Vegas Owner Bill Foley: Marc-Andre Fleury Trade “Never Close”
Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury was the topic of many trade rumors this off-season. The veteran was coming off a disappointing season and a second straight year of decline in his third season with Vegas, which at 36 years old was cause for alarm. Not only that, but his $7MM cap hit was also causing problems for a team right up against the salary cap who had just re-signed Robin Lehner to a $25MM extension with the intent that he was to be the starter. It was easy to understand why the Knights might have considered moving Fleury this off-season, but it seems a deal was always unlikely to occur. Speaking with Fox Sports’ Andy Strickland and former NHLer Cam Janssen on their “Cam and Strick Podcast”, Vegas owner Bill Foley stated that Fleury “never came really close to being part of a deal”, and for a number of reasons.
While Foley himself admitted that Fleury’s contract was part of the reason that Vegas’ salary cap was “fouled up”, eventually forcing the likes of Paul Stastny and Nate Schmidt to be traded for pennies on the dollar, he accounts for Fleury remaining with the Golden Knights as being about much more than an immovable contract. Foley does note that there were trade talks including Fleury, but the offers “didn’t make sense.” This is likely referring to any interesting teams also wanting the Knights to add additional sweeteners to any deal in which they acquired an aging goaltender with poor numbers and two years and $14MM remaining on his contract. However, Vegas still valued Fleury as a number one goalie according to Foley, which explains why they didn’t agree with the idea of losing additional assets to move him. At the end of the day, Foley claims that he and the team always wanted two number one goalies and were happy to stick with Fleury and Lehner rather than trade the former in a deal they didn’t like, even if it meant losing valuable players elsewhere in the lineup.
While it seemed like a strange decision in many ways at the time, Vegas is now reaping the benefits. With Lehner slowed by injuries, Fleury had to reclaim the starter’s job and has excelled in the role. He has seen a resurgence of epic proportions this season, currently leading the NHL with a .942 save percentage and 1.55 GAA while picking up eight wins in eleven starts. Without Fleury, the West Division-leading Golden Knights may be having a very different season thus far. His formerly frustrating cap hit is now well worth it as the team looks like a Cup contender even with their intended starter still limited.
As for the future, Foley’s comments imply that if Fleury was ever even truly available, he certainly isn’t now. Discussing this past off-season, Foley stated that any trade involving Fleury would have required the owner’s approval and he would not have taken it lightly. He also recalled a story from early in Vegas’ inaugural season, in which he promised Fleury that he would retire a Golden Knight. Now that Fleury has rewarded his owner’s faith in him this season, it seems more likely than not that the veteran will play out the final year of his contract in Vegas next season rather than being traded away while his stock is high. (Barring yet another Expansion selection, that is.) It’s fair to assume that any potential Fleury trades would still need to be approved by Foley moving forward, and it’s very doubtful now more than ever that the owner would move the player he calls the “face of the franchise.”
Buffalo’s Jeff Skinner Made A Healthy Scratch
Feb. 23: Another night, another Sabres game in which Skinner and his $9MM cap hit will watch from the press box. NHL.com’s Mike Morreale confirms that Skinner will be a healthy scratch again on Tuesday night, indicating that this was not just a one-off decision by Krueger to send a message to his expensive, underperforming star. It may in fact beg the question of whether there will be more scratches or games played from Skinner over the rest of the season, especially if Buffalo continues to struggle.
Feb. 22: Skinner will indeed be in the press box tonight, a healthy scratch for the Sabres. John Vogl of The Athletic relays the explanation from Krueger:
We don’t measure players only on statistics. It’s part of the mix. It is just a bit of a gut feel that the best lineup for tonight was with Casey Mittelstadt in that spot. It’s less against Jeff than it is for what we think this group needs today. There will be underlying messages, of course, anytime somebody doesn’t play. But in the end, the decisions are for the team and for the group and for the chance to win. I just think it’s good for Jeff to take a look once from the outside.
Feb. 21: The Buffalo Sabres were hoping that after signing his eight-year, $72MM deal back in 2019 that Jeff Skinner was going to continue to put up big numbers. After all, the forward was coming off a 40-goal season in 2018-19. However, he struggled last year, putting up just 14 goals in 59 games and now has failed to score this season in 14 contests.
With the Sabres struggling in last place in the East Division with just five wins, head coach Ralph Krueger is looking to make some changes. After benching Henri Jokiharju and Tage Thompson on Saturday, Buffalo News’ Mike Harrington writes that Krueger is now focusing on Skinner. During practice Sunday, Casey Mittelstadt skated in Skinner’s place, while Skinner skated with Curtis Lazar and taxi squad forward Rasmus Asplund. A final decision on whether Skinner stays in the lineup will come on Monday.
Skinner played a season-low 11:22 against New Jersey Saturday even though he had four shots, which tied for a season high. However, he had just three shots on goal in the back-to-back games against the New York Islanders last week in which he went shot-less in the second game.
“We will continue to analyze postgame what we feel and what we see,” Krueger said. “And look for the mix that we believe gives us as a team within the roles we need the best chance to be successful. You saw a potential change in the mix today. We won’t confirm it till tomorrow. But it’s how we function here. We look honestly at production. We look honestly at the inputs in and around the team game that we need, and try and put that mix in place that gives us a chance.”
Skinner currently is tied for the league lead in shots on goal without a goal, tied with New York Rangers forward Phillip Di Giuseppe, each with 31 shots on goal (and no goals). The fact that he also has just one assist doesn’t help his case either. Regardless, Skinner believes that sitting out isn’t the answer.
“This is my 11th year, over 700 games in the league and I don’t think I’ve ever really felt like I needed a day off to relook at things,” Skinner said. “I think I’ve seen a lot in this league. Run through adversity before my career. You just work, keep working and put your head down. And that’s what I’ll do.”
COVID Protocol Related Absences: 02/23/21
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 are the rest of the results:
NY Rangers – Kaapo Kakko
Ottawa – Ryan Dzingel
Philadelphia – Justin Braun, Travis Konecny, Scott Laughton, Oskar Lindblom, Jakub Voracek
Toronto – Alexander Barabanov*
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: Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers; Tomas Nosek, Vegas Golden Knights
Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe explained to reporters including Chris Johnston of Sportsnet this morning that both Barabanov and Scott Sabourin had inconclusive results on a PCR test yesterday and were sent home as a result, though both samples came back negative upon retesting. It is unclear whether Barabanov’s appearance here is due to another test result.
*denotes new addition
NHL Announces More Widespread Schedule Changes
The NHL schedule maker continues to earn their paycheck. Today the league announced another two dozen changes to the schedule, moving games around to try and make sure all 31 teams play a 56-game season. The league has not only seen games postponed due to COVID-19 outbreaks but also due to inclement weather.
The following games have been rescheduled:
- Tampa Bay at Dallas, Feb. 18–>March 2
- Philadelphia at Pittsburgh, April 13–>March 6
- Nashville at Dallas, Feb. 15–>March 7
- Dallas at Columbus, March 15–>March 14
- Tampa Bay at Dallas, Feb. 20–>March 16
- Nashville at Dallas, Feb. 16–>March 21
- Florida at Tampa Bay, March 16–>March 21
- St. Louis at Colorado, April 20–>April 2
- Philadelphia at Boston, March 7–>April 5
- Boston at Philadelphia, April 5–>April 10
- Dallas at Nashville, April 29–>April 11
- Philadelphia at Washington, Feb. 9–>April 13
- Tampa Bay at Nashville, April 12–>April 13
- NY Islanders at Boston, April 14–>April 15
- Chicago at Nashville, April 4–>April 19
- Colorado at St. Louis, Feb. 7–>April 20
- Philadelphia at NY Rangers, Feb. 14–>April 22
- Dallas at Tampa Bay, March 1–>April 29
- Dallas at Tampa Bay, May 4–>May 5
- Chicago at Carolina, Feb. 20–>May 6
- Dallas at Tampa Bay, May 10–>May 7
- Dallas at Chicago, May 6–>May 9
- Carolina at Nashville, May 7–>May 10
- Dallas at Chicago, May 8–>May 10
The following game will be rescheduled for a date to be announced later:
- Tampa Bay at Florida, originally scheduled for May 6
Will Borgen Out 6-8 Weeks With Fractured Forearm
The Buffalo Sabres already lost Jake McCabe to a season-ending knee injury and now will be without William Borgen for the next two months. The 24-year-old defenseman underwent surgery on a broken right forearm today and will miss approximately six to eight weeks.
Borgen had actually made quite an impact in his short four-game stint with the Sabres, even partnering with Rasmus Dahlin for a time. Originally a fourth-round pick in 2015, he spent three seasons at St. Cloud State before spending the last two mostly in the minor leagues. He’ll now face a pretty hefty hurdle in his development, missing a good chunk of this season.
It also could complicate the Sabres plans, especially when it comes to Brandon Montour‘s trade availability. Defensemen are dropping like flies in Buffalo and the team quite literally may not have enough to fill a roster if they start trading them away. Rasmus Ristolainen is still working his way back from a brutal fight with COVID-19 and with Borgen out the team has just six healthy defensemen on the roster. Jacob Bryson and Casey Fitzgerald (with a combined zero NHL games) are on the taxi squad, but beyond that, the team has just two defensemen—20-year old Mattias Samuelsson and 21-year-old Oskari Laaksonen—signed to NHL contracts.
One wonders if that could precipitate a waiver claim by the Sabres today, as both Mark Friedman and Luke Schenn find themselves on the wire.
Brandon Montour Available For Trade
The Buffalo Sabres are the focus of plenty of trade speculation these days, but much of it is centered around the forward group. Jack Eichel will continue to draw plenty of chatter until the Sabres actually put a winning team around him, Jeff Skinner was just made a health scratch despite earning more salary than nearly every other left winger in the league, and Taylor Hall is on a one-year deal that could be cashed in at the deadline.
But it’s not the forwards that are making headlines today. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that Brandon Montour is available, as he also is scheduled for unrestricted free agency after signing a one-year, $3.85MM contract in the offseason.
Montour, 26, has been something of an enigma for years. Originally selected 55th overall in 2014 by the Anaheim Ducks, he quickly climbed the ranks thanks to an outstanding offensive ceiling. In 2015-16, his first full season of pro hockey, the young defenseman scored 57 points in 68 games for the San Diego Gulls. He followed it up with a near point-per-game pace the next season, before eventually getting the call to the NHL.
Once at the highest level, he continued to produce offensively, though his defensive play was still a little suspect. Montour had 32 points in his first full NHL season, including scoring five powerplay goals. It looked like he would be a pillar of the Anaheim blueline for years, even if some of the others might have to carry some of the defensive load.
Instead, Montour found himself traded to the Sabres in 2019 for a first-round pick and prospect Brendan Guhle. In Buffalo, his minutes have stayed high but the offense has dipped, and since the team is in another losing season, he seems likely to be cashed in at the deadline.
It seems very unlikely that the Sabres will be able to recoup the assets they spent on Montour, but trading him at some point this season would at least get them a little bit back. Friedman gives no inkling to where he could end up (except for a tiny connection to the Arizona Coyotes, who might be looking for rentals at the deadline), but right-handed, puck-moving defensemen are always in high demand at the deadline. If Montour came with a reasonable extension, he might be even more valuable.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Injury Notes: Lundqvist, Teravainen, Merzlikins
Henrik Lundqvist underwent heart surgery last month, at the very least pausing his legendary NHL career for the moment. Earlier this month he let his fans know that things were going well in his recovery and today tweeted that he’s back on the ice. An attached video has him in full Washington Capitals gear, still an odd sight after spending his entire career to this point with the New York Rangers.
Lundqvist is still not expected to play this season, but his contract was not actually terminated and these updates at least open the door a crack for his playing career to continue at some point. Even if it doesn’t, it’s still great to see him healthy enough to get back on the ice.
More injury updates from around the league:
- The Carolina Hurricanes announced that Teuvo Teravainen has been diagnosed with a concussion, likely from a Nikita Zadorov hit on February 19. The star forward has already missed a pair of games and it is not clear when he’ll be cleared to return. If you haven’t been paying attention to Carolina, you might have missed that Teravainen has turned into one of the most consistent offensive performers in the NHL over the last few seasons. After breaking out with 64 points in 2017-18, he has scored 148 points in his last 162 regular season games, including nine this year. The 26-year-old is only in the second season of a five-year deal signed with Carolina in 2019.
- The Columbus Blue Jackets have placed Elvis Merzlikins on injured reserve for the second time this season, this time retroactive to February 20. He suffered an upper-body injury in that game and is considered week-to-week. Matiss Kivlenieks has been promoted from the taxi squad to serve as the backup for Joonas Korpisalo, but this will once again test the goaltending depth of the organization. Korpisalo hasn’t been good this year, registering an .889 save percentage in his 13 appearances, and Kivlenieks has just six games of NHL experience.
Carl Gunnarsson Out For Season
The St. Louis Blues have announced another long-term injury, this time to defenseman Carl Gunnarsson. The veteran will miss the rest of the season with a right knee injury sustained in the Blues’ recent game against the Los Angeles Kings. He is still being evaluated to determine the full extent of the injury. The team also announced that Ivan Barbashev underwent successful surgery on his ankle and will be re-evaluated in six weeks, as reported previously.
Gunnarsson, 34, has been a quiet soldier for the blues the last several seasons, rarely getting into the lineup but being ready whenever he does. A veteran of 629 regular season NHL games, he has just 73 since the start of the 2018-19 season. An injury like this, if it is as serious as originally feared, could potentially end that long career, given Gunnarsson is an unrestricted free agent in the offseason and will turn 35 just after the next season starts.
If it is the end, at least in St. Louis, he’ll leave with the respect of his teammates. Brayden Schenn called Gunnarsson an “absolute warrior” and a “hell of a teammate” after last night’s game. The depth defenseman played in 19 games on the Blues’ 2019 Stanley Cup run, actually scoring the winning goal in overtime of game two against the Boston Bruins. That goal led to one of the most hilarious anecdotes of the playoffs, as Gunnarsson explained after the game he called his shot while standing next to head coach Craig Berube at the urinal during intermission.
For now, he’ll face a long rehab. But he’ll always be a Stanley Cup champion.
Taxi Squad Shuffle: 02/23/21
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
North Division
- The Ottawa Senators have flipped Artem Anisimov and Micheal Haley again, with the former headed to the taxi squad and the latter moving to the active roster. The Senators are back in action tonight against the Montreal Canadiens and obviously will not have Anisimov in the lineup.
- The Montreal Canadiens have sent Charlie Lindgren to the AHL in order for him to play the Laval Rocket games this week. Michael McNiven has been recalled to the taxi squad to serve as the third goaltender while Lindgren gets some game action.
- Patrick Russell has been recalled from the Edmonton Oilers taxi squad on an emergency basis, perhaps indicating that he’ll finally get back into the lineup. Russell has played just one game this season and, amazingly, still has zero goals in his 52-game NHL career.
Central Division
- The Dallas Stars have assigned Ty Dellandrea to the taxi squad, but perhaps only temporarily given that Tanner Kero appeared on waivers today. Dellandrea, 20, has two points in 11 games this season but remains a big part of the Stars’ future.
- The Detroit Red Wings have recalled Danny DeKeyser and Mathias Brome from the taxi squad ahead of their game this evening against the Nashville Predators. Brome finally got his first NHL goal the other night, giving him one point in his first 18 games.
- Those Predators have made their daily move, though this time it comes with the activation of Ryan Johansen off injured reserve. Nashville has recalled Eeli Tolvanen and Ben Harpur from the taxi squad, while also sending Sean Malone back down. Tolvanen is expected to skate alongside Johansen in tonight’s game.
East Division
- The New Jersey Devils have sent Colton White back to the AHL, while moving Mikhail Maltsev to the taxi squad. Maltsev, 22, has played in four games this season and has one goal. The fourth-round pick isn’t expected to be much of a scoring threat but does bring plenty of size to the lineup.
- After losing another defenseman to injury, the Buffalo Sabres have made a few transactions. Rasmus Asplund and Jacob Bryson have been recalled from the taxi squad, with the latter expected to make his NHL debut tonight. Brandon Davidson has been sent to the taxi squad in return, while Dustin Tokarski is up to fill the last spot.
This page will be updated throughout the day.
Bruce Boudreau Expresses Interest In Seattle’s Head Coach Vacancy
It should be assumed that any free agent head coach with NHL experience will have interest in taking over the reigns of the league’s newest team next season. The Seattle Kraken have yet to name their inaugural head coach, but the team has surely begun the process of vetting candidates. However, there have been no potential names made public, at least until now. Long-time NHL coach Bruce Boudreau has officially thrown his hat in the ring, telling The Athletic’s Ryan Clark that he is “extremely interested” in the position:
The thing about that job is it would be great to start with a team that is starting fresh and to be the builder of something. I think that is a real exciting thing… It is not like an expansion team in 1967. You knew then you were not going to be very good or have the dregs of every team. The way they have gone about it now, Seattle is going to start off with a pretty good team.
Who knows if the call will ever come? I don’t want to get the call and say I am not ready and I don’t know what I would do and I don’t want to feel that way. This is the only thing I have ever known my whole life… If someone offers you a job, it is an amazing thing.
As Boudreau notes, he has not formally contacted Seattle yet, nor has anyone formally reached out to him. GM Ron Francis has previously stated that the club will not rush to name a head coach and by all accounts have not interviewed any candidates to this point. However, the odds are that Boudreau has at least had some contact with the team. The veteran coach has previously worked with Kraken owner Tod Leiweke, as well as other members of the front office. He also stands out as one of the top available names and is likely a seriously candidate for the position, even if only being discussed behind closed doors.
Boudreau, 66, was most recently in the NHL just last season, fired mid-season by the Minnesota Wild in his fourth year with the franchise. Boudreau has more than a decade of experience as an NHL head coach, previously leading the Washington Capitals and Anaheim Ducks as well. Prior to that, he coached for many years and found great success in the minors. Among his career accolades are a Jack Adams Award, a number of NHL playoff appearances, and championships in the AHL and ECHL. If the Kraken decide to go for the most experienced candidate as their inaugural head coach, few can rival Boudreau.