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Snapshots: Three Stars, Lockwood, Jarry

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The NHL released its Three Stars of last week, with Ottawa Senators forward Tim Stutzle taking home top spot. The budding superstar had ten points in four games, including two game-winning goals, reaching a new career-high in scoring with 59 points on the season. Stutzle, 21, is way out in front of the 2020 draft class in terms of scoring, 56 points ahead of second-place Lucas Raymond. While there’s still time for others to catch up, the Senators forward is showing why he was selected so high.

Second and third went to Nathan MacKinnon and Dylan Larkin, respectively, who each had their own excellent weeks. The Colorado Avalanche star scored nine points in four games to take him to 67 on the year (in just 44 games), and the Detroit Red Wings captain put up eight to bring him to 56 this season. With so much speculation surrounding Larkin’s future, his game certainly hasn’t deteriorated. In his last 17 games he has 23 points, and he’s currently riding a seven-game point streak.

  • After several weeks on the sidelines, Vancouver Canucks forward William Lockwood has been activated from injured reserve and loaned to the AHL. He last appeared in a game on January 24, leaving after just six minutes of ice time due to the concussion protocol. The 24-year-old forward has just one assist in 13 games for the Canucks this season and is still looking for his first NHL goal. He’ll likely see a call-up once he’s back in game shape.
  • Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry will officially be back in action tonight, giving the team a huge boost for a critical matchup. When healthy, Jarry has been excellent this season, matching a career-high .921 save percentage through 27 appearances. His play will likely determine the outcome for the Penguins in the Eastern Conference playoff race, as so many teams are still within striking distance of the wild card positions.

Mathew Barzal Out Week-To-Week With Lower-Body Injury

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11:40am: The Islanders have clarified, explaining to reporters, including Kevin Kurz of The Athletic, that Barzal is “week-to-week” and is expected to return at some point this season.

10:30am: The New York Islanders will be without one of their most dangerous offensive players, as Mathew Barzal is out indefinitely with a lower-body injury. The star forward suffered it over the weekend against the Boston Bruins, playing just three shifts before leaving the game.

New York would end up losing badly without him, and now may have to find a way to stay in the race without him for a long stretch. Indefinitely, of course, doesn’t necessarily mean Barzal will be out long-term but is usually the terminology used when a player has been ruled out but is still being evaluated for potential surgery. Hopefully, in this case that won’t be required, and the Islanders will have the smooth-skating forward back in the lineup before long. If not, their offense is going to take a significant hit.

Barzal, 25, has 51 points in 58 games this season and is part of a trio with Brock Nelson and Anders Lee that drives almost all of the Islanders forward offensive production. Jean-Gabriel Pageau (who is also injured) is the next highest-scoring forward with 29 points in 56 games, while Zach Parise is the only other forward with more than ten goals.

Luckily, the Islanders did just add Bo Horvat, who will likely be given even more responsibility than he already has. Horvat is averaging more than 21 minutes a night with the Islanders so far, and has three goals and four points in seven games since coming over from the Vancouver Canucks. If Barzal misses significant time, he will need to continue his outstanding season to help New York reach the playoffs.

Pittsburgh Penguins Hoping To Add Depth Scoring

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The Pittsburgh Penguins are one of the teams battling for a wild card spot, well behind the division leaders. That doesn’t scream Stanley Cup contender, but as they’ve said many times before, as long as Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malking, and Kris Letang are in town, it’s a win-now year. Things are no different this season for general manager Ron Hextall, who spoke with Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic over the weekend, and admitted the Penguins would “like to add for sure” if they can find the right fit.

Improving the team is the goal, and LeBrun writes that it is bottom-six forwards and depth scoring that Pittsburgh is looking for at the moment. That makes sense, given how disappointing players like Kasperi Kapanen, Danton Heinen, and even Jeff Carter have been this season. That trio has combined for just 20 goals, a mark that Crosby, Malkin, Jake Guentzel, and Rickard Rakell have all eclipsed individually.

The Penguins are already without their third and fourth-round picks for this year but own New Jersey’s third and have their first and second to play with. Other than draft selections, though, the cupboard is pretty bare. The team has a handful of decent prospects and young defensemen like Pierre-Olivier Joseph, who could be dangled for rebuilding clubs. But it’s going to be difficult to make the kind of big splash they have been known for over the years.

Perhaps they don’t need to, even if they are on the bubble right now. It’s hard to bet against Crosby, even as he reaches the back end of his career, and some of the other teams competing for those wildcard spots don’t have nearly the same experience in tough playoff-like games.

Still, one question remains outside of the depth forward discussion. What happens in net? Tristan Jarry is expected to play “soon” according to Hextall, but it’s hard even to trust the starting netminder given his previous playoff performances. In 2020-21, Jarry put up an .888 in six games to tank the Penguins’ chances, and last year he only played one game before injury took him out. Casey DeSmith has been okay filling in, but it’s hard to see the Penguins really challenging for a Stanley Cup with him starting the majority of the postseason.

Jarry, remember, is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and likely due a raise on his $3.5MM contract, regardless of how the rest of this season goes. Whether that will be in a Penguins uniform still remains to be seen.

Snapshots: Blues, Orlov, Senyshyn

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The St. Louis Blues are not technically out of the playoff race, sitting 26-26-3 after today’s loss, but the front office decided that this wasn’t their year weeks ago. General manager Doug Armstrong spoke with Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about his recent selling spree, moving Vladimir Tarasenko, Niko Mikkola, Ryan O’Reilly, and Noel Acciari over the last ten days.

As we have suggested in the past, the Blues aren’t guaranteed to use the draft picks they’ve landed this month. Instead, they could flip them for established NHL talents to try and reload this offseason. Armstrong admitted as much, explaining that the team needs to “retrench with players 25, 26, and under that have term on their contracts.”

  • The Washington Capitals are trying to work out an extension with Dmitry Orlov, but Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic writes that “term is a significant issue” in the negotiations. Orlov, 31, has a lot of miles on his body, with more than 750 NHL games (regular season and playoffs) in an 11-year career, and is probably looking for one more big payday as he nears unrestricted free agency. Coming off a six-year, $30.6MM deal, he is playing nearly 23 a night for Washington, who have been without John Carlson for a big chunk of the year.
  • Zachary Senyshyn has been traded again, this time in the minor leagues. The former Boston Bruins prospect was traded from the Utica Comets to the Chicago Wolves in exchange for future considerations. Ben Birnell of the Daily Sentinal gives some context on the deal, explaining that the Comets have had to sit a player all season, because of the rule that limits the number of minor league veterans that can be in the lineup at any one time. Senyshyn, 25, is approaching 300 regular season games in the AHL.

Nashville Predators Attempting To Extend Tanner Jeannot

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It seems there is still some speculation around whether the Nashville Predators will buy or sell at the deadline, despite general manager David Poile being rather clear with his comments a few days ago. One thing that is perhaps adding some confusion is that the Predators don’t have many pending UFAs to dangle at the deadline.

Selling, then, would consist of moving players with team control – though many of those also come with hefty cap hits. One that doesn’t (at least not yet) is Tanner Jeannot, on the second season of a two-year, $1.6MM contract and due for arbitration-eligible restricted free agency this summer.

According to Larry Brooks of the New York Post, the Predators are trying to sign Jeannot to an extension. If they can’t, Poile is expected to re-engage with teams that had previously expressed interest.

In Jeannot’s case, arbitration may be what Poile and the Predators want to avoid. The 25-year-old forward had a breakout season last year, scoring 24 goals and 41 points, while racking up 130 penalty minutes and more than 300 hits. He finished seventh in Calder Trophy voting, and was considered a unicorn player in the league – tough as nails, with a scoring touch that could get him into the top six.

Things haven’t gone quite so well this year. Jeannot’s shooting percentage has dropped from a sky-high 19.4 to 6.0, and his production has fallen off a cliff. With just five goals and 14 points so far, he isn’t the same difference-maker, even if his physical style is still very effective in a bottom-six role.

The arbitration process might not see it that way though, with counting stats from 2021-22 being presented in favor of a substantial raise. The Predators then would have to bet on his production returning, which may not be a game they can play given how many other expensive contracts they have in place.

On the market, there would certainly be plenty of contenders who want to add Jeannot’s hard-nosed game for the playoffs, or even some bubble teams that have enough cap space to handle an arbitration award and want to add to their group. The Predators wouldn’t have trouble finding suitors if he ended up on the market. The New York Rangers, according to Brooks, are one of those interested teams.

Tanner Pearson Placed On Long-Term Injured Reserve

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The Vancouver Canucks completed a curious transaction today, moving Tanner Pearson from injured reserve to long-term injured reserve. Pearson was already ruled out through the end of the season in January, but there was no need for him to be moved to LTIR unless the Canucks are adding salary. With Ilya Mikheyev, Micheal Ferland, and Tucker Poolman already there, the team had more than $4.3MM in flexibility.

We likely won’t know why Vancouver made this change until another transaction is completed, but it could signal that the club is going to take on money through the end of this year (or longer). Acquiring a bad contract or retaining salary as a middleman could give the Canucks some extra assets as the team continues to struggle through a lost season.

After receiving the usual coaching change bump, the group has lost three in a row, including a home-and-home with the Detroit Red Wings where they were outscored 11-3. Vancouver now sits just one point ahead of the San Jose Sharks in the Pacific Division.

For Pearson, it is a just another meaningless transaction in a brutal season. The 30-year-old forward will end the year with just one goal in 14 games, after requiring multiple surgeries on his hand. His three-year, $9.75MM contract has another season remaining, though his partial no-trade clause expires at the end of 2022-23. It’s not clear yet when Pearson will be ready to play hockey again, or which team it will be for.

Carolina Hurricanes Not Willing To Trade Alexander Nikishin

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Get ready for another mid-round pick by the Carolina Hurricanes to become an impact player at the NHL level. Over the years, the team has made a habit of picking the right defender outside the first round, even if some call it a crap shoot at that point.

Brian Dumoulin was 51st overall in 2009. Justin Faulk 37th in 2010. Jaccob Slavin 120th in 2012. Brett Pesce 66th in 2013. Now, they believe they’ve found another.

In Pierre LeBrun’s latest piece for The Athletic, he mentions that the Hurricanes have made it clear in trade talks that Alexander Nikishin is off the table. The insider notes that Carolina sees a “big future” in mind for Nikishin.

Selected 69th overall in 2020, Nikishin was already playing in the KHL at the time. But when they picked him, he had scored just three points at that level and hadn’t really been dominant in junior. The following year was much the same, with just five points in 20 KHL games, but things changed suddenly.

In 2022 he was surprisingly chosen for the Russian Olympic roster. This year, after a transfer to powerhouse program SKA St. Petersburg, he leads all defensemen in scoring by a mile. His 51 points in 62 games put him tenth in the league, just four points behind league leader Dimitrj Jaskin.

Nikishin’s contract in Russia expires at the end of this season, meaning he could sign an entry-level deal with the Hurricanes. Even if his impact can’t be felt right away, the Hurricanes may have found someone to help take over some of the responsibility down the road. None of the team’s defenders are signed past 2024-25, with Pesce, Jalen Chatfield, and Brady Skjei scheduled for unrestricted free agency after next season.

As much as they may want to upgrade the roster right now, Nikishin is apparently too valuable to lose.

New Jersey Devils Reassign Alexander Holtz

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The New Jersey Devils have cleared a roster spot by sending prospect Alexander Holtz back to the minor leagues, but don’t get too excited. Ryan Novozinsky of NJ.com tweets that there is no imminent trade, and that the team just wanted to get the young forward some game reps.

Holtz, 21, has only appeared in 19 games for the Devils this season, and even when he is in the lineup, he barely sees the ice. Averaging just over ten minutes a game, there have been several matches where Holtz has received fewer than ten shifts. He has just one NHL game since January 7, and has only appeared three times in the AHL this season.

Getting him some actual playing experience is important, especially given how well he transitioned to the AHL last year. In 52 games, Holtz scored 26 goals to lead the Utica Comets and showed that he was already advanced for that level.

Now, with Jack Hughes getting closer to a return and the Devils poking around on other forward additions, Holtz might as well go back to start playing regularly in the minor leagues.

Kailer Yamamoto Activated From Injured Reserve

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The Edmonton Oilers have bought themselves some time, though they are now in a tricky situation. Today’s activation of Kailer Yamamoto from long-term injured reserve comes with the reassignment of both Dylan Holloway and Vincent Desharnais, leaving the team with only 20 active skaters.

That’s enough to cover a lineup, though if the team suffers any minor injuries – ones that do not need long-term injured reserve – they will be forced to play short. Once they do play a game with fewer than 20 skaters, they will receive a cap-free recall for a player under $850K, but that still limits their options. Holloway, for instance, couldn’t be brought back under that exemption.

So, for the time being, the 21-year-old forward is stuck in the minors, despite having played in 51 games this season for Edmonton. They can play it off as an opportunity for Holloway to get big minutes and continue to develop, but there’s little reason to think this was the plan all along. The Oilers are stuck, until they make a trade to free up some cap space or bite the bullet and waive one of their more expensive forwards.

Yamamoto’s return is a bright spot, at least. The 24-year-old forward is coming off his first 20-goal campaign and has 12 points through 31 appearances this year. He gives the team a nice boost as we close in on the trade deadline, and hopefully, will be able to retake his position as a top-six option next to their superstar forwards.

Los Angeles Kings Recall Tobias Bjornfot

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The defensive shuffle continues for the Los Angeles Kings. This time it is Tobias Bjornfot getting the recall, just in time for the team’s game tonight against the Anaheim Ducks.

Bjornfot, 21, has played in six games this season for the Kings, spending most of the year in the minor leagues with the Ontario Reign. That may be something of a surprise, given he suited up 70 times in 2021-22, but the young defenseman still hasn’t quite established himself as an everyday NHLer when the Kings are healthy.

Selected 22nd overall in 2019, it’s been an interesting road for Bjornfot. He made the NHL in his first post-draft season, playing three games because he was dominating at the minor league level. But in the year’s since, nothing has really progressed. That’s not to say he’s a lost cause – far from it at his age.

But when once he was considered an untouchable prospect in the Kings system, destined to play big minutes for the team, now you have to wonder whether he’ll be dangled in any deadline dealings. For now, he’ll happily take his NHL pay, even if he doesn’t get into the action later tonight.

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