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McKenzie’s Latest: Olympics, Escrow, And Star Treatment

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In a pair of radio appearances in Montreal and Edmonton on Friday morning, TSN Insider Bob McKenzie spoke about two big issues in the NHL.

McKenzie spoke in Montreal about the brewing fight between the NHL and NHLPA over Olympic participation and CBA (transcribed by Chris Nichols from FanRag). The current perception is that the owners don’t want to go to the Olympics and are “holding the players hostage” over the issue. The owners are offering Olympic participation at the price of extending the CBA.

The Fourth Period’s Dave Pagnotta reports that it doesn’t seem likely that the NHLPA will accept the offer.

This is because the players’ biggest problem is with escrow. As Nichols puts it, “there may not be a more mind-numbingly awful subject to discuss for hockey fans than escrow.”

McKenzie says he empathizes with the players, because no one would want to lose an additional 15 percent off the top of their take-home salary. The players using the five percent salary cap escalator each season helps raise the salaries of free agents, but ends up hurting players by increasing escrow. While the players say they want a cap on escrow, the issue, according to McKenzie is that “you can’t put a cap on escrow in a hard cap system. I think some players – I’m not saying all players – some players don’t understand escrow.”

This is where McKenzie says the negotiations could get ugly now and when the CBA expires: “if the players actually think that the NHL is going to negotiate a cap on escrow, which would mean that the owners are getting less than 50 percent of the revenue – that’s going to be a motherhood issue on both sides of the fence.”

How will they come to an agreement? “Outside of shutting down the league and going back and fighting the battle over the salary cap and the share, I don’t know how you solve that… There’ll be blood on the tracks for escrow to come down in any meaningful way, other than by not putting the inflator in or the Canadian dollar getting stronger.”

Hopefully for hockey fans, the two sides can figure it out without costing fans the chance to see NHLers at the Olympics in 2018 and beyond, and avoid another season-long lockout.

Another hot button issue in the hockey world is the treatment of superstars. The Calgary Flames’ Johnny Gaudreau will miss six weeks with a broken finger after being slashed 21 times by the Minnesota Wild. Flames coach Glen Gulutzan spoke to the referees about Gaudreau’s treatment earlier in the game, but there was no change in the standard of calls. GM Brad Treliving said “it wasn’t a unicorn” that broke Gaudreau’s finger. Meanwhile, the Flames rivals in Edmonton also have an issue with the officiating: the Oilers super sophomore Connor McDavid has also been hooked and held with few or no calls.

Neither McDavid nor coach Todd McLellan have been vocal about McDavid’s treatment. McKenzie believes that is the right choice, telling TSN 1260’s morning show that complaining to the media won’t lead to the results they want. The TSN Insider suggested the Oilers organization will gather video of the missed calls and “lobby behind the scenes and if [Stephen Walkom’s office] thinks you have a valid point then they’ll send out a memo.”

McKenzie said, “one of the things I used to love about the NHL was it was really hard on the star players” but when that happened, “mayhem was going to follow” and that “often leads to serious injuries or criminal behaviour.”

With most enforcers out of the league, NHL teams don’t have the means they used to police the game themselves. If anyone got in Wayne Gretzky’s face, they could count on a visit from Oilers tough guy Dave Semenko. But now, McKenzie says “it’s up to the referees to make sure that Brandon Dubinsky doesn’t get away with murder on Sidney Crosby.”

Even if there are changes implemented, McKenzie wisely points out that “at the end of the day it’s officiating and no one is ever going to be happy about it.”

Oilers Place Anton Lander On Waivers

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The Edmonton Oilers have placed forward Anton Lander on waivers for purpose of assignment to the Bakersfield Condors.

Sportsnet’s John Shannon reports that Matt Hendricks and Drake Caggiula are coming off IR. Hendricks was injured in a pre-season game at the beginning of October, while Caggiula suffered a hip injury while taking a penalty shot. Lander, a second round pick in 2009, has already cleared waivers once this year. He was not assigned to Bakersfield, in part because of injuries to Hendricks and Caggiula.

Lander has proven to be a legit number one center in the AHL, but has never been able to have sustained success at the NHL level. His best stretch was in the 2014-15 season, where he scored 20 points in 38 games as the Oilers third line center. He was expected to be the Oilers third line center the next season, and actually tied Alex Ovechkin for pre-season goal scoring. Unfortunately for Lander and the Oilers, he only scored one goal in 61 regular season games and lost his spot as an NHL regular. This season, he’s played 16 games on the Oilers fourth line. He’s a great face-off man and a good penalty killer, but the Oilers have enough slow-to-average speed players in the bottom six, and Lander’s skill-set is replaced by Hendricks.

One wonders if the Detroit Red Wings take a look at Lander. They’ve suffered some injuries at the forward position, and Lander’s only NHL success came under the Red Wings current AHL coach Todd Nelson. Nelson coached Lander in Oklahoma City, where he ended up being a 1.1 PPG player at that level.

Lander will be a restricted free agent at season’s end, and makes $990K.

Brad Richardson Undergoing Surgery

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The week of major injuries continues.

Arizona Coyotes forward Brad Richardson was stretchered off after suffering an ugly leg injury during Thursday night’s 3-2 OT loss in Vancouver.

After scoring the first goal of the game in the second period against the team he played two seasons for, Richardson took a hit from Nikita Tryamkin along the sidewall. His right leg buckled under him as the 6’7, 265 lbs Tryamkin fell on top of him. The medical staffs from both teams assisted Richardson as he was strapped into a stretcher.

The 31-year-old Richardson has a broken tibia and fibula, according to TSN’s Bob McKenzie. He’ll have surgery on his right leg on Friday morning. Coyotes GM John Chayka confirmed McKenzie’s report to Arizona Sports’ Craig Morgan. Sarah McLellan of the Arizona Republic reports that Richardson is currently stabilized at a Vancouver hospital. There is no timeline for Richardson’s recovery, according to Chayka.

The Coyotes had a 2-0 lead at that point, but the Canucks scored twice in the next six minutes to tie the game before winning it in overtime.

Richardson has been off to a good start this season, with nine points in 16 games so far this season. He’s coming off a career-high 31 points in 2015-16, his first season with the Coyotes. While there’s no timeline for Richardson’s return, it will clearly be a long-term injury. With Coyotes center and pending-UFA Martin Hanzal already on the trading block, Chayka will likely look to add some depth down the middle. Perhaps rookie Dylan Strome will get a bigger role after playing just seven games out of 16 and averaging only 13:41 per game.

Snapshots: Harding, Expansion Rules, Saad

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Josh Harding knows exactly what Bryan Bickell is going through.

The retired 32-year-old goaltender was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) back in 2012 during the last lockout. Harding told ESPN’s Scott Burnside that he considered keeping his diagnosis private, but didn’t because he have to take time away from the game for treatment, and he felt that going public would do some good. Harding says having MS is nothing to be ashamed of.

Harding returned to the NHL that season, playing five regular season games and five playoff games. He won the Masterton Trophy for dedication to hockey. He played 29 games the next season, posting a remarkable 0.933 SV% and a 1.65 GAA. Unfortunately, that was the end of his hockey career. As Harding told Burnside, “when the doctors say enough’s enough, you kind of have to listen to them.”

Now that Bickell has been diagnosed with MS, he and Harding have been in contact about their awful common illness. Harding has told Bickell what treatments worked for him and shared strategies for dealing with the incurable disease. However, Harding can’t tell him for sure that he’ll play in the NHL again. He told Burnside that “if there was a blueprint for what you have to do, I really think I’d still be in the league.”

While Harding was only able to play for 39 more games after his diagnosis, he says he’s rooting for Bickell and hopes that his experience with the disease will be different than Harding’s. Harding says he’s at peace with his career path, and enjoys spending time with his two children as well as helping coach a local high school team.

Another former goalie with MS, Jordan Sigalet plans to be in touch with Bickell to offer their support.

  • There has been much talk about expansion at the NHL GM meetings. The rules for which players need to be protected have been finalized, and the GMs are receiving guidelines about all possible ways of circumventing the rules and why they’re not allowed. Some GMs are concerned about the exclusive free agency window, where Las Vegas GM George McPhee will be able to meet with pending free agents. Could the something Knights make a handshake deal with a free agent to sign on July 1, but not sign them then in order to select another player from that team? No. Can other teams make “wink, nudge” deals with McPhee to not select a certain player? No. All trades will have to be done through a trade call to the NHL and documented. The penalties for trying to circumvent the rules are going to be stiff, possibly a first round pick. As Devils GM Ray Shero pointed out to Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston, all deals will have “pass the smell test with the league.”
  • In his weekly “30 Thoughts“, Elliotte Friedman wondered if the Blue Jackets would be interested in parting ways with Brandon Saad. Columbus acquired him from the Chicago Blackhawks in June of 2015 and promptly signed him to a six-year, $36MM contract. Saad has been a solid performer for the Blue Jackets, but the cap-strapped team may want to move his $6MM salary. There appears to be some disconnect between Saad and the club, as he’s fifth in both team scoring and ice-time, but was almost a healthy scratch last week. Friedman reported the Blackhawks looked into re-acquiring Saad last season, but couldn’t make it work. The Blackhawks could certainly use Saad back, with his chemistry with Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa on the downswing. It’s not clear how they could make it work salary-wise, though. There’s always a market for a 30-goal scorer, especially one who is just 24.

Canucks Send Jake Virtanen To AHL Comets

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Jake Virtanen might be starting to feel like a yo-yo.

After he started the year in the NHL, the Vancouver Canucks sent Virtanen to their AHL farm team, the Utica Comets. He played two games for the Comets last weekend (no points) before being called back up to the NHL. GM Jim Benning called it a conditioning stint. But Virtanen didn’t return to the Canucks lineup after being recalled; he was scratched in both games the Canucks have played since his return. And now, the Canucks have once again sent Virtanen to the AHL.

Virtanen has just one assist in 10 games with the Canucks so far this season. He was drafted out of the WHL as a power forward, where he had a respectable 161 points in 192 games for the Calgary Hitmen. So far, Virtanen has just 14 points in 65 NHL games over two seasons.

The Canucks drafted Virtanen sixth overall in 2014, ahead of William Nylander, Nikolaj Ehlers, and Dylan Larkin. It’s still early in Virtanen’s career, but it’s hard not to think the Canucks would like a mulligan on that pick.

Injury Notes: Gaudreau, Stamkos, Hall

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Three superstars could be poised to miss some time due to injury.

Calgary Flames superstar Johnny Gaudreau broke his finger in Tuesday night’s 1-0 win over the Minnesota Wild, in which he scored the only goal in the game. The Wild played Gaudreau very hard, with several big hits and, according to one observer from the Canadian Press, 21 slashes over the course of the game.

John Shannon of Sportsnet tweeted that Gaudreau will require surgery on the broken finger, and the Flames have now confirmed. Though the team will give an update on recovery time later this week, Elliotte Friedman has heard that it may be 4-6 weeks.

It’s been a disappointing season for Gaudreau, who missed all of training camp while holding out for a new contract. He ended up signing a six-year, $40.5MM contract two days before the start of the regular season. Gaudreau has 11 points in 17 games, which is far off from his career average of 0.9 points per game. The Flames have struggled under a new coach, sitting fifth in the Pacific Division with just six wins in 17 games. They’ll have to put some consecutive wins up soon if they hope to remain in the playoff race, and now they’ll be doing it without their leading scorer.

Meanwhile, Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos left his team’s win in Detroit last night with a right knee injury. The team announced on Wednesday morning that Stamkos has returned to Tampa Bay for “further evaluation” on his injured leg, which will include an MRI, according to Bob McKenzie. The Lightning are two games into a five game road trip, with Buffalo, Philadelphia, and Nashville still to come. Unless he rejoins them on the road, he’ll be out of the lineup until at least November 23 when the Flyers visit Tampa Bay.

With free agency no longer hanging over his head, Stamkos has been off to a hot start; before leaving the game he scored his 20th point in 17 games. The Lightning are off to a good start, sitting tied for second in the Atlantic Division with 21 points.

Stamkos won’t be the only star getting an MRI on Wednesday: New Jersey Devils leading scorer Taylor Hall will also be getting his knee checked out. Hall missed Tuesday night’s game with a “lower-body injury” that McKenzie now labels as a knee injury.

According to Andrew Gross of Fire and Ice, Devils coach John Hynes said yesterday that Hall “came to the rink [Tuesday] morning and something was bothering him a little bit so the trainers took a look at him.”

Hynes did not say when the injury occurred, and when asked if Hall’s injury was serious, replied “we don’t know.”

Hall has played very well for the Devils after being acquired in a summer blockbuster as part of the busiest day of the summer, which also included Stamkos re-signing in Tampa Bay.

NHL, Stakeholders Discuss Possible Change To Draft Age

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Could the NHL change the draft age from 18 to 19?

TSN’s Bob McKenzie spoke about the possibility on Tuesday night’s edition of Insider Trading. Former third-overall-pick Pat LaFontaine is leading a group of stakeholders that includes the NHL, NHLPA, CHL, USHL, Hockey Canada, USA Hockey, and NCAA to discuss a “whole new development model.”

According to McKenzie, the model would go from age five to age 20, and would include changing the NHL Draft-eligible age to 19, with “some obvious exceptions for exceptional players.”

The system would likely feature an expanded version of the CHL’s Exceptional Player Status. Normally, players aren’t eligible to play in the WHL, OHL, or QMJHL (the CHL’s three leagues) until they’re 16. However, there is a process (outlined extensively by McKenzie here) where players deemed exceptional can begin to play Major Junior at age 15. Players and their families apply to the CHL and Hockey Canada, and the player is examined on and off the ice to determine if he truly is exceptional. So far, only six players have ever applied, with John Tavares, Aaron Ekblad, Connor McDavid, Sean Day, and 2018-eligible Joseph Veleno being successful candidates. The first thee on that list went first overall in their OHL and NHL draft years, while Day went fourth in the OHL draft was a third-round pick of the New York Rangers in 2016. While it’s still early in his career, McKenzie noted that “some were questioning whether he was as blatantly exceptional as Tavares, Ekblad or McDavid.”

Changing the NHL Draft age would drastically change the way the draft is conducted. Looking back over the past two drafts, top selections like McDavid, Jack Eichel, Auston Matthews, and Patrik Laine would likely have been able to still be drafted at age 18. All four of them have been successful in their rookie seasons, and were clearly NHL-ready at age 18/19. While McDavid was a CHL exceptional-status player, the other three played NCAA, Swiss National League, and Liiga in their draft years. The NHL and other stakeholders would need to find a way to coordinate with all leagues to determine which players are truly exceptional and deserve to be drafted at age 18.

While the above mentioned players would still have been drafted at 18, elite prospects like Dylan Strome, Mitch Marner, Noah Hanifin, Jesse Puljujärvi, and Pierre-Luc Dubois may have been forced to wait an extra year, depending on the rules set out. As it stands now, several teams have issues with how the NHL-CHL agreement is laid out, as it forces 19-year-old draft+1 players to either play in the NHL or CHL when the AHL may be the best for their development. Strome is a current example: he’s posted 129 and 111 points in his last two years in the OHL and has nothing to gain from returning to junior, where he will dominate and potentially learn bad habits because of how dominant he is at that level. Strome has just one assist in six NHL games this year, and would be well-served by 40 games in the AHL to learn the pro game. That’s currently prevented by the NHL-CHL agreement. On one hand, it’s easy to see that CHL teams don’t want to lose their brightest stars before they absolutely have to, but at the same time it may not be in the player’s best interests to go back to junior. Changing the draft age to 19 could alleviate this issue, with drafted players only playing one more year of junior, at most, before turning pro.

LaFontaine and the stakeholders will meet again on Wednesday. On Insider Trading, McKenzie said they’ll “need to get some traction soon if it’s going to happen.”

The NHLPA would also need to agree to the change in collective bargaining when the current CBA expires in 2022 (both sides can opt out two years early). Convincing the Players Association that players will have to wait an extra year before making an NHL salary could be a tough argument, but it will be interesting to see how the discussion goes over the next little while.

Snapshots: Three Stars, Olympics, KHL

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The NHL has named Tuukka Rask, Mark Scheifele, and Pekka Rinne as the three stars of the week.

Rask went 4-0-0 with a 0.970 SV% and a 0.75 GAA. He had two shutouts, and has now won 10 of his first 11 games, making him the second Bruins goalie in their 92-year history to do so. Bruins legend Gerry Cheevers is the only other Bruins goalie to do so. Boston is proving to be rather dependent on Rask; they’re 0-5 without him and 10-1 with him.

Scheifele scored 3 goals and 6 points in 4 games, pushing him into a first place tie for the NHL scoring lead. The Jets earned 7 out of a possible 8 points during the week, bumping them to second in the Central Division.

Rinne went 3-0-0 during the week, with a sparkling 0.976 SV% and a 0.67 GAA to go alongside one shutout. Rinne has five wins so far this season, as Nashville makes their way back into playoff contention after a tough start.

  • It’s not looking great for NHL fans hoping to see their favorite players in the 2018 Winter Olympics. Commissioner Gary Bettman has admitted that he has explored the idea of the NHL skipping 2018 in Pyeongchang but returning in 2022 in Beijing. The NHL has participated in every Winter Olympics since Nagano 1998. Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly noted the International Olympic Committee’s decision not to pay the NHL for what they have in the past has not changed. Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston points out that the NHL and NHLPA have “stated unequivocally that they’re unwilling to start paying the estimated $10-million while also interrupting the season.” That money is for player travel and insurance.
  • Meanwhile, the KHL is considering trimming the number of franchises in their league. League president Dmitry Chernyshenko told R-Sport that they’re planning to talk about “an optimization of the number of clubs taking part.” Chernyshenko suggesting it’s possible that “the league could contract.” The KHL just expanded to China for this season, but Kunlun Red Star has struggled to attract fans. As well, the floundering price of oil has hurt the league’s funding in Russia.

Oilers Notes: Early Goals, Eberle, Depth

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It’s been a tale of two seasons so far for the Edmonton Oilers.

The Oilers were 7-1-0 on October 30. That night, they lost an emotional game versus Craig Anderson and the Ottawa Senators. Since then, it’s been tough sledding for the Oilers. Including the Senators game, Edmonton has gone 2-5-1 in the last eight games.

Their recent losing streak has shown a tough tendency: the Oilers have been scored on in the first two minutes eight times so far this season. Six of those early goals have been scored in the last eight games, including the last three games straight.

It’s not clear why the Oilers keep surrendering early goals, but they do seem to be able to score their way back into games. Despite being down so early in half their games, they’ve only trailed at the first intermission twice in those eight games.

Perhaps no player embodies the Oilers recent struggles as much as Jordan Eberle. The longest-serving Oiler has five points in his last five games, but besides a two-goal outburst in last week’s loss against the Penguins, he hasn’t scored a goal since October 18. He spent his summer working on his shot and one-timer to help him playing with Connor McDavid, but Eberle’s shot hasn’t looked any better or helped him score on the power-play.

Eberle was pulled off McDavid’s wing during Sunday night’s loss to the Rangers., and coach Todd McLellan told reporters post-game that “based on tonight, Ebs wouldn’t get a passing grade in my books. Or else he would have stayed [on McDavid’s wing]. You earn your keep, and Ebs didn’t earn it tonight in my mind.”

Having a $6MM sniper like Eberle struggle like this is tough for any team, let alone one with little depth behind him. Beyond Eberle, the Oilers have Jesse Puljujärvi, Zack Kassian, and Tyler Pitlick.

Kassian has looked solid this season, but isn’t suited to playing above a third line checking/ depth scoring role. Pitlick has been a pleasant surprise for the Oilers, making the team in his sixth pro season and working his way up the lineup. His five goals tie him with McDavid, Milan Lucic, and Eberle for second-most on the Oilers behind Patrick Maroon. Pitlick was the one to replace Eberle on McDavid’s line during Sunday night’s loss.

Puljujärvi appeared to be getting the hang of the NHL game before missing a game with a Charley horse. He’s been held pointless since and looks like he could use a stint in the AHL to get his confidence back. That may not happen, unless the Oilers move Leon Draisaitl to the wing or add a veteran NHLer. TSN Edmonton radio host Allan Mitchell (aka Lowetide online) wrote that the Oilers “problems are identifiable, but the solutions will cost assets — and I wonder if Peter Chiarelli is willing to make those sacrifices at this point in the season.”

The Oilers appeared to be counting on college rookie Drake Caggiula to play third line center and move Draisaitl to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins’ wing, but Caggiula suffered a hip injury in pre-season action and has been out since. It will be interesting to see how Chiarelli handles the Oilers season: despite a tough stretch, they’re still tops in the Pacific Division and are probably two or three pieces away from being a contender. If Chiarelli can add a veteran right winger and an offensive-minded defenseman to help the power-play, then Oilers fans can be confident that the team’s first eight games are more indicative of their real ability than the last eight games.

Snapshots: Islanders, Bickell, Hamilton

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Travis Hamonic is a tough player to play against, and it turns out he’s also a tough player to keep out of the lineup.

Eight days ago, the Islanders announced Hamonic would miss between 4-6 weeks with an upper body injury. Despite that prognosis, Hamonic will dress on Monday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning. That’s a total of three games missed.

Islanders coach Jack Capuano told Arthur Staple and other reporters that the team would dress seven defensemen tonight, scratching forwards Alan Quine and Shane Prince.

Hamonic isn’t the only Islanders defenseman battling injury. Dennis Seidenberg was placed on Injured Reserve with an upper body injury, which Staple believes is a broken jaw. It’s a tough break for Seidenberg, who has been a success in Brooklyn after being bought out by the Bruins. Seidenberg has a nice statline, with 4 goals and 4 assists and a +10 rating in 15 games.

  • Carolina Hurricanes winger Bryan Bickell spoke to Chris Hine from the Chicago Tribune about his recent diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis, telling Hine that he’s “just uncertain.” He says doctors were able to catch the disease “early in its progression” and he hopes to be able to return later this season. Bickell would not be the first NHLer to play with MS: Minnesota Wild goalie Josh Harding was diagnosed early in the 2012-13 season but went on to play for parts of two more seasons. Hine quoted Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews as hoping Bickell can “find ways to stay strong.”
  • Calgary Flames defenseman Dougie Hamilton has already experienced his fair share of trade rumors during his time with the Boston Bruins. He was ultimately traded to Calgary for a first round pick and a pair of second round picks at the 2015 NHL Draft. Hamilton had a career-year in his first season with the Flames, but has just six points in 16 games this season, with half of those coming in just one game; he’s pointless and -10 in his last seven games. The Flames have not been good this year, with just five wins in 16 games. Two nights ago on Hockey Night In Canada, Sportsnet analyst Nick Kypreos reported that several teams have called Flames GM Brad Treliving to see about the big right-handed defenseman’s availability. Kypreos said he doesn’t “suggest for one second that Calgary is shopping this guy, but there are some teams inquiring.” He suggested Arizona and Pittsburgh have made calls about Hamilton. The Coyotes would love to have a big right-handed defenseman to compliment Oliver Ekman-Larsson, while the Penguins would just like to improve their defense. Hamilton told Wes Gilbertson of the Calgary Sun that he saw Kypreos’ report, but that trade rumors are “part of the game” and the latest round is “just a distraction, if anything.”

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