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Atlantic Notes: Vasilevskiy, Eichel, Backes, Evans

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Despite an impressive season in the net, Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy learned one valuable lesson by the end of the year: Rest is a good thing. The 24-year-old netminder put up amazing numbers, including playing in a career-high 65 games and posting a .920 save percentage (also a career-high) which was good enough to earn him third place in the Vezina Trophy voting. Regardless, Vasilevskiy wore down in the second half, saying he was both physically and mentally fatigued by the end of the season.

Joe Smith of The Athletic (subscription required) writes the response was to take two months off from hockey this summer. Vasilevskiy had never played more than 50 games in a season before last year and finished fourth in games played behind Cam Talbot, Frederik Andersen and Sergei Bobrovsky. Tampa Bay goaltending coach Frantz Jean said the ideal number should be between 55 to 65 games. However, Vasilevskiy has changed many of his routines within the last six months in order to rest his body more and more, including doing post-game workouts immediately after games, so he can rest his body completely on off days.

“I think it was hard for him in the past to step back, but I think last year once we got to that second half of the season, I think he was actually open to taking a little more time off,” Jean said. “When we’re going in practice, we go hard. We work hard. I think he understood he needed that rest time, to allow his body and mind to kind of refresh.”

  • Count Jack Eichel as a player that is really looking forward to training camp this season after a successful offseason for the Buffalo Sabres, according to NHL.com’s Amalie Benjamin. The 21-year-old superstar who saw his team struggle with constant losing the last couple of years sees an immediate change in the clubhouse. The Sabres drafted Rasmus Dahlin with the first-overall pick this year, traded for Jeff Skinner, Conor Sheary and signed goaltender Carter Hutton as well as add quite a bit of veteran depth to the team. “There’s a lot of new faces in there,” Eichel said. “So I think a lot of the people with a sour taste in their mouths from the last few years have either gotten over it or aren’t in the locker room anymore. I think it’s a good opportunity for us to just prove ourselves to the League and prove ourselves to ourselves.”
  • After an injury plagued year for the Boston Bruins, forward David Backes re-dedicated himself this offseason, according to Boston Globe’s Kevin Paul Dupont. The 34-year-old winger has seen his game decline over the past three years and found himself putting up just 14 goals and 33 points in 57 games. However, he lost 10 pounds to his 6-foot-3 frame and now stands a much leaner 210 pounds, which he hopes can help him increase his speed and help him avoid injuries this season. Backes, who is signed for another three seasons at $6MM per year, is hoping to move up from the third line last year to a top-six role this season. “I’ve played with a 220-pound frame for 8-10 years in the league, and now it’s going to be a little lighter and a little leaner,” Backes said. “It’s my attempt to adapt to what changes have gone on in the league. It might just swing back the other way and be a heavier, harder league. But it’s certainly more skillful and quick, and that’s just the realization I had to make.”
  • NHL.com’s Matt Cudzinowski writes that Montreal Canadiens center Jake Evans has high hopes to make the team out of training camp this year. The 22-year-old, who finished four years at Notre Dame, last offseason is finally healthy after requiring surgery in May to repair a sports hernia and now hopes he can take on his next challenge as he’s been practicing with Dallas’ Tyler Seguin and Washington’s Tom Wilson this summer. As a senior, he tallied 13 goals and 46 points last season for the Fighting Irish and now hopes to take his talents directly to Montreal. “I want to go in with a mindset of making the Canadiens, but I also need to go in open-minded and ready to learn from guys who’ve been there for a long time – how they handle their bodies, how they act,” concluded Evans.

Metropolitan Notes: Letang, Hayes, Kinkaid

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The Pittsburgh Penguins still need to get the most out of their top defenseman Kris Letang if they intend to compete for their third Stanley Cup in four years. However, while Letang posted solid numbers, his presence as the team’s No. 1 blueliner has been left in doubt as the veteran has crossed over the age of 30 and after years of suffering multiple injuries. While in the past coach Mike Sullivan has made it clear that Letang plays better when he plays more minutes, the team more recently has stated that the 31-year-old would be better off taking less minutes with the team.

Letang, who averaged 26:57 in playing time two years ago, has seen his numbers drop slightly over the last two years. He still averaged 25:20 last season and that number may decrease again this year. In a mailbag series, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes that his numbers are likely to be decreased in two different ways this year, although he does admit that the team is only guessing that his play will improve with less minutes. However, Letang will likely lose some playing time during even-strength play, but the veteran will likely be relieved of his penalty killing skills this season as he very likely could be replaced on that special teams unit by newly acquired free agent Jack Johnson. Mackey adds that if they need to cut his minutes even more, the team may allow Justin Schultz to replace him during some power play shifts as well.

  • When New York Rangers center Kevin Hayes signed only a one-year pact this offseason rather than a long-term deal, many felt that the Rangers might be forced to trade their 26-year-old. However, NHL.com’s Dan Rosen writes that Hayes has made it clear that he would prefer to stay with the Rangers for his entire career. “At the moment, [a one-year contract] was best for both sides,” Hayes said Friday. “We couldn’t really come to a long-term agreement and a one-year deal is what came out of it. I’m not treating it like I’ll be out of there in February or at the end of the year. Everyone keeps saying UFA at the end of the year, but that had nothing to do with the decision.” Hayes, who posted a career-high 25 goals last year, could put up even better numbers in new head coach David Quinn’s high-tempo offense which he believes fits his skills perfectly.
  • Abbey Mastracco of northjersey.com writes the New Jersey Devils will be counting on backup Keith Kinkaid more than ever this year as the team remains in the dark about the status of starter Cory Schneider while he recovers from hip surgery this offseason. With the veteran unlikely to be ready to start the season, Kinkaid must prove to the organization that he can handle everyday duties. He showed quite a bit of promise last year when he was asked to take over for Schneider and posted a career-high in games played (41) and wins (26). However more importantly, Kinkaid’s numbers improved over the course of the year. While he posted a .913 save percentage over the course of the season, he put up a .922 save percentage and 19 wins after the all-star break. “You always want to start off hot,” Kinkaid said. “I might not have had the prettiest numbers at the beginning of the season but that’s all that matters is wins, no matter how you do it. I just want to help my team every game.”

Central Notes: Seguin, Jets’ Second-Line, Boqvist

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While negotiations continue between Tyler Seguin and the Dallas Stars, there has been no progress when it comes to locking up the Stars’ star forward to a long-term deal. In fact, in a mailbag edition in The Athletic (subscription required), Sean Shapiro writes that it is unlikely the team and Seguin will be able to reach an agreement on an extension before the season starts, which could put a tremendous amount of pressure on Dallas management, especially if the team struggles in Jim Montgomery’s first season as head coach.

With three coaches in the past three years and a slow start out of the gate, many might feel that Dallas could be forced to consider trading Seguin rather than eventually losing him for nothing like the New York Islanders did with John Tavares this past offseason. However, Shapiro writes that the only way general manager Jim Nill trades Seguin is if he’s on the way out as it would signify that he has failed in his bid to assemble a great team. So, it’s likely Nill and the team will do everything it can, which could include an eventual trade for another top-six player, to help convince Seguin to stay in Dallas long-term.

  • Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun writes that the Winnipeg Jets will have a battle for their No. 2 center position in training camp this year. While the position was manned at the end of the year by trade acquisition Paul Stastny at the end of the season, the veteran has moved on to Vegas, opening up a competition between Bryan Little, Jack Roslovic and Adam Lowry. Roslovic might have the upper hand as the 21-year-old is an emerging talent after posting impressive numbers in the AHL last year after he posted more than a point a game with the Manitoba Moose, where he scored 15 goals and 35 points in just 32 games, while adding another five goals with the Jets in a limited role in 31 games. The 30-year-old little had a disappointing season that saw him score 16 goals and 43 points, some of the worst numbers of his career. Lowry managed to appear in just 45 games last season after dealing with multiple shoulder injuries, but may also have found his niche as a checking line center.
  • Scott Powers of The Athletic (subscription required) examines why the Chicago Blackhawks intend to allow the OHL London Knights to develop Adam Boqvist, their top pick in the 2018 NHL draft. The eighth-overall pick is expected to breathe both talent and youth in a depleted blue line within the next year or two. While he’s not expected to be ready yet to make those contributions, the franchise had multiple options in where they could send him, including sending him back to Sweden, sending him to the Rockford IceHogs in the AHL or back to Sweden for another season. Powers said that returning him to Sweden wasn’t the best option as he only received 7:27 of ATOI with his SHL team, Brynas, last season and while that likely would increase, he would never average 20 minutes a game there. That left two options. They felt that the five-foot-nine, 157-pound blueliner wasn’t ready for the AHL, so that left sending him to juniors. London is a team they have familiarity with as Patrick Kane played there for one  season as well as the fact that the Knights have a top coach in Dale Hunter and Blackhawks’ scout Jim McKellar spent 13 years with the London organization as well, which makes them feel that Boqvist should get plenty of playing time and a chance to further develop his skills.

2006 NHL Draft Take Two: Fourth Overall Pick

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Hindsight is an amazing thing, and allows us to look back and wonder “what could have been.”  Though perfection is attempted, scouting and draft selection is far from an exact science and sometimes, it doesn’t work out the way teams – or players – intended.  For every Patrick Kane, there is a Patrik Stefan.

Our look back at the 2006 NHL Entry Draft is now in full swing as we poll the PHR community to see who would have been selected in the first round and in what order knowing what we know now.  Through the first three picks, we have already seen big changes from what actually happened.

Here are the results of the redraft so far:

1st Overall: Jonathan Toews (St. Louis Blues)
2nd Overall: Claude Giroux (Pittsburgh Penguins)
3rd Overall: Nicklas Backstrom (Chicago Blackhawks)

Although the Blackhawks didn’t get Toews this time around, they wind up with a solid consolation prize in Backstrom, who would certainly fit in well as their number one center today.  He quietly leads all 2006 draft points in NHL assists (590) and points (799) and certainly would have made for a dynamic one-two punch alongside winger Patrick Kane.

Now, let’s move forward to the fourth pick in the draft, which was held by the Washington Capitals.

It’s safe to say that their original selection turned out to be the right one as Backstrom has been a go-to player for them for the last 11 years and still has two years remaining on a team-friendly contract with a $6.7MM cap hit.  While Alex Ovechkin draws most of the headlines, Backstrom has made a strong career for himself largely serving as his setup man while emerging as a capable two-way threat as well.  Obviously, with him now off the board as Chicago’s pick, Washington will have to pick someone else this time around.

With the fourth pick of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, who should the Washington Capitals select?  Cast your vote below!

Mobile users, click here to vote.

Kings Sign Drake Rymsha To An Entry-Level Deal

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The Kings have locked up one of their prospects, announcing the signing of forward Drake Rymsha to a three-year, entry-level contract.  Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Rymsha was a fifth-round pick of Los Angeles (138th overall) and is coming off of his best season at the major junior level.  In 68 games with Sarnia of the OHL, he posted career highs in goals (31), assists (42), and points (73), ranking second on the team in scoring to Blues prospect Jordan Kyrou.  He followed up that performance with nine points in a dozen postseason contests.

While the 20-year-old is eligible to return to Sarnia for his overage season, this deal should enable to him to begin his pro career in 2018-19.  He will likely battle for a spot with their AHL affiliate in Ontario but could also start in a higher role at the ECHL level in Manchester.

East Notes: Nylander, Bruins, Frost

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While some restricted free agents such as Calgary’s Noah Hanifin and Winnipeg’s Josh Morrissey appear to be getting closer to inking new deals, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman noted in a segment on Sportsnet 960 (audio link) that there is still a considerable gap to bridge between the Maple Leafs and winger William Nylander.  Toronto is hopeful to find a way to lock up Nylander and extension-eligible forwards Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner to long-term deals and still leave themselves some financial wiggle room even after the addition of John Tavares earlier this summer.  Inking Nylander to a bridge contract would buy them a bit of extra space beyond 2018-19 when the new deals for Matthews and Marner kick in but it will cost Toronto considerably more on his third deal.  There are a lot of variables for GM Kyle Dubas to work through here so it’s not shocking to see that there is still some work to do here.

Elsewhere around the East:

  • Given that the Bruins will be basically playing split-squad games to start the preseason with games in China and at home, Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe suggests that the team could wind up adding a veteran or two on a PTO to start training camp. Although most of the top players will be in China, Boston will still have to meet the veteran minimum rule for their North America-based games as well.  Accordingly, even though they’re fairly deep up front and on the back end, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them active in the tryout market over the next couple of weeks.
  • The injury to Flyers center Sean Couturier provides an opportunity for 2017 first-round pick Morgan Frost to make a run at a roster spot, Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia believes. While Couturier isn’t expected to miss any regular season action, he’ll be held out of the early preseason games which should give Frost an opportunity to play a big role in some of those contests.  The 19-year-old finished second in OHL scoring last season with 112 points in just 67 games but is ineligible to go to the AHL.  Without much left to prove at the junior ranks, a good showing in Couturier’s absence would go a long way towards helping Frost push to make the opening night lineup.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Arizona Coyotes

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Navigating the Salary Cap is probably one of the more important tasks for any general manager to have. Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2018-19 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

Arizona Coyotes

Current Cap Hit: $69,341,109 (under the $79.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

D Jakob Chychrun (one year, $925K)
F Lawson Crouse (one year, $894K)
F Christian Dvorak (one year, $839K*)
F Christian Fischer (two years, $822K)
F Clayton Keller (two years, $885K)
F Brendan Perlini (one year, $863K)
F Dylan Strome (two years, $863K)

* – Dvorak has already signed an extension and will be looked at in more detail later on

Potential Bonuses

Chychrun: $425K
Crouse: $850K
Dvorak: $213K
Fischer: $230K
Keller: $850K
Perlini: $500K
Strome: $2.475MM

Total: $5.543MM

Keller has already emerged as Arizona’s top offensive threat and led the team in scoring in his rookie season.  Assuming he stays healthy, he’s a near-lock to reach his full bonuses and will be in line for a significant extension two years from now.  Perlini very quietly finished second on the Coyotes in goals last season and will land a considerable raise for 2019-20.  It will be interesting to see if they look to go with a bridge deal for him as it’s unlikely that this entire group of ELC players will get long-term pacts right away.  Fischer’s first full NHL season was a solid one and a repeat performance should allow him to more than double his current AAV on what likely will also be a bridge deal.

Strome was quite productive in the AHL last year but it didn’t translate to much in the way of NHL success.  The number three pick in 2015 is in a spot where he’s too good for the minors but hasn’t played well enough to lock down a full-time NHL role.  He’ll get another chance to do so in the upcoming season but isn’t a real threat to hit his bonuses.  Crouse was a regular in Arizona two years ago but spent much of last season in the minors.  He’ll push for a regular spot in camp but given what has happened through the first two years of his deal, a short-term pact next summer is all but a guarantee.

Chychrun quickly emerged as one of Arizona’s top defenders and has cemented a top-four spot already.  He missed considerable time last year after undergoing offseason knee surgery and went under the knife once again in April so although he’s a strong candidate to sign a long-term extension, it’s likely that Arizona will want to wait to make sure there are no lingering issues before making that commitment.  Fortunately for them, he appears to be on pace to start the regular season.  Although he’s not much of a point producer just yet, he should still surpass the $4MM per season mark on his next deal and when that happens, the Coyotes will be looking at one of the more expensive defense corps in the league.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

F Josh Archibald ($675K, RFA)
F Dave Bolland $5.5MM, UFA)
F Nick Cousins ($1MM, RFA)
D Jordan Oesterle ($650K, UFA)
F Richard Panik ($2.8MM, UFA)

Panik was brought in via trade from Chicago last year and while he fell short of repeating his 44-point campaign in 2016-17, he still fared relatively well.  Despite that, he may be in tough to land a comparable contract as he is viewed as someone that’s a better fit outside of the top six and offensive players in that situation have been squeezed a few times on the open market in recent years.  Cousins doubled his career high in goals last season despite still playing a fairly limited role which gave Arizona another good value deal.  He should be able to get a small raise on his next contract but because he’s more of a depth player, he won’t be able to get a big increase despite having arbitration rights.  Oesterle and Archibald project to be extras to start the season while Bolland hasn’t played since 2015-16 and won’t suit up in 2018-19.

Two Years Remaining

D Kevin Connauton ($1.375MM, UFA)
F Alex Galchenyuk ($4.9MM, UFA)
F Vinnie Hinostroza ($1.5MM, RFA)
G Darcy Kuemper ($1.85MM, UFA)
F Brad Richardson ($1.25MM, UFA)

Galchenyuk was part of one of the more notable trades of the summer that saw him head to the desert in exchange for Max Domi.  He is expected to get a chance to play at center and if he holds his own there, he will significantly boost his value for his next contract even if he continues to hover around the 50-point mark.  Hinostroza was brought in from Chicago as the prize for taking on the rest of Marian Hossa’s contract.  He’ll slide into a middle-six role on the wing and if he can even come close to the 0.50 PPG average he had last year, he could be another bargain on the books.  Richardson was brought back fairly early in free agency to reprise his fourth line role and even received a no-move clause this season as an incentive to stay.  As far as fourth line centers go, he’s a good one to have around.

Kuemper wasn’t as successful in Arizona after being acquired midseason from the Kings but he’s on a contract that’s a fair bit below what the top UFA backups got in free agency this summer.  At the very least, he should give them a bit more stability at the number two position, something they haven’t had a lot of as of late.  Connauton very quietly posted 11 goals from the back end last season but still was only able to garner a small raise on his previous deal.  While his defensive play can be shaky at times, that type of output from a third pairing blueliner is still quite useful.

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What To Expect From Tomas Tatar In 2018-19

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A seemingly innocuous interview with Vegas Golden Knights free agency prize Paul Stastny actually ended up revealing quite a lot about the strange state of one of his new teammates. SinBin’s Ken Boehlke writes that Stastny, while appearing on the Golden Knight’s podcast, was asked who he believes his line mates could be this season. His answer: Alex Tuch and Erik Haula. Stastny made no mention of Vegas’ big trade deadline acquisition, Tomas Tatar, and Boehlke infers that this could mean trouble for the young forward moving forward.

If Stastny’s prediction proves true, then he, Tuch, and Haula would join the surefire top line of William Karlsson between Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith in the Knights’ top six. That would leave Tatar with a bottom-six role and Vegas is not exactly shaping up to have an offensively inclined group in that bottom half. Tatar will be joined by veteran grinders Ryan Reaves, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, and William Carrier who all seem slotted for a fourth line role. That would leave Tatar with Cody Eakin and one of a number of prospects or fringe players on the third line. Among the candidates are Oscar Lindberg, Tomas Nosek, Ryan Carpenter, Daniel Carr, Tomas Hyka, and Curtis McKenzie. None of that group truly inspires confidence as the final piece of the line with Tatar and Eakin. This begs the question: what role does Tatar have on this team?

Even if you don’t put much stock in Stastny’s comments, there is no doubting that Tatar has been less than impressive since being traded to Vegas from the Detroit Red Wings. The three-time 45+ point scorer only registered six points in 20 games down the stretch for the Knights and was a frequent healthy scratch in the postseason, adding just two points in eight games. Tatar is a strong possession player who has proven to be a capable goal scorer in the past, but lacks the two-way game to make a living in a checking role. At $5.3MM, in addition to the trade cost of three high draft picks, it is hard to imagine that Vegas wants to play him in that role either. Tatar needs to find a fit on this roster, either on the second line with Stastny or as a transformative presence on the third line. The Golden Knights are far more shallow up front this season than they were last year and can hardly afford to deal with ineffective or inconsistent play from their biggest trade investment to date. If Tatar does struggle, he may easily wind up wearing out his welcome with the Knights as he did with the Red Wings.

Vladislav Kolyachonok Joins OHL’s London Knights

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The London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League used their second-round pick in the CHL Import Draft in June to select a very intriguing prospect. Now, they have been able to convince him to come over to North America and join the team for the coming season. The OHL announced today that the Knights have signed Belorussian defenseman Vladislav Kolyachonok to  a standard player agreement, as the 17-year-old will begin his draft-eligible year in London.

Kolyachonok is part of what might just be the most highly-regarded class of prospects out of Belarus this century. While no one is expecting the import blue liner or any of his countrymen to be taken in the first round – at least not yet – Kolyachonok is one of eight Belorussians selected in the Import Draft out of a class of 77 players. There have only been 15 players selected out of Belarus in the NHL Draft since 2000 and only two of those picks – Andrei Kostitsyn and Konstantin Zakharov in 2003 – have come in Round Three or earlier. In that same time span, there have been nine drafts in which no players hailing from Belarus were selected. While Kostitsyn and brother Sergei, as well as Mikhail Grabovksi, developed into capable NHLers, there has not been a Belorussian player of note in the league for some time. Philadelphia Flyers forward prospect Maxim Sushko, a 2017 fourth-rounder, might just be the most well-known active prospect, while multiple Belorussians were selected this year for the first time since 2005, with both Yegor Sharangovich and Vladislav Yeromenko being chosen in the fifth round.

Kolyachonok is just one of a number of talented draft-eligible players from Belarus who could turn the tides for the country’s developmental history next June. Vladimir Alistrov, the second overall pick in the Import Draft and now a member of the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings, leads a group that includes Kolyachonok, Aliaksei Protas, Daniil Stepanov, and more who could hear there names called next June. Kolyachonok is likely to be the top defenseman of the bunch, as last season he was one of the top players for the U-18 national team, recording 20 points in 43 games on the top pair. He was also a hidden gem at the World Juniors, where he led all Belorussian defenders in points and plus/minus. While Kolyachonok still has a long season ahead of him, adjusting to tougher competition and a more intense pace of play in the OHL, if he is able to thrive in London, then he could potentially even be the highest-drafted player from his country in some time at the draft next year.

David Desharnais Re-Signs In KHL

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Teams looking for some last minute free agent shopping could have received some good news earlier this week when it came out that NHL veteran David Desharnais was set to terminate his contract with HC Lokomotiv in the KHL, but it turns out that he won’t be coming back to North America. The 31-year old Desharnais has signed a one-year deal with Avangard Omsk and will be remaining in the KHL this season.

It was quickly reported after the termination news surfaced that Desharnais would be switching KHL clubs, but it wasn’t clear where he’d be headed. We know now that he’ll be joining long-time NHL head coach Bob Hartley in Omsk, where he’ll likely play a key role. Desharnais doesn’t appear to be anywhere near the end of his playing career, and is actually coming off a season with the New York Rangers where he posted 28 points in 71 games. Though there may not be a ton of room left for him in the NHL, there’s no reason to believe that he won’t find a lot of success in the KHL.

An offensive dynamo in junior, Desharnais went undrafted partly because of his small stature and had to fight his way up through the minor leagues. That included an incredible 106-point season in 2007-08 with the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL, in which he registered a 27-game point streak and put up one of the best playoff performances in the history of the league with 33 points in 22 games. Desharnais would find relative success in the AHL, and become a 60-point player for the Montreal Canadiens in 2011-12. In the KHL he’ll face a new test, but could potentially set himself up for another contract in North America next summer. Given the lack of center depth for many teams around the league, it wouldn’t be surprising to see his name pop up down the road.

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