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Morning Notes: Brouwer, Jodoin, Seguin

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Eric Francis writes for the Calgary Herald that Troy Brouwer is expected to be one of the forwards exposed in the upcoming expansion draft for the Flames, and with it could be leaving the organization almost as soon as he joined it. Francis points out that Vegas GM George McPhee has traded for Brouwer once in the past, acquiring him for a first round pick from Chicago in the summer of 2011.

If you’d been following along, it was clear the Flames couldn’t protect Brouwer after acquiring Curtis Lazar at the deadline, giving them at least seven young forwards that would be ahead of him on the list. While it doesn’t mean for certain that the Flames will submit their protection list on June 17th with Brouwer exposed, it certainly looks that way right now. The 31-year old is coming off his worst point total of his career, but still would add a veteran presence to a weak Vegas squad should he be selected.

  • The Montreal Canadiens announced today that Clement Jodoin has chosen to leave the organization after his latest stint. Jodoin has been an associate coach for the team for two different five-year periods, and also worked as the Hamilton Bulldogs’ head coach and in the Canadiens’ player development department over the years. New head coach Claude Julien will meet with his other assistants in the next few days to decide what’s next for the coaching staff.
  • Tyler Seguin apparently was playing with a damaged labrum in his right shoulder for much of the season, and the team announced today that he underwent surgery yesterday to repair it. His recovery timeline is set at four months, meaning he’ll be lucky to be ready for the start of training camp next fall. Seguin was criticized for his play much of this season, but still ended up with 72 points despite the injury. He’ll be expected to take another step forward and help the Stars return to the playoffs next season, or there may be even bigger shakeups in Dallas next summer.

Calgary Expected To Look Elsewhere For Goaltending

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The Hockey News Lyle Richardson believes Calgary Flames goaltender Brian Elliott’s tenure with the team is over. After a season of struggles, culminating getting pulled in Game 4 of their playoff series against the Anaheim Ducks, the team is expected to look elsewhere for help behind the net next season.

Elliott, who was acquired last year from the St. Louis Blues for a 2016 second-round pick (Jordan Kyrou) and a 2018 third-round pick, never put up the kind of season the Flames had hoped for. He finished the season with a 2.55 goals against in 49 contests and a .910 save percentage. Those numbers were way below his usual numbers. Last year for the Blues, he played in 41 games with a 2.07 GAA and a .930 save percentage. However, Elliott’s 3.88 GAA in the four playoff games against the Ducks left a lot to be desired by Calgary. A soft goal by Anaheim’s Patrick Eaves at 5:38 in the first period of Game 4, which was enough for Calgary head coach Glen Gulutzan to remove him in favor of Chad Johnson.

While Johnson, also an unrestricted free agent, may be retained by the Flames, both writers believe they will have to look at either the free agent or trade market to find their next goaltender.

Los Angeles Kings goaltender Ben Bishop may be at the top of their wishlist. Bishop, who is an unrestricted free agent, is the top goaltender on the market and Calgary came close to trading for him last offseason before choosing to trade for Elliott instead. He is coming off a two-year deal in which he made 4.76MM this year and was traded to Los Angeles in February. He fared well in 2015-16 in Tampa Bay, playing in 61 games and finishing with a 2.06 GAA and a .926 save percentage. However, he didn’t play as well this year, allowing a 2.55 GAA in 32 games with Tampa Bay and a 2.49 GAA in seven games with Los Angeles. Despite those struggles, many experts believe his price tag may be in the $7MM range as there are several teams on the market looking for goalies.

Other free agent options, according to Richardson are Philadelphia’s Steve Mason, Chicago’s Scott Darling and Ottawa’s Mike Condon. Mason, who had a monster rookie-year in 2009-10, has never been able to duplicate that (with the possible exception of the 2014-15 season). Darling has been a veteran backup for the Blackhawks and never had an opportunity to start full-time, while Condon has had some success, but also was both waived and traded for a fifth-round pick only a year ago.

The trade market could be another option for the Flames, as the Pittsburgh Penguins will likely look to move Marc-Andre Fleury after the great rookie season from goaltender Matt Murray. The 32-year-old netminder has shown he still has it, leading the Penguins to their first-round playoff series win over Columbus. However, his numbers don’t stand out that much as he finished the season with a 3.02 GAA in 32 contests this season.

The price for any goaltender may be high as many believe that the Winnipeg Jets, Carolina Hurricanes and the New York Islanders could be looking for a netminder.

Snapshots: Shaw, Flames, Blackhawks

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Facing elimination for the first time this spring, the Montreal Canadiens didn’t need any additional adversity heading into Saturday night’s game. Unfortunately, they’re going to have some.

Forward Andrew Shaw was not at practice and will not be in the lineup for Game 6, according to coach Claude Julien via John Lu of TSN. The team announced he is dealing with an upper-body injury, and is considered day-to-day. Based on this morning’s skate, the Canadiens will dress the following lines tonight:

Max Pacioretty – Phillip Danault – Alexander Radulov
Artturi Lehkonen – Tomas Plekanec – Brendan Gallagher
Alex Galchenyuk – Brian Flynn – Paul Byron
Dwight King – Steve Ott – Michael McCarron

Andrei Markov – Shea Weber
Alexei Emelin – Jeff Petry
Brandon Davidson – Jordie Benn

Carey Price

Shaw has struggled so far in this series. He’s currently pointless, with a -2 rating, seven PIM, and is just 31% in the face-off circle. After scoring 29 points in 68 games in the regular season with a 54% success rate in the dot, it begs the question of how long Shaw has been dealing with this injury. Despite his struggles, he would be a valuable addition should the Canadiens force a seventh game; Shaw has played in three game sevens with the Chicago Blackhawks (2-1 record). He had 35 points in 67 playoff games as a Blackhawk.

  • Over in Calgary, the team packed their bags on Friday. Several notable names are pending free agents, and most of them spoke with the media and expressed a desire to return, per Wes Gilbertson of the Calgary Sun. Count Kris Versteeg, Michael Stone, Chad Johnson, Brian Elliott, and Deryk Engelland as interested in staying in Alberta; Dennis Wideman was not there on Friday, a day after being named in a $10.25MM lawsuit. Wideman played just four games down the stretch and none in the playoffs. He won’t be back. Versteeg and Stone both expressed strong interest in returning; both have family in the area. Somewhat more surprising was Elliott, who many believe will not return after his disastrous playoffs (0-3, .880 SV%, 3.89 GAA in four games).
  • As I covered this morning, the Blackhawks cleaned out their lockers today. Since then, a few players have spoken to the media. Per a series of tweets from Chris Hine of the Chicago Tribune, defenseman Brian Campbell said he would rather retire than sign elsewhere, Trevor van Riemsdyk also hopes to back in Chicago, but isn’t sure what will happen at the expansion draft, and Richard Panik is unsure of his value heading into negotiations and will not play at the World Championships. Patrick Kane and Artemi Panarin will be joining USA and Russia, respectively.

Kris Versteeg Hopes To Re-Sign In Calgary

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Despite being knocked out of the playoffs Wednesday night, Flames’ forward Kris Versteeg looks back fondly on his season in Calgary. Meeting with the media today, he said he’d “love to be in Calgary” next year. He also joked with Wes Gilberton of Postmedia, saying that “if [he’s] sitting in Switzerland in September, [his] agent is getting fired.” That would hit a little close to home for Versteeg, who last summer was extremely close to playing the season in Bern if it weren’t for a failed medical. Kris Versteeg

Versteeg instead took a professional tryout with the Edmonton Oilers, only to leave them just before the season for a deal in Calgary. It was a complicated offseason for Versteeg, who followed it up with another successful year, registering 37 points in 69 games and generally playing pretty well for the Flames. The 30-year old forward hasn’t found much stability in his professional career since being drafted by the Boston Bruins in the fifth round. Suiting up for the Blackhawks, Maple Leafs, Flyers, Panthers, Blackhawks (again), Hurricanes, Kings and now Flames across 619 career games, he’s produced at nearly every stop.

Earning $950K this season was a clear step backwards from the four-year, $17.6MM deal he signed with the Panthers in 2012 and he’ll look to get a raise this summer. Though he’ll never be a top player on a team, his point totals are more than acceptable for a player earning between $1-1.5MM on a short term deal. He should have several suitors, though the Flames would easily be able to afford keeping him around.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Linesman Don Henderson Suing Dennis Wideman And Calgary Flames For $10.25MM

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Former NHL linesman Don Henderson is suing Calgary Flames forward Dennis Wideman for $10.25MM, reports CTV’s Chris Epp. The suit stems from the on-ice incident on January 27, 2016 where Wideman hit Henderson as Wideman was skating to the bench. The NHL initially suspended Wideman for 20 games before a neutral arbitrator reduced it to 10. Henderson also added the Calgary Flames as a defendant alleging that the team is vicariously liable for Wideman’s conduct.

Henderson’s suit—filed in Calgary, Alberta—alleges that as a result of Wideman’s hit, Henderson suffered numerous injuries including a concussion, neck injury, knee injury, and pain, numbness, and tingling in his right arm. The suit also alleges that those injuries directly impacted Henderson’s ability to continue to referee. Henderson seeks $10MM for lost income and future earnings, $200K for general damages, and $50K for special damages. It is unclear whether this is in Canadian or American funds.

Civil lawsuits stemming from professional sporting events are tricky to analyze. In contrast with normal civil suits alleging assault, battery, or negligence, professional sports participants face the added burden of disproving consent and assumption of risk. The basic premise is that a professional sports participant understands the risk of his or her position and consents to physical contact. It is why NHL players cannot sue each other for hits occurring during an NHL game.

That is not to say, however, that participants are prohibited from filing civil suits. Depending on the court, a party can successfully claim that the injury occurred was so out of the realm of what was expected that consent and assumption of risk do not apply. It is a tougher burden to prove, but it is not impossible.

According to Rick Westhead, Wideman has 30 days to file a statement of defense. So far both Wideman’s camp and the Calgary Flames have declined to comment.

Snapshots: Sabres, Montgomery, Gillies, Henderson

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When the Buffalo Sabres fired both head coach Dan Bylsma and GM Tim Murray this morning, they effectively cleaned house and set themselves up to start all over again from the top down. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet now reports that it wasn’t just those two that were shown the door, but also Director of Pro Scouting Rob Murphy and Director of Amateur Scouting Greg Royce. It’s very surprising that these two would be let go so close to both the entry and expansion drafts, as whoever comes in will have to rely entirely on the scouts themselves to work through the process.

Perhaps Buffalo has a plan in place already, as both Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News and Chuck Gormley each have heard the name Norm MacIver in consideration for the position. Don’t count the Blackhawks’ assistant GM as hired yet, but he has long been thought of as a future GM in the league and would be a solid hire for the Sabres. For now, Sabres’ owner Terry Pegula will address the media tomorrow to explain all of the decisions, and likely give some insight as to where the team goes from here.

  • Jim Montgomery will interview for the vacant Florida Panthers position according to Mike Chambers of the Denver Post. The college coach who led the University of Denver to victory over UMD in the NCAA Championship game, will meet with the Panthers in the next 7-10 days to see if there is a fit. Chambers says that Montgomery leaving could prompt several players to leave the school early and turn pro, as they committed to working with him and not whoever would follow in the position. Earlier this month it was reported that Henrik Borgstrom will return for his sophomore season, but he could easily follow Montgomery to Florida should he choose. The 19-year old was a first round pick of the Panthers last summer.
  • The Calgary Flames have sent Jon Gillies back to the Stockton Heat for their playoff series after he watched the Anaheim Ducks defeat his NHL club. Gillies was serving as the emergency goaltender in Calgary and will now return to Stockton where he played the majority of the year. The Heat also signed Tyler Parsons to an amateur tryout today, meaning the goaltending situation in Stockton is quite full. Gillies will likely get the lion’s share of the starts in the postseason.
  • In a story that just won’t go away, Don Henderson—the linesman injured by a blindside Dennis Wideman hit last season—has filed a $10.25MM lawsuit against Wideman and the Flames organization, according to Rick Westhead of TSN. Henderson has never returned to the league, and according to Westhead is now claiming he “has suffered a limitation of activities and loss of enjoyment of life” and a long list of medical symptoms from this incident.

Pacific Notes: Tryamkin, Parsons, Kase

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The Vancouver Canucks released a statement on the departure of Nikita Tryamkin, who left for the KHL earlier today. The team apparently offered a two-year deal to the young defender, but couldn’t persuade him to stay in North America. The full statement:

We are disappointed that Nikita chose to sign in the KHL, but also recofnize from what he told us in our exit meetings that this was a family decision first. He has a chance to be an impact player in the NHL and we offered him a two-year extension. But for now he is home and we will move ahead with building this team with other young players.

It is indeed disappointing for the Canucks, who had come to appreciate Tryamkin’s physical style on the back end as a possible future shutdown defender. Instead, they’ll have to hope that other defenders like Olli Juolevi, Jordan Subban and Troy Stecher develop like they expect. The Canucks will also likely hold one of the top few picks in this year’s draft, where they could look to acquire another high-end defender.

  • The Calgary Flames may have been eliminated from the playoffs in part due to poor goaltending, but they have better days ahead in that position. The team announced today that Tyler Parsons will join Stockton for their playoff run after his London Knights were eliminated from the OHL postseason. As Darren Hynes of of Canadian Press points out, Parsons, Jon Gillies and David Rittich form a pretty promising young trio for the Flames. The problem is, none of them look ready to take over NHL duties next season.
  • Anaheim has reassigned Ondrej Kase to the San Diego Gulls after eliminating the Calgary Flames last night, though he may return for round two. The Gulls will start their series with back-to-back games Friday and Saturday before five days off before game three. The 21-year old Kase had 12 points in 14 games for the Gulls this season.

Roster Notes: Haula, Lazar, Oduya

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Lineup changes have arrived for the Flames according to Kristen Odland, as the team will attempt to ward off elimination. Matt Stajan and Lance Bouma have both been told to take the night off, as Curtis Lazar and Freddie Hamilton find their way back to the ice. Hamilton had 2 goals and 0 assists in his 26 regular season games, and Lazar had 1 goal and 3 assists in his 37 games played. Neither is obviously expected to provide stellar offense, but instead to spark energy and infuse youth into a lineup which looked gassed in their Game 3 three-goal lead implosion. Lazar had been held pointless in 6 games while dressed for the Senators in the playoffs two seasons ago, though he was fantastic for the Oil Kings in their Memorial Cup run the year prior. This will be Hamilton’s first playoff experience.

  • Blackhawks’ Johnny Oduya has been yanked from the lineup by coach Joel Quenneville for a potentially deciding Game 4. Michal Kempny is expected to take his place. The 26 year-old Czech defenseman had a phenomenally underappreciated season, posting an absurd 56.1% Corsi For. The left-handed shooting defenseman has never played in a playoff game. He had gone unsigned until May of last year, when he was acquired by the organization for depth. He ended up playing 50 games for the Hawks, despite marginal offensive totals. Oduya’s veteran status makes this a surprising move, although his lack of speed and age were starting to show in a series where the Predators’ forecheck was relentless.
  • Erik Haula will not play for the Minnesota Wild tonight in their game against the Blues. Haula was held pointless and registered a -2 through 3 games. Coach Bruce Boudreau did not confirm who would take his spot, as he had been playing on the top unit with Mikko Koivu. This is a surprising move despite his struggles in the series, as the forward had been producing at a decent clip before running into the red-hot Jake Allen. There has been no word as to who will replace his position on the left wing.

Morning Notes: Flames Burn Out, Toronto’s Unlikely Hero, Looking Ahead

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Saturday April 15th was a riveting evening of hockey for any fan of the sport. The Blackhawks were dominated 5-0 by the Predators in Game 2, but the other three games were all nail-biters. The Flames looked to take the lead after climbing out of a 2 goal deficit in the 2nd period, but the call on the ice of goalie interference against John Gibson kept the game tied. The Ducks would go on to get a bizarre ricochet goal from the stick of Ryan Getzlaf with just 4:46 remaining in regulation to secure an ugly win, and go up 2-0 in the series.

  • The Leafs’ Kasperi Kapanen has not been in the spotlight – the likes of Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and Auston Matthews have been so phenomenal that he is easily forgotten in the mix. The promising young crafty forward was the centerpiece of the Phil Kessel deal, which until now, had undoubtedly looked to favor the Penguins. Serving 4th-line duty, the forward had only scored one goal in his 8 games up with big squad this season. In the second overtime of Saturday’s Game 2 versus the Capitals, the forward crept in to the back post as Brian Boyle used his lanky frame to fool the netminder into sealing the near post in anticipation. The result was a gorgeous finish to a game where an unlikely hero was desperately needed. If the forward can build on this huge goal, perhaps he can become an X-factor in a series where they are the underdogs. He seems to be confident in the team’s chances.
  • The Senators would not go down quietly. Down 2 goals through 40 minutes, the squad rallied to tie the game with tallies from Chris Wideman and Derick Brassard. As mentioned in an earlier post, Chara’s late regulation delay-of-game penalty proved quite costly, as the Senators capitalized on the powerplay’s momentum and ended the overtime quickly. Dion Phaneuf hammered one home after the team had hit two posts previously in quick succession. The series has been incredibly tight, but surely Bruins fans will lament the lost opportunity, especially in light of their badly bruised defensive squad.
  • Four games will take place this Sunday. The Wild will try to avoid going down 3-0 in hostile territory, the Blue Jackets will hope to dodge a similar fate with cannons firing, and the Sharks and Rangers look to go up at home after splitting the first two on the road.

Pacific Notes: Getzlaf, Ritchie, Miska

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While much of the pre-series chatter of the Flames-Ducks playoff series centered around how the Ducks would be able to defend against Flames’ stars Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan, Game 1 reversed those thoughts. After Anaheim’s Ryan Getzlaf took control of Friday night’s game, people now wonder how Calgary might be able to stop him instead.

The Orange County Register’s Eric Stephens writes the 31-year-old scored the opening goal 52 seconds into the playoff series, then assisted on Rickard Rakell’s game-tying goal and then led the penalty killing unit in the final minutes to hold on for the victory. “He was huge for us last night,” said Rakell. “I mean, he did it all. When he plays like that, I think everybody else just wants to follow him. Hopefully that can just keep going”

The oft-overlooked Getzlaf has been leading the team with his energy and also has led the team in minutes played in Game 1. He fared well on faceoffs winning 12 of 20 Friday as well. Getzlaf has also been taking the lead on power plays, creating new problems for the Flames. “He’s got such good vision and poise with the puck,” Flames penalty killing defenseman Michael Stone said after Game 1. “He hangs on to it. You think he’s going to do one thing and he changes up and does something else. He’s got all the weapons when he’s back there looking at the whole ice.”

Other Western Notes:

  • Ducks’ forward Nick Ritchie is expected to return to the lineup after a two-game suspension for tonight’s Game 2 playoff game against the Flames. Ritchie was suspended for the regular season finale and Game 1 of the playoffs for punching Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Michal Rozsival on Apr. 6. Ritchie finished the season with 14 goals and 14 assists in 77 gacmes this season. Because of his return, prospect Ondrej Kase was sent back to San Diego. Kase had two shots on goal in Game 1.
  • The Arizona Coyotes have agreed to sign the University of Minnesota-Duluth freshman goaltender Hunter Miska, who led the Bulldogs’ hockey team to the NCAA Championship game last month. Duluth News Tribune’s Matt Wellens writes that Miska, who went undrafted, will forgo his final three years of eligibility to sign with the Coyotes. The 21-year-old backstop posted a 2.20 GAA and a .920 save percentage in his lone season for UMD. For Arizona, it gives the Coyotes a young prospect to develop after a season in which Arizona finished with the third-worst Goals Against with a 3.15. This is the second year in a row that Minnesota-Duluth has lost their starting goalie to the NHL. Last year, sophomore goalkeeper Kasimir Kaskisuo signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

 

 

 

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