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Atlantic Notes: Krug, Fabbri, Moore

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While there has been plenty of debate on what the Boston Bruins should do with pending UFA defenseman Torey Krug this summer, there are other factors that the team must consider besides the team’s salary cap situation in the future.

The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa (subscription required) writes the Bruins also need to consider the upcoming Seattle expansion draft as well. The scribe writes that if Krug is retained, the team is more likely to protect four defensemen in Krug, Charlie McAvoy, Brandon Carlo and Matt Grzelcyk. The problem is the team would then only be able to protect four forwards, including Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak and either Charlie Coyle or Jake Debrusk. One of those two would likely be picked by Seattle.

However, if the team opted not to brink back Krug, the team might be able to choose the 7-3-1 protection format instead, which would allow Boston to protect those three defensemen (minus Krug) and then protect up to seven forwards, which might include two more forwards such as Danton Heinen and Anders Bjork as well.

  • Despite expecting to have some cap space this offseason, the Detroit Red Wings do have an inordinate number of restricted free agent forwards. In fact, the team has 11 RFAs they will have to deal with this summer. The Athletic’s Max Bultman (subscription required) examines some of the forwards and what their chances of coming back are. While Anthony Mantha’s status isn’t in doubt and Andreas Athanasiou status could end in a trade, there still are a number of forwards who could be fighting for a contract. The scribe writes that of all those forwards, many who must have solid campaigns this season, Robby Fabbri has definitely earned himself another contract with the Red Wings. The 23-year-old has established himself immediately with the team, posting 10 points in his first 13 games with the franchise. While it remains a long season and his offense could drop off, he has enough potential that it’s very likely the team will bring him back.
  • Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said the team could be getting back forward Trevor Moore soon, according to Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun. The 24-year-old has been out since Nov. 15 with a shoulder injury, but Keefe said that Moore could make his return by the end of the team’s current four-game road trip that starts today, which could put him on schedule to return at some point next week. Moore has averaged 14:00 per game and has three goals and five points in 21 games as a bottom-six forward.

Pacific Notes: Coyotes, Ritchie, Nugent-Hopkins, Kovalchuk

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With hints that the Arizona Coyotes are interested in acquiring New Jersey Devils star Taylor Hall, The Athletic’s Craig Morgan (subscription required) confirms that the team is interested, but general manager John Chayka also has made it clear that he likes his roster as would prefer to keep his roster in tact. However, if the team continues to perform well, the GM might be willing to make a big splash.

“I view each season as sacred,” Chayka said. “Any time you get a chance to make a push, you have to look to do that. When players have earned that right and are serious about making a push — if they’re doing their job then I’ve got to do my job. If these guys keep playing hard and playing well, then yeah, I think it’s going to force us to make some additions to this team.”

Chayka might prefer to move picks and prospects in a deal for Hall rather than break up the team. However, Morgan does add that there are a few prospects that are off limits, including Barrett Hayton, Victor Soderstrom and Jan Jenik.

  • While there is nothing official on the severity of his injury, Anaheim Ducks head coach Dallas Eakins said that the injury that forward Nick Ritchie sustained Friday against the Washington Capitals “does not look very good,” according to The Athletic’s Eric Stephens. Ritchie injured his knee after sustaining a late hit from the Capitals’ Radko Gudas and Ritchie had trouble putting weight on his leg as he left the ice, suggesting the injury could be long-term.
  • The Edmonton Oilers look to be getting back a familiar face as the team announced that forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will return to the ice Sunday against the Buffalo Sabres. Nugent-Hopkins has missed the past six games with a hand injury. Nugent-Hopkins has five goals and 16 points in 25 games.
  • Little has changed for the Los Angeles Kings Ilya Kovalchuk, who has not appeared in a game since Nov. 9, according to The Athletic’s Lisa Dillman (subscription required). Regardless, Kovalchuk has continued to practice and travel with the team and has maintained a positive attitude despite sitting in the press box. “The situation with Kovy is a tough one for everybody,” Kings head coach Todd McLellan said. “I can tell you that he’s been outstanding. Kovy’s situation has nothing to do with him as a person or his work ethic or anything like that. He’s outstanding. He works as hard as anybody right now.

 

Eastern Notes: Hughes, Backstrom, Dumoulin, Clifton

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The New Jersey Devils will be without their top rookie for a second straight game as head coach John Hynes revealed that center Jack Hughes will not play against the Buffalo Sabres Sunday, according to The Athletic’s Cory Masisak. Hynes did suggest that Hughes may be available on Tuesday against Vegas.

No one is sure when or how Hughes got hurt, other than it is considered to be a lower-body injury. Hughes, the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft, hasn’t been as dominant as the team has hoped although the 18-year-old has flashed some elite skills and should be a building block for the team in the future. Hughes currently has four goals and 11 points in 24 games.

  • The Washington Capitals are expected to get forward Carl Hagelin back from LTIR for Tuesday’s game at San Jose, but The Athletic’s Tarik El-Bashir reports that the team is hoping to get back center Nicklas Backstrom as well. The veteran forward will travel with the Capitals on their West Coast road trip and Backstrom’s return hinges on how things will go in practice on Monday.
  • TribSports’ Seth Rorabaugh suggests that the injury to Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Brian Dumoulin, who underwent surgery to repair lacerated tendons in his ankle earlier today and will be out for eight weeks, could be construed as good timing, if such a thing is possible. Assuming the eight-week timetable holds up, Dumoulin would be out during the holiday break and during the team’s bye-week at the end of January.
  • The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa (subscription required) writes that the Boston Bruins had a tough decision to make as defenseman Connor Clifton is within one game of playing his 60th game of his career (playoff games count). Once he plays that game, which is expected to be today given the team’s announced lineup, the Bruins will be required to pass the blueliner through waivers to send him to the AHL. The problem is that despite playing well, the team is expected to get John Moore and Kevan Miller back sooner than later with Moore currently on a conditioning stint with Providence Bruins. To slow the process, Boston has been swapping Clifton with Steven Kampfer, but as Shinzawa suggests that the Bruins have a better chance of winning with Clifton in the lineup. While Clifton has just two goals on the season, he does have 44 hits in 22 games.

Columbus’ Zach Werenski Sidelined For Four Weeks

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The Columbus Blue Jackets knew they might lose defenseman Zach Werenski after he went down with an upper-body injury during their game against the New York Islanders Saturday. The Blue Jackets have since announced that the blueliner will miss four weeks due to a shoulder injury, the same injury he had surgery on over the summer.

The 22-year-old looked to have been in a serious injury after colliding with the Islanders’ Anders Lee just four minutes into the game. Werenski immediately favored his shoulder as he left the ice. He has been a key player on the Blue Jackets’ blueline as he is second on the team in ATOI, averaging 22:41, while he is tied for third on the team with six goals.

The team is currently with just six defensemen, but don’t play another game until Tuesday, which should give the team time to recall a defenseman. Scott Harrington will likely get the first shot in replacing Werenski in the lineup, but the team is likely going to call up a player from the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL with Adam Clendening likely being the top option, while youngster Andrew Peeke could also get an opportunity.

 

Snapshots: Three Stars, Makar, Nugent-Hopkins

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With another month having passed, the NHL revealed its Three Stars for the month of November and no surprise that Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid heads the list. The two-time Art Ross Trophy winner dominated November in 14 games, leading the league with 13 goals, 26 points, six power play goals and 11 power play points over the month. That performance has put Edmonton at the top of the Pacific Division with a 7-5-2 record in November.

The Colorado Avalanche’s Nathan MacKinnon and Chicago Blackhawks Patrick Kane round out the top three. MacKinnon ranked second in the NHL in points in November with 10 goals and 25 points in 14 games and did it while being without his two linemates, Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog for most of that month. Kane, meanwhile, scored a point in all 15 games that he played, scoring 11 goals and 24 points.

  • The NHL also announced the NHL ’Rookie of the Month,’ handing the award to Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar, who dominated the month of November. The 21-year-old led all rookies with seven goals, 16 points, three game-winning goals, +10 plus/minus and ATOI, averaging 21:25. Makar became the fifth rookie to score seven or more goals in a month and the last to do it since Brian Leetch did it in 1989. Makar beat out New York Rangers’ Adam Fox, Vancouver Canucks’ Quinn Hughes, Carolina Hurricanes’ Martin Necas, Buffalo Sabres Victor Olofsson and Pittsburgh Penguins’ John Marino.
  • The Edmonton Journal’s Kurt Leavins writes that despite rumors that Edmonton Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had a surgical procedure last week on his hand, he did not. Instead, Nugent-Hopkins received an injection, suggesting that the injury is more pain-related than anything else. The Oilers hope to get the top-six forward back sometime later this week.

Notes On Taylor Hall, New Jersey Devils

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With reports Saturday that the New Jersey Devils and general manager Ray Shero are listening to offers for prized forward Taylor Hall, plenty of speculation has drifted around the hockey world. Moving Hall, who has made it increasingly clear that he isn’t willing to sign an extension during the season, might be the best option for the Devils as the team certainly doesn’t want to lose him for nothing on July 1.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that there are a number of suitors who would be willing to acquire Hall. In fact, he said Hall’s former team, the Edmonton Oilers, might be among the top suitors in a potential trade Saturday night on Hockey Night in Canada.

“I do think that the Oilers are one of several teams with the likes of Montreal, Colorado and St. Louis who will be in this,” Friedman added. “But like Chris said, I think a lot of it depends on price for the Oilers and anyone else who may bite.”

Hall was originally traded to the Devils in 2016 for defenseman Adam Larsson and many in Edmonton would like to see that trade rectified and bring Hall into a top-six group that already includes Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and James Neal although the Oilers’ cap concerns could make a deal challenging.

Both Colorado and Montreal have the potential to easily sign Hall to an extension, while having the prospects and picks to make a deal work. The Blues would be a tougher fit under their cap constraints, but the team does have some prospects it could move and an expiring contract in Alex Pietrangelo.

  • Kurt Leavins of the Edmonton Journal writes that too many people dismiss the Oilers due to their salary cap. The Devils have between $4-5MM in cap space and are willing to retain salary for the best possible package. The Devils might even be able to take a contract back in a deal and with a significant amount of solid prospects and draft picks, it’s more than reasonable to think that Edmonton could acquire Hall.
  • After a 4-0 drubbing to the rival New York Rangers, the New York Post’s Larry Brooks writes that it is up to Shero to fix the mess that is currently underway in New Jersey. With a 9-12-4 record, Brooks wonders how much longer the GM intends to stick with head coach John Hynes, suggesting it might be better for the Devils to move on from a coach that has failed to inspire players to play better against rival teams and has only reached the playoffs once in four years. Firing Hynes and bringing in the right coach might make a difference on whether Hall might opt to stay in New Jersey in the future.
  • The Athletic’s Cory Masisak (subscription required) writes that the Devils are at a crossroads as trading Hall means trading one of greatest players in the team’s franchise history. Acquiring Hall for Larsson in that trade in 2016 was a key to Shero’s tenure as general manager and what the GM does over the next few months will have a major and long-term effect on the franchise. The team will also have to commit to a path which includes committing to a significant rebuild or attempting to rebuild the team like the New York Islanders did by replacing Hall with veteran players in hopes of competing sooner.
  • In the same article, Masisak also points out that if Hall does get traded, that could also mean that several other players could be on their way out as Wayne Simmonds and Sami Vatanen, both unrestricted free agents this summer, would also be likely trade candidates. While Andy Greene is in a different situation, he might be willing to move his no-trade clause to head to a contender rather than stay for any kind of rebuild.

Pittsburgh’s Brian Dumoulin Expected To Miss Eight Weeks

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The Pittsburgh Penguins injury woes continue as the team lost another key player Saturday as the team announced that defenseman Brian Dumoulin had surgery Sunday to repair lacerated tendons in his left ankle and will miss a minimum of eight weeks. Dumoulin was injured within the first minute of Saturday’s game against the St. Louis Blues when he got tangled up with Blues forward Zach Sanford, who fell on Dumoulin’s leg. He never returned to the ice after having logged just 35 seconds of ice time.

The injury is just another devastating hit after another. The team have already had to deal with injury issues to many of their star players, including Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Sidney Crosby. Malkin missed 11 games early in the season with a lower-body injury and within days of returning, Letang went down with a lower-body injury that sidelined him for eight games as well. Crosby underwent core muscle surgery on Nov. 14 and isn’t expected back until at least January. The team also has a number of other key players on injured players, including Justin Schultz, Nick Bjugstad and Bryan Rust.

Dumoulin is second on the team in minutes played as he is averaging 21:04 of ice time and his defensive prowess is evident in his plus-17 rating. The team will likely lean more heavily on rookie John Marino and veteran Jack Johnson to play bigger roles while Dumoulin is out.

 

Minor Transactions: 12/1/19

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When thinking of the Minnesota Wild and their history, several players may come to mind, but perhaps one of the most significant is Mikko Koivu, who has played his entire career in Minnesota and will be playing in his 1,000th game as a member of the Wild. The 36-year-old has struggled over the last couple of years with injuries and a decline in play (although he remains a solid defensive center), but he hits a major milestone Sunday when the Dallas Stars come to town.

  • The Washington Capitals announced they have re-assigned forward Beck Malenstyn and defenseman Christian Djoos to the Hershey Bears of the AHL. The move is likely a precursor to the team getting back some of their veteran players in the coming days. The team is expected to activate Carl Hagelin off of LTIR prior to Tuesday’s game against San Jose, while center Nicklas Backstrom is also near a return.
  • The Boston Bruins announced the team has assigned defenseman John Moore to the Providence Bruins on a LTIR conditioning loan. Moore has been out all season after undergoing offseason shoulder surgery and now is close to returning. The team also announced that they have assigned forward Jack Studnicka to Providence as well. Studnicka made his NHL debut on Tuesday, picking up his first NHL point. The 20-year-old has nine goals and 18 points in 21 AHL games as well.
  • The Detroit Red Wings announced they have recalled defenseman Jonathan Ericsson from the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL and returned goaltender Calvin Pickard there. Ericsson was assigned to Grand Rapids on Saturday, likely a paper transaction, while Pickard can now be returned after the Red Wings acquiregoaltender Eric Comrie in a trade.
  • The St. Louis Blues have assigned defenseman Derrick Pouliot to the San Antonio Rampage of the AHL. The 25-year-old has dominated for the Rampage this year, scoring 18 points in 20 games and appeared in back-to-back games with the Blues this weekend. With Robert Bortuzzo back from his four-game suspension, Pouliot wasn’t needed anymore.
  • With Travis Hamonic nearing a return, the Calgary Flames have returned Alexander Yelesin to the minor leagues. Yelesin has yet to get into an NHL game with the Flames, but has two points in 15 games with the Stockton Heat in his first year of North American professional hockey.

Snapshots: Russian WJC Coaches, Crawford, Werenski

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The Russian National team announced it has upgraded its coaching staff for the upcoming World Junior Championships, starting next month with Russian greats Igor Larionov and Nikolai Khabibulin taking roles with the team under head coach Valeri Bragin.

Larionov, a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame and three-time Stanley Cup Champion, will take over as an assistant coach after maintaining a role as an advisor for the senior national team. Khabibulin, a four-time all-star in the NHL, will take over as the WJC goaltending coach for Russia. He has served as goaltending coach for the Russian Olympic team. They will be replacing Yuri Babenko and Vladimir Kulikov, who were re-assigned.

Both coaches are expected to join the Russian team for training camp on Dec. 9. The tournament begins on Dec. 26 in the Czech Republic.

  • The Daily Herald’s Barry Rozner wonders whether this will be Corey Crawford’s last season with the Chicago Blackhawks. The 34-year-old has fared well after several injury-plagued seasons, posting a 2.94 GAA and a .913 save percentage in 13 games while splitting time with Robin Lehner. Unfortunately, Lehner who is six years younger, is having an even better season, and with both goaltenders hitting unrestricted free agency this summer, the team will have to pick one, which would suggest they will retain Lehner, although the scribe notes that it’s too early in the season to make any assumptions. However, with another young goalie close to ready in Kevin Lankinen, the team might have no choice but to move on from their longtime star goaltender.
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets announced that defenseman Zach Werenski suffered a upper-body injury and would not return for the remainder of the game against the New York Islanders. The injury looked serious as he collided with the Islanders’ Anders Lee less than four minutes into the game and hit him in the left shoulder, the same shoulder that Werenski had surgery on in July. The Columbus Dispatch’s Brian Hedger reports that there was no update on Werenski after the game and an update isn’t likely to be revealed until Monday. However, the 22-year-old leads the Blue Jackets’ defensemen with six goals and 16 points.

Atlantic Notes: Berglund, Backes, Coburn, Anderson

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In a feature aired on Hockey Night in Canada Saturday, Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston looks at the unusual story of Patrik Berglund, who a year ago opted out of the final three years and $13.03MM of his contract with the Buffalo Sabres to quit hockey, Berglund claims that it was no decision at all.

“I don’t know how much money you need to be happy, but I’m good,” said Berglund.

The 31-year-old Berglund had spent his previous 12 years with the St. Louis Blues and had a modified no-trade clause with the ability to reject 20 teams in any proposed deal. Unfortunately, the Blues were able to get around the no-trade clause as it was voided when Berglund failed to turn in his list of teams before the set deadline. Johnston reports that the trade affected him greatly.

He struggled in Buffalo, eventually getting scratched, before he finally decided he had enough. He decided in mid-December last year that he had enough and walked away. The Sabres fined and suspended him at first, but eventually the two sides agreed to mutually terminate his deal.

Bergund now is captain of Djurgardens in the SHL, where he makes quite a bit less than what he would make had he remained with the Sabres.

  • While many will always think of the hit that Ottawa Senators forward Scott Sabourin took on Nov. 2, many have forgotten that the other player in the frightening collision was Boston Bruins forward David Backes, who has now sat out 13 games with an upper-body injury. Backes believes he is very close to returning to Boston’s lineup, claiming that he might be ready to return on Sunday against Montreal, although head coach Bruce Cassidy will make the final decision, according to NHL.com’s Eric Russo. The 35-year-old Backes has only played in eight games for the Bruins this year, while averaging just 8:17 of ATOI.
  • There were some questions of the status of Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Braydon Coburn who left Friday’s game against the Capitals with a lower-body injury after being clipped. While the team was hoping the injury would be day-to-day, the Lightning announced that Coburn will be out indefinitely. Coburn hasn’t received the playing time that the 34-year-old is used to. After averaging more than 16 minutes of ATOI over the past four years, he is averaging only 13:40 this season in 17 contests despite signing a two-year extension this summer with the team. The fact that he’s at the bottom of the depth chart, might make him a little easier to replace if he is out longer than the team hoped for.
  • After the Ottawa Senators placed starting goalie Craig Anderson on injured reserve on Thursday, the Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch reports that the veteran goalie won’t necessarily be out long. The scribe writes the Anderson joined the Senators on their road trip and the 38-year-old skated with the team Saturday, suggesting he may be ready to return soon. The team started Marcus Hogberg tonight in his place.

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