Injuries Pile Up For Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers were already without Brian Elliott for some time as they headed into the trade deadline, and then were given some other bad news. Michal Neuvirth will be out four to six weeks with a lower-body injury, leading to the team’s acquisition of Petr Mrazek last night. Mrazek won’t start tonight for the Flyers, but should get an opportunity to prove himself as a true #1 goaltender once again.
Unfortunately, that’s not where the injuries end for Philadelphia. The team also announced that Wayne Simmonds would be out up to three weeks with an upper-body injury. Simmonds’ loss is perhaps even more troublesome than the goaltending issues, as the veteran winger is in the midst of another excellent season.
With 20 goals on the year, Simmonds extends his streak to five straight campaigns with at least that many, and had a good chance of cracking 50 points once again before the injury. The 29-year old winger is one of the league’s biggest bargains, carrying a cap hit of just less than $4MM. That contract extends for one more year, putting Simmonds on track to be part of the superclass of free agents in 2019. If the Flyers are to make the playoffs and cause any problems in the first round, they’ll need Simmonds at full strength.
Oskar Lindblom has been recalled by the team and could make his NHL debut tonight.
Colorado Dealing With Big Changes On Defense
The Colorado Avalanche are one of this year’s best stories, coming back from a historically bad season in 2016-17 to be a potential buyer at the upcoming trade deadline. The team sits five points behind the Minnesota Wild for the last playoff spot, but does have a game in hand. Today, that playoff chase took a big hit when the team announced that both Erik Johnson and Anton Lindholm would be out indefinitely due to injury. In their place, the Avalanche have recalled David Warsofsky and Andrei Mironov from the AHL, pushing their depth to the limit.
Whatever you think of Johnson’s value versus his long-term contract, his impact on the Avalanche is immense. Logging more than 25 minutes a night, the 29-year old sits fifth in league average time on ice and plays in all situations for Colorado. While Tyson Barrie has a bigger impact offensively, Johnson is the glue that holds the entire blue line together and his presence will be sorely missed.
The team now has to weigh their options, and decide whether adding another defenseman is worth the price. Making the playoffs would be a huge accomplishment for the young team, especially after trading Matt Duchene earlier in the year, but there are some impact prospects on the way and this team is nicely set up for future success. Selling off some assets wouldn’t cripple that future, but there’s no guarantee it results in a playoff run this year.
Philadelphia Flyers Discussing Petr Mrazek With Detroit Red Wings
After losing Brian Elliott for a good chunk of time, the Philadelphia Flyers need to look elsewhere to solve their goaltending problem. While Buffalo Sabres’ netminder Robin Lehner was an option, he’s now dealing with a minor injury of his own and Darren Dreger of TSN instead reports the Flyers are in discussions with Detroit over Petr Mrazek.
Mrazek has been on the block for much of the season, once linked strongly to the Edmonton Oilers when Cam Talbot was dealing with an injury and just recently reportedly offered to the Flyers for a third-round pick. Instead, he’s stayed with the Red Wings and really played well when given the chance. In his last ten games, Mrazek has posted a .935 save percentage and two shutouts. Those numbers would be more than enough for an acquiring team to push towards the playoffs, but they don’t come without some concern.
The 26-year old goaltender has never been considered a consistent performer, and there has been speculation in the past on a poor locker room presence. While those things are difficult to quantify (if they’re even true), he also brings a hefty cap hit at $4MM and is a restricted free agent in the summer. If a team does not believe he can be their starter next season, he’s a prime non-tender candidate as he’d require a $4.15MM qualifying offer.
Philadelphia may be one of the only spots that could bring in Mrazek and extend him, as they’re only set to pay Elliott and Michal Neuvirth a combined $5.25MM next season. Burying one of them in the minors in favor of Mrazek would give the team a regularly priced goalie duo, though whether it is actually much of an improvement is still to be seen.
How Flyers Can Deal With Injuries In Net
Things have been going well for the Philadelphia Flyers. The team has won six of their past ten games and are firmly engaged in a battle for a Metropolitan Division playoff spot. However, the one shortcoming of the Flyers for years now has again reared its ugly head: goaltending. Philly’s goalies have performed well this season, with starter Brian Elliott holding 21 wins and backup Michal Neuvirth performing statistically even better as Elliott’s understudy. For the first time in years, goalie performance has not been a defining issue for the Flyers. However, Elliott is now out of the picture for the time being after suffering a core muscle injury earlier in the month which required surgery and could keep him sidelined through the end of March. Meanwhile, Neuvirth succumbed to a lower-body injury earlier today and had to leave the Flyers’ match-up with the rival New York Rangers. While young Alex Lyon performed admirably in relief, allowing only one goal en route to his first NHL win, the Flyers face a real possibility of being without their top two goalies for some time. So what do they do?
1) Stand Pat
It’s too early to know how long Neuvirth will be out, so the Flyers could let cooler heads prevail and wait to see what the prognosis is on his injury. If Neuvirth will simply miss a few games, the team could rely on Lyon and veteran journeyman Dustin Tokarski, acquired in October for this exact emergency situation, for the time being. Lyon, a former phenom at Yale University, has struggled in limited NHL action this season, but has been good for the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms in each of the last two seasons. Now could be a good time to see what the 25-year-old brings to the table.
2) Acquire a stopgap
Perhaps if Lyon had more than three NHL appearances or Tokarski had more than 10 minutes of NHL action in the past two years, the Flyers would be willing to stick with this tandem, even if Neuvirth remains out for a week or two. Maybe if Anthony Stolarz, shut down for the season after knee surgery in September, was available they would be fine with waiting for Elliott and Neuvirth to return to health. However, the Flyers are in the middle of a playoff race and cannot afford to stick with such inexperienced options for more than a handful of games nor wait on injury timelines with the NHL Trade Deadline a week away. Instead, they could turn to the trade market and look for a short-term option. There isn’t much goalie talk on the rumor mill right now, other than the fact that the Flyers turned down a recent offer from the Detroit Red Wings of Petr Mrazek for a third-round pick. They could certainly revisit bringing in the impending restricted free agent for a tryout down the stretch. The team could also look at trading for San Jose Sharks backup Aaron Dell, who’s having a breakout year and comes with a cheap price tag for the remainder of the season. However, the Sharks are a fellow playoff-chaser and might be hesitant to move their backup unless they were getting another in return, either Neuvirth or Elliott. Other options could include Michael Hutchinson from the Winnipeg Jets (though they too have injury issues in net), Andrew Hammond from the Colorado Avalanche, or one of the many minor league keepers from Toronto or Calgary, if those teams are willing to deal.
3) Acquire a starter
Of course, the Flyers could also take this opportunity to bring in a starting-caliber goalie; one who could eliminate the worry of whether Elliott will be healthy by playoff time. Philadelphia could look at short-term starter, such as impending free agents Antti Raanta from Arizona or Robin Lehner (RFA) from Buffalo. However, more interestingly, they could also look for a long-term fit. Both Elliott and Neuvirth are only signed through next season. If they could send one or the other back in a trade, they could look to acquire a starter with term on his contract. That could be as easy as bringing in Lehner or Mrazek with the intention of extending them. Either one could do the job for a few years, bridging the gap to star prospect Carter Hart. It could also open the door to Detroit’s other goalie, Jimmy Howard, who could benefit from a change of scenery with one year left on his deal. The Vancouver Canucks could entertain moving Jacob Markstrom during a down year, though he may not be much of an upgrade over Philly’s current stable and is signed for two more seasons. One possible dark horse candidate would be Colorado starter Semyon Varlamov, who has been outplayed by backup Jonathan Bernier this season and is signed through 2018-19 at an expensive $5.9MM cap hit. For those of you thinking Carey Price though, think again.
Snapshots: Karlsson, Tolvanen, Dotchin, Neuvirth, Greiss
There was a lot of quiet hope that when Ottawa star defenseman Erik Karlsson bought a new home in Ottawa back in August, that might suggest he intends to agree to a long-term extension when he’s eligible this year.
Don’t count on that, writes the Ottawa Sun’s Don Brennan.
Despite purchasing a new, expensive home in the Glebe before the season started, Karlsson suggested that has no meaning on his future. The 27-year-old will be a free agent in the 2018-19 offseason and constant rumors of whether he intends to stay in Ottawa have been talked about for months.
“I live here, and I’m going to live here no matter what,” Karlsson told Postmedia Saturday. “If not all year round, I’m going to live here during the summer. My wife is from here and this is where we’re set.”
- Adam Vingan of the Tennessean writes that while the Nashville Predators are open to signing top prospect and Finnish Olympian Eeli Tolvanen to an entry-level deal when his KHL season ends (anytime between early March and late April), don’t count on him making a major impact to the team. While Tolvanen, the team’s first-round pick in 2017, would be a cheaper alternative to making a major trade for a top-six forward, an 18-year-old likely will struggle initially, although a few players in similar situations fared well in the playoffs. He points out that Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy had three assists in six first-round playoff games last year and the New York Rangers’ Chris Kreider did the same back in 2012 when he scored five goals in 18 postseason games.
- The Tampa Bay Lightning have scratched defenseman Jake Dotchin five times in the last six games. The young 23-year-old defenseman has often found himself on the team’s top defensive pairing in the past, but suddenly can’t get on the ice. According to Tampa Bay Times Joe Smith, head coach Jon Cooper said he has been struggling on the ice of late. “He’s got some inconsistencies in his game,” said Cooper. Dotchin has played in 43 games this season and has three goals and 11 assists.
- The Philadelphia Flyers may have just found themselves looking for a goaltender on the trade market after the team lost goaltender Michal Neuvirth to a lower-body injury during the first period in today’s game against the New York Rangers, according to Sportsnet’s John Shannon. While its too early to know whether Neuvirth will miss an extended amount of time, the team already lost goaltender Brian Elliott for five weeks after undergoing core muscle surgery last week.
- The New York Islanders also may have some goaltending problems as goaltender Thomas Greiss, who just came off his best game of the season Friday when he shutout the Carolina Hurricanes, did not practice today as he tweaked something. “He just tweaked something,” said head coach Doug Weight. “We’re going to have it looked at and make a final ruling here moving forward. We’re prepared for anything. Obviously Bridgeport is close so if we need to do something for tomorrow we’ll be fine.” If the injury is serious, the Islanders might also be looking for a goaltender at the trade deadline.
Trade Candidates: Thomas Hickey
With the trade deadline approaching, we will be profiling several players in the weeks ahead that have a good chance to be dealt by February 26th.
Thomas Hickey‘s name is not one that has been heard often this year: not in regards to trades, not in regards to his impending free agency, not in regards to his performance, not at all, really. Yet, the question is not why, but why not? Hickey is arguably enjoying his best NHL season and is a main reason why injuries didn’t tear the New York Islanders apart. Hickey has come a long way from being a fourth overall pick with chronic injury issues given away on waivers; it’s time to give him his due credit. Hickey is a dark horse candidate to be traded by the deadline if another team realizes his value and the Islanders decide they are better off trading him than keeping him.
Contract
Hickey is in the final season of a three-year, $6.6MM contract signed in 2015. The deal carries a $2.2MM cap hit – which will be count for under $600K by the deadline – and has no trade protection.
2017-18
It’s no secret that allowing goals – a league-high 214 (and it’s not close) – is what separates the New York Islanders from many other similarly skilled contenders. Yet, things could be much worse. Calvin de Haan suffered a season-ending injury in December and Johnny Boychuk has missed more than 20 games due to injury; those injuries could have broken the Isles. Add in Nick Leddy‘s struggles in his own zone and the declining play of Dennis Seidenberg and, without Hickey, this could very well be a team far outside of the player picture. Instead, New York currently holds the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference and are very much in the mix to keep it. Hickey has been a solid two-way presence for the Islanders all season. Beginning the campaign as a frequent healthy scratch to now the third-leading defenseman in total ice time, behind Leddy and Adam Pelech, Hickey’s role has transformed as his performance has improved. Hickey now leads the team in plus/minus by a significant margin, is third among defensemen in scoring, and has claimed a spot on the team’s top penalty kill unit. Hickey also has the second-most defensive zone starts, again behind only Pelech, as he has been relied on for sound defensive play in his own end and his great ability to see the ice and make an outlet pass. On the personal side, Hickey is on pace for 21 points this season, which would be his third-most in the NHL and the best points-per-game rate of his career. Hickey has quietly been very impressive this season, even if the score sheet or the eye test doesn’t seem to point to a star player and, beyond that, has been incredibly valuable to the Islanders.
Season Stats
47 GP, 3 goals, 11 assists, 14 points, +15 rating, 63 shots, 18:07 ATOI, 46.2 CF%
Potential Suitors
Hickey has stepped up and played great for the Islanders in 2017-18. With that well-established, New York is also a team with many injuries on the blue line. Hickey cannot play a bigger role down the stretch for any other team than he has for the Isles. Like more talked-about names such as Nick Holden or Ben Hutton, Hickey will be a depth addition for a contender if he’s traded; a luxury No. 6, 7, or 8 defender. So who needs depth on the left side? The Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning, both vying for the President’s Trophy, are both eager to add another body to their respective blue lines, but may be unwilling to pay the price for a top name. Hickey would seem to fit nice on either top contender. The Metropolitan rival New Jersey Devils could also greatly benefit from another body on the blue line, but the Isles may be hesitant to trade him to a team also in contention for an Eastern wild card spot.
The best chance for the Isles to both trade Hickey and also not hurt their own Stanley Cup odds would be to look west, where the Dallas Stars and Winnipeg Jets would both like to add another defenseman on the left side, especially one who plays a confident game in his own zone. Either destination would be a good fit for Hickey, where he could work his way into a starting role.
Likelihood Of A Trade
Unlike the aforementioned Holden and Hutton, Hickey is not on a team that is a bona fide seller. The Islanders are still fighting for a playoff spot and, more importantly, to show impending free agent John Tavares that they have a bright future. Hickey has played such a key role for New York, that no one will blame them that if they use him as their own “rental” in order to maintain some semblance of a team that can prevent the opposition from scoring.
However, there are two scenarios in which Hickey becomes far more likely to move. The first is if, over the next nine days, the Islanders’ playoff hopes take a major hit. New York plays its next three games against likely playoff teams, including the Devils, and anything less than two points in that stretch could see their playoff hopes slip away. The second scenario is that, as has been rumored, the Isles acquire one of the top defensemen on the trade market. While that would be a sign that they are all in for this season, even if their acquisition has term on his contract, it could also mean that they hedge their bet by trading away Hickey for the best offer.
If the deafening silence surrounding Hickey means anything, the Islanders are not keen on moving him. Yet, things can always change around the deadline. A loss of playoff odds, a big trade, or even just an overwhelming offer could cause GM Garth Snow to rethink his plan. Give it a 50/50 chance that Hickey is dealt.
Columbus Assigns Ryan Murray To AHL For Conditioning Stint
The Columbus Blue Jackets will soon get a boost to their blue line, but they’ll have to wait just a little bit longer. The team announced today that they have activated Ryan Murray from the injured reserve, but have assigned him to the AHL for a conditioning stint. Murray will play at least a game or two for the Cleveland Monsters before returning to the Columbus lineup.
Murray, 24, suffered an undisclosed upper-body injury back in November and has missed the team’s past 34 games. Murray’s early NHL career has been marred by injury, as he missed 22 games last season and all but 12 games in 2014-15 due to various maladies. Even when healthy, Murray has lacked the offensive impact he showed in juniors an in his 24-point rookie season. In the 24 games he has suited up for in 2017-18, Murray has only five points. The 2012 second-overall pick came with, understandably, high expectations that he has yet to reach due to his lack of play time.
Yet, there is still much potential for the smooth-skating defenseman to realize. Although he has been passed up by the likes of Zach Werenski and Seth Jones in Columbus, the Blue Jackets remain committed to Murray and he will surely fill an important role once for the team once he returns. Especially if the Jackets are entertaining ideas of trading away Jack Johnson before the NHL Trade Deadline while still trying to make the playoffs, Murray will be looked upon for solid play and big minutes. The conditioning stint in the AHL will be Murray’s first ever AHL action, after jumping right to the NHL from the WHL, and will hopefully both give him confidence and get him back in game shape and ready to help Columbus down the stretch – they need him.
Jonathan Bernier Out, Avs Recall Andrew Hammond
Surprise call-ups are often not the good kind of surprise for the team and its fans. Such is the case with the Colorado Avalanche, who earlier announced that they had recalled goaltender Andrew Hammond from the Belleville Senators of the AHL. With, presumably, two healthy goalies, there would be no need for Hammond. Thus, the move was a cause for concern among Avs supporters.
Now, it seems that their worries were warranted. AJ Haefele of BSN Denver reports that Hammond’s recall comes as Jonathan Bernier has suffered a head injury and has entered the league’s concussion protocol. Bernier got the start for Colorado last night against the Winnipeg Jets, but was forced from the game after the second period after a collision with Nic Petan. Signed to a one-year deal to be Colorado’s backup in 2017-18, Bernier has instead forced a time share with Semyon Varlamov and has actually narrowly outplayed the Avs’ “starter”. Bernier’s loss, for however long he is out, will be felt by the Avalanche, as they look to stay relevant in the tight Western Conference playoff race.
Fortunately, the timing could not be better for Colorado to use Hammond, if they even need to. The Avs play their next six games against just three teams: the Vancouver Canucks, Edmonton Oilers, and Calgary Flames. The Canucks and Oilers are two of the worst teams in the Western Conference and both struggle to score goals, while the Flames – admittedly a fringe playoff squad like the Avs – also have their offensive struggles.
Zach Sanford Activated Off Injured Reserve
The St. Louis Blues are among those looking for help at the trade deadline, but they may just have found it from an internal source. Zach Sanford, the prospect included in last season’s Kevin Shattenkirk deal, has been activated off injured reserve and assigned to the San Antonio Rampage. Sanford hadn’t played yet this season as he worked his way back from a shoulder injury. Though he’s headed to San Antonio to make his season debut, he could be an option for the Blues down the stretch if he proves healthy and ready to contribute.
The 23-year old forward played 13 games for the Blues last season after the trade, registering five points and generally looking capable of making an impact in bottom-six. Though he suited up for just four playoff contests, he could find himself in the lineup with more frequency this time around. Sanford is a big body at 6’4″ and gives the team another option on the left side as they make their final push towards the playoffs.
Minor Transactions: 02/14/18
We finally saw the first crack in the trade market last night, when Dion Phaneuf was sent to Los Angeles in a swap of bad contracts. Could that be the start of a fire sale in Ottawa, or did they just take advantage of a (perceived) opportunity? We’ll have to wait and see, but for now we’ll keep track of all the minor moves that go on around the rosters of the NHL.
- In Ottawa the team has sent Max McCormick to the minor leagues, a move they’ve completed several times recently. This time though, it’s unclear if he’ll be on his way back up after the Senators added a couple forwards last night. McCormick has played in six games for the Senators this season, registering two points.
- According to the AHL transactions page, the St. Louis Blues have returned Tage Thompson to the San Antonio Rampage. This comes after a minor injury that has kept him out of the lineup the last few games. Thompson has shown flashes of his potential as a big scoring winger, but hasn’t yet really put his stamp on the NHL as a full-time player. The Blues don’t play again until Friday, meaning they could recall Thompson in a few days.