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Eastern Notes: Kovalchuk, Marner, Smith, Rasmussen

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Could the Boston Bruins be the front-runners for Russian free agent and former NHL superstar Ilya Kovalchuk? Evidently, the Sports Hub’s Ty Anderson thinks so.

As reported by NBC Sports, Anderson appeared on Toucher & Rich on 98.5 and said he believes the Bruins are currently the leading candidates to get the 35-year-old winger due to the Bruins cap space. While the Bruins are listed by CapFriendly as having just $6.5MM in available cap space, the team has few free agents of their own to deal with and a loaded roster, including multiple talented veterans such as Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron and a core of youth of which many had solid rookie years last season.

Kovalchuk, who tallied 31 goals for SKA St. Petersburg in the KHL has been touring NHL cities, looking for a new home. While his preference has been to stay on the East Coast, especially either New York or Florida, he’s broadened his search this year including a trip to Los Angeles and San Jose as he’s made it clear that he wants to win a Stanley Cup as soon as possible.

  • Kevin McGran of The Star interviewed Mitch Marner about multiple topics, but the 21-year-old star said that there has been no discussion yet with management about a potential contract extension. The fourth-overall pick from the 2015 draft will be eligible for a contract extension on July 1 along with teammate Auston Matthews, but there is no word on whether Marner will sign an extension this year or will have to wait until next year. “Nothing has been said yet, but nothing you can do,” said Marner. “If nothing happens, you still have a year to play under your rookie contract. Just go out there and try to prove you can make the team better.”
  • While the New York Rangers are looking for defense, the New York Post’s Larry Brooks writes that veteran defenseman Brendan Smith has stayed in New York following the season and has been working with fitness trainer with Ben Prentiss to get into better shape. Smith, who was placed on waivers on Feb. 9, after signing a four-year, $17.4MM contract in the offseason, came into camp out of shape and struggled on the Rangers’ blueline all season long. The scribe writes that the Rangers not only expect him to compete for a job at training camp, but they expect him to return to the status of the player they handed that contract to.
  • Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press writes she believes it looks promising that 2017 first-round pick Michael Rasmussen makes the Detroit Red Wings team out of training camp this year. The ninth-overall pick last year put up 31 goals and 58 points for the Tri-City Americans of the WHL and even got some time at the wing position during the season because Detroit would likely like for him to start at the wing if he makes the team next season. What’s more impressive is that he scored 16 goals and 33 points in just 14 playoff games, suggesting he might be ready for Detroit. If he doesn’t make the team, he will have to return for one more year to Tri-City.

 

Bruins To Meet With Ilya Kovalchuk

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The Boston Bruins have already been linked to Russian free agent and former NHL superstar Ilya Kovalchuk this off-season, but GM Don Sweeney confirmed the interest today, telling NHL.com’s Amalie Benjamin that he will speak with Kovalchuk and his camp in the coming days. The Bruins are seeking to add a veteran scoring winger to their top six for next season and, if they don’t resign trade deadline acquisition Rick Nash, Kovalchuk could be a suitable replacement. Kovalchuk has already met with the Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks, while the Detroit Red Wings, New York Rangers, and Dallas Stars are among others who would like to outbid the Bruins for the big-name import.

Kovalchuk, 35, has been one of if not the best player in the KHL since he bolted from the New Jersey Devils in 2013. Sweeney still believes that the veteran sniper has the ability to left to translate those numbers back to the NHL. A big, strong shooter, Kovalchuk would not only add more talent and some balance to the Bruins roster, but would also be a great stylistic role model for a player like Jake DeBrusk, who he would likely skate beside with center David Krejci. However, the Bruins also liked the chemistry that those two players shared with Nash prior to his concussion late in the regular season. Sweeney stated that they remain in communication with Nash and that financially a deal with one of Nash or Kovalchuk would all but rule out the signing of the other.

If the decision were left up to Ty Anderson of The Sports Hub, he would gladly take Kovalchuk. The Bruins beat writer believes that the Russian goal scorer is the exact kind of gamble that Boston should take this summer to add a difference-maker that can balance their top six. Anderson notes that the Kovalchuk played right wing alongside Zach Parise in New Jersey and found great success and could do the same in Boston. His scoring touch could be what it takes to bring together a Bruins’ second line that paled in comparison to the league’s best line – Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, and David Pastrnak– last year.

Both Sweeney and Anderson note that the financial flexibility may be needed to sign Kovalchuk – or Nash – to his desired contract. TSN’s Darren Dreger and Pierre LeBrun said the same on “Insider Trading”  today, adding that the Bruins would like to move David Backes this summer and may even consider trading Krejci in the right move to free up space. The duo also bring up an interesting twist that the Kovalchuk sweepstakes is having on the trade market. They feel that the suitors for Carolina Hurricanes winger Jeff Skinner are largely the same as those talking to Kovalchuk. They name the Bruins, alongside the Kings and Sharks, as the teams that could look at Skinner if they were to miss out on Kovalchuk. Nash, Kovalchuk, Skinner, and the off-season is just getting started in Boston. A big move could be on the horizon for the Bruins.

Poll: Should the Boston Bruins Break Up Their Top Line?

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The Boston Bruins have improved quite a bit in the last few years. After two years of not making the playoffs between the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons, the Bruins reached the playoffs a year ago, falling in the first round to the Ottawa Senators. This year, they took it another step, advancing past the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round of the playoffs before being eliminated in the second round at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

What stopped them from a deeper playoff run was the Lightning’s ability to shutdown the Bruins’ top line of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak. Considered to be one of the best lines in the NHL, if not the best, that first line combined for 16 goals and 53 points in 12 postseason games. However, among the seven losses they sustained, that top line managed just four goals, 11 points and a minus-23, suggesting the team is too reliant on that top line. Regardless, Marchand had his second-best season of his career last year with 34 goals and 85 points. Bergeron had a high-quality year with 30 goals and 63 points, while Pastrnak had a career-season with 35 goals and 80 points. The three work real well together, when things are going well.

Joe Haggerty of NBC Sports Boston writes that the team might need to look at breaking up its top line and spread the wealth throughout multiple lines. While he admits there is no reason to break up Marchand and Bergeron as the two have been together too long, the scribe believes it better if Pastrnak moves to his own line and stars on a more potent second line, possibly with David Krejci, who has shown good chemistry with Pastrnak in the past and most recently at the World Championships this year.

General manager Don Sweeney said recently that the team is considering that as a possibility, but it’s too early to decide.

“It’s a prolific line, it’s very difficult to stop, and the chemistry that they have created [is special]. We had three people at the World Championships come back and said ‘Boy, [David] Krejci and [David] Pastrnak played really well together’…so those things filter back to the coaches,” said GM Don Sweeney. “I don’t think anything is set in stone. It’s certainly a coach’s decision, but we’ll have some conversations.”

With a number of young, talented players such as Jake Debrusk, Anders Bjork, Danton Heinen and Ryan Donato on the team, perhaps one of them might develop better next to Marchand and Bergeron. It certainly worked for Pastrnak. Bjork, in fact, started the season off on the first line before injuries derailed his season.

Do you think the Bruins should break up their top line?

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Bruins Notes: Free Agents, Czarnik, Injuries, Draft

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Boston Bruins GM Don Sweeney spoke with the media today from the NHL Draft Combine in Buffalo and was very up front about the team’s plans this off-season. The Bruins exceeded expectations this season with a young team that finished with one of the best records in the NHL. Sweeney has previously stated that he would like to return many of the team’s impending unrestricted free agents – Anton Khudobin, Riley Nash, Rick Nash, Tommy Wingels, Tim Schaller, Nick Holden, and Austin Czarnik – but due to salary cap restraints and a promising prospect crop in the AHL in need of opportunity, he did not expect that all would be back. Today, Sweeney went in a different direction, confirming that the team would not offer new contracts to several other free agents: Brian Gionta, Kenny Agostino, and Paul Postma. The announcement should come as no surprise, as the trio all underwhelmed in Boston this season. A late addition to the team for the stretch run and postseason, Gionta looked as if he would have been better off retiring after the Olympics. The veteran forward contributed only seven points in 20 regular season games and played in just one playoff game, in which he was a liability against the fast-paced Tampa Bay Lightning. Gionta is likely to call it quits for good this off-season. Agostino, the 2017 AHL MVP, not only made little difference in Boston with just one point in five games, but finished the minor league season in Providence with 30 points less than his MVP campaign in only one less game. Agostino will need to search for a new home for the third straight summer. Postma, while not necessarily a disappointment in Boston, ended up being of little use to the team. The relative health of the Bruins’ four right-handed defenseman and the emergence of rookie Matt Grzelcyk on the left side made Postma the #8 option for much of the year. He was unable to even retain that role after the Bruins acquired Holden at the trade deadline. Overall, Postma played in 14 games in Boston, recording just one point, before clearing waivers and being assigned to the AHL, where he played another 17 games with Providence in the regular season and postseason. The long-time Winnipeg Jets defender will be on the hunt for a more regular NHL role next year, if he can find one.

  • Sweeney briefly touched on the situation with Czarnik, which has put the Bruins in somewhat of a pickle. Czarnik, 25, played in 49 games as a rookie with Boston in 2016-17, but lost out on a roster spot this year to the likes of fellow youngsters Jake DeBrusk, Danton Heinen, Anders Bjork, and Sean Kuraly. Czarnik managed to play in ten games for the Bruins, and looked good doing so with four points, but roster restrictions forced him back to the AHL each time. In the minors, Czarnik was unstoppable with 69 points in 64 games – good enough for third in the AHL scoring race. It was an impressive performance, but still not good enough to vault Czarnik back to the top of a Bruins’ prospect pipeline that is very deep, especially at center. Ideally, the Bruins would have liked to deal Czarnik as a restricted free agent with his value at its highest. However, as a 25-year-old with three pro seasons under his belt but less than 80 NHL games played, Czarnik instead qualifies for Group 6 unrestricted free agency per the NHL CBA and is free to sign with any team. Sweeney expressed that both the team and Czarnik have not closed the door on an extension, but that he feels Czarnik is “intrigued by what may exist elsewhere”. There will surely be a market for the swift, play-making forward and a return to Boston seems unlikely.
  • Sweeney also updated the injury status of his team, revealing that banged-up checkers Schaller and Noel Acciari both underwent surgery following the season. The Bruins’ fourth line, while not much of an offensive threat, was one of the best defensively this season. However, their play began to tail off in the postseason and the major injuries for Schaller and Acciari certainly lend some explanation to that trend. The duo were just two of myriad injuries for Boston, but join only Brandon Carlo in going under the knife. Sweeney stated that the rest of the injured – Torey Krug, Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, David Backes, DeBrusk, Nash, and Nash –  will all avoid surgery for now.
  • Finally, Sweeney responded to a question about whether or not he would try to trade back into the first round of the NHL Draft next month. The Bruins sent their first-rounder to the New York Rangers in the Rick Nash deal and do not own any other team’s pick. Sweeney seemed hesitant to promise anything, saying that it is “hard” to trade back in, but did add that “you never know what some team may want to do”. In a draft class that many feels runs out of elite prospects after the first  15 or so selections, Boston may not be scrambling to trade current or future assets for a first-round pick anyway. With a late second and an early third from the Florida Panthers, the Bruins should be able to add two players with similar career projections to some late first-round picks. Even if they don’t get a future star, the Boston system is one of the best in the league with more than enough talent pushing for play time in the NHL as it is.

Eastern Notes: Backstrom, Bjork, Vinik, Mantha

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While considered to be a game-time decision, the news doesn’t look good for the Washington Capitals who have been without Nicklas Backstrom for the past two games with a hand injury. The center did participate in the morning skate for the first time since being injured during Game 5 of the Capitals second playoff series against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

However, while he did skate with the team, NHL.com’s Dan Rosen reports that Backstrom did not participate in line rushes or work with the power play unit during practice, suggesting that he will miss likely his third-straight game today against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan reports that he didn’t take too many shots during practice, but considers it an encouraging sign that he could be ready in the near future.

While the team has been without Backstrom for the past two games, it hasn’t had a major effect on the team. The team knocked off Pittsburgh in Game 6 against the Penguins and then followed that up with a Game 1 win of the Eastern Conference Finals Friday.

  • The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa (subscription required) writes that Boston Bruins rookie Anders Bjork needs to regain his top prospect status after an injury-plagued season this year. Considered to be one of the Bruins’ top rookies entering the 2017-18 season, the speedy Bjork won a spot out of training camp on the team’s first line, matched with Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron, but suffered a concussion on Nov. 11 via a hit from Toronto’s Matt Martin and never was able to full recover. After sitting out for three week, Bjork struggled upon returning to the lineup and began to find himself as the team’s healthy scratch before eventually being assigned to the Providence Bruins of the AHL. A labral tear in his left shoulder on Jan. 30 put an end to his season. Now that Jake DeBrusk, Danton Heinen and Ryan Donato have passed him on the depth chart, the rookie must come back and show that he belongs in the Bruins rotation as well next year.
  • Sports Illustrated’s Alex Pruitt interviews Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik about the step-by-step process of buying the franchise and how he turned the struggling franchise around, ranging from why he chose Tampa Bay, to the hiring of Steve Yzerman, to the delicate free agent negotiations with Steven Stamkos.
  • While handing out big free agent contracts with no-trade clauses didn’t stop, the Detroit Red Wings did begin drafting for the future back in 2013. The Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James looks back and breaks down the team’s entire draft in which the franchise began to restock their barren farm system, starting with first-round pick Anthony Mantha, who looks to be on his way to being a core player with the potential to put up 30 goals.

NHL Warns Marchand, Bruins About Licking Players

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The NHL’s vice president of hockey operations Colin Campbell spoke to both the Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney and Brad Marchand today, warning the veteran forward that his actions of licking players is unacceptable and another incident like that will result in supplementary discipline, according to the NHL.

Marchand, who has been accused for licking a player for the second time in the Stanley Cup playoffs this year, was seen checking Tampa Bay’s Ryan Callahan into the boards and when Callahan shoved back, Marchand responded by licking him. He was accused of the same thing in the first round of the playoffs during Game 1 by the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Leo Komarov. Marchand was not penalized for either incident, but the league is stepping in now.

According to Rule 75.4 (iii), “Any player who persists in any course of conduct designed to incite an opponent into incurring a penalty,” which means the league could start handing out 10-minute misconduct penalties immediately for any similar actions, according to TSN’s Frank Seravalli.

“There’s absolutely no place in this game for that,” Tampa Bay head coach Jon Cooper said (via Joe Smith). “I don’t understand it.”

Even Boston coach Bruce Cassidy said Marchand needs to stop.

“Brad has to stop licking. That’s the end of the story,” said Cassidy (via Chris Johnston).

Morning Notes: Evans, Bruins, Hamilton

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Jake Evans was a seventh round pick by the Montreal Canadiens in 2014, but after four outstanding seasons at Notre Dame he’ll head into 2018-19 with some high hopes. Unfortunately, he’ll have to deal with a lengthy rehab before he gets to next season, after undergoing sports hernia surgery on Wednesday.

Evans faces a 12-week recovery period, but hernia surgery is notorious for having lasting effects for several months. Though he’ll likely be cleared in time to participate in the Canadiens’ training camp, they’ll have to closely monitor his effectiveness before making a decision on where he’ll start the season. Some believe the 21-year old could make an impact at the NHL level right away, but it seems more likely that he’ll start with the Laval Rocket and try to prove his worth on the professional circuit.

  • The Boston Bruins will insert Ryan Donato into the lineup tonight, but it could come at a heavy cost. Both Brad Marchand and Jake Debrusk are game-time decisions, and either would be a huge loss if they can’t got. Marchand has been his usual infuriating-and-outstanding self during the playoffs, riling up opponents while registering 15 points in 10 games. DeBrusk on the other hand is having a coming out party in his first postseason, scoring six goals in 10 games and dominating the Toronto Maple Leafs in the opening round.
  • Dougie Hamilton was mentioned by Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet as a potential trade target on the latest 31 Thoughts podcast, noting that there are plenty of teams with interest in the Calgary Flames defenseman. Hamilton has three years left on his current contract, and had another big offensive season for the Flames in 2017-18. If the Flames decide something has to change on the back end after a disappointing season, there would be a huge market for the right-handed Hamilton, but it still seems unlikely.

Injury Notes: Point, Palat, Erne, Watson, Perreault

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After suffering a disappointing Game 1 loss at home to the Boston Bruins, the Tampa Bay Lightning are pushing the pace at practice today and is compared to a training camp style of practice, according to The Athletic’s Joe Smith. The Lightning struggled and didn’t look prepared for their first-round matchup, falling 6-2, likely forcing coach Jon Cooper to wake them up in practice today.

While the team hopes to rebound in Game 2 and even the series, the team is also without Brayden Point and Ondrej Palat, who are both absent from the practice and are considered day-to-day for Monday. Point took a hard check from Boston’s Brad Marchand in the first period, while there is no word on Palat. Point said he will be ready to go Monday, according to NHL.com’s Dan Rosen. Both missed practice because of “body maintenance.” One positive note, the Lightning have winger Adam Erne back, who is practicing in a regular jersey, not a non-contact one. He could return Monday. He last played on Mar. 26 and has been out with a lower-body injury.

  • The Nashville Predators could get Austin Watson back from injury for Sunday’s game. The winger left Friday’s game in the first period with an undisclosed injury, but practiced Saturday alongside linesmates Colton Sissons and Nick Bonino, according to the Tennessean’s Adam Vingan. That suggests he will be available for Game 2. His return is key as Watson, who scored 14 goals during the regular season, has come up big in the playoffs, putting up seven points in seven games so far, including four goals.
  • While the Winnipeg Jets are almost fully healthy, veteran winger Mathieu Perreault remains in a non-contact jersey and looks to be out for at least another game, according to Winnipeg Sun’s Ken Wiebe. Perrault has been out with an upper-body injury and has played in just one game so far in the playoffs.

NHL Announces Hart Trophy Candidates

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Who is the most valuable player in the NHL? In 2018, it will be one three forwards who finished in the top seven in scoring. However, it won’t be any of the names at #1-#4. Instead, the league announced that the finalists for the Hart Trophy are the Colorado Avalanche’s Nathan MacKinnon, the New Jersey Devils’ Taylor Hall, and the Los Angeles Kings’ Anze Kopitar, who finished fifth through seventh in points this season, respectively.

The three nominees, as voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association, will come as no surprise. All three were considered top candidates for the award this season after outstanding campaigns. MacKinnon and Hall each notched 39 goals en route to leading their teams back from the basement of the league last season to unlikely playoff berths. MacKinnon’s 97 points in 74 games was second only to Connor McDavid in per-game production among full-season players, while Hall’s 93 points – 41 more than the next-best player in New Jersey – was the largest proportion of team points in the league. Meanwhile in L.A., Kopitar bounced back from a down 2016-17 season personally with 92 points, while also playing Selke-caliber defense.

As always, there were deserving candidates who did not get the nod as a Hart finalist. McDavid obviously stands out as the reigning MVP and the league’s top scorer at 108 points. However, the struggles of McDavid’s Edmonton Oilers made it unlikely he would get a second consecutive shot at the award. The other top-four scorers – the Philadelphia Flyers’ Claude Giroux, the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov, and the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Evgeni Malkin – did not share those same struggles, but their Hart resumes weren’t helped by the other talented players on their teams, such as top-15 scorers Jakub Voracek, Steven Stamkos, Phil Kessel, and Sidney Crosby. Other snubs include Rocket Richard winner Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals, NHL assists leader and the captain of the upstart Winnipeg Jets, Blake Wheeler, and a player who may have pushed McDavid for the scoring title if not for injuries and suspensions, the Boston Bruins’ Brad Marchand. However, it is hard to argue that the three finalists picked by the PHWA are not the three most deserving players to be up for the Hart this season. The winner of hockey’s MVP award will be revealed at the NHL Awards on June 20th.

NHL Announces Selke Trophy Finalists

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The Professional Hockey Writers’ Association has spoken, as the NHL has announced that three forwards have been nominated for the 2018 Frank J. Selke Award. The Selke Award, or as some call it “the Bergeron Award”, is given each year to the top defensive forward in the league. To the surprise of very few, Boston Bruins top center Patrice Bergeron is again among the finalists, a record seventh consecutive nomination. Bergeron is the reigning champ and the winner in four of the past six seasons. However, Bergeron faces stiff competition for his fifth Selke, going up against 2016 winner and two-time runner-up, Los Angeles Kings captain Anze Kopitar, and breakout Philadelphia Flyers star Sean Couturier, who earns his first Selke nod.

While the Selke is perhaps up to the eye test more than any other major award, there are some key statistics to look at to determine the odds-on favorite. The original measure of a players’ two-way success is plus/minus, which would favor Couturier. His +34 rating was good enough to tie for third in the NHL behind only Vegas Golden Knights linemates William Karlsson and Jon Marchessault. Meanwhile, both Bergeron and Kopitar were +21, tied for 28th. However, possession metrics may be the best way to evaluate two-way ability, in particular a player’s Corsi For %, which shows the proportion of shots for relative to shots against. By this standard, Bergeron was firmly in the lead. His 57.56 CF% led all forwards who played in at least 50 games this season. In comparison, Couturier was 59th and Kopitar was 93rd among that same subset. Bergeron also edges out the other two in face-off percentage, short-handed time on ice, and takeaways; Couturier gets the nod in hits, while Kopitar had the most blocked shots. It again looks as if Bergeron would be the favorite, but one thing to consider is that Bergeron played in just 64 games this season, averaged the least amount of time on ice of the trio, and benefited from playing alongside another two-way dynamo in Brad Marchand. Bergeron may have been the best defensive forward in the league this year – and at this point might be the best all-time – but there’s a strong case that the two-way play of Kopitar and Couturier had a greater impact in 2017-18.

As for snubs, many out there will fight for the cases of Minnesota Wild captain Mikko Koivu, dynamic young Florida Panther Aleksander Barkov, and even the aforementioned Marchand. However, unlike the debated results of the Vezina voting, it seems that the correct trio of players were selected and any one would be worthy of taking home the hardware at the NHL Awards in June.

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