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Snapshots: Kuzmenko, Boudreau, Price

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While the IIHF recently announced an additional sanction on hockey in Russia, and the NHL has cut ties with the KHL, Russian players are still permitted to sign as free agents with NHL clubs. With the KHL season set to end shortly, KHL free agents seeking to cross the Atlantic and sign with an NHL team have come under the microscope. Perhaps the most attention has been paid to Andrei Kuzmenko, who is set to become a free agent on May 1st. Kuzmenko, 26, had 53 points in 45 games in this KHL campaign, along with 14 points in 16 playoff games. Kuzmenko’s offensive profile is tantalizing to many NHL teams, and since he is still just 26 years old it is not unreasonable to think there is room for him to grow.

Like many of the KHL free agents who came before him, Kuzmenko is expected to have a competitive market when he and his representatives choose to begin negotiations. On TSN’s Insider Trading program, TSN Hockey Insider Chris Johnston reported that next week Kuzmenko will begin the interview process with NHL teams. Johnston reports that it is believed that 20 NHL teams will reach out to Kuzmenko with at least “some degree of interest.” In terms of what factors may play into Kuzmenko’s decision-making process, Johnston says that Kuzmenko “wants to go somewhere where he can play, where he’s going to have a role,” and that the market and city a team plays in is a less important factor. That should certainly make the competition to secure Kuzmenko’s services a bit more wide-open, and given that he only costs a signing team cap space and no assets to acquire, there will likely be many fanbases across the NHL hoping their team can be the one to land this intriguing KHL veteran.

Now, some more snapshots from across the NHL:

  • While Bruce Boudreau’s contract situation has been a major storyline in recent months, it seems the fears of a potential offseason departure for the 67-year-old Canucks skipper can be all but dismissed. In an interview with CHEK’s Don Taylor and Rick Dhaliwal, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman gave an update on Boudreau’s status. In his interview, Friedman states that Boudreau will return as Vancouver’s coach “if everybody is reasonable.” Friedman believes that as long as neither party is “being ridiculous,” as he terms it, then there should be no real issue securing an agreement on Boudreau’s return. Both the Canucks’ players and fanbase have responded extremely well to Boudreau’s coaching, and since he arrived in Vancouver the Canucks have been among the tougher teams to beat in the NHL. So while there may have once been fears of an offseason divorce for Boudreau and the Canucks, it now seems that there is very little chance of those fears becoming reality.
  • Carey Price has made his return to the Montreal Canadiens, but that doesn’t mean his future is made any more certain. In another note from TSN’s Insider Trading program, TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun gave an update on Price’s status. LeBrun reports that Price “wants to play next season” as a number-one priority for him, but in order to do so, he needs to have full health in the injured knee that cost him so many games this season. According to LeBrun, not a certainty that Price’s knee can get there. Lebrun doesn’t cast any majorly pessimistic forecasts on Price’s health, but he does state that there is “a bit of uncertainty” to Price’s health situation that may complicate not only his future but also the future of the Canadiens.

Snapshots: Three Stars, Ovechkin, Senators

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The NHL has released its Three Stars for last week, with Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos leading the way. After racking up 13 points in four games Stamkos is now just three points away from cracking the 100-point mark for the first time in his career. Already with a career-high of 60 assists, Stamkos has changed his game dramatically over the last few seasons and reinvigorated a Hall of Fame-level career that had been held back by injuries.

Second and third went to Kevin Fiala and Jonathan Quick, two players that have been questioned at times over the last few years. Fiala, 25, has finally found a level of consistency that matches his talent, and with 11 points in four games last week now has 84 on the season. In fact, Fiala is on a ten-game point streak and is really establishing himself as one of the most dynamic offensive players in the entire league, something that certainly will complicate matters in the offseason when he hits restricted free agency for the final time. Quick meanwhile was left for dead a few years ago when injuries struck and his numbers fell off a cliff, but the 36-year-old has battled admirably for the Kings this season. With a .909 save percentage, he still lags behind some of the league’s elite netminders but just ask some of his previous Western Conference opponents about how dominant he can be in the postseason.

  • Alex Ovechkin has been listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury after leaving last night’s game for the Washington Capitals but was present on the ice and in full uniform at the team photo today. With the Capitals still trying to chase down the Pittsburgh Penguins for a better playoff position, losing Ovechkin over the last few games of the season will obviously be a big blow. But with their inclusion in the postseason secure, resting him through the next week may be the more prudent option. Ovechkin, who will turn 37 before the start of next season, has 50 goals and 90 points in 77 games this year.
  • The Ottawa Senators had an exciting reinforcement at practice today as Shane Pinto joined the group, but he won’t actually play before the end of the season. Pinto hasn’t played since November, and totaled just five games on the season. It was more bad news when head coach D.J. Smith took the podium after practice, announcing that Colin White and Connor Brown are both not expected to play again this season. Brown is dealing with nagging injuries and his inclusion in the upcoming World Championship will be up to him and how he feels in the coming weeks. Brown finishes the disappointing year with ten goals and 39 points in 64 games.

Goalie Injury Notes: Raanta, Lehner, Price

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As if the Carolina Hurricanes needed more bad luck with their goaltenders after Frederik Andersen went down with an injury earlier this week, today’s victory over the New York Islanders brought more injury trouble. Antti Raanta, the team’s starter with Andersen out, left the game versus the Islanders in clear lower-body discomfort. Raanta had attempted to remain in the game after initially feeling pain, but was forced out after only a few moments and backup Pyotr Kochetkov finished the game. After the game, Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour had the following to say about Raanta:

I don’t know. And I don’t know how bad Raants is. I’m hoping it’s not too serious. We’ll know more in a few days.

Obviously, this is not a confidence-inspiring statement. But one has to keep in mind that Brind’Amour made these comments immediately after the game, so it is likely that he did not have enough information to make a more definitive statement on Raanta’s health. Carolina has big hopes for this season and is in a fight with the New York Rangers in what remains of this season to lock up the Metropolitan Division title. Raanta has battled injury issues throughout his NHL career, so this development cannot be a shocking one for the team, but it does come at an extremely unfortunate time with Raanta thrust into the number-one role with Andersen’s injury. For Carolina, this injury scare is ideally only a momentary setback, given that having Raanta back in time for Tuesday’s contest against the Rangers (where Carolina can clinch the Metropolitan Division title with a win in any fashion) is of utmost importance for the team.

Here are some other injury updates on goalies across the NHL:

  • Another twist in the ongoing Robin Lehner saga came during today’s Vegas Golden Knights morning skate. Lehner was not present, instead, only Logan Thompson and the team’s emergency backup were in attendance, per Jesse Granger of The Athletic. Golden Knights coach Pete DeBoer stated that for tonight’s all-important contest against the San Jose Sharks, Thompson would be the starter and Lehner would be the backup. Obviously, given prior reporting on Lehner getting season-ending surgery and his absence from the morning skate today, the prospect of Lehner being the backup for tonight’s game is a confusing one. The entire situation is likely to become a lot clearer by the time puck drops tonight, though.
  • The Canadiens recalled goalie Cayden Primeau from the Laval Rocket on an emergency basis in advance of tonight’s game against the Boston Bruins, and there was speculation on what that recall meant for the recently returned goalie Carey Price. Price was unavailable to the media after the team’s loss to the Ottawa Senators because he was receiving treatments from trainers, according to Sportsnet’s Eric Engels. Coach Martin St. Louis stated that the callup was not indicative of an injury-related setback for Price, but instead a measure to give him rest as he settles into the rigors of NHL action. Per St. Louis, Price will not travel with the team to New York for their tie against the Rangers but speculates that he could play on Friday in the team’s season finale versus the Florida Panthers.

Latest On Bruce Boudreau

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While a 6-3 loss to the Minnesota Wild last night all but ended the Canucks’ fading playoff hopes, their fans can enter this offseason with a good degree of optimism about the future of their team. A major reason for why that optimism is possible is coach Bruce Boudreau, who was hired earlier this year as a replacement for fired coach Travis Green. Boudreau has revived the Canucks, and under his watch, the team has gone 30-14-9, one of the best runs in the NHL. But despite that reasonable optimism thanks to Boudreau’s work, his future in Vancouver has been a bit cloudy. GM Patrik Allvin was non-committal when asked about Boudreau’s future, and talk of his contract situation has made headlines across the NHL in recent months. Boudreau is believed to have the option for a second year on the contract he signed with Vancouver, but the exact conditions of that second year are a bit murky, as it is believed that each party (both the Canucks and Boudreau) have an “out” if that is the route they choose. So while few could have imagined a better run of success for Boudreau, there is still uncertainty surrounding his future as the coach of the Canucks.

But that uncertainty may slowly be giving way to growing confidence in Boudreau returning for another season. The Athletic’s Thomas Drance has reported (subscription required) that Boudreau met with his representation this week, and that there is a “growing sense” in Vancouver that the Canucks will attempt to retain Boudreau “in some fashion.” But Drance clarifies that finances could get in the way of a smooth return. Boudreau is reportedly set to make $2.5MM next season if he coaches on the Canucks, a number that Drance believes represents a “low-end valuation” of what he would be paid as a free agent. So, in theory, given that Boudreau has an “out” in his contract and the large number of head coaching vacancies expected for this offseason, it seems that it may not be totally out of the realm of possibility that Boudreau opts to take a contract with a larger commitment from another club.

For the Canucks, it seems as though retaining Boudreau should be more of a straightforward decision than it has been. Boudreau’s work revived the team as they were deeply struggling during the final days of the Jim Benning/Travis Green era. Crucial star players, players who look set as the pillars of the Canucks’ franchise going into the future, have seen their play improve under Boudreau’s watch. Overall they have been one of the tougher teams to defeat in the entire league since he has taken over, and it’s not easy to come up with reasons why an organization in search of its first long-term coach since Alain Vigneault would choose to go in a different direction when they already have Boudreau behind their bench. But if there’s one thing that seems likely under the Canucks’ new regime, it’s bold changes. With names like Brock Boeser who were once seemingly untouchable floating in trade rumors, it would not be an incredible surprise if Boudreau were coaching elsewhere by the time players report for training camp this fall.

New York Islanders Place J.G. Pageau, Two Coaches In COVID Protocol; Anthony Beauvillier Day-To-Day

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According to the Athletic’s Kevin Kurz, the New York Islanders will be short a few coaches and players tonight as they take on the New York Rangers at home (Link to Tweet). First and foremost, the team has placed forward Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Associate Coach Lane Lambert, and Assistant Coach Jim Hiller in COVID protocol. Though the team is only short one player for tonight, Lambert and Hiller represent half of the team’s coaching staff behind the bench, putting extra weight on the shoulders of Head Coach Barry Trotz. Seeing COVID-related absences surely gives the Islanders unpleasant flashbacks to November, when the team was without a large portion of its roster due to COVID.

Also missing from the Islanders lineup, unrelated to COVID protocol, is forward Anthony Beauvillier, who is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. It’s unclear when exactly Beauvillier’s injury occurred, as he logged 18:24 of ice-time against the Florida Panthers on Tuesday, the Islanders’ last game. The team next plays Saturday afternoon on the road against the Buffalo Sabres.

In a corresponding move, the Islanders have recalled forward Otto Koivula on an emergency basis. Koivula has seen limited NHL time this year, with only five games played, the last on March 10th. In those five games, Koivula has just one assist, but the 23-year-old does have 12 goals and 35 assists in 56 games with the Bridgeport Islanders of the AHL this season. The forward is in the lineup tonight.

These transactions seemingly draw to a close a busy day of moves on the Island, with the team having placed defenseman Grant Hutton on waivers (link) and signing one of their top prospects William Dufour earlier in the day (link). For now, the Islanders will still have to focus on their game against the Rangers despite the missing pieces, but will be able to give Koivula another look in the NHL.

Mackenzie Blackwood Still Expected To Play Before Season Ends

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The New Jersey Devils need a goalie. The team has received an .883 save percentage this season, better than only the Seattle Kraken’s .881. Currently, they’re rolling with a tandem of Andrew Hammond and Jon Gillies that have 94 NHL games between them, despite being 34 and 28 years old respectively. Earlier this month, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet put it clearly on the 32 Thoughts podcast:

They’re going to have to find a goalie. They’re really going to have to find a goalie. What the Devils are selling to their fans, and some of their players, and they’ve said it publicly to the media is: ’our underlying numbers say we’re a better team. We just can’t stop the puck.’ Well you can’t keep coming with that narrative. 

Friedman goes on to note that Mackenzie Blackwood’s injuries this season have been an important part of the disappointing season that has taken place. The young netminder was on Team Canada’s long list for the Olympics at the start of the season and looked like the obvious choice long-term in the Devils’ net. The Sportsnet insider goes on to explain that maybe it is time for a fresh start somewhere else, though that would certainly not solve the issues in New Jersey moving forward.

That’s what makes the last few games of the season so interesting for the Devils, and Blackwood in particular. Head coach Lindy Ruff told reporters including Mike Morreale of NHL.com again today that the plan is still to get Blackwood back into a few games before the end of the year. New Jersey has just six games left including tonight against the Buffalo Sabres, and has Blackwood still listed as day-to-day, though he did appear at the optional morning skate today.

Is there a chance that the Blackwood-Jonathan Bernier tandem return for 2022-23? Sure, as they are both signed through next season before being scheduled for free agency in the summer (RFA status for the former). But there will also be a strong desire to take a big step forward for the Devils next season, given how well some players have performed. Jesper Bratt recorded his 70th point of the season a few days ago, Nico Hischier has a career-high with 58 points, and Jack Hughes (when healthy) has looked every bit the first-overall pick. The team can’t be let down by bad goaltending again, not while they’re investing so much into free agents like Dougie Hamilton to try and contend for the playoffs.

While both Nico Daws and Akira Schmid saw NHL action and look like promising prospects, it’s hard to trust a pair of 21-year-olds who recorded .893 and .833 save percentages. Gillies and Hammond haven’t done much better, and are unrestricted free agents at the end of the year.

So while games at the end of a bad season rarely mean much of anything, Blackwood’s return would be significant.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Morning Notes: Strome, Coaches, Matthews

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The Chicago Blackhawks have lots of decisions to make this summer as general manager Kyle Davidson continues his tear down and rebuild of the struggling organization. One of the biggest–outside of the obvious Jonathan Toews–Patrick Kane question–is what to do with Dylan Strome. The 25-year-old is an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent and has taken off in the last half of the season, setting a new career-high in goals with 21 and playing more than 20 minutes in 17 of his last 21 games.

That doesn’t guarantee he’ll be back, though, as Mark Lazerus of The Athletic writes today. Lazerus notes that team sources are “lukewarm at best” about bringing Strome back, a player that the organization tried to trade for well over a year at one point. Perhaps Strome’s run on the top line will help bring that trade to fruition, though the uncertainty of his arbitration award certainly makes it more complicated.

  • Meanwhile, the coach that brought Strome back from the dead this season is also facing an uncertain future. As Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic writes today, it is “no slam dunk” that Derek King returns as head coach of the Blackhawks next season, despite some success since he took over on an interim basis. King was brought up from the Rockford IceHogs and is in his first stint as a coach in the NHL. Davidson told LeBrun that the team will address the coaching situation in the offseason, the same answer many managers gave him when he was looking at all of the expiring deals around the league. While names like Jay Woodcroft and Andrew Brunette seem like obvious extensions, things aren’t so clear in places like Winnipeg and Philadelphia, where success hasn’t followed the midseason changes.
  • Auston Matthews is closing in on a return to the Toronto Maple Leafs lineup, after joining the main group for morning skate today. The Maple Leafs will take on the Tampa Bay Lightning in a potential preview of the first round, and would obviously like to have their superstar in the lineup, but he’ll miss a third straight game with an undisclosed injury. Matthews has some history of his own to chase, as he tries to become just the third player since the 2004-05 lockout to score 60 goals. Only Alex Ovechkin (65 in 2007-08) and Steven Stamkos (60 in 2011-12) have accomplished that feat, and the big Toronto center needs just two more to hit the mark.

Snapshots: Byron, Team Canada, Perbix

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Paul Byron can’t catch a break. The veteran forward has been limited to just 26 games this season due to injury. While many of these absences came while Byron was recovering from hip surgery, he has continued to be in and out of the lineup ever since he returned. The Montreal Canadiens announced that he was returning to the lineup on Tuesday night – but the return was short-lived. Less than two periods into the game, the Habs revealed that Byron has left the game and would not return due to a lower-body injury. Its unclear if this is another new injury or a reoccurrence of his hip issue. Either way, with just five games remaining in a lost season, it might be time for Montreal to simply shut Byron down for the year. Byron has one year remaining on his contract and will be back with the Canadiens in 2022-23 if he isn’t traded or bought out.

  • The Canadian entry into the upcoming IIHF World Championship may look very familiar to the fans of a Canadian NHL team. Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun writes that Senators head coach D.J. Smith, who will be an assistant for Team Canada, has recruited several of his star players to join the tournament. If healthy, Drake Batherson, Connor Brown, and Thomas Chabot will suit up for Canada. Health is a question though; Chabot is currently on the injured reserve with a fractured hand and Batherson and Brown have both missed time due to injury this season and may not rush to play extra games if those issues flare up.
  • Another notable name has entered the NCAA Transfer Portal. Defenseman Jack Perbix, an Anaheim Ducks fourth-round pick in 2018, is leaving the University of Minnesota. Most would have expected that if Perbix was leaving the Gophers, it would be for the NHL. Older brother Nick Perbix, a Tampa Bay Lightning prospect, signed his entry level contract last month after four years at St. Cloud State University. Rather than follow suit, Jack will instead stay in college for his senior year but will don a different jersey and have a different name on his degree.

Claude Julien To Lead Team Canada At World Championship

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4:30pm: The coaching staff has now been officially announced by Hockey Canada, along with the management staff consisting of Shane Doan, Rick Nash, and Scott Salmond. Doan and Nash won gold together at the event as players in 2007 and competed several other times together over the years.

10:40am: One way to get your name back into NHL coaching circles is to lead at an international tournament, and that appears to be the plan for Claude Julien. Darren Dreger of TSN reports that Julien will be named head coach of Team Canada for the upcoming IIHF World Championship, while Claire Hanna of TSN adds that D.J. Smith will be an assistant. The staff will be rounded out by Andre Tourigny, according to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic.

Julien, 61, was also the head coach of the recent Olympic squad for Hockey Canada, though he did miss part of the tournament due to an injury of his own. The veteran coach has been the bench boss of three different NHL organizations, leading the Montreal Canadiens on multiple occasions, most recently in the 2020-21 season. He was fired partway through that year, and has been on the sidelines since, waiting for another opportunity.

He’ll be joined by Smith, the head coach of the Ottawa Senators, and Tourigny, the head coach of the Arizona Coyotes. Both have some experience coaching at international events, with Tourigny assisting at last year’s World Championship that saw Canada win gold.

You can expect several players from the Coyotes and Senators to be involved, when the tournament gets underway next month. Connor Brown led last year’s event in scoring with 16 points in 10 games and would be a lock if he chooses to attend. Jack McBain of the Coyotes played at the recent Olympics under Julien and could be another option, while Drake Batherson could be a lead figure.

The event begins for Team Canada on May 13 with a preliminary round game against Germany.

West Notes: Gaudreau, Hynes, Perunovich

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The Flames are facing an interesting cap crunch for next season.  Matthew Tkachuk is owed a $9MM qualifying offer, Andrew Mangiapane’s 31 goals plus arbitration eligibility has him looking at a sizable raise, and top scorer Johnny Gaudreau is set to become an unrestricted free agent.  Sportsnet’s Rory Boylen tried to peg where Gaudreau’s price tag should be on his next deal, suggesting an $8.5MM AAV could be the right fit for him and Calgary which would represent a $1.75MM jump on his current cap hit.  The 28-year-old is in the middle of a career year that sees him with 101 points in 74 games but with only mild salary cap increases coming over the next couple of seasons, it’s possible that it limits Gaudreau’s leverage if he tries to aim closer to the $10MM mark.

More from the West:

  • Discussions on a new contract for Predators head coach John Hynes won’t begin until the season is over, reports Adam Vingan of The Athletic (subscription link). Nashville has played to an 89-61-8 record since he took over partway through the 2019-20 season so there’s little reason to think a coaching change is on the horizon.  The Preds have a team option for next season which would likely be exercised if the two sides are unable to reach an agreement on a longer-term deal.
  • Blues defenseman Scott Perunovich has resumed skating, relays Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The youngster underwent wrist surgery in early March and is expected to be re-evaluated at the eight-week mark.  We’re still a little more than two weeks away from that point so he’s still a long way from being cleared to return to the lineup for the playoffs.  In 19 games this season, the rookie has six assists while averaging 15:27 of ice time per contest.

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