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PHR Originals

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Here’s a roundup of all of Pro Hockey Rumors original content for the week:

  • Zach Leach examined the precarious position the Pittsburgh Penguins may find themselves in ahead of the expansion draft with Marc-Andre Fleury’s NMC requiring the team to protect him and therefore leaving open the possibility Matt Murray might be available for Las Vegas to choose should the team not find another alternative.
  • Brett Barrett looks at the rookie players currently in the NHL who could see their entry-level contracts slide should they be returned to their respective Junior teams.
  • Gavin Lee posts the latest in the Franchise Faceoff series, comparing the Anaheim Ducks and Chicago Blackhawks.
  • Zach Leach ponders whether goalie Malcolm Subban, Boston’s first-round pick in 2012, is on the verge of being labeled a bust.
  • Brian La Rose continued with PHR’s 2005 Draft Take Two series, asking who the New York Islanders should select if they had a chance to do it all over again.

Halak’s Agent Unhappy; Client Now Available

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Last night, Sportsnet’s Rory Boylen detailed how Allan Walsh, the agent for New York Islanders goalies Jaroslav Halak and Jean-Francois Berube, was upset with the team. In two tweets released yesterday, Walsh questioned the three-goalie system that the Islanders are using for the second year in a row. The Isles are currently employing both Halak and Berube, as well as Thomas Greiss. The likely reason for carrying three goalies is that attempting to send the 24-year-old Berube to the AHL would almost surely end in a waiver claim and the loss of the New York’s top goalie prospect. However, Walsh argues that using three goalies has a negative effect on practice time, alleging that Halak had only one “quality practice” leading up to his last start. Meanwhile, Berube has yet to even make a start this season, which also cannot make Walsh happy.

The implied purpose of the not-so-cryptic tweets is to put pressure on the Islanders to make a decision. Now, it appears they have. Although GM Garth Snow, a former Islanders goalie himself, has not made any official statement, Elliotte Friedman reports that following Walsh’s statements, Snow has made Halak available to the rest of the league. If forced to move a goalie, it appears that Snow is more comfortable with moving the 30-year-old Halak, who has term left on his contract and an injury history, rather than impending free agents Greiss, the default starter in 2015-16, and Berube. Given the injuries in net across the league, now may be as good a time as any to trade Halak.

Thus far in the new campaign, the Islanders are 3-5, good enough for last place in the Metropolitan Division, and Walsh’s comments on the lack of focus on just two goalies being detrimental may hold some weight. Halak is 2-3 with a .901 save percentage and 3.01 goals against average, while Greiss is 1-2 with a .907 save percentage and 2.71 goals against average. Both keepers are greatly under-performing based upon their numbers last season and their career averages, behind a very good defensive unit. Should the Islanders trade Halak, arguably their best goalie, their relationship with Walsh could break down further (it’s already in rough shape following the P.A. Parenteau debacle) and make agreeing to a new deal with Berube more difficult. It could also leave them severely short-handed this season if injuries hit or if Berube struggles under greater pressure. The Islanders future in net is very much unknown at this point, but as far as 2016-17 goes, the pressure is on for New York to make a move in an effort to right the ship, but trading Halak could be a potentially disastrous decision. Whatever Snow decides to do with his goal tender carousel, it will have lasting effects on the Islanders this year and in the future.

Tampa Bay Lightning Recall Cory Conacher

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According to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet, the Tampa Bay Lightning have recalled Cory Conacher from the AHL to fill in for Nikita Kucherov while he’s out with injury. Kucherov is listed as day-to-day after falling into the boards awkwardly last night.

Conacher last played in the NHL in 2014-15 for the New York Islanders, and since has bounced around the AHL and Swiss league. Last year for Bern of the NLA he posted 52 points in 48 games, his most productive professional season since 2011-12. The diminutive winger has never found much consistent success in the NHL, though is at least an experienced body to plug into the lineup.

For the Lightning, losing Kucherov for any length of time would be devastating, as the winger is arguably their top forward outside of Steven Stamkos and is a huge part of their offense. While at the moment it doesn’t seem serious, it’ll be interesting to see who takes his spot in the top six.

Shane Prince Activated From Injured Reserve

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Isles winger Shane Prince has been activated from the injured reserve list. The 23-year old was put on the shelf more than 10 days ago after suffering a lower-body injury against the Washington Capitals.

After scoring 43 goals in his final season in junior, Prince took the AHL by storm becoming a 65-point player in 2014-15. He got into 42 games for the Senators last season before being dealt (along with a seventh rounder) for a third-round pick at the deadline. Prince was part of the Islanders’ playoff run, scoring four points in eleven games, including a two-goal effort in game 1 of the second round.

A second-round pick from 2011, Prince has yet to find consistency at the NHL level but is still regarded as a potential top-six scorer in the future. While injury has slowed the start of the year, he’ll likely be back in the lineup tonight against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Poll: 2005 NHL Draft Take Two: Fifteenth Overall Pick

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Hindsight is an amazing thing, and allows us to look back and wonder “what could have been.” Though perfection is attempted, scouting and draft selection is far from an exact science and sometimes, it doesn’t work out the way teams – or players – intended. For every Patrick Kane, there is a Patrik Stefan.

We’re looking back at the 2005 NHL Draft, which kicked off the salary cap era and ushered in many of the current NHL superstars. The question we’re looking to answer is knowing now what we didn’t know then, how different would this draft look now with the benefit of hindsight?

Here are the results of our redraft so far:

1st Overall: Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins)
2nd Overall: Carey Price (Mighty Ducks of Anaheim)
3rd Overall: Anze Kopitar (Carolina Hurricanes)
4th Overall: Jonathan Quick (Minnesota Wild)
5th Overall: Kris Letang (Montreal Canadiens)
6th Overall: Tuukka Rask (Columbus Blue Jackets)
7th Overall: Bobby Ryan (Chicago Blackhawks)
8th Overall: Marc-Edouard Vlasic (San Jose Sharks)
9th Overall: Ben Bishop (Ottawa Senators)
10th Overall: James Neal (Vancouver Canucks)
11th Overall: T.J. Oshie (Los Angeles Kings)
12th Overall: Keith Yandle (New York Rangers)
13th Overall: Paul Stastny (Buffalo Sabres)
14th Overall: Marc Staal (Washington Capitals)

Now we move forward to the 15th pick, which was held by the New York Islanders.

To recap how this works:

  • We will go through the 2005 NHL Draft and have our readers select, through a voting process, who they think should have been taken with the selection.
  • The entire first round will be redrafted, spanning picks one through thirty. The new selection is chosen by the majority of votes.

Back in 2005, the Islanders selected center Ryan O’Marra out of Erie of the Ontario Hockey League.  However, he wasn’t in the organization for long as he was dealt two years later to Edmonton as part of the Ryan Smyth deal.  Neither one of them worked too well for the Isles as O’Marra played in just 33 career NHL games scoring only a single goal while Smyth didn’t help the team reach new heights in the postseason back in 2007 as the team was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs that year.

With the 15th pick of the 2005 NHL Redraft, who should the New York Islanders select?  Cast your vote below!

With the 15th overall pick, the New York Islanders select...
Patric Hornqvist 24.80% (123 votes)
Niklas Hjalmarsson 22.18% (110 votes)
Jack Johnson 13.10% (65 votes)
Anton Stralman 11.90% (59 votes)
Matt Niskanen 7.06% (35 votes)
Justin Abdelkader 6.45% (32 votes)
Martin Hanzal 3.63% (18 votes)
Andrew Cogliano 2.42% (12 votes)
Devin Setoguchi 1.61% (8 votes)
Benoit Pouliot 1.21% (6 votes)
Steve Downie 1.21% (6 votes)
Kris Russell 1.01% (5 votes)
Vladimir Sobotka 1.01% (5 votes)
Darren Helm 1.01% (5 votes)
Mason Raymond 0.40% (2 votes)
Sergei Kostitsyn 0.40% (2 votes)
Jack Skille 0.20% (1 votes)
Jakub Kindl 0.20% (1 votes)
Nathan Gerbe 0.20% (1 votes)
Gilbert Brule 0.00% (0 votes)
Cody Franson 0.00% (0 votes)
Jared Boll 0.00% (0 votes)
Total Votes: 496

Mobile users, click here to vote.

Islanders Sign, Waive Steve Bernier

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Although they cut him in training camp, the New York Islanders have brought back Steve Bernier; the team announced that they have inked him to a one year, two-way contract.  Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Bernier played a sparing role with the Islanders last season, playing in just 24 games, notching a goal and five assists after making the team off a training camp tryout last year. He also suited up in six playoff contests, being held pointless. However, he’s only one year removed from a 16 goal, 32 point campaign with the Devils.  In the preseason, Bernier saw action in four games with the Islanders, picking up two assists while averaging 10:07 per game.

The 31 year old has bounced around in his career, spending time in six different organizations since being a first rounder of San Jose back in 2003. He has 633 NHL games under his belt, scoring 105 goals while adding 125 assists.

[Related: Islanders Depth Chart]

Last season, Bernier earned $750K on a one-way contract per Cap Friendly.  It’s likely that this new contract will carry a similar cap hit at the NHL level.

In the meantime, it appears that Bernier will be starting his season in the AHL.  Newsday’s Arthur Staple reports that the team has placed Bernier on waivers and will assign him to their affiliate in Bridgeport if he clears on Tuesday.

Ben Smith, Phil Varone Placed On Waivers Today

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According to Elliotte Friedman, Colorado’s Ben Smith and Ottawa’s Philip Varone have been placed on waivers today. Eric Boulton of the New York Islanders has cleared, and will be sent to Bridgeport.

Smith, 28, had suited up for four games this season with the Avalanche. The former Blackhawk has never been able to repeat his 2013-14 in which he scored 14 goals and 26 points while playing in a career high 75 NHL contests.  Now a 13th (or 14th) forward, he’ll likely clear waivers and be sent down, only to come back up at some point this season.

Varone is a bit of a different story, starting with his age of only 25. An established AHL scorer, Varone doesn’t offer as much on a fourth line for an NHL squad but can provide a little jump on a short-term basis. He’s coming off a 55 point season split between the Rochester Americans and Binghamton Senators last year, and will likely resume his role as a top-six forward for the baby-Sens this season.  Varone also led all NHL forwards in scoring in the preseason, with two goals and seven points in four games.

Islanders Waive Eric Boulton

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The New York Islanders announced (via Twitter) that they have placed left winger Eric Boulton on waivers.  Teams will have until 11am tomorrow to claim him.

As the league shifts away from having the prototypical enforcers, players like Boulton have seen their role decrease more and more although the 40 year old has still done well to keep securing one year contracts.  He’s currently on a two-way deal with the Isles worth the league minimum $575K in the NHL and $150K at the minor league level.

Boulton has been with the Islanders since 2012-13 but has played a sparing role in that time.  Despite this being his fifth season with the team, he has only suited up 52 times with them (and has yet to play this season).  Over that stretch, he has four goals and two assists but 156 penalty minutes.

He has played in 654 career NHL contests spanning the last 15 years with the Sabres, Thrashers, Devils, and Islanders.  He has a total of 79 points (31-48-79) over that span with 1,421 penalty minutes, ranking him fifth among active players.

If Boulton clears, he likely will be signed to their AHL affiliate in Bridgeport.

[Related: Islanders Depth Chart]

The Islanders also placed defenseman Ryan Pulock on injured reserve with a lower body.  He’s expected to miss the next four to six weeks.

Injury Updates: Leddy, Hossa, Fayne, Brodziak, Gunnarsson

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The New York Islanders, off to a 1 – 3 – 0 start this season, recalled defenseman Ryan Pulock from Bridgeport of the AHL on an emergency basis due to an injury to one of the team’s regular blue liners, according to Arthur Staple of Newsday. Staple later tweeted that it was Nick Leddy who was injured and was not practicing with the team this morning. Head coach Jack Capuano revealed that Leddy had suffered an upper-body-injury and was day-to-day suggesting that he might be able to play in the Islanders next game on Friday.

Pulock was expected to make the Islanders out of training camp but once the team inked free agent defenseman Dennis Seidenberg and made the decision to keep three goaltenders, sending the young blue liner, who isn’t subject to waivers, to Bridgeport was the easiest solution to the team’s roster crunch.

Leddy, who is averaging close to 24 minutes of ice time per game so far this season, has two points through four games but has a plus-minus rating of -7. He led Islanders blue liners with 40 points and ranked fifth overall on the team in scoring in 2015-16.

  • Marian Hossa, who was hurt blocking a shot in Chicago’s 7 – 4 victory over Philadelphia, has been ruled out of tomorrow’s game against Columbus, tweets Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times. The tweet leaves open the possibility Hossa could be available for Saturday’s contest with the Leafs, however. Hossa is off to a strong start for the Hawks, with one goal and three assists. He has tallied one point in each of Chicago’s four games this season.
  • The Edmonton Oilers have placed blue liner Mark Fayne on IR with a leg injury and according to Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal, the veteran defender could miss “weeks” as a result. In a related move, the team recalled Ben Betker from Bakersfield of the AHL to fill the role of 7th defenseman. Matheson notes the team elected to call up Betker as opposed to other options for salary cap reasons. though with Fayne on IR the Oilers have just south of $4MM in cap space according to Cap Friendly.
  • The St. Louis Blues will welcome back center Kyle Brodziak for tonight’s game against the Oilers, tweets Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Brodziak, who missed the team’s last contest, has been held off the score sheet in three appearances this season. Meanwhile, defenseman Carl Gunnarsson is still out but is said to be “close” to a return. Robert Bortuzzo has been filling in with Gunnarson out of the lineup.

Metro Division Snapshots: Islanders, Raffl, Crosby, Grubauer

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It was recently suggested that the New York Islanders could look to exercise an opt-out clause in their lease and leave Barclays Center following the 2017-18 campaign. The team’s first year in the arena didn’t go as smoothly as hoped with obstructed sight lines and the poor condition of the ice drawing heavy criticism. However, with new ownership in place for the Islanders and a concerted effort on the part of Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment to address the concerns related to Barclays Center, it appears as if the relationship between the team and the arena’s operator is in a better spot today, as Brian Heyman writes for Newsday.

Brett Yormark, CEO of Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment, was at the Islanders’ home-opener on Sunday and “got an overall positive vibe” from fans in attendance, and said about the fan reaction: “A little bit different tone than last year.”

According to Heyman, Barclays added additional Islanders “imagery and branding,” at the arena as well as beefing up on Islanders merchandise in the team store. Additionally, they’ve brought aboard an “ice technician” to help keep the ice in good playing condition. Those efforts did not go unnoticed by team co-owner Jon Ledecky:

“I think fans have already talked to us after the opening day that they feel like it’s our home now. Just the whole feel of the building in our second season — Barclays has worked hard to make our fans feel like it’s their home. And I really appreciate that.”

Despite the progress, the Islanders still could exercise their opt-out after the 2017-18 season though that might appear less likely than it did just a few weeks ago, as Ledecky notes:

“We’re in a great relationship with Barclays now. No one has a crystal ball about the future. We’re moving forward in our relationship with them in a very positive framework.”

Elsewhere in the Metro Division:

  • Flyers LW Michael Raffl was forced to exit the team’s 7 – 4 loss to Chicago Tuesday night with an abdominal pull, according to Tim Panaccio of CSN Philly. He suffered the injury during the second period when he absorbed a body check along the boards. Raffl, who has one goal so far this season in three contests, was the only Flyer to suit up for all 82 games in 2015-16 and finished fifth on the club in goals with 13. It’s not clear at this point how long the Austrian winger will be out.
  • Sidney Crosby, who has yet to appear in a game this season for Pittsburgh due to a concussion, could return to practice Wednesday, writes Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Head coach Mike Sullivan indicated Crosby’s response to a workout Tuesday would determine when he would return to the ice with his teammates. Seth Rorabaugh of DKPittsburghSports.com noted via Twitter, however, that Crosby was not among the early participants at the team’s practice, though that could certainly change.
  • Due to the compressed schedule this season, Washington Capitals backup goalie Philipp Grubauer is in line to see more action between the pipes this season, as Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post observes. Grubauer started just 16 of the 22 games he appeared in during the 2015-16 season but according to Capitals head coach Barry Trotz, he could end up starting one-quarter of the team’s contests this year: “I said to the goaltenders, if I could go Grubi one game and then Holts three, that type of situation, that would be in the perfect world what I’d like to do.” That split would see Grubauer receive 20 – 21 starts over the course of a full season. As Khurshudyan notes, Grubauer typically catches the second end of back-to-backs and the Capitals are scheduled to have 16 of those this year. Braden Holtby started 66 times in 2015-16, down from 73 starts the year prior, and Trotz would like to see a further decrease this season: “I think it’s important for the whole journey that we get the right number of games and keep both goalies sharp and not overwork guys. I thought last year with Holts, we did a better job of that than we did the year before. I’d like to do a better job in that area than we did last year even.” 

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