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Columbus Blue Jackets Sign Nathan Gerbe To Two-Year Extension

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have seen enough from Nathan Gerbe to determine that they want to keep him around. The veteran forward has signed a two-year, two-way contract extension that will take him through 2019-20. The deal pays Gerbe an average annual value of $675K in the NHL, and breaks down as follows:

  • 2018-19: $650K NHL/$250K AHL, $400K guarantee
  • 2019-20: $700K NHL/$250K AHL, $400K guarantee

Gerbe will take home no less than $400K for each season, not a bad deal for a player who was close to being out of North American hockey altogether at one point. In 18 games with the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL, Gerbe has 12 points. In his two NHL contests, he’s been held scoreless.

The 5’5″ forward has found quite a bit of success at the highest level of hockey, going back to his days as an offensive powerhouse for Boston College. Though the professional ranks haven’t brought the same level of offensive success, Gerbe does have two 16-goal, 31-point seasons in the NHL and has always produced at the AHL level. After a brief sojourn in Switzerland, Gerbe is back on North American soil and will have to accept his role as a fringe NHLer.

Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic provided the financial details of the contract.

Dean Kukan Signs Two-Year Extension With Columbus

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have locked up one of their young defenders, inking Dean Kukan to a two-year extension. Kukan was set to become a restricted free agent this summer, but will now be under contract through the 2019-20 season. The deal will be one-way, and pay Kukan an average annual value of $725K.

This will be the first one-way deal of Kukan’s career, a nice reward for the development he’s shown over the last few years. Originally signed out of the SHL in 2015, Kukan was a relative unknown that had gone undrafted but had impressed at two World Championships with Switzerland. He made his NHL debut that season, but spent all of last year with the Cleveland Monsters in the AHL.

Playing in 10 NHL games this season, Kukan seems destined to replace one of the Blue Jackets’ pending free agents in the lineup on a more regular basis next year. Ian Cole, Jack Johnson and Taylor Chorney are all scheduled to become unrestricted free agents, while Ryan Murray and Markus Nutivaara are also RFAs.

Kukan is a solid defender that can be relied upon in the defensive zone and get the puck up quickly to his teammates, though perhaps lacks a bit of creativity and aggressiveness on the offensive side. With players like Zach Werenski and Seth Jones giving the Blue Jackets more than enough offense from the back end, Kukan can focus on the defensive side and carve out a role for himself.

The Blue Jackets have quite a bit of cap space heading into the summer, and getting players like Kukan locked in on relatively inexpensive deals will help them maximize that financial asset. He’ll cost just a touch more than the minimum salary for next season, just like Scott Harrington who is signed for just $650K.

Snapshots: General Manager Hot Seat, Cholowski, Cullen

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With many teams starting to see the writing on the wall that their season is coming to a close sooner than they had intended, the next question that comes about is whether the team has any intentions of making changes to their staff. After a look at possible changes to the coaching ranks, the next question would likely turn to which general managers are on the hot seat. The Athletic’s James Mirtle (subscription required) takes a look at 10 candidates who could find themselves without a job this offseason.

Mirtle quickly addresses the obvious ones, including Detroit’s Ken Holland and Toronto’s Lou Lamoriello, both who have been rumored to either be on their way out or moved to a different role within the organization. However, Mirtle also admits that both could easily stay in their present roles too.

The next stage of general managers that are most likely on the hot seat include Peter Chiarelli of Edmonton, the New York Islanders Garth Snow and Montreal’s Marc Bergevin, while other general managers might be given more time to prove to the organization that their plan works. Colorado’s Joe Sakic, Arizona’s John Chayka, Minnesota’s Chuck Fletcher and Columbus’ Jarmo Kekalainen are all likely to be on short leashes due to their inability of taking their teams to a new level.

  • Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press writes that while 2017 first-round pick Michael Rasmussen might make the Detroit Red Wings team next season, the real prospect to keep an eye on will be 2016 first-round pick Dennis Cholowski, whose having a stellar year with both the Prince George Cougars and the Portland Winterhawks of the WHL. The 20-year-old blueliner is in his final year of junior and has 14 goals and 50 assists this year. St. James writes that while Rasmussen must make the Red Wings roster out of training camp to stick, Cholowski could play with the Grand Rapids Griffins in the AHL and get a midseason callup if he can’t break into the Red Wings lineup.
  • StarTribune’s Sarah McLellan writes that the NHL Players Association released a players poll this week and for the question of which player would make great coach after they retire. Minnesota’s Matt Cullen won the poll. He received 4.5 percent of the votes, yet Cullen hasn’t decided if that’s the avenue he plans to go down. “I’ve never really put a lot of thought into it, to be honest,” Cullen said. “I guess I’ve had a lot of experience, and I’ve been through a lot through a long career, I guess. Truthfully, I’ve never thought a lot about it. I don’t know. I’m not sure what I’ll do when I’m done playing.”

Injury Update: Stone, Marchand, Duclair, Crawford, Nutivaara, Bishop

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Ottawa Senators winger Mark Stone will not be making the trip to Florida for their game against the Panthers on Monday, according to Ottawa Sun’s Don Brennan. Stone suffered a leg injury after colliding with Calgary’s Micheal Ferland on Friday.

Brennan added that Ottawa coach Guy Boucher said today that he did not know whether the injury would keep Stone out of the lineup short-term or long-term. The loss of Stone would be another disappointment in the Senators’ season. Stone has been one of the few bright spots in an otherwise disappointing season. The 25-year-old already has broken his career-high in assists with 42 and is on track to have a career-high in goals. He currently has 22 this season. He was one of the few untouchable players at the trade deadline this season.

  • The Boston Bruins announced that Brad Marchand would miss Sunday’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks with an upper body injury. The move has received a lot of attention as the forward was yanked at the last minute before the game, just one day after Marchand had another collision with a player, this time with Chicago’s Anthony Duclair. Many believe the team held him out as a precaution from potential retribution.
  • Speaking of Duclair, Tracey Myers of NHL.com writes that Duclair was wearing a walking boot on his right leg this morning. Coach Joel Quenneville said yesterday after the game that Duclair is expected to miss one to two weeks. Myers added that goaltender Corey Crawford is still not skating with the team, although he is working out on his own.
  • Steve Gorten of the Columbus Dispatch writes that good news could be coming for two players with the Columbus Blue Jackets as defensemen Dean Kukan and Markus Nutivaara are both practicing in full gear and may be close to returning to the team. Kukan and Nutivaara were both injured in the same game on Feb. 16. Kukan, who has been out with an upper-body injury, has appeared in 10 games for Columbus this year. Nutivaara has been on injured reserve with an upper-body injury. He has played in 51 games so far this season with three goals and 15 assists.
  • Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News writes that Dallas Stars goaltender Ben Bishop, who has been out since Mar. 5 with a knee injury, skated today with no pads and is scheduled to skate tomorrow with pads. No word on how soon, the veteran goaltender is expected to return. The 31-year-old has played 51 games for Dallas, posting a 2.49 GAA and a solid .917 save percentage.

Injury Notes: Marchand, Duclair, Vatrano, Klefbom, Smith, Avalanche, Seeler

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Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand could miss some time — not due to injury — but after another incident in which the forward collided with Chicago Blackhawks winger Anthony Duclair in Saturday’s game. You can see the video here. While on the surface it does look as if Marchand was attempting to avoid Duclair, one has to wonder how the Department of Player Safety will treat the incident after numerous incidents this season. A repeat offender, Marchand served a five-game suspension back in January for concussing New Jersey Devils forward Marcus Johansson.

Marchand was given a two-minute interference penalty on the play, but Duclair was forced to exit the game as he suffered a knee injury. The Blackhawks later announced that he will not return for the rest of the game and Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times reports that he will miss one-to-two weeks.

  • Matthew DeFranks of the SunSentinel writes the Florida Panthers have activated forward Frank Vatrano and will make his Panthers debut Saturday night. Vatrano, who was acquired a week before the trade deadline from the Boston Bruins for a third-round pick, will attempt to find his game with the rising Panthers despite missing some time with a high ankle sprain. He is slated to appear on the team’s second line alongside Vincent Trocheck and Jonathan Huberdeau as the team hopes Vatrano could be a valuable addition to their core. After putting up 39 goals in 45 career AHL games, he has struggled in the NHL. With Boston, the 23-year-old had just two goals in 25 games this year and often found himself scratched.
  • Edmonton Oilers head coach Todd MacLellan said defenseman Oscar Klefbom will miss the next two games to undergo a “minor procedure.” With rumors that Klefbom was been playing injured for much of the year, the eventual question will be whether the team should shut him down in the near future.
  • Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Steve Carp writes that center Reilly Smith was sent back to Las Vegas after he sustained an upper body injury during Tuesday’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. He is not playing today and is not expected to be ready for Monday’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers. Smith is having a career year with 22 goals and 38 assists in his first year with Vegas.
  • Kyle Fredrickson of the Denver Post writes that the team intends to start Jonathan Bernier today after Bernier has missed the past 10 games with a head injury. Starter Semyon Varlamov has struggled recently having allowed 11 goals in the past three games. The scribe also writes that defenseman Erik Johnson skated Friday in a non-contact jersey. He hasn’t played in a game since Feb. 18. There is no timeline for Johnson, according to head coach Jared Bednar. Forward Vladislav Kamenev, who broke his arm in November after being acquired from Nashville, practiced Friday and is likely to be sent to the AHL for a couple of games on a conditioning stint.
  • Sarah McLellan of the StarTribune writes that defenseman Nick Seeler, who has been dealing with a right bicep strain and the flu, is improving, but did not travel with the team to Vancouver and would only join the team in Edmonton if there is an injury on defense before then.

Minor Transactions: 03/06/18

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After a relatively quiet Monday night in the NHL, the league is back with nine games on tap tonight including a few huge matchups. The Tampa Bay Lightning try to tighten their grip on the Atlantic Division against the red hot Florida Panthers, while the Dallas Stars and Nashville Predators battle in what could be a first-round matchup. As they prepare for these contests later tonight, we’ll keep track of all the minor movement around the league.

  • The Columbus Blue Jackets will be without Sergei Bobrovsky tonight against the Vegas Golden Knights, meaning Jeff Zatkoff is on his way up to the NHL. Bobrovsky is just dealing with a minor illness, which likely means Joonas Korpisalo will be in net when the Blue Jackets try to keep their playoff hopes alive.
  • The Dallas Stars have recalled Roope Hintz and goaltender Mike McKenna from the minor leagues, both under emergency conditions. That may be confusing as Hintz was also recalled yesterday, but after the Stars’ game against the St. Louis Blues he was returned to Texas—at least for a few hours. McKenna is on his way up because Ben Bishop is out with a minor injury, giving Kari Lehtonen the starting role for the time being.
  • The Buffalo Sabres announced that Kyle Criscuolo is out four to six weeks with an upper-body injury, meaning he’s likely headed for injured reserve through the end of the season. The 25-year old forward made his NHL debut this season, and would have been a welcome addition to the Rochester Americans’ playoff run.

Undrafted Free Agent Signings Dominating Juniors

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Given that each team generally has seven chances to makes a pick in the NHL Draft each year resulting in, until recently, 210 selections, and now 217 moving forward, the bulk of top players in the league come through the draft process. However, no matter the level – Canadian juniors, American juniors and the NCAA, and Europe – there are always players that slip through the crack. Sometimes those particular players don’t slip too far. Case in point: take a look at some of the top players in the CHL this season. A significant proportion of 2017-18’s most valuable players in the OHL, WHL, and QMJHL are not just undrafted, but have also already signed with an NHL team.

In the Ontario League, Aaron Luchuk is the poster boy for the year of undrafted signings. The 20-year-old Barrie Colts center signed an entry-level contract with the Ottawa Senators back in December. He’s rewarded them for taking a gamble on him by leading the league with 105 points thus far, including a league-leading 45 goals. This has been a major step up in his production of 60 points in 68 games in 2016-17. The 5’10” forward’s next step will be trying his hand at the AHL next season. Not far behind Luchuk is Sam Miletic, a fellow 20-year-old forward playing for the Niagara Ice Dogs. Miletic is fifth in the OHL with 86 points and also brings a good defensive sense to his game. Miletic signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins in September after recording 55 points in 65 games with the London Knights last season; Miletic had 54 points in just 35 games with London prior to being traded mid-season. Undrafted netminders are also making a splash in the OHL. The Detroit Red Wings signed 19-year-old Kaden Fulcher back in October and the Hamilton Bulldogs goalie has since been a top goalie in the league, currently fourth in goals against average and seventh in save percentage among starters. Boston Bruins prospect Kyle Keyser is right there with him, as the Oshawa Generals keeper is sixth in save percentage and seventh in goals against average among starters.

The Western League is littered with undrafted free agent signings among its top scorers. The Moose Jaw Warriors’ Brayden Burke has joined that group, having just signed with the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday. Burke, 21, is tied for second in league scoring with 113 points in just 61 games, a pace of nearly two points per game this season. Burke is undersized at 5’10”, 165 lbs., but has done well for himself in the WHL, which is traditionally a heavier league, and will soon turn his sights on the pros. Also in the top ten in scoring are another Penguin, Jordy Bellerive, and the Colorado Avalanche’s Ty Lewis. Both forwards signed prior to the season and have each taken a big step in 2017-18, currently tied for eighth with 89 points. Bellerive, who is only 18, jumped on the opportunity to sign with the defending Cup champs after being passed over in the draft, and the Lethbridge Hurricanes center is now making the Penguins just as excited about the deal. Lewis, 20, has stepped into the top scorer role for the Brandon Wheat Kings left behind by Nolan Patrick and has excelled. Cameron Hebig of the Regina Pats is next in line with 88 points on the year, after signing with the Edmonton Oilers. The WHL also features an impressive undrafted goalie of their own in Cole Kehler, a 20-year-old for the Portland Winterhawks who inked a deal with the Los Angeles Kings in December as well. Kehler has a big frame and a quick glove, which has helped him maintain the best goals against average and fourth-best save percentage among goalies with at least 40 appearances this year.

While the Quebec League doesn’t count as many exciting undrafted prospects among its best, it does feature two consistent torrid scorers who, until recently, had been ignored due to their small stature. Alex Barre-Boulet joined the pro-bound on March 1st, when the Tampa Bay Lightning signed him to an entry-level deal. Barre-Boulet, 20, may stand only 5’10”, 165 lbs., but he is enjoying his third-straight 80+ point campaign. In fact, he is far beyond that in 2017-18, with a league leading 109 points that dwarfs the next-best scorer by 15 points. The Blainville-Boisbriand Armada star has at least earned a shot at the NHL. So too has Maxime Fourtier, the Halifax Mooseheads captain who has at least 70 points the past three years. Fourtier is slightly bigger that Barre-Boulet and has clearly focused on rounding out his game this season, after signing with the Columbus Blue Jackets in November.

The 2017-18 season shows that the draft is not the end of the line. These standouts make up only a fraction of the talented undrafted players skating in the CHL, some of whom are soon to be signed, and an even smaller fraction of undrafted players across the globe. Talent is always there to discover, even if it doesn’t fully manifest by the age of 18, and these players are proof. Expect to see many of them at the NHL level some time in the not-to-distant future.

Injury Notes: Penguins, Blue Jackets, Bruins

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The Pittsburgh Penguins could be without rookie forward Zach Aston-Reese long-term. Actually, head coach Mike Sullivan described the injury as “longer-term”, though he refrained from putting any specific timeline on his return. He did say that Aston-Reese suffered an upper-body injury in practice, which is why he missed last night’s game, a 3-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils, and will presumably miss many more. While the Penguins made a splash with their acquisition of center Derick Brassard at the trade deadline, Aston-Reese has been a point-per-game player since being recalled to Pittsburgh, spending ample time beside Sidney Crosby. Fortunately for the two-time defending Cup champs, they are also deep at wing and should have no trouble making up for the loss of Aston-Reese in their top-nine.

  • While the Penguins lose a man to injury, the rival Blue Jackets add one. Columbus announced today that captain Nick Foligno has been activated from injured reserve. Foligno missed more than a week with a lower body injury suffered against the Penguins back on the 18th. However, he’s returning to the lineup sooner than expected. The Blue Jackets are thankful for Foligno’s quick bounce back; not only are they looking to solidify their playoff position, but they also lost forward Josh Anderson to long-term injury recently. Fortunately, Foligno’s return and the additions of Thomas Vanek and Mark Letestu at the trade deadline make for a timely situation to replace Anderson.
  • Speaking of trade deadline injury replacements, the Bruins could not be happier with how their additions played in the absence of Patrice Bergeron last night. When a player of Bergeron’s caliber goes down, the team always suffers. Bergeron will be out at least two weeks with a fractured foot and it showed right away last night on the defensive side of the match-up, as Boston surrendered three easy first period goals to the Carolina Hurricanes. However, it was Rick Nash and Tommy Wingels leading the charge to a comeback victory. The pair of new Bruins combined for two goals and an assist in 32 minutes of ice time as Boston won 4-3.

Jack Johnson Open To Staying In Columbus Long-Term, Josh Anderson Out Four Weeks

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  • Considering his trade request earlier in the year and the fact that Columbus acquired Ian Cole early on Monday, it came as somewhat of a surprise that the Blue Jackets didn’t deal defenseman Jack Johnson by the trade deadline. Despite that, both Johnson and GM Jarmo Kekalainen acknowledged to George Richards of the Columbus Dispatch that there could still be a chance that the rearguard chooses to stick around after the season.  Johnson’s ice time has gone up since his request to be moved and at one point last week, talks were held regarding a possible contract extension although talks didn’t progress particularly far.
  • Still with the Blue Jackets, the verdict is in regarding Josh Anderson’s injury and the news isn’t great. The team announced (Twitter link) that the winger will miss approximately the next four weeks as a result of a knee sprain sustained on Monday against Washington.  That should immediately free up a spot for the recently-acquired Thomas Vanek without disrupting the rest of the lineup.

Snapshots: Karlsson, Maroon, Anderson

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Erik Karlsson didn’t request a trade, and he is happy the deadline is behind him. That’s what he told the media today, and explained that he would be open to an extension with the team if their plans line up.

I love this city, I love this community. I love everything about it. I’ve been here for a very long time and I’ve made Ottawa my home and it’s always going to be my home. So when that time comes, I hope that there’s a place for me in the future and that this team is going in the direction that I would like to for us to have a chance to win in the near future.

Karlsson was the biggest name on the market yesterday, with teams like Tampa Bay and Vegas interested right until the end. Many believed that was because the Ottawa Senators aren’t prepared to give him a massive long-term contract when his current deal expires in the summer of 2019. Though it would be tough for him to say anything else at this point, Karlsson has always maintained that he loves Ottawa and would want to spend his entire career there. If something has changed in the last few weeks, he isn’t sharing.

  • The package the Edmonton Oilers received for pending free agent Patrick Maroon was underwhelming, and now we might know why. Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli today told 630CHED that he only received a single offer for Maroon, and that it came just five minutes before the deadline. The New Jersey Devils acquired Maroon for a 2019 third-round pick and the rights to J.D. Dudek, a role player with Boston College who is likely to return for his senior season. That Maroon didn’t create much interest is likely due to the belief that his offensive outburst last season is tied directly to Connor McDavid, after the big winger scored 27 goals, the first time he’d totaled more than 12 in a single season.
  • Josh Anderson was injured last night after Dmitry Orlov delivered a hip check in the Columbus-Washington game, and according to Aaron Portzline of The Athletic is awaiting the results of further tests to determine how long he’ll be out. Anderson is an extremely versatile forward and an important part of the Blue Jackets’ attack. How long he’s out for could dramatically impact the playoff race in the Eastern Conference, where Columbus currently sits in the second wildcard position. With four teams within seven points of the Blue Jackets (including the Florida Panthers who hold four games in hand), they’ll need someone to immediately step up and fill Anderson’s shoes if he is out for any length of time.

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