Blackhawks Notes: Kruger, Toews, Prospects
When Marcus Kruger was removed from the game yesterday by the league’s new concussion protocol, he wasn’t happy. The Chicago Blackhawks forward was forced into the dressing room in the second period of last night’s 2-1 loss to the San Jose Sharks, only to play again in the third. Today while speaking to reporters, he said that he’d rather decide for himself if he needs to be taken out – which is exactly what the protocol is in place to prevent.
Even though Kruger was cleared to come back, and hadn’t suffered a concussion, it’s not easy for a player to be able to make the correct decision on whether or not his brain has been affected. The league will continue pulling players from the ice (as they did with Maple Leafs rookie Mitch Marner on Tuesday night) regardless of whether or not they’ve suffered a concussion. If it prevents even a single player from heading back onto the ice in a vulnerable state, it’s worth it. For a reminder of what concussions can do, just read the recent article on Marc Savard in the Boston Globe.
- In another injury note, though not related to concussions, Jonathan Toews is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury and didn’t take part in the Blackhawks’ practice today. When asked, head coach Joel Quenneville said that his captain is questionable for tomorrow’s game against the Ducks. The two teams will square off in the afternoon before the Hawks have to play Los Angeles the following night.
- Scott Powers of the Athletic points out that the Blackhawks have been fairly healthy this season, and many of their prized prospects are still waiting on a callup. Last season, the Hawks had recalled seven players by this point for at least a taste of NHL action while this year they have brought no one up. As prospect Mark McNeill puts it: “You just keep focusing on what’s going on here and working on your game. You can’t control whether there’s an injury or not or a recall or not. You just got to keep focus and keep working hard.” No word on whether the team will call someone up to replace Toews this weekend.
Toby Enstrom Leaves Team For Personal Matter
According to former NHL defenseman turned TSN analyst Shane Hnidy, Toby Enstrom has left the Winnipeg Jets and returned to his home in Sweden for a personal family matter. The team has no timetable for his return, and has not released any details.
Enstrom, 32, has long been a staple on the back end for the Jets/Thrashers, logging over 20 minutes a night in every year of his career. This season, the former eighth-round pick has put up 7 points in 22 games skating mostly alongside Tyler Myers when the big defender has been healthy.
For his career Enstrom has 295 points in 638 games, breaking in way back in 2007-08. A career +5 player on some very bad teams, he’s signed for one more season at $5.75MM before becoming an unrestricted free agent.
Hopefully all is well for Enstrom back home, and the trip is to celebrate something instead of grieve. A big part of the Jets, they’ll need him if they’re to turn around their slow start.
Roster Moves: Kuraly, Shaw
The Boston Bruins have decided to change things up, after their 4-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday. Mark Divver of the Providence Journal reports that Sean Kuraly has been returned to the AHL after just four games. In five total this season, the 23-year old has yet to record a point, playing just eight minutes a night.
While Kuraly isn’t a core piece, the Bruins were hoping to get just a bit more from the former fifth-round pick. His big body and physical style may eventually slot into the bottom six, but for now he’ll return to Providence to play in the AHL. The Bruins expect David Pastrnak to return tonight against the Ottawa Senators.
In Anaheim, the team has recalled Logan Shaw from the San Diego Gulls. This will mark Shaw’s debut in Anaheim after being acquired from Florida earlier this month. The team dealt Michael Sgarbossa for the 24-year old winger, hoping that he can slide into the fourth line for the majority of the season.
Playing in 53 NHL games last year, Shaw contributed 7 points. He also dressed for three of the Panthers’ playoff matches, but was held without a point. At the time of his acquisition, Ducks’ head coach Randy Carlyle said that he could “play right side or center”.
Canucks Sign Ben Hutton To Two-Year Extension
The Vancouver Canucks have found some certainty during this difficult season. Today they announced that they’ve signed Ben Hutton to a two-year extension that will pay him $2.8MM annually. The deal will kick in at the start of the 2017-18 season.
After selecting Hutton in the fifth-round of the 2012 draft (147th overall), the Canucks couldn’t have envisioned his quick rise to the NHL blueline. At just 22 last season, Hutton led all Vancouver defensemen in points with 25, in what would be an excellent rookie campaign. While he has only four points this season, he’s been relied upon even more, logging over 21 minutes a night.
With the Canucks floundering somewhere between contending and rebuilding, Hutton is a shining light for the future. The team will, however, be spending quite a bit of money on their defense next season as Erik Gudbranson and Nikita Tryamkin are up for new contracts and Alexander Edler, Chris Tanev and Luca Sbisa already cost $13MM combined. It’ll be an interesting offseason for a team who put money up this summer to try and compete during the closing Sedin window, but have gotten off to a tough 8-10-2 start.
With Hutton signed, GM Jim Benning says next on the list is former first-round pick Bo Horvat, a player he’d like to sign long-term if possible. The Canucks have roughly $55MM committed to just 15 players for next season, meaning that they’ll have somewhere around $18-20MM (depending on where the cap lands) to fill out their roster. Horvat, Gudbranson, and Tryamkin join many other including Brendan Gaunce and Michael Chaput on the team’s long list of RFAs this summer. If Horvat does indeed get a long-term deal, he’ll substantially eat into that cap space.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Metro Division Snapshots: Raanta, Calvert, Capitals
New York Rangers backup net minder Antti Raanta is 5 – 0 – 0 in six starts this season after besting the Penguins 5 – 2 Monday night and since joining the Blueshirts in 2015, the Finnish goalie 16 – 6 – 2 with a GAA of 2.20 and a Save % of 92.4%. While he isn’t a threat to the job of longtime Rangers starter Henrik Lundqvist, his superb play at the bargain basement price of $1M this year and next does give the Blueshirts one of the best backup bargains in the league, writes Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post.
Raanta was acquired from Chicago in the summer of 2015 in exchange for minor league forward Ryan Haggerty to replace Cam Talbot as Lundqvist’s understudy. He spent two seasons with the Blackhawks and saw action in 39 games. Raanta was originally inked by Chicago as an undrafted free agent in 2013.
Even though “King” Henrik is the unquestioned starter in New York, the plan is for the Rangers to limit his usage somewhat in order to keep him fresh for the playoffs. As such, Raanta is expected to see action in around 25 games this season. His stellar play means there is little to no drop off from Lundqvist when Raanta is in goal.
Even though Raanta is under contract for one more season, it’s quite possible he won’t be with the Rangers beyond the 2016-17 campaign. With the Rangers required to protect Lundqvist in the expansion draft, the new Vegas Golden Knights franchise will have the option of selecting the 27-year-old Raanta. At the very least he would be an excellent #2 goalie at an inexpensive price for the Golden Knights in their inaugural season.
More from the Metro Division:
- The Columbus Blue Jackets announced via their official Twitter account that Matt Calvert would miss tonight’s game against Calgary with an upper-body-injury. To take his place the team recalled forward Markus Hannikainen from Cleveland of the AHL. Calvert, who was hit by a shot in a recent game against the Rangers which ultimately required 36 stitches to his forehead, has two goals in 17 games this season. Hannikainen, 23, made his NHL debut tonight and was held scoreless in 9:47 of ice itme. He has five goals and eight points in 14 games for the Monsters.
- With just more than $700K in salary cap space, the Washington Capitals have had to be creative managing their roster as injuries have begun to pile up, as Isabelle Khurshudyan of The Washington Post writes. After forward Paul Carey was reassigned to the AHL following Sunday’s game, the Caps were left with just 11 healthy forwards. Subsequently, reserve defenseman Nate Schmidt skated as a forward at practice. It’s an option head coach Barry Trotz may need to employ in an actual game should the situation warrant it. The piece gives an interesting insight into the complexities of roster management in the salary cap era. Every day the Capitals can avoid having to call up a minor league player such as Carey adds to the amount of salary cap space the team banks for use later in the campaign. While they may need to recall a player to play in a game, there is no sense carrying him on the roster during breaks in the schedule.
Beaulieu Out Of Hospital After Taking Puck To The Throat
Montreal Canadiens blue liner Nathan Beaulieu was released from the hospital Wednesday after taking a puck to the throat area during the Habs 4 – 3 loss to Ottawa Tuesday, according to Arpon Basu of LHN.com. It’s unclear at this point how much time he will miss but Montreal head coach Michel Therrien did rule him out for Thursday’s home tilt against Carolina. Therrien also indicated it was unlikely Beaulieu would be in the lineup Saturday night.
Beaulieu has recorded six points – one goal and five assists – through 20 games to start the season while averaging better than 17 minutes per game. Now in his third full NHL campaign, Beaulieu has seen action in 171 games and tallied 38 points. He was Montreal’s first-round pick, selected 17th overall in 2011.
To take his spot, the Habs have called up Mark Barberio from St. John’s of the AHL. Barberio has yet to suit up in the NHL this season but has 14 points in 18 AHL contests so far this season. He also finished with 10 points in 30 games for the Habs last season.
The Canadiens are set to receive further blue line reinforcements in the form of Zach Redmond, who has been cleared to practice with the team. A broken foot has kept Redmond out of action all season. Redmond inked a two-year free agent contract with Montreal after spending the two previous seasons as a member of the Colorado Avalanche.
Pacific Division Snapshots: Brown, Strome, Russell
Dustin Brown spent eight seasons as the captain of the Los Angeles Kings, helping the team to two Stanley Cup championships during that time. He scored 54 points in 2011-12, the fifth consecutive campaign of at least 22 goals and 53 points, but since has seen his performance decline. Brown did tally 18 goals during the strike-shortened 2012-13 season but in the three full seasons since he’s averaged just 0.35 points-per-game. That performance regression in part prompted the Kings to remove the “C” from Brown’s sweater in order to give it to Anze Kopitar.
The Kings did look to move Brown this summer but with six seasons remaining on a contract that calls for an AAV of just shy of $6MM, there wasn’t much interest. Brown was critical of the decision, particularly in how the situation was handled, but the 13-year veteran has handled his business like a pro this season. In fact, as Josh Cooper of Yahoo writes, not having the responsibilities of the position any longer allows Brown to focus on playing hockey and his play has improved this season as a result.
“I’m not taking the game home with me, which in years past was a difficult thing not to do, partly because I … just as a competitor you want to take everything personally. Now I’m kind of detached a little bit from it, which is a good thing. So I get to come to work every day and do my job. It has been much easier to leave it here, which has been much healthier.”
Brown has six points in 20 games, a per-game average of 0.45. That prorates to a full, 82-game total of about 37 points. Brown has been part of an effective third line with Devin Setoguchi and Nic Dowd and for the first time in a long while he says he is enjoying the game:
“This is probably the first time I’ve had fun playing hockey in a couple of years. I know in saying that we play a game for a living. But I always say no matter if you’re playing a game or whatever you’re doing in life if you’re not having fun it’s tough to do.”
Even with the uptick in production it’s unlikely Brown will ever again be worth his cap charge. But the Kings must nonetheless be pleased to see even a moderate improvement from their former captain.
Elsewhere in the Pacific Division:
- Dylan Strome has tons of skill and plenty of hockey instincts. But Arizona GM John Chayka and team bench boss Dave Tippett believe the one thing holding him back at this point in his young career is a lack of physical maturity, as Craig Morgan of Arizona Sports writes. Strome was recently returned to the Erie Otters of the OHL after a seven game spin at the NHL level. He tallied just a single assist and was a minus-5 while averaging 13:41 of ice time per game. Strome’s struggles represent one of the issues regarding Canadian junior players. His development won’t be helped by returning to the OHL as he’s simply too good for that level. But as we’ve seen, he isn’t physically ready for the challenges of the NHL and he can’t be sent to the AHL to play against other professionals due to the rules in place. However, as Morgan notes, Strome will be eligible to represent Canada at the upcoming Word Juniors, which as Chayka points out, will allow him to serve as a leader on the Canadian squad: “I think that’s important to be in Canada for him,” Chayka said. “He should be a big part of that team; a big part of that leadership group.”
- Kris Russell has his critics as a player, particularly among the analytical community. Yet the Edmonton Oilers, who signed the veteran defender late in the offseason, are pleased with what he has brought to the table, as Robert Tychkowski of the Edmonton Journal writes. The numbers that matter most to the Oilers is the team’s won-loss record when he is in the lineup versus when he is out. Edmonton is 9 – 3 – 1 with Russell playing and just 2 – 5 – 0 when he does not play. While he isn’t putting up big counting numbers, in the opinion of bench boss Todd McLellan, Russell has helped add stability to a unit that has been below-average over the last several seasons: “I don’t think it’s coincidence. I think he does bring enough stability back there that he has an impact on the outcome of games.” Russell had to wait through the summer before landing a deal with Edmonton but if he continues to impress Oilers management, the team could look to lock up the 10-year vet before he hits the free agency next July.
Vegas Notes: Exempt List, Salary Retention, Minority Owners
Earlier today, the full list of players who require protection from the expansion draft due to no-movement clauses was released, and it’s an interesting study to be sure. Out of the 66 names on the list, four teams are fully unhindered by the clauses. Calgary, San Jose, St. Louis and Washington are free to protect their full compliment of players, having not given out a single NMC that would fall under automatic protection. Even Brent Burns‘ new mega-deal doesn’t contain the clause, even though he would already be an obvious protection candidate.
While some of the information may be news to fans, each individual franchise likely had a good understanding of who would be on this list and shouldn’t be shocked by the release today. That doesn’t stop the speculation however, that teams like the Anaheim Ducks and New York Rangers will be looking to make a move to ensure they get something in return a young player instead of exposing him to the draft.
- Alex Prewitt of SI gave some interesting info today about the possibility of salary retention on selected players. Though the new franchise will be able to include salary in pre and post draft trades like any other club, they will not be able to reach a salary retention agreement with any selected player. This likely could have been used as a loophole to make deals with the Vegas club, something that the NHL wants to stop as much as possible. This draft is supposed to be as above-board as possible, with the league even saying everything will have to “pass the smell test”.
- Despite rumors circulating today that MLB free agent Jose Bautista and NFL star Rob Gronkowski were among those who held a minority stake in the Vegas hockey club, Prewitt reports that there is in fact no investors of any kind other than Bill Foley and the Maloof family. While Prewitt admits that there is a group of investors looking to form an LLC to invest in the Golden Knights, nothing has been submitted or approved by league offices, a required step for any investment.
Injury Notes: Couturier, Gaborik, Cunningham
The Philadelphia Flyers’ nightmare season continues. Today, the team will recall Scott Laughton from Lehigh Valley to replace Sean Couturier, who will be out for 4-6 weeks with a left knee injury. According to Sam Carchidi, Couturier will be examined this afternoon in Philadelphia but has already been placed on injured reserve. The 23-year old centerman had eight points in twenty games this season.
For Laughton, this won’t be the first time he’s set foot on NHL ice, but it will be the first this season. The 22-year old former first-rounder played 71 games for the Flyers last season, recording 21 points but was injured early in training camp and had been playing in the AHL since his return. Eight points in eight games at the lower level as he shook off the rust, and proved that he’s ready for an NHL return. As Carchidi reports, he’ll be available to dress tonight against the Tampa Bay Lightning, though there has been no indication whether or not he’ll get into the lineup right away.
- Marian Gaborik is back with the Los Angeles Kings and aiming for Saturday to make his season debut, according to Kings beat reporter Elliott Teaford. The 34-year old sniper has been out since suffering an injury at the World Cup in Toronto in September, breaking his right foot in a game against Sweden. The Kings will hope that he’ll come back fresh and looking to show that last year wasn’t what to expect going forward. The former 40-goal man only scored 12 goals and 22 points last season, the lowest point total of his career. He also played in only 54 games, a mark he’ll hope to eclipse this season (the Kings have 62 games remaining).
- Sarah McLellan of AZ Central is reporting that Craig Cunningham is still in stable but critical condition after suffering a heart attack on the ice Saturday night. Cunningham was playing for the Tucson Roadrunners when he collapsed on the ice and needed to be taken to a local hospital.
- Tyler Myers has officially been moved to the injured reserve, retroactive to November 11th, reports Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun. The defenseman suffered a lower-body injury just three days after he was last activated from the IR. The hulking blueliner has played in just 11 games this season, scoring five points.
Central Notes: Blues, Blackhawks, Predators
The Blues offense have received a spark in their offensive production writes the St. Louis Dispatch’s Tom Timmermann. It’s been the shifting of lines that has opened up the scoring for the Blues, who were struggling to put the puck in the net. Timmermann reports that Hitchcock began tinkering with his lines after the second period began during their 4-2 vicotry over Boston, and success was born. Timmermann adds that Hitchcock is a big fan of Jaden Schwartz and Paul Stastny on a line and they’ve seen a bump in their production with the pairing. Timmermann also writes about Jake Allen‘s dominance in net, stopping all 64 shots he’s faced in third periods dating back to November 3. In his last four games, Allen has allowed two goals or less, and has posted a .953 save percentage.
In other Central Division news:
- Mark Lazerus writes that the Blackhawks’ stars are struggling on their long Circus Trip that takes them away from Chicago for seven consecutive games. Lazerus reports that while the bigger name players filed out of the locker room after a 5-0 loss to Edmonton, it was Corey Crawford who stayed to answer the tough questions for the teammates who have been bailed out several times by his performances this season. Lazerus goes on:
Jonathan Toews hasn’t scored a goal in seven games, and hasn’t had a point in all four games on the trip. Patrick Kane hasn’t scored on the trip, and has one goal in his last seven games. After his blistering start, Artem Anisimov has no goals and one assist in his last six games. Artemi Panarin — who is emerging as one of the Hawks’ most important players, given his line’s consistently great possession numbers, and given the way he has rejuvenated Marian Hossa the same way he elevated Kane’s play last season — has just one goal in his last six games. Even Richard Panik, who actually led the NHL in goals through six games, hasn’t scored in 14 games, and is pointless in his last 10.
About the only one who Lazerus feels is pulling his weight on the trip is Hossa, who has helped the Hawks through a tough road trip where they’ve managed to come back several times from large deficits and poor performances.
- The Nashville Predators stunned the hockey world when they acquired P.K. Subban and according to the defenseman’s parents, the change has not been as simple as people thought it would be. Adam Vingan writes that the transition to Nashville has been made simpler because Montreal wasn’t always the best fit for him. But it doesn’t completely cushion the shock that Subban felt when he was dealt. His parents are both confident that he will acclimate to his new surroundings because P.K. is one who “never halfheartedly tackles life’s problems.”
- In other Preds news, Matt Carle and Cody Bass were waived tweets Chris Johnston. Carle was signed to a one-year deal for $700K back in July. Cody signed a two-year deal back in June.