Adam McQuaid Still Suffering From Concussion Symptoms
Blue Jackets defenseman Adam McQuaid is still dealing with concussion symptoms from a hit back in late March, agent Rick Curran told Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch. There is no timetable for when those symptoms may subside and accordingly, his plans for free agency are more or less on hold with Curran stating that the priority at this point is McQuaid simply returning to full health:
He’d like to keep playing, but to be frank, the priority from my standpoint on his behalf is just to get him healthy. He’s such a wonderful person. I just want to see him get healthy and we’ll address what the outlook is then, as far as playing hockey and when.
The Blue Jackets had added McQuaid at the trade deadline in an effort to shore up their defensive depth and improve their penalty killing but instead, they weren’t able to use him in the postseason and they fell in the second round to Boston. Overall, he wound up playing in just 14 games in Columbus after they dealt a pair of draft picks and minor league blueliner Julius Bergman for him.
As a pending UFA, McQuaid was likely going to draw a reasonable amount of interest as he has been a serviceable third pairing player for quite a few years now. This free agency class isn’t particularly deep on right-shot defenders and there are always teams that are looking to shore up their penalty kill. However, with this uncertainty surrounding him, some of those teams may be forced to turn to another option when the market officially opens up on July 1st.
Chicago, Columbus Discussed Ryan Murray Trade
The Chicago Blackhawks are on the hunt for a defensive upgrade, and Scott Powers of The Athletic (subscription required) reports on at least one name they have inquired about. In a new column on all things Blackhawks, Powers notes that the team recently spoke with the Columbus Blue Jackets about Ryan Murray though it “doesn’t appear a deal is getting done.”
While they may not end up with Murray, the talks are just another indication that Chicago will be trying to find a solution to their blue line problems this summer. The team allowed the second most goals in the NHL last season with 291—only behind the Ottawa Senators’ 301—and failed to get a ton of offensive production from anyone other than Erik Gustafsson and Duncan Keith. While Gustafsson’s 60-point season was obviously a huge and welcome surprise, the team obviously needed an upgrade if they want to get back to playoff contention.
Some of that will come from within, but there also may be some effective defensemen on the market this summer. The team is finally in a position where they aren’t squeezed too tightly by the salary cap, and can add some skill on the back end to help take some pressure off the aging Keith and Brent Seabrook.
Murray, 25, might be exactly what the Blackhawks are after. Originally selected second overall in 2012, Murray has shown a strong ability at both ends of the rink but hasn’t been able to stay healthy the last several seasons. In 2018-19 he recorded 29 points in 56 games, which would have put him third on the Blackhawks blue line even with the shortened year. Powers suggests that draft picks and prospects might be enough to get a deal done with Columbus given their lack of future assets after going all-in this season, but nothing seems imminent at this point.
Snapshots: Capuano, Roslovic, Tryamkin
New Ottawa Senators head coach D.J. Smith was given full control over hiring his staff, has yet to make any additions. However, a familiar name could be on the way. The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch reports that former New York Islanders head coach Jack Capuano is in talks to join the team. Capuano spent seven years as the Isles’ head coach and was an assistant for the Florida Panthers over the past two years. However, he became a free agent when new Panthers’ hire Joel Quenneville decided not to retain his services. A former AHL head coach as well, Capuano brings experience, but also a familiarity with working with young players, of which the Senators have plenty. Garrioch adds that GM Pierre Dorion stated today that the team hopes to have some assistants in place before the upcoming NHL Draft, meaning Capuano’s official addition could be imminent.
- The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline reports that Winnipeg Jets forward Jack Roslovic has fired long-time agent Ken Robinson. Roslovic was a first-round pick of the Jets in 2015, but has been buried on the team’s organization depth chart and unable to break out. Roslovic has reportedly requested a trade out of Winnipeg several times and he remains unhappy with his current role, despite finally playing a full NHL season last year. With a number of difficult decisions to make this off-season up against the salary cap, the Jets may not be eager to move an affordable piece like Roslovic. Unfortunately, the young forward’s move to a new agent likely implies he wants someone to put more pressure on them to make a move than his last agent did. If Roslovic hits the trade market, expect his hometown Columbus Blue Jackets to be interested.
- The Vancouver Canucks may have lost prospect defenseman Nikita Tryamkin to the KHL two years ago, but they remain interested in bringing him back. The Province’s Patrick Johnston reports that GM Jim Benning is keeping tabs on the big blue liner and looks forward to hopefully having him back with the team down the road. Tryamkin has one year remaining on his contract with Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg, so the reunion won’t be coming this off-season. However, talks have already begun with agent Todd Diamond about a future deal. Tryamkin initially left the team over frustration with role in the season-and-a-half he spent in North America. However, the 2014 third-round pick has improved his play in Russia and has also developed into a locker room leader for Avtomobilist. He would likely play a much larger role for the Canucks in his second time around.
Columbus Blue Jackets Sign Veini Vehvilainen
That didn’t take long. After reports this morning out of Finland that Veini Vehvilainen would soon be signing, the Columbus Blue Jackets have made it official. The goaltender has inked his two-year entry-level contract.
Vehvilainen, 22, has been an absolute star in Finland’s Liiga the past two seasons, posting .925 and .933 save percentages for Karpat. Both seasons his squad made it to the league final thanks to some incredible performances by the young goaltender, winning once. Vehvilainen added a World Championship gold medal recently, to go along with the World Junior medal he had from 2016. There’s little he hasn’t accomplished at this point in his career overseas, meaning his next step may be the professional ranks in North America.
Incredibly, Vehvilainen was only drafted in the sixth round last year at the age of 21. Every team in the league passed on him numerous times throughout his three years of draft eligibility, something Columbus will thank the stars for after watching him develop so quickly. The question now becomes where he fits in next season, given the glut of young goaltenders in the Blue Jackets system.
While Sergei Bobrovsky may be moving on from Columbus, the long-term future in net may not be so dire. The team signed Elvis Merzlikins at the end of the season and still has Joonas Korpisalo as a restricted free agent. Those are the old hands at 25 years old, while Vehvilainen (22), Matiss Kivlenieks (22) and Daniil Tarasov (20) are also now under contract. How everything shakes out is still unclear, but there is obviously opportunity to be seized in Columbus.
Early Notes: Karlsson, Hall, Vehvilainen
When the end of the San Jose Sharks season came, the biggest question immediately became ‘what would happen to Erik Karlsson?’ The star defenseman is a free agent this summer, but was limited by injury at the end of the year and comes with plenty of question marks, including the draft pick compensation San Jose would need to send Ottawa if he re-signed. Karlsson tweeted out a cryptic thank you to the San Jose area, and immediately many started speculating that it would be the end of his time there. Speculation erupted, with landing spots like New York and Tampa Bay seeming the most likely.
Now in a new column, Don Brennan of the Ottawa Sun suggests the unthinkable—a return to the Senators. Brennan reports that a source tells him Karlsson “hopes to receive competitive offers” from the Senators and Montreal Canadiens, in order to get closer to his wife Melinda’s family who are in Ottawa. That would certainly be a shocking development, given how Karlsson exited the Senators organization last summer and the way they have failed to sign any top talent over the years.
- Rumors have surfaced lately that Taylor Hall isn’t interested in signing an extension with the New Jersey Devils, but his agent Darren Ferris threw some cold water on that when speaking with Mike Morreale of NHL.com. Ferris called the report “fictitious” while Devils GM Ray Shero also doesn’t know where it came from, given his recent conversations with the Hall camp. Still, both admit that there is no rush to sign a deal despite their regular communication and that Hall won’t feel pressure when he is eligible for a deal on July 1.
- A report out of Finland from Sasha Huttunen has the Columbus Blue Jackets signing Veini Vehvilainen in the coming days, though obviously nothing is official just yet. Vehvilainen is a 22-year old goaltending prospect that the Blue Jackets drafted last year with a sixth-round pick, who dominated Finland’s Liiga for the second straight season. The report notes that the young goaltender could return to Finland to continue his development on a loan from the Blue Jackets, which makes sense given the number of netminders already under contract with the team in the minor leagues.
Trade Rumors: Trade Bait, Panarin, Condon
For everyone but the Boston Bruins and St. Louis Blues, the off-season is already in full swing and with the NHL Draft less than three weeks away, the rumor mill is starting to heat back up. TSN’s Frank Seravalli has updated his Trade Bait list and it features a whopping ten new names out of 25 total players. Leading the way among the newcomers is talented, young Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere. Gostisbehere has emerged as a candidate to move if the Flyers can land a top-six forward in exchange, as they look to be aggressive this off-season. Also new to the list are names included in the overturned Phil Kessel-to-Minnesota trade, Jack Johnson and Victor Rask, with Jason Zucker and Kessel now long-time fixtures. Another player tied to recent rumors making his trade bait debut is the Vancouver Canucks’ Loui Eriksson, who has been linked to former teammate Milan Lucic, also on the list, and the Edmonton Oilers, but could move in any number of possible deals. As the Florida Panthers look to shake up their roster in free agency, James Reimer and Mike Hoffman have made the list as possible cap space casualties. So too have Toronto Maple Leafs teammates Nazem Kadri and Mitch Marner, even though Seravalli himself agrees that a Marner trade is a long shot. With plenty of talent filling the early off-season trade bait board, it could be a busy summer for high-profile trades, some of which could begin even before the draft kicks off on June 21st.
- A seemingly curious continued presence on the trade bait list is that of Artemi Panarin. It was one thing for Panarin to be atop the list as the trade deadline approached and the Columbus Blue Jackets were unsure whether or not they would sell the all-world forward. However, after keeping Panarin, an impending unrestricted free agent, it may seem that his trade value has now disappeared, since he is weeks away from hitting the open market. However, as a 27-year-old premiere free agent, both Panarin and his suitors will be interested in that eighth year of contract term that is only available to the incumbent team. As such, the Blue Jackets could look to squeeze the very last drops of value out of Panarin by trading his rights before the league year ends, allowing a new team to sign him to an eight-year extension rather than a seven-year free agent contract. While possible, and often valuable, acquiring UFA signing rights is not as frequent a move as one might expect. The last team to do so was the Florida Panthers in 2016, adding an expiring Keith Yandle for a a sixth-round pick and conditional fourth-round pick. That same year, the Arizona Coyotes did the same, bringing in Alex Goligoski on the tail end of his contract with the Dallas Stars for a fifth-round pick. Not since Ilya Bryzgalov in 2011 has a player’s UFA rights drawn more than a fourth-round pick at best, but Panarin is a unique player and Columbus could land a third-round pick or more in exchange for the opportunity to sign him to that one extra year – and to keep him from testing the market.
- Unsurprisingly, the extension of goaltender Anders Nilsson in Ottawa has prompted speculation that the Senators will try to move overpaid third-string option Mike Condon. The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch writes that Condon’s “days are numbered” with the team, as there’s no room for him in Ottawa behind Nilsson and Craig Anderson and he’s not wanted in Belleville with Filip Gustavsson, Joey Daccord, and possibly Marcus Hogberg in the mix. Cap space is not a problem for the Senators, but Garrioch still believes they would prefer to trade Condon and all or part of his $2.4MM salary next season rather than buy him out at the cost of $400K next year and $1MM the year after. Garrioch can only make a case that perhaps some team with weak goalie depth would be interested in Condon as a strong AHL option next season, as the 29-year-old is unlikely to be considered a regular NHL option. Perhaps after the free agent goalie market shakes out in early July, the Senators will be able to find a partner who missed out on their targets and could use Condon’s services. Otherwise, a buyout does seem to be the more likely route.
Snapshots: Edmonton, Sedlak, Blackhawks
The Edmonton Oilers will not be bringing back Trent Yawney or Manny Viveiros as assistant coaches next season, according to Jason Gregor of TSN. It’s not a totally unexpected move given the changes in leadership behind the bench and in the front office for the Oilers, but now means that head coach Dave Tippett will get to put together his own staff. The early speculation is that Yawney could re-join Todd McLellan‘s staff, this time in Los Angeles. Assistant Glen Gulutzan will remain and run the Oilers’ powerplay next season.
While both Yawney and Vivieros can hardly be blamed entirely for what happened last season in Edmonton, it makes sense to wipe the slate (mostly) clean and start anew. Edmonton must get it right this time with GM Ken Holland and Tippett on board, or risk wasting more prime seasons of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
- Lukas Sedlak has signed in the KHL, inking a two-year deal with Traktor Chelyabinsk. The Columbus Blue Jackets forward was set to become a restricted free agent this summer, but according to team reporter Brian Hedger, was looking for a bigger opportunity and more money. Sedlak played just 47 games for the Blue Jackets last season in a depth role, and made $850K in the second year of a two-season contract signed back in 2017.
- The Chicago Blackhawks are on the clock third in June’s draft, and are taking a close look at the prospects taking part in this week’s scouting combine. Mark Lazerus spoke with Blackhawks scouting director Mark Kelley, who told him that the team has narrowed their list to six potential players to pick with the third-overall selection, though he wouldn’t specify. Lazerus has heard though that Bowen Byram, Alex Turcotte, Cole Caufield and Trevor Zegras are among them.
Morning Notes: Madden, Canucks, Thomas
The Columbus Blue Jackets have announced that John Madden will not return as head coach of their AHL affiliate next season. The announcement states that the parting was mutual, and that Madden will pursue other opportunities around the league. Aaron Portzline of The Athletic suggests that a role may already be in the works for Madden elsewhere, and mentions how he had previously been an assistant with the Florida Panthers.
Columbus ended up hiring Madden in 2016 after a string of events that left the Monsters without a head coach just a few months after winning the Calder Cup. First, Patrick Roy stunned the Colorado Avalanche by resigning not long before training camp was set to open, leaving them scrambling to fill the role. They landed on Jared Bednar, the Monsters’ coach that had just gone 43-22-11 in the AHL before taking home the league title. Madden was hired as a replacement just a few days later at the end of August, but was never able to duplicate Bednar’s success at the minor league level.
- The Vancouver Canucks will not be signing Kristoffer Gunnarsson or Matt Brassard according to Rick Dhaliwal of Sportsnet, meaning both will see their exclusive draft rights expire on June 1. Gunnarsson will become an unrestricted free agent, but Brassard will be re-entering the draft this year. The Canucks already have 31 contracts for next season and still have 12 restricted free agents to sign. Given Gunnarsson and Brassard would both count towards the 50-contract limit, they were deemed expendable. The pair were late round picks in 2017, and part of a large group of players that will see their rights expire this weekend.
- Robert Thomas will not play tonight in game two of the Stanley Cup Final, but head coach Craig Berube says it’s not because of the Torey Krug hit that was the talk of the hockey world over the last few days. Vince Dunn will also not suit up just yet, meaning Robby Fabbri likely draws in as the 12th forward for the Blues, playing on a line with Patrick Maroon and Tyler Bozak.
Snapshots: Free Agency, Nash, PWHPA
Free agency is just around the corner and speculation has already begun regarding the landing spots of some top talent. Craig Custance of The Athletic (subscription required) released his early list of the top 20 unrestricted free agents, and Artemi Panarin‘s name lands on top with little surprise. The Columbus Blue Jackets’ superstar is expected to have many suitors this offseason, but Custance and others have suggested there may be a deal coming earlier than July 1.
The scribe writes that “it would be a bit surprising” if Panarin makes it that far, instead examining a potential sign-and-trade scenario in order to secure an eight-year contract. That would get Columbus some assets back, though given the lack of historical precedent it is not clear how valuable a move like that would be. Once again Panarin is linked to former head coach Joel Quenneville, who is now with the Florida Panthers.
- Rick Nash may not be playing professional hockey anymore, but that doesn’t mean he’s completely given up the game. Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (subscription required) details how Nash has been shadowing Blue Jackets’ GM Jarmo Kekalainen for some time, including attending the current IIHF World Championship. Nash will also attend the NHL Entry Draft with the Columbus contingent, though there is no official word on what his role with the organization will be moving forward. The former star forward was forced to retire due to health concerns stemming from several concussions over his long career.
- Kendall Coyne Schofield, Hilary Knight, Marie-Philip Poulin and many other players have announced the formation of the Professional Women’s Hockey Players’ Association. The organization “will serve as a vehicle dedicated to promoting and supporting the creation of a single, viable women’s professional league in North America.” Earlier this year more than 200 top players announced a boycott of the NWHL and other leagues for this season, as they seek a more financially sustainable league that can provide the resources required for them to play at a high level.
Blue Jackets Could Decide To Not Replace Sergei Bobrovsky In Free Agency
If Sergei Bobrovsky winds up leaving Columbus in free agency this summer as many anticipate, it shouldn’t be considered a sure bet that the Blue Jackets will look to replace him. Speaking with Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (subscription required), GM Jarmo Kekalainen indicated that the team is comfortable running with Joonas Korpisalo and rookie Elvis Merzlikins as their goalie tandem for next season:
It’s going to be a competition between those two unless something else happens. And if that’s what we have for our two goalies at the start of the training camp, we’re totally fine with it.
Korpisalo has long been viewed as the goalie of the future in Columbus and he has had flashes of dominant stretches in his young career. However, he has also struggled at times as well and has posted identical .897 save percentage marks over the past two seasons. That number falls below the league average which isn’t the most ideal from a potential starting goalie. The 25-year-old will be a restricted free agent this summer and given the uncertainty surrounding his role for the upcoming season, Portzline notes that a one-year contract is likely. He will still have one season of RFA eligibility after that.
Meanwhile, Merzlikins has been viewed as one of the top goalies outside of North America for the past few years and recently inked a one-year deal for next season. However, he has yet to play on the smaller ice surface so it’s certainly possible that he could need some time to adjust in the minors first. However, given how he has performed in the Swiss NLA, it’s also possible that he could step in and make a big impact right away.
Kekalainen is no stranger to high risk, high reward gambles considering how he went all in at the trade deadline. If he opts to go with a largely unproven tandem of Korpisalo and Merzlikins next season, he’ll be making another one for next season.