Tampa Bay Lightning Hire Rob Zettler
The Tampa Bay Lightning have added an assistant coach to the mix, hiring Rob Zettler to join Jon Cooper‘s staff. General manager Julien Brisebois released a short statement about the hire:
Rob brings extensive coaching experience to the Lightning organization and is very familiar with a lot of our players and coaches. We believe our players will benefit from Rob’s wealth of experience, both as a long-time NHL defenseman and as a veteran coach in the NHL.
Zettler, who may be best remembered as an in-your-face defenseman that played nearly 600 NHL games for several different organizations, has been an assistant coach with the San Jose Sharks and Toronto Maple Leafs previously. He also served, notably for this position, as the head coach of the Syracuse Crunch as recently as 2016. The Crunch of course is the AHL affiliate of Tampa Bay and where Cooper cut his teeth before taking over the Lightning.
In fact, Zettler took over as head coach of the Crunch from Cooper when the latter was promoted to the job in Tampa Bay during the 2012-13 season. That team, which had been 39-18-8 when Cooper was bumped up, went all the way to the Calder Cup Finals under Zettler, eventually losing despite the efforts of young Ondrej Palat and Tyler Johnson.
That familiarity and experience will come in handy for Zettler as he joins the NHL staff.
Minor Transactions: 12/04/20
The NHL offseason has come to a standstill, with no unrestricted free agents signed to one-way contracts in a month. Still, the ECHL and many European leagues continue to play or prepare, meaning hockey players signing deals all over the world. We’ll keep track of the notable minor transactions right here.
- The KHL was especially busy today, with several former NHL players on the move. Trevor Murphy, a 25-year-old defenseman who played eight games for the Arizona Coyotes in 2017-18 was sent from Kunlun Red Star to Ak Bars Kazan. Murphy was never drafted, but after dominating the OHL with the Windsor Spitfires ended up in the Nashville Predators system. The offensive-minded defenseman never stopped producing, scoring 131 points in 257 AHL games, but ended up overseas last year.
- Zack Mitchell, who had been playing with Dinamo Riga in the KHL, will now suit up for Severstal Cherepovets. The 27-year-old is another undrafted player who once made it to the NHL, playing 34 games with the Minnesota Wild. Mitchell scored 31 points in 61 games for the Ontario Reign in 2018-19 before heading to the KHL.
- It’s been years since he was in North America, but Sean Collins will continue his KHL career with Kunlun this season. The 31-year-old forward will be spending his fifth year in the foreign league after a successful AHL career ended in 2016. Collins played in 21 NHL games over the years, but never did score a single goal.
- Another former NHLer who has been playing overseas for several years, Brandon DeFazio is making a mid-season move. The 32-year old, who has spent two of the past three years with the KHL’s Kunlun Red Star with a stop with the Liiga’s Lukko in between, began this season with HC Kometa Brno of the Czech Extraliga. However, Brno has announced today that DeFazio’s contract has been terminated via exit clause, as DeFazio has found a higher paying offer with an unnamed club in Germany’s DEL. This will be the fourth different country that DeFazio has played in since leaving North America in 2017.
- Although the team never made a formal announcement, today’s ECHL transactions have indicated that the AHL’s Stockton Heat have signed (and reassigned) goaltender Andrew Shortridge. Shortridge, 25, is a former NCAA standout at Quinnipiac who signed a one-year entry-level contract with the San Jose Sharks for last season. However, the Sharks declined to an extend him a qualifying offer in October, making him a UFA. Shortridge struggled in the AHL last season, admittedly in his first pro campaign, but played well in the ECHL and has the size and collegiate production that would imply that he has more to offer.
Mats Zuccarello Out Indefinitely Following Surgery
Whenever the upcoming NHL season actually gets underway, the Minnesota Wild will be without one of their veteran forwards. Michael Russo of The Athletic reports that Mats Zuccarello will not be ready for the start of the season and “may be out a good bit longer” after surgery on his right arm. The procedure was weeks ago, but he has flown from Norway to Minnesota to see the team doctors.
Zuccarello, 33, broke that right arm two seasons ago and Russo reports that though not necessarily related, it was discovered to have a torn ligament. The veteran forward played last season through discomfort, which potentially could be why his numbers declined quite drastically in his first year with Minnesota. In 65 games the undersized winger scored 15 goals and 37 points, which was the first time he failed to crack the 40-point mark in a year where he played at least 48 games. In Minnesota’s four postseason contests, he recorded just a single assist.
The five-year, $30MM contract that the Wild signed Zuccarello to in 2019 has been a disaster so far, especially given Paul Fenton, the GM at the time, was fired just a few weeks later. When combined with Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, the Wild have more than $20MM in cap space committed through at least 2023-24 to a trio of players already in their mid-thirties. For a club trying to find their way under a new coaching staff and front office, that doesn’t bode well for the future.
Perhaps of course Zuccarello will be able to return at full strength and once again assume his place as one of the league’s top playmakers, but it’s now been several years since that 44-assist season in 2016-17. If he is out for a long period of time the Wild could potentially put his $6MM cap hit on long-term injured reserve in order to bring in a replacement—notably, Minnesota fan favorite Mikael Granlund remains unsigned—but it also could mean more opportunity for the young players in the system. Jordan Greenway still hasn’t reached the ceiling he has flashed as a top power forward, while first-round draft pick Marco Rossi will be battling for an NHL spot after returning from the World Juniors. Kirill Kaprizov was already guaranteed a spot, but this could mean even more responsibility and ice time lands on his shoulders as he makes the transition to the NHL.
Kyle Olson Signs AHL Deal
When the Anaheim Ducks decided not to sign Kyle Olson to an entry-level contract by June 2019, his draft rights expired and he became an unrestricted free agent. The fourth-round pick had a brutal post-draft season that saw him score only four goals and miss half the year with a knee injury. He came back the next season and showed what he could do, but it still didn’t work out with the Ducks.
In September of last year, Olson was a standout at the Buffalo Sabres prospect camp and earned himself a non-roster invitation to the main training camp. He was impressive there too, but didn’t sign with the Sabres and instead returned for his overage WHL season. That season, 2019-20, was cut short again, with Olson playing only 30 games total between the Tri-City Americans (where he was captain) and the Calgary Hitmen.
Now, after aging out of junior hockey Olson will try his hand at the professional level. The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins have signed the 21-year-old forward to an AHL contract and immediately sent him to the ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers to join their training camp. With the ECHL season about to begin in a week, Olson can start his minor league career there after he quarantines. Among the players to keep an eye on in the ECHL this year, Olson will be near the top of the list after circumstance—and not work ethic—has knocked him off the NHL prospect track so far.
The Nailers are set to begin their season on December 12 against the Indy Fuel.
Maxim Cajkovic Removed From Slovakia WJC Camp
Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Maxim Cajkovic will not be taking part in the World Junior Championship this year after being expelled from the Slovakian training camp. In a release, the team explains (via Google translate) that Cajkovic has been removed for a gross violation of sports and human values. Matej Deraj of Dennik Sport in Slovakia tweets that Cajkovic delivered several dirty hits on his potential teammates in a split-squad game.
Selected 89th overall by the Lightning in 2019, Cajkovic actually already took part in a WJC last season, recording two assists for Slovakia in five games. Though he had played the last two seasons for the Saint John Sea Dogs of the QMJHL, he was spending this first part of this year with the Bratislava Capitals in the ICEHL, where he had nine points in 12 games.
The 19-year-old winger possesses a lethal shot but will obviously have to avoid these kinds of situations in the future if his professional hockey career is to take off. The World Juniors is a chance for many young players to show off their skills against the best in the world and can only help the prospect stock of a player like Cajkovic. Given he’s still waiting on his entry-level contract from the Lightning, this certainly won’t help things. It will obviously also weaken the Slovakian squad, who aren’t loaded with NHL prospects like Cajkovic and were relying on him to provide some offense at the tournament.
NHL Now Aiming For Mid-January Start
January 1 always seemed like a difficult target for the NHL to hit, but now that the calendar has turned to December without any sort of resolution it is completely unrealistic. According to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, who this morning has summarized many reports that surfaced, the league asked about a mid-January start on a call with the NHLPA last night. They also discussed a potential 56-game schedule and a training camp that would start on January 2.
None of this, LeBrun explains, has been finalized yet as COVID-19 health restrictions and financial ramifications are too broad to sort through on one phone call. But it at least should give hockey fans some hope that a season is around the corner.
A 56-game season would be very interesting, given what happened last time the league went with a shortened schedule. Remember in 2012-13, when a lockout stole half the season, only 48 games were played. The Chicago Blackhawks would go on to basically run the table with their star-laden lineup that included a young duo named Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, but also had a 34-year-old Marian Hossa still playing at a ridiculously high level. The Blackhawks would finish first in the regular season with 77 points, losing just seven games in regulation.
But there were other oddities that year, like only a single team (Washington) coming out of the Southeast Division or the last-place team in the Pacific having a .500 record. Alex Ovechkin won the Rocket Richard with 32 goals in the shortened season, something even several years later he may be able to accomplish again in 2021.
Should this schedule be approved, players would need to quickly find their way in from overseas in order to quarantine in time for training camp. One obvious issue that may arise is the holiday season and whether international players—or even those moving between the U.S. and Canada—would be willing to spend Christmas in quarantine, preparing for the training camp on January 2. That, and the ongoing COVID-19 situation all over the world, could still end up pushing this back even further.
Finland Announces Preliminary World Junior Roster
Like many other countries over the last few days and weeks, Finland has announced their preliminary roster for the World Junior Championship, set to take place later this month in Edmonton, Alberta. The Finns won gold in the 2019 tournament two years ago but are looking to get back onto the podium after a disappointing fourth-place finish last year.
G Joel Blomqvist
G Juho Markkanen
G Kari Piiroinen
G Eetu Randelin
G Roope Taponen
D Santeri Hatakka
D Ville Heinola
D Mikko Kokkonen
D Rami Maatta
D Topi Niemela
D Valtteri Pulli
D Kasper Puutio
D Ruben Rafkin
D Matias Rajaniemi
D Eemil Viro
F Leevi Aaltonen
F Samuel Helenius
F Roni Hirvonen
F Roby Jarventie
F Benjamin Korhonen
F Brad Lambert
F Anton Lundell
F Matias Mantykivi
F Henri Nikkanen
F Mikko Petman
F Petteri Puhakka
F Mikael Pyyhtia
F Juuso Parssinen
F Aku Raty
F Kasper Simontaival
F Samuel Valkeejavi
Of note, the roster does not include Kaapo Kakko, who, like teammate Alexis Lafreniere, will likely not be released to the tournament despite still being eligible. It also does not include Aatu Raty, who played for the Finns a year ago and is a potential top pick for the 2021 draft, but has struggled mightily this season.
What Your Team Is Thankful For: Colorado Avalanche
We’ve now made it past Thanksgiving and the holiday season is right around the corner. Like the last few years, PHR will take a look at what teams are thankful for but this year comes with a bit of a change. Normally teams would have an idea of where their season was heading, coming up on the one-quarter mark with mountains of statistics to analyze. Instead, in this unprecedented year, the season hasn’t even begun. We’ll still take a look at what each group is excited about and what they could hope for once the calendar turns to 2021.
What are the Avalanche most thankful for?
The trade market.
Colorado has its fair share of homegrown talent on the roster, but it’s hard to overlook the work that GM Joe Sakic has done the last few years to upgrade the organization through trade. It really started on that fateful November day in 2017 when he finally sent one of the most celebrated players in Avalanche history, Matt Duchene, to the Ottawa Senators. In return, Sakic acquired (among other things) Samuel Girard, who is now a leader of the team’s defensive group, Shane Bowers, who looks ready to compete for an NHL roster spot, and a pick that turned into Bowen Byram who is currently starring at Team Canada’s World Junior camp.
That laid the foundation of what was to come, but Sakic has also landed Ryan Graves, Philipp Grubauer, Andre Burakovsky, Nazem Kadri, and now two others, Brandon Saad and Devon Toews. It’s hard to know how Saad and Toews will work out, but if it’s like any of his other deals, don’t bet on a bust.
Who are the Avalanche most thankful for?
Yes, it’s easy to point to one of the best players in the world and say he’s the reason for the team’s success, but MacKinnon is the reason everything works in Colorado. You can’t go out and acquire a $5MM Saad, or extend Burkakovsky at $4.9MM if MacKinnon is making what he’s worth. That $6.3MM per-year contract gets a lot of press for being undervalued, but maybe not enough is written about how it allows the Avalanche to build the rest of the roster.
MacKinnon will get a huge raise after the 2022-23 season and he deserves it. But for the next three years, the Avalanche can overpay elsewhere to give this roster the best chance of winning.
What would the Avalanche be even more thankful for?
Healthy playoff goaltending.
You only get so many kicks at the can with a core this talented and the team watched one slip through their fingers this summer when Michael Hutchinson was forced into the net. It’s not even that Hutchinson was bad, he posted a .910 save percentage in four appearances, but when it came down to it he couldn’t outduel Anton Khudobin in game seven of the second round.
Grubauer and Pavel Francouz should be a good enough tandem to get the team deep into the postseason, but if an opportunity presents itself for an upgrade, or they fail again this season, you can bet Sakic won’t hesitate to make a change. Colorado has an excellent prospect in Justus Annunen, but he doesn’t appear to be anywhere near ready to lead the team to a Stanley Cup. That chance to overpay elsewhere while MacKinnon is still cheap? Here’s a spot that might benefit.
What should be on the Avalanche holiday wish list?
A new contract for the captain.
As much as MacKinnon’s play drives the team on the ice, Landeskog is still the leader for the Avalanche. It seems like so long ago that the Swedish forward became the youngest captain in NHL history (a record that has since been broken by Connor McDavid), earning the “C” at the tender age of 19. Since then he has been a consistent presence for the team through ups and (way, way) downs, eventually reaching a new career mark with 75 points in 2018-19 (just 73 games).
He’ll need a raise on the $5.57MM cap hit that expires after this season, but it’s hard to imagine Landeskog playing anywhere else. Perhaps by handing him a deal a few years longer than most feel comfortable with the Avalanche will be able to keep the cap hit down, but at some point before the start of free agency an extension should be expected.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Jack Hughes, Alexis Lafreniere Will Not Be Released For WJC
5:00pm: As if in response, Hockey Canada has announced that Alexis Lafreniere will also not be released to the tournament. Lafreniere will instead focus on training and preparing for the upcoming season with the New York Rangers, where he is expected to step right into a prominent role. After narrowly escaping major injury at the tournament last year, but still earning MVP honors and taking home the gold medal, it seems reasonable for the Rangers to want to keep Lafreniere at home,
3:37pm: Though it doesn’t come as much of a surprise, Jack Hughes will not be released to USA Hockey for the upcoming World Junior Championship. Though the program had interest, Darren Dreger of TSN reports that New Jersey Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald has informed them the star forward will not go this year.
Hughes of course was the first-overall pick in 2019 by the Devils and missed the tournament last year as well thanks to his NHL commitments. Now 19, he is still eligible but doesn’t have a lot to gain from suiting up against the junior-aged players other than getting in some competitive action before the season begins. That’s what the Chicago Blackhawks are hoping for Kirby Dach for instance, who will go for Team Canada despite playing all last season in the NHL.
The Devils have high hopes for the upcoming season and a step forward from Hughes is imperative to any playoff run they may chase. It’s hard to call him anything but a disappointment in year one, with just seven goals and 21 points. That’s not what you hope for from a first-overall pick, but Hughes was always expected to take a little longer because of his slight frame. Off-ice training and practice with the Devils is likely more important to his development than dominating prospects at the World Juniors.
Team USA could potentially lose another talented youngster that has already made his NHL debut, as Dreger also notes that if the league starts up soon Nick Robertson would stay with the Toronto Maple Leafs instead of traveling to Edmonton. Robertson was listed on the preliminary roster and is currently training in Toronto with some Maple Leafs teammates.
Outdoor Games Being Discussed By Several NHL Teams
It’s about that time in an NHL/NHLPA negotiation (or, not negotiation) where things start to get weird. With the league still trying to figure out a way through the upcoming season, with the financial climate so dire for many teams and with players refusing to budge on the agreement they made a few months ago, all kinds of revenue streams are being discussed.
One of those, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, is the possibility of holding games outdoors where fans could potentially attend. Friedman writes today that at least four teams are “investigating the possibility” of outdoor games, listing the Anaheim Ducks, Boston Bruins, Los Angeles Kings, and Pittsburgh Penguins. The Kings were apparently the first to consider the idea, though it’s important to note that NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told James Mirtle of The Athletic last month that holding more outdoor games was unlikely.
Still, following Friedman’s report came one from Pierre LeBrun, who writes that it’s not just those four teams considering the idea of holding multiple outdoor events. The Penguins, Bruins, and Kings are on his list of teams that would be open to hosting or taking part in outdoor games, but so too are the Carolina Hurricanes, Dallas Stars, and Nashville Predators.
It’s important to remember that even if the NHL caves and doesn’t amend the Memorandum of Understanding that was signed a few months ago, the players still would have to eventually pay back any salary that brings them over 50% of the hockey-related revenue. With no fans and very little revenue to be made, it seems likely that both sides would be open to out-of-the-box ideas like outdoor contests if it brought in ticket sales.
Still, those outdoor games also have a substantially increased cost, which is what Daly pointed out to Mirtle last month. As LeBrun writes, commissioner Gary Bettman is also worried that holding so many outdoor games could hurt the Winter Classic brand, which has been a success for the league in previous years. Those negatives may eventually win out in the end, but there is nothing stopping teams from exploring the option at this point.