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Afternoon Notes: Tanev, Islanders, Granato, Keefe

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The newest Dallas Stars defenseman, Chris Tanev, isn’t expected to slot into Dallas’ lineup immediately, per Sportsnet’s Eric Francis. Francis added that Tanev will stay in Calgary for a few days while he secures a visa. The Stars acquired Tanev from the Calgary Flames on Wednesday, sending two draft picks and defensive prospect Artem Grushnikov back to the Flames. Dallas also sent a fourth-round pick to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for the Devils retaining 50 percent of Tanev’s cap hit.

Tanev, 34, was arguably the top name on the trade market, with a long list of teams interested in adding his defensive prowess. He only has 14 points in 56 games this season, but he led active Flames defensemen in both CF% (Corsi-For Percentage) and xGF% (expected goals-for percentage), speaking to his ability to control possession and scoring opportunities. Tanev has been in the league since the 2010-11 season, when he debuted with the Vancouver Canucks, who signed him as an undrafted free agent ahead of the season. He’s played in the NHL every season since, totaling 185 points and 773 games in the league. Dallas will mark the third team of Tanev’s career, after 10 years in Vancouver and four in Calgary.

Other notes from around the league:

  • New York Islanders defenseman Robert Bortuzzo is still not skating, shares Ethan Sears of the New York Post. Bortuzzo rehabbing a lower-body injury that’s earned him a place on the team’s long-term injured reserve. He hasn’t played since January 2nd, forcing the Islanders to once again test their defensive depth. Sears also shared that the Islanders are expected to recall Hudson Fasching from his AHL conditioning stint, though he won’t be immediately activated off of LTIR. Fasching has one goal in three AHL games this season.
  • The NHL has fined both Buffalo Sabres head coach Don Granato and Toronto Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe for unprofessional conduct directed at officials. Each coach was docked $25K. Keefe received a game misconduct for arguing with the refs about a Mitch Marner tripping call, continuing to question the refs even after Toronto had killed off the penalty. Granato received a bench penalty for arguing a Zach Benson tripping penalty, with the opposing Florida Panthers scoring the game-winning goal on the resulting five-on-three power-play. These fines follow a precedent set by the league that aims to reduce abuse of officials.

New Jersey Devils Interested In Juuse Saros

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In an article from Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff, he mentions that the New Jersey Devils have had a consistent interest over the last several weeks in goaltender Juuse Saros of the Nashville Predators. However, Seravalli points out that the General Manager of the Predators, Barry Trotz, has been informing teams that Saros will not be moved while the Predators are in a playoff position.

The Devils’  situation between the pipes has been an issue dating back to last summer when the team was strongly connected to Winnipeg Jets’ goaltender Connor Hellebuyck before he signed a seven-year contract extension in Manitoba. Throughout this season, New Jersey has largely been connected to nearly all the names currently present on the market, while almost acquiring Jacob Markstrom from the Calgary Flames a few weeks ago.

The problem in net has been persistent this year, with the Devils currently ranked 22nd in the NHL in goals against per game, and 31st in the league in team save percentage. Combining the numbers from Vitek Vanecek, Nico Daws, and Akira Schmid at the NHL level this season, the team has a .892 SV%, 3.22 GAA, and a whopping -20.5 goals saved above average.

Even with experiencing a down-season by his standards, Saros would mark an immediate upgrade over all three goalies that have started for New Jersey this season. In 46 starts, Saros has managed a 23-21-2 record coupled with a .904 SV% and a 2.95 GAA. Before this year, Saros finished top-10 in Vezina Trophy voting in each of the last three seasons and is still signed for a moderate $5MM salary for one more year.

Owning just short of $9.5MM in cap space come deadline day, the Devils could comfortably afford the contract of Saros, especially if they were able to move out Vanecek in the same deal too. Nashville may not be too high on Vanecek overall but could view him as an expensive short-term backup with his contract ending after the 2024-25 season.

As Seravalli highlighted in his article, the Predators do not seem keen on making a substantial move in net when the team currently holds the last wild-card spot in the Western Conference. Things could change leading up to the March 8th trade deadline, with Nashville sustaining plenty of pressure from the St. Louis Blues, Minnesota Wild, Calgary Flames, and Seattle Kraken for that spot.

If the Predators do end up moving out Saros, they already have an heir-apparent in Yaroslav Askarov currently playing for their AHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals. As the team currently rides a 19-game winning streak, Askarov has produced a 21-7-1 record throughout the season with a .920 SV% and 2.11 GAA, showing that he may be ready to take the full-time step to the NHL.

Penguins Acquire Emil Bemstrom From Blue Jackets

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A day after speaking to the media, Pittsburgh Penguins president of hockey operations and general manager Kyle Dubas has swung a trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Penguins have acquired forward Emil Bemstrom from Columbus in exchange for forward Alex Nylander and a conditional sixth-round pick in 2026.

From the Penguins perspective, it didn’t look as though Nylander was a fit with head coach Mike Sullivan’s style of play as he spent most of his time with the Penguins organization in the AHL. In the past two seasons, Nylander dressed in 14 NHL games and had a goal and an assist while getting several looks in the Penguins top six, something he was never able to turn into offensive production. The eighth overall pick in the 2016 NHL entry draft has never lived up to his pre-draft expectations and now finds himself with his fourth NHL franchise in eight years.

The Blue Jackets likely view the draft pick as the central piece of the deal. Although a sixth-round pick in two drafts isn’t exactly a haul, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic is reporting that the pick becomes a third-round pick if Bemstrom scores six goals the rest of this season with Pittsburgh.

In Bemstrom, the Penguins are acquiring a 24-year-old with some speed who was available on waivers just a few months ago. The former fourth-round pick his five goals and six assists in 32 games this season after posting a career-high 22 points in 55 games last year. He spent eight games in the AHL this season where he was dominant with 10 goals and four assists.

The move could be the first of many for the Penguins as Dubas mentioned yesterday that getting younger would be a priority and the Penguins could also make a bigger move if they elect to move on from pending free agent Jake Guentzel.

West Notes: Tourigny, Hertl, Pelletier, Blueger

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It has been a rough go for the Coyotes as of late having lost eight straight games heading into today’s action.  However, GM Bill Armstrong dismissed any notion of head coach Andre Tourigny being in jeopardy of losing his job, telling PHNX’s Craig Morgan that he won’t be making a coaching change.  Arizona was in a Wild Card spot when the calendar flipped to 2024 but now is ten points behind St. Louis for the final playoff spot.  Armstrong hasn’t hidden the fact that the plan was for a long rebuild process and while it appears the Coyotes are likely to miss the playoff for the fourth straight season (12th straight if you don’t count the expanded 2020-21 postseason), Tourigny is still viewed as the right coach to help them take that next step.

More from the Western Conference:

  • It will still be another week or so before the Sharks learn exactly how long Tomas Hertl will be out for, notes Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. The 30-year-old has missed the last three weeks after undergoing surgery to remove cartilage from his left knee.  While it has been a particularly rough year for most players in San Jose, Hertl has fared relatively well this season, all things considered.  Despite missing six games, he still leads the Sharks in scoring with 34 points through 48 games.  Pashelka notes that there is optimism that Hertl will be able to return at some point before the regular season comes to an end in April but with San Jose so far out of playoff contention, it wouldn’t be shocking to see him get shut down for the season altogether.
  • Flames winger Jakob Pelletier is making progress in his recovery from an upper-body injury that has caused him to miss the last two games but he isn’t expected to play on Monday versus Winnipeg, relays Sportsnet 960’s Pat Steinberg (Twitter link). The 22-year-old has been limited to just four games so far this season (plus four more in the minors) due to injury.  However, it appears this one won’t keep him out for much longer.
  • The Canucks have identified Teddy Blueger as one of their pending unrestricted free agents that they’d like to re-sign, CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal reported in a recent segment on Sportsnet 650 (audio link). The 29-year-old inked a one-year, $1.9MM deal with them back in July and has done well, picking up 22 points in 42 games while being one of their top-used penalty killers.  That said, contract discussions have not started as of yet and Dhaliwal feels that Vancouver may wait until late in the year to start discussing new deals with the UFA’s they’d like to keep.

Metropolitan Notes: Hamilton, Siegenthaler, Wheeler

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New Jersey Devils writer Sam Kasan tweeted an update today on Devils’ defenseman Dougie Hamilton. In speaking with the media New Jersey head coach Lindy Ruff told reporters that Hamilton remains “quite a ways away” from returning to action. The 30-year-old rearguard hasn’t played since November 28th and had surgery on a torn left pectoral muscle in early December. There was no timetable given at the time of the procedure and it appears to be status quo for the time being.

Hamilton’s injury dealt a huge blow to a Devils team that had dreams of contending for the Stanley Cup this season. Hamilton has received Norris Trophy consideration in six of the last seven seasons and was playing well for New Jersey this year with five goals and 11 assists in 20 games.

In other Metropolitan Division notes:

  • Ruff also offered an update on Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler who has been sidelined since January 6th with a broken foot. No specific timetable was given at the time, but the 26-year-old did take part in practice today dressed in a regular jersey. The Zurich, Switzerland native lined up on the team’s fourth defensive pair alongside Nick DeSimone and will be a big boost for the Devils’ defense core when he is ready to return to the lineup.
  • New York Rangers forward Blake Wheeler left tonight’s game with a lower-body injury and will not return. Wheeler was hit by Montreal Canadiens defenseman Jayden Struble and fell back awkwardly and appeared to trap his right leg under his body as he hit the ice. Wheeler was in visible pain on the play which looked eerily similar to the injury of Tampa Bay defenseman Mikhail Sergachev. Wheeler reached for his knee in obvious discomfort and was ruled out for the evening. If Wheeler has suffered a similar injury to Sergachev it is possible he could be done for the rest of the regular season. Wheeler is having one of the worst offensive seasons of his career, but he has provided the Rangers will depth scoring and would need to be replaced if he is sidelined long-term.

Phil Kessel To Work Out For Vancouver Canucks

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The Vancouver Canucks announced today that unrestricted free agent forward Phil Kessel would be working out this week in Abbotsford, presumably with the Canucks AHL squad. Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin told the media that the three-time Stanley Cup champion would be taking reps in the Vancouver area in what could become a reunion of sorts between Kessel, head coach Rick Tocchet and much of the Canucks management group. Kessel, Jim Rutherford, Tocchet, and Allvin won two Stanley Cups together with the Pittsburgh Penguins and could be the favorites to do the same in Vancouver.

Kessel has surprisingly remained unsigned despite being the NHL’s reigning Iron Man. He sits just eight points shy of 1000 for his career and was still productive last season posting 14 goals and 22 assists in 82 games on his way to a third career Stanley Cup.

Kessel has remained adamant that he wanted to continue playing and it looks as though he could do so if things go right in Vancouver. The 36-year-old isn’t the offensive threat he once was, but he remains an excellent passer and should have enough in the tank to be a good depth scoring option and a power play specialist.

His best years came in Pittsburgh while Tocchet was an assistant coach for the Penguins. He and Kessel appear to share a special relationship, and it seems that Tocchet has always been able to help Kessel find another gear in his game. If Kessel can show he has enough left in the tank and sign a contract, it could add another redemption arc to the Phil Kessel story.

Penguins Notes: Letang, Harkins, Malkin

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Seth Rorabaugh of Tribune-Review Sports is reporting that Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang left practice today for what is being described as precautionary reasons. Not much else is known about the 36-year-old’s status, but head coach Mike Sullivan told reporters that Letang is banged up a little bit.

Letang could be dealing with a nagging issue as his play has slipped as of late. He has just a single point in his last seven games despite having been elevated to the team’s top power-play unit in place of Erik Karlsson. Overall, he is having one of the finest seasons of his career with four goals and 26 assists in 49 games while playing some of his best defensive hockey. He has flourished in a different role this season even if his play has trailed off as of late.

In other Penguins notes:

  • Rorabaugh is also reporting that Penguins forward Jansen Harkins has been placed on the injured reserve with a concussion. The 26-year-old had become a regular on the Penguins fourth line alongside veterans Noel Acciari and Jeff Carter and had been taking much of the team’s defensive zone starts in recent weeks. Harkins has been okay in a depth role for the Penguins, although he hasn’t provided much in the way of offense with just four assists in 34 games this season. No word yet on a timeline for Harkin’s return but he will presumably miss the Penguins games this week.
  • Rorabaugh has also reported that Pittsburgh forward Evgeni Malkin had a maintenance day today and did not practice with his teammates. The 37-year-old skated briefly in a sweatsuit before the team’s practice while he was monitored by Penguins medical staff. Malkin hasn’t been himself this season as it appears the aging curve has started to catch up with the former Hart Trophy winner. In the last ten games, Malkin has struggled with just a single goal, and this is the second maintenance day he has received in the last few weeks leading to speculation that he could be dealing with a nagging injury of his own.

Kings Hire D.J. Smith As Assistant Coach

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2/6: The Kings have officially announced the hiring of Smith as an assistant coach for the remainder of the 2023-24 season.

2/5: The Kings are adding former Senators head coach D.J. Smith as an assistant, The Athletic’s Eric Stephens reports Monday.

Smith fills the hole created on the Kings’ bench when they promoted assistant Jim Hiller to an interim head coach role on Friday after firing Todd McLellan. The Senators let go of Smith as their head coach on Dec. 18 after an 11-15-0 start to the season.

Before accepting the head coaching job with Ottawa for the 2019-20 season, Smith spent four years on the Maple Leafs bench as an assistant under Mike Babcock, primarily working with the team’s penalty kill unit. Over that time, Toronto’s penalty kill had an 81.4% success rate, good enough for 12th in the league.

If there’s one area where the struggling Kings don’t need help, however, it’s their penalty kill. At 87.3%, they own the league’s best shorthanded unit by a 1.4% margin.

As a player, Smith spent parts of three seasons in the league between 1996 and 2003, notching a goal and an assist in 45 career outings with the Maple Leafs and Avalanche. Primarily a defenseman at the AHL level, Smith slotted into the Avs’ lineup as an enforcer for 34 games in the 2002-03 campaign.

The Kings have a slower return to play than most other teams coming out of the All-Star break. They don’t suit up again until Saturday against the Oilers, by which time Smith is expected to join the team. Per Stephens, Los Angeles returns to full practice on Thursday.

Kings Fire Todd McLellan, Name Jim Hiller Interim Head Coach

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The Kings have fired head coach Todd McLellan, according to a team statement Friday. Assistant Jim Hiller will serve as Los Angeles’ interim head coach for the remainder of the 2023-24 season.

McLellan, 56, was in the final season of a five-year contract earning him roughly $5MM per season, according to CapFriendly. He’d signed a one-year extension prior to this season, which the Kings will still owe him.

The veteran NHL head coach oversaw the Kings’ return to relevancy after their late-2010s retool, posting a 164-130-44 record in 338 appearances and guiding them to playoff berths in back-to-back seasons for the first time since a five-year run between 2010 and 2014. A team with Stanley Cup aspirations this year has now fallen out of the divisional playoff picture, though, going 3-8-6 in their last 17 games and narrowly occupying a Wild Card spot.

Most pointed to the Kings’ lack of stable goaltending entering the season as a reason why their record might crumble. Interestingly enough, that hasn’t been the case. While he’s going through a recent rut, veteran Cam Talbot has given Los Angeles above-average play with a .911 SV% and 2.5 goals saved above expected (per MoneyPuck) in 32 appearances. Since a mid-season recall from AHL Ontario, backup David Rittich has been excellent, with a .925 SV% and a 5-1-3 record in 11 games.

They’ve also dominated possession. Their expected goals share and Corsi share at 5-on-5 play both rank third in the league, but despite that, their offense has struggled to produce with subpar shooting talent. Their 152 goals scored rank 16th in the league at the All-Star break – exactly in the middle of the pack.

That would still assign blame to a roster construction issue and not a coaching one, given the team’s systems under McLellan, have been conducive to dominating play. The team’s biggest offseason swing, a trade and subsequent eight-year, $68MM extension for Pierre-Luc Dubois, has crashed and burned. The 25-year-old has 10 goals and 20 points in 48 games, far below expectations. He’s averaging under 16 minutes per game and has a team-worst -16 rating.

Nonetheless, Los Angeles will turn to a different voice to ensure they maintain their playoff spot and don’t slide further down the Western Conference standings. Hiller has been on the Kings’ staff since the beginning of last season after being let go as an assistant by the Islanders in the 2022 offseason. Prior to a three-year tenure on Long Island, Hiller served as an assistant in Toronto from 2015 to 2019 and spent the 2014-15 season as an assistant on the Red Wings’ bench. Before ascending to the NHL coaching ranks, he spent nearly a decade as a head coach in the WHL with the Chilliwack Bruins and Tri-City Americans.

Hiller’s NHL career was short-lived, but 40 of his 63 games came wearing a Kings jersey in the 1992-93 season when the Wayne Gretzky-led team advanced to the Stanley Cup Final. Hiller was involved in a major mid-season trade with the Red Wings that year, heading to Detroit along with future Hall-of-Famer Paul Coffey in a deal for winger Jimmy Carson.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Islanders Hire Benoit Desrosiers As Assistant

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The Islanders have officially added Benoit Desrosiers as an assistant coach, GM Lou Lamoriello announced Friday.

Desrosiers, 35, fills out the Islanders’ new-look coaching staff led by head coach Patrick Roy. Doug Houda and John MacLean remain in their current assistant roles, which they’ve each held since last season.

Roy and Desrosiers had worked together from 2018 to 2023 with the QMJHL’s Québec Remparts. With Roy as GM and head coach and Desrosiers as an assistant, the Remparts were crowned QMJHL champions and won the Memorial Cup last season.

Both departed the Remparts last summer to pursue higher-ranking opportunities. Roy eventually found his footing as an NHL head coach once again with the Islanders, while Desrosiers accepted a head coaching role with the QMJHL’s Gatineau Olympiques. He departs Gatineau after compiling a 16-27-6 record with a -68 goal differential through 49 games.

Stephane Leroux of RDS first reported Desrosiers was departing Gatineau to join Roy’s staff on Jan. 22. The Islanders issued a statement later that day that Desrosiers was not a member of the organization yet, although there were plans for him to interview with Lamoriello “in the future.”

Desrosiers fills a vacancy on the coaching staff not filled since the team fired Barry Trotz and two assistants after the 2021-22 season. Then-associate coach Lane Lambert was promoted to the head coaching role in Trotz’s place, but the team only hired two assistants, Houda and MacLean, to fill out the bench.

As a player, Desrosiers never reached the major junior level, but he did begin his coaching career as one of the youngest assistants in the QMJHL. His first season behind the bench was with the Chicoutimi Saguenéens in 2012-13, when he was 23 years old at the beginning of the season. He moved on to the Sherbrooke Phoenix for the 2013-14 campaign, where he remained before heading to Québec in 2017, one year before Roy took over the bench.

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