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Maple Leafs’ Depth Players Looking For More Opportunity

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The Toronto Maple Leafs are dealing with several injuries at the moment, with Trevor Moore, Andreas Johnsson and Ilya Mikheyev all out up front. None of the trio have a clear return date at this point, which has led to the team bringing up several of their minor league forwards over the last few weeks. Mason Marchment was the latest recall, following Pierre Engvall and Adam Brooks who have now worked their way into the lineup.

One player who many may have thought would be among the first recalls is Jeremy Bracco, who finished the 2018-19 season as the second-highest scorer in the AHL. Bracco’s 79 points in 75 games trailed only Carter Verhaeghe, who is now a regular for the Tampa Bay Lightning. The 22-year old Maple Leafs’ prospect hasn’t been given a look in the NHL yet however, partly because of the position his plays. Bracco is a right winger, the same side where Toronto already has Mitch Marner, William Nylander and Kasperi Kapanen locked into the top three lines.

That’s a tough group to crack, something that Bracco obviously understands. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet wrote yesterday in his 31 Thoughts column that the young forward has asked the organization to see if there is a better opportunity elsewhere. Friedman suggests that Dmytro Timashov and Ben Harpur have both also asked Toronto the same thing.

For Timashov especially, that may come as some surprise. The 23-year old made the Maple Leafs out of camp in surprise fashion and has played in 29 games this season for them. While he isn’t getting a ton of ice time playing on the fourth line, the fifth-round pick is at least in the NHL.

Harpur meanwhile is in a different situation. Included in the trade that sent Nikita Zaitsev and Connor Brown to the Ottawa Senators in the offseason, the 24-year old defenseman has played the entire year in the minor leagues with the Toronto Marlies. That demotion comes after seeing regular NHL minutes the last two seasons, playing 92 games for the Senators since the start of 2017-18.

Obviously, these three names don’t come with a ton of recognition around the league, but the Maple Leafs may not be willing to just give them away. Friedman ponders whether they could be part of a bigger deal, though Toronto will still have to deal with cap implications should they try to add anything to their NHL roster at the moment.

Training Camp Cuts: 09/28/19

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The final weekend of the preseason is upon us with the regular season getting underway next week. Final training camp cuts will be coming in with regularity over the next 48 hours or so. We’ll keep track of all of today’s right here. Keep up with the news, as the page will be updated throughout the day:

Arizona Coyotes (per team release)

F Michael Bunting (to Tucson, AHL)
F Michael Chaput (to Tucson, AHL)
F Hudson Fasching (to Tucson, AHL)
D Aaron Ness (to Tucson, AHL)

Calgary Flames (per team release)

F Devante Smith-Pelly (released from PTO)

Dallas Stars (per team releases)

D Joseph Cecconi (to Texas, AHL)
D Joel Hanley (to Texas, AHL)

Detroit Red Wings (per team release)

D Oliwer Kaski (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Ryan Kuffner (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
D Gustav Lindstrom (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Jarid Lukosevicius (released from ATO)
F Gregor MacLeod (released from ATO)
F David Pope (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
D Vili Saarijarvi (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Dominik Shine (released from PTO)
F Givani Smith (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Evgeny Svechnikov (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Joe Veleno (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Filip Zadina (to Grand Rapids, AHL)

Edmonton Oilers (per team release)

F Anton Burdasov (released from PTO)

Los Angeles Kings (per team release)

F Nikolai Prokhorkin (to Ontario, AHL)

New York Islanders (per team release)

F Travis St. Denis (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Matthew Lorito (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Cole Bardreau (to Bridgeport, AHL)
D Kyle Burroughs (to Bridgeport, AHL)
D Seth Helgeson (to Bridgeport, AHL)
G Christopher Gibson (to Bridgeport, AHL)
G Jared Coreau (to Bridgeport, AHL)

San Jose Sharks (per team release)

D Jacob Middleton (to San Jose, AHL)
F Antti Suomela (to San Jose, AHL)

Toronto Maple Leafs (per team releases)

F Pontus Aberg (to waivers for purpose of assignment to Toronto, AHL)
F Tyler Gaudet (to waivers for purpose of assignment to Toronto, AHL)
D Ben Harpur (to waivers for purpose of assignment to Toronto, AHL)
D Jordan Schmaltz (to waivers for purpose of assignment to Toronto, AHL)
F Darren Archibald (to Toronto, AHL)
F Jeremy Bracco (to Toronto, AHL)
F Adam Brooks (to Toronto, AHL)
F Rich Clune (to Toronto, AHL)
F Hudson Elynuik (to Toronto, AHL)
F Pierre Engvall (to Toronto, AHL)
D Teemu Kivihalme (to Toronto, AHL)
G Joseph Woll (to Toronto, AHL)

Vegas Golden Knights (per team tweet)

G Dylan Ferguson (to Fort Wayne, ECHL)

Washington Capitals (per team release)

F Shane Gersich (to Hershey, AHL)
D Lucas Johansen (to Hershey, AHL)
F Beck Malenstyn (to Hershey, AHL)
F Brian Pinho (to Hershey, AHL)
G Vitek Vanecek (to Hershey, AHL)
D Colby Williams (to Hershey, AHL)

Toronto’s Barrie Expected To Demand $8MM Next Year

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Although the Toronto Maple Leafs have plenty of obstacles still to deal with this offseason still, including working out a contract with restricted free agent Mitch Marner, the team may have even more problems approaching them a year from now.

While the Maple Leafs forwards should be in good shape next season as the team will have few to no free agents to worry about, the newly reconstructed defense will be an entirely different story as only one of their defenseman, Morgan Rielly, is signed beyond the 2019-20 season. The team has five unrestricted free agents blueliners and another two restricted free agents defenders, which could create quite a bit of unrest next summer.

However, to make matters worse, the Toronto Sun’s Steve Simmons writes that newly acquired Tyson Barrie is expecting to cash in on his next contract next summer and could be looking to demand an eight-year deal at $8MM per season next year. The 27-year-old has been incredibly consistent over the last few years, putting up 14 goals and a career-high 59 points last season and has averaged 49 points over the past six seasons. He is finishing up a four-year, $22MM contract at $5.5MM, but because Colorado retained half his salary, the team is only on the hook for a $2.75MM AAV this season. However, an $8MM contract could force the Maple Leafs to allow the blueliner to walk away for nothing.

The team will likely have to make some tough decisions as Jake Muzzin and Cody Ceci will also be unrestricted free agents. Much of those decisions will likely depend on how well they play next season and how their salaries can fit into their tight salary cap situation. The team has a few other lesser free agents, including Justin Holl and Martin Marincin, but they also may have to give significant raises to restricted free agents Travis Dermott and Ben Harpur. The team will get a small break next season when the contract of Nathan Horton and his $5.3MM finally expires, which should help, but that isn’t likely to solve all those problems either. There will be little money available to help the team out without more cost-cutting moves.

Toronto Maple Leafs Trade Nikita Zaitsev

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The Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators have finalized a trade that will see Nikita Zaitsev and Cody Ceci swap teams. The Maple Leafs will send Zaitsev, Connor Brown and Michael Carcone to the Senators in exchange for Ceci, Ben Harpur, Aaron Luchuk and a 2020 third-round draft pick (originally from Columbus). The trade had to wait until today so that Toronto could pay out Zaitsev’s $3MM signing bonus, though technically that also meant he needed to waive the partial no-trade clause that has kicked in.

Zaitsev, 27, has five years left on his current contract and carries a $4.5MM cap hit, something the Maple Leafs needed to get out from under as they continue to work on an extension for restricted free agent Mitch Marner. The Russian defenseman signed a long-term deal with the club after an excellent rookie season in 2017 but saw his offensive numbers regress drastically as head coach Mike Babcock used him more and more in a shutdown role. That role never seemed like a perfect fit for the smooth-skating Zaitsev, who is used much more offensively at the international level with the Russian national team.

A capable penalty killer, he immediately becomes the Senators’ most expensive defenseman and reunites with former Maple Leafs assistant coach D.J. Smith who is now the boss in Ottawa. Zaitsev will likely be leaned on heavily for the Senators, who have plenty of inexperience on their blue line at the moment.

If not for this trade Ceci, 25, would have become the highest paid defender for the Senators as he was a year ago. Sitting currently as a restricted free agent he does have the option to file for salary arbitration but could also just elect to accept his $4.3MM qualifying offer. That may be the more prudent decision in this case, as heading to arbitration likely gives the Maple Leafs a chance to walk away from the decision altogether. It’s not clear what Toronto’s plans for Ceci are at this point.

Of the other pieces in the deal, Brown is clearly the most valuable. The bottom-six forward is heading into the final year of his current contract that carries a $2.1MM cap hit but is a useful player that can contribute in various situations. A 20-goal scorer as a rookie in 2016-17, the last two seasons have seen his goal totals drop dramatically as more talent was brought into the Toronto lineup. The sixth-round pick eventually found himself suiting up most nights on the fourth line, though he was still a favorite of Babcock’s on the penalty kill. The 25-year old will likely receive a bigger opportunity in Ottawa and could set himself up for another solid contract next summer with some improved offensive numbers.

Ottawa GM Pierre Dorion released a statement on his newest players:

“We’re bringing in highly competitive players that we like as long-term fits for our team. Both are the type of true professionals who match with the culture we want to put in place here in Ottawa,. Nikita is a physical right-shot defenceman who defends hard, fills lanes and blocks shots. Connor has scored 20 goals in the league and is excellent on the forecheck and the penalty kill. We feel both players will add to our depth and fit well within the structure we want our team to play.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

East Notes: Kreider, Boedker, Harpur, Viveiros

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The Rangers have had brief discussions regarding a possible contract extension for Chris Kreider, GM Jeff Gorton told reporters, including Larry Brooks of the New York Post.  The winger has been fairly consistent offensively over the past three seasons, averaging between 0.64 and 0.71 points per game in that span.  That type of consistency is hard to find among power forwards which will put him on track for a sizable raise on his current $4.625MM AAV; Brooks suggests Kreider’s next contract will check in at $6.5MM per year or more.  If that’s a price tag that New York doesn’t want to pay, it’s possible that his name will come up in trade discussions in the coming days.

More from the Eastern Conference:

  • The Senators are hoping to trade winger Mikkel Boedker, reports Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch, who notes that there is mild interest from some teams. The 29-year-old picked up 35 points in 71 games in his first season with Ottawa but as a team that’s clearly in the middle of a rebuild, he’s someone that’s not going to be in their long-term plans so if the opportunity arises to move him for younger assets, it’s one that GM Pierre Dorion will likely look to make.  Boedker carries a $4MM cap hit through 2019-20 but his salary checks in lower at $3MM.  Garrioch adds that defenseman Ben Harpur could be a trade candidate in the coming days with his spot on the roster potentially looking tenuous for next season.
  • Still with the Senators, former Oilers assistant coach Manny Viveiros is in the running for a spot on Ottawa’s coaching staff, notes Postmedia’s Jim Matheson. 2018-19 was his first season in the NHL after previous stints with Swift Current (WHL), Germany, and Austria.

Snapshots: World Championships, Reinhart, Ceci

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The World Championships are over with Finland capturing the gold medal with a 3-1 win over Canada behind the play of a team-oriented roster, which included 18-year-old Kaapo Kakko, who will be a top-two pick in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft. However, the MVP of the tournament wasn’t from Finland as Canada’s Mark Stone was named the MVP. Russian goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy was named the top goaltender, while fellow countryman Nikita Kucherov was named the top forward at the World Championships. The Czech Republic’s Filip Hronek was named the top defenseman. Vasilevskiy, Hronek, Mikko Lehtonen, Jakub Voracek and William Nylander rounded out the All-Tournament team.

Meanwhile, Kakko along with teammate Henri Jokiharju, have already won the U18 World Championships, the U20 World Championships and now the Men’s World Championships. In fact Kakko and Jokiharju are the seventh and eighth players in IIHF history to win all three titles.

  • The Buffalo Sabres are thrilled to see one of their own having a dominant World Championships as winger Sam Reinhart continues putting up impressive numbers since signing a two-year “show me” bridge deal last offseason. He answered that by putting up a career-high 65 points last season and is beginning to develop into that impact forward the team envisioned when they drafted him second-overall in 2014. Reinhart had three goals and five points in 10 games for Canada, which won the silver medal. The Buffalo News’ Mike Harrington adds that it was important for Reinhart to play well, especially with general manager Jason Botterill being a part of the management team and a new head coach in Ralph Krueger to impress. If he can continue his offensive success, he should be able to cash in next summer.
  • Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun writes that the Ottawa Senators have already begun discussions with restricted free agent defenseman Cody Ceci and his agent, J.P. Barry, on a long-term contract. Ceci, who can be an unrestricted free agent in 2020-21, has expressed interest in returning to the team, but Garrioch writes that if the two sides fail to hammer out a deal, the team intends to trade Ceci before the start of the season. Ceci has been a key part of their defense as he averaged 22:34 of ATOI last season, but the team needs to know that he will be part of their long-term plans. Garrioch also mentions that the team is likely to move defenseman Ben Harpur as it doesn’t look like he fits into their defensive plans and is no longer waiver-exempt.

East Notes: Simmonds, Zuccarello, Senators, Rasmussen

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Flyers winger Wayne Simmonds projects to be one of the top rental forwards available between now and next month’s trade deadline.  In an appearance on the NHL Network (video link), Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman mentioned that the Predators are a team that has been linked to the 30-year-old.  Nashville has plenty of cap room to absorb Simmonds’ $3.975MM deal this season and has enough players on below-market contracts that it’s certainly possible that they could fit him in on an extension as well.  His 15 goals on the year would rank second to only Filip Forsberg among Nashville players and GM David Poile is known for trying to make a splash around the deadline.

Elsewhere around the Eastern Conference:

  • In the same video, Friedman notes that Rangers winger Mats Zuccarello has seen his value take a hit with the way he’s played this season. The veteran came into this season with at least 49 points in each of the last five years but he has been limited to just 18 in 32 games so far while dealing with groin issues.  Zuccarello is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer and with New York in rebuilding mode, it appears quite likely that he’ll be dealt although the return may not be as high as it seemed heading into the season.
  • The Senators will be without center Colin White until after the All-Star break, notes Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. He’s dealing with a shoulder injury sustained back on Thursday against Los Angeles.  White very quietly sits second in rookie scoring this season with 26 points in 44 games.  Meanwhile, Garrioch adds that defenseman Justin Falk is also nearing a return from a concussion sustained late last month while fellow blueliner Ben Harpur is taking contact in practice and should be able to return in the near future as well.
  • Detroit has placed forward Michael Rasmussen on injured reserve, reports MLive’s Ansar Khan. The move was done to create a roster spot so the Red Wings could activate defenseman Danny DeKeyser, who returns after missing the last 19 games with a fractured wrist.  Rasmussen last played on January 5th, meaning that he has already missed the required seven days from a back-dated IR placement so he’ll be eligible to be activated at any time.

Atlantic Notes: Rask, Miller, Joseph, Pageau

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It looks like the Boston Bruins may get back goaltender Tuukka Rask on Tuesday after he was granted a leave of absence on Thursday for personal reasons, according to NHL.com’s Amalie Benjamin. The scribe writes that the team will talk to the veteran Monday with the hopes of his return immediately thereafter, but nothing is confirmed until then.

Rask has struggled all season before requesting a leave of absence as the veteran has a 3.05 GAA and a .901 save percentage in eight appearances, not the numbers that a player making $7MM. While the Bruins have kept Rask’s reason for the request silent, the hope is that a break may be able to help him re-focus on the season.

The Bruins have been fortunate to have signed Jaroslav Halak, who has been impressive and looks to have seized the starting job away from the struggling Rask. Halak has a 1.86 GAA and a .941 save percentage in 10 appearances. He stopped 40 of 41 shots in Saturday’s victory over Toronto and without Rask on hand, is expected to play back-to-back against Vegas today.

  • Benjamin also reports that Boston Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy said that defenseman Kevan Miller could return by the end of the team’s four-game road trip that starts on Wednesday. Miller hasn’t played in a game since Oct. 18 with an undisclosed injury.
  • The Tampa Bay Lightning finds itself thrilled with the constant improvements of rookie forward Mathieu Joseph, who after going scoreless in 13 straight games, broke through to have scored four goals in the last four games, according to The Athletic’s Greg Auman (subscription required). The surprising thing is that after 13 scoreless games, the deep Lightning team continued to play him. “My thing with that is if you’re doing all the right things and you’re getting chances and chances and chances, eventually they’re going to go in,” head coach Jon Cooper said. “So there are probably plays he made that should have gone in the net but didn’t, and all of a sudden, plays that maybe don’t go in the net do. That’s just the way it works. He got rewarded tonight. I’m a big believer that if you keep putting yourself in the right position, good things are going to happen.”
  • The Ottawa Senators got a nice piece of news today as center Jean-Gabriel Pageau was seen taking the ice alongside defenseman Ben Harpur and forward Zack Smith, according to TSN’s Todd White. It was reported that Pageau, who suffered a torn Achilles on Sept. 13, would miss six months, however, Pageau has made remarkable progress. While skating is just one step on his way to a full recovery, it’s a good sign to see him back on the ice. Head coach Guy Boucher said that even the medical staff has been impressed by his recovery, although he’s still a long ways off.

Atlantic Notes: Nylander, Harpur, Maple Leafs, Reilly

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As if the Toronto Maple Leafs and William Nylander negotiations weren’t getting enough attention, NHL.com’s Igor Eronko reports that KHL Avangard Omsk head coach Bob Hartley, whose team owns the KHL rights to Nylander, would love to have the winger come play for them.

“I would like to see William in my team,” Hartley said. “I know his father. That would be great.”

Negotiations between the two sides have not fared well with rumors that Nylander’s camp is asking for $8MM per season, while the Maple Leafs refuse to offer a record-breaking deal and are rumored to be closer to $6MM per season. An earlier report even suggests that Toronto’s latest offer was a four-year deal worth well under $20MM and the team is not interested in trading the 22-year-old.

Nylander could opt to sign a deal with Avangard Omsk, although that seems unlikely as he’d prefer to play in the NHL, but obviously Nylander’s camp is hoping the possible threat of sitting out the season might bring up Toronto’s offer.

  • The Ottawa Senators got another impressive performance from one of their young players Saturday when defenseman Ben Harpur finally made his season debut. The 23-year-old had been a healthy scratch up to now, but made an immediate physical impact to the game when he put a major hit on Los Angeles Kings winger Alex Iafallo early in the game. The 6-foot-6, 222-pound blueliner didn’t register a point in their 5-1 win over the Kings, but played so well, he led the team in ice time, playing 22:37, according to Don Brennan of The Ottawa Sun. Harpur was teamed with veteran Mark Borowiecki on a pairing assigned to shutdown the Kings’ top line of Anze Kopitar, Ilya Kovalchuk and Iafallo. That line finished with no points and just six shots on goal.
  • The Athletic’s Jonas Siegel (subscription required) gives credit to general manager Kyle Dubas and the Toronto Maple Leafs for the signings of center Par Lindholm and defenseman Igor Ozhiganov, who both have made quite an impact on the Maple Leafs already loaded roster, giving them another two “free” additions on a team that needs as many cheap options as possible. Lindholm potted his first career NHL goal Saturday, while Ozhiganov had his best game yet, according to head coach Mike Babcock. The team has already done a good job in past years, bringing in foreign players on cheap deals, including defenseman Nikita Zaitsev as well as Calle Rosen and Andreas Borgman.
  • The Montreal Canadiens feel they have found an answer to who will eventually play alongside Shea Weber when he returns later this year. The team has been really impressed with the play of Mike Reilly, who has been a big part of the team’s 2-1-1 start so far this season, according to The Athletic’s Arpon Basu (subscription required). He has done a good job moving the puck with his speed. He faced up against Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby twice and while the numbers don’t support it, Crosby wasn’t a major factor in either game. “It’s a good challenge, but I love it,” Reilly said after the Canadiens’ 4-3 shootout win Saturday. “I like to compete, I have high expectations, so it’s always fun to go out against guys like that.”

Ottawa Senators Preparing For Huge Roster Turnover

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Late last night after much of the hockey news had died down for the day, the Ottawa Senators released a video of defenseman Mark Borowiecki and owner Eugene Melnyk discussing the future of the organization. Touching on subjects from dressing room leadership to overcoming the low expectations for 2018-19, Melnyk made clear he would be staying with the franchise for a long time and will not move it from Ottawa. He also noted an interesting point about roster construction, explaining how quickly the rebuild will get underway:

This coming year we’re going to have 10 out of the 22 players are going to be new. Meaning they’re either rookies or they’ve played maybe under 10 games last year. Then the following year, it’s going to go up to about 15 of the 22, maybe 16. So that’s a total turnover you know, which is exactly what should be in a rebuild. 

Stripping your roster down to the studs and letting a group of young players grow and mature together is often a strategy for struggling teams who want to rebuild, and the Senators saw a similar situation play out just down the road in Toronto a few years ago. In fact, when the Maple Leafs traveled to Ottawa to open the season in 2016 they had seven rookies in the lineup including Auston Matthews, who scored four times despite the loss. That would appear to be the blue print for Melnyk and the Senators as they look to pull a similarly speedy rebuild.

The question though becomes how do they achieve the goal of having 10 rookies on the roster at the beginning of the year. The team currently has at least 19 players—Mark Stone, Bobby Ryan, Matt Duchene, Zack Smith, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Ryan Dzingel, Tom Pyatt, Magnus Paajarvi, Max McCormick, Colin White, Marian Gaborik, Erik Karlsson, Cody Ceci, Chris Wideman, Ben Harpur, Thomas Chabot, Craig Anderson, Mike Condon and Borowiecki—who played more than 10 games for the organization last season and should at the very least be battling for roster spots. While perhaps Melnyk was exaggerating and players like White and Chabot would still be considered “rookies” given their relative youth and inexperience, it seems likely that there will be substantial turnover in the rest of the group.

We’ve heard for months that Karlsson may be on the block, speculation that will only increase given his complete absence from this video, but other players including Stone and Duchene are both heading into the final years of their contracts and could be shipped out for prospects and picks. If the Senators are committed to a full scorched earth rebuild, they are powerful assets in trade.

At the very least, we should expect the Senators to be involved in trade talks all season. Even though Melnyk and Borowiecki seem excited about playing the underdogs this year, the amount of roster turnover that the owner mentions isn’t possible without some transactions coming through the pipe quickly. Camp starts in just a few days and Senators rookies should be licking their chops on the opportunity that is apparently there for the taking.

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