Snapshots: Trouba, Ducks, Goaltending
In the latest edition of Insider Trading on TSN, the panel of Bob McKenzie, Darren Dreger and Pierre LeBrun discussed a number of subjects. One of them was Jacob Trouba, and the potential of a trade in his future. While Trouba has insisted all along that it isn’t about money in his contract dispute, the Jets are rumored to be willing to go to six-years, $33MM to get the defenceman under contract.
Even though it seems like most teams would want Trouba, Dreger reports that it doesn’t look like there is a fit anywhere in Canada. The Maple Leafs, Oilers and Canadiens have all been rumored to be interested in the 22-year old in the past.
- On Hampus Lindholm and a possible deal of Cam Fowler, LeBrun reports that it might not be as guaranteed as one would think. While it still seems likely that one of the Ducks young defenceman will have to be shipped out, the fact that Simon Despres has hit the LTIR and has no timetable on his return the team has a little more wiggle room under the salary cap.
- In Carolina, Dreger suggests that Ryan Murphy may be on the block, since he’ll likely be exposed at next year’s expansion draft. The 23-year old former first round pick split last season between the NHL and AHL levels.
- On the goaltending front, Los Angeles sounds like they’re putting all their eggs in the Peter Budaj basket for now. They’re waiting for Mike Condon to hit waivers from the Pittsburgh Penguins, but that may not happen for a while as Pittsburgh wants to try and keep or get an asset for the young goaltender.
Snapshots: Maple Leafs Blue Line, Vancouver, McIlrath
There has been much written about this past summer’s blockbuster trade which sent LW Taylor Hall from Edmonton to New Jersey in exchange or D Adam Larsson; most of it critical of the Oilers side of the transaction. But Kevin McGran of TheStar.com opines that not only has the trade benefited both teams so far, it actually represents the sort of trade the Toronto Maple Leafs may have to explore in the future.
Hall already has five goals in six games for the Devils while Larsson has fit in well on Edmonton’s blue line, helping the Oilers to a 6 – 1 – 0 record. Even if Hall is considered the superior player, it still appears as if the deal has worked out in both team’s favor.
McGran argues that the Leafs, much like Edmonton, have a lot of highly-skilled forwards but a lingering deficiency on the blue line. Toronto has some interesting players on defense – Nikita Zaitsev, Jake Gardiner and Morgan Rielly, for example – but with Matt Hunwick and Roman Polak seeing regular playing time and with few prospects of particular note in the system, it’s clear the Leafs could use more young talent on the back end. While it’s possible the youngsters already on Toronto’s roster develop into a decent group of blue liners, it’s more likely the Leafs may eventually have to instead consider dealing from a position of strength – scoring wing – to address a weakness – defense. And just as the Oilers had to do, the Leafs might have to sacrifice a talented and popular player – and perhaps even a better player than the one they acquire – in order to fix the issues on the blue line.
The scribe does note that the Leafs likely won’t have to make that decision right away; that they likely have a year or two to see how things shake out.
More from around the NHL:
- Goal-scoring is up around the league with a per-game-average of 5.91 markers to date. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case in Vancouver where the Canucks have averaged just two goals per game, the lowest rate in the NHL. Writing for The Province, Jason Botchford highlights some disturbing trends suggesting the Canucks offensive issues are likely to linger throughout the season. Botchford notes that the team is dead last in even-strength, score-adjusted shot-attempt differential and suggests that trend will place additional pressure on Vancouver’s special teams. But through seven games, the Canucks have converted on just 12.5% of their man-advantage chances. Two players the Canucks expected and needed to step up this season have yet to do so. Defenseman Ben Hutton has recorded just a single goal while winger Sven Baertschi has failed to find the back of the net. As Botchford writes, the Canucks have talent but perhaps not enough depth at this point.
- Earlier today we learned the Rangers waived Dylan McIlrath. The former first-round pick had appeared in just one game and was the eighth defenseman on the team’s depth chart. As Larry Brooks of the New York Post noted via Twitter, the Rangers simply weren’t going to keep eight defensemen on the roster all season. Brooks also believes the chances of McIlrath getting claimed is “50-50.”
Chiarelli Cautiously Optimistic About Oilers Start
Edmonton Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli is cautiously optimistic about his team’s 5-1-0 start to the 2016-17 NHL season. In an appearance on Sportsnet 590 The Fan, Chiarelli told Bob McCown that he “wouldn’t call it that dramatic yet. Let’s wait 20 or 25 games. We’ve had a good start.”
The Oilers find themselves leading the NHL’s Western Conference with 10 points, which is good for second in the NHL behind the Montreal Canadiens. One of the big reasons for the Oilers early turnaround is a bolstered defense, improving their ability to break out the puck and defend, a change that Chiarelli called “basically 180 degrees.”
“We’ve added Larsson; we’ve added Russell, and effectively we added Klefbom.”
Adam Larsson was added at a great cost, while Kris Russell was signed to a one-year contract in early October. Oscar Klefbom was a breakout player in the end of 2014-15 and beginning of 2015-16, but broke his finger in early December and a subsequent staph infection kept him out of the remainder of the season.
Add those three to Andrej Sekera and the Oilers have a decent top-four defense for the first time since 2008-09 when they had Sheldon Souray, Tom Gilbert, Denis Grebeshkov, and Lubomir Visnovsky all post more than 30 points. The Oilers had 85 points that season, and they haven’t topped 74 since.
Besides the defense, Connor McDavid and Cam Talbot have been very solid so far this season, with both being named the NHL’s first star of the week in the first two weeks of the season. McDavid has 4 goals and 5 assists for 9 points in 6 games, while Talbot is 5-1-0 with a 0.919 SV% and one shutout.
The Oilers will face a stiff test on Wednesday night when they host Alex Ovechkin and the reigning President’s Trophy winners, the Washington Capitals. Washington is sitting third in the Metropolitan with a 3-1-1 record.
Snapshots: Backes, Condon, Ducks, Hall
Boston Bruins forward David Backes has been listed as day-to-day for the last few days, and now we know why. Bruins GM Don Sweeney said Backes had a procedure to remove an olecranon bursa in his elbow on Monday (via Dan Rosen).
While Sweeney said there would be a further update after this weekend, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons lists recovery time as somewhere between 10 days and a month, depending on severity.
Backes has had a decent start to his Bruins career, with 2-2-4 in 5 games. The former St. Louis Blues captain has been a consistent performer, hitting 20-plus goals six times while being a solid possession player and being a bruising hitter.
- In this week’s 30 Thoughts, Elliotte Friedman suggested Matt Murray‘s return to the lineup likely means Mike Condon could find himself on waivers soon. Friedman suggested the Bruins as a possible new home for the Massachusetts native, with both Tuukka Rask and Anton Khudobin dealing with injuries.
- Also in 30 Thoughts, Friedman quoted an unnamed GM as saying he’d “bet [him] anything” that Anaheim GM Bob Murray finds a way to protect Jakob Silfverberg in June’s expansion draft. Currently, the Ducks have four players that must be protected (no-move clauses) in Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Ryan Kesler, and Kevin Bieksa. At the very least, the Ducks would want to protect newly-signed Rickard Rakell, Andrew Cogliano, and Silfverberg on forward, and Hampus Lindholm, Cam Fowler, and Sami Vatanen on defense. Even that leaves some really good defensemen exposed, like Josh Manson and Simon Depres, so expect some movement before the expansion draft. Bieksa could also be convinced to waive his no-move clause to allow the Ducks to protect someone else; his $4MM salary is likely enough to prevent Las Vegas from taking him.
- New Jersey Devils reporter Chris Ryan tweeted out a rather hard-to-believe stat about Taylor Hall. This season, the Devils’ 3-2-1 start is the first time since Hall has been on a .500 team since the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season when the Oilers started 4-3-1. Edmonton, of course, has started this season 5-1-0.
Snapshots: Three Stars, Expansion Draft Tool, Senators
News and notes around the NHL this evening:
- The NHL named its three stars of the week today: (1st) Edmonton Oilers goalie Cam Talbot, (2nd) Chicago Blackhawks center Artem Anisimov, and (3rd) Detroit Red Wings defenseman Mike Green. Cam Talbot leads all goalies in wins, and racked up a 3-0-0 record with a .970 SV% and a 1.00 GAA. Talbot topped it all off with a shutout in the Heritage Classic last night against the Winnipeg Jets. Artem Anisimov led the league in points this week, scoring 4G and 3A in three games. Anisimov has struggled to find his foothold in the NHL, but with more opportunity in the Chicago Blackhawks organization after they shed salary to remain cap compliant, this year could be the year Anisimov fulfills his potential. Finally, Mike Green scored 3G and 2A in four games, though all three came in a 5-1 win against the Ottawa Senators.
- Capfriendly—PHR’s cap tracker website of choice—has unveiled a new Expansion Draft tool that allows visitors to mock a team’s expansion draft protections. The addition comes a week after the Las Vegas NHL Expansion Team hired General Fanager creator Tom Poraszka and shut down the General Fanager site, including its popular Expansion Draft tool.
- The Ottawa Senators have mixed up their offensive lines ahead of their three-game Western road trip, reports Ottawa Sun reporter Bruce Garrioch. The Senators are 3-2 this season and sit 6th of 8 in the Atlantic Division. Tom Pyatt joins Mike Hoffman and Kyle Turris, and Ryan Dzingel gets a chance to play with Bobby Ryan and newcomer Derick Brassard. Ottawa has struggled to find chemistry after losing winger Clarke MacArthur to yet another concussion in the pre-season.
Heritage Classic Primer
The third ever Heritage Classic takes place this afternoon as the Winnipeg Jets host the Edmonton Oilers. Here are some news and notes to get you set up for the fourth outdoor game on Canadian soil:
- Although there isn’t much history between Edmonton and this current version of the Jets, Winnipeg owner Mark Chipman wanted the Oilers as their opponent, writes Terry Jones of the Edmonton Sun. If you go back a bit further, Winnipeg and Edmonton were the teams in the final Avco Cup championship back in the WHA, just before Wayne Gretzky joined the NHL. The Oilers also faced the old Jets franchise in each of their five Stanley Cup championships.
- As is customary with the outdoor games, alumni from both teams faced off against each other yesterday with the Jets winning 6-5; the winning goal coming from Teemu Selanne (who still holds the NHL record for most goals in a rookie season) on a penalty shot.
- This will be Winnipeg’s first time participating in an outdoor game while it will be Edmonton’s second opportunity. The Oilers were the losing team in the inaugural Heritage Classic back in 2003 to the Montreal Canadiens. Calgary and Vancouver have hosted the other two games; the Flames beat Montreal in 2011 while the Canucks fell to Ottawa in 2014.
- Edmonton’s Benoit Pouliot is the outdoor game veteran of the two teams as he will be making his fourth appearance in one. He suited up for Montreal in 2011 and also in a pair of games for the New York Rangers as part of the NHL’s Stadium Series back in 2014. For Winnipeg, Mathieu Perreault has the most outdoor game experience with two, suiting up in games while playing in Washington in 2011 and Anaheim in 2013.
- The goaltending matchup will be Connor Hellebuyck for the Jets and Cam Talbot for Edmonton.
Franchise Faceoff: Calgary Flames vs Montreal Canadiens
There is a common theme among teams that miss the playoffs: weak goaltending. That’s what is credited as the biggest contributor to the demise of the Calgary Flames and Montreal Canadiens last season. The Habs lost all-world goaltender Carey Price early enough to torpedo their chances at the post season, while the Flames have been looking for a reliable netminder since the heyday of Miikka Kiprusoff.
This summer saw a fix for both clubs as the Canadiens got their Vezina winner back from injury, and the Flames brought in two established NHL goalies in Brian Elliott and Chad Johnson. While obviously these are different paths, they’ve provided the same hope to both fan bases. A return to the playoffs is certainly possible for both, though they’re off to much different starts.
Montreal is undefeated in regulation through four games and leads the Atlantic Division with seven points, while the Flames have struggled out of the gate to a 1-3-1 record. The season is very young however, and both teams have more success planned for their immediate future.
The Flames locked up their top two players this summer, inking Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau to long-term deals, while the Habs have youngsters Brendan Gallagher and Alex Galchenyuk looking like stars in their own right. Both franchises have questions on their blueline past their big #1’s (Mark Giordano and Shea Weber), but have intriguing young players filling the holes.
[Calgary Flames Depth Chart vs Montreal Canadiens Depth Chart]
On Monday we asked who would you rather have, the Oilers or Maple Leafs roster and it was remarkably close after almost 500 votes were cast. This week we’ll ask the same of two other teams north of the border.
If you were buying a roster (not all the franchise perks that go with it) to build a championship team, which would you take?
Which team would you rather have?
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Montreal Canadiens 61% (99)
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Calgary Flames 39% (63)
Total votes: 162
Injury Updates: Leddy, Hossa, Fayne, Brodziak, Gunnarsson
The New York Islanders, off to a 1 – 3 – 0 start this season, recalled defenseman Ryan Pulock from Bridgeport of the AHL on an emergency basis due to an injury to one of the team’s regular blue liners, according to Arthur Staple of Newsday. Staple later tweeted that it was Nick Leddy who was injured and was not practicing with the team this morning. Head coach Jack Capuano revealed that Leddy had suffered an upper-body-injury and was day-to-day suggesting that he might be able to play in the Islanders next game on Friday.
Pulock was expected to make the Islanders out of training camp but once the team inked free agent defenseman Dennis Seidenberg and made the decision to keep three goaltenders, sending the young blue liner, who isn’t subject to waivers, to Bridgeport was the easiest solution to the team’s roster crunch.
Leddy, who is averaging close to 24 minutes of ice time per game so far this season, has two points through four games but has a plus-minus rating of -7. He led Islanders blue liners with 40 points and ranked fifth overall on the team in scoring in 2015-16.
- Marian Hossa, who was hurt blocking a shot in Chicago’s 7 – 4 victory over Philadelphia, has been ruled out of tomorrow’s game against Columbus, tweets Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times. The tweet leaves open the possibility Hossa could be available for Saturday’s contest with the Leafs, however. Hossa is off to a strong start for the Hawks, with one goal and three assists. He has tallied one point in each of Chicago’s four games this season.
- The Edmonton Oilers have placed blue liner Mark Fayne on IR with a leg injury and according to Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal, the veteran defender could miss “weeks” as a result. In a related move, the team recalled Ben Betker from Bakersfield of the AHL to fill the role of 7th defenseman. Matheson notes the team elected to call up Betker as opposed to other options for salary cap reasons. though with Fayne on IR the Oilers have just south of $4MM in cap space according to Cap Friendly.
- The St. Louis Blues will welcome back center Kyle Brodziak for tonight’s game against the Oilers, tweets Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Brodziak, who missed the team’s last contest, has been held off the score sheet in three appearances this season. Meanwhile, defenseman Carl Gunnarsson is still out but is said to be “close” to a return. Robert Bortuzzo has been filling in with Gunnarson out of the lineup.
Injury Updates: Penguins, Predators, Blues, Oilers
As he approaches the midpoint of his recovery window, Penguins goaltender Matt Murray is close to rejoining the team for practice, writes Jonathan Bombulie of the Pittsburgh Tribune. Murray is coming back from a broken hand sustained at the World Cup of Hockey. Head coach Mike Sullivan provided an update on Murray’s situation:
“Matt’s getting real close to joining the team for practice. Obviously that’s progress from his standpoint, and that’s the next step for him. He’s been skating a lot. He’s been working with our goalie coach, Mike Bales. He’s been skating with some of the guys that have been trying to recover from their injuries.”
Still with the Penguins, right winger Bryan Rust is nearing a return to full health. He has been skating with the team for the last week and Sullivan noted that he’s close to being a coach’s decision as to when he returns to the lineup.
As for Sidney Crosby, he continues to skate as he recovers from his concussion. While Sullivan won’t put an estimate on his return to action, he noted that their “hope is that he can make a big step this week”.
Other injury news:
- Nashville defenseman Anthony Bitetto will miss the next four to six weeks with an upper body injury, reports The Tennessean’s Adam Vingan. He suffered the injury against Chicago in a fight with Jordin Tootoo. Bitetto played in 28 games last season as a reserve defender and, when healthy, should be in a similar role this year.
- Vingan also noted that right winger Miikka Salomaki will be out six to eight weeks with an upper body injury that is believed to be his hand. Salomaki slid to block a Brian Campbell shot but instead the puck caught him in the hand. Salomaki is likely to be replaced by Cody Bass on their fourth line while he is out of the lineup.
- The Blues are hopeful that center Jaden Schwartz will be able to return to the lineup sometime in the next few game, notes Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He suffered an elbow injury late in training camp and was originally supposed to be out until early November, suggesting that his return appears to be ahead of schedule. Jori Lehtera, Carl Gunnarsson, and Kyle Brodziak, who were all injured over the weekend, are all listed as day-to-day though Lehtera is likely to miss some games.
- The Edmonton Oilers provided an injury update on several of their injured players on their Twitter account. Forwards Iiro Pakarinen, Matt Hendricks, and Drake Caggiula as well as defenseman Brandon Davidson are all week-to-week while goalie Jonas Gustavsson should return fairly soon.
Franchise Faceoff: Maple Leafs vs Oilers
It’s a tough thing rebuilding. For all the excitement and hope that prospects give fans, many of them don’t fulfill the promise they show, or just don’t seem to fit into the system you’re trying to build.
For two teams, last year was another one bouncing off the bottom of the league standings, jockeying for the first overall pick. The Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers both have storied histories, championships and hall of fame alumni. But even as one finally retires the numbers of some of its greats, and the other welcomes back the greatest of all time, they both look to young players to find that excitement, and hope.
McDavid, Draisaitl, Eberle or Matthews, Marner, Rielly. Both have a wonderful group of young players led by generational talents, and have shown them off this week. The top two stars of the NHL were Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews this week, both 19-year old kids leading their teams out of the basement.
[Maple Leafs Depth Chart vs Oilers Depth Chart]
We’d love to hear what you think about these two teams. If you were buying a roster (not all the franchise perks that go with it) to build a championship team, which would you take?
Which team would you rather have?
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Toronto Maple Leafs 51% (239)
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Edmonton Oilers 49% (232)
Total votes: 471