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Avalanche Rumors

Training Camp Cuts: 10/02/18

October 2, 2018 at 9:24 am CDT | by Gavin Lee Leave a Comment

At 4pm today every team in the league must submit their final roster of 23 players, meaning several around the league still have a few final cuts to make before the season begins. As always, we’ll keep track of all those moves right here:

Anaheim Ducks (per team Twitter update)

F Joseph Blandisi (to San Diego, AHL)
D Jaycob Megna (to San Diego, AHL)

Calgary Flames (per team release)

F Andrew Mangiapane (to Stockton, AHL)
F Anthony Peluso (to Stockton, AHL)
D Rasmus Andersson (to Stockton, AHL)
G Jon Gillies (to Stockton, AHL)

Colorado Avalanche (per team release)

F Logan O’Connor (to Colorado, AHL)
D David Warsofsky (to Colorado, AHL)
D Mark Alt (to Colorado, AHL)

Columbus Blue Jackets (per team release)

F Alex Broadhurst (to Cleveland, AHL)
G Matiss Kivlenieks (to Cleveland, AHL)

Dallas Stars (per team release)

F Justin Dowling (to Texas, AHL)
D Gavin Bayreuther (to Texas, AHL)
D Joel Hanley (to Texas, AHL)

Detroit Red Wings (per team release)

F/D Luke Witkowski (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
D Joe Hicketts (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
D Filip Hronek (to Grand Rapids, AHL)

Edmonton Oilers (per team release)

D Ethan Bear (to Bakersfield, AHL) – Immediately recalled after Andrej Sekera was placed on long-term injured reserve.

Los Angeles Kings (per team release)

F Emerson Etem (released from PTO)

Minnesota Wild (per team release)

D Ryan Murphy (to Iowa, AHL)
F Matt Read (to Iowa, AHL)

New York Islanders (per team release)

F Jan Kovar (to Bridgeport, AHL)
D Devon Toews (to Bridgeport, AHL)

Ottawa Senators (per team release)

D Christian Jaros (to Belleville, AHL)

Philadelphia Flyers (per team release)

F Taylor Leier (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)

San Jose Sharks (per team release)

F Dylan Gambrell (to San Jose, AHL)
F Lukas Radil (to San Jose, AHL)
G Antoine Bibeau (to San Jose, AHL)

St. Louis Blues (per team release)

F Chris Thorburn (to San Antonio, AHL)
F Zachary Sanford (to San Antonio, AHL)
D Jake Walman (to San Antonio, AHL)
G Ville Husso (to San Antonio, AHL)

Vegas Golden Knights (per team release)

F Daniel Carr (to Chicago, AHL)
F Curtis McKenzie (to Chicago, AHL)

Washington Capitals (per team release)

D Jonas Siegenthaler (to Hershey, AHL)

Winnipeg Jets (per team release)

D Logan Stanley (to Manitoba, AHL)
D Tucker Poolman (to Manitoba, AHL)

AHL| Anaheim Ducks| Calgary Flames| Colorado Avalanche| Columbus Blue Jackets| Minnesota Wild| New York Islanders| Ottawa Senators| Players| San Jose Sharks| Vegas Golden Knights| Winnipeg Jets Andrew Mangiapane| Antoine Bibeau| Christian Jaros| Jan Kovar| Jon Gillies| Logan Stanley| Matiss Kivlenieks

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2018-19 Season Primer: Colorado Avalanche

October 1, 2018 at 7:48 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

With the NHL season now just days away, we continue our look at what each team has done this summer and what to watch for in the year to come. Next up is a look at the Colorado Avalanche.

Last Season: 43-30-9 record (95 points), fourth in the Central Division (lost in the first round of the playoffs to Nashville)

Remaining Cap Space: $12.18MM per CapFriendly

Key Additions: F Matt Calvert (free agent, Columbus), D Ian Cole (free agent, Columbus), G Phillip Grubauer (trade with Washington)

Key Subtractions: G Jonathan Bernier (free agent, Detroit), F Blake Comeau (free agent, Dallas), G Andrew Hammond (free agent, Minnesota), F Nail Yakupov (free agent, SKA St. Petersburg, KHL)

[Related: Avalanche Depth Chart From Roster Resource]

Player To Watch: G Semyon Varlamov – In 2011, Colorado made a deal with Washington to get what they hoped was their goalie of the future in Varlamov.  Seven years later, history repeated itself with the Avalanche bringing in Grubauer from the Capitals to be their new goalie of the future.  Where does that leave Varlamov?

While he remains their highest-paid goalie and could still be their opening night starter, it certainly stands to reason that he isn’t in their long-term plans anymore.  Grubauer is going to get a workload that’s larger than a typical backup given their commitment to him and that’s not going to help Varlamov’s free agent case for next summer.

With that in mind, it will be interesting to see if Varlamov is made available during the season (or even requests to be dealt).  There aren’t a lot of starting roles projected to be available next summer in free agency so he’s not going to want to find himself in a platoon situation (or something close to it).  That’s going to put a lot more pressure on him when he is between the pipes as he is basically going to be showcasing himself to the rest of the league whenever he’s in the lineup.

Key Storyline: Last year was all about the rebuilding process for the Avalanche, or at least that was the plan.  Instead, the team was the biggest non-expansion surprise in the league and worked their way into the postseason.  GM Joe Sakic stated again after the season that they were planning to stay the course and their offseason movement aside from adding Grubauer was basically shuffling in a couple of different veterans.

That type of long-term thinking is nice in principle but will they remain that patient if there is some regression in the first half of the season?  Colorado has a strong nucleus of young players to work with and could conceivably deal from that to add a player or two to help them now.  Will that temptation to do so be there or will Sakic stay true to his word and stay the course, even if it means taking a small step back just after taking a sizable step forward?

Overall Outlook: At this point, it looks like Nashville and Winnipeg are the class of the Central Division which leaves just one guaranteed playoff spot.  St. Louis has improved and Dallas is going to be in the mix as well but if Colorado’s young players continue to progress, they should be in the hunt as well.  However, given everything that went so well last year, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them take a small step back either.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Colorado Avalanche| Season Previews 2018-19

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Western Notes: Crawford, Saad, Vilardi, Andrighetto

September 29, 2018 at 5:56 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg Leave a Comment

The Chicago Blackhawks got more good news today as The Athletic Scott Powers reports that head coach Joel Quenneville said that goaltender Corey Crawford could practice with the team as early as Monday.

Crawford who has been out since Dec. 23 of last year with concussion symptoms said earlier this offseason that he likely wouldn’t be ready when the regular season begins as the symptoms have still affected him. That has been the case, but if Crawford is close to returning to practice, that could be a good boost for the team, knowing that he’s not far off to returning to game action, even if its a few weeks into the season.

The 33-year-old Crawford was having a solid season before going down as he posted a 2.27 GAA and a .929 save percentage in 28 games. If he can come back and post anything close to that, the Blackhawks may be able to work their way back into playoff discussions this year.

  • In a separate story, Powers (subscription required) interviewed three NHL scouts about individual players on the Chicago Blackhawks and while there are many interesting comments about different players, two scouts had nothing nice to say about Chicago winger Brandon Saad. “When he’s not playing with top guys, he doesn’t respect who he’s playing and he’s selfish,” a scout said. “He’ll try to carry it himself instead of moving the puck. When he gets frustrated, he shows it with his body language. They have to recognize that and have a talk with him. Whether they put him with one of the big guys, he’s got to have a better attitude.” A second scout was equally unimpressed. “I think Saad is a guy who plays for a contract. I’m not convinced that he’s a guy who plays for you every night.”
  • Fox Sports’ Jon Rosen reports that Los Angeles Kings prospect center Gabriel Vilardi, who has missed the entire preseason after re-injuring his back this summer, was in full gear working out on the ice with head trainer Chris Kingsley. There is no timetable on his return. Rosen added that Vilardi will either start the season on IR or as an injured non-roster player. The 19-year-old still has one year of junior eligibility, but posted 52 points in just 32 games last year with the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs and many feel could be ready to take on a key role with Los Angeles if he can put his back issues behind him.
  • Adrian Dater of BSN Denver writes that winger Sven Andrighetto will miss two to four weeks with a foot injury. The 25-year-old is trying to force his way into the team’s top-six . He tallied eight goals and 22 points last year in a bottom-six role for the Avalanche.

Chicago Blackhawks| Colorado Avalanche| Injury| Joel Quenneville| Los Angeles Kings| Players| RIP Brandon Saad| Corey Crawford

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Training Camp Cuts: 9/27/18

September 27, 2018 at 12:51 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 3 Comments

With the season now less than a week away, teams are getting closer to finalizing their opening rosters.  We’ll keep tabs of the players getting cut here.

Note that this list does not include players that were placed on waivers today.  Those can be found here.

Buffalo Sabres (per team release)

F Rasmus Asplund (to Rochester, AHL)
D Will Borgen (to Rochester, AHL)
F Victor Olofsson (to Rochester, AHL)

Colorado Avalanche (per team release)

F Cody Bass (released from PTO)
D Sergei Boikov (to Colorado, AHL)
G Pavel Francouz (to Colorado, AHL)
F Martin Kaut (to Colorado, AHL)
F Ty Lewis (to Colorado, AHL)
F Igor Shvyrev (to Colorado, AHL)

Dallas Stars (per Mark Stepneski of Stars Inside Edge)

D John Nyberg (to Texas, AHL)

Detroit Red Wings (per team release)

RW Colin Campbell (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Carter Camper (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
D Marcus Crawford (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
C Turner Elson (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
G Kaden Fulcher (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
RW Matthew Ford (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
D Trevor Hamilton (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
C Axel Holmstrom (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
RW Dominik Shine (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
D MacKenze Stewart (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
LW Chris Terry (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
C Trevor Yates (to Grand Rapids, AHL)

Edmonton Oilers (per team Twitter)

F Ryan McLeod (to Mississauga, OHL)

Los Angeles Kings (per team release)

F Bokondji Imama (to Ontario, AHL)
F Sheldon Rempal (to Ontario, AHL)
F Drake Rymsha (to Ontario, AHL)

Minnesota Wild (per team release)

F Sam Anas (to Iowa, AHL)
F Alexander Khovanov (to Moncton, QMJHL)
F Justin Kloos (to Iowa, AHL)
D Carson Soucy (to Iowa, AHL)

New York Rangers (per team Twitter)

F Bobby Butler (released from PTO)
F Gabriel Fontaine (to Hartford, AHL)
F Tim Gettinger (to Hartford, AHL)
D John Gilmour (to Hartford, AHL)
F Ryan Gropp (to Hartford, AHL)
F Drew Melanson (released from PTO)

San Jose Sharks (per Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News)

D Ryan Merkley (to Guelph, OHL)

Vancouver Canucks (per team release)

F Adam Gaudette (to Utica, AHL)
D Olli Juolevi (to Utica, AHL)

In addition, F Brendan Gaunce will be placed on waivers on Friday.

Vegas Golden Knights (per Adam Hill of the Las Vegas Review-Journal)

D Erik Brannstrom (to Chicago, AHL)

Washington Capitals (per team Twitter)

D Tyler Lewington (to Hershey, AHL)
G Ilya Samsonov (to Hershey, AHL)
F Michael Sgarbossa (to Hershey, AHL)
F Sergei Shumakov (to Hershey, AHL)
G Vitek Vanecek (to Hershey, AHL)

Buffalo Sabres| Colorado Avalanche| Dallas Stars| Detroit Red Wings| Edmonton Oilers| Los Angeles Kings| Minnesota Wild| New York Rangers| San Jose Sharks| Transactions| Vancouver Canucks| Vegas Golden Knights| Washington Capitals

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Chris Stewart Signs With KHL’s HC Slovan Bratislava

September 26, 2018 at 9:26 am CDT | by Zach Leach Leave a Comment

One of the remaining veteran NHL free agents, who curiously was not invited to any training camps this preseason, has nevertheless found a home for this season. Rugged winger Chris Stewart, most recently of the Calgary Flames, is headed overseas, linking up with a KHL club in need of a spark. HC Slovan Bratislava, one of the worst teams in the league last season, has announced a one-year contract with Stewart. The Slovakia-based club hopes that the power forward can help them right the ship in the 2018-19 season.

Stewart, 30, is no stranger to changing locations. The big right wing has played for six different teams in his NHL career, including a hot start to his career with the Colorado Avalanche, a nearly four year stretch with the St. Louis Blues, and two separate stints with the Minnesota Wild. However, this is Stewart’s first foray into international play outside of brief stops in the Czech Republic and Germany during the 2012 lockout. The KHL is a more open game than the close quarters of the NHL, and Stewart may initially struggle with the pace. Yet, the hallmark of his game has always been net front presence and high percentage shots and that is unlikely to change. Bratislava knows what they’re getting in Stewart and if he can adjust to a new style soon enough, his scoring touch and physicality could become a disruptive force in their favor.

Stewart is also not alone in his efforts to turn around the struggling club. Bratislava has brought in several notable names this off-season in an effort to boost scoring and two-way play. Long-time Arizona Coyote Kyle Chipchura, minor league contributor Casey Bailey, most recently of the AHL’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers, former Minnesota Wild prospect Chad Rau, and NHL and European hockey veteran Jeff Taffe have all been added to the mix this summer. NHL journeyman defenseman Eric Gelinas is yet another new face and could form a formidable duo with captain and experienced NHLer Andrej Meszaros. The pressure is not all on Stewart in Bratislava, but he certainly carries the highest NHL pedigree for goal-scoring and the team will need the big winger to bring that ability this season if they are to avoid another disappointing finish.

AHL| Calgary Flames| Colorado Avalanche| KHL| Minnesota Wild| St. Louis Blues Casey Bailey| Chris Stewart| Eric Gelinas| Kyle Chipchura

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Training Camp Cuts: 9/24/18

September 24, 2018 at 10:26 am CDT | by Zach Leach 4 Comments

Another day, another two or three dozen cuts on the way. As training camp and the NHL preseason continues on, teams work to pare down their rosters in anticipation of Opening Night. Keep track of all the releases and reassignments right here:

Note that players placed on waivers today are not included on this list.  They can be found here.

Anaheim Ducks (per team release)

F Giovanni Fiore (to San Diego, AHL)
F Mitch Hults (to San Diego, AHL)
F Jack Kopacka (to San Diego, AHL)
G Angus Redmond (to San Diego, AHL)
F Deven Sideroff (to San Diego, AHL)
D Keaton Thompson (to San Diego, AHL)
G Roman Durny (to Des Moines, USHL)

Arizona Coyotes (per team release)

F Michael Bunting (to Tuscon, AHL)
D Cam Dineen (to Tuscon, AHL)
D Dysin Mayo (to Tuscon, AHL)

Boston Bruins (per team release)

D Axel Andersson (to Djurgarden, SEL)
F Cameron Hughes (to Providence, AHL)
D Emil Johansson (to Providence, AHL)
F Joona Koppanen (to Providence, AHL)
F Tanner Pond (to Providence, AHL)
F Zach Senyshyn (to Providence, AHL)

Colorado Avalanche (per team release)

G Joe Cannata (to Colorado, AHL)

Columbus Blue Jackets (per team release)

F Vitaly Abramov (to Cleveland, AHL)
D Brady Austin (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Paul Bittner (to Cleveland, AHL)
D Garret Cockerill (to Cleveland, AHL)
D Ryan Collins (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Dan DeSalvo (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Maxime Fortier (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Brett Gallant (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Nikita Korostelev (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Miles Koules (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Ryan MacInnis (to Cleveland, AHL)
G Joseph Raaymakers (released from ATO; to London, OHL)
F Justin Scott (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Kole Sherwood (to Cleveland, AHL)
D Blake Siebenaler (to Cleveland, AHL)
D Doyle Somerby (to Cleveland, AHL)
G Brad Thiessen (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Calvin Thurkauf (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Trent Vogelhuber (to Cleveland, AHL)
D Justin Wade (to Cleveland, AHL)

Detroit Red Wings (per team release)

F Joe Veleno (to Drummondville, QMJHL)

Edmonton Oilers (per team Twitter update)

F Cooper Marody (to Bakersfield, AHL)
F Scottie Upshall (released from PTO)

Florida Panthers (per team release)

G Sam Montembeault (to Springfield, AHL)
D Riley Stillman (to Springfield, AHL)
F Owen Tippett (to Mississauga, OHL)
F Mark Letestu (released from PTO)

Los Angeles Kings (per team release)

G Peter Budaj (to Ontario, AHL)
D Jacob Moverare (loaned to Frolunda, SHL)

Nashville Predators (per team release)

F Connor Brickley (to Milwaukee, AHL)
F Tyler Gaudet (to Milwaukee, AHL)
G Troy Grosenick (to Milwaukee, AHL)
D Jarred Tinordi (to Milwaukee, AHL)

New Jersey Devils (per team Twitter)

F Kurtis Gabriel (to Binghamton, AHL)
F Blake Pietila (to Binghamton, AHL)
D John Ramage (to Binghamton, AHL)
D Brian Strait (to Binghamton, AHL)
F Eric Tangradi (to Binghamton, AHL)

New York Islanders (per team release)

D Sebastian Aho (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Kieffer Bellows (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Michael Dal Colle (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Ben Holmstrom (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Josh Ho-Sang (to Bridgeport, AHL)
G Jeremy Smith (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Travis St. Denis (to Bridgeport, AHL)
D Parker Wotherspoon (to Bridgeport, AHL)
D Noah Dobson (to Acadie-Bathurst, QMJHL)

St. Louis Blues (per team release)

D Chris Butler (to San Antonio, AHL)
F Klim Kostin (to San Antonio, AHL)
F Mackenzie MacEachern (to San Antonio, AHL)
F Adam Musil (to San Antonio, AHL)
F Jordan Nolan (to San Antonio, AHL)
D Mitch Reinke (to San Antonio, AHL)
F Nolan Stevens (to San Antonio, AHL)

Vancouver Canucks (per team release)

D Jalen Chatfield (to Utica, AHL)
F Jonathan Dahlen (to Utica, AHL)
F Petrus Palmu (to Utica, AHL)

Anaheim Ducks| Boston Bruins| Colorado Avalanche| Columbus Blue Jackets| Detroit Red Wings| Edmonton Oilers| Florida Panthers| Los Angeles Kings| Nashville Predators| New Jersey Devils| New York Islanders| St. Louis Blues| Transactions| Utah Mammoth| Vancouver Canucks

4 comments

Central Notes: MacKinnon, Jokiharju, Boqvist, Honka

September 22, 2018 at 2:49 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 2 Comments

The Colorado Avalanche had a phenomenal turnaround season last year after many years where the team was considered among the bottom-fodder of the league. Yet in one year, the team now looks like an ever-improving playoff team that is definitely heading in the right direction. The team also has one more thing going for them — that’s Nathan MacKinnon, who in one year also has established himself into one of the top players in the league after posting 39 goals and 97 points last season. The 23-year-old is also, fortunately for the team, locked up for five more years at a very reasonable $6.3MM AAV.

In fact, the young superstar told Mike Chambers of the Denver Post that the money isn’t an issue for him even though he could make a salary much closer to that of Edmonton Oilers’ center Connor McDavid’s $12.5MM contract if he was a free agent right now.

“If I was up, I would ask for more than what I’m getting now,” MacKinnon told The Denver Post. “I think you want to get paid what you’re worth. And at the time, I thought I was paid what I was worth. But I’m trying to get better every day and money is the last thing on my mind. It really is. I just want the respect of my teammates, respect from my peers and to reach my own expectations.”

Regardless of MacKinnon’s lack of worry about being paid as a top player, he can’t negotiate a new contract until July 1, 2022, when he’ll be 28 years, so he could be even better then.

  • The Chicago Tribune’s Jimmy Greenfield feels that Chicago Blackhawks prospect Henry Jokiharju has already made the team and feels it isn’t too early to declare that fact. The 19-year-old first-rounder in 2017 has impressed in camp and has been among the top seven defenseman in camp. On top of that with injuries to Connor Murphy and Gustav Forsling, who are both expected to be out until at least November, Jokiharju has found that opening that should slot him in with Erik Gustafsson as a third-pairing defenseman to start the season. The hope would be that he would earn the right to stay in the first month of the season and force Chicago to make a tough decision when Murphy and Gustafsson return.
  • Speaking of Blackhawks’ defensive prospects, the Chicago Sun-Times’ Madeline Kenney suggests that 2018 first-round pick Adam Boqvist has re-established himself as a candidate for a roster spot on the Blackhawks after an impressive performance Thursday against the Detroit Red Wings. Many people felt he would be re-assigned after the game, but head coach John Quenneville stated that Boqvist would be staying with the team – for now.
  • Matthew DeFranks of SportsDay writes that only two players will have played in all three of their recent preseason games, including Tuesday’s game against St. Louis, Thursday’s game against Minnesota and tonight’s game against Florida in defensemen Julius Honka and Gavin Bayreuther. While Honka is a lock to make the roster, head coach Jim Montgomery wants him to play as much as possible to increase his confidence. However, the team also wants to see as much as it can of Bayreuther, who will likely end up with the AHL Texas Stars, but could be the top defenseman to be called up, if Montgomery likes what he sees.

 

AHL| Chicago Blackhawks| Colorado Avalanche| Dallas Stars| Detroit Red Wings| Jim Montgomery Adam Boqvist| Connor McDavid| Connor Murphy| Gustav Forsling| John Quenneville| Julius Honka| Nathan MacKinnon

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Washington’s Options At Backup Goalie

September 21, 2018 at 9:35 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 1 Comment

The Washington Capitals have four goaltenders under contract for the coming season, Vezina Trophy-winning starter Braden Holtby and three unproven young backups: Pheonix Copley, Vitek Vanecek, and Ilya Samsonov. The defending Stanley Cup champions do not necessarily need to make any changes to their current depth chart and would most likely be fine this season with a tandem of Holtby and the hot hand among the three prospect keepers, with Copley getting the job initially.

However, championships are built on being prepared to handle the worst. This current iteration of the Capitals, while almost identical to the team that hoisted the Cup just months ago, is not. The only major departure out of D.C. this off-season was backup Philipp Grubauer, who was traded away to the Colorado Avalanche where he could compete for the starting job. Grubauer was far from a typical backup last season; the 26-year-old made 35 appearances, including 28 starts, which was tied for 37th-most in the league, among the NHL’s most active backups. When Holtby went through a rough patch down the stretch, Grubauer took over the reins as the starter and even got the call in the Capitals’ first two postseason contests. His 2.35 GAA was fifth among goalies with 30+ appearances, while his .923 save percentage was eighth among the same group. Grubauer was as solid as they come last season. Meanwhile, Holtby quietly had the worst season of his NHL career. His .907 save percentage and 2.99 GAA were a major deviation from his career performance, as he struggled with streaky play all year long. Without Grubauer, the Capitals likely would have had a worse playoff seeding and potentially would not have won the Stanley Cup.

So what happens if Holtby struggles again? Normally, it would be easy to say that the star goalie will regress positively back to the numbers that made him a top ten NHL stopper. However, after a deep playoff run added 23 appearances to his workload and significantly shortened his summer, it is hard to imagine that Holtby is fully refreshed and ready to be back in Vezina shape. His play last year may not be an indication of what is to come, but it may be a more accurate comparison for Holtby’s probable performance in 2018-19 than would his three prior seasons of dominant play. Without a reliable backup, the Capitals may be hesitant to lessen Holtby’s workload, but if they don’t they could risk another breakdown. Either way, the Washington backup goalie will not be a non-factor this season.

The first option behind Holtby will likely be Copley. Copley, 26, is a career minor leaguer with just two NHL appearances. In contrast, every team in the NHL last season began the year with a backup goaltender that had more than two previous appearances. Copley is also far from a prodigy; his numbers with the AHL’s Hershey Bears last season were poor and he only returned to Washington as nothing more than a toss-in to the Kevin Shattenkirk trade. So far in the preseason, Copley has made 41 saves on 46 shots for a paltry save percentage of .891. While the Capitals have put their faith in Copley to this point to be a serviceable backup, the undrafted free agent out of Michigan Tech has never been considered anything but minor league depth before now. Jumping to a primary backup for a goalie who may need substantial assistance is quite the task. Next up would likely be Vanecek, the Captials’ 2014 second-round pick who has not yet lived up to expectations. Vanecek is still only 22 and has room to improve, but since coming to North America three years ago, he has impressed at the ECHL level and failed to do so in the AHL. Vanecek’s numbers while splitting time with Copley on the Hersey Bears last year were even worse; Copley had an .896 save percentage and 2.91 GAA, while Vanecek had an .888 save percentage and 3.04 GAA. Vanecek has potential, but is not ready to be an NHL backup. Samsonov, in his first season in North America, is easily the most talented of the group. A 2015 first-round pick, Samsonov has been playing significant minutes in the KHL since he was 18. In three seasons with Metallurg Magnitogorsk, Samsonov was the primary backup to Vasili Koshechkin and posted a .925 save percentage or better each year. Some hope that young Samsonov can step in and immediately provide that same level of support for Holtby. However, the adjustment to the NHL – and even AHL – can be a difficult one when coming over from Europe. There is no guarantee that Samsonov’s performance will immediately translate. There is also a question of whether Washington will want to harm their heir apparent’s development by costing him starts as the NHL backup. As such, the Capitals are likely to play it safe with Samsonov this season.

Washington’s in-house options to back-up Holtby are not inspiring. The team could absolutely move forward with this group and hope that Holtby can make 65+ starts without a hitch, but there is ample risk involved with that strategy. Normally, it would be tough to significantly upgrade the goaltender position at this time of year, but not this season. Intriguing names are already available and more soon will be. On the free agent market, veterans Kari Lehtonen and Steve Mason remain unsigned. The Capitals do not have much cap space, but if either is willing to take a show-me deal, they would become a massive improvement on the team’s goalie depth. However, both players have been available for much of the off-season and the Caps have yet to pull the trigger. They may instead have their eye on younger, more affordable options. Michael Hutchinson, a free agent signing of the Florida Panthers this summer, is one possibility, as he was already placed on waivers at the earliest possible time. St. Louis’ Jordan Binnington and Vegas’ Oscar Dansk are other waiver options who may have slightly more upside than Copley. That is just the first subset of the backup goalie market though. Teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs (Curtis McElhinney, Garret Sparks, Calvin Pickard), Philadelphia Flyers (Michal Neuvirth, Anthony Stolarz, Alex Lyon), and Los Angeles Kings (Peter Budaj, Jack Campbell, Cal Petersen) have major logjams in goal that are prime for a trade or waiver claim. Washington could also wait to target one of a number of third-string goalies trying to be slipped through waivers, such as Al Montoya, Eddie Lack, Andrew Hammond, Anton Forsberg, Zane McIntyre, Jared Coreau, or J-F Berube. The opportunities are out there to upgrade at backup goalie. The only question is whether the Capitals make the move before it’s too late and those opportunities have disappeared.

AHL| Colorado Avalanche| KHL| Waivers| Washington Capitals Al Montoya| Alex Lyon| Andrew Hammond| Anthony Stolarz| Anton Forsberg| Braden Holtby| Cal Petersen| Calvin Pickard| Curtis McElhinney| Eddie Lack| Garret Sparks| Ilya Samsonov| Jared Coreau| Jean-Francois Berube| Kari Lehtonen| Kevin Shattenkirk| Michael Hutchinson| Michal Neuvirth| Oscar Dansk| Peter Budaj| Pheonix Copley| Philipp Grubauer

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Avalanche Unlikely To Be Active On The Trade Market

September 21, 2018 at 3:22 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

While Avalanche defenseman Tyson Barrie has been involved in trade speculation for quite some time, it doesn’t appear as if they’re in any rush to move him.  In his latest 31 Thoughts podcast (audio link), Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that they’re only going to consider a ‘hockey deal’ for the 27-year-old which would take away the idea of a futures-based return.  He adds that Colorado could wind up being fairly quiet on the trade front as they want to get a better read on the young core that they currently have, even if it might result in them taking a step back and missing the playoffs in 2018-19.

Colorado Avalanche| Detroit Red Wings| Ottawa Senators| Snapshots Erik Karlsson| Mike Green| Tyson Barrie

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Matt Duchene To Be Patient With Next Career Move

September 20, 2018 at 7:31 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 3 Comments

Much has been made of the dwindling core of the Ottawa Senators. Erik Karlsson and Mike Hoffman are gone, Craig Anderson is nearing retirement, and the teams top three forwards are impending unrestricted free agents – that would be Mark Stone, Matt Duchene, and Ryan Dzingel. Given the current state and direction of the team, it has been estimated by many that all three could opt for the open market next summer. Stone took a direct approach to those rumors this week, stating that he loves Ottawa and wants to remain with the Senators.

As TSN’s Frank Servalli writes, Duchene is not so eager to decide one way or the other on his future. Earlier this off-season, Duchene said that an extension is something that he would definitely consider, but wanted to see how things go this year. Since then, it has gone from bad to worse in Ottawa with the departure of key players, as well as ownership and the front office committing to a rebuild. It seems very unlikely that the season will go well for the Senators, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it will sour Duchene on sticking around. Duchene called last year a “disaster”, both personally and for the Senators and is looking for a fresh take this season. In his first full season with the team, Duchene’s individual performance and his fit in the locker room and in Ottawa’s long-term plan is instead what will likely dictate his next move. Duchene appreciates being close to home in Ottawa and could cherish a role as a leader with the Senators. Then again, polarizing owner Eugene Melnyk has been apprehensive about awarding expensive contracts and Duchene could decide after a strong season that he has a much better chance at getting market value and finding a winning situation with another team.

Sens fans would love to hear that Duchene is committed to the team, and sooner rather than later. After all, Ottawa gave up quite the package to acquire him from the Colorado Avalanche early last season, including what could turn out to be the top overall pick in next year’s entry draft. However, given their recent rash of bad luck, those same fans would rather Duchene be patient with his decision than be yet another player hoping to be dealt away. Unlike Stone, who – after going through the arbitration process – may not re-sign until after January 1st, Duchene is eligible to ink an extension already. Just don’t expect a decision any time soon, though.

Colorado Avalanche| Ottawa Senators| Pierre Dorion Craig Anderson| Erik Karlsson| Mark Stone| Matt Duchene| Mike Hoffman

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