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IIHF Notes: Russia, Sweden, Czech Republic

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If your team has already been eliminated from the NHL playoffs or failed to get there in the first place, the upcoming IIHF World Championship is the last bit of high level hockey for the season. The 2019 tournament is shaping up to be a good one with some of the best talent on the planet facing off, and the Russian contingent has to be one of the favorites heading in.

Today, Russia announced their leadership group for the tournament by naming Ilya Kovalchuk team captain. Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin and Sergei Plotnikov have been named alternates, an impressive group with plenty of international experience. Kovalchuk served as an alternate at last year’s Olympic Games, but he’ll take over the top role given Pavel Datsyuk’s absence from the tournament.

  • Sweden continues to add firepower to their group, and have added William Nylander, Mattias Ekholm and Marcus Pettersson in addition to Elias Lindholm who was recently confirmed. Nylander was a huge part of the 2017 gold medal for Sweden, recording 14 points in 10 games—twice that of any of his teammates. The Toronto Maple Leafs forward had an extremely disappointing season but will try to get things turned around on the international stage where he has excelled in the past.
  • The Czech Republic announced today that Filip Hronek, Jakub Vrana and Dmitrij Jaskin will join their group, an interesting sight given the status of the latter two. Players rarely attend the tournament without an NHL contract in hand, and Vrana and Jaskin are both set to be restricted free agents this summer. Perhaps that means some decisions have already been made on the pair, as Vrana is expected to be signed quickly by the Capitals while Jaskin may not receive a qualifying offer. Either way, we’ll have to wait and see if they actually take part in the tournament that starts on May 10th.

2019 Hart Trophy Finalists Announced

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The finalists for the Hart Trophy, given to the player most valuable to his team, have been announced. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the three finalists are Pittsburgh Penguins’ Sidney Crosby, Tampa Bay Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov and Edmonton Oilers’ Connor McDavid.

Kucherov is considered to be a favorite for the award after putting up a tremendous year. The 25-year-old took his game to another level as he has already captured this year’s Art Ross Trophy for leading the league in total points. He finished the year with 41 goals and 128 points, the most in the league since the 1995-96 season. His totals are also the most-ever by a Russian-born NHL player. Kucherov has also been nominated for the Ted Lindsay Award, awarded to the most outstanding player and voted on by the players. Kucherov led his team to the Presidents’ Trophy, given to the team with the best regular-season record.

Crosby had an impressive season as well. Often forgotten when talking about the league’s best players, Crosby helped lead the Penguins to the playoffs this year and did it by breaking the 100-point mark for the first time in five years. On top of that, he was 18-points better than any other players on his team, making his season quite valuable for a Pittsburgh franchise that struggled to get into the playoffs this season.

McDavid’s name is not surprising either, other than the fact that the Edmonton Oilers didn’t have a very impressive season and while they weren’t mathematically eliminated from the playoffs until late in the season, they were never truly considered to be a playoff threat this season. In fact, McDavid is just the sixth player in NHL history to be a Hart finalist from a non-playoff team. McDavid, however, who won the Hart Trophy in the 2016-17 season when he tallied 30 goals and 100 points, continues to improve on each season as he tallied 41 goals and 116 points to reach new career highs.

Several interesting players were left off the finalist list as well, including Washington Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin and Chicago Blackhawks’ Patrick Kane.

 

Metropolitan Notes: Devils Defense, Santini, Svechnikov

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The New Jersey Devils outlook for their future shot upwards a few weeks ago during the draft lottery after they won for the second time in three years, and now have the opportunity to add top prospects Jack Hughes or Kappo Kakko. However, one thing that is missing from a potential playoff roster in the future is a dominant defenseman.

The Athletic’s Corey Masisak (subscription required) divides up the current roster, but makes it clear on many occasions that what the team truly needs is a dominant defenseman who can run the defense. Even with 2018 first-rounder Ty Smith likely to join the team next season, the team could very well be on the lookout for a dominant blueliner via trade (if one can be found), suggesting the team may have to move one of their current top three to make a deal like that work in either Damon Severson, Will Butcher or Sami Vatanen.

Both Severson and Butcher are listed as unlikely to be traded unless a blockbuster deal can be found are both considered to be top-four defenseman along with Vatanen, but both blueliners would have significant value in return for an elite defenseman. Vatanen would unlikely have much trade value due to his age, but more importantly due to his injury history.

  • Sticking with the Devils defense, the team hopes they have found a regular to their defensive core as defenseman Steven Santini seemed to have found his niche in the final six weeks of the season. The 24-year-old had dealt with injuries and time in the minors, but looks to have a good chance to establish himself as an everyday defenseman next season for New Jersey, according to NJ.com’s Chris Ryan. After missing a large chunk of the season after breaking his jaw on the first game of the season last year, Santini came back in December, but needed time to find his game. His opportunity came at the trade deadline when the team traded Ben Lovejoy to Dallas, giving Santini a shot at Lovejoy’s minutes. He took advantage of them. “He’s got to be difficult to play against. Tight gaps on line-rush defense. He needs to be hard at the net front. He needs to be able to end plays defensively down low,” Devils coach John Hynes said. “We’d like to see him take a step on a penalty kill, missing a guy like Ben Lovejoy where he could fill into that type of role. And understanding that his puck skills need to improve.”
  • With Game 2 lineups out, the Carolina Hurricanes still don’t have injured forward Andrei Svechnikov back in the lineup. The 2018 second-overall pick has been in concussion protocol after suffering a head injury in a fight with fellow-Russian Alex Ovechkin in the first round of the playoffs. News & Observer’s Chip Alexander reports that a Game 3 return would be perfect timing for the Hurricanes and would get the home crowd even more hyped up, regardless of Carolina’s Game 2 performance.

Russia Adds Top Talent For IIHF World Championship

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Teams that lose in the first round of the NHL playoffs often represent the biggest source of talent for the IIHF World Championship, and for Team Russia that is certainly the case this season. Igor Eronko of Sport-Express tweets that Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Dmitry Orlov and Nikita Zaitsev have all accepted an invitation from Russia to suit up in next month’s tournament. Evgenii Dadonov from the Florida Panthers will be joining them, giving the Russians quite the powerful forward group.

It’s not just those players who are headed to Slovakia for the tournament, as the team had previously received commitments from Evgeni Malkin, Nikita Kucherov, Ilya Kovalchuk, Mikhail Sergachev, Kirill Kaprizov, Andrei Vasilevskiy and others.

For Ovechkin, this is just another chance to add to his incredible international resume. The Washington Capitals have been knocked out of the playoffs early many times in the past, leading to the superstar forward suiting up 12 times in the past for this tournament. While still looking for an Olympic gold—Russia won last year when the NHL did not attend—Ovechkin has won this tournament three times previously and has a total of eight medals.

The action begins on May 10th.

Andrei Svechnikov In Concussion Protocol

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The Carolina Hurricanes could very well be without one of their young stars for the next game in their opening round series against the Washington Capitals. Andrei Svechnikov is in the concussion protocol after going to the hospital following his fight with Alex Ovechkin last night. Svechnikov was hit hard by a punch from Ovechkin and appeared to hit his head on the ice as he went down. Head coach Rod Brind’Amour told reporters today including Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post that he doesn’t expect Svechnikov to play in game four on Thursday night.

The 19-year old Svechnikov had taken his game to another level in the second half of the season and playoffs, and actually had three points in the first two games of the series. It’s a big blow for a Carolina team that has gotten themselves back into the series with a convincing win, and one that certainly will shake up their forward group. Micheal Ferland also left the game with an injury but his status was not updated today.

Carolina trail in the series 2-1 and have a big hill to climb, but have exposed some weaknesses on the Capitals blue line and will try to exploit that again in Thursday’s matchup. Even if Svechnikov feels up to it, he’s unlikely to get back into the lineup as the team will not risk the future health of the second-overall pick.

Minor Transactions: 03/31/19

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Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin picked up his 50th goal of the season on Saturday in the team’s 6-3 victory over Tampa Bay, giving him eight 50-goal seasons throughout his career. That puts the Capitals forward among elite company, as only Mike Bossy and Wayne Gretzky have accomplished that feat. Of course, both of those two players have done it nine times, which means that Ovechkin will need to pull it off one more time if he wants to tie those two legendary players. With another slate of potential season-altering games today, with the playoffs now right around the corner, keep an eye out for the minor moves that teams are making to give them the best chance to maximize their points in these final games:

  • The Buffalo Sabres have returned defenseman Matt Tennyson to the Rochester Americans of the AHL, according to CapFriendly. The team recalled him Thursday, but Tennyson didn’t see any action in either game the Sabres have played since then. The 28-year-old Tennyson has four goals and 20 points in 45 AHL games.
  • The San Jose Sharks have returned defenseman Jacob Middleton after recalling him Saturday night to serve as an emergency defenseman, according to CapFriendly. He did not play in Saturday’s overtime win over Vegas. The 23-year-old Middleton will return to the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL, where he has five goals and 19 points in 54 games.
  • CapFriendly reports that the Boston Bruins have assigned center Karson Kuhlman to the Providence Bruins of the AHL. Kuhlman was recalled Friday on emergency conditions. Kuhlman did not see any action in the team’s loss to Florida Saturday. The 23-year-old Kuhlman has 12 goals and 30 points in 58 AHL games.
  • The Detroit Red Wings announced they have recalled goaltender Kaden Fulcher from the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL under emergency conditions. He is expected to backup starter Jimmy Howard while Jonathan Bernier is out with an upper-body injury. Fulcher hasn’t even made an appearance with the Griffins as the 20-year-old has played his entire season with the ECHL Toledo Walleye where he has gone 15-7-2 with a 3.00 GAA and a .899 save percentage. CapFriendly also reports that the team has recalled forward Dominic Turgeon on an emergency basis. The 23-year-old prospect hasn’t played a game for Detroit this season, but has accumulated six goals and 19 points in 69 games with the Griffins.
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs officially announced they have recalled defenseman Calle Rosen from the Toronto Marlies of the AHL. Rosen, who signed as a free agent in the summer of 2017, played four games for Toronto immediately then, but then was assigned to the Marlies. He put up 22 points in 62 games that year , but has taken his game to another level this season as he has posted seven goals and 46 points in 54 games and was signed to an inexpensive, tw0-year extension with the understanding he will take over a spot on the Maple Leafs’ blueline next season. Rosen is expected to meet the team in New York and play with the team on Monday.
  • The Colorado Avalanche have recalled defenseman Mark Barberio from his conditioning stint with the Colorado Eagles of the AHL, according to CapFriendly. The 29-year-old blueliner hadn’t played in a game since Jan. 21, so the team sent him to the AHL to get his timing back in case they need to use him. Barberio has played in just 12 games this season for the Avalanche. He picked up an assist in two games with the Eagles.
  • The Nashville Predators have recalled forward Austin Watson from his conditioning stint with the Milwaukee Admirals, according to The Athletic’s Adam Vingan. Watson, who had been suspended indefintely to an “alcohol related relapse,” and entered Stage Two of the joint Substance Abuse and Behavioral Program, was reinstated on Mar. 18. To get him ready for the approaching playoffs, the team sent him on a conditioning loan where he scored four goals in two games.

2019 All-Star Rosters Announced

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The NHL has announced the four rosters for the 2019 All-Star Game today, scheduled to be held on January 26th in San Jose. Earlier today, Alex Ovechkin, who was elected captain of Metropolitan Division squad, told the league that he wouldn’t be attending and will accept the punishment of missing one game either before or after the break. Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, and Auston Matthews will represent the Pacific, Central and Atlantic respectively, as the other captains. A replacement Metropolitan captain for Ovechkin has yet to be named.

The full rosters are as follows:

Pacific Division

G John Gibson (ANA)
G Marc-Andre Fleury (VGK)

D Erik Karlsson (SJS)
D Brent Burns (SJS)
D Drew Doughty (LAK)

F Connor McDavid (EDM)*
F Johnny Gaudreau (CGY)
F Joe Pavelski (SJS)
F Elias Pettersson (VAN)
F Clayton Keller (ARI)

Central Division

G Pekka Rinne (NSH)
G Devan Dubnyk (MIN)

D Roman Josi (NSH)
D Miro Heiskanen (DAL)

F Nathan MacKinnon (COL)*
F Mikko Rantanen (COL)
F Blake Wheeler (WPG)
F Patrick Kane (CHI)
F Mark Scheifele (WPG)
F Ryan O’Reilly (STL)

Atlantic Division

G Jimmy Howard (DET)
G Carey Price (MTL)

D Keith Yandle (FLA)
D Thomas Chabot (OTT)

F Auston Matthews (TOR)*
F Nikita Kucherov (TBL)
F Steven Stamkos (TBL)
F John Tavares (TOR)
F David Pastrnak (BOS)
F Jack Eichel (BUF)

Metropolitan Division

G Henrik Lundqvist (NYR)
G Braden Holtby (WAS)

D John Carlson (WSH)
D Seth Jones (CBJ)

F Sidney Crosby (PIT)
F Taylor Hall (NJD)
F Mathew Barzal (NYI)
F Claude Giroux (PHI)
F Cam Atkinson (CBJ)
F Sebastian Aho (CAR)

*Denotes team captain

One final skater spot on each roster has yet to be announced, as it will be determined by the “Last Man In” fan ballot, a concept borrowed from Major League Baseball. The format of the current All-Star Game, which requires one representative from each team on these smaller 3-on-tournament rosters, was bound to cause some confusion with the initial selections. Seven top-twenty scorers were not selected – Mitch Marner, Brayden Point, Leon Draisaitl, Sean Monahan, Matthew Tkachuk, Phil Kessel, and Gabriel Landeskog – and several will inevitably remain out of All-Star participation even after the fan ballot additions. Morgan Rielly, the league’s top-scoring defenseman, and Mark Giordano, enjoying an elite season on both sides of the puck, are two surprising omissions on the blue line. Several of the league’s top goalies are also going to miss out, ineligible for the fan ballot, including Ben Bishop, Frederik Andersen, and Andrei Vasilevskiy. The “Last Man In” will be an intriguing new addition to the All-Star process, with nominees to be named shortly, but more than a few notable names will be left out regardless. Meanwhile, the health of players like Price and Chabot for Team Atlantic and Hall for Team Metropolitan will bear watching, as those players may opt to skip the All-Star festivities, opening up more players to selection.

Alex Ovechkin Will Not Attend 2019 All-Star Game

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Despite having been named one of the four All-Star captains, Alex Ovechkin won’t be taking part in the festivities this year. According to team reporter Mike Vogel, the Washington Capitals forward has informed the NHL that given his team’s mandatory bye week falls right alongside the All-Star break, he’ll take the time to rest for the second half of the season. This would mean Ovechkin would need to miss either the game prior to the break, or face a one-game suspension afterwards for missing the event without a definite injury. The veteran forward explained his decision:

First of all, thanks for all the fans who voted for me. I know it’s a tough decision, obviously. I like to be part of all the events, but right now I think that time of the year and my age we decide to take a one-week break. It’s hard but it’s better for me, I think, at this point.

The league will announce Ovechkin’s replacement as captain of the Metropolitan Division along with the rest of the All-Star lineups tonight. Sidney Crosby, who has been known to miss the event in the past, told Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that he plans on attending and could be a potential fill-in as captain given his division-leading 48 points this season.

While Ovechkin will miss a game for the decision, many Capitals fans will likely understand the decision given the high hopes of the club this year. Washington is on a good pace to once again lead the Metropolitan into the playoffs and compete for the Stanley Cup, with Ovechkin playing some of the best hockey of his career through parts of this season.

NHL Announces All-Star Captains

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The 2019 NHL All-Star captains have been revealed today, and there will be a nice mix of old and new leading the way in the mid-season tournament. Auston Matthews, Alex Ovechkin, Nathan MacKinnon and Connor McDavid will captain their respective divisions after outstanding starts to the year. The players were selected through fan vote.

Matthews is perhaps the most surprising, given that he has missed a good chunk of the season with a shoulder injury. Still, the young Toronto Maple Leafs star has 19 goals and 34 points in 23 games and is an obvious choice as a player to market in the United States. Born in California and raised in Arizona, Matthews is a perfect poster boy for the idea that anyone can learn to play and excel at hockey regardless of their background.

McDavid and MacKinnon were easy choices after starting the year on fire once again, and are arguably the two best young players in the league today. The pair of Canadian centers should compete again in the fastest skater competition, given the incredible speeds they operate at every night. MacKinnon’s linemate Mikko Rantanen may have a bit of a bone to pick with him, given that the talented winger is actually leading the league in scoring.

No one should be surprised by the fact that Ovechkin can still hang around with these young stars, but it is still impressive just how well he has performed this year. In a season that some expected a “Stanley Cup hangover,” the great Washington Capitals forward leads the league in goals with 29 through his first 35 games and may very well win the eighth Maurice Richard trophy of his career. Now 33, there’s no slowing down the Russian sniper who has a whopping 21 goals at even-strength.

Snapshots: Three Stars, Rinne, Dumba

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The NHL released their Three Stars of the Week earlier today, and to absolutely no one’s surprise Alex Ovechkin received the top honors. Ovechkin recorded back-to-back hat tricks last week and seven goals total in his three games, giving him 29 on the season. That puts him on a pace for a career-high, something unthinkable for the 33-year old winger. Ovechkin now has 636 career tallies, and should challenge some of the all-time leaders in the category before he’s finished.

While Ovechkin is racking up his usual accolades, two young centers are trying to carve out their own legacies in the NHL. Mark Scheifele and Jack Eichel were second and third stars respectively, after outstanding weeks. Scheifele especially was a dominant offensive presence, recording 11 points in just four games for the Winnipeg Jets including two overtime winners.

  • Pekka Rinne was expecting retirement after the 2018-19 season. That’s what the goaltender told Alex Prewitt in his latest profile for Sports Illustrated. The Nashville Predators goaltender believed that he would sail off into the sunset after his current seven-year $49MM deal expired at the end of this year, but that all changed when he inked a new two-year extension in November. Rinne is still playing at an incredible level, and going into tonight led the league with a .929 save percentage and 1.96 goals against average. That puts him in prime position to challenge for the Vezina Trophy once again, an award he took home last season after previously finishing as a finalist three times.
  • Mathew Dumba is off to an exceptional start for the Minnesota Wild, with 12 goals and 22 points in just 32 games. The right-handed defenseman also doesn’t shy away from the physical side of the game, as seen this weekend when he took on Matthew Tkachuk of the Calgary Flames in a round of fisticuffs. Unfortunately, Dumba will now be out for at least a week with an upper-body injury. Head coach Bruce Boudreau wouldn’t give much more information on the subject, but did note that it’s not necessarily the worst timing for the team given the holiday break that they’ll enjoy next week.

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