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East Notes: Flyers Draft Picks, Hart, Senators

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With two picks in the top-20 of the upcoming draft, the Flyers could be poised to make some noise.  GM Ron Hextall has been aggressive in going after specific prospects he likes and the 14th and 19th selections give him a variety of options.  Despite a tendency to move up, Hextall told John Boruk of NBC Sports Philadelphia that there’s no guarantee he’ll be looking to do so once again:

“We’ll look at everything with those picks. I’m not saying we move them or move up. I don’t know. I don’t know what’s going to come our way. You sit here and you might want this or that. Someone else is going to want the same things you want.”

On top of having an extra first-rounder, the Flyers also have two selections in the fifth and seventh rounds so there will certainly be opportunities for Hextall to be active on the draft floor.

Elsewhere around the East:

  • Still with Philly, Flyers goaltending prospect Carter Hart received a pair of accolades today. The WHL announced its end-of-season award winners and Hart not only won the Goaltender of the Year award (for the third straight year), he also took home the Player of the Year honors.  Hart posted a stellar 1.60 GAA and a .947 SV% in 41 appearances, leading some to wonder if he could make a run at a regular NHL spot next season, a rarity for goalies coming out of the junior ranks.
  • The Senators have held preliminary contract discussions with pending restricted free agent winger Mark Stone and Cody Ceci, GM Pierre Dorion acknowledged in an interview on TSN 1200 in Ottawa (audio link). However, there is no indication that new deals are imminent.  The Sens also have decisions to make on a pair of pending unrestricted free agents in blueliner Chris Wideman and winger Magnus Paajarvi; Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that the team has interest in keeping both players around.  Wideman’s case, in particular, will be an interesting one as he was quite productive in a limited role this season (eight points in 16 games) before suffering a hamstring injury that ended his season back in November.

West Notes: Perreault, Lagace, Bibeau

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Winnipeg could be on the verge of getting some help up front in advance of Game Four on Thursday night.  Postmedia’s Ken Wiebe reports that forward Mathieu Perreault has received the green light to play from team doctors which means that Jets head coach Paul Maurice will have the option to put him back in although with the way their offense is currently going, he may be hesitant to make a change.

Perreault has missed the majority of the postseason after taking a hard hit from Mikko Koivu of the Wild in the postseason opener.  If he does draw back in, he will give the Jets another offensive threat after posting 39 points (17-22-39) in 70 games and his ability to play both center and the wing will give them some extra options up front.

More from the West:

  • The Golden Knights have made the first of their ‘Black Ace’ recalls as Steve Carp of the Las Vegas Review-Journal notes that goaltender Maxime Lagace has rejoined the team. Lagace was thrust into the number one role with Vegas early on this season when injuries struck and posted a 3.91 GAA with a .867 SV% in 16 appearances.  With the Golden Knights’ AHL affiliate (Chicago) now eliminated, there are likely to be more recalls in the near future.
  • The Sharks have also added to their goalie stable for the rest of the postseason. CapFriendly reports (Twitter link) that netminder Antoine Bibeau has been summoned from the AHLs Barracuda.  Similar to Lagace, San Jose’s minor league affiliate was also ousted from the playoffs so he will now serve as an emergency option for the rest of the NHL playoffs.  Like Vegas, more recalls are likely to come in the next few days.

Tom Wilson Suspended Three Games For Illegal Check

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The decision is in, and the Department of Player Safety has suspended Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson for three games, following his hit on Zach Aston-Reese last night. Aston-Reese suffered a concussion and broken jaw on the play, while Wilson was not penalized.

In the video from the league explaining the suspension, there were three factors that led to the ban.  One was the hit to the head (and that head contact could have been avoided), another was Wilson’s history, while Aston-Reese’s injury also played a role.  That last one is particularly interesting as teams don’t often release detailed information about injuries in the postseason so that typically doesn’t come into play.

Wilson has walked a fine line for some of his hits and while he has had quite a few hearings with the league, he hasn’t been banned with regularity.   This is his third career suspension (but one of those came in the preseason).  This postseason, he has already been under scrutiny a couple of times, one for a hit on Alexander Wennberg of the Blue Jackets and one for a hit on Brian Dumoulin in Game Two of this series.

The Caps lead the best-of-seven matchup two games to one with the next contest set for Thursday night.  Wilson will be eligible to return for a potential seventh game of the series if it makes it that far (or will have to miss the opener of the next round if Washington wins the next two).

2017-18 King Clancy Memorial Trophy Nominees Announced

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May 2nd: The league has announced the three (four?) finalists for the award. P.K. Subban of the Nashville Predators, Jason Zucker of the Minnesota Wild, and the duo of Henrik and Daniel Sedin of the Vancouver Canucks, nominated together.

April 23rd: Continuing with their announcements of award finalists, the NHL has released their list of nominees for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy. The award is given to “the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.”

Each team nominates one player for the award. The nominees are:

Anaheim Ducks: Ryan Getzlaf

Arizona Coyotes: Oliver Ekman-Larsson

Boston Bruins: Zdeno Chara

Buffalo Sabres: Zach Bogosian

Calgary Flames: Travis Hamonic

Carolina Hurricanes: Justin Faulk

Chicago Blackhawks: Duncan Keith

Colorado Avalanche: Gabriel Landeskog

Columbus Blue Jackets: Sergei Bobrovsky

Dallas Stars: Tyler Seguin

Detroit Red Wings: Justin Abdelkader

Edmonton Oilers: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

Florida Panthers: Mike Matheson

Los Angeles Kings: Drew Doughty

Minnesota Wild: Jason Zucker

Montreal Canadiens: Brendan Gallagher

Nashville Predators: P.K. Subban

New Jersey Devils: Cory Schneider

New York Islanders: Anders Lee

New York Rangers: Henrik Lundqvist

Ottawa Senators: Mark Borowiecki

Philadelphia Flyers: Shayne Gostisbehere

Pittsburgh Penguins: Matt Murray

San Jose Sharks: Chris Tierney

St. Louis Blues: Alex Pietrangelo

Tampa Bay Lightning: Ryan Callahan

Toronto Maple Leafs: Matt Martin

Vancouver Canucks: Daniel Sedin & Henrik Sedin

Vegas Golden Knights: Deryk Engelland

Washington Capitals: Brooks Orpik

Winnipeg Jets: Matt Hendricks

Washington Capitals Sign Juuso Ikonen To Entry-Level Contract

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In a busy day for European free agents, the Washington Capitals have joined the party. The team has announced that they’ve signed Juuso Ikonen to a two-year entry-level contract that begins next season. The deal will carry an average annual value of $925K.

Ikonen is a 23-year old Finnish forward who has spent the last two seasons playing in the SHL. Talented but undersized, he nevertheless put up 26 points in 49 games this season and could be an impact player on the Hershey Bears next season.

That’s if he doesn’t make the Capitals, which, while unlikely is certainly not impossible. Whenever Washington’s season ends, they will head into the summer with several tough decisions to make. With several restricted free agents to sign, and likely less than $15MM in cap space, the team could find itself in a financial crunch quite quickly. That’s because of a certain unrestricted free agent named John Carlson, who the team seems adamant on keeping despite obvious salary structure problems.

If the team does end up splurging to keep Carlson around on what would have to be a massive contract extension, they might need to cut from other places on the roster, essentially opening up playing time for cheap young players like Ikonen. Though he’d have quite a bit of competition, his skill could stand out in camp and earn him a spot.

More likely though is a start in Hershey where the team needs an injection of young talent after a disappointing season. It cost Troy Mann his coaching position, and cold lead to some substantial changes in player personnel.

Colorado Avalanche Sign Pavel Francouz To One-Year Deal

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The Colorado Avalanche have an interesting situation brewing in goal, as both Jonathan Bernier and Andrew Hammond are scheduled to become unrestricted free agents, while Jeremy Smith will become a restricted free agent this summer. Semyon Varlamov also has just one season left on his current deal, leaving a lot of uncertainty moving forward.

Enter Pavel Francouz, who was signed by Colorado to a one-year contract today. The 27-year old goaltender has dominated the KHL for several years, and is now apparently ready to start his North American career. Adrian Dater of BSN Denver reports that the contract is worth $690K, and is a one-way deal.

Francouz posted a .946 save percentage in 37 starts this season in the KHL, which was actually a step backwards from the incredible .953 mark he registered in 2016-17. To say that he’s been good is an understatement, and he’ll finally get his chance to prove that he can do it at the NHL level. The reason he hasn’t gotten that chance before now is very simple—he’s tiny.

Listed at 6’0″ by the Avalanche—but 5’11” at other times—he doesn’t have the usual size of an NHL goaltender, who routinely measure in at 6’2″ or taller. That obviously gives them an advantage, one that he’ll have to overcome if he’s to make an impact at the highest level.

Colorado might be the best place to do it, as they have recent experience with Bernier who usually ranks in as one of the league’s smallest netminders. Whether Bernier will be retained is unclear at this point, but Francouz offers them a talented goaltender who could potentially be an upgrade on what they currently have.

Casey Nelson Signs Two-Year Extension With Buffalo Sabres

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The Buffalo Sabres have locked up one of their pending unrestricted free agents, signing Casey Nelson to a two-year extension. The deal carries an average annual value of $812,500, giving Nelson a slight raise over the $650K he made this year.

Though he is just 25, Nelson was scheduled to become a Group VI UFA this summer and could have signed with any team. That’s likely what prompted an extension from the Sabres, despite playing in only 37 relatively unspectacular games this season. Nelson was an undrafted free agent signing out of college, but hasn’t quite developed into the full-time NHL defender they’d hoped for.

That chance may not come next season either, as the Sabres already have five NHL defensemen signed for next season and Rasmus Dahlin likely joining them as the first-overall pick. That doesn’t include Brendan Guhle or restricted free agent Victor Antipin, who should make it quite a crowded blue line for the club to decide from.

Though that’s not exactly a problem, it could mean some changes are coming this summer for the Sabres. The silver lining for Nelson might be his handedness, as he remains one of the few right-handed options the team has for next season.

Minnesota Wild Sign Eric Martinsson To One-Year Contract

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The Minnesota Wild, fresh off a prospect signing, have dipped their toes into the European free agent market. The team announced today a one-year, two-way contract for Eric Martinsson, a 25-year old defenseman out of the SHL.

Martinsson has played four full seasons for Vaxjo already, and recorded a career-high 17 points this season while playing a bigger role. The undrafted defenseman added his second SHL Championship to the mantle, and was a big reason why—he scored 11 points in 13 playoff games to lead all defensemen. His puck-moving ability and speed to join rushes allows him to take chances, something encouraged more and more in professional hockey these days.

Minnesota will be an extremely interesting team to watch this summer, as they figure out who will make up their defense corps in 2018-19. The team has a group of eight or nine players who could all find themselves in regular roles, and Martinsson is another name that could battle for playing time. Though he’ll likely start in the minor leagues, there’s no telling how quickly he could adjust to the North American game. He does have experience with it, going back to 2012-13 when he played a single season in the USHL and recorded 33 points in 59 games.

Montreal Canadiens Agree To Terms With Lukas Vejdemo

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The Montreal Canadiens have convinced one of their international draft picks to sign his first NHL contract. The team announced today that they’ve agreed to terms with Lukas Vejdemo on a two-year entry-level contract that will begin next season. CapFriendly provides the financial breakdown:

  • 2018-19: $650K salary, $92.5K signing bonus, $182.5K performance bonus
  • 2019-20: $750K salary, $92.5K signing bonus, $82.5K performance bonus

The contract, like any other entry-level deal, is two-way and will pay him a lower amount whenever playing for the Laval Rocket.

Vejdemo, 22, was selected in the third round of the 2015 draft and has been a full-time player in the SHL for the last three seasons. Though his point totals were still relatively low this season—22 in 47 games—that’s partly because of his role down in the lineup for Djurgardens. His overall play was quite good, and has earned him a chance to jump to North America and test himself against AHL competition.

It’s very unlikely that Vejdemo would make the Montreal roster out of camp, but he’s a legitimate NHL prospect that the Canadiens can add to their minor league system and continue to develop. The Laval team was atrocious this season, and needed a boost of talent that Vejdemo can provide.

NHL Announces 2018 China Games

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The NHL announced today the schedule for two games to be played in Shenzhen and Beijing, China between the Boston Bruins and Calgary Flames. The two teams will take part in a pair of preseason matchups September 15th and 19th.

Last preseason the Vancouver Canucks and Los Angeles Kings played two games in China, as part of the NHL’s attempt to bring the game to non-traditional hockey markets around the world. The games were a huge success, and gave players a chance to experience a different culture. For the Bruins, this is just the latest event in a years-long relationship with Chinese company ORG Packaging and its chairman Zhou Yunjie. Players including David Pastrnak have made several visits to China over the past few seasons to host clinics and speak with youth hockey teams.

Though the NHL avoided the most recent Olympics, one has to wonder whether they will consider returning for the 2022 Beijing Winter Games. After using these preseason matches to spark the ever-growing interest in hockey overseas, the Olympics would be a perfect place to show China the best-on-best once again. Still, those decisions will likely come down to the next collective bargaining agreement, which still needs to be negotiated in the coming years.

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