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Jason Garrison Signs In Sweden

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It has been a tumultuous few years for veteran defenseman Jason Garrison. The now 34-year-old defenseman hit a wall after turning 30 and hasn’t been able to get back to the level of play he displayed as a younger player. His latest team, the Chicago Blackhawks, recently placed him on unconditional waivers and, after clearing, terminated his contract. It was the end of the line for Garrison’s NHL career, but he has quickly landed elsewhere. Djurgardens IF of the Swedish Hockey League has announced that they have signed Garrison to a contract for the remainder of the season.

Back in 2012, Garrison signed a six-year, $27.6MM contract with the Vancouver Canucks at the height of his career. Yet, he was then traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning at the draft in 2014. After one strong season in Tampa, recording 30 points at the age of 30, Garrison only managed 20 more points over the next two seasons combined. The Lightning exposed Garrison in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft and made a side deal with the Vegas Golden Knights, giving up a second-round pick and the rights to KHL star Nikita Gusev, to ensure he was selected. Vegas then put Garrison on waivers early on last season and kept him in the AHL for all but eight regular season games. With his long-term contract expired, Garrison became a free agent but did not attract much attention in the off-season. He managed to land a tryout offer with the Edmonton Oilers and did enough to earn a one-year minimum contract. The Oilers even gave Garrison ample play time, starting him in 17 games. Yet, even with numerous injuries on the blue line, Garrison had not produced and it became clear he was not a legitimate option for Edmonton. They dealt him to the Blackhawks in late December as a salary dump in their trade to acquire actual defensive help in Brandon Manning. The next day, Chicago placed him on waivers and then again on unconditional waivers just a few days later.

However, through many difficult years and with many teams, including many games spent with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves, Garrison has shown a determination to keep playing hockey. It comes as little surprise that he has found a new team so quickly. Djurgardens, who is currently fighting for a playoff spot in the SHL, is eager to add Garrison’s knowledge and leadership to the roster. The team lacks very much NHL experience, outside of former New Jersey Devil Jacob Josefson, but has plenty of exciting young talent in need of some stability and guidance. They hope that Garrison can answer that bell. While his days in the NHL are surely over, Garrison clearly wants to continue his playing career and can make a great first impression overseas by helping Djurgardens reach the postseason this year.

Snapshots: Nielsen, Ferland, Senators

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With Seattle being officially announced as the upcoming 32nd franchise in the NHL, teams are already starting to prepare for an upcoming expansion draft. While the Vegas Golden Knights will be exempt from the draft, June 2021 will be a focus for all other 30 teams. One of the most notable rules as we move towards the process is the one surrounding no-movement clauses and their automation protection. Teams’ ability to protect their young skaters will hamstrung by these clauses, and could force them into a trade with Seattle.

The Detroit Red Wings were one of these teams, as it appeared that Frans Nielsen had a no-movement clause that would force protection despite him nearing the end of his playing career by the time the draft rolls around. CapFriendly today reported that they had been mistaken previously when listing Nielsen with that clause, as it actually expired at the end of last season. Nielsen now only holds a modified no-trade clause, which does not have the same restrictions in the draft process.

  • Micheal Ferland has been activated by the Carolina Hurricanes, as he has fully recovered from his recent concussion. The forward still leads the Hurricanes in goals this season despite his four-game absence, and will try to step right back into the top-six role he’d shown the aptitude for. The physical, skilled forward is the only player on Carolina with double digit goals this season, something they’ve sorely lacked all year. Ferland is also a pending unrestricted free agent that carries just a $1.75MM cap hit this season, and will be very appealing to many teams at the deadline if Carolina drops out of the race.
  • Ian Mendes of TSN recently looked at the history of eight-year extensions and when they were usually signed, noting that the Ottawa Senators are approaching “uncharted territory” if they still intend on signing long-term deals with Matt Duchene and Mark Stone. Both players are pending unrestricted free agents and could very well be among the highest-paid players on July 1st. The Senators meanwhile will have to consider long and hard on whether they want to hand out huge extensions during the very early stages of their current rebuild.

Atlantic Notes: Kotkaniemi, Nyquist, Pysyk, Petrovic, Kulak

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With countries releasing their preliminary rosters for the World Junior Championships, many teams must make some decisions on whether they intend to send some of their young prospects to World Juniors and interrupt their careers. The Montreal Canadiens could be one of those teams as they have a tough decision to make on Jesperi Kotkaniemi, who is on the Canadiens’ roster.

While on the surface it would be obvious the team would keep him, the team did allow defenseman Victor Mete to leave the team last year and play in the World Juniors. Mete, however, was struggling and was already losing playing time in Montreal. Kotkaniemi is in a similar boat as he started strong, but has just two points in the past eight games and has hit a “rookie wall.”

However, TSN’s Dan Robertson reports that general manager Marc Bergevin met the media this afternoon and stated that he’s 95 percent sure that Kotkaniemi won’t play in the WJC. The 18-year-old has three goals and 14 points in 29 games.

  • The impressive play the Detroit Red Wings have gotten from Gustav Nyquist causes many long-term questions. Nyquist, who is on pace for a career season as the 29-year-old already has seven goals and 26 points in 29 games is in the final year of a four-year, $19MM deal he signed back in 2015, could be looking for another big contract. The question that MLive’s Ansar Khan wonders is whether Detroit will consider bringing back Nyquist. It’s likely he will be asking for $5MM per year for three or four years. With the team in the middle of a rebuild, there is no guarantee the Red Wings will consider signing Nyquist a priority, although the team is also well known to give out money to veterans.
  • With the Seattle expansion draft on teams’ radars for the next few years, The Athletic’s George Richards (subscription required) writes that nothing worked out last time for the Florida Panthers who made a side deal to protect two defensemen by sending both Jon Marchessault and Reilly Smith to Vegas in the expansion draft. The team’s plan was to protect both Mark Pysyk and Alexander Petrovic. However, neither has been a key member of the team’s defense since then and both may not be on the roster by the time the next expansion draft rolls around.
  • After being traded from Calgary to Montreal and finding himself in the AHL, defenseman Brett Kulak could have considered his situation dire. However, Kulak has since been recalled and has found himself a key piece to the Canadiens’ defense and is paired next to Shea Weber, which looks like a perfect fit, according to Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette. “He was playing in the NHL last year, so it was not like I got a guy from the East Coast Hockey League,” said general manager Marc Bergevin. “He’s an NHL defenceman. Our scouting staff liked him because of the way the game is going. He’s a good skater.”

Seattle Officially Introduced As The NHL’s 32nd Team

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It wasn’t so long ago that hockey fans were wondering if the league would even allow a group of investors to apply for an expansion team based in Las Vegas, and now the league has voted on another new market. Today, the NHL’s Board of Governors voted unanimously to accept Seattle’s expansion bid as the 32nd team in the league. The investment group that applied, Oak View Group (OVG), includes Tod Leiweke, former COO of the NFL, Tim Leiweke, former CEO of both Anschutz Entertainment Group—which owns the Los Angeles Kings—and Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment—which owns the Toronto Maple Leafs—and David Bonderman, a Seattle billionaire. The group has had full and public support from Seattle mayor Jenny Durkan throughout the process, and an already approved plan for construction (or renovation, more aptly) of a new arena.

In addition to the experienced upper management, the Seattle group already has veteran NHL head coach Dave Tippett involved in the process. Tippett has previously told reporters that he has no interest in being the first coach of Seattle, though he did leave that door open a crack when he told reporters including Irfaan Gaffar of Sportsnet that “you never know what will happen.”

Most importantly, the league has announced that the 2021-22 season will be when the Seattle team starts playing. The city had hoped that it could potentially get the arena completed in time for the 2020-21 season, but now will have ample time to get everything ready in time. An expansion draft will take place in June after the 2021 Stanley Cup is awarded, though the Vegas Golden Knights will be excluded from it. The league also announced the realignment plan, which will move the Arizona Coyotes into the Central Division while putting Seattle into the Pacific Division.

Like the previous expansion draft, the Seattle team will select one player from each of the other 30 teams (excluding Vegas) and must select at least 14 forwards, nine defensemen and three goaltenders. All first and second-year professionals will be exempt, though who exactly satisfies those qualifications is obviously still up in the air this far out. Once again, every team will have two protection options: seven forwards, three defensemen and one goaltender, or eight skaters and one goaltender.

Though we’re still more than two years out from the expansion draft taking place, you can already pencil in a few players who will be protected due to their no-movement clauses. CapFriendly provides a list of those names, which includes four names from each of the Chicago Blackhawks, Dallas Stars and Pittsburgh Penguins. It’s easy to see how some of these names could give some trouble to their respective teams, though each player is allowed to waive the clause if they so choose. Milan Lucic, Brent Seabrook, Frans Nielsen an others already stand out as players who would potentially be left unprotected if possible, but will take up a slot because of their NMC.

In regards to the team name, Leiweke made it clear that the fans would be taken into consideration when deciding what the franchise will be called, while Bettman hinted that “Metropolitans” will not be allowed because the league already has a division using that name. Seattle will break ground on construction tomorrow on the estimated $800MM arena plans, making this a ~$1.45BB investment when added to the $650MM the group will pay for the franchise. The Seattle Storm of the WNBA will also use the arena, while there is also a push to bring the NBA back to the city.

Board Of Governors Notes: Salary Cap, Melnyk, Seattle

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The NHL’s Board of Governors Meeting began today in Sea Island, Georgia, as the league’s owners and executives sat down today for the first of two days of discussions. Commissioner Gary Bettman then spoke with the media this evening, apprising the press of certain topics of discussions. The biggest announcement made by Bettman related to the projected salary cap for next season. As relayed by NHL.com’s Dan Rosen, Bettman expects the 2019-20 salary cap to raise to $83MM, a significant jump of $3.5MM for this season’s ceiling of $79.5MM. Rosen notes that this value could change, but that the league has been consistently accurate in their predictions in the past. Such an increase would serve to accommodate the growing salaries of younger players, as emphasized by the recent William Nylander negotiations. With several high-profile players on high payroll teams becoming restricted free agents this summer, this added cushion should help those squads to stay together in a more comfortable manner.

  • TVA’s Renaud Lavoie reports that Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk is not in attendance at the meetings, which is perhaps why Bettman took the opportunity to speak about his unhappiness with the situation in Ottawa. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman relayed that Bettman is “disappointed” in how the progress on a new arena in Ottawa has been going, although he did not point any fingers and stated that he understands it is a complex process. Nevertheless, with Melnyk’s seemingly poor management of the team, as well as his poor placement in the public eye, and now an admission from the commissioner that he is frustrated with the situation, perhaps the idea that the Senators owner will be forced to sell is not as outlandish as it once seemed.
  • The meeting today did not involve any discussion on the expansion bid of the potential Seattle ownership group, although Rosen reports that David Bonderman and Jerry Bruckheimer were in attendance. Instead, any discussion has been tabled until tomorrow, when the owners will vote on Seattle’s entry into the league. A two-thirds vote in favor of expansion is needed to make Seattle official and there is a strong expectation of such a result. However, the vote also more or less is a vote of realignment, as Seattle will almost certainly be added to the Pacific Division, whereas the Central Division is currently short a team. One organization who could be moved, but has no desire to do so, is the Edmonton Oilers. The team does not want to move to the Central, meaning the Oilers’ and Calgary Flames’ owners could be two potential votes against on Tuesday. If those two teams don’t move, it’s likely the Arizona Coyotes being shifted to the Central and they can’t be too happy about the possible move either.
  • The one piece of Seattle news that did come out today, albeit still not official, is that the team is likely to begin play in 2021. TSN’s Darren Dreger states that no one would go on the record, but that all signs point to the team’s inaugural season being 2021-22. While this is a year later than most expected when the current round of expansion officially began, the delays in making the move official combined with concerns over collective bargaining have hinted at a 2021 start for some time.

Edmonton Has No Interest In Moving Out of Pacific Division

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With the expected approval on Tuesday for the Seattle expansion franchise at the board of governor’s meeting, the next question that will have to be determined is how to re-align the Western Conference as Seattle will obviously move into the Pacific Division, giving them nine teams, while the Central Division would have just seven. While there has been talk about moving the Arizona Coyotes over to the Central Division, many feel the team should stay where it is as they have short rivalry trips to Las Vegas and Los Angeles/Anaheim.

Another popular suggestion is to move both the Edmonton Oilers and the Calgary Flames together to the Central Division and sending the Colorado Avalanche back to the Pacific Division. However, Terry Jones of The Edmonton Sun writes that option isn’t very popular in Edmonton.

“We want to stay in the Pacific. And we’re pretty strong about it,” insists Bob Nicholson, vice chairman and CEO of the Oilers Entertainment Group. “Seattle is going to come into the league and when they do come in, we definitely do not want to move. We feel the rivalries are too strong for the NHL to do that to our franchise.”

The two teams have built rivalries in the Pacific, including one between the Flames and the Vancouver Canucks, while Edmonton has built some significant rivalries with some of the California teams, most specifically with recent playoff matchups with the Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks. Nicholson said the team intends to appeal to the NHL to allow the Oilers as well as the rival Flames to stay in the Pacific Division.

“I just believe we’ve been in the league a long time now and hopefully the league will respect our rivalries, especially the Calgary and Vancouver rivalries,” said Nicholson.

Of course, there are new potential rivalries between both Calgary and Edmonton with a team such as the Winnipeg Jets and even the Minnesota Wild. Regardless, Nicholson has a strong feeling the league will accept the wishes of Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver.

“I’m relatively confident from the unofficial conversations that have gone on, so far,” Nicholson said. “I’m expecting it to be simple and that it will be Arizona that would move into the Central. If it gets more complicated than that, I think there would be big debates. We expect to stay where we are. I would think it would be Arizona that would move.”

Board Of Governors Will Vote Tuesday On Seattle Expansion Bid

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As expected, the NHL’s Board of Governors will officially vote on the Seattle expansion bid on Tuesday morning at their annual meetings. Chris Johnston of Sportsnet tweets that it is “all but certain” that the league will vote to approve Seattle and bring them in as the 32nd NHL franchise.

Though there has been some debate over whether the city’s arena project will be completed in time for the team to start playing during the 2020-21 NHL season, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan was clear that that is still the plan when speaking to King 5 News:

We think it can and so does (Oak View Group). Every major project there’s surprises, things you don’t plan for and can’t expect, and we know that, and try to build in those contingencies. But our plan is to open in 2020. We want it; they want it. I think we are going to have the best arena, I think in America.

The arena project cannot officially get started until the NHL approves the expansion, but provided everything goes according to plan this week the city will begin work to try and play in just two years. That kind of timeline is also in danger of a potential work stoppage if the NHL or NHLPA decide to use their opt-out clause in the current CBA, but will nonetheless put more work onto the plates of front offices around the league.

Like when Vegas was announced, teams around the NHL will now have to start—if they haven’t already—preparing their roster for an upcoming expansion draft. The same rules are expected to be used this time around, though the Vegas Golden Knights will likely be deemed exempt from the process altogether. As teams make trades and sign contracts over the next two years, it will always be with a thought towards their position for an expansion draft. The success of the Golden Knights was based largely on how well they navigated the process, holding teams ransom for big trade packages and picking under-utilized but talented players. You can bet the league will be better prepared this time around, but last-minute dealings will still have to happen.

The league will also likely discuss a potential realignment plan, one that apparently has already been vetted by the Board of Governors’ Executive Committee. That plan would likely have the Arizona Coyotes move to the Central Division to make room for an incoming Seattle team in the Pacific. It may not stop there though, as Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press writes that expansion may not stop at 32.

Snapshots: Three Stars, Plekanec, Seattle

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The NHL has released their three stars of the week and it comes as no surprise that David Pastrnak is in the top spot. The Boston Bruins forward scored five goals including a hat trick against the Toronto Maple Leafs, and added two assists in a dominant week. The 22-year old forward is well ahead of anyone else in the Maurice Richard race, with 16 goals in his first 17 games on the season.

Second and third go to a pair of veteran forwards that have experienced plenty of success in the past, as Blake Wheeler and Claude Giroux continue their strong seasons. The Winnipeg Jets and Philadelphia Flyers captains had seven and eight points respectively last week, and are doing their best to keep the teams in the playoff hunt. Winnipeg now sits in third place in the Central with 21 points, while the Flyers have climbed out of an early hole and now sit behind only Columbus in the Metropolitan.

  • It was obvious it wouldn’t take long for Tomas Plekanec to find work in Europe after he terminated his contract with the Montreal Canadiens, and Czech outlet iSport reports that Kladno—the club owned by former NHL star Jaromir Jagr—and Brno are the leading candidates for his services. Though there isn’t a clear decision at this point, Plekanec will easily be able to find a hockey landing spot as he returns home after a long productive NHL career.
  • The NHL Board of Governors are still on track to hold a vote in early December to decide on the expansion application from the city of Seattle, according to Dan Rosen of NHL.com. Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly told reporters that there will be a decision made during the annual meetings that begin on December 3rd, though wouldn’t commit to the 2020-21 season timeline that has been pushed forward. That all depends on the construction of the arena, which is by no means guaranteed to be ready for the fall of 2020. Still, it does look like things are on track for Seattle to be approved by the league next month, which would force teams once again to start preparing for the next expansion draft.

Central Notes: Predators, Saad, Kane, Schenn, Niederreiter

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With the recent re-signing of goaltender Pekka Rinne to a new extension with a no-movement clause, the Nashville Predators are likely to be heavily scouted over the next couple of years by the Seattle expansion team, who are expected to have their own expansion draft in 2020, assuming everything goes as planned. If that’s the case, then the Predators might be forced to expose young goaltender Juuse Saros in the expansion draft if they can’t convince Rinne to waive his NMC.

In a mailbag series, The Athletic’s Adam Vingan (subscription required) writes that with the expansion rules expected to be the same as Vegas, the Predators will likely be expected to protect all four of their top defensemen (assuming Roman Josi agrees to an extension), which might limit the amount of forwards they can protect down the road, suggesting that Seattle will either get a top-rated goaltender (in Saros or a willing Rinne) or receive a top-end forward to jumpstart their new franchise.

  • Chicago Blackhawks forward Brandon Saad has had a rough go of it this week in practice. He took a puck to the face in practice Wednesday that required a lengthy trip to the dentist, according to Scott Powers of The Athletic (subscription required). Now, Chicago Sun-Times’ Mark Lazerus reports that Saad then injured his arm in practice Friday, forcing him to miss today’s game and he is considered day-to-day for Monday’s game at Carolina.
  • Sticking with the Blackhawks, Lazerus also points out that new head coach Jeremy Colliton has already pressed Patrick Kane into a big role. Already the biggest leader in minutes on the forward line, Kane played the most he’s ever played in a regular-season game, a record 27:43 Thursday against Carolina. He followed that up with 24:33 against Philadelphia Saturday. “It’s fun,” Kane said. “It’s always fun coming back to the bench after a shift and hearing your name called up for the next shift to go out. It’s exciting. I like it, it gets me into the game, too. I’ve actually been trying to figure out how to get that excitement and energy into my game in the first and second period, because there’s some crazy stats where I’ve got way more goals this year in the third period than any other period.”
  • It looks like St. Louis Blues center Brayden Schenn will miss his third-straight game Sunday with what is believed to be a strained oblique muscle, according to Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He did practice Saturday, suggesting he’s getting closer to a return. “I would say that he’s doubtful for tomorrow, but encouraging that he’s getting closer,” coach Mike Yeo said. “He looked good in practice today. I talked to him afterward. We just have to make sure we’re smart.”
  • The Minnesota Wild’s Nino Niederreiter finally broke a 27-goal scoring streak Thursday when he scored his first goal of the season and was quick to point out that staying positive was the most challenging thing for him while waiting out that streak. He said the mental challenges were taxing on him and his play, according to the StarTribune’s Sarah McLellan. “That’s the toughest thing, staying positive in those moments,” Niederreiter said. “But it makes it a lot easier that we’ve been doing well, and as long as the team is winning, it makes it a lot easier. But it was definitely frustrating at some points.”

Joel Quenneville Expected To Return To Coaching

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When the Chicago Blackhawks made the surprising decision to fire legendary coach Joel Quenneville on Tuesday morning, it wasn’t clear if he would return to the NHL to try again with another team. Quenneville is still owed the remainder of his $6MM salary this year and next, and could decide to retire as the coach with the second most wins all-time. Speculation immediately exploded over whether his availability would force another team to make a change behind the bench, and other coaches chimed in to say how easily he’d find work if he wanted it. Mike Babcock from the Toronto Maple Leafs said as much to Kristen Shilton of TSN:

Good man. I imagine those slopes in Denver are going to get worn out. Good friend, good coach, three Cups. He’s going to go in the Hockey Hall of Fame. I don’t know what else you say about him. If he wants to work, he’ll work.

If he wants to work, he’ll work. That was obvious given Quenneville’s record, but it wasn’t clear if he did in fact want to get back into the game right away. Yesterday, Scott Powers of The Athletic released an all-encompassing notebook (subscription required) on the Blackhawks situation and included a note from a source that indicated Quenneville “definitely plans to coach again” but isn’t rushing into anything. Interestingly, Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic made an offhand mention of the upcoming Seattle job on the latest edition of Insider Trading, after reporting that Dave Tippett will be taking an executive position with the potential expansion club, not a coaching one.

That Seattle job would certainly be appealing to a coach like Quenneville, but it would mean he has to wait on the sidelines for at least a few seasons at watch as the team is built. It would also likely mean turning down countless opportunities in the NHL, especially as teams start to move on from those coaches on the hot seat.

Much of the speculation regarding those feeling the heat has centered on Mike Yeo of the St. Louis Blues since he admitted that his “job should be in question” recently. The Blues have struggled to find much success this season and obviously have ties to Quenneville given his eight years behind the bench in St. Louis. The Blues reached the playoffs in every season Quenneville coached them, but never could get to the Stanley Cup Finals.

At this point, St. Louis, Seattle and any other team out there in connection with Quenneville are just possibilities, as the coach has been extremely quiet since the firing except to offer his thanks to the organization and players for many years of success. For now, we’ll have to just wait and see where his next landing spot is, and coaches all around the league will have to look over their shoulder now and again.

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