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Snapshots: Three Stars, Hitchcock, Skinner

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The NHL has released their three stars of last week, and in the lead is a player who has had quite a roller coaster season. Vladimir Tarasenko had seven points in four games to help secure a Central Division playoff spot for the St. Louis Blues, just months after being one of the players rumored to be drawing interest in trade negotiations. The Blues went from a team considering blowing up its core to one that very well could contend for the Stanley Cup, and Tarasenko’s turnaround is one of the reasons why. The 27-year old sniper scored 46 points in his final 39 games and was a +23 during that time, finishing the year with his fifth consecutive season of 33 or more goals.

It’s not just the Blues who have hot players heading into the playoffs though, as Pekka Rinne of the Nashville Predators and Alexander Radulov of the Dallas Stars take home the other two stars this week. Rinne is proving once again that he is one of the most reliable goaltenders in the entire league and enters the playoffs as Nashville’s presumptive starter despite a strong push by backup Juuse Saros. Radulov meanwhile finished his season strong and crossed the point-per-game threshold for the first time in his career, ending with 72 in 70 games played.

  • The Edmonton Oilers will let their next GM decide what to do with the coaching position, as CEO Bob Nicholson told reporters today that Ken Hitchcock’s time behind the bench has come to an end for the time being. The legendary coach was only meant to be in that position for the rest of this season, and though Nicholson wouldn’t rule out the idea of him returning, said the new GM will be able to hire who he wants. Hitchcock will stay in the Oilers organization as an advisor, something the incoming front office will need as they try to turn things around for the organization.
  • After a disastrous season in Buffalo the Sabres fired their coach and held frustrated media availability today, but the focus will now turn to pending unrestricted free agent Jeff Skinner. The team has been in contact with Skinner’s representatives for some time, and the talented forward once again reiterated that he loves the city and organization and has “had a great time.” Skinner scored 40 goals for the first time in his career and could potentially be one of the very best forwards available this summer. The clock is ticking for the Sabres, as every day that passes makes the chance at free agency that much harder to resist.

Los Angeles Kings Request Permission To Speak With Todd McLellan

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With the Los Angeles Kings’ announcement today that interim coach Willie Desjardins will not return to the team, the Kings haven’t wasted any time in beginning their search for the next man to lead their team on the ice. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that the Los Angeles Kings have asked the Edmonton Oilers for permission to interview former coach Todd McLellan.

When the announcement came out this morning, The Athletic’s Lisa Dillman reported that the team was already working on a coaching hire, but nothing was imminent. However, the request and rumors around the league suggest that it’s McLellan that the team wants to bring in as their head coach.

McLellan has put together a solid coaching resume with a 434-282-90 record, including seven seasons with the San Jose Sharks and another three and a half seasons with the Oilers before he was dismissed on Nov. 20th this season. However, despite taking an impressive Sharks team to the Conference Finals in his second and third seasons with San Jose, McLellan has struggled throughout the playoffs, totaling a 37-38 record. His most recent tenure had some success in his second season when Edmonton got to the second-round of the playoffs in the 2016-17 season and looked like an up-and-coming team, but he wasn’t able to duplicate that afterwards. Of course with much of the blame of the Oilers placed on McLellan, Ken Hitchcock was not able to right the ship either, with the eventual blame going to now former-general manager Peter Chiarelli.

There are also rumors that the team will consider current assistant coach Marco Sturm, who the team had interest in developing into their future coach.

2019 NHL Draft Lottery Odds

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The regular season has ended, but for those 15 teams who missed the playoffs the wait won’t be long for the first exciting event of the off-season. The 2019 NHL Entry Draft may be more than ten weeks away, but the league has moved this year’s NHL Draft Lottery up several weeks to this coming Tuesday, April 9th, before the postseason even begins. With the final league standings in place after yesterday’s results and the teams with ping pong balls to be selected now set, here are the odds for the No. 1 overall pick in this years draft:

31st – Colorado Avalanche (from Ottawa Senators): 18.5%

30th – Los Angeles Kings: 13.5%

29th – New Jersey Devils: 11.5%

28th – Detroit Red Wings: 9.5%

27th – Buffalo Sabres: 8.5%

26th – New York Rangers: 7.5%

25th – Edmonton Oilers: 6.5%

24th – Anaheim Ducks: 6.0%

23rd – Vancouver Canucks: 5.0%

22nd – Philadelphia Flyers: 3.5%

21st – Minnesota Wild: 3.0%

20th – Chicago Blackhawks: 2.5%

19th – Florida Panthers: 2.0%

18th – Arizona Coyotes: 1.5%

17th* – Montreal Canadiens: 1.0%

It’s important to note that while the odds at winning the first overall pick are listed, there are lottery selections for each of the first three picks in the draft with each team’s odds increasing proportionally after each selection starting with first overall. The prize this year for Tuesday night’s lucky winner is expected to be U.S. National Team Development Program center Jack Hughes, an elite play-making pivot who has been wowing scouts for years. The consolation prize of picking second is not too shabby either; Finnish scoring winger Kaapo Kakko has closed the gap on Hughes and is also considered an elite talent. The No. 3 pick is finally where there will be some intrigue in June. Many feel Russian winger Vasili Podkolzin will be the pick, but a team may opt for a different style of forward like Canadians Dylan Cozens and Kirby Dach or Hughes’ teammate Alex Turcotte, while a D-needy club could reach for promising defender Bowen Byram. 

The NHL Draft Lottery will be nationally televised by NBC Sports, Sportsnet, and TVA beginning at 8pm ET on Tuesday. As opposed to last year, when the lottery took place over two separate sessions during playoff game intermissions, the event will return to being an independent hour-long show. Tune in to see who the big winner could be this year and how the top of the first round will look in this year’s draft.

Minor Transactions: 04/05/19

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The NHL has just one playoff spot left to determine, and it’s going to come down to the wire. The Columbus Blue Jackets and Montreal Canadiens are tied at 94 points but the former has a chance to punch their ticket tonight. The Blue Jackets are ahead on the regulation+overtime wins (ROW) tiebreaker meaning if they win tonight the Canadiens won’t be able to catch them. As they and the rest of the NHL prepare for the last weekend of the regular season, we’ll be here keeping track of all the minor moves.

  • The Pittsburgh Penguins have returned Adam Johnson to the minor leagues after six games, giving their minor league affiliate a huge boost for the final few games of the AHL season. The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are just three points out of a playoff spot in the AHL’s Atlantic Division, and Johnson is one of their best offensive players with 40 points in 63 games this season.
  • Chris Thorburn has been recalled by the St. Louis Blues, a veteran addition as they head into the playoffs. Thorburn has played in just a single game for the Blues this season, instead spending the majority of the year at the minor league level for the first time since 2005-06. The 35-year old forward can provide a physical presence if required, but isn’t likely to make a huge impact in the playoffs.
  • The Arizona Coyotes have returned Adin Hill to the minor leagues now that they’ve been eliminated from the playoffs. Hill was recalled to give them some insurance after Darcy Kuemper suffered a minor injury, but wasn’t needed after all.
  • The Anaheim Ducks have sent Andy Welinski back to the minor leagues and are expected to assign more players to the San Diego Gulls in the coming days. The Ducks won’t be heading for the playoffs this season, but they can at least help the Gulls on their pursuit of a Calder Cup.
  • Christian Wolanin and Rudolfs Balcers are on their way back to the Belleville Senators, as Mark Borowiecki and Bobby Ryan may return tomorrow for the Ottawa Senators. Wolanin and Balcers will help a Belleville team that is battling hard for a playoff spot against the Cleveland Monsters.
  • The exodus has begun in Florida, where the Panthers have sent Jayce Hawryluk, Dryden Hunt and Sam Montembeault back to the Springfield Thunderbirds. The Thunderbirds are technically still alive in the playoff chase, but would need an awful lot of things to go right over the last few games.
  • Nathan Walker has been recalled by the Washington Capitals, likely meaning that a handful of forwards will be getting tomorrow night’s game off. The 25-year old has played three games with the team this season, but spent the majority of it in the minor leagues once again. Walker became the first Australian player (though he was actually born in Wales) to suit up in an NHL game last season, and has 34 points in 54 games this year with the Hershey Bears.
  • The Edmonton Oilers have finally sent Josh Currie back to the AHL after the veteran minor leaguer enjoyed an unexpectedly long stretch at the top level in his first career NHL call-up. Currie scored two goals and five points in 21 games with the Oilers since joining the team in mid-February. He’ll now join the Bakersfield Condors, who lead the AHL’s Pacific Division and are preparing for a deep playoff run.

Snapshots: Elias, Hedman, Lockwood, Marino

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The New Jersey Devils will have a familiar face around the team as former Devils’ great Patrik Elias will be spending time with the John Hynes and the Devils’ coaching staff for the final week of the season, according to NHL.com’s Amanda Stein. The former star player is interested in coaching and wants spend time with the staff and gain experience with working on a coach’s schedule.

Elias, who played 1,240 games with the Devils over the course of his career, scored 408 goals and 1,025 points over that time. However, with his playing days over, he has shown more interest in coaching in the last year. Elias spent time with the Devils this summer and even asked Hynes about coaching the Czech National Team.

Stein says that Elias will be on the ice with the Devils during practice and sit through coaching meetings. He is also expected to be assigned certain duties for the remainder of the season.

  • The Tampa Bay Lightning are facing a scare as Victor Hedman left Saturday’s game during the second period. Evidently, the helmet of Washington Capitals forward Carl Hagelin hit Hedman on the chin accidentally and the Lightning announced that Hedman would not return to the game as a result of the incident. Any long-term loss could be devastating to a team that has been consistently dominant all season and can’t afford to be without their top defenseman for any extended period of time.
  • Sportsnet’s Rick Dhaliwal reports that Vancouver Canucks prospect Will Lockwood will likely stay put and return to the University of Michigan. Lockwood, who just finished his junior year, had a breakout season with 16 goals and 31 points for the Wolverines. If Lockwood, the Canucks’ third-round pick from the 2016 draft, chooses to return to Michigan, he could play out his senior and opt to become a unrestricted free agent after that, free to sign with any team in the NHL.
  • The Edmonton Journal’s Jim Matheson writes that the Edmonton Oilers might have a tough time signing their 2015 sixth-round pick John Marino, who just completed his junior season at Harvard. Unfortunately, because he played a season of USHL hockey, he could opt to become an unrestricted free agent now if he wants. The 21-year-old defenseman had three goals and 11 points for Harvard.

 

Has The Status Quo Changed For Patrick Maroon?

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It’s been an up-and-down season for Patrick Maroon, to say the least. It may be more accurate to call it an up-and-down calendar year even. Things had not gone according to plan and yet Maroon’s play of late has the arrow pointing back up and it may lead to an extended stay with his hometown St. Louis Blues.

The 2017-18 season was a career best for Maroon, as he totaled 43 points in 74 games with two teams. Maroon began the season with the Edmonton Oilers, but it was after a trade deadline deal to the New Jersey Devils that he truly flourished. Maroon was nearly a point-per-game player for the Devils down the stretch, recording 13 points in 17 games. Unexpectedly though, the market never really developed for the 30-year-old power forward. Rather than land the anticipated upgrade to his previous three-year, $6MM contract, Maroon settled for a one-year, $1.75MM deal ten days into free agency with the Blues. There was plenty of speculation that the St. Louis native had some guarantee of an extension once the team could free up future cap space, which would help to explain why he took a discount after a career year.

However, the start to his tenure in St. Louis could not have gone any worse. It took 16 games for Maroon to record his first goal and through the end of February he had just 16 points through 55 games. Add the Blues’ early struggles in and patience had run out on Maroon by January, when rumors emerged that he was likely to be dealt before the trade deadline. Instead, St. Louis began playing well just in time and opted to hold on to all of their pieces for a playoff push. The decision has worked out well when it comes to Maroon, as he has finally picked up his game when it matters most. Since the beginning of March, Maroon has nine points in 13 games, including a recent stretch with six points in five contests. Maroon is now up to 25 points on the year and is back playing at the top of his game.

So will it be enough to get that extension in St. Louis? Even after playing poorly through the first half of the season, Maroon is outperforming his modest salary this season and is due a raise, likely in both money and term. The Blues have a number of core forwards signed long-term as well as several promising prospects knocking on the door, but Maroon’s resurgence and proven willingness to take a hometown discount could again be attractive to the team. It remains to be seen if Maroon can continue scoring in these final weeks and into the postseason, but if he does it will only make the decision easier for St. Louis to give him a new contract just months after being ready to trade him away.

Dudek, Carpenter Sign Amateur Tryouts

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Another pair of NCAA players have inked amateur tryouts in the AHL, as J.D. Dudek and Bobo Carpenter have signed with the Binghamton Devils and Bridgeport Sound Tigers respectively. Carpenter signed his entry-level contract with the Islanders earlier this week but won’t see it kick in until next season.

Dudek meanwhile will be rejoining an organization he was previously associated with. Originally selected by the New Jersey Devils in the sixth round of the 2014 draft, Dudek’s rights were traded to the Edmonton Oilers last season as part of the package for Patrick Maroon. It’s interesting then that he’ll be playing with Binghamton, and may suggest that he is going to wait until August and become an unrestricted free agent. In his four-year career at Boston College, Dudek recorded 56 points in 149 games.

In related moves, Binghamton have released both Nick Sorkin and Desmond Bergin from their professional tryouts. Bergin has played for three different AHL teams this season, but both players spend most of their time in the ECHL.

Brad Malone Placed On Waivers

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Thursday: Malone has cleared waivers and can be assigned to the AHL.

Wednesday: The Edmonton Oilers have placed forward Brad Malone on waivers. Malone is eligible for the AHL playoffs, and could join the first place Bakersfield Condors tomorrow if he clears.

Malone, 29, most recently played a game for the Oilers on March 11th, and has just 13 under his belt this season. The journeyman forward has played for four minor league and three NHL clubs since being selected in the fourth round in 2007, but has just 30 points in 196 career games at the highest level. That includes exactly zero across his two years with the Oilers.

Scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, it is unlikely that Malone will be claimed. It also isn’t clear if the Oilers intend on bringing him back to the organization on another two-way deal, or if he will have to look for another opportunity this summer.

Oilers In Discussions With Prospect John Marino

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  • The Oilers are in discussions with prospect John Marino, reports Postmedia’s Jim Matheson. The defenseman was a sixth-round pick (154th overall) back in 2015 and is just finishing up his junior year at Harvard, a team that is participating in the upcoming NCAA tournament.  Although he still has a year of college eligibility remaining, he’s also eligible for August 15th free agency as it has been four years since he has been drafted.

Could The Time Be Right To Move Ryan Nugent-Hopkins This Summer?

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  • Acquiring quality puck-moving defensemen has been an issue over the years for the Oilers which means that they may have to turn to one of their top trade chips this offseason to try to get one. With that in mind, David Staples of the Edmonton Journal suggests that moving center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins for a young, higher-end defender would stand as a sensible move for a team that has had and given up on Jeff Petry, Justin Schultz, and Erik Gustafsson in recent years.  Edmonton is going to be tight to the salary cap this summer so moving Nugent-Hopkins’ $6MM AAV for a younger (and presumably cheaper) blueliner would give their new GM a little bit more financial flexibility this offseason as well.

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