The Winter Classic has come and gone and as usual, the announcement of where next year’s event will be held was made. There were plenty of other newsworthy events around the league which are highlighted in the key stories of the week.
Rodrigues Wants Out: A year ago, it looked like Evan Rodrigues was settling in as a useful secondary scorer for Buffalo. He picked up a career-best 29 points and was awarded a $2MM contract in arbitration back in July. However, things haven’t gone so well this year. His role has been limited and he has spent considerable time as a healthy scratch and as a result, he has asked for a trade. The Sabres don’t appear to have any interest in playing him at the time being – they’ve given Dalton Smith a game (and 1:26 of ice time) and dressed seven defensemen over putting Rodrigues back in but at this point, it’s reasonable to assume that his trade value is low. Either GM Jason Botterill will have to sell low or they’ll have to get Rodrigues back in the lineup but this will be worth monitoring over the coming weeks.
Scandella, Frolik Get Dealt: In what basically amounted to a three-way trade, the Sabres parted with defenseman Marco Scandella while picking up winger Michael Frolik from Calgary. Scandella was sent to Montreal for San Jose’s 2020 fourth-round pick and then Buffalo flipped that to land Frolik. The Canadiens have been looking to upgrade the left side of their defense corps and have tried quite a few different players there already but Scandella’s history suggests he could have more of an impact. Meanwhile, a long list of injuries up front for Buffalo (the latest being Victor Olofsson) necessitated adding some forward help; Frolik gives them some versatility and someone with a previous track record of being a useful secondary piece. As for the Flames, they now have $4.3MM in full-season cap space to work with when they try to add to their roster between now and the trade deadline.
Another Injury In Pittsburgh: The Penguins have been hit extremely hard by injuries this season and they are now dealing with another one as winger Jake Guentzel is out for the rest of the regular season at least after undergoing successful shoulder surgery. The 25-year-old was coming off his first 40-goal season and was on pace to surpass his 2018-19 production before the injury as he had 43 points in 39 games while logging over 20 minutes a night in ice time for the first time in his career. The official timeline for recovery is four-to-six months so if it winds up being towards the shorter end, it’s possible that Guentzel would be available to return at some point in the postseason.
Extension For Holl: After hardly playing at all last season (just 11 games), Justin Holl got an opportunity to play more of a regular role with Toronto this year. He has made the most of it and has moved up the depth chart in recent weeks and has been rewarded for his efforts with a three-year, $6MM extension. There is some risk on both sides with the deal; the 27-year-old hadn’t played in 50 NHL games at the time the deal was signed and the contract represents a big commitment to someone with that little experience. However, if Holl continues to do well in a top-four role, the deal could certainly become a bargain as well.
Kovalchuk To Montreal: It took nearly three weeks for Ilya Kovalchuk to find his next place to play after agreeing to a contract termination with the Kings but he has resurfaced in the NHL, inking a one-year contract with the Canadiens. The deal will pay him the league minimum $700K in Montreal while also containing a two-way provision that pays $70K in the minors which may very well be in there to encourage a termination should things not pan out. The Canadiens are missing four regulars up front and they’re hoping that the veteran can give them a short-term boost until some of those players return.
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