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Blues Notes: Captaincy, Welinski, Bitten

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Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic is reporting that the St. Louis Blues have released a notice that they will be having a press conference tomorrow morning to announce a new captain. The Blues have been without a captain since trading Ryan O’Reilly to the Toronto Maple Leafs at the trade deadline. Rutherford speculates that the frontrunners to be the new captain would likely be Brayden Schenn or Robbie Thomas given their status with the club and the leadership they provide.

While Rutherford does consider Schenn and Thomas to be favorites to land the captaincy, he also concedes that he doesn’t know definitively as to who it will be. The Blues could name anyone from their current roster to be their next captain and certainly have lots of options as they could also select from veterans Colton Parayko, Justin Faulk, or even a younger veteran such as Pavel Buchnevich. Whoever the club ultimately selects will have the opportunity to lead a Blues team that will be looking to improve after a disappointing season last year in which they missed the playoffs. While they were sellers at the deadline, they did make a few low cost adds at the same time in Kasperi Kapanen and Jakub Vrana. The club also made additions this offseason trading for Kevin Hayes and bringing back Oskar Sundqvist in free agency.

In other Blues Notes:

  • The Blues announced today that former Anaheim Ducks defenseman Andy Welinski will attend training camp with St. Louis on a PTO after spending last season in the AHL with the Hartford Wolf Pack and Rockford IceHogs. The 30-year-old put up four goals and 15 assists in 54 AHL games while tallying just 14 penalty minutes. In his short NHL career, the native of Duluth, Minnesota has posted just a single goal and five assists. St. Louis already has seven defensemen signed to NHL deals for next season meaning Welinski will be fighting an uphill battle to make the NHL squad.
  • The Blues also announced today that forward Sam Bitten will also be joining the team for training camp on a PTO after playing for Plzen HC of the Czech league last season. The 23-year-old native of Ottawa, Ontario dressed in 48 games last year posting a single goal. Sam’s older brother Will Bitten is a member of the Blues and dressed in four games last year for the Blues posting a single assist. Bitten is unlikely to make the Blues but could battle for a spot in the minor leagues within the Blues system giving him a chance to play in North America for the first time in his professional career.

Dallas Stars Sign Christopher Gibson To A PTO

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The Dallas Morning News announced this morning that the Dallas Stars had released their training camp roster and on it is former New York Islanders netminder Christopher Gibson. The 30-year-old Gibson has reportedly signed (Elite Prospects) a PTO to attend Stars training camp and figures to be a long shot to make the big club as Dallas has Jake Oettinger and Scott Wedgewood firmly entrenched between the pipes.

Gibson last saw NHL action with the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2020-21 pandemic-shorted season going 1-1 with an .875 save percentage and a 2.66 goals-against average. The native of Karkkila, Finland has seen limited action over his four-year NHL career dressing in just 16 games with a record of 4-5-3 while sporting a 3.33 goals-against average and a .901 save percentage.

As one might expect, Gibson’s numbers in the AHL are superior to his NHL numbers. Over the course of his ten-year AHL career, Gibson has played 244 games going 124-77-28 while posting 14 shutouts and a .910 save percentage. Although his AHL numbers are better, they haven’t been particularly good the past two seasons and are well off his career average. Last year with the Coachella Valley Firebirds Gibson went 10-5-4 with a 2.99 goals against average and a .894 save percentage.

He might be unlikely to land with the Stars in Dallas, but Gibson will have a good opportunity to audition for AHL work and could land himself a minor-league deal with a good showing. Gibson was a second-round pick 49th overall in the 2011 NHL entry draft and at one point looked like he would be a big part of the Islanders’ future. He has good size, and terrific athleticism, but has never been able to put it all together at the NHL level.

Sharks Invite Justin Bailey To Camp For A PTO

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7:17PM:  The San Jose Sharks have confirmed via their training camp roster that Bailey will be attending training camp on a PTO.

According to Elite Prospects, the San Jose Sharks have reportedly invited forward Justin Bailey to training camp on a PTO. Bailey was previously a member of the Edmonton Oilers organization, having spent last season in the AHL with the Bakersfield Condors. The 28-year-old was a decent depth scoring option for the Condors last season posting 19 goals and 13 assists in 58 AHL games.

Normally those wouldn’t be the type of AHL numbers that would get a look in the NHL, but nothing has been normal about the San Jose Sharks offseason and Bailey figures to add some size and grit to a training camp that is lacking both of those attributes.

Bailey was once a sought-after prospect back when he was drafted in the second round by the Buffalo Sabres at the 2013 NHL entry draft. Many scouts marveled at his ability to get around the ice, a rare trait for a player of his size. But Bailey was never able to put it all together at the NHL level posting just five goals and four assists in 82 games broken up across seven NHL seasons.

In the AHL, Bailey flirted with being a point a game player for several seasons including in 2019-20 while a member of the Utica Comets. That season Bailey posted 28 goals and 19 assists in just 53 games but had his season cut short by the pandemic. Bailey bounced back nicely two years later when AHL hockey was able to resume play under normal circumstances posting 15 goals and 12 assists in 30 games.

Although he is a long shot to make the Sharks, Bailey should be able to earn an AHL job if he does accept the offer for a tryout. Bailey could possibly even earn a two-way contract with the club if he is to have a good showing at training camp. His size will always be something that gets teams attention and he can play the power forward very well at the AHL level.

Jarmo Kekalainen Apologizes To Blue Jackets Players

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Aaron Portzline of The Athletic is reporting that Columbus Blue Jackets General Manager Jarmo Kekalainen has apologized to his players in the wake of the Mike Babcock scandal.

Kekalainen himself told the media that he’d apologized to the team for hiring Babcock in the aftermath the former coach’s resignation yesterday afternoon. Blue Jackets ownership released a statement to the media as well expressing their disappointment and frustration with the events of the last week.

Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff wrote an article today that asked the question “when will the sword fall on Kekalainen?” Kekalainen has been at the helm of the Blue Jackets for a decade now, and while they’ve reached the playoffs in five of the ten seasons, they have had a lot of missteps along the way. Seravalli begins the article with criticism of Kekalainen for thanking Babcock for his services and then begins to dissect the good and bad of his run as Blue Jackets GM. While the team has reached heights they have never seen before, like their playoff series win in 2019, they have had a lot of lows in that time too.

Seravalli is balanced as he highlights Kekalainen’s good drafting record, as well as the two Seth Jones trades (both of which he won), as well as getting the most out of the Nick Foligno and David Savard trades.

But he also finds a lot of room for criticism with some of Kekalainen’s moves as well. Columbus famously emptied the tank in 2019 to trade for Matt Duchene as they knew both Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky would be leaving as free agents that summer. While it got them their first playoff series victory, one wonders how many future assets they could have kept and acquired if they opted to sell at that deadline rather than buying. Couple that deadline with last offseason and a free agent shopping spree that yielded a 59-point season, and it gives you room to wonder if Kekalainen’s tenure (the third longest in the NHL) is coming to an end after the Babcock scandal has once again highlighted some of Kekalainen’s mistakes.

Summer Synopsis: Pittsburgh Penguins

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There is no gentle way to put this, the Pittsburgh Penguins were a mess last season. Despite having Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby both healthy for the first time in years, the Penguins missed the playoffs for the first time since 2006 and the first time during the Malkin/Crosby/Kris Letang era.

Penguins ownership addressed the disappointing season by relieving Ron Hextall and Brian Burke of their duties and set out to rebuild their hockey operations. They succeeded by hiring Kyle Dubas to run the organization’s hockey ops and he kickstarted a dramatic change in the team’s on-ice personnel.

No one knows if Dubas’ moves will work, but there is no arguing that he had a plan from the outset of the offseason and he has completely rebuilt the Penguins’ defense and bottom-six forward group. Whether it will be enough remains to be seen as the Penguins play in the most difficult division in hockey and the Eastern Conference is sure to be a buzzsaw this season.

Draft

1-14: C Brayden Yager, Moose Jaw (WHL)
3-91: D Emil Pieniniemi, Finland (SM-sarja)
5-142: RW Mikhail Ilyin, Severstal Cherepovets (KHL)
6-174: C Cooper Foster, Ottawa 67’s (OHL)
7-217: LW Emil Järventie, Finland SaiPa (Liiga)
7-223: D Kalle Kangas, Finland

Dubas opted to hang on to Pittsburgh’s highest first-round pick in quite some time rather than dealing it away to shed salary or acquire an impact player. While Yager will not likely make an impact during the Crosby/Malkin era that doesn’t mean he won’t be an impact player for the Penguins in the not-too-distant future. Many people expect the Penguins to go into a full rebuild in the next few years and Yager could become a good building block as he possesses terrific leadership skills and has a very high offensive ceiling. Yager does come with some risk as well, but high risk and high reward was a theme with the Penguins’ picks in the 2023 NHL entry draft.

Pittsburgh opted to take Pieniniemi in the third round and he brings a lot of mobility to the Penguins’ back end as well as good defensive instincts and a lot of intensity. Some have him projected as a possible top-4 defenseman in the future, but his development would be key in him reaching that kind of ceiling.

Mikhail Ilyin is an interesting pick in the fifth round as he is currently playing out his KHL contract in Russia. He doesn’t possess a very good shot but does have good offensive instincts and can be a playmaker from the center position.

The Penguins don’t have much in the prospect’s cupboard, but they did well to add some players with a lot of upside but that carry some risk. For Dubas and his draft position, he almost needs to take some gambles to see if he can hit on the next big thing for the Penguins.

Trade Acquisitions

F Dillon Hamaliuk (San Jose)
D Erik Karlsson (San Jose)
F Rem Pitlick (Montreal)
F Reilly Smith (Las Vegas)

It seemed very improbable the Penguins would be able to land Karlsson when the rumor popped up on July 1st. They spent most of their available cap space in free agency and the door appeared to slam shut on those rumblings. Except they never went away, and as the summer pressed on it seemed more likely the three-time Norris Trophy winner could in fact land with the Penguins. San Jose could never seem to get a trade market going for Karlsson’s services and Dubas and company remained diligent in their pursuit. Finally, on August 6th the deal was completed, and the Penguins were able to give up very little in terms of futures and somehow also managed to shed a lot of dead weight from their salary cap ledger. It was a major win for the Penguins, even if adding Karlsson comes with a mountain of risk.

How Karlsson will be used remains to be seen, but current power-play quarterback Letang has already said he will shift from the point to allow Karlsson to take his place. That alone should be huge for Pittsburgh as their powerplay was underwhelming last season, especially given the personnel they deployed with the man advantage.

Smith was also a big add for the Penguins at the cost of just a third-round pick. He will make for a terrific replacement in the Penguins’ top-six forward group and could be in line for a career year. Smith is fresh off winning the Stanley Cup with the Vegas Golden Knights and will likely start the year with either Crosby or Malkin. While the 32-year-old isn’t a natural goal scorer, he is more than capable with the puck and is dynamic off the rush. He comes with two years left on his contract at $5MM per season, leaving little downside for the Penguins in this trade.

UFA Signings

C Noel Acciari (three years, $6MM)
D Will Butcher (one year, $775K)*
C Lars Eller (two years, $4.9MM)
D Ryan Graves (six years, $27MM)
G Magnus Hellberg (one year, $785K)
C Vinnie Hinostroza (one year, $775K)
G Tristan Jarry (five years, $26.875MM)
F Andreas Johnsson (one year, $800K)
F Joona Koppanen (two years, $1.55MM)
G Alex Nedeljkovic (one year, $1.5MM)
F Matt Nieto (two years, $1.8MM)
D Ryan Shea (one year, $775K)
F Radim Zahorna (one year, $775K)

*-denotes two-way contract

The Penguins had a decent amount of cap space entering the offseason but had a lot of holes to fill on a team that just wasn’t very good last year. Dubas quickly went to work in addressing his top defensive pairing, solidifying his goaltending, as well as building depth in the team’s bottom six forward group.

Ryan Graves is not a perfect top-pairing defenseman, but on Pittsburgh he doesn’t need to be. His job will be to fill the hole that Pittsburgh tried to fill by committee last season unsuccessfully. Graves will pair with Letang and should form a solid top-defensive pairing for the next few years. Graves won’t be asked to provide a ton of offense from the back end but is capable of chipping in having posted 26 points last year in 78 games. He will also benefit from getting more offensive zone starts as in New Jersey he started almost 63% of his shifts in the defensive zone.

Some people might think the Karlsson trade was Dubas’ biggest gamble, but I would venture to say it was the signing of netminder Jarry to a long-term deal. Jarry is a two-time all-star and has shown glimpses of being an above-average NHL netminder. However, those moments and accolades have been sandwiched between injuries and very inconsistent play. All that to say, signing Jarry was a risk for Pittsburgh. The goaltending market wasn’t great this offseason with left Dubas with few options and he went with the familiar one for the club. Whether it will pan out remains to be seen, but in his time with Pittsburgh Jarry has been unable to get the Penguins out of the first round, and this past season he couldn’t even get the team to the first round.

Nedeljkovic was an interesting signing for the Penguins as it cemented the departure of long-time backup Casey DeSmith. Nedeljkovic has had runs where he has looked like an NHL starter but has also had longer runs where he’s been run of out the game on a nightly basis. Which goaltender turns up in Pittsburgh will be something to keep an eye on, especially if Jarry has a year like he did last year.

RFA Re-Signings

F Jonathan Gruden (one year, $775K)*
F Alex Nylander (one year, $775K)
F Drew O’Connor (two years, $1.85MM)
F Valtteri Puustinen (one year, $775K)*
D Ty Smith (one year, $775K)

*-denotes two-way contract

O’Connor is a player the Penguins have been high on for several years. He was a highly sought-after college free agent and has had showings that would make you think he is an NHL player. Unfortunately, those glimpses have come only a handful of times and are always split up by long stretches of play where O’Connor looks invisible on the ice. O’Connor has eight goals and nine assists in 78 career NHL games and at 25-years-old he is no longer a prospect. He will be given every chance in Pittsburgh to show that he is a solution in the bottom six and with his size and speed he should be able to carve out a role. However, if he can’t, he will likely find himself shuttled back and forth between the NHL and the AHL.

Much like O’Connor, Nylander is a player who has shown glimpses of being an NHLer but hasn’t been able to put it all together. The Penguins tried Nylander in their top six last year in place of Bryan Rust, and he looked fine for a few games but didn’t appear to be a long-term answer. He is likely not suited for a bottom-six role, so if he is going to be in an NHL lineup it should be in more of a scoring role. Pittsburgh is banking on growth from Nylander this offseason and would likely love for him to be able to slide into the Penguins top-9 in some type of scoring capacity. But given his inability to be an impact player up until this point in his career, it’s a long shot at best.

Departures

F Josh Archibald (unsigned UFA)
C Nick Bonino (New York, one year, $800K)
F Drake Caggiula (Edmonton, two years, $1.55MM)*
G Casey DeSmith (traded to Montreal)
D Peter Diliberatore (PTO Arizona)
D Brian Dumoulin (Seattle, two years, $6.3MM)
F Mikael Granlund (traded to San Jose)
F Danton Heinen (PTO Boston)
D Dmitry Kulikov (Florida, one year, $1MM)
F Nathan Legare (traded to Montreal)
D Josh Maniscalco (Chicago (AHL), one year)
D Jeff Petry (traded to Montreal)
F Ryan Poehling (Philadelphia, one year, $1.4MM)
D Jan Rutta (traded to San Jose)
G Dustin Tokarski (Buffalo, one year, $775K)*
F Jason Zucker (Arizona, one year, $5.3MM)

Dubas moved on from a lot of Penguins players turning over nearly half of their NHL roster. The most notable loss is probably Zucker who had a terrific final season in Pittsburgh posting 27 goals and 21 assists in 78 games while being one of the few Penguins to show a pulse on most nights. Zucker had injury problems that plagued most of his time in Pittsburgh but was finally able to remain healthy last season. Dubas did well to replace Zucker with Smith, who should be able to replicate or better Zucker’s production.

Dumoulin was a long-time Penguins defenseman who was a big part of their back-to-back Stanley Cup wins. But his play really dropped off his last few seasons in Pittsburgh as he started to show his age and really struggled in high-leverage situations. Dumoulin along with Jeff Carter had become lightning rods for criticism as fans found it difficult to move past the glaring errors in the defensive zone that seemed to happen on a nightly basis. Dumoulin should be better insulated in Seattle and might see better results with the Kraken.

Granlund was never likely to fit in Pittsburgh given his lack of footspeed and forechecking. His skillset never really suited the Penguins system, and his acquisition was universally panned just moments after it happened. Granlund had just one goal and four assists in 21 games with the Penguins and was probably a big reason why Ron Hextall is no longer with the team.

Salary Cap Outlook

A lot of people have written the Penguins off as being at the end of their run as a contender. However next summer they have few impact players to sign and could have over $20MM in cap space available to them. Depending on how this season goes, the Penguins could load up for one more run in the Crosby/Malkin era. Dubas will have a lot of options going forward and could even add a long-term impact player in season, so long as he makes a dollar-for-dollar trade.

Key Questions

How Will Karlsson Fit In? The Karlsson trade has been widely viewed as a big win for the Penguins but how the trade will ultimately be viewed comes down to results on the ice. If Karlsson can quarterback the Penguins’ powerplay to much better results and show decent results at 5 on 5, it will be a big improvement for Pittsburgh. If his defensive lapses start to become glaring and he can’t improve the powerplay, it could be viewed in a negative light. It should be an interesting question going forward.

Can Jarry Be A Number One? Jarry was gifted the starter’s role when Pittsburgh dealt Matt Murray to the Ottawa Senators in 2020. Since that time, he’s been the default number-one goaltender for the Penguins because they’ve never had a better option. With him signed to a long-term lucrative extension, it’s obvious that Penguins management sees Jarry as their number one goalie. But will he provide the team with number-one goaltending?

Can Crosby And Malkin Stay Healthy? It’s been rare for the Penguins to have the services of both Crosby and Malkin for an entire season, however, last year they did, and they missed the playoffs. They are unlikely to have both players for a season given their age and their track records with injuries. Crosby has changed his game and is less explosive to the net, however, he has suffered fewer injuries recently. Malkin has tried to adapt his game as well. But can both men stay healthy for another season? Time will tell.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Nikolai Kovalenko Could Join Avalanche After KHL Season

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Colorado Avalanche General Manager Chris MacFarland spoke with the DNVR Podcast recently regarding forward prospect Nikolai Kovalenko. During the interview MacFarland spoke about the team’s excitement when the Russian signed his two-year entry-level contract, and that they were going to be paying a lot of attention to his play over the next few months. MacFarland said the plan is to have Kovalenko come over at the expiration of his current season with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod of the KHL and where he ends up is wide open.

The 23-year-old is on a tear to start the season with three goals and five assists in six games and is coming off a season in which he posted 21 goals and 33 assists in 56 games. He has been dressing as a regular in the KHL since 2017-18 but hasn’t been much of an offensive threat until the past two seasons. His case could be that of a late bloomer as teams didn’t really project this much offensive upside for Kovalenko, which might explain why he fell to the Avalanche in the sixth round of the 2018 NHL entry draft.

Kovalenko was born in the United States when his father Andrei Kovalenko was an NHLer with the Carolina Hurricanes but was ultimately raised in Russia and has played hockey there throughout his career. From 2015-2018 Kovalenko played in the MHL which is Russia’s junior league. He dressed in 72 games notching 17 goals and 33 assists while helping Yaroslavl win back-to-back MHL championships.

Kovalenko may be a long shot to make the Avalanche when he does come over to North America next year. Colorado identified their forward depth as an area of concern this summer and made several moves to address it by acquiring Jonathan Drouin, Miles Wood, and Tomas Tatar through free agency, as well as Ross Colton and Ryan Johansen via trade.

Phil Kessel Unlikely To Sign With Pittsburgh Penguins

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A rumor that hasn’t been going away the past month is a Phil Kessel reunion with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Kessel was largely beloved in Pittsburgh during his four years with the Penguins and was a huge part of their back-to-back Stanley Cup wins in 2016 and 2017. Kessel had a very good claim to the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2016 that ultimately went to Sidney Crosby and was equally as effective in 2017 on the Penguins’ path to a repeat. He was an electric playmaker that fit the city of Pittsburgh like a glove.

But with the rumors flying Josh Yohe of The Athletic has poured cold water on the notion of the Penguins signing the now 35-year-old Kessel. Yohe writes that he doesn’t see the Penguins signing Kessel for a number of reasons. This echoes what Dave Molinari wrote last week in Pittsburgh Hockey Now where he said what Kessel brings to the table doesn’t fit with what General Manager Kyle Dubas and Head Coach Mike Sullivan are trying to do.

Both Yohe and Molinari’s assessments make sense given the roadblocks that would impede a potential return. The Penguins have signed a lot of bottom-six forwards for this upcoming season and appear to be favoring defensively responsible players, something Kessel has never been accused of being.

There is also the issue of Kessel leaving Pittsburgh on bad terms when he was traded in the summer of 2019. Many outside reports indicated that Kessel and Sullivan had a difficult relationship, however, both men have said that those reports were overblown by people who were outside of the situation.

The last hurdle, and perhaps the biggest one is the play of Kessel since he was traded by the Penguins to the Arizona Coyotes in 2019, he just hasn’t been as good as he was in Pittsburgh. Kessel has never taken great care of himself despite being the NHL Iron Man, and this has really shown in his play on the ice. Since the trade, Kessel has topped 14 goals just once, and 50 points once as well. Last season he found himself a healthy scratch for the majority of the playoffs as he watched the Vegas Golden Knights march to the Stanley Cup.

While a reunion would be fun and would add to what is going to be a wildly entertaining season of hockey in Pittsburgh, it doesn’t seem like it is going to happen, which will break the hearts of some Penguins fans.

New Jersey Devils Sign Keith Kinkaid

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The New Jersey Devils are bringing back a familiar face on a two-way contract for the upcoming season. The Devils formally announced a deal with Keith Kinkaid this morning as he will likely serve as depth to the teams current goaltenders. New Jersey’s Executive Vice President/General Manager Tom Fitzgerald made the announcement that will see Kinkaid take home $775K at the NHL level and $350K at the AHL level.

The undrafted Kinkaid originally signed an ELC with the Devils back in April of 2011 and spent four years shuttling back and forth between the Devils AHL affiliate Albany and the big club in New Jersey. The now 34-year-old posted very respectable numbers in his first full NHL season in 2017-18 when he had a record of 26-10-3 with a .913 save percentage and a 2.77 goals-against average.

Unfortunately for the Farmingville, New York native the wheels came off in his second full season and the Devils dealt him to Columbus in February of 2019. Since then, Kinkaid has had five different NHL stops and hasn’t been a regular NHLer.

Kinkaid has spent a great deal of time in the AHL the past few seasons and last year dressed in 27 games split between the Colorado Eagles and Providence Bruins posting a 12-10-4 record to go along with a 2.92 goals against average and a .911 save percentage.

Kinkaid figures to serve as depth for the Devils and should be a good insurance policy if they run into injury problems in the crease. New Jersey will start the season with Vitek Vanecek and Akira Schmid as their NHL netminders barring an injury between now and opening night.

Sharks Best Positioned To Win First Overall Pick

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Harman Dayal of The Athletic writes that the San Jose Sharks are the team that is best positioned to win the draft lottery in 2024 and ultimately the first overall pick. Dayal ranked the top five teams with the best chance to do so, and in his estimation, he believes that the Chicago Blackhawks will have the second-best odds, the Philadelphia Flyers third, Anaheim Ducks fourth, and the Montreal Canadiens rounding out the top 5.

Given the offseason that the Sharks have had, the rankings are hardly a surprise. The Sharks dealt the reigning Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a lot of bad roster players and several draft picks. The move to embrace a full rebuild was the correct one given where the Sharks are in their roster construction, but it is going to lead to a lot of lean years and in Dayal’s view this one could be the toughest.

After subtracting Karlsson, the Sharks added Mikael Granlund, Mike Hoffman, Jan Rutta, Filip Zadina, and Anthony Duclair. While several of those players still have something to offer a team, none of them appear likely to be with the Sharks long-term and most of the players will be asked to play this season in a roster spot that doesn’t match their current skillset. Take Rutta for example, he was a terrific sixth defenseman on the Stanley Cup winning Tampa Bay Lightning squads but struggled last season in Pittsburgh when he was asked to play in the top-4 in the absence of Kris Letang and Jeff Petry. Rutta was exposed as a liability on most nights in that role, and this year will be asked to play on San Jose’s top defensive pairing. It’s going to be a tough year for the Sharks’ defense as they likely don’t have a single defenseman on their roster that could play in the top-4 of a playoff team.

Zadina is also going to be asked to play a role that doesn’t match his skillset as he is currently pencilled in to play in the Sharks top line. He had trouble finding minutes in Detroit and was a healthy scratch at times. Now he will be asked to dress against opponents’ top units, which might make for a tough year for the 23-year-old who is trying to rebuild his stock after struggling with the Red Wings.

Outside of Duclair, every player the Sharks acquired this offseason was a lightning rod for criticism with their former clubs. Granlund in Pittsburgh was the move that probably got Ron Hextall fired as he didn’t mix with the Penguins, Hoffman wore out his welcome in Montreal and didn’t provide much besides a shot. Dayal is predicting that all these ingredients will be a recipe for disaster in San Jose, but it could also be the shot in the arm that their rebuild needs if they are in fact able to win the draft lottery and secure the first overall pick in 2024.

Seth Jones Wants To Be Blackhawks Next Captain

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The Chicago Blackhawks don’t currently have a captain after long-time captain Jonathan Toews wasn’t re-signed this summer. Toews was Chicago’s captain from July of 2008 until April of this year when the season ended. During his time the Blackhawks had an unparalleled run of success on the ice winning three Stanley Cups.

Now with the captaincy vacant, defenseman Seth Jones has expressed an interest in the role telling Tracey Myers of NHL.com that he always wanted to be a captain after learning from great leaders such as Toews, Shea Weber, and Nick Foligno. Jones added that he understands his role in the room and will be a leader whether he has a letter on his jersey or not.

It’s an interesting statement from the 28-year-old rearguard as the Blackhawks are early in a big rebuild, but that process has certainly been accelerated with the team’s draft lottery win that allowed them to pick Connor Bedard first overall. It’s also unlikely to happen given that the Blackhawks will probably keep the captaincy vacant until Bedard is ready to take the reins in a few years.

Chicago’s captaincy may ultimately play out the same way it did with the Pittsburgh Penguins 18 years ago when Sidney Crosby began his career. At the time Mario Lemieux was the Penguins captain, but he didn’t make it through the 2005-06 season as he retired midseason. The Penguins then left the captaincy vacant until they gave it to Crosby in May 2007 after his second NHL season.

The other complications with Jones when it comes to the captaincy could be his contract status coupled with his play on the ice. Jones has long had the reputation as an elite, minute-eating defenseman, and while the latter is true, the former is much more complicated. Jones had a disastrous end to his time in Columbus and was dealt to Chicago. He quickly signed an eight-year $76MM contract with the Blackhawks that was panned by some and praised by others. There is no doubt that Jones provides a good amount of offensive punch, but his defensive play has been problematic as evidenced by his -75 the past two seasons.

Jones is entering the second year of his deal and it has already started to feel like he could become a buyout candidate before the end of the contract. It felt like an overpayment when it was signed and it really looks like one now. And with Jones pushing 30 his play is more likely to get worse before it gets better. Putting the captaincy on him now could become a PR nightmare in a few years if his play were to drop off and lead to a buyout.

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