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Eastern Notes: Matthews, Werenski, Skinner

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After Toronto Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews changed agencies last week, the Maple Leafs are suddenly wondering what that means for them? After a turbulent offseason so far with their star player, which includes a poor playoff showing, two meetings with head coach Mike Babcock and an impending extension either this summer of next, there are suddenly more questions than ever, according to Toronto Sun’s Steve Simmons.

Matthews switched from CAA to Orr Hockey Group, leaving behind super-agent Pat Brisson, who the Toronto franchise has had a great relationship with. While most franchises wouldn’t bat an eye when a player changes agencies, Matthews situation is different. Among those questions is whether the 20-year-old plans to stay loyal to the franchise. There have been plenty of questions raised about his rocky relationship with Babcock, which forced the coach to make two trips to Arizona to see Matthews this offseason. There are still questions about his future role as captain of the team and of course, how much money will his extension eventually get him? Will he demand the same money as Connor McDavid’s eight year, $100MM deal?

  • Brian Hedger of NHL.com interviewed Columbus Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen about the shoulder injury and subsequent surgery that defenseman Zach Werenski went through this season. Evidently, Werenski suffered the shoulder injury on Oct. 30 and played through the pain all season. The 20-year-old blueliner played with a brace that seriously affected his movement all season and affected his season significantly. “When your arm moves, like, this much, it’s pretty hard, battling for loose pucks in the corner,” Kekalainen said. “It affects everything, and he didn’t ever complain or use it as an excuse. He just kept playing through it and playing through it, and now he’ll be healthy for next year.” Despite the injury, Werenski still had a career high 16 goals, although his total points dropped by 10 from his rookie campaign. After undergoing surgery in early May, Werenski is expected to be ready for the regular season, but could miss all or part of training camp.
  • While there has been quite a bit of speculation surrounding Carolina Hurricanes winger Jeff Skinner this offseason already, don’t expect a trade too quickly, according to The News & Observer’s Chip Alexander. General manager Don Waddell said neither Skinner, nor his agent Don Meehan, has been asked to waive Skinner’s no-movement clause, nor have they been asked to tell them what team he would be willing to accept a trade to. Skinner, who is entering his final year of his six-year, $34.4MM deal he signed back in 2012 with a no-movement clause that kicked in last season, has tallied 204 goals for Carolina in eight seasons, but hasn’t taken them to the playoffs yet.

Blue Jackets Prospect Carson Meyer Transfers To Ohio State

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A pair of NHL draft picks have committed to Ohio State for the 2018-19 season.  The Buckeyes announced (Twitter links) that defenseman Ryan O’Connell and winger Carson Meyer will be joining them next year.  O’Connell, a seventh-rounder of Toronto last June, had previously committed to join Boston University next year and spent this past season with Penticton of the BCHL.  Meyer’s case is more intriguing.  The Columbus prospect (selected in the sixth round last year) has spent the past two years at Miami-Ohio.  After a strong rookie campaign where he posted 26 points in 34 games, his output dipped to just ten points in 34 contests as he dealt with season-long fatigue issues.  Typically, a player who transfers is forced to sit for a year but it is expected that Meyer will petition the NCAA for a waiver to allow him to play next season.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • Ducks pending UFA center Antoine Vermette acknowledged to TVA Sports’ Mario Morrisette that he may have played his final game. While he’s hopeful to land another contract for next season, he wants to be closer to his family and has already ruled out the idea of going overseas.  The soon-to-be 36-year-old had just 16 points in 64 games with Anaheim and got into just a pair of playoff contests where he played just over six minutes per game.  However, he won 60% of his faceoffs which could still help him garner some interest in free agency next month.
  • Penguins GM Jim Rutherford is well-known for being aggressive when it comes to shaping his roster and after they fell in the second round this postseason, many expect changes are coming. One player that could be on the move is winger Bryan Rust, suggests Mark Madden of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.  The pending RFA is due a sizable raise after posting 38 points in 69 games but Pittsburgh has good depth on the right side and plans to have Daniel Sprong (also a right winger) in the lineup regularly in 2018-19 which could make Rust expendable.  The 26-year-old is arbitration eligible and is one year away from qualifying for unrestricted free agency.

Offseason Keys: Columbus Blue Jackets

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With the Stanley Cup now awarded, the offseason is now in full swing.  What storylines lie ahead around the league in the weeks to come?  Our Offseason Keys series continues with a look at the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Last summer, the Blue Jackets made one of the bigger trades of the summer when they shipped Brandon Saad to Chicago in exchange for Artemi Panarin.  They were hoping that the Russian winger would provide them with more firepower up front.  While he had a nice year, the team actually scored less and were ousted in the opening round once again.  While GM Jarmo Kekalainen will assuredly want to try to add to his roster, several of his keys this summer involve dealing with his current players.

Extension Talks

A lot of teams have one notable player that they will likely sit down to discuss a contract extension with over the course of the offseason.  Columbus has three that are going to require a lot of attention including a pair of significant potential unrestricted free agents.

Let’s start with Panarin.  Being moved away from Patrick Kane and the Blackhawks didn’t exactly slow him down.  In fact, he hit the point-per-game mark for the first time in his NHL career, collecting 82 (27-55-82) in 81 games.  He led the Blue Jackets in scoring by a whopping 25 points.  It’s hard to ask for much more than that.  The 26-year-old signed a two-year, $12MM deal with the Blackhawks after they were unable to work out a long-term pact that fit under their cap structure, a decision that wound up being moot given that he was dealt before the contract even kicked in.   The price tag has only gone up since then as he projects to be one of the top forwards that could hit the open market in July 2019.

Then there’s Sergei Bobrovsky, their undisputed number one goalie.  While he didn’t put up the same numbers he did in 2016-17 that saw him win the Vezina Trophy, he was still well above average while being among the league leaders in games played and shots faced.  Joonas Korpisalo doesn’t appear to be their long-term option as goalie of the future and there isn’t anyone in the system that’s nearing NHL readiness either.  Columbus badly needs to re-sign (or replace) the 29-year-old but it won’t be cheap.  Bobrovsky is already at a $7.45MM cap hit and as salaries go up around the league, it’s not crazy to think that he’ll be the second-highest-paid goalie in the league for 2019-20 if they can get an extension done.

On the restricted free agent side is defenseman Zach Werenski.  He has quickly emerged as a core player and ranked second in their blueline in points (37) and average ice time (22:35).  In recent years, youngsters in situations like these often forego the bridge contract in favor of inking a long-term pact that buys out some UFA eligibility.  Independent of everything else, this is something Kekalainen would certainly like to do.  However, if they intend to lock up Panarin and Bobrovsky as well, they may be forced to go the shorter-term route to keep the cap hit down.  Accordingly, it wouldn’t be surprising to see any extension talks for Werenski delayed until they have a better sense of what is going on with their two UFAs.

Re-Sign Or Trade?

Defenseman Ryan Murray and forward Boone Jenner were expected to be long-term fixtures in Columbus.  Both have had up-and-down times in their careers and they both are coming off of somewhat-disappointing seasons.  With the duo now being arbitration-eligible, Kekalainen will need to decide if they’re still part of the plans for the foreseeable future or if the time has come to look into moving them.

When healthy, Murray has been a capable defender for Columbus.  The problem is, out of his five NHL seasons, he has reached the 70-game plateau just once and has played in just 64% of their games in that span.  Further adding to that frustration is the fact he was the second-overall pick back in 2012.  With Werenski heading for a major raise soon, Seth Jones and David Savard locked up for nearly $10MM combined long-term, and the expectation that they will try to bring back Ian Cole, Kekalainen needs to decide if there’s enough money to keep Murray around.

As for Jenner, he is just two years removed from a 30-goal campaign but he has barely managed to match that output over the past two seasons combined.  He has spent a fair amount of time in the bottom six while also spending most of 2016-17 on the wing.  These don’t help his trade value but at the same time, it doesn’t help Jenner’s arbitration case either.  How much should they be willing to pay Jenner who is more of a third-line center in a best-case scenario?  If it’s too much for their liking, the lack of help down the middle on the open market should give them some options to move him.

Add Top-Six Help

With both Nick Foligno and Brandon Dubinsky struggling to live up to their contracts, the Blue Jackets have been looking for top-six help going back to this past season.  They acquired Thomas Vanek at the trade deadline who wound up being quite productive so there’s certainly a possibility that they’ll look to keep him around.  Even if they do, they’re still likely to target other players to improve their depth.

One of the challenges involving potentially moving Jenner is that Columbus doesn’t have great depth down the middle, especially if they wind up cutting bait with Dubinsky.  With that in mind, don’t be surprised if they set their sights on adding a center in a trade (since the free agent market is likely to create some inflated contracts, something they can’t particularly afford with the players they need to soon re-sign).

The Blue Jackets are in a tough division but one more quality top-six forward may be enough to take them to that next level if they can keep the rest of the core of the roster intact.  It doesn’t seem likely that they will be overly active overall in terms of shaking things up but this is one need they have to fill.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Morning Notes: Cole, Sestito, Canadiens

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Ian Cole was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets this season after being an integral part of the Pittsburgh Penguins two Stanley Cup runs. Leading up until the deadline there were reports of a feud growing between Cole and head coach Mike Sullivan, something that has been brought up afterwards in pieces about a similar power struggle between the Penguins head coach and Phil Kessel. In Columbus, Cole found a home and performed quite well, notching 10 points in 26 games in a Blue Jackets uniform, including three playoff assists in the team’s first-round exit.

Cole is an unrestricted free agent this summer, and in Aaron Portzline’s latest piece for The Athletic (subscription required) the 29-year old defenseman admits that he’s open to signing with the Blue Jackets if they can find the right deal. After earning an average of just $2.1MM the last three seasons, Cole should be able to find a raise on the open market if he gets that far. Free agency isn’t flush with defensemen who can potentially play in a team’s top-four, and could be quite lucrative to a player in Cole’s position. That’s if Columbus doesn’t lock him up in the next three weeks.

  • A former teammate of Cole in Pittsburgh will be leaving the organization this summer, as Tom Venesky of The Athletic reports that Tom Sestito will not be re-signing with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. The long-time professional and part-time Penguins forward didn’t get any NHL action this season as the league moves further away from his physical, enforcing type of hockey. It’s not clear where the 30-year old winger will get his next opportunity, but he isn’t leaving with any bad blood.
  • The Montreal Canadiens hold the third-overall selection at this year’s draft, and Eric Engels of Sportsnet examines just how big of a wildcard that makes them over the next three weeks. There are many who believe that Montreal needs to select a defenseman or center at the upcoming draft, something that may be hard to do when wingers like Filip Zadina and Brady Tkachuk are sitting available at the top of the draft. The team certainly has the firepower to make a move on the draft floor, as they currently hold four second-round picks and three fourth-rounders. If the third-overall pick is available for teams looking to move up, there could be any number of teams running over to the Canadiens’ table to speak with Marc Bergevin on June 22nd.

Blue Jackets’ Carson Meyer Transferring To Ohio State

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Carson Meyer is Mr. Ohio. The Powell-native grew up playing in the Ohio Blue Jackets youth system, enrolled at Miami University in Ohio in 2016, and was selected by the Columbus Blue Jackets as an over-ager in the sixth round of the draft last year. So, with news of his desire to transfer following his sophomore year, the only choice was obviously Ohio State. Meyer confirmed the move today and hopes to play immediately next season.

It may be tricky, but there is no doubt that the administrators at Ohio State will work hard to petition the NCAA to allow Meyer to play right away in 2018-19 rather than sit for a year as per usual. Exceptions are frequently made, especially in hockey, but Meyer is not without options if he is forced to take a redshirt year after transferring. Past players have simply taken the year off from school entirely and returned to their USHL team and Meyer would be more than welcomed back by the Tri-City Storm. Meyer led the team to a championship behind his club-best 51 points in his one full season in the USHL. However, the Buckeyes would like to have him in the lineup as soon as possible to take advantage of that production.

The undersized winger has struggled to produce at the same level with Miami – due in no small part to a “sickness” this season that turned out to be a 25-inch tapeworm – but is ready to move on and will likely fit in better surrounded by superior talent at Ohio State. The Buckeyes finished second in the Big Ten Conference and made it all the way to the Frozen Four of the NCAA Tournament this year. The team will return much of its roster next season, including top scorers Tanner Laczynski, a Philadelphia Flyers selection, and Mason Jobst. If a now-healthy Meyer is indeed able to join that group this season, it will be a strong forward unit for Ohio State. 

Lauri Korpikoski Signs Long-Term Contract In Finland

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Veteran NHL forward Lauri Korpikoski signed in Switzerland with the ZSC Lions of the NLA last summer in an effort to rejuvenate his career. However, things did not go as planned as injuries limited Korpikoski to eight points in just 19 games. He did manage to play in 16 of 18 playoff games for the team, contributing six points, en route to a league title, but overall the season was a disappointment for the two-way forward. As a result, Korpikoski will not be returning to the NHL nor re-signing with the Lions, but instead he will head home to Finland. Korpikoski has signed with TPS of the Liiga, the organization he began his hockey career with all the way back in juniors, the team announced.

Perhaps the most surprising part of this move is that the 31-year-old has reportedly inked a six-year deal with TPS. The team revealed that the contract allows Korpikoski to play abroad during the term of the deal, but the length implies that Korpikoski may be resigned to the fact that his days as an elite player are over. While TPS itself is a historic club that finished second in the regular season last year, the Liiga is at best the fifth-best pro league in the world. A veteran of more than 600 NHL games and former first-round pick, its just as easy to believe that Korpikoski could still make a living for himself in the NHL or elsewhere.

Korpikoski was drafted 19th overall by the New York Rangers in 2004, but didn’t debut with the team until 2008-09. He was then dealt to the Phoenix Coyotes after just one year in New York and flourished into a legitimate two-way top-nine forward. Korpikoski recorded 145 points in 401 games over six seasons with the Coyotes and twice received votes for the Selke Trophy during that time. In his final two seasons in Arizona and the subsequent two years spent with the Edmonton Oilers, Dallas Stars, and Columbus Blue Jackets, Korpikoski was a consistent albeit unspectacular performer, with four straight years of 20-odd points in around 70 games while playing a more physical, checking style. However, this wasn’t enough to draw sufficient interest from NHL teams last summer and Korpikoski hoped a year away in Switzerland could bring back his 40-point play from his early years with the ’Yotes. This didn’t happen with ZSC, but with TPS there is still a chance that he could rediscover his elite two-way game. If not, he has the security to simply stay home and help develop future Finnish stars over the course of his six-year deal.

Elvis Merzlikins Will Not Come To North America In 2018-19

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Though there have been plenty of rumors floating around since his impressive performance at the IIHF World Championship, Elvis Merzlikins won’t be coming over to North America just yet. The Lavtian goaltender tweeted out his intention to play at least one more season for HC Lugano in the Swiss NLA, meaning he won’t be competing for a job with the Columbus Blue Jackets for at least another year.

Merzlikins, 24, has been the Latvian international goalie of note for several years, and outdid himself at this year’s Worlds by posting a .940 save percentage in six games. That included taking both the USA and Canada to overtime and pushing the eventual champions Sweden to the brink of elimination in their quarter-final matchup. Though he was selected four years ago, his draft rights will not expire next week like many other European players. That’s because of the lack of transfer agreement between the NLA and NHL, meaning the Blue Jackets will have more chances to convince him to come to North America in the future.

His contract with Lugano is expected to expire after this season, which gives the Blue Jackets a very interesting option for the 2019-20 season. Both Sergei Bobrovsky (UFA) and Joonas Korpisalo (RFA) are set to become free agents next summer, meaning Columbus will have some tough decisions on how to proceed with their goaltending going forward. If Merzlikins posts another big year in the NLA, and another solid performance in the Worlds, perhaps he’d be considered as a direct-to-NHL option for them. The 6’3″ goaltender has certainly held his own whenever facing off against some of the NHL’s best.

Winnipeg Unlikely To Buyout Steve Mason

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It was about as bad a first season in Winnipeg as it could have been for goaltender Steve Mason. After signing a two-year deal with the Jets last summer that carried the presumption that he would at least share the starting job, injuries and poor play plagued the veteran net minder all season. The lone bright spot for Mason – he still made his $4.1MM. Many have speculated – now that Vezina Trophy candidate Connor Hellebuyck has more than solidified his position as the starter moving forward – that Mason could be cut by the Jets this off-season to avoid another hefty cap hit next year. However, speaking with the media today, Winnipeg GM Kevin Cheveldayoff stated that he did not anticipate going the buyout route with his experienced albeit overpaid backup (video). Instead, Cheveldayoff spoke to Mason’s ability and integrity and his desire to have a capable backup next season.

Mason, who will be 30 next season, joined the Jets last summer after parts of five seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers during which he struggled to transcend to that elite, true #1 goaltender level. Nevertheless, Winnipeg handed the 2009 Calder Trophy winner an $8.2MM contract that was immediately panned. Unfortunately for the Jets, the critics proved to be right. Admittedly, Mason struggled with several injuries – including multiple concussions – during the year, however when he did play the results were underwhelming. Mason finished the season with a .906 save percentage and 3.24 GAA in a career-low 13 appearances. It was easily his worst performance since his later seasons with the Columbus Blue Jackets and paved the way for Hellebuyck to take over full control of the starter’s job, as he dominated starts even when Mason was healthy.

Yet, a buyout of Mason’s final season – while understandable on a results basis – would not make much of a difference to Winnipeg. Yes, the team would save over $2.7MM next year, but would incur a penalty of around $1.4MM the following year. For a team that doesn’t struggle with salary cap compliance, those savings mean relatively little. Without Mason and with Michael Hutchinson headed for unrestricted free agency, the Jets would then be forced to find an experienced backup this off-season anyway. While it may not be popular among fans who were disappointed by his first season, if Cheveldayoff does retain Mason this off-season, there are plenty of reasons why it makes sense for the Jets.

Alexandre Texier Signs Entry-Level Contract With Columbus Blue Jackets

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According to team beat writer Brian Hedger, the Columbus Blue Jackets have signed Alexandre Texier to his three-year entry-level contract today. Texier recently suited up for France at the IIHF World Championship, and was recently confirmed to be staying overseas for at least one more year. The 18-year old forward prospect spent 2017-18 in Finland, where he registered 22 points in 53 games with KalPa.

Texier was the Blue Jackets’ second-round pick in 2017, and was something of an unknown. Though we’d seen him play in various international tournaments, France was usually in the lower level tournament and his club play was hard to compare. The French league, while improving, isn’t at the level of the NLA, SHL or Liiga. Texier then was scouted on his raw ability, which for him was enough to intrigue the Blue Jackets’ front office. GM Jarmo Kekalainen had this to say:

Alexandre is a very smart, skilled player with a very good shot and extraordinary vision to make plays all over the ice. He is a young player who had a very good rookie season with KalPa and we are excited to watch his continued development as he gets bigger and stronger physically.

The 6’1″ forward has the ability to carry the puck through and around defenders while at top speed, and can score in a variety of different ways. Though there is a long road ahead of him before he will be suiting up in the NHL, his first year at a higher level of competition went about as well as it could have. Columbus will be keeping a close eye on him this season to see if his strength and poise improve for KalPa, after which he could come to North America in 2019-20.

Alexandre Texier To Stay In Finland Next Season

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  • Blue Jackets prospect center Alexandre Texier will remain overseas for at least one more year, GM Jarmo Kekalainen confirmed to Steve Gorton of the Columbus Dispatch (Twitter link). The 18-year-old was a second-round pick (45th overall) back in 2017 and is coming off a quality showing at the World Championships where he picked up three assists in seven games despite being one of the youngest players in the tournament.  However, the team would like to see him get a little stronger physically and have decided that keeping him with KalPa of the SM-liiga is the best way to go.

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