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Snapshots: Three Stars, Keller, Makar, Boeser

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The NHL announced its three stars for the month of March as Edmonton Oilers’ Connor McDavid has found his way to the top once again, named the first star. McDavid picked up 13 goals and 15 assists in 16 games, which pulls him into the lead for the Art Ross Trophy race. Despite the Oilers struggles, McDavid has taken his game to a new level as he has hit career highs in goals (41) and points (103) and remains six points ahead of Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov for top spot in the NHL.

Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand is the league’s second star for March as he had 10 goals and 16 assists in 15 games. Anaheim goaltender John Gibson picked up third star honors after playing in 13 games, picking up nine wins and boasting a .931 save percentage during that span.

  • Arizona Coyotes announced rookie Clayton Keller was named NHL Rookie of the Month for the second time this season. Keller, who won the award in October, had a strong start to the season, but struggled during the winter months before picking it back up recently. He picked up 19 points in the month of March, including six goals over 17 games. The 19-year-old is ranked second among rookies in points with 63 behind the New York Islanders’ Mathew Barzal.
  • BSN Denver’s Adrian Dater tweets that the Colorado Avalanche will have to wait a little while longer to get bring in 2017 first-round pick Cale Makar into the fold. The fourth-overall pick has decided to return to the University of Massachusetts – Amherst for his sophomore year.  An elite power-play defenseman, Makar had a solid freshman year at Amherst, putting up five goals and 21 points and the Avalanche had hopes of instantly upgrading its defense for next year.
  • Sportsnet’s Rick Dhaliwal tweets that it is doubtful that Vancouver Canucks rookie Brock Boeser plays for Team USA at this year’s 2018 IIHF World Championships in Denmark. Boeser went down for the season with a back injury and likely will spend his summer getting ready for the 2018-19 season. The 21-year-old had a great rookie season in which he scored 29 goals and picked up 55 points.

Minor Transactions: 3/31/18

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Today’s slate of 12 games carries some serious weight, like most days this late in the season. The two-time defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins can clinch a playoff spot with a win and a Florida Panthers regulation loss and their 2016 Cup competitors, the San Jose Sharks, can also get in with a win over the Vegas Golden Knights. Anything less than a regulation win for the Sharks will seal the Pacific Division for the Knights, while a Vegas loss and Winnipeg Jets regulation loss will give the Western Conference title to the Nashville Predators. On the other end of the spectrum, the Carolina Hurricanes and Dallas stars are in action today with their tragic numbers down to one. Both teams must win and hope the New Jersey Devils and St. Louis Blues respectively lose to keep their playoff hopes alive. There is a lot at stake; keep track of how the teams are preparing today right here:

  • Michal Neuvirth continues to struggle with his lower-body injuries and will be unable to go against the Boston Bruins tomorrow. As a result, the Philadelphia Flyers announced that they have recalled young Alex Lyon from the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms on an emergency basis to serve as Petr Mrazek’s backup. Lyon has made 11 appearances for Philly in his rookie season as a dependable option to deal with the team’s many goaltending woes.
  • Another emergency recall is defenseman Chris Butler, per the St. Louis Blues. After Jordan Schmaltz left the Blues’ game last night with an upper-body injury and did not return, St. Louis needed a replacement and got one by bringing up Butler from the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage. Butler has skated in just two NHL games this season, but is enjoying a career year in the minor leagues with 29 points and a +12 rating in 60 games.
  • The Edmonton Oilers have also made an emergency recall, adding Keegan Lowe to the blue line from the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors. Despite multiple call-ups, Lowe has not yet debuted for the Oilers, but could get his chance against the Calgary Flames today.
  • The Calgary Flames announced they have recalled defenseman Oliver Kylington from the Stockton Heat of the AHL as an emergency call-up. He has been added as the extra defenseman in case one of their six defenseman are either injured or ill. Kylington, the team’s second-round pick in 2015, has been having a solid year in his third AHL season. He has five goals and 26 assists in 56 games this season. He has played one NHL game in his career, back in the 2015-16 season.
  • The Buffalo Sabres have assigned forward Kyle Criscuolo to the Rochester Americans of the AHL. The 25-year-old forward hasn’t played since Mar. 5 with a shoulder injury and now that he is skating, it is believed he will return to Rochester for their AHL playoff run. Criscuolo has played nine games for the Sabres this season, with no points. He has 15 goals in 50 games with the Americans this year.

Minor Transactions: 3/25/18

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There have already been a couple early moves today as the league prepares for the second-to-last week of the regular season. Expect more to come as injuries and college additions continue to shift roster makeup. Others will be made to specifically prepare for key match-ups, such as major playoff position battles today between the Penguins and Flyers and Predators and Jets. Keep track of all the action here:

  • The Ottawa Senators have recalled forward Ben Sexton from their AHL affiliate in Belleville, marking the first big-league call-up for the 26-year-old. Sexton was a leader and top scorer as a college player at Clarkson University from 2010 to 2014, but the Boston Bruins, who had drafted him in the seventh round in 2009, moved on after just two disappointing minor league campaigns. Ever since, Sexton has been much more productive in the AHL and has finally earned his first NHL shot in his first season with the Senators after posting 10 goals and 21 points in 28 games so far in 2017-18.
  • Victor Ejdsell is also making his first trip to the NHL, not long after making his North American pro debut. The Chicago Blackhawks have announced Ejdsell’s promotion this morning and the 22-year-old Swedish forward could be in the lineup in short order, seeing as it was an emergency recall. Ejdsell was acquired by Chicago in the Ryan Hartman trade last month and only joined the AHL’s Rockford Ice Hogs last week. Ejdsell recorded 34 points in 50 games in the Swedish Hockey League this season before making the jump and notched an assist in his first AHL game.
  • With backup Al Montoya suffering through a minor ailment, the Edmonton Oilers announced they are recalling Laurent Brossoit on an emergency basis. The 25-year-old goaltender and one-time back-up this year has struggled in the NHL, posting a 3.22 GAA and a .886 save percentage in 13 games this year. He’s fared slightly better with the Bakersfield Condors with a 2.72 and a .912 save percentage in 22 games. The Oilers also announced they have sent forward Brad Malone to Bakersfield. Malone had been recalled Friday, but did not play Saturday.
  • The St. Louis Blues’ Samuel Blais has been up and down quite a bit in the past couple of days. The 21-year-old winger was called up Friday on an emergency basis and sent back down that night. He was recalled Saturday on an emergency basis and was assigned back to the San Antonio Rampage this morning, according to Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He did not play in either Friday’s or Saturday’s games. The Blues have also assigned emergency fill-in Ville Husso to the San Antonio Rampage, according to NHL.com’s Lou Korac. The move suggests that Blues backup Carter Hutton, who has been out with a neck injury since Mar. 3, is ready to return to the team.

Western Notes: Oilers’ Offseason, Kane, Denver Players, Sikura

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The Edmonton Oilers are not heading to the playoffs and are currently looking at all their in-house options before the season ends. Then the team will embark on the next bunch of steps to fix the team that one year ago was the talk of the league. The Athletic’s Jonathan Willis (subscription required) comes up with an eight-point plan on how to fix the team this offseason, primary of which is to watch its spending, both on free agents as well as the possibility to send off some of their own contracts as well.

One of the first suggestions is that Edmonton should not overreact when it comes to some of their underperforming players. While several of their defensemen had tough seasons this year including Oscar Klefbom, Andrej Sekera and Adam Larsson, Willis believes that it’s unlikely that they will struggle again and the team must preach patience. However, the team needs to unload expensive contracts of bottom-tier players, suggesting the team might want to see if they can trade off defenseman Kris Russell and forward Zach Kassian to free up some of their money.

As for free agency, the team should avoid big-name free agents and look to sign some of the more modestly-priced players that will be on the market even suggesting that they could consider bringing back Patrick Maroon if he will agree on a short-term deal.

  • The Chicago Blackhawks great Patrick Kane said he hasn’t decided yet whether he will play at the World Championships in Copenhagen in May, according to Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times. He said he’ll consider it after his season ends, but it’s “definitely an option. After I didn’t go last year, I was thinking that maybe I should have went.”
  • Although this note is about a Western collegiate team, The Athletic’s Corey Pronman (subscription required) had an interesting nugget in his prospect mailbag. Pronman was asked of the potential signings of the University of Denver’s three forward prospects in Henrik Borgstrom, Troy Terry and Dylan Gambrell, three of the team’s top players. Pronman’s response is that he believes all three will be signing with their respective teams the moment their college season is over. Denver is currently playing in the NCAA tournament. Borgstrom, the Florida Panthers’ 2016 first-rounder scored 22 goals in his sophomore season. Terry, the Anaheim Ducks’ 2015 fifth-rounder picked up 13 goals and 44 points in his junior campaign, while Gambrell, San Jose Sharks’ second-round pick in 2015, finished his junior year with 13 goals and 42 points. All three could be major contributors to their teams as soon as next season.
  • The Chicago Blackhawks also could benefit greatly soon as well as Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times writes that if Northeastern University loses today or Sunday, expect prospect Dylan Sikura to be signed and in the Blackhawks lineup by Thursday. The Northeastern senior, who was the sixth-round pick in 2014, has had dominant season the past two years, combining for 42 goals and 110 points in two seasons. Northeastern is playing Michigan today.

NHLPA Approves Proposed Changes To Lottery Odds

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In what has become an annual event, the NHL Players’ Association has yet again approved changes to the NHL Draft lottery odds. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that the NHLPA today signed off on a new lottery set-up recently submitted by the league. It marks the third season in a row that the odds have been altered.

The percentage chance that a team is selected to pick first, second, or third, as expressed by the number of ping pong balls present in the lottery draw, is dependent on where they finish in the overall league standings. Unsurprisingly, the changes to the odds first agreed upon in the Collective Bargaining Agreement began with the Edmonton Oilers and the painful realization that they had won yet another lottery in 2015 and would move up in the draft order to select Connor McDavid as their fourth first overall pick in a six year span. In response, the league significantly boosted the odds in 2016 toward the teams finishing last winning the lottery – expecting that Edmonton would no longer be in that range – as LeBrun notes that the 30th-place team had 20% odds of picking first two years ago. After the worst team in the NHL, the Toronto Maple Leafs, retained the top pick that year and selected Auston Matthews, the league and NHLPA again agreed to lessen the odds and insert more chance (and excitement) into the lottery. LeBrun indicates that last year the league’s worst, the Colorado Avalanche, had an 18% chance of holding on to the top pick. However, in a wild turn of events, three teams outside the bottom four won the lottery and moved into the top three draft slots, the biggest shift being the Philadelphia Flyers, who narrowly missed the playoffs, picking second. So, to perhaps combat another clean sweep, the odds have again been increased for those toward the bottom

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the new odds of selecting first for the upcoming 2018 NHL Draft will be 18.5% for 31st, 13.5% for 30th, and 11.5% for 29th. With the addition of an extra non-playoff team, there is also a new distribution which in fact increases the odds for the last team to miss the playoffs, the 17th-place finisher, by a tenth of a percent to 1%. This is accomplished by lessening the odds for the middle-of-the pack lottery teams. It may not be a coincidence that the Oilers are part of that group. Nor may it be a coincidence that the current bottom three – the Buffalo Sabres, Vancouver Canucks, and Arizona Coyotes – are all teams that have been struggling for years and would certainly appreciate retaining their high picks. This yearly change in draft lottery odds seems to be very responsive to the results of each prior lottery, but that isn’t a bad thing. So long as both the league and NHLPA agree, it’s safe to assume that the changes have the best interests of competitive balance in mind.

GM Notes: Holland, Dorion, Bergevin

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The Detroit Red Wings were officially eliminated from postseason contention recently, but the majority of their fans had already given up on this season some time ago. Even before it started, the Red Wings looked to be in a tough spot as they transition from the old guard to the first steps of a rebuild. They’ve done well to add draft picks over the last two years, but one question still remained. Who would be leading them down these uncharted waters, and towards the next successful Red Wings team?

Many fans have expressed a desire for change at the top, and GM Ken Holland’s contract is up at the end of the season. Whether that means there will be a new voice steering the ship is still unclear, but Craig Custance of The Athletic (subscription required) provides a wealth of insight into how the organization and other executives around the league see the situation. Answers range from an expected extension to a trip to Seattle for the long-time Detroit GM, but it seems we’ll have to wait a little longer to find out where he’ll be next year.

  • Pierre Dorion, another GM on the edge of a potential rebuild and a fan mutiny, provided some answers on his plans for the Ottawa Senators offseason to Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia. Dorion confirmed that on July 1st they will indeed offer an extension to Erik Karlsson, though he didn’t give any indication what that offer may look like. He also admitted that the front office will evaluate the coaching staff, including Guy Boucher, after the season and decide what the future will look like behind the bench. The Senators had an extremely disappointing season after coming just a goal shy of the Stanley Cup finals in 2017, and have faced several media firestorms over comments by everyone from Kyle Turris to owner Eugene Melnyk.
  • In his latest 31 Thoughts column, Elliotte Friedman mentions that Montreal Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin received a vote of confidence from ownership for the second time this season. If that means Bergevin is sticking around to fix what went wrong this season, the response in Montreal will likely be very divided. There are many fans who believe the organization should go in a different direction with their front office, but if Bergevin does indeed remain this summer could be quite interesting. Never one to shy away from a big trade, the Canadiens have to do something to take advantage of the best years of Carey Price and Shea Weber, and are still starved for the first-line center they’ve been looking for for years. Friedman mentions that Martin Lapointe, currently the Director of Player Development, could assume a larger role going forward.

Oscar Klefbom Undergoes Shoulder Surgery, Out Five-To-Six Weeks

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  • After playing through a shoulder injury for a while now, the Oilers have shut down defenseman Oscar Klefbom for the rest of the season and announced (Twitter link) that he has undergone successful surgery. He will be cleared to resume workouts in the next five to six weeks.  This caps what has been a particularly rough season for the 24-year-old as Klefbom recorded just five goals and 21 points in 66 games, well below his output of a dozen tallies and 38 points in 2016-17.

Philadelphia Flyers Trade Cooper Marody To Edmonton Oilers

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The Philadelphia Flyers have traded the rights to prospect Cooper Marody to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for a third-round pick. The pick will be New Jersey’s third-round selection in 2019, previously acquired for Patrick Maroon. Marody is a junior at the University of Michigan, and would need to be signed still.

Remember that the NHL trade deadline is only for playoff eligibility, and trades like this can happen at any time. Marody and Michigan are headed for the NCAA tournament, where he will lead them against Northeastern on Saturday afternoon. Marody led the Big-10 in scoring this season with 46 points in 37 games, and was a nominee for the Hobey Baker Award (though he was not named a top-10 finalist).

The strong skating center was selected in the sixth round three years ago, but has progressed enough that the Oilers decided he was worth a third-round pick today. As they attempt to bring talent to the NHL as quickly as possible, trading a future pick for a player who could potentially contribute as soon as next season could be a transaction we see Edmonton use more often over the next few months.

Minor Transactions: 03/21/18

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It was a busy night in the NHL yesterday, as we saw Alex Ovechkin score another patented goal and Winnipeg fans experience small heart attacks when Patrik Laine blocked a shot.  As always, while the league prepares for another night of action we’ll keep track of all the minor moves.

  • The Ottawa Senators have sent Jim O’Brien back to the minor leagues, after playing just 9:18 in their loss last night. O’Brien has just ten games under his belt this season, recording just a single assist.
  • Dillon Simpson is on his way back to the Bakersfield Condors, as the Edmonton Oilers have re-assigned him while recalling Brad Malone under emergency conditions. Malone has played just seven games in the NHL this season, instead spending most of the year with the Condors, registering 31 points in 50 games.
  • The San Jose Sharks continue their movement of Tim Heed, bringing him back up to the NHL today. Heed has been involved in 14 transactions since the beginning of February, as he continues to pop up and down for the club. Heed has 11 points in 29 games for the Sharks this season, while playing just three contests in the AHL.

East Notes: Holland, Okposo, Girgensons, Kuznetsov, Orpik

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Regardless of whether or not he is back with Detroit next season, GM Ken Holland intends to be working in the NHL and isn’t presently concerned with his contractual situation, writes Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press.  Holland’s contract is up following the season and St. James notes that he is expected to meet with owner Christopher Ilitch shortly after the season comes to an end to discuss his future with the team.  It’s possible that the 62-year-old could stay on in his current role but the Red Wings may prefer to do what the Devils tried to do with Lou Lamoriello a few years ago and move him into a president/advisory position.  If they do make a change in general managers, Kris Draper, a long-time Detroit player and current assistant to Holland, would appear to be a candidate to take over.

Elsewhere in the East:

  • The Sabres are set to get winger Kyle Okposo back in their lineup on Monday night, notes Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald. Although he was diagnosed with a concussion, he will only wind up missing three games as a result.  However, the news isn’t all good for Buffalo.  While Okposo will be returning, they are expected to be without winger Zemgus Girgensons who has been listed as day-to-day with an undisclosed injury.
  • Although the Capitals are without center Evgeny Kuznetsov today against Philadelphia due to an undisclosed upper-body issue, the injury shouldn’t keep him out for too long. Head coach Barry Trotz told reporters, including Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post, that he “for sure” expects the pivot to be ready in time for the postseason.  While the team is listing him as day-to-day for now, more information should be known about the exact issue on Monday.  Also listed as day-to-day is blueliner Brooks Orpik as he is dealing with a lower-body injury.

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