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Archives for March 2020

East Notes: Bjugstad, Spezza, Bobrovsky, Cizikas

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The Penguins could be getting some more help from the infirmary.  Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review notes that center Nick Bjugstad is on the verge of returning to the lineup and should be available to play on Thursday night against Buffalo where he’s likely to suit up on the third line.  The 27-year-old has been out for more than three months due to a core muscle injury, one that caused him to miss some time in October as well.  Bjugstad has since recovered from his surgery and while it would be difficult to expect him to contribute too much offensively after being out for so long, he should at least be able to provide a physical presence while he gets back up to speed.

Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference:

  • Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports in his latest 31 Thoughts that the Maple Leafs center Jason Spezza has yet to have discussions about a possible contract extension with the Leafs. He’s playing for the league minimum of $700K this season and will need to take a similar deal if he wants to have a chance to stay in Toronto given their contract structure despite producing relatively well given his low ice time with 25 points in 55 games while playing under 11 minutes a night.
  • Although Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky wasn’t at practice today, he is still an option to play on Thursday, relays George Richards of The Athletic (Twitter link). He was a surprise scratch on Sunday due to a lower-body injury.  If he can’t go, Chris Driedger is expected to be available after returning from his conditioning stint on Tuesday.
  • Islanders center Casey Cizikas is getting closer to returning. GM Lou Lamoriello told reporters, including Arthur Staple of The Athletic (Twitter link) that the rugged forward is about a week away from getting back on the ice and likely two weeks from returning to the lineup.  Cizikas has been out since suffering a lower-body injury against Philadelphia back on February 11th.

Central Notes: Wild, Rantanen, Letestu

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After dealing away Jason Zucker to Pittsburgh and firing Bruce Boudreau as head coach, the Wild have turned things around and have gone 6-2 under new bench boss Dean Evason.  As a result, they’ve pulled themselves right back into the playoff picture.  However, don’t expect GM Bill Guerin to be content with that.  In an appearance on Sportsnet 590 (audio link), he indicated that there is “absolutely there’s going to have to be some change somewhere within the organization”.  How much of that there is will likely be affected by how they finish this year but for starters, it’s quite possible that the Zach Parise trade talks get revisited this summer while they have more than $10MM in money coming off the books with Alex Galchenyuk and Mikko Koivu slated to be unrestricted free agents.  Former GM Paul Fenton made a few changes last year while Guerin has started to put his own stamp on the team but the changes don’t appear to be done just yet.

More from the Central:

  • Avalanche winger Mikko Rantanen skated before practice for the first time since sustaining a shoulder injury last month, notes Mike Chambers of the Denver Post. However, he’s still likely a little while away from returning considering that he still has to get cleared for contact.  Still, it’s at least a little bit of good news on the injury front for Colorado which is something they haven’t had much of lately; on top of also being without goalie Phillip Grubauer, wingers Andre Burakovsky, Matt Calvert, and Colin Wilson plus center Nazem Kadri, blueliner Cale Makar will also miss his second straight game tonight against Anaheim due to an upper-body issue.
  • Back in October, Jets center Mark Letestu was slated to miss six months after being diagnosed with myocarditis which effectively ended his season. Or so it seemed.  Scott Billeck of the Winnipeg Sun reports that the veteran has resumed skating and head coach Paul Maurice indicated that it’s a possibility that Letestu returns this season.  Having been out for so long though, the 35-year-old will need a while to get back up to speed in terms of his conditioning but the fact that he has received the green light from team doctors is certainly good news.

Chris Kreider Suffers A Fractured Foot

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March 4: GM Jeff Gorton told NHL Network that a four to six week timeline would be realistic for Kreider’s injury, though the speedy forward is hoping to make it back sooner.

February 28: After getting winger Chris Kreider signed to a seven-year, $45.5MM contract extension just hours before Monday’s trade deadline, there was cause for plenty of optimism surrounding Kreider and the Rangers.  However, that enthusiasm will have to be tempered for a while as the team announced (Twitter link) that he suffered a fractured foot in the first period of their game against Philadelphia on Friday night.  Obviously, he’ll be out indefinitely.

This is certainly a tough blow for a New York squad that has had some bad luck on the injury front lately with goalie Igor Shesterkin and winger Pavel Buchnevich being hurt in a car accident at the beginning of the week.  Shesterkin, who had taken over the starting role and had helped lead their recent resurgence, is still out for another couple of weeks while Buchnevich just returned tonight.

Now, they’ll be forced to continue their playoff push without one of their top forwards.  Kreider has 24 goals and 21 assists in 63 games this season; his 45 points are good for fifth in team scoring.  However, he’s also their only top-six power forward and they will certainly miss the physical dimension he provides.  It’s a tough blow to a team that has had a couple of them this week (plus losing one of their better defensemen in Brady Skjei in a trade to Carolina) and as a result, their improbable march up the standings just got a bit more difficult.

Minor Transactions: 03/04/20

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Just four games are on the NHL schedule this evening, though the earliest game is one to tune in for. The Philadelphia Flyers will travel and take on the Washington Capitals in a battle of the top two teams in the Metropolitan. The Flyers, on a six-game winning streak, have climbed to within three points of the division lead and look unstoppable of late. As they and the rest of the league prepare for tonight’s action, we’ll keep track of all the minor moves.

  • After last night’s game, the San Jose Sharks sent Nick DeSimone back to the minor leagues. Today however they’ve recalled him again, continuing his season of bouncing up and down between leagues.
  • The Vegas Golden Knights have recalled both Nicolas Roy and Brandon Pirri, giving them two more forward options for their game on Friday night.
  • After being recalled by the Dallas Stars to fill in for an injured Ben Bishop, Jake Oettinger has been returned to the minor leagues. The top goalie prospect will get his chance one day in the NHL but that time is not just yet.
  • With Tomas Tatar’s injury last night, the Montreal Canadiens have recalled Lukas Vejdemo from the minor leagues. The young forward will join the team on the road and is available for Thursday night.

Columbus Blue Jackets Sign Jake Christiansen

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If you’re an undrafted member of the Everett Silvertips, today is signing day apparently. After Bryce Kindropp was inked by the Anaheim Ducks, the Columbus Blue Jackets have now signed defenseman Jake Christiansen to a three-year entry-level contract. It will begin with the 2020-21 season, while Christiansen will finish the year with Everett.

The 20-year old Christiansen actually played nine games with the Stockton Heat at the start of this season on a professional tryout, but returned to Everett in early December. It seems as though his time in the AHL taught him a few things, as the left-handed defenseman sits with 20 goals and 47 points in just 35 games with the Silvertips.

Columbus adds another lottery ticket and some depth for their minor league club with the signing, and will hope that Christiansen can continue on his current development path.

Ottawa Senators Fire CEO Jim Little

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3:05pm: Through Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, Little has released a statement on his dismissal:

I was looking forward to helping the team and the city and the Ottawa Senators. I wish the employees, the players and coaches well. They all deserve our support.

The statement made today by the team contained some language that deserves some clarification. On Valentine’s Day, the owner and I had a personal disagreement over the approach that I had been pursuing. I am a strong-willed person, and the disagreement included me using some very strong language with him over the phone, including swearing, which he did not appreciate and for which I later apologized.

It was these events, to my knowledge, which led to my dismissal. Any other inference from the statement is wrong.

9:17am: Less than two months after being hired, Jim Little is out as CEO of the Ottawa Senators. The team announced today that Little has been dismissed “as as a result of conduct inconsistent with the core values” of the team and the NHL. Little was hired for the job on January 10th, after the team went through a period without a CEO.

This is just the latest chapter in what has been a frustrating few years for the Senators, despite the strides they’ve taken to start a rebuild on the ice. Little is not the first high level employee to be let go and his departure now means the team must look for another leader for the business operations.

The last time a CEO left the Senators, they operated without one for more than a year with owner Eugene Melnyk taking on the role’s duties. It is not clear at this point if the same plan is in place this time.

Prospect Notes: Draft Rankings, AHL Affiliates, Angello

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As more and more teams fall out of the playoff race, focus will be turned to the upcoming draft where another class of talented youngsters will be snapped up by professional organizations. Alexis Lafreniere once again leads the pack in Sam Cosentino’s new ranking for Sportsnet, to absolutely no one’s surprise. It’s the rest of the list that may raise some eyebrows.

One name that could do just that is Justin Barron, the Halifax Mooseheads defenseman who just recently returned to action. Barron was on track to be a lot closer to the top of the first round coming into this season, but after doctors found a blood clot in late-November he spent nearly three months on the sideline. In four contests since returning Barron has looked notably rusty, recording just two points and a -8 rating. Unfortunately he has just eight games left to show what he can do as the Mooseheads aren’t going to be in the QMJHL playoffs.

  • Prospects in the Florida Panthers organization may have a different place to play next season, as Andy Strickland of Fox Sports Midwest tweets that there are whispers of the team moving their AHL affiliate to Chicago next season. The Chicago Wolves, who are currently operating as the affiliate of the Vegas Golden Knights, will be looking for a new partner after the pending relocation of the San Antonio Rampage to Las Vegas. Any change for Florida would leave the Springfield Thunderbirds available.
  • 23-year old forward Anthony Angello had been filling in for the Pittsburgh Penguins of late, his first opportunity in the NHL. That will come to an end for now however, as Angello suffered an upper-body injury in last night’s game and is ruled out on a “week-to-week” basis. The 6’5″ forward has a single goal in eight NHL games this season.

Johnny Boychuk Recovering After Scary Eye Injury

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The hockey world gasped last night when New York Islanders defenseman Johnny Boychuk rushed off the ice after taking a skate blade to the eye area. The lack of blood and urgency in Boychuk’s gait caused a lot of discomfort among fans and players alike, but the team has given a positive update on his situation. GM Lou Lamoriello explained today that Boychuk needed 90 stitches from a plastic surgeon to fix a laceration on his eyelid, and is expected to make a full recovery. There is no timetable for his return.

The team will not make any regular recalls to fill in for Boychuk, but could bring Thomas Hickey up under emergency conditions if they decide it is required. For now, Noah Dobson is expected to get back into the lineup in his stead and finally get a little more opportunity.

A full recovery is incredibly good news for Boychuk, but also for the Islanders who still rely on him despite his age. The 36-year old defenseman is in the fifth season of a seven-year, $42MM deal signed in 2015, and has 11 points in 64 games.

NHL Announces 2020-21 Salary Cap Projection

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At the GM meetings today, the league gave teams an early projection on the 2020-21 salary cap figures. Bill Daly explained that the cap ceiling is projected to land somewhere between $84MM and $88.2MM for next season, with the final number still to be negotiated with the NHLPA.

An increase of that size from this season’s $81.5MM would be welcomed by many teams around the league, especially given how many have used long-term injured reserve this season. Clubs like the St. Louis Blues and Boston Bruins, for instance, who have some of the league’s top pending unrestricted free agents, may have an easier route to re-signing their homegrown stars.

The range is because of an inflator that the NHLPA can use, increasing the number between 0-5%. Even if they decide not to use any of it, getting an extra $2.5MM from every team will make free agency more interesting. This summer’s crop of UFAs isn’t quite as deep as some previous years, especially if names like Alex Pietrangelo and Torey Krug re-sign.

One name that will be licking his chops at the increase is Taylor Hall, who all of a sudden may become an option for some more cap-strapped clubs. The Arizona Coyotes’ winger has 50 points in 62 games this season, though that actually trails slightly behind Mike Hoffman, who is currently leading all pending free agents in scoring with 27 goals and 56 points.

We won’t know the final number for some time, but Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic also reports the NHL and NHLPA are discussing the possibility of releasing multiple years of cap numbers at the same in order to give teams a little more ability for future planning.

Anaheim Ducks Sign Bryce Kindopp

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According to CapFriendly, the Anaheim Ducks have added another prospect to the cupboard, signing undrafted forward Bryce Kindopp to a three-year entry-level contract. The deal will kick in for the 2020-21 season, while Kindopp will continue to play the rest of this year with the Everett Silvertips of the WHL.

Kindopp, 20, current serves as captain of the Silvertips and is having another strong offensive season. With 38 goals and 71 points in 60 games he leads the team, a notable honor for such a dominant squad. The Silvertips are currently sitting with a 44-12-4 record on the season and are one of the favorites to win the WHL championship.

Even though his offensive game is effective at the junior level, Kindopp doesn’t project to be a top player for the Ducks. What he might be however is another effective depth option to help surround their next wave of high-end talent, getting them back to contention.

Kindopp attended the Colorado Avalanche training camp last summer, and was ranked 170th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting in the 2019 draft.

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