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New York Islanders Looking For An Offensive Boost

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Maybe Cal Clutterbuck isn’t a good enough winger for John Tavares — who knew?  In a piece for Newsday, Arthur Staple reports that the New York Islanders are looking for an upgrade on offense, and have been scouring the league for possible options. Staple mentions the Colorado Avalanche as a possible trade partner, as their struggles mirror those found in New York. While Matt Duchene’s name is bandied about, the possibility of that kind of a blockbuster still seems far-fetched.

The Islanders sit last in the Metropolitan Division and have scored just 2.5 goals per game, a big drop from the 2.83 they scored last season. While that drop-off could have been partially expected after the departures of Kyle Okposo and Frans Nielsen to free agency, big ticket signing Andrew Ladd has been a disaster for the Isles, relegated to the fourth line at times. His three points in 16 games lends credence to the idea that he was always more of a secondary-scoring type playing in excellent situations.

While no one is questioning Ladd’s work ethic or leadership qualities, it’s quite telling that Clutterbuck and Josh Bailey have been skating with Tavares over him. It’s not clear where the next wave of offense is expected to come from though, as youngsters Ryan Strome and Anthony Beauvillier have each scored just five points through the first part of the season. In Staple’s article, he mentions Josh Ho-Sang and Michael Dal Colle as potential additions; both are skating with Bridgeport of the AHL at the moment and finding varying degrees of success. Ho-Sang though has apparently caught whatever Ladd has, and has seen his playing time reduced and was even a healthy scratch on Friday night.

If Garth Snow, who is in Toronto at the annual GM meetings, decides to look elsewhere he’ll need to be careful not to mortgage the team’s future in pursuit of something that may not be able to be found.  A single player, while clearly helpful, may not be able to turn around what has been a disaster of a season so far. If one were to listen to Islanders’ fans, it’s a problem with the head coach Jack Capuano and not the players. Staple reiterates what many others have said however, that Capuano is in no danger of losing his job – for now.

Duchene, while an interesting option, would surely cost a huge haul coming off his first 30 goal season in the NHL. The speedy forward is only 25 still despite having over 500 games of experience and is under contract for two seasons after this at a $6MM AAV. After signing Ladd to a seven year, $38.5MM deal this summer the Islanders are right up against the cap and although they do have some flexibility with LTIR they would likely need to move out some money to bring in an impact forward.

To add a little bit of insult to injury, P.A. Parenteau, the winger New York waived prior to the season is off to a hot start in New Jersey. His five goals would tie him for the lead on the Islanders with Tavares and costs just $1.25MM.

East Notes: Snow, Senators Power Play, Merrill, Hall

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While Islanders head coach Jack Capuano has come under fire for their slow start to the season (they sit 15th in the Eastern Conference with a 5-8-3 record), not enough criticism has been directed towards general manager Garth Snow, suggests Peter Botte of the New York Daily News.

Snow has been at the helm of the Isles since 2006, retiring from his playing career to take the position.  At the time, he stated that the goal was to take them from being a team looking to sneak into a playoff spot to one that would be a consistent contender but that has yet to be the case; two of their last three appearances came as a wild card or eighth seed.

While previous owner Charles Wang had placed significant restrictions on spending for the most, that isn’t the case with new owners Jon Ledecky and Scott Malkin as the team sits with just over $600K in cap space according to CapFriendly.  Snow’s offseason spending has yet to work out as left wingers Andrew Ladd and Jason Chimera have underachieved while P.A. Parenteau is off to a good start…for New Jersey after the Islanders waived him in training camp.

Wang had a reputation for being very loyal to his employees but neither Capuano nor Snow have that type of history with the new ownership.  In their first year owning the team, it’s hard to imagine them cleaning house so quickly but if the team continues to struggle, that could change.  It’s not often that in-season GM changes are made given the lack of available candidates from other organizations which could play a role should ownership feel a change is necessary at some point.

Other notes from the Eastern Conference:

  • The Senators are last in the NHL on the power play with a success rate of just 9.3% (a surprise given that Guy Boucher’s teams have a reputation for being strong in that regard). Don Brennan of the Ottawa Sun wonders if sticking defenseman Dion Phaneuf up front in the crease to work as a more effective screener is the way to go.  Boucher calls a move like that a last resort and is more inclined to try different forwards – including tough guy Chris Neil – in different spots on the man advantage for the time being.
  • The Devils announced via Twitter that they have activated defenseman Jon Merrill off of injured reserve. Merrill broke his index finger in the preseason and has yet to suit up for New Jersey since the regular season got underway.  He had five points in 47 games last season while averaging nearly 17 minutes per game of ice time.  Still with the Devils, left winger Taylor Hall will not play tonight due to a lower body injury.  Andrew Gross of Fire and Ice adds that Hall is being evaluated by team doctors and more should be known about his situation later today.

Snapshots: Islanders, Bickell, Hamilton

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Travis Hamonic is a tough player to play against, and it turns out he’s also a tough player to keep out of the lineup.

Eight days ago, the Islanders announced Hamonic would miss between 4-6 weeks with an upper body injury. Despite that prognosis, Hamonic will dress on Monday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning. That’s a total of three games missed.

Islanders coach Jack Capuano told Arthur Staple and other reporters that the team would dress seven defensemen tonight, scratching forwards Alan Quine and Shane Prince.

Hamonic isn’t the only Islanders defenseman battling injury. Dennis Seidenberg was placed on Injured Reserve with an upper body injury, which Staple believes is a broken jaw. It’s a tough break for Seidenberg, who has been a success in Brooklyn after being bought out by the Bruins. Seidenberg has a nice statline, with 4 goals and 4 assists and a +10 rating in 15 games.

  • Carolina Hurricanes winger Bryan Bickell spoke to Chris Hine from the Chicago Tribune about his recent diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis, telling Hine that he’s “just uncertain.” He says doctors were able to catch the disease “early in its progression” and he hopes to be able to return later this season. Bickell would not be the first NHLer to play with MS: Minnesota Wild goalie Josh Harding was diagnosed early in the 2012-13 season but went on to play for parts of two more seasons. Hine quoted Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews as hoping Bickell can “find ways to stay strong.”
  • Calgary Flames defenseman Dougie Hamilton has already experienced his fair share of trade rumors during his time with the Boston Bruins. He was ultimately traded to Calgary for a first round pick and a pair of second round picks at the 2015 NHL Draft. Hamilton had a career-year in his first season with the Flames, but has just six points in 16 games this season, with half of those coming in just one game; he’s pointless and -10 in his last seven games. The Flames have not been good this year, with just five wins in 16 games. Two nights ago on Hockey Night In Canada, Sportsnet analyst Nick Kypreos reported that several teams have called Flames GM Brad Treliving to see about the big right-handed defenseman’s availability. Kypreos said he doesn’t “suggest for one second that Calgary is shopping this guy, but there are some teams inquiring.” He suggested Arizona and Pittsburgh have made calls about Hamilton. The Coyotes would love to have a big right-handed defenseman to compliment Oliver Ekman-Larsson, while the Penguins would just like to improve their defense. Hamilton told Wes Gilbertson of the Calgary Sun that he saw Kypreos’ report, but that trade rumors are “part of the game” and the latest round is “just a distraction, if anything.”

Dennis Seidenberg Suffers Broken Jaw

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The injury bug continues to hit the struggling New York Islanders. An already-battered blue line just lost another member, as Dennis Seidenberg took a Michael Matheson shot up high in the Islanders loss to the Florida Panthers yesterday, and early reports are that it resulted in a broken jaw. As Islanders’ bear writer Andy Graziano notes, the Isles are already without Travis Hamonic and Ryan Pulock, and neither one is expected back for weeks. Seidenberg’s injury will likely keep him sidelined just as long.

Seidenberg signed with New York on September 28th, after the World Cup of Hockey and right before the start of the season. After spending the past seven seasons with the Boston Bruins, the more recent of which were injury-riddled and ineffective, many speculated that Seidenberg’s playing days were over. However, he has seen somewhat of a career revival thus far in his 14th NHL season, as he has four goals (his last two seasons in Boston combined) and four assists to begin the 2016-17 campaign. Luckily for the Islanders, a jaw injury should not have any lasting effect on Seidenberg’s game play once he returns, unlike the knee issues that plagued him in Boston. Hopefully he is able to return promptly to an Islanders team that is 15th in the Eastern Conference and in desperate need of assistance.

In the meantime, expect Scott Mayfield to be the next man up. The Islanders had just six healthy defenseman on the roster before Seidenberg went down last night, and with Adam Pelech pressed into action already, big man Mayfield is likely the next call-up. Now down to just four defenseman with considerable NHL experience – Johnny Boychuk, Nick Leddy, Thomas Hickey, Calvin de Haan – it also seems like a strong possibility that the Islanders will explore trades, closely monitor the waiver wire, and potentially even look to sign someone in the coming weeks.

Metro Division Notes: Vesey, Smith-Pelly, Kennedy

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The New York Rangers are off to a strong 10 – 4 – 0 start and lead the NHL in scoring, averaging 4.14 goals per contest. Their +24 goal differential is also tops in the league. They recently had a five-game winning streak snapped by Vancouver and during that stretch the team tallied five or more goals in each contest. While the Rangers are getting strong performances throughout their lineup, the contributions they are receiving from several rookies and first-year Blueshirts is a primary reason for their early-season success.

One of those rookies, Jimmy Vesey, has been everything the Rangers could have hoped for, with six goals and 10 points through 14 games. But as Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post writes, it appears as if the talented winger is beginning to experience the type of ups-and-downs most first-year pros go through.

For the second time in a week, Vesey found himself benched for an extended period of a game when Rangers bench boss Alain Vigneault sat Vesey for much of the third period in Tuesday’s 5 – 3 loss to the Canucks. Vigneault didn’t single out Vesey, or any other Ranger for that matter, but it was clear he was unhappy with the team’s play Tuesday. The benching of the 23-year-old left wing – along with veteran forward Chris Kreider – clearly suggested the coach found something lacking in the performance of Vesey.

Of course, as Cyrgalis points out, Vesey has never had to navigate through a schedule as condensed as this year’s and it’s only natural for an inexperienced player to see his game tail off at times as they learn to adapt to the rigors of the long NHL season. While at Harvard, Vesey never appeared in more than 37 games in a single session and generally, most games were played on the weekends. He’s no stranger to playing back-to-back games but three contests in four is new for the rookie. Despite his occasional struggles, the Blueshirts will still be more than happy if Vesey can maintain his scoring pace through the season.

Elsewhere in the Metro:

  • It was hoped Devante Smith-Pelly would be able to supply some secondary scoring to the Devils lineup this season but instead the 24-year-old winger has been a healthy scratch for each of the last two games and according to Chris Ryan of NJ.com, it’s beginning to get frustrating for Smith-Pelly. The former second round draft pick of the Anaheim Ducks has just one goal and three points on the season. Even worse, Smith-Pelly has been a liability at even strength with a Corsi For % of just 41.6%. He felt he was beginning to get on track following a three-game points streak but after New Jersey dropped their next two in Florida, the team decided to sit Smith-Pelly in back-to-back wins over Carolina. For his part, Smith-Pelly is trying to stay positive: “Not sure I agree with it, but like I said, it’s a coach’s decision, and I’m not going to cause any trouble or anything like that. I’m going to keep working hard and wait for my chance.” According to Andrew Gross of NorthJersey.com, Smith-Pelly is likely to again be a healthy scratch tonight as the team held only an informal skate this morning and based off the lines from yesterday’s full practice he was skating as an extra forward.
  • Nine-year NHL veteran Tyler Kennedy, who spent six seasons in Pittsburgh, has resigned himself to the likelihood of retirement, telling Adam Bittner of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “you always as a hockey player want to keep playing as far as you can, but it feels like I’m going to retire, and that’s the thing that’s going to happen, I’m pretty sure. You never know, but I’m almost positive last year was my last year, so I’m kind of settling in. It’s a tough transition to do one thing your whole life and then have to change it. But it’s a good transition and we’ll see what happens.” Kennedy, who also has suited up for San Jose, New Jersey and the Islanders during his career, would finish up his career with 89 goals and 215 points in 527 contests should he decide to call it quits. He appeared in 50 games last season with the Devils but has so far been unable to latch onto an NHL team this season.

Metropolitan Notes: Parenteau, Saad, Dubinsky, Flyers

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Late in the preseason, the Islanders waived right winger P.A. Parenteau, a decision that came as a surprise to many considering they had just signed him to a one year, $1.25MM deal in the summer with the expectation that he’d reunite with former linemate John Tavares.  When they let him go, it seemed like the plan was to give his spot to either Anthony Beauvillier or Mathew Barzal.  That hasn’t exactly transpired though as Beauvillier has been a scratch at times while Barzal, who has sat for most of the season, was sent back to his junior team earlier today.

With the benefit of hindsight, Brian Erni of Islanders Point Blank suggests that the Islanders could have exercised some better foresight back at the end of the preseason.  Was it worth losing Parenteau so that Barzal could see less than 20 total minutes of action?

On the other end of the coin, the Devils certainly have to be pleased with their waiver acquisition.  Parenteau has five goals so far this season, tying him with fellow newcomer Taylor Hall for the team lead (while Tavares leads the Isles with five tallies as well).  It’s not often to get someone who can play top six minutes off of the waiver wire and while it’s a small sample size so far, Parenteau is looking like the one that got away for the Islanders.

More from the Metropolitan Division:

  • Although Blue Jackets left winger Brandon Saad was expected to be a healthy scratch tonight for the first time in a Columbus uniform, he will be in the lineup tonight against the Ducks, reports Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch. He will be effectively taking the place of Brandon Dubinsky, who will not play due to a lower body injury.
  • Flyers center/left winger Nick Cousins has been a healthy scratch the last couple of games but as Dave Isaac of the Courier-Post writes, his absence from the lineup isn’t entirely performance related. Head coach Dave Hakstol believes that Cousins’ mental toughness is strong enough to allow him to sit once in a while without it affecting his game while allowing other players to either get back into or stay in the lineup.  It would appear that Cousins will be back in the lineup soon as the team announced that they have sent forwards Scott Laughton and Roman Lyubimov to Lehigh Valley of the AHL.  The Flyers now have the minimum 12 forwards on the roster so it’s likely one will be called up before their next game on Friday against Toronto.

Islanders Return Mathew Barzal to WHL

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The New York Islanders have sent top prospect Mathew Barzal back to the Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL, according to Arthur Staples.

Barzal made the team out of training camp, but only appeared in two of the Islanders’ 13 games, going pointless with 6 PIM and a -2 rating. Meanwhile, fellow rookie Anthony Beauvillier has 5 points in 10 games and appears to be sticking with the Islanders for the rest of the season

The Thunderbirds will be very happy to get their top center Barzal back; they’re in last place of the WHL’s Western Conference with a 7-7-1 record. Barzal has 199 points in 161 WHL games, and should be a catalyst for their offence. No player on the Thunderbirds is currently at or over a point-per-game.

Barzal was the 16th overall pick of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. The Islanders acquired that pick (originally Pittsburgh’s) and a high second rounder from the Edmonton Oilers for Griffin Reinhart. They traded the second round pick alongside their own third round pick to move up to take Beauvillier. Meanwhile Reinhart has yet to crack the Oilers defence, and is in danger of not becoming even an everyday NHL defenseman.

Early Returns: The Best Deals Of The Offseason

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When teams go into free agent frenzy each season, their boards are filled with superstar names and dream scenarios. “If we could only get..” say the fans, filling out possible lineups and trying out the squads in their favorite hockey simulator.  Millions and millions of dollars are spent bringing in players who are expected to lead the team.

It’s the ones who don’t earn millions that we’ll take a look at here though; the players who barely got an NHL contract but are still providing solid results early on.  Here are some of the best deals of the offseason, a dozen games in.

Jon Marchessault (FLA): 13GP-7G-6A-13P, $750,000

With 13 points in 13 games, Marchessault is the biggest story out of Florida these days. Skating alongside Jaromir Jagr and Alexander Barkov will help anyone, but he’s been effective nonetheless. The diminutive forward scored just 18 points for the Lightning in 2015-16 but is sure to blow by that this season. More upside for Florida, as they have the 25-year old for another year.

Matt Cullen (PIT): 12GP-3G-6A-9P, $1,000,000

Cullen hasn’t seemed to slow down any after another long season with the cup champions. Suiting up for 106 games between the regular season and playoffs, he keeps showing that even at 40 he can be a positive contributor in the NHL. Off to a great start, Cullen has a shot of surpassing the 32 points he put up last season, which seemed impossible coming into the year. Even if he doesn’t get 16 goals once again, he’s obviously a big part of the Penguins this season.

Michael Grabner (NYR): 13GP-7G-3A-10P, $1,650,000

How does a 29-year old, former 34 goal scorer only get a deal which pays $1.65MM per season? Score only 31 points in two seasons and establish yourself as a penalty kill-only type player. While Grabner isn’t expected to be that 34-goal man anymore, he’s off to a blistering start in New York and will almost surely post his first double-digit goal year since 2013-14. The Rangers have him for another year at the low price.

Dennis Seidenberg (NYI): 13GP-4G-4A-8P, $1,000,000

After being bought out from the remainder of his deal, Seidenberg had to look for a deal in a good situation to try and rebuild his value. At 35, he’s showing that he’s not done yet. The German defender has been logging almost 20 minutes a night for the Islanders and has been an effective even-strength player, something that couldn’t always be said about him. Four goals is already the most he’s scored since 2012-13, and he’s on track to contribute at least 20 points for the first time since 2011-12.

 

Garrioch’s Latest: De Haan, Johnson, Sharks Goalies

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Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun posted his latest Insider Trading column over the weekend.  Here are some of the highlights that pertain to trade rumblings from around the NHL:

  • Not only are the Islanders shopping goaltender Jaroslav Halak, they’re also looking to deal defenseman Calvin de Haan. The 25 year old has become a quality second pairing stay-at-home defender for the Isles while logging at least 19 minutes per game over each of the last three seasons.  One potential reason for him hitting the block is his back-loaded contract.  De Haan is in the final year of a three year deal that has a cap hit just under $2MM but a salary of $2.9MM.  As a result, his qualifying offer in June must be $2.9MM which may be more than the team is willing to pay.
  • The Blue Jackets are looking to clear some salary and while they haven’t been able to find a taker for Scott Hartnell, it’s also believed that they would be interested in dealing blueliner Jack Johnson. The 29 year old is in his sixth season with the team after being acquired from Los Angeles as part of the Jeff Carter trade.  While he has put up a 40 point season in Columbus, his scoring has tailed off since then while his ice time is also down this year.  He carries a cap hit of just over $4.35MM for this season and next which could limit his suitors unless the Jackets are willing to take a comparable contract back.
  • The Sharks have been looking around the league for a backup goaltender but have not had any luck so far. San Jose is currently running with 27 year old rookie Aaron Dell but have given him just one start so far this season.  Starting netminder Martin Jones only has 110 career regular season games under his belt so on the surface, a veteran backup would appear to be something that the Sharks could certainly benefit from.  However, they have less than $11K in cap space at the moment so any deal would have to send some salary out the other way.  Garrioch suggests that forwards Tommy Wingels and Matt Nieto could both be had.

Vancouver Canucks Recall Michael Chaput From AHL

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After suffering a shoulder injury during the out-of-control match against the Maple Leafs on Saturday, Jannik Hansen has been placed on injured reserve by the Vancouver Canucks. To replace him the team has brought up Michael Chaput from Utica of the AHL, according to Dan Murphy of Sportsnet.

Hansen was one of the key cast members in the brawls on Saturday night, first being the target of a devastating open-ice hit, and then attacking Nazem Kadri after his blind-side check on Daniel Sedin. Hansen was thrown out of the match (along with several other players) and is now clearly out for a while with the shoulder injury.  No word on whether or not it happened on the hit or the fight, though a combination of both would be the most likely explanation.

Chaput, a free agent signing this summer, had played his entire career for the Columbus Blue Jackets. In 58 career NHL games, the former third-round pick has just eight points, though he has found more success at the AHL level. Clearly not an answer for Hansen’s production this season, Chaput will likely figure into the bottom-six with one of the youngsters moving up to the Sedin line.

For the Canucks, it’s just another setback in what has been a very disappointing season so far. The franchise is reeling, without a clear direction to point its fans or players. They’ll take on the similarly struggling Islanders tonight in New York.

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