Penguins Notes: Fleury, Pouliot, Jarry
With the news that Matt Murray is out again and considered “week-to-week” with a lower body injury, Marc-Andre Fleury will again resume the duties of starting goaltender for the Pittsburgh Penguins. However, the question of the net share for the Penguins now needs to expand beyond just the next few weeks. With yet another injury this season, Murray is beginning to get a reputation of being “fragile”. Still technically a rookie, it’s too early for any definitive judgement on Murray, but his injury tendencies need to be considered when planning for the near future. As was discussed earlier this season, the Penguins face one of the more difficult Expansion Draft scenarios this season, as they would be forced to protect Fleury, due to his no-movement clause, and leave Murray exposed to selection should both remain on the roster into June. Many have thus presumed that Pittsburgh will trade Fleury at all costs this season. With growing concerns about Murray’s reliability, that may no longer be the plan. Even though Murray has been vastly superior to his veteran teammate in 2016-17, Fleury still represents a far better option than most potential replacements on the market right now. If the Penguins, surely a Stanley Cup contender again this season, trade Fleury and Murray goes down again, it would cripple their title chances. Same goes for next season as well. Although teams like the Dallas Stars or St. Louis Blues will likely make plays for Fleury in the coming months, Pittsburgh will likely now look at options that include keeping both keepers through the end of this season. More confusion being added to one of the most intriguing stories of the season.
- With Murray out again, the Penguins have recalled goalie Tristan Jarry from the AHL. The player headed back to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is defenseman Derrick Pouliot. Once thought to be the future on the blue line in Pittsburgh, Pouliot is struggling again this year and has seen limited play time, prompting his move to the minors for the second time this season. Although he is an analytics darling, Pouliot’s possession ability has not translated into meaningful production at the NHL level. The eighth overall pick in the 2012 NHL Draft, Pouliot was a superstar with the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks as a junior player. He was expected to contribute right away at the highest level, and did play in 34 games in Pittsburgh in his first pro season. However, that dropped to just 22 regular season games and 2 postseason games for the eventual Stanley Cup champions last season and just seven game thus far in 2016-17. Over that time, Pouliot has just two goals and 12 assists (zero points this season) in 63 games while posting a career rating of -10. He also has no points and is a -4 in seven AHL games this year. In a normal season, this could simply be written off as a promising 22-year-old defenseman developing slowly and any premature judgement would be unwarranted. However, this is not a normal season, with the Expansion Draft looming this off-season, and the Penguins need to make a decision on Pouliot. If, as expected, Pittsburgh chooses to protect seven forwards and three defenseman rather than protecting eight skaters overall and risking losing a Patric Hornqvist or Carl Hagelin, then Pouliot appears to be the odd-man-out on the back end. Kris Letang, Olli Maatta, and Brian Dumoulin are the obvious choices to be protected by the Penguins. With good defensive depth on the roster and even more NHL experience down at the AHL level, Pittsburgh is not desperate for blue line help right now. While that may change down the line with injuries, the Penguins may still need to look at trading Pouliot while they can. If he fails to move the young defenseman, GM Jim Rutherford will likely lose him for nothing to the Las Vegas Golden Knights, who will certainly be intrigued by a recent top ten pick. On the other hand, if Pouliot continues to play this poorly, the Penguins may not lose him after all.
- Meanwhile, Jarry will get his first real NHL experience with Murray out of the lineup. Although Jarry has spent time on the Pittsburgh roster both this season and last, he has yet to make his debut. The Penguins claimed Mike Condon off of waivers earlier this season when Murray was first injured, and he performed well as the backup to Fleury before being traded to the Ottawa Senators. With no such option this time around, expect Jarry to get his first start in the next week or two in relief of Fleury, who has adjusted to part-time work in 2016-17. A 2013 second-round pick of the Penguins, Jarry was a standout prospect from the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings and has played well in his first two pro seasons with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
World Junior Championship Final Rosters
Group A
Czech Republic:
G Petr Kvaca, HC Ceske Budejovice
G Jakub Skarek, HC Dukla Jihlava
G Daniel Vladar, Providence Bruins (Boston Bruins)
D Frantisek Hrdinka, Linkopings HC
D Filip Hronek, Saginaw Spirt (Detroit Red Wings)
D Petr Kalina, HC Sparta Praha
D Daniel Krenzelok, HC Vitcovicek Steel
D David Kvasnicka, HC Plzen
D Ondrej Vala, Kamloops Blazers (Dallas Stars)
D Jakub Zboril, Saint John Sea Dogs (Boston Bruins)
F Filip Chlapik, Charlottetown Islanders (Ottawa Senators)
F Lukas Jasek, HC Oceláři Třinec (Vancouver Canucks)
F David Kase, Pirati Chamutov (Philadelphia Flyers)
F Radek Koblizek, Oulun Karpat
F Daniel Kurovsky, Vitkovice Ostrava
F Adam Musil, Red Deer Rebels (St. Louis Blues)
F Martin Necas, HC Kometa Brno
F Kristian Reichel, HC Litvinov
F Tomas Soustal, Kelowna Rockets
F Michael Spacek, Red Deer Rebels (Winnipeg Jets)
F Simon Stransky, Prince Albert Raiders
F Filip Suchy, Omaha Lancers
Denmark:
G Emil Gransoe, Topeka Roadrunners
G Kasper Krog, Sønderjysk
G Lasse Petersen, Red Deer Rebels
D Morten Jensen, Rögle BK
D Anders Koch, Esbjerg Energy
D Oliver Larsen, Odense Bulldogs
D Christian Mieritz, Leksands IF
D Oliver Gatz Nielsen, Herning Blue Fox
D Mathias Rondbjerg, Rungsted Seier Capital
D Nicolai Weichel, Rungsted Seier Capital
F Niklas Andersen, Esbjerg Energy
F Rasmus Thykjaer Andersson, HV71
F Joachim Blichfeld, Portland Winterhawks (San Jose Sharks)
F William Boysen, Rungsted Seier Capital
F Nikolaj Krag Christensen, Rogle BK (St. Louis Blues)
F Frederik Hoeg, Odense Bulldogs
F Jeppe Jul Korsgaard, Aalborg Pirates
F Tobias Maximilian Ladehoff, Aalborg Pirates
F David Madsen, Vaxjo Lakers
F Jonas Rondbjerg, Vaxjo Lakers
F Alexander True, Seattle Thunderbirds
F Christian Wejse, Blainville-Boisbriand Armada
Carolina An Appealing Trade Partner
In a recent article by ESPN’s Craig Custance titled “The NHL’s All-Trade-Candidates team“, his top line includes Colorado Avalanche center Matt Duchene, Toronto Maple Leafs winger James van Riemsdyk, and Detroit Red Wings winger Gustav Nyquist. The common denominator between all three of those struggling teams? They need defense. The team that Custance mentions as being willing and able to trade away a reliable top defenseman for one of these big-name forwards is the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Hurricanes have quietly put together one of the deepest group of blue liners in the entire league over the past few years. Even excluding All-Star defenseman Justin Faulk, the team is still loaded with talented youth on the back end. The team’s second pair of 22-year-olds Jaccob Slavin and Brett Pesce have established themselves as legitimate NHLers, and 19-year-old Noah Hanifin, the 5th overall pick in 2015, continues to develop into a star. Former first rounder Ryan Murphy has been pushed out of the starting lineup and is surely available. Top prospects Haydn Fleury, Roland McKeown, and Josh Wesley are ready to contribute at the NHL level, and Trevor Carrick has been ready for a while now. 2016 first-rounder Jake Bean projects to be an NHL playmaker in the near future as well. Something has to give in Raleigh, as they have more talented defensemen than they have room for on the roster.
However, their forward core is still a work in progress. The Hurricanes are performing much better than many expected they would, but they are still a long-shot for a playoff berth in 2016-17, playing in the Metropolitan Division “group of death”. They could be better if it wasn’t for a middling and inconsistent offense. The re-build is coming along much faster than expected, and Jeff Skinner, Victor Rask, Elias Lindholm, Teuvo Teravainen, Sebastian Aho and their second 2016 first-round pick, Julien Gauthier, comprise a solid group of young scorers. However, the addition of a player in his prime like Duchene or van Riemsdyk may put them over the top, turning a rebuild into a contender. A mutually beneficial trade seems to be right around the corner.
James Wisniewski Leaves KHL Club
James Wisniewski is on the move again. After failing to find an NHL contract this off-season, likely due to missing nearly all of 2015-16 with the Carolina Hurricanes with an injury, Wisniewski settled for a professional tryout with the Tampa Bay Lightning during preseason. Wisniewski was unable to make the most of his PTO and was cut by the team before the regular season began. He then joined the KHL’s Admiral Vladivostok, where he has played for the past two months. However, Wisniewski himself announced his departure from the team this week.
Wisniewski now plans to head to Switzerland where he will join Team Lugano for the upcoming Spengler Cup. The Spengler Cup is an international invitational tournament hosted each year by Swiss NLA club HC Davos every holiday season. The tournament includes mostly European pro teams, usually from the NLA and KHL, as well as a non-NHL/AHL team from Canada. HC Lugano is a fellow NLA team taking part in the tournament this year. Wisniewski will now join the squad, which already employs former NHLers Maxim Lapierre, Damien Brunner, and Ryan Wilson. While it has not been officially announced whether or not Wisniewski will continue to play for Lugano in the NLA season following the Spengler Cup, it is a safe assumption.
So far in 2016-17, Wisniewski had a goal and three assists in 16 games with Admiral Vladivostok, usually skating alongside former NHL defenseman Anton Volchenkov. The KHL team was a ways out from contention though, 23 points behind in their division. Wisniewski now joins a more talented team in Lugano, who is primed to fight for a playoff spot this season. Wisniewski brings 552 games of NHL experience, as well as 274 career points worth of skill to his new team.
Pastrnak, Vatrano, Marchessault Expected Back For Bruins-Panthers
Tonight’s Atlantic Division match-up between the Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers will see the return of two of the 2016-17 season’s biggest breakout stars and the season debut of another breakout candidate. According to coach Claude Julien, the Bruins will welcome back David Pastrnak to the lineup after he missed the past two games following surgery to remove an olecranon bursa from his right elbow and will get their first look this season at 2015-16 revelation Frank Vatrano, who has been out all season after tearing ligaments in his foot during training camp. To counter, the Panthers expect Jonathan Marchessault back in the lineup after missing seven of Florida’s past eight games with a lower body injury , as reported by beat writer George Richards. With both teams struggling to best .500 hockey in December, they are hoping that the return of this talent will jump-start the rest of the squad. However, only one team can come out with the win on Thursday night.
Pastrnak has been one of the most exciting players in the NHL this season. Playing on Boston’s top line with Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron, Pastrnak has 19 goals in just 27 games already this year, nearly a quarter of Boston’s 78 total goals. His 19 are second only to superstar Sidney Crosby, who has 22 in the same number of games. Altogether, the 20-year-old Pastrnak has 26 points, just one short of his career-best, and the season is not even halfway over. By year’s end, the Bruins could have their first 50-goal scorer since Cam Neely scored 50 in 1993-94.
The Bruins are obviously excited about Pastrnak’s season, but it has been even more crucial to their success given the unexpected absence of Vatrano. After leaving UMass-Amherst early to sign with the Bruins, Vatrano made the most of his first pro season in 2015-16. With the AHL’s Providence Bruins, Vatrano led the league with 36 goals (in just 36 games no less) and helped linemates Austin Czarnik and Seth Griffith finish in the top ten in scoring as well. With his scoring ability apparent, the Bruins called up the 22-year-old sniper and he contributed eight goals and three assists in 39 games in Boston. Going into the new season, Vatrano was expected to compete for a top six spot. Now that he has returned, Vatrano’s scoring punch will be a much-needed boost for the Bruins’ 25th-ranked offense. Vatrano is expected to skate on the left side of Providence teammate Czarnik and Riley Nash on Botston’s third line tonight.
While not quite keeping pace with Pastrnak, Marchessault has been an equally impressive and surprising revelation this season. After toiling in the minors for the Columbus Blue Jackets and Tampa Bay Lightning for years, Marchessault signed with Florida for two years at just $750K per year. That deal has already paid off, as Marchessault made the team out of camp and has already given the Panthers 10 goals and 10 assists this season. Florida is also struggling to score, with the 24th-ranked offense in the league, and Marchessault is their leading goal-scorer. They’ll be happy to get him back, and just in time for a game against a team that leads them in the division.
Islanders Sign Stephen Gionta
The New York Islanders announced today that they have signed veteran forward Stephen Gionta to a one-year, two-way contract. Gionta had been playing on an AHL contract with the Islanders’ affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, but will now have a shot at getting back to regular NHL minutes. New York has recalled Gionta following the finalization of his new deal.
Gionta’s relationship with the Islanders began way back in August, when the small, shifty center agreed to a professional tryout with the team. While playing a preseason game in September, Gionta broke his foot and was released from his PTO with an injury settlement. Following his recovery, Gionta inked a minor-league deal with the Tigers to get back in to playing condition. In seven games in Bridgeport, Gionta had just one goal and two assists, but did enough to show the Islanders brass watching that he was back to health and ready to contribute at the highest level.
The younger sibling of Brian Gionta, Stephen followed in his brother’s footsteps and played college hockey at Boston College. While Brian, a third-round pick of the New Jersey Devils in 1998, was busy leading the Devils throughout the mid-2000’s, Stephen signed with the club out of college and began working his way toward the NHL. After Brian left to sign with Montreal Canadiens in 2009, Stephen was able to fill one of the holes up front left, in part, by his departure in 2010-11. However, Gionta didn’t fully take over as a starter in New Jersey until 2013-14. Gionta scored 50 points in 270 games over parts of six seasons with the Devils, but will be remembered by fans for his dominance at the AHL level more, where he was the Lowell Devils all-time leader in games played and then the inaugural captain of the re-located Albany Devils. Capable of mentoring young players at the AHL level while also contributing in all aspects of the game at the NHL level, Gionta is a savvy signing by the Islanders.
Friedman On The Post-Freeze Trade Market
With the NHL’s Holiday Roster Freeze underway, there won’t be any big deals to announce in the coming days. No team is getting Kevin Shattenkirk for Christmas or Jason Zucker for Hanukkah. However, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Frieman is filling the down time with some ideas as to what may happen once the trade market re-opens in his “30 Thoughts”.
There have been deals made immediately following the Holiday Freeze in each of the past three seasons and the end of the freeze always kicks off an active two months of transactions leading up to the NHL Trade Deadline. Friedman warns though that the 2016-17 is a year like no other before. Friedman says “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a trade market as paralyzed as this one (due to) so little cap room, so many teams chasing the playoffs and the expansion draft looming.” The reason only minor deals have gone down over the first few months of the season is because no identifiable market has yet formed. With so few teams outside a reasonable shot at the postseason and front offices proceeding with caution in regards to the upcoming NHL Expansion Draft, the market is barren right now. Friedman, and all hockey fans, hope that some excitement is on the way, but he has his doubts that major moves are in the near future this season.
If one big piece does move, Friedman speculates it could be Toronto Maple Leafs winger James van Riemsdyk. Friedman explains that last year the power forward was completely off the table, but this year interested teams are being told that he could be available for the right price. It will definitely be a high price in the current seller’s market. The 27-year-old van Riemsdyk, who has one year remaining on his current contract, is a bona fide scorer and one of the best in the league at net front presence. He’s hit 30 goals once before, in 2013-14, and is on pace to do so again this season. If the rebuilding Leafs decide that they want more young talent or perhaps a top defenseman, van Riemsdyk could net them that return. Eric Staal was traded by the Carolina Hurricanes to the New York Rangers last season for two second-round picks and a top prospect, and he was in the final year of his contract. The Leafs will likely get more than that if they decide to move long-time leader van Riemsdyk.
One team that could be interested is the Pittsburgh Penguins. Although they are pressed for cap space, GM Jim Rutherford seemingly always finds a way to bring in the players he wants and remain salary cap compliant. As Friedman points out, it’s been unusually quiet for Rutherford and the Penguins so far, but with a chance to repeat as Stanley Cup champs, he believes they’ll make a move sooner rather than later. However, Friedman believes the target for Pittsburgh will be a defenseman. With Kris Letang currently injured and always an injury risk regardless, the Penguins may want some added depth. It will have to be a rental though, as Pittsburgh is already in a tough situation in regards to the looming expansion draft and four blue liners – Letang, Brian Dumoulin, Olli Maatta, and Derrick Pouliot – they would like to keep protected and an eye on re-signing Justin Schultz as well.
The Penguins’ biggest trade chip is goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. Despite his struggles in 2016-17, Fleury remains a valuable asset and Pittsburgh needs to move him before expansion to protect Matt Murray. Friedman believes the perfect partner would be the Dallas Stars, who continue to get uninspiring performances from the duo of Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi. Any trade would almost definitely require a one-for-one swap of goalis, and while both Stars keepers are signed to significant contracts through next season, the Penguins will take any deal they can get to ensure Murray’s protection and potentially open up some cap space.
Joining van Riemsdyk and Fleury as big names that have been floated around this season is Arizona Coyotes pending free agent Martin Hanzal. At this point, an extension seems unlikely and Hanzal is almost sure to be moved. Additionally, Friedman believes there could be a market for career Coyote Shane Doan and bounce-back goalie Mike Smith. At age 40, Doan is finally showing some wear and tear, as his numbers are way off the usual pace. If this is his final season, Doan has never been close to a Stanley Cup and deserves a shot. Teams would love to add the toughness and heart of the veteran forward. Meanwhile, Smith has been playing great of late and may be of interest to contenders as well. There is a strong chance that Arizona is leaning towards protecting young backup Louis Domingue over their starter in the expansion draft and may like to jettison Smith while his value is high. Don’t be surprised if Radim Vrbata becomes another name mentioned as heading out of Arizona.
Read up on all of Friedman’s thoughts on the trade market here and enjoy the Holiday Roster Freeze before your team inevitably makes a move or two in the new year.
Maple Leafs Promote Froese, Place Smith On IR
The Toronto Maple Leafs announced today that forward Ben Smith has been placed on injured reserve with an upper body injury. In his place, the team has called up forward Byron Froese. Froese is expected to be back in the lineup when the Leafs face the Colorado Avalanche tomorrow night.
Smith was originally considered day-to-day after sustaining an injury against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday, but after missing Toronto’s game against the Anaheim Ducks, a 3-2 loss on Tuesday night, as well as practice every day this week, he has been transferred to IR. Smith is currently in his second stint with the Maple Leafs within the calendar year. Smith was originally traded to Toronto at the NHL Trade Deadline last year in the James Reimer deal with the San Jose Sharks. He scored six points in 16 games to finish off the 2015-16 season. However, Smith then chose to sign a one-year, two-way deal with the Colorado Avalanche late this summer. After just four games in Denver, without recording a point, Smith was placed on waivers and promptly scooped up yet again by the Leafs. In 24 games thus far, mostly spent on the Leafs’ checking line, Smith has two goals and an assist. While his absence may not affect Toronto much on the scoreboard, Smith is known as a character guy and is a favorite of coach Mike Babcock. He will be missed in the Leafs’ locker room while he recovers from injury.
In his stead, Froese returns to the lineup after playing in 56 games in his rookie season last year. A strong-willed player who has had to work his way through years of AHL and ECHL action to get his NHL shot, Froese bring a much-needed intensity to the Toronto lineup. Froese was nearly a point-per-game player with the AHL Marlies in 2014-15 and was on a similar pace this season, earning a call up to the big league squad after failing to make the team out of camp. Though he was only able to score five points in limited action for the Maple Leafs in 2015-16, Froese has a chance to easily top those numbers on a superior Toronto team this season if he can carve out a role for himself and stay at the NHL level.
Snapshots: Ward, Schlemko, Petan, Nylander
The San Jose Sharks will make two noteworthy starters healthy scratches tonight. For the second time in three games, veteran winger Joel Ward will watch from the press box and he will now be joined by free agent acquisition defenseman David Schlemko. While the rest of the Pacific Division treads water, the Sharks have swam to the top spot with seven wins in their last ten. They’ve done so by injecting youth into the lineup to replace older players, and continue that trend tonight against the only other team making moves in the division, the Calgary Flames.
The drop-off has been steep for Ward this season. Although there were signs last year that the 34-year-old winger was slowing down, such as the struggles with puck possession and a career-worst -15 rating, Ward was still impressive in 2015-16. However, with just nine points in 31 games, due in part to a breakdown in shooting ability, Ward began to see a decreased role on special teams, the a loss of ice time, and now is just sitting out games. While there may be health concerns driving this poor play, the team has not hinted at such. Ward may just be showing the wear and tear of a long, physical career. But when you play alongside the ageless Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau, showing your age is not an excuse.
Schlemko’s case may have more to do with the team than the player. After a breakout season with the New Jersey Devils in 2015-16, in which his puck-moving ability finally resulted in evidence on the scoreboard, the Sharks grabbed Schlemko on July 1st with a four-year, $8.4MM contract. Perhaps his eight points in 28 games is seen as a disappointment to coach Peter DeBoer, but in fact Schlemko is well on his way to matching his 19 points from last year and has played a superior defensive game in San Jose compared to his time in New Jersey. It seems more likely that Schlemko’s scratch, a “coach’s decision”, is due to the Shark’s defensive depth. Sharing a building with your AHL affiliate allows for closer inspection of your young players, and the Sharks have seen strong play out of Barracudas Dylan DeMelo (in the lineup tonight) and Mirco Mueller this season. However, with six other bona fide NHL defenseman already on the roster, something has to give to get those young blue liners play time at the next level. Don’t expect Schlemko to be out of lineup for very long unless there is something else going on in with this situation.
In other league news:
- The Winnipeg Jets announced that they have activated Nic Petan from the injured reserve. The young forward has joined the team to start their two-game road trip and is expected to be in the lineup tonight against the Vancouver Canucks. Petan had seven points in 13 games to start the season before a lower body injury landed him on IR in November.
- The Buffalo Sabres hace made the decision to loan 2016 first-round pick Alexander Nylander to Team Sweden for the upcoming World Junior Championship. Nylander has been adjusting to the pro game with the AHL’s Rochester Americans this season and has 17 points in 29 games. However, he has not yet earned a call-up to Buffalo and there seemingly was not one coming in the near future. Instead, the Sabres see the value in sending Nylander to face the best young U-20 players on the planet at the World Juniors. He’ll join a strong Swedish side that has several players with NHL or AHL experience this season.
Matthew Lombardi Retires
It’s a name that hasn’t been heard in the NHL in a few years, and now never will again. Former two-way specialist and long-time Calgary Flames center Matthew Lombardi announced his retirement from pro hockey this weekend at the age of 34. The defensive forward has played the past three seasons with Geneve-Servette HC in the Swiss National League A.
Lombardi was once a rising star in the NHL. A third-round pick by the Flames in 2002, fresh off of a 130-point season for the QMJHL’s Victoriaville Tigres, Lombardi quickly became a highly regarded NHL prospect. He made his league debut in 2003-04, garnering Calder consideration as he scored 29 points and quickly established himself as a complete, defensively responsible player. In 2006-07, Lombardi put together his first 20-goal season as part of a 46-point effort. Altogether, Lombardi had 167 points in 347 games with the Flames and led the team in shorthanded time on ice and shorthanded goals during that span. However, by the NHL Trade Deadline in 2009, Lombardi had not progressed the way that Calgary had hoped. In need of more talent down the middle, the Flames traded Lombardi along with Brandon Prust and a first-round pick that would become Brandon Gormley to the Phoenix Coyotes for Olli Jokinen. Ironically, in the 2008-09 season split between Calgary and Phoenix, Lombardi matched his career high of 46 points and then topped it in his 2009-10 season in the desert with 53 points. Meanwhile, Jokinen performed worse on a point-per-game basis in the latter half of 2008-09 than Lombardi and had just 50 points in 2009-10 and was traded out of Calgary. Unfortunately, Lombardi was unable to keep besting his career bests. After signing a three-year, $10.5MM deal with the Nashville Predators in 2010, Lombardi suffered a concussion in just the second game of the season and missed the entire 2010-11 campaign. He would never suit up for the Predators again, as they traded he and Cody Franson to the Toronto Maple Leafs the following summer. Lombardi struggled to return to his pre-concussion performance level in Toronto, scoring just 18 points to the tune of -19 in 2011-12. Even when traded back to Arizona, where he had enjoyed the best year of his career, Lombardi struggled, scoring just eight points in 21 games as a part-time player for the Coyotes before being traded yet again, this time to the Anaheim Ducks.
Looking for a jump start to a career that had grown cold, Lombardi headed overseas to Switzerland in 2013 to play with the NLA’s Geneve-Servette. In his first year, Lombardi became a fan-favorite with a team-best 50 points in 46 games. However, injuries have slowed him down the past two years as he’s played in just 53 games. Yet, Lombardi continued to play with a scoring touch and a dominant defensive edge when active and was a leader for the team. Unsure about his future, Lombardi took the summer to decide on his commitment to hockey before calling it a career this weekend. Although he may not be as recognizable a name as some, Lombardi played a strong all-around game and had the potential to be ever better. Although that ceiling was never reached, Lombardi should be remembered for the success he did have and admired for always striving to be better.