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2006 NHL Draft Take Two: Third 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.

We’ve begun our journey looking back at the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, polling the PHR community to see who would have been selected in the first round and in what order knowing what we know now. Already we’ve seen big changes at the top of the draft, with Erik Johnson falling out of the first-overall slot and the St. Louis Blues picking a potential Hall of Fame captain in his place.

Here are the results of the redraft so far:

1st Overall: Jonathan Toews (St. Louis Blues)
2nd Overall: Claude Giroux (Pittsburgh Penguins)

Giroux beat out Nicklas Backstrom to be the second pick, finishing with close to 35% of the vote. The Philadelphia Flyers captain is among the very best offensive players in the league, and would have given the Penguins another versatile player to fit in beside or behind Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Though Jordan Staal, who was the real second pick by the Penguins, helped the team to a Stanley Cup as a young player, adding Giroux could have made Pittsburgh even more dominant through the years.

Now we’ll move forward to the third pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, which was held by the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Blackhawks obviously lucked out when Toews fell to them in the third spot, getting their future captain and leader for a run of success nearly unparalleled in the cap era. Toews led the team to the Stanley Cup in 2010 with a Conn Smythe-winning effort, and has captained them to two more titles since. The perennial Selke and Hart trophy nominee was the easy choice at first overall, meaning Chicago will have to go with someone else this time around.

With the third pick of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, who should the Chicago Blackhawks select? Cast your vote below!

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Robin Norell Loaned Back To SHL

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The Chicago Blackhawks used the 111th pick in the 2013 draft to select Robin Norell, a relatively undersized defenseman from Sweden who had performed well on the international stage. After several seasons in the Blackhawks minor league system without a chance at the NHL, the team today announced that Norell has been loaned back to Djurgarden IF of the SHL for the upcoming season. 2018-19 is the final year of Norell’s three-year entry-level contract, after which he’ll become a restricted free agent that will need a qualifying offer from Chicago to stay in the organization.

Now 23, Norell never did develop much of an offensive game and recorded just seven points in 63 games last season for the Rockford IceHogs. The promise he showed as a potential two-way NHL defenseman has likely vanished, and at this point it wouldn’t be surprising to see him stay in Sweden or another European league for the rest of his career. It’s unfortunate, given the Blackhawks investment in him the last few years, but with several other high profile defenders needing defined roles in the organization over the next few seasons, he was likely going to get lost in the shuffle anyway.

Chicago could technically recall Norell during the season from the SHL, but it seem as though the two sides are heading towards the end of their relationship. There’s a chance he receives a qualifying offer next summer in order for the Blackhawks to retain his rights, but given that he will likely be eligible for arbitration he could find himself an unrestricted free agent instead.

Latest On Erik Karlsson Trade Rumors

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After Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet threw a match into the puddle of gasoline that is an Erik Karlsson trade rumor yesterday, speculation has ran wild about where the Ottawa Senators captain will start the season. Friedman was on NHL Network recently, and reiterated that he believes the Senators are ready to move on.

A few years ago Dany Heatley showed up on the first day of camp with the Senators, and the Senators were like “can we fix this?” and they realized they couldn’t. They made the [Heatley] trade right away with San Jose. I think they’ve just decided they don’t want to carry [the Karlsson situation] into the season if they can avoid it.

Karlsson has been in the news for some time, given that the Senators haven’t been able to reach an extension with their superstar defenseman. The 28-year old is scheduled to hit unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2019, leave the team with little choice but to trade him for future assets if he’s not willing to sign long-term with the club. There had been talk about Karlsson potentially discussing an extension with interested teams, which would obviously increase the value of the return for the Senators, but now there may be a hitch in those talks. Andy Strickland of Fox Sports Midwest tweets that Karlsson does not want to sign an extension with a Canadian team, which could potentially take teams like the Vancouver Canucks—who were mentioned by Friedman yesterday, but quickly denied their involvement—out of the running.

There’s no guarantee that Karlsson wants to sign an extension with anyone at present, given that he could be the big fish on the open market next summer. Now that Drew Doughty, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Ryan Ellis and Ryan McDonagh have all signed long-term deals, Karlsson projects to be the one real star defenseman available in free agency. At that point he could essentially choose his destination, as one would have to believe that almost the entire league would express some interest in him as a UFA.

For now, we’ll have to wait and see who rises as the front runner for a Karlsson trade and whether a Canadian team can wiggle their way into extension talks. The star defenseman has always spoken highly of his love for the city of Ottawa, but it doesn’t appear at this point like he’ll be spending the next portion of his career there.

Hayley Wickenheiser Hired By Toronto Maple Leafs

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One of the most legendary women to ever play the game of hockey is still breaking new ground, as today Hayley Wickenheiser was hired as the Assistant Director of Player Development for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Wickenheiser was a guest coach earlier in the summer at the Maple Leafs rookie development camp, and had told reporters that she had discussed a potential role with the team going forward. The Maple Leafs also announced that Scott Pellerin has been promoted to Senior Director of Player Development, and Stephane Robidas to Director of Player Development. Victor Cameiro and Noelle Needham have also both been added as amateur scouts.

Wickenheiser of course is one of the very best to ever play women’s hockey, winning four Olympic gold medals, seven World Championship gold medals, a CWHL Championship, three WWHL Championships and seven more various silver medals in international competition. She famously played in several men’s leagues in Europe for a time, and even won a CIS Championship with the University of Calgary late in her career, while returning to continue her education. There is very little that Wickenheiser hasn’t done in the game of hockey, and will now join a small but growing group of women with full-time hockey operations roles in the NHL.

The Maple Leafs have an advantage over many teams in the NHL given their financial might, but since the salary cap was instituted cannot use their full strength to buy players on the ice. Instead, sinking money into high profile executives and development systems is the way the team will continue to find an advantage, and perhaps build a contender for the Stanley Cup.

Snapshots: Canucks, Chimera, Amorosa

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While the Canucks were a team that was surprisingly linked to Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson earlier this morning, GM Jim Benning told Sportsnet’s John Shannon (Twitter link) that the team is not involved in discussions for the Ottawa blueliner.  Given that Vancouver appears to be heading into at least a soft rebuild, giving up considerable assets for the pending unrestricted free agent would seem to be somewhat counterproductive.  However, with more than $9MM in cap room at the moment (per CapFriendly), Vancouver would make some sense as a potential fit to get involved as a third party facilitator if someone needs to clear some short-term cap room or retain on Karlsson’s deal before flipping him, similar to what Vegas did with Derick Brassard last season.

Other notes from around the league:

  • While this is the time of the offseason where veteran free agents typically have to take a tryout agreement to go to training camp, winger Jason Chimera told Postmedia’s Jim Matheson (Twitter link) that he’s unsure if he’d be willing to take a PTO. The 39-year-old is still a strong skater but saw his production drop considerably last season as he went from 20 goals and 33 points to just three and ten respectively.  At this stage coupled with his struggles last season, it may be tough for him to land a guaranteed one-way pact so unless he’s open to the idea of a tryout, he will likely be on the outside looking in when the puck drops in October.
  • UFA defenseman Terrance Amorosa has signed a one-year deal with San Diego of the AHL, affiliate of the Ducks, the minor league team announced. The former fifth-rounder of the Flyers became a free agent last week after failing to sign with Philadelphia and was one of the top players available in this free agent class.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Anaheim Ducks

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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.

Anaheim Ducks

Current Cap Hit: $73,365,833 (under the $79.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Troy Terry (two years, $925K)

Potential Bonuses

Terry: $850K

Terry joined Anaheim late last season after his college season at the University of Denver where he was one of the more prolific point producers in the NCAA.  The Ducks didn’t give him much playing time down the stretch but he was with the team for their postseason appearance before suiting up at the World Championships with Team USA.  He could start in the minors but Terry is likely to make an impact at some point during the season.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

F Brian Gibbons ($1MM, UFA)
D Korbinian Holzer ($900K, UFA)
G Ryan Miller ($2MM, UFA)
D Luke Schenn ($800K, UFA)
F Jakob Silfverberg ($3.75MM, UFA)
D Andrej Sustr ($1.3MM, UFA)

Silfverberg hasn’t really been able to emerge as a high-end offensive player like Anaheim has been hoping for but he has still been a quality middle-six winger.  GM Bob Murray has expressed an interest to sign him long-term but they may have a hard time doing so with the amount of money already committed.  Gibbons went from being a full-time minor leaguer to a productive forward with the Devils, playing at a 36-point pace.  If he can come even close to that, Anaheim will get solid value from his addition.

Sustr signed early in free agency to provide a potential upgrade on the right side of the third pairing.  Schenn also signed early on to compete for that role and both are making reasonable money for depth defenders.  Holzer is likely to serve as a reserve player that they are comfortable running through waivers if they need a roster spot.  It’s unlikely that he’ll be able to land another one-way deal next summer.  Miller was brought in last summer to give them some better insurance in the number two role and he certainly provided that.  At the age of 38, he’s a possibility to retire following next season but if he hits the open market, he should have several suitors which makes a comparable contract to this one a realistic possibility.

Two Years Remaining

F Patrick Eaves ($3.15MM, UFA)
D Brandon Montour ($3.88MM, RFA)

Eaves made a big impact upon being acquired in 2016, scoring 11 goals in just 20 games to help him land his current contract.  However, he missed almost all of last season with Guillain-Barre Syndrome.  He’s expected to be healthy for the upcoming season and if he can pick up where he left off, he’ll give Anaheim a much-needed boost in their secondary scoring.

Montour finished off his first full NHL season in 2017-18 and he has quickly become a go-to member of their back end.  They weren’t able to agree on a long-term deal this summer and went the bridge route instead but if he continues at this pace over the next couple of years, he could easily add another $2MM or more on his next contract.

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East Notes: Glendening, Rangers, Nylander

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Red Wings center Luke Glendening was linked to the Maple Leafs towards the trade deadline as the team was seeking fourth line center help and head coach Mike Babcock is certainly familiar with him from his own time in Detroit.  However, MLive’s Ansar Khan notes that former Toronto GM Lou Lamoriello wasn’t as enamored with the 29-year-old which was why they were only offering up a late-round pick for his services.

With the Leafs still not quite set at that fourth line center spot – rookie Par Lindholm appears to be an early contender for the position, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Red Wings circle back to see if new Toronto GM Kyle Dubas would be willing to offer a bit more now.  Red Wings GM Ken Holland has acknowledged that they may need to clear a little bit of payroll off their books and moving Glendening – who has three years left with an AAV of $1.8MM – should allow them to get under the Upper Limit regardless of Henrik Zetterberg’s situation while filling a need on Toronto as well.

Elsewhere out East:

  • After being active near the trade deadline last season, NBC Sports’ Adam Gretz suggests that the Rangers may be a team to watch for on the trade front again in 2018-19. New York has a pair of notable forwards that are slated to be unrestricted next summer in winger Mats Zuccarello and center Kevin Hayes and with the team firmly committed to a rebuild, those two could very well be on the move in the coming months.
  • Maple Leafs winger William Nylander remains unsigned and is the most prominent restricted free agent remaining on the market. In an appearance on the Steve Dangle podcast (video link), Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston suggested that it may still be a few more weeks before a deal gets done.  He viewed the opening of training camp (September 13th) as an artificial deadline to get something done and that it’s certainly possible that it could go a day or two beyond that as well.  Nylander’s case has been well documented already and it will be interesting to see if Toronto can reach a long-term agreement or if they opt for a bridge deal to keep his cap hit down in the short-term.

Poll: Which 35+ Skater Would You Rather Sign?

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The free agent market is down to the last few interesting names. While Rick Nash continues to deliberate on whether he’ll play this season, other players are starting to accept professional tryout offers to attempt to secure an NHL contract in 2018-19. Scottie Upshall, Mark Letestu, Emerson Etem, and others will be in NHL training camps trying to prove they have something left to offer at the highest level, while many other familiar names sit at home waiting for a call.

In the NHL, multi-year contracts given out to players over the age of 35 come with some added risk. If that player decides to retire at any point, the full average annual value is still applied to his team’s salary cap and he becomes a burden on the books. That only really affects teams that give out expensive deals to aging players though, and one-year contracts for those veterans can actually be quite beneficial to both sides. One-year contracts signed by players over 35 are eligible to include performance bonuses, something that cannot be given to most other players during their NHL careers. We’ve seen plenty of these contracts handed out in the past, and they can be a perfect blend of low risk for the club and high reward for the player.

Among the group that could still receive contracts like this are several very interesting names. Mike Cammalleri isn’t the same offensive player he once was, but still recorded 29 points in 65 games last season and likely could be had for near the minimum salary. He signed a one-year $1MM deal last season with the Los Angeles Kings, which included an additional $200K in bonuses. Scott Hartnell can’t bounce between first and third lines like he used to be able to, but he did find his way into 62 games with the President’s Trophy-winning Nashville Predators last season. Hartnell had 13 goals and 24 points in those games, and is still earning a solid paycheck from his buyout last summer.

Other names that could be considered include Antoine Vermette, Jussi Jokinen, Dominic Moore and Jason Chimera, all of whom have been big contributors in the past and played at least 50 games in 2017-18. So the question is who would you most like your team to sign? If you could get one of these players for the league minimum of $650K with some added performance bonus, who would it be? Cast your vote below and make sure to explain why in the comment section.

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Overseas Notes: Sandin, Taffe, Garbutt

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Murray Pam of Sporting News Canada is reporting that Toronto Maple Leafs first-round pick Rasmus Sandin will not return to the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the OHL next season, and is currently with Rogle of the SHL preparing for the season. The Maple Leafs could still assign Sandin to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies if they chose to, because the 18-year old defenseman was playing on loan to the CHL.

Toronto brought top pick Timothy Liljegren over right away and allowed him to play all season in the AHL last year, and could potentially do the same with their latest first rounder. That would allow the two to potentially play together on a Calder Cup-winning squad, but may block Sandin from receiving the same type of minutes that he would in the SHL. The Marlies currently project to have some combination of Martin Marincin, Calle Rosen, Andreas Borgman and Andrew Nielsen on the left side this season, which doesn’t leave a lot of room for Sandin to play big minutes.

  • HC Slovan Bratislava of the KHL have signed Jeff Taffe, the epitome of a professional hockey journeyman. Taffe, 37, played pro for more than a decade in North America, suiting up for 180 NHL games split between the then-Phoenix Coyotes, New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Florida Panthers, Chicago Blackhawks and Minnesota Wild before heading overseas to play in Europe and the KHL. He’s played in the SHL, KHL and NLA the last few seasons and will return to Slovakia to suit up for Slovan Bratislava this season. Once a first-round pick by the St. Louis Blues, Taffe has always been an incredibly talented offensive performer in the minor leagues and internationally, and will try to continue that at his advanced age in the KHL.
  • Speaking of HC Slovan, Ryan Garbutt won’t be playing for them again this season after signing in Germany’s DEL. Garbutt, a veteran of over 300 NHL contests, played for three different KHL teams last season after failing to find a job in North America. Once a 17-goal man for the Dallas Stars, the offense dried up for Garbutt fairly quickly and he found himself in the minor leagues for a good chunk of the 2016-17 season. At 33, it seems unlikely he’ll make a return to the NHL and will finish his career with 87 career points.

Sean Couturier Out Four Weeks With Lower-Body Injury

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The Philadelphia Flyers announced today that Sean Couturier would be out for the next four weeks with a lower-body injury, which was reported by TVA Sports last night to be a re-injuring of his knee. The injury occurred on August 10th, and Couturier will be limited during the start of training camp for the Flyers, but if everything goes right should be ready for the start of the season.

Couturier, 25, is coming off his best season as a professional and one in which he jumped from solid role player to elite two-way center. With Claude Giroux’s move to the wing in Philadelphia, Couturier was given the first line center role and ran with it, scoring 31 goals and 76 points while logging nearly 22 minutes a night. He finished second in Selke Trophy voting as one of the league’s best defensive forwards, and was recently ranked one of the top-20 centers in the entire league by the NHL Network and here on PHR.

In the postseason, Couturier collided with Flyers defenseman Radko Gudas in practice and injured the MCL in his knee forcing him to miss the fourth game of their series against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Incredibly, Couturier was able to return for the fifth and sixth games of the series, recording a five-point game in a series-losing effort in game six. That kind of production is what the Flyers hope to get from Couturier this season, and will likely play it slow to make sure that he’s fully ready for the start of the regular season. With the team expected to once again compete for a playoff spot, they’ll need their star center in the lineup for as many games as possible.

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