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Central Division Snapshots: Iginla, Blues, Weber

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One of the few teams at this point in the season virtually assured of becoming a trade deadline seller is the Colorado Avalanche. The Avalanche currently have the league’s worst record and rumors have already begun to circulate that they could attempt to move major core pieces as soon as this month. Even if they stay the course with their core group, yet again, it’s likely the club will still look to deal players with expiring contracts and/or complementary veteran assets. One of those pieces is Jarome Iginla, and according to Adrian Dater, one potential suitor for the longtime NHL star could be the Chicago Blackhawks.

Chicago boasts a potent top line consisting of Artem Anisimov, Artemi Panarin and Patrick Kane. That trio has combined for 42 goals and 63 assists this season. The Hawks also have Jonathan Toews, one of the league’s top all-around centers, and terrific two-way winger Marian Hossa but have struggled in recent years to find another winger to fill out the line.

In his tweet, Dater indicates Iginla could function as a “replacement” for Hossa, but since the Slovakian winger is expected to be back in the lineup tomorrow, it’s unclear how, or even if, that would impact Chicago’s rumored interest in Iginla. It’s quite possible the Hawks would view the former Flames sniper as a player in need of a change-of-scenery and one who could contribute some big goals down the stretch and into the playoffs for a team with aspirations of capturing their fourth Stanley Cup in the last eight seasons.

Iginla is in the final season of a three-year deal with an AAV of $5.33MM and would qualify as a pure rental for any team looking to deal for him. After back-to-back strong seasons of 29 and 22 goals, the 39-year-old right wing has slumped to just five through 37 games this season for Colorado. However, a move to a playoff race, particularly if allowed to play with gifted offensive players like Toews and Hossa, could help rejuvenate the 20-year veteran.

The Blackhawks would have to figure out how to fit Iginla in under the salary cap as according to Cap Friendly, the team is slated to have just under $2MM in space at the deadline. They could certainly open up more room by reassigning a young player to the minor leagues and also could try to convince Colorado to take back salary by swapping a more valuable asset to the Avalanche in a hypothetical move.

Elsewhere in the Central Division:

  • The St. Louis Blues are pushing for a renovation of the Scottrade Center and a recent proposal submitted to the city’s Board of Alderman seeks $67.5MM in taxpayer funds to help pay for it, as Mike Faulk and Koran Addo of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch write. According to the proposal, the city’s contributions would come from sales tax already generated at the venue and with a 1% sales tax on Blues tickets. The team’s Chairman, Tom Stillman, argues the arena is outdated and the renovations are necessary not only to satisfy the Blues’ needs but to ensure other events, such as NCAA basketball tournament games, remain in St. Louis: “The Scottrade Center is no longer competitive,” said Blues Chairman Tom Stillman, adding that NCAA and concert promoters have warned that they will stop coming to St. Louis without upgrades to compete with facilities in Indianapolis, Kansas City, Nashville, Tenn., and elsewhere. The team and the city also plan to petition the state for money for the renovation but governor-elect Eric Greitens has previously opposed taxpayer funding for stadiums/arenas, calling it “welfare for millionaires.” Whether Greitens’ reluctance to allocate public funds for such a project could hinder or even halt renovation is unclear. Additionally, if renovations are not completed on the arena, it’s unknown if that would prompt ownership to pursue moving the team to another market.
  • Nashville welcomed back Shea Weber for his first visit to the city as a member of the Montreal Canadiens last night. And while seeing the former team captain in a different sweater must have been bittersweet for many fans, particularly given Nashville’s struggles and P.K. Subban’s health issues, Adam Vingan of The Tennessean writes that ultimately the trade sending Weber to Montreal is one that shouldn’t be viewed with regret. Vingan argues that the reasons the trade was made last June still apply today. Simply put, Subban is younger and swifter than his counterpart and in four years, when Weber is 35 and likely well on the down-slope of his career, Subban will be 31 and likely still in his prime.

Vegas Golden Knights At The World Juniors

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Even though the Vegas Golden Knights don’t start playing until 2017-18, doesn’t mean they haven’t already started to scout the young talent throughout the game. With the World Junior Championships underway in Toronto, the team has sent several scouts to the tournament to watch the collection of under-20 talent. While some are still draft-eligible, and some are under contract with teams around the league, it’s a wonderful opportunity to scout the best of the best all at once.  Dan Marrazza of NHL.com caught up with the Golden Knights’ Assistant Director of Player Personnel Bob Lowes to get his take on the tournament.

It isn’t just the draft eligible players. It’s other team’s drafts, guys that are already picked. I think it’s a really good tournament for our staff to see both of those groups of players, and to get a good handle on it going forward for our organization.

While the team will have a chance in the draft lottery this summer (equal to that of the third worst team in the league), something that is often ofterlooked is that they’ll also have the third pick in each subsequent round regardless of where they fall in the lottery. That gives them some strong picks even as the rounds go later, when the lesser-known teams at the tournament will have talent available. On Denmark, who has shocked the world by defeating both the Czech Republic and last year’s winner Finland:

Obviously, they’re having some success, so it makes you take notice a little bit more. It makes you look at a guy that’s maybe slipped through the draft, if he’s draft eligible, and saying: ’this kid’s doing it on the world stage against some of the best competition in the world.’

Lowes points out that there have been breakout stars at the tournament before, referencing Nino Niederreiter of Switzerland and Oliver Bjorkstrand of Denmark as players who greatly improved their draft stock at the tournament. While obviously the top names of the tournament are often well scouted prior, or even already drafted, it’s a big deal to see under-the-radar guys on this big of a stage. As Lowes puts it:

Performance here goes into a player’s overall profile. You wouldn’t just base it on this tournament, but it is an important part of the development of a player. It’s just a really good snapshot of the possible potential of that player.

The preliminary round ends today with the quarter-finals starting on Monday. Before they do though, Finland will need to fight for it’s tournament life in the relegation round on Monday morning against Latvia.

Columbus Blue Jackets Recall Markus Hannikainen

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Amid a 14-game win streak and prior to taking on another streaking team in the Minnesota Wild, the Columbus Blue Jackets have decided to bring a rookie back up. Markus Hannikainen has been recalled by the team Saturday morning ahead of their New Year’s Eve faceoff with the Wild. The two teams have combined to win 26 games in a row, a streak that will end for one of them tonight.

Hannikainen has been up with the team earlier this season, suiting up for five games at the end of November. Undrafted, the Finnish winger burst onto the professional hockey scene in 2014-15 as a 21-year old in Finland’s highest league. After bouncing between the junior and senior circuits in years prior, he played 60 games for JyP Jyvaskyla and recorded 46 points.

The Blue Jackets signed him to a two-year entry level contract that summer, and he spent most of last season with the Lake Erie Monsters, eventually winning a Calder Cup. His 20-point regular season showed some growing pains with the North American game, but he put it all together in the playoffs, tallying 10 points in 16 games.

It’s not clear where exactly he fits into this lineup as they continue to roll, but is a solid depth option for coach John Tortorella.

Snapshots: Bickell, Alumni, Finland

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Bryan Bickell opened up to Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun Times and other reporters tonight for the first time since his announcement that he has multiple sclerosis, a disease that attacks the nervous system and can cause a wide array of debilitating symptoms. For anyone, the diagnosis would be life-shattering, but for Bickell it came at least as an explanation.

Before I was, like, frustrated in my game and things. But you’re relieved, knowing how I was feeling. Something wasn’t right. … The circumstances kind of suck, but to have it known — knowing you can move on is the biggest thing.

Bickell is determined to get back to the NHL, despite having to undergo intravenous drug treatments monthly. He’s obviously no where near returning, but is taking it one step at a time.

It’s going to take steps. It’s not a sprint, it’s going to be a marathon, and it’s going to take some time to get things right, ideally, to get me back on the ice. That’s what I’m hoping for. … It could be a month, it could be a couple months to get back on the ice.

We wish Bickell well on his recovery, and hope he makes it back to the NHL sooner than later. Here are some other notes from around the league:

  • Outdoor games are becoming something of a regularity in the hockey world, with the Maple Leafs and Red Wings set to square off this Sunday in Toronto, and the World Juniors announcing that Canada and the USA will play outside at next year’s tournament in Buffalo. The AHL is getting in on the action, as the Ontario Reign (the Kings’ affiliate) and the Bakersfield Condors (Oilers) will play an outdoor game on January 7th. The teams will have an alumni game the day before, featuring a long list of NHL greats. Wayne Gretzky, Kevin Lowe, Luc Robitaille, Rob Blake and even Bernie Nicholls will play in the event, making it one not to miss if you live in the San Joaquin Valley.
  • Amazingly, Team Finland will have to play in the relegation round at this year’s World Junior Championships, despite winning the tournament last year. It’s the first time in the history of the even that a defending champion will have to fight to stay in the event. With the Swiss team beating Denmark today in a shootout, Finland was guaranteed a last place finish in their group. In a surprising move, the team has fired head coach  Jukka Rautakorpi and his three assistants mid-tournament. Jussi Ahokas has taken over the coaching duties.

World Junior Championships: Day 1 Notes

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On Boxing Day afternoon, the IIHF World Junior Championships started in Montreal and Toronto with eight teams facing off on day one. The United States, Canada, Czech Republic and Sweden were all winners, while Latvia, Russia, Finland and Denmark all started their tournament off on the wrong foot.

Finland was the biggest upset of the day, falling to the Czech team 2-1 after Michael Spacek’s late winner. The defending champions were overwhelmed by the upstart Czechs, losing several key puck battles and being dominated in the shot totals.

Among the teams there were several standout performances:

Mathew Barzal, Canada: The New York Islanders prospect Barzal had the puck basically all game for the Canadian squad, quarterbacking their powerplay and dominating 5-on-5 play. His three points lead the tournament so far, and gives him an early lead in the tournament MVP race.

Carl Grundstrom, Sweden: A selection of the Toronto Maple Leafs this summer, Grundstrom has already been playing in the Swedish professional ranks and it showed in his tournament opener. Not expected to be an elite offensive option in the NHL, he carried the puck a ton for the Swedish team against Denmark and had two points in a team leading 15+ minutes.

Tage Thompson, USA: While teammate Clayton Keller was the big story with two goals for Team USA, Thompson deserves a lot of credit himself. With two primary assists and a team-leading +3 rating, Thompson continued what has been an outstanding year for him. After being selected 26th overall by St. Louis, Thompson has scored 20 points in 18 games at the University of Connecticut.

As for notes from the tournament, Team Canada has announced that Connor Ingram will start in net tonight instead of Carter Hart, who looked shaky at times against the skilled Russians. Ingram is a prospect in the Tampa Bay Lightning system and has dominated the WHL as a member of the Kamloops Blazers this year.

Mathieu Joseph, who is playing for Canada at the tournament, signed his entry-level contract with the Lightning yesterday with details coming down today courtesy of Cap Friendly. It’s a three-year deal that contains some solid bonuses. Not bad for a fourth-round pick.

Day two has just gotten underway with Switzerland facing off against the Czechs and three games to follow. The full preliminary round schedule can be found here.

James Wisniewski Leaves KHL Club

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James Wisniewski is on the move again. After failing to find an NHL contract this off-season, likely due to missing nearly all of 2015-16 with the Carolina Hurricanes with an injury, Wisniewski settled for a professional tryout with the Tampa Bay Lightning during preseason. Wisniewski was unable to make the most of his PTO and was cut by the team before the regular season began. He then joined the KHL’s Admiral Vladivostok, where he has played for the past two months. However, Wisniewski himself announced his departure from the team this week.

Wisniewski now plans to head to Switzerland where he will join Team Lugano for the upcoming Spengler Cup. The Spengler Cup is an international invitational tournament hosted each year by Swiss NLA club HC Davos every holiday season. The tournament includes mostly European pro teams, usually from the NLA and KHL, as well as a non-NHL/AHL team from Canada. HC Lugano is a fellow NLA team taking part in the tournament this year. Wisniewski will now join the squad, which already employs former NHLers Maxim Lapierre, Damien Brunner, and Ryan Wilson. While it has not been officially announced whether or not Wisniewski will continue to play for Lugano in the NLA season following the Spengler Cup, it is a safe assumption.

So far in 2016-17, Wisniewski had a goal and three assists in 16 games with Admiral Vladivostok, usually skating alongside former NHL defenseman Anton Volchenkov. The KHL team was a ways out from contention though, 23 points behind in their division. Wisniewski now joins a more talented team in Lugano, who is primed to fight for a playoff spot this season. Wisniewski brings 552 games of NHL experience, as well as 274 career points worth of skill to his new team.

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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Matthew Lombardi Retires

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It’s a name that hasn’t been heard in the NHL in a few years, and now never will again. Former two-way specialist and long-time Calgary Flames center Matthew Lombardi announced his retirement from pro hockey this weekend at the age of 34. The defensive forward has played the past three seasons with Geneve-Servette HC in the Swiss National League A.

Lombardi was once a rising star in the NHL. A third-round pick by the Flames in 2002, fresh off of a 130-point season for the QMJHL’s Victoriaville Tigres, Lombardi quickly became a highly regarded NHL prospect. He made his league debut in 2003-04, garnering Calder consideration as he scored 29 points and quickly established himself as a complete, defensively responsible player. In 2006-07, Lombardi put together his first 20-goal season as part of a 46-point effort. Altogether, Lombardi had 167 points in 347 games with the Flames and led the team in shorthanded time on ice and shorthanded goals during that span. However, by the NHL Trade Deadline in 2009, Lombardi had not progressed the way that Calgary had hoped. In need of more talent down the middle, the Flames traded Lombardi along with Brandon Prust and a first-round pick that would become Brandon Gormley to the Phoenix Coyotes for Olli Jokinen. Ironically, in the 2008-09 season split between Calgary and Phoenix, Lombardi matched his career high of 46 points and then topped it in his 2009-10 season in the desert with 53 points. Meanwhile, Jokinen performed worse on a point-per-game basis in the latter half of 2008-09 than Lombardi and had just 50 points in 2009-10 and was traded out of Calgary. Unfortunately, Lombardi was unable to keep besting his career bests. After signing a three-year, $10.5MM deal with the Nashville Predators in 2010, Lombardi suffered a concussion in just the second game of the season and missed the entire 2010-11 campaign. He would never suit up for the Predators again, as they traded he and Cody Franson to the Toronto Maple Leafs the following summer. Lombardi struggled to return to his pre-concussion performance level in Toronto, scoring just 18 points to the tune of -19 in 2011-12. Even when traded back to Arizona, where he had enjoyed the best year of his career, Lombardi struggled, scoring just eight points in 21 games as a part-time player for the Coyotes before being traded yet again, this time to the Anaheim Ducks.

Looking for a jump start to a career that had grown cold, Lombardi headed overseas to Switzerland in 2013 to play with the NLA’s Geneve-Servette. In his first year, Lombardi became a fan-favorite with a team-best 50 points in 46 games. However, injuries have slowed him down the past two years as he’s played in just 53 games. Yet, Lombardi continued to play with a scoring touch and a dominant defensive edge when active and was a leader for the team. Unsure about his future, Lombardi took the summer to decide on his commitment to hockey before calling it a career this weekend. Although he may not be as recognizable a name as some, Lombardi played a strong all-around game and had the potential to be ever better. Although that ceiling was never reached, Lombardi should be remembered for the success he did have and admired for always striving to be better.

Snapshots: Kings, Hunlack, Bogosian

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In his latest column, ESPN Insider Pierre LeBrun takes a look at the Los Angeles Kings roster and suggest strategies for the upcoming expansion draft. LeBrun boils the issue down to two names: Brayden McNabb and Dustin Brown. If the team wishes to protect McNabb, they’ll have to go the “eight skaters” option, since Drew Doughty, Jake Muzzin and Alec Martinez will undoubtedly need protection. If they do, they put at risk some of their big names up front, including former captain Dustin Brown. While Brown is coming off the worst year of his career, he’s turned it around a bit this season and may be an interesting option for the Vegas team to bring in a veteran forward who could immediately become their first captain.

On the other hand, if they choose to leave McNabb exposed he may not necessarily be the selection since he only has one year remaining before becoming a highly sought after free agent in 2018. At 27, the shutdown defender would have teams lining up to bring him into the fold, and he’ll be looking for a substantial raise from the $1.8MM he’ll make next season.  For the Kings, just like every other team, the expansion draft will be a game of chicken with George McPhee and the Vegas front office.

  • In Toronto, a nickname has surfaced for the veteran third pairing of Matt Hunwick and Roman Polak; “Hunlack”, as many fans refer to the duo has been chided incessantly by the analytics community for their constant struggle with possession metrics. While the two rank terribly in terms of Corsi and Fenwick, head coach Mike Babcock dismisses the notion that they’re unplayable. When asked by Chris Johnston of Sportsnet what makes up a good game for them, Babcock replied “There’s a bunch of ways to look at the game. So Corsi’s one, maybe. But who turns the video on and rewinds to see if those shots actually hit the net or not? Because our math and theirs don’t add up. So what I do is I say: ’Did the puck go in or did they get scoring chances against?'” While the metrics available to the public don’t necessarily share Babcock’s assesment of the pairing, he does seem to imply that the Maple Leafs’ internal numbers don’t match up exactly.  Perhaps even though ’Hunlack’ doesn’t generate shots like Toronto’s other pairings, they can be effective in other ways – or maybe it’s just talking them up for the trade deadline.
  • For Buffalo, their season-long struggle with injuries is starting to see an end. After Jack Eichel has rejoined the team and shown why he shouldn’t be forgotten as last season’s second-overall pick, the team got more good news today. Zach Bogosian, out since the beginning of November with a knee injury, took full part in today’s practice and should be back before long. Now they just have to figure out a way to motivate Zemgus Girgensons and Evander Kane, both of whom will skate on the fourth line tonight against the Los Angeles Kings.

Across The Pond: NLA

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After taking a look at the KHL last week, we turn now to the league challenging them for the title of #2 to the NHL: Switzerland’s National League A. This summer, the growing trend of displaced NHLers choosing to play in Switzerland continued. Once an afterthought compared to the massive and seemingly boundless Kontinental Hockey League, the little NLA, confined just within Swiss borders, has begun to bring in top talent year after year. No better example exists than 2016 #1 overall pick Auston Matthews. Professional hockey in Switzerland received an all-time high in global attention last season when Matthews decided to play professionally overseas a year before he was eligible to be selected into the NHL. Never before had a high-profile prospect made such a decision, and if they had, Switzerland would not have been the top candidate. Matthews was far from the only recognizable name playing on a Swiss roster though, and his departure has not stopped the talent, both North American and European, from continuing to mount in the NLA.

With the newfound attention on the league, some of Europe’s best talent have begun to follow North Americans to a league that used to be almost entirely composed of just Swiss natives. This is evident in the NLA scoring race. Instead of being dominated by imports like Nathan Gerbe, Nick Spaling, Rob Schremp, and Dustin Jeffrey or Swiss veterans like Damien Brunner and Roman Wick, it is instead a mixture of those groups and talent from around Europe. While no longer of interest to NHL teams, the leader of this group is 37-year-old Tommi Santala. Some may remember Santala from short stints with the Atlanta Thrashers and Vancouver Canucks in the early 2000’s. but the Finnish winger has made a name for himself in Switzerland in recent years. In the twilight of his career, Santala is on pace for his best season yet with 32 points in 27 games for EHC Kloten. A more interesting NHL option may be HC Lugano’s Linus Klasen. Although undersized, the speedy Klasen has been a point-per-game player or better in each of the past three seasons. So far in 2016-17, the Swedish native has ten goals and a league-leading 22 assists in 29 games. Although Klasen had a cup of coffee with the Nashville Predators in 2010-11, he has never truly had a shot at the NHL. At 30 years old, his time is running out, but another dominant season coupled with a weak free agent market may give him another chance at competing with the best. In a similar position is fellow countryman Robert Nilsson, who enjoyed several decent seasons with the New York Islanders and Edmonton Oilers, but of late has been playing the best hockey of his career with the ZSC Lions. While over the hump at 31, a player known for his intelligence and vision may be able to find his way back to the NHL if his production keeps up.

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