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2021 All-Star Game To Be Held In Florida

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Friday: The league has officially confirmed that next year’s All-Star festivities will take place in Sunrise, Florida. Commissioner Gary Bettman added that there are discussions about adding “international flavor” to the events, possibly hinting at the return of the North America vs. World format or perhaps a new international tournament.

Tuesday: The Florida Panthers will host the 2021 NHL All-Star Game, according to George Richards of The Athletic. The event is expected to take place on January 29-30, just before the Super Bowl is held in Tampa.

The Panthers have hosted the All-Star festivities once before, back in 2003. That was in the middle of a disappointing season for the team where they finished in 24th place, a rank they will obviously try to eclipse this time around. The team had just one All-Star representative in 2003, Olli Jokinen, though Sandis Ozolinsh was actually selected for the game just before a trade to the Anaheim Ducks.

With Joel Quenneville at the helm and several top players in their prime, the Panthers could have more than just one representative next season. Jonathan Huberdeau and his 64 points will be there this year, but Aleksander Barkov, Evgenii Dadonov, Keith Yandle, Aaron Ekblad and others all have the ability to hit the ice at the mid-season celebration.

Latest On Toronto’s Search For Defense

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The Toronto Maple Leafs need defense. That’s what the prevailing thought has been for the last several seasons, and after Morgan Rielly suffered a broken foot recently that will keep him out for quite a while it isn’t changing anytime soon. Today, Bob McKenzie was on TSN radio talking about the Maple Leafs’ current search for help on the back end:

I think it’s a very specific need. I think it’s a right-shot [defenseman] or a left-shot who has a lot of experience playing on the right side. It’s also somebody who has a significant amount of term on his contract, and by significant I would probably say the low end of the bar would be what they did with [Jake] Muzzin. That is someone who has the rest of this season and another full year before they get to unrestricted free agency.

That is obviously a very precise ask and one that the Maple Leafs have seemingly been unable to find in recent years. One of the first things that former head coach Mike Babcock remarked after the team traded a first-round pick and two prospects for Muzzin last season was how the veteran’s handedness—that is, left-handedness—made him an imperfect fit on the roster. GM Kyle Dubas went out and found Tyson Barrie in the offseason, but he has had mixed results on the ice and is scheduled for unrestricted free agency at the end of the season.

So is Cody Ceci, who is turning into a failed experiment of his own after coming over from the Ottawa Senators. If those two leave, the organization will be down to just Justin Holl and Timothy Liljegren among right-handers with any NHL experience (and the latter has just ten minutes at that) signed for the 2020-21 season.

Once again Mathew Dumba is brought up in the conversation with McKenzie along with other speculative names. The Minnesota Wild defenseman is signed through the 2022-23 season but carries a $6MM cap hit, something that might be too expensive for the Maple Leafs to handle as they try to navigate the salary cap with three of the highest-paid forwards in the league on the roster.

Obviously there is an appetite to acquire a defenseman at this point, but it’s clear that the Maple Leafs have a very specific type of player in mind. With now just a month left before the deadline, it is still to be seen whether they can even find that player around the league, let alone land him in trade.

Minor Notes: Timmins, Marlies, Anas

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The Colorado Eagles welcomed Conor Timmins back onto the ice at morning skate today, and according to Adrian Dater of Colorado Hockey Now, the defensive prospect will make his return to the lineup tonight. Timmins hasn’t played for the last few weeks with a lower-body injury, but is an interesting name to keep an eye on over the next month.

Not only is Timmins a potential call-up for the Colorado Avalanche after playing in two games at the beginning of the season, but his name has also been thrown around in trade speculation for the last while. The 21-year old was selected 32nd overall in 2017 but has dealt with concussion issues that delayed the start of his professional career. In 22 games with the Eagles this season he has 13 points.

  • The Toronto Marlies have been terribly recently after sending several of their top players up to the NHL, but will get some pretty impressive reinforcements tonight. Jake Muzzin and Trevor Moore from the Toronto Maple Leafs will both play against the Cleveland Monsters according to Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun. The duo are trying to work their way back from injury to help the Maple Leafs in a playoff race, but will have to prove their health at the minor league level first.
  • Another change to the AHL All-Star roster was announced, with Iowa Wild forward Sam Anas taking the place of Milwaukee Admirals forward Yakov Trenin. Anas, 26, is an undrafted forward out of Quinnipiac University that has been a huge part of the Iowa attack for four seasons now. His 45 points in 44 games ties him for second in the league alongside teammate Gerald Mayhew, who is already attending.

Andreas Martinsen Placed On Unconditional Waivers

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According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the Pittsburgh Penguins have placed Andreas Martinsen on unconditional waivers for the purpose of a contract termination.

The Penguins are setting up to be players at the February trade deadline for another season, thanks to some incredible play by the depth that GM Jim Rutherford has built. The team has lost every star player on the roster for long stretches but performed well in the standings anyway, including an 18-6-4 run without captain Sidney Crosby. The fact that Crosby is back healthy alongside Evgeni Malkin and others should embolden Rutherford as the deadline approaches.

To that end, Martinsen’s termination will clear a contract slot for the team to work with. The Penguins had been sitting at 48 on the year meaning they could only add a maximum of two players. This move will give them a little more flexibility in terms of what they can take on and what they will have to give up.

Martinsen meanwhile could be finished in North America after struggling to find a role this season. The 29-year old forward played 24 games for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the AHL after being acquired in the Erik Gudbranson trade earlier this season, but had just three points.

Carolina Monitoring Chicago Goaltending Situation

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The Carolina Hurricanes have a deep defensive group (even with Dougie Hamilton sidelined), a trio of impressive young forwards and a former captain returning as a midseason boost. The team is third in terms of goal differential in the Metropolitan Division, yet head into the All-Star break in fifth place and battling to hold onto a wild card position.

One thing the team has been desperate to find over the last several years has been a solid starting goaltender, something that has proved elusive to this point. Petr Mrazek reinvigorated his career last season when he posted a .914 save percentage through 40 games with the Hurricanes, but after struggling in the playoffs he has been his old inconsistent self again this year. The bounce-back for James Reimer has been enough to keep the Carolina goaltending situation afloat, but according to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (subscription required) the Hurricanes are still keeping their eye on the market.

LeBrun writes that the Hurricanes have “monitored closely” the goaltending situation in Chicago, where the Blackhawks find themselves with two strong options in net who are both headed towards unrestricted free agency. Robin Lehner in particular is of interest, as LeBrun explains the Hurricanes tried to sign him as a free agent last summer and like him “a lot.”

What’s not to like? After finishing third in Vezina Trophy voting last season Lehner has proven it wasn’t just the tight New York Islanders defensive system that pushed his numbers into the stratosphere. The 28-year old goaltender has a .922 save percentage with the Blackhawks this season, which is actually only slightly ahead of his career average. Remember that Lehner also posted a .936 in the Islanders’ eight-game playoff run last spring, including coming oh-so-close to stealing Game 1 against the Hurricanes in the second round.

Lehner is headed for unrestricted free agency again and this time wants to be paid fairly for his career performance. LeBrun notes that the Blackhawks had a “brief conversation” with his camp recently and plan to speak again, but it’s not clear yet how the situation with Lehner and Corey Crawford, a franchise icon and fellow pending UFA, will turn.

Seeking Writers For Pro Hockey Rumors

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We’re looking to add several part-time contributors to the PHR writing team to cover the following shifts:

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Applicants must meet ALL of the following criteria:

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Snapshots: Methot, Muzzin, AHL All-Stars

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Though it certainly will come as no surprise given he hasn’t appeared in an NHL game since November of 2018, Marc Methot doesn’t expect to play professional hockey ever again. He told TSN radio that he tried to work his way back from the knee surgery he had a year ago, but is probably going to take a step back from the game and focus on his family.

Methot, 33, has played in just 45 games since the start of the 2017-18 season and will likely end his career with 624 regular season contests under his belt. Playing for the Columbus Blue Jackets, Ottawa Senators and Dallas Stars, he carved out a role as a tough-as-nails defender that could handle skating alongside a roving offensive player. Methot’s final four-year, $19.6MM contract expired at the end of last season.

  • Another gritty defenseman is on his way back from injury, as Jake Muzzin has been loaned to the Toronto Marlies on a conditioning stint. The Maple Leafs’ defender has been out for several weeks with a broken foot but could be back after the All-Star break to help Toronto’s own-zone woes.
  • Evan Bouchard and Sam Miletic have been added to the AHL All-Star festivities, joining the Pacific Division and Atlantic Division squads respectively. The two young prospects are both having great success in the minor leagues this season, despite coming to professional hockey in very different ways. Bouchard was the 10th overall pick in 2018 and remains one of the Edmonton Oilers’ top prospects, while Miletic is an undrafted free agent that signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2017.

Sharks’ Doug Wilson Receives Vote Of Confidence

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The San Jose Sharks have made a change at the top of their business division, naming Jonathan Becher sole president of Sharks Sports & Entertainment and alternate governor. John Tortora who had served as a co-president will be leaving the organization. While this move will likely have financial impact on the club, the interesting part of the announcement for hockey fans comes directly from owner Hasso Plattner:

While we are all very disappointed in the team’s performance thus far this season, Doug [Wilson] has a long history of leading our team to success. The last time we failed to meet our winning standards in the 2014-15 season, we were able to quickly rebound and re-establish a winning culture for the next several years. I am supportive of Doug’s plan to get our team back on track.

That vote of confidence comes as the Sharks languish near the bottom of the Western Conference standings, ahead of only the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks. The team has huge financial commitments to aging players and no first-round pick this season, putting tons of pressure on the front office to figure out a way to turn things around.

Part of that turnaround plan according to Craig Custance of The Athletic is expected to be trading Melker Karlsson, Brenden Dillon and Tim Heed before this year’s trade deadline. All three players are scheduled for unrestricted free agency, along with Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Stefan Noesen, Radim Simek and Aaron Dell. While some of those names may hold little or no trade value, the three Custance references should at least be able to bring back some sort of asset for Wilson to work with.

Still, with nearly $48MM of cap space dedicated annually to Logan Couture, Evander Kane, Erik Karlsson, Brent Burns, Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Martin Jones through at least 2023-24 (all of whom will be at least 29 years old at the start of next season), the Sharks are in danger of being overrun with albatross contracts that cripple Wilson’s ability to do anything.

Chicago Blackhawks Sign Matt Tomkins To NHL Contract

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The Chicago Blackhawks have decided that Matt Tomkins has done enough this season to deserve an NHL deal. The team has agreed to terms with the minor league goaltender on a two-year, two-way contract that carries an average annual value of $700K. The deal starts this season, but Tomkins will remain in the minor leagues with the Rockford IceHogs for the time being.

The 25-year old netminder was originally drafted by the Blackhawks back in 2012 but spent a year in the AJHL and then four more at Ohio State University. When he was finished college, the team signed him to a minor league deal and he has spent the last two and a half seasons splitting time between the ECHL’s Indy Fuel and Rockford. He has a .916 save percentage in nine appearances this season, but was also part of the victorious Team Canada at the Spengler Cup.

A deal like this gives the Blackhawks another goaltender to recall in emergency situations, an important step given that only he and Colin Delia are now signed through the 2020-21 season. Robin Lehner and Corey Crawford are both scheduled to become unrestricted free agents at the end of the year, while Kevin Lankinen will be an RFA.

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