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Friedman’s Latest: Review Limit, Salary Cap, Concussion Protocol

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In his latest 30 Thoughts column, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet dishes on the latest information coming out of the recent General Manager meetings in Boca Raton. It’s always a great read from one of the most connected men in hockey.

  • While the GMs have decided not to change the offside rule, they are looking at instituting a time limit on reviews to prevent five-plus minute delays to the game. The MLB recently changed their rules around reviews, giving managers just :30 to call for a review and umpires have two minutes to make the final decision. Friedman suggests the NHL would look at something similar. One change that has been agreed upon is the referees will no longer discuss/ explain the call with both coaches after announcing the ruling. That should dramatically cut down on the time delays.
  • The salary cap is expected to increase by several million dollars, potentially as high as around $76MM. That would be a $3MM increase from this season. Of course, that would require the Players Association to use their cap escalator, which increases both the cap and their escrow payments. Friedman cites some anonymous sources as not being sure that the PA would do that, however they usually do approve it in the end. Whether or not the players choose to increase the cap will greatly affect the contracts thrown around in July. It’s also important to remember that last March the cap was expected to be $74MM, but only reached $73MM, so it’s not a sure-thing just yet.
  • There is some concern among play0ff-bound teams that concussion protocols will be abused in the post-season. After Mike Smith was removed from the third period of a game last month, he wondered what is stopping a fourth-liner from running a star goaltender to gain an advantage against a cold goaltender. Friedman doesn’t believe the NHL will make changes to the rule, as it would reflect negatively on them to “move backwards” on concussion awareness; however he does believe this will be something to watch for in the playoffs.
  • Some were surprised at the high price that Ottawa gave up to acquire Alex Burrows at the trade deadline, but Friedman sheds some light on why: there were eight or nine teams who made “legit offers” for Burrows. That’s a lot of interest for a player who was nearly bought out last summer, but also demonstrates the high cost of veterans at the deadline. Ottawa also stepped up to offer Burrows a two-year extension, which tipped the scales in their favor.
  • After his head coach ripped him apart in the media, Friedman believes the Hurricanes will look to move Eddie Lack this summer. Lack had a solid 0.917 SV% during his two seasons in Vancouver, but that number has fallen to 0.898 in Carolina. He has just 15 wins in 45 games as a member of the Hurricanes. Friedman says Lack, a happy-go-lucky person, was initially crushed by Bill Peters’ comments; he doesn’t believe the arrangement will last beyond this season.
  • Finally, after some unnecessary controversy about Islanders rookie Josh Ho-Sang wearing number 66 in honor of Mario Lemieux, Friedman commented that if Wayne Gretzky’s 99 wasn’t retired league-wide, players would “be spearing each other in competition for it.” Number 99 is the only number that’s off-limits on every team, so expect a few-year-long reprieve from rookies wearing their birth year as their number. After Jesse Puljujärvi chose number 98, we likely won’t see any rookies until the 2002-birth year hits the NHL in 2020.

Ondrej Pavelec Reportedly Done For Season

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Ondrej Pavelec’s trying season is now over.

Despite last week’s reports that he was expected to start sometime during the Jets’ current six-game home stand, things have changed quickly in Manitoba. Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun is reporting that Pavelec will have season-ending surgery on Monday. He has not played in nearly a month, last suiting up for a 4-2 loss against Minnesota on February 7. Pavelec is 4-4-0 in eight appearances this season.

The season got off to a tough start for Pavelec, who was waived and assigned to the AHL at the end of training camp. In 18 games with the Manitoba Moose, Pavelec had eight wins with a 0.917 SV% and 2.78 GAA. He was recalled in mid-January and played eight of the next nine games, but has not made any appearances since leaving that Wild-Jets game on February 7. The Jets placed him on injured reserve (IR) with a lower-body injury on Valentine’s Day. Pavelec was initially expected to miss about a week.

If this is it for Pavelec’s season, then it’s also the end of his long tenure with the Thrashers/ Jets organization. A pending-UFA, Pavelec was selected 41st overall by Atlanta in 2005, and has played parts of 10 seasons with the franchise. In 379 appearances, Pavelec has a record of 152-158-47 with a 0.907 SV% and 2.87 GAA. He also posted 17 shutouts. After making 57 starts in 2013-14, he’s slowly lost the starting role to a combination of Connor Hellebuyck and Michael Hutchinson.

Red Wings Assign Jimmy Howard On Conditioning Stint

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The Detroit Red Wings have assigned goaltender Jimmy Howard to their AHL affiliate in Grand Rapids for a conditioning stint, the team announced on Saturday.

It’s been a tough stretch for Howard, who hasn’t played in the NHL since December 20, 2016. He left that game midway after a pileup in his crease. Howard missed several weeks before returning. He appeared in two conditioning games with Grand Rapids, but was injured in the second game and has been out since. He’s eligible to spend two weeks with the Griffins.

Detroit could definitely use Howard back in their lineup. He leads the NHL with a 0.934 SV% and is second with a 1.96 GAA. It’s been a bounce-back year for Howard; this is the first time his numbers have been above league average since 2012-13. That season earned him his current contract, which pays him $5.29MM for two more seasons.

Howard subsequently lost the starters job to Petr Mrazek until this season. Mrazek has struggled with a 0.903 SV% and 2.95 GAA in 39 games. Third-stringer Jared Coreau hasn’t been great either, playing in 13 games with an 0.893 SV% and 3.27 GAA.

The playoffs are out of reach for the Red Wings, but Howard’s return to form could inspire the Vegas Golden Knights to select him in the expansion draft, clearing valuable cap space for the Red Wings to rebuild with. Despite his poor numbers this season, Mrazek is just 24-years-old compared to Howard, who’s 32. Detroit would likely prefer to keep Mrazek and hope he returns to his prior form.

Snapshots: Konecny, Duclair, Oilers-Red Wings

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After missing nine games with an injured knee and ankle, Philadelphia Flyers rookie Travis Konecny will return to the lineup on Saturday night. That’s according to Tim Panaccio of CSN Philly.

It’s an early-than-expected return for Konecny, who was expected to miss 4-6 weeks when he was placed on IR three weeks ago. The rookie has seven goals and 22 points in 51 games so far this season, while averaging almost 15 minutes per night with solid possession numbers. His 22 points were good for fourteenth in rookie scoring when he was injured back in February. He’s now dropped to twentieth, having been passed by fellow Flyers rookie Ivan Provorov among others.

It’s not yet known who Konecny will line up with in Washington this evening. Forward Jordan Weal was called up to replace Konecny, and though he has just one goal in six games, he’s been lining up on the Flyers’ top line with Claude Giroux and Wayne Simmonds. The Flyers also added center Valtteri Filppula at the trade deadline, so the forward core looks slightly different than the one Konecny left last month.

  • Much-maligned sophomore Anthony Duclair played his first NHL game in six weeks last night. He had been sent to the AHL in mid-January to find his scoring touch, which had been missing all season. Duclair scored 20 goals and 44 points in his rookie year, but has just three goals and nine points in 42 games this season. The main culprit appears to be his shooting percentage, which has gone from 19% down to 5.2%. It’s not as if Duclair lit up the AHL either, with just one goal and eight points in 16 games. However, it appears he’s back with the NHL club for the rest of the season. Sarah McLellan of AZ Central quoted Coyotes bench boss Dave Tippett as saying the rest of this season is Duclair’s chance to “re-establish himself as an NHL player.” The Coyotes clearly want to take a closer look at Duclair before making a decision on him this summer when he’s an RFA.
  • It will be a tale of two teams heading in completely different directions when the Detroit Red Wings visit the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday night. The Oilers are comfortably in a playoff spot for the first time in a very long time, and the Red Wings are about to miss the playoffs for the first time since 1989-90. The last time the Oilers finished ahead of the Red Wings was the following year; twelve members of tonight’s Oilers were not yet born. In addition, this will be David Desharnais’ first appearance in blue and orange since being acquired before the trade deadline, and he’ll line up Anton Slepyshev and Zack Kassian.

Deadline Primer: Pittsburgh Penguins

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With the trade deadline now just weeks away, we’re going to start taking 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?

The defending Stanley Cup champions are aiming to be the first team to win two in a row since the Red Wings did so in the late 1990s. However, their quest to repeat will be hampered by injuries and a severe lack of cap space. Captain Sidney Crosby is dominating, leading the NHL in goals with 34 and second only to Connor McDavid in points, despite playing in eight fewer games. GM Jim Rutherford has a goaltending controversy on his hands, but appears comfortable waiting until the summer to deal with it.

Record

38-14-8, 2nd in the Metropolitan Division

Deadline Status

Buyer

Deadline Cap Space

Current cap space: $0
Deadline cap space: $0
LTIR: $4.495MM
45/50 contracts, via CapFriendly

Draft Picks

2017: PIT 1st, PIT 3rd, PIT4th, OTT 5th*, PIT 5th, PIT 6th, PIT 7th
2018: PIT 1st, PIT 2nd, PIT 3rd, PIT 4th, PIT 5th, PIT 6th, PIT 7th

* The Penguins acquired Ottawa’s fifth round pick back in November for Mike Condon. Condon played just one game for the Penguins after they claimed him off waivers from the Canadiens to cover for an injury to Matt Murray.

Trade Chips

The Penguins have already traded their second round pick to acquire Ron Hainsey from the Hurricanes. They could also be willing to move their first round pick in a weak draft to bolster their lineup, but they would need to send money out in almost any deal made. In addition to draft picks, the Penguins could trade someone like Derrick Pouliot. The young defenseman has struggled to earn a permanent slot in the Penguins lineup, and would be of interest to building teams.

Of course, Rutherford could take the nuclear option and trade Marc-Andre Fleury. It would clear $5.75MM off their cap, in addition to the player(s) coming back. While Rutherford has said he would prefer to wait until the summer to make a goaltending move, he has also said what he does will depend on how Fleury feels.

Player To Watch

G Marc-Andre Fleury, D Derrick Pouliot

Team Needs

1) Goaltending clarity – The Penguins will need to make some kind of move in the blue paint before the expansion draft. Because Fleury has a no-move clause (NMC), he must be protected; that would leave Murray vulnerable, and Vegas would need to be heavily bribed not to select him. Instead, expect the Penguins to either convince Fleury to agree to a trade now or before the expansion draft, or at worst to waive his NMC and head to Vegas. The Penguins could make a move now and acquire a goaltender in return for Fleury to maintain their depth, but improve their roster elsewhere. Despite below-average numbers this season, Fleury still has value. What Rutherford needs to determine is whether Fleury has more value on the bench during the playoffs or in a trade.

2) Good health – The Penguins have a solid defensive core and three of the best offensive players in the game. While they can’t acquire “health” at the deadline, they can improve their overall depth to fight back against injuries. Look for a few minor additions from Rutherford to boost the depth of their roster as they prepare for another long playoff run.

Snapshots: Carter, Crawford, Faulk

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The Minnesota Wild have signed forward Ryan Carter to a one-year, two-way contract, according to Michael Russo of the Star Tribune. The deal is worth a pro-rated $575K at the NHL level and $250K in the AHL.

Carter had major shoulder surgery in October to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder. Many believed this was it for the 33-year-old left winger due to his age and the seriousness of  his injury. Carter has been skating with the Wild for the better part of a month, and told Dane Mizutani of TwinCities.com that he couldn’t give up his career without at least trying to come back.

“I wanted to be a part of it, and for awhile it hurt a little bit that I wasn’t a part of it. It’s good to be here now.”

Carter was reportedly in talks with the Wild for the past month, and last week signed a Professional Try-Out (PTO) with the Iowa Wild of the AHL. He is without a point in three appearances with the AHL club.

In a related news item, the Wild have recalled center Zac Dalpe from Iowa. The big forward has three points in nine games with the Wild this season, and two goals in 12 games with their AHL affiliate.

  • The Chicago Blackhawks will be without starting goaltender Corey Crawford when they take on the St. Louis Blues this afternoon, according to Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune. Crawford is battling an illness and won’t be able to dress. Coach Joel Quenneville told the media that Crawford does not have the mumps. Chris Hine, also from the Tribune, quoted Quenneville as saying that Lars Johansson will likely get the emergency call up from Rockford to backup Scott Darling.
  • The venerable Postmedia reporter Jim Matheson reported that Hurricanes defenseman Justin Faulk is in play at the trade deadline. Faulk is having a poor year with 25 points (just one assist in his last six games), but has a history of being a point-producing defenseman. Matheson cites the play of Jaccob Slavin, Brett Pesce, and Noah Hanifin as the reason that Faulk is on the market. The Hurricanes would be need a young center in return, Matheson believes. Despite the fact that plenty of teams would be interested in Faulk even though he’s having a poor season, any potential deal may have to wait until after the season; Faulk makes $4.83MM and has three years left on his contract after this season.

Brandon Manning To Meet With Player Safety

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The Philadelphia Flyers lost to their biggest rivals in the latest outdoor game, and now may be without one of their top-six defensemen after a late hit in Saturday night’s game.

NHL Player Safety announced that Brandon Manning will have a hearing on Monday morning for his hit on Penguins rookie Jake Guentzel. Early in the second period, Manning hit Guentzel high and late after the young Penguin used his skate to deflect a pass up ice to Sidney Crosby (link to video on Sportsnet’s YouTube page). Guentzel did not see Manning coming, as he was watching the play move up the ice. The hit came approximately two seconds after Guentzel was no longer in possession of the puck. It appeared that Manning had stepped up to throw an open-ice hit, but the puck was moved faster than he anticipated, making his hit interference. Guentzel was not injured on the play.

There was no penalty called on the play, however NHL Player Safety referred to the play as interference in their tweet. Manning has no prior history of supplemental discipline, so while this will probably lead to a suspension, it likely won’t be very long.

The Penguins defeated the Flyers 4-2 at Heinz Field. Guentzel finished the game with a pair of assists, giving him 14 points in 23 games played this season. Manning was held off the scoresheet, save for a holding penalty late in the second.

Evening Snapshots: Radulov, Fleury, Oilers

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If not for a certain one-for-one swap in late June, Alexander Radulov would have been the most fascinating move of the summer for the Montreal Canadiens.

Radulov spent the better part of eight seasons in the KHL, with two controversial stints in Nashville, before signing a one-year, $5.75MM contract with the Canadiens. The term suggested this was very much a “show-me” contract, and show them he has. Radulov has been one of the Canadiens best players, with 42 points in 59 games thus far. Now, the Canadiens will have to lock up their Russian star long-term.

They won’t be the only team with interest in the big winger. TVA’s Renaud Lavoie reported that Radulov is a “strong position” to negotiate with the Canadiens (link in French). Radulov and T.J. Oshie are the only big names under the age of 35 set to hit unrestricted free agency. The KHL is also an outside option for Radulov, but staying in the NHL with Montreal appears to be his first choice.

[Related: PHR’s Midseason UFA Power Rankings]

This advantage give Radulov “every reason” to wait until July 1st, according Lavoie. Even though he’s expressed interest in staying in Montreal, this summer is likely his last chance to hit a home run in free agency. His former coach and friend Barry Trotz suggested he would be “shocked” if Radulov didn’t end up signing long-term in Montreal. Last Saturday, Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos reported that Radulov wants to sign long-term, perhaps even looking for a six-year pact. That would take him to age 37, which might make the Canadiens uncomfortable. Power forwards tend to drop off a cliff sometime in their mid-thirties, so GM Marc Bergevin would be taking a risk to sign Radulov for that kind of term.

Kypreos suggested the Canadiens could offer Radulov a five or six year contract worth somewhere around $4.5 or $5MM per season, but would need to go to the $7MM neighbourhood to keep the term to three years. The Canadiens have some money coming off their cap this summer, but have Radulov, franchise goaltender Carey Price, and captain Max Pacioretty due for new contracts in each of the next three summers. With those big money signings on the horizon, it’s no wonder that Bergevin is considered “all-in” on this playoff run.

  • Despite needing to address his goaltending situation before this June’s expansion draft, Penguins GM Jim Rutherford would prefer to keep both Matt Murray and Marc-Andre Fleury for the remainder of this campaign, according to Adam Gretz of NBC Sports. Murray has been significantly better this season, and with Fleury’s no-move clause (NMC), the Penguins need to make a move to avoid losing their young starter. If Rutherford doesn’t trade Fleury before next Wednesday, then the wily GM will have to convince him to waive his NMC in the spring for either the Golden Knights or a trading partner. Two teams to watch are the Calgary Flames and Winnipeg Jets. Bob McKenzie of TSN reported on Thursday that the Flames are looking to improve their current goaltending duo of Brian Elliott and Chad Johnson; while there hasn’t been any reports of interest on the part of Winnipeg, they’re currently two points out of a wildcard spot while only one of their three goaltenders have a SV% above 0.900 (Connor Hellebuyck). Should the Jets get stable netminding, then they could be a darkhorse candidate in the Western Conference.
  • Speaking of goaltenders, an interesting tidbit came out of Edmonton today regarding their 2015 acquisition of Cam Talbot. The Oilers acquired Talbot at the 2015 NHL Draft, trading three picks (2nd, 3rd, and 7th) for the then-unproven goalie and a seventh round pick. While discussing the Oilers’ interest in trading for Kevin Shattenkirk, TSN’s Frank Seravalli reported that Talbot “told the Oilers point-blank ’don’t trade for me because I’m not going to re-sign here.'” Just six months later, Talbot signed a three-year extension to stay with the rising Oilers. Talbot has been the Oilers’ MVP (non-Connor McDavid category) with 30 wins and a 0.921 SV% in 54 games so far this season. Seravalli’s anecdote is notable as Talbot and Shattenkirk share an agent, and it shows GM Peter Chiarelli has previously been able to pitch Edmonton to players who were originally not interested in staying long-term.

Shattenkirk “More And More Likely” To Be Dealt As A Rental

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We’ve now seen four trades made in the past week as the trade market picks up before next Wednesday’s trade deadline. On the latest edition of Insider Trading, TSN’s Bob McKenzie, Darren Dreger, and Pierre LeBrun dropped some tidbits about potential trade activity.

The main topic of discussion was the consensus best player available in St. Louis Blues defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk. McKenzie believes that the likelihood of Shattenkirk being dealt as a rental is becoming “more and more likely” as the days pass. Beginning with the Edmonton Oilers last June, three teams have had trades fall through because Shattenkirk wasn’t willing to sign long-term. The most recent team to have a deal in place was offering a seven-year, $42MM contract, according to McKenzie.

That’s a hefty price to pay for Shattenkirk, taking into account the acquisition cost. Blues GM Doug Armstrong is not wavering on his asking price of a first round pick, a top prospect, plus “something else.” While some teams may balk at that cost, Dreger reports that teams will continue to kick tires until the deadline. Dreger believes the Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers, and Tampa Bay Lightning have already been in touch but have concerns about the price.

While Shattenkirk may view himself as a rental, that’s not to say a team couldn’t acquire Shattenkirk with the intention of pitching him on staying beyond this year. As we reported earlier today, TSN’s Frank Seravalli believes that Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli should be confident in his ability to pitch his team to Shattenkirk, as they appear poised to be a top-ten team in the NHL for the next decade.

In other notes from the TSN insiders, the Minnesota Wild, Florida Panthers, and Chicago Blackhawks are all interested in bolstering their forward cores before the trade deadline. Minnesota and Chicago are likely pretty happy with their rosters as they sit atop the Western Conference. While neither team will be looking at making a big splash, both would like to add a depth forward. Specifically, the Blackhawks would like a player with a low cap hit who could be acquired with just a draft pick. That’s not likely to be a high draft pick, however, as Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman wants to keep picks for the upcoming draft, which will be held in Chicago. The suddenly hot Panthers aren’t necessarily buyers, despite winning eight of their last 10 games. If they do make a move, LeBrun believe they would be interested in adding a top nine forward in a rental capacity.

Those three teams will likely have interest in Dallas Stars winger Patrick Eaves. With 21 goals in 59 games and a $1MM cap hit, Eaves is drawing plenty of interest from around the NHL. There are as many as 10-12 teams inquiring about the gritty winger according to Dreger.

[Related: PHR’s profile of Patrick Eaves]

Another forward likely on the move is Martin Hanzal; LeBrun reports that most of the teams inquiring about the 6’6 center are from the Western Conference, but Montreal is one of the most interested clubs. Despite missing nine games this season, Hanzal already has 15 goals, which is one off his career-high from 2010-11. The Coyotes would like to move Hanzal by the end of the weekend, according to LeBrun. Of course, that’s depending of the offers available to rookie GM John Chayka.

[Related: PHR’s profile of Martin Hanzal]

The Vancouver Canucks are among the growing group of sellers, but the player drawing the most interest from rival teams is not a rental. Jannik Hansen has one year left at $2.5MM and has lots of teams interested in acquiring him. However, the Canucks aren’t looking for a draft pick in return; GM Jim Benning is asking for a top prospect or young NHLer in return for the long-time Canuck. That’s a steep price for a middle-six player who’s never scored more than 39 points in a season.

Clutterbuck And Cizikas Leave Game

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The New York Islanders are on their way to costly victory in Detroit tonight.

Forwards Cal Clutterbuck and Casey Cizikas will not return after suffering lower and upper-body injuries respectively. Defenseman Johnny Boychuk also temporarily left the game after blocking a shot, though no word on whether or not he’ll return. If the Islanders hold on to their 3-1 lead, they will leapfrog Boston and Toronto into the final wildcard spot, should the Maple Leafs be held pointless in their game against the Jets.

This is the third-straight game that Clutterbuck has left early; he left early on January 26 before returning on February 3 in Detroit, where he also left early. In 44 games this season, Clutterbuck has three goals and 15 points. It’s been six seasons since he last cracked 30 points. Despite his low totals, he signed a five-year extension in early December worth $3.5MM per season.

Cizikas has 23 points in 52 games, and is on pace to set career-highs in all three offensive categories. The Islanders were already interested in solidifying their center depth, and losing their solid fourth line center for any length of time will be a tough loss.

While the two fourth liners have been declared done for the night, Boychuk returned to the ice after taking a Niklas Kronwall slap-shot off the ankle. The tough-as-nails defenseman has 21 points in 54 games so far this season in a top-four role.

The Islanders have won 10 of their last 16 games since Doug Weight took over as head coach, battling their way back into playoff contention. They are already without Travis Hamonic (lower-body injury), Shane Prince (upper-body injury), and Mikhail Grabovski (likely career-ending concussion issues) due to injuries.

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