Deadline Primer: Minnesota Wild
With the trade deadline now just a week away, we continue to take a closer look at each team. Where do they stand, what do they need to do, and what assets do they have to fill those needs?
After slipping into the playoffs last year with less than 90 points and the final wildcard position, only to get punched in the mouth by the Dallas Stars and go home early, the Minnesota Wild needed a change. They’d fired their coach halfway through the season, and were relying on an aging (but excellent) core of Mikko Koivu, Zach Parise and Ryan Suter too much to succeed.
Enter Bruce Boudreau and the kids. After good solid seasons from the young guns a year ago, many of them have exploded to the forefront of the team this season, with Mikael Granlund, Nino Niederreiter, Charlie Coyle, and Jason Zucker all already setting career-highs in points through 59 games. They’re leading the Western Conference by five points and look poised for a deep playoff run.
Record
39-14-6, 1st in Central Division
Deadline Status
Buyer
Deadline Cap Space
$5.20MM – full-season cap hit, 47/50 contracts per CapFriendly.
Draft Picks
2017: MIN 1st, MIN 3rd, MIN 4th, MIN 5th, MIN 6th, MIN 7th
2018: MIN 1st, MIN 2nd, MIN 3rd, MIN 4th, MIN 5th, MIN 6th, MIN 7th
Trade Chips
Minnesota will almost surely avoid trading anything off the roster that has put them in prime position for a Stanley Cup run, meaning they’ll have to use draft picks and prospects as bait if they want to add anything next week. It’s a shame they don’t have their second-round pick from this season—which they traded to Buffalo for Chris Stewart back in 2015—since they are used so often in rental deals. 
The Wild do however have a fairly stocked cupboard of prospects that could be waived in front of a team looking to get younger. Their drafting the last decade (or longer) though not perfect in the first round has unearthed plenty of talent in later selections. They’ve picked players like Cal Clutterbuck (3rd), Justin Falk (4th), Marco Scandella (2nd), Erik Haula (7th), Darcy Kuemper (6th), Zucker (2nd) and Johan Larsson (2nd) all outside of the first round and found excellent value in each.
If a team really wants to go after youth, they could ask for prospects like Jordan Greenway, who showed off his skills at the most recent World Juniors. Kirill Kaprisov is tearing up the KHL as a 19-year old, and it was recently reported that he’ll play for CSKA next season. Alex Tuch is showing his ability at the AHL level after a dominating NCAA career, and Luke Kunin continues to captain the University of Wisconsin up the college hockey rankings. It would be crazy to trade any of these names for a rental, but if the Wild want to enter the ring of possible long-term upgrades, they have the pieces to do it.
One Player To Watch: F Jason Pominville, who has a big cap-hit and is playing much less due to the emergence of the young guns is a contract that the Wild may look to move out if they’re to make any improvements.
Team Needs
1) Wing Depth – The Wild would like to move Coyle back to center ice if possible, but they’d need a winger who can jump into their top-six to do it. Jannik Hansen has been rumored to be on their radar, but a player like Patrick Eaves seems a better fit. It’s not guaranteed that they’ll do anything, though GM Chuck Fletcher has said that they have some “unproven depth” at forward.
2) Center – The nice thing about having Coyle is that if you can’t find the upgrade at the wing you could always acquire a center instead and leave him out there. Arizona’s Martin Hanzal was quoted today by Chris Hine of the Chicago Tribune as saying he wants to stay in the middle even if traded, which would still be possible for the Wild.
Minor Transactions: 02/23/17
There are six games on tap in the National Hockey League tonight, including a big matchup between the New York Islanders and Montreal Canadiens that both teams need desperately to keep pace with the rest of the surging conference. There will be quite a few roster moves as teams get closer to the trade deadline, and we’ll have them all right here for you. Keep checking back as it will be updated throughout the day.
- A move that actually happened last night, the Anaheim Ducks called up Jhonas Enroth to backup Jonathan Bernier‘s amazing performance. John Gibson couldn’t go due to a lower-body injury—that is only listed as day-to-day—and thus the hottest goalie in the AHL was called up in reserve. We spoke about Enroth in the Ducks deadline preview, and how he could supplant Bernier if the team could find a buyer for him this week.
- The Washington Capitals have sent Travis Boyd back down after their game in Philadelphia last night. He was just there for insurance against an injury just before game time and now will return to Hershey for the time being.
- Jeff Glass apparently has done enough for the Chicago Blackhawks to keep him around. The former third-round pick that has played hockey all over the world signed a two-year deal today to stay in the Hawks’ system. The Blackhawks didn’t have a goaltender to expose in the upcoming expansion draft, as both Scott Darling (UFA) and Mac Carruth (RFA) are free agents this summer.
- Jeff Zatkoff has cleared waivers, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. That does not mean that he has been reassigned to the Ontario Reign however, as the Kings decide what to do with their goaltending. It sounds like Jonathan Quick is not quite ready to return, but is getting closer each day.
- The Boston Bruins have assigned Austin Czarnik to the AHL and sent down Joe Morrow on a conditioning stint. The baby Bruins also lost Zac Rinaldo for the rest of the season according to Mark Divver of the Providence Journal. He will have surgery on his wrist and will not play again this season.
- The Capitals have also recalled Riley Barber and Aaron Ness today, following the news that Matt Niskanen is likely out for tomorrow night’s game. To make room, the team has moved Andre Burakovsky to injured reserve.
Minor Transactions: 02/22/17
It’s not just trades that are completed in the days prior to the deadline, but a lot of roster movement to get team’s ready for the big day. We’ll have all the day’s minor transactions right here, so keep checking back.
- The Detroit Red Wings have sent Jared Coreau to the minors on a conditioning stint, likely meaning Jimmy Howard is ready to rejoin the team from his latest setback. Coreau has gotten into 13 games for the Red Wings this season, recording an .893 save percentage and 3.27 goals against average. The 25-year old will return to the minors where he has played exceptionally well, with three straight seasons of a save percentage .922 or above.
- After falling the the Maple Leafs in overtime last night, the Winnipeg Jets have sent Julian Melchiori and Brandon Tanev to the AHL. The Jets start their bye-week today, and with it the usual roster movement so that young players can continue their development. Expect both to be back with the NHL squad in a few days.
- The New York Islanders have moved Shane Prince to injured reserve, retroactive to February 12th and called up Bracken Kearns on an emergency basis. Kearns is an AHL veteran who has 40 points this season. The 35-year old will likely take a spot of Cal Clutterbuck who exited last night’s game.
- According to Arthur Staple of Newsday the Islanders have also signed Connor Jones to a two-way deal for the rest of this year. He was on an AHL deal, but this will allow him to be called up if they need him down the stretch. The deal will pay him the league minimum $575K in the NHL and $75K at the minor league level, per CapFriendly.
- The Anaheim Ducks have brought up winger Nic Kerdiles from the AHL. He’s spent time with the Ducks before, but has never gotten into an NHL game. Drafted in the second round in 2012, he hasn’t developed into quite the player the Ducks had hoped for and has struggled with a concussion this season. At 23, we’ll see if he makes his debut before the Ducks hit their bye week on Sunday.
- The Arizona Coyotes have sent Marek Langhamer back to the AHL after just a few days with the NHL club. Louis Domingue is travelling with the club and looks ready to get back into some games for the Coyotes. Langhamer came on in relief of Mike Smith on Monday after the all-star goaltender took a hit to the head and had to leave to go through the concussion protocol.
- After scoring two goals this morning (yes, morning) against the Toronto Marlies, Cory Conacher is on his way to the NHL. The diminutive forward has been recalled by the Tampa Bay Lightning as insurance for Jonathan Drouin, who was absent from today’s practice. Though it was called a “maintenance day” for Drouin, you can never be too careful. Conacher is an established minor league scorer, and actually has 60 points in the NHL but has never found much consistency at the higher level.
Jeff Zatkoff Placed On Waivers, Brooks Laich Clears
According to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet, the Los Angeles Kings have decided to put Jeff Zatkoff on waivers today, perhaps signalling a callup of Jack Campbell from the AHL or the return of Jonathan Quick a little earlier than expected. Zatkoff hadn’t performed as the Kings had hoped this season, and never seemed to fully recover from an early injury. His .879 save percentage is just simply not good enough for a team trying to make the playoffs.
Campbell on the other hand is playing well at the AHL, finally putting together what was supposed to be a promising career. Drafted 11th overall in 2010, he has spent time in the ECHL as recently as last season. His .913 save percentage for the Ontario Reign isn’t all-star worthy, but it is at least consistent for a player who has often lacked it.
Quick has been out since opening night but has been practicing with the team lately. It wasn’t clear that he was ready to return to game action, but perhaps the club is just waiving Zatkoff in preparation for his return. Quick would be quite a boost to the Kings, who find themselves just out of the playoff picture at the moment.
Brooks Laich has also cleared waivers after being placed on them yesterday. He is currently playing in a game for the Toronto Marlies, and continues to honor his contract there. Laich spoke out about how he wanted to play for another team if the Leafs weren’t going to bring him up, and it seems as though GM Lou Lamoriello was trying to see if someone would take him.
As we wrote about yesterday, retaining 50% of Laich’s salary in any trade for the veteran would actually cause a larger cap-hit on the Maple Leafs than just keeping him buried in the minors, thus he stays down. It seems the biggest chance for Laich would be a rash of injuries to the Maple Leafs down the stretch, forcing them to bring up experience instead of youth from their AHL team. He, Milan Michalek and Colin Greening are all a built in security blanket for the young Maple Leafs.
Snapshots: Vegas, Expansion Draft, Theodore
While it has been widely expected that the Vegas Golden Knights would be ready to start doing business with teams around the league on March 1st, it sounds now like they’ll miss the opportunity to be in calls on the trade deadline. The team could have never participated in deals involving active NHL or AHL players, but could have swapped picks or starting hammering out deals for the expansion draft. Now according to owner Bill Foley on KXNT, the team will only be able to have informal discussions because their paperwork won’t be filed in time.
In practice, this doesn’t stop George McPhee and the rest of the front office from being involved on deadline day, but nothing they do can officially be signed off or sanctioned by the NHL. That leaves room for doubt, and on a day where so much is at stake may scare off potential teams. Teams around the league are having a tough time deciding what to do because they run the risk of exposing a new asset in the expansion draft, and making hard deals with the Golden Knights might help to assuage those fears.
- While it’s been a slow lead up so far, Pierre LeBrun of ESPN spoke to one GM that wondered if the 48 hours before the expansion draft would be a little more hectic than the 48 before the March 1st deadline. With the Stanley Cup perhaps being awarded as late as June 15th, the protection lists being due June 17th, and the draft occurring on June 20th it is sure to be a hectic few days for teams to get their ducks in a row. As CapFriendly notes, the buyout window will (likely) open on the 15th giving those few days an extra wrinkle.
- The venerable Alex Prewitt of Sports Illustrated profiled the struggles of being a waiver-exempt young player with his latest piece on Anaheim Ducks defender Shea Theodore, who has been shuffled back and forth all season. Theodore has been involved in 13 transactions this year heading one way or the other between the NHL and AHL, and at this point doesn’t even remember most of them. “When you’re up and down so often, you don’t realize how many it’s actually been,” he tells Prewitt, before going into detail on his packing routine (or lack thereof). Theodore will actually be exempt for another two seasons, or 105 games depending on what comes first. While the Ducks—and Theodore himself—hope that he will be firmly entrenched in the lineup by then, it does show the value of having a player able to bounce back and forth. The San Jose Sharks do a similar thing with Mirco Mueller, who has played just four games for the NHL club despite being called up almost a dozen times.
Snapshots: Laich, Vermette, Bye Weeks
Brooks Laich isn’t happy. He’s making more than $4MM, playing in Toronto on a young team that has had a lot of recent success. The only problem is that it isn’t the Toronto Maple Leafs, it’s the Marlies. He’s been stuck in the AHL all season, and after telling The Athletic yesterday that he would like to be sent somewhere else if he wasn’t in their plans, he was placed on waivers today by the club. James Mirtle, the Editor-in-Chief of The Athletic penned a piece today that contained quotes from Laich’s agent, explaining that his client still believes he can contribute at the NHL level and deserves to have that chance.
Well he’s under contract. He’s not going to break the contract. He’s committed. [But] he’d like to be moved to a team that can use him and help that team make a run for it. Obviously Toronto is trying to fulfill that request.
It’s a tricky situation as Mirtle points out, because if Toronto were to trade him and retain half his salary, it would actually be a bigger cap-hit than leaving him buried in the minors. That’s not something a team does just to be nice, regardless of how much space they might have. It’s unfortunate that it has come to this for the former Washington Capitals forward, after he made such an excellent impression on the team and fan base last spring when he arrived .
- John Shannon of Sportsnet reports that the appeal of Antoine Vermette‘s 10-game suspension will happen on Thursday at 2pm in New York. The Ducks will be on their mandated bye-week following Saturday’s upcoming game against the Los Angeles Kings, which will encompass the trade deadline. The team because of Vermette, needs help up front as we outlined yesterday in the Ducks’ deadline primer. If the suspension is reduced, the Ducks will welcome Vermette back with open arms and could move Rickard Rakell back to the wing.
- Speaking of bye-weeks, it seems like the NHL isn’t happy with the much-publicized struggles of team’s coming back from them. Bill Daly was on TSN 1040 this afternoon discussing the possibility of having just two periods and splitting the teams in half instead of having them throughout the season. Daly said there have been concerns over this season’s schedule from pretty much every important group involved in the NHL, from the owners to the players. If the tweak goes through, teams will play each other coming off the bye-weeks, instead of going up against a squad that doesn’t have any rust. The 4-12-4 record for teams’ first game back off the bye—which includes one win from the Maple Leafs over the Rangers after they both ended their time off—is a clear sign that there was a competitive imbalance to the way things were scheduled this year.
20 Teams Interested In College Free Agent Neal Pionk
The NHL is a different place in 2017. With the advancement of analytics and systems, the increased speed and skill, and almost-extinction of the “goon” it’s like a whole new sport. Now, if you’re smaller than the prototypical center, or defenseman you have a chance in the NHL. You no longer have to be a hulking beast capable of rubbing people off the puck in the corners or protecting your star player with your fists. Or at least that’s what one college player is hoping.
Neal Pionk was passed over in his draft year due to his small size—5’11”, 170-lbs on the most generous of measurements—but is turning heads with his strong play at the University of Minnesota-Duluth as a sophomore. After scoring 17 points in an up-and-down rookie season, Pionk has 24 points in 30 games and is showing that he may be able to compete at the next level after all. Craig Custance of ESPN reports that as many as 20 teams have expressed interest in the Bulldog, including the expansion Vegas Golden Knights, who can sign college free agents in March like any other team (provided their final expansion payment goes through without a hitch).
Pionk attended the Washington Capitals development camp in 2015 before heading to school. It will be interesting to see if Washington will be back in the mix to sign him when his season ends. The right-handed defenseman likely has so many suitors because not only does he possess the puck-moving skill that usually accompanies the smaller defenseman at this level, but also has a slight nasty streak that leads him to physically challenge opposing forwards as well. Some might liken his play to Connor Carrick of the Toronto Maple Leafs (and previously those same Washington Capitals), who doesn’t let his height dictate the type of game he plays.
While this year’s crop of NCAA free agents doesn’t have a huge name leading the way, players like Pionk can still be valuable assets to any team. Look for Vegas to go hard after several of them as it tries to add depth to a system that will have very little of it to start. The Minnesota native is already 21 (and will turn 22 in July), meaning he’ll have to adapt quickly to the increased difficulty of the AHL and beyond, but if that many teams are interested, he’ll likely have a fighting chance.
Mitch Marner Placed On Injured Reserve, Frederik Gauthier Recalled
The Maple Leafs have officially placed Mitch Marner on injured reserve retroactive to February 15th. In his place the team has recalled Frederik Gauthier from the AHL Toronto Marlies. Though moving Marner to IR sounds bad, he’ll still be available for Thursday’s game if healthy enough to go. As Kristen Shilton of TSN notes Gauthier was scratched in yesterday’s Marlies-Senators game, a curious decision before the call-up was confirmed.
The Leafs have been without their magic rookie for two games already and have felt his absence on the powerplay most of all, going 1/8 without him. Marner is one of the rare wingers that can drive an entire line, holding the puck for long stretches by himself. It had showed with 48 points in 56 games while skating alongside James van Riemsdyk and Tyler Bozak for much of the season.
Gauthier is expected to figure into the lineup for Ben Smith, a fourth-line center that has had a lot of trouble this season between injury and inconsistency. Smith’s faceoffs, that were once considered one of his best skills, have diminished this season since the hand injury that needed surgery earlier in the year. Though Gauthier doesn’t offer much in the dot either, he’s a young former first-round pick that the Leafs want to develop into a shutdown role. He’ll get another chance tonight against the Winnipeg Jets, as Auston Matthews and Patrik Laine go head to head once again.
Minor Transactions: 02/21/17
As always, we’ll keep track of all the day’s minor transactions right here:
- The Washington Capitals have made a dream come true today, calling up forward Travis Boyd for the first time in his professional career. Boyd has been playing for Hershey for two seasons since signing out of the University of Minnesota in 2015. A skilled forward, Boyd has 96 points in his 131 career AHL games, a big number for a former sixth-round pick. Whether he gets into the lineup right away is still to be seen, but he will definitely add some offense when he does.
- The St. Louis Blues have sent both Ivan Barbashev and Magnus Paajarvi down to the Chicago Wolves to get into some action during their bye-week. The Blues don’t play again until Sunday, meaning that the two youngsters can keep playing during the break and come back up this weekend.
- After acquiring Michael Stone yesterday, the Calgary Flames have cleared a roster spot by sending Garnet Hathaway to the AHL. The young winger has played 26 games in Calgary this season, scoring just five points.
- In response to the same deal, the Arizona Coyotes have brought up Anthony Deangelo according to Dave Isaac of the Courier-Post. The young defender is the same one that was suspended three games earlier this season for abuse of an official. The former first-round pick has played 20 games for the Coyotes this season, scoring nine points. An exceptional offensive talent, DeAngelo will slot nicely into the spot Stone has left vacant.
Make sure to keep this page bookmarked, as it will be updated throughout the day.
Deadline Depth May Already Be In Toronto
For teams around the league looking at depth additions down the stretch, big bodies, playoff experience and penalty killing ability are often in high demand. The Maple Leafs, who find themselves in the thick of a playoff race much earlier than expected in their rebuild, may have to look no further than their AHL squad to find some bottom-six depth if injuries should come into play.
The team has recently lost Mitch Marner for an indefinite period, and have had an almost clean bill of health all season. If they find themselves in a position to add some of that NHL experience, their Marlies team in the AHL already has a few names that might be familiar. Brooks Laich, Colin Greening and Milan Michalek have been with the minor league squad for almost the entire season, and though their goal-scoring days might be behind them, they could still provide a boost in a bottom-six role.
Laich was acquired from the Washington Capitals last season in a salary dump, and has six points in 21 games for the Marlies this season. He’s taken on a leadership role among the young team, understanding that the development of prospects is more important to the club than his ice time. He has lost a step from his 50+ point days in Washington, but has the work-ethic and defensive responsibility to help a fourth line somewhere. His versatility at center and wing is important to consider, as is the fact that he’s an unrestricted free agent this summer. In a recent piece from Joshua Kloke of The Athletic (subscription required), he quotes Laich as wanting to “pursue a Stanley Cup somewhere else” if he’s not in the Leafs NHL plans.
Michalek is a former 30-goal scorer that actually waived his no-trade clause to come to Toronto in last season’s Dion Phaneuf trade. He started the year with the NHL club, but was waived and sent down early on because of his cap-hit and the surplus of wingers on the Leafs. He’s been injured for much of the AHL season, but if he could get back to full health it’s an interesting depth option should a team need a bottom-six winger. Michalek has had a lot of penalty killing success in his career, even scoring nine short handed goals in his career.
Greening is the youngest of the trio at only 30 years old, but also has the least playoff experience. He’s also been the biggest physical presence in the past, recording over 200 hits for the Senators back in 2013-14. Another expiring contract, Greening wouldn’t cost the Leafs or an acquiring team very much for the last couple of months but would give them a big body to put on the fourth line should they need it.
Obviously none of these players are game-changers or even excellent options for an NHL squad. But with teams using draft pick and prospect currency to add role players at the deadline each year, the Maple Leafs might be in an enviable position down the stretch. As we’ve seen recently with the Senators, who have lost Mike Hoffman, Mark Stone, Bobby Ryan and Tommy Wingels in the past two days, depth is an important asset.
With their glut of young wing prospects to step into a scoring role should they lose any other top forwards, they have built some solid depth in the bottom six by just accepting bad contracts in their previous deals. While the salary cap has evened out the playing field somewhat between the rich and poor teams, the Maple Leafs have smartly used their financial muscle over the past few years in the few places that are still possible.