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Injury Notes: Penguins, Blue Jackets, Bruins

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The Pittsburgh Penguins could be without rookie forward Zach Aston-Reese long-term. Actually, head coach Mike Sullivan described the injury as “longer-term”, though he refrained from putting any specific timeline on his return. He did say that Aston-Reese suffered an upper-body injury in practice, which is why he missed last night’s game, a 3-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils, and will presumably miss many more. While the Penguins made a splash with their acquisition of center Derick Brassard at the trade deadline, Aston-Reese has been a point-per-game player since being recalled to Pittsburgh, spending ample time beside Sidney Crosby. Fortunately for the two-time defending Cup champs, they are also deep at wing and should have no trouble making up for the loss of Aston-Reese in their top-nine.

  • While the Penguins lose a man to injury, the rival Blue Jackets add one. Columbus announced today that captain Nick Foligno has been activated from injured reserve. Foligno missed more than a week with a lower body injury suffered against the Penguins back on the 18th. However, he’s returning to the lineup sooner than expected. The Blue Jackets are thankful for Foligno’s quick bounce back; not only are they looking to solidify their playoff position, but they also lost forward Josh Anderson to long-term injury recently. Fortunately, Foligno’s return and the additions of Thomas Vanek and Mark Letestu at the trade deadline make for a timely situation to replace Anderson.
  • Speaking of trade deadline injury replacements, the Bruins could not be happier with how their additions played in the absence of Patrice Bergeron last night. When a player of Bergeron’s caliber goes down, the team always suffers. Bergeron will be out at least two weeks with a fractured foot and it showed right away last night on the defensive side of the match-up, as Boston surrendered three easy first period goals to the Carolina Hurricanes. However, it was Rick Nash and Tommy Wingels leading the charge to a comeback victory. The pair of new Bruins combined for two goals and an assist in 32 minutes of ice time as Boston won 4-3.

Snapshots: Pacioretty, McDonagh, Hynes

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In Elliotte Friedman’s latest 31 Thoughts column on Sportsnet, the insider details all the rumors and whispers he heard on trade deadline day. Among them was a long piece on Max Pacioretty, and how the Montreal Canadiens never found a deal on him because of the high value Marc Bergevin put on his captain.

Among the contenders for Pacioretty’s services were Los Angeles, who were asked for Tyler Toffoli and Gabe Vilardi as part of a package, Minnesota, who Friedman believes were asked for Charlie Coyle, and Florida who had to decline when the Canadiens asked for Vincent Trocheck. It’s clear that Montreal is not interested in just futures, but players who can jump right into their lineup in 2018-19 to help turn the ship around.

  • Interestingly, Friedman also notes a possible discussion between Florida, Minnesota and New York that would have ended with Ryan McDonagh in Sunrise. While they weren’t involved in any of the day’s really big moves, you can be sure that the Panthers and Wild had their phones ringing on Monday.
  • Though it was originally believed that John Hynes’ contract was set to run out at the end of the season, Friedman reports that the New Jersey Devils actually have another option year with their head coach that he believes they will pick up. Hynes has helped turn the Devils into a legitimate playoff contender in the Metropolitan Division, less than a year after winning the draft lottery and selecting Nico Hischier first-overall.

Montreal Deals Tomas Plekanec To Toronto Maple Leafs

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The Toronto Maple Leafs announced they have acquired veteran center Tomas Plekanec from the Montreal Canadiens. The trade will have Montreal sending Plekanec and forward Kyle Baun to Toronto in exchange for defenseman Rinat Valiev, winger Kerby Rychel and Toronto’s second-round pick in the 2018 draft. The Canadiens will retain 50 percent of Plekanec’s salary (the maximum allowed), according to TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie.

With the Canadiens retaining half of Plekanec’s salary, that still leaves Toronto with $6MM in cap space to work with, meaning they could still add another piece if they choose to do so. Toronto Sun’s Lance Hornby writes the team is interesting in acquiring New York Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh.

Many predicted that Toronto would hop into the trade market, especially after the Boston Bruins added Rick Nash this morning from the New York Rangers. On the surface it looks like Toronto made a nice move as they moved two average prospects and a second-rounder to improve their bottom-line depth at center. There has been talk that Toronto coach Mike Babcock hasn’t been high on their fourth-line center Dominic Moore. Plekanec can now fill that void and energize the team’s bottom lines.

Sportsnet’s Eric Engels reports that the Canadiens worked with Plekanec to find the right fit although he did not have a no-trade clause. The 35-year-old wanted to stay in the Eastern Conference. The also talked about an extension in Montreal and there remains the possibility to bring Plekanec back to Montreal in the offseason. Plekanec, who has been with the franchise his entire career has played 981 games in Montreal.

As for the Canadiens, the team did get a number of pieces in return for the long-time center. They received Toronto’s second-rounder, which will give the franchise four second-round picks in this year’s draft.

Valiev is likely to join Montreal for the rest of the season as the 22-year-old defenseman is a left-handed defenseman, who many believe should fill out to be a solid bottom-pairing defenseman. He has played three full seasons with the AHL Toronto Marlies and has made 10 appearances for the Maple Leafs, all last season. Valiev has five goals and 10 assists in 40 games this year with the Marlies. Rychel is a former first-round pick in 2013 by the Columbus Blue Jackets but struggled to produce. Columbus traded him to Toronto two years ago and Rychel has shown some promise, putting up 19 goals last year with the Marlies and he currently has 10 goals this year. Both are good players, but were having trouble breaking through the Maple Leafs depth charts. That may change with Montreal.

Toronto also got Baun in the deal. While he has played five games in the NHL, that was back in 2014-15 and 2015-16. Since being acquired at the start of the season from the Chicago Blackhawks, Baun has spent the season with the Laval Rocket of the AHL and four goals and 12 assists in 54 games.

Deadline Notes: Plekanec, Green, Gionta, Kane, Lindberg

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While it’s still to early to know, Winnipeg Free Press’ Jeff Hamilton feels that there is a strong indication that the Winnipeg Jets are pushing to acquire Montreal Canadiens center Tomas Plekanec tonight. The 34-year-old veteran was also scratched for tonight’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, although that may just be to ensure he doesn’t get hurt right before the deadline. While there are no details on how close the two teams are, the plan, according to Hamilton, is for the Jets to use Plekanec on the team’s third line alongside Patrik Laine and Nikolaj Ehlers, which would give the team a deep lineup. Andrew Copp would move to the team’s fourth line and would join Joel Armia and Adam Lowry.

The Jets were supposedly working hard to acquire Derrick Brassard Friday, but lost out to the Pittsburgh Penguins and were forced to look for another center to fill their needs. While Plekanec is a step down from Brassard, the veteran may get some new life with the Jets, especially if he gets to play with Laine and Ehlers.

  • With the trade deadline less than two days away, the Detroit Red Wings still have their top trade chip remaining on their roster, but the problem is that he’s still hurt. In fact, the top rental defenseman on the market hasn’t played in five games and could miss Sunday’s game as well. While Green as practiced with the team twice now, including Friday, MLive’s Ansar Khan suggests that while there is little doubt that Green will be moved by Monday, the timing of the injury could easily diminish the team’s returns for him. He writes teams like the Tampa Bay Lightning might pause first if they feel he could re-injure himself the moment they acquire him.
  • As mentioned earlier today, there has been some interest in Team USA captain Brian Gionta. However, Pierre LeBrun adds that a couple of East teams have expressed interest in Gionta, including the Boston Bruins. While nothing in imminent, a deal could be made at some point this weekend.
  • The Buffalo News’ Mike Harrington writes that the Buffalo Sabres are holding forward Evander Kane out of the lineup tonight. Kane, one of the most anticipated trade candidates join a group of players who have been held out in the last day or two as the team doesn’t want to risk losing a player to injury just before the deadline. “Management thought it was the best decision moving forward and the best decision for Evander,” coach Phil Housley said in his pregame media briefing two hours before faceoff. “… That’s the situation for right now.” No other pending trade candidates were scratched.
  • Tobias Lindberg, who the Pittsburgh Penguins acquired from the Vegas Golden Knights Friday in the Derrick Brassard trade, has been assigned to the AHL, but not to their affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, but back to the Chicago Wolves, the affiliate of the Vegas Golden Knights, according to Chicago Wolves broadcaster Jason Shaver. The Penguins didn’t want to move him at this point of the season to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, but can still recall him at any point during the season.

Snapshots: Vanek, Tavares, Matthews

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Thomas Vanek is probably the most likely player to be traded from the Vancouver Canucks in the next few days, and yet there remains a chance he could re-sign with the team instead. Speaking with Iain MacIntyre of Sportsnet, Vanek explained he’d love to play another year with Daniel and Henrik Sedin, but they haven’t given him an answer about their future yet.

Obviously, there is also the option of trading him this weekend only to re-sign him in the summer when he becomes a free agent. Vancouver already brought back Erik Gudbranson, their other top rental option, and don’t seem poised to really be big sellers at the deadline. Vanek brought in a third-round pick last season for the Detroit Red Wings, and could likely fetch a similar price if Vancouver decides to shop him around.

  • After Josh Bailey was re-signed to a six-year contract this morning, many pointed out how it might help the New York Islanders re-sign his linemate John Tavares. The Islanders were making it clear that they wanted to keep this group together and were committed to winning. Not so fast, says John Shannon of Sportsnet, who tweets that the signing will “not have any effect” on the Tavares negotiations, and that the captain will still wait until after the season is over to make a decision.
  • Auston Matthews suffered damage to his shoulder last night, and will be out for “a bit” according to head coach Mike Babcock. Chris Johnston of Sportsnet details how the Toronto Maple Leafs plan on dealing with the loss of their superstar center, and notes that the team will not change their approach to the trade deadline.

Snapshots: Karlsson, Tolvanen, Dotchin, Neuvirth, Greiss

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There was a lot of quiet hope that when Ottawa star defenseman Erik Karlsson bought a new home in Ottawa back in August, that might suggest he intends to agree to a long-term extension when he’s eligible this year.

Don’t count on that, writes the Ottawa Sun’s Don Brennan.

Despite purchasing a new, expensive home in the Glebe before the season started, Karlsson suggested that has no meaning on his future. The 27-year-old will be a free agent in the 2018-19 offseason and constant rumors of whether he intends to stay in Ottawa have been talked about for months.

“I live here, and I’m going to live here no matter what,” Karlsson told Postmedia Saturday. “If not all year round, I’m going to live here during the summer. My wife is from here and this is where we’re set.”

  • Adam Vingan of the Tennessean writes that while the Nashville Predators are open to signing top prospect and Finnish Olympian Eeli Tolvanen to an entry-level deal when his KHL season ends (anytime between early March and late April), don’t count on him making a major impact to the team. While Tolvanen, the team’s first-round pick in 2017, would be a cheaper alternative to making a major trade for a top-six forward, an 18-year-old likely will struggle initially, although a few players in similar situations fared well in the playoffs. He points out that Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy had three assists in six first-round playoff games last year and the New York Rangers’ Chris Kreider did the same back in 2012 when he scored five goals in 18 postseason games.
  • The Tampa Bay Lightning have scratched defenseman Jake Dotchin five times in the last six games. The young 23-year-old defenseman has often found himself on the team’s top defensive pairing in the past, but suddenly can’t get on the ice. According to Tampa Bay Times Joe Smith, head coach Jon Cooper said he has been struggling on the ice of late. “He’s got some inconsistencies in his game,” said Cooper. Dotchin has played in 43 games this season and has three goals and 11 assists.
  • The Philadelphia Flyers may have just found themselves looking for a goaltender on the trade market after the team lost goaltender Michal Neuvirth to a lower-body injury during the first period in today’s game against the New York Rangers, according to Sportsnet’s John Shannon. While its too early to know whether Neuvirth will miss an extended amount of time, the team already lost goaltender Brian Elliott for five weeks after undergoing core muscle surgery last week.
  • The New York Islanders also may have some goaltending problems as goaltender Thomas Greiss, who just came off his best game of the season Friday when he shutout the Carolina Hurricanes, did not practice today as he tweaked something. “He just tweaked something,” said head coach Doug Weight. “We’re going to have it looked at and make a final ruling here moving forward. We’re prepared for anything. Obviously Bridgeport is close so if we need to do something for tomorrow we’ll be fine.” If the injury is serious, the Islanders might also be looking for a goaltender at the trade deadline.

Goalie Interference Frustrations Boiling Over

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The NHL’s issues with inconsistency in goalie interference calls are getting out of hand. Complaints from players, coaches, and executives have been flooding in since last season. Discussions were promised over this past off-season, but seemingly nothing came of it, as the problem has only grown larger in 2017-18. Last month, coaches and league executives met to discuss the rule and Commissioner Gary Bettman promised to work with officials to back off the call. Weeks later, there has been no ascertainable change. In fact, there were several incidents of inconsistent calls on one night earlier this month, stirring up frustrations. Bettman said in January that “Overall, the system works,”, but most around the league would probably disagree at this time.

So when will things change? The NHL’s goalie interference call has become somewhat of a joke like the NFL’s “what is a catch?” problem, but in a game where every goal, scored or called back, carries so much weight, this issue is no laughing matter. Perhaps one of their own players lashing out at the rule will cause the league to take action. That’s what happened tonight following the Edmonton Oilers 1-0 loss to the Arizona Coyotes after the ’Yotes scored the game-winning goal while bumping into the goalie, but won a goalie interference challenge when their own keeper, Antti Raanta was interfered with on the erased game-tying goal. The opposing goalie, Cam Talbot, stood at the other end of the ice seething. The Edmonton Sun’s Rob Tychkowski caught up with Talbot after the game and got an honest reaction:

“There’s no consistency and I’m f*****g sick of it. It’s f*****g ridiculous. You can quote me, they can fine me, I don’t give a f**k anymore.”

Talbot also spoke on more of a case-by-case basis about the rule, illustrating its inconsistency (video). For Talbot, generally a mild-mannered and polite person, as well as the NHL wins leader in 2016-17, to speak out publicly and be so clearly emotional about the topic, one would think the league would take notice. A respected goaltender unable to contain his frustrations should indicate to the league that this is a major problem. It may not be possible for a clear goalie interference rule to be firmly decided on and implemented by officials this season, but Bettman and the NHL’s leadership need to step up and put some effort into fixing this problem, starting by publicly addressing Talbot’s comments and again reiterating that changes will be made. If they don’t, goalie interference inconsistency will only continue to be a mark on the 2017-18 season.

Red Wings Notes: Trade Rumors, Athanasiou

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The Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James writes that general manager Ken Holland is absolutely cognizant of the fact that the Red Wings are in “seller” mode. St. James quotes Holland as saying:

“I’m working the phones, I’m trying to see what the other teams in the league are thinking,” Holland said. “We are obviously not a buyer, we are not spending future assets to try to get in. We’ll see here over the next week what direction we are going, but I am aware we are eight points out and games are running out.”

The quote is nearly verbatim from last year, where Holland pulled the plug during early February and started dealing at the deadline.  Beating the Anaheim Ducks last night, in a game where the Ducks outplayed and outshot the Red Wings, isn’t anything to mistake as a game that get Detroit into a playoff spot. The issue remaining is whether or not Holland will truly begin rotating players out to stockpile as much young talent and higher draft picks that he can. Where the verbiage has changed is that on a roster that Holland usually gives the nod to a veteran, he seems to be ready to open up spots for younger players:

“I’ve talked to lots of teams over the last week and 10 days, and I’m doubling back with a number of them,” Holland said. “We’d like to get assets, open up spots for a kid or two for next season.”

Holland has been gun shy when it comes to making trades in the Cap era, and he’s still working without a contract extension. With Mike Green, Jimmy Howard, Petr Mrazek, Gustav Nyquist, and even Tomas Tatar in trade conversations, it will be interesting to see if Holland really will make the deals he seems to be hinting at.

  • Andreas Athanasiou is ready to make amends for his lackluster play that resulted in a third period benching reports the Detroit News’ Ted Kulfan. Punished for a lack of effort, Athanasiou played just one shift in yesterday’s 2-1 win during the third period. In spite of his athleticism, speed, and gamebreaker ability, Athanasiou has long been made an example by head coach Jeff Blashill when he hasn’t been at his best. Kulfan writes that consistency has been an issue for Athanasiou during his young career, but it’s an interesting take in that several players, especially higher priced ones, have been similarly inconsistent or turnover prone with the puck. Though he hasn’t scored in 11 games, Athanasiou still has more points than Darren Helm, and Justin Abdelkader, and is tied with Frans Nielsen, and Tomas Tatar, who have both played 10 more games than the 23-year-old forward. The combined cap hit for Abdelkader ($4.25MM), Nielsen ($5.25MM), Tatar ($5.3MM) and Helm ($3.85MM) is $18.65MM while Athanasiou makes a fraction of their individual salaries at $1.38MM. He’s also just a point behind Gustav Nyquist ($4.75MM), who also has ten more games to his name. Though it is fair to try and teach the young forward good habits, the larger issue in Detroit is once again giving large contracts to players who simply don’t produce the points to justify such payment.

Blackhawks Notes: Bowman, Crawford

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FanRag’s Craig Morgan takes aim at Chicago Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman as the reason for  Chicago’s dizzying descent this season. After a 6-1 loss to lowly Arizona last night, the Blackhawks are not only staring down their first playoff-less season since 2007-08, but a crack at their first losing season since 2006-07. Morgan writes that after six straight losses, the Hawks are 10 points behind Minnesota for the final wild card spot. While there are whispers that head coach Joel Quenneville is in trouble, it’s Bowman, Morgan believes, who should face the brunt of the firing squad.

There are rumors swirling that Quenneville’s job could be in jeopardy if the Hawks don’t snap out of this funk soon. The timeworn clichés of “he’s lost the team” and “he isn’t using players properly” are the dullest forms of the shallow analysis littering social media.

If you go one level deeper you’ll find the real problems.”

What isn’t a secret is that Chicago has struggled to replenish the pipeline with talent following drafts that haven’t produced the players necessary to keep the Hawks at a top level (Nick Schmaltz and Alex DeBrincat are exceptions to this). Some of this is due to picks being traded for Cup runs, which is understandable. But mining the later rounds for NHL talent to supplant what is lost at the pro level is the only way a team can stay afloat. Many players the Hawks were counting on, namely Ryan Hartman, have struggled after showing promise last season.

Worse for the Hawks, captain Jonathan Toews’ struggles continue and the move to get Brandon Saad, who is also struggling, was supposed to help Toews. The mismanagement of personnel, Morgan writes, has seen a flux of talent leave via trade, which is on Bowman. Though he’s been deft in walking the tightrope that is the cap, it seems that the luck may be running out.

All that remains to be seen is who pays for those struggles once the season is over.

  • NBC Sports’ Adam Gretz believes the Blackhawks have hit “rock bottom” as he reports that the 6-1 loss against Arizona may have buried a team so many thought were due to rebound. Gretz points to the goaltending conundrum, where the loss of Corey Crawford has certainly hurt the team between the pipes. Backup goalie Anton Forsberg was yanked after the third goal and Jeff Glass, despite his inspiring ascent to the NHL, hasn’t been the answer either. Even if Crawford would return, Gretz doesn’t see much of a chance for Chicago to make up the ground necessary to make the playoffs. The Sun-Times Mark Lazerus believes that even if he’s better, Crawford shouldn’t be rushed back in what he dubbed a “lost season.”

Ian Cole Trade Speculation Cooling Off

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It wasn’t so long ago that Ian Cole seemed as good as gone from the Pittsburgh Penguins, with speculation that he could be dealt at any minute thanks to friction with head coach Mike Sullivan and a lack of role on the team. Now, according to Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Cole doesn’t seem as likely to move.

Mackey writes in his latest 20 Penguins Thoughts column that he’s heard Cole is likely to stay in Pittsburgh through the deadline now, and it’s easy to see why. The 28-year old defenseman has shown the very best of himself lately, recording six points in his last ten games while helping the Penguins go 7-2-1 during that time. The club is closing the gap on the Metropolitan-leading Washington Capitals, and Cole is a huge part of their defensive effort.

Obviously, none of this guarantees he’ll be with the Penguins come March 1st. Cole remains a pending unrestricted free agent, who would be welcomed into several contending dressing rooms if he was made available. Tagged with just a $2.1MM cap hit this season, the defenseman would be the perfect acquisition for many playoff-bound teams.

That’s true though for his current team, who haven’t been able to rely on Matt Hunwick after signing him to a three-year deal last offseason, and still have a relative unknown in Jamie Oleksiak even with his strong performance through 22 games. Cole is playoff tested, suiting up for all 49 games the Penguins have played over their back-to-back Stanley Cup runs, and provides a stable presence to the bottom pairing.

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