Metropolitan Notes: Carlsson, Cammarata, Lundqvist
The Columbus Blue Jackets have assigned Gabriel Carlsson to the Cleveland Monsters, bringing him over from the Sweden earlier than expected. The 2015 first-round selection is expected to join the Monsters this weekend and play on Saturday against the Chicago Wolves. The defenseman signed his entry-level contract last summer.
20-years old, Carlsson has the makings of an excellent shutdown defender in the NHL. His size, skating and positioning are all good enough for him to make an impact in professional hockey already, as he has in Sweden for the past two and a half years. In 40 games for Linkopings this season, he recorded four points and generally established himself as a presence in the defensive zone. With the Blue Jackets’ depth on defense, Carlsson will likely be given time to adjust and develop in the AHL next season, but will be pushing for a call-up before long.
- The New York Islanders have signed Taylor Cammarata to an amateur tryout with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers after his season at the University of Minnesota. A former third-round pick of the Isles, Cammarata never did replicate the outstanding scoring pace he found in the USHL, often out-muscled by bigger players in the college ranks. While he still possesses excellent skill, his 5’7″ 150-lbs frame is holding him back from making the most of it. He’ll try to show that he can be a difference maker in the AHL and try to secure an entry-level contract down the road.
- Henrik Lundqvist will apparently play four out of the five remaining games for the New York Rangers, only getting a break in one of the back-to-back matchups to end the season next weekend. Since hitting rock bottom by allowing seven goals on 27 shots to the Dallas Stars on January 17th, Lundqvist has turned his season around and shown that he can still be an elite goaltender in this league. With a 12-6-2 record and .922 save percentage in the 21 games since then, he’s ready for another long playoff run for the Rangers. He’ll likely face the Montreal Canadiens in the first round, a team he has struggled with in his career. Holding a 12-17-3 record and .898 save percentage against the Habs all-time, he’ll have to improve on those numbers if the Rangers want to advance to the second round.
Eric Fehr Expected To Miss Remainder Of Regular Season
Though he got into his first game with the Maple Leafs last night, Eric Fehr‘s stint on the fourth line is already over. Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun is reporting that Fehr spent the night in a hospital after breaking his hand in last night’s game. With the season only lasting another two and a half weeks, it would be hard to see Fehr make it back before the playoffs.
Traded from the Pittsburgh Penguins at the deadline, Fehr brought a physical component against the Columbus Blue Jackets, throwing big hits—that were sometimes from behind—all throughout the first period. The fourth line for the Maple Leafs has seen wingers suffer an injury in back to back games, as Nikita Soshnikov went down against the Boston Bruins.
Fehr isn’t the only player the Maple Leafs may lose, as Roman Polak will receive a disciplinary hearing today for his hit on Oliver Bjorkstrand that earned him a five minute major—which turned into almost seven minutes of shorthanded time—and a game misconduct. The Maple Leafs will likely have Josh Leivo and Alexey Marchenko back into the lineup for tonight’s game should both veterans be out.
Morning Notes: Draft, RFAs, Galchenyuk
Craig Button of TSN updated his rankings for the NHL Entry Draft, and there is big movement among the first round. After Timothy Liljegren has remained in the conversation for top-3 for so long, Button has now dropped him to eighth, as he struggles to find ice time in Sweden. Martin Necas slides into the spot following Nolan Patrick and Nico Hischier, as Button compares the Czech center to a young Claude Giroux.
Cale Makar from the AJHL has made his way into the top five, an impressive feat for someone playing in a “lesser league”. Button doesn’t consider this a problem, as he is focused on evaluating where they will be at the next level, not their current competition. Makar has 75 points in 54 games as a defenseman, and has received many comparisons to Erik Karlsson in the way that he handles the puck.
- Columbus extended three restricted free agents yesterday when they inked Markus Hannikainen, Lukas Sedlak and Scott Harrington to two-year deals. The team still has three RFAs left for this summer, and according to Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch the Blue Jackets aren’t worried about signing them. Alexander Wennberg, Josh Anderson and Joonas Korpisalo all require new deals, and the Jackets are going to be tight on money once again. Depending on who is taken at the expansion draft, they may have to consider some sort of salary dump—like Scott Hartnell, who will be scratched tonight in favor of Sedlak—in order to keep their cap structure in tact.
- The Montreal Canadiens experienced a heartbreaking loss last night to one of the worst teams in the conference when they fell 2-1 in overtime to the Detroit Red Wings. Again their expected top line of Max Pacioretty, Alex Galchenyuk and Alexander Radulov was broken up in the third period, something that has become far too common. Eric Engels of Sportsnet writes about how Galchenyuk in particular had a rough night, and doesn’t seem to mesh well with Radulov in terms of play style. The young forward had a breakout 30-goal campaign last season, but has struggled all year with his consistency and defensive play. With just nine games remaining until the playoffs, most first-place teams don’t have the kind of doubt Montreal is feeling with their #1 centerman.
Columbus Blue Jackets Sign Sedlak, Hannikainen, Harrington To Two-Year Deals
The Columbus Blue Jackets have locked up three pending restricted free agents today, signing Lukas Sedlak, Markus Hannikainen and Scott Harrington to one-way, two-year contract extensions. Sedlak and Harrington will carry a $825K cap hit ($800K in 2017-18 and $850K in 2018-19) while Hannikainen will have a $675K cap charge ($650K next season and $700K in 2018-19).
Sedlak, 24, is the only one of the three who would qualify to fill the expansion draft’s 70/40 requirement with his 56 games played this season. The rookie has scored 13 points during those games, mostly centering the fourth line and contributing on the penalty kill. Selected in the sixth round of the 2011 draft, the Czech forward spent three seasons developing his defensive game in the AHL before earning a roster spot this year. That included a Calder Cup win last season, as he led the Lake Erie Monsters with 16 playoff points (tied with Oliver Bjorkstrand).
Hannikainen, 23, started his North American career last season after exploding onto the scene in Finland in 2014-15. After going undrafted in the NHL, Hannikainen suddenly put up 46 points in 60 games for Jyvaskyla and was signed soon after the season by the Blue Jackets. Though he didn’t have quite the same impact last year in the AHL, he has had a solid year for the Monsters this season with 24 points in 43 games. In ten games with the Blue Jackets this year, he’s recorded two points.
Since being picked by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round of the 2011 draft, Harrington has had his name in the news quite a bit. He was part of the trade that saw Phil Kessel leave Toronto for the Penguins, before ultimately being traded for Kerby Rychel last summer. With only 41 NHL contests under his belt, it’s surprising he received a one-way deal especially with the strength of the Blue Jackets on defense. He’ll have to prove that at 24 he still has some upside as an NHL player, and try to lock down a spot on the roster for next season.
Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch was first to report the signings on Twitter and the first to give us the details of each contract.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Metro Notes: Blue Jackets, Penguins, Rowney
The Columbus Blue Jackets surprisingly strong season put them in the rare position of deadline buyer earlier this month as the team added forward Lauri Korpikoski and blue liner Kyle Quincey, shoring up the club’s depth down the stretch. This newfound depth, while a good thing, has nonetheless forced head coach John Tortorella into making some tough lineup decisions now that the Jackets are again healthy, writes Aaron Portzline of The Columbus Dispatch. Korpikoski, acquired from Dallas for young defenseman Dillon Heatherington, was a recent casualty of that depth, as he was made a healthy scratch for the team’s 2 – 1 win over Florida Thursday night.
“I’ll continue to make my call during the game as far as who’s going and who’s not,” Tortorella said. “That will determine ice time. And then from game to game we will make a determination as to who will play. I don’t know what else to say about it, except it’s a good problem to have when you starting getting your players back healthy.”
Given the situation, it might make sense for Tortorella to take the opportunity to rest some of his veterans down the stretch but according to Portzline, that isn’t something the veteran bench boss has “even considered.” Instead, Torts will let it ride with 14 healthy forwards and use individual player performances dictate who plays and who doesn’t.
Elsewhere in the Metro Division:
- Five teams – Boston, Montreal, Florida, the New York Islanders and St. Louis – have made changes behind the bench at some point during the 2016-17 season and several Penguins players feel it’s in direct correlation to the success Pittsburgh experienced last year after replacing Mike Johnston with Mike Sullivan. But as Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes, in-season coaching changes are nothing new in the NHL. As Mackey adds, there have been 39 bench bosses replaced during the season since the 2006-07 campaign; a figure which is tops among the four major North American sports. While firing the head coach is not a recent trend in the league, it should be noted that four of the five clubs who have done so in 2016-17 are currently in contention for a playoff spot, suggesting the changes have in fact benefited the teams that made them.
- In a separate piece for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Mackey writes about how the Penguins depth has helped the team survive a bevy of injuries to key regulars. At some point this season, Pittsburgh has been without the services of Kris Letang, Trevor Daley, Evgeni Malkin, Patric Hornqvist and Carl Hagelin, among others for significant stretches but the Penguins have kept right on rolling. But GM Jim Rutherford, never one to shy away from making a deal to help his club, added blue liners Ron Hainsey and Mark Streit to bolster the defense corps while the club has relied primarily on AHL call-ups to fortify the forward ranks. One veteran minor leaguer, 27-year-old Carter Rowney, has filled in admirably when called upon this season. He tallied his first NHL goal and multi-point game in Pittsburgh’s victory over New Jersey last night. Last season, the Penguins received strong efforts from Tom Kuhnhackl, Bryan Rust and Conor Sheary, all of whom began the year in the minors, on their way to a Stanley Cup championship. It’s questionable whether Rowney will have that same level of impact on Pittsburgh’s fortunes this postseason but in a short sample he has proven he can at least serve as much needed depth.
Casey Cizikas Activated From Injured Reserve
The New York Islanders are getting a key member of their team back. Casey Cizikas has been activated from injured reserve ahead of their Saturday night matchup against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The team will play an afternoon game in New York before taking a three day break and recharging for the rest of the playoff run. Currently one point behind the Maple Leafs for the final wildcard position, the Islanders desperately needed some good news on the health front. 
Cizikas has been out almost a month with an upper-body injury, leaving the February 21st game against the Detroit Red Wings after just seven minutes of ice time. After several years centering the league’s best fourth line between Cal Clutterbuck and Matt Martin, Cizikas has been used all throughout the Islanders lineup this season as they’ve dealt with injuries and players leaving in free agency. With 23 points in 53 games, he was well on track to shatter his previous career high of 29 points and looked like he was developing into a solid secondary scoring option.
With the emergence of Josh Ho-Sang as a legitimate option in the Islanders’ top-six, it’s unclear who will come out of the lineup should Cizikas play tomorrow. Anthony Beauvillier and Alan Quine are both options or head coach Doug Weight could sit an under-performer like Nikolai Kulemin and move one of those two to the wing. At any rate, getting Cizikas back into the lineup is a big boost for the team as they look to make it back to the playoffs after a dreadful start to the season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Snapshots: Playoff Format, Sedlak, Lightning
If you’re an Atlantic Division team looking at the current playoff seeding, why would you want to go after the division crown? That’s what Pierre LeBrun wonders in his latest column for TSN. The top Atlantic team will have to face one—most likely the New York Rangers—of the four dominant Metropolitan teams, all of which have more points than the currently leading Montreal Canadiens. That system may need some tweaking argues LeBrun, who suggests going back to the straight divisional playoffs that brewed long-standing rivalries.
For what it’s worth, it doesn’t seem like the GMs have much interest in changing the format, with one telling LeBrun “it’s all cyclical. Some years some divisions are stronger.” It may not even matter, as Montreal has dominated the Rangers this season. With a 3-0 record, they are likely looking forward to a first round matchup.
- The Columbus Blue Jackets have activated Lukas Sedlak from injured reserve today, as he has healed completely from the oblique strain that’s kept him out for a month. The 23-year old has 12 points in 55 games this season, his first in the NHL. Never much of an offensive player, Sedlak prides himself on his defensive and faceoff success and the analytics show it. The young centerman has been an elite shot suppressor in his first season, exactly what you want from a fourth-line player.
- The Tampa Bay Lightning will look to Brayden Point to lead their team again tonight as Tyler Johnson, Vladislav Namestnikov and Cedric Paquette remain out. Byron Froese was recalled earlier today and will figure into a lineup that was already missing Steven Stamkos, Valtteri Filppula and Brian Boyle from the start of the year. Point will have to get by a former teammate in Morgan Rielly, who he played as a 15-year old for the Moose Jaw Warriors of the WHL.
Columbus Blue Jackets Sign Samuel Vigneault
According to Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports, the Columbus Blue Jackets have gotten off to an early start Thursday morning. The team has signed college free agent Samuel Vigneault to a two-year entry-level contract. The 6’5″ center played at Clarkson University for the past three seasons, scoring 36 points in 39 games this year.
Vigneault (who has no relation to New York Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault) is a big, playmaking center that always looks for his teammates first, and can work the half wall on the powerplay. Even at 200-lbs, he hasn’t really filled out yet and should put on weight as he matures. With it, his physical game should improve, though he can already use solid body positioning to protect the puck.
Like many college-aged prospects, Vigneault has trouble staying consistent in his own end. He can get caught flat-footed and doesn’t have the instant acceleration of some of the other top prospects. The good thing though, is that he is usually playing with the puck at the other end of the rink, finding open teammates all over the ice.
The deal will most likely begin in 2017-18, and Vigneault may report to Cleveland on an amateur tryout for the rest of this season. If he does, he’d be joining a team in the thick of a playoff race as last year’s Calder Cup champions currently sit five points back of the Iowa Wild. With just eight games remaining, it will be tough for them to jump into the postseason this year.
The Best Deal Of The Offseason: Brad Marchand
When you think back on any signing season, your mind immediately goes to the big deals handed out to free agents. This season saw over $600MM dollars handed out on the first day of free agency, and was followed by a lucrative summer for tons of players. Because of the lack of a superstar name—thanks Steven, you couldn’t just wait another couple of days?—second-tier all-stars were given incredibly lucrative contracts. Recently, our Zach Leach took a look back at July 1st and the mistakes teams made, handing out term and money to players who were perhaps already over the hill.
But this offseason’s best deal may not have come until much later in the summer. In fact it didn’t happen in the summer at all, but on September 26th just a few weeks before the Boston Bruins would start their season. The Bruins were getting ready for their preseason debut against the Columbus Blue Jackets—a game they would lose in a shootout—while two thirds of their top line was prepping for the World Cup of Hockey final in Toronto.
It was that morning of the 26th that Bob McKenzie of TSN would report that the Bruins had completed a contract extension with Brad Marchand that would see him stay in Boston for another eight years. He would be paid $6.125MM each season with several different clauses attached. Even though he was starring at the World Cup alongside Sidney Crosby—and would score the tournament winning goal just a few days later, shorthanded with 44 seconds left—many people thought the deal was a huge overpay. In fact, the replies to McKenzie’s tweet are mixed at best, with it being hard to understand the value Marchand brought to the Bruins.
Snapshots: Avalanche, Stone, Foligno, Namestnikov
News and notes from around the NHL this evening:
- The Colorado Avalanche announced that they’ve recalled defenseman Anton Lindholm from the AHL San Antonio Rampage. The Swedish prospect is playing in his first season outside of Sweden and has 2G and 10A in 59 games. Lindholm was drafted 144th overall in 2014, and with the Avalanche firmly out of a playoff spot, now is the time to see what the team’s prospects have to offer at the NHL level.
- The Calgary Flames received some good news regarding defenseman Michael Stone. Sportsnet Fan 960’s Pat Steinberg reports that Flames GM Brad Treliving told reporters that Stone’s upper-body injury is not going to be as long as it could’ve have been. Stone has excelled in Calgary since being traded from the Arizona Coyotes. He has 1G and 3A in 8 games, outpacing his 1G and 8A through 45 games in Arizona.
- Columbus Blue Jackets forward and captain Nick Foligno will not play tonight against the Philadelphia Flyers, reports Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch. Foligno is ill and did not practice this morning either. Foligno has 24G and 23A in 65 games this season for the surprising Blue Jackets, who sit just three points out of first place in the NHL. Foligno is not the only prominent Blue Jacket missing tonights game. Defenseman Ryan Murray broke his hand and will miss 4-6 weeks.
- The Tampa Bay Lightning will have forward Vladislav Namestnikov back in the lineup tonight against the New York Rangers, reports Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times. Namestnikov hurt his leg Thursday against the Minnesota Wild, but escaped serious injury. The Russian first round draft pick has 9G and 15A in 62 games for the Lightning, and will help close the gap on a playoff berth. The team is only three points out of the second wild card slot in the East.