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PHR Originals: 12/19/16 – 12/25/16

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Here are some of the original stories from PHR this week:

  • I looked at the scrutiny surrounding the Detroit Red Wings’ Gustav Nyquist, and wondered if it was truly warranted. I look more at team performance, and advanced metrics to make the case that the organizational decisions with personnel, and not Nyquist, are the cause of the Wings’ ills.
  • Gavin asked our readers what their teams needed for Christmas, and it was the most commented on article of the week.
  • Gavin also reflects on Kyle Okposo’s career with the Islanders and where he stands in franchise history.
  • Brett analyzed previous post-roster freeze trades, especially since speculation surrounds a number of teams, specifically Colorado, who may be moving players.
  • Brian puts the 25th pick from the 2005 NHL Draft into the hands of the readers. At #24, readers chose Darren Helm for the St. Louis Blues.
  • Finally, Glen wrapped up the week’s five key stories. It was not a good week for goalies.

5 Key Stories: 12/19/16 – 12/24/16

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The holiday roster freeze ensured that trades would not dominate the week’s headlines. Instead, injuries to key players would again be the theme. Here are five key stories from the week ending on Christmas Eve.

Ben Bishop Out For 3 – 4 Weeks

The Tampa Bay Lightning will have to manage without starting goaltender Ben Bishop for the next 3 – 4 weeks. Bishop injured his right leg in Tampa’s 4 – 1 win over Detroit and is set to miss the next nine games as a result. The 30-year-old netminder is slated to become a free agent next summer and is in the midst of a mediocre platform campaign with a GAA of 2.79 and a Save % of 0.907.

Detroit Will Be Without Jimmy Howard For 4 – 6 Weeks

Bishop’s counterpart Tuesday night, Detroit goalie Jimmy Howard, was also injured and is expected to miss anywhere from 4 – 6 weeks with a MCL sprain. Howard has adapted quite well to a reserve role with the Wings and has posted a GAA of 1.96 and a Save % of 0.934 through 17 appearances this season. His absence leaves the Red Wings with the inexperienced Jared Coreau as Petr Mrazek’s backup between the pipes.

Tyler Pitlick To Miss Rest Of Season

Six years after being selected in the second-round by the Edmonton Oilers, Tyler Pitlick appeared to finally find his footing as NHL regular. The 6-foot, 202-pound forward had chipped in eight goals and 11 points in 31 games while playing mostly fourth-line minutes for the Oilers. Unfortunately, what was shaping up as a breakout season for Pitlick is now over, with the 25-year-old winger set to miss the rest of the season after tearing his ACL last Monday.

Longtime NHL Center David Legwand Retires From NHL

David Legwand will forever be remembered as the answer to a trivia question: Who was the first ever draft pick of the Nashville Predators franchise? Legwand was the second overall selection in the 1998 draft and after spending the first 14+ seasons with the Predators, the pivot was traded to Detroit at the 2014 trade deadline. He would wrap up his 17-year career spending a season each with Ottawa and Buffalo. He retires after nearly 1,200 regular season and postseason games.

Doan Reaches 400-Goal, 1,500 Game Plateau

Shane Doan became just the 17th NHL player to reach the 1,500 game mark when he suited up Friday night in the Arizona Coyotes 4 – 1 loss to Toronto Friday night. Doan, who has spent his entire 21-year career as a member of the Coyotes franchise, also tallied his 400th NHL goal in the contest.

Blackhawks Notes: Panarin, Crawford, Tootoo, Krys

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Despite only being in his second year in the NHL, Artemi Panarin has rapidly developed into one of the Chicago Blackhawks most important players. After netting 30 goals and 77 points as a rookie, Panarin is producing at a point-per-game rate and currently ranks fifth in the league in scoring as a sophomore. Set to become a restricted free agent in the summer, Panarin is poised to cash in and score a substantial long-term contract from Chicago.

Given Chicago’s current salary cap situation, the team is going to have to make some difficult decisions to make in order to free up enough space to fit Panarin’s next pact under the cap ceiling. As it stands today, the Hawks have roughly $60.6MM in salary cap commitments to 14 players in 2017-18. Depending on exactly where the cap ceiling falls, that would leave Chicago with somewhere between $13MM and $15MM in available space. Unless the team makes other moves to shed salary, the Blackhawks will have a tough time fleshing out their roster if they sign Panarin to a market-value extension.

As they’ve had to do often in the past, it’s likely the club will end up moving some veteran talent to free up space. With backup goalie Scott Darling performing well in Corey Crawford’s recent absence, some have speculated Chicago could look to move the latter and his $6MM cap charge. However, Chris Hine of the Chicago Tribune opines that moving Crawford is not the solution to the Blackhawks Panarin question.

While acknowledging that the team and their fans are likely tired of seeing some of their top young talent traded away due to salary cap concerns – Brandon Saad, Teuvo Teravainen and Andrew Shaw are a few of the players Chicago has drafted and developed only to see them moved elsewhere because of financial considerations – Hine believes any notion of dealing Crawford ignores the goalie’s importance to the team. Hine argues that Crawford has established himself as an elite netminder and his contributions to two Stanley Cup championships should not be ignored.

Additionally, Crawford has a modified NMC and there is little reason to believe he would waive it to facilitate a trade. While the specifics of the NMC are unknown, at the very least it would serve to limit Crawford’s market and complicate any potential trade. Further impacting the veteran goaltender’s hypothetical market is his $6MM cap charge. Few teams currently need a goalie and even fewer are in the position to take on that type of commitment.

Ultimately the Hawks will find a way to get a deal done with Panarin. He’s simply too talented and important to Chicago for them to let him get away. Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman will inevitably have to make a tough decision or two to free up the necessary cap space but moving Crawford likely won’t be one of them.

In other Blackhawks news:

  • Despite being on the smaller side – 5-foot-9, 195 pounds – Jordin Tootoo has carved out a lengthy NHL career playing a tough, physical style and often fighting players much larger than himself. After a nine-point season with New Jersey in 2015-16, Tootoo hit free agency at a time when more teams are moving away from employing one-dimensional tough guys. Fortunately for the diminutive winger, Chicago found themselves in need of a veteran presence willing to work at or near the league minimum and inked the 33-year-old to a one-year deal worth just $750K. Tootoo recognizes the situation he now finds himself in and is willing to do whatever it takes to help his new team, as Scott Powers of The Athletic writes in a Q & A piece. Tootoo has yet to register a point on the season and is averaging just 6:44 of ice time per contest, but has done quality work as Chicago’s resident agitator and enforcer.
  • Just days after Chicago forward prospect Alex DeBrincat was cut from Team USA’s WJC entry, fellow Blackhawks prospect Chad Krys was announced as the team’s final cut, CSN Chicago’s Charlie Roumeliotis reports. Krys, who represented Team USA last year in the same tournament, is in the midst of his freshman season at Boston University after the Hawks selected the defenseman in the second-round of the 2016 draft.

Western Conference Notes: Maurice, Blues, Jankowski

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Despite a talented roster led by #1 center Mark Scheifele (31 points in 33 games), team captain Blake Wheeler (26 points), rookie phenom Patrik Laine (19 goals) and big blue liner Dustin Byfuglien (22 points), the Winnipeg Jets have a disappointing 16 – 17 – 3 record and are three points out of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. It’s perhaps not surprising that reports began circulating suggesting the job of veteran bench boss Paul Maurice could be in jeopardy, but as Paul Wiecek of the Winnipeg Free Press writes, there is simply nothing to those rumors.

Wiecek points out that the Jets ownership is “loyal to a fault,” and references former head coach Claude Noel as an example of that loyalty. Noel served as the team’s head coach for their first two-and-a-half seasons in Manitoba but mustered just a record of 80 – 79 – 18 and failed to lead the Jets to the postseason before being dismissed during the 2013-14 season. Wiecek believes the team kept Noel around “long after it had become readily apparent to everyone else that an AHL coach was all Noel was ever going to be.”

The scribe also suggests the team still believes Maurice is the right coach to turn “a room full of young talent and inexperience into the kind of club that can compete night in and night out with the best in the league.”

Finally, in response to the belief the Jets have under-performed, Wiecek takes the position that the team has performed exactly as should be expected; like a young team with plenty of peaks and valleys.

It should also be noted that the Jets play in a tough division, one that sent five teams to the postseason a year ago. While the Central may not be as strong this season as the Metro Division, an argument can certainly be made that they could easily boast five playoff squads again this spring

Elsewhere in the West:

  • Jeremy Rutherford hosted his weekly chat with readers of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch recently and tackled several issues related to the Blues. Naturally much of the talk was about how the Blues can improve their roster and while there may not have been much in the way of concrete trade rumors, Rutherford acknowledged the team desperately wants to add both speed and a proven top-six center ahead of the deadline. Of course the one asset St. Louis might be able to move to address their needs is defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk, who is set to hit unrestricted free agency next summer. Though as appealing as Shattenkirk might be to other teams, his value is limited unless any team looking to acquire the puck-moving blue liner has an indication they might be able to extend the pending free agent. It’s also not certain the Blues will be too interested in dealing Shattenkirk if they are in possession of a playoff berth at the deadline. Last season, GM Doug Armstrong held onto David Backes and Troy Brouwer, both of whom would leave the team after the season and demonstrating the veteran GM will only sell off an expiring asset if it improves his chances to win today.
  • The Calgary Flames surprised some when they went off the board to select center Mark Jankowski in the first round of the 2012 draft. While most teams weren’t sold on Jankowski, then-Flames GM Jay Feaster called him the best player in the draft and compared the pivot to former Calgary star Joe Nieuwendyk. It took four years but Jankowski finally made his NHL debut earlier this season, and as Kristen Odland of the Calgary Herald reports, he is looking forward to working his way back into the league and earning a permanent position. But first, Jankowski, in his first full season as a pro, knows he has to dominate at the AHL level: “Obviously it was a good experience to get up there to see what it’s all about and play my first game, to see what type of game it is,” he said. “It’s a lot faster and guys are bigger and stronger. They’re all just a bit more skilled. Coming back to Stockton, it’s huge motivation for me to see what it’s like if I want to be there full-time.I have to come down here and dominate and play my game.” 

Last Minute Reassignments: Bibeau, Froese, Gazdic, Helgeson (Updated)

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UPDATE: (3:30pm): Mike Russo of the Star Tribune tweeted earlier today that the Minnesota Wild have loaned Pat Cannone and Jordan Schroeder to Iowa of the AHL. As Russo points out, the Wild won’t play again until Tuesday thanks to the holiday break while Iowa is slated to host Rockford Monday night. Russo does say that unless Erik Haula or Zach Parise is healthy enough to return Tuesday, the Wild will have to recall a player or two, meaning Cannone and/or Schroeder could be back with Minnesota sooner rather than later. Cannone, who finally made his NHL debut at the age of 30 and after six professional campaigns, was held off the score sheet in three appearances with the Wild.

(1:15pm): While the NHL’s holiday roster freeze officially began at midnight of December 20th, a provision allows teams to reassign or loan waiver-exempt players originally recalled by the parent club after December 11th back to their minor league affiliates. The deadline for those roster transactions passed at 11:59pm on December 23rd (last night). With a majority of AHL teams in action the day after Christmas, a couple of NHL clubs took the opportunity to reassign players to their affiliates with the intent of getting them some game action during the Christmas break.

  • The New Jersey Devils announced via their official Twitter account that they have reassigned rugged forward Luke Gazdic and defenseman Seth Helgeson to Albany of the AHL. Gazdic has appeared in four games with New Jersey, failing to register a point while accumulating seven penalty minutes. In 13 contests for Albany, the 6-foot-4, 225-pound winger has two assists and 19 penalty minutes. Helgeson has seen action in just two games, also failing to record a point. (New Jersey Devils Roster)
  • Goaltender Antoine Bibeau, along with forwards Frederik Gauthier and Byron Froese were loaned by the Toronto Maple Leafs to the AHL Toronto Marlies ahead of last night’s deadline, as reported by Cap Friendly. Meanwhile Jhonas Enroth was recalled from the minors to fill the void as the Leafs backup netminder. Bibeau has appeared in just one game, his NHL debut, this season for Toronto and took the loss in a 3-1 defeat on December 11th against Colorado. Gauthier tallied his first career NHL goal and has added an assist in three games this season for the Leafs while Froese is scoreless in two outings. Enroth was inked by the Leafs this summer to serve as Frederik Andersen’s understudy but failed to win a game in four starts for Toronto and posted a GAA of nearly four. His last appearance for the Leafs came on November 30th in a loss at Calgary. Enroth has seen action in just one contest for the Marlies since his demotion to the AHL. (Toronto Maple Leafs roster)

Atlantic Division Notes: Danault, Kennedy, Stamkos

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Injuries to Alex Galchenyuk and David Desharnais have forced the Montreal Canadiens to shuffle their forward lines around as they try to survive without two of their top offensive players. The loss of Galchenyuk was particularly difficult as the fifth-year pivot was averaging nearly a point-per game (23 points in 25 games) as the team’s top center but the play of Phillip Danault has helped offset Galchenyuk’s absence of late, writes Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette.

With a scoring line of 6 – 6 – 14 through 34 contests, Danault has already bested last season’s totals (4 – 6 – 10) in 17 fewer games. In his last eight games, the 23-year-old center has tallied one goal and five points. As Cowan notes, Danault posted solid offensive numbers during his junior career, potting 18 goals and 71 points in 62 contests in his final junior season with Victoriaville, suggesting his recent rate of production for Montreal is sustainable.

Danault was originally drafted in the first-round of the 2011 draft by Chicago when current Habs GM Marc Bergevin was a member of the Blackhawks front office. Bergevin was able to acquire Danault at last season’s trade deadline as part of the deal that sent rental players Dale Weise and Tomas Fleischmann to the Hawks. Known as a strong two-way player in juniors, Danault is taking advantage of increased ice time of late to show the Canadiens what he can do at the NHL level.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic Division:

  • Tim Kennedy hasn’t appeared in an NHL game in three years and despite a recent return to the organization with whom he made his NHL debut, it’s not likely that the veteran winger will make much of an impact for the Buffalo Sabres this year either. As John Vogl of The Buffalo News writes, Kennedy was signed by the club to add some offense and to serve as a mentor for the team’s prospects playing for the Rochester Americans in the AHL. Since suiting up for 37 games with the Coyotes during the 2013-14 campaign, Kennedy has made appearances for four different franchises in four different countries, including stops in the KHL, Swedish League and a 75-game stint with Hershey of the AHL in 2013-14. The piece provides an interesting insight into the life of a career minor-league player and his travels around the world in professional hockey.
  • With the Tampa Bay Lightning struggling on the ice and in the standings, a return of franchise center Steven Stamkos could be just the spark the team needs to make a playoff push. Unfortunately, while Stamkos is progressing just fine after surgery to repair a torn meniscus, he is still looking at a mid-March return, as Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times reports. Stamkos is still on crutches and is a month or two away from even putting on skates. The 26-year-old pivot was off to a strong start, with nine goals and 20 points in 17 contests before the injury but if Tampa Bay is going to make a postseason run, it looks like it’s going to have to come without the assistance of Stamkos.

Nashville Predators Recall Reid Boucher From Conditioning Stint

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After claiming Reid Boucher from the New Jersey Devils earlier this month, the Nashville Predators sent him on a conditioning stint after playing just one game. That stint is now over as the team has recalled him from Milwaukee late Friday night.

Scoring four goals and an assist in the five game stint, Boucher showed why he’s ranked out of the AHL. The former 60-goal OHL scorer has shown an aptitude for finding the twine at every level thus far including the NHL. Never with the big league club for very long at any one time, the 23-year old has put up 29 points in 83 games.

The Predators could use an offensive pick-me-up after being shut out by the Kings last night. For the 15-13-5 Preds, any help is much appreciated.

Where Does Kyle Okposo Rank In Islanders History?

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Tonight marks the first time the New York Islanders will welcome in Kyle Okposo as an opponent, after the winger signed with the Buffalo Sabres in the offseason to a whopping seven-year, $56MM deal. After parts of nine seasons with the Islanders, the team couldn’t afford (or didn’t want to pay for) his services any longer and let him find a huge payday somewhere else.

Okposo was drafted by the Islanders seventh overall in 2006, right after Derick Brassard and just before Peter Mueller. The team had whiffed the previous two years (though they didn’t know it yet) with Ryan O’Marra (15th overall 2005) and Petteri Nokelainen (16th overall 2004) and needed a good young player after a very disappointing season. Okposo was the third USA-born player taken in the draft after Erik Johnson and Phil Kessel both went in the top five. It would turn out to be one of the strongest drafts ever for American players, with no less than nine going in the first round.

Despite knowing the Okposo would be headed to the University of Minnesota, the Islanders couldn’t pass up the skilled offensive forward. Within two years he was playing in the NHL, and would never look back.

While many still don’t see Okposo as a star, he’s provided solid production for the better part of a decade and has accumulated some numbers that shouldn’t be dismissed, even for a franchise with such a storied history.

With 369 points, Okposo ranks 14th all-time in Islanders history, despite being down at 24th on the games played list. He ranks in the top-15 in game winning goals, and has done all of it before his 30th birthday. While it’s obvious he’s not in the same category as Mike Bossy, Bryan Trottier, Denis Potvin or the other Islanders legends, he does deserve some recognition for what he’s accomplished for the franchise.

That’s what the Islanders did tonight as they honored him before the game. With a standing ovation, the crowd showed him what he meant to them, and how much they missed him now that he’s gone (the Islanders are desperate for some scoring off the wing). Islanders fans, where do you think Okposo fits into your franchise history? Tell us below.

Preliminary Round Schedule For IIHF World Junior Championship

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On December 26th, the IIHF World Junior Championship will kick off for it’s yearly batch of holiday hockey. The annual tournament pits the best under-20 players in the world against each other and this year (like two years ago) will be held in Toronto and Montreal at their respective NHL arenas.

Teams from Canada, USA, Finland, Sweden, Russia, Denmark, Latvia, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Switzerland will duke it out for the three medals and bragging rights among young players around the world. This tournament is a breeding ground for NHLers, as most played for their country at one time or another.

The opening game will see Denmark face off against Sweden at noon (CST) on Monday, followed by three other matchups throughout the day. The gold medal game will be played on Thursday, January 5th at 6:30 (CST). Below is the full schedule for the preliminary round of the tournament, along with the venue (all times CST).

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Atlantic Notes: Sabres, Matthews, Coreau

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The Sabres gave a performance worthy of Grinch-like proportions writes the Buffalo News’ Mike Harrington. Approaching the holiday season, the Sabres gave their fans a performance akin to receiving coal at Christmas. Losing 3-1 to the Hurricanes Thursday evening, the Sabres were serenaded with boos from the home crowd at multiple points of the game Harrington reports.  More importantly, Harrington continues, are Jack Eichel’s struggles and how it has affected the team. Harrington talked to the young star after the game, who was “seething” with head coach Dan Bylsma’s decision to take away ice time. From Harrington:

Asked if he was surprised to not be on the ice, the 20-year-old said the time to discuss the topic was over.

“I think I just answered that. I’m not the coach,” he said. “Like I said, we had a lot of opportunities on the first power play. … I was on the second power play. I’m out there working hard. I think that’s all I really have to say about that.”

Bylsma was “unusually intense” during the morning skate, but his teaching apparently fell on deaf ears. Worse, Buffalo slipped into a tie with Detroit for last place in the Atlantic with the loss. Harrington writes that redemption could come in the way of beating the New York Islanders tonight.

Dec 22, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (34) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal in the first period against the Colorado Avalanche at the Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

  • Auston Matthews is set to play his first game in his home state tonight, and the excitement for his return is through the roof writes NHL.com’s Dan Rosen. From Arizona youth hockey teams to Matthews’ own parents, the entire state of Arizona has been waiting to see their homegrown son return to where many thought hockey would never last. Instead, the #1 overall pick in the 2016 draft not only hails from the non-traditional hockey market of Arizona, he’s the face of the organization that many consider the epicenter of the hockey world. Matthews’ importance to the state of Arizona goes beyond just local pride. It’s the idea, Rosen continues, that Arizona finally has relevancy in hockey’s eyes.
  • Jared Coreau is set to start in net tonight for the Detroit Red Wings tweets MLive’s Brendan Savage. Head coach Jeff Blashill broke the news to Petr Mrazek, who has struggled to keep hold of the starting job in light of Jimmy Howard’s strong play. Savage adds that Blashill said he wants players to “want to be in” and though they may not agree, Savage tweets that Blashill declares that he has the final say. This season, Mrazek is 9-7-3 with an .899 save percentage. His struggles are one of many on the team this year that has landed the Red Wings in a tie for last place in the division.

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