Headlines

  • Capitals’ T.J. Oshie Announces Retirement From NHL
  • Full 2025 NHL Draft Order
  • Islanders Continue To Lean Toward Matthew Schaefer At First Overall
  • Oilers’ Ryan Nugent-Hopkins Uncertain For Game 3
  • Teams Not Expecting Sam Bennett To Reach Free Agency
  • Ducks May Offer Record-Breaking AAV For Mitch Marner
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • MLB Trade Rumors
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors

Pro Hockey Rumors

  • Home
  • Teams
    • Atlantic
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Central
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Dallas Stars
      • Minnesota Wild
      • Nashville Predators
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Utah Mammoth
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • Metropolitan
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Pacific
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Partners
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Metropolitan Notes: Kuznetsov, Shumakov, Domoulin, Sullivan, Stolarz

September 15, 2018 at 6:55 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 1 Comment

The Washington Capitals can’t be happier with one of their top players in Evgeny Kuznetsov, who took that next step last year when the won the Stanley Cup, putting up career highs in goals scored and points with 27 goals and 83 points. However, general manager Brian MacLellan feels that he can do even more this year — help out on the penalty kill, according to the Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan.

That’s not a role that Kuznetsov has played much of over the course of his career. The 26-year-old has played a grand total of just 11 minutes over the last four years, which averages out to two seconds per game. However, while new head coach Todd Reirden probably won’t make too many changes to the team’s lineup after last year’s success, he has made it clear that he wants to make changes to their penalty kill, which was 15th in the league last year at 80.8 percent. One way to do that would be to inject more speed into it. That’s where Kuznetsov comes in, who could add a new element to their shorthanded line and perhaps improve his own defensive play at the same time.

“It’s a situation where we are going to try any option we can,” Reirden said. “We want to get better in that area, we need to get better in that area, and we’re going to be more aggressive, and if we’re going to be more aggressive then we have to have guys that can skate and think the game at a high level. He’s certainly one of many options we’re considering right now and he certainly seems to be up to the challenge.”

  • The Capitals are without recent signee Sergei Shumakov so far in training camp, according to NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti. The 26-year-old winger who has spent his entire career in the KHL, signed a one-year, entry-level contract worth $925K. Shumakov posted 17 goals and a career-high 40 points last year for CSKA Moscow. He is expected to arrive from Russia today.
  • Josh Yohe of The Athletic (subscription required) analyzes the play of Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Brian Dumoulin, who had a breakout season for Pittsburgh and who was arguably the team’s best player in their five-game series against the Washington Capitals in the playoffs last year. Domoulin, who partners with oft-injured Kris Letang, seemed to take off last year. Always a top defender, he even has started to show a little offense as he scored five goals. That may not sound like much, but considering his career-high had previously been one goal, that’s a big improvement. The team hopes he continues to get more involved in the offense this season.
  • In the same article, Yohe reports that head coach Mike Sullivan will miss a few days after the death of his father, George Sullivan. Assistant coach Jacques Martin will take over for Sullivan until he returns.
  • Sam Donnellon of Philly.com examines Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Anthony Stolarz, who just two years ago was looked at as a big part of the Flyers future. Fast forward to today and Stolarz is the fifth wheel in a goaltending system that already has too many goaltenders. Assuming things go as expected, the Flyers will be keeping Brian Elliott and Michal Neuvirth on their big-league club and will send Alex Lyon and top prospect Carter Hart to the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms. That leaves Stolarz, who missed most of last year after undergoing a second knee surgery. Donnellon writes while injuries are an issue amongst the veteran goalies, the likelihood that Lehigh Valley will institute a three-goalie system is unlikely, especially considering that the team needs to further develop Hart, their goalie of the future.
Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email

AHL| Mike Sullivan| Philadelphia Flyers| Pittsburgh Penguins| Washington Capitals Alex Lyon| Anthony Stolarz| Brian Dumoulin| Brian Elliott| Evgeny Kuznetsov| Kris Letang| Michal Neuvirth| Sergei Shumakov

Central Notes: Allen, Parayko, Jokiharju, Honka, Girard
Main
Salary Cap Deep Dive: Minnesota Wild
View Comments (1)

Comments

  1. Polish Hammer

    7 years ago

    Philly could keep Stolarz and then just place him somewhere else in the AHL that is short on goalies and would take that loan.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.

Log in Register

    Top Stories

    Capitals’ T.J. Oshie Announces Retirement From NHL

    Full 2025 NHL Draft Order

    Islanders Continue To Lean Toward Matthew Schaefer At First Overall

    Oilers’ Ryan Nugent-Hopkins Uncertain For Game 3

    Teams Not Expecting Sam Bennett To Reach Free Agency

    Ducks May Offer Record-Breaking AAV For Mitch Marner

    Maple Leafs Hire Derek Lalonde As Assistant Coach

    Avalanche’s Logan O’Connor Out 5-6 Months Following Hip Surgery

    Lightning Hire Dan Hinote As Assistant Coach

    Stars Fire Pete DeBoer

    Recent

    Free Agent Focus: New Jersey Devils

    A.J. Greer Set to Rejoin Panthers Lineup for Game 3

    Free Agent Focus: Nashville Predators

    Capitals’ T.J. Oshie Announces Retirement From NHL

    Full 2025 NHL Draft Order

    Islanders Hire Ray Bennett, Bob Boughner As Assistant Coaches

    Islanders Continue To Lean Toward Matthew Schaefer At First Overall

    Oilers’ Ryan Nugent-Hopkins Uncertain For Game 3

    Pro Hockey Rumors Commenting Policy

    Teams Not Expecting Sam Bennett To Reach Free Agency

    Rumors By Team

    Rumors By Team

    • Avalanche Rumors
    • Blackhawks Rumors
    • Blue Jackets Rumors
    • Blues Rumors
    • Bruins Rumors
    • Canadiens Rumors
    • Canucks Rumors
    • Capitals Rumors
    • Devils Rumors
    • Ducks Rumors
    • Flames Rumors
    • Flyers Rumors
    • Golden Knights Rumors
    • Hurricanes Rumors
    • Islanders Rumors
    • Jets Rumors
    • Kings Rumors
    • Kraken Rumors
    • Lightning Rumors
    • Mammoth Rumors
    • Maple Leafs Rumors
    • Oilers Rumors
    • Panthers Rumors
    • Penguins Rumors
    • Predators Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Red Wings Rumors
    • Sabres Rumors
    • Senators Rumors
    • Sharks Rumors
    • Stars Rumors
    • Wild Rumors

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Sam Bennett Rumors
    • Nikolaj Ehlers Rumors
    • Mitch Marner Rumors
    • Marco Rossi Rumors

    Pro Hockey Rumors Features

    Pro Hockey Rumors Features

    • Support Pro Hockey Rumors And Go Ad-Free
    • 2025 Free Agent Focus Series
    • 2025 Offseason Checklist Series
    • 2025 NHL Free Agent List
    • 2026 NHL Free Agent List
    • Active Roster Tracker
    • Coaching Staff Directory
    • Draft Order 2025
    • Trade Tracker
    • Pro Hockey Rumors On X
    • Pro Hockey Rumors Polls
    • Waiver Claims 2024-25

     

     

     

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives

    PHR Info

    • About
    • Privacy Policy
    • Commenting Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

    scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version