Craig Anderson Again Away From Team; Timetable Uncertain
In a story that sounds like it will be one of the focus points of the season for the Senators (however unfairly), Craig Anderson has again left the Ottawa Senators to be with his wife Nicholle. The goaltender’s wife was recently diagnosed with cancer, prompting the team to go out and get Mike Condon from the Pittsburgh Penguins for exactly this reason.
The 35-year old Anderson recorded an emotional shutout in his return to the net after learning of the diagnosis, and stopped 32 of 33 shots on Tuesday over Carolina. In his career with Ottawa, the veteran netminder now carries a 2.63 GAA and .919 save percentage, both outstanding numbers.
Even though the Senators were forced to give up a fifth-round pick for Condon, a player Pittsburgh had only just acquired on waivers three weeks earlier, it should provide them with some stability behind Anderson while Andrew Hammond nurses a groin injury. Even when Hammond returns, the team might elect to carry three goaltenders for the remainder of the year.
As everyone does when they write about this story, the staff here at PHR would like to extend our thoughts to the Anderson family. Many people’s lives are affected by cancer every day, but usually sports tends to provide relief from serious matters. If you’d like to help, check out #HockeyFightsCancer for donations and support.
Atlantic Division Snapshots: Spooner, Carlo, Detroit
Until either Jacob Trouba signs a new deal with Winnipeg or is finally traded away to a club willing to meet the Jets high asking price, you can expect to see countless rumors linking the young blue liner to anyone in need of a right-shot defender. One of the latest comes courtesy of Nick Kypreos, who during an appearance on Hockey Night In Canada indicated the Jets had reportedly asked the Boston Bruins for a package highlighted by Ryan Spooner and Brandon Carlo in exchange for Trouba. However, from Boston’s perspective, any hypothetical trade package for Trouba should not include Carlo, opines Joe Haggerty of CSNNE.
Elliotte Friedman recently reported there was significant interest in Spooner and any team in the league would love to add a 19-year-old, right-shot defenseman like Carlo. While that type of package might be appealing to Winnipeg, it’s not something Boston should even consider, writes Haggerty. The scribe notes that already through nine NHL games, Carlo is already one of Boston’s best blue liners and at just 19 there is still plenty of room for growth in his game. Essentially, Haggerty is arguing that Carlo has the same kind of potential as Trouba and at least at this point in their respective careers is a lot cheaper than the Jets defenseman.
Now it should be apparent that if Winnipeg had actually proposed this deal to Boston that the Bruins rebuffed the Jets offer otherwise Trouba would be in Beantown today.
The other curious factor to this rumor is that Carlo is also a right-handed shot. All previous indications have had the Jets insisting on a left-shooting defender of comparable age and ability to Trouba. Of course it’s possible Winnipeg was simply willing to overlook that detail in order to land an overall package of talent they were comfortable with.
- Detroit iced Stanley Cup contending teams throughout the late 1990’s and well into the 2000’s built around speed and skill. However, in 2016 the Red Wings are behind the rest of the league and need an infusion of speed and quickness, as Gregg Krupa of The Detroit News writes. He points out how the mid-season acquisition of Carl Hagelin appeared to represent a course change last season for the Penguins and helped turn that team into the speedy club that would eventually win the Stanley Cup. Of course skating speed is just part of the equation. Wings bench boss Jeff Blashill believes playing with pace and speed is as much a mentality as anything else: “But playing fast has way more to do with than just your team speed. It has to do with the mentality that every time you can, you want to beat people up the ice, the mentality that every time there’s a transition opportunity you’ve got to beat them up the ice.” Blashill also notes that this mentality was a big reason the team inked Darren Helm to a pricey extension in advance of the free agent signing period: “I think it’s both: It’s about our speed, but it’s also about our mentality of playing fast.We looked at it over the summer, and that is part of the reason that we wanted to make sure to get Darren Helm re-signed.” While the Wings realize their roster deficiencies and are doing what they can to overcome, the team does need to add quicker players to the organization.
Injury Notes: Hammond, Letang, Pietrangelo
After dealing for Mike Condon today to give himself some insurance, Ottawa Senators’ GM Peter Dorion says that Andrew Hammond is out for at least another week dealing with a groin injury. Hammond was placed on injured reserve last week.
While Hammond is out with a known injury, Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen reports that the Craig Anderson situation is “very fluid”, meaning the goaltender may miss additional time during the year. Condon will fly to meet the Senators in Ottawa for tomorrow’s game against the Canucks.
- Kris Letang is back in uniform for Pittsburgh and will play tonight against Anaheim, says Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register. Along with the top blueliner, the Penguins will be welcoming back Matt Murray to the ice as he gets his first start this season. Murray was nursing a broken hand suffered at the World Cup.
- The Blues have announced that Alex Pietrangelo will likely play tomorrow even though he didn’t practice today with the club. While he’s due for another evaluation in the morning, head coach Ken Hitchcock said he looks to be “OK” for tomorrow night.
- David Backes is back skating for the Boston Bruins, after receiving medical clearance yesterday. According to Claude Julien “everybody’s on track right now and heading in the right direction.” Practice was a little thin today as Tuukka Rask, Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, David Krejci, Zdeno Chara and John-Michael Liles were all given the day off.
Ottawa Acquires Mike Condon From Pittsburgh
According to Bob McKenzie of TSN, the Ottawa Senators have acquired Mike Condon from the Pittsburgh Penguins for a fifth-round draft pick. Since Craig Anderson was forced to take a short leave of absence from the team (he has since returned) and Andrew Hammond was placed on injured reserve with a groin injury, the Senators have been looking high and wide for some help in net. It’ll come in the form of Condon, who was selected off waivers by the Penguins just before the start of the season.
For Pittsburgh, this is a nice return for a player who only spent a few weeks in your system. Condon was an emergency claim by the Penguins once Matt Murray wasn’t able to start the season due to his broken hand. Now, as Murray returns, the team had to make a decision on Condon as he would obviously require waivers once again to go to the AHL.
For the Senators, Condon will provide some assurance that they’ll have an NHL caliber goaltender in net each night even if Anderson has to take any more time off. While the team will likely come into the same situation once Hammond returns, they won’t have to make a decision for at least some time.
Condon broke into the league last season when Carey Price went down, playing 55 games for the Canadiens to mixed results. With a .903 save percentage and 2.71 goals against average, the 26-year old rookie at least showed he’s capable of helping an NHL squad, though perhaps not for the majority of a season.
It must sting the Canadiens the worst, as they were unable to get anything in return for Condon before the season. While a fifth-rounder isn’t a huge return, it is at least something tangible.
Penguins Injury Notes: Murray, Letang, Sheary
The Pittsburgh Penguins updated the injury status of several key players today, including playoff hero Matt Murray. The 22-year-old goalie is set to make his season debut tomorrow night, as he gets the start back in the state where he helped Pittsburgh win the Stanley Cup just five short months ago. Murray will face the Anaheim Ducks after missing the first nine games of the season with a hand injury suffered in the World Cup of Hockey. After a brief stint on the injured reserve, Murray is ready to get his 2016-17 campaign started. Last season, Murray posted an unreal .930 save percentage and 2.00 goals against average in 13 regular season starts before leading the Penguins to championship behind a .923 save percentage and 2.08 goals against average in 21 postseason appearances. While the Penguins will soon have to figure out a short-term and long-term plan for Murray and incumbent Marc-Andre Fleury, for now they are just happy to have their young stud keeper back.
In other injury returns:
- Kris Letang returned to practice on Tuesday, fully participating and “looking strong” according to coach Mike Sullivan, but remains day-to-day with an upper body injury. He has not played since October 18th. The leader of the Penguins defense, Letang has had trouble staying on the ice in his career, but that hasn’t stopped him from putting up big numbers. Letang had a career-high 67 points last season, and the Penguins hope that his offensive ability will return to the lineup shortly.
- Another Penguin who has not played since the October 18th matchup against the Montreal Canadiens is Conor Sheary. The former UMass star took a stick to the eye in that game, forcing him out of the lineup early and for the following five games. Back at practice wearing a full mask, Sheary was a full participant and is expected back in the lineup as soon as tomorrow. Sheary was a revelation in the playoffs for the Penguins in 2016, scoring 10 points in 23 games to match his 10 points in 44 regular season games, and was a key contributor to their Stanley Cup run.
Kings Call Rob Scuderi Up From Ontario
The Los Angeles Kings have called up veteran defenseman Rob Scuderi from Ontario tweets Joe Rosen. Kings writer Elliott Teaford confirmed the move as well. Teaford writes that Scuderi is a call up after Brayden McNabb suffered an upper body injury in Sunday’s game and was placed on injured reserve. Teaford points out that Scuderi has not played a game for the Kings or Reign this season, and was cut from the Kings’ training camp just a few weeks back.
Last season was a whirlwind for Scuderi, who was dealt from the Pittsburgh Penguins to the Chicago Blackhawks in a deal that involved Trevor Daley. Scuderi was then spun off by the Blackhawks to the Kings for Christian Ehrhoff. In 63 games with the Penguins, Blackhawks, and Kings, Scuderi had 10 assists. Scuderi suited up for all five of the Kings’ playoff games but registered no points.
Penguins Notes: Crosby, Schultz, Defense
Sidney Crosby is unquestionably one of, if not the very best player in the game today. Naturally the Penguins would much rather have Crosby in the lineup than out but over the years the team has done surprisingly well without their superstar center. This year was no exception as Pittsburgh went 3 – 2 – 1 with Crosby sidelined due to concussion-related symptoms. However, in the three games since he returned, Crosby has impacted the performance of the power play as much as anything else, as Sam Werner of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes.
With Crosby back in the lineup, the Penguins have cashed in on four of nine opportunities, good for a 44.4% success rate. In 25 chances without Crosby, Pittsburgh tallied five man-advantage goals, still a solid 20% mark. But as head coach Mike Sullivan notes, it isn’t simply the results; it’s that the power play creates a lot more high quality scoring chances with Crosby on the ice.
“One of the things that we like about our power play is the movement. That’s what makes it difficult to defend. We’ve had a lot of movement and that shot mentality, and Sid’s part of that group. He’s got great offensive instincts, so whether he’s beside the net or he’s on the half-wall or he’s in the slot, he’s a dangerous guy, whether he’s passing or shooting.”
In addition to his skills with the biscuit on his stick, Sullivan notes that his franchise pivot excels at gaining possession of the puck due to his ability to win faceoffs.
“It helps us to win that first faceoff so we can establish some zone time. He’s a threat, regardless of where he is on the rink.”
Of course, regardless of his proficiency on the power play, Crosby can affect a game in a multitude and the Penguins are simply a better and more dangerous team when he is healthy and playing.
More on the Penguins:
- Speaking of the team’s power play success, Justin Schultz has done a fine job for the Penguins on the man advantage in the five games since stalwart defenseman Kris Letang went down with an injury, as Pro Hockey Talk’s Adam Gretz writes. Pittsburgh has been successful on five of 16 chances with Letang sidelined and Schultz has been on the ice for every one of those goals. Sullivan notes it’s Schultz’s willingness to simply fire the puck on goal that is key to this recent run of success: “Sometimes, when we put guys on our first power-play unit, there’s always a tendency to try to want to get the puck to (Sidney) Crosby or (Evgeni) Malkin or (Phil) Kessel when sometimes the right play is to put the puck on the net.” Letang appears to be nearing a return but at least Pittsburgh can breathe a bit easier knowing that Schultz has adequately replaced their best blue liner’s power play production.
- Finally, in a piece for Today’s Slapshot, Dave Holcomb expresses his belief that the team’s sole weakness remains their blue line. That’s not a surprising position given that the Penguins boast two Stanley Cup winning goalies with Matt Murray and Marc-Andre Fleury along with two of the best players in the world in Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. But as Holcomb notes, while the team is still generating plenty of offense (seventh in the NHL in shots on goal per game), they are also allowing more chances against (second most shots allowed per game). Last season Pittsburgh finished with the second-best Corsi For % at 52.72. So far this season they are at 50%. Of course the team’s blue line was far from a strength last season when the won the Stanley Cup and it should also be noted again that Letang has missed more than half of the season so far. Pittsburgh smartly used the trade market a year ago to boost their defense corps, adding Trevor Daley and Schultz from Chicago and Edmonton respectively. That should serve as a reminder that Pittsburgh is likely to focus once more on improving the blue line as we draw nearer this season’s trade deadline.
PHR Originals
Here’s a roundup of all of Pro Hockey Rumors original content for the week:
- Zach Leach examined the precarious position the Pittsburgh Penguins may find themselves in ahead of the expansion draft with Marc-Andre Fleury‘s NMC requiring the team to protect him and therefore leaving open the possibility Matt Murray might be available for Las Vegas to choose should the team not find another alternative.
- Brett Barrett looks at the rookie players currently in the NHL who could see their entry-level contracts slide should they be returned to their respective Junior teams.
- Gavin Lee posts the latest in the Franchise Faceoff series, comparing the Anaheim Ducks and Chicago Blackhawks.
- Zach Leach ponders whether goalie Malcolm Subban, Boston’s first-round pick in 2012, is on the verge of being labeled a bust.
- Brian La Rose continued with PHR’s 2005 Draft Take Two series, asking who the New York Islanders should select if they had a chance to do it all over again.
Fleury, Murray, And The Penguins Expansion Draft Situation
When the league announced the parameters for next June’s NHL Expansion Draft, an event that will allow the new Las Vegas expansion team to put together their roster for the 20 17–18 season, the most notable factor in protecting players was that each team coulf only hold on to one goaltender. Whether the choice is between an established starter and a young future stud or two equally good split-time keepers, it is clear that Las Vegas will have quality talent in net next season as a result of the ample possibilities to choose from in the draft. While many teams face this difficult decision, no team is in quite the same situation as the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Penguins are fortunate enough to have two great goaltenders on their roster. Marc-Andre Fleury has been the starter for years and one of the best goalies in the NHL in the last decade. The first overall pick in 2003, Fleury took over the starter job after the 2004-05 lockout at the young age of 21. At just 24, he led the Penguins to a Stanley Cup championship in 2009 and has been cemented as the leader in net ever since. With a Goals Against Average under 2.40 in each of the last six seasons, “Flower” has established himself as one of the more consistent goalies in the league and a reliable member of a dynastic Penguins team. However, Fleury is not without fault. Although his regular season dominance has been constant, he has had his struggles in the postseason. Pittsburgh has made the playoffs ten years in a row, but in all of those years Fleury’s postseason GAA and save percentage were at or below his regular season average three times (’08, ’14, ’15). The 31-year-old also struggled with injuries, really for the first time in his career, in 2015-16. The Penguins current backup goaltender, Matt Murray, saw his chance to take over last season, earning the starting role as a rookie while Fleury was out and went on to make a dominant playoff run and lead the Penguins to yet another Stanley Cup title. His regular season and postseason numbers were spectacular, as he posted a .930 SV% and 2.00 GAA in 13 games before putting up a .923 SV% and 2.08 GAA in 21 playoff starts. The team rewarded the 22-year-old with a new three-year, $11.25MM contract extension last month, implying their commitment to the budding star. In an ideal world, the Penguins could keep both their established starter in Fleury and their starter-to-be in Murray. However the Expansion Draft has other plans.
The rules of the draft state that any player with a No-Movement Clause must be protected come June 21st. Fleury is such a player, and if he stays on the roster through the season, then the Penguins must protect him. That of course would leave Murray as the odd man out in net and an easy choice for Las Vegas. However, it seems extremely unlikely that Pittsburgh would let their young keeper go to Vegas for free. The choice the team faces is what to do about the situation, with an eye on keeping Murray at all costs.
The simplest choice for the Penguins is to trade Marc-Andre Fleury. A veteran goalkeeper with years of success would surely be coveted on the open market. However, such a trade for a starting goaltender is rare mid-season. Teams often lack the salary cap space (Fleury has a relatively affordable cap hit of $5.75 million, but many contenders are right up against the ceiling without that flexibility) or don’t feel comfortable bringing in a new starter late in the year. Interested contenders may also be wary of bringing in a player with a history of playoffs struggles who has two years left on his contract and is on the wrong side of 30. The veteran may simply be untradeable this year. And even if the Penguins could trade Fleury without any problems, would they? Murray has yet to make a start this season due to injury, which forced the Penguins to claim Mike Condon off of waivers for the time being to avoid throwing young Tristan Jarry into the fire. Condon is likely to be put back on waivers – and subsequently claimed – shortly, since Murray was activated from the injured reserve on Tuesday. Thus, if the Penguins traded Fleury in-season, they would be left with the 22-year-old Murray and 21-year-old Jarry as their goalie depth, unless someone could be brought in via trade or waivers or they feel former Boston University standout Sean Maguire is ready for the NHL by then. None of those options are optimal for Pittsburgh.
The other option, is to try to swing a deal with Las Vegas that stops them from selecting Matt Murray in the expansion draft. In the past teams have often negotiated deals prior to the selection process to protect players that otherwise would have been left unprotected. San Jose swung deals with both Columbus and Minnesota before the 2000 Expansion Draft in exchange for not taking Evgeni Nabokov, while Buffalo paid Columbus not to pick Dominik Hasek or Martin Biron. However, those trades requires somewhat reasonable returns. The problem with this plan for Pittsburgh is whether or not any package could truly convince Las Vegas not to select Murray. A young goalie who has proven that he is competent in the playoffs and has produced good numbers (at least so far) in the regular season is invaluable in the NHL. An expansion team looking to start from scratch would love to have a young franchise goalie, and Murray fits the bill. Pittsburgh would be hard-pressed to put together a package that would be enough for Las Vegas GM George McPhee to pass on Murray. Whether they want to keep Fleury and Murray or not, it may be difficult for the Penguins to protect both.
The final option for the Jim Rutherford and the Penguins, if they cannot move Fleury or make a deal with Las Vegas, would be to give up on Murray. While this seems unlikely, the Penguins would rather trade away the young star for a decent return than let the Knights take him away for free. Several teams will be looking for goal tending going into 2017-18, and almost anyone would have an interest in Murray. Should the young keeper struggle at all this season, Pittsburgh may decide to sell high and many organizations would be more than willing to give up players and picks for Murray, especially if they are only a goalie away from being a Stanley Cup contender. The Penguins would obviously prefer to keep Murray, but they may be forced into this situation if Fleury proves to truly be untradable.
Obviously, none of these options are ideal. Unfortunately for the reigning Stanley Cup champs, they will have to make one of them work. An Expansion Draft is difficult on all teams, but it’s in an effort (more so this time than ever before) to build an expansion franchise that is competitive from go. There are many rules meant to limit the exposure and potential loss to any one team, but they are not fool-proof. Pittsburgh will fall victim to the 2017 Expansion Draft, and one way or another fans should be ready for a loss in the not-too-distant future. This will continue to be one of the more fascinating story lines throughout the NHL season and right up until the Expansion Draft next June.
Snapshots: Murray, Sceviour, Plager
Matt Murray is finally going to make his 2016-17 debut, it might just have to wait a few more days. Even though the goaltender has been “going full-speed now for almost two weeks” he won’t start this Saturday versus the Philadelphia Flyers. Instead, according to Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Murray will get one of the west coast back-to-back games on Wednesday and Thursday. The Penguins visit the Ducks and then the Kings in some inter-conference action.
Murray is coming back from a broken hand he suffered during the World Cup when he backstopped the young guns (Team North America) in the tournament. While the Penguins claimed Mike Condon off waivers earlier in the season to replace Murray, they’re hesitant to lose any of the three solid pieces they have in net. They view them all as considerable assets, and don’t want to lose any for nothing.
- Colton Sceviour will be moved up in the lineup according to George Richards of the Miami Herald. After getting a season-high 15 minutes in the Panthers latest loss at the hands of the Maple Leafs on Thursday night, the former Dallas Star will replace Kyle Rau on the second line. The Panthers are without Jonathan Huberdeau, Nick Bjugstad and Jussi Jokinen due to various injuries and have had to move pieces in and out of their top-six in recent games. While Jon Marchessault is thriving on the top line, the unit of Rau-Trocheck-Smith weren’t as effective against the Maple Leafs.
- The St. Louis Blues will retire number 5 in honor of Bob Plager this season. Plager has been with the club for almost 50 years since his addition as a player on June 6th, 1967, holding almost every position possible: player, head coach, director of scouting, director of player development and others. Plager’s #5 will join Al MacInnis (#2), Bob Gassoff (#3), Barclay Plager (his brother and #8), Brian Sutter (#11), Brett Hull (#16) and Bernie Federko (#24) among retired numbers for the Blues.