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Atlantic Notes: Callahan, Yzerman, Borgstrom

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With cap problems fast approaching and plenty of extensions kicking in (as well as the contract of RFA Brayden Point to worry about), the Tampa Bay Lightning will have lots to worry about. Even with the expiring contracts of Braydon Coburn ($3.7MM), Dan Girardi ($3MM), Jan Rutta ($2.2MM) and Anton Stralman ($4.5MM), most of that money will go towards the new extensions for Nikita Kucherov, Yanni Gourde and Ryan McDonagh, which will likely force the team to find other ways to save money.

One contract that the Lightning will likely try to get rid of will be that of forward Ryan Callahan, who still has one year remaining on his contract at $5.8MM. The 34-year-old forward only appeared in 52 games this year and while injuries have been part of the problem, Callahan has also found himself a healthy scratch often this year, especially after the all-star break, as his skills seem to be on a decline. Diana Nearhos of the Tampa Bay Times suggests that the team might attempt to trade him off, despite having a modified no-trade clause. The team would almost have to retain some of his salary to make a deal work, but there is also a legitimate chance they will buy the veteran out.

  • In an interview with Detroit Red Wings new general manager Steve Yzerman, The Athletic’s Craig Custance (subscription required) asked multiple questions about the team’s sixth-overall pick in the upcoming 2019 NHL draft. When asked about Russian winger Vasili Podkolzin, whose draft stock seems to be dropping due to signability issues, Yzerman made it clear that he wasn’t worried about that and wouldn’t be scared to draft him. “It hasn’t in the past,” said Yzerman. “The really good Russian players all come over. Maybe they wait a year, two years, but eventually you get them. (Evgeny) Kuznetsov, (Vladimir) Tarasenko, (Andrei) Vasilevskiy. (Nikita) Kucherov waited a year. The really good ones are coming over. You have to be prepared, potentially, to wait. I don’t really know what his contract status is.”
  • The Athletic’s George Richards (subscription required) writes that this offseason will be a big one for Florida Panthers forward Henrik Borgstrom. The 21-year-old struggled this season in his transition to the NHL, scoring eight goals and 18 points in 50 games. One of new head coach Joel Quenneville’s new responsibility is to get the most out of Borgstrom, who will likely be expected to shift to the center position and be the odds-on favorite to take over the third-line position. “I definitely want it,” Borgstrom said. “That’s the spot I want to take, and it is up to me to take it. I feel like I have to be ready for it, work hard for it. Hopefully, when the time training camp comes, I will be totally ready to take it.”

Victor Hedman Still Out For Tampa Bay Lightning

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The Tampa Bay Lightning are on the brink of elimination. After a season that saw them lose just 16 games in regulation, the team is down 3-0 in their series against the Columbus Blue Jackets and will need to win four straight to avoid a historic collapse. Unfortunately, they won’t have their best defenseman in the lineup to help out. Victor Hedman has been ruled out again by head coach Jon Cooper, who also notes that Anton Stralman will not play and Alex Killorn is a game-time decision.

Hedman was injured against the Washington Capitals on March 30th and missed the final few games of the regular season, but suited up in the first two games of the series. Even though he was on the ice the Norris-caliber defenseman was clearly not up to his lofty standards, and now could potentially watch his team get swept out of the first round without being able to help. The Blue Jackets have a chance to make history by knocking the Presidents Trophy winners out in four games, and will do it on home ice.

Luckily, if you can call it that, the Lightning will get some help back in the form of Nikita Kucherov. The potential Hart Trophy winner will be back after missing game three due to suspension, and will try to get his first points of the season and help Tampa Bay stave of elimination. Kucherov has been a solid playoff performer in the past, recording 58 points in his first 58 postseason games but now has just a single assist in his last six going back to last season.

Atlantic Notes: Condon, Stralman, Hedman, Kuraly, Moore

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Senators goaltender Mike Condon is expected to be fully recovered and ready for training camp after being out since November after undergoing stem cell surgery on his hip, reports Postmedia’s Ken Warren.  He cleared waivers early that month and played in AHL Belleville just once before seeking out various medical opinions which led to the surgery.  Condon has one year left on his contract after this one with a $3MM salary and a $2.4MM cap hit.  However, given the uncertainty surrounding his hip issues – it’s something he has battled throughout his career – it wouldn’t be surprising to see them try to add another goalie to the mix.  Anders Nilsson, a pending UFA, is a possibility to be brought back.

More from the Atlantic:

  • Lightning defenseman Anton Stralman is unsure if he will be able to play at all in their first-round series, notes Joe Smith of The Athletic (Twitter link). He suffered a setback to his previous lower-body injury late in the season and the team decided to shut him down for a bit.  While Stralman is feeling better and if he gets the green light to return from team doctors, he’d be a welcome addition to a Tampa back end that has struggled so far against Columbus.  Head coach Jon Cooper also told Smith (Twitter link) that Victor Hedman is also banged up and expressed that he’s hopeful that his top defender will be available for Game Three against Columbus.
  • Bruins center Sean Kuraly has resumed skating (albeit in a non-contact jersey) after undergoing hand surgery late last month, the team announced (Twitter link). He was expected to miss at least a month after it happened, a mark that is still ten days away so it appears he’s on schedule if not slightly ahead.  Meanwhile, defenseman John Moore also skated but he is further away from returning from his upper-body issue.

Victor Hedman Expected To Play Game 1

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The Tampa Bay Lightning are expected to win the Stanley Cup. That is the simple truth after a nearly historic season in which the Lightning paced the NHL with an incredible 62-16-4 record. The only ones to score more than 300 goals—they scored 325—the Lightning had an incredible +103 goal differential on the year, routinely blowing out opponents en route to the Presidents Trophy. Still, with all that success there is also pressure to come flying out of the gate in round one of the playoffs against the Columbus Blue Jackets, who only clinched a spot on the second last day of the season.

One of the biggest points of that pressure was the status of Victor Hedman, the Norris-winning defenseman that drives the entire bus from the blue line. Hedman hasn’t played since March 30th when he took an awkward hit from Carl Hagelin of the Washington Capitals, and it was unclear if he would be ready for tomorrow’s opening match. That’s no longer a mystery, as head coach Jon Cooper told reporters including Joe Smith of The Athletic that Hedman is expected to play in game one. The defenseman himself told Smith that he feels “fresh” after taking the last few games of the regular season off.

Hedman is already an incredibly important piece of the Lightning, but given that it doesn’t appear as though Anton Stralman will join him on the ice tomorrow evening he’ll become even more so. Hedman, Stralman and Braydon Coburn are the only three defensemen left over from the 2015 Stanley Cup Finals appearance by the Lightning, as the team will rely on some young faces to give them serious contributions. Mikhail Sergachev, Erik Cernak and Jan Rutta are all expected to be in the lineup for the first game, meaning veterans Hedman, Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh will have to really use their experience to slow down the Blue Jackets attack.

Injury Updates: Lightning, Stars, Buchnevich, Johnsson

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Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman is doubtful to play this week, reports Joe Smith of The Athletic (Twitter link).  He suffered an upper-body injury on Saturday and with Tampa Bay’s positioning for the postseason locked in, there’s no real point in risking anything.  The team is hopeful he’ll be ready to go to start the first round next week.  Meanwhile, fellow blueliner Anton Stralman could get into a game on their four-game road trip to end the season while Dan Girardi is expected to skate sometime this week.  That makes it unlikely he’ll play before the season comes to an end but he should be available for the playoffs.

Other injury notes around the league:

  • Dallas is hoping to have goalie Ben Bishop and winger Mats Zuccarello get into one of their upcoming games this weekend, notes Mark Stepneski of the Stars’ team website. Bishop skated for the first time today after sustaining a lower-body injury last week while Zuccarello, who was injured in his first game with the team, went through a full practice today and may be the closer of the two to returning.
  • Rangers winger Pavel Buchnevich is in concussion protocol, reports NHL.com’s Mike Morreale (via Twitter). He left Sunday’s game against Philadelphia late with the injury and while they were hopeful he’d suit up tonight, that wasn’t the case.  Buchnevich, a pending restricted free agent this summer, has 37 points in 61 games this season.
  • Maple Leafs winger Andreas Johnsson is dealing with an illness that kept him out of the lineup for tonight’s game against the Islanders, notes Jonas Siegel of The Athletic (Twitter link). The pending RFA has been in a bit of a slump as of late, posting just a single goal in his last 15 games but has 20 tallies on the season.

Tampa Bay Lightning Recall Jan Rutta

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UPDATE: Smith reports that defenseman Anton Stralman is considered day-to-day with a lower-body injury. It’s not exactly an injury that screams play time for Rutta, so the newly-acquired defenseman is likely up in Tampa Bay as insurance for the time being. In the meantime, he can practice with the team and get the feel for his new teammates and coaches. If Stralman’s absence ends up being longer than expected, perhaps Rutta will make his return to NHL action.

 

It’s been a long time coming, but the moment is finally here. Defenseman Jan Rutta, acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks in early January, has finally been called up by the Tampa Bay Lightning. The AHL’s Syracuse Crunch, with whom Rutta has played exclusively since the deal was made, were the ones to break the news, but note that GM Julien BriseBois initially announced the move. 

Rutta, 28, is in his second NHL season after coming over from the Czech Republic ahead of the 2017-18 season. The big, two-way defender played in 57 games for the Blackhawks last season, notching 20 points, and despite spending the last three months in the minors, has 23 NHL games to his credit this year as well, along with six points. In 26 AHL games this year, eight of which came with the Rockford Ice Hogs, Rutta has twelve points. Since joining the Crunch, Rutta has been a dependable defensive presence for the team and has logged an impressive +15 rating. While it helps that Syracuse is a good team this season with the second-best record in the AHL, Rutta has done enough to show that he can be an NHL asset and perhaps a contributor to a playoff run.

As for why the call-up has finally come, The Athletic’s Joe Smith notes that the timing is a surprise and to his knowledge no Lightning defenders are currently injured. Tampa Bay has had the cap space to recall Ruuta if need be, but lacked the roster space – part of the reason they traded Slater Koekkoek in the first place to acquire Ruuta. However, with the trade deadline passed and roster limits eliminated, Ruuta was free to be recalled. It remains unclear where he fits barring an unreported injury, however. The Lightning have seven defensemen who have played more than 41 games this season already and Ruuta is not about to replace any of them in head coach Jon Cooper’s blue line rotation. Yet, the veteran defenseman is probably content just to be back at the NHL level in a season that has surely not gone as he expected.

2019 Midseason UFA Power Rankings: Best Of The Rest

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With the halfway point of the season now behind us and the trade deadline fast approaching, the All-Star break seemed like the perfect time to take a preliminary look at the UFA Class of 2019. These rankings are based on votes from writers Gavin Lee, Brian La Rose, Zach Leach and Holger Stolzenberg. We ran the top-10 yesterday, and spots 11-20 a few days ago.

Today, we’ll look at those names that just missed the cut but will still be interesting options this summer. All of these players were included on at least one ballot, but did not accumulate enough points to crack the top 20.

Mats Zuccarello, New York Rangers — Included on two of the four ballots and sitting as high as 15th, Zuccarello would probably make it into the top-20 most years. Unfortunately he hasn’t really been able to take advantage of the increased opportunity in New York this season, recording just 24 points in 35 games through the first part of the year. The versatile forward has always been a reliable presence in the Rangers’ attack, but he hasn’t looked the part of a 20-goal scorer for several years and this year has just 13 even-strength points. A foot infection has come at the worst time for both player and team, as Zuccarello was working on a five-game point streak through the middle of January and was improving his trade stock greatly. A strong finish on a playoff contender could certainly help his free agent market.

Alex Edler, Vancouver Canucks — It’s hard to vote for Edler as a free agent, given how adamant both sides have been about the potential of the veteran defenseman ending his career in Vancouver. Still, he made it onto one ballot all the way up at #14 earning him a place on our honorable mentions. The oft-injured Edler has been good again this year when in the lineup, but is about to turn 33 and has been clear about his desire to stay with the Canucks. If they can’t find a middle ground, there will be teams hoping Edler can find a way to stave off his decline a few more years—look for a deal similar to the ones Ron Hainsey and Trevor Daley signed in 2017.

Robin Lehner, New York Islanders — 15-7-4, .931 save percentage and a 2.02 goals against average. Still only good enough to get Lehner onto a single ballot. The former Buffalo Sabres starter has turned heads this year, but given that he’s only played in 27 games there should still be plenty of doubt over whether he can handle the load. If Lehner continues to find success down the stretch and leads the Islanders back to the playoffs—and perhaps a series win—someone will find the room to make him a starting goaltender offer in the summer. Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello is notorious for finding a premiere goaltender to start as frequently as possible. Whether he believes Lehner can be that is still to be seen.

Derick Brassard, Pittsburgh Penguins — Hard to believe that last season Brassard was one of the most sought after assets at the trade deadline, and now can’t even get on more than a single ballot. A year in Pittsburgh has not been good for the veteran center, as he has recorded just 27 points in 66 games including a dismal performance in the playoffs.  Brassard is obviously not a fit in Pittsburgh, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be interest in him should he reach free agency. The question is how many years is a team willing to offer for a player who will be 32 before the 2019-20 season begins and is likely coming off his worst season in the NHL.

Jimmy Howard, Detroit Red Wings — On just a single ballot, Howard is another player overshadowed by the talent available at his position. A warrior for the Red Wings for parts of the last 13 seasons, it’s hard to imagine that a team will be willing to pay up for a 35-year old goaltender. Re-signing in Detroit as a part-time starter might make the most sense, especially since they obviously value him quite highly. Howard is still playing well enough to take a team to the playoffs, but betting he’ll be able to do that again going forward is a pretty risky gamble.

Anton Stralman, Tampa Bay Lightning — Overlooked for basically his whole career, Stralman was another who received just a single vote. Despite seeming like he’s been in the league for decades, the veteran defenseman won’t turn 33 until August and is still playing excellent hockey for the best team in the NHL. Sure, his game has slowed a bit since he was a 30+ point defenseman, but teams are always looking for right-handed depth on the blue line and Stralman brings over 100 games of playoff experience. If the Lightning can bring home a Stanley Cup it would only further cement his place as a viable free agent option for any contender.

Brandon Pirri, Vegas Golden Knights — It’s not often that a player who has spent much of the season in the minor leagues receives a vote as one of the top free agents, but Pirri has been an unusual case for his entire career. The simple fact is that he can flat out score, has shown by his eight goals and 13 points in 14 games for the Golden Knights this year. No one is going to be handing out a long-term big money deal, but Pirri has done enough work to improve his game away from the puck that there will be interest. That is, if the Golden Knights don’t extend him themselves.

Maple Leafs Still Seeking Right-Shot Defenseman

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The Toronto Maple Leafs are undoubtedly one of the top contenders for the Stanley Cup this season, but many would agree that they face an uphill battle if they don’t improve their defense corps. For years, the right side of the defense has been an issue in Toronto and nothing has changed. Nikita Zaitsev and Igor Ozhiganov are the only right-shot defenders that play regularly for the Maple Leafs and the former has struggled all season long – to the point that the team is actively shopping him and his lengthy contract – and the latter is still adjusting to an NHL pace of play. The only other righty on the blue line is Justin Holl, who is scoreless in two games so far this season as a total non-factor. Toronto needs more production, better checking, and all around more cohesion among their defensemen and it all starts with fixing the right side.

It comes as no surprise then that Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos reports that the team is still actively scouring the market for a solution on the right side, preferably a top-four caliber defender. Kypreos again mentions the St. Louis Blues’ Alex Pietrangelo, a player that the Maple Leafs were linked to earlier this season, as a possibility, but questions his availability. Colleague Elliotte Friedman also mentions Los Angeles Kings’ off-side lefty Jake Muzzin and Philadelphia Flyers’ bruiser Radko Gudas as options. The problem, and one addressed by Kypreos, is that the prices are high on these top right-side defensemen with term remaining on their contracts and he believes that the Maple Leafs are unwilling to part with young roster forwards like Kasperi Kapanen or Andreas Johnsson or top blue line prospect Rasmus Sandin to get a deal done. Kypreos lists the team’s first-round pick and AHL defensemen Timothy Liljegren and Calle Rosen as their top bargaining chips, but that likely will not be enough to land one of the top long-term defensemen on the market.

The prices will be lower on the rental market, but the options are also less appealing. The best right-handed defensemen who are impending free agents all belong to top contenders – Erik Karlsson, Anton Stralman, Dan Girardi, Tyler Myers – and even some of the more moderate options play for teams not looking to sell, such as the Golden Knights’ Deryk Engelland and the Bruins’ Steven Kampfer. If the Leafs feel adding a solid, stay-at-home righty would give them the boost they desire, the New Jersey Devils’ Ben Lovejoy or the New York Rangers’ Adam McQuaid would both be serviceable options. If they instead want a puck-mover, they could try to pry Nick Jensen from the Detroit Red Wings or Taylor Fedun from the Dallas Stars, but neither are guaranteed to be available. There simply isn’t a great market right now at right-shot defense, typical of the position that has become one of the most valuable in hockey due to scarcity. It may be the one piece that the Maple Leafs need to put them over the top, but making a deal is going to be easier said than done.

Atlantic Notes: Cernak, Johnson, Ullmark, Heinen

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The Tampa Bay Lightning have seen their hit numbers skyrocket this season as the team has 200 more hits than they did at this point last season and much of that credit can go to the play of rookie defenseman Erik Cernak. The 21-year-old already has 91 hits this season as his play has only made the Lightning even tougher on the ice.

“If there’s a surprise, it’s that he’s getting better,” head coach Jon Cooper said. “You sit and say, ‘OK, this kid is going to play in the NHL, it’s a matter of when. But there’s still some development to do.’ But he’s stepped right in, played with (Ryan McDonagh). … The one thing that he has done is he can handle the big boys. He can skate with the big boys. That’s the one thing that maybe we didn’t give him enough credit for until you see him do it.

Joe Smith of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that the Lightning may be coming close to a point where they intend to commit to the rookie as a permanent member of their top-six. Cernak has been amongst a group of defenseman who have taken turns sitting out in a rotation that includes Mikhail Sergachev, Dan Girardi, Braydon Coburn and even Anton Stralman. Smith adds that over the next month or two, the team may want to settle on their top-six defenders before the playoffs to solidify their blueline chemistry. Cernak is making a case to being one of those top six.

  • NHL.com’s Bryan Burns writes that Tampa Bay Lightning forward Tyler Johnson remains out with a lower-body injury that he suffered against Toronto Thursday. The scribe writes that Tampa Bay assistant coach Derek Lalonde said he expects Johnson to be back after the team returns from its bye week, which the team will start after their game tonight against San Jose.
  • At the start of the season, Buffalo Sabres goaltender Linus Ullmark was the team’s backup goaltender behind newly signed Carter Hutton, but Jon Vogl of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that things have changed in Buffalo now after Ullmark has appeared in four straight games recently. Now, they are considered co-starters as the 25-year-old has posted a 10-4-4 record this year, including a .914 save percentage, while Hutton has struggled since November. In his last 12 starts, Hutton has a 2.82 GAA and a .898 save percentage.
  • Despite an impressive rookie campaign last year, Boston Bruins forward Danton Heinen has struggled considerably this season as the 23-year-old has just five goals and 12 points in 46 games. However, while the team has scratched many of their players recently such as David Backes, Ryan Donato and Noel Acciari, Heinen has avoided being a healthy scratch recently. NBC Sports’ Joe Haggerty writes that head coach Bruce Cassidy feels that while his offense is struggling, Heinen has other parts of his game that continue to help Boston win. “As long as he helps us win he’ll stay in and we’ll allow him to play through it. Unless we find a player that’s better or more suited, then we’ll always take a look at that,” said Cassidy. “That could be from within if a player grows his game and passed him. But right now he’s still a positive for us.”

Atlantic Notes: Point, Andersen, McAvoy, Helm

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With more and more rumors surfacing that many teams may consider handing out offer sheets this summer when a number of intriguing game-changing restricted free agents will be out there, one team that might have to worry more than anyone will be the salary-strapped Tampa Bay Lightning. The team will have quite a few cap issues this offseason, including a number of unrestricted defensive free agents in Anton Stralman, Braydon Coburn and Dan Girardi as well as multiple restricted free agents, including star center Brayden Point.

The fear is that a team might take advantage of Tampa Bay’s situation and make Point an offer that the Lightning would have trouble matching as they will be forced to make significant adjustments for the next several years with all the big-name players they have. However, The Athletic’s Joe Smith (subscription required) interviewed general manager Julien BriseBois about many topics, but the GM believes that offer sheets aren’t being utilized amongst NHL teams for a reason.

“I’m really not concerned at all about offer sheets,” BriseBois said. “I don’t see it happening. The way it’s set up, there’s no point in making an offer sheet unless you think you’re going to get the player. And teams match. You’re not going to let go of the good young players that are going to be good for your team for many years to come. So I don’t see it.”

BriseBois also pointed out that negotiations with Point will not begin until after the season and even if a team was able to get Point to sign an offer sheet, he believes that the team would have the time needed to move around pieces to retain Point.

  • Mark Zwolinski of The Star writes that Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock said that there is no rush when it comes to getting back goaltender Frederik Andersen, who is out with a groin injury. Andersen, who has played more minutes than any goaltender in the league so far in the past two years, is expected to work out with goaltending coach Steve Briere on Tuesday and could be cleared for practice on Wednesday, but whether he plays on Thursday afternoon or Saturday isn’t important to the coach. “Let’s make it clear, there’s no plan,” Babcock said.
  • Joe Haggerty of NBC Sports writes that Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy seems unlikely to play in Tuesday’s Winter Classic after not practicing Monday. If McAvoy misses Tuesday’s game, that will be the 23rd game that he has missed this season, which is starting to look like a pattern as he also missed 19 games in his rookie campaign last season. Haggerty suggests that if he continues to show an inability to stay on the ice, that could affect the big contract that many people expect McAvoy will get this offseason when he hits restricted free agency. He’s been compared to Drew Doughty, but Doughty has never missed more than six games in a season and has played a full 82-game schedule five times in his career.
  • MLive’s Ansar Khan writes that the Detroit Red Wings are close to getting back veteran Darren Helm and he could be back as early as Wednesday. The forward has been out since Nov. 17 with a shoulder injury. The 31-year-old has just one goal this season in 20 games after a 13-goal season a year ago.

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