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West Notes: Kings, DeMelo, Pospisil

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The New York Rangers were the big winners at the NHL Draft Lottery, meaning the Westen Conference won’t have to deal with Alexis Lafreniere on a regular basis, right? Well, as Lisa Dillman examined for The Athletic, if the Los Angeles Kings or another team with a high pick came calling the Rangers would have to listen. The Kings have arguably the best prospect group in the entire NHL already and could potentially create quite a package of assets for the first overall selection.

While the Kings have that impressive prospect base and several high picks, the Ottawa Senators are primed to make a huge splash at this year’s draft as well. Not only do they hold the third and fifth overall selections, but they also have an incredible seven picks in the first two rounds of this year’s draft. Nine if you extend that to the third round, and 13 in total for 2020.

  • Winnipeg Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff liked the fit for trade deadline acquisition Dylan DeMelo, but hasn’t started negotiations yet for a new contract according to Murat Ates of The Athletic. The team will “definitely take a look” at a new deal with the pending free agent, who ended up playing just 14 total games for the Jets after arriving from Ottawa partway through the season. The 27-year old DeMelo recorded just ten points in 59 games this season and is coming off a two-year deal that carried a $900K cap hit.
  • Martin Pospisil, who signed his three-year entry-level contract in 2019, will be playing in Slovakia for the time being. The Calgary Flames prospect has been loaned to HC Kosice for the next few months but is expected back for NHL training camp. Pospisil played 26 games for the Stockton Heat of the AHL this season, recording ten points.

L.A. Kings Loan Tobias Bjornfot To SHL’s Djurgardens

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Yet another NHL prospect has been loaned overseas to begin the 2020-21 season and this time it is a relatively big name in Los Angeles Kings defenseman Tobias Bjornfot. Bjornfot, 19, was a first-round pick in 2019 and jumped immediately to the pro ranks for L.A., spending the whole season in North America. However, he will at least begin next year back home in Sweden. The Kings have announced that Bjornfot has been loaned to Djurgardens IF of the SHL to begin the season. He is expected to rejoin L.A. at some point during the season.

Bjornfot was selected No. 22 overall last year and made the unlikely jump directly to the NHL. He played in three games with the Kings and 44 more with the AHL’s Ontario Reign, where he recorded 19 points and a +13 rating. Bjornfot did not look out of place and will likely be given every chance to break camp with the Kings next year, especially if he excels in the SHL.

Bjornfot should feel right at home with Djurgardens, as he developed in their system for three years before he was drafted and departed to North America. He even played in seven SHL games in 2018-19. Djurgardens is routinely a contender in the SHL, but their roster looks uncharacteristically thin for next season. As a result, Bjornfot should be given every opportunity to play a major role and spend the time that he otherwise would have spent waiting for the NHL season to start instead preparing himself for what he hopes is an impact rookie season.

Minor Transactions: 08/05/20

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With six NHL playoff games a day suddenly on the docket, summer days are now filled with hockey. Yet, the qualifying round and round robin games are not the only news-makers in the hockey world. Here are some minor moves from across several levels, including an NHL loan, a pair of AHL extensions, and some NCAA commitments:

  • With the delayed start to the season among North American leagues, there has been a rash of overseas loans among NHL prospects in recent weeks. Florida Panthers prospect Rodrigo Abols has now also joined that list. Abols, a late 2016 pick out of Latvia, is set to return to the SHL’s Orebro HK to begin next season, the team announced. Abols played in the AHL with the Springfield Thunderbirds this season, but previously played with Orebro for the two seasons prior. He will return to Sweden on a short-term loan for now that expires in mid-November, allowing for the young forward to compete in training camp and in the AHL if the Panthers so desire, but it would also not be a surprise to see the project player stay in the SHL for the year.
  • The Ontario Reign, AHL affiliate of the L.A. Kings, have announced one-year extensions for forwards Blaine Byron and Jacob Doty. Byron, a former Pittsburgh Penguins prospect and a University of Maine standout, has been a force in the AHL through three pro seasons. Byron has recorded 72 points in 136 games, including a career-high 34 in 53 games this season. Acquired by Ontario from Springfield mid-season, Byron was one of the Reign’s best players down the stretch and could be in for a big 2020-21 season. Doty, a 27-year-old journeyman, made his return to the AHL this season but recorded just one point in 18 games for Ontario. However, he provides experience and work ethic for the young farm team.
  • Harvard University has made headlines lately for losing players, both current and committed, due to the Ivy League’s ban on fall sports this year. However, they got some good news today in the form of a commitment from twin brothers with a well-known last name. Marek and Daniel Hejduk, the sons of career Colorado Avalanche star and Stanley Cup champ Milan Hejduk, each announced on Twitter today that they have committed to play at Harvard. While the 16-year-olds are still at least two seasons away from joining the Crimson, Marek is already slated to join the U.S. National Team Development Program next year and Daniel could follow. The pair seem likely to have some NHL Draft prospects by the time they are ready to move to the NCAA.
  • As for another brother duo headed to the college ranks, 16-year-old defenseman Seamus Powell announced on Instagram that he will follow his brother Eamon Powell to Boston College. Eamon, a USNTDP graduate who is set to join the Eagles this coming season, is a 2020 NHL Draft prospect expected to be selected in the second or third round in November. Seamus, a comparable small, offensive defenseman, will join the USNTDP this coming season and will be draft eligible in 2022, when he is also expected to enroll at BC.

NHL Makes Rulings On Three Trades With Conditional Picks

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For fans of the Flames and Oilers that have been awaiting the final decision on the James Neal–Milan Lucic trade, the verdict is in.  Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston reports (Twitter link) that Edmonton will have to transfer a third-round pick in either 2020 or 2021 to Calgary to complete the trade.  The Oilers will have until the start of the third round in October’s draft to choose whether they will transfer the selection this year or wait until the next draft.

The issue in this trade was in the wording of the rather unique conditions that were put on the deal.  In the original swap, Neal had to have at least 21 goals and Lucic ten or fewer.  Neal was at 19 when the season was shut down due to COVID-19 while Lucic was at eight so only the second element was met.  However, by extrapolating Neal’s output over a full 82-game season, he scored at a 23-goal pace.  It appears the league used a similar interpretation with the awarding of the draft pick.

It’s worth noting that Edmonton is currently without their second-round pick for the next two years from their acquisition of Andreas Athanasiou.  They also are without their fourth-rounder in 2020 from the Mike Green pickup.

The NHL has also tweaked the terms of the Kings-Maple Leafs trade that saw Jack Campbell and Kyle Clifford go to Toronto.  Johnston notes in a separate tweet that Toronto will owe a 2021 second-round pick if they win their Qualifying Round series against Columbus and Campbell gets two or more wins or if Clifford re-signs.  The original terms of the deal had the pick transferring if the Maple Leafs made the playoffs and Campbell winning six games or Clifford re-signing.  If those don’t happen, then a 2021 third-round pick will be transferred to Los Angeles.

A decision has also been made on the conditional pick involved in the Hurricanes’ acquisition of Sami Vatanen from the Devils at the trade deadline and as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports in a Twitter thread, the details are a bit more complex.

If Carolina beats New York in the Qualifying Round series and Vatanen plays in 70% or more of their playoff games, the Hurricanes send New Jersey their 2020 third-round pick.  If Vatanen doesn’t play in 70% or more of the playoff games but plays in two or more contests against the Rangers, then two more scenarios present themselves.  In that situation, if Carolina wins the series, the Devils get Carolina’s 2020 fourth-rounder.  If he plays at least twice but the Rangers win, then Carolina gets to pick between sending a 2020 or a 2021 fourth-round selection.  If none of this plays out, then no pick transfers.

This closes the books on the remaining questions surrounding conditional trades with the league ruling back in May on ones that had picks contingent on making the playoffs.  Teams will have to be in the final 16 teams in order to be classified as a playoff team for the purpose of those trades.

Maple Leafs’ Eddie Shack Dies At Age 83

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He played 16 seasons with six different NHL teams, but Eddie Shack was considered to be a Toronto Maple Leaf. The team announced that the forward, who helped lead the Toronto franchise to four Stanley Cup Championships in the 1960s, passed away Saturday after a long fight with throat cancer. He was 83 years old.

Shack was a popular player in his time in the NHL, who held several nicknames throughout his career, including “The Entertainer,” “The Nose,” and even had a novelty song written about him called “Clear the Track, Here Comes Shack.” However, his on the ice play, especially in his years with the Maple Leafs was what stood out. Shack played nine seasons with Toronto, including a seven-year run from 1960 to 1967 where he played on four Stanley Cup title teams in 1962, 1963, 1964 and 1967. He also scored the game-winning goal in 1963 to capture the cup and was well known for his celebrations on the ice after scoring a goal.

He did get traded five different times throughout his career and spent time with a number of other teams, including the New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings, Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins, before finally wrapping up his career with two more years in Toronto before retiring after the 1974-75 season. He was even almost traded to the Detroit Red Wings in a package in 1960 for Red Kelly, but the trade was cancelled after Kelly opted to retire rather than be traded. Shack played in 1,047 games, scoring 239 goals and accumulating 1,439 penalty minutes over the course of his career. He was just a handful of players to score 20 or more goals for five different teams.

Everyone at PHR wishes the best for the family and friends of Shack at this time.

Offseason Keys: Los Angeles Kings

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The offseason has arrived for at least seven teams that were not invited to take part in the Qualifying Round that’s slated to begin in early August.  With that in mind, our Offseason Keys series is underway for the teams that are on the outside looking in.  Next up is a look at Los Angeles.

Things didn’t go well for the Kings in 2018-19 so they made another coaching change before the start of this past season as they brought in veteran Todd McLellan to try to steer them in the right direction.  It didn’t happen.  While they managed to avoid finishing last (by a single point), they still had significant scoring problems and there are plenty of areas to try to improve on this offseason.  Here is an overview of what GM Rob Blake should be looking to accomplish.

Add Scoring Help

Given that they finished 30th in the league in scoring for the second straight season, this seems like a good place to start.  Los Angeles was hoping for their high-priced veterans to carry the load but it didn’t happen.  Anze Kopitar barely broke 20 goals, Dustin Brown’s output dipped for the second straight season following his career year in 2017-18, and Jeff Carter has tailed off considerably in recent years.  Ilya Kovalchuk was supposed to help in that regard but he didn’t even make it to midseason before his contract was terminated outright, leaving a $6.25MM dead cap charge on the books for next year.  Tyler Toffoli had a bit of a rebound season before being traded to Vancouver near the trade deadline.

Of their full-timers, their lone pleasant surprise up front was Alex Iafallo who built off of his sophomore campaign to post career numbers.  However, he also averaged nearly 19 minutes a night but in a perfect world, he’s more of a secondary option over a top liner.  His playing time was a microcosm of their situation up from though – there just weren’t really any other options for that spot.

That’s something that needs to change.  Yes, there are some promising prospects in the system and they’ll wind up with another one with the number two pick in October’s draft but none of their youngsters are ready for top six duty right away.  By the time they are, Kopitar will need a lighter workload.  Accordingly, they need to add a player or two that’s capable of helping out not only in the short term but a few years down the road as well.  Whether that comes via free agency or trade, that’s something Blake should be looking to bring in, even if he feels they’re not quite ready to push for a playoff spot right away.

Rebuild The Back End

It was only the 2017-18 season when the Kings were the stingiest team in hockey.  The goaltending was sharp and it had the benefit of playing in front of a deep defensive corps.  Today, only one player from their top four that season remains and that’s Drew Doughty.  Meanwhile, Jake Muzzin, Alec Martinez, and Derek Forbort have all been moved in trades for prospects and draft picks.

Not surprisingly, the defense corps that finished the season isn’t the most recognizable.  Joakim Ryan, Sean Walker, Matt Roy, Ben Hutton, and Kurtis MacDermid were the other blueliners to play at least 10 games for Los Angeles this year and while they all have shown enough to warrant a spot on other back ends around the league, they’re all suited for roles that are lower on the depth chart, not one that sees one of them partnering with Doughty on the top pairing.

The good news is that there is some help in the system – Tobias Bjornfot, Kale Clague, and Michael Anderson have all shown some promise in their limited NHL action this season.  Eventually, the Kings should get some help from that group.  The bad news is that they’re still a little while away from being NHL-ready.  There is a distinct need to add a capable veteran (if not more than one) to allow the youngsters to avoid being thrown to the wolves and to help stabilize the back end.  The emphasis should be adding someone on the left side, in particular.  Rebuilding or not, that’s still a need that should be filled.

Utilize Cap Room

Even with Kovalchuk’s dead money on the books, the Kings have a fair bit of money to work with as they sit nearly $21MM under next year’s cap with 16 players already under contracts.  There are no major players in need of a new contract so Los Angeles has some cap space to use.  Of course, they have several notable holes to fill with that money.

The cap space should have them in the mix for players like Taylor Hall, Alex Pietrangelo, or Torey Krug if they make it to the open market although with many teams likely looking to shed payroll over the coming months, Blake could opt to try to go that route as well.  Adding more quality prospects and draft picks is never a bad thing for a rebuilding team while the veterans they bring in would likely still represent an upgrade.  Better still, any player brought in via that route would basically be a bridge player to allow some of their prospects to stay in the minors and develop a little while longer (assuming there is hockey at the lower levels next season).

Cap space is going to be more valuable than ever this offseason (and likely for a year or two beyond as well).  Los Angeles has plenty of it which puts them in a good spot to take advantage of the more restricted market.  With several holes to fill on their roster, the timing couldn’t be much better.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Nikolai Prokhorkin Returns To KHL

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After just one season in the NHL, Nikolai Prokhorkin is going home. The Los Angeles Kings forward’s entry-level contract is set to expire, but he won’t be re-signing with the team. Instead, he has inked a two-year deal in the KHL with Magnitogorsk.

The 26-year old forward has had quite an interesting relationship with the Kings over the years, dating back to their selection of him in 2012. Prokhorkin quickly signed with the organization a few months after being drafted and actually came over to play eight games with the Manchester Monarchs at the start of the 2012-13 season. Unfortunately, his contract was then ruled invalid, sending him back to the KHL and starting a long breakup between the two sides.

Prokhorkin would spend the next seven years in the KHL, playing for three different organizations before coming back to the NHL this past season. He signed his new entry-level contract in May of last year and ended up playing 43 games for the Kings. With four goals and 14 points, he at least will get to say that he held his own at the highest level in North America. Whether he ever comes back is a different story.

Normally with restricted free agents that leave for other leagues, the NHL team is able to retain their rights with a qualifying offer and try to sign them again down the road. Unfortunately in this case given his age, those rights will expire before the Kings have a chance to re-sign Prokhorkin, meaning this is ultimately going to leave him an unrestricted free agent in 2022 able to sign with any NHL organization.

Snapshots: NHLPA Executive Board Approves CBA, DEL, LeBlanc, Stutzle

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The NHL and NHLPA have crossed another hurdle to ratifying their CBA extension, the NHLPA announced. The NHL’s Executive Board has approved of the extended CBA and sent it to the NHLPA membership for a vote. The full body of NHL players still needs to cast their ballots, which is expected to take place sometime over the next 48 hours. Only a simple majority is needed to pass, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. As we await the final vote, let’s check-in elsewhere around the NHL…

  • Former Chicago Blackhawks prospect Drew LeBlanc signed a two-year extension to stay with Augsburger Panther of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, per NHL.com’s Brandon Cain. LeBlanc appeared in two games with the Blackhawks in 2012-2013 and last appeared stateside with the AHL’s Ice Hogs in 2014-2015. He’s carved out a role in Germany over the last five years, scoring exactly 11 goals in the last four. He posted a career-high 49 points last season for Augsburger.
  • Speaking of the DEL, top draft prospect Tim Stutzle put up 34 points (7 goals, 27 assists) for Adler Mannheim last season, a strong enough showing to put him in the running to become the highest-drafted German prospect ever (Leon Draisaitl went number 3 overall to the Oilers in 2014). As a consensus top-5 prospect, Stutzle – who has drawn comparisons to Patrick Kane for his offensive creativity – could go as high as number two to the Los Angeles Kings, who may understand Stutzle’s path better than most, writes The Athletic’s Lisa Dillman.
  • Kings’ assistant coach Marco Sturm took a similar path on his way to the San Jose Sharks in 1997-1998. Sturm ought to be able to help connect the Kings’ to whatever intel they need on Stutzle. Most pundits suggest the Kings’ choice will come down to Stutzle or Quinton Byfield, though Jamie Drysdale could be in the running as well, which Dillman wrote about in-depth here.

 

Kings UFA Kevin Poulin Signs In Sweden

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Kevin Poulin’s return to North America wound up being short-lived.  The pending Kings unrestricted free agent has opted to head back overseas as IF Bjorkloven of the Swedish Allsvenskan announced that they’ve signed him to a one-year contract with a one-year option if the team earns a promotion to the SHL.

The 30-year-old found himself without a team for a good chunk of the season before Detroit brought him in on an AHL tryout on Boxing Day to serve as injury insurance.  The Kings lured him away in February with an AHL contract and then converted him to an NHL deal two weeks later to give them the option to recall him later in the season following the trade of Jack Campbell to Toronto.  However, the pandemic shut down any possibility of that happening and so his season wrapped up with just seven AHL games where he posted a 2.62 GAA with a .914 SV%.

Poulin has parts of five years of NHL experience under his belt, all with the Islanders and his deal with the Kings at least provided a chance for him to get another chance.  However, with the uncertainty surrounding next year in the AHL, heading to Sweden where there is a likelier chance of games being played is the safer move for him at this point.  Los Angeles likely won’t need to sign a replacement for him either as prospect Jacob Ingham will be eligible to turn pro next season and should take Poulin’s place with AHL Ontario.

Prospect Notes: Cozens, Harvard, Beniers, Kings

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The future is bright for the Wild, Flyers, Senators, and Kings, per The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler. Each of those four clubs tied for the lead with four prospects making Wheeler’s top-50 list, headlined by Dylan Cozens of the Sabres in the top spot. The same can’t be said for the Lightning, Blue Jackets, Jets, Blackhawks, and Bruins, all of whom failed to register a single prospect on the list. Wheeler qualifies the case for the Jets and Blue Jackets as each had a pair of prospects close to making the list, and the Blackhawks, who have recently graduated players like Adam Boqvist and Kirby Dach, while blueliner Ian Mitchell garnered consideration.

  • As if tracking NHL prospects isn’t artful enough, it’s going to get a whole lot more complicated as college athletics tries to find its way amid the coronavirus pandemic. Harvard released a statement today announcing all classes will be offered online and on-campus students will be capped at 40% of the student body. Athletics are going to be impacted, but it’s not yet clear what kind of season, if any, college hockey will have in 2020-2021. As ESPN’s Chris Peters points out, that’s going to affect the next couple of drafts, as Harvard alone had a number of potential draft prospects, including potential first-rounder Matt Beniers.
  • The Los Angeles Kings have a big decision looming after winning the number two overall pick in next year’s draft. Of course, they have plenty of time to study their options, writes Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times. With an uncertain picture of next season, the draft presents the Kings with their largest dose of certainty. The top pick is going to be Alexis Lafreniere, leaving VP and GM Rob Blake with his pick of the rest. Harris provides a quote from Blake, who said: “You can narrow it down to three or four players where you’re really starting to zero in, instead of a group. But you’re going to review all the prep you did leading up to this one more time to have it fresh on your mind.” In addition, the Kings have three second-round picks and a pair each in the third and fourth round. Of course, though the Kings know when in the draft they’ll pick, they still don’t know when the draft will take place.

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