Chicago Blackhawks Issue Update On GM Search
While the Montreal Canadiens and Vancouver Canucks have filled their vacant general manager positions in the last few weeks, the Chicago Blackhawks continue to operate with Kyle Davidson in an interim position. There has not been much reporting over who the candidates for the Blackhawks job would be, other than the fact that Davidson himself is one.
Today, Blackhawks CEO Danny Wirtz released a lengthy update on the process, which included the following:
Over the last six weeks, our leadership has been taking part in a discovery and research process that explored all functions and structure of our Hockey Operations department. This top to bottom exercise revealed an incredible amount of in-house talent while also highlighting areas for growth and opportunities to become more competitive. We plan to create a next generation Hockey Operations department with a path to sustained success for the Chicago Blackhawks. Our next step is to find the right leader, and we will begin to reach out to potential candidates this week to interview for the General Manager role. That position will be the highest-ranking executive in Hockey Operations and will report directly to me. We anticipate making a final decision in advance of the National Hockey League Trade Deadline.
Again, Wirtz confirms that Davidson will be a candidate but currently has full autonomy to make hockey decisions. Otherwise, the team pledges to be as transparent as possible in the process but will not identify potential candidates other than noting they are interviewing some from both inside and outside of hockey.
The Blackhawks have been without a full-time GM since Stan Bowman left the organization in late October following the Kyle Beach sexual assault scandal. Senior vice president of hockey operations Al MacIssac was also dismissed, and at the time, Wirtz was very clear that they would audit the entire organization before naming a successor. That process continues but with this new announcement, a GM hire should be made relatively soon, as the trade deadline sits a little over seven weeks away.
Pittsburgh Penguins Extend Jeff Carter
The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed Jeff Carter to a two-year contract extension, avoiding unrestricted free agency this summer. The deal will carry an average annual value of $3.125MM and includes a full no-movement clause. Carter is in the final season of an 11-year, $58MM deal that was signed back with the Philadelphia Flyers in 2010 and currently carries a cap hit of just over $5.27MM, half of which is retained by the Los Angeles Kings.
That means this new deal actually increases the cap hit for the Penguins, but with Carter’s performance since he arrived in Pittsburgh, it is deserved. The 37-year-old has been excellent in his short time there, scoring 21 goals and 37 points in 50 games. He’s also continued to be the versatile forward he has been since 2005, able to line up at center or the wing, engage physically or play a skilled role on the powerplay. Carter has now played 1,130 games during his long, successful career, and broke the 400-goal mark earlier this season.
Ron Hextall, who has been linked to Carter in Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia over the years, released a statement on the extension:
Jeff’s experience and versatility have made him a valuable addition to our team. In addition to his on-ice contributions, his team-first attitude has made him a leader inside our locker room and we are happy to have him under contract for two more years.
Just this month Carter told reporters that he hoped to play a few more years, not ready to hang up his skates just yet. He’ll now be in Pittsburgh for the next few years at least, helping Sidney Crosby and company try to take home another Stanley Cup.
It’s an interesting move for the Penguins and one that seems to signal that any thought of a rebuild will have to wait. The team is still in win-now mode after a brilliant recent stretch and is ready to commit to this core group. Signing a 37-year-old to an extension partway through the season isn’t a very common occurrence, but for the Penguins, they obviously wanted to avoid any chance of losing Carter in the offseason.
Still, the faith they are showing in him comes with some risk. Carter is in his 17th season in the NHL and though he is currently still an effective option, that doesn’t necessarily mean he will be in 2024. The management group in Pittsburgh must know that Crosby and Evgeni Malkin–a free agent himself this summer–only really have a few years left of being among the best players in the world though, meaning they have a limited chance to surround them with talent. By 2024, the window may already be closed, meaning a slight overpayment for a declining forward won’t be the end of the world.
Malkin’s future stands out as the next item on the docket for Hextall and the rest of the Penguins front office, but he’s certainly not alone. Kris Letang and Bryan Rust are also pending unrestricted free agents, along with several other depth players. With Carter locked up the team knows it has a middle-six center option to slot in behind Crosby, but there are a lot of other uncertain pieces in Pittsburgh right now.
Bob McKenzie of TSN was first to break the news.
Jon Merrill Enters Protocol; Jonas Brodin Returns To Practice
The Minnesota Wild will be without Jon Merrill and Nico Sturm for the next few days after they were placed in the COVID protocol. Both players missed practice today, though their status moving forward was not confirmed. If they are a confirmed positive case of COVID-19, they’ll be held out for the normal minimum of five days, meaning they would not be available for at least the next two games.
The loss of Merrill from the lineup may not be felt as strongly as one might think, as the Wild had Jonas Brodin back at practice today. The veteran defenseman hasn’t played since January 6 but is now medically cleared to return and is a possible option for Friday in New York. Brodin told reporters including Michael Russo of The Athletic that he has been skating on his own and believes his conditioning level is in good shape.
Sturm’s absence comes at a disappointing time, given how well he played in Monday’s game against the Montreal Canadiens. The 26-year-old scored a goal and registered three points in just under 13 minutes of action, a little more than his season average. He now has seven goals and 15 points on the season, close to matching the 17-point rookie season he had in 2020-21.
For Minnesota, who have won three straight, getting Brodin back is key if the team is going to make a second-half run for a Central Division playoff spot. They now sit in fourth, but just four points behind the second-place Nashville Predators with six games in hand. While the Colorado Avalanche will be a difficult train to catch, the Wild should be considered a real contender in the Western Conference and a team to watch as the trade deadline approaches.
2022 NHL All-Star Game Rosters Revealed
Jan 26: After Batherson was injured last night, the league has announced that Brady Tkachuk will replace him and be the Senators’ representative.
Jan 13: During a live reveal on ESPN’s SportsCenter program in the United States, the National Hockey League unveiled their four divisional rosters for the 2022 NHL All-Star Game in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Eight skaters and two goalies were announced for each team, leaving one skater spot open for each division. That last spot will once again be decided by a fan vote, who they can select by voting at NHL.com/LastMenIn.
The head coaches of each team were announced earlier, decided by the teams in first place (by points percentage) in their division on New Years Day. Florida’s Andrew Brunette heads the Atlantic Division, Carolina’s Rod Brind’Amour will coach the Metropolitan Division, Colorado’s Jared Bednar is the bench boss for the Central Division, and Vegas’ Peter DeBoer will serve as the Pacific Division’s coach.
Below are the full rosters for each division.
Atlantic Division
F Auston Matthews “C” (Toronto Maple Leafs)
F Drake Batherson (Ottawa Senators)
F Patrice Bergeron (Boston Bruins)
F Jonathan Huberdeau (Florida Panthers)
F Dylan Larkin (Detroit Red Wings)
F Nick Suzuki (Montreal Canadiens)
D Rasmus Dahlin (Buffalo Sabres)
D Victor Hedman (Tampa Bay Lightning)
G Jack Campbell (Toronto Maple Leafs)
G Andrei Vasilevskiy (Tampa Bay Lightning)
Metropolitan Division
F Alex Ovechkin “C” (Washington Capitals)
F Sebastian Aho (Carolina Hurricanes)
F Claude Giroux (Philadelphia Flyers)
F Jack Hughes (New Jersey Devils)
F Chris Kreider (New York Rangers)
D Adam Fox (New York Rangers)
D Adam Pelech (New York Islanders)
D Zach Werenski (Columbus Blue Jackets)
G Frederik Andersen (Carolina Hurricanes)
G Tristan Jarry (Pittsburgh Penguins)
Central Division
F Nathan MacKinnon “C” (Colorado Avalanche)
F Kyle Connor (Winnipeg Jets)
F Alex DeBrincat (Chicago Blackhawks)
F Kirill Kaprizov (Minnesota Wild)
F Clayton Keller (Arizona Coyotes)
F Jordan Kyrou (St. Louis Blues)
F Joe Pavelski (Dallas Stars)
D Cale Makar (Colorado Avalanche)
G Juuse Saros (Nashville Predators)
G Cam Talbot (Minnesota Wild)
Pacific Division
F Connor McDavid “C” (Edmonton Oilers)
F Leon Draisaitl (Edmonton Oilers)
F Jordan Eberle (Seattle Kraken)
F Johnny Gaudreau (Calgary Flames)
F Adrian Kempe (Los Angeles Kings)
F Timo Meier (San Jose Sharks)
F Mark Stone (Vegas Golden Knights)
D Alex Pietrangelo (Vegas Golden Knights)
G Thatcher Demko (Vancouver Canucks)
G John Gibson (Anaheim Ducks)
Vancouver Canucks To Focus On European, College Free Agents
When Jim Rutherford was in charge of the Pittsburgh Penguins, he traded away his first-round pick six times. The Penguins were perpetually in a win-now mode because of the presence of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang, so Rutherford did everything he could to surround them with established NHL stars. Because of that, the Penguins couldn’t sit back and wait for their own draft picks to develop, they needed to go out and find players through other means to supplement the high-end talent.
One of the biggest sources of depth for the Penguins was the NCAA, where they routinely added undrafted players that had polished their game at the college level. Players like Conor Sheary and Zach Aston-Reese were acquired for nothing more than an entry-level contract and went on to help the Penguins fill out their lineup with effective, NHL talent.
It appears as though Patrik Allvin, the new general manager of the Vancouver Canucks, learned how valuable those acquisitions are during his time in Pittsburgh. During his introductory press conference today, Allvin explained just how important it is to add players to the organization from avenues outside of the first round.
I think first and foremost you have to be open-minded. This is a humble game, I think the players change and the game is changing consistently. You have to be open-minded and you look for talent. You have to trust your scouting staff and the people that work for you. Obviously we want to play a fast and skilled game, and I think in order to be successful you have to be able to find players outside the first round. You need to complement the organization with college and European free agents. That’s something that I’m looking forward to.
Rutherford noted Allvin’s connections in Europe especially as a valuable asset for the Canucks as they move forward. The new GM is the first-ever from Sweden and just the second European currently in charge of an NHL franchise.
If you look at the regulars for Vancouver, none of them were really acquired in the late rounds or through entry-level free agency. Even a player like Matthew Highmore, who was an undrafted college signing, came to Vancouver through a trade, several years after making his NHL debut. Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser, Nils Hoglander, Quinn Hughes, Bo Horvat, Vasily Podkolzin, and Thatcher Demko, the only real homegrown talent, were all picked in the top 40 selections in their respective drafts.
While it’s easy to say that a team should find top-end players in the late rounds, it’s extremely difficult to do. What Allvin means by his comments today is that the depth options, those that surround the stars and fill out the depth chart, need to be sourced directly by the Canucks through their amateur scouting staff. That’s a huge philosophical change from recent years, where bottom-six options were routinely signed well into their careers after they’d already reached unrestricted free agency. Tucker Poolman, Jay Beagle, Micheal Ferland, Antoine Roussel, Derek Dorsett, Erik Gudbranson, and others were given multi-year contracts by former GM Jim Benning, despite not really being at the point in their careers where they could fill out the top of a lineup. Whether Allvin’s strategy here will be successful is still yet to be seen, but Pittsburgh is a shining example of how–with the help of the right development staff–valuable assets can be acquired from many different places.
Latest On Claude Giroux, Flyers’ Deadline Plans
When Chuck Fletcher met with the media this morning, the Philadelphia Flyers GM had a very clear message. This season is lost and it’s time to look forward to the coming years.
That started immediately when Fletcher explained that both Sean Couturier and Ryan Ellis could undergo season-ending surgeries and his recommendation to the medical staff was to “get these guys right for next year.” Ellis has played in just four games this season after being acquired from the Nashville Predators in the offseason. Later in the press conference, he explained that the hope is still for them to avoid surgery as it should be the last option, but it is a possibility for both players.
Injuries like that were pointed at several times by Fletcher and Flyers’ governor Dave Scott as one of the reasons that the season was derailed. Scott put his faith in Fletcher several times, calling him “my guy” and explaining that he will write a “blank check” for the GM to fix it as quickly as possible.
One of the biggest questions was the future of captain Claude Giroux, who is on the final year of his contract. Fletcher confirmed that the decision will be up to Giroux on whether or not he’s traded to a contender at the deadline. The veteran forward will discuss it with his agent over the All-Star break. Giroux holds a full no-movement clause, carries a cap hit of $8.275MM but is owed just $5MM in salary this season.
Overall, the Flyers appear to be heading into the deadline as an aggressive seller. Everything is on the table, according to Fletcher, who wants to avoid a full rebuild but start in on a retool in the coming weeks. Multiple times he referenced that the team needs more “top-end talent” and noted that Giroux is the best offensive player on the team, but he’s now 34. On Rasmus Ristolainen, another pending unrestricted free agent, Fletcher explained that the team brought him to Philadelphia to keep him, though would only say that he will work with representation to see “what makes sense.”
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Taxi Squad Shuffle: 01/26/22
Five games are on the NHL schedule this morning, including a battle between the Boston Bruins and Colorado Avalanche, two teams who consider themselves Stanley Cup contenders. The Bruins will have to try and slow down a freight train, though, as the Avalanche have won seven in a row and haven’t lost in regulation in their last 13. As they and others prepare for action, we’ll keep track of the minor league and taxi squad shuffling.
Atlantic Division
- The Ottawa Senators have sent Lassi Thomson to the taxi squad, though that assignment could be short-lived. The Senators are back in action tomorrow against the Carolina Hurricanes and likely will need to use Thomson again, unless Erik Brannstrom can test out of the COVID protocol.
- With the Montreal Canadiens starting to get healthier, the team has sent Corey Schueneman back to the AHL. The 26-year-old defenseman made his NHL debut this season, skating in four games with Montreal. Later in the day, the team also activated Josh Brook from injured reserve and sent him to the AHL, while assigning Michael McNiven to the taxi squad.
Metropolitan Division
- The Philadelphia Flyers have recalled Isaac Ratcliffe to the taxi squad, sending Jackson Cates, Linus Sandin, and Felix Sandstrom back to the AHL. Connor Bunnaman and Cam York, meanwhile, are headed to the taxi squad from the active roster. The Flyers don’t play again until Saturday, meaning there is time to save cap and salary while reinforcing the Lehigh Valley Phantoms for the time being.
Central Division
- The Winnipeg Jets have returned Johnathan Kovacevic and Kristian Reichel to the taxi squad, after recalling but scratching them both last night. Kovacevic, 24, has still not made his NHL debut but has been a strong performer for the Manitoba Moose.
- The Colorado Avalanche have recalled Hunter Miska to the taxi squad, where he’ll likely serve as nothing more than a practice goaltender. Miska has been terrible in his four appearances for the Colorado Eagles, allowing 13 goals on 64 shots.
- James Neal is on his way back to the minor leagues, reassigned by the St. Louis Blues today. The veteran forward cleared waivers at the beginning of the month and does not yet need to clear them again to go to the AHL.
- The Nashville Predators have reassigned Cole Smith and Matt Tennyson to the taxi squad, moves that could be reversed by tomorrow’s game against the Edmonton Oilers. The Predators move players on and off of the taxi squad between almost every game, as they try to save salary and cap space.
Pacific Division
- The Edmonton Oilers have assigned Ilya Konovalov to the AHL, while moving Kyle Turris to the taxi squad. Moving Turris, who cleared waivers again recently, down clears $1.125MM off the cap for the Oilers, who have once again been linked to Evander Kane as the NHL wraps up his investigation.
This page will be updated throughout the day.
Patrik Allvin Named GM Of Vancouver Canucks
The decision has been made and Patrik Allvin is the 12th general manager in Vancouver Canucks history. Canucks’ president Jim Rutherford announced the hiring today, explaining exactly why he chose his former Pittsburgh protege:
I am pleased to welcome Patrik and his family to Vancouver. Patrik and I worked together for seven years, and I believe he will be an excellent General Manager. He has won three Stanley Cups and has experience at all levels of hockey operations. He is intelligent, works hard, makes strong decisions and I believe he will help us build a winning team in Vancouver.
Allvin, 47, was actually the man who took over as interim GM of the Pittsburgh Penguins when Rutherford resigned suddenly last year, but eventually ceded the position when Ron Hextall was hired. His name was linked to the Vancouver job from the moment Rutherford was hired by the Canucks, as the senior executive was clear that the team would bring in someone who had little or no experience in the top job.
That’s Allvin, who was interim GM of the Penguins for less than a month but has plenty of experience in NHL front offices. He first joined the Montreal Canadiens in 2002 as a European scout and eventually worked his way to the Penguins as director of European scouting in 2012.
Born in Sweden, Allvin joins Jarmo Kekalainen as the only general managers in the league from outside of North America. He joins a front office that has recently made several other hires, including Emilie Castonguey and Rachel Doerrie. It’s also one that is expected to lean much more heavily into analytics, and one that will have the help of Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin after they took positions as special assistants.
It’s a big job ahead of this group, as the Canucks have cap issues without being considered a real contender. With Allvin now in place, a trade deadline strategy can now be put together, with J.T. Miller leading the way as one of the most talked-about players in recent weeks.
Aaron Dell To Have Hearing With Department Of Player Safety
The Buffalo Sabres will likely be down another goaltender for the next few days, as Aaron Dell has a hearing scheduled today with the Department of Player Safety. The hearing will be regarding Dell’s interference on Ottawa Senators forward Drake Batherson last night, a play that led to a serious injury.
Late in the first period, after Dell had let in three goals on 11 shots, he delivered a shoulder check to Batherson as the Ottawa forward chased a Buffalo defenseman around the net. It ended up sending him awkwardly into the boards, where he suffered a high ankle sprain. Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reports that the team will have a better idea of the recovery timeline once the swelling goes down, but “one way or another it’s long-term.” There was no penalty called on the play.
Batherson has been Ottawa’s best offensive player this season, recording 13 goals and 34 points in 31 games. The 23-year-old uses his speed, size, and skill to routinely hunt down pucks in the offensive zone with a relentless forecheck, before driving them to the net or creating an opportunity for a teammate. One of the most important players in Ottawa, he now faces a long recovery.
Dell meanwhile has been brutal for the Sabres, posting a .893 save percentage in 12 appearances, losing nine of them. The veteran netminder was not expected to be pressed into service, but Buffalo has suffered injuries to as many as four of their goaltenders at the same time. Should he face a suspension, there will be even less depth at the position for Buffalo.
Capitals Looking Into Marc-Andre Fleury
While the Capitals are quite comfortably in a playoff spot (13 points ahead of Detroit for the final Wild Card slot), they’re also within striking distance of first in the Metropolitan as they were five points out of first heading into tonight’s games. They’ve managed to accomplish this on the backs of Alex Ovechkin and one of the strongest offensive groups in the league even with goaltending that has been near the middle of the pack.
Accordingly, it appears they’re at least exploring a potential upgrade between the pipes as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports in his latest 32 Thoughts column that they are looking into the possibility of acquiring Blackhawks goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.
Washington is currently platooning youngsters Vitek Vanecek and Ilya Samsonov with Zach Fucale getting into a handful of games this season and they’ve played to a 2.56 GAA with a .908 SV%. Those numbers are actually similar to what Fleury has put up this season (2.76 GAA, .913 SV%) although Chicago has had some struggles on the back end that have to be taken into consideration.
It was only last season that the 37-year-old won the Vezina Trophy, recording a 1.98 GAA with a .928 SV% with Vegas who decided to move Fleury to Chicago over the summer to free up some salary cap space with his $7MM AAV coming off the books. The Blackhawks gave up very little in return, the rights to Mikael Hakkarainen, who was released three weeks later.
Accordingly, in the right environment with a chance of a long playoff run, Fleury could represent a notable upgrade and it’s understandable that Washington is at least looking into this possibility. He’d certainly give them a boost for the stretch run while allowing Chicago to bring back a lot more than what they gave up to get him.
That said, making the money work will be a challenge. Washington has just over $2MM in cap space, per CapFriendly, and that’s due to Anthony Mantha being on LTIR. If he’s unable to return before the end of the regular season, that could, in theory, be applied towards Fleury’s price tag but if the winger can return, that will basically make the Caps capped out in order to get back into cap compliance.
Chicago can retain up to 50% and if the Capitals are willing, a third team could get involved and retain 50% of the remainder (25% of the full deal) to help mitigate the cap impact although some further work would need to be done to get compliant. It seems unlikely that GM Brian MacLellan would want to part with either Vanecek or Samsonov to accommodate a few months of Fleury and if that’s the case, they’ll have to find a way to afford to carry three goalies the rest of the way.
Fleury has a 10-team no-trade list in his contract and it’s unknown if Washington is on there. Even if it is, it’s quite likely that Chicago would give the veteran a chance to approve or nix a deal to the Capitals or anywhere else after they worked with him to get him to agree to join the Blackhawks in the first place.
Regardless of whether or not this works out, it appears Washington is trying to think big in terms of shoring up their goaltending situation which will make them a team to watch for in the weeks leading up to the March 21st trade deadline.