Snapshots: Nylander, Hextall, Pilut
Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock did nothing to curb his outspoken nature when asked about William Nylander again today, telling reporters including Jonas Siegel of The Athletic that he still believes that the young forward will be on the team but the organization won’t beg him to return. Meanwhile, Frank Seravalli of TSN tweeted this morning that the Philadelphia Flyers had been in touch with Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas in his recent “last call” for trade offers. TSN broadcaster Gord Miller also heard that from a source in Philadelphia, and detailed what those talks were about:
This was the previous regime that was contacted by the Leafs on the weekend, and the Leafs asked for—they wanted to tap into the Flyers’ young D. Right away the Flyers said “Ivan Provorov? Not touchable.” So Provorov, who scored 17 goals last year is not on the table. Now again, this is the old regime. So the focus turned to Shayne Gostisbehere.
When Miller references the “old regime” he is speaking about former Flyers GM Ron Hextall, who was let go this week along with assistant GM Chris Pryor. The conversation regarding a fit between the Flyers and Nylander continues, but is highly speculative at that point especially given the changes in the Philadelphia front office since this apparent negotiation happened. Still, it only lends credence to the idea that Dubas and the Maple Leafs have been doing their due diligence in preparation for the deadline tomorrow, when there will finally (hopefully) be a conclusion one way or the other regarding Nylander.
- Speaking of Hextall’s recent firing, the former Philadelphia GM spoke with the media today and expressed his shock at the entire situation. Hextall did not see his dismissal coming, and was “stunned” when team president Paul Holmgren delivered the news. Hextall is of course a legend in Philadelphia from his playing days, including being one of the rare players to ever win a Conn Smythe trophy as playoff MVP despite losing in the Stanley Cup Finals. Still, his tenure as GM had not yet resulted in any deep playoff success and upper management had grown tired of waiting.
- With all eyes still on the Buffalo Sabres as they continue their fight for the Atlantic Division crown just a year after finishing last in the NHL, a new face will be scrutinized under the lights. Lawrence Pilut will make his NHL debut according to Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News, despite the recent recall of Matt Tennyson. That gives Buffalo fans another highly anticipated Swedish defenseman to watch, and one that brings plenty of offensive upside. Pilut had 22 points in 16 games for the Rochester Americans before his call-up, and is still just 22 years old.
Minor Transactions: 11/30/18
As we close in on the end of November, there are storylines aplenty around the league. William Nylander‘s contract situation should come to a close, while the Philadelphia Flyers continue to search for a new GM. Meanwhile, the Buffalo Sabres and Colorado Avalanche are pushing for the top spot in the entire NHL. With five games on the schedule for tonight, we’ll keep track of all the minor moves right here.
- Those Sabres have recalled Matt Tennyson from the minor leagues while placing Marco Scandella on injured reserve. That may mean it’s time for talented young defenseman Lawrence Pilut to make his debut, trying to prove he can bring his elite minor league production to the NHL.
- Andrew Mangiapane is on his way up to join the Calgary Flames after a great start in the AHL. The 22-year old forward has 14 points in 13 games for the Stockton Heat, continuing his strong minor league career. The Flames welcome in the Los Angeles Kings tonight as they try to extend their lead in the Pacific Division.
- The Anaheim Ducks have made a defensive swap, sending Andrej Sustr to the minor leagues in exchange for Josh Mahura. The 20-year old Mahura made his NHL debut earlier this year and is a top prospect for the Ducks, armed with explosive skating ability and offensive upside. They also assigned Kalle Kossila back to San Diego to create a roster spot for Hampus Lindholm who was activated off injured reserve.
- After acquiring Calvin Pickard yesterday off waivers, the Arizona Coyotes have assigned goaltender Hunter Miska back to the AHL. Miska played one game with the Coyotes but had to know his time was coming to an end with Antti Raanta and Darcy Kuemper both also working their way back from injury. In his place, the Coyotes have recalled Mario Kempe once again.
Steve Greeley Latest To Be Linked To Flyers GM Search
Paul Holmgren and the Philadelphia Flyers are underway on their search for a new GM after the team fired Ron Hextall yesterday, and early indications were that Chuck Fletcher and Ron Francis were on the list of candidates for the job. Add Steve Greeley to that list, as Frank Seravalli of TSN reports that the Buffalo Sabres assistant GM is on the Flyers’ radar. The team has not reached out to the Sabres for permission to talk to him, but it’s easy to see why they would be interested.
Greeley, 38, is a former minor pro player who spent several years with the Los Angeles Kings as a scout under then-GM Dean Lombardi, who happens to now be a senior advisor with the Flyers. He then joined David Quinn‘s staff at Boston University as associate head coach, before moving to the New York Rangers’ player personnel department. Jason Botterill hired him after taking over in Buffalo, but it was easy to see that Greeley was on the fast track to run a team of his own one day. Whether that happens in Philadelphia is still obviously undecided.
At a press conference today to explain the Hextall firing, Holmgren explained that while the organization is still in a fine position going forward the upper management felt that a new voice was needed to take them “to the next level.” One has to wonder whether that will be someone without any experience in the GM role like Greeley, or a more veteran name like Fletcher or Francis. For what it’s worth, neither of those two could ever get their franchises—Minnesota and Carolina respectively—to that next level when in the GM position.
What Your Team Is Thankful For: Buffalo Sabres
As the holiday season approaches, PHR will take a look at what teams are thankful for as the season heads past the one-quarter mark. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. Let’s take a look at what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Buffalo Sabres.
What are the Sabres most thankful for?
Can Sabres’ fans be any more thankful for the fact that the team, the same team that finished last in the standings one season ago, is currently in first place in the entire NHL with 34 points. That may be short lived as several teams just beneath them play before the Sabres go for their 10th straight win on Tuesday, but few could have predicted the success for second-year general manager Jason Botterill and head coach Phil Housley this season.
The Sabres shook up their entire roster from a year ago and made critical additions at every level, which included adding Jeff Skinner to their top line on offense, adding a number of solid players to their depth chart including Vladimir Sobotka, Patrik Berglund, Casey Mittelstadt, Conor Sheary and Tage Thompson, while adding 2018 first-overall pick Rasmus Dahlin (who has been as good as advertised) on defense. That doesn’t include the team’s success in goal. Those moves have stabilized the team’s defense as they ranked sixth in the league in goals against this year as well as having one of the best penalty killing units in the league as well.
Who are the Sabres most thankful for?
While it would make sense to put Skinner and his 18 goals in this spot, we can save him for later. The tandem that has really impressed this year has been the play of the Sabres goaltenders Carter Hutton and Linus Ullmark. The team, which struggled a year ago with Robin Lehner and Chad Johnson has thrived this year. Much of that could be the improvement of the team’s defense, but at the same time both goalies have been better than anyone had expected.
While Hutton was the top goaltender on the market this offseason, most people felt that Hutton was not capable of being a No. 1 goaltender, often comparing him to Carolina’s Scott Darling. However, Hutton has been better than advertised, already netting 11 wins and posting a solid 2.53 GAA and a .919 save percentage in 18 appearances. The untested Ullmark also has looked good, although the team has been careful to not overwhelm the 25-year-old. However in five appearances, he’s also posted a 2.52 GAA and an even more impressive .926 save percentage.
What would the Sabres be even more thankful for?
More production from their youth. The team is very young and is loaded with talent at the AHL level as well. And while players like Dahlin have been impressive, the team could take another step in the right direction if they can develop some of their young core even quicker. Dahlin has played well sharing No. 1 defenseman duties with Rasmus Ristolainen, but he’s capable of even more. The team has gotten just four goals from Mittelstadt and would like to see him develop into a consistent presence in the top six at some point.
Others like Thompson, who has suddenly starting showing off some offense with three goals in his last four games, as well as Evan Rodrigues need to continue to develop as well to allow the team to reach peak efficiency both now and in the future. The team is also loaded with a number of prospects including defensemen Lawrence Pilut and Brendan Guhle, while they have several potential options at forward as well in C.J. Smith, Daniel O’Regan and Alexander Nylander waiting for an opportunity.
What should be on the Sabres’ Holiday Wish List?
The team has made it clear they intend to work on an extension with Skinner next month, but the team really needs to make sure it can lock down the 26-year-old who leads the team in scoring this year and is only six goals away from beating his 24 goals from last season with Carolina. Skinner’s deal will be the main contract the team must deal with this offseason as the team has just three unrestricted free agents (Jason Pominville and Matt Moulson being the others). Skinner’s pairing with Jack Eichel has produced a powerful top line in the NHL and should only get better as the two continue to get comfortable with each other.
With the expiring contracts of Moulson and Pominville, although the team may want to attempt to retain the latter, there should be plenty of money to lock up Skinner now, so they won’t have to worry about him losing him this summer.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Minor Transactions: 11/23/18
The NHL was off yesterday while America celebrated Thanksgiving, but is back with a bang today with 30 of 31 teams taking part. The action gets kicked off this afternoon with the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers battling in a Metropolitan Division matchup. With all the action there might not be a ton of minor moves, but we’ll keep track of them either way.
- The Minnesota Wild have recalled Kaapo Kahkonen from the minor leagues to backup Alex Stalock today, as Devan Dubnyk is dealing with an illness. The young goaltender was up under emergency conditions and was sent back to the Iowa Wild following the game.
- The opposite has happened for the Arizona Coyotes, as they’ve sent Hunter Miska back to the minor leagues. That’s because Antti Raanta has been activated off injured reserve, a huge turn of events for the Coyotes as they chase a playoff spot in the Western Conference.
- Eric Gryba has been reassigned to the AHL by the New Jersey Devils, as Sami Vatanen and Brian Boyle have been activated by the team. Joey Anderson, who suffered a lower-body injury earlier this week, has taken their place on injured reserve.
- The New York Rangers have brought up winger Tim Gettinger from Hartford of the AHL. The 20-year-old is off to a solid start to his first professional season, tallying seven goals and four assists through 20 games with the Wolf Pack.
- Following their game against Edmonton, the Anaheim Ducks returned defenseman Andy Welinski to San Diego of the AHL. The 25-year-old has split the season between the NHL and AHL, picking up an assist in nine games with Anaheim while logging just over 15 minutes per game. He has been more productive in the minors with five points in seven contests with the Gulls.
- Lawrence Pilut‘s NHL debut will have to wait. The Buffalo Sabres announced that they’ve returned the defenseman back to Rochester of the AHL following their victory over Montreal. His first season in North America has been a productive one as tied for the AHL lead in points with 22 in just 15 games but the Sabres opted to not give him a shot after being recalled earlier this week.
Jeff Skinner, Buffalo Sabres Expected To Start Extension Talks Next Month
The Buffalo Sabres are on a roll, and a lot of their recent success can be traced back to Jeff Skinner. The talented winger is on pace for 55 goals this season and is an early candidate for steal of the offseason after coming over to Buffalo for the low price of three non-first-round draft picks and prospect Cliff Pu. If the Sabres can convince Skinner to re-sign in Buffalo the trade will look even better, at least if they can get him at a reasonable cap hit. That’s what made the report earlier this month that Skinner was looking for a salary upwards of $9MM per season a little scary, given that the team may not want to commit that much cap space to a player so early into their rebuild.
As we wrote when the report surfaced, the salary figure seemed like an attempt from the Skinner camp to use their early leverage—the kind that they earned from him playing so well this season—to frame upcoming negotiations. It wasn’t clear if the two sides were even talking yet, something we were given more clarity on today. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic tweets that the two sides haven’t discussed anything but they will get together next month to discuss where Skinner’s future lies. Obviously it’s not clear where exactly that original number came from, but you can bet that the Sabres want to get into a room with their leading goal scorer before making any judgement on whether they’ll be able to fit him in.
Skinner, 26, is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent less than two months after his 27th birthday and would be an attractive option for basically the entire league. Though he obviously wore out his welcome in some way for the Carolina Hurricanes, there was little doubt he could still be an effective scoring option in the NHL. Skinner now has 219 goals through his first 601 NHL games, a rate that puts him just a hair under 30 per season. The fact that he’s scheduled to hit the market at such a relatively young age is extremely appealing for anyone looking to invest heavily in him, hoping that they’ll have four, perhaps five seasons of very good production.
Among those teams interested though will surely be the Sabres, who are experiencing real success for the first time in years. Skinner has been a big part of that, and with other young players still on their way there is lots to look forward to in Buffalo. Jack Eichel‘s $10MM cap hit already eats up a lot of their salary structure, but other than that contract they’re relatively free of long-term commitments. There’s work to be done down the road with extensions for Sam Reinhart, Rasmus Dahlin and Casey Mittelstadt, but getting Skinner under extension would give them some cost (and scoring) certainty to build around.
Lawrence Pilut Recalled By Buffalo Sabres
Amidst the buzz of the 2018 draft season, it wouldn’t have been hard to miss the news that of an undersized defenseman from Sweden signing with the Buffalo Sabres. After all, Sabres fans had their eyes set on a much different Swedish prize, the eventual first-overall pick Rasmus Dahlin. The top pick has been as advertised, stepping right onto the NHL blue line and showing off his dazzling skill set, but that other signing may be joining him very soon. The Sabres have recalled defenseman Lawrence Pilut from the minor leagues, moving Patrik Berglund to injured reserve to make room.
With all the flash and publicity that Dahlin brings, there’s plenty of reason to think that Pilut could have almost as much impact right away. The 22-year old is the reigning SHL Defenseman of the Year after scoring 38 points in 52 games for HV71, and has torn apart the AHL as a rookie this year. In 15 games with the Rochester Americans, Pilut is tied for the league scoring title with 22 points and is a +16, good for second among all players.
There should be real excitement around Pilut, and while the comparison to Dahlin may be a big hyperbolic his presence should only add more skill to an already dynamic young team. The Sabres have rode that young core to a 13-6-2 record this season and are currently on a six-game winning streak as they look to challenge for a playoff spot in the Atlantic Division.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Jeff Skinner Looking For Big Raise After Strong Start
The 2019 unrestricted free agent class was supposed to be extremely deep and productive. Tyler Seguin, Drew Doughty, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and many others were scheduled to hit the open market in a wave of superstars that we had never seen before. Those players have already signed long-term extensions though, and others should be expected to follow suit. That leaves the amount of actually game-changing players available next summer drastically reduced, giving those who remain unsigned some additional leverage in contract negotiations. That leverage was on display today when Jeremy White of WGR Buffalo radio tweeted that Jeff Skinner‘s early ask is an eight-year contract extension somewhere between $9.0-9.5MM per season. He’s currently on the last season of a six-year deal that carries a $5.725MM cap hit, and has a full no-movement clause.
There is obviously still plenty of work to be done in a potential extension of that magnitude, especially given that the Sabres can’t technically sign Skinner to an eighth year until after this season’s trade deadline. That salary number shows how the market has shrunk, and reflects on Skinner’s outstanding performance early this year. After being acquired by the Sabres this summer, the 26-year old sniper is off to the best start of his career, scoring 14 goals and 21 points in his first 20 games. That is a 57-goal pace for the season, and though it seems extremely unlikely he reaches those heights he is obviously enjoying playing with his talented new linemates. It’s not like Skinner hasn’t been an effective goal scorer in the past, as the seventh-overall pick from 2010 scored 31 as a teen-aged rookie and has twice broken the 30-goal mark since then. His career high came in 2016-17 when he recorded 37 goals in just 79 games with the Carolina Hurricanes.
Buffalo meanwhile have gotten off to a strong start after huge changes to their roster in the offseason. Not only did Skinner join the forward group, but Ryan O’Reilly and other assets were traded away for additional players like Vladimir Sobotka, Patrik Berglund, Tage Thompson and Conor Sheary, while Casey Mittelstadt and Rasmus Dahlin have become full-time options as rookies.
Skinner has fit in beautifully in Buffalo, but there should be some pause before handing out a market-setting extension like the one proposed. The Sabres already have $10MM per season locked into captain Jack Eichel, and have to be sure that they’re handing out their next big deal to the right player. If young options like Mittelstadt and Dahlin develop as expected, it won’t be long until there needs to be ample cap space to get them under long-term deals of their own. That’s not to say that Skinner isn’t a desirable asset though, as the early start he was given in the NHL means he’ll reach unrestricted free agent status less than two months after his 27th birthday. Paying a UFA is always dangerous, but the risk is at least reduced somewhat when they are that young.
For now, the Sabres are likely just focused on their game tonight against the Pittsburgh Penguins and their spot in the Atlantic Division. Buffalo sits third in the standings behind the Tampa Bay Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs, and well within the playoff race through a quarter of the season. With a 12-6-2 record and a positive goal differential, there is likely plenty of good will to spread around among the team’s newcomers. GM Jason Botterill and company will have some tough decisions coming up, but at least they are how to improve an already improving team, and no longer how to maximize their odds in the NHL draft lottery.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Dallas Acquires Taylor Fedun From Buffalo
The Stars have added some defensive depth, acquiring defenseman Taylor Fedun from the Sabres in exchange for a conditional 2020 seventh-round pick. Both teams have announced the swap. The pick will only be conveyed if Fedun plays in 25 or more games with Dallas this season.
Fedun has played in nine games so far this season with Buffalo’s AHL affiliate in Rochester, collecting five assists. He will remain at the minor league level for the time being as the Stars have already assigned him to AHL Texas.
The 30-year-old has seen action at the NHL level in each of the last five seasons, amassing 46 games between the Oilers, Sharks, Canucks, and Sabres. Overall, he has two goals and 13 assists in that span while averaging a respectable 14:08 per night in ice time. He’s in the final season of a two-year, two-way deal that pays the league minimum $650K in the NHL and $300K in the AHL.
Dallas is in need of some depth on the back end as they’ve been bit by the injury bug. Connor Carrick, John Klingberg, Stephen Johns, and Marc Methot are all banged up at the moment which has stretched their organizational depth pretty thin. Fedun has shown in the past that he can be called upon when injuries strike so even though he’ll start in the minors, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him called up before too long.
Eastern Notes: Zacha, Dahlin, Neuvirth, Hagg, Martin
While there were a number of people that were shocked when the New Jersey Devils assigned Pavel Zacha to Binghamton of the AHL, head coach John Hynes felt that the team needed to do something that would have an impact on the 21-year-old first-rounder. Despite having already played 150 NHL games in his career, Zacha was pointless in 10 games and Hynes felt just scratching him wasn’t going to be enough to spark him, according to Chris Ryan of NJ.com.
“To scratch him one game and put him back in, we’re still not in a position right now where we could rely on him in key situations, and that’s what we need from him,” Hynes said. “We think it’s important that it’s not, ‘Hey, sit in the stands for one game and watch.’ That is effective in some situations, but we need him to go down and play, and play a lot of minutes and play in situations and earn his confidence back and get his game back.”
The sixth-overall pick in 2015, Zacha hasn’t developed into the franchise player the team thought they were getting when they drafted him. He has so far only managed to total eight goals in two straight seasons, suggesting the team may have needed to give him time in the AHL before bringing him to the NHL. Zacha, who has played in just three AHL games in his career, needs to have time to regain his confidence while playing lots of minutes, something that he wasn’t going to get with the Devils.
- While there is no official word on the injury, Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, who was forced to leave Saturday’s game against Ottawa in the second period after taking a shot off his leg, is expected to travel with the team to New York, suggesting that his injury may not be too serious, according to the Buffalo News’ Mike Harrington. There is swelling, which means the team won’t be able to determine his status until tomorrow, according to The Athletic’s Jon Vogl. The team plays the Rangers on Sunday.
- The Philadelphia Flyers announced that goaltender Michal Neuvirth has left the team and returned to Philadelphia to be checked out by doctors and could soon find himself back on injured reserve. The 30-year-old injury-prone goalie played in one game since being recalled from a conditioning stint on Oct. 25th, but allowed six goals in that lone start to the Islanders two days later, and now currently holds a .727 save percentage.
- Charlie O’Connor of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that one interesting development in Philadelphia is the offensive improvement surrounding Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Robert Hagg. The 23-year-old sophomore currently leads all defenseman, including Shayne Gostisbehere and Ivan Provorov, with seven points (just two points shy of his totals last year). The scribe says that Hagg has seemed more comfortable joining the rush and going deeper into the offensive zone than he was willing last season.
- New York Islanders head coach Barry Trotz said fourth-line forward Matt Martin remains day-to-day with an upper-body injury, according to Newsday’s Andrew Gross. The 29-year-old has combined with Cal Clutterbuck and Casey Cizikas to form an impressive energy line for the Islanders. Martin already has equaled last year’s goal total of three in just 11 games.