Snapshots: Harding, Expansion Rules, Saad
Josh Harding knows exactly what Bryan Bickell is going through.
The retired 32-year-old goaltender was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) back in 2012 during the last lockout. Harding told ESPN‘s Scott Burnside that he considered keeping his diagnosis private, but didn’t because he have to take time away from the game for treatment, and he felt that going public would do some good. Harding says having MS is nothing to be ashamed of.
Harding returned to the NHL that season, playing five regular season games and five playoff games. He won the Masterton Trophy for dedication to hockey. He played 29 games the next season, posting a remarkable 0.933 SV% and a 1.65 GAA. Unfortunately, that was the end of his hockey career. As Harding told Burnside, “when the doctors say enough’s enough, you kind of have to listen to them.”
Now that Bickell has been diagnosed with MS, he and Harding have been in contact about their awful common illness. Harding has told Bickell what treatments worked for him and shared strategies for dealing with the incurable disease. However, Harding can’t tell him for sure that he’ll play in the NHL again. He told Burnside that “if there was a blueprint for what you have to do, I really think I’d still be in the league.”
While Harding was only able to play for 39 more games after his diagnosis, he says he’s rooting for Bickell and hopes that his experience with the disease will be different than Harding’s. Harding says he’s at peace with his career path, and enjoys spending time with his two children as well as helping coach a local high school team.
Another former goalie with MS, Jordan Sigalet plans to be in touch with Bickell to offer their support.
- There has been much talk about expansion at the NHL GM meetings. The rules for which players need to be protected have been finalized, and the GMs are receiving guidelines about all possible ways of circumventing the rules and why they’re not allowed. Some GMs are concerned about the exclusive free agency window, where Las Vegas GM George McPhee will be able to meet with pending free agents. Could the something Knights make a handshake deal with a free agent to sign on July 1, but not sign them then in order to select another player from that team? No. Can other teams make “wink, nudge” deals with McPhee to not select a certain player? No. All trades will have to be done through a trade call to the NHL and documented. The penalties for trying to circumvent the rules are going to be stiff, possibly a first round pick. As Devils GM Ray Shero pointed out to Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston, all deals will have “pass the smell test with the league.”
- In his weekly “30 Thoughts“, Elliotte Friedman wondered if the Blue Jackets would be interested in parting ways with Brandon Saad. Columbus acquired him from the Chicago Blackhawks in June of 2015 and promptly signed him to a six-year, $36MM contract. Saad has been a solid performer for the Blue Jackets, but the cap-strapped team may want to move his $6MM salary. There appears to be some disconnect between Saad and the club, as he’s fifth in both team scoring and ice-time, but was almost a healthy scratch last week. Friedman reported the Blackhawks looked into re-acquiring Saad last season, but couldn’t make it work. The Blackhawks could certainly use Saad back, with his chemistry with Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa on the downswing. It’s not clear how they could make it work salary-wise, though. There’s always a market for a 30-goal scorer, especially one who is just 24.
Morning Snapshots: Sabres, Dubinsky, Bruins
News and notes from around the NHL this morning:
- The Buffalo Sabres have called up defenseman Justin Falk from Rochester this morning to help replace both Dmitry Kulikov and Josh Gorges, reports John Vogl of the Buffalo News here and here. Defenseman Kulikov missed Thursday’s practice with an undisclosed ailment, but the hope was that he would be able to play in tonight’s game versus the New Jersey Devils. It is unclear whether Gorges is out or just skipping the morning skate, but his absence is sorely missed as he and Rasmus Ristolainen make up the Sabres’ top defensive pairing. Call-up Justin Falk currently has no points in 9 games for the Rochester Americans.
- Brandon Dubinsky may be ready to play, reports the Columbus Dispatch’s Aaron Portzline, as the Columbus Blue Jackets reassign forwards Sonny Milano and Markus Hannikainen back down to Cleveland. Dubinsky missed the last two games with injury but looks to return to the lineup tomorrow against the St. Louis Blues. Milano is pointless in two games with the Blue Jackets so far, and Hannikainen, while called up, did not see any ice time last night against the Boston Bruins.
- The Bruins have recalled center Sean Kuraly from Providence, reports Mirk Divver of the Providence Journal. Kuraly played one game for the Bruins so far—November 3rd against Tampa—but did not register a point in his seven minutes of ice time. Kuraly currently has two assists for the Providence Bruins. He’ll act as reinforcement as the Bruins embark on a three-game Western road trip.
Snapshots: Dubinsky, Kovalchuk, Lightning
News and notes from around the NHL this evening:
- The Columbus Blue Jackets will be without forward Brandon Dubinsky tonight against the Boston Bruins, reports Fox Sports Ohio’s Dave Maetzgold. Dubinsky is still day-to-day with a lower body injury—first reported by Columbus Dispatch’s Aaron Portzline—that forced him to miss Wednesday’s game against the Anaheim Ducks. The American center has struggled out of the gate, posting 0G and 2A in 10 games for the Blue Jackets. The Jackets, meanwhile, have called up Markus Hannikainen from the Cleveland Monsters to replace Dubinsky in the lineup. The 23 year-old has 4G and 3A in 11 games for the Cleveland Monsters to start the season.
- The Ilya Kovalchuk to the NHL rumors are heating up again. PHR first reported last week that Kovalchuk was mulling a return to the NHL, and the Russian confirmed that in a lengthy interview on the KHL website (link in Russian). Kovalchuk basically states that he would not foreclose the option to return, but he did not affirmatively state that he is seeking a return. Because Kovalchuk is in his final contract year, however, his statements could just be posturing to get a larger contract from SKA St. Petersburg or another KHL team. Kovalchuk is off to a great start this season, scoring 16G and 20A in 28 games, and may look to parlay that into a lucrative contract—KHL or elsewhere.
- The Tampa Bay Lightning have scratched Nikita Nesterov tonight to make room for Valtteri Filppula against the New York Islanders tonight, reports Tampa Bay Lightning beat writer Bryan Burns. Nesterov is currently pointless in ten games for Tampa Bay, while Filppula has 4G and 5A in 12 games. Also missing from warmups is Jonathan Drouin, who suffered a head injury against the same Islanders on November 1st.
Snapshots: Larsson, Sabres, Minor Moves
It was one of the most controversial moves of the summer, but so far the Adam Larsson–Taylor Hall trade isn’t looking as bad as many in Edmonton expected, writes David Staples of the Edmonton Journal.
Staples notes Devils GM Ray Shero is one of the strongest proponents of the trade, and why wouldn’t he be? His Devils are in a playoff spot and Hall is tied for the Devils scoring lead. But he also believes the Oilers got what they needed, according to Kevin Allen of USA Today.
“The Oilers have taken a lot of grief over this, but has anybody sat down and watched Larsson? He’s actually pretty good.”
Shero pointed to Edmonton’s desperate need for a good, young defenseman to go with their young offensive forwards, while the Devils desperately needed an offensive catalyst like Hall.
“You have to make a team, and that is challenging in a salary cap world… They are off to a great start this season. That says something.”
Staples take on the trade is that he likes Larsson’s game, but doesn’t love it yet. He’s had the occasional struggle, but he’s also playing incredibly tough minutes with a skilled but inexperienced parter in Oscar Klefbom. Staples gives the trade a passing grade, with the note that Hall is clearly the better player but the Oilers got what they needed.
- Meanwhile, only one defense core in the NHL has yet to score a goal this season. Despite having weapons like Rasmus Ristolainen and Cody Franson, none of the Buffalo Sabres defensemen have scored. They have contributed 14 assists, however eight of those belong to Ristolainen. Franson told Bill Hoppe that he couldn’t “care less if I scored one goal in a season,” saying he prefers to get assists. Coach Dan Bylsma isn’t concerned with the lack of production, but would like his defensemen to be more aggressive.
- The Columbus Blue Jackets have recalled LW Markus Hannikainen from the Cleveland Monsters. The undrafted Hannikainen has seven points in 11 games for the Monsters so far.
- The Philadelphia Flyers have recalled LW Roman Lyubimov from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. He was sent down to the AHL on Wednesday; Sam Carchidi reported it was simply a paper transaction made for salary cap reasons. Lyubimov has one goal in 11 NHL games so far this season. Carchidi also noted that it appears Chris Vande Velde will be a healthy scratch, despite scoring twice in the last four games.
- Rookie center Noel Acciari did not take part in Boston Bruins practice on Thursday morning, according to Joe Haggerty. He hasn’t skated since suffering a lower-body injury on Monday night versus the Sabres.
Garrioch’s Latest: De Haan, Johnson, Sharks Goalies
Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun posted his latest Insider Trading column over the weekend. Here are some of the highlights that pertain to trade rumblings from around the NHL:
- Not only are the Islanders shopping goaltender Jaroslav Halak, they’re also looking to deal defenseman Calvin de Haan. The 25 year old has become a quality second pairing stay-at-home defender for the Isles while logging at least 19 minutes per game over each of the last three seasons. One potential reason for him hitting the block is his back-loaded contract. De Haan is in the final year of a three year deal that has a cap hit just under $2MM but a salary of $2.9MM. As a result, his qualifying offer in June must be $2.9MM which may be more than the team is willing to pay.
- The Blue Jackets are looking to clear some salary and while they haven’t been able to find a taker for Scott Hartnell, it’s also believed that they would be interested in dealing blueliner Jack Johnson. The 29 year old is in his sixth season with the team after being acquired from Los Angeles as part of the Jeff Carter trade. While he has put up a 40 point season in Columbus, his scoring has tailed off since then while his ice time is also down this year. He carries a cap hit of just over $4.35MM for this season and next which could limit his suitors unless the Jackets are willing to take a comparable contract back.
- The Sharks have been looking around the league for a backup goaltender but have not had any luck so far. San Jose is currently running with 27 year old rookie Aaron Dell but have given him just one start so far this season. Starting netminder Martin Jones only has 110 career regular season games under his belt so on the surface, a veteran backup would appear to be something that the Sharks could certainly benefit from. However, they have less than $11K in cap space at the moment so any deal would have to send some salary out the other way. Garrioch suggests that forwards Tommy Wingels and Matt Nieto could both be had.
Seth Jones Out Three Weeks With Broken Foot
Some terrible news came down from the Columbus Blue Jackets today, as they announced that Seth Jones will miss at least three weeks with a hairline fracture in his foot. Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch provides some graphic notes on how the injury occurred in a series of tweets, saying that Patrik Berglund‘s skate cut through the laces and tongue of Jones’ boot to fracture his foot.
Jones came over from the Nashville Predators last season and made an immediate impact on their top defensive unit. Paired with uber-rookie Zach Werenski this season, Jones has six points in ten games and is logging over 24 minutes of ice-time a night.
Luckily, the team has other effective defensemen to take his place, though obviously he’ll be missed. Ryan Murray and Jack Johnson, currently the second pair, will likely be asked to take on a greater responsibility while David Savard probably moves up to Werenski’s right side. Columbus next plays Anaheim on Wednesday night, in the first game at home since the 10-0 shellacking of the Montreal Canadiens.
Vancouver Canucks Recall Michael Chaput From AHL
After suffering a shoulder injury during the out-of-control match against the Maple Leafs on Saturday, Jannik Hansen has been placed on injured reserve by the Vancouver Canucks. To replace him the team has brought up Michael Chaput from Utica of the AHL, according to Dan Murphy of Sportsnet.
Hansen was one of the key cast members in the brawls on Saturday night, first being the target of a devastating open-ice hit, and then attacking Nazem Kadri after his blind-side check on Daniel Sedin. Hansen was thrown out of the match (along with several other players) and is now clearly out for a while with the shoulder injury. No word on whether or not it happened on the hit or the fight, though a combination of both would be the most likely explanation.
Chaput, a free agent signing this summer, had played his entire career for the Columbus Blue Jackets. In 58 career NHL games, the former third-round pick has just eight points, though he has found more success at the AHL level. Clearly not an answer for Hansen’s production this season, Chaput will likely figure into the bottom-six with one of the youngsters moving up to the Sedin line.
For the Canucks, it’s just another setback in what has been a very disappointing season so far. The franchise is reeling, without a clear direction to point its fans or players. They’ll take on the similarly struggling Islanders tonight in New York.
Atlantic Notes: Canadiens, Senators, Lightning, Red Wings
How are the top four teams in the Atlantic Division really doing? There have been some surprises like Montreal’s red-hot start doused by a 10-0 drubbing at the hands of the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Ottawa Senators have played great defensively. And the Detroit Red Wings will need a lot more effort wise should they want to make a 26th consecutive playoff appearance. For now, let’s take a closer look at the top four teams in the division.
- Montreal Canadiens (9-1-1; 19 points; 1st place)
The Habs have benefitted from the return of Carey Price, who has been sparkling between the pipes, registering a 6-0 record, a .964 save percentage, and a goalie point share of 2.3. Al Montoya was fine through Friday night until he surrendered 10 goals in a ghastly game against Columbus. Shea Weber has also been a bright spot, making Marc Bergevin look smart early after the blockbuster trade netted him for P.K. Subban. Weber has ten points (4-6) in 11 games, and leads the Habs in average ice time, logging nearly 26 minutes per night.
- Ottawa Senators (7-3-0; 14 points; 2nd place)
The Sens have looked strong early, riding a three game winning streak through Friday despite playing a brutal game of musical chairs in net. Craig Anderson has been tending to his wife during a health concern and has been in and out Ottawa, understandably. Andrew Hammond suffered a lower body injury that will keep him out for at least a week. Despite this, the Sens have charged on, and contribution from Erik Karlsson, Kyle Turris, and Ryan Dzingel have helped. Though some think they’ll come back to earth, Guy Boucher has done well early on.
- Tampa Bay Lightning (6-4-1; 13 points; 3rd place)
The Bolts have scored a lot of goals–but they’ve also been fishing the puck out of the net. After jumping out to a 5-1 start, the Lightning have gone 1-3-1 since and suffered from Ben Bishop looking very human with a pedestrian .891 save percentage. Though some of this can be chalked up to struggles and on the blue line, Bishop is in a contract year and isn’t doing enough to help himself–or the Bolts should they look to deal him away instead of losing him for nothing. Steven Stamkos continues to be dominant, putting up 13 points (7-6), while Nikita Kucherov is tied with him (3-10).
- Detroit Red Wings (6-5-1; 13 points; 4th place)
Sure, they’re fourth, but the Red Wings record is probably the weakest of the any team in the Atlantic. The Bruins have two games in hand, and are only a point behind while the Leafs and Panthers are two points behind, with a game in hand. The Sabres, last in the division, are only three points out of the Wings’ spot. Thomas Vanek was a bright spot until a hip injury sidelined him for 2-3 weeks, but the defense has been abysmal. Worse, the Red Wings are coughing up leads in the third period. Personnel decisions have been questionable, too. The deployment of the OMG line–Steve Ott, Drew Miller and Luke Glendening–has been lampooned by many while younger players, such as Andreas Athanasiou, continue to get limited ice time. The Red Wings can’t afford to sit back should they want to make another playoff appearance. The division–and conference–are much better.
Snapshots: Howard, Blue Jackets, Clutterbuck
Over the last few seasons, there has been much talk about the Detroit Red Wings’ goaltending situation.
Petr Mrazek, the club’s fifth-round pick in 2010, has been developing into a solid starting goalie, while 32-year-old Jimmy Howard‘s play has been below league-average since 2012-13. But while this season marks the first in which Mrazek has made over $1MM (he signed a two-year, $8MM contract in July), Howard has been making a shade under $5.3MM since 2013-14, the year after his numbers began to slide. Howard has an additional two seasons remaining on his contract.
The Red Wings have been trying to trade Howard for a while now, but have obviously been unable to find any suitors thanks to his cap hit. But as of right now, Red Wings GM Ken Holland may be glad about that. Howard has only allowed 3 goals in 4 appearances this season, with a 2-1-0 record and league-highs in GAA and SV% (0.86 and 0.974, respectively). Meanwhile expected starter Mrazek is 4-4-1 with a 0.904 SV% and a GAA over 3. Mrazek has lost three in a row, and Howard will be starting on Sunday versus the West-leading Edmonton Oilers.
It’s still early in the season, but Howard has helped keep the Red Wings in playoff contention; they’re currently in the first wildcard position in the Eastern Conference. Detroit will need Howard to keep up his stellar play if they want to avoid missing the playoffs for the first time since 1989-90.
- The Blue Jackets laid a 10-0 beating on the NHL-leading Canadiens Friday night, the first game with a 10-goal differential since 2002-03. On January 11, the Washington Capitals beat the visiting Florida Panthers by a score of 12-2. Then-Capitals forward Jaromir Jagr scored a hat-trick and added 4 assists against his future team. There are only two other players from that game still active in the NHL: Jay Bouwmeester and Roberto Luongo.
- It was the first 10-0 shutout win since 1996, when Trevor Kidd and the Calgary Flames shut out the Tampa Bay Lightning.
- Finally, John Tavares will have a new line-mate when his Islanders host the Oilers. Gritty forward Cal Clutterbuck will get a chance to play with his captain on the first line, alongside Josh Bailey. It’s a curious choice, seeing as Clutterbuck has only 1 goal and 5 points this season, and his career high of 34-points came back in 2010-11. It’s still more than big-name free-agent signing Andrew Ladd, who has only 1 assist so far. The Islanders have lost four of five, but hope to bounce back against the Oilers, who have dropped three in a row. Speaking of blowouts and the Islanders hosting the Oilers, Edmonton’s previous visit to Brooklyn was an ugly 8-1 win for the home side.
Rookie Notes: Laine, Werenski, Marner
After writing yesterday about the incredible group of teenagers that inhabit the NHL right now, they continued to show why they deserve to have ink spilled every night about them. Patrik Laine, playing in his 12th NHL game scored his seventh goal (while seemingly practicing his golf game) which is the fastest since it took Evgeni Malkin just six games in 2006. The Finnish sniper now has 9 points in those 12 games, and is showing why he was drafted so high.
The Jets are obviously pretty high on Laine, as he’s averaging over 19 minutes a night which leads all rookie forwards this season. As fans watch him play, they must be reminded of another Finnish scoring winger that made an impact as a rookie once upon a time – Teemu Selanne‘s amazing rookie season started with 11 goals in his first 12 games, and ended with 76.
- The idea that defensemen take longer to develop than forwards is being thrown out the window in Columbus, as Zach Werenski continues to dominate in his rookie season. The Blue Jackets are currently tearing the Montreal Canadiens apart (8-0 as this article is written), and Werenski is a big part of it. Though he has just one assist tonight, he’s also the quarterback of an effective powerplay that has gone 4/5 in the game. This 19-year old blueliner was drafted eighth overall in 2015 and is providing huge dividends already for the Blue Jackets; they’ll be 5-3-1 after tonight, with Werenski scoring (at least) nine points.
- Though Mitch Marner wasn’t included in the original post, he probably should have been. His start with the Maple Leafs has been overshadowed slightly by Auston Matthews, but the former fourth-overall pick has played extremely well in his own right. Two goals last night led the Maple Leafs to victory in Buffalo, a place they’ve had trouble winning in for years. Though Marner now has eight points in eleven contests, it’s his defensive play that is repeatedly mentioned by head coach Mike Babcock. The diminutive winger has nine blocked shots on the season, which leads all Toronto forwards.