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Oilers Likely To Turn To Free Agency For Goaltending Help

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Goaltending has been an issue for Edmonton over the past several seasons and new GM Ken Holland is certainly aware of that fact.  In an interview with TSN 1260 (audio link), he indicated that he’s likely to dip into the free agent market to find a platoon partner for Mikko Koskinen:

“Many teams have two goalies now. Ideally I’d like a goalie who could play 30-35 games and they challenge and push each other. Ideally I’d like one who has pro experience. I will talk to teams, but right now we likely will find one in free agency.”

Koskinen’s first full NHL season was full of ups and downs.  While he got off to a strong start, he wasn’t able to sustain it and in the end, he posted a 2.93 GAA with a .906 SV%, hardly the type of numbers that are worthy of a number one role.  However, he signed a three-year, $13.5MM extension just before former GM Peter Chiarelli was let go so he will be part of the plans for the foreseeable future.

As more and more teams look towards giving their starters more rest during the regular season, the market for veteran free agents that can make 30 or more starts in a season has certainly gone up.  Jonathan Bernier (three years, $9MM from Holland when he was in Detroit), Jaroslav Halak (two years, $5.5MM), Carter Hutton (three years, $8.25MM), Anton Khudobin (two years, $5MM), and Cam Ward (one year, $3MM) all signed contracts last summer that are well above what a typical backup gets paid and that’s the type of netminder that Holland appears to be coveting.

Unfortunately for him and the Oilers, their cap situation is rather restricted.  They already have a little over $71MM committed to just 15 players for next season.  While the Upper Limit is expected to go up this summer, they still will be in a situation where they can’t afford to spend too much to fill the various holes they have.  That said, bolstering their goaltending is a big need so if there’s any one spot that they need to spend on, it’s this one.

The good news for Edmonton is that there shouldn’t be a ton of demand for free agent goalies this summer and there is a reasonably strong supply.  While a starter like Sergei Bobrovsky is clearly out of the question, players like Petr Mrazek, Curtis McElhinney, Brian Elliott, Mike Smith, and Anders Nilsson all fit in the range of what they’re looking for – a capable veteran that can step in for a little bit as a starter if Koskinen is injured or struggles early on.  They’re all stopgap options but with Shane Starrett showing some promise in his second full professional season, that might be all they really need.

Poll: Who Will Win The Eastern Conference Final?

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The full schedule is not yet released, but we now know that the Boston Bruins and Carolina Hurricanes will kick off the Eastern Conference Final on Thursday evening at TD Garden. The two teams haven’t faced in a playoff series in a decade, and just the five times overall including two series when the Hurricanes were still known as the Hartford Whalers. In that 2009 series between the two, Carolina defeated Boston in seven games on an overtime winner by Scott Walker. In that deciding seventh contest, Rod Brind’Amour scored Carolina’s first goal, and will now try to defeat them again from behind the Hurricanes’ bench.

Even after walking through the New York Islanders in four games, the Hurricanes have a lot on their plate if they want to reach the Stanley Cup Final. Boston has already dispatched two strong teams in the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Columbus Blue Jackets, and have a goaltender playing some of the best hockey of his career. Tuukka Rask has posted a .938 save percentage through the first 13 games of the postseason, and looks as good as when he led the Bruins within two games of the Stanley Cup in 2013. While Zdeno Chara may be a few years out of his prime, the Boston defense has been excellent overall with huge contributions from Charlie McAvoy, Brandon Carlo and Torey Krug. Unfortunately McAvoy will be out tomorrow night as he serves his suspension, giving the Hurricanes a slight advantage to start the series.

If the Hurricanes able to overcome the Bruins, it will likely be on the back of one of the game’s best clutch performers. Carolina captain Justin Williams has long been known as “Mr. Game Seven” around the league for his heroics in do-or-die moments, and lived up to his name by setting up Brock McGinn in double overtime to dispatch the defending champion Washington Capitals in the first round.

Boston though have their own experienced performers, including Patrice Bergeron who continued to play excellent two-way hockey to lead the Bruins through the first two rounds. The four-time Selke winner has just eight points in 13 games, but can never be counted out with a trip to the Stanley Cup Final on the line. Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Krejci—three holdovers from the Bruins’ 2011 championship—have 19 playoff game-winning goals between them, including six in overtime.

In a year where seeds haven’t mattered and any playoff team can upset any other, it’s hard to name a clear favorite in the series. Boston will enjoy home ice, but the Hurricanes will try to storm in and take that advantage back right away. Cast your vote below on who you think will win, and comment down below how many games the series will go.

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Snapshots: Draft Rankings, Kovalchuk, NWHL

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The 2019 NHL Entry Draft is just over a month away, but the next few weeks could still determine the top few selections. Kaapo Kakko and Jack Hughes are set to battle head to head at the upcoming IIHF World Championship while playing with other NHL stars and their individual performances could determine the final outcome of June’s draft. It’s unsurprising then that Hughes and Kakko continue to lead Sam Cosentino of Sportsnet’s draft rankings, but it’s not like they’re the only ones still playing important hockey.

Bowen Byram, ranked third on Cosentino’s list, is currently leading the WHL playoffs with 23 points in 18 games and has a chance to even the championship series against Prince Albert tonight. Byram recorded 71 points in 67 games this season, and is the top defenseman available in this year’s draft. His placement at third is an interesting one though, as the Chicago Blackhawks who own the selection have drafted defensemen with their first two picks in each of the past two years—Adam Boqvist and Nicolas Beaudin in 2018, and Henri Jokiharju and Ian Mitchell in 2017. If the Blackhawks decide not to pick another blue liner they’ll have a few names to choose from, as prospects 4-10 on the list all skate up front.

  • Speaking with reporters including Igor Eronko of Sport-Express while working with the Russian national team, Ilya Kovalchuk explained that he is still motivated to play for the Los Angeles Kings and has reached out to some former players who spent time under head coach Todd McLellan. Kovalchuk clearly did not find the good graces of Willie Desjardins last season and ended the year with just 34 points while seeing fewer than 16 minutes of ice time in nearly half of his 64 games. The 36-year old winger has two years remaining on his $18.75MM deal signed last summer.
  • The NWHL is desperately trying to stay afloat after more than 200 of the best women hockey players in the world announced a boycott last week, but they’ll have to do it without the help of Kim Pegula, co-owner of the Buffalo Sabres. The Buffalo Beauts were the only team in the NWHL that shared ownership with an NHL franchise, but will now be operated by the league after Pegula announced that the relationship will be severed. As Hailey Salvian and Katie Strang of The Athletic (subscription required) write, the Beauts were the “gold standard” of the NWHL, mostly because of their relationship with the Sabres and access to resources other teams did not have.

Sharks-Avalanche Outcome Of Interest To Senators, Red Wings

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The Colorado Avalanche and Ottawa Senators seem to be inextricably linked this season. While GM Joe Sakic and the Avalanche were cheering on every Ottawa loss as a step closer to a top draft pick, Senators GM Pierre Dorion now gets his own chance to hope for a Colorado defeat. The Senators are one of two non-playoff teams hoping the San Jose Sharks can overcome the Avalanche tonight and advance another round. That’s because of the conditions on the Erik Karlsson trade from last season, which state that if the star defenseman re-signs in San Jose another second-round pick will change hands. That pick will upgrade to a first-round selection in 2021 if Karlsson re-signs and the Sharks reach the Stanley Cup final this season.

While obviously the Sharks want to win the Stanley Cup, just reaching it would certainly make any extension talks with Karlsson more interesting. The team has already traded away their first pick in this year and next year’s draft, meaning they could end up without one until 2022. There hasn’t been any indication which way Karlsson leans so far, as he is instead focused on the playoff run ahead of him. Sharks GM Doug Wilson though has always tried to retain his rental acquisitions, as evidenced most recently by the seven-year extension for Evander Kane.

The Senators aren’t the only team watching the outcome though, as the Detroit Red Wings also have some skin in the game. The Red Wings will see their 2020 third-round pick acquired for Gustav Nyquist upgrade to a second if the Sharks reach the Stanley Cup final this season or if he re-signs with them. Again, Nyquist has fit in quite nicely with the Sharks and could be a candidate for an extension, but the condition makes it more difficult from a San Jose perspective.

Obviously the Sharks would need to win another series against the rolling St. Louis Blues in order to get to the final, but they’ll have to get past the Avalanche tonight. As they try to slow down Nathan MacKinnon and company, they’ll have some cheerleaders from the Eastern Conference.

Julius Bergman Returning To Sweden

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As expected, prospect Julius Bergman has decided to return to Sweden and play for Frolunda during the 2019-20 season. The 23-year old defenseman is scheduled to be a restricted free agent this summer and will not be re-signing with the New York Rangers.

Amazingly, Bergman was involved in three different trades since the end of the 2017-18 season. After three seasons with the San Jose Sharks he was included in the original Mike Hoffman deal with the Ottawa Senators along with Mikkel Boedker. After just 33 games for the Belleville Senators of the AHL, Bergman was flipped along with Matt Duchene to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Since he had already indicated to the Senators that he wasn’t going to re-sign, the Blue Jackets also felt they had no need to keep him around and included him in the deal to acquire Adam McQuaid from the Rangers just a few days later. In ten games for the Hartford Wolf Pack, Bergman recorded two points.

Originally drafted 46th overall by San Jose in 2014, Bergman actually quickly came to North America to continue his development in the OHL. He recorded 42 points in 60 games for the London Knights during the 2014-15 season, while also suiting up for Sweden at the World Juniors and making his AHL debut at the end of the year. The young defenseman has shown some exciting offensive ability over the years but failed to really climb the depth chart in San Jose, and now will return to continue his development overseas. The Rangers can retain his rights for the time being by issuing him a qualifying offer, and hope that he changes his mind down the line.

Morning Notes: Flyers, Nutivaara, Duchene

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The Philadelphia Flyers will have an entirely new look behind the bench next season, with head coach Alain Vigneault and assistants Michel Therrien and Mike Yeo. Vigneault explained today to reporters including Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer how the assignments will be divided, indicating that Therrien will handle the powerplay and forwards while Yeo will construct a penalty kill and run the defensemen.

That leaves Ian Laperriere, who was retained from the previous staff, as the “eye-in-the-sky.” Laperriere will no longer coach the Flyers’ penalty killing unit, which has not performed very well under him in the past. The last three seasons the Flyers have ranked 22nd, 29th and 26th in the league a man down, never cracking the 80% mark.

  • Markus Nutivaara is dealing with a torn left oblique, suffered when Nikita Kucherov hit him in the first round. Kucherov received a one-game suspension for hitting Nutivaara from behind into the boards while he was already down, but the defenseman would not return to playoff action. Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch reports that it is normally a four to six week recovery time for this type of injury, which would obviously allow Nutivaara to be ready for training camp later in the summer.
  • Sticking with the Blue Jackets, Matt Duchene was once again asked about his pending free agency today and explained to team reporter Jeff Svoboda that he will explore his options but keep Columbus involved. Duchene experienced more playoff action this season than his entire combined career previously, but it still wasn’t enough to get a real sniff of the Stanley Cup. With 727 regular season games now under his belt, the 28-year old has suited up just 18 times in the playoffs.

Antti Niemi Linked To KHL

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The Montreal Canadiens are likely ready to give Charlie Lindgren a chance at the NHL in 2019-20, given that he will no longer be waiver-exempt. The team would need to expose the young goaltender to the rest of the league in order to send him down to the minors, meaning he very well could serve as Carey Price’s backup. That would mean there isn’t much room for Antti Niemi to re-sign with the team, which is why a report linking him to the KHL today doesn’t come as much of a surprise. Finnish newspaper Satakunnan Kansa is reporting that Niemi will join Jokerit for next season, though he is technically still under contract with the Canadiens until July 1st.

Niemi, 35, played in just 17 games with the Canadiens this season and struggled once again to the tune of an .887 save percentage. That poor performance comes after the Stanley Cup-winning goaltender rejuvenated his career in Montreal in 2017-18, going 7-5-4 with a .929 after failing to catch on with both the Pittsburgh Penguins and Florida Panthers. Niemi is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent this summer after his one-year, $950K contract expires.

Buffalo Sabres Sign Arttu Ruotsalainen

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May 8: The Sabres have made it official, announcing a three-year entry-level deal for Ruotsalainen.

May 5: The Buffalo Sabres look to be close to bringing in some young talent as The Athletic’s John Vogl reports that a Finnish source (Twitter link) has stated that the Sabres have come to a verbal agreement to sign Finnish prospect Arttu Ruotsalainen. The entry-level deal would be signed after the World Championships.

Vogl wrote a few days ago that one thing on Buffalo’s to-do list would be to sign Ruotsalainen as both sides had interest in getting a deal done. The 5-foot-8, 181-pound forward would be expected to start the season with the AHL’s Rochester Americans, but could be an interesting prospect as he is still just 21 years old. He is expected to play for Finland in the World Championships and then sign his contract, very similar to the Sabres’ signing two seasons ago of defenseman Victor Antipin.

Undrafted because of his size, Ruotsalainen had a breakout year with Ilves where he tallied 21 goals and 42 points in his fourth season in the Liiga, one year after posting nine goals and 20 points in 2017-18. He kept those numbers up during the playoffs, posting seven points in seven games. Despite playing center with Ilves, it is believed that the Sabres would be more likely to move him to the wing to account for his lack of size. Ruotsalainen coincidentally is teammates with the Sabres’ defensive prospect Oskari Laaksonen, who the team hopes to bring over in the next couple of years as well.

Atlantic Notes: Moore, Miller, Senators’ COO, Canadiens’ Backup

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With the news that Charlie McAvoy will miss Game One of the Eastern Conference Final, the Boston Bruins know that they will need someone else to step up and fill both his spot in the lineup and his considerable minutes. While the latter responsibility will likely fall to increased roles for Brandon Carlo and Torey Krug, as well as captain Zdeno Chara of course, someone will have to come off the bench and be ready to contribute. Who exactly that will be remains a mystery, but the pool of potential options has increased. Speaking with the media today, Bruins GM Don Sweeney revealed that John Moore will be available on Thursday and that Kevan Miller has not been ruled out either. Moore was injured early in the Bruins’ last series and did not return, while Miller has not played at all in the postseason while rehabbing a lower-body injury. Sweeney did not sound optimistic that Miller would be the choice for Game One, but did promise that the further the team plays into the postseason, the more likely it is that he will return to the lineup. Miller began the season as a top-six regular for Boston, as he has for several years now, but injuries cost him all but 39 regular season games. An especially injury-prone defense corps this season has helped the Bruins give the likes of Moore, Matt Grzelcyk, Steven Kampfer, and Connor Clifton all considerable play time, and head coach Bruce Cassidy has entrusted the youngsters Grzelcyk and Clifton with starting roles moving forward in the playoffs. If Miller is still unable to go on Thursday, the decision would thus come down to Moore versus Kampfer, with the latter providing a right-handed shot and more stable defense, but the former bringing more experience with the team and more puck-moving ability to help with McAvoy’s absence. It will be an interesting decision for Cassidy and his staff and one that could play a major role in the Game One result.

  • Ottawa Senators’ COO Nic Ruszkowski is leaving his post after just one year on the job. As The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch writes, this is yet another shake-up to a front office that is still searching for a President of Hockey Operations, not to mention a head coach. Garrioch reports that Ruszkowski’s departure has spurred the Senators to restructure their administrative structure, with several executives moving into new roles to take on some of Ruszkowski’s duties. While the team claims that this restructuring will “strengthen our club”, Ruszkowski’s unexpected resignation is yet another stain on a difficult season for the Senators and only adds to the mythos of owner Eugene Melnyk being a difficult individual to work for. The team has a lot of work to do this summer on all fronts and hopefully can get their front office sorted out sooner rather than later.
  • The Montreal Canadiens may be paying Carey Price $10.5MM per year, but that doesn’t mean they expect him to play in every game. Yet, Price started the second-most games in the league this season, making 66 appearances. The poor play of backup Antti Niemi forced head coach Claude Julien’s hand in many cases and the team has already told Niemi, an unrestricted free agent, that he will not be back. Simply promoting Charlie Lindgren likely isn’t a much better option either. Instead, Sportsnet’s Eric Engels writes that the Canadiens will looks for experience and value on the free agent goalie market this summer. Engels warns that Montreal should not overpay for a backup, given the investment in Price to be “the guy” for ideally 60 games or so each year, but also feels they need a trusted veteran who could step in as the starter in case of injury. A cost-effective, proven veteran goalie is not always an easy thing to find, but Engels does throw out the likes of Cam Talbot, should he opt not to re-sign with the Philadelphia Flyers, Brian Elliott, Curtis McElhinney, Anders Nilsson, Keith Kinkaid, and Michael Hutchinson as top options. In all likelihood, it will be one of those names backing up Price come October.

Vancouver Canucks Will Not Qualify Derrick Pouliot

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The deadline to make qualifying offers to restricted free agents is still more than six weeks away, but the Vancouver Canucks have given one of their impending RFA’s an early heads up. Sportsnet’s Rick Dhaliwal reports that the team has informed defenseman Derrick Pouliot and his representation that they will not qualify him this off-season. As a result, Pouliot will now be an unrestricted free agent this summer, free to sign with any team he likes.

This move is both surprising and unsurprising all at once. On one hand, Pouliot’s name is still associated with youth and upside. On the other, he has never lived up to his expectations and that “youth and upside” may have very well passed him by. The 25-year-old was the 8th overall pick in 2012 by the Pittsburgh Penguins and dominated the junior level with the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks before turning pro. In his first two pro seasons, Pouliot split his time between playing for the Penguins and putting up major numbers with their AHL affiliate and looked to be on the verge of a breakout in Pittsburgh. Instead, the 2016-17 season was a major disappointment; Pouliot was held scoreless in just 11 NHL games and his production dropped off in the minors as well. The Penguins dealt him to the Canucks that off-season in exchange for a mere fourth-round pick and Andrey Pedan, who never played a game in Pittsburgh and has since bolted for the KHL. Pouliot was handed a starting role in Vanouver last year and responded with a strong campaign. He set career highs across the board, recording 22 points in 71 games and playing second-pair minutes. He even showed he could be an adept shot blocker, knocking down 118 shots despite never previously displaying any ability in that area. However, just like in Pittsburgh, when Pouliot seemed primed to take the next step, it was instead a step backward. This year, he played in only 62 games, registered only 12 points, and saw his ice time and defensive responsibility cut back.

Likely contributing to the decision to move on from Pouliot is also the influx of young talent on the blue line in the Canucks’ system. With Pouliot stalling in his development, the team probably figured they would be better off using the roster space elsewhere. Heading into 2019-20, the Canucks will have ample competition for jobs even without Pouliot. Calder hopeful Quinn Hughes will lead a young unit that could include fellow top pick Olli Juolevi, undrafted free agents Mitch Eliot, Brogan Rafferty, and Josh Teves, mainstays Troy Stecher, Chris Tanev, Ben Hutton, and Alex Biega, and AHL standouts Ashton Sautner and Guillaume Brisebois, and that’s not even including unrestricted free agents Alexander Edler and Luke Schenn, both of whom would like to re-sign. There’s too many cooks in the kitchen as there is, so it makes sense that the Canucks have decided to move on from a player they feel was given a fair shot and didn’t make the most of it.

Pouliot isn’t in danger of being dismissed by every other NHL team though. On a Vancouver club that was not very good during his tenure, Pouliot still put up respectable offensive numbers and showed more of his defensive game than he did in Pittsburgh. Still a high-end skater who is only 25, it seems likely that there will be plenty of teams lining up this summer to give Pouliot another chance. This may be the last time that his name value helps him out however, especially after a down year, so look for Pouliot to choose a team where there is both a clear path to ice time, but also enough protection that he can continue to grow and round out his game without being overexposed.

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