Submit Your Questions For The #PHRMailbag
The playoffs are right around the corner and several spots are still up for grabs. Season-ending injuries are being announced daily, while top prospects are finally getting their first shot in the NHL. The contenders are fine-tuning while the rebuilders are mixing things up.
With that in mind, it’s time to run another edition of the PHR Mailbag. If you missed the last one, it was broken into two pieces. The first part dealt with trade deadline targets in the East Division, correctly suggesting that the Islanders would be looking at both Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac (and noting that the Devils would likely get more than a second-round pick back). The second looked at the future for Jaden Schwartz in St. Louis and examined the fit of Patrik Laine in Columbus.
You can submit a question by using #PHRMailbag on Twitter or by leaving a comment down below. The mailbag will run this weekend.
Snapshots: Women’s Worlds, Norris, Bemstrom
The IIHF has agreed in principle to a new set of dates for the 2021 Women’s World Championship, which will now be scheduled to take place between August 20-31. The event was originally supposed to start next week in Halifax, but was canceled just as players were set to arrive for their quarantine period. The venue for the rescheduled tournament is still to be determined, but several locales have expressed interest in hosting. The dates announced are obviously much later than anticipated, but IIHF president Rene Fasel explained:
The players, the teams, Hockey Canada, and the IIHF have been placed in a difficult position due to the sudden cancellation. But this is not an excuse to operate this tournament as a half-measure. We needed a range of dates that can work for the teams and also would allow for comprehensive broadcast coverage as well as a chance for spectators to be able to attend the games.
The tournament also needed to be over well before Olympic qualification begins in November and other leagues around the world start up. The IIHF is working with Hockey Canada to evaluate potential venues and expects to make a choice in the coming weeks.
- While the women’s worlds look for a new venue, management teams are starting to prepare for the upcoming men’s tournament which is set to begin in just under three weeks. Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reports that Josh Norris of the Ottawa Senators has been contacted by Team USA as a candidate to take part and he is “definitely interested.” The 21-year-old center has blossomed into quite the player this season for the Senators, scoring 15 goals and 32 points in his rookie season. Originally selected by the San Jose Sharks in 2017, he came to Ottawa as part of the Erik Karlsson deal and is on a path to stardom with the Senators.
- The Columbus Blue Jackets may not have much left to play for this season, but don’t tell Emil Bemstrom. The 21-year-old forward has missed most of the season with a lower-body injury and doesn’t have a single goal, but was activated today from injured reserve. Bemstrom was a strong performer for the team a year ago and would be a nice late-season story if he can get going in the final few games.
Brett Howden Out For Season With Broken Foot
If the New York Rangers are going to pull off a late-season miracle and make the playoffs, it’ll be without Brett Howden. The young forward suffered a broken foot last night and will be out for the rest of the season. The team also announced that Chris Kreider and Ryan Lindgren are out on a day-to-day basis, and have recalled Morgan Barron and Tarmo Reunanen from the AHL.
It’s not really like Howden was helping the cause anyway, as the 23-year-old has had a brutal season. Through 42 games he has scored just a single goal and has just seven points despite lots of early-season opportunities. As his play has declined so has his ice time, with Howden averaging fewer than 12 minutes over the last 15 games. That’s a far cry from the 15 he got as a rookie, but it continues a downward trend as the Rangers add more offensive talent to the roster.
Originally selected 27th overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2016, Howden has struggled to score since entering the league. He has just 16 goals over a 178-game NHL career (plus three scoreless postseason contests last year), not nearly enough to be considered for the team’s top-nine. Always more of a playmaker first at the junior level, even that ability seems to have vanished from Howden’s game. Now as he deals with an injury, he’ll go into a contract negotiation with the Rangers without much leverage.
It will be interesting to see where New York takes things for the young forward. The team has many other young forwards pushing for playing time, including Barron who has been excellent at the minor league level. The 22-year-old was a sixth-round afterthought in 2017, but Barron developed his game at Cornell and has 21 points in 21 games for the Hartford Wolf Pack this season–his first in professional hockey. Standing an imposing 6’4″ 220-lbs, Barron provides all the size required to be a bottom-six while also adding some scoring touch around the net. Don’t expect him to reach point-per-game production to the NHL, but he doesn’t need much to pass the level Howden had been bringing this season.
Seattle Kraken Make Final Expansion Payment, Gain Official Standing
The NHL now has 32 teams. On Friday, the Seattle Kraken made the final installment of a $650MM franchise expansion fee and was given official NHL standing. That means the team immediately gains the ability to sign free agents, make trades and vote on league proposals. They have a seat at the table, so to speak. Commissioner Gary Bettman released a short statement:
On behalf of the Board of Governors, I am delighted to officially welcome the Seattle Kraken to the NHL as our 32nd Member Club. Congratulations to David Bonderman, the Bonderman Family, their partners, the entire Seattle Kraken organization, the city of Seattle and Kraken fans as the Club continues on its exciting journey towards puck drop in October.
In 2017, the Vegas Golden Knights were given official standing on March 1 and just five days later signed the first player in franchise history. Reid Duke, a free agent junior player who had originally been drafted by the Minnesota Wild but never signed, inked an entry-level contract with the Golden Knights. Two months later they would sign Vadim Shipachyov out of the KHL to a two-year, $9MM deal. A few weeks before the expansion draft, they would add Czech forward Tomas Hyka to an entry-level deal.
None of those players made a big impact on the Golden Knights and similarly, though the Kraken can now sign contracts of their own, don’t expect their pre-expansion signings to be any key players. Still, even though the college free agent market has been picked clean, Francis could potentially still nab some undrafted junior players. He told Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times that they are looking at some OHL and WHL players, along with some free agents from Europe. The true fun will happen for Seattle when the draft approaches and teams around the league are forced to make side deals, protecting extra assets or convincing Kraken GM Ron Francis to take some bad money.
Welcome to the NHL, Seattle.
Taxi Squad Shuffle: 04/30/21
There has been plenty of roster movement between NHL teams and the taxi squad on a daily basis this season. Although some major names may be highlighted in separate articles, this is where you’ll find the majority of that shuffle news each day:
West Division
North Division
- The Toronto Maple Leafs have sent Nicholas Robertson and Martin Marincin to the AHL, moving them off the taxi squad for the time being. Though Robertson has a bright future, Toronto increased their forward depth at the deadline, limiting his opportunity to contribute this season.
- The Ottawa Senators have recalled Filip Gustavsson from the taxi squad as expected, bringing in Kevin Mandolese to fill his spot on the taxi squad. The Senators are dealing with injuries in net once again, meaning Gustavsson may have to keep flipping back and forth until at least one of them returns.
Central Division
- Once again, the Detroit Red Wings have bumped Joseph Veleno back to the taxi squad, moving Hayden Verbeek to the AHL. The team continues to flip young waiver-exempt players off the active roster between games in order to save salary, with Veleno being the most recent victim. He will be back for the team’s next game.
East Division
- The New Jersey Devils have returned Nolan Foote and A.J. Greer to the AHL, giving them a chance to play for the Binghamton Devils. Foote, 20, is one of the team’s top forward prospects but wasn’t receiving regular ice time with the big club, averaging just under nine minutes in the three games he has played this season.
This page will be updated throughout the day
AHL Announces Plan For 2021 Playoffs
6:30 PM: Larry Landon, Executive Director of the Professional Hockey Players’ Association (which represents AHL and ECHL players), released a statement on the PHPA’s Twitter account today criticizing the decision to go ahead with a divisional playoff in the Pacific Division, suggesting that it goes against the wishes of the majority of the players in that division. Clearly, the decision to go ahead with the playoffs for the Pacific was not a unanimous one.
2:11 PM: There will not be a traditional Calder Cup playoffs in 2021, but that doesn’t mean the AHL won’t be holding postseason contests. Each of the four divisions were given the opportunity to decide a postseason format and while the Atlantic, North, Canadian, and Central will all simply award the divisional champion based on regular season points percentage, the Pacific Division is going to have a playoff tournament.
In an announcement, it was revealed that the Atlantic winner will be awarded the Emile Francis Trophy, the North winner will receive the F.G. (Teddy) Oke Trophy, the Canadian division winner will receive the Frank S. Mathers Trophy and the Central winner will get the Sam Pollock Trophy.
The Pacific, which will announce the format of its postseason tournament at a later date, will battle for the John D. Chick Trophy, not the Calder. That group includes the Henderson Silver Knights, who currently lead with a 21-11 record, the San Diego Gulls, Bakersfield Condors, San Jose Barracuda, Colorado Eagles, Tucson Roadrunners, and Ontario Reign.
Also in the announcement comes news on the 2021-22 season, which is set to begin on October 15, 2021 and conclude on April 24, 2022. The divisions will likely be put back to normal, but an announcement will come later this summer.
The Pacific division finishes its regular season schedule on May 16.
PHR Live Chat Transcript: 04/29/21
Click here to read a transcript of this week’s live chat with PHR’s Gavin Lee.
COVID Protocol Related Absences: 04/29/21
Each day, the NHL will publicly release the list of players that are unavailable to their respective teams due to being in COVID-19 Protocol. Here is today’s list:
Anaheim – Adam Henrique
Calgary – Josh Leivo
Detroit – Adam Erne
New Jersey – P.K. Subban, Jonas Siegenthaler
As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:
(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol
Players removed today: None
It can’t really be called a win for the league, but at least there are no other Red Wings present on today’s list. Erne appeared yesterday after playing against the Blue Jackets the night before, but neither team has added any players today. Of note, Erne was also included in Detroit’s outbreak earlier in the season, so this stint could potentially be a false positive. No matter why he is in it, he won’t be available for the Red Wings tonight.
*denotes new addition
Carter Hart Out For Rest Of Season
The Philadelphia Flyers have just seven games left, but Carter Hart won’t be playing in any of them. The team announced today that Hart has been ruled out for the rest of the regular season with an MCL sprain in his left knee.
It’s a fitting end for an extremely disappointing season, in which Hart saw his numbers plummet across the board. The 22-year-old netminder posted a 9-11-5 record in 27 appearances, registering just an .877 save percentage and 3.67 goals-against average. Those numbers aren’t good enough for an NHL backup, let alone one of the most exciting up-and-coming goaltenders in the league that was supposed to challenge for the Vezina Trophy in short order.
The young netminder will have to find a way to put this season behind him and get his career back on track, but this injury certainly won’t help. There was a good chance that even with his struggles he could have been on Team Canada at the upcoming IIHF World Championship. Canada’s goaltending for the 2022 Olympics (assuming NHL players attend) is far from set, with names like Carey Price and Jordan Binnington dealing with their own struggles.
Perhaps more importantly, this poor season could have an effect on Hart’s contract negotiations this summer. The young goaltender is a restricted free agent for the first time and will not have arbitration rights. It was assumed that he would be locked up long-term at the first chance Philadelphia had, but most players wouldn’t want to ink a multi-year deal coming off such a poor season. It will be interesting to see if the two sides go for a bridge contract instead, allowing Hart to get his game back on track while also leaving enough cap space to bring in (or back) a proven veteran.
Currently, the Flyers have just a single goaltender—22-year-old Kirill Ustimenko who underwent major hip surgery in December—under contract for the 2021-22 season.
Snapshots: Barabanov, Kladno, Nash
Usually, when a pending free agent moves at the trade deadline, it’s away from a struggling team to chase the Stanley Cup with a contender. In Alexander Barabanov‘s case, it was the exact opposite, going from the division-leading Toronto Maple Leafs to the sub-.500 San Jose Sharks. That move has proven to be a great one for the 26-year-old forward though as he is finally getting a chance in the NHL and has two points in two games to show for it.
When Barabanov’s entry-level deal expires at the end of this season he will be an unrestricted free agent, but perhaps he has found his next home already. Kevin Kurz of The Athletic examined Barabanov’s start with the Sharks and spoke to his agent Dan Milstein of Gold Star Hockey, who explained that “if there was a decent offer for one year, big-boy contract [from the Sharks], I would be for it.”
- Jaromir Jagr has helped Kladno climb back to the top tier in the Czech Republic again after being relegated for last season. The ageless wonder is not only the majority owner of the team but also played for them again this season, scoring nine points in 15 playoff games. Jagr, 49, was helped by some NHL friends including Tomas Plekanec, who led the postseason in scoring and is expected to return for Kladno next year. Even Jagr hinted that his playing career isn’t done just yet.
- Riley Nash was spotted by reporters including Mark Masters of TSN today, skating for the first time since being acquired by the Toronto Maple Leafs at the deadline. The checking center could potentially return from his knee sprain in time for the playoffs, which Toronto clinched last night with a win over the Montreal Canadiens. Nash is currently on long-term injured reserve but with no salary cap issues in the postseason, could be inserted into the playoff lineup whenever healthy.