Senators Stepping Up Efforts To Move Nikita Zaitsev
It has been a tough year for Senators defenseman Nikita Zaitsev, to put it lightly. He has struggled when he has been in the lineup and passed through waivers earlier in the season which resulted in his first career AHL action.
However, it appears as if they’re stepping up their efforts to move the 31-year-old as ESPN’s Kevin Weekes reports (Twitter link) that Ottawa has given Zaitsev’s permission to speak to other teams to try to help facilitate a trade. Additionally, Weekes reports that the Sens are also willing to part with a sweetener – a good prospect or high draft pick – to get a deal done.
Zaitsev has another year after this one on his contract that carries a $4.5MM cap hit. That’s a high price tag for someone who is averaging less than 17 minutes per night when he’s in Ottawa’s lineup. While he had a 36-point rookie season with Toronto in 2016-17 which helped shape the price tag of his current deal, he hasn’t been able to reach half of it since then. Notably, he also has a ten-team no-trade clause which gives Zaitsev a bit of an ability to control what happens next.
If Ottawa is indeed willing to move a quality asset to get out of the final year and a half of Zaitsev’s deal, it stands to reason that the primary objective is to clear the full contract off the books, similar to what Calgary did when they sent Montreal a protected first-round pick to get out of the final year of Sean Monahan’s contract. That suggests that they’re likely unwilling to retain on the contract or take a bad deal back as if they were, they wouldn’t need to attach an additional asset to make a move happen.
Ottawa has a little more than $4.3MM in full-season cap space at the moment, per CapFriendly. That amount is lower than what it really should be as at the moment, they have six players on injured reserve (including Zaitsev); as some of them return and their short-term replacements go back to the minors, they will have considerably more cap room to work with.
However, it’s also worth noting that they’re typically a budget team, not one that spends to the Upper Limit and with an ownership situation that’s certainly in flux with efforts to sell the team well underway, it’s possible that they don’t have the green light to spend right to the limit. Accordingly, if they want to make a move to add to their roster, they might need to move Zaitsev to have the budget room to do so.
With the bulk of the trade market still a fair way away from developing with so many teams needing to bank more cap room, they haven’t had much luck finding a taker for him yet. Perhaps now with his agent being able to speak to teams and the Senators willing to incentivize a team to take on Zaitsev’s contract, they’ll eventually have some better luck making it happen.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
East Notes: Red Wings, Raanta, Blue Jackets
Robby Fabbri is nearing a return for the Red Wings and there’s more help on the horizon as well as head coach Derek Lalonde told reporters, including MLive’s Ansar Khan (Twitter link) that wingers Tyler Bertuzzi and Filip Zadina are on the same timeframe for a return and should be back in the next eight to ten days. Bertuzzi has missed the last month after undergoing wrist surgery and while he’s off to a slow start this season, he had a career-high 62 points in 2021-22. Meanwhile, Zadina has missed more than seven weeks with a lower-body injury. With those two and Fabbri close to coming back, Detroit’s forward group is about to get a lot deeper in the very near future as they look to hang around the Wild Card battle.
Elsewhere in the East:
- While Carolina’s original intention might have been to send Pyotr Kochetkov back to the minors when Frederik Andersen returns from his injury, his play has made that much more difficult. Accordingly, Adam Proteau of The Hockey News opines that Antti Raanta might be the odd one out between the pipes. He has a 2.53 GAA with a .900 SV% in 14 starts this season, a decent return on a $2.25MM AAV. While the Hurricanes likely wouldn’t be able to command a sizable return for Raanta’s services, he could be a useful pickup for a team looking for a short-term option between the pipes.
- The Blue Jackets announced (Twitter link) that goaltender Daniil Tarasov suffered an upper-body injury in practice on Friday. The 23-year-old was likely to be sent to the minors soon with Elvis Merzlikins clearing COVID protocol earlier this week but this will now delay that for at least a few days as Tarasov is listed as day-to-day. He has played in a dozen games with Columbus this season, recording a 3.40 GAA with a .907 SV%.
- Still with the Blue Jackets, defenseman Nick Blankenburg has resumed skating as he works his way back from a broken ankle, relays Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 24-year-old has been out for the last seven weeks due to the injury and there remains no timetable for his return. Blankenburg has three points in seven games so far this season.
Flyers Sign Ethan Samson To Entry-Level Contract
The Flyers have agreed to terms with one of their prospects as NHL.com’s Adam Kimelman relays (Twitter link) that they’ve signed defenseman Ethan Samson to a three-year, entry-level contract. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The 19-year-old was a sixth-round pick by Philadelphia back in 2021 (174th overall) but Samson has outperformed his draft stock since then. After putting up 48 points in 68 games with Prince George of the WHL last season, he’s off to an even better start this year with 24 points in 27 contests. That was enough to earn Samson an invitation to Canada’s camp for the World Juniors although he wasn’t able to crack their roster.
Samson will remain in junior this season so technically, while the first year of the deal is this season, it will slide a year and still have three years remaining on it. He’ll be eligible to turn pro next season and with the Flyers only having three of their current AHL defensemen under contract beyond this year at the moment, there should be an opportunity for Samson to suit up for AHL Lehigh Valley in 2023-24.
Atlantic Notes: DeBrincat, MacDonald, Kapanen
Senators winger Alex DeBrincat has had a very strong month of December with 18 points in 13 games heading into today’s action. When they acquired him at the draft, he was viewed as someone that they likely felt was a long-term piece of the puzzle. However, Postmedia’s Ken Warren suggests a long-term agreement for the pending RFA might not be a slam dunk. With the ownership situation not settled, do the Sens have a firm commitment that they’ll be able to spend right to the Upper Limit next season? With the team struggling, do they want GM Pierre Dorion working out another long-term contract for a forward, one that would limit their flexibility? A new deal for the 25-year-old probably pushes Ottawa into a situation where their top six forwards will account for more than 50% of the cap next season. Would they be better off spending that money to upgrade the back end for a more well-rounded roster?
Accordingly, Warren wonders if there’s a scenario in which Ottawa trades DeBrincat at the trade deadline. If they’re out of the mix and DeBrincat isn’t overly open to a long-term agreement, it’s possible that the smarter long-term play would be to move him. It’d be a notable step back for the Senators at least in the short term but if they’re still out of the playoff picture in a couple of months, it’s one that might get considered if there’s no extension in place by then.
More from the Atlantic:
- Lightning prospect Cameron MacDonald is on the move in the QMJHL as Saint John announced that they’ve moved the forward to Gatineau for a pair of draft picks. The 19-year-old was a fifth-round pick by Tampa Bay back in 2021 (160th overall) and is averaging more than a point per game this season with 16 goals and 13 assists in 27 contests. In order for the Lightning to retain his NHL rights, they’ll have to sign MacDonald by June 1st and how he fares down the stretch with the Olympiques will go a long way toward determining if he’s worthy of an entry-level deal.
- Canadiens prospect Oliver Kapanen has signed a one-year extension with KalPa through the 2023-24 season, the Finnish team announced. The 19-year-old was a second-round pick by Montreal in 2021 (64th overall) and has seven goals and seven assists in 32 SM-liiga games this season. He’s currently playing for Finland at the World Juniors where he has two points in three games so far.
Avalanche Activate Nathan MacKinnon Off Injured Reserve
The Avalanche will have their franchise player back in the lineup tonight against Toronto as the team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve activated center Nathan MacKinnon off injured reserve. To make room for MacKinnon on the roster, winger Charles Hudon has been assigned to AHL Colorado.
MacKinnon suffered an upper-body injury earlier this month which was expected to keep him out for four weeks so he’s right on schedule. The 27-year-old was off to another strong start before the injury as he had 34 points in 23 games; even though he has missed 11 games, he’s still tied for second on the Avs in scoring. More importantly, he gives Colorado their top center back, allowing them to push J.T. Compher off the top line and balance out their forwards a bit better; Compher had been logging nearly 24 minutes a night in MacKinnon’s absence.
Colorado enters play tonight sitting fourth in the Central Division and is tied with Calgary for a Wild Card spot in the West. That has largely been due to an extremely long injury list that still has them without two top-six wingers in Gabriel Landeskog and Valeri Nichushkin and two key defenders in Bowen Byram and Josh Manson, among others. Their push to put themselves in a much more favorable playoff position will be a lot easier with MacKinnon, their star center and the player who will have the richest contract in NHL history next season, returning to the lineup.
As for Hudon, he was recalled back on Tuesday on his third emergency loan of the season. The 28-year-old has played in nine games with the Avalanche this season, logging just shy of 11 minutes a night while being held off the scoresheet. He has 18 points in 22 contests with the Eagles and should be a recall option should another injury up front arise with the big club.
Sabres Assign Eric Comrie To AHL On A Conditioning Stint
Despite having the top-scoring offense in the league with an average of four goals per game, the Sabres find themselves eight points out of a playoff spot heading into today’s action. However, they could be getting some much-needed help between the pipes soon as Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News reports (Twitter link) that Buffalo has sent goaltender Eric Comrie to AHL Rochester on a conditioning stint and he will make the start against Toronto this afternoon.
Comrie is in his first season with the team after signing a two-year, $3.6MM deal with them back in July. The 27-year-old sustained a lower-body injury back in mid-November, one that was expected to keep him out for four weeks. It’s a little past that point already but with him getting an AHL start today, he’s very close to returning.
This season, Comrie has posted a 3.62 GAA along with a .887 SV% in 11 starts, numbers that aren’t particularly strong. However, he hasn’t had a lot of goal support relative to Craig Anderson and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen as four of Comrie’s seven losses have come with Buffalo scoring two or fewer goals. Now with the team being more consistently dangerous offensively, a better performance from Comrie is certainly possible.
His pending return is also good news for the Sabres in terms of developing Luukkonen. Comrie’s addition was intended to allow the 23-year-old to get a heavy workload in the minors but with Comrie’s absence and Anderson being the oldest player in the league, he has basically been in a timeshare situation lately. Once Comrie returns to the Sabres, that should change and Luukkonen can go back to being the starter for the Americans as planned.
Coyotes Recall Laurent Dauphin
The Coyotes have added some depth up front to their roster as they’ve recalled center Laurent Dauphin from AHL Tucson, per the AHL’s Transactions Log. They now have 14 forwards on their active roster although one of those, Matias Maccelli, is out for several more weeks and can easily be moved to injured reserve.
It’s the second recall of the season for the 27-year-old as Dauphin was also up with the team on an emergency basis for a week and a half in mid-November. He saw action in just one game during that stretch, however. Last season, Dauphin was a regular for Montreal in the second half of the campaign as he got into a career-high 38 games, picking up 12 points.
Dauphin has spent most of the season with the Roadrunners and has been quite productive, collecting 12 goals and 15 assists in 26 games, good for second on the team in scoring. The only player he’s behind is league leader Michael Carcone who was recalled to Arizona on Tuesday.
Injury News: Wild, Morrissey, Guhle
The Wild should get a key winger back for tomorrow’s game against St. Louis as Sarah McLellan of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that Marcus Foligno is expected to return from the lower-body injury he sustained a week and a half ago. The 31-year-old had a career-high 23 goals last season but has managed just three in 27 games so far this year although he’s still averaging more than three hits per game. Minnesota has an open spot on their roster so no corresponding move will need to be made to activate him off IR.
However, it might not be all good news for the Wild as center Joel Eriksson Ek missed practice today with head coach Dean Evason acknowledging that he’s banged up at the moment. The 25-year-old sits tied for third in team scoring with 27 points (12-15-27) in 35 games. He’s listed as questionable for Saturday’s contest.
Other injury news from around the NHL:
- Although Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey left Thursday’s game with a lower-body injury, head coach Rick Bowness told reporters including Scott Billeck of the Winnipeg Sun that he’s hopeful that the blueliner will be able to play on Saturday against Edmonton. The 27-year-old has already set new career highs in assists (36) and points (42) this season while sitting second among NHL rearguards in scoring.
- The Canadiens announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Kaiden Guhle will miss Saturday’s game against Washington due to a lower-body injury sustained late in Thursday’s loss to Florida. The 20-year-old sits third in the league for average ice time for a rookie, logging 20:46 per night while picking up 14 points in 36 games. David Savard joined the team for practice today and could be activated off injured reserve although they’d have to free up a roster spot for that to happen.
Central Notes: Jets, Johnson, Avalanche
The Jets looked to be a team that had the cap space to make a splash in the second half of the season. However, as Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press outlines, that’s no longer the case. As a result of their injuries, Winnipeg has had to recall several players and in doing so, they’re at a spot where they’re going to need to dip in short-term LTIR if they have to bring anyone else up. All of a sudden, any ideas of making a key addition in the near future will have to be shut down until most of their regulars return. The good news for Winnipeg is that none of the injuries are season-ending but there aren’t many near-term recoveries on the horizon which isn’t ideal with nearly $25MM currently out of the lineup.
Elsewhere in the Central:
- While Blackhawks center Tyler Johnson returned to the lineup a little more than two weeks ago, he isn’t fully healthy yet. Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times notes that the 32-year-old is still dealing with a left ankle injury, one that may not be fully recovered until the end of the season. Despite still being banged up, Johnson has logged more than 15 minutes a night since returning and has three goals and five assists in 12 games so far this season.
- The Avalanche could have Nathan MacKinnon back in the lineup on Saturday against Toronto, relays Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. The star center has missed nearly four weeks due to an upper-body injury and while he took the skate in a non-contact jersey today, that won’t automatically preclude him from returning tomorrow. Meanwhile, forward Darren Helm was a full participant in practice for the first time today but has not yet received the green light to suit up. He has yet to play this season and underwent hip surgery last month.
Metropolitan Notes: Penguins, Johansen, O’Brien
The Penguins got some help on the injury front tonight as the team announced that they’ve activated center Ryan Poehling off injured reserve. The 23-year-old had missed the last three games due to an upper-body injury. Poehling is in his first season with Pittsburgh after coming over in a summer trade from Montreal and has been a fixture in their bottom six, collecting eight points in 30 games while logging a little over 11 minutes per night. To make room for Poehling on the roster, winger Drake Caggiula has been sent back to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL. Caggiula has played in just three games with Pittsburgh so far this season but has 14 points in 23 games at the minor league level.
More from the Metropolitan:
- Lucas Johansen’s latest stint with the Capitals has come to an end as the team announced that they’ve returned the defenseman to Hershey of the AHL. The 25-year-old was recalled on Tuesday following the roster freeze being lifted but didn’t play. Johansen has suited up twice with Washington so far this season while he has a goal and an assist in 13 games with the Bears in the minors. Johansen’s assignment suggests that blueliner Martin Fehervary is ready to return from his upper-body injury.
- The Flyers don’t have a second-round pick next summer as a result of the Rasmus Ristolainen trade. However, as Charlie O’Connor of The Athletic notes (subscription link), it is possible for Philadelphia to get one next summer for Jay O’Brien. Assuming they don’t sign the 2018 first-rounder, they’d receive the 19th pick of the second round as compensation. Normally, since O’Brien plays in college, his free agency wouldn’t start until mid-August which would push the compensatory pick to 2024. That said, if Philadelphia wants the 2023 selection, there is an appeal process that could play out which would allow O’Brien to become a free agent in June, allowing them to get the second-rounder a year earlier.