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Atlantic Notes: Sergachev, Red Wings, Hawel

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Lightning defenseman Mikhail Sergachev is set to be one of the more intriguing restricted free agents this offseason.  He had set a new career high in goals with 10 just before the suspension of the season while he had a chance at reaching the 40-point mark for the second time in his career.  That will have him in line for a sizable raise on his next deal but as he told reporters, including NHL.com’s Dan Rosen, there have been no discussions regarding his next contract.

Sergachev cited the uncertainty surrounding next year’s salary cap as a big factor as to why talks haven’t started yet.  Tampa Bay’s salary cap situation is particularly interesting as they have more than $76MM committed to just 15 players for next season already and a levelled off cap won’t be enough to re-sign Sergachev and their other restricted free agents and fill out the rest of their roster.  Accordingly, it appears the Lightning will have to move some players out before next season and they may want to wait until the offseason to make those decisions.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic Division:

  • The Red Wings have not held any talks with their pending free agents during this stoppage, notes Ted Kulfan of The Detroit News. Winger Anthony Mantha is their top restricted free agent of note and indicated that he’s unconcerned about the lack of talks.  Back in March, he had stated that he was hoping to get a long-term deal done with Detroit but the fact he only has played in 43 games this season due to knee and lung issues may make that a bit more challenging.
  • The Canadiens’ AHL affiliate in Laval announced that they’ve signed center Liam Hawel to a one-year, one-way AHL deal. The 21-year-old wrapped up his junior career this season with OHL Kitchener, recording 23 goals and 48 assists in 54 games to sit second on the team in scoring.  Hawel was a fourth-round pick (101st overall) of Dallas back in 2017 but was not signed to an entry-level contract.

NHL Announces Player Gaming Challenge

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The NHL is trying desperately to stay relevant even as their season sits in limbo and have today announced a new feature for fans to tune into. The NHL Player Gaming Challenge will be a tournament of EA SPORTS NHL 20 games featuring players from each of the 32 organizations. The tournament will go for four weeks starting on April 30th. The league and EA will donate a combined $100,000 in support of COVID-19 relief.

Because the Seattle expansion franchise doesn’t have any players to represent them at this point, Luke Willson from the Seattle Seahawks of the NHL will carry the torch.

The full list of participants:

Anaheim Ducks: Cam Fowler

Arizona Coyotes: Conor Garland, Clayton Keller

Boston Bruins: Jake Debrusk, Charlie McAvoy

Buffalo Sabres: Brandon Montour

Calgary Flames: Noah Hanifin, Matthew Tkachuk

Carolina Hurricanes: Warren Foegele

Chicago Blackhawks: Drake Caggiula, Alex DeBrincat

Columbus Blue Jackets: Elvis Merzlikins, Zach Werenski

Colorado Avalanche: J.T. Compher

Dallas Stars: Stephen Johns, Jamie Oleksiak

Detroit Redwings: Madison Bowey, Anthony Mantha

Edmonton Oilers: Caleb Jones, Darnell Nurse

Florida Panthers: Jonathan Huberdeau

Los Angeles Kings: Michael Amadio, Blake Lizotte

Minnesota Wild: Devan Dubnyk, Jordan Greenway

Montreal Canadiens: Victor Mete, Nick Suzuki

Nashville Predators: Filip Forsberg

New Jersey Devils: MacKenzie Blackwood

New York Islanders: Matt Martin

New York Rangers: Chris Kreider

NHL Seattle: Luke Willson, Seattle Seahawks (NFL)

Ottawa Senators: Brady Tkachuk, Chris Tierney

Philadelphia Flyers: James van Riemsdyk

Pittsburgh Penguins: Zach Aston-Reese, Bryan Rust

San Jose Sharks: Evander Kane, Marcus Sorensen

St Louis Blues: Colton Parayko, Robert Thomas

Tampa Bay Lightning: Tyler Johnson

Toronto Maple Leafs: Zach Hyman

Vancouver Canucks: Thatcher Demko, Adam Gaudette

Vegas Golden Knights: Ryan Reaves, Alex Tuch

Washington Capitals: Evgeny Kuznetsov

Winnipeg Jets: Anthony Bitetto, Kyle Connor

Select games can be seen on NBC Sports and Sportsnet ONE. All matches will also air within NHL Network’s on-air programming or its Twitch channel.

Anthony Mantha Seeking Long-Term Deal

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Given the injury-plagued season he’s had, it would be understandable if Red Wings winger Anthony Mantha’s preference was to take a one-year deal this summer and then consider his options in the 2021 offseason when he’d be a year away from unrestricted free agency eligibility.  However, that doesn’t appear to be the case as he told Ted Kulfan of The Detroit News that he’s hoping to be around for a while yet:

I want to be here for the long term. I would love it, that’s for sure. We’ll see what they offer this summer.

What they offer will be the intriguing part.  He’s certainly well on his way to landing a significant raise on his current $3.3MM cap hit which also represents his required qualifying offer in June.  However, while he sits third in team scoring with 15 goals and 18 assists in 40 games heading into Friday’s action, he has missed 28 games.  While his point per game average (0.83) is the best of his career, is that at least somewhat skewed by the smaller sample size instead of a full season to date?

That will make his tour through restricted free agency certainly interesting.  Mantha is eligible for salary arbitration and considering his improved production since signing his bridge deal, he could push to become the highest-paid player on Detroit on a long-term pact.  Dylan Larkin holds that title currently at $6.1MM but his current deal covered four years of restricted free agent eligibility whereas Mantha only has two.

Although the 25-year-old has already stated his intentions, it doesn’t appear if any talks on a new deal have started yet.  Mantha himself indicated that expects the talks to be “complicated” which is a fair assessment considering how much time he has missed and acknowledges that it makes the possibility of a deal between now and the end of the regular season rather unlikely.  Regardless of the timing, this will likely be GM Steve Yzerman’s top priority this summer, no matter how tricky the talks may be.

Eastern Notes: Mantha, Johansson, Dobson, Paul

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The Detroit Red Wings lost Filip Zadina for two to three weeks, but the team did get a boost of good news as winger Anthony Mantha practiced with the first time since he suffered a mid-body injury on Dec. 21 against Toronto when Jake Muzzin slammed him to the ice, according to NHL.com’s Dana Wakiji. The 25-year-old was wearing an orange no-contact jersey, but it’s step in the right direction for the winger who has appeared in just 29 games this season.

“I’m feeling better,” Mantha said. “Obviously today was the first practice with the team, so it feels good mentally. Physically, I’ve been getting better over the last couple of weeks. I can’t complain.”

Mantha was playing well, posting 12 goals and 24 points in those 29 games and was looking to potentially post career highs, but now will look to help the Red Wings offense, which has struggled for most of the year.

  • In his most recent mailbag, the Buffalo News’ Lance Lysowski writes that the Buffalo Sabres might be interested in taking a long look at 24-year-old prospect goaltender Jonas Johansson, who will be a restricted free agent next year and could be a candidate to replace Carter Hutton next season if he fares well, assuming they can move Hutton. Johansson has played well with the Rochester Americans this year, posting a 2.19 GAA and a .925 save percentage in 20 games. The team might also want to avoid keeping Johansson in Rochester next year, which could block the path when top goalie prospect Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen becomes a full-time AHL goalie.
  • When the New York Islanders lost defenseman Adam Pelech for the season due to an Achilles’ tendon injury, many thought that rookie Noah Dobson would be the recipient of the extra minutes that the team lost. Instead, Newsday’s Andrew Gross writes that head coach Barry Trotz has relied on his five veteran blueliners and continues to hold Dobson out of key moments in games. Dobson doesn’t play in the third period at all in tight games. The five veterans are forced to take extra shifts in order to replace Dobson, who refers to the situation as five and a half defenders, but doesn’t feel the extra ice time is having a negative effect on the other five defenders.
  • Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch reports that Ottawa Senators forward Nick Paul is skating again and should be able to return at some point this week. The 24-year-old suffered a high ankle sprain on Jan. 7 against the Capitals and deemed to be out for four weeks, which is right on schedule. Paul has six goals and 13 points in 38 games this season.

 

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.

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