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Snapshots: Vanek, Gostisbehere, Palmieri

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Thomas Vanek has been used to playing big minutes his entire career. He was used to playing between 16-18 minutes. Then he came to the Vancouver Canucks, where suddenly his minutes have dropped dramatically in head coach Travis Green’s rewards-based system. Now he’s averaging 13:33 worth of time with some days getting quite a bit more and others, quite a bit less, but Vanek just finds himself working harder to make sure he gets his minutes, according to Ben Kuzma of The Province.

The scribe writes that Green’s system in which he rewards players who are playing well and penalizes them when they make mistakes is working in Vancouver as Green’s style is being compared to that of legendary New York Islanders’ coach Al Arbour. And it’s that style of coaching that has Green’s Canucks boasting a 6-3-1 start.

As for Vanek, his numbers have fluctuated a lot, which has a lot to do with his success or lack thereof. Kuzma wrote that Vanek has always been that player where you get a mixed bag from and that shows. The 33-year-old wing, however, did score his fourth goal of the season for Vancouver Thursday in their 6-2 win over the Washington Capitals, but still only got 11:48 of ice time.

“The best coaches I’ve had, it goes two ways,” Vanek said. “You need the trust from him and he needs the trust from you. The biggest thing is honesty. Greener has done a real good job of that and we’re winning, so the message is sent well. But talk to any player. You want to be around that 15- or 16-minute mark. Right now, that’s not happening so you just try to make the most of what you get.”

  • Philadelphia Flyers’ general manager Ron Hextall announced that defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere is out for the game with an upper-body injury after sustaining a big hit against the boards from Toronto’s Leo Komarov in the second period. While the hit received no attention from the referees, the general belief is that it will be reviewed by the NHL tomorrow. If Gostisbehere can’t play on Monday, Philly.com’s Sam Carchidi tweets that Samuel Morin will likely be brought in to help the team.
  • Andrew Gross of The Record tweets that New Jersey Devils winger Kyle Palmieri is day-to-day with an injured left foot. He will be re-evaluated on Monday. The 26-year-old hasn’t skated since Oct. 22 and may not be able to go on the team’s upcoming road trip. However, Gross tweets that the team will not necessarily call anyone up, because Brian Boyle might be ready soon.

Travis Zajac Resumes Skating, Timeframe For Return Still Uncertain

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While he is still a long way from returning to the lineup, Devils center Travis Zajac took a step forward in his recovery on Friday in the morning skate for the first time since undergoing surgery to repair a torn pectoral muscle back in mid-August.  However, head coach John Hynes was quick to caution to Andrew Gross of The Record that he still has a long way to go and that there’s no updated timeframe yet for his return.  At the time of the surgery, Zajac was expected to miss four-to-six months but if he doesn’t experience any setbacks as he begins to skate, he could potentially push to be back for the shorter end of that timeline.

Coyotes Acquire Scott Wedgewood

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The Coyotes have brought in some goaltending depth, acquiring Scott Wedgewood from the Devils in exchange for Calgary’s fifth-round pick in 2018.

Arizona has had all sorts of problems between the pipes this season with Antti Raanta missing of the year thus far due to injury while backup Louis Domingue has struggled considerably in an expanded role.  Adin Hill has had some good and bad moments in his first NHL stint but he isn’t the solution either.  The duo rank 46th and 43rd respectively in save percentage among 50 qualifying goaltenders league-wide.  Following the trade, the Coyotes announced that they’ve returned Hill to AHL Tucson.

Mar 25, 2016; Newark, NJ, USA; New Jersey Devils goalie Scott Wedgewood (31) watches the puck sail over his head during the third period at Prudential Center. The Capitals defeated the Devils 1-0 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY SportsWedgewood missed most of 2016-17 due to labrum surgery but has been one of the more reliable goaltenders at the AHL level over the past few seasons.  However, with MacKenzie Blackwood, New Jersey’s top goaltending prospect, needing as much ice time as possible, playing time has been hard to come by for Wedgewood this year as he has made just one appearance at the minor league level.  Taking his place on the roster for New Jersey is Cory Schneider, who has been activated off injured reserve.

The 25-year-old could battle Domingue for the backup role behind Raanta when he’s ready to return to the lineup (which is expected to happen in the near future) or serve as an upgrade in the minors.  Having cleared waivers back in training camp, he still has some exemption time remaining.  If Wedgewood does go to the minors, it will be interesting to see if Marek Langhamer, currently in Tuscon, exercizes an opt-out in his contract next month (per Arizona Sports’ Craig Morgan) that would see him go to the Czech Extraliga (Arizona would still retain his rights).

Wedgewood is making the league minimum of $650K at the NHL level and just $110K in the minors making this a wise pickup for Arizona.  However, although he is too young to become a standard unrestricted free agent, he’ll still likely hit the open market in July as a Group VI free agent unless he gets in 24 NHL games (playing at least 30 minutes in each) this season.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link) was first to report the two sides were closing in on a deal while Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro was first with the details.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

5 Key Stories: 10/16/17 – 10/22/17

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It wasn’t as busy during the beginning of the week, but the end certainly had its fair share of big news. Injuries to key players dominated the week’s notes.

  1. Red Wings finally come to terms with Andreas Athanasiou, trade Riley Sheahan and Ryan Sproul –  The Andreas Athanasiou-Red Wings stalemate came to an end after a phone conference with Wings brass thawed the tension. In order to make room, general manager Ken Holland dealt Riley Sheahan to Pittsburgh and flipped defenseman Ryan Sproul to the Rangers.

2.  Bobby Ryan shelved for one month with a broken finger – As one commenter wrote, the snake bitten Ryan broke his right index finger during the Senators’ 6-3 win over rival Toronto.  This yet another finger injury for the forward, who fought through a number of injuries last season.

3. Brian Boyle is cleared for full practice: Expected to be a critical piece for the Devils this season, Boyle was out due to a form of bone cancer, Chronic Myeloid Leukemia.  Though there is no timetable for his return, this is another large step for Boyle in his battle back to the ice.

4. A number of goalies suffer injuries: Tuukka Rask, Roberto Luongo, and Malcolm Subban were some of the netminders hit by injury this week. Both Subban and Marc-Andre Fleury sit on Vegas’ LTIR after it was reported that Subban would miss four weeks. Rask was diagnosed with a concussion and because of the nature of concussions, it’s unclear just how long Rask will be out. Luongo injured his right hand during the Panthers’ 4-3 loss last night.

5. Jeff Carter Out Indefinitely: The Kings lost one of their best players to a cut on his left leg, speculated to be a six-to-eight week recovery time.

Devils’ Boyle Cleared For Full Practice

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The New Jersey Devils announced that veteran center Brian Boyle, who has been out after being diagnosed with a form of bone cancer, Chronic Myeloid Leukemia, has been cleared for full practice with the team today.

Signed at the start of the offseason, Boyle was expected to play a large role at the center position for the team. The 32-year-old veteran scored 13 goals and nine assists in 54 games with Tampa Bay last year before he was traded to Toronto at the trade deadline. He struggled adjusting in Toronto in 21 games, putting up no goals and just three assists. He had two assists in the Maple Leafs’ six playoff games. However, his role had expected to be larger in New Jersey this year after he signed a two-year, $5.5MM deal.

He has not had a chance to play with his new team, however, after being diagnosed. However, the diagnosis was found early enough that he was expected to be able to treat it with medication and had hoped to be back by the start of the season. Delayed a bit, it looks like he is ready to return soon. Dan Rosen of NHL.com tweets that there is no timetable for his return, while Chris Johnston of Sportsnet tweets that the main obstacle is the team is not sure where Boyle’s conditioning and energy levels are.

The team have had quite a few ups and downs at the center position this year as Travis Zajac suffered a torn pectoral muscle and is likely out until February, but the team’s top overall pick, Nico Hischier has made a successful adjustment to the NHL game so far and seems to be thriving at the center position. Despite their ups and downs, the Devils have been one of the bright spots of the NHL so far. The team is 6-2 so far this year, tied for second in the Eastern Conference.

Boyle has played for four different teams (not including New Jersey) and tallied 93 goals and 76 assists in his 624-game career.

Snapshots: Wiercioch, Avalanche, Svechnikov, Schneider

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The Vancouver Canucks have recalled Patrick Wiercioch from the AHL, likely to help replace Erik Gudbranson who is now serving a one-game suspension. While there is no guarantee Wiercioch gets into the lineup—Alex Biega was already up as the team’s extra defenseman—he’ll provide some more depth as the team continues their east coast road trip. Vancouver is in Buffalo today and Wiercioch is already with the team, thanks to the team affiliate Utica’s close proximity.

Wiercioch signed a one-year, one-way contract with the Canucks this summer after playing last year with the Colorado Avalanche, but was cut at the end of training camp. In two games with Utica, the 27-year old has one goal and no assists. An NHL veteran, Wiercioch has 268 games under his belt at the highest level and actually hadn’t seen the minor leagues in some time. Should he show that he’s ready to continue in the NHL, the Canucks could potentially keep him around even after Gudbranson returns.

  • The Colorado Avalanche got some bad news, as both J.T. Compher and Tyson Jost will be out for a while following injuries on Thursday night. Mike Chambers of the Denver Post reports that Jost will miss two to three weeks while Compher is out indefinitely with a broken thumb. It’s a tough blow for a team that was experiencing a good start to the season, and injury to insult after the league admitted they were wrong on the offside challenge last night.
  • Potential first-overall draft pick Andrei Svechnikov was lighting it up in the OHL this year, but will have to put his exploits on hold for the next two months. As Bob McKenzie of TSN reports, the young forward broke his hand while playing for Barrie and will need surgery. He’s expected to be out eight weeks. While the injury certainly puts a damper on his draft year, there is little chance of him dropping out of the first few spots unless the hand injury proves to limit his play after recovery. Svechnikov had ten goals and 14 points in his first ten games, and was already proving to be one of the most dynamic players in junior hockey at the age of 17. His size, speed and skill give him franchise-altering potential, and he’ll likely still be on display at the World Junior Championships at the end of December and early January.
  • The New Jersey Devils have placed Cory Schneider on injured reserve retroactive to October 19th, and recalled Scott Wedgewood. While normally this would be devastating for the Devils, after tonight they don’t play again until next Friday. Schneider is expected to be activated in time for that game. For now, Wedgewood will back up Keith Kinkaid in the Devils’ matchup tonight against the San Jose Sharks.

Devils Notes: Butcher, Hischier

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When the New Jersey Devils added Will Butcher to the fold back in August, not even in his wildest dreams could general manager Ray Shero imagine that the young d-man would have eight points in six games. The 22-year-old also (as of this writing) notched his ninth point tonight with an assist on a Nico Hischier goal and also had a nifty pass that was nearly converted into another goal. Butcher is tied for second in points among NHL defensemen, and has backed up his belief that he was absolutely NHL ready. Though many teams passed on the Hobey Baker winner, it’s fair to say that the Devils grow happier with each passing day that they inked a potential cornerstone defenseman.

  • Not to be outdone, 2017 first overall pick Hischier not only potted his first goal tonight, but added another before the end of the first period. The tough schedule early on may have benefitted the youngster the Record’s  Andrew Gross wrote yesterday.  Hischier finally broke through with a couple tonight, but as Gross reported, Hischier had four assists in his first six games. Having Taylor Hall on a wing certainly helps, but Hischier is showing the talent he possesses that landed him as the top pick in back in June.
  • The Devils have had one of the many surprising starts in the league, jumping out to a 5-1 mark and challenging preseason favorite Columbus for the top spot in the Metropolitan division. It’s still early and the Devils are certainly still in “rebuilder” status. But the infusion of young talent, namely Butcher and Hischier, could certainly jumpstart a team that appeared a couple seasons away from making some noise. If the “kids” continue to produce, a playoff appearance may be sooner than many initially thought.

Devils’ Michael McLeod Out Four To Six Weeks

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The New Jersey Devils announced this evening that rookie forward Michael McLeod has undergone arthroscopic knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus. The injury occurred during a Devils-Islanders preseason game back on September 25th, with McLeod limping off the ice in the first period. While the original prognosis was that McLeod would be back on the ice within a matter of days, a closer looks revealed that the meniscus in his right knee had in fact suffered a tear. The procedure performed today is the first step in getting the 19-year-old back on the ice.

When McLeod does return to full health, he is expected to compete for a regular role in New Jersey. The 2016 12th-overall pick notched 73 points in 57 games with OHL’s Mississauga Steelheads last season and tacked on another 27 points in a 20-game playoff run that ended in a loss to the Erie Otters in the league championship. The talented center has a lethal combination of size and skill; the checking ability and offensive instincts to one day be a top power forward in the NHL. The Devils would like to see McLeod reach that goal sooner rather than later, but luckily they have the flexibility to send the Steelheads captain back to juniors this season if need be. Both his recovery time, the success of the team, and the depth up front, including the eventual return of veteran center Travis Zajac who also has yet to play this season, will impact that decision in the next month or two.

Should McLeod stick in New Jersey, he would join a forward corps that is already sporting an impressive pair of rookies. Nico Hischier, the #1 overall pick this past June, isn’t going anywhere any time soon, but it’s upstart Jesper Bratt that’s turning heads. The 2016 sixth-rounder leads the team with six points through three games. Undersized and inexperienced, nothing was expected of the 19-year-old Swede, but if he keeps it up, he, Hischier, and potentially McLeod would be quite the rookie trio for the Devils and may help the team exceed expectations in 2017-18 and beyond.

Morning Notes: Reinhart, Palmieri, Jagr

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The Buffalo Sabres have struggled mightily through the first few games of the 2017-18 season, and head coach Phil Housley has already decided to shake things up. The team had a distinctly different look at practice today, with Zemgus Girgensons moving up to the first line with Jack Eichel, and Sam Reinhart moving back to the wing.

The team had hoped Reinhart would take the center position and run with it this year, now entering his third full season in the league. The 21-year old has won just seven of twenty faceoffs in the first three games, and finds himself a -6 on the year already. For now, he’ll skate beside Johan Larsson and try to prove that he can be relied upon at both ends of the rink.

  • The New Jersey Devils will have Kyle Palmieri back in the lineup tonight when they take on the Toronto Maple Leafs, lengthening out their already impressive lineup. The Devils have been much better than anticipated to start the year, with players like Nico Hischier and Jesper Bratt making immediate impacts. Palmieri will jump back on the top line with Pavel Zacha and Taylor Hall, pushing everyone else down a peg. The Devils are 2-0 in the young season, but will have to contend with Toronto’s firepower tonight in a battle of unbeaten teams.
  • Last, but certainly not least, Jaromir Jagr is set to make his Calgary Flames debut according to John Shannon of Sportsnet. Jagr took some time to get accustomed to the Flames system after signing just before the season began, but will now jump into game action against the Los Angeles Kings. The Flames, considered contenders in the Western Conference, are off to a 2-1 start but have scored just eight goals in three games. Jagr’s addition should spark the offense some, and make the Flames a tough team to matchup against.

Devils GM Discusses Hischier, Bratt, Roster

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Following a convincing win over the Sabres yesterday, the Devils are now sitting pretty at 2-0. Well, before the season even started, general manager Ray Shero sat down with Amanda Stein of NHL.com to discuss his offseason and opening day roster. In particular, Shero talked about a pair of notable rookies, although he also discussed the factors that went into constructing his 23-man roster. While the whole article is worth reading, we’ve highlighted some of the notable quotes below:

Ray SheroOn first-overall pick Nico Hischier:

“I think every day everybody sees [Hischier] getting more comfortable on the ice and off the ice as well. As camp went on and playing with our veterans, his creativity and vision is certainly something that we didn’t have in this organization. He is everything we hoped so far that he would be.”

On fellow rookie forward Jesper Bratt:

“This is a sixth-round pick. He has been fantastic. Every day and every exhibition game he has made an impact. When you ask about surprises, that’s been a nice surprise, but at the same time that’s how an organization moves along.” 

On how the team’s new players will impact overall performance:

“I think day one of training camp, the players really came to camp in great shape. They know last year was not acceptable, and I believe some of the players that we added, certainly the new players have really pushed the pace and really bought in to what we’re trying to do here.”

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

 

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