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Brady Tkachuk

Morning Notes: Kotkaniemi, Tkachuk, Brown

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The Carolina Hurricanes shot back at the Montreal Canadiens yesterday by submitting an offer sheet for Jesperi Kotkaniemi, but even if they hadn’t there was some concern over the young center’s future in Montreal. Darren Dreger of TSN tweets that earlier this summer, some close to Kotkaniemi predicted that he had already played his last game with the Canadiens. The interesting part, however, is that now he has signed an offer sheet, Montreal can’t trade him for a year even if they decide to match it.

As CapFriendly explains, it would basically mean that the young forward would get a no-trade clause for a year, meaning he’d be earning that entire $6.1MM contract in Montreal. The Hurricanes apparently tried to trade for Kotkaniemi before tendering the offer sheet, but have now tied the Canadiens’ hands in more ways than one.

  • The Ottawa Senators have a restricted free agent of their own still to sign, as Brady Tkachuk still doesn’t have a deal for this season. Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia writes that though things are quiet on that front, it is believed that the Senators are trying for an eight-year contract for their young winger. There’s a brand new comparable to bring up in those talks after Andrei Svechnikov signed his eight-year, $62MM extension in Carolina. Svechnikov was selected just two picks ahead of Tkachuk in 2018 and the two forwards have very similar career stats to this point. Garrioch suggests that if Tkachuk does sign an eight-year deal, it very well may come with the captain’s “C.”
  • At the very end of his piece on Tkachuk, Garrioch includes another short note about RFA forward Logan Brown. The scribe suggests that Brown “could be dealt before camp” and remains unsigned at the moment. Now 23, the 11th overall pick from 2016 has just 30 games of NHL experience under his belt, something he and his agents have expressed frustration about in the past. The 6’6″ forward has played very well at the AHL level, racking up 79 points in 94 games, but has never received a lengthy chance in the NHL. It’s hard to see exactly where he fits in now that the Senators have so many other young forwards and Brown is now eligible for waivers. A fresh start makes sense, though obviously, it remains to be seen if GM Pierre Dorion feels the same.

Snapshots: Senators, Slepets, Rossi

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As the Ottawa Senators look to finally move past their extended rebuild and take a step toward relevance this season, it is about time they name a leader of this next stage for the franchise. Speaking with the Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch, Senators head coach D.J. Smith stated that “It’s time for someone to be the leader of this group.” Smith believes that Ottawa is ready to name a captain after a three-season hiatus and tells Garrioch that he intends to speak with owner Eugene Melnyk and GM Pierre Dorion about making a decision before the end of training camp. The last player to wear the “C” was Erik Karlsson during the 2017-18 season and the Senators have used only alternates in the years since. However, with young defenseman Thomas Chabot signed long-term and young forward Brady Tkachuk hoping to join him for years to come, the Senators have two players that can be the face of the franchise for many years and either one would be a good pick as captain. Which one will be a difficult and important decision for the young locker room, which is why the organization’s leaders have taken their time and will still wait to name a captain until closer to the beginning of the season.

  • The odds of Carolina Hurricanes prospect Kirill Slepets making the jump to North America any time soon took another hit today. Just two weeks ago, Slepets re-signed in the KHL on a one-year deal with Spartak Moscow. The move came on the heels of a poor season for Slepets in which he played exclusively in the second-tier VHL rather than the KHL and led some to believe that the 22-year-old may cross the pond to continue his development. Instead, he stayed in Russia and after today’s trade may be settling in for an extended stay. Spartak has traded Slepets to his hometown team, Amur Khabarovsk, the club announced. Going the other way was former NHL forward Andrei Loktionov, proving that Slepets still has value in the KHL despite a down year. He has even more value to Amur, who are very excited to bring the prodigal son home and could be able to convince him to stay long-term. The 2019 fifth-round pick remains an interesting project to watch for the Hurricanes, especially given the ability he flashed at the junior level, but his NHL future is more in doubt now than ever.
  • Minnesota Wild prospect Marco Rossi has no doubt that he is ready to compete for an NHL roster spot after missing this past season due to an extensive battle with COVID-19. The 2020 No. 9 overall pick has been working out hard to get back into game shape and will get his first test this week suiting up for Austria in the Olympic qualifiers. However, he is already looking ahead to Wild training camp and is confident that he can make impact in Minnesota this year. Talking to The Athletic’s Michael Russo, Rossi stated the following:

I know I haven’t played a lot of games in the last year, year and a half, but now that I can see my fitness level and my shape, I know I’m better in shape than a lot of NHL players. I see no doubt about it that I can play in the NHL. I know I can play there. I know how good I am, but I have to prove myself in training camp that I’m ready for that. I know it’s going to be up to me to show I’m ready to play right away.

Senators Notes: RFAs, Brannstrom, Strome

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While many teams have been active in re-signing their restricted free agents, the Senators still have a lot of work to do on that front.  They have a total of six RFAs in need of new deals, headlined by winger Brady Tkachuk.  Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch notes that Ottawa has exchanged several different term and salary ideas with Tkachuk’s camp which suggests they’re not necessarily fixated on working out only a short-term or long-term deal.  Matthew Tkachuk’s three-year, $21MM pact has long been speculated as a possible price tag for a bridge deal while one that buys out some UFA eligibility would be more expensive than that.

Another RFA still needing a new deal is center Logan Brown.  Garrioch reports that GM Pierre Dorion is still trying to move the 23-year-old who was limited to just 14 games last season (only one of which was in Ottawa) due to injury.  The 2016 first-rounder could certainly benefit from a change of scenery but Garrioch adds that the Sens are looking to make a hockey deal and not just give him away.  In that context, it would appear as if they’re looking for a similar prospect that could benefit from a fresh start with another organization.

More from Garrioch’s column on the Sens:

  • The team would like to add an impact forward still, likely a winger and with the free agent market pretty much bereft of those now once the Islanders make their expected signings official, Garrioch suggests that defenseman Erik Brannstrom could be dangled in trade talks. The 21-year-old was the centerpiece of the Mark Stone trade back in 2019 after being the 15th overall pick by Vegas two years earlier but has yet to really establish himself at the NHL level.  Last season, he played in 30 games with Ottawa, recording two goals and 11 assists.
  • The Senators are believed to be among the teams that have inquired about Blackhawks forward Dylan Strome. The 24-year-old has been a speculative trade candidate for the better part of a year now and is coming off a tough year that saw him put up 17 points in 40 games while spending time between center and the wing.  Strome is young enough to still fit in as part of Ottawa’s core and his $3MM cap hit ($3.6MM salary) should keep the acquisition cost low.

Free Agent Focus: Ottawa Senators

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Free agency is now just under a month away and many teams are already looking ahead to when it opens up.  There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market in late July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well. The Senators have some juicy extensions lined up this offseason with a couple of important restricted free agents to sign to deals.

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Brady Tkachuk – Three seasons into his NHL career, the younger Tkachuk has found his way into the hearts of Sens fans with his gritty, power-forward-esque style of play. He’s been on pace for at least 20 goals and 40 points in every full season, establishing a remarkable amount of consistency throughout his young career. Don’t let his not-necessarily elite point production fool you, though. Tkachuk’s finishing ability leaves a lot to be desired, but that only means that his offensive chance generation is more than his point totals would suggest. Considering Tkachuk’s impact on the rebuilding team in such a short amount of time, it makes sense that Ottawa will want to extend him long-term. That’ll likely happen, as Tkachuk’s a player who’ll likely be affordable over the course of a long-term extension.

F Drake Batherson – A former fourth-round pick of the Sens, Batherson was a huge breakout star this season in Ottawa. 17 goals and 34 points in 56 games as a 22-year-old with not too much help stands out as someone who has quite a bit of potential. Playing legitimate top-six minutes against tougher competition, Batherson was also a great power-play threat. He looked like one of the players who fit in the most on this Ottawa team, and he’s likely to be around for a very long time. However, with only one true season showing what he can do under his belt, a cheap bridge deal is the likely outcome for Batherson. He still has multiple seasons left of RFA eligibility, so Ottawa should easily be able to lock him down long-term once his next deal is complete.

Other RFAs: F Michael Amadio, F Logan Brown, F Vitaly Abramov, F J.C. Beaudin, F Jack Kopacka, F Jonathan Davidsson, F Zachary Magwood, D Victor Mete, D Brandon Fortunato, D Olle Alsing, G Marcus Hogberg, G Filip Gustavsson

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

F Ryan Dzingel – After being in and out of the Senators organization, Dzingel had his worst season as an NHLer in 2020-21. His 13 points in 40 games between Ottawa and Carolina this season were a far cry from the potential he showed with his 26-goal, 56-point season in 2018-19. Dzingel saw a heavy reduction in minutes this season as well, playing just 12:42 a night. Dzingel likely has huge bounce-back potential if given more opportunity, but he shouldn’t and won’t get that with Ottawa. Now 29, a Dzingel re-signing would make little sense for Ottawa given the youth movement they’ve built up, with its success showing this season. Dzingel could find success elsewhere, but Ottawa shouldn’t beat themselves up too much if they let him go.

F Artem Anisimov – Brought in via trade to be an experienced veteran at their paper-thin center position, Anisimov’s done his job as a Senator. He’s actually produced at a fairly decent pace, especially considering his age and declining health. His 29 points over 68 games are definitely acceptable, especially for a player who was largely utilized in a fourth-line role. He showed he still had more left in the tank with 15 goals in 2019-20, but struggled more on the scoresheet this year. Anisimov likely has a bit more NHL hockey left in him, but he could also return home to Russia to finish out his career with a potential chance at a Gagarin Cup in the KHL.

Other UFAs: F Derek Stepan, F Micheal Haley, F Matthew Peca, D Cody Goloubef

Projected Cap Space

The Senators, predictably, have a large amount of cap space entering the offseason. Even with $28.5MM in room and a small list of players to re-sign, the Senators will likely stay true to their youth movement and corresponding rebuild this offseason. It’s unlikely that the team will be huge players on the free-agent market, but could still potentially use that cap space to acquire some assets by relieving cap-strapped teams of hefty contracts.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.

North Notes: Tkachuk, Batherson, Sandin, Oilers, Danault

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Senators winger Brady Tkachuk is leaning towards declining an invitation to play for Team USA at the upcoming World Championships, suggests Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch.  While he would undoubtedly be a key player for them, he is a pending restricted free agent, something that he acknowledged could be a factor in him taking a pass if he goes that route:

I haven’t made a full decision yet but it’s always an honour to represent your country and play for the guys who paved the way and USA Hockey. We’ll have to see but it’s definitely a different set of circumstances here, especially with the things going on this summer.

Tkachuk isn’t the only one leaning towards taking a pass for that reason either as Garrioch adds that winger Drake Batherson is doubtful to suit up for Canada with his restricted free agency on the horizon.  While Tkachuk is expected to land a substantial raise this summer no matter what, Batherson’s case is a bit murkier as while he has played well this year with 33 points in 53 games, it’s his only full NHL season thus far.

More from the North Division:

  • Maple Leafs defenseman Rasmus Sandin isn’t expected to play in Toronto’s remaining three games for salary cap reasons, notes Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston. By moving him back to the taxi squad, they would create enough cap room in order to activate Riley Nash from LTIR, allowing him to potentially get a game or two in before the end of the regular season to get him ready for the playoffs.  Nash was ruled out for the rest of the year while in Columbus but Toronto’s schedule runs nearly a week longer as a result of the COVID-related postponements.
  • While the Oilers look to be set in second place in the North, don’t expect them to rest anyone down the stretch, relays Postmedia’s Rob Tychkowski. Instead, head coach Dave Tippett wants to try to create some momentum over their final four games, something that could be more difficult with players rotating in and out of the lineup.
  • Canadiens head coach Dominique Ducharme told reporters today, including Sportsnet’s Eric Engels (Twitter link), that center Phillip Danault has been diagnosed with a concussion. He had previously been listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury.  He had already been ruled out for tonight’s game against Toronto but with that diagnosis, he will likely miss the final two games against Edmonton as well.

Senators Notes: Tkachuk, World Championships, Stutzle

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Senators winger Brady Tkachuk is by far Ottawa’s most prominent restricted free agent heading into the summer.  He leads the team in scoring with 34 points in 50 games and is second in the league in hits with 215, making him a core piece of their puzzle as they expected when they selected him fourth overall in 2018.  Postmedia’s Ken Warren examines some of the comparable contracts around the league in terms of impact RFAs coming off of their entry-level deals and notes that the deal his brother Matthew signed with Calgary (three years, $21MM) may be one of the more interesting comparisons out there both in terms of their style of play and comparable production (after factoring in extrapolations for the last two shortened seasons).  Ottawa has shown that they’re willing to give a max-term deal as they did for defenseman Thomas Chabot but the cap climate has changed since then.  Regardless of which way they go, Tkachuk is in for a significant increase on his $925K base salary (which includes his signing bonus for the season).

More from Ottawa:

  • Center Josh Norris has been in talks with Team USA about joining their entry for the upcoming World Championships, reports Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. The rookie has had a nice season, picking up 32 points in 50 games and certainly appeared to be a part of their burgeoning young core.  The official invite hasn’t come yet with the Sens still technically mathematically alive in the playoff picture although that could change as soon as tonight when they take on Montreal.  Meanwhile, Garrioch notes that Tkachuk’s RFA status will likely keep him away from participating.
  • With Norris and Shane Pinto both showing promise down the middle, Sportsnet’s Wayne Scanlan suggests that Ottawa is unlikely to shift Tim Stuetzle back to center to finish this year or to start next season. While the 19-year-old would be more valuable as a middleman, he’s also one of the youngest players in the league and staying on the wing where the responsibilities are a little lighter makes a lot of sense at this point of his career.

Snapshots: Tkachuk, Provorov, Hutton, Pastrnak

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Although his entry-level contract expires after this season, Brady Tkachuk and the Ottawa Senators are not rushing into contract talks. Tkachuk spoke with the media on Wednesday, including The Ottawa Sun’s Ken Warren, and stated that he was happy with the club and not worried about negotiating an extension. “We’re not really talking about (a new contract),” Tkachuk said, “I don’t think that’s the focus for both sides. Our goal right now is to do everything we can to make the playoffs.” Neither side really has much to worry about anyhow. Tkachuk has continually stated that he enjoys playing for the team and living in Ottawa and seems committed to a long-term future with the Senators. And with more than $34MM in projected cap space for next season and few existing long-term contracts to worry about, the club should have no problem giving their young centerpiece whatever he wants in order to ensure a lengthy extension of their relationship.

  • No league discipline is coming for Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov in regards to a net front collision that injured Buffalo Sabres goaltender Carter Hutton on Tuesday. The play in question did look like it was at least partially caused by Hutton’s teammate, Brandon Montour, and there is not nearly enough evidence for NHL Player Safety to state that Provorov was definitively at fault. That hasn’t stopped Sabres head coach Ralph Krueger from publicly stating his disappointment with the situation, though. Krueger tells The Athletic’s Charlie O’Connor that Provorov’s actions were purposeful: “if you look at the way the elbow comes extended, you know what you’re doing.” Krueger believes his team has already been the victims of several bad hits to the head so far this season and is clearly to get some extra attention for the next time such a situation arises. Hutton continued on in the game following the collision, but did not return after the second intermission and is currently questionable for the Sabres’ next game.
  • The Boston Bruins’ scoring woes are one of the early season’s biggest stories, but help is on the way. NHL.com’s Amalie Benjamin writes that David Pastrnak is ahead of schedule in his recovery from off-season hip surgery. Initially expected to return around mid-February, Pastrnak has already re-joined practice as a non-contact participant. Head coach Bruce Cassidy now expects that he could return to action as early as late next week. The reigning Rocket Richard Trophy winner will be a welcome addition to a team that has yet to produce an even strength goal through three games.

Senators Notes: Captains, Camp Roster, Brassard, Brannstrom

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The Senators have wasted little time determining their leadership group, announcing (via Twitter) that they will go without a captain and go with three alternates again this season.  It’s a brand-new trio from the ones that started the season in that role last year as all three departed either via trade or free agency.  Wearing the ‘A’ this season will be defensemen Thomas Chabot and Erik Gudbranson as well as winger Brady Tkachuk.  Chabot and Tkachuk are core pieces of Ottawa’s rebuild while Gudbranson, an Ottawa native, was acquired from Anaheim in the offseason.  The team has not had a full-time captain since trading Erik Karlsson to San Jose back in 2018.

More from Ottawa:

  • The Sens announced their training camp roster with some notable omissions. Recently-acquired veterans Derek Stepan, Cedric Paquette, and Braydon Coburn are all not on the max-sized roster nor is top prospect Tim Stuetzle who is still at the World Juniors.  Stepan is still in Arizona with his wife recently gave birth to their third child while Paquette and Coburn are currently quarantining and won’t be able to join the team for on-ice drills for another week.  Stuetzle will eventually make his way to camp as well but will also need to go through an isolation period which will eat up most of the remaining training camp time.
  • Ottawa has one player in camp on a PTO deal in goaltender Francois Brassard. The 26-year-old was actually drafted by the Sens back in 2012 but never signed with the team.  He spent last season with ECHL Maine, putting up a 2.76 GAA with a .908 SV% in 14 appearances.  He is likely hoping to land an AHL contract with a successful tryout as the Senators already have five netminders on NHL deals.
  • Defenseman Erik Brannstrom had requested that Ottawa allow him to try to play his off-side on defense but that request was denied, relays TSN 1200’s Shawn Simpson (Twitter link). The Sens prefer him to stay on his natural side although there is likelier an easier path to playing time if he was to switch.

2020 King Clancy Trophy Nominees Announced

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The NHL has announced the 31 nominees for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, annually presented to “the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.” Last year’s winner was Jason Zucker of the Minnesota Wild.

Each team submits one nominee. This year’s are:

Anaheim: Cam Fowler

Arizona: Oliver Ekman-Larsson

Boston: Patrice Bergeron

Buffalo: Jack Eichel

Calgary: Travis Hamonic

Carolina: Jordan Staal

Chicago: Jonathan Toews

Colorado: Gabriel Landeskog

Columbus: Cam Atkinson

Dallas: Tyler Seguin

Detroit: Justin Abdelkader

Edmonton: Leon Draisaitl

Florida: Sergei Bobrovsky

Los Angeles: Trevor Lewis

Minnesota: Matt Dumba

Montreal: Carey Price

Nashville: Pekka Rinne

New Jersey: P.K. Subban

NY Islanders: Matt Martin

NY Rangers: Henrik Lundqvist

Ottawa: Brady Tkachuk

Philadelphia: Kevin Hayes

Pittsburgh: Sidney Crosby

San Jose: Evander Kane

St. Louis: Ryan O’Reilly

Tampa Bay: Alex Killorn

Toronto: Mitch Marner

Vancouver: Alexander Edler

Vegas: Marc-Andre Fleury

Washington: Garnet Hathaway

Winnipeg: Blake Wheeler

PHR Panel: Revisiting The 2018 Draft

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We’re now two months into an NHL postponement and there is still no clear timeline on when professional hockey will return. While fans of the sport have received small tidbits of news over that time, including college signings and contract extensions, the thirst for discussion has rarely been quenched.

With that in mind, we’re happy to continue our new feature: The PHR Panel. Our writing staff will give our individual takes on a question many hockey fans have been wondering about. If you’d ever like to submit a subject for us to discuss, be sure to put it in the comments.

To catch up on the previous edition, click here.

Today, with the 2020 draft still not set in stone, we take a look at how some top picks are performing a few years into their careers.

Q: Who will end up being the best player from the 2018 draft?

Brian La Rose: 

Back in 2018, the answer was Rasmus Dahlin. Nearly two years later, I don’t think that answer has changed.

While the Sabres have continued to struggle even with Dahlin in the fold, it certainly hasn’t been because of him. He had a lot thrown at him during his rookie season, perhaps too much for an 18-year-old defenseman. Despite that, he still did quite well. He was even better this season and was on pace to set new career-highs in points in spite of a dip in playing time if it wasn’t for a concussion and a minor upper-body issue that cost him ten games combined.

Defensively, Dahlin is still a little shaky at times but that’s par for the course for a young blueliner. He has made considerable improvements over his first two years and that should continue as he plays more and gets stronger.

At the end of the day, I’m not sure he’ll be the top offensive defender from this class but Dahlin’s all-around game will be enough to put him ahead of Quinn Hughes in terms of value. There will be some quality scorers from the 2018 draft (there already are) but they won’t be able to impact the game like a franchise defender that should consistently log over 25 minutes a night in his prime. Buffalo picking Dahlin back in June of 2018 signaled that they felt he was the best player in his draft class. There’s little reason to think otherwise at this point.

Holger Stolzenberg:

There are quite a few players that I like from this draft, but I’m going to go with the belief that the Buffalo Sabres got it right. Yes, Dahlin may not be that flashy defenseman who immediately dominated the league like fellow young blueliners Cale Makar and Hughes. Yet Dahlin is exactly what the team needed and has filled a major role in the two years he’s been in the league.

While his numbers look rather pedestrian through two seasons with 84 combined points, considering his status as the first-overall pick in 2018, those are actually impressive numbers for a teenaged blueliner. While they hardly compare to the first two seasons that Phil Housley had with Buffalo (he had 143 points), the league was quite different back in the early 80s with more goal scoring. In fact, the Sabres average more than one fewer goal per game now than they did back then, suggesting that Dahlin is much more comparable.

Now 20 years old, Dahlin is getting close to hitting his prime and should eventually have that breakout year to prove that he’s the best player in this draft. The blueliner has proven to be solid defensively and has good offensive skills, both of which should only get better. He will be a great player for years to come. We just might have to wait a little longer to see that play out.

Zach Leach: 

The 2018 draft class has yet to produce enough players with considerable NHL experience to truly make an educated guess on this question. Many, like college standouts Scott Perunovich (STL) and Tyler Madden (LAK), have yet to even debut, while some top picks like Oliver Wahlstrom (NYI) and Evan Bouchard (EDM) have only played in a handful of games. I like all four of these players to have good NHL careers, but I simply don’t have the sample size I need to say that any could be the best player of the class.

For now, I still consider the players that I personally felt were the top four players in the 2018 class to be the leading contenders to have the best NHL career: Carolina’s Andrei Svechnikov, Buffalo’s Dahlin, Ottawa’s Brady Tkachuk, and Vancouver’s Hughes (I had Wahlstrom at No. 5). Even in the midst of Dahlin mania back in June 2018, I felt Svechnikov was a special talent and a dynamic presence that was deserving of being the top overall pick. That’s why I listed him first and will stick with him as the player that I feel has the best chance to be the top player in his class. Dahlin, Tkachuk, and especially Hughes have certainly shown that they can be elite players and difference-makers for their respective franchises, but I feel that Svechnikov will outplay and outlast the field.

Svechnikov, who leads the 2018 class in goals, points, and games played, has already asserted himself as a franchise centerpiece for the Hurricanes. He has the natural offensive instincts as well as the willingness to play physically and win puck battles to be a scoring threat and key presence on offense for a long time still to come. I do not see Svechnikov’s offense drying up; in fact, his growth from year one to year two shows me that he is absolutely still on the rise and his near point-per-game pace this season is just the beginning of his offensive upside and I feel he will have staying power among the NHL’s elite once he arrives. I see Alex Ovechkin as the ceiling for Svechnikov, which would certainly give him a good chance at the title of best player in the 2018 class, both in ability and longevity.

Gavin Lee:

While I may not quite be on the same level as Zach when it comes to Svechnikov—what a comparable!—I too had him ranked as the best player in 2018 over Dahlin. There’s simply nothing that Svechnikov can’t do offensively. I was actually surprised he didn’t have a better rookie season, but the Hurricanes brought him along slowly with severely limited even-strength minutes and often only had him on the second powerplay unit. There’s nothing wrong with that, but when the team let him loose this season you started to see what Svechnikov is truly capable of.

No, it’s not all lacrosse goals and nifty dangles. The 6’2″ forward is a force when he gets to full speed, and can seemingly still make crisp passes with a defender hanging onto his back. He was on a 73-point pace this season while still averaging fewer than 14 minutes of even-strength ice time. When 16:44 (total) per game starts creeping close to 20:00, watch out for a player who one day may legitimately contend for both the Rocket Richard and Art Ross (remember, he only just turned 20).

There are some outstanding players in the field, but I’ll still put my money on the big Russian.

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