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Shayne Gostisbehere To Have Hearing With Department Of Player Safety

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The Department of Player Safety took a lot of heat for their decision to not suspend Tom Wilson yesterday, but that won’t stop them from moving forward with other supplementary discipline. The league has announced that Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere will have a hearing today for his hit on Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Mark Friedman last night.

The incident occurred with a few minutes left in the game just as Friedman slid home an empty-net goal. The Penguins player turned away from the net, and Gostisbehere delivered a cross-check that sent Friedman sliding into the boards at a high speed. A scrum ensued, and it looks like Gostisbehere will earn more than just the two-minute minor he was assessed on the play.

Obviously, any decision the DoPS makes today will be scrutinized even more than normal, but the two incidents don’t have anything to do with each other. In the eyes of the league, this was a dangerous play by Gostisbehere that is deserving of a harsh penalty. The Flyers have three games remaining on the schedule.

Flyers Sign Olle Lycksell

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The Flyers have come to an agreement with one of their prospects as CapFriendly reports (Twitter link) that they have signed forward Olle Lycksell to a two-year, entry-level deal.  The contract begins next season and carries an AAV (including performance bonuses) of $875K.

The 21-year-old was a sixth-round pick (168th overall) of the Flyers back in 2017 which meant that the clock was ticking on getting him signed as Philadelphia would have lost his rights had he not signed by June 1st.  Lycksell spent last season with Farjestad of the SHL after playing in Linkoping’s system from their junior team all the way to their SHL squad.  The change of scenery didn’t result in a significant uptick in production as he put up 21 points for the second straight season although he was able to do it in five fewer games this season (46 games compared to 51 in 2019-20) while his playing time actually dipped slightly from 13:52 per game down to 13:10.

It’s worth noting that Lycksell has another year left on his deal with Farjestad.  As some other teams have done with their international prospects lately, Philadelphia could loan him back there for next season to give him more time developing at home.  At this stage of his development, Lycksell is likely a few years away from being NHL-ready but clearly, he has shown enough so far for the Flyers to want to keep him as part of their organization for a little while longer.

Shayne Gostisbehere Could Return Saturday

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Carter Hart Out For Rest Of Season

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The Philadelphia Flyers have just seven games left, but Carter Hart won’t be playing in any of them. The team announced today that Hart has been ruled out for the rest of the regular season with an MCL sprain in his left knee.

It’s a fitting end for an extremely disappointing season, in which Hart saw his numbers plummet across the board. The 22-year-old netminder posted a 9-11-5 record in 27 appearances, registering just an .877 save percentage and 3.67 goals-against average. Those numbers aren’t good enough for an NHL backup, let alone one of the most exciting up-and-coming goaltenders in the league that was supposed to challenge for the Vezina Trophy in short order.

The young netminder will have to find a way to put this season behind him and get his career back on track, but this injury certainly won’t help. There was a good chance that even with his struggles he could have been on Team Canada at the upcoming IIHF World Championship. Canada’s goaltending for the 2022 Olympics (assuming NHL players attend) is far from set, with names like Carey Price and Jordan Binnington dealing with their own struggles.

Perhaps more importantly, this poor season could have an effect on Hart’s contract negotiations this summer. The young goaltender is a restricted free agent for the first time and will not have arbitration rights. It was assumed that he would be locked up long-term at the first chance Philadelphia had, but most players wouldn’t want to ink a multi-year deal coming off such a poor season. It will be interesting to see if the two sides go for a bridge contract instead, allowing Hart to get his game back on track while also leaving enough cap space to bring in (or back) a proven veteran.

Currently, the Flyers have just a single goaltender—22-year-old Kirill Ustimenko who underwent major hip surgery in December—under contract for the 2021-22 season.

Tanner Laczynski Undergoes Surgery

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After four seasons dominating the competition at Ohio State University, Tanner Laczynski has certainly had an interesting first year of professional hockey. The 23-year-old forward scored ten points in 14 games for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms and earned himself a chance in the Philadelphia Flyers lineup. In five NHL games he failed to record a point though and he’ll have to wait a long time for his next opportunity. The Flyers announced today that Laczynski has undergone successful surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right hip and will be out for the next 16 weeks.

Laczynski was a sixth-round pick in 2016, so even just making it to the NHL wasn’t guaranteed. But after a point-per-game career at Ohio State, he signed his entry-level deal with the Flyers last spring and quickly shot up the depth chart. With the Flyers now nine points out of a playoff spot there figured to be even. more playing time for young forwards trying to make their mark, but Laczynski will now face a long difficult rehab instead.

The first season of his entry-level contract will come to an end without a single point and given his age, the deal was limited to just two seasons. That means the 2021-22 season is imperative for Laczynski if he wants to go into salary arbitration with any leverage. With a four-month recovery timeline, he is expected to be ready to compete at training camp.

Snapshots: Schwartz, Gostisbehere, Glass

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The St. Louis Blues and Jaden Schwartz are interested in getting together for an extension as the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent nears free agency. However, after failing to come to an agreement before the trade deadline. However, The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford and Shayna Goldman (subscription required) note that Schwartz might have a hard time earning a big contract this offseason considering the flat cap as well as Schwartz’s inconsistent year.

The 29-year-old Schwartz will be seeking a big contract this offseason, but after a 22-goal season in 2019-20, he has just six goals in 30 games this year. Despite that, the Blues remain interested in bringing back Schwartz.

“I don’t want to get into specifics,” general manager Doug Armstrong said after the trade deadline. “But Jaden is a player who we talked about earlier that is a primary player for us that we’d like to keep here. Nothing has changed since then, or until the day that we hopefully get him signed.”

Schwartz, who is currently wrapping up a five-year, $26.7MM contract ($5.35MM AAV) is still considered a top-six player and should still be for some time and his dip in production is nothing new as he has always been an inconsistent player who is capable of getting red-hot at any time. However, with the flat cap and the number of teams offering much less term than usual years, it’s possible that Schwartz will have to accept a slight raise for fewer years if he wants to stay in St. Louis.

  • The Philadelphia Flyers announced they will be without defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere for seven to 10 days with an MCL sprain. He was injured Friday against the New York Rangers, but played 20:17 and finished the game. Samuel Morin replaced him in the lineup Sunday, but head coach Alain Vigneault said the team is considering recalling defensemen Cam York or Egor Zamula from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the AHL with the idea to see one or both in action with nine games remaining in the regular season. Gostisbehere has eight goals and 16 points in 37 games for the Flyers.
  • SinBin Vegas’ Steve Carp writes that while watching Vegas Golden Knights center Cody Glass while he plays with the Henderson Silver Knights of the AHL, that the 22-year-old is struggling with confidence. Carp writes that the center is playing well with two goals and five points in seven games, but the former sixth-overall pick in 2017 should be a dominant presence and isn’t. Of course, with injuries mounting in Vegas, the team likely will have to recall Glass after recent injuries to Tomas Nosek and Nicolas Roy.

East Notes: Ovechkin, Penguins, Hart, Lafreniere

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The Washington Capitals were without star forward Alex Ovechkin, who missed his first game Saturday (due to injury) since May 5, 2015 due to a lower-body injury. His ability to stay healthy throughout his career is one reason why many people believe that the 35-year-old has a chance to break the goals scored record (held by Wayne Gretzky). However, the forward will be a game-time decision on Tuesday against the Islanders as well, according to NHL.com.

“I think with some injuries, you don’t know what’s going to go on, whether somebody’s going to be available or not available and that’s why I think people say ’day to day’, because they’re unsure,” Washington coach Peter Laviolette said Saturday. “Will he be there for the next game? I’m not sure at this point, so we’ll err on the side of caution at this point in the season. We’re not going to risk anything as we head towards the playoffs, but hopefully he continues to improve.”

Ovechkin left late in the third period of Thursday’s game with the Islanders due to the injury. He has 24 goals in 43 games this season and sits sixth on the NHL all-time goals leaders with 730, just one short of tying Marcel Dionne.

  • Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan said (via the Penguins) that injured players Evgeni Malkin, Brandon Tanev and Frederick Gaudreau all skated Sunday morning with the taxi squad. While the coach admitted they all are making progress, he said their status with the team has not changed. Malkin has been out with a lower body injury since March 16. Tanev has appeared in just two games since March 18 with an upper-body injury, while Gaudreau has been out since April 11 with a lower-body injury.
  • With just nine games remaining in the Philadelphia Flyers season, Philadelphia Inquirer’s Ed Barkowitz writes that one of the key things to watch is the return and the play of young goaltender Carter Hart. However, head coach Alain Vigneault has not indicated when Hart will return from the mild knee sprain he suffered on April 15, suggesting it might be a bit longer before he returns to the ice. The team is 1-2-1 without him since the injury.
  • The Athletic’s Rick Carpiniello (subscription required) writes that New York Rangers rookie Alexis Lafreniere looked impressive Friday when he was promoted to the top line next to Mika Zibanejad and Pavel Buchnevich when Chris Kreider sat out, scoring a goal and an assist in the process. The scribe writes that the team might benefit during the final stretch of games remaining this season to see what Lafreniere can do on the top line.

Carter Hart Dealing With A Lower-Body Injury

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  • Flyers goaltender Carter Hart was a late scratch from this afternoon’s contest against Washington with the team tweeting that he has a lower-body injury. Hart has been better this month after a disastrous March, posting a .910 SV% in five games before this setback.  There’s no word yet on how long he’ll miss.

Philadelphia Flyers Sign Jackson Cates

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The Philadelphia Flyers have dipped their toes into the college free agent market, signing Jackson Cates to a two-year entry-level contract. The deal will begin right away, meaning Cates will become a restricted free agent after the 2021-22 season. It carries an average annual value of $925K, the highest number the entry-level system allows. Flyers AGM Brent Flahr released a statement on his new player:

Jackson is a player that our staff has followed closely throughout his college career. He’s a tenacious two-way center that has steadily improved his overall game each season. He’s been an integral part of a very successful college program at UMD and we’re excited to see him take his game to the next level.

Cates, 23, was undrafted out of the USHL and has spent the last three seasons playing for the University of Minnesota-Duluth. In 2020-21, he recorded 27 points in 28 games, trailing only Minnesota Wild prospect Nick Swaney in team scoring.

If you’re a Flyers fan wondering where you’ve heard the name Cates before, he is the older of the team’s 2017 fifth-round pick Noah Cates, who captained UMD this season alongside his brother and is still unsigned. Noah, 22, has also been at the school for three years, but it is not clear if he will also be starting his professional career by signing an ELC.

For Jackson, it’s been a long affiliation with the Flyers after participating in the team’s 2019 development camp. He’ll now enter the organization and technically could play for the NHL squad this season after completing any required quarantine procedures.

Trade Deadline Summary: East Division

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The NHL Trade Deadline has come and gone. A relatively slow day ended with a late burst, as many teams jumped into the mix at the last minute. How do you think your team did? Share your deadline grades in the comments for teams in the East Division.

Boston Bruins
Status: Buyer

In – F Taylor Hall, F Curtis Lazar, D Mike Reilly
Out – F Anders Bjork, 2021 second-round pick, 2022 third-round pick

Buffalo Sabres
Status: Seller

In – F Anders Bjork, 2021 second-round pick (BOS), 2021 third-round pick (FLA), 2021 third-round pick (MTL), 2021 fifth-round pick (MTL), 2021 sixth-round pick (COL)
Out – F Taylor Hall, F Eric Staal, D Brandon Montour, F Curtis Lazar, G Jonas Johansson

New Jersey Devils
Status: Seller

In – D Jonas Siegenthaler, F A.J. Greer, F Mason Jobst, 2021 first-round pick (NYI), conditional 2021 fourth-round pick (NYI), conditional 2022 fourth-round pick (EDM)
Out – F Kyle Palmieri, F Travis Zajac, D Dmitry Kulikov, 2021 third-round pick

New York Islanders
Status: Buyer

In – F Kyle Palmieri, F Travis Zajac, D Braydon Coburn
Out – F A.J. Greer, F Mason Jobst, 2021 first-round pick, conditional 2021 fourth-round pick, 2022 seventh-round pick

New York Rangers
Status: Neutral

In – 2021 fourth-round pick (LAK)
Out – F Brendan Lemieux

Philadelphia Flyers
Status: Neutral

In – 2021 fifth-round pick (VGK via WAS), 2022 seventh-round pick (STL via MTL)
Out – F Michael Raffl, D Erik Gustafsson

Pittsburgh Penguins
Status: Buyer

In – F Jeff Carter
Out – conditional 2022 third-round pick, conditional 2023 fourth-round pick

Washington Capitals
Status: Buyer

In – F Anthony Mantha, F Michael Raffl, conditional 2021 third-round pick (ARI/NJ)
Out – F Jakub Vrana, F Richard Panik, D Jonas Siegenthaler, 2021 first-round pick, 2022 second-round pick, 2021 fifth-round pick

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