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Aleksander Barkov

Injury Updates: Stastny, Dobson, Barkov, Beagle

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The Jets are hoping to have center Paul Stastny back in the lineup on Friday against Minnesota, relays Postmedia’s Scott Billeck.  The veteran has been out for a little more than two weeks due to a lower-body injury which put a strong start to his season on hold; Stastny has four goals and four assists in 11 games in the early going while logging over 18 minutes a game.  Winnipeg is set to begin a road back-to-back set so it’s possible that Stastny only suits up for one of those contests if they want to ere on the side of caution.

Other injury news from around the NHL:

  • The COVID situation for the Islanders is bad enough at the moment but they got some bad news on the injury front as well as blueliner Noah Dobson is dealing with a lower-body injury, mentions Mollie Walker of the New York Post. It has been a disappointing start for the 21-year-old who has been quiet offensively with just four assists in 14 games while being on the fringes of the top four on their back end.  Dobson is a pending restricted free agent and any extended absence – there’s no timeline for a return just yet – would certainly hurt his chances of a long-term deal this summer.
  • The Panthers will be without top center Aleksander Barkov for at least another two weeks, notes David Wilson of the Miami Herald. Barkov was able to avoid needing surgery following an injury on a collision with Scott Mayfield last week and at the time, interim head coach Andrew Brunette was only able to provide a week-to-week timeline.
  • Coyotes center Jay Beagle has been ruled out for the rest of the week at a minimum due to a lower-body injury, per Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports (Twitter link). The team is awaiting further test results to know how long he’ll be out for.  The 36-year-old has played in 19 games so far this season and hasn’t recorded a point yet but has won nearly 60% of his faceoffs.

Aleksander Barkov Will Not Need Surgery, Out Week-To-Week

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When Aleksander Barkov collided with Scott Mayfield last night, leaving him sprawled out on the ice with obvious pain on his face, Florida Panthers fans held their breath. The captain was taken from the game and many feared the worst, but it appears as though there is some good news.

Barkov will not require surgery, according to head coach Andrew Brunette, who spoke with reporters including George Richards of Florida Hockey Now. He will still be out on a week-to-week basis, but Brunette called it a “best-case scenario.”

It’s certainly not ideal to have your captain on the shelf for weeks, but the fact that Barkov won’t go under the knife is a huge win for the Panthers. The team looks like a legitimate Stanley Cup contender through the early part of the season and showed their explosive offense off again last night, potting six goals against the usually-stingy Islanders.

In fact, the Panthers lead the entire league in goals for with 62 through their first 16 games and still have a two-point lead on the Toronto Maple Leafs for first place in the Atlantic Division.

They also have several players with experience at the center ice position, including Sam Bennett, Sam Reinhart, and Joe Thornton, the latter of which was skating in the third-line pivot spot at practice today as he recovers from his own injury.

Aleksander Barkov Out For Saturday’s Game With Lower-Body Injury

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Per the Florida Panthers public relations team, center Aleksander Barkov is out for Saturday’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes with a lower-body injury. His status is day-to-day.

Forward Ryan Lomberg will enter the lineup in his place, according to Florida Hockey Now’s George Richards. Their game against the Hurricanes is a battle of the league’s current titans, as the Hurricanes (9-0-0) attempt to remain undefeated while Florida (9-0-1) enters the game without a regulation loss.

23-year-old Eetu Luostarinen, who has three goals through seven games this season, could center the top line between Carter Verhaeghe and Anthony Duclair in Barkov’s absence.

The Panthers continue to stretch their center depth thin with injuries this season, as Sam Bennett, Joe Thornton, and Noel Acciari are all on injured reserve. A strong start from rookie Anton Lundell is helping to soften the blow, and the team has also shifted offseason acquisition Sam Reinhart back to center from the wing to compensate for the slew of injuries.

Barkov has been undeniably spectacular as the Panthers continue to bank points early in the season. Fresh off receiving an eight-year, $80MM extension, he’s tallied 12 points in 10 games while playing over 22 minutes per game.

Florida Panthers Extend Aleksander Barkov

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The news that every Florida Panthers fan has been waiting for is about to happen. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that the team has signed a long-term extension with Aleksander Barkov, their star center, inking a new eight-year contract that will kick in for the 2022-23 season. The deal will carry an average annual value of $10MM according to Friedman, with the majority of the money coming in the form of signing bonuses. PuckPedia reports that the deal will have a no-move clause for the first six years, and a 16-team no-trade clause in the final two. The modified no-trade clause Barkov had for this season has also been converted to a full no-move. The contract has now been officially announced, but Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic has the full breakdown:

  • 2022-23: $1.0MM salary + $11.0MM signing bonus
  • 2023-24: $1.0MM salary + $11.0MM signing bonus
  • 2024-25: $1.0MM salary + $11.0MM signing bonus
  • 2025-26: $1.0MM salary + $10.6MM signing bonus
  • 2026-27: $1.0MM salary + $9.0MM signing bonus
  • 2027-28: $1.0MM salary + $7.0MM signing bonus
  • 2028-29: $1.0MM salary + $6.2MM signing bonus
  • 2029-30: $1.0MM salary + $6.2MM signing bonus

Panthers GM Bill Zito released a statement on the deal:

Over his past eight years in South Florida, Sasha has demonstrated his leadership, character and elite playmaking ability, cementing himself as one of the best all-around players in hockey. He has earned the respect of the hockey community through work ethic and a team-first attitude. Most importantly, he is a tremendous person, athlete and friend and we are thrilled to secure Sasha as our leader on and off the ice for the next eight years.

Barkov, 26, will carry just a $5.9MM cap hit this season on the last year of a deal that turned into one of the biggest bargains in the NHL. Signed in 2016 just a few months into his third NHL season, the six-year, $35.4MM contract was an absolute steal for the Panthers, who watched their young phenom turn from a lanky, inconsistent presence to a powerful two-way force. In 2018-19 Barkov recorded a career-high of 35 goals and 96 points, but the 6’3″ 215-lbs center is much more than his offensive numbers.

The reigning Selke Trophy winner, Barkov has been nominated as one of the best defensive forwards in the league every year since his sophomore season, finishing in the top-6 four times. His faceoff numbers have improved dramatically in the last few seasons and he took home the Lady Byng Trophy in 2019 as a nod to his minuscule penalty totals. Through 529 games, with an average of 20 minutes a night, Barkov has recorded just 98 penalty minutes.

There’s no way the team was going to let him get anywhere near unrestricted free agency if they could help it, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty of risk in a deal like this. Barkov likely could have secured even more on the open market, but that $10MM cap hit will tie him for 11th in the entire NHL moving forward–a tie with teammate Sergei Bobrovsky, whose free agent deal has certainly not worked out. With both of those in the fold, the Panthers become just the fourth team in the NHL with at least two players earning in excess of $10MM. The Chicago Blackhawks, Los Angeles Kings and Toronto Maple Leafs (who have three), have had well-documented salary cap crunches that have cost them depth over the years because of the big money deals at the top.

That cap crunch will be real for the Panthers, who also have $7.5MM Aaron Ekblad and $6.5MM Sam Reinhart to fit in. The team now has more than $77.8MM committed to just 16 players for next season, not leaving them a ton of room to fill out the rest of their roster.

Still, if there was ever a player to spend on, it’s Barkov. Not only does he represent the best skater Florida has seen in quite some time (or perhaps ever), he also only turned 26 a month ago. An eight-year term always buys out years that could see a decline in production, but at least the Panthers aren’t going into his late-thirties with this new extension.

This is also a new comparable for other top centers around the league, including Nathan MacKinnon who has just two years left on his current deal. There’s no telling just how high the Colorado Avalanche will have to go with their franchise player, given his offensive numbers the last several years are even more impressive than Barkov’s. It’s also one of the first big dominoes for next year’s free agent market, which currently includes high-end names like Mika Zibanejad, Johnny Gaudreau, and Filip Forsberg. The former in particular will be looking at Barkov’s deal, though there is plenty of time for each of them to reach new extensions before free agency even approaches.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Finland, Czech Republic, U.S. Announce Members Of 2022 Olympic Teams

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Like Sweden and Canada before them, three other hockey powers have announced the first few members of their 2022 Olympic team today. Finland is going with Aleksander Barkov, Mikko Rantanen, and Sebastian Aho, while the Czech Republic will have Ondrej Palat, Jakub Voracek and David Pastrnak in Beijing next year.

The U.S. meanwhile will have Seth Jones, Patrick Kane, and Auston Matthews suiting up for their country. Stan Bowman, general manager of the U.S. team, released a short statement on the selections:

It’s no secret we’re excited about the prospects of our team for the 2022 Games. Patrick, Auston and Seth reflect the high level of talent that will make up our final roster as we strive to bring gold back home to the U.S.

For Kane, this is nothing new. He was on the ice at both the 2010 and 2014 Olympics, while also wearing the “C” for the U.S. at various other international tournaments. What would be different is winning a gold, given his history at those tournaments. It’s been a long time since he took home the top prize, going all the way back to 2006 at the U18 WJC. Bronze at the U20 tournament, bronze at the World Championship and silver at the Olympics doesn’t create the international legacy that many would assume a player of Kane’s stature would have.

This year though he’ll have some help that he’s never had before. Jones and Matthews will both be taking part in their first Olympics, with the latter only having one World Championship under his belt. Matthews actually joined the U.S. team at the 2016 tournament before he even made his NHL debut and worked his way from extra skater to top-line center by the end of the event. That’s exactly the spot he will be expected to fill this time around after winning the Rocket Richard Trophy and coming second in Hart Trophy balloting last season.

For Finland and the Czechs, they too are starting off with some powerhouse trios. Barkov and Aho are a formidable 1-2 center punch that can play with anyone, while Rantanen brings his unique mix of size and skill on the wing. Palat, a key member of the Tampa Bay Lightning Stanley Cup teams, is one of the best two-way players in the entire league and Pastrnak is one of the brightest offensive talents in the entire world.

The event is sure to be exciting as the NHL returns to the world stage.

Snapshots: Extensions, Varlamov, Francouz

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As is human nature, the 2021-22 season has not even started and discussion of the 2022 off-season has already begun. Tracking the impending free agent class, whose numbers inevitably decrease each year, is part of every season. Some will sign extensions soon, others will wait and see how the season progresses, and others are bound for the open market (and possibly the rental trade market beforehand). Pierre LeBrun writes for The Athletic that some of the biggest names among potential 2022 UFA’s are unlikely to become available. In fact, he believes the prize of the market, Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov, has quietly been making steady progress on a new deal and could sign soon. LeBrun also reports that the Dallas Stars and John Klingberg are having “good and constant dialogue” on an extension while, unsurprisingly, future Hall of Famer Patrice Bergeron will have the deal of his choosing from the Boston Bruins if he feels healthy this season and decides to extend his career. Less certain are the futures of Tomas Hertl and Morgan Rielly, who could be the top targets on the free agent market if they don’t re-sign with their current teams. The San Jose Sharks are still hopeful they can re-sign Hertl, but that could very well depend on their success this season and whether a continued relationship makes sense, especially if Hertl could be a trade deadline gold mine. LeBrun feels Hertl’s days in San Jose are numbered. Barring an unforeseen disaster, Rielly will remain with the Toronto Maple Leafs all year, but the team will have to do some serious work early next summer in order to clear the cap space for an extension. LeBrun does not expect a resolution, one way or another, until after the season. Pittsburgh Penguins veterans Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang are expiring contracts whose futures are still too early to call, among many others across the league including restricted free agents as well. There will plenty to watch, as usual, over the course of the coming season.

  • The New York Islanders are already facing some concerns in net. The team was taking a risky approach to their net depth as is by entering the season with cold veterans Cory Schneider and Ken Appleby as the backups to their NHL tandem of Ilya Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov. They may now be forced to call upon one of the two right away, as Newsday’s Andrew Gross reports that Varlamov will not play in either of the Isles’ final two preseason games and is unlikely to be available for opening night, per head coach Barry Trotz. Schneider and Appleby played a combined nine games last season, all with AHL Bridgeport. Appleby has not played an NHL game since 2017-18 and Schneider has a .903 save percentage and 3.07 GAA over his last 79 NHL appearances. If the Islanders need to rely on either at the NHL level for an extended period of time this season, it could mean trouble. New York is hoping Varlamov can get back to action soon.
  • The Colorado Avalanche dealt with their own goaltending depth problems last season when backup Pavel Francouz was lost for the year. While Philipp Grubauer was a workhorse for Colorado, the absence of an established understudy led to young Hunter Miska receiving NHL experience and eventually the acquisition of Jonas Johansson, who performed well late in the year. Fortunately for the Avs both are back this season, as Francouz is already back in the injury spotlight. Francouz suffered a lower-body injury in Tuesday night’s preseason game, reports Colorado Hockey Now’s Scott MacDonald. While head coach Jared Bednar denied that the issue was related to Francouz’s 2020-21 issues, it is hard to feel confident about the veteran goaltender playing on two surgically-repaired hips when he is already experiencing another injury. There is expected to be an update on Francouz’s condition later this week. Johansson would be the next man up if Francouz is unable to start the season, though new starter Darcy Kuemper is capable of being a workhorse himself if need be.

Atlantic Notes: Eichel, Ennis, Barkov

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For the majority of the prolonged Jack Eichel trade negotiations, the Sabres hadn’t been sharing medical information with other teams.  However, as TSN’s Darren Dreger noted in the latest TSN Insider Trading segment, that has now changed and interested teams are now receiving Eichel’s medical information as it’s collected.  It’s a small step as the stalemate continues with Eichel’s camp wanting artificial disc replacement surgery with Buffalo insisting on fusion surgery and the Sabres have the final say on the matter.  It’s unknown if the exchanging of medical info will make other teams suddenly increase their offers for the disgruntled center but at least they’ll have updated information to work off of.

More from the Atlantic:

  • While things can change, the current expectation is that veteran Tyler Ennis will be able to land a contract and a roster spot off of his PTO with the Senators, reports Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. The 31-year-old had a tough year last season with Edmonton where he had just nine points in 30 games but in 2019-20, Ennis spent most of the year with Ottawa and head coach D.J. Smith where he collected 33 points in 61 contests.  At this point, a contract would be at or close to the league minimum and Ennis would give the Sens another capable veteran after just adding Zach Sanford over the weekend.
  • The Panthers are engaged in extension talks with captain Aleksander Barkov, report David Dwork of WPLG and David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period (Twitter link). The 26-year-old is entering the final year of what has been a very team-friendly deal that carries an AAV of $5.9MM and he will be eyeing a substantial raise – potentially past the $10MM mark.  Both Dwork and Pagnotta peg the discussions as progressing very slowly so it appears there’s still a lot of work to be done before Florida can get their franchise forward to put pen to paper on a new contract.

Panthers Expect To Re-Sign Aleksander Barkov

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One name stands out high above the rest when it comes to the potential 2022 unrestricted free agent class and that is defending Selke Trophy winner Aleksander Barkov. The Florida Panthers star has quietly established himself as an elite two-way center and a dependable point-per-game player. At just 26 years old next summer, he has room to grow as well. It is not often that a young, bona fide No. 1 center hits the open market and there would be no shortage of teams willing to hand Barkov a blank check next offseason.

Of course, the Panthers hope it never reaches that point. The team took a major step forward this past season, finishing in the top-five of the league standings and in front of their Atlantic Division rivals Tampa Bay, Boston, Toronto, and Montreal. Barkov is at the core of that success, but Florida believes that they have done enough to show Barkov that he has the talent around him to bring an elusive Stanley Cup to Sunrise. ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski spoke with Panthers GM Bill Zito, who said that the team is not even considering trading Barkov before he has the chance to walk. Zito said a drop-dead date does not exist and even posited that Barkov could sign a new long-term extension before the season begins.

Does the player feel as strongly? Florida Hockey Now’s George Richards has talked to multiple sources and he echoes the sentiment. Richards states that Barkov and the Panthers began negotiations as soon as they could on July 28 and talks have been going well. Like Zito, these other sources also believe that an agreement could be imminent that keeps Barkov off the market and in South Florida for years to come. The holdup may simply be that the team is waiting for their superstar to return from Finland to sign the deal in person, making for a special announcement that will delight fans and disappoint 31 other teams.

Aleksander Barkov Wins 2021 Selke Trophy

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The NHL has announced another regular season award winner, this time naming Aleksander Barkov the recipient of the Frank J. Selke Trophy for the 2020-21 season, his first time winning the award. The Selke Trophy is voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association and is awarded to the forward deemed to “best excel in the defensive aspects of the game.” Patrice Bergeron came in second and Mark Stone was third.

Barkov, 25, has received Selke votes in each of the previous six seasons, but never finished higher than fourth in the final tally. This year he tops a titan in Bergeron, who is tied for the most career wins with four and Stone, who has now been a finalist twice in the past three seasons even without playing the center ice position. He received 62 of the 100 first-place votes and was listed on 92 ballots, which rank five players. 78 writers had him listed first or second, showing just how well respected his defensive capabilities are around the league.

There’s no question that Barkov is one of the most effective two-way players in the NHL, and his 58-point performance only helped him cement his status as a superstar. That was only his second season scoring at a better than point-per-game rate, but when combined with his defensive prowess it makes for an incredibly valuable player. He also becomes just the fifth player in NHL history that has won both the Selke and the Lady Byng, joining Pavel Datsyuk, Ron Francis, Anze Kopitar, and Ryan O’Reilly.

There were 28 other players that received votes for the Selke trophy. The top-five was rounded out by Joel Eriksson Ek and O’Reilly, the 2019 winner. Philip Danault (6th), Jean-Gabriel Pageau (16th) and Anthony Cirelli (20th) are the other players who received votes and are still alive in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

2020-21 Selke Trophy Finalists Announced

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The NHL has announced the finalists for yet another of its end of the year awards, the Frank J. Selke Trophy. Always a hotly-contested and highly-debated award, the Selke Trophy is voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers Association on the basis of “the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game.” The 2020-21 finalists are Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov, Boston Bruins center Patrice Bergeron, and Vegas Golden Knights winger Mark Stone.

Bergeron should of course come as no surprise. The Bruins captain is a finalist for a record tenth consecutive year and one of only two four-time winners in league history, alongside Bob Gainey who won the award in each of the first four seasons that it existed. Considered by some to be the best defensive forward to ever play the game, Bergeron is always a safe bet to be a Selke contender, especially when he again led the league at the face-off dot this season, recording a 62.5% winning percentage. Bergeron also led the NHL in total face-offs won, while leading the Bruins forwards in blocked shots, short-handed time on ice, and career-best possession stats.

With that said, some wondered if Bergeron was even the best defensive forward on his own team this year with the success that Brad Marchand had forcing turnovers, checking, and recording a league-leading seven short-handed points, not to mention leading all non-Oilers in league scoring. If Bergeron faced competition even on his own team, perhaps the door is open for one of the other finalists to prevent him from taking home a record fifth Selke win.

Barkov led a resurgent Panthers team to the postseason this year, topping all Florida forwards in ice time, takeaways, and possession, as well as points per game, and was second in blocked shots. Barkov finished in the top-15 league-wide in face-offs taken, won, and percentage. A first-time Selke finalist, Barkov has nevertheless established himself as one of the best defensive forwards in the league right now and his candidacy is long overdue.

As for Stone, he is looking to become the first winger to win the Selke since Jere Lehtinen did so three times, the last coming in 2002-03. A takeaway machine, no player in the NHL has forced more turnovers during Stone’s career, as he led the league for the fifth time again this year. Stone led all Knights forwards in time on ice and finished third in short-handed time on ice per game and blocked shots per game. Stone also led all forwards in points and plus/minus. However, Stone faces an uphill battle to win without any face-off contributions and he may also be dinged for not being more engaged in the checking game, trailing Bergeron and Barkov in hits per game despite his considerable size advantage.

Other than Marchand, other potential snubs include recent winners Sean Couturier and Ryan O’Reilly, while some felt that Sidney Crosby deserved recognition for what was arguably the best two-way season of his storied career. However, few will argue that the PHWA didn’t settle on the right choices for the top three this year.

 

 

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