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Archives for April 2022

Pacific Notes: Kahkonen, Kolesar, Halak

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The Sharks have a couple of decisions to make with their goaltending over the offseason.  The first is deciding who of their three netminders will move and the second is how much to pay Kaapo Kahkonen (unless he’s the one they move which is an unlikely scenario).  Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now provided an overview of what Kahkonen’s market could look like this summer.  As a restricted free agent with arbitration eligibility, the 25-year-old is heading for a raise but with just 60 career NHL appearances under his belt, he won’t have a lot of leverage heading into talks.  Accordingly, Kahkonen seems likely to slot in a tier or two below the top backups which would put him in the low-$2MM to $3MM range, depending on how long the deal is.  Moving one of James Reimer or Adin Hill would free up the bulk of the cap room to give Kakhonen that type of deal.

More from the Pacific:

  • Golden Knights winger Keegan Kolesar will not face any supplementary discipline from the league for his hit on Flames defenseman Christopher Tanev on Thursday, reports David Schoen of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. He was initially assessed a major penalty on the play but after review, it was overturned to a two-minute minor.  The league is believed to have reviewed the incident but it was ruled that the head was not the principal point of contact so they’ve deemed that no further discipline is needed.
  • Thomas Drance of The Athletic highlights (subscription link) an interesting factor for Vancouver’s decision-making between the pipes down the stretch. The Canucks will need a lot of help to make the playoffs but they have two back-to-back sets left and Thatcher Demko struggled the last time he played in a back-to-back.  Jaroslav Halak has been better as of late but only needs to improve his save percentage by six points (from .899 to .905) to trigger a $250K performance bonus which, by virtue of Vancouver being in LTIR all season, will count against the cap in 2022-23.  Demko could use the rest but it could come at a cost for next season.

Canucks Notes: Boudreau, Horvat, Karlsson

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Bruce Boudreau’s future in Vancouver has been a frequent talking point in recent weeks with the Canucks holding a team option on his contract for next season and a different management group in place since the bench boss was hired.  However, TSN’s Darren Dreger reports in the latest Insider Trading segment that there’s a strong chance the 67-year-old will be retained.  He certainly has earned another opportunity with the team posting a 29-13-8 record since he took over to at least have an outside shot at making the playoffs.  However, a final decision won’t come until after the season the team does a full organizational review so it will be a few more weeks at least before anything is made official on that front.

More from Vancouver:

  • While center Bo Horvat left Thursday’s victory against Arizona after taking a shot off his leg, Boudreau told reporters including Postmedia’s Patrick Johnston that the decision to keep him out of the game was precautionary with Vancouver holding a lead at the time. However, Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre adds (Twitter link) that the captain isn’t expected to play in their next game on Monday and is listed as out day-to-day.
  • Canucks prospect forward Linus Karlsson will be joining the Swedish National Team in preparation for the upcoming World Championships, notes Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK and The Athletic (Twitter link). The 2018 third-rounder impressed in his first SHL season, tallying 26 goals and 20 assists in 52 games.  He has to sign his entry-level deal by June 1st or Vancouver will lose his rights.  Worth noting is that Karlsson is already under contract with Skelleftea for next season but that wouldn’t prevent him from signing an NHL contract.

Stars Prospect Ben Brinkman Transfers To Notre Dame

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Dallas prospect Ben Brinkman has decided to take advantage of the fifth year of eligibility.  However, it won’t be where he spent his first four seasons.  In a move first reported by Jess Myers of The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead (Twitter link), the blueliner is off to the University of Notre Dame after recently entering the transfer portal.

The 21-year-old was a sixth-round pick (173rd overall) back in 2019 after his freshman year at the University of Minnesota.  Brinkman had a minor role that season but the hope was that his role and ice time would increase over the years.  That didn’t exactly materialize as he had just two goals over his four seasons with the Golden Gophers and while he had a career high in points this season, it was still a pretty low number at eight.

Brinkman is certainly hoping that an opportunity with a new school will give him a better chance to showcase himself to Dallas or another professional team as he will need a big year to have a shot at landing an entry-level deal.

Central Notes: Jets Injuries, Toews, Holtby

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The Jets will get a key player back in the lineup tonight as Scott Billeck of the Winnipeg Sun relays that winger Blake Wheeler will return after missing the last three games due to an upper-body injury.  The veteran has overcome a tough start and has averaged more than a point per game in 2022.  Winnipeg still has an outside shot at a playoff spot and getting him back won’t hurt their chances.

However, the injury news isn’t all good as center Mark Scheifele did not accompany the Jets on their four-game Eastern road trip.  He sits second in scoring with 70 points and logs over 21 minutes a night so his absence will continue to be felt.  Meanwhile, rookie forward Cole Perfetti has resumed skating as he works his way back from an upper-body injury sustained back in February, one that saw him suffer a setback the last time he tried to come back.

Elsewhere in the Central:

  • Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews hasn’t exactly hidden his disappointment with Chicago’s decision to embrace a rebuild. While he hasn’t requested a trade, Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times wonders if it would be best for both sides to find a change of scenery for the center for next season.  Toews has one year left with a $10.5MM AAV and holds a no-move clause which will give him the chance to pick his next organization if they do decide to seek a trade.  Toews recently indicated he’d like to speak with GM Kyle Davidson on a regular basis to “know exactly what’s going on in some detail” which suggests he’s looking for some more concrete information about their plans before deciding what’s next for him.
  • The Stars have been without goaltender Braden Holtby for more than a month due to a lower-body injury and Matthew DeFranks of the Dallas Morning News relays that the veteran has yet to resume skating. Accordingly, head coach Rick Bowness acknowledged that Holtby may wind up being out for the season.  Scott Wedgewood has done well in his first five appearances since coming over to Dallas near the trade deadline and it appears that the backup job will continue to be his for a little while yet.

Red Wings Notes: Gagner, Greiss, Hellberg, Pickard

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Red Wings center Sam Gagner is set to reach unrestricted free agency this summer but the 32-year-old told Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press that he’s hoping to re-sign with Detroit.  Gagner has had a decent season with 12 goals and 16 assists in 73 contests despite averaging just over 13 minutes a game of playing time.  That’s a pretty good return on a one-year, $850K contract, one that GM Steve Yzerman has given Gagner in each of the last two seasons.  If the veteran – who is just 41 games shy of reaching the 1,000 mark for his career – is willing to make it three years in a row at that price tag, keeping him around would certainly make some sense for Detroit as a capable depth veteran.

More from Detroit:

  • James suggests in a separate column that the Red Wings aren’t expected to offer Thomas Greiss a contract for next season. The 36-year-old netminder was brought in to be a stable platoon option between the pipes and while he did exactly that last year, that hasn’t been the case in 2021-22 as he has a SV% of just .892 along with a 3.56 GAA in 28 appearances.  Greiss’ track record could still get him a look on a one-year deal this summer but it’ll be considerably lower than the $3.6MM AAV he has on his current contract.
  • The timing of Magnus Hellberg’s one-year deal through the rest of this season seemed curious but fellow goalie Alex Nedeljkovic indicated to Max Bultman of The Athletic (subscription link) that there had been rumors of Hellberg signing for a little while and that visa issues were holding up the announcement. By the time Hellberg gets through the immigration process, he may only be available to dress for the final few games and if they were looking to sign him closer to the trade deadline as Nedeljkovic inferred, they’re likely to give the 31-year-old a few starts.
  • The Red Wings also aren’t likely to bring back veteran goaltender Calvin Pickard next season, notes Ted Kulfan of The Detroit News. The 29-year-old (who is currently up with Detroit on emergency recall but is injured) is in his third season with the team and has seen NHL action in each of those years.  This season, he has a 2.58 GAA along with a .918 SV% with AHL Grand Rapids but with top prospect Sebastian Cossa set to turn pro next season, the Red Wings will want to ensure he has ample game action with the Griffins which will likely push them to let Pickard hit the open market.

Injury Notes: Jarry, Muzzin, Kase, Dach

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The Pittsburgh Penguins will be without their starting goaltender for at least tomorrow afternoon’s game against the Boston Bruins, as Tristan Jarry is undergoing evaluation for a lower-body injury according to head coach Mike Sullivan, who spoke with reporters including Rob Rossi of The Athletic. Jarry is not traveling with the team, though there is no timeline right now for his return.

Losing Jarry for any significant length of time is a scary thought for Penguins fans, given how well the netminder has played this season and how little a role Casey DeSmith and Louis Domingue have combined to play. The 26-year-old Jarry has started 56 of the team’s 76 games, and has a .919 save percentage so far.

  • The Toronto Maple Leafs were without Jake Muzzin at practice today, after recalling Kristians Rubins under emergency conditions. Muzzin played fewer than 16 minutes in last night’s game against the Washington Capitals and had missed a match just a few days ago entirely. With Rasmus Sandin still out with his own injury, the Maple Leafs defense group isn’t all that deep, though Justin Holl–a healthy scratch last night–will likely be the one to re-enter the lineup in Muzzin’s place.
  • Better news for the Maple Leafs came in the form of Ondrej Kase, who Mark Masters of TSN reports worked out on his own ahead of practice. Kase is dealing with another concussion, the latest in a long line of head injuries he has had to deal with over his career. The 26-year-old Kase has 14 goals and 27 points in what was a rebound year for him after playing just three matches in all of 2020-21.
  • The Chicago Blackhawks were without Kirby Dach at practice today, and Scott Powers of The Athletic reports that he is now out with a right shoulder sprain. Dach left last night’s game after just 8:46 of ice time, and it is not clear how long he will be out. In what has become another underwhelming season, the young forward has just nine goals and 26 points in 70 appearances, despite averaging more than 18 minutes a night–including substantial powerplay time. Dach is a restricted free agent at the end of the year.

Carey Price To Return For Montreal Canadiens

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For the first time since July 7, 2021, Carey Price will start a game for the Montreal Canadiens this evening. The team confirmed that the star goaltender will be activated and play in tonight’s game against the New York Islanders, starting his first game since making 29 of 30 saves in a losing effort against the Tampa Bay Lightning in game five of last year’s Stanley Cup Final.

Without him this season, things have not gone according to plan. The Canadiens got off to a brutal start, costing head coach Dominique Ducharme and general manager Marc Bergevin their jobs, as the team floundered at the very bottom of the NHL standings. Since Jeff Gorton, Kent Hughes, and Martin St. Louis have taken over things have been improving, though the Canadiens are still nowhere near good enough to compete in the Atlantic Division and were eliminated from playoff contention weeks ago.

Even with very little to play for, Price’s return is a huge positive for the Canadiens. One of the highest-paid players in the league, the netminder carries a $10.5MM cap hit that cripples Montreal’s roster construction if he’s not performing at his best. Looking ahead to next season, the team has little chance of competing for a playoff spot without Price healthy and playing on a regular basis.

His return tonight will be an incredibly emotional moment for the netminder and the organization as a whole. A franchise icon even among such a storied history, Price will turn 35 in August and is coming off another serious injury, along with mental health and substance abuse struggles that led him to take time away from the game earlier this season. In November, he released a long statement explaining his absence, asking for privacy as he checked into a residential treatment facility for substance abuse and entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program.

The question now becomes his long-term outlook and whether he can get back to the goaltender that led Montreal through the playoffs last season, or even the one who was seventh in Vezina Trophy voting in 2019. A career .917 save percentage has been dragged down considerably by his past two campaigns, when he posted a .909 in 2019-20 and a .901 in 2020-21.

At any rate, he’ll be back on the ice tonight searching for win 361, which would inch him even further up the all-time leaderboard and toward the storied 400-win club. Only 13 netminders in history have achieved that number, with Ryan Miller the next closest at 391. Price, who is signed through 2025-26, already sits comfortably in first among Canadiens goaltenders, 46 wins ahead of Jacques Plante.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

AHL Shuffle: 04/15/22

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All eyes will be on Montreal this evening, where two emotional moments will be held. Carey Price is expected to return to the Canadiens lineup for the first time this season and for the first time since losing game five of the Stanley Cup Final 1-0 to the Tampa Bay Lightning. His return, even for just a few games at the end of the year, should give the Canadiens fans something to cheer for as they undergo the next stage in a rebuild.

The game will also feature the New York Islanders, a fitting opponent following Mike Bossy’s passing. The Montreal-born Bossy spent his entire NHL career with the Islanders and joined TVA Sports as a broadcaster after his retirement. There isn’t a better match to be held in his honor. As those teams and others prepare, we’ll keep track of all the minor shuffling.

Atlantic Division

  • The Toronto Maple Leafs have recalled Kristians Rubins from the Toronto Marlies on an emergency basis, giving them an extra defenseman. Rubins, 24, has played in three games with the Maple Leafs this season and is still looking for his first NHL point.
  • With Carey Price being activated today, the Montreal Canadiens have sent Cayden Primeau back to the Laval Rocket. Primeau was recalled on an emergency basis when Jake Allen was injured on the weekend but with Price returning, Primeau either had to be sent back down or converted to a regular recall; Montreal only has one of those remaining.
  • The Boston Bruins have recalled Troy Grosenick from Providence of the AHL on an emergency basis, per CapFriendly. The 32-year-old has a 2.02 GAA with a .931 SV% in 28 AHL games this season and will serve as Jeremy Swayman’s backup with Linus Ullmark injured and listed as day-to-day.

Metropolitan Division

Central Division

Pacific Division

  • The Vegas Golden Knights have recalled goaltender Jiri Patera from the Henderson Silver Knights. The 23-year-old has split the season between Henderson and Fort Wayne of the ECHL. Robin Lehner has returned to Vegas due to a health issue for a family member. To stay cap-compliant, forward Jonas Rondbjerg was sent down to Henderson.
  • The Calgary Flames have returned center Adam Ruzicka to Abbotsford, per CapFriendly. He had been up on emergency loan but now with those emergency conditions no longer existing, he had to be sent down or converted to a regular recall. The 22-year-old has nine points in 25 games with Calgary this season.

This page is updated throughout the day.

Tampa Bay Lightning Extend Brian Elliott

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The Tampa Bay Lightning have liked what they’ve seen from backup goaltender Brian Elliott. The two sides have agreed on a one-year contract extension for 2022-23 that will carry a salary of $900K.

When you have Andrei Vasilevskiy starting almost every game, you don’t need a lot of work from your backup. That actually makes the role harder than it looks though, as Tampa Bay netminders often go weeks without seeing any game action. Elliott, 37, has acclimated well to that role, and is 9-3-3 this season with a .921 save percentage in his 16 appearances.

A veteran of more than 500 NHL games, “Moose” has proven he can still hang at the NHL level in his reduced role. A netminder who twice led the league in save percentage–finishing fifth in Vezina voting in 2012 and ninth in 2016–Elliott appeared to be on his way out of the league before he signed in Tampa Bay. In a more substantial role for the Philadelphia Flyers he had posted two straight sub-.900 years, though he was still able to win more games than he lost during those difficult campaigns.

Now he’ll be asked to play around 20 games again in 2022-23, and offer veteran support to one of the best goaltenders in the league. At $900K he will earn the same amount as this season and comes with basically no risk for the Lightning.

While he isn’t likely to see much action, a dozen starts could easily push Elliott up into the top-50 for all-time wins. He currently sits at No. 55 on the list, just one win behind Felix Potvin and six from Kelly Hrudey and Bernie Parent, the gatekeepers of the top-50.

PHR Chatter: Playoff Posturing

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As we head into the stretch run of the 2021-22 season, PHR is excited to announce a new feature aimed at encouraging discourse between reader and writer. On Friday mornings (and perhaps even more often than that), we’ll post a topic of discussion that we think will draw out varied and interesting perspectives from both our commenters and the other staff writers.

For too long there has only been a couple of outlets for our readers to interact with the PHR staff. Live chats and mailbags offer a chance at some discussion, but also run the risk of being too crowded or even outdated by the time the answer arrives. With this new feature, we’re hoping to get weekly chatter going on a topic that normally would have to be brought into the spotlight by a reader before even being discussed.

Last week, the discussion centered around the Hart Trophy and what “Most Valuable Player” actually means. This time, let’s discuss the NHL’s playoff format and how it could be improved.

Is the current divisional structure the best way to go about playoff matchups? Would a 1-8, or even a 1-16 format be better? How can the league continue to improve the way the postseason is consumed, especially with the new ESPN broadcasting deal in the U.S.? This will be a free-flowing discussion that doesn’t have a lot of guidelines, so make sure you chime in and check regularly to continue the conversation.

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