Injury Notes: Chicago, Colorado, Raymond
The Chicago Blackhawks issued a few injury updates today, including that Dylan Strome has been put in the concussion protocol. Strome, who has essentially been working as Chicago’s top center this season, is a huge loss for a team that is still very much in the thick of a playoff race. The Blackhawks are sitting third in the Central Division, though have already played 19 games—Tampa Bay and Dallas, two teams chasing them, have only had 15 and 12 respectively.
Lucas Carlsson will also miss some time and has been placed on injured reserve. The defenseman is dealing with a strained groin and is expected to miss 10-14 days. It’s not all bad news though. Connor Murphy, who hasn’t played since February 7 while dealing with a hip injury, has been activated from injured reserve. Murphy is averaging a career-high 22:45 through 13 games this season.
- Dennis Gilbert may not be a Blackhawks defenseman anymore, but he’s getting injured like one. The Colorado Avalanche blueliner will be out four to six weeks after undergoing facial surgery according to Peter Baugh of The Athletic. The injury was presumably suffered in a fight with Keegan Kolesar last week, which resulted in Gilbert’s exit after fewer than two minutes of ice time. Erik Johnson and Pavel Francouz meanwhile are both still out long-term, according to head coach Jared Bednar.
- Detroit Red Wings top prospect Lucas Raymond suffered an elbow injury while playing in Sweden and according to Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News, will have surgery that is expected to keep him out eight weeks. There is no long-term concern for Raymond, the fourth-overall pick from the 2020 draft. The young winger had 18 points in 34 games for Frolunda this season and still needs to sign his entry-level contract with the Red Wings.
Detroit’s Frans Nielsen Clears Waivers
Feb 22: Nielsen has cleared waivers and can now be assigned to the taxi squad or minor leagues.
Feb 21: The Detroit Red Wings have put yet another veteran up for grabs. According to multiple sources, including Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, Frans Nielsen is the latest name to be placed on waivers. Teams will have 24 hours to put a claim in on the 36-year-old center if they so choose. No other players have been placed on waivers today and the Anaheim Ducks’ Adam Henrique has cleared from yesterday.
Nielsen’s time on the waiver wire should go the same way it has for every skater so far this season; don’t expect him to be claimed. Yes, the flat salary cap and the league-wide crunch have influenced both waiver placements and the lack of claims so far this year, but Nielsen is different. He is coming off a career-worst season in 2019-20 and by a wide margin. Even for a historically bad Red Wings team, there was no excuse for producing nine points and a -13 rating in 60 games for a player who had totaled 33 points or more (sometimes much more) in every full season of his NHL career and received Selke Trophy votes for seven consecutive seasons earlier in his career. Nielsen’s game has fallen off tremendously and his start to the current campaign has provided no proof to the contrary. The veteran forward has three points in 18 games and is seeing a career-low in ice time.
It also doesn’t help that Nielsen’s current AAV is a whopping (relative to his production) $5.25MM and his contract extends through the 2021-22 season. If a 31-year-old Henrique, still producing at the same high level he has over his whole career, can go unclaimed at a $5.825MM AAV on a multi-year deal, it is extremely difficult to see someone taking a year and a half of a 36-year-old Nielsen who has recorded 18 points in his last 100 games dating back to the latter half of the 2018-19 season.
Detroit has waived other notable players this season like Danny DeKeyser and Alex Biega, but they have still remained involved with the team. The same goes for many other veterans around the league who have been waived to gain taxi squad flexibility but are still active participants. However, if this is the end of Nielsen as a regular in the NHL, he will be remembered for his two-way ability and consistency in all areas of his game. Unfortunately, most if not all of his best seasons and top accomplishments were in a New York Islanders jersey and his time with Detroit on a six-year, $31.5MM contract will largely be regarded as a failure.
Poll: NHL’s “Thanksgiving Trend” Revisited
Fans of the NHL are sure to be familiar with the deeper meaning that American Thanksgiving holds each season. With unrelenting consistency, the NHL’s standings on the final Thursday of November have had great predictive ability when compared to the final regular season standings. In fact, over the past seven years the Thanksgiving standings have been about 75% accurate at forecasting eventual playoff teams, predicting 12 of 16 spots on average. Even though American Thanksgiving only rolls around less than two months into the season, three out of four teams in a playoff spot at that time will have retained their postseason berth when the season ends.
The 2019-20 season of course did not have a standard postseason, but if it had then the Thanksgiving trend would have proved even more prophetic in a shortened campaign. Last year, in which teams were limited to between 68 and 71 games apiece prior to the early termination of the regular season, the Thanksgiving standings would have predicted 13 of 16 playoff teams in the standard format. Of the three teams that would have slid out of the postseason, the Florida Panthers trailed the Toronto Maple Leafs by .014 points percentage in the Atlantic Division and the Winnipeg Jets missed out by a measly .001 points percentage behind the Calgary Flames as the final Western Conference wild card. The Thanksgiving standings were that close to predicting 15 of 16 playoff teams in the shortened season, with the unexpected slow start for the Vegas Golden Knights and hot start for the Arizona Coyotes being the other unsurprising course correction.
But how does this trend impact a season that didn’t even begin until well after American Thanksgiving? Based on total games played by Thanksgiving over the past few seasons, Thanksgiving represents about the 30% progress through the NHL season. In the current 56-game season, that comes out to about the 17-game mark. Although postponements and rescheduling have created a wide discrepancy in games played among teams this year, the league as a whole passed that 17-game average on Saturday: Happy Thanksgiving. Admittedly, the 2020-21 campaign does have a different playoff model as well, one that is somewhat stricter than the last few years without the fallback of a wildcard spot for a team on the fifth-place fringe in their division. Yet, it is still a 16-team postseason and the Thanksgiving trend should hold. Using points percentage to rank the standings (the stat may end up determining playoff position for a second consecutive season anyhow) and adjusting for the season’s makeshift divisions, here is the current “Thanksgiving” outlook:
North Division East Division
Toronto Maple Leafs (.789) Boston Bruins (.733)
Montreal Canadiens (.625) Philadelphia Flyers (.679)
Winnipeg Jets (.618) Washington Capitals (.594)
Edmonton Oilers (.600) Pittsburgh Penguins (.594)____
Calgary Flames (.472) New Jersey Devils (.583)
Vancouver Canucks (.405) New York Islanders (.559)
Ottawa Senators (.237) New York Rangers (.469)
Buffalo Sabres (.429)
West Division Central Division
Vegas Golden Knights (.700) Carolina Hurricanes (.781)
Colorado Avalanche (.679) Florida Panthers (.750)
St. Louis Blues (.611) Tampa Bay Lightning (.700)
Minnesota Wild (.571) Dallas Stars (.583)
Los Angeles Kings (.531) Chicago Blackhawks (.579)
Arizona Coyotes (.500) Columbus Blue Jackets (.526)
San Jose Sharks (.500) Nashville Predators (.412)
Anaheim Ducks (.417) Detroit Red Wings (.325)
Now this begs the question, especially seeing how accurate the Thanksgiving standings were in last year’s shortened season but also accounting for the many disruptions for a number of teams early this season, who is the trend currently overlooking? Which teams currently outside the playoff picture, if any, do you think will make the postseason when all is said and done later this season? Use the comments section below as well to discuss which teams may fall out of the postseason and whether you feel the Thanksgiving trend will apply this season.
Which Of These Teams Will Buck The "Thanksgiving" Trend And Make The Playoffs?
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New York Islanders 23% (263)
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Chicago Blackhawks 19% (215)
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Los Angeles Kings 10% (110)
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None - "Thanksgiving" goes 16/16 9% (102)
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Columbus Blue Jackets 8% (88)
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Calgary Flames 6% (73)
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New Jersey Devils 6% (64)
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New York Rangers 4% (50)
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Arizona Coyotes 4% (42)
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Vancouver Canucks 4% (42)
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Buffalo Sabres 2% (25)
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San Jose Sharks 2% (18)
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Detroit Red Wings 1% (17)
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Nashville Predators 1% (14)
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Anaheim Ducks 1% (9)
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Ottawa Senators 1% (7)
Total votes: 1,139
Taxi Squad Shuffle: 02/21/21
As the NHL prepares for another day at Lake Tahoe – one that hopes to run smoothly after Saturday’s debacle – there are also three other games on the Sunday slate. Roster transactions continue to come at a torrid pace this season and today should be no different with a number of teams in action. Keep up with all of the moves right here:
Central Division
- The Detroit Red Wings have returned a trio of players to the taxi squad. The team announced that veteran defensemen Alex Biega and the recently-waived Danny DeKeyser, as well as rookie forward Mathias Brome, have all been reassigned. After back-to-back games, Detroit is off until Tuesday.
- Matiss Kivlenieks is on his way back to Columbus after a brief stint in the minors. The Blue Jackets announced that the goaltender has been recalled from the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters to join the taxi squad. While the team may give Kivlenieks spot starts in Cleveland from time to time to keep him fresh, he looks to be locked in to that No. 3 taxi squad role for the franchise this season.
- The Nashville Predators announced they have reassigned forward Eeli Tolvanen to the squad. The 21-year-old has appeared in eight games with the Predators this season.
East Division
- The New Jersey Devils have swapped a pair of forwards, sending Yegor Sharangovich to the taxi squad while calling up Mikhail Maltsev as his replacement. Although they have been used differently so far this season, both rookies have been effective in the Devils lineup. However, after a hot start Sharangovich has cooled off while Maltsev has performed in his more recent showings. According to the AHL’s Binghamton Devils, New Jersey has also reassigned forward Nick Merkley from the taxi squad to the minors. Merkley has actually played well in the NHL so far this season, recording three points in five games with the Devils.
- With the losses of Jake McCabe and William Borgen to injuries, the Buffalo Sabres have promoted two players from the Rochester Americans to the taxi squad. The team announced that Jacob Bryson and Casey Fitzgerald will move up and fill the defensive depth void that the team has dealt with over the last few days.
North Division
- The Edmonton Oilers announced they have recalled defenseman Theodor Lennstrom from the Bakersfield Condors of the AHL and moved him to the taxi squad. The move was required with the injury to defenseman Slater Koekkoek. Lennstrom will need time to quarantine with Bakersfield being in the U.S., requiring the player to cross the border.
- Ryan Pike of FlamesNation reports that the Calgary Flames have made a salary cap move, sending defenseman Oliver Kylington to the taxi squad and thereby filling up their taxi-squad roster. The 23-year-old has yet to appear in a game for the Flames this season.
- The Ottawa Senators announced they have recalled a number of players from the taxi squad for Sunday’s game, including goaltender Joey Daccord, defenseman Braydon Coburn and forward Micheal Haley. The team also assigned forward Artem Anisimov to the taxi squad to make room for them and also moved Logan Shaw from the Belleville Senators of the AHL to the taxi squad.
West Division
- The Minnesota Wild have moved a pair of young players back to the minors. The team announced that defenseman Calen Addison and goalie Dereck Baribeau have been reassigned to AHL Iowa. Addison, one of Minnesota’s top prospects, logged over 18 minutes of ice time on average through his first three NHL games.
- The Arizona Coyotes announced they have swapped several players from the Tucson Roadrunners of the AHL and the taxi squad. The team has assigned forwards Frederik Gauthier and Kyle Capobianco from the Tucson to the taxi squad. The Coyotes also assigned forwards Hudson Fasching and Michael Chaput to Tucson to replace them. Capobianco has appeared in two games for Arizona this season.
- The San Jose Sharks announced they have reassigned forward Maxim Letunov and goaltender Josef Korenar to the San Barracuda of the AHL. Neither player has appeared in a Sharks game this season.
Minor Transactions: 02/19/21
While the NHL season is already past the quarter pole, the AHL is still just getting started and Canadian juniors are still working on a return, while on the other hand the NCAA is headed toward tournament time shortly and European leagues are in the home stretch of the season. With so much variation in seasons, there is no telling what could be happening on any given day. One thing that is certain is that there continue to be notable moves outside the NHL on a daily basis:
- There is no shortage of demand for Cory Conacher in Switzerland. The veteran NHL forward previously spent the 2015-16 with SC Bern of the Swiss National League before returning to North America. Even before last season ended, and it was clear that Conacher’s four-year stint with the Tampa Bay Lightning was over, there were reports that Swiss clubs were clamoring to bring him back. Conacher wound up signing with Lausanne HC this off-season, but is on the move again. Conacher has left Lausanne to return to Bern, but this is not simply a rental contract between the 31-year-old and the NLA’s 11th-place team. Instead, Bern has announced a three-year deal, including the remainder of this season, keeping Conacher in the NLA through at least 2022-23. Given the fanfare that Conacher enjoys in Switzerland and a new multi-year contract, it is probably safe to say that we have seen the last of him in the NHL.
- After negotiating his release from the AHL’s Laval Rocket earlier this week, Sam Vigneault has now signed with the Eispiraten Crimmitschau of the DEL2, Germany’s second-tier league. It is a strange transition for Vigneault, a former Columbus Blue Jackets prospect. Granted he has never been able to rise above the AHL in his pro career, but he has still been a serviceable player in the minors. To drop to the level of the DEL2 is unexpected and, though it is only a contract for the remainder of the season, one has to wonder what the future holds for Vigneault.
- William Wallinder, the first pick in the second round of the 2020 NHL Draft by the Detroit Red Wings, is looking ahead to next season with the SHL in his sights. A long-time member of MODO, suiting up for their junior teams and over the past two seasons in the second-tier Allsvenskan, the 18-year-old Wallinder will be a free agent after this season and is looking for a new challenge. After being heavily courted by a number of SHL teams, Swedish news source Kvalls Posten reports that Wallinder has elected to sign with the SHL’s Rogle BK. The two sides have only agreed to terms thus far and nothing official has been disclosed, but expect Wallinder to suit up for Rogle for at least one season if not longer. Should he find success at the top level in Sweden, the Red Wings won’t want to wait too long to bring the big, smooth-skating defender to North America.
Five Players Clear Waivers
Despite some major names being available on the waiver wire over the past 24 hours, all five players have cleared. Montreal’s Paul Byron, Detroit’s Danny DeKeyser, and new Carolina acquisition Alex Galchenyuk were all waived for roster flexibility and will be reassigned to their respective taxi squads. Young Columbus defenseman Gabriel Carlsson has been reassigned to the taxi squad for now but will soon join the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters in order to get some play time. Boston’s Par Lindholm has signed a new contract with the SHL’s Skelleftea AIK and will see his NHL contract terminated. No new players have been placed on waivers today.
Of the group, the player who was quietly the most likely to be claimed was Carlsson. The big 24-year-old blue liner, a 2015 first-rounder, lost his waiver exemption this season and the Blue Jackets did not want to risk him on the wire earlier this season. However, through the first quarter of the campaign he has not seen any NHL game action sitting behind a deep Columbus defense corps. With the AHL season now up and running, the team opted to take the chance with Carlsson in order to get him some play time in the minors and it paid off. The stay-at-home defenseman has played in at least one game for Columbus in each of the past four seasons and will likely be back with the team at some point this year. However, the team will try to avoid another trip through waivers as they might not be so lucky a second time putting the sturdy and affordable defender back up for grabs.
Of course, the bigger names available were Byron, DeKeyser, and Galchenyuk. The Montreal Canadiens, short on cap space but not on forward talent, have been playing Byron in a checking role, making him an expensive fourth liner. The club had been trying to trade the veteran, but there were no takers on his contract despite his solid career numbers. The team hoped that Byron would clear waivers so that they could retain the player, who is absolutely still a serviceable top-nine forward, while also opening up some salary cap space by transitioning him to the taxi squad. Galchenyuk was in fact traded already and just on Saturday as a matter of fact. The skilled forward was dealt by the Ottawa Senators to the Carolina Hurricanes as part of a three-player deal. Playing on an affordable and expiring contract, Galchenyuk was a risk-free acquisition for the ‘Canes but was even more valuable if he could be stashed on the practice squad and used in case of emergency in a scoring role. Their plan succeeded and now Carolina simply has to decide whether the now-flexible Galchenyuk is worth more to them on their taxi squad or as a trade asset to flip to another team. The surprise inclusion was DeKeyser, one of the few holdovers of the most recent Detroit Red Wings’ powerhouse teams. DeKeyser has been in decline for several seasons now, but playing for a rebuilding club – especially with limited ice time this season – and dealing with injuries does not make for flattering statistics for anyone. A player who still has the support of his coaches and teammates may end up on the taxi squad but is likely to still be a prominent presence for the organization, especially with another year remaining on his current contract.
Lindholm was the outlier of the bunch. After clearing waivers earlier this season, the underutilized veteran was placed on the wire again to begin the process of a contract termination. Lindholm was not expected to be claimed and even if he had been, there still would have been a conflict with the multi-year contract he just recently signed in Sweden. Lindholm may actually be capable of being a reliable fourth line center in the NHL, but that opportunity was not available in Boston and seemingly nowhere else in the league at the current time, so the veteran will return home.
COVID Protocol Related Absences: 02/14/21
Each day, the NHL will publicly release the list of players that are unavailable to their respective teams due to being in COVID-19 Protocol. The league is still awaiting updated lists from the Sabres and Avalanche, but the following are the complete results from the other 29 teams:
Arizona – John Hayden
Buffalo – Dylan Cozens, Curtis Lazar, Jake McCabe, Casey Mittelstadt, Brandon Montour, Tobias Rieder, Rasmus Ristolainen
Colorado – Samuel Girard, Tyson Jost, Gabriel Landeskog
Los Angeles – Andreas Athanasiou
Minnesota – Nick Bonino, Jonas Brodin, Ian Cole, Brad Hunt, Victor Rask, Carson Soucy, Nico Sturm, Cam Talbot
New Jersey – Nathan Bastian, Nikita Gusev, Nico Hischier, Dmitry Kulikov, Travis Zajac
NY Rangers – Filip Chytil
Ottawa – Ryan Dzingel*
Philadelphia – Justin Braun, Morgan Frost, Claude Giroux, Scott Laughton, Oskar Lindblom, Jakub Voracek, Travis Konecny*
Vegas – Tomas Nosek
As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:
(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol
Players removed today: Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo Sabres; Calvin Pickard, Detroit Red Wings; Blake Lizotte, Los Angeles Kings; Jesper Bratt, Connor Carrick, Eric Comrie, Jack Hughes, Damon Severson, Ty Smith, Matt Tennyson, Sami Vatanen, New Jersey Devils; Travis Sanheim, Philadelphia Flyers; Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning
It’s another strong net positive day for the CPRA. The only true addition to the list comes in the form of Flyers forward Konecny. The other addition, Dzingel, has entered the required quarantine period for any player crossing into Canada after he was dealt to Ottawa by Carolina on Saturday, but by all accounts has not qualified for any other reason. Meanwhile, the Red Wings and Lightning wipe the slate clean while the Devils take a major step forward with eight players coming off the list. Joining Dahlin back at Sabres practice today was also head coach Ralph Krueger, a welcome sight after his own bout with Coronavirus.
While the situations in Buffalo and Colorado remain undetermined at this point, the Devils appear to be on the mend and Minnesota Wild head coach Dean Evason stated that he expects some of his players to begin coming off the list soon as well. If the situation in Philadelphia can be sorted out – especially with their Lake Tahoe game coming up next weekend – the NHL could be looking at a refreshingly short CPRA by this time next week.
Danny DeKeyser Waived By Detroit Red Wings
In a stunning move, the Detroit Red Wings have placed defensive mainstay Danny DeKeyser on waivers. The career Red Wing still has one year remaining beyond this season on his current contract at a $5MM AAV, but Detroit appears ready to move on. Will that mean DeKeyser clears waivers and is assigned to the taxi squad or AHL? Or will another team swoop in and steal the defenseman?
DeKeyser, 30, is a polarizing figure in Detroit. On one hand, he’s second only to Darren Helm as the longest-tenured member of a team that has seen a mass amount of turnover in recent years that scrubbed nearly every reminder of their days as a Western Conference powerhouse. On the other hand, he has also been part of the problem as the club has devolved into a perennial bottom dweller in the Eastern Conference. DeKeyser impressed as an unheralded undrafted free agent out of nearby Western Michigan University, quickly claiming a top-four role for Detroit in his first few pro seasons. However, since signing his six-year, $30MM extension in 2016, DeKeyser has had – at most – one season where he has lived up to expectations. He has been plagued by injuries and when healthy has had diminishing offensive ability, has been prone to turnovers, and has simply struggled to help a team that needed him to be a savior on the back end.
Yet, with all that said, many question whether DeKeyser has himself been unfairly impacted by the lack of talent around him in Detroit. Are his struggles his own or is he still capable of being a well-rounded, minutes-eating, 30-point puck-mover? This season with the Red Wings has not helped to answer that question. The team has moved on from DeKeyser as a centerpiece on the blue line even before he hit waivers. The veteran has played in only 10 of 16 games and almost exclusively in a bottom-pair role, averaging just 15:30 of ice time with no special teams role. Claiming DeKeyser is a massive risk, especially in a flat cap era where being saddled with a $5MM salary this year and next for an unproductive player would be devastating. However, DeKeyser has his supporters around the league and it is hard to judge his true ability given his recent injury history and his position with Detroit. Don’t eliminate all possibility that someone might be willing to take a chance or that DeKeyser could still return to form if he moves elsewhere.
Also on waivers today are Montreal’s Paul Byron (link), Boston’s Par Lindholm (link), Columbus’ Gabriel Carlsson, and Carolina’s newly-acquired Alex Galchenyuk. Edmonton’s James Neal has cleared after being waived yesterday.
League Notes: COVID Safety Measures, Draft Lottery, Draft Date
As alluded to earlier, the NHL and NHLPA have revealed a joint release describing several new Coronavirus safety measures in response to the growing list of players in the COVID Protocol and game postponements. Included in the list of new strategies to mitigate the spread of the virus are a “work/home quarantine”, a ban on non-virtual team meetings and social interactions, removal of the glass behind the penalty box, KN95 face masks, and even revised seating assignments in the locker room and during travel to use previous positive-test players as “buffers”. There will also be rapid testing for all U.S. teams on game days, with a similar system in the works for Canadians clubs, genome sequencing tests, greater testing availability for household members, and a greater emphasis on COVID education. Will all of this change the current COVID calamity across the league? It certainly won’t hurt.
- As rumored this off-season, the NHL is going to take a closer look at changing the structure of the NHL Draft Lottery. On Thursday’s edition of TSN’s “Insider Trading”, Pierre LeBrun reported that NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly has revealed to him that a review of the lottery process is officially underway. He believes that a pitch will be made to the Board of Governors soon as to a proposed new format. The assumption of course is that the new structure will give increased odds of winning the lottery to the teams finishing at the bottom of standings. The talk this off-season centered around the Detroit Red Wings, who failed to win even one of the lottery draws for the 2020 NHL Draft and fell to fourth in a season in which they were historically bad and well below even the 30th-ranked team in the NHL. Many owners and GM’s felt that this shifted the status quo and placed importance on avoiding such poor teams missing out on top picks in the future, or at least offering them a better chance of landing those picks. Whether or not these lottery changes will be approved, and if so in time for the next entry draft, remain to be seen.
- The question still remains of when the 2021 NHL Draft will actually be held. Given the lack of opportunity for a number of prospects this season, there have been considerable talks about postponing the draft. TSN’s Darren Dreger reports that NHL’s general managers plan to meet soon to discuss options for the coming draft. Dreger believes there are three possible options for the draft. The first, of course, is to leave the draft as is in June. With the CHL leagues working toward a return and the American junior and collegiate levels and European leagues well underway, there will likely have been a chance for every team to see every prospect, even if only in a limited sample size. This will put teams on an even playing field, however those drafting later in the first round may wind up benefiting from the lack of complete information allowing some superior prospects to slide. The other two possibilities involve postponing the draft. The first is to schedule the draft for the winter, either December of January, to allow teams to gather more data over the remainder of this season, in summer tournaments, and early next season. The second, and to Dreger the one likely to be most supported by GM’s, is to hold the 2021 and 2022 drafts back-to-back next summer, allowing for another complete season to replace the current campaign before teams are asked to select players. All three options hold merit and there are likely still many factors to consider over the next few months before a formal decision can be made.
Trade Rumors: Bennett, DeAngelo, Stepan
As if there weren’t enough whispers surrounding Calgary Flames forward Sam Bennett, his healthy scratch last night did not help. The news emerged well ahead of the Flames’ game on Thursday that Bennett would not play and TSN’s Darren Dreger reports that speculation swelled across the league that this implied Bennett was available for trade. Bennett’s play has improved of late and the player himself even told the media that the scratch came as a surprise. However, with Bennett wanting out of Calgary – though he would not confirm a formal trade request – perhaps the Flames want to look at other internal options who could take Bennett’s place, as well as protect the health of their trade asset. With that said, Dreger warns not to get too excited. He says a trade is certainly not imminent, which harkens back to the Flames own admission that they would not rush to trade Bennett and may not move him at all if they cannot find the right deal.
- As for the possibility of a trade involving Bennett and another player on the block, New York Rangers defenseman Anthony DeAngelo, there are mixed reports. On Wednesday, Bob McKenzie reported on the NBC Sports broadcast that the Calgary Flames were among four or five teams that had interest in the “reclamation project” that is DeAngelo. A talented, but polarizing player, DeAngelo could be of interest to any number of teams, so even a Calgary team with good defensive depth would not be a major surprise. However, Sportsnet’s Flames beat writer Eric Francis dispelled the rumors of Calgary interest in DeAngelo. He also reiterated that the team will take their time with a Bennett trade and will not rush into a deal for another player on the rumor mill.
- The other teams mentioned by McKenzie as kicking the tires on DeAngelo: the Anaheim Ducks, Detroit Red Wings, and Los Angeles Kings. As rebuilding teams, taking a chance on the talent and youth of DeAngelo makes a ton of sense for any of these clubs. Considering that DeAngelo has already cleared waivers as well, Detroit or L.A. could also convince New York to add a draft pick to the trade, while Anaheim may be more interested in the Rangers retaining some of DeAngelo’s $4.8MM salary.
- Despite an impressive win over the rival Montreal Canadiens on Thursday, the season has not gone as planned so far for the Ottawa Senators. After adding some veterans to the roster this off-season, the team hoped the influx of experience and talent combined with their considerable youth and upside would result in more wins. Thus far, they have the league’s worst record at 2-8-1. As a result, changes could be coming to the roster. The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch reports that one major change could be a quick flip of veteran center Derek Stepan. Stepan was acquired right before training camp in a trade with the Arizona Coyotes but has failed to make much of an impact for the Senators. He has just three points and -7 rating through ten games, averaging just two shots per game and on pace for the worst possession numbers of his career. It is believed that Stepan is as unhappy with his role in Ottawa as the Senators are in his production. A separation could be coming soon since the veteran still has value across the league, especially on an expiring contract. Stepan, 30, is a durable, two-way center who has scored at a 40-point pace or better in each of nine NHL season prior to last year.