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Auston Matthews

Snapshots: Three Stars, Vilardi, Matthews

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The NHL has announced their Three Stars for the latest week of the regular season, giving the Calgary Flames something to finally celebrate. Though the Flames are still giving up goals at an unfortunate pace, their offense has exploded and has them in first place in the Pacific Division. That’s in big part due to Sean Monahan’s eight-point week which has earned him first star honors. The young center now has 18 points in his first 15 games this season and is on pace to shatter his previous career-high of 64 points, set last year. With 146 goals already in his young career—Monahan turned 24 just a few weeks ago—he’s on track to be one of the best scorers to ever wear a Flames uniform. Jarome Iginla is clearly the leader with 525 regular season goals for Calgary, but Monahan already ranks 17th and could jump into the top-12 by season’s end.

Young stars was the theme of this week’s awards, as super rookie Elias Pettersson and underrated center Brayden Point took home second and third star. Pettersson is one of the most exciting players in the NHL right now, while Point continues to develop into the next great two-way center even in the shadows of other Tampa Bay stars like Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov. The Lightning have a huge contract negotiation coming with Point at the end of this year, when he enters restricted free agency for the first time. If his point output continues at its current pace—he’s on track for just under 100—they’ll be hard pressed to find room for him among all their other talented and well paid forwards without making a corresponding move.

  • Though Los Angeles Kings fans may have felt a chill run through their body upon reading Bob McKenzie of TSN’s report that Gabe Vilardi suffered a setback in an off-ice training session, Jon Rosen of LA Kings Insider was told that it’s nothing to really worry about. Viladri has a tight hip flexor, but should be back on the ice in a few days. That’s great news for a player who can’t seem to catch a break when it comes to injury, and has played just 48 OHL games since being selected 11th overall in 2017. The 19-year old forward is a dominant puck possessing force when healthy, but needs to get back on the ice full-time before he can really prove he’ll be a part of the turnaround in Los Angeles.
  • Speaking of getting back on the ice, Auston Matthews skated today in Toronto with a team of coaches including Haley Wickenheiser as he works his way back from his latest shoulder injury. The Maple Leafs indicated that it would be a minimum of four weeks from October 29th before Matthews would be ready for game action, meaning he’s still several weeks away from the lineup. Still, with the Maple Leafs coming off a dominating 5-0 win on Saturday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins, seeing their best player on the ice shooting pucks already has to be another morale boost as they try to keep pace with the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Atlantic Division.

Latest On William Nylander, Toronto Maple Leafs

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The Toronto Maple Leafs will be without one of the league’s brightest young stars for at least a month, as Auston Matthews has been ruled out with a shoulder injury. Immediately speculation returned about restricted free agent William Nylander, who could now be more important than ever for the Maple Leafs as they try to stay relevant without Matthews in the lineup. Today though, Darren Dreger was on TSN radio and explained that as of the weekend there was still a “pretty wide gap” between the Maple Leafs and Nylander’s camp.

There have been in-person meetings between Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas and both Nylander and his agent Lewis Gross over the last few weeks, and things had apparently gone relatively positively. Several reports surfaced that the two sides were having ongoing dialogue, but nothing has materialized to this point. With just a few days remaining in October, we’re just over a month away from the December 1st deadline that would stop Nylander from playing at all this season. Even with Matthews’ return that would be a worst-case outcome for both sides, given their early season success and belief that they can compete for the Stanley Cup.

The final restricted free agent this season, Nylander is looking for a long-term deal if possible that would buy out several UFA seasons. That would require the cap hit to be substantial, something the Maple Leafs need to be careful of given the other contract they’ll need to sign soon. Speculation about a potential trade continues, with Dreger saying that the team “at least has to consider it” before long. Toronto has given absolutely no indication that they would be willing to trade their young forward, but there is certainly interest around the league.

Interestingly, the Maple Leafs are not planning on recalling another forward as of right now, leaving them with just 12 healthy bodies up front. Adding Nylander in would get them back to 13 forwards, but nothing seems imminent unless there has been a change recently. The Maple Leafs are at home this entire week, and will travel to Pittsburgh for Saturday night.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Auston Matthews Placed On Injured Reserve

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The Toronto Maple Leafs are coming off an emotional come from behind win against the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday night, but the game came with a heavy price tag. Auston Matthews was injured in the game, and the team announced this morning that he will be out for at least four weeks. Matthews suffered a shoulder injury, and has been moved to injured reserve.

It’s not the first time the Maple Leafs’ young star has dealt with an injury, as he experienced a similar shoulder problem last season. That injury was to his other side, but he’ll at least know what kind of work he needs to put in to get back to full strength. He will not undergo surgery, but the Maple Leafs are sure to take their time with getting him back on the ice as the club has their eyes set on the ultimate prize this season. Risking Matthews’ health by rushing him back at this point in the season is the last thing their sports science team will allow, meaning it could very well be more than four weeks depending on how the healing process goes.

Matthews was off to an incredible start for Toronto, who are tied for first place in the entire NHL with an 8-3 record. Defeating the Jets consecutive games has put them ahead of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins in the Atlantic Division, but Matthews’ injury will certainly test their resolve. John Tavares will likely be asked to carry even more offensive responsibility, while Nazem Kadri has been reunited with Mitch Marner to see if they can find some of the chemistry they experienced last season.

Toronto’s Auston Matthews Suffers Shoulder Injury

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Sunday: Head coach Mike Babcock said that Matthews will be re-evaluated on Monday, according to NHL.com’s Dave McCarthy. However, Babcock did admit that Matthews will not practice Sunday or play in Monday’s game against Calgary.

“He’s not ready right away for sure,” Babcock said.

Saturday: The Toronto Maple Leafs got some bad news as star Auston Matthews suffered a shoulder injury during the second period of their game against the Winnipeg Jets Saturday. The center took a big hit (video here) from Winnipeg’s Jacob Trouba and skated off in pain, immediately exiting the game. It didn’t take long before the team announced that he will not return to the game. This marks the third shoulder injury in his career.

Any significant injury would be devastating for both Matthews and the team. The 21-year-old Matthews is having the best start of his career, posting 10 goals and 16 points in the team’s first 10 games (not including this one), but he missed 20 games due to injury last year (including a second-degree shoulder separation injury) and the Maple Leafs would like to avoid another long stretch of games without their star center. Matthews also suffered a significant shoulder injury in juniors. Any injury would likely push John Tavares into an even bigger role for the team as well as promote Nazem Kadri to the team’s second line.

If Matthews does miss time, it could be a way for restricted free agent William Nylander to get that extra leverage and force the team to hand him a contract closer to the $8MM pricetag that he’s asking for. The two sides have been far apart in contract negotiations as time is starting to run out. A significant injury could force Toronto to add some money to the deal to get him into their lineup as quick as possible to keep their offense rolling.

Atlantic Notes: Gardiner, Kotkaniemi, Abdelkader, Rask

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Even though the Toronto Maple Leafs have their hands full with the contract negotiations with William Nylander and the future negotiations with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun (subscription required) writes that the team also will likely have issues with defenseman Jake Gardiner.

The scribe writes that while Gardiner has expressed his desire to remain with Toronto long-term and general manager Kyle Dubas has met up with Gardiners’ representative, Pat Brisson, it’s likely that Gardiner will have to wait until the contracts of Nylander, Matthews and Marner are finalized, which could edge him out if those players don’t take hometown discounts. Regardless, after Nate Schmidt signed for $5.95MM AAV a few days ago, Gardiner could get quite a bit more on the open market especially with so few quality blueliners available on the free agent market next season. He might be able to command $7MM per year. However, he will likely have to take less than $6MM if he wants to remain in Toronto.

  • Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette writes that today’s game against the Boston Bruins will be the 10th game for rookie Jesperi Kotkaniemi, signifiying that the team intends to burn the first year of the 18-year-old’s entry-level contract. While a few weeks ago, a move like this might have been in doubt, Kotkaniemi has shown considerable improvement over the past couple of weeks, making this move automatic for the team. He is averaging 14:04 ATOI and has four assists through his first nine games. Head coach Claude Julien compared him to Boston’s David Pastrnak at the same age. “They’re both guys who had to fill out and get stronger, but you can see the kill level,” said Julien. “With both players, you have to protect them a bit and that’s what I’ve done with K-K. It’s a little tougher when you’re on the road and you don’t get the last line change but he’s been in tough situations and he’s handled them well.”
  • Helene St. James of the Detroit Free-Press writes that one of the biggest problems to the Detroit Red Wings dismal performance through the first 10 games of the season has been the play of some of the veterans, especially the performance of Justin Abdelkader, who not only is quite offensively with one assist in 10 games, but is also struggling playing his physical brand of hockey. “You want to physically be engaged every game,” Abdelkader said. “You look for hits, and they’re definitely harder to come by in this game now. But that’s a part of my game. I’ve felt really good — had a really good summer, good training camp.”
  • In a mailbag series, NBC Sports Joe Haggerty questions whether Boston Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask is really a No. 1 goalie, pointing out that he struggles when he is used regularly, which forced the Bruins to sign Jaroslav Halak to a $2.75MM contract. A true No. 1 goaltender wouldn’t require a team to pay that much for a backup and play 30 games for him. Add to that that Rask is known to be a slow starter and really struggles when the defense in front of him isn’t at their best, Haggerty doesn’t believe that the team currently can look at him as a top-rated goalie.

Agent Mike Liut Set To Bury The “Bridge Deal” This Off-Season

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For some time now, the landscape of NHL contracts has been changing, trending away from short and relatively inexpensive contracts for young restricted free agents. These “bridge deals” had long been used by teams to keep promising young talent on a reasonable price tag after their entry-level contract expired. While teams have been complicit in the movement away from bridge deals, players have simply begun to produce at a much higher level far sooner than in the past and, in turn, agents have demanded more term and salary than they ever had the leverage to command previously. The bridge deal is not yet extinct, but players and their representatives are having a much easier time landing expensive, long-term deals as early as possible in recent years.

While the beginning of the end for affordable youth can be traced back to superstars like Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin – whose cap hits now look like bargains some years later – it is within the last few years that young players of a lesser caliber than the all-world exception have been able to land similar pacts. The architect of multiple recent deals of great length and value has been Mike Liut of Octagon Sports. A former NHLer himself, Liut is the director of Octagon’s hockey division. Forbes reports that Liut manages 22 clients and over $325MM in player salary. His efforts to eliminate the bridge deal have played no small part in that impressive total. Liut negotiated the eight-year, $60MM contract signed by the St. Louis Blues’ Vladimir Tarasenko back in 2015, when Tarasenko had less than 200 NHL games to his credit. He then put together the eight-year, $49MM contract of the Winnipeg Jets’ Mark Scheifele in 2016, before he became the point-per-game player he is today. However, the crown jewel of Liut’s collection has to be the massive eight-year, $68MM contract belonging to the Edmonton Oilers’ Leon Draisaitl. Signed last year, Draisaitl’s deal carries an $8.5MM cap hit that is among the top fifteen players in the league. Yet, Liut somehow landed Draisaitl that deal after just two and half seasons, only one of which was truly impressive.

Now, Liut has a chance at a repeat performance of the Draisaitl deal not once, not twice, not even thrice, but with four different prominent players this off-season. Liut counts Patrik Laine, Mikko Rantanen, Brock Boeser, and Jake Guentzel among his clients and each of those four is set to have their entry-level contract expire this off-season. Winnipeg’s Laine has finished in the top ten in goal scoring in each of his first two seasons and was second only to Ovechkin for the league lead last year. Colorado’s Rantanen recorded 84 points in 81 games last year and currently shares the NHL lead in points and assists. Vancouver’s Boeser finished second in Calder Trophy voting last year and led the Canucks in scoring. Pittsburgh’s Guentzel is a Stanley Cup champion and a proven clutch scorer. Liut has shown an ability to bypass the bridge deal before and has an excellent chance at landing each of these players an expensive long-term deal. Other restricted free agents like Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and Sebastian Aho are also certain to land similar deals. As such, in an off-season with an abnormal amount of high-profile RFA’s, each one could end up with an expensive, long-term extension. The effect, as Liut hopes, that the bridge deal dies as a result.

Central Notes: Byfuglien, Suter, MacKinnon, Eriksson Ek

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The Winnipeg Jets open up a six-game homestand, but will be without one of their best players as defenseman Dustin Byfuglien will sit out Sunday due to an upper-body injury he sustained in practice Saturday, according to the Winnipeg Sun’s Ken Wiebe.

He is listed as day-to-day, according to head coach Paul Maurice. The 6-foot-5, 260-pound blueliner will be a major loss as the team hosts the red-hot Carolina Hurricanes, who have been impressive in the first week and a half of the season. The team will turn to Dmitry Kulikov to make his season debut in place of Byfuglien and will likely be paired with Ben Chiarot on the bottom pairing.

“It’s been a lot of hard work over the summer and I knew at some point I was going to get in the lineup,” said Kulikov, who dealt with off-season back surgery. “It’s exciting for me. I just want to get out there and play some games.”

  • Much praise has been given towards the recent play of Minnesota Wild defenseman Ryan Suter, which has been impressive in the last few games, according to Pioneer Press’ Dane Mizutani. That’s key after the veteran defenseman is returning from a broken right ankle late last season. His numbers have improved in the four games he’s played so far this season as his ATOI has increased in each game that he’s played so far as he played 28:21 in Saturday’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes. He also has posted a goal and three assists in his last two games.
  • Nathan MacKinnon has started his season off on a positive note as he has already tallied six goals in his first five games, yet the Colorado Avalanche center indicates that he can do even better. “I think I can dominate more than I am,” said MacKinnon, the reigning Hart Trophy runner-up. MacKinnon currently is tied for third place in goal scoring behind Toronto’s Auston Matthews and Boston’s David Pastrnak.
  • Sarah McLellan of the StarTribune reports the injured center Joel Eriksson Ek was skating this morning. He was reportedly expected to miss a week after suffering a lower-body injury. There is no update on his status, however, and the team is still considering recalling a player from the Iowa Wild of the AHL with a back-to-back games approaching. While he hasn’t posted any points yet in three games, many have been impressed by the play of the 21-year-old center.

Eastern Notes: Murray, Flyers’ Goalies, Kapanen, Zadina

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Pittsburgh goaltender Matt Murray is back with the team on the active roster after suffering a concussion less than a week ago, but will serve as the backup to Casey DeSmith for tonight’s game in Montreal, according to Seth Rorabaugh of The Athletic (subscription required). Third-stringer Tristan Jarry traveled with the team in case Murray cannot serve as backup.

Head coach Mike Sullivan wasn’t surprised that Murray was ready to return from a concussion after just a few days.

“And the reason is, it’s really hard to compare one concussion to the next,” Sullivan explained. “The nature of that injury is that they’re all different. Some guys recover very quickly. With some guys, it lingers. There’s so many things associated with it.”

Murray has struggled in the two games he has appeared in this year, having allowed 11 goals, but Sullivan believes that sitting Murray on the bench rather than sitting in the press box is the best thing for his recovery.

“When you see the game up close on the bench, it’s a whole different game than it is from the press box,” Sullivan said. “Things happen a whole lot faster. It’s one step in the process that we think prepares our goalies to be successful when they step back on the ice.”

  • David Isaac of the Courier Post writes that Philadelphia Flyers general manager Ron Hextall isn’t opposed to the team keeping three goaltenders when injured backup Michal Neuvirth returns to the lineup, which is “not too far away.” The team has had quite a bit of success with the tandem of Brian Elliott and Calvin Pickard, but the team would have to expose someone to waivers if they want to keep just two goalies on the roster. “We’ll have to deal with that at the time,” Hextall said when asked if he intends on carrying three goalies on his roster. “It’s not an ideal situation, but if that’s what’s right for our hockey club, that’s what we’ll do. All these injuries, we have a roster issue. Thankfully we don’t have a (salary) cap issue. We’ll deal with it at the time and see what information comes to us between now and then and make a decision.”
  • Jordan Samuels-Thomas of The Athletic (subscription required) profiles Toronto Maple Leafs top-line winger Kasperi Kapanen and how he’s found chemistry with the team’s top line while William Nylander holds out for a contract extension. Kapanen’s effort, well-rounded game and speed have made him a perfect fit alongside Auston Matthews and Patrick Marleau.
  • MLive’s Steve Kaminski writes that Detroit Red Wings prospect Filip Zadina is starting to get hot in Grand Rapids after posting a two-goal game in his third appearance for the AHL club. “I am getting better every single game, and I’m way more comfortable than I was when I played the first game,” the sixth-overall pick in this year’s draft said. “(The goals) helped me a lot mentally, and I am more confident with the puck.”

Latest On William Nylander, Toronto Maple Leafs

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The Toronto Maple Leafs are now three games into the 2018-19 season and though things haven’t gone smoothly to this point the team is 2-1. Outstanding early performances from Auston Matthews—who was named NHL First Star of the Week—John Tavares and Mitch Marner have provided more than enough offense, including leading them to a 7-6 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday. Those offensive performances though, impressive as they are, won’t make anyone forget about William Nylander and his ongoing contract negotiations with the team.

Nylander is still without a deal for this season and is coming up on a week of missed salary as he tries to secure his future earnings with a long-term deal. The young forward has told reporters that he has to think about his whole career, and there has been little to report between the two sides. When asked about it today on TSN radio, hockey insider Darren Dreger explained that the standoff could continue for some time:

Until they get into a real gritty type of negotiation, the stalemate isn’t going to end. One side is locked in in the low sixes, from what we understand, and the other side being Willie Nylander is still eight plus. Well that’s too wide a gap to get solved in three, four or five games. I think it might need a bit more time, unless Nylander just says ’Dad, I don’t want to hear from you for a while. Lewis Gross, you’re my agent, I need $6.4MM per year or I need this much on a bridge deal, go and get it done.’ That didn’t happen in the last day or so.

Dreger is of course referring to the reports that Nylander’s camp—which includes his father, Michael Nylander—is looking for an average annual value somewhere in the $8MM range on a long-term deal, while the Maple Leafs are more comfortable with a salary somewhere between $6-7MM. Neither side seems very interested in a bridge deal, though the possibility they come to terms on one just to get Nylander playing again does still exist.

The Maple Leafs have to tread carefully with these big contracts given the lack of cap flexibility they’ll be working with after signing Tavares to a seven-year $77MM deal this offseason, and the upcoming negotiations with both Matthews and Marner. The gap between asks for Toronto and Nylander is crucial cap space for the club going forward, and as long as they’re winning without him there is little incentive to cave to his demands. The deadline of course is December 1st, when restricted free agents must be signed by if they’re to play at all during the 2018-19 season.

Toronto will be back in action on Tuesday night against the Dallas Stars, but once again will hit the ice without one of their best forwards. While they wait for the Nylander situation to resolve itself, Kasperi Kapanen has taken up residence next to Matthews on the top line and found early chemistry with him on the weekend. There is little doubt that the team will continue to produce offensively in Nylander’s absence, but with the Boston Bruins and other Atlantic Division rivals off to solid starts the Maple Leafs would obviously rather have their full complement of players at coach Mike Babcock’s disposal.

Snapshots: Three Stars, Lundestrom, Luukkonen

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The NHL has handed out the Three Stars of the Week for the first time this season, naming Auston Matthews as the top performer through the first few games. Matthews leads the NHL with eight points through three games including five goals, and has been a huge part of the Toronto Maple Leafs getting off to a 2-1 start. The Maple Leafs have looked shaky in their own end to start the year, but with the firepower that Matthews and John Tavares can provide up front it might not matter on most nights.

Jonathan Toews and Ben Bishop were named to the other two spots, noting a bounce back for both players this season. Toews especially had a down year as the Chicago Blackhawks disappointed in 2017-18, but is off to a blistering start with five goals in his first seven periods and six points total through three games. If the Blackhawks are to return to relevancy this year, they’ll need their captain to be among the best players in the league once again.

  • Speaking of captains not living up to expectations, the Anaheim Ducks were without Ryan Getzlaf today at practice while he deals with a lower-body injury. That meant first-round pick Isac Lundestrom was skating between Andrew Cogliano and Kiefer Sherwood according to Eric Stephens of The Athletic, giving the young forward a chance to make his NHL debut later tonight. Lundestrom has been surprisingly polished through training camp, and even at the age of 18 looks like a possible contributor for the Ducks this season. The 23rd-overall pick scored 15 points in 42 games in the Swedish Hockey League last season, and will try to make an even bigger impact in the NHL.
  • The Ducks aren’t the only one with an impressive young prospect though, as Buffalo Sabres draft pick Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has won the OHL Player of the Week award. Luukkonen is playing for the Sudbury Wolves this season as he prepares for life as a professional in North America, and is already 5-0 with a .944 save percentage. Selected 54th overall in 2017, Luukkonen signed his entry-level contract this offseason and is quickly becoming one of the top goaltending prospects in the league. He’ll likely start out next season in the AHL, but the Sabres are hoping for big things from him down the line.

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