Snapshots: Three Stars, Gurianov, Kessel
The NHL released its Three Stars for last week, with Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin taking the top spot. While he was good through the first few years of his career, Dahlin has really taken another step under Sabres head coach Don Granato. Last season he set career highs with 13 goals and 53 points, and he’s off to an incredible start this year with five goals and eight points in five games. Dahlin became the first defenseman in NHL history to score in the first four games of a season and then broke his own record by scoring again on Saturday night.
Brady Tkachuk and MacKenzie Blackwood take home the second and third spots, after having their own impressive weeks. Blackwood’s was especially impressive because of the poor start that the New Jersey Devils goaltenders got off to. In three starts, Blackwood posted a .932 save percentage and silenced some of the chatter over the future of head coach Lindy Ruff. Tkachuk, meanwhile, had seven points in three games, recording at least two in each contest.
- Denis Gurianov figures to be a healthy scratch when the Dallas Stars take on Tkachuk and the Ottawa Senators tonight, as his inconsistencies have once again pushed him out of the lineup. Head coach Peter DeBoer spoke with Matthew DeFranks of the Dallas Morning News, explaining that Gurianov is “not a young player anymore” and will be held to the consistency standard that other veterans are expected to maintain. The 25-year-old Gurianov doesn’t have a point through his first five contests.
- Vegas Golden Knights forward Phil Kessel will tie the NHL consecutive games streak tonight, when he takes on his old club the Toronto Maple Leafs. The veteran forward will play his 989th straight game, matching the record set by Keith Yandle. The last time Kessel missed a game was his first year with the Maple Leafs, back in 2009-10. He is also just 43 points away from 1,000 for his career.
Carey Price Not Retiring, Focused On Recovery
Carey Price hasn’t considered retirement, at least not yet. While meeting the media this morning, he explained that he is focused on getting pain-free and will take things day-by-day from there. Price explained that he is still having trouble climbing stairs or with other activities, but hasn’t closed the book on his NHL career.
Price, 35, is still signed through the 2025-26 season, earning at least $7.5MM in each season. That will stay on the books for the Canadiens, though it will be moved to long-term injured reserve every year he isn’t able to play, essentially allowing the team to spend that money elsewhere if needed.
Selected fifth overall in 2005, Price was always touted as the next great Canadiens goaltender. Though he didn’t step directly into the NHL, going back to the WHL for two full seasons, he quickly showed why he was drafted so high upon his arrival. As a rookie in 2007-08, Price posted a .920 save percentage, going 24-12-3 and finishing ninth in Vezina Trophy voting. By the time he was 23, he was leading the league in wins and finishing as a top-10 Hart Trophy finalist.
In 2014-15, both those trophies ended up in his possession, after one of the best seasons the NHL has ever seen from a goaltender. Price led the league with 44 wins, a .933 save percentage, and a 1.96 goals-against average. He added the Jennings and Lindsay to the trophy case as well, but that peak wouldn’t last long. The netminder would end up playing just 12 games the next season, and injuries would start to shape the narrative of his career.
His regular season performance since the start of 2017-18 has continued to decline, registering a save percentage of just .908 over that stretch. Even still, he showed a flash of peak Price in the playoffs, taking the Canadiens all the way to the Stanley Cup final in 2021.
Now, with retirement not on the table, Price says he is hoping to recover from a knee injury without undergoing another surgery – one that he suggests could risk his quality of life down the line. When asked if he’s been told when the knee issues started, Price laughed and said “about eight years old.” He listed off several other injuries he’s experienced – referencing his back, hip, and ankle – explaining that as he got older, it was harder to bounce back from these things.
Whether Price is focused on it or not, the end of his playing career seems closer than ever. He suggested that the surgery on the table – OATS, a procedure that takes cartilage from one area of the knee and grafts it into a damaged area – has a chance of causing further issues, both for his performance and quality of life. Without it, he is not able to train at a high level, meaning he’s just waiting to see if his knee responds to time and rehab instead.
If it is the end, Price would go down with 712 regular season appearances in his career, 28th all-time. His 361 wins put him even higher on the NHL leaderboard, sitting 21st, just ahead of Jonathan Quick.
When asked if he is at peace with the idea that he may have played his last game, Price used the word “miracle” to describe the possibility of a return.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Juraj Slafkovsky Undergoing Tests On Upper-Body Injury
There was a big absence at Montreal Canadiens practice today, as Juraj Slafkovsky was nowhere to be seen. The team released some information on the situation, noting that the first-overall pick is undergoing testing on his upper-body injury. Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports tweets that there is expected to be an additional update Wednesday on “how long he’ll be out.”
It has been an up-and-down start for the top prospect, as he at times looked completely overmatched by the speed of the NHL game. His only point came during his last game when he released a brilliant shot after getting hit hard by Josh Brown. He would end up seeing his highest amount of playing time in the game against the Arizona Coyotes, but missed Saturday’s match and now appears headed for the shelf.
Given there was already some debate over whether Slafkovsky should receive some time in the minor leagues to continue his development, an injury at this point in the year isn’t going to help things. There’s no doubting his talent, but in two of his five games on the year Slafkovsky failed to receive even ten minutes of ice time.
Should he end up out long-term, or even if it is more of a day-to-day thing, the Canadiens could still send him to the AHL when he is ready to return. For now, we’ll wait to see what kind of diagnosis is coming down the pipe.
Colorado Avalanche Recall Martin Kaut
Oct 24: While earlier today the Avalanche announced that both Kaut and Megna were recalled, that tweet has now been deleted. The AHL transaction portal has Kaut and Mikhail Maltsev recalled, though the team has not yet confirmed it.
Oct 23: The Colorado Avalanche did some roster tweaking late last night, announcing that they’d sent down forwards Martin Kaut and Jayson Megna to the AHL. The move comes just after the Avalanche concluded a 3-2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights, their third win of this young season.
These two reassignments should not come as a surprise to anyone closely watching the Avalanche’s moves this season. As The Athletic’s Peter Baugh notes, this transaction was likely made with the salary cap in mind rather than for any reasons related to Megna or Kaut’s performance. The Avalanche have precious little cap space to work with, so they choose to send players such as Megna or Kaut to the minors on off days in order to “accumulate” cap space—banked room that will be potentially more useful later in the season.
As can be seen here, both Kaut and Megna have been part of up-and-down transactions multiple times already this season, so it’s definitely reasonable to expect the team to bring one or even both of these players back to their active roster in time for their next game, which is on Tuesday against the New York Rangers. It’s also possible that they go in a different direction with their roster, by either calling different replacements up from their AHL affiliate or rolling with a few extra defensemen in their lineup (which would be a highly unconventional choice).
Both Kaut and Megna have split time this season between the Avalanche’s main squad and their AHL affiliate. The 32-year-old Megna is a longtime veteran depth player who has been on the NHL/AHL bubble since making his professional debut in 2012-13. Kaut, 23, is in a bit of a different situation at this time in his career, as he finds himself on the roster bubble just a few years after being selected 16th overall at the 2018 draft. Like Megna, Kaut is yet to score in his three NHL games this season although he has had some production at the AHL level.
Five Key Stories: 10/17/22 – 10/23/22
The regular season is in full flight and while things have predictably been quiet on the trade front, there has still been plenty of news of note around the NHL which is recapped in our key stories.
Potential For Early Cap Increase? The expectation has long been that there will be at least one more season after this one where the salary cap increase would be limited to $1MM as the players continue to pay off the COVID-related escrow to bring the split back to 50/50. However, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman expressed some optimism that the balance could be paid off this season, allowing for an increase that could be closer to $4MM for next season. With 13 teams already needing LTIR to be cap-compliant and six others with less than $1MM in cap space at the moment, that extra bump would be welcome news for them.
Early Extension: Flames backup goaltender Daniel Vladar had a good first season with Calgary and would have been eligible for salary arbitration this summer. Instead, he took a pass on that, instead agreeing to a two-year, $4.4MM contract extension. The 25-year-old played his first full season in 2021-22, serving as Jacob Markstrom’s backup while getting into 23 games. Head coach Darryl Sutter has indicated a desire to have Vladar play once a week which could have boosted his value had the Flames decided to wait until the summer to work this deal out. However, Vladar will be eligible for unrestricted free agency when this deal expires in 2025.
Knee Surgery For Landeskog: It was known back in training camp that Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog wouldn’t be ready for the start of the season. However, he was expected to start skating about a week and a half ago, providing some optimism that he’d be back soon. That idea was kiboshed quickly as the team revealed that the winger underwent knee surgery that will keep him out for roughly the next 12 weeks. It’s certainly a big loss for Colorado as the 29-year-old has been a key part of their attack for more than a decade and was coming off his best season in terms of points per game. Now, what looked like a short-term injury to start the year will now keep Landeskog out for at least the first half of the season.
More Key Injuries: The Panthers don’t have the deepest of back ends and their depth will be further tested for a little while as the team placed Aaron Ekblad on LTIR with a lower-body injury. Fortunately for Florida, it appears their top defender will be out somewhere from four-to-seven weeks although they’ll certainly miss him in the short term. Meanwhile, the Red Wings will be without winger Tyler Bertuzzi for four-to-six weeks due to an upper-body injury. Missing a top liner is hardly ideal for Detroit nor is it ideal for the 27-year-old who is eligible to reach unrestricted free agency next summer for the first time. On top of those, the Coyotes will be without one of their top scorers from last season as center Nick Schmaltz will miss six-to-eight weeks with an upper-body injury of his own. Arizona isn’t exactly a deep offensive team as they look to bottom out in the standings and now they’re without a top threat until sometime in December.
Vrana Enters Player Assistance Program: Bertuzzi isn’t the only key winger that the Red Wings are without as the league announced that Jakub Vrana has entered the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program. No further details were provided and there is no set timeline for when the 26-year-old might be able to return. Vrana is in his third season with Detroit after being acquired back at the 2020 trade deadline but due to injuries, had only played in 39 games with them before this announcement.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Salary Cap Deep Dive: Colorado Avalanche
Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM. Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation for the 2022-23 season and beyond. This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.
Colorado Avalanche
Current Cap Hit: $80,628,637 (under the $82.5MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
D Bowen Byram (one year, $894K)
F Martin Kaut (one year, $863K)
F Alex Newhook (one year, $908K)
Potential Bonuses
Byram: $2.5MM
Kaut: $425K
Newhook: $850K
Total: $3.775MM
The departure of Nazem Kadri has created an opportunity for Newhook to push for that spot on the second line. If he can grab it, it’s possible that Colorado could look to give him a longer-term deal in the $4MM range, one that’s above market value now but below it down the road. Otherwise, a two-year bridge contract in the $2MM range is likely where he winds up. He’ll need to produce in their top six to have a chance at some of his ‘A’ bonuses. Kaut cleared waivers to start the season but might be up for a little while due to some injuries up front. That said, he will have a very limited role based on how little they deploy their fourth line so he’s a candidate to take less than his qualifying offer in exchange for a higher two-way salary or perhaps a one-way deal at the minimum.
Byram, when healthy, was an impactful player last year and is off to a good start this season. He’s the type of young core player that a team would typically like to lock up close to the maximum term. That’s harder to predict here due to Byram’s concussion history. He has missed a lot of time with that particular issue already so there might be some hesitance to commit that type of deal to him at this time. A bridge contract could still run Colorado past $4MM per year based on some recent comparables so they’ll have to leave some room for that. If Byram stays healthy, he’s a strong bet to reach the $850K in ‘A’ bonuses in his deal so that will need to be accounted for either this season or next.
Signed Through 2022-23, Non-Entry-Level
F Andrew Cogliano ($1.25MM, UFA)
F J.T. Compher ($3.5MM, UFA)
F Darren Helm ($1.25MM, UFA)
F Dryden Hunt ($763K, UFA)
D Erik Johnson ($6MM, UFA)
F Jayson Megna ($750K, UFA)
F Evan Rodrigues ($2MM, UFA)
Compher avoided arbitration with this contract back in 2019, one that he’d become more productive during the contract. That hasn’t happened as instead, he has basically produced at a similar point-per-game level since then. He’ll be 28 next summer and as a center, he should have a fairly strong market but unless he can lock down Kadri’s old role, it’s hard to see him getting much more than this. Rodrigues was a late signee after misreading the market early in free agency. If he can produce at a similar level as a year ago, he should be able to get a bit more than this on the open market next year as he’ll have shown that 2021-22 wasn’t an outlier.
Cogliano had a nice playoff run which earned him this one-year deal back in July. Now in his age-35 season, he’ll almost certainly be going year to year and with his production being at the level of a fourth liner in recent seasons, his price tag should dip a bit more next summer. Helm is in a very similar situation although he has been a bit more productive than Cogliano lately and can play center which, in theory, should give him a bit of a stronger market. Even so, his role has been decreasing and he’s better off as a fourth liner so Helm’s next contract should be similar to this one. Hunt and Megna haven’t established themselves as regulars yet and accordingly, unless something changes, they’ll be signed for close to the minimum next year. Colorado can’t afford to go much higher than that for their end-of-roster spots either.
Johnson was a core defender for a long time although his role and efficiency have dipped in recent seasons. He’ll be 35 next summer and while he is doing well enough to land a contract somewhere, it’s likely that it will check in at least 50% lower than his current deal.
Signed Through 2023-24
G Pavel Francouz ($2MM, UFA)
D/F Kurtis MacDermid ($988K, UFA)
D/F Jacob MacDonald ($763K, UFA)
D Devon Toews ($4.1MM, UFA)
GM Joe Sakic took advantage of the Islanders needing to clear cap space, allowing them to acquire Toews for a couple of second-round picks and then signed him to this contract which has become team-friendly in a hurry. His offensive game has taken off with Colorado and he’s coming off a 57-point campaign. Toews will be 30 when his next contract will begin and he’s already on his way to a considerable raise. If he stays around the 50-point mark these next two seasons though, he could be doubling his price tag and then some on a max-term deal. This is the next big-ticket contract that Sakic will need to work out although he’ll have to wait until next July to work on it.
MacDermid has moved between defense and the wing somewhat regularly and has held his own in both limited roles. Of course, he’s best known for his physicality and the positional versatility helps. But with minimal production, it’s unlikely that MacDermid will be able to do much better than this on his next deal. MacDonald has largely been in the minors in his career and will need to establish himself as a regular if he wants to get much more than the minimum two years from now.
Francouz has battled injury issues but when he is healthy, he has done well as evidenced by a career .921 SV% heading into the season. But with the injuries and a limited track record (57 NHL appearances heading into the year), he opted for stability and took this extension last season. If he can stay healthy and play at a similar level, he could be in line for something in the $3MM range on the open market in 2024.
Signed Through 2024-25
F Logan O’Connor ($1.05MM, UFA)
G Alexandar Georgiev ($3.4MM, UFA)
F Mikko Rantanen ($9.25MM, UFA)
Rantanen has been a legitimate top-line star for several seasons now and is coming off a year that saw him set new career highs in goals, assists, and points. While this is already his eighth season with some NHL action under his belt, he’s still only 25 and will hit the open market at 28. The cap is expected to be a fair bit higher then than it is now and he’ll still be in his prime. Accordingly, Rantanen could be a candidate to best Artemi Panarin’s $11.643MM AAV in free agency if he gets there. O’Connor has just one full NHL campaign under his belt (last season) but was a valuable bottom-six role player and the Avs opted for the early team-friendly extension. As long as he continues to be a regular and produces around 20-25 points, he’ll be in position to make a few hundred thousand more on his next deal.
Georgiev was acquired from the Rangers this past summer once Colorado realized that they wouldn’t be able to bring back Darcy Kuemper. He had some good and bad moments with New York and that allowed Colorado to sign him for a rate that is close to what veteran backups that can make 30 starts get on the open market. If Georgiev can play like a legitimate starter with the Avalanche, it will be a very team-friendly contract while the netminder could command closer to $5.5MM on his next deal.
2008 NHL Draft Take Two: Twentieth Overall Pick
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 2008 NHL Entry Draft and asking how it would shake out knowing what we do now. Will the first round remain the same, or will some late-round picks jump up to the top of the board?
The results of our redraft so far are as follows with their original draft position in parentheses:
1st Overall: Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning (1)
2nd Overall: Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings (2)
3rd Overall: Roman Josi, Atlanta Thrashers (38)
4th Overall: Alex Pietrangelo, St. Louis Blues (4)
5th Overall: Erik Karlsson, Toronto Maple Leafs (15)
6th Overall: John Carlson, Columbus Blue Jackets (27)
7th Overall: Jacob Markstrom, Nashville Predators (31)
8th Overall: Braden Holtby, Phoenix Coyotes (93)
9th Overall: Jordan Eberle, New York Islanders (22)
10th Overall: Jared Spurgeon, Vancouver Canucks (156)
11th Overall: Cam Atkinson, Chicago Blackhawks (157)
12th Overall: T.J. Brodie, Buffalo Sabres (114)
13th Overall: Josh Bailey, Los Angeles Kings (9)
14th Overall: Adam Henrique, Carolina Hurricanes (82)
15th Overall: Tyler Myers, Ottawa Senators (12)
16th Overall: Gustav Nyquist, Boston Bruins (121)
17th Overall: Derek Stepan, Anaheim Ducks (51)
18th Overall: Jake Allen, Nashville Predators (34)
19th Overall: Jake Gardiner, Philadelphia Flyers (17)
Sliding two spots from the real 2008 NHL draft is defenseman Jake Gardiner. Originally the 17th overall selection by the Anaheim Ducks, Gardiner now goes 19th overall, this time to the Philadelphia Flyers, who had selected defenseman Luca Sbisa with that choice back in 2008.
Interestingly, between Gardiner and Sbisa, only one of them even played games with the team that drafted him, Sbisa getting into 39 games for the Flyers the year after being drafted. Both players were used to help their respective teams make an immediate upgrade on the blueline. The Flyers used Sbisa to help them acquire Chris Pronger from the Ducks, and a few years later the Ducks would use Gardiner to help them acquire Francois Beauchemin from the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Regardless of which player they chose, or whether they would have elected to keep him around, the Flyers would get good value out of the pick with Sbisa or Gardiner. Sbisa wound up having a lengthy career as a stable, physical shutdown defenseman while Gardiner has had a lengthy career as a tremendous puck-mover on the back-end. Gardiner’s career might seem a bit more enticing given his strong point totals in his prime, but he has dealt with multiple injuries that have forced him to miss most of 2020-21, all of 2021-22, and thus far, all of 2022-23. All of that considered, finding an everyday NHL defenseman at 19th overall is something many executives and scouts around the league would be rather happy with.
Now, we move on to the 20th overall pick, which belonged to the New York Rangers. In 2008, the Rangers used that pick to take Michael Del Zotto, a slick two-way defenseman from the Oshawa Generals. After taking Del Zotto, the Rangers sent him back for one more season in the OHL, which he split between Oshawa and the London Knights. Del Zotto would debut for New York in 2009-10, immediately jumping into a full-time role on their blueline, making a splash his rookie season with 37 points. However, he took a step back in his sophomore season, playing in just 47 games while spending some time in the AHL too.
The defenseman would rebound for 2011-12, scoring 10 goals to go with 31 assists in 77 games and it seemed as if the Rangers had a star on their hands. However, Del Zotto wasn’t able to replicate that production and was eventually dealt to the Nashville Predators part-way through 2013-14 for fellow defenseman Kevin Klein. That offseason, Del Zotto signed with the Philadelphia Flyers where again his production would jump up, putting up 32 points in 64 games, but once again, he couldn’t maintain.
Del Zotto then became something of a journeyman after his three-year stint with Philadelphia, spending time with Vancouver, Anaheim, St. Luis, Columbus, and most recently, Ottawa in 2021-22, where he had his first AHL time since that trip back in 2010-11. Prior to this season, the Florida Panthers signed Del Zotto to a one-year, two-way contract; to date, he’s played two games with the Charlotte Checkers, Florida’s AHL affiliate.
Much like Sbisa and Gardiner above, Del Zotto has had a lengthy career complete with several very strong seasons, but has never hit the elite level the Rangers might have envisioned when they selected him. Now with the benefit of hindsight, who should the Rangers select 20th overall in our redraft? There are plenty of solid defensemen available, including Del Zotto as well as the likes of Travis Hamonic, Marco Scandella, and Zach Bogosian, offense-first forwards like Mikkel Boedker and Tyler Ennis, or some good-old-fashioned grit with Matt Martin and Matt Calvert, and many more to choose from.
2008 Redraft: Twentieth Overall
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Justin Schultz 22% (112)
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Travis Hamonic 20% (100)
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Zach Bogosian 10% (51)
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Luke Schenn 8% (42)
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Marco Scandella 8% (40)
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Michael Del Zotto 6% (28)
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Tyler Ennis 5% (23)
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Mikkel Boedker 4% (22)
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Matt Martin 4% (20)
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Colin Wilson 3% (14)
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Michael Stone 3% (13)
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Jason Demers 2% (11)
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Luca Sbisa 2% (9)
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Matt Calvert 2% (9)
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Zach Boychuk 1% (4)
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Zack Smith 1% (3)
Total votes: 501
App users, click here to vote.
Injury Notes: Canucks, Chytil, Blankenburg
These days, most news on the Vancouver Canucks relates to their early struggles to start the season. Given their 0-4-2 start after a tough 8-15-2 start last season, flanked by their extensions with Brock Boeser and J.T. Miller, but lack of extension with Bo Horvat, the team’s captain, the questions are fair and the storylines sensible. That said, Canucks head coach Bruce Boudreau did provide a few updates to the media this afternoon, including The Athletic’s Harman Dayal, regarding the team’s injuries.
Defenseman Quinn Hughes, who missed last night’s game against the Buffalo Sabres, a 5-1 loss in Vancouver’s home-opener, is still considered day-to-day as of right now, good news for one of the team’s best players, who is currently averaging 27:14 of time-on-ice per night, a career-high so far. No real update was given on defenseman Tucker Poolman, who has played in just three games this season, Boudreau calling it a “tough situation,” the 29-year-old having “good days and bad days.” It’s unclear exactly what is bothering Poolman, but he did miss a large chunk of last season while dealing with migraine issues. Defenseman Travis Dermott, who suffered a concussion in late September, has been progressing well, Boudreau said, but will not play this week.
- The New York Rangers and Columbus Blue Jackets will each have to finish their game shorthanded this evening. For the Rangers, center Filip Chytil left the game with an upper-body injury and will not return, says The Athletic’s Arthur Staple. Chytil had been tripped up earlier in the game, crashing hard to the ice and slow to get up, presumably the cause of the injury.
- Also leaving that game is Columbus defenseman Nick Blankenburg, who suffered an upper-body injury, the team confirms. Blankenburg had been involved in an awkward collision earlier in the game, appearing to injure his left arm, writes Aaron Portzline of The Athletic. The defenseman attempted to play through the injury, but ultimately left the game early in the second period.
Latest On The State Of The Vancouver Canucks
It’s no secret the Vancouver Canucks are struggling to start the season; in fact, it’s probably the biggest storyline of the young NHL season. After the team similarly struggled to start last season, they fired then-Head Coach Travis Green, replacing him with Bruce Boudreau. Post-coaching-change, the team went on a sensational run to finish the season, nearly securing a playoff berth. Despite the turn around, many believed the organization would look to make some rather substantial changes to its core, centered around trades of Brock Boeser and J.T. Miller. Instead, both players were extended and remain with the team.
The outlook for this season appeared questionable, as the group didn’t seem like a basement team or a Stanley Cup contender. However the 0-4-2 start, which included a record-breaking four straight losses after having a multi-goal lead to start the season, was unexpected and has created plenty of frustration in Vancouver among players, coaches, management, media, and fans alike.
Last night after the Canucks’ 5-1 loss at home to the Buffalo Sabres, Canucks President Jim Rutherford appeared on Hockey Night In Canada to discuss an array of topics, but most notably, the state of the Canucks. When asked whether the organization was “steadfastly opposed” to a rebuild, Rutherford said:
“Well, I think people have to realize how long rebuilds are. You look at some of the teams that went through it, and we look at how good they are now, but there were a lot of tough years. We may very well be in a rebuild in the direction we’re going. But, ideally we’d like to transition this team on the fly.”
Rutherford’s comments are quite interesting as they seem to give a genuine answer, but one that is at the same time, not very clear as to what exactly that means or where the organization sees itself going, points out ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski.
Looking closer, in onsense, a rebuild on the fly could look something like the Dallas Stars, who transitioned from a team lead by Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, John Klingberg, and Ben Bishop, featuring up-and-comers like Jason Robertson, Roope Hintz, Miro Heiskanen, and Jake Oettinger, to one that’s now lead by Robertson, Hintz, Heiskanen and Oettinger, featuring veterans like Benn, Seguin, and Joe Pavelski, as well as top prospects like Wyatt Johnston, Logan Stankoven, Mavrik Bourque and Riley Damiani. The Stars transition was made up of teams that were rarely non-competitive and at its height, included a Stanley Cup Final appearance. Vancouver, much like those Dallas teams has, and has had, plenty of talent up and down its roster.
Another way of looking at the ‘on the fly’ rebuild is a team like the New York Rangers, who chose to hold on to a few key building blocks like Mika Zibanejad, Pavel Buchnevich and Chris Kreider, but deal a majority of their veteran players for young players and draft picks. Instead of taking a drawn out approach, the team went after top free agent talent, primarily Artemi Panarin, counted on the development of prospects they already had or were able to select with their returns, namely Igor Shesterkin and K’Andre Miller, and admittedly got somewhat lucky with players like Adam Fox choosing them and the draft lottery helping them select Kaapo Kakko and Alexis Lafreniere. But, unlike Dallas, the Rangers quicker approach involved trading top talent and a few very lean years in the standings. It also involved, ironically when looking at the current Canucks, trading J.T. Miller.
Worth considering when it comes to the Canucks as they stand right now, is transitioning on the fly isn’t as clear as it is for other teams. For the Rangers, the writing was on the wall that the long-term future of the franchise was not J.T. Miller, Ryan McDonagh, Derick Brassard, or Kevin Hayes. Those players were taking a substantial portion of their salary cap and for some, getting close to hitting the free agent market. In Dallas, Benn had struggled, Seguin had injury woes, and Klingberg seemed to be a luxury they one-day couldn’t afford, but their young players all seemed to be developing as well as expected – it appeared it was merely a matter of time.
After the above quote on the state of the franchise, Rutherford continued:
“We do have some core players, some young players, that are really good. We just have to keep working and try to work through this. But we will continue to try to add younger players to this team and bring it together here in the next year or so.”
In Vancouver, the pieces rumored to be on the go the most were Miller and Boeser, who were both extended this offseason. The future of Bo Horvat, the team’s captain, was up in the air, but an extension seemed forthcoming after Boeser and Miller, however Horvat remains unsigned with free agency looming this coming offseason. There appears to be another young core coming, just like there was in Dallas, with Elias Pettersson, Vasily Podkolzin, Quinn Hughes, and Thatcher Demko, but it’s that core that is starting to take shape in Vancouver, along with Miller, Boeser, and Horvat, that has gone through two consecutive rough starts.
The continuation of Rutherford’s words indicates his confidence in moving forward with that young core. But, notably, the team does not have the rich farm system a team like Dallas did. Forward Jonathan Lekkerimaki, Vancouver’s first-round pick in 2022, is the team’s first opening round selection since Podkolzin back in 2019.
All of this to say, the Canucks are still 0-4-2. Six games into the season, the team is not remotely close to being out of playoff contention. Last year’s Canucks, who started 8-15-2 appeared to be in a much more bleak position when Green was fired than they are now, and that team barely missed a playoff spot. That said, although a rebound is quite possible, Vancouver is still in a precarious position. One bit of Rutherford’s comments, separated from the rest, does appear to give an element clarity, at least depending how this story continues to unfold: “We may very well be in a rebuild in the direction we are going.”
Buffalo Sabres Recall Kale Clague
Amid a brief wave of injuries to their defenseman, the Buffalo Sabres announced that they have recalled defenseman Kale Clague from the Rochester Americans of the AHL. No corresponding move has been announced. The Sabres, who have $19MM in cap space, didn’t make the move for any cap purposes, but instead had a spot to give after Mattias Samuelsson left last night’s game with a lower-body injury. Though not specified in the Sabres announcement, Samuelsson has been placed on IR reports Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News.
Buffalo is clearly having itself a tough weekend on the injury front, losing not only Samuelsson, but defenseman Henri Jokiharju as well, who was placed on IR on Friday with an upper-body injury. In response to that injury, the Sabres recalled defenseman Lawrence Pilut from Rochester the same day. Should they play, Pilut and Clague will have a chance to make an impact on a Buffalo team that appears to finally be turning a corner, off to a 4-1-0 start early on this season.
If and when Clague plays, it’ll be his first game in a Sabres sweater. The 24-year-old was originally a 2016 draft pick of the Los Angeles Kings, where he played parts of three seasons before the Montreal Canadiens selected him off waivers last December. Montreal failed to quality him this summer, and he hit the free agent market, where the Sabres signed him to a one-year, two-way contract. This season, Clague has three points, all assists in five games at the AHL level. For his NHL career, he has 16 points in 58 games.
As much as these injuries impact the Sabres, they can be felt in Rochester too. With Pilut and Clague making the trip up the road from Rochester to Buffalo, the Americans are out a pair of defensemen themselves. As a result, the team appears to have recalled defenseman Zach Berzolla from the Cincinnati Cyclones, their ECHL affiliate.