Jonathan Quick Not Close To Returning
It hasn’t been a very quick recovery for an injured Los Angeles Kings goaltender.
Jonathan Quick injured his groin in the Kings’ first game of the season, leaving Jeff Zatkoff and Peter Budaj to mind the net in his expected three-month-long absence. While the Kings have been better than many expected with a record of 14-11-2, they’re still just fifth in the Pacific Division and hanging on to the last Western Conference Wildcard spot.
Coach Darryl Sutter provided an update on his superstar goaltender’s recovery to L.A. Kings Insider:
“In terms of [his progress], he’s just starting moving to the end of training from therapy. He’s still very much in the rehab mode. They’re still talking about a month before he could even begin to say what that next step was. It’s not in this year [2016] before there’s any sort of update.”
That means the Kings will be without Quick until late January or early February. While Budaj has been decent at 0.910 SV%, it’s still below league-average goaltending. The Kings have gone the first two months of Quick’s injury without acquiring another goalie, with just Anders Lindback being brought in to their AHL team on a tryout basis. Quick will be very motivated on his return, as he was rather poor in his World Cup appearance. He was 0-2, with an 0.863 SV% and seven goals against in his two games. If Quick comes back and plays to the high level that he can, then the Pacific Division should be very wary of the Kings.
The Edmonton Oilers’ Backup Situation
Following the Oilers spectacular 6-5 loss on Thursday night, much digital ink has been spilled about their backup goaltending. Jonas Gustavsson allowed six goals on 31 shots as the Oilers blew a pair of two-goal leads.
GM Peter Chiarelli signed Gustavsson on July 1 to a one-year, $800K contract to serve as backup to Cam Talbot. While Gustavsson is thought to be a good guy on the bench, his career numbers (0.902 SV%, 2.87 GAA) are well below league-average. His numbers through six appearances this season are even worse: his 0.893 SV% and 2.90 GAA rank fifth-last among goaltenders who have played at least six games. Gustavsson has just one win this year, back in early November in his first start with the club.
OilersNation writer Jonathan Willis wrote that the Oilers should quickly move on from Gustavsson, pointing out that “if he’d made one extra save last night—and given the number of bad goals he surrendered, it’s easy to imagine that… That would work out to [his career] save percentage of 0.902.”
Based on his usage of Talbot and Gustavsson, it’s clear that coach Todd McLellan has little faith in his backup. Talbot has played two more games than any other goalie in the NHL at 26. He’s on pace to start 71 games, which would be the highest since Braden Holtby started 73 back in 2014-15. Meanwhile Gustavsson has only started four games, all of which were part of back-to-back situations.
Willis wrote that the best defense of the signing was that the Oilers have faith in their minor league starter, Laurent Brossoit. Brossoit has progressed very well in his three seasons as their AHL starter. His save percentage has risen from 0.918 to 0.920 to a sparkling 0.927 this season. The only concern that the Oilers may have about Brossoit is the expansion draft. Because Brossoit is eligible to be selected, bringing him to the NHL and showing him off may prompt Vegas to pick him. However, this would mean the Oilers would be able to keep Brandon Davidson, the most likely player to be taken by the Golden Knights. As well, the Oilers have another AHL goalie, Nick Ellis, who has played very well in his eight games with a 0.931 SV% to take over the mantle in Bakersfield.
If not Brossoit, the Oilers could possibly take a look at Reto Berra, who’s buried behind Roberto Luongo and James Reimer in Florida, or even swap struggling backups with Leafs and see if a change of scenery helps Jhonas Enroth.
Snapshots: Raanta, Blackhawks, Player Safety Meetings
New York Rangers backup Antti Raanta will make his third straight start in favor or Henrik Lundqvist on Sunday afternoon.
Raanta has won two straight, allowing just one goal. He beat the Jets 2-1 before shutting out his former team, the Chicago Blackhawks 1-0 on Friday. He’s made 43 saves in those two games.
Raanta’s two game streak comes just as Lundqvist is hitting a dry streak. He’s lost two of his last three appearances, which included an ugly goal from center ice against the Sabres; he’s allowed 10 goals in those three games.
While there’s no danger of Raanta permanently displacing Lundqvist in the Rangers net, he’s certainly picked a good time to get hot. The Rangers brought in Raanta to replace current Oilers starting goalie Cam Talbot in 2015. After a disappointing early playoff exit in which he was torched for 15 goals in five games, the Rangers appear to be giving Lundqvist more rest throughout the regular season to keep the 34-year-old fresh for the playoffs.
- Despite being ruled out of tonight’s game against the Dallas Stars, Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews returned to the ice 0n Sunday morning, according to Tracey Meyers of CSN Chicago. Toews hadn’t skated in a week before this morning’s optional skate, and has missed the previous eight games. NHL.com writer Brian Hedger reported that Toews was first on the ice and last man off.
- Another couple injured Blackhawks are inching closer to their returns as well. Defenseman Brent Seabrook missed Friday’s 1-0 overtime loss against the Rangers, and will also be out of the lineup tonight. However, Seabrook told Chris Hine of the Chicago Tribune that he plans on going on the Blackhawks upcoming road trip.
- Goaltender Corey Crawford, who has been out since an appendectomy on December 2, is also making progress in his recovery. Coach Joel Quenneville told Meyers that Crawford is “doing all right,” but that it will take some time to “get him back to square one.” The initial diagnosis was around three weeks, which would mean Crawford will be out until just after Christmas.
- Meanwhile, Mark Stepneski reports that Dallas Stars defenseman Jamie Oleksiak will be meeting with NHL Player Safety later today to discuss his high hit on the Flyers’ Chris Vande Velde during Saturday afternoon’s game. Oleksiak was not penalized on the play. Fellow defenseman Mark Borowiecki will also have a hearing today after the Senators defenseman boarded Kings winger Tyler Toffoli. Borowiecki received a major penalty for the hit.
Western Conference Notes: Stars, Red Wings, Labanc, Toews, Seabrook
A year after riding the league’s most prolific offense to a Central Division title, the Dallas Stars have been beset by injuries and currently sit on the outside looking in at a postseason berth. Obviously the absences of key players like Ales Hemsky, Patrick Sharp, Jiri Hudler, Mattias Janmark and Cody Eakin for parts – or in the case of Janmark, all – of the season has played a role. However, Mike Heika addressed another possible factor for the team’s on-ice struggles in a recent mailbag feature.
When asked what trade he would make if he were the GM to improve the Stars, Heika suggested making a relatively minor deal sending blue liner Patrik Nemeth to Detroit for a goalie prospect. While on the surface it’s difficult to envision a trade of this nature having much of an impact on the ice for either team, Heika reasons that moving one of the eight defensemen on the roster would “alleviate the pressure of eight defensemen for the players and the coaching staff and that could immediately make a player such as Jamie Oleksiak better.”
Ordinarily having quality depth is considered a good thing but perhaps not when it comes to the Stars blue line. As Heika suggests, carrying seven blue liners may allow head coach Lindy Ruff to more easily identify consistent defense pairings.
While this does not qualify as an actual trade rumor, Heika’s hypothetical deal does provide a look at what the Stars brass may actually consider at some point. The team does have solid depth on the back end and with neither Antti Niemi nor Kari Lehtonen performing well between the pipes for Dallas, the Stars could certainly find themselves in the market for a young goaltender-of-the-future.
- Highly-regarded rookie Kevin Labanc isn’t exactly lighting up the league with just three goals and five points in the first 14 games of his NHL career. But after going scoreless in his first four, the 20-year-old winger – 21 on December 12th – has been more productive of late with all of his points coming in the last 10 contests. As Kevin Kurz of CSN Bay Area writes, the mini outburst from Labanc has already helped the youngster leapfrog veteran forwards Joonas Donskoi, Joe Thornton and Mikkel Boedker in the goal-scoring department. As Kurz notes, Labanc’s contributions have likely earned him a regular role on the Sharks for the balance of 2016-17.
- Chris Hine of the Chicago Tribune provides an update on the status of Jonathan Toews and Brent Seabrook. Toews has missed the past eight contests with a back problem while Seabrook missed his first game of the season with an upper-body-injury. Hawks bench boss Joel Quennville has already said that before returning to the lineup, both players will need to skate with the team. To this point, neither player has been able to do so, though Seabrook’s injury is a recent development. The injury to Toews has to be of great concern to the Blackhawks. There is no timetable for a return and back injuries can be problematic, leading to the possibility Chicago’s top pivot could be odd for a while yet.
Early Returns On Summer Blockbusters
Typically, free agency items dominate hockey headlines in the latter days of June. However, the events of June 29th changed that dynamic in the 2016 offseason. First, the marquee name available in free agency, Steven Stamkos, agreed to remain with the Tampa Bay Lightning, inking an eight-year extension with the team and effectively ruining the offseason plans of several other NHL clubs. Second, a pair of rare, player-for-player blockbuster trades were completed, shocking all who follow and cover the league.
Desperately searching to upgrade the team’s blue line, Edmonton GM Peter Chiarelli agreed to ship top-line left wing Taylor Hall to New Jersey for Swedish defenseman Adam Larsson. Not long after that deal was announced, the Nashville Predators dealt team captain and four-time Norris Trophy finalist Shea Weber to Montreal for the electric P.K. Subban.
While it’s too early to make any definitive judgments as to which teams may have come out ahead in their respective exchanges, it is possible to analyze the early returns and see how much each club has benefited from the transactions.
Montreal – While there is no question P.K. Subban is a supremely skilled player, as the 2015-16 season played out it appeared as if head coach Michel Therrien and GM Marc Bergevin had grown weary of the defender’s high-risk, high-reward playing style. In Weber they get a veteran blue liner who boasts the league’s hardest shot and one who has long been a stalwart for Team Canada in numerous international events. Weber has also had a productive start to his Habs career, with eight goals and 18 points through 27 games.
Nashville – The team may have lost the longtime face of their franchise but they did add a dynamic talent who is four years Weber’s junior and has perhaps a more favorable contractual situation. While Subban’s cap hit is more than $1M higher annually through the 2021-22 campaign, his contract expires four years earlier than Weber’s and does not come with the likelihood of a cap recapture penalty. Subban is slowly growing more comfortable in his new home and has produced nearly identical numbers to his counterpart, tallying seven goals and 17 points through 26 contests.
Verdict – With Montreal currently sitting in the top spot in the Eastern Conference it’s hard to argue the trade hasn’t paid off exactly as Bergevin hoped. Weber plays a more conservative style of hockey which Therrien clearly prefers and he is still an impact player at both ends of the ice. On the flip side Subban gives the Nashville market a huge personality and a bankable star. He has quickly endeared himself to the Predators fans off the ice and is still producing on the ice. This deal has worked out for both clubs about as well as could have been hoped.
New Jersey – After ranking dead last in goals scored in 2015-16, the Devils desperately needed an infusion of skill and that’s exactly what they got in Hall. In 19 games this season, Hall is averaging better than a point-per-game for his new team and gives the Devils a legitimate, goal-scoring threat they haven’t had since Zach Parise resided in Jersey.
Edmonton – Larsson doesn’t contribute much in the offensive end of the ice – just six points in 30 contests this season – but has at least provided steady play on the back end for Edmonton. Chiarelli perhaps could have pursued a more dynamic player to address his team’s dire need on the blue line but Larsson came with the cost-certainty that RFA options like Mathew Dumba and Jacob Trouba did not. The Oilers will soon have to consider extensions for Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl – neither of which will come cheap – and getting Larsson in the midst of a long-term deal with a manageable cap hit carries additional value.
Verdict – Hall is clearly the better and more valuable player, both today and into the future. But to Chiarelli’s credit, he knew his team needed to improve on the back end and was willing to lose the trade to make his team better. It’s probable the Oilers GM simply was not content maintaining the status quo and made the best deal available to upgrade the blue line. With the Oilers at the top of the Pacific Division standings, Chiarelli is likely pleased with how this deal has worked out for Edmonton.
Red Wings Notes: Howard, Athanasiou, Marchenko, Daniels
Jimmy Howard and Andreas Athanasiou are ready to come back for the Red Wings writes Dana Wakiji. Detroit has been plagued by injury since the onset of the season, and the return of two key players should boost a team starving for more points as they sit outside the final wildcard spot. Howard, Athanasiou, and Alexey Marchenko all returned to full practice but only the latter might be held out of Friday’s game. Getting Athanasiou back, who has a knack for disrupting opposing teams because of his blazing speed, will be a major asset according to bench boss Jeff Blashill:
“He certainly adds an element of speed that’s obviously important in the league, and he can self-create,” Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. “It’s hard to self-create in this league, and he’s one of the guys that can do it. So he brings another guy in our lineup that can do a good job. That said, I think the guys that have been in the lineup have done a good job as well. When Andreas comes back he needs to make sure he’s ready to be an impact player.”
Howard has been a savior in the net for the Wings before he succumbed to a minor groin injury according to the Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James. St. James adds that Howard is relieved it’s only a two week layoff whereas a groin injury in the past had a longer duration–and saw a dip in his play. Marchenko is close, and if he’s not ready by Friday’s game, he will certainly be slotted into Sunday’s contest. The defenseman has been out with a shoulder injury since November 20.
In other Red Wings news:
- Red Wings television play-by-play announcer Ken Daniels’ son Jamie passed away suddenly at the age of 23 Thursday. The Red Wings released a brief statement after learning of the tragic news:
“Both the Red Wings organization and Fox Sports Detroit would like to offer their heartfelt condolences to the Daniels family during this most difficult time.”
Snapshots: Golden Knights, Team Czech Republic, All-Time Lists
The (probably) Golden Knights have hit another snag in their naming saga as the US Trademark office has denied their application due to the similarities to the College of Saint Rose Golden Knights. While this doesn’t seem like a real problem – in a statement given to Alex Prewitt of SI, the Vegas team says that these actions are “not at all unusual” and points out the many duplicate names across professional sports – it is just another public annoyance for a team that likely just wants to start playing hockey. With so much discussion over the name, logo and all the other minutia, the start of the 2017-18 season can’t come soon enough for George McPhee and his team.
- Corey Pronman of ESPN has a look at the preliminary roster for Team Czech Republic at this year’s World Junior Championship. As the rosters of many of the other teams came out over the past few days, the Czech list was conspicuously missing. Among the highlights, are Red Wings’ prospect Filip Hronek who is off to an unbelievable start with Saginaw, scoring 20 points in 24 games (as a defenseman) and Senators’ prospect Filip Chlapik who ranks in the QMJHL top five in both scoring (44 points) and penalty minutes (58 PIM in 26 games). The team will be dangerous with several high NHL draft picks on it and will likely be in the mix for a bronze medal at the tournament.
- The NHL Network published their list of the top-40 goaltenders of all-time and as Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times put it, the list is “uh, interesting, in a lot of ways.” The list has the regulars at the top – Martin Brodeur, Dominik Hasek, Patrick Roy, in that order – but gets “interesting” a little further down as they list active goaltenders like Jonathan Quick (#16) and Marc-Andre Fleury (#21) quite high. While obviously these lists are subjective, it does lend credence to the idea that goaltending is better than it ever has been before and is a major reason for the suppressed goal totals. Comparing players across eras will always be difficult, but I can imagine our readers will have a few different takes on the order of this list. Share your thoughts in the comments.
Snapshots: Uncertainty in Dallas, Hanzal
The Dallas Stars are in a precarious position due to a number of factors writes Mike Heika. Besieged by injury, and seemingly in some form of hockey purgatory, Heika begins his column with prose:
The Stars are neither fish nor fowl.
They are not fast, yet they are not slow.
They are not young, yet they are not old.
They are not tough, yet they are not weak.
The Stars have been an enigma this season, expected to build on last year’s successes while bringing along a lot of the young, speedy talent that seemed ready to carry the team. Instead, Heika writes that the injuries to Mattias Janmark and Ales Hemsky altered the plan to include bigger, and albeit slower, forwards. Additionally, a more veteran blue line gave way for youth, which includes a learning curve as it acclimates to NHL talent.
Heika adds that with the uncertainty of the youth delivering, comes the unknowns associated with the 2017 offseason where a number of unrestricted free agents are set to be re-signed or hit the market. Those names include Patrick Sharp, Patrick Eaves, Jiri Hudler, Johnny Oduya, Adam Cracknell and Hemsky. Throw in what many analysts observe as a “shaky” goaltending tandem in Antti Niemi and Kari Lehtonen, and Heika indicates there’s yet another aspect of the team that may see change. Finally, head coach Lindy Ruff is in the final year of his contract.
What does it all mean? The Stars are a team in “no man’s land” according to Heika. Ruff put the team through a tough practice and indicated that the way through the inconsistency was to keep working. Heika is convinced it’s the one way that Dallas can determine what they’re truly made of.
In other Western Conference news:
- Montreal needs help up front and Arizona’s Martin Hanzal may be just the the man to solve their problems writes Navin Vaswani. The 29-year-old could be had for a young NHL ready forward and Vaswani believes Phillip Danault could do the trick. But Vaswani adds that Marc Bergevin isn’t forced to make a trade at all. Pierre LeBrun tweets that he isn’t sure if the Habs’ interest in Hanzal has spiked since the injuries to Alex Galchenyuk and David Desharnais. What he does indicate, is that regardless of what decision they make, injuries are part of the game and the Habs–whether they make a deal or not–must find a way to survive the injuries. LeBrun also adds that Arizona may still make a run at re-signing Hanzal.
Friedman’s Latest: Cap, Islanders, Purcell, Cowen
In the latest edition of his wonderful 30 Thoughts column, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman touched on a wide variety of topics of interest to hockey fans, including where the salary cap is expected to land for the 2017-18 season.
- At this month’s GM meetings, managers are expecting to receive a preliminary number for the salary cap. Friedman reported that a couple GMs are “hoping for $75MM.”
That would be an increase of $2MM over the current $73MM ceiling. Last summer, the cap went up by just $1.6MM, which was a smaller increase than what most teams were expecting, and also one of the smaller increases in cap history. The cap has risen by more than $3MM six times since it was implemented in 2005-06. - After discussing the New York Islanders management situation, Friedman joked that “one day I’m going to ply GM Garth Snow with enough truth serum to find out how hard he planned to go after Steven Stamkos, what he was going to offer, and how that affected his July 1, 2016 decisions.”
The off-season did not go as planned for the Islanders, who lost Kyle Okposo and Frans Nielsen to free agency and replaced them with Andrew Ladd and Jason Chimera. Ladd has just three goals and six points this season, and is signed for seven years. He’s a prominent member of Pro Hockey Rumors’ 2016 UFA All-Bust Team. - As we speculated when he was placed on waivers, the Los Angeles Kings had tried to trade Teddy Purcell before placing him on waivers. However, they were not willing to take a contract back, as we suggested most teams would offer. Friedman suggested Ottawa could have interest, as Purcell previously played for Senators head coach Guy Boucher when the pair were in Tampa Bay, but it doesn’t work at the moment for budget reasons. Friedman says he “wouldn’t be surprised if someone takes a chance” later in the season
- Finally, with Jared Cowen‘s arbitration result due to come later today, Friedman pointed out that a Cowen win would “wreak havoc” on next year’s cap for the Maple Leafs because of rookie bonus overages. Currently Cowen’s buyout is a $650K cap credit for Toronto, but that could change to a $3.1MM cap hit depending on whether or not the arbitrator deems Cowen was healthy enough to buy-out in the summer (numbers via Cap Friendly).
Jhonas Enroth Clears Waivers, Toronto Signs Karri Ramo To AHL Tryout
December 6: Enroth has cleared waivers, reports Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston (Twitter link). He will be sent down to their AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies; Antoine Bibeau has been recalled to take his place.
Unrestricted free agent goalie Karri Ramo, who has been skating with the Leafs over the last month as he recovers from ACL surgery, has inked a tryout deal with the Marlies, TSN’s Kristen Shilton adds (via Twitter). This will only further fuel the speculation that Ramo’s eventual destination will be with the Maple Leafs as the new backup to Frederik Andersen once he’s back in playing shape.
December 5: The Toronto Maple Leafs have placed Jhonas Enroth on waivers, according to Elliotte Friedman.
Enroth has not won this year, with an 0-3-1 record in four starts and two relief appearances. He was expected to be a dependable backup who could play 20 games with good numbers. He’s signed for this season at $750K.
Enroth’s career numbers before this season were respectable for a backup, with a 0.911 SV% and a 2.80 GAA in seven years in the NHL. In his six appearances this season, he has a 0.872 SV% and goals-against average of just under four.
Coach Mike Babcock said Enroth “wasn’t playing well enough,” according to Mark Masters.
James Mirtle, Editor-in-chief of The Athletic Toronto, tweeted that the Maple Leafs only gave Enroth four starts, which Mirtle called “rough.” He expects the Leafs to go after Karri Ramo, who practiced with the team last month. Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston reported Ramo is nearing medical clearance from his knee injury. Ramo’s career numbers in his current NHL stint are extremely similar to Enroth’s: they have the same SV% and a nearly identical GAAs.
In our ranking of the Top 50 UFAs last summer, Pro Hockey Rumors ranked Enroth 50th. We called him one of the best backup goalies in the NHL. Enroth signed with the Maple Leafs in late August.