Submit Your Questions For The #PHRMailbag
For three-quarters of the league, the offseason is now underway. We’ve seen some exciting playoff matchups in the opening round while several teams now find themselves looking for new coaches with others potentially following suit in the coming days. With that in mind, it’s a good time to open up the mailbag.
Our last mailbag was split into two columns. Topics in the first included Chicago’s goaltending situation, the potential offseason coaching carousel, and college free agency. Meanwhile, in the second, topics included what’s next for San Jose, if this is the summer where Nashville moves a goalie, and expansion.
You can submit a question by using #PHRMailbag on Twitter/X or by leaving a comment down below. The mailbag will run on the weekend.
Rangers’ Filip Chytil To Return For Game 3
5:53 p.m.: Chytil is listed on the Rangers’ lineup card for Game 3 and will play, per The Athletic’s Peter Baugh. He’s been taken off long-term injured reserve as a result, although the move has no salary cap ramifications in the postseason.
5:43 p.m.: Pre-game line rushes indicate that Rangers center Filip Chytil is likely to draw in for tonight’s Game 3 against the Hurricanes, per NHL.com’s Dan Rosen. The Czech pivot hasn’t played in over seven months due to suspected concussion symptoms.
The Rangers have only ever confirmed that Chytil missed time with an upper-body injury, although multiple reports have suggested concussions were the reason for his absence. He sustained the initial suspected concussion against the Hurricanes on Nov. 2, leading him to return to Czechia midseason for a brief period in his recovery.
Chytil returned to New York in mid-January, but during just his second session with the team in a non-contact jersey, he tripped and sustained a setback that required him to be helped off the ice by teammates during a lightly attended skate. The Rangers announced within days that Chytil would miss the remainder of the 2023-24 campaign, but he was medically cleared a bit sooner than expected and returned to practice with the club nearly a month ago.
With no hiccups in his return to game conditioning over the past few weeks, they now get him back with a chance to take a 3-0 stranglehold on their second-round series on the road in Carolina. Fourth-line enforcer Matt Rempe will be scratched to accommodate his return after logging a goal, 8 PIMs, and a +1 rating in just 6:22 of average ice time through his first six playoff games.
In 10 regular-season games before his injury, Chytil had six assists while averaging 15:56 per game. The 2017 first-round pick had a career-high 22 goals and 45 points last season.
Offseason Checklist: NHL Utah
The offseason has arrived for three-quarters of the NHL for teams that either missed the playoffs or were eliminated in the first round. Accordingly, it’s now time to examine what they will need to accomplish over the coming months. Next up is a look at Utah.
The hockey operations staff that formerly comprised the Arizona Coyotes entered the 2023-24 campaign looking to take a measured step forward. They’d last made the playoffs in 2012, excluding the COVID bubble, and had already seen one season of improvement under head coach André Tourigny.
Early on, it looked like they may have had a prayer of ending their playoff drought, keeping pace in the wild-card race with a 19-14-2 record on New Year’s Day. Without a suitable arena plan in place by the All-Star break, though, relocation rumors again surged and, as players and staff have since admitted, fueled a long run of losing play.
They still ended the season with a respectable 36 wins, their most since 2019, and look a step closer to playoff contention. Under new ownership in Utah and a relatively endless supply of cap space and draft picks this summer, general manager Bill Armstrong has the opportunity to accelerate the yet-to-be-named roster’s rebuild in a big way.
Take Care Of Their Own
As a result of their previous situation, Utah has one of the lowest amounts of standard player contracts signed for next season in the league (22). That impact is felt mostly on defense, where not a single NHL-ready player is signed for 2024-25.
The good news is only two of their NHL regulars on the back end, Josh Brown and Travis Dermott, are unrestricted free agents. Everybody else is under team control, including their youthful top pairing of Sean Durzi and J.J. Moser.
The former relished the opportunity of being the Coyotes’ number-one defenseman last season, his first in the desert after they acquired him from the Kings last June. He responded with a career-best 41 points and a -1 rating in 76 games, averaging 22:43 per game and quarterbacking their top power-play unit. His possession impacts at even strength were among the best on the team, and while he may not be a long-term number-one guy on a championship team, he solidified his status as a first-pairing piece for the present. Evolving Hockey projects Durzi to receive a four-year deal worth around $5.9MM per season, an agreement both sides should be happy with.
Moser, who was also solid this season with 26 points in 80 games riding shotgun with Durzi, also needs a new deal. The 23-year-old has completed his entry-level contract. Michael Kesselring and Juuso Välimäki, who each held top-four roles for a decent chunk of the season, are also RFAs.
Utah has much less contractual work to do with their forwards. Among NHL regulars, only Barrett Hayton is an RFA, while enforcer Liam O’Brien is headed for unrestricted free agency but seems a good bet to re-sign. Nonetheless, gearing up for a big offseason spending spree will require a better indication of what their salary cap picture will look like with their RFAs and other returning players taken care of – especially if Armstrong and owners Smith Entertainment Group plan on gracing the $87.7MM upper limit.
Land An Impact Defenseman
The Coyotes’ biggest improvement last season was their offense. Ranking 16th in the league at 3.10 goals per game, it was certainly good enough to get them into the playoffs if their defense saw a marked improvement from last season.
Obviously, that wasn’t the case. Outside of Durzi and Moser, it was a rough go for most Coyotes blue-liners last season. Even Välimäki and Kesselring had some good moments throughout the year, but other regulars like Dermott and Mathew Dumba, prior to his trade to the Lightning, were bleeding quality chances against on a nightly basis.
Reports earlier in the month indicated that a top-four defenseman, along with a second-line center and a top-six winger, was on Armstrong’s shopping list for Utah’s roster this summer. A cursory look suggests it should be his biggest priority.
Kesselring and Välimäki proved last season they could stay afloat, each logging possession metrics slightly better than the team average. But having both of them in a top-four isn’t ideal, especially with a solid but pedestrian first pairing in Durzi and Moser. Adding a right-shot defenseman to complement Välimäki to slot in behind Durzi on the depth chart, allowing Kesselring to be increasingly effective in third-pairing minutes, would have a considerable domino effect. Can Armstrong land a Brett Pesce or Matt Roy on the UFA market? He’ll certainly have the cash.
Complement Cooley
Priority number two behind adding a defenseman among Armstrong’s already-dictated targets is adding a complement for Logan Cooley as a top-six center. The 2022 third-overall pick struggled early on in the season, getting caved defensively and failing to drive play, but settled in throughout the season en route to a solid 20-goal, 44-point rookie campaign. Averaging nearly 16 minutes per game, he’s not quite ready to be a bonafide first-liner between Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz, but he’s getting there. They’ll need some help to avoid overextending him too early in his career, though.
Adding a 1B center who can split top-six duties with Cooley would allow Nick Bjugstad and Hayton to center the club’s third and fourth lines, suddenly creating extremely solid depth considering they both rose to the occasion when relied upon for top-six usage this season. They can occupy top-six minutes to ease the burden on Cooley if necessary, but it’s not ideal if Armstrong and Smith believe playoffs should be in the conversation for Utah in 2024-25. The production wasn’t there for Hayton, who had just three goals and 10 points in 33 games despite spending most of his time when healthy next to Keller, but his 54.9 CF% at even strength was the best on the team, and he looks to be a reliable, two-way pivot to anchor their third line in the long term.
Jack McBain is also in the mix at center but, like the others, is much more comfortable in a bottom-six role. There aren’t many bonafide top-six options on the free agent center market this summer, so if Armstrong is looking to leverage some of Utah’s many upcoming second-round picks, it would be wise to do so.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Injury Notes: Pesce, Drouin, Kiviranta
There’s no update on a timeline for Hurricanes defenseman Brett Pesce‘s return to the lineup as they try and climb out of a 2-0 series hole against the Rangers. He remains out indefinitely with his lower-body injury and has still yet to resume skating, head coach Rod Brind’Amour told Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News and Observer on Wednesday.
Pesce has now played just three games in the last month. He was scratched for rest for two of Carolina’s final three games of the regular season before exiting their first-round victory over the Islanders in Game 2. The 29-year-old had an assist and a +2 rating in nearly 20 minutes of ice time in the Canes’ Game 1 victory. It was a down year offensively for the pending unrestricted free agent blue-liner, logging a career-low 13 points in 70 games, but he remained a top-four fixture alongside Brady Skjei on Carolina’s second pairing. Tony DeAngelo has replaced him in the lineup, logging an assist in five games after sitting as a healthy scratch for most of the regular season.
Other injury updates as the second round chugs on:
- Like Pesce, there’s still no timetable for Avalanche winger Jonathan Drouin‘s return, but he is making progress. He’s back skating with the team and has made “really good progress” over the last few days, head coach Jared Bednar said to The Denver Gazette’s Kyle Fredrickson. However, he won’t be making his playoff debut tonight and remains ruled out for Game 2 against the Stars. The 29-year-old sustained a lower-body injury in the final game of the regular season after posting a career-high 37 assists and 56 points in 79 games.
- The Avalanche may be getting their other injured forward back in the fold, as Bednar told Fredrickson that depth winger Joel Kiviranta is “hopefully” an option to slot in for Game 2. The midseason signing would be playing his first game in nearly two weeks, last suiting up in Game 3 against the Jets on April 26. After beginning 2023-24 on a tryout and subsequent minor-league contract, Kiviranta had nine points in 56 regular-season games for the Avs and had recorded one assist through three postseason contests. Veteran Chris Wagner will likely sit to make room for Kiviranta after making his first appearance of the playoffs in Game 1’s come-from-behind win over Dallas.
Devils Linked To Sheldon Keefe
It took until Thursday morning, but the Maple Leafs did decide to move on from head coach Sheldon Keefe after losing in the first round for the fourth time in his five-year tenure. His sparkling regular-season record over that time still immediately catapults him to being one of the top candidates on the open market, though.
To that end, the Devils are one of the teams expected to interview Keefe for their vacancy, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports. They’ve also been linked to former Blues bench boss Craig Berube – widely viewed as the most desirable candidate on the market – and ex-Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft.
New Jersey also has some documented interest in Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan should he hit the open market, but it seems more likely he’ll remain in Pittsburgh. The Devils are one of six teams with an active vacancy after firing Lindy Ruff in March and opting not to promote interim head coach Travis Green, who has since signed a four-year deal to become the next head coach of the Senators.
Keefe’s 212-97-40 record over 349 games with the Leafs is good for a .665 points percentage, the highest all-time among head coaches with at least 300 games of service. While there are others out there with far worse postseason winning percentages/records than his 16-21 mark, the failure to win more than one series despite consistently boasting an above-average team did him in. As did an all-too-familiar lack of scoring – the Leafs’ offense, led by some of the premier scoring and playmaking talents in the world in Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander, went 14 games without scoring more than three goals.
In New Jersey, he would take over a team with a very similar level of uncertainty between the pipes – at least for now. Ilya Samsonov and Joseph Woll were both high-ceiling yet inconsistent options last year, although, as a whole, they were preferable to the rotating cast of Devils netminders that conceded 19 goals above average. They’re expected to be on the hunt for a top-tier name on the trade market, though, and are likely to see a name like Jacob Markström, Linus Ullmark or Juuse Saros as their opening-night starter.
He’d also be assuming a defense core that, with a healthy Dougie Hamilton, is one of the most tantalizing yet well-rounded groups in the league. Hamilton, along with rising sophomores Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec, gives Keefe the option to ice a premier puck-moving threat on all three pairings, balanced with a defensively responsible other half in Kevin Bahl, John Marino and Jonas Siegenthaler.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Canadiens Prospect Oliver Kapanen Signs With SHL’s Timrå IK
Canadiens fans may have to wait a little longer to see 2021 second-round pick Oliver Kapanen in North America. The Finnish center has signed a two-year contract with Timrå IK of the Swedish Hockey League, the club announced Thursday.
The Habs have yet to come to terms on an entry-level contract with Kapanen, which they must do by June 1, 2025, to avoid losing his signing rights and letting him become an unrestricted free agent. They can still sign him this summer if they wish, but in the likely event he doesn’t make the NHL roster, today’s news means he must be offered back to Timrå on loan before he can be assigned to AHL Laval. However, he could play in Laval in 2025-26 without Timrå’s permission.
Kapanen, 20, is a Finnish national but returns to his birthplace of Timrå for the next step in his professional career. The 6’1″ pivot has developed well over the past two seasons with KalPa in the Finnish Liiga, totaling 27 goals and 65 points in 124 games since making his top-level debut in 2021-22.
He’ll be suiting up for the Finnish men’s national team for the first time starting tomorrow at the 2024 World Championship, although it’s not his first experience on the international stage. He captained Finland’s contingent at the 2023 World Juniors, scoring twice and adding an assist in five games.
Kapanen should be in line for a significant role with Timrå next season. He ended 2023-24 on an electric tear with KalPa in the postseason, tying for the team lead in scoring with seven goals and 14 points in 13 games. He’ll join a Timrå offense featuring former Oilers forwards Anton Lander and Magnus Pääjärvi, as well as Senators prospect Oliver Johansson and Penguins prospect Filip Hallander.
Predators Reassign Spencer Stastney
The Predators have reassigned defenseman Spencer Stastney to AHL Milwaukee, general manager Barry Trotz announced Thursday.
Stastney wasn’t sent down with three other fringe players last weekend, likely because he was still rehabbing the upper-body injury he sustained on a hit from Canucks forward Dakota Joshua in Game 3 of Nashville’s first-round loss. Today’s move indicates he’s been cleared to return.
The 24-year-old graduated from rookie status this season, skating in a career-high 20 regular season games with the Preds. A Nashville fifth-round pick in 2018, Stastney is wrapping up his second full professional season after finishing his collegiate career at Notre Dame in 2022.
It was a solid run for the 6’0″, 183-lb left-shot defender. He was passable at worst in his limited role, compiling two goals and two assists with a +9 rating while averaging 15:59 per game. Advanced metrics painted an optimistic picture of Stastney’s game, logging a 51.9 CF% and 59.3 xGF% at even strength.
Stastney played a handful of games for the Preds early on in the season but remained in Milwaukee for most of the year until a mid-March recall. After a three-month minor-league assignment, he sustained an upper-body injury in his first game back in the NHL but returned to play in Nashville’s final 10 games of the regular season.
That earned him a spot in head coach Andrew Brunette‘s Game 1 lineup against Vancouver ahead of the more experienced Tyson Barrie and Dante Fabbro. Before leaving the series due to the Joshua hit, Stastney had a +1 rating, one shot on goal and one block against the Canucks.
Stastney now returns to Milwaukee for some Calder Cup Playoff action after posting five goals, 20 points and a +27 rating in 44 regular-season games there. The Admirals trail 2-1 in their best-of-five division semifinal series against Texas, with Stastney expected to draw in for a must-win Game 4 on Friday. He’s in need of a new contract this summer, with his two-year entry-level contract set to expire and make him a restricted free agent.
Morning Notes: Marchment, IceHogs, Kuznetsov
Lia Assimakopoulos of the Dallas News is reporting that Dallas Stars forward Mason Marchment will be back in the lineup for Game 2 against the Colorado Avalanche and Radek Faksa will be the healthy scratch. Marchment has been out of the Stars’ lineup since Game 2 of their first-round series against the Vegas Golden Knights and should give the Stars a boost after the club blew a three-goal lead in Game 1.
Marchment tallied a goal in two playoff games against Vegas and registered 11 hits in just under 28 minutes of playoff action. His return is sure to make life more difficult for the Avalanche as Marchment had another terrific regular season, posting 22 goals and 31 assists in 81 games, along with 108 hits. The 6’4” 210 lbs Marchment is built for playoff hockey and will give them a physical threat in the lineup after they looked to be in control of the series early on.
In other morning notes:
- The Rockford IceHogs announced today that they and the Chicago Blackhawks have agreed to terms on an affiliate extension with the Indy Fuel of the ECHL. The deal is a three-year agreement that also contains an option to further increase the pact for two years. Indy has been the ECHL affiliate for the organization for over ten years since they joined the ECHL back in April 2014. The team has had moderate success during their run, including appearances in the Kelly Cup Playoffs in three of the last four years.
- Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer tweeted that Carolina Hurricanes forward Evgeny Kuznetsov will go back into the lineup tonight after being a healthy scratch for Game 2 of their best-of-seven series against the New York Rangers. Kuznetsov’s scratch seemed puzzling at the time as the Hurricanes opted to use Max Comtois in his place. However, Comtois played just 6:19 and was largely ineffective as the Hurricanes struggled to control the play when he was on the ice. The 31-year-old Kuznetsov has been solid in the playoffs for Carolina, posting two goals and two assists in six games while averaging less than 12 minutes of ice time per game.
Maple Leafs Fire Sheldon Keefe
The Toronto Maple Leafs have relieved head coach Sheldon Keefe of his duties this morning after their latest first-round exit in the Stanley Cup playoffs. The team will begin a coaching search immediately and has not named a replacement. Toronto was eliminated by the Boston Bruins on Saturday night in a 2-1 overtime loss after they had finished the regular season 46-26-10.
Keefe coached the Maple Leafs for five seasons and reached incredible levels of regular season success with the team but was never able to get the group over the hump, winning just one playoff round during his term behind the bench. Keefe’s firing comes before his extension from last August has even started. Keefe signed a two-year deal with the Maple Leafs last summer and coached this season under his previous contract. Keefe finished his career with the Maple Leafs as the fifth-winningest coach in team history with a record of 212-97-40 record. Despite their playoff failures, the Maple Leafs are currently tied for the longest active playoff streak in the NHL, and while that is an accomplishment in a vacuum, the Maple Leafs have lost in the first round in seven of the eight playoff appearances.
Keefe first began working with the Maple Leafs in the AHL eight years ago becoming the head coach of the Toronto Marlies. Then under Kyle Dubas, Keefe took over after the firing of Mike Babcock in 2019. Keefe and Dubas were intertwined throughout their respective careers having worked together for the Ontario Hockey League’s Soo Greyhounds. His departure marks a second massive move in consecutive summers for Toronto. The Maple Leafs let Dubas go last May and brought in former Calgary general manager Brad Treliving. Despite the change in management, it was more of the same for Toronto this season, as the core remained largely intact under Treliving and the team bowed out of the playoffs early.
The Maple Leafs announced on Monday that Brendan Shanahan, Treliving and Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment CEO Keith Pelley will have an end-of-season press conference tomorrow, after originally saying that management would speak today. The delay in the media appearance led to speculation this week as to what management would do with Keefe going forward, with many predicting that the Maple Leafs would move on and find a new bench boss, despite the term left on Keefe’s contract.
Patrick Brown Returned To The AHL
The Boston Bruins have sent rugged forward Patrick Brown back to their American Hockey League affiliate the Providence Bruins (according to AHL Transactions report). The 31-year-old was recalled on an emergency basis back on May 5th after he hadn’t played in an NHL game since January 27th. Brown signed a two-year, $1.6MM deal with Boston on July 1st, 2023, and it was a return of sorts after he’d spent four years with Boston College during his NCAA career.
The Bloomfield Hills, Michigan native did play during his call-up, dressing for Boston’s 5-1 victory in game 1 over the Florida Panthers on Monday. However, he was scratched last night and sent back to Providence this morning. Brown played 8:27 of game 1, registering a whopping nine hits, while winning 71.4% of his faceoffs and taking a minor penalty.
Despite throwing his weight around, Brown’s scratch last night wasn’t a big surprise as the Bruins were dominated while his line was on the ice. Brown’s Corsi For % in game 1 was just 27.3%, meaning that Florida controlled the puck for the majority of Brown’s shifts.
Boston will need to adjust after last night’s 6-1 loss to the Panthers. The Bruins registered just 15 shots on goal, their lowest in a playoff game in 35 years. With Brown being sent back to the AHL, Boston could be opting to incorporate more skill into their lineup, although, given the physicality of this series, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Brown called up in the next week.