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Pacific Notes: Canucks, Emberson, Bordeleau, Barabanov

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Pittsburgh Penguins beat writer, Josh Yohe, is reporting that although several teams remain in the mix for forward Jake Guentzel, the Vancouver Canucks have been far and away the most aggressive team. This reaffirms multiple reports over the last several days listing the Canucks as one of the top suitors for Guentzel’s services.

Yesterday there was a report from TSN’s Chris Johnston, which indicated that Vancouver was working on a potential trade that would land them Guentzel as well as shipping Elias Lindholm to the Boston Bruins. With just over 48 hours left until the trade deadline, a trade of this magnitude may have too many moving parts to be completed, but would be a fascinating shift from Vancouver after acquiring Lindholm just over a month ago.

In his own right, Guentzel does make a lot of sense for a team like the Canucks, with many of the team’s top players having minimal playoff experience throughout their careers. Playing for the Penguins over his entire career, Guentzel has been a standout playoff performer, scoring 34 goals and 58 points in 58 postseason games as well as a Stanley Cup ring in 2017.

Other Pacific notes:

    • In an announcement coming from the organization, the San Jose Sharks have placed defenseman Ty Emberson on injured reserve, and have recalled forward Thomas Bordeleau in a corresponding roster move. This will mark Emberson’s third stint on the IR this season, losing time in December and January as well. However, when healthy, he has been a solid performer in San Jose this season, scoring one goal and 10 points in 30 games played, coupled with a 91.7% save percentage in all situations as well. Bordeleau, on the other hand, has only appeared in six games for the Sharks this season, scoring one goal and one assist while averaging just over 13 minutes of ice time per night.
    • Sticking with the Sharks, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports that extension talks have broken down between the team and forward Alexander Barabanov, and they are actively shopping the veteran to a Stanley Cup contender. Experiencing something of a down season due to injuries earlier in the year, Barabanov has only been able to muster 10 points in 38 games for the Sharks this season. However, Barabanov is only one year removed from a 15-goal, 47-point performance, which may entice some contenders as a secondary-scoring option down the stretch.

New York Rangers Acquire Alexander Wennberg

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3:11 pm: The Rangers have made the trade official, announcing that Wennberg will be headed east to New York.

2:18 pm: With a flurry of trade activity today, the New York Rangers have decided to enter into the madness. Emily Kaplan of ESPN is reporting that the Rangers are working on a deal with the Seattle Kraken that would land Alexander Wennberg in the Big Apple.

TSN’s Pierre Lebrun is reporting that the deal is done, indicating that the Kraken will be receiving the Rangers 2024 second-round pick, as well as New York’s fourth-round pick in 2025. Seattle will also be retaining 50% of Wennberg’s remaining salary, bringing his AAV down to $2.25MM with the Rangers.

Ever since the Rangers lost center Filip Chytil back in November due to a concussion, the team has been looking to fill the void for nearly the entire season. The organization has tried both Nick Bonino and Jonny Brodzinski in this role but had their eye on a bona fide forward to add down the middle.

Not as much of an offensive threat as he was during his time with the Columbus Blue Jackets, the addition of Wennberg should help in multiple areas of the Rangers lineup. Initially, he is readily available to center the team’s third line, and will also be able to serve on the team’s penalty kill unit as well.

Coming over to Seattle as an unrestricted free agent in the 2021-22 offseason, Wennberg is in the last year of a three-year, $13.5MM contract. Throughout his tenure in Seattle, Wennberg has played in a total of 142 games for the expansion franchise over the last three years, scoring 22 goals and 63 points in the process.

Although Wennberg doesn’t have the amount of success in the dot teams might be expecting out of their bottom-six centers, his possession metrics show that he brings solid defensive awareness to the table. Wennberg will also be able to help a New York penalty kill unit that is already top five in the league, recording an 83.15% success rate being a man down.

The General Manager of the Kraken, Ron Francis, is using a similar deadline strategy as he used two years ago, as he went on to acquire 10 total draft selections leading up to the deadline in 2022. In this deal, Seattle will now have five total selections in the first three rounds of the 2024 NHL Draft, and 17 total selections over the next two years.

Avalanche, Sabres To Swap Casey Mittelstadt, Bowen Byram

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Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to correctly reflect that Byram was the fourth overall pick in the 2019 draft.

The Avalanche are making their second high-impact deal of the day, acquiring center Casey Mittelstadt from the Sabres in exchange for defenseman Bowen Byram, per a team release. With the two trades made today, Colorado has increased their salary cap space to $4.9MM leading up to the deadline.

This trade will mark the third attempt by the Avalanche to fill in the second-center void left by Nazem Kadri two years ago. With Alex Newhook and Ryan Johansen not working out in the role, Colorado is taking a swing on Mittelstadt amidst his breakout campaign in Buffalo.

Largely inconsistent during his first four years with the Sabres, Mittelstadt has become a formidable offensive threat over his last two campaigns. In 144 games for the Sabres since the start of the 2022-23 season, Mittlestadt has recorded 29 goals and 106 points, as well as leading all Buffalo players in scoring this year.

He will leave much to be desired in the faceoff dot as well as defensive play in his end, but the Avalanche carry enough defensively-minded forwards to shore up Mittelstadt’s shortcomings. Nevertheless, as they already sit atop the league in GF/G, the introduction of Mittelstadt, coupled with the eventual return of Valeri Nichushkin and Gabriel Landeskog, will create a nearly unstoppable offense for Colorado come playoff time.

The elephant in the room, when it comes to Mittelstadt, is his looming restricted free agency this summer. With Mittelstadt playing himself into a hefty raise upon his current $2.5MM salary, it will be difficult for the Avalanche to keep him in the fold for the long-term future of the organization. Heading into the offseason, Colorado will only have around $10MM available in cap space with plenty of depth pieces headed for unrestricted free agency.

In Byram, the Sabres will acquire the former fourth-overall selection in the 2019 NHL Draft, joining Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power on Buffalo’s blue line of former top-five selections. Still only 22 years old, Byram is in his fourth professional season, already having a Stanley Cup victory under his belt.

Limited by concussion issues in the past, Byram has put together back-to-back respectable seasons in Colorado, with a slight downtick in his production this season. Over the last two years, Byram has managed to suit up in 97 games for the Avalanche, scoring 18 goals and 44 points while averaging 20:44 of ice time per night.

Unfortunately, throughout his tenure in Colorado, Byram had to play second fiddle to the defensive pair of Cale Makar and Devon Toews and may be finding himself in a similar situation in Buffalo. With the top defensive unit of Dahlin and Mattias Samuelsson set in stone, the Sabres have at the very least found a viable alternative to put next to Power on the team’s second defensive pairing.

If Byram’s development process continues on an upward trajectory, there is every indication that Buffalo could deploy one of the league’s most formidable defensive cores. With Dahlin, Samuelsson, and Power all signed to long-term contracts, the Sabres still have another year after this season to lock Byram up to a similar contract.

ESPN’s Kevin Weekes was the first to report the trade.

Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic was first to report that the trade was one for one.

Edmonton Oilers Acquire Adam Henrique, Sam Carrick

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2:31 pm: The Ducks have made the trade official per a team announcement.

12:23 pm: The Edmonton Oilers and Anaheim Ducks are working on a trade that will send both Adam Henrique and Sam Carrick to Alberta. With the full trade details before either team has confirmed, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period is reporting that Anaheim will acquire a 2024 first-round selection as well as a conditional 2025 fifth-round selection that can be upgraded to a fourth-round pick if the Oilers win the Stanley Cup.

Although the Ducks are already retaining 50% of Henrique’s salary in the deal, the Tampa Bay Lightning were also brought in to retain 25% of the salary as well, earning a conditional 2025 fourth-round pick from the Oilers in the process. Aside from Henrique and Carrick, Edmonton will also be acquiring Tampa Bay’s 2024 seventh-round selection and goaltender Ty Taylor, who is currently rostered on the Evansville Thunderbolts of the SPHL.

Further reporting has indicated that Anaheim will be retaining 50% of Carrick’s contract as well, bringing his total salary with Edmonton down to $425K for the remainder of the season. Because the Ducks retained money on both players, they no longer have any retention spots available for any remaining trades they may make leading up to the deadline.

With Henrique now in the mix, Edmonton will have the opportunity to get creative in their top six. Understandably, they will likely keep their first line together heading into the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs but now can move either Evander Kane or Mattias Janmark around the lineup to create a more balanced offensive approach.

Speaking of balance, that is exactly what Henrique brings to the table for the Oilers as one of the more consistent two-way forwards in the NHL. Formidable offensively, Henrique has scored 18 goals and 42 points in 60 games for the Ducks this season but also boasts a 52.9% faceoff win rate.

Aside from helping out both offensively and defensively at even strength, Henrique should also be able to improve the Oilers’ pedestrian penalty-kill percentage this year. Centering Anaheim’s top penalty kill unit for much of his tenure in California, Henrique should be able to slide next to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on the team’s top penalty kill unit or be the focal point of the team’s second unit.

Carrick, on the other hand, gives the Oilers an upgrade to a portion of the offensive unit they have been craving for much of the season. Experimenting with Connor Brown and Adam Erne on the team’s fourth line, Carrick gives Edmonton a more bona fide player to utilize in that role.

In 61 games for Anaheim this season, Carrick has scored eight goals and 11 points in total as well as throwing 137 hits against his opponents. Carrick has mostly played down the middle for the Ducks this season but does give the Oilers some flexibility to move Dylan Holloway to the wing on the bottom line.

With the inclusion of a first-round pick going to Anaheim in this deal, General Manager Pat Verbeek has added yet another top selection for the 2024 NHL Draft, with the Ducks now having seven total selections in the first three rounds of this upcoming summer’s draft. With 11 picks in total for 2024, the Ducks will now have added 20 new players to the organization via the draft in the last two years alone.

In Tampa Bay, even by retaining a total of $1.45MM of Henrique’s salary, they will still have plenty of cap maneuverability to make a big splash come deadline day. Essentially purchasing a later-round pick from the Oilers, the Lightning could use this extra draft selection as a sweetener of their own in a few days.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports images. 

TSN’s Pierre LeBrun was the first to report trade talks heating up between Edmonton and Anaheim. 

The Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli was the first to report the trade had been completed. 

TSN’s Chris Johnston was the first to report that draft picks would be headed to Anaheim. 

Metropolitan Notes: Capitals, Konecny, Palat, Greaves

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Taking the ice for practice this morning, Tarik El-Bashir of Monumental Sports Network provided several updates to injured members of the Washington Capitals. He reports that forward T.J. Oshie skated once again, but is still considered week-to-week, while Nic Dowd and Martin Fehervary both skated in non-contact jerseys and are confirmed to miss the team’s next game against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

All three players currently find themselves on the team’s injured reserve and have limited Washington’s depth up and down the lineup. However, even with all three members having been out since at least February 22nd, the Capitals have earned a 2-2-1 record in that stretch, maintaining their position near the Eastern Conference wild-card spot.

The largest concern will surround Oshie, who has only managed to suit up in 38 games for Washington this season. Dealing with injuries in the past, Oshie still has another year left on his contract after this season for $5.75MM. In those 38 games, his production continues to tail off towards the end of his career, as he has only managed 10 goals and 18 points up to this point.

Other Metro notes:

  • Philadelphia Flyers forward Travis Konecny could return to the lineup as soon as Thursday after Sam Carchidi of Philly Hockey Now reports Konecny was a full participant in practice this morning. Konecny, who has missed the last six games for the Flyers, will be as important a return as any to Philadelphia’s lineup, as he still leads the team in scoring even after having missed time. Still thriving under head coach John Tortorella, Konecny has scored 27 goals and 54 points for the Flyers this season, leading the team in the latter category by a margin of nine points.
  • Missing last night’s game with a lower-body injury, team reporter Amanda Stein is reporting that New Jersey Devils forward Ondrej Palat was also absent from the team’s practice this morning. Currently on a three-game losing streak, the loss of Palat will do nothing to help the Devils’ hopes of qualifying for the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs. In 51 games for New Jersey this season, Palat has scored nine goals and 24 points, which is a similar pace to his production last year.
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets have sent down goaltender Jet Greaves to their AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters, per a team announcement. Greaves was able to play in one game for the Blue Jackets after being recalled on March 4th, stopping 26 of 31 shots in the team’s loss against the Penguins last night.

Atlantic Notes: White, Harvey-Pinard, Lindholm, Kampf, Timmins

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Eric Engels of Sportsnet is reporting that the Montreal Canadiens have placed forward Colin White on the injured reserve, and have activated forward Rafael Harvey-Pinard from it. Earlier reporting suggested that White suffered an upper-body injury in practice, and is only considered day-to-day.

White originally joined the Canadiens organization via waiver claim on February 22nd, coming over from the Pittsburgh Penguins. In 16 games this season, five of which have been in Montreal, White has been unable to register any points so far. He has received more ice time with the Canadiens but is still receiving playing time in the bottom six nonetheless.

Harvey-Pinard, on the other hand, has had his season mired by injuries. With injury concerns limiting him to 24 games on the year, Harvey-Pinard has scored one goal and seven points for the Canadiens this season. Hoping for health moving forward, Montreal will be waiting to see if they can get back last year’s version of Harvey-Pinard, who scored 14 goals and 20 points in 36 games.

Other Atlantic notes:

  • There is still no official timeline on the return of Boston Bruins’ defenseman Hampus Lindholm, but Conor Ryan of the Boston Globe is reporting that Lindholm is close to a return. Lindholm has been out for a little over a week with an upper-body injury which has marked his first significant injury since the 2021-22 season. Seeing a marketable decrease in his production this season, Lindholm has put up one goal and 19 points in 56 games for the Bruins this year.
  • Absent from the team’s practice today, Toronto Maple Leafs forward David Kampf is reportedly out with an illness (X Link). The Maple Leafs do play against the Buffalo Sabres tomorrow night, and Kampf’s status is currently up in the air. In 47 games for Toronto this season, Kampf has produced at a respectable level, scoring five goals and 11 points overall.
  • Sticking in Toronto, Mark Masters of TSN is reporting that defenseman Conor Timmins is back at practice for the first time since his mononucleosis diagnosis back in early February. It is undetermined when Timmins will be able to re-enter the lineup for the Maple Leafs, but he has scored one goal and six points in 16 games for Toronto already this season.

Metropolitan Notes: Seeler, Koppanen, Acciari

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One of the most popular names on the rumor mill may be out until the trade deadline. Kevin Kurz of The Athletic is reporting that defenseman Nick Seeler of the Philadelphia Flyers will be out for a short period with an injury and that the injury is not serious.

In now his third season with the Flyers organization, Seeler has taken upon more responsibility this year, averaging nearly 17 minutes a night for the first time in his career. A valuable shutdown defenseman, Seeler sits first on the team in blocked shots with 184, and first on the team amongst defensemen in hits with 112 on the year up to this point.

As a pending unrestricted free agent, Philadelphia is at least gauging the trade interest across the league for Seeler’s services, but are notably asking for a first-round pick in return. If the Flyers asking price is not met, they will carry Seeler and pending UFA Sean Walker into the postseason as they currently sit comfortably in third place in the Metropolitan Division.

Other Metropolitan notes:

  • Pittsburgh Penguins forward Noel Acciari is being evaluated for an upper-body injury and will not play tonight according to a team announcement. Acciari’s absence will open up a spot in the bottom six of Pittsburgh’s forward core, allowing the team to make a call-up. In 45 games for the Penguins this season, Acciari has averaged a total of 13 minutes of ice time per night, scoring two goals and five points overall.
  • To fill the void left by Acciari, the Penguins have called up forward Joona Koppanen from their AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (X Link). Koppanen has already played in three games for Pittsburgh this year, registering zero points overall. At the AHL level, Koppanen has seen plenty of action, suiting up in 49 games for WBS, scoring five points and 16 points up to this point.

Vegas Golden Knights Acquire Anthony Mantha

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The Vegas Golden Knights have acquired Anthony Mantha from the Washington Capitals in exchange for a 2024 second-round pick and a 2026 fourth-round pick, according to a team announcement. Mantha will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason as he is in the last year of a four-year, $22.8MM contract.

Since being acquired in a deadline deal from the Detroit Red Wings three years ago, Mantha has had an up-and-down tenure with the Capitals. Highlighted primarily by the numerous injuries suffered throughout his career, Mantha has been unable to suit up in a full season since 2017-18.

Because of those injuries, Mantha has been unable to procure any sort of sustained success in Washington, failing to score more than 11 goals in each of his first three seasons with the organization. This disappointing stretch of play from Mantha has led to numerous trade rumors surrounding his exit from Washington over the last few years.

However, Mantha has taken his offensive game back up to his previous expectations, already hitting the 20-goal mark through 56 games this season. Even while averaging just over 14 minutes of ice time each night, Mantha currently sits second on the team in goal-scoring.

By placing captain Mark Stone on LTIR, not only did Vegas have the cap space to acquire Mantha, but they also opened up a sizeable need to add scoring at this year’s deadline. Mantha should be able to fit nicely into the team’s top six in Stone’s absence, allowing the Golden Knights to move Michael Amadio down the lineup.

Hanging on by a thread for third place in the Pacific Division, Vegas has struggled with putting the puck in the net nearly all season. Currently, in all situations, the team is sitting 15th in the league with 3.18 GF/G, a far cry from 3.56 GF/G coming from the Vancouver Canucks and Edmonton Oilers this year. Furthermore, the powerplay has not been a benefit to the team at all, as it currently sits 20th in the league with a 19.50% success rate.

If Mantha continues his current pace with the Golden Knights, he should be able to help the team dramatically in both aspects of the game. As another important note, the Capitals will be retaining 50% of Mantha’s salary, indicating that Vegas may not be done adding to their forward core.

Before this trade, Washington did not have a second-round pick in the upcoming 2024 NHL Draft, using it to acquire Connor Brown from the Ottawa Senators nearly two years ago. Now, they will have six total selections in their cupboard for this year, with another eight ready for the 2025 NHL Draft.

TSN’s Darren Dreger was the first to report that Vegas had acquired Mantha. 

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was the first to report the return going to Washington. 

Coyotes Scratch Jason Zucker For Trade-Related Reasons

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TSN’s Chris Johnston is reporting that the Arizona Coyotes will scratch forward Jason Zucker in the team’s game tonight against the Chicago Blackhawks for trade-related reasons. Johnston is also reporting that multiple teams have shown interest in Zucker leading up to the trade deadline.

Over the summer, Zucker signed a one-year, $5.3MM contract with the Coyotes, as the unspoken truth at the time is that both player and team had envisioned this scenario coming to fruition. Zucker has primarily played in the team’s middle six, while also garnering some time on the team’s second powerplay unit.

Regularly counted upon for 20 goals a season earlier in his career, unfortunately, Zucker will not come close to that this year. Suiting up in 51 games for Arizona, Zucker has scored nine goals and 25 points overall, sitting ninth on the team in scoring.

As the goals have decreased for Zucker, his game’s physicality has made a sharp incline. He currently sits fifth on the team in hits after finishing first on the Pittsburgh Penguins last season. Zucker has always been a defensively sound forward, and his physical play may make for a solid addition to any postseason-bound team.

With the Coyotes able to retain two more salaries, they could get Zucker’s salary down to $2.65MM without a third team getting involved. With no trade imminent, Zucker could be an enticing piece for the Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings, Vegas Golden Knights, or any contending team looking to bring more defensively-minded forwards into the mix.

Minnesota Wild Extend Zach Bogosian

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3/6: The Wild have confirmed the extension paying Bogosian $1.25MM for the next two seasons.

3/5: According to Darren Dreger of TSN, the Minnesota Wild are closing in on an extension with defenseman Zach Bogosian. Bogosian originally came to Minnesota this season by way of a trade with the Tampa Bay Lightning on November 8th.

Frank Seravalli of The Daily Faceoff is reporting that it will be a two-year contract extension for Bogosian, paying the defenseman a total of $1.25MM a year. The extension will keep Bogosian with the Wild organization until his age 35 season, and offer him a $400K raise upon his current salary.

Since coming over from the Lightning, Bogosian has been serviceable for Minnesota, averaging 17:36 of ice time per night, placing him fourth on the team amongst active defensemen. Never a serious offensive threat throughout his career, Bogosian has scored one goal and nine points for the Wild this year.

Bogosian now becomes the sixth member of Minnesota’s defensive core signed beyond this season, indicating that General Manager Bill Guerin may already be planning for next season, even with the Wild currently in the Western Conference wild-card race. Nevertheless, this extension will not help Minnesota’s ability to get younger, as they are already tied for the third-oldest team in the league according to HockeyReference.

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