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Brianna Decker Out For Rest Of Olympics

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The Olympic women’s ice hockey event kicked off last night, with Canada dominating Switzerland but potentially losing Melodie Daoust after she left the game early holding her shoulder. Team Canada hasn’t provided an update on the star forward, only that she continues to be assessed by the medical staff.

It’s much worse for Team USA, who have confirmed to reporters including Erica L. Ayala of the PHF that Brianna Decker will miss the rest of the tournament. Decker was shown on crutches with a cast on her ankle and foot, after being stretchered off earlier in the game against Finland. The U.S. forward got tangled with a Finnish player behind the net partway through the first period and obviously did not return.

While the U.S. still took down Finland–the third-best team in the world–losing Decker is a huge blow in their quest to take home gold. The 30-year-old is an incredibly decorated member of the national program, with six World Championship and one Olympic gold medal. A Patty Kazmaier winner as the best player in college hockey, a CWHL Rookie of the Year and champion with multiple NWHL MVPs, and in her third Olympics, there are few players in the world that can bring Decker’s resume to international competition.

Anaheim Ducks Expected To Name Pat Verbeek As GM

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While many have been linking the two for a few weeks now, an official announcement is now imminent. According to multiple sources, including TSN’s Pierre LeBrun and The Athletic’s Eric Stephens, the Anaheim Ducks are expected to name Pat Verbeek as their next General Manager. Verbeek will be the official replacement for Bob Murray, who resigned in November, stepping in for interim GM Jeff Solomon. A formal announcement is expected on Thursday.

Verbeek, 57, is currently an Assistant GM for the Detroit Red Wings and the GM of the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins. He returned to Detroit, where he initially launched his hockey ops career as a scout back in 2006, when Steve Yzerman became the Red Wings GM. Verbeek had previously worked with Yzerman in Tampa Bay, where Verbeek had worked his way up through the organization since 2010. If Verbeek can find success like Yzerman and protégé Julien Brisebois have had, then the Ducks will be in good hands.

An experienced executive, Verbeek of course also had a long playing career.  A skilled forward, Verbeek broke into the NHL in his draft year, launching a 19-year career that produced over 1,000 points and nearly 1,500 games with five different clubs. Verbeek even cracked 80 points three times and 40 goals four times and spent four seasons as captain of the Hartford Whalers. He wrapped up his playing career in 2001-02 with the Dallas Stars, posting 20 points at the age of 37.

Verbeek will have a major decision on his hands right off the bat when he accepts the Ducks job. Anaheim is enjoying a surprising strong season and currently sit in a playoff spot. However, their postseason position is far from secure and the team possesses a multitude of high-value rental options. Ryan Getzlaf, Rickard Rakell, Hampus Lindholm, and Josh Manson are all on expiring contract and would each be one of the top trade deadline options if made available. The rebuilding Ducks could certainly use the trade capital that they would fetch; however, the young team could also use the invaluable playoff experience. Verbeek will have to decide before next month’s deadline if he wants to sell and jeopardize the team’s postseason hopes this season, stand pat and try to re-sign some of these core UFA’s, or perhaps even buy and give his upstart group a real chance at a deep run through the weak Pacific Division.

 

Trade Rumors: Canadiens, Petry, Stars, Coyotes

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Though unimaginable just a few short months ago, the defending Stanley Cup finalist Montreal Canadiens are fully open for business, according to new GM Kent Hughes. Hughes tells TSN’s Pierre LeBrun that the team is “open to everything” when it comes to trading away players amidst this dismal season. Montreal is on pace for a historically poor campaign and Hughes must do all he can to try to right the ship. It remains to be seen if that is just moving some select players or an outright fire sale. Confounding the situation is the fact that the Habs are not your typical sellers; the team has just a handful of expiring contracts to ship off as rentals and is mired in long-term contracts. Montreal has more than $70MM in annual salary committed through the 2023-24 season, with many contracts extending well beyond that point too. So while Hughes can name drop Ben Chiarot as a player who he has discussed the possibility of a trade with, the critical moves for the Canadiens will not be the obvious rentals but getting out from under some of their long-term commitments. Is that something that Hughes can do before the trade deadline or will the dismantling of the roster truly begin this offseason?

  • At least one term player who could be on the move is veteran defenseman Jeff Petry, whose name has begun to circulate on the rumor mill alongside Chiarot’s. Petry is suffering through an uncharacteristically bad season, which understandably makes the Canadiens wary of the remaining three years left on his $6.25MM AAV contact. While only mentioning Chiarot by name, Hughes noted to LeBrun that he had begun discussing trade potential with a number of his veteran players, in part to determine how they were feeling about being a part of the current Habs roster. It seems Petry was one of these players and didn’t hide that he was equally dissatisfied with being in Montreal as the club has been with his performance. On TSN’s “Insider Trading”, LeBrun reported that Petry has indicated that he is open to moving on. More specifically, he would actually “welcome a trade.” LeBrun hears that one team who could be interest in Petry becomes attainable are the Dallas Stars, who seem to be moving on shortly from a cornerstone right-handed defenseman of their own in John Klingberg. If the Stars want Petry though, they will have to pay up. Hughes was adamant that he will not trade Petry at a discount due to his poor play and the team’s struggles this season, a policy that he may apply to all of his core players. This could lead to trades for Petry and others having to wait until the summer or perhaps even next season when the memory of the horrific 2021-22 Montreal Canadiens has faded in the minds of potential suitors.
  • One other hindrance to the Habs’ ability to make trades this season is an inability (or unwillingness) to retain salary. Montreal is currently in the Long-Term Injured Reserve salary cap overage and actually have the highest real money payroll in the league currently. Especially when it comes to term players, Hughes is not going to want to add any more unnecessary salary to his roster, even though doing so has become a common way for sellers to land improved trade returns. However, there is good news for the 16 other teams currently in the LTIR or with less than a minimum salary’s worth of cap space – the Arizona Coyotes are still willing to play ball. The ’Yotes jumped head first into their rebuild this past offseason when they took on the likes of Jay Beagle, Loui Eriksson, Antoine Roussel, Anton Stralman, Andrew Ladd, and Shayne Gostisbehere from cap-strapped teams in order to land a treasure trove of draft picks as well. Looking at a whopping seven picks in the first two rounds of the 2022 NHL Draft and plenty of cap space still to spend, GM Bill Armstrong is ready to keep it going. With a cap number that is already among the bottom third of the league and an incredible $36MM coming off the books this summer in unrestricted free agents, the Coyotes are willing and able to keep taking on bad contracts in trades, reports TSN’s Chris Johnston. With that being said, as the team looks to improve next season from a 2021-22 pace that would be worst in the league if not for Montreal, Johnston notes that Armstrong and company will be a bit more particular about who they are willing to take on this time around. The caliber of the player going to Arizona appears to be more of a concern than the weight of the contract as the ’Yotes hope to make progress in their rebuild while also taking advantage of the salary cap.

Eric Robinson Out Six Weeks With MCL Injury

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The Columbus Blue Jackets seem to announce a serious injury every week these days. Eric Robinson is the latest to hit the shelf, as the team announced that he will miss six weeks with an MCL sprain in his right knee. The winger was injured in Monday’s game against the Florida Panthers on a hit from Radko Gudas, one that did not draw a penalty or any supplementary discipline from the league.

Robinson, 26, has gone from undrafted college free agent to full-time NHL forward in a few short years and has 17 points in 42 games with the Blue Jackets this season. He averages 14 minutes a night in a bottom-six role, with a good chunk of that coming on the penalty kill. He and Sean Kuraly lead all Blue Jackets forwards in shorthanded ice time this season, and given the recent injuries to Alexandre Texier and Jake Bean, the team has lost a lot of the options they’re comfortable with when down a man.

Six weeks doesn’t rule him out for the rest of the season but does take him right up against the trade deadline. Any chance the Blue Jackets had to try and chase down a playoff spot before then is slipping further away with every injury that chips away at the organizational depth. The team now sits 18 points behind the Washington Capitals for fourth in the Metropolitan Division and 14 points behind the Boston Bruins for the final wildcard spot.

Tom Wilson, Jonathan Marchessault Added To All-Star Rosters

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The NHL has been forced to make another few changes to the All-Star rosters after recent injuries and COVID results. Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson will be replacing teammate Alex Ovechkin, who tested positive for coronavirus today and will miss the event. Ovechkin, who was supposed to serve as captain of the Metropolitan Division, will pass the “C” to Claude Giroux of the Philadelphia Flyers.

It will be Wilson’s first All-Star experience and it comes during the best season of his career. The 27-year-old forward has 13 goals and 31 points in 42 games, a pace that would see him shatter his previous career-high of 44 points in short order. A player who scored just nine goals during his draft year and was selected because of the raw size, aggression, and skating ability he showed, Wilson has developed into a premier power forward in the NHL and looks poised to crack the 20-goal mark for the third time.

On the Pacific Division side, Jonathan Marchessault has been added, though the league did not immediately reveal who he would be replacing. The 31-year-old Vegas Golden Knights forward will also be at the event for the first time, despite several outstanding seasons since he arrived in Sin City. Marchessault has 20 goals and 32 points in 41 games, only trailing Chandler Stephenson for the team lead in overall scoring. One of the original misfits, he’ll get to take the ice at home during the event in Las Vegas this weekend.

Things kick off on Friday night with the NHL All-Star Skills, before a three-game, 3-on-3 tournament Saturday.

Noel Acciari Sent To AHL On Conditioning Stint

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The already incredibly deep Florida Panthers may be getting even deeper. Noel Acciari has been loaned to the Charlotte Checkers for a conditioning stint, a sign that he may be ready to make his season debut at some point in the near future.

Acciari, 30, suffered an injury in the preseason that required surgery and has been on long-term injured reserve ever since. This move doesn’t actually remove that LTIR designation just yet, but even if it did the Panthers are still okay cap-wise because of Markus Nutivaara’s absence. The real question would be where exactly Acciari even fits into the lineup when he returns, given how incredible Florida’s forward group has looked to this point.

While he may not be a household name for many NHL fans, remember that Acciari has been a valuable bottom-six option for the Panthers the last two seasons, even registering 20 goals in 66 games during the 2019-20 campaign. He received Selke Trophy votes that year because of the hard defensive minutes he was asked to play–Acciari almost never started a shift in the offensive zone–and there was no Panther who averaged more short-handed ice time last season. Florida’s penalty kill has actually been one of their biggest weak spots this season, as they sit 19th in the league behind several Atlantic Division rivals.

As a lineup crunch seemingly approaches, Owen Tippett’s name keeps coming up in trade talks and just yesterday Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet threw Frank Vatrano into the rumor mill as well. While Acciari certainly wouldn’t be a one-to-one replacement for either of those offensive wingers, the Panthers will need to make room for him somewhere when he’s ready to return.

Meanwhile, the team has also loaned Spencer Knight to the Checkers, where he can continue to play through the All-Star break.

Tyson Barrie Activated From Injured Reserve

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More often than not when a player goes on injured reserve, it creates an opportunity for a younger or less experienced option to make an impact. That’s exactly the case for the Edmonton Oilers, who finally saw some success after Tyson Barrie went on the shelf partway through last month. With Barrie out, Evan Bouchard took up a much bigger role on the team and the Oilers ended up winning four out of their last five games. Bouchard averaged a whopping 24:55 in those and recorded three goals and five points, including two powerplay tallies while seeing time with the top unit.

With Barrie back, activated off injured reserve today, it will be interesting to watch how he’s deployed and whether the Edmonton coaching staff has permanently elevated Bouchard. The team takes on the Washington Capitals in one final game before the All-Star break and could potentially pass the San Jose Sharks for fifth in the Pacific Division

Barrie, 30, was brought back in the offseason on a three-year, $13.5MM contract after leading all NHL defensemen in scoring last year. He hasn’t come anywhere near that 48-point performance this time around, however, making his new $4.5MM cap hit look a little unreasonable. In 35 games he has 17 points, which include just seven even-strength assists. His powerplay time has remained strong, but head coach Dave Tippett hasn’t been able to trust him otherwise; Barrie averages just 16:38 at even-strength, fifth among regular Edmonton defensemen.

If there is any risk at all of him losing the top powerplay spot, it seems as though Barrie’s usefulness on a cap-strapped team is also waning. How he’s used tonight and after the All-Star break will be an interesting sign of what’s to come, even just a few months into his new deal. The Oilers already have more than $71MM committed to next season because of Darnell Nurse’s extension, and will likely have to cut salary from somewhere if they want to bring in any new talent.

To make room on the roster for Barrie’s activation, the team has sent the recently-waived Slater Koekkoek to the AHL.

Slater Koekkoek Clears Waivers

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Feb 2: Koekkoek has cleared waivers and can now be assigned to the minor leagues.

Feb 1: The Edmonton Oilers have placed Slater Koekkoek on waivers, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

Koekkoek, 27, was signed to a new two-year contract in August, but has already found himself on the outside looking in for the Oilers. Originally selected 10th overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2012, the 6’2″ defenseman has never really been able to establish himself as a full-time NHL option.

In Edmonton, nothing changed, as Koekkoek averaged just over 11 minutes a night in his 19 appearances this season. That included recent games against the Vancouver Canucks and Calgary Flames, but with the emergence of William Lagesson he once again found himself out of the lineup.

The fact that Koekkoek is owed $1.1MM next season–his contract carries a cap hit of $925K–might make him a very unattractive claim to teams around the NHL. If that’s enough to get him through waivers, the Oilers could potentially stash him in the AHL and bury his entire cap hit. That would give them a little more financial wiggle room with Mike Smith nearing a return from long-term injured reserve.

Snapshots: Cooley, Miller, Blackwood

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For quite some time now, Shane Wright, the consensus preseason favorite to go first overall in the 2022 draft, has been falling closer and closer to the pack. The Kingston Frontenacs forward has been good after missing all of last year when the OHL was forced to cancel the season, but he hasn’t been outstanding. With 15 goals and 43 points in 31 games, he now sits fourth on his own team in scoring (though he is the only draft-eligible among that group) and was no longer a unanimous top pick in Bob McKenzie’s midseason scout poll for TSN.

Now, a leading publication has put him second. Chris Peters of Daily Faceoff ranks Logan Cooley as the best prospect in the 2022 draft, ahead of Wright, and notes that he is a more dynamic player at the moment. The USNTDP center was always expected to go near the top of the draft, but going first overall would certainly be a big climb for a player that wasn’t even in the top five in many preseason polls.

  • J.T. Miller has been the focus of trade speculation for the last few weeks as the Vancouver Canucks march toward the deadline, but Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet may have thrown some cold water on that in his latest 32 Thoughts column. He starts it by explaining that the Canucks have investigated the idea of re-signing Miller, not trading him, and notes that that could be one of the reasons why a name like Conor Garland has surfaced in recent days. The Canucks need to clear cap space and Miller’s $5.25MM hit is the fourth-highest among Vancouver forwards, but he’s also been the team’s most reliable and productive player this season. He would not be eligible for an extension until July 13 when free agency opens and he officially enters the final year of his current contract.
  • One other note from Friedman’s column regards New Jersey Devils goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood and his heel injury. The netminder is getting a second opinion over what treatment method to pursue and there is no timeline for his recovery. Blackwood last played on January 19, allowing four goals on 17 shots to the Arizona Coyotes.

Alex Ovechkin Enters COVID Protocol; Tom Wilson To Replace At All-Star Game

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The Washington Capitals have announced that Alex Ovechkin is unavailable for tonight’s game, as he has entered the league’s COVID protocol. The team has also already ruled out Ovechkin’s participation in the All-Star game, based on a positive test result. The team has recalled Brett Leason and Pheonix Copley–who will fill in for the injured Vitek Vanecek–from the taxi squad.

That’s the second All-Star captain that has been forced out of the game, following Nathan MacKinnon’s recent injury that will keep him out of the festivities. Ovechkin was set to captain the Metropolitan Division, a role that will now have to be filled by someone else. According to Emily Kaplan of ESPN, Tom Wilson will be going to the All-Star game in Ovechkin’s place.

More importantly, he’ll also miss tonight’s game against the Edmonton Oilers and be unable to add to his outstanding season totals. The 36-year-old superstar has 29 goals and 29 assists on the year, a scoring rate that had him on pace for his fifth 100-point season and first in more than a decade. Arguably already the greatest goal-scorer of all time, Ovechkin is once again leading the league in even-strength tallies and trails only Chris Kreider and Leon Draisaitl in overall goals.

Given the reduced isolation period, Ovechkin could very well be cleared in time to play on February 8, the first game back for the Capitals after the break. In the meantime, hockey fans won’t get to see him go up against Connor McDavid tonight or participate in events like the hardest shot competition on Friday night.

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