Custance’s Latest: Projecting Those Most Affected By Flat Cap
The NHL’s Board of Governors (BOG) are in the midst of two days of meetings designed to cover several important topics before wrapping up today. Chief among them – and of particular interest to team executives as well as fans of the sport – is an early projection of the 2017-18 salary cap ceiling. Commissioner Gary Bettman advised the BOG to expect a modest increase, perhaps as much as $2MM, if any at all. Specifically, Bettman suggested the salary cap may remain flat. Naturally, that may present problems for several teams already close to the cap ceiling while pending free agents might find their respective markets depressed due to fewer clubs being in position to take on big salaries.
Craig Custance of ESPN.com wrote about a few teams and players who stand to be affected the most should the salary cap ceiling remain flat for the 2017-18 campaign. Among those he listed were Artemi Panarin, who will be a RFA coming off his ELC and in line for a massive raise. As we already know, Chicago is tight up against the cap and have already been forced to deal away key contributors due to a lack of cap space – Brandon Saad, Patrick Sharp and Teuvo Teravainen, for instance. They’ll likely have another tough decision to make given the situation.
Tampa Bay and their GM, Steve Yzerman, are two others Custance mentions as being impacted by a flat cap. The Lightning are set to watch Tyler Johnson, Jonathan Drouin and Ondrej Palat become RFAs this summer and with just less than $60MM in cap commitments already on the books for 2017-18, it’s highly unlikely that Yzerman will be able to re-sign all three players.
In addition to those already brought up by Custance, there are several other clubs who will have a difficult time navigating the salary cap if the ceiling remains at or near the $73MM mark. Here are a few of those teams:
- Los Angeles Kings – The Kings already have just more than $60MM committed to the 2017-18 salary cap with forwards Tanner Pearson and Tyler Toffoli slated to become RFAs next summer. Toffoli tallied career highs in goals (31) and points (58) in 2015-16 and while his scoring out put is down some this year, he could still easily command upwards of $4MM annually on a new contract. Pearson, meanwhile recorded 36 points last year and is on pace for about that same total this season. That could well push his salary north of $3MM next year.
- New York Rangers – The Blueshirts might be in a bigger bind than the Kings. They have about $63MM tied up in 2017-18 commitments with top-six center Mika Zibanejad and checking forward Jesper Fast, among several others, scheduled to become RFA’s. On top of that, the team will likely be in the market for a blue line upgrade and unless they can find a way to unload one of Dan Girardi or Marc Staal, the Rangers won’t have enough cap space to make an impact addition in free agency.
- Detroit Red Wings – The Red Wings are projected to have less than $5MM in cap space next season with Thomas Vanek hitting free agency. Additionally, five other players will be RFAs, including Tomas Tatar and Tomas Jurco. It’s hard to imagine the Wings being anything more than a fringe playoff contender next season given their current roster and with virtually no salary cap space available next season, as it’ll be tough for the team to improve through free agency.
Pacific Division Notes: Gudbranson, Mueller
The Vancouver Canucks finsihed 12 points behind Minnesota for the final playoff berth in the Western Conference in 2015-16 and with many of their best players – Henrik Sedin, Daniel Sedin, Alex Edler and Ryan Miller – all on the wrong side of 30, many thought it was time for the organization to embrace a full rebuild. Instead Vancouver inked veteran scoring forward Loui Eriksson in free agency and dealt young prospect Jared McCann along with a second-round pick to Florida for experienced defenseman Erik Gudbranson; moves that suggested the front office had every reason of contending in 2016-17. While the team sits just three points out of a playoff berth and with roughly two-thirds of the season remaining, it’s still more likely Vancouver will be a lottery team as opposed to a serious postseason contender. Now, with Gudbranson scheduled to reach restricted free agency next summer and likely in line for a marked raise over his $3.5MM cap hit, Vancouver will have to make a tough decision on what to do with the physical blue liner, as Jason Brough of Pro Hockey Talk writes.
As Brough explains, the Canucks have unexpectedly received strong play from rookie Troy Stecher, who has six points in 18 games, and already have Chris Tanev signed long term. Both are right-side defenders, as is Gudbranson, and a strong case can be made that they deserve top-four slots ahead of the former Florida Panther. In that case, Vancouver GM Jim Benning may not want to pay market value for Gudbranson, assuming he would be no more than a third-pair blue liner.
Benning has indicated that his newfound back end depth may allow him to trade a defenseman for a forward:
“We have depth on defense. We’ve rebuilt our defense. (Nikita) Tryamkin is 22 years old, (Troy) Stecher is 22 years old. (Alex) Edler at 30 is our oldest defenseman, so we have a young, good group back there. We have depth back there. So if we look to make a move, we’d have to use some of our depth on the blue line to add a forward.”
Gudbranson’s value is also difficult to project. The analytical community is not a fan, citing his substandard possession numbers – 48.7% career CF% – and his lack of offense. The towering blue liner has tallied just 48 career points in 336 NHL regular season games; good for a per-82-game-average of 11.7. With the league always looking for more offense and team’s prioritizing puck moving capabilities from its blue liners, there may not be as much of a trade market this summer for a player of Gudbranson’s ilk.
However, teams that value intangibles may be willing to overlook the advanced stats. But first, Vancouver has to decide whether they project Gudbranson to be a top-four defender and if not, are they going to be willing to extend the former third overall pick to a contract with an AAV in excess of $4MM or $5MM.
Elsewhere in the Pacific Division:
- Defenseman Mirco Mueller has been recalled by the San Jose Sharks, according to the official website of their AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda. Curtis Pashelka of the San Jose Mercury News relays that the team’s head coach, Peter DeBoer, has not yet decided whether Mueller will be in the lineup this evening. However, Kevin Kurz of CSN Bay Area believes it is likely the former first-round pick will sit out tonight. Mueller has appeared in 50 NHL games with the Sharks, netting one goal and four points. He has yet to suit up this season for the Sharks. Mueller has six points in 17 games with the Barracuda.
Washington Capitals Recall Aaron Ness; Matt Niskanen Out
After getting hit face-first into the boards by Patrice Bergeron in yesterday’s game, Matt Niskanen is day-to-day with an upper-body injury and will be out for the Washington Capitals next matchup. To replace him, the team has called up Aaron Ness from the Hershey Bears Thursday afternoon.
Ness was originally acquired by the Capitals in 2015 after the Islanders let him hit free agency. The former captain of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, Ness fit right in with the Bears last season, scoring 27 points during the regular season and being a huge part of their run to the Calder Cup finals. He also spent eight games with the Capitals in 2015-16, recording two assists and not looking out of place.
The former second-round (40th overall) pick of the Islanders is a smooth skating defenseman who can make an excellent outlet pass and rack up points. At 26 he’s not exactly young, but could still develop into at least a part-time NHL player. He’ll have big shoes to fill in Washington however, as Niskanen was logging over 22 minutes a night this season and skated on both special teams.
Following the Niskanen hit, Bergeron will receive no addition discipline from the league. The Capitals defender however isn’t travelling to Buffalo with the team and will be re-evaluated daily.
Across The Pond: NLA
After taking a look at the KHL last week, we turn now to the league challenging them for the title of #2 to the NHL: Switzerland’s National League A. This summer, the growing trend of displaced NHLers choosing to play in Switzerland continued. Once an afterthought compared to the massive and seemingly boundless Kontinental Hockey League, the little NLA, confined just within Swiss borders, has begun to bring in top talent year after year. No better example exists than 2016 #1 overall pick Auston Matthews. Professional hockey in Switzerland received an all-time high in global attention last season when Matthews decided to play professionally overseas a year before he was eligible to be selected into the NHL. Never before had a high-profile prospect made such a decision, and if they had, Switzerland would not have been the top candidate. Matthews was far from the only recognizable name playing on a Swiss roster though, and his departure has not stopped the talent, both North American and European, from continuing to mount in the NLA.
With the newfound attention on the league, some of Europe’s best talent have begun to follow North Americans to a league that used to be almost entirely composed of just Swiss natives. This is evident in the NLA scoring race. Instead of being dominated by imports like Nathan Gerbe, Nick Spaling, Rob Schremp, and Dustin Jeffrey or Swiss veterans like Damien Brunner and Roman Wick, it is instead a mixture of those groups and talent from around Europe. While no longer of interest to NHL teams, the leader of this group is 37-year-old Tommi Santala. Some may remember Santala from short stints with the Atlanta Thrashers and Vancouver Canucks in the early 2000’s. but the Finnish winger has made a name for himself in Switzerland in recent years. In the twilight of his career, Santala is on pace for his best season yet with 32 points in 27 games for EHC Kloten. A more interesting NHL option may be HC Lugano’s Linus Klasen. Although undersized, the speedy Klasen has been a point-per-game player or better in each of the past three seasons. So far in 2016-17, the Swedish native has ten goals and a league-leading 22 assists in 29 games. Although Klasen had a cup of coffee with the Nashville Predators in 2010-11, he has never truly had a shot at the NHL. At 30 years old, his time is running out, but another dominant season coupled with a weak free agent market may give him another chance at competing with the best. In a similar position is fellow countryman Robert Nilsson, who enjoyed several decent seasons with the New York Islanders and Edmonton Oilers, but of late has been playing the best hockey of his career with the ZSC Lions. While over the hump at 31, a player known for his intelligence and vision may be able to find his way back to the NHL if his production keeps up.
The 2016 All UFA Bust Team
Last week we presented our 2016 All UFA Bargain team, highlighted by Jonathan Marchessault and Chad Johnson, each of whom has provided results well in excess of any expectations based on the contracts they signed this summer. Of course for every free agent bargain in the NHL there is likely at least one free agent signing that will rate as a bust. Strangely enough, only a handful of UFA blue liners inked multiyear pacts this summer with two of the biggest names, Keith Yandle and Alex Goligoski, traded by their previous employers before agreeing to lucrative deals prior to reaching unrestricted free agency. Subsequently, finding two defensemen who have severely under-performed their new contracts was not as easy as expected.
Without further ado, here is Pro Hockey Rumors 2016 All UFA Bust Team.
Forwards
Andrew Ladd (New York Islanders) – Seven years, $38.5MM: The Islanders, needing to replace the scoring tough of Kyle Okposo, reached a lucrative agreement July 1st with veteran left wing Andrew Ladd. It was expected that in addition to 25-goal, 50-point production, Ladd would also add leadership to a relatively young squad. But Ladd has just five points in 23 contests with his new club and has struggled despite seeing a lot of early-season ice time with John Tavares.
Many were critical of the Ladd contract, primarily due to the seven-year term. Ladd, soon to turn 31, already has nearly 800 regular season games under his belt and likely won’t remain productive into his mid-to-late-30’s. However it was at least expected that Ladd would maintain his 20-goal plus production through the first half of his deal.
Mikkel Boedker (San Jose Sharks) – Four years, $16MM: After falling to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Stanley Cup Final last June, the San Jose Sharks decided they needed to add some speed to help keep up against the league’s quicker clubs. Enter Boedker, who had tied his career-high in points, tallying 51 while splitting the 2015-16 campaign between Arizona and Colorado. Boedker was supposed to help allow the Sharks to ice four quality lines with skill and add some more speed to the lineup. Unfortunately the production – two goals and four points – simply doesn’t measure up to the lofty contract he received.
Dale Weise (Philadelphia Flyers) – Four years, $9.4MM: Weise parlayed an excellent platform season – 14 goals, 27 points – into a nice, multiyear deal with the Flyers this summer despite his late-season struggles following a trade from Montreal to Chicago. The physical winger tallied just one assist in 15 games with the Blackhawks down the stretch. Yet the AAV of $2.35MM is in line with Weise’s full-season production in both 2014-15 and 2015-16. The problem is, Weise has just two goals and four points in 22 game so far on the campaign and that’s not nearly enough to justify his contract.
Defense
Dan Hamhuis (Dallas Stars) – Two years, $7.5MM: The Stars pursued Hamhuis at last season’s trade deadline but the veteran defender elected to exercise his NTC to block a proposed deal to Dallas as he didn’t want to uproot his family at that time. After losing Kris Russell, Jason Demers and Alex Goligoski from last year’s blue line, it seemed only natural that the Stars would turn again to Hamhuis for help. The 13-year-vet has long been a steady performer and the two-year term is reasonable, but he has just five points in 24 games and has been a healthy scratch at times this season. Surely the Stars expected a little more from their investment.
Jason Demers (Florida Panthers) – Five years, $22.5MM: It’s not that Demers is having a terrible year as he is on pace for around 10 goals and 29 points. But Florida remade their blue line in the offseason, moving on from tough, physical defenders Erik Gudbranson and Dmitry Kulikov in favor of better puck movers like Demers. To say that plan hasn’t worked out would be an understatement. Defensively the team is allowing 2.44 goals-per-game, exactly the same as last year. However on offense, the team is averaging 0.51 fewer goals per game. Yes, some of that likely has to do with the injuries to Jonathan Huberdeau and Nick Bjugstad, but the bottom line is the season has been a bitter disappointment for the Panthers and Demers shares in some of the responsibility.
Goalie
James Reimer (Florida Panthers) – Five years, $17MM: With Roberto Luongo now 37, and the upcoming expansion draft at least providing the Panthers with the possibility of getting out from under the final five years of his onerous contract, the Panthers elected to buy the best goalie on the free agent market this summer to provide a competent fallback option. After eight starts this season, Reimer has a Save % under 0.900 and a GAA above 3.0. While a $3.4MM AAV may not be on par with most of the league’s starters, it is excellent money for a backup and Reimer is currently not even playing to that modest level.
Canucks President Trevor Linden Offers Thoughts On Team
In a lengthy Q & A session with Luke Fox of Sportsnet, Trevor Linden, president of the Vancouver Canucks, offered his thoughts on the direction of the team, among many other topics. The entire interview is well worth the read but here are a few of the highlights:
- When asked about the biggest positive so far this season, Linden spoke of the team’s youthful defense: “Tonight we’ll have the youngest defence core in the National Hockey League. Our oldest defenceman will be 26-year-old [Luca] Sbisa and [Philip] Larsen. Gudbranson’s 24. [Ben] Hutton’s 23. [Troy] Stecher and [Nikita] Tryamkin are 22. That’s a new group. We’ve rebuilt that defence.” Not only is Sbisa the gray beard of the crew, he is also the longest-tenured member of the blue line, now in his third season with the team. From that perspective Linden is spot on in his assessment that Vancouver has essentially rebuilt the team’s defense. But it remains to be seen whether this young group can develop into one of the league’s top blue line units.
- Interestingly enough, when discussing the defense, Linden also touched on the Sedins, Henrik and Daniel. The executive admitted there is no chance the team will trade their longtime stars, unless requested by the twins to do so: “Two guys that, quite simply, were just never going to be moved. That’s 33 (Henrik) and 22 (Daniel). They’re going to be here until they decide to not be here.” The Sedins are no longer in their prime but are still capable of producing solid offensive numbers commensurate with top-six forwards – Daniel has 14 points and Henrik 15 through 24 games this season. Dealing the twins would fast-forward the Vancouver rebuild tremendously given the quality assets they would be able to get in exchange. Of course finding a trade scenario that works for Vancouver would be difficult. With NMC’s in hand, it’s certain the duo would insist on continuing to play together. Not many teams will have enough room, even at the trade deadline, to accommodate the Sedin’s combined cap charge. Still, it’s a scenario Linden should not-so-easily dismiss.
Across The Pond: KHL
Roughly halfway through the Kontinental Hockey League season, things are looking good… for prospective NHL off-season buyers. The majority of the “second best” league’s top scorers thus far are impending free agents and a majority of that subset play for the best team in the league and may be in search of a new challenge should they take home the league championship without much of a struggle.
When SKA Saint Petersberg added Pavel Datsyuk, Viktor Tikhonov, Sergei Plotnikov, and Alexander Khokhlachev this summer, it was assumed that they would be the team to beat in 2016-17. However, no one could have expected that 35 games in they would be 29-2-4 with a goal differential of 99 and a 30-point lead in their division. SKA appears poised to breeze to a league championship this season. Then what? Leading scorer, and a name known to NHL fans, Ilya Kovalchuk has made it known that he would consider returning to the NHL. Kovalchuk is currently second in the KHL in points (to veteran winger Sergei Mozyakin of Mettalurg Magnitogorsk) with 49. The former #1 overall pick is still only 33 years old, and could use Jaromir Jagr as a model of how a few years out of the NHL early in your career can extend your career in North America. For Kovalchuk to rejoin to the New Jersey Devils, the rest of the teams in the league would have to approve of his return from NHL retirement. While they may not want to make a competitor stronger, the decision could also open doors for Kovalchuk’s teammates to follow suit.
Kovalchuk’s linemate, and the fifth leading scorer in the KHL, is Vadim Shipachyov. The 29-year-old skilled center has been on the radar of NHL teams for years, especially after back-to-back seasons of over a point-per-game production and elite postseason performances with SKA. He’s putting on a repeat performance in 2016-17, with a league-leading 30 assists and nine goals in 28 games. Shipachyov could finally make the jump to North America if he follows friend and role model Kovalchuk. Likewise, SKA’s Evgeni Dadonov could join his teammates overseas. The 2007 third-round pick of the Florida Panthers couldn’t stick in the NHL in his first go-round, despite scoring 20 points in 55 games in parts of three seasons, but has dominated the KHL since his return to Russia. The 27-year-old winger is on pace for his best season yet, and could draw the attention of a Florida team that has had more than it’s fair share of struggles so far this season. A small, fast forward, Dadonov has the tools to excel in today’s NHL. Another player in Saint Petersberg having an unbelievable year is Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Nikita Gusev. The KHL’s third ranked scorer with 44 point in 33 games, the 24-year-old was a steal by the Bolts in the seventh round of the 2012 draft. While he’s still signed on in Russia for a couple more years, don’t be surprised to see the talented scorer join Tampa sooner rather than later and make a contender that much more dangerous.
Pacific Division Notes: Boedker, Canucks, Peters, Gaudet
After losing to Pittsburgh in the Stanley Cup Final, the San Jose Sharks, with most of their roster set to return, made just a couple of minor changes in the summer. Their headline acquisition was the signing of unrestricted free agent winger Mikkel Boedker to a four-year deal worth $16MM. The Sharks concluded after watching the Penguins storm through the postseason with a quick and deep roster that they needed an infusion of skill and speed and went out on the first day of free agency and signed Boedker to add those elements.
Unfortunately for Boedker and the Sharks, the adjustment to his new team isn’t going as smoothly as hoped. Through 22 games, the Danish forward has just two goals and is averaging less than one shot per contest. Last season, Boedker scored 17 goals and averaged better than two shots per game. Despite the presence of high-end offensive talent up front, Boedker has yet to develop chemistry with any of his fellow forwards. It got bad enough last night that Sharks coach Pete DeBoer benched Boedker for the third period of a game the Sharks would lose 3 – 2, as Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News writes.
DeBoer didn’t mince words in postgame comments regarding the benching:
“Again, we were behind going into the third. Some guys it was just circumstance. Some guys didn’t deserve to play.”
Ryan Carpenter and Micheal Haley, two fourth-line forwards, also didn’t play in the third but that would seem to be due to circumstance, as DeBoer put it.
It’s obviously far too early to label the Boedker signing a bust but it’s clear that 22 games in the investment isn’t paying off to this point for the Sharks.
Elsewhere in the Pacific:
- Jason Botchford pens a piece for The Province listing 10 reasons to feel good about the Vancouver Canucks. Despite internal expectations to compete for a playoff spot, most pundits felt the team simply doesn’t have enough talent still in their prime to challenge for the postseason. Unfortunately for Vancouver, the latter group has proven write. But as Botchford points out, even in the midst of a bad season, there still can be reasons to feel good about the Canucks. Perhaps the topic most relevant for us was Botchford’s mention of Erik Gudbranson‘s potential free agent asking price. Gudbranson was acquired in an offseason deal with Florida and is scheduled to be a restricted free agent next summer. Botchford believes that a figure of $5MM annually has been floated but suggests the early struggles, both of the team and of Gudbranson, could serve to bring that number down to something more palatable for the Canucks.
- The Arizona Coyotes called up a couple of players in advance of their game today against Edmonton – a contest they would win 2 – 1. Sarah McClellan of AZ Central Sports reports that the team recalled goaltender Justin Peters from Tucson to backup starter Mike Smith. Louis Domingue is currently day-to-day with a lower-body-injury. According to Arizona head coach Dave Tippett, the injury is “nothing serious,” but the Coyotes wanted a fully healthy net minder up if needed. Meanwhile, according to KPNX 12 News Sports, Arizona also recalled center Tyler Gaudet from the Tucson Roadrunners of the AHL. Gaudet has made one other appearance this season for the Coyotes and has 17 games overall of NHL experience. In 11 games with the Roadrunners, Gaudet has two goals and seven points. Neither player saw action this afternoon for Arizona.
Atlantic Division Snapshots: Vasilevskiy, Bruins, Leafs
When the Tampa Bay Lightning inked Andrei Vasilevskiy to a three-year contract extension this summer, a deal that doesn’t go into effect until the 2017-18 season, it appeared as if the organization was committed to the Russian net minder as its future number one goalie. With Ben Bishop set to hit free agency next July, the idea was to give Vasilevskiy about 35 starts this season to be sure he was ready to assume the load as a starter. After eight starts this season, it’s becoming clear to all that the 22-year-old is most definitely ready to be the man for the Lightning, writes Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times.
Vasilevskiy is 6 – 1 – 1 on the season and has a GAA of just 1.50 and a Save % of 0.951 in eight appearances. His hot start comes on the heels of helping the Lightning make it to game seven of the Eastern Conference Final against Pittsburgh last season after Bishop was injured. Vasilevskiy was solid in the postseason, stopping 0.925% of the shots he faced in eight games.
Assuming Vasilevskiy continues to develop into a quality starting option, his extension, which calls for an AAV of just $3.5MM, will prove to be a tremendous bargain for a team that already has a lot of its cap space tied up in long-term deals.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic Division:
- The Boston Bruins have long been thought to be in the market for a top-four blue liner, with Kevin Shattenkirk being one name linked to the team. However, given the team’s recent offensive struggles, Bruins management may want to reconsider their plans. Joe Haggerty, of CSNNE, reports that both the players and the coaches are becoming frustrated with the team’s lackluster goal scoring. David Pastrnak, the team’s gifted 20-year-old sniper, leads the team with 12 goals in just 16 games. Brad Marchand, currently out with a lower-body-injury, is second with six tallies while fourth-line pivot Dominic Moore ranks third on the club with five markers. Overall the Bruins rank 25th in the NHL, averaging just 2.3 goals-per-game. However, defenseman Torey Krug is confident the goals will come given the team finished fifth in the league last season in scoring: “When you see other teams get lucky bounces here and there – in Ottawa they’re shooting the puck wide and it goes off one of our guys and in, or in Minnesota the same thing happens – and we find ourselves not getting those bounces, then it starts to get frustrating when you’re getting good looks like we have been. Every team goes through these little lulls and we’ll work our way out of it. Hopefully it’s sooner rather than later.”
- While the Toronto Maple Leafs are certainly a fun team to watch, bouyed by a talented young core of forwards, veteran head coach Mike Babcock knows defense wins championships. Ian Shantz of the Toronto Sun writes that Babcock is asking more from his blue liners as the team battles to stay relevant in the postseason race. Babcock singles out Morgan Rielly as the guy he wants to see play like a #1 defender: “We need (Morgan) Rielly to be our No. 1 guy. We need him to be very good for us, and that’s not racing around the rink. That’s playing without the puck.” The Leafs do have some talent on the back end but it’s likely that if they are buyers at the trade deadline that the blue line is the one area the team will look to improve.
Pacific Division Snapshots: Brown, Strome, Russell
Dustin Brown spent eight seasons as the captain of the Los Angeles Kings, helping the team to two Stanley Cup championships during that time. He scored 54 points in 2011-12, the fifth consecutive campaign of at least 22 goals and 53 points, but since has seen his performance decline. Brown did tally 18 goals during the strike-shortened 2012-13 season but in the three full seasons since he’s averaged just 0.35 points-per-game. That performance regression in part prompted the Kings to remove the “C” from Brown’s sweater in order to give it to Anze Kopitar.
The Kings did look to move Brown this summer but with six seasons remaining on a contract that calls for an AAV of just shy of $6MM, there wasn’t much interest. Brown was critical of the decision, particularly in how the situation was handled, but the 13-year veteran has handled his business like a pro this season. In fact, as Josh Cooper of Yahoo writes, not having the responsibilities of the position any longer allows Brown to focus on playing hockey and his play has improved this season as a result.
“I’m not taking the game home with me, which in years past was a difficult thing not to do, partly because I … just as a competitor you want to take everything personally. Now I’m kind of detached a little bit from it, which is a good thing. So I get to come to work every day and do my job. It has been much easier to leave it here, which has been much healthier.”
Brown has six points in 20 games, a per-game average of 0.45. That prorates to a full, 82-game total of about 37 points. Brown has been part of an effective third line with Devin Setoguchi and Nic Dowd and for the first time in a long while he says he is enjoying the game:
“This is probably the first time I’ve had fun playing hockey in a couple of years. I know in saying that we play a game for a living. But I always say no matter if you’re playing a game or whatever you’re doing in life if you’re not having fun it’s tough to do.”
Even with the uptick in production it’s unlikely Brown will ever again be worth his cap charge. But the Kings must nonetheless be pleased to see even a moderate improvement from their former captain.
Elsewhere in the Pacific Division:
- Dylan Strome has tons of skill and plenty of hockey instincts. But Arizona GM John Chayka and team bench boss Dave Tippett believe the one thing holding him back at this point in his young career is a lack of physical maturity, as Craig Morgan of Arizona Sports writes. Strome was recently returned to the Erie Otters of the OHL after a seven game spin at the NHL level. He tallied just a single assist and was a minus-5 while averaging 13:41 of ice time per game. Strome’s struggles represent one of the issues regarding Canadian junior players. His development won’t be helped by returning to the OHL as he’s simply too good for that level. But as we’ve seen, he isn’t physically ready for the challenges of the NHL and he can’t be sent to the AHL to play against other professionals due to the rules in place. However, as Morgan notes, Strome will be eligible to represent Canada at the upcoming Word Juniors, which as Chayka points out, will allow him to serve as a leader on the Canadian squad: “I think that’s important to be in Canada for him,” Chayka said. “He should be a big part of that team; a big part of that leadership group.”
- Kris Russell has his critics as a player, particularly among the analytical community. Yet the Edmonton Oilers, who signed the veteran defender late in the offseason, are pleased with what he has brought to the table, as Robert Tychkowski of the Edmonton Journal writes. The numbers that matter most to the Oilers is the team’s won-loss record when he is in the lineup versus when he is out. Edmonton is 9 – 3 – 1 with Russell playing and just 2 – 5 – 0 when he does not play. While he isn’t putting up big counting numbers, in the opinion of bench boss Todd McLellan, Russell has helped add stability to a unit that has been below-average over the last several seasons: “I don’t think it’s coincidence. I think he does bring enough stability back there that he has an impact on the outcome of games.” Russell had to wait through the summer before landing a deal with Edmonton but if he continues to impress Oilers management, the team could look to lock up the 10-year vet before he hits the free agency next July.