2009 NHL Draft Take Two: Sixteenth Overall
Hindsight is an amazing thing, and allows us to look back and wonder “what could have been.” Though perfection is attempted, scouting and draft selection is far from an exact science and sometimes, it doesn’t work out the way teams – or players – intended. For every Patrick Kane, there is a Patrik Stefan.
We’re looking back at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft and asking how it would shake out knowing what we do now. Will the first round remain the same, or will some late-round picks jump up to the top of the board?
The results of our redraft so far are as follows, with their original draft position in parentheses:
1st Overall: Victor Hedman, New York Islanders (2)
2nd Overall: John Tavares, Tampa Bay Lightning (1)
3rd Overall: Ryan O’Reilly, Colorado Avalanche (33)
4th Overall: Matt Duchene, Atlanta Thrashers (3)
5th Overall: Chris Kreider, Los Angeles Kings (19)
6th Overall: Nazem Kadri, Phoenix Coyotes (7)
7th Overall: Mattias Ekholm, Toronto Maple Leafs (102)
8th Overall: Evander Kane, Dallas Stars (4)
9th Overall: Brayden Schenn, Ottawa Senators (5)
10th Overall: Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Edmonton Oilers (6)
11th Overall: Ryan Ellis, Nashville Predators (11)
12th Overall: Dmitry Orlov, New York Islanders (55)
13th Overall: Anders Lee, Buffalo Sabres (152)
14th Overall: Tyson Barrie, Florida Panthers (64)
15th Overall: Reilly Smith, Anaheim Ducks (69)
It’s a nice jump for Smith who goes from being an early third-round pick to a mid first-rounder after being picked here. As was the case with the 14th pick, the margin of victory was quite narrow here with Smith receiving just under 20% of the votes.
Smith opted to forego the major junior route, instead spending his draft-eligible season at a tier below that level, retaining his NCAA eligibility. He was quite productive in his draft year with St. Michaels of the OJHL and then followed that up by averaging just over a point per game in three seasons at Miami University, earning him his entry-level deal in 2012 where he made the jump to the NHL right away, getting into three games with Dallas that season.
While Smith spent half of the following year at the AHL level, he hasn’t been there since then. However, his time with the Stars was limited as in the 2013 offseason, he was a key part of the trade that saw Tyler Seguin go to Dallas with Boston hoping that Smith could be an important piece of their future.
He fared pretty well with the Bruins, notching 20 goals and 51 points in his first full NHL season and followed that up with a 40-point showing the following year in 2014-15. But Boston opted to do in a different direction the following summer, using Smith as an incentive to move Marc Savard’s LTIR contract in exchange for Jimmy Hayes.
Smith responded with a 25-goal, 25-assist campaign in his first year with Florida, earning him a five-year, $25MM contract. Unfortunately for them, his production dipped again, this time to 37 points. At that point, Smith once again became a cap casualty with the Panthers sending Vegas a draft pick to incentivize the Golden Knights to take him in expansion.
The change of scenery worked out well for Smith who once again had a career year in his first season with his new team, picking up 60 points, following that up with two more 50-plus-point efforts. While his output dipped the next two years (one the COVID-shortened year and the other due to injury), the Golden Knights saw fit to give him a three-year, $15MM deal in 2022.
He rewarded them for that confidence with a 56-point performance just last season. But once again, Smith found himself a salary cap casualty this past summer as Vegas sent him to Pittsburgh for a third-round pick. He’s off to a nice start with his new team, picking up four points in as many games so far this season.
Smith sits tenth in scoring among players from this draft class and was the highest-producing player still left on the board.
Now, we turn our focus to the 16th selection which was held by the Minnesota Wild, who selected defenseman Nick Leddy but traded him before he even played an NHL game. Leddy remains available in our redraft; is he still the right pick for them or should someone else go in that slot? Make your selection by voting in our poll below.
If you can’t access the poll above, click here to vote.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Metropolitan Notes: Ristolainen, Pelech, Pacioretty
The Flyers have placed defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen on LTIR, CapFriendly reports (Twitter link). The move was necessary to afford yesterday’s recall of goaltender Cal Petersen. Ristolainen has yet to play this season due to an undisclosed injury, one that he had a setback in recovering from last month. The LTIR placement can be made retroactively; assuming that was done here, he will have already missed the required 10 games and 24 days which means he will be eligible to be activated as soon as he’s cleared to return. The 29-year-old had 20 points, 142 blocks, and 162 hits in 70 games with Philadelphia last season.
More from the Metropolitan:
- Defenseman Adam Pelech is dealing with a lower-body injury and won’t play tonight against Carolina, notes Cory Wright of the Islanders’ team site. The 29-year-old left Thursday’s victory over Washington early in the first period. However, Pelech did skate before practice today (but left before the team’s morning skate) which is an encouraging sign for a possible short-term absence. The blueliner has gotten off to a bit of a slow start this season with just a single point in nine games while once again logging over 20 minutes a night.
- Capitals winger Max Pacioretty skated for the second time today as he continues to work his way back from a torn Achilles, relays Tarik El-Bashir of Monumental Sports Network (Twitter link). The veteran suffered the injury in just his fifth game last season after working his way back from a torn Achilles. Pacioretty inked a one-year deal with Washington this summer, one that carries a $2MM base salary and $2MM in games played bonuses that will be fully payable at the 20-game mark.
Canadiens To Activate Christian Dvorak Off LTIR
The Canadiens will welcome back center Christian Dvorak to their lineup tonight as the team announced (Twitter link) that he will make his season debut tonight, meaning that they will activate him off LTIR.
The 27-year-old was acquired back in 2021 to replace Jesperi Kotkaniemi whose offer sheet with Carolina went unmatched; Montreal flipped the first-round pick they acquired from Kotkaniemi as part of the trade package that went to Arizona. However, Dvorak hasn’t quite been able to lock down a full-time spot in Montreal’s top six since then.
Last season, Dvorak had 10 goals and 18 assists in 64 games before suffering a season-ending knee injury in March and undergoing surgery thereafter. The recovery took a bit longer than normal, resulting in the Canadiens starting him on LTIR. In the end, he’ll miss just the minimum number of games.
With Dvorak returning, Alex Newhook is expected to shift back to the wing. Newhook had been moved down the middle when Kirby Dach suffered his season-ending knee injury last month with the team being thin on center options but now Dvorak can slide into that role.
Montreal will need to create a roster spot to activate Dvorak. That can either be done by assigning defenseman Gustav Lindstrom to AHL Laval or by placing Rafael Harvey-Pinard on IR with the winger already being ruled out for tonight’s game. With the Canadiens having Carey Price on LTIR as well, they won’t face any challenges on the salary cap front with Dvorak’s activation.
Blackhawks Activate Taylor Hall Off Injured Reserve
It has been an eventful first month in Chicago for winger Taylor Hall as shoulder issues have limited him to just five games so far. Now, it appears as if he is cleared to return as Scott Powers of The Athletic relays (Twitter link) that Hall will play tonight, meaning he has been activated off injured reserve.
Hall was injured in the second game of the season and was believed to be out longer term originally. He then decided that he could play through the pain and returned after missing just one game. However, his effectiveness was limited and after three games of playing through the injury, Hall was shut down to allow him ample time to recover.
Hall was brought in to be a capable veteran linemate for top rookie Connor Bedard and he’ll likely be with the most recent top pick quite soon if not right away. He has two assists in the five games he has played so far but if he is indeed fully recovered, he should be able to be more productive.
It’s worth noting that Chicago had a full 23-man roster so a roster move needed to be made to formally activate Hall off IR. Isaak Phillips is the casualty on that front as the defender was just brought up on Sunday and is waiver-exempt; the Blackhawks have returned him to AHL Rockford.
Sabres Notes: Savoie, Olofsson, Samuelsson, Levi
With Matthew Savoie’s conditioning stint coming to an end shortly, the Sabres will have a decision to make with the young forward. Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News suggests that Buffalo will promote the 19-year-old and start his nine-game stint, delaying his likely return to junior. Savoie is doing well in the minors with five points in as many games but is ineligible to play there full-time this season.
However, they’ll need to open up a roster spot to do so. While returning Lukas Rousek to AHL Rochester is the easiest option, Harrington proposes that waiving Victor Olofsson might make more sense. With a $4.75MM cap hit, he’s a lock to pass through unclaimed, allowing the Sabres an opportunity to give Rousek (who is part of their future) a longer look. Olofsson has been scratched in five games so far this season and has been held without a point in the six contests he has played in.
More from Buffalo:
- The team announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Mattias Samuelsson suffered a lower-body injury in the first period of last night’s loss to Philadelphia; head coach Don Granato didn’t have an update on his status post-game. The 23-year-old has been his usual steady self in the early going this season, notching three points along with 25 hits and 25 blocks in his first eleven appearances while averaging over 21 minutes of ice time per night before Friday’s contest. If he’s going to be out for a while, an IR placement would also open a roster spot for Savoie’s promotion although it’d leave the Sabres with only six healthy blueliners.
- Goaltender Devon Levi is expected to start tonight against Toronto, relays Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald. The 21-year-old has missed a little over two weeks with a lower-body injury. Levi had gotten off to a bit of a slow start this season, posting a 3.26 GAA with a .892 SV% in his first four appearances. Buffalo never moved Levi to IR during the injury so no corresponding roster move needs to be made.
Maple Leafs Place Timothy Liljegren On LTIR, Recall Max Lajoie And Simon Benoit
The Maple Leafs are dealing with another injury on their back end as they announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Timothy Liljegren has been placed on LTIR with a high-ankle sprain, meaning he’ll miss at least the next 10 games and 24 days. Replacing him on the roster will be blueliners Max Lajoie and Simon Benoit who have been recalled from AHL Toronto.
Liljegren was injured on Thursday night late in the first period against Boston after being tripped by Bruins winger Brad Marchand. Following the game, head coach Sheldon Keefe indicated that the early prognosis was that it wasn’t a short-term injury for the 24-year-old; this placement certainly cements that. Liljegren is averaging around 18 minutes a night on Toronto’s back end through the first ten games, good for fourth among Toronto’s blueliners. It’s a contract year for Liljegren who will be a restricted free agent next summer and an extended absence certainly wouldn’t help on that front.
The Maple Leafs are also without blueliners Jake McCabe and Conor Timmins. David Alter of The Hockey News mentions (Twitter link) that both rearguards skated before practice today but that Timmins – who is on LTIR himself – is still a long way away from returning to the lineup.
As for the recalls, Lajoie is in his first season with Toronto after signing with them in free agency this past summer. The 25-year-old has seen NHL action in each of the last five years, totaling 70 regular season games and a pair of playoff contests. This season, he has been held off the scoresheet in seven games with the Marlies but had 45 points in 70 games with AHL Chicago in 2022-23.
Benoit, meanwhile, was recalled three times back in October but didn’t play with the Maple Leafs. Going back and forth to and from the minors has also limited him to just two games so far with the Marlies. Last season, the 25-year-old had 10 points in 78 games with Anaheim while logging over 19 minutes a night.
East Notes: Jiricek, Dach, Czarnik, Mazur
While Blue Jackets defenseman David Jiricek is eligible to be sent to the minors which would allow the team more time to decide whether or not they should burn the first year of his entry-level deal, Chris Johnston of The Athletic reports (subscription link) that the blueliner is expected to remain with the big club through his tenth game. Doing so means that he would officially burn the first season of his entry-level contract. The 19-year-old has two points in eight games so far this year in Columbus while logging a little under 14 minutes a night. His presence on the roster means that two rearguards (Andrew Peeke and Adam Boqvist) are on the outside looking in but it appears that will be the case for the foreseeable future.
Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference:
- The Canadiens announced that center Kirby Dach underwent successful knee surgery today. Dach sustained a season-ending torn ACL and MCL in Montreal’s second game of the season earlier this month while playing against Chicago, his former team. Surgery was delayed until today to allow the swelling to go down. Dach is expected to be fully recovered in time for training camp next fall.
- CapFriendly reports (Twitter link) that the Red Wings have assigned forward Austin Czarnik to AHL Grand Rapids. The 30-year-old has played in eight games this season, picking up a single assist while logging just under 10 minutes a game. The move puts Detroit at just 18 healthy skaters which isn’t likely viable so a recall – likely Czarnik – will come in advance of Thursday’s game against Florida. Once Czarnik plays in ten games or is on the roster for 30 days, he’ll need to clear waivers again so this transaction stops the clock on the latter counter for now.
- Still with Detroit, the Red Wings announced that they have activated forward Carter Mazur from season-opening injured reserve and assigned him to Grand Rapids. The 21-year-old suffered a lower-body injury in the opening game of Detroit’s prospect tournament back in September. Mazur spent most of last season in college with Denver but managed to get in six games with the Griffins down the stretch where he had six points. Because Mazur wasn’t on Detroit’s roster last season, there was no cap charge for his SOIR placement.
Salary Cap Deep Dive: Los Angeles Kings
Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM. Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation for the 2023-24 season. This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.
Los Angeles Kings
Current Cap Hit: $84,937,314 (over the $83.5MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
F Quinton Byfield (one year, $894K)
F Alex Laferriere (two years, $875K)
F Arthur Kaliyev (one year, $894K)
D Jordan Spence (one year, $820K)
Potential Bonuses
Byfield: $2.65MM
Kaliyev: $212.5K
Spence: $82.5K
Total: $2.945MM
Byfield took a small step forward last season and has looked a bit better in the early going this year. However, he’s a lock for a bridge contract. Barring a major uptick in production, that deal might be capped around the $2.25MM mark while his ‘A’ bonuses are going to be tough to reach. Kaliyev, meanwhile, is a bit more established as a secondary scorer. If he can get closer to the 20-goal and 40-point mark this season, he could push his bridge cost a bit higher than Byfield’s while hitting his lone ‘A’ bonus. Laferriere is just starting off his NHL career so it’s a bit early to project his next deal but if he can stay on the third line, he should push past the $1MM mark at least.
Spence has been a strong point producer in the minors but isn’t quite ready to play a big role just yet. That will limit his earnings upside to the point where a one-year bridge contract around what he’s making now might be what happens. His bonuses are tied to games played with multiple thresholds so while he might not max out, he should reach some of that total if he stays healthy.
Signed Through 2023-24, Non-Entry-Level
F Jaret Anderson-Dolan ($775K, RFA)
F Viktor Arvidsson ($4.25MM, UFA)
G Pheonix Copley ($1.5MM, UFA)
F Carl Grundstrom ($1.3MM, RFA)
F Trevor Lewis ($775K, UFA)
F Blake Lizotte ($1.675MM, RFA)
D Matt Roy ($3.15MM, UFA)
G Cam Talbot ($1MM, UFA)
Potential Bonuses
Talbot: $1MM
Arvidsson has certainly improved his value since being acquired in 2021 from Nashville, putting up two of his better offensive years including reaching the 20-goal mark each time. Free agency hasn’t been kind to wingers lately but assuming he’s able to come back from the lower-body injury that has him on LTIR, he should be able to get a small raise on this on a multi-year deal. Lizotte has shown slow and steady improvement over his first few seasons despite having relatively limited playing time; this season looks to be a continuation in the early going. If that happens, he could have a case to push past the $2MM mark with arbitration rights. However, if the Kings are only comfortable playing him 10-12 minutes a night, he could become a non-tender candidate if they want to fill that lineup spot with someone cheaper even at the expense of some production.
Grundstrom has become a fourth-line regular for Los Angeles and chipped in with a dozen goals last season. Still, with the Kings largely capped out, they may be hard-pressed to afford to give him much more if this is the role he’s going to remain in. A small raise is doable but a non-tender could be possible as well. Lewis is a serviceable fourth liner which has kept him in the NHL for 16 seasons now. If there is going to be a 17th, it’ll be at or close to the minimum again. Anderson-Dolan is the extra skater at this point so it’s hard to see him commanding more than the league minimum either. With nearly 100 NHL games under his belt already, he’s a bit of an arbitration risk for the Kings (who wouldn’t want to go higher than $775K) so barring him locking down a regular role, they might opt to non-tender him as well.
Roy is one of the more intriguing defensemen entering the final year of his deal. He seemingly has largely flown under the radar with Los Angeles but he has put up back-to-back career years offensively despite not seeing a ton of power play time. Defensively, he logs heavy minutes on the penalty kill, allowing him to hover around 20 minutes a night on average most years. He turns 29 in March so he’s young enough that he should still have several good seasons ahead of him. Add those elements to the fact that Roy is a right-hand shot and you have a combination that should earn him a nice raise on the open market. A jump to around the $4.5MM mark could be doable for him although it’d be surprising if that came with the Kings who might be inclined to give his spot to prospect Brandt Clarke next season.
Talbot came over after an injury-plagued year with Ottawa. He hasn’t been a true starter for a while but they’re basically counting on him to be one. His bonuses are easy to achieve (payable at 10 games played) and the bulk of that will be charged against the cap next year. If Talbot can get back to his form from a few years ago, he could get back closer to the $3MM mark next summer. Copley is in his first full season as the backup after an early-season recall turned into a career year last season. The early results aren’t good this year, however. If he’s able to turn things around, a small raise could be doable but his longer-term track record of being a third-stringer will work against him in free agency.
Signed Through 2024-25
D Tobias Bjornfot ($775K, RFA)
D Andreas Englund ($1MM, UFA)
D Vladislav Gavrikov ($5.875MM, UFA)
Gavrikov impressed after being acquired from the Blue Jackets at the trade deadline last season along with Joonas Korpisalo. They only had room to keep one of the two and opted for the blueliner. Expecting a jump in the cap in the near future, the 27-year-old decided to take a short-term deal this time around in the hopes of landing a more lucrative long-term pact in 2025. As things stand, he might be able to get a small raise but not much more than that.
Englund worked his way back up to the NHL last season, splitting the year in a depth role between Colorado and Chicago. He should be in a similar role this year and a $1MM price tag for a sixth or seventh defender is a reasonable cost. Bjornfot’s deal is one-way in both seasons as he opted to take some guaranteed money in exchange for taking less than his qualifying offer. Playing time at the top level has been hard to come by for the 2019 first-rounder and he’ll need to establish himself as a regular to get any sort of meaningful increase two years from now.
Signed Through 2025-26
F Adrian Kempe ($5.5MM, UFA)
F Anze Kopitar ($10MM in 2023-24, $7MM in 2024-25 and 2025-26, UFA)
It was widely expected that the Kings would work out an extension for their captain at some point and they wasted little time doing so. Kopitar isn’t a top-end scorer but has been close to the point-per-game mark the last few seasons while being a high-quality defensive center. $10MM is a bit on the high side but on his next contract, he could provide some value on that deal, even when they start to manage his minutes. Kempe has gone from a secondary producer to a go-to scorer over the last two seasons, notching 76 goals combined over the past two years. As a result, his contract will be a nice bargain if he’s able to keep scoring at that rate. He’ll be 30 in 2026 and if he remains a 30-plus-goal scorer, a decent-sized raise on a long-term deal could be on the horizon.
Flyers Assign Felix Sandstrom To AHL On Conditioning Loan
There are a handful of teams around the NHL who are carrying three netminders on their active roster, making it hard for that third-stringer to see much action. The Flyers are one of those and have made a move to get that extra goalie some playing time, announcing (Twitter link) that they’ve assigned Felix Sandstrom to AHL Lehigh Valley on a conditioning loan.
The 26-year-old was the backup in Philadelphia for the majority of last season, getting into 20 games. However, Sandstrom struggled in those appearances, posting a 3.72 GAA with a .880 SV%. When Samuel Ersson came up and made a push for playing time, the Flyers actually sent Sandstrom down on a conditioning loan last season, allowing him to get into seven games with the Phantoms.
This season, Ersson – who is still waiver-exempt – has taken over as the full-time backup behind Carter Hart, leaving Sandstrom as the odd one out. As a result, he has yet to see the ice during the regular season and only played two periods in the preseason. That’s hardly ideal for any goalie.
A conditioning loan can last for a maximum of 14 days and there are no restrictions on how many games he can play in that stretch (unlike a post-LTIR conditioning loan). While he’s with Lehigh Valley, Sandstrom will count in full against Philadelphia’s salary cap and will technically remain a part of the Flyers’ active roster, meaning they won’t be able to call up a skater to temporarily take Sandstrom’s place.
Five Key Stories: 10/23/23 – 10/29/23
The week around the hockey world ended in tragedy, with former Penguins center Adam Johnson passing away. Meanwhile, it was a busy week across the NHL which is recapped in our key stories.
Draft Changes: A majority of teams have told the league that they would like to decentralize the draft, meaning teams would no longer send large contingents to the draft city and that it would work more like the drafts of the other major league sports. With that, the NHL’s intention is now to switch formats no later than 2025 with 2024 not being ruled out either. In our current reader poll, it’s fair to say that this change is not exactly a popular one.
Lots Of Injuries: It has been a tough week on the injury front across the league. Blackhawks winger Taylor Hall’s shoulder injury isn’t getting better so he’s now on IR and listed as week-to-week. That’s the same designation for Coyotes winger Jason Zucker who is dealing with a lower-body issue. At one point, it seemed like Hurricanes defenseman Brett Pesce was going to be out long-term. While that’s not the case, he underwent surgery on a lower-body injury and will miss two to four weeks. Meanwhile, Canadiens blueliner David Savard and Senators rearguard Thomas Chabot both sustained fractured hands that will likely keep them out of their respective lineups until sometime in December.
Pinto Suspension: The bad news in Ottawa didn’t stop with Chabot as the NHL announced that unsigned center Shane Pinto has received a 41-game suspension for activities relating to sports wagering, to quote its press release. The exact nature of the violation was not revealed publicly with the league noting that Pinto did not bet on NHL games. The Sens have since rescinded all of their previous contract offers to Pinto, who is now almost certain to sign a low-cost, one-year deal once he is cleared to return in mid-January. While there is a December 1st deadline for unsigned restricted free agents to sign deals, that rule will be waived for Pinto and the Sens. Instead of Ottawa potentially getting him back in a week or two, it’ll now be a few more months before that happens.
Retirements: A trio of long-time NHL forwards hung up their skates. First, after failing to catch on with Anaheim in training camp, winger Zack Kassian retired at the age of 32. The 13th pick in 2009 played in 661 games over parts of a dozen seasons, collecting 203 points, 913 penalty minutes, and 1,360 hits. Long-time Montreal center Tomas Plekanec was next to retire; he had been playing for his hometown team in Czechia but suffered an early injury that ended his season prematurely. The 40-year-old played in 1,001 NHL games, all but 17 of which came with the Canadiens. Lastly, Joe Thornton officially called it a career at the age of 44. The top pick back in 1997 last played in 2021-22 and he amassed over 1,500 points in 1,714 games over parts of 24 NHL seasons. He currently sits 12th in league history in points and sixth in games played.
Bowness Steps Away: The Jets are currently without head coach Rick Bowness as he has taken a leave of absence to be with his wife who suffered a seizure and was hospitalized earlier in the week. Bowness is in his second season behind the bench in Winnipeg and obviously, there is no timetable for his return. Associate coach Scott Arniel, who has head coaching experience from his time with Columbus a little more than a decade ago, is currently serving as their interim bench boss.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.