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Morning Snapshots: Blue Jackets, Senators, Rangers

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News and notes from around the NHL this morning:

  • The Columbus Blue Jackets announced yesterday that forward Matt Calvert is week-to-week with a strained oblique muscle. Calvert hasn’t had a large impact production-wise, scoring 9G and 2A in 51 games, but is a valuable part of the team’s penalty kill and fourth line energy unit. In his stead is Finnish prospect Markus Hannikainen, who has 12G and 8A in 36 games for the AHL Cleveland Monsters. He’s appeared in 7 games for Columbus so far, scoring 1 goal in the process. This is only Hannikainen’s second season in North America, so its taken him some time to adjust from the Finnish leagues.
  • The Ottawa Senators have recalled forwards Mike Blunden and Phil Varone this morning, the team announced. The team simultaneously reassigned forwards Casey Bailey and Max McCormick. Blunden has bounced between the AHL and NHL for 10 seasons now, and currently has 12G and 10A in 47 games for the AHL Binghamton Senators. Varone—acquired from Buffalo last season—has 13G and 25A in 48 games with Binghamton, but has yet to register a point in 4 games for Ottawa. The Sens hope that his AHL production will transition to NHL points. Bailey did not impress in his two-game stint with the Senators, going pointless and averaging under 10 minutes a game. McCormick fared even worse, registering zero points and averaging less than 6 minutes in the same two games.
  • New York Rangers defenseman Kevin Klein’s back issues are more severe than initially thought, reports New York Post’s Brett Cyrgalis. Klein originally suffered back pain while warming up before Thursday’s 2-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs, and pulled out of that game. He did not attend Friday’s practice, and coach Alain Vigneault now says that Klein will miss the Rangers’ back-to-back games this weekend. Klein acts as a depth defenseman for the Rangers, scoring 3G and 11A in 52 games while averaging under 18 minutes a night. With the Rangers comfortably in a playoff spot, its prudent to rest veteran players for the upcoming post-season grind.

Injury Notes: Marner, Pouliot, Senators

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Mitch Marner is likely out again on Saturday night, but it doesn’t seem like that’s what his coach wants. Yesterday before Marner sat out against the New York Rangers, Mike Babcock told Kristen Shilton of TSN that it’s not up to him at this point.

Mitch and I had that little discussion today. We wondered how the science project was going…and we didn’t get any good answers.

I’ve said it before – that’s why coaches and players aren’t allowed to make those decisions.

Shilton again today reported that Marner had a vigorous on-ice workout on his own before Leafs practice, but didn’t skate with the team. Babcock would love to know when he gets his dynamic winger back, and so would Leafs fans. The team could have used him last night in a shootout loss against the Rangers, and it has now been nine days since he suffered his “day-to-day” upper-body injury.

New York Rangers Owner Backs Islanders’ Search For New Home

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In the continuing saga of the New York Islanders and where they will play in the future, a new report from Bloomberg has a “supergroup” of sports executives ready to invest in a new arena project for the team. The group includes James Dolan owner of the New York Rangers, Tim Leiweke former CEO of Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment, and the Wilpon family, owners of the New York Mets.

The Islanders are currently playing at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, where the ice has been a huge problem all season and sight lines for fans are causing issues in attendance. The arena wasn’t meant for hockey, but took in the team when they left Nassau Coliseum in 2015. The new plan has the team building just outside of Queens at the Belmont site discussed earlier this season. The team’s current lease with Barclay’s could be terminated to allow the Islanders to move out of the arena as soon as the 2018-19 season, though obviously another building would need to be in place for it.

The team which was struggling for much of the first half of the season has turned it around and is vying for a playoff spot, but still has the second-worst attendance in the league at just 13,003. The capacity of Barclays is 15,795 when designed for hockey. The Rangers, meanwhile are averaging over 18,000 a night and have a stable home in the recently renovated Madison Square Garden. The NHL does allow current owners to have investments in other team’s arenas, though Dolan’s interest would be through the Oak View Group, an equity firm headed by Leiweke.

The Belmont site is not just open to anyone, as NYCFC of Major League Soccer also would like to build a soccer-specific stadium on it. They were mentioned in the original piece as potential bidders, though Bloomberg reports that “those negotiations aren’t active”. For now the Islanders will concentrate on making the playoffs and trying to fill the Barclays Center every night. With John Tavares up for an extension July 1st, a future home for the organization would definitely be a nice selling point.

Shattenkirk “More And More Likely” To Be Dealt As A Rental

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We’ve now seen four trades made in the past week as the trade market picks up before next Wednesday’s trade deadline. On the latest edition of Insider Trading, TSN’s Bob McKenzie, Darren Dreger, and Pierre LeBrun dropped some tidbits about potential trade activity.

The main topic of discussion was the consensus best player available in St. Louis Blues defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk. McKenzie believes that the likelihood of Shattenkirk being dealt as a rental is becoming “more and more likely” as the days pass. Beginning with the Edmonton Oilers last June, three teams have had trades fall through because Shattenkirk wasn’t willing to sign long-term. The most recent team to have a deal in place was offering a seven-year, $42MM contract, according to McKenzie.

That’s a hefty price to pay for Shattenkirk, taking into account the acquisition cost. Blues GM Doug Armstrong is not wavering on his asking price of a first round pick, a top prospect, plus “something else.” While some teams may balk at that cost, Dreger reports that teams will continue to kick tires until the deadline. Dreger believes the Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers, and Tampa Bay Lightning have already been in touch but have concerns about the price.

While Shattenkirk may view himself as a rental, that’s not to say a team couldn’t acquire Shattenkirk with the intention of pitching him on staying beyond this year. As we reported earlier today, TSN’s Frank Seravalli believes that Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli should be confident in his ability to pitch his team to Shattenkirk, as they appear poised to be a top-ten team in the NHL for the next decade.

In other notes from the TSN insiders, the Minnesota Wild, Florida Panthers, and Chicago Blackhawks are all interested in bolstering their forward cores before the trade deadline. Minnesota and Chicago are likely pretty happy with their rosters as they sit atop the Western Conference. While neither team will be looking at making a big splash, both would like to add a depth forward. Specifically, the Blackhawks would like a player with a low cap hit who could be acquired with just a draft pick. That’s not likely to be a high draft pick, however, as Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman wants to keep picks for the upcoming draft, which will be held in Chicago. The suddenly hot Panthers aren’t necessarily buyers, despite winning eight of their last 10 games. If they do make a move, LeBrun believe they would be interested in adding a top nine forward in a rental capacity.

Those three teams will likely have interest in Dallas Stars winger Patrick Eaves. With 21 goals in 59 games and a $1MM cap hit, Eaves is drawing plenty of interest from around the NHL. There are as many as 10-12 teams inquiring about the gritty winger according to Dreger.

[Related: PHR’s profile of Patrick Eaves]

Another forward likely on the move is Martin Hanzal; LeBrun reports that most of the teams inquiring about the 6’6 center are from the Western Conference, but Montreal is one of the most interested clubs. Despite missing nine games this season, Hanzal already has 15 goals, which is one off his career-high from 2010-11. The Coyotes would like to move Hanzal by the end of the weekend, according to LeBrun. Of course, that’s depending of the offers available to rookie GM John Chayka.

[Related: PHR’s profile of Martin Hanzal]

The Vancouver Canucks are among the growing group of sellers, but the player drawing the most interest from rival teams is not a rental. Jannik Hansen has one year left at $2.5MM and has lots of teams interested in acquiring him. However, the Canucks aren’t looking for a draft pick in return; GM Jim Benning is asking for a top prospect or young NHLer in return for the long-time Canuck. That’s a steep price for a middle-six player who’s never scored more than 39 points in a season.

Snapshots: Penguins, Capitals, Jones

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After Jim Rutherford pulled off his latest deadline deal, acquiring Ron Hainsey for a second-round draft pick today, he met the media to answer questions about his team and rest of the trade deadline. At the same time, Washington Capitals GM Brian MacLellan was meeting with media to discuss his team’s aspirations at the deadline. Here are the highlights from both, plus other news from the hockey world.

Snapshots: Laich, Vermette, Bye Weeks

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Brooks Laich isn’t happy. He’s making more than $4MM, playing in Toronto on a young team that has had a lot of recent success.  The only problem is that it isn’t the Toronto Maple Leafs, it’s the Marlies. He’s been stuck in the AHL all season, and after telling The Athletic yesterday that he would like to be sent somewhere else if he wasn’t in their plans, he was placed on waivers today by the club. James Mirtle, the Editor-in-Chief of The Athletic penned a piece today that contained quotes from Laich’s agent, explaining that his client still believes he can contribute at the NHL level and deserves to have that chance.

Well he’s under contract. He’s not going to break the contract. He’s committed. [But] he’d like to be moved to a team that can use him and help that team make a run for it. Obviously Toronto is trying to fulfill that request.

It’s a tricky situation as Mirtle points out, because if Toronto were to trade him and retain half his salary, it would actually be a bigger cap-hit than leaving him buried in the minors. That’s not something a team does just to be nice, regardless of how much space they might have. It’s unfortunate that it has come to this for the former Washington Capitals forward, after he made such an excellent impression on the team and fan base last spring when he arrived .

  • John Shannon of Sportsnet reports that the appeal of Antoine Vermette’s 10-game suspension will happen on Thursday at 2pm in New York. The Ducks will be on their mandated bye-week following Saturday’s upcoming game against the Los Angeles Kings, which will encompass the trade deadline. The team because of Vermette, needs help up front as we outlined yesterday in the Ducks’ deadline primer. If the suspension is reduced, the Ducks will welcome Vermette back with open arms and could move Rickard Rakell back to the wing.
  • Speaking of bye-weeks, it seems like the NHL isn’t happy with the much-publicized struggles of team’s coming back from them. Bill Daly was on TSN 1040 this afternoon discussing the possibility of having just two periods and splitting the teams in half instead of having them throughout the season. Daly said there have been concerns over this season’s schedule from pretty much every important group involved in the NHL, from the owners to the players. If the tweak goes through, teams will play each other coming off the bye-weeks, instead of going up against a squad that doesn’t have any rust. The 4-12-4 record for teams’ first game back off the bye—which includes one win from the Maple Leafs over the Rangers after they both ended their time off—is a clear sign that there was a competitive imbalance to the way things were scheduled this year.

Montreal Canadiens Make Greg Pateryn Available In Trade

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In a tweet from TSN’s Frank Seravalli, he reports that other clubs have told him Montreal Canadiens defenseman Greg Pateryn is available for trade. Apparently GM Marc Bergevin sent out a note to the league advising as much, though Pateryn remains in the lineup for the Habs tonight against the New York Rangers. As Seravalli notes, this should come as a surprise to no one. Montreal has had a logjam on the blueline since acquiring Nikita Nesterov from Tampa Bay, with Pateryn sitting out frequently.

Tonight he’ll be in the lineup instead of Nesterov perhaps for a bit of a showcase before the deadline but more likely because the Tampa Bay defender hasn’t impressed lately and played only 12 minutes on Saturday. New head coach Claude Julien will need to find some trust in one of the defenders, or risk having to learn even more on Shea Weber and company.

For teams around the league, Pateryn may look like a worthwhile addition as a six or seventh defenseman. He has some interesting underlying possession numbers, and provides a big body on the back end. While he is by no means a game-changing addition, his relatively low cost may be of some interest. He’s owed just $800K this season and next, before becoming an unrestricted free agent.

Snapshots: Ratelle, Crouse, Fiala

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While the Toronto Maple Leafs will reveal some new additions to their Legends Row tonight as part of Hockey Day In Canada, the New York Rangers have also announced that they will raise Jean Ratelle’s #19 to the rafters next season. The Rangers great is 37th all-time in points in the NHL and spent his best years in New York, scoring 109 points in 1971-72.

He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1985 and recently was honored among the NHL’s Top 100 list. It’ll be hard to watch for Boston fans, as some still likely consider him a Bruins legend as well. Ratelle played six seasons at the end of his career for the black and yellow, including five straight 25+ goal seasons from 1975-80. He also spent four seasons as an assistant coach there after his retirement.

  • According to Sarah McLellan of AZCentral Sports, the Arizona Coyotes will move Lawson Crouse to injured reserve prior to their game tonight. Crouse has missed the last three games with a lower-body injury. The 19-year old Crouse has stuck around all season in Arizona despite not getting that much ice time. After coming over from the Florida Panthers in the deal that saw Arizona take on Dave Bolland’s contract, Crouse has just eight points in 49 games this season.
  • McLellan also reports that Brad Richardson skated Saturday, and is getting closer to a return. Richardson broke two bones in his leg back in November, and after undergoing surgery has continued to rehab through the season. It looks like he will make it back before the end of the season, though the team would be wrong to rush him as they are already well back of the playoff race.
  • The Nashville Predators have brought Kevin Fiala back up from the AHL, where he has 19 points in 22 games. After making short appearances in the NHL the past two seasons, the former 11th-overall pick will try to make an impact this time around. The Swiss-born Fiala is still just 20-years old and has all the tools to make an impact at the NHL level at some point.

Trade Candidates: Dennis Seidenberg

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With the trade deadline quickly approaching, we will be profiling several players in the weeks ahead that are likely to be dealt by March 1st.

The Islanders may be 8-3-2 since they replaced head coach Jack Capuano with Doug Weight, but their early season struggles still have them in a hole in the pursuit of a playoff spot. The Islanders trail the Toronto Maple Leafs by three points for the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference, still sit a point back of the Philadelphia Flyers as well and must make the most of their games in hand to catch the Boston Bruins. Their 7-1 loss to the Leafs last night doesn’t help the cause. The Islanders will surely take the rest of the month to decide if they are sellers, but if they do, Dennis Seidenberg is clearly a prime target. Seidenberg signed late in the off-season, September 28th to be exact, to an affordable, one-year deal and has provided the Islanders with more value than anyone could’ve anticipated. Should they swap him for a pick or prospect at the deadline, it would only make the deal that much better.

Contract

Seidenberg is on a one-year, $1MM deal and will become an unrestricted free agent this summer. His cap hit will have been accumulated to around only $250K by the March 1st Trade Deadline.

2016-17

Though a fan favorite with the Boston Bruins, Seidenberg struggled in his final three seasons with the team. Between battling injuries and struggling to put up points, it seemed as though Seidenberg had hit a wall in his early 30s. When the Bruins decided to re-sign John-Michael Liles and not bring back Seidenberg, many felt it would be the end of his career. However after an impressive performance at the World Cup of Hockey for Team Europe, the New York Islanders decided to give the veteran blue liner a shot. Their decision has paid off; Seidenberg is in the middle of his best season since the lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign and has been a key component in the Isles’ turnaround. At 34 years old, the German defender is on pace for what could be his best offensive year since the 2010-11 Cup-winning season in Boston. He also leads the Islanders with a whopping +18 rating, twice what the next man up, Casey Cizikas, has on the year. Seidenberg appears to be back to his old self, and his old self was one of the premiere shutdown defensemen in the NHL over the last decade.

Season Stats

48 GP: 4 goals, 13 assists, 17 points, +18 rating, 87 hits, 100 blocks, 19:34 ATOI

Suitors

If the Islanders choose to trade Seidenberg, that likely means that either they are struggling or the Boston Bruins are continuing their strong play under new head coach Bruce Cassidy. What better story for Seidenberg than a return to Boston for yet another playoff run. Many said this summer that Seidenberg felt he would either play for the Bruins or retire, as he wanted to remain in the city of Boston. While the Bruins have Zdeno Chara and Torey Krug on the left side, as well as the veteran Liles, they have been using right-shot defenseman Kevan Miller as the pair-mate of young Colin Miller, also a right-handed shot, and could stand to upgrade that slot. The Bruins have made it known that they are looking for another left-handed defenseman, and while their search may be more for a long-term replacement for Chara, they likely would not turn their back on a deal to bring back one of the most successful players in recent memory of Bruins hockey. That is, if it’s at the right price. With Liles likely a goner after this season, the Bruins may be more willing to acquire Seidenberg if they plan to give him another year as a veteran safety net on a defense that could lose a contributor in the Expansion Draft.

There certainly are teams with a greater need on defense though, and willing to pay higher prices as well. Atlantic contenders like the Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals, Columbus Blue Jackets, and New York Rangers are all in need of defensive depth. However there’s always the possibility that the Islanders refrain from trading Seidenberg within the division on the off chance that they keep pace in the postseason race following March 1st. The last thing that GM Garth Snow wants is for his diamond in the rough off-season addition to be a cause of the Islanders playoff elimination.

Out west, one team in desperate need of a veteran top six defenseman is the Los Angeles Kings. While the Kings would likely rather add a right-shot defenseman, those can be hard to find and Seidenberg presents a great option for the team regardless. Seidenberg has a history of playing on the right side, and would be a significant upgrade to Kevin Gravel on the bottom pair. Also, don’t be surprised if the Nashville Predators start sniffing around for a stay at home defensive defenseman like Seidenberg prior to the trade deadline. Although they have tremendous blue line depth, the Predators could use a player with Seidenberg’s two-way tendencies and defensive instincts. Seidenberg would fill out what would likely be the best six-man blue line group in hockey.

Likelihood Of A Trade

Seidenberg’s trade fate is obviously tied to the success of the Islanders. New York is battling just for the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference and assuming they have that space locked up on March 1st, even if they are currently in position then, is a precarious situation. If the Islanders want to hedge their bet on a postseason run, they may choose to trade Seidenberg, who could potentially earn them a good return. Meanwhile, Seidenberg is an  ideal trade candidate for a contenders due to his extensive postseason experience and performance history, his checking ability and strong two-way game, and of course a cap hit that will hardly make a dent. For all those reasons though, the Islanders could also choose to simply retain the big veteran. They don’t have a readily available option to step in as a replacement and they too face a very strong chance of losing a defenseman in the Expansion Draft and could seek to extend Seidenberg. For those reasons the probability of this deal will remain uncertain unless the next couple of weeks really paint a clear picture of the Eastern Conference playoff race.

Trade Candidates: Evander Kane

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With the trade deadline quickly approaching, we will be profiling several players in the weeks ahead that are likely to be dealt by March 1st.

Evander Kane is one of the game’s gifted talents, but has been a lightning rod for criticism both on and off the ice. From his arrest in Buffalo last July to what Buffalo News scribe Mike Harrington called “shenanigans” in Winnipeg, Kane could be a catch for a team, but come with a “buyer beware” for his past issues.

Contract

Kane is in year five of a six-year, $31.5MM deal. With an AAV of $5.25MM, he would carry a hefty hit for a contender looking to add him.

2016-17

Harrington describes Kane as “an absolute beast.” Though sidelined by injury this season, Kane has played well in the 45 games he’s appeared in. Kane has been complimented for his game by general manager Tim Murray according to a report from WGR 550.  Despite rumors that Vancouver was chasing him back in November, it turned out that he would stay put as Vancouver backed off. With each passing day, the Buffalo forward seems less and less likely to be dealt.

Season Stats

45 GP, 18 G, 10 A, 28 Pts, -9, 79 PIM, 46.9 CF% 18:48 ATOI

Suitors

The cap hit and strong play makes Kane’s value difficult to gauge in terms of where he would land. Buffalo could take some of the salary back, but unless it was a significant return, that seems unlikely. Based on CapFriendly, it would have to be a trade that would offset assets from the other team to balance it financially. The Rangers could be a potential target but with several players due raises next season, it would be too tough financially to massage a deal. Another option? The Blue Jackets, though again, unlikely. While they have the cap room and having another scorer like Kane on the roster would boost their depth in a competitive Metropolitan Division, the logistics of such a trade seem unlikely. The Wild were rumored months ago to be interested, but that chatter never amounted to anything.

Likelihood Of A Trade

Though Kane is playing well and would be an upgrade for any team, it just doesn’t make sense financially for a move and further, why would the Sabres give up on him now? They rode out the storm from last year’s arrest and seeing that this season is already a wash, why not give it one more try next year? The possibility for a trade would be far more likely next season, when the Sabres could wash their hands of the contract, absorb dollars in what would be the final year of his deal, and potentially snag some prospects or a high draft pick in exchange. Until then, it looks like Kane should stay put.

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