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Central Notes: Laine, Vesalainen, Dickinson, Fortin

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Despite winger Patrik Laine finding himself on the fourth line for a second straight game, Winnipeg Jets head coach Paul Maurice came to his player’s defense today. The 20-year-old Laine has just one even-strength point so far this season, prompting Maurice to swap Mathieu Perreault with Laine on Friday in their 2-1 win over Detroit. The move had few ramifications towards Laine’s numbers as he still managed to play 17:08 throughout the game. Yet the coach was quick to defend him.

“He’s 20,” Maurice said (via TSN’s Mark Masters). “He’s going to keep getting better…We need him to continue. He’s 20 & just learning the game.”

Maurice said the main goal of making the switch between Laine and Perrault was that Perrault was “buzzing” and he wanted to give the veteran a bigger role, pointing out that the power play (with Laine) was still “outstanding.”

  • Sticking with Jets, the Winnipeg Sun’s Ted Wyman reports that the recall of Tucker Poolman is expected to be the last roster move before the team travels to Finland for their two-game global series with the Florida Panthers. That means that 19-year-old Finn Kristian Vesalainen, the team’s 2017 first-rounder, won’t be going on the trip then as he remains with the Manitoba Moose of the AHL. He has four assists in two games there, but still hasn’t been brought back to Winnipeg.
  • Mark Stepneski of NHL.com writes that Dallas Stars winger Jason Dickinson has seen his confidence soar in the last week and is starting to show that he can provide some of that secondary scoring the team desperately needs. The team has gotten 15 of its 19 goals this season from four players, including Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn, John Klingberg and Alexander Radulov. However, Dickinson showed some impressive play last Tuesday, although all he got out of it was an assist. However, he followed that up Thursday with a two goal, three-point night, showing he can put up numbers. “I think it’s been building since training camp,” head coach Jim Montgomery said. “For a player to start to gain confidence in this league, it’s not easy. We thought he had a really good training camp and then the season started with a bit of inconsistency, but you’re starting to see it build.”
  • The Chicago Tribune’s Jimmy Greenfield writes that Chicago Blackhawks forward Alexandre Fortin is starting to find his place on the Blackhawks’ roster. The 21-year-old has two goals and an assist over the past four games, and while head coach Joel Quenneville keeps changing lines on him, but the coach likes Fortin’s speed a little more than his defensive deficiencies. “(Defense) is a work in progress, but it’s been a good start for him,” Quenneville said. “It’s been a positive beginning because his speed has definitely been a big factor.”

Snapshots: Foster, Aho, Rantanen

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One of the legendary moments from the 2017-18 season aside from the Vegas Golden Knights setting a new standard for expansion franchises, and Alex Ovechkin finally hoisting the cup above his head (and, alternately hoisting his head above the cup), was made on an otherwise unexceptional night in Chicago. With their regular goaltenders injured, the Chicago Blackhawks started minor league netminder Collin Delia for the first time in his career. Everything was set up for a normal debut by a budding prospect, but went awry in the third period.

In came Scott Foster, emergency goaltender extraordinaire, signed to an amateur tryout deal in order to fill in. Foster entered with 14 minutes remaining in the third period and made seven stops to secure the win for the Blackhawks. The former Western Michigan University backup goaltender became an instant folk hero in his local recreational league, and now has even more to tell his friends when they gather at the pub. The Blackhawks announced that Foster will serve as the third goaltender at optional skates this season, continuing to add more pages to the brief chapter of his NHL life.

  • There’s not much about the Carolina Hurricanes attack that doesn’t run through Sebastian Aho, the third-year forward with 14 points in his first nine games. Aho recorded 65 last season to lead the Hurricanes, and after Jeff Skinner and Elias Lindholm were jettisoned this summer there’s little reason to think he won’t lead them for years to come. That’s what owner Tom Dundon believes, and what he told Craig Custance of The Athletic (subscription required). Dundon was effusive in his praise of Aho’s game, and all but guaranteed that the Finnish forward would be in Carolina for a long time: “He’s going to play here. This is where he’s going to play. We’ll figure it out.” Aho is in the final season of his entry-level contract, and will be looking for a huge raise on his next deal. Custance suggests that the 21-year old is watching the William Nylander negotiation closely, as it could be a direct comparable for his own next summer.
  • Speaking of big second contracts, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet notes that Mike Liut, the agent for both Mikko Rantanen and Patrik Laine, likes to wait until after his clients’ third season to sign their next big deal, instead of looking for an early extension. He’s done that with Vladimir Tarasenko, Rasmus Ristolainen and Leon Draisaitl, and Friedman implies that a similar path might be taken by Rantanen and Laine. The former is off to an incredible start in Colorado, while Laine is bound to take off at any moment.

Anton Forsberg Placed On Waivers

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Tuesday: Forsberg has cleared waivers, and will be assigned to the Rockford IceHogs. Luke Johnson will be recalled in his place. Chicago will get to keep their goaltending depth for now, as Crawford looks to continue his triumphant return to the ice.

Monday: The Chicago Blackhawks needed to make a move of some sort after Corey Crawford returned to the crease recently with no ill effects, and today have placed goaltender Anton Forsberg on waivers.

Forsberg, 25, was acquired as part of the return for Artemi Panarin in the summer of 2017, and ended up playing 35 games with the Blackhawks last season. His .908 save percentage in those games actually went down as the best NHL season of his career, but that’s not saying much given he’d only played ten games while with the Columbus Blue Jackets. This year, Forsberg hasn’t been used at all after dropping down to third on the depth chart following the free agent signing of Cam Ward. Despite Ward’s ineffectiveness so far, his experience and price tag will keep him in the NHL for now. The veteran goaltender was signed for $3MM, and admitting that mistake by putting Ward on waivers this early never seemed like a possibility.

That means it had to be Forsberg, who now very well could end up on another team around the NHL. Though the claiming club would have to keep him on the NHL roster, there are several situations where they might believe he’s an upgrade over their incumbent backup. 24 NHL goaltenders have a save percentage under .900 so far this season, including backups like Mike Condon, Calvin Pickard, Malcolm Subban, Pheonix Copley, Alex Stalock and Antti Niemi. While none of those situations scream for a waiver claim, teams may be willing to take a chance on the seventh-round draft pick. Forsberg does have a lengthy history of success in the minor leagues, and has the size teams look for in NHL goaltenders.

Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman Anticipated Artemi Panarin Free Agency Dilemma

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Pending a change of heart, forward Artemi Panarin is likely to become one of the most hotly pursued NHL free agents in recent memory on July 1st, 2019, with a sweepstakes potentially rivaling even that of John Tavares’ last year. His current team, the Columbus Blue Jackets, have done their best to convince Panarin not to test the free agent waters and instead sign an extension, but thus far it seems like a highly unlikely outcome. As a result, Columbus is saddled with the difficult choice this season of whether to hold on to Panarin for a run at the Stanley Cup and risk losing him for nothing or trade the talented winger for a hefty return while also damaging the team’s title hopes.

However, that dilemma could have instead belonged to the Chicago Blackhawks. Panarin was only traded to Columbus in the 2017 off-season. The Russian dynamo was originally signed by and played his first two NHL seasons in Chicago. However, the Blackhawks decided to deal Panarin away, opting instead to bring back Brandon Saad from the Blue Jackets, as well as young goaltender Anton Forsberg and a mid-round pick. By any metric, it is difficult to say that the Blackhawks won that trade, as Chicago missed the playoffs last season amid a very disappointing campaign for Saad, while Panarin was one of the league’s top scorers for a Columbus squad that performed well all season long. Yet, Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman may have had more than just the trade return in mind when he dealt Panarin to the Blue Jackets.

Speaking with TSN, Bowman claims that he foresaw the “tough spot” that Columbus and colleague Jarmo Kekalainen are in right now with Panarin. The young forward made such an immediate impact when coming to the NHL, that Bowman expected he would test the free agent market as soon as possible, saying ” I saw that coming as a challenge.” This clearly was a major factor that contributed to Chicago’s surprising willingness to trade Panarin. For his part, Bowman does acknowledge that Saad has to play better and has been more than a little disappointing thus far in his second stint with the Blackhawks. Continued poor performance from Saad would make this trade a complete loss, even if Panarin does bolt from Columbus. However, Bowman still stands behind his decision to acquire a talented forward signed long-term at a $6MM cap hit in Saad rather than take his chances with Panarin, who felt was destined to depart in free agency.

Central Notes: Dano, Kamenev, Blackhawks, Bouwmeester

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It’s been six days since winger Marko Dano was claimed by the Colorado Avalanche and the 23-year-old forward finally got an opportunity to practice with the team Sunday, but no one is quite sure when he may make his Avalanche debut, but it could come as early as Monday, according to NHL.com’s Callie Parmele.

Dano already has some familiarity with the team, especially with head coach Jared Bednar and assistant coach Nolan Pratt, who both were on the Springfield Falcons coaching staff during the 2013-14 season when Dano made his North American debut in the AHL for the team’s final 10 games. Bednar was promoted to head coach the following year where he had even more time with Dano.

“We had a good run in Springfield, and it’s always good when you know the coach,” Dano said of his relationship with Bednar. “We haven’t seen each other for a long time, and I am excited to work with him and I appreciate the chance they have given to me.”

  • Still with the Avalanche, the team likes what it sees in Vladislav Kamenev, who received the most ice time of his career on Thursday when he skated 12:36 against the New Jersey Devils. Although he hasn’t turned that extra time into offense (he has no points in five games this season), he is building trust in his head coach. “We feel like from watching him work in practice in that area, we can give him those minutes,” Bednar said Friday. “We trust him with those minutes. He’s done a nice job in the games so far. I think he’s getting better and better as he feels more comfortable and feels like he belongs, which is normal. I just want him to keep pushing himself and try and be a difference maker every night.”
  • While Chicago Blackhawks Stan Bowman hardly can admit victory in his offseason trade a year ago when he traded Artemi Panarin to Columbus for Brandon Saad and Anton Forsberg, he knew that the Panarin’s contract situation would be a problem for the Blackhawks too had they chosen to hold onto him, according to Mark Lazerus of The Athletic (subscription required), who analyzes who won last year’s trade. Saad has struggled in his return to Chicago and is struggling on the bottom-six, while Forsberg hasn’t fared any better in net for the team, but Bowman knew there were going to be problems with Panarin, who has shown little to no interest in signing an extension in Columbus and has put the team in a tough position as he plays out the final year of his contract while they are trying to compete for a playoff spot. “They’re in a tough spot now,” Bowman told The Athletic on Saturday night. “What do you do with him? I saw that coming as a challenge.”
  • Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that considering how well the St. Louis Blues defense played on Saturday, he doubts whether the team will put defenseman Jay Bouwmeester back on the ice for Monday’s game against Winnipeg. The veteran was scratched for the first time in his career Saturday as his play hasn’t been up to his usual standards. The Blues put forth one of the best games of the season, defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1.

Jordin Tootoo Announces Retirement

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Long-time NHL grinder Jordin Tootoo is set to be honored tonight by his junior team, the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings, and again by the Edmonton Oilers tomorrow. Well, the 35-year-old got the weekend’s festivities off to a hot start this evening by officially announcing his retirement from pro hockey. The veteran of 723 NHL games missed all of last season due to injury and had not signed with any team this off-season. He now sets his sights on a new venture.

Tootoo, a long-time Nashville Predator, was selected in the fourth round of the 2001 NHL Draft. A two-way standout with the Wheat Kings and a member of Canada’s World Juniors team, Tootoo entered the league with high expectations. Although he never quite developed into a scoring threat at the NHL level, Tootoo made a living doing the dirty work: forechecking, winning battles along the boards, fighting for space in front of the net, and of course fighting. Tootoo’s hard work kept him in Nashville for eight years. In his final season with the team, his hard work earned him a career-high 13 minutes of ice time per night, which he turned into a career-best 30 points. That off-season, Tootoo signed with the Detroit Red Wings. He would suit up for two seasons apiece with Detroit and the New Jersey Devils before closing out his career in 2016-17 with the Chicago Blackhawks. In fact, Tootoo earned an extension from Chicago that would have played out last year, had it not been for an upper-body that kept him out all season. At the end of a 13-year NHL career, Tootoo totaled 65 goals, 96 assists, and over 1000 penalty minutes.

However, it is not Tootoo’s statistics that most will remember him for. It won’t even be his grit, his loyalty, or his work ethic. Instead, Tootoo will always be known for the impact he had on the indigenous populations of Canada. The first native Inuk to play in the NHL, Tootoo has devoted his career to advancing the game of hockey for indigenous peoples. It is an effort that has earned him respect and recognition across the league, even with a team he never played for – the Oilers – honoring his work. Tootoo will now turn his full attention to the mission that means so much to him. Tootoo has already done so much, but just as the hard-working veteran played on the ice, there is always more to do.

Crawford, Murray, Andersen, Quick All Set To Return From Injury

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The goaltending position will get a little stronger today, as three top options return to their respective teams. Matt Murray and Frederik Andersen will both be back in the net as the Pittsburgh Penguins and Toronto Maple Leafs face off, while Jonathan Quick has been activated in Los Angeles. Still, the biggest news of the day lies in Chicago. Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford will make his first start since December 23, 2017 when he takes on the Arizona Coyotes at home. Luke Johnson has been sent to the minor leagues by the Blackhawks in order to activate Crawford to the roster.

Getting Crawford back is a huge step for the Blackhawks, who have looked unlike their championship selves since their starting goaltender went down. The veteran netminder was dealing with a concussion and related symptoms for months, but appeared in training camp hopeful he could return to action quickly this season. That’s about to happen, and it will be an exciting moment for teammates and fans alike. Crawford holds a career .919 save percentage and actually was in the midst of one of the best seasons of his career when he suffered the injury. The team has not received quality goaltending from Cam Ward after signing him this offseason to a one-year, $3MM deal, and may end up waiving Anton Forsberg if Crawford can re-take ownership of the net.

For Toronto getting Andersen back is extremely important, given the lack of goaltending depth they suddenly find themselves with. Kasimir Kaskisuo, the default third stringer since Curtis McElhinney and Calvin Pickard were claimed off waivers, suffered a serious injury recently with the Toronto Marlies and will be out for a fair amount of time, while minor league backup Jeff Glass is on an AHL deal. That meant young Eamon McAdam was the backup recently and just one more injury from being the stater for the Maple Leafs.

Quick and Murray both represent returns to normalcy for their respective teams, but both of their replacements did well in their absence. Jack Campbell in Los Angeles posted a .922 save percentage in his five games, while Casey DeSmith did the same in his three starts for Pittsburgh. There’s no reason to think Quick or Murray will suffer another injury quickly, but if they do the team at least knows there are capable backups behind them.

Chicago Blackhawks Sign MacKenzie Entwistle

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The Chicago Blackhawks have signed MacKenzie Entwistle to a three-year, entry-level contract, inking one of the pieces they received in the Marian Hossa trade earlier this year. Entwistle is currently playing for the Hamilton Bulldogs of the OHL, where he’ll spend the whole season before starting his professional career.

The Hossa trade was almost exclusively about dumping his contract for the Blackhawks, but Entwistle does represent a legitimate prospect that they received in return. Once projected as a first-round pick in the 2017 draft, a bout of mono and disappointing offensive production dropped Entwistle to the third round where the Coyotes eventually picked him with the 69th selection. Despite his obvious talents, he still failed to really explode offensively in 2017-18 and had just 38 points in 49 games before heading into the playoffs. That’s where his production spiked, and Entwistle once again wowed scouts with his ability to drive the puck hard to the net.

A classic large framed winger, Entwistle still needs to add strength and weight as he physically matures in order to really play to his strengths. He’ll flash plus hands at times, but needs to be able to rely on his power and reach at both ends of the ice. This is just the next step in that development process, one which the Blackhawks hope they can hurry along in order to provide their NHL club with some more talent up front.

Snapshots: Doughty, Nylander, Altybarmakyan

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The Toronto Maple Leafs ended up landing the biggest fish of free agency in John Tavares, but long before the Tavares sweepstakes even began, the team was linked to Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty. Doughty, a Toronto area native, ended up signing an eight-year, $88MM extension early this off-season, ending any thoughts that he might be a free agent in the summer of 2019. So where did the homecoming rumors come from? Doughty has now admitted, via TSN, that he never seriously considered moving on from L.A. Instead, he floated the idea of departing the Kings for the Maple Leafs as a negotiation tactic. Doughty negotiated his latest deal without an agent and, in order to ensure he wasn’t taken advantage of, made sure he had some leverage on his side. The rumors that he might leave if able to test the free agent market surely encouraged the Kings to give him what he wanted on his latest extension, the largest contract for a defenseman in NHL history.

  • Another player who has no interest in signing with the Maple Leafs, at least not at their current offer, is restricted free agent forward William Nylander. Toronto and their young forward seem to be at an impasse in contract negotiations and the December 1st deadline, after which Nylander would be prohibited from playing in the NHL this season, is starting to look like a real possibility. Should that come to fruition, Nylander would likely turn to the KHL for his paycheck this season. Nylander’s rights are held by Avangard Omsk, currently led by former NHL head coach Bob Hartley, who recently spoke to TSN about his excitement about the possibility of having Nylander on the roster this season. Avangard already added Cody Franson, Alexei Emelin, David Desharnais, and Kris Versteeg this off-season and could really make waves in the KHL by adding Nylander to the mix. Nylander is currently skating in his native Sweden and could make the short trip over to Russia rather than the trip back across the Atlantic this season, if talks continue to go poorly with the Maple Leafs.
  • Staying in the KHL, Chicago Blackhawks prospect Andrei Altybarmakyan is on the move. The 20-year-old winger was traded today, swapped by SKA St. Petersburg to HK Sochi for fellow young forward Ivan Larichev, the league reports. Both Altybarmakyan and Larichev are fringe KHLers with limited experience at the highest level, but Sochi appears to be the long-term winner in this deal, acquiring the 2017 third-round pick. There has been no indication that Altybarmakyan is heading over to North America any time soon and could continue to develop into a bona fide starter for Sochi down the road.

Chicago Blackhawks’ Crawford Expected To Return Thursday

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In an analysis of the Chicago Blackhawks season so far, the Chicago Tribune’s Jimmy Greenfield mentions one interesting fact nestled deep in his article that Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville said he expects goaltender Corey Crawford to return this week on Thursday against the Arizona Coyotes.

Crawford, who hasn’t played since Dec. 23 of last season due to concussion issues, has been rumored to be getting closer to being ready and is a critical piece to Chicago’s playoff hopes. The hope had been that Crawford would have been ready for training camp, but he admitted this summer that he wasn’t ready and might miss training camp and some time during the season. He finally got back onto the ice during training camp and now has been practicing with the team for a little over two weeks now.

The 33-year-old was having a fine season until he got hurt last year, posting 16 wins, a .929 save percentage and a 2.27 GAA in 28 games. While no one really knows how often Crawford can play or if he can return to form from his previous years, but the team is better off with him on the ice than without, even though the play of Cam Ward has improved significantly in his last two games, as he is boasting a .917 save percentage.

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