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Senators Lose Hoffman, Stone, And Wingels To Injuries

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The past 24 hours have not been good for the Ottawa Senators when it comes to injuries.  After learning they’ll be without winger Bobby Ryan for potentially up to six weeks earlier on Sunday, they lost wingers Mike Hoffman, Mark Stone, and Tommy Wingels all to separate injuries in a loss to the Jets.

Hoffman suffered a lower body injury in the second period while Stone left the game near the midway mark of the third following a hit to the head from Winnipeg blueliner Jacob Trouba.  As for Wingels, he was injured with just under three minutes to go in a collision with Dustin Byfuglien.

While no updates were publicly available following the game, head coach Guy Boucher didn’t sound too optimistic in his postgame press comments (via Darren Desaulniers of the Canadian Press):

“It doesn’t look good. We have to wait until tomorrow to be clear and precise but right now we could be losing quite a few guys.”

Stone leads the Senators in goals and sits second in points behind only Erik Karlsson while Hoffman slots in fourth in team scoring.  As for Wingels, he hasn’t been too active on the scoreboard but has provided the Sens with a physical presence in their bottom six.

In the short-term, this would seemingly provide an opportunity for Curtis Lazar to see a bigger role.  Senators GM Pierre Dorion met with Lazar’s agent earlier this weekend and there were suggestions earlier in the week that his name had been popping up more frequently in trade talks.  The former first round pick (17th overall in 2013) has had a nightmarish season so far with just a single assist in 31 games.  Chris Neil, who was a healthy scratch on Sunday, also should be in line for more regular playing time if at least some of the injured trio will miss some time.

In the meantime, it seems likely that Dorion will be working the phones in the coming days to see what the cost might be to bring in some more depth up front as the Sens try to push for top spot in the Atlantic Division; they sit two points behind Montreal but have two games in hand.

Trade Candidates: Patrick Eaves

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With the trade deadline quickly approaching, we will be profiling several players in the weeks ahead that are likely to be dealt by March 1st.

Patrick Eaves is having the best season of his career, and it’s not even close. The Dallas Stars have had the opposite luck, though. The Stars are eight points behind the Predators for the final wild card spot in the Western Conference, and Nashville has three games in hand on them as well. For all intents and purposes, Dallas’ season is over. Their playoff hopes are all but dead and they should be major sellers at the deadline with a plethora of talented expiring contracts. Yet, a team that can move Patrick Sharp, Jiri Hudler, and Johnny Oduya may actually get the best return from the career grinder Eaves; he’s been that effective this season.

Contract

Eaves is on a one-year, $1MM contract. It is the third year in a row that he has signed on for one season at a time with Dallas. By the Trade Deadline, Eaves’ pro-rated cap hit will be only about $250K.

2016-17

To say that Eaves is having the best season of his career is an understatement. Despite several major offensive contributors missing extensive time due to injury in 2016-17, Eaves has emerged, seemingly out of nowhere, as the top goal-scoring threat in Dallas this season. Prior to this year, Eaves’ career-high in points was 32, during his sophomore season with the Ottawa Senators, and his career best in goals was 14, during the same campaign. With 23 games remaining this year, he has topped the former and shattered the latter. Eaves is tied with All-Star Tyler Seguin in goals and behind just he and captain Jamie Benn in points. He has scored 50% more goals than his career-high already and has done so as a sniper, with a shooting percentage in the top 25 in the NHL. Eaves is also averaging about four more minutes of ice time than his career average, in a season where he has transformed from a serviceable bottom-six forward to a relied-upon top-six scorer. After a career that to this point had largely been defined by durability problems, only modest offense, and a dependence on high-energy, checking play, Eaves has capitalized on his impending free agency in a week free agent class by playing like he never has before. The only question now is whether he can keep it up on whichever team trades for him.

Season Stats

57 GP: 21 goals, 14 assists, 35 points, -12 rating, 147 shots, 14.3% shooting, 16:33 ATOIP

Suitors

Eaves would be the perfect addition this season for cap-strapped teams in need of some forward depth. As always, the Chicago Blackhawks meet that description to the letter. The dynastic franchise has made it through this season so far with a couple of questionable pieces in the top nine, but would jump at the chance to add a 20-goal scorer at a $250K cost. One major concern about Eaves is that his numbers will drop off outside of the Dallas system, but if he’s playing alongside Jonathan Toews, there’s far less risk. Chicago has ten picks in the draft this season, including their own picks in rounds one, two, and three, and some nice forward prospects in the pipeline. GM Stan Bowman can put together a package worth Eaves and will probably enjoy the returns.

The Anaheim Ducks have very little wiggle room against the cap ceiling, but even they can afford a quarter-million accommodation. Anaheim was having trouble balancing their offensive lines, and that even before Antoine Vermette landed a long-term suspension. The Ducks are loaded with promising prospects at forward and defense and can afford to peddle away some players in a deal with Dallas. Eaves would provide a much-needed veteran scoring presence, especially on a team that has just one 20-goal scorer so far.

Cap space might not be a problem for the Ottawa Senators, but they’ll still have interest in acquiring the affordable Eaves and he may enjoy the idea of a return to his NHL roots. The Senators are surprisingly very much in the Cup hunt and adding another goal-scorer is at the top of their deadline wish list. Eaves would bring a veteran presence and some energy to a young forward corps than could sometimes use a bit more intensity.

Likelihood Of A Trade

The Dallas Stars have no reason not to trade Eaves. Yes, he may be a product of the system in Dallas and they may want to bring him back next season on a multi-year deal. No one is stopping them. Traded or not, Eaves is not foolish enough to not test the market after the season he’s had, even at age 32. By trading him, the Stars can get a good return to help make up for what has been a huge disappointment of a season, and could still join the bidding for his services this summer if they so choose. As much as GM Jim Nill might look at his roster and think it’s a contender, he’s missing some major pieces in all areas of the ice, including a true starting-caliber goaltender, a reliable top-four defenseman, and some youthful depth at forward. All of those problems won’t be solved by whether or not the team can re-sign Eaves, but adding some trade capital could.

Mikhail Grigorenko, Patrick Wiercioch In Play As Deadline Approaches

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On the latest installment of Insider Trading on TSN, the panel—which includes Darren Dreger, Bob McKenzie and Pierre LeBrun—discussed several topics going into the last two weeks before the NHL Trade Deadline. While LeBrun relays that some front office members around the league believe that Colorado GM Joe Sakic will wait until the summer for any possible Matt Duchene move, Dreger reports that there are other names in play.

Both Mikhail Grigorenko and Patrick Wiercioch are mentioned by name, the first we’ve heard one these two directly. The two weren’t listed in Sakic’s “untouchables” recently, and come as little surprise as the team looks to rebuild from the disaster that has been this season.

Grigorenko especially will come with some interest, due to his young age—he turns 23 on May 16th—and former first-round pick status. Since going 12th overall in 2012 though, Grigorenko has failed to deliver on his promise of a big top-six center. Instead, he’s recorded just 18 goals and 59 points in 193 games.

Wiercioch signed a one-year deal with the Avalanche after not receiving a qualifying offer from the Ottawa Senators last summer, and has put up numbers similar to those he did in Ottawa between 2012-15. While he only plays 17 minutes a night, he does have 11 points in 43 games (all at even strength) and has a bit of upside for a team needing a depth defenseman for a playoff run. Both players are restricted free agents at the end of the season and eligible for arbitration.

McKenzie also mentioned that Duchene is seen as a winger by many teams around the league, who think he can perform better there than in the middle. It will be interesting to see if his market develops as a center or a winger as we get closer to the deadline, or if Sakic will have to wait until the summer to deal him to a team willing to slot him into the middle for 2017-18.

Snapshots: Hurricanes, Lazar, NHL In Sweden

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The Carolina Hurricanes could be in a position to make some noise in the trade market.

Young and skilled defensemen are often key pieces in making trades, and the Hurricanes have stocked their system with them over the past few drafts. The club’s last three first round picks have been highly-ranked defenders: Haydn Fleury, Noah Hanifin, and Jake Bean. They have also selected Justin Faulk, Brett Pesce, and Jaccob Slavin in lower rounds.

Because of this depth of solid defensemen, GM Ron Francis told ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun that he’s willing to deal from a position of strength to build up other parts of his roster. That could place the Hurricanes as a possible destination for either Matt Duchene or Gabriel Landeskog, seeing as the Avalanche desperately need to improve their defensive core. LeBrun also speculated that Francis could try pry William Nylander out of Toronto, but doubted that the Maple Leafs would have any interest in moving Nylander to improve their blue line.

In addition to the Avalanche and Maple Leafs, LeBrun suggests the Buffalo Sabres, Calgary Flames, Detroit Red Wings, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Winnipeg Jets could all have interest in the Hurricanes’ young blue-liners.

Regardless of whether or not the Hurricanes can land a stud offensive player at the deadline, they’re well-placed to make moves over the summer as other teams look to improve their defense.

  • Despite rumors to the contrary, Curtis Lazar has not asked for a trade from the Ottawa Senators. Lazar’s agent met with GM Pierre Dorion last weekend, after which the player re-iterated that he wants to stay in Ottawa. After Dorion suggested that Lazar needs to “sink a few ’four foot putts’,” Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen quoted Lazar as saying even those “almost feel like a home run right now.” The struggling young forward feels that he needs to get back in the lineup and start “feeling good about [him]self.” Lazar has just one assist in 29 NHL games this season, and four points in 13 AHL games.
  • Speaking of Ottawa, the Senators will be spending some time outdoors next season, according to Sportsnet’s John Shannon. Pending NHL and PA approval, the Senators will face off against Colorado in Stockholm twice this coming November. It’s been widely speculated that those could be outdoors. Even if those end up being indoors, Shannon reports that the Senators owner has confirmed that the club has an agreement to host an outdoor game in December 2017. It remains to be seen if that will played at Parliament Hill as part of the celebration for Canada’s 150th anniversary.

Snapshots: Therrien, Enstrom, Lazar, Varlamov

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Following his sudden firing from the Canadiens earlier this week, former head coach Michel Therrien released a statement (via the Montreal Gazette):

I would first like to thank the Montreal Canadiens organization, especially Geoff Molson and Marc Bergevin, for the experience of five remarkable years. The Montreal Canadiens have always been a great organization, and recent events in no way change my perception of the team and its management.

Being an NHL coach is a tough job: it is gratifying on many levels but it can also quickly become a thankless task. When a team is experiencing difficulties, any head coach knows his job is on the line. I understand and accept this reality.

I would like to thank fans in Montreal and across Quebec, as well as members of the media. I also salute the coaches and staff I have worked with over the years and, above all, the many players whom I had the privilege of coaching.

I leave with my head held high: I am very proud of the work accomplished over the past five years. The current team can aspire to great honours, and I wish my colleague Claude Julien every success in the future.”

Let’s take a look at some other notes from around the NHL:

  • The Jets announced (via Twitter) that defenseman Toby Enstrom had surgery yesterday on “an existing lower body injury.” The 32-year-old is expected to be sidelined for two-to-three weeks. In 55 games this season, the 10-year veteran has collected one goal and 13 assists.
  • Curtis Lazar is set to return to the Senators lineup tonight, and Mike Halford of Pro Hockey Talk writes that the return could help boost the forward’s trade value. The 22-year-old’s agent is set to meet with the team’s front office, and Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen believes the player could ask for a trade. In 29 games this season, the former first-round pick has compiled a single assist.
  • Following reports that Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov was set to miss the rest of the season, general manager Joe Sakic said the organization is hoping the 28-year-old will return to full strength for next season. “I expect him to be fully healthy next year,” Sakic said (via Terry Frei of the Denver Post). “He’s had the problems with his groin the last couple of years, and this year, but he’s a worker, he cares, he’s a guy who puts a lot of pressure on that area the way he plays.” In 24 games (23 starts) this season, Varlamov has gone 6-17 with a .898 save percentage.

Snapshots: Setoguchi, Lazar, Howard, Tropp

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News and notes from around the NHL this evening:

  • The Los Angeles Kings assigned forward Devin Setoguchi to the AHL Ontario Reign today, reports Elliott Teaford of the Los Angeles Daily News. This is in concert with the Kings’ previous recalls of Adrian Kempe and Paul Ladue. Setoguchi cleared waivers on the 13th but was not immediately sent down to the AHL. Rumors buzzed that Setoguchi would not report to Ontario, but the forward told the Ontario Reign’s web reporter that the story was pure conjecture.
  • The Ottawa Senators plan to meet with Curtis Lazar’s agent J.P. Barry this Saturday, reports the Ottawa Citizen’s Ken Warren. Lazar becomes an RFA at the end of the season but both sides hope that a deal comes together before then. The Senators are reportedly listening to teams interested in Lazar, but the asking price is high. The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch reported that Ottawa is asking for at least a 1st or 2nd for the young forward.
  • Detroit Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard suffered a set back two days ago, reports MLive’s Ansar Khan. He will need at least another week of recovery followed by a few games with the AHL Grand Rapids Griffins to get up to speed. Howard puts the Red Wings in the precarious position of determining which goaltender the team protects in the NHL Expansion Draft. Before this season, the clear answer was Petr Mrazek. Howard had lost the net and his contract did not align with his performance. This season, however, has Howard performing better than Mrazek, and Detroit now has a much more difficult decision to make.
  • The Anaheim Ducks announced that they’ve recalled forward Corey Tropp from the San Diego Gulls. Tropp replaces Antoine Vermette who is expected—but not yet confirmed—to receive a 10 game suspension for hitting an official with his stick. Tropp leads the San Diego Gulls in scoring with 12G and 25A in 42 games, and should adequately replace Vermette’s offence.

Senators GM Confirms Trade Talks With Avalanche

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With the trade deadline approaching, Senators general manager Pierre Dorion confirmed yesterday that he has had trade talks with Avalanche general manger Joe Sakic (via Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun). However, Dorion noted that the Avalanche’s current asking price is too high.

“I’ve talked to (Sakic), as I’ve talked a lot of my other counterparts, and maybe some names aren’t out there,” Dorion said during an appearnce on TSN 1200. “It’s the right thing to do to kick tires to find out what’s available and what’s not available from their team.

“I don’t think the reports are always accurate and sometimes it’s better to hear from the horse’s mouth. Joe and I talked and, at this point in time, I can’t see us going in that direction. It wouldn’t make sense. We want to do something to try to improve the team and making deals is very difficult to do.

“We’re second after Florida as far as making deals but I can’t see us mortgaging everything in the future and some stuff in the present to get one or two or whatever players are out there. I think we have to be realistic that we want to improve but to give up three, four or five assets would be something that would be very difficult to do.”

Dorion didn’t mention which players were discussed, but Garrioch assumes the general manager was eyeing Avalanche forward Gabriel Landeskog, who is believed to be on the trade block. The writer notes that Colorado would presumably want defenseman Cody Ceci, a first-round pick in 2017, one of the Senators’ top prospects (Thomas Chabot or Colin White) and other pieces in exchange for the veteran. Landeskog’s been having a below-average season, scoring 11 goals and collecting 11 assists in 43 games.

The Senators made a deal for former Sharks forward Tommy Wingels last month, and Dorion has noted that he’d welcome an additional forward or defender.

Atlantic Notes: Maple Leafs, Bruins, Canadiens

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For the Maple Leafs, the past calendar year has been one of wild swings. In the last 12 months (and a few days) the team dealt team captain Dion Phaneuf to Ottawa for cap relief, finished last in the NHL, drafted the future face of the franchise and vaulted themselves into playoff contention. In the last few weeks though the team has held on tight as the roller-coaster has tilted up on two wheels.

The team currently sits tied with Philadelphia for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot, but has had trouble keeping the puck out of their own net in recent weeks. After two back-to-back shutouts over Calgary and Detroit in late January, the team has allowed 30 goals in eight games and gone 2-4-2. Kristen Shilton of TSN reports on their mediocrity and where the team’s mindset is as they try to turn things around. One of the positive notes has been the play of William Nylander, who after an early season demotion to the fourth line has recharged his defensive tanks and become a leader on a shutdown line with Nazem Kadri and Leo Komarov.

The team has no time to settle in though, with a condensed schedule and eight games in the fifteen nights remaining in February. They’ll take on the New York Islanders tomorrow on home ice.

  • The Boston Bruins are 3-0 with their new head coach, getting a boost from the new voice of Bruce Cassidy behind the bench. They tore apart their rival Montreal Canadiens last night 4-0 and have put some space between them and the struggling Maple Leafs. Perhaps the coaching move was the right choice, but they’re in for a tough road trip when they come back off their mandated bye-week. The team will hit the road on the west coast with matchups against San Jose, Anaheim, Los Angeles and Dallas out of the break—a tough schedule for anyone.
  • Montreal could do with a little of that coaching magic, writes Michael Traikos of the National Post. While the Bruins surge, the Canadiens flounder at the top of the Atlantic Division, now only six points ahead of the Ottawa Senators despite having played five more games. For what at one point looked like a lock for the top see in the division, Montreal now faces a tough final stretch of games. Traikos opines that Michel Therrien should be fired like his Boston counterpart, despite still holding onto that top seed. For now he remains with the team an they’ll come out of their break against the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday.
  • Hopefully they will return with some help, says Ken Campbell of The Hockey News. In his latest column, Campbell examines the Canadiens need for some secondary scoring help behind the top duo of Max Pacioretty and Alexander Radulov. After Colorado Avalanche GM Joe Sakic and AGM Chris McFarland were seen in attendance at the Bruins-Habs matchup on Sunday, hope sprung in Montreal about a possible addition of one of the two young players on the Avalanche trade-block. Both Matt Duchene and Gabriel Landeskog would provide a nice punch to the second line for the Habs, though the asking price remains as high as ever.

Senators Open Extension Talks With Tom Pyatt

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Tom Pyatt’s tenure with the Senators may last beyond this season. General manager Pierre Dorion said today that the front office has explored an extension with the center (via TSN’s Bruce Garrioch on Twitter). Dorion also confirmed that the team had approached goalie Mike Condon regarding a potential extension, which was reported last week.

Pyatt returned to the NHL this season after having spent the previous two years playing for Geneve Servette in Switzerland. The soon-to-be 30-year-old ultimately inked a one-year, two-way contract with Ottawa this past offseason, reuniting him with former coach Guy Boucher. The deal was reportedly worth $800K in the NHL and $200K in the AHL.

The veteran has had a solid campaign during his first season back in the states. In 53 games, Pyatt has scored six goals and collected 11 assists, putting him on pace to break his career-high 19 points. Over the past two seasons in Switzerland, Pyatt compiled 22 goals and 40 assists in 92 games. The center has 298 career regular-season NHL games under his belt and another 26 games of playoff experience.

Condon, who was acquired by the Senators at the beginning of the season, is in the final season of a two-year contract that will see him being paid the league minimum. The goalie has had a solid season, going 16-9-5 with a .912 save percentage and four shutouts.

Dorion noted that if the front office can’t come to an agreement on extensions with Pyatt or Condon, the team still wouldn’t look to trade the impending free agents (via Garrioch on Twitter).

Minor Transactions: 2/12/2017

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The Washington Capitals rewarded rookie Zach Sanford for scoring his first NHL goal, the game-winner in their 6-4 defeat of the Anaheim Ducks yesterday, by sending him back down to the AHL. The Capitals announced this morning that they have reassigned Sanford to the Hershey Bears. Of course, the team is entering its bye week, so his demotion is not so much a reflection of his performance, as it is an effort to get him some more ice time while the NHL squad takes a break. The first-year pro has just two points in 21 games with Washington this season, but has 14 points in Hershey.

Sanford was nearly a point-per-game player for the Boston College Eagles last year, scoring 39 points in 41 games as a sophomore. A 2013 second-round pick of the Capitals, he chose to leave BC early this summer and get an early start on his pro career. The Eagles have felt the effect of his and others decisions to depart the team, leaving BC without a single junior on the squad. Sanford joined defenseman Steven Santini and forward Miles Wood of the New Jersey Devils, forwards Alex Tuch and Adam Gilmour of the Minnesota Wild, Vancouver Canucks goalie prospect Thatcher Demko, and Florida Panthers defenseman Ian McCoshen as former Eagles who skipped out on the 2016-17 NCAA season. While Boston College still sits atop the Hockey East Conference with a 13-4-1 record so far, their overall record of 18-9-2 going into this week had them ranked 7th overall, behind local rivals like Boston University and Harvard, and following losses to BU and Merrimack, they should fall even farther down the ranks.

Elsewhere around the league:

  • As expected, Ottawa Senators goalie Andrew Hammond cleared waivers and has been reassigned to the AHL’s Binghamton Senators, according to the Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch. It’s been a monumental career collapse for Hammond, who is just two years removed from posting an unreal .941 save percentage and 1.79 goals against average in 24 games in his rookie season with the Senators. Hammond’s numbers tailed off some last year, but he was still impressive. No one could have predicted that through six games in 2016-17, the young keeper would have an abysmal .837 goals against average and 4.08 goals against average. Whether it’s due to injury or mechanical problems or even just the stress of the fluid state of Craig Anderson’s availability and the competition with newcomer Mike Condon, Hammond has not performed like himself at all this year and no team was willing to take a chance on him at this time. It’s unfortunate for Hammond, who likely needs a change of scenery, but has never played well in the AHL and would be better served to sit on the bench with another NHL team for a while.
  • The Montreal Canadiens announced last night that they have demoted forward Daniel Carr to the St. John’s Ice Caps of the AHL. Carr has two goals and seven assists in 33 games with the Habs this season, but is still trying to carve out a permanent role for himself on the team.  The move opens up a roster spot for them to activate right winger Brendan Gallagher off IR.
  • The Los Angeles Kings also made a move late last night, reassigning defenseman Paul LaDue to the AHL’s Ontario Reign. LaDue made his NHL debut last Tuesday and recorded his first NHL point on Thursday, but will head back to the minors with just those two games under his belt. A member of the NCAA champion University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux last year, LaDue capped off a third straight season of about 20 points in 41 games, and has maintained that pace in the AHL with 18 points through 36 games with Ontario in 2016-17.
  • The Edmonton Oilers have again sent down forward Anton Lander to the AHL. Once considered to be surefire NHL regular, Lander has struggled all season long in Edmonton, scoring just one goal and three assists in 22 games. When Lander has spent time with the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors, scoring has been no problem, but he has not been able to translate that success to the next level. In his stead, the Oilers have recalled Iiro Pakarinen. Like Lander, Pakarinen was expected to be a contributor in Edmonton after playing in 63 games last season. However, he managed to score just 13 points in that time, and in response has seen no NHL action yet in 2016-17. With Lander not capitalizing on his chances, it seems likely that GM Peter Chiarelli has decided to give Pakarinen another shot.
  • The Tampa Bay Lightning announced that they’ve sent winger Erik Condra and center Gabriel Dumont to Syracuse of the AHL.  Condra has been held off the scoresheet in 13 NHL games this season but has been better in the minors with 26 points in 29 contests.  As for Dumont, he has ten points in 19 games with the Crunch plus a pair of points in 14 contests with Tampa Bay.  With the team off on their bye week until Saturday, this will give them a chance to stay in game shape before likely being recalled later in the week.

More to come.

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