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Snapshots: Three Stars, Rule Changes, Percy

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The NHL has released their three stars for last week, and familiar names occupy each spot. Marc-Andre Fleury is in the top spot after going 3-0 with two shutouts for the Vegas Golden Knights. Fleury allowed just one goal on 77 shots and is now carrying a .911 save percentage on the year. While that number is down from last season, Fleury leads the league with 32 wins and eight shutouts while also having played the most minutes of any goaltender. The Golden Knights are leaning heavily on their starter, a strategy that will be tested when the playoffs roll around.

Blake Wheeler and Sidney Crosby were awarded second and third respectively, each scoring eight points in three games. Wheeler’s performance was capped by a four-goal game against the Columbus Blue Jackets yesterday, giving him 80 points on the season. Crosby, who has 83 this year is actually on pace to record his best offensive season since 2009-10 and crack the 100-point mark for the sixth time in his career.

  • The GM meetings began this week in Florida, and Frank Seravalli of TSN examines ten potential rule changes that the group will be discussing. These include things like changing standings tiebreaker rules, changing how much a player can be fined for certain incidents, and perhaps even forcing players to wear helmets during warm-ups. It doesn’t sound like any huge changes will come out of this week’s discussions, but there might be a few tweaks.
  • The AHL trade deadline passed today with very little fanfare, but not for Stuart Percy. The former top prospect was traded from the Belleville Senators to the Providence Bruins in exchange for Austin Fyten. Percy, originally selected in the first round eight years ago, has just 12 NHL games under his belt and is currently on a minor league contract.

Atlantic Notes: Senators, Kadri, Howard, Rosen

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With Guy Boucher out as head coach in Ottawa Friday, and 18 games left in the season, the young Ottawa Senators must make a quick decision on their head coaching job this summer. The team gave the interim tag to Marc Crawford, but unless he can turn around the franchise in those 18 games, the Sporting News’ Murray Pam writes that general manager Pierre Dorion may opt to look for a new voice to coach the franchise.

Among the top potential candidates that could take over this summer, Pam suggests that 66-year-old Jacques Martin could be an interesting candidate that can give the team a fresh voice. The veteran coach, who was raised in Saint-Pascal, Ont., not far from Ottawa, has been an assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Penguins for the last six years, 31 years of NHL experience and has two Stanley Cup rings.

One obvious candidate could also come from within as the Belleville Senators’ head coach, Troy Mann, who has done an impressive job in his first year as head coach of the AHL franchise and already knows many of the players on the team’s roster. His recent track record is the most interesting as he has led the team to a 16-game unbeaten streak as the team has gone 11-0-5 and is on the cusp of the AHL playoffs. He’s in his fifth year as an AHL head coach. The scribe throws in several other candidates, including Montreal Canadiens’ assistant Luke Richardson and Columbus Blue Jackets’ assistant Brad Shaw.

  • Despite missing his sixth straight game Saturday, Toronto Maple Leafs Nazem Kadri, who has been out with a concussion, seems to be improving. According to The Star’s Kevin McGran, Kadri skated this morning, which is a good sign for his recovery. “Obviously, our medical staff has to do a good job with those guys and keep them out as long as they’re supposed to be out,” said Leafs coach Mike Babcock. “I think it’s obviously good for him to be out there, just morale-wise. It looks like he’s going in the right direction. I didn’t talk to the coaches since he’s been out, just to see what kind of skate they were able to give him and what he was able to handle. (We’ll) still monitor that and see, and then we’ll see how hard we can push him. I don’t know when he’s ready.”
  • Detroit Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard has struggled immensely in the month of February, posting a 3.97 GAA and a .866 save percentage in nine games. On top of that, he has been pulled from his last three games, not exactly what you’d expect from a goaltender who represented the Atlantic Division at the All-Star Game. However, don’t expect the veteran to give up. Howard has spent countless hours studying video of his play, trying to figure out what’s gone wrong, according to Dana Gauruder of the Detroit Free Press. “To be honest, going through the video, it’s just being off by a fraction,” he said. “Not having the correct angle. When you don’t have that as a goalie, guys can put the puck in tight areas and that’s what’s happened.”
  • With recent injuries to Toronto Maple Leafs’ defensemen Travis Dermott and Jake Gardiner, many fans have wondered why Toronto hasn’t turned to promising young defenseman Calle Rosen. The 25-year-old has been tearing up the AHL with the Toronto Marlies this year and signed a two-year extension with the team back in December. However, Rosen can’t be recalled yet, according to the Toronto Sun’s Lance Hornby, because he took a puck off his foot a few days ago and isn’t ready to return to the ice just yet. Regardless, Rosen, who has seven goals and 44 points in 52 games with the Marlies, could be called up soon.

Minor Transactions: 03/01/19

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Eight games on the schedule for a relatively busy Friday night in the NHL, with the Nashville Predators and Winnipeg Jets providing some must-see television. The winner of the game will assume first place in the Central Division with less than a quarter of the season to go, and stay ahead of the hard charging St. Louis Blues. The Predators are only five points ahead of the Blues with three more games played, meaning matchups like this with Winnipeg are incredibly important. As always, we’ll be here keeping track of all the minor moves around the league.

  • The Ottawa Senators made a change to their coaching staff today, and also sent Drake Batherson back down to the Belleville Senators for the time being. The team had Batherson up on an emergency recall, but he’ll return to the AHL where he can take on the Manitoba Moose tonight.
  • Interestingly, the Moose will not have Eric Comrie in net for that game as the goaltender has been recalled by the Winnipeg Jets. Comrie is up under emergency conditions meaning the Jets must have an injury or illness somewhere in their goaltending group.
  • The Minnesota Wild have used an emergency recall on Matt Read, bringing him up in time for their game tomorrow against the Calgary Flames. The Wild are right back in the thick of the playoff race after winning their last four games even despite trading away several key forwards over the last few weeks.

Ottawa Senators Fire Guy Boucher

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The Ottawa Senators have made another major move in their continuing rebuild, this time firing head coach Guy Boucher. Assistant coach Marc Crawford will take over in the interim as the team begins its search for a new head coach. GM Pierre Dorion had this to say in a press release:

I want to thank Guy for his three years of service. He is a good person and has been an excellent representative of the Senators. At this point, however, we need a different set of coaching and leadership skills to guide our team through this rebuild. In the interim, Marc will bring a different perspective along with a wealth of head coaching experience.

This move comes almost immediately after Dorion told Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia that the team would wait until the end of the season to evaluate Boucher’s future. Apparently Senators management changed their mind and made the move now to ensure different habits would be instilled over the last few weeks of the season. To that end, former Senators player Chris Kelly has been added to the coaching staff.

Boucher’s tenure in Ottawa comes to an end a few weeks before his three-year contract expired, and he’ll finish with a 94-108-26 record. His time in Ottawa went similar to his previous job in Tampa Bay, where he led the Lightning to an outstanding first season before struggling in years two and three. The Senators went 44-28-10 in 2016-17 before almost making it to the Stanley Cup Finals, but fell apart last season and have been a disaster this year.

The team announced their coaching search and explained what they are looking for in their next bench boss, with development and growth listed at the very top. Dorion did admit that Crawford would be considered for the full-time job, though it sounds more like the team is looking outside of the organization for their new head coach. Crawford of course has plenty of experience in the role, previously coaching the Quebec Nordiques, Vancouver Canucks, Los Angeles Kings and Dallas Stars while also taking the Colorado Avalanche all the way to a Stanley Cup championship in 1996.

It’s not surprising that Boucher was not retained, but the timing of this move is certainly curious. The team has not performed well all season but Dorion spoke about their recent play as something that sparked this decision. Part of that play is obviously because of the lack of skill after jettisoning Matt Duchene, Mark Stone and Ryan Dzingel, but Dorion must have seen something else that he did not want creeping into the dressing room.

Cody Ceci, Senators To Meet At End Of Season To Discuss His Future With The Team

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  • Senators defenseman Cody Ceci acknowledged to Don Brennan of the Ottawa Sun that he thought he was going to be dealt, especially after being sat at the request of a team that was trying to add him. Instead, the deal didn’t happen but between this and his $4.3MM required qualifying offer this summer, it’s fair to say that his future with Ottawa remains in question.  Ceci indicated that he plans to sit down with GM Pierre Dorion at the end of the season to determine whether or not there’s still going to be a role for him on this team moving forward.

Minor Transactions: 02/28/19

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Seven games grace the NHL schedule tonight, including John Tavares’ return to New York. The former Islanders captain spurned the team by choosing the Toronto Maple Leafs in free agency and is expected to get a less than welcome reception upon his return tonight. Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins do battle in a matchup of the top two teams in the Eastern Conference. As the league prepares, we’ll be right here to keep track of all the minor moves.

  • Sammy Blais is on his way back down again, a usual occurrence recently for the young St. Louis Blues forward. Blais has been moved up or down eleven times this season, including a recall just two days ago. The 22-year old has three points in 27 games for the Blues this season.
  • Sam Steel and Jacob Larsson were both returned to the San Diego Gulls last night, their stay as insurance policies for the Anaheim Ducks apparently over for now. The pair will continue their development at the AHL level and wait for another opportunity.
  • Drake Batherson has been recalled today for the Ottawa Senators as Rudolfs Balcers deals with the flu. The Senators are giving all of their young prospects a chance to show what they can do at the end of the year, and Batherson is one of the most exciting. The 20-year old fourth-round pick has developed into quite the professional already, recording 49 points in 41 games for the Belleville Senators while also contributing eight points in 19 games for Ottawa.
  • Matt Luff has been recalled by the Los Angeles Kings for their game against the Dallas Stars, another young player set to get a chance down the stretch. Luff has played 30 games for the Kings this season and has ten points including seven goals.
  • The Boston Bruins have sent Karson Kuhlman back to the minor leagues according to Mark Divver of the Providence Journal. Kuhlman played four games earlier this month for Boston, recording two points in the process.  Later in the day, the Bruins also announced that they returned Peter Cehlarik to to the AHL.  Cehlarik fared well in 14 games with Boston where he collected six points but his ice time had dropped in recent games so he’ll return to the minors and play a prominent role with Providence.

Senators Wouldn't Offer Mark Stone A No-Move Clause

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  • Mark Stone’s expected new deal with Vegas (which can be made official as early as Friday) is expected to carry a full no-movement clause. Don Brennan of the Ottawa Sun notes that this was something that the Senators were unwilling to put as part of their offer to keep the 26-year-old in the fold.

Ottawa Senators LeBreton Development Bid In Jeopardy

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Yesterday a mediator announced that there would be no extension given to RendezVous LeBreton Group to resolve their dispute and continue work on the proposal to build a new arena closer to downtown Ottawa. RendezVous includes Senators owner Eugene Melnyk and Trinity Development Group founder John Ruddy, who are currently embroiled in a lawsuit. Melnyk filed a $700MM lawsuit against Ruddy in November, who then filed a $1B counterclaim. Today, the National Capital Commission who controls the LeBreton Flats area announced that there will be no settlement in the dispute and will now hold a meeting on March 7th to finalize a new development process.

This is not a guaranteed death sentence for the project, but it certainly makes it more difficult for the Senators to get their long awaited downtown arena. The LeBreton area is much closer to the city center than where the team currently plays, some 30 minutes outside of Ottawa in Kanata, ON. The arena is difficult get to and has routinely been a cause for consternation for fans of the team.

Melnyk released a statement following the announcement:

We are devastated that our dream has been shattered. However, we will not let our vision die or allow our enthusiasm to be diminished by this ill-fated experience. More than ever, we are determined and committed to explore alternative approaches in central locations that could accommodate a world-class hub. We are here for the long term and want a world class venue where Ottawans will live, work, play and enjoy the best the city has to offer. The people of Ottawa deserve this.

It’s been a long, disappointing 18 months for the Senators, who have fallen from the Eastern Conference Finals in 2017 to a bottom feeder in the NHL. The team may very well finish last in the entire league this season and have just traded away their three top scoring forwards. It will be a long way back to the top, and somehow rejuvenating this development bid would be a huge step in the right direction. Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem like it’s going to happen after today’s announcement.

Snapshots: Ottawa, Edler, Zucker

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The Ottawa Senators have been in the headlines continuously for their roster transactions this season, but there are more big picture issues facing the team off the ice. The group that includes Senators owner Eugene Melnyk that is trying to develop the LeBreton Flats area in Ottawa for a new arena is embroiled in a legal dispute that is putting the development contract in jeopardy. The National Capital Commission which controls LeBreton had placed a deadline of this Thursday, February 28th to resolve the dispute and today told Canadian Press reporters that there will be no extension.

If the dispute is not resolved by the deadline the NCC has made it clear it will move on to other proposals regarding the land, meaning the Senators may lose their chance at the prime arena location. The area is much closer to downtown Ottawa and would be a huge boost for the team that currently plays in Kanata, some distance outside the city center.

  • Alex Edler has been working with the Vancouver Canucks on an extension, and according to GM Jim Benning did not want to waive his no-trade clause to go anywhere else. Edler has made it clear over the last few weeks and months that he would like to finish his career in Vancouver if possible, and with his relatively strong play this year there’s no reason to think that won’t happen at this point. The 32-year old defenseman has 20 points in 38 games this season and is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent after this season.
  • The Calgary Flames were apparently interested in acquiring Mark Stone at one point before the deadline, and they also showed interest in Minnesota Wild forward Jason Zucker. Ryan Leslie of Sportsnet even tweeted the team was “in” on Zucker just as the deadline was about to pass, but a deal didn’t materialize. Darren Dreger was on TSN radio today speaking about the situation and said that Flames GM Brad Treliving was “white hot” that the deal didn’t go through for whatever reason. The Flames ended up adding only Oscar Fantenberg on deadline day and will now have to go through the rest of the season without any real forward upgrade.

Florida Panthers Tried To Acquire Mark Stone

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The Florida Panthers have cleared a large amount of cap room this season by trading away players like Nick Bjugstad and Jared McCann, and many have speculated that they’ll use it in free agency on targets like Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky. While that may be true, it didn’t stop the team from going after another big fish at the trade deadline. Head coach Dale Tallon tells George Richards of The Athletic (subscription required) that the team made a “good offer” to the Ottawa Senators to try and get Mark Stone before the talented winger eventually went to the Vegas Golden Knights.

Stone is expected to sign a long-term extension with the Golden Knights, something Richards believes the Panthers were also willing to do if they could acquire the 26-year old. It makes sense, given the cap room that Florida has and already exceptional talent up front to surround Stone with. Interestingly though the team already has Mike Hoffman in the fold, who was unceremoniously ushered out of Ottawa after a very public feud with former Senators captain Erik Karlsson. It’s obviously not clear where Hoffman and Stone stand, but it didn’t stop the team from trying to acquire the latter.

Tallon admits that the team will be “very aggressive” at the end of the season, using their draft capital and cap space to improve the team. With a forward core already consisting of Hoffman, Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau, Vincent Trocheck and Evgeni Dadonov the team has some real scoring punch. Adding a player like Stone or Panarin would make them even more dangerous, and with somewhere around $22MM in cap space (depending on where the ceiling lands) they have the room to do it and other things. The Panthers also own nine picks in the upcoming draft and could flip those for some more help.

At the very least, the fact that the Panthers were going hard to try and land a player of Stone’s caliber should be encouraging to the fan base. While this season hasn’t gone as hoped, there should be real excitement for an offseason that should be filled with fireworks.

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