Nick Suzuki Traded In OHL Blockbuster
The OHL trade deadline is today for any deal involving over-aged players, while tomorrow is the deadline for any other deals. That means plenty of player movement has happened over the last few days and the Guelph Storm were at it again this morning. The team officially announced that they have acquired Nick Suzuki, Sean Durzi and Zachary Roberts from the Owen Sound Attack in exchange for a package including three players and four picks. Guelph is obviously working to load up before an OHL playoff run that will determine a Memorial Cup berth.
Suzuki, the prize of the deal, is a Montreal Canadiens prospect after he was included in an NHL trade prior to the season. The key piece coming back to Montreal in exchange for Max Pacioretty, he’s projected to slot into their forward group before long. This year though Suzuki is back in junior dominating in the offensive zone again, recording 45 points through his first 30 games. That run with the Attack was broken by a stint with the Canadian World Junior Team, where Suzuki ran one of the team’s powerplay units and recorded three assists in five games.
Durzi too is a huge addition for the Storm, coming off a Second All-Star selection in 2017-18. The cerebral defender was finally picked in the second round by the Toronto Maple Leafs in his second year of draft eligibility, and was sent back to junior for an over-age season. Unfortunately he has missed a good chunk of that season with an upper-body injury, but should play a big role for Guelph down the stretch.
Interestingly, this load up by Guelph comes less than a month after trading away San Jose Sharks first-round pick Ryan Merkley for a package of picks. Merkley had been dominating offensively like usual for the Storm, but was sent to the Peterborough Petes who are also fighting for a spot in the OHL playoffs.
Kenny Agostino Will Not Face Further Discipline From Player Safety
As the Montreal Canadiens prepare to take on the Detroit Red Wings tonight, they are fortunate to do so with forward Kenny Agostino in the lineup. Agostino, who has carved out a nice role for himself with the Habs this season, received a match penalty game misconduct in the first period of the team’s match-up with Minnesota last night for a late hit on the Wild’s Eric Fehr. Yet, missing most of the game and leaving his team shorthanded appears to have been a fitting punishment for Agostino in the league’s eyes. Sportsnet’s Eric Engels reports that no further discipline will come from the Department of Player Safety and instead Agostino will take the ice this evening.
The incident in question occurred early in the first period of last night’s game in Montreal. Agostino hit Fehr with a late check along the boards, despite having enough time to slow up after Fehr had passed the puck away. Fehr fell against the boards in front of his own bench and hit his face on the way down (video). The veteran forward left the game and did not return. Wild head coach Bruce Boudreau told the media today that Fehr is out tonight against the Boston Bruins but due to soreness and not any long-term injury. Both Fehr and Agostino logged just 25 seconds of ice time apiece in the game due to their early collision. In addition to a game misconduct, Agostino earned a major penalty for interference, a penalty that was partially reduced by Minnesota defenseman Nick Seeler who came to the defense of his teammate and fought Agostino, but at the cost of an instigator penalty. Not long after Agostino’s exit, the Canadiens also lost Shea Weber, who was took a puck up high and left the game. Down two skaters for much of the game, Montreal somehow still held the Wild to one goal albeit in a 1-0 defeat.
In his defense, Agostino has no suspension history or past dealings with the Department of Player Safety. While his check on Fehr was certainly late, it was not a heavy or high hit with an intent to injure, but the unfortunate way that Fehr landed caused most of the damage. Although the league could have thrown the book at him for a late, careless hit that caused an injury, the decision not to further discipline Agostino with a fine or suspension seems fair.
Throughout most of his pro career, an absence by Agostino would not have mattered much to his teams. The former AHL standout struggled to earn play time in stops with the Calgary Flames, St. Louis Blues, and Boston Bruins, but has already set a career high in games played (28) and points (11) in Montreal. Agostino is still playing a limited bottom-six role, but improved physicality and extraordinary possession numbers have helped him lock up a spot in the Habs’ lineup. On a $700K two-way contract this season, the winger is a bargain for the Canadiens. However, the 26-year-old is surely looking forward to being a free agent again this summer following his current breakout campaign.
Andrei Vasilevskiy Named Replacement All-Star
The Tampa Bay Lightning have another player going to the All-Star game, this time as a replacement. Andrei Vasilevskiy has been named the replacement for Carey Price, who decided to not attend the game due to nagging injuries. That leaves the Montreal Canadiens without a representative unless Shea Weber wins the fan-voted “Last Man In” contest. Tampa Bay meanwhile will have three players there with Vasilevskiy joining Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov, not to mention Jon Cooper as coach and Brayden Point who is also in the fan vote.
It’s easy to understand why Vasilevskiy would be chosen for the game, especially when fellow Atlantic Division goaltender Frederik Andersen is dealing with an injury of his own. The Tampa Bay netminder has been excellent again this season recording a .920 save percentage through 22 starts, a total broken up by injury. The Lightning have proven to be the league’s best team through the first half and that’s in no small part to the excellent goaltending they’ve received, though Vasilevskiy has allowed five goals in three of his last five games.
Still, there are few goaltenders in the history of the game as athletic as the 24-year old and he should put on an incredible show in the 3-on-3 All-Star format. After being named a finalist for the Vezina Trophy last season, Vasilevskiy is ready to really become one of the faces of goaltending in the NHL and make his mark among the best in the league. A Stanley Cup appearance would do just that, but the All-Star game will have to be first.
David Schlemko Placed On Waivers
Tuesday: Schlemko has cleared waivers and was immediately assigned to the Laval Rocket of the AHL.
Monday: The Montreal Canadiens have decided to waive another veteran defenseman, this time placing David Schlemko on waivers according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Schlemko is currently on injured reserve.
Almost nothing has gone right for Schlemko since he was acquired from the Vegas Golden Knights prior to last season. The veteran defenseman has played just 55 games for the Canadiens over that stretch, recording seven points and finding himself paired with different teammates on a regular basis. Unable to stay healthy or consistently in the lineup, waivers and a potential trip to the minor leagues was a logical next step.
Still, it’s always surprising to see a player of his experience and talent available for the whole league. Perhaps it shouldn’t be given Montreal’s moves this season, as the team has made it obvious they won’t wait around for passengers to find their game. Schlemko joins Karl Alzner, Jacob de La Rose, Nikita Scherbak and Xavier Ouellet as waived Canadiens since the beginning of the season, not to mention Tomas Plekanec who saw his contract terminated. GM Marc Bergevin is working hard to provide an opportunity for his young players while also maintaining a competitive roster, and Schlemko is just the next name on the list that isn’t giving the team enough.
It’s hard to see anyone claiming the 31-year old at this point, given his recent injury and $2.1MM cap hit. That hit doesn’t even end this year, as Schlemko has another season on the four-year deal he signed with the San Jose Sharks in 2016. More likely the Canadiens will bury him in the minors for a time like they did with Alzner, or pursue a trade to send him to another organization.
Montreal Canadiens Will Not Be Deadline Buyers
The Montreal Canadiens have been inside or on the fringe of the Eastern Conference playoff picture for much of the season. Yet, in the stacked Atlantic Division, GM Marc Bergevin knows that he faces an uphill battle to advance very far this season. The experienced executive has thus decided not to fall into the trap of acquiring short-term rentals ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline this season. Addressing the media today, Bergevin stated:
I don’t think I’ll be in the rental business… I’m going to listen. If it makes sense, I’ll do it. But I’m not going to start mortgaging the future… I know …who they’re going to be asking for and I’m not going moving these kids. So it will be a short conversation I think.
As TSN’s John Lu clarifies, Bergevin is speaking about protecting his recent World Junior Championship standouts. Montreal’s prospects stood out at the 2019 WJC perhaps more than any other NHL team. At the front of that group is obviously reigning tournament MVP Ryan Poehling, the Habs’ 2017 first-round pick out of St. Cloud State University, who notched five goals and points in seven games for the Americans. Alexander Romanov, the team’s second-round pick this past June, was also a top performer at the WJC; the KHL product was named the tournament’s top defenseman with eight points in seven games as well. Cayden Primeau, the starting goaltender for Team USA, and one of the few who beat him in the gold medal game, Finnish forward Jesse Ylonen, also belong to the Canadiens. So too do Team Canada contributors Nick Suzuki and Josh Brook, who both impressed before their team’s early exit.
Bergevin has done a great job of stocking the cupboard for the Canadiens and is right to protect his top young assets. There is always a chance to win for any team that makes the playoffs, but Montreal would first have to qualify, battling for a wild card spot with the Buffalo Sabres, Carolina Hurricanes, and New York Islanders, at the very least. Currently, the projection model of The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn gives the Canadiens a 50% chance at making the playoffs, but does place them in the eighth and final playoff spot in the East. However, that would still land Montreal with a first-round match-up with the likely President’s Trophy-winning Tampa Bay Lightning and, if by some miracle they advance, then a face-off with the Toronto Maple Leafs-Boston Bruins winner. It’s a tough road for the Habs and one that is unlikely to be successful this year, so the team may as well steer clear of the rental market and hold on to their top prospect talent. As Bergevin states, he’ll listen, but doesn’t expect to be convinced. Without any obvious rental pieces of their own either, this could be a quiet deadline season in Montreal.
Carey Price Will Not Participate In 2019 All-Star Game
The Montreal Canadiens have decided that the long-term health of Carey Price is more important than his appearance at this year’s All-Star game. GM Marc Bergevin announced today that Price will not attend the event scheduled for later this month, instead will use the time to rest an injury.
We took the time to discuss the situation with Carey and the medical group earlier today, and we all agreed that the best decision for him would be to rest and recuperate during the upcoming All-Star Break. Carey has had a nagging injury for some time, and we want to make sure to have him healthy and rested for the second half of the season. Carey is honored to once again have been named to the NHL All-Star Game, and he is on board with the Club’s decision.
Like Alex Ovechkin who made a similar decision, Price will be forced to miss the game immediately prior to or immediately after the All-Star break. With the team playing in a back-to-back situation coming out of the break, it seems likely that Price will miss the game on February 2nd against the New Jersey Devils as punishment.
Price’s decision brings up an interesting decision for the NHL, as he was to be the team’s lone representative at the upcoming event. Every team is supposed to send at least one player, but unless Antti Niemi is going in his place there doesn’t seem to be room for Montreal to send someone else. Shea Weber is involved in the fan voting for the “Last Man In” from the Metropolitan Division, but seems like a distinct underdog against the likes of Morgan Rielly, Mark Stone and Brayden Point (among others).
One can imagine the league would not have chosen Price for the game had they known he would decide not to attend, especially given the backlash that erupted from his selection in the first place. Not only has Price missed time due to injury this season, but he had a .904 save percentage at the time of selection—one of the worst numbers of his career. In comparison, Jaroslav Halak (.926), Frederik Andersen (.923), Andrei Vasilevskiy (.920), Carter Hutton (.917) and Tuukka Rask (.917) all have started at least 20 games and have better save percentages than Price’s current .908 mark in the Atlantic Division right now. The Canadiens needed a representative though, and the league decided goaltender was the best bet.
Regardless of the All-Star implications, the decision to rest is likely a good one for Price and the Montreal organization. Notorious for playing through minor injuries, the franchise goaltender will get a good amount of rest and hopefully be able to stay healthy for the second half of the season. The Canadiens are battling for a playoff spot this season despite low expectations, and need their goaltender at his best down the stretch.
Snapshots: Lundestrom, Hudon, McGinn
When the Anaheim Ducks loaned rookie Isac Lundestrom to Team Sweden for the World Junior Championship in the midst of a campaign split between the NHL and AHL, it was a hint that perhaps the experiment was over with the 19-year-old for this season. This has now in fact been confirmed, as agent Martin Nilsson tells Swedish news source Aftonbladet that Lundestrom has returned to Sweden for the remainder of the season. Although the Ducks’ recent first-round pick, No. 23 overall last June, showed signs of promise in his first foray into North American hockey, he nevertheless had failed to produce. Lundestrom, in burning the first year of his entry-level contract, played in 15 games with Anaheim but only recorded two assists. In 12 games with the AHL’s San Diego Gulls, Lundestrom only managed six assists. After half a season with zero goals and limited opportunity to score them, Lundestrom is set to return to his Swedish club Lulea, where he played exclusively with the top team last season. After a WJC in which Sweden struggled but Lundestrom excelled, recording four points in five games, Nilsson says that the youngster is eager to return home and take on a key role for his club. He remains in conversation with Anaheim and, more likely than not, will be back with the organization to begin next season. In the meantime, the Ducks hope to see more of his offensive potential as he takes on the Swedish Hockey League.
- Another player who could be on the move soon is Montreal Canadiens forward Charles Hudon. Marc Antoine Godin of The Athletic recently sat down with Hudon’s agent, Allain Roy, and discovered that the young forward has asked the Canadiens to give him a chance to play. While Godin would not go so far as to say that Hudon demanded a trade, the 24-year-old did allegedly tell the team that he wants a chance and, if it isn’t in Montreal, he would like to be moved elsewhere. “Charlie wants to play in the National Hockey League”, said Roy, “He’s a good player, and we’re still waiting for an answer whether it’s from Montreal or anywhere else.” After a 30-point performance in his first full NHL season last year, it’s fair for Hudon to be discouraged with how this season is going. Expected to be top-nine contributor, Hudon has instead been a frequent scratch and has played the majority of his 23 games on the team’s fourth line with Matthew Peca and Nicolas Deslauriers, despite ample opportunity to line up elsewhere. The trio has combined for just 17 points and Hudon has only contributed four. The Canadiens have opted to hold on to Hudon rather than risk him on waivers, even at the cost of recent claims Nikita Scherbak and Jacob de la Rose, but continue to deny him an opportunity to succeed. Godin wonders what the market would look like for a player like Hudon, whose size and skill set are ill-fitted for checking line work but who has yet to truly prove himself as a top-nine scoring option. Hudon would most likely not clear waivers if any team could grab him for free, but will anyone be willing to ante up to acquire the eager winger from the Canadiens? If the team doesn’t start giving him a larger role, we’ll soon find out the answer to that question.
- Already on his way to a new team is Tye McGinn. Unlike Jamie and Brock, the middle McGinn brother is without an NHL contract this season for the first time in his eight-year pro career. McGinn, 28, had been playing for the AHL’s Manitoba Moose, affiliate of the Winnipeg Jets, but yesterday was traded to the Chicago Wolves, affiliate of the Vegas Golden Knights. This ended up being the “future considerations” side of the Jets’ acquisition of defenseman Jimmy Oligny from Vegas. With the Knights looking playoff-bound again this season, the McGinn acquisition could yield an intriguing late-season signing option. The team is sure to take a look at how the veteran two-way forward performs for their farm team and could decide he is worthy of stashing as a deep depth piece for the stretch run and postseason. McGinn was last an NHL regular in 2014-15, but has always produced consistently in the minors and shown good checking ability at the next level. Vegas has only two roster spots open as of now, but depending on how their trade deadline plans shake out, could dedicate one of those slots to McGinn later on.
Elias Pettersson Suffers Lower-Body Injury
Elias Pettersson has been arguably the most exciting young player in the entire NHL this season. His debut for the Vancouver Canucks in 2018-19 has been dynamic, but has also been marred by injury at times. Pettersson suffered a concussion earlier in the year when he was thrown hard to the ice, and tonight has suffered a lower-body injury in similar fashion. Pettersson sustained the injury when he got tangled up with Montreal Canadiens rookie Jesperi Kotkaniemi and will not return to the game.
Whether or not Pettersson is out for an extended period of time, this is the exact worry many had about his chances to put together a long career in the NHL. The 20-year old center is a tremendous talent, but at 6’2″ 176-lbs can be worked over physically. His skill and production makes him a target for the other team, and though this play may have not been intentional—or at least as intentional as the Mike Matheson incident—he’s going to continue to be involved in situations like this throughout his career. Hopefully in this case it will turn out to just be a minor knee injury.
If he does miss time, there’s a chance he or the Canucks could decide he should not attend the All-Star game at the end of the month. Pettersson was selected to the Pacific Division team after recording 42 points in his first 37 games, and is the runaway favorite for the Calder Trophy at this point in the season.
Montreal Canadiens Activate Carey Price From Injured Reserve
Good news for the Montreal Canadiens today, as the team activated goaltender Carey Price from injured reserve. Price practiced with the team and is at least healthy enough to serve as backup when the Canadiens take on the Vancouver Canucks tomorrow night. Michael McNiven has been sent back to the AHL.
Price admitted to Stu Cowen of the Montreal Gazette that he had been playing with his lower-body injury for about seven weeks, and that it wouldn’t have stopped him from getting on the ice if it were playoff time. That’s a familiar story from a goaltender that has repeatedly played through injury, and one that might frighten Canadiens fans who remember when he played an entire game and set himself back in 2017. Still, this injury seems minor—and conspicuously timed with the birth of his second child—and hopefully will not affect the goaltender moving forward.
The Canadiens find themselves just one point behind the Boston Bruins for third place in the Atlantic Division, a position very few expected them to hold this late into the season. With surprising performances from players like Max Domi and Jesperi Kotkaniemi, the team has found a level of competition that should put them in the playoff race right down to the wire. Price is perhaps the biggest key to whether they actually qualify or not, as he has shown the ability to be a difference-maker in the past.
That past performance is what the team hopes returns before long, as the 31-year old goaltender is only in the first year of an eight-year, $84MM deal. He has just a .904 save percentage this season, a number that didn’t look any better seven weeks ago when the injury supposedly happened. In fact December was the best month of his season so far, with an 8-3-0 record and .916 save percentage. Even that level isn’t what’s expected of him though, meaning he’ll have to continue to improve as the season moves along.
Montreal’s Phillip Danault Receives Max Fine For Tripping
A late-game scuffle is going to cost Montreal Canadiens forward Phillip Danault. The Department of Player Safety announced today that Danault has been served with a $5,000 fine for a “dangerous trip” on Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad, the maximum fine for that type of penalty under the NHL CBA. While it the maximum amount that Player Safety may fine Danault, $5,000 is less than one-seventh of Danault’s next game check on his $3MM salary this season.
The incident in question occurred late in the third period, when Danault lodged his stick underneath the left knee of Ekblad after a scrum along the boards. Danault then used that leverage to upend Ekblad, causing him to topple to the ice. Ekblad responded immediately, chasing down Danault before the pair dropped the gloves. However, it was again Danault getting the takedown as Ekblad was once gain forced to the ice. Danault received a two-minute minor on the play for tripping in addition to the five-minute major for fighting that both players received.
While Player Safety properly saw fit to punish Danault further for the dangerous takedown and the Montreal center will be out a decent amount of money, it is safe to say that last night’s events were far more damaging for Ekblad. This was the first meeting between the Panthers and Canadiens since the preseason, when Max Domi earned a suspension for the remainder of the preseason for sucker punching an unwilling Ekblad. Many expected the big Florida defenseman to seek his retribution against Domi in this re-match, but again the 6’4″, 220-lb. Ekblad shied away from confrontation despite knowing that the much smaller Domi is usually a willing combatant. Instead, Ekblad waited until the last minute before engaging with Danault, not known for his physical prowess, and still ended up “losing” the fight after being taken down by the smaller Danault. It was Ekblad’s first bout of the season and only the fifth of his career, as the Panthers’ defensive cornerstone hasn’t felt the need to fight to prove that that he has the toughness to match his size and strength. Now that smaller Canadiens forwards have gotten the best of him twice, will he feel the need to prove himself?