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Metropolitan Notes: Jones, Fitzgerald, Golyshev

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While the season remains on hold due to COVID-19, many players are getting every chance to get back to full health. In fact, the delay in the season could be  a huge benefit to several teams that lost key players late in the season, which now might make them available if the NHL is able to continue the season or at least the playoffs.

The Columbus Blue Jackets look like they could be huge benefactors to that end as injured defenseman Seth Jones, a crucial linchpin to the team’s shutdown defense announced that he stepped on the ice today for the first time since suffering an ankle injury in which he required surgery to repair a sprain an hairline fracture on Feb. 11. He was given an 8-10 week recovery time after suffering the injury three days earlier against the Colorado Avalanche.

While Columbus had fared well despite suffering numerous team injuries over the course of the year, Jones’ departure from the lineup had quite the effect. The team picked up just three wins after his injury, with a 3-5-6 record.

The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline adds that while players are not allowed to use their teams’ facilities at the moment, Jones is permitted to do so as part of his rehab from ankle surgery, allowed by deputy commissioner Bill Daly. Injured players are allowed access to team’s facilities since the beginning of the league’s suspension.

  • The Athletic’s Corey Masisak (subscription required) writes in his most recent mailbag entry that the longer the suspension goes on, the more and more likely the New Jersey Devils will had the permanent general manager position to current interim GM Tom Fitzgerald. With most candidates still under contract until the season ends, New Jersey has been unable to interview any candidates that are associated with a team. The team has interviewed former Vancouver Canucks GM Mike Gillis (twice), but if the season goes deep into the summer, there is a good chance they will keep Fitzgerald, who took over for Ray Shero on Jan. 12 and had a successful trade deadline. Fitzgerald was already a top candidate for the job, but the Devils were interested in a full search, which now may be difficult.
  • With rumors that the New York Islanders are already getting Russian goaltending prospect Ilya Sorokin under contract for next season, Sport-Express’ KHL writer Igor Eronko reports that another Russian prospect is considering coming stateside for the 2021-22 season. According to Eronko, 25-year-old forward Anatoli Golyshev has looked at houses in New York and wants to join the team in 2021. Golyshev, an Islanders’ fourth-round pick in 2016, had an injury-plagued campaign this year with just 11 goals and 25 points in 38 games, but scored 37 goals over his previous two years with Yekaterinburg Automobilist in the KHL.

Evening Notes: Greene, DeBoer, Gostisbehere

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The New York Islander paid a premium price to acquire 37-year-old defenseman Andy Greene from the New Jersey Devils at the trade deadline, sending the Devils their 2021 second-round pick. However, with the suspension in place, the Islanders have only gotten 10 games from the veteran blueliner.

Newday’s Andrew Gross writes, however, that Greene has made it clear that he doesn’t have any intention to retire at the end of this season.

“Oh, yeah, for sure, in my mind, I’m definitely going to play,” Greene told Newsday this week.

While that doesn’t necessarily mean that Greene, an unrestricted free agent this offseason, would return to the Islanders next year, at least it’s still a possibility. Greene finished his 14th season in the league with two goals, 14 points and 155 blocked shots in 63 games.

  • If the NHL decides to go with a playoff system with more than the standard 16 games, the Vegas Golden Knights would receive a bye in the first-round of the playoffs as they are the No. 1 seed in the Pacific Division. However, head coach Peter DeBoer suggested recently, via SinBin’s Ken Boehlke, that he isn’t enamored with that idea and would not be interested in a bye for his team. “I don’t want to be the team with the bye, sitting there after being off for a month or two months or three months. Having teams play two-out-of-threes and play-in games while you’re sitting there. There’s a huge advantage to having actually played games. I know the bye sounds like an advantage. And it is an advantage if you’ve been playing an entire 82-game season and you roll into that and you have 10 days to prepare for the next round. But when you’ve been sitting around for months, it’s a disadvantage. From a fairness point of view, that would be a concern for me.”
  • Once considered to be a future franchise piece to their defense, Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere has struggled for two straight years, which includes a five-goal, 12-point season last year in 42 games. While there was talk that he could have been a trade candidate at the trade deadline, Philadelphia Inquirer’s Sam Carchidi writes that it’s extremely likely that Gostisbehere will be traded within the next year due to the expansion draft in 2021. With the team likely to only protect three defensemen, it’s a lock that the Flyers will protect Ivan Provorov, Travis Sanheim and Philippe Myers, leaving Gostisbehere available to Seattle. However, the scribe believes that team is more likely to trade him rather than just hand him over to Seattle for nothing.

Poll: If Season Ends Now, Who Should Win Calder Trophy?

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The NHL has every intention in trying to finish out the regular season and have a playoffs to cap off the 2019-20 season. However, with the unknown nature of the quickly changing COVID-19 virus, the season already has been suspended and could be pushed back further and further to avoid players contracting the virus. There has been talk of a drop-dead date as the league doesn’t want the 2019-20 to interfere with the 2020-21 season, which could make the regular season expendable if things begin to extend further and further into the summer. If the regular season ended on March 11, who would walk away as the league’s top rookie?

At midseason, it looked like an obvious choice as Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar dominated the first half of the season after coming over from UMass-Amherst last season. The 21-year-old had a dominant 11 goals and 37 points in 41 games before the all-star break. While his numbers dipped slightly, Makar has still been impressive in a much more limited second half. He did miss five games with an upper-body injury in late February where Colorado lost three of those five games, yet he still had a goal and 13 points in 16 games since the break. In total, however, Makar currently has 12 goals and 50 points in 57 games, an impressive feat for a rookie blueliner.

While Makar seemed like the inevitable choice early on, Vancouver Canucks rookie defenseman Quinn Hughes came on late to have his own impressive season. Hughes has been a solid addition to a Canucks defense at the end of last season as he came out of the University of Michigan. While he had solid numbers in the first half, with five goals and 34 points in 48 games before the all-star break, he did explode in February with 15 points in 13 games and tallied eight goals and 53 points in 68 points. While Makar might have had a better points-per-game average, it was Hughes who provided the healthier player on the ice.

There are several other candidates who will receive some consideration, including Chicago Blackhawks forward Dominik Kubalik, who scored 30 goals already in just 68 games in his first season in North America. The 24-year-old had spent his entire career overseas in the Czech League and the NLA, but adjusted to North American skating rinks quickly and was a key piece to the Blackhawks’ squad.

Several goalies dominated this season, but New Jersey Devils goalie MacKenzie Blackwood so far has a 22-14-8 record on a struggling Devils team. While he did post a 2.77 GAA, his save percentage suggests that he has been a dominant netminder for the Devils this season at .915.

So, if the regular season ended today, who would be the Calder Trophy winner?

If the season ended today, who would win the Calder Trophy?
Vancouver's Quinn Hughes 51.05% (1,115 votes)
Colorado's Cale Makar 29.90% (653 votes)
Chicago's Dominik Kubalik 14.15% (309 votes)
New Jersey's MacKenzie Blackwood 4.90% (107 votes)
Total Votes: 2,184

For Pro Hockey app users, click here to vote.

NHL Rosters To Be Frozen During Suspended Season

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According to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet, the NHL will implement a league-wide roster freeze this evening after announcing a new directive for players earlier today. Johnston points to this freeze as the reason for several roster moves today, moving players between the NHL and AHL. We’ll list those moves below:

  • The New Jersey Devils have moved both Janne Kuokkanen and Matt Tennyson to the AHL. Both players are on two-way contracts, earning less at the minor league level.
  • The Minnesota Wild have moved Matt Bartkowski back to the AHL. He hadn’t played in a single NHL game this season and is on a two-way contract.
  • The Winnipeg Jets have recalled Mark Letestu from his conditioning loan in the AHL. He is on a two-way deal, but would need to clear waivers in order to be sent to the AHL full-time.
  • The Florida Panthers have moved Sam Montembeault back to the AHL. He is on a two-way deal and is still waiver-exempt.
  • The Anaheim Ducks have sent both Jani Hakanpaa and Anthony Stolarz to the AHL. Both players are actually on one-way contracts, meaning they don’t earn any less at the minor league level.
  • The Colorado Avalanche have sent Logan O’Connor to the AHL. The 23-year old is on a two-way contract.
  • The Vegas Golden Knights have sent Keegan Kolesar and Brandon Pirri to the AHL. Pirri is on a one-way contract, while Kolesar is still on his two-way entry-level deal.

East Notes: Chara, Devils GM Position, Kotkaniemi, Meyer

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Almost a year ago, Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara signed a one-year extension (on Mar. 23) as he made it quite clear he wanted to return for another season in Boston. While the league remains suspended, it should be noted that the 43-year-old has not shown the same enthusiasm of signing a contract. Could that signal the end of his career is coming?

When interviewed recently, Chara’s agent Matt Keator, was quite vague about negotiations on a new contract.

“Not thinking about it right now,” said Keator. “Something we’ll all sit down with at the end of the year — Z, me, [Bruins GM] Don Sweeney — and figure out what’s next.”

The Boston Globe’s Kevin Paul Dupont writes that if the season doesn’t resume, there is a good chance that Chara may have played his last game as a Boston Bruin. While there remains a good chance that the league resumes eventually, which would allow Boston to fight for a Stanley Cup, including Chara, there is a chance that the season gets cancelled and Chara chooses to retire.

Chara still is a solid top pairing defenseman for the Bruins. He averages 21:01 of ATOI, while putting up five goals, 14 points, 60 penalty minutes, 101 hits and has blocked 78 shots in 68 games.

  • The New Jersey Devils might find themselves in bind when it comes to interviewing candidates for their open general manager and coaching positions, according to The Athletic’s Corey Masisak (subscription required). While the team did already interview former Vancouver Canucks GM Mike Gillis two weeks ago, the Devils were hoping to wait until the season was over to interview candidates that are currently employed. With a delay until the season ends, New Jersey could find itself without a permanent GM in place for quite a while, something the team wanted to avoid. Interim general manager Tom Fitzgerald remains a candidate, which could increase the chances of him getting the permanent job. Another option, according to Masisak would be if the NHL allowed teams to interview candidates during the break.
  • The Athletic’s Arpon Basu (subscription required) breaks down the stock of Montreal Canadiens 2018 first-round pick Jesperi Kotkaniemi, who was lost for the season last week with an injured spleen with little fanfare for a top prospect. The scribe looks at what has happened to the team’s view on the highly regarded rookie last season and how the 19-year-old had lost his confidence during that season and how it hadn’t returned this season, which includes how the centerman was sent to Laval after struggling in his sophomore campaign with just six goals and eight points in 36 games.
  • The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline reports that Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Carson Meyer, who completed his senior year at Ohio State University, has signed with an agent, Jeff Boston of Roy Sports Group. Unfortunately, his next step is unclear with the suspension of play at both the NHL or AHL level. Meyer wrapped up his senior year with a career-high 17 goals and although he could wait until August to become an unrestricted free agent, he is an Ohio native, suggesting he might prefer to sign with the team that drafted him.

 

Trade Conditions Hinging On Regular Season Games

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There’s little doubt that the NHL would prefer to resume the season and play out the remaining regular season games, but speculation still swirls that it may need to move directly into the playoffs depending on how long this “pause” lasts. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (subscription required) spoke with deputy commissioner Bill Daly who made it clear that nothing has been decided yet, but that next year’s season will not be shortened even if the playoffs leak into the summer.

If the final dozen or so games are cancelled and the league decides to move directly into the playoffs it would certainly ruffle some feathers given the standings and points percentages right now, but there are other things to consider if a chunk of the season is lopped off.

Perhaps most notably (other than the drastic financial impact it might have on next year’s cap) are how a shortened season would affect trade conditions. This is probably the last thing on the minds of league officers, but fans have already started wondering about some of the deals their teams have made in the past. Below, we’ll look at a couple of those conditions that might be influenced by a loss of the remaining games.

Toronto acquires Jack Campbell (link)

When the Maple Leafs went out a few weeks before the trade deadline and acquired their backup goaltender, an interesting condition was attached to one of the third-round selections heading back to the Los Angeles Kings. Should the Maple Leafs make the playoffs in 2019-20 and Campbell wins six regular season games, the 2021 third would upgrade to a second-round pick.

Through six appearances for Toronto Campbell already had three wins, and was likely going to get a few more opportunities down the stretch. If the season ends without any more regular season games, the Kings will have to hope that Toronto decides to re-sign Kyle Clifford if they want that second rounder.

Carolina acquires Sami Vatanen (link)

The Hurricanes went out at the deadline and bought, acquiring three impact players in the process. While Vincent Trocheck and Brady Skjei immediately made an impact, Vatanen suffered a setback in his recovery and looked like he might miss the majority of Carolina’s remaining games. The fact that he hadn’t played for them yet made it look like the conditions on a 2020 fourth-round pick wouldn’t be met, but this break actually may result in a positive for the New Jersey Devils (at least in this case).

There are two games played thresholds involved in the deal for Vatanen at five and 12, which suddenly don’t seem that difficult to meet if the pause allows him to recover. Of course that would require the regular season games to be played in this scenario.

Edmonton, Calgary swap Milan Lucic, James Neal (link)

This is the one you’ve been waiting for, given how ridiculous the condition seemed at the time of the trade. To refresh your memory, the Flames will receive a 2020 third-round selection if Neal scores 21 goals and outscores Lucic by at least 10. Neal is currently 11 goals ahead of Lucic on the season, but has just 19 total. If those regular season games never get played, it would seem that the condition has not been met. Perhaps there is a prorated version in the fine print, but as of now the deal looks to be “one-for-one.”

Minor Transactions: 03/10/20

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If you are a fan of an Eastern Conference team fighting for a playoff spot tonight will certainly be of interest, as the Boston Bruins take on the Philadelphia Flyers while the Tampa Bay Lightning battle the Toronto Maple Leafs. Both games could have massive ramifications on seeding, while six other games have meaningful impact as well. As teams prepare for tonight’s action, we’ll keep track of all the minor moves right here.

  • The New Jersey Devils have recalled Matt Tennyson, who will play tonight in place of Fredrik Claesson. Tennyson, 29, has played in 19 games this season for the Devils, recording three points.
  • Like most days that end in Y, Nicolas Roy has been involved in another transaction. The Vegas Golden Knights forward is back on the AHL roster along with Brandon Pirri after his latest recalled. Roy has now been brought up or down more than 30 times on the season.
  • The Minnesota Wild have returned Gerald Mayhew to the minor leagues after going scoreless in six consecutive games. The 27-year old Mayhew has dominated the AHL this season scoring 39 goals in 48 games, but hasn’t been quite able to carry that production over to the NHL level.
  • Sheldon Dries and Martin Kaut have both been returned to the Colorado Eagles, which bodes well for the health of Nathan MacKinnon. The Avalanche star suffered a lower-body injury but it is not clear how serious it is at this point.
  • Perhaps most notable today among the minor moves is the recall of Nicolas Beaudin by the Chicago Blackhawks. The 20-year old defenseman is in his first year of professional hockey after being selected 27th overall in 2018. Through 59 games with the Rockford IceHogs, Beaudin has collected three goals and 15 points.

Minor Transactions: 03/09/20

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Another exciting weekend has come and gone on the NHL schedule without a Philadelphia Flyers loss. The team is now tied with the Washington Capitals for first place in the Metropolitan Division after winning nine straight, while their cross-state rivals in Pittsburgh continue to fall behind. Tonight many hockey fans will have their sights trained on a game between the Vegas Golden Knights and Edmonton Oilers, two teams that could very well face each other at some point in the playoffs. As they and the rest of the league prepare, we’ll keep track of all the minor moves.

  • The New York Islanders have recalled Thomas Hickey once again as they continue to deal with injuries on the back end, and his stay could be a little longer this time. The team leaves for a four-game road trip that starts in Vancouver tomorrow, before returning home next week.
  • Janne Kuokkanen has been recalled for the first time by the New Jersey Devils after coming to the organization at the trade deadline. The Carolina Hurricanes still haven’t seen Sami Vatanen in action, but New Jersey will get a closer look at one of their new prospects.
  • Speaking of the Hurricanes, the team sent Alex Nedeljkovic back to the minor leagues today as Petr Mrazek prepares for his return. Mrazek may start tomorrow for the Hurricanes according to team reporter Michael Smith, though it has not yet been confirmed.
  • Martin Kaut has been recalled by the Colorado Avalanche, a notable occurrence for more than just the prospect’s pocketbook. If Kaut plays in two more games this season he would burn the first year of his entry-level contract, something that was cited as the reason for his recent demotion.
  • The Chicago Blackhawks have recalled Brandon Hagel under emergency conditions, giving him another chance at the NHL level. The 21-year old forward still hasn’t played a game for the Blackhawks, though this will be the fifth recall of his career.

Minor Transactions: 3/8/20

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With 20 teams in action Saturday, there was plenty of playoff implications, which included a big win for the Tampa Bay Lightning over the Boston Bruins in a rough, physical matchup. However, many other teams furthered their quest to get into the playoffs or pick up a higher seed with Carolina, Washington, Nashville, Florida, Philadelphia and Edmonton all picking up key wins. Several teams have made roster moves as teams juggle their lineups. We’ll keep track of all minor moves right here:

  • Late last night, the Anaheim Ducks announced they have assigned defenseman Brendan Guhle to the San Diego Gulls of the AHL. Guhle didn’t see much time in the second half of Friday’s game against Toronto, playing just 14:43. The 22-year-old has four goals and eight points in 30 games for the Ducks this year.  The Ducks have also recalled goalie Anthony Stolarz from San Diego, reports Elliott Teaford of the Orange County Register.  John Gibson is unavailable after suffering a groin injury against Toronto on Friday.
  • The New York Islanders sent defenseman Thomas Hickey to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the AHL, according to the AHL transaction page. The Islanders brought up Hickey on an emergency loan Saturday due to the injury to Johnny Boychuk, but have opted to return Hickey after just one game.
  • The Buffalo Sabres announced they have assigned defenseman John Gilmour to the Rochester Americans of the AHL. Gilmour was recalled Saturday as a seventh defenseman after the team learned that Lawrence Pilut would not be able to play Saturday night.
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets have assigned goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks to the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL, according to Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch. Kivlenieks has served as the backup to Joonas Korpisalo recently with Elvis Merzlikins injured. However, Merzlikins served as the backup Saturday, which allows the Blue Jackets to give Kivlenieks more playing time in Cleveland.
  • CapFriendly reports that after recalling Janne Kuokkanen from Binghamton Saturday, the New Jersey Devils have already assigned the forward back to his AHL affiliate. The team did not use him in their game on Saturday against the New York Rangers.
  • The Ottawa Senators announced they have assigned goaltender Filip Gustavsson to the Belleville Senators of the AHL. With Anders Nilsson and Marcus Hogberg both out, the Senators recalled Gustavsson last Monday, but he never got into a game. However, Hogberg is back at practice, meaning he will take over backup duties for Craig Anderson.

Minor Transactions: 3/7/20

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As usual, Saturday is a busy day on the schedule with 20 teams in action including the Panthers who will be retiring Roberto Luongo’s number in advance of their game against Montreal.  There should be plenty of roster movement throughout the day which we’ll keep track of here.

  • The Blackhawks have assigned defenseman Dennis Gilbert to AHL Rockford, per the AHL’s Transactions Page. The 23-year-old played for them on Friday while being up on emergency recall and logged 13:36 of ice time.  He has suited up 21 times for Chicago this season, picking up a goal and two assists.
  • With Lawrence Pilut dealing with the flu, the Sabres announced the recall of defenseman John Gilmour from AHL Rochester. The 26-year-old blueliner has played in four games with Buffalo this season but has spent most of the year in the minors.  After putting up 54 points at the AHL level a year ago, Gilmour has just 13 with Rochester so far this season.
  • The Oilers announced (Twitter link) that they have assigned defenseman William Lagesson to AHL Bakersfield.  With Oscar Klefbom being activated off injured reserve, the odds of Lagesson getting any NHL ice time go down considerably as he already was a regular healthy scratch but he’ll log plenty of minutes for the Condors.  Meanwhile, getting Klefbom back after missing three weeks due to a shoulder issue will certainly help Edmonton’s push for first place in the Pacific Division.
  • The Sharks announced the recall of defenseman Nikolai Knyzhov from the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda.  The 21-year-old signed as an undrafted free agent back in July and has played in 33 AHL games this season, picking up a goal and four assists. The San Jose Sharks later announced they have recalled defenseman Nick DeSimone from the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL. The 25-year-old DeSimone has yet to make his NHL debut. He has five goals and 19 points in 48 games.
  • After being recalled earlier in the week on an emergency basis, the Canucks announced (Twitter link) that they’ve returned defenseman Guillaume Brisebois to AHL Utica.  The 22-year-old has been up three times with Vancouver this season but has yet to see any action with them in 2019-20.
  • The New Jersey Devils announced they have recalled forward Janne Kuokkanen from the Binghamton Devils of the AHL. The Devils picked up Kuokkanen from the Carolina Hurricanes at the traded deadline for Sami Vatanen. Kuokkanen has fared quite well with Binghamton since acquired, scoring three goals and six points in four games. He has 15 goals and 48 points in 56 AHL games. The 21-year-old Kuokkanen has 11 NHL games under his belt, having played seven games with the Hurricanes last season with no points.
  • The Boston Bruins announced they assigned forward Karson Kuhlman to the Providence Bruins of the AHL after the team activated defenseman Connor Clifton from injured reserve. The 24-year-old Kuhlman played in 25 games for Boston, posting one goals and six points. Clifton, has been out since Dec. 29, with an upper-body injury. While offense was never a strong point for the 24-year-old with two goals and two points in 30 games, Clifton did provide some physicality with 85 hits.
  • The Carolina Hurricanes announced they have recalled forward Morgan Geekie from the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL. The 21-year-old center became one of the top forward options on the Checkers squad after the team traded away a number of prospects recently, including Kuokkanen, Julien Gauthier (to the New York Rangers) and Eetu Luostarinen (to the Florida Panthers). With the increased playing time, Geekie captured AHL Player of the Week honors for his performance last week, which included four goals and seven points in four games.

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