Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Nolan Patrick Tops NHL Central Scouting’s Midterm Rankings

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Despite battling injuries for much of the season, Brandon Wheat Kings center Nolan Patrick remains in the top slot on NHL Central Scouting’s Midterm Rankings.

Patrick missed 35 games with an upper-body injury, but has 13 points in eight games this season. He also missed Team Canada’s World Junior camp. While Patrick remains the clear top choice, he’s not considered a generational talent like Connor McDavid; Patrick is more in the range of a player like Eric Staal, who was the second-overall pick in 2003.

The list behind Patrick have been much more fluid than the top spot among North American Skaters. Here’s the top-five skaters:

1. Nolan Patrick (WHL)
2. Nico Hischier (QMJHL)
3. Gabriel Vilardi (OHL)
4. Owen Tippet (OHL)
5. Casey Mittlestadt (Minnesota High School)

I’ve previously written about Hischier’s ascent up the list after a great World Juniors. Hischier has 31 goals and 63 points in 37 games with the Halifax Mooseheads, where he is on loan from Switzerland. That gives the team that drafts him the option to play him in the AHL while not burning a year of his entry-level contract.

Vilardi is a prototypical big right-handed center with the Windsor Spitfires. He has 34 points in 26 games this season. Tippet is a big, fast, and skilled sniper, perhaps the best pure scorer in the draft. He has 34 goals and 57 points in 41 games with the Mississauga Steelheads this season. Mittlestadt is considered a big-game offensive player. While he’s a little more of an unknown, as he plays high school hockey, he’s committed to the University of Minnesota for next season.

Meanwhile, former top International skater Timothy Liljegren fell to seventh on NHL CSS’ list after missing time with mono. Liljegren is two-way right-handed defenseman, though its difficult to project a defenseman’s offensive ability based on SHL numbers with that league’s seeming unwillingness to hand out second assists.

TSN’s Bob McKenzie noted that the North American bureau did not devalue Patrick while he was out with a long-term injury, while the overseas bureau did drop Liljegren. Here’s the top-five International Skaters; all men are forwards:

1. Klim Kostin (KHL)
2. Elias Pettersson (SHL-2)
3. Lias Andersson (SHL)
4. Kristian Vesalainen (SHL)
5. Martin Necas (CZE)

Kostin is “big, strong, mobile, and has a good understanding of the game,” according to NHL Director of European Scouting Goran Stubb. Kostin has bounced around between different clubs this past fall, but is still highly rated based on his “dynamic” skill. Over in Sweden, Pettersson is the leading scorer of his Swedish-2 team with 27 points in 27 games.

The top goaltenders are Keith Petruzzelli of Muskegon in the United States Hockey League (USHL) and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen of HPK in the Finnish junior league.

Snapshots: NHL Three Stars, Toews, Bickell, Maple Leafs

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Nicklas Backstrom, Brad Marchand, and Brock McGinn have been named the NHL’s Three Stars of the Week.

Backstrom had three goals and 10 points in four games as the Capitals continued their nine-game winning streak. He has 13 points on that winning streak, and is currently on a six-game point streak. Backstrom is 10th in NHL scoring with 42 points in 43 games.

Marchand had the second-most points in the last week (behind only the aforementioned first star of the week) with 4-4-8 in three games. He had a three-point game in the Bruins’ win over the Blues before being held pointless in a loss to Nashville. He finished off the week with a career-high five-point night in a 6-3 win over Philadelphia. Marchand is seventh in NHL scoring with 43 points in 46 games.

McGinn had seven points in three games as the Hurricanes continued their four-game winning streak. Carolina is now one point out of a wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference. McGinn has 12 points on the season in 28 games this season, with seven coming in the last week.

  • Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews may want to remember the old Mark Twain quote which says that “reports of my demise are greatly exaggerated.” On his morning appearance on TSN 1260, Bob McKenzie talked about Toews’ struggles and suggested that “a lot of people are writing obituaries on Toews’ career right now,” which McKenzie believes is “real premature.” Toews has 21 points in 37 games this season, which puts him on pace for 41 points in 73 games. That would be a career-low at a time when offensive players ought to be in their prime; even in the 2012-13 lockout-shortened season, Toews scored 48 points in 47 games. Prior to this season, Toews has scored at 0.88 PPG. That’s fallen year-over-year since 12-13, and is now at 0.57. If the Blackhawks want to capitalize on the final year of a cheap Artemi Panarin, they’ll need their captain to kick it into a higher gear.
  • Some very good news out of Carolina on Monday, as veteran winger Bryan Bickell practiced for the second time in the last week, according to Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer. Bickell has not played since the end of October, when he was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Bickell was acquired by the Hurricanes in the summer in a salary-dump trade from Chicago, where he won three Stanley Cups.
  • Over at Maple Leafs practice, Martin Marincin and Frankie Corrado are both on the ice. Marincin is wearing a red non-contact jersey as he returns to practice one month after suffering an injury that was expected to keep him out of the lineup between 4-6 weeks. Meanwhile, Corrado returns to the NHL after a two-week conditioning stint with the Toronto Marlies where he had three assists in seven games. He’s appeared in just one NHL game this season.

Blues Waive Brad Hunt

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The St. Louis Blues have placed defenseman Brad Hunt on waivers, according to TSN’s Bob McKenzie on Twitter this morning.

Hunt has an excellent track record of scoring at the AHL level, which has translated to the NHL level for the first time in his career. The 5’9 offensive defenseman has scored five points in nine games with the Blues this season, and has 29 points in 23 games with the Chicago Wolves.

The Blues signed Hunt to a one-year contract on July 2, 2016. He had spent the previous three seasons in the Edmonton Oilers’ system, scoring three points in 21 games with the big club and 142 points in 185 games with their farm club.

In other waiver-related moves, Marek Hrivík has cleared waivers. The Rangers have assigned the winger to the Hartford Wolf Pack of the AHL. Hrivík had two assists in 16 NHL games this season.

Penguins Place Kris Letang On IR

at CDT | by 1 Comment

Five days ago, the Pittsburgh Penguins were riding high with a five-game winning streak. Now, they’ve lost three games in a row and will be without their best defenseman for the foreseeable future.

The team placed Kris Letang on Injured Reserve (IR) on Monday morning; Letang left Saturday night’s loss in Detroit after just two minutes of ice-time, in which he scored a goal. The injury came exactly one month after his last injury, which was also a lower-body injury.

In a following move, the Penguins recalled winger Jake Guentzel and defenseman Chad Ruhwedel from the Wilkes-Barre/ Scranton Penguins. Guentzel has 42 points in 31 AHL games, with three goals and an assist in five games at the NHL level. Ruhwedel has 16 points in 28 games in the AHL, and has a goal and assist in five NHL games.

According to Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, these were the lines when the Penguins skated on Monday morning:

Sheary-Crosby-Rust
Guentzel-Malkin-Hornqvist
Hagelin-Bonino-Kessel
Kunitz-Cullen-Wilson

Maatta-Daley
Cole-Schultz
Warsofsky-Ruhwedel-Oleksy

Cap Friendly reports that the Long-Term Injury Reserve (LTIR) savings from Pascal Dupuis and Brian Dumoulin are enough for the Penguins to make the recalls, meaning Letang won’t be out long enough to warrant being placed on LTIR.

Letang has only played a full season once, back in 2010-11. Since then, he’s played just 293 of a possible 452 regular season games. Despite his injury history, Letang has 246 points in those 293 games.

Replacing Letang’s offense will fall to the rest of the Penguins’ defense core; most notably Justin Schultz will need to continue his renaissance season. Schultz has 26 points in 42 games this season, which represents the best offensive pace of his NHL career after several poor years which got him traded out of Edmonton.

Biggest One-For-One Trades Of The Past 10 Years

at CDT | by 1 Comment

For the first time since his shocking trade last June, Taylor Hall is facing off in Edmonton on Thursday night.

The Oilers-Devils trade was one of two major one-for-one trades that took place that day, the other being P.K. Subban for Shea Weber just 17 minutes later. Despite the evidence of June 29, one-for-one trades are exceedingly rare in today’s NHL.

In honor of Hall’s return to Edmonton, let’s take a look at some of the more notable one-for-one swaps of the past decade:

February 26, 2008 – Andrew Ladd for Tuomo Ruutu —  The Chicago Blackhawks and Carolina Hurricanes swapped former top-ten picks at the 2007-08 trade deadline. Nearly nine years later, the trade can be classified as a win for the Blackhawks: Ruutu did score 216 points in 378 games with the Hurricanes but the team only made the playoffs once in his tenure there. Meanwhile, the Blackhawks were just two years away from winning the first Stanley Cup of their modern dynasty; with a Stanley Cup already under his belt, Ladd played a key role in helping the young Hawks learn how to win. Ladd scored 99 points 184 games in Chicago before being sacrificed to the Salary Cap Gods after their 2010 championship.

July 3, 2011 – Dany Heatley for Martin Havlat — Heatley and Havlat were both superstars of the early 21st-century, but neither player was at that level in 2011 when the Sharks and Wild made this trade. The Sharks were looking to improve their roster with hopes of getting to the Stanley Cup Finals after yet another playoff disappointment, but Havlat appeared in just eight playoff games over three years in San Jose. He never played more than 48 games in a season, or scored more than 27 points. Heatley had 82 and 64 points in his two years in San Jose, but was unable to consistently score in Minnesota, finishing his three-year stint with a 28-point season, his last full season in the NHL. Heatley also caused salary cap troubles, as he was unable to be bought-out after his second season due to injury, costing the Wild their last chance to use a compliance buyout on the declining Heatley.

June 23, 2012 – James Van Riemsdyk for Luke Schenn — Maple Leafs fans hoping for their team to trade Van Riemsdyk for a top defenseman may want to look at the trade that brought the power winger to Toronto. Then-GM Brian Burke traded Schenn, a right-handed third-pairing defenseman just four seasons removed from being the fifth-overall selection. Both players were coming off down seasons, as Schenn struggled in a third-pairing role while Van Riemsdyk scored 24 points in 43 games after a 40-point sophomore season. The trade was a clear win for Toronto, as Van Riemsdyk has 211 points in 289 games as a first-line winger while Schenn scored 42 points in 213 games in Philadelphia as a below-average possession player. Schenn was traded last season and signed a cheap show-me deal with Arizona as a UFA. The trade is yet another example of the trade values of average defensemen and scoring wingers.

January 6, 2016 – Seth Jones for Ryan Johansen — The major trade was the first big one-for-one trade in nearly four years, and was a sign of things yet to come in 2016. While it’s too early to declare a definitive winner, as both teams look like they got what they needed with the swap, the early results put Columbus slightly ahead. Jones has 38 points in 75 games so far with the surprising Blue Jackets, who currently sit in first place in NHL standings. The Predators haven’t been as successful as they would have hoped, though Johansen has 63 points in 83 games in Music City. He’s growing into a legitimate first-line center on a contending team, which is what the Predators hoped for when they made the swap. Nashville GM David Poile was initially criticized for trading his young defenseman as Shea Weber showed signs of regression, but that was addressed by on of the below trades.

June 29, 2016 – Taylor Hall for Adam Larsson — The decision to trade Hall was not popular at the time, and is still the most talked-about trade in Edmonton since Chris Pronger asked for a trade in 2006. The Oilers have finally turned the corner and currently sit in third in the Pacific Division. Larsson is a big part of the much-improved defense core, but has just seven points in 43 games. Hall is leading the Devils in scoring with 25 points in 32 games, but the Devils’ offense has not been able to outscore their defensive issues. It must be frustratingly familiar for Hall, who was in a similar situation in Edmonton for six seasons. While the Oilers gave up value, it could be argued that the Devils miss Larsson’s defensive ability more than Edmonton misses Hall’s offence.

June 29, 2016 — Shea Weber for P.K. Subban — After a tough 2015-16, changes were expected in Montreal. But few expected Subban to be the one to go. Like the Hall-Larsson trade made 17 minutes earlier, the Canadian team was panned initially. However, Weber is on pace for a career-high in points while the Canadiens have rebounded to lead the Atlantic Division at the half-way point. Unfortunately for Subban, he’s been injured for much of the season and may require surgery. The Canadiens are the winners of this trade six months in, but considering the four years Weber has on Subban, the verdict will slowly change over the next few years. If either one of these teams win a Stanley Cup in the next few years, that would likely be the deciding factor in naming a winner.

Roman Josi And Tuukka Rask Leave Game

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Nashville Predators are hosting the Boston Bruins tonight in what’s becoming quite the bloodbath.

Minutes after Tuukka Rask left the game after taking a high shot from Roman Josi, Bruins rookie Anton Blidh threw an ugly hit on Josi. Blidh was ejected from the game for his hit, while Josi left the game with what’s being called an upper-body injury. Zane McIntyre is now in the net for Boston while Rask is being evaluated. Jack Edwards tweets that the Bruins are making arrangements for an emergency backup goaltender, meaning Rask is unlikely to return this evening, even as a backup.

Both teams are hoping for good news. The Predators are already without P.K. Subban, leaving them down two top-pairing defensemen at the moment. Meanwhile, the Bruins have struggled without Rask. Rask has a 21-9-3 record, while the Bruins are 1-8-2 without their star goaltender.

Predators Claim Derek Grant Off Waivers

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Nashville Predators have added to their forward depth, claiming center Derek Grant off waivers from the Buffalo Sabres.

The Sabres waived Grant on Tuesday morning. Grant has just three assists in 35 NHL games this season. That marks a career-high for NHL games played, as Grant is a tremendous minor league forward but a fringe NHLer. Grant scored 27 goals and 45 points in just 36 games in the AHL last year. Overall, he has six assists in 75 NHL games.

The Predators are currently without forwards James Neal and Colin Wilson, and could use some depth up front. It’s also a good chance for Grant to make an impression, as he could find regular NHL work next season with 23 more jobs available due to the Vegas expansion.

As mentioned, Grant has just three assists this season so it’s not a big loss for the Sabres. As our Zach Leach wrote yesterday when Grant was placed on waivers, Buffalo is better served playing their own home-grown young talent rather than mediocre veterans.

Grant signed a one-year, $575K contract with the Sabres on July 2, 2016. He’ll be a UFA at the end of this season.

Snapshots: Capitals-Penguins, Myers, Lightning, Oilers

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Capitals fans will likely see a major milestone when Washington hosts the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday night.

Captain Alex Ovechkin needs one point to hit 1,000 for his career. His fellow captain, Sidney Crosby, is sitting at 982, though in 139 less games. Ovechkin will become the 84th player in NHL history to hit the 1,000-point mark, and the second-fastest active player to do so behind only former Penguin and Capital Jaromir Jagr.

Ovechkin has 19 goals and 14 assists for 33 points in 40 games so far this season. Overall, he has 544 goals and 455 assists in 879 games. In a swap of their normal roles, Crosby has been the more prolific scorer this season with 26 goals and 18 assists for 44 points in 33 games. Crosby has 364-618-982 in 740 games. Both superstars, who broke into the NHL together back in 2005-06, will hit the 1,000-mark in the same season.

The two teams have played twice, with the Penguins winning in overtime in the season-opener and the Capitals winning 7-1 in mid-November. Washington has a six-game winning streak while the Penguins are riding a five-game streak.

In other good news for the Capitals, top-six winger T.J. Oshie will make his return after missing one game with an upper-body injury.

  • Tyler Myers will be away from the Winnipeg Jets for an unknown amount of time, as the defenseman deals with a personal matter, according to Scott Billeck, who covers the Jets for the Winnipeg News and the NHL. Billeck reports that Myers had been travelling with the team, but left the team sometime last week while the team was in Florida. Myers has been out of the lineup since mid-November with a back injury. He has two goals and five points in 11 games played.
  • It’s been a nightmare of a season for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Steven Stamkos is likely out until the playoffs, but there’s no guarantee that the Lightning can survive that long. Currently, they have 42 points, four back of a playoff spot. While that’s not a big deficit, the Lightning have lost four games in a row for the second time this season, and are battling several key injuries. Stamkos, Brayden Point, Ryan Callahan, Brian Boyle, J.T. Brown, Braydon Coburn, and Ben Bishop are all out of the lineup. The Lightning are facing the end of their current roster’s window of Cup contention, with Bishop, Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat, and Jonathan Drouin all needing new contracts. GM Steve Yzerman won’t be able to sign all of his pending free agents, and the team needs to go for it this year. TSN’s Bob McKenize reports that Yzerman is willing to deal nearly “just about anybody” up front, besides Drouin in order to acquire a top-four defenseman (interview transcribed by Chris Nichols of FanRag). Kevin Shattenkirk, Michael Stone, and Dougie Hamilton have all had their names out there this season, and are potential targets for Yzerman to go for. The former two are pending free agents while the latter has been the subject of rumors all year, despite Brian Burke’s insistence that he’s not available for less than 20 first-round picks.
  • The Edmonton Oilers are on pace for 94 points, which would be their first season above 90 points since 2005-06, when they went to the Stanley Cup Finals. Despite their fancy new digs, the Oilers are just 9-8-2 at home. OilersNation’s Robin Brownlee gave a startling statistic: the Oilers have won just 86 of their last 207 home games. Brownlee writes that the Oilers need to improve their home record if they want to solidify a playoff spot, seeing as 13 of their last 18 games of the season are at home. The Oilers are on pace to make the playoffs, in spite of their home record, not because of it.

Maple Leafs Trade Jhonas Enroth To Anaheim

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The rebuild of the Toronto Maple Leafs never sleeps, not even on the team’s bye-week.

Just after midnight, the Maple Leafs traded Jhonas Enroth to the Anaheim Ducks for a 7th-round pick in 2018. Unlike the Jonathan Bernier trade, there is no conditional nature to the pick, according to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet. The deal comes just hours after the Maple Leafs claimed Curtis McElhinney on waivers.

McElhinney is considered a big upgrade over Enroth, at least by this season’s numbers. In seven games this season, McElhinney has a 0.924 save percentage, much better than Enroth’s 0.872 SV% in six appearances. However, six or seven games is not much to judge a goaltender by, as Enroth’s career SV% is slightly higher (0.909 vs 0.905). Enroth failed to gain the confidence of head coach Mike Babcock, and that’s not a good sign for any player on the rebuilding Leafs.

The trade is relatively small but a win-win overall. The Maple Leafs are able to move on from Enroth and move a contract from their 50-man list, while Enroth will give the Ducks some insurance as both of their AHL goaltenders, Dustin Tokarski and Matt Hackett, are currently battling injuries. Enroth and his $750K contract will report to the San Diego Gulls.

Back in Toronto, their minor-league goaltenders will get a chance to develop further. Antoine Bibeau has been solid in his two NHL starts with a 0.927 SV% and a GAA below two, but he’s better served by playing games in the AHL instead of sitting on the bench. Garret Sparks has yet to be given a chance at the NHL level this season.

The Leafs had previously explored the possibility of signing Karri Ramo, but he suffered a setback in his recovery and was forced to undergo another surgery last month. He’s expected to be ready to go in February, according to TSN’s Darren Dreger.

Snapshots: Three Stars, Oshie, Kulak, Jersey Changes

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The NHL honoured Michael Grabner, Patrick Maroon, and Braden Holtby as the Three Stars of the Week.

Grabner has been a pleasant surprise for the Rangers this season, having scored 18 goals for 26 points in 41 games. His goal total through the first half of this season equals his total point output from last season. Grabner scored five goals and added two assists in three games, including his fourth hat-trick of his career (second of the year).

Maroon scored five goals and six points in four games for the Oilers last week. He scored his first career hat-trick in a 4-3 win over Boston and added another two in last night’s loss in Ottawa. Maroon has 16 goals and 23 points in 42 games this season. He was acquired by the Oilers at the 2016 trade deadline for failed prospect Martin Gernát and a fourth-round pick. The trade is already a clear win for the Oilers, as the Ducks retained 25% of Maroon’s bargain $2MM-per-season contract, and Gernát is now in the Czech league. Maroon is already four goals past his career high, and is on pace for 30-plus goals. He has 24 goals and 37 points in 58 games in Edmonton, quickly becoming a fan-favorite.

Hotby went 2-0-0 in three appearances, following up a poor game versus the Maple Leafs with back-to-back shutouts over the Blue Jackets and Senators. He made 29 saves in the 5-0 win over Columbus, which ended their 16-game winning streak. Holtby is 18-8-4, with a 0.931 SV % and a 1.93 GAA this season. He also five shutouts, which ties him for tops in the NHL.

  • T.J. Oshie will miss Monday night’s game with an upper-body injury, according to Isabelle Khurshudyan. Oshie took a big hit from Dion Phaneuf on Saturday night and appeared to be favoring the same shoulder he had injured earlier this season. Oshie has 20 points in 32 games so far.
  • The Calgary Flames have recalled Brett Kulak from Stockton, according to Roger Millions of Sportsnet. Kulak has split this season beteween the NHL and the AHL, with three points in 15 NHL games and five points in 11 AHL games. He’s not expected to be in the lineup tonight when the Flames visit Winnipeg.
  • Some interesting news is coming out this morning about the NHL’s upcoming jersey-provider switch. Reebok has made the NHL’s jersey’s since 2005-06, but now their parent company, Adidas, is taking over. Michael Russo of the Minnesota Star Tribune cites multiple sources that all 18 teams with third jerseys will be dropping them to make the switch easier. Notable changes that have been leaked so far include the New Jersey Devils getting a full makeover, the Oilers dropping their current blue home uniforms in favor of their current orange thirds, and the Wild leaning towards using a re-designed green jersey as the home uniform.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

scroll to top