading has allowed the team to retain their entire cupboard of draft picks while also having one of the best prospect systems in the entire league. Make no mistake, Tampa Bay has even more talent on the way with players like Boris Katchouk, Taylor Raddysh, Brett Howden, Anthony Cirelli, Libor Hajek and Cal Foote. The list goes on and on, giving the Lightning plenty of opportunity to move some prospects for present-day help.

The team also has some NHL-ready options on defense that could be moved, as Slater Koekkoek has drawn interest from around the league recently. Jake Dotchin hasn’t been able to secure as big of a role in the lineup as the team had hoped, while Andrej Sustr is on an expiring contract and could be moved to free up room.

Five Players To Watch For: D Slater Koekkoek, F Cedric Paquette, F Brett Howden, F Mathieu Joseph, F Mitchell Stephens

Team Needs

1) Top-4 Defenseman: If there is one criticism of the Lightning this season, it is that too much pressure has been put on Victor Hedman and Anton Stralman to carry the load on defense. Though rookie Mikhail Sergachev is improving and has been a force on the powerplay, Dan Girardi—fresh off a buyout—has had to log the third most minutes on the team among defensemen. The Lightning have been linked to Detroit Red Wings’ defenseman Mike Green over the last few weeks, and could easily ante up enough to land him or one of the other names potentially on the market like Jack Johnson or even Chris Tanev. If they decide to get into the bidding, it’s hard to imagine they won’t win.

2) Top-9 Winger: Even though their forward group has been incredible this season, with rookie Yanni Gourde jumping from NHL afterthought to 22-goal scorer and Brayden Point proving last season was no fluke, the team has been rumored to be looking for another upgrade. With Ondrej Palat still out for the time being, the team could go out and acquire one of the mid-tier rentals to jump right into their lineup. One that could penalty kill would be preferable, but with Matthew Peca’s emergence may not be necessary.

Zach Sanford Activated Off Injured Reserve

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The St. Louis Blues are among those looking for help at the trade deadline, but they may just have found it from an internal source. Zach Sanford, the prospect included in last season’s Kevin Shattenkirk deal, has been activated off injured reserve and assigned to the San Antonio Rampage. Sanford hadn’t played yet this season as he worked his way back from a shoulder injury. Though he’s headed to San Antonio to make his season debut, he could be an option for the Blues down the stretch if he proves healthy and ready to contribute.

The 23-year old forward played 13 games for the Blues last season after the trade, registering five points and generally looking capable of making an impact in bottom-six. Though he suited up for just four playoff contests, he could find himself in the lineup with more frequency this time around. Sanford is a big body at 6’4″ and gives the team another option on the left side as they make their final push towards the playoffs.

Interest In Rick Nash From Several Teams

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TSN’s Frank Seravalli released an update to his Trade Bait board, and Rick Nash has taken over the top spot. Evander Kane had been there for the entire season, but with the New York Rangers obvious position as sellers, Nash has become the prize of the trade deadline. Seravalli reports that more than ten teams have spoken to the Rangers about Nash since they published their letter to fans about a rebuild, including Nashville, Dallas, Winnipeg, Boston and San Jose. While obviously a passing interest doesn’t mean a deal is incoming, it’s important to note that Nash’s market doesn’t seem limited as we stand just over a week until the deadline.

The Rangers have other rental options in Michael Grabner, Nick Holden and David Desharnais, but Nash remains the jewel of their pending free agents. Even with his declining offensive numbers, teams likely still see him as a valuable addition to their middle-six that can help on both the powerplay and penalty kill. Nashville has been reported as the leaders in the pursuit, though it is still yet to be seen whether they’ll meet the Rangers high asking price. If the acquiring cost drops in the coming days to a point where the Predators are comfortable, you can bet other teams will jump into the fray with their own offers.

At 33 years old, Nash isn’t the 40-goal man of his youth. With just 27 points on the season he is currently putting up the lowest per-game offensive output of his career, but still has 17 goals and is a positive possession player. Though his cap hit is hefty, the Rangers are likely willing to retain some of it to facilitate a trade, and maximize their return.  Seravalli reports that no team he’s talked to is willing to include a first-round pick in a package for Kane, which could greatly reduce the market for Nash. The two players’ future could be tied together over the next few weeks, as teams try to match acquisitions made by their rivals.

Jeff Glass, Chris DiDomenico Placed On Waivers

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Thursday: Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that both Glass and DiDomenico have cleared. Both players can now be assigned to the minor leagues. The Blackhawks have done so, recalling Berube to take his place in the Chicago crease. DiDomenico is on his way to the Belleville Senators, where he has 14 points in 25 games this season.

Wednesday: Goaltender Jeff Glass has been placed on waivers by the Chicago Blackhawks, likely signalling a return to the crease for Corey Crawford or Jean-Francois Berube. Chris DiDomenico has also been waived by the Ottawa Senators, after the team made a trade last night acquiring two forwards. Korbinian Holzer, on waivers yesterday, has cleared.

Glass, 32, was a wonderful story in Chicago this season, finally getting a chance at the NHL after more than a decade in the minor leagues. Selected in the third round in 2004, Glass made his NHL debut on December 29th and played in 14 games for the team while they dealt with injuries. After starting out quite strong, his play has slipped in his last few outings and doesn’t look quite good enough to be a full-time solution at this level. Crawford is travelling with the team, but if he’s not ready to return from his injury Berube could be called upon from the minor leagues.

DiDomenico must be getting used to the waiver process, as he was already claimed and re-claimed earlier this year, swapping between the Senators and Tampa Bay Lightning. The team will try to sneak him through once again to give themselves some roster flexibility, but it’s not out of the question that he’ll be claimed. The 28-year old forward has 10 points in 24 games this season.

Minor Transactions: 02/15/18

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The Canadian Olympic team got off to a better start than their US equivalent, beating the Swiss team 5-1 in their opening game this morning. Wojtek Wolski and Rene Bourque both tallied two goals in the win, showing that they still have some high-level hockey left in them after a long professional career. As the Olympics continues, we’ll keep track of all the NHL’s minor transactions right here.

  • The Ottawa Senators have recalled Ben Harpur from the minor leagues, giving them an extra defenseman for their game against the Buffalo Sabres later tonight. Harpur was recently extended by the team for two more years, as he obviously figures into their plan on the blue line. The 23-year old has a single point in 20 games with the Senators this season.
  • Brendan Lemieux has been loaned back to the Manitoba Moose of the AHL. The Winnipeg Jets are preparing for their matchup tomorrow against the Colorado Avalanche, and have several players nursing injuries. Lemieux has played very well for the Moose this season, recording 28 points in 30 games and has made a physical impact during his nine games with the Jets. The 21-year old is part of the future in Winnipeg as a bottom-six winger who carries some scoring upside.
  • Reid Duke has been activated from injured reserve and sent to the Chicago Wolves, finally ready to start his professional career after being the first player ever to sign with the Vegas Golden Knights. Duke was injured in training camp and hasn’t played all season.
  • Colorado has returned winger Rocco Grimaldi to San Antonio of the AHL.  He had been recalled yesterday in case winger Matt Nieto was able to play.  The diminutive forward has three points in six games with the Avalanche this season along with 24 in 40 minor league contests/

Analysts Weigh In On Phaneuf Trade

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After the trade that sent Dion Phaneuf to the Los Angeles Kings, analysts from around the hockey world weighed in on their thoughts of the trade. The deal also brought Nate Thompson from Ottawa in exchange for Marian Gaborik and Nick Shore. Here are the thoughts of some scribes around the league.

The Los Angeles Times’ Curtis Zupke: 

Zupke sees Los Angeles benefitting from a veteran defenseman with playoff experience:

Phaneuf fills a need as a top-four defenseman with leadership and experience. He plays more than 20 minutes per game, in all situations, and he helped Ottawa reach Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals last season. Phaneuf also turns 33 in April and is signed through 2020-21, but the Kings are banking on some immediate dividends.

Bruce Garrioch: Ottawa Sun

Garrioch, like many others, looks at the financial ramification of the deal and how the rebuild is on in Ottawa.

Naturally, this is a huge deal for the Senators because they get Phaneuf’s cap hit off the books, though it does have to take Gaborik’s contract in return…This is the start of general manager Pierre Dorion’s promise to build the team back to respectability. The Senators had asked Phaneuf to waive his ‘no move’ clause in the summer so they could protect Marc Methot in the expansion draft, but couldn’t get the deal done. The move will give the Senators flexibility with the roster.

Kevin McGran: The Toronto Star

McGran also examines the financial aspect, indicating that the Sens may end up buying Gaborik’s deal in the end.

There is some cash savings, which is important for Ottawa owner Eugene Melnyk: Phaneuf is due $18.5 million in actual salary in the three years after this one. Gaborik is due $10,825. The Senators have to pay 25 per cent of Phaneuf’s salary, or $4.6 million. So they’re up to $15.4 million, a savings of $3.1 million (plus another half million for the remainder of this year) when comparing Phaneuf to Gaborik.(They’ll save on Nate Thompson, but his ultimate replacement will probably come in around the same dollar value.) One thing that makes sense is a buyout. Gaborik would cost less than Phaneuf. A Robidas Island situation is not likely. The Senators aren’t likely to spend to the cap anyway.

TSN: Ian Mendes

Mendes sees this as the beginning of sell-offs, and echoes McGran in saying that a buyout of Gaborik’s contract is likely.

Based on owner Eugene Melnyk’s recent statement – in which he announced a three-year contract extension for Dorion – it now appears as though the club has a mandate to shed salary and put more of an emphasis on developing younger talent.

The Phaneuf deal is likely the first domino to fall, as the club will save north of $5 million in real dollars over the next few seasons. Those savings could increase if the club opts to buy out the contract of Marian Gaborik this summer, although it’s unclear which route they will take at this point. We could get our first clue later this week if the Senators make Gaborik a healthy scratch for their games against Buffalo and the Rangers.

Red Wings Notes: Trade Rumors, Athanasiou

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The Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James writes that general manager Ken Holland is absolutely cognizant of the fact that the Red Wings are in “seller” mode. St. James quotes Holland as saying:

“I’m working the phones, I’m trying to see what the other teams in the league are thinking,” Holland said. “We are obviously not a buyer, we are not spending future assets to try to get in. We’ll see here over the next week what direction we are going, but I am aware we are eight points out and games are running out.”

The quote is nearly verbatim from last year, where Holland pulled the plug during early February and started dealing at the deadline.  Beating the Anaheim Ducks last night, in a game where the Ducks outplayed and outshot the Red Wings, isn’t anything to mistake as a game that get Detroit into a playoff spot. The issue remaining is whether or not Holland will truly begin rotating players out to stockpile as much young talent and higher draft picks that he can. Where the verbiage has changed is that on a roster that Holland usually gives the nod to a veteran, he seems to be ready to open up spots for younger players:

“I’ve talked to lots of teams over the last week and 10 days, and I’m doubling back with a number of them,” Holland said. “We’d like to get assets, open up spots for a kid or two for next season.”

Holland has been gun shy when it comes to making trades in the Cap era, and he’s still working without a contract extension. With Mike Green, Jimmy Howard, Petr Mrazek, Gustav Nyquist, and even Tomas Tatar in trade conversations, it will be interesting to see if Holland really will make the deals he seems to be hinting at.

  • Andreas Athanasiou is ready to make amends for his lackluster play that resulted in a third period benching reports the Detroit News’ Ted Kulfan. Punished for a lack of effort, Athanasiou played just one shift in yesterday’s 2-1 win during the third period. In spite of his athleticism, speed, and gamebreaker ability, Athanasiou has long been made an example by head coach Jeff Blashill when he hasn’t been at his best. Kulfan writes that consistency has been an issue for Athanasiou during his young career, but it’s an interesting take in that several players, especially higher priced ones, have been similarly inconsistent or turnover prone with the puck. Though he hasn’t scored in 11 games, Athanasiou still has more points than Darren Helm, and Justin Abdelkader, and is tied with Frans Nielsen, and Tomas Tatar, who have both played 10 more games than the 23-year-old forward. The combined cap hit for Abdelkader ($4.25MM), Nielsen ($5.25MM), Tatar ($5.3MM) and Helm ($3.85MM) is $18.65MM while Athanasiou makes a fraction of their individual salaries at $1.38MM. He’s also just a point behind Gustav Nyquist ($4.75MM), who also has ten more games to his name. Though it is fair to try and teach the young forward good habits, the larger issue in Detroit is once again giving large contracts to players who simply don’t produce the points to justify such payment.

Deadline Primer: Toronto Maple Leafs

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With the trade deadline fast approaching, we will be taking a closer look at the situation for each team. Where do they stand, what do they need to do, and what assets do they have to fill those needs? Next up is a look at the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Two years ago the Toronto Maple Leafs were at the very bottom of the NHL. After winning a lottery for the right to select Auston Matthews, and seeing a half-dozen other rookies make big impacts last season, the team is now locked into a playoff spot in the Atlantic Division and looking to compete for the Stanley Cup.

Record

34-19-5, third in Atlantic Division

Deadline Status

Moderate Buyer

Deadline Cap Space

$4.71MM full-season cap hit due to LTIR, 1/3 retained salary transactions, 50/50 contracts per CapFriendly

Draft Picks

2018: TOR 1st, TOR 2nd, SJS 2nd, SJS 3rd, TOR 4th, TOR 5th, TOR 7th, ANA 7th
2019: TOR 1st, TOR 2nd, TOR 3rd, TOR 4th, TOR 5th, TOR 6th, TOR 7th

Trade Chips

"<strongThe Maple Leafs have seen an incredible amount of young players make an impact in the last 18 months, and because of it there is a log jam of talent on the wing. The team has recently resorted to sticking Matt Martin in the press box as a healthy scratch, while Josh Leivo and Nikita Soshnikov can’t work their way into the lineup for various reasons. All three players are likely available for the right price, though Toronto has been known to demand high prices from inquiring teams in the past.

They also carry some of the more interesting rental names heading into the deadline, as James van Riemsdyk, Tyler Bozak, Leo Komarov, Dominic Moore and Roman Polak are all scheduled to become unrestricted free agents in the summer. While it seems like Toronto will try to hold on to most of this group to help in a playoff run this spring, there could be an opportunity to move one or two out depending on what’s available to bring in.

Their prospect pool, while weakened because of recent graduations, still has some very interesting names like Timothy Liljegren, Carl Grundstrom, Jeremy Bracco and Andreas Johnsson. If Toronto gets into any high profile bidding (which seems unlikely), you can be sure some of these names will be discussed.

There is also some NHL experience playing for them at the AHL level, with Martin Marincin and Calvin Pickard big parts of the dominant Toronto Marlies team. Marincin has had his chance with the Maple Leafs and blown it, Pickard has barely played for the team since being acquired from the Vegas Golden Knights earlier in the year. If any team feels they can turn one of them into a playoff performer, the pair of 25-year old second-round picks—or fellow AHL goaltender Garret Sparks—could be included in a potential deal.

Five Players To Watch For: F Josh Leivo, F Nikita Soshnikov, F Dominic Moore, G Calvin Pickard, D Martin Marincin

Team Needs

1) Defensive Depth: Travis Dermott has made an immediate impact on the Maple Leafs, and looks poised to stay in the lineup down the stretch and into the playoffs. While he’s locked down the left side on the third pair, the right side is still a rotating door. Connor Carrick and Roman Polak have each struggled at times, and could be supplanted if another option becomes available. The ability of Dermott, Morgan Rielly and Ron Hainsey to play their off-side makes it possible for the Maple Leafs to acquire whoever they want.

2) Fourth-Line Center: Similar to the acquisition of Brian Boyle last season, the Maple Leafs could still use an upgrade in their fourth-line center role. Though Moore has been effective the last few weeks, the team is still razor thin at the position and would likely have to move Patrick Marleau or William Nylander to the middle if faced with injury. That’s not an ideal situation, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see Toronto add another body down the middle before February 26th.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Penguins, Flames Complete Minor League Trade

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The Pittsburgh Penguins and Calgary Flames have completed a minor league trade, with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton forward Colin Smith heading to Stockton in exchange for Joseph Cramarossa. Both players are on AHL contracts this season, though do come with some NHL experience.

Smith, 24, was selected in the seventh round by the Colorado Avalanche, and despite some huge totals in junior hockey has had trouble progressing through the minor league ranks. Though at times he’s shown an offensive capability in the AHL, he was given just a single NHL game in Colorado before bouncing around the last few seasons. The undersized forward has 18 points in 35 games for WBS this year.

Cramarossa, 25, comes with quite a bit more NHL experience. He suited up for 49 games with the Anaheim Ducks last season, before being claimed off waivers by the Canucks and getting into another 10 games. A third-round pick in 2011, he’s known for his high-energy game and ability to engage physically.

Snapshots: Vancouver, Tallon, Fines

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The Vancouver Canucks extended their general manager Jim Benning today, rewarding the work he’s done to start a rebuild around a new core of young players. Speaking with media at the press conference (via Rick Dhaliwal of News 1130), Benning reiterated that he’s been working the phones to try and make his team better and will use free agency to “add players who will help support the young players.”

Heading into the trade deadline, the Canucks have a few expiring contracts to auction off in Thomas Vanek and Erik Gudbranson, while big decisions will still have to be made over the future of Daniel and Henrik Sedin. The twins are pending free agents and will turn 38 before next season, but could still be brought back to provide that support to Bo Horvat, Brock Boeser and the rest of the young Vancouver players. “Picks and prospects are going to be like gold” says Benning when asked about the trade deadline, an exciting prospect for fans hoping for no quick fixes.

  • Speaking of GMs trying to fix a struggling franchise, Dale Tallon of the Florida Panthers said on Sportsnet radio yesterday that he’ll only look for long-term benefits at the trade deadline and avoid “kneejerk reactions.” The Panthers have played better of late, but still find themselves well out of the race in the Atlantic Division. Though a wildcard spot is still definitely within reach, it doesn’t sound like Florida is willing to spend at the deadline to try and get over that hump.
  • The NHL handed out several fines today, issuing maximum penalties to Madison Bowey, Dustin Byfuglien and Deryk Engelland for separate incidents. The three players will face harsher penalties in the future, and draw a watchful eye from the Department of Player Safety.

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