Senators Notes: Karlsson, Ryan, Anderson
Though it looked earlier this season like Brent Burns had locked up the Norris trophy by Christmas, Erik Karlsson has been pushing to make sure voters don’t forget about him. Mentioned by both Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet and Travis Yost of TSN today in their latest columns, people have noticed that Karlsson is now just eight points behind Burns and ready to burst into the NHL’s top-10 sooner or later. The defenseman is having another unbelievable season offensively but as Friedman notes, is also doing something else better.
Karlsson leads the NHL in blocked shots this season by a wide margin, easily outpacing his own career-high from last season. Though he may not be producing at quite the same rate offensively—though 62 points in 67 games shouldn’t be shrugged off—his defensive ability has seemingly improved once again. Blocked shots aren’t a very stable result, and shouldn’t simply be taken as evidence of an improved defensive game. But when combined with an increased +/- rating, decreased rate of minor penalties, and increased short-handed play, even the most “old-school” hockey fan should appreciate his defensive improvements.
- Bobby Ryan and Kyle Turris will both return to the lineup tonight, giving Ottawa a nice boost to their top-six after several weeks with uncertainty at the top. Ryan has been out since February 18th with a broken finger, and is having the worst season of his career. With five more seasons on his contract at $7.25MM per year, the Senators need him to turn things around as quickly as possible. Ryan will turn 30 on Friday, and has just 12 goals this season. If he doesn’t produce down the stretch, the Senators might even decide to leave him exposed and hope Vegas takes him off their hands in the expansion draft.
- After Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun reported that Craig Anderson wasn’t on the ice at this morning’s practice, thoughts immediately turned to his personal problems that have taken him away from the team several times this season. Turns out, it’s just a lower-body injury for Anderson who will be replaced by Chris Driedger tonight on the bench behind Mike Condon. There is no timetable on Anderson’s return as Garrioch reports, after head coach Guy Boucher said the team would be “checking it out further” later.
Red Wings Notes: Defensive Replacements, Mantha
The Detroit Red Wings don’t plan on calling up any extra defensemen, unless injury beckons writes the Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James. General manager Ken Holland will revisit the decision before they leave Tuesday for a game with Colorado on Wednesday, but as it stands, Detroit can wait and see. With back-to-back games with Colorado and Arizona on Wednesday and Thursday respectively, Detroit can call up an emergency defenseman if needed. Detroit leads the league in man-games lost, as injuries have crippled Detroit all season long. Without roster limitations and the Wings close to being eliminated from playoff contention, Holland may call up younger players to see how they compete when the pressure is off.
- Anthony Mantha was a healthy scratch again Sunday evening, but the Red Wings didn’t fare nearly as well without him in a 4-1 loss to New York. Mantha, scratched for not showing enough effort, should find himself back in the lineup. Interestingly, the Detroit News’ Gregg Krupa wrote about the errors several Red Wings made in the loss to New York.. The young goal scorer, who boosted Detroit’s offense since being called up, has been seen as a scapegoat by many fans when it was announced that he would sit against the Blackhawks on Friday evening. Though Detroit won 4-2, many were still angry when it was announced he would sit again Sunday, especially after the Red Wings made mistake after mistake in the loss to the Rangers.
- MLive’s Ansar Khan reported on the Mantha kerfuffle, writing that the youngster is taking a “chip-on-the-shoulder” approach to his benching. Despite having 33 points (14-19) in 50 games, he’s found himself a healthy scratch for two games due to head coach Jeff Blashill saying it was a “lack of competitiveness” and citing an inability to back check during Detroit’s 6-1 loss to Boston. Blashill has been complimentary to Mantha despite the benching, but it’s still curious since Mantha hasn’t been the only Red Wing to struggle this year. Riley Sheahan, who has yet to score a goal this season, has rarely seen his playing time cut while defenseman Danny DeKeyser has struggled mightily at times. Regardless, Mantha should see playing time on Wednesday unless the Red Wings brass still believe he hasn’t learned his lesson.
College Notes: Hayden, Aston-Reese, Stevens
The Blackhawks announced that have signed center John Hayden to a two year, entry level contract. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Hayden was Chicago’s third round pick (74th overall) back in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.
The 22 year old posted career highs across the board offensively this year at Yale in his senior season. In 33 games with the Bulldogs, he had 21 goals and 13 assists.
Scott Powers of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that Hayden is expected to report to the Blackhawks right away and will burn the first of the two years this season. That will allow him to get out of the entry level system and into restricted free agency in the 2018 offseason. Had Hayden waited until August to sign, he could have opted for unrestricted free agency and it’s likely that he was able to use that as leverage to play the first year of the deal now. As Hayden was a draft pick and not a free agent signing, he is eligible to participate in the postseason, adds Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times via Twitter.
Other news from around the college market:
- With Northeastern Universty being eliminated by Boston University yesterday in the college playoffs, the focus will quickly shift to undrafted forward Zach Aston-Reese. The 22 year old is widely perceived as the top college free agent available this year and it was reported earlier this week that as many as 15 teams are expected to be interested in his services. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that the Senators, Oilers, Canucks, and Penguins are among the teams that are expected to go after the forward. It’s worth noting that Aston-Reese attended Edmonton’s summer development camp while he was teammates with defenseman Matt Benning, who the Oilers signed in the offseason. Given all of the expected interest, Aston-Reese should be able to land a contract that will allow him to play between now and the end of the season like Hayden did.
- Friedman adds via Twitter that Northeastern center John Stevens is expected to draw some interest on the open market as well. The senior played in just 25 games this season and passed the point per game mark for the first time with five goals and 23 assists. Stevens is the son of Kings’ associate coach John Stevens.
Emergency Recalls: Melchiori, Andersson
As of March 1st, the day of the NHL trade deadline, teams are restricted to calling up no more than four players from the minor leagues and must be judicious in how they use them. There is, of course, an exception to that limitation: emergency recalls. Teams are allowed to call up a player on an emergency basis but they can only use a player with that designation in the event they don’t have enough healthy bodies to ice a full lineup. That very situation may possibly play out tonight for both Winnipeg and Calgary.
- The Winnipeg Jets announced this morning that they have recalled defenseman Julian Melchiori from Manitoba of the AHL on an emergency basis. Fellow blue liner Ben Chiarot is “under the weather,” according to Ted Wyman of the Winnipeg Sun, and is a game time decision. In the event Chiarot is unable to go, Melchiori will take his spot. Melchiori has appeared in five games this season for the Jets, going scoreless while averaging roughly 15 1/2 minutes per contest. He has registered eight points and 18 penalty minutes in 40 games for the Moose. The 6-foot-5 blue liner was chosen by Winnipeg in the third round of the 2010 entry draft.
- With Michael Stone sidelined with an upper-body injury and Dougie Hamilton questionable for tonight’s contest due to a lower-body issue, the Calgary Flames have brought up defenseman Rasmus Andersson from Stoctkton with an emergency designation, the club announced yesterday. Andersson, 20, would make his NHL debut should Hamilton be ruled out tonight. Sportsnet 960’s Derek Willis tweeted that Hamilton was on the ice for the team’s morning skate but Flames head coach Glen Gulutzan called the blue liner a “game-time decision.” In his first season as a pro, Andersson has tallied three goals and 22 points in 50 games for the Heat. The 6-foot defenseman was Calgary’s second-round choice in the 2015 draft. Veteran blue liner Dennis Wideman will draw back into the lineup for the Flames, taking the place of Stone. It marks the first appearance for Wideman in more than three weeks.
Central Division Notes: McKenzie, Hanzal, Blues
The Dallas Stars decision to ink Curtis McKenzie to a one-year contract extension has obvious expansion draft implications in that it gives the team another forward that meets the minimum requirements making him eligible for exposure in the draft and allowing Dallas to protect someone else instead. However, as Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News writes, the Stars would prefer to hang onto the 26-year-old left wing rather than lose him to the Golden Knights.
Several players the Stars believed would play key roles up front (Ales Hemsky, Patrick Sharp, Mattias Janmark and Jiri Hudler among them) have missed significant portions of the season and McKenzie has proven invaluable by filling a number of roles for the team. He adds grit and penalty killing while sliding up and down the lineup as needed. McKenzie has tallied only four goals and 11 points in 43 games this season but that production is solid for a versatile, defensively responsible bottom-six forward. At a salary of just $700K for 2017-18, McKenzie represents a relative bargain, whether for Dallas or Vegas next season.
- As is often the case with players joining a new team at the trade deadline, Martin Hanzal has struggled to find his way since being acquired by Minnesota from Arizona for a package of draft choices. But as Michael Russo of the Star Tribune notes, if anyone understands the difficulties of adjusting to a new team and new systems, it’s Wild bench boss Bruce Boudreau, who played for 17 different pro hockey clubs over the course of a 20-year career. Since joining Minnesota, Hanzal has had a rotating cast of linemates, a situation that complicates his adjustment but also one that allows Boudreau to figure out how best to ultimately deploy the veteran pivot. The coach’s patient handling of Hanzal may be starting to pay off. The 30-year-old had his best game as a member of the Wild in Minnesota’s 7 – 4 win over Florida Friday night. Hanzal recorded an assist, finished with three shots on goal and adding five hits. It’s that type of performance that made the 6-foot-6 pivot an attractive trade option at the deadline and if he can continue that level of play throughout the postseason the Wild will be pleased.
- Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch hosted his regular chat yesterday and covered a variety of Blues related topics. As usual, the entire piece is well worth the read but one item of particular interest was a look back at a March 2, 2015 trade which saw defenseman Ian Cole shipped by St. Louis to Pittsburgh in exchange for fellow blue liner Robert Bortuzzo and a 2016 seventh-round draft pick. Since joining the Penguins, the 28-year-old Cole has developed into a quality regular on the team’s back end. The seven year veteran is enjoying the best season of his career in 2016-17, registering four goals and 21 points in 63 contests while posting a +23 plus-minus rating. Meanwhile, Bortuzzo has failed to make much of an impact with his new club and has been a healthy scratch often. While the scribe understands the criticism of the deal in hindsight, he also believes that Cole wouldn’t have evolved into a legitimate top-four blue liner had he remained with the Blues. Rutherford believes that Cole simply didn’t mesh well with the Blues at the time. He goes on to write that the team needed more physicality and got that in the form of Bortuzzo. Ultimately, if they had it to do all over again, Rutherford isn’t sure St. Louis would pull the trigger on that deal.
Toby Enstrom Out Indefinitely With Concussion
It took so long because of the swelling in his face, but Paul Maurice has finally given an update on injured defenseman Toby Enstrom. The Winnipeg Jets head coach reports that he’s out indefinitely with a concussion after sustaining a blow from behind by the Penguins’ Tom Sestito. Sestito was suspended four games for the hit, which caused Enstrom to go straight to the hospital with expected facial fractures. Sara Orlesky of TSN reports that there are no fractures, actually good news for the Winnipeg defenseman.
With Tyler Myers still out, and Josh Morrisey banged up and missing practice—though the latter is still expected to play—the Jets’ usually deep defense corps is dwindling by the day. Enstrom has logged close to 22 minutes a night for Winnipeg this season, which will now have to be spread out mostly to Morrisey and Ben Chiarot. Enstrom’s regular partner Dustin Byfuglien already logs the most minutes in the NHL at 27:23 per game, and will now be relied on even more if the Jets still have playoff aspirations.
In a year where the Western Conference is actually wide open, the Jets remain just five points out of the final playoff spot. They have, however, played three more games than the St. Louis Blues, the team currently occupying that final wildcard position. The Jets will need some sort of streak over their last 14 games to both catch St. Louis and fend off the Los Angeles Kings, something that they haven’t proved capable of this year. At 30-32-6, it looks like not even Patrik Laine‘s emergence and Mark Scheifele‘s climb to the top of the center ranks can help them in 2017.
Friedman’s Latest: Review Limit, Salary Cap, Concussion Protocol
In his latest 30 Thoughts column, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet dishes on the latest information coming out of the recent General Manager meetings in Boca Raton. It’s always a great read from one of the most connected men in hockey.
- While the GMs have decided not to change the offside rule, they are looking at instituting a time limit on reviews to prevent five-plus minute delays to the game. The MLB recently changed their rules around reviews, giving managers just :30 to call for a review and umpires have two minutes to make the final decision. Friedman suggests the NHL would look at something similar. One change that has been agreed upon is the referees will no longer discuss/ explain the call with both coaches after announcing the ruling. That should dramatically cut down on the time delays.
- The salary cap is expected to increase by several million dollars, potentially as high as around $76MM. That would be a $3MM increase from this season. Of course, that would require the Players Association to use their cap escalator, which increases both the cap and their escrow payments. Friedman cites some anonymous sources as not being sure that the PA would do that, however they usually do approve it in the end. Whether or not the players choose to increase the cap will greatly affect the contracts thrown around in July. It’s also important to remember that last March the cap was expected to be $74MM, but only reached $73MM, so it’s not a sure-thing just yet.
- There is some concern among play0ff-bound teams that concussion protocols will be abused in the post-season. After Mike Smith was removed from the third period of a game last month, he wondered what is stopping a fourth-liner from running a star goaltender to gain an advantage against a cold goaltender. Friedman doesn’t believe the NHL will make changes to the rule, as it would reflect negatively on them to “move backwards” on concussion awareness; however he does believe this will be something to watch for in the playoffs.
- Some were surprised at the high price that Ottawa gave up to acquire Alex Burrows at the trade deadline, but Friedman sheds some light on why: there were eight or nine teams who made “legit offers” for Burrows. That’s a lot of interest for a player who was nearly bought out last summer, but also demonstrates the high cost of veterans at the deadline. Ottawa also stepped up to offer Burrows a two-year extension, which tipped the scales in their favor.
- After his head coach ripped him apart in the media, Friedman believes the Hurricanes will look to move Eddie Lack this summer. Lack had a solid 0.917 SV% during his two seasons in Vancouver, but that number has fallen to 0.898 in Carolina. He has just 15 wins in 45 games as a member of the Hurricanes. Friedman says Lack, a happy-go-lucky person, was initially crushed by Bill Peters‘ comments; he doesn’t believe the arrangement will last beyond this season.
- Finally, after some unnecessary controversy about Islanders rookie Josh Ho-Sang wearing number 66 in honor of Mario Lemieux, Friedman commented that if Wayne Gretzky‘s 99 wasn’t retired league-wide, players would “be spearing each other in competition for it.” Number 99 is the only number that’s off-limits on every team, so expect a few-year-long reprieve from rookies wearing their birth year as their number. After Jesse Puljujärvi chose number 98, we likely won’t see any rookies until the 2002-birth year hits the NHL in 2020.
Atlantic Notes: Filppula, Coreau, DiDomenico
When Valtteri Filppula‘s name started to come up in trade talks between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning, he received a phone call from Mike Babcock. That’s what Chris Johnston of Sportsnet writes in his newest article, detailing everything that went on behind the scenes on deadline day surrounding Filppula. He ended up talking with Babcock for a while, before ultimately choosing not to waive his no-trade clause. It was “nothing against Toronto” as the veteran center turned down the chance to go play for his former coach; the two spent years together in Detroit, even winning the Stanley Cup in 2008.
Filppula ended up going to Philadelphia, for whom he will suit up against the Maple Leafs tonight. He just wanted to stick with the list he’d created before the season, and as Johnston notes, likely saw the treatment of other veteran players since heading to Toronto. Brooks Laich, Colin Greening and Milan Michalek have all been buried in the minors this season, with Eric Fehr not getting into a game since coming over from Pittsburgh.
- The Detroit Red Wings have sent Jared Coreau back down to the AHL after activating Jimmy Howard yesterday. The young netminder was shelled last night against Boston, playing just 13:32 of the game before getting the hook. In 14 games for the Red Wings this season, Coreau has just an .887 save percentage. He does however have two shutouts during his time in the NHL, and will look to build off that next season should Howard be moved this summer.
- Chris DiDomenico will make his NHL debut tonight for the Ottawa Senators after signing just over a week ago. The 28-year old forward that has dominated the Swiss leagues for the past few years is ready to make his mark on North American ice. A former sixth-round pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs, he hasn’t played on this continent since 2012. The Senators had gone with seven defensemen last night, but with Mark Borowiecki injured, they’ll insert DiDomenico in his place.
Injury Notes: Stamkos, Borowiecki, Kinkaid
Steven Stamkos was again skating with teammates this morning, as he inches his way back to the lineup. While there is a good chance the Tampa Bay Lightning captain will return to the ice this season he might not be as effective right away. That’s what Zach Parise told Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times a few weeks ago, speaking from experience. Parise had the same surgery on his knee in November of 2010, and though he returned later that year as well, didn’t feel right until the following Christmas.
I’d say it took probably a year and a half to get back to feeling back to normal. That’s what my therapist said, six months to heal, a year you feel better. But to get back to that level for me, I feel like it was almost the following Christmas.
So Stamkos, who may get a chance to help his team in a playoff race—the Lightning are just four points out with 17 games left to play—likely won’t be the elite offensive presence he’s proven to be over the past eight years. Fear not Lightning fans, though Parise says he didn’t feel right until Christmas, he still scored 30 goals and 69 points the year following surgery. It wasn’t all bad.
- The Ottawa Senators will be without Mark Borowiecki tonight against the Arizona Coyotes after tweaking an injury last night in Dallas. Borowiecki is leading the league in penalty minutes this year and gives the Senators a destructive physical presence on the blue line. His 288 hits easily pace the NHL, 38 more than Matt Martin despite playing in eight fewer games.
- Keith Kinkaid has injured his right knee and will be out tonight for the New Jersey Devils, meaning newcomer Ken Appleby will be the backup for Cory Schneider. Andrew Gross of The Record reports that though the Devils don’t think Kinkaid’s injury is serious, if he’s held out of the lineup for a few more games they’ll get Appleby some playing time. The 21-year old has played well at the AHL and ECHL level this season.
- The Nashville Predators will be without P.A. Parenteau and Vernon Fiddler tonight, meaning Kevin Fiala and Colton Sissons will figure back into the lineup. Parenteau practiced this morning but will be held out for precautionary reasons, while Fiddler was absent from practice.
- Tyler Bozak was absent from this morning’s Toronto Maple Leafs practice, but Mike Babcock says he’s a game-time decision. If he’s out, Eric Fehr will get into his first game since being traded from the Pittsburgh Penguins at the deadline. The former Penguin has had a rough season including being waived just before the deadline.
Snapshots: Cunningham, Halverson, Sestito
Earlier this season Tucson Roadrunners captain Craig Cunningham collapsed on the ice and was rushed to hospital. The 26-year old forward’s heart had stopped for an unknown reason, and needed ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation) treatment to save his life. The procedure affected the circulation in his leg, and he had to make a decision. Tucson’s general manager Doug Soetaert put it this way to AZCentral’s Jeremy Cluff:
It’s life or limb, and obviously you pick life over limb, right? That was the way he’s moving forward. He’s been battling through the whole thing. We continue to battle with him. He’s going to make it.
Cunningham had part of his left leg amputated, but is now walking again with the help of a prosthetic. Ray Ferraro sent out a video of Cunningham walking down a hallway, dubbing it “the most awesome thing [he’s] seen in while.” It truly is awesome to see Cunningham up and walking again, and most importantly smiling as he approaches the camera. Everyone is wishing him luck as he gets his life back on track.
- The New York Rangers will be without Rick Nash and Henrik Lundqvist tonight when they take on the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh. Both are day-to-day with minor injuries. The team has recalled Brandon Halverson from the ECHL on an emergency basis to replace Lundqvist, meaning Antti Raanta will be in net. Halverson was the Rangers’ second-round pick in 2014 and made his professional debut this season for the Hartford Wolfpack before heading to the ECHL. The 20-year old will get a taste of an NHL arena at least as he backs up Raanta tonight.
- Tom Sestito will have a phone hearing with the NHL today after his hit on Toby Enstrom last night. The check from behind sent Enstrom to the hospital with possible facial fractures, and led to more aggressive play between the two teams last night. Amazingly, Sestito was only on the ice for 62 seconds last night, and was involved in a fight and this illegal check before being thrown out of the game. The 29-year old enforcer had been called up earlier that day to lend some physicality to the Penguins line up not, as Jets’ head coach Paul Maurice put it, “to dangle”.