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John Carlson, Conor Garland Enter COVID Protocol

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The Washington Capitals got some good news when Dmitry Orlov and Carl Hagelin were activated ahead of today’s game, but it won’t be all roses. John Carlson has been added to the COVID protocol and is unavailable today.

Of note, Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic tweets that Carlson was actually late to the warm-up for yesterday’s game while awaiting test results, but ultimately played in the game. The veteran defenseman played nearly 24 minutes in the Capitals’ victory over the New York Islanders.

With Carlson coming out, Orlov will be in and skating on the top pairing with Trevor van Riemsdyk. Alex Ovechkin is now the only player on the entire Capitals roster to play in every game. Washington takes on the reeling Vancouver Canucks this afternoon as they continue their chase for the top of the Metropolitan Division.

It’s not great news from the Canucks either though, as Conor Garland has also been added to the protocol just ahead of game time. The 25-year-old Garland has been one of the Canucks’ most consistent players this season, scoring 24 points in 37 games while being a strong defensive player. Taking him out of the lineup will only hurt Vancouver’s chances of turning things around, especially since his removal came so close to puck drop.

Poll: Is The Eastern Conference Playoff Picture Already Complete?

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It doesn’t make for much of an exciting stretch run, but it just might be the truth and The Buffalo News’ Mike Harrington isn’t afraid to make the claim: less than halfway through the 2021-22 NHL season, the eight Eastern Conference playoff spots appear to be locked up. While the eight in place can certainly jockey for position, Harrington believes that those teams currently in the postseason in the East will stay in postseason position and those not, including his Buffalo Sabres, have nothing left to play for this season. Do you agree?

The conference standings do paint a pretty bleak picture for the playoff race, as the gap between the eighth and final playoff spot and the next closest competitor is sizeable. In terms of both absolute points and points percentage, the Boston Bruins sit in eighth in the East with 46 points and a .657 points percentage, holding the second wild card spot if the postseason started today. In ninth place in both categories are the Detroit Red Wings, but calling it a distant ninth is generous. Detroit has 39 points on the year, just seven back of Boston, but having played four more games than the Bruins the Red Wings are actually just a .500 team, 157 percentage points back. Every other team outside the playoff picture is under .500 and they are all chasing a Bruins team that is 8-2 in their past ten games, riding a five-game winning streak. Just ahead of Boston are the Pittsburgh Penguins, who are also 8-2 in their last ten. The only other teams in the conference that are not 200+ percentage points ahead of Detroit are the Washington Capitals and New York Rangers.

[See: Eastern Conference Standings]

Statistically, there don’t appear to be any clear underachievers outside of the playoff picture primed for a late push either. All eight teams not in a playoff spot in the East have a negative goal differential, with the top mark being the Columbus Blue Jackets at -15. In contrast, the worst differential among the playoff teams is the Rangers’ +17 and they are the only club below +20. Hardly any of the non-playoff teams hold a spot in the top half of the league in any major statistical category either. The New York Islanders are ninth in goals against per game and eleventh in penalty kill efficiency, the Blue Jackets are tied for twelfth in goals for per game, the New Jersey Devils are thirteenth on the penalty kill, and the Ottawa Senators are tied for fourteenth in power play efficiency – end of list.

Yet, can the playoff picture really be sealed up this early? The law of averages suggests that a current playoff team is likely to slump while a current non-playoff team is likely to hit their stride in the second half. In fact, this may have already begun. While the Bruins and Penguins have been surging, the Capitals are just 4-3-3 in their last ten games and struggling to find consistent goaltending and defensive play. The Capitals’ record is also buoyed by a league-leading nine overtime points and their abysmal 30th-ranked power play is a major stain on their playoff resume. If there is a pretender in the East, it could be Washington. The Rangers may also be due for some regression in the second half. New York has exceeded expectations thus far and have somehow found ways to win despite trouble scoring. Their 2.85 goals per game is tied for 18th in the league, behind the likes of Columbus and New Jersey and just .01 ahead of Ottawa. On the flip side of the playoff picture, the Islanders are one of the biggest disappointments of the season. A conference finalist last year, the Isles looked to be building a true contender. While they are still playing a good defensive game, the team has had no luck offensively this season. Yet, with a league-low  30 games played, the Islanders could have time to find their game and fight their way back into postseason consideration. At least on paper, the Philadelphia Flyers should also be better than their current record, while the rebuilding Red Wings and Blue Jackets should be happy with their performance so far this season but would be even happier to get their young rosters into a postseason battle.

It is hard to remember a conference having no battle for playoff position in recent memory, especially so early in the season. While it looks like that could be the case this year in the East, is that actual a realistic expectation? Is the current gap in the standings just too wide to overcome? Or is there enough potential for one or two teams in the playoff picture to collapse while one or two on the outside find a way back? Vote now and comment on which teams, if any, could drop out of the playoff picture and who might replace them.

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Taxi Squad Shuffle: 01/16/22

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After an enormous Saturday slate, only the Canucks and Capitals will take the ice today. However, other clubs will still be preparing for the week ahead with roster tweaks and injury adjustments. Keep up with those moves all day long right here:

Atlantic Division

  • The Toronto Maple Leafs will get a pair of veteran forward some play time down in the minors. The team has announced that Joey Anderson and Brett Seney have been reassigned from the taxi squad to the AHL Marlies. While Anderson and Seney are perfect taxi squad members – experienced players that can easily slot into an NHL lineup and whose development isn’t harmed by inactivity – at some point even those types need to see game action every once in a while.
  • So much for an extended stay on the NHL roster for Jacob Bernard-Docker. Just one day after he was recalled, the Ottawa Senators have reassigned the top prospect back to the taxi squad. He won’t stay there for long; the young blueliner needs to play regularly, either in Ottawa or back in Belleville.
  • The Detroit Red Wings have brought up some reinforcements to the taxi squad, announcing the recalls of goaltender Calvin Pickard, forward/defenseman Luke Witkowski, and winger Taro Hirose from Grand Rapids of the AHL.  Detroit is on the road in Buffalo on Monday and the three will serve as replacement options if someone is injured or enters COVID protocol.

Metropolitan Division

  • Veteran goaltender Jean-Francois Berube accompanied the Columbus Blue Jackets on their recent road trip as a member of the taxi squad. However, now that the team is off until Thursday he will head back to the minors. The Blue Jackets announced that Berube has been reassigned from the taxi squad to the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters.
  • The Philadelphia Flyers added two players to their taxi squad today, per the team – forward Connor Bunnaman from the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms and goalie Kirill Ustimenko from the ECHL’s Reading Royals. Bunnaman, a frequently shuttled player between the NHL and AHL, has five games in with the big club this season and no points.

Central Division

  • Though they play only one game in the next five nights, the Minnesota Wild are adding to their taxi squad. The team announced that goaltender Hunter Jones and forward Kyle Rau have been recalled from AHL Iowa. Rau, a Minnesota native and long-time member of the Wild organization, is a familiar face to fans but Jones is not. The 2019 second-round pick has played more games in the ECHL than AHL this season, but has performed well in those few AHL appearances and earned a chance to work with the NHL team.
  • Thomas Harley is still looking for his first NHL point through eight games, but the 2019 first-round pick may get another opportunity soon. The Dallas Stars promoted Harley yesterday to the taxi squad from AHL Texas, where he has had no trouble producing with 35 points in 56 career games, but today have returned him to the minors. Forwards Riley Damiani and Rhett Gardner have also been reassigned to Texas for the time being.
  • The Chicago Blackhawks continue to shuffle the deck. Per team beat writer Carter Baum, the Blackhawks have activated defenseman Jake McCabe from the COVID Protocol and reassigned defenseman Ian Mitchell to the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs as a corresponding move. Also heading back to Rockford is forward Lukas Reichel. Meanwhile, the taxi squad is getting some reinforcements from the AHL in the form of forward Mike Hardman and goaltender Cale Morris. 
  • As tweeted by the Nashville Predators communications department, the team made a flurry of roster moves today. Nashville reassigned forward Matt Luff to the taxi squad from the active roster, recalled defenseman Jeremy Davies from the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals to the taxi squad, and moved goalie Tomas Vomacka to the Florida Everblades of the ECHL from Milwaukee. The moves could be a sign that forward Filip Forsberg, who the team placed in COVID protocol on January 8th, might be close to returning.

Pacific Division

  • The Vancouver Canucks continue to manage their options in net following the COVID diagnosis of veteran Jaroslav Halak. Spencer Martin was an emergency recall from the taxi squad yesterday and today it is young Michael DiPietro getting the call from AHL Abbotsford to take Martin’s spot on the taxi squad. It would not be a surprise to see the two switch places as well; Martin has been stellar in the AHL this season, but it is DiPietro that is a future member of the Canucks and in need of NHL experience.
  • Another routine move for the Los Angeles Kings as the team has returned forward Samuel Fagemo and defenseman Jacob Moverare to the taxi squad less than 24 hours after recalling both to the active roster. The rookie duo have been involved in more roster moves than NHL games, having each played just once for L.A. this season.

This page will be updated throughout the day

John Klingberg Trade Talks Ramping Up

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As the trade deadline approaches, many eyes have turned to the Dallas Stars after John Klingberg spoke publicly about the lack of extension negotiations making him feel underappreciated. Klingberg’s representatives received approval from the club earlier this season to approach other teams to try and find a fit as the veteran defenseman approaches unrestricted free agency, but there hasn’t been a deal completed to this point.

Through the first part of the season, Klingberg had been getting his normal ice time, well over 20 minutes on most nights. Recently though, those numbers have dropped and tonight will be a huge change, as the former Norris Trophy nominee is skating on the third pairing against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Jeff Marek of Sportsnet spoke about the situation on tonight’s 32 Thoughts segment:

The Dallas Stars have stepped up their efforts to trade John Klingberg. We believe very much that he is getting dealt. Hard to say exactly when, but Dallas does seem aggressive in wanting to get something done soon-ish. 

Today, Stars head coach Rick Bowness told reporters including Saad Yousuf of The Athletic that if he could have, he would have made some “surprising” healthy scratches tonight as he looks to get his team back on track. Dallas doesn’t really have the option to do that right now as several players are on the COVID protocol.

Whether Klingberg would have been one of those isn’t clear, but it’s obvious that the team is preparing for a time without the pending UFA. At the time of this writing, he has the fifth-most ice time among Dallas defenders tonight, only ahead of partner Joel Hanley.

One thing to note when it comes to Klingberg speculation is that the 29-year-old defenseman has does not have any trade protection in his current contract and could be sent anywhere. His $4.25MM cap hit could also make him rather palatable for even the most cap-strapped contenders, depending on what comes back to Dallas. Through 29 games this season (before tonight), Klingberg has 17 points.

What Your Team Is Thankful For: Vancouver Canucks

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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 Vancouver Canucks.

What are the Canucks thankful for?

New leadership.

Quite frankly, former Canucks GM Jim Benning should have been fired a long time ago. After a stint with the Boston Bruins front office, Benning took over as general manager of the Canucks in 2014. After making it back to the playoffs in year one, Vancouver missed in five of the next six seasons, only making it to the postseason in the 2020 bubble.

Not only did they fail to have any substantive on-ice success, but they also routinely missed on high draft picks despite Benning earning a reputation as a good scout. Jake Virtanen (sixth overall 2014), and Olli Juolevi (5th overall 2016) were both huge whiffs for the organization, while second-round picks like Jonah Gadjovich, Kole Lind, and Jett Woo have also failed to make much of an impact at the NHL level to this point. Even with a team still quite far from contending for a Stanley Cup, the Canucks ranked 28th in Scott Wheeler’s recent prospect pool rankings for The Athletic.

It’s not that Jim Rutherford is guaranteed success in Vancouver, but fans have been clamoring for change longer than most bases. Just having a different voice is important after so much failure.

Who are the Canucks thankful for?

Bruce Boudreau.

There have been a lot of astute hockey minds saying things like “Travis Green is a good coach, he’ll land on his feet elsewhere” since the Canucks made a change behind the bench, but there was no doubt a new brand of coaching needed to be brought in. Boudreau has gone 8-2-1 since arriving in Vancouver, continuing his history of finding immediate success when he arrives in struggling markets.

Once again, it’s not that there is a guarantee this will continue–in fact, it looks as though the new coach bump might already be wearing off–but there needed to be a new voice behind the bench. Notably, the veteran coach appears to have a positive impact on Brock Boeser, the team’s struggling sniper. Five of his nine goals this season came in the six games leading into the holiday break, all under Boudreau.

What would the Canucks be even more thankful for?

An Elias Pettersson sighting.

One of the most puzzling things to happen to the Canucks this season has been the disappearance of their young star. Pettersson, the 2019 Calder Trophy winner and a player who earned Hart Trophy votes in 2020, has looked completely lost at times. After scoring 153 points in his first 165 games in the NHL, Pettersson has just 17 in 36 this season, good for sixth on the Canucks’ roster.

The team was never expected to really contend for a Stanley Cup this season, but without Pettersson playing to the level he once did, it will be difficult to even stay competitive in the Pacific Division. There are excuses that could be used–a long injury and a missed training camp in particular–but after signing a three-year, $22.05MM deal in October, Pettersson has to be better.

What should be on the Canucks’ wish list?

Cap relief.

When Benning and his staff went out and acquired Conor Garland and Oliver Ekman-Larsson last summer, they ensured that the team would be capped out not only this season but moving forward as well. The Canucks have more than $71MM owed to just 15 players for 2022-23, not leaving much flexibility.

If Rutherford realizes that this group isn’t going to get it done, biting the bullet on some tough trades would be the move at the deadline. Moving out Ekman-Larsson or Tyler Myers would probably be the best options, but names like Boeser, J.T. Miller, and even captain Bo Horvat will have to be discussed at some point. It’s not that these are all players that can no longer contribute, but right now the Canucks are basically locked into this group, with free agent negotiations on the horizon and no real success to show for it.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Injury Updates: Martinez, Murray, Wild, Oshie

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It appears that the Golden Knights will soon be getting a key defenseman back in their lineup.  In an interview with SinBin.Vegas (audio link), owner Bill Foley indicated that Alec Martinez was nearing a return had it not been for the veteran contracting COVID-19.  Martinez has been out since mid-November with an upper-body injury and is expected to miss at least ten days due to his protocol placement, meaning it’s not an asymptomatic case so he won’t return until the middle of next week at the earliest.  Martinez and his $5.25MM AAV are currently on LTIR and Vegas will likely need to transfer winger Max Pacioretty onto LTIR in order to activate the blueliner back onto the active roster.

Other injury news from around the league:

  • Avalanche defenseman Ryan Murray left Friday’s victory over Arizona with an upper-body injury, notes Mike Chambers of the Denver Post. The oft-injured 28-year-old has struggled with Colorado this season, averaging just over 14 minutes per game in 21 contests.  The expectation is that Kurtis MacDermid, who had been playing on the wing recently, will now go back to his natural position on the back end to take Murray’s place.
  • The Wild could get defenseman Jared Spurgeon and goaltender Cam Talbot back in the lineup for their upcoming home-and-home set against Chicago, suggests Michael Russo of The Athletic (Twitter link). Those games are slated for Friday and Saturday of next week.  Spurgeon has missed the last three weeks with a lower-body injury while Talbot has missed nearly two weeks with a lower-body issue of his own.
  • The Capitals announced (Twitter link) that winger T.J. Oshie sustained an upper-body injury in today’s game against the Islanders. It has been a tough season for the veteran from a health perspective as he has already missed time due to three separate injuries while missing a game in COVID protocol.  In between all of those, the 35-year-old has been fairly productive with 13 points in 17 games.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Calgary Flames

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Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM.  Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful.  Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation for the 2021-22 season and beyond.  This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL.  All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

Calgary Flames

Current Cap Hit: $79,991,525 (under the $81.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

No regulars in Calgary’s lineup are on entry-level deals.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

F Johnny Gaudreau ($6.75MM, UFA)
D Erik Gudbranson ($1.95MM, UFA)
F Trevor Lewis ($800K, UFA)
D Oliver Kylington ($750K, RFA)
F Andrew Mangiapane ($2.325MM, RFA)
F Tyler Pitlick ($1.75MM, UFA)
F Brad Richardson ($800K, UFA)
F Brett Ritchie ($900K, UFA)
D Michael Stone ($750K, UFA)
F Matthew Tkachuk ($7MM, RFA)
D Nikita Zadorov ($3.75MM, UFA)

Gaudreau is obviously the UFA to watch for here.  After a couple of quieter years, he has bounced back somewhat this season and is averaging just over a point per game, a mark he has only reached twice in his career.  That will certainly give his value a boost at the right time.  There are two big questions here – what is he worth and is it worth it for Calgary to pay that?  He’ll be 29 to start next season so a max-term contract isn’t out of the question (eight years for the Flames, seven for everyone else) with the last couple being a little cheaper in salary to lower the AAV.  Still, it’s quite possible that Gaudreau pushes past the $8MM range and since he is part of a core group that has largely underachieved, should Calgary willingly pay a fair bit more to keep it together?  If Gaudreau wants top dollar, I’m not sure it comes from the Flames.

The other big one to watch for obviously is Tkachuk.  He’s subject to the old qualifying offer rule which means a $9MM offer needs to be tendered to retain his rights.  It’s hard to see him willingly taking a long-term deal at that price point so GM Brad Treliving will need to go higher than that to stop the 24-year-old from taking the offer and heading straight to UFA eligibility in 2023.  Another RFA in line for a significant raise is Mangiapane, their top goal-getter this season.  With arbitration eligibility and potentially a 30-goal year under his belt (he’s more than halfway there at 18), it’s not unrealistic to think he has a shot at doubling his current price tag.  If Calgary pays all three of those, they could be looking at adding $7MM or more just to retain their current forwards let alone add to the group.

As for the other forwards, Pitlick hasn’t had a good season and has struggled since coming over from Seattle.  He’ll likely have to settle for something closer to the $1MM range next year as a result.  Ritchie, Lewis, and Richardson have all recently gone through the UFA market and deals at just above the minimum were all they were able to get.  None have done enough to drastically improve their fortunes much beyond what they’re making now.

On the back end, Zadorov hasn’t quite fit in as well as Calgary hoped as he has been scratched at times and on the third pairing for most of the year.  That’s only going to hurt his value instead of the change of scenery from Chicago helping it.  His value is tough to peg as someone in his role should be making less than half of what he currently is but it still wouldn’t be surprising if he wound up with a deal in the $2.75MM or more range in the summer.  Gudbranson continues to be a physical player on the third pairing and after taking a cut last summer, another small dip is likely.  Kylington will be in a much different situation as he has been one of Calgary’s best offensive blueliners this season and will have arbitration eligibility this time around.  Some sheltered minutes could play a factor in a hearing but him landing something around $2MM is probably doable.  Stone is a depth player and has been for a few years now and he’ll either re-sign for the minimum or they’ll find another depth player willing to play for that salary.

Two Years Remaining

F Milan Lucic ($5.25MM, UFA)*
D Connor Mackey ($913K, RFA)
F Sean Monahan ($6.375MM, UFA)
D Juuso Valimaki ($1.55MM, RFA)
G Daniel Vladar ($750K, RFA)

*-Edmonton is retaining another $750K on Lucic’s deal

Monahan has seen his value dip in recent years and this season hasn’t gone particularly well either.  He’s not the number one center they hoped he’d be but lately, he hasn’t even been a second-line pivot.  If Monahan can get back to that level, a contract that’s only a bit below his current AAV is still manageable.  However, if his current trend continues, something in the $3.5MM to $4MM range becomes more realistic.  Lucic is nowhere near the player he once was and is now more of a role player (although with eight goals this season, he’s still contributing a bit offensively).  If he gets another contract beyond this one, it will be more commensurate with a fourth liner.

Valimaki’s bridge deal seemed reasonable at the time but after hardly playing in the first two months of the year, he’s in the minors.  Waivers will take that option off the table next season but if he’s still barely playing at that time, his $1.86MM qualifying offer could be an issue.  Mackey is on a one-way deal which warrants at least a mention here although he has been in AHL Stockton all season.  Again, that won’t be an option next year without waivers which could earn him a spot and if he can do that, he could be kept around the $1MM mark.

Vladar has impressed in his first full-time NHL role, albeit in sporadic minutes as the backup goaltender.  With how head coach Darryl Sutter is using Vladar, it’s going to be hard for him to command high-end backup money two years from now although something beyond the $2MM mark is certainly a possibility.

Three Years Remaining

F Mikael Backlund ($5.35MM, UFA)
F Dillon Dube ($2.3MM, RFA)
D Noah Hanifin ($4.95MM, UFA)
F Elias Lindholm ($4.85MM, UFA)
D Chris Tanev ($4.5MM, UFA)

Backlund has been a reliable secondary scorer for Calgary while being a key piece defensively for most of the contract.  The scoring part hasn’t been there this season, however, and with Monahan and Lindholm also in the fold, he looks like a possible candidate to be moved if Treliving wants to shake things up.  Given the demand for centers, there will still be a good market for him.  Lindholm has become quite the bargain since coming over from Carolina as he has become the consistent scoring threat that he wasn’t able to be with the Hurricanes while transitioning to playing back down the middle full-time.  Assuming he can continue on that trajectory for the next few years, he could land a few extra million per year in 2024.  Dube had gradually taken some steps forward over the last couple of seasons, convincing Calgary to give him this three-year deal last offseason.  The early returns haven’t been great as he has been more of an energy player than a secondary producer but there’s still time for him to turn it around.

Hanifin isn’t a top-pairing defender as his draft stock suggested he would be when he went fifth overall in 2015 but he’s a quality top-four player who can log some heavy minutes.  He’ll hit the open market at 27 in the prime of his career and should be able to command close to a max-term contract with a fairly significant bump in pay at that time.  Tanev, on the other hand, is in the back end of his career.  While he remains a quality defender, his injury history and a lack of production make this a contract that might not age well over the last few seasons.

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COVID Notes: Halak, Sabres, Connolly, Sheary, Oilers, Stutzle, Sillinger

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The Canucks announced (Twitter link) that goaltender Jaroslav Halak has been placed into COVID protocol.  The veteran was set to get the start for today’s game against Carolina but instead, that will go to Thatcher Demko with Spencer Martin coming up from the taxi squad.  Halak has made just eight appearances this season and has a $1.25MM bonus pending when he gets to his tenth.  He’ll now have to wait a little longer to get that bonus, one that has recently landed himself in trade speculation as well.

More COVID news from around the NHL:

  • Sabres winger Tage Thompson and center Peyton Krebs have both cleared COVID protocol, notes Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald. Thompson will suit up tonight in Detroit while they will take it a little slower with Krebs and re-assess his status on Sunday.
  • Blackhawks winger Brett Connolly has entered COVID protocol, relays John Dietz of the Daily Herald (Twitter link). The veteran has only played in four games with Chicago this season and has spent most of the year in the minors.  Defenseman Ian Mitchell was recalled from AHL Rockford just a day after being sent down.
  • The Capitals announced (Twitter link) that winger Conor Sheary has been placed in COVID protocol. The 29-year-old has impressed in his second season in Washington, notching ten goals and nine assists in 31 games, good for third on the team in goals.
  • The Oilers have taken wingers Warren Foegele and Tyler Benson plus defenseman Slater Koekkoek out of COVID protocol, mentions Sportsnet’s Jack Michaels (Twitter link). With those activations, Edmonton – who last played on January 5th – will be able to dress 18 skaters against Ottawa tonight.
  • The Senators announced (Twitter link) that they have removed winger Tim Stutzle from COVID protocol. The just-turned 20-year-old has had a bit of a quieter sophomore season than expected, collecting five goals and ten assists in 29 games.
  • The Blue Jackets have placed center Cole Sillinger in COVID protocol, per a team release.  The rookie has held down a regular spot in the lineup with Columbus this season, notching 13 points in 35 games.  Liam Foudy has been recalled from the taxi squad to take Sillinger’s place on the roster.

Alex Stalock Clears Waivers

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Saturday: Stalock has cleared waivers, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports.

Friday: It’s not often a positive outcome when a player is put on waivers, but that’s exactly the case today. Alex Stalock has been placed on waivers by the Edmonton Oilers, meaning that he passed his physical and will attempt a comeback with the Bakersfield Condors of the AHL. Stalock had missed the entire first part of the season with a heart condition and it was not clear at all if his career would continue.

There is a chance of a claim, but it is very unlikely in this case as Stalock is not ready to play in the NHL. Any claiming team would have to keep him on the active roster, not really something that is possible for a netminder who hasn’t seen game action since August 2020.

In 2020-21, Stalock was listed out to start the year with an upper-body injury. Michael Russo of The Athletic reported last March that it was actually myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle, that was keeping Stalock out. That diagnosis followed a bout with COVID-19, one that he tested positive for but did not experience any symptoms during. Waivers at that point were supposed to get him to the Minnesota taxi squad, but the Oilers claimed him as added goaltending depth not only last season but into the future. Stalock was only on the second season of an inexpensive three-year deal, one that he is currently still playing under.

After initially being ruled out for the entire 2021-22 season, Stalock’s return to Bakersfield will be the first step in his comeback attempt. Waivers are usually a demotion, but this time it’s a step in the right direction.

Rangers Have Shown Interest In Artturi Lehkonen

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The Rangers have been looking to add to their bottom six group for several weeks now following the season-ending injury to Sammy Blais.  It appears that one of the players that they’re interested in is Canadiens winger Artturi Lehkonen as Arthur Staple of The Athletic reports (subscription link) that GM Chris Drury has reached out to Canadiens Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations Jeff Gorton to discuss Lehkonen’s availability with those discussions being termed as preliminary.

The 26-year-old hasn’t been able to repeat the 18-goal performance he had in his rookie season but has become a reliable defensive forward for Montreal over his six-year NHL career.  Like many Canadiens this season, he has struggled offensively, notching just four goals and eight assists in 33 games but also leads all Montreal forwards in penalty killing time.

He would likely have a similar role if he was to be acquired by the Rangers, one that would see him primarily in their bottom six while playing a significant role on their penalty kill, giving them another above-average forward on that front along with newcomer Barclay Goodrow.

While Lehkonen is on an expiring contract, he still has one year left of arbitration eligibility with a qualifying offer of $2.3MM, matching his current cap hit and salary.  To that end, this isn’t a situation where it’s a guarantee that he’ll be moved by the March 21st trade deadline.  Accordingly, the asking price may be higher than it would be for someone in a similar role that’s set to hit the open market in July.

With ample salary cap space (nearly $10MM per CapFriendly), the Rangers have the opportunity to try to add multiple players over the next couple of months but with pricey extensions already in place for Adam Fox and Mika Zibanejad for next season, their cap flexibility will be short-lived.  As a result, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Drury also on the lookout for some pending unrestricted free agents in the weeks to come.

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