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Blues Notes: Steen, Dunn, Thompson, Stastny

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Don’t be shocked if the St. Louis Blues put Alex Steen immediately onto the top line the moment he is healthy, which could be soon, according to The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford. Taking mailbag questions, the scribe writes that while most people, including himself, believed that Steen would come back to the team’s second line, the recent promotion of Samuel Blais might change things. The team believes that Blais might take off on the team’s second line. The 21-year-old prospect had a great preseason and started hot with the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage with three goals in two games. Rutherford believes that if Blais mixes in well with the second line, then the more likely option for Steen would be to move him to the first line with Vladimir Tarasenko and Paul Stastny. That would force Vladimir Sobotka to move down from the first line to the team’s third line, where the team has really struggled so far this year.

Steen, who scored 16 goals and 51 points a season ago broke his hand on Sept. 19 and is believed to be travelling with the team and close to returning to game action soon.

Other notes from Rutherford:

  • The scribe writes that when defenseman Jay Bouwmeester returns, the team may be in for a tough decision. Bouwmeester, who is recovering from a fractured ankle, could come back within the next week or two, will force the team to cut a defenseman. While Rutherford writes that rookie blueliner Vince Dunn has been impressive through five games, including scoring his first goal and putting up five shots in his last game and looking solid on defense. However, it is likely the team will send Dunn down rather than bench defenseman Carl Gunnarsson when Bouwmeester returns.
  • Rutherford adds that former 2016 first-rounder Tage Thompson’s demotion is probably a good thing. He writes that Thompson is being groomed to be a top-six forward, not a bottom-six forward, so his development is critical and more time in San Antonio makes more sense. The 19-year-old center, who was playing hockey for the University of Connecticut a year ago, has only 26 games of AHL experience (playoffs included). Despite being a big player, Rutherford writes he got pushed around quite a bit, which often happens to young, inexperienced players.
  • The scribe also writes that he believes that this could very likely be Stastny’s last year in St. Louis, unless the 31-year-old center is willing to take a pay cut to remain with the team. Stastny, who is in the final year of a four-year, $28MM deal, is currently making $7MM this season. Rutherford believes that while the team will likely keep their options open, the Blues will likely look at the free agent market first before deciding whether to re-sign Stastny. Stastny’s numbers have progressively been dropping over the last few years, with last year’s 40-point season being one of the lowest of his career. He is faring well so far with two goals and four assists in five games.

 

Vegas Recalls Vadim Shipachyov, Will Make Debut Sunday

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The Vegas Golden Knights have finally recalled center Vadim Shipachyov today from the Chicago Wolves, tweeted Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston. In a corresponding move, Johnston tweets that Vegas has placed Erik Haula on injured reserve after a fight with Detroit’s Tomas Tatar last night.

For Shipachyov, it’s been a long wait to make his NHL debut. Considered to be a key signing by Vegas and quite possibly one of their best playmakers on the team, Shipachyov fell into a numbers crunch with the team’s extreme defensive depth of non-waiver eligible defensemen. In hopes of making a late trade, general manager George McPhee instead decided to option the Russian center to avoid having to place one of those defensemen on waivers and lose them. The 30-year-old has played his entire career in the KHL, putting up big numbers last season for St. Petersburg with 26 goals, 50 assists and 76 points, all career-highs. He signed a two-year deal with Vegas on May 4.

Instead, while he had been optioned to Chicago in the AHL, he never played for them, having stayed in Vegas. There were reports he was upset about the situation and his agents were looking for a way out of his contract situation. McPhee later said that he had no options, although that might be debateable, however, he said he spoke to Shipachyov’s camp and explained the situation better to the KHL veteran. Now, it looks like Shipachyov will make his debut Sunday at T-Mobile Arena against the Boston Bruins.

As for Haula, the 26-year-old wing has had a goal and an assist in four games. Claimed from the Minnesota Wild in the expansion draft, Haula had 15 goals and 26 points for the Wild last season and did score his lone goal last night against the Red Wings. The speedy wing had trouble getting minutes in Minnesota despite four years with the team and then chose to sign a three-year deal with Vegas, making him the Wild’s expansion selection.

Alex Edler Expected to Miss 4-6 Weeks

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The Vancouver Canucks tweeted that head coach Travis Green announced defenseman Alexander Edler will miss four to six weeks with an MCL strain. He had suffered what then was referred to a “lower body injury” after Thursday’s game against the Winnipeg Jets when he attempted to hit Jets’ forward Mark Scheifele against the boards, but injured himself instead.

Edler is no stranger to injuries. He missed time in November of last season when he fractured his index finger and then missed more time when he fractured his leg in February. He only managed to get into 68 games last year and 52 games in 2015-16 due to a fractured fibula. The blueliner has only managed to play in a full 82-game season once in his career, back in 2011-12.

The 31-year-old defenseman has played in three games, picking up one assist so far this year. He was averaging more than 24 minutes of ice time in each of the first two games before getting injured in Thursday’s game.

Green also said that defenseman Derrick Pouliot will be making his Vancouver debut today to fill in for Edler. Pouliot, acquired at the beginning of the season from the Pittsburgh Penguins for Andrey Pedan and a fourth-round pick in the 2018 draft, has not played a game yet for Vancouver. The team decided to roll the dice with Pouliot when they traded for him as the former eighth overall pick in 2012 has potential, but hasn’t been able to carve out a regular role in the NHL yet. He had seven goals and 23 points in 46 games for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins last year, while putting up no points in 11 games for Pittsburgh.

 

 

2017-18 Primer: Anaheim Ducks

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With the NHL season now underway, we continue our look at what each team has done this summer and what to watch for in 2017-18.  Next up in our team-by-team primers is the Anaheim Ducks.

Last Season: 46-23-13 record (105 points), first in Pacific Division (lost in conference finals to Predators 2-4)

Remaining Cap Space: $393K per CapFriendly

Key Additions: D Francois Beauchemin (free agency, Colorado); G Ryan Miller (free agency, Vancouver); F Dennis Rasmussen (free agency, Chicago)

Key Departures: G Jonathan Bernier (free agency, Colorado); D Clayton Stoner (expansion pick, Vegas); D Shea Theodore (trade, Vegas); F Nate Thompson (free agency, Ottawa)

[Related: Ducks Depth Chart From Roster Resource]

Player To Watch: F Rickard Rakell – Rakell broke out for a 20-goal season in 2015-16 and followed that up with a 33-goal performance last year. Now with Ryan Kessler out for an unknown amount of time due to hip surgery, the 24-year-old forward will move to his natural position and center the team’s second line until Kessler returns. Moving to center will require Rakell to create more of his own offense and feed his wings, which the team believes he is ready for.

Many feel that Rakell may become the focal point of the offense in the future once Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry retire, but the young scorer’s job now is to successfully convert to that center position. If not, Anaheim will likely struggle until Kessler returns, which could be as late as Christmas. However, considering the year-to-year improvement of the young forward, there is a good chance he should successfully convert to that position. Once Kessler does return, however, Rakell could easily move to the team’s top line as their top wing.

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Key Storyline: If the Ducks didn’t already have enough to worry about with the Edmonton Oilers breathing down their necks in the Pacific, injuries could likely get them off to a slow start, which they must overcome. To go with Kessler, the team is short on two of their top defensemen in Hampus Lindholm and Sami Vatanen, who are both out after they each had shoulder surgery last season. Ryan Getzlaf has also missed some time, but could be returning soon.

Those injuries, especially on defense must be overcome. The team’s defense stepped up in the playoffs with the play of several youngsters, including Josh Manson, Brandon Montour and Theodore. Unfortunately, the team traded away Theodore to Vegas to avoid losing even bigger-named players, so they must survive on the experience of the others to fill in while they wait for the other defenders to get back. Manson, who was just awarded with a new four-year, $16.4MM contract, could be a breakout candidate for the team, while the team believes Montour is ready for a full season after playing 27 games for the team last year.

 

 

 

NHL Snapshots: Kadri, Sanheim, Matheson, Jaros

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Toronto Maple Leafs center Nazem Kadri is entering his ninth season of playing NHL hockey and for the first time ever, the 27-year-old broke the 30-goal plateau last year. Yet the center who feeds Patrick Marleau and Leo Komarov, believes he can do it again, according to Jonas Siegel of The Athletic (subscription required).

Siegel analyzes whether Kadri can, in fact, accomplish his boast. He writes that Kadri has one major asset that’s in his favor — to have a key role on one of the best power play units in the league, which he does. He scored 12 of his 32 goals last year on the power play, which was eighth in the league. Now with Marleau around added to the team’s arsenal, Kadri could very likely accomplish that feat.

However, one other thing that Siegel points out is that Kadri has learned a lot after having played in more than 400 games. His experience has taught him where to set up in front of the net, how to anticipate a scoring opportunity and quick reactions.

  • Sam Cardichi of Philly.com writes that Philadelphia Flyers’ Travis Sanheim will likely stick with the Flyers for the time being after a bounce-back game against the Anaheim Ducks. Unfortunately, that means that 22-year-old defenseman Samuel Morin will likely be sent down to Lehigh Valley soon, despite a strong preseason and receiving three healthy scratches in the team’s first three games.
  • NBC Sports Adam Gretz breaks down the Florida Panthers future salary cap situation after the team locked up defenseman Michael Matheson to an eight-year, $39MM contract Saturday. He writes the team now has nine players who are signed through the next four seasons, of which six are 25 years or under and they total $47.3MM combined. The group of Aaron Ekblad, Jonathan Huberdeau, Aleksander Barkov, Vincent Trocheck, and Nick Bjugstad lead their youth movement, while they also have Keith Yandle, Roberto Luongo and James Reimer locked up. However, Gretz writes that since the team doesn’t have any upcoming big contracts to hand out, the team will have a significant amount of cap space to fill out their roster with even more talent, suggesting that the Panthers are heading in the right direction.
  • Along with the recall of Thomas Chabot, the Ottawa Senators also recalled defenseman Christian Jaros on Sunday. The 21-year-old defenseman came over from Sweden just this year and has played in just two games for the Belleville Senators, picking up one assist. He and Chabot will fill in for all the team’s defensive injuries.

Pacific Notes: McDavid, Sutter, Boeser, Kempe

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Edmonton Oilers’ Connor McDavid rejected the idea outright. Without blinking, the young superstar made it very clear that scoring 100 goals is impossible. Just days ago, Jaromir Jagr predicted that McDavid could score 100 goals someday, but McDavid would have none of that., according to Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal.

“It’s not possible at all … no one’s ever done it,” said the 20-year-old McDavid, who scored 30 goals a year ago. “Not going to happen.”

The closest anyone has ever come was by Wayne Gretzky, who scored 92 goals in the 1981-82 season. Gretzky also had 87 goals in 1983-84. Alex Ovechkin, who has seven goals in the Capitals first two games might have a better shot at it than McDavid. However, the 32-year-old’s best season was 65 goals in 2007-08.

  • In the same article, Matheson pointed out that McDavid played his first game without taking a faceoff in Saturday’s game against the Vancouver Canucks. The center yielded to linemate Leon Draisaitl, who is a better faceoff specialist, having won 49 percent of his faceoffs (out of 972 attempts) in the 2016-17 season, while McDavid won just 43 percent (806 attempts). “People know that I’m not that good on faceoffs,” McDavid said. “It’s one of the perks of having Leon on the line.”
  • Jason Botchford of the Vancouver Sun writes that a lot of the credit that goes towards the Canucks 3-2 victory Saturday was the play of Brandon Sutter. The 28-year-old center and his line of Markus Granlund and Derek Dorsett shutdown McDavid, who didn’t register a point in the game and finished with a plus/minus of -1 in 24:38 of ice time.
  • In the same article, Botchford writes that the public outcry that top prospect Brock Boeser was scratched due to the team focusing more on shutting down Edmonton’s offense. “I know it’s a hot topic,” Vancouver head coach Travis Green said. “He’s going to play. He’s going to get his chance. We set our lineup against a very strong Edmonton team. He’s not going to sit here for a month.”
  • Curtis Zupke of the Los Angeles Times writes that Los Angeles Kings’ Adrian Kempe’s role on the forward line is already beginning to diminish. The former 2014 first-round pick only played two shifts in the third period for the second straight game and it looks like Alex Iafallo has taken his place on the second line of the power play. Kempe has struggled to break through as a wing on the professional level. He scored 12 goals in 46 games for the Ontario Reign of the AHL last year and scored just two goals for the Kings in 25 games.

 

Central Notes: Crawford, Steen, Bouwmeester, Rinne

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The Chicago Blackhawks have started the new season on a high note after bowing out early in the playoffs a year ago. The team has shown off its offense with 15 goals in two games, showing they have no intention of slowly fading away into obscurity. However, despite the success of the team’s offense, there is little attention focused on another key player, that of goaltender Corey Crawford, according to NBC Sports Chicago’s Tracey Myers.

The veteran netminder has allowed just one goal in each of his first two starts, but has made many tough saves to keep the team’s lopsided scores as impressive as they were. Crawford’s .968 save percentage has been critical and has gotten the team off to another impressive start to start the season as he has stopped a few breakaway and second chances against him. While no one thinks those numbers are sustainable after just two games, Crawford spent much of the offseason working with former goaltender Jimmy Waite on the little parts of his game.

“I mean, he made several key saves,” coach Joel Quenneville said. “I like him around the net. He’s cutting off plays that they’re trying to make that could generate even more chances. His anticipation in that area has been outstanding, he’s been moving the puck well, he’s square and seems like he’s very involved. A lot of good things have happened in a couple of games, but Crow’s been rock solid.”

  • Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that St. Louis Blues forward Alex Steen is closing in on returning to practice with the team during their four-game road trip that starts on Monday. Steen, who broke his hand on Sept. 19 when he was slashed by the Stars’ Antoine Roussel, has been skating on his own prior to some practices, but is closer to rejoining the team than defenseman Jay Bouwmeester, who is recovering from a fractured ankle he suffered in a preseason game on Sept. 17. However, Thomas writes that even Bouwmeester is inching towards a return, but Steen has the advantage.
  • Adam Vingan of the Tennessean writes that the Nashville Predators went with Juuse Saros Saturday due to Pekka Rinne’s lack of success when it comes to playing in PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. Rinne, who lost all three of his starts there in the Stanley Cup finals (to go with a .755 save percentage there) and has never won there in six career starts. Saros, making his first start, allowed the first goal after 66 seconds of play, but played better once he settled down. He still allowed four goals, while Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Matt Murray picked up his third shutout in a row against Nashville, including two shutouts in the Stanley Cup finals.

Afternoon Notes: Duchene, Chabot, Lindholm, Vatanen

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While Colorado Avalanche’s Matt Duchene remains with the team despite the constant trade rumors that have hounded the 26-year-old center all offseason and entering the preseason. In fact, despite earlier reports that general manager Joe Sakic still has high trade demands for Duchene, there are others who look at the situation differently. Long-time Avalanche great Peter Forsberg was a guest in-studio analyst for a Swedish of the Avalanche-New Jersey Devils game said the team needs to “bench and trade” the disgruntled center, according to Mike Chambers of the Denver Post.

Duchene, who has reportedly been visibly unhappy to still be with the Avalanche and has said very little to the press, was a target for Forsberg during that broadcast, who believes that while putting up points might be important to raise his value, the center is not going go all-out to help his team.

“Doubtful that he should be allowed to play (with Colorado),” Forsberg, whose words were translated by Expression reporter Robin LIndgren, said in the Swedish broadcast. “Put him in the stands. If I were playing with a player that I know doesn’t even want to be in the team, it’s not like he is going to throw himself on the ice and block shots with his head. It is mostly difficult to have a player like that in the team, although he is skillful and is doing his best. I would rather play with someone that wants to be there. I would put him on the bench and trade him.”

  • CBS Sports reports that Ottawa Senators have recalled top defensive prospect Thomas Chabot Sunday to help fill in for their many defensive injuries. The team is currently without Erik Karlsson, who is still out after foot surgery this offseason, as well as Johnny Oduya, who is out with a lower-body injury. The team attempted to fulfil their defensive needs a couple days ago when they promoted Ben Harpur, who has two years of AHL experience, unlike Chabot who has just two games of AHL experience, but Harpur suffered an upper-body injury in last night’s game against the Detroit Red Wings. The 20-year-old Chabot had a goal and an assist in his first two games with the Belleville Senators. The 2015 first-rounder was one of the team’s final cuts, which surprised many, but he was held responsible for a poor preseason performance, a 9-2 drubbing to the Montreal Canadiens, in which he finished the game with a plus/minus rating of -5.
  • Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register tweeted that Anaheim Ducks’ injured defensemen Hampus Lindholm and Sami Vatanen were both full participants in practice today, suggesting the team may eventually be getting back their top defenders. They are not that close to returning, however, as they are both on LTIR, which requires them to miss 24 days and 10 games. Both required shoulder surgery at the end of last season.

Eastern Notes: Bozak Line, Bergeron, Anderson

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have scored 15 goals in just two games so far this season. It can be assumed that offense will not be an issue for this team with so much talent on the offensive end. And while that’s an incredible accomplishment and should not be overlooked, there are other things the team should worry about if they want to be a Stanley Cup favorite this year. The Athletic’s James Mirtle writes (subscription required) that what looks worrisome is how the team’s defense allowed the New York Rangers to come back from a 5-1 deficit and tie the game up in the second period, turning the game, albeit briefly, into a close game.

The scribe writes that the culprit seems to fall upon the Maple Leafs’ line of Mitch Marner, Tyler Bozak and James van Riemsdyk. The line, while a solid offensive force, struggles defending and is not a great two-way line. They were on the ice for all three second-period goals that allowed the Rangers to come back. In fact, what’s surprising is that line gets quite a bit of even-strength ice time, according to Mirtle as Bozak received more even-strength minutes than Nazem Kadri, who plays on a more balanced line.

The problem is that the Marner, Bozak and van Riemsdyk line needs a better defensive presence, but considering how well the offense is running, there are very few players who would make a better fit into that line besides, maybe Connor Brown and moving the young and talented Marner to the fourth line doesn’t make any sense either. Therefore, Mirtle suggests the team cut the even strength minutes to that line and emphasize them more during special teams play. We’ll see if that situation improves over the next few games.

  • Joe Haggerty of NBC Sports writes that Patrice Bergeron is not likely to be ready for Monday’s game against the Colorado Avalanche. The 32-year-old center wore a non-contact practice jersey at practice on Sunday and didn’t finish practice either. “He didn’t finish practice. He started it and took some line rushes, so he’s progressing,” said head coach Bruce Cassidy. “How far he’s progressed is something we’ll determine in the morning. We’ll make a decision then as well. We’ve got three of [the game-time decisions], but Torey Krug and Austin Czarnik look a little closer [to playing] than Bergeron. But I wouldn’t rule any of them in or out until [Monday].”
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets announced they have recalled Josh Anderson from his conditioning loan from the Cleveland Monsters where he played one game with no points. The 23-year-old wing just signed a three-year, $5.5MM extension with Columbus last week and was just getting back into shape. He will join the team for their game against the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday. Anderson scored 17 goals in a breakout season a year ago.

Evening Notes: Sanheim, Palmieri, Subban, Rasmussen

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The Philadelphia Flyers chose to carry eight defensemen out of training camp, but Sam Carchidi of Philly.com writes that general manager Ron Hextall wants to drop that to seven soon, perhaps even after tonight’s game with the Anaheim Ducks. The Flyers are going to give rookie defenseman Travis Sanheim a chance to redeem himself after some opening night struggles. If he can play well, the scribe writes the team will hold onto the 21-year-old former first-rounder.

Sanheim’s NHL debut on Thursday was disappointing and has left the Flyers wondering if the blueliner is ready for the NHL or might need more time developing in the AHL. He was responsible for allowing the first goal against the Kings (they lost 2-0) and then took a four-minute high sticking penalty and was on the ice for the other goal. That type of performance doesn’t look good when the team has another former first-rounder in Samuel Morin who will be a healthy scratch tonight for the third straight game.

If Sanheim shows some success on the ice, Carchidi believes the team will likely send down Morin. However, another disappointing game could lead to Sanheim heading out of town.

  • The New Jersey Devils suffered through a few injuries during their game today against the Colorado Avalanche, including injuries to Kyle Palmieri, Andy Greene and Drew Stafford. Palmieri went knee-to-knee with Colorado defenseman Eric Johnson and didn’t return, while Stafford suffered a lower-body injury and also didn’t return. Greene returned for the third period from an undisclosed injury. Stafford and Palmieri will be further evaluated Sunday, according to Chris Ryan of NewJersey.com.
  • Cat Silverman of The Athletic (subscription needed) writes that Vegas Golden Knights’ goaltending coach Dave Prior was a big fan of recently claimed Malcolm Subban and might be the reason why the team swapped backup goaltenders recently. Subban, a flashy, quick-moving goaltender becomes Prior’s long-term project. The goaltender has only two games of NHL experience, but had solid numbers for the Providence Bruins and had a good preseason. According to Silverman, Prior was not overly thrilled to work with Calvin Pickard, who lacked the speed and was a more by-the-book goaltender. Pickard has since been moved to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
  • Corey Pronman of The Athletic (subscription required) writes about the enigma that is 6-foot-7 center Michael Rasmussen, who he says was being hyped as a top-10 pick when he shouldn’t have been, and yet, the Detroit Red Wings ended up taking him No. 9 and being criticized for it. He writes, however, despite all the criticism, Detroit looks like it got a good investment from it after all. The youngster has developed nicely and looked good during Red Wings training camp.

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