West Notes: Kings, Stars Goaltending, Shaw
One of the bigger concerns for the Kings currently is a lack of secondary scoring, notes Elliott Teaford of the LA Daily News. Through 26 games, they have just two players with more than five goals in Jeff Carter and Tanner Pearson.
Over the summer, the team lost Milan Lucic, Kris Versteeg, and Vincent Lecavalier and haven’t really had success replacing them. It was hoped that Teddy Purcell would help at least cover the loss of one of Versteeg or Lecavalier but after collecting just two assists in 12 games, he cleared waivers and has been sent to the minors.
With Los Angeles currently in LTIR as a result of the injury to goaltender Jonathan Quick, they don’t have the financial flexibility to bring another scorer in so they will have to count on players like Anze Kopitar (two goals) and Tyler Toffoli (five goals) to pick up the slack and get back towards the level of production that they’ve provided in recent years.
[Related: Kings Depth Chart]
More from the West:
- The Stars are into their second year with Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi as their goaltending tandem, the most expensive in the league. In a reader mailbag, Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News suggests that it might be in their best interest to move one of them instead of going with the ‘play the hot hand’ strategy that they are running. He also feels that if they were to move one, they’d be better to deal Lehtonen even though he may be the more talented of the two. However, he carries the higher cap hit ($5.9MM with a no-move clause through 2017-18 vs $4.5MM through 2017-18 for Niemi) and given the other goaltenders that are believed to be available, finding a desirable trade may be easier said than done.
- Ducks right winger Logan Shaw admitted to Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register that he was happy to be traded from the Panthers last month. Shaw failed to crack Florida’s lineup and cleared waivers at the beginning of the season but was flipped to Anaheim in a swap of AHL veterans. Since being recalled on the 24th, he has played in all seven games with the Ducks, scoring once. He has made a positive impression on head coach Randy Carlyle, who called Shaw “one of our brighter spots over the last little while”. With the team placing Ryan Garbutt on waivers yesterday, it appears Shaw will be sticking around for a little while yet.
Friedman’s Latest: Cap, Islanders, Purcell, Cowen
In the latest edition of his wonderful 30 Thoughts column, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman touched on a wide variety of topics of interest to hockey fans, including where the salary cap is expected to land for the 2017-18 season.
- At this month’s GM meetings, managers are expecting to receive a preliminary number for the salary cap. Friedman reported that a couple GMs are “hoping for $75MM.”
That would be an increase of $2MM over the current $73MM ceiling. Last summer, the cap went up by just $1.6MM, which was a smaller increase than what most teams were expecting, and also one of the smaller increases in cap history. The cap has risen by more than $3MM six times since it was implemented in 2005-06. - After discussing the New York Islanders management situation, Friedman joked that “one day I’m going to ply GM Garth Snow with enough truth serum to find out how hard he planned to go after Steven Stamkos, what he was going to offer, and how that affected his July 1, 2016 decisions.”
The off-season did not go as planned for the Islanders, who lost Kyle Okposo and Frans Nielsen to free agency and replaced them with Andrew Ladd and Jason Chimera. Ladd has just three goals and six points this season, and is signed for seven years. He’s a prominent member of Pro Hockey Rumors’ 2016 UFA All-Bust Team. - As we speculated when he was placed on waivers, the Los Angeles Kings had tried to trade Teddy Purcell before placing him on waivers. However, they were not willing to take a contract back, as we suggested most teams would offer. Friedman suggested Ottawa could have interest, as Purcell previously played for Senators head coach Guy Boucher when the pair were in Tampa Bay, but it doesn’t work at the moment for budget reasons. Friedman says he “wouldn’t be surprised if someone takes a chance” later in the season
- Finally, with Jared Cowen‘s arbitration result due to come later today, Friedman pointed out that a Cowen win would “wreak havoc” on next year’s cap for the Maple Leafs because of rookie bonus overages. Currently Cowen’s buyout is a $650K cap credit for Toronto, but that could change to a $3.1MM cap hit depending on whether or not the arbitrator deems Cowen was healthy enough to buy-out in the summer (numbers via Cap Friendly).
Custance’s Latest: Teams Hurt By Cap Recapture Rules
In the salary cap era, there is nothing worse than a bloated contract, especially one susceptible to the cap recapture rules. ESPN’s Craig Custance listed a number of teams who suffer from such a fate, and explains as such:
For some teams, that pain has arrived. And it could be worse than originally projected because of cap recapture rules since put in place in the new CBA to punish teams if the player retires early or the contract is traded.
“Teams that did those contracts essentially embarrassed Gary [Bettman]. We found a way to circumvent the CBA legally,” said one executive. “He was incensed, and said ‘I’m going to get you back.’ Which he did.”
Now because of decisions made years ago, in the name of winning it all or rewarding players who helped make it happen, there are a group of teams that have legacy costs built into their current salary cap structure.
Two teams who managed to stay in good shape contract wise–while contending– are the Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins, with the Pens not having any legacy costs. But the teams below, according to Custance, are the ones who suffered from the wrath of Bettman.
- Los Angeles Kings
Dustin Brown, Marian Gaborik, and Matt Greene are the contracts that have the Kings on the hook for awhile. Along with Mike Richards‘ cap recapture hit of $1.32MM, the Kings have a legacy cost of $8.545MM. Though they won two Stanley Cups since 2012, the cost may have hurt them in terms of losing Milan Lucic and Justin Williams due to a lack of cap room.
- Chicago Blackhawks
Sure, they’ve won three Cups since 2010, but the Marian Hossa deal will eventually be a “real headache” since it still has four years left. Further, Custance writes that the Hawks could be in for real trouble by the 2019-20 season when the core of the Hawks, namely Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Brent Seabrook, and Corey Crawford are all into their 30’s and saddling the payroll with a combined $40MM.
- Detroit Red Wings
General manager Ken Holland anchored the team with a number of long term, and expensive contracts. Custance’s list doesn’t include the new deals that include a 32-year-old Frans Nielsen, Justin Abdelkader, and Darren Helm. Henrik Zetterberg, Niklas Kronwall, Jonathan Ericsson, Jimmy Howard, and Johan Franzen combine for a legacy cost of $9.34MM. Custance believes the Wings could get out of the Howard contract by trade, but Kronwall and Zetterberg’s deals will cripple the Wings for years to come, especially as their play declines. The legacy cost for Detroit: $9.34MM.
- Vancouver Canucks
The Canucks have a few big contracts, namely the Sedin twins, Alex Burrows, Alexander Edler and Roberto Luongo ($800K retained). Custance notes that while he would take the Sedins on his team any day, their decline is certainly happening.
Alex Galchenyuk Out Indefinitely With Lower-Body Injury
With the Montreal Canadiens leading the Atlantic Division by four points, everything seemed to be going well for the club. Not so fast, as the team announced today that Alex Galchenyuk will be out indefinitely after suffering a lower-body injury last night in Los Angeles. While the young forward traveled with the club to St. Louis, he underwent various tests today that have ruled him out for the immediate future.
The injury occurred on a collision with Anze Kopitar in the 5-4 win over the Kings last night, with Galchenyuk leaving the game immediately. Renaud Lavoie of TVA reports that it’s his right leg and he obviously won’t play on Tuesday.
Galchenyuk played all 82 games for the Habs last season, registering his first 30-goal season of his career and establishing himself as a legitimate star in the league. Off to an even better start this year, the 22-year old has 23 points in 25 games and is in the mix among league leaders. A huge part of the Canadiens’ offense, Galchenyuk has been moved back to his natural center position this year and though his play has improved, he has been a dreadful 39.5% on draws.
The third-overall pick in 2012 (behind Nail Yakupov and Ryan Murray), Galchenyuk is another young US-born center thriving in the league. While this injury could obviously be only a few days, if it stretches far into the season the Canadiens will have to look elsewhere for their offense both 5-on-5 and with a man advantage.
Derek Dorsett To Undergo Neck Surgery
2:38pm: Darren Dreger of TSN reports that Dorsett will be out for the season following the surgery. The hop is that following a full recovery the Canucks forward will be ready for the start of the 2017-18 season.
1:06pm: Vancouver Canucks forward Derek Dorsett will undergo cervical fusion surgery to repair disc degeneration in his neck. While it’s not clear when exactly the surgery will take place, or how long Dorsett will be sidelined, this is just the latest episode in a nightmare season for the Canucks.
Dorsett last played for the Canucks on November 17th, but was put on the injured reserve with a reported shoulder injury. This is the first we’ve heard of a degenerative neck injury. Obviously, any surgery usually comes with a lengthy recovery period, but it’s unclear how invasive the procedure will be and what kind of timeline will be established for Dorsett’s return. The 29-year old (who turns 30 on the 20th) has four points in fourteen games this season playing his usual high-energy, aggressive style.
For the 11-12-2 Canucks, they’ve actually started to turn around their season of late after a dreadful start. With four wins in their last six games they’ve pulled to within four points of the Los Angeles Kings and Winnipeg Jets for the wild card spots in the Western Conference. While losing Dorsett isn’t a game-changer for the team, it does take more depth away from a team desperate for a playoff berth. For now, they’ll have to move on without him and find another body to inject that energy and passion to the bottom-six.
Teddy Purcell Clears Waivers
Veteran winger Teddy Purcell somewhat surprisingly cleared waivers today, according to Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link). The scribe suggests teams who may have been interested in Purcell either didn’t have the room to add another contract or were too close to the salary cap ceiling and consequently passed on making a claim.
Jon Rosen of LA Kings Insider adds that there may have been talk with at least one club regarding a trade prior to Los Angeles placing Purcell on waivers. That appears to coincide with what Friedman tweeted. It’s conceivable another club with interest in the 6-foot-2, 205-pound right wing wanted the Kings to either take back a contract or a salary to help offset adding Purcell.
The 31-year-old Purcell in his second tour with the Kings after inking a one-year free agent contract with the team this summer. He has just two points in 12 games this season but has been a productive player in the past. Purcell has reached the 40-point plateau in four different NHL seasons throughout his career and posted a 24-goal, 65-point campaign in 2011-12 with Tampa Bay.
With an AAV of just $1.6MM on his expiring pact and a track record of solid offensive production, it qualifies as a mild surprise went unclaimed. Just last February the Florida Panthers dealt a third-round draft pick to Edmonton to secure the services of a pure rental. Should Purcell regain his scoring touch there could once again be a market for the skilled winger ahead of the trade deadline.
For now Purcell remains property of the Kings, who have the option of keeping him on the big club or reassigning him to Ontario of the AHL at any point in the next 30 days. However Rosen has since tweeted that the club is planning to assign Purcell to their AHL affiliate in order to clear a roster spot for Andy Andreoff once he is ready to come off IR.
Teddy Purcell Waived By Los Angeles
The Los Angeles Kings have placed Teddy Purcell on waivers, according to Elliotte Friedman.
Purcell was expected to provide solid secondary scoring for a relatively-inexpensive cap hit of $1.6MM. However, he’s struggled in his first season with the Kings, with just two assists in 12 games in addition to his poor possession stats.
Purcell may have to go elsewhere to find last season’s form; he scored 43 points in 76 games split between the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers. He found good chemistry with Taylor Hall and Leon Draisaitl on the Oilers top line for much of last season before being traded at the deadline to the Panthers for a third-round pick in this past June’s entry draft.
While Purcell’s play may not warrant a waiver claim, a team may trade for him if he clears to avoid adding a contract to their 50-man limit. However, that depends on how desperate the Kings are to move on. If he is assigned to the AHL, he’ll count for $650K against the Kings cap, saving them $950K.
Pro Hockey Rumors had ranked Purcell 23rd on our list of Top 50 UFAs back in June.
NHL Eyeing Exhibition Game In China; Continues History Of International Play
According to TSN’s NHL Insider Darren Dreger, the NHL is expected to play an exhibition game in China next season. While the NHL is easily the most nationally diverse of the “Big Four” North American sports leagues and has a history of playing international games, this would be their first foray into the world’s most populous country. Whether it be just one or a series of exhibition games next season, the league building a relationship with China will result in much fanfare and a great opportunity for the growth of the game.
International play is no stranger to the NHL. As far back as 1938, the league has played games overseas. That year, the Detroit Red Wings and Montreal Canadiens played a nine-game Spring series in England and France. Twenty years later, the Boston Bruins and New York Rangers did the same thing, committing to a 23-game European tour in late April and all of May. The teams visited England, France, Switzerland, Belgium, Austria, and West Germany. In 1976, the Washington Capitals and Kansas City Scouts played four games in Japan, the NHL’s first international event in Asia. The Capitals have been busy on the international stage ever since, playing five games against the Minnesota North Stars in Stockholm, Sweden in 1980 and competing against the New York Rangers and several Swedish and Finnish pro teams in a tournament hosted by the two countries in 1981. The team from the United States capital was back at it in 1989, joined by the Calgary Flames in a series of games against European teams that took place throughout Sweden and what used to be Czechoslovakia and the USSR. The NHL returned to Sweden and the USSR the following year with an exhibition tournament including the Montreal Canadiens and Minnesota North Stars, while a similar tournament took place at the same time in West Germany and Austria featuring the St. Louis Blues and Edmonton Oilers.
While international play has not been eliminated since then, it has been dialed back significantly. Gone are the days when the NHL would send it’s teams to Europe for weeks at a time. Instead, small two or three game series took place throughout the 1990’s and early 2000’s, with teams frequently playing in London, Tokyo, Helsinki and Stockholm over the years, as well as more obscure places like the Tampa Bay Lightning and Buffalo Sabres taking on Austrian pro teams in 1998 or the Florida Panthers and New York Rangers squaring off in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 2006. From 2009 to 2011, the league would send a handful of teams over to Europe during preseason to each play exhibition games against local teams or NHL foes. While many of the games took place in the usual countries, some highlights included the Chicago Blackhawks in Zurich, Switzerland in 2009, the Boston Bruins visiting Belfast, Northern Ireland in 2010, and the first visits to former Soviet nations like the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Latvia in 2010 and 2011.
However, if an exhibition game in China does come to be in 2017-18, it will be new territory for the NHL. Other than games in Japan, Asia is largely untouched by the world’s best hockey league. However, that doesn’t mean that the game has not grown regardless. The popularity of hockey in China has been on the rise for years now. The KHL was the first league to notice the trend, playing exhibition games in the country before finally establishing an expansion team there, the Kunlun Red Star, who are currently playing in their inaugural season. That’s not to say that the NHL has been slow on the uptake though. Last year, the Boston Bruins became the first team to strike a sponsorship deal with a Chinese company, O.R.G. Packaging, and sent players and personnel over this summer to conduct hockey clinics and share the brand around the country. Winger Matt Beleskey even documented the trip for the Players’ Tribune. With the NHL formalizing it’s interest in the country, expect more teams to follow suit, building relationships in one of the world’s most influential countries. Although the Bruins may have already built a local fan base and the Capitals were the NHL’s ambassadors throughout the 70’s and 80’s, it appears that the league is intent on sending west coast teams across the Pacific for the game. Though nothing is finalized, Dreger reports that early indications are that if one game is to be played it will be between the Los Angeles Kings and Vancouver Canucks.
With the next two Winter Olympic Games slated for Pyeongchang, South Korea and Beijing, China, hockey culture in Asia is more important now than it has ever been. Grassroots hockey has grown throughout the continent and we are seeing the best skill to ever come out of Asia. Japan and South Korea are both ranked in the top 25 by the IIHF, and their rankings have been improving each year. There is no doubt that the game has taken hold of the Far East. Hockey is a global game and the NHL is the undisputed face of the sport. A growing relationship between the league and a country with a population nearing 1.4 billion can only be good for the game. Hockey in China has a bright future and the NHL deserves credit for fostering its growth with plans for exhibition events.
Snapshots: Vegas, Russell, Stars Injury Update
In his latest Rumblings, ESPN analyst Pierre LeBrun wonders about retained-salary transactions between the Vegas Golden Knights and the rest of the NHL around the Expansion Draft.
Vegas GM George McPhee recently asked the NHL if other teams would be allowed to retain salary on players exposed in the Expansion Draft.
For example, the Los Angeles Kings are likely going to expose former captain Dustin Brown. Brown signed an eight-year deal back in 2013, when he was coming off a 52-point pace in the lockout shortened season. Brown’s play fell off a cliff the year before the extension took effect, and has not scored more than 28 points in a season since. The now-third-line-forward has five seasons remaining after this one at a whopping $5.875MM per.
McPhee wanted to know if he could offer to take Brown in the Expansion Draft, as long as Kings GM Dean Lombardi retained some of Brown’s salary. This would make Brown a more palatable pick for the Golden Knights, while the Kings would be able to move on from Brown without the high cost of buying him out.
LeBrun reports that Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly told McPhee that retaining salary would not be allowed with expansion picks. He goes on to write that Vegas will be able to make trades shortly after the final expansion fee payment is made on March 1. This gives Vegas an advantage over previous NHL expansion franchises, because they weren’t allowed to make trades until the Expansion Draft to make trades.
NHL fans (and the league head office) will be watching for GMs to start finding loopholes. While teams won’t be allowed to retain salary for exposed players, McPhee could make an arrangement with a fellow GM to select an agreed upon lesser player and then trade a late round pick in the NHL Entry Draft for a high-priced player with salary retained. In theory, the Golden Knights could take Michael Latta from the Kings, instead of a more notable exposed-player, and then trade a 5th round pick to Los Angeles for Brown with salary retained.
With the NHL watching closely to make sure every transaction passes the smell test, it will be interesting to see if this loophole gets taken advantage of, or if it’s closed before McPhee and the Golden Knights take advantage of it.
- After the Oilers 6-3 win over the Jets on Thursday night, Postmedia’s Jim Matheson argued that the Oilers should try and make a handshake deal with Kris Russell to sign after the expansion draft, which would likely prevent McPhee and the Golden Knights selecting Russell. While Matheson called Russell the Oilers “third-best defenseman” who “really solidified their back-end,” Russell is a divisive figure between the analytics world and the old hockey mindset. He gets poor results based on most analytics metrics, but he’s a well-liked, shot-blocking defenseman. Sportsnet analytics writer Stephen Burtch took a deeper look at Russell’s advanced stats, and found that only two Oilers actually get better results when Russell is on the ice: Benoit Pouliot and Zack Kassian. Meanwhile, Connor McDavid, perhaps the best player in the NHL and its leading scorer, performs markedly worse when Russell is on the ice. McDavid’s expected goals-for goes down nearly 20% when he plays with Russell. Burtch argued that Russell is not the Oilers third-best defenseman, and his skill-set of lowering his team’s goals-against is decent, but also largely based on luck.
- Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News updated the condition of several injured Dallas Stars on Friday morning. While Ales Hemsky and Mattias Janmark are both out until April with hip surgery and knee surgery respectively, Johnny Oduya (lower body) could be back sometime next week. As we reported on Thursday, the pending UFA Oduya may be on the trade block. Meanwhile Jiri Hudler has been out of the lineup with an unknown virus for a month, and remains out with no timeline for his return. The Stars could use some help, as they have a 9-10-6 record and sit in fifth in the Central Division.
Snapshots: Anderson, LeBrun’s Power Rankings, Blues
The Associated Press reports that Ottawa Senators’ net minder Craig Anderson will take another leave of absence to be with his wife during her battle with throat cancer. Anderson will not be available to play Thursday when the Sens take on the Flyers in Ottawa. In turn, the Senators recalled Andrew Hammond and also have Mike Condon ready to go. Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen writes that Sens’ bench boss Guy Boucher said that there is no timetable for Anderson’s return but that the earliest he could be back is Saturday. Warren added a quote from Condon who said: “I can’t even begin to imagine what he’s going through and I wish him the best.”
In other NHL news:
- The Chicago Blackhawks remain #1 on Pierre LeBrun’s Power Rankings as the first of December approaches. Though they went 3-3-1 on the annual Circus Trip, the Hawks were able to survive without captain Jonathan Toews, who has missed the past three games. Seated second are the Montreal Canadiens, followed by the New York Rangers, who are tops in scoring in the NHL. Fourth and fifth in LeBrun’s rankings are the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Ottawa Senators jumped six spots to number six, while the Tampa Bay Lightning, St. Louis Blues, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Nashville Predators round out LeBrun’s top ten respectively. In the power rankings basement? The Islanders hold the spot, due to only a pair of wins in November. LeBrun wonders if ownership will still be as patient if similar results follow in December.
- Despite an earlier report indicating that the St. Louis Blues could be cutting ties with AHL affiliate the Chicago Wolves, KSDK Sports Director Frank Cusumano was contacted directly by a Blues Executive who denied such reports. NHL.com’s Lou Korac wrote earlier that the Blues were readying to put a new AHL team in Kansas City, and the report, via his blog “In the Slot,” was posted on KSDK’s site. Though Korac said the Blues have not made the plans official, a source told him that it’s pretty much a “done deal.” That news conflicted with what a Blues executive told Cusumano, saying that, “No decisions are close to being made. We are talking to a lot of people.”