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Archives for June 2018

Calgary Flames Hire Cail MacLean As AHL Head Coach

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The Calgary Flames have found a new bench boss for their AHL affiliate, announcing Cail MacLean as the next head coach of the Stockton Heat. Stockton lost their previous head coach to the NHL squad when Ryan Huska was promoted to serve as one of Bill Peters’ assistants last week. MacLean has experienced a similar promotion, as he had previously been working under Huska with the AHL club.

MacLean, 41, is an up-and-coming coaching prospect that has registered a 158-96-35 record during four years as an ECHL head coach. Once a star in the OHL, he spent a decade in professional hockey as a player, bouncing around the minor leagues without ever getting a shot at the NHL. MacLean notes Jared Bednar and Bruce Cassidy as influences on his style, two coaches that both received Jack Adams support this season as some of the best in the league.

Stockton missed the Calder Cup playoffs by just a few points this season, and will look to get back to postseason contention under MacLean. He already knows the players and organization, but will now have to work with Peters and his staff to create a system that will allow young players to transition seamlessly between the AHL and NHL during the season.

Tomas Tatar Will Play For Golden Knights In Game Four

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The Vegas Golden Knights have made a change up front as they prepare for Game 4 against the Washington Capitals. The team will insert Tomas Tatar into the lineup likely in place of David Perron, while moving Alex Tuch up to the second line. Tatar hasn’t played since the third game against the Winnipeg Jets back on May 16th, but will get a chance to prove himself in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Perron stayed out late after the team’s morning skate and didn’t take line rushes with his usual group. If he’s fully healthy, that’s a tough decision to swallow after putting up 66 points in 70 games this season. Perron was one of the Golden Knights’ most consistent offensive threats prior to the playoffs, but has been held without a goal through 14 contests. Amazingly, that makes it 27-straight playoff games without a goal for Perron, a streak that stretches all the way back to his days with the Anaheim Ducks. He has just three in his entire 56-game playoff career, an improbable stat for a three-time 20-goal man. Perron set a new career-high in assists and points this season and the Golden Knights will need him to be a factor if he gets back into the lineup this series.

For Tatar, a chance is all that he can ask for. After being acquired by the Golden Knights at the trade deadline for a package of draft picks, he was able to score just six points for them in 20 games and has just one in the six playoff contests he’s been a part of. That’s not a good enough return for the assets that Vegas used to get him, especially given their still relatively thin minor league system that needs every pick it can get the next few years. If he wants to put all that behind him, a big performance in a near must-win game for the Golden Knights is a good way to start.

NHL Draft Combine Results

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The NHL held its annual Draft Combine over the past week, with players able to speak with their potential teams and participate in fitness testing. The physical part of the week was held on Saturday (with a select few tests occurring the day before), with upwards of 100 prospects trying their best to show off their strengths in the gym. Here are the results of the tests, thanks to NHL Central Scouting:

Aerobic Fitness: Test Duration

  1. Xavier Bouchard – 16:45
  2. Curtis Douglas – 16:35
  3. Mattias Samuelsson – 16:30
  4. Kevin Bahl – 16:10
  5. Oskar Back – 16:08

Aerobic Fitness: VO2max (ml/kg/min)

  1. Cameron Hillis – 65.0
  2. Aidan Dudas – 63.0
  3. Xavier Bouchard – 62.0
  4. Jack Drury – 61.0
  5. Ty Dellandrea – 60.0

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Five Key Stories: 5/28/18 – 6/3/18

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As the calendar turns to June, activity around the league is set to pick up in the near future.  Though there weren’t many transactions of note this past week, there were still several newsworthy stories.

State Of The Union: As is the annual tradition, Commissioner Gary Bettman and Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly spoke in advance of the opening game of the Stanley Cup Final, providing updates on several things.  While expansion to Seattle is on the horizon, it won’t be a topic at the next Board of Governors meetings but could be discussed before the end of 2018.  Meanwhile, they acknowledged that Houston has expressed an interest in a team as well; however, it doesn’t seem likely that they’ll want to expand past 32 for a while.  Daly also confirmed that the salary cap for next season should fall between $78MM and $82MM.  (The exact amount won’t be known until all hockey-related revenues are calculated and the NHLPA decides on how much, if any, of the 5% inflator they have at their disposal.)

Ekman-Larsson’s Offer: Although nothing can officially be signed until July 1st, there’s nothing stopping teams from having discussions on extensions with players set to enter the final year of their contracts next season.  That’s the case with the Coyotes and defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson and the team has made a substantial offer to their franchise player.  Arizona has offered an eight-year, $66MM contract and at this point in time, the ball is in Ekman-Larsson’s court.  The 26-year-old has averaged 45 points and nearly 25 minutes of ice time over the past five seasons and has become a legitimate number one defender.  If they can’t agree to terms, then GM John Chayka will have to decide on whether or not they should look into shopping Ekman-Larsson to avoid the risk of potentially losing him for nothing a year from now.

Kings, Doughty Progressing On Extension: Kings defenseman Drew Doughty is in the same situation as Ekman-Larsson and it appears little time is being wasted.  Signs point to progress being made on a long-term contract extension that could eclipse $10MM per year, the cap hit for captain Anze Kopitar.  This past season, Doughty made some headlines when he stated publicly that he expected both himself and Ottawa’s Erik Karlsson (also a UFA in 2019) to both surpass Predators blueliner P.K. Subban’s $9MM AAV on their next deals.

Penguins Interested In Domi: After paying a significant price tag for Derick Brassard back at the deadline, more center depth wouldn’t appear to be too high on the priority list for Pittsburgh.  However, they are among the teams to have shown an interest in Coyotes pivot Max Domi (who also spent time on the wing this past season).  The pending RFA is coming off of a bit of a quiet year; although he posted 45 points, just nine of those were goals.  There’s no word on what the Pens may be willing to move for the 23-year-old.

Draft Rights Expire For 33 Prospects: June 1st is an important day on the NHL calendar as it’s the signing deadline for CHL players drafted two years earlier or international selections from four drafts earlier.  For the second straight year, a total of 33 prospects went unsigned.  Most notable among the bunch was Florida’s 2016 second-round pick Adam Mascherin, who went 38th overall that year.  While the Panthers offered him a contract, it appears he wants to try his hand at going through the draft again.  Coming off another strong season offensively with 40 goals in 67 OHL games, it will be interesting to see where he gets picked this time around.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Offseason Keys: Philadelphia Flyers

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With just two teams still playing, the rest have already started their offseason planning.  What storylines lie ahead around the league?  Our Offseason Keys series continues with a look at the Philadelphia Flyers.

2017-18 was an interesting year for the Flyers.  They once again had extreme highs and lows when it came to their streakiness, something that seems to be becoming a trend under Dave Hakstol.  They got a resurgent season from Claude Giroux and despite more issues between the pipes, gave the Penguins a good run in the first round before being ousted in six.  Now, GM Ron Hextall has some salary cap room to work with this summer which gives him a lot of flexibility to reshape his team.  Here are some things to watch for this offseason.

Extension Talks For Simmonds

Winger Wayne Simmonds has been a key cog for the Flyers over the past seven seasons.  He has become one of the top power forwards in the league and has surpassed the 20-goal mark in six of those years; the one he didn’t was the lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign.

The 29-year-old will be entering the final year of his contract and will undoubtedly be seeking a significant raise on the $3.975MM AAV he has had since 2013-14.  There is always a demand for power forwards and ones with the type of offensive consistency he has are even harder to find.

However, because of that style he plays, Simmonds is also somewhat of a risk on a long-term contract.  Players like him don’t tend to age well and there’s a good chance he’ll be battling the injury bug more frequently in years to come.  Accordingly, the last few years of a long-term deal could be a cap anchor.

There’s no denying his importance in Philly and even with those risks, Hextall will likely make a run at locking him up sooner than later.  If they can’t come to terms, however, he’ll be an interesting trade candidate at some point next season.

Buyout Decisions

Because of their salary cap situation (more on that later), Philadelphia isn’t in a situation where they’ll be forced to buy out a player or two to free up some short-term flexibility.  However, they still have a couple of forwards where they should at least consider the possibility of doing so.

The change of scenery that center Jori Lehtera received as part of the Brayden Schenn trade back at the draft did not help get him going.  In fact, his play worsened and he found himself frequently on the fourth line when he wasn’t in the press box.  With another year left on his deal at $4.7MM, he would normally be almost a no-brainer to be bought out but at least for now, it doesn’t sound like they’ll go that way.  Yes, they could replace his eight points in 62 games with a cheaper option but the $1.67MM cap hit in 2019-20 that would be there in a buyout may deter them from doing so.  A trade with retention may be something they wind up exploring.

In his first two seasons with Philly, winger Dale Weise has not produced anywhere close to the level he did with Montreal.  He was brought in to be an energetic third-line winger that could chip in with double-digit goals but that hasn’t happened.  He has also been a frequent scratch and has largely been confined to fourth line ice time.  He still has two years remaining on his deal at a $2.35MM cap charge which is pricey for someone in that role.  Again, the 2019-20 charge ($1.28MM) may act as a bit of a deterrent although the price in the other three seasons (2018-19, 2020-21, and 2021-22) would be more manageable at just over $683K.  For most teams, Weise would find himself as a prime buyout candidate this summer and the Flyers will need to decide if he is for them as well.

Spend Wisely

Lately, Philadelphia hasn’t been big spenders on the open market because they’ve had limited room with which to work with.  That’s not the case heading into this offseason as they have roughly $58MM committed to 17 players per CapFriendly without a lot of prominent players to re-sign.  Basically, they can add multiple impact players in free agency but is that the best play to make?

On top of Simmonds needing a new deal next summer, so too does defenseman Ivan Provorov.  As a number one blueliner already, he’s going to get a contract that is well beyond his $894K base salary.  Winger Travis Konecny is in a similar situation.  He’s not going to get the type of raise Provorov will get but it will still be significant.  Projecting a $10MM increase in payroll for these three a year from now isn’t unrealistic so that will have to be kept in mind when spending this summer.  Accordingly, some of their activity in free agency and trades should probably be focused on short-term contracts.

Even with that in mind, Hextall and the Flyers have more than enough room to make a splash this summer and add at least one prominent player.  Given their prospects on the back end and the dearth of impact players in free agency, it’s likely that their addition(s) will come up front.  It has been a while since they’ve been heard from on the open market but that won’t be the case a month from now.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

East Notes: Filppula, Vaakanainen, Boqvist, Kiselevich

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Flyers center Valtteri Filppula is expected to seek a multi-year contract in free agency, reports John Boruk of NBC Sports Philadelphia.  While he’s coming off a fairly quiet season offensively, he’s only one year away from being tagged with 35+ status which carries more risk for teams.  As a result, he may be willing to take a bit less on the open market this time around to get more security over going year-to-year.  In either case, he is going to be asked to take a considerable pay cut compared to the $5MM cap hit he has carried for the last five seasons.

Elsewhere in the East:

  • Boston GM Don Sweeney expects to sign 2017 first-rounder Urho Vaakanainen this offseason and have him play in North America, note Michael Tolvo and Mark Garbino of the Bruins’ team website. The 19-year-old has spent the last two seasons in the Finnish SM-liiga and logged just under 22 minutes per game in 2017-18.  Sweeney wouldn’t rule out Vaakanainen making a run at a roster spot in training camp but spending some time in the AHL is probably the likelier outcome at this point.
  • Peter Wallen, the agent for Devils center prospect Jesper Boqvist, told Corey Masisak of The Athletic (subscription required) that the 19-year-old will remain in Sweden for the 2018-19 season. Boqvist was the 36th overall selection back in the 2017 draft and was productive in his limited action with Brynas of the SHL, recording three goals and ten assists in just 23 games.  As he was drafted out of Sweden, New Jersey has four years to sign Boqvist so there is no rush to get a deal done.
  • Last week, the Panthers added Russian defenseman Bogdan Kiselevich on a one-year contract. CapFriendly provides the details of that deal, which is worth the league minimum salary of $650K in the NHL and $275K in the minors.  The 28-year-old has yet to play in North America but at this price, the deal carries little risk to Florida if he isn’t able to land a roster spot in training camp.

Free Agent Focus: Chicago Blackhawks

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Free agency is now a little more than a month away from opening up and there are quite a few prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign.  Here is a breakdown of Chicago’s free agent situation.

Top Restricted Free Agent: F Vinnie Hinostroza — For the second year in a row, Hinostroza got some quality time with the Blackhawks, totallying 99 games in those two seasons. However this year, the 24-year-old forward really showed that he can contribute at a high level. In 50 games this year, Hinostroza found himself working between the second and third lines, totaling seven goals and 25 points, while logging more than 13 minutes of ice time per game. As Chicago becomes more and more reliant on youth to fill in the gap for some of their aging veterans, the team needs Hinostroza to take that next step as a bonafide top-six center.

Having made just $925K this past year, he still is likely to have quite a low salary for a few more years, which is exactly the kind of value the ’Hawks need to rebound and compete for a playoff spot next year.

Other RFA’s: D Adam Clendening, F Anthony Duclair, F John Hayden, F Tomas Jurco.

Top Unrestricted Free Agent: D Cody Franson — Perhaps a better word is ’none.’ There are no key unrestricted free agents unless you look real deep on their roster. You would have to look at players who the team moved to Rockford near the trade deadline when the team decided to give their young players as much playing time as possible. Franson was one of those players, who possesses the offensive talents, but lacks the defense to compete at an NHL level and has bounced around the league looking for a permanent home. Don’t count on Chicago being that place as a recent report suggests he’s not expecting to return next season. He tallied just a goal and six assists in 23 games, but was put on waivers in January.

Other UFA’s: F Lance Bouma, F Christopher Didomenico, G Jeff Glass, F Andreas Martinsen, D Michal Rozsival, D Viktor Svedberg, F Jordin Tootoo.

Projected Cap Space: The salary cap has not been Chicago’s friend over the past few years with big contracts the team handed out to Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook, among others. However, the team has done a good job of moving some contracts and have $6.1MM of cap space available to them, and that’s not including the assumption the cap could go up $5MM next season. The team might have the ability to bring in a free agent or two to help aid the veterans in making a playoff comeback this year. While it’s not likely to include a high-priced free agent, their available cap space should be an asset for the coming season.

Playoff Notes: Theodore, Lineup Changes, Orpik, Smith-Pelly, Beagle

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Vegas Golden Knights head coach Gerard Gallant showed why he is considered to be a players’ coach when he was asked Sunday about the performance of 22-year-old Shea Theodore, according to the Associated Press’ Stephen Whyno. The young blueliner has struggled mightily in the Stanley Cup Finals, having been on the ice for four of the team’s past six goals. In Game 3 alone, he made a questionable decision that created an odd-man rush on Evgeny Kuznetsov’s goal and then followed that up with a bad turnover that allowed Devante Smith-Pelly to score the goal that sealed the win.

Regardless, despite forcing the youngster to skip one shift, the veteran coach defended his player.

“Did Shea do something real bad? He plays the game like everybody else,” Gallant said Sunday in a passionate defense of Theodore. “He made a couple mistakes, they ended up in the back of our net. A lot of guys make mistakes in hockey games and they don’t end up in the back of the net. Shea’s a 22-year-old kid who I love. He’s a great player. He’s going to be a star in this league.”

Theodore is expected to continue playing next to Deryk Engelland in Game 4. Whyno said that Engelland reassured Theodore and told him to simplify his game.

  • Gallant also said the team might make some lineup changes for Game 4 on Monday. There is lots of speculation the team may bring back wingers William Carrier and Tomas Tatar, who both have played sporadically throughout the playoffs for Vegas. There is also talk the team might shuffle some of their middle lines. The team’s second line of Erik Haula, James Neal and David Perron has struggled in the Stanley Cup Finals. In three games, they have gone for a combined one goal, two assists, 10 shots on goal, 14 shots missed or blocked and a minus-9 rating. NHL Network’s Brian Lawton reports that the team could promote Alex Tuch to the second line in order to change things up.
  • Despite rumors that he suffered a concussion on a reverse hit from Neal, Washington Capitals defenseman Brooks Orpik had the wind knocked out of him, according to Whyno. The veteran defenseman said a concussion was never the issue as he couldn’t breathe initially after the hit. He is expected to be ready for Monday’s Game 4. Orpik was never checked for a concussion and the Washington Post’s Adam Kilgore writes that the NHL failed once again to show the world that they are on top of handling concussions as Orpik was allowed to return immediately on the next shift.
  • Two key contributors for the Capitals in Game 3 were Smith-Pelly, who scored the insurance goal, and Jay Beagle who assisted on two goals as well as had a 61 percent face-off success rate was another key factor for the Capitals. Both will be unrestricted free agents and with the Capitals spending much of their time focused on John Carlson’s upcoming free agency and their lack of salary cap space, one has to wonder whether both Smith-Pelly and Beagle’s strong play might force the team to allow them to leave this offseason.

Free Agent Focus: Vancouver Canucks

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Free agency is now a little more than a month away from opening up and there are quite a few prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign.  Here is a breakdown of Vancouver’s free agent situation.

Key Restricted Free Agent: F Sven Baertschi — Considered to be a player who could break out at any time, the 25-year-old restricted free agent never has had the opportunity as injuries have derailed any true success so far. Having already played in parts of seven seasons and three complete seasons, Baertschi has never played a full season or even close to that much (his season high is 69 games back in 2015-16). This past year, the winger only got into 53 games as he dealt with a jaw injury in December after being hit in the face with a puck and then separated his shoulder in March that ended his season. With 14 goals and 29 points, Baertschi has the potential to contribute to a young team if he can stay healthy.

While the team will likely find a way to ink him to a one-year extension (he made $1.85MM each of the last two years), the team must also determine if he’s a core player who will be a major contributor on his team in the future. Another injury prone year could force the team to move on from him if he can’t prove that he can stay on the ice.

Other RFA’s: F Reid Boucher, F Cole Cassels, D Anton Cederholm, F Michael Chaput, F Markus Granlund, F Griffen Molino, D Derrick Pouliot, D Troy Stecher, D Mackenze Stewart, F Jake Virtanen.

Key Unrestricted Free Agent: F Darren Archibald — Archibald’s name suggests that the team has little to worry about when it comes to their own free agents. With just three NHL-level unrestricted free agents, Archibald’s value stands out. The 6-foot-3, 210-pound wing provides the team with grit, solid skating and physicality and has started to step up for Vancouver this season. A long-time AHL player, Archibald got into 27 games for the Canucks this season, putting up four goals and nine points and was a favorite of coach Travis Green and might be a cheap fourth-line option for Vancouver (he made $650K last season) rather than the franchise go out and sign a veteran for that spot.

Other UFA’s: G Richard Bachman, F Nic Dowd, F Jussi Jokinen, F Joseph Labate, F Jayson Megna, D Patrick Wiercioch.

Projected Cap Space: The team should have plenty of cap space if the team is ready to spend after the retirements of Henrik Sedin and Daniel Sedin. They have a little less than $53MM committed to players for the 2018-19 season and few contracts of their own that they have to deal with. The team could attempt to add a few veterans to mesh with their young core of Bo Horvat, Brock Boeser and Elias Pettersson and must focus more of their attention on their defense, but they do have plenty of space to do that.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Devils Notebook: Trading Down, Schneider, Injuries, Kovalchuk

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The New Jersey Devils had a large group of draft picks last year when they possessed 11 picks, including the first-overall pick in which they netted center Nico Hischier. Now the team finds itself with just six draft picks this year after trading away their second and third round picks to add veteran players this season. The maneuvers worked as the team won 10 out of their last 15 games to clinch a playoff spot for the first time in six years. While the team does have the 17th pick in this year’s draft, NHL.com’s Mike Morreale writes that general manager Ray Shero is willing to consider trading down in this draft to recoup some of their lost draft picks.

“If you’re going to move up, great, but what’s the cost to move up?” Shero said. “Hey, we’d love to move down and get more assets, but you’re never going to know that until you’re on the draft floor and it’s coming to your pick.”

The team moved its third-round pick back in November when they traded centers Adam Henrique and Joseph Blandisi to Anaheim for defenseman Sami Vatenen, which helped solidify their defense. The team then moved its second-rounder at the trade deadline to pick up Michael Grabner, but the winger struggled when he arrived in New Jersey. After scoring 25 goals in 59 games with the New York Rangers, he potted just two in 23 games with the Devils.

  • In the same article, Morreale adds that after a successful four-hour discussion with Taylor Hall after the 2016-17 season about his future, Shero had a discussion with goaltender Cory Schneider after this season. The conversation with Hall did create a change as he put up career numbers and is now a Hart Trophy candidate. Shero hopes a conversation with his goalie will produce similar results. “I basically have higher expectations for him and so does he,” Shero said. “We need better and he knows that. But it’s not like I’m mad at him. It’s just something needs to change. Whether it’s how he trains in the summer or something. When you turn 30-plus years old, guys need to do things differently.”
  • Shero also updated Morreale on the status of Schneider, Hall and Patrick Maroon, who each had surgery recently. Schneider had surgery to remove cartilage in his left hip, while Hall had surgery to repair torn ligaments in his hand. Maroon underwent surgery to repair a herniated disk in his back. “I won’t know (if Schneider will be ready for the start of training camp) until we get closer and as we go through the summertime to see how he’s doing. He could return sooner or at the tail end of the (five-month) window. (Coach) John Hynes was up to see Hall this week and he told me everything is going well. In Hall’s case, everything points to him being ready for the start of training camp. Maroon is going to come back to New Jersey on June 11 to make sure everything is going well.”
  • Morealle also asked Shero whether the team is interested in former star Ilya Kovalchuk, who is an unrestricted free agent and can sign with any team. “I’ve not reached out to Kovalchuk’s representatives and I’ve not heard from them, so there you go,” Shero said.
  • Shero also told Morreale that the team chose not to sign 2016 fourth-rounder Evan Cormier to a contract (thereby allowing him to re-enter the draft this year) because he’s happy with the pipeline of goaltenders the franchise already has in MacKenzie Blackwood, Ken Appleby, Cam Johnson and Gilles Senn.

 

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