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Andrej Sekera Undergoes Achilles Surgery, Out Indefinitely

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The Edmonton Oilers have already suffered a blow to their hopes of a bounce back season, as today they announced that Andrej Sekera will be out indefinitely following surgery to repair a torn Achilles tendon. The injury occurred during an off-season training session.

The 32-year old Sekera already missed a good chunk of the 2017-18 season with a knee injury, suiting up for just 36 games. Though he’s not a dominating presence on the ice, Sekera has been quite effective throughout his career and was dearly missed by the Oilers last season. Without Sekera healthy for much of the year and facing some injuries and stagnation by Oscar Klefbom and Adam Larsson, the team received very little offensive production from their defense. That was a huge reason they struggled to find any consistency during the year and finished so low in the standings, and Sekera’s new absence could start the whole process over again. Achilles injuries usually last months, and there is no clear indication if Sekera will be able to play at all this season.

While that won’t be decided for some time, the Oilers now have to find a way to improve their blue line in the next few weeks. Already there was plenty of speculation about them going after a right-handed puck-moving defenseman this summer, but nothing seemed to materialize on the trade front. Darnell Nurse is still unsigned, and the team has very little cap space (if any) to spend on a free agent acquisition. Though Sekera can likely be moved to long-term injured reserve to regain some cap flexibility, the Oilers have a ton of money already on the books going forward.

Unless the team is willing to go with a full-time bottom pairing of Matt Benning and Kevin Gravel without any real NHL-level depth behind them, a move needs to be made in a hurry. There are still several veteran options on the free agent market who could be signed for a reasonably low amount, but without the certainty of Nurse’s cap hit they won’t know exactly how much they can spend. A trade may be more appetizing, but there are only a few assets that would really bring back anything of value on the Edmonton roster given how expensive almost all of their NHL talent is.

It may improve the chances that Evan Bouchard, selected 10th-overall in the recent draft, could make the Oilers out of camp and stay all season. Though some believe Bouchard is better off returning to the London Knights of the OHL and continuing his development, he also may be the most talented option the Oilers have available to them. Bouchard recorded a huge number of points for the Knights last season while sometimes playing more than 30 minutes in a single game, and could likely be a contributor—albeit an inconsistent one—right away for Edmonton.

All this boils down to an extremely unfortunate circumstance for Edmonton, who were counting on a return to form by Sekera as a reason for optimism. Now they’ll have to find a way to piece together their blue line once again, and hope for no more significant injuries to their top three options. This also brings into question Sekera’s future with the team, as he’s now missed huge chunks of two seasons with injury and will be heading into his mid-thirties soon. Signed through 2020-21 at a $5.5MM cap hit, he may quickly become an anchor on the Edmonton salary structure if he can’t return to form.

Edmonton's Double-Edged Sword With Cam Talbot

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  • The Oilers face a bit of a conundrum regarding goalie Cam Talbot, notes NBC Sports’ Scott Billeck. The veteran is coming off of a substandard season and the team is certainly going to be counting on him to help get them back into contention.  However, he’s entering the final year of his contract and a top-notch campaign could very well result in Talbot pricing himself out of what Edmonton can afford given all of the money on their books long-term.  For now, they’ll certainly hope that he can get back to his 2016-17 form but they will have to get even more creative with their cap room if they want him to be their netminder for the long-term.

Pacific Notes: Silfverberg, Czarnik, Hathaway, Oilers

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The Anaheim Ducks are committed to paying more than $66MM for 13 players for the 2019-20 season after agreeing to a extensions with center Adam Henrique (five years, $29.25MM) and goaltender John Gibson (eight years, $51.2MM) this summer. So with those extensions already completed, the next question is whether there will be enough money to extend forward Jakob Silfverberg.

The Athletic’s Eric Stephens (subscription required) writes that the good news is that there are no major extensions that have to be dealt with for several years, so what money is left, the team is free to use without having to worrying about having to use the money to sign the next superstar. In fact, most of the team’s top prospects such as Sam Steel, Troy Terry, Max Jones and Jacob Larsson will be on entry-level deals until at least 2020-21.

However, much of the team’s ability to sign Silfverberg will depend on what the 27-year-old is demanding. His defensive abilities is what makes him so intriguing as his offense is rather pedestrian, though Silfverberg has posted at least 17 goals over the past three seasons. But the winger hasn’t really seen a significant improvement to his offensive game in four years. Stephens writes that if Silfverberg is willing to take $5MM per year for four years, the team would likely be able to fit him in, but any higher demands could easily prompt the team to trade him if they can’t come to an agreement as opposed to losing him for nothing next offseason.

  • Kent Wilson of The Athletic (subscription required) takes a deep look at the Calgary Flames new acquisition Austin Czarnik, who many people have been fascinated by. The diminutive forward, who stands at 5-foot-9, 160 pounds, was extremely successful in the AHL with the Providence Bruins, but has never really given a chance at a full-time NHL job. The scribe compares his skills to that of Vegas’ Jon Marchessault, and Tampa Bay’s Tyler Johnson and Yanni Gourde as smaller players who thrived in the AHL and then took off at the NHL level as well. Despite being older than the standard prospect (he played four years at Miami University of Ohio, the 25-year-old could step in and make an immediate impact in Calgary.
  • A year ago, Calgary Flames forward Garnet Hathaway found himself regular playing time after being recalled from the AHL after 18 games. He managed to appear in 59 games, posting four goals and 13 assists on the team’s fourth line, but might have an even tougher challenge this year with the team making quite a few offseason changes, according to NHL.com’s Alex Medina. Hathaway, who signed a one-year deal with Calgary on July 30, is ready for the challenge. “It’s my goal to be there for game one and for all the games,” Hathaway said. “Management has done a great job bringing guys in and I think it’s going to be a very competitive camp and competitive season. I think that’ll help the team improve having guys push each other to get better. That’s what makes a team take the next step.”
  • The Edmonton Oilers have 13 forwards under contract currently, but intend to be patient about finding a 14th forward, according to NHL.com’s Paul Gazzola. In an interview with 630 CHED Oilers Now, Edmonton Oilers general manager Peter Chiarelli said the team will look at multiple avenues to fill that 14th spot from offering PTO to some veteran free agents to looking at young players who might impress at training camp. “I’ve been asked quite a bit about that 14th forward,” Chiarelli said. “We’ve talked to a number of players on PTOs. We’re going to look at waivers and see what’s available there. We’re going to kind of take it slowly because we also have some guys that may compete and beat out guys – younger players – that might be in that category.”

Poll: Can Connor McDavid Win The Art Ross Trophy For A Third-Straight Year?

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The Edmonton Oilers went from a top performing playoff team in 2016-17 to a struggling franchise that didn’t even come close to earning a playoff spot last year. Quite a difference in years. Yet among all that went wrong last season, the team got the most out of their star player Connor McDavid, who captured the Art Ross Trophy for a second year in a row.

McDavid, who enters his fourth NHL season and first as the highest paid player in the league, posted 30 goals and 70 assists in the 2016-17 season for 100 points. He easily walked away with the Art Ross Trophy as the next closest were Chicago’s Patrick Kane and Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby with 89 points. Behind them was Washington’s Nicklas Backstrom with 86, as well as Boston’s Brad Marchand and Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov who both had 85 points.

In 2017-18, despite a lesser team that struggled, McDavid’s numbers only got better as he posted 41 goals, 67 assists and 108 points, but the competition only increased as two other players broke the 100-point barrier, including Philadelphia’s Claude Giroux who had 102 points and Kucherov who went from 85 points to 100. Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin (98 points) and Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon (97 points) rounded out the top five. However, while five players in 2016-17 had 85 points or more, that number altered quite a bit last year as 15 players had 85 points or more, giving McDavid even more competition.

There are several players who could compete with McDavid this year, including Kucherov who continues to improve at 24. Hart Trophy winner Taylor Hall finished the season with 93 points, while MacKinnon, who is just 22, is also a young player who can still take his game to the higher level. Or could someone else take that next step?

So the question is, can Connor McDavid lead the league in points again?

Pro Hockey Rumors app users, click here to vote.

Dylan Larkin, Detroit Red Wings Inching Closer To Contract

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Among the names left on the restricted free agent list, Dylan Larkin stands out as a potential franchise linchpin. Though William Nylander and Sam Reinhart are important forwards, and Noah Hanifin, Darnell Nurse, Shea Theodore and Josh Morrissey are all talented defensmen, it’s Larkin that could be the face of the Detroit Red Wings for quite some time and probably the most important contract to still be worked out. Larkin recently said that he believed something would be done before training camp, and yesterday reiterated that fact to Sportsnet’s Luke Fox.

Something’s coming. I’ve told everyone I think it’ll be before training camp. It’s right there. I’m just waiting to iron out the details.

There have been reports that the Red Wings have been working towards a five or six year contract, but Larkin indicated that there are “different offers out there” that could also include a shorter bridge deal. That depends on how much room GM Ken Holland and the Detroit front office can clear up this summer, given that the Red Wings only have $2.83MM in cap space. Larkin would take up more than that even on a bridge deal, meaning there is plenty more work to be done for the club over the next few weeks.

Teams can go over the cap in the offseason (up to 10% or $7.95MM), and the Red Wings still have Johan Franzen’s cap hit that can be placed on long-term injured reserve for additional cap flexibility. But if Larkin does end up signing a long-term deal, it would take up a considerable amount of space given that he has just four years of restricted free agency remaining.

Even with the crunch that is occurring right now for Detroit, the may rather get Larkin under contract for some of his unrestricted free agent years given that their cap situation starts clearing up as soon as 2019-20. With nearly $18MM scheduled to come off the books in the form of Gustav Nyquist, Jimmy Howard, Thomas Vanek and Niklas Kronwall, the team can certainly afford to give the next wave of talent substantial raises. As a team the Red Wings are getting closer to financial freedom and a real chance at a rebuild, and Larkin’s next deal will set the precedent for all the players that come after him. It might still take a little while to work through, but at this point both sides seem confident something will get done.

Morning Notes: McDavid, Drouin, Bavis

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Connor McDavid wants to get some more consistent linemates this season, but is confident that the Edmonton Oilers can get back to their 2016-17 form during the upcoming season. McDavid spoke to reporters including Luke Fox of Sportsnet at the recent Pro Edge Power training camp in Toronto, where players from all around the league come to work on fine tuning their game in the offseason. Even though the 2017-18 season didn’t go as planned, McDavid found solace in how the team kept fighting until the end of the season.

There’s just got to be a point in time where you get sick of losing, and you just don’t anymore. Guys came together. Guys were sick of how the year was going and came back to playing hockey the way it should be, the way you need to,

Those Oilers haven’t done much to address their biggest weaknesses, but did bring in Tobias Rieder and Kyle Brodziak to help out their offensive group. One other thing that may come of the addition? A stronger locker room, given that McDavid specifically notes Brodziak’s solid reputation as a good teammate and notes that the team could use his help.

  • If you thought Jonathan Drouin may end up back on the wing this season for the Montreal Canadiens, he has news for you. After struggling through the transition to center last season, Drouin told Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette that he will be back in the middle when training camp opens next month. Drouin admitted that he finally started to have some fun with the position in the second half of the 2017-18 season, which showed on the scoreboard as well. 18 of Drouin’s 46 points came in his final 25 games, including nine in nine to finish the year. If he can find that kind of offensive consistency right from the start of the season, the Canadiens might finally see the player they believed they had acquired for Mikhail Sergachev last summer.
  • The Wheeling Nailers of the ECHL have hired Mike Bavis as their new head coach, after losing Mark Dennehy to the AHL a few days ago. Dennehy never actually coached a game for the Nailers, accepting the position only to be poached a few months later. Bavis spent more than a decade as an assistant coach at Boston University, but will get his first head coaching job at the professional level with the Nailers this season. Pittsburgh’s ECHL affiliate missed the playoffs the last two seasons but hasn’t posted a losing record in a decade. Bavis will be tasked with taking the group back to the postseason, while also developing some of Pittsburgh’s more raw or unheralded prospects.

Edmonton Oilers Working Towards Darnell Nurse Contract

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Yesterday when we published an updated list of the remaining unsigned restricted free agents, any Edmonton Oilers fan would have focused in on one name. Darnell Nurse is still without a contract after his breakout season in 2017-18, and could potentially make it tough on his team with a long-term contract demand. The Oilers have just under $5MM in cap space remaining, a good chunk of which could go to Nurse if his new contract buys out any unrestricted free agent years. Still, GM Peter Chiarelli is confident that a deal will get done with the young defenseman, explaining to 630 CHED radio that RFA contracts just take a little longer to work through.

The big question for the Oilers will be how much cap space to commit to Nurse, given that the team already has nearly $18MM/year invested in four other defensemen. Andrej Sekera, Oscar Klefbom, Adam Larsson and Kris Russell are all signed for at least three seasons, and with a huge chunk of the cap already going to Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl the team has to be quite careful with their salary going forward. A bridge deal for Nurse could be the best for both sides, as a three-year contract would still leave him as a restricted free agent with plenty of cap space to give him on a long-term deal. Whether the Nurse camp would be open to that isn’t clear, but it would be a way to maximize his earnings later in his career.

After playing 82 games for the first time in his career and recording a career-high 26 points, Nurse has established himself as a key part of the Oilers going forward. What he hasn’t done yet is show the big offensive upside that many believe is still inside of him. Part of that is due to his lack of powerplay time with Edmonton, but there is likely even more even-strength offense to come from the seventh-overall pick. If those numbers rise over the next few years he could set himself up for a huge UFA contract as a true two-way defenseman, given his already established ability to defend, contribute on the penalty kill and log big minutes.

Nurse must sign a contract by December 1st in order to play at all in the 2018-19 season, but Chiarelli seems confident that something will be worked out long before then. For now, we’ll have to wait to see what the Oilers decide to do in order to fit him into their current salary structure.

Edmonton Fans Still Waiting For Big Changes

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The Edmonton Oilers were one of the biggest disappointments of the 2017-18 season. Despite being led by one of the best players in the world in Connor McDavid, the team dropped 25 points in the standings and finished well out of the playoffs. Only three players on the team broke the 15-goal or 40-point thresholds, and goaltender Cam Talbot posted his worst season as a professional. Changes were obviously needed, and big things were expected from GM Peter Chiarelli, who had never been known for his hesitation in the past. Chiarelli has always been willing to trade players who he believed were problems, and acquire assets that could help his team.

In April, just after the Oilers season had come to a close, Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal wrote a piece outlining ten changes that could happen in order to get the team back to the playoffs in 2018-19. Among them was a common thread, that basically everyone on the roster outside of McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins should be considered available. Real additions also needed to be made up front, to help add some secondary scoring to the rest of the lineup. A puck-moving defenseman should be added, and something needs to be done about the left-handed imbalance of the blue line.

This summer though, almost none of those things have happened.

A change in the coaching staff was expected, and the team did bring in several new faces to help head coach Todd McLellan this season. Glen Gulutzan, Trent Yawney and Manny Viveiros were all hired as assistants, replacing several outgoing names. That should give the team a different look in terms of system, but those asked to perform will be the same. The defense corps remains relatively unchanged, other than the fact that Darnell Nurse is still without a contract and Kevin Gravel was brought in on a two-way contract. No additional puck-movers have been added, meaning as it stands the burden will once again fall on players like Nurse and Oscar Klefbom to really drive the team.

On the topic of secondary scoring, there has been little change. Tobias Rieder and Kyle Brodziak were the Oilers’ big free agent additions, giving the team two more middling offensive talents to plug into the lineup. While Rieder has shown potential at times, he still only recorded 12 goals and 25 points last season. Brodziak is actually coming off one of the better offensive campaigns of his career with 10 goals and 33 points, but shouldn’t be expected at age-34 to be an answer to the team’s problems.

Perhaps the biggest change came in net, where the team opted to avoid signing one of the more proven names in free agency and instead brought in Mikko Koskinen from the KHL. The 30-year old goaltender had an incredible season for SKA St. Petersburg in 2017-18, but hasn’t played in North America on a full-time basis since 2011. If Koskinen can push Talbot back to the level he had previously shown the Oilers will be much more competitive, but there’s no guarantee they’ll have any consistency in the position this year.

No instead of the big changes that were expected, the Oilers have generally sat on their hands this summer and hoped a change could come from within. Even their 10th-overall pick in the draft which they were open about potentially trading, was eventually used to pick Evan Bouchard. There’s clearly a boatload of talent in the London Knights blueliner, but if Bouchard isn’t able to jump right to the NHL this season he can’t help a team that needs to compete immediately. If it’s not Bouchard, then perhaps Jesse Puljujarvi is the key to the offseason in Edmonton. The fourth-overall pick from 2016 is now 20 years old, and needs to become an impact player this season. In 65 NHL games last year he registered 12 goals and 20 points, but those numbers need to improve drastically if the Oilers are to expect a winning season.

There is a chance that the team still makes a big splash to bring in some scoring help, but there financial situation is obviously limiting them. With just $4.98MM in cap space and Nurse still to sign, the team likely couldn’t go after someone like Jeff Skinner. In order to land the talented winger from Carolina, the Hurricanes would have had to accept another contract back in order to even out the salaries. That puts the Oilers in a distinct disadvantage in trade talks, and one that won’t be fixed anytime soon. None of the hefty Oilers contracts come off the books next season outside of Talbot and Koskinen, but there isn’t a brilliant young goaltender ready to step into that void on an inexpensive contract. Without moving a defenseman or Milan Lucic’s contract, the Oilers will remain in salary trouble as they try to add pieces in the future.

For an offseason that was expected to bring fireworks in Edmonton, and help surround McDavid with a team that could give him a legitimate chance for the Stanley Cup, things have been awfully quiet. Oilers fans will have to hope that change is coming from places they didn’t expect, and someone can step up to alter their fortunes. Otherwise it could be a long season, and another wasted opportunity with one of the game’s premiere talents.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Pacific Notes: Sutter, Karlsson, Talbot, Stone, McPhee

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Much of the attention that has come towards the Vancouver Canucks this offseason either fell to their plethora of prospects, many of which seem to be ready to contribute next season, or their highly criticized signings of Jay Beagle, Antoine Roussel and Tim Schaller on the first day of free agency (not including the resignation of Trevor Linden). Regardless, The Athletic’s J.D. Burke (subscription required) writes that forgotten man Brandon Sutter’s stock is definitely heading up this season.

The 29-year-old forward has provided the Canucks with a physical and defensive presence, but hasn’t been required to show his offensive skills. Suddenly, with scoring becoming a great team need and the addition of players like Beagle, Roussel and Schaller, the opportunity to play a more offensive role is suddenly in front of him.

One suggestion is to have Sutter center the team’s second line with Elias Pettersson playing next to him to start the season. Then once, Pettersson has adjusted to North American play, allow the two to switch places.

  • After signing a one-year deal for $5.25MM this morning, Vegas Golden Knights center William Karlsson remained positive about staying in Las Vegas long-term, according to Jesse Granger of the Las Vegas Sun. He hopes he can duplicate the 43-goal season from last year, which should hand him the long-term deal he wants when he goes through restricted free agency again next season. “In an ideal world I would’ve liked a long term deal, but I like to bet on myself and that’s what this is. Now I can go prove myself,” Karlsson said.
  • The Edmonton Sun’s Robert Tychkowski interviewed Edmonton Oilers goaltender Cam Talbot about the team’s signing of Mikko Koskinen to a one-year, $2.5MM deal. Koskinen is likely to take a much bigger role than the 15 games that Talbot didn’t play in. That signing likely had something to do with Talbot’s on-ice struggles as he went from a 2.39 GAA and a .919 save percentage in 2016-17 to a 3.02 GAA and a .909 save percentage. However, Talbot welcomes the challenge. “I like the competition,” Talbot said. “I enjoy it. It pushes everyone to be better. Maybe it will take a little bit of the starts away from me and I can be at the top of my game.”
  • The Athletic’s Kent Wilson (subscription required) writes that the Calgary Flames made a poor move last offseason when they signed defenseman Michael Stone to a three-year, $10.5MM deal. The veteran defenseman was thought to be a top-four defenseman, but once the team added Travis Hamonic via trade, Stone was sent to the team’s third pairing and truly struggled last year. Now, with $7MM remaining on his deal over the next two years, Stone stands in the way of multiple young defenseman, including Rasmus Andersson. With little trade value, things could get ugly at some point in the next year.
  • In another tweet, Granger interviewed Vegas Golden Knights general manager George McPhee about the talent at the forward position. The team added center Paul Stastny, but lost two quality players in James Neal and David Perron. Despite the losses, the team has several in-house candidates like Alex Tuch and Tomas Tatar ready to step up. “I like where we are, but if there’s an opportunity to upgrade at the forward position at any time over the next year we will,” McPhee said.

Poll: How Many Remaining Veteran Free Agents Will Sign?

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With just one day left in July, free agents have had a month to find employment in the NHL. Last summer, there were less than 20 unrestricted free agents signed after the end of July through the beginning of the regular season. This off-season, there are a plethora of notable names left on the market, but at this point is is unlikely that they all find a new home in the league. The question now is how many of these top names get lucky.

Rick Nash could find a landing spot if he wanted to. The six-time All-Star is currently evaluating his future in hockey versus his health after suffering yet another concussion this season. Should he decide to return, he would likely have more than a few teams interested in a short-term deal.

If Nash opts not to return, the top-scoring forward from last season left on the market is actually Mike Cammalleri. Cammalleri, 36, quietly put up 29 points last season after a hot start with the Los Angeles Kings and then a trade to the Edmonton Oilers. The former point-per-game player is not quite that kind of scorer any more, but could still contribute to a number of teams.

Benoit Pouliot was a perennial 30-point player until he turned 30 and has struggled the past two years. In the right situation, he could still make an impact. The same goes for Mark Letestu, Drew Stafford and Jannik Hansen. Ales Hemsky was highly productive before injuries derailed his career, but remains a possible high-ceiling gamble if back at 100%.

Other available forwards bring more of a two-way game such as Daniel Winnik, Scott Hartnell, Scottie Upshall, Chris Stewart, Antoine Vermette, Jussi Jokinen, Tommy Wingels, Jason Chimera, Joel Ward, Dominic Moore, Matt Stajan, and Lee Stempniak. There are also some younger options like Alex Chiasson, Nick Shore, Logan Shaw, Tomas Jurco, and Freddie Hamilton.

On the blue line, Luca Sbisa is reportedly drawing interest from several teams across the league. Although he suited up for just 30 games with the Vegas Golden Knights, he managed to register 14 points and plays a strong checking game. It would seem that Sbisa is in line for a contract at some point.

But what about Toby Enstrom? A free agent for the first time in his long career, the well-respected veteran was expected to land a contract early on but still remains unemployed. Enstrom has always been a reliable presence on the back end, but at 33 years old, he has shown signs of slowing down.

Other aging options on defense include Alexei Emelin, Johnny Oduya, Kevin Bieksa, Dennis Seidenberg, Kyle Quincey, Paul Martin, Josh Gorges, and Jason Garrison. However, experience may not be able to outweigh ability with many younger defenseman still out there. Brandon Davidson, Cody Franson, and Paul Postma seem like players who should be signed, while Justin Falk, Frank Corrado, Ryan Sproul, and Duncan Siemens are all intriguing targets as well.

In net, the options are pretty straightforward. One would think that Kari Lehtonen, Steve Mason, and Ondrej Pavelec had all done enough in their careers to earn a continued stay in the NHL, especially when there are no other legitimate goaltenders available at this point. Yet, its hard to pinpoint three teams that need another option in goal. These three keepers may need to wait until injuries strike to find work.

So, how many of these remaining free agents will sign before the season starts?

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