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Archives for January 2022

No Imminent Changes Expected In Edmonton As Losses Pile Up

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The COVID announcements are coming fast and furious today, but one is an especially important absence. The Edmonton Oilers have placed Stuart Skinner in the protocol, meaning he won’t get another chance to steal the net this week. Edmonton will have to go back to Mikko Koskinen and Ilya Konovalov as Mike Smith remains injured and Alex Stalock is just starting his comeback attempt.

Skinner, 23, was the subject of much frustration over the weekend as he allowed five goals to the Ottawa Senators in a brutal loss for Edmonton. The Oilers entered the third period up 3-1 on the 30th-ranked Senators, but ended up losing 6-4 after a powerplay tally from Josh Norris put Ottawa on top with just a few minutes remaining. While Oilers fans seem mostly willing to give Skinner a pass, for now, the goaltending situation has been a firestorm all season as the team tries to find a way out of their current freefall.

The Oilers are 3-10-2 since the start of December and have allowed at least four goals against in nine of those games. They now are set to welcome in the red-hot Florida Panthers on Thursday, a team that has scored 50 goals in its last eight games (6.25 per game). Koskinen, who hasn’t won a game since the first of December, will need to carry the load until Skinner or Smith return.

This morning, Ryan Rishaug of TSN reported that Oilers general manager Ken Holland and his management team are currently in California at pro scouting meetings, and suggests that no “significant change is imminent.” Holland explained during a press conference last week that the team can’t just burn through coaches, and even suggested that he doesn’t necessarily believe in firing a coach midseason. Rishaug notes that those thoughts still hold true, despite head coach Dave Tippett’s struggles to find any consistency among the group.

After blowing the third-period lead against Ottawa, captain Connor McDavid was at a loss for words when trying to answer questions from the media. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet called it a “thousand-yard stare” from McDavid on today’s 32 Thoughts podcast, as the superstar was once again facing reporters after a disappointing loss.

The Oilers have shown obvious interest in signing unrestricted free agent Evander Kane, though his status is unclear due to a new investigation from the league. Kane’s addition would certainly bring another offensive piece to the group and Edmonton isn’t as far out of the playoffs as they could be, given how poorly teams in the Pacific Division are playing. It’s goaltending (and defense) that obviously needs to be answered though, as no Oilers netminder has a save percentage over .907 this season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Boqvist, Gavrikov Added To COVID Protocol

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The Columbus Blue Jackets are down a pair of defensemen, as both Adam Boqvist and Vladislav Gavrikov have been added to the COVID protocol. The release notes that Boqvist actually entered the protocol yesterday, meaning his timer will be slightly ahead of his teammate.

Boqvist, 21, is having a nice season for the Blue Jackets, scoring seven goals and 14 points through 26 games. The young defender played more than 20 forgettable minutes on Saturday against the Florida Panthers though, as the team was blown out by the Eastern Conference powerhouse. Unfortunately, that’ll be the last action he sees for a few days as he faces a minimum of a five-day isolation period.

Gavrikov meanwhile played 18:35 on Saturday, which is actually close to a season-low for the 26-year-old defenseman. Usually playing more than 21 minutes a night, he too is having a strong offensive season for Columbus with 17 points in 36 games. That solid point total has been backed up by some analytical success too, as Gavrikov is given the hardest defensive deployment on the Blue Jackets roster but remains almost even in terms of goals for and against.

With both out, the Blue Jackets have elevated Gavin Bayreuther to the second pair with Jake Bean and will insert Gabriel Carlsson back into the lineup. The team already had Cole Sillinger and Jakub Voracek in the protocol, but should get the latter back at least if he can test out in the coming days. Columbus doesn’t play again until Thursday.

Taxi Squad Shuffle: 01/17/22

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Eight games grace the NHL schedule today, including quite a few afternoon tilts as the United States celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. day. The Detroit Red Wings will head to snowy Buffalo to take on the Sabres, before the Minnesota Wild and Colorado Avalanche play an important Central Division test. As those teams and others prepare for action, we’ll keep track of all the minor league and taxi squad shuffling.

Atlantic Division

  • The Montreal Canadiens have sent Rafael Harvey-Pinard, Jesse Ylonen, and Gianni Fairbrother back to the Laval Rocket of the AHL. Fairbrother, 21, failed to actually get into a game with Montreal as he entered the COVID protocol almost immediately after being recalled. He’s out now, but will head back to the minor leagues.
  • The Sabres have recalled Mattias Samuelsson from the AHL, sending Casey Fitzgerald to the taxi squad to make room. Samuelsson, 21, has 15 points in 20 games with the Rochester Americans this season, showing he’s ready to take the next step and contribute as an NHL defenseman.
  • Thomas Greiss has entered the COVID protocol, leaving the Red Wings to recall Calvin Pickard from the AHL. Pickard will back up Alex Nedeljkovic in today’s match.

Metropolitan Division

Central Division

Pacific Division

This page will be updated throughout the day

Five Key Stories: 1/10/22 – 1/16/22

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It was a fairly quiet week around the NHL with the biggest controversy stemming from the players that weren’t on the list of players named to the All-Star Game.  There were, however, a few other stories of note over the past seven days which are covered in our top stories of the week.

Hofmann Leaves, Doesn’t Return: When Blue Jackets winger Gregory Hofmann took a leave of absence from the Blue Jackets late in December, it wasn’t a big deal.  His first child was about to be born and teams let their players take a few days away from the team when that happens.  However, Hofmann has decided not to return, first prompting a suspension from the team.  Then, a few days later, the team ran him through unconditional waivers, allowing them to terminate his contract.  Columbus acquired the rights to the 29-year-old from Carolina last season and brought him over to the NHL this year where he had held his own in a limited role, picking up seven points in 24 games.  Instead of coming back, he’ll stay home with his family and will rejoin EV Zug of the Swiss NLA.  He’ll also be eligible to play in the Olympics since Columbus released him instead of leaving him under suspension.

Another Investigation: Evander Kane has been no stranger to NHL investigations as the league had done three separate ones on him over the last few months.  That number can now be increased to four as the league will take a closer look into the incident that caused San Jose to terminate the remaining three-plus years of his contract.  Kane has already been suspended for a violation of COVID protocol this season and if the league deems that another one is warranted here, it could affect the 30-year-old’s short-term chances of catching on with another team.  Edmonton is among the teams that have confirmed they have interest in signing the winger.

Officially Back: In a move that should have come as a surprise to no one, the Bruins officially brought back veteran goaltender Tuukka Rask, inking him to a pro-rated one-year, $1MM contract.  The deal also contains a full no-movement clause.  Rask made it clear over the offseason that he only intended to play for Boston this season if he decided to return after recovering from his hip surgery.  The 34-year-old has played in 561 career NHL games, all with the Bruins, and will partner with Linus Ullmark down the stretch while Jeremy Swayman has been sent back to Providence of the AHL.  As for Boston’s cap situation, this contract was basically all they could afford which will put them in a money-in, money-out spot if they want to make any more changes before the trade deadline.

Three For Merrill: After playing for three teams over the past two seasons and having to settle for a one-year contract in free agency back in July, defenseman Jon Merrill received some security from Minnesota, inking a three-year extension that carries a $1.2MM AAV.  The 29-year-old has had a nice season on the third pairing for the Wild, averaging just shy of 18 minutes per game while chipping in with 11 points, more than double what he had last season with Detroit and Montreal.  It’s the longest contract for Merrill since his entry-level deal so he gets some welcome stability while Minnesota gets a capable depth blueliner for a pretty good price tag.

Lidstrom Returns: Nicklas Lidstrom is once again a member of the Red Wings.  No, the Hall of Famer isn’t coming out of retirement but he has rejoined Detroit’s front office, becoming their new vice president of hockey operations.  Lidstrom, who patrolled the back end for them for 20 years, is no stranger to their front office having worked for them as a scout for three years soon after his retirement in 2012.  This time around, however, he’ll be much more involved in all parts of hockey operations.  He joins Pat Verbeek, Niklas Kronwall, Jiri Fischer, Dan Cleary, Mark Howe, Kris Draper, and Kirk Maltby among former Red Wings working under Steve Yzerman in their front office.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

East Notes: Brannstrom, DeBrusk, Zucker, Bryson

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While Ottawa finds themselves well out of the playoff picture again, Postmedia’s Ken Warren posits that there are still a few players with a lot to play for down the stretch.  One of those is defenseman Erik Brannstrom.  The centerpiece of the Mark Stone trade, the 22-year-old has struggled considerably in Ottawa and has spent most of this season in the minors.  Warren suggests that Jake Sanderson is likely to join the Senators following his college season which could push Brannstrom further down the depth chart to the point where the 15th pick in 2017 could soon be trying to showcase himself for other teams.  Brannstrom is in his final season of waiver exemption and will be a restricted free agent this summer and if he’s made available, he could be an intriguing trade chip for GM Pierre Dorion.

More from around the East:

  • With Boston off to a hot start to 2022 and nothing happening in terms of Jake DeBrusk’s trade request, head coach Bruce Cassidy told reporters including Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe that he’s not sure if the request still stands at this point. The 25-year-old has just five goals and five assists in 30 points this season and a change of scenery certainly couldn’t hurt at this point.  However, with his performance not exactly boosting his value, Dupont argues that DeBrusk may be better off realizing that his best situation might be his current one, especially with the Bruins on a run at the moment.
  • Penguins winger Jason Zucker is listed as a game-time decision for their game on Monday in Vegas, notes Mike DeFabo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The 30-year-old has missed nearly a month due to a lower-body injury that he was trying to play through before being shut down.  He was off to a tough start before the injury with just four goals and seven assists in 30 games but he’s an intriguing addition to a Pittsburgh attack that is getting pretty close to being fully healthy.
  • Sabres defenseman Jacob Bryson will miss at least the next two games due to his upper-body injury, relays Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News (Twitter link). The 24-year-old sophomore has logged close to 20 minutes a game on Buffalo’s back end this season while collecting seven assists and 34 blocks in 32 games.

2021 Year In Review: October

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2021 was certainly 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.  Next up is a look at October, a month that yielded a frenzy of signings as the regular season got underway.

Price Enters Assistance Program: While Canadiens goaltender Carey Price was expected to miss the start of the season as he worked his way back from offseason knee surgery, it was a big surprise when he revealed that he had voluntarily entered the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program.  While Price has since exited following the minimum 30-day period, he has yet to play this season and shut down on-ice workouts about a month ago while awaiting a meeting with his knee specialist to determine the next steps.

Crazy Eights: Eight was the magic number for a lot of teams when it came to signing their key players to contract extension.  Many of those deals were handed out with the majority of them being max-term contracts.  Up front, the Panthers stopped Aleksander Barkov from reaching the open market, inking him to an eight-year, $80MM deal.  The Rangers did the same with top center Mika Zibanejad, handing him $68MM over the next eight seasons.  Meanwhile, Montreal made sure to avoid the risk of another offer sheet as they quickly locked up Nick Suzuki to a deal that pays him $63MM over the next eight years.

The money was almost as big on the back end.  Charlie McAvoy is staying in Boston for the long haul as they bought out his final RFA year plus seven more with a $76MM contract.  Toronto is keeping their top blueliner in the fold for eight more years with a $60MM extension while the Islanders handed Ryan Pulock $49.2MM for eight seasons to keep him as the anchor on the back end.  Nashville also extended Mattias Ekholm but his extension was one of the few that bucked the trend in October as he received $25MM over four seasons.

Finally Signing: While it took a while, the three remaining restricted free agents put pen to paper on new contracts.  Ottawa held firm on their desire for winger Brady Tkachuk to sign a long-term contract and while they didn’t get a max-term deal, they came close as the two sides worked out a seven-year, $57.5MM contract, making him the highest-paid player on the Senators.  The deal also contains a no-move clause in the final three years of the contract, the only ones eligible for any form of trade protection.  Ottawa soon after gave Tkachuk the captaincy and they now have another long-term core piece locked up through his prime years.

Meanwhile, the Canucks had a pair of restricted free agents in defenseman Quinn Hughes and center Elias Pettersson.  While they didn’t have to sign at the same time, it was widely expected that they would considering they’re represented by the same agency and the length of one contract would affect the other since they didn’t have the cap room to sign both to long-term deals.  In the end, the duo basically signed together as Hughes received the long-term deal (six years, $47.1MM) while Pettersson settled for the bridge contract (three years, $22.05MM).  Hughes will be an unrestricted free agent when his deal is up while Pettersson will have one RFA year remaining with a qualifying offer of 120% of the AAV ($8.82MM).

Kane Suspended: The NHL came down hard on then-Sharks winger Evander Kane for a violation of COVID protocol, handing him a 21-game suspension for what was later reported to be the usage of a fake vaccination card.  It gave San Jose a short-term reprieve from having to decide if he was going to be around the team this season or not (and we all know what decision they eventually made).  At the same time of their announcement, the league revealed that the other investigation they were conducting into allegations of domestic abuse could not be substantiated.

Beach Fallout: Following the releasing of findings into an investigation into allegations of sexual assault by Brad Aldrich in 2010 on what was later revealed to be former Chicago forward Kyle Beach, Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman immediately stepped aside.  Bowman had been at the head of the Blackhawks since 2009 and admitted he made a mistake with how he handled things when he was made aware of the situation.  Meanwhile, two days later, Panthers head coach Joel Quenneville resigned.  He had been coaching Chicago at the time and also had been made aware of the situation back then.  He will have to meet with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman before being permitted to coach again in the NHL.  Andrew Brunette took over on an interim basis and still is running the bench in Florida.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Snapshots: Rust, Byron, Sharks

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Pittsburgh Penguins forward Bryan Rust practiced with the team today after missing their last four games while in COVID protocol, per team reporter Michelle Crechiolo. The Penguins face off against Vegas tomorrow night, but head coach Mike Sullivan said today that he’s unsure whether or not he’ll insert Rust into the lineup. Rust’s yet again been lethal when in the lineup, although he’s been limited to just 15 games this season. He has nine goals and 11 points, on pace for his second career season above a point-per-game pace.

More from around the league:

  • Montreal Canadiens head coach Dominique Ducharme issued a further update today on injured winger Paul Byron, stating that he’s probable to join the team at some point during the upcoming week. Byron’s been absent the entire 2021-22 season after having offseason hip injury, and he was expected to miss about five months. He’s now missed about five-and-a-half, so it’s a good sign that he won’t be out much longer. The 32-year-old winger has 26 points in 75 games over the past two seasons and will provide valuable leadership presence to a struggling Canadiens team.
  • The San Jose Sharks could be getting a pair of players back into the fold. Head coach Bob Boughner said today that goalie James Reimer — who’d been out with a lower-body injury for over a week — and forward Alexander Barabanov, who was on COVID protocol, could be back in the team’s lineup for their Monday night game against Los Angeles. Both Reimer and Barabanov have been valuable parts of an impressive Sharks team this season. Reimer’s posted strong numbers in a tandem with Adin Hill, and Barabanov has 20 points through 32 games.

Adrian Kempe Enters COVID Protocol

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Los Angeles Kings forward and Pacific Division All-Star Adrian Kempe entered the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol today, as tweeted by the Kings communications department. In a corresponding move, they’ve brought up forward Martin Frk from the AHL’s Ontario Reign, assigning him to the taxi squad.

Frk himself had recently cleared COVID protocol, entering the list on January 10th.

Kempe is the team’s leader in goals with 17, although he has just seven assists for 24 points in 38 games. The goal-scoring factor is evidently the main reason for his selection to the All-Star team, the first in his career. He’s been playing in the top-six on the wing, most recently alongside Anze Kopitar on the team’s top line.

The Kings have no other healthy forwards on the active roster to insert into the lineup, however, one of Frk, Samuel Fagemo, or Jaret Anderson-Dolan could come up from the taxi squad to fill his spot.

Seattle’s Chris Driedger Enters COVID Protocol

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Seattle Kraken goaltender Chris Driedger entered the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol today according to a tweet from the Seattle Kraken public relations team, continuing what’s been a rocky season in net for Seattle.

The Kraken had no players in COVID protocol prior to Driedger’s placement. In response, per the ECHL’s transactions page, the Kraken recalled goalie Antoine Bibeau from the Allen Americans.

Driedger is the less porous of Seattle’s two main goaltenders this season, and he’d had a save percentage above .900 in three of his past four decisions. On the year, Driedger has a 3-6-0 record through nine starts, a .896 save percentage, and 3.18 goals-against average. The save percentage and goals-against average marks are career-worsts for Driedger in seasons where he’s played more than one NHL game.

The 27-year-old goalie’s first season with the Kraken hasn’t been smooth. He’s been limited to just 11 games played overall, sitting out of the lineup three separate times with a lower-body injury. Driedger signed a three-year, $10.5MM contract this offseason with trade protection to join the team as an unrestricted free agent, counting as their selection from the Florida Panthers in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft.

If only a five-day quarantine is required for Driedger, he’ll miss the team’s next three games, paving the way for a return to the lineup against Florida on January 22nd.

What Your Team Is Thankful For: Vegas Golden Knights

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In the spirit of the holiday season, PHR will take a look at what teams are thankful for as the season approaches the midway 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 Vegas Golden Knights.

What are the Golden Knights thankful for?

Fearless management and excellent pro scouts.

If there’s one thing that George McPhee and Kelly McCrimmon have proven since the Golden Knights came into the league in 2017, it’s that they are willing to make a big splash. Be it through trade–Mark Stone, Max Pacioretty, Robin Lehner, and Jack Eichel–or free agency–Alex Pietrangelo–they haven’t been afraid to go after the top available names.

But even though McPhee and McCrimmon may get the press, it’s been the pro scouting for Vegas that has been so impressive so far. Even moving past the exceptional job they did by identifying underutilized players like William Karlsson in the expansion draft, the case of Chandler Stephenson stands out as a huge example of why Vegas has been so successful.

Acquired from the Washington Capitals in late 2019 for a fifth-round pick, Stephenson was nothing more than a part-time bottom-six option. He had just three goals and four points in 24 games for the Capitals that season, but almost immediately found success in an increased role with Vegas. The team quickly extended him to a four-year deal, knowing they had a bargain on their hands. This season, Stephenson is proving he can be a legitimate top-line option, scoring 36 points through 38 games while averaging more than 19 minutes a game. Not bad for a 2021 fifth-round pick.

Who are the Golden Knights thankful for?

Shea Theodore.

Speaking of pro scouting, another incredible success story in Vegas was the acquisition and subsequent extension of Theodore. Acquired from the Anaheim Ducks for expansion draft considerations–the Golden Knights would end up selecting Clayton Stoner’s contract–Theodore arrived in Vegas with only 55 NHL games under his belt. He passed that number in the first year with the Golden Knights and the organization wasted no time locking him up.

He’s not the only difference-making defender the Golden Knights have, but while Pietrangelo costs $8.8MM per season and will turn 32 in a few days, Theodore carries a cap hit of just $5.2MM through the 2024-25 season and is squarely in his prime at 26. Since the start of 2018-19, his first season without any time in the minor leagues, Theodore ranks ninth among all NHL defensemen in points.

What would the Golden Knights be even more thankful for?

A strong second half from Robin Lehner.

When the Golden Knights were forced to move Marc-Andre Fleury last summer in order to create cap space, the reaction among the fanbase was not good. A ton of pressure was put on Lehner to take over as the full-time starter, and though he hasn’t failed exactly, it’s not going great. The 30-year-old netminder is actually having the worst season of his career in terms of save percentage, notching a .905 through his first 27 appearances.

While that’s still been good enough to record 15 wins with the strong Golden Knights team, and Lehner has been a bit better of late, a strong second half could put this team over the top. Remember, this is a goaltender had a .923 over the last three seasons and has twice taken home the Jennings Trophy as part of the tandem with the lowest goals-against-average.

What should be on the Golden Knights’ wish list?

Some cheap cap relief.

Frankly, there’s not much that the Golden Knights can actually add to their team at the deadline because of the cap situation they find themselves in. With Eichel approaching a return they will actually likely have to shed salary at some point, meaning the most important thing now will be getting something of value in return for whatever they have to send packing. Whether it’s Reilly Smith, Evgenii Dadonov, or something else, other general managers will certainly have all the leverage in negotiations.

Still, Pacioretty’s injury buys the team some time to work and the pieces they might decide to shed are still valuable players. From a front office that has worked out complex trades in the past, getting out of a little cap trouble doesn’t seem like that big of an issue.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

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