Nazem Kadri Expected To Return For Game 4
After a disheartening 6-2 loss in Game 3, the Colorado Avalanche could get a huge momentum swing back in their favor tonight in the Stanley Cup Final. The Athletic’s Peter Baugh reports that, as of practice this morning, the team plans for center Nazem Kadri to return to the lineup for Game 4. Colorado Hockey Now’s Adrian Dater adds separately that Kadri is “definitely” playing tonight.
Per Baugh, Kadri skated with the regulars at practice this morning while right wing Nicolas Aube-Kubel skated with the healthy scratches. Barring any setbacks for Kadri during warmups, Aube-Kubel will likely draw out for Kadri to return.
Kadri hasn’t played since suffering a hand injury just 37 seconds into his first shift of Game 3 of the Western Conference Final. The hit by Edmonton Oilers winger Evander Kane, which forced Kadri’s hand awkwardly into the endboards, sidelined the Avalanche forward for two and a half weeks. Kane earned a one-game suspension on the play as the Avalanche completed their four-game sweep of the Oilers without either Kane or Kadri on the ice.
Despite the injury and the time missed, Kadri remains tied for fifth in playoff scoring on the Avalanche with six goals, eight assists, and 14 points in 13 games. It’s a repeat of his previous playoff success in an Avalanche uniform, as he tallied 18 points in 15 games during the team’s time in the 2020 playoff bubble.
Not only does Kadri’s return provide a gigantic boost to the Colorado offense on its own, it also causes a positive cascading effect on the team’s depth. J.T. Compher, who’s been an excellent energy forward for the team in recent games, will likely return to a bottom-six role, bolstering their ability to counterstrike against Tampa’s stellar veteran depth.
Finland Announces Preliminary Rosters For 2022 WJC
While the focus is on the Stanley Cup Final right now, fans will have some more hockey to watch later this summer, when the rescheduled World Junior Championship takes place in August. The event, which was postponed from its normal late-December timeslot because of a COVID-19 outbreak, will kick off on August 9 in Edmonton, Alberta.
All of the same players are eligible for the event, even if they have since turned 20, meaning there is a much bigger pool of talent to pick from this year. That’s led to Finland naming a preliminary roster and a challenger roster, which will battle at a camp this summer according to Lassi Alanen of Elite Prospects.
The main roster:
G Leevi Merilainen
G Rasmus Korhonen
G Juha Jatkola
D Matias Rajaniemi
D Ruben Rafkin
D Ville Ottavainen
D Joni Jurmo
D Eemil Viro
D Topi Niemela
D Kasper Puutio
D Petteri Nurmi
D Aleksi Heimosalmi
D Rami Maatta
F Samuel Helenius
F Roni Hirvonen
F Oliver Kapanen
F Ville Koivunen
F Juuso Maenpaa
F Aatu Raty
F Joakim Kemell
F Kalle Vaisanen
F Brad Lambert
F Kasper Simontaival
F Joel Maatta
F Roby Jarventie
F Elias Koponen
F Eetu Liukas
F Roni Karvinen
Snapshots: Nill, Kane, Helewka
The Dallas Stars have a new head coach with a long-term contract, after signing Pete DeBoer to a four-year deal this week. That raised some questions about the contracts of the rest of the leadership group, including general manager Jim Nill who has just one year left on his deal.
Today, at DeBoer’s introductory press conference, the new coach explained to reporters including Saad Yousuf of The Athletic that he was assured Nill would be there throughout his time in Dallas. Nill himself explained that he has worked on a succession plan with owner Tom Gaglardi but that he will be general manager for a few more years.
- Another coach press conference, this time for Jay Woodcroft and the Edmonton Oilers, led to more answers from a general manager. Ken Holland told reporters including Mark Spector of Sportsnet that he has had multiple chats with Evander Kane‘s agent and once again expressed his desire to re-sign the pending free agent winger.
- Minor league forward Adam Helewka is off to Europe once again, signing with HC Innsbruck in the ICEHL. The 26-year-old was originally selected 106th overall by the San Jose Sharks in 2015 but never did make it to the NHL. After spending some time in the KHL, SHL and Slovakian league, he played the last two seasons with the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL.
Offseason Checklist: Toronto Maple Leafs
With the offseason in full swing aside from the two teams in the Stanley Cup Final, it’s time to examine what each squad will need to accomplish over the coming months. Next up is a look at the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Another year, another first-round exit for the Maple Leafs, who were kicked out of the postseason by the defending champs. Sure, you could argue that they were closer to defeating the Lightning than either of the other two teams in the east that had the unfortunate task of trying to snap Tampa Bay’s streak but it doesn’t really matter at this point. The simple fact is that Toronto hasn’t won a playoff series in nearly two decades and all efforts this summer will be made to change that.
Figure Out The Goaltending
Right now, the Maple Leafs have three goaltenders under contract for next season. Petr Mrazek, Erik Kallgren, and Joseph Woll. That’s not exactly what someone would call championship depth in net. Mrazek is signed for two more years at $3.8MM and did not impress in his first go-round with the team, leading some to believe they’ll find a way to get rid of his contract this summer.
But the big question mark is Jack Campbell, who did an admirable job during his relatively short time in Toronto but may have priced himself out of their range. If the 30-year-old is looking to cash in on his first real chance at a lucrative multi-year contract, it’s hard to see how it will be with the Maple Leafs, unless they can find a way to clear up some other room. Even if they did move Mrazek’s money out and bring back Campbell, is the Kallgren-Woll duo enough depth behind him?
Add Youth To The Bottom-Six
With Ilya Mikheyev and Colin Blackwell both unrestricted free agents, Pierre Engvall and Ondrej Kase restricted free agents (who are both trade or even potentially non-tender candidates, because of the threat of arbitration), and Jason Spezza now in the front office, it could be a very different look at the bottom of the Maple Leafs’ lineup next season.
Deciding how many spots the team will leave open for competition among the younger players in the organization is a huge decision and one that could drastically backfire if they aren’t able to make the jump to the NHL full-time. Nick Robertson (20), Alex Steeves (22), Curtis Douglas (22), Nick Abruzzese (23), Pontus Holmberg (23), Joey Anderson (24), and others are potential options there, though they each come with very different skillsets.
With the cap squeeze coming in other areas, the team desperately needs some of these entry-level contracts (or minimum deals in Anderson’s case) to start paying off upfront.
Solve The Sandin Problem
When the Maple Leafs re-signed Mark Giordano to a hometown discount quickly after the season ended, the question immediately emerged: where is Rasmus Sandin going to play? The team now has Giordano, Morgan Rielly, and Jake Muzzin all entrenched on the left, while Sandin has struggled in his short time trying to play his off-side.
The 22-year-old is a restricted free agent for the first time and will need a new contract, but also some clarity on where exactly he fits into the picture for next season. Many fans have suggested a Muzzin trade to clear room for the younger Sandin but the veteran holds a full no-trade clause until next summer, so there would be complications even if the team did decide they wanted to move on–which isn’t clear anyway.
Given that they also have question marks on the right side with Justin Holl’s up-and-down season and Timothy Liljegren’s inexperience, how the Maple Leafs’ defense pairings shake out is a complete unknown at this point.
Find A Second-Line Left Winger
It may seem like a non-issue for a team that had no trouble scoring goals this season but the second-line duo of John Tavares and William Nylander often struggled to find chemistry with a rotating cast of left-wingers (and each other at times). With Mikheyev, perhaps the most natural fit there, likely moving on due to his open market price tag–Chris Johnston of TSN noted that the Russian UFA is looking for somewhere between $4-5MM on a per-year basis–it’s hard to see who will step into that void from the internal options.
Alexander Kerfoot has at times found success in the top-six but is really more of a third-line option, while a young skilled player like Robertson may not yet be ready. A free agent signing could be in the cards if the team can find some extra cash.
One thing that may play into the decision, however, is the emergence and development of prospect Matthew Knies. The second-rounder exploded this season with the University of Minnesota and played at the Olympics for Team USA. Knies is headed back to school for 2022-23 but could be an option for the Maple Leafs’ top-six as early as next spring, meaning any multi-year free agent move could create a logjam moving forward.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Minnesota Wild Extend Connor Dewar
June 22: The Wild have officially announced the two-year, one-way deal for Dewar, which will come with an average annual value of $800K.
June 21: The Minnesota Wild are about to avoid restricted free agency with Connor Dewar, as Michael Russo of The Athletic reports the two sides are closing in on a two-year, one-way contract. Dewar is coming off his entry-level deal and would not be eligible for arbitration this offseason. Financial details have not yet been disclosed.
Selected 92nd overall in 2018, Dewar made quick work of the AHL and was in the NHL on a regular basis this season. In 35 games for Minnesota, he scored two goals and six points, while racking up 25 penalty minutes–including a fight against Mackenzie Entwhistle that quickly endeared him to fans. In the minor leagues, he showed that he has outgrown the AHL by racking up 17 points in 19 games, offensive numbers that continued the upward trend that he has followed to this point.
An option as a fourth-line center for the Wild next season, a one-way contract does suggest that Dewar has the inside track for a roster spot in 2022-23. Given that the 22-year-old is no longer waiver-exempt gives him another advantage in that regard, as does what is likely a relatively inexpensive cap hit. With Minnesota dealing with a tricky financial situation thanks to massive buyout penalties, young, cheap forwards like Dewar will be incredibly important.
There is still plenty of work to do for general manager Bill Guerin. While Kevin Fiala may end up traded instead of extended, there are plenty of other restricted free agents that need new contracts, including Jacob Middleton, one of the team’s deadline acquisitions.
Winnipeg Jets Exploring Market For Blake Wheeler
The Winnipeg Jets are at a crossroads, after failing to even reach the playoffs in a season they were expecting to contend for the Stanley Cup. The team is without a head coach, has uncertainty regarding the next contract for Pierre-Luc Dubois, and is closing in on the end of long-term deals for two of their most prominent offensive pieces.
Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele are both scheduled for unrestricted free agency following the 2023-24 season, and while the latter may not be on the move despite some questionable comments, the team is apparently exploring the market on the former.
Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff explains that the Jets have begun to engage with teams on the possibility of moving Wheeler, and points out that the captain’s full no-trade clause will change on July 1, when he will have to submit a five-team list that he would accept a trade to.
Of course, Wheeler will also turn 36 later this summer and despite strong offensive results, has been criticized heavily in recent years for his overall contributions. The 6’5″ winger had just two goals through his first 30 games of this season, by which point the Jets were already well behind the pace and struggling to stay relevant. He did finish with 17 goals and 60 points total in 65 games but had poor defensive metrics once again, and relied heavily on easy deployment to find so much scoring success.
He also comes with a prohibitive $8.25MM cap hit for the next two seasons (though the actual salary owed is a bit lower than that), limiting the number of teams that could justify bringing him on without the Jets retaining some of the money.
Still, in the right situation, he can still be a strong contributor and perhaps be an option for a team looking to push over the top next season. It would be a drastic culture shift to see the team’s captain and long-standing cornerstone leave–Wheeler has been with the franchise since it still played in Atlanta–but there are winds of change blowing in Winnipeg after such a disappointing year.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Martin Necas Drawing Interest
The Carolina Hurricanes appear to have hit the jackpot in 2020 first-round pick Seth Jarvis, who is already a regular in the top-six and produced 48 points in 82 games (combined regular season and playoffs) this year. With Jarvis’ rocket-fueled ascension though, there have been fewer minutes and fewer opportunities for another first-round selection.
Martin Necas, the 12th overall pick in 2017, saw his ice time drop to just over 16 minutes a night this season and even lower than that in the playoffs, where he failed to score a single goal. The 23-year-old was drafted with the potential to play center but has been used almost exclusively on the wing so far and took a noticeable step backward offensively this season.
He was honest about this fact at his end-of-year availability, telling reporters:
I have to help the team more, I have to produce more. That’s what everyone expects from me and I didn’t do that this year. It was disappointing.
Necas had 40 points in 78 regular season games, not even reaching the mark he set last year in the shortened 56-game schedule. He is now a restricted free agent coming off his entry-level contract with 119 points in 203 career games.
Still, there is so much obvious upside in the 6’3″ forward that it’s easy to understand why teams might be calling. Pierre LeBrun explained on TSN’s Insider Trading that the Hurricanes may not be rushing to trade Necas but if a deal came about for a young defenseman, they would at least listen.
While releasing that information may just be a negotiating tactic, the Hurricanes are obviously considering some changes. Just a few days ago it was reported that Ethan Bear has been given permission to speak to other teams about his own value heading into an RFA negotiation, and with Vincent Trocheck, Nino Niederreiter, Max Domi, Derek Stepan, Ian Cole, and Brendan Smith all set to hit the open market, Carolina could have a very different look at the start of next season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Anaheim Ducks Interested In Josh Manson Reunion
One of the most speculated-about scenarios at every trade deadline is one where a team, out of the playoff race, trades away an important pending free agent only to re-sign him a few months later. After all, why not lease the player for a nice deadline return of future assets, that make the team even stronger upon his return.
In practice, this rarely happens. Those deadline additions are either extended by their new team or reach free agency and suddenly find themselves surrounded by new suitors.
This year, it appears the Anaheim Ducks will be trying to pull off the unlikely scenario of bringing back a sold-off veteran. Pierre LeBrun reports on TSN’s Insider Trading that Anaheim has an interest in a reunion with Josh Manson, once his run to the Stanley Cup Final is finished with the Colorado Avalanche.
Manson, 30, has been a nice addition for the Avalanche, giving their defense corps some additional snarl while adding some nice (and likely unexpected) offense at key moments. As LeBrun notes though, it will be very difficult for Colorado to retain him, given how many other free agents they have on the roster–some of which they’re hoping to sign after the playoffs come to an end.
Meanwhile, Manson had seen his reputation around the league take a bit of a hit in recent years, as his minutes and effectiveness waned in Anaheim. That doesn’t mean the Ducks are done with him though, as he is extremely well-liked in that dressing room and could still be a nice veteran piece to help the team transition into the next phase of their build.
Currently carrying a $4.1MM cap hit, it will be interesting to see what Manson can command on the open market. His playoff performance has only driven his value back up but defensemen who don’t offer much offensively rarely get big paydays–at least in relative terms–in free agency.
Offseason Checklist: Boston Bruins
With the offseason in full swing aside from the two teams in the Stanley Cup Final, it’s time to examine what each squad will need to accomplish over the coming months. Next up is a look at the Bruins.
It wasn’t a particularly eventful season for Boston who once again was one of the stronger teams in the Atlantic Division and while they wound up in a Wild Card spot, they were safely in a playoff spot early on. However, they weren’t able to get past Carolina in the first round and since then, it has been a busy few weeks for the Bruins. GM Don Sweeney will have a lot of work to do over the coming weeks, assuming a new contract gets worked out between now and then.
Hire A New Coach
It was a move that came as a surprise to some but Sweeney and team president Cam Neely opted to make a change behind the bench, dismissing Bruce Cassidy earlier this month. This, despite the team going 245-108-46 under his watch during the regular season. The playoff success hasn’t been there, however, with the team playing a game below .500 which likely played a significant role in the decision to make a change. Cassidy wasn’t out of a job for long and now has a long-term deal to coach in Vegas.
This feels like a crossroads situation for the Bruins and, for the time being, at least, Boston isn’t being linked to many of the veterans that have been around the block with quite a few teams over the years. Their current crop of known candidates consists primarily of first-time options (Seattle assistant Jay Leach, Toronto assistant Spencer Carbery, and Pittsburgh assistant Mike Vellucci) or one-time NHL bench bosses (David Quinn, St. Louis assistant Jim Montgomery, and Boston assistant Joe Sacco).
Turning to that type of coach could signal an openness to try a different path and perhaps even take a short-term step back as none of these options carry the type of win-now expectations that a ‘recycled’ veteran often does. At any rate, Boston will want to have their new bench boss in place by the start of free agency on July 13th as the new coach will want to have some say in their personnel moves.
Re-Sign Or Replace Bergeron
Patrice Bergeron has been a fixture down the middle for Boston for the last 18 years. He’s a five-time Selke Trophy winner and sits 18 points shy of the 1,000-point mark for his career. The 36-year-old hasn’t shown signs of slowing down and is consistently one of their leading scorers. But Bergeron is set to become an unrestricted free agent next month and there is some uncertainty about his future as a result. This isn’t a case of him threatening to test the market and go elsewhere – he has already ruled that out – but rather a case of him deciding whether or not to hang up his skates and call it a career.
That would certainly be a devastating blow for the Bruins as they don’t have anyone in the system to replace him. If Bergeron does retire, Boston will need to go hard after the notable middlemen in free agency highlighted by Nazem Kadri while Vincent Trocheck will also generate plenty of interest. If Evgeni Malkin makes it to the open market, they could check in on him as well with a short-term offer. The other route is to try to trade for an impact middleman but they don’t have their first-rounder this year, their next two second-rounders after next month’s draft, while their prospect pool isn’t the strongest. That will make it difficult to trade for an impact center if it comes to it.
Adding one will certainly be a necessity if Bergeron retires as they don’t have anyone else that’s even an ideal second-line center let alone a top liner. Erik Haula and Charlie Coyle have been hit or miss in key offensive roles in their careers and while they are quality secondary players, they aren’t ideal fits on the top trio. With that in mind, if Bergeron returns, they could still use an impact center behind him.
Forecasting Bergeron’s contract if he chooses to come back is a difficult one since he is limiting his options to only the Bruins; it’s not implausible to think he’d sign a team-friendly contract to give them some extra cap flexibility. As it stands, they have just over $2MM in cap space which is hardly enough to do much of anything with. If Bergeron was to sign a one-year deal, he’d be eligible for incentives which would give them the ability to roll those onto the 2023-24 cap and buy themselves a bit of wiggle room for next season.
Determine Pastrnak’s Future
David Pastrnak has certainly provided plenty of value for a late first-round pick back in 2014. Over his eight-year career, he is just shy of averaging a point per game and has been no lower than third in team scoring over the past six seasons. Basically, he has been a consistent fixture on Boston’s top line while doing so at a team-friendly price as the 26-year-old has been under contract at $6.67MM for the last five years and is signed for the 2022-23 season at that price as well.
Obviously, Boston’s preference will be to sign Pastrnak to a contract extension as soon as he’s eligible once the new league year begins on July 13th. It’s going to take a sizable financial commitment to do so and it’s fair to say his camp will be keeping a close tab on Johnny Gaudreau and Filip Forsberg this summer with Pastrnak’s price tag likely to fall somewhere between what those two get. Something in the $9MM range is certainly doable.
However, there has been some speculation that Pastrnak may not be willing to sign an early extension which will certainly complicate things for Sweeney. While Boston would undoubtedly command a significant return in a trade for him, doing so would also definitively close their window of contention; if Bergeron was to return, they could plausibly give that core one more chance so that has to be taken into consideration. While it’s possible that they go into next season without a new deal in place, that does have its risks. Accordingly, the Bruins will want to have a good sense of what Pastrnak’s intentions are before the start of free agency, so this will need to be near the top of Sweeney’s priority list.
Bring In Defensive Depth
On the surface, the Bruins have some decent defensive depth and will have Jakub Zboril healthy after he missed most of the season due to an injury. With eight defensemen on one-way deals, it would seem like they wouldn’t need any more help.
However, Matt Grzelcyk is out until at least November and Charlie McAvoy is out until at least December due to offseason shoulder surgeries. Mike Reilly also underwent offseason surgery but should be ready for training camp.
While Boston’s depth is decent, they’re going to need some extra bodies to get through the first couple of months of the season. Jack Ahcan could be an option after getting into six games this year but they might want someone with more experience. Accordingly, Sweeney may have his eyes on some veteran depth players for training camp PTOs or two-way contracts with an intention of having them play in Providence once everyone is healthy. With the potential for an NHL roster spot or two to start the season, that could be appealing to those players as they consider their options in free agency next month.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.
Award Notes: Jim Gregory Award Finalists, All-Rookie Team, All-Star Teams
While there were five awards handed out on Tuesday, there is still one more to be announced. That one is the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award. It’s voted on by all 32 NHL GMs as well as some NHL executives at the end of the second round. Not surprisingly, all three of the finalists, who were named during the NHL Awards show, were among the four to help lead their teams to the conference finals including Julien BriseBois of the Lightning, Chris Drury of the Rangers, and Joe Sakic of the Avalanche. Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello won the award a year ago. The winner for this won’t be announced until partway through the first round of the draft next month in Montreal.
More news from awards night:
- Following the televised portion of the awards, the league announced its All-Rookie team. Boston’s Jeremy Swayman was the goaltender, Nashville’s Alexandre Carrier and Detroit’s Moritz Seider were the defensemen, while Toronto’s Michael Bunting, Anaheim’s Trevor Zegras, and Detroit’s Lucas Raymond comprised the forward group. Seider was the only unanimous choice from the group.
- The NHL also announced its two All-Star teams. Igor Shesterkin (Rangers) was the goalie on the first team and was joined by Roman Josi (Predators), Cale Makar (Avalanche), Johnny Gaudreau (Flames), and Maple Leafs teammates Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. Matthews, Gaudreau, and Shesterkin are on the top team for the first time while it was the second nod for the other three.
- The second All-Star team had a pair of Flames in goaltender Jacob Markstrom and winger Matthew Tkachuk. They were joined by defensemen Charlie McAvoy (Bruins) and Victor Hedman (Lightning), winger Jonathan Huberdeau (Panthers), and center Connor McDavid (Oilers).