Snapshots: Carlo, Nyquist, Dumba
After winning their last two games against the San Jose Sharks and Vancouver Canucks, the Boston Bruins are undefeated since firing their long-time head coach Claude Julien. While they’re certain to lose another game this season, the strong play into their bye week (which starts after taking on the Montreal Canadiens at home tonight) has them still in the thick of the playoff race and potential buyers at the trade deadline.
That’s what has Sportsnet’s Ryan Dixon worried, as his latest column speaks to the dangers of trading young Brandon Carlo at the deadline for a short term boost. With Carlo’s emergence this season the Bruins might have a potential top pairing defenseman on their hands and should look no further than his defense partner for a reason not to deal him. Zdeno Chara was traded by the Islanders for immediate scoring help at the draft back in 2001, which looks like one of the worst trades in the team’s history. If the Bruins end up dealing him, they better be very sure that what they bring back can help the team for more than just the immediate future.
- In today’s Minnesota Wild-Detroit Red Wings game, there were quite a few physical incidents but none more vicious than Gustav Nyquist‘s disturbing high stick on Jared Spurgeon. Spurgeon would get a few stitches and return to the game, but all the talk after the game was about possible league discipline. As Michael Russo of the Star Tribune reports, Bruce Boudreau wasn’t happy about the attack on his star defenseman. “Two inches closer, the guy could have speared his eye out,” Boudreau told Russo in his post game scrum. We’ll see what kind of suspension comes down tomorrow from the league. Nyquist for his part says that he didn’t mean to do it at all and is happy Spurgeon is okay.
- In other Wild news, Russo reports that Mathew Dumba is still day-to-day and hopes to get back on the ice in the next few days. Dumba finished the game on Friday against the Lightning, but had injured himself on a hit from Ondrej Palat early in the game. Dumba’s absence was notable today, especially when Spurgeon was getting his face stitched up. Getting him back soon is important for the Wild, who continue to lead the entire Western Conference with 80 points.
Trade Candidate: Gabriel Landeskog
With the trade deadline quickly approaching, we will be profiling several players in the weeks ahead that are likely to be dealt by March 1st.
The Colorado Avalanche are one of only two teams – Arizona being the other – that currently identify as certain deadline sellers and in the midst of a disappointing campaign it’s believed the team is willing to consider dealing anyone not named Nathan Mackinnon as they try to find the right blend. Colorado may consider moving winger Gabriel Landeskog and he represents the type of player you don’t often see come available. Landeskog is a four-time 20-goal scorer and at just 24, the Swedish winger is still comfortably within his prime. He also has four more seasons left of team control at a price that’s quite fair for a solid, two-way top-six winger. Sure, Landeskog isn’t having a particularly strong season but there would still likely be plenty of interest in acquiring his services if he was truly available.
Contract
As noted above, Landeskog has four years left on a deal that comes with an AAV of $5.57MM. His deal contains neither a NMC nor a NTC, putting the Avalanche in the driver’s seat in terms of trade talks.
2016-17
Landeskog has tallied just nine goals and 20 points in 40 games this season, a scoring rate well below his career average of 0.67 points-per-game. Part of that is likely a function of Colorado icing the league’s lowest scoring attack, averaging just 2.06 goals-per-game. He’s generating shots at a rate not much below that of his career norm and his conversion rate of 10% is right in line with his career average. His 95.5 PDO is indicative of bad puck luck and a regression could be in order.
Season Stats
40 GP, 9 G, 11 A, 20 Pts, -13 plus/minus rating, 44 PIM, 19:12 ATOI
Suitors
The Los Angeles Kings and Boston Bruins have both previously been rumored as potential landing spots for Landeskog. Both make a ton of sense as they tend to favor bigger forwards who can play a physical forechecking style. At 6-foot-1 and 215-pounds, Landeskog certainly brings good size. Colorado reportedly asked Boston for a package headlined by rookie blue liner Brandon Carlo but the Bruins balked at the asking price. The Kings will have nearly $7MM in deadline cap space meaning they can afford to add the winger without moving salary, however such a transaction would complicate their salary cap situation in seasons ahead. Anaheim, with their blue line depth would seem to make for a natural match for the Avalanche, and the Ducks also appreciate size and physicality in their forwards. Considering the term remaining on his deal, any team in the league could show interest in Landeskog should they be willing to meet Colorado’s understandably high asking price.
Likelihood Of A Trade
Blockbuster trades involving multiple pieces are complicated and are rarely able to be completed during the season. Prior to the 2012 trade deadline, the New York Rangers worked feverishly to acquire winger Rick Nash from Columbus and even though Nash’s market was severely limited due to his willingness to go to only a few teams, a deal wasn’t completed until after the season. The Rangers ultimately sacrificed a package of talent similar to what they offered at the deadline, but then Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson still held out, hoping the market would improve.
It’s likely the Landeskog negotiations will play out similarly. Considering their ask of a young, top-four blue liner, a prospect and a first-round pick, a deal of this nature is easier to make in the offseason when the salary cap plays less of a role in the proceedings.
Breaking Down Potential Landing Spots For Kevin Shattenkirk
The trade deadline is just over a month away, and there will be a lot of names brought up as potentially on the move. Expiring contracts are the easiest to move, as teams go for a Stanley Cup run while others rebuild. The most talked about name all year and likely for the next month is Kevin Shattenkirk. The defensemen topped our mid-season list of 2017 UFAs and is having another excellent season.
It was recently reported by Darren Dreger that Shattenkirk would have interest in signing a long-term deal with Anaheim, Boston, Colorado, Detroit, New York (Rangers), San Jose, and Toronto this summer and many have suggested that one of these teams would be willing to be the top bidder at the deadline if they were able to work out an extension with him prior to the deal.
It doesn’t really make sense for some of these teams to make the deal, though the way the Eastern Conference is so tightly packed, everyone might think adding an elite right-handed defenseman would push them into a playoff spot.
A similar deal was made two years ago, when Keith Yandle was dealt to the Rangers. Though Yandle had one more year on his deal, he was a similarly productive offensive defensemen who logged huge minutes. The Rangers had to give up a young sniper in 19-year old Anthony Duclair, a (conditional) first-round pick and a second-round pick. The Rangers would go all the way to the Conference Finals that year, but get bounced out the next in the first round. Recouping some of their lost assets, they dealt Yandle’s rights to Florida where he signed long-term.
For Shattenkirk, imagine a slightly reduced package (unless an extension is reached) but still with substantial assets. Here are some Eastern Conference options for the Blues’ alternate captain.
New York Rangers
Would the Rangers go after another big-named defenseman at the deadline? Shattenkirk is from the area and many people believe they’re the early front-runners for his services this summer. The Rangers haven’t selected a player in the first-round since 2012, and if they go after the Blues’ defenseman they likely won’t this year either. Shattenkirk would look nice skating alongside captain Ryan McDonagh, but the team may not want to part with any young talent or high draft picks again this year.
Boston Bruins
The Bruins are slumping hard, losing again today 5-1 to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Acquiring Shattenkirk may be a fun idea, but it likely wouldn’t be enough to fix everything that’s going wrong right now. It’s unclear who they’d even waive as bait, with Brandon Carlo being their best trade chip. Moving out a young right-handed defenseman for a rental doesn’t sound like the best managing.
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Maple Leafs surprised everyone this year by being in the playoff hunt through the first half. Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner have played better than anyone expected in their rookie seasons, and their secondary scoring has been consistent. They do have a huge hole on the right side of their defense, but all signs point to Brendan Shanahan and company sticking to the rebuild and not giving up young assets. They may be a player in the summer for his services, but it would be shocking to see them move a pick or prospect for him in-season.
Philadelphia Flyers
If Philly wants to make the playoffs this year, they have to do something with their defense corps. After a scorching hot start, they’ve been one of the worst teams in the league the last month or so and can’t seem to keep the puck out of their own net. Shattenkirk would perhaps help them more than any other team, as currently Radko Gudas is their only right-handed defenseman.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Yes, the Penguins already have a stud who plays on the right side, but Kris Letang has been injured for much of the year. A team who often makes a big splash at the deadline for the playoffs, they currently have Justin Schultz, Chad Ruhwedel and Steve Oleksy playing the right side. Though Schultz is having a career season, the playoffs are a different story. The Penguins shouldn’t be considered anything more than a dark horse in the Shattenkirk sweepstakes, but it would be an interesting fit to be sure.
5 Key Stories: 1/2/16 – 1/8/16
Let’s recap the five biggest stories from the week of 1/2/2016 through 1/8/2016:
- The Columbus Blue Jackets occupy the top spot in the league due in large part to their recent 16-game winning streak. The team had a chance to tie a record set by the 1992-93 Pittsburgh Penguins – a team led by “Super” Mario Lemieux and the ageless Jaromir Jagr – but the Blue Jackets came up short, falling to the Washington Capitals by the score of 5 – 0. Nonetheless, it’s an incredible feat accomplished by the Blue Jackets and an announcement to the rest of the league that they are indeed a team to be taken seriously.
- It’s been an up-and-down year in Winnipeg, but Jets rookie phenom Patrik Laine has been a bright spot in an otherwise disappointing season. The 18-year-old Finn is currently tied for third in the league in goal scoring with 21 and has already established himself as one of the league’s most exciting young stars. Unfortunately, Laine is out indefinitely after suffering a concussion in Winnipeg’s 4 – 3 loss to Buffalo on Saturday.
- Colorado has certainly been one of the league’s biggest disappointments in 2016-17. An offseason coaching change was expected to spark a talented roster back into playoff contention but instead the Avalanche have been the worst team in the league and at this point are one of the few clubs who can safely be called “seller” in advance of the trade deadline. This of course has led to all kinds of rumors, with the most recent involving Boston. The Bruins reportedly inquired as to the availability Gabriel Landeskog with Colorado asking for rookie blue liner Brandon Carlo in return. While there appears to be no traction in trade discussions between the two teams, that could change closer to the March 1st deadline.
- It was a busy week on the waiver wire with several players switching teams by virtue of waiver claims. Reid Boucher changed clubs twice going from Nashville to New Jersey and finally on to Vancouver all via waivers. Ty Rattie went from St. Louis to Carolina and San Jose lost Matt Nieto to Colorado.
- Montreal winger Brendan Gallagher is slated to miss the next eight weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a fractured hand. Gallagher was injured when a shot from teammate Shea Weber struck his hand during a recent game.
Atlantic Notes: Carlo, Lightning Draft, Nyquist, Eisenschmid
Boston Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo has been a revelation on their back end this season but CSN New England’s Joe Haggerty suggests that in recent games, he’s showing signs of hitting the proverbial rookie wall.
Over the last six games, Carlo’s ice time has been below his season average (21:50) while he was down to just 16 minutes in his last outing against Edmonton, a career low. He also has posted a -10 rating in his last 15 games and while plus/minus doesn’t quite carry the same level of importance nowadays, that’s still far from a good thing.
Rookie struggles, especially for blueliners, is hardly an uncommon thing but considering the fact that Carlo has often been a top pairing player for the Bruins, the pressure on him to turn this rough patch around is that much higher. For his part, Carlo isn’t getting down on himself too much:
“I feel like pucks definitely aren’t bouncing my way as much as they were in the beginning of the year. But that’s something that I just need to continue with, keeping it simple and moving the puck. I’m just trying to keep my gaps up and go through every game and know that I worked my hardest out there.”
The Bruins have been looking for help on the back end dating back to the summer. While Carlo’s emergence as a regular player lessened the need to add someone from outside the organization, GM Don Sweeney could be forced to again join the mass of teams looking to add a defenseman if the 20 year old continues to scuffle.
More from the Atlantic:
- When the Lightning recalled goaltender Adam Wilcox to serve as Andrei Vasilevskiy’s backup, he became the sixth and final player from Tampa Bay’s 2011 draft class to suit up in an NHL game, notes Roger Mooney of the Tampa Bay Times. In fact, all six players were in a Tampa uniform for their last game – forwards Vladislav Namestnikov, Nikita Kucherov, Ondrej Palat, and Matthew Peca as well as defenseman Nikita Nesterov. Wilcox’s stint with the Lightning isn’t likely to last too long though. He was brought up in part to allow Kristers Gudlevskis to get some playing time in while Ben Bishop is hoping to be back in the lineup during their six game road trip that kicks off January 16th in Los Angeles.
- Red Wings right winger Gustav Nyquist is at a loss to explain his scoring drought, writes MLive’s Ansar Khan. Despite averaging more ice time and more shots on goal per game, Nyquist is stuck at just four goals on the season with just one of those coming in his last 33 outings. While head coach Jeff Blashill is pleased with his effort level on a night-to-night basis, he’d like to see the 27 year old play less on the perimeter and more around the net.
- The Canadiens announced the signing of German center Markus Eisenschmid to a two year, entry level contract. The 21 year old is in his second season with their AHL affiliate in St. John’s. Through 32 games so far this year, he has six goals and four assists.