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Tim Gettinger Signs Entry-Level Contract With New York Rangers

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According to Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports, the New York Rangers have come to an agreement with their fifth-round pick from last summer, Tim Gettinger. No details have been released, but it will most likely come into effect in 2017-18.

Gettinger was playing for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the OHL this season, where he scored 30 goals and 52 points in 59 games. The 6’6″ winger is a dominant physical presence in the junior league, and doesn’t turn 19 until April. His ability at both ends of the rink has improved dramatically this season, making him an easy choice to extend a professional contract to.

Since he is still so young, Gettinger won’t be able to join the AHL club next season. He’ll either have to make the NHL team (which is still an extreme long-shot despite his advanced size and success this season) or head back to the Greyhounds for another year. He’s going to get a chance this year to win it all though, as his team currently sits first in the OHL’s West division and will be a tough matchup for anyone in the playoffs.

2018 Winter Classic Likely To Be Held At Citi Field

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According to Arthur Staple of Newsday, the Winter Classic will finally be coming to New York City. The report suggests the agreement is being finalized to have the New York Rangers face the Buffalo Sabres at Citi Field in Queens. The stadium is the home of the New York Mets, and would be the second New York state location to hold an outdoor game in a matter of days. Buffalo will be home to next winter’s World Junior Championships, where teams USA and Canada will meet for an outdoor contest on December 29th at New Era Stadium (home of the Buffalo Bills).

There have been two Stadium Series games played in NYC, both at Yankee Stadium and both in January of 2014. The Rangers took on the New Jersey Devils and New York Islanders in those two, and also appeared in a Winter Classic in Philadelphia back in 2012. Buffalo on the other hand appeared in the first Winter Classic in 2008, but has been held out of outdoor games since.

While some may lament two teams facing off that have already participated in Winter Classics, it will still be a incredible financial opportunity for the league and give a showcase to one of the league’s forgotten young talents in Jack Eichel. Between his injuries and lack of national spotlight put on the Sabres, Eichel has lagged behind the Connor McDavid–Auston Matthews hype despite putting up incredible numbers of his own when healthy.

Though this had been rumored as the matchup for a while, Staple notes that there had been talks of holding the game at Westpoint instead, though apparently that will not happen in 2017-18. Perhaps down the road another game will appear there. For now, the league continues to use the “traditional” hockey markets as venues for the Winter Classic, as the series has only included 11 teams to this point. The Chicago Blackhawks, participants (and losers) of three different games have drawn ire from fans that wish to see other teams given a chance at the game. Obviously difficult to accomplish in warmer climates, the game could still feature a more southern team as the opponent.

KHL’s Bereglazov, Atinpin May Sign In The NHL Before Next Season

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In Elliotte Friedman’s latest 30 Thoughts column for Sportsnet, he touches on a pair of names from the KHL that may soon be heading across the pond. Alexei Bereglazov and Viktor Antipin are both currently playing for Magnitogorsk Mettalurg but may be heading to the New York Rangers and Buffalo Sabres respectively at some point in the near future.

Magnitogorsk will play tomorrow night in game four of the Conference semi-finals in the KHL, up 3-0 over Astana Barys in the current series. The team—which includes Alexander Semin—finished first in their division this year with a record of 41-13-6. The two defensemen were a big part of that, ranking second and third in scoring among defenders on the team.

Bereglazov is just 22 and has broken out this year with 19 points in the regular season and six more in seven playoff games. At 6’4″ he has the size to fit into the NHL right away, if someone believes he can adapt quickly enough. Friedman notes that the Rangers should be considered favorites for him this summer.

Antipin is the older of the two at 24 and takes on much more responsibility for Magnitogorsk. Playing well over 20 minutes a night in the playoffs, Antipin has a longer track record of success in the KHL as he debuted in the league at just 19 years old. Standing under six feet tall and around 180-lbs, the Russian defender isn’t as physically imposing as Bereglazov, but contributes offensively at a higher rate. A staple on the powerplay for the past few seasons, he could find a similar niche in the NHL.

Snapshots: Doan, Graovac, Hellberg

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Shane Doan will be on all the blooper reels for the next while. The Arizona Coyotes captain is fine after colliding hard with Jakob Chychrun in warm up last night, and missing most of the first period. According to Dave Vest of NHL.com, he team had checked him for a concussion, but ruled that he had just had the wind knocked out of him.

I didn’t know it was him that hit me. I was looking back at [Oliver Ekman-Larsson] and got hit. I had no idea who it was that hit me … I haven’t been hit that hard in a long, long time.

The Coyotes ended up winning a 1-0 game over the Colorado Avalanche in a battle between the worst teams in the NHL. It couldn’t have started in a way more fitting to what was to come, with the next wave of the Coyotes literally checking the old guard out of the way.

  • As expected, the Minnesota Wild have officially recalled Tyler Graovac from Iowa of the AHL. After Michael Russo of the Star Tribune reported yesterday that Martin Hanzal was sick with the flu and wouldn’t be with the team for the next two games, Graovac was the easy call up. As Russo points out, it will be interesting to see if Graovac figures into the lineup immediately for one of Jordan Schroeder or Ryan White or if he’s just there for insurance.
  • The New York Rangers have sent Magnus Hellberg back to the AHL despite not having two healthy goaltenders at the NHL level. With Henrik Lundqvist out two to three weeks, Hellberg is expected to be the backup behind Antti Raanta for the next little while. The Rangers are off until Friday, but so are the Hartford Wolfpack which makes this move very interesting. It may be just a paper transaction to save Hellberg’s NHL salary for a few days, but either way it will be answered later this week when they make a move to bring someone up.

East Notes: Weegar, Namestnikov, Islanders

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After Aaron Ekblad was taken out of Saturday’s game for the Florida Panthers, it looks like he’ll be out for at least a while with a concussion. In the meantime, the Panthers are expected to recall MacKenzie Weegar, according to George Richards of the Miami Herald. The 23-year old has developed steadily in the minors since being selected in the seventh round (206th overall) of the 2013 draft. With 12 goals and 29 points this season, Weegar has been Springfield’s “best defenseman overall” according to Eric Joyce, the Panthers’ assistant general manager.

Weegar will likely make his NHL debut against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night, as the Panthers try to stay relevant in the Eastern Conference playoff picture. Now seven points behind Toronto for the final playoff spot, their current five game losing streak has all but dashed those postseason hopes completely.

  • Vladislav Namestnikov was at Lightning practice this morning in a regular jersey according to Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times. One of the three Lightning centermen that were injured last Thursday, it would be huge if he could return so quickly. With Tampa just three points back of the Maple Leafs, this back-to-back against the New York Rangers and Ottawa Senators is crucial to their season hopes. Today, the team called up Byron Froese to give them some depth up the middle, but hopefully Namestnikov can still return either tonight or tomorrow.
  • Both Tyler Johnson and Cedric Paquette missed the skate entirely, with Smith not convinced Paquette even made the trip to New York. That likely explains why Froese was called up, though it doesn’t bode well for the Lightning.
  • Smith also reports that Steven Stamkos again skated before the rest of the team as he continues to work his way back. Wednesday would mark four months since he last appeared in a game, the minimum amount of time he was expected to miss. If the Lightning have any chance of taking and holding a playoff spot, they’ll need their captain back sooner than later.
  • The New York Islanders had some friendly faces back at their morning skate, as Alan Quine and Casey Cizikas both stayed on after their pre-skate workout to practice with the team according to Arthur Staple of Newsday. Though they’re both “close, but not ready”, it is definitely a good sign for a team battling for their playoff lives. Cizikas is a very important piece to their lineup, able to move up and down whenever needed. After returning home from their nine-game road trip, the Islanders have a home-and-home with Carolina tonight and tomorrow. They currently sit just a point back of Toronto, and have as good of a chance as anyone to take home that final wildcard position.

Tampa Bay Lightning Recall Byron Froese

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The Tampa Bay Lightning have flipped prospects today, calling up Byron Froese from Syracuse and assigning Matthew Peca. The Lightning will take on the New York Rangers tonight at Madison Square Garden, before travelling to Ottawa for the second half of their back to back tomorrow night.

Froese was acquired by Tampa Bay from the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Brian Boyle deal late last month, and had showed off in his three games in the AHL. Three points in two games was worth a call-up, and with the team desperately needing help at center he should get a chance to prove his NHL readiness.

The 26-year old Froese has 58 games of NHL experience, almost all of which came last year on the last place Maple Leafs. He is a very effective scoring threat at the AHL, with 26 goals and 42 points in 50 games this season. Likely never going to turn into a top-line player, he’ll try to force his way the bottom-six plans of GM Steve Yzerman before becoming a restricted free agent this summer.

Lundqvist Expected To Miss 2 – 3 Weeks

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The New York Rangers will be without star goaltender Henrik Lundqvist for 2 – 3 weeks with what the team is calling a “lower-body injury,” according to Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston, via Twitter. The scribe adds that the team has recalled Magnus Hellberg from Hartford of the AHL.

The worst case scenario would see Lundqvist return for the team’s final four or five contests, allowing the 35-year-old netminder enough game action to shake off any rust ahead of the postseason. “The King” was apparently injured at some point during the Blueshirts 5 – 2 win over Florida Tuesday night. The victory was number 404 of Lundqvist’s career and propelled him past Grant Fuhr for 10th place on the league’s all-time wins list. It also represented the 30th win of the 2016-17 campaign with Hank becoming the first goaltender in NHL history to record 11, 30-win seasons in his first 12 years in the league. The only season in which Lundqvist has failed to reach the 30-win plateau was the lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign in which The King managed 24 victories in 43 starts.

Hellberg has made just one relief appearance in 2016-17 for the Rangers, stopping all four shots faced in a wild 7 – 6 loss to Dallas on January 17th. With four back-to-back sets over the next 15 days, it’s inevitable Hellberg will see some action in the next couple of weeks. In 31 AHL appearances Hellberg has recorded 11 wins against 11 losses with a GAA of 2.91 and a Save % of 0.902.

New York will likely rely heavily on Antti Raanta in Lundqvist’s absence. Raanta has turned in a stellar campaign as Hank’s understudy, winning 13 of 19 starts with a GAA of 2.33 and a Save % of 0.922. He’ll have to continue his strong play for the Rangers to have a realistic chance of catching either Pittsburgh or Columbus and sneaking into the top-three in the highly competitive Metro Division. Then again their best chance for a lengthy playoff run might come by securing the top wild card spot and shifting over into the Atlantic Division bracket thus avoiding a potential match-up with any of their Metro rivals until the Conference Final.

Morning Notes: Glendale, Niederreiter, Halverson

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When Gary Bettman wrote a letter to Arizona lawmakers compelling them to pass Bill 1149—which would allow more than $200MM to be allocated from the state budget to build a new arena for the Coyotes closer to downtown Phoenix—he used some very strong wording. “The Coyotes cannot and will not remain in Glendale,” the Commissioner wrote in a thinly veiled threat that would hopefully force the Senate’s hand. He has received much backlash from the letter, including from a former mayor of Glendale herself, Elaine Scruggs (published by AZCentral).

Before the Coyotes moved out of downtown Phoenix they ranked 29th in attendance out of the league of 30 teams. Their first year in the Glendale Arena they ranked 19th in attendance. Attendance stayed in that tier until the floundering team started losing their disappointed fans’ support.

The truth is that the Coyotes have a world-class, taxpayer-funded arena that is designed for hockey and is only 12 years old. They have a City Council and City Manager ready to work with them to achieve an equitable long-term lease.

Scruggs makes a clear point in her letter, saying that it is not the people or city of Glendale’s fault, but the ownership groups the NHL has installed over their 19-year run. As the team struggles in last place in the Pacific Division, it is looking more and more like it won’t matter for the city that once loved their Coyotes. If they don’t get funding for another new arena, they might end up moving further than anyone—fans or the NHL—have ever wanted.

Snapshots: Cunningham, Halverson, Sestito

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Earlier this season Tucson Roadrunners captain Craig Cunningham collapsed on the ice and was rushed to hospital. The 26-year old forward’s heart had stopped for an unknown reason, and needed ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation) treatment to save his life. The procedure affected the circulation in his leg, and he had to make a decision. Tucson’s general manager Doug Soetaert put it this way to AZCentral’s Jeremy Cluff:

It’s life or limb, and obviously you pick life over limb, right? That was the way he’s moving forward. He’s been battling through the whole thing. We continue to battle with him. He’s going to make it.

Cunningham had part of his left leg amputated, but is now walking again with the help of a prosthetic. Ray Ferraro sent out a video of Cunningham walking down a hallway, dubbing it “the most awesome thing [he’s] seen in while.” It truly is awesome to see Cunningham up and walking again, and most importantly smiling as he approaches the camera. Everyone is wishing him luck as he gets his life back on track.

  • The New York Rangers will be without Rick Nash and Henrik Lundqvist tonight when they take on the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh. Both are day-to-day with minor injuries. The team has recalled Brandon Halverson from the ECHL on an emergency basis to replace Lundqvist, meaning Antti Raanta will be in net. Halverson was the Rangers’ second-round pick in 2014 and made his professional debut this season for the Hartford Wolfpack before heading to the ECHL. The 20-year old will get a taste of an NHL arena at least as he backs up Raanta tonight.
  • Tom Sestito will have a phone hearing with the NHL today after his hit on Toby Enstrom last night. The check from behind sent Enstrom to the hospital with possible facial fractures, and led to more aggressive play between the two teams last night. Amazingly, Sestito was only on the ice for 62 seconds last night, and was involved in a fight and this illegal check before being thrown out of the game. The 29-year old enforcer had been called up earlier that day to lend some physicality to the Penguins line up not, as Jets’ head coach Paul Maurice put it, “to dangle”.

New York Rangers Sign Third-Round Pick Sean Day

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According to CapFriendly, the New York Rangers have come to terms with their third-round pick from last summer’s draft, Sean Day. Day has signed a three-year entry-level contract that will begin in 2017-18. The deal includes some bonuses for games played that the team will have to watch out for whenever he makes it to the NHL.

Day is a big defenseman who has played most of the season for the Windsor Spitfires after being traded from the Mississauga Steelheads. The 19-year old has 31 points in 57 games this season and has been a rock for the Spitfires as they head towards a Memorial Cup run. Day you might remember was given exceptional status by the OHL when he was just 15-years old, an allowance that has been made for just three other players—John Tavares, Connor McDavid and Aaron Ekblad. While Day isn’t the superstar these three have turned into, he is a solid prospect in his own right.

A physical force that can skate well and move the puck, Day is the prototypical defenseman of the new NHL. While none of his skills are elite, he does have enough all-around ability to make him a threat to jump to the NHL within a couple of years. The professional coaching staffs will help him as he still needs work on his defensive positioning and decision making. For now, he’ll stick with Windsor and add to their glut of young defensive prospects that include first-rounders Mikhail Sergachev (9th overall to Montreal), Logan Stanley (18th overall to Winnipeg). The team also features Logan Brown (11th overall to Ottawa) and Gabe Vilardi (expected to go top-10 in this draft) up front.

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