Snapshots: Blues Injuries, Marleau, Berglund, Gretzky, Quartexx
After a forgettable performance in their first home Stanley Cup Finals game since 1970 on Saturday, the St. Louis Blues might get back a key player for Monday’s Game Four. Defenseman Vince Dunn was seen as a full participant in their optional practice on Sunday, according to NHL.com’s Lou Korac. While he’s still day-to-day, it’s extremely possible he may be ready to go on Monday.
The injury news may not be as promising for forward Robert Thomas, who has now missed two games with an undisclosed injury, although it is now believed it’s a wrist injury that the 19-year-old has suffered. Thomas practiced at Sunday’s optional skate, but NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti reports that he didn’t handle any pucks and was following Robby Fabbri in drills, suggesting he’s not ready to return to the lineup.
- With continued rumors surrounding Toronto Maple Leafs forward Patrick Marleau and his interest in moving to a west coast team, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that the Maple Leafs have already had discussions with the Arizona Coyotes, one of the three teams that Marleau is reportedly interested in playing for next season. LeBrun reports that Arizona didn’t show significant interest and he senses that the Coyotes would require a premium prospect sent along with Marleau if the team is willing to take Marleau’s contract off of Toronto’s hands.
- After walking away in December from millions of dollars, former Buffalo Sabres forward Patrik Berglund said on the Hockey Sense Podcast with Andy Strickland that he doesn’t regret leaving the Sabres and now that he’s had a chance to recuperate, intends to return to the ice next season. Berglund, who would have had three years remaining on the contract he signed back in 2017, choose not to report to the team in December and was suspended and then given his unconditional release and had his contract terminated. “I’m doing really well, back home in Sweden and just kind of hanging out right now, getting back to work through working out and doing all that and I’m looking forward to playing hockey next year somewhere, so it’s all good,” Berglund said. No word on whether he intends to return to the NHL or play overseas.
- The Edmonton Journal’s Kurt Leavins writes that while there has been no official word, it looks like Edmonton Oilers former interim general manager Keith Gretzky is likely to stay within the organization and could fill a dual role. He is expected to return to his old role of assistant general manager with an emphasis on the amateur side, while also having a bigger role with Edmonton’s AHL franchise, the Bakersfield Condors, which was the same role that Craig MacTavish held before he left the organization.
- In agent news, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the player agency Quartexx is merging with Darren Ferris and DHG Sports Agency to form an even bigger agency. Among the players that DHG brings over to Quartexx are Toronto’s Mitch Marner, New Jersey’s Taylor Hall, and Detroit’s Andreas Athanasiou and Filip Zadina. Friedman adds that the merger shouldn’t have any effect on any negotiations.
Latest On Jeff Skinner
The biggest question of the Buffalo Sabres offseason, at least now that the head coaching vacancy has been filled, is whether or not GM Jason Botterill can get Jeff Skinner under contract. The star forward is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent this summer, and would be one of the very best available players on the open market. Buffalo has maintained since they acquired him last year that they want to re-sign Skinner long-term, but to this point nothing has been set in stone. That might be changing soon, as Bob McKenzie said on NBC Sports last night that the two sides are getting closer:
The sense seems to be that there’s optimism, but not to the point where either side is entirely comfortable with the numbers that they’re exchanging. I do expect that there is likely to be more dialogue between Skinner’s [representatives] and the Buffalo Sabres. For quite some time now I’ve been saying that I think the sweet spot for a number is an eight-year deal somewhere between $8.5MM per year and $9.5MM per year.
Buffalo certainly wants him back, and Skinner would like to come back but they’ve just got to get the final massaging of the numbers to the point where both sides are happy. So it’s very close, but it’s not done. And until it’s done, it’s not done.
Skinner of course is coming off the best season of his career, scoring 40 goals and 63 points for the Sabres while finding instant chemistry with Jack Eichel. There is every reason in the world for the Sabres to want to retain Skinner, given how they’ve watched talented players like Ryan O’Reilly and Evander Kane sent packing in recent years but still haven’t found much success on the ice. Buffalo needs to start keeping their talent around if they ever want to stop the perpetual rebuild they’ve found themselves in for so long.
Still, an eight-year deal for any player comes with plenty of risk. While Skinner is one of the youngest free agents on the market, he also is a relatively one-dimensional player that doesn’t provide much if his goal scoring ability ever dries up. That has led to underwhelming seasons in the past, including his final one in Carolina in which he scored just 49 points in 82 games and ended up in a trade north. He only turned 27 a few weeks ago, but those 40 goals came on a likely unsustainable 14.9% shooting percentage. If that drops his career average of 11.2%, a $9MM+ contract might be a bit tougher to swallow.
Snapshots: World Championships, Reinhart, Ceci
The World Championships are over with Finland capturing the gold medal with a 3-1 win over Canada behind the play of a team-oriented roster, which included 18-year-old Kaapo Kakko, who will be a top-two pick in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft. However, the MVP of the tournament wasn’t from Finland as Canada’s Mark Stone was named the MVP. Russian goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy was named the top goaltender, while fellow countryman Nikita Kucherov was named the top forward at the World Championships. The Czech Republic’s Filip Hronek was named the top defenseman. Vasilevskiy, Hronek, Mikko Lehtonen, Jakub Voracek and William Nylander rounded out the All-Tournament team.
Meanwhile, Kakko along with teammate Henri Jokiharju, have already won the U18 World Championships, the U20 World Championships and now the Men’s World Championships. In fact Kakko and Jokiharju are the seventh and eighth players in IIHF history to win all three titles.
- The Buffalo Sabres are thrilled to see one of their own having a dominant World Championships as winger Sam Reinhart continues putting up impressive numbers since signing a two-year “show me” bridge deal last offseason. He answered that by putting up a career-high 65 points last season and is beginning to develop into that impact forward the team envisioned when they drafted him second-overall in 2014. Reinhart had three goals and five points in 10 games for Canada, which won the silver medal. The Buffalo News’ Mike Harrington adds that it was important for Reinhart to play well, especially with general manager Jason Botterill being a part of the management team and a new head coach in Ralph Krueger to impress. If he can continue his offensive success, he should be able to cash in next summer.
- Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun writes that the Ottawa Senators have already begun discussions with restricted free agent defenseman Cody Ceci and his agent, J.P. Barry, on a long-term contract. Ceci, who can be an unrestricted free agent in 2020-21, has expressed interest in returning to the team, but Garrioch writes that if the two sides fail to hammer out a deal, the team intends to trade Ceci before the start of the season. Ceci has been a key part of their defense as he averaged 22:34 of ATOI last season, but the team needs to know that he will be part of their long-term plans. Garrioch also mentions that the team is likely to move defenseman Ben Harpur as it doesn’t look like he fits into their defensive plans and is no longer waiver-exempt.
Metropolitan Division: Kessel, Martin, Sorokin, Lee
Just a few days ago, it was leaked that the Pittsburgh Penguins were closing in on a deal to send veteran forward Phil Kessel to Minnesota in a four-player trade. However, that trade hasn’t happened yet, suggesting that Kessel, who has can choose eight teams that he cannot reject a trade to, isn’t interested in playing for the Wild.
This complication could be a major issue for Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford, according to The Athletic’s Rob Rossi (subscription required), whose goal was to move Kessel and free up some cap room as early as possible, so the team could begin reshaping its roster. Once that deal was done, Rutherford could concentrate on his checklist that includes finalizing a new contract for goaltender Matt Murray, smoothing things over with Evgeni Malkin, working towards adding more youth throughout its franchise and possibly adding more picks in the early portion of the upcoming draft.
Yet, with Kessel flashing an unwillingness to be cooperative in where he gets traded, Rutherford’s job has gotten quite a bit harder. Rossi points out that Kessel’s value takes a big hit if he has little control on where Kessel goes, which could limit the team’s ability to cut salary this offseason. On top of that, now that everyone knows that Rutherford wants to move Kessel out, it will even be harder to get a good trade in the future.
- Sticking with the Penguins, TribLive’s Jonathan Bombulie reports that after not getting the head coaching position with the Ottawa Senators or Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins assistant coach Jacques Martin will return for a fifth season with the Penguins. That’s good news for Pittsburgh, as he was critical in running the team’s defense and penalty kill. Martin lost out on the Ottawa job to Toronto assistant coach D.J. Smith, while Buffalo hired Ralph Krueger.
- The Athletic’s Arthur Staple (subscription required) writes that it doesn’t look like the New York Islanders will be signing goaltending prospect Ilya Sorokin out of the KHL this season. The team had hoped that Sorokin would buy out his final season of his KHL contract after he led his team to the Gagarin Cup Championships this year and come over to New York a year early. However, Staple writes that the 23-year-old netminder, who posted a 1.16 GAA and a .940 save percentage in the regular season for CSKA Moscow and was equally good in the playoffs, has chosen to finish out his contract, so the earliest New York would see him was the 2020-21 season.
- The New York Post’s Brett Cyrgalis writes that now the New York Islanders have locked up center Brock Nelson to a six-year, $36MM deal, the team must now focus their attention on captain Anders Lee, who is rumored to be seeking a seven-year deal at $7MM per season. That may be too much for general manager Lou Lamoriello, but at the same time would leave a huge hole in their lineup if they let him walk, leaving Lamoriello with the task of replacing him with either Jordan Eberle or another underwhelming option.
Atlantic Notes: Kapanen, Johnsson, Ristolainen, Krejci
While the Toronto Maple Leafs know what to expect when it comes to the future contract for Mitch Marner, it isn’t as straight forward for their other two key restricted free agents in Kasperi Kapanen and Andreas Johnsson. Some of the reason for that is that young forwards with little experience who post an impressive season, often don’t get rewarded when they hit restricted free agency and that could easily be the case for the Maple Leafs, according to The Athletic’s Ian Tulloch (subscription required).
Kapanen, who hits restricted free agency for the first time, had an impressive season last year as he put up 20 goals and 44 points as a full-time player. However, before that, he had played a combined 55 games (and tallying just 10 points) over three separate seasons. Johnsson posted very similar numbers as he tallied 20 goals and 43 points in 73 games last season, but has played just 82 games in two years.
There are a number of comparables, however, including Ondrej Kase, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Phillip Danault, Anthony Mantha, Andreas Athanasiou, Teuvo Teravainen and Andre Burakovsky. All of them opted to sign a bridge deal with the hopes to prove to their respective teams that they can score like that consistently, suggesting that each of them may make anywhere from $2.7MM to $3.3MM AAV if they follow suit.
Of course, the problem could come down to offer sheets as both players would likely be prime candidates to sign offer sheets with other teams that could be closer to $4MM with a less risky compensation (just a second-round pick) which could cause quite a bit of havoc to Toronto’s salary cap situation.
- Despite multiple rumors that the Buffalo Sabres are considering dealing defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen, who has never been able to take that next step and become a star defenseman like the team thought would happen when he joined the franchise six years ago, TSN’s Darren Dreger (while appearing on WGR 550) said he doesn’t believe that the Sabres will entertain the notion of trading him. Dreger said he doesn’t believe it’s a move the team feels is critical, but general manager Jason Botterill is still open to listening to offers. Of course, one fear of moving him is that Ristolainen could take that next step wherever he gets traded to, which the Sabres would prefer to avoid.
- NHL.com’s Eric Russo writes that the Boston Bruins have been without center David Krejci for the past few days as the center has been out with an illness. He missed Thursday’s scrimmage and skipped practice on Saturday although head coach Bruce Cassidy said he hopes to have Krejci back on Sunday. “Precautionary,” said Cassidy. “I suspect we’ll see him tomorrow. That is the plan. If he’s not out tomorrow, now there’s a little bit of worry there. But right now, I believe he’ll be practicing tomorrow.”
Contract Talks With Jeff Skinner To Resume Next Week
- Contract talks between the Sabres and winger Jeff Skinner are expected to resume this week at the Draft Combine, reports Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic (Twitter link). Talks between the two sides have gone back several months but they’ve yet to find an agreement just yet. Complicating matters is that Skinner had a torrid start that saw him score 30 goals in his first 44 games. However, he had just ten in 38 contests the rest of the way. It’s plausible to think that Skinner will want to be paid for reaching the 40-goal mark while Buffalo GM Jason Botterill will be looking for a cheaper deal given his late struggles and concussion history.
Buffalo Sabres, Jeff Skinner Extension Talks “Extremely Positive”
The Buffalo Sabres needed to find a coach before doing anything else this offseason. Their new bench boss would be a huge influence on the direction of the team this summer, and now that they have Ralph Krueger locked up as their man, they can move onto other important decisions. One of those is regarding the pending unrestricted free agency of sniper Jeff Skinner, but things seem headed towards an extension if you ask GM Jason Botterill. He was on WGR 550 in Buffalo earlier this week and explained where things stand:
A contract is never done until you get it signed, but our discussions with Jeff have been extremely positive. I think it’s been a relationship that has worked out very well for the Buffalo Sabres, and I think it’s a relationship that has worked out very well for Jeff.
We went through the coaching search here, sometimes people get a little impatient, but we wanted to make sure we went through the process correctly. I think what’s going on with Jeff and ourselves now is there was never going to be an extension announced before a coach was hired. A coach is now hired, we’ll continue our discussions there and get the chance to sit down with Jeff and go over things with how we see him fitting in, and how Ralph is going to coach this team and how he will interact with his players and his structure moving forward. Then we’ll hopefully find a way to get a deal done. From our standpoint, our discussions with both Jeff and Newport Sports have been extremely positive.
Skinner, 27, was listed fourth on our Midseason UFA Power Rankings, behind only Erik Karlsson, Artemi Panarin and Mark Stone, who has since signed an extension with the Vegas Golden Knights. Even with the emergence of Matt Duchene into a postseason force for the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Sabres forward may be the second best offensive weapon available on the open market if he doesn’t reach a new deal in the next six weeks. After struggling to maintain his high pace last season in Carolina, a fresh start in Buffalo rejuvenated Skinner’s career and his instant chemistry with Jack Eichel led to a career-high 40 goals and 63 points. Easily pacing the Sabres in goals means his departure would be a devastating hit to their offense for 2019-20, but handing out a blank check is always risky.
Luckily, the Sabres have put themselves in an extremely flexible financial situation even with their $80MM commitment to Eichel. The team has just four one-way contracts that extend through the 2020-21 season—Eichel, Kyle Okposo, Carter Hutton and Rasmus Ristolainen—and plenty of money coming off the books if they want it to. A deal for Skinner that could reach as many as eight years with a healthy raise from his $5.75MM cap hit would come with a lot of expectations, but also not cripple the Sabres finances if he takes a slight step backwards. As one of the youngest players on the free agent market—Skinner turned 27 just three days ago—and with an outstanding 244 goals in 661 career games, there may be no better bet available.
Brandon Montour (Lower Body) Out For The Rest Of The World Championships
- Sabres defenseman Brandon Montour will miss the remainder of the World Championships due to a lower-body injury, Hockey Canada announced. The injury was sustained on Monday in their victory over Slovakia. There’s no timetable for how long he’ll miss beyond these next two weeks. Canada has one roster spot remaining and it’s all but a given now that they will use it on another blueliner.
Sabres Hire Ralph Krueger As Their New Head Coach
Buffalo’s coaching search has come to an end. Ralph Krueger will be the next head coach of the Sabres.
Krueger has largely been out of hockey for the last few years as he had served as the Director and Chairman of Southhampton FC since 2014. His only coaching during that time was with Team World at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey where they surprisingly reached the Gold Medal game.
The 59-year-old has three years of NHL coaching experience with Edmonton. He spent two years with them as an Associate Coach after being hired in 2010 following more than a decade with Switzerland’s national team. Krueger was then promoted to head coach for the lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign but was dismissed following the season. Interestingly, he’s already familiar with one of Buffalo’s assistants as Steve Smith was part of the staff during his time with the Oilers.
Krueger will be taking the place of Phil Housley who was let go at the end of the season. The Sabres have had a bit of a coaching carousel in recent years; this is the fifth new bench boss Buffalo has had since 2013.
As was the case during his time with Edmonton, Krueger will be tasked with trying to instil some structure to the Sabres. Despite changing their goaltending tandem over the summer, they still struggled to keep the puck out of the net as they ranked 23rd in the league in that category and their back end was prone to some untimely lapses in their own zone.
The heat will likely be on pretty quickly as Buffalo has now missed the playoffs for the last eight years and there isn’t much patience remaining from ownership to turn things around. However, GM Jason Botterill clearly feels that Krueger is the right one for the job; Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic notes (Twitter link) that the interview process was a thorough one with seven coaches getting considered.
Johan Larsson Linked To SHL
10:35am: Don’t count Larsson out of the Sabres plans just yet, as his agent Craig Oster confirmed to Lancy Lysowski of The Buffalo News there is no truth to the report out of Sweden. Larsson still needs a contract to continue with Buffalo, but Oster told Joe Yerdon of The Athletic that his client is “looking forward to continuing his NHL career next season.”
9:45am: It might be the end of the NHL road for Buffalo Sabres forward Johan Larsson, as according to Magnus Wahlman of Radiosporten in Sweden the 26-year old is heading back to Brynas for next season. Larsson played for Brynas before making the jump to North America in 2012, and is scheduled to be a restricted free agent this summer.
Even if Larsson didn’t return to the SHL, there is a chance that the Sabres would decide not to qualify him anyway. The defensive center posted just 14 points in 73 games this season and has 79 in his entire 331-game NHL career. With a 2018-19 cap hit of $1.475MM and arbitration rights this offseason, the Sabres could decide to move on and open up some more minutes for their young forward group.
In that way, his return to Sweden could be the best decision for both sides. Larsson never has been able to produce much offense at the NHL level, but previously dominated at the SHL and AHL levels. Selected in the second round nine years ago by the Minnesota Wild, he was part of the return for Jason Pominville in 2013. A key piece, he had scored 37 points in 62 games as a rookie for the Houston Aeros and made his NHL debut at the age of 20.
The Sabres aren’t exactly in a cap crunch, but freeing up another ~$2MM could have an impact this summer for the team. They are still trying to re-sign top goal scorer Jeff Skinner, and should have enough room to get involved in some of the bigger free agents if they so choose.