- The Islanders announced (Twitter link) that they have placed winger Andrew Ladd on LTIR and have assigned him to Bridgeport of the AHL on a conditioning stint. The veteran has been out all season as he works his way back from ACL surgery. The transfer to LTIR prior to the placement is noteworthy as that classifies the assignment as a Bona Fide Long-Term Injury Conditioning Loan. That means Ladd will be down for a maximum of three games or six days unless the team petitions the Commissioner’s Office for a two-game extension if they believe more time is needed.
Islanders Rumors
New York Islanders Place Martin, Kuhnhackl On IR
The New York Islanders have placed both Matt Martin and Tom Kuhnhackl on injured reserve with lower-body injuries, retroactive to October 25th. In their place, the team has recalled prospect Otto Koivula from the AHL for the first time in his career.
Martin and Kuhnackl are both expected to miss four to six weeks after suffering serious injuries, meaning Koivula and other young players may get a chance with the Islanders.
Selected in the fourth round of the 2016 draft, the 21-year old forward didn’t join the Islanders organization until last season. The wait was worth it though as he performed quite well for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in the AHL, recording 21 goals and 46 points in 69 games.
Not only does Koivula have some offensive upside, but he also brings a 6’4″ 225-lbs frame to the table for the Islanders, helping them replace some of the size they lost through injury. Whether he can contribute at the NHL level is still to be see, but he should get his chance.
Snapshots: Three Stars, Seidenberg, Malkin
The NHL has released their Three Stars for last week and once again a member of the Boston Bruins top line headlines the group. This time it’s Brad Marchand’s turn after he recorded eight points in three games. Marchand, David Pastrnak and Patrice Bergeron has been absolutely devastating this season with 54 combined points through their first 11 games. No other Bruins forward has more than four points this year.
The second and third spots were given to Roman Josi of the Nashville Predators and Brian Elliott of the Philadelphia Flyers respectively after similarly outstanding weeks. Josi put up six points in three games from the Nashville blueline, while Elliott has seemingly resurrected his career in Philadelphia with a 3-0 record last week.
- After announcing his retirement recently, Dennis Seidenberg will remain with the New York Islanders organization in their player development department. The 38-year old was a sixth-round pick in 2001 but worked his way to the NHL and lasted for nearly 900 games, winning a Stanley Cup with the Boston Bruins in 2011.
- Not only did Evgeni Malkin return to practice today for the Pittsburgh Penguins, but even shed his non-contact jersey at one point and is now targeting Saturday night as his potential first game back from injury, according to Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. That would be an incredible return for the superstar forward after suffering the lower-body injury just three weeks ago. It’s not only Malkin who will return soon for the Penguins, who are finally getting healthy enough to really show what they are capable of this season.
Islanders’ Martin, Kuhnhackl Out Four To Six Weeks
The New York Islanders have been dealing with injuries up front since the season began and that isn’t going to change any time soon. GM Lou Lamoriello spoke with the media this morning and The Athletic’s Arthur Staple relays the news that both Matt Martin and Tom Kuhnhackl will be out of the lineup with lower-body injuries for the next four to six weeks. The pair, who were both injured in the Islanders’ last game on Friday night, join Jordan Eberle, Leo Komarov, and Andrew Ladd on the shelf. The timeline would see Martin and Kuhnhackl return to action around when Ladd is also expected to be healthy, late November into early December.
Kuhnhackl was injured early in the first period on Friday against the Ottawa Senators when a crunching check left him favoring his right leg as he skated off the ice. There has been no specific designation of what his injury is, but it is certainly related to his left leg. Not long after that, Martin fell awkwardly into the Senators’ open bench door and appeared to injure his leg as well. With the Islanders already icing a lineup of eleven forwards and seven defensemen for the game, losing both Kuhnhackl and Martin would have left them with just nine forwards. Amazingly, given the recovery timeline of the injury he suffered, Martin returned to the game to avoid leaving New York with only three lines. Granted, he only managed 5:17 time on ice, but that was nearly double the lost Kuhnhackl. Perhaps even more impressive is that the Isles still came away with the 4-2 win over Ottawa despite the Senators outnumbering them by three healthy forwards.
Despite the prognosis for Martin and Kuhnhackl, Lamoriello stated that the team would not make a roster move right away. Staple provided updates that Komarov is considered day-to-day and Eberle has resumed skating, so the pair could return to action soon. While the Islanders wait for their now five-man group of veterans to recover, the team will lean on its younger forwards. New York scratched all three of Michael Dal Colle, Ross Johnston, and rookie Oliver Wahlstrom for their last game, but now the trio are all expected to join the starting roster for now. Fortunately, Casey Cizikas also just returned from the injured reserve and is able to help out. It will be entirely different looking bottom six when the Isles take the ice against the Philadelphia Flyers tonight and it could be a group that remains in flux through the next month or longer.
Snapshots: Capitals, World Juniors, CBA Talks
Two of the biggest names among impending unrestricted free agents belong to the Washington Capitals. Long-time cornerstone Caps and Stanley Cup winners Nicklas Backstrom and Braden Holtby will both see their current contracts expire this summer, barring an extension before then. Yet, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that there has been little in the way of contract talks between Washington and either Backstrom or Holtby. LeBrun states that the team has decided to be patient with the decisions, letting the season play out as a way to better gauge their needs moving forward. He adds that the team is on the same page with both camps in this regard as well. It could be that the team waits through the whole season before making a call on Backstrom and Holtby, taking both individual and team performances into account. Thus far, Holtby, 30, has struggled in net – for the second year in a row at that – posting an .884 save percentage and 3.60 GAA in eight games for the Capitals, losing three starts to 22-year-old Ilya Samsonov. Continued poor performance, especially in light of Samsonov’s strong play, could convince Washington GM Brian MacLellan that he does not need to pay the premium price required to retain the 30-year-old Holtby. Meanwhile, Backstrom is still playing at the same elite level, recording nine points in eleven games so far and leading all Capitals forwards in even strength ice time. The 32-year-old has been the epitome of consistency throughout his whole career, recording 882 points in 906 career games while skating in less than 90% of Washington’s games in a given season just once. It’s hard to say that Backstrom has ever had a bad season and it may be difficult for MacLellan and company to say goodbye to a player who has never given any indication that his days and an impact player are anywhere close to being over, unless they determine that the Capitals days as true contenders are over and the team is in need of transition. The salary cap will of course play a major role in these decisions as well. Washington has $63.5MM tied up in just 14 players next season, and likely lack the space needed to re-sign both Holtby and Backstrom while filling out the rest of the roster. Which way they go, re-signing on or the other or perhaps neither, will be a tough call and the Capitals are smart to use all of the information available, including this season’s results, to make that decision.
- TSN colleague Bob McKenzie also notes today that Hockey Canada is in the beginning stages of forming their official roster for the 2020 World Junior Championships later this winter and are hoping that they can count on the three players currently in the NHL who also qualify for inclusion on the U-20 roster: the Coyotes’ Barrett Hayton, the Blackhawks’ Kirby Dach, and the Islanders’ Noah Dobson. The pair of centers and dynamic defensemen are each of their respective team’s top prospects, but their usage so far this season has been minimal. All three of Hayton, Dach, and Dobson have played in just two NHL games so far this year and are still eight games away from burning a year on their entry-level contracts. However, for Hayton and Dobson, McKenzie does not believe that the ten-game limit is a concern, as he doesn’t feel Arizona nor New York plan on sending their promising prospect back to the junior level. That doesn’t mean that they can’t still be loaned to Team Canada for the WJC though; it is not an uncommon practice for young pros in need of experience playing at different levels of competition instead of solely in the NHL to briefly leave their clubs for the international exhibition. With that said, both the ‘Yotes and the Isles hope to be playoff teams and may be unwilling to give up top young players mid-season, especially if they have become regular contributors. As for Dach, it is still unclear what Chicago’s intentions are this season. The youngest of the group, the No. 3 overall pick in June, Dach has spent some time in the AHL this season and has seen limited ice time in his two games with the Blackhawks. The team could still decide he would be better off with another year in the WHL, although McKenzie believes they are not yet ready to make that decision. Either way, Dach stands the best chance of participating in the WJC, given his current role in Chicago and the expectations of the team this season.
- LeBrun also reports that, while there haven’t been any in-person meetings this month, collective bargaining continues between the NHL and NHLPA. Back in September, both the league and the players’ association declined to use their opt-out clause in the CBA, which would have prematurely ended the current agreement after this season. The decisions extended the CBA through the 2021-22 season, giving the parties plenty of time to work through their issues. However, both sides felt comfortable in declining their opt-outs as a result of positive ongoing talks and all stakeholders of hockey wanted to see that progress continue. LeBrun writes that those talks have not stalled, but are simply now ongoing in a more behind-the-scenes fashion. The hope is that the NHL and NHLPA can sort out a new collective bargaining agreement long before the September 2022 expiration date of the current deal and put to rest any thoughts of another work stoppage. Continued talks are a good sign that labor peace will come easier this time than in years past.
Blackhawks Give Brendan Perlini Permission To Seek Trade
The relationship between the Chicago Blackhawks and young forward Brendan Perlini has seemingly been a tumultuous one from the start. Fortunately for both sides, it appears that relationship could soon becoming to an end. After a start to the season that neither party expected or has been content with, TSN’s Bob McKenzie reports that the Blackhawks have given Perlini and agent Darren Ferris permission to seek a trade. Both sides have agreed that it is in the best interest of both player and team for Perlini to find a new home, so a trade could be imminent.
Perlini, 23, was trending towards becoming a legitimate top-six forward through his first two NHL seasons with the Arizona Coyotes. The No. 12 overall pick in 2014 by the ‘Yotes, Perlini was a big, strong prospect whose aggressive offensive game seemed built for the NHL. In his first pro campaign, he played in 57 NHL games with Arizona, followed by 74 games in his sophomore season. Through those first 131 contests, Perlini recorded 31 goals and 51 points and looked like he had the makings of an impact power forward in the NHL.
Yet, Arizona made the somewhat surprising decision to deal both he and Dylan Strome to the Blackhawks last season in exchange for the more established Nick Schmaltz. While Strome took off in Chicago, Perlini struggled and only began to find his game late in the season. Altogether, Perlini recorded just 15 points in more than half a season with the Blackhawks and never looked to fully gain the trust of the coaching staff. It thus came as little surprise that Perlini’s name was floated on the rumor mill this summer while he worked through contract negotiations as a restricted free agent. The two sides finally came to an agreement – if you can call it that – in early September, as Perlini signed his one-year, $874K qualifying offer. The move signified that neither the Blackhawks nor Perlini saw Chicago as a long-term fit at that time and things have certainly not gotten better since. Perlini has played in just one game with the ‘Hawks and has been left to watch the remainder from the press box. He is desperately in need of a change of scenery and today’s report likely comes as a major relief.
A young forward with offensive instincts and, at one time anyway, a promising track record should have value on the trade market. Add in his super affordable cap hit of less than $1MM, and teams should be very interested. While other alienated forwards exist on the trade market – the Oilers’ Jesse Puljujarvi and the Islanders’ Josh Ho-Sang – Perlini does not bring the baggage of behavioral questions and career-long underwhelming production that the others do. The Blackhawks also are unlikely to charge a steep price, as Perlini’s value has dropped considerably since the team acquired him and they probably just want to cut bait and move forward. Perlini was once on his way to a solidified top-six role and there will be some team that believes he could get back to that position in his development. Perhaps even the Coyotes would have interest in a reunion, seeing how well Perlini played in his first two seasons with the team. Time will tell what is next for the young forward, but it should take too much time, with both sides incentivized to move on from one another as soon as possible.
Snapshots: Seidenberg, Vilardi, Cizikas
Dennis Seidenberg has finally called it quits after a long professional career, according to a report out of Germany. Seidenberg suited up for 859 regular season games in the NHL, winning the Stanley Cup with the Boston Bruins in 2011. He also appeared in the Olympics on three different occasions, and was included on Team Europe at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
Seidenberg actually signed a contract with the New York Islanders in February of this year that covered the remainder of the 2018-19 NHL season, but didn’t play for the team. The veteran defenseman will end his career with 251 NHL points, not bad for a sixth-round pick.
- While the Los Angeles Kings are “happy” with where Gabe Vilardi is in his recovery process after returning to the ice recently, team reporter Jon Rosen writes that the young forward will have to deal with pain management for the rest of his career. Vilardi’s back injury has stopped him from becoming the player the Kings were hoping for when they used the 11th overall pick for him in 2017, but at just 20-years old there is still plenty of time for him to make an impact.
- The New York Islanders have activated Casey Cizikas from injured reserve, placing Leo Komarov there instead. Komarov is just dealing with an illness however, meaning the Islanders will soon have to make a different move to clear a roster spot. Oliver Wahlstrom and Noah Dobson are the only two players who are waiver-exempt, though Cole Bardreau cleared recently enough that he could also be sent down without having to go through the process again.
Islanders Still Working On A Josh Ho-Sang Trade
Josh Ho-Sang continues to wait for some sort of resolution to his situation as he continues to be away from the Islanders AHL affiliate in Bridgeport in the hopes of securing a trade. While there has been no movement on this front over the past three weeks, TSN’s Darren Dreger notes (Twitter link) that GM Lou Lamoriello is still working to find him a new home. In the meantime, the 2014 first-rounder continues to skate on his own to try to stay in game shape. Ho-Sang was a productive scorer in junior but it has yet to translate to the professional level and he wound up clearing waivers at the end of training camp. At this point, a swap of players that need a change of scenery – similar to the recent Chicago-Florida swap – seems like the eventual outcome although Ho-Sang may have to report to the minors to show the acquiring team that he’s in playing shape.
Jonathan Ericsson, Luca Sbisa Placed On Waivers
Wednesday: Ericsson has cleared waivers and will be assigned to the AHL, while Sbisa was claimed by the Winnipeg Jets. The Red Wings recalled Alex Biega to take Ericsson’s place on the roster.
Tuesday: According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the Detroit Red Wings have placed Jonathan Ericsson on waivers. That must mean he’s healthy enough to return, given he has been on injured reserve all season. Luca Sbisa has also been placed on waivers, and Friedman reports that he’ll be signing with the Anaheim Ducks after skating with the New York Islanders on a professional tryout.
Ericsson, 35, has been a staple in the Red Wings lineup for more than a decade, making his debut in 2008 and playing 662 regular season games for the team. Unfortunately, his play has declined with age and his minutes reduced accordingly. The Red Wings have now seemingly moved on from their previous core, with Ericsson likely being the latest victim of their turn to the younger generation of talent.
Still, the veteran defenseman has one year left on his contract that carries a $4.25MM cap hit. That will almost certainly mean he clears waivers, at which point he could be buried in the minor leagues if the Red Wings decide to do so. If they do send him to the AHL, $1.075MM of his contract would be removed from the Red Wings cap total.
Sbisa meanwhile is just trying to hold on to an NHL career that was so promising a few years ago. The 29-year old defenseman has played in just 39 regular season games since the start of the 2017-18 season, including just nine last year with the Islanders. A first round pick of the Philadelphia Flyers in 2008, his skating ability made him a strong option early in his career. Perhaps the Ducks can reclaim some greatness out of the veteran, as they were the team that Sbisa recorded his career-high 24 points for in 2011-12.
Metropolitan Notes: Hischier, Barzal, Murray
Nico Hischier has been impressive in his first two years in the league since being drafted first-overall in 2017. However, while those numbers have been solid, they haven’t been exceptional either with a 20-goal rookie season the highlight of his career so far. That might make it look like the New Jersey Devils would have preferred to sign a bridge deal with their young prospect, which might give the team more flexibility in the short-term.
However, Chris Ryan of NJ.com writes that both sides made it clear to each other they both wanted a long-term deal, which is what he got in the end when Hischier signed a seven-year, $50.75MM contract on Friday. The 20-year-old made it quite clear that he wanted to stay in a Devils’ uniform and made it clear that signing an extension was a top priority.
“I felt really welcomed since day one here. I was really happy, was treated well,” Hischier said. “They give me the confidence a player needs. So I had no reason why I wouldn’t want to stay here. I was happy they felt the same way, so there wasn’t a lot of back and forth.”
Obviously, if Hischier continues to improve on his game, the $7.25MM AAV could end up being a bargain.
- Speaking of Hischier’s contract, one person who took note of the deal was New York Islanders forward Mathew Barzal, who has been watching numerous pending restricted free agents already sign long-term deals. Barzal, represented by CAA’s Pat Brisson, will be a restricted free agent this summer, but so far has not signed an extension yet. Barzal says that while he’s noted the RFA signings, he isn’t worried about his contract, according to Newsday’s Andrew Gross. “At this point, it’s really just between my agent and Lou [Lamoriello] right now,” Barzal said. “I don’t talk to Lou about contract stuff. If it happens in the next two months or if it happens in June, it doesn’t really matter to me. I’m just focused on the season right now. “It’s something that eventually is going to happen,” Barzal added. I’m pretty good at just kind of pushing that stuff aside and just worrying about what’s going on right now.” While Hischier walked out with a $7.25MM AAV, Barzal could be getting something even higher, with Gross suggesting he could command a comparable contract to the one that Colorado Avalanche’s Mikko Rantanen signed this summer (six years at $55.5MM, a $9.25MM AAV).
- The Columbus Blue Jackets were without defenseman Ryan Murray Saturday and will remain day-to-day with an upper-body injury after being injured in Friday’s loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, according to the team. Murray left the game in the third period, playing only one shift and missing the final 17 minutes of the game. The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline reports it’s not considered to be a serious injury. Dean Kukan came in to replace him in the lineup.