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Flyers Rumors

Coaching Notes: Vincent, Hakstol, Boudreau, Tocchet

June 24, 2021 at 6:26 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 5 Comments

New Columbus Blue Jackets head coach Brad Larsen is adding to his staff. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the Blue Jackets are set to hire Manitoba Moose head coach Pascal Vincent as an assistant to Larsen. Vincent had previously left Paul Maurice’s Winnipeg Jets staff in favor of being the head coach for their AHL affiliate, but seemingly is back to being open to an NHL assistant role. Vincent has spent the past decade with the Jets organization and the previous dozen years as a head coach and GM in the QMJHL. With an impressive resume, Vincent may see this Columbus opportunity as a way to get his name out there beyond the confines of Winnipeg in hopes of attracting NHL head coach attention of his own down the road. Vincent will re-unite with Jack Roslovic in Columbus; he previously coached him as a prospect with the Moose but he has now become the No. 1 center for the Blue Jackets. That relationship should be mutually beneficial for the pair.

  • The big coaching news of the day was of course the hiring of Dave Hakstol as the first head coach of the expansion Seattle Kraken. And while Hakstol’s role will be in the locker room and not the front office, GM Ron Francis will certainly take his opinions into consideration. After all, it was the Florida Panthers, the former team of Vegas’ inaugural head coach, Gerard Gallant, that were swindled the worst by the Golden Knights in the last Expansion Draft. Florida traded Reilly Smith and a fourth-round pick so that Vegas would select Jonathan Marchessault over the likes of Alexander Petrovic and Mark Pysyk. While no teams should be fooled so badly this time around, Hakstol’s knowledge of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Philadephia Flyers – not to mention the numerous University of North Dakota alumni around the league – could come into play. The Flyers in particular are expected to have many well-known names exposed in the draft, some of whom played their best seasons under Hakstol, and the coach may know exactly how to target the team.
  • The Maple Leafs now have a vacancy on their coaching staff in the wake of Hakstol’s departure, but the club’s fans think they have already figured it out. Yahoo’s Thomas Williams writes that there has already been an outpouring of support for veteran coach Bruce Boudreau to be hired as the team’s newest assistant. The Toronto native and former Maple Leafs player spoke out this off-season as a free agent that he would like to coach his hometown team and fans seem to agree with the match. Boudreau has had a long and successful coaching career and some feel that head coach Sheldon Keefe could use the veteran support on the bench. With that said, Boudreau has never served as an assistant in the NHL and interviewed for the Buffalo Sabres’ head coach vacancy late last month. Despite any personal feelings and fan support, Boudreau will take the top job for the struggling Sabres over a No. 2 role for Toronto.
  • Of course, Boudreau is not the only candidate for the Sabres’ job, as Rick Tocchet is also among the names who interviewed for the position. Tocchet interviewed multiple times with the Columbus Blue Jackets, New York Rangers, and Seattle Kraken, only to lose out on all three jobs. He has reportedly only interviewed once with Buffalo, who may not have been his top choice at first, but they are the only landing spot left, as the other remaining NHL head coach position is the post he vacated with the Arizona Coyotes. Tocchet is clearly a well-regarded and sought-after coach, so now that they are his last hope at a top job this season, perhaps the Sabres and Tocchet will get serious about a potential match.

AHL| Bruce Boudreau| Buffalo Sabres| Columbus Blue Jackets| Dave Hakstol| Expansion| Florida Panthers| Gerard Gallant| New York Rangers| Paul Maurice| Philadelphia Flyers| QMJHL| Rick Tocchet| Seattle Kraken| Sheldon Keefe| Toronto Maple Leafs| Utah Mammoth| Vegas Golden Knights| Winnipeg Jets Elliotte Friedman| Jack Roslovic| Ron Francis

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Expansion Primer: Philadelphia Flyers

June 19, 2021 at 6:30 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 12 Comments

Over the next few weeks, we will be breaking down each team’s situation as it pertains to the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft. Which players are eligible, who will likely warrant protection, and which ones may be on the block to avoid the risk of losing them for nothing? Each team is required to submit their protection lists by 4:00 PM CDT on July 17th. The full eligibility rules can be found here, while CapFriendly has an expansion tool to make your own lists.

Philadelphia was able to get through Vegas’ expansion fairly lightly with the Golden Knights selecting Pierre-Edouard Bellemare from them back in 2017.  But between their current roster composition and salary cap situation, there’s a chance a more notable player heads to Seattle next month.

Eligible Players (Non-UFA)

Forwards:
Nicolas Aube-Kubel, Connor Bunnaman, Sean Couturier, Claude Giroux (NMC), Kevin Hayes (NMC), David Kase, Travis Konecny, Pascal Laberge, Scott Laughton, Oskar Lindblom, Nolan Patrick, German Rubtsov, Carsen Twarynski, James van Riemsdyk, Jakub Voracek, Mikhail Vorobyev

Defense:
Justin Braun, Shayne Gostisbehere, Robert Hagg, Philippe Myers, Ivan Provorov, Travis Sanheim

Goalies:
Carter Hart, Felix Sandstrom

Notable Unrestricted Free Agents

Andy Andreoff, Brian Elliott, Samuel Morin

Notable Exemptions

F Wade Allison, F Jackson Cates, F Joel Farabee, F Tyson Foerster, F Morgan Frost, F Tanner Laczynski, D Cameron York

Key Decisions

There aren’t many tough decisions for the Flyers to make.  In goal, it’s Hart.  Yes, he had a bad season but Sandstrom hasn’t played in the NHL and Hart had two strong years before this one.  On the back end, they have three protection slots and three core defenders aged 25 or younger.  The math is pretty simple there.  But up front, there are some more intriguing decisions to make.

Typically, finishing tied for first in team scoring would generally make it a safe bet that the player who did that would be protected.  However, given Philadelphia’s cap situation, it’s far from a slam dunk for two of the three players that had 43 points this season (Giroux being a guaranteed protectee with his no-move clause).

Voracek has been a fixture in Philadelphia’s lineup for a decade with 604 points to his name in that span.  He still is a big part of their top-six.  However, his numbers have started to dip and he has only been a point per game player once in his 13-year career (the first three were in Columbus).  The 31-year-old also has three years left on his contract at a cap hit of $8.25MM.  That’s a particularly pricey contract in this marketplace, especially with the declining production.  His contract could be deemed too expensive to entice Kraken GM Ron Francis or, if he was selected, Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher would all of a sudden have ample cap space to try to bring in a replacement.

The third player that tied for the team lead in points is van Riemsdyk.  He actually had a bit of a bounce-back season while his point per game average (0.77) was the highest of his career.  There are similar arguments to Voracek though in that he’s overpriced in this current market at $7MM through 2022-23.  The 32-year-old also benefitted from the power play as 10 of his 17 goals came with the man advantage.  That’s a lot of money for a power play specialist, funds that could be redeployed to fill other areas on the roster.

Before digging into the other decisions, let’s quickly get through the other likely protectees up front.  Hayes is safe with his no-move clause while Couturier and Konecny are locks as well.  When Fletcher discussed Laughton’s contract extension before the trade deadline, he indicated the center would be protected.  Add Giroux to this group and that’s five of seven slots.  The remaining two could go to the pricey veterans or to some younger players.

Among their younger pieces, Patrick’s case is particularly intriguing.  The good news is that he was able to play this season after missing all of 2019-20 due to a migraine disorder.  The bad news is that he didn’t play particularly well, notching just four goals and five assists in 52 games while his -30 rating was tied for the second-worst in the league.  That’s not ideal production from any forward let alone one that’s four years removed from being the second-overall pick in the draft.  Patrick switched agents this year with his new representation believed to be tasked with evaluating if a change of scenery may be best for both sides.  All of this would suggest that the pending restricted free agent should be left available but he’s still just 22 and it’s hard to part with the potential upside for nothing.  It’s unlikely Seattle would pass him up.

Lindblom, who won the Masterton Trophy earlier this week, is also coming off of a down season, his first full year back after recovering from Ewing’s sarcoma.  Eight goals and six assists in 50 games isn’t a great return on a $3MM price tag, it’s also hard to evaluate him given how long he was off.  To expect him to return to the form he showed the previous two years would have entirely been unrealistic.  Does the benefit of the doubt get him protected?

Four players for two protection slots with cases to protect or unprotect all of them.  That is basically what Fletcher’s decision-making will need to be when it comes to Seattle.

Projected Protection List

F Sean Couturier
F Claude Giroux (NMC)
F Kevin Hayes (NMC)
F Travis Konecny
F Scott Laughton
F Oskar Lindblom
F Nolan Patrick

D Philippe Myers
D Ivan Provorov
D Travis Sanheim

G Carter Hart

Skater Exposure Requirement Checklist

When Vegas had their expansion draft, a minimum of two forwards and one defenseman had to be exposed that were under contract and played either 40 games in the most recent season or 70 over the past two combined.  Due to the pandemic, those thresholds have been changed to 27 games played in 2020-21 or 54 in 2019/20 and 2020-21 combined.  In creating our expansion list for each team in this series, we will ensure that these criteria are met.

Forwards (3): Nicolas Aube-Kubel, James van Riemsdyk, Jakub Voracek
Defensemen (3): Justin Braun, Shayne Gostisbehere, Robert Hagg

Seattle has to take a minimum of 60% of the Upper Limit of the salary cap (which works out to $48.9MM) in existing contracts so there are bound to be some pricey players selected and it could very well be one of Philadelphia’s high-priced forwards.  Both van Riemsdyk and Voracek would give them a capable top-six piece without an excessively long commitment while becoming a nice foundational piece to work with.

If they opt for a cheaper player, Braun would seemingly become the favorite to be picked with an eye on flipping the final year (at $1.8MM) of his deal either before the season or at the trade deadline.  Vegas picked and dealt a handful of defenders in their draft and the Kraken may very well following a similar blueprint next month.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.  Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.

Expansion Primer 2021| Philadelphia Flyers| Seattle Kraken Pro Hockey Rumors Originals

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Oskar Lindblom Wins 2020-21 Bill Masterton Trophy

June 15, 2021 at 6:59 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 2 Comments

Over the next couple of weeks, the NHL will be revealing some of their award winners during the pregame show or intermission of games in the semifinals.  Today was the Bill Masterton Trophy, awarded annually to the NHL player who “best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey”.  This year’s recipient is Flyers winger Oskar Lindblom.

Lindblom was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer, back in December 2019, causing him to miss the rest of the regular season.  However, with the pandemic delaying the playoffs until the summer, he was able to get into a couple of games in the bubble while he was a finalist for the Masterton as well.  This season, the 24-year-old played in all but six of Philadelphia’s 56 games this season, recording 14 points while averaging a little over 13 minutes per game.  More importantly, he was ruled cancer-free at the one-year anniversary of his diagnosis.

Lindblom is the fourth Flyer to win the award, joining Bobby Clarke (1972), Tim Kerr (1989), and Ian Laperriere (2011) as Philadelphia recipients.

The other two finalists for the award were San Jose’s Patrick Marleau who became the all-time games played leader and Minnesota’s Mathew Dumba, a co-founder of the Hockey Diversity Alliance.

Philadelphia Flyers Oskar Lindblom

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Philadelphia Flyers Re-Sign German Rubtsov, Linus Sandin

June 14, 2021 at 2:34 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 2 Comments

The Philadelphia Flyers have dealt with a pair of restricted free agents, signing German Rubtsov and Linus Sandin to new one-year, two-way contracts. Both deals will carry an NHL salary of $750K.

Rubtsov, 22, was the team’s first-round pick in 2016 but has just four games to his name in the NHL so far. This season he played for Sochi in the KHL, recording just three goals and 11 points. That’s a far cry from the player the team thought they were getting 22nd overall, but even if Rubtsov doesn’t score as much as originally expected, he could potentially still be a useful bottom-six piece.

His entry-level contract was set to expire this summer, meaning he was an RFA without arbitration rights. A minimum salary two-way deal was basically all he was ever going to get until he shows that he can be a reliable piece in the NHL.

Sandin on the other hand was an undrafted free agent signing last spring, inked out of the SHL after an excellent 2019-20 season. The 25-year-old split time this year between Sweden and the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, but didn’t make his NHL debut. In 26 AHL games, he scored six goals and ten points.

Philadelphia Flyers German Rubtsov

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Offseason Checklist: Philadelphia Flyers

June 13, 2021 at 7:56 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 10 Comments

The offseason has arrived with roughly half of the league missing the playoffs and several more having since been eliminated.  It’s time to examine what those teams need to accomplish over the coming months.  Next up is a look at Philadelphia.

After making it to the second round last season, expectations were fairly high for the Flyers heading into this season.  However, while they started strong with seven wins in their first ten games, their goaltending struggled mightily as the campaign progressed and Philadelphia wound up in sixth in the East Division as a result.  GM Chuck Fletcher opted to keep the coaching staff intact but will be tasked with finding a player or two to help vault them back into playoff contention.  Here’s what will be on their offseason checklist.

Re-Sign Sanheim

Philadelphia’s list of pending restricted free agents isn’t particularly long but one of their notables is defenseman Travis Sanheim.  Following a breakout 2018-19 season, he wound up signing a bridge contract that would ideally set him up for a more lucrative one at this point in time while giving the Flyers some more certainty about what type of role he’d be able to fill.

That hasn’t exactly happened, however.  His production dipped sharply this season as he managed just three goals and a dozen assists in 55 games.  Instead of his numbers trending towards being worthy of top-pairing minutes, they went the other way.  While his possession numbers were still strong, he, like pretty much everyone else on their back end, had some adventures in his own end as well.  That’s not an ideal platform season by any stretch.

Sanheim is going to be a part of their long-term core but will he be a key player or fill more of a supporting role?  It’s hard to see that question being definitively answered now so instead of a long-term contract that buys out some UFA years, both sides may be better off with a one-year pact that keeps him RFA-eligible but gives them more time to see where he fits in.  That type of contract would come in slightly higher than his $3.25MM qualifying offer.

Giroux Extension Talks

Claude Giroux has been a fixture in Philadelphia’s lineup for the past 13 seasons and should move into second in all-time franchise scoring (behind Bobby Clarke) at some point next season.  Along the way, the captain has been shifted between center and the wing on multiple occasions and has adapted well.  While he’s not the 102-point scorer he was just a few years ago, the 33-year-old is still a fixture in their top six and has provided a good return on his eight-year, $66.2MM contract that he signed back in July of 2013.

That deal is now a year away from expiring which means that Giroux will be eligible to sign an extension once the new league calendar starts on July 28th.  It’s hard to see Giroux wanting to go elsewhere at this point but it’s also hard to see him commanding a contract that’s particularly close to his current $8.275MM AAV.  His per-game averages the past two years are the lowest they’ve been in a decade and considering he’ll be 34 when his next contract kicks in, that’s unlikely to tick up.  Giroux may very well want to make this his last contract, especially since it’s his last chance at signing without the 35-plus classification that some teams try to avoid.

If an extension can be worked out this summer, it will take away any distraction of Giroux playing in his contract year and give Fletcher some certainty about what type of cap room he’ll have in the future.  It’s not something that has to get done but it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Flyers try to work something out with their franchise fixture.

Rebuild And Re-Sign The Goalie Tandem

There were three different goalies that played for the Flyers this season.  None of them played particularly well and none of them are under contract for 2021-22.

Of the three, it’s safe to suggest that Carter Hart will still be around.  After a good showing in his rookie year in 2018-19, he followed it up with an even better performance last season which helped lead to the higher expectations heading into 2020-21.  He even did well start this season but once the calendar flipped to March, he struggled mightily, posting a save percentage of just .852 in 15 games from then until the end of the season.  As a result, he goes from being someone that looked to be a safe bet for a long-term contract that bought out some UFA years to someone that will wind up on a bridge deal to see if this year was just a blip or a sign of things to come.

It also presents a challenge for Fletcher in terms of who to partner up with Hart.  Brian Elliott has been with the Flyers for the past four seasons and outplayed Hart this year.  If all would have gone well, Hart would have done well, earned a long-term contract, and potentially allowed for Elliott to be retained.  But now, they may need someone that can legitimately push for playing time.  At 36, that’s unlikely to be Elliott and instead of spending $1.5MM for the backup spot, that amount may need to be doubled as they shop at the higher end of the UFA market.  (Alex Lyon was the other goalie to play this season and is set to become an unrestricted free agent as well.  He could be brought back or replaced with another veteran third-stringer.)

Upgrade The Back End

Let’s go back to Philadelphia’s defensive group.  Their core – Ivan Provorov, Sanheim, Philippe Myers, and Shayne Gostisbehere – all struggled relative to expectations with Gostisbehere clearing waivers at the trade deadline.  It’s still a fairly young collection of rearguards as Gostisbehere being the only one older than 25.  But it’s also a group that could use a veteran as they never really properly replaced Matt Niskanen who surprisingly retired last fall; the Erik Gustafsson signing did not work out well at all and didn’t provide the defensive stability that Niskanen did.

A better blueline leads to fewer scoring chances and fewer goals which is less stress for Hart as he looks to rebound next season.  Finding someone who is stable in the defensive zone and can play in their top four would certainly give their defense corps a significant lift.  Affording such a move could be tricky with roughly $12MM in cap room with Sanheim plus a goalie tandem needing contracts so Fletcher will have to find a way to free up some space before trying to fill this need.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.  Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.

Offseason Checklist 2021| Philadelphia Flyers Pro Hockey Rumors Originals

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Felix Sandstrom Signs In Finland, NHL

June 8, 2021 at 3:50 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 3 Comments

June 8: Not only will the Flyers retain Sandstrom’s rights, the team has actually re-signed him to a one-year, two-way contract. Interestingly enough, Charlie O’Connor of The Athletic tweets that the goaltender will be staying with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms next season, not heading overseas. Either way, this $750K deal keeps him linked to the Philadelphia organization and, importantly, continues to fill the Flyers exposure requirements for the upcoming expansion draft.

June 7: The Philadelphia Flyers will have to add a few more names to the goaltending depth chart this summer with Brian Elliott and Alex Lyon both scheduled for unrestricted free agency. Felix Sandstrom, who could have potentially been a candidate to move up in some capacity, won’t be an option after signing a one-year contract with TPS in Finland. Sandstrom is a pending RFA, meaning the Flyers can retain his rights by extending a qualifying offer.

The 24-year-old netminder was selected 70th overall by the Flyers in 2015 and despite strong numbers overseas, has never really found his game on North American ice. In 11 appearances for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms last season he posted a 5-3-4 record, .903 save percentage, and 3.19 goals-against average. In 2019-20 he spent almost the entire season in the ECHL, registering even more pedestrian numbers.

Philadelphia did recently sign 21-year-old Samuel Ersson to his entry-level contract, but otherwise have only Kirill Ustimenko—who spent the entire season on the shelf following hip surgery—signed for next season. Carter Hart, the team’s presumed 2021-22 starter, is also set to become a restricted free agent and will need a new deal.

Philadelphia Flyers| RFA Felix Sandstrom

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Philadelphia Flyers Name Ian Laperriere As AHL Head Coach

June 6, 2021 at 6:00 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 4 Comments

The Philadelphia Flyers have not wasted any time with finding a replacement for their AHL head coach vacancy. While many other teams continue to interview coaches for roles without any formal hires, the Flyers have made the first major coaching decision of the off-season. After parting ways with Scott Gordon less than three weeks ago, the team has announced that Ian Laperriere has been named the head coach of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

Of course, this means the Flyers now have another position to fill. Laperriere has served as an assistant coach for the NHL club since 2013-14, working under Craig Berube, Dave Hakstol, and Alain Vigneault, as well as briefly under Gordon, the man he is now replacing. Before that, he was the director of player development for the organization, which ties into his new role overseeing the Flyers’ pro prospects. The move thus comes as no surprise, as Philadelphia decides to stay internal with a trusted name, but also allowing Vigneault to bring in a new face for his staff.

Laperriere, 47, transitioned directly from his playing career into his professional career with the Flyers, hanging up his skates in 2012 after playing his final three years in Philadelphia. However, complications from a concussion suffered during the 2010 postseason actually kept him from competing in those final two seasons. Instead, he stayed on in a support role to the organization and was awarded the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy for his efforts. In total, Laperriere played over 1,000 games in the NHL as a fearsome enforcer and two-way forward. His experience both on and off the ice has him set up well to coach the Flyers’ AHL prospects, currently a deep and talented group.

AHL| Alain Vigneault| Coaches| Philadelphia Flyers| Prospects

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Philadelphia Flyers Sign Samuel Ersson

June 3, 2021 at 2:50 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee Leave a Comment

The Philadelphia Flyers have added some more goaltending depth to the organization, signing Samuel Ersson to a three-year, entry-level contract. The young netminder is coming off a strong year with Brynas in the SHL. Flyers assistant GM Brent Flahr released a short statement:

We’re excited to get Samuel under contract with the Flyers. He’s steadily progressed since his draft year and has had success in junior, the SHL and at the International level. We look forward to watching his continued development as he makes the transition to North America.

Ersson, 21, was the team’s fifth-round pick in 2018, 143rd overall. At that point, he had played just a single game at the SHL level but had dominated at the junior level in Sweden and put up strong performances internationally. The next season he would take his game to the Allsvenskan (second tier) and post a .933 save percentage in 36 appearances, winning Goaltender of the Year and MVP. After an up-and-down transition to the SHL in 2019-20, Ersson was back with a vengeance this season, posting a .911 in 46 regular season appearances and then a .949 in the relegation round.

There’s a lot to be excited about when it comes to the 6’2″ netminder, even if Philadelphia already has their young star netminder in Carter Hart. Ersson’s development path has been downright perfect to this point and the next step is proving his talent on North American ice. He’ll likely get that chance next season, but even if there is a hiccup at first, he has proven he’ll continue to work in order to raise his performance.

Philadelphia Flyers| SHL

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Buffalo Sabres Win 2021 NHL Draft Lottery

June 2, 2021 at 6:30 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 31 Comments

For the final time for the foreseeable future, all non-playoff teams were eligible to win the first overall pick in the NHL Draft Lottery. Beginning in 2022, a team can only move up a maximum of ten spots, meaning the teams who finish No. 12 through No. 16 in the final league standings cannot move high enough to take over the top pick. The stage was set for a climactic send-off for the old format.

Well, the lottery balls decided not to take a crazy bounce in their last opportunity to move a team from the middle of the first round all the way to the top. Instead, the draft order stayed virtually the same. The Buffalo Sabres, who held the worst record in the NHL this season and thus the top odds in the lottery, retained the No. 1 pick. The expansion Seattle Kraken, awarded the same odds as the third-worst record in the league, moved up one spot, switching places with the Anaheim Ducks. New this year, there were only two lottery draws as opposed to the former three. Here is the official first-round draft order for the top 15 picks:

  1. Buffalo Sabres
  2. Seattle Kraken
  3. Anaheim Ducks
  4. New Jersey Devils
  5. Columbus Blue Jackets
  6. Detroit Red Wings
  7. San Jose Sharks
  8. Los Angeles Kings
  9. Vancouver Canucks
  10. Ottawa Senators
  11. Chicago Blackhawks
  12. Calgary Flames
  13. Philadelphia Flyers
  14. Dallas Stars
  15. New York Rangers

(As a reminder, the Arizona Coyotes forfeited their first-round pick this years as discipline for scouting violations)

This will be the second time in four years that the Buffalo Sabres will pick first overall after selecting Rasmus Dahlin at the top spot in 2018. It also means that two teams, the Sabres and New Jersey Devils, will have owned the first pick in four of the past five drafts. The two clubs are happy that the NHL’s new rule limiting teams to two lottery wins in a five-year span kicks in next year with a clean slate. Incredibly, the Sabres lottery win also further advances the mythology of Taylor Hall. Although Hall is now with the Boston Bruins, this is the fifth time in Hall’s career that his most recent team eligible for the draft lottery has won. A No. 1 overall pick himself, Hall has brought luck to the Edmonton Oilers, Devils, and now Sabres.

Perhaps bigger news than Buffalo at No. 1 is Seattle at No. 2, a major opportunity for the Kraken to draft a player who is ready to join the team in their inaugural season. The Vegas Golden Knights, with the same odds in the 2017 NHL Draft Lottery, fell to No. 6 overall and drafted Cody Glass, who has still yet to establish himself as a regular in the Vegas lineup. With the second pick, Seattle will have better odds of adding an instant difference-maker.

The 2021 NHL Draft is unique compared to recent years in that there is no consensus top prospect. In fact, it is difficult to remember a draft class in recent memory that is so undecided at the top. One major factor has been the lack of complete scouting due to canceled and shortened seasons and limited live viewings. However, even with complete information, there is still seemingly no prospect that stands heads above the rest. University of Michigan defenseman Owen Power and forward Matthew Beniers are largely considered the top players at each position and the two most likely candidates for the top pick, with Power having a slight lead according to draft pundits. However, current teammate Kent Johnson and Wolverines commit Luke Hughes, a forward and defenseman respectively, are also in the mix. Canadian junior standouts Mason McTavish, Dylan Guenther, and Brandt Clarke and European pros William Eklund and Simon Edvinsson may also be in play.

Anaheim Ducks| Buffalo Sabres| Calgary Flames| Chicago Blackhawks| Columbus Blue Jackets| Dallas Stars| Detroit Red Wings| Los Angeles Kings| New Jersey Devils| New York Rangers| Newsstand| Ottawa Senators| Philadelphia Flyers| San Jose Sharks| Seattle Kraken| Vancouver Canucks Matthew Beniers| NHL Entry Draft| Owen Power

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Kevin Hayes Undergoes Core Muscle Surgery

June 2, 2021 at 9:48 am CDT | by Gavin Lee Leave a Comment

The offseason is here for many teams and with it will come surgeries and lengthy injury recoveries. In the case of Kevin Hayes of the Philadelphia Flyers, that means core muscle surgery. Hayes went under the knife last week and is facing a recovery timeline of five weeks.

That obviously leaves him with plenty of time to get ready for next season, but it also doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll be at full strength when things kick off in October. Core muscle surgeries are notorious for having long-lasting effects on performance, meaning the start of the season could be tough for the 29-year-old.

This injury could also explain some of the struggles that Hayes went through this season, scoring just 12 goals in 55 games for the Flyers and now really looking like the same player they had a year prior. He still ended up with 31 points but saw his role on the penalty kill decreased, resulting in zero short-handed goals for just the second time in his career. His nine even-strength goals were also easily the lowest total of his career, and certainly not what the team expected for more than $7.1MM per season.

Hayes still has five seasons left on that seven-year, $50MM contract he signed in 2019, meaning he’ll have to rebound if the Flyers are going anywhere in 2021-22. For those that believe a shakeup is in order, the veteran center is not a likely candidate to be moved, if only because of his no-movement clause. That clause will change to a 12-team no-trade after the 2021-22 season.

Injury| Philadelphia Flyers Kevin Hayes

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