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Derick Brassard, Brandon Dubinsky Require Surgery

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Tuesday June 6th: Brassard underwent successful labrum surgery and started in on his four to five month recovery time. While GM Pierre Dorion announced that the Senators “remain hopeful that [Brassard] will be ready for the start of the 2017-18 regular season” it’s now almost exactly four months to opening night, meaning Brassard will at least miss all of training camp.

Tuesday May 30th: Two more forwards have been revealed to have serious injuries, as both Derick Brassard of the Senators and Brandon Dubinsky of the Blue Jackets will be out several months. According to Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia, Brassard will undergo surgery to repair a torn labrum and faces a four to five month recovery, while Dubinsky has already had wrist surgery and will be out for three months. Derick Brassard

Obviously the news is worse for Brassard, whose timeline will likely cause him to miss at least all of training camp if not the start of the 2017-18 regular season. After being traded from the New York Rangers last summer, Brassard’s offensive production took a step back under notoriously defensive-minded head coach Guy Boucher. With only 39 points in 81 games, Brassard nevertheless put up an excellent possession season as the Senators #2 center.

In the playoffs, Brassard stepped up his game and scored 11 points in 19 games, tied for second on the team among forwards. He currently has just two seasons remaining on his current deal before hitting unrestricted free agency, making any loss of time next season even more painful for the Senators.

For Dubinsky, it will mean a summer nursing his wrist back to full health and trying to get ready in time for training camp. The 31-year old forward had another solid season with 41 points, and once again led the team with 248 hits. His physical style is exactly what the Blue Jackets have modeled their structure after, trying to beat up opponents with four lines of heavy bodies chasing pucks in the offensive zone. He was also the Blue Jackets’ best faceoff man, winning 51.7% of his draws this season. It will be interesting to see how he reacts in the circle next season, as wrist injuries often affect a center’s faceoff ability.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Anaheim Ducks, Paul MacLean Part Ways

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Fresh off a playoff elimination at the hands of the Nashville Predators in the Western Conference Final, the Anaheim Ducks don’t seem content to stand pat this off-season. Changes are expected to come this summer, and the first news has come out already. Assistant coach Paul MacLean, whose current contract had come to an end, will not be retained. According to the team, it was a mutual parting of ways.

MacLean, 59, is a former NHL head coach and Jack Adams Award-winner, serving as the bench boss for the Ottawa Senators from 2011 to 2014, leading the team to the postseason twice in three (and a half) seasons. MacLean was fired by Ottawa midway through the 2014-15 campaign. MacLean joined the Ducks that off-season, working under Bruce Boudreau, whom he beat out for the Jack Adams in 2013. After Boundreau was fired and replaced by Randy Carlyle last year, MacLean was retained. However, the team has promised to shake things up and it appears that they felt the best move for the team was to move on from the veteran coach.

MacLean will certainly land on his feet. Beyond Ottawa and Anaheim, MacLean has an extensive coaching resume to lean on. MacLean had previously served as an assistant in Anaheim before, under Mike Babcock with the Mighty Ducks in the early 2000’s, and followed Babcock to Detroit as well. MacLean also has a long, successful history in the minor leagues where, if no NHL opportunities arise, he would surely be welcomed back. MacLean’s son, A.J., is also an assistant coach with the OHL’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, so don’t rule out a move to Canadian major junior either. MacLean will be fine; the Ducks on the other hand are just beginning their re-tool and more news is sure to come this off-season.

Jyrki Jokipakka Will Not Receive Qualifying Offer, Will Play In Europe Next Season

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According to Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia, Jyrki Jokipakka will not be given a qualifying offer this summer by the Ottawa Senators. The 25-year old defenseman was arbitration eligible and set to become a restricted free agent, but instead will head to Europe to play in the professional ranks there.

Jokipakka was acquired by the Senators in the Curtis Lazar trade at the deadline from the Calgary Flames, but his Ottawa tenure will come to an end before it even really begins. He played just three games for the Senators down the stretch and never suited up in the playoffs. He was apparently next in line behind Erik Karlsson, but the Ottawa captain played on a fractured foot instead of sitting in the press box.

Traded twice in his North American career, Jokipakka looked like he had an NHL future somewhere. While there is no indication where he’ll play next year, the Finnish defenseman played three seasons for Ilves Tampere of Liiga in Finland before coming over to the Dallas Stars’ system. Perhaps he’ll return to his home country and try to rebuild his game.

Ottawa Senators Sign Christian Jaros To ELC

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The Ottawa Senators have brought in another intriguing defensive prospect, inking Christian Jaros to a three-year entry-level contract. The financials of the deal are still unknown. Jaros has played the last three seasons in the Swedish Hockey League, where he recorded 13 points in 36 games this year.

Just 21, Jaros was selected in the fifth round of the 2015 draft and has had two solid development years in the SHL. The 6’3″ 214-lbs defender has both the size and skating ability to compete at the next level. One of his biggest assets, open ice hitting, is something Ottawa Senators fans should be excited about as he can close a gap incredibly quickly and accelerates through the offensive player. His hits are already on highlight reels all over the internet, and many Canadian fans may remember him from the World Juniors when he caught Max Domi in the middle of the ice.

The Senators, who have a blue-chip defensive prospect in Thomas Chabot coming up next season, will have to decide whether to bring Jaros over to North America right away or allow him another development year in Sweden. The Slovakian defender might have an NHL future in the next few years, as his offensive game is also not to be overlooked. Armed with a big shot—that he sometimes has trouble getting off—he could develop into a solid all-around defender with the ability to compliment a more offensive player.

Bobby Ryan's Cap-Hit May Be Built In Protection For Expansion Draft

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  • As we wrote about earlier today, Ottawa Senators forward Bobby Ryan may have pushed himself back into the discussion about expansion protection with his standout playoffs. Jared Clinton of The Hockey News doesn’t think so though as he lists Ryan among his players that have built-in protection due to their cap hits. Ryan himself thinks he’s “pretty safe”, telling the media that he doesn’t think Vegas would want his $7.25MM cap-hit. Ryan currently has a no-movement clause of sorts, but it is not the same as say, Dion Phaneuf’s clause that will force him to be protected should he not waive it. Ryan is not on the list of automatic protection, as his clause only stops movement to the minors. He doesn’t need to waive it to be exposed.

Craig Anderson Will Be Protected From Expansion Draft

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Though it doesn’t come as much of a surprise, Ottawa Senators GM Pierre Dorion confirmed today that Craig Anderson will be the goalie protected for the team in the upcoming expansion draft. With Mike Condon set to become an unrestricted free agent, that means the Golden Knights will get a chance to negotiate with him prior to the draft, and also puts into question whether the Senators will look to retain him on a longer-term contract after the season. Anderson has just a single year left on his contract, but at 36 was one of the biggest reasons the Senators reached game 7 of the Eastern Conference final.

While protecting Anderson seems like the obvious choice after his excellent season—the veteran goaltender put up a .926 save percentage despite his personal issues—Condon looks more like the future in Ottawa should they be able to sign him. Dorion mentioned during his press conference that if they can’t sign Condon (which would confirm that they’re trying to) that Andrew Hammond could be in as the backup to Anderson, and though Hammond had a Cinderella-like run when his career started, he had a terrible season fighting injury and is already 29-years old. Dorion admits talks with Condon haven’t gone well so far, but that he will speak to his agent next week.

In terms of other players being protected, Dorion was less forthcoming. He put it simply:

We’re going to lose a player. That’s part of the deal. Las Vegas payed a lot of money to get in this league, and that’s part of the deal. Are you mad about it? No. That’s part of the deal. We’ve got enough depth that I don’t see any radical changes to this team.

There has been much speculation about the possibility of Bobby Ryan being exposed, though when Ian Mendes of TSN asked if Dorion had changed his mind during the playoffs about certain players, the GM said that they have to take everything into account. Ryan exploded in the playoffs after a dreadful season, turning into one of the team’s best forwards. After scoring just 25 points in the regular season, Ryan put up 15 in the Senators’ 19 playoff games and may have done enough to warrant protection once again. Supremely talented, Ryan has the biggest cap-hit on the team and is signed through the 2021-22 season.

Rookie Colin White Draws In For Senators In Game Six

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In a decisive Game 6 match-up of the Eastern Conference Final against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Ottawa Senators have decided to go outside the box. Following an embarrassing 7-0 loss in Game 5, head coach Guy Boucher has made the call that the team needs a different look tonight, and that means rookie center Colin White will get the call. This is the third NHL game for white and, obviously, the first playoff game of his young career. Will he be a game-changer for the Senators?

White may be making his NHL postseason debut, but he’s actually played postseason hockey already this season. White signed his entry-level contract with Ottawa on April 2nd, after his NCAA season with Boston College came to an end. White, the 21st overall pick in 2015, was nearly a point-per-game player for BC this season, with 16 goals and 17 assists in 35 games, and helped to lead the Eagles to finals of the Hockey East conference tournament. However, White’s squad fell to the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, and without the automatic bid, did not have the resume to qualify for the NCAA tournament.

Since then, White has played in just five games – two scoreless outings with Ottawa and three games (with three points) for the AHL Binghamton Senators, who missed the playoffs – and he is now being called on to enter the Eastern Conference Final cold and provide a spark on offense. White’s inclusion is not so much the result of injury, although Alexandre Burrows remains sidelined, but instead a decision of pace and positioning. Ottawa dressed seven defenseman for Game 5, which was undoubtedly their worst performance of the 2017 postseason, and Bocher decided not to continue that practice. He also declined to dress slower physical veteran forwards like Chris Kelly or Chris Neil in favor or the young White, hoping that his youthful energy would help to keep pace with the speedy Penguins. White is a well-rounded prospect with high-end possession ability and good visions and hockey intelligence. However, he’s being thrown into the fire in this situation, as the Senators are desperate for all the help they can get to stay alive tonight.

Tommy Wingels Will Not Receive Hearing After Scott Wilson Hit

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Though you may not have noticed it while watching the final moments of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 7-0 crushing of the Ottawa Senators yesterday, Scott Wilson left the ice with an apparent head injury after receiving a forearm/elbow from Tommy Wingels. Mike Halford of NBC’s ProHockeyTalk reports that the league will not have a hearing with Wingels following the incident, even though he served no penalty as time expired. As Pierre McGuire exclaimed on the NBC broadcast as time was running down, Wilson immediately left the ice surface and quickly headed down the tunnel. He was not present at the morning skate according to Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, though it was optional and only thirteen players attended.

As the frustration of the lopsided affair boiled over Wingels clearly tries to inflict pain—though perhaps not injury—on Wilson as the Penguins’ forward just dumps the puck down the ice. It’s a dangerous play, and one that clearly had an effect on Wilson as he didn’t wait around to celebrate with teammates. Head coach Mike Sullivan reports that Wilson is “fine” but the injury outcome seems secondary when watching the hit.

The NHL Department of Player Safety has been criticized in the past for its apparent inconsistency when it comes to hits that contact the head, with this being the latest divisive case. While some may see it as a targeted head-shot with the intent to injure, others may view it as an attempt at a check that unfortunately contacted the head first. Either way it is a bit surprising that there is not at least a phone hearing scheduled, especially while the league is embroiled in a legal battle about how they handle head and brain injuries.

Golden Knights Notes: Expansion Draft Targets, Gallant, Yakupov

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The NHL purposefully designed the rules regarding the expansion draft to give the league’s newest member the best possible chance to compete right away. Teams have two options in terms of whom to protect from their current roster: they can either choose to protect seven forwards, three defensemen and a goalie or they can go the alternate route of eight skaters and one goalie. Any player with two seasons or less of experience playing professional hockey in North America are exempt. Undoubtedly, many teams will confront some tough choices when it comes to whom they potentially lose to the Golden Knights later next month.

Rob Vollman, writing for ESPN.com, examines who among the four Stanley Cup semi-finalists Vegas GM George McPhee is most likely going to garner significant interest from the veteran hockey executive. From the reigning champion Penguins, Vollman suggests that unless the club can convince Marc-Andre Fleury to waive his NMC and subsequently trade him to another club looking for a #1 between the pipes, one of Pittsburgh’s goaltenders would be the best choice for McPhee and the Golden Knights. However, should the Penguins proactively move one of their ’tenders – almost assuredly Fleury – prior to the expansion draft, Vollman suggests blue liner Brian Dumoulin as the best choice given his penalty killing prowess and ability to play solid defensively.

According to the scribe, Anaheim, barring some shifty maneuvering, may risk losing Josh Manson or Jakob Silfverberg to their new division rivals. Manson, as a right-hand defenseman who can move the puck and plays with bite, would be an excellent addition for Vegas.

Because of their defensive depth, Nashville will likely choose to protect eight skaters, with four being blue liners. This means the Golden Knights will probably have their pick from a group which includes forwards Calle Jarnkrok, Craig Smith and Colin Wilson. Ultimately, Vollman thinks Jarnkrok would be the sensible choice given his affordable cap hit ($2MM annually through 2021-22) and his strong two-way play.

Given the lack of proven goal scorers likely to be available to McPhee in the expansion draft, Vollman wonders whether Vegas could be convinced to take the onerous contract of Bobby Ryan off of Ottawa’s hands. Ryan, who has five years – at which point the winger will be 35 – and an annual cap charge of $7.25MM, has struggled since joining Ottawa four years ago and finished with just 13 goals in 62 contests this past season. However, he has played better in the playoffs recording five markers and 14 points in 16 games. Vollman doubts McPhee would take that hefty contract on without the Senators offering them further incentive to do so but also notes the $7.25MM price tag would make it much easier to reach their targeted floor of $43.8MM in salaries. And at 30, there is hope Ryan can provide at least a few seasons of solid offensive production for a club who will likely struggle to put the puck in the net.

In other Golden Knights news:

  • The Golden Knights have done well in hiring veteran coach Gerard Gallant to be the franchise’s first bench boss, at least if some of his former charges and current contemporaries are correct. NHL.com’s Brian Hedger penned an article on Gallant, who is currently an assistant with Canada’s entry in the 2017 IIHF World Championship, which included quotes from Michael Matheson and Nick Bjugstad, who each played for Gallant in Florida. Matheson, a young defenseman who rejoined Gallant on Team Canada for this tournament, said: “He’s a tremendous coach and I loved my time with him. He just gives his players a lot of confidence. He realizes that you’re going to make mistakes but that it’s not the end of the world. He’s just going to put you back onto the ice because he has confidence in you.” For his part, Bjugstad said: “He’s one of my favorite coaches ever,” and indicated he was well-liked in the room in Florida. “Everyone respected him. He had a young team with us, and it didn’t take him long to kind of push us to that next level, the next step. There’s no reason he can’t do it with the next team.” Tampa Bay head coach Jon Cooper also offered up strong praise for Gallant: “I think it’s a great get for Las Vegas. I got to meet Gerard at the [World Cup of Hockey 2016], and that’s a big reason he’s here with us today. He’s extremely knowledgeable about the game, the guys play hard for him and I think he’ll do a [great] job in Vegas.” Gallant’s ability to help develop young players and earn the respect from his charges should do him well in his new position. While the Golden Knights will have access to quality NHL talent via the expansion draft, the organization will still likely rely on building with youth through the draft and it may be a few seasons before they are ready to compete regularly for the postseason.
  • With the probable lack of proven goal scorers available to Vegas in the expansion draft, the club will likely look for other ways to add offensive talent to the organization. The Golden Knights have already inked free agent center Vadim Shipachyov, a skilled Russian who was expected to draw significant interest from several NHL clubs this summer. He may well slot in as the team’s #1 center to begin the season. But, as talented as Shipachyov might be, he is more of a playmaker than a goal scorer and Vegas will have to add more talent around their new #1 pivot. Luke Fox of Sportsnet suggests that former top overall draft pick Nail Yakupov is just the sort of player Vegas should take a chance on as they search for impact offensive talent. Yakupov, who suffered through the worst season of his career with St. Louis in 2016-17, scoring just nine points in 40 games, has said he has no desire to return home and play in the KHL. Fox believes the 23-year-old winger is worth a short-term, small money deal for Vegas, or for another team starved for cheap offense, perhaps L.A. Signing Yakupov would certainly make a lot of sense for Vegas. The presence of Shipachyov could help ease Yakupov’s adjustment to the desert and provide the talented winger with the type of setup man that could help him thrive.

Morning Notes: Babcock, Maple Leafs, Borowiecki

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The Toronto Maple Leafs fan base has been abuzz over the last few days after seeing pictures of Mike Babcock at games 3 and 4 between Nashville and Anaheim, even being joined by GM Lou Lamoriello for the latter. His appearance immediately made many think that he was scouting Ducks defensemen eligible for the expansion draft, though Sportsnet’s Luke Fox has an additional theory.

Predators captain Mike Fisher will be a free agent this summer, and though he’s obviously tied strongly to the Nashville community—he’s married to country music star Carrie Underwood after all—the numbers might just not leave enough room for him. Nashville has a busy offseason ahead of them, with both Ryan Johansen and Viktor Arvidsson hitting restricted free agency. If Fisher were to hit the open market, Toronto would likely be interested after the comments Babcock made earlier this year about him.

  • Maple Leafs fans will also be happy to see the success of their two young stars at the World Championships. Mitch Marner and William Nylander have been some of the best forwards in the tournament thus far, with Nylander especially finding incredible chemistry with playoff-foe Nicklas Backstrom. Nylander and Backstrom have a long history, going back to the latter’s rookie season in Washington when he was welcomed into the home of then-teammate Michael Nylander, William’s father. The two, almost 10 years apart, spent a lot of time together during those first two seasons playing ping-pong in the basement or mini-sticks in the hallway. It seems all that time spent so many years ago has created a sort of familiarity on the ice, that has blossomed into some incredible goals since Backstrom joined the tournament.
  • The Ottawa Senators won’t get Mark Borowiecki back tonight, though he took the morning skate with the team. According to Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia, the bruising defenseman suffered a setback pushing too hard to try and get back on the ice. He still hopes to return in this series, which would stretch to next Thursday should it go all seven games. The Senators will try to take a commanding 3-1 series lead tonight as they take on the Penguins at home.

 

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