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Morning Notes: Jets, Jarry, Stamkos

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The Winnipeg Jets are going home a little earlier than they had hoped after losing game four to the Calgary Flames last night. Eliminated from the playoffs, they could finally reveal what happened to Mark Scheifele and Patrik Laine, explaining to Sara Orlesky of TSN that neither one is expected to miss an extended period of time. Head coach Paul Maurice doesn’t believe there is any Achilles damage for Schiefele, who yelled in pain on the ice after colliding with Matthew Tkachuk in game one. Maurice called it “a crush” not a cut, but did admit that his top center is still undergoing further testing.

Laine meanwhile sprained his hand in the opener and couldn’t hold a stick, but Maurice believes he’ll only be out for a few weeks. Mason Appleton, who isn’t quite as important to the team as the former two, will also be out just a few weeks with a shoulder injury. The Jets will finally say goodbye to a 2019-20 season that was quite the rollercoaster, starting with Dustin Byfuglien’s disappearance and ending with two of their offensive leaders watching from the stands.

  • If the Pittsburgh Penguins are to avoid the same fate, they’ll need to stave off elimination against the Montreal Canadiens today. To do so they’ll call upon Tristan Jarry, starting him in game four over Matt Murray who has lost two of the first three. Murray did post a .914 save percentage in those games but received endless online criticism for how he played a shot from Jeff Petry, which ended up being the winning goal. After starting his career out with two Stanley Cups before his rookie status expired, Murray now has just two wins in his last 12 playoff contests. Jarry meanwhile will be making his playoff debut in an elimination game and has just 62 appearances at the NHL level under his belt.
  • Steven Stamkos won’t be playing for the Tampa Bay Lightning when they face the Philadelphia Flyers tomorrow in a winner-takes-all round-robin game. The Lightning and Flyers have both won the first two round-robin contests, meaning whoever takes tomorrow’s game will be the top seed in the Eastern Conference for the duration of the playoffs. Stamkos won’t be able to help, and though he is working hard and rehabbing, head coach Jon Cooper told reporters including Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer that the captain will be out indefinitely.

Injury Notes: Scheifele, Schmaltz, Fast, Hamilton

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The Winnipeg Jets may have lost their top center and top sniper in the same game, as both Mark Scheifele and Patrik Laine left last night’s test against the Calgary Flames with an injury. Scheifele’s in particular looked serious, as he collided with Matthew Tkachuk and fell to the ground bellowing in pain. The hit got quite the response from head coach Paul Maurice, who indicated today that both players were still undergoing examination, and updates would be issued later in the day.

If the Jets do lose Schiefele for the rest of the qualification round they’ll have to figure out an answer on the top line and find a way to dig themselves out of the early hole after losing to Calgary last night. Here’s more info about injuries around the league:

  • Nick Schmaltz will not play in game one for the Arizona Coyotes after taking a high hit from Vegas Golden Knights forward Ryan Reaves in the exhibition match. Schmaltz, the Coyotes leading scorer from the regular season, played in four playoffs games with Chicago in 2017 but hasn’t seen the postseason since. Youngster Barret Hayton will be making his own playoff debut after suiting up just 20 times this season.
  • The New York Rangers are still not sure of Igor Shesterkin’s availability for game two according to Dan Rosen of NHL.com, but will not have Jesper Fast in the lineup. Fast was hit hard by former teammate Brady Skjei and was forced from yesterday’s game after just a minute of ice time. The depth winger is a key part of the Rangers leadership group and recorded 29 points in 69 games this season.
  • Dougie Hamilton is getting better according to head coach Rod Brind’Amour, but won’t be in the lineup for Carolina tomorrow. The Hurricanes did just fine without their top offensive defenseman, but relied heavily on their top two pairings—Jake Gardiner played just 11:55 while Jaccob Slavin logged 24:40.

Goaltending Notes: Halak, Korpisalo, Holtby

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The Boston Bruins will be without their top option in goal tonight when they take on the Philadelphia Flyers in the round-robin. Tuukka Rask has been ruled unfit to play by head coach Bruce Cassidy, meaning Jaroslav Halak will be in net for the Bruins.

Perhaps more than any other team in the playoffs, the Bruins have prepared for a situation like this all season. Halak is much more than a backup for Boston, playing in 31 games during the shortened regular season and posting a .919 save percentage. That’s a number most teams would be happy to get from their starter, but it still is a step down from Rask’s .929. One of the advantages of being a top seed in each conference is this round-robin structure, which will allow the team to get healthy without the risk of elimination for the first week.

  • One team not in quite as strong a situation is the Columbus Blue Jackets, who start a best-of-five series against the Toronto Maple Leafs later today. The Blue Jackets have two young excellent goaltenders of their own, but head coach John Tortorella has decided to go with Joonas Korpisalo in game one. While Elvis Merzlikins may have received more press this season due to it being his first in North America, it was easy to forget that Korpisalo was actually named to the All-Star game before suffering an injury. He posted a .911 save percentage on the season but has a strong history against the Maple Leafs and much more experience at the NHL level.
  • It may not come as much of a surprise, but Braden Holtby will be in net when the Washington Capitals start their own round-robin tomorrow afternoon. Holtby will start over Vitek Vanacek according to Samantha Pell of the Washington Post when the Capitals take on the Tampa Bay Lightning. Once Ilya Samsonov was ruled out due to injury the obvious choice was Holtby given his experience, but it is also important to remember that he was far from his dominant self this season. In fact, Holtby posted an .897 save percentage on the season, putting him 52nd among NHL goaltenders who appeared in at least 20 games.

Jesse Puljujarvi Addresses 2020-21, NHL Future

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Ever since Jesse Puljujarvi left the Edmonton Oilers to return home to Finland last summer, signing a one-year deal with Karpat, there has been plenty of speculation about his future, his trade value, and his relationship with his current NHL rights holder. However, there has been little in the way of concrete news. That changed today as Puljujarvi himself spoke with Finnish news source Iltalehti about his current free agency and what to expect of his career moving forward.

First and foremost, Puljujarvi stated a return to Karpat next season is his most likely destination for 2020-21. Seeing as how his trade demands in the NHL have not been met, it makes some sense that Puljujarvi would stick to his guns and remain in the Finnish Liiga. It also helps that Puljujarvi was a superstar in Finland this season. His 24 goals and 53 points both led Karpat and were top-five marks in the league.

With that said, Puljujarvi also makes the important note that a deal is not in place with Karpat and he is keeping his options open. That could very well include the NHL, as he stated that his goal is to eventually return to North America. Would he be open to a return to Edmonton though? Puljujarvi actually revealed that he and his representation recently took part in a long phone call with GM Ken Holland and head coach Dave Tippett, neither of whom were in place when Puljujarvi last suited up for the Oilers. Usage was the main reason why Puljujarvi was so unhappy in Edmonton, but he does not know how that might change under this new administration. Puljujarvi called talks with Holland Tippet “good and constructive” and said that “it may be possible” he returns to the team, which is a major departure from his previous stance.

Should things not work out with Edmonton again this off-season and his rights are not traded to another NHL team, don’t expect Puljujarvi to move elsewhere in Europe. His KHL rights holder, Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod, has made an offer but Puljujarvi firmly stated that he would not sign with the team. He also acknowledged interest from the Swiss NLA, but again stated that he is unlikely to move their either. As a result, it seems Karpat or bust for 2020-21, with bust of course being a change of course in either Puljujarvi’s relationship with Edmonton or as a result of being traded to a new team.

Mike Babcock Joins UVM As Volunteer Advisor

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The highest-paid coach in the NHL will be back on a staff next season, but not at the professional level. Mike Babcock has taken a volunteer position as an “advisor” with the University of Vermont’s coaching staff. Babcock joins head coach Todd Woodcroft and assistants Jeff Hill and former NHL defenseman Mark Stuart.

Babcock will not be paid by Vermont, but still receives his salary from the Toronto Maple Leafs after he was fired as head coach earlier this season. The veteran coach is still under contract through the 2022-23 season, though a new position in the NHL could take over part of that deal or buy it out completely.

For now, he’ll be helping shepherd the young men coming through the college level. Babcock does have experience with student-athletes from his days as head coach of the University of Lethbridge in 1993-94.

The Vermont release terms Babcock’s role as “a resource for the coaching staff, lending his experience and perspective as one of the top hockey minds in the world.” He has previous experience with Woodcroft form their time together with Team Canada in 2004, when they won a gold medal as part of the coaching staff at the IIHF World Championship. At that tournament, however, Babcock was the head coach and Woodcroft just a video coach–things will be different this time around.

Morning Notes: Kase, Gibbons, Crosby

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The Boston Bruins still don’t have Ondrej Kase inside the bubble with them and even when he gets there he may find it difficult to get into the lineup. Speaking with reporters today including Joe Haggerty of NBC Sports, Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy explained that he may not necessarily insert Kase when he joins the team:

I don’t know the player right now. He’s only had a handful of games with us. Those are things we’ll decide down the road. Wouldn’t be automatic that I’d put Ondrej back in if one of the kids was playing well.

Kase of course arrived in Boston at the trade deadline, just a few days before the season was put on pause, but was expected to challenge for a role in the team’s top-six. In fact, it cost the Bruins their 2020 first-round pick to acquire him from the Anaheim Ducks—although one may argue that moving David Backes’ contract was the biggest part of that deal for the Bruins. Boston will have some time to figure out their lineup, as they play three round-robin games to determine playoff seeding.

  • Cory Conacher isn’t the only former NHL player headed to Switzerland, as Brian Gibbons has also signed with Lausanne HC for the 2020-21 season. Gibbons’ deal is only for one year, but means he won’t be returning to the Carolina Hurricanes organization where he played this season. Now 32, Gibbons played 15 games for the Hurricanes but failed to record a single point.
  • Sidney Crosby will be a game-time decision for the Pittsburgh Penguins when they take on the Philadelphia Flyers later today. Even if he doesn’t end up playing, that status should be encouraging for Penguins fans hoping to see their captain suit up in game one against the Montreal Canadiens. Crosby missed a chunk of training camp but returned to practice when the Penguins arrived at the Toronto bubble.

Snapshots: Lightning, Robertson, Blackhawks, Ehlers, Nurse

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The Tampa Bay Lightning is traveling to Toronto, but will be doing so without their star defenseman. Victor Hedman will not be traveling with the team, according to The Athletic’s Joe Smith, due to personal reasons at his own request. However, he is expected to meet up with the team on Friday and is expected to participate in all three round-robin games. The blueliner did practice Saturday and is expected to work with strength coach Mark Lambert. He is expected to be tested regularly while in Tampa Bay.

The team did release its roster as NHL.com’s Bryan Burns reports that the team will only bring 28 players with them to Toronto. Including the team’s normal 25-man roster, the team is only adding forwards Mathieu Joseph, Alexander Volkov and goaltender Scott Wedgewood.

Also, head coach Jon Cooper said that Steven Stamkos remains day-to-day and is not expected to participate in the exhibition game, according to Smith. The veteran is hoping to be more involved in practice once the team gets to Toronto. “It’s still in the window of time to get him back,” said Cooper.

  • TSN’s Mark Masters writes that if 19-year-old Nick Robertson hopes to get into the Toronto Maple Leafs playoff lineup, he must show that he can be comfortable on the ice in their upcoming exhibition game. The team’s 2019 second-round pick had an impressive junior campaign and has impressed the team enough to keep him on the playoff roster for the upcoming 24-team tournament. What might be more surprising is that the youngster continues to get third-line looks during practice. “He needs to look comfortable,” head coach Sheldon Keefe said. “He needs to make an impact on the game, be it through his work ethic and enthusiasm or his ability to create some offence and capitalize when he gets chances. All those kinds of things … We’re just really looking to see if he can be comfortable and be himself and then see how it all sorts itself out in terms our other players.”
  • Brandon Cain of NHL.com reports that the Chicago Blackhawks will take four goaltenders with them to Edmonton for the upcoming 24-team tournament. That is necessary due to the status of veteran Corey Crawford, who recently admitted he tested positive for COVID-19 and missed the first 12 days of training camp. While he has been cleared and participated in a full practice Saturday, that doesn’t mean he’s in game shape for the tournament. The team also will bring Malcolm Subban, Collin Delia and Kevin Lankinen.
  • NHL.com’s Mitchell Clinton reports that Winnipeg Jets winger Nikolaj Ehlers, who was forced to leave Thursday’s scrimmage due to an undisclosed injury, was back at practice Saturday before the team leaves for Edmonton. He is expected to take on a second-line role with the team after scoring 25 goals in 71 games this year.
  • Edmonton Journal’s Kurt Leavins writes that Edmonton Oilers fans don’t need to worry about the fact that defenseman Darnell Nurse was forced to sit out Saturday’s team scrimmage with an undisclosed injury. The scribe described the injury as something he “tweaked” during practice earlier in the week. He’s expected to be ready to go.

Poll: Who Should Win The 2020 Jack Adams Award?

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The finalists have been announced for all the major awards, but like every year there is much debate over who should take home each piece of hardware. In fact, with a shortened season and unorthodox playoff scenario, the views and reasoning behind each vote will perhaps vary even more wildly.

So as we get closer to the return of NHL hockey in Edmonton and Toronto, where 24 teams will try to chase the Stanley Cup, we’re going to ask you, the PHR faithful, to explain who you would vote for if given the chance.

After looking at the Calder Trophy finalists, let’s shift our focus to the Jack Adams Award, given to “the NHL coach adjudged to have contributed the most to his team’s success.”  In recent years, teams with top records have been overlooked with ones overachieving relative to early-season expectations often getting the nod.

This year’s group of finalists features someone from both groups with Bruce Cassidy (Bruins), John Tortorella (Blue Jackets), and Alain Vigneault (Flyers) comprising the top three.

Cassidy helped lead Boston to the top record in this shortened season where the Bruins still managed to reach 100 points in just 70 games with a 44-14-12 record.  While they were expected to be a contender heading into the year featuring a strong attack and one of the stingiest goaltending tandems in the league, they were the class of the field for most of the season which certainly makes Cassidy deserving of the nomination.  He has never won this award in the past despite putting up a very quiet 161-66-34 record since going behind their bench.

After being gutted in free agency with the departures of Artemi Panarin, Matt Duchene, and Sergei Bobrovsky (among others), expectations were low for Columbus heading into the season.  Instead, it was believed that they’d be in for a transition year, especially since they opted to go with the relatively unproven tandem of Joonas Korpisalo and Elvis Merzlikins between the pipes.  Instead, while they struggled as expected offensively, they became one of the stingiest defensive teams in the league and were in the mix for a playoff spot when the pandemic hit despite a litany of injuries to core players.  Tortorella is a two-time winner of the award after winning in 2004 with Tampa Bay and 2017 with Columbus.

As for Vigneault, he helped lead Philadelphia to their best points percentage in nearly a decade at .645 with a top-ten offense and defense.  In doing so, the Flyers went from a team that missed the playoffs to one that still has a chance at the top seed in the Eastern Conference as a 9-1 record in their final ten games allowed them to leapfrog Pittsburgh for the second spot in the Metropolitan Division; in doing so, they qualified for the round robin seeding games instead of the play-in round.  If he wins, it would Vigneault’s second Jack Adams Award as he also won in 2007 with Vancouver.

There’s a strong case to be made for each coach but which one should take home the prize?  Cast your vote below.

Mobile users, click here to vote.

Pacific Notes: Kraken Coach, Lennstrom, Hall, Chayka

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With Seattle revealing their team name on Thursday, the next big decision they have will be who becomes their inaugural head coach.  According to TSN’s Darren Dreger on the latest Insider Trading, the Kraken aren’t close to making a choice on that front and will wait until the conclusion of the upcoming playoffs at a minimum before doing so.  That will allow them to get a sense for any other candidates that may become available depending on how things go.  In the meantime, they have several veterans that they can do their due diligence on.  Dreger singled out Gerard Gallant who would be a logical choice given how he performed in a similar situation with Vegas in their inaugural season.  He mentions that Gallant is in the mix but considering how early in the process they still are, he’s far from an early contender.

More from the Pacific Division:

  • Earlier this week, the Oilers loaned defenseman Theodor Lennstrom to Frolunda but there was no word on whether or not it would be a full-season loan of a short-term one. GM Ken Holland confirmed to Postmedia’s Jim Matheson that it is indeed the latter and that the Swedish team is aware that Edmonton will want the 25-year-old back when the 2020-21 season is set to get underway.  Lennstrom is likely AHL-bound to start the season to get acclimated to the smaller North American rinks but could be a recall option at some point.
  • The recent meeting between Coyotes CEO Xavier Gutierrez and pending UFA winger Taylor Hall raised some eyebrows considering GM John Chayka wasn’t present. However, Kent Somers and Richard Morin of The Arizona Republic note that a low-ball offer was tendered to Hall at the meeting, suggesting that Gutierrez is running point on any negotiations at this juncture.  That would be an odd approach to take given that the GM has had little trouble getting their core players to agree to long-term extensions throughout his tenure in Arizona.
  • Even odder is that there are questions as to whether or not Chayka will be a part of Arizona’s 52-person roster in the bubble, reports Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link). While it’s ultimately expected he will be, the fact that it’s uncertain plus him being taken out of talks with Hall for the time being is something to certainly keep an eye on.

Snapshots: Martinook, Toews, Tortorella, Khudobin

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The Carolina Hurricanes really don’t like the NHL’s Return to Play plan. After Jordan Martinook and the ‘Canes were one of just two teams to vote against the initial postseason format last month, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that Martinook was also one of the two NHLPA representatives who voted against ratifying the Return to Play plan and CBA extension. Martinook has previously stated that he and his teammates felt that the expanded playoff structure was a disadvantage to teams who were safely in the postseason picture, but not within the top four in their conference. It is a fair opinion for Carolina to have; the team has the second-best record of qualifying round contenders and almost certainly would have made the playoffs. Their reward for those regular season efforts? A five-game series match-up with a New York Rangers team that was playing their best hockey down the stretch and has been a tough match-up for the Hurricanes all season. As a result, Martinook tried not once but twice to change the league’s plan, but to no avail. They will face the Rangers in just over a week’s time with a playoff berth on the line.

The other “no” vote against the Return to Play plan was reported to belong to Chicago Blackhawks representative Jonathan Toews. However, Toews has come out today and refuted that report. There is no doubt that Toews asked hard questions about health and safety protocols and gameplay logistics and made the case for why his peers should consider voting against the plan, but he tells Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun Times that at the end of the day he voted “yes”. In fact, he said that he always planned to vote yes but wanted to make sure that there was a thorough conversation before a decision was made. There is no word on who the mystery second “no” vote came from, but it was not the Blackhawks captain.

  • Columbus Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella might be re-thinking his teams approval of the expanded postseason plan. While a standard 16-team format would have excluded his team, which was in ninth in the Eastern Conference at the time of the league’s pause, their preparation for the knockout round is not going according to plan. Tortorella told NHL.com’s Craig Merz outright that he does not like what he has seen from his best players. “My concern is some of the people that we are going to need to make a difference for us to win a series, I don’t think they’re ready right now,” the Jack Adams finalist stated. “I don’t think they’re doing the things they need to do right now to get ready for that series… This isn’t getting ready for the regular season and then trying to find your game in 15 games during the regular season. This is a sprint… I don’t want us to fall into this trap of wading in. We need to be ready to go.”
  • Anton Khudobin and the Dallas Stars have some extra time to get ready for the postseason as they are one of the four top seeds in the West and will have four round robin games ahead of them before the real competition begins. Although Khudobin may only see action in the round robin and not in the Stars’ postseason series, as starter Ben Bishop will get the nod unless his play warrants a change, Khudobin’s value to Dallas cannot be understated. One of the best backups in the NHL, Khudobin recorded a .930 save percentage and 2.22 GAA in 30 games this season. While these numbers are outstanding, even better than Bishop’s, it doesn’t appear that Khudobin is looking to move on from Dallas to a greater role. He tells Matthew DeFranks of The Dallas Morning News that his preference is to remain with the Stars for a while longer. However, the impending UFA admits that he will let his agent work out the details and find the best opportunity. Khudobin is certainly comfortable and thriving in Texas, but the Stars’ limited cap space and the presences of Bishop and top prospect Jake Oettinger may mean that his current team cannot offer him top dollar. On the other hand, a potentially strong goalie market and Khudobin’s age, not to mention a flat salary cap, may mean that there won’t be the demand on the open market that Khudobin’s performance would normally command. This seems to be the case with another elite backup, Boston’s Jaroslav Halak, who recently signed a one-year extension for less guaranteed money despite another stellar season as the Bruins’ backup after replacing Khudobin himself. Perhaps Khudobin will have to settle for the same fate, especially if he wants to remain in Dallas.

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