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Rask, Bunnaman Clear Waivers

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Saturday: While Smith was claimed by Tampa Bay, Johnston reports that Rask and Bunnaman both cleared waivers.

Friday: The waiver wire is busy today as three teams have exposed players to the rest of the league. Chris Johnston of TSN reports that Gemel Smith of the Detroit Red Wings, Victor Rask of the Minnesota Wild, and Connor Bunnaman of the Philadelphia Flyers have all been placed on waivers.

Smith is on waivers for the second time this season after being claimed by the Red Wings from the Tampa Bay Lightning last month. He ended up playing three games for the club and registered one assist, while playing three more for the Grand Rapids Griffins on a conditioning loan. While he’s now available to the rest of the league once again, the 27-year-old did finally get a chance to play with his brother Giavani Smith for the first time in their hockey careers. Signed for two years and carrying a $750K cap hit, it seems unlikely that anyone other than the Lightning would put in a claim. If they do and are the only team to do so, he could be assigned to the minor leagues.

Bunnaman also was on waivers earlier, clearing just before the season started. He’s been up and down (and up and down) since, but now with 15 games under his belt this season needed waivers again in order to be assigned to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. The 23-year-old forward doesn’t have a single point in those 15 contests and now sits at just three points in 54 career games (plus four scoreless postseason appearances). Also signed through 2022-23 with a $750K cap hit, he too seems like an unlikely candidate for claim.

Then there is Rask, who will certainly generate most of the headlines among this trio. The 28-year-old center is in the final season of a six-year, $24MM contract he signed in 2016 with the Carolina Hurricanes and already cleared waivers in January. There isn’t any team in the league who will touch that contract, given how poorly Rask’s time in Minnesota has gone. Acquired in 2019 in a one-for-one deal that saw Nino Niederreiter go the other way, Rask has recorded 22 goals and 52 points in 149 games with the Wild. His ice time has continued to drop, to the point where even when he does get into the lineup it’s for just a handful of shifts. In each of his last five appearances, he’s logged fewer than 10 minutes.

Notably, even when the Wild assign him to the minor leagues they will receive just $1.125MM of cap relief. What they do gain is a roster spot, one that perhaps could go to a prospect like Marco Rossi, who continues to light up the AHL. Rossi has points in all but eight of his 35 games with the Iowa Wild this season, including six in his past four outings.

Vladislav Namestnikov Could Return Wednesday

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The Red Wings should have winger Vladislav Namestnikov back in the lineup on Wednesday, reports Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press.  If that’s the case, the veteran will only wind up missing a week with his current lower-body injury.  Namestnikov has 13 goals and 10 assists in 49 games this season and is a candidate to be moved between now and next month’s trade deadline.  The quick return also played a role in yesterday’s waiving of Gemel Smith as head coach Jeff Blashill acknowledged that the move was made to give them some extra flexibility with Namestnikov nearing a return as well as winger Carter Rowney.

Could Detroit Re-Sign Marc Staal?

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Marc Staal’s first season with the Red Wings was good enough that the team re-signed him to a one-year, $2MM contract for this one, a deal that also carried a full no-move clause.  Ted Kulfan of The Detroit News feels there’s a scenario where Detroit could go that route again with the 35-year-old blueliner.  Staal is logging just shy of 17 minutes a night on their back end and can still contribute defensively and on the penalty kill, making him a useful veteran for a team that’s still rebuilding.  Staal recently said that he enjoys being with Detroit and considering he controls his destiny when it comes to a trade, there’s a chance that he isn’t flipped by the trade deadline.

Vladislav Namestnikov Questionable Tomorrow, Nick Leddy Expected To Return

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  • Detroit Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill says forward Vladislav Namestnikov is questionable for tomorrow’s game against the Minnesota Wild, meaning that brothers Givani Smith and Gemel Smith could both draw in and play their first game together in the NHL. Defenseman Nick Leddy is also probable to return after sitting out with an upper-body injury for the past two weeks. Namestnikov has provided good value this season on his $2MM cap hit, proving to be an important depth piece for Detroit with 13 goals, 10 assists, and 23 points in 49 games. Detroit has played Gemel Smith in just one game since claiming him off waivers from the Tampa Bay Lightning almost a month ago.

Troy Stecher Should Return Saturday

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  • The Red Wings should have defenseman Troy Stecher back in their lineup on Saturday against Philadelphia, notes MLive’s Ansar Khan. The veteran has missed more than three months due to a wrist injury, a disappointing outcome in a year where he’s going to hit unrestricted free agency this summer.  His return will help offset the absences of Filip Hronek (COVID protocol) and Nick Leddy (upper-body injury) and if he’s able to play well over the next month, he could be an interesting trade candidate for Detroit heading into the trade deadline.

Filip Hronek Placed In COVID Protocol

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Even though testing has been reduced, it doesn’t mean the COVID list is completely eliminated. The Detroit Red Wings have placed Filip Hronek in COVID protocol, making him unavailable to the team for the time being.

Hronek, 24, is perhaps one of the underrated success stories of Red Wings development over the last few years and a bigger part of their future than some may realize. The young defenseman has been logging more than 22 minutes a night since the start of the 2019-20 season and is on pace to break his career-high with 24 points through 46 games so far. A second-round pick in 2016, he signed a new three-year, $13.2MM contract in September that made him one of the few Red Wings players signed to one-way contracts through the 2023-24 season (Robby Fabbri, Michael Rasmussen, and Jakub Vrana are the others).

Should he miss a few games–and his spot in the COVID protocol suggests he has a confirmed case and is experiencing symptoms–the Red Wings could lean even more heavily on young Moritz Seider, who is already racking up minutes and points in his rookie season. Gustav Lindstrom, another young defenseman could receive a bump in playing time as well as the team continues through their developmental season.

The Red Wings are now 21-21-6 after a 6-3 win in Philadelphia last night but the playoffs are still quite a distance away.

Detroit Red Wings Name Shawn Horcoff Assistant GM

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After losing Pat Verbeek to the Anaheim Ducks yesterday, the Detroit Red Wings had a few vacancies in their front office. Shawn Horcoff will fill those spots, introduced today as the team’s newest assistant general manager and general manager of the Grand Rapids Griffins. He will assist Steve Yzerman in all hockey operations matters while dealing with the day-to-day operations of the Griffins. Yzerman released a statement on his new lieutenant:

Shawn has a tremendous work ethic and has done a great job developing the prospects within our organization, helping them prepare for the next steps in their careers. The relationships he’s formed within the organization – and throughout the hockey community – make him a valuable asset to our future both in Detroit and Grand Rapids, and I look forward to continue working alongside him.

Horcoff, 43, has been with the Red Wings since 2016 when his playing career ended, first as director of player development and then as assistant director of player personnel. A veteran of more than 1,000 NHL games during his time on the ice, he’s now worked his way up the Red Wings organization and will now receive a huge opportunity to fill Verbeek’s shoes.

With an interesting prospect path of his own, that included four years at Michigan State University, Horcoff has a ton of experience when it comes to the development of a young player that doesn’t arrive with much fanfare. Completely undrafted in his first year of eligibility, his strong sophomore season with the Spartans landed him a fourth-round selection and a way into professional hockey. By the time he was scoring 65 points as a senior it was obvious there was an NHL future, and a long career including a stint as captain of the Edmonton Oilers followed.

For the last several years in Detroit he’s been shepherding young prospects through the first part of their professional journey, but he’ll now be tasked with even more responsibility.

Namestnikov: It Would Be "Great To Stay" With Red Wings

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Vladislav Namestnikov’s second season with the Red Wings has been a more productive one as the 29-year-old has 11 goals and nine assists through the first 40 games, already surpassing his point total from last season.  As a result, he could be one of Detroit’s more intriguing rentals heading into the trade deadline.

However, if Namestnikov has his way, he won’t be going anywhere at all as he told reporters including Ted Kulfan of The Detroit News that he’s open to an extension and that “it would be great to stay”.  Namestnikov has a $2MM cap hit and should be looking at a similar price tag on his next deal.  A short-term deal to stay with the Red Wings is certainly plausible although if they can get a decent future asset in a trade over the next couple of months, they may prefer to go that route over signing an extension now.

Detroit Red Wings Claim Gemel Smith

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It’s a family reunion in Detroit, as the Red Wings have claimed Gemel Smith off waivers from the Tampa Bay Lightning according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Smith is the older brother of Red Wings forward Givani Smith.

Sean Shapiro of The Athletic tweets that because the Smith brothers are several years apart, they have never played on the same team or against each other during their hockey careers. They’ll get that chance now in Detroit, as Gemel Smith will have to be kept on the NHL roster after the waiver claim.

That’s certainly an interesting twist, given the 27-year-old forward hasn’t played a single game at any level this season. He dealt with a surgery that has kept him on injured reserve for the last several months and is only now approaching a return to play. Instead of going to the minor leagues, he’ll end up in Detroit where he could very well receive a bigger opportunity than he has in years.

A veteran of just 88 games at the NHL level, most of those came with the Dallas Stars in 2017-18 when he suited up 46 times. Smith has played just 11 NHL contests over the past three seasons but did have two 40-point minor league campaigns during that time.

His younger brother Givani Smith, 23, has found out exactly what can happen when you’re on an organization in the middle of a rebuild. He’s played in 31 games for the Red Wings this season, scoring two goals and four points while racking up 68 penalty minutes. While still only averaging a little over eight minutes a night, he’s nearly matched his previous career total of games played already.

Poll: Is The Eastern Conference Playoff Picture Already Complete?

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It doesn’t make for much of an exciting stretch run, but it just might be the truth and The Buffalo News’ Mike Harrington isn’t afraid to make the claim: less than halfway through the 2021-22 NHL season, the eight Eastern Conference playoff spots appear to be locked up. While the eight in place can certainly jockey for position, Harrington believes that those teams currently in the postseason in the East will stay in postseason position and those not, including his Buffalo Sabres, have nothing left to play for this season. Do you agree?

The conference standings do paint a pretty bleak picture for the playoff race, as the gap between the eighth and final playoff spot and the next closest competitor is sizeable. In terms of both absolute points and points percentage, the Boston Bruins sit in eighth in the East with 46 points and a .657 points percentage, holding the second wild card spot if the postseason started today. In ninth place in both categories are the Detroit Red Wings, but calling it a distant ninth is generous. Detroit has 39 points on the year, just seven back of Boston, but having played four more games than the Bruins the Red Wings are actually just a .500 team, 157 percentage points back. Every other team outside the playoff picture is under .500 and they are all chasing a Bruins team that is 8-2 in their past ten games, riding a five-game winning streak. Just ahead of Boston are the Pittsburgh Penguins, who are also 8-2 in their last ten. The only other teams in the conference that are not 200+ percentage points ahead of Detroit are the Washington Capitals and New York Rangers.

[See: Eastern Conference Standings]

Statistically, there don’t appear to be any clear underachievers outside of the playoff picture primed for a late push either. All eight teams not in a playoff spot in the East have a negative goal differential, with the top mark being the Columbus Blue Jackets at -15. In contrast, the worst differential among the playoff teams is the Rangers’ +17 and they are the only club below +20. Hardly any of the non-playoff teams hold a spot in the top half of the league in any major statistical category either. The New York Islanders are ninth in goals against per game and eleventh in penalty kill efficiency, the Blue Jackets are tied for twelfth in goals for per game, the New Jersey Devils are thirteenth on the penalty kill, and the Ottawa Senators are tied for fourteenth in power play efficiency – end of list.

Yet, can the playoff picture really be sealed up this early? The law of averages suggests that a current playoff team is likely to slump while a current non-playoff team is likely to hit their stride in the second half. In fact, this may have already begun. While the Bruins and Penguins have been surging, the Capitals are just 4-3-3 in their last ten games and struggling to find consistent goaltending and defensive play. The Capitals’ record is also buoyed by a league-leading nine overtime points and their abysmal 30th-ranked power play is a major stain on their playoff resume. If there is a pretender in the East, it could be Washington. The Rangers may also be due for some regression in the second half. New York has exceeded expectations thus far and have somehow found ways to win despite trouble scoring. Their 2.85 goals per game is tied for 18th in the league, behind the likes of Columbus and New Jersey and just .01 ahead of Ottawa. On the flip side of the playoff picture, the Islanders are one of the biggest disappointments of the season. A conference finalist last year, the Isles looked to be building a true contender. While they are still playing a good defensive game, the team has had no luck offensively this season. Yet, with a league-low  30 games played, the Islanders could have time to find their game and fight their way back into postseason consideration. At least on paper, the Philadelphia Flyers should also be better than their current record, while the rebuilding Red Wings and Blue Jackets should be happy with their performance so far this season but would be even happier to get their young rosters into a postseason battle.

It is hard to remember a conference having no battle for playoff position in recent memory, especially so early in the season. While it looks like that could be the case this year in the East, is that actual a realistic expectation? Is the current gap in the standings just too wide to overcome? Or is there enough potential for one or two teams in the playoff picture to collapse while one or two on the outside find a way back? Vote now and comment on which teams, if any, could drop out of the playoff picture and who might replace them.

Is The Eastern Conference Playoff Picture Already Complete?
Yes 73.52% (647 votes)
No 26.48% (233 votes)
Total Votes: 880

[mobile users vote here]

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