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Latest On New Jersey’s Taylor Hall

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The New Jersey Devils have been concerned for quite a while that they might have trouble re-signing Hart Trophy winner Taylor Hall to an extension. Despite recent rumors that New Jersey management and Hall were going to discuss a possible new contract, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman poured some cold water on that during Saturday night’s Hockey Night in Canada segment, suggesting that an extension in New Jersey appears bleak.

“I think the Devils now know it’s unlikely they are going to be able to get a contract done during the year,” said Friedman. “I think it’s up to (Devils GM) Ray Shero who is going to have to decide what the Devils’ course of action here is going to be, because I think it’s very unlikely he agrees to sign with them during the year.”

Hall, who won the Hart Trophy in the 2017-18 season, after posting 39 goals and 93 points and almost single-handedly leading New Jersey into the playoffs, has said in the past that he wants to play on a playoff contender before his star status begins to fade. The Devils are currently in last place in the Metropolitan Division with a 4-7-4 record, not exactly what the team envisioned when it went out and brought in Jack Hughes, P.K. Subban, Wayne Simmonds and Nikita Gusev. Hall has fared well, scoring close to a point per game this year with two goals and 14 points in 15 games, but is far from his Hart Trophy season two years ago.

Hall’s agent, Darren Ferris, is also known for advising his clients to wait until as late as possible to truly gauge the market for his clients’ services. If that’s the case, the Devils cannot take a chance that Hall might opt to walk away on July 1 for nothing, meaning the team will likely have to consider a trade to a team that Hall is willing to sign with. That trade could come sooner than later with it being more unlikely the team would wait until the trade deadline to make a decision.

Minor Transactions: 11/10/19

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With 16 teams playing today, the league is busy and teams could be making roster moves throughout the day. Keep your eye out for updates throughout the day.

  • The San Jose Sharks announced they have assigned defenseman Dalton Prout to the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL on a conditioning stint. The 29-year-old Prout has appeared just once this season, the season-opener. He suffered an upper-body injury, however, and has been out ever since. Prout played 20 games for the Calgary Flames last season, but the team hopes that Prout could return soon and make an impact on the team’s defense.
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets announced they have made four moves, which includes placing defenseman Markus Nutivaara on injured reserve, retroactive to Nov. 5 and assigning goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks to the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL. To replace the two roster spots, the Blue Jackets have recalled goaltender Elvis Merzlikins and forward Eric Robinson from Cleveland. Nutivaara was injured on Tuesday against Vegas, suffering an upper-body injury and remains day-to-day, but there is no word on how much time he could miss. Merzlikins went down to get some work in as the young netminder has only appeared in three games this season, but the 25-year-old made one appearance, allowing two goals and boasting a .933 save percentage. The 24-year-old Robinson played in 13 games for Columbus last season and has five points in 14 games with the Monsters this year. Robinson was likely recalled in anticipation that Nick Foligno is suspended by the league on Monday for his hit on Colorado’s Pierre-Edouard Bellemare.
  • With the improved health of forwards Joakim Nordstrom and Par Lindholm, the Boston Globe’s Matt Porter reports that the Boston Bruins have officially assigned forward Peter Cehlarik to the Providence Bruins of the AHL. The 24-year-old has been up and down for the last few weeks between Boston and Providence, playing in three games for the Bruins, most recently on Friday when he played 12:07 and picking up his first point of the season with an assist.
  • The Anaheim Ducks have recalled defenseman Josh Mahura from San Diego of the AHL, reports Elliott Teaford of the Orange County Register.  He’s taking the place of blueliner Hampus Lindholm who has been transferred to injured reserve with an undisclosed injury.  Mahura has played in three games with Anaheim already this season, recording three assists while averaging 16:46 per night.  He has also suited up in seven games with the Gulls where he has been held off the scoresheet.

Eastern Notes: Barrie, Brassard, Trocheck

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Tyson Barrie tallied 28 goals and 116 points over the previous two seasons with the Colorado Avalanche and the general belief was that after the Toronto Maple Leafs acquired him in an offseason trade last summer, Barrie would continue that offensive success in Toronto. So far that’s not been the case as the 28-year-old blueliner has struggled to find his footing.

In fact, TSN’s Mark Masters writes that Barrie doesn’t look like the aggressive blueliner who dominated in Colorado. While he has five assists this season for the Maple Leafs, he only has one assist over his last 14 games.

“It’s different switching teams,” said Barrie, “and switching teams and coaches and the whole thing so you’re just trying to feel it out a little bit and I’m still feeling some teammates out and trying to get some chemistry going and its tough. I wish I had the answers for it.”

One significant difference is that in Colorado, he quarterbacked the power play, while in Colorado, Barrie has averages just 2:09 of power play for the game.

“We feel he’s gotten better & better. We really feel our pairs are starting to come, all three of them,” said head coach Mike Babcock. “Pairs take longer than lines, just because you’ve got to know the nuances of one another …. he’s going in the right direction, just like our team.”

  • Newsday’s Andrew Gross writes that with the return of winger Jordan Eberle to the first line, New York Islanders head coach Barry Trotz opted not to return fill-in Derick Brassard back to centering the third line, where the veteran struggled at before Eberle’s injury. Instead, Trotz had Brassard join Brock Nelson as the team’s second-line winger in hopes of generating more offense from Brassard, who thrived on the wing. Brassard had a career-high five-game goal streak on Thursday, which was five games he was on the first line.
  • The Athletic’s George Richards reports that Florida Panthers forward Vincent Trocheck was eased into the lineup Saturday in Florida’s game against the New York Islanders. Trocheck, who suffered a lower-body injury when blocking a shot against Nashville on Oct. 19, returned to the team’s second line, but played just 15:35. Head coach Joel Quenneville said he was trying to save him for Sunday’s game against the New York Rangers.

Western Notes: Walker, Rantanen, Tuch, Zucker

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It isn’t hard to think of who the Los Angeles Kings’ best defenseman is — Drew Doughty. It’s an automatic response. However, that may not have been the case through 15 games this season. The Athletic’s Jordan Samuels-Thomas (subscription required) writes that Sean Walker has been the unsung hero on defense for a Kings’ team that has struggled this year.

The 5-foot-11, 194-pound blueliner has been the top performer in most statistical categories for the Kings’ this year. He ranks second among defensemen with six points, but is tops in 5×5 play in Corsi-for per/60 and Corsi-for percentage, while he is also third among Kings’ defensemen in expected goals per/60, while also showing off strong offense and possession numbers.

While Walker doesn’t have the immense talent that Doughty had, he has been a bright spot on the Kings’ current roster.

  • Las Vegas Review Journal’s David Schoen reports that Vegas Golden Knights forward Alex Tuch had a setback Friday after sustaining an upper-body injury last week. The original hope was for Tuch to meet up with the team on their road trip, but with just two days remaining on that trip, it doesn’t look like Tuch will be meeting up with the team. “I was hoping he was going to come in for this trip. He’s not coming in. There’s nothing that changed with his injury,” said head coach Gerard Gallant. Tuch has appeared in just two games for the Golden Knights this season.
  • Adrian Dater of ColoradoHockeyNow reports that Colorado Avalanche forward Mikko Rantanen’s status remains vague. Rantanen has been working out on his own, but has yet to skate on the ice as of yet. The forward was injured on Oct. 21, suffering a lower-body injury, but head coach Jared Bednar said he had no idea when Rantanen might get back on the ice.
  • Minnesota Wild forward Jason Zucker got the point after the first period Thursday night when head coach Bruce Boudreau benched him for a large amount of time in the final 40 minutes of play after the winger struggled defensively that allowed the San Jose Sharks to get out to an early lead. According to Michael Russo of The Athletic (subscription required), Zucker only played two shifts in the second period and five in the third, playing in a season-low 10:09. “We talk about it all the time. We show him all the time,” Boudreau said about Zucker’s defensive struggles. “He’s gotta be committed to doing it all the time, not just when you feel like it.”

Nikita Zadorov Out ‘Week-To-Week’ With Broken Jaw

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After taking a puck to the face Thursday night in the Colorado Avalanche’s game against the Nashville Predators, defenseman Nikita Zadorov has been listed as “week-to-week” after the blueliner underwent surgery to repair a broken jaw, according to ColoradoHockeyNow’s Adrian Dater.

Dater suggests it might be just a couple of weeks for the 6-foot-6 defenseman as he can eventually wear a mask and play through the injury. Regardless, it’s a big loss for a team that could use the 24-year-old’s size, although the blueliner has been scratched a few times already this season. Zadorov has appeared in 15 games this season, posting a goal, three points and 28 hits. He has broken the 200-hit barrier the previous two years, registering 278 in 2017-18 and 228 last season.

Bednar suggested that the team is still considering whether they intend to recall a defenseman to replace Zadorov in the meantime. The team does have six healthy defensemen, but adding a seventh makes the most sense with Conor Timmins and Calle Rosen as potential recalls.

Metropolitan Notes: Farabee, Zibanejad, Haula

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The Philadelphia Flyers have been aided by the impressive play of 2018 first-rounder Joel Farabee, who has two goals in his first nine games. And when the puck drops Saturday in Toronto against the Maple Leafs, Farabee would play his 10th game and burn the first-year of his entry-level deal, according to the Courier Post’s Dave Isaac.

That doesn’t necessarily mean that the 19-year-old is now a permanent member of the Flyers. He could still be sent to Lehigh Valley in the AHL if he struggles or hits that rookie wall. However, it’s an important step for Farabee with the next step being that general manager and president Chuck Fletcher telling Farabee that he can find his own place in Philadelphia.

“I’m still in the hotel,” he said after Thursday’s 3-2 overtime win over the Montreal Canadiens. “It’s not bad now. We’ve got Carsen (Twarynski), Phil (Myers) and (Mikhail Vorobyev) Misha’s there now so at least I’ve got guys to go have dinner with, which is good … It’s still in the back of my head that I can go down at any time. I think just trying to enjoy it while I’m here and help the team win.”

  • New York Rangers head coach David Quinn said that Mika Zibanejad, who has been out with an upper body injury since Oct. 27, remains day-to-day and will not play on Sunday, according to NHL.com’s Dan Rosen. Zibanejad skated Friday, but Quinn said that every time he takes a step forward, he takes a step back. New York Post’s Mollie Walker reports that Quinn doesn’t have any definitive answers surrounding Zibanejad’s injury and the team opted to hold him off the ice today after Friday’s skate.
  • Despite reporting earlier this week that Carolina Hurricanes forward Erik Haula was “day-to-day,” head coach Rod Brind’Amour said today that Haula is currently not with the team and is no longer “day-to-day,” according to News & Observer’s Chip Alexander. That could be bad news for the Hurricanes, who have depended on Haula for offense this year. The 28-year-old leads the team with eight goals this season. If he is out for an extended period of time, the team would lose an invaluable piece.

Eastern Notes: Rangers’ Goalies, Barzal, Hedman

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The New York Rangers will soon find themselves with a problem, albeit a good problem. The team has three NHL-level goaltenders now with the emergence of Alexandar Georgiev, who has established himself as a solid NHL goaltender at the very least. Throw in longtime Rangers’ Henrik Lundqvist, who still has one year remaining on his contract, and top prospect Igor Shesterkin, who is looking sharp in the AHL, and the team will have a problem sooner or later, according to The Athletic’s Rick Carpiniello.

The scribe notes that the simple solution of trading the aging Lundqvist to a playoff contender is extremely unlikely as Lundqvist has made it clear he doesn’t want to be traded and his $8.5MM AAV would be difficult to move even if he wanted to go to a contender.

The 23-year-old Georgiev has been exceptional in six starts this season for the Rangers, which includes a current string of three straight starts. He has a 3-2-1 record with a 2.27 GAA and a .933 save percentage, while Lundqvist hasn’t been nearly as impressive with a 2-3 record in six appearances, but a 3.58 GAA and a .906 save percentage. Throw in the impressive start by Shesterkin, who the team finally brought over from the KHL this summer, as the 23-year-old is 5-2 in seven appearances with the Hartford Wolf Pack, with a 1.83 GAA and a .932 save percentage and the team could be forced to make some important decisions at some point.

You can’t have three NHL goaltenders, however, so a trade of one of the young kids could be a potential option down the road.

  • Despite considering himself to be a pass-first player, New York Islanders center Mathew Barzal has been encouraged to score more goals. Head coach Barry Trotz has made it clear to the 22-year-old that he must focus more on scoring this year. The center did just that, making changes to his stick this summer to give him a better scoring opportunity, according to Newsday’s Andrew Gross. “I just made it a little whippier and changed my curve a little bit, put a little more hook on it,” Barzal said. “Not too drastic, just a little nick on it. It gives me a little toe to suck it in and shoot it a little better.”
  • NHL.com’s Shawn P. Roarke writes that Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman is hopeful that he will play Friday in the first game of the 2019 Global Series against Buffalo in Stockholm, Sweden. Hedman suffered a lower-body injury last Tuesday and was placed on injured reserve. A celebrity in Sweden, Hedman would obviously like to play. However, he’ll have to prove that he’s healthy, according to head coach Jon Cooper. “I think we are all hopeful, but he is going to have to get on the ice pretty soon if we are going to see him,” Cooper said Sunday.

Montreal Canadiens Recall Ryan Poehling

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The Montreal Canadiens announced they have recalled top forward prospect Ryan Poehling from the Laval Rocket of the AHL. To make room for the 2017 first-round pick, the team transferred center Jesperi Kotkaniemi to injured reserve, suggesting he may be out a bit longer.

Poehling made quite an impression on Canadiens’ fans last season after finally signing with the franchise after three years at St. Cloud State. He got into the team’s final regular season game and registered a hat trick and the shootout winner. The 20-year-old did not make the team out of training camp like many had been predicted. Instead he was assigned to Laval where he was posted three goals and five points in 13 games. This will give the young forward a chance to prove himself for the Canadiens, who have fared well with a 7-5-2 record. Poehling is expected to join the Canadiens at practice on Monday.

As for Kotkaniemi, the 19-year-old center has already missed the last two games for Montreal with a groin injury and it looks like it might be a while longer. Kotkaniemi has struggled offensively this year, scoring two goals and three points in 12 games and the 2018 third-overall pick has seen his playing time slip a little.

Calgary’s Milan Lucic Suspended Two Games for Roughing

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The Department of Player Safety announced that they have suspended Calgary Flames forward Milan Lucic two games for roughing Columbus Blue Jackets’ Kole Sherwood on Saturday.

Sherwood drove to the net during the second period and took a shot that was saved by Calgary’s goaltender David Rittich. After making the save, Sherwood poked at the goaltenders’ pads for which he received a two-minute slashing penalty. However, Lucic didn’t let the play end there. After slashing Sherwood’s stick away, Lucic then skated over to Sherwood, dropped his stick and punched the rookie forward, knocking him to the ground. Lucic did not make it clear that he intended to punch him, making it clearly a sucker punch.

This is the biggest suspension that Lucic has received. While he’s been involved in a number of incidents over the years, he has been suspended only twice, each for one game. He was last suspended in 2016 for punching Arizona’s Kevin Connauton and then was also suspended in 2011 for checking Philadelphia’s Zac Rinaldo. He was fined $10K last season for roughing Tampa Bay’s Mathieu Joseph.

The suspension kicks in immediately as he is expected to miss tonight’s game against in Washington, against the Capitals and then at home against Arizona on Tuesday.

Pacific Notes: Sharks Roster, Lucic, Larsson, Richardson

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With a drastically poor start, the San Jose Sharks find themselves at the bottom of the Pacific Division 4-10-1 record, tied for the second-worst record in the NHL. That wasn’t what most people expected at the start of the season and Curtis Pashelka of the Mercury News wonders when change might start happening if the team doesn’t quickly turn things around.

The team is currently in the midst of dropping five straight and being outscored 22-8 in that span. The scribe writes that while the Sharks haven’t had too many poor starts in the last 15 years, general manager Doug Wilson hasn’t sat and watched often. The team made some small moves to shake things up in 2015 when they started 0-5-1, but also made bigger moves back in 2005 when they went out and acquired Joe Thornton to shake up the team.

Now word what Wilson might do now, but the team likely will make some smaller roster moves to start. Assuming he stays healthy during his AHL game Sunday, the Sharks are likely to recall defenseman Radim Simek and place him next to Brent Burns, moving rookie Mario Ferraro next to Marc-Edouard Vlasic. The team may also recall rookie Lean Bergmann, who has looked sharp in four games with the Barracuda with three goals and three assists, and could help the team’s fourth line.

However, if things don’t start to improve soon, don’t be surprised if Wilson begins to make major changes to the roster. Also of note, the Sharks do not have their first-round pick this year as they traded it to the Ottawa Senators for Erik Karlsson back in 2018.

  • NHL.com’s John Shannon reports that Calgary Flames winger Milan Lucic, who hit Columbus Blue Jackets’ forward Kole Sherwood late on a play, already had his hearing today. There has been no word on the league’s decision yet, which could come later today, but Shannon mentions that Lucic is not considered to be a repeat offender. He was last suspended in 2016, although he was fined last year. That will likely be considered by the league when they make their decision.
  • Kurt Leavins of the Edmonton Journal writes that Edmonton Oilers defenseman Adam Larsson, who suffered a fractured fibula after playing in just one games this season, is now skating and could be back in two or three weeks. Larsson, the team’s best defensive defenseman, was projected to miss six to eight weeks after suffering the injury.
  • The Arizona announced earlier today they have recalled Michael Chaput to take the place of injured forward Brad Richardson. However, The Athletic’s Craig Morgan reports that to make room for Chaput, the Coyotes have placed Richardson on injured reserve, retroactive to his injury date, which means he can be activated whenever he is ready.

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