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Eastern Conference Snapshots: Hoffman, Warsofsky, Pouliot, Weise

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Ottawa Senators winger Mike Hoffman has led the team in goal scoring in each of the last two seasons, a fact which prompted the team to sign the 26-year-old to a five-year, $20.75MM extension this summer. Even though he has totaled 56 goals since the start of the 2014-15 campaign, Hoffman is no stranger to slow starts and this season has been no exception. Despite the fact the Sens are tied for second in goals-per-game, Hoffman has yet to tally his first marker of the season. But, as Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen writes, it’s only a matter of time before he breaks through.

Hoffman is currently tied with Chris Kreider and Brent Burns in shots on goal with 20 and says he has been getting plenty of scoring chances.

“I’m just trying to keep a level head, I know the goals are going to come. You don’t want to hit the panic button too early. I feel like I’m getting a lot of shots, a lot of chances every game.”

Like Hoffman, head coach Guy Boucher believes the gifted winger will find his scoring touch soon enough.

“I liked a lot of his game (against Arizona). The work is always when the guy is not getting (any chances) and you can see (the confidence) go down, which is not Mike’s case.”

Goal scorers like Hoffman are prone to slumps but when the get hot they tend to score in bunches. So far Hoffman’s inability to put the puck in the net hasn’t had much of an impact on Ottawa’s on-ice fortunes as the team has won three of their first four. Once he does ratchet up his output, the Senators chances of competing for a playoff spot will only improve.

Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference:

  • The Pittsburgh Penguins blue line is a little beat up which today prompted the recall of David Warsofsky from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL, according to Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. In a related move, the team placed Derrick Pouliot on IR. Pouliot has made just one appearance for the Penguins, and left that game in the second period with an undisclosed injury. It appears that whatever the injury, it could keep Pouliot out a while. In addition to Pouliot, Olli Maatta and Kris Letang are both banged up as well. Letang is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury but as Mackey writes, he might be healthy enough to suit up Saturday.
  • Dale Weise of the Philadelphia Flyers is slated for a hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety after his illegal check to the head of Anaheim defensman Korbinian Holzer in a game Thursday night. Weise wasn’t penalized on the play but the league wasted no time calling for the hearing. It appears it will be a phone hearing, meaning Weise won’t receive a suspension longer than five games. Weise, signed this summer as a free agent, has not yet recorded a point for the Flyers in four appearances.

Atlantic Division Snapshots: Maple Leafs, Babcock, Andersen, MacArthur, Howard

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have won just one of their first three contests but by virtue of two overtime/shootout defeats, the team has accumulated four of a possible six points. As Mark Masters of TSN writes, Leafs bench boss Mike Babcock is “relatively pleased” with where his team sits in the standings.

“We’ve had an opportunity, I believe, to be 3-0. We’ve got four out of six points, which if you told me that before this started I would’ve said, ‘That’s fine,’ but we could’ve had more and I’m a bit greedy and so are the guys.”

Toronto is one of the youngest teams in the league, with six rookies – Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Zach Hyman, Connor Brown, Mitch Marner and Nikita Zaitsev – skating regular shifts for the Leafs. With that much youth it’s likely the team will understandably have plenty of ups and downs during the season. Babcock noted that the team’s top line, for example, which consists of Matthews, Nylander and Hyman, has some room to grow based on Wednesday’s performance against the Jets:

“I thought it was really dangerous offensively and not very good defensively.”

Toronto may or may not be ready to challenge for a playoff berth this season, but the arrow is certainly pointing up for a Leafs team that boasts a ton of young, high-end skill and talent.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic Division:

  • Also from the Masters piece, goaltender Frederik Andersen has struggled out of the gate as the Leafs new #1 goalie, posting a 3.61 GAA and a Save % of just 87.6% in three starts, but Andersen is not yet worried. “If you just look at stats it doesn’t look pretty, but I thought I played pretty well. Obviously, some small things I got to clean up and me and Stevey (goalie coach Steve Briere) got to work today in practice so small fixes. I’m not too worried.” The Leafs paid a steep price to land Andersen from the Ducks – a 2016 first-round pick and a 2017 second-round pick – then rewarded the Danish netminder with a five-year, $25MM contract with the belief he would solve the team’s longstanding issues in goal. It’s a small sample size of course, but so far Andersen has not lived up to expectations in Toronto.
  • Veteran forward Clarke MacArthur, concussed during Ottawa’s initial intrasquad practice in training camp, is expected to join the Senators on their three-game, Western Canadian road trip beginning this weekend, writes Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen. MacArthur is still not close to playing and may have only recently started skating but the news is still encouraging. This is the fourth documented concussion within the last 18 months for the 31-year-old winger. The hope for the Senators, according to head coach Guy Boucher, is that just having MacArthur around the team on the trip will be good for him: “Obviously, he’s not going to play. We’re talking about being with the guys, being part of the routine. It would be good for him mentally, but we still haven’t 100% decided that.”
  • For six seasons, Jimmy Howard was the #1 goalie for the Detroit Red Wings before losing the job to Petr Mrazek last season. Howard struggled in the backup role in 2015-16 but coming into the season knowing Mrazek would again be the starter has helped the veteran netminder adapt, according to Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press. Said Howard: “I think I know how to handle the situation a lot better now. Last year I didn’t quite understand how to be the backup, never had been it before. So I fully understand the role now and how to stay mentally sharp in between starts.” Howard qualifies as an expensive backup with a contract that runs through the 2018-19 season and that calls for a cap hit of nearly $5.3MM per. Detroit was rumored to be looking to trade the 32-year-old goalie this summer and could do so again this offseason, assuming he isn’t claimed in the expansion draft by Las Vegas.

 

Mike Smith Leaves Game With Left Leg Injury

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9:09pm: Vest tweets that Smith will not return to the game due to a lower body injury and will be evaluated in the morning.

8:58 pm: According to Darren Dreger, Arizona Coyotes goalie Mike Smith was helped off the ice during their game against the Ottawa Senators. Dave Vest, the Senior Director of News Content for the Arizona Coyotes, tweets that Smith got “twisted up” in the crease making a save, and grabbed his left leg.

Dreger also indicated that he was unable to put weight on it as he left the ice.

Daren Millard tweets that this should certainly have the Coyotes inquiring about Winnipeg’s available goaltenders.

Atlantic Notes: Ouellet, Shaw, Senators, Leivo

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The latest news and notes from the Atlantic Division:

  • Detroit blueliner Xavier Ouellet has caught the eye of Detroit coach Jeff Blashill, notes Gregg Krupa of the Detroit News. Ouellet, whose presence in the lineup is partly due to Niklas Kronwall’s injury, has an assist in three games while averaging 15:16 of ice time per game so far this season.  Once Kronwall returns, Ouellet may be relegated to the press box which isn’t ideal for a young blueliner but there is little chance that he’d make it through waivers if the Wings tried to send him to the AHL.
  • Montreal Canadiens forward Andrew Shaw will meet with NHL disciplinarian Stephane Quintal following a slew footing incident last week against Buffalo, TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie reports via Twitter. While Shaw won’t be suspended, Quintal is hoping to educate Shaw with regards to not crossing the line as he has done twice in the past month, the other incident coming in the preseason vs Washington.  ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun adds that Quintal did this with several players last season though those were more under the radar than Shaw’s case.
  • Ottawa Senators goaltender Andrew Hammond made his season debut last night in Detroit. Head coach Guy Boucher acknowledged to Ken Warren of the Ottawa Sun that he intends to play starter Craig Anderson less this season in an effort to avoid some of the late season injuries that have crept up in recent years.
  • Toronto winger Josh Leivo is expected to return to Leafs practice today after suffering an undisclosed injury, reports Mark Zwolinski of the Toronto Star. Leivo has yet to suit up this season but scored five goals in just twelve games last season and is one of many young wingers on their roster looking to make an impact.  James Mirtle of the Globe and Mail adds he will likely miss the next week before returning to game action.

Prospect Notes: Lazar, Mantha, Frk

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On the last day before the regular season starts, some final cuts are making their way down the wire. In Ottawa, Curtis Lazar has been assigned to the Binghamton Senators of the AHL as he continues to recover from a bout of mono he’s suffered through this summer.  Lazar, 21, has played the last two seasons exclusively in the NHL and shouldn’t be down for long. His 20 points were a solid building block in his development as he continues to grow into his frame.

This is good news for Tom Pyatt, who will debut on the Sens third line according to Brent Wallace of TSN. Pyatt has spent the last two seasons playing in Switzerland, where he found quite a bit of success. 62 points in 92 games there hearkened back his junior days for Saginaw, where he was an effective offensive centerman, even scoring 43 goals one season. The Sens will see if he can contribute on their bottom six as a strong defensive winger who can maybe chip in a few goals.

  • In Detroit, the team has finally made the decision to send Anthony Mantha to Grand Rapids official. Many had hoped the former first-round pick would crack the roster this year and make his presence felt as a power forward in the NHL, but he’ll have to wait just a little bit longer. Mantha, 22, has found success at the AHL level the past two seasons and made his debut last year for the Red Wings in a ten-game cup of coffee. He’ll need to develop some more consistency in both ends of the rink in order to get into Jeff Blashill’s lineup, but still has quite a bit of time to develop; power forwards often take a little longer.
  • Newest Carolina addition Martin Frk hit the ice for the first time today according to Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer, skating alongside Bryan Bickell and Jay McClement on the fourth line. A former Grand Rapids Griffin himself, Frk is still just 23 years old and possesses a nose for the net. His 27 goals last season put him second on the AHL squad, while chipping in another four points in four playoff games for the Detroit affiliate.

Training Camp Cuts And Waiver Wire Placements: 10/10/16

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Keeping track of all the training camp cuts and waiver placements today before tomorrow’s NHL 23-man roster deadline.

Anaheim Ducks
F Michael Sgarbossa (waivers -> San Diego Gulls, AHL)

Arizona Coyotes
D Zbynek Michalek (waivers -> Tuscon Roadrunners, AHL)
 D Klas Dahlbeck (waivers -> Tuscon Roadrunners, AHL)

Boston Bruins
RW Tyler Randell (waivers -> Providence Bruins, AHL)
RW Seth Griffith (waivers -> Providence Bruins, AHL)
C Tim Schaller (waivers -> Providence Bruins, AHL)
D Christian Ehrhoff (released from PTO)

Buffalo Sabres
D Justin Falk (waivers -> Rochester Americans, AHL)

Calgary Flames
F Brandon Bollig (waivers -> Stockton Heat, AHL)
F Chris Higgins (released from PTO)

Chicago Blackhawks
F Alexandre Fortin (returned to Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, QMJHL)
F Brandon Mashinter (waivers -> Rockford Ice Hogs, AHL)
F Mark McNeill (waivers -> Rockford Ice Hogs, AHL)
G Ivan Nalimov (returned to Vladivostok Admiral, KHL)

Colorado Avalanche
D Duncan Siemens (assigned to San Antonio Rampage, AHL)
F Gabriel Bourque (waivers -> San Antonio Rampage, AHL)
F Michael Sislo (waivers -> San Antonio Rampage, AHL)

Columbus Blue Jackets
C Gregory Campbell (waivers -> Cleveland Monsters, AHL)

Dallas Stars
D Mattias Backman (waivers -> Texas Stars, AHL)

Detroit Red Wings
F Teemu Pulkkinen (waivers -> Grand Rapids Griffins, AHL)
F Ben Street (waivers -> Grand Rapids Griffins, AHL)

Edmonton Oilers
F Anton Lander (waivers -> Bakersfield Condors, AHL)

Florida Panthers
F Paul Thompson (waivers -> Springfield Thunderbirds, AHL)

Los Angeles Kings
D Rob Scuderi (waivers -> Ontario Reign, AHL)
C Michael Latta (waivers -> Ontario Reign, AHL)

Minnesota Wild
G Alex Stalock (waivers -> Iowa Wild, AHL)

Montreal Canadiens
F Michael McCarron (assigned to St. John’s Ice Caps, AHL)
G Mike Condon (waivers -> St. John’s Ice Caps, AHL)

New York Islanders
F P.A. Parenteau (waivers -> Bridgeport Sound Tigers, AHL)

New Jersey Devils
G Scott Wedgewood (waivers -> Albany Devils, AHL)

Ottawa Senators
F Fredrik Claesson (waivers -> Binghamton Senators, AHL)

Tampa Bay Lightning
RW Erik Condra (waivers -> Syracuse Crunch, AHL)
LW Cory Conacher (waivers -> Syracuse Crunch, AHL)
RW Joel Vermin (waivers -> Syracuse Crunch, AHL)

Washington Capitals
D Aaron Ness (waivers -> Hershey Bears, AHL)
F Zach Sill (waivers -> Hershey Bears, AHL)

Winnipeg Jets
F Andrew Copp (assigned to Manitoba Moose, AHL)
F Marko Dano (assigned to Manitoba Moose, AHL)
F Chase De Leo (assigned to Manitoba Moose, AHL)
F Anthony Peluso (waivers -> Manitoba Moose, AHL)
F Nic Petan (assigned to Manitoba Moose, AHL)
D Julian Melchiori (waivers -> Manitoba Moose, AHL)
D Brian Strait (waivers -> Manitoba Moose, AHL)
G Ondrej Pavelec (waivers -> Manitoba Moose, AHL)

Snapshots: Korpisalo, Russell, Downie

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News and notes from around the NHL this evening:

  • Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Joonas Korpisalo will be out for at least four weeks after suffering a groin injury Tuesday, reports the Columbus Dispatch’s Tom Reed. Korpisalo was favored by many to backup Sergei Bobrovsky this season, but the preseason injury opens up that spot to Anton Forsberg or Curtis McElhinney. Korpisalo had a terrific debut last season, earning a 2.60GAA and .920Sv% in 31 games for the Blue Jackets. He’ll likely have the backup job when he returns.
  • The Ottawa Senators are reportedly out of the Kris Russell sweepstakes. The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch reported that Sens GM Pierre Dorian is set with his eight defenseman and implied that they will not seek additional help via free agency. Russell still remains a free agent after failing to find a deal in the off-season. Time is ticking for the shot-blocking defenseman to find a home before the regular season begins. Russell is arguably the best UFA remaining, but with rosters all but finalized it will be hard for him to find a team willing to come close to his demands. Four teams are reportedly still in the mix, according to TheScore’s Cory Wilkins, but it is not known what offers are on the table.
  • Steve Downie, another unsigned UFA, is mulling over an offer to play in the KHL, per his agent (via SportsNet). Downie last played with the Arizona Coyotes, scoring 3G and 3A in 26 games. He had some success two seasons ago with the Pittsburgh Penguins—scoring 14G and 14A in 72 games—but could never duplicate his 2009-10 season with the Tampa Bay Lightning. That year he scored 22G and 24P in 79 games while racking up over 200 penalty minutes. Discipline issues have dogged Downie his entire career, however, which may explain NHL GMs’ reluctance to sign him.

Training Camp Battles: Jets, Blue Jackets, Caggiula, Chabot

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Jets coach Paul Maurice isn’t ruling out carrying three goalies (Ondrej Pavelec, Michael Hutchinson, and Connor Hellebuyck) to start the season, writes Paul Friesen of the Winnipeg Sun.  Hellebuyck is viewed as Winnipeg’s goalie of the future but is the only waiver exempt goalie of the three.  It’s uncommon but not rare for teams to carry three (the Islanders did for the bulk of last year) as not only does it mean that one is in the press box every night, it also prevents the team from carrying another extra skater which is often more desirable.

Pavelec is entering the final year of his contract which carries a cap hit of $3.9MM.  However, he struggled last year with a save percentage of just .904 with a GAA of 2.78 which would make it very difficult to trade him.

Hutchinson, meanwhile, signed a two year deal this offseason with a more manageable cap charge of $1.15MM.  While his numbers weren’t much better than Pavelec’s last year (a slightly worse GAA while being three points higher in save percentage), he likely slots in as the backup moving forward and doesn’t appear to be a candidate to be traded.

If they do keep all three up to start, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Winnipeg shuffle Hellebuyck back and forth between their AHL affiliate, who plays out of the same area as the Jets.

Other training camp battles to follow:

  • Still with goaltenders, there is a battle brewing for the number two job with Columbus, notes Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch. Sergei Bobrovsky is the surefire starter but incumbent Curtis McElhinney plus youngsters Anton Forsberg and Joonas Korpisalo are both in the mix as well.  Of the three, only the 33 year old McElhinney would have to clear waivers.  Forsberg has had the best preseason but if the team decides that it’s best for their young players to play more in the AHL than dress as the backup with the big club, they may opt to keep the veteran around to start the season and see if one of the youngsters forces his way into the role midseason or as a spot starter.
  • Edmonton rookie center Drake Caggiula has turned heads at camp, writes Robert Tychkowski of the Edmonton Sun. The Oilers signed the small but highly coveted college UFA late last season and he has made a run at a roster spot.  Tychkowski opines that his strong play could allow the team to bump Leon Draisaitl up to the wing to further strengthen their second line.
  • 19 year old defenseman Thomas Chabot has made the opening Ottawa roster, according to a tweet from his junior team in Saint John.  Chabot was Ottawa’s top pick in 2015 (18th overall) and had 45 points in 47 games at the QMJHL level last season.  He’s eligible to play in nine NHL games before burning the first year of his entry-level contract.

Poll: 2005 NHL Draft Take Two: Ninth Overall Pick

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Hindsight is an amazing thing, and allows us to look back and wonder “what could have been.” Though perfection is attempted, scouting and draft selection is far from an exact science and sometimes, it doesn’t work out the way teams – or players – intended. For every Patrick Kane, there is a Patrik Stefan.

We’re looking back at the 2005 NHL Draft, which kicked off the salary cap era and ushered in many of the current NHL superstars. The question we’re looking to answer is knowing now what we didn’t know then, how different would this draft look now with the benefit of hindsight?

Here are the results of our redraft so far:

1st Overall: Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins)
2nd Overall: Carey Price (Mighty Ducks of Anaheim)
3rd Overall: Anze Kopitar (Carolina Hurricanes)
4th Overall: Jonathan Quick (Minnesota Wild)
5th Overall: Kris Letang (Montreal Canadiens)
6th Overall: Tuukka Rask (Columbus Blue Jackets)
7th Overall: Bobby Ryan (Chicago Blackhawks)
8th Overall: Marc-Edouard Vlasic (San Jose Sharks)

Now we move forward to the ninth pick, which was held by the Ottawa Senators.

To recap how this works:

  • We will go through the 2005 NHL Draft and have our readers select, through a voting process, who they think should have been taken with the selection.
  • The entire first round will be redrafted, spanning picks one through thirty. The new selection is chosen by the majority of votes.

Back in 2005, the Senators selected blueliner Brian Lee with their top pick.  He was coming off an injury-marred season with Lincoln of the USHL which had him under the radar but the Sens were hoping that he’d become a solid two-way blueliner.  While he has over 200 NHL games under his belt, Lee never really became more than a depth defender and five years later, Ottawa dealt him to Tampa Bay for Matt Gilroy, who came to the NHL as a coveted NCAA free agent signing but he too never panned out.  Lee last played in 2012-13, splitting the season between the Lightning and their AHL affiliate.

With the ninth pick of the 2005 NHL Draft, who should the Ottawa Senators select? Cast your vote below!

With the 9th overall pick, the Ottawa Senators select...
Ben Bishop 23.61% (106 votes)
James Neal 20.27% (91 votes)
T.J. Oshie 18.49% (83 votes)
Keith Yandle 10.69% (48 votes)
Marc Staal 6.46% (29 votes)
Paul Stastny 6.01% (27 votes)
Niklas Hjalmarsson 3.56% (16 votes)
Anton Stralman 2.67% (12 votes)
Jack Johnson 2.45% (11 votes)
Patric Hornqvist 1.56% (7 votes)
Devin Setoguchi 0.67% (3 votes)
Justin Abdelkader 0.67% (3 votes)
Sergei Kostitsyn 0.45% (2 votes)
Martin Hanzal 0.45% (2 votes)
Jakub Kindl 0.45% (2 votes)
Matt Niskanen 0.45% (2 votes)
Vladimir Sobotka 0.45% (2 votes)
Andrew Cogliano 0.22% (1 votes)
Cody Franson 0.22% (1 votes)
Nathan Gerbe 0.22% (1 votes)
Benoit Pouliot 0.00% (0 votes)
Gilbert Brule 0.00% (0 votes)
Jack Skille 0.00% (0 votes)
Steve Downie 0.00% (0 votes)
Ondrej Pavelec 0.00% (0 votes)
Mason Raymond 0.00% (0 votes)
Kris Russell 0.00% (0 votes)
Jared Boll 0.00% (0 votes)
Darren Helm 0.00% (0 votes)
Total Votes: 449

Mobile users click here to vote.

Training Camp Cuts: 10.05.16

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We’re now a week away from the beginning of the NHL regular season. Teams are getting closer to their final rosters, and with that comes more cuts.

Here are the cuts made on October 5, 2016:

Carolina Hurricanes (via General Fanager):
G Michael Leighton (on waivers for purpose of assignment to Charlotte, AHL)
D Keegan Lowe (on waivers for purpose of assignment to Charlotte, AHL)
C Brody Sutter (on waivers for purpose of assignment to Charlotte, AHL)
D Matt Tennyson (on waivers for purpose of assignment to Charlotte, AHL)
LW Brendan Woods (on waivers for purpose of assignment to Charlotte, AHL)

Columbus Blue Jackets (via team release):
D Keith Aulie (released from PTO)
D Marc-Andre Bergeron (released from PTO)
RW Mike Brown (released from PTO)
C Jarret Stoll (released from PTO)
RW Daniel Zaar (assigned to Cleveland, AHL)

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