Metro Division Snapshots: Nash, Capitals, Devils
New York Rangers forward Rick Nash is the team’s highest-paid skater with an annual salary cap charge of $7.8MM. Since being acquired from Columbus, Nash has been expected to lead the Rangers offensive attack while serving as a vital cog on a Stanley Cup contender. The team has made it to the Eastern Conference Final on two occasions and appeared in the 2014 Stanley Cup Final since the gifted winger joined the team. However, following a first-round playoff exit and a disappointing, injury-filled season from Nash in 2015-16, the Rangers focused on adding youth and speed to the forward ranks this summer, and as Brandon Cohen of Today’s Slapshot writes, the spotlight does not shine as brightly on Nash anymore.
As Cohen noted, in the past when the Rangers offense would struggle to put the puck in the net or convert on the power play, Nash “would have a target on his back.” But with the additions made in the offseason, and the continued development of players already on the roster, Nash can be just another one of the guys, so to speak, and essentially function in a complementary role.
Jimmy Vesey was the team’s most notable addition, signing with New York as a college free agent following a four-year career at Harvard. Through five games, the 23-year-old rookie winger has three goals and has proven he belongs in the top-six of a playoff team.
Michael Grabner and Brandon Pirri add depth and serve as specialists, with Grabner seeing a lot of action on the penalty kill and Pirri with the man advantage. They’ve combined to tally four goals while playing mostly fourth-line minutes.
New #1 center Mika Zibanejad is off to a fine start, averaging better than a point-per-game with two goals and four assists. He’s been fantastic in the face-off circle winning nearly 60% of his draws and his right-handed shot gives the team an added dimension on the power play.
On top of the new additions, Mats Zuccarello, Derek Stepan and Chris Kreider have combined to add five goals and 15 points. For his part, Nash has two goals and an assist through five games and is playing his usually terrific two-way game. With the talent and depth added up front, it appears Nash no longer has to be relied on to carry the load for the Rangers.
Elsewhere in the Metro Division:
- After losing to eventual Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh in the second round of the playoffs last season, Washington, much like the Rangers, went to work in the offseason to add speed to their lineup. Those efforts resulted in a rebuilt third line with Lars Eller, acquired in a draft-day trade with Montreal, centering a combination of Brett Connolly, rookie Zach Sanford and Justin Williams. As the Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan writes, the new line is beginning to pay dividends for the Capitals. Eller, who cost the Capitals two, second-round choices, replaces veteran Mike Richards at the pivot position and tallied his first marker for his team in Washington’s 4 – 2 loss last night to the Rangers. Richards was signed during the 2015-16 campaign to fill a role on the third line but was a shadow of his former self, scoring just five points in 39 games with the Caps. Connolly was originally selected sixth overall in the 2010 draft but has yet to fulfill his potential at the NHL level. Still just 24, the untapped upside exists for this to turn out to be a smart signing for Washington. Sanford was inked after playing two years at Boston College and while he’s yet to find the score sheet, he’s had several quality scoring chances his last couple of games.
- The New Jersey Devils, who finished last in goals scored in 2015-16, made it a point to upgrade in that department this offseason. The team traded for Taylor Hall and Beau Bennett and added P.A. Parenteau via waivers just prior to the beginning of the season. Those additions were expected to boost the goal-scoring output for New Jersey, but as Chris Ryan of NJ.com opines, it hasn’t worked out as planned quite yet. Hall is off to a good start with three goals in five games, including the OT winner last night, but the Devils have managed to pot just eight so far this season. Fortunately for the Devils, they’ve allowed just nine goals and with Cory Schneider between the pipes should remain one of the stingiest defensive teams in the league. But if they want to challenge for a playoff spot, the Devils need to get their offense cranked up.
Wild Notes: Dumba, Niederreiter, Spurgeon, Stewart, Haula
Mike Russo of the Minneapolis Star Tribune had a productive morning today, publishing an article with news and notes on a number of intriguing Minnesota Wild-related topics. The full post is of course worth a read but here are some of the highlights:
- Mathew Dumba was set to be scratched for Thursday night’s game against Toronto but drew into the lineup because Marco Scandella was ill and could not suit up. Wild bench boss Bruce Boudreau thinks the threat of a benching alone might have served as a wakeup call for the talented, fourth-year pro: “I think the fact he was supposed to sit out one game and go back in could be the Wally Pipp syndrome. It might have opened his eyes for him to start playing the way he’s capable of playing.” Dumba agreed with his coach, saying: “I didn’t like it. I took it in a way that if I got back in the lineup I was never going to let that happen again. That’s the kind of motivation that I have. Just pride as a player. I hold myself to a higher standard. Just what the be the best I can for my teammates.” The 22-year-old Dumba tallied an assist in the Leafs game and followed that up with a solid performance against New Jersey last night, finishing with four shot attempts and five hits, according to Russo. Dumba was moved up to the top pairing to play with Ryan Suter since Jared Spurgeon – more on him in a bit – sat out with an upper-body-injury.
- Through five games this season, six-year veteran winger Nino Niederreiter is averaging just 12:18 of ice time per game. That’s down 1 1/2 minutes off his average from 2015-16. The diminished ice time might be a factor in Niederreiter’s sluggish start – two points, both assists – but as Russo writes, Boudreau hasn’t seen enough from Niederreiter to award him additional ice time: “Not enough. Not enough. Granted he hasn’t played a lot of minutes, probably averaged 10 ½ minutes, 11 minutes a game. He’s a big, strong guy with a good shot. He’s got to get more.” When asked whether moving him up in the lineup would spark the Swiss left-wing, the coach said: “I don’t think you get anything for free in this league. Hopefully he’ll earn them. I thought he was better last night than he was the previous night, which is good. So he might get a few more minutes tonight.” Niederreiter has posted back-to-back campaigns of 20 or more goals and has averaged 1.9 shots-per-game over the last two years. The Wild need Niederreiter to be better though the usual disclaimer about small-sample sizes applies here.
- As noted above, Jared Spurgeon missed Saturday’s game with the Devils due to an upper-body-injury he originally suffered Thursday when Matt Martin of the Leafs crunched the Wild defender against the boards. As Russo indicates, Spurgeon will miss his second consecutive game tonight and there doesn’t appear to be a timetable for his return.
- Erik Haula, like Spurgeon, is expected to be held out of the lineup tonight. According to Russo, Haula has been wearing a walking boot since the home opener though last night was the first time the injury has kept him out of the lineup. Russo considers a potential lengthy absence of Haula “a significant loss for the Wild.”
- Finally, free agent addition Chris Stewart, who inked a two-year pact with the Wild over the summer, is off to a slow start despite recording three points in five games. The big winger was signed to add physicality and some scoring punch to the club’s bottom-six. However, Stewart has just two hits and three shots on goal while averaging better than 13 minutes per contest. During a career which has spanned 524 regular season games, Stewart has averaged 1.25 hits and more than two shots per game, numbers which suggest the big winger does in fact have more to offer the Wild on the ice.
Mike Smith Listed As Week To Week With Lower-Body Injury
According to Craig Morgan of AZSports among others, Coyotes’ netminder Mike Smith is now week-to-week with a lower body injury. Smith suffered the injury on Tuesday when he “got twisted up” making a save. He was removed from the game and though the team says it isn’t severe, he’ll undergo additional testing when the team returns home.
Smith is now 34 and may have his best and healthiest hockey behind him. After suiting up in at least 60 games from 2013-15, he only started 32 last season due to core muscle surgery. While the former Vezina nominee played well in his limited role, just two years ago saw the worst season of his career. In 2014-15 the netminder saw his GAA balloon to 3.16 while his save percentage dropped to a middling .904.
Louis Domingue will take over once again as the starter during Smith’s absence, a role which he embraced last season. In 39 games, the young netminder put up a .912 save percentage with a 2.75 GAA. While those numbers are not elite by any means, they are encouraging for a 23-year old in his first real taste of the grind of an NHL schedule.
If the Coyotes are to compete for the playoffs this season, they’ll need Domingue to not only perform well in these next few weeks, but prove that he can handle a full load for the season. Smith would be an excellent second option once he’s healed fully and could lend support and guidance to the younger netminder as he finds his footing in the NHL.
Snapshots: Westpoint, Kings’ Goaltenders, Lindholm
On tonight’s Hockey Night In Canada broadcast, the Sportsnet team revealed some interesting tidbits about stories around the league. One of which, coming on the heels of today’s hugely popular alumni game in Winnipeg (which the Jets won 6-5 on the back of Teemu Selanne‘s five points and last second penalty shot goal), is that the league is considering non-conventional venues for upcoming outdoor games.
The military academy Westpoint is one of these out-of-the-box ideas, but seems to have legs. Elliotte Friedman says the league is considering it for next season. The New York Rangers would play in the game, but wouldn’t necessarily be the home team. Friedman also mentions South Bend (home of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish) as another possibility.
- Friedman talks about the goaltending situation in Los Angeles, which got even more dire today when Jeff Zatkoff went down with a groin injury. Peter Budaj, expected to be the AHL starter this season, may get an extended chance with the big club due to the contracts or trade demands of other goaltenders around the league. The Kings have reportedly looked into Ondrej Pavelec, Steve Mason, Reto Berra, Mike Condon but haven’t found a fit. Friedman opines that Jonathan Bernier may be an option for the team, due to his familiarity with the organization and expected availability.
- Kelly Hrudey thinks that Brian Elliott isn’t fazed by his recent struggles for the Calgary Flames. Elliott isn’t starting tonight for the Flames, but that doesn’t mean that he’s in any danger of losing the #1 job in Calgary. If anything, his poor start might just buy the Flames a few dollars in their ongoing negotiations with the netminder.
- A final point from Friedman was on the Hampus Lindholm situation in Anaheim and the Winnipeg negotiations with Jacob Trouba. Apparently Anaheim wants Lindholm to sign for less than $5.4MM per season, while the player wants more than that. On Trouba, apparently the asking price of Kevin Cheveldayoff hasn’t dropped any even with the holdout lasting into the season. If Trouba is moved, it will be for the big return that the Jets’ GM has been looking for all summer.
Injury Notes: Zatkoff, van Riemsdyk, Little
After news broke earlier today that Jeff Zatkoff had injured himself in practice, and would be unable to continue, rumors swirled about how long the netminder would be out. While an exactly length hasn’t been given, Zatkoff has been placed on injured reserve and been replaced by emergency call-up Jack Campbell from the Ontario Reign.
To fill in for Campbell on an emergency basis, the Reign will dress Dusty Imoo tonight to back up his son Jonah Imoo. The elder Imoo is a goaltending coach for the Reign and was one the Olympic starter for Japan at the 1998 Nagano Olympics. He hasn’t played in a professional hockey game in almost a decade, when he skated for the Oji Eagles of the Asian League. The 46-year old will be cheering on his 22-year old son, who will be making his AHL debut.
- According to Joel Quenneville of the Chicago Blackhawks, Trevor van Riemsdyk will not need surgery following his shoulder injury suffered Friday night. Instead, the defender will be out about a month rehabbing. Van Riemsdyk played all 82 games for the Blackhawks last season, notching three goals and fourteen points. The 25-year old was expected to be a big part of their blueline this season.
- Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun spoke to Jets head coach Paul Maurice today, who said he still doesn’t have a definitive timetable on the return of Bryan Little, but should know more next week. Little was injured after a collision with the Hurricanes’ Bryan Bickell, and is out indefinitely.
- The Nashville Predators have come down with food poisoning, according to Adam Vingan of the Tennessean, causing them to call up five players on an emergency basis. Austin Watson, Frederick Gaudreau, Harry Zolnierczyk, Trevor Smith and Juuse Saros have all been brought up from the Milwaukee Admirals to play if some of the regulars can’t go. As James Neal said “We were going down pretty hard last night, I’ve never seen that many guys get sick.
Franchise Faceoff: Calgary Flames vs Montreal Canadiens
There is a common theme among teams that miss the playoffs: weak goaltending. That’s what is credited as the biggest contributor to the demise of the Calgary Flames and Montreal Canadiens last season. The Habs lost all-world goaltender Carey Price early enough to torpedo their chances at the post season, while the Flames have been looking for a reliable netminder since the heyday of Miikka Kiprusoff.
This summer saw a fix for both clubs as the Canadiens got their Vezina winner back from injury, and the Flames brought in two established NHL goalies in Brian Elliott and Chad Johnson. While obviously these are different paths, they’ve provided the same hope to both fan bases. A return to the playoffs is certainly possible for both, though they’re off to much different starts.
Montreal is undefeated in regulation through four games and leads the Atlantic Division with seven points, while the Flames have struggled out of the gate to a 1-3-1 record. The season is very young however, and both teams have more success planned for their immediate future.
The Flames locked up their top two players this summer, inking Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau to long-term deals, while the Habs have youngsters Brendan Gallagher and Alex Galchenyuk looking like stars in their own right. Both franchises have questions on their blueline past their big #1’s (Mark Giordano and Shea Weber), but have intriguing young players filling the holes.
[Calgary Flames Depth Chart vs Montreal Canadiens Depth Chart]
On Monday we asked who would you rather have, the Oilers or Maple Leafs roster and it was remarkably close after almost 500 votes were cast. This week we’ll ask the same of two other teams north of the border.
If you were buying a roster (not all the franchise perks that go with it) to build a championship team, which would you take?
Which team would you rather have?
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Montreal Canadiens 61% (99)
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Calgary Flames 39% (63)
Total votes: 162
Jeff Zatkoff Suffers Injury; Jack Campbell Recalled
According to Lisa Dillman of the Los Angeles Times (via Helene Elliott), goaltender Jeff Zatkoff has suffered a lower-body injury at practice, and will be unable to play against the Vancouver Canucks tonight. The team has recalled Jack Campbell to take his place on the roster for the game.
With Jonathan Quick already on the shelf for months, any injury in the Kings’ crease weakens their cause even further. Peter Budaj will likely be in net tonight against the Canucks, but the 34-year old hasn’t been an effective NHL starter in years now. For a team who is still in win-now mode, the defense will need to tighten up even further for the next few days at least. As Jon Rosen of FOX Sports reports, Zatkoff’s groin ‘tightened up’ after stopping a shot in practice. While it may not be a major injury yet, groin injuries often linger longer than initially expected.
Campbell, a former 11th overall pick by the Dallas Stars, has never been able to establish himself in the NHL. The 24-year old split the last two seasons between the AHL and ECHL, where he found mixed results. If Zatkoff stays on the shelf for very long, the Kings will need a combination of Budaj and Campbell to keep them competitive. The team sits at 1-3-0 through four games, and sixth in the Pacific Division.
Trevor Van Riemsdyk Out Five To Six Weeks
Chicago defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk is expected to miss the next five to six weeks with an upper body injury according to a report from Scott Powers of The Athletic. TSN’s Mark Masters adds (Twitter link) that the blueliner had his right arm in a sling. The injury was sustained in Friday’s 3-2 loss to Columbus.
Injuries have not been kind to the 25 year old in recent years. Since January of 2014, he has suffered a broken ankle, a fractured patella, and a wrist injury, the latter two requiring surgeries. Powers adds that this particular injury is not expected to require surgery.
It has been a tough start to the season for van Riemsdyk. After playing all 82 games last season, he has seen time in just two of four games this year and last night’s game saw the team dress seven defenders instead of the usual six, reducing his ice time. He has been held off the scoresheet so far this season but had three goals and 11 assists last year.
In the short-term, this will alleviate the logjam on Chicago’s back end as the team has been carrying eight blueliners since the start of the season. This certainly won’t help van Riemdsyk’s trade value though as the team continues to shop him around the league.
[Related: Blackhawks Depth Chart]
Snapshots: Boucher, Islanders, Kalinin, Predators
Ottawa head coach Guy Boucher will face his former team in Tampa Bay for the first time since they fired him back in 2013 but Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun notes that Boucher doesn’t bear any ill will towards his former organization.
Part of the reason for that is the amount of time that has passed since he was let go but a main reason is that very few players remain from Boucher’s tenure – just center Steven Stamkos and defenseman Victor Hedman. In other words, GM Steve Yzerman has practically turned over the entire team over in the last three and a half years which Boucher believes makes this basically just another game for him:
“It’s been awhile. We’re talking almost four years and just so much has changed. It would be a lot harder (if) it was all the guys I coached and those guys are coming in. Then I guess there would be emotion there.”
Despite all of the turnover, it’s hard to say that the changes haven’t worked as under Jon Cooper, the team has made three straight postseason appearances and has reached the third round of the playoffs in each of the last two seasons.
Other notes from around the league:
- Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock made his season debut last night but will have to wait a while to play his second game. He left the game yesterday after just four shifts after suffering a lower body injury and Newsday’s Arthur Staple reports (via Twitter) that he will be out for the next four to six weeks. Pulock was taking the place of Nick Leddy who missed last night’s game with an upper body issue but Staple adds that Leddy is taking part in practice today.
- The Devils are expected to activate center Sergei Kalinin (illness) off of injured reserve prior to tonight’s game against Minnesota, notes Fire and Ice’s Andrew Gross. To make room for him on the active roster, the team announced that they have sent left winger Miles Wood, their lone waiver exempt forward among their depth players, to their AHL affiliate in Albany.
- Over the years, there haven’t been many Swiss-born NHL players but as Adam Vingan of The Tennessean writes, the Predators have had success finding players from there recently. There are currently eight Swiss players in the league and Nashville has three of them – defensemen Roman Josi and Yannick Weber as well as left winger Kevin Fiala. They’re only the second team in NHL history to have three Swiss players on their roster.
Rangers Notes: Kreider, Hayes, Injuries
After an early playoff exit last year, the Rangers have put an extra emphasis on speed this season, writes Allan Kreda of the New York Times. Not only did they add fast skating forwards in Michael Grabner, Brandon Pirri, and Mika Zibanejad, they’ve also encouraged their blueline to play a faster game as well. While their speed up front has been noticeable, head coach Alain Vigneault has been pleased with its effects on their back end:
“What I like is that we’re using it well defensively. We haven’t given up as many shots and scoring chances. That has permitted us to retrieve the puck quicker and put the speed on display and counterattack to where hopefully it’s more fun: the other team’s end.”
One player who has benefitted from the focus on playing faster is Chris Kreider, who is off to the best start of his career with three goals and four assists in the first four games of the season. Kreider attributes his fast start to being eliminated so quickly in the postseason last year as that gave him more time to train over the summer and his combination of speed and size has been evident in the early going this season. So far, he’s giving the Rangers a strong early return on a four year, $18.5MM deal signed late in July.
[Related: Rangers Depth Chart]
Other Rangers news and notes:
- Center Kevin Hayes is also benefitting from playing quicker as a result of dropping “a pretty good amount of weight” over the summer, notes Peter Botte of the New York Daily News. After taking a step back during his sophomore campaign last year, Vigneault has boosted Hayes’ ice time by over two minutes per game early on while trusting him to take some key faceoffs. Hayes has responded by winning 50% of his draws so far; by comparison, he won only 36% last season.
- Rookie winger Pavel Buchnevich is expected to miss at least the next two games due to back spasms, reports Newsday’s Steve Zipay. As for defenseman Dan Girardi, there’s a chance he plays in one of New York’s games this weekend but won’t suit up in both contests. He has missed the last two games with a groin issue.