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Dante Fabbro To Have Hearing With Department Of Player Safety

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The Department of Player Safety has some more work to do and the Nashville Predators are about to lose another key player. Dante Fabbro has a hearing today for his elbow on Carolina Hurricanes forward Brock McGinn. The incident happened midway through the second period last night and Fabbro was issued a two-minute minor penalty. McGinn initially left the game but did return in the third period.

Fabbro appears to be destined to miss at least one game since the league will be holding a hearing, meaning Nashville is down another defenseman. They’re already missing Roman Josi, Ryan Ellis, and Luca Sbisa due to injury, forcing Fabbro into an increased role. The young defenseman played nearly 23 minutes last night including nearly five shorthanded and recorded an assist. With him out, Mattias Ekholm will likely have an even bigger load dropped on his plate after logging nearly 29 minutes last night.

The Predators’ next game is tomorrow against the same Hurricanes for traveling to Tampa Bay for a two-game series against the Lightning.

Trade Deadline Primer: Calgary Flames

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Although we’re not even two months into the season, the trade deadline is just over a month away.  Where does each team stand and what moves should they be looking to make?  We continue our look around the league with the Calgary Flames.

Expectations were high in Calgary heading into the season.  Goaltending was a concern last year so they went and got the best one on the market in Jacob Markstrom.  T.J. Brodie moved on to Toronto in free agency but Chris Tanev was brought in.  The offense largely remained intact and while they underachieved a bit last season, the talent is there for improvement.  But the results haven’t met the expectations.  One big change was already made behind the bench but GM Brad Treliving will have to decide over the next several weeks if more moves need to happen.

Record

11-12-3, 6th in North Division

Deadline Status

Buyer

Deadline Cap Space

$1.890MM in full-season space ($4.435MM at the trade deadline), 0/3 retention slots used, 46/50 contracts used per CapFriendly.

(This number fluctuates considerably with Derek Ryan being recalled or sent to the taxi squad on a near-daily basis.  The above amount is with Ryan on the taxi squad, not the active roster.)

Upcoming Draft Picks

2021: CGY 1st, CGY 2nd, CGY 3rd, EDM 3rd, CGY 5th, CGY 6th, CGY 7th
2022: CGY 1st, CGY 2nd, CGY 3rd, CGY 4th, CGY 5th, CGY 6th, CGY 7th

Trade Chips

Sam Bennett’s desire to play elsewhere is well-known after his agent, Quartexx’s Darren Ferris, made that request public late in January.  Since then, he has basically been everywhere from the front line to the press box.  Accordingly, it’s hard to imagine his name not being in play over the next month.  However, the recent coaching change that brought Darryl Sutter throws a wrinkle into things.  The veteran bench boss encourages a grittier style of play, one that would seemingly benefit Bennett more than most on that roster.  Accordingly, it’s not easy to see the 24-year-old stepping up over the next few weeks, potentially taking his name out of consideration in the process.  If not, the pending restricted free agent – who carries a $2.55MM AAV and needs a qualifying offer at that rate this summer – is going to be in plenty of speculation between now and April 12th.

Oliver Kylington has been an interesting player on Calgary’s back end.  After he somewhat shockingly slipped to the end of the second round in 2015 going 60th overall, it was a slow climb to the NHL but he looked to have the inside track for a spot on the third pairing after playing 48 games last season.  However, he cleared waivers back in January, has been sent down to the taxi squad a dozen times, and has played in just three games this season.  Still just 23 and carrying a cap hit of just below $788K, Kylington is a prime candidate to be moved to a team that may be rebuilding and would have more of a willingness to live with the ups and downs of his performance.

Dominik Simon looked like a quality pickup for the league minimum back in October.  After recording 22 and 28 points over his previous two seasons with Pittsburgh, the 26-year-old seemed like a good addition to their fourth line while being someone that could move up if needed.  Instead, he has hardly played, suiting up in only nine games and clearing waivers earlier this month.  He doesn’t have the potential upside that Kylington does but the winger is the type of affordable depth that teams often try to add closer to the trade deadline on the cheap.  The fact he can now be assigned to the taxi squad actually makes him more valuable than he was just a week ago when he was on waivers.

Others to Watch For: F Josh Leivo ($875K, UFA), F Matthew Phillips ($733K, RFA), D Alexander Yelesin ($925K, RFA)

Team Needs

1) Scoring help – Calgary sits 23rd in the NHL in goals per game, a number that stands out even more considering how high-scoring the North Division is; four of the top nine teams in the league in that department are from there.  Johnny Gaudreau is their only double-digit scorer and only four players have 15 points or more on the season.  In a division where many of the teams are high-scoring, the Flames will need to outscore their way out of trouble, not just rely on Markstrom.  A top-six forward would go a long way towards accomplishing that.

2) End of roster depth – Simon and Leivo were among those that Calgary brought in to give themselves some extra depth and be able to roll four lines.  Unfortunately, it hasn’t worked to the point where they’ve rotated several players into that role with Leivo being the only one logging more than 10 minutes a night.  Recent recalls have been in the five-to-eight-minute range.  More is needed from their bottom few forwards.  On the back end, Nikita Nesterov has seemingly won the battle for the sixth spot but hasn’t provided much at either end.  Upgrading on him would also be a boost; a reunion with former Calgary defender Travis Hamonic – a pending UFA – would make some sense but an upgrade in general on the right side would be worthwhile.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Mattias Ekholm Hoping To Remain With Predators

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With the Predators struggling in the standings (sixth in the Central Division) and a rapidly-growing list of injuries to key players, defenseman Mattias Ekholm has emerged as a potential trade piece.  But if the 30-year-old has his way, he’ll be staying with Nashville as he told Adam Vingan of The Athletic (subscription link) that his preference is to remain with the team that drafted back in the fourth round (102nd overall) in 2009.

It’s quite understandable as to why he’ll be highly sought-after.  Top-four blueliners are hard to come by at this time of year and Ekholm is certainly that.  He has logged heavy minutes, playing more than 23 per game in each of the last four seasons and over 21 this year.  Offensively, he has been quietly consistent, picking up 33 points or more in four of the last five years and with four goals and five assists in 18 games this season, he’d be above that pace if this was a full schedule.  And of course, in his own end, he has been one of Nashville’s top defensive weapons, often spending time against opposing top players.

At a time where teams are having even more difficulty fitting extra money on the books, Ekholm is certainly quite affordable.  Carrying just a $3.75MM AAV for this season and next, he’s on a below-market deal although in this environment, it’s worth noting that his price tag in salary dollars jumps to $5MM next season.

The obvious comparable in terms of a trade would be the Kings-Maple Leafs swap involving Jake Muzzin in 2019 with the blueliner going to Toronto for a first-round pick and a pair of prospects.  Muzzin carried a similar price tag ($4MM), was the same age, and had the same amount of term remaining on the deal.

However, there are a couple of different factors at play.  More teams could afford Muzzin then than can afford Ekholm now unless Nashville shows a desire to take a sizable contract back as part of the return.  Of course, there is also expansion to consider.  Ekholm would almost certainly be a must-protect player so the acquiring team would have to be comfortable with not only losing the elements required for any trade but also the opportunity cost of not protecting a different defender has to also be taken into consideration.

While the 2020-21 season is going up in smoke in a hurry for the Preds, this isn’t a situation where GM David Poile is going to be forced into making a move.  Nashville can safely protect Ekholm from Seattle and because he has another year on his deal, Poile can wait until the summer to see what the offers look like when teams more have financial flexibility.  Of course, Ekholm’s preference appears to be that no move is made at all.

Tyler Motte Receiving Trade Interest

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With Vancouver sitting in fifth place in the North Division and the top four teams from there getting into the playoffs, the Canucks aren’t quite ready to sell just yet.  However, every team but Ottawa has multiple games in hand on them so while their current playoff gap of three points could be considerably larger by the time those are made up.  Accordingly, teams are calling about some of Vancouver’s roster players and one of them is winger Tyler Motte, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports in his latest 31 Thoughts column.

On the one hand, it’s easy to see why there is interest in Motte around the league.  He has shown more of a scoring touch this season with five goals in his first 16 games while logging over 16 minutes per night, a career-high.  It certainly hasn’t come at the expense of his physicality either as he’s averaging 4.67 hits per game, the second-highest rate in the league.  With a $1.225MM price tag this season and next, he’s also quite affordable.

It’s also not the first time he has shown flashes of offensive upside.  Last year in the bubble, he picked up four goals in 17 games while averaging over 3.5 hits per game so while his early-season output is a bit of an outlier relative to his past regular season production, he also technically just picked up where he left off last summer.

But on the other hand, Motte hasn’t played in a month due to a high-ankle sprain and is currently on LTIR.  Although he has resumed light skating, he’s still likely a couple of weeks away from returning.

It was only a few years ago that Motte felt like effectively the throw-in in a deal that sent Thomas Vanek to Columbus and Jussi Jokinen to Vancouver but now that he has established himself as a capable energy player, Jim Benning could be in a position to land a quality return, especially at a time when power forwards are in high demand and affordable players are at a premium.  But first, they’ll have to choose if they’re buying or selling, a decision that is probably still a few weeks away.

Snapshots: ESPN, Pettersson, Wu

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The NHL has reached a seven-year agreement with ESPN to become one of the league’s media partners next season, according to reporting done by Chris Johnston of Sportsnet. The league has not announced the deal yet and Johnston does not have confirmation on the other media company that will be involved. The deal with ESPN is for one-half of the league’s U.S. media rights, which will include four Stanley Cup Finals between 2022 and 2028 in addition to streaming rights for Disney.

More information about the deal is obviously needed, but this could be a very strong step in the right direction for the league, at least in terms of getting back to full financial health. The flat cap which has hindered so many teams this season isn’t likely to change right away, but a strong broadcast deal could get the league on track to start increasing the ceiling once again.

  • The Vancouver Canucks will be without top forward Elias Pettersson for at least another week, according to head coach Travis Green. The team is actually on a three-game winning streak even despite his absence, but still have a long way to go if they want to climb up the North Division table. Vancouver currently sits just three points behind the Montreal Canadiens for the last playoff spot but has played five more games than them. Pettersson, 22, had 21 points in 26 games this season.
  • The Pittsburgh Penguins, in action already today against the New York Rangers, named Katerina Wu to the team’s hockey operations department earlier today. Wu will hold the position of data scientist and be asked to “design and implement new statistics to evaluate player and team performance.” She will report to Penguins’ director of hockey operations Sam Ventura and work closely with Nick Citrone, who was recently promoted to senior data scientist of hockey and business operations.

Arizona Coyotes Move Darcy Kuemper To Injured Reserve

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The Arizona Coyotes won’t say quite how bad it is yet, but things aren’t looking good for Darcy Kuemper. The team placed the goaltender on injured reserve today and Craig Morgan of AZ Coyotes Insider tweeted earlier today that there is fear he could miss as many as four weeks. Kuemper is heading back to Arizona for further evaluation, meaning he’ll likely miss at least the last six games of the current road trip.

The Coyotes have recalled Ivan Prosvetov from the AHL to serve as the taxi squad goaltender while Adin Hill and Antti Raanta take over the active roster duties. Frederik Gauthier and Michael Chaput have also swapped spots between the roster and taxi squad.

Losing Kuemper is a huge blow for Arizona, though not one they should be unfamiliar with. The 30-year-old goaltender has dealt with injuries throughout his entire career, but certainly since arriving in Arizona during the 2017-18 season. Still, he’s also been one of the very best goaltenders in the league during that time, at least whenever healthy enough to be in the net. As a Coyote, Kuemper has posted a .922 save percentage in the regular season and finished in the top-seven of Vezina Trophy voting in each of the last two years.

While Raanta and Hill are certainly talented enough to hold the fort, an injury like this could have interesting trade deadline ramifications. It seemed likely that if the Coyotes ended up selling, at least one of Kuemper or Raanta would be moved, given the latter is on an expiring contract and the former can be a legitimate game-changer. Now, with Kuemper out for a while, those plans could be complicated. The Coyotes aren’t flush with goaltending depth in the organization past Hill, with the 22-year-old Prosvetov having just 34 games of AHL experience under his belt. David Tendeck, the only other goalie signed to an NHL deal, only just started his pro career and hasn’t suited up higher than the ECHL.

With three goalies required at the NHL level (one can be on the taxi squad) at all times, it doesn’t leave a lot of room for moves over the next few weeks.

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 03/09/21

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Each day, the NHL will publicly release the list of players that are unavailable to their respective teams due to being in COVID-19 Protocol. The list is in for today:

Edmonton – Kyle Turris*
Nashville – Erik Haula*
San Jose – Marcus Sorensen

As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:

(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol

Players removed today: Tomas Hertl, San Jose Sharks

It’s terrible news for the Predators to see Haula appear after losing Roman Josi to injury. The team has been stripped of almost all of their important players lately and now must deal with at least one other absence for tonight’s game.

Turris also becomes one of just a handful of players in the North Division to have appeared on the list and will be a very important situation to monitor in Edmonton. So far, the teams north of the border have not had any games postponed. Hopefully that continues.

*denotes new addition

Roman Josi Out Week-To-Week

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The Nashville Predators have struggled on the ice even when healthy, but now healthy they are not. The team’s injured reserve is already filled with important names like Matt Duchene, Ryan Ellis, Luke Kunin, and Juuse Saros, but now the final blow has been dealt. Captain Roman Josi has been listed as “week-to-week” by the team with a lower-body injury despite playing more than 25 minutes and scoring the shootout winner on Sunday night.

The team has recalled Mathieu Olivier, Rem Pitlick, and Jeremy Davies from the taxi squad for tonight’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes. Erik Haula will also not be available to the team after appearing on the COVID Protocol Related Absences list.

If there was any hope still left in Nashville that the Predators could turn things around, losing Josi for any length of time should kill it. The team is 11-14-0 on the season but carries a -21 goal differential, one of the worst marks in the entire NHL. Their best two defensemen, younger goaltender and top-line center are all sidelined by injury for the time being and the team has to play the Carolina Hurricanes, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Florida Panthers for the next six games.

There’s no doubt that Josi, the reigning Norris Trophy winner, is still the team’s most important player (even if Filip Forsberg has been carrying the entire offensive load on his back this season). The 30-year-old captain is averaging more than 25 minutes a night once again and is second in team scoring, with 16 points in 25 games. Losing Josi and Ellis in quick succession suddenly leaves a Predators blueline looking awfully thin, especially when considering that Mattias Ekholm is apparently available for trade. Perhaps this is the push that GM David Poile needed to really embrace the firesale that seems inevitable in Nashville.

Pittsburgh Penguins Activate Juuso Riikola

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After missing 20 games, Juuso Riikola is back on the active roster. The Pittsburgh Penguins have activated the young defenseman off injured reserve, while replacing him there with Jared McCann. McCann, who is dealing with an upper-body injury, has been placed on IR retroactive to March 7. Josh Currie has also been moved to the taxi squad after the team recalled Anthony Angello from it.

Riikola is the biggest story today, given how long he’s been out for the Penguins. After playing just two games for the team in January, he suffered an upper-body injury and was eventually moved to long-term injured reserve. If you’re thinking ’Riikola isn’t that important anyway,’ the Penguins obviously disagreed when they handed him a two-year, $2.3MM deal in September. He had played in just 73 NHL games to that point, but the undrafted defenseman had obviously shown enough to lock down a regular role on the active roster, if not in the everyday lineup.

Now is his opportunity to show the new management group what he can do. Ron Hextall and Brian Burke have no allegiance to a player like Riikola, who was brought in and signed before they arrived, and perhaps that’s why Josh Yohe of The Athletic listed him as “Sure, he’s available” in his recent look at the trade status of every player on the Penguins’ roster. As long as he gets in the lineup, he’ll have a chance to prove he still belongs.

The other news is obviously McCann, who had just started to find his way again in Pittsburgh. On a four-game point streak, the young forward left his last game in the second period and didn’t return. He was another player that was trying to show the new front office his worth, but he’ll now be out at least a few games after being moved to IR. In 17 games this season, McCann has ten points.

Taxi Squad Shuffle: 03/09/21

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There has been plenty of roster movement between NHL teams and the taxi squad on a daily basis this season. Although some major names may be highlighted in separate articles, this is where you’ll find the majority of that shuffle news each day:

West Division

North Division

  • The Ottawa Senators have assigned Matthew Peca back to the taxi squad.  The 27-year-old has played in five games with Ottawa this season, picking up one assist while averaging 8:53 per game.
  • The Montreal Canadiens have loaned Paul Byron and Jesperi Kotkaniemi to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  Byron has been sent down on non-game days since clearing waivers last month while Montreal has rotated shuffling their waiver-exempt players to the taxi squad to free up a bit more cap room as well.
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs assigned Mikko Lehtonen to the taxi squad while recalling Kenny Agostino, per CapFriendly.  Agostino has 85 career NHL games under his belt but last saw action at the top level in 2018-19 with Montreal and New Jersey.

Central Division

  • Antoine Bibeau has been recalled to the Carolina Hurricanes taxi squad, where he will serve as the third goaltender while Petr Mrazek continues to deal with an injury. The 26-year-old Bibeau has a .901 save percentage in three games with the Chicago Wolves of the AHL this season.  His presence on the taxi squad was needed with Alex Nedeljkovic (along with Jake Bean) getting recalled to the active roster, per CapFriendly, as is their normal game-day activity.
  • The Dallas Stars have recalled Joel Kiviranta and Rhett Gardner from the taxi squad, sending Justin Dowling—who cleared waivers earlier today—back in their place. Kirivanta, 24, has four points in 11 games this season for the Stars.
  • The Florida Panthers have called up Owen Tippett from the taxi squad after moving Markus Nutivaara to injured reserve. Tippett, the tenth pick in the 2017 draft, still has just three points on the season and four in his 22-game NHL career.
  • A day after getting sent to the taxi squad, the Columbus Blue Jackets assigned Veini Vehvilainen to AHL Cleveland, per CapFriendly.  The 24-year-old has been limited to just two total appearances this season, one in the NHL and one in the minors.
  • The Chicago Blackhawks have recalled Nicolas Beaudin, Reese Johnson, and Lucas Carlsson from the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  Meanwhile, Ian Mitchell, who has played in every game so far this season, was sent to the taxi squad.
  • The Detroit Red Wings have recalled Alex Biega and Michael Rasmussen from the taxi squad while sending Valtteri Filppula to the taxi squad.  Filppula recently cleared waivers and is likely to be sent down on non-game days for a while.
  • The Tampa Bay Lightning have recalled Alex Barre-Boulet from the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  The 23-year-old made his NHL debut last month in a game against Carolina where he played 12:11.

East Division

  • The New York Rangers have recalled Patrick Khodorenko to the taxi squad, a move they’ve done a few times now this season. Khodorenko is still waiting for his first NHL action after signing a three-year entry-level contract last year. The 22-year-old center has just one point in seven AHL games this season.  Kaapo Kakko, K’Andre Miller, and Keith Kinkaid were also recalled from the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.
  • Ben Street has been recalled to the New Jersey Devils taxi squad after another excellent start to his AHL campaign. The minor league veteran has 11 points in ten games for the Binghamton Devils, continuing the point-per-game pace he has carried for years in the AHL.  Michael McLeod was also recalled from the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.
  • The Buffalo Sabres have recalled Henri Jokiharju, bringing him back to the active roster and moving Brandon Davidson to the taxi squad. Jokiharju, an important part of the Sabres future, hasn’t been playing up to his standard this season and has just two points in 17 games.
  • The Boston Bruins recalled quite a few players in advance of their game against the Islanders.  Per CapFriendly, Urho Vaakanainen, Jack Studnicka, Trent Frederic, and Steven Kampfer were all recalled to the taxi squad while Dan Vladar was added to the taxi squad and then recalled on an emergency basis.
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