Ivan Barbashev Leaves Bubble
Aug 11: Baby Barbashev arrived last night, but Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the forward is not expected back in Edmonton until “around August 14.” At that point he would still need to finish his four-day quarantine, meaning Barabashev may not be ready to return until game five of the Blues’ series against the Vancouver Canucks.
Aug 4: As expected, Ivan Barbashev has left the bubble in Edmonton for the birth of his first child. The St. Louis Blues forward has returned home to be with his wife, meaning he’ll have to go through several protocols when he is able to return. The Blues were in full support of the decision, with GM Doug Armstrong releasing the following statement:
We felt it was important for Ivan to be with us for the first two games of the restart and we were prepared for him leaving to go back to St. Louis to be with Ksenia. We wish them both the best and look forward to seeing Ivan back in Edmonton during the first round of the playoffs.
Barbashev will be required to quarantine in his hotel room for four days after returning to Edmonton, while also receiving four negative COVID-19 tests before returning to practice.
The Blues play Thursday and Sunday to complete their round-robin, both games that Barbashev is expected to miss.
Florida Panthers Receive Permission To Speak With Scott Mellanby
The Florida Panthers recently parted ways with longtime executive Dale Tallon, announcing that they would immediately begin a search for the team’s next general manager. Speculation immediately popped up about Montreal Canadiens AGM Scott Mellanby who captained the Panthers for several seasons. That chatter has been confirmed by Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, who reports that the Panthers received permission from the Canadiens to speak with Mellanby.
The 54-year old executive has been with the Canadiens since 2012, when he left the St. Louis Blues and was hired as a director of player personnel. He was given the AGM title a few years later, and for the last two seasons has also been working with the Laval Rocket.
It is hard to find anyone who has been around more NHL hockey than Mellanby. Starting in 1985-86 with the Philadelphia Flyers, the second-round pick played in 1,431 regular season contests, good for 31st all-time in the NHL. He was never a superstar in the league, but there were decades of good hockey from the winger, who recorded 840 points in those 21 seasons. Florida was his longest stop, suiting up more than 550 times for the Panthers and recording 354 points. He sits fifth on the team’s all-time scoring list, while also coming in third in penalty minutes.
It’s not just his connection to the Panthers organization that would make Mellanby a good fit either. He’s also familiar with head coach Joel Quenneville, who he played under in St. Louis. Even though new general managers often like to go with their own choice behind the bench, whoever takes over in Florida is going to have to work with Quenneville. Not only is he a legendary head coach with an excellent track record, but he was also given a five-year deal in 2019 that will pay him more than $26MM.
The Panthers search will need to be quick if they want someone in place by the offseason. Remember that the draft and free agency will happen almost immediately after the Stanley Cup is awarded in early October, followed by training camps set to begin at some point in November if everything goes to plan.
Tyler Ennis Suffered Broken Leg, Ligament Damage
Getting eliminated in the qualification round is a tough way for any player to finish the season, but for Tyler Ennis it must have felt much worse. Not only will the Edmonton Oilers forward become an unrestricted free agent, but he is also now dealing with a long rehab. The team announced today that Ennis suffered a broken leg and ligament damage in his ankle during the Oilers’ third game of their series against the Chicago Blackhawks. He is expected to make a full recovery, but it will take several months.
Ennis doesn’t have several months left on his contract, as it will expire in October when the offseason begins. The 30-year old forward has resurrected his career after a buyout ended his tenure with the Minnesota Wild in 2018, but after signing consecutive one-year sub-$1M contracts, you can bet he was hoping to head into the offseason with a little more leverage. Instead, Ennis will have to hope someone takes another chance on him after the major injury.
The thing is, the Oilers may be his best bet. After scoring 14 goals and 33 points with the Ottawa Senators this season, Ennis was traded to Edmonton and fit in extremely well. The team had been looking for more speed and skill up front for years, something Ennis brings in spades. Perhaps this will give them an even better opportunity at bringing him back, though there are other tough decisions to come in Edmonton after such a disappointing finish.
Penguins GM Jim Rutherford: “Changes Need To Be Made”
The Pittsburgh Penguins were one of the biggest surprises of the qualification round, ousted by the 12-seed Montreal Canadiens. Not only was it surprising because the Canadiens likely weren’t even going to make the playoffs had the season not been cut short, but the Penguins had fought through so much adversity to even get to that point. Head coach Mike Sullivan had guided his group through catastrophic injuries to almost all of the team’s top players while dealing with a horrendous performance from his expected starting goaltender.
Now that they’re out, GM Jim Rutherford didn’t hold back when discussing the offseason with reporters including Josh Yohe of The Athletic:
There is something wrong. Changes need to be made.
Rutherford went on to say that the team starts to “fizzle out” when things don’t go their way and that even though the coaching staff navigated the regular season well there is a pattern developing at the end of the year. The entire availability was an executive who is primed to make sweeping changes, though Rutherford did explain that he is still committed to the core—Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang especially.
The Hall of Fame GM has never been shy about pulling the trigger and making splashy headline-grabbing moves. Last summer after he felt his team needed a change Rutherford twice traded Phil Kessel, only for the first one to be blocked by the enigmatic winger. During the year he pushed his chips to the middle again and tried to give them a chance to win by acquiring Jason Zucker, only to see them go down before even reaching the regular playoffs.
This time, it sounds as though one of the big changes will come on defense. Though Jack Johnson has been pummeled in the media for his disastrous play during the short postseason, Rutherford pointed the finger directly at his partner instead. Again, from Yohe:
I know everybody picks on Jack and they have for a long time, but I think, in that pairing, Justin Schultz had a lot more to give.
Schultz happens to be an unrestricted free agent this summer while Johnson still has three years on his deal, but it now seems unlikely that the pair will be reunited in the future. The 30-year old Schultz had an outstanding season in 2016-17 when Letang was injured for much of the year and earned himself a three-year, $16.5MM extension. That deal started poorly and ended even worse, however, given the performances that followed. In 46 games this season, Schultz only recorded three goals and 12 points.
But letting Schultz walk away won’t be the only move Rutherford makes. He also once again mentioned how it will be difficult to keep both Matt Murray and Tristan Jarry, given they are both restricted free agents and the salary cap will not be increasing. Moving one of them could help in another area, but don’t be surprised if you see even more drastic and sweeping changes to the Penguins before the 2020-21 season begins.
Filip Berglund Assigned To Linkoping HC
The Edmonton Oilers have assigned Filip Berglund to Linkoping HC of the Swedish Hockey League for the 2020-21 season, just a few months after signing him to an entry-level contract. Berglund inked his two-year deal in May, but will apparently spend the first season continuing his development in Sweden. The Oilers do retain the right to recall him, though the release did not indicate that he would be back for training camp.
Berglund, 23, was a third-round pick by the Oilers back in 2016 but hadn’t yet attempted to come to North America. Instead, he has played four seasons in the SHL, developing into a strong two-way defender with a chance to make an NHL impact one day.
The Oilers have done moves like this in the past. In 2018, they signed Joel Persson to a one-year contract only to immediately assign him back to the SHL. That burned the contract up, but gave them control as a restricted free agent over the young defenseman. The plan may be the same here with Berglund, who would have seen his draft rights expire had the Oilers not signed him by June 1.
Mark Scheifele Will Not Require Surgery
When Matthew Tkachuk collided with Mark Scheifele in the first game of the qualification round, and the big Winnipeg Jets center collapsed to the ice clutching his leg and wailing in pain, everyone watching assumed the worst. It was obvious that Scheifele would have to leave the game as he was helped off the ice by a trainer and Nathan Beaulieu, but the anxious moments that followed surely had more disastrous scenarios playing out in many minds. Would he require major surgery, just a few months before the 2020-21 season was set to begin?
As it turns out, those same thoughts were racing through Scheifele’s mind. He spoke with reporters including Murat Ates of The Athletic and admitted he initially thought he tore his Achilles tendon. That would have meant surgery and a six-month recovery, taking him out of the first portion of the 2020-21—one which will have a condensed schedule. As it turns out, Scheifele was “very, very lucky” and will not require surgery at all. In fact, he told Ates that he’s going to be “back to 100% in the near future.”
While that news may fall on some deaf ears among Jets fans who just watched their team get eliminated before the real playoffs even begin, it’s extremely important for the future. As head coach Paul Maurice hinted at in his post-game tirade about what he called a “filthy, disgusting hit”, an Achilles injury like that doesn’t only come with a long recovery time, it also could potentially jeopardize a career. All hockey fans should be happy that isn’t the case for Scheifele, who has turned into one of the games preeminent two-way centers.
Selected seventh overall in 2011, the 27-year old has broken the point-per-game mark in each of his last four seasons, including 73 in 71 games this year. His postseason stats are just as impressive, making it all the more frustrating for the Jets that he received fewer than three minutes of ice time before being forced from the five-game series. Scheifele will be back next year and so will the Jets, thankful that he isn’t completing a grueling rehab at some point in February.
New York Rangers Win The First-Overall Pick
Phase two of the NHL Draft Lottery took place this evening, and the New York Rangers were the big winners. The first-overall pick and the right to draft Alexis Lafreniere was on the line after the first part of the lottery ended up in a “TBA” team winning, which then went to one of the eliminated qualification round teams. Lafreniere, the consensus top prospect in this year’s field, will get a chance to join Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad on October 9th when the draft is held virtually and is expected to make an impact in the 2020-21 season.
The rest of the qualification losers will be dropped in based on regular season points percentage. That means the top-15 selections will look like this:
- New York Rangers
- Los Angeles Kings
- Ottawa Senators (via San Jose Sharks)
- Detroit Red Wings
- Ottawa Senators
- Anaheim Ducks
- New Jersey Devils
- Buffalo Sabres
- Minnesota Wild
- Winnipeg Jets
- Nashville Predators
- Florida Panthers
- Carolina Hurricanes (via Toronto Maple Leafs)
- Edmonton Oilers
- Pittsburgh Penguins
Lafreniere is quite the prize for the Rangers. The 18-year old forward is coming off his second consecutive CHL Player of the Year award after dominating for the Rimouski Oceanic of the QMJHL. In 173 regular season games across three years for the club, Lafreniere recorded 297 points to go along with Hlinka-Gretzky and World Junior gold medals. There is very little he can’t do offensively, and he’ll get to join what is turning into a loaded forward group in New York. Remember, the Rangers won the second-overall pick in last year’s lottery and ended up selecting Kaapo Kakko, another extremely talented winger (who admittedly didn’t have an excellent rookie season).
Another change from the lottery includes the Hurricanes picking up a top-15 pick of their own. The Maple Leafs had sent them that pick to get Carolina to buyout Patrick Marleau, but it was lottery protected and would have stayed with Toronto had they won tonight. The Hurricanes will actually give up their own pick to the Rangers as part of the Brady Skjei deal, but still have a chance of picking a top prospect.
Undoubtedly though, the Rangers front office will come out of tonight with huge smiles on their faces. Though they didn’t get the chance to advance in the playoffs, their time is coming as a contender in the Eastern Conference.
Injury Notes: Pacioretty, Merzlikins, Ferland, Carlson
The Vegas Golden Knights will have a familiar face in the lineup tomorrow night when they take on the Chicago Blackhawks, as GM Kelly McCrimmon told reporters including Mike Morreale of NHL.com that Max Pacioretty would make his postseason debut. The top-line winger missed the entire round-robin but won’t be held back when things get going in the first round:
I think Max’s workload will be identical to what it was. I don’t think that will change in any way shape or form. He’s completely ready to go. We’re not worried about that at all.
“Patches” as he is called by his teammates, was feeling right at home this season with the Golden Knights after a rocky first year with the team. Following a trade from the Montreal Canadiens, the only NHL team he had ever known, Pacioretty scored just 22 goals and 40 points in 2018-19. That was low for him, but things were right back to normal this season when he broke the 30-goal mark for the sixth time in his career and led the Golden Knights with 66 points in 71 games.
- It was Joonas Korpisalo back in net for the Columbus Blue Jackets when they faced off against the Toronto Maple Leafs in a winner-take-all game five last night. Korpisalo would end up getting a shutout in the deciding game and he’ll have every chance to roll with the Blue Jackets for some time. Tandem partner Elvis Merzlikins, who came in for Korpisalo partway through the series, is out indefinitely with an injury according to head coach John Tortorella. Tortorella told team reporter Jeff Svoboda “he’s out. I’m not sure how long.” Merzlikins was outstanding in his first taste of NHL action this year, posting a .923 save percentage as a rookie. He also stopped 70 of 74 shots against the Maple Leafs, who had trouble scoring no matter who was in the net for Columbus.
- Micheal Ferland remains “unfit to play” according to Vancouver Canucks head coach Travis Green. Ferland actually left the bubble in Edmonton last week and returned home to Manitoba after leaving a game against the Minnesota Wild. While the team cannot comment on the exact injury due to the COVID-19 reporting protocols, Darren Dreger of TSN was told at the time that Ferland was dealing with similar post-concussion issues that kept him out for most of the year. Though the team had said he would be re-evaluated after the Minnesota series ended, it’s clear that a return is not in the cards just yet.
- The New York Islanders and Washington Capitals could potentially both be getting some reinforcements for their first-round series. Brian Compton of NHL.com reports that Johnny Boychuk is “highly probable” for game one, while Samantha Pell of the Washington Post was told by Capitals coach Todd Reirden that John Carlson took part in their optional skate today and is “taking steps in the right direction.” Carlson, a Norris Trophy finalist as one of the league’s top defensemen, didn’t play in the round-robin after taking an awkward fall in the Capitals exhibition game.
Poll: Who Do You Want To Win The Draft Lottery?
Seven teams in the NHL didn’t get a chance to return to play this summer. Their regular seasons were so disastrous that they didn’t qualify for a tournament which saw 24-teams take part. But none of them will be rewarded with the first-overall pick in 2020. Instead, that selection will go to one of the eight teams eliminated over the past week, after the first part of the draft lottery ended with a TBA club taking home the top spot.
The qualification round provided some incredible storylines. It also provided some eye-popping upsets. Both the Chicago Blackhawks and Montreal Canadiens, respective 12-seeds going into the return to play format, defeated Stanley Cup contenders with all-world talents leading the way. Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and their teams are out before even seeing the first round but now have a chance to land a consolation prize of sorts.
The Edmonton Oilers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Nashville Predators, New York Rangers, Florida Panthers, Winnipeg Jets, and Minnesota Wild all have a 12.5% chance of being awarded that first-overall pick, and the chance to select two-time CHL Player of the Year Alexis Lafreniere.
That may seem ridiculous, given the regular season performances from those clubs, but remember it required a previous lottery to get to this point. There was only a 24.5% chance of a qualification-round team earning the pick in the first place. That ended up happening, with the Los Angeles Kings also moving up to second place. The Detroit Red Wings, who had the highest chance of winning any of the three lottery spots ended up the big losers of the event, dropping all the way down to fourth despite winning just 17 games this season.
The league will announce the lottery winner this evening, with hockey fans all over the world tuning in to see where Lafreniere will go. The format of the lottery has drawn massive criticism given how things played out, but that won’t stop it from being a must-see event for the entire NHL.
Where do you want to see the phenom go? Which of the eliminated teams deserves the pick? Which would you hate to see win? Cast your vote below and make sure to explain your choice in the comments!
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NHL Issues Update On COVID-19 Testing
The qualification round and round-robin games are complete, with the first round of the playoffs set to kick off this week. Players have become acclimated to life in the bubble with few issues, and now the league has provided an update on their COVID-19 testing. For the second week of Phase 4 (Aug 2-8), the league administered 7,245 tests. They received zero positive test results. Every member of the clubs’ 52-member traveling parties was tested regularly.
Another huge step towards finishing the season for the NHL and a great sign for bubble sports in general. The league looks poised to continue without any issue, especially as the numbers dwindle each round. Already the field has been cut by eight, with the Toronto Maple Leafs the most recently eliminated.
As always, the fight isn’t done yet, but the NHL’s plan for return to play seems to be working perfectly.