Pittsburgh Penguins Acquire Blake Siebenaler
The Columbus Blue Jackets have traded minor league defenseman Blake Siebenaler to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for a conditional draft pick in 2019. This move clears a contract off the books for the Blue Jackets, giving them three open spots under the 50-contract threshold. Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports that the Blue Jackets will receive a seventh-round pick if Siebenaler plays ten games for the Penguins.
A third-round pick from 2014, Siebenaler hasn’t been able to make much of an impact across three professional seasons. The 6’2″ defenseman has 14 points in 83 career games for the Cleveland Monsters, and had fallen down the depth chart due to a shoulder injury that robbed him of much of 2017-18. Clearing his contract slot was likely much more valuable than any return, given the Blue Jackets have been looking for additions at the trade deadline to aid in their playoff run.
The Penguins meanwhile add a right-handed defenseman who once was considered to have solid offensive upside for very little cost. Siebenaler is scheduled to become a restricted free agent this summer but will not be arbitration eligible, meaning they will likely bring him back on an inexpensive two-way deal.
Minor Transactions: 02/11/19
After a busy weekend in the NHL things have slowed down to just a trio of games on the schedule for tonight. Things will kick off with a Pittsburgh-Philadelphia matchup that will be a lot more interesting than it was a few weeks ago. Always a heated rivalry, the two teams are headed in opposite directions and now sit just six points apart in the Metropolitan standings. As teams prepare for the week’s action, we’ll be right here keeping track of all the minor moves.
- The Chicago Blackhawks have recalled Dylan Sikura from the minor leagues, giving them an extra healthy forward while David Kampf is out. Sikura has played well in the minor leagues this season recording 30 points in 40 games, but is still waiting for his first NHL goal. The 23-year old forward was a standout at Northeastern University but has just six points in 16 games with the Blackhawks so far in his young career.
- Patrick Brown has been recalled by the Carolina Hurricanes, giving the team a 13th forward as they prepare to play the Ottawa Senators tomorrow night. Brown has 18 points in 46 games for the Charlotte Checkers and last played in the NHL during the 2016-17 season.
- Eric Robinson is on his way back up to the Columbus Blue Jackets, taking the place of Mark Letestu who has been sent back to the Cleveland Monsters. Robinson, 23, has recorded 24 points in 45 games with the Monsters but is still looking for his first NHL point. Letestu meanwhile played in just two games with the Blue Jackets during his recent recall, and failed to get on the score sheet.
- The Colorado Avalanche have returned defenseman Anton Lindholm to the AHL’s Colorado Eagles, the minor league affiliate announced. Lindholm has split his time between the two teams this season, but has only played in two games with the Avs versus 34 with the Eagles. While Lindholm would prefer to be up with the NHL squad, where he spent the entirety of last season, but the depth of the Avalanche on the blue line paired with his own meager production has limited his opportunity at the top level.
Deadline Primer: Los Angeles Kings
With the trade deadline fast approaching, we will be taking a closer look at the situation for each team over the coming weeks. Where do they stand, what do they need to do, and what assets do they have to fill those needs? Next up is a look at the Los Angeles Kings.
It’s been a rough season for the Kings who had high hopes before the season started. The team had a very successful season a year ago as they had a 45-29-8 season and even though they were the fourth seed, many teams expected them to dominate in the playoffs. Unfortunately, while they played the Vegas Golden Knights well, the team was swept out of the playoffs as Vegas’ speed overwhelmed the slower-moving Kings. The team tried to re-stock in the offseason when the signed Ilya Kovalchuk to a three-year, $18.75MM deal to add even more offense.
Then everything fell apart when the season commenced as the team struggled out of the gate and by early November, the team fired head coach John Stevens and replaced him with interim coach Willie Desjardins. The team found itself at the bottom of the standings throughout the league and have already began to fix their team as the team has already moved out forward Tanner Pearson to Pittsburgh and more recently when it sent defenseman Jake Muzzin to Toronto for a first-rounder and a pair of prospects. With the deadline just weeks away and the Kings looking to rebuild their aging franchise, the team may be making a number of moves to upgrade their team.
Record
23-27-5, seventh in the Pacific Division
Deadline Status
Seller
Deadline Cap Space
$7.608MM in a full-season cap hit, 0/3 used salary cap retention slots, 46/50 contracts per CapFriendly
Upcoming Draft Picks
2019: LAK 1st, TOR 1st, LAK 2nd, LAK 3rd, LAK 4th, LAK 5th, ARZ 5th, LAK 6th, LAK 7th
2020: LAK 1st, LAK 2nd, LAK 3rd, LAK 4th, LAK 5th, LAK 6th, LAK 7th
Trade Chips
The team has several trade options if they want to totally rebuild the franchise. The Kings already moved Muzzin, but with a group of young defensemen, including Sean Walker, Daniel Brickley and Kale Clague waiting for their chance, Los Angeles could move Alec Martinez for a similar return that they got for Muzzin. Martinez has been a solid top-four defenseman with the Kings for years and will be highly sought after, especially in a market where there are so many buyers.
It might be hard to believe, but the Kings may also be ready to move on from their superstar goaltender Jonathan Quick. However, the 33-year-old has struggled with both injuries and hasn’t had his usually impressive season as he has a 2.99 GAA and a disappointing .902 save percentage in 28 games. While starting goaltenders are rarely moved at the deadline as most playoff teams already have a starting goaltender, this is an unusual year as a team like the Columbus Blue Jackets could conceivably move the unhappy Sergei Bobrovsky and could conceivably be looking to add a replacement goaltender. The Kings have Jack Campbell and rookie Calvin Petersen, who could take over and start the rebuilding process in net if L.A. decides to go that route.
Ilya Kovalchuk has also come up as a potential trade chip for the Kings. The 35-year-old winger has struggled with injuries and production slumps, but the veteran winger has 11 goals this year and could score even more on productive playoff team. Whether a team is willing to take on his $6.25MM salary for another two years after this is a whole different question, considering he’ll be 37 years old in the final year of his contract. When the team acquired Carl Hagelin in the Pearson deal, the main purpose of the trade was to free themselves of Pearson’s two extra years on his contract. Hagelin, however, will be an unrestricted free agent and could easily be flipped at the deadline for a pick or prospect. Unfortunately, Hagelin only has two goals and eight points this season in 33 games, but still could provide a franchise with a quality middle-six rental for a low cost.
Five Players To Watch For: F Carl Hagelin, F Ilya Kovalchuk, D Alec Martinez, G Jonathan Quick, F Nate Thompson
Team Needs
1) Youth: With numerous aging veterans already locked up for the next three to five years with no way to escape from those deals, what Los Angeles needs more than anything are young talent that they can build on. The team already picked up a pair of interesting prospects from Toronto in Carl Grundstrom and Sean Durzi, but the more young talent and picks they can acquire to expedite the team’s rebuild the better.
2) Forwards: The team needs more offense. While they have a number of interesting defensive prospects, there are only a handful of scorers that the team has ready to step into their lineup with the possible exception of Gabriel Vilardi, who has been injured all season. There are other prospects, but the Kings need to start focusing on bringing in as much offensive talent to fix the team’s lack of speed and offensive woes.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Agent Change For Panarin Won't Affect Free Agency Plans
- Artemi Panarin’s decision to change agents yesterday does not appear to be changing his plans beyond this season. Speaking with reporters, including Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch, the winger indicated that he’s still looking forward to testing free agency and that there is a chance he could still re-sign with the Blue Jackets. The 27-year-old ranked second in our Midseason UFA Power Rankings last month.
Poll: Where Will Artemi Panarin Finish The Season?
The Columbus Blue Jackets have nine games left before the trade deadline. Nine games to decide what to do with two of the best players to ever suit up for the franchise. Nine games to decide whether the team as constructed, or with an addition of some sort, is good enough to contend for the Stanley Cup this season. Nine games before we’re guaranteed an answer as to where Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky will finish the season.
When we asked our readers at PHR in early January where Bobrovsky would end the season, the Blue Jackets were still the strong favorites. It’s difficult to trade a top goaltender in-season, and losing Bobrovsky would put the Blue Jackets in a tough situation going into the playoffs. Bobrovsky has been linked to the Florida Panthers of late, but the Blue Jackets have apparently made him too expensive to trade for this early.
But Panarin, well he might be worth almost anything. The offensive dynamo is a potential game-changing rental addition for many of the clubs around the league, pushing bubble teams into contenders or contenders into powerhouses. His impact would be felt immediately, and is good enough to displace almost anyone off a first line. That dominance is exactly what Craig Custance of The Athletic (subscription required) notes today as he examines the market for Panarin as the deadline approaches. Custance ranks the teams that make the most sense, listing the Nashville Predators as suspect number one for a potential Panarin market.
In doing so, Custance mentions young forward Eeli Tolvanen as a potential piece that could be required to land the Blue Jackets’ forward. Columbus wouldn’t be the only team checking in on the availability of Tolvanen, as Adam Vingan of The Athletic points out on Twitter. Nashville GM David Poile said on radio today that Tolvanen and other prospects have come up in calls and that if an opportunity presents itself to improve the club, he’s “all in.”
Poile has already begun his dealing, trading for Brian Boyle and Cody McLeod yesterday. He explained that he would be perfectly happy with going into the playoffs with the roster as currently constructed, meaning perhaps he won’t go “all in” on Panarin over the next few weeks. That’s why several other teams are listed in Custance’s piece, and why it’s still not clear where “Bread Man” will end up.
So, like Bobrovsky before, we ask you to voice your opinion on where Panarin will finish the season. Will he lead Columbus to a playoff series victory, or jump on board a speeding train to the Conference Finals? Does he go to a team that is missing the playoffs just so that he can sign an eight-year extension? Cast your vote below and make sure to explain your reasoning in the comments.
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Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Latest On Florida Panthers Interest In Sergei Bobrovsky
For months now the Columbus Blue Jackets have been the focus of many around the NHL as they prepare to deal with pending unrestricted free agents Sergei Bobrovsky and Artemi Panarin. Neither player seems likely to consider an extension with the Blue Jackets, meaning the team has a decision to make on whether to trade them before the upcoming deadline or keep them for a potential Stanley Cup run. Recently the Florida Panthers cleared out cap space by trading away Nick Bjugstad and Jared McCann, immediately leading many to speculate that they were gearing up for a run at both free agents in the summer.
That wait until summer may not be necessary though, as Larry Brooks of the New York Post tweets that the Panthers are interested in trading for Bobrovsky before the deadline in order to get him under contract. Remember players can only sign eight-year extensions with the team they spend the most recent trade deadline with, meaning the Panthers would be able to offer Bobrovsky an extra year of contract security. Brooks notes that the Panthers could potentially use newly acquired forward Derick Brassard as part of the package to get Bobrovsky to Sunrise.
Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen has made it clear that he is willing to make a tough decision on both free agents, but will trade them only if they get the desired return. After losing five consecutive games and falling to fourth in the Metropolitan Division, perhaps it is getting easier to stomach the idea of moving their star players even if it will weaken their group for a playoff run.
Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (subscription required) today pondered in his latest column whether the Blue Jackets would have interest in Jimmy Howard as a potential Bobrovsky replacement, but also touches on the idea that the Panthers will not be so quick to move on from Brassard. The Florida front office is hoping a late-season push can get them into the playoffs and wants to see how the former Pittsburgh Penguins forward fits in.
The other thing to consider when it comes to Bobrovsky’s potential fit in Florida is how it would affect the current goaltenders. The team already has Roberto Luongo and James Reimer under contract for a combined cap hit of nearly $8MM, with three and two years remaining on their respective contracts. An early retirement would mean cap recapture penalties (for both Vancouver and Florida at the moment) in the case of Luongo, but his health has also been a concern in recent years. There would obviously have to be a corresponding transaction of some sort if Bobrovsky was given an extension. One has to wonder if that would be another option for the Blue Jackets—taking on one of the current Panthers goaltenders.
There are now just three weeks before the NHL trade deadline and Columbus still has time to turn things around and establish themselves as contenders once again. If they do it will be extremely difficult to move on from two of the team’s best players, but it might be the right thing for the long-term health of the franchise.
“Zero Chance” New Jersey Devils Will Trade Taylor Hall This Season
With talk of the Columbus Blue Jackets possibly trading away their star players Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky to avoid losing them for nothing has led other teams to reassess their teams in hopes of avoiding similar problems with their own stars.
One team that many are looking at are the New Jersey Devils and Hart Trophy winner Taylor Hall. The 27-year-old will be an unrestricted free agent after the 2019-20 season and with New Jersey’s struggles in the standings, there is concern that Hall may want to walk just like Panarin or Bobrovsky do in Columbus. There are some who believe that New Jersey may want to consider moving Hall now, despite the fact that he has been struggling with injuries this year and has just 11 goals in 33 games, could bring back a bigger return if a playoff team could have Hall for a playoff run this year and then an entire season in 2019-20 before he hit free agency. Hall’s $6MM salary would seem like a bargain for a former Hart Trophy winner, who tallied 39 goals and 93 points a year ago.
However last night, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on Hockey Night in Canada that he spoke to New Jersey general manager Ray Shero who said that there was a “zero chance” the team will be trading Hall this season. That doesn’t rule out the team may consider making a big trade this summer in hopes of rejuvenating their team which currently stands 12 points out of a playoff spot with 31 games to go.
Injury Notes: Jenner, Perron, Shaw
The Columbus Blue Jackets will be without Boone Jenner for at least another week after a cut on his ankle has become infected. The team announced a one to three week timeline for Jenner today, noting that the laceration happened after Jenner blocked a shot on January 12th. This explains why Mark Letestu has been recalled, though the veteran center is still not expected in the lineup for the Blue Jackets tonight.
It comes at an unfortunate time for Columbus, given that the next three weeks could be the most important stretch of their season. With the decisions surrounding Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky looming, this could be the last stretch that this group has together before watching two of their best players head to a different locker room. Jenner meanwhile has been his effective two-way self this season, but has just nine goals and 21 points to show for it. That’s a far way off from the 30-goal campaign he put up in 2015-16, a distant memory at this point for the 25-year old center. He’ll need to pick things up in the second half if Columbus is going to continue to put pressure on the best teams in the Eastern Conference.
- David Perron has been moved to injured reserve by the St. Louis Blues, as he continues to deal with an upper-body injury. Perron was in the middle of his best stretch of the season with points in 13 consecutive games, while seeing almost 20 minutes of ice time a night. The veteran forward was listed as day-to-day originally, but has now missed three games for the Blues. His IR stint will be retroactive to January 17th, meaning he can come off whenever healthy.
- Andrew Shaw hasn’t played in a month for the Montreal Canadiens, but is getting a lot closer to a return. The feisty forward returned to the ice for practice today and skated on a line with Kenny Agostino and Michael Chaput. Shaw had 24 points in 36 games for the Canadiens before suffering what would eventually be classified as a neck injury at the end of December. His return would be a substantial boost for a Montreal team that is quietly pushing for second place in the Atlantic Division.
Blue Jackets Will Make “Hard Decision” With Regards To Artemi Panarin
The Columbus Blue Jackets were thrust back into the spotlight last night when Artemi Panarin‘s agent came out on Twitter to say that his client would not negotiate an extension before the end of the season. That has basically been Panarin’s stance since the beginning of last offseason, but to have it reiterated so close to the trade deadline has put even more pressure on a front office already facing some tough decisions. Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen didn’t run away from that speculation though, instead calling a press conference to speak with the media directly about the situation. The Athletic uploaded the entire presser, which starts out with a general explanation from Kekalainen:
We’ve said all along that we’re going to make hard decisions if we have to, but our focus is on getting our team better. Making it as competitive as possible for this spring but also into the future obviously. If we have to make a hard decision we will. We like Artemi and would like to keep him, but it’s his right to go to free agency and if he chooses to do so we’ll be knocking on his door July 1.
Obviously keeping Panarin around for the remainder of this season gives the Blue Jackets the best chance for playoff success, given the forward’s offensive impact every night. Panarin ranks seventh in league scoring since entering the NHL in 2015-16, and has actually performed even better in Columbus than he did in Chicago. His presence makes the Blue Jackets a tough out in any playoff series, but Kekalainen also wasn’t shy in telling reporters that the team is more than just a single player.
I’ve said it before. We love Artemi, but we had 108 points [the season] before he arrived here. We’re going to have a good team even if [Panarin and fellow UFA Sergei Bobrovsky] choose to go to the free agent market. We have some really good core players, we have more coming that aren’t even here yet. We’re going to be okay.
So understanding that Kekalainen believes in the team’s future, it does seem that he would be fine with keeping his free agents through the deadline if the right deal doesn’t present itself. He even mentioned that the team did just that last year, when Jack Johnson and Matt Calvert were both drawing interest. The Blue Jackets kept both and saw them walk in free agency, though neither would have brought back the kind of return that Panarin would if the team decided to sell. It’s just that there might not be a fit for Columbus that helps them this season. Kekalainen understands this, noting that most contenders who are in the market for rental forwards like Panarin are not willing to give up roster players. Instead, they are dealing in futures which isn’t what the Blue Jackets are necessarily interested in.
Columbus has handled the question of whether Panarin or Bobrovsky will re-sign extremely well, not allowing it to affect their on-ice performance so far this season. Even head coach John Tortorella spoke today about how well the two have handled their business, competing hard for the team all season long. Bobrovsky is set to get the start tonight against the Buffalo Sabres, while Panarin will be back on the ice doing what he does best. There’s now fewer than four weeks remaining before the trade deadline and at least the Blue Jackets now know exactly where their star forward stands. Now it’s up to other teams to offer a package that will make it a truly hard decision for Kekalainen.
Columbus Blue Jackets Recall Mark Letestu
The Columbus Blue Jackets will welcome back a familiar face today, as the team has recalled veteran forward Mark Letestu. Letestu has spent the entire 2018-19 season in the minor leagues, recording 26 points in 39 games for the Cleveland Monsters. The team has also activated Markus Hannikainen off of injured reserve.
It wasn’t so long ago that Letestu was a valuable depth center for the Edmonton Oilers, recording 35 points in the 2016-17 season and then trailing only Leon Draisaitl in playoff scoring for the team. That performance was quickly followed by some disappointing results for the veteran, and Letestu found himself fighting for a job last summer. After attending training camp on a professional tryout with the Florida Panthers, Letestu settled for a two-way contact and a placement in the minor leagues. Not complaining for a minute, he’s been an important part of the Monsters forward group all season, and sits fourth in team scoring.
A few days from his 34th birthday, it’s unlikely that Letestu plays a big role on the Blue Jackets this season. His recall is likely only insurance while center Boone Jenner deals with an injury that “flared up” after practice yesterday, but there is something to say about having that kind of experience at hand in the minor leagues. Letestu has played 558 games in the NHL and always been an effective two-way option, something that teams are always looking for down the stretch. Since the roster limits are relaxed after the trade deadline, perhaps Letestu will be kept in the NHL as an extra body at times when the Blue Jackets are dealing with minor injuries.