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Archives for December 2021

2021 Year In Review: January

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2021 has certainly been another eventful year both on and off the rink.  Over the coming days, PHR will take a look back at the top stories from around the game on a month-by-month basis.  We begin with the month of January.

Barzal Bridge: Throughout the entire COVID delay to the start of the 2020-21 season, the expectation was that the Islanders would be forced to do a bridge deal with their top center in Mathew Barzal.  In the end, it’s exactly what happened as the two sides agreed to a three-year, $21MM contract that will carry a qualifying offer of $8.4MM in 2023.  While a longer-term contract was preferable for both sides, the shorter term gave New York a little bit more wiggle room to work with which they used to officially complete contracts for veterans Matt Martin, Tom Kuhnhackl, Andy Greene, and Cory Schneider.  Barzal hasn’t been able to match the production from his Calder-winning season in 2017-18 when he averaged over a point per game but he is still an offensive weapon on a team that is best known for being a low-scoring squad.

Crawford Retires: It was somewhat surprising when Corey Crawford left Chicago and signed a two-year, $7.8MM contract with the Devils.  In the end, Crawford decided not to go through with it, instead announcing his retirement.  He hung up his skates with a 260-162-53 record with a 2.45 GAA, .918 SV%, and 26 shutouts along with a pair of Stanley Cup titles in 2013 and 2015, all coming with the Blackhawks.  Meanwhile, with no other veteran netminders available that close to the start of the season, New Jersey opted to have Scott Wedgewood serve as the backup last season with Aaron Dell and Eric Comrie also seeing limited action with the team.

Swapping Young Stars: Pierre-Luc Dubois didn’t exactly hide his desire to leave Columbus while Patrik Laine and Jack Roslovic were certainly amenable to leaving Winnipeg.  In the end, the three were all swapped for each other with the Jets picking up a third-round pick along with Dubois.  Columbus retained enough of Dubois’ salary to make it a match with Laine while Roslovic quickly signed a two-year, $3.8MM bridge deal after being acquired.  Interestingly enough, it was Roslovic who had the best season of the three as he picked up 34 points in 48 games with his new team.  This season, however, Dubois has gotten off to a particularly strong start, notching more points than Laine and Roslovic combined (although Laine has been limited to just 10 games due to an oblique injury).

Big Extensions: After a promising rookie season, Penguins GM Jim Rutherford was quite impressed with John Marino and handed him a six-year, $24.4MM extension that bought out the remainder of his RFA-eligible years plus three UFA seasons.  At the time, it looked like the deal had the potential to be a big bargain for them down the road if he was able to build on his rookie performance although there was some risk considering how inexperienced he was.  The early returns have been inconsistent as he took a bit of a step back last season although Marino has bounced back this season, logging 22 minutes a game while chipping in with 12 points in 30 games.  That’s the type of performance that could make this a team-friendly deal in the near future.

Meanwhile, the Blue Jackets were able to lock up one of their top young talents, inking Oliver Bjorkstrand to a five-year, $27MM extension.  He has become a reliable top-six piece for Columbus and has become fairly consistent in the scoring department, ranging between 0.32 and 0.4 goals per game (between 26 and 33 over an 82-game season) in each of the last four years.  The contract more than doubled his AAV at the time and bought out four seasons of UFA eligibility.

Rutherford Resigns: Just weeks after signing Marino, Rutherford abruptly resigned as GM of the Penguins, citing personal reasons for why he decided to leave.  He was at the helm of Pittsburgh since 2014 with the team winning a pair of Stanley Cups during his tenure with them.  Of course, this won’t be the last time that Rutherford finds himself in one of these Month in Review columns over the coming days with him now being in Vancouver.  Patrik Allvin took over as interim GM and has been speculatively linked as a candidate to join Rutherford with the Canucks in the coming weeks.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NHL Extends Holiday Break, Postpones December 27th Games

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The NHL announced per a tweet Friday evening that all games scheduled to take place on Monday, December 27 are postponed in order to provide for adequate COVID-19 testing results after teams return from the holiday break.

Teams are still permitted to return to practice on Sunday, December 26.

There were 14 games scheduled to happen on Monday. Only the Chicago Blackhawks, Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders, and Tampa Bay Lightning are unaffected by these postponements.

The league said in their press release today that a further update on their return to play plans will come on Sunday. If an additional rash of positive tests come in that weekend, it’s exceedingly likely that further postponements will happen.

50 games had already been postponed this year, bringing the total number of postponements to 64.

Czechia Announces Final Roster For 2022 WJC

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After their pre-tournament game against Switzerland was cancelled yesterday due to COVID-19 concerns, Czechia has named their final roster for the 2022 World Junior Championships which begin in earnest on December 26.

Two names in particular of note on this team are David Jiricek and Jiri Kulich, who are both eligible for the 2022 NHL Draft. Jiricek is a likely top-ten and potential top-five selection come July, and a good tournament could help solidify that positioning. He’s actually serving as an assistant captain for the team along with 19-year-old undrafted Michal Gut. Montreal Canadiens prospect Jan Mysak was announced as the team’s captain earlier in the week.

Jiricek is impressing this season with five goals and six assists in 29 games with HC Plzen in the Czech Extraliga. Kulich, a likely second- or third-round selection, has seven goals and four assists with Karlovy Vary in the Extraliga.

The Czechs will be watched intently by Columbus Blue Jackets fans, as they carry a pair of talented prospects in defenseman Stanislav Svozil and forward Martin Rysavy. Svozil somewhat unexpectedly fell to the third round in 2021 where Columbus drafted him 69th overall. He’s done well in his first season in North America, posting a goal and 17 assists in 26 games with the WHL’s Regina Pats. Rysavy, a seventh-rounder in 2021, has five goals and 11 assists in 28 games with the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors.

Toronto Maple Leafs Place William Nylander In COVID Protocol

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The Toronto Maple Leafs tweeted out this afternoon that the team placed right wing William Nylander into the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol.

Nylander becomes the seventh forward and 13th Maple Leaf on the protocol list. Morgan Rielly entered protocol just yesterday.

John Tavares, Alexander Kerfoot, Ilya Mikheyev, David Kampf, Wayne Simmonds, Jason Spezza, Rasmus Sandin, Travis Dermott, T.J. Brodie, Jack Campbell, and Petr Mrazek round out the rest of the COVID absences for Toronto.

In all likelihood, this means that Nylander won’t be available if the team resumes playing next week. The 25-year-old Swede is enjoying his best season to date, posting 13 goals and 18 assists for 31 points in 30 games while playing 18:47 per game.

With Nylander now out, when Toronto hits the ice again, it’ll likely give a chance for players like Kyle Clifford and Joey Anderson to get back onto the active roster and play some games.

What Your Team Is Thankful For: New Jersey Devils

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As the holiday season approaches, PHR will take a look at what teams are thankful for as the season passes the one-quarter mark. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the New Jersey Devils. 

What are the Devils thankful for?

The World Junior Championship.

Look, it’s not very pretty watching Devils games right now. The team has lost six in a row, nine of their last ten, and now own the worst goal differential in the Metropolitan Division. In a season where they were supposed to be at least competitive, things have gone downhill, fast.

So around the holidays, what better way to soothe that ache than watching some of the Devils’ top prospects do battle on the international stage. Fans got an up-close look at Alexander Holtz when he played six NHL games earlier this season, but he’s now back with Team Sweden at his third WJC tournament. Shakir Mukhamadullin is one of the leaders of the Russian team and looks like he’ll be in the NHL in no time. Perhaps the most exciting is Luke Hughes, that fourth-overall pick and key building block who is suiting up for the U.S.

Of all the prospects in the Devils system, those three are arguably the most important. You can watch them all battle when the event kicks off tomorrow.

Who are the Devils thankful for?

Dawson Mercer.

If there’s one player that has been anything but disappointing this season it’s Mercer, who only turned 20 in October but is already handling NHL minutes with aplomb. Another one of those first-round picks, Mercer has 16 points in 30 games, strong possession numbers, and is averaging more than 16 minutes a night. Sure, he’s been completely outclassed in the faceoff dot and still has plenty of work to do to polish his overall game, but there have been so many brilliant moments that his ceiling looks higher than expected and his absolute floor has risen to that of an NHL middle-six player.

It’s hard to see why there would ever be a time moving forward that the Devils don’t pencil Mercer into the lineup and that’s a huge step forward for an organization that needed to build out support for Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier. It looks like there will be more pain this season, but things are trending in the right direction, at least in terms of development.

What would the Devils be even more thankful for?

A healthy Hughes.

It was supposed to go so differently. This was the year that Hughes was supposed to take a big step forward and establish himself as a true top-line player in the league. He looked stronger in the offseason and things got off to a great start. In his first game, he scored twice, including a brilliant overtime winner that showed just how much confidence he had entered the season with. He had an assist in the first period of his next game before a hit from Seattle’s Jeremy Lauzon resulted in a dislocated shoulder for Hughes and a recovery period of six weeks.

While he avoided surgery, it immediately stole all of that offseason momentum for the young forward and forced him to–as Ray Ferraro of ESPN often says–jump on a moving train when he was ready to return. He’s done fine since rejoining the club, registering three goals and five points in 11 games, but is still missing some of that swagger from the start of the year. If Hughes can stay healthy for the rest of the season and get that back, perhaps the team can do a little more damage in the second half.

What should be on the Devils’ Holiday Wish List?

A Jesper Bratt extension.

The Devils don’t need to sell at the deadline this year. They likely will, if they can find a taker and add a few draft picks, but they’re past the hoarding section of the rebuild. Now they need to lock in these good young players and find a way to put together a competitive roster.

If Mercer’s development is the best thing from the team this season, Bratt’s play isn’t far behind. The 23-year-old forward has been the most reliable player on the roster from the start and is scoring at a career-best pace. His 24 points in 29 games lead the club and almost all of that damage has been done at even strength. If the Devils’ powerplay could improve–it’s currently clicking at just 12.9%–there’s a real chance Bratt could put up a 60 or even 70-point season at this rate.

While that’s a wonderful threshold to break for the young forward, it would also come with a cost for the Devils. Bratt will be a restricted free agent again this offseason and this time he’s eligible for arbitration. That kind of production would put him in the driver’s seat in terms of arbitration leverage, meaning a big ask would be on the table. An extension now at a more reasonable price might be prudent, if GM Tom Fitzgerald can get his representatives to the table.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Jani Hakanpaa Placed In COVID Protocol

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The small number of teams not currently affected by COVID-related absences has shrunk by one, as the Dallas Stars placed Jani Hakanpaa in the protocol today according to Saad Yousuf of The Athletic.

Hakanpaa, 29, has filled a depth role for the Stars this season, averaging just over 15 minutes a night in 28 appearances. The hulking defenseman–who stands 6’6″–is one of the most physical players in the league, routinely separating an opponent from the puck by driving them to the ice. In those limited minutes he has 70 hits, after racking up 215 in last year’s shortened season split between Anaheim and Carolina.

One of the most imposing players in the league, losing Hakanpaa for the next ten days–assuming he tested positive, which was not confirmed by the team–would leave an interesting decision for the Stars management and coaching staff. Top prospect Thomas Harley could be recalled to enter the lineup, but he’s both not the same style of player nor the same handedness as Hakanpaa. Someone like the 6’4″ Alex Petrovic might be a more apt replacement, though he hasn’t played in an NHL game since 2018-19.

Regardless, given the depth role he plays, there shouldn’t be much issue for the Stars if it is limited to just Hakanpaa. The team is set to return to action on Monday against the Nashville Predators.

IIHF Cancels U18 Women’s World Championship, Other Events

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Dec 24: The IIHF has made it official, canceling six tournaments for January. President Luc Tardif released the following statement:

These are hard facts to have to face, and as with last year we must take the difficult decision to cancel men’s and women’s IIHF events, including the women’s U18 top division now for the second year in a row. 
 
It is the consensus of the IIHF Medical Committee that the organizers would not have the capability to manage an outbreak of the virus, especially with the rapid transfer of the Omicron variant that we have seen in the NHL and other leagues.

Dec 23: ESPN’s Emily Kaplan reported today that the International Ice Hockey Federation is cancelling all of its events scheduled for January 2022 due to the continued spread of COVID-19, including most notably the U18 Women’s World Championship for a second straight year.

Other cancelled events are the Division IIB and Division III Men’s World Junior Championships and the Division IA, 1B, and Division II U18 Women’s World Championships.

It’s worth noting that this cancellation does not affect the current Men’s World Junior Championship in Edmonton and Red Deer, where pre-tournament games got underway today. It was also held last year in a bubble format, while the U18 Women’s Championship was cancelled.

Last year’s U18 Men’s Championship was not affected, and as of now, the IIHF still plans to hold the 2022 U18 Men’s Championship in April.

Colorado Avalanche Could Look For Added Defense Depth

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Despite being tied for the best points percentage in the Western Conference at the holiday break, the Colorado Avalanche haven’t had their ideal start to the 2021-22 season. The team was expected by many to be far and away the best team in the Central Division, but a gigantic rash of injuries to core players has limited them this year.

They’re definitely not alone in that fact, but a few long-term injuries on defense and some concerning numbers from their goaltenders leave the Avalanche with the sixth-most goals against in the conference (91). That’s why The Athletic’s Peter Baugh suggests in a mailbag piece that the team could look to add on defense if the injury situation there doesn’t improve.

Colorado expected both Bowen Byram and Ryan Murray to play some meaningful minutes this year supplementing one of the best 1-2-3 punches in the league on the back end with Cale Makar, Devon Toews, and Samuel Girard. They’re both out for indefinite periods of time.

A logical trade partner for them is the Toronto Maple Leafs, who have a logjam on defense and are looking to ship out a player to create some roster and salary cap flexibility. Both Justin Holl and Travis Dermott could be moved out, and there’s a decent chance Colorado looks at one of these players.

Holl’s really struggled on both sides of the puck this season (just one assist in 24 games) and was healthy scratched for a few games, but he is playing over 20 minutes a night on one of the better teams in the league. He’s also just one season removed from posting solid defensive results on a shutdown pair with Jake Muzzin. While he hasn’t been able to find that consistency this year, a change of scenery could benefit Holl, who’d also give Colorado some cost certainty as he’s signed through 2023.

There’s also the matter of Dermott, who’s likely a more attractive trade option for Colorado. He’s four years younger than Holl and while he too has struggled offensively (just two points in 19 games), he’s been much less mistake-prone than Holl this year and provides more upside. He’s also signed through 2023 for $500,000 less than Holl, an appealing prospect for a contending and spending team like Colorado.

Poll: Who Will Win The 2022 World Junior Championship?

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In three days, the best junior-aged hockey players in the world will kick off one of the most exciting international tournaments around. Teams from the U.S., Canada, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Germany, Czechia, Austria, Slovakia, and Switzerland will do battle at the IIHF World Junior Championship in Red Deer and Edmonton, Alberta.

Today all ten teams were supposed to play their lone pre-tournament tune-up games, but the match between Czechia and Switzerland was canceled due to COVID protocols. Bob McKenzie of TSN tweets that one player from that game (it is unclear from which team) has tested positive for coronavirus and will be immediately isolated. The other games are still scheduled to proceed.

The U.S. lost their pre-tournament match against Finland today after Red Savage was given a five-minute major and match penalty in the third period. Savage will likely have to serve a suspension when the tournament begins, though that has not yet been determined. They also lost Ty Smilanic to injury, as Corey Pronman of The Athletic relays he will likely to miss some games.

Both those teams would be considered contenders for the gold, as they’re littered with NHL prospects at every position.

For the Americans, it’s Jake Sanderson and Matty Beniers’ team. The former was the fifth-overall pick by the Ottawa Senators in 2020 and will log huge minutes in all situations for Team USA. Sanderson was named captain this week and has the skating ability to dominate a tournament like this. Beniers meanwhile was the second-overall pick in 2021 by the Seattle Kraken and is the kind of lynchpin center that you can build an entire forward group around. Both were part of the team that won gold at last year’s tournament.

The Finns meanwhile took home the bronze in last year’s event and several of those names are back for revenge. Topi Niemela, a Toronto Maple Leafs third-round pick was named the tournament’s best defenseman in 2021 and is back for more. Another Maple Leafs pick is captaining the group; Roni Hirvonen showed exactly why he’s the leader as he ended today’s match in overtime with a blistering wrist shot. But don’t forget about draft-eligible Brad Lambert, who could go as high as second overall in 2022 if he has a strong stretch run.

As always, Canada is a medal favorite once again after winning silver a year ago. The Canadians are so loaded this time around that Owen Power, the first-overall pick in 2021, isn’t even one of the captains. The “C” will be on Kaiden Guhle’s chest instead, as he returns to lead this group after last year’s defeat. With Power, this group could have three first-overall picks as Shane Wright (projected first for 2022) and Connor Bedard (2023) are both on the team.

Bedard isn’t the only contender for that spot though, and Russia also heads to Red Deer with their 2023-eligible superstar. Matvei Michkov has been breaking junior records set by Alex Ovechkin and Nikita Kucherov as he prepares for his spotlight moment in Alberta. The MVP at the U18 tournament last year, Michkov put up 12 goals and 16 points in just seven games. Russia has had trouble on defense internationally for the past few years, but New Jersey Devils prospect Shakir Mukhamadullin will try to change that. He’s already in his third year as a regular in the KHL, so taking advantage of some players his own age shouldn’t be an issue.

And then there’s Sweden, who have two forwards on the roster who played in the NHL this season (Canada has three). William Eklund and Alexander Holtz are both still looking for their first NHL goals, but they won’t have to wait long to score in this tournament considering their history. Holtz has already played in this event twice before but he’s looking for his first gold.

So which team will actually take home the top prize? The two groups can be found here. Things kick off on December 26 when Finland takes on Germany.

[Mobile users click here to vote]

Frederik Andersen, Jesper Fast Added To COVID Protocol

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Dec 23: The Hurricanes have also added Jesper Fast to the protocol as their testing continues to reveal more cases. The Hurricanes are going to be severely shorthanded should they return to the ice as scheduled.

Dec 22: Despite the NHL now on their holiday break, COVID concerns around the league should not be forgotten. Players that enter the protocol in the coming days will likely be unavailable when their teams return to action, given the usual ten-day isolation period. For the Carolina Hurricanes, that means their starting goaltender might be missing when things start up again next week. Frederik Andersen has been placed in the COVID protocol.

Andersen, 32, has been a true Vezina candidate this season for the Hurricanes, posting a .930 save percentage in 21 games. His 1.93 goals-against average is the best in the league, and his numbers across the board are the best of his career. Given the fact that Antti Raanta hasn’t been totally healthy, Andersen’s ability to carry the load for Carolina has been extremely important.

The Hurricanes are set to resume action on December 27, but now have nine players in the protocol. Andersen joins Stefan Noesen, Andrei Svechnikov, Steven Lorentz, Jordan Staal, Seth Jarvis, Sebastian Aho, Brendan Smith, and Ian Cole on the outside looking in, though some of those players will be eligible to return before the team’s next game.

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