Salary Cap Deep Dive: Minnesota Wild
Navigating the Salary Cap is probably one of the more important tasks for any general manager to have. Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2018-19 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.
Minnesota Wild
Current Cap Hit: $77,729,424 (under the $79.5MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
F Luke Kunin (two years, $925K)
F Jordan Greenway (two years, $917K)
F Joel Eriksson Ek (one year, $894K)
Potential Bonuses:
Kunin: $500K
Eriksson Ek: $425K
Greenway: $400K
Total: $1.35MM
The team has just three entry-level players and all three will be critical to the team over the next couple of years. Their 2016 first-rounder, Kunin, suffered an ACL injury in April that required surgery. While he is close to be ready to return, he’s still being held out to allow his knee to fully heal. Regardless, the team has high expectations for him. He struggled to capture a full-time role with Minnesota last year, but scored 10 goals in the AHL in just 36 appearances there, while getting 19 games in with the NHL club. The team will need him to step into a full-time role as soon as he’s healthy. Eriksson Ek, the team’s 2015 first-rounder, got himself a full-time role, but struggled to put up points in the bottom-six, posting six goals in 75 games. A bigger role could allow him to take that next step.
The team also has big hopes for Greenway, who the team pried away from Boston University this spring. The 6-foot-6, 226-pound winger should provide the team with a solid power forward, who could jump into the team’s top-six immediately.
One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level
F Eric Staal ($3.5MM, UFA)
F Eric Fehr ($1MM, UFA)
D Gustav Olofsson ($725K, RFA)
F Matt Hendricks ($700K, UFA)
F Matt Read ($650K, UFA)
D Nate Prosser ($650K, UFA)
G Alex Stalock ($650K, UFA)
G Andrew Hammond ($650K, UFA)
The team will have an interesting decision to make on Staal at the end of this season. Staal, who was coming off a disappointing 13-goal season a few years ago, signed a three-year, $10.5MM deal, which has been one of the team’s best signings in their history. Staal, who many thought might be slowing down, responded with 28 goals in 2016-17 and followed that up with a 42-goal season last year. Now at age 33, what will Minnesota do in a year when he’s 34 and in need of another deal? If he posts another impressive season, the Wild will have to pay up to keep his services. A disappointing year could mean the end of a thrilling ride.
The rest of the group are full of one-year deals in which the players must prove their worth. The team brought in Fehr, Hendricks and Read to shore up their fourth line, which struggled at times last year, while the team also has a pair of veteran netminders fighting for the backup goalie spot in Stalock and Hammond.
Two Years Remaining
F Mikael Granlund ($5.75MM, UFA)
F Mikko Koivu ($5.5MM, UFA)
D Jared Spurgeon ($5.18MM, UFA)
F Charlie Coyle ($3.2MM, UFA)
F J.T. Brown ($688K, UFA)
The team gave Koivu a two-year extension a year ago, but the 35-year-old is starting to fade after a 14-goal, 31-point performance last season and could be moved down a line, especially if Eriksson Ek continues to improve. Koivu still remains the all-time leader in both games played and points, however, but this could very likely be his last contract.
Granlund could also be an interesting situation. The 26-year-old has improved his game over the last two season, posting a combined 47 goals and he had a career-high in assists last year with 46. His second half was also a big success as he posted 45 points in 46 games, almost a point a game. If he can keep that production up, the Wild should look good. Fortunately, the team has two more years to monitor his success before they have to offer him a new contract. Coyle is another player, who has the ability to put up big points, yet Coyle has struggled more recently, posting just 11 goals and 37 points in 66 games. However, a broken fibula could have been a cause of his on-ice struggles. The team hopes that he can bounce back and prove he belongs in the team’s top-six.
Spurgeon has been perhaps the team’s best defenseman this season. The 28-year-old missed 21 games with a partially torn hamstring and rushed back for the playoffs, but wasn’t 100 percent. Already injury-prone, the team still has the veteran for another couple of years before they have to decide on another long-term contract.Read more
Metropolitan Notes: Kuznetsov, Shumakov, Domoulin, Sullivan, Stolarz
The Washington Capitals can’t be happier with one of their top players in Evgeny Kuznetsov, who took that next step last year when the won the Stanley Cup, putting up career highs in goals scored and points with 27 goals and 83 points. However, general manager Brian MacLellan feels that he can do even more this year — help out on the penalty kill, according to the Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan.
That’s not a role that Kuznetsov has played much of over the course of his career. The 26-year-old has played a grand total of just 11 minutes over the last four years, which averages out to two seconds per game. However, while new head coach Todd Reirden probably won’t make too many changes to the team’s lineup after last year’s success, he has made it clear that he wants to make changes to their penalty kill, which was 15th in the league last year at 80.8 percent. One way to do that would be to inject more speed into it. That’s where Kuznetsov comes in, who could add a new element to their shorthanded line and perhaps improve his own defensive play at the same time.
“It’s a situation where we are going to try any option we can,” Reirden said. “We want to get better in that area, we need to get better in that area, and we’re going to be more aggressive, and if we’re going to be more aggressive then we have to have guys that can skate and think the game at a high level. He’s certainly one of many options we’re considering right now and he certainly seems to be up to the challenge.”
- The Capitals are without recent signee Sergei Shumakov so far in training camp, according to NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti. The 26-year-old winger who has spent his entire career in the KHL, signed a one-year, entry-level contract worth $925K. Shumakov posted 17 goals and a career-high 40 points last year for CSKA Moscow. He is expected to arrive from Russia today.
- Josh Yohe of The Athletic (subscription required) analyzes the play of Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Brian Dumoulin, who had a breakout season for Pittsburgh and who was arguably the team’s best player in their five-game series against the Washington Capitals in the playoffs last year. Domoulin, who partners with oft-injured Kris Letang, seemed to take off last year. Always a top defender, he even has started to show a little offense as he scored five goals. That may not sound like much, but considering his career-high had previously been one goal, that’s a big improvement. The team hopes he continues to get more involved in the offense this season.
- In the same article, Yohe reports that head coach Mike Sullivan will miss a few days after the death of his father, George Sullivan. Assistant coach Jacques Martin will take over for Sullivan until he returns.
- Sam Donnellon of Philly.com examines Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Anthony Stolarz, who just two years ago was looked at as a big part of the Flyers future. Fast forward to today and Stolarz is the fifth wheel in a goaltending system that already has too many goaltenders. Assuming things go as expected, the Flyers will be keeping Brian Elliott and Michal Neuvirth on their big-league club and will send Alex Lyon and top prospect Carter Hart to the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms. That leaves Stolarz, who missed most of last year after undergoing a second knee surgery. Donnellon writes while injuries are an issue amongst the veteran goalies, the likelihood that Lehigh Valley will institute a three-goalie system is unlikely, especially considering that the team needs to further develop Hart, their goalie of the future.
Central Notes: Allen, Parayko, Jokiharju, Honka, Girard
The St. Louis Blues got some good news today as goaltender Jake Allen, who has been out with back spasms and was expected to miss the first 10-14 days of training camp, said that he’s already feeling better and could return to the ice ahead of schedule, according to Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
“It’s progressed way better than when it first happened,” he said. “It’s a lot better than I thought it was and I’m feeling really good right now. I’ve made some significant progress the last couple days. It looks like I’ll be on the ice earlier than that.”
The team needs a big season from the 28-year-old after a rough season last year. The veteran posted a career-low 2.75 GAA and a poor .906 save percentage as the Blues missed the playoffs. Allen changed his training routine this summer and was primed for a big year as the Blues redesigned their roster this offseason.
- St. Louis Blues defenseman Colton Parayko has been a solid defenseman in St. Louis for years, but after agreeing to a five-year, $27.5MM contract a year ago, the team was hoping that he might have a breakout season last year. While that didn’t happen, Parayko might get that opportunity this year, according to Fox Sports’ Andy Strickland, who reports that Parayko has come to camp in great shape, finishing near the top in off-ice testing. If he’s in the best shape of his career, a big year could follow.
- Scott Powers of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Henri Jokiharju has looked good early in training camp. The 2016 first-rounder played alongside veteran Duncan Keith and was both aggressive and helped create chances on offense. The team, desperately in need of defense, could get a huge boost if the 19-year-old proves that he’s indeed ready for the NHL. He scored 71 points in 63 games with the Portland Winterhawks of the WHL last season.
- Sean Shapiro of The Athletic writes that one of the biggest beneficiaries of the Stars’ addition of new head coach Jim Montgomery will likely be young defenseman Julius Honka. The 22-year-old has regained his confidence after losing last season and has already impressed his new head coach, who hopes the 2014 first-rounder might be ready to make a significant impact in the Stars’ defense.
- BSN Denver’s AJ Haefele writes that Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar said Saturday that he wants defenseman Samuel Girard to start this season with veteran Erik Johnson after the way Girard finished the season last year. The 20-year-old finished the season with four goals and 23 points between Nashville and Colorado and showed the ability to develop into a top-four defenseman. However, there is still a lot of time in camp before that decision becomes permanent.
Pacific Notes: Carter, Monahan, Karlsson, Reaves
The Los Angeles Kings were expecting to have a lot of healthy players returning to the fold this season, most especially Jeff Carter, who went down after six games last season when he was cut with a skate across his left leg, cutting tendons and requiring surgery. The 33-year-old finally returned for a 21-games stint at the end of the season and performed well.
However, Josh Cooper of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that Carter admitted Friday that he’s still not 100 percent and still needs more time to get his ankle back in shape. Coach John Stevens said that it’s not likely Carter’s ankle will ever return to normal.
“I think he really made good progress in terms of getting back to a state of normalcy with his leg. I don’t think it’s ever going to be like it was, but I think he put a lot of work in this summer,” Stevens said. “I think he made big strides in getting closer back to where he was – a little more explosive out of the hole. He didn’t have as much irritation around the joint that he had before. I think he’s a lot further ahead now than he was when he came back last year and played.”
After returning for 21 regular season games, Carter later admitted that his ankle wasn’t truly ready and needed more rehab. Although he scored 12 goals in that span, he struggled with his ankle and was held scoreless in the four-game playoff series against the Golden Knights. Carter’s success is critical for the team’s playoff run as Carter was coming off a 32-goal season the previous year and the team hopes he can duplicate that this year, which might be more difficult for Carter now.
- After four surgeries this summer, there were a lot of questions whether Calgary Flames center Sean Monahan would truly be healthy at the start of the season. However, the Calgary Sun’s Wes Gilbertson writes that Monahan looked good to go as Monahan potted a goal in their preseason opener Saturday morning against Boston. Despite struggling through a season with numerous nagging injuries, including issues with his wrist, Monahan still managed to post 31 goals last season. Now with a healthy wrist, among other things, he looks ready to improve on that. “I liked his game. I really liked it,” said teammate Mark Giordano. “He had a deadly shot with a half a wrist. So now that he’s fully healed, his hips are good, his groins are good, his wrist is good … I’m excited.”
- While there was never any rumors surrounding Erik Karlsson and the Edmonton Oilers, many fans around the league were quite outraged when they saw Karlsson headed to division-foe San Jose instead. Considering their desperate need for a dominant defenseman and the fact that the Sharks didn’t give up any significant roster players in the trade, the Oilers were never in any negotiations, because Karlsson had no interest in going there, according to the Edmonton Journal’s David Staples. “You know, he’d be nice to have here,” said Chiarelli. “We weren’t on his list. It was really a non-starter from the beginning. But they got one puck over there, they got a lot of good defenceman. So we’ll see what happens there. But that’s a heckuva ‘d’ over there now.”
- Las Vegas Sun’s Jesse Granger reports that Vegas Golden Knights’ bruiser Ryan Reaves suffered a skate to the face Friday near his left eye, requiring 20 stitches. The injury was very close to his left eye, making him a lucky man. The 31-year-old winger was signed to a two-year deal this offseason at $2.78MM AAV despite only posting four goals and 10 points between Pittsburgh and Vegas last season. Reaves, however, blended well into Vegas’ locker room and provided an impact on the team’s energy line. He was already back on the ice Saturday.
Early Notes: Lehner, Matthews, Nylander
Last season went down as the worst statistical season Robin Lehner had during his time as a Buffalo Sabres goaltender, registering just a .908 save percentage while putting together a 14-26-9 record. His struggles weren’t just localized in the crease though, as the 27-year old explained in an incredibly open and honest piece for The Athletic today. Lehner revealed struggles with mental health and alcoholism that he has dealt with for some time, and only just started getting help for.
Though his departure from the Sabres at the end of the year may have been surprising given the team invested a first-round pick in him a few years earlier when they acquired him from the Ottawa Senators, Lehner explains it was anything but contentious. Sabres GM Jason Botterill has apparently stayed in touch with Lehner all offseason to make sure things were trending in the right direction for him, and the New York Islanders have embraced him as part of their squad for this season.
- Auston Matthews doesn’t have a long-term extension with the Toronto Maple Leafs yet, but that doesn’t mean he’s not committed to being with the team for a long time. Newcomer John Tavares confirmed as much in an interview alongside Matthews, telling Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman that the young forward’s commitment was part of the selling process on Toronto. The two star centers seem comfortable with each other already and easily deflected any questions about the Maple Leafs captaincy going forward.
- Matthews’ teammate William Nylander on the other hand is still not under contract and won’t be at the start of training camp as he continues his negotiations. Head coach Mike Babcock and GM Kyle Dubas both downplayed the situation by indicating that there are many players who go through this process around the league, but wouldn’t give an update as to when the Maple Leafs can expect Nylander on the ice. The young forward is looking for a long-term contract to secure his future in Toronto but there have been reports of a substantial gap between the two sides.
John Tortorella Signs Two-Year Extension
The Columbus Blue Jackets locked up their front office recently to multi-year contracts, and now have done the same with their head coach. The fiery John Tortorella was heading into this final season under contract but has signed a two-year extension that will keep him behind the Columbus bench through 2020-21. GM Jarmo Kekalainen explained why he has kept Tortorella around:
Our team has been one of the winningest in the NHL over the past two seasons and John Tortorella has played a critical role in that success and in raising the level of our team’s play since his arrival. His passion and commitment to being the best has permeated our team and we believe will lead to even greater success in the future.
Tortorella has been with the Blue Jackets since 2015, and has led the Blue Jackets to a 129-87-23 record over that time. The team hasn’t been able to get past the first round of the playoffs, but seem primed to at least compete for the postseason for the foreseeable future. Built on a foundation of solid defense and goaltending, Tortorella has enough talent on the roster to compete for the Stanley Cup this season if players like Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky aren’t shipped out at the deadline. Both stars are heading into the final year of their contracts and could make or break the Blue Jackets’ season.
For an in-your-face coach like Tortorella, it is extremely difficult to operate without some contract assurances. Throughout the years there have been several examples of players feuding with the vocal coach, but in Columbus things have gone relatively smoothly over the past few seasons. That’s not to say there haven’t been incidents, but the Blue Jackets investment for another two seasons doesn’t come as much of a surprise given that Tortorella is one of the few coaches to boast two Jack Adams trophies for Coach of the Year.
Metropolitan Notes: Murray, Couturier, Lundqvist, Merzlikins
The Pittsburgh Penguins have a lot invested in their goaltender of the present and future in Matt Murray. You would think replacing Marc-Andre Fleury might be a challenging procedure, but Murray’s .923 save percentage in 49 games proved that the youngster was ready for the full-time role, one of the reasons why it wasn’t as hard to let Fleury go. However, last year’s struggles already has several fans worried about Murray’s long-term success.
Murray struggled with both injuries as well as the death of his father during the 2017-18 season in which he still played in 49 games, but didn’t fare as well, posting a .907 save percentage as well as a 2.92 GAA. However, Murray as well as the team’s other backups, Casey DeSmith and Tristan Jarry, have worked hard with goaltending coach Mike Buckley, who challenged each one of them, according to Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Buckley feels that Murray has put too much pressure on himself to replace Fleury and needs to accept that he’s the “guy” now.
“The next step for him is to take it all in and enjoy it. ‘Hey, I’m the guy now. I can accept that. I don’t have to be Marc-Andre Fleury, but I can be tighter with my teammates and really open up to them.’” Buckley said.
Buckley added that Murray has worked hard on his conditioning and hopefully should be able to avoid injury, although some injuries like concussions are just unavoidable.
“In terms of how he takes care of his body, he’s meticulous,” Buckley said. “The problem is the things that you can’t control. A concussion, for example. Someone coming down and landing on you the wrong way. There’s really very little you can do about that.”
- Sam Carchidi of philly.com writes that Philadelphia Flyers general manager Ron Hextall says that No. 1 center Sean Couturier will be “absolutely” 100 percent at the start of the season in October and is already ready to resume skating. Couturier, who was expected to miss four weeks on Aug. 22 with a lower-body injury, is coming off a career-best season in which he scored 31 goals and 76 points and was a key part to the Flyers’ late-season success on a line with Claude Giroux and Travis Konecny.
- Shayna Goldman of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that this will be a challenging season for New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, who is coming off two poor seasons and now finds himself in the middle of a rebuilding project. Lundqvist has endured a very physical workload over the course of his career and didn’t get significant rest last season from then-head coach Alain Vigneault. One thing is imperative. The 36-year-old needs rest, which will be a key for new head coach David Quinn. The problem is that the team lacks an adequate backup as the no longer have either Cam Talbot or Antti Raanta serving behind him. The team now has a number of prospects, including Alexandar Georgiev, Dustin Tokarski and Marek Mazanec. However, unless one of them can step up, none seem likely to provide Lundqvist the kind of rest that he needs.
- With the possibility that the team could lose star goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky to another team when he hits free agency next season, the Columbus Blue Jackets are placing more emphasis on the future suddenly, according to Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (subscription required). While the team has their immediate goaltender of the future in their backup Joonas Korpisalo, the team is focusing their long-term hopes on Elvis Merzlikins, their third-round pick in 2014, who has been a dominant prospect for Lugano of the Swiss League. The 24-year-old has been one of the top goaltenders in the league, posting a .924 save percentage last year and is ready to come to North America next season.
2018-19 Season Primer: St. Louis Blues
With the NHL season now just a month away, it’s time to look at what each team has done this summer and what to watch for in the year to come. Today, we focus on the St. Louis Blues.
Last Season: 44-32-6 record (94 points), fifth in the Central Division (failed to reach the playoffs)
Remaining Cap Space: $284,845 per CapFriendly
Key Additions: F Ryan O’Reilly (trade, Buffalo Sabres); F Tyler Bozak (free agent, Toronto Maple Leafs); F David Perron (free agent, Vegas Golden Knights); F Patrick Maroon (free agent, New Jersey Devils); G Chad Johnson (free agent, Buffalo Sabres); F Brian Flynn (free agent, Dallas Stars); D Tyler Wotherspoon (free agent, Calgary Flames); F Jordan Nolan (free agent, Buffalo Sabres)
Key Departures: F Kyle Brodziak (free agent, Edmonton Oilers); G Carter Hutton (free agent, Buffalo Sabres); F Patrik Berglund (trade, Buffalo Sabres); F Vladimir Sobotka (trade, Buffalo Sabres); F Tage Thompson (trade, Buffalo Sabres); F Wade Megan (free agent, Detroit Red Wings); F Beau Bennett (free agent, Dinamo Minsk (KHL)); Petteri Lindbohm (free agent, Laussane (Swiss League))
[Related: Blues Depth Chart From Roster Resource]
Player To Watch: G Jake Allen — The team has upgraded its offense, already had a solid defense and has several of their top prospects banging on its door, hoping to get into their rotation this year. What they didn’t do much with is their goaltending. Allen, once considered the franchise goalie, has now struggled for more than a full season, but with three years at $4.35MM per season still on the books, he’s not going anywhere this year.
The 28-year-old netminder struggled down the stretch during the 2016-17 season, but his consistency got even worse last year when he posted a .906 save percentage and a 2.75 GAA in 59 games. The team was forced to use Hutton on many occasions to replace the struggling goaltender. In hopes of redeeming his job, Allen has said that he has changed some of his training methods this summer and hopes to come into camp and prove that he is the starting goaltender.
The team had better hope that he can, because the team lost Hutton to the Buffalo Sabres in the offseason and replaced him with Johnson, who struggled in a one-year stint in Buffalo, albeit behind an atrocious defense. The team does have prospect Ville Husso waiting in the AHL, but many believe he still needs at least one year of seasoning there before he can challenge Allen for his job.
Key Storyline: The offense has been thoroughly upgraded in the last few months and it will be up to the team to find a way to gel and make it work. One key story will be whether they can get the breakout performance that everyone in the NHL has been waiting for from Vladimir Tarasenko. The winger posted three impressive seasons coming into last year, including a 37, 40, 39-goal seasons. However, while the 26-year-old still had a solid season last year, his 33 goals was a disappointment for a player who many felt was closer to a 40-goal scorer than a 30-point scorer.
One possibility to Tarasenko’s season could come down to the addition of O’Reilly. Adding a top-line center will be critical and if the two can co-exist, then you might see the development of a superstar as Tarasenko and Paul Stastny had limited chemistry together. There is also a likelihood that Maroon, who played together with Connor McDavid in Edmonton for a while, could add his physicality to that first line and give Tarasenko an even better chance to have a big season.
Overall Outlook: Looking at the massive changes to the team, especially at the forward position means the team expects to win now. The franchise has put a lot of expectations on head coach Mike Yeo and the team as they are expected to not just make the playoffs, but compete for the Central Division title. That’s a tough chore for any Central Division team if you assume that the Nashville Predators and Winnipeg Jets will likely assume the first two spots in the division. That leaves just two playoffs spots for the rest of the division that includes the Minnesota Wild, who have been to the playoffs for six straight years, an improving Dallas Stars team, a young impressive Colorado Avalanche franchise and the Chicago Blackhawks who are trying to prove that their run isn’t over just yet. If the team fails to impress early on, that could put Yeo on the hot seat.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Metropolitan Notes: Beauvillier, Bratt, Svechnikov, Hart
Despite the loss of star John Tavares, the New York Islanders still are coming off a season in which the team was tied for seventh in goals scored. Throw in a Stanley Cup winning coach in Barry Trotz and don’t be surprised if the Islanders are competitive after all this year. While many players will have to deal with the task of making up for the loss of Tavares’ offense, one player that the team is counting on to take that next step will be Anthony Beauvillier, according to The Athletic’s Arthur Staple (subscription required).
The 21-year-old found his game in the second-half of his second season last year. After struggling early on last year, posting just seven points in the first 31 games of the season, he was demoted to Bridgeport of the AHL for the five-day break to work on his game. When he came back, his game took off as he scored 17 goals and 29 points in the final 40 games of the season when he was placed on the second line alongside Mathew Barzal.
While his success could have a lot to do with Barzal’s magnificent season, he replaced veteran Andrew Ladd, who scored just seven times in the first half of the season. Staple writes that if Beauvillier can find himself on the top line this year with Barzal and Eberle, the youngster could be in line for a breakout year.
- Corey Masisak of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that New Jersey Devils forward Jesper Bratt needs a strong camp to prove to the team that he deserves a top-six spot in their lineup this year. After shocking many in the league by winning a spot on the Devils’ roster out of training camp last year, Bratt finished the season with 13 goals and 35 points. Now, the 20-year-old must prove he belongs and can build on a solid rookie campaign. However, the question is whether he can get enough playing time to better this season. Bratt scored 10 points in his first 10 games and then picked up 29 in his first 42 games. However, his offense disappeared on the injury return of Travis Zajac as well as other crippling injuries to Marcus Johansson and Kyle Palmieri. The team also added Patrick Maroon and Michael Grabner at the trade deadline as Bratt was actually often a healthy scratch.
- It hasn’t taken long for Carolina Hurricanes’ winger Andrei Svechnikov to get a lot of attention. The second-overall pick in this year’s draft hit the ice at the Traverse City Prospects tournament, and the 18-year-old showed off his quickness and readiness to step right into the NHL, according to NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti. In two games for Carolina, he’s posted a goal and a couple of assists along with 2017 first-rounder Martin Necas. Despite their compatibility together, the team expects to break up their two rookies when training camp begins, however. “Probably a little harder in the NHL to put the two young players like that together,” Carolina general manager Don Waddell said. “Down the road I can see it, but I think right now [coach Rod Brind’Amour‘s] plan is probably to break them up in camp, let them play with some veteran players.”
- Philadelphia Flyers’ prospect Carter Hart hopes to convince the team that’s he’s ready to make the leap to the NHL and give the Flyers a cure to their goaltending issues, according to NHL.com’s Bill Meltzer. The 20-year-old goaltender dominated juniors for the last two years, and was named the CHL’s Goaltender of the Year for two straight years, a feat no goaltender has ever accomplished before. Of course, winning a job in the NHL would be quite a challenge as most feel he’ll spend the year in the AHL, but if he could do it, he’d have to beat out Brian Elliott, Michal Neuvirth, Alex Lyon and Anthony Stolarz.
Pacific Notes: Toffoli, Giordano, Goldobin, Pettersson
While the Los Angeles Kings did add Ilya Kovalchuk to their roster and have a healthy dose of veterans around, one key for the Kings will be whether the team can get Tyler Toffoli to show off more of his offensive prowess. The 26-year-old rebounded from a 13-goal season in 2016-17 to post a 24-goal season, but that’s still a far cry from the 31-goal season back in 2015-16 when he was considered one of the upcoming goal scorers in the league.
The Athletic’s Lisa Dillman (subscription required) writes that Toffoli feels that the team and especially coach John Stevens feel that it’s time for him to take that next step in his development.
“He obviously wants me to score more goals,” Toffoli said. “He said I didn’t have a bad season. Scoring 24 goals is not bad. He thinks that’s just something I need to focus on, bearing down on opportunities and not worrying about having the ups and downs.”
Many feel that Toffoli struggled over the last couple of years due to the lack of having Milan Lucic in 2016-17 as well as a healthy Jeff Carter playing alongside him last season. However, consistency has also been a problem as he tallied 11 goals in the first two months of the season and then struggled at different times to put numbers up, including one goal in January and just three goals in the Kings’ final 18 games, including going scoreless in the playoffs.
- The Athletic’s Scott Kruikshank (subscription required) looks into the fitness level of Calgary Flames defenseman Mark Giordano. The team’s top defender just turned 34 and remains in the best shape of his career. Giordano’s conditioning is one of the main reasons for his success. He has ranked first, first, first and second (last year to Michael Frolik) over the last four camps, despite his age. “I want to keep my speed as I get older,” Giordano says. “So I do a lot of strengthening of my hips and groins, working on some ankle-mobility stuff. Little things to keep my skating up to par. Speed and conditioning are the two things I like to focus on the most. But you need that strength out there, too.”
- Jason Brough of The Athletic (subscription required) wonders who will win the final spot on the Vancouver Canucks first line with Brock Boeser and Bo Horvat. The scribe says the team has three candidates in mind for that final spot, including veteran Sven Baertschi as well as Brendan Leipsic and Nikolay Goldobin. While Baertschi might sound like a logical candidate as he got some time with them last season, Brough wonders whether the team is giving every opportunity to Goldobin or Leipsic to seize the spot, which would allow Baertschi to play on the second line. The team has been hoping Goldobin, in particular, is capable of breaking out this season. He tallied eight goals in 38 games last season.
- The Vancouver Canucks got a flash of their upcoming future when top prospects Elias Pettersson and Jonathan Dahlen combined for three goals, three assists in Friday’s first game of the Young Stars Classic, according to Ed Willes of the Vancouver Sun. The two Swedes showed a chemistry together that suggests they could play together for a long time. Pettersson potted two goals, while Dahlen added a third. The two played together for parts of three years in the Timra system.