COVID Protocol Related Absences: 05/10/21
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. Here is today’s list:
Colorado – Devan Dubnyk
Washington – Evgeny Kuznetsov
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: None
The same two players remain out, with Kuznetsov now in the protocol for seven days. The Capitals have just one game left in the regular season, tomorrow night against Boston, meaning the talented center could have to wait until the playoffs begin to get his game legs back under him.
*denotes new addition
Taxi Squad Shuffle: 05/10/21
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
- Sam Carrick has been sent back to the AHL by the Anaheim Ducks, now that their season is over. Carrick can take part in the Pacific Division postseason, the only minor league playoffs that will be held this season.
North Division
- The Winnipeg Jets have recalled Eric Comrie and Dominic Toninato from the taxi squad under emergency conditions. Comrie was just announced as the team’s Masterton Trophy nominee, after a season that saw him claimed and then reclaimed on waivers, with very little playing time to show for it.
- The Toronto Maple Leafs have reassigned Denis Malgin to the taxi squad after his outstanding season in Switzerland. The 24-year-old scored 19 goals and 42 points in 45 games for Lausanne HC and is now back in North America to give the Maple Leafs a little more playoff depth.
Central Division
- After clearing waivers, Calvin Pickard has been reassigned to the AHL by the Detroit Red Wings. Pickard has played six games for the Red Wings this season, posting an .874 save percentage.
- The Carolina Hurricanes have recalled Joey Keane from the AHL and expect him to make his NHL debut this evening. The 21-year-old defenseman has 12 points in 21 games with the Chicago Wolves this season.
- With several players sitting out tonight, the Nashville Predators have recalled forwards Rem Pitlick and Michael McCarron, defenseman Tyler Lewington, and goaltender Kasimir Kaskisuo from the taxi squad.
East Division
- The Washington Capitals have sent Paul Ladue and Michael Sgarbossa to the AHL, while recalling Pheonix Copley, Martin Fehervary, and Philippe Maillet to the taxi squad.
This page will be updated throughout the day
New York Rangers Extend Ryan Lindgren
After just a few days on the job, New York Rangers GM Chris Drury has completed his first big move. The team has signed Ryan Lindgren to a three-year contract extension. Lindgren was set to become a restricted free agent this summer. Chris Johnston of Sportsnet tweets the full breakdown:
- 2021-22: $2MM salary
- 2022-23: $3MM salary
- 2023-24: $4MM salary
Earlier today, the Rangers named Lindgren this year’s winner of their Players’ Player Award, which is awarded “to the Ranger who, as selected by his teammates, best exemplifies what it means to be a team player.”
Originally selected by the Boston Bruins in 2016, Lindgren was one of the pieces the Rangers received in the 2018 Rick Nash deal. He played in 51 games this season, often pairing with Norris Trophy candidate Adam Fox, and recorded 16 points. While Lindgren didn’t receive any powerplay time, he did trail only Fox in shorthanded ice time this season, averaging 2:30 on the penalty kill every night.
That kind of defensive presence is valuable and obviously worth it to the Rangers as they move forward with new management. The 23-year-old Lindgren would not have been eligible for salary arbitration, but won’t even need to enter into any free agent negotiations.
Importantly, he will still be an RFA at the deal’s expiry, leaving the Rangers with a bit of team control down the road. If his development continues, by the time he’s 26 he’ll be looking for a much more expensive long-term deal. For now, he comes in as the team’s third-highest-paid defender for next season, though Anthony DeAngelo‘s final year is expected to be bought out this offseason. The team has one more year of Fox on his entry-level deal, one of the most valuable contracts in the league right now.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Two Players Clear Waivers
May 10: Both players have cleared waivers.
May 9: The waiver wire has been relatively quiet over the past month but a pair of players are on the wire today as CapFriendly reports (Twitter links) that Detroit goaltender Calvin Pickard and Anaheim center Sam Carrick have both been waived. The intention for both teams is to get their respective veterans back to the AHL for the final few games with the Ducks’ affiliate also set to take part in the Pacific Division playoffs. Pickard had been on recall long enough to require waivers to go back down while Carrick had played in more than ten games, necessitating his placement.
Pickard has spent the majority of the season on the taxi squad for the Red Wings although he has managed to get into six games with Detroit, including four starts. In those contests, he posted a 3.16 GAA with a save percentage of .874. He suited up just once with AHL Grand Rapids this season but will now have a chance to get into a few more games over the final week. The 29-year-old is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.
As for Carrick, he was relatively productive in his time with the Ducks this season, posting two goals and four assists in 13 games while averaging just under 13 minutes per game. That more than doubled his career point output over parts of four previous years with Toronto and Anaheim. Carrick has also been productive with AHL San Diego, picking up 14 goals and 10 helpers in 27 games, sitting fifth in team scoring despite playing in just three games in the minors since the end of March. Like Pickard, the 29-year-old will become an unrestricted free agent this summer.
It’s worth noting that players claimed off waivers after the trade deadline are ineligible to play for the remainder of the season. As a result, there’s little reason for anyone to place a claim and assuming they clear on Monday, they’ll be able to return to their respective AHL teams.
New York Islanders Change Name Of AHL Affiliate
The Bridgeport Sound Tigers are dead; now is the time of the Bridgeport Islanders. The New York Islanders announced today that they have changed the name of their AHL affiliate to better link the two franchises. The Bridgeport Islanders will have a new logo and retain the blue and orange organizational colors. New York AGM Chris Lamoriello released a statement on the change:
Having the Islanders name associated with Bridgeport, creates a stronger tie between the NHL team and the top development team. Every time a player puts on the Bridgeport uniform, he will be putting on the identical uniform the NHL team wears, except for the new logo.
In 2004, the NHL team bought the AHL club and the two now hold the fifth-longest affiliation in AHL history. Bridgeport was unsuccessful in the shortened minor league season this year, going just 8-14-2 in 24 games. In the team’s 20-year history, it has not been able to take home a Calder Cup championship, though did make it to the finals in their inaugural season. They last made the AHL playoffs in 2018-19.
Nominees Announced For 2021 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy
The Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy is given out annually to the NHL player who exemplifies perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey. The award has been voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association since 1968, and today they announced their nominees for 2021.
Past winners of the award include Bobby Ryan (2020), Robin Lehner (2019), Brian Boyle (2018), Craig Anderson (2017), Jaromir Jagr (2016), Devan Dubnyk (2015), Dominic Moore (2014), and Josh Harding (2013).
Below are the nominees from each team:
Anaheim Ducks – David Backes
Arizona Coyotes – Phil Kessel
Boston Bruins – Kevan Miller
Buffalo Sabres – Dustin Tokarski
Calgary Flames – Milan Lucic
Carolina Hurricanes – Jordan Staal
Chicago Blackhawks – Andrew Shaw
Colorado Avalanche – Valeri Nichushkin
Columbus Blue Jackets – Zac Dalpe
Dallas Stars – Roope Hintz
Detroit Red Wings – Danny DeKeyser
Edmonton Oilers – Mike Smith
Florida Panthers – Chris Driedger
Los Angeles Kings – Matt Roy
Minnesota Wild – Matt Dumba
Montreal Canadiens – Corey Perry
Nashville Predators – Pekka Rinne
New Jersey Devils – Scott Wedgewood
New York Islanders – Casey Cizikas
New York Rangers – Colin Blackwell
Ottawa Senators – Nick Paul
Philadelphia Flyers – Oskar Lindblom
Pittsburgh Penguins – Casey DeSmith
San Jose Sharks – Patrick Marleau
St. Louis Blues – Vladimir Tarasenko
Tampa Bay Lightning – Steven Stamkos
Toronto Maple Leafs – Jack Campbell
Vancouver Canucks – Tyler Motte
Vegas Golden Knights – Marc-Andre Fleury
Washington Capitals – Zdeno Chara
Winnipeg Jets – Eric Comrie
Three finalists and the winner will be named at a later date.
Jack Capuano Named Team USA Head Coach
The IIHF World Championship will begin in less than two weeks and the U.S. team now has a head coach. National team GM Chris Drury announced today that Jack Capuano will lead the squad, with Nate Leaman and Adam Nightingale serving as assistants. Kevin Reiter will be the goaltending coach and Mike King the video coach for the event, which opens May 21 in Riga, Latvia.
Drury released a short statement:
We’re extremely fortunate to have an outstanding coaching staff, led by Jack Capuano. Their involvement with USA Hockey in various ways over the course of time and combined international experience will be of great benefit as we head into the tournament.
The choice of coach had a little more intrigued tied to it this year because Drury was only just named the president and GM of the New York Rangers. Current Rangers head coach David Quinn has two years left on his contract, but there has been a near-constant call for his firing by many fans as the team missed the playoffs this season. It’s not clear if Drury would consider any of the names announced today, but it does give them another chance to work closely together.
Capuano, 54, has been working as an associate coach with the Ottawa Senators the last two seasons and has experience with Team USA from the 2017 World Championship and World Cup. He served as head coach with the New York Islanders for several seasons between 2011-2016 but has yet to get another chance to lead at that level. The tournament will serve as a nice resume point for Capuano.
Leaman meanwhile is one of the most intriguing coaching prospects in the game right now, serving as head coach at Providence College the last decade and taking the U.S. World Juniors to gold this year. If he ever wanted to leave college hockey there is no doubt a job would be waiting for him at the NHL level, but to this point he has no experience at that level.
Rasmus Ristolainen Open To Trade
It’s been another trying year for the Buffalo Sabres, losing their coach and finishing dead last in the NHL. You can forgive a veteran player not wanting to go through that again, which makes Rasmus Ristolainen‘s comments to reporters including John Vogl of The Athletic and Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News today not much of a surprise:
I’m open for all the ideas. Right now, it’s hard. Obviously the season just ended so, yeah, I’m frustrated and I’m pissed and it sucks. So I told him I’m open for all the scenarios: staying or if he trades me, I’m fine with that too.
For me, I can’t go for another rebuild or wait multiple years. For me. I mean, we have to get to playoffs next year. For me, it’s either here or then somewhere else.
Ristolainen has now been in Buffalo for eight seasons but has yet to step foot on the ice of an NHL playoff game. He has seen six different coaches behind the bench since his debut in 2013, but none of them were able to get the team to even a .500 record. The 26-year-old defenseman has been a big part of those losses, averaging nearly 24 minutes a night throughout his Buffalo career, only to post an eye-popping -163 rating in 542 games. While +/- has its obvious flaws, Ristolainen has also posted poor possession numbers throughout his career and is likely playing a bigger role than he is truly capable of.
That is part of the problem in Buffalo, as the team hasn’t been able to truly build out the depth of the program even while selecting at the top of the draft. The chatter surrounding captain Jack Eichel continues to increase, while first-overall pick Rasmus Dahlin also experienced regression this season, posting just 23 points in 56 games.
As painful as it will be, the Sabres may need to try a rebuild again, moving out veterans like Ristolainen who don’t have much term left. The right-handed defenseman is signed through next season at a $5.4MM cap hit but is scheduled for free agency in the summer of 2022. Sam Reinhart, who is also one season away from UFA status, doesn’t even have a contract for next year yet. He told reporters that he doesn’t want to go through a rebuild either and hasn’t thought about his next contract yet. Reinhart is an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent this offseason.
GM Kevyn Adams has a busy summer in front of him, deciding which direction to take the Sabres for 2021-22.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Five Key Stories: 5/3/21 – 5/9/21
The end of the regular season has arrived, at least for some teams and the coaching carousel is already underway. However, that news still paled in comparison to the biggest controversy of the week which gets plenty of coverage in our key stories.
Rangers-Capitals: Let’s start with the big one. Capitals winger Tom Wilson was involved in a pair of incidents of note, one with Pavel Buchnevich which only drew a $5K fine, the max allowable in the CBA. However, a scrum in which he tossed Artemi Panarin who jumped in to protect his teammate, went without discipline which drew plenty of opinions from those who agreed and disagreed vehemently with that decision. New York left no doubt as to where they stood on the matter, issuing a statement expressing their disappointment with the lack of discipline on the Panarin situation, noting that the winger’s season came to an end as a result of the incident. However, the biggest story was that they called for the removal of George Parros as the head of Player Safety, calling the inaction a dereliction of duty. Not surprisingly, that earned them a $250K fine.
It didn’t stop there, however. The two sides met up just two days later and decided to take out their frustrations on each other. There were six fights in the first five minutes and 100 penalty minutes in the opening period. Six misconducts were handed out in the game with Buchnevich picking up one of them along with a major penalty, earning him a one-game suspension in the process.
Gorton And Davidson Out: In somewhat of a surprising move, the Rangers fired GM Jeff Gorton and team president John Davidson, naming Chris Drury as the successor in both roles. Gorton had been shepherding the team through their rebuild following their letter three years ago that said they would be rebuilding the core. Since then, they had brought in several players that are expected to be part of the next young core while landing Panarin in free agency. Davidson, meanwhile, joined the team less than two years ago, leaving the same role with Columbus to return ‘home’ to a city where he spent the final eight years of his playing career not to mention extended time as a broadcaster. The fact that Drury is the replacement should come as no surprise. He eschewed opportunities to interview elsewhere in recent years with the team creating an Associate GM position back in February to elevate his responsibilities and salary. He’ll now be tasked with finishing off the rebuild and getting the Rangers back to playoff contention.
Tortorella Leaves Columbus: In a move that shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise, the Blue Jackets and head coach John Tortorella agreed to mutually part ways. The 62-year-old was at the helm in Columbus for the last six seasons, leading the team to a .568 point percentage along the way while winning the Jack Adams Award as the coach of the year back in 2016-17. He also helped lead them to a playoff series victory in 2019 and while that may not seem like much, it’s the only one they’ve had in franchise history if you don’t count the play-in victory over Toronto last year as a true playoff winS. However, his combative style hasn’t always sat well with players and there has been a considerable talent drain in recent years as top free agents have headed elsewhere and some have suggested Tortorella could be part of the season. Top center Pierre-Luc Dubois demanded a trade earlier this season and Patrik Laine, the key part of the return, had a tough time under Tortorella. The team won just 18 games this season and will now be on the lookout for a new bench boss.
Forsberg Extension: It wasn’t just doom and gloom over the past seven days. A nice story in Ottawa emerged when they gave goalie Anton Forsberg a one-year, $900K contract extension. That alone doesn’t tell the tale though. He originally started out as Edmonton’s intended third-stringer before being claimed off waivers by Carolina, Winnipeg, and eventually Ottawa in mid-March before he had even played a game. He has spent more time in quarantine than on the ice this year but did enough in seven appearances to earn some stability for next year and a $200K raise for good measure. As the old adage goes, good things come to those who wait. Forsberg had to wait a while before he could even play a game but his patience was rewarded.
Coyotes Make A Change: Tortorella isn’t the only coach looking for his next opportunity as Rick Tocchet is out as head coach in Arizona after four seasons in the desert. He helped lead them to a .490 point percentage over that span and didn’t have a lot of postseason success with the team making it just once. While they took out Nashville on the back of Darcy Kuemper in the Qualifying Round last summer, they were quickly dispatched by Colorado after that. The Coyotes have had trouble scoring throughout Tocchet’s tenure and GM Bill Armstrong will likely be looking for a replacement that can help get the most out of their forward group headed by Clayton Keller and Phil Kessel.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
PHR Mailbag: Pittsburgh And Colorado Goalies, Seattle, Boston’s Expansion Situation, Playoff Sleepers, Gogolev, Fantasy Hockey
Topics in this edition of the PHR Mailbag include Pittsburgh’s goalies, Colorado’s decision to not add a more prominent backup goalie, some Seattle side deal speculation, a quick look a Boston’s expansion situation, what sleeper teams could make some noise in the playoffs, a junior player that hasn’t received much NHL interest, and some comments on some young NHL forwards that haven’t quite found their way offensively. If your question doesn’t appear here, check back in last weekend’s mailbag.
One More JAGR: Do the Penguins have the goaltending tandem to make it to the big show or is the lack of experience going to be an Achilles’ heel?
The tandem of Tristan Jarry and Casey DeSmith (when healthy; both are currently hurt) is certainly far from the top tandem in the league but teams have gone deep with lesser starters before. Both goalies have shown they can get hot for stretches and in the playoffs, a hot streak can win a round or two so I think they’re capable of being good enough to do some damage if one gets going at the right time.
However, I’m not overly confident that they will be able to do that. Pittsburgh is the top-scoring team in the league this season which is great but scoring rates typically go down instead of up in the playoffs. That puts more pressure on the goalies to try to limit teams to two or less. Jarry has allowed three or more goals in 20 of 39 appearances this season and DeSmith in nine of 20. That’s basically a 50/50 split on allowing three or more. It’s hard to go deep in the playoffs with those types of odds and with them looking like they’ll line up against the Islanders, the games are definitely going to be lower-scoring. One of them will need to get going right away to avoid an upset.
Eaton Harass: Why would Sakic go out and get two questionable backups instead of getting one solid one?
I think part of the problem was the uncertainly with Pavel Francouz’s injury. At the time they went and got Jonas Johansson, I suspect they were still holding out hope for Francouz to return. If they thought he was going back, then just getting a short-term bridge guy made some sense and to Johansson’s credit, he has been better than I thought he was going to be.
Devan Dubnyk’s addition was a bit of a surprise though. I thought Jonathan Bernier was going to be their target, someone who had played there before and while he’s not a true starter, he’s an above-average backup. Dubnyk hasn’t been that for a couple of years now so him being targeted was odd and I wonder if he was the fallback plan. Landing on the COVID Protocol Related Absences List certainly hasn’t helped things either.
However, the goalie trade market never really materialized. Florida held onto Chris Driedger and Detroit kept Bernier, taking the two top options off the market in the process which limited their options to add more of an impact goalie. The Panthers wanted the goalie insurance for their playoff run and I suspect the Red Wings are going to try to re-sign Bernier. GM Joe Sakic doesn’t strike me as someone that’s going to push all of the chips to the table either. They know they need some cost-effective players over the next couple of years and holding onto their top picks gives them a better chance to develop some of those.
Incremental upgrades were the name of the game for the Avs at the deadline as Sakic supplemented the depth instead of the core. I think they should have been willing to pay a bit more to get a more reliable option but with most of the notable names not moving, I can’t say for certain that they didn’t try either. If Philipp Grubauer can stay healthy though, who backs him up in the playoffs should ultimately be a moot point anyway. But with what happened last year, I can certainly understand why there’s a bit more emphasis on the backup this time around.
pawtucket: Who (or what) will Seattle’s biggest acquisitions be?
This is really hard to predict when we’re more than two months away from protection lists being released. Trades will be made, players will be injured in the playoffs which could shift them from protected to unprotected, and there may be another GM change or two on the horizon which could also affect things. As a result, at this point, the best I can offer is a couple of vague predictions on side deals.
Tampa Bay needs to dump money and Seattle has the ability to absorb it better than anyone else can. Tyler Johnson’s $5MM AAV needs to come off the books. I suspect that Seattle is going to receive a significant package in exchange for selecting Johnson. Given their free agent situation up front and a need for several low-cost forwards, I suspect the incentive is going to come from the back end where Cal Foote, a 2017 first-round pick, seems like a player that could be part of that package as someone that can start on Seattle’s third pairing and ideally work his way up a bit.
Right now, Washington’s goaltenders seem like the logical target as they can’t protect both Vitek Vanecek and Ilya Samsonov. Neither are ready for full-time number one duty but both are young and cost-controllable. Combined, that tandem certainly could work for the Caps for a few years. With that in mind, I expect GM Brian MacLellan to work out a side deal to keep them around. That shouldn’t cost a top prospect but their upcoming second-round pick seems like something Kraken GM Ron Francis may be asking for.
As the offseason gets going, we’ll certainly be diving deeper into the situations for the 30 teams that will lose players (Vegas is exempt) where we’ll be able to put together better pictures of what could happen so I’m sure we’ll be able to come up with some predictions as we get closer to the expansion draft.
case7187: With the exp draft coming who should the Bruins protect? We know the Big 3 and Coyle (NMC) while they should trade DeBrusk; they should’ve done that last season when he had value. The 3 D are Carlo McAvoy and Grzelcyk (IMO they should look to move him as well with his long list of injuries) but goalie not sure and not really worried about some of the other guys this season has shown me the need to blow up the bottom nine.
I’m going to go a little out of order and talk about Jake DeBrusk first. I don’t see there being much of a viable trade market for him this summer. The year he is having has hurt his trade value considerably and his back-loaded contract only makes things worse as his $4.85MM salary is far from desirable. I’ll take it a step farther and say there’s a better chance he’s bought out than traded. As he’s under 25, it’s only a one-third cost and the back-loading of the deal would make for a pretty low cap charge. (Per CapFriendly, doing so would give Boston a cap credit of $366K next year and a cap charge of $808K in 2022-23). To me, that’s more desirable than trying to move him for another bad contract.
Now let’s look at the forwards. As you noted, Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, and Charlie Coyle are locked in with no-move clauses and David Pastrnak is an obvious choice. I’m going to put Nick Ritchie and Craig Smith as my next two picks; Ritchie remains young enough to still improve and has been a lot better than he was in limited action last year after being acquired while Smith is on a pretty good contract. That leaves one spot for Trent Frederic and Zach Senyshyn, two prospects who haven’t done much with their chances. Frederic gets the spot as he has at least mostly established himself as a regular while Senyshyn is more on the fringes. For anyone checking, that leaves DeBrusk, Ondrej Kase (injuries make him a safe bet to not be picked), Curtis Lazar, and Chris Wagner as unprotected forwards and they would be in compliance with the requirement to have at least two signed players unprotected that have played in 27 games this year or 54 over the last two years with this list.
I agree with the defense although it leaves Jakub Zboril and Jeremy Lauzon exposed and I wouldn’t be surprised if one of those two get picked by Seattle. I kicked around the idea of leaving Matt Grzelcyk exposed with his contract but Boston’s back end can’t take any more hits in terms of losing established talent. As for goalies, Jeremy Swayman is exempt while Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak are UFAs and aren’t at any risk of being signed and picked. That puts it between Daniel Vladar and Callum Booth and of those two, I’d protect Vladar. It means that Booth needs a qualifying offer when he hasn’t earned it but they’re not going to be the only team qualifying a goalie for that very reason.
wreckage: Whom are the biggest sleepers entering the postseason? Everyone expects big things from Tampa, Colorado, Vegas, and Toronto. Could a Minnesota, Edmonton, Montreal, or Florida surprise and make a run?
I think Minnesota’s the team to watch for here. They’ve given Vegas fits this season winning five of eight games with two of the three losses coming in overtime. They’ve also been alright against Colorado who right now lines up as their more probable first-round matchup. They’re scoring at a good clip but have a fairly balanced attack and both Cam Talbot and Kaapo Kahkonen have shown themselves to be capable of playing quite well for a long stretch.
I’m not as bullish on the other three you listed. Edmonton’s still largely the same team that got upset in the bubble a year ago and no matter how well Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl do, they probably can’t carry the load alone while having success in the playoffs. Montreal is supposed to be built for the playoffs but they haven’t looked good outside of the first ten games of the season. If they’re healthy by then, they’re good enough to give a team a scare but I don’t see them going deep. I give Florida a ton of credit for turning things around but I can’t pick them to beat a Tampa Bay team that’s going to get captain Steven Stamkos and top winger Nikita Kucherov back.
I’m going to add the Islanders to the list as well. They’ve shown that they can have playoff success with good defense and goaltending and those elements are definitely still in place. Their offense is a bit deeper than it was a year ago and it would not surprise me much at all if they were the team that comes out of the East Division.