Atlantic Snapshots: Bergevin, Point, Red Wings
Marc Bergevin took a lot of heat this summer after dealing fan-favorite defenseman P.K. Subban to Nashville for Shea Weber. Subban is four yours younger than Weber and while he carries a higher annual cap charge ($9MM versus $7.857MM), his deal expires four years earlier than Weber’s. Nonetheless, as Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette writes, Bergevin knows only time will tell how this trade ultimately works out for the Canadiens.
Montreal is clearly banking on the “leadership and stability” Weber provides as a two-time Olympic gold medal winner. Subban is flashier, according to Hickey, and known for being a bit of a risk-taker. At one point last season it did seem as if the Canadiens were growing tired of Subban’s gambling nature and would prefer a more conservative approach on the ice.
With Weber (31) on board and franchise goalie Carey Price set to turn 30 next summer, the belief is the Canadiens window to win may be closing, lending further justification for Bergevin to pull the trigger on the Subban trade. But as Hickey noted, Bergevin doesn’t believe in windows:
“There are too many variables. In today’s NHL, it turns around fast. I look at Buffalo. I know they have injuries, but they came a long way quick. There’s a price to pay. Obviously, the best way (to improve) is the draft and you saw the kid (Maple Leafs rookie Auston) Matthews with four goals in his first game. He’s going to be a very good player, but there was a price to pay to get him.”
It’s an interesting perspective from the Habs GM and Hickey’s piece contains additional tidbits on a couple of the Canadiens’ top young players and Bergevin’s thoughts on those players.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic Division:
- Detroit is off to an 0 – 2 start and much of the blame falls on the back end and their struggles to retrieve the puck and begin the transition from defense to offense efficiently, as Ansar Khan writes. Head coach Jeff Blashill after last night’s loss to Florida: “I thought we were second in all those pucks; their second guy beat our second guy almost all night. Part of that is when you play a long time in your end you get tired playing defense and it’s hard to have enough juice for offense. So, we got to be quicker out of our end.” Blashill singles out Mike Green, Jonathan Ericsson and Xavier Oullet as having been “good” through two games. It stands to reason then that his omissions of Danny DeKeyser, Alexey Marchenko and Brendan Smith, who have also each appeared in the Wings’ first two contests, suggests an indictment of their play from the coach. While it’s still very early in the season it’s clear this Red Wings team may well be in jeopardy of snapping their stretch of 25 consecutive playoff appearances.
- Tampa Bay Lightning GM Steve Yzerman learned much about his craft from Detroit’s Ken Holland. And like Holland, Yzerman has been careful when it comes to promoting his team’s prospects. Since taking over in Tampa Bay, not one first-year pro player with AHL eligibility has made the team coming out of camp; that is, as Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times reports, until Brayden Point. Taking advantage of the training camp absences of Ryan Callahan (injury) and Nikita Kucherov (unsigned RFA), Point earned this opportunity and not only did the 20-year-old forward make his NHL debut, he saw 16 minutes of ice time in the Lightning’s 3 – 2 win over New Jersey, as Smith notes. Smith argues keeping Point after an impressive training camp “sends the right message to the dressing room,” proving to the group that roster spots are earned through performance and not a player’s contract. Time will tell whether Point will keep his spot once Callahan is healthy enough to return but by simply making the team to open the season, he’s already accomplished something Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat and Kucherov did not.
Snapshots: Rask, Yakupov, Despres
Veteran goalie Tuukka Rask of the Boston Bruins didn’t enjoy his best season in 2015-16, finishing with a 91.5% Save % and a GAA of 2.56. Both those rates constituted the worst of Rask’s career to date but as Joe Haggerty writes, the Finnish goalie is using that experience as a learning tool to prepare for the ups-and-downs likely to come in 2016-17.
With the Bruins in the midst of a transition, Rask is likely going to face more adversity this season but he feels the experiences of a year ago have made him “mentally tougher,” and less likely to let a soft or fluke goal affect his game. Rask has already demonstrated this new approach in the Bruins first regular season contest. As Haggerty notes, the Columbus Blue Jackets scored the game’s first goal, a floater from just inside the blue line, and would tally again later in the opening period, but Rask rebounded by stopping 21 of the final 22 shots he faced to earn the victory. Last season the outcome might have been different, but the work Rask put in on the mental aspect of the game paid off for one night at least.
Elsewhere in the NHL:
- While things didn’t end well in Edmonton for Nail Yakupov, the talented winger is off to a great start with St. Louis and he’s impressing his new head coach and teammates, according to Norm Sanders of the Belleville News-Democrat. Following a two-point performance in the Blues’ 3 – 2 win over Minnesota, Ken Hitchcock had this to say about his newest player: “Much better defensively than I thought. He’s got great outside speed. What I liked more than anything was his conscience. His conscience was there. We’re not trying to overwhelm him by having him do a bunch of things. We’re just going to keep it five on five for the first week to 10 days and see how much he can absorb there.” Veteran scoring forward Alex Steen has been impressed with Yakupov’s decision-making in the early going: “Smart decisions with the puck (and) he’s obviously individually very skilled and makes plays in tight areas. We’re happy to have him.” Yakupov has a ways to go to alter the negative reputation he earned as a member of the Oilers but so far he has done everything the Blues have asked for and may finally be on his way to fulfilling his vast potential.
- The Ducks, already without blue line stalwart Hampus Lindholm, who remains unsigned as a RFA, could be without fellow defenseman Simon Despres as well. Despres left Thursday’s game against the Stars with what is being called an “upper-body-injury,” and his status is unclear, as noted by Eric Stephens of The Orange County Register. Ducks GM Bob Murray said this about Despres: “He was not feeling good last night. We’re trying to figure out what’s going on with him. … Something’s wrong here and we’re going to get to bottom of it here.” Stephens relays that Murray also referenced Despres’ past issues with head injuries, which seems to hint that the Ducks are concerned this may in fact be another concussion.
Potential Short-Term Replacements For Quick
With Jonathan Quick set to possibly miss 3 – 4 months due to a groin injury, the Kings are for the time being expected to ride it out with internal options Jeff Zatkoff and Peter Budaj manning the net. But the Kings are well within their window of Stanley Cup competition and with several of their key players – Anze Kopitar, Jeff Carter, Marian Gaborik and Alec Martinez – already or nearing 30, and the team may not want to let the season get away should the Zatkoff/Budaj combo struggle between the pipes. In that case L.A. could visit the trade market to look for a short-term solution.
The Kings have little in the way of cap space, according to Cap Friendly, with just around $1.5MM available. They could add $5.8MM if they place Quick on LTIR, should they choose. But with Quick under contract for six seasons beyond this one, it’s likely the club elects to stick with less expensive options or, at the very least, limit their search to goaltenders in the final year of their deals. Within these parameters, here are a few goaltenders who could be made available by their current team and who might prove to be of interest at some point to the Kings.
Ondrej Pavelec – He was waived by Winnipeg at the end of the regular season and after going unclaimed, was assigned to the Jets’ Manitoba AHL affiliate. Pavelec’s only above-average NHL season came during the 2014-15 campaign when he posted a Save % of 92.0% and allowed a GAA of 2.28. That’s the only season in the last five Pavelec has posted a Save % above 90.6% or a GAA lower than 2.78. He is in the final year of his contract and set to earn $2.95MM; a figure the Kings could find reasonable enough for a stop-gap solution. NHL reporter Brennan Klak agrees with the premise the Kings don’t want to commit much in the terms of money or term, and mentions Pavelec as a hypothetical option.
Ryan Miller – Miller is expensive, $6MM cap charge, but has a solid track record of success at the NHL level and like Pavelec, is in the final season of his deal. It’s possible, if the Kings can tread water in the interim, their interest increases as the trade deadline approaches and the team can better afford that cap hit. If the Canucks find themselves on the outside looking in at the playoffs, they could field offers for the veteran netminder. This would likely represent a worst-case scenario in that it assumes Quick wouldn’t be ready to return at the end of four months.
Thomas Greiss – Greiss had a good year with the Islanders in 2015-16 and when Jaroslav Halak went down with an injury late in the season, the German goalie guided New York into the second round of the playoffs. Greiss is in the final year of a deal that comes with a cap hit of just $1.5MM, and would represent a low-cost option on an expiring contract. The Islanders chose to keep three netminders on the roster to begin the season, likely out of fear that Jean-Francois Berube would have been claimed on waivers. It’s feasible they could take a reasonable offer for Greiss and commit to Berube and Halak for the rest of 2016-17.
Scott Wedgewood – The Kings could have had Wedgewood for just the cost of assuming the remaining season and $587.5K left on his contract but of course Quick was healthy when Wedgewood was available on waivers. It seems apparent the Devils still value Wedgewood’s potential but with Cory Schneider and Keith Kinkaid holding down the top two spots in New Jersey, it’s conceivable they could entertain offers for the 24-year-old goalie. Wedgewood has little NHL experience – four starts – but would represent a low-cost, low-risk flier for the Kings.
Injury Notes: Schwartz, Crosby, Hartman, Bitetto, McGinn
St. Louis forward Jaden Schwartz has started skating as he continues to recover from an elbow injury sustained late in September, Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. While he will accompany the team on their road trip to Western Canada early next week, he still isn’t ready just yet to return to the lineup.
Schwartz was originally expected to miss at least a month with the injury and it’s about halfway into that timeline currently. Head coach Ken Hitchcock doesn’t have a firm expectation of when Schwartz should return to the lineup but it would appear he’s pretty much on schedule at this time.
With the departures of David Backes and Troy Brouwer this offseason, Schwartz will be expected to take on a larger role in the offense for the Blues this year. In an injury-riddled 2015-16 campaign, he had 22 points in 33 games but put up point totals of 63 and 56 in the previous two seasons. St. Louis inked him to a five year, $26.75MM extension back in July.
Other injury news and notes from around the league:
- Penguins center Sidney Crosby skated on his own for the fifth straight day after being diagnosed with a concussion back on Monday, Sam Werner of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes. Head coach Mike Sullivan is encouraged by Crosby’s progress but there remains no timetable for his return to game action. He has yet to receive the green light to participate in contact drills.
- Chicago right winger Ryan Hartman suffered a lower body injury in a goalmouth scramble in just his second shift in Friday’s loss to Nashville, Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times notes. Head coach Joel Quenneville didn’t provide a projected timeframe for his return but added that Hartman will “miss some time”. The 22 year old has a goal and an assist in two games so far this season.
- Predators defenseman Anthony Bitetto suffered an upper body injury in a fight against Nashville’s Jordin Tootoo on Friday night. He left the game and did not return. Thomas Willis of the Predators website reports (via Twitter) that he will not play tonight. Instead, Yannick Weber will make his season debut. Bitetto is expected to be re-evaluated on Monday.
- Coyotes left winger Jamie McGinn will have to wait a little while longer to make his regular season debut with Arizona as he continues to recover from an upper body injury, AZ Central’s Sarah McLellan notes via Twitter. Head coach Dave Tippett said he remains day-to-day and that it’s questionable that he will travel with the team for their upcoming Eastern Conference road trip next week.
Jonathan Quick Could Be Out 3-4 Months
Per a tweet from Sportsnet’s Daren Millard, Los Angeles Kings goalie Jonathan Quick will be out for the next 3-4 months due to a severe groin injury. This is significantly worse news for the Kings as only earlier in the day, general manager Dean Lombardi wouldn’t speculate on the injury. Lombardi indicated that it was in the same area as his last major injury–one that kept him out for two months. Millard added in his tweet that the injury could require surgery. Nick Kypreos adds that Quick will be looking at every option before deciding on “rehab options.”
After placing him on injured reserve, Quick was initially seen as being week to week. Clearly, it’s much worse. Quick was hurt on what appeared to be a routine save in the first period during the Kings 2-1 loss to San Jose Wednesday night.
The focus now turns onto who the Kings will rely on without their #1 option available. Adam Gretz of NBC Sports writes that the Peter Budaj/Jeff Zatkoff duo will have to do for now as the Kings have little wiggle room within the salary cap to find a #1 goalie elsewhere. Kypreos also said the Kings will most likely search internally for a solution before “looking elsewhere.”
Jets Center Bryan Little Out Indefintely
Winnipeg Jets center Bryan Little will be out indefinitely, the team announced via Twitter. He suffered a lower body injury on Thursday night against Carolina in the first period after just 2:48 of ice time. He did manage to record an assist and a shot on goal in that little playing time. No timetable has been provided for his return but it is believed to be a longer-term issue. Ken Wiebe on the Winnipeg Sun reports that the team should know more about his status in a couple of weeks (Twitter link).
The injury occurred on a collision with Hurricanes winger Bryan Bickell. After struggling to stand up, Little fell back to the ice before getting up again, limping straight towards the dressing room.
Little has had very little luck with injuries lately. Last season, he missed the final 25 games of the year due to a neck injury and Thursday’s outing was his first regular season action in more than seven months.
The 28 year old is expected to be one of the Jets’ top two centers this season alongside fellow Barrie Colts (OHL) alumnus Mark Scheifele. Last season, Little had 17 goals and 25 assists in 57 games and has averaged at least 0.7 points per game in each of the last three years.
Forward Alexander Burmistrov (coincidentally, another Colts alumnus) will likely take Little’s spot in the lineup, Wiebe notes in a separate tweet. He adds that the team is expected to recall someone from their AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose.
Evander Kane To Miss “Weeks”
Buffalo Sabres winger Evander Kane will miss “weeks” with three cracked ribs, according to coach Dan Bylsma (via Pierre LeBrun).
Kane slammed into the boards after losing his footing in a foot race with Alexei Emelin. There was no penalty on the play. Kane was taken to the hospital as a precaution.
Kane is the second Sabres forward to sustain a serious injury in the last three days, after Jack Eichel suffered a high ankle sprain in practice on Wednesday morning. On the bright side, new winger Kyle Okposo will return to the lineup on Sunday night in Edmonton, according to Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News.
Snapshots: Injury Updates, Andrighetto, Tkachuk, Gerbe
The Buffalo Sabres have had a tough couple days, with Jack Eichel, Kyle Okposo, and Dmitry Kulikov missing the team’s home opener versus the Montreal Canadiens. The Canadiens beat them soundly 4-1 and Evander Kane left the game with what’s believed to be a rib injury. While Eichel is out long-term with a high ankle sprain, there is some good news for Sabres fans as Okposo and Kulikov both skated this morning with the team. The Sabres have not called up anyone from the AHL yet, as they don’t play until Sunday. They’ll let their farm team open the season with a full roster before plucking some players.
Down in Tampa Bay, rugged right winger Ryan Callahan is taking part in Lightning practice. Callahan has yet to play this season after hip surgery in June. We reported on Thursday that Callahan is expected to return by early November. Callahan was wearing a full-contact jersey, so he appears to be on track to do so.
- In anticipation of Jeff Petry returning the lineup, the Montreal Canadiens have placed Swiss forward Sven Andrighetto on waivers for the purpose of assigning him to the AHL, according to Elliotte Friedman. The former third round pick had 17 points in 44 NHL games last season, and has posted 110 points in 150 AHL games.
- Calgary Flames first round pick Matthew Tkachuk had an interesting first game in the NHL. He was held pointless, took a penalty, and earned a -1 rating, but appeared to get under the skin of the Edmonton Oilers. He slew-footed Oilers defenseman Brandon Davidson, injuring him “for a while”. Sportsnet’s Mark Spector tweeted that he would be surprised if one of the Flames veteran leaders like captain Mark Giordano or Matt Stajan didn’t talk to Tkachuk about the slew-foot.
- After terminating his contract with the New York Rangers, dimunitive forward Nathan Gerbe has signed a three-year contract with Genève-Servette HC in the Swiss League. Gerbe had previously signed a contract with Genève-Servette in June before dissolving the contract to sign with the Rangers on July 1st.
Evander Kane Injured, Taken To Hospital
A bad night gets even worse for the Buffalo Sabres, who as of this writing are losing 4 – 1 to Montreal in both teams’ season-openers. LW Evander Kane was injured tonight while chasing a loose puck into the corner, tweets John Vogl of the Buffalo News. Kane was chasing a puck into the corner along with Canadiens defenseman Alexei Emelin when the Sabres winger lost his footing and crashed heavily into the end boards.
The Sabres announced via Twitter that Kane had been taken to the hospital “for further evaluation and precautionary measures.”
Vogel reminds us that Kane recently underwent surgery on his left shoulder, implying tonight’s injury might be related to that earlier procedure.
More to come.
Jonathan Quick Out Indefintely
Update (8:00pm): Kings GM Dean Lombardi announced this evening that the team has placed Quick on injured reserve (Twitter link). In a related move, the club has called up veteran goalie Peter Budaj from Ontario of the AHL. Budaj, 34, brings 297 regular season games of NHL experience to the table and has shown to be a competent backup. It appears as if the Kings will have to rely on the duo of Zatkoff and Budaj indefinitely until Quick returns.
(9:17am): Los Angeles goaltender Jonathan Quick sustained a lower body injury late in the first period of their 2-1 loss to San Jose on Wednesday night. While there is no immediate timetable for his return, Lisa Dillman of the LA Times notes that GM Dean Lombardi believes the injury may keep him out for a while. Quick will undergo an MRI later today to determine the extent of the problem. In the meantime, he has been placed on injured reserve and the team is saying he will be out week-to-week.
In the meantime, offseason acquisition Jeff Zatkoff – who replaced Quick to start the second period last night – will take over as the interim starter. However, his NHL experience is limited to just 34 regular season appearances coming into the season while he has yet to appear in more than 20 contests in any single NHL campaign. As a result, he is more suited to backup duty than a starting workload.
The Kings have a couple of options in their system to recall in the meantime. Veteran Peter Budaj is the most likely to be recalled while former Dallas first rounder Jack Campbell is also under contract but has yet to have much success at the minor league level.
[Related: Kings Depth Chart]
The team has a bit of cap space to work with should they want to go outside the organization to supplement their goaltending depth while Quick is on the shelf. The team has a little more than $2.1MM in cap space per Cap Friendly and also have Marian Gaborik eligible for LTIR if the team needs to open up some more room although that would only be a short-term solution.
*Glen Miller contributed to this post.