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Latest On Sergei Bobrovsky, Columbus Blue Jackets

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have quietly put together an excellent season. The team found themselves heading into tonight’s action just two points behind the Washington Capitals for first place in the Metropolitan Division and could have all the pieces in place for a Stanley Cup run. Unfortunately though, two of those important pieces are scheduled to become unrestricted free agents at the end of the season, keeping them in the rumor mill even though the team must dread parting with either.

Those two are Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky, of which the latter was recently involved in an incident that earned him the equivalent of a one-game suspension from the team. According to Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (subscription required), Bobrovsky immediately undressed and showered after getting pulled from a game earlier this month, instead of remaining available to go back in if required. That incident, though only keeping Bobrovsky away from the team for a single day, prompted many fans and media members alike to question his future in Columbus.

They weren’t the only ones to question the veteran goaltender’s future with the Blue Jackets, as according to Portzline’s colleague Pierre LeBrun, Bobrovsky himself apparently indicated to the team that he is willing to waive his no-movement clause for the right trade destination—and he indicated that months ago.

As LeBrun notes, it does not sound like the Blue Jackets have asked him to waive it or presented him with any possible destination, and it’s easy to understand why. The two-time Vezina winner is a huge part of the Blue Jackets hopes this season even if he hasn’t performed up to his lofty standards to this point. Going into the playoffs as a Stanley Cup contender with Joonas Korpisalo as your starter is a tough place to be in, meaning that Columbus would need to replace Bobrovsky with someone else. At that point, unless you’re getting someone with term and upside, there’s not going to be a better rental option than keeping your in-house goaltender.

With just under six weeks until the NHL trade deadline, a deal for Bobrovsky still seems unlikely—even to our readership. Prime goaltenders rarely bring back their true value in-season given that contenders are usually in that position because of their strength between the pipes. Even so, we now know that the goaltender is willing to waive his clause if necessary, and that will only generate more interest if an elite goaltender goes down in the next month.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Vancouver Finds Short-Term Solution With Michael Leighton

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The Vancouver Canucks have had a goaltending problem since trading Anders Nilsson. No, it’s certainly not the play of Jacob Markstrom who was remarkable earlier this week in a win over the Florida Panthers, stopping 23 of 24 shots. It’s not with Thatcher Demko either, who has still yet to start a game in the NHL this year but is one of the better goaltending prospects in the league. It’s that there was no one behind those two.

Mike McKenna, the goaltender that Vancouver received in return from the Ottawa Senators was almost immediately lost on waivers, and minor league netminder Richard Bachman is out long-term with an injury. That left exactly two healthy goaltenders under NHL contracts in the Vancouver organization, and a huge hole with the Utica Comets of the AHL. Today, that hole in Utica was plugged temporarily. The Comets signed veteran goaltender Michael Leighton to a professional tryout contract, giving them an experienced professional to throw into the crease for the time being.

This is clearly not a long-term solution for Vancouver, who couldn’t call up the 37-year old Leighton if they needed to without first signing him to an NHL contract. Even then, asking a goaltender who hasn’t played regularly in the NHL since 2010 would be foolhardy, especially with the Canucks still holding onto an outside chance at the playoffs this season. There obviously has to be another move coming to address the lack of depth, but for now at least there is a goaltender to rely on at the AHL level.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Poll: Will The Edmonton Oilers Trade Jesse Puljujarvi?

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Like Wayne Simmonds and Sergei Bobrovsky over the last few weeks, Jesse Puljujarvi has become the hockey world’s favorite trade chip recently as the Edmonton Oilers search for help up front. According to several reports, the Oilers are all-in for the playoffs this season and are not willing to waste another year of Connor McDavid’s prime out of the postseason race. Puljujarvi, likely because of Ryan Rishaug of TSN’s report that the Oilers are willing to part with a “young developing forward,” has become the piece most bandied about in trade speculation.

But would the Oilers actually trade a fourth-overall pick less than three years after selecting him?

It’s important to remember that Puljujarvi, the big talented Finnish winger, was expected to go third overall behind Auston Matthews and Patrik Laine at the 2016 draft. He had just finished a professional season for Karpat in the Finnish Liiga where he recorded an impressive 37 points in 60 games as a teenager and had won both U18 and U20 World Junior Championship gold medals. In fact, Puljujarvi was named the U20 tournament MVP after leading it in scoring with an incredible 17 points in seven games. It was hard to imagine anyone passing on him at #3, but the Columbus Blue Jackets did just that.

Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen was roasted on draft night for selecting Pierre-Luc Dubois instead, opting to go after who he believed was the next best center in the draft. Dubois has since become a first-line staple for the Blue Jackets and has 40 points in 45 games this season. The 20-year old center could very well crack 30 goals and is a key reason why the Blue Jackets are heading to the playoffs this year.

Puljujarvi meanwhile has stagnated in Edmonton, bouncing back and forth between the NHL and AHL and recording just 35 points through his first 128 NHL contests. Even in the AHL the big winger isn’t at a point-per-game pace expected of many top prospects.

In today’s NHL that is becoming more and more populated by fresh faces right out of junior ranks around the world, it’s easy to forget that not every player reaches his potential before the age of 21. Puljujarvi won’t hit that age threshold until this May, and still has plenty of time to develop into the dominant, puck-possessing beast he had shown on the international stage. Whether the Oilers are willing to wait is the bigger question.

With GM Peter Chiarelli desperately trying to fix things in order to get McDavid and Edmonton to the playoffs—likely in order to save his own job as much as anything—the idea of trading Puljujarvi no longer strikes as unbelievable. Still, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet said on radio recently that the Oilers first-round pick might actually be the better trade chip at this point, given it could potentially be a lottery pick in the 2019 draft. It would be tough for the Oilers to accept that Puljujarvi brings back less than a draft pick regardless of how high, which may lead to them holding onto their young prospect and hoping his play rebounds.

Where do you think Chiarelli will land as the deadline approaches? Will Puljujarvi be dealt for an immediate upgrade? Or do the Oilers have enough other assets to improve the club for a 2019 playoff run?

[Mobile users click here to vote]

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Snapshots: Prospects, Howard, Pettersson

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We’re several months into the first post-draft season for the 2018 class and already several names have established themselves as full-time NHL players. The likes of Rasmus Dahlin, Andrei Svechnikov, Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Brady Tkachuk will never really be considered prospects as they have already graduated to the highest level. The rest though were ranked today along with the rest of the NHL prospect landscape by various outlets including Corey Pronman at The Athletic (subscription required) and Craig Button at TSN.

Pronman is especially high on Vancouver draft pick Quinn Hughes, who will likely sign his entry-level contract after Michigan University’s season ends. There’s little doubt that Hughes will be an NHL player immediately, but his absolute ceiling is still yet to be determined. Button meanwhile has a much different view of Hughes, dropping the undersized defenseman to eighth on his board. A pair of Russian forwards lead the way as New York Rangers prospect Vitali Kravtsov and Florida Panthers pick Grigori Denisenko come in on top.

  • Jimmy Howard’s name has been in the rumor mill for quite some time, with the Detroit Red Wings apparently asking for a first-round pick in exchange for the veteran goaltender. Speculation is likely to continue all the way up to the trade deadline, unless of course the team can come to an agreement in order to keep the pending free agent in town even longer. That’s what Howard is hoping for, as he told John Niyo of The Detroit News that it would be “an absolute honor” to finish his career with the Red Wings and that he feels like he and his family “belong” in Detroit.
  • Elias Pettersson skated this morning and is now considered day-to-day, with Vancouver Canucks head coach Travis Green not ruling him out for Wednesday’s game against the Edmonton Oilers. Pettersson hasn’t played since getting tangled up with Kotkaniemi in a game against Montreal nearly two weeks ago, but is also supposed to attend the All-Star game at the end of the month. The dazzling forward has 42 points in 38 games and was running away with the Calder Trophy when he went down.

Colby Cave, Phillip Di Giuseppe Placed On Waivers

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Tuesday: While Cave was claimed by the Edmonton Oilers, Di Giuseppe has cleared waivers once again and was assigned to the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL.

Monday: The Boston Bruins have placed Colby Cave on waivers today according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, exposing the 24-year old forward to the rest of the league. Cave will be joined on waivers by Phillip Di Giuseppe, who was only recently claimed by the Nashville Predators.

Cave has played 20 games for the Bruins this season after getting off to the best start of his minor league career, and has shown enough to perhaps draw some interest from around the league. The undrafted former WHL forward recorded 18 points in 15 games for the Providence Bruins, but could only contribute five during his stint in the NHL. Still, relatively young centers that can avoid getting filled in at even strength in the NHL aren’t all that easy to come by, meaning someone could take a chance on Cave tomorrow.

For Di Giuseppe, this is nothing new. The 25-year old forward had already been placed on and cleared waivers twice this season before the Predators claimed him on his third trip, meaning he very well could slip through this time around. Obviously the Hurricanes could choose to bring him back, but either way it doesn’t look like he’ll be getting regular minutes in the NHL anytime soon.

Edmonton Oilers Claim Colby Cave

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The Boston Bruins thought they could slide Colby Cave through waivers this week, but with the Edmonton Oilers looking for any sort of forward help it wasn’t to be so. The Oilers have claimed Cave, meaning he will join their NHL group and likely get another chance to establish himself at the highest level.

It’s not the first time this season that the Oilers have taken a stab at a young forward on waivers, given their dramatic need for help in the bottom half of their lineup. Cave played 20 games with the Bruins this season and actually impressed many with his unending work ethic and two-way ability. The 24-year old recorded five points in those games but has also dominated the AHL level this year with 18 points in 15 contests for the Providence Bruins. There’s little reason to believe he can become a top-six forward for Edmonton, but they’ve struggled so much to create any offense outside of their top few players that even a professional fourth-liner may be an upgrade.

The Oilers have just four forwards with at least five goals this season—not counting Drake Caggiula who recorded seven before being traded away—and amazingly fewer with even 25 points. Jujhar Kaira’s 13 points puts him fifth among all forwards, a production level that is not possible for a team expecting to challenge for the Stanley Cup. Cave should immediately challenge for a full-time role in Edmonton, and could even push out some of the more veteran options.

Philadelphia Flyers Place Dale Weise On Waivers

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The Philadelphia Flyers have started to make some changes, beginning with Dale Weise. The veteran forward has been placed on waivers and is available for claim by the entire league.

Weise, 30, is a perfect example of how the Flyers have underperformed over the last few seasons. Signed to a four-year $9.4MM deal in 2016, the defensive winger has not been able to reproduce the level of offensive production he experienced in Montreal. With just 34 points in his 152-game Flyers career so far, there just isn’t enough reason to keep him in the lineup over some of the team’s younger players if GM Chuck Fletcher is looking towards the future.

Still, Weise is an extremely well-liked teammate and could very well find himself on a new team within the next few days. It may be a stretch for a team to claim him and his entire $2.35MM cap hit—that extends through 2019-20—but should he clear the Flyers could find him a new home with the added benefit of being able to go straight to the minor leagues. We’ve seen moves like this before after a player clears waivers, though there is no guarantee that is what Fletcher has planned.

If Weise does go to the minor leagues for Philadelphia, a pro-rated $1.025MM will come off his cap hit while he is buried in the AHL. That number actually increases to $1.075MM next season, meaning he would be even less of a cap liability if the team decides to keep him there.

The Flyers are moving in a new direction after a season that has seen them go 17-23-6 through the first 46 games and it is obvious that there will be other casualties. Most eyes will be focused on Wayne Simmonds next as the trade deadline approaches, given the apparent lack of any extension interest and his status as an unrestricted free agent at season’s end.

Minor Transactions: 01/15/19

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If you like to see the best teams in the NHL face off, you’ve arrived at the right day on the schedule as several matchups this evening will be star-studded. The Vegas Golden Knights and Winnipeg Jets clash in a battle of 60-point Western Conference teams, while the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins hit the road to face the Nashville Predators and San Jose Sharks respectively. While those teams prepare for war, we’ll be right here keeping track of all the minor moves.

  • With Andrew Cogliano expected to make his Dallas Stars debut tonight, the team has sent Michael Mersch back to the minor leagues. Mersch was only recalled yesterday, likely as insurance should Cogliano have faced any difficulties getting situated with his new club.
  • Joseph Gambardella has been sent to the minor leagues by the Edmonton Oilers in order to make room for the newly acquired Colby Cave. Cave is expected to immediately enter the lineup, while Gambardella will have to return to the Bakersfield Condors for the time being.
  • Meanwhile in Boston, the Bruins have recalled Peter Cehlarik to replace Cave’s roster spot. Cehlarik has 29 points in 37 games for the Providence Bruins and will try to establish himself at the NHL level given the team’s bottom-six needs.
  • Dylan Gambrell is on his way back to the San Jose Sharks after dominating at the minor league level. With 24 points in 27 games, Gambrell is showing exactly why he was selected in the second round and found so much success at the University of Denver.

Anaheim Ducks Will “Take Another Crack” At Silfverberg Extension

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When the Anaheim Ducks traded away Andrew Cogliano this morning to the Dallas Stars, many took it as a sign that the team was looking to break up the core group and move in a different direction. That was understandable given their recent lack of success, so it was easy to look at the roster and expect a pending unrestricted free agent like Jakob Silfverberg to be next on the chopping block. Not so fast apparently, as Ducks GM Bob Murray told Craig Custance of The Athletic that the team would “take another crack” at signing Silfverberg to an extension.

Silfverberg, 28, is in fact one of the few pending unrestricted free agents the Ducks have on the roster this season, and perhaps the one that would draw the most interest near the trade deadline. The two-way winger has consistently performed for the Ducks since being acquired from the Ottawa Senators as part of the Bobby Ryan trade back in 2013, and actually leads the team in goals this season with 12. That kind of reliable performance would be coveted by many teams, especially ones looking for right-handed help at forward. He only carries a $3.75MM cap hit and can fit into several different roles.

That flexibility and consistency could very well be why the Ducks want to retain Silfverberg though, as the team does not appear to be ready for a true rebuild. With Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry still under contract for the next three years, Anaheim will likely try to retool things and take another run next season. If they truly believe Silfverberg is part of the solution and not the problem, re-signing him during a relatively down year could potentially be a bargain for the team. For the player, there could be a glut of players just like Silfverberg on the market this summer driving his price down. If he’s comfortable in Anaheim perhaps something can be done over the next few weeks—if not, you can bet he’ll be pulling on another team’s sweater in late February.

New York Rangers Trade Cole Schneider To Nashville Predators

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The New York Rangers have traded minor league forward Cole Schneider to the Nashville Predators in exchange for Connor Brickley. Both players will be able to report directly to their new organization’s minor league affiliates.

Amazingly, this is the fourth consecutive season that the Hartford Wolf Pack have seen their captain traded midseason. Joe Whitney, Mathew Bodie and Ryan Bourque have all previously suffered the same fate, which at this point has become a tradition of sorts. Schneider will be heading to the Admirals after another strong start to the season, as he currently has 25 points in 36 games. Hartford though has been one of the weaker teams in the AHL and find themselves sitting with an 18-17-4 record and 13th in the Eastern Conference.

Brickley meanwhile will be leaving the Predators organization after less than a year, having only signed with the team last summer. Once a second-round pick and top prospect of the Florida Panthers, Brickley has twice become a Group VI unrestricted free agent because of his lack of opportunity at the NHL level. In 67 games including 44 last season, the 26-year old has 17 points.

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