Archives for March 2020

Poll: If The Season Ended Today, Who Would Win The Vezina?

March 29, 2020 at 2:59 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 6 Comments

While the NHL has made it clear it intends to do everything it can to save its season this year, there are many who feel that while the playoffs are still likely, even if they come at the end of the summer, the likelihood of the regular season playing out are a little less likely. Pro Hockey Rumors has already conducted polls on who might win the Calder Trophy and the Hart Trophy. So, the next question is, if the season ended on Mar. 11, who would walk away with the Vezina Trophy?

Perhaps the top candidate to receive the award is the goaltender for the best team. The Boston Bruins have dominated all year with a 44-14-12 for 100 points and much of their success could be credited to goaltender Tuukka Rask, who has had one of the best seasons of his career, which compares to his Vezina Trophy season in 2013-14 when he had a 2.04 GAA and a .930 save percentage in 58 starts. This year, Rask has accumulated 28 wins in 41 appearances with a 2.12 GAA and a .929 save percentage after carrying his team to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. He also has accomplished that with an often injured blueline in which has seen almost every member of the defense see injured reserve at different points throughout the season.

Perhaps his top competition would be Winnipeg Jets’ Connor Hellebuyck. The 26-year-old’s numbers might not compare well to Rask, however, the netminder has had a tougher road in terms of challenges. The Jets lost quite a bit on defense last offseason, which included the losses of Dustin Byfuglien, Tyler Myers, Ben Chiarot and Jacob Trouba with only Neal Pionk being a major addition to the team. Despite the major losses on defense, however, Hellebuyck was the difference-maker, keeping Winnipeg relevant for much of the season and helping them to a current wild card spot, if the playoffs began today. He has already appeared in 58 out of 71 games and, while his 2.58 GAA is just OK, he’s had an impressive .922 save percentage this year.

The other candidate would be Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy, last year’s Vezina winner. While the goaltender got to a slow start early on in the season, he’s been much more dominant in the second half of the season. In 28 appearances through December, Vasilevskiy had just a .906 save percentage, not up to his usual greatness. However, he was more dominant once 2020 hit, posting a 9-0 record in 10 appearances in January, while boasting a dominant .948 save percentage and was looking to have a good March as well before the season got cut down. In all, Vasilevskiy has a 2.53 GAA and a .918 save percentage.

One other interesting candidate, Arizona’s Darcy Kuemper, might be an interesting one affected by injury. The 29-year-old was near the top of Vezina Trophy consideration in December before suffering a lengthy lower-body injury that held him out for nearly two months. Unfortunately, he has only appeared in 29 games for the season, but his 2.22 GAA and .928 save percentage were dominant. However,

It’s impossible to include every candidate and there are other interesting goaltenders in there not getting consideration like Dallas’ Ben Bishop and St. Louis’ Jordan Binnington, but we’ll keep the list to four goaltenders.

For Pro Hockey app users, click here to vote.

Arizona Coyotes, Taylor Hall Discussing Potential Contract

March 29, 2020 at 1:31 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg Leave a Comment

Arizona Coyotes general manager John Chayka is using his downtown to work on multiple issues. One of those issues appears to be talking to the agent of his top unrestricted free agent, Taylor Hall. The GM admitted to Craig Morgan of The Athletic (subscription required) that he has taken advantage of the break to gather information and discuss a potential deal with Hall’s agent, Darren Ferris.

“Obviously, our intent was always to get through the season and not having any conflict with Taylor’s play,” said Chayka. “This leaves us in a bit of a limbo where it’s obviously not technically the end of the season, but it also wouldn’t conflict with his play to talk. All I would say right now is that both sides are gathering information and having some discussions. Where that goes I’m not entirely sure today. As we talk, we’ll see where things go.”

The Coyotes acquired Hall from New Jersey in December in hopes of convincing the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent to sign a long-term deal with them. Hall was supposed to give the Coyotes a Hart Trophy winning star on a team that is sound defensively, but has struggled scoring points. Hall has been solid with Arizona since then, scoring 10 goals and 27 points in 35 games, but hardly been that star yet. However, being traded does require an adjustment to a new coaching system and new linemates, so his lack of dominance so far isn’t that surprising as that could just come with time. Unfortunately, for Hall and the Coyotes, the season was suspended which has halted any progress Hall has made with those issues. To make matters interesting as well, Arizona has struggled since they acquired Hall, going 14-17-4, but some of that is the fact the team also lost the first-half MVP, Darcy Kuemper, to injury.

The trouble for Chayka is that he didn’t want to discuss contract with Hall or Ferris until the season was over as he didn’t want the negotiations to affect his play. Because the season is on hold with no knowledge on whether the team will continue playing even if play resumes (as Arizona is currently sitting outside the 16-team playoffs at the moment), there are plenty of questions, hence why Chayka has been in contact with Ferris often, although he does admit the two sides have not exchanged numbers yet.

New York Rangers Owner James Dolan Diagnosed With COVID-19

March 29, 2020 at 9:57 am CDT | by Zach Leach 16 Comments

While there are now four cases of NHL players testing positive for COVID-19, no individual has been named as of yet. However, a member of the NHL community has now officially been recognized as a victim of the Coronavirus pandemic. The NBA’s New York Knicks announced that owner James Dolan has tested positive for COVID-19. Dolan owns both the Knicks and New York Rangers and is the Executive Chairman and CEO of the Madison Square Garden Company.

Fortunately, the report indicates that Dolan, 64, is “experiencing little to no symptoms.” He and his family remain in self-isolation in their home in the Hamptons, while Dolan still continues to oversee business operations for the Madison Square Garden Company.

One of his recent decisions was in fact to set up the “MSG Relief Fund” to financially assist employees at this time, per The New York Post’s Larry Brooks. The company donated $1MM, which was then matched by Dolan’s personal Dolan Family Foundation.

The Rangers have not made an announcement of their own on Dolan’s condition, continuing a trend across the NHL of refraining from public comment on Coronavirus diagnoses. By all accounts though, Dolan is the first owner in the NHL – or NBA for that matter – to have tested positive for COVID-19. It is not believed at this time that any Rangers players have been tested for the virus.

While battling this sickness, Dolan is still undoubtedly one of the NHL owners lobbying for a continuation of the NHL regular season, if at all possible. While the Knicks are among the worst teams in the NBA, the Rangers had picked up steam before the league’s “pause” and were in the thick of the Eastern Conference wild card race. If the NHL was to jump directly into the standard 16-team postseason upon their return to action, the Rangers, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Florida Panthers would all narrowly miss the playoffs while – a worst-case scenario for Rangers fans – the rival New York Islanders would claim the final spot in the East.

Perunovich Contract Likely To Open Up Deals For Other Top Collegiates

March 28, 2020 at 8:57 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg Leave a Comment

While many undrafted college players have already signed in the last couple of weeks, only a handful of top collegiate players have inked new deals. One of the reasons is due to questions surrounding whether players could sign contracts for this year, since it the rest of the season remains in limbo. However, with the recent signing of defenseman Scott Perunovich with the St. Louis Blues to two different contracts, that could open up a flood of players who are ready to sign contacts, according to Scott Powers of The Athletic (subscription required).

Perunovich agreed to two contracts Friday, one that would start this year (assuming the season continues), while the other would start in the 2019-20 season, although both contracts would be two-year deals. The scribe notes that St. Louis had to get NHL approval of the two contracts, which now could open up possibilities for several college players, including Chicago Blackhawks’ Ian Mitchell, Vegas Golden Knights’ Jack Dugan and Winnipeg Jets’ Dylan Samberg.

Powers uses the example of Mitchell, who wrapped up his junior season at the University of Denver and has to sign a three-year, entry-level contract due to his age. Mitchell would prefer to sign starting this season as it would immediately burn that first year.

“Right now we are waiting to see what happens with the NHL season,” the 21-year-old Mitchell wrote. “There is a freeze on contracts being signed for this season. If I were to sign a contract now, I wouldn’t be able to play this year if the season resumes. So right now it is just wait and see.”

Technically, Perunovich has not signed either contact, but will sign one of the two once it’s decided on whether the 2019-20 season will continue or not. That could be the case for any other college prospects who are eager to sign, but would prefer to sign for this year and not wait an extra year.

Mitchell continues to wait on whether there is a season this year, but is suddenly more open to signing soon after Perunovich’s deal.

“Yes, all options are on the table,” said Mitchell in a text when asked about signing a similar deal.

Powers believes that the contract itself has already been worked out, especially since Chicago has been willing to hand out “A” bonuses to their top prospects in the past and with Mitchell having the ability to threaten to return to Denver for his senior year, he is likely to get that, although it’s believed that he is leaning towards signing a pro contract.

Edmonton Oilers Tell Philip Broberg To Remain In Sweden Next Year

March 28, 2020 at 7:30 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 2 Comments

The Edmonton Oilers have informed prospect Philip Broberg that they would prefer him to remain in Sweden for another year, rather than have him come to North America and play in the AHL, according to Postmedia’s Jim Matheson. Broberg, the team’s eighth-overall pick in the 2019 NHL draft, did play a full season with the SHL last season as an 18-year-old, but did not show the offense the Oilers were hoping for in his first pro season.

The Oilers were quite enamored by Broberg’s 6-foot-3, 203-pound frame as well as his fast and impressive skating, when they shocked a few by taking him with the eighth-overall pick, but general manager Ken Holland has preached speed when drafting and signing players since he took over last year. Broberg is an example of that. He has averaged 14 minutes a game in his first season in the SHL, but has received little to no power play minutes. He finished his season with one goal and eight points in 45 games for Skelleftea. The hope is that soon-to-be 19-year-old will accrue more minutes in the SHL and have a chance to develop his offensive skills. He did score one goal at the World Juniors in December, but also was asked to take a lesser role and focus on defense for Sweden.

The Oilers have several defensive prospects, so the team likely could hold on for another year without Broberg in the immediate system. The team is likely going to give every chance first to their No. 1 prospect, Evan Bouchard, who has fared quite well in Bakersfield of the AHL this past year, and likely will be given a shot at winning an job with the Oilers next season. The team also has Dmitri Samorukov, who played a secondary role with Bakersfield this year and might now get a chance to take on a bigger role next season.

Stretch Run Storylines: Boston Bruins

March 28, 2020 at 5:59 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 7 Comments

As things stand, the NHL is planning to have games resume at some point over the coming weeks. Assuming the regular season continues, there will be plenty of things to watch for over the stretch run. Over the coming weeks, PHR will examine the top stretch run storylines for each team. We open up our look at the Atlantic Division with Boston.

Whereas many teams that fall just short of a Stanley Cup championship struggle maintaining their success the following season, that hasn’t been the case in Boston, where the Bruins have been dominant one of the most top-heavy divisions in the NHL. The Bruins have been clearly the best team in the NHL as they are the only team to have broken the 100-point mark before the NHL suspended their season. It’s clear that Boston’s only goal is return to the Stanley Cup Finals and this time win it.

Can Suspension Of Play Affect Bruins’ Succcess?

The Bruins have been rolling and looked like the top candidate to win a Stanley Cup. However, a break in play can’t be good for a team that was playing this well. The Bruins have won 16 of their last 20 games. A long break could definitely affect players in different ways — whether they are all staying to top shape, etc. as well as how they play with each other. It could take longer than usual for any team to regain their form.

With that the NHL could shorten or even cancel the remainder of the regular season in hopes of pushing the playoffs even closer, Boston, full of veteran players, could find themselves struggling to get out of the gate and an early playoff exit could be a real possibility.

Injured Players

The Boston Bruins accomplished all this despite struggling significantly with injuries on the back end. Over the season, the team has dealt with significant injuries to John Moore, Kevan Miller, Charlie McAvoy, Torey Krug and Connor Clifton, but has been able to put together a patch work of players to fill out their rosters while their players recover on injured reserve. The forward lines have also been hit hard with numerous injuries as well.

While most of those players were back with the team before the season was suspended, the break could offer some positive points as well. It will offer a significant advantage to the team who has been ravaged by injuries this season. If all players have plenty of time to get over their injuries, they may have a full and complete roster to help them to their eventual goal.

Trade Deadline Acquisitions

The Boston Bruins picked up a couple of key forwards at the trade deadline when it acquired Ondrej Kase and Nick Ritchie from Anaheim in separate deals. The hope that Kase would provide the team a significant upgrade to the team’s top-six, while Ritchie could also add some key depth to Boston’s bottom six.

Kase, who was injured at the time of the trade, hasn’t accomplished that yet. He was activated a few days after the trade and immediately placed on the top line, but in seven games had registered only an assist. The team’s hope was that being surrounded with veteran talent would bring out Kase’s potential to score goals and turn him into the high-scoring player that many envisioned when he scored 20 goals in 2017-18. Ritchie had a goal and an assist in seven games, another player who the team felt had potential.

However, considering that it takes time to develop cohesiveness with new teammates on the ice, this break certainly won’t make it easier for either player to improve and adjust to a new team, especially if the regular season is cut short or cancelled.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Metropolitan Notes: Fast, Hurricanes, Islanders Arena

March 28, 2020 at 1:58 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 2 Comments

The Rangers had tried to sign winger Jesper Fast to a contract extension before last month’s trade deadline but talks stalled quickly due to a large gap between the two sides, reports Larry Brooks of the New York Post. However, despite that, they opted to keep him in the hopes of continuing their late push for the playoffs.

The 28-year-old was on his way towards hitting new career bests offensively before this stoppage while he has been a fixture in their top six for a big chunk of the season. Those elements are certainly factors in him seeking a raise on his current $1.85MM but with the Rangers already having several key players to re-sign, limited cap space, and the potential cap issues as a result of this pandemic, they’ll likely have to hold off on taking another run on re-signing him for a while.

A Second Colorado Player Tests Positive For COVID-19

March 28, 2020 at 12:29 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 2 Comments

For the second time this week, the Colorado Avalanche announced that one of their players has tested positive for COVID-19. Unlike the first player who had recovered prior to the announcement, this does not appear to be the case here. The full statement from the team is below.

The Colorado Avalanche were advised late last night that a second player has tested positive for COVID-19. The player is in self-isolation. All other Avalanche players, staff and others who might have had close contact with the player have been informed and remain isolated as per prior League direction and are monitoring their health and will be in touch with Club medical staff as necessary. No other Avalanche player or staff member has shown symptoms at this time.

This announcement means that there are now four NHL players that are known to have tested positive for the virus with the two Colorado players joining a pair of Ottawa players who were diagnosed last week. There is a connection between both teams as both played in the Staples Center (home to the NHL’s Kings plus the NBA’s Lakers and Clippers) in Los Angeles around the same time the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets did. The Nets had four players test positive while the Lakers have two known cases.

Prospect Notes: Rasanen, Niemelainen, Berglund, Farrance, Harris

March 28, 2020 at 9:23 am CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

There have been many international prospects over the years that have turned to the NCAA to try to help get ready for the NHL or bolster their chances of getting drafted. There aren’t as many that have gone the other way but it appears that’s the case with Oilers prospect Aapeli Rasanen. The 21-year-old recently wrapped up his junior year at Boston College but Jeff Cox of the New England Hockey Journal reports (Twitter link) that the forward has informed the team that he’s leaving and is returning to Finland to play professionally. Rasanen grew up playing in the Tappara so it’s likely that he would rejoin that program.

Still with the Oilers, Sportsnet’s Mark Spector notes that Edmonton is hoping to sign defensemen Markus Niemelainen and Filip Berglund. Both players were draft picks in 2016 and have until June 1st to sign their entry-level deals. Niemelainen played in 55 games with Assat Pori of the Finnish SM-liiga this season while Berglund suited up in 52 contests with SHL Skelleftea, his fourth straight year of being a regular in that league. They’re also both under contract for next season already (Berglund for two more years) but both countries have a transfer agreement with the NHL so those deals shouldn’t get in the way.
Predators prospect David Farrance is coming off a very strong junior year with Boston University that saw him collect 14 goals and 29 assists in just 34 games. While it certainly seems as if he’s ready to turn pro, AHL reporter Mark Divver mentions (Twitter link) that the 20-year-old hasn’t yet decided whether or not to return for his senior season. With Nashville’s back end being filled with low salary players, it’s quite possible that Farrance could immediately make the jump to the NHL like Dante Fabbro (a Boston University alum) recently did.
Canadiens prospect Jordan Harris has given a verbal commitment to return to Northeastern for his junior year, reports Sportsnet’s Eric Engels (Twitter link). Last month, GM Marc Bergevin mentioned the possibility that Harris could forego the rest of his college eligibility and turn pro but that doesn’t appear to be the plan. Harris had 21 points in 33 games this season while chipping in with a goal in five games for Team USA at the World Juniors.

Stretch Run Storylines: Chicago Blackhawks

March 27, 2020 at 7:36 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 2 Comments

As things stand, the NHL is planning to have games resume at some point over the coming weeks. Assuming the regular season continues, there will be plenty of things to watch for over the stretch run. Over the coming weeks, PHR will examine the top stretch run storylines for each team. We wrap up our look at the Central Division with Chicago.

It has been another disappointing season for the Blackhawks who sit at the bottom of the division with their only hope of a playoff spot being an expanded field. For the most part, their veterans have underachieved which has to be a bit concerning to a team that has several key veteran players on long-term deals. However, one of their few veterans not on a long-term pact is one of their top storylines for the stretch run.

Bridge Or Long-Term?

The Blackhawks have limited cap space to work with as they have more than $73MM in commitments already for next season. Despite that, center Dylan Strome and Dominik Kubalik are a pair of youngsters that will be vying for a long-term pact if the team can free up some extra funds over the offseason. How they fare down the stretch may ultimately help GM Stan Bowman which one to try to sign to something other than a bridge deal if the cap room is there.

Strome hasn’t been as productive as he was last season, his first with Chicago but that wasn’t entirely unexpected. After going from being a middling player in Arizona to nearly a point-per-game player, this season was going to fall somewhere in between that. The end result hasn’t been half bad as he has picked up a dozen goals and 26 assists in 58 games. He now has 116 games in a Blackhawks uniform but is that enough to get a long-term deal? If the regular season plays out in full, another 12 games could actually help sway things.

Kubalik has been one of the bigger pleasant surprises in the league this season, jumping in with 30 goals in his rookie campaign. Of course, he’s not as young as most rookies are as he’ll be 25 at the start of next season. That has him two years away from unrestricted free agency and arbitration-eligible already. A bridge deal walks him to UFA eligibility but with only 68 NHL games as a track record, that’s not much to go off of. Like Strome, playing out the final dozen games may wind up helping (or hurting) his chances of a long-term pact.

Crawford’s Future

When the Blackhawks signed Robin Lehner to a one-year deal in the summer, it felt like a potential sign that they had decided that Corey Crawford’s days as their full-time starter were over. But Crawford slightly outperformed Lehner in a virtual platoon situation and Lehner was eventually dealt to Vegas at the trade deadline. Does that mean that Crawford is again the goalie of the future?

That’s what he’s certainly hoping for but it’s far from a given that he has done enough to show it. He has had difficulty staying healthy in recent years and he’s 35. There aren’t a lot of legitimate starters at that age still out there.

But let’s look back at their cap situation. With Strome and Kubalik to re-sign on top of their current commitments, they can’t afford to be shopping at the top end of the market in free agency. They’ll need to go with a more affordable option which could very well be Crawford. Before the pandemic, it certainly seemed like a short-term contract extension was quite possible and a good finish to the year could help his chances of getting the strong side of the platoon next year.

Reverse Standings Watch

What do teams do when they’re out of contention? They keep looking at the standings but instead of looking up, they look down.

As things currently sit, Chicago is ahead of eight teams in the overall standings but half of the teams behind them are within five points. That margin is certainly erasable if the NHL plays out a full 82-game schedule and it’s notable that two of their remaining 12 contests are against teams in that group just behind them.

It’s a given that players like Kirby Dach, Adam Boqvist, and Nicolas Beaudin will get more playing time down the stretch and for Chicago fans, that will certainly be something to watch for. How they perform will go a long way towards determining whether the Blackhawks stay where they are or fall back a bit and improve their odds at the Draft Lottery (whenever it happens to be rescheduled for following its postponement earlier this week).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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