Morning Notes: Player Poll, Draft Lottery, Matthews
The NHLPA released its annual Player Poll, where it asks members to vote on a variety of things from fastest skater to best role model. Sidney Crosby‘s name was understandably everywhere, leading categories like “most difficult to play against” and even getting some love in the top player of all-time.
Interestingly, the players were also asked which coach they would most like to play for and Joel Quenneville came out on top. With things deteriorating in Chicago, many have wondered whether Quenneville would be back in 2018-19 for the Blackhawks. If the player’s opinions mean anything, there is certainly still an appetite for him to be behind the bench.
- The NHL Draft Lottery is a huge event these days, and with Rasmus Dahlin the top prize the draw will be just as exciting as ever. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic tweets that the unofficial date that’s being considered is April 28th, which would be less than eight weeks from now. Remember, three non-playoff teams will be selected to move up in the draft, and while the worst team has the best chance, it’s still more likely that someone else takes home the first-overall pick.
- The Toronto Maple Leafs are reeling recently, dropping four straight games and looking disjointed without their top forward on the ice. Luckily, the team welcomed Auston Matthews back to the beginning of practice today according to Kristen Shilton of TSN, though he remained in a non-contact sweater. Matthews had completed some work before practice by himself, and is getting closer to a return from the injury that he suffered against the Islanders on February 22nd.
Vancouver’s Baertschi Likely Done For Season
The Vancouver Canucks head coach Travis Green announced that winger Sven Baertschi has a separated shoulder and is most likely done for the season. The injury occurred in the Canucks game against the Nashville Predators Friday when Baertschi was took a hit from Predators’ defenseman Alexei Emelin early in the game and was forced to leave.
The 25-year-old Baertschi has struggled with injuries this season as he missed almost a month in December when he was hit in the jaw with a puck. He has had a good season when healthy as he has 14 goals and 15 assists in 53 games, which was on pace for a career high. However, he has never played a full season in the NHL as 69 games is his career high, back in 2015-16. He missed almost a month last season when he suffered a concussion.
The injury may also not help him in his negotiations with the Canucks as Baertschi will be a restricted free agent this summer. The team must decide whether Baertschi is part of the team’s future or whether they should move him. He is wrapping up a two-year, $3.7MM deal he signed in 2016.
Injury Notes: Eichel, Jets’ Updates, Scandella, Schmidt, Neal
Jack Eichel has taken his first step or skate in his road to recovery from the high ankle sprain that sidelined him on Feb. 10. Given a timetable of four to six weeks, Eichel skated Saturday for the first time, according to the Buffalo News’ Mike Harrington. Despite skating, head coach Phil Housley stated that he is not ready to return to practice yet and there is no timetable for a return.
“We don’t want to put him under that sort of pressure,” Housley said. “He has skated. He started skating yesterday so that’s good to see him start making progress.”
With the season hitting its final stretch, there is no guarantee that Eichel will return to the lineup at all, although Housley said that Eichel definitely wants to return before the end of the season. The 21-year-old was on pace to surpass his career highs in goals as he already had 22 goals in 55 games (24 goals is his career high). The team is 4-5-1 without Eichel these past 10 games.
- Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun writes that Winnipeg Jets defenseman Jacob Trouba and forward Adam Lowry are both progressing, but aren’t expected to return during the Jets’ six-game road trip. Trouba has been missing since Jan. 25 with an ankle injury has been skating for more than a week, while Lowry has been out since Feb. 1 with a lower-body injury. However, forward Brandon Tanev is ready to return, but head coach Paul Maurice doesn’t want to change his forward lineup. Defenseman Toby Enstrom is expected back either Tuesday or Thursday. He’s missed two games with a lower-body injury.
- Wiebe also adds that Winnipeg Jets goaltender Steve Mason is traveling to New York City to meet up with team for their upcoming game against the New York Rangers on Tuesday. He got in a game of conditioning with the Manitoba Moose Saturday, allowing four goals on 22 shots in a 5-4 overtime victory. Mason has been out with a concussion and hasn’t played in a game since Jan. 9.
- Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News tweets that defenseman Marco Scandella, who missed most of Friday’s game due to a big hit on the boards, is practicing with the team today.
- SinBinVegas tweets that Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Nate Schmidt and winger James Neal (hand) both did not fly with the team to New Jersey, which will start the team’s five-game road-trip. However, both are expected to eventually meet up with the team.
Snapshots: Maple Leafs Future, McDonagh, Price, Ferland
While armed with top talent to make a Stanley Cup run now, the Toronto Maple Leafs will also have quite a few decisions to make after this season. For purposes of their playoff run, the team held onto its two key unrestricted free agents in Tyler Bozak and James van Riemsdyk. However, there is an extreme likelihood the team will move on from those two after the season. The team’s salary cap will continue to tighten over the next couple of years, especially with the pending extensions of Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Mitch Marner. In fact, all three could be extended this summer, although Nylander is the only one who will be a restricted free agent when the offseason begins.
Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star writes that its unlikely either Bozak or van Riesmdyk will return. Bozak is especially unlikely as he will be highly coveted by teams that are in need of a center and might overpay to sign him, something that Toronto cannot afford to do. Van Riemsdyk is another player, who puts up lots of goals, but lacks in other areas and McGran writes that he could see coach Mike Babcock wanting to move on as well.
What other options are out there? One legitimate possibility would be for the Maple Leafs to go out and sign KHL star and former NHLer Ilya Kovalchuk. The 34-year-old winger might be a perfect replacement for van Riemsdyk and would be much cheaper. Kovalchuk is coming off his best two seasons in the KHL as well as leading Russia to a gold medal and winning the MVP award at the Olympics a couple of weeks ago.
McGran also mentions Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau‘s former teammate and buddy would be an interesting possibility to replace Bozak. While he’s coming off a tough injury, Thornton would provide the team with more leadership and experience. Russian defenseman Igor Ozhiganov of CSKA Moscow has also been linked to the Maple Leafs. Among the top in-house candidates, McGran points to wingers Andreas Johnsson and Carl Grundstrom along with centers Miro Aaltonen and Frederik Gauthier as players who could fill out Toronto’s line next season. The team should also have some defensive depth options in Calle Rosen, Andreas Borgman and Timothy Liljegren.
- Tampa Bay Times’ Joe Smith writes that while the Tampa Bay Lightning attempted to pry defenseman Erik Karlsson from Ottawa at the trade deadline, the acquisition of defenseman Ryan McDonagh was hardly a fallback option. The general belief is that McDonagh might prove to be a better fit within the Lightning system. McDonagh, who might be ready to play in Tuesday’s game against the Florida Panthers, is considered to be the better shutdown guy who has the more well-rounded game than Karlsson. “McDonagh is one of the most well-rounded defensemen in the league,” said two-time Stanley Cup-winning defenseman Brian Engblom, the Lightning’s Fox Sports Sun color analyst. “He’s a No. 1 on any team — a 1A-1B with Victor Hedman, and that’s only because Victor is Victor. (McDonagh) thinks about the right net first. “That doesn’t mean he’s not good passing the puck or making plays. He can play in any situation. He’s really mobile, really smart. He covers up a lot of mistakes by other people. He’s pretty much everything you want to list in an all-around defenseman.”
- Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price skated for the first time since suffering a condition on Feb. 22, according to TVA Sports Renaud Lavoie. While he still has a ways to go, the hope is that Price will be able to practice with the team soon. Price has had a tough season as the 30-year-old has struggled with injuries. He has a 2.98 GAA and a .904 save percentage, which is not great for a goalie whose eight-year, $84MM extension kicks in next season.
- Postmedia’s Kristen Anderson writes that Calgary Flames winger Micheal Ferland will return to action on Monday on the team’s top line against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Ferland, who is having a breakout season, has missed the last four games with an undisclosed injury. He has 20 goals and 14 assists this season, a career-best.
Western Notes: Yeo, Bouwmeester, Nugent-Hopkins, Tolvanen, Kamenev, Bernier
While they’ve hardly been eliminated from the playoffs, the St. Louis Blues are definitely having a disappointing season. With that in mind, the St. Louis Blues are likely to make some changes this offseason. The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford (subscription required) writes in a mailbag column that one change that shouldn’t happen is a coaching change. While the coach always must be held accountable for his actions, the scribe writes that it’s too early to push all the team’s failings on head coach Mike Yeo, who has only been with the team a little more than a year. Many of the leadership and chemistry issues that the team has were already there before Yeo got there.
While Rutherford does admit it’s disturbing that Yeo’s last coaching stint with the Minnesota Wild had many of the same issues, Yeo deserves more time to right the ship, which might require some personnel changes on the ice as many players are not pulling their weight.
One other issue is the team has struggled with key injuries to key players. The team failed to find an offensive replacement when Robby Fabbri or Jaden Schwartz were injured. In fact in 20 games without Schwartz, the team was 9-10-1.
- In the same piece, Rutherford writes that while many people would like the team to buyout players who are struggling in St. Louis like Patrik Berglund, Jake Allen and Alex Steen, that won’t happen this offseason. All of their contracts would be too expensive to buyout. Berglund’s buyout cost would be $9.7MM, Allen’s would be $9MM and Steen’s contract would cost them $10.6MM. The most likely buyout candidate might be defenseman Jay Bouwmeester, who would only cost the team $3.6MM and would count just $1.8MM against the cap for the next two years.
- The Edmonton Oilers announced they have activated center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins off of injured reserve Saturday. The 24-year-old has been out since Jan. 13 with a rib injury. While the former first overall pick will not be rejoining a team headed for the playoffs, he might bring up his own value with a good end of the season. Nugent-Hopkins could be a legitimate trade candidate this offseason. He was having a solid season in which he had 16 goals and 31 points in 46 games. With teams being desperate for centers and the Oilers having quite a few of them, they might find a taker for him.
- The Eeli Tolvanen countdown continues as the Nashville Predators are awaiting their top prospect after his KHL team wraps up their season. The Tennessean’s Adam Vingan writes that Tolvanen’s team, Jokerit, opened their first-round playoff series Saturday with a double-overtime loss. The earliest possible day for Jokerit to be eliminated would be this Wednesday. If so, Tolvanen could join Nashville for their remainder of the season and the playoffs if they feel he can contribute. Of course, the Predators are loaded with depth since the trade deadline after acquiring Ryan Hartman and signing Mike Fisher.
- Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar said that Vladislav Kamenev, who has been out with a broken arm since November after being injured in his first game for the Avalanche, has been cleared and might be assigned to the San Antonio Rampage of the AHL in the next couple of days for a conditioning assignment, according to Denver Post’s Mike Chambers. Kamenev, who was acquired on Nov. 6 in the three-team trade between Colorado, Ottawa and Nashville involving Kyle Turris and Matt Duchene, was injured while playing in his first game with Colorado. A key prospect included in the Avalanche’s haul for moving Duchene, Kamenev has played just 14 AHL games this year, having totaled three goals and nine assists. His return is just another talented player ready to step into the Avalanche’s lineup.
- Chambers also mentioned in the same tweet that goalie Jonathan Bernier has also been cleared after suffering a concussion on Feb. 16. The Avalanche added that he was a full participant in practice Saturday and is expected to be activated soon.
Injury Notes: Bortuzzo, Mason, Matthews
The St. Louis Blues are getting some reinforcements on the blue line, as they have activated Robert Bortuzzo from the injured reserve. Bortuzzo has been sidelined for more than two weeks with a knee injury suffered against the Dallas Stars back in mid-February. The big defenseman had played in 55 games with the Blues up to that point and should jump back into the starting lineup sooner rather than later. According to The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford, that could even be tonight in a re-match with the Stars with crucial divisional points on the line. The Blues then take four days off ahead of a season-defining road trip against Western wild card contenders: San Jose, Los Angeles, Anaheim, and Colorado. If St. Louis is still alive in the playoff race after these next five games, they could look forward to another addition on defense in the return of Joel Edmundson. In the meantime, Bortuzzo will be looked upon to step up in his return.
- Another Central Division squad is getting deeper at a key position. After nearly two months of dealing with concussions symptoms, Steve Mason is on his way back to the Winnipeg net and just in time for the stretch run. The Jets announced today that they have assigned Mason to their AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose, on a conditioning stint. The Moose in turn announced that Mason will get the start tonight against the Iowa Wild. With just 11 appearances and two head injuries to his name this season, Mason may need some time in the minors to get back in the swing of things and a week plus in the AHL would not be a surprise, but he will eventually make his return to Winnipeg. However, his role has changed dramatically over the course of this season. Signed to a two-year, $8.2MM starter-value contract this summer to presumably bridge the gap to Connor Hellebuyck, Mason instead has performed poorly and missed considerable time, while Hellebuyck has flourished. Mason will settle for a backup role down the stretch, supplanting Michael Hutchinson, and likely next year as well.
- Auston Matthews isn’t quite ready to return to the Toronto lineup, but he is getting closer. Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston, in speaking with Leafs head coach Mike Babcock, says that Matthews has been skating regularly. Johnston adds that the fortunate part of an upper-body injury, in this case a separated shoulder, is that it doesn’t stop one from skating and keeping up with his conditioning. Matthews is known for his work ethic and has surely been skating hard while on the sidelines. Whenever the Leafs’ doctors give his shoulder the okay, he should be back at full force for Toronto. Sadly, that approval won’t be coming ahead of today’s outdoor game between the Leafs and Washington Capitals at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Matthews will miss his fourth straight game and fourteenth game due to injury in 2017-18.
Loui Eriksson Out Rest Of Season With Fractured Rib
The Vancouver Canucks season has been filled with injury to their star players, and today head coach Travis Green confirmed that Loui Eriksson will miss the remainder with a fractured rib. Eriksson last played on February 25th, but will be shut down for the Canucks final 18 games.
Eriksson’s tenure with the Canucks has been anything but what they expected when the team signed him to a six-year, $36MM contract in the summer of 2016. Coming off a 30-goal season with the Boston Bruins in 2015-16, Eriksson then scored just 11 goals and 24 points last season, a total he’ll come just shy of in 2017-18. This season has seen him suffer from several injuries, and he’ll end the year with just 10 goals and 23 points, his worst output since a 19-point rookie campaign in 2006-07.
With four more years and a $6MM cap hit, Eriksson’s contract is looking like one of the worst around the league. He’ll turn 33 before the beginning of next season, and now has just 47 points through 115 games with the Canucks. The three-time 70-point man has just looked out of sorts since joining Vancouver, and because of the front-loaded nature of his contract is almost buyout proof.
If the Canucks were to consider a buyout this summer, it would only save them $500K of cap space over the next three seasons, and $2.5MM in 2021-22. Add four additional years of a $500K cap charge, and it’s simply not worth it for the rebuilding club. Instead, they’ll hope he can find some of the success he had earlier in his career and bring it west with him when he returns for the 2018-19 season.
Expansion Notes: Seattle Ownership, Bettman, Vancouver
The NHL-to-Seattle movement is in full swing, and ESPN’s Emily Kaplan recently caught up with hopeful owners Jerry Bruckheimer, David Bonderman, and Tim Leiweke and talked about everything from the remodeling of KeyArena, to branding, to even acquiring an NBA franchise down the road. For now, the trio are just invested in being the ownership group of the league’s 32nd team (literally, as they paid a $10MM down payment along with their application paperwork earlier in the month). The next step is a season ticket drive, about which Bruckheimer told Kaplan “there’s a lot of momentum working in our direction”. Should the ticket drive prove successful, the NHL is likely to accept the bid and begin planning the next stage of NHL expansion. That would of course include another Expansion Draft. The Seattle ownership group has to be hopeful after seeing the success of the Vegas Golden Knights this season, and Bonderman told Kaplan “The commissioner has been consistent in saying it’s the same kind of process and procedures that they used in Vegas, and we’re going to hold them to that”.
- Well, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman spoke about that exact topic today, telling TSN’s Farhan Lalji that the process would be exactly the same for Seattle as it was for Vegas. The expansion process was unlike any seen in professional sports before, allowing the existing NHL teams to only protect a maximum of 11 players from their roster. While first- and second-year players were exempt, Vegas GM George McPhee still had several valuable players to pick as well as several vulnerable teams to manipulate. The resulting roster did not blow anyone away, but proved to be the perfect fit for head coach Gerard Gallant‘s system and the Knights are now contenders in their inaugural season. The Seattle ownership group is a ways away from naming a GM or coach, but they’ll have to make strong selections if they wish to maximize the entry draft process like Bill Foley and the Golden Knights did.
- The other decision that may still be a ways away but will nonetheless draw major attention and speculation is the team name. The name, logo, and colors of any sports team is a huge factor and the reveal of the Golden Knights was a major, televised event. So when is the earliest we could find out the Seattle moniker and see some colors and logos? How about the 2019 NHL Draft? The league announced today that the Vancouver Canucks will host the draft in 2019. What better time to reveal the first details about Seattle than at a key league event hosted by the team that will eventually be their natural geographic rival to kick off the league year prior to their planned induction ahead of the 2020-21 season. It hardly seems like a coincidence that Vancouver was chosen to host this specific draft, the last in which they will be the only NHL team from the Pacific Northwest. Bettman and company are thinking ahead. Stay tuned.
Injury Notes: Penguins, Blue Jackets, Bruins
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
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.