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Submit Your Questions For The #PHRMailbag

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The trade deadline is now less than two weeks away which means that activity levels around the league are bound to pick up in the coming days.  With the standings continuing to be as tight as they are, it’s going to certainly be interesting to see how that affects the market.  Will teams wait until the last minute to see where they are or will they try to make an earlier move in the hopes that an extra few games from a key acquisition will make the difference?

With that in mind, it’s time to run another mailbag to take your questions on the upcoming trade deadline and other topics from around the NHL. I’ll be answering your queries this coming weekend.  You can submit your question on Twitter by including #PHRMailbag or leave a comment down below.

You can catch up on our last mailbag set by clicking here and here where the topics included reshaping the Oilers, trade options for Detroit, what Calgary should be looking to add by the deadline, the goalie situation in St. Louis, whether Vancouver will buy or sell, and much more.

Trade Candidate: Gustav Nyquist

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With the trade deadline quickly approaching, we will be profiling several players in the weeks ahead that have a good chance to be dealt by February 25th.

While things haven’t gone particularly well for the Red Wings this season, the same can’t be said for Gustav Nyquist.  Detroit is going to be on the outside looking in at a playoff spot but it hasn’t been because of the winger who is in the midst of a career season which makes him a very intriguing candidate for a contender.

Contract

Nyquist is in the final season of a four-year, $19MM contract with an AAV of $4.75MM and a salary of $5.5MM.  The pending unrestricted free agent also has a full no-trade clause.

2018-19

Nyquist had a down 2017-18 campaign but that certainly hasn’t carried over to this season.  He has been one of their top offensive threats all season long and has already surpassed his point total from a year ago.  In fact, he’s on pace for a career high in points if he can stay healthy down the stretch.  What’s particularly noteworthy is that he isn’t lighting up the scoresheet with the man advantage.  While he has more power play points than he did all of last year (11 to 8), he’s still doing a lot of damage at five-on-five.  After entering the season as a second liner, Nyquist has shown that he can still thrive in a top role which will make him that much more appealing to contenders.

Season Stats

57 GP, 14 goals, 33 assists, 47 points, -1 rating, 6 PIMS, 146 shots, 18:04 ATOI, 53.5 CF%

Potential Suitors

In the East, several Metropolitan teams look like strong suitors.  The Blue Jackets could have a need for him if they wind up moving Artemi Panarin as they’ll likely be looking for someone to replace him to help with their postseason aspirations.  The Islanders continue to sit atop the division but could certainly benefit from some extra firepower as they’re one of the lowest-scoring teams in the conference.  The Penguins are always on the lookout for more scoring help and while they can’t afford to take on his salary outright, GM Jim Rutherford has shown himself to be creative when it comes to freeing up cap room.

In the Atlantic, Boston has been targeting a top-six winger since the beginning of the season and would certainly have interest as he’d slot in nicely behind David Pastrnak.  Tampa Bay doesn’t have a direct need for more scoring but they’re all in this season and with that in mind, they could look to load up even further.

Out West, Winnipeg is known to be looking for help on the wing while the Predators will undoubtedly be in the mix as well as those two rivals look to try to one-up each other.  Dallas could certainly use someone to take some of the load off of their top three scorers so they’ll likely be in the mix as well as.  San Jose and Calgary have had no issues scoring this season so they may not be as inclined to look at Nyquist unless, like Tampa Bay, they decide they’re best off simply loading up with as much talent as possible.  Overall, the fit appears to be better in the East than it does in the West.

Likelihood Of A Trade

Compared to other rentals, this one is far from a slam dunk.  Detroit’s asking price is believed to be a first-round pick but there aren’t many of those believed to be available and there are more prominent players that could be dealt so unless that price goes lower, there may not be much interest.  The Red Wings have also expressed an interest in signing him to an extension so it’s also possible that they lock him up and forego dealing him altogether.  Nyquist would be a significant addition to any contender but it’s far from a guarantee that he’ll be on the move.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

East Notes: Senators, McQuaid, Hurricanes

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There are plenty of eyes on the Senators right now with the trio of notable pending unrestricted free agents that they need to deal with over the next week and a half.  Between that and their position in the standings, many are viewing them as sure-fire sellers leading up to the February 25th trade deadline.  However, TSN’s Travis Yost argues that Ottawa should actually be buyers at the deadline (and not because they don’t have their first-round pick).  If they wind up moving out Matt Duchene and Mark Stone, they will likely have to either retain some salary or take some contracts back to remain over the salary floor.  Accordingly, it would make sense for them to look at taking on some back-diving deals (where the salary is lower than the AAV) and look to leverage their cap room into adding some extra assets from cap-strapped teams.

Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference:

  • While Rangers defenseman Adam McQuaid has been viewed as a likely trade candidate given that the team is out of playoff contention and has an expiring contract, Greg Joyce of the New York Post makes a case for New York to keep him around. Brady Skjei, who has struggled this season, has played a lot better alongside the 32-year-old and considering that they have a lot tied into Skjei (he’s signed through 2023-24), would they be better off keeping McQuaid if it helps with his development compared to what they’d get from the mid-round draft pick they’d likely fetch for McQuaid as a rental?
  • The Hurricanes and Wild had discussed several larger trade scenarios before ultimately settling on the one-for-one swap of winger Nino Niederreiter and center Victor Rask, GM Don Waddell acknowledged to Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News and Observer. The move has certainly worked out well for Carolina so far as Niederreiter has picked up 10 points (6-4-10) in 11 games since the swap so it will be interesting to see if Waddell decides to try to rekindle those other discussions with Minnesota in the coming days.

Deadline Primer: Montreal Canadiens

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With the trade deadline fast approaching, we continue our look at the situation for each team over the coming weeks.  Where do they stand, what do they need to do, and what assets do they have to fill those needs?  As we continue previewing the Atlantic Division, here is a look at the Montreal Canadiens.

Montreal has been one of the bigger surprises in the league this season.  After their summer activity, many expected they would be battling for draft lottery seeding but instead, they’re in the mix for a top-three spot in the division.  Instead of being sellers, the Canadiens may very well continue to try to add to their roster.

Record

31-18-7, fourth in the Atlantic Division

Deadline Status

Moderate Buyer

Deadline Cap Space

$41.813MM in a full-season cap hit, 1/3 used salary cap retention slots, 43/50 contracts per CapFriendly

Upcoming Draft Picks

2019: MTL 1st, CBJ 2nd, MTL 2nd, MTL 3rd, MTL 4th, ARI 5th, CHI 5th, EDM 5th, MTL 6th, WPG 7th
2020: MTL 1st, MTL 2nd, MTL 3rd, MTL 4th, WPG 4th, MTL 5th, MTL 6th, MTL 7th

Trade Chips

GM Marc Bergevin has already stated that he is open to taking on a bad contract to bring in other assets, similar to what he did when the team added winger Joel Armia in late June from Winnipeg in exchange for taking on (and buying out) goalie Steve Mason’s contract.  That’s not the most appealing of trade chips but it’s likely the Canadiens will be trying to make a similar type of move in the next little while.

In terms of players that could be available, Montreal has been tinkering with their defense corps for a while now and that probably hasn’t finished yet.  Jordie Benn is likely the most appealing of the players available as a veteran that can play a third pairing role on both sides with a fairly cheap $1.1MM cap hit.  If the team adds someone else in their top-four, they could potentially turn around and flip Benn elsewhere.  It was interesting that the Flyers had to retain on Christian Folin’s contract in their trade last weekend to bring him down to the league minimum AAV of $650K.  Considering that the team didn’t exactly need the extra cap room, that could at least provide the possibility that they could flip him.  Karl Alzner is certainly available if a team wants to exchange underperforming big contracts but with a $4.625MM cap hit, that’s going to be tough.

Up front, the Canadiens aren’t likely to tinker with more than the fringes of their roster.  They’ve added a couple of players already in Dale Weise and Nate Thompson which has already put winger Charles Hudon’s future with the team even more in question.  His agent stated earlier this season that while Hudon would like to stay in Montreal, he’d also like to play regularly which, despite collecting 30 points in 72 games last season, doesn’t appear to be likely when the team is fully healthy.  With a $650K cap hit, he could be an intriguing buy-low candidate for a cap-strapped team and it appears the asking price has been set at a mid-round draft pick.

Five Players To Watch For: D Jordie Benn, D Christian Folin, F Charles Hudon, G Charlie Lindgren, D Mike Reilly

Team Needs

1) Left Side Defense: The Canadiens have been lacking a top-pairing left-shot defender since Andrei Markov left and while Victor Mete, Mike Reilly, and Brett Kulak have all played well at times, that left side is not the making of a contender.  Finding someone that can be counted on to log considerable minutes would really give them a safety net for their postseason push while potentially elevating the play of Shea Weber or Jeff Petry as well.

2) Power Play Help: Although Montreal is in the middle of the pack when it comes to scoring, their power play has been an issue all season long.  That shouldn’t come as much of a surprise considering they dealt their two top natural scorers in the offseason but finding a way to upgrade their play with the man advantage would certainly help their chances.  Accordingly, it wouldn’t be shocking to see them try to bring in a second-line winger with a track record of success on the power play.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

West Notes: Winnipeg’s Trade Priority, Golden Knights, Miller

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While the belief has been that like last season, the Jets would focus on acquiring a top-six center by the trade deadline, TSN’s Darren Dreger reported in the latest Insider Trading (video link) that at this point, their top priority is acquiring an impact winger.  Nikolaj Ehlers remains on injured reserve and is expected to miss a few more weeks at least while Patrik Laine has struggled considerably as of late.  Jack Roslovic is currently holding down a right wing spot but as a natural center, Winnipeg may prefer to have him spend more time developing at his natural position.  With the contracts they still need to sign for next season, whoever they do add will almost certainly have to be a player with an expiring contract.

More from the Western Conference:

  • While Vegas already has nearly $73MM in committed contracts to just 15 players for next season (with William Karlsson in need of a new deal), GM George McPhee told David Schoen of the Las Vegas Review-Journal that his inclination is to not pursue rental players between now and the trade deadline. Last season, they made a big splash with the addition of Tomas Tatar in a deal that did not work out particularly well for them; given that the team is similarly structured this season, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them look for depth upgrades over looking to add another expensive player.
  • Ducks goaltender Ryan Miller is close to returning from his lower-body injury, GM and interim head coach Bob Murray noted to Elliott Teaford of the Orange County Register. He has been out since December 9th with a sprained knee.  With John Gibson injured (he did not practice on Tuesday) and Chad Johnson struggling, Miller’s return would certainly be a welcome one for an Anaheim that has been in freefall mode lately.  With an expiring contract, a good showing upon his return could potentially give him some trade value although the 38-year-old has a partial no-trade clause.

Deadline Primer: Boston Bruins

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With the trade deadline fast approaching, we continue our look at the situation for each team over the coming weeks.  Where do they stand, what do they need to do, and what assets do they have to fill those needs?  As we continue previewing the Atlantic Division, here is a look at the Boston Bruins.

Heading into the season, the Bruins were regarded as one of the top teams in the Atlantic Division along with Tampa Bay and Toronto.  They’ve done nothing to really change that but at the same time, they’ve done nothing to address their needs thus far.  If Boston wants to really move into true contender territory, GM Don Sweeney is probably going to need to be active on the trade front over the next couple of weeks.

Record

31-17-8, third in the Atlantic Division

Deadline Status

Buyer

Deadline Cap Space

$19.578MM in a full-season cap hit, 1/3 used salary cap retention slots, 44/50 contracts per CapFriendly

Upcoming Draft Picks

2019: BOS 1st, BOS 2nd, BOS 3rd, NYR 4th, BOS 5th, BOS 6th, NYR 7th
2020: BOS 1st, BOS 2nd, BOS 3rd, BOS 4th, BOS 5th, BOS 6th, BOS 7th

Trade Chips

Teams that are selling are often looking for cheap, controllable talent coming the other way and those with some NHL experience are coveted in particular.  The Bruins have that in abundance, particularly up front.  Wingers Danton Heinen, Peter Cehlarik, and Ryan Donato as well as center Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson have all spent time with the big club this season with varying degrees of success.  (Winger Anders Bjork is part of this group as well but he’s out for the season with a shoulder injury.)  They all have shown they have legitimate NHL upside but aside from Heinen, none of them have been able to lock down a full-time spot just yet.  They all would be coveted as young, NHL-ready players and will be asked about in virtually every trade conversation Sweeney has between now and February 25th.

On the back end, there has been a sense that Boston could afford to part with one of their defenders.  The one that seems to be getting a lot of attention is Matt Grzelcyk.  The 25-year-old has established himself as a regular this season and is logging nearly 20 minutes of ice time per game.  With a $1.4MM cap hit through next season, he’s an affordable top-four option for pretty much anyone.  With Torey Krug and John Moore already signed, Urho Vaakanainen looking like he’s close to being NHL ready, and the possible return of Zdeno Chara for another year, it could be deemed that Grzelcyk is expendable but the asking price would understandably be high.

Five Players To Watch For: F Peter Cehlarik, F Ryan Donato, D Matt Grzelcyk, F Danton Heinen, F Jack Studnicka

Team Needs

1) Top Six Winger: This has been an area that Boston has been looking to fill since last season when they ultimately traded for Rick Nash just before the trade deadline.  They’ve tried to fill that spot internally but the consistency just hasn’t been there enough for them to trust one of those youngsters in that role heading into the postseason.  Finding someone for the right wing was already high on the priority list but with David Pastrnak’s surgery, that vacancy becomes just a little more important.

2) Third Line Center: When Riley Nash left to sign with Columbus in the summer (a move that has not worked out well for the Blue Jackets), the hope was that his spot could also be filled internally.  Their youngsters haven’t locked down that spot and asking David Backes to play down the middle hasn’t worked as well as they hoped either.  Top contenders have quality depth at center and while the Bruins have a strong top two in Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci, finding an impact player to play a third line role would really bolster their attack.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Five Key Stories: 2/10/19 – 2/16/19

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With the trade deadline quickly approaching, activity has started to pick up around the league.  Here are the top stories from the past seven days.

Predators Add Forward Depth: The Predators added some depth down the middle, acquiring veteran Brian Boyle from New Jersey in exchange for a second-round pick.  Boyle is in the midst of one of the best offensive seasons of his career with 13 goals under his belt already in 49 games while being above average at the faceoff dot once again.  He’ll give Nashville another strong option for their penalty kill as well.  The Preds weren’t done there as they brought back winger Cody McLeod from the Rangers for a 2020 seventh rounder.  McLeod will add some grit in the absence of Austin Watson who is currently under an indefinite suspension.

Capitals Extend Copley: Evidently, Washington likes what they’ve seen from backup goaltender Pheonix Copley this season, handing the first-year netminder a three-year, $3.3MM extension.  The 27-year-old has posted a 2.97 GAA with a .904 SV% in 20 appearances so far this season, numbers that are quite close to starter Braden Holtby.  Worth noting, the three-year term means he will be under contract for the Seattle expansion draft in 2021, meaning that the Capitals will be able to leave him unprotected, fulfilling the requirement of having one goalie under contract being available to be selected.

Matthews Extension: There will be one less player in the upcoming class of high-end restricted free agents as Toronto inked 2016 top pick Auston Matthews.  However, unlike some of the top youngsters in recent years, he opted to not sign a max-term, eight-year contract.  Instead, he put pen to paper on a five-year, $58.17MM contract, an AAV of $11.634MM which sits second overall in the league behind Edmonton’s Connor McDavid.  A whopping 93.7% of the deal will be paid out in annual signing bonuses on July 1st, meaning that his base salary will be the league minimum in each year of the contract.  Matthews sits second on the Maple Leafs in goals this season with 24 in just 39 games while he sits 11th in the league in points per game.  With this deal done, Toronto will now turn their focus to pending RFA winger Mitch Marner who is likely to command a somewhat comparable contract.

Kovalchuk Available: Less than a year ago, winger Ilya Kovalchuk was one of the more sought after unrestricted free agents on the open market.  He ultimately signed a three-year, $18.75MM contract with Los Angeles and the move hasn’t worked out as well as they had hoped as he has just 26 points in 44 games so far.  Accordingly, with the team clearly looking to sell before the trade deadline, the Kings have made the 35-year-old available for trade.  Kovalchuk has a full no-move clause so he will have control over where he goes if they’re able to find a taker for his contract.

Carlyle Fired: With Anaheim having lost 19 of 21 games (many of which weren’t close), something had to give.  GM Bob Murray had already tried tinkering with the fringes of the roster but clearly, that wasn’t enough and something more significant needed to happen.  It finally did as Murray relieved head coach Randy Carlyle of his duties.  Interestingly enough, instead of promoting AHL bench boss Dallas Eakins or one of the assistants in an interim role, Murray himself will take over behind the bench for the remainder of the season despite having no prior coaching experience.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Atlantic Notes: Dzingel, Hudon, Ennis

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While Mark Stone and Matt Duchene have garnered the majority of the attention among Ottawa’s pending unrestricted free agents, Ryan Dzingel’s situation is certainly worth monitoring as well.  The 26-year-old is in the midst of a career year and already has 20 goals and 21 assists on the season in 53 games.  His future with the team appears to be dependent on what happens with Stone and Duchene but as Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch notes, the asking price appears to be quite high, coming in between $5.5MM and $6MM on a long-term deal.  Even though Dzingel has a chance to reach 30 goals this season, that price tag may very well be too rich for the Senators which should increase his odds of being dealt by the February 25th trade deadline.

More from the Atlantic:

  • Canadiens winger Charles Hudon was expected to play on Saturday night but was a late scratch which fueled some trade speculation. To that end, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman notes (video link) that Montreal has been looking for a mid-round pick for the 24-year-old.  Last season, Hudon put up a respectable 30 points in 72 games but has had difficulties staying in the lineup in 2018-19 and has been quiet when he has played as he has just three goals and two assists in 30 contests this season.  He’s earning the league minimum salary of $650K this season and will be eligible for salary arbitration in the summer.
  • The Maple Leafs announced (Twitter link) that they have activated winger Tyler Ennis off of injured reserve. He has been out since late December after sustaining a broken ankle.  The 29-year-old had gotten off to a decent start with Toronto with 11 points in 33 games before the injury while holding his own on the top line at times.  No corresponding roster move needed to be made as they had an open roster spot after waiving and demoting Martin Marincin last weekend.

Deadline Primer: Tampa Bay Lightning

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With the trade deadline fast approaching, we continue our look at the situation for each team over the coming weeks.  Where do they stand, what do they need to do, and what assets do they have to fill those needs?  We turn our focus to the Eastern Conference with a look at the Tampa Bay Lightning.

While Tampa Bay’s season got off to a surprising start with the resignation of GM Steve Yzerman before training camp, there haven’t been many surprises since then.  They went into the season with the expectation of being one of the elite teams and they have done exactly that.  Now, new GM Julien BriseBois is tasked with making the final tweak or two to what should be a Stanley Cup-contending roster.

Record

40-11-4, first in the Atlantic Division

Deadline Status

Buyer

Deadline Cap Space

$7.953MM in a full-season cap hit, 0/3 used salary cap retention slots, 49/50 contracts per CapFriendly

Upcoming Draft Picks

2019: TB 1st*, TB 3rd, TB 4th, TB 6th, CHI 7th, TB 7th
2020: TB 1st, TB 2nd, TB 3rd, TB 4th, TB 5th, TB 6th, TB 7th

* – If Tampa Bay wins the Stanley Cup this season, the Rangers will receive Tampa Bay’s 2019 first rounder while the Lightning will get back their 2019 second rounder.

Trade Chips

Sellers are going to be coveting some of Tampa Bay’s younger NHL-ready assets.  Winger Mathieu Joseph is bound to draw a lot of attention as a rookie that has a shot at 20 goals this season but it will take a significant player coming the other way for them to part with him.  At the AHL level, 2017 top pick Cal Foote is having a nice rookie year at the professional level and will also draw a lot of interest.  However, given the state of their back end, it’s plausible that Foote will be counted on to play a regular role next season with the Lightning so it would be tough to see him in play for a rental.  Second-year center Mitchell Stephens recently returned from injury and is someone that has bottom-six upside which would make him a little easier to part with.  Winger Danick Martel is likely expendable but given how little he has played this year, it’s hard to imagine him having much of a market.

While Tampa Bay isn’t going to be selling, one veteran that many expect to be in play is winger Ryan Callahan.  His $5.8MM cap hit is extremely pricey relative to what he brings to the table and with some big ticket deals on the horizon (more on that later), they would love to clear his deal off the books for next season.  The question is how much are they willing to pay to make that happen?  Do they part with a quality prospect or a high draft pick to serve as a sweetener?  Do they retain on the contract which would still be better longer-term than a possible buyout next summer?  They have more than enough salary cap space this season to carry Callahan – who has been a healthy scratch as of late – but how motivated will they be to clear his contract for next season?

Five Players To Watch For: F Ryan Callahan, D Dominik Masin, F Danick Martel, C Mitchell Stephens, F Alexander Volkov

Team Needs

1) Top Four Defenseman: Mikhail Sergachev has shown that he isn’t quite ready to play regularly in the top four on the back end while veterans Braydon Coburn and Dan Girardi are better served in limited roles.  Adding a second pairing defenseman would allow Tampa to push their bottom guys into the proper roles while giving them some extra insurance should one of their top three blueliners get injured.

2) Free Up 2019-20 Cap Space: Tampa Bay currently has $73.1MM tied up in just 13 players for next season and need to re-sign or replace three defensemen as well as lock up center Brayden Point, one of the top pending restricted free agents around the league.  As things stand, there’s no way they’ll be able to do all of that and fill out the rest of their roster without shedding some salary for next season.  Finding a way to move Callahan’s contract would certainly help while winger Alex Killorn could also eventually be on the move although given his role, that may be more of an offseason deal.  At either rate, financial flexibility moving forward will need to be at the top of their to-do list.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Canadiens Place Karl Alzner On Waivers

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Sunday: The Montreal Canadiens announced that Alzner has cleared waivers and the team has reassigned the defenseman to the Laval Rocket of the AHL.

Saturday: Following their acquisition of Christian Folin earlier today, the Canadiens needed to free up a roster spot.  They’ve done just that as TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie reports (Twitter link) that they’ve placed defenseman Karl Alzner on waivers.

Alzner saw his ironman streak end at 622 regular season games in the season opener against Toronto and it was a sign of things to come.  He has played in just nine games with Montreal this year and has not been injured at any time.  The 30-year-old cleared waivers back in November and has played in 11 games with their AHL affiliate in Laval.

Alzner is in the second season of a five-year, $23.125MM contract that he signed back in the 2017 offseason.  Considering the $4.625MM AAV and the term remaining on his contract, it’s a guarantee that he’ll pass through unclaimed once again and will be assigned back to Laval on Sunday.  He’ll continue to serve as injury depth down there for the time being but it wouldn’t be surprising to see him recalled following the trade deadline when the 23-man roster limit is eliminated.

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