Latest On Dylan Larkin
Last weekend, it was reported that the Red Wings had presented a new offer to center Dylan Larkin as they look to lock up their captain to a long-term extension. Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press reports (subscription link) that the offer was for the maximum of eight years and carried an AAV of $8MM. Considering there hasn’t been an announcement of an extension at this point, it’s safe to say that the offer was declined.
The proposal represented a fair-sized jump on the $6.1MM Larkin is currently getting on his deal that’s set to expire in June. However, St. James points to the eight-year, $73.2MM extension ($9.15MM AAV) that Mathew Barzal signed with the Islanders as a logical comparable from Larkin’s camp. If that’s the case, the two sides are likely trying to bridge somewhere in the range of a $1.15MM gap per season. While a deal isn’t done yet, the 26-year-old doesn’t believe there’s any sort of strain in negotiations:
It doesn’t seem like there are any hard feelings, it is just the way it is going. With Steve, I don’t really expect anything else. It’s been very professional and we’ve had a lot of conversations about the team and certain things that come up during a season with guys or whatever it may be. It’s been pretty status quo.
Larkin put up his second career 30-goal campaign last season and is averaging just shy of a point per game this season with 43 in 47 contests. If he stays at that pace, it’ll be the third time he averages at least 0.9 points per game. Those are certainly strong numbers but how much more of a ceiling does he still have offensively? While Larkin is deployed as a number one center, there’s typically an expectation that the player in that role can help carry an offense and get past the point-per-game threshold.
That’s likely a big factor in negotiations. A $9M-plus AAV would put Larkin in the top-25 in cap hit among NHL forwards but is he a top-25 forward? Could he still become one as some of Detroit’s young talent continues to develop and improve, bolstering the scoring power for the Red Wings over time? These are the questions that GM Steve Yzerman is certainly pondering at the moment.
It’s certainly not an ideal spot for Detroit to be in. Larkin has made it clear that his desire is to stay with his hometown team. Many expected an extension to be in place by now. But while upping the offer for Larkin may not be ideal from a spending perspective, the alternative isn’t any better as trying to find a new top pivot on the open market comes with its own risks and would likely cost more than they’re offering here.
The Red Wings are a team that’s now in the process of trying to build back into being a playoff contender. That’s a lot tougher task to do without a top center which means Larkin walking in free agency would be a tough blow. Accordingly, even though there’s a sizable gap to be bridged financially, Detroit fans should still have some optimism that they’ll be able to find common ground on a new deal. It’s just going to cost more than Yzerman and the Red Wings would like.
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Golden Knights Assign Three To The AHL
Ahead of tonight’s contest against the Islanders, the Golden Knights made a trio of roster moves, announcing (Twitter link) that they’ve assigned forwards Pavel Dorofeyev and Byron Froese along with defenseman Kaedan Korczak to AHL Henderson.
Dorofeyev has had three separate stints with Vegas this season but has seen limited NHL action despite that, getting into just three games where he was held off the scoresheet while logging just under 12 minutes per contest. He suffered an undisclosed injury three weeks ago but this assignment means that Dorofeyev has been cleared to return since injured players can’t be sent down. The 22-year-old was a top producer in the minors last season but has been a bit quieter in 2022-23, picking up six goals and six assists in 21 games with the Silver Knights.
As for Froese, he had been on his third recall of the month prior to this assignment and had been centring the fourth line during that stint. So far this season, he has a goal and an assist in seven games while winning 61.5% of his faceoffs. The 31-year-old is in the first season of a two-year, two-way deal and has been productive in Henderson with 27 points in 36 contests.
Korczak, meanwhile, has been up with Vegas on five different occasions this season, all within the last two months. Along the way, he has gotten into ten games on the back end for the Golden Knights, picking up a couple of helpers along with 25 hits while logging 17:34 per night. The 21-year-old also has eight points in 30 games in Henderson. He’s likely to continue to be one of the top recall options the next time a defender goes down or the team wants some extra depth.
Blue Jackets Claim Lane Pederson Off Waivers From Canucks
The Blue Jackets have added some forward depth as NorthStar Bets’ Chris Johnston reports (Twitter link) that they’ve claimed center Lane Pederson off waivers from the Canucks. To make room for him on the active roster, Columbus has placed winger Gustav Nyquist on injured reserve.
Pederson successfully made it through waivers back in October while he was still with Carolina. With them, he played in four games with AHL Chicago before being included as a salary offset in the trade that also saw Vancouver pick up defenseman Ethan Bear. The 25-year-old remained in the minors with Abbotsford for nearly two months, averaging just shy of a goal per game which earned him a recall in late November.
Since being brought up, Pederson had been a regular for the Canucks, getting into 11 games (including last night’s contest against Columbus while on waivers), picking up a goal and two assists while averaging just under 13 minutes a night. For his career, Pederson has two goals and six helpers in 55 games between Arizona, San Jose, and Vancouver. He’s on a one-way contract for the league minimum salary of $750K and is arbitration-eligible if he can get into 25 more games this season. Otherwise, he becomes a Group Six unrestricted free agent.
The move is a low-risk flyer for the Blue Jackets who needed a replacement for Nyquist who is out indefinitely while there’s a strong chance they’ll be trading a few players between now and the March 3rd deadline so extra bodies were going to be needed at some point. Pederson has a chance to play a regular role in Columbus in the hopes of finding some NHL stability that has so far eluded him across four different organizations.
Metropolitan Notes: Hurricanes, Cuylle, Devils
With Max Pacioretty and his $7MM AAV eventually heading back to LTIR, the Hurricanes appear to be a team that will have ample cap space to make a move or two to upgrade for the stretch run. However, in his latest piece for The Athletic (subscription link), Cory Lavalette suggests that while on the surface, a rental to replace Pacioretty (a rental himself) might make sense, Carolina’s trade history suggests that they’re likelier to target someone signed beyond this season. Per CapFriendly, the Hurricanes only have $53.5MM in commitments for 2023-24 so it’s plausible that they could eye a longer-term piece which gives them considerably more options compared to teams that will need to be shopping for one-and-done players.
More from the Metropolitan:
- The Rangers have returned winger Will Cuylle to AHL Hartford, reports Arthur Staple of The Athletic (Twitter link). The move doesn’t come as much of a surprise since New York is now in their bye week. Cuylle got into two games in his first NHL stint but barely played six minutes per game. The 20-year-old has 13 goals and 20 assists in 39 games with the Wolf Pack and will get some more time down there before potentially being brought back up after the break.
- Devils assistant GM Dan MacKinnon confirmed to NJ Advance Media’s Ryan Novozinsky that the plan is for defenseman Luke Hughes to turn pro once his season at Michigan comes to an end. The 19-year-old was the fourth-overall pick in 2021 and has 26 points in 25 games so far for the Wolverines. He’d be an intriguing option for New Jersey down the stretch and in the postseason as he’d definitely be another offensive weapon on their back end. MacKinnon also confirmed that 2020 first-rounder Shakir Mukhamadullin will join AHL Utica once his season with Salavat Yulaev of the KHL comes to an end. The 21-year-old has five goals and 15 helpers in 55 games so far.
Blue Jackets Recall Jake Christiansen
The Blue Jackets have brought up some extra depth in advance of their game tonight against Seattle, announcing the recall of defenseman Jake Christiansen from Cleveland of the AHL. His promotion is likely related to Nick Blankenburg‘s upper-body injury that caused him to miss last night’s game against Vancouver.
It’s the second recall of the season for the 23-year-old who got into 17 games with Columbus during that first stint before being sent back to the Monsters late last month. Christiansen had a pair of assists during that stretch while averaging a hit and block per game in just under 14 minutes of playing time per night. He has been more productive in the minors, picking up a dozen points in 23 contests and is only a year removed from a 45-point sophomore year with Cleveland.
Columbus now has seven healthy defensemen on the roster so there’s no guarantee that Christiansen will be in the lineup tonight against the Kraken. The blueliner is in the final year of his entry-level contract and will be eligible for salary arbitration this summer.
Devils Assign Nikita Okhotyuk To AHL
After being up with New Jersey for more than a month on what started as an emergency loan, Nikita Okhotyuk’s time with the Devils has come to an end for now as the team announced (Twitter link) that the defenseman has been assigned to Utica of the AHL.
The 22-year-old got into ten games with New Jersey and saw action in a particularly limited role as he averaged under 12 minutes a night. Okhotyuk picked up his second career NHL goal earlier this month and also chipped in with 31 hits and nine blocked shots. He has been a bit more productive with the Comets, picking up two goals and four assists in 17 contests at the AHL level.
With this assignment, the Devils are down to just six healthy defenders on their roster. However, John Marino has been skating for a couple of weeks and was upgraded to day-to-day last weekend so it’s possible that he’ll be ready to be activated for their next game after the All-Star break against Vancouver. Otherwise, Okhotyuk or someone else will likely be getting recalled a little more than a week from now.
Flames Assign Three Players To AHL
Calgary’s roster was full for last night’s victory over Seattle but it’s considerably smaller now as the team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve assigned forwards Walker Duehr and Jakob Pelletier plus defenseman Dennis Gilbert to Calgary of the AHL. No corresponding recalls were made.
Duehr and Pelletier were both recalled three weeks ago with Duehr seeing regular action while Pelletier was more limited. Duehr got into eight games with the Flames, picking up his first two NHL goals while averaging a little over nine minutes a night. This season at the AHL level, the 25-year-old has ten goals with the Wranglers, just one shy of his output from a year ago in 28 fewer games. Duehr is in his second full professional campaign after signing a two-year entry-level deal with Calgary as an undrafted college free agent in 2021.
Pelletier is widely considered to be one of Calgary’s top prospects so when he was brought up, there was some excitement to see how he’d fare against top competition. However, he was a regular scratch early and only got into four contests where he logged less than 11 minutes a night. That’s not necessarily the most optimal usage for a player that had 34 points in 31 games in the minors this season but he at least now has a taste of what things are like at the NHL level.
As for Gilbert, this NHL stint was a short-lived one as he’s going down just two days after being recalled. The 26-year-old has played in nine games for the Flames this season, collecting an assist along with 19 hits and 20 penalty minutes while averaging 10:35 per contest. He also has five points in 24 AHL contests.
The Flames are off until February 6th so these three assignments are likely being done to bank some cap space. The demotions will free up a little over $13K per day and add to their cap room heading into the deadline. However, it remains to be seen if these three will be back with the big club when they resume play or if someone else will get an opportunity.
Cole Caufield Out For The Season With A Shoulder Injury
Jan 27: Caufield will undergo surgery on February 1 in Colorado, according to Eric Engels of Sportsnet.
Jan 21: The Canadiens have struggled offensively this season and scoring goals just got a lot harder as the team announced that winger Cole Caufield suffered a season-ending shoulder injury and will undergo surgery in the near future. There is no timeline for how long the recovery period will take with an update being expected after the medical procedures are completed.
Caufield played in Thursday’s loss to Florida and was a full participant in practice on Friday so the announcement comes as somewhat of a surprise. TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie notes (Twitter link) that the injury isn’t something that just happened but has instead been lingering for the past several weeks. The 22-year-old is tied for 11th in the league in goals this season with 26 while TSN noted earlier this week that he’s tied for eighth in the league in goals since Martin St. Louis took over behind the bench a little less than a year ago. Caufield has over 21% of Montreal’s goals this season with the team ranking 28th in the league in goals scored heading into Saturday’s action.
Caufield is set to become a restricted free agent this summer without salary arbitration eligibility. His case is one of some intrigue given how productive he has become under St. Louis while GM Kent Hughes indicated earlier this week that preliminary discussions are underway with a desire to lock him up on a long-term contract. However, with his first season being a short one having burned his first entry-level year after his college campaign, Caufield only has 123 career regular season contests under his belt which is considerably less than what most players that sign a long-term, big-money agreement after their first contract have.
In a corresponding roster move, the Canadiens announced (Twitter link) that forward Alex Belzile has been recalled from AHL Laval. The 31-year-old has 13 career games of NHL experience with Montreal over the last two seasons and has 13 goals and 12 assists in 29 games with the Rocket this season. Even with this recall, Montreal only has 11 healthy forwards on their active roster and they are expected to dress seven defensemen tonight against Toronto.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Cam Talbot Suffers A Lower-Body Injury
It has been a tough season on the injury front for the Senators who have had several key players banged up at times. They lost another key piece on Wednesday night as the team announced (Twitter link) that goaltender Cam Talbot sustained a lower-body injury against the Islanders. He exited the game in the second period and did not return.
Ottawa acquired the 35-year-old in an effort to build a quality tandem between the pipes with Anton Forsberg. However, things haven’t gone according to plan as the team entered play tonight a little below league average in goals allowed with both netminders taking a step back relative to their play from a year ago. Talbot had just a .903 SV% heading into Wednesday’s contest, the second-lowest of his career while Forsberg’s SV% has dipped 18 points from a year ago. Between that and a surprising lack of improvement offensively, the Sens are battling to avoid being last in the Atlantic Division.
Notably, it’s a contract year for Talbot who is set to hit the open market this summer. Suffering a second injury (he missed nine games with a rib issue earlier this season) on top of him struggling a bit more certainly isn’t helping his market as he looks to get a raise on his $3.67MM AAV. While it’s unknown how long he’ll be out at this point, an extended absence could take a potential trade deadline swap off the table as well.
It’s also worth mentioning that Mads Sogaard, Ottawa’s top goalie prospect with AHL Belleville, is injured at the moment and hasn’t played in the last week and a half. That means their recall options will be veteran Antoine Bibeau or Kevin Mandolese who has split the last two seasons between the AHL and ECHL and is still looking for his first NHL appearance despite three recalls already in 2022-23.
Avalanche And Sharks Complete Four-Player Trade
Ryan Merkley‘s trade request has been granted as the Sharks have traded the defenseman to the Avalanche along with winger Matt Nieto in exchange for winger Martin Kaut and defenseman/winger Jacob MacDonald.
Merkley was a first-round pick by San Jose back in 2018 (21st overall) and showed plenty of offensive upside during his junior career in the OHL where he had 269 points in 248 games in four seasons. However, that hasn’t really translated into much offensive success in the minors as he has just two career goals in the minors, neither of which came this season. Merkley made his NHL debut in 2021-22, getting into 39 games with the Sharks but he hasn’t had a chance to suit up at the top level this year which resulted in the trade request. He has 14 assists in 30 games with the Barracuda this season. He’s in the final year of his entry-level contract with a $863K cap hit and will be a restricted free agent this summer.
Nieto, meanwhile, is no stranger to Colorado as he spent parts of four seasons with them between 2016-17 and 2019-20. During that stretch, he was a serviceable provider of depth scoring, notching 34 goals and 47 assists in 251 games. The 30-year-old is producing at a similar clip this season, tallying eight goals and seven assists in 45 games with the Sharks while logging a career-high 15:39 per game. He won’t see that type of ice time in his second go-round with the Avs but with them in need of reliable options in the bottom six, Nieto should still be called upon to play an important depth role. He’s also in the final year of his contract with a $850K cap hit and will be eligible for unrestricted free agency this summer.
Kaut was also a first-round pick in the 2018 draft, going 16th overall to the Avalanche. However, while he impressed in the minors as an 18-year-old and earned an NHL stint at 19, he hasn’t had much success at the top level. So far, he has played in just 47 career NHL contests, 27 of which have come this season where he has just a goal and two assists to his credit while averaging 9:08 per night. Kaut has also played in ten AHL games this season where he has five goals and three helpers and is currently in the minors having been sent down last week. The 23-year-old is also in the final year of his entry-level deal, one that carries an AAV of $863K. He should get an opportunity to see some regular minutes for San Jose down the stretch in the hopes of him developing into a regular in the bottom six down the road.
MacDonald came up as a defenseman but has logged a lot of action on the wing this season with Colorado searching for bottom-six options as they’ve dealt with injuries all year long. The 29-year-old has suited up 33 times so far in 2022-23, picking up a pair of assists along with 29 hits. He has made 74 appearances with the Avs over the last three seasons, comprising the bulk of his NHL action (aside from a two-game stint with Florida in 2018). MacDonald is in the first year of a two-year, two-way contract that pays the minimum salary in the NHL (a $762,500 AAV) and will be an unrestricted free agent in 2024. He’s likely to play a similar depth role with the Sharks, filling in at both positions when necessary.
Cap space is limited for the Avalanche and it’s worth noting that they are adding a little less than $100K on their books with this swap. However, they get a more proven forward in Nieto that should bolster their bottom six and an interesting wild card in Merkley. If he’s able to develop into a regular defender down the road, this will be a nice pickup for GM Chris MacFarland. If it doesn’t pan out, all it will cost them is a couple of depth options so it’s a low-risk move that could carry a fair bit of upside as they look to hold onto a playoff spot in the tight Central Division.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.