Metropolitan Notes: Namestnikov, Copley, Hagg, Sanheim
The New York Rangers and new head coach David Quinn sent an early message to forward Vladislav Namestnikov Saturday when the team benched him in favor of veteran Cody McLeod for today’s game against Buffalo. While Quinn said the move was meant more to reward the play of McLeod, it’s obvious the team’s new coach is sending a message to Namestnikov, according to New York Post’s Larry Brooks.
The scribe believes this is Quinn’s message to the team to play physical “in your face” hockey and not doing that, is unacceptable. Namestnikov didn’t make that adjustment in his game against Nashville on Thursday and hasn’t played physically all preseason. Enter McLeod, the 34-year-old veteran.
“Cody had a good camp, he played well, and I think he will bring a little more pace and energy to the group,” Quinn said before the optional morning skate. “This will give him a chance to continue to build off his camp. Vladdy and I had a good conversation. He’s still fighting his way through it.”
- The Athletic’s Chris Kuk, in a mailbag piece (subscription required) writes that while the Washington Capitals could have considered going after a backup goaltender in the waiver wire last week, the team’s No. 1 priority was going after a forward to replace the loss of Tom Wilson, who was suspended for 20 games. They did that when they claimed Dmitrij Jaskins. However, Kuk doesn’t believe the team would have gone after a goaltender anyway as they feel that starter Braden Holtby can take a bigger load early in the season as the team monitors the play of Pheonix Copley. If they feel at the trade deadline that Copley isn’t the answer, they can trade for one then.
- While the Philadelphia Flyers have little to worry about when it comes to offense when it has two players capable of putting up 30 goals in James van Riemsdyk and Wayne Simmonds, the team does have to worry about its defense. Even with two of the top young defenders on their roster in Shayne Gostisbehere and Ivan Provorov, the team really needs to develop second year players Robert Hagg and Travis Sanheim, according to Philly.com’s Sam Carchidi. Both players had their ups and downs last year. The physical Hagg started the season strong, but struggled as the season wore on, while Sanheim was sent to the AHL early on in the season last year and came back much improved. If the two can show some consistency this year, the Flyers chances of a playoff run could be much improved.
Atlantic Notes: Cooper, Nylander, Kotkaniemi, Kronwall, O’Brien
Despite the fact that Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper is in the final year of his contract, often a bad sign if a team hasn’t extended him, that isn’t the case here. Cooper and new general manager Julien BriseBois have a long history together as BriseBois was the one who originally hired Cooper back in 2010 as the head coach of their AHL franchise when BriseBois was the assistant general manager.
The Athletic’s Joe Smith (subscription required) documents their long history together and writes that even though negotiations haven’t started, BriseBois and Cooper aren’t worried about it at all, considering the trust and bond the two share together.
“I don’t see anyone else I’d want to work with right now,” BriseBois said, who hoisted a Calder Cup trophy with Cooper seven years ago. “The people who were there with you, you never forget that.”
- Damien Cox of The Star writes that while the Toronto Maple Leafs haven’t done anything wrong when it comes to the contract situation with holdout William Nylander, the team does need to think about how it intends to manage their next two major contract discussions when they must tangle with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. While Nylander is rumored to be asking for $8MM plus in his next deal, both Matthews and Marner could ask for quite a bit more. With the team’s significant cap issues in front of them, the scribe writes the team would be well advised to avoid a similar situation next season by trying to lock those two youngsters up during the season.
- Montreal Canadiens’ centers have already begun training their newest addition in Jesperi Kotkaniemi by working separately after practice with him on faceoffs on Friday. According to The Athletic’s Marc Antoine Godin (subscription required), Tomas Plekanec, Mathew Peca, Andrew Shaw and Phillip Danault got together and helped teach the 18-year-old some tips and tricks on taking faceoffs with the hopes that the youngster improves his game as quickly as possible.
- The Detroit Red Wings will be without Niklas Kronwall and Jonathan Ericsson for their two-game road-trip, according to the Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James. Both defensemen have been on injured reserve and still are not ready to return to action.
- While not on the Ottawa Senators NHL roster, Matt Tidcombe of the Belleville Senators website reports that team lost forward Jim O’Brien for four to six months after the 29-year-old forward underwent surgery on a severed tendon in his right leg in an AHL preseason game. O’Brien played 10 games for Ottawa last year.
Snapshots: Hamonic, Russell, Seidenberg, Gionta
When the Calgary Flames recalled Rasmus Andersson yesterday, it was an indication that defenseman Travis Hamonic‘s facial fracture, suffered in the team’s opener, was going to cause him to miss some time. However, the team has now officially announced that Hamonic has been placed on injured reserve. The team has labeled his status as week-to-week with no specific timeline for a return. Hamonic suffered the blow in a first period fight with the Vancouver Canucks’ Erik Gudbranson and was forced to leave the contest early. Hamonic has been sidelined frequently in his career, with his 74 games for Calgary last season actually setting a new career-high. Hamonic missed eight games for the Flames in his first season with the team, but spread throughout the season and not more than four at a time. The Flames would be fortunate if this injury only costs Hamonic four games. In the meantime, Andersson, fellow rookie Juuso Valimaki, and veteran depth defender Dalton Prout will be asked to pick up the slack in Hamonic’s absence.
- The rival Edmonton Oilers are getting one of their top defensemen back from injury, as the team announced that Kris Russell has been activated from the injured reserve. Russell’s injury was never disclosed by the team, nor was a timeline given, making his activation both a surprise and not a surprise at all. Russell traveled with the team to Europe and returns in time for the Oilers’ season opener against the New Jersey Devils in Sweden. Russell will skate with rookie and 2018 first-round pick Evan Bouchard, as he makes his NHL debut. In a corresponding move, Edmonton has returned young puck-moving blue liner Ethan Bear to the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors. Bear has been established as the next man up on defense, so if Bouchard’s early action does not impress and he is returned to junior, expect a prompt recall for Bear.
- The New York Islanders are keeping defenseman Dennis Seidenberg and forward Stephen Gionta with the team on extended PTO’s, notes Newsday’s Andrew Gross. Both veterans played for the Islanders last season and are familiar with the roster and seem willing to hang around in case an opportunity to officially return arises. Per Gross, head coach Barry Trotz called the pair “long-term insurance”. Seidenberg and Gionta will participate in practice and wait to see how the early season unfolds for the Isles, both in health and performance. Neither veteran has much of a ceiling at this point in their career, but are experienced, serviceable, hard-working pros who could step in if needed and provided some immediate support.
Injury Notes: Tuch, Johns, Hayton
Although the nature of his injury remains a complete mystery, Vegas Golden Knights forward Alex Tuch is headed to the injured reserve. The team announced this evening that the young power forward has been placed on IR, but did not add any further detail to the release. Tuch’s unavailability paired with the recent demotions of Daniel Carr and Curtis McKenzie leaves the Knights with just twelve healthy forwards and an open roster spot heading into their opener, indicating that the team will soon name a replacement to the roster, likely a recall from the AHL’s Chicago Wolves. Meanwhile, Tuch is eligible to return on October 8th, when Vegas travels to his hometown Buffalo Sabres. The Golden Knights will try to get Tuch back to full strength as soon as possible, as the 22-year-old recorded 37 points in his first full NHL season last year and appears primed for a breakout campaign in 2018-19.
- The Dallas Stars clarified the status of defenseman Stephen Johns today, while also shedding light on their recent acquisition of fellow right-handed defenseman Connor Carrick. Sportsday’s Matthew DeFranks writes that Johns has been dealing with post-traumatic headaches over the past few weeks and the condition has landed him on the injured reserve. While head coach Jim Montgomery indicated that Johns could return to practice as soon as Wednesday – he has only practiced once since September 16th – but there is no timeline for his return to game action. The team will likely take it slow while Johns works through a sensitive diagnosis and in the meantime Carrick can help to pick up the slack. Johns was one of Dallas’ more consistent blue liners last season and the team will welcome him back when he is ready to go. Outside of Johns and forward Valeri Nichushkin, out day-to-day with a lower body injury, the Stars have had good luck with injuries in camp and enter the regular season with a solid depth chart of healthy players.
- Last week, we noted that the Arizona Coyotes had reached the maximum of 50 contracts for the organization and had technically exceeded the limit with entry-level contracts for Barrett Hayton and Pierre-Olivier Joseph. However, the two youngsters were expected to be returned to juniors which would discount their contracts against the limit. While Joseph has returned to the QMJHL’s Charlottetown Islanders, Hayton has in fact been officially named to the opening night roster, the team announced. How does such a move work? Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that Hayton will not count against the contract limit until he has played in the minimum ten games for his contract to toll. As such, Hayton’s stay in the desert could be predetermined to just a short nine-game stint. However, if he wins a long-term spot on the roster, the Coyotes will be pressed to trade away one or more players under contract to make space. Why give Hayton this chance considering their roster inflexibility? Arizona is currently dealing with a laundry list of injuries, with Alex Galchenyuk, Christian Dvorak, and Josh Archibald on injured reserve and Nick Merkley additionally sidelined. The recent first-round pick may present the best opportunity in the system to make up for these losses.
Vancouver Canucks Won’t Name Captain To Start Year
The Vancouver Canucks have announced their leadership group for the 2018-19 season, and it does not include the next captain in franchise history. Bo Horvat, Alexander Edler, Brandon Sutter and Chris Tanev will all wear an “A” as alternate captains this season, making up for the loss of Henrik and Daniel Sedin as the unquestioned leaders of the group. Head coach Travis Green released a statement about the decision:
Alex Edler, Bo Horvat, Brandon Sutter and Chris Tanev form our leadership group as alternate captains, supported by a wider group of veteran players. Our team culture will be built from leadership by committee. It will be a big part of our process and our identity each and every game.
There are several teams around the league that will operate this season without a captain, and the Canucks faced no rush to name one for this upcoming season. Though many believe that Horvat will eventually take on the role given his natural leadership abilities, heaping that responsibility onto his shoulders before a season where he will be asked to bear a huge load might have been too much to ask. Without Sedin in the mix, Horvat will be the unquestioned number one center on the Canucks and is a key part of an evolving offense that has both extremely talented young players and a lot of question marks in their top group.
Edler’s name is interestingly listed first in the release, despite him only being under contract for the upcoming season. Scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2019, there hasn’t been much reporting over whether he’ll sign an extension with the team or be used as trade bait later on during the year. He and Tanev both are potential trade chips that the team could flip to add more assets in the age range of the core of the roster, but will serve as the experienced voices in the room for the time being.
Snapshots: Waiver Wire, Sundqvist, Burdasov
With the waiver wire having received a lot of action over the past week or more, don’t be surprised if there is even more significant action on Monday, reports TSN’s Frank Seravalli. It’s the last day for a team to place a player on waivers to have him clear prior to teams are asked to submit their opening day rosters on Tuesday afternoon.
So far only the Tampa Bay Lightning and New Jersey Devils have claimed a player when Tampa took forward Danick Martel from the Philadelphia Flyers and New Jersey took Jean-Sebastien Dea from Pittsburgh, but that could change within the next day or two as teams have been holding off placing some of their top players on waivers. For instance, Toronto must make a decision on a backup goalie and could be placing two goalies on waivers on Monday, including Garret Sparks. Especially with a rash of injuries over the last few days, teams may be looking to fill voids on the depth chart now that their training camp roster has been determined.
- After taking a hit to the head from Tom Wilson during a preseason game today, St. Louis Blues coach Mike Yeo reports that forward Oskar Sundqvist is “not good,” according to NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti. While there has been no official diagnosis yet, Yeo said he has a couple of upper-body injuries and expects him to be out a while. The 24-year-old had been penciled in as a bottom-six player for this year’s squad, but now may miss a part of the season.
- NHL general managers may be looking at another possible free agent available to teams next season as NHL.com’s Igor Eronko reports that one of the KHL’s current points leaders, Anton Burdasov, has expressed interest in trying to make it in the NHL next year when he’s an unrestricted free agent. The 27-year-old Burdasov has averaged 16 goals per season in his previous two seasons, but has taken off this year, having already scored eight times in Ufa Salavat Yulayev’s first 12 games.
Metropolitan Notes: Wilson, Darling, Islanders, Vorobyev
Twitter went into an uproar today after Washington Capitals’ Tom Wilson was ejected after another high hit to the head, this time to St. Louis Blues Oskar Sundqvist during the second period of their preseason game. The link to the video is here. Sundqvist had to be helped off the ice and has not returned.
It’s almost a guarantee that Wilson will be suspended to start the year once again, like he was last year. The Department of Player Safety announced that he has been offered an in-person hearing, allowing them to suspend him for more than five games if they so desire.
Wilson has been known for his hits, especially against the Blues in the preseason. He was suspended twice last preseason for hits against the Blues. He was suspended two preseason games for a late hit on Robert Thomas and then was suspended for four regular season games for boarding Samuel Blais in the final preseason game.
This could be the fourth suspension that Wilson has received in a year as he also received a third suspension during the Pittsburgh Penguins in the playoffs last season when he hit Zach Aston-Reese, giving him a concussion and a broken jaw. Wilson has taken on a bigger role in the past year, moving up to the first line and then signing a six-year, $31MM contract in the offseason, but with so many repeat offenses, could end up with a significant suspension.
- The Carolina Hurricanes are concerned after goaltender Scott Darling had to leave their preseason game today with what they listed as a lower-body injury, according to NHL.com’s Michael Smith. “It’s a concern,” said head coach Rod Brind’Amour. “I’m not 100 percent sure what it is yet. He tweaked something in the lower body.” The team was counting on Darling to step up after a down season last year, his first as a full-time starter. The goaltender had been praised this offseason for an improved work-ethic, but now could miss some time early on in the season. The team may have to turn to Petr Mrazek to fill in for him.
- Newsday’s Andrew Gross reports that the New York Islanders will wait until the last possible second to make its final roster moves. He writes that general manager Lou Lamoriello is a big believer of using every minute it has available to it, so coach Barry Trotz won’t release his final roster until 48 hours before their first game, which will be on Tuesday. Trotz added that Lamoriello has been working the phones hard to try and add some available talent.
- The Philadelphia Flyers have confirmed they will be keeping forward Mikhail Vorobyev on their opening day roster, according to NHL.com’s Bill Meltzer. “He came in and made an impact, and that’s what you’re looking for with young players,” said general manager Ron Hextall. “He’s a real good two-way player. With many young players, you worry about the defensive side of the puck.” Vorobyev impressed Flyers’ brass after posting seven points in seven preseason games.
Atlantic Notes: Toronto’s Goalies, Carrick, Kronwall, Joseph
The Toronto Maple Leafs have a tough decision in front of them in net as head coach Mike Babcock and general manager Kyle Dubas must decide who will be their backup goalie as the team still has four goalies on their training camp roster, including starter Frederik Andersen, incumbent backup Curtis McElhinney as well as AHL stars Garret Sparks and Calvin Pickard, according to Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star.
That could be a bigger decision than thought despite the solid season that McElhinney had last year. The 35-year-old posted a 2.14 GAA and a .934 save percentage in 18 games last year, but is on the final year of a team-friendly contract ($850K) and could conceivably cost the team, expected to have cap problems starting next season, quite a bit next season. Sparks, on the other hand, will just be a restricted free agent next season after posting impressive numbers for the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, the Calder Cup champions, when the 25-year-old posted a 1.79 GAA in 43 games with a .936 save percentage. Pickard, thought to be the future of the Vegas Golden Knights, is also on the roster.
The fear is the team would likely lose Sparks if they place him on waivers to send him to the AHL, which might force the team to decide which player they would rather have, not just this season, but as their future long-term backup. Pickard, who was a backup in Colorado two years ago, could also be lost as well if they decide to place him on waivers.
- McGran, in the same story, adds that the Maple Leafs are also looking to trade a few of their players, most notably defenseman Connor Carrick, who the team fears they will lose if they place him on waivers. Carrick got into 47 games last season, posting four goals and 12 points, but could be highly coveted by teams with defensive issues such as the Vancouver Canucks or even the Detroit Red Wings.
- The Detroit News’ Ted Kulfan writes that veteran defenseman Niklas Kronwall tweaked something in practice and now is questionable for the team’s season opener, joining Jonathan Ericsson and Trevor Daley as questionable for Thursday. Mike Green is already considered out. With those potential losses, Detroit will have to depend on their plethora of young defensemen to fill in. Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James writes that defenseman Dennis Cholowski has already won a spot on the team’s defense, but Filip Hronek, Joe Hicketts and Libor Sulak all could stay depending on those injuries.
- While there is no specific word on whether or not he’s made the Tampa Bay Lightning, it’s expected that rookie Mathieu Joseph is a top candidate to make the team, according to Tom Jones of the Tampa Bay Times. Joseph stands out the most with a preseason high of four goals. The scribe describes Joseph as a future star, who could come out of no where such as Brayden Point.
2018-19 Season Primer: Dallas Stars
With the NHL season now less than a week away, we continue our look at what each team has done this summer and what to watch for in the year to come. Next up is a look at the Dallas Stars.
Last Season: 42-32-8 record (92 points), sixth in the Central Division (missed the playoffs)
Remaining Cap Space: $4,445,835 per CapFriendly
Key Additions: F Blake Comeau (free agent, Colorado), F Erik Condra (free agent, Tampa Bay), D Joel Hanley (free agent, Arizona), G Anton Khudobin (free agent, Boston), F Michael Mersch (free agent, Los Angeles), D Roman Polak (free agent, Toronto).
Key Subtractions: D Andrew Bodnarchuk (free agent, Red Bull Munchen, DEL), F Brian Flynn (free agent, St. Louis), D Dan Hamhuis (free agent, Nashville), G Mike McKenna (free agent, Ottawa), F Curtis McKenzie (free agent, Vegas), D Greg Pateryn (free agent, Minnesota), F Antoine Roussel (free agent, Vancouver),
[Related: Stars Depth Chart From Roster Resource]
Player To Watch: F Tyler Seguin — The Stars have placed all their faith in Seguin to lead the team to the playoffs and beyond this summer when they signed the 26-year-old to an eight-year, $78.8MM extension this summer. While that $9.85MM AAV doesn’t kick in until the 2019-20 season, the team hopes that Seguin is finally ready to take that next step as an NHL elite player.
The center did post a 40-goal season for the first time in his career, but he has only surpassed 80 points once in his career. While he is expected to man the top line once again alongside veteran Jamie Benn and Alexander Radulov, the team hopes he can take that next step and be a consistent 80 or 90-point player the team truly needs.
Key Storyline: What the team needs more than anything is secondary depth at forward. While the first line was impressive offensively, the remaining lines were the opposite of that as few players stepped up and showed they can score goals. The team had hopes last year that players such as Radek Faksa, Brett Ritchie, Jason Spezza and Martin Hanzal would make up the remaining bulk of the scoring, but none of them did. While Faksa’s defensive game took big strides, he still posted just 33 points last season. Ritchie was even worse, posting just seven goals and 14 points. Spezza’s game went down as well, going from 50 points in 2016-17 to 26 points last year, while Hanzal struggled with injuries all season.
This year, the team has hopes that they can get a solid return from 23-year-old Valeri Nichushkin, who played the last two years in the KHL, and now returns. They still hope Spezza can bounce back, while the team has high hopes that Mattias Janmark, Faksa, Tyler Pitlick and Comeau can increase that scoring. Whether that will happen is questionable as Nichushkin put up very pedestrian numbers in the KHL while he was away, so assuming he posts big numbers seems unlikely, while the 35-year-old Spezza will have to prove that the game hasn’t passed him by.
Overall Outlook: While the goaltending seems to be more solidified as the team replaced backup Kari Lehtonen with Khudobin, who should be a better stopgap if starter Ben Bishop goes down with another inconvenient injury and a much stronger defense with the addition of 19-year-old Miro Heiskanen and a more confident Julius Honka, the team has a solid defense behind him. Add in a new coach in Jim Montgomery, the team has a lot of promise, but where that offense will come from is a question that the team will have to prove if they have any chance in competing in a very competitive Central Division.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Injury Notes: Krug, Brown, Schneider
Boston Bruins defenseman Torey Krug left the team’s preseason finale in the first period last night and the early indications are not good. Krug did not return to the game and was later seen in a walking boot. Head coach Bruce Cassidy did not have much of an update after the game, saying that he has “no information” on his status, adding “hopefully it’s nothing serious, but it’s tough luck if it is, obviously.” The offensive blue liner was already returning from a fractured ankle suffered in the postseason and had been limited in training camp, but this sounds as if it was a new injury on Saturday night. Whether that is good or bad remains to be seen and with the regular season opening in just a few days, Krug’s availability is up in the air. The team does have fellow puck-moving lefty Matt Grzelcyk to fall back on. Grzelcyk was a starter as a rookie last season for the Bruins, but looked slated for No. 7 duty to begin the year. If he can overcome his own minor lower-body injury, he would be an easy fix. If not, Cassidy said that he would not hesitate to start rookie Urho Vaakanainen. The 2017 first-round pick is in his first season in North America, but has impressed in camp and has yet to be cut. While Krug is clearly the superior option, the Bruins have plenty of depth to manage his potential absence to begin the year. The concern would be just how long their power play quarterback remains sidelined.
- Los Angeles Kings veteran forward Dustin Brown was another casualty last night. The big winger took a shot up high from teammate Anze Kopitar and was forced out of the game. Brown did not return and the team issued an update that he had suffered an upper-body injury on the play. However, there has been no word from the Kings since. The Athletic’s Lisa Dillman reached out to head coach John Stevens and GM Rob Blake, but could not get any more information. The team is likely taking their time to evaluate Brown, but it’s also possible that the injury is more serious and the team wants to approach the news on their terms. Like Krug, the proximity of the injury to Opening Night leaves his status to begin the year as a question mark.
- One question that has been answered is who starts the year in net for the New Jersey Devils. Although he traveled with the team to Europe for their exhibition game in Switzerland and regular season opener against the Edmonton Oilers in Sweden, Cory Schneider is primarily there to continue working with the team’s medical staff. Head coach John Hynes made it official today that Schneider will not start for the Devils in their opener, reports NHL.com’s Mike Morreale. Still rehabbing from off-season hip surgery, it was always a long shot for Schneider to be ready to go for game one. New Jersey’s starter has yet to even be cleared to play. As such, last season’s savior Keith Kinkaid is likely to get the call, while veteran third-string keeper Eddie Lack remains on the roster as the current backup. Schneider is actually progressing well in his recovery and could be back in net soon, just not next week.