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Dylan Larkin's Deal Could Be A Template For Nick Schmaltz Next Summer; Wouter Peeters To Leave Youngstown

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The five-year, $30.5MM contract that the Red Wings gave center Dylan Larkin last week could serve as a template for the Blackhawks when it comes to their dealings with fellow pivot Nick Schmaltz next summer, suggests Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago.  Both players were picked in the middle of the first round back in 2014 and have put up comparable point production while largely playing a similar role.  They also happen to be represented by the same agent in Kurt Overhardt.

  • Still with the Blackhawks, goaltending prospect Wouter Peeters will not be returning to USHL Youngstown next season, reports Scott Powers of The Athletic (subscription required). The 20-year-old made the trek to North America for 2017-18 after spending his post-draft year in Jokerit’s junior program.  Powers notes that Peeters could still wind up with another USHL squad or head back overseas but that Chicago’s preference would likely be to keep him stateside where the player development staff can work with him more often.

Stan Mikita Passes Away At Age 78

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The Chicago Blackhawks announced today that legendary forward Stan Mikita has passed away at the age of 78. The Mikita family has released a statement, and an immediate outpouring of condolences came from all around the hockey world. Blackhawks president John McDonough explained what he meant to the team:

Stan Mikita will be always remembered as a champion, an innovator and a master of the game. He embodied the Chicago Blackhawks. His excellence is illustrated by the team records he still holds today. His passion for the game was proved by the longevity of his playing career. The impact he had on the franchise is proved by fact that Blackhawks fans still wear his jersey to the United Center. On behalf of the Chicago Blackhawks organization and our fans, we express our deepest condolences to the Mikita family and all who mourn Stan’s passing.

Mikita played parts of 22 seasons for the Blackhawks, never suiting up for another NHL team during his lengthy career. In 1,396 career regular season games, he registered 1,497 points and took home the Art Ross trophy for leading the league in scoring four times. On two occasions he was crowned league MVP and awarded the Hart Trophy, and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1983. Among the greatest to ever play, Mikita took home the Stanley Cup in 1961 but was never able to repeat as league champion. Still, he eventually donned the “C” as captain of the Blackhawks and still holds the franchise records for games played, assists, points and +/- rating while only trailing Bobby Hull in goals.

Known—perhaps somewhat apocryphally depending on who you ask—as the father of the curved hockey stick, Mikita was an incredible innovator on the ice. His elusive skating and puck skills (not to mention his incredible toughness and work ethic) were imitated and improved upon by generations of hockey players that followed him and his impact on the game is still felt today. Respected, beloved and admired by countless hockey fans, he’ll be sorely missed. Blackhawks chairman Rocky Wirtz explains how it wasn’t just Mikita’s on-ice performance that will be remembered:

There are no words to describe our sadness over Stan’s passing. He meant so much to the Chicago Blackhawks, to the game of hockey, and to all of Chicago. He left an imprint that will forever be etched in the hearts of fans – past, present and future. Stan made everyone he touched a better person. My wife Marilyn and I, joined by the entire Wirtz family, extend our prayers and thoughts to Jill and the Mikita family. ’Stosh’ will be deeply missed, but never, ever forgotten

The writing staff at PHR would also like to extend our condolences to the Mikita family, and our admiration for one of the greatest hockey players to ever suit up.

Djurgarden Is Interested In Robin Norell For Next Season

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  • Djurgarden of the SHL is interested in bringing back Blackhawks prospect Robin Norell, reports Johan Svensson of Expressen (link in Swedish). The 23-year-old has one year left on his entry-level deal and Chicago would need to sign off on loaning him back home.  Norell is certainly familiar with Djurgarden having been a part of their system for parts of seven seasons before coming to North America.  He has been a regular on the back end with their AHL affiliate in Rockford the last two years but has yet to make it to the NHL level and isn’t expected to contend for a spot in training camp.

Ivan Nalimov Rescinds Trade Request

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Back in June, news broke that Chicago Blackhawks goaltending prospect Ivan Nalimov wanted out of their system in order to receive a better chance at an NHL future. Nalimov requested for his rights to be traded despite not even having a contract with Chicago, hoping for a direct line to playing time in North America. The Blackhawks had Corey Crawford and Anton Forsberg at the time, and have also added Cam Ward since then. According to Scott Powers of The Athletic (subscription required), Nalimov has rescinded that trade request after speaking with the Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman, and is now focused on spending the 2018-19 season in the KHL.

Nalimov will play for Kunlun Red Star this season after a tumultuous 2017-18 campaign that saw his contract terminated midseason due to the financial struggles of his former team. In 23 games split between Admiral Vladivostok and Salavat Yulaev Ufa though, he was one of the KHL’s best goaltenders with a .938 save percentage. That number is actually slightly better than Mikko Koskinen who signed with the Edmonton Oilers, and New York Islanders prospect Ilya Sorokin who is considered one of the top goaltending prospects in the world.

While Nalimov may not have that kind of world class potential, he’s a very interesting option for the Blackhawks going forward. With Crawford’s health still up in the air and Ward on just a one-year contract, perhaps there could be an opportunity in Chicago during the 2019-20 season. Nalimov is under contract for just one season in the KHL, and hopes to come to North America afterwards. The sixth-round pick could provide an unexpected boost to the Blackhawks going forward, especially if he once again shows his skill in the KHL.

Free Agent Profile: Steve Mason

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Only a season ago, Steve Mason was a highly-sought after goaltender and was rewarded with a probably unrealistic two-year deal worth $4.1MM AAV from the Winnipeg Jets. However, many were surprised the 30-year-old goaltender received such a deal for a player who has had a roller-coaster career from sharp highs to inconsistent lows.

That certainly came to play as Mason suffered through multiple injuries, including several concussions, which allowed Connor Hellebuyck to claim the starting job outright and put up a dominating season. Mason, meanwhile, who many thought would split responsibilities in net with Hellebuyck, settled into a backup role, but couldn’t stay healthy enough to help the Jets during their playoff run. In the end, Mason posted a 3.24 GAA and a .906 save percentage in 13 games.

That was enough for Winnipeg, who needed to free up cap space as they shipped packaged promising Joel Armia with Mason and shipped them to Montreal. From there Mason was bought out, leaving him an unrestricted free agent.

While his numbers have steadily worsened over the past four years, Mason has been inconsistent throughout his year with several seasons in which he has posted amazing numbers like when he put up a 2.25 GAA and a .928 save percentage in 51 games in the 2014-15 season. Despite his struggles, if the veteran can prove healthy, he could provide solid backup minutes for a team in need.

Potential Suitors

While many teams are set in goal, there are quite a few who could use help. The first place that might seem to make sense would be the Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals, who traded away backup Philipp Grubauer to save their own cap space, leaving them minor league veteran Pheonix Copley. Mason could provide the team with a preferred veteran solution, but that’s assuming that Mason would take quite the pay cut considering the team’s cap issues.

The Rangers might be another team that could use an emergency veteran. New York is considering playing Alexandar Georgiev as their backup, but could use a more veteran presence if the 22 year old fails. The Blackhawks could also be an ideal place. Even though the team added Cam Ward, it’s already been announced that starter Corey Crawford will likely not be ready to start the season with the team, so adding Mason could add some much needed depth if he goes down for any extended period of time.

Projected Contract

While he managed to garner $4.1MM a year ago, it’s likely Mason will have to accept a deal under the $1MM mark and may even have to take a PTO deal at this point. The veteran could also wait out training camp to see if any goaltenders go down with injuries and hope to grab a backup spot then.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Latest On Artemi Panarin

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September 13th, the day that training camp opens for the Columbus Blue Jackets, is coming quickly. That’s also the date set by star forward Artemi Panarin to have all “business matters” pertaining to his next contract dealt with, leaving the Blue Jackets with just over a month to convince him to sign a long-term extension. Panarin isn’t even willing to negotiate at the moment, which puts GM Jarmo Kekalainen in a very tough position and could eventually force him to trade his best offensive weapon. The 26-year old forward is heading into the final year of his current contract, and could choose his landing spot as an unrestricted free agent next summer. As Scott Powers of The Athletic (subscription required) reports, Panarin would seriously consider the Chicago Blackhawks as that landing spot, returning to the place that gave him his first NHL opportunity.

Chicago traded Panarin a year ago in a blockbuster deal that brought Brandon Saad back, but could end up with both if they were to convince the former to sign again in the summer of 2019. The Blackhawks were the team who first convinced Panarin to come to North America, signing him out of the KHL after he recorded 62 points for SKA St. Petersburg in 2014-15. That SKA team also included Ilya Kovalchuk and Evgeni Dadonov, who have both found their ways back to the NHL in Los Angeles and Florida respectively. Both might be considered contenders for Panarin’s services should he hit the open market, but it’s Chicago’s interest that makes the most sense.

Panarin found instant chemistry with Patrick Kane upon arriving in North America, resulting in Kane’s best two offensive seasons of his career. In 2015-16 Kane scored 106 points and won the Hart and Art Ross trophies, a level that the Blackhawks are dying to get him back to as they try to contend with their current core. Last season without Panarin on his wing, Kane reverted to 27 goals and 76 points, numbers very similar to what he’d put up before the two were put together. While those are still outstanding totals for the talented winger, bringing the pair back in 2019 would obviously be an attractive proposition.

In 2017-18 though, Panarin proved he could drive a line all by himself. Scoring a career-high 82 points, the 26-year old winger found a nice match with young center Pierre-Luc Dubois who was barely even expected to make the Blue Jackets roster. Instead, Dubois finished second among all Blue Jackets forwards with 48 points and eighth in Calder Trophy voting as one of the league’s best rookies. While Dubois looks like he’ll be a top option for the Blue Jackets for a long time, taking Panarin off his wing for this season could lead to disastrous results for the 20-year old center. That, and the fact that the team relied so heavily on Panarin’s offensive creativity, make it quite a difficult decision for Kekalainen. With the Blue Jackets expecting to compete for the playoffs once again, does he remove his best forward in order to get some future assets, or does he roll the dice and hope he can convince him to stay after the year is over?

For now, Blackhawks fans should just be happy that there isn’t any bad blood between Chicago and Panarin. An incredibly well-liked player for the franchise would at least consider a return if he ends up on the open market, though there would still be work to do in order to fit in what could be a huge cap hit. Panarin will likely be demanding somewhere around an $8-10MM salary, if not more depending on how this season goes. As one of the NHL’s most dangerous offensive players, he’ll be fighting off suitors during the free agent interview period.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Kyle Baun Signs In Northern Ireland

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Former NHLers, including a few 2018 free agents, continue to pop up in leagues around the globe and another has now signed in an nontraditional landing spot. Kyle Baun has signed with the Belfast Giants of the Elite Ice Hockey League, the team announced today. The EIHL is the pro league of the United Kingdom, with the Giants as the token Northern Ireland team.

Baun, 26, was a Group 6 unrestricted free agent this summer after bouncing around between several teams that past couple of seasons. The former Colgate University star signed with the Chicago Blackhawks out of college in 2015 and even suited up for five games with the team early on in his pro career. While Baun was later relegated to full-time AHL play for the next season and a half, he nevertheless signed a two-year extension with Chicago in 2016. However, he was traded to the Montreal Canadiens before the start of that second year, 2017-18, in a one-for-one swap for Andreas Martinsen. The Canadiens then flipped Baun to the Toronto Maple Leafs at the trade deadline alongside Tomas Plekanec. Despite the apparent demand for his services as a depth player, Baun has not seen any NHL action since his early days with Chicago. Now, it appears he couldn’t even find a two-way contract in North America.

By signing in the EIHL, Baun stands a good chance of becoming one of the league’s top players. A big right winger with a scoring touch, Baun was a good all-around player in the college and minor league ranks and should be able to elevate his game even further against lesser talent in the UK. He also joins a team that has focused in on North American talent this off-season; Belfast also announced that they had signed AHLer Francis Beauvillier today and just last week added veteran forward and long-time Carolina Hurricane Patrick Dwyer.

The Giants also have the honor of being the last pro team that TheoFleury suited up for, back in 2005-06. The EIHL has hosted some former NHLers from time-to-time since it was founded in 2003, but Baun and company are a sign of greater interest in playing in the United Kingdom. The selection of Liam Kirk, the first homegrown British player to be picked in the NHL Draft, has definitely piqued some interest in the league and Baun could now become a poster boy for the movement.

Gustav Forsling Undergoes Wrist Surgery

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The Chicago Blackhawks have several interesting defensive prospects pushing for spots on the NHL roster, including Gustav Forsling who impressed in 41 games last season. Unfortunately, Forsling looks like he’ll be unable to crack the team out of camp given that he underwent surgery on his right wrist today. The 22-year old defenseman is expected to be out for 14 weeks, putting his return into the early part of November and well into the season.

Forsling was just a fifth-round pick in 2014 by the Vancouver Canucks, but has developed into a legitimate top-four option for the Blackhawks with big upside left in his offensive game. Though he recorded just 13 points last season, he shows obvious talent with the puck and potential to eventually quarterback a top powerplay. While that’s the ceiling for Forsling, even just becoming a full-time player for Chicago after being acquired for Adam Clendening (who eventually returned to the Blackhawks organization last season and is now in Columbus) will be a huge win.

A position battle was brewing for the Blackhawks as training camp approaches, but now that Forsling has been ruled out we may have some clarity to who will be on the ice on opening night. Henri Jokiharju could still surprise and force his way onto the roster, but it looks like barring any sort of trade Erik Gustafsson’s spot is secure. The loss of Forsling does only magnify the lack of depth the team may have on the blue line this year though, as if Jokiharju and Adam Boqvist are sent back to their respective leagues the team doesn’t have a lot of NHL-ready talent to step in. Should Chicago suffer another injury, there’s no telling where they might turn for help.

Snapshots: Pacioretty, Lucic, Simmonds, Vilardi

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The Montreal Canadiens look like they have no choice but to trade their star player in Max Pacioretty. With the 29-year-old entering the final year of his contract and little interest from Montreal to lock him up to a long-term deal, this is their only chance to move him. However, what makes things challenging for general manager Marc Bergevin and the Canadiens is that Pacioretty is coming off a disappointing year in which he produced just 17 goals in injury-plagued season after posting four straight years of 30 or more goals.

However, time is not Bergevin’s friend and the team has little choice but to try to move his contract now rather than wait to trade him as a rental in February. NBC Sports Joey Alfieri suggests five teams that might be good fits for Pacioretty with the Chicago Blackhawks leading the way. Pacioretty would be the perfect fit for Chicago considering the team’s biggest acquisition this offseason has been backup goaltender Cam Ward. However, the Blackhawks might be challenged to put together a quality package for Pacioretty.

However, another more interesting option would be the New Jersey Devils, who have the cap space to make it work and Pacioretty, a native of Connecticut – a mere 70 miles away — might be willing to stay with a team that already has an intruiging cast including Hart Trophy winner Taylor Hall.

  • In a recent podcast on Spittin’ Chiclets, Edmonton Oilers forward Milan Lucic talked about his disappointing season in Edmonton which has his name and his contract being thrown around in potential trade rumors. Regardless, Lucic had nothing but great things to say about the Oilers’ organization and takes a lot of the blame for his poor season. Lucic, who signed a seven-year, $42MM deal in 2016, still has five years remaining at $6MM AAV. However, after posting 23 goals and 50 points in the first year of his deal, Lucic’s numbers took a nosedive as he tallied just 10 goals and 34 points and he didn’t miss a single game all season. “I think it was definitely more of a mental thing,” Lucic said. “It was almost like everything that could have gone wrong went wrong for our team and for me personally and it was the snowball effect or the quicksand effect. I think my mindset got very negative last year. So I was almost my own worst enemy, where this year I’m just going in with a happy, healthier mindset.”
  • Dave Isaac of the Cherry Hill Courier-Post writes that Philadelphia Flyers general manager Ron Hextall has kept a close on the New York Islanders and John Tavares situation and isn’t interested in letting any of his players go. With winger Wayne Simmonds entering the final year of his contract, will probably price himself out of Philadelphia and the fact that he likely will end up on the team’s third line this year, don’t be surprised if Hextall trades Simmonds at the trade deadline next year. The 29-year-old has put up 28 or more goals for the past four years in Philadelphia, but struggled with nagging injuries last year, tallying 24 goals.
  • The Athletic’s Lisa Dillman reports that Los Angeles Kings prospect Gabe Vilardi will not be participating in the World Junior Showcase for Hockey Canada after Vilardi suffered a back injury. While not considered serious, Vilardi has had issues with his back before as he missed all but 32 games this past year with the OHL Kingston Frontenacs. Vilardi, the team’s first-round pick in 2017, will have a chance to break into the Kings’ lineup if he has a good showing in training camp.

Central Notes: Tarasenko, Schmaltz, Keith

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The St. Louis Blues have done everything they can to retool their team to not only get them back into the playoffs, but make a deep run of it. They went out and acquired Ryan O’Reilly, signed Tyler Bozak, David Perron and Patrick Maroon and have two top prospects on the brink of joining their team in Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou.

However while answering mailbag questions, The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford (subscription required) suggests that the biggest improvement to the team should come from within as he believes that Vladimir Tarasenko has just scratched the surface of what he’s capable of. The 26-year-old has posted goal totals of 37, 40, 39 and 33 goals over the past four seasons, but he is more than capable of becoming the superstar that many felt he could be when he was drafted in the first round in 2010. Rutherford even compared him to Brett Hull.

However, the scribe says he needs to fix a few things if he wants to take that next step, including playing more relaxed and not let everything around him frustrate him. He also feels that although he’s coming off shoulder surgery this offseason, he needs to get into the best shape of his life and be more engaged on the ice.

  • Chicago Blackhawks’ Nick Schmaltz has come a long way since being viewed as a prospect two years ago. Now the team’s second-line center, who many view as the eventual successor to Jonathan Toews on the first line, Schmaltz feels he’s ready to take on a bigger role with the team, according to Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times. However, the first thing the 22-year-old must do is improve on his faceoffs. Schmaltz has struggled with faceoffs for two straight years, winning just 31 percent of his faceoffs in his rookie year, while improving to 40 percent this year (321 faceoffs won out of 801). Unfortunately, that number is still not good enough as the team hopes for closer to 50 percent.  “I’ve got some stuff that I’m going to continue to work on, especially in the faceoff circle,” Schmaltz said. “If I can continue to get that up, that’ll only help our team game with the puck.”
  • John Dietz of the Daily Herald interviewed Duncan Keith at the 11th annual Fan Convention on Friday and Keith, who scored just two goals on 187 shots, was quick to take the blame for the Chicago Blackhawks’ struggles last season that had them missing the playoffs for the first time in 10 years. The 35-year-old defender has averaged 25:13 of ATOI throughout his career, but saw those numbers decline to 23:50 last year and it might drop even further in the future. “I definitely take some of the blame from last year, knowing that there were certain things I could do better,” Keith said. “On the good things, I’ll continue to do that. Other things, I’ll try to work on and be better at.”

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