Red Wings Could Package First-Rounders In Effort To Move Up
While there has been speculation that the Red Wings are a candidate to slide back from the sixth pick in the draft, Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch notes that speculation around the Draft Combine is that Detroit is looking to move up and may be willing to move their second first-round pick (from Vegas which will slot in 30th or 31st) to do so. Detroit is believed to be looking for defensemen so jumping up a spot or two would likely guarantee they’d get the second-best blueliner available (beyond Rasmus Dahlin who is expected to go to Buffalo at number one).
Exclusive Negotiating Rights Of 33 Draft Picks Expire
The deadline for signing draft picks has come and gone, and unless more deals come in after the fact, 33 players—the same total as last year—will see their exclusive negotiating rights expire. With it they will either re-enter the 2018 draft for the final time or become free agents, depending on their age. Adam Mascherin is the highest picked player among those who will be headed back into the draft, selected 38th overall by the Florida Panthers two years ago. Below is the full list of players:
Anaheim Ducks:
F Tyler Soy (7th round, 2016)
Arizona Coyotes:
F Anton Karlsson (3rd round, 2014)
D David Westlund (6th round, 2014)
Buffalo Sabres:
D Vojtech Budik (5th round, 2016)
F Brandon Hagel (6th round, 2016)
D Austin Osmanski (7th round, 2016)
Calgary Flames:
D Adam Ollas Mattsson (6th round, 2014)
Carolina Hurricanes:
C Hudson Elynuik (3rd round, 2016)
D Noah Carroll (6th round, 2016)
Chicago Blackhawks:
D Andreas Soderberg (5th round, 2014)
Colorado Avalanche:
G Maximilian Pajpach (6th round, 2014)
Dallas Stars:
D Miro Karjalainen (5th round, 2014)
Detroit Red Wings:
D Jordan Sambrook (5th round, 2016)
F Julius Vahatalo (6th round, 2014)
Florida Panthers:
G Hugo Fagerblom (7th round, 2014)
C Adam Mascherin (2nd round, 2016)
Los Angeles Kings:
D Jacob Friend (7th round, 2016)
Minnesota Wild:
D Pontus Sjalin (6th round, 2014)
D Brayden Chizen (7th round, 2016)
New Jersey Devils:
G Evan Cormier (4th round, 2016)
Philadelphia Flyers:
C Anthony Salinitri (6th round, 2016)
Pittsburgh Penguins:
D Connor Hall (3rd round, 2016)
San Jose Sharks:
D Mark Shoemaker (6th round, 2016)
Tampa Bay Lightning:
C Christopher Paquette (5th round, 2016)
Toronto Maple Leafs:
D Keaton Middleton (4th rond, 2016)
F J.J. Piccinich (4th round, 2014)
D Nicolas Mattinen (6th round, 2016)
Vancouver Canucks:
D Cole Candella (5th round, 2016)
F Jakob Stukel (6th round, 2016)
C Brett McKenzie (7th round, 2016)
Washington Capitals:
F Kevin Elgestal (7th round, 2014)
D Dmitri Zaitsev (7th round, 2016)
Winnipeg Jets:
C Jordan Stallard (5th round, 2016)
Detroit Open To Trading Down At The Draft, Have Had Preliminary Talks With Three Pending Free Agents
- The Red Wings are open to moving their sixth-overall selection in the draft, reports Craig Custance of The Athletic (subscription required). GM Ken Holland admitted that trading up doesn’t make a lot of sense for them but sliding down a few spots would certainly be a possibility for them. Custance adds that Holland has had preliminary meetings with the agents for pending RFA wingers Andreas Athanasiou and Anthony Mantha plus pending UFA defenseman Mike Green.
Todd Nelson, Mike Van Ryn Join NHL Coaching Staffs
Two top AHL coaches are leaving for the NHL, as reports have surfaced from Sean Shapiro and Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic that Todd Nelson and Mike Van Ryn will be joining the Dallas Stars and St. Louis Blues respectively. Nelson had been the head coach of the Detroit Red Wings’ affiliate in Grand Rapids, while Van Ryn was the head coach of the Tucson Roadrunners, affiliate of the Arizona Coyotes.
Nelson took over from Jeff Blashill as head coach of the Grand Rapids Griffins in 2015, and led them to an AHL Calder Cup championship in his second season. Though the Griffins took a slight step backwards this season, they still posted their third straight 40+ win season under Nelson and made the playoffs. Knocked out by a tough Manitoba Moose squad in a five games, they’ll have to look for a new leader behind the bench to try and overcome their playoff disappointment.
Van Ryn, 39, finished his playing career in 2009 with the Toronto Maple Leafs and quickly moved into the coaching ranks. Spending time in both the OHL and AHL, he was given the head coaching job in Tucson last summer after previously serving as director of player development. Once a first-round pick of the New Jersey Devils, Van Ryn tallied quite a few successful seasons in the NHL before having his playing days cut short by injuries. Joining the Blues is the next step in a coaching career that seems destined for an NHL head coaching job eventually.
Detroit Red Wings Sign Gustav Lindstrom To Three-Year Deal
The Detroit Red Wings have signed another one of their top prospects, inking Gustav Lindstrom to a three-year entry-level contract. Lindstrom is expected to play this season for Frolunda of the SHL, but could show up at development camp this summer for the Red Wings.
Lindstrom, selected with the 38th pick of the 2017 draft, has played the last two seasons in Sweden’s Allsvenskan, their equivalent of the AHL. The 19-year old right-handed defenseman recorded 14 points, but isn’t necessarily known for his offensive production. The biggest takeaway from many scouts is how calm Lindstrom is in his own end, collecting pucks and completing quick breakout passes. While that may not be as exciting as a high-flying defender with elite puck skills, the Red Wings should be happy with their second-round pick’s development so far and his track to becoming an NHL player down the road.
The Red Wings have just one NHL defenseman—Danny DeKeyser—signed past next season, and will be looking to rebuild their entire blue line in the coming years. With players like Lindstrom, Dennis Cholowski and Filip Hronek on the way, that problem may not be too hard to solve. They’ll have to cross their fingers and hope everyone develops as planned, but things are starting to look up in Motown.
Todd Nelson Eyeing NHL Assistant Jobs
The head coach of the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins, the 2017 Calder Cup champions, has his eye on greener pastures. According to The Athletic’s Craig Custance, Todd Nelson is a hot name on the coaching market right now among teams in need of an NHL assistant. Nelson is reportedly considering offers from many teams. Custance describes Nelson as an AHL coach who has proven himself ready to be an NHL head coach, but is facing the dilemma of deciding how best to position himself for that move.
Nelson, 49, has a long history with the Griffins and will not be quick to choose an NHL assistant position if the fit is not perfect. The former defenseman spent much of his playing career in the minor leagues, wrapping up his career in Grand Rapids in 2002. He immediately jumped into coaching as an assistant with the Griffins the next year. While he left the team after just one year, Nelson found his way back to Grand Rapids in 2015 as the head coach and took home a title last year. In his decade away from the team, Nelson spent time as an assistant with the Atlanta Thrashers, was the long-time head coach of the AHL’s Oklahoma City Barons, and even briefly served as the interim head coach of their then-parent club, the Edmonton Oilers. While Nelson’s Oilers won just 17 of 51 games under his guidance, it was an invaluable experience and strays greatly from Nelson’s other head coaching outcomes, in which he has a career .611 points percentage in the AHL.
It’s possible that Nelson could land in the same scenario as Oklahoma City if he stays in his current position, possibly taking over for Jeff Blashill of the Detroit Red Wings, who have struggled of late, during or after the next season. However, this time he would likely be given a longer tryout as head coach for Detroit given his improved coaching pedigree. Nelson could also get a jump on that process by simply becoming one of Blashill’s assistants, the same path that Jack Adams candidate Bruce Cassidy took, moving from head coach of the Providence Bruins to an assistant in Boston before taking over. Yet, Custance hears that Nelson is still considering a move. “By no means am I unhappy in Grand Rapids,” Nelson told Custance, but added “I just want to see what the next step might present… My goal is to be a head coach in the National Hockey League. Maybe it means going with a different organization where I’m more visible.” Teams reportedly chasing Nelson include the Dallas Stars, and new head coach Jim Montgomery, and at least one other Western Conference team, per Custance. Only time will tell what choice Nelson makes, but he is certainly a name to keep an eye on in the coming years as a top head coach candidate in the NHL.
Snapshots: KHL Awards, Sambrook, Middleton
The KHL announced their award winners today and there were plenty of surprises, not the least of which was their Rookie of the Year recipient. One would think that Eeli Tolvanen, the 19-year old phenom who broke nearly every junior-aged scoring record in the league would have walked away with the award, but instead Vitaly Kravtsov was the winner after scoring four goals and three assists for Traktor Chelyabinsk.
Just playing in the KHL was impressive for Kravtsov, who was just 17 for much of the season, but it does seem unlikely that Tolvanen’s 19 goals and 36 points for Jokerit wasn’t good enough to win. Tolvanen of course bolted for the NHL after his season ended, and played three games for the Nashville Predators down the stretch. Other winners today included Nikita Gusev as league MVP, Philip Larsen as the top defenseman, and Pavel Francouz as the top goaltender.
- Jordan Sambrook will not be offered a contract by the Detroit Red Wings, according to Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press. Sambrook, selected in the fifth round in 2016, is one of many players who will see their draft rights expire on June 1st. Sambrook had a good season split between the Erie Otters and Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the OHL, recording 39 points in the regular season and helping the Greyhounds make it all the way to the OHL Finals.
- Keaton Middleton is in a similar situation, as Dhiren Mahiban reports that the Toronto Maple Leafs draft pick will not be signed by the deadline. Middleton will instead go back into the draft again, hoping to find another team who wants to bring him into the organization. The 6’5″ defenseman recorded 24 points for the Saginaw Spirit this year, after being selected in the fourth round in 2016.
- Another Maple Leafs prospect, Nicolas Mattinen, has yet to decide whether he’ll sign or not according to Mahiban. The sixth-round pick from 2016 is still playing in the Memorial Cup with the Hamilton Bulldogs, where he continues to show what a long reach and good defensive positioning can accomplish.
Patrik Rybar Signs Entry-Level Contract With Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings have added some international talent to their prospect pool, signing Slovakian goaltender Patrik Rybar to a one-year entry-level contract. Rybar has spent the last two seasons playing in the Czech Republic, and recently represented Solovakia at the Olympics and IIHF World Championship.
Rybar, 24, was never drafted by an NHL team but has turned in nothing but outstanding appearances in his time as a professional. At the highest level in the Czech Republic, Rybar has posted .922 and .932 save percentages in the last two years, and held his own in the recent international tournament. He didn’t get into the crease at the Olympics, but even the experience of being there was probably beneficial to his long-term development.
Detroit doesn’t have a succession plan in place for their goaltending situation, as Petr Mrazek never took the net from Jimmy Howard and was eventually traded off this season. Howard, now 34, will be an unrestricted free agent next summer, the same designation Jared Coreau will receive this year. No one is expecting Rybar to step in and become the future for Detroit right away, but he is an extremely low-risk addition that could strengthen the position for them down the road. There is more work to do for the Red Wings, but adding a top international goaltender on a short-term deal is never a bad option.
Detroit Red Wings Losing Value With Every Vegas Win
The Vegas Golden Knights are a miraculous story. In their first year they’ve not only been competitive, but have already advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals, knocking off several top Western Conference teams in the process. The upstart expansion club has become many fans’ “second favorite team,” with people hoping to see something spectacular and historic in 2018. Those bandwagon fans don’t include many from Detroit, as the team is losing value every time the Golden Knights advance. They could do so again if Vegas finds a way to win the Stanley Cup.
At the trade deadline, the Golden Knights decided to scrap their original plan of selling off expiring assets and instead dropped a big package of draft picks to acquire Tomas Tatar from the Detroit Red Wings. That deal included a 2018 first-round pick, which at the time could have landed anywhere in the bottom third of the draft order. The Golden Knights were good, but many still believed they’d experience a late-season swoon and possible first-round exit.
Instead, Vegas rolled through the latter part of the season and finished in first place in the Pacific Division. That guaranteed the Red Wings would not be able to use the pick any earlier than 25th, and even that would have required several first-round upsets of the other division leaders. What has transpired though, as the Golden Knights continue to win series after series, is a pick that will now be either 30th or 31st. The Chicago Blackhawks will select 27th thanks to their acquisition of the Nashville Predators’ pick, while 28 and 29 are destined for whoever loses the Tampa Bay-Washington series and the recently eliminated Winnipeg Jets—though of those three, only Washington actually owns their own pick; Tampa Bay’s belongs to the New York Rangers, while Winnipeg sent theirs to St. Louis.
Though the difference in a few picks at the back of the first round isn’t as much as it would be at the top, it still carries substantial value. Every time Vegas advances, the Red Wings—who desperately needed to squeeze as much value as possible out of Tatar—will have to wait another few minutes on June 22nd. For a club that is relying on a good 2018 draft to inject more talent into a somewhat lifeless prospect pipeline, there likely has only been frustration at watching the Golden Knights knock off their competitors one by one.
In a few days, Detroit fans will have to bite the bullet and become Tampa Bay or Washington fans. Otherwise their decision to trade Tatar will pay off as little as it could have—just another way Vegas has disappointed other front offices around the league.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Toronto Maple Leafs Lead Bonus Overages List
It looks like the Toronto Maple Leafs are at the top of at least one list. CapFriendly released a list of teams with Bonus Overages for this year, which result from players on their entry-level contracts hitting their standard bonuses. Nine teams’ performance bonuses went over the salary cap with the Maple Leafs leading with $2.55MM, which will now count against their 2018-19 cap. The bonus overages range from Toronto’s $2.55MM to the Minnesota Wild’s $25K.
The Maple Leafs’ bonuses came from just three players from the entry-level contracts of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander which totaled the $2.55MM. Since the team had no remaining cap room in 2017-18, it pushes over to the following year. Most of the nine teams were at the cap threshold, while others like the Vancouver Canucks, St. Louis Blues and the Tampa Bay Lightning had some cap room to take a part of the bonus hits.
Two teams bonuses could still go up as Boston’s Jake Debrusk and Tampa Bay’s Mikhail Sergachev could each receive bonus if they are named to the All-Rookie Team.
Here is the nine-team list:
Toronto Maple Leafs: $2,550,000
Chicago Blackhawks: $1,232,500
Vancouver Canucks: $852,847
Boston Bruins: $774,000
Detroit Red Wings: $755,000
St. Louis Blues: $150,988
Tampa Bay Lightning: $142,947
Washington Capitals: $82,500
Minnesota Wild: $25,000