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Blackhawks Notes: Penalty Kill, Motte

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Through just nearly two periods in Friday night’s game against Columbus, the Chicago Blackhawks surrendered their second power play goal, in as many attempts, driving their penalty kill percentage down to an anemic 42%. The statistics revealing just how bad it’s been aren’t encouraging. The Hawks have given up 11 power play goals in just five games, while last season they only let in 46 powerplay goals through 82 games. Dimitri Filipovic tweets a statistical breakdown of Corey Crawford’s significant dip in save percentage when the team is on the kill. His point isn’t to blame Crawford, but instead, highlight the deficiencies of his teammates on the kill.

Strategically speaking, CSN’s Tracey Myers tweets that teams are using a net-front presence to score on the man advantage, and the Hawks seem more than willing to oblige. The Daily Herald’s Jon Dietz reports that the Hawks 5-on-3 marathon against St. Louis started the slide and is a culprit in the Hawks’ early tumble:

One reason the kill rate looks so bad — it was the second-worst in the league going into Monday’s games — is because of how St. Louis took advantage of 3 penalties in 94 seconds in the opener. That led to a 5-on-3 goal late in the second period and another tally early in the third.  Being short-handed for that long is not an easy task, and once a team scores it only breeds more confidence for the next opportunity — especially when that opportunity comes right away.

Dietz adds that the Hawks have done a poor job of clearing the zone, allowing teams more time to setup and prolong shifts, which leads to tired penalty killers. He also mirrors Myers’ thoughts of allowing players to camp out in front of Crawford without impediment.

Then again, should the struggles come as a surprise? Last March, CSN Chicago had a lengthy article centering on the Hawks’ problems shorthanded when they were ranked (at the time) 24th in the league. Though they were missing both Marian Hossa and Marcus Kruger at the time, maybe it’s a trend that was forewarned months earlier.

In other Blackhawks news:

  • Tyler Motte scored his first NHL goal against Columbus Friday night. After Jonathan Toews rushed the net and generated a juicy rebound, Motte banged in the opportunity for his first goal as a Chicago Blackhawk.

Eastern Conference Snapshots: Hoffman, Warsofsky, Pouliot, Weise

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Ottawa Senators winger Mike Hoffman has led the team in goal scoring in each of the last two seasons, a fact which prompted the team to sign the 26-year-old to a five-year, $20.75MM extension this summer. Even though he has totaled 56 goals since the start of the 2014-15 campaign, Hoffman is no stranger to slow starts and this season has been no exception. Despite the fact the Sens are tied for second in goals-per-game, Hoffman has yet to tally his first marker of the season. But, as Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen writes, it’s only a matter of time before he breaks through.

Hoffman is currently tied with Chris Kreider and Brent Burns in shots on goal with 20 and says he has been getting plenty of scoring chances.

“I’m just trying to keep a level head, I know the goals are going to come. You don’t want to hit the panic button too early. I feel like I’m getting a lot of shots, a lot of chances every game.”

Like Hoffman, head coach Guy Boucher believes the gifted winger will find his scoring touch soon enough.

“I liked a lot of his game (against Arizona). The work is always when the guy is not getting (any chances) and you can see (the confidence) go down, which is not Mike’s case.”

Goal scorers like Hoffman are prone to slumps but when the get hot they tend to score in bunches. So far Hoffman’s inability to put the puck in the net hasn’t had much of an impact on Ottawa’s on-ice fortunes as the team has won three of their first four. Once he does ratchet up his output, the Senators chances of competing for a playoff spot will only improve.

Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference:

  • The Pittsburgh Penguins blue line is a little beat up which today prompted the recall of David Warsofsky from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL, according to Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. In a related move, the team placed Derrick Pouliot on IR. Pouliot has made just one appearance for the Penguins, and left that game in the second period with an undisclosed injury. It appears that whatever the injury, it could keep Pouliot out a while. In addition to Pouliot, Olli Maatta and Kris Letang are both banged up as well. Letang is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury but as Mackey writes, he might be healthy enough to suit up Saturday.
  • Dale Weise of the Philadelphia Flyers is slated for a hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety after his illegal check to the head of Anaheim defensman Korbinian Holzer in a game Thursday night. Weise wasn’t penalized on the play but the league wasted no time calling for the hearing. It appears it will be a phone hearing, meaning Weise won’t receive a suspension longer than five games. Weise, signed this summer as a free agent, has not yet recorded a point for the Flyers in four appearances.

LeBrun’s Latest: Lindholm, Fowler, Murray, Fleury, Condon

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Earlier today we referenced an item regarding the status of the Jacob Trouba trade discussions in Pierre LeBrun’s recent Rumblings column on ESPN.com. As it turns out, LeBrun covered a number of other worthwhile topics in his piece, which should naturally be read in its entirety. But in the meantime, we’ve got several of the highlights for your reading pleasure.

  • There’s been a lot of talk of late regarding the potential availability of Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler, in large part due to the team’s need to re-sign RFA Hampus Lindholm and Anaheim’s precarious salary cap situation. As it stands, the Ducks have less than $400K in space according to Cap Friendly. With Lindholm expected to receive in excess of $5MM annually on a new deal the team certainly has their work cut out for them. Dealing Fowler would clear $4MM in cap space, assuming of course they don’t take an NHL contract back in any trade. Anaheim also has Brandon Montour and Shea Theodore, both of whom appear to be NHL-ready, or close to it, and that could step into the vacancy should the club move Fowler – or any other defenseman for that matter. LeBrun, however, doesn’t believe trading Fowler is a “front-burner issue” and believes the club could keep Fowler. He suggests Anaheim could create some salary cap space and buy more time by placing Simon Despres on LTIR. Despres has been out since leaving the team’s first game with what is believed to be a concussion. Despres accounts for $3.7MM against the cap so the Ducks would likely have to make at least one more move to create enough space once Lindholm is re-signed.
  • Speaking of Lindholm’s contract talks, LeBrun believes the two sides continue to move closer on a new pact, with the defenseman likely using the recent extensions inked by Seth Jones and Rasmus Ristolainen – six years, $5.4MM AAV – as a comparable and the Ducks possibly countering with Morgan Rielly – six years, $5MM AAV. A six-year deal would buy out two of Lindholm’s potential free agent seasons, whereas the Jones and Ristolainen contracts only bought out one. That likely serves as justification for Lindholm’s pursuit of something more than $5.4MM annually.
  • Matt Murray’s recent extension with Pittsburgh shines the light on the decision the team will have to make ahead of next June’s expansion draft. LeBrun notes the team believes Marc-Andre Fleury’s NMC will force the Penguins to protect him, assuming he’s still on the roster. Assuming the Penguins decide Murray is their long-term answer between the pipes, the team would still have several options, as LeBrun writes. In addition to the NMC, Fleury’s contract contains a modified no-trade clause which allows him to list 18 teams to which he would accept a trade. The Penguins could attempt to move him to one of those clubs to whom the goalie would agree to go to. Or the Penguins could buy out Fleury’s contract after the season. Pittsburgh also might try to work out a separate deal with the Las Vegas franchise ensuring they don’t select Murray if the team is required to protect Fleury. The scribe did say he doesn’t believe the team has decided on a course of action as of yet. Whatever they decide, however, LeBrun believes the team will make sure Fleury is on board as they “greatly respect” their longtime #1 netminder.
  • Once Murray returns from injury, the team is likely to waive goalie Mike Condon with the intent of sending him down to the AHL. LeBrun believes he could be claimed and one interested party could be the Kings. With Jonathan Quick out for up to three months, Los Angeles may eventually look for a short-term upgrade between the pipes and they might conclude Condon fits the bill. Condon’s contract expires at the end of the season and currently makes just $575K. LeBrun suggests that Pittsburgh could call up the Kings and offer Condon in a trade with the idea that adding a late round draft pick would be better than losing the young goalie for nothing on waivers.

Patrick Sharp Sidelined With Concussion-Like Symptoms

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According to head coach Lindy Ruff – via a tweet from Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News – winger Patrick Sharp is expected to be out of the Stars lineup “for a while” due to concussion-like symptoms. Sharp was injured on a hard check from Los Angeles defenseman Brayden McNabb along the boards and appeared to hit his head as he fell.

The Stars have been hit particularly hard by injuries so far this season. Patrick Eaves, Ales Hemsky, Mattias Janmark and Cody Eakin have yet to appear in a game for Dallas while free agent addition Jiri Hudler will likely miss the team’s next game with an illness. As Heika notes, the absence of Hudler will likely prompt a call-up from the club’s AHL affiliate.

The loss of Sharp for a significant period of time is a big one for Dallas. The veteran scorer, who is in his 14th NHL season, scored 20 goals and 55 points for the Stars in his first season with the club after being acquired via trade from Chicago. Sharp, 34, is in the final year of a five-year deal with a cap hit of $5.9MM.

Morning Snapshots: Backes, Trouba, Rantanen, Boychuk

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Former Blues captain David Backes inked one of the richest deals of the offseason when he left the mid-west to join the Boston Bruins on a five-year, $30MM deal. While Backes is an excellent two-way player, many criticized the length of the contract given to the 32-year-old C/RW. However, teams today seem to realize that is an inherent risk of free agency and generally hope to see surplus value in the earlier years of the pact.

Backes is only four games into his Bruins career yet the early returns are solid – two goals and three points. But as the Boston Globe’s Fluto Shinzawa writes, the biggest benefit of the Backes addition may be in how it’s allowed bench boss Claude Julien to balance out his lines to better take advantage of the skill-sets of his other forwards.

With Patrice Bergeron back in the lineup, he joins Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak on the Bruins top line. Backes, meanwhile, is slotted in as the second line RW with rookie Danton Heinen on the left of veteran pivot David Krejci. The left-handed Heinen and right-handed Backes  give Krejci two wings who play on their strong side and allow the gifted center to deliver passes to his linemates’ forehands. As Shinzawa notes, Krejci has had some of his best seasons when he’s “had a right-hand strongman clearing space on his wing.” In past years, Nathan Horton, Jarome Iginla and Blake Wheeler have provided Krejci with just that and now he has Backes.

More from around the NHL:

  • The Jacob Trouba saga in Winnipeg appears no closer to a resolution, as ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun writes. Trouba and his agent, Kurt Overhardt, recently made public the defenseman’s request to be traded citing a desire to play top-four minutes on his natural, right side. With Tyler Myers and Dustin Byfuglien under contract with the Jets for at least the next three years, that opportunity didn’t appear to be in Winnipeg. For their part, the Jets have understandably placed a high price tag on Trouba, rumored to be a left-handed defenseman of comparable age and talent to the former first-round draft choice. According to LeBrun, the club hasn’t received an offer to their liking and are prepared to wait it out until they do. There is a hard deadline of December 1st; if Trouba is not under contract at that point he won’t be eligible to play this season.
  • The Colorado Avalanche appear poised to recall prospect Mikko Rantanen next week from San Antonio of the AHL, writes Mike Chambers of The Denver Post. Rantanen has been with the Rampage since the start of the season in what has effectively been a conditioning assignment as he works his way back from an ankle injury suffered during training camp. The Avalanche used their first-round selection in the 2015 draft to select Rantanen and the Finnish forward debuted in the NHL in 2015-16, appearing in nine games for the Avalanche. Chambers speculates the team will make room on their 23-man roster by placing veteran center John Mitchell on IR or by sending Gabriel Bourque or Ben Smith to San Antonio.
  • Zach Boychuk, who has appeared in 127 NHL games over parts of seven seasons with Carolina, Pittsburgh and Nashville, has inked a pact of HC Sibir of the KHL according to this link, re-tweeted by Cap Friendly (original link in Russian). Boychuk was chosen in the first-round of the 2008 draft by Carolina and has scored 12 goals and 30 points during his NHL career. He has had more success in the minors, once tallying 36 goals and 74 points while playing for Charlotte of the AHL during the 2013-14 campaign.

Wild Notes: Dumba, Reilly, Vanek, Weber

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With Christian Folin playing well and head coach Bruce Boudreau wanting to give another chance to talented young blue liner Mike Reilly, the Wild are set to scratch Mathew Dumba in advance of tonight’s game against Toronto, writes Mike Russo of the Star Tribune. Dumba has appeared in all three of Minnesota’s games so far this season and has recorded one point – a goal – and a -2 plus-minus rating while averaging 18:16 per game. Even though Dumba is the odd man out tonight, Boudreau still believes he is a quality defenseman.

“Maybe he has to do a little less. Sometimes players try so hard and they do too much rather than just do their job and make plays. Dumba is going to be a really good player. And he’s a good player right now. He’s trying to do too much right now. We just want him to calm it down and play his game.”

Meanwhile, Reilly, will make his second appearance of the season. In his only other start, Reilly saw just 14:09 of ice time and finished with a -1 plus-minus rating. He’s aware he needs to make more of a positive impact if he wants to remain in the lineup.

“Just try to come in and play my game. Obviously, wasn’t satisfied with the first effort and as a team, so just come in and try to do what I do best. It was good for me go down and play in Iowa a few nights ago, get minutes, get a lot of reps and play in every situation. Just try to come in and be confident.”

Russo adds that because Reilly is the only Wild blue liner who does not require waivers to be sent down to the minors, he may find himself frequently shuttling between Minnesota and the team’s AHL affiliate in Iowa.

Update (7:00pm): Evidently, despite the plan, Dumba will play tonight. Russo reports that Marco Scandella is out with an undisclosed illness and Dumba will take his spot in the lineup.

In other Wild News:

  • While his time playing for his hometown Minnesota Wild didn’t go according to plan, veteran scoring winger Thomas Vanek is off to a sizzling start with his new club, the Detroit Red Wings, as Michael Rand of the Star Tribune notes. Vanek inked a three-year free agent deal in the summer of 2014 to add scoring punch to the Wild lineup and while he did contribute 39 goals in 159 games for Minnesota, it simply wasn’t enough to merit his $6MM cap hit. Minnesota elected to buy out the final year of his pact, allowing Vanek to join the Wings on a one-year, $2.6MM deal. Through four games with Detroit, the two-time 40-goal-scorer already has three goals and six points. Detroit will have one of the bargains of the 2016 free agent class if Vanek can continue to produce offense near the point-per-game level.
  • The Iowa Wild, Minnesota’s AHL affiliate, have signed veteran blue liner Mike Weber to a PTO, according to this tweet from Russo. Weber is expected to fill in for Victor Bartley, who is currently injured. Russo adds that the Wild will have the option of eventually inking Weber to either an AHL deal or perhaps even a two-way contract with Minnesota if he plays well enough to warrant it. Weber was in camp with the St. Louis Blues but didn’t make their final roster. In 351 NHL regular season contests, Weber has tallied nine goals and 53 points along with 437 minutes in penalties.

Pittsburgh Content To Keep Both Murray and Fleury For Time Being

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Once Matt Murray capped off an impressive postseason run by helping the Pittsburgh Penguins to the 2015-16 Stanley Cup championship, it appeared Marc-Andre Fleury’s days in Western Pennsylvania might be numbered. That belief was further cemented with Murray signing a three-year extension this week, tying him to the Penguins through the 2019-20 campaign. The Penguins will be able to protect only one goalie for the upcoming expansion draft and Fleury has a NMC, meaning unless he waives it at some point to facilitate a move, Pittsburgh could be forced to leave Murray exposed. While it seemed a forgone conclusion the team would at some point approach Fleury about waiving his NMC so they can trade him – and consequently protect Murray in the expansion draft –  GM Jim Rutherford is focused on winning a second Stanley Cup and keeping his goaltending duo together “helps with that objective,” writes Sam Werner of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Fleury’s late-season concussion opened the door for Murray in the first place and keeping the pair together guards against an injury to one possibly derailing the Penguins Stanley Cup hopes. The fact Murray was forced to start the 2016-17 season on the shelf due to an injury he suffered playing in the World Cup, serves as a valuable reminder that having two quality options between the pipes is essential in today’s NHL.

Werner also points out that Rutherford believes he’ll be able to address the situation prior to the expansion draft and is therefore in no hurry to make a deal now: “Our focus this year is winning, and we’ll deal with the expansion draft at the appropriate time. This signing of Matt doesn’t go hand-in-hand with any of that.”

However, Pittsburgh will eventually have to convince Fleury to waive his NMC and commit to Murray for the long haul. Murray, 22, is nine years Fleury’s junior and has the potential to be a franchise goalie at least for the next decade. He’s also now slated to make $3.75MM per season from 2017-18 through 2019-20, while Fleury has two years remaining beyond 2016-17 on a contract with an AAV of $5.75MM. Not only can one make the argument Murray is better than Fleury right now, he will undoubtedly be substantially cheaper over the next three seasons and comes with more team control.

If Pittsburgh cannot move Fleury and leaves Murray exposed in the expansion draft, Las Vegas will jump at the chance to add a 23-year-old franchise goalie just coming into his prime. He would represent a strong foundation piece at a key position and at a price too good to pass up. It’s simply impossible to fathom the Penguins allowing that scenario to play out.

Ultimately, when push comes to shove, the Penguins will almost certainly find a way to keep Murray even if that means they have to trade Fleury during the season to do so. As Werner notes, Pittsburgh is usually right up against the cap ceiling and the $5.75MM the team would save against the cap by moving Fleury might well prove to be as valuable to the organization as any asset or assets they could acquire in return for their long-time goalie.

 

 

Snapshots: Trocheck, Czarnik, Metropolit

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Injuries to LW Jonathan Huberdeau and C Nick Bjugstad have forced Panthers head coach Gerard Gallant to shuffle his forward lines at the start of the season. However, as George Richards of the Miami Herald writes, the one constant Gallant can rely on is the Vincent Trocheck line with Reilly Smith and Jussi Jokinen on the wings. The trio has combined for two goals – both from Trocheck – and five points through three games.

Gallant initially put the line together last December and the trio “clicked from the start,” notes Richards.  Trocheck believes the familiarity from last season is a big reason why the line is off to a good start in 2016-17.

“Last year we got used to each other. We got on a roll. Once you have chemistry with linemates, it’s hard to play with anyone else. You know their tendencies. Jokinen is such a smart player, Smith is so skilled; those two guys make it easy.”

Jokinen shares that belief:

“I bounced around on every line and it was nice to find a home. You feel comfortable when you get to play with guys you have chemistry with. I feel like I can now really use my strengths to help this team because we’re all making each other better. I make them better; they make me better.”

With Huberdeau expected to miss 3 – 4 months, the success of the Trocheck line becomes even more important to the Panthers. The three players combined for 68 goals and 163 points last season and will be counted on to provide consistent offense until Huberdeau and Bjugstad return to the lineup.

Elsewhere in the NHL:

  • The Boston Bruins demoted third-line pivot Austin Czarnik to Providence of the AHL so that he may rediscover his game, writes Joe Haggerty of CSNNE.com. The 5-foot-9, 160-pound forward made the club out of training camp but as Haggerty notes, since suffering a concussion late in the preseason Czarnik has not played with the energy the team expected. Czarnik was pointless in two games with Boston and posted a -3 plus-minus rating. Last season with Providence, the diminutive center netted 61 points in 68 AHL games and it was hoped he would add some scoring punch to Boston’s bottom-six.
  • Glen Metropolit, a veteran of more than 400 NHL games, has agreed to a contract with BC Bolzano of the Austrian Hockey League (EBEL), according to Elite Pro Prospects. Metropolit, 42, has not appeared in the NHL since suiting up for 69 games with Montreal back in 2009-10. He scored 16 goals and 29 points for the Habs. Since departing the NHL, Metropolit has spent four seasons in Switzerland and another two in Germany.

 

The Future Is Now For The NHL

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The Toronto Maple Leafs are in Winnipeg on Wednesday night to visit the Jets in a battle of two young teams trying to take a big step this season. It’s the first matchup between the top two picks of the 2016 NHL Draft, Auston Matthews and Patrik Laine.

However, Laine and Matthews are far from the only two rookies in the game; 11 of the 40 players dressed are rookie NHLers. The Globe and Mail’s James Mirtle called it “The Calder Bowl.”

League-wide, 592 players have played in at least one game this season, and 11 per cent (67 players) of them are rookies. The NHL defines rookies as players under the age of 26 who have played less than 25 games the prior season, or more than six games in each of the two preceding seasons.

The NHL has been getting younger year-over-year, for three reasons: rookies are cheap, fast, and skilled. With the salary cap not going up as much as expected, and the game faster than ever, rookies are more valuable than ever.

Last year, 226 of the 898 players who appeared in at least one game were rookies. That’s a full one-quarter of the NHL.

Here’s a look at the rookies on each NHL roster:

Anaheim Ducks – D Jacob Larsson and RW Nick Sörensen

Arizona Coyotes – D Jakob Chychrun, LW Lawson Crouse, C Laurent Dauphin, C Christian Dvorak, and C Dylan Strome

Boston Bruins – C Noel Acciari, D Brandon Carlo, C Austin Czarnik, C Danton Heinen, and D Rob O’Gara

Buffalo Sabres – RW Nicholas Baptiste, RW Hudson Fasching, and D Casey Nelson

Calgary Flames – D Brett Kulak and LW Matthew Tkachuk

Carolina Hurricanes – RW Sebastien Aho and RW Martin Frk

Chicago Blackhawks – D Gustav Forsling, C Vincent Hinostroza, and C Tyler Motte

Columbus Blue Jackets – RW Josh Anderson, RW Oliver Bjorkstrand, D Markus Nutivaara, and D Zach Werenski

Dallas Stars – D Stephen Johns, D Esa Lindell, and C Devin Shore

Edmonton Oilers – RW Jesse Puljujärvi and LW Anton Slepyshev

Florida Panthers – C Denis Malgin and D Michael Matheson

Los Angeles Kings – D Derek Forbort

Montreal Canadiens – LW Artturi Lehkonen and D Mikhail Sergachev

Nashville Predators – LW Kevin Fiala

New Jersey Devils – C Blake Speers, LW Miles Wood, and C Pavel Zacha

New York Islanders – C Mathew Barzal, C Anthony Beauvillier, and C Alan Quine

New York Rangers – LW Pavel Buchnevich, LW Jimmy Vesey, and D Brady Skjei

Ottawa Senators – D Thomas Chabot

Philadelphia Flyers – C Travis Konecny, D Ivan Provorov, and LW Roman Lyubimov

Pittsburgh Penguins – LW Scott Wilson

Tampa Bay Lightning – C Brayden Point

Toronto Maple Leafs – C Connor Brown, LW Zach Hyman, RW Mitch Marner, C Auston Matthews, C/RW William Nylander, and D Nikita Zaitsev

Winnipeg Jets – LW Kyle Connor, LW Patrik Laine, D Josh Morrissey, and LW Brandon Tanev

Washington Capitals – C Zachary Sanford

Five Questions: Tampa Bay Lightning

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The Tampa Bay Lightning are one of the early favorites to represent the Eastern Conference in the 2016-17 Stanley Cup Final and have to be considered a real threat to come away with the ultimate prize. Fresh off back-to-back appearances in the Eastern Conference Final and a berth in the 2014-15 Stanley Cup Final, the team has proven they have what it takes to go deep into the postseason. Add in the fact that Steve Yzerman has done a terrific job keeping the core group of this team together for at least one more kick at the can, and the Lightning appear to have as good a chance as anyone to win it all in 2016-17.

Joe Smith covers the Lightning for the Tampa Bay Times and he was kind enough to answer some questions – including a couple of bonus queries – for Pro Hockey Rumors on the subject of the Lighting.

PHR: Given Pittsburgh’s dominating postseason run and the return of its roster mostly intact, is it fair to proclaim the Penguins as the prohibitive favorites in the East? How do the Lightning expect to close the gap between themselves and the Penguins in the battle for Eastern Conference supremacy after not acquiring any impact talent from outside the organization this summer?

SMITH: You have to consider the champion Penguins the favorite until someone beats them. But the gap isn’t that big, considering the Lightning came incredibly close to getting past Pittsburgh in the Eastern Conference Final. Not closing the Penguins out in Game 6 at home likely haunted Tampa Bay all offseason. But the Lightning has all the tools to be a Stanley Cup contender, as evidence by its back-to-back playoff runs. With a deep offense led by a healthy Steven Stamkos, freed of any contract distractions, and arguably the top one-two tandem in net with Ben Bishop and Andrei Vasilevskiy, the Lightning should give itself a chance.

PHR: Starting goalie Ben Bishop is scheduled to hit unrestricted free agency following the 2016-17 season. Yzerman has previously shown a willingness to let players play out their deals and risk losing them for nothing if he feels the team is a stronger contender with that player in the lineup. Do you see the Lightning following the same script with Bishop or do you anticipate they look to move him at some point in season to address other needs?

TIMES: Yzerman has said there is the option of keeping Bishop all season for another run at the Stanley Cup. “It’s not a bad option,” he says. And it’s entirely possible the Lightning does just that. It’s hard to imagine Tampa Bay having a better chance to win without the two-time Vezina Trophy finalist, the best goalie in franchise history. But I wouldn’t rule out Tampa Bay potentially dealing Bishop before the March trade deadline, depending on what the market is. It doesn’t hurt the Lightning to at least see what is out there as opposed to losing Bishop to Las Vegas (or another team as a UFA) for nothing.

PHR: Given Vasilevskiy’s strong postseason play and the recent contract extension he was rewarded with, it’s evident the Lightning are projecting him to be the goaltender of the future. However, what are the odds he displaces Bishop between the pipes this season, regardless of whether or not Bishop is dealt?

TIMES: It does appear Vasilevskiy is the future No. 1, it’s just a matter of when. The fact Vasilevskiy was signed to a three-year, $3.5 million (AAV) extension in July, putting him under contract for four more years, makes him a more affordable option than Bishop, who makes $5.9 million in the final year of his. The only way Vasilevskiy replaces Bishop this season is if Bishop is traded before the March deadline. Now, Vasilevskiy is slotted to get a larger share of starts than last season, potentially 30-plus, so he’ll push Bishop. But barring a significant drop in Bishop’s play, he’s still the No. 1.

PHR: The Lightning have three more key contributors set to become RFAs next season – Jonathan Drouin, Ondrej Palat and Tyler Johnson; are you aware of any attempts by Yzerman to strike early and get a deal or deals done in advance of next summer? Also, with $55MM already committed to next year’s salary cap and just 13 players under contract, is there any worry within the organization that they will have to sacrifice valuable assets in order to move out enough salary to retain those RFAs and flesh out the roster?

TIMES: Haven’t heard of any significant contract talks with those players yet, but it’s still early. Yzerman first had to wrap up last summer’s contracts, including signing Nikita Kucherov just two days before the opener. While Yzerman has done a great job keeping the core together, he’s said that it’s impossible to keep everyone with the salary cap. That’s why it’ll be such a challenge next summer with Johnson, Drouin and Palat all needing new deals, and likely big raises. The Lightning might gain some flexibility if it ends up trading Bishop, or depending on what player it loses in the expansion draft. Veterans like Valtteri Filppula and Jason Garrison are potential trade candidates if Tampa Bay must clear some room.

PHR: Speaking of Drouin, it was an interesting year for the young winger, to say the least. Now that he has withdrawn his trade request and seems content in Tampa, what are your expectations for the former third overall draft pick? He only has eight career NHL goals in 91 regular season games but tallied five in 17 playoff contests this past spring. Will he build upon that and potentially reach or even exceed the 20-goal, 50-point plateau?

TIMES: Would not be surprised if Drouin has a huge year. I’m talking 60-70 points type of season. He seems to have picked up where he left off in a dynamic postseason, and is bound for some big numbers playing on a line with Steven Stamkos. A turning point for Drouin was a breakfast he had with coach Jon Cooper in early April after returning from AHL Syracuse. The two cleared the air, and Drouin is playing like a young star who has the trust and confidence from his head coach. He has more of a shoot-first mentality now, and as a quarterback on one of the power play units, he’ll have plenty of chances to put up points.

PHR: Any sleepers or relative unknowns on the Lightning you think may have a big impact this season?

TIMES: You can start with rookie forward Brayden Point. The 20-year-old prospect surprised many by making the opening night roster, taking advantage of open spots vacated by Ryan Callahan (hip surgery) and Nikita Kucherov (contract holdout). Point earned it with his play in exhibitions, and has fit right in early on this season, racking up his first NHL point in a win over New Jersey.

PHR: Finally, aside from Pittsburgh, which teams in the East represent the biggest obstacles to Tampa?

TIMES: The Panthers, which finished ahead of the Lightning in the Atlantic Division last season, should be a threat again. And you’d think Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals are due to break through its postseason struggles.

Pro Hockey Rumors would like to extend our thanks and gratitude to Joe Smith for taking the time to answer these questions for us. You can find Smith’s bio here and for everything related to the Tampa Bay Lightning, you can follow him on Twitter here.

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