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East Notes: Trade Bait, Red Wings, Bruins

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Trade season is starting to heat up, and Frank Seravalli of TSN has put together his latest Trade Bait board for all those who want to know who might be on the market. The top name on the list is Chris Kreider of the New York Rangers, but he’s not the only Eastern Conference player that might be on the move.

In fact, eight of the first ten assets on Servalli’s board are from the east, with only the Los Angeles Kings taking a couple of spots away. The Rangers, Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, Philadelphia Flyers, New Jersey Devils, Detroit Red Wings and Carolina Hurricanes all have pieces near the top.

  • Speaking of the Red Wings, with the playoffs already out of the question, it is hard to get excited about their games on a daily basis. That apathy is only amplified when top players are out of the lineup, as will be the case for the next several weeks. Anthony Mantha is “still a ways away, a month maybe” according to head coach Jeff Blashill, who also told reporters today that Mike Green will also be out “a couple weeks” with an upper-body injury.
  • With only a handful of games left before the All-Star break, the AHL transaction page hasn’t been as busy as usual this week. The Boston Bruins did make a move today however, recalling Jeremy Lauzon and assigning Steven Kampfer to the minor leagues. Lauzon will skate on a pair with Matt Grzelcyk, playing in an NHL game for just the second time this season.

Injury Notes: Kupari, Mantha, Blackhawks

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Los Angeles Kings fans hoping to get a glimpse of the future at the World Juniors won’t get to see one of their top prospects play for Finland anymore. Rasmus Kupari has left the team after suffering an injury in the opener. John Hoven reports that Kupari suffered a serious knee injury and will likely be out “months.”

Not only is that terrible news for the Finnish team who are already missing Anton Lundell, but Kupari’s absence will adversely affect the Ontario Reign as well. In his first season in North America, Kupari has six goals and eight points in 27 games for the Reign. The 19-year old forward was selected 20th overall in 2018.

  • Anthony Mantha will be out for at least four weeks with his upper-body injury, which has to do with his ribs, not his head. The Detroit Red Wings forward was injured when he got into an altercation with Jake Muzzin against the Toronto Maple Leafs, and now will have to wait at least a month to continue his strong season.
  • If you were wondering whether Brent Seabrook would ever really make it back to the Chicago Blackhawks blueline after being ruled out for the rest of this year, Jeremy Colliton has your answer. The head coach told reporters today including Scott Powers of The Athletic that he expects both Calvin de Haan and Seabrook to be ready for training camp in 2020. The Blackhawks icon is having several surgeries and will have a long road back to the NHL.

Five Key Stories: 12/16/19 – 12/22/19

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The days leading up to the NHL’s Holiday Roster Freeze are always full of potential for big moves by teams looking to make a change before a stretch of mandatory inactivity. This year did not disappoint, as the biggest target on the rental market was dealt, highlighting a busy week. Here are the five biggest stories of the past week:

Taylor Hall Traded To Arizona: The week started with a bang, as the Taylor Hall saga came to an end with a trade to Arizona. The Coyotes sent a 2020 first-round pick, a conditional 2021 third-round pick, and prospects Nate Schnarr, Nick Merkley and Kevin Bahl to the Devils. New Jersey retained half of Hall’s $6MM cap as well. Hall was the top name in the rental market this season, but many were left underwhelmed by the trade return. The asking price may have been affected by Hall’s reluctance to negotiate an extension in-season, which he has maintained since arriving in the desert. Nevertheless, the Coyotes’ acquisition could make them the favorite to win the Pacific Division this year as they pursue the franchise’s first Stanley Cup.

Ilya Kovalchuk Leaves Kings: Veteran Ilya Kovalchuk is on the move as well, but his destination is yet to be determined. He and the Los Angeles Kings came to a mutual agreement on a contract termination on Monday, with Kovalchuk clearing unconditional waivers on Tuesday. The former superstar never fit with the Kings after returning from the KHL and could be tempted to return to Russia after this failure. However, he is reportedly willing to sign a minimum deal to remain in the NHL as he too is pursuing his first Stanley Cup, without much time left in his lengthy career.

Eric Comrie, Stefan Noesen Claimed: Three players entered the waiver wire on Wednesday and two emerged on new teams. Both goaltender Eric Comrie and forward Stefan Noesen were claimed on waivers. For Comrie, he returns to the Winnipeg Jets, the team with which he began the season, after making stops with the Arizona Coyotes and Detroit Red Wings. Meanwhile, Noesen only signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins a few weeks ago, but is already on the move to the San Jose Sharks. Austin Czarnik, the most accomplished player waived on Wednesday, but also the most expensive, was not claimed and remains with the Calgary Flames.

The Injury Bug Bites: Injuries are not exactly an uncommon occurrence in the NHL, but this week in particular took a heavy toll across the league. Just how bad was it? Here is the list of players who were announced this week as being out long-term: Josh Anderson, Danny DeKeyser, Troy Terry, Derek Grant, Andrew Peeke, Ryan Murray, Darcy Kuemper, Jason Zucker, Josh Leivo, Brandon Saad, Cal Clutterbuck, Anthony Mantha, and Oliver Bjorkstrand. 

Chris Snow Diagnosed With ALS: Calgary Flames Assistant General Manager Chris Snow has been diagnosed with ALS, as disclosed by his wife in a public letter. As Snow begins this difficult battle, we here at PHR wish he and his family the best this holiday season.

 

Red Wings Activate Jimmy Howard, Return Anthony Mantha To IR

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The Detroit Red Wings swapped a couple of key players from their roster as the team announced they have activated goaltender Jimmy Howard off of long-term injured reserve and opened up a roster spot by placing forward Anthony Mantha on injured reserve, just eight days after activating him.

Howard, who hasn’t played since injuring his groin back on Nov. 27, was sent on a conditioning loan Tuesday to the Grand Rapids Griffins and fared well in two AHL games, finishing with a 2.42 GAA and a .917 save percentage. He is expected to start against Arizona today. Unfortunately, the 35-year-old Howard hasn’t performed well in 14 games this season. He has a 3.94 GAA and a .887 save percentage, well below acceptable numbers for the veteran. Hopefully, the long rest and newly found health will help him find his game.

As for Mantha, the winger had just returned after sitting out for three weeks with a lower-body injury, but the winger returns to injured reserve after getting body slammed by Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Jake Muzzin. Mantha suffered an upper-body injury and was questionable. By sitting him out Sunday and a three-day holiday break, the loss of games for Mantha could be minimal. The 25-year-old has played well in 29 games, scoring 12 goals and 24 points.

What Your Team Is Thankful For: Detroit Red Wings

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As the holiday season approaches, PHR will take a look at what teams are thankful for as the season heads past the one-quarter mark. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Detroit Red Wings.

What are the Red Wings most thankful for?

Very little has gone right for Detroit this season as the team finds itself dead last in the league, four points out of 30th place and nine points out of 29th place, suggesting the team is likely to land another significant lottery in June. And while none of that is worthy of being thankful for, Detroit’s general manager Steve Yzerman, is eager to complete the team’s rebuild and likely has no qualms about seeing this franchise at the bottom in hopes of completely rebuilding the franchise up. It has plenty of complementary pieces and several players who could be stars, but a picking up a franchise player in a stacked draft might be the most valuable piece to this franchise.

Who are the Red Wings most thankful for?

Anthony Mantha.

Mantha missed eight games with a knee injury, returning today, but continues to be the team’s leading scorer with 12 goals and 23 points this season, which puts him on pace for almost a goal per game. After posting 48 points for the past two seasons, Mantha looks ready for a potential breakout season if he can remain healthy. He is third on the team among forwards in TOI, averaging 18:54 and looks to have taken his game to another level this year.

Considering that Dylan Larkin has seen a slight decline in his play so far, the team should be thankful that Mantha continues to improve season after season.

What would the Red Wings be even more thankful for?

Defense.

Detroit has struggled defensively this season with injuries as the team has been without several of their veteran blueliners for chunks of the season already. Other than Filip Hronek, the defense has looked to be in serious trouble. Danny DeKeyser has missed all but eight games so far this season. Trevor Daley has missed 20 games, Mike Green has missed eight games and isn’t the same player he once was, while Jonathan Ericsson has been waived and used just eight times this season. Even Dennis Cholowski has failed to live up to expectations this year and has been sent to the AHL as well.

The team needs the defense to get healthy and more importantly, they need some of their young blueliners to take that next step and provide some defense to give the team a chance.

What should be on the Red Wings’ Holiday Wish List?

Goaltending.

The teams goaltending has hit some hard times. The star of the team is Jonathan Bernier, who is boasting a 3.34 GAA and a .890 save percentage in 20 appearances. And yes, that’s the best of the bunch. 35-year-old Jimmy Howard, who is currently out with a strained groin, is struggling even worse with a 3.94 GAA and a .887 save percentage in just eight appearances. The team did add Eric Comrie to the team in a trade with Arizona. However, so far there hasn’t been any indication that he’s the answer in two appearances, although it’s still early.

Unfortunately, the team may not find the answer during the holidays. They may be more likely to fix that problem by making a big splash in the free agent market this summer when some interesting names might be available, including Washington’s Braden Holtby, Jacob Markstrom, Robin Lehner amongst others.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Minor Transactions: 12/14/19

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Even with just two games being played on Friday night, the hockey world was still in a mad scramble with the news that New Jersey Devils forward Taylor Hall had been a late scratch for their game against the Colorado Avalanche. As Hall watch continues today, 28 teams, including the Devils, take the ice. Each of those teams, plus the three with a day off, wouldn’t mind adding the former MVP, but will have to balance their pursuit with day-to-day roster maintenance as well. You can keep up with those smaller moves here, as you wait for the big deal to potentially drop:

  • The Ottawa Senators have announced that they have recalled defenseman Andreas Englund from AHL Belleville. Englund, 23, is one of a number of Senators defensemen who have dealt with injury issues this season, limiting him to just 11 AHL games thus far. Englund would be making his NHL debut this season if he draws into the Ottawa lineup tonight, but the 2014 second-rounder has skated in at least one NHL game in each of his first three seasons in North America. With that said, the big blue liner has played in just nine games total with Ottawa hopes to find a more regular role with the club this season.
  • After a stellar NHL debut, allowing five goals on 72 shots in starts against the Avalanche and Senators, Cayden Primeau has been returned to the AHL by the Montreal Canadiens. Following tonight’s game, the Canadiens will have a two-day break and then embark on a four-game road trip through Western Canada that does not feature any back-to-back games, before finally hitting the holiday break. It is not a schedule that is likely to yield much opportunity for Carey Price’s backup, so the Habs have made the best move for Primeau’s development by sending him back the Laval Rocket, where he can get some playing time. Charlie Lindgren has been recalled in his place, marking his first return to the NHL this season. Once thought to be the long-term backup solution in Montreal, Lindgren has made just one appearance for the team since March 2018 and has failed to impress in the AHL during that span.
  • The Minnesota Wild sent Gerald Mayhew to AHL Iowa yesterday, as Eric Staal made his return to the lineup, but have quickly recalled the young forward this morning. This could mean that the Wild have lingering injury concerns with Staal or another forward, although no such indication has been made. Mayhew has been a near point-per-game scorer in the AHL this year and has added two goals in six games with Minnesota. The 26-year-old seems ready for a full-time gig with the Wild and the team as of late has seemed willing to keep him around.
  • A swap has been made in Nashville, as CapFriendly reports that the Predators have sent Daniel Carr down to the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals and have called up Colin Blackwell. Carr, the reigning AHL MVP, has been unstoppable in the minors again this year. However, he has been held to just one point in eleven games with Nashville, even with frequent opportunities to play up in the lineup. Carr is in that “AAAA” nexus right now, and until the Predators decide where he fits, they will keep him in Milwaukee. Blackwell comes in as another dynamic AHL scorer, but one that has not had as much NHL opportunity and thus no chance to disappoint. Nashville seems willing to take a chance on that upside as they continue to play below expectations.
  • Joseph Blandisi continues to move between the NHL and AHL.  This time, he’s on his way back up to Pittsburgh as the team announced they’ve recalled him from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on an emergency basis, suggesting that Evgeni Malkin may not yet be ready to return.  If Blandisi suits up tonight, it will be his fourth game in as many days between the two levels.
  • The Detroit Red Wings announced they have assigned defenseman Dylan McIlrath to the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL to make room for forward Anthony Mantha, who the team has activated off of injured reserve. The 6-foot-5 McIlrath has played in 16 games for Detroit, having accrued no points and 23 penalty minutes for the team.
  • The Anaheim Ducks announced they have assigned forward Sam Carrick to the San Diego Gulls of the AHL. Carrick scored one assist in two games with the Ducks, but provides a key veteran presence in San Diego where he has 10 goals and 16 points in 18 games.

Injury Notes: Mantha, Little, Rantanen

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The Detroit Red Wings will be without Anthony Mantha for a “couple of weeks” according to head coach Jeff Blashill. The power forward will not require surgery however, a good sign for his eventual return to the team and continued development this season.

Mantha, 25, is off to the best start of his NHL career this season with 23 points in 25 games and looks like he will be a mainstay at the top of the Detroit lineup for a long time. The 6’5″ winger now has an impressive 80 goals in 242 career NHL games after taking a few years to get his feet under him as a professional.

  • There is still no real timeline for the return of Bryan Little to the Winnipeg Jets lineup as he continues to recover from the perforated eardrum that put him in a hospital earlier this month. Little took a puck to the head on November 5th and head coach Paul Maurice explained to reporters including Mitchell Clinton of NHL.com today that his veteran forward is still in “that healing phase.”
  • Mikko Rantanen was back at practice with the Colorado Avalanche today without a non-contact sweater, but that doesn’t mean he’s ready to return quite yet. The big winger will sit out tomorrow’s game against the Edmonton Oilers, but could be back on the ice Friday. Rantanen had 12 points in his first nine games before suffering a gruesome lower-body injury.

Atlantic Notes: Yandle, Mantha, Johansson, Brannstrom

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Any doubt that Florida Panthers fans may have had that defenseman Keith Yandle’s iron man streak could be over after the veteran took a puck to his mouth and lost nine teeth in the process (video here), were relieved this morning. NHL Network’s Ryan Whitney reports that Yandle had dental surgery this morning and is expected to play tonight to keep his streak alive.

Yandle, who currently leads all active NHL players with 820 consecutive games played, took the puck to his face in the first period Saturday, missed the second period, and returned to play during the third period. The 33-year-old Yandle is only 10 games shy of catching Andrew Cogliano, whose streak stopped in 2017 at 830 games and is in fourth place. Doug Jarvis holds the iron man record at 964 games played.

  • NHL.com’s Dave Hogg reports that the Detroit Red Wings will be without forward Anthony Mantha for at least a week with a lower-body injury. It’s a tough injury to swallow for a team with the worst record in the NHL with just 17 points this season. Mantha has been one of the few bright spots this season as the 25-year-old has 12 goals and 23 points in 25 games, which has him on target for career highs. Mantha scored 25 goals last season.
  • The Buffalo News’ Lance Lysowski reports that forward Marcus Johansson will miss games today against Florida and Monday versus Tampa Bay with an upper-body injury. Head coach Ralph Krueger said he hopes to get Johansson back early next week. The 29-year-old has four goals and 10 points in 17 games this season, but remains on injured reserve. The team will have to make a move to activate him.
  • The Ottawa Senators should be getting back one of their young talents sooner than later as defenseman Erik Brannstrom is close to returning. The 20-year-old has been out with an undisclosed injury for the past three games, but could still be out another week, according to head coach D.J. Smith. “He’s close,” said Smith. “We just didn’t want to put him through that practice today so he’s going to stay home and he’ll practice with us when we get back. He’s probably within a week.” Brannstrom has two assists in 19 games.

Morning Notes: Three Stars, Leighton, Morrissey

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The NHL has released their Three Stars for the first week of the season, and New York Rangers center Mika Zibanejad leads the way. Zibanejad leads the NHL with eight points through his first two games, including a hat-trick on the weekend against the Ottawa Senators. The Rangers are off to a fast 2-0 start in a season that they hope will end in a playoff run for the young squad, and Zibanejad will be a huge part of that process.

Anthony Mantha and Auston Matthews take home the other two spots after scoring five goals each in their first week. Mantha did it in just two games, including a four-goal performance last night against the Dallas Stars. The 25-year old winger is looking to build off his career-high 25 goals a year ago, which he recorded in just 67 games. Matthews meanwhile continues his October dominance, scoring in each of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ first three contests. The 22-year old center now has 30 goals in 35 career games in the month of October.

  • Michael Leighton has decided to hang up his pads after a long professional career, announcing his retirement through Scott Powers of The Athletic (subscription required). The veteran goaltender played for 21 different teams over an 18-year career, suiting up 111 times in the NHL regular season. Perhaps most notably though was his appearance for the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2010 playoffs, where he started 13 games and recorded a .916 save percentage. The Flyers would lose in the Stanley Cup Final to the Chicago Blackhawks, with Patrick Kane scoring his classic Cup-winning goal in overtime of game six against Leighton.
  • Josh Morrissey returned to practice for the Winnipeg Jets today, and his presence will be welcomed wholeheartedly whenever he’s able to suit up for a game. The Jets defense has been ravaged by everything from free agency, to injury and even potential retirement, leaving Morrissey as the most important blueliner on the team. The team is back in action tomorrow night against the Pittsburgh Penguins, before returning home for a game on Thursday night.

Atlantic Notes: Kapanen, Johnsson, Ristolainen, Krejci

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While the Toronto Maple Leafs know what to expect when it comes to the future contract for Mitch Marner, it isn’t as straight forward for their other two key restricted free agents in Kasperi Kapanen and Andreas Johnsson. Some of the reason for that is that young forwards with little experience who post an impressive season, often don’t get rewarded when they hit restricted free agency and that could easily be the case for the Maple Leafs, according to The Athletic’s Ian Tulloch (subscription required).

Kapanen, who hits restricted free agency for the first time, had an impressive season last year as he put up 20 goals and 44 points as a full-time player. However, before that, he had played a combined 55 games (and tallying just 10 points) over three separate seasons. Johnsson posted very similar numbers as he tallied 20 goals and 43 points in 73 games last season, but has played just 82 games in two years.

There are a number of comparables, however, including Ondrej Kase, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Phillip Danault, Anthony Mantha, Andreas Athanasiou, Teuvo Teravainen and Andre Burakovsky. All of them opted to sign a bridge deal with the hopes to prove to their respective teams that they can score like that consistently, suggesting that each of them may make anywhere from $2.7MM to $3.3MM AAV if they follow suit.

Of course, the problem could come down to offer sheets as both players would likely be prime candidates to sign offer sheets with other teams that could be closer to $4MM with a less risky compensation (just a second-round pick) which could cause quite a bit of havoc to Toronto’s salary cap situation.

  • Despite multiple rumors that the Buffalo Sabres are considering dealing defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen, who has never been able to take that next step and become a star defenseman like the team thought would happen when he joined the franchise six years ago, TSN’s Darren Dreger (while appearing on WGR 550) said he doesn’t believe that the Sabres will entertain the notion of trading him. Dreger said he doesn’t believe it’s a move the team feels is critical, but general manager Jason Botterill is still open to listening to offers. Of course, one fear of moving him is that Ristolainen could take that next step wherever he gets traded to, which the Sabres would prefer to avoid.
  • NHL.com’s Eric Russo writes that the Boston Bruins have been without center David Krejci for the past few days as the center has been out with an illness. He missed Thursday’s scrimmage and skipped practice on Saturday although head coach Bruce Cassidy said he hopes to have Krejci back on Sunday. “Precautionary,” said Cassidy. “I suspect we’ll see him tomorrow. That is the plan. If he’s not out tomorrow, now there’s a little bit of worry there. But right now, I believe he’ll be practicing tomorrow.”

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