PHR Live Chat Transcript: 03/07/19
Click here to read a transcript of this week’s live chat with PHR’s Gavin Lee.
Mark Hunter Joins Hockey Canada
If the Edmonton Oilers were considering Mark Hunter for their vacant GM position, they may have to move on to another candidate. Hockey Canada announced that Hunter will join their Program of Excellence and will manage the U20 and National Junior programs in 2019-20. Martin Mondou and Alan Miller will run the U17 and U18 programs respectively.
Hunter, the former assistant GM for the Toronto Maple Leafs, is now back with the London Knights of the OHL. Hunter and his brother own the junior team, which is set to be a big player in the OHL playoffs once again and perhaps go to the Memorial Cup. Several players from that team may also be considered for the Canadian World Junior squad, including top scorer Connor McMichael who has exploded onto the scene with 70 points in 62 games.
The 56-year old Hunter was rumored to be on the Oilers short list for their open position, but likely won’t be a candidate any longer. That’s obviously not guaranteed, but with Bob Nicholson saying recently he wants to conduct interviews in the next two weeks, this news comes as an obvious red flag.
Mac Hollowell Signs Entry-Level Contract
The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed one of their impressive defensive prospects, inking Mac Hollowell to a three-year entry-level contract. Hollowell is currently playing for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the OHL. The deal will kick in for the 2019-20 season.
Selected 118th overall last June in his second year of eligibility, Hollowell went back to the OHL for his overage season and currently leads all OHL defensemen in scoring with 72 points in 59 games. The undersized, right-handed defenseman is a natural powerplay quarterback and can move the puck with ease through his junior competition. The big test will come next season though when he will be jumping into professional hockey.
There is an obvious connection between Hollowell and Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas, who ran the Greyhounds before moving to Toronto. The small defenseman also represents Dubas’ vision of a blue line loaded with players capable of moving the puck quickly and effectively up to their talented forwards. Obviously Hollowell has a long way to go to see the NHL—if he gets there at all—but this season certainly proved he could dominate the junior ranks if given the opportunity.
Tampa Bay Not Concerned With Potential Offer Sheets
Whenever the idea of an offer sheet is brought up, the two teams used most as potential targets are the Toronto Maple Leafs and Winnipeg Jets. That’s mostly because they have several pending restricted free agents and will be facing almost insurmountable cap issues this summer, making them seem more vulnerable. There’s another team in that same situation though and they have the added benefit of being the best team in the NHL. The Tampa Bay Lightning already have more than $73MM in cap hits committed to the 2019-20 season and still have to reach agreements with several RFAs.
The biggest name among those pending restricted free agents of course is Brayden Point, who has taken another incredible step forward this season and now ranks tenth in league scoring with 81 points. The 22-year old forward is already in contention for the Selke Trophy as one of the league’s best defensive players, and leads the entire NHL with 19 powerplay goals. His star is bright, and should be the target of offer sheets if they are truly coming this summer as some are starting to believe.
Lightning GM Julien BriseBois isn’t worried. In fact, when speaking with Craig Custance of The Athletic (subscription required) this week at the GM meetings, BriseBois explained his confidence that the team can get a deal done with Point and stated he thinks “it makes sense for both parties.” The Lightning of course have plenty to sell a player like Point on, and even more if they end up going all the way to the Stanley Cup this season.
Tampa Bay is 17 points ahead of the next best team in the NHL and will almost assuredly lock up the Presidents Trophy in the coming weeks. They have an incredible +87 goal differential on the season and have lost just 12 contests in regulation. Any team extending a big offer sheet is likely one in the midst of some sort of rebuild, meaning Point would be taking a considerable step backwards in terms of competitiveness. Add in that Florida already enjoys some of the best tax rates available, and the Lightning have a lot going for them.
Still, a long-term extension for Point might be difficult to fit in without at least moving someone out. The Lightning have three veteran defensemen coming off the books in Anton Stralman, Dan Girardi and Braydon Coburn, and could potentially get out from under Ryan Callahan‘s last season by finding the right trade partner. Still, the team must consider the fact that Andrei Vasilevskiy is approaching his own payday after his current deal expires in the summer of 2020, while the rest of the core is under contract long after that.
Again, there is little reason to believe the Lightning are in trouble and BriseBois certainly doesn’t think an offer sheet will be coming for Point. As New Jersey Devils GM Ray Shero points out to Custance in the same piece, the player actually needs to be interested in signing the sheet too—it can’t be arbitrarily used as a predatory tactic.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Minor Transactions: 03/07/19
The NHL has a busy schedule this evening with 11 games on tap, including an all-important battle in the Metropolitan Division. The Pittsburgh Penguins will welcome in the Columbus Blue Jackets in a game that could finish with the two part of a three-way tie with the Carolina Hurricanes at 79 points. Columbus pushed all their chips to the middle at the trade deadline by acquiring Matt Duchene, Ryan Dzingel, Adam McQuaid and Keith Kinkaid, but are still at risk of missing the playoffs altogether. As teams prepare for tonight’s action, we’ll be here keeping track of all the minor moves.
- The San Jose Sharks have recalled Dylan Gambrell from the minor leagues as several players deal with the flu. Gambrell has been up and down several times this season, but is dominating in his first year of minor league action. In 39 games for the San Jose Barracuda, the former University of Denver standout has 38 points. The Sharks are in action against the Montreal Canadiens tonight.
- The Boston Bruins have recalled Karson Kuhlman under emergency conditions, giving the team an extra option for tonight’s game against the Florida Panthers. Kuhlman made his NHL debut earlier this season and has two points in four games overall.
- With Dylan Larkin missing tonight’s game against the New York Rangers, the Detroit Red Wings have recalled Christoffer Ehn from the minor leagues. The 22-year old center is up under emergency conditions, meaning he’ll likely go back down when Larkin is able to return to action.
Depleted Devils Missing Several Players
The New Jersey Devils have lost four straight games and are firmly positioned at the bottom of the Metropolitan Division standings. That lack of success has only been furthered by injury lately, as the team is missing a huge chunk of their regular skaters. Team reporter Amanda Stein details all those who are missing practice today as the team prepares for their trip to Washington. Taylor Hall, Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, Miles Wood, Kevin Rooney, Nathan Bastian, Sami Vatanen, Pavel Zacha, Will Butcher and Mirco Mueller are all absent. John Quenneville and Kyle Palmieri who have missed games recently due to injury both took part.
The Devils will take on the Washington Capitals and New York Rangers in a back-to-back situation over the next two days, and very well could find themselves slipping even further down the standings over the next month. With so many injuries and other key players shipped out at the deadline, it appears as though New Jersey might have another good shot at the draft lottery this season. They are currently ahead of just Ottawa, Detroit and Los Angeles in the “Lose for Hughes” race.
Hall’s absence is the most notable obviously, as the reigning Hart Trophy winner continues his rehab from minor knee surgery. With just a single season left on his current contract, many have wondered about Hall’s future in New Jersey. GM Ray Shero unequivocally told Craig Custance of The Athletic (subscription required) that he did not consider trading his offensive star at the deadline, and that he will approach Hall this summer to try and work out a contract extension.
Mike Green To Miss Remainder Of Season
It’s been a long frustrating season for Mike Green, who has dealt with a virus attacking his liver at points throughout. Though he was only supposed to miss seven to ten days for the latest ailment, the Detroit Red Wings have now announced that Green will be out for the rest of the season as he tries to regain his health. The veteran defenseman saw a specialist who recommended several weeks off, which means he won’t get back on the ice this season but there is no long-term concern.
Green, 33, was re-signed last June to a two-year $10.75MM contract in order to stay with the Red Wings, but will end his season with just 43 games played. Amazingly even after missing 22 games he still leads all Detroit defenders in scoring, something he’s become used to over his career. The offensive-minded Green has 490 points in 830 career NHL games, including consecutive 70+ point years in Washington as a younger player. That puck-moving ability is exactly what Detroit hoped to retain in Green, but his future is certainly now up for debate.
Heading into the final season of his contract Green could be a potential trade chip for the Red Wings once again, though it likely wouldn’t happen until the deadline next year. Green’s full no-trade clause relaxes quite a bit on February 1, 2020 at which point he may be an appealing rental option. The Red Wings meanwhile have a few other young defensemen pushing for more minutes, with Dennis Cholowski and Filip Hronek both showing off their capabilities this season.
Marcus Johansson Suffers Lung Contusion
The Boston Bruins have issued an update on Marcus Johansson following his departure from last night’s game. The newly acquired forward spent the night in hospital after testing revealed a lung contusion. He has since been discharged, but will be re-evaluated in a week.
Johansson was acquired from the New Jersey Devils at the deadline to give the Bruins another versatile scoring threat, and tallied one assist through his first three games with the club. Unfortunately he ran into Micheal Ferland early in the Bruins game last night, and left on his second shift of the game. A bruised lung isn’t the worst diagnosis given how much trouble Johansson had getting off the ice, but it certainly won’t help Boston as they search for home ice advantage in the first round.
The Bruins are sitting three points ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs for the second spot in the Atlantic Division and are on an incredible streak. The team has not been defeated in regulation since January 19, 17 games ago. Still, any stumbles down the stretch could cost them and losing Johansson won’t help.
Snapshots: Expansion, Ingram, Schenn
The Vegas Golden Knights will not be taking part in the upcoming Seattle expansion payout that the other 30 teams will receive, and because of this will not be required to give up a player in the expansion draft. That has raised plenty of questions over whether the Golden Knights will be involved in other ways, perhaps even as some sort of extra protection list for teams to use just through the draft process by trading players there, only to get them back later. That kind of circumvention isn’t going to happen under the watchful eye of Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly, as he told Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (subscription required) that you won’t be able to “park” a player on Vegas during the process.
LeBrun pressed on just how the league might avoid such scenarios without clearly laying out rules, but Daly channeled his inner Justice Stewart by telling the insider “I’ll know it when I see it.”
- Tampa Bay Lightning goaltending prospect Connor Ingram has been demoted to the ECHL despite apparently being healthy enough to continue playing. Ingram hasn’t suited up for the Syracuse Crunch since February 26th, but still leads the entire AHL in save percentage and shutouts, while carrying the second best goals against average in the league. Joe Smith of The Athletic tweets a response from Lightning GM Julian BriseBois who called it an “internal matter,” while Mark Divver of the Providence Journal notes that he had heard Ingram was available at the deadline for a draft pick. The 21-year old goaltender was selected 88th overall in 2016.
- Brayden Schenn has been activated from injured reserve by the St. Louis Blues, giving the team another weapon for their game tonight with the Anaheim Ducks. The Blues are currently in third place in the Central Division but with several teams hot on their heels they can’t afford to drop many more games down the stretch. Schenn has 39 points in 55 games this season but is in danger of failing to reach the 20-goal mark for the first time since 2014-15.
Mark Stone Extension Delayed, But Still Coming
After Mark Stone was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights just minutes before the February 25th trade deadline, he admitted to have already worked out an extension with the team. That extension was to be for eight years and $76MM, but couldn’t be officially filed until March 1st because of the “tagging” issue of having more than the salary cap ceiling already committed to the next season. Then March 1st came and went with no extension, leading some to wonder if something had occurred to stop the deal from coming together.
Not to worry Golden Knights fans, as Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reports that the only reason the deal isn’t done was a personal issue that kept GM George McPhee out of town. Lavoie notes that McPhee wanted to be there in person, and that the deal will be filed in the next few days.
Stone hasn’t been able to score much for the Golden Knights so far, recording just one assist in his four games for the club, but that hasn’t stopped him from making an impact. The former Ottawa Senators forward has attempted 23 shots so far, getting 13 of them on net. That kind of volume is sure to garner some results in the near future, even if Stone is playing fewer minutes than he has the last few seasons. Vegas takes on the Calgary Flames tonight in a battle of Western Conference titans, a matchup that would be a perfect time for Stone to break out and tally his first goal as a Golden Knight.