Evander Kane To Have Hearing With Department Of Player Safety
The Edmonton Oilers already need to reverse-sweep the Colorado Avalanche in order to keep their season alive, and they now might have to accomplish that feat without one of their best wingers. The NHL Department of Player Safety announced today that Evander Kane, the mid-season signing who has fit so well in Edmonton since his arrival, will have a hearing regarding his hit on Nazem Kadri, a boarding penalty that has knocked out Kadri for the rest of the Western Conference Final and perhaps even longer.
The hit in question happened only a minute into last night’s game. Kadri was chasing a loose puck into the Edmonton corner, and Kane was pursuing him. As Kadri began to stop to retrieve the puck which had bounced to his left, Kane shoved Kadri and Kadri went tumbling into the boards. A nearby official immediately called for a penalty, and Kane was assessed a five-minute major for boarding.
Avalanche coach Jared Bednar referred to the play as “the most dangerous play in hockey,” and Kadri’s agent, Darren Ferris, took his comments a step further, calling on the league to “address the targeted hit” on his client, one that he deemed “serious and dangerously callous.” ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski highlighted a different line of thinking regarding the hit, relaying a sentiment from league sources that the hit was “reckless and unfortunate but not intentional.”
Kane has a prior disciplinary history, racking up fines for elbowing and kneeing in the past as well as suspensions for things such as elbowing, cross-checking, and abuse of officials. Kane has also previously criticized the Department of Player Safety for its decisions, and it remains to be seen the effect Kane’s prior actions will have on this upcoming decision.
If Kane is suspended, the Oilers will find the prospect of scoring goals on Colorado to be even harder than it has been for the past two games. The typically lethal Oilers offense has been limited to just two goals in that time frame. Without Kane, who has been nearly goal-per-game in these playoffs with 13 in 15 games, getting back on track should be even harder.
Should the Oilers lose on Monday, this hit and likely suspension could cast a shadow on Kane’s upcoming unrestricted free agency. As mentioned, Kane has been extremely productive in these playoffs and was nearly a point-per-game player in the regular season. Interested teams will have to balance Kane’s undeniable offensive talent with his controversial off-ice reputation when considering pursuing him as a free agent. This hit and a potential upcoming suspension could end Kane’s season on a decidedly sour note before a very important summer.
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Update On Ottawa Senators Goalies
The Ottawa Senators enter next season with the intention of competing for a playoff spot. Pierre Dorion referred to this past season as a “big step in the right direction” during his end-of-season media availability, and is reportedly even considering dealing the seventh-overall pick for more immediate help.
But perhaps the biggest reason the Senators can be optimistic about their playoff odds for next season is the emergence of goaltender Anton Forsberg as a legitimate number-one option. Forsberg, 29, played in 46 games last season, going 22-17-4 with a .917 save percentage and 2.82 goals-against average. Forsberg had been a third goalie and backup for most of his career to that point and had been claimed off of waivers three times en route to his Ottawa breakout. The Senators rewarded Forsberg for his strong play, signing him to a three-year $2.75MM AAV contract.
The emergence of Forsberg as the Senators’ starting goaltender could not have come at a better time given the decline of the previous starter, Matt Murray. Murray has had a nightmarish time as a Senator since signing a four-year, $25MM extension. He has gotten into only 47 games and has posted a combined .899 save percentage and 3.46 goals-against average over two seasons in Ottawa. Murray also cleared waivers with the Senators, indicating how far his value has fallen since he won back-to-back Stanley Cups as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
But despite Forsberg clearly displacing Murray as the Senators’ starter, the Senators’ goaltending situation does not figure to be a simple one going into next season. Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek reports that there is a “strong possibility” that the Senators will take the unorthodox route of carrying three goaltenders on their active roster next season. The three goaltenders would presumably be Forsberg, Murray, and the young Filip Gustavsson, who is still only 23 years old but is set to be waiver-eligible next season.
While carrying three goalies on their roster is by no means illegal or against any rules for the Senators to do, it is unconventional. It is generally believed to be an arrangement that most goaltenders find uncomfortable, and since goaltenders develop best when they see consistent game action, one has to wonder if fighting two other goalies for starts is the best developmental environment for Gustavsson.
Those concerns won’t be nearly as loud, though, if the Senators can find a way to deliver on the team’s promise of returning to contention. Winning can be the ultimate cure for awkward roster situations, so with that in mind, the Senators have to hope that Forsberg repeats last season’s performance and Murray can repeat his early 2022 form that saw him post a .924 save percentage in January and a .943 in February.
Looking at it optimistically, if the Senators do indeed carry three goalies and the trio can manage to play well, perhaps the arrangement can help keep each goalie rested and consistent throughout the 82-game grind that is the regular season. Regardless of what the Senators choose to do with their goalies at the start of the season, though, the deciding factor on whether the team will carry three goalies for a full 82-game slate will be the performances of the goalies themselves.
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Latest On Chicago Blackhawks Offseason
The Chicago Blackhawks have been clear about the direction of their franchise under GM Kyle Davidson, both through words and actions. Davidson himself has not been shy about using the term “rebuild” to describe the state of the organization, and it became completely clear that the team was in fact rebuilding when they traded Brandon Hagel, a young, cheap, productive player to the Tampa Bay Lightning for a package of picks and young players.
Hagel, who doesn’t turn 24 until late August, is the sort of player most tend to believe that a rebuilding club should be building around, rather than trading. But by trading him, it became obvious that the Blackhawks were taking an extremely long-term approach to maximizing their eventual window of contention. The team’s front office seems to be operating with the intention of stockpiling as many draft picks and high-upside young players as possible, and they enter the offseason with a clean slate of possibilities to help them further that goal.
According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, there could be even more Hagel-type trades this summer. Friedman states that Davidson and the Blackhawks are “testing the value” of any and all of their players “other than Seth Jones, Patrick Kane, and Jonathan Toews,” the three players on the team with full no-move clauses. Per his report, the Blackhawks will listen to offers for any player that other teams want to inquire about, and the possibility of making a trade comes down to whether another team can “make an offer that makes [the Blackhawks] want to seriously think about it.”
While it remains to be seen if the Blackhawks’ testing the trade market for most of their players actually ends up materializing in any trades, it’s clear from this report that the Blackhawks will continue to fully embrace the rebuild without any major reservation. Notable names including star winger Alex DeBrincat, former third overall pick Kirby Dach, and reliable defenseman Connor Murphy were not mentioned along with Toews, Kane, and Jones as being off the table, highlighting just how deep the team’s apparent commitment to a rebuild could be.
For contending teams, having such high-quality names available for trade is a unique opportunity. For any team willing to pay the significant asset cost it will likely take to acquire any of these names, they could get a player in return that they would not typically have the chance to acquire. Teams like the Ottawa Senators and New Jersey Devils, owners of the seventh and second picks, respectively, at next month’s entry draft have flirted with the possibility of dealing their number-one picks for a difference-making star player, so could they be in hot pursuit of a player like DeBrincat, who scored 41 goals and is only 24 years old? Moreover, are the Blackhawks more motivated to add one of those picks due to the fact that their 2022 first-rounder belongs to the Blue Jackets as part of last summer’s Jones trade?
Those are all questions that could be answered by the Blackhawks this summer. It’s possible that the Blackhawks may not ultimately receive the”Hagel-like” offers on their players that would lead them to finalizing a deal, but it’s also possible that they might receive transformational offers with the potential to considerably speed up their rebuilding process. While we don’t at this moment know what will end up happening with the Blackhawks and their crop of on-the-market veteran players, we do know that the status of the team and those players will be one of the top storylines to follow this summer.
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Latest On Brayden Point
Injured Tampa Bay Lightning center Brayden Point did take the ice today, doing some drills with assistant coach Jeff Halpern, and that may have looked to some like an indication that Point was close to returning from his injury. Unfortunately for Tampa, though, that does not appear to be the case. In a press availability before Game One versus the New York Rangers, Lightning coach Jon Cooper told the media (per Joe Smith of The Athletic) to “temper any expectations of [Point] coming back at all.”
That’s obviously a statement that has significant implications on the Lightning’s series with the Rangers, and a development that will make the team’s series all the more difficult. Point is one of the Lightning’s most important players and was brilliant in the team’s two straight Stanley Cup championship runs. While he had gotten off to a relatively slow start in these playoffs, not having Point is still a major loss for Tampa.
Point was injured in the Lightning’s Game Seven victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs, and has not played since. That proved to be no issue for the Lightning in the second round, as they swept the President’s Trophy-winning Florida Panthers, but it could be more of a problem against the Rangers, who boast a superstar goalie in Igor Shesterkin.
The Lightning have looked unbeatable in the playoffs for over two seasons now, but based on Cooper’s comments, they may be without one of their best players for an extended period of time. It’s hard to bet against a team that has just won back-to-back championships, of course, but this absence may leave Tampa more vulnerable than they have been in years.
San Jose Sharks Sign Gannon Laroque
After giving him an AHL tryout deal in April, the San Jose Sharks have announced that they have signed defenseman Gannon Laroque to his full entry-level contract. Sharks interim GM Joe Will gave the following statement about Laroque as part of the team’s announcement:
Gannon had a very strong season with Victoria and was arguably the most improved prospect in our system. He has displayed an impressive blend of steady, defensive play matched with an ability to generate offense. We’re excited about working with him to continue his development.
Will noted that Laroque was possibly the Sharks’ “most improved” prospect, and he’s probably right. Laroque, 18, had a draft year with the Victoria Royals where he didn’t produce a significant amount of offense, posting only 7 points in 21 games. This season, after going 103rd overall to the Sharks, Laroque found another gear to his game and put up 52 points in 63 games. The Royals didn’t have the best season, going 23-39-6, but Laroque was one of the bright spots on the team and grew into being their most important defenseman.
Laroque stands at six-foot-two, 190 pounds, and has made himself into a threat on the offensive side of the ice. The improvements to his game show why the Sharks drafted him just outside of the top-100, and Laroque earning his entry-level deal and getting into a few AHL games before he even turns 19 is a testament to how fast his prospect stock has risen. Laroque will in all likelihood return to Victoria next season and hope to have another strong WHL campaign.
Snapshots: Trocheck, Ferland, Brennan
Today, we covered how Vincent Trocheck told reporters that he felt he had “unfinished business” with the Carolina Hurricanes and was open to a return to the team for next season. Trocheck will be an unrestricted free agent when the market opens next month and will likely have a variety of choices for where he wants to play next season. According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the Hurricanes are indeed one of those options but may not be Trocheck’s most financially beneficial one. Friedman reported that he “heard there was an offer” to extend Trocheck, but that it “didn’t get done.” Friedman notes that the Hurricanes’ front office often holds a clear view of what a player’s value is and doesn’t typically deviate from that, raising the question of whether the Hurricanes will up their reported offer to make it lucrative enough for Trocheck to accept.
Trocheck, 28, looks set to enter the free agent market in a generally favorable position. He is coming off of a strong playoff run where he posted 10 points in 14 games, and had a two-season stretch where he posted 94 points in 128 games. Top-six centerman are always in demand in free agency, and with Jordan Staal, Sebastian Aho, and Jesperi Kotkaniemi all under contract for next season, it could require some creativity for the Hurricanes to retain Trocheck. With the Hurricanes’ focus now squarely on their offseason, the team will have to make a decision on whether they are willing to raise this reported offer to Trocheck to keep him away from the open market.
Now, for some other notes from across the world of hockey:
- Micheal Ferland hasn’t played hockey since early in the 2019-20 season, and some have wondered if his health is at a place where he could potentially return to the Canucks lineup. Ferland was a solid player when he last was an NHL regular, having hit the 40-point mark in his last two seasons. Despite that success the last time he played, it seems a return won’t be happening. Per Ferland’s agent, Jason Davidson, as relayed by CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal, Ferland “has no desire to return to the game of hockey” and is focused on his personal health as “priority number one.” Ferland has dealt with concussion issues and it’s entirely reasonable for him to prioritize his long-term health over a potential return to the ice. The Canucks are on the hook for a $3.5MM cap hit on his contract for next season, but just as they have done in the past it is expected that they will utilize long-term injured reserve for his deal, barring a trade similar to the Bryan Little swap from this past trade deadline.
- Former NHL-er T.J. Brennan has been out of the NHL for even longer than Ferland, having last hit NHL ice in the 2015-16 season for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Brennan turned in one of the best seasons of his career this past year, scoring 47 points in 48 games for Salzburg in Austria’s ICE Hockey League. It was announced today that Brennan will leave EC Red Bull Salzburg to pursue opportunities in Switzerland. At 33 years old, an NHL return for Brennan seems like a long shot. But perhaps success in Switzerland next year can be a springboard to returning to the NHL in a similar way to how success in the KHL got Chris Wideman (another early-thirties offensive defenseman) back on an NHL roster.
Buffalo Sabres Sign Isak Rosen
The Buffalo Sabres have made another signing from their 2021 draft class. After fellow 2021 draft picks Olivier Nadeau and Aleksandr Kisakov signed in the past few weeks, the team has announced that they have inked another prospect to an entry-level deal: Isak Rosen.
Rosen, 19, was the Sabres’ second first-round pick last year and was selected 14th overall. The Sabres acquired the selection as part of the Rasmus Ristolainen trade. Rosen is a highly-skilled winger who has spent the past few seasons playing for Leksands IF in Sweden. He bounced between a few levels of Swedish hockey this season, getting into games for Leksands at the SHL level, Leksands at the U-20 level, and for Mora IK of second-tier Allsvenskan on a loan. Rosen also made Team Sweden for the short-lived 2022 World Junior Championships.
Rosen is a skilled winger whose combination of speed, shooting talent, and strong puck skills makes him one of the Sabres’ top prospects. With him signed to an entry-level deal, the Sabres will likely give him a chance to make the team out of training camp and now have even more options for how to best develop him next season. With promising young players such as Jack Quinn and John Peterka already there, this signing of Rosen adds another talented top prospect to the Sabres’ system.
Winnipeg Jets Sign Tyrel Bauer
We previously covered the list of prospects whose NHL rights are set to expire on June 1st, and now that list has been cut by one. The Winnipeg Jets have agreed to terms with defenseman Tyrel Bauer to a three-year entry-level contract. While the release indicates that it will carry an average annual value of $925K at the NHL level, CapFriendly has the full breakdown, including a cap hit of $850K.
Bauer, 20, was the Jets’ sixth-rounder from the 2020 draft and has played the past four seasons with the Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL. Bauer has served as the team’s captain for the past two seasons and has led the Thunderbirds to be one of the top teams in the WHL this year.
Standing six-foot-three, 208 pounds, Bauer’s game is defined by his size, strength, and leadership. While he’s rarely a factor offensively, with only 48 points in 181 career WHL games, he offers an intriguing package of tools as a stay-at-home defenseman. The Jets have had other big defensive prospects such as Dylan Samberg and Logan Stanley pass through their system in recent years, and the team is signing Bauer likely with the hope that he can turn pro and eventually make the NHL as those two defenders have.
With the June 1st deadline looming, expect more signings like this one as teams look to retain their exclusive rights to the prospects whose rights are set to expire.
Latest On David Perron
May 31: There is certainly mutual interest, as Armstrong came right out and told reporters including Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic that he wants to bring Perron back. In what can often be a difficult period for pending free agents, this appears to be a relatively easy situation for both sides.
May 30: With the St. Louis Blues’ season now over, the focus of the team can now shift more fully towards their offseason. This summer looks like it will be a reasonably busy one for GM Doug Armstrong. He has several notable players hitting either restricted or unrestricted free agency and potential extensions to ponder for players approaching their own free agencies a year from now. One of the most important players now out of a contract is winger David Perron.
Perron, 34, has spent the past four seasons in St. Louis and that stretch represents his third separate tenure as a Blue. These past four years have been the most productive of his career, and this has led people to wonder if he would depart St. Louis once again to cash in on what could be his last guaranteed chance at a long, lucrative contract. While that speculation is reasonable, it appears that Perron has different priorities. According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, Perron “wants to go back” to St. Louis. He states that he expects Perron to sign an extension to remain a Blue “unless [Friedman] is told otherwise.”
As has been previously mentioned, Perron has enjoyed some of the best seasons of his career in these past four years, and he plays a major role on a team intent on winning another Stanley Cup. Perron had 70 points in 79 games this season (including the playoffs) and is part of the core group of players that led the team to its first championship. While the allure of a bigger contract or new opportunities attracts many players towards departing their teams as free agents, it seems from this report that Perron values continuity and familiarity over the unknown of the open market. It’s an entirely reasonable preference that should, in theory, help the Blues as they negotiate his extension.
From the perspective of rival clubs, the free agent market this summer may have lost one of its most talented scorers. So for other teams in need of offensive talent, the market for those players may have just gotten a little bit thinner.
Jason Spezza Announces Retirement
Maple Leafs forward Jason Spezza has announced his retirement today, ending an NHL career that lasted over 1,200 games. As part of the announcement, it was revealed that Spezza will be joining Toronto’s front office as special assistant to GM Kyle Dubas. Spezza gave a statement regarding his decision, saying:
Hockey has been my life’s work and to be able to come home to Toronto and bookend my playing career where it started was incredible. To the fans – in Ottawa, Dallas, Toronto and across the league – your impact on the game is immeasurable. I’ll never be able to replicate that feeling of stepping onto the ice to the roar of the crowd, but it is something I’ll always remember. Thank you.
Spezza’s full statement can be read as part of the Maple Leafs’ announcement. While Spezza ends his career without any major NHL awards or his name on the Stanley Cup, he hangs up his skates with something arguably far more valuable: the respect and adoration of the entire hockey world.
Dubas spoke to that as part of the Maple Leafs’ announcement, stating: “It is difficult to describe just how much of a lasting and positive impact that Jason Spezza made in his three seasons with the Maple Leafs.” Similar comments have begun flowing in from across the hockey world. TSN’s Chris Johnston spoke to Spezza’s unwavering professionalism despite declining ice time and production, TSN’s James Duthie called him a “pure class guy from start to finish,” and Sportsnet’s Eric Engels put it simply: “great guy, great player.”
Engels’ statement is one that best describes the impact Spezza has had on hockey throughout his 20-year professional career. He could do it all on the ice: he led the Ottawa Senators to some of the best seasons in their franchise’s history and was among the NHL’s most talented scorers for that stretch. He dazzled with his offense and helped the NHL game transition to the more skill-based brand of hockey we are now accustomed to.
But even beyond Spezza’s incredible impact on the ice has been the things he’s done off it. Spezza has been involved in numerous philanthropic causes over the course of his career and has often led the charge in those efforts, using the valuable platform his skills gave him to do good. Whether it was in Ottawa, Dallas, or Toronto, Spezza always went above and beyond to be a player his city could be proud of, regardless of how he was performing on the ice.
In terms of his new role, Dubas said Spezza will begin immediately, starting with this year’s NHL Entry draft and free agency, and will primarily be observing and learning at this point (link). Dubas added that Spezza will be given the next year or so to experience the entire front office picture before determining where he is best suited in his management career (link). Of course not sure yet, Dubas predicted player evaluation and management would be where his former player would end up.
While a potential Hall of Fame debate and heated discussions about his ultimate on-ice legacy are sure to come, the impact Spezza leaves on this era of hockey and the teams he played for is undeniable. If Spezza’s career as a Maple Leafs executive is anything like his playing career, fans in Toronto should be extremely excited.
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