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Odd Defenseman Out In Vegas

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Although some of this might be attributed to wishful thinking, the Edmonton Journal’s David Staples openly wonders whether Griffin Reinhart could find his way back to Edmonton. This comes only a day after Reinhart was signed to a reasonable $800,000 deal for two-years in Vegas. Staples wonders whether the excess of defense on the left side will force Vegas to place Reinhart on waivers in an attempt to send him to the AHL. He surmises, probably correctly, that GM Peter Chiarelli would take another gamble on the player if it were to get that far. It seems incredibly unlikely he would make it to Edmonton’s position in the waiver wire, however, as many worse franchises would likely place a claim. It’s even less likely that Vegas management would risk losing that sort of asset for nothing in the first place.

Reinhart is unlikely to make an Edmonton return, but it’s not totally inconceivable that he’d be the odd man out in Vegas. The team went heavy on defense in the expansion draft, and odds are that they will eventually lose someone to the waiver wire if they can’t maneuver more moves. Once Nate Schmidt is signed, they’ll have 11 defensemen on the NHL roster, and that’s if Erik Brannstrom doesn’t make the big squad. Even assuming the Golden Knights can trade two more players, they’re not likely to carry more than 8 defensemen. Someone will be sacrificed to waivers unless GM George McPhee can pull some magic before the start of the season.

The most aged players include Jason Garrison (32), who has a no-trade clause, Deryk Engelland (35), Luca Sbisa (27), and Clayton Stoner (32). Brayden McNabb, Colin Miller, Schmidt, and Shea Theodore will likely constitute the team’s future defense, and it might be difficult for Reinhart to crack that group. Brad Hunt and Jon Merrill are the least likely to attract any major attention if they were to be waived, so there is no necessity to start floundering yet. Hunt in particular would pass with almost no difficulty, as the 5’9, 28-year old defender hasn’t been overly impressive in his 33 career NHL games. Still, depending on who else is moved and whether Reinhart makes an impact at training camp, he could be seen as a non-core piece. McPhee will need to make a determination as to who will be getting major playing time, considering that at this moment things are far too crowded for the younger players to shine.

McNabb, Schmidt, and Miller seem the safest for the moment, but anything can happen. The right side has to be a concern, as only Engelland and Miller naturally play that position. As for now, we’ll have to wait and see who gets unloaded for picks and future assets, and whether they will be much difficulty in doing so. It seems unlikely that Vegas would move Reinhart, a young piece who they just re-signed, considering that if nothing else he can fill a 7th or 8th defensive position. Sbisa and Stoner seem to be the most likely to move out to a team starved for defensive depth, especially considering their contracts are each only good for one more season.

Vegas Signs Reinhart And Leipsic To Two-Year Deals

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The Vegas Golden Knights have announced the signings of Griffin Reinhart and Brendan Leipsic to two-year contracts, per the team’s twitter. Reinhart’s deal is worth $800,000 AAV, while Leipsic’s is only for $650,000 a season.

Reinhart is a former first-round pick, picked fourth overall in 2012 by the New York Islanders. He was moved to Edmonton for a first-round and second-round pick. He under-performed in Alberta, only playing 29 games total. His Corsi For Relative % was a poor -3.3%, and he often struggled with the puck on his stick, flubbing simple zone exits. With only two career assists to his name, he has a lot to prove in the NHL. That said, there was a reason he was so highly touted in his draft class. He’s mobile for a 6’4 defenseman and has tons of room to grow at only 23 years old. He has shown a solid pass from time to time and has the potential to be a solid top-4 defender if he can learn to adjust to the intellectual pace of the NHL game. Watching him down the tail stretch of the season and in his one playoff game in relief due to injuries, he’s not a lost cause. Reinhart has grown physically and still has a decent skill level. Vegas will hope to have struck gold with this player, but he’ll have to beat out other promising young defensemen in the system in order to gain heavy playing time.

Leipsic is a more curious move, as he is quite undersized and is no sure bet to crack an NHL roster. That said, he had a 120-point season with the Portland Winterhawks and adjusted well to his time with the AHL Marlies, potting 50 points twice. The 5’10 winger was an add-on in a trade between Toronto and Nashville a few years back, and has only dressed for 6 games total for the Leafs. Still, he’s only 23, and is a sparkplug on every shift. He moves quickly and has decent hands, but is most likely destined for an AHL scoring role. He’ll have the opportunity to flourish in Vegas if he proves himself early, considering that team’s lack of proven offensive depth.

Neither player had a particularly strong case for a raise, so this news is not much of a shock. Still, Vegas is locking up the players it claimed in the expansion draft and banking on younger players to step up this season.

Vegas Golden Knights Sign Teemu Pulkkinen

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After a season that saw Teemu Pulkkinen put on waivers on several occasions and spend time with three different organizations, he has a new home for 2017-18. Pulkkinen, the Vegas Golden Knights’ selection from the Arizona Coyotes in the expansion draft has signed a one-year deal with the club for $700K. He was a restricted free agent with arbitration rights, but did not file before yesterday’s deadline. Teemu Pulkkinen

An incredible AHL scorer, Pulkkinen has received very little opportunity in the NHL throughout his career. While he possesses a huge shot and scoring instincts that can create offense all by himself, his skating ability has been critiqued at times along with his defensive responsibility. Last year, he scored 36 points in 47 games with the Iowa Wild after being selected off waivers from the Detroit Red Wings, only to be later traded to Arizona.

In the desert, Pulkkinen played just four games while being a healthy scratch several times. Through 83 NHL games in his career, he has 22 points but certainly will get a chance with the Golden Knights who will likely be desperate for goal scoring of any sort. Many of the forwards they chose have limited offensive upside, but Pulkkinen will surely produce at some rate if given the opportunity.

Vegas now has three restricted free agents remaining in Nate Schmidt (who filed for arbitration), Griffen Reinhart and Brendan Leipsic.

Evening Notes: Blackhawks, Flyers, Palmquist

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The Minnesota Wild have locked up 26 year-old defenseman Zach Palmquist to a one-year, two way contract, per Renaud Lavoie. The NHL value of the contract is $725,000. Palmquist has not yet played an NHL game, but played in 72 games for the AHL affiliate Iowa Wild last season. Palmquist is a low-scoring two-way defender, but at barely 6 foot tall, relies more on his skating and stick-checking to find success. He has a decent, accurate pass but cannot be relied upon for consistent offensive production. Still, he was trapped in a gigantic logjam with the glut of defensemen in the Minnesota system. Perhaps he finally gets his cup of tea as a bottom-pairing defender in 2017-18.

  • Mark Lazarus of the Chicago Sun-Times contemplates the effect the Chicago overhaul will have on on-ice performance next season. He’s quick to point out that the 2016-17 Blackhawks had the second-best record in franchise history, which is quite storied. That said, it seems unlikely that the Hawks will be able to replicate that regular season success with such incredible turnover. Lazarus may be a little premature in his worry about post-season contention or management firings, but GM Stan Bowman and coach Joel Quenneville will undoubtedly start feeling heat if the season starts off on a sour note. Losing Artemi Panarin and Niklas Hjalmarsson in particular have drawn ire from the fanbase, and it will be interesting to see how much faith ownership maintains if Chicago struggles early in the incredibly deep Central division. Although many of the moves were made out of salary cap necessity, the expectation is to win.
  • The Flyers never do seem to fully alleviate their goaltending troubles. Bob Ford of the Philadelphia Inquirer is quick to point out that free-agent acquisition Brian Elliott is not the answer to all their woes in between the pipes. He points out with particular concern the unlikelihood of Michal Neuvirth playing a full 40+ game split, which he hasn’t done outside of one season. Ford also attacks the tandem goaltending model, stating that it rarely finds success – though that is certainly a matter of debate. Elliott himself had his best season of his career for the 2011-12 Blues in a tandem with Jaroslav Halak. Ultimately, the franchise seems to be pinning its long-term hopes on either Carter Hart,18  or Felix Sandstrom, 20 – but neither is a sure thing. GM Ron Hextall is still not sold on Anthony Stolarz (even after protecting him in the expansion draft) and will watch his progress closely next season with the AHL Phantoms in Lehigh Valley.

Kings Looking To Shift Course

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After missing the playoffs two seasons in a row, the L.A. Kings have fallen pretty hard from grace. After winning the cup twice in three years, it’s been one bad story after another for the team from Hollywood. Dustin Brown was stripped of the captaincy and relegated to bottom-six duties, not long after former key contributor Mike Richards found himself terminated due to a combination of on-ice, off-ice, and salary issues. Matt Greene had to be bought out entirely. Marian Gaborik is 35, signed for four more seasons, and just put together two underwhelming performances back-t0-back. The defense has gotten more top-heavy, and after losing Brayden McNabb to Vegas in the expansion draft, is set to lose another valuable piece. The head coach who earned the franchise its two rings was fired and a re-tread coach from Philadelphia will get his opportunity in 2017-18.

In an article with the L.A. Times written by Helene Elliotts, GM Rob Blake details the change in philosophy the Kings will need to adopt if they are going to find success in the near future. Ultimately, he wants to predicate the team’s identity more on speed, while staying true to their defensive style. Los Angeles has played a heavy, physical, stifling game to get their championships, and it appears that Blake is shifting away from that mantra next season. He isolated the “core” of the team as Anze Kopitar, Tanner Pearson, Jeff Carter, Tyler Toffoli, Drew Doughty, Jake Muzzin, and Jonathan Quick. It might be drawn from his sentiment thatt other, more expendable pieces that may be available if the Kings continue to merely tread water.

Los Angeles did make a decent bargain-bin signing in Mike Cammalleri, who was sunk by a capsized New Jersey Devils squad last season. The potential for him to rebound and be productive is quite high, but it may not be nearly enough. The Kings beat out only Philadelphia, Colorado, New Jersey and Vancouver in terms of fewest goals scored. Carter and Pearson were the only twenty-goal scorers on the team. Guaranteed offense is an absolute need, and although former coach Darryl Sutter’s systems were a component of the struggles, the team needs more reliable production. Their defense is still the team’s greatest organizational strength, but it does strike some as odd that a player like McNabb wasn’t shuffled elsewhere for scoring help rather than being sacrificed for nothing to expansion.

If the Kings decide at this late stage to go the free agency route, their options are solid if a bit older. If speed is the determinant factor, that may seem to rule out the likes of Jaromir Jagr and Jarome Iginla, while leaving the possibility of a Thomas Vanek signing open. More likely, however, the Blake and the Kings will need to probe the trade market. From there, the team will likely need to surrender future assets if they hope to receive solid scoring in a returning package. The team could take a lot of offensive pressure off of Kopitar (who himself is more of a two-way player) if they could swing a trade for a solid center. Matt Duchene is likely out of their price range, and Alex Galchenyuk’s value just skyrocketed. The bottom-six wingers are dreadfully lacking in experience, so an upgrade to the third line couldn’t hurt. Cap space is tight, however, as the team will only have over $5.5 MM after re-signing RFAs Nick Shore and Kevin Gravel. It may take outside-the-box thinking to bring the Kings back into contender status, but Blake seems primed to make moves, albeit on his own timeline.

Red Wings Acquire Keeper Tom McCollum

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On the biggest signing day of the year, the Calgary Flames and Detroit Red Wings have instead been talking trade. The Flames have agreed to send goalie Tom McCollum, extended only for Expansion Draft purposes, to the Detroit Red Wings for a conditional seventh-round draft pick, according to TSN’s Darren Dreger. The Flames, who have recently added both Mike Smith and Eddie Lack in net and have to also accommodate prospects Jon Gillies and Mason McDonald, were reportedly working to loan McCollum out to another AHL team anyway. Instead, McCollum will head back to Detroit, the organization who drafted him and where he spent the first seven years of his career, presumably to back up Jared Coreau in the AHL.

Dion Phaneuf Expected To Stay In Ottawa

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After rumors of his availability have been passed around ever since the end of the season, Darren Dreger of TSN reports that Dion Phaneuf should now be expected to stay with the Ottawa Senators. The 32-year old has a partial no-trade clause and clearly doesn’t want to leave Ottawa for just anywhere, as implicated by his refusal to waive his no-movement clause prior to the expansion draft. While nothing is ever off the table entirely, Phaneuf should be suiting up for the Senators on opening night in 2017-18.

The former captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs has been the target of some ire in Ottawa, mostly due to his contract that will see him cause a cap hit of $7MM for the next four seasons. Though the actual salary drops incrementally to $5.5MM by the last season—an important thing to note for a budget team like Ottawa—Phaneuf’s deal is extremely difficult to trade. His play, though not completely unacceptable, isn’t close to the high-flying offensive defensemen of his youth and not nearly impactful enough to justify his salary. His skating has deteriorated over the years, but he’s still a 30+ point defender capable of logging big minutes in every situation.

Ottawa still definitely has some use for him, especially after Marc Methot was selected and flipped by the Vegas Golden Knights, but a transition to the younger options will need to be done at some point. As players like Thomas Chabot, Ben Harpur and Fredrik Claesson become more and more reliable in the NHL they will draw minutes away from the big defender. Though he may be staying put for now, that doesn’t mean he won’t be on the move in the future.

For now, the Senators and their defensive, trapping coach Guy Boucher will likely employ Phaneuf and Cody Ceci as a sort of shutdown unit once again, freeing up Erik Karlsson and whoever his new partner is (assuming it’s not Phaneuf himself) to contribute more offensively against weaker opposition. It will be interesting to see if Chabot, should he make the team out of camp, is given any powerplay time right off the bat. Phaneuf was a big part of their second unit, but could give way if the younger, more dynamic player is to make an impact.

Vegas Golden Knights Can Technically Trade Players Back

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Though it had been thought for quite some time that there was a rule preventing the Vegas Golden Knights from trading any player selected in the expansion draft back to his original team until January 1st of 2018, Pierre LeBrun of TSN clarifies the rule. There is no rule to block those trades, and teams are free to reacquire the players lost in the draft should they come to an agreement with Vegas.

Instead, the rule in place which was misunderstood is one blocking teams from reacquiring players they traded to other teams just before the draft. That would have stopped teams from just moving pieces around to block Vegas from selecting them, only to move everyone back after the draft. The new understanding though adds some wrinkles to the next few months, as teams like Nashville or Ottawa could potentially bring back players like James Neal or Marc Methot.

While there likely won’t be many instances of players being sent back, it could come into play for some teams who can’t seem to fill the new hole in free agency. For teams like Washington, who lost Nate Schmidt and may have trouble finding a suitable replacement after also losing both Kevin Shattenkirk and Karl Alzner to free agency, having at least the option of bringing him back is helpful. This is just another way in which the league can help Vegas, by opening up another team for them to negotiate with as they try to flip their selections.

New York Rangers Have Plenty Of Holes To Fill

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The New York Rangers are a team with multiple holes to fill during the offseason as they have lost two key players in center Derek Stepan, who they traded to Arizona on Friday and blueliner Dan Girardi, who they waived before the expansion protection rosters were due a week ago, to protect younger players. On top of that, both proved to be among the team’s top defenders against opposing teams’ top lines. They must be able to replace that.

Both holes, not including the backup goaltending spot that was vacated after the team moved Anttii Raanta to the Coyotes as well, must be filled from without and the franchise didn’t get much immediate help in return from Arizona. The team received 21-year-old defenseman Anthony DeAngelo, who played 39 games for the hapless Coyotes. While the former 2014 first-rounder fared well in those games, putting up five goals and nine assists in that span, that doesn’t translate that he will make the roster outright with the Rangers. The other asset they received in the trade was the No. 7 pick in the 2017 draft, which turned into 18-year-old center Lias Andersson, who will likely need a few years to reach New York.

According to New York Posts’ Larry Brooks, the team should look into acquiring two veterans who can fill those roles for the next year or two until some of their younger players are ready for bigger roles. The scribe lists 37-year-old center Joe Thornton as the perfect player to take over as the team’s top center. He could play next to his friend Rick Nash and form a solid line. A second option would be to trade for New Jersey’s Ilya Kovalchuk to fill that same spot, despite the possibility that New Jersey’s general manager Ray Shero may force the team to move a quality player. If the team promotes from within, there should be a lot of pressure of 2010 first-rounder Kevin Hayes, who at 25, might be ready to take his game to the next level. Hayes has had three solid seasons with the Rangers, putting up nearly 50 points this last year and might be ready for an increased role.

On defense, the team should have close to $20MM in cap space and are expected to be players in the free agent market. They’ve already been linked to Washington Capitals’ unrestricted free agent Kevin Shattenkirk, but the team also hopes to have their own unrestricted free agent, Brendan Smith, locked up as well. Otherwise, they will have double the problems behind the line. Brooks adds the team attempted to move up from the seventh pick Friday to get Dallas’ third overall pick, likely to take top defensive prospect Cale Makar, but were not willing to pay the price for it. Makar ended up going fourth to the Colorado Avalanche.

Draft Day Notes: Ruff, Markov, Phaneuf

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While the New York Rangers continue to select the next wave of talent in the NHL draft, the front office is also busy working on the NHL coaching staff. Larry Brooks of the New York Post is reporting that Lindy Ruff will join the team as an assistant coach, replacing Jeff Beukeboom who will move into a scouting role with the club.

Ruff of course has decades of experience as a head coach in the league, with his latest stint ending in Dallas at the end of the year. This will be the first time he takes an assistant role since 1997, and will be mostly in charge of the defense group.

  • Though it’s been clear there is interest between Andrei Markov and the Montreal Canadiens, Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports is reporting that Markov now wants a two-year contract. That could be too long for the Canadiens, who are set to give Carey Price a huge raise next summer and have to make sure they spend every dollar appropriately. That’s not even mentioning that Markov will turn 39 this season, and at any point could fall off a cliff in terms of production. The cap hit would have to be very reasonable for the long-time Montreal defender to get those two years.
  • Before the Travis Hamonic deal went down, Bob McKenzie of TSN tweeted out some details about Dion Phaneuf continuing to draw trade interest from teams that aren’t on his approved list. Remember that Phaneuf would not waive his no-movement clause for the expansion draft, and though Pierre Dorion has had chats with his representation, there is no movement on the trade list as of yet.

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