Snapshots: Laine, Penguins, Blues
The Columbus Blue Jackets will get to see Jack Roslovic in action on Thursday evening against the Florida Panthers but are still waiting on Patrik Laine to even show up on the COVID Protocol Absences List, let alone the roster. Laine remains in Canada for the time being, though Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reported this morning that the forward is in Ottawa now finishing paperwork with the U.S. consolute to acquire his work visa. Once all of the paperwork is finished, Laine is expected to take a private charter to Columbus, where he’ll enter the protocol. It could be as short as 48 hours, though that is not a guarantee at this point.
It will be interesting to see where Laine fits in once he does clear the protocol, especially after a very up-and-down start to the season for Columbus. The team has scored 18 goals in seven games, but also given up 22. The only reason they are leading the Central Division at the moment is that several other teams have only played three games, as the 2-2-3 Blue Jackets’ record isn’t really something to be excited about. Laine of course was dealing with a minor injury before the trade to Columbus and now hasn’t played since January 14.
- Pittsburgh Penguins CEO David Morehouse spoke to Greg Wyshynski of ESPN and explained that the team is not heading into a rebuilding phase now that Jim Rutherford has resigned as GM. In fact, Morehouse doubled down on the “win-now” phrase and explained that the team will look for a new GM that will “come in and continue having us work towards winning another Cup.” The Penguins still have Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, which is usually good enough for any front office to believe they can win the Stanley Cup.
- The St. Louis Blues will be the fifth NHL team to allow fans into their building this season, announcing that 1,400 spectators will be allowed into Enterprise Center for their games beginning on February 2. Those will be in addition to the limited amount of frontline workers that had already been attending. The Blues credit the success of local and NHL safety protocols during the initial homestands this season as the reason for increasing capacity. As Sean Shapiro of The Athletic reports, The Dallas Stars, Florida Panthers, Arizona Coyotes and Nashville Predators have also allowed a certain number of fans into their arenas.
Snapshots: Stempniak, Pettersson, Dubois
The Arizona Coyotes announced a pair of front office additions today, including one name familiar to fans. Joining the ‘Yotes in the hockey operations department are Matt Perri, hired as Director of Analytics, and long-time NHLer Lee Stempniak as Hockey Data Strategist. While Perri will oversee the team’s analytics, Stempniak’s role is to translate that data into something that coaches and players can understand and use. In a capacity that is the first of its kind, Stempniak will combine his experience as a player in the NHL for 14 seasons with his Ivy League education in Economics from Dartmouth College to become a valuable communicator between analytics and those involved in the actual on-ice product. After elevating the “journeyman” role during his playing days as an effective player for ten different organizations, Stempniak may now be forging a new path for former players with a knack for analytics.
- Looking ahead to negotiating his next contract this off-season, young Vancouver Canucks star Elias Pettersson has switched agents, reports Patrick Johnston of The Province. Pettersson has joined CAA Sports and is now represented by super-agent Pat Brisson. Not only does Brisson’s track record lend some leverage to Pettersson’s side, but he is also the agent for Quinn Hughes, who will also be a crucial RFA for Vancouver this summer. Brisson will undoubtedly tie the two contracts together and ensure that both are well-compensated for a long time. In fact, the main beneficiary might actually be Hughes, who as a 10.2(c) free agent lacks the leverage of an offer sheet possibility, but gains the leverage of being linked to Pettersson. The two are the clear leaders of the Canucks and the club was unlikely to play hardball anyhow, but now Pettersson and Hughes are in even better shape this off-season (and so too will be Brisson).
- Pierre-Luc Dubois is now a member of the Winnipeg Jets and as such we may never get an answer as to why he was unhappy being a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Dubois requested a trade out of Columbus, but never gave any of his teammates, coaches, or management a valid explanation, something that head coach John Tortorella publicly resented even before Dubois’ departure. While some speculated that this past off-season’s contract talks were the cause, GM Jarmo Kekalainen refuted that idea on TSN 1050 today, again begging the question of what drove Dubois out of town:
That’s just flat out not true at all and he knows that, so I don’t know why he would say that or even insinuate something like that, because that’s not true… There was never any problem with the negotiation of this contract, it came to a conclusion very quickly and I thought what we signed was a fair deal for both sides…Once the player and the agent wanted to engage in the talks and we agreed on the length, it was a very easy process… It took all in all, I think 10 minutes to do his contract when we finally agreed on the length of the deal and we had everything from two years, to three years to eight years on the table… I wish that Pierre-Luc would tell the truth about why he wanted out. He hasn’t even told me; he hasn’t told his teammates or anybody else. It certainly wasn’t about contract negotiations; I can assure you of that.
Poll: Grading The Jets-Blue Jackets Trade
For a season that wasn’t supposed to have a lot of notable trade activity, there was certainly a big trade made on Saturday with the Jets acquiring center Pierre-Luc Dubois and a 2022 third-round pick from the Blue Jackets in exchange for wingers Patrik Laine and Jack Roslovic with the latter soon agreeing to a two-year, $3.8MM bridge deal.
It’s a swap of two star players that were looking for a change of scenery. The deal allows both teams to acquire a top talent in return but given their disenchantment where they were, it’s also fair to wonder if this will be the ideal fit for everyone involved. Both Laine and Dubois have a new home but are they in a more preferable spot than they were before?
For Winnipeg, adding Dubois should put to an end to GM Kevin Cheveldayoff’s attempts to add another impact center, a process that started with the acquisition of Paul Stastny in 2018, was continued a year later with Kevin Hayes before ultimately re-acquiring Stastny this offseason. With Bryan Little’s playing future in serious jeopardy and Stastny’s contract up, they needed a longer-term solution. Dubois can be that player although he’ll move from a top-line role down to the second line with Mark Scheifele ahead of him on the depth chart.
Meanwhile, Columbus gets one of the top goal-scorers in the league in Laine and a young roster player in Roslovic, one who was drafted as a center and will presumably get an opportunity to play down the middle. However, they lose a year of team control moving from Dubois to Laine, who is owed a $7.5MM qualifying offer this summer while being eligible for salary arbitration. While Winnipeg retained on his salary in the deal to get his price tag nearly identical to Dubois, that certainly won’t be the case for long.
How do you feel both teams made out in this blockbuster? Vote in the polls below to award your grades.
(Poll links for the Jets and Blue Jackets for app users.)
Mikko Koivu Expected To Make Blue Jackets Debut On Tuesday
- While the Blue Jackets lost a center with yesterday’s trade of Pierre-Luc Dubois to Winnipeg, they will be getting one back for their next game as Aaron Portzline of The Athletic relays (Twitter link) that Mikko Koivu will be able to suit up on Tuesday against Florida. The veteran has yet to suit up with his new team this season as he has been on the COVID Protocol List. While he isn’t a top-line option like he was in his prime with Minnesota, he’ll give them some extra depth down the middle at a time where their options are limited.
Blue Jackets Place Brandon Dubinsky On LTIR
It might seem like a strange time to do it, but the Columbus Blue Jackets announced they have placed veteran forward Brandon Dubinsky on long-term injured reserve.
The team, who hadn’t needed to place the forward on LTIR up until now, were forced into the roster move as the contract of Jack Roslovic, who the team acquired along with Patrik Laine Saturday in the Pierre-Luc Dubois trade, took effect today, meaning the team would have been over the salary cap by just over $100K if they didn’t move Dubinsky to LTIR.
Dubinsky hasn’t played since the 2019 playoffs as he’s been hampered with a chronic wrist injury and likely will never play again. He missed the entire 2019-20 season. The 34-year-old is in the final year of a six year, $35.1MM contract with a $5.85MM AAV. The veteran signed the extension after a 16-goal, 50-point season with 234 hits back in the 2013-14 season. The deal looked good for the first year or two, but the forward’s offense saw a decline after that, posting just six goals in his third and fourth years with just six goals each and spending most of his time in the bottom-six.
Taxi Squad Shuffle: 1/24/21
It appears as though there will be daily movement this season between the active roster and taxi squad. Although some major names may be highlighted in separate articles, this is where you’ll find the majority of shuffle news each day.
- The Dallas Stars announced they have recalled forward Tanner Kero from their taxi squad after placing forward Joel Kiviranta on injured reserve. The 28-year-old Kero hasn’t made an NHL appearance since the 2017-18 season, but could get onto the ice depending on the injury status of Jamie Benn, who is a game-time decision. Kiviranta, who was listed as day-to-day Saturday after getting injured in practice, will have to sit out at least three games.
- The Detroit Red Wings announced they have recalled forwards Givani Smith and Taro Hirose from the taxi squad. Smith has been up and down between the NHL and taxi squad, while Hirose was recalled three days ago to the taxi squad from the AHL. Both are expected to make their season debuts on Sunday. Detroit also have re-assigned forward Riley Barber to the taxi squad. UPDATE: The Red Wings have reversed course, announcing they have sent Hirose and Smith back to the taxi squad after their game with Chicago ended.
- The Philadelphia Flyers announced they have loaned defenseman Derrick Pouliot from the taxi squad to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in the AHL. The team also announced some salary cap moves, sending forward Connor Bunnaman and Samuel Morin to their taxi squad.
- The Buffalo Sabres announced they have swapped young players as the team has sent forward Dylan Cozens to the taxi squad and recalled Casey Mittelstadt, who is expected to make his season debut Sunday. Cozens scored his first career NHL goal Friday, but head coach Ralph Krueger made it clear before the season that he intends to ease his young players into the lineup. The team has also activated forward Kyle Okposo from injured reserve. He has missed the team’s first five games with a lower-body injury.
- Las Vegas Review Journal’s David Schoen reports that the Vegas Golden Knights have activated defenseman Nicolas Hague off the taxi squad and moved center Cody Glass to the taxi squad, a similar move from two games ago as the team continues to balance their salary cap with rotating between five and six defensemen.
- The Washington Post’s Samantha Pell reports that with two forwards (Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov), a defenseman (Dmitry Orlov) and a goaltender (Ilya Samsonov) out due to COVID-19 restrictions, the team was able to recall two players, including forwards Brian Pinho and Connor McMichael (as well as goaltender Craig Anderson), via the emergency recall exception rule and not count against their cap. McMichael is the most interesting of the two as the 2019 first-round pick will make his NHL debut Sunday.
- The New Jersey Devils announced they have assigned forward Jesper Boqvist to the taxi squad and they have recalled forward Nicholas Merkley, who is expected to make his season debut Sunday. Boqvist has appeared in four games for New Jersey, failing to register a point. Merkley, acquired from Arizona in the Taylor Hall trade last season, had a goal and an assist in four games last year with the Devils.
- The Columbus Blue Jackets already placed Brandon Dubinsky on LTIR earlier today, but the team also made a few other moves to get under the salary cap, according to The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline. The scribe writes that both Alexandre Texier and Liam Foudy have been assigned to the taxi squad, but as paper moves to maximize their LTIR pool. The team has also recalled Emil Bemstrom and Stefan Matteau from the taxi squad.
- The New York Rangers announced they have recalled forward Colin Blackwell from their taxi squad and is likely to make his Rangers’ debut. The 27-year-old signed with the Rangers as a free agent after posting three goals and 10 points in 27 games for the Nashville Predators last season.
- The Calgary Flames made their standard game-day transaction, recalling Derek Ryan and Oliver Kylington from the taxi squad. Ryan has appeared in three games with no points, while Kylington has yet to make an appearance for Calgary this year.
- The Minnesota Wild announced they have recalled goaltender Andrew Hammond from their taxi squad with the status of Cam Talbot being day-to-day. In order to keep three goaltenders on the roster, the team has assigned netminder Hunter Jones from Iowa of the AHL to the taxi squad. Hammond has not made an appearance yet for the Wild.
- With the Bruins off, CapFriendly reports that Boston has shuffled forwards Jack Studnicka and Trent Frederic plus defenseman Urho Vaakanainen to their taxi squad, continuing their near-daily movement. Steven Kampfer was reassigned to AHL Providence from the taxi squad to create room for Vaakanainen’s placement.
- Avalanche defenseman Conor Timmins was in the lineup for their game today against Anaheim, meaning that he has been recalled from the taxi squad. The 22-year-old has played in four games so far with Colorado this season, logging a little under 13 minutes per game.
- Pierre Engvall and Jason Spezza were both in the lineup for the Maple Leafs against Calgary today, meaning they were promoted from the taxi squad. To get back into cap compliance, Travis Boyd was sent to the taxi squad.
- After scoring in his Canadiens debut on Saturday, Montreal has returned Corey Perry to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly. The veteran will likely be recalled in time for their next game against Calgary on Thursday.
- The Ottawa Senators have returned winger Micheal Haley to their taxi squad, per CapFriendly. He was recalled for Saturday’s game against Winnipeg and played 7:39 while getting into a fight.
Patrik Laine Open To “Long-Term Relationship” With Blue Jackets
Over the offseason, Patrik Laine‘s agent made it clear that the enigmatic forward would like a fresh start somewhere else. He had flourished as a goal-scorer with the Winnipeg Jets, but the relationship between team and player never seemed perfect. With Laine set to become a restricted free agent at the end of the year, it wasn’t clear if a long-term deal would ever really happen in Winnipeg.
Now that he’s in Columbus after a blockbuster deal saw the Jets’ sniper head south in exchange for Pierre-Luc Dubois (with Jack Roslovic tagging along), Laine is facing the challenge of building a new relationship with a new organization.
Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen told reporters including Aaron Portzline of The Athletic today that he had already spoken with Laine about a potential extension and establishing a “long-term relationship,” though more serious negotiations are still to come. When Laine was asked if he’d be open to that, he told reporters including Alison Lukan of The Athletic that he would certainly be open to it and had heard only positive things about the city and organization. “Hopefully that’s a spot where I’m enjoying life and enjoying playing hockey,” said the always thoughtful Laine, while head coach John Tortorella explained that he already had a “really good conversation” with the sniper.
What exactly would a long-term extension for Laine look like? That part is entirely unclear at this point. Unlike his fellow 2016 draftee Auston Matthews, who signed a five-year deal in Toronto before his entry-level deal was even up, Laine is playing on a two-year bridge contract that carries a cap hit of $6.75MM and expires after this season. He’ll be eligible for arbitration, giving him a little leverage in negotiations and has been one of the most impressive goal scorers in the league through his first few seasons.
In fact, since he entered the league in 2016-17, only eight players have scored more than Laine’s 140 goals and five of those have played more games during that period. They all have averaged quite a bit more ice time than Laine’s career 17:40 mark, which points to a lack of polish in other areas but only makes his goal totals more impressive.
Because of those numbers, Laine will enter this negotiation without many direct comparables in the league. The Blue Jackets have plenty of cap space to work with, but they’ve also had a problem in the past actually retaining talent. If Kekalainen truly wants to retain Laine long-term and build a relationship with the star forward, he’ll have to be willing to hand out the biggest contract of his tenure in Columbus. That record is currently held by Cam Atkinson, who signed a seven-year, $41,125,000 contract in 2017. Atkinson’s $5.875MM cap hit comes in well below what Laine is already making and should be shattered by any new deal.
Winnipeg Jets Acquire Pierre-Luc Dubois For Patrik Laine, Jack Roslovic
Morning has arrived and with it the Pierre-Luc Dubois trade that was reported as imminent yesterday. The Winnipeg Jets, considered the favorite late last night, have completed a deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets to add the cornerstone center, as first reported by TSN’s Darren Dreger. The club has parted ways with two disgruntled young pieces of their own: winger Patrik Laine, selected one spot ahead of Dubois in 2016, and RFA center Jack Roslovic, a Columbus native. The Jets also receive a 2022 third-round pick alongside Dubois. Both teams have confirmed the trade.
The Jets have retained 26% of Laine’s salary for the final year of his current contract, according to TSN’s Frank Seravalli, bringing his cap hit down to $4.995MM and making the cap exchange of the two players even given Dubois’ $5MM AAV. Of course, Roslovic will also contribute to the Blue Jackets’ cap and Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that he has already agreed to a two-year contract. Colleague Chris Johnston believes Roslovic’s new deal carries a $1.9MM AAV; PuckPedia adds that the breakdown is as follows:
2020-21: $1.3MM
2021-22: $2.5MM
The qualifying offer at the end of the deal will be $2.28MM, the lower of 120% of the AAV and the final-year salary. It’s also worth noting that with the contract being signed in-season, the AAV will vary each year. This season, the cap charge will be just under $2.018MM while next season, the charge will be a little under $1.844MM.
There seemed to be too much in common between these two clubs for this not to be the eventual deal that ended the Dubois saga in Columbus. Dubois and Laine are a very similar caliber of player, with almost identical draft billing and both currently playing on bridge deals. Both were also not content with their current surroundings. Then there is Roslovic, who was an unsigned restricted free agent still living at home in Columbus early on this season. Perhaps the most disgruntled of all, Roslovic likely could not be happier with staying home. Dubois also has ties to the city of Winnipeg and the organization as his father, Eric Dubois, serves as an assistant coach for the AHL’s Manitoba Moose and his parents live there year-round.
With that said, Columbus’ own beat writer for The Athletic, Aaron Portzline, was skeptical that Laine and Roslovic would be headed to Columbus without another substantial sweetener alongside Dubois. He noted that the Jets were also thought to be seeking a defenseman, an area of strength on the Blue Jackets’ organizational depth chart. Not only did Columbus succeed in making this deal without giving up a Vladislav Gavrikov but they also held on to young blue liners like Andrew Peeke and Gabriel Carlsson at the cost of a third-rounder.
All things considered, the Blue Jackets make out very well in this trade. Dubois is a tough piece to give up, but there is a very strong argument to be made that Laine is the best player in the deal. The big, sniping winger has notched 140 goals and 250 points in 306 NHL games, finishing in the top ten league-wide in goal scoring twice in just four seasons. The 2017 All-Star is one of the most dangerous shooters and power play assets on the planet and should help to bring along some of Columbus’ young centers. That now includes Roslovic, who is 23 years old just like Dubois and Laine and a first-round pick as well. The young pivot has shown flashes of high-end ability and will finally land a permanent top-nine role in Columbus. Of course, the final judgement on the deal will have to wait a couple of years. The Blue Jackets have struggled to retain top talent and head coach John Tortorella has a history of clashing with players, so how contract negotiations play out between the team and Laine (and potentially Roslovic as well) will dictate how successful this move was for Columbus’ long-term success.
As for Winnipeg, the team adds yet another skilled center to a roster that was already deep on the wing and now has the talent to match down the middle. Dubois has recorded 159 points in 239 NHL games, not including a 2020 postseason where he tallied ten points in ten games and averaged nearly 23 minutes per night. While Dubois will miss some time with a mandatory 14-day quarantine, Laine was out of action on injured reserve anyhow. Once Dubois joins the Jets, who have the second-best record in the North Division early on, the team could be primed for a strong season and playoff success. They also will have nearly two seasons to evaluate Dubois before he needs a new contract. The hope in Winnipeg is that playing closer to family and having more sustained success will be enough to keep Dubois content and committed to the club long-term.
While many sources believed that the Jets were the most likely team to wind up completing a deal for Dubois, they were not the only team still in pursuit. Friedman reported last night that the Anaheim Ducks, Calgary Flames, and Montreal Canadiens were still very much in the mix. He added that the Ducks, a team chock full of talented prospects, were thought to have significantly improved their offer recently. Well-off contenders like the Tampa Bay Lightning and Colorado Avalanche were even been linked to the young forward, who has the makings of a long-term top-six center. In fact, TSN’s Frank Seravalli says that it is easier to name the teams who were not interested in Dubois and assume all other at least kicked the tires. That list of non-suitors includes the Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, Edmonton Oilers, Florida Panthers, Nashville Predators, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Vegas Golden Knights. Practically anyone else could have still made a competing offer in time, but with Laine and Roslovic on the table for the Jets, Winnipeg was always likely to come out on top.
Blue Jackets Closing In On Pierre-Luc Dubois Trade
What a difference a day can make. Following Pierre-Luc Dubois‘ benching against Tampa Bay on Thursday which saw him post a career-low 3:55 of ice time, it appeared that trade chatter had started to pick up around the Columbus center. Now, it appears that he could be getting his trade request granted in the very near future. TSN’s Darren Dreger reports (Twitter link) that the Blue Jackets are closing in on a Dubois trade with teams being notified that they’re no longer being considered. He adds Winnipeg as one of the teams that’s still in the mix.
To that end, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic adds (via Twitter) that Columbus plans to make Dubois a healthy scratch for the rematch against the Lightning on Saturday if he’s still on the roster by then.
At this point, the situation is well-known. While the two sides were able to agree on a two-year, $10MM bridge deal just before training camp, Dubois’ request to be dealt was not rescinded. Although he claimed that he would continue to play hard while waiting for a resolution, that hasn’t happened yet, leading to what has become a very public benching.
The Jets have a pair of players who are believed to want out as well in wingers Patrik Laine and RFA Jack Roslovic; Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic suggests (Twitter link) that both players could make sense as being involved in the deal if they wind up being the eventual destination. A return involving those players would certainly allow Columbus to yield a substantial return although it would create a sizable hole down the middle, a position that they’re already weak at. Meanwhile, Winnipeg would lose some firepower on the wing but would get a controllable second center to put behind Mark Scheifele for the foreseeable future.
In a follow-up tweet, LeBrun adds that the Ducks also remain interested in Dubois. They’ve had interest since this whole process began and would certainly give them a much-needed boost down the middle. They have a little more than $6MM in LTIR room at the moment, per CapFriendly, but that amount will be reduced by $800K once Brendan Guhle returns. That still leaves enough room to absorb Dubois but just barely. Having said that, they’re not a great fit in terms of providing immediate value in a trade though their prospect pool has several high-quality prospects including center Trevor Zegras and defenseman Jamie Drysdale.
In his report, Dreger notes that this is a complicated process which can mean several different things. Depending on who is involved, there could be salary cap elements at play although a deal involving Laine and Dubois is something both teams can afford. If there isn’t a center coming their way though, it’s possible that another move has to be agreed upon to give them one. And, of course, there are quarantine issues to deal with and plan around with there being different rules in different jurisdictions. Dreger suggests that these could be resolved as quickly as Saturday so Dubois’ poor showing last night could wind up being the impetus that ultimately gets a trade completed.
Latest On Pierre-Luc Dubois
“You’ll know when I bench somebody” was the retort from John Tortorella earlier this week when Pierre-Luc Dubois missed some shifts late in a Columbus Blue Jackets game. Well, he wasn’t lying. Dubois was stapled to the Columbus bench for the second, third, and overtime periods last night, leading to a career-low in ice time of just 3:55. He received just five shifts total and now isn’t sure whether he will be in the lineup for tomorrow’s Blue Jackets game.
You can imagine, when the rest of the league saw what was happening, it may have piqued their interest in the young forward. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, who has been all over Dubois’ discontent since the beginning, tweets that the list of teams he believes have expressed interest include the Anaheim Ducks, Minnesota Wild, Montreal Canadiens, Winnipeg Jets, Calgary Flames, Ottawa Senators, New York Rangers, Buffalo Sabres, Philadelphia Flyers, Detroit Red Wings, Washington Capitals and Arizona Coyotes. He explains that the list is not exhaustive but believes that the Blue Jackets would not do a “futures-only” deal for the disgruntled forward and that they want it to be a “hockey deal.”
It’s easy to blame Tortorella, who has had very public clashes with players in the past, but Dubois was certainly not playing up to his capabilities in the early part of the game either. In fact, the young forward told reporters including Jacob Myers of the Columbus Dispatch that he knows he could have been better through the first part of the season. It’s not hard to see how that reduced effort may scare some teams off, though the overall upside of a top-line center like Dubois will be difficult to overlook.
The simple fact is that something has turned rotten between player and organization, leading to a midseason trade seeming like an inevitability at this point. The 22-year-old forward has just one point through his first five games and carries a $5MM cap hit through 2021-22, after which he will still be a restricted free agent.