Morgan Rielly Out Eight Weeks With Broken Foot
When the Toronto Maple Leafs recalled Rasmus Sandin from the minor leagues today, fans were excited about him potentially replacing the injured Jake Muzzin. It’s not Muzzin he’s replacing however as instead Toronto has announced that Morgan Rielly suffered a broken foot during last night’s game and will be out at least eight weeks.
The loss of Rielly is a tremendous blow to the Maple Leafs’ season, especially as they try to navigate a recent rough patch. The team now sits just a single point ahead of the Florida Panthers after being embarrassed last night and have lost three in a row to fall four points behind the second place Tampa Bay Lightning. Without Muzzin and Rielly for the next several weeks, the team suddenly looks thinner than ever on defense, a position that was already not their strength.
In Rielly’s absence, Travis Dermott will likely see an increased role but it’s not clear how the other two left defense spots will shake out. Martin Marincin was recently extended by the team but has struggled when asked to log heavy minutes in the NHL, while Sandin is still just 19 and has only six games of NHL experience under his belt.
It’s the unknown of Sandin that makes things interesting, given how much success he has had under Sheldon Keefe when they were together in the minor leagues. The 29th overall pick from 2018 recorded 28 points in 44 games last season as one of the youngest players in the AHL, and was even better in the Calder Cup playoffs. This season he was once again excellent before leaving for the World Juniors, where he was arguably the best defenseman in the tournament logging huge minutes for Sweden.
Still, the AHL and World Juniors are not the same as the NHL. With Toronto in a battle for every point just to qualify for the playoffs, the team may have to go out and get some more experienced hands to help out. How exactly they can afford it will be a creative task for the front office, given how complicated their cap structure has been this season moving players on and off long-term injured reserve. They also don’t have their first-round pick, thanks to an offseason trade with the Carolina Hurricanes.
Minor Transactions: 01/13/20
Five games grace the NHL schedule this evening, including a match between the best and worst of the Western Conference. The St. Louis Blues will welcome in the Anaheim Ducks for a game between two clubs moving in opposite directions. Even though the Ducks are 26 points behind the Blues in the standings, nothing is guaranteed in the NHL. As the entire league prepares for tonight, we’ll keep track of all the moves:
- The New York Islanders have recalled Sebastian Aho from the minor leagues. The young defenseman hasn’t yet played an NHL contest this year, but does have 22 games of experience from the 2017-18 season. Also up from the AHL’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers is forward Otto Koivula, who has played in six games with Isles, but has been held scoreless.
- Rasmus Sandin is back with the Toronto Maple Leafs, recalled after the team’s embarrassing loss last night. Sandin is four games away from burning the first year of his entry-level contract, but the Maple Leafs haven’t been able to keep the puck out of their net recently with Jake Muzzin out with a broken foot.
- The San Jose Sharks have sent Lukas Radil to the minor leagues, while bringing up Joachim Blichfeld. The seventh-round pick has been excellent in the minor leagues this season, really launching himself onto the map of NHL prospects for the Sharks.
Lafreniere, Stuetzle Lead Respective Scouting Lists
The NHL has released their Central Scouting midterm rankings for 2020 draft eligible prospects. Alexis Lafreniere leads the North American group and is still the prospective first overall selection in June’s draft. The International list may carry some surprise however, as it is Tim Stuetzle, not Lucas Raymond or Alexander Holtz, who leads the group.
Stuetzle plays for Mannheim in the German DEL and has been flying up draft boards all season. The 6’1″ left-shot forward is nearly a point-per-game player at the professional level despite being just 17 (he’ll turn 18 later this week), with five goals and 23 points in 26 games. Add in an outstanding performance at the World Juniors tournament where he seemed to create offense at will for one of the strongest German teams we’ve ever seen, and his ranking at the top is deserved.
Behind Stuetzle are Raymond, Holtz and Anton Lundell, the latter of which was unable to attend the World Juniors and show what he could do against the best players of his age group in the world. Lundell is having a great season for HIFK in Finland however, and is another name to consider near the top of the draft.
The North American rankings don’t carry much surprise, as Lafreniere is followed by Quinton Byfield, Jamie Drysdale and Cole Perfetti as expected. Though there are several players who could move up the board by season’s end, those four are all expected to challenge for top-10 status when June’s selection process gets underway.
Among goaltenders—who are ranked separately—Nico Daws leads the North American list after winning gold with the Canadian World Junior team. Yaroslav Askarov, who won silver with the Russians, is tops on the International list and should be a first-round selection.
Alec Martinez Available For Trade
The Los Angeles Kings will be a team to watch at the 2020 trade deadline once again, as they continue to try and find a way to turn things around. The team sits just a point ahead of the Anaheim Ducks for last in the Western Conference, with little to celebrate on a nightly basis. Last year at this time the Kings decided to move on from defenseman Jake Muzzin despite having him under contract for an additional season, and Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic now writes that they could make a similar move this time around.
Alec Martinez is the lead subject of LeBrun’s latest column (subscription required), as the scribe indicates that the Kings would be open to moving the defenseman. Martinez is signed through the 2020-21 season and carries a $4MM cap hit, but the Kings are obviously not going to be competing for the Stanley Cup this year and could cash out early. One of LeBrun’s sources indicated it might take a “second and a prospect” to get the 32-year old.
Martinez has been a solid contributor for the Kings for more than a decade now, debuting in 2009 before joining the lineup on a full-time basis the following year. His most noteworthy moment with the team is obviously the 2014 Stanley Cup-winning goal against the New York Rangers, when he jumped into the rush and cleaned up a rebound in double overtime.
That ability to play at both ends of the rink should be intriguing to many teams looking to shore up their blueline before the playoffs, as is his ability to play either defensive position. Martinez is a left-handed shot but was forced to play the right side quite a bit during his time with the Kings, at times beside the aforementioned Muzzin.
For Kings fans, it is important to remember that among the current roster defensemen, only Martinez, Drew Doughty and Matt Roy are actually signed for next year. If they decide to move in a different direction, youngsters like Tobias Bjornfot and Kale Clague may be asked to play substantial roles on the team next year.
Troy Terry Sent To AHL On Conditioning Loan
The Anaheim Ducks have sent injured forward Troy Terry to the minor leagues on a long-term injury conditioning loan, as he continues to recover from a broken bone below his kneecap. At the time of the injury it was announced that Terry would miss approximately ten weeks, of which only three have elapsed. The team has also recalled Chase De Leo from the AHL.
It’s actually not even the first broken leg for Terry, who suffered a non-displaced fracture last April which ended his season early. As Elliott Teaford of the Orange County Register reported yesterday however, Terry has bounced back from this latest injury at an incredibly fast rate and has even resumed skating recently.
The 22-year old forward has played in 33 games for the Ducks this season, though he hasn’t been very effective offensively. With three goals and eight points in those games he is actually scoring at an even worse rate than he did last year as a rookie, something unexpected given the flashes he had shown at the University of Denver and in the minor leagues.
Getting back into some games will allow Terry’s development to continue, though where his ceiling really sits at this point isn’t clear. The fifth-round pick has to bring more to the table to be truly considered a building block moving forward. The fact that he will be a restricted free agent at the end of this season complicates things, though he is still not eligible for arbitration.
Max Pacioretty, Tomas Hertl Added To All-Star Squad
You don’t have to vote for Max Pacioretty anymore as the last man in for the All-Star Game. Both Pacioretty and Tomas Hertl have been added to the team, now that Jakob Silfverberg and Logan Couture will not be able to attend. The former has withdrawn due to the imminent birth of his child, while the latter suffered a broken ankle and will be out several weeks. Neither player will be suspended for failing to attend.
This will actually be the first appearance for Pacioretty, despite being a five-time 30+ goal scorer and former captain. The Vegas Golden Knights forward is well on his way to another season of 30, with 20 goals and 45 points through the first 47 games. That’s the best on the Golden Knights and a nice value for his $7MM cap hit.
Hertl meanwhile was the obvious choice to be the Sharks representative once Couture was ruled out, given he is neck-and-neck with him in almost every offensive category. The 26-year old forward has 15 goals and 34 points in 42 games, not quite the pace that he set last season but still a strong performance.
Both players were part of the fan vote to select the final player for the Pacific Division, meaning those left on the ballot will get a little bit higher chance of getting into the festivities. Voting ends today.
Toronto Maple Leafs Sign Martin Marincin To One-Year Extension
The Toronto Maple Leafs have locked up one of their depth defenders for another year. Martin Marincin has signed a one-year contract extension worth $700K. The defenseman was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.
Marincin, 27, has become the annual injury replacement for the Maple Leafs, coming up from the AHL whenever needed. That has meant 13 games with the team this season thanks to a broken foot for Jake Muzzin, where he has averaged a little over 14 minutes a night.
There is little chance that Marincin becomes an impact—or even a full-time—player for the Maple Leafs, but when you have almost an entire defense corps set to hit free agency someone has to be retained to fill out the depth chart. Marincin joins Justin Holl as two that have been extended in-season, with big questions still surrounding the future of Muzzin and Tyson Barrie, both unrestricted in July.
When you spend so much money on your forward group you need minimum salaried players, meaning this likely isn’t the last low-cost deal the Maple Leafs will sign. At the very worst, Marincin will spend the season in the AHL where he has played well for the Toronto Marlies—notably under Sheldon Keefe, who is now in charge of the NHL club.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Snapshots: Galchenyuk, Domingue, Gallagher
It may come as no surprise, but the Pittsburgh Penguins have made it known around the league that they would like to trade Alex Galchenyuk according to Pierre LeBrun on last night’s edition of Insider Trading for TSN. Galchenyuk was only acquired last offseason in the Phil Kessel trade, but hasn’t found a fit in the Penguins’ top-six.
Bob McKenzie on the same panel notes once again that the Penguins’ priority is finding that top-six forward (even if that’s not what Galchenyuk will bring back at this point) in order to replace Jake Guentzel. McKenzie also suggests that Pittsburgh GM Jim Rutherford is not necessarily only looking at the rental market.
- Louis Domingue played in last night’s 6-3 loss for the New Jersey Devils, meaning the Tampa Bay Lightning are getting an extra draft pick. The conditional seventh-round pick sent to Tampa Bay for Domingue earlier this season will now transfer hands thanks to the goaltender playing in his seventh NHL game for the Devils.
- Head coach Claude Julien told reporters including Eric Engels of Sportsnet that the Montreal Canadiens are sending Brendan Gallagher for more testing to see why he is having headaches. It apparently could be related to a virus, but the team will not take a chance if it has any connection to the concussion that he only just returned from.
Submit Your Questions For The #PHRMailbag
The holiday season is over and the NHL is right back to the grind. Some teams are just counting the days until the draft lottery, while others are making travel plans for the playoffs. Several, including many that are still on the postseason bubble, will have to take a hard look at their roster over the next few weeks to decide whether to add or subtract at the trade deadline.
With that in mind, it’s time to run our first mailbag of 2020. You can submit a question by using #PHRMailbag on Twitter or by leaving a comment down below. Make sure you get your questions in early and we’ll try to get through as many as possible when the mailbag runs on the weekend.
If you missed our last edition before the Christmas break, it was split into two parts (here and here). In the first, Brian tackled questions regarding Robin Lehner‘s future in Chicago, Detroit’s tank-a-thon season, and some New York trade targets. In the second, Alex Pietrangelo was a subject of conversation, along with predictions on how the Metropolitan Division will shake out when all is said and done.
Logan Shaw Clears Waivers
Friday: Shaw has cleared waivers and was assigned to the minor leagues.
Thursday: The Winnipeg Jets have activated defenseman Dmitry Kulikov from injured reserve today, but to make room had to clear a roster spot. They’ve done so by placing Logan Shaw on waivers, with the purpose of sending him to the minor leagues.
Shaw, 27, has played 25 games for the Jets this season, recording two goals and three points. He averages just over seven minutes a game and hasn’t played since 2019, so this comes as little surprise. That small role and relatively ineffective play will also likely save him from claim, even if he does cost just the minimum $700K at the NHL level.
The Jets have worked with a revolving door of defenders this year, but still sit with a 24-16-4 record after last night’s win against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Kulikov actually returns as the team’s most expensive defenseman, with a $4.33MM cap hit this season. That doesn’t mean he’s the most important, but after averaging nearly 20 minutes a night through his first 25 games, he will give them an added boost for the stretch run. Kulikov hasn’t played since the end of November, but had four points in those 25 early contests.