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Evgenii Dadonov To Miss Game 5

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Tracey Myers of NHL.com tweeted this afternoon that Dallas Stars head coach Pete DeBoer told the media this afternoon that forward Evgenii Dadonov will miss Game 5 against the Vegas Golden Knights with a lower-body injury. DeBoer didn’t rule the 34-year-old out of the playoffs entirely but did go on to say that his injury is more than a day-to-day injury.

Dadonov, who missed Game 4 with the injury, saw a resurgence with the Stars after coming over just before the trade deadline from the Montreal Canadiens. He’s been playing at a level not seen since 2017-2020 with the Florida Panthers, putting up four goals and six assists in 16 playoff games with Dallas.

The injury must be frustrating for Dadonov on a number of fronts. The winger was finally finding his footing after struggling to find a home for the past three seasons. Dadonov also likely has an axe to grind with Vegas after he was traded without his permission at last year’s trade deadline, only to have the trade reversed when it was discovered that the Anaheim Ducks were on his no-trade list. He was then dealt by Vegas to the Montreal Canadiens for Shea Weber in June 2022. Dadonov struggled to start the season in Montreal, putting up just 18 points in 50 games before finding his current home in Dallas.

The Stars staved off elimination last night on an overtime goal from Joe Pavelski, they will need a lot more of that magic if they are going to have any chance of coming back against the Golden Knights, as they still trail in the series by a score of 3-1. They will have to do so in the absence of Dadonov, who has been one of their more consistent scorers in the playoffs.

Free Agent Focus: Buffalo Sabres

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Free agency is now a little more than a month away and teams are looking ahead to when it opens.  There will be several impact players set to hit the open market in July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well.  We continue our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Buffalo Sabres.

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Tyson Jost – Jost looked like a good bottom-six option for the Colorado Avalanche when he broke into the league in 2017-18. He produced 22 points in 65 games in his rookie season and followed it up with 11 goals and 15 assists in 70 games in his second season. Unfortunately, Jost then struggled through the pandemic shortened seasons and was dealt to the Minnesota Wild in March of 2022. Jost’s struggles followed him to the Wild and he was claimed off waivers by the Sabres on November 19th, 2022. Jost was able to find a role and Buffalo and got back to the numbers he initially posted when he first came into the league. He put up 22 points in 59 games after coming over to Buffalo and will look to build on that next season should he be tendered a contract.

Jost made $2.25MM last season in the second year of a backloaded contract and isn’t a guarantee to be offered a renewal. The Sabres will likely tender the qualifying offer and take another long look at Jost before deciding if he is a long-term fixture in their core. Jost has yet to show the top-6 promise he demonstrated prior to being drafted tenth overall but given his age and pedigree he would be worth a look on a one-year deal for a cap number around his qualifying offer.

D Kale Clague – Thus far Clague has shown himself to be a capable offensive defenseman at the AHL level, but he has yet to establish himself as an everyday NHLer. This past season the 24-year-old rearguard dressed in 33 games for the Sabres putting up just four assists while playing over 15 minutes a night. He fared much better with Buffalo’s AHL affiliate in Rochester where he put up a goal and five assists in just 14 games. Clague will likely get another contract from Buffalo but given that the Sabres have seven defensemen already signed, he may be destined for another season split between the NHL and AHL.

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

F Zemgus Girgensons – Girgensons has been a good soldier for the Sabres through a lot of very lean years in Buffalo. He looked like a good middle-6 option for the Sabres back in his season as he had 15 goals and 15 assists in 61 games. But since that time seven seasons have passed and Girgensons has never topped 12 goals or 20 points again. The Latvian has been a strong defensive forward for the Sabres throughout his career, albeit an expensive one in their bottom six. The Sabres have always valued his ability to be trusted with defensive zone starts and have never really had a replacement for that when Girgensons has missed time due to injury.

Now with an opportunity to test free agency it will be interesting to see what value other teams place on what he brings to the table should he reach the market. Girgensons has a chance to cash in on what could be his last sizable contract, and although he won’t light up the stats sheet, his defensive metrics will be attractive to any team that values defensive analytics. Girgensons should receive a multi-year offer, at a salary that is likely less than the $2.4MM he made last season with Buffalo.

F Vinnie Hinostroza – Hinostroza is just a few years removed from putting up 16 goals and 23 assists in 72 games with the Arizona Coyotes, but this past season found himself healthy scratched before being put on waivers and sent down to the AHL. The 29-year-old responded by putting up nine points in 11 games with Rochester, but it was not a position he wanted to be in as he headed towards unrestricted free agency. Hinostroza will likely have to take a one-year contract at league minimum to try to rebuild his value and take another kick at free agency next summer.

Projected Cap Space

Cap space shouldn’t be an issue for Buffalo this summer. However, they will need to be careful how they allot their space because they will have a few large extensions to young players that they will need to leave room for in the future. Nearly all the Sabres defense core will require new contracts after this season including Owen Power and Rasmus Dahlin. Up front forwards Casey Mittelstadt, and Peyton Krebs will also need new deals next summer. All four players will likely require large raises and for Power and Dahlin those two contracts could top $15MM annually when combined. Overall, Buffalo is in good shape for this upcoming season with almost $17MM in cap space and 21 players signed. But their core is about to get very expensive starting in 2024-25. 

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.  Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.

Dallas Stars Announce Seven More Black Aces

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Dallas Stars radio announcer Bruce LeVine tweeted this afternoon that the club has announced seven more Black Aces that will join the club for the remainder of their playoff run. The Stars already announced this morning that they would be recalling Mavrik Bourque and Rhett Gardner from the Texas Stars, now they will have seven additional teammates joining them with the big club. Texas was eliminated from the AHL playoffs this past Sunday night by the Milwaukee Admirals.

Joining the Stars from the AHL will be forwards Oskar Back, Matej Blumel, Marián Studenič, and Riley Tufte. Defensemen Alexander Petrovic, and Ryan Shea will also join the fray, as well as goaltender Matt Murray. The Black Aces generally don’t dress for games; however, they do stay ready for action just in case. They will also practice with the club as well as soaking in the experience of being around the NHL playoff atmosphere.

The addition of Petrovic is an interesting coincidence given that in the 2017 Vegas Golden Nights expansion draft the Florida Panthers gift wrapped Jonathan Marchessault along with Reilly Smith to Vegas so they could protect Petrovic and three other defensemen. Marchessault has gone on to become the Golden Knights all-time scoring leader while Petrovic struggled to stay in the NHL and has spent the past four seasons in the AHL.

These Black Aces could have a short stay with the big club as Dallas can be eliminated as early as this evening should they drop game 4 to the Golden Knights.

Afternoon News: Capitals, Howden, Maple Leafs

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Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic wrote a piece today that highlighted the nine forwards he believes would fit what the Washington Capitals are looking for this offseason. El-Bashir begins the piece by shining a light on the salary cap crunch that will leave the Capitals with around $5MM in cap space this summer. That leaves Washington with precious little space to work with, however El-Bashir quickly points out that Evgeny Kuznetsov and Anthony Mantha are both trade options that are finding their names on a lot of trade boards.

El-Bashir feels that Washington won’t target players over 30 given their age and Washington’s precarious cap situation. He lists Tyler Bertuzzi, Connor Brown, Andreas Athanasiou, Ivan Barbashev, Michael Bunting, J.T. Compher, Max Domi, Pierre Engvall, and Evan Rodrigues as the likely targets for Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan. Washington has an extensive group of forwards signed to contracts for next season but have a glaring hole on the right wing. Given the cost and the need I would likely put current Capitals forward Connor Brown near the top of the list. Brown was acquired from the Ottawa Senators for a second round pick last summer but only dressed in four games before suffering a season ending ACL injury in his right knee.

In other afternoon notes:

  • Jesse Granger of The Athletic is reporting that Brett Howden of the Vegas Golden Knights was on the ice for the team’s morning skate ahead of their game 4 matchup against the Dallas Stars. Granger reported yesterday that the 25-year-old center had tweaked a lower body injury in game 2 and tried to play through it but couldn’t. Howden missed game 3 and given that he’s seen a lot of time in Vegas’ top-6 as of late, his return would be a welcome boost if he can dress tonight. Howden had a pedestrian regular season with 13 points in 54 games, however in these playoffs he has three goals and three assists in 14 games. Vegas has a chance to sweep Dallas this evening.
  • Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star wrote an opinion piece today about why former Calgary Flames general manager Brad Treliving checks so many of the boxes that Brendan Shanahan and the Toronto Maple Leafs would be looking to tick. McGran highlights Treliving’s experience in Calgary working in a collaborative environment with former president of hockey ops Brian Burke. Toronto’s future general manager would be tied to Shanahan as well as the board of MLSE, it is a job that is different from some other NHL clubs, however Treliving has worked within a similar structure. McGran also cites Treliving’s penchant for having the guts to make bold moves, Treliving spent last summer overhauling the Calgary Flames out of necessity by trading Matthew Tkachuk to Florida for Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar as well as signing Nazem Kadri as a free agent.

Aleksander Barkov Leaves Game 3, Not Expected Out Long-Term

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May 23, 9:25 am: This morning, head coach Paul Maurice offered more clarity on the situation, saying the Panthers were hopeful for his return during the contest, and the team remains optimistic their captain will make a swift recovery and be back in the lineup soon, with the injury not expected to be long-term, as he told Miami radio station WQAM.

May 22, 8:58 pm: Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman is reporting that Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov left in the first period of game 3 in the Eastern Conference Finals and is questionable to return. Barkov took an innocent looking hit from Jack Drury and missed the final 7:04 of the first period. David Pagnotta of the NHL Network tweeted that Barkov is battling a lower-body injury, and it is still unclear if he will return.

The Panthers captain didn’t come out for the start of the second period, and little is known about his status at this time. Should the former second-overall pick miss any time, it could be a huge blow to the Cinderella story that is the Panthers’ playoff run. Barkov had three points in the first two games of their series against the Carolina Hurricanes, including a goal that Wayne Gretzky called one of the greatest moves he’s seen in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Barkov’s regular season numbers dipped a bit this year, but the 27-year-old center still had 23 goals and 55 assists in 68 games and has 12 points in 14 playoff games thus far.

The timing of the Barkov injury is interesting, given that head coach Paul Maurice mentioned to reporters this morning that the two of the Panthers’ best games this season occurred when Barkov and Sam Bennett were out of the team’s lineup. The Sportsnet broadcast crew brought up this Maurice quote from an interview that now seems ominous given the situation Barkov and Florida are now facing.

Evening Notes: Huska, Senators, Seitz

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Darren Haynes of The Canadian Press tweeted today that he wonders if new Calgary Flames GM Craig Conroy might consider current assistant coach Ryan Huska for the role of their new head coach. Huska has been coaching since 2002-03 and has spent the past five years in Calgary as an assistant. The 47-year-old Huska has been a head coach in the WHL and the AHL and has coached several members of the Flames current squad.

The Cranbrook, British Columbia native had an interesting career as a player having won three Memorial Cups with the Kamloops Blazers dynasty in 1992, 1994, and 1995. He was drafted in the third round by the Chicago Blackhawks in 1993 and five years later dressed in the only NHL game he would ever play, taking eight shifts for 5:51 in total ice time. Should Huska be named the head coach in Calgary he would become the 22nd head coach in Flames franchise history.

In other evening notes:

  • Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia is reporting that there has been a lot of moving parts in the Neko Sparks bid for ownership of the Ottawa Senators. Garrioch speculates that the group could be facing an imminent deadline as they have recently brought in more investors and have apparently been pushing hard the past 48 hours to find more investors to get involved. The group has brought on Canadians Arlene Dickerson and Robert Herjavec who are both wealthy investors as well as television personalities on the hit Canadian television series Dragon’s Den.
  • The Hockey News is reporting that the PHF continues to attract talent to the league as they’ve announced new signings today. The Metropolitan Riveters made a big splash as they have brought in Yale alumnus Emma Seitz. The New York native is the back-to-back ECAC Defender of the Year and was an All-American. The 23-year-old defenseman also put up offense in her time at Yale, posting 11 goals and 11 assists in 30 games this past season. Over the course of four years in the NCAA, Seitz put up 86 career points in 127 career games.

Latest On Washington Capitals Head Coach Search

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Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic is reporting that the Washington Capitals have been quiet about their coaching search to date, but some details have started to filter through. The names El-Bashir has been hearing are Spencer Carbery, Jeff Halpern, Brad Shaw, Todd Nelson, and one former Capitals head coach in Bruce Boudreau. El-Bashir opens his article by stating that his list of candidates in not exhaustive, it is just the list of potential coaching candidates that he has heard rumblings about.

El-Bashir has heard from sources that current Toronto Maple Leafs assistant coach Spencer Carbery is one of general manager Brian MacLellan’s preferred candidates. Sources tell El-Bashir that Carbery was in town today to meet with MacLellan and it is no surprise given his history with the franchise. Carbery coached Washington’s AHL affiliate the Hershey Bears from 2018-2021. On top of this Washington’s once daunted powerplay has slipped to average the past few seasons and Carbery comes with a track record of coaching dominant power play units. He has coached the Maple Leafs powerplay to a 24.1 percent success rate the past two seasons, which ranks second in the NHL during that time.

Tampa Bay Lightning assistant coach Jeff Halpern has a similar story to that of Carbery. He has been employed by the Capitals twice before as a player and was the team’s captain at one point as well. He has also been running a very successful Lightning powerplay unit the past few seasons and has been a big contributor to their success the past half decade as they’ve reached three finals and captured two Stanley Cups.

Philadelphia Flyers associate coach Brad Shaw is also a former Capitals player having dressed in four games. It was reported yesterday that Shaw is also in the running for the Anaheim Ducks head coaching job. It is believed that Shaw has already been interviewed by MacLellan and is still very much in play. Shaw has been a head coach in the NHL previously as he took over mid-season for the New York Islanders back in 2006, however he has been an associate and an assistant coach ever since.

Todd Nelson’s name coming up makes a lot of sense given that he is the current coach of Washington’s AHL affiliate, and he currently has the club in the Eastern Conference finals. Nelson also has a Calder Cup on his resume having guided Grand Rapids to the league title in 2017. Nelson comes with some NHL head coaching experience as he spent 51 games behind the bench of the Edmonton Oilers in a previous stint after he replaced Dallas Eakins. Nelson coached the Oilers to a sixth-place finish in the Pacific Division that year going 17-25-9.

Bruce Boudreau guided the Capitals to an incredible run of regular season success including a Presidents Trophy in 2010, however he could never get the team over the hump as they were unable to advance past the second round while he was at the helm. Boudreau coached Washington to four straight division titles but was let go in 2011-12. He garnered a ton of sympathy from the hockey world this past season as he was coaching in his final days for the Vancouver Canucks. Boudreau was left in a precarious position with the club as reports leaked that the Canucks were looking to let him go, a move the team ultimately did make. Despite this, Boudreau has stated a desire to keep coaching, however a source close to him says that he has not yet heard from the Capitals about their coaching vacancy making a reunion appear unlikely at this time.

El-Bashir states that he believes that there are other names in play, however he has only heard about these names thus far. Washington will also need to fill several assistant coach roles once they have selected a new bench boss.

Minor Transactions: Gatcomb, Veinbergs, Hanna

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The Abbotsford Canucks announced today that they have signed forward Marc Gatcomb to a one-year AHL contract extension. Gatcomb doesn’t offer much in the way of offence having put up just three goals and five assists in 45 games this season. It was the first full AHL season for the 23-year-old after he spent four years at the University of Connecticut.

The Woburn, Massachusetts native was never drafted to the NHL and had previously signed as a free agent last summer after wrapping up his college career. He had a stint in the ECHL with the Kalamazoo Wings dressing in six games and tallying a goal and three assists but wrapped up the season in Abbotsford. He was praised by Abbotsford general manager Ryan Johnson as being one of the most improved players and seemed to gain the trust of head coach Jeremy Colliton. This was evidenced in the playoffs where Gatcomb appeared in all six of the club’s playoff games.

In other minor transactions:

  • Tampa Bay Lightning 2022 seventh round draft pick Klavs Veinbergs committed to Colorado College today. The 20-year-old will begin his college career after spending last year with the Lincoln Stars of the United States Hockey League where he put up 12 goals and 16 assists in 50 games. Veinbergs has represented his country in multiple international tournaments and made a bit of noise at the World Juniors in the summer of 2022. He is the fourth Latvian drafted by the Lightning with the last one being in 2013 when Tampa Bay selected Kristers Gudlevskis.
  • Canadian defenseman Shane Hanna signed an extension today to remain in Germany and play with the Starbulls Rosenheim of the DEL2 league. Hanna, a native of New Westminster, British Columbia previously played 78 games with the Texas Stars of the AHL where he put up two goals and 11 assists. The 29-year-old has fared better offensively the past four years but has bounced around in the process playing in Slovakia, Italy, and Denmark.

Ken Holland To Honor Final Season Of Contract

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Sportsnet is reporting that Edmonton Oilers president of hockey ops and general manager Ken Holland told the media that the long-time NHL executive intends to honor the final season of his five-year contract. Holland added that he isn’t sure how long he will stay in the role but he has unfinished business.

Edmonton has been a disappointment in each of the four seasons that Holland has been at the helm, they’ve qualified for the post season all four years, however they’ve only advanced past the second round once.  The Oilers had another strong regular season this year going 50-23-9, however they were ousted by the Vegas Golden Knights in the second round in six games.

Holland came into the organization with a lot of fanfare after leading the Detroit Red Wings to multiple Stanley Cups in his time in the motor city. However, in Edmonton he has been unable to build around the two best players in the game in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Holland has never been able to solidify Edmonton’s goaltending which was once again a big part of their undoing in the playoffs. Jack Campbell was brought in from the Toronto Maple Leafs on a five year $25MM contract, but he failed to live up to expectations. Stuart Skinner was fine in the regular season but the young netminder crumbled under the postseason pressure and was yanked several times after putting up an .883 save percentage.

Edmonton has also struggled to build up depth scoring beyond their top six. McDavid, Draisaitl, Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins did the heavy lifting this year, but the bottom six was a black hole. Warren Foegele but up 28 points in 67 games but beyond that there wasn’t much.

Holland will have his work cut out for him as he tries to give Edmonton another kick at the can. But given their lack of success in the postseason, fans are getting antsy as the Oilers enter the last couple years of McDavid and Draisaitl’s current contracts.

Afternoon Notes: Ruff, Teräväinen, Kase

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Ryan Novozinsky of NJ.com tweeted today that New Jersey Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerard said that head coach Lindy Ruff is still the right coach for the Devils. It’s no surprise that Fitzgerard would speak of Ruff so highly as the veteran coach just led New Jersey to the playoffs for the first time since 2018 and their first playoff series win since the club lost in the Stanley Cup Finals in 2012. The Devils improved dramatically this season under Ruff as they went from 14th in the Eastern Conference to 3rd this season and won 52 games this year nearly doubling their 27 wins from 2021-22.

There was speculation around the future of the 63-year-old Ruff, but Fitzgerard put those whispers to bed today saying, “”He’s still the right coach. We deserve that, we deserve him.” In his three seasons with New Jersey Ruff has compiled a 98-98-24 record with just the one playoff appearance. While that record isn’t great, it’s hard to argue with this year’s results. The Devils look to be at the beginning of what could be a very special run of hockey these next few years and it appears from the outside as though the Devils stars enjoy playing for Lindy. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of rope Ruff gets next season if the Devils were to stutter out of the gate.

In other afternoon notes:

  • Carolina Hurricanes reporter Walt Ruff tweeted today that head coach Rod Brind’Amour commented on the status of injured forward Teuvo Teräväinen saying that he is hopeful that the forward will be able to dress tomorrow night for game 1. Brind’Amour added that Carolina will likely decide on the 28-year-old after the team’s morning skate tomorrow. Teräväinen has been pointless in two games in these playoffs but would provide a jolt to an already strong Hurricanes forward group.
  • Tyler Madarasz of NHL Morning Skate tweeted that he sat down with Carolina general manager Don Waddell today and the long-time NHL executive discussed Ondrej Kase. Waddell said that Kase is still dealing with issues from concussions and to this day doesn’t feel right. He mentioned that Kase may be forced to call it a career, which would be a real shame for a young player with so much career left in him. Kase dressed in just one game for Carolina this season but is just a year removed from putting up 14 goals and 13 assists in 50 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He showed the potential to be a perennial 20-goal scorer in Anaheim just a few seasons ago, but sadly it looks as though his career could be coming to an end.

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