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Metropolitan Notes: Johnson, Ferland, Boyd, Mayfield

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Ever since the injury to defenseman Justin Schultz, there have been rumors that the Pittsburgh Penguins may have to upgrade their defense if they wanted to make a serious run for a Stanley Cup. Regardless, Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford stated that the team has enough depth to fill the hole in their defense from within.

Yet rumors continued, especially after defenseman Jack Johnson was found to be on the ice for five goals against in their 6-5 overtime victory Tuesday against the Edmonton Oilers. Again, fans began clamoring to get help to lessen the role of Johnson, after he signed a questionable five-year, $16.25MM deal in the offseason. However, head coach Mike Sullivan was quick to come to Johnson’s defense, according to Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

“The reality is when you break down the involvement of those goals, he had no responsibility for any of those goals-against,” Sullivan said of Johnson’s performance against the Oilers. “He just happened to be on the ice for them. We try to look at the game a whole lot closer than the fact that guy is on the ice when a goal is scored because a lot can happen in a team game.”

Rutherford furthered that notion by reiterating that the team intends to stand pat with regards to adding more defense.

“I certainly don’t see us having to go get another defenseman with the group of guys we have,” Rutherford said. “We have guys in Wilkes-Barre who can come in and play on top of who we have here.”

  • While the Carolina Hurricanes made a number of moves this offseason, the team may be most happy with the play of Micheal Ferland, who came over in the trade with the Calgary Flames during the offseason. While the team’s main reason to bringing Ferland in was to add some toughness to a team that lacked it a year ago, the team seems to be getting quite a bit more than that out of him, according to Chip Alexander of the News & Observer. Ferland has found a place on the team’s top line with Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen, and has a team-high six goals, along with 10 points. If Ferland keeps that up, he could break his career-high of 21 goals this season.
  • NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti writes Washington Capitals head coach Todd Reirden said that Travis Boyd will have some tests tomorrow to determine the progress of his injury when he sustained a lower-body injury during training camp and was placed on LTIR. Because he was placed on LTIR, he was forced to miss 10 games, meaning he can be activated now if he’s healthy. “We’ll have him checked out again tomorrow and then see how close he is to being able to play as soon as Thursday,” Reirden said (via NBC Sports J.J. Regan). “But we still need to get some tests done and see exactly where he’s at. He’s been coming along and for the most part seems to be fairly pain-free.” Boyd made eight appearances with the Capitals last year and was battling with Nic Dowd for the fourth-line center position, but lost that job after getting injured.
  • New York Islanders head coach Barry Trotz said that perhaps the biggest surprise on the roster has been the play of defenseman Scott Mayfield, according to Newsday’s Andrew Gross. The 26-year-old has a goal and five points in seven games this season, but has really impressed the coach with his play even though Trotz admitted that he got off to a slow start at training camp.

Snapshots: Bobrovsky, Flyers Defense, O’Reilly, Holden, Gurianov

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This offseason could be a very interesting one assuming that teams don’t lock all the potential unrestricted free agents to contract extensions in the coming months. The Athletic’s Craig Custance (subscription required) breaks down the top 25 UFA’s this coming offseason with an update on how contract negotiations are going.

One interesting note is for the No. 3 UFA in Columbus Blue Jackets’ Sergei Bobrovsky, who is rumored to be asking for Carey Price money (around $10.5MM). That might be too much money for Columbus to offer, especially for a 30-year-old goaltender. Custance adds that the team could easily get outbid for the netminder’s services by the New York Islanders who might be extremely aggressive in adding a franchise-changing goaltender. Islanders’ general manager Lou Lamoriello is known to be a big fan of impact goaltenders, which goes all the way back to Martin Brodeur when he was in New Jersey.

After all, in 315 games between Philadelphia and Columbus, Bobrovsky has a .922 save percentage, two Vezina Trophies and has finished in the top 10 in Vezina voting four times.

  • The Philadelphia Flyers had lost four of six games before Saturday’s game and Sam Carchidi of Philly.com writes that head coach Dave Hakstol decided to make a change as he separated his top pair defensemen in Shayne Gostisbehere and Ivan Provorov which turned out to be key in their 5-2 win over New Jersey. Gostisbehere was matched with Christian Folin, while Provorov was paired with Robert Hagg. The top four held to the Devils to just 21 shots on goal in the victory. Provorov was also much more noticeable on the offensive end of the ice. Previously held to just one point in the first seven games of the season, the 21-year-old posted two assists on Saturday. “(Hagg) is a little heavier body to play with Provy in some of those situations,” said Hakstol. “He obviously has a different look than Ghost. He doesn’t do as much with the puck, but he provides a heavier presence, so that changes the look of that pair.”
  • Speaking of lines, the St. Louis Blues shook up their lines Saturday as well as center Ryan O’Reilly found himself with two new wingers Zachary Sanford and David Perron on the second line, according to St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Jim Thomas. After his line put up two goals and three assists Saturday (including O’Reilly’s first goal as a member of the Blues), that line may not break up any time soon. “I thought ’O’Ry’ was outstanding obviously in all areas of the game,” Yeo said. “So that line gave us some really good minutes.”
  • NHL.com’s Gary Lawless writes that some of the Vegas Golden Knights’ success in their last three games comes from moving defenseman Nick Holden into the top-four. The veteran defenseman was originally signed to serve as a third pairing defenseman this offseason, but with Nate Schmidt (suspension) and Deryk Engelland (injury) both out, Holden has filled in admirably, averaging 18:54 ATOI. Holden did have a similar role back in 2016-17 when he was with the New York Rangers, so the 31-year-old already has quite a bit of experience playing in that role.
  • After a postseason run last year where Dallas Stars prospect Denis Gurianov was often a healthy scratch and was beginning to look like a bust, the 21-year-old seems to have turned the corner early this season as he has been dominant as he enters his third year with the AHL, writes SportsDay’s Matthew DeFranks. The 12th-overall pick in the 2015 draft is starting to show off his potential as he is riding a five-game scoring streak and has five goals and seven points in seven games.

Metropolitan Notes: Wang, Darling, Jones

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The New York Islanders suffered a loss today as former owner Charles B. Wang passed away Sunday at the age of 74, according to Newsday’s David Schwartz. Wang, best known for keeping the Islanders in the New York area, bought the Islanders in 2000 when the team was in an uncertain future with the idea of bringing the franchise back into a top-class organization.

“We are heartbroken by the news of Charles Wang’s passing. New York Islanders’s co-owners Dewey Shay, Scott Malkin and I were privileged to be selected by Charles to be his partners in the team. Charles loved the Islanders unconditionally. The arena at Belmont Park will be just one of his many legacies left to the team and to Long Island. His unique personality, his wonderful sense of humor and his extraordinary wisdom will be greatly missed,” said Islanders co-owner Jon Ledecky.

Wang served as majority owner until 2016 before becoming a minority co-owner. He is survived by his wife and three children. We at Pro Hockey Rumors offer our condolences to the family.

  • NHL.com’s Michael Smith writes Carolina Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour said that goaltender Scott Darling, who has been injured since the preseason, is expected to make a rehab start with the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL on Wednesday. He could return to the Hurricanes for their Friday game against San Jose. Darling, who struggled in his first year in Carolina with a .888 save percentage last year, will force the team to make an interesting decision as the team already has two goaltenders on their active roster in Curtis McElhinney and Petr Mrazek. Neither goaltender has been stellar so far for the Hurricanes. McElhinney has been their top goaltender so far in four games, putting up a 2.76 GAA and a .876 save percentage. Mrazek has struggled more, posting a 3.07 GAA and a .874 save percentage in four games. Will the team keep three goalies or put on of them on waivers in the next week?
  • Seth Jones, who is rumored to be coming close to a return, skated with the team for a sixth consecutive day on Saturday, according to The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline (subscription required). Then, however, he stayed on for a hard skate with the players who weren’t dressing against the Blackhawks. The scribe writes that Tuesday against Arizona could be a potential return date, which would make it four weeks to the day that he strained a knee ligament. “I can’t give you a specific date,” Jones said. “Nor can the trainers, I don’t think. I don’t know how it’s going to do on Monday at practice. We’ll just see. It’s just day by day, how confident I am on it, with contact and all that stuff.”

Jan Kovar Signs Professional Tryout With Providence Bruins

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The New York Islanders made a quick decision in training camp that Jan Kovar had been a mistake, terminating his contract just a few months after signing him to a one-year $2MM deal. Many expected Kovar to return overseas to play in the KHL or another European league after clearing waivers, but as Mark Divver of the Providence Journal reports, he’s now signed on with the Providence Bruins of the AHL on a professional tryout agreement. That would suggest that the Boston Bruins are at least willing to take a look at him to see if he can help their organization, either at the NHL or AHL level.

Kovar, 28, signed out of the KHL but ended up failing to make the Islanders out of training camp. When the team tried to send him to the minor leagues, he didn’t report and eventually agreed to a mutual termination. It’s interesting that he’s now willing to play at the AHL level, after refusing to do so just a few weeks ago with the Islanders. His agent, Allan Walsh of Octagon Hockey, tweeted out that Kovar plans on playing for Providence for a few weeks before evaluating his “NHL options.” It was believed that there was more than one suitor who approached the Czech forward this summer, and perhaps someone else will come forward with a new contract.

It’s not hard to see why there was interest, given Kovar’s success in the KHL. Though his 2017-18 was a down year with just 35 points, he’d recorded four straight seasons of at least 20 goals and 50 points prior to that, and had previously dominated the Czech professional league as well. There’s plenty of talent there, and experience at the international level against some of the world’s best players. Kovar has competed in several World Championships for the Czech Republic, and even suited up at the last Olympic Games, leading his country with five points in six games.

If there’s enough there for the Bruins to take a look, one has to wonder if they would sign the veteran forward to try and give the team another offensive option lower in the lineup. Sometimes referred to as a “one line team” this season, Boston has been relying heavily on the trio of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak to create offense. In fact, David Krejci is the only other forward on the team with more than two points, and even he hasn’t scored a goal this season. Giving Kovar a place to play for a few weeks doesn’t hold much risk, and could potentially pay off for the team in the long run.

Minor Transactions: 10/17/18

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Lots of activity on the waiver wire today was followed by some minor moves, and we’ll keep track of all of them right here:

  • The New York Islanders have sent Stephen Gionta back to the AHL now that Casey Cizikas is ready to return to action. Gionta recently cleared waivers after being signed by the Islanders, and will likely be a common call-up this season. The 35-year old forward played one game with New York, but will report to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers to continue his professional career for now.
  • Sheldon Rempal is on his way up to join the Los Angeles Kings after his outstanding start at the AHL level. The former Clarkson University forward has eight points through his first four professional games, and has impressed enough to be recalled to the NHL. The Kings have already had trouble scoring this season, and the 23-year old Rempal could add some offensive punch to the lineup if he can make it in.
  • After being recalled yesterday to maximize the cap flexibility of placing Justin Schultz on long-term injured reserve, Jeff Taylor has been returned to the minor leagues by the Pittsburgh Penguins. The move was just a paper transaction to help the Penguins with their salary situation, and Taylor was never intended to play in the NHL at this point.
  • Eamon McAdam has been returned to the minor leagues, indicating that Frederik Andersen is ready to get back on the ice for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Interestingly, McAdam has been sent to the AHL this time instead of the ECHL where he’d been playing, meaning Kasimir Kaskisuo is likely still out with the injury he suffered on the weekend. McAdam didn’t get into a game for the Maple Leafs, but was just a Garret Sparks injury away from making his NHL debut.
  • Libor Sulak has been sent to the AHL by the Detroit Red Wings, despite the young defenseman playing relatively well in his first taste of NHL action. The Red Wings will activate Trevor Daley to take his spot, but there is a bright future for Sulak with the team.
  • The Minnesota Wild have recalled veteran Matt Read from the AHL to replace Matt Hendricks, who is headed for injured reserve. Read, 32, was signed to a one-year two-way contract in the summer but failed to make the club out of training camp. He’ll try to stake a claim to a fourth line spot while Hendricks is out, and show that he can still be a valuable NHL player.

Jacob De La Rose Placed On Waivers

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The Montreal Canadiens knew they were heading towards a roster crunch, but weren’t able to trade away their problems in time. Today the team has placed Jacob de La Rose on waivers, and risk losing him to another organization. The 23-year old forward had been dealing with a minor health concern to start the year, but with his return to action along with the impending return of Nicolas Deslauriers, the team had to make a decision on who to send down. With only Jesperi Kotkaniemi still waiver-exempt among the forward group, de La Rose has drawn the short straw and will be available for claim. Stephen Gionta, the only player on waivers yesterday, has cleared for the New York Islanders.

There is certainly reason to believe that de La Rose will be claimed by someone around the league, given his relatively high draft pedigree and still youthful career. Selected 34th overall in 2013, there were plenty who believed the Swedish forward could develop into a solid two-way player capable of using his size and speed to create offense on a regular basis. That hasn’t happened at any level, with de La Rose recording his professional high of 31 points in a combined 71 games in 2016-17. He experienced a minor cardiac episode earlier this summer which has kept him out of the lineup, but it’s his on-ice performance that’s put him in a situation like this.

It’s hard not to like the package though, as de La Rose stands 6’3″ and can skate extremely well for his size. Any number of teams may believe that he represents an upgrade on their fourth line, and a worthwhile investment. There is of course the fact that he is signed to a two-year, one-way contract with a cap hit of $900K, something that teams may not want to take on with no guaranteed production. That might help the Canadiens slip him through waivers and allow them to send de La Rose to the minor leagues, at which point they would still owe him the full salary but his cap hit would be removed from their books.

Colorado Avalanche Claim Marko Dano

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It seemed likely that Marko Dano would be claimed by some team in the NHL after he was waived by the Winnipeg Jets yesterday, and this time it was the Colorado Avalanche with the winning claim. The Avalanche will add Dano to their young group and hope he can start to live up to the high potential he’s shown in flashes throughout his career. Today’s waivers include only Stephen Gionta of the New York Islanders after he was signed this weekend, while Alex Biega has cleared and can be sent to the minor leagues.

Dano, 23, was a first-round pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2013, but will now be with his fourth NHL organization. Traded first as part of the package that brought Brandon Saad to the Blue Jackets, he was then flipped to the Jets in a package for Andrew Ladd. In Winnipeg he failed to make much of an impact, registering just 22 points in 82 games while sitting in the press box or the injury room for most of his time there. He’ll try to change that in Colorado, where there is a bigger opportunity given the team’s less polished forward group.

Colorado now has ten forwards on the roster age 25 or under, and only three players on the whole roster—Carl Soderberg, Erik Johnson and Semyon Varlamov—who have had their thirtieth birthday. That young core surprised the entire league last season when they made the playoffs, and are off to a fine start with three commanding wins in their first five games. Dano still has the potential to be a key player in that group, but will have to quickly show his ability and prove that he deserves a long-term spot with the club. On a one-year, $800K contract this season, if he fails to crack the lineup on a regular basis there may be reason to not extend him a qualifying offer this summer given his arbitration rights.

Islanders Hope To Break Ground On New Arena In May

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  • Islanders owner Jon Ledecky provided an update to Newsday’s Andrew Gross and Jim Baumbach regarding the Belmont Park arena timeline. The hope is that the project will begin in May with an anticipated opening in October of 2021.  New York is currently splitting home dates between Brooklyn and Nassau County and will likely continue to do so until this new arena opens.

Islanders Sign Stephen Gionta To A One-Year, Two-Way Contract

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The Islanders are bringing back a familiar face, announcing the signing of winger Stephen Gionta to a one-year, two-way contract.  Financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

The 35-year-old attended training camp with the team and opted to stick around on an extended PTO after not initially getting a contract before the season began.  A lower-body injury to center Casey Cizikas (who has been placed on injured reserve retroactive to Monday) opened up a spot for Gionta, who is expected to be in the lineup against Nashville.

Gionta did not see NHL action last season for the first time since 2009-10.  He played in 30 games with their AHL affiliate in Bridgeport in 2017-18, collecting two goals and three assists.  He’s just four games shy of 300 in his NHL career, split between the Devils and Islanders over parts of seven seasons.

Once Cizikas is activated off IR, it’s expected that Gionta will be placed on waivers where he’ll return to the Sound Tigers assuming he passes through unclaimed.

Minor Transactions: 10/11/18

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Last night had only a few games on tap around the NHL but still provided us with some wild finishes and highlight reel goals. The Washington Capitals are starting their title defense off well, and other teams are looking for roster edges to keep up. We’ll be paying attention for you and keeping track of all those minor moves right here:

  • The New York Islanders have sent Tanner Fritz to the AHL to make room for the soon returning Andrew Ladd. Fritz had played in two of the Islanders first three games and even recorded an assist, but will be heading back to a more comfortable role in the minor leagues. The 27-year old forward has played just 36 games in his NHL career, but is nearly a point-per-game player in the AHL.
  • Tristan Jarry has been officially recalled by the Pittsburgh Penguins to serve as backup tonight, taking the roster spot of Derek Grant for the time being. Grant cleared waivers today and has been assigned to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the AHL. Jarry won’t start, but could get some work with Matt Murray out with a concussion—though the latter was already skating with the team today.
  • The Calgary Flames have sent Matt Taormina to the minor leagues after clearing waivers, where he’ll take residence in his usual offensive defenseman role. The 31-year old is coming off back to back seasons with at least 52 points in the minor leagues, and should find similar success again this year.
  • Tomas Hyka is on his way up to the Vegas Golden Knights, who moved Paul Stastny to injured reserve yesterday. The Golden Knights are not off to quite the same start as a year ago, but might be able to coax some offensive production out of the 25-year old Hyka. Signed last year out of the Czech league, Hyka was nearly a point-per-game player at the AHL level and even contributed three in his short stint with the Golden Knights.

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