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Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman Anticipated Artemi Panarin Free Agency Dilemma

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Pending a change of heart, forward Artemi Panarin is likely to become one of the most hotly pursued NHL free agents in recent memory on July 1st, 2019, with a sweepstakes potentially rivaling even that of John Tavares’ last year. His current team, the Columbus Blue Jackets, have done their best to convince Panarin not to test the free agent waters and instead sign an extension, but thus far it seems like a highly unlikely outcome. As a result, Columbus is saddled with the difficult choice this season of whether to hold on to Panarin for a run at the Stanley Cup and risk losing him for nothing or trade the talented winger for a hefty return while also damaging the team’s title hopes.

However, that dilemma could have instead belonged to the Chicago Blackhawks. Panarin was only traded to Columbus in the 2017 off-season. The Russian dynamo was originally signed by and played his first two NHL seasons in Chicago. However, the Blackhawks decided to deal Panarin away, opting instead to bring back Brandon Saad from the Blue Jackets, as well as young goaltender Anton Forsberg and a mid-round pick. By any metric, it is difficult to say that the Blackhawks won that trade, as Chicago missed the playoffs last season amid a very disappointing campaign for Saad, while Panarin was one of the league’s top scorers for a Columbus squad that performed well all season long. Yet, Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman may have had more than just the trade return in mind when he dealt Panarin to the Blue Jackets.

Speaking with TSN, Bowman claims that he foresaw the “tough spot” that Columbus and colleague Jarmo Kekalainen are in right now with Panarin. The young forward made such an immediate impact when coming to the NHL, that Bowman expected he would test the free agent market as soon as possible, saying ” I saw that coming as a challenge.” This clearly was a major factor that contributed to Chicago’s surprising willingness to trade Panarin. For his part, Bowman does acknowledge that Saad has to play better and has been more than a little disappointing thus far in his second stint with the Blackhawks. Continued poor performance from Saad would make this trade a complete loss, even if Panarin does bolt from Columbus. However, Bowman still stands behind his decision to acquire a talented forward signed long-term at a $6MM cap hit in Saad rather than take his chances with Panarin, who felt was destined to depart in free agency.

Anton Forsberg Placed On Waivers

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The Chicago Blackhawks needed to make a move of some sort after Corey Crawford returned to the crease recently with no ill effects, and today have placed goaltender Anton Forsberg on waivers.

Forsberg, 25, was acquired as part of the return for Artemi Panarin in the summer of 2017, and ended up playing 35 games with the Blackhawks last season. His .908 save percentage in those games actually went down as the best NHL season of his career, but that’s not saying much given he’d only played ten games while with the Columbus Blue Jackets. This year, Forsberg hasn’t been used at all after dropping down to third on the depth chart following the free agent signing of Cam Ward. Despite Ward’s ineffectiveness so far, his experience and price tag will keep him in the NHL for now. The veteran goaltender was signed for $3MM, and admitting that mistake by putting Ward on waivers this early never seemed like a possibility.

That means it had to be Forsberg, who now very well could end up on another team around the NHL. Though the claiming club would have to keep him on the NHL roster, there are several situations where they might believe he’s an upgrade over their incumbent backup. 24 NHL goaltenders have a save percentage under .900 so far this season, including backups like Mike Condon, Calvin Pickard, Malcolm Subban, Pheonix Copley, Alex Stalock and Antti Niemi. While none of those situations scream for a waiver claim, teams may be willing to take a chance on the seventh-round draft pick. Forsberg does have a lengthy history of success in the minor leagues, and has the size teams look for in NHL goaltenders.

Minor Transactions: 10/04/18

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The NHL got off to a roaring start last night with impressive debuts and outstanding goals. Teams will be making changes though, and we’ll be right here to keep track of all the minor moves.

  • According to Mark Lazerus of The Athletic, the Chicago Blackhawks will recall Collin Delia from the minor leagues today to back up Cam Ward in their season opener. Anton Forsberg, who was expected to be the backup goaltender until Corey Crawford is ready to play was hit up high by a puck at the morning skate and will be held out of the lineup entirely. Delia, 24, played two games for the Blackhawks last season, but was supposed to be spending the year with the Rockford IceHogs this season.
  • The Colorado Avalanche have activated both Vladislav Kamenev and Anton Lindholm from injured reserve, but immediately assigned them to the minor leagues. Both players will report to the Colorado Eagles of the AHL, a somewhat surprising move given that they are expected to play roles in the NHL this season. The Avalanche start their season tonight against the Minnesota Wild, and will also have Mark Barberio and Sven Andrighetto out of the lineup.
  • The Nashville Predators have activated Ryan Hartman in time for their opener, an expected move after he returned to practice. Hartman, acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks last season, was involved in a legal matter this summer but should be a big part of the Predators lineup this year as he tries to take the next step in his hockey career. He scored just six points in 21 games during the regular season for the Predators last year, but is a versatile player who can contribute offensively and engage physically on a nightly basis.

Washington’s Options At Backup Goalie

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The Washington Capitals have four goaltenders under contract for the coming season, Vezina Trophy-winning starter Braden Holtby and three unproven young backups: Pheonix Copley, Vitek Vanecek, and Ilya Samsonov. The defending Stanley Cup champions do not necessarily need to make any changes to their current depth chart and would most likely be fine this season with a tandem of Holtby and the hot hand among the three prospect keepers, with Copley getting the job initially.

However, championships are built on being prepared to handle the worst. This current iteration of the Capitals, while almost identical to the team that hoisted the Cup just months ago, is not. The only major departure out of D.C. this off-season was backup Philipp Grubauer, who was traded away to the Colorado Avalanche where he could compete for the starting job. Grubauer was far from a typical backup last season; the 26-year-old made 35 appearances, including 28 starts, which was tied for 37th-most in the league, among the NHL’s most active backups. When Holtby went through a rough patch down the stretch, Grubauer took over the reins as the starter and even got the call in the Capitals’ first two postseason contests. His 2.35 GAA was fifth among goalies with 30+ appearances, while his .923 save percentage was eighth among the same group. Grubauer was as solid as they come last season. Meanwhile, Holtby quietly had the worst season of his NHL career. His .907 save percentage and 2.99 GAA were a major deviation from his career performance, as he struggled with streaky play all year long. Without Grubauer, the Capitals likely would have had a worse playoff seeding and potentially would not have won the Stanley Cup.

So what happens if Holtby struggles again? Normally, it would be easy to say that the star goalie will regress positively back to the numbers that made him a top ten NHL stopper. However, after a deep playoff run added 23 appearances to his workload and significantly shortened his summer, it is hard to imagine that Holtby is fully refreshed and ready to be back in Vezina shape. His play last year may not be an indication of what is to come, but it may be a more accurate comparison for Holtby’s probable performance in 2018-19 than would his three prior seasons of dominant play. Without a reliable backup, the Capitals may be hesitant to lessen Holtby’s workload, but if they don’t they could risk another breakdown. Either way, the Washington backup goalie will not be a non-factor this season.

The first option behind Holtby will likely be Copley. Copley, 26, is a career minor leaguer with just two NHL appearances. In contrast, every team in the NHL last season began the year with a backup goaltender that had more than two previous appearances. Copley is also far from a prodigy; his numbers with the AHL’s Hershey Bears last season were poor and he only returned to Washington as nothing more than a toss-in to the Kevin Shattenkirk trade. So far in the preseason, Copley has made 41 saves on 46 shots for a paltry save percentage of .891. While the Capitals have put their faith in Copley to this point to be a serviceable backup, the undrafted free agent out of Michigan Tech has never been considered anything but minor league depth before now. Jumping to a primary backup for a goalie who may need substantial assistance is quite the task. Next up would likely be Vanecek, the Captials’ 2014 second-round pick who has not yet lived up to expectations. Vanecek is still only 22 and has room to improve, but since coming to North America three years ago, he has impressed at the ECHL level and failed to do so in the AHL. Vanecek’s numbers while splitting time with Copley on the Hersey Bears last year were even worse; Copley had an .896 save percentage and 2.91 GAA, while Vanecek had an .888 save percentage and 3.04 GAA. Vanecek has potential, but is not ready to be an NHL backup. Samsonov, in his first season in North America, is easily the most talented of the group. A 2015 first-round pick, Samsonov has been playing significant minutes in the KHL since he was 18. In three seasons with Metallurg Magnitogorsk, Samsonov was the primary backup to Vasili Koshechkin and posted a .925 save percentage or better each year. Some hope that young Samsonov can step in and immediately provide that same level of support for Holtby. However, the adjustment to the NHL – and even AHL – can be a difficult one when coming over from Europe. There is no guarantee that Samsonov’s performance will immediately translate. There is also a question of whether Washington will want to harm their heir apparent’s development by costing him starts as the NHL backup. As such, the Capitals are likely to play it safe with Samsonov this season.

Washington’s in-house options to back-up Holtby are not inspiring. The team could absolutely move forward with this group and hope that Holtby can make 65+ starts without a hitch, but there is ample risk involved with that strategy. Normally, it would be tough to significantly upgrade the goaltender position at this time of year, but not this season. Intriguing names are already available and more soon will be. On the free agent market, veterans Kari Lehtonen and Steve Mason remain unsigned. The Capitals do not have much cap space, but if either is willing to take a show-me deal, they would become a massive improvement on the team’s goalie depth. However, both players have been available for much of the off-season and the Caps have yet to pull the trigger. They may instead have their eye on younger, more affordable options. Michael Hutchinson, a free agent signing of the Florida Panthers this summer, is one possibility, as he was already placed on waivers at the earliest possible time. St. Louis’ Jordan Binnington and Vegas’ Oscar Dansk are other waiver options who may have slightly more upside than Copley. That is just the first subset of the backup goalie market though. Teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs (Curtis McElhinney, Garret Sparks, Calvin Pickard), Philadelphia Flyers (Michal Neuvirth, Anthony Stolarz, Alex Lyon), and Los Angeles Kings (Peter Budaj, Jack Campbell, Cal Petersen) have major logjams in goal that are prime for a trade or waiver claim. Washington could also wait to target one of a number of third-string goalies trying to be slipped through waivers, such as Al Montoya, Eddie Lack, Andrew Hammond, Anton Forsberg, Zane McIntyre, Jared Coreau, or J-F Berube. The opportunities are out there to upgrade at backup goalie. The only question is whether the Capitals make the move before it’s too late and those opportunities have disappeared.

Concerns Remain About Corey Crawford’s Health

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The other day, Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times spoke with Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville, who admitted that he won’t be carrying three goalies this season. With veteran Cam Ward now in the fold as backup, Lazerus took that to mean that young Anton Forsberg could be the odd man out, likely to be placed on waivers prior to the start of the season. Now, after speaking to the starting goaltender himself, Corey Crawford, Lazerus could be changing his tune. Although he was limited to only 28 appearances last season due to injury, Chicago has been confident that Crawford would be fully ready to begin the 2018-19 season. Not so fast says Crawford; the two-time Jennings Trophy winner admits that he is still not back to 100%.

Since before the disappointing 2017-18 campaign even came to an end, the Blackhawks have been adamant that Crawford would be back for training camp and the start of the upcoming season. Despite the fact that Crawford did not see any action after December as his recovery dragged on through the second half of the year, the team had all but assured the fans that he would be the Opening Night starter. To that promise, Crawford told the press this weekend:

“That’s hard to say right now, but it’s very possible. We’ve come a long way in the last couple months, and there’s a really good chance that could happen… (I am) feeling pretty good right now, [but] I am not at 100 percent yet… Treatments are going well, and we’re making small steps. And I’m getting a little better, so it’s a process,” he said. “It’s been a process since I left in December. It hasn’t been easy.”

Clearly, Crawford is heading in the right direction, but his own apprehension – as well as the strong emotions Lazerus noted – indicate that this injury saga may not be over just yet. Crawford’s injury has never been specified by the team, but whatever it is has taken a lot of work to get through. Crawford has no doubt that he will back to his old self at some point, but he just isn’t sure when that will be.

The Blackhawks desperately need Crawford to be back at his elite level as soon as possible and in shape to avoid further injury. Much of their struggle last season came from incompetent goaltending after Crawford, who began the year with a stellar .929 save percentage and 2.27 GAA, went down. Forsberg, Jean-Francois Berube, and Jeff Glass all struggled immensely in his absence, although Forsberg was the best of the three. Ward is a step up as backup and he and Forsberg could carry the torch for a short period, but a healthy Crawford is the only way that Chicago gets back to the postseason this year. That makes his news all the more troublesome for Blackhawks fans.

 

Snapshots: Forsberg, Korn, Karlsson

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When the Chicago Blackhawks went out and signed Cam Ward this offseason, it created a situation where the team has three goaltenders on one-way contracts. Corey Crawford, the expected starter, is working his way back from an upper-body injury (most likely a concussion) and is expected to be ready for the start of the year—though today admitted he still is “not 100 percent” yet. The team also has Anton Forsberg, acquired in last summer’s Artemi Panarin–Brandon Saad trade on a contract worth $750K at the NHL level.

Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times spoke with head coach Joel Quenneville at today’s Blackhawks Convention, who admitted they won’t be carrying three goaltenders. As Lazerus explains, that means Forsberg will likely be placed on waivers at some point before the start of the season, giving every other team a chance at the 25-year old goaltender. Forsberg posted a .908 save percentage last season but simply wasn’t good enough to carry the load after Crawford was ruled out, something that Ward will have to try should the starter experience any setbacks or new injuries this year.

  • Mitch Korn will be joining Barry Trotz with the New York Islanders this season, after being named Director of Goaltending for the organization yesterday. Korn has been with Trotz for years, including during his time with the Nashville Predators. He’s been credited with developing (or at least polishing) goaltenders like Pekka Rinne, Braden Holtby and even Dominik Hasek over the years, a feat he’ll have to try and repeat in New York. The Islanders do have talent in their crease, especially with newcomer Robin Lehner who has shown brilliance at times throughout his NHL career but can’t seem to find much consistency. Though Korn will certainly work with Lehner and Thomas Greiss this season, his real task will be developing young Linus Soderstrom and eventually Ilya Sorokin into the elite goaltenders many believe both to have the talent to become. S0rokin is already one of the best goaltenders in the KHL, and could likely already step directly into the NHL as a starter if the Islanders could convince him to come to North America.
  • Anyone worried about Erik Karlsson’s health this season after a recovering ankle caused his play to suffer in the first half of 2017-18 need not worry, as the Ottawa Senators captain told Chris Stevenson of The Athletic (subscription required) that he’s all healed up. Karlsson dubbed his ankle 110 percent, saying that “it shouldn’t be an issue for me whatsoever” in 2018-19. You can be sure that any interested teams are listening closely, as the massive package that would be required to land Karlsson in trade would only be worth it for his former self. The 28-year old Karlsson still recorded 62 points last season after a late-season surge, but clearly wasn’t himself early on. If he’s back to the Norris-caliber defenseman he’s been for much of his career, he’ll make almost any acquiring team a powerhouse immediately.

Chicago Blackhawks Sign Chris Kunitz, Cam Ward, Brandon Manning

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The Chicago Blackhawks have signed three players immediately after free agency began, inking Chris Kunitz, Cam Ward and Brandon Manning. Kunitz and Ward will get one-year deals, while Manning has signed a two-year contract. Ward’s deal will pay $3MM and include a full no-trade clause.

Kunitz, who spent last season with Tampa Bay Lightning on their shutdown line, provides the Blackhawks with a veteran defensive presence, who still seems to be successful even at age 38. He, along with Ryan Callahan and Cedric Paquette, were responsible for shutting down teams’ top lines and were quite successful at it. The line was also adept at scoring as well as Kunitz scored 13 goals and totaled 29 points last season with Tampa Bay. The veteran also has lots of playoff success with his time with the Pittsburgh Penguins as he played for the franchise for nine years, winning three Stanley Cup titles.

Ward was less of a secret as the team had been rumored to be close to a deal with him for a few days already. The 13-year veteran, who played all his years in Carolina, moved into a backup role last year as he helped mentor former Blackhawk Scott Darling. However, despite that role, he still managed to play 43 games for the Hurricanes. The 34-year-old didn’t thrive as he finished with a 2.73 GAA and a .906 save percentage, but his experience and ability to handle a big load was critical for the Blackhawks who struggled after starter Corey Crawford went down for the season with a head injury in December last year. The team attempted to move forward with Anton Forsberg and Jeff Glass as their two goaltenders, but couldn’t make that work. Ward should provide more stability for the Blackhawks now.

Manning adds more defensive depth for the Blackhawks as the former Philadelphia Flyers defenseman has continued to increase his production over the course of his career as he scored seven goals and 19 points last season in 65 games and even played a more safety-conscious game this past season. However, his numbers also indicate that he’s just an adequate defender and is likely to fill the team’s need for bottom-six defenders.

Chicago Prospect Ivan Nalimov Asks For Trade

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It’s not often that a player not under contract requests a trade, but Ivan Nalimov is going for it. The Chicago Blackhawks’ 2014 sixth-round pick has asked for his rights to be dealt to another NHL team, reports The Athletic’s Scott Powers. As one of the KHL’s best young goaltenders, Nalimov feels that he has earned a shot at the NHL next season, but agent Shumi Babaev feels that the opportunity won’t come in Chicago. Nalimov has already terminated his KHL contract for next season and is solely focused on the NHL, but doesn’t want to waste the prime of his career buried in the minors behind the Blackhawks’ many goalies. As a result, the young netminder would like to be moved to a team where he might have a greater chance at play time.

Nalimov, 23, is coming off of a season that was impressive for many reasons. Right away, it is easy to tell that this was a career campaign for the homegrown Russian goaltender and former KHL first-round pick. The big keeper finally put it all together in 2017-18 and posted a .938 SV% and 2.13 GAA in 23 appearances. His save percentage was among the best in the league, fourth among all goalies with 20+ appearances, and his goals against average was in the top 15 of that same group. However, a closer inspection makes those numbers even more impressive, as Nalimov was traded mid-season. Serving behind Igor Bobkov with Admiral Vladisvostok, Nalimov proved himself to be the best backup in the KHL this season with a .942 SV% and 1.98 GAA in 17 games. With his value escalating, he was moved to Salavat Yulaev Ufa to back up Ben Scrivens and hardly missed a beat in six more games there. His numbers fell off slightly, but his performance trumped the team’s existing backup and helped Ufa in their playoff pursuit, earning Nalimov some postseason appearances of his own. Nalimov not only performed at a high level this year, but did so with two teams and was unshaken by the adjustment. It’s understandable why he feels now would be the perfect time to make the ultimate adjustment and try his hand at the NHL.

Yet, Chicago is an unlikely location for that to happen. As Powers writes, the Blackhawks have three NHL-caliber goalies already under contract for next season in starter Corey Crawford and backups Anton Forsberg and J-F Berube, not to mention another pair of prospects signed to pro deals who already seem permanently relegated to the minors next season. In speaking with both Nalimov’s agent and Chicago GM Stan Bowman, Powers states that the ’Hawks really like Nalimov, but perhaps didn’t anticipate that he would develop this quickly or wish to come overseas this soon. They also might have underestimated his ceiling, as Chicago did spend a third-round pick on German standout Wouter Peeters just two years ago. Regardless, the Blackhawks do not have to listen to Nalimov’s request and they can retain his rights perpetually, but this could sour the young goalie on coming to North America altogether. If the decision is between potentially losing Nalimov forever due to a broken relationship or trading him away for at least some type of return, Bowman and company are likely to shop the prospect this summer.

Minor Transactions: 04/02/18

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The NHL is down to the last week of the season, with all games scheduled to be wrapped up by Sunday night. With that in mind, we’ll keep track of all the minor moves around the league and give context on how they could impact the playoff picture. Check back throughout the day to stay up to date on your favorite team.

  • According to Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News, the Buffalo Sabres have recalled Matt Tennyson from the minor leagues to help replace the injured Victor Antipin. Antipin was knocked unconscious this weekend against the Nashville Predators, and won’t play again this season. Tennyson has played 14 games for the Sabres this season, though most of his work has come in the AHL. The 27-year old defenseman is still looking for his first NHL point of the season.
  • Back and forth goes Oliver Kylington, who has been recalled once again by the Calgary Flames today. Kylington is still looking to get a chance at the NHL level, but the 20-year old defenseman has seen positive progression while in the minor leagues.
  • Thatcher Demko is on his way back to the minor leagues, in time to help the Utica Comets with their playoff push. If the AHL playoffs started today, the Comets would have to dangerous Toronto Marlies in the first round, a matchup that would really test Demko and give him an opportunity to show he’s too good for the minor leagues.
  • The Boston Bruins have recalled Colby Cave from the minor leagues under emergency conditions, bringing up the forward once again. Cave made his NHL debut earlier this year, and could get back into the lineup if one of the injured players for Boston can’t play.
  • The Chicago Blackhawks have swapped goaltenders, recalling Jeff Glass from the minor leagues and sending Collin Delia back down. Delia had a very interesting debut, suiting up after Anton Forsberg was injured, only to suffer an injury himself and relinquish the net to emergency goaltender Scott Foster. Delia has played at three different professional levels already this season, impressive for an undrafted goaltender out of Merrimack College.
  • The Dallas Stars have reassigned Jason Dickinson to the minor leagues, giving him back to the Texas Stars for their playoff run. Texas will welcome him back with open arms, as Dickinson has 16 goals in just 36 games this season.

Minor Transactions: 03/30/18

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A busy night in the NHL brought several exciting finishes, but nothing quite like the drama that occurred in Chicago. Scott Foster, a 36-year old recreational goalie entered the game when Collin Delia was injured, and stopped all seven shots he faced en route to a first star selection and perfect NHL debut.

Because of the injuries to Anton Forsberg and Delia—who was also making his NHL debut—the Blackhawks made Jean-Francois Berube an emergency call-up, recalling the goaltender after just seeing him clear waivers this week.

Like always, we’ll keep track of all the other moves around the league:

  • Also facing goaltending problems, the Buffalo Sabres have recalled Adam Wilcox from the minor leagues. Wilcox has bounced around the minor leagues for the last few seasons, but is still waiting for his NHL debut. The 25-year old has a .903 save percentage in 28 games with the Rochester Americans this season.
  • The Dallas Stars have sent Curtis McKenzie back to the minor leagues, according to Mark Stepneski of NHL.com. McKenzie has played in just seven games for the Stars this year, and is still looking for his first goal of the season.
  • The Boston Bruins have returned Jordan Szwarz to the minor leagues, according to Mark Divver of the Providence Journal. Szwarz is having another excellent season in the AHL, recording 44 points in 46 games. His time in the NHL hasn’t been as fruitful, with just three points in 12 contests.
  • Kerby Rychel has been recalled by the Montreal Canadiens, after playing some of the best hockey of his career for the Laval Rocket of late. Rychel has registered 12 points in the 14 games since being traded from the Toronto Marlies, and could get his first taste of NHL action in more than two years. The 23-year old was a first-round pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets and debuted at age 20 to high expectations, but couldn’t find his footing in the NHL and was passed over by other prospects. He’ll try for a fresh start in Montreal, where they are dying for an offensive spark of any kind.

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