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SHL Playoffs Canceled, 2019-20 Season Over

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As expected, the Swedish Hockey League has moved from postponement to cancellation. The top pro league in Sweden has officially announced that the playoffs have been cancelled, effectively ending the 2019-20 season.

The SHL had initially postponed the beginning of the 2020 postseason to May, but upon further review of the circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak, made the decision on Saturday that they would recommend cancelling the playoffs altogether. That request was approved this morning by the Swedish Ice Hockey Association. SHL CEO Michael Marchal stated (translated) that “It is an extremely sad decision but… we all have a responsibility to limit the Corona [virus] in society and it is obvious that we at SHL should take our responsibility for our audience and the working environment for players and employees.”

With the season officially over, recently rumored NHL targets Fredrik Handemark of the Malmo Redhawks and Mathias Brome of Orebro HK could intensify their discussions with their North American suitors. The season is also done for a number of top NHL prospects, such as disgruntled New York Rangers forward Lias Andersson, fellow Rangers property and top SHL rookie defender Nils Lundkvist, and young L.A. Kings forward Samuel Fagemo. How the premature end of the season may impact the decisions of many prospects in regards to coming to North America next season remains to be seen.

Department Of Player Safety Suspends Brendan Lemieux

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Even though the NHL season is temporarily suspended, the league is still operating. The Department of Player Safety has decided to suspend New York Rangers forward Brendan Lemieux for his hit on Colorado Avalanche forward Joonas Donskoi earlier this week, though they have not yet settled on the severity of the punishment. In a release, the DoPS explained:

The precise parameters of the suspension will be determined and announced once resumption of play guidelines have been established. 

There is an easy explanation for why the department can’t decide on a penalty at this point. In the past, missing playoff games has been held as a much more severe punishment (with each game usually the equivalent of two regular season contests). With the uncertainty around how the league will move forward out of this suspended season, it’s hard to know exactly what Lemieux will be missing.

Still, the Rangers will be without one of their young forwards whenever the season does resume, or potentially even at the start of next season. It will also go on Lemieux’s record, another incident with head contact that will only increase any supplementary discipline in the future.

Minor Transactions: 03/12/20

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Nothing could be more “minor” today than daily recalls and reassignments when the entire NHL and its minor league affiliates have closed their doors for the foreseeable future. However, for the sake of keeping things as hockey focused as possible during these trying times, here are the roster moves made today prior to or in light of the official shutdown announcement:

  • Dealing with injuries up front, the Vegas Golden Knights recalled a trio of forwards late last night: Keegan Kolesar, Brandon Pirri, and Nicolas Roy. The group are among the best per-games scorers on the AHL’s Chicago Wolves this year. However, given the NHL’s break, the team may get healthy enough to avoid using any of them once play returns.
  • CapFriendly reports that the Carolina Hurricanes have sent Morgan Geekie, the team’s sudden rookie standout, and goaltender Anton Forsberg back to the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers. Geekie recorded three goals in his first two NHL games this week and looks like another bright young prospect for the ‘Canes to build around.
  • After being called up yesterday, Colorado’s Martin Kaut, Dallas’ Joel Kiviranta, and the Rangers’ Steven Fogarty have all been reassigned today, per CapFriendly. This likely comes as a response to the shutdown. Kiviranta, signed out of Finland this summer, has played in eleven games with Dallas thus far, but has found more offense in the minors. The team would love to see signs that his scoring ability can translate to the top level before the postseason begins – whenever that is – as depth is crucial in the playoffs. Kaut is in a similar boat with the Avalanche, although the 2018 first-round pick is not as pro-tested and has not produced as well in the AHL this year. Fogarty, the veteran of this group, is in his fourth year with the Rangers’ organization out of Notre Dame and is no stranger to the up-and-down nature of his AHL depth role and is always ready to step in when needed.

Brendan Lemieux To Have Hearing With Department Of Player Safety

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While the NHL decides whether the season will even continue, life goes on at the Department of Player Safety. They have announced that New York Rangers forward Brendan Lemieux will have a hearing tomorrow to determine supplementary discipline for his hit on Colorado Avalanche forward Joonas Donskoi. Lemieux collided with Donskoi after the Avalanche player took a shot on net, appearing to impact his head in the process.

Obviously it’s not clear how a suspension would play out given the uncertainty around the rest of the season, but if handed out Lemieux would have to serve it at some point. Even with their loss last night the Rangers are still within striking distance of a playoff spot, should more regular season games be played.

Lemieux was given a minor penalty for interference on the play and has been suspended for an illegal check to the head in the past.

New York Rangers Agree To Terms With Patrick Khodorenko

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The New York Rangers aren’t going to let the Pittsburgh Penguins be the only team signing college free agents. While they may watch Drew O’Connor head to Pittsburgh, the Rangers have agreed to terms with  Patrick Khodorenko. He will sign a three-year entry-level contract which begins during the 2020-21 season and will report to the Hartford Wolf Pack on an amateur tryout for the rest of the season.

The 21-year old forward just finished his senior season with the Michigan State Spartans, in which he scored 16 goals and 33 points. Khodorenko, who was born in Walnut Creek, California, has been a consistent presence in the lineup for the Spartans and has 120 points across 143 NCAA games. Like O’Connor, there was plenty of NHL interest in the Michigan State forward but he looks like he’ll go to an organization known for getting the best out of the college ranks.

New York is always mining the college free agent ranks, with recent players like Neal Pionk, Jimmy Vesey and Vinni Lettieri all choosing them as the destination to start their professional careers. With so much positivity surrounding the club and their direction right now, it’s hard to blame any young player for wanting to be a part of the rebuild.

Four Players Remain Eligible To Avoid Group VI Free Agency

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With the end of the season quickly approaching, we now have clarification on most of the players that are eligible for Group VI unrestricted free agency this offseason.  The full list can be found here along with the breakdown of the criteria to reach this status.  However, there are four players that could still avoid being in this situation which will be worth watching for over the last few weeks.

Colby Cave (Edmonton) – A year ago, it didn’t look like Cave would be in this situation.  He spent the majority of 2018-19 in the NHL, getting into 52 games between Boston and Edmonton but failed to earn a regular role with the Oilers this season.  Instead, he has played in 43 games with their AHL affiliate in Bakersfield this season and just 11 with the big club.  That leaves him 13 games shy of remaining RFA eligible.  While he won’t get there with regular season games, playoff games count as well and he’s likely to be up with them for their playoff run.  With AHL Bakersfield well out of playoff contention, he’s someone they could recall right away if they wanted to knock some games off before the postseason starts.

Mackenzie MacEachern (St. Louis) – Of the four, this is the likeliest one to get to 80 and remain a restricted free agent as long as he doesn’t get injured in the near future.  MacEachern has spent the entirety of the season in St. Louis, albeit in a limited role as he has averaged less than nine minutes a night in 48 games while spending a lot of time as a healthy scratch.  Nonetheless, he’s just two NHL games shy of 80 and with the Blues comfortably in a playoff spot, they can afford to toss him on the fourth line a couple more times to secure his rights for another season.

Michael McCarron (Nashville) – The 2013 first-round pick saw NHL action in each of his first three pro campaigns but hasn’t since then.  Instead, he has played a more limited role in the minors and a midseason trade from Montreal to Nashville hasn’t changed his fortunes much although he has nine goals in 26 games with AHL Milwaukee.  He’s ten NHL games shy of 80 but barring a rash of injuries, he’s unlikely to make it back to the NHL this season or at least play enough to reach the threshold.

Boo Nieves (NY Rangers) – This is another one that didn’t seem likely a year ago.  Nieves played in 43 games with New York in 2018-19 and did well enough that they gave him an early one-way contract extension to avoid him hitting the UFA market as a Group VI player last season.  However, he has played in just four NHL contests this year which leaves him four shy of reaching 80.  With the Rangers’ fourth line seeing limited minutes, it’s not crazy to think that they could bring Nieves up for a week or so to give him another look and ensure they keep his rights for next season.

If any of these players get to 80 total NHL games, they will be eligible for restricted free agency with salary arbitration eligibility this summer.

Snapshots: Three Stars, Fines, Wisconsin

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The NHL has released their Three Stars from last week, and the five-goal man is at the top once again. Mika Zibanejad was always going to be the first star after scoring five goals in a single game (including the OT winner). The New York Rangers center scored seven on the week, giving him a career-high 39 through just 55 games this season.

Second and third place go to two Western Conference stars in Gabriel Landeskog and Leon Draisaitl, who continued their scoring ways with nine and eight points respectively. That means Draisaitl is up to 110 on the season, an incredible feat given he has only played 69 games so far.

  • St. Louis Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist has been fined $5,000 for his roughing of Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Adam Boqvist, which resulted in a line brawl between the two teams. Sundqvist tried to lay a check along the boards, but when he missed his left hand (while clutching his stick) came around and hit Boqvist in the face. The amount is the maximum allowable under the CBA, and will affect other supplementary discipline in the future.
  • While other college players are starting to sign with teams in the NHL, a few names from the Wisconsin program have yet to make their decisions. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports that the Montreal Canadiens will meet with Cole Caufield over the next week while his colleague Rick Carpiniello adds that the Rangers have been in contact with K’Andre Miller but the prospect defenseman has not yet made a decision.

Rangers Sign Jeff Gorton And Chris Drury To Contract Extensions

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The Rangers have had an impressive season so far and have played themselves into the thick of the playoff race.  They appear to be past their rebuilding stage and have a strong core in place.  Ownership is clearly pleased with the direction of the team as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported in the latest Saturday Headlines (video link) that New York has given GM Jeff Gorton as well as assistant GM Chris Drury contract extensions.  Terms of the deals have not been disclosed.

Gorton is in his 13th season with the team and has held a variety of roles with the Rangers since coming to them from Boston for the 2007-08 campaign.  He took over from Glen Sather as GM prior to the 2015-16 season and helped shepherd them through their rebuilding process which took a drastic turn last offseason when they traded for defenseman Jacob Trouba and handed out a record breaking contract to winger Artemi Panarin in free agency.

As for Drury, he finished up his playing career in New York, spending his last three NHL seasons with the Rangers with the last one being in 2010-11.  Once Gorton took on his current role, Drury joined the front office, spending one year as Director of Player Development before taking on his current assistant GM title.  He also currently serves as the GM for the AHL’s Hartford WolfPack and led USA’s entry into the World Championships a year ago.  He’ll undoubtedly attract some interest as other GM vacancies become available across the league.

Gorton will have some work cut out for him this summer when it comes to the salary cap.  Even after moving blueliner Brady Skjei to Carolina at the trade deadline, they still have a little over $67MM in commitments for next season with several key young players (goalie Alexandar Georgiev, defenseman Anthony DeAngelo, and forward Ryan Strome) all in need of new contracts with arbitration eligibility.  That will take up a big chunk of their remaining cap room so if Gorton wants to make another big addition this summer, he’ll need to free up some space first.

Chris Kreider Suffers A Fractured Foot

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March 4: GM Jeff Gorton told NHL Network that a four to six week timeline would be realistic for Kreider’s injury, though the speedy forward is hoping to make it back sooner.

February 28: After getting winger Chris Kreider signed to a seven-year, $45.5MM contract extension just hours before Monday’s trade deadline, there was cause for plenty of optimism surrounding Kreider and the Rangers.  However, that enthusiasm will have to be tempered for a while as the team announced (Twitter link) that he suffered a fractured foot in the first period of their game against Philadelphia on Friday night.  Obviously, he’ll be out indefinitely.

This is certainly a tough blow for a New York squad that has had some bad luck on the injury front lately with goalie Igor Shesterkin and winger Pavel Buchnevich being hurt in a car accident at the beginning of the week.  Shesterkin, who had taken over the starting role and had helped lead their recent resurgence, is still out for another couple of weeks while Buchnevich just returned tonight.

Now, they’ll be forced to continue their playoff push without one of their top forwards.  Kreider has 24 goals and 21 assists in 63 games this season; his 45 points are good for fifth in team scoring.  However, he’s also their only top-six power forward and they will certainly miss the physical dimension he provides.  It’s a tough blow to a team that has had a couple of them this week (plus losing one of their better defensemen in Brady Skjei in a trade to Carolina) and as a result, their improbable march up the standings just got a bit more difficult.

Snapshots: Three Stars, Marino, Dumoulin, Kempny

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The NHL announced its Three Stars for the month of February and Edmonton Oilers center Leon Draisaitl was an obvious choice. The 24-year-old scored 10 goals and 23 points in February in 14 games and his two goals and three points on Saturday, pushed Draisaitl over the 100-point mark in just 65 games, the fastest Oilers to have accomplished that since the 1989-90 season when Mark Messier accomplished it in 62 games. Draisaitl has reached the 100-point mark once before, last season when he notched 105 points in 82 games.

New York Rangers Mika Zibanejad and Boston Bruins David Pastrnak round out the second and third stars of the month. Zibanejad has led the Rangers to 11 February victories by tallying 11 goals and 20 points. The 26-year-old has already tied his career-high in goals scored with 30 and looks to be headed for a career year. Pastrnak scored 10 goals of his own in the month of February, padding his NHL-leading 47 goals. The 23-year-old had four game-winning goals in helping Boston win 11 games throughout the month.

  • While not a true contender for the Calder Trophy, The Athletic’s Josh Yohe (subscription required) writes that the Pittsburgh Penguins are just 3-7-1 without rookie defenseman John Marino since the blueliner was hit in the face with a puck and required surgery. However, the scribe does add that Marino and teammate Brian Dumoulin (ankle) are both close to returning, possibly as early as Tuesday, which could be a big boost for the Penguins. Both players were full participants in practice on Thursday.
  • Just two years ago, the Washington Capitals traded for Michal Kempny and got an incredible boost from the blueliner for the stretch run. Unfortunately, his play two years later hasn’t been particularly impressive. The Washington Post’s Samantha Pell writes that Kempny and Capitals head coach Todd Reirden had a long conversation about the 29-year-old’s play. Since the Capitals picked up Brendan Dillon from San Jose at the trade deadline, Kempny has seen himself go from the first pairing to the third. “We were honest with each other, all the time — [even] when I [first] got here,” Kempny said. “I told him how I feel, how I felt, and so we had a pretty good discussion and conversation. And I believe it is going to help me be myself, to be Michal Kempny, you know? The one everybody knows. There is no excuses for me. We had a good conversation, and it is going to help me for sure.”

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