Morning Notes: Crosby, Patrick, Cangelosi
Last night, during the Pittsburgh Penguins-Ottawa Senators game, Sidney Crosby delivered a hard slash across the hands of Marc Methot resulting in one of the nastiest injuries this season in the NHL (*WARNING: GRAPHIC*). Senators’ head coach Guy Boucher said after the game that Methot would be out “weeks” with a “destroyed” and “shattered” finger, and owner Eugene Melnyk was upset about it this morning on TSN 1200 (via Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia and Frank Seravalli of TSN):
You hammer these [players who slash], you take away their money, and you say you know what? You are done for 10 games. We all know who [Crosby] is. The guy is a whiner beyond belief. You do this kind of stuff—I don’t care who you are in the league, I don’t care if you’re the number one player in the league—you should sit out a long time for this kind of crap.
Melnyk said that he was sure the league would be looking at it, but Pierre LeBrun of ESPN reports Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly will not be evaluating it further. Crosby will receive no discipline for this incident, just as he faced no penalty for his spear in an unfortunate area of Ryan O’Reilly‘s lower body.
- For anyone hoping to catch Nolan Patrick in the first round of the WHL playoffs, you might have to wait a few days. Mike Morreale of NHL.com reports that the projected top pick in the upcoming entry draft won’t play in game one due to a lower-body injury. The Brandon Wheat Kings take on the Medicine Hat Tigers in the first round of the WHL playoffs.
- The Calgary Flames have sent Garnet Hathaway back down to the Stockton Heat. The 25-year old forward didn’t play in his most recent call up, after Micheal Ferland returned earlier from his mumps quarantine. With Matthew Tkachuk now eligible to play after serving his two-game suspension, the need for Hathaway has lifted. Playing in 26 games for Calgary this season, Hathaway registered five points in under 10 minutes a night.
- Similarly, the Minnesota Wild have sent Gustav Olofsson down to the minors, liking meaning Christian Folin is ready to return to game action. Olofsson has played in 13 games for the Wild this season, but will have to wait until next year to really make his mark at the NHL level. The 22-year old will try to help the Iowa Wild make the postseason for the first time in their short history.
- Tom Gulitti of NHL.com reports that the Albany Devils have signed Austin Cangelosi to a two-year AHL contract. The 22-year old forward just graduated from Boston College where he had back-to-back 20-goal seasons the past two years. The 5’7″ forward will try to prove that his size won’t stop his skill from shining through at the professional level, as he moves up to the next challenge in his hockey career.
NHL Announces Regular Season Games To Be Held In Sweden
The NHL is headed to Europe once again. The league announced early Friday morning that the Ottawa Senators and Colorado Avalanche will play two regular season games next season in Stockholm, Sweden on November 10th and 11th. The games are the first announced matches in the new 2017 SAP NHL Global Series, which will include preseason games in China according to John Shannon of Sportsnet. Those games will be announced on March 30th at an event in Beijing.
This isn’t the first time the NHL has played regular season games in Sweden, but it has been many years. 2011 was the final year of the NHL Premiere Series, a tradition of starting the regular season with games across Europe. In that last example the New York Rangers took on the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks in back to back games in Stockholm, led of course by the Swedish netminding of Henrik Lundqvist. 
This time, the two teams heading to Europe are both captained by Swedish-born NHLers. Erik Karlsson and Gabriel Landeskog told NHL.com it is quite a rare experience and they’re both looking forward to it. From Karlsson:
Who thought they would have been able to play NHL games in your hometown. It’ll be surreal to do that. Stockholm is such a great hockey town and a great city overall. I’ll be really excited to show the boys around and show the team staff around the city.
In Colorado, the announcement of these games does come at an awkward time. With GM Joe Sakic publicly shopping captain Gabriel Landeskog at the trade deadline, and likely looking to move him this summer to start his rebuild, there is now likely pressure to wait at least through November. Landeskog was born and raised in Stockholm, and was surely the reason for the NHL choosing Colorado to participate, just as Karlsson was for Ottawa.
The announcement comes as the league continues its battle over whether to allow players to play in the upcoming Olympic Games in South Korea. As they try to grow their brand globally, the league seems to want to control the circumstances in which it sends its players, instead of participating in a tournament completely out of their control. Commissioner Gary Bettman has been as clear as ever recently, saying “assume we’re not going” when asked about the Olympic negotiations.
Injury Notes: Ferland, Stone, Leivo, Rust
Calgary Flames winger Micheal Ferland has rejoined his teammates in Nashville today after being quarantined for almost a week. The 24-year old had showed signs of the mumps outbreak that had swept through the NHL briefly, but is now symptom free. He’ll be back in on the top line with Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan tonight, according to Kristen Odland of Postmedia.
Here are some other injury notes from around the league:
- Josh Leivo will take the spot of the injured Eric Fehr in tonight’s Maple Leafs lineup according to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet. With Nikita Soshnikov still on the mend following a big hit from Zdeno Chara, Leivo will look to get back to his scoring ways tonight. The young winger had nine points in a ten game stretch last month when Mitch Marner was dealing with an injury, and has considerable offensive upside. He’ll slot in on the fourth line tonight beside Brian Boyle and Matt Martin.
- Despite skating with the team in a regular jersey this morning, Cedric Paquette will not return to the lineup for Tampa Bay according to Caley Chelios of FOX Sports. The Lightning center will remain out alongside Steven Stamkos and Tyler Johnson for the time being.
- On Stamkos, he was seen skating again before practice, but admitted to Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times that “time is running out” for him to return this season. Stamkos has been skating for weeks as he tries to come back from a meniscus tear in his right knee. The Lightning are currently sitting five points back with ten games to play.
- Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reports that Ottawa Senators forward Mark Stone was back skating this morning, though he won’t play tonight. Stone was out early and stayed late at practice as he works hard to get back into the Senators lineup. The team can smell first place in the Atlantic Division, and getting Stone—arguably their best forward—back before the end of the season could help them wrestle the crown away from the Montreal Canadiens. With a matchup against the fourth Metropolitan team looming in the first round, whether they should really want it is a different story.
- Penguins’ forward Bryan Rust is almost back in the lineup reports Bill West of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review after taking part in just about everything at today’s Pittsburgh practice. Though he won’t play tonight, the 24-year old forward will likely be back in a game before the end of the week; the Penguins take on Ottawa tonight, New York (Islanders) tomorrow and Philadelphia on Sunday.
- Three goaltenders were at practice today for the Anaheim Ducks, including John Gibson as he continues to rehab his latest injury. Head coach Randy Carlyle said today that Gibson will definitely play before the end of the regular season, though that still leaves the question of whether he’ll be tested enough to start game one of the playoffs. We’ll see how many games the young netminder gets in before Anaheim has to take on a team like the Edmonton Oilers or Calgary Flames in the first round.
Snapshots: Hayden, Centennial, Healey
When the John Hayden finished his season at Yale University, other teams must have hoped that he would wait just a few more months before making a decision on his playing future. The Chicago Blackhawks forward could have become a free agent in August, but according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, never considered anywhere else.
What’s not to like about playing here? There was an opportunity, you know you’re going to have a chance to win, they supported me staying in school. There was no reason to go anywhere else.
That kind of thinking has paid off for Hayden already, as it didn’t take long for the Blackhawks to insert him into an important position alongside captain Jonathan Toews. Hayden has responded with three points in his first four games, and has shown he can be a physical presence at the highest level. The big forward—who is actually a natural centerman—is turning heads around the league, and is just another example of the exemplary drafting Chicago has shown over the past decade. As they ship players out due to salary limitations, they back-fill with talented youngsters like Hayden, Nick Schmaltz and Ryan Hartman. Each of those three will likely play a key role down the stretch and into the playoffs for the Blackhawks, who once again look like the team to beat in the Western Conference.
- Friedman also notes that the NHL is looking towards next New Year’s Eve to celebrate the end of the league’s centennial season with some sort of event. While Friedman guesses it could have to do with Montreal, the Canadiens are already confirmed to be the opponents of the Ottawa Senators in their outdoor game on December 16th. While that doesn’t rule them out, it would be odd to see the team involved in events so close together.
- Josh Healey has been suspended for the third time this season and fifth in his time at Ohio State, but that isn’t scaring off teams around the league. Friedman points out that many teams believe several of the incidents wouldn’t have even been penalized at the professional level, and enjoy his physical play. That said, Healey is apparently down to a short list for where he will sign once his college season eventually ends. He’s been linked to several teams in the past, including Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg. Born in Edmonton, he has twice attended their development camps but actually lists St. Louis as his favorite team on his Ohio State bio.
Atlantic Notes: Soshnikov, Melnyk, White
Maple Leafs fans will see Eric Fehr in action for the first time tonight when they take on the Columbus Blue Jackets according to Kristen Shilton of TSN. The veteran forward will draw into the lineup for his first game since being acquired at the deadline from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Frank Corrado. He will be taking the place of Nikita Soshnikov, the young winger who was involved in multiple incidents in Monday’s game against the Boston Bruins.
Soshnikov first got under the skin of Bruins’ players and fans alike when he sent Patrice Bergeron into the boards head first with a crosscheck across the back, earning him just a two minute penalty (which Bergeron would match when he got up and went after the Leafs’ winger). Later in the game he took a hard hit from Zdeno Chara that seemed to rattle him, as he was seen rubbing his neck and skating unsteadily for the rest of the game. It was that unsteady nature that caused him to fall when Dominic Moore would collide with him in the dying minutes, giving the Maple Leafs a powerplay that ended up winning the game. There is no word on what the extent of the injury is for Soshnikov, but a concussion would not be out of the question.
- Eugene Melnyk does “not like the Olympics” according to Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia, who passed along several interesting tidbits from the Ottawa Senators owner. As Melnyk said last week, he isn’t willing to allow star players like Erik Karlsson go to the Olympics if the NHL doesn’t attend, due to his history with injury at the tournament. He did admit that he’ll go along with whatever the league decides however.
- The owner also touched on the negotiations on a new arena for the Senators closer to downtown, in LeBreton flats. Unfortunately using the phrasing “if it’s Ottawa”, Melnyk says any new arena simply has to be downtown. Currently the team plays at the Canadian Tire Centre in Kanata, almost 30 minutes outside the city center.
- As Bob McKenzie relayed last night, things are at a stalemate between Colin White and the Senators, and Garrioch writes that it is unlikely that head coach Guy Boucher would have time to build the trust needed to insert White into the lineup on a regular basis, meaning that burning a year of his ELC would essentially be useless for the team.
- The Canadiens have moved Alex Galchenyuk off the first line for the time being, as expected after breaking them up last night. The forward will play wing next to Andrew Shaw in their next game, and has a fairly positive outlook on it. “At the end of the day you’re a hockey player. You’re not born to play center or born to play wing,” he told John Lu of TSN. The line will feature Artturi Lehkonen on the right side.
Evening Notes: Tavares, Fowler, Elliott, Prospects
TSN’s “Insider Trading” segment is always good for some tidbits of news, and the trio of Darren Dreger, Pierre LeBrun, and Bob McKenzie delivered earlier today. We’ve compiled some of their more notable remarks below:
- If the two sides can’t come to an agreement prior to the beginning of July, Dreger wouldn’t be shocked if the Islanders consider trading star John Tavares. While fans may not like to hear it, the insider believes the organization would be smart to get something for the All-Star. Of course, he notes that an extension isn’t necessarily less likely than a trade.
- Cam Fowler has one year left on his deal, and LeBrun says the Ducks have had talks with the 25-year-old camp’s regarding an extension. With so many talented defensemen in the organization and the impending expansion draft, LeBrun says Anaheim needs to make a decision on Fowler sooner than later.
- If prospect Colin White signs an entry-level contract and plays even one game for the Senators this season, he’ll essentially “burn” the first year of the contract. Bob McKenzie says that organization is “absolutely adamant” that they won’t compromise this flexibility, which could end up being a sticking point between the two sides. The reporter notes that the Senators would prefer to sign White to an amateur tryout agreement and have him finish the season with Binghamton in the AHL.
- On the flip side, the Canucks are willing to “burn” the first season of Brock Boeser‘s entry-level contract. Curiously, Vancouver is out of the playoff picture, so there isn’t a clear incentive to wasting the flexibility.
- Brian Elliott would like to stick with the Flames, but LeBrun notes that the organization doesn’t want any distractions right now. The team is interested in retaining the goaltender, but they’d prefer to delay negotiations until after the season.
Snapshots: Kurker, Hunlak, Stone
The Albany Devils have signed one of the most interesting college names in the country to an amateur tryout according to Mark Divver of the Providence Journal. Sam Kurker of Northeastern was originally drafted in 2012 by the St. Louis Blues and headed to Boston University to begin his college career. After a frustrating season and a half at BU, Kurker decided to take his talents elsewhere and headed back to the USHL to play for the Indiana Ice. Upon finishing the 2013-14 season with Indiana—and winning a championship—the team closed its doors and Kurker headed to the Sioux City Musketeers.
After an outstanding season for Sioux City Kurker went back to the NCAA ranks, this time at Northeastern. In two years at the school Kurker had similar frustrations as during his time for BU, and finished this season with just six points in 28 games. The former top prospect was overshadowed by other names like Zach Aston-Reese and Adam Gaudette, and will now try to continue his hockey career in Albany.
- Any Toronto Maple Leafs fans that are hoping the pairing of Roman Polak and Matt Hunwick—affectionately nicknamed “Hunlack”—will be broken up should quit holding their breath, as a new article from Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston relays that Mike Babcock is very happy with the way they’re playing. Despite being horrendous weights on the team’s possession numbers, Babcock goes by other evaluation tools like “knowing where to stand”. While younger players often get caught chasing the puck in their own zone, the Leafs coach is happy to deploy a more veteran pair on defense.
- Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen writes that Mark Stone is getting closer to returning to the Ottawa Senators lineup and has taken a “major” step towards that goal by getting back on the ice today. With the Senators losing their last four games, they’ve slipped down far enough to allow Boston and Toronto just a sliver of hope in the Atlantic race, and could use Stone’s help to slam that door shut for the final time. If they’re to do any damage in the playoffs, they’ll need their top forward healthy enough to contribute; they’ve scored just six goals in those four recent losses.
Draft Pick Notes: White, Johansson, Radke, Mattsson
Jeff Cox is reporting that the Ottawa Senators and prospect Colin White will be signing a contract within the next 24 hours, though still there is no indication whether it will be for this year or next. Recently we wrote about the choice the Senators and White have, between adding him for a playoff run and burning a year of his entry-level contract, or signing him to an amateur tryout and letting him get his feet wet in Binghamton before likely making the roster next season.
White has had another solid season at Boston College, and is widely expected to turn pro. The 21st-overall pick in 2015 has shown an ability to play in both ends of the rink, and could legitimately help a team that has had injury troubles over the past month. Since White is already 20 years old, he would not fall under any entry-level slide regardless of how many games he plays. If the contract is signed for this year to allow him to play in the NHL, he would burn a year.
- Mark Divver of the Providence Journal reports that Emil Johansson could join the Providence Bruins this weekend. Boston’s seventh-round pick in 2014 had a very good season for Djurgardens of the Swedish Hockey League, scoring 17 points in 49 games and generally playing more than 20 minutes a night on the team’s top pairing. If he does come over to North America he’ll be an interesting name for the Bruins to follow, to see if he can develop into a NHL-capable puck moving defenseman.
- The Stockton Heat—Calgary’s AHL affiliate—have signed Adam Ollas-Mattsson to an ATO, bringing him over from Sweden where he had been playing with Johansson for Djurgardens. Not playing nearly as much, though still suiting up for 52 games, Ollas-Mattsson registered just four points this season. The sixth-round pick of the Flames in 2014, he possesses size and strength capable of playing against grown men and has shown it since he was 17 in the highest Swedish league.
- Scott Powers of The Athletic reports that Roy Radke has signed an ATO with the Rockford IceHogs after his OHL season finished. The sixth-round pick of the Blackhawks had 36 points in 45 games this season for the Barrie Colts, and will try to prove he deserves an entry-level contract this summer. The 20-year old hasn’t developed into the power forward Chicago had hoped for, though obviously there is still quite a while before you can write him off.
Morning Notes: Giroux, White, Tkachuk
If Philadelphia Flyers fans are wondering where this Claude Giroux has been all season—the captain has points in eight of his last eleven games—they might not be shocked to find out that he’s been playing injured. Marc Narducci of The Inquirer reports that despite telling media members that he was fully healthy prior to the start of the season, he has been anything but 100% this year. The hip that required surgery last spring has bothered him all year, restricting his ability to “try to make plays you used to make.”
Giroux only now is starting to feel like himself, and it’s showing on the score sheet. It might be coming just a little too late though, as the Flyers remain five points back of the Maple Leafs for the final playoff spot, despite having played one more game. There are just eleven contests left for Philadelphia, who sit 33-30-8 on the year.
- Decision day is looming for the Ottawa Senators and prospect Colin White, according to Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen. The first-round pick from 2015 has just finished his sophomore season with Boston College, and is looking to go pro. As Garrioch writes, Ottawa doesn’t want to sign him to an entry-level deal for this season and burn a year over the last few weeks. They’d rather go the more common route of an amateur tryout for the rest of the year, and start his ELC in 2017-18. They’ll likely come to some sort of an agreement soon, as it doesn’t seem like either side is expecting him to head back to BC next season. The 20-year old center had 33 points in 35 games this season, actually a slight step back from his production as a freshman. He is as blue-chip a prospect as the Senators have (right alongside Thomas Chabot), and they will carefully consider their options before agreeing to anything.
- The hockey world was in a buzz this morning over the elbow of Matthew Tkachuk, after the Flames’ rookie sent it hard into the face of Drew Doughty in last night’s game. Doughty would drop to the ice immediately, while no penalty was assessed on the play. Tkachuk will receive a hearing with the league and though he has no official history of supplementary discipline, players around the league have come to expect things like this from him. As Doughty told Jon Rosen of FOX Sports after the game, “he’s a pretty dirty player, that kid. To be a rookie and play like that is a little surprising.”
Saturday Snapshots: Tkachuk, Stamkos, Stone
Given his pedigree, it should come as little surprise that one of Matthew Tkachuk‘s strengths is his advanced hockey sense. His father, Keith Tkachuk of course, played 18 seasons in the NHL and scored 538 career regular season goals. As Darren Haynes writes on his Flames From 80 Feet Above blog, the younger Tkachuk displays hockey awareness on par with that of a 10-year veteran as opposed to that of a 19-year-old rookie.
Flames head coach Glen Gulutzan certainly agrees with the sentiment, praising the young power forward’s “gamesmanship, his hockey sense (and) his ice awareness.” Haynes describes a subtle play made by the rookie in a recent win over Dallas in which Tkachuk touched the puck with a high stick and knew if he was the first to touch it that the officials would blow the play dead. Instead, Tkachuk tracked the puck into the offensive zone and waited for a Stars player to play the puck. Adam Cracknell did just that and Tkachuk picked his pocket and moved the puck to Mark Giordano whose shot deflected off of Stars defenseman Dan Hamhuis and into the net.
Tkachuk has tallied 13 goals and 46 points in 67 games this season which represents excellent production for any rookie, much less one just 19 years old and in his first professional campaign. Yet beyond his offensive output, it may be the little things Tkachuk brings to the table that makes him such a valuable contributor to a team that appears poised to make the playoffs.
Elsewhere in the NHL on this Saturday:
- Steven Stamkos, out since November with a knee injury, returned to the ice as a full participant at the Lightning’s Friday practice. While that has to be considered a positive sign in his lengthy recovery, Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times writes that Stamkos’ return is still not “imminent.” The Lightning, who have surprisingly managed to resurface in the playoff race despite a trade deadline selloff of goalie Ben Bishop along with forwards Brian Boyle and Valtteri Filppula, would certainly welcome a healthy Stamkos with open arms but at this point it appears they’ll have to manage without their captain for a little while longer.
- Ottawa Senators forward Mark Stone, who has missed the last week with a lower-body injury, is still considered week-to-week and according to head coach Guy Boucher hasn’t skated while recovering from the leg issue, reports Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen. Stone, a terrific forechecker, has tallied 22 goals and 50 points in 63 games this season and is an important cog up front for the Senators. While the loss of Stone certainly stings, his absence has been mitigated somewhat by trade deadline acquisitions Alexandre Burrows and Viktor Stalberg, who have combined for six goals and nine points in the eight games since coming to Canada’s capital. Ottawa, at this point safely in possession of a postseason slot, will continue to look for production from the newest Sens as they work to secure a playoff berth.