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Archives for January 2023

Five Key Stories: 1/16/23 – 1/22/23

January 22, 2023 at 9:00 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 3 Comments

There was plenty of big news around the NHL over the past seven days including a big contract extension and a coaching change.  Those are among the news that’s highlighted in our key stories.

Tocchet To Vancouver: After weeks, if not months of speculation, the long-expected coaching change in Vancouver happened with Rick Tocchet being hired to take the place of Bruce Boudreau.  In addition, the Canucks hired long-time NHL blueliners Adam Foote (assistant coach) and Sergei Gonchar (development coach) while letting assistant Trent Cull go.  This is the third head coaching role for Tocchet whose teams with Tampa Bay and Arizona played to a .475 points percentage over parts of six seasons.  As for Boudreau, Vancouver played to a .549 points percentage over 103 games but the team had been struggling considerably this season and are 14 points out of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

More Canucks Changes? At a press conference early in the week, Canucks president Jim Rutherford indicated that “major surgery” on the roster will be needed for next season.  Pending UFA center Bo Horvat appears likely to move in the coming weeks but clearly, he has more than that in mind.  Moving pricey contracts is harder than ever so Vancouver’s management group will have their work cut out for them to do the shakeup that they’re seeking.  One player that they’re hoping won’t be a part of those changes is rookie winger Andrei Kuzmenko as Rutherford stated that extension talks with the pending unrestricted free agent are underway.  Kuzmenko has 41 points in 45 games this season and will be adding quite a few million per year to the $925K he’s getting on his entry-level deal over the coming months.

Seven For Boldy: With Minnesota’s cap situation getting even tighter next season as buyout costs for Zach Parise and Ryan Suter get higher, there was an expectation that they might have to do a bridge deal for young winger Matt Boldy.  That wasn’t the case, however, as they inked the 21-year-old to a seven-year, $49MM extension that begins next season and runs through 2029-30.  Boldy is in just his second NHL season but has been productive in his limited action with 29 goals and 42 assists in 92 career contests.  Minnesota is banking on Boldy taking another step forward offensively and if he does, this could wind up being a bargain fairly quickly.  They now have over $74MM in commitments to just 14 players for next season which won’t give GM Bill Guerin much flexibility with which to round out their roster.

Kane Returns: As the Oilers look to hold onto a playoff spot in the tight Western Conference, they welcomed back a key player as Evander Kane was activated off LTIR.  Kane landed on there early in the season after having his wrist sliced by a skate and while he wound up being out for two months, he still returned well ahead of schedule.  Kane has 13 points in 17 games so far this season and is already back on the top line alongside Connor McDavid.  To create the cap space needed to activate Kane, Edmonton placed winger Kailer Yamamoto and defenseman Ryan Murray on LTIR.  Yamamoto is expected to be out for a few weeks which buys them a little time but, barring further injuries, they will need to make some cap-clearing demotions once the winger returns.

Key Injuries: Unfortunately, Max Pacioretty’s return for the Hurricanes was short-lived.  After working his way back from a torn Achilles that he sustained in the offseason, he suffered the same injury in just his fifth game of the year and will be out for the season.  It’s hardly an ideal situation for the veteran as he’s eligible for free agency this summer while Carolina was certainly hoping to get more from a key offseason acquisition although they’ll be able to spend up to his $7MM AAV on a replacement.  Meanwhile, the Canadiens have shut down winger Cole Caufield due to a shoulder injury that will require surgery in the coming days.  The 22-year-old had 26 goals in 46 games this season, his final one before being eligible for restricted free agency in July.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Uncategorized Week In Review

3 comments

Snapshots: Graves, Stanley, Gauthier

January 22, 2023 at 7:55 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 1 Comment

The Devils have yet to begin discussions regarding defenseman Ryan Graves, his agent Allain Roy confirmed to James Nichols of The Fourth Period.  The 27-year-old is in the final season of a three-year, $9.5MM contract and has 16 points in 42 games for New Jersey so far this year despite seeing his playing time dip by nearly two minutes a night compared to 2021-22.  He’s well-positioned to earn at least a small raise that could push him toward the $5MM mark on his next deal.  At the moment, the Devils only have four regular blueliners signed for next season with Damon Severson joining Graves among the UFA-eligible defenders this summer.  They already have nearly $19MM in commitments to the four they have so they might not want to keep both Graves and Severson in the fold for next season knowing those two could push the combined cost on their back end past the $30MM mark.

Elsewhere around the NHL:

  • Jets defenseman Logan Stanley wasn’t in the lineup tonight against Philadelphia but associate coach Scott Arniel told Jeff Hamilton of the Winnipeg Free Press (Twitter link) that the blueliner could be ready to return on Tuesday. Stanley has been out of the lineup for a little more than six weeks with a lower-body injury.  The 24-year-old has been limited to just seven games this season which is a hardly ideal platform year for someone eligible for salary arbitration for the first time this summer.
  • The Rangers are optimistic that winger Julien Gauthier will be able to return Monday against Florida, notes Ethan Sears of the New York Post. The 25-year-old has missed the last three games due to an upper-body injury and is currently on injured reserve although a roster spot was created when Jonny Brodzinski was sent down after clearing waivers earlier today.  Gauthier started the season with AHL Hartford but has six goals in 32 games with New York since being recalled despite averaging just 8:29 per night.

New Jersey Devils| New York Rangers| Snapshots| Winnipeg Jets Julien Gauthier| Logan Stanley| Ryan Graves

1 comment

Atlantic Notes: Larkin, Olofsson, Dorion

January 22, 2023 at 6:49 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 4 Comments

The Red Wings recently presented a new extension offer to pending UFA center Dylan Larkin, reports David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period.  However, it does not appear to have moved the needle much as Pagnotta notes that there remains a sizable gap to bridge in discussions.  Larkin has made it clear that he wants to remain in Detroit and it seems likely that both sides are looking for a long-term agreement which means money would be the gap they’re trying to work through.  After finishing just under a point per game last season, the 26-year-old is on a similar pace this season and his camp could point to Mathew Barzal’s extension that carries a $9.15MM AAV as a possible comparable in negotiations.  If something can’t be worked out in the next six weeks leading up to the trade deadline, Larkin could become a trade candidate if they don’t want to run the risk of losing him for nothing this summer.

More from the Atlantic:

  • While Sabres winger Victor Olofsson has opted for short-term contracts in each of his last two negotiations, he told Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News that he hopes to remain with Buffalo long-term. The 27-year-old is in the first season of a two-year, $9.5MM deal and has 21 goals in 45 games so far this season, good for third on the team.  Will that be enough to land the long-term commitment that he wants?   He’ll be eligible for an extension on July 1st so he’ll have to wait a little while to potentially find out.
  • There has been a belief that the Senators are shopping for help on the back end and NBC Sports Chicago’s Charlie Roumeliotis notes (Twitter link) that Ottawa GM Pierre Dorion is watching the Kings for the second time in four days. Los Angeles has four right-shot defenders on their roster plus promising prospect Jordan Spence in the minors so their surplus could certainly be of interest to the Sens.  Notably, none of those blueliners are on expiring contracts so Dorion would be taking on a two-year commitment if he finds a trade he likes to improve their defense corps.

Buffalo Sabres| Detroit Red Wings| Los Angeles Kings| Ottawa Senators Dylan Larkin| Victor Olofsson

4 comments

Metropolitan Notes: Meier, Marino, Clutterbuck

January 22, 2023 at 5:00 pm CDT | by Ethan Hetu 1 Comment

San Jose Sharks forward Timo Meier is one of the biggest names featuring heavily in trade rumors as of late, and it was only yesterday that news came in that Meier’s camp was being “very realistic” about the possibility of their client being traded. Today, it seems Meier the trade market for Meier could be starting to take shape.

According to The Fourth Period, the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils are two clubs “interested in acquiring” the talented Swiss forward. Given the pending restricted free agencies of Filip Chytil, Alexis Lafreniere, and K’Andre Miller, it’s possible that the Rangers may only be interested in Meier as a rental acquisition since the qualifying offer to retain his rights in the summer is set at $10MM. For the Devils, they could have the room to make Meier a more long-term part of their core, but one wonders if they have the type of young center to offer San Jose that could raise their bid above the trade offers of other teams.

For some other notes from across the NHL:

  • Devils breakout defenseman John Marino could be nearing a return to the ice, as head coach Lindy Ruff told the media (including team reporter Amanda Stein) that Marino’s status is now considered day-to-day. The 25-year-old blueliner has been out since the middle of December, but when he was playing he was one of the Devils’ best two-way defensemen. He’s scored nine points in 32 games this season and is averaging over 21 minutes per night.
  • Yesterday, we learned that New York Islanders forward Cal Clutterbuck suffered an upper-body injury that will keep him out indefinitely. Today, Stefan Rosner of New York Islanders Hockey Now reports that Clutterbuck has been placed on injured reserve. According to Rosner, defenseman Samuel Bolduc will take the vacant spot on the Islanders’ roster.

New Jersey Devils| New York Islanders| New York Rangers| San Jose Sharks Cal Clutterbuck| John Marino| Timo Meier

1 comment

St. Louis Blues Re-Assign Steven Santini To AHL

January 22, 2023 at 2:30 pm CDT | by Ethan Hetu Leave a Comment

With yesterday’s news that star St. Louis Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko is nearing a return from injured reserve, the Blues have made a move to clear space on their roster for Tarasenko’s return. Per a team announcement, veteran depth defenseman Steven Santini has been sent down to the team’s AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds.

Santini, 27, was originally recalled from Springfield on January 4th. He played in four games for the Blues from January 7th to January 12th but has been a healthy scratch since. In those four games, Santini averaged just over 12 and a half minutes of ice time per night, and he registered six hits and ten blocked shots.

In Springfield, Santini served as an alternate captain and an important top-four, penalty-killing defenseman on a team that made the Calder Cup final. This season, he’s resumed his top-four, stay-at-home role for the Thunderbirds.

He’s not an offensive producer and has just five points in 32 AHL games this season, but he’s a relied-upon stay-at-home defender at that level and should help Springfield in that area now that he’s been sent back to the AHL.

AHL| St. Louis Blues Steven Santini

0 comments

Jonny Brodzinski Clears Waivers

January 22, 2023 at 1:10 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 2 Comments

Jan 22: Brodzinski has cleared waivers, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. The Rangers are free to re-assign him to the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack.

Jan 21: The Rangers have been shuffling around their fourth line all season and it appears another change could be forthcoming as NorthStar Bets’ Chris Johnston reports (Twitter link) that they’ve placed winger Jonny Brodzinski on waivers.

This is the second time that the 29-year-old has been on the waiver wire this season having also been there at the end of training camp.  Brodzinski cleared at that time and spent most of the first two months of the year with AHL Hartford where he picked up two goals and seven assists in 17 games.  He was recalled in early December and has basically been up since then, seeing action in 16 games with the big club, notching a goal and an assist in a little over nine minutes of playing time per game.  Having played in more than 10 games, he needs to clear waivers again before he can rejoin the Wolf Pack.

Brodzinski is in the first season of a two-year, two-way deal worth the NHL minimum in both seasons, good for a cap hit of $762.5K.  He has seen NHL action in each of the last seven years spanning 100 games along the way.  New York didn’t need to waive him as they had an open roster spot already but if he passes through unclaimed on Sunday, it will allow them to send Brodzinski down or at least shuffle him back and forth a bit to bank some extra cap space heading into the trade deadline in early March.

New York Rangers| Waivers Jonny Brodzinski

2 comments

Pittsburgh Penguins Activate Ryan Poehling

January 22, 2023 at 12:30 pm CDT | by Josh Erickson Leave a Comment

The Pittsburgh Penguins activated forward Ryan Poehling from injured reserve today, according to a team tweet.

Poehling had been absent from the lineup with an undisclosed injury since early this month, and he’s been limited to 31 out of 45 games this season overall as he’s been in and out of the lineup with various minor injuries. He has four goals and four assists for eight points in those games, and he’s played decent defensively in that time as well.

He hasn’t had a terribly significant role, receiving fourth-line minutes, and the 25th overall pick in 2017 has yet to make much noise offensively at the NHL level. Still, his overall play has improved from last season with the Montreal Canadiens, where he notched nine goals and 17 points in 57 games.

With Kasperi Kapanen and Josh Archibald still sidelined with injuries, Poehling could return to the lineup and replace call-up, Jonathan Gruden. Gruden, 22, has yet to get on the scoresheet through three NHL games and has played just 5:19 per game under head coach Mike Sullivan.

Poehling could play when the Penguins face off against the New Jersey Devils Sunday afternoon.

Pittsburgh Penguins Ryan Poehling

0 comments

Vancouver Canucks Hire Rick Tocchet

January 22, 2023 at 11:37 am CDT | by Josh Erickson 31 Comments

The Vancouver Canucks have made the worst-kept secret in hockey official. Rick Tocchet has been hired as head coach to replace the outgoing Bruce Boudreau, per a team release Sunday. Former NHL defensemen Adam Foote and Sergei Gonchar have also been added to the coaching staff, replacing assistant Trent Cull.

Foote directly replaces Cull as an assistant coach, and he’ll complement assistants Jason King and Mike Yeo and goalie coach Ian Clark on Tocchet’s staff. Gonchar was brought in as a “defensive development coach,” and it’s unclear whether he’ll be behind the bench for regular game action.

Tocchet replaces Boudreau, one of the most well-respected coaches in NHL history. Boudreau coached just 103 games with the Canucks, however, and finished with a 50-40-13 record. After finishing the 2021-22 season in Vancouver with a great pace of 32-15-10, the Canucks have just a .424 points percentage in 2022-23 and sit well out of the Western Conference playoff picture.

Boudreau’s departure from the Canucks organization is viewed as one of the ugliest in recent history by many, with many details of the veteran coach’s impending firing being leaked to the media throughout the decision-making process. The 68-year-old was visibly emotional as he coached his last games with the Canucks this week and received an outpouring of support from Canucks fans in the process.

Tocchet is now brought into a highly complex situation in Vancouver, where he serves as the 21st head coach in franchise history. In 438 games as an NHL head coach with the Tampa Bay Lightning (2008-2010) and Arizona Coyotes (2017-2021), he has a record of 178-200-60 and just one playoff appearance with Arizona in 2020.

General manager Patrik Allvin had the following statement on Tocchet’s hiring:

Rick Tocchet brings a wealth of knowledge to this team from both a coach and player perspective. He has had more than two decades of coaching experience, guiding teams of various styles. As a player, he displayed a high level of character, grit and intensity, while recording impressive offensive numbers.

Foote and Gonchar are some of the best defensemen in NHL history. They are obviously very targeted hirings by the Canucks organization to plug the defensive holes that have existed on their roster for the past number of years. However, their coaching experience is somewhat limited.

Foote coached midget hockey for a time in the 2010s but most recently served as the head coach of the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets for two seasons from 2018 to 2020. His only NHL front office experience consists of four seasons as a development consultant for the Colorado Avalanche, from 2013 to 2017.

Gonchar, 48, did spend five years as a coach with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He was a defensive development coach there as well from 2015 to 2017, during the team’s back-to-back Stanley Cup championships. He was then on staff as an assistant coach for three years from 2017 to 2020. He’s since served in various coaching capacities with the Russian national team.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Adam Foote| Bruce Boudreau| NHL| Newsstand| Rick Tocchet| Vancouver Canucks

31 comments

East Notes: Panthers Injuries, Capitals, Carlo

January 22, 2023 at 10:30 am CDT | by Josh Erickson 1 Comment

There was some good news health-wise last night for the Florida Panthers, who are attempting to get back into the Eastern Conference playoff picture with a 7-2-1 record in their last ten games. Defenseman Aaron Ekblad and forward Sam Bennett both suffered upper-body injuries during last night’s win against Minnesota. Yet, head coach Paul Maurice said post-game that both players might be good to go for tomorrow’s game against the Rangers.

Even if one or both of Ekblad and Bennett can’t play tomorrow, it’s great news that neither player is expected to be out long-term. Ekblad’s already missed a handful of games due to injury this season, and his 20 points in 37 games is a bit of a step back from his usual pace. Still, he’s one of the best defensemen in the league and is dominant on the power play, one of Florida’s strengths. Bennett is also an essential part of Florida’s secondary scoring, as the 26-year-old is sixth on the team in scoring with 30 points in 48 games and plays nearly 18 minutes per game.

  • Don’t expect the Washington Capitals to follow in the Boston Bruins’ footsteps regarding load management. While it was reported earlier this week that Bruins might consider resting captain Patrice Bergeron at points down the stretch, Capitals head coach Peter Laviolette told The Athletic’s Tarik El-Bashir that he does not intend to employ a similar technique with the Capitals roster, which has been prone to injuries for much of the season. El-Bashir suspects that the Capitals’ slim cushion on a playoff spot in a tight Eastern Conference discourages Laviolette from resting any stars, something the Bruins and their world-shattering pace don’t have to worry about.
  • Ty Anderson of 98.5 The Sports Hub and NBC Sports Boston reports that Boston Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo will play tonight when they host the San Jose Sharks. Carlo sustained a lower-body injury in a January 19 game against the Rangers but will not miss any further action. One of the league’s best pure defensive defensemen, Carlo has a goal and seven assists in 41 games this season, along with a career-high +23 rating.

Boston Bruins| Florida Panthers| Injury| Washington Capitals Aaron Ekblad| Brandon Carlo

1 comment

Ottawa Senators Re-Assign Jacob Bernard-Docker

January 22, 2023 at 9:30 am CDT | by Josh Erickson Leave a Comment

An up-and-down season for Ottawa Senators defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker continued this morning, as the team announced he has been re-assigned to the AHL’s Belleville Senators.

A cursory look at Ottawa’s roster might make this move seem puzzling. Sending Bernard-Docker to the minors leaves Ottawa with no extra skaters on the active roster and just five defensemen. However, Ottawa is entering somewhat of a lengthy break between games. After suffering a 5-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets last night, the Senators don’t play again until Wednesday.

Returning Bernard-Docker (still waiver-exempt) to Belleville doesn’t give him more playing time, though, as Belleville’s schedule mirrors that of their parent club. For Ottawa, having an NHL salary off the books for a few days is a cost-saving measure.

In a less likely scenario, the move could indicate that one (or both) of Artem Zub and Nikita Zaitsev could be ready to go for Wednesday’s game against the Islanders. Both defensemen are currently on injured reserve, but neither has a specific timetable for a return.

Ottawa’s 26th overall selection in 2018, Bernard-Docker has one assist in 13 games with the big club this season. He’d spent the past week on Ottawa’s roster, recalled after Zub exited the lineup with a lower-body injury. In four games since the January 15 recall, Bernard-Docker was held off the scoresheet, had a -4 rating, and averaged 17:15 per game in a more limited role than his earlier call-ups.

AHL| Ottawa Senators| Transactions Jacob Bernard-Docker

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