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Archives for December 2018

Atlantic Notes: Point, Andersen, McAvoy, Helm

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With more and more rumors surfacing that many teams may consider handing out offer sheets this summer when a number of intriguing game-changing restricted free agents will be out there, one team that might have to worry more than anyone will be the salary-strapped Tampa Bay Lightning. The team will have quite a few cap issues this offseason, including a number of unrestricted defensive free agents in Anton Stralman, Braydon Coburn and Dan Girardi as well as multiple restricted free agents, including star center Brayden Point.

The fear is that a team might take advantage of Tampa Bay’s situation and make Point an offer that the Lightning would have trouble matching as they will be forced to make significant adjustments for the next several years with all the big-name players they have. However, The Athletic’s Joe Smith (subscription required) interviewed general manager Julien BriseBois about many topics, but the GM believes that offer sheets aren’t being utilized amongst NHL teams for a reason.

“I’m really not concerned at all about offer sheets,” BriseBois said. “I don’t see it happening. The way it’s set up, there’s no point in making an offer sheet unless you think you’re going to get the player. And teams match. You’re not going to let go of the good young players that are going to be good for your team for many years to come. So I don’t see it.”

BriseBois also pointed out that negotiations with Point will not begin until after the season and even if a team was able to get Point to sign an offer sheet, he believes that the team would have the time needed to move around pieces to retain Point.

  • Mark Zwolinski of The Star writes that Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock said that there is no rush when it comes to getting back goaltender Frederik Andersen, who is out with a groin injury. Andersen, who has played more minutes than any goaltender in the league so far in the past two years, is expected to work out with goaltending coach Steve Briere on Tuesday and could be cleared for practice on Wednesday, but whether he plays on Thursday afternoon or Saturday isn’t important to the coach. “Let’s make it clear, there’s no plan,” Babcock said.
  • Joe Haggerty of NBC Sports writes that Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy seems unlikely to play in Tuesday’s Winter Classic after not practicing Monday. If McAvoy misses Tuesday’s game, that will be the 23rd game that he has missed this season, which is starting to look like a pattern as he also missed 19 games in his rookie campaign last season. Haggerty suggests that if he continues to show an inability to stay on the ice, that could affect the big contract that many people expect McAvoy will get this offseason when he hits restricted free agency. He’s been compared to Drew Doughty, but Doughty has never missed more than six games in a season and has played a full 82-game schedule five times in his career.
  • MLive’s Ansar Khan writes that the Detroit Red Wings are close to getting back veteran Darren Helm and he could be back as early as Wednesday. The forward has been out since Nov. 17 with a shoulder injury. The 31-year-old has just one goal this season in 20 games after a 13-goal season a year ago.

Minor Transactions: 12/31/18

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On the last day of 2018, 26 of the league’s 31 teams will be in action. The day starts with an epic matchup between the Nashville Predators and Washington Capitals, and ends with a pair of Western Conference battles that could have a big impact on the playoffs. While teams prepare for 2019, we’ll keep track of all the minor moves they make today.

  • The Columbus Blue Jackets have recalled Eric Robinson from the minor leagues, after a great start from the former Princeton University standout. Signed last spring as an undrafted college free agent, Robinson played in one game down the stretch for the Blue Jackets but was held scoreless. That hasn’t been the case very often in the minor leagues, where the 23-year old forward has recorded 19 points in 33 games and is tied for second on the team in goals with 10.
  • C.J. Smith is on his way up to the Buffalo Sabres, recalled from the AHL today. Smith has followed up an outstanding first professional season with 29 points in 33 games this year, and is tied with Victor Olofsson for the Rochester Americans scoring lead. The 24-year old has two NHL games under his belt, but is still waiting to score his first goal at the highest level.
  • The Washington Capitals are preparing for the return of Brooks Orpik by assigning Tyler Lewington to the AHL’s Hershey Bears, his NHL stint over for now. Lewington played two games for the Capitals and actually recorded two points, also getting into a fight to kick off his NHL career.
  • Nicholas Baptiste is on his way up to the Nashville Predators, the first time he’ll be part of an NHL locker room that doesn’t belong to the Buffalo Sabres. Baptiste, 23, has 14 points with the Milwaukee Admirals this season after being acquired from the Sabres in early October.
  • While they deal with a lengthy injury to Dustin Byfuglien, the Winnipeg Jets will rely on their defensive depth to keep them afloat in the Central Division. Relying on that depth means Sami Niku is headed back to the NHL, where he could see some additional playing time. Niku played in five games earlier this season for the Jets but is still looking for his first point of the year.
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs have recalled Trevor Moore under emergency conditions once again, and the young forward will continue to fill in for the injured Zach Hyman and Tyler Ennis. Moore has two points in his first three NHL games and has injected some more speed into the Maple Leafs’ fourth line.
  • Egor Yakovlev has played 11 games with the New Jersey Devils this season, but for now he is heading back to the minor leagues. The team sent Yakovlev down before their afternoon tilt against the Vancouver Canucks.
  • The Ottawa Senators have officially placed Christian Jaros on injured reserve, according to CapFriendly. Jaros broke his finger while in a fight with Islanders’ Ross Johnston Friday and will be out for a month. The team already placed Thomas Chabot on IR further weakening the team’s defense.
  • He’s already playing, but before the game today, the New York Rangers activated defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk, according to CapFriendly. The 29-year-old was expected to miss two to four weeks with a separated shoulder, but has returned closer to the two-week mark. The veteran has struggled with injuries since signing with New York in the summer of 2017. Shattenkirk has appeared in 29 games this season, but has clashed at times with new head coach David Quinn, and is playing a career-low 18:23 of ATOI this season. He will attempt to boost those numbers again now that he’s healthy.
  • The Minnesota Wild announced they have assigned veteran defenseman Matt Bartkowski to the Iowa Wild of the AHL after their 3-2 loss to Pittsburgh today. That could suggest that defenseman Nick Seeler will be ready to return to the team for Thursday’s game at Toronto. Bartkowski played in two games filling in, scoring a goal Saturday.

2018 Year In Review: July

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2018 has been quite a busy year in the hockey world.  There have been several big trades and free agent signings, plenty of changes behind the bench, and much more.  Over the coming days, PHR will take a look back at the top stories from around the game on a month-by-month basis.  Next up is a look back at July, a month that featured plenty of movement around the league plus some other headlines as well.

July 1st Free Agent Activity: As always, the turning of the calendar of July meant the busiest day in the league in terms of player movement.  Several key players found new teams including Paul Stastny (Vegas), David Perron (St. Louis), and Ilya Kovalchuk (Los Angeles).  However, the biggest move was made by Toronto who convinced John Tavares to leave the Islanders and gave him a seven-year, $77MM contract for doing so.  All 31 teams had at least one move on this day and a full recap can be found here.

Kucherov Extension: Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov had a career year in 2017-18 as he reached the 100-point plateau for the first time in his career.  The Lightning responded by giving him an eight-year, $76MM contract extension that will kick in starting next season.  That deal (which also carries varying no-trade and no-move protection) already looks like it could be a bit of a bargain as he leads the league in scoring with 63 points in just 39 games heading into play on Monday.

Hossa Traded: Even though he had missed all of last season and had announced that his playing days were over, the Blackhawks were still able to get out of the remaining three years of his contract as he was dealt to Arizona in a seven-player swap.  Arizona also picked up Vinnie Hinostroza and Jordan Oesterle while Chicago got back a package highlighted by veteran center Marcus Kruger along with prospect MacKenzie Entwistle who has had a strong showing at the World Juniors so far.  While Hossa’s cap hit is at $5.275MM, his salary for each season is $1MM of which insurance will pay 80%.  As a result, the Coyotes were able to gain a couple of roster players for a cheap cost while the Blackhawks now have salary cap flexibility as they look to reshape their team.

Linden Resigns: During his time as Canucks team president, Trevor Linden spoke about building for the long-term.  They appeared to be heading in that direction before somewhat reversing course in free agency with the additions of some veteran players.  Three weeks after the free agent frenzy, Linden surprisingly resigned his post and while no official reason for his departure was cited by either side, the belief is that ownership was looking to shift more into a win-now strategy over Linden’s plan to oversee a slow build of the roster.

O’Reilly Trade: While free agency and contract extensions dominated most of the headlines on July 1st, there was a significant trade made as well with the Sabres shipping Ryan O’Reilly to St. Louis.  He was owed a $7.5MM signing bonus on the 1st which made that day a firm deadline of sorts and the deal pretty much came down to the wire.  Heading to Buffalo were Vladimir Sobotka, Patrik Berglund, Tage Thompson, plus first and second-round picks.  O’Reilly has played quite well in St. Louis despite their struggles as a team; he leads the Blues in scoring by ten points on the next closest player.  Meanwhile, Sobotka and Thompson have played minor roles in Buffalo while Berglund had his contract terminated earlier this month.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Oilers Looking For Right Wing Help And Are Shopping Ryan Spooner

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Although the Oilers were active on the trade front yesterday, it doesn’t appear that GM Peter Chiarelli is done just yet.  Sportsnet’s Mark Spector reports that Edmonton is shopping for help on the right wing and has made center Ryan Spooner available.  He noted on Twitter that Chiarelli tried to include Spooner in one of the trades from Sunday but was unsuccessful.

Spooner was acquired from the Rangers in mid-November in a swap of a pair of players who looked as if they could benefit from a change of scenery with Ryan Strome going the other way.  The deal hasn’t exactly worked out well to this point for Edmonton as the 26-year-old has just three points in 17 games while his ice time has been slashed to just 9:40 per night.  (Strome has fared slightly better with six points in 18 contests but remains a role player as well.)

He’s in the first season of a two-year, $8MM contract that the Rangers gave him to avoid salary arbitration over the summer.  New York is paying down $900K in each year which means that an acquiring team would be on the hook for the remaining $3.1MM.  While 2018-19 hasn’t gone well for him, he did put up 41 points in just 59 games last season so there may still be a team that thinks he’s worth taking a flyer on.  The Oilers have all three of their salary retention slots remaining if they need to hold back money to help facilitate a deal.

Edmonton’s right wing situation has long been a position of need.  While youngsters Jesse Puljujarvi and Kailer Yamamoto have shown some promise, they haven’t been able to hold down a spot on Edmonton’s top line.  Ty Rattie looked like he could contend for that spot in training camp but his regular season hasn’t been particularly strong.  Offseason signing Tobias Rieder has played both wings in the past but he too has not fared well this season.  All in all, those four have combined for just six goals on the season, hardly close to top-line production.

However, as is always the case when looking at trades involving the Oilers, a lack of salary cap flexibility will make things tricky here.  They’ll need to free up some space in order to bring Andrej Sekera off LTIR in the coming weeks so taking on any more salary will be difficult.  Looking to next season, they’ve already committed a little over $68.5MM to just 13 players per CapFriendly (and have both of their goalies set to become unrestricted free agents which will take up a big chunk of their remaining room).  With that in mind, Chiarelli will likely need to find a way to include Spooner in any trade if he wants to add another roster player in the weeks to come.

Poll: Will Michael Frolik Be Traded By The Deadline?

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Never one to stay quiet when he believes his clients are being shortchanged, agent Allan Walsh stepped up on Twitter last night in defense of Michael Frolik. Frolik was a healthy scratch for the Calgary Flames on Saturday night in an overtime loss to the Vancouver Canucks, something that clearly didn’t please his agent. Walsh suggested that sitting Frolik only devalued him as an asset, and could potentially be a ploy by head coach Bill Peters to get rid of the veteran forward:

Many people in Calgary have been reaching out asking why Michael Frolik is a healthy scratch. Keeping one of the teams most efficient and versatile forwards in the stands marginalizes and devalues a great team player. Head coach’s attempt to run a good player out of town?

Frolik for his part was extremely professional when asked about the tweets today, indicating that he just wants to help Calgary win. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been given a big opportunity to do that this season. In the games he has played outside of his injury and scratches, Frolik is averaging just 11:54 of ice time. That’s easily the lowest mark of his career, and five minutes fewer than he averaged last season even as he struggled to produce offense. He finished with just 25 points in 70 games last year, but that number actually may go down this season.

Incredibly, Frolik has just seven goals on the season and has yet to record a single assist. That from a player who has recorded at least 40 points in a season five times, and is carrying a $4.3MM cap hit through next season. That’s where it becomes tough for the Flames, who certainly don’t want that kind of money sitting the press box watching on a regular basis. Frolik is expected to get back into the lineup tonight against the San Jose Sharks, but moving forward it’s not clear if there is a real fit anymore.

The Flames added two other high profile wingers in the offseason in Elias Lindholm and James Neal, and though the latter has certainly not found his groove yet—Neal has just seven points in 38 games—the team is committed after signing him to a five-year contract. Frolik meanwhile could free up some valuable cap space if he was moved, and likely still has some value even with his depressed point production this year. The 30-year old forward is versatile enough to play various roles in an offense, and obviously has shown the ability to contribute offensively in the past.

Frolik does hold a 10-team no-trade clause, but with his agent publicly speaking out about the treatment he has received this year it may not be an issue at all for the Flames if they entertained offers. There’s no indication that GM Brad Treliving is doing that, but as the deadline approaches at the end of February the Flames are going to find themselves unable to add much for the playoffs if they don’t clear some cap space. Even past this year, the team is looking at a massive new contract for Matthew Tkachuk and a new deal for Sam Bennett without any substantial money coming off the books except Mike Smith’s $4.25MM cap hit.

Still, it’s hard to say for sure if the Flames will move Frolik in-season. There’s something to say for having experienced options ready to step into a larger role if someone is injured, and Calgary doesn’t want to jeopardize the good position they have put themselves in halfway through the year. The team sits in first place in the Pacific Division, but have several teams breathing down their necks to dethrone them at a moment’s notice.

So do you think they will move him before the deadline? Should they even be considering it? Cast your vote below, and explain your thoughts in the comment section.

[Mobile users click here to vote.]

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Snapshots: Three Stars, Lehtera, Caggiula

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The NHL released the Three Stars for last week, and at the top is a man who has been there before. Patrick Kane, the electric winger for the Chicago Blackhawks comes in at the top spot, after recording five goals in just two games. The Blackhawks haven’t had much to celebrate this season, but Kane provided the fans with two game-winners to get them on the right track around Christmas. Even in an extremely down year for Chicago, Kane is having an outstanding season with 50 points in 40 games. He’s on track to record the second 40-goal, 100-point season of his career, which in 2016 won him the Art Ross, Hart and Ted Lindsay trophies as the league’s best player.

In the other two spots are a pair of youngsters trying to stand up to players like Kane. Second place goes to Mathew Barzal, who finished his week by showing New York Islanders fans that they don’t need John Tavares anymore. Barzal recorded a hat trick while the team demolished Tavares and the Maple Leafs 4-0 on Saturday night. In third is a newcomer to the list, MacKenzie Blackwood. The New Jersey Devils goaltender has exploded onto the scene and posted another shutout this afternoon to improve his numbers even further. The Devils may have found their goaltender of the present, let alone the future.

  • Philadelphia Flyers forward Jori Lehtera has been charged with buying cocaine in Finland, according to Tricia L. Nadolny of the Philadelphia Inquirer, though the NHL denies that he has actually been legally served at this point. Lehtera denies all charges, while the prosecutors are seeking a five-month sentence. Obviously there is more to come in this story, but for now deputy commissioner Bill Daly has told the Inquirer “we will not be intervening at this point and will continue to monitor the legal proceedings.”
  • Drake Caggiula is part of the Chicago Blackhawks organization today, but it could have happened years ago had he made a different decision. According to Charlie Roumeliotis of NBCS Chicago, the Blackhawks pursued Caggiula out of college at the University of North Dakota and were a finalist for his services before he decided to sign and play with his childhood friend Connor McDavid in Edmonton. The team followed his progress and jumped at the chance to acquire him yesterday.

Los Angeles Kings Activate Jack Campbell, Send Cal Petersen To AHL

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Though he has played outstanding hockey since being recalled out of desperation by the Los Angeles Kings, Cal Petersen is heading back to the minors. The team activated Jack Campbell from injured reserve today after he suffered no setbacks during his conditioning stint, and assigned Petersen back to the Ontario Reign of the AHL.

Petersen, 24, played in 11 games for the Kings while Campbell and Quick were out with meniscus injuries, and showed that he could potentially be a future starter for the team as he posted a .924 save percentage and went 5-4-1. While that record isn’t outstanding, he was behind the league’s lowest scoring team and one that finds itself in last place. Now that Quick and Campbell are back, Petersen will have to go back to starting in the AHL and wait for his next chance.

When that chance will come though is anyone’s guess. Quick is the obvious starter in Los Angeles for the time being, given his history as an elite goaltender in the league. Just last season he posted a .921 save percentage and dragged the Kings to the playoffs, only to see them unable to score in a whitewashing at the hands of the Vegas Golden Knights. The Kings have a lot invested in Quick, as his current contract continues through 2022-23 and carries a $5.8MM cap hit.

Campbell meanwhile is only 26 himself and has turned his career around since moving to Los Angeles. The former top prospect is signed for just $675K this season and next, but has been great for the Kings in backup duty. In 13 games this year the 11th overall pick from 2010 has a .923 save percentage and is an extremely inexpensive option at the NHL level.

The question though, is whether the Kings could get anything of value for one of their NHL netminders and promote Petersen in his place. The 10-year extension that Quick signed in 2012 came with no trade protection at all, and being front-loaded as it is may be of some value to another team. He’ll earn $7MM next season before seeing his salary drop to $3.5MM or less in the final three years of the deal. If he’s playing at a championship level, perhaps a team takes a chance to see if they can squeeze another few playoff rounds out of him.

For now Petersen will have to be patient, something he understood when signing with the Kings. Originally drafted by the Buffalo Sabres, Petersen left college early and waited to become an unrestricted free agent before picking Los Angeles for his first professional contract. He saw Quick ahead of him on the depth chart then, and he sees him still. There’s plenty of time for him to continue to hone his game, though he’ll be in a better situation this summer after getting his feet wet in the NHL. Petersen is an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent, and should be able to secure a more lucrative deal given his obvious upside.

Phil Di Giuseppe, Jason Garrison Placed On Waivers

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Just a day after acquiring him from the Edmonton Oilers, the Chicago Blackhawks have placed Jason Garrison on waivers. The veteran defenseman will be joined by Carolina Hurricanes forward Phillip Di Giuseppe, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

Garrison, 34, was included alongside Drake Caggiula in the package that sent Brandon Manning back to Edmonton, but apparently isn’t in the NHL plans for the Blackhawks. Chicago had been looking for ways to rid themselves of Manning in order to give more ice time to their young defensemen, and apparently agreed to take Garrison off the Edmonton books without much use for him. Given the $650K cap hit he carries, Garrison would be completely buried in the minor leagues and not take up any salary cap for the Blackhawks while giving them an experienced option if injuries ever struck. That’s exactly the role he played last year with the Vegas Golden Knights, when he suited up 58 times for the Chicago Wolves. This would appear to be the end of Garrison’s NHL career, though there may be another team who offers him a professional tryout again next summer.

For Di Giuseppe, things are much different. The 38th overall pick from 2012 is still just 25 years old and has actually shown flashes of solid performance at the NHL level. Despite that, he can’t seem to keep him self up with the Hurricanes and will be available for the entire league once again. In 21 games this season, Di Giuseppe has just four points.

Brian Elliott To Avoid Surgery, Return In A Few Weeks

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Though the Philadelphia Flyers are sitting in last place in the Metropolitan Division, they haven’t yet thrown in the towel. Several injured goaltenders are still working to try and get back to the team, and today GM Chuck Fletcher told reporters including Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer that Brian Elliott will not require surgery. Elliott should be back in three weeks, which makes him an interesting trade candidate at the deadline if the Flyers haven’t climbed back into the playoff picture.

Elliott, 33, is on the final year of his current contract and carries a $2.75MM cap hit. He could very well be heading for unrestricted free agency in the summer given the emergence of Carter Hart as the likely starting option next season, meaning he could be a short-term rental for a playoff team looking for some veteran depth. Sometimes it’s easy to forget that at one point Elliott was considered a premiere starter in the league, twice leading the league in save percentage as a member of the St. Louis Blues and even earning some Hart Trophy votes in 2011-12.

Now years removed from that performance, Elliott still wasn’t the biggest problem in Philadelphia before his injury. Posting a .911 save percentage in 14 appearances, he looked more than capable to carry at least a partial starter load or perform as the reliable backup. That’s something that playoff teams may be interested in, especially if they’ve dealt with injury concerns to their number one options already. The Toronto Maple Leafs, for instance, just went out and spent a draft pick to acquire Michael Hutchinson to give them some more experience at the position, knowing that they were a few injuries away from having Kasimir Kaskisuo suit up for a first round playoff game.

There is also the opportunity for Elliott to show that he can be a useful backup and mentor to Hart going forward, and perhaps sign an extension with the Flyers. It’s not clear how the goaltending situation will shake out exactly given the pending UFA status of both Elliott and Michal Neuvirth, meaning the stretch run could be a showcase for both of them to prove they can still help the team going forward.

Five Key Stories: 12/24/18 – 12/30/18

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This past week was a fairly quiet one around the hockey world with the NHL being shut down for three days.  However, there were some notable events around the league over the past few days which are highlighted in our top stories of the week.

Oilers Add Defense: With Oscar Klefbom, Kris Russell, and Andrej Sekera all injured, Edmonton GM Peter Chiarelli decided to shake up his back end with a pair of trades.  First, he acquired Alex Petrovic from Florida in exchange for Chris Wideman and a 2019 third-round pick.  He’s only a couple of years removed from being an important part of Florida’s blueline but has been more of a depth player since then.  After that, the Oilers picked up Brandon Manning and the rights to Robin Norell from Chicago in exchange for Drake Caggiula and Jason Garrison.  Manning had indicated earlier that he’d be open to a move and he got his wish with this trade.  Manning ($2.25MM) and Caggiula ($1.5MM) both have one year left on their contracts so the Oilers are adding a bit of salary beyond this season which is notable given their limited flexibility.

Key Defensemen Injuries: A pair of Central Division teams were dealt tough blows on the injury front.  Wild defenseman Mathew Dumba will miss at least the next three months after undergoing surgery to repair a ruptured right pectoralis muscle.  While there’s still a chance he could return in the final week or two of the season, it’s still a huge loss for Minnesota as he is one of their top rearguards while sitting second in the league for goals by a blueliner.  Meanwhile, Winnipeg’s Dustin Byfuglien will miss at least a month with a left leg injury.  Early indications are that he could be out longer but there won’t be an update until closer to the All-Star break.  The veteran was quietly off to his highest point per game average of his career while averaging 24:30 per night.

Guentzel Extension: The Penguins have locked up one of their forwards for the long haul, signing Jake Guentzel to a five-year, $30MM extension.  The 24-year-old is in the final year of his entry-level contract but is averaging close to a point-per-game this season in a breakout year.  The deal will make him the fourth-highest paid forward in Pittsburgh behind Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Phil Kessel.  That’s quite a salary level to get to for a player who hadn’t established himself in the league just two years ago.  However, if he continues to produce at his current pace, the contract has the potential to be a bargain for the Penguins before too long.

Dallas CEO Sounds Off: The Stars have not had consistent performances from star forwards Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn and team CEO Jim Lites decided to send a very public message to voice his displeasure.  What’s notable about this particular expletive-filled rant is that it wasn’t a spur of the moment event but rather a planned one as he had called in some team reporters in to make that statement.  The NHLPA released a statement on Sunday condemning Lites’ comments, calling them “reckless and insulting”.  It’s certainly going to be worth watching to see if this helps Seguin and Benn reach a higher level or if this could be an issue that gets bigger down the road.

Ottawa Injuries: This season has not been kind to the Senators when it comes to injuries and things just got a whole lot worse over the past seven days.  Goalie Craig Anderson was diagnosed with a concussion and with Mike Condon in the minors (and injured), they’re now rolling with a tandem of AHL veteran Mike McKenna and youngster Marcus Hogberg, who made his NHL debut on Saturday.  Meanwhile, the team will also be without top blueliner Thomas Chabot for roughly three weeks due to an upper-body injury.  The 21-year-old is tied for second in the NHL in points by a defenseman and leaves a gaping hole on an Ottawa back end that isn’t particularly deep.  The Senators are currently last in the Atlantic Division and these injuries won’t make it any easier to get out of there.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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