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Flames Notes: Yelesin, Smith, Neal, Stajan

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In his latest “31 Thoughts” column, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman needed just one “thought” to drop several pieces of interesting information about the Calgary Flames. The insider begins with KHL defenseman Alexander Yelesin. Friedman follows up on his initial report about the Flames’ interest in the Russian rearguard by saying that the question is not “if” but “when” when it comes to a deal getting done. KHL free agency opened today, so it’s only a matter of time before a contract becomes official it seems. The 23-year-old is undersized and not overly productive, but that hasn’t stopped NHL teams from toying with the idea of signing him for several years due to his skating and dependable defensive play. Calgary will finally be the team to pull the trigger, despite their depth on the blue line. As of now, Yelesin would be behind Mark Giordano, Noah Hanifin, Travis Hamonic, and T.J. Brodie and competing for ice time with youngsters Rasmus Andersson, Juuso Valimaki, and Oliver Kylington. That’s a lot of capable defensemen in the mix and trade rumors will no doubt swirl this off-season about the Flames moving one of this group.

  • Next, Friedman mentions that the Flames have not yet closed the door on a return for veteran goaltender Mike Smith. The 37-year-old UFA netminder split starts with David Rittich this season, who also needs a new contract as a restricted free agent. Friedman doubts that a new deal to keep Smith in Calgary would be longer than a year, but the team could opt to go with the tandem that led them to the best record in the West this season for one more go-round. Smith put up pedestrian numbers in the regular season – an .898 save percentage and 2.72 GAA – but was significantly better in 2017-18 and could have another strong campaign in him. The postseason showed that, as Smith was arguably the Flames’ best player in their unexpected first-round loss. There will be other options available to Calgary on the free agent market and via trade, but if they are unable to add any of their top options, don’t be surprised to see them go with the devil they know.
  • Finally, Friedman writes that the problematic James Neal is not yet at the point that GM Brad Treliving would entertain attaching a high pick to make a move. After signing a five-year, $28.75MM contract with Calgary last summer, Neal responded with far-and-away the worst season of his career, recording just 19 points in 63 games (his previous low had been 37). It wasn’t just a case of poor PDO for the 31-year-old forward either; Neal often looked slow and lethargic in all three zones all season long and even more so in the playoffs. There’s no telling whether Neal can bounce back next year or whether this is only a sign of things to come, but the Flames will at least wait to find out if a fair trade doesn’t come around this summer. With just late first- and third-round picks in the first 100 selections of this year’s draft, it is no surprise that the team is unwilling to move a high pick this year or next year to rid themselves of Neal’s contract before giving the respected veteran scorer another chance to prove himself.
  • In non-Friedman news out of Calgary, long-time Flames forward Matt Stajan has announced his retirement. Stajan wrapped up a 16-year NHL career split between Calgary and the Toronto Maple Leafs when he departed for Europe last season at age 35. Stajan was actually very productive this season for German club EHC Munchen, registering 33 points in 52 games en route to a finals appearance, but it wasn’t enough to keep him in the game. Munchen released a statement today that named Stajan as one of several players leaving the team by way of retirement. Also hanging them up is fellow long-time NHLer and leading scorer John Mitchell and captain Michael Wolf, as EHC has their work cut out for them this off-season. Stajan leaves the game with more than 1000 NHL appearances to his credit, along with over 400 points and his reputation as a reliable two-way winger. Don’t be surprised to see Stajan end up back in hockey in another capacity before too long, perhaps even with the Flames.

 

Pacific Notes: Brodie, Haula, Nyquist

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With an early and somewhat shocking first-round exit in the playoffs, many feel that the Calgary Flames are likely to make some changes this season to continue building their team into a contender. With plenty of salary cap issues already upon the franchise, the Flames will likely have to move on or trade some of their players in order to free up some much-needed cap room.

In a roundtable discussion, Postmedia’s Danny Austin, Wes Gilbertson and Kristin Andersen suggested several of those players, with defenseman T.J. Brodie potentially being the top name on the list. The 28-year-old Brodie has been a solid defenseman in Calgary for years, but with the emergence of rookies Rasmus Anderson, Juuso Valimaki and Oliver Kylington, the team might be better served by trading Brodie for another top-six forward after the disastrous signing of James Neal.  Brodie, who will still has one year remaining on the five-year, $23.2MM contract he signed in 2014 at an AAV of $4.65MM, might garner quite a bit of interest from teams that need to upgrade their defense.

Other suggestions of players who likely won’t be back included 37-year-old UFA goaltender Mike Smith, who might be let go to give David Rittich a chance to become the starting goaltender next season, and forward Michael Frolik, who has had issues with the team due to his lack of playing time this season.

  • The Athletic’s Jesse Granger (subscription required) profiles the injury of Vegas Golden Knights forward Erik Haula, who suffered a gruesome knee injury on Nov. 6 that saw his season come to an end after appearing in just 15 games. Interesting enough, he was close to returning to Vegas’ lineup during the playoffs had the team not been eliminated by San Jose in the first round. “He was probably a week to 10 days away from being able to practice with the team, and maybe three weeks away from playing,” Vegas general manager George McPhee said. However, Haula will scale back his aggressive rehab after the Golden Knights’ exit and now has four months to get close to 100% to begin next season. He is already penciled in to center the team’s third line next to wingers Alex Tuch and KHL star Nikita Gusev next season, which should be one of the strongest third lines in the league.
  • The San Jose Sharks were forced to play without one of their top players in Game 1 in Joe Pavelski. The veteran forward suffered an upper-body injury in Game 7 of their first-round series after he hit his head following being cross-checked by Vegas’ Cody Eakin. However, despite being without Pavelski against the Colorado Avalanche in Game 1, head coach Peter DeBoer praised his replacement, Gustav Nyquist, who moved up to the team’s second line and scored a goal in the team’s 5-2 win over Colorado, according to Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. “I thought he was really good,” said DeBoer. “We’ve been waiting for that kind of impact. The effort has been there, but we haven’t had the impact on the game like we got last night, which is something he needs to build on and bring some more of.” Nyquist will continue to play on the second line until Pavelski is ready to return. Pavelski is currently listed as day-to-day.

Flames’ Exit Provides Boost For Team USA

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The Calgary Flames weren’t able to create enough offense against the Colorado Avalanche in their first round series and hit the showers early, but not all of them will be heading to the golf course right away. Johnny Gaudreau, Derek Ryan and Noah Hanifin were all announced as the newest additions to Team USA for the upcoming IIHF World Championship.

The trio joins a group that already included stars like Patrick Kane, Jack Eichel, Dylan Larkin, Ryan Suter and Alex DeBrincat, making them quite the formidable group heading into the tournament. The US has not won a gold medal at the tournament for nearly 60 years, but did win bronze in 2018 with Gaudreau and Ryan on the team.

The full roster now sits at 20 players:

G Thatcher Demko
G Cayden Primeau
G Cory Schneider

D Quinn Hughes
D Alec Martinez
D Brady Skjei
D Ryan Suter
D Noah Hanifin

F Alex DeBrincat
F Jack Eichel
F Luke Glendening
F Patrick Kane
F Clayton Keller
F Chris Kreider
F Dylan Larkin
F James van Riemsdyk
F Frank Vatrano
F Colin White
F Johnny Gaudreau
F Derek Ryan

USA Hockey will be allowed to add five more skaters before the tournament starts on May 10th. One of those may be Jack Hughes when he is finished with the U18 World Championship, which will wrap up this weekend. The potential first-overall pick has 16 points in five games this season, giving him 28 total at the tournament which breaks the previous American record of 26 set by Phil Kessel. In fact, Hughes is within striking distance of the overall records both in a single tournament—Nikita Kucherov’s 21-point performance in 2011—and career, set by Alex Ovechkin at 31 points.

Poll: Who Is The Stanley Cup Favorite Now?

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If you had asked a crowd of hockey fans before the playoffs began to put down a bet on who would win the Stanley Cup, there would likely have been one resounding favorite. The Tampa Bay Lightning had just completed a historic 62-win season and had everything you would want in a team. Top scorers, including potential Hart Trophy winner Nikita Kucherov who led the league with 128 points this season. Shutdown defenders like Victor Hedman and Ryan McDonagh, both playoff-tested from years of postseason play. One of the best goaltenders in the world in Andrei Vasilevskiy, a Vezina finalist for the second consecutive season.

None of that mattered though, after the Columbus Blue Jackets erased a 3-0 first period lead in game one and never looked back. Tampa Bay was swept out of the first round, and weren’t the only favorite to be overcome. All four division leaders were knocked out this season, the first time that has happened in the history of the NHL. The Calgary Flames (107 points), Washington Capitals (104) and Nashville Predators (100) all saw their playoff run end early. Even other 100-point teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs and Pittsburgh Penguins were ousted, though this time by even better regular season teams that were forced to face higher seeds than in playoff formats of the past.

The second round started last night, with the Boston Bruins and St. Louis Blues taking early series leads. Are they now the default favorites to go all the way? What about the upstart wild card teams like the Colorado Avalanche and Carolina Hurricanes who have more young talent than they know what to do with?

If that same crowd were asked today to name a favorite, it might not be as easy. Cast your vote below and make sure to leave your thoughts in the comment section!

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Snapshots: KHL, Capitals, Lindholm

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It appears as though a pair of defenders are set to return to the KHL after uninspiring seasons in the NHL, as multiple reports including Darren Dreger of TSN and Pekka Jalonen of Iltalehti have noted that Igor Ozhiganov and Bogdan Kiselevich are likely headed back to Russia. Both players will see their one-year contracts expire on July 1st and were sitting in the press box by the end of the season.

Of note, Ozhiganov is actually scheduled to become a restricted free agent meaning the Toronto Maple Leafs could retain his rights if they issue a qualifying offer. The team though didn’t play him much down the stretch or at all in the playoffs, as Jake Muzzin’s arrival pushed him out of the lineup. Even with Toronto’s lack of right-handed options, there didn’t seem to be a fit between head coach Mike Babcock and Ozhiganov, who averaged just 14 minutes a night through his 53 games. Kiselevich was acquired by the Winnipeg Jets at the deadline to give them a bit of depth for a long playoff run, but never actually suited up with his new team. In 32 games for the Florida Panthers, he recorded eight points.

  • The Washington Capitals were pushed right up against the cap all season, and it’ll cost them next year. Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post points out that the Capitals will face a $1.15MM overage penalty against next year’s cap because of the performance bonuses paid out to Brooks Orpik, Jakub Vrana and Jonas Siegenthaler. While paying out performance bonuses is normally a good thing that means players exceeded expectations, it will make it tough on the Capitals who are going to be cap-strapped next season. The team needs to sign Andre Burakovsky and Vrana to new deals as restricted free agents and may have to let Brett Connolly walk into unrestricted free agency as he deserves a big raise after his first 20-goal season. There are obviously a lot of moving parts to keep an eye on in Washington.
  • Team Sweden looked like it might need a bit more firepower up front for the 2019 IIHF World Championship when announcing their preliminary roster, and they’re getting a bit of help from the Calgary Flames. Elias Lindholm will be joining the team according to Jonatan Lindquist of Viasat, giving them another top scoring option for the tournament. Lindholm reached new heights this season while playing with Calgary, scoring 27 goals and 78 points in a breakout performance. The 24-year old was the fifth-overall pick from 2013 but had previously failed to record more than 16 goals or 45 points in a single season.

Snapshots: Messier, Granato, Blake

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Ahead of Game Seven between the Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals, this year’s finalists for the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award were announced by NBC Sports, including ’Canes captain and “Mr. Game Seven” himself, Justin Williams. Williams joins Calgary Flames defenseman Mark Giordano and Nashville Predators forward and former Philadelphia Flyers fan favorite Wayne Simmonds as the three players being considered for the honor. An award unlike any other in sports, these finalists are determined by input from fans, team officials, and league executive alike, but the winner is ultimately determined by Mark Messier himself. Messier, considered one of the best leaders in league history, chooses the candidate “who best exemplifies great leadership qualities to his team, on and off the ice”. The list of past winners of the award, dating back to its origins in 2007, include some of the most recognizable leaders in the game, many of whom remain active, such as Sidney Crosby, Zdeno Chara, Jonathan Toews, and Shea Weber. Williams, Giordano, and Simmonds are all great candidates to join their ranks.

  • The Chicago Blackhawks and assistant coach Don Granato have “mutually agreed” to part ways. Granato was hired by Joel Quenneville in 2017, but does not appear to have been a fit for Jeremy Colliton’s staff. The Athletic’s Mark Lazerus writes that Granato specifically worked with younger players as a go-between for Quenneville, but that role was redundant under the younger Colliton. Granato has been coaching since the early 90’s and should be able to find a new gig in no time. In fact, he very likely has an open invitation to return to the University of Wisconsin to coach under brother Tony Granato with a Badgers squad that has their eye on a National Championship next season.
  • Speaking of the college ranks, the University of North Dakota received an intriguing commitment today in the form of a legacy player. 15-year-old Jackson Blake, son of long-time NHLer and former Fighting Sioux standout Jason Blake, announced that he would be following in his father’s footsteps by joining the program – in 2022. Blake currently plays for powerhouse Shattuck St. Mary’s and finished the season in second on the U-15 team in per-game scoring with 24 points in 27 games. As one would imagine about a young teenager, Blake is still small at 5’5″; however if he reaches or exceed’s his dad’s 5’10” frame, Blake should be more than capable of making an impact at the college level down the road.

Sean Monahan And David Rittich Had Lingering Injuries In The Playoffs

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  • Flames GM Brad Treliving told reporters, including Sportsnet 960’s Pat Steinberg, that center Sean Monahan was playing through a cracked thumb. Monahan averaged over a point per game during the regular season but was held to just a goal and an assist in five postseason contests.  He added that goalie David Rittich had been playing through a knee injury late in the year which may at least partly explain why he wasn’t given a chance to play at some point during their series loss to Colorado.

Alexander Yelesin Linked To Calgary Flames

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Calgary Flames head coach Bill Peters spoke to the media today as the team finished their year-end locker clean out, and mentioned a couple of players that the team had signed recently. Unfortunately Peters didn’t list them by name, but noted a Russian goaltender—likely Artyom Zagidulin, who was announced a few weeks ago—and a defenseman who is old enough to compete for a spot on the team next season. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet tweets that the “mystery defenseman” is likely Alexander Yelesin, who the Flames had been pursuing recently.

Yelesin, 23, played this season for Lokomotiv of the KHL and recorded 10 points in 55 games. He had been previously linked (however tenuously) to the Toronto Maple Leafs, and Friedman actually wrote in 2018 that there was an agreement in place to bring him to the NHL. The defenseman’s KHL contract will expire at the end of April, meaning he is free to go wherever he chooses.

Though he’s not a big offensive contributor, Yelesin did average more than 17 minutes of ice time for Yaroslavl this season and increased that even further during their short playoff run. The young defenseman is right handed and could offer another depth option for the Flames who face plenty of tough decisions this summer after their early exit from the playoffs. The team currently has a wealth of defenders available to them, but T.J. Brodie, Travis Hamonic and Michael Stone—all options on the right side—are each heading into the final year of their contracts and will be unrestricted free agents in the summer of 2020.

Mike Smith Open To Returning To Calgary

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The Calgary Flames were handed their golf passes in the playoffs after just five games against the Colorado Avalanche, but it wasn’t for the reasons many speculated on heading into the postseason. For much of the year the team had been dealing with goaltending issues, and when they handed the reins in game one to Mike Smith and his .898 save percentage it was easy to see a way that the top seed in the Western Conference could crumble.

Instead, Smith posted a 26-save shutout to open the series and was one of the team’s best players throughout. While he allowed 17 goals across five games, he kept them alive as the team routinely gave up huge shot totals meaning Smith actually finished the playoffs with a .917 save percentage. The 37-year old is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent this summer, and today was asked at his final media availability whether he’d consider a return to the Flames. Smith told reporters including Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet that he would “for sure” like to return to Calgary if possible, noting that he loves being part of an organization committed to winning.

Looking at Smith’s history in the league, it’s easy to understand why he enjoyed this playoff run even with the unfortunate outcome. The veteran goaltender has only suited up in three playoffs over his long career, reaching it once with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2011 and once with the then-Phoenix Coyotes in 2012. Incredibly, he has a .938 save percentage over his 24 postseason appearances, thanks mostly to that outstanding run to the Western Conference Final he took the Coyotes on.

The question will be whether the Flames have room for Smith on the roster. The team doesn’t have a clear answer to the situation in net, and currently head into the offseason with just Jon Gillies, Tyler Parsons, Nick Schneider and Artyom Zagidulin under contract for next year. David Rittich and Mason McDonald remain under control as restricted free agents, but none of those names seem to make up a tandem worthy of a Stanley Cup contender.

There are other big decisions to make this summer including new contracts for Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk, but also where to go with a defense that was carved up by the speedy Avalanche forwards. T.J. Brodie, Travis Hamonic and Michael Stone all have just a single year left on their contracts, while younger options are pushing for more ice time. Smith will likely have to wait until after some of those decisions are made, given that he can’t be the full-time starter again next season if they have plans on advancing further than this year. Even with his surprisingly good performance, something needs to be done to fix the Calgary net.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Poll: What Do The Flames Do With James Neal?

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The Calgary Flames were unable to slow down the Colorado Avalanche last night, and it meant the end of their 2018-19 season. The team with the best record in the Western Conference were knocked out of the playoffs in five games, joining the Tampa Bay Lightning as top seeds knocked out in the first round. Plenty of the blame for the series loss can be laid at the feet of the forwards, who were able to record just eight goals in five games. Johnny Gaudreau’s one-assist performance may be the talk of the town, but there is another huge situation to deal with for the Flames this offseason.

That would be James Neal, who was a healthy scratch in game five after failing to register a point in the first four while being a -3. Neal had an incredibly bad debut season in Calgary, registering just seven goals and 19 points through 63 regular season games. The amazing part is that coming into this year Neal was one of the few NHLers in history to record at least 20 goals through each of his first ten seasons, a stretch that showed off his incredible consistency. No, he likely wasn’t going to repeat the 40-goal campaign he had in Pittsburgh in 2011-12, but one could reasonably expect 20 goals and 40 points from the veteran forward.

Instead, he dealt with that failure that had him out of the lineup for a game in which Calgary faced elimination.

Now the decision is a difficult one for the Calgary management group. Less than a year ago they committed $28.75MM to Neal over a five-year term, a contract that is evenly distributed throughout and includes no signing bonuses. Because of that structure, the notion of a buyout must immediately comes to the forefront of any discussion of Neal’s future. If the Flames were to buy him out it would cost them more than $15MM in actual dollars, but impose just a $1.92MM cap hit on their books. Unfortunately that cap hit would extend through the 2026-27 season, making him quite an expensive mistake for one failure-riddled season.

There is also the trade route, given that the contract includes no protection in that manner. But who would be willing to take on such a large salary for a player who struggled so mightily this season? If the team were willing to retain some salary perhaps, but at that point a buyout may seem more reasonable given that they wouldn’t be expecting much in return.

Lastly, there is the idea of hoping he can turn it around. Quite notably, Neal has been one of the most consistent shooters in the league over his decade prior to joining the Flames. His shooting percentage had never gone above 14.0% in a single (non-lockout-shortened) season, while never dropping below 10.4%. This season, that number dropped dramatically to just 5.0%. Whether that was a symptom of a declining game, weaker linemates or different deployment, there is a reasonable argument to be made that with a little more luck things might have not looked so rough.

The Flames meanwhile have some financial troubles heading their way given the long-term commitments they’ve handed out. The team already has nearly $70MM penciled in for next season, even without the big raise that is coming for Matthew Tkachuk and new contracts for others like Sam Bennett and Andrew Mangiapane. They also don’t currently have a goaltender lined up, as both Mike Smith (UFA) and David Rittich (RFA) are heading to free agency. Getting out from Neal’s contract somehow might be a necessary move for GM Brad Treliving this summer.

So what should Calgary do? Do they hold on and hope that 2018-19 was a fluke, and that Neal will be back stronger than ever next season to help them get back to the playoffs? Or do they move on through a buyout or trade in order to open up some cap space, and hope that he doesn’t find his goal scoring touch somewhere else? Vote below and leave your thoughts in the comments.

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Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

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