Brandon Davidson Placed On Waivers
After all the talk of Brandon Davidson being on the Montreal Canadiens’ trade block and the numerous teams who could have considerable interest in acquiring him, it seems no deal could materialize for the Habs and their hand has been forced. Davidson has been placed on waivers today, as first reported by TVA’s Renaud Lavoie.
With Shea Weber returning from injury, Montreal needs a roster spot and they will get one by placing Davidson on waivers. It seems somewhat unlikely that Davidson will clear waivers, as he is not far gone from being and up-and-coming defender and still plays a solid defensive game. The only roadblock could be his contract, but at just under $1.5MM, it’s far from an albatross for any D-needy team to take on.
Davidson’s absence means greater roles for Victor Mete, Jakub Jerabek, and Joe Morrow moving forward, as the Canadiens look for the right mix to get back on track this season. Montreal is in the bottom third in the league in goals for, goals against, power play, and penalty kill. If coach Claude Julien thinks potentially losing Davidson and giving more ice time to this trio of young defenders is a way to reverse their fortunes in even one of those areas, it is probably worth it.
Snapshots: Paquette, Kane, Malkin
Tampa Bay Lightning forward Cedric Paquette is having a hearing today with the Department of Player Safety regarding his hit from behind on Torey Krug last night. Paquette was assessed a two-minute boarding penalty on the play (along with a roughing minor for his scrap with Frank Vatrano a few seconds later) and could face additional discipline.
From the video, it looks like Paquette had ample time to avoid or minimize the contact after Krug turned his back to him instead of driving through his body and into the boards. Paquette has not been suspended previously by the DoPS, although he was the target of a hit that resulted in Zac Rinaldo being suspended for five games.
- Evander Kane is the big trade target, but Buffalo Sabres GM Jason Botterill hasn’t made up his mind on whether to move him or not. As Botterill told John Vogl of the Buffalo News, the Sabres are ecstatic with how Kane has played this season under new head coach Phil Housley, and could decide to keep him during his successful season. With the Sabres falling out of contention, the only real reasons to keep Kane around would be if you believe you can complete a dramatic comeback in the second half of the season, or have a shot at re-signing him before he bolts in free agency.
- Evgeni Malkin is set to get back into the Pittsburgh Penguins’ lineup after taking a full-contact practice today with his teammates. Malkin hasn’t played since November 18th, but was off to quite the start to the season. With the Penguins still floundering in the middle of the Metropolitan Division, Malkin’s return will be a welcome sight. As Phil Kessel put it to Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “whenever you can get one of the best players in the world back in your lineup, it adds to your team.” You’ve got that right, Phil.
What Your Team Is Thankful For: Toronto Maple Leafs
As the holiday season approaches, PHR will look at what teams are thankful for as the season nears the quarter point of completion. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We take a look at what’s gone well in the first month and what could improve as the season rolls on. So far we’ve covered ANA, ARZ, BUF, CGY, CAR, CBJ, COL, DET, LAK, NYI, STL, WSH, and VGK.
What are the Toronto Maple Leafs most thankful for?
A diverse front office.
When Brendan Shanahan took over as President of the Maple Leafs in 2014, the team was reeling from a late-season collapse that took them out of the playoffs and showed what the club was really made of. Shanahan was a new voice, running a team for the first time since his Hall of Fame playing career ended and within the next few years he would surround himself with a diverse group.
Lou Lamoriello, a legendary GM who had been with the New Jersey Devils for nearly 30 years was brought in to orchestrate the team’s tear down and subsequent rebuild, scouting guru Mark Hunter and whiz-kid Kyle Dubas were added to give the group a few different voices, and Mike Babcock was brought in as coach. Though his role is technically not in the front office, Babcock has a big impact on personnel, including recruiting trips to Russia to bring in extra talent.
The Maple Leafs blew up the team, trading away key players like Phil Kessel and Dion Phaneuf for underwhelming returns and added several top prospects over the last few seasons. Now everything is coming together for Shanahan and company, and some tough decisions will have to be made on how to navigate their upcoming salary obstacles. With the versatility that’s been shown so far from this group, Maple Leafs fans should feel secure in their team’s future.
Who are the Maple Leafs most thankful for?
Yes, things changed in Toronto right around the time Auston Matthews got to town. Last season was built on nightly incredible performances by the rookie, helping the team jump from dead last in the league to a playoff spot overnight. But it was also the first season for Andersen, who immediately (or, at least after a shaky October) gave stability to the Maple Leafs’ crease and helped the team become a contender.
This season after another inconsistent first month, Andersen has shown even more improvement and remains arguably the most important part of the Maple Leafs. Carrying a .958 save percentage over his last eight games, Andersen is looking the part of an All-Star level goaltender and one that could legitimately take the young Maple Leafs team deep into the playoffs. Leading the league in minutes, shots faced and saves, it’s not clear where the team would be without their top netminder.
What would the Maple Leafs be even more thankful for?
Consistency from two of their “Big Three”
While Matthews has still led the team in points even as he works through a mysterious upper-body injury, both Mitch Marner and William Nylander have had their share of troubles. Both have been relegated to the fourth line at times, and though their point totals would be more than acceptable for any other sophomores these two have already shown higher highs.
Both scored 61 points last season and were expected to improve on those totals in their second full-seasons. They’ve combined for just four even-strength goals, but it’s not all bad. Babcock told the media after last night’s 4-1 win in Calgary that he though it was Marner’s best of the season, and the pair is shooting a combined 5.6%. That number is sure to improve over the year, making the Maple Leafs even more dangerous down the stretch.
What should be on the Maple Leafs Holiday Wish List?
Another full-time defenseman.
Andreas Borgman has been a revelation for the Maple Leafs this season, coming over from the SHL to jump right onto their third pairing. The 21-year old Swede doesn’t log a ton of ice time for the team, as he’s not on either special teams group, but has still shown an ability to play on a nightly basis.
The other side of that third pairing though hasn’t been as stable. Babcock has shuffled through Connor Carrick, Roman Polak and Calle Rosen at different points this year, and the team could benefit from that revolving door becoming a little more stationary in the second half. Pittsburgh’s Ian Cole has been linked to them recently, though a right-handed option would likely be more beneficial.
Interestingly, the Maple Leafs do have quite a bit of trade capital as they head towards the deadline. James van Riemsdyk, Leo Komarov and Tyler Bozak are all pending unrestricted free agents, while the team carries an extra second-round pick from a previous trade with the San Jose Sharks. It seems unlikely that they’ll try to make a huge splash on the defensive market, but an addition that could be trusted on the penalty kill and play a full-time role of 15-18 minutes a night would help take some pressure off the rest of the group.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Injuries Unending In Boston; Krejci, DeBrusk Join Sidelined
Boston Bruins beat writer Joe Haggerty could not have said it better: “You can’t make this stuff up”. The unbelievable rash of injuries continues in Boston, as center David Krejci and rookie winger Jake DeBrusk have been ruled out for Wednesday night’s match-up against the Atlantic-leading Tampa Bay Lightning.
The sheer number of injuries suffered by the Bruins this season, especially among the forward corps, is hard to comprehend. 22 games into the 2017-18 campaign the only forward to have played every game are David Pastrnak and energy-liners-turned-top-nine-mainstays Riley Nash, Sean Kuraly, and Tim Schaller. While there is no word yet on the extent of DeBrusk’s injury, the young scorer has been one of the Bruins’ more dependable forwards with 12 points in 21 games, but of course he now joins the long list of casualties. Currently out of the lineup alongwith DeBrusk and Krejci, who had only just returned to action, are 2016-17 leading scorer Brad Marchand, veteran David Backes, power play catalyst Ryan Spooner, promising rookies Anders Bjork and Peter Cehlarik and, of course, defenseman Adam McQuaid as well. Spooner just recently re-injured the groin that had kept him out all but eight games on the season. In the same game, Cehlarik suffered a leg injury that should keep him out at least a month. Marchand and Bjork have been sidelined since November 13th and there has been no concrete information on when exactly either can be expected back. Backes has made a remarkably quick recovery from major surgery to cure his diverticulitis, but he too is not quite ready to return and there are doubts about how he will play once he is back. Other Bruins forward who have missed time already this season: Patrice Bergeron (5 games), Noel Acciari (13 games), and Matt Beleskey (2 games).
The defense has done a bit better though, with captain Zdeno Chara and talented youngsters Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo all suiting up for every game. Kevan Miller has missed only one game, while Torey Krug‘s four-game absence seems like nothing. A platoon of Paul Postma, Rob O’Gara and Matt Grzelcyk has performed well enough in the absence of McQuaid.
In total, the Bruins have missed a whopping 100 man-games already this season, far more than any other team in the league and heavily weighted toward their forwards. That makes it all the more impressive that the team is still sitting pretty in the Atlantic Division. In terms of points percentage, the B’s are third in the Atlantic and just behind the two-time Cup-champion Pittsburgh Penguins overall. Their 60 goals for may a bottom-five number in the NHL, but what would you expect from a two-way team missing most of its offensive talent? A recent winning streak showed that the Bruins and head coach Bruce Cassidy can get it done, even with a makeshift roster. There is no sign of when Boston will get back to full strength, if ever this season, but if they do it could be dangerous for the rest of the NHL.
What Your Team Is Thankful For: Columbus Blue Jackets
As the holiday season approaches, PHR will look at what teams are thankful for as the season nears the quarter point of completion. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We take a look at what’s gone well in the first month and what could improve as the season rolls on. So far we’ve covered ANA, ARZ, BUF, CGY, CAR, COL, DET, LAK, NYI, STL, WSH, and VGK.
Who are the Columbus Blue Jackets most thankful for?
It’s simple, the Blue Jackets aren’t scoring enough this season. Artemi Panarin leads the team in points with just 16 through 24 games, but another Vezina-worthy season by Bobrovsky and solid defensive play still has them as one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference.
The Russian netminder is actually putting up better numbers than either of his Vezina-winning years, both of which put him in the top-5 in Hart Trophy voting as well. In 2012-13 he recorded a .932 save percentage and 21-11-6 record in a lockout-shorted season, while last year he went 41-17-5 with a .931 mark. This year he’s off to an incredible 14-5-1 record with a .935 save percentage. He’s allowing just 1.92 goals per game and already has three shutouts.
Bobrovsky is an unrestricted free agent following the 2018-19 season.
What are the Blue Jackets most thankful for?
Their 15-8-1 record.
With just 69 goals scored this year the Blue Jackets could have easily found themselves near the bottom of the Metropolitan. After all, five other teams in the division have more goals than them on the year and they’re tied with Philadelphia who have lost eight in a row.
That’s the effect of good goaltending and defense though, and you can certainly bank on the offense coming around at some point. With Alexander Wennberg returning to the lineup tonight, and Cam Atkinson looking more dangerous of late the Blue Jackets should start lighting the lamp with more frequency. If that happens while Bobrovsky is still at the top of his game, watch out.
What would the Blue Jackets be even more thankful for?
A working powerplay.
The Blue Jackets rank dead last in powerplay efficiency this season with just six goals in 67 chances, and have scored just once with the man advantage in their last eleven games. That number is driving their poor offensive showing and it simply must be fixed. Last year saw Sam Gagner deliver powerplay points by the bushel early in the year, and Wennberg racked up assists all year long.
If head coach John Tortorella had his way the media would stop talking about the powerplay all together. Speaking to Brian Hedger of NHL.com last night Tortorella showed his frustration:
I am tired of dissecting our power play. We had 10 chances on the power play. Tonight’s problem was we didn’t finish. We developed a lot of scoring chances on it. This is my last night speaking on the power play, because I’m tired of talking about it. I’ll leave it at that.
What should be on the Blue Jackets Holiday Wish List?
A top-six forward, preferably with some powerplay talent.
The Blue Jackets were in on Matt Duchene, but Colorado waited for the perfect package and ended up with a haul when they involved a third team in the swap. While that doesn’t neccessarily mean the Blue Jackets will be in on every top name, it’s clear that they want an upgrade. While a center would be nice, another scoring winger could help them at this point in several different situations.
You have to wonder if players like Evander Kane, James van Riemsdyk and James Neal would be a fit for Columbus given their goal-scoring abilities and big frames, but whether the team wants to give up a considerable asset for a rental is another story. The Blue Jackets aren’t just built to contend this season, and don’t have to make a move out of desperation just yet.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Morning Notes: Cole, Keenan, Weber, McDonagh
Even though trade rumors out of Pittsburgh continue to come out about Ian Cole, Bob McKenzie of TSN doesn’t believe the defenseman’s eventual departure is guaranteed. McKenzie took to Twitter to explain how he views the situation, underscoring that Pittsburgh will only make a deal if it improves their chances at the Stanley Cup this season. As he points out, the team hasn’t worried about losing potential free agents before and why should they? The Penguins are going after their third straight Stanley Cup this season and after a tough start are still in the Metropolitan Division mix.
Cole certainly should command a fairly high trade value even with his recent healthy scratches, as he’s cheap and relatively young (he doesn’t turn 29 until February. McKenzie also feels that a “quality center” is likely what the team is after in any potential deal.
- Mike Keenan has been removed from the GM role of Kunlun Red Star in the KHL, according to Darren Dreger of TSN. The infamous NHL coach will remain behind the bench for the Chinese club, despite losing their last seven games. Kunlun stands at 12-14-8 so far this season and find themselves out of the playoffs. Keenan won the Stanley Cup with the New York Rangers in 1994, but has been coaching in the KHL now for 2013.
- The Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers watched their star defensemen skate this morning, as both Shea Weber and Ryan McDonagh got back on the ice. Neither player is ready to return for their respective teams, but are getting closer with every passing day. McDonagh in particular is expected to return to the Rangers lineup on Friday if all goes well this week. Weber is still working out on his own and has no clear return date.
Opinions Differ On Injury Disclosures
Dallas Stars head coach Ken Hitchcock turned some heads last week when he made comments against the NHL’s injury reporting policies. Hitchcock’s comments were not controversial, however they were the first that anyone within the league had publicly taken a stance against a rather secretive way of doing business. The NHL does not require its teams to submit detailed injury reports like the National Football League does, for example. Instead, fans and opponents are left with the infamous “lower body” and “upper body” injuries which could be anything from a broken toe to a concussion and infinite other ailments in between. Yet, last week Hitchcock’s Stars came out and announced specific injuries: knee surgery for Marc Methot and a hand injury for Martin Hanzal. In addressing the media on his deviation from the norm, Hitchcock was blunt:
“I think we collectively hate playing the game. What I mean by that is we say upper body, then you go on the phone, and then you look up things or you go to the doctors, find out what part of the upper body… We try to make your work easier, quite frankly… Nobody thinks like that. Our feeling is just ‘tell them what the injury is and move it forward, and let’s stop the dance.'”
What Hitchcock alludes to is that secrecy surrounding injuries in the NHL is nothing more than a “game” at this point. The media and thus fans and opponents eventually find out the pertinent information and hiding behind vague “upper-body” and “lower-body” injuries is merely a hindrance on the flow of information.
So what do other coaches think? Since Hitchcock’s remarks, this has been a hot button topic for the league’s other bench bosses. Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock was asked on Saturday what his opinion was on the subject and agreed with Hitchcock on all but one specific injury: concussions. “I don’t like talking about head injuries,” Babcock qualified, “Then there are all these things about concussions and half the time it’s neck or something… I want the player and the right people to work that out.” Despite otherwise agreeing with Hitchcock, Babcock did add that the Leafs plan to stick with “upper-body” and “lower-body”, though he respects the right of all coaches to disclose injuries as they like.
Winnipeg Jets coach Paul Maurice was less cordial about Hitchcock’s comments when he addressed them this morning, completely disagreeing:
“You’re not allowed to tell anybody what a doctor knows. They’ve got laws. People can get sued for letting that kind of information (out). I don’t really have the right to come out and tell you how a guy is feeling…I would think on average (that) somewhere between nine and 11 players, about half your hockey team, every single night, has something that they’re dealing with. Bone bruises, I had a guy playing with cracked ribs. I don’t want anybody to know that.”
Maurice seems to take the stance that not only is revealing a specific injury a violation of a player’s privacy, but it also can be detrimental to the team. The one point on which Maurice agreed with Hitchcock over Babcock was concussions, as Maurice feels that there is a “responsibility to show our league is handling them in a certain way.”
For media and fans, the clear choice is with Hitchcock, as complete information is always a benefit to the spectators. So long as coaches support vague injury reports though, it seems unlikely that the league will implement any blanked changes to injury disclosures.
Snapshots: Three Stars, Josefson, Mason
The NHL has released their three stars of the week, and leading the list is Jon Marchessault. The Vegas Golden Knights forward had nine points in three games, helping his team takeover first place in the Pacific Division. The Golden Knights now sit at 15-6-1 this season, and rank third in the entire NHL in goal differential at +15. Marchessault, a 30-goal scorer last season, is once again turning out to be one of the biggest bargains in the entire league. At just $750K this season, he’s primed for quite the raise in free agency at the end of the year.
Sergei Bobrovsky and Alex Ovechkin round out the top three after impressive weeks of their own. Bobrovsky went 3-0 with a .950 save percentage with the Columbus Blue Jackets, while Ovechkin tallied five more goals including a hat trick against the Toronto Maple Leafs with a special guest looking on. Ovechkin, who many said was slowing down last season when he scored “just” 33 goals, is back on top of the NHL leaderboards with 18 this season. With the first goal of the hat trick, Ovechkin passed Mike Bossy for 21st all-time in NHL goal scoring, and has a legitimate shot at breaking 600 this season. He needs just 24 more to 20th member of the 600 club, and won’t turn 33 until next September.
- Jacob Josefson had only returned to the Buffalo Sabres lineup recently, but will be out another four to six weeks according to head coach Phil Housley. Josefson tweaked his ankle and is out until at least Christmas for the struggling Sabres, who are now just one point ahead of the Arizona Coyotes for last in the entire league. Obviously, Josefson isn’t a huge part of their lineup but any injury at this point pushes Buffalo further away from any rebound this season. The team has a dreadful schedule over the next week, playing the Tampa Bay Lightning tomorrow before taking on Pittsburgh in a home-and-home series this weekend.
- Steve Mason was removed from Saturday’s game with an upper-body injury, and today Winnipeg Jets head coach Paul Maurice confirmed the injury was a concussion. Mason had been placed on injured reserve earlier today after a recall of Eric Comrie. Signed in the offseason to a two-year, $8.2MM contract, Mason has provided below-average netminding so far for the Jets and had been all but replaced by Connor Hellebuyck as the starter. It’ll be tough to justify his $4.1MM contract next season if he remains a backup, especially given that Hellebuyck is a restricted free agent and looks primed for a long-term deal. If Mason doesn’t turn his play around after returning from this head injury, he could be an early candidate for a summer buyout. First off, he’ll have to get healthy enough to return.
Injury Notes: Bruins, Rakell, Weber, Wennberg, Sutter
The Boston Bruins injury list keeps growing as the team is dealing with injuries to Brad Marchand, Anders Bjork, Ryan Spooner and Peter Cehlarik. However, the one good piece of news is that forward David Backes, who underwent surgery to have a piece of his colon removed on Nov. 1, has already been cleared for contact in practice, according to NBC Sports Joe Haggerty.
Originally estimated to be out for eight weeks, putting the timetable to early January, Backes has already been skating with the Bruins for a week and could be returning sooner than expected.
The other news isn’t as good, according to Haggerty, who says that Marchand will miss today’s game against the Edmonton Oilers and was still sporting a non-contact sweater in practice Saturday. Bjork is expected to miss another week with an upper-body injury, while neither Spooner or Cehalrik practiced Saturday. The scribe says only Spooner has a chance to play today.
- Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register tweets that Anaheim Ducks center Rickard Rakell, who didn’t play in Saturday’s game against the Los Angeles Kings due to an upper-body injury, won’t travel with the team starts their road trip. Stephens adds that coach Randy Carlyle was vague about when Rakell would return to the team.
- Montreal Canadiens defenseman Shea Weber, who has missed the past three games lower-body injury, missed practice today, according to the Montreal Gazette’s Stu Cowan. Instead, the veteran defenseman opted for therapy. He remains day-to-day as Montreal hosts Columbus on Monday.
- Cowan also reports that defenseman David Schlemko, who is on a condidtioning stint with the Laval Rocket of the AHL, was practicing with the Canadiens today, suggesting a return could be near.
- Columbus Blue Jackets center Alexander Wennberg, who has been out with an upper-body injury since Nov. 11, participated in practice fully today and is expected to travel with the team for Monday’s game against the Montreal Canadiens, according to The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline.
- Vancouver Canucks center Brandon Sutter, who is expected to miss today’s game against the New York Rangers, is more than just “day-to-day,” according to Canucks head coach Travis Green. The coach adds that it’s nothing too serious, but in his place Alexander Burmistrov will fill in for him while he is out.
- Dallas Morning News’ Mike Heika reports that defenseman Stephen Johns, who was suffered an upper-body injury in Friday’s game against the Calgary Flames, skated today and is expected to be ready for Tuesday’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Islanders Notes: Tavares, Ekman-Larsson, Eberle
Despite the success of the New York Islanders since head coach Doug Weight took over in the middle of the season last year, not to mention the team’s success lately as the team has found itself in third place in the Metropolitan Division with a 14-7-2 record. However, don’t expect any hasty decisions by star forward John Tavares, according to Elliotte Friedman, via Sportsnet.
Tavares, who will be an unrestricted free agent next season, is having another big season for the Islanders, but due to questions regarding where the Islanders will play in the future as well as other issues as well, Tavares has chosen not to agree to an extension and prefers to wait before making any final decisions. It looks like this one may wait until the offseason as the Islanders are not expected to trade their star forward and are expected to gamble on being able to retain Tavares.
“Obviously, this is John Tavares’s decision, but I think the Islanders are very content to let this play out,” Elliotte Friedman said on Saturday’s Headlines segment on Hockey Night in Canada. “I don’t necessarily think the trade deadline is a deadline for the Islanders here. If they have to keep going past it, I think they’re perfectly prepared to do it.”
As the team is faring well and they have quite a few young and improving players such as Mathew Barzal and Joshua Ho-Sang, many feel the Islanders are going to instead make a concerted effort at a playoff run to show Tavares what potential the franchise has in order to convince him to re-sign.
- The New York Post’s Larry Brooks writes that the team does need to make a big trade to show Tavares they are all in. However, he points out that trading for Buffalo Sabres’ Evander Kane to be that great linemate Tavares has never had doesn’t make any sense. Tavares’ line along with Anders Lee and Josh Bailey are already one of the top lines in the league and even the Jordan Eberle, Barzal pairing is paying dividends as well. What the team needs, according to Brooks, is a top-flight defenseman such as Arizona’s Oliver Ekman-Larsson. He suggests the team put a package together of Ho-Sang or Anthony Beauvillier, Brock Nelson, defenseman Ryan Pulock or Scott Mayfield and one of their 2018 first-round picks (they have two) to pick up the top-flight defenseman, who isn’t likely to re-sign with Arizona in two years.
- Sportsnet’s Tim Panaccio writes that New York Islanders head coach Doug Weight feels that the trade to acquire Eberle has been a big success as the forward has really started to pick up his game recently. He has eight goals over the past 12 games and Weight noted that confidence was the key reason why he was struggling with the Edmonton Oilers. While the initial intention was to acquire Eberle to be a key linemate to Tavares, it didn’t take Weight long to see a better connection between Eberle and Barzal and to utilize them together on a solid second line. That has allowed the Islanders to become the third-best goal scoring team in the league, averaging 3.61 goals per game.