Gabriel Landeskog Activated From Injured Reserve
The Colorado Avalanche will have their captain back in the lineup tonight for the first time since October. Gabriel Landeskog has been activated off injured reserve and will play tonight against the Montreal Canadiens. Andre Burakovsky will be across from him on the second line, while Nazem Kadri is out with a lower-body injury.
Even with Nathan MacKinnon trying to put the team on his back offensively, you could tell that the Avalanche missed Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen. The team has gone 9-7-1 in the captain’s absence, but is rolling again and healthy enough to take a shot at the top of the Central Division.
One of only three teams that has scored 100 goals this season already, the Avalanche reach new heights when Landeskog is healthy and contributing. Coming off a career-high 34 goals and 75 points last season, the 27-year old should give them a confidence boost as they play the second half of a back-to-back.
Washington Capitals Loan Tobias Geisser To NLA
The Washington Capitals have decided that the best thing for Tobias Geisser‘s development is to return to Switzerland. The team has announced a loan of Geisser to EV Zug of the Swiss NLA after just seven games with the Hershey Bears.
Geisser, 20, was a fourth-round pick of the Capitals in 2017 and spent last season in the AHL, but has had trouble bringing any sort of offensive game to North America. The 6’4″ defenseman has just one point in 54 career AHL games.
While offense was obviously never his calling card, he’ll have to be able to move the puck more effectively if he wants to continue moving up the depth chart in Washington.
Nathan MacKinnon Willing To Take Less On Next Deal
It’s not often you hear NHL players openly talking about their contract negotiations, both past and future, but that’s exactly what Nathan MacKinnon did when he sat down with Jordan Horrobin of Forbes. The Colorado Avalanche star went into his decision to sign a long-term deal in the summer of 2016 and how well it has worked out for both him and the organization, who are using cap savings from his relatively-low contract to strengthen the team.
Most notably however is the end of Horrobin’s piece, which includes a jarring, if optimistic quote from the superstar center:
On my next deal, I’ll take less again. Because I want to win with this group.
MacKinnon, 24, is set to become an unrestricted free agent when his seven-year, $44.1MM contract expires following the 2022-23 season. At that point he will be 27 and still likely considered one of the best players in the entire NHL. He’s already there after scoring 196 points over the last two seasons and another 44 in his first 27 games this year. Those performances have earned him second and sixth-place finishes in Hart Trophy voting, and if the award was given out today he’d be among the finalists once again.
A 27-year old star like MacKinnon doesn’t hit the market every year and teams would be tripping over themselves to hand him a blank check to join their roster. It obviously sounds like he wants nothing to do with that though, and will instead try to ink a team-friendly deal to win in Colorado.
That’s a noble position to take for MacKinnon, who has become the face of the franchise since Matt Duchene was shipped off to Ottawa two years ago. Colorado, who have suffered countless injuries this season to key players, rely on MacKinnon to generate offense at an exceptional pace, something he has had no problem doing of late. Currently on an eight-game point streak (seven goals, 11 assists), he has caught up to Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand and now sits behind only Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid in league scoring.
His $6.3MM cap hit is often pointed to as one of the best bargains in the league, but if MacKinnon takes a discount on his next deal Colorado GM Joe Sakic will really be the envy of every other front office in the league.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Dallas Stars To Scratch Alexander Radulov
The run of expensive healthy scratches continues in the NHL this season, with the Dallas Stars now getting in on the action. Sean Shapiro of The Athletic reports that the Stars are set to scratch Alexander Radulov for tonight’s game against the Winnipeg Jets, adding that head coach Jim Montgomery said it’s what’s best for the team. Radulov declined to comment.
The 33-year old Russian forward has been a disappointment this season after back-to-back 72-point campaigns. Not only is his offensive production down—15 points in 29 games works out to a 42-point full season pace—but he is among the league leaders in minor penalties with 15 already.
Some may see a scratching like this and immediately think about potential trade destinations, but not so fast with Radulov. Not only does he have a full no-movement clause at the moment which he could use to block any deal, but his contract still has two more seasons after this one at a $6.25MM cap hit. Though the actual salary declines in those years, it would be hard for any team to justify acquiring him for the full cap hit with the way he’s played this season.
In the summer of 2017, Radulov turned a strong return to North America with the Montreal Canadiens into a five-year deal with the Stars in free agency. Though the Canadiens were reported to have offered a similar deal, he turned down the team to go play in Texas. Perhaps the Canadiens should be counting their blessings at this point, given their strong cap situation and young core.
While this is probably not the end of Radulov in Dallas, it is a clear message from Montgomery that he will ice the team he believes has the best chance to win on a given night, salary be damned. The Stars turned around a dreadful start with a 14-1-1 run recently, but have now dropped their last four straight and are in need of another shake up.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Calgary Flames Agree To New Arena Deal
For the long-suffering Calgary Flames fans that have wondered if the arena dispute would ever end, today brings some respite. City councillor Jeff Davison announced today that the Flames and the city of Calgary have signed an agreement for a new taxpayer-funded arena and event center in Victoria Park.
Scott Dippel of CBC reports that there will be public engagement in January and that construction is set to begin in fall 2021. That would put the estimated completion at fall 2024, though timelines for things projects can obviously vary throughout the process.
The battle for a new arena became extremely political in Calgary, with the Flames and mayor Naheed Nenshi each experiencing frustration with the other side. At one point, Flames CEO Ken King even announced that the organization was “no longer pursuing a new facility” which threw doubt onto the team’s future in Calgary. Things slowly changed before a preliminary proposal was agreed upon earlier this summer.
Calgary would be expected to start the 2024-25 season in the new arena, but obviously we’re a long way from knowing exactly when the doors will be opened. At the very least, this is a good sign for the health and stability of the franchise.
Minor Transactions: 12/05/19
The Metropolitan Division kept on rolling last night, with wins by both the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins. That group has five teams that would be divisional playoff seeds in the Atlantic, meaning they are running away with the wild card positions at the moment. With nine games on the schedule for tonight, we’ll see if the other Metro teams can keep pace.
- The Ottawa Senators have sent Erik Brannstrom and Marcus Hogberg back to the AHL, probably a good decision for the development of their young defenseman at this point. Brannstrom was the prize for Mark Stone last season and needs to grow into that first-pairing option that the Senators believed he could be.
- Cory Conacher has been brought right back to the Tampa Bay Lightning today, though he wasn’t in the morning skate lines as the group prepares for their game against the Minnesota Wild.
- Tom Kuhnhackl has been placed on long-term injured reserve in order to get him a conditioning stint with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, which actually signals that the veteran forward is getting closer to a return. Kuhnhackl has played just six games for the New York Islanders this season and is still looking for his first point.
- The Colorado Avalanche have sent Logan O’Connor back to the minor leagues, suggesting that Gabriel Landeskog might be close to returning. The captain has been out for the last several weeks, but after Mikko Rantanen‘s recent return the Avalanche are getting closer to full strength.
- Matt Tennyson has been placed on injured reserve by the New Jersey Devils, while Jack Hughes returned to practice. The Devils are in a state of turmoil after firing head coach John Hynes, but will hopefully get their star forward into the lineup.
Kirill Marchenko Re-Signs In KHL
If Columbus Blue Jackets’ fans were looking at Kirill Marchenko‘s production as a teenager in the KHL fondly and hoping he could be a potential addition to their group next season, think again. Marchenko has signed a new three-year contract with SKA St. Petersburg that will keep him in the KHL through the 2021-22 season.
Marchenko, 19, was the 49th overall pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft and impressed by making his KHL debut last season. He was also included on the Russian World Junior team a year ago, something not many 18-year old players accomplish. He’ll be there again this year in a more prominent role, especially because of the six points in 14 games he’s put up during his short time with SKA.
As with any young Russian, using a high draft pick on them comes with some risk that they will not decide to come over to North America. The Blue Jackets will retain Marchenko’s draft rights indefinitely, but he’ll sit just out of their reach for the time being. There are ways of getting out of KHL deals, but Columbus will have to wait for Marchenko to express a desire to leave his home country.
New Jersey Devils Put Miles Wood “On The Block”
While all the trade speculation around the New Jersey Devils is focused on Taylor Hall, thanks to an expiring contract and struggling team, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports there is another forward on the market. Miles Wood has been put “on the block” by the Devils writes Friedman, explaining that the energy forward hasn’t been “as aggressive or edgy” this season.
Wood, 24, is averaging fewer than a hit per game this season after racking up 97 in just 63 games last year, and has just three goals and seven points in 27 contests. That’s a far cry from his 19-goal season of two years ago, when he really burst onto the scene as an elite counter-punching option that could get behind defenders.
It was after that season that Wood signed a four-year, $11MM deal which keeps him under contract through the 2021-22 season at an average annual value of $2.75MM. That contract looked like a bargain then, but may be a hinderance to any deal now if he can’t get his offensive game going in the right direction. Currently on pace for just nine goals, there aren’t a lot of teams in the league that can afford to pay a struggling bottom-six player who doesn’t penalty kill nearly $3MM.
If the Devils continue to struggle this season there will be changes, and the fact that Wood’s name has come up quickly suggests he may be one of the first to move. Hall will continue to generate the storylines, but the rest of the roster is worth keeping an eye on.
Mitch Marner Activated From Injured Reserve
The Toronto Maple Leafs have officially activated Mitch Marner from long-term injured reserve, sending Martin Marincin and Nic Petan to the minor leagues in the process. Marner has been out for several weeks with a high-ankle sprain but is expected to be back in the lineup tonight against the Colorado Avalanche. The team has also activated Mason Marchment from season-opening injured reserve and sent him to the AHL.
Marner has yet to play a game for new head coach Sheldon Keefe, but he’ll get the chance to try out the Maple Leafs’ new puck possession system tonight as the team tries to right the ship. Coming off a 6-1 pounding at the hands of the Philadelphia Flyers, Toronto now sits 13-12-4 on the season and in a very precarious position.
Because of the huge cap number that the young forward brings, Trevor Moore has likely been moved to long-term injured reserve to clear a bit more and keep the Maple Leafs at 21 players for the time being. When he returns, the team will have to send another forward down to the minor leagues or make a trade of some sort.
Even with that kind of cap pressure, Marner’s return will be a huge boost to the group. After scoring 94 points last season to lead the club, he was off to another strong start with 18 in his first 18 games. While he’ll be back beside John Tavares tonight, it appears as though Ilya Mikheyev has taken the place of Zach Hyman on the left side despite that trio’s strong work last season.
Injury Notes: Juolevi, Spurgeon, Avalanche
The Vancouver Canucks issued an update on top prospect Olli Juolevi, explaining that his recent removal from the Utica Comets roster was precautionary but that he is now fit to return to action.
Juolevi hasn’t played an AHL game since November 17th, but will seemingly return soon for the Comets and continue his development. The 21-year old defenseman is such an important prospect for the Canucks after they used the fifth-overall pick on him in 2016, but he has yet to find any modicum of health during his relatively short professional career. In 14 games this season he has five points and still seems a long way from becoming a full-time NHL option.
- Jared Spurgeon will be out for two weeks after suffering an upper-body injury last night. The newly-extended defenseman is one of the Minnesota Wild’s most important players and averages close to 23 minutes a game. The team will also lose Mikko Koivu on a day-to-day basis with a lower-body injury.
- After returning to the Colorado Avalanche lineup and contributing four points in fewer than 11 minutes of ice time, Mikko Rantanen sat out the entire third period of Saturday’s contest against the Chicago Blackhawks and then missed a practice on Monday. He’s good to go for tonight’s game in Toronto however and will suit up against the Maple Leafs. Matt Calvert, who hasn’t played since taking a puck to the head against the Vancouver Canucks, will also return to the Colorado lineup tonight.