Injury Notes: Nash, Nash, Glendening, Muzzin, Johansson, Smith, Dvorak
The Boston Bruins continue to get healthier as NBC Sports’ Joe Haggerty reports that Rick Nash could play as early as Sunday, although the team may also wait for their first playoff game next week. Nash has missed 10 straight games with what was listed as a upper-body injury. However, Nash confirmed to Haggerty that he has been dealing with a concussion and is starting to feel better.
The 33-year-old was a key trade deadline acquisition for Boston, but has only appeared in 11 games so far for the Bruins. He has three goals and three assists in that span and has a total of 21 goals this season between the Bruins and New York Rangers.
The Bruins also announced that Riley Nash is out for the weekend. The Bruins forward took a puck to the head last week and required 40 stitches inside and outside of his ear to repair the damage. He has missed three straight games while having a breakout season. The 28-year-old has 15 goals and 26 assists this year, both career highs. No word if he will be available for the playoffs next week.
- MLive’s Ansar Khan reports that although Detroit Red Wings forward Luke Glendening was originally believed to be out for the season, the forward will be active for tonight’s season finale. Out with an upper-body injury, he missed one game after being forced to leave Tuesday’s game against Columbus during the second period.
- Fox Sports’ Jon Rosen reports that Los Angeles Kings defenseman Jake Muzzin is skating, although he will not play in tonight’s regular season finale. The 29-year-old blueliner has missed four games with an upper-body injury. Rosen adds that head coach John Stevens wouldn’t say for sure whether Muzzin would be ready to play for the first game of the playoffs next week.
- Tom Gulitti of NHL.com tweets that forward Marcus Johansson is close to being ready to return to the ice, but still isn’t 100 percent. The 27-year-old winger has not played since Jan. 23 with a concussion, but could be ready for the playoffs next week if all goes well. After a 24-goal season a year ago with the Washington Capitals, Johansson has managed to appear in just 29 games this year, putting up just five goals. A healthy Johansson could be a big boost to the Devils.
- The Vegas Golden Knights announced that center Reilly Smith will be a game-time decision for tonight’s game against the Calgary Flames. Smith, who has been out with an upper-body injury has missed 15 straight games. If he plays, the team’s first-line center might just be looking to get some work in before the playoffs start.
- Arizona Coyotes’ Dave Vest reports that forward Christian Dvorak, who has missed the last three games with a lower-body injury, will not play in tonight’s regular-season finale. He finishes his season with 15 goals and 37 points.
Black Monday: The Day The Coaches (Could) Disappear
The NHL looks like it will finish an entire season without seeing a single coach fired for the first time since expansion in 1967, but there could be a dark lining on that stat coming next week. “Black Monday” as it is being termed could be coming after the final game of the regular season this Sunday, with close to a dozen coaches finding themselves on the hot seat.
In last night’s Insider Trading segment on TSN, Bob McKenzie broke down a list of potential firings that looked like this:
Glen Gulutzan, Calgary Flames
Bill Peters, Carolina Hurricanes
Joel Quenneville, Chicago Blackhawks
Jeff Blashill, Detroit Red Wings
Todd McLellan, Edmonton Oilers
Doug Weight, New York Islanders
Alain Vigneault, New York Rangers
Guy Boucher, Ottawa Senators
Barry Trotz, Washington Capitals
Some of these names simply don’t have a contract for next season, including Trotz, who also happens to be the only coach on the list heading to the playoffs. The Capitals have won the Metropolitan Division for the third year in a row, but will be judged entirely on their postseason performance. Washington must find some success past the second round, or there could be a shake up in order starting with the man behind the bench.
The rest of the list is a who’s who of disappointing seasons, with Quenneville sticking out like a sore thumb. Arguably one of the best coaches of all-time, Quenneville’s firing could cause what McKenzie terms a ripple effect throughout the league. Though he doesn’t expand on that idea, many have wondered whether another team would fire their incumbent to have the opportunity to hire Quenneville should he become a free agent, much like the Montreal Canadiens did last season when Claude Julien was let go from Boston.
In New York, while both coaches might not be back it would be for very different reasons. Vigneault has had a lot of regular season success with the Rangers, but as they enter into an unfamiliar rebuild they could want to start with a fresh face behind the bench. For Weight and the Islanders, this season was an abject failure as they tried to woo John Tavares with a trip to the postseason. They won’t get there, and now have to worry about whether their captain and superstar will stick around.
There could be many other names you could suggest for the list, and it is extremely unlikely that all of these will get the boot before the start of 2018-19. You can be sure some changes are coming though, even if it does come after a remarkable season of patience by general managers around the league.
AHL Names 2017-18 All-Rookie Team
The votes have been cast, and this year’s AHL All-Rookie Team has been released. The AHL rookie teams are always a mix of top draft picks and surprising prospects, and this year is no different. The team is as follows:
Goaltender: Ville Husso, San Antonio Rampage (St. Louis Blues)
Defense: Filip Hronek, Grand Rapids Griffins (Detroit Red Wings)
Defense: Sami Niku, Manitoba Moose (Winnipeg Jets)
Forward: Mason Appleton, Manitoba Moose (Winnipeg Jets)
Forward: Daniel Sprong, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (Pittsburgh Penguins)
Forward: Dylan Strome, Tucson Roadrunners (Arizona Coyotes)
Obviously winning this award doesn’t guarantee NHL success, but it is a strong sign for players who will experience a long and successful professional career. The past All-Rookie teams have included many eventual NHL All-Stars, and could again in this group.
Strome is obviously the most recognizable name, selected third overall in 2015. He hasn’t been able to find a ton of success at the NHL level, but dominated the AHL in his first season. Scoring 50 points in 47 games he leads all (qualified) rookies in points-per-game, and likely won’t be in the minor leagues again next season.
Of note is two Winnipeg Jets prospects, both selected late in the 2015 draft. Appleton and Niku were picked 168th and 198th respectively, but both had outstanding rookie seasons with Manitoba and are more names to look for in the Jets lineup over the next few years. Niku made his NHL debut last night and scored on his first shot, just the latest accomplishment in his first season in North America.
Minor Transactions: 04/04/18
Things are quiet in the NHL tonight, with just three games scheduled before a busy Thursday. One of those games, between Ottawa and Buffalo, is hugely important in the race to the bottom and the best odds at the upcoming draft lottery. Ottawa currently sits three points ahead of the Sabres for last in the NHL, with each team having three games remaining.
As they watch this Dahlin-bowl, the rest of the league continues to make tweaks to their rosters in preparation for the playoffs (or offseason). We’ll keep track of all the moves right here.
- Last night, the San Jose Sharks inked another prospect, signing Sasha Chmelevski to a three-year entry-level contract. Chmelevski will join the San Jose Barracuda on an amateur tryout for the rest of this season, before likely heading back to the OHL next season as a 19-year old. This year, Chmelevski led the Ottawa 67’s in goals and points, taking a huge step forward from his sixth-round draft pedigree.
- The Detroit Red Wings have returned Evgeny Svechnikov, Joe Hicketts and Thomas McCollum to the minor leagues in order to have them ready for Grand Rapids’ playoff run. Svechnikov and Hicketts especially are part of the future in Detroit, and getting them more playoff experience will only be beneficial to their development.
- Arizona, dealing with an injury to Jakob Chychrun, has recalled Dakota Mermis under emergency conditions. Mermis has played seven games with the Coyotes this season, but is still looking for his first NHL point.
- Andrej Sekera is out for the Edmonton Oilers, so the team has decided to recall Keegan Lowe from the minor leagues. Lowe, son of Oilers executive and former player Kevin Lowe, made his NHL debut way back in 2014-15 but hasn’t played at that level since. In 49 games with the Bakersfield Condors this season, he has 14 points.
Poll: Where Will Mike Green End Up In 2018-19?
It’s been a tough season for Mike Green. After starting the year in outstanding fashion, registering four points in his first game and 11 in his first nine, things didn’t end up where he expected. The Red Wings would fall out of contention rather early, and by the new year it was clear that they would be selling what they could at the trade deadline.
Since Green doesn’t have a contract that extended to next season, his name was an obvious candidate to be moved for some future assets and his strong start made him a desirable target for teams looking to solidify their right side. In January, even with his name being bandied about in trade rumors, he expressed his desire to re-sign in Detroit. In a Luke Fox piece for Sportsnet, Green explained:
I’m happy in Detroit. I enjoy it. It’s an incredible organization. Things are good.
I would love to be [back in Detroit]. Whether that happens, there’s so much uncertainty in this league, you just don’t know.
That uncertainty would affect both sides over the next month, as an injury would scare off any would-be buyers and leave Green stranded in Detroit for the last few months of his contract. The defender would re-enter the lineup, only to require back surgery in late March and be shut down for the season. He’s expected to make a full recovery, but his days in Detroit could be over.
But, should they be? Could Detroit use a player like him over the next few seasons to guide the young players along, logging big minutes to protect some of the youth that will need to fill the defensive ranks? A short-term deal could give them another chance to move him at a trade deadline, provided he doesn’t continue to deteriorate at an accelerated rate.
Or will another team look at him as one of the top options on the free agent market, even despite his injury troubles and lack of production in the second half. We ranked Green #10 on our Midseason Free Agent Power Rankings, but he’ll be a tough player to get a read on this summer since there won’t be any post-surgery playing time to judge.
Where do you think Green will end up? Cast your vote, and explain how much money you think he’ll get in the comment section below.
[Mobile users click here to vote!]
Christoffer Ehn Joins Grand Rapids Griffins
The Detroit Red Wings have brought over another prospect, assigning Christoffer Ehn to the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins after his season in Sweden came to an end. Ehn signed his entry-level contract last spring, and will now get a chance to show what he can do on North American ice.
Ehn, 21, was selected in the fourth round in 2014, but remained unsigned in Sweden for the next few years. After signing last year, he joined the Griffins during their playoff run but didn’t enter a single game. This season he was sent back to Frolunda to play another season in the SHL, where he set a career-high with 17 points in 50 games.
It’s not clear if Ehn will get into any action with the Griffins this time around, but it does lend credence to the idea that he could play there full-time in 2018-19. The young center is extremely defensive-minded, and does his best work when battling the opposition’s top names and grinding them down in the corners. Though his offensive game still hasn’t matured, he does have the size and awareness to play make a difference as a checking-line option.
Evening Notes: Updated Draft Odds, Keith
With the season winding down, and teams vying for the better odds of winning the Rasmus Dahlin sweepstakes, the Ottawa Senators took another step in upping their chances at the top pick by losing to Detroit 2-0 this afternoon. With just four games remaining, the Sens are tied with Arizona for the second worst record in the NHL with 65 points. Buffalo still has the best shot at securing the rights for the first overall pick. The NHL released the odds two days ago and with several teams within a few points of one another, the “tank-a-thon” race could be the matter of a few points as opposed to Colorado’s historically bad season in 2016-17. As it stands, here are the odds for the ten worst teams through Saturday evening. Vancouver won in overtime, blowing a 4-1 lead late but still notching two points, which moved them from a 9.5% chance to 8.5%. Please note that Arizona, Buffalo, New York (Rangers and Islanders), Edmonton, and Montreal all play tonight, which could alter the landscape a bit.
Buffalo (18.5%) – 60 points – 5 games remaining
Ottawa (13.5%) – 65 points – 4 games remaining
Arizona (11.5%) – 65 points – 4 games remaining
Montreal (9.5%) – 68 points – 5 games remaining
Vancouver (8.5%) – 69 points – 3 games remaining
Detroit (7.5%) – 71 points – 3 games remaining
Chicago (6.5%) – 74 points – 3 games remaining
NY Islanders (6.0%) – 74 points – 4 games remaining
Edmonton (5.0%) – 74 points – 4 games remaining
NY Rangers (3.5%) – 75 points – 4 games remaining
- The Chicago Blackhawks are going to miss the playoffs for the first time in nearly a decade, and some of that has to do with the Hawks inability to score goals. Duncan Keith has seen his share of struggles and is on pace to set an NHL record for the wrong reasons writes the Chicago Sun-Times Mark Lazerus. After taking 183 shots on net this season, Keith has only gotten the puck past a netminder once. Though his goal scoring has dropped off since he potted 10 back in 2014-15 when Chicago captured the Stanley Cup, nobody saw Keith’s performance going off the rails quite like this. Lazerus writes that if Keith doesn’t score in the final three games, Keith will set the NHL record for lowest non-zero shooting percentage. Lazerus adds that while Keith has been far and away the best defenseman for Chicago this season, he’s even fallen away from what has been his best play. Lazerus attributes this to being one of the only true top four defenseman on the team, something that has bogged down the two-time Norris Trophy winner.
Snapshots: Kane, Martin, Rasmussen, Rask, Hart
While it’s not a big surprise, the play of San Jose rental Evander Kane has opened some eyes in the NHL. In 15 games with the Sharks, the 26-year-old has put up nine goals and five assists, showing he has the skills to be the star winger that many teams thought he could be despite some mid-season struggles with the Buffalo Sabres.
Despite getting Kane for a reduced price because of the lack of interested teams, don’t expect that to be the case this offseason. While it is believed that the San Jose Sharks will try to re-sign him this summer, The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz (subscription required) writes in a mailbag column that no extension talks have begun and the price should be quite high as many more teams are likely to be in on Kane. In fact, Kurz writes the forward will be looking for both term and salary in this deal and could cost the Sharks as much as seven years at $7MM per season, which he believes will likely happen
- Kurz also mentions in his mailbag feature that it is extremely likely the team will buyout defenseman Paul Martin, who has one more year next season at $4.85MM. The 37-year-old blueliner has slowed down and has only managed to appear in 10 games for the Sharks this year and spent 18 games with the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL, the first time he’s ever played in the AHL. A buyout would save the Sharks $2.83MM in cap space for next season, which they might want if they intend to sign a big-named free agent.
- Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press writes that 2017 first-round pick Michael Rasmussen has been playing some of the best hockey of his career in the WHL playoffs. One big difference is that the center has occasionally moved to the wing during recent games due to his excellent chemistry with Carolina Hurricane’s prospect Morgan Geekie. His success at the wing could be a good sign if the 19-year-old prospect hopes to make the Red Wings squad out of training camp. Rasmussen, who has had 31 goals and 59 points (along with five goals and 12 points in four playoff games) for the Tri-City Americans, could be a key rebuilding chip for a struggling Detroit squad.
- Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News-Observer tweets that Carolina Hurricanes forward Victor Rask, who was declared out for the season almost two weeks ago, had successful surgery on his shoulder and is expected to be ready for training camp next season assuming his rehab goes well. The 25-year-old had 14 goals and 31 points this season.
- The Athletic’s Alexander Appleyard (subscription required) breaks down the amazing success that Philadelphia Flyers prospect goaltender Carter Hart has had this year. Besides the amazing, eye-popping numbers of a 1.60 GAA and a .947 save percentage with the Everett Silvertips of the WHL, the 19-year-old has had a such a dominating season that no other goalie’s numbers are even close to Hart. Appleyard continues to break down 106 seasons between the WHL, OHL and the QMJHL combined and can’t find a year in which a prospect had this great of a season in comparison to his peers. Hart is expected to get more seasoning next year in the AHL before he takes over in Philadelphia.
Detroit Puts A Hold On Contract Talks With David Pope
The Red Wings have put a hold on contract talks with college winger David Pope, reports Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press. The 23-year-old recently wrapped up his NCAA career with the University of Nebraska-Omaha with a 20-goal season but has informed the team that he would like to finish up his classes before discussing a contract. Pope was a fourth-round selection of Detroit (109th overall) back in 2013 and will be eligible to become an unrestricted free agent if he does not sign by August 15th.
Daniel Brickley, Mikey Eyssimont Sign With Los Angeles Kings
Friday: The Kings have officially announced the Brickley contract. The two-year entry-level contract will start this season.
Thursday: Daniel Brickley might be the most sought after college free agent on the market this year, and we’d recently heard he had visited the Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks in an attempt to make a decision. That decision didn’t take long, as the defenseman has agreed to terms with the Los Angeles Kings. The deal will be a two-year entry-level contract when it is finally signed, and Bob McKenzie of TSN reports that it will start in 2017-18.
Brickley, 22, just finished his junior season with Minnesota State-Mankato, where he recorded 35 points in 40 games and was a considerable two-way force. After playing in the World Championships for Team USA last spring, it is expected that Brickley will be able to step right into the NHL and play a role on any defense corps, making him a desirable asset for nearly every club.
The left-handed shot defenseman stands 6’3″ 205-lbs and has quick feet to skate himself out of trouble in his own end. Though there are sometimes lapses in his own end like many young defenders, his ability to push the play through a solid first pass and ability to carry the puck is perfectly suited to the new NHL.
It is important to note though that Brickley will not be eligible to play in the playoffs this season, since he was not on any team’s reserve list at the trade deadline. The free agent will have to wait until 2018-19 to really make an impact, though the actual contract will still come into effect right away and make him eligible to play in the last few regular season games.
The team has also signed Mikey Eyssimont out of St. Cloud State, their fifth-round pick form 2016. Eyssimont was a point-per-game player this season, recording 39 on the year and leading the club in goals with 17. The 21-year old was also entitled to a two-year deal, but actually would be eligible for the playoffs if it takes effect in 2017-18.