Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Archives for March 2019

Injury Updates: De La Rose, Stepan, Chabot

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Red Wings center Jacob de la Rose was removed from Tuesday’s game against the Rangers due to a cardiac episode.  Today, head coach Jeff Blashill told reporters, including Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press, that while the youngster is doing okay now, he’s not expected to accompany the team as their road trip works its way out West.  This is the second time this season that de la Rose has had this issue as it crept up at the end of training camp when he was still with Montreal which resulted in him opening up the year on injured reserve.  Since joining the team via waivers, the 23-year-old has nine points in 60 games while winning just over 42% of his faceoffs.

Other injury notes around the league:

  • The Coyotes could be getting a key piece of their lineup back very soon. Head coach Rick Tocchet told Craig Morgan of The Athletic (Twitter link) that center Derek Stepan is “very very close” to returning and could play as soon as this weekend.  The veteran was pegged to miss four-to-six weeks with a lower-body injury but he appears to be slightly ahead of schedule.  Arizona has a narrow lead on the second and final Wild Card spot in the West and they would certainly benefit from getting their forward ice time leader back in their lineup.
  • The Senators could soon have their top defenseman back. Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that Thomas Chabot could return to the lineup on Saturday in Edmonton despite being listed as out week-to-week last Monday.  The sophomore has been one of the few bright spots in Ottawa this season and is the highest-scoring player on their roster with 49 points in 62 games.  He’s likely to receive an invite to participate at the upcoming World Championships assuming his broken toe doesn’t present any additional issues upon his return.

Oilers Notes: Chiasson, Goaltending, Free Agent Target

at CDT | by 1 Comment

Despite their decision to hold onto him at the trade deadline, the Oilers have yet to engage in any discussions regarding a contract extension for winger Alex Chiasson, reports Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.  The 28-year-old is in the midst of a career season with 20 goals and 13 assists in 64 games and has provided Edmonton with some much-needed secondary scoring.  While it’s certainly possible that the team is waiting until a new GM is hired before commencing negotiations, interim GM Keith Gretzky has the green light to make personnel decisions like this.  While a 20-goal scorer could typically stand to land a nice deal on the open market, the fact that Chiasson has bounced around as of late will lower his value somewhat and may make him more open to signing a reasonable extension if the team decides to open up discussions.

More from Edmonton:

  • Despite his recent struggles, Mikko Koskinen is expected to remain the starter moving forward, per a TSN report. While that in itself isn’t entirely noteworthy, it will, however, make it difficult for the Oilers to retain Anthony Stolarz’s rights as a restricted free agent.  He needed to play at least 30 minutes in 10 games following his acquisition from Philadelphia to avoid unrestricted free agency.  Tuesday’s relief appearance was only his third and with only nine games left, it will be difficult for the team to get Stolarz seven more games with that much playing time if they intend to keep Koskinen as the starter.
  • Postmedia’s Jim Matheson believes that Edmonton will likely take a run at signing winger Daniel Carr this summer. The Alberta native signed with Vegas last summer in the hopes of finding a more permanent NHL role but has played only six games with the big club.  Instead, he leads the AHL in scoring with 71 points in 52 games and with the Oilers in need of cheap offensive-minded wingers, it appears that Carr could be a natural fit.

WHL Conference Awards, OHL Coaches Poll Highlight Top Prospects

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Canadian Hockey League remains the largest source of young talent in the world, sending nearly countless players into various professional hockey leagues every year. The WHL, OHL and QMJHL are continually being picked over for the next great NHL player, and while some slip through the cracks the majority of the top performers are snapped up by organizations at the draft.

Today the WHL released their conference awards, highlighting the very best performers from this year. This list is littered with NHL prospects, including some who will make their debut as soon as next season. Each of the conference winners are eligible for the overall awards which will be given out at the beginning of May. The list is as follows:

Eastern Conference Player of the Year: Trey Fix-Wolansky, Edmonton Oil Kings (Columbus Blue Jackets)
Western Conference Player of the Year: Joachim Blichfeld, Portland Winterhawks (San Jose Sharks)

Eastern Conference Top Goaltender: Ian Scott, Prince Albert Raiders (Toronto Maple Leafs)
Western Conference Top Goaltender: Dustin Wolf, Everett Silvertips (2019 draft eligible)

Eastern Conference Top Defenseman: Josh Brook, Moose Jaw Warriors (Montreal Canadiens)
Western Conference Top Defenseman: Ty Smith, Spokane Chiefs (New Jersey Devils)

Eastern Conference Rookie of the Year: Brayden Tracey, Moose Jaw Warriors (2019 draft eligible)
Western Conference Rookie of the Year: Lassi Thomson, Spokane Chiefs (2019 draft eligible)

Eastern Conference Most Sportsmanlike Player: Justin Almeida, Moose Jaw Warriors (Pittsburgh Penguins)
Western Conference Most Sportsmanlike Player: Cody Glass, Portland Winterhawks (Vegas Golden Knights)

WHL Top Scorer: Joachim Blichfeld, Portland Winterhawks (San Jose Sharks)
68 GP, 53 G, 61 A, 114 PTS

Read more

Washington Capitals Sign Joe Snively

at CDT | by 3 Comments

March 20: Snively has signed an amateur tryout with the Hershey Bears and will get some AHL experience before the end of the year.

March 18: The Washington Capitals have signed one of the top remaining college free agents, inking Yale University standout Joe Snively to a two-year entry-level contract. The deal will begin in the 2019-20 season, meaning Snively will not be able to help the Capitals down the stretch.

Snively, 23, apparently drew interest from more than 20 teams—though Snively himself told reporters that he was only negotiating with about five—after finishing his NCAA career, given his long history of offensive production. The 5’9″ forward recorded 139 points in 129 career games for Yale, never scoring fewer than 28 in a single season. Snively was a nominee for the Hobey Baker award this season after recording 36 points, but that was just another year for the elusive left-handed shot.

He could join the Hershey Bears on an amateur tryout for the rest of this season, but will almost certainly spend time in the AHL in 2019-20 unless he blows away the Capitals coaching staff at training camp. The team does need cheap contracts like this one moving forward, given they already have more than $70MM committed to just 14 players next season.

It’s important to note that the Capitals actually couldn’t have signed Snively to a deal starting this season because they are already at the 50-contract limit. The fact that they convinced him to join their organization even without burning a year right away is impressive, and will certainly help them keep costs down in the future.

Snapshots: Drury, Winnipeg, Savoie

at CDT | by 2 Comments

The U.S. Men’s National Team will be under new leadership moving forward, as Chris Drury has been named GM. Drury is currently serving as assistant GM with the New York Rangers, a position he will continue in along with this new role. John Vanbiesbrouck, assistant executive director of USA Hockey, explained the hiring:

We’re really happy to have Chris serving as general manager of our team. He knows what it takes to succeed at the international level, and working with our men’s national team advisory group, which brings vast experience, success and passion to the table, we have a tremendous group in place to build our team.

That advisory team is made up of several active NHL front office executives, including Drury’s boss in New York Jeff Gorton. The group will decide who will play in the upcoming World Championship, scheduled for May 10-26 in Slovakia. Drury has plenty of experience on the international stage, winning two Olympic silver medals and taking part in several other tournaments throughout his excellent playing career.

  • The Kootenay Ice have moved to Winnipeg for the 2019-20 WHL season, and will get a nice prize to start their run in the new city. The team today won the WHL Bantam Draft lottery, moving up one spot to get the first overall selection in the upcoming draft. The Prince George Cougars will pick second (with Swift Current’s selection) and fourth, while the Saskatoon Blades will be the third team up. Kelowna rounds out the top five of the draft, which will be held on May 2.
  • Unfortunately they won’t get a chance to pick Matthew Savoie with the top selection, as the 15-year old was denied exceptional status. In response to that, Savoie committed to the University of Denver for 2021-22, something his brother had already done previously. If he wants to maintain his college eligibility, Savoie will not be able to play anywhere in the WHL and instead will likely go the route of the USHL. That is, unless a favorable situation comes about at the 2020 bantam draft and he rescinds his commitment.

Elvis Merzlikins Signs Entry-Level Contract

at CDT | by 1 Comment

As expected, the Columbus Blue Jackets have officially signed goaltender Elvis Merzlikins to a one-year entry-level contract. The experienced Latvian netminder will burn through his deal this season, making him a restricted free agent in the summer but still under Columbus control. GM Jarmo Kekalainen had this to say about the newest member of the Blue Jackets organization:

Elvis Merzlikins is a big, athletic goaltender who has performed at a very high level in the Swiss League with Lugano and is ready to take the next step in his career. We think he is the best goaltender outside of the NHL right now and are excited about his future with our organization.

The 24-year old Merzlikins has shown what he can do against top competition several times in the past, most notably during the last three World Championships. The 6’3″ goaltender has led Latvia to respectable finishes despite their team being overpowered, racking up save after save against the more traditional hockey nations. Playing in Switzerland, he has twice won the Goaltender of the Year award and is usually a force in the playoffs—this year notwithstanding.

Originally selected in the third round five years ago, Merzlikins was happy to stay overseas until now. With Sergei Bobrovsky entrenched as the Columbus starter there was little opportunity for him to play in the NHL, but that all may be changing quite soon. Bobrovsky is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season, meaning there is a clear path to the starter spot for Merzlikins if he can continue to produce on the ice. That’s certainly not guaranteed, but Kekalainen isn’t alone in his assessment that Merzlikins is among the best goaltenders in the world outside of the NHL.

It will be interesting to see what kind of deal the two sides agree upon this summer. The league just saw Mikko Koskinen come into the NHL on a $2.5MM deal, only to be given a three-year $13.5MM extension before he’d even made 30 starts for the Edmonton Oilers. Koskinen was much older and had the benefit of being an unrestricted free agent, but still got paid before really showing what he could do over a long stretch. The Colorado Avalanche similarly signed Pavel Francouz last summer out of the KHL, but for only $690K. Francouz has been excellent in the AHL, but appeared in only two games for the Avalanche earlier on this season.

Interestingly Joonas Korpisalo (restricted), Keith Kinkaid (unrestricted) and Jean-Francois Berube (unrestricted) are all free agents this summer, meaning the Blue Jackets currently only have one goaltender—Matiss Kivlenieks, who has exactly zero games of NHL experience—under contract for next season. While that is a frightening situation for a team expecting to compete for the Stanley Cup, it also gives them ample flexibility to decide how to fill their net in 2019-20. Merzlikins is unlikely to get any NHL experience this year, but you can be sure he’ll be in the net at some point next season for Columbus.

No Extension Talks Between Vancouver Canucks, Jacob Markstrom

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Vancouver Canucks have had plenty of intrigue at the goaltender position this season, finding themselves without anyone to start in the minor leagues at various times. All that was caused by trading away Anders Nilsson, knowing that they wanted to give young up-and-comer Thatcher Demko a shot in the NHL. While Demko has looked fine in his five appearances, the more impressive run has been by 29-year old Jacob Markstrom.

Markstrom has a .929 save percentage over his last 14 starts, raising his numbers on the year to .915—the best mark of his career. He’s recorded a 26-20-9 record through 55 starts, an impressive total for a team that has lost more games than they’ve won overall on the season. While Demko may still represent the goaltender of the future, this run by Markstrom has definitely put himself in position for a potential extension. His current deal, which carries just a $3.67MM cap hit, expires after 2019-20 meaning he could sign an extension this July. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet though reports that there have been no talks yet between the two sides.

There’s good reason to believe that Markstrom has finally started to figure things out. He now has a .913 save percentage across his last four seasons, and has looked poised all year long behind an exciting Vancouver team. Remember this is a player that was selected 31st overall in 2008, and experienced incredible success early in his career. Markstrom was named the best goaltender at the 2008 World Junior tournament, carrying his Swedish team to a silver medal, and then won SHL Rookie and Goaltender of the Year after the 2009-10 season.

While the Canucks may not be competing for the Stanley Cup next season, their young core of Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser, Quinn Hughes and others are going to be pushing for the playoffs before long. The team will have to decide who they want backstopping that group, and whether they can afford to keep Markstrom around. Demko meanwhile is a restricted free agent this summer, but does not have arbitration rights and likely will have to settle for an inexpensive deal.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Ten Finalists Named For 2019 Hobey Baker Award

at CDT | by 3 Comments

The first round of voting has come to an end, and the ten finalists for the Hobey Baker Award have been named. 83 players were nominated for the award this year, and a fan vote was added to the opinions of NCAA head coaches to determine the final ten names.

The trophy is given to the top NCAA player in the country, and has an impressive line of winners over the past few years. In 2013-14, Johnny Gaudreau took home the award as a junior for Boston College, followed by Jack Eichel in his only year for Boston University in 2015-16. Jimmy Vesey, Will Butcher and 2017-18 winner Adam Gaudette don’t bring quite the same impact, but look like they’ll each have long NHL careers.

The award also has several top NHL alumni in its small fraternity, including Neal Broten, Tom Kurvers, Paul Kariya, Chris Drury, Ryan Miller and Brendan Morrison. With that group behind them, this year’s winner is certainly not someone to take lightly.

The finalists are as follows:

Joseph Duszak – Mercyhurst University (Toronto Maple Leafs)

Adam Fox – Harvard University (unsigned, Carolina Hurricanes)

Taro Hirose – Michigan State University (Detroit Red Wings)

Quinn Hughes – University of Michigan (Vancouver Canucks)

Mason Jobst – Ohio State University

Cale Makar – University of Massachusetts-Amherst (unsigned, Colorado Avalanche)

Patrick Newell – St. Cloud State University

Chase Priskie – Quinnipiac University (unsigned, Washington Capitals)

Jimmy Schuldt – St. Cloud State University

Nico Sturm – Clarkson University

Jimmy Howard Signs One-Year Extension

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Detroit Red Wings have signed veteran goaltender Jimmy Howard to a one-year extension. John Shannon of Sportsnet reports the deal will be for $4MM, and CapFriendly adds that he can earn up to $1.1MM in additional performance bonuses. Howard is eligible for performance bonuses as a 35+ player (as of the 26th) that is signing just a one-year deal. Scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, the goaltender has been open about his willingness to keep signing one-year deals as long as they keep him in Detroit. The deal will include zero trade protection.

Howard, who will turn 35 next week, has posted a .908 save percentage this season through 48 games and remains a solid option in net for the Red Wings. In fact, he outplayed Jonathan Bernier this season and could very well enter next year still ready to make the majority of the starts. While he was a potential trade candidate at the deadline, both sides had expressed a desire to keep him in Detroit all season and with a one-year deal there is little risk for the Red Wings. The team can ride him until he’s no longer effective, and Howard can retire having only ever played for a single organization.

Selected in the second round back in 2003, Howard starred at the University of Maine—recording an incredible .956 save percentage in his sophomore season—before jumping into professional hockey with both feet. After a few seasons as the starter for the Grand Rapids Griffins, he took over as the full-time NHL starter in 2009 and never looked back. Though he has dealt with injury, Howard never posted a save percentage under .906 during his decade as the starter for Detroit and twice received votes as a Vezina candidate. He has an all-time record of 240-171-68 in 509 regular season starts with the team.

The Wings are finally climbing out of the salary cap troubles they put themselves in over the past few years, and signing Howard to a one-year deal will only give them even more flexibility going forward. Bernier carries just a $3MM cap hit for the next two seasons, meaning the combined tandem is still not prohibitively expensive.

Dan Girardi Out Indefinitely With Lower-Body Injury

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

It seemed as though Dan Girardi was close to a return for the Tampa Bay Lighting, but any excitement should be tempered for now. The team today announced that Girardi will be out “indefinitely” with a lower-body injury. The 34-year old defenseman hasn’t played since March 7th, and Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times was told by head coach John Cooper on Monday that Girardi hadn’t suffered a setback. Still, it seems as though the Lightning will have to look elsewhere for the time being.

The Lightning certainly haven’t missed a beat with Girardi out of the lineup, winning their last five games to extend their lead and secure the Presidents Trophy. Still, he has been a valuable option for the team this season and his absence will only thin out their depth on the blue line. With the NHL playoff grind just around the corner, losing an experienced right-shot defenseman is never an ideal situation.

Experienced is certainly one way to describe Girardi, who has suited up for 139 playoff games during his long career, including 17 last season with the Lightning. While he has just 36 points in those games, he has averaged nearly 23 minutes of ice time including some incredible totals as a younger player in New York. The team will now have to rely even more heavily on Ryan McDonagh and Erik Cernak while short handed, especially until Stralman returns. Jan Rutta meanwhile will get an extended opportunity to show he can be a full-time contributor.

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

scroll to top