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Five Key Stories: 2/17/20 – 2/23/20

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The week before the trade deadline is usually full of newsworthy events.  This past week was no exception although a lot of the news didn’t pertain to the trade market.

Bogosian Hits The Market, Then Joins Tampa: After making it through waivers unclaimed, defenseman Zach Bogosian refused to report to AHL Rochester, Buffalo’s affiliate.  He was promptly suspended without pay but instead of leaving it at that, the Sabres then placed him on unconditional waivers and after he went unclaimed, they terminated his contract without any lingering cap charges or money owed.  He wasn’t a free agent for long, however, as he has already reached an agreement with Tampa Bay on a one-year deal worth a pro-rated $1.3MM.  By going this route over reporting to the AHL, Bogosian is leaving quite a bit of money on the table but gets the chance to play for a playoff contender.

Martinez To Vegas: Tuesday and Wednesday represented a run on defensemen trades but only one of those involved a blueliner that’s signed through next season.  That player was Alec Martinez who the Kings traded to the Golden Knights in exchange for a pair of second-round picks.  While Martinez missed 18 games earlier this season due to a wrist laceration, he is still a capable defensive defender that should be able to come in and help stabilize the back end for Vegas while they maintain their track record of not adding rental players.  (Those that were added on expiring deals had extension agreements in place at the time they were acquired.)

Canucks Add Toffoli, Lose Boeser: The Canucks made an early splash on the trade front, acquiring Tyler Toffoli from the Kings in exchange for winger Tim Schaller, prospect Tyler Madden, a 2020 second-round pick, and a conditional 2022 fourth-rounder that’s contingent on Toffoli re-signing with Vancouver.  On the surface, it looked like a strong attack was getting even stronger but it was revealed soon after that winger Brock Boeser will miss the next eight weeks due to a rib injury, one that won’t acquire surgery.  Toffoli will serve as a capable replacement for Boeser to help try to keep Vancouver in the mix while in Madden, the Kings add a prospect that has vastly outperformed his draft status and is one of the top scorers in the NCAA this season.

Bruins Get Kase: The Bruins had been shopping for a right winger for a while.  They had also been shopping David Backes for a while.  Those two elements came together as Boston picked up Ondrej Kase from the Ducks in exchange for Backes, their 2020 first-round pick, and defense prospect Axel Andersson.  Boston also is retaining 25% of Backes’ $6MM AAV.  Kase has shown flashes of being a quality offensive threat in the past but has also battled bouts of inconsistency and injuries.  He’s signed through next season at a team-friendly $2.6MM AAV and will be a restricted free agent after that which means he could be around for a while which makes it easier to part with the first-rounder.  Meanwhile, the Ducks utilized their cap space to add an extra first-round selection plus a decent prospect while they should have a use for Backes who is signed through next season.

Bjorkstrand Out For A While: Despite losing several top players and a ridiculously long list of injuries to key players, the Blue Jackets are right in the thick of the playoff race in the ultra-tight Metropolitan Division.  That battle just got a lot harder when they announced that winger Oliver Bjorkstrand will miss the next eight-to-ten weeks due to a sprained and fractured ankle.  The 24-year-old is their leading goal-getter this season with 21 which is particularly notable considering that they’re in the bottom five in the league in goals scored.  That could force GM Jarmo Kekalainen to try to make at least a small move to try to replace some of that offense over the next few hours.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

PHR Originals: 2/17/20 – 2/23/20

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With the trade deadline almost here, there has been plenty of original content here at PHR over the past seven days and those articles are highlighted here.

We wrapped up our trade deadline primers for the Metropolitan Division with Gavin breaking down the situations for the Rangers, Flyers, Penguins, and Capitals.  The latter three are all likely to be buyers although limited cap space could have them shopping for depth players.  New York is interesting – while they’ve been perceived as a likely seller, they’re not that far out of a Wild Card spot either so it’s far from a guarantee that they go that route now.

Last up is our tour of the Central Division.  I previewed the Blackhawks, Avalanche, and Blues while Holger did the same for the Stars, Wild, and Predators.  Of those teams, Colorado may be the one to keep an eye on in the hours leading up to the deadline as they have plenty of cap space and roster spots to fill due to injuries.

Gavin held his weekly Thursday chat.  While the trade deadline dominated the topics, other discussion points included a pair of rookie wingers that have been big surprises this season, the surprising Blue Jackets, Dustin Byfuglien’s playing future, and more.

In our Trade Candidate profiles, the focus has predominantly been players that are going to fill an important role on a contender but there are often players that are moved simply to improve depth going into the playoffs.  Buffalo winger Conor Sheary is one of those players; I examined what teams he could fit in on if a team decides to make a late move for him on Monday.

Part two of our mailbag is now available.  Topics included the willingness for teams to consider chemistry at the junior level in determining player acquisitions, Henrik Lundqvist and Brady Skjei’s future with the Rangers, Detroit’s dilemma with Andreas Athanasiou, and more.

Wild To Host Blues In 2021 Winter Classic

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Earlier this month, the NHL revealed that Carolina would be hosting their first-ever outdoor game next season (against an opponent that’s yet to be determined) but it wouldn’t be in the Winter Classic.  Now, we know which two teams will be competing on New Years’ Day as the league announced that the Wild will host the Blues for the 13th edition of the event that first began in 2008. It will be the 31st outdoor game in NHL history.

This will be Minnesota’s first-ever time hosting the event though it won’t be their first outdoor game.  They hosted a game against Chicago as part of the Stadium Series back in 2016 and won that game 6-1.  Meanwhile, this will also be the second time that St. Louis plays outdoors.  They hosted the 2017 edition of the Winter Classic (also against Chicago) and won that game 4-1.

That will be the only other outdoor game on the schedule for the 2020-21 season.  There have been talks about another Heritage Classic game in Canada but that won’t come until 2021-22 at the earliest.

Trade Deadline Primer: St. Louis Blues

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With the trade deadline now just hours away, we continue our look at the teams in the Central Division.  Where do they stand, what do they need to do, and what assets do they have to fill those needs?  Next up is a look at the St. Louis Blues.

The defending Stanley Cup champions have had a largely successful season.  They’ve been among the top teams in the Central pretty much all season long and are in first place in the conference at the moment despite injuries to several key players.  However, it’s that injury situation coupled with limited cap room that makes it likely that St. Louis will have a quiet trade deadline.

Record

35-17-10, first in the Central Division

Deadline Status

Limited Buyer

Deadline Cap Space

$7.991MM in a full-season cap hit (using LTIR), 0/3 used salary cap retention slots, 47/50 contracts per CapFriendly

Upcoming Draft Picks

2020: STL 1st, STL 3rd, STL 4th, CAR 5th, STL 5th
2021: STL 1st, STL 3rd, STL 4th*, STL 5th, STL 6th

* – If St. Louis makes the Western Conference Final this year with Marco Scandella playing in at least half of their games or Scandella re-signs before the start of next season, the pick will transfer to Montreal.

Trade Chips

Options here are minimal with most of their listed cap space tied to Vladimir Tarasenko ($7.5MM) staying on LTIR.  He’s expected to be activated before the end of the season so they’re in a situation where they’d likely need to match money to make a deal.

One roster player that could go is Jacob de la Rose.  Acquired early in the year from Detroit, his role has largely been minimal.  He’s someone that could be a non-tender candidate as things stand to save a few bucks for next season but at the same time, he’s still only 24 but has over 200 games of NHL experience.  A rebuilding team looking to add a defensive forward could have some interest in his services.  Veteran winger Troy Brouwer recently cleared waivers and if there was a team that was willing to give him NHL time down the stretch, they’d probably move him on.  Beyond that, there aren’t many likely candidates to go.

In a bigger move, center Tyler Bozak makes some sense as his $5MM AAV for this season and next is a bit pricey for his third line role most of the time.  GM Doug Armstrong has said any moves he makes from here on out would likely be ‘hockey deals’ and something with Bozak could make that happen.

At the AHL level, defenseman Jake Walman is someone whose stock has dropped lately.  At 24 with very limited NHL time under his belt, his NHL prospects are starting to thin out so a change of scenery could be in his best interest.  A swap of AHL players involving him might draw some interest.  Beyond that, there isn’t much to consider with a limited set of draft picks (including the second rounders that are popular trade chips at this time) and a lower-end prospect pool.

Five Players To Watch For: F Tyler Bozak F Troy Brouwer, F Jacob de la Rose, F Austin Poganski, D Jake Walman

Team Needs

1) Scoring Depth: With Tarasenko out, they’ve counted on the rest of the forwards to pick up the slack.  They’ve done so for the most part as they’re in the top half of the league in scoring.  If they could find a cheap option for their bottom six, it would give them just a bit more offensive punch and a bit of a hedge against injuries.  Moving de la Rose for this player could be a possibility and would basically be the opposite of the move they made to acquire him when they moved Robby Fabbri to get him.

2) Veteran Spare Defenseman: This isn’t a big need but given the extremely limited scope of what they can do, this could be on Armstrong’s list.  Adding another veteran defender that can be stashed at the AHL level and be called upon if injuries arise would be nice.  They have Derrick Pouliot and Jake Dotchin as options already but finding an upgrade on them would give them someone they’re more comfortable using if it comes to it.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Capitals Acquire Ilya Kovalchuk

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The Capitals have added some offensive depth for the stretch run as they have acquired winger Ilya Kovalchuk from the Canadiens in exchange for their 2020 third-round pick.  Both teams have confirmed the swap.  The 36-year-old will now be joining his third team of the season.

Kovalchuk started the season with the Kings but some early season struggles led to a long-term stint as a healthy scratch.  Once the remainder of his signing bonus was paid out, the two sides agreed to a mutual contract termination.  However, it took until early January for him to find a new home when he joined Montreal.

He made an immediate impact with the Canadiens, recording five goals and five assists over his first dozen games with the team.  While he tailed off a bit since then, he leaves them with 13 points over 22 contests which is a pretty good return on a pro-rated league minimum contract of $700K.  TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie reports (Twitter link) that Montreal will retain half of that on their books as part of the deal.

While he averaged nearly 19 minutes a night with the Canadiens, his role will likely be much lower with Washington.  Kovalchuk should slot in on their third line and give them another weapon for an already strong power play.  It’s a reasonable price tag to pay for veteran depth while for Montreal, they turn someone they signed for nothing into another draft pick, giving them 13 for the upcoming draft which they will host in June.

Kovalchuk is now on the books for four different teams at the same time which is a first.  He’s on New Jersey’s cap for salary cap recapture from his initial retirement.  He remains on Los Angeles’ books as his contract was a 35+ deal so despite the termination, his full cap hit remains.  Meanwhile, Montreal and Washington are both responsible for a pro-rated $350K from this deal.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Lightning Sign Zach Bogosian

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Zach Bogosian’s time as an unrestricted free agent was short-lived.  The Lightning announced that they’ve signed him to a one-year deal worth a pro-rated $1.3MM.

It has been an interesting last week for the 29-year-old.  After asking for a trade, the Sabres found no takers and decided to waive him.  Due to his $5.143MM AAV, he went unclaimed and was assigned to the AHL.  However, he chose not to report and was suspended without pay.  Buffalo then played him on unconditional waivers on Friday for the purposes of terminating his contract and once he cleared on Saturday, he became a free agent.

While he struggled with the Sabres both in terms of his on-ice play and staying healthy (he played in just 19 games this season, recording six points while logging a career-low 16:50 per contest), Bogosian should be a good fit with Tampa Bay.  Erik Cernak was injured on Saturday while Ryan McDonagh and Jan Rutta are still working their way back from injuries as well.  As a result, there’s an immediate need for him to step in and even if he was to fall out of their top six when everyone is healthy, he’d serve as capable injury insurance down the stretch and for what could be a lengthy playoff run.

TSN’s Darren Dreger was the first to report that Bogosian had reached an agreement with Tampa Bay.

East Notes: Bogosian, Chabot, Brassard, Lightning, Red Wings

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After clearing unconditional waivers Saturday, the market for defenseman Zach Bogosian has become quite intense as teams are looking to pick up a veteran blueliner on the cheap with the trade deadline prices for rentals being extremely high at moment. In fact, three teams are currently the frontrunners for the veteran’s services, according to TSN’s Darren Dreger, including the Carolina Hurricanes, Pittsburgh Penguins and the Arizona Coyotes.

Carolina was already rumored to be looking for help on their blueline, but with the injury to Brett Pesce Saturday night in Toronto as well as the injury to Dougie Hamilton, the team is pushing even harder to add some depth. Pittsburgh is another candidate as they wait for the returns of Brian Dumoulin and John Marino. Arizona is a new candidate after the injury to Jakob Chychrun to an injury that looks to be serious.

Bogosian might serve as a band-aid for these teams, even though he has appeared in just 19 games this season.

  • The Ottawa Senators could breathe easier today when they learned that defenseman Thomas Chabot, who left Saturday night’s game with a lower-body injury, suffered just a minor injury, according to TVA’s Renaud Lavoie. Apparently the injury is just a bruise. The 23-year-old tried to test his knee during a TV timeout Saturday, but could not go on it. While Chabot’s offensive numbers have been down this season, five goals and 33 points in 62 games, the blueliner has logged a career-high in minutes at 25:43.
  • Newsday’s Andrew Gross reports that New York Islanders forward Derick Brassard skated Sunday for the first time since suffering a samll fracture to his cheek after taking a puck to his head on Wednesday in Colorado. He is considered day-to-day, but has cleared concussion protocol, although he said that he is still dealing with some nausea. “I had a broken jaw so I had a plate [inserted],” Brassard said of a previous injury. “I got hit just above it. I’m lucky a little bit. When I was down, I thought my ear had split in half because of the pressure.”
  • With injuries to defensemen Ryan McDonagh and Erik Cernak, the Tampa Bay Lightning, who already have been active before the trade deadline, could be looking to add to their defensive core, according to The Athletic’s Joe Smith (subscription required). Tampa Bay already moved a first-round pick and top prospect Nolan Foote to New Jersey for forward Blake Coleman. However, since there is no word yet on the severity of Cernak’s injury, it’s possible that general manager Julien BriseBois could add even more as he’s “always on the lookout for an opportunity to improve.”
  • MLive’s Ansar Khan reports that the Detroit Red Wings are holding out defenseman Mike Green and forward Andreas Athanasiou from Sunday’s game against Calgary. According to the Red Wings, they have both been scratched due to “asset management,” meaning both players are likely candidates to be traded by Monday.

West Notes: McDavid, Kuemper, Holland, Lehner, Samberg, Simmonds

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The Edmonton Oilers are getting back a familiar face in Connor McDavid as the team announced the star forward returns tonight against the Los Angeles Kings. That might be perfect timing with Edmonton barely holding onto third place by just one point, although they are also just one point away from second place. McDavid has missed six games with a quadriceps injury.

In fact, it looks like McDavid will be teamed with Sam Gagner and Alex Chiasson for Sunday’s game and is expected to join the power play. McDavid has 31 goals and 81 points through 55 games this year and should be able to add some extra offense for the Oilers for the team’s stretch run. The Oilers have gone 3-2-1 without their star player.

  • It looks like the Arizona Coyotes will get a significant boost to their team as well. The Coyotes announced they have recalled goaltender Darcy Kuemper from the Tucson Roadrunners of the AHL from his conditioning stint. The netminder has been out with a lower-body injury since Dec. 19. He was close to a comeback several weeks ago, but suffered a setback. Kuemper played Saturday for Tucson, stopping 26 of 28 shots, and looks ready to join the Coyotes’ lineup. Kuemper was one of the top goaltenders in the league before his injury, posting a 15-8-2 record with a 2.17 GAA and a .929 save percentage.
  • NHL.com’s Tim Campbell writes that Edmonton Oilers general manager Ken Holland isn’t interested in moving the team’s 2020 first-round pick just to add a piece to the team at the trade deadline. Edmonton is currently one point out of second place in the Pacific Division, but the GM is resistant to moving such a pick, considering the team is still building. “I’m hoping that we can compete for a playoff spot and more on an every-year basis,” said Holland. “You can’t be in the trading game every deadline, well maybe with secondary pieces, but you can’t trade first-round picks [every year].”
  • The Athletic’s Mark Lazerus reports that while the Chicago Blackhawks have discussed trading goaltender Robin Lehner to the Carolina Hurricanes after the team lost both their goaltenders Saturday night. However, the scribe adds that at this moment, Carolina considers Chicago’s asking price for the goaltender far too high. However, both teams will continue to talk up to the trade deadline on Monday.
  • In an interview with the Winnipeg Sun’s Scott Billeck, University of Minnesota-Duluth defenseman and Winnipeg Jets’ 2017 second-rounder Dylan Samberg, said that he is focused on winning a third-straight NCAA championship. However, he also said, after that, he has every intention of joining the Winnipeg Jets after his season is complete. The Jets were hoping the 6-foot-4, 215-pound blueliner would sign with the team last summer where he would have likely played a significant role with Winnipeg this year. However, Sampson would like to help his school be the first to win three straight national titles. “They took a chance on me, they wanted me for a reason and I respect that,” said Samberg. “I respect the organization, they have a lot of great people, and it’s not that far from home, which is nice. I want to eventually get to the Jets.”
  • TSN’s Rick Dhaliwal reports that Vancouver Canucks are no longer in the running for New Jersey Devils forward Wayne Simmonds. There was a time that Vancouver was quite interesting in adding the veteran leader to their roster, but the team is evidently looking in a different direction.

Carolina Hurricanes Will Make Additions In Net

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4:43 p.m. — As expected, the Carolina Hurricanes announced they have recalled Forsberg and Nedeljkovic from Charlotte.

11:11 a.m. — Last night’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs was nothing short of a once-in-a-lifetime event for the Carolina Hurricanes. The contest could not have gotten off to a worse start, with starter James Reimer being forced out of the game just six minutes in to the first period following a collision in net. Petr Mrazek entered the game in relief, but allowed a goal late in the period to give the Leafs a 1-0 lead. Things were looking up in the second frame following three Hurricanes goals, but then Mrazek was injured just over halfway through the period. This forced the team to turn to an emergency backup, 42-year-old Zamboni driver David Ayres, an employee of Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment who had not played in a competitive game for more than five years. Yet, Ayres got the job done, allowing only two goals in nearly half a game (with some help from the team allowing just ten shots) to lead the Hurricanes to a 6-3 win.

While this was of course a tremendous story, the reality now sets in that the Hurricanes are now down both of their NHL goaltenders without any timeline yet as to when they may return to action. The timing of this is poor, seeing as tomorrow is the final day to make a trade this season and there is no time to wait for an official word on Mrazek or Reimer. The team is also in the thick of the Eastern Conference wild card race and can’t afford to take a chance in goal and miss out on potential points.

For now, TSN’s Pierre LeBurn reports that the team plans to recall both Anton Forsberg and Alex Nedeljkovic from the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers today. Fortunately, both netminders have seen plenty of ice time this season, spitting appearances 50/50, and have performed relatively well. If asked to take on some NHL starts, either one could fair well enough. Forsberg is a veteran of 45 NHL games, while Nedeljkovic has fared well in his two NHL appearances and was arguably the best goalie in the AHL last season.

However, if there is any suspicion that both Mrazek and Reimer could be out long term, it seems unlikely that Carolina would be comfortable fighting for a playoff spot and entering the postseason with only Forsberg and Nedeljkovic. For that reason, LeBrun adds that a number of teams have already reached out to the Hurricanes about moving a goalie and it seems likely that the team could make a move. In fact, the team was kicking the tires on adding another goalie even before these injuries, so many conversations have already been had. Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston reports that the teams main focus is on Chicago Blackhawks’ keepers Robin Lehner and Corey Crawford, both impending free agents, while other rental options could include veterans Jimmy Howard, Craig Anderson, or Ryan Miller or available backups like Aaron Dell or Louis Domingue.

One way or another, the names in net are about to change for Carolina. Perhaps it will only be short-term while their current duo heal up or maybe it could be a major long-term addition for the rest of the season and a hopeful playoff run. With the team also needing a replacement on the blue line given the injuries to Dougie Hamilton and Brett Pesce and also rumored to be in on several big-name forwards, including the Rangers’ Chris Kreider, the next 27 hours should be very busy for the Hurricanes.

Trade Rumors: Kreider, Barrie, Green, Frolik, Coyotes

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The New York Rangers are working on two fronts with Chris Kreider as the trade deadline nears on Monday. The Rangers are negotiating with Kreider and his agent on a potential contract extension, but at the same time, are preparing for the possibility they will have to trade him if a deal can’t be worked out.

Now TSN’s Darren Dreger reports that hopes for a contract extension between the two sides are fading. That could make the trade deadline on Monday even more interesting as it is quite clear that the Rangers will trade him if the two sides cannot get negotiations to shift. The likely sticking point is term as New York doesn’t want to find itself stuck with a major contract headache in a few years and if Kreider, who is likely heading for his last big contract, is looking for a seven or eight-year deal, that could be the sticking point. New York may have some cap room to work with now, but with a number of young players likely needing big raises in the next few years, the team must be careful with asset management.

  • The Toronto Maple Leafs got a scare Saturday when Tyson Barrie went down with an apparent shoulder injury in the first period against Carolina. Many thought that might be the end of rumors that the Maple Leafs were planning to trade the gifted offensive defenseman for a more defensive-minded blueliner. However, Barrie returned and finished the game. Now, The Province’s Patrick Johnston reports that the Vancouver Canucks are very much in the mix for Barrie, which would likely be a package built on defenseman Troy Stecher. TSN’s Rick Dhaliwal confirms that the two teams are deep in talks. Barrie would provide the Canucks an offensive playmaker, but Johnston adds that isn’t what the team truly needs on their defense, making the trade a confusing one.
  • Kurt Leavins of the Edmonton Journal writes that the Edmonton Oilers are a likely destination for Detroit Red Wings defenseman Mike Green. The scribe writes that Green’s no-movement clause turned into a 10-team modified no-trade clause on Feb. 1 and he believes that Edmonton is not on that 10-team list. Considering the familiarity between general manager Ken Holland and Green, the two teams might be a perfect match and Detroit is likely very willing to retain half of Green’s $5.375MM AAV.
  • The Athletic’s Ken Wiebe wonders whether whether the Buffalo Sabres might be willing to move forward Michael Frolik. The 32-year-old has six goals and 13 points in 54 games, but more importantly, is a efficient penalty killer, something that playoff teams are often interested in. Throw in the fact that Frolik will be an unrestricted free agent, meaning he won’t count against any team’s cap long-term. Frolik does have a $4.3MM AAV, but Buffalo could consider retaining some of that to add to make a deal work.
  • The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta writes that the Arizona Coyotes are likely entering the trade deadline with a need for a defenseman after Jakob Chychrun went down with a lower-body injury, who currently has no timetable for a return. However, with little cap room to work with, if the team attempts to acquire a player with a significant salary, Arizona may be forced to trade off a current roster player to make that work.

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