Five Key Stories: 10/25/21 – 10/31/21
It was a busy week in the hockey world both on and off the ice. Away from the rink, the results of the John Doe (later revealed to be Kyle Beach) sexual assault investigation were made public with some significant departures coming soon after. Meanwhile, there were some notable injuries and extensions as well which are all highlighted in the top stories of the week.
Changes In Chicago: The aforementioned investigation showed that Blackhawks executives Stan Bowman and Al MacIsaac were aware of what happened having been part of a seven-executive meeting to discuss it. At the time the results of the investigation were released, it was announced that Bowman (who had been one of the longer-tenured GMs in the league) and MacIsaac (Senior VP of Hockey Operations) were no longer with the organization; Bowman officially stepped aside. Soon after, it was revealed that he stepped aside from his GM role with USA Hockey for the upcoming Olympics as well. Kyle Davidson has assumed the interim GM duties for the Blackhawks.
Coaching Change In Florida: Also in that meeting was then-head coach Joel Quenneville. He had since moved onto Florida and while he was behind the bench for the Panthers for the first game after the report came out, it would be his last as he resigned soon after a meeting with Commissioner Gary Bettman. Assistant Andrew Brunette has taken over on an interim basis while a search is underway to find their next bench boss. Meanwhile, Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff, who was part of that meeting as well, will not be disciplined by the NHL.
Rielly Sticks Around: One of the questions for the Maple Leafs heading into training camp was whether or not they’d be able to afford an extension for defenseman Morgan Rielly and still have their four forwards that take up roughly half the salary cap on their books. It appears they’re going to try to do just that as Toronto inked the blueliner to an eight-year, $60MM extension. The $7.5MM AAV means that they will have roughly $48MM tied up in just five players for next season which will be tricky to navigate. However, the core of their back end is also now intact for a little while as Rielly, Jake Muzzin, and T.J. Brodie are all signed through 2023-24 which should give them some stability on that front.
Kucherov Out Again: Nikita Kucherov is back on LTIR once again as he will miss eight to ten weeks after undergoing a successful procedure to repair an undisclosed leg injury. Kucherov notably missed all of last season with a hip issue before returning to help lead Tampa Bay to their second straight Stanley Cup with the team being able to spend his $9.5MM AAV on replacements to bolster their roster. With Kucherov expected to return later this season, that won’t be the case this time around as they’ll need to get back to cap compliance to activate him. The 28-year-old had a goal and three assists in three games before suffering the injury.
Banged Up Kings: Los Angeles is a little shorthanded on the back end now with two of their top defenders out long term. Drew Doughty, their top blueliner, won’t skate for six weeks with the hope that he’ll be able to return at the end of December. Meanwhile, Sean Walker, one of their other right-shot rearguards, is out for the season after tearing his ACL and MCL. Both players are eligible to go on LTIR and in Walker’s case, they’ll be able to spend his $2.65MM AAV to try to add a replacement, a search that has already begun.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Snapshots: Kraken, Backstrom, Avalanche
The list of people in COVID protocol continues to grow as prior to their game against the Rangers tonight, the Kraken announced (Twitter link) that center Jared McCann and assistant coach Paul MacFarland have both entered the protocol. McCann is off to a nice start to his season, leading Seattle in points with three goals and four assists through their first eight games while logging 16:24 per night, the highest ATOI of his career. It’s the second time he has been in COVID protocol this season having been part of the group that was in there just before the regular season got underway.
Elsewhere around the NHL:
- While Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom will accompany the team on their upcoming road trip, he won’t be taking part in any practices and will continue to work on his own, relays NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti (Twitter link). The veteran is eligible to be activated off LTIR on Saturday but if he is still just able to skate on his own, it stands to reason that he won’t be cleared to return at that time.
- The lower-body injury that took Avalanche winger Andre Burakovsky out of Saturday’s contest has left him listed as day-to-day, relays Peter Baugh of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 26-year-old is off to a slow start this season with just a goal and three assists in eight games. Baugh adds that winger Mikko Rantanen, who has missed two straight games with a lower-body injury of his own, is also listed as day-to-day.
PHR Mailbag: Kraken, Golden Knights, Eichel, Tarasenko, Blackhawks, Atkinson, Coyotes Goaltending
Topics in this edition of the PHR Mailbag include the slow starts in Seattle and Vegas, Vladimir Tarasenko’s hot start in St. Louis, Chicago’s struggles, Cam Atkinson’s return to form, and Arizona’s goaltending situation. If your question doesn’t appear here, watch for it in next weekend’s mailbag.
trak2k: Is it worrying that the Kraken have the lowest amount of shots per game and also not really anyone on offense who can score?
Also. do teams who do well at the beginning of the season do well at the end of the season?
An uptick in shots now has Seattle out of the basement in that regard but it isn’t really cause for concern that the volume isn’t there. The bigger issue is the second half of your first question in that they don’t have a lot of firepower. This isn’t a team built to do a whole lot at the offensive end as GM Ron Francis opted to pass on some more prominent offensive players in expansion and only added some secondary pieces in free agency with an eye on longer-term flexibility.
It’s important to hammer home that they’re an expansion team. They’re supposed to struggle. What Vegas did when they entered the league is by far the exception to what first-year teams are supposed to do and it unfairly raised the bar for the Kraken in the process. They’re supposed to be a middling team and with seven points out of their first eight games, they’re basically doing what most expansion teams do.
It’s not a given that teams that start strong will also finish strong. The good teams are generally good throughout but there is usually a team or two that gets off to a hot start and fades as the year goes on and vice versa. If you’re hoping that Seattle goes from a slow start to a good finish though, I don’t think this is the year for that to happen.
DirtbagBlues: Too early to panic in Vegas?
DirtbagBlues: Would Vegas really trade Theodore (as is being rumored since the Whitecloud and Hutton signings)? What else would they need to add to nab Eichel?
Speaking of that other recent expansion team… I’m not pushing the panic button right now. I know the statement “no excuses” tends to be applied but Max Pacioretty, Mark Stone, and Alex Tuch are a big part of their offense and they’re all on the shelf plus there have been a litany of minor issues that have kept players out as well. When a team is icing a lineup with a combined payroll below the cap minimum some nights, they’re bound to struggle. If they were all healthy and they were still struggling, then I’d be a bit more concerned.
As for Shea Theodore’s inclusion in a Jack Eichel trade, I think they would do that. First, I think the expectation of what Eichel will get in a return has swung far too much the other way; the Sabres aren’t moving him for pennies on the dollar. The pressure point is next offseason when his trade protection comes in, not now. If he sits the season, I don’t think they’re all that concerned; it’s not as if they’re actively trying to make the playoffs anyway.
Back to Theodore, then. Vegas has to match money for this to work on the cap (the LTIR only helps this season, not in the other four years of Eichel’s deal) so someone with a hefty price tag has to go the other way. Theodore at $5.2MM is a start on that front. But he’s young enough to be viewed as a longer-term piece for Buffalo and is signed through 2024-25 which is big for them. He can be the centerpiece of a return as a result. From the Golden Knights’ perspective, they have Alex Pietrangelo, Alec Martinez, and Zach Whitecloud signed through at least 2023-24 and Nicolas Hague under control through 2026. That’s a good foundation on the back end even without Theodore.
As for what else, someone like Jonathan Marchessault, Reilly Smith, or Evgenii Dadonov would make the money work looking ahead to later in the year if Eichel is able to return for the stretch run and playoffs (LTIR shields them until that time). I’d lean towards Marchessault solely because he has the longest term remaining which makes the money situation easier to navigate. Buffalo is open to conditions on other pieces so there’s bound to be a conditional first-rounder in there plus probably a lower pick tied to that one. I could also see someone like Jack Dugan involved, a prospect whose stock has dipped a bit but still carries some potential value to Buffalo.
Johnny Z: Does Tarasenko still get traded? Does he push it or settles in with the Blues?
I’ve never really thought Tarasenko was getting traded in the first place. Sure, he may want out but with contracts like these, there’s a very fine line to navigate. At $7.5MM for this season and next, teams aren’t going to want him if he’s not producing and how he finished last year basically cratered any possible value he may have. On the other hand, he’s an important enough piece for the Blues that they weren’t going to give him away.
Now he’s off to a nice start to his 2021-22 campaign with four goals and four assists in six games. His value has certainly gone up but where’s the motivation for St. Louis to trade him? If you have a player producing at a top-line level, you keep him. Winning and success can get rid of a lot of bad blood. Will that be the case here? I don’t know but considering that it’s often easier to try to swap big contracts in the offseason, that might be the time for something to happen on the trade front but not now. At that point, teams will have a better idea if Tarasenko is truly back to his old form while there will also be the element of being able to discuss and potentially sign an extension which isn’t an option if he’s moved now.
Nha Trang: Has Marc-Andre Fleury just gotten old, or does the Chicago defense really suck THAT badly?
Why can’t it be both? Fleury is 36 and there is some volatility in starting goalies as they get older. Fleury didn’t hide the fact he didn’t want to be traded in the first place and while I’m not accusing him of merely going through the motions by any stretch, going from somewhere you loved to somewhere you don’t want to be certainly doesn’t help things.
As for Chicago’s back end, they’ve struggled quite a bit as well. Frankly, they’ve surprised me with how poorly they’ve played as on paper, that’s at least a decent group. Seth Jones has struggled mightily, Jake McCabe hasn’t quite settled in yet, and returning veterans Connor Murphy and Calvin de Haan have underwhelmed as well.
It’s also worth mentioning that in Fleury’s case, it’s four games. That’s a pretty small sample size. He isn’t going to be that bad all season long; I expect he’ll turn it around. Generally speaking, I expect Chicago will find their footing eventually; there’s too much talent on that team to be this bad all season long. When that happens, Fleury will go back to being a decent starter and that’s all they really wanted when they added him from Vegas.
AHL Shuffle: 10/30/21
With 20 teams in action on a busy Saturday around the NHL, there will likely be quite a bit of roster movement throughout the day. We’ll keep track of those moves here.
Atlantic Division
- The Bruins have re-assigned center Oskar Steen to Providence, per the AHL’s transactions page. The 23-year-old had an assist on Sunday, his only NHL appearance in 2021-22. Steen also has two points in three contests in the minors so far this season.
- Forward Zac Dalpe has been recalled from the Charlotte Checkers by the Florida Panthers, per a team tweet. The recall would put the team over the roster limit, likely meaning that Chase Priskie will be returned to Charlotte or Kevin Connauton could be placed on injured reserve. The 31-year-old veteran Dalpe has just one goal in four AHL contests with Charlotte this year, but got into 12 NHL games with Columbus last season.
Metropolitan Division
- The Red Wings announced that they have recalled center Joe Veleno from Grand Rapids of the AHL. The 2018 first-rounder got into five games with Detroit down the stretch last season and is off to a good start with the Griffins this year with three goals in five games at the minor league level. Veleno will take the spot of Tyler Bertuzzi on the roster with the winger being unable to be with the team for their upcoming games in Canada.
Central Division
Pacific Division
- The Kings announced (Twitter link) that they’ve assigned winger Vladimir Tkachev to Ontario of the AHL with center Lias Andersson being activated off season-opening IR to take his place. Tkachev came over from the KHL and has a pair of assists in four games this season but has only played once in the last week and a half so an appearance in the minors will keep him fresh. Andersson, meanwhile, had six points in 23 games with Los Angeles last season and suffered a groin injury late in the preseason.
- The Kraken announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled center Max McCormick from Charlotte of the AHL while transferring Mason Appleton to injured reserve. McCormick has seen NHL action in five of the last six seasons, compiling 13 points in 83 games along the way. As for Appleton, he suffered a lower-body injury earlier this week against Montreal.
This post will be updated throughout the day.
Penguins Activate Sidney Crosby And Jeff Carter
The Penguins will have their top center back in the lineup tonight as the team announced (Twitter link) that he has been activated off injured reserve and will play against New Jersey. Meanwhile, head coach Mike Sullivan also confirmed to reporters including Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that center Jeff Carter has been cleared from COVID protocol and will also suit up.
Crosby has missed all seven games this season after undergoing wrist surgery in early September to repair what GM Ron Hextall termed as something that the captain has played through for several years. The 34-year-old has averaged more than a point per game in all 16 of his NHL seasons and will be a huge addition to a Pittsburgh attack that has been down several key pieces.
One of those was Carter whose strong start on the top line was suddenly stalled with his placement in COVID protocol. The 36-year-old has a goal and three assists in four games this season while logging nearly 20 minutes a night. His playing time should decrease with Crosby returning but he’ll still play a prominent role inside their top six.
Pittsburgh had been carrying two open roster spots with just the minimum of 12 forwards so there will be no corresponding roster moves necessary to activate both players.
While this is undoubtedly a big boost for the Penguins, they’re still without defenseman Kris Letang (COVID protocol), winger Bryan Rust (who skated with a non-contact sweater today), and center Evgeni Malkin who remains sidelined as he works his way back from a knee injury.
Metropolitan Notes: Niederreiter, Reaves, Dowd
The Hurricanes had plenty to be happy about on Friday night as they ran their winning streak to seven straight to start the season but it wasn’t all good news as Nino Niederreiter suffered a lower-body injury in the third period. Speaking with reporters including Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer postgame, head coach Rod Brind’Amour indicated that the winger could be “out for a while”. Niederreiter, a five-time 20-goal scorer, was off to a decent start this season with three tallies in his first seven games and with this being a contract year, any extended absence certainly won’t help his cause when it’s time to work out a new agreement. In the meantime, Niederreiter’s injury could open up a spot for Seth Jarvis to make his NHL debut.
More from the Metropolitan Division:
- The Rangers are hoping that winger Ryan Reaves won’t miss more than the minimum seven days after being placed on IR Thursday, relays Larry Brooks of the New York Post. The 34-year-old will be with the team on their upcoming four-game road trip and the hope is that he’ll be able to return over that stretch. Reaves has logged nearly nine minutes per game in his first seven contests in New York.
- Capitals center Nic Dowd suffered a lower-body injury in Friday’s morning skate, notes Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic (subscription link). Head coach Peter Laviolette expressed optimism that Dowd, who has won nearly 60% of his faceoffs this season, won’t be out for too long. Brett Leason made his NHL debut in Dowd’s absence and Washington will need to make a roster move if they want to bring up another extra forward. Dowd could be shifted to IR if he’s going to miss at least a week or defenseman Martin Fehervary – who’s waiver-exempt – may need to be sent down and replaced with a forward.
Pacific Notes: Gibson, Viveiros, Nieto, Hanifin
With the Ducks fully engaged in their rebuild, it stands to reason that some of their veterans could be trade candidates as the season progresses. On the surface, one of those would be goaltender John Gibson, a veteran that has been a capable starter in the past and has struggled a bit behind scuffling Anaheim teams in recent years. However, NHL.com’s Dan Rosen argues otherwise, suggesting that their turnaround should be complete over the next few years and at that point, they’ll still need a starting goalie and Gibson is signed through 2026-27 so it’s quite possible he would still fit their target timeline for contention. The 28-year-old has said he’s tired of losing – he actually led the league in losses the next two years – but if Ducks GM Bob Murray feels the same way as Rosen, Gibson may have to stick it out a while yet.
More from the Pacific:
- Henderson head coach Manny Viveiros revealed (Twitter link) that his medical leave of absence at the beginning of the season was due to a prostate cancer diagnosis. Viveiros, who is in his second season at the helm of the Golden Knights’ AHL affiliate, will be able to return behind the bench for the time being before needing to take another leave of absence in mid-December to undergo surgery.
- Sharks winger Matt Nieto is listed as day-to-day due to a lower-body injury, relays Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now (Twitter link). The injury stems from a blocked shot on Thursday in Nashville. The 28-year-old had suited up in all six games for San Jose in the early going this season, collecting one assist.
- Flames defenseman Noah Hanifin is dealing with an upper-body injury, the team announced (Twitter link). He’s listed as day-to-day and was not in the lineup against Pittsburgh on Thursday night. Michael Stone made his season debut in Hanifin’s absence while Nikita Zadorov remained a healthy scratch.
Joel Quenneville Resigns As Panthers Head Coach
The Panthers are on the lookout for a new head coach after the team announced on Thursday that Joel Quenneville has resigned. Panthers President and CEO Matt Caldwell released the following statement:
After the release of the Jenner & Block investigative report on Tuesday afternoon, we have continued to diligently review the information within that report, in addition to new information that has recently become available. It should go without saying that the conduct described in that report is troubling and inexcusable. It stands in direct contrast to our values as an organization and what the Florida Panthers stand for. No one should ever have to endure what Kyle Beach experienced during, and long after, his time in Chicago. Quite simply, he was failed. We praise his bravery and courage in coming forward.
Following a meeting today with Commissioner Bettman at National Hockey League offices, which was part of the league’s process to decide how to move forward, Joel made the decision to resign and the Florida Panthers accepted that resignation.
The independent investigation referenced in the above statement was released on Tuesday with Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman and Senior VP of Hockey Operations Al MacIssac both leaving the organization immediately thereafter. Quenneville had previously denied being aware of the allegations having been made but the report squashed that assertion. As a result, Quenneville met with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman on Thursday.
Shortly following Florida’s announcement, Quenneville released a statement of his own:
With deep regret and contrition, I announce my resignation as head coach of the Florida Panthers.
I want to express my sorrow for the pain this young man, Kyle Beach, has suffered.
My former team the Blackhawks failed Kyle and I own my share of that.
I want to reflect on how all of this happened and take the time to educate myself on ensuring hockey spaces are safe for everyone.
Should Quenneville wish to return to the NHL at some point, Bettman indicated in a statement of his own that “a meeting with him in advance in order to determine the appropriate conditions under which such new employment might take place”. No further disciplinary action will be coming to the 63-year-old.
Quenneville had three years remaining on his contract (including this one) with a $5.25MM salary plus more than $1MM in bonuses, per CapFriendly. It’s unknown at this time if there is any sort of settlement agreement in place between Quenneville and the Panthers.
The Panthers are off to a hot start this season with a 7-0-0 record to sit first in the league and assistant coach Andrew Brunette will take over as interim head coach, reports Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link). A search for a permanent head coach will soon be underway.
In the meantime, ESPN’s Kevin Weekes, who first reported that a change was coming, suggests that veteran bench boss John Tortorella could be a potential candidate to take over behind the bench. Florida GM Bill Zito is certainly familiar with Tortorella having been with Columbus between 2015 and 2020 and with the team performing well for a veteran head coach, it would make sense to go down that path again. Bruce Boudreau, Rick Tocchet, Claude Julien, and Mike Babcock are among the other veteran head coaches that are currently not working in the NHL at the moment.
Kings Looking For Right-Side Defensive Help
With Drew Doughty out for at least the next eight weeks due to a knee contusion and Sean Walker out for the rest of the season after tearing his ACL and MCL, the defensive depth for the Kings has certainly taken a hit, particularly on the right side. To that end, Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports in the latest TSN Insider Trading segment (video link) that Los Angeles is looking to add a depth right-shot defender at a minimum.
It’s certainly understandable as their depth chart of healthy right-shot blueliners on the active roster is down to Matt Roy and Austin Strand; Strand cleared waivers earlier this month and was just recalled on Wednesday. A depth piece could allow them to send Strand back to the minors at a minimum but a top-four addition would take some pressure of Roy, who logged more than 28 minutes last game out of necessity. For context, his career average is about 10 minutes a night below that mark.
A complicating factor in this situation is the salary cap. The Kings are basically up against the cap ceiling right now due to their recent recalls and while Doughty is eligible to go on LTIR, the fact he’s coming back this season eliminates the possibility of them spending big to replace him as they’ll need to be cap-compliant to activate him when the time comes.
That leaves Walker and his $2.65MM price tag for GM Rob Blake to try to work with to find a replacement. Unfortunately for him and the Kings, there aren’t a lot of top-four defenders making that type of money and even fewer that are readily available. Accordingly, looking for a depth option or two is a much more realistic target for Los Angeles. The trade market is often quiet at this time of year but don’t be too surprised to see the Kings add a piece before too long, especially since this is a season where they’re hoping to get back into the playoff picture.
Atlantic Notes: Bruins, Mittelstadt, Watson
Bruins forward Curtis Lazar was back in the lineup tonight against Florida but he very nearly wasn’t. He told reporters, including Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald, that he was very close to having surgery to repair his injured elbow which would have taken him out for the majority of the remainder of the regular season. Instead, simply resting it has worked well enough – for now at least – to allow the 26-year-old to return after just missing four games. Lazar’s timing to return is certainly good with veteran Craig Smith not accompanying the team on their two-game road trip. Anton Blidh was transferred to IR to make room for Lazar’s activation.
More from the Atlantic:
- The Sabres are hoping that center Casey Mittelstadt will be able to return to the lineup after their road trip, reports Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News (Twitter link). The 22-year-old suffered an upper-body injury in their season-opening win over Montreal and has been out ever since. Buffalo will kick off a four-game West Coast road trip on Thursday so Mittelstadt won’t be able to return until November 6th against Detroit.
- Senators winger Austin Watson could return to Ottawa’s lineup for their game on Friday, suggests Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. The 29-year-old suffered an ankle injury in the final game of the postseason and hasn’t played since but did participate in practice today. The Sens have an open roster spot even with the recent addition of Dylan Gambrell so no move will need to be made to activate Watson off injured reserve.