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Alexandre Carrier

Central Notes: Zadorov, Predators, Laine, Tyutyayev

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The flat salary cap is going to make for a nervous time for many restricted free agents with arbitration this summer in the days leading up to the qualifying offer deadline with some notable names likely to be non-tendered to avoid the risk of being awarded too high of a contract.  Blackhawks defenseman Nikita Zadorov is certainly in that group as the 26-year-old is owed a $3.2MM qualifier in his final RFA season.  However, he told reporters today including Scott Powers of The Athletic (Twitter link) that he’s hoping to re-sign and that he doesn’t see the cap situation affecting his contract talks.  Zadorov has logged nearly 19 minutes a game in his first season with Chicago but unless they’re able to agree on a deal before the deadline, it’s hard to see them being willing to take the risk of him being awarded a bigger contract from an arbitrator that they’re comfortable paying.

Elsewhere in the Central Division:

  • The Predators are getting some players back in the lineup to aid in their push to secure the final playoff spot in the Central. Adam Vingan of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that winger Filip Forsberg, center Brad Richardson, and defenseman Alexandre Carrier have all been activated off IR.  Forsberg has missed more than a month and still sits only two points off the team lead, making him a big addition up front.  Meanwhile, Richardson has been above average at the faceoff dot and should give them another option on the penalty kill while Carrier is fourth among Nashville defenders in ATOI at just over 20 minutes a night.
  • The Blue Jackets will be without winger Patrik Laine tonight against Carolina, notes Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (Twitter link). It has been a tough first year in Columbus for the 23-year-old who has just ten goals and eight assists in 41 games, hardly the type of output they were expecting when they acquired him from Winnipeg back in January.
  • Detroit’s farm team in Grand Rapids has announced the signing of winger Kirill Tyutyayev to a one-year, AHL deal for next season. The 20-year-old was a seventh-round pick (190th overall) of the Red Wings back in 2019 and spent this season with Yunost Minsk in Belarus where he picked up 11 goals and 21 assists in 43 regular season games while chipping in with 10 points in 13 playoff contests.  Drafted out of Russia, there is no designated time that Detroit has to sign him by; accordingly, this deal gives them an opportunity to give him a look in North America on a short-term commitment compared to an entry-level deal while reserving the ability to retain his NHL rights if he opts to go back overseas for 2022-23.

Injury Updates: Carlo, Panthers, O’Connor, Predators

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The Bruins will be without defenseman Brandon Carlo for a little while.  The team announced today that Carlo will be re-evaluated on a week-to-week basis due to an upper-body injury sustained on Thursday against Pittsburgh.  It was just his second game back in the lineup after returning from a concussion but this injury isn’t related to that and is instead below the neck.  Carlo is a big part of Boston’s back end, averaging more than 20 minutes per game over his five-year career in a predominantly shutdown role and would likely be at that average this season had it not been for the two games he was injured early.

More injury news from around the league:

  • Florida is getting some good news on the injury front today. Jameson Olive of the Panthers’ team site notes that center Aleksander Barkov and winger Patric Hornqvist are set to return tonight against Columbus.  Barkov had missed the last six games with a lower-body injury while Hornqvist had missed five in a row with an undisclosed injury.  Despite missing those contests, they sit second and fourth respectively in team scoring.
  • Avalanche winger Logan O’Connor was frequently recalled from the taxi squad in recent weeks but that won’t be the case for a while. Peter Baugh of The Athletic relays (Twitter link) that O’Connor will be out for several weeks due to a lower-body injury.  The 24-year-old has five points in 22 games this season.
  • Nashville’s long injury list has been expanded once again as the Predators announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Alexandre Carrier will miss three to five weeks with a lower-body injury. The 24-year-old has logged more than 20 minutes a night over 15 games on an injury-riddled back end after playing in just five career NHL games heading into this season.  The Preds have also transferred Mark Borowiecki (upper body) to injured reserve; he was previously listed as being out week-to-week.  Luca Sbisa and Ryan Ellis are Nashville’s other rearguards that are out of the lineup.

Trade Deadline Primer: Nashville Predators

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Although we’re less than three months into the season, the trade deadline is already just three weeks away.  Where does each team stand and what moves should they be looking to make?  We continue our look around the league with the Nashville Predators.

The Nashville Predators are sellers. In fact, the Predators being ready to gut their roster has been one of the more talked-about storylines of the 2020-21 season. Ask any media personality in hockey and they will say that Nashville is shopping this guy and listening on that guy. It seems that almost anyone on the roster could be available as the Predators have been labeled as disappointments.

Yet, hidden behind the headlines, the outrage level likely isn’t that high internally in Nashville. Quietly, the team is actually playing quite well of late. Since Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman proclaimed last month that there were only three untouchables on the entire Nashville roster, the team has gone 10-7-1 including four wins in a row and wins in six of their past seven. The team is up to .500 on the season and that could be enough to sneak into the postseason in the Central Division’s final spot. In their history, the Predators have never really torn apart their roster and restarted and it seems unlikely that they have the proper motivation to do so now.

With that said, this is still not where the 2017 Western Conference Champions thought they would be at this point in time. The season results have gotten worse each year since their Stanley Cup Final appearance: a second-round exit in 2018, a first-round loss in 2019, and a failure to even advance beyond the qualifying round last year. Now, there is a real possibility that the Predators could miss the playoffs entirely this season. A team loaded with depth and numerous talented veterans, Nashville should be better and it is somewhat inexplicable why they aren’t. As a result, there needs to be a shake-up. However, given the recent improvements, the Predators’ approach to the deadline is likely to be less fire sale and more strategic dealing, especially in a buyer’s market.

Record

17-17-1, .500, T-5th in Central Division

Deadline Status

Seller

Deadline Cap Space

$2.46MM in full-season space ($10.97MM at the trade deadline), 0/3 retention slots used, 45/50 contracts used per CapFriendly

Upcoming Draft Picks

2021: NSH 1st, NSH 2nd, NSH 3rd, NSH 4th, COL 4th, NSH 5th, NSH 6th
2022: NSH 1st, NSH 2nd, NSH 3rd, NSH 4th, NSH 5th, NSH 7th

Trade Chips

It is probably easier to start with the players who aren’t for sale. As Friedman noted back in February, that definitely includes career Predator goaltender Pekka Rinne, who is in the last year of his contract and quite possibly his career and is being honored with the ability to go out on his own terms (and a No-Movement Clause helps). It also included cornerstone defensemen Roman Josi and Ryan Ellis. At the time, this was the extent of Friedman’s list. He even noted that young defender Dante Fabbro or top scorer Filip Forsberg could be available at the right price. Now, that is almost certainly not the case. Friedman has also since flipped on Ellis’ availability, but he should be safe. Nashville also has no reason to trade young impact players, such as off-season acquisition Luke Kunin, recent first-round pick Eeli Tolvanen, collegiate standouts Rem Pitlick and Jeremy Davies, and impressive goaltender Juuse Saros.

Beyond that group, it probably isn’t a stretch to say that GM David Poile will at least listen to offers for anyone else on the roster. Part of that is due to the Predators’ current situation and the slim likelihood that they can contend this season, even if they do sneak into the playoffs in a top-heavy Central Division. This means that they receive no benefit from hanging on to their impending unrestricted free agents. Mikael Granlund is the top trade chip among this group. The skilled forward was a late off-season signing and somewhat of an afterthought heading into the season, but leads all Nashville forwards in time on ice, proving himself to be an invaluable piece. Other teams have taken notice as well, as Granlund’s name has been floated on the rumor mill more than a few times and has been linked to several contenders. Another late off-season addition, Erik Haula will also be for sale. A similarly versatile forward to Granlund, Haula hasn’t made as much of an impact but has previously proven to be an asset in the right system. Among other expiring contracts, veterans Brad Richardson and Luca Sbisa, if healthy by the deadline, could draw some interest at a cheap price point. Despite their recent success, the Predators only reason for not trading any of these potential rentals would be if they had interest in an extension and only Granlund, their most valuable piece, would conceivably fit the bill.

The other reason why Poile is open to moving other players off his roster, those with term on their contracts, is partially due to the impending Expansion Draft. Whether the Predators choose to use the standard 7-3 protection scheme or instead choose the 8-skater scheme in order to protect Mattias Ekholm, they will be exposing key players either way. Ironically, the Predators’ impressive depth on paper is not doing much to help them this season but will hurt them in expansion. Ekholm is at the top of most trade boards as a name likely to move before the deadline. The Seattle Kraken would not hesitate to claim him if he was to be left exposed in the draft and the Predators will not give him up for free when he can command a strong return on the trade market as a balanced, two-way defenseman with an affordable contract and a reliable top-four track record. Yet, even if Ekholm is traded and the Predators can protect three defensemen and seven forwards, they still face liability up front. Nashville simply has too many valuable names at forward, even if many are underachieving. Are they really ready to let expensive, underwhelming former stars like Ryan Johansen or Matt Duchene go for free? Could they really leave career Predators like Calle Jarnkrok or Colton Sissons exposed? And they also need to consider protecting younger names like Pitlick an Yakov Trenin who could be looked upon to take on larger roles moving forward. There are simply too many names in Nashville for a valuable player not to be left exposed, so why not listen to trade offers instead. Moving Johansen or Duchene this season is unlikely due to cap implications, but Jarnkrok, Sissons, Rocco Grimaldi, and Nick Cousins are all for sale at the right price. The difference between last month’s mindset and the current strategy is likely that only one or two of the aforementioned players are likely to go, rather than the whole lot in a fire sale.

The x-factor for Nashville at the deadline is forward Viktor Arvidsson. By no means does the team have to trade the talented winger, who will have a safe spot on their protection list come Expansion Draft time if he is still on the roster. However, Arvidsson has been in decline for two seasons now – an unexpected regression for a 27-year-old. Arvidsson is still relied upon to play a key top-six role for Nashville, but is failing to produce like he did as a back-to-back 61-point player just a few years ago. On one hand, the Predators would be selling low on the skilled forward, who should still have plenty left in the tank. On the other hand, moving Arvidsson if they are happy with an offer could be the reality check that the team desperately needs. If the trade market remains underwhelming though, as many expect, it is more likely that Arvidsson stays put for now. Trading him at his lowest point while the team is finally gaining traction is not the shake up they need.

Others to Watch For: D Mark Borowiecki ($2MM, 2022 UFA), D Matt Benning ($1MM, 2022 UFA), G Kasimir Kaskisuo ($700K, UFA), D Ben Harpur ($700K, RFA), F Michael McCarron ($700K, RFA)

Team Needs

1) Draft Picks – Despite several years in a row of regular season success, the Predators have managed to build themselves a nice pipeline of talent. At every position, they have multiple players who project to be good NHLers. The problem with their current pipeline is that it is getting a little old. Some of their best prospects are already in the pros, bouncing between the NHL and AHL or locked into contracts overseas. Many others are collegiate players on the older side for prospects. Nashville needs some fresh blood and the best way to do that is to add draft picks. Though they have their full complement of draft picks this year (minus a seventh-rounder), draft pick packages will be the way to go as they move on from current roster players.

2) Top-Four Left-Handed Prospect Defenseman – If available, the one area that Nashville could target a specific player rather than load up on draft picks is at left defense. With Ekholm looking like his time in Nashville is winding down and some concern over whether Boston University defenseman David Farrance will sign with the team or instead opt for free agency, there could be a major hole in the top-four at LHD. The Predators have the cap space to find a capable free agent stopgap, but could use a long-term plan. Young pros Fabbro, Alexandre Carrier, and Frederic Allard are all right-handed and Davies looks like a solid NHLer but is already 24 and lacks top-pair upside. In the pipeline, Marc Del Gaizo is an intriguing prospect but more likely a bottom-pair defender. No one else even projects to be an NHLer. The Predators need to reload on the blue line, and can do that through the draft, but if a top young left-handed defense prospect is offered up, they would be wise to consider. To a lesser extent, center is also a position that could become a need sooner rather than later in Nashville as many of the Predators’ top forward prospects are not necessarily projected to play center at the top level. A natural pivot with top-six upside would be a nice addition, but isn’t as pressing as left defense and could be more easily found where the team expects to pick in the first round of the 2021 NHL Draft.

Roman Josi Activated From Injured Reserve

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The Nashville Predators have activated Roman Josi from injured reserve and are expecting him to play tonight against the Detroit Red Wings. It would be Josi’s first game since March 7, just over two weeks ago. The team has also recalled Michael McCarron and Alexandre Carrier from the taxi squad, moving Jeremy Davis back to it in the process.

Josi’s return comes just as more reports emerge about their other defensemen, including Ryan Ellis and Mattias Ekholm. Today on TSN’s Insider Trading, Pierre LeBrun reported that the ask for Ekholm now is a big one, including a first-round pick, an elite prospect, and a third asset. Ekholm of course is not on an expiring contract as his deal won’t finish until after the 2021-22 season.

If the Predators are going to move a big name off of the blue line, Josi’s return could be an important one. Without him, the team wouldn’t have much left to carry the rest of the season, given Ellis isn’t expected back from injury anytime soon. If he can prove he is once again healthy enough to log 25+ minutes a night and drive offense from the back end, perhaps it changes GM David Poile’s mind on whether to move Ekholm in the coming weeks.

The reigning Norris Trophy winner has 16 points in 25 games this season and will try to add to that total tonight against Detroit.

Minor Transactions: 01/16/21

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While there will be plenty of taxi squad activity around the league today, there will be plenty other transactions around the hockey world as well. We’ll keep tabs on those here:

  • The Predators announced that they’ve assigned defenseman Alexandre Carrier to Chicago of the AHL. The 24-year-old played in three games with Nashville last season but spent most of the year with AHL Milwaukee where he had five goals and 32 assists, exactly matching his 2018-19 output but did so in 21 fewer games (55 in 2019-20, 76 the year before).
  • Buffalo has recalled goaltender Ukka-Pekka Luukkonen from his loan to TPS Turku, the Finnish team announced. The 21-year-old is regarded as a potential goalie of the future for the Sabres and he held his own in Finland’s top league, posting a 2.52 GAA with a .908 SV% in 13 games.  He split last season between AHL Rochester and ECHL Cincinnati but should more action in the AHL this year.
  • The Flyers announced (Twitter link) that they have loaned center Tanner Laczynski to Lehigh Valley of the AHL. The 23-year-old is in his first professional season after wrapping up his college career with Ohio State where he had 11 goals and 23 assists in just 36 games last season.
  • Lehigh Valley is also prepared to bring in a trio of minor league veterans on AHL contracts as well. AHL reporter Tony Androck notes that the Phantoms are expected to sign goaltender Zane McIntyre and forwards Ryan Fitzgerald and Tanner MacMaster to one-year deals. McIntyre, who was recently in training camp with the Arizona Coyotes, is a former teammate of Fitzgerald’s with the Providence Bruins. MacMaster is coming off a 30-point campaign with the Toronto Marlies and is looking to prove that he is a dangerous scorer worthy of an NHL look.
  • The AHL’s Colorado Eagles have signed a number of Avalanche prospects to amateur tryout agreements, including goaltender Trent Miner and forwards Jean-Luc Foudy, Sasha Mutala, and Luka Burzan. All four prospects play in either the OHL or WHL and have been out of commission for some time. They’ll at least get a chance to suit up in AHL training camp with the Eagles, if not longer.
  • Winnipeg Jets prospect Daniel Torgersson, a 2020 second-round pick, may have an eye on a extended development period at home in Sweden before making his way across the Atlantic. Torgersson’s current team, the SHL’s Frolunda HC, have announced a two-year extension with the young power forward, keeping him under contract through 2022-23. The NHL and SHL have a transfer agreement in place, but the term of Torgersson’s new deal at least implies he has considered spending a couple more years in Sweden with the Indians.
  • NHL veteran Matt Puempel will also be playing in Sweden this season. The 27-year-old forward, unable to find a new NHL contract, has signed on with the SHL’s Malmo Redhawks for the remainder of the season, the team announced. Puempel is coming off a two-year deal with the Detroit Red Wings, but saw just eight total games of NHL action in that time. Puempel has 87 NHL games and 340 AHL games on his resume.

Nine Players Placed On Waivers

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After 25 players found themselves on waivers on Friday (23 of which cleared), it’s a smaller group of players on the waiver wire today.  James Mirtle of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that the following nine players have been waived:

Edmonton Oilers

F Joseph Gambardella

Nashville Predators

D Alexandre Carrier
D Ben Harpur
G Kasimir Kaskisuo
D Tyler Lewington
F Sean Malone
F Michael McCarron
F Anthony Richard

Toronto Maple Leafs

G Michael Hutchinson

All nine players have some NHL experience, ranging from one game for Malone and Kaskisuo to 127 for Hutchinson.  The latter actually started last season as the backup in Toronto but struggled mightily before being waived and sent to the minors.  He was flipped to Colorado before the trade deadline and as a result of injuries to both Philipp Grubauer and Pavel Francouz, Hutchinson actually was the starter for the Avalanche by the time their postseason run came to an end.  While he did relatively well, he still had to settle for a two-year, two-way deal that was ultimately signed to meet a pending expansion requirement.

Teams will have until 11 AM CT on Sunday to place a claim on any of these players.  If they pass through, they’ll be eligible to be assigned to the minors or to the new taxi squads.

Yannick Weber Signs PTO With Nashville Predators

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When the Nashville Predators released their training camp roster on Saturday, there was a familiar yet surprising name included on the list. Veteran defenseman Yannick Weber, who has donned a Nashville sweater for the past four years, will be back with the team in camp. However, it will not be in a contractual capacity for the season. The free agent defender will compete for a roster spot and thereby an extension while playing on a PTO agreement.

Weber, 32, is another example of a solid veteran player who has been left without options by this off-season’s flat cap market. While Weber is no offensive dynamo, he has built a long NHL career off of being a sound, reliable defensive player who works especially well as a plug-and-play depth option. Although some may not think of Weber as a surefire starter, he has quietly played in over 70% of Nashville’s games over the past four years as a regular in one of the league’s best defense corps. Weber has at least earned the right to prove he can still be an effective player and Nashville knows better than anyone that he is worth a look.

The problem though is that the Predators have all but replaced Weber’s role this off-season. The team re-hauled its bottom pair in free agency with the additions of Mark Borowiecki and Matt Benning, two similar defensive-minded blue liners. The team also has promising prospect Jeremy Davies waiting in the wings and an already-large group of experienced depth options in Jarred Tinordi, Ben Harpur, Tyler Lewington, and Alexandre Carrier. Weber is arguably a better option than many of these players but he is unlikely to unseat Borowiecki and Benning as a starter and would likely battle Tinordi or Davies to be the next man up as well. While the taxi squad offers some expanded opportunities for depth this season and could be an ideal spot for Weber, his PTO does not necessarily imply that a contract is eventually guaranteed.

 

Nashville Predators Extend Alexandre Carrier

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The Nashville Predators have handed out a multi-year contract extension to a player still unproven at the NHL level, signing Alexandre Carrier to a three-year deal. The two-way contract will kick in for the 2020-21 season, and carries an average annual value of $733K. Adam Vingan of The Athletic tweets the full breakdown:

  • 2020-21: $700K NHL/$125K AHL
  • 2021-22: $750K NHL/$175K AHL
  • 2022-23: $750K NHL/$200K AHL

Carrier, 23, was a fourth-round pick of the Predators in 2015 but quickly became one of the more interesting defensive prospects in their system. With seasons of 39, 28, 37 and 37 points, his offensive ability has never been contained at the minor league level, and his continued development in his own end makes him a potential candidate for an NHL job next season.

How he’ll perform at the higher level however is still completely undetermined, given that he has played in only five NHL games thus far in his career. The 6’0″ defenseman was set to become a restricted free agent this summer after his entry-level contract expired, but instead of taking a one-year qualifying offer to see how he might perform next season, Carrier will lock into the security of a three-year deal.

That kind of multi-year commitment is par for the course with Predators GM David Poile, who is always looking for ways to maximize value in young players. Should Carrier prove to be an NHL option he will actually come with a cap hit lower than the league minimum in 2021-22, when it increases to $750K.

Though technically this contract is currently scheduled to leave him an RFA again at its conclusion, if Carrier doesn’t receive a legitimate NHL opportunity over the next three years he would become a UFA instead. Should he fail to play in 77 more NHL games, he would qualify for Group VI UFA status as a 26-year old.

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