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Alexandar Georgiev

Trade Rumors: Georgiev, Sharks, Canadiens

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On Sportsnet’s “Saturday Headlines” segment last night, Elliotte Friedman made it very clear that trade talks are heating up and teams have begun issuing league-wide statements on where they stand ahead of next month’s trade deadline. The top story belongs to the New York Rangers, who have informed their competitors that they are willing to listen to offers for young goaltender Alexandar Georgiev. The team’s stance has changed in just a matter of days since recalling top goalie prospect Igor Shesterkin from the AHL, who proceeded to win his first two starts, including a 46-save performance on Thursday. Shesterkin, though an older prospect at 24, was actually an established superstar in the KHL before coming over this season and looks like the heir apparent to Henrik Lundqvist. Georgiev, still only 23, has performed well in three seasons with the Rangers, but doesn’t project to be the type of player that Shesterkin is, making him expendable. Both Lundqvist and Shesterkin are under contract through next season and the team cannot continuing carrying three goalies that whole time. Additionally, the Rangers have Adam Huska playing well in the AHL in his first pro season, Tyler Wall dominating the NCAA in his senior year at UMass Lowell, and 2018 second-round pick Olof Lindbom waiting in the wings in Sweden. It’s an embarrassment of riches in net for the Rangers’ organization and Georgiev looks like the odd man out.

With that said, New York will not give him away. Friedman reports that the asking price for Georgiev is a young roster forward or a pro-ready forward prospect. The Rangers are looking to add young building blocks up front and feel they can land one young asset by trading away another. Friedman stressed that the Rangers are just listening right now and will wait for a deal to their liking before moving Georgiev. The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta reports that the Toronto Maple Leafs, New Jersey Devils, and San Jose Sharks are the teams rumored to be most interested in Georgiev, but are they willing to pay the asking price?

  • When it comes to the Sharks, the answer may be no. Friedman reports that the Sharks have let it be known that they are not willing to move any core pieces this season. Friedman cites the 2014-15 campaign, when San Jose last missed the playoffs, as management resisted a tear-down in that year as well and ended up going to the Stanley Cup Final the next season. The Sharks have many good pieces in place and believe they can be contenders again in 2020-21, so they will only entertain trade offers for impending free agents this season. Defenseman Brenden Dillon is a name that is very much in the rumor mill, while fellow blue liners Tim Heed and Radim Simek and forward Melker Karlsson will also be for sale. It remains to be seen whether the Sharks would be willing to move future Hall of Famers Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau or backup goalie Aaron Dell. Moving forward, the Sharks will have to address their issues in net, so perhaps the one exception to their rule about only moving rentals this season could be a deal a top prospect for a new goalie, but they could wait until the off-season to make a move.
  • Fans of the Montreal Canadiens don’t want their team to wait any longer to make a trade. The Habs are 2-7-1 in their past ten games and currently in 13th in the Eastern Conference, seven points back of a playoff spot with more games played than all but one of the teams ahead of them in the wild card chase. It seems like all hope is lost for this season, but Friedman reports that the team won’t be making a move any time soon. GM Marc Bergevin is being careful with his next steps, especially when his job could be on the line. He has told potential trade partners that he will wait until after the team’s pre-All-Star break meetings to make a move. Meanwhile, the Canadiens are about to play four games in six nights, during which suitors can see more from potential trade chips, but with those players exposed to the risk of potential injury as well. Montreal will have their “bye week” leading up All-Star weekend, giving Bergevin and company plenty of time to discuss their options, but there is no telling how the trade market could change in the meantime. Eventually, the team will make a decision on their direction in the coming weeks, but there is no expectation as to what that might be. Some have speculated that they could play it safe, opting to deal expiring contracts like grinders Nate Thompson, Dale Weise, and Matthew Peca and recent additions Ilya Kovalchuk and Marco Scandella. Others believe that the team is eyeing a complete rebuild and could move Tomas Tatar, Jonathan Drouin, or Jeff Petry or even ask Carey Price and Shea Weber if they would like to move on. Only time will tell, but that time will come a little bit later than some have hoped.

Metropolitan Notes: Georgiev, Capitals, Leddy

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With Henrik Lundqvist still signed for another year and Igor Shesterkin waiting in the wings while dominating the AHL this season, that has led some to speculate that the Rangers could wind up moving fellow netminder Alexandar Georgiev.  However, as Rick Carpinello of The Athletic points out (subscription required), Georgiev’s trade value may be lower than it seems on the surface.

With a .903 SV% this season, teams aren’t likely going to be looking at him as their starter of the future while those numbers would be a downgrade on quite a few backups around the league as well.  While he’s only 23 and there’s still some upside, that’s going to limit the number of suitors and likely reduce his trade value to the point where it doesn’t make much sense to move him even if it does increase the risk of a goalie logjam in the near future.

More from the Metropolitan:

  • While the Capitals would certainly like to add to their roster, GM Brian MacLellan acknowledged to NBC Sports Washington’s J.J. Regan that it’s going to be hard for them to add anyone, let alone an impact player this season. Washington has been tap dancing around the salary cap all season long and with Carl Hagelin’s looming return from LTIR, they’re about to be in an even tougher situation again where they’ll likely only carry the minimum number of players on the roster.  Unless MacLellan is willing to part with a core player or a core piece is injured for the rest of the season, don’t expect many, if any, changes between now and the end of the year.
  • Nick Leddy’s absence from the Islanders lineup appears to be a short-lived one. Newsday’s Andrew Gross notes (Twitter link) that the defenseman is expected to return to the lineup tonight after missing Wednesday’s game due to a lower-body injury.  He’ll likely take the place of Noah Dobson in the lineup; the junior-aged defender is sitting at just seven games played so far this season which means the first year of his entry-level deal has not been burned yet.

Eastern Notes: Rangers’ Goalies, Barzal, Hedman

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The New York Rangers will soon find themselves with a problem, albeit a good problem. The team has three NHL-level goaltenders now with the emergence of Alexandar Georgiev, who has established himself as a solid NHL goaltender at the very least. Throw in longtime Rangers’ Henrik Lundqvist, who still has one year remaining on his contract, and top prospect Igor Shesterkin, who is looking sharp in the AHL, and the team will have a problem sooner or later, according to The Athletic’s Rick Carpiniello.

The scribe notes that the simple solution of trading the aging Lundqvist to a playoff contender is extremely unlikely as Lundqvist has made it clear he doesn’t want to be traded and his $8.5MM AAV would be difficult to move even if he wanted to go to a contender.

The 23-year-old Georgiev has been exceptional in six starts this season for the Rangers, which includes a current string of three straight starts. He has a 3-2-1 record with a 2.27 GAA and a .933 save percentage, while Lundqvist hasn’t been nearly as impressive with a 2-3 record in six appearances, but a 3.58 GAA and a .906 save percentage. Throw in the impressive start by Shesterkin, who the team finally brought over from the KHL this summer, as the 23-year-old is 5-2 in seven appearances with the Hartford Wolf Pack, with a 1.83 GAA and a .932 save percentage and the team could be forced to make some important decisions at some point.

You can’t have three NHL goaltenders, however, so a trade of one of the young kids could be a potential option down the road.

  • Despite considering himself to be a pass-first player, New York Islanders center Mathew Barzal has been encouraged to score more goals. Head coach Barry Trotz has made it clear to the 22-year-old that he must focus more on scoring this year. The center did just that, making changes to his stick this summer to give him a better scoring opportunity, according to Newsday’s Andrew Gross. “I just made it a little whippier and changed my curve a little bit, put a little more hook on it,” Barzal said. “Not too drastic, just a little nick on it. It gives me a little toe to suck it in and shoot it a little better.”
  • NHL.com’s Shawn P. Roarke writes that Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman is hopeful that he will play Friday in the first game of the 2019 Global Series against Buffalo in Stockholm, Sweden. Hedman suffered a lower-body injury last Tuesday and was placed on injured reserve. A celebrity in Sweden, Hedman would obviously like to play. However, he’ll have to prove that he’s healthy, according to head coach Jon Cooper. “I think we are all hopeful, but he is going to have to get on the ice pretty soon if we are going to see him,” Cooper said Sunday.

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