Morning Notes: Fines, Froese, Fraser
Three fines were handed out by the Department of Player Safety for an incident in last night’s Tampa Bay Lightning-New York Rangers game. Kevin Hayes, Alex Killorn and Steven Stamkos have all been fined $5,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct.
The incident occurred when Hayes squirted water from the bench towards Killorn, who then retaliated by swinging his stick towards the bench. After a scrum ensued, Stamkos also squirted water towards the New York bench (h/t Shayna Goldman of Hockey Graphs for the clips). The Rangers would win the game in overtime.
- Byron Froese has been named the first captain of the Laval Rocket, Montreal’s new AHL franchise. Froese made his NHL debut with the Maple Leafs a few seasons ago, playing 56 games in 2015-16. Since then he hasn’t been able to find a full-time NHL role, playing just six games last season between Toronto and Tampa Bay. He signed a two-year deal with the Canadiens this summer which will turn into a one-way deal next season.
- Terrible news out of the league site today, as long-time referee Kerry Fraser shares his diagnosis of cancer. Anyone who watched hockey prior to 2010 remembers Fraser as one of the household-named officials in the league, and as one of the most beloved and reviled refs in Los Angeles and Toronto respectively (not really, but talk of “Gretzky’s high stick” seems to live on forever around the league). Fraser, 65, shared his story as part of Hockey Fights Cancer month in the NHL, and PHR would like to send our thoughts to him and his family. If you’d like to donate to the league’s cause, the link can be found here.
Latest On Canadiens And Rangers Trade Speculation
While there has been a lot of speculation following the Rangers having four scouts (including former GM Glen Sather) watching Monday’s game between the Canadiens and Senators, TSN’s Bob McKenzie reported in an appearance on TSN 690 (audio link) that there doesn’t appear to be any imminent trade on the horizon:
“You’ve got to be a little bit careful too and not jump to the conclusion that just because they were there that something is imminent. Last I heard, and again it’s always subject to change with one phone call, but it wasn’t front-burner, pot-boiling, ready to make a transaction as much as it was two teams that are on really hard times talking to each other about some possibilities.”
Both teams have been viewed as underachievers through the first month of the season. Montreal sits sixth in the Atlantic Division while New York moved into a tie for seventh in the Metropolitan Division with their victory against Vegas on Tuesday night.
Larry Brooks of the New York Post reported early Tuesday that Canadiens winger Andrew Shaw is someone that the Rangers have interest in as his ability to play center (he has spent a bit of time there in the past), as well as his physical style of play, have endeared him to management. Last week, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman noted that Shaw is someone that Montreal GM Marc Bergevin could be interested in moving while perhaps retaining part of his contract to get a deal done. The 26-year-old is signed through 2021-22 with a $3.9MM cap hit, certainly a sizable contract for anyone to consider trading for.
Alex Galchenyuk has been a subject of trade speculation for a while now even with the three-year, $14.7MM contract he signed over the summer. Brooks called him someone that could be of interest to the Rangers while McKenzie noted during his radio appearance that there have been discussions about him between the two teams.
While the two Montreal players have been identified as players that would be of interest to the Rangers and GM Jeff Gorton, it remains to be seen who or what they would be willing to give up. The Canadiens’ defensive concerns have been well-documented but New York has had some concerns on that end as well which likely rules that out. With the Rangers having the ability to add a player making just shy of $3MM as of today (per CapFriendly), they would have to clear out some money in order to get a deal done.
While it certainly doesn’t sound like any sort of trade is near completion for now, it will be interesting to see if talks pick up if one or both team carry over their struggles into November and beyond.
Nikita Scherbak Undergoes Surgery, Out Six Weeks
An unfortunate turn today in the promising young season for Montreal Canadiens’ Nikita Scherbak, as the team announced that the forward has undergone surgery on his right knee and will be out six weeks. Scherbak was injured on October 26th when the Canadiens were blanked 4-0 by the Los Angeles Kings.
Scherbak, a first-round pick of the Canadiens from 2014, was in just his second game with the team when he suffered the injury. Even in the limited time he was there, he had looked like one of the more creative offensive pieces on the squad, a reputation he earned while playing in junior and the minor leagues. In his two seasons in the WHL, Scherbak scored a combined 160 points in 130 games, and didn’t slow down much after joining the professional ranks. In the AHL last year, he scored 41 points in 66 games and was one of the team’s most impressive pieces.
This season, before his call-up to the Canadiens, Scherbak had put up nine points in six games and looked like he was ready to take his game to the next level. The 21-year old will have a lot of pressure on him to perform in Montreal—especially in light of the recent controversy over Russian players under Claude Julien—but will have to work hard just to even get back on the ice. It will be interesting to see which team he rejoins after he has fully recovered, the Canadiens or the Laval Rocket.
Reway Clears Unconditional Waivers, To Be Terminated
Sunday: CapFriendly reports that Montreal Canadiens’ prospect Martin Reway has cleared unconditional waivers and the team is terminating his deal.
Saturday: The Canadiens have placed Reway on unconditional waivers for the purpose of mutual contract termination, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link).
Reway missed all of last season with a heart ailment but had made a return to playing this season with Montreal’s AHL affiliate in Laval. The team was easing him into the lineup by avoiding playing him in back-to-back situations but he still suited up in five games, collecting two assists and six penalty minutes along with a -5 plus/minus rating.
However, the 22-year-old left the team on Thursday to ponder his future and with this move, it appears that his preference may be to return to playing overseas at this time. This isn’t the first time this month that the Canadiens have utilized a contract termination as they did so with defenseman Mark Streit after he declined to report to the minors.
Assuming he clears, the Canadiens will be off the hook for the remaining two years of his contract, one that carries a cap hit of just over $700K. It will also drop them to 45 contracts on of the 50-contract limit.
Canadiens Place Martin Reway On Waivers
The Canadiens have placed prospect Martin Reway on unconditional waivers for the purpose of mutual contract termination, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link).
Reway missed all of last season with a heart ailment but had made a return to playing this season with Montreal’s AHL affiliate in Laval. The team was easing him into the lineup by avoiding playing him in back-to-back situations but he still suited up in five games, collecting two assists and six penalty minutes along with a -5 plus/minus rating.
However, the 22-year-old left the team on Thursday to ponder his future and with this move, it appears that his preference may be to return to playing overseas at this time. This isn’t the first time this month that the Canadiens have utilized a contract termination as they did so with defenseman Mark Streit after he declined to report to the minors.
Assuming he clears, the Canadiens will be off the hook for the remaining two years of his contract, one that carries a cap hit of just over $700K. It will also drop them to 45 contracts on of the 50-contract limit.
Keeping An Eye On Entry-Level Slides: An Update
Two weeks ago we ran an article looking at the young players in the NHL who were also eligible to see their contracts slide by one year. Should they be sent back to their junior or European clubs before playing in 10 NHL games, they would avoid burning the first year of their entry-level contracts.
At the time, none of the players eligible had surpassed that threshold. Today is a different story. Three players have already played their 10th game in the NHL, changing the goalposts somewhat for their respective teams. Now, those clubs must decide whether or not to keep them past the next threshold of 40 games, when they’ll get a year closer to unrestricted free agency. Below, we’ll take an updated look at the entire group.
10+ Games Played
Mikhail Sergachev (TBL)
Victor Mete (MTL)
Alex DeBrincat (CHI)
Each of these three seemed to have a good shot at staying with their respective teams right from the start, but now the most interesting thing to watch will be that 40 game mark. For Sergachev especially it holds quite a bit of value. Due to a condition on the trade that brought him to Tampa Bay, if he fails to play 40 games this season the Montreal Canadiens would have to send a second-round draft pick (Montreal would also receive a sixth-round pick in return). That extra asset could be tantalizing for the Lightning, but with Sergachev’s outstanding start—the young defenseman has 10 points in 11 games—it may not be worth sending him away from the team.
8-9 Games Played
Pierre-Luc Dubois (CBJ)
Nico Hischier (NJD)
Jesper Bratt (NJD)
Nolan Patrick (PHI)
All four of these players seem destined to play past the nine game threshold, with Dubois set to play his tenth game tonight, and Patrick only sitting out due to injury this week. Bratt and Hischier have played in all eight of New Jersey’s games, combining for 13 points. Their strong early play will likely keep them in New Jersey for the year.
Interestingly, Dubois has lasted in the Columbus lineup despite registering just one point all season. He’s not being sent back before tonight’s game, but it will be interesting to see how the season plays out. He’s not struggling with the pace of play, but hasn’t received the opportunity to really show what his offensive ceiling is. Should Columbus face more injuries, Dubois could be thrust into a more important role.
5-7 Games Played
Kailer Yamamoto (EDM)
Yamamoto is one of the most interesting cases, because though he’s played seven games with the club and at times been one of the ice-time leaders beside Connor McDavid, he was scratched last night against the Dallas Stars. As Leon Draisaitl and Drake Caggiula came back, there seemingly wasn’t a spot left for Yamamoto in the top nine.
The diminutive forward has three points through his seven contests, but isn’t a lock to stay past nine games if the Oilers feel he still needs some more development. Though he obviously has the skill to play at this level, if they’re not going to play him every night his path may lie back in the WHL. That would certainly change the fate for the Spokane Chiefs, his junior team, who are currently 8-6-1 on the season.
1-4 Games Played
Owen Tippett (FLA)
Janne Kuokkanen (CAR)
Samuel Girard (NSH)
Tippett finally worked his way into the lineup for Florida, and the early results suggest he could stay there all year. The winger from the Mississauga Steelheads scored his first goal last night, and could find himself getting more ice time as the Panthers try to dig their way out of a rough start. By no means is he guaranteed, but the team has hinted that he would stay in the NHL right away since the start of training camp.
Kuokkanen started off hot for the Hurricanes in limited minutes, but has been relegated to the press box for the team’s last five games. As we wrote in the previous article, the Hurricanes could actually send him to the AHL instead of back to junior, meaning he could bounce up and down this season.
Girard has certainly impressed in the three games he’s played, but none of those have come in the team’s last four. He may be back in the lineup tonight however when the team takes on the Chicago Blackhawks, and if he keeps up his high level of play they may have no choice but to keep him around. Still, it’s always tough for a 19-year old defender to stick in the NHL and especially one that is just 162-lbs. He’ll have to show beyond a shadow of a doubt that he’s ready to be a contributor to this team all season.
No Longer On Roster
Logan Brown (OTT)
Filip Chytil (NYR)
Alex Formenton (OTT)
Martin Necas (CAR)
All four made their NHL debuts, but were eventually sent back before breaking the first threshold. Only Chytil remains in the North American professional ranks, currently playing for the Hartford Wolf Pack of the AHL.
Victor Mete Told He Will Stay Long-Term This Season
- Victor Mete played in his tenth NHL game this season last night for the Montreal Canadiens, crossing the threshold to burn the first year of his entry-level contract. There is another (sometimes more important) threshold at 40 games, in which the player moves a year closer to unrestricted free agency, but Mete seems destined to clear that as well. The team today told him to find a place to live according to Richard Labbe of La Presse, as he won’t be sent back to junior anytime soon. Mete has been a shining light in an otherwise dark start to the season for the Canadiens, serving as their lone true puck-moving defenseman. The 19-year old is undersized, but has shown all the makings of a top-4 defenseman for the long-term. While Montreal has many problems to start the year, Mete isn’t one of them.
Canadiens Notes: Bergevin, Mete, Shaw
With the Montreal Canadiens struggling considerably out of the gate with a 2-6-1 record, some have speculated that they could be a team that looks to make an early trade or two to shake things up. However, GM Marc Bergevin tried to put an end to that speculation at a press conference today, stating to reporters, including Sportsnet’s Eric Engels, that they won’t be making a move for the sake of merely doing a trade and that he feels the solution to their early struggles can be found by their current team.
Despite saying that, the speculation likely won’t stop, especially with the amount of cap space the team has to work with; they have the room to add another $7.7MM in salary at the moment per CapFriendly, an amount that will only increase by the day. Considering that the cap room doesn’t carry over to next season, they’ll be expected to make use of that room sooner than later.
More from Montreal:
- Bergevin also noted during his press conference that rookie defenseman Victor Mete will be staying with the team and burning the first year of his entry-level contract (via Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette). The 19-year-old has spent the majority of the season on the top pairing alongside Shea Weber and is averaging just shy of 20 minutes per game. As is the case with the other junior-aged players, the next threshold will be 40 games on the active roster (not necessarily played) that will result in Mete accruing one season towards eligibility for unrestricted free agency.
- In his latest 31 Thoughts column, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman suggests that Montreal might be willing to move winger Andrew Shaw and retain part of his $3.9MM cap hit to do so. Shaw is in his second season with the team but is signed through 2021-22 which would likely complicate things as moving secondary players with that much term hasn’t happened particularly often in recent years. Through nine games this season, Shaw has two assists and has been surprisingly sharp at the faceoff dot, winning over 61% of his draws.
Morning Notes: Reilly, Kossila, Hemsky
The Minnesota Wild have recalled Mike Reilly back from the AHL, bringing their roster to 22-players. The Wild sent three players down to get them into some game action, but will likely make another recall tomorrow before their matchup with the Vancouver Canucks.
The Wild have been ravaged by injuries early in the season, but Mikael Granlund returned to a full practice today according to Michael Russo of The Athletic, and the team has still held their heads above water with a 2-2-2 record. While that’s obviously not exactly where they wanted to be through the first six games, as they begin to get their best players back on the ice they should start showing their contender status once again. Reilly, who played 17 games for the team last season and has already suited up four times for them this year, should act as quality depth on the blueline.
- The Anaheim Ducks have made a roster move of their own, recalling Kalle Kossila from the AHL. The team was down to just 21 players on their roster after moving Cam Fowler to injured reserve, but are expected to activate Hampus Lindholm this week. Ryan Getzlaf, who has also been out with injury is also expected back on the ice. Like Minnesota, the Ducks have been decimated by injury early on but have avoided a let down through the first seven games. With a record of 3-3-1, the team is starting to get healthy and will be trouble for Western Conference foes going forward. Kossila has been playing well at the minor league level, and could be called upon if Getzlaf isn’t able to play on Tuesday night.
- Ales Hemsky didn’t practice with the Montreal Canadiens today due to concussion-like symptoms, which threw a wrench into the lines. While Paul Byron found himself on the top unit with Jonathan Drouin, Alex Galchenyuk was relegated to fourth-line duty once again. Both Michael McCarron and Nikita Scherbak, recalled yesterday, were practicing alongside Galchenyuk, seemingly indicating that they’ll be in the lineup come Tuesday night against Florida. The Canadiens have 1-6-1 through the first part of the season, and are trying anything to spark their offense.
Eastern Notes: Bergevin, Skinner, Sproul, Harpur
At 1-6-1, the Montreal Canadiens are off to their worst eight-game start since the 1941-42 season. Sounds shocking. Doesn’t it? Much of the problem is the team’s inability to put the puck in the net as the team is currently ranked last (31st) in the NHL in goals scored at 1.5 per game (just 12 goals scored all year). However, despite that fact, Elliotte Friedman said Saturday on the Headlines segment on Hockey Night in Canada (via Emily Sadler of Sportsnet) that the team isn’t going into panic mode just yet.
“It’s the biggest story in the league and probably for no good reasons,” Friedman said Saturday. “I think the sense you get just from looking around is the Canadiens are determined not to make any panic moves.”
Sadler writes that the team’s start looks even worse compared to last year’s phenomenal start to the season when they were 7-0-1 after the first eight games. To make matters worse, the team is also among the worst in goals allowed as they are ranked 29th after averaging 4.13 goals in these first eight games. That’s with the NHL’s top goalie in Carey Price.
Friedman also said that it’s unlikely the team would make a general manger change and get rid of Marc Bergevin, even though Friedman said that four of the last five GM changes the Canadiens have made were in-season changes.
“I don’t get the sense … that there’s any desire to remove Bergevin right now. He’s under contract until 2022,” Friedman said.
- Michael Smith of NHL.com writes that Carolina Hurricanes winger Jeff Skinner, who added his fourth and fifth goals of the season in Saturday’s 4-3 loss to the Dallas Stars is continuing where he left off. Skinner attempted to fuel a comeback with his team down by four goals, but the team fell short. Already a three-time 30-goal scorer, the 25-year-old has been the main offensive firepower for the Hurricanes this season. Smith writes that if you go back to March of last year, Skinner has scored 22 goals in his last 25 games.
- Peter Wallner of MLive.com writes that the Detroit Red Wings traded defenseman Ryan Sproul Saturday to the New York Rangers to alleviate a logjam of defensemen. Sproul was not likely to ever crack Detroit’s defensive rotation. Talking to Detroit general manager Ken Holland, the scribe writes that the Red Wings made the move to open up playing time in Grand Rapids, where the team hopes to give more minutes to prospects Filip Hronek and Vili Saarijarvi. Hronek, the team’s second-round pick in the 2016 draft, has only played in two games for the Griffins this year, while Saarijarvi, a 2015 third-round pick, had an assist in three games for Toledo of the ECHL, but is expected to get promoted to Grand Rapids shortly.
- The Ottawa Senators announced that they have reassigned defenseman Ben Harpur to Belleville of the AHL. The 22-year-old was called up early in the season to help with the team’s defensive depth only to get injured in his first game with Ottawa. He was placed on injured reserve with a shoulder injury, and now that he is healthy again, will return to his AHL team.