Josh Morrissey Out Until April
The Winnipeg Jets experienced some uncertainty right before the trade deadline after losing Josh Morrissey to injury the day before. It wasn’t exactly clear how long Morrissey would be out, but the team acted quickly by bringing in Bogdan Kiselevich and Nathan Beaulieu to add some depth on the blue line. Today, Jets head coach Paul Maurice announced that Morrissey will miss all of March and is looking at a return in early April.
Morrissey, 23, is an absolutely huge part of the Winnipeg blue line and the anchor of the left side. He averages more than 22 minutes a night and trails only Jacob Trouba in terms of scoring from the Jets defenders. His 31 points in 59 games are already easily a career high, as he has developed nicely into a top-end puck-moving option for the team while not losing any of his shutdown ability. There are few players who can excel like Morrissey does in almost any situation, and it will be an extremely tough task to replace his minutes adequately.
The Jets finish their season on April 6th and will presumably be starting their first playoff series a few days later, meaning Morrissey will have to jump right back into extremely important games and shake off the rust immediately. It’s nice that the team has other top options like Trouba, Tyler Myers and Dustin Byfuglien, but they’ll need Morrissey to be at his best as they try to navigate the Western Conference playoff picture.
His absence will likely create a huge opportunity for one of Beaulieu or Kiselevich to show what they can do. Both players found themselves in the press box on a regular basis with their last teams, but have shown ability in the past. Kiselevich notably was pursued heavily by the Jets before eventually signing in Florida, an indication that the team believes in his talent level and could give him a shot. Beaulieu struggled to find his game in Buffalo but is still just 26 and has experience in the NHL playoffs.
Andrew Ladd, Thomas Hickey Activated From Injured Reserve
The New York Islanders didn’t make a big splash at the trade deadline yesterday, but it may still feel like it to the dressing room. Today the team officially activated Andrew Ladd and Thomas Hickey from injured reserve and both are expected to be in the lineup tonight against the Calgary Flames.
Ladd hasn’t played in a game since November 13th but was actually off to an excellent start under new head coach Barry Trotz. After two seasons of struggles in New York, Ladd had seven points in his first 14 games while playing a reduced role and will hopefully bring some of that success back to the ice tonight. The veteran forward is regarded well for his leadership qualities and defensive acumen, but will need more than just that to help the Islanders run the table and hold onto first place in the Metropolitan Division.
While Ladd may be the more notable name, Hickey certainly brings more impact. The 30-year old is a reliable two-way defenseman that can play in almost any situation for the Islanders and has been out more than two months with an upper-body injury. He’d been averaging the most ice time of his career under Trotz, and could very well work his way into the top group of defensemen once again.
Both players will feel like deadline additions given their long absences, and the team is relying on them to be competitive assets to them down the stretch and into the future. In fact, both Ladd and Hickey are signed long-term and will be a part of this team as they continue to grow. Ladd is under contract through 2022-23 at a cap hit of $5.5MM, while Hickey will earn an average of $2.5MM per season through 2021-22.
Minor Transactions: 02/26/19
The trade deadline has come and gone, meaning roster limits are no longer in effect for the NHL. Teams are allowed to carry as many players as possible, though hold just four non-emergency recalls through the end of the season. While many teams used those recalls to complete paper transactions in order to maintain minor league playoff eligibility for their young stars, others will use them over the next few weeks. We’ll be right here to keep track of all the minor moves.
- The Florida Panthers have recalled Riley Stillman from the minor leagues, giving them another defenseman down the stretch. Stillman, the son of former Panthers alternate captain Corey Stillman, has 11 points in 46 games for the Springfield Thunderbirds in his first year of professional hockey.
- Zach Trotman has been recalled by the Pittsburgh Penguins, another healthy defenseman to fill in while they assess the injuries to Kris Letang and Brian Dumoulin. The team acquired two defenders yesterday, meaning Trotman likely won’t stay with the club through the end of the season. The 28-year old has 70 games of NHL experience under his belt.
- Justin Bailey was sent back to the minor leagues by the Philadelphia Flyers, a move that means he won’t get to face off against his old team tonight. The Buffalo Sabres are in Philadelphia and will also not have to face Wayne Simmonds after the power forward was dealt yesterday.
- The Buffalo Sabres have recalled Danny O’Regan from the minor leagues after their loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs last night. O’Regan had been with the team already and was involved in a paper transaction to make him eligible for the AHL playoffs.
- Kurtis MacDermid is up with the Los Angeles Kings and is expected to play against the Carolina Hurricanes tonight. MacDermid hasn’t played a game in the NHL this season but suited up 34 times for the Kings last year.
Minnesota Wild Extend Eric Staal
Eric Staal didn’t get moved by the Minnesota Wild today despite being an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, and now we know why. Bob McKenzie of TSN reports that Staal has signed a two-year extension with the Wild that will carry a $3.25MM average annual value. That will actually represent a slight reduction in average salary for Staal, who is in the last season of a three-year $10.5MM deal.
A $6.5MM guarantee for Staal immediately strikes as an extremely team-friendly deal, given that he recorded 42 goals during the 2017-18 season. Though that number has come down this year, Staal is still likely to finish as a 50+ point center this season. There were several reports of teams showing interest in Staal over the last few days, but the veteran forward had expressed his desire to stay in Minnesota. The new contract will include a modified no-trade clause.
Even at the reasonable price however, this contract does seem at odds with what the Wild have done over the last few weeks. GM Paul Fenton has made it clear he intends on changing the makeup of the team, trading Nino Niederreiter, Charlie Coyle and today Mikael Granlund. In each move Fenton has brought back a relatively young forward, but the team now looks like it might be heading towards more of a retooling period than one of real Stanley Cup contention. Even in a down year Staal likely could have brought back a substantial return on the trade market, especially when looking at the packages brought back by other centers like Kevin Hayes and Matt Duchene.
Staal ranked #19 among our Midseason UFA Power Rankings, but now won’t have to deal with the process that took him to Minnesota in the first place. The former Stanley Cup Champion with the Carolina Hurricanes is closing in on 1,000 career points and should get there with the Wild next season.
Nic Petan Traded To Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs have made one move just before the deadline, acquiring Nic Petan from the Winnipeg Jets. In return, the Jets will receive Swedish forward Par Lindholm.
Petan, 23, is another talented offensive player that has failed to get a big opportunity in the NHL. That lack of opportunity may come because of his size, as Petan measures in as one of the smaller players in the NHL at 5’9″ 179-lbs. In Winnipeg, there were just simply too many other options for him to ever really crack the lineup on a consistent basis, a problem he doesn’t exactly escape by moving to Toronto. In 108 NHL games across four seasons, Petan has registered 23 points. In 108 AHL contests across the same timeline, he has 89 points. The second number is what the Maple Leafs are betting on, along with Petan’s exquisite history from the WHL where he twice cracked the 100-point plateau.
None of that production though is guaranteed, especially not when he’ll have to battle another excellent group of wingers for playing time. While Petan does have experience at center, Toronto head coach has seemed to prefer Frederik Gauthier‘s size in the middle of his fourth line, moving Lindholm to the wing whenever both were in the lineup. Toronto also recalled AHL All-Star Trevor Moore today, another player Petan will have to battle for playing time.
For the Jets, they’ve added a more responsible and experienced option in Lindholm for an upcoming playoff run. While he is in his first season in North America, Lindholm has played several years of professional hockey in Sweden and even represented his country at the Olympic Games last year. There isn’t a lot of offensive upside there as proven by Lindholm’s single goal in 61 games this season, but he is an effective penalty killer and can move back and forth between center and wing without losing much defensive caliber.
Notably, Petan will be just a restricted free agent at the end of the season while Lindholm is scheduled to hit UFA status. It’s very reasonable to assume that the Jets were not going to issue Petan a qualifying offer and risk arbitration, so decided to move him to an interested team in exchange for whatever they could get.
San Jose Sharks Acquire Jonathan Dahlen
The Vancouver Canucks have moved on from prospect Jonathan Dahlen, trading him to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for Linus Karlsson. Both players have yet to make their NHL debuts. Rick Dhaliwal of Sportsnet spoke with Dahlen’s agent J.P. Barry about how the trade came about:
There was frustration on both sides. We had numerous discussions on how to improve the situation. More recently a possible move was discussed as an option.
Dahlen, 21, has spent the entire season in the AHL where he has 29 points in 50 games. Originally selected by the Ottawa Senators 42nd overall in the 2016 draft, he was acquired by the Canucks when they traded Alexandre Burrows at the 2017 deadline. That seemed like an early win for the Canucks as Burrows would eventually be bought out by the Senators while Dahlen would find success overseas. Now that he’s in North America, the young forward obviously was looking for an opportunity at the NHL level but will have to hope he finds it in San Jose now.
Even though Dahlen didn’t work out for Vancouver, they aren’t getting nothing in return. Karlsson was selected 87th overall just last June and has recorded 17 points in 48 games in the Swedish second league this season. The 19-year old center is undersized but has a chance to be a bottom-six player in the NHL if he continues his development curve over the next few years. It’s important to note though that Karlsson still needs to be signed to his entry-level contract and convinced to come over to North America.
Vancouver Canucks Trade Erik Gudbranson
The Pittsburgh Penguins suffered some injuries in their defense corps recently, so have moved quickly to strengthen the group. Pittsburgh has acquired Erik Gudbranson from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for forward Tanner Pearson.
Gudbranson, 27, is in the first season of a three-year extension signed with Vancouver last February and will carry a $4MM cap hit through the 2020-21 season. That makes this a somewhat surprising move given the Penguins already have a fair bit of money invested into their blue line. The team just gave Jack Johnson a five-year deal last summer and have gotten little back for their money, and still have Kris Letang, Justin Schultz, Brian Dumoulin and Olli Maataa all earning at least $4MM per season. While sending Pearson the other way clears out $3.75MM itself, the team has moved money out of the forward group that had already been criticized for not being deep enough.
GM Jim Rutherford explained the move this way:
Getting the type of player that Gudbranson is was something we’ve talked about for a while. He wasn’t available, to my knowledge, until today. We are very pleased to bring Erik in to join our team. The nice thing about Erik is he’s a character guy, he’s a team guy. He’s going to help the room. He’s going to make guys feel more comfortable. He’s got experience playing in the league.
Perhaps most notable in that explanation is the idea that Gudbranson is going to make his teammates “feel more comfortable.” While Rutherford doesn’t specify exactly what he means, it very well could be that he wanted a player who could stand up for his teammates on the ice. The Penguins have been looking for an answer to Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson‘s physical style for some time, and after trading away Jamie Oleksiak didn’t have a player who measured up. Gudbranson certainly does that, though the rest of his game brings about more questions.
Selected third overall in 2010 by the Florida Panthers, Gudbranson never did develop any offensive game and is strictly a defensive defenseman. In 448 career regular season games the 6’5″ behemoth has just 62 points and hasn’t recorded more than ten in a single season since 2014-15 (the only year he has done so). He has also posted incredibly low possession statistics because of that lack of offensive skill, something that the Penguins will have to hope doesn’t hurt them down the stretch and into the playoffs.
Obviously Pittsburgh has other options to move the puck, including two elite offensive options in Letang and Schultz, but in today’s NHL Gudbranson may continue to struggle even in a sheltered role. That’s obviously why Vancouver made him available just a year after extending him, and for a player who has experienced struggles of his own in Pearson.
The 26-year old Pearson was only acquired by the Penguins a few months ago in exchange for Carl Hagelin, and didn’t quite find the success that the team had hoped for. After failing to score a single goal in 17 games to start the season with the Los Angeles Kings, he recorded just nine goals and 14 points for the Penguins through 44 contests. If Pearson can get back to the perennial 40-point player that he was for a few years in Los Angeles the Canucks could have a perfect winger for one of their good young centers, but that may be asking a lot at this stage in his career.
Michael Del Zotto Heading To St. Louis Blues
According to Frank Seravalli of TSN, the St. Louis Blues have added some defensive depth by acquiring Michael Del Zotto from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for a 2019 sixth-round pick.
Del Zotto, 28, is an unrestricted free agent at the end of a year that sees him join a third organization. In fact, the veteran puck-moving defenseman will be joining his sixth franchise since being selected 20th overall in 2008 and could suit up for the playoffs for the first time since 2013. Del Zotto has played 601 regular season games split between the New York Rangers, Nashville Predators, Philadelphia Flyers, Canucks and Ducks, but has rarely been given a lengthy or large opportunity to show what he can do. Once a 40-point defenseman for the Rangers, he has been held to just seven this season through 35 contests.
In St. Louis, there may not be a much bigger opportunity. The team already has several puck-moving options and powerplay quarterbacks, meaning Del Zotto will be battling for ice time on the third pairing. That battle will be tougher when Carl Gunnarsson gets back from injury, though it’s not clear exactly when that will be.
For the Ducks this is a small win, given they only gave up Luke Schenn and a seventh-round pick for Del Zotto a month ago. Schenn was never going to make an impact for the team, so this essentially has moved them up a round for facilitating a move from Vancouver to St. Louis.
Nashville Predators Acquire Wayne Simmonds
The Nashville Predators have acquired a second top forward, as Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic tweets that Wayne Simmonds has been traded there. The deal will see Ryan Hartman and a conditional 2020 fourth-round pick go to Philadelphia. If the Predators win a playoff round, the pick will become a 2020 third-round selection.
Simmonds, 30, has been one of the most effective power forwards in the league throughout his career, but has taken a clear step backwards this season. With just 16 goals and 27 points he likely won’t come close to his previous career averages, but should help one key aspect of the Predators attack. Simmonds has 94 career powerplay goals and is one of the best net-front players in the league, a huge addition for a team that has struggled mightily with the man advantage this year. He also brings a good amount of physicality to a lineup that lost some when Austin Watson was suspended indefinitely.
With the team also acquiring Mikael Granlund today, the Predators have made a substantial change to their top-nine forward group. Still, while Granlund comes with some term, Simmonds joins Nashville on an expiring contract and likely can’t be retained given how much salary the Predators have already committed to next season. That means they could lose Hartman—who was acquired for a first-round pick just a year ago—for just a few months of Simmonds and one playoff run. That comes in direct response to the Winnipeg Jets making several moves, setting up a battle in the Central Division for the rest of the season.
It looked for a moment like the Flyers would not find a buyer for Simmonds, and they didn’t get the first-round pick that they had hoped for. They did however acquire Hartman who is looking for another opportunity to show he can be a top-six player. The 24-year old plays a heavy, Flyers-style game and scored 19 goals in 2016-17, but hasn’t got back to that level over the last two seasons. His 20 points this year isn’t an impressive total, but given an increased role in Philadelphia could come into his own as a power forward.
Vegas Golden Knights Acquire, Extend Mark Stone
The Vegas Golden Knights have made their big deadline splash, acquiring Mark Stone from the Ottawa Senators according to several reports including Bob McKenzie of TSN. The Senators will receive prospect Erik Brannstrom, forward Oscar Lindberg and a 2020 second-round selection (DAL). Tobias Lindberg will also go to Vegas in order to even out the contract slots. Stone himself told TSN that he is close to an extension with the Golden Knights. The deal is expected to be an eight-year contract with an average annual value of $9.5MM. The extension will not be officially signed until March 1st due to the tagging rule.
Stone, 26, is one of the most dynamic two-way wingers in the entire league and is having another excellent season. With 62 points in 59 games he is on track to blow by his previous career-high of 64, and will pass the 30-goal threshold for the first time in his career. Not only is he an effective offensive player, but Stone has repeatedly proven to be an elite defensive winger and routinely creates turnovers by stripping opposing players of the puck. He has received Selke Trophy votes for the last four seasons, even finishing sixth in 2017 despite the award usually going to centers.
That kind of all-around talent is why Stone was so coveted at the deadline, and why the Senators tried desperately to sign him to an extension. Apparently that couldn’t be worked out for whatever reason so the team cashed in for the best package available. Brannstrom, the 15th-overall pick from 2017, is having an excellent season as a 19-year old in the AHL and has impressed every step of the way. With 28 points in 41 games for the Chicago Wolves there are few defensemen in the minor leagues that can carry the puck as well as the new Senators prospect, and he has been repeatedly compared to Erik Karlsson over the last few years. Obviously that will put huge expectations on the young defenseman, but Ottawa did well to land a prospect of his stature.
Still, it is surprising that the team did not secure a first-round pick along with Brannstrom given the reported ask in recent days. The Senators do now have a huge number of picks in the next few drafts but watched their top three scorers walk out the door in the last few days. They’ll have to build quickly as the 2021 timeline that owner Eugene Melnyk suggested for contention is coming fast.