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Anthony Beauvillier

Metropolitan Notes: Johnson, Rust, Beauvillier

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The Blue Jackets have held extension talks with pending UFA blueliner Jack Johnson, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported during an interview with 630 CHED in Edmonton (audio link).  He was quick to add that his sense is that the two sides aren’t particularly close to a deal but that there is interest in keeping the 30-year-old in the fold.  Johnson is making $5MM in salary this season with a cap hit slightly over $4.35MM and with his production tapering off a bit in recent years, a new contract for him should come in somewhat close to his current deal.  It’s known that Columbus is looking to add another impact forward and perhaps locking up Johnson may give them the freedom to deal another defender for that desired help up front at some point.

More from the Metropolitan Division:

  • Penguins winger Bryan Rust is setting himself up for a nice payday in the offseason. In a reader chat, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette speculates that the 25-year-old who currently has eight points in as many games this season could find himself in line for a contract similar to the one Conor Sheary received (three years, $9MM) if not more, depending on how long he can hold this level of production.  The Penguins have just shy of $61MM committed to 14 players for next season and will likely want to try to bring back pending UFA Patric Hornqvist as well so even though the team has a decent amount of wiggle room this year, that’s not likely to be the case in 2018-19.
  • Although Islanders winger Anthony Beauvillier has been a healthy scratch for three straight games and has waiver exemption, the team isn’t planning on sending him down to AHL Bridgeport at this time, head coach Doug Weight told Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post. The 20-year-old had a good rookie season after surprising many by making the team out of training camp but has just one goal in four games in the early going this year.  He’s expected to get another chance in the lineup today against San Jose.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: New York Islanders

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Navigating the Salary Cap is probably one of the more important tasks for any general manager to have. Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2017-18 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

New York Islanders

Current Cap Hit: $72,015,833 (under the $75MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Anthony Beauvillier (Two years remaining, $894K)
D Ryan Pulock (One year remaining, $863K)
F Joshua Ho-Sang (Two years remaining, $863K)
F Mathew Barzal (Three years remaining, $863K)

Potential Bonuses

Pulock: $500K
Barzal: $400K
Beauvullier: $213K
Ho-Sang: $213K

The team had to be pleased with the first-year production from Beauvillier after he put up nine goals and 15 assists in 66 games. Granted, it could have been better, but for the former 2015 first-round pick who wasn’t even expected to make the team out of training camp last year, this was a solid start. He didn’t get off to much of a start early in the season, but by the end of the year, he put together a solid string of games along with linemates Ho-Sang and Lee. He will likely find himself on the team’s third line along with Ho-Sang to start the year.

Pulock, the team’s first-round pick in 2013, was one of the main reasons behind the offseason trade of Travis Hamonic. The talented defenseman was traded away for a first and two second-round picks with the idea of implementing Pulock into the team’s plans. Rumors are they intend to put Pulock onto the team’s power play and showcase his hard slapshot. He only played one game for New York last year and broke his foot after playing just 3:57 of ice time, but he showed off his skill with the AHL’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers, putting up 15 goals and 46 points in just 55 games.

Ho-Sang, the team’s first-round pick in 2014, only played 21 games last year for the Islanders, putting up four goals and six assists in that span. A full 82-game season should be able to demonstrate his long-term value to the franchise. Barzal still must make the team out of training camp, but is considered to be one of the top prospects in the game and should have every opportunity to win one of the center jobs, which is not a position of depth on the team. Barzal did see two games for the Islanders last year, but played most of the year for his junior team.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

F John Tavares ($5.5MM, UFA)
G Jaroslav Halak ($4.5MM, UFA)
F Nikolai Kulemin ($4.19MM, UFA)
F Josh Bailey ($3.3MM, UFA)
D Calvin de Haan ($3.3MM, UFA)
F Brock Nelson ($2.5MM, RFA)
F Jason Chimera ($2.25MM, UFA)
D Thomas Hickey ($2.2MM, UFA)
D Dennis Seidenberg ($1.25MM, UFA)
F Shane Prince ($850K, RFA)
F Stephen Gionta ($650K, UFA)
D Scott Mayfield ($625K, RFA)
F Alan Quine ($613K, RFA)

Obviously, the team’s future seems to hinge on where Tavares’ contract situation ends up. The team has high hopes they can re-sign their star forward, who has scored 235 goals for the franchise over eight season and is just about to turn 27 years old. The team that has watched several of their top players walk away in past years need to lock him up or, at the very least, trade him off for some talent in return. Losing Tavares would likely set the team back significantly and could play a role on whether some of the other pending free agents will come back next year.

The team will be forced to decide what they want to do with some of their regulars, including Bailey, de Haan and Hickey. Bailey, a first-round pick from 2008, has been around for nine years and while he consistently averages between 10 and 15 goals, he hit a personal high in assists last season, picking up 43 to put together a big season while playing with Tavares on the first line. With the addition of Eberle who is expected to play with Tavares, the team will likely demote Bailey to the second or even possibly the third line, which could suggest the team may not mind if he moves on in one year.

De Haan has proven to be a solid top-four presence on the blueline, but after signing a one-year deal this offseason, setting up unrestricted free agency next year, the team may decide to move on from him at some point, while Hickey hasn’t worked his way into the team’s top four. So it may be that many of the pending free agents will be allowed to leave to free up cap space, including Kulemin, Chimera and Seidenberg, along with some of the others above. That could free up a lot of cap room.

The team also will likely allow Halak to walk unless the veteran goaltender can produce a bounce-back season. After a couple of respectable seasons for New York, the 32-year-old’s production took a hit as he posted a 2.80 GAA in 27 games and then was demoted to finish the season in the AHL. He is back, but no one is quite sure what to expect for the veteran.

Perhaps the most important free agent (besides Tavares) will end up being from restricted free agent Brock Nelson, who should be asking for a big raise after three 20-goal seasons. Their 2010 first-round pick had 20 goals and 25 assists for the team last year, a career-high.

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Predators’ Draft Plummet

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If the Nashville Predators are ever to win a Stanley Cup, this seems the most likely year. Their window is far from closing, to be sure. But for a team that doesn’t often spend to the cap, their long-term finances may become complicated. They have a multitude of players performing well above their contract levels, are benefiting from Entry-Level Contracts (Viktor Arvidsson and Kevin Fiala), and the bulk of their team is in their late twenties. Nashville isn’t the most dynamic offensive force, but have gotten enough scoring  this outing to support the absurdly good top-four defense and brilliant goaltending from Pekka Rinne (.951 SV%).

That said, if they fail to win the glorious prize at the end of four series, will their draft plummet be seen as worth the hassle? They finished with the West’s lowest seeding in Wild Card 2, and the worst overall record in the playoffs at 94 points, edging out the Calgary Flames and Toronto Maple Leafs. Their draft plummet is quite the precarious one, similar to the 8th seeded 2011-12 Los Angeles Kings in the entry draft. Of course, that team went 16-4 in the postsesason to win the Stanley Cup, and certainly didn’t mind sacrificing a higher first-round pick to win their franchise’s first title.

But what if they hadn’t won? By advancing to the post-season’s final four, Los Angeles automatically shifted from drafting 16th to 30th. If the Predators were to lose in the Conference Finals, it would mean a drop from 17th to 28th. A Finals loss would mean 30th. Obviously, fans aren’t concerned with these sorts of trivialities when rooting on their team to glory, nor necessarily should they be. However, for management, this is quite the potential concern. Finding failure late in the playoffs and then also suffering the sting of a draft position dive is tough to stomach. After all, deals can sometimes hinge on whether a first or second round pick is early, mid, or late round.

For reference, let us look at the last 10 years draft history with regard to the 17th and 28th selections to see the potential disparity:

2016: 17th D Dante Fabbro (NSH), 28th F Lucas Johannson (WSH)

2015: 17th F Kyle Connor (WPG), 28th F Anthony Beauvillier (NYI)

2014: 17th D Travis Sanheim (PHI), 28th Josh Ho-Sang (NYI)

2013: 17th F Curtis Lazar (OTT), 28th F Morgan Klimchuck (CGY)

2012: 17th F Tomas Hertl (SJ), 28th D Brady Skjei (NYR)

2011: 17th F Nathan Beaulieu (MTL), 28th F Zach Phillips (MIN)

2010: 17th F Joey Hison (COL), 28th F Charlie Coyle (MIN)

2009: 17th D David Rundblad (STL), 28th F Dylan Olsen (TBL)

2008: 17th D Jake Gardiner (ANA), 28th F Viktor Tikhonov (PHX)

2007: 17th F Alexei Cherepanov (NYR), 28th Nick Petrecki (SJ)

The jury is still completely out on last year’s draft class, but as you can see, the two prior years have worked out quite well for the New York Islanders at the 28th spot. Beauvillier and Ho-Sang have both developed into studs quite quickly, while Connor and Sanheim still have a lot to prove. As we look at the last decade of entry drafts, there seems to be no real discernible advantage in terms of NHL projection. So although 11 spots seems like an awful long way to drop, Nashville (and any other future conference finalists) can rest easy that their relative success will still hinge upon being able to scout and develop talent properly.

Ryan Strome Out Indefinitely With Broken Wrist

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According to Arthur Staple of Newsday, the Islanders have received some bad news after their game last night. Ryan Strome has suffered a broken wrist and will be out for the rest of the season, if not the whole playoffs. Head coach Doug Weight had said last night that he would be out “this weekend and probably longer.” "<strong

Strome injured the wrist on a hit from Brady Skjei in the second period, on a play that didn’t look all that dangerous. The much maligned forward had been playing better of late, though was still in the midst of another disappointing season. His 13 goals and 30 points will be the season totals, still not realizing the full potential he showed in his sophomore season. That year, he had 50 points while playing as one of the Islanders’ best defensive forwards but has taken a step back in his development.

The Islanders would have to go on quite a deep playoff run to see him back in uniform this year, which seems like a long-shot given their current situation. Sitting two points back of the Boston Bruins for the final spot, the second wildcard team will have to go through whoever comes out on top of the Metropolitan Division in the first round before playing the winner of the other two. It’s a tough route for any team, let alone one losing a young forward like Strome.

In his place, Staple assumes that Shane Prince or Alan Quine will be inserted. While both are established enough to not miss a beat, it would be interesting to see the Islanders reach down to the minors and recall Michael Dal Colle from Bridgeport at some point. The former fifth-overall pick has yet to make his NHL debut, but has had a successful (if unspectacular) rookie season in professional hockey with 35 points in 63 games. He would definitely give the lineup another shot of youth alongside Josh Ho-Sang and Anthony Beauvillier, something they might thrive off of this late in the year.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Injury Updates: Kulikov, Quick, Kruger, Wilson, Islanders

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The Sabres are set to welcome back defenseman Dmitry Kulikov to the lineup tonight from a back injury, notes John Vogl of The Buffalo News.  He has been out of the lineup since late December after the symptoms from his preseason back ailment resurfaced.

Buffalo traded for Kulikov back at the draft in the hopes that he would help stabilize their defense corps but he has only seen action in 20 games this season, recording just one assist with a -10 rating.  With the Sabres also missing Josh Gorges (hip) and Jake McCabe (shoulder) on the back end, he’ll be a welcome addition to their lineup.

As a pending unrestricted free agent, a strong next month could go a long way towards restoring his potential value on the market, not to mention giving the Sabres a quality trade asset if they’re out of the playoff picture by then.

More injury notes from around the NHL:

  • Los Angeles goalie Jonathan Quick’s return date has been pushed back again, reports Jon Rosen of LA Kings Insider. While the team was hoping he’d be able to return by mid-February, GM Dean Lombardi told reporters that the earliest that he could get back into the lineup is early March.  Quick has yet to start skating since injuring his groin in the opening period of the season.
  • The Blackhawks announced that they have activated center Marcus Kruger off injured reserve. He suffered a hand injury in late December and has missed the last ten games as a result.  The 26 year old has two goals and eight assists in 39 games this year while averaging just over 14 minutes of ice time per game.
  • Nashville has activated left winger Colin Wilson off IR, Adam Vingan of The Tennessean notes via Twitter. He has missed the last eight games due to a lower body injury.  Wilson, who has six goals and 11 helpers in 38 contests this season, is expected to play tonight alongside Mike Fisher and Craig Smith, adds Thomas Willis of the Preds’ team website (Twitter link).
  • Islanders left winger Andrew Ladd is set to return to the lineup tonight after missing the last four games with an upper body, notes Cory Wright of the Islanders’ team site. The veteran has struggled mightily in his first season in New York with just 12 points in 41 games, nowhere near the production the team was expecting when they gave him a seven year, $38.5MM contract this offseason.  He’ll take the place of rookie Anthony Beauvillier who is dealing with a lower body issue after blocking a shot over the weekend.

Islanders Notes: Beauvillier, Rentals, Duchene

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While many are familiar with the nine game rule for junior-aged NHL players, there is a second threshold that some teams believe is even more critical, the 40 game mark.  If a junior-aged player is on an active NHL roster for 40 games, they accrue one season towards unrestricted free agency.  The key here is that games played does not matter here – if they’re on the roster, even as a healthy scratch, it still counts.

The New York Islanders find themselves in this situation with rookie winger Anthony Beauvillier.  He has played just 26 games this year (being scratched the other 13) but their next game against the Panthers will mark number 40, thus giving him an accrued season of service time towards becoming an unrestricted free agent.  (Basically, instead of being UFA-eligible at age 27, Beauvillier will be eligible at age 26.)

Considering the situation the Islanders find themselves in when it comes to the standings (dead last out of 16 teams in the Eastern Conference) and some of the struggles from their veteran players, Brian Erni of Islanders Point Blank argues that they have completely misused Beauvillier.  In a season that looks like it is going to be a losing one, he suggests that the rookie should be seeing a lot more ice time and in the lineup on a regular basis.

The situation draws some parallels to Nino Niederreiter back in 2011-12.  He too was a junior aged player who struggled to find consistent playing time while struggling veteran players were in the lineup on a regular basis.  Eventually the Swiss winger went public with his frustration and wound up being dealt to the Wild that offseason as part of the Cal Clutterbuck trade.

There’s no indication that Beauvillier, who has four goals and five assists this season, is headed down the same path as Niederreiter but his lack of recent usage has been a bit surprising and frustrating for many.  With their second half of the season fast approaching, it certainly will be interesting to see if he gets a longer leash to work with.

Other Islander notes:

  • With the Islanders likely to sell at the deadline, Newsday’s Arthur Staple takes a look at some of the potential rental players in a reader mailbag. He mentions that while goaltender Thomas Greiss may be the most attractive option to other teams, he believes that New York would like to keep him around beyond this season which could take him off the market.  He adds that Dennis Seidenberg would be another candidate to move but that they wouldn’t likely get much in return.
  • Still from Staple, he suggests that of the two Colorado forwards believed to be on the market (center Matt Duchene and winger Gabriel Landeskog), the team has more interest in Duchene despite having a greater positional need on the wing. However, he’s quick to add that the price (which would likely include their first round pick – which is shaping up to be an early one – plus a one or two top youngsters) remains far too high for GM Garth Snow to consider.

Islanders Notes: Defensive Struggles, Beauvillier, Goaltending

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The New York Islanders find themselves near the top of the league in shots allowed at 32.6 per game; only Arizona (35.5) allows more.  As Newsday’s Arthur Staple notes in a reader mailbag, their struggles in that area appear to stem from a systems change designed to compensate for some struggles in their transition game.

The Isles are coached to allow a bit more possession in their back end but strive to allow more shots from the outside as a trade-off.  Unfortunately, they’ve struggled when it comes to retrieving the puck and as a result, they’ve taken a beating in the overall possession game which is one of the reasons for their slow start to the season.

One defense pairing in particular who hasn’t thrived under the changes is their expected top duo of Nick Leddy and Travis Hamonic.  Both players have struggled considerably in their own end but Staple points out that the coaches are pleased with the other pairs which is why they haven’t been split up yet; they worry about doing more harm than good if they change things up.

Given that the Metropolitan Division has quickly become the hottest in hockey and that they find themselves at the bottom, they may soon have to take the risk of changing things up on the back end in the hopes that doing so can take some of the pressure off their goaltending.

More news from the Islanders:

  • While some have speculated that rookie forward Anthony Beauvillier could potentially be loaned for the upcoming World Juniors, that won’t be the case, reports TSN’s Bob McKenzie (Twitter links). The 19 year old has seven points in 20 games this season but has been a healthy scratch more often as of late, suiting up just twice this month.  Beauvillier is expected to sit tonight against Chicago, adds Brian Erni of IslandersPointBlank.
  • The goaltending situation continues to be a strange one, as Erni along with Andy Graziano debate in a separate column. Jaroslav Halak has a below average goals against average and save percentage while Thomas Greiss is much better in both categories.  However, Halak has seen the bulk of the action so far.  Part of that is likely due to the fact he has been on the trade block for a while now but with the team quickly falling out of the playoff hunt, it would be understandable if they opted to go with the hotter hand.  Further complicating things is Jean-Francois Berube, the third string netminder who has played all of six minutes this year.  Graziano notes that if he doesn’t reach 30 appearances this year (highly unlikely at this point), Berube becomes eligible for unrestricted free agency so if they want to keep his RFA rights, they need to play him a lot more as well.

Islanders’ Notes: Halak, Lineups, Injuries

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As the New York Islanders try to right the ship and get their season back on track, they welcome the defending Stanley Cup Champions tonight. The struggling Islanders sit dead last in the Eastern Conference and have been unable to find an answer to their offensive woes.

Tonight, the team will start Jaroslav Halak for his seventh straight game after starting the year with a three-goalie rotation. Halak has done his best with what’s in front of him this year, as even with a .904 save percentage he’s still carrying a 3.09 GAA. Surely he’d like to improve both numbers, but it’ll be tough against Sidney Crosby and Co.

  • The team will look to shake things up tonight, as Shane Prince will get back into the lineup, putting them back to 12 forwards (they’d been playing with 7 defensemen recently). Scott Mayfield will return to the press box after playing just under seven minutes in their last game. Anthony Beauvillier will move back to the middle, while Ryan Strome moves up to the first line on John Tavares’ wing. The team will also reunite the fourth line of Casey Cizikas, Nikolay Kulemin and Cal Clutterbuck, after a failed attempt of Clutterbuck on the top line.
  • Dennis Seidenberg, one of the Islanders’ effective blueliners is skating with the team, but can still barely eat through his broken jaw. He’s still a while off from getting back into game action according to head coach Jack Capuano, who doesn’t expect it “to be any time soon”. The other injured Islander, Ryan Pulock, is getting closer, but isn’t expected to play on the upcoming west coast road trip, when the Islanders will face the Anaheim Ducks, San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings in four nights.

New York Islanders Looking For An Offensive Boost

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Maybe Cal Clutterbuck isn’t a good enough winger for John Tavares — who knew?  In a piece for Newsday, Arthur Staple reports that the New York Islanders are looking for an upgrade on offense, and have been scouring the league for possible options. Staple mentions the Colorado Avalanche as a possible trade partner, as their struggles mirror those found in New York. While Matt Duchene’s name is bandied about, the possibility of that kind of a blockbuster still seems far-fetched.

The Islanders sit last in the Metropolitan Division and have scored just 2.5 goals per game, a big drop from the 2.83 they scored last season. While that drop-off could have been partially expected after the departures of Kyle Okposo and Frans Nielsen to free agency, big ticket signing Andrew Ladd has been a disaster for the Isles, relegated to the fourth line at times. His three points in 16 games lends credence to the idea that he was always more of a secondary-scoring type playing in excellent situations.

While no one is questioning Ladd’s work ethic or leadership qualities, it’s quite telling that Clutterbuck and Josh Bailey have been skating with Tavares over him. It’s not clear where the next wave of offense is expected to come from though, as youngsters Ryan Strome and Anthony Beauvillier have each scored just five points through the first part of the season. In Staple’s article, he mentions Josh Ho-Sang and Michael Dal Colle as potential additions; both are skating with Bridgeport of the AHL at the moment and finding varying degrees of success. Ho-Sang though has apparently caught whatever Ladd has, and has seen his playing time reduced and was even a healthy scratch on Friday night.

If Garth Snow, who is in Toronto at the annual GM meetings, decides to look elsewhere he’ll need to be careful not to mortgage the team’s future in pursuit of something that may not be able to be found.  A single player, while clearly helpful, may not be able to turn around what has been a disaster of a season so far. If one were to listen to Islanders’ fans, it’s a problem with the head coach Jack Capuano and not the players. Staple reiterates what many others have said however, that Capuano is in no danger of losing his job – for now.

Duchene, while an interesting option, would surely cost a huge haul coming off his first 30 goal season in the NHL. The speedy forward is only 25 still despite having over 500 games of experience and is under contract for two seasons after this at a $6MM AAV. After signing Ladd to a seven year, $38.5MM deal this summer the Islanders are right up against the cap and although they do have some flexibility with LTIR they would likely need to move out some money to bring in an impact forward.

To add a little bit of insult to injury, P.A. Parenteau, the winger New York waived prior to the season is off to a hot start in New Jersey. His five goals would tie him for the lead on the Islanders with Tavares and costs just $1.25MM.

Islanders Return Mathew Barzal to WHL

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The New York Islanders have sent top prospect Mathew Barzal back to the Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL, according to Arthur Staples.

Barzal made the team out of training camp, but only appeared in two of the Islanders’ 13 games, going pointless with 6 PIM and a -2 rating. Meanwhile, fellow rookie Anthony Beauvillier has 5 points in 10 games and appears to be sticking with the Islanders for the rest of the season

The Thunderbirds will be very happy to get their top center Barzal back; they’re in last place of the WHL’s Western Conference with a 7-7-1 record. Barzal has 199 points in 161 WHL games, and should be a catalyst for their offence. No player on the Thunderbirds is currently at or over a point-per-game.

Barzal was the 16th overall pick of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. The Islanders acquired that pick (originally Pittsburgh’s) and a high second rounder from the Edmonton Oilers for Griffin Reinhart. They traded the second round pick alongside their own third round pick to move up to take Beauvillier. Meanwhile Reinhart has yet to crack the Oilers defence, and is in danger of not becoming even an everyday NHL defenseman.

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