Nicklas Backstrom Exits COVID Protocol
Jan 2: Backstrom has tested out of the protocol and re-joined his teammates, according to El-Bashir. The veteran forward is back on the ice in a top-six jersey.
Dec 28: It had been a promising scene at Washington Capitals practice recently, with Nicklas Backstrom taking part and appearing to be close to a return. Unfortunately, that recovery will have to be put on pause for the moment, as the veteran center has been put in the COVID protocol, according to Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic.
With Tom Wilson, T.J. Oshie, and Carl Hagelin all taking part in the optional practice today, the Capitals are well on their way to getting the band back together. Backstrom’s absence will hopefully be rather short, and he will be able to get back on the ice in a few days.
The 35-year-old hasn’t played this season as he recovers from hip surgery in June. After the procedure, he explained to reporters that he was pain-free for the first time in years but didn’t know when or if he would be able to play again. The mystery appears to be solved, and a return for Backstrom is on the horizon.
After hitting the 1,000-point mark last season, there are a few Hall of Fame players within striking distance of the Capitals legend, and a place in the NHL’s top 75 is even possible. He would need 35 points to pass Henri Richard‘s 1,046 for that honor, though Eric Staal (currently at 1,042) might do it first. It has been an incredible career for the fourth overall pick from 2006, and as Alex Ovechkin continues his chase of the all-time goals record, getting his long-time setup man would only help.
Because Backstrom is already on long-term injured reserve, his status in the protocol will not change anything for the Capitals. The team will need to clear a good amount of cap space to activate him though, meaning this will likely give them a little extra time to figure things out.
Stars Recall Fredrik Olofsson From AHL
Jan 2: After being sent back down to the AHL yesterday, Olofsson is back already for the Stars. The SHL star has one goal in three games at the NHL level so far.
Dec 27: Fredrik Olofsson is an older rookie at the age of 26 but he is set to get his first NHL opportunity as the Stars announced that they’ve recalled the forward from AHL Texas.
Olofsson is in his first season in North America after signing with Dallas back in May following an impressive season with IK Oskarshamn in Sweden that saw him put up 42 points in 49 games. He also earned a spot on Sweden’s Olympic team which helped to get him on the NHL radar. However, he hasn’t been as productive in the minors as Olofsson has just a dozen points in 28 games with Texas.
Olofsson will likely take the place of Riley Tufte in the Stars’ lineup. Tufte played less than five minutes in Friday’s victory over Montreal and was among the many players shuffled back to the minors on Saturday for salary cap purposes. Olofsson is a bit more of a defensive player and might be a better fit on the fourth line in Denis Gurianov’s absence.
Tampa Bay Lightning Extend Nick Perbix
The Tampa Bay Lightning continue to turn late-round picks into valuable players, this time getting regular minutes out of sixth-round rookie Nick Perbix. They’ve rewarded the young defenseman with a two-year extension, which will carry an average annual value of $1.125MM.
Perbix, 24, was the 169th pick in 2017, coming out of the high school circuit. There was some early optimism during his year in the USHL but things didn’t really start taking off until he went to St. Cloud State. Over four years, Perbix racked up points while playing in all situations. He performed so well that in 2022, the U.S. Olympic team selected Perbix to join them.
It only took him a handful of AHL games to show that he was ready for a higher level, and in 29 outings for the Lightning this season has eight points. The 6’2″ right-shot defender has skated next to Victor Hedman and is averaging over 15 minutes so far.
For $1.125MM, there’s a lot of upside here for the Lightning with very little risk. If he continues to improve and stays in the team’s top four, he’ll be a huge bargain. If things turn and he struggles, the entire cap hit can be buried in the minor leagues.
Interestingly, because Perbix reached the NHL later than most prospects, he will actually be an unrestricted free agent at the end of this deal. With strong play, he could set himself up for a significant payday when he hits the open market just weeks after his 27th birthday.
Ryan O’Reilly, Vladimir Tarasenko Placed On Injured Reserve
There are two big trade chips for the St. Louis Blues this season. Ryan O’Reilly and Vladimir Tarasenko are both on expiring contracts and will likely fetch high prices at the deadline, if the team decides to move on. Unfortunately, there is now also the question of whether they will be healthy enough to contribute.
O’Reilly and Tarasenko have both been moved to injured reserve with long-term issues. O’Reilly is dealing with a broken foot and will be re-evaluated in six weeks, while Tarasenko has a hand injury and will be re-evaluated in four weeks. The team has recalled Jake Neighbours to fill in.
It’s brutal timing for a club that is trying to get back into the playoff race, or at least pump the value of these players before the deadline. The Blues are 17-17-3 on the year and sit in fifth place in the Central Division.
O’Reilly, 31, has ten goals and 16 points on the year, not exactly the season many expected as he approaches free agency. The veteran center has been known for his playmaking ability, racking up at least 35 assists in each of the last nine non-shortened seasons. With just six in 2022-23, he’s on pace for his worst season in more than a decade.
The 31-year-old Tarasenko on the other hand is having another strong offensive campaign, scoring 29 points in 34 games so far. One of the most impressive stories of 2021-22, Tarasenko came back from major shoulder surgery to score 34 goals and 82 points. A threat to light the lamp every time he touches the ice, the Russian winger figured to be a perfect trade deadline target for clubs looking to inject offense into their top-six.
Five Key Stories: 12/26/22 – 1/1/23
The week following the holiday break is typically a quiet one and this was no exception, aside from a key veteran signing a contract extension. It’s among the news highlighted in our key stories.
Crawford To Switzerland: One veteran coach is off the free agent market as Marc Crawford has been hired by Zurich in Switzerland on a three-year contract. If you’re thinking you’ve seen this headline before, it’s actually the second time that Crawford has coached this franchise as he had a four-year stint with the club beginning in 2012-13. Crawford was last behind an NHL bench last season with Chicago but hadn’t caught on anywhere this season. Meanwhile, the outgoing coach in Zurich is also of some note as it’s Rikard Gronborg. The 54-year-old has received NHL interest in the past and now that he’s a free agent, teams could come calling again.
Wounded Coyote: One of the early bright spots for the Coyotes has been rookie winger Matias Maccelli. Entering the holiday break, he sat second in the league for points by a first-year player despite largely flying under the radar. Unfortunately for him and Arizona, the 22-year-old will miss the next six weeks with a lower-body injury. Maccelli played in 23 games last season and had just six points but had three goals and 19 assists in 30 games prior to the injury which was sustained in their final game before the break against Los Angeles.
Staying In Dallas: Veteran center Joe Pavelski had a very productive 2021-22 campaign, earning himself a one-year extension. He’s off to a similarly productive first half this season and he has once again earned a one-year extension, this time signing it on the first day he was eligible to. The 38-year-old will receive $3.5MM in base salary plus $2MM in achievable bonuses (maxed at 20 games played) along with a no-move clause. The deal is similarly structured to the one he’s on this season, giving Dallas some flexibility as bonuses can be rolled over and charged against the cap the following year. Pavelski has 200 points over his first 243 games with Dallas, giving them some steady and reliable production at the top of their lineup.
Good News/Bad News For Avs: It has been a rough year injury-wise for the Cup champs as Colorado has been missing several key players all season long. They did get one of those players back this weekend when center Nathan MacKinnon was activated off IR after missing the previous 11 games with an upper-body injury. The 27-year-old has 34 points in 24 games this season (a pace of 116 over a full 82-game schedule) and will give the Avalanche a second top scoring threat at the top of their lineup. However, it wasn’t all good news on the injury front as winger Valeri Nichushkin has re-injured his surgically repaired ankle with no timetable for his return. He has been a point-per-game player when he has played this season so his absence will once again be felt.
Hanging Them Up: Veteran winger Devante Smith-Pelly has decided to call it a career, announcing his retirement at the age of 30. He played in parts of eight NHL seasons with Anaheim, Montreal, New Jersey, and Washington, recording 101 points and 799 hits in 395 games, a pretty good career for the 2010 second-round pick. Smith-Pelly last saw NHL action in the 2018-19 campaign but had caught on with AHL teams since then, spending the second half of last season with Montreal’s AHL affiliate in Laval.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
PHR Mailbag: Rangers, Canucks, Devils, Buyers And Sellers, Red Wings Centers, Roster Spots
This edition of the PHR Mailbag largely focuses on the trade deadline which is now just over two months away. If your question doesn’t appear here, check back in last weekend’s mailbag.
met man: Brian, do you think the Rangers should upgrade the backup goalie situation?
When I first saw this question, my immediate thought was yes, they should do something to upgrade the spot. Jaroslav Halak is not having a particularly strong season which shouldn’t come as much of a surprise considering how poorly things went for him last season with Vancouver. It stands to reason that if Igor Shesterkin gets injured, they’re in trouble. In that sense, it does make sense to try to upgrade.
However, my second thought changed my tune somewhat. Yes, they’ll be in trouble if Shesterkin goes down but that will be the case with whatever backup they have whether it’s Halak or one of the second-stringers that might move in the next couple of months. Knowing that, is a second-string upgrade the most efficient use of their cap space? Or should they focus on players that are going to play every night that improve their scoring or defense?
After bouncing those two thoughts around, I’ve come to some sort of hedge answer. If I’m GM Chris Drury, I’d flip a mid-round pick to Columbus for Joonas Korpisalo at the deadline. At that point, there isn’t much more than $300K left on his contract which shouldn’t be too difficult to fit in. If they wanted to bank a little extra space between now and the deadline, they could paper Ben Harpur back and forth to help on that front.
Korpisalo’s numbers aren’t great but they’re better than Halak’s and he’s the type of goalie that might be worth getting an early look at to see if he’d fit as a longer-term backup beyond this season. He does have some playoff experience and did quite well so as long as adding him doesn’t prevent them from making a bigger splash, it’d be worthwhile doing. However, it’s worth noting that Halak can’t be buried in the minors which would offset most of Korpisalo’s cost as he has a full no-move clause so that would need to be factored into their spending plans.
cheftay: Who do you see Vancouver trading Horvat to and what a potential trade might look like? Do you see them possibly trading Miller too before his NTC kicks in this summer? If you were Vancouver’s GM, what might you do with this team going into the trade deadline and in the offseason? Would you buy out OEL?
In a recent mailbag, I had Vancouver finding a way to re-sign Bo Horvat and I don’t want to fully bail on that just yet. I think a factor in their contract offers has been their cap situation but if things improve on that end (such as saving some money on a Brock Boeser trade, for example), they would be able to up their offer and that might be enough to bridge the gap. I’m certainly not as confident in that happening as I was a month ago but I think it could happen.
Between that and hoping for as much certainty on next year’s cap as soon as possible, I think a Horvat trade, if it comes to that, comes close to the trade deadline. It’s easier for other teams to make the money work in late February/early March than it is in January. As for where, I like Colorado. They’re a team that has a long-term need that might be willing to do an extension at the same time as the trade. If Vancouver retains 50% and there’s an extension in place, I could see part of the offer being a first-round pick and young center Alex Newhook.
As for J.T. Miller, I don’t see him moving short of him turning around and asking for a trade. Trading players before a long-term extension kicks in rarely happens and I don’t think the offers now would be better than what they were being offered pre-extension. He should still be part of their long-term plans.
There’s not a whole lot Vancouver can really do to dramatically change up the core beyond moving Horvat if an extension can’t be reached. They’d be selling low on Boeser and Conor Garland while Tyler Myers isn’t going anywhere yet (when his signing bonus is paid though, that’s another story). I’d be selling high on Luke Schenn who may not be the best defenseman to move but at a $900K cap hit, he’s cheap enough to create a good bidding war. If they can’t extend Andrei Kuzmenko, I’d be moving him as well. I’d be trying to move Tanner Pearson as well but I don’t think there’d be much traction there.
Then there’s Oliver Ekman-Larsson. With four years left at $7.26MM (excluding Arizona’s portion), that contract isn’t getting any better. But with two of those buyout years (25/26 and 26/27) costing $4.767MM each, that’s a bit too much of a single-year cap charge to eat right now. Plus, carrying eight years of dead cap money is hardly ideal. In the short term, I’m not convinced they can get a better defender for less money than the new guy’s cap hit plus Ekman-Larsson’s cap charge and if they can’t do that, why buy him out? Ekman-Larsson isn’t a top defender anymore but he’s still more than serviceable. They don’t have a particularly good or deep back end right now so for now, he stays.
Grocery stick: Right now the Devils seem to be on track for reaching the playoffs. That should make them buyers at the trade deadline. What are they doing with Holtz and Nemec who are their most high-end prospects in my book? Will the Devils flip their top prospects for success this season? They have some valuable depth players on expiring contracts so there won’t be a ‘next season’ for this Devils team. Are they going all in?
Generally speaking, I don’t like the idea of teams going all in after being a non-playoff team. It’s rare for a team to go from being a cellar dweller to a contender in one fell swoop so why push all the chips in so quickly? On the other hand, I’m not convinced that the Devils are a sustainable contender as things stand so with things falling into place this season, is it better to take your shot?
The next six weeks or so will go a long way in determining which route they go. Right now, things are looking good even with their recent struggles but if they continue to slip, the willingness to go all in likely dissipates somewhat. I don’t think Simon Nemec will be in play but I do think Alexander Holtz could be in the right situation. That right situation would be getting a young (25 or under) core piece that has at least four years of team control remaining.
As things stand, I think they’re softer buyers. Andreas Johnsson’s expiring contract won’t carry value but he’s a good enough player that he can be used as a contract matcher which would give them $2.275MM (his cap charge while in the minors) in full-season space to work with. That’s enough to add a depth piece or two (depending on if the other team retains) and send a message that management believes in this group without risking much of anything in terms of longer-term assets and cap flexibility.
aka.nda: What’s going on with the Sens and Blue Jackets? They gonna be buyers or sellers? Who are the targets? Possibly same question in regard to the Rangers and Flames as well.
Ottawa: They’re a bit of a Wild Card for a couple of reasons. Can they get back into the Wild Card race? I think they can. But with an estate basically running the team right now, what do they have for budget space? Playoffs were the expectation after a busy summer of upgrades so it’s hard to see them sell. Besides, other than Cam Talbot, I’m not sure there’s a pending UFA that carries a lot of trade value for them. I think they’re light buyers in terms of shoring up their depth (there are plenty of possible targets on that front) but I’m intrigued to see if they have something bigger going that requires Nikita Zaitsev‘s contract being moved out.
Blue Jackets: The playoffs aren’t an option for them so they’re sellers but this will be a softer sell. In other words, move the pending UFAs but not the core guys. Vladislav Gavrikov will fetch a good return and as long as they’re willing to retain half of Gustav Nyquist’s deal, I think they can get a mid-round pick for him plus whatever they get for Korpisalo. I wouldn’t be surprised if GM Jarmo Kekalainen prefers already-drafted prospects over draft picks as those players better fit the timeline of their young core.
Rangers: We’ve covered the goalie situation already but let’s look at the skaters. They’ll be buyers barring them falling well out of the playoff race. I had Vladimir Tarasenko going there in last weekend’s mailbag and that’s the side of the market I expect them to be on. If there’s a key forward (winger or center), they’ll be inquiring. Defensively, I think they’ll look to upgrade on their sixth defender; Ben Harpur is a capable depth player but do they really want him in the lineup in the playoffs? Who they target there depends on the forward they get.
Flames: Right now, they are narrowly holding onto a Wild Card spot. As long as they stay in that range, I think they’re buyers on the rental front. With over $80MM in commitments for next season already per CapFriendly, they can’t really afford someone on a multi-year deal. Depending on what happens with Oliver Kylington, they might want to add a defensive upgrade but otherwise, a top-six winger will be the target. Having said that, I could see them being a team that sells a bit as well in an effort to try to free up some cap space. At first glance, Andrew Mangiapane might be someone whose contract they might want to try to get out of. Maybe the buying move is a player-player swap, not a player-for-futures one that we typically see.
Snapshots: Three Stars, Top Rookie, Penguins, Zohorna
With the calendar turning to January, the NHL announced its Three Stars for December. Taking home the top spot was Capitals winger Alex Ovechkin, whose 13 goals last month moved him up into second in all-time NHL goals as he now sits at 806, 88 behind Wayne Gretzky for the record. Oilers center Connor McDavid was the second star after leading the league in goals (14) and points (31) while tying for the lead in assists (17) and is the first player this season to record 30 points in a month. Sabres center Tage Thompson was the third star after picking up 22 points in 11 games while helping Buffalo pick up eight wins to get back within striking distance of a Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- The NHL also revealed the Rookie of the Month for December with Hurricanes netminder Pyotr Kochetkov getting the nod. The 23-year-old posted a 1.63 GAA along with a .939 SV% and two shutouts in eight appearances last month, just weeks after inking a four-year, $8MM contract extension that kicks in next season.
- Penguins defenseman Kris Letang accompanied the team to Boston in advance of tomorrow’s Winter Classic but didn’t practice and remains listed as day-to-day, notes Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. At this point, it seems unlikely that he’ll be able to suit up in the outdoor game. Meanwhile, blueliner Chad Ruhwedel was a participant in practice, albeit in more of a reserve capacity. He has been out for the last two games and could be available to suit up against the Bruins.
- Radim Zohorna has been shuffled back and forth off Calgary’s roster in recent days and that trend continued today as FlamesNation’s Ryan Pike relays (Twitter link) that the Flames have sent Zohorna back to AHL Calgary. The 26-year-old has played in five NHL games this season and will likely be recalled in advance of their next game on Tuesday. For each day Zohorna is in the minors, the Flames are banking a little over $4K in cap space while extending his waiver exemption as he’ll remain exempt until he plays in ten NHL games or is on Calgary’s roster for 30 days.
Senators Stepping Up Efforts To Move Nikita Zaitsev
It has been a tough year for Senators defenseman Nikita Zaitsev, to put it lightly. He has struggled when he has been in the lineup and passed through waivers earlier in the season which resulted in his first career AHL action.
However, it appears as if they’re stepping up their efforts to move the 31-year-old as ESPN’s Kevin Weekes reports (Twitter link) that Ottawa has given Zaitsev’s permission to speak to other teams to try to help facilitate a trade. Additionally, Weekes reports that the Sens are also willing to part with a sweetener – a good prospect or high draft pick – to get a deal done.
Zaitsev has another year after this one on his contract that carries a $4.5MM cap hit. That’s a high price tag for someone who is averaging less than 17 minutes per night when he’s in Ottawa’s lineup. While he had a 36-point rookie season with Toronto in 2016-17 which helped shape the price tag of his current deal, he hasn’t been able to reach half of it since then. Notably, he also has a ten-team no-trade clause which gives Zaitsev a bit of an ability to control what happens next.
If Ottawa is indeed willing to move a quality asset to get out of the final year and a half of Zaitsev’s deal, it stands to reason that the primary objective is to clear the full contract off the books, similar to what Calgary did when they sent Montreal a protected first-round pick to get out of the final year of Sean Monahan’s contract. That suggests that they’re likely unwilling to retain on the contract or take a bad deal back as if they were, they wouldn’t need to attach an additional asset to make a move happen.
Ottawa has a little more than $4.3MM in full-season cap space at the moment, per CapFriendly. That amount is lower than what it really should be as at the moment, they have six players on injured reserve (including Zaitsev); as some of them return and their short-term replacements go back to the minors, they will have considerably more cap room to work with.
However, it’s also worth noting that they’re typically a budget team, not one that spends to the Upper Limit and with an ownership situation that’s certainly in flux with efforts to sell the team well underway, it’s possible that they don’t have the green light to spend right to the limit. Accordingly, if they want to make a move to add to their roster, they might need to move Zaitsev to have the budget room to do so.
With the bulk of the trade market still a fair way away from developing with so many teams needing to bank more cap room, they haven’t had much luck finding a taker for him yet. Perhaps now with his agent being able to speak to teams and the Senators willing to incentivize a team to take on Zaitsev’s contract, they’ll eventually have some better luck making it happen.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Minor Transactions: 01/01/23
With the new year now upon us, today features the first slate of games of 2023. With the Winter Classic coming up tomorrow, there’s quite a bit on the calendar for NHL fans to get excited about. As these games go on, teams in minor and overseas leagues are making tweaks to their rosters. We’ll keep track of any notable moves here:
- 2016 Vancouver Canucks draft pick and established SHL scorer Rodrigo Abols will be changing clubs this summer. The Latvian forward has announced that he will be leaving his current club, Orebro, to sign with Rogle for next season. Abols has 20 points in 27 games this season and last played in North America in 2019-20, scoring 23 points in 36 games for the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds.
- Former Montreal Canadiens prospect Martin Reway has parted ways with his current club, EHC Freiburg of the German DEL2. Reway arrived in the German second division after playing last year in the Czech second division. He has scored 23 points in 20 games this year for Freiburg.
- The Erie Otters have completed a trade with the Niagara IceDogs, landing Pano Fimis, the number-two pick of the 2020 OHL Priority Selection. Fimis, who went undrafted last year, has scored 24 points in 28 games this year. He’ll arrive in Erie likely that this trade can spark increased production and give him a shot at getting drafted in the summer.
- Tim Soderlund, perhaps best known for being a part of the 2021 trade of Duncan Keith to the Edmonton Oilers, has parted ways with his current club, Djurgardens IF. The 24-year-old winger, a 2017 fourth-round pick of the Chicago Blackhawks, has scored 14 points in 29 HockeyAllsvenskan games this season. He last played in North America in 2021-22, splitting time between the AHL and ECHL before heading to Djurgarden.
Anaheim Ducks Activate Anthony Stolarz
The Anaheim Ducks have announced that goaltender Anthony Stolarz has been activated off of injured reserve.
In a corresponding move, the team has assigned netminder Lukas Dostal to their AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls.
A few days ago, we covered that Stolarz had begun skating once again, a development that hinted at a soon-to-come return from the injured list.
Stolarz has been out of action since December 12th, when he suffered a lower-body injury. Now, with his activation, the Ducks have gotten John Gibson‘s backup back onto their active roster.
The Ducks have been one of the worst teams in the NHL this season, and Stolarz has had his share of struggles. After posting a .917 save percentage in 28 games last year, Stolarz is down to an .889 through 13 contests this year.
Stolarz will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the league year, barring an extension. His expiring deal mans it’s imperative that Stolarz puts together a solid stretch of starts, in order to put himself in the best position possible for a potential trip to the open market.
To make room for Stolarz on their roster, the team has sent down their number-three goalie, Dostal. The 22-year-old Czech netminder has been a bright spot for the Ducks, posting a .909 save percentage through seven games. He’s been good in the AHL as well, with a .916 in 20 games.