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Snapshots: Williams, Drysdale, Nesterov

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The Carolina Hurricanes are scheduled to play the New York Rangers in a qualifying round if the NHL resumes this summer, meaning they could potentially only have a handful of games remaining in the 2019-20 season. Does that mean that Justin Williams is closing in on retirement? Not so fast says Hurricanes GM Don Waddell, who told Sportsnet radio to not write off his team leader just yet.

Williams, 38, took the first part of this season off to spend with his family but returned to the Hurricanes lineup on January 19th. While he was held pointless in 12 of his first 15 games, Williams was actually on a five-game goal streak when the season was paused in mid-March. The 19-year veteran has 101 points in 155 career playoff games, winning the Stanley Cup three times.

  • If you want to know a little more about the top-rated defenseman in this year’s draft, Craig Button of TSN breaks down Jamie Drysdale’s potential. The smooth-skating Drysdale gets a 5/5 rating in both hockey sense and competitiveness from Button, with a comparison to Hall of Fame defender Sergei Zubov. Drysdale was ranked third among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting and is expected to be off the board in the first few picks.
  • Rick Dhaliwal of TSN is hearing that Nikita Nesterov may actually leave CSKA Moscow after all, despite reports earlier in the year that he was planning on signing a long-term deal with the KHL organization. Back in March, Nesterov reportedly turned down a hefty offer from the Los Angeles Kings, the same team Dhaliwal has heard linked to the free agent defender now. In the three seasons since he left the NHL, Nesterov has recorded 60 points in 136 games for CSKA.

Jake Bean Wins AHL Defenseman Of The Year

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After handing out the top goaltending honors yesterday, the AHL continued today by announcing the top defenseman. The Eddie Shore Award has been given to Jake Bean of the Charlotte Checkers after a vote from coaches, players and media members around the league.

Bean, 21, isn’t just another AHL defenseman. Drafted 13th overall by the Carolina Hurricanes in 2016 he is still one of the top defensive prospects in the game, even if it has taken him a few years to reach the NHL. 2019-20 served as his second full season in the AHL and after making the All-Rookie Team and winning a Calder Cup championship in his first, it was hard to believe he could take another step forward.

A step forward he did take however, scoring 48 points in 59 games with the Checkers and landing a spot on the league’s First All-Star Team. The defenseman of the year award is just a cherry on top of an outstanding season, one that should probably be Bean’s last in the AHL.

Still under his entry-level contract in 2020-21, Bean represents an inexpensive option for the Hurricanes if they decide to shed some salary from the back end. After acquiring Brady Skjei midseason it may be difficult to keep around others like Joel Edmundson and Trevor van Riemsdyk—who are both scheduled for unrestricted free agency—meaning there could be an additional opportunity in the NHL.

That’s not guaranteed however, as Carolina still has Skjei, Jaccob Slavin, Jake Gardiner, Brett Pesce and Dougie Hamilton penciled into full-time roles for the time being. Haydn Fleury is also still around, though he needs a new contract as an RFA. The Hurricanes may be the most difficult blueline in the league to crack for a young player, but at this point it’s hard to argue Bean could have done anything more to prove he is ready for the next level.

Jordan Martinook Explains Why Carolina Voted Against Return Format

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It was revealed over the weekend that Tampa Bay and Carolina were the two teams that voted against the NHL’s 24-team Return to Play format.  Hurricanes winger Jordan Martinook spoke on a call with reporters to provide the rationale as to why they weren’t in favor of it.  Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman relayed (Twitter link) the comment from Martinook that Carolina’s decision was made based on their team’s specific situation:

If the 24-team format isn’t tweaked from the current proposal, the Hurricanes would take on the Rangers in the play-in round.  New York boasts one of the top offenses in the league but on the flip side, Carolina was one of the stingier defensive teams this season which would certainly make for an intriguing matchup.

Hurricanes Nearing A Five-Year Arena Lease Extension

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  • The Hurricanes are nearing an agreement on a five-year extension on their current arena lease, reports Luke DeCock of the Raleigh News & Observer. The deal would overwrite their current one that is slated to expire in 2024 and would run through 2029.  The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is expected to delay the official announcement while any potential arena renovations are now on hold.

Brian Gibbons Linked To NLA

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If the NHL season (or postseason) does commence at some point this summer with expanded rosters, you can bet that Brian Gibbons would be an ideal candidate to provide some depth for the Carolina Hurricanes. The veteran forward has plenty of NHL experience but has spent most of this season in the minor leagues. Even if he does spend some more time with the Hurricanes however, he might be headed elsewhere when the season concludes. A report out of Switzerland today suggests that Gibbons will sign a contract with Lausanne HC of the NLA for next season.

Lausanne recently parted ways with Petteri Lindbohm, another former NHL player, but Gibbons would be joining Mark Barberio and Cory Conacher among the foreign players for the team. The 32-year old forward played 15 games for Carolina this season but failed to register a single point, recording 18 in 26 minor league contests instead.

Gibbons has over 200 games in the NHL, but it is clear that his best chance to be an impact player at that level is behind him. He did score 12 goals and 26 points in just 59 games for the New Jersey Devils in 2017-18, a total that looks like it will end up his career-high.

With a new transfer agreement in place between the NHL and NLA, Gibbons’ contract with the Hurricanes will need to expire before he’s technically allowed to sign a new one with Lausanne—if in fact that’s where he’s heading next season.

AHL Announces 2019-20 All-Rookie Team

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Now that the AHL season is officially over, awards and accolades will start pouring out for its players. Today, the league announced the 2019-20 All-Rookie Team, which is voted on by coaches, players, and media. Though not a guarantee of future NHL success, the AHL rookie team has a long history of star players including captains, Stanley Cup champions, and future Hall of Fame members.

The 2019-20 selections:

G Cayden Primeau, Laval Rocket (Montreal Canadiens)

D Joey Keane, Hartford Wolf Pack/Charlotte Checkers (Carolina Hurricanes)

D Brogan Rafferty, Utica Comets (Vancouver Canucks)

F Alex Formenton, Belleville Senators (Ottawa Senators)

F Joshua Norris, Belleville Senators (Ottawa Senators)

F Jack Studnicka, Providence Bruins (Boston Bruins)

Carolina Hurricanes Nearing Deal With Chicago Wolves

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The Carolina Hurricanes are closing in on signing an affiliation agreement with the Chicago Wolves of the AHL, moving their AHL partnership away from the Charlotte Checkers who have served as their primary minor league affiliate since relocating from Albany in 2010. The Checkers, presumably upset with the decision, released a statement on the situation:

While we are aware that the Carolina Hurricanes are nearing an affiliation agreement with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves, the Hurricanes have had little dialogue with us regarding this matter.

In an era when NHL teams are placing great value on affiliations with closer proximity between the two clubs, we understand the confusion that such a move would cause.

We will explore other options for our affiliation and look forward to continuing in the American Hockey League when play resumes.

The Wolves, a long-standing independently-owned AHL franchise, became available when the Vegas Golden Knights recently bought the San Antonio Rampage and subsequently moved them to Henderson to serve as their affiliate. When the St. Louis Blues (previously partnered with San Antonio), took up a partnership with the Springfield Thunderbirds, there was already rumors that Carolina would be joining the Wolves and that the Florida Panthers (previously partnered with Springfield) would partner with the Checkers.

Florida remains the only team without an AHL affiliate at the moment, meaning that partnership seems likely at this point. According to Luke DeCock of the Raleigh News & Observer, the Hurricanes could announce their deal with the Wolves as soon as next week when the rest of the AHL season could be officially canceled.

Justin Williams Not Thinking About His Playing Future During This Stoppage

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After sitting out the first three months of the season while pondering his playing future, some have wondered if Hurricanes winger Justin Williams’ career will be over if the season is eventually called off.  In an appearance on Sportsnet 590 (video link), the 38-year-old indicated that he hasn’t been giving any thought to whether or not he’ll play beyond this season during this stoppage.  He has been a productive addition for Carolina, picking up 11 points in 20 games which is pretty good for someone who missed that much time to start the season.  Williams also expressed optimism that an extended training camp wouldn’t be needed if they get the green light to return to playing in the weeks and months to come.

Snapshots: Laviolette, Darling, AHL Signings

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It’s been quite a while since former Nashville Predators head coach Peter Laviolette has coached a game. The 55-year-old coach was fired by Nashville on Jan. 6 and was later hired to coach the U.S. at the World Championships which was cancelled on Mar. 21. However, the head coach has made it clear that he wants to return to the NHL coaching ranks as soon as possible, according to Adam Kimmelman of NHL.com.

The coach has gone back and looked at his successes behind the bench in hopes of improving as a coach.

“Right now, I think I’m just focused on going back to what I found has worked for me as a coach and go back to that,” Laviolette said. “I don’t have a team, I don’t have any players, but what I can focus on is what happens when I can go to a team and I can start to get involved with the players and the identity of the team and building that team, building the organization.”

  • Former NHL goaltender Scott Darling spent the 2019-20 season in Austria, quite a step down from the NHL after he was bought out by the Florida Panthers at the start of the season. While his team Innsbruck struggled last season, his numbers didn’t project those of a former NHL player as he finished with a 3.34 GAA and a .898 save percentage in 33 games. However, the 31-year-old, who played with the Chicago Blackhawks and Carolina Hurricanes, made it clear that his primary goal is to return to North America and resume his career there, even if that means signing an AHL deal and working his way up from there, according to John Dietz of the Daily Herald. “This pandemic has kind of sidetracked everything,” Darling said. “I was talking to some teams here. Ideally I’m going to try and play here next year, whether it be starting in the (AHL) or whatever.”
  • Two junior players signed their first professional contracts as the Toronto Marlies announced they have signed defenseman Noel Hoefenmayer and forward Jeremy McKenna to two-year AHL contracts. the 21-year-old Hoefenmayer was the biggest prize after leading all OHL defensemen in scoring last season with 26 goals and 82 points last season for the Ottawa 67s. Hoefenmayer was originally a fourth-round pick in 2017 by the Arizona Coyotes, but was never offered a contract by the Coyotes. McKenna scored 40 goals and 82 points with the Moncton Wildcats of the QMJHL this season. Both will join the Marlies next season, a team well-known for developing their minor league players.

Luke Martin Not Expected To Sign With Hurricanes

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Every summer, some of the college players that were drafted several years ago end up becoming unrestricted free agents. They have spent four years in their NCAA program and only have to wait a few months to earn the right to sign with whichever team they want. While the day that draft rights expire is usually in the middle of August, it’s not clear how that will work this year thanks to the current pause.

Still, news is bound to start coming out about which prospects intend to test free agency. Luke Martin appears to be one of those players, as Andy Strickland of Fox Sports Midwest reports that the University of Michigan defenseman is not expected to sign with the Carolina Hurricanes.

Martin, 21, was the 52nd overall pick in 2017—slightly higher than his ranking on several lists before the draft. He ended up ranked 61st among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting, but the Hurricanes clearly liked what they had seen in his first year of college hockey. Martin had previously been a member of the national team development program and had registered seven points in 35 games as a freshman with the Wolverines.

The 6’2″ defenseman never really has taken a step forward offensively. His junior season resulted in just nine points in 36 games, but he has logged big minutes against top opponents since his freshman season and could be an interesting depth addition for an NHL organization later this year.

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