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Injury Notes: Zacha, Senators, Prince

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After the New Jersey Devils sold off a couple of expiring assets, the rest of season will likely come down to developing some young players and building chemistry for next year. Though they’re not out of the playoff race completely, it’ll be a tough climb out of the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.

One of those youngsters, Pavel Zacha, has been out of the lineup since February 21st with a concussion but was back on the ice this morning according to Andrew Gross of The Record. It was his first time on the ice with his teammates since suffering the head injury, a good sign for the 19-year old.

Dallas Stars May Miss Chance To Trade Patrick Sharp Due To Injury

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Mar. 1: Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reports that Sharp’s injury is significant enough that it will stop him from being traded today.

Feb. 28, 4:00pm: If you’re a fan of the Dallas Stars and you hate that they’ve begun to sell off expiring assets this year, you may be in luck. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet is reporting that team doctors will meet with Patrick Sharp at the conclusion of the Stars game against Pittsburgh to discuss a nagging injury. Though he is able to play through it—he played two nights ago and is expected to be in the lineup tonight—it may keep him off the trading block.

Friedman says that Stars GM Jim Nill has been very up front with teams who have inquired about the pending free agent. Though this doesn’t by any means guarantee that he won’t be moved, any team looking for an immediate impact in their top six may look elsewhere.

Sharp is in the last year of a five-year, $29.5MM deal that he signed with the Chicago Blackhawks back in 2011 and is easily one of the most decorated scoring threats on the rental market. With eight 20+ goal seasons (including four in which he scored at least 33) he presented an opportunity to get a player who could provide a real impact with top-line players for the remainder of the season and in the playoffs.

We profiled Sharp a month ago and listed no less than seven teams that could have been interested in the three-time Stanley Cup winner. The fact that he has 47 goals in 142 playoff games and is only owed an actual salary of $5MM this season was just icing on the cake. Sharp is admittedly getting older at 35 and has seen his production slip this year because of concussion problems, but when the market is paying solid prospects for Alex Burrows and second-round picks for Brian Boyle, he still looked likely to command a hefty return.

Again, this doesn’t mean he’s guaranteed to stay with the Stars but it could definitely cool the market on him if he’s deemed to injured to help immediately. Teams may still acquire him if he had a shot at returning for the playoffs, but it would likely have heavy conditions on any picks sent back to Dallas. Obviously the type or extent of the injury isn’t known, but Michael Russo of the Star Tribune guesses that it may have been a collision with Nino Niederreiter on February 16th for which the Minnesota forward was given a five-minute major and game misconduct (video of hit).

Regardless of when it happened, it’s bad timing for the Stars if they wanted to get anything out of Sharp at the deadline.

Ottawa Senators Acquire Viktor Stalberg From Carolina

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The Ottawa Senators aren’t finished. The team has acquired winger Viktor Stalberg from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2017 draft.<a rel=

As noted when the team traded for Alex Burrows yesterday, the Senators have needed depth on the wing all season and have now added both size and scoring potential in their two new players. Stalberg is a big bodied winger with speed to burn and a 20-goal season in his past, though he’s used more as an intimidating forchecker and penalty killer these days. A role-player in the Chicago Blackhawks 2013 Stanley Cup, he does have 43 games of playoff experience and will fit well into the bottom-six of the Senators.

With Ottawa just four points back of Montreal for first place in the Atlantic (with two games in hand mind you), owner Eugene Melnyk gave a clear directive for the Sens front office to follow. Playoffs or bust in 2017. The Senators are an internal budget team that relies on playoff revenue to continue to operate slightly above the cap floor, and with the two additions they’ve helped their case down the final 20 games. Though a third-round pick may seem pricey for a rental in Stalberg, they will likely recoup some of their lost draft selections with other trades—like a possible Curtis Lazar swap—before the draft this year.

For the Hurricanes, this represents an excellent value for Stalberg after signing him in the summer to a one-year deal. Though they had hoped that a playoff run was on the table this season, they still have an excellent young team and now own seven selections in the first three rounds of this summer’s draft. With the Metropolitan looking like a juggernaut for at least this season, but several teams (see: Washington) having multiple free agents leaving them this summer the slow burn of a Carolina rebuild may eventually pay off.

The Hurricanes still have Jay McClement and Lee Stempniak as possible veteran additions or a handful of young defenders to waive in front of team’s noses for the next 25 hours. They could easily acquire even more picks, or perhaps another young scoring forward before the deadline.

Pierre LeBrun of ESPN was first to break the deal on Twitter after Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet heard rumblings earlier today. Darren Dreger of TSN chimed in with a confirmation and the details on the pick going to Carolina.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Atlantic Notes: Playoff Push, Carrick, Panthers

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The Atlantic is the most exciting division in hockey right now, and not necessarily for the product on the ice. Often thought of as the weakest in the league this season due to the low point totals, three teams made deals today to strengthen their squads, while another continued their sell off of expiring assets. The Maple Leafs acquired Brian Boyle from Tampa Bay, Ottawa brought in Alex Burrows from Vancouver, and Montreal swapped defenseman to get Jordie Benn into the fold.

With just five points separating first and fourth place in the division, the last 20 games are sure to be full of fireworks. With Boston the only squad of the four yet to make an acquisition, time will tell if they feel the pressure of the other three and move to improve their team in the coming hours. We’re now less 46 hours away from the deadline, and things are heating up in the Atlantic.

  • The Maple Leafs received some further good news today when they had Tyler Bozak and Mitch Marner back as full participants at practice. Both players are expected to suit up tomorrow against the San Jose Sharks alongside the newly acquired Boyle. To make room for Marner coming back off injured reserve, defenseman Connor Carrick has replaced him there according to Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun. If Boyle makes it in time, the team will have to send down another player—likely Frederik Gauthier—before the game.
  • Craig Custance of ESPN reported earlier that phones have been ringing in Buffalo after their terrible weekend. Whether anything gets done is still yet to be decided, but Custance assures fretting Sabres fans that at least no Evander Kane conversations were taking place.
  • Custance also says that though Radim Vrbata looks like a great fit for the Bruins, “as many as ten teams” are in on the Arizona winger, making it a tough call to project where he’ll end up. After the deals today, perhaps Boston is a little more pressured to acquire a scoring winger like Vrbata.
  • The Florida Panthers shouldn’t be ruled out of the playoff picture either, as they’re only three points back of the Maple Leafs for the final wildcard spot. Executive Dale Tallon had a Q&A with NHL.com today, admitting that he is a buyer this year (as is his hope every year). Tallon recently told the media that he wanted to address his powerplay if they were to do something, a unit that has fallen to 25th in the league at just 16%.

Vancouver Canucks Trade Alex Burrows To Ottawa Senators

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Following the Maple Leafs’ acquisition of Brian Boyle, the Ottawa Senators have made their own deal up front. The Vancouver Canucks have sent Alex Burrows east in exchange for Jonathan Dahlen, a prospect selected in the second round this summer. The deal includes a two-year extension for Burrows which will pay him $2.5MM per season.Alex Burrows

Ottawa has needed help on the wing since Bobby Ryan broke a finger and was ruled out for more than a month if not before. When Mark Stone and Mike Hoffman were both injured the next day, it proved just how fragile their depth at the position was. Burrows adds to that depth in a big way, despite not being the 30-goal scorer of his youth. His production has dropped to that of a third liner in recent years, though he does give you some special teams flexibility with experience on both the powerplay and penalty kill.

Burrows is currently earning a full season salary of just $3MM, though his cap-hit comes in at $4.5MM. For a team like Ottawa who does not spend right up to the cap, having a lower actual salary is a big plus.

Despite having his offensive production slip in recent seasons, Burrows still provides an ample amount of sandpaper to any game, getting under the skin of star players and often forcing teams into bad penalties. His style of play and general demeanor will be welcome on an Ottawa team that has missed that kind of play from Chris Neil due to being scratched or only playing a handful of minutes. Burrows would immediately become a hated target in the Atlantic Division, and a valuable playoff asset.

Burrows had a full no-trade clause in his contract, and may have only been willing to waive it after agreeing to an extension with the Senators. There was no guarantee he would get a two-year deal on the open market this summer, especially at the age of 35. With the Atlantic crown is clearly up for grabs, the Maple Leafs and Senators have pushed some of their chips forward as they reach for the top. We’ll see if the Montreal Canadiens now answer with a move of their own (turns out they will).

In Dahlen, the Senators have paid a very high price for the addition of grit and depth. The Swedish prospect was selected at #42 in this summer’s draft and is tearing up the Swedish second league with 41 points in 43 games. The 19-year old forward is an exceptionally skilled offensive player that dropped in the draft due to his small stature. The Canucks, dealing with a nightmarish season have pried a very good return out of a rental with a no-trade clause. While they didn’t receive any draft picks, Dahlen should be considered no worse than a late-first/early-second round pick in this year’s draft.

It’s a hefty price to pay for Burrows, even if he does fit the Senators lineup well. We’ll see if Ottawa has any more additions in the next few days, as teams load up for a dogfight in the last two months.

Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun was the first to announce that the two were finalizing a deal, though Joshua Kloke of The Athletic heard rumors of the deal earlier today. Kloke would include that it came with an extension, one that Dan Murphy of Sportsnet gave us the financials on.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Canucks Notes: Virtanen, Miller, Burrows, Hansen

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Although Canucks right winger Jake Virtanen has struggled once again this season, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman noted in an interview with Sportsnet 960 in Calgary (audio link) that he doesn’t expect the team to give up on the former first rounder just yet (transcription via Fan Rag’s Chris Nichols):

“But it’s looking to me right now that the Vancouver Canucks and Jake Virtanen – for whatever reason it’s oil and water right now. It’s not a mix. They probably should have sent him down last year. But you’re not giving up on a guy who is a first-round pick after two years. You’re still going to keep it, even though he’s devalued a bit.”

Virtanen made the NHL roster out of training camp but struggled early on, collecting just a single assist in ten games.  He was then sent to the minors in November in the hopes that he would rediscover his scoring touch but that has yet to happen as well as he has just five goals and five assists in 39 minor league contests.  However, he’s still just 20 years old so it’s far too early to sell low on him (which they would be doing by moving him now) just yet.

Other notes out of Vancouver:

  • While the team remains within striking distance of a playoff spot (they’re just five points out of a Wild Card position), Sportsnet’s Mark Spector argues that the Canucks need to be in full seller mode. He cautions about what goaltender Ryan Miller would fetch in a possible trade as many playoff-bound teams already have their goaltending in place and that he’d be more of an insurance policy than an upgrade.  He also notes Alex Burrows as someone who would be attractive to teams and suggests that New Jersey’s return for Vernon Fiddler from the Predators (a fourth round pick) could be around what they should expect to get for him.
  • Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Province notes that GM Jim Benning will talk to some of the players with some form of no-trade protection about potentially waiving those clauses as the team gets set to begin their CBA-mandated bye week on Monday. That list is a long one as Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin and Loui Eriksson all have no-move clauses, Burrows, Miller, Brandon Sutter, and Alex Edler all have full no-trade clauses while Jannik Hansen can block a trade to 21 teams.  Kuzma also suggests that the Canucks may have some extra motivation to try and move Hansen in particular as he may be a player the team considers leaving unprotected in June’s expansion draft.

Canadiens Eyeing Alex Burrows

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With a loss earlier today to the Boston Bruins, the Vancouver Canucks are falling further and further out of postseason contention. The Canucks sit six points behind the Nashville Predators and Los Angeles Kings for a wild card berth in the Western Conference. They also have just one win in their last six games face powerhouses like the Pittsburgh Penguins and San Jose Sharks in their upcoming games leading to the NHL Trade Deadline on March 1st. Though in many ways Vancouver has exceeded expectations in 2016-17, they are trending more toward being sellers at the deadline than buyers.

One of Vancouver’s top trade pieces is none other than career-Canuck Alexandre Burrows. The agitating forward is still a strong two-way contributor, but his offensive production has been tailing off for years. A rebuilding Canucks squad seems unlikely to re-sign Burrows yet again, and would be especially willing to move on if they can get something in return. A destination may already be in mind: the Montreal Canadiens. As The Province’s Ben Kuzma writes, Burrows and teammate Jannik Hansen could command a good return for Vancouver if the GM Jim Benning only asks them to waive their no-trade clauses.

We here at PHR have already connected Hansen to Montreal, but according to Kuzma, the Canadiens have been heavily scouting the Canucks and may have interest in Burrows as well, if not more. While the first item on Montreal’s wish list is a top-six center, they have also made it known that they are in the market for other forward help. In fact, many expect the Canadiens to be one of the biggest players in what otherwise could be a quiet deadline market. In Burrows, Montreal would receive a gritty forward who is able to win battles along the boards, make his presence felt around the net, and, more than anything, help out on the penalty kill and in improving the team defense. The Quebec native seems like a suitable fit for a team whose GM and coach, Marc Bergevin and Michel Therrien, have emphasized two-way play from their forward corps in recent years, so look for the Canucks to pull the trigger on a deal if it develops.

Latest From Insider Trading: Coaches, Jets, Canucks

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The all-star reporter panel at TSN comprised of Darren Dreger, Bob McKenzie and Pierre LeBrun took to the air again today with their latest segment of Insider Trading. They touched on both Claude Julien and Ken Hitchcock, two of the big coaching names that have been fired recently, saying both will likely wait until the summer to take another job. McKenzie said that Hitchcock would consider a move to a long-term situation if he finds a fit, but wouldn’t “come out of the bullpen” so to speak.

It will be interesting to see what this means for the Vegas club, which now has a very established list of coaches to try to bring in if they choose to go that way. It’s been said before that Vegas likely wants a big presence for their first coach to try and make a splash in the market, and it’s not clear if Julien, Hitchcock or even Gerard Gallant would fit that mold.

  • LeBrun insisted again that the Chicago Blackhawks sound like they’ll be very quiet at the deadline this year because of their cap issues. As much as Stan Bowman keeps saying that the Hawks won’t make another bold move at the deadline, it’s hard to believe that they won’t try to make at least a slight upgrade for another run. They still need help on the wing and remember that they do have three extra (albeit late round) draft picks for this season in hand.
  • The Vancouver Canucks are falling out of the picture after a successful middle stretch of the season, and will now start to field questions for their top players. McKenzie relates that even though GM Jim Benning said prior to the season that he would not ask any players to waive their no-trade clauses, he now admits that he would got to them with options if teams were calling on them. Goaltender Ryan Miller and forward Alex Burrows were mentioned specifically, but remember that Alex Edler and Brandon Sutter also have NTCs and would bring back solid returns in trade should the Canucks decide to completely tear it down.
  • After the Jets got some terrible news on the defensive front with Tyler Myers undergoing another surgery, Dreger says they’ll be hard pressed to find a replacement. GM Kevin Cheveldayoff had already been looking around for some depth on the blueline, and now has even more problems to try and fix. It will be interesting to see where the Jets are in another two weeks and whether they need to add to try and make a deep playoff push or sell off some expiring assets.
  • LeBrun does also mention the past reports that the Ottawa Senators kicked the tires on both Matt Duchene and Gabriel Landeskog, but says that it didn’t get very far. Ottawa isn’t willing to part with the kind of package that the Avalanche are currently asking for, though would be open to negotiation should it fall. Both Avalanche forwards seem like tough bets to move in-season, but if the team is committed to shaking up the core, Ottawa could come back to the table in the summer.

Pacific Notes: Burrows, Doan, Domi, Donskoi

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While his name has been in trade rumblings for several years now, Vancouver winger Alex Burrows isn’t particularly worried about whether or not he gets traded by the March 1st trade deadline, he told Sportsnet’s Carol Schram.  Burrows has a full no-trade clause and at this point he hasn’t been approached about waiving it, nor has he gone to the team to ask for a move.

With 16 points (7-9-16) in 44 games this season, the 35 year old would likely represent a bottom six upgrade for some teams at the deadline.  However, with a cap hit of $4.5MM, the amount of teams that will be able to afford him will be limited.

The Canucks are still in the playoff hunt as they sit just three points out of a Wild Card spot.  However, it doesn’t seem likely that Burrows will be back next season so it will be interesting to see if they approach him about waiving his no-trade clause even if they stay in the postseason race.

More from the Pacific:

  • While the report last month that suggested Coyotes right winger Shane Doan might be open to a trade had many speculating about where he could go, GM John Chayka noted in an interview with 98.7 FM Arizona Sports that there haven’t been any discussions on that front for several weeks. He added that the trade deadline still a month away, there’s no rush on either side to see if there’s a potential move to be made or if he wants to stay in Arizona.
  • Still with the Coyotes, left winger Max Domi practiced for the first time on Wednesday as he recovers from a broken hand, notes Bob McManaman of the Arizona Republic. Domi has been out of the lineup since late December with the injury.  Dave Vest of Arizona’s team site adds (Twitter link) that Domi will be a game-time decision tonight against Chicago.  The sophomore forward is fifth in scoring on the Coyotes despite playing in just 26 games this season, collecting 16 points.  His point per game total is the highest on the team.
  • Sharks right winger Joonas Donskoi is dealing with a re-aggravation of an upper body injury he suffered back in early January against Calgary, reports CSN Bay Area’s Kevin Kurz. Donskoi has played in just three games since then and is not with the team in Vancouver for their matchup tonight.  He’s expected to be out for another week, adds Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News (Twitter link). The 24 year old isn’t having the success he had in his rookie season where he put up 36 points in 76 games; he has just six goals and nine assists through 45 contests this year.

Pacific Notes: Arizona Rentals, Burrows, DeMelo, Kopitar

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While many teams have hoped Arizona’s asking price regarding center Martin Hanzal would have come down by now, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman told 630 CHED in Edmonton that the price remains the same and that the team is still looking for someone who can play right away as part of the return (transcription via Fan Rag’s Chris Nichols):

“John Chayka has held steadfast that Hanzal is going to have to get them a young player who can play in the NHL right now – preferably a center. So I think teams have balked at that.”

Friedman adds that Los Angeles, St. Louis, and San Jose are among the Western Conference teams that have inquired about Hanzal’s availability.

There are teams also showing an interest in pending UFA blueliner Michael Stone (who ranks 15th in our Midseason UFA Power Rankings), Tampa Bay among them, but like Hanzal, the price is too steep for anyone to meet just yet.

Of course, the salary cap may be playing a role in these two not getting moved yet as both players have sizable cap hits; Hanzal comes in at $3.1MM while Stone is earning $4MM this season and most teams don’t have the ability to absorb those hits in their entirety at the moment.

More from the Pacific:

  • Teams have started to call Vancouver to inquire about the availability of pending UFA winger Alex Burrows, reports Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Sun. While Burrows has no-trade protection, it has long been speculated that he would be a candidate to move by the trade deadline if the Canucks fall out of the playoff picture.  However, with a cap hit of $4.5MM, it’s likely that any move involving him would occur closer to the deadline to make it easier for the acquiring team to fit him in on their payroll.
  • Sharks defenseman Dylan DeMelo underwent surgery to repair a broken right wrist today, the team announced. The injury was originally sustained on Tuesday against the Oilers.  He’s expected to miss roughly eight weeks.  DeMelo has spent the season primarily as San Jose’s seventh blueliner as he has played in just 14 games this year, recording four points (1-3-4) while averaging 15:04 per night.
  • The Kings are at a loss when it comes to trying to figure out what has caused center Anze Kopitar to struggle as much as he has offensively this season, writes Elliott Teaford of the LA Daily News. Kopitar has just 21 points in 37 games this year and has had just three multi-point games.  That’s hardly the level of production they were expecting when they handed him an eight year, $80MM extension last January, even if his defensive game is still strong.  Head coach Darryl Sutter ruled out the possibility that Kopitar’s wrist/hand issue has crept back up, nor does he believe assuming the captaincy has created any extra pressure on the 29 year old Slovenian.

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