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Matt Duchene Rumors Continue to Swirl

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While there was plenty of action yesterday on the first day of free agency, one name that surfaced over and over again was that of the availability of Colorado Avalanche center Matt Duchene. The trade rumors refuse to die down, yet nothing has happened. According to The Columbus Dispatch’s Aaron Portzline, there are several teams trying to pry the 26-year-old former third-overall pick in the 2009 draft, including the Blue Jackets.

Quite obviously, Colorado general manager Joe Sakic is looking for a very young defender as key to any package to get Duchene. The scribe cites that the team has asked the Blue Jackets for 20-year-old blueliner Gabriel Carlsson as a primary piece of a potential deal. The former first-round pick in 2015 has shown quite a bit of promise, signing late this season and joining the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters for three games and then finished his 2016-17 season in Columbus for the final two games, picking up an assist on the way. Portzline says there has also been quite a bit of talk that the team is also interested in the Blue Jacket’s Ryan Murray, the former second-overall pick in 2012. The defenseman has played four seasons, finishing this year with two goals and nine assists in 60 games. No one knows whether Sakic is interested in one or both as part of the package for Duchene.

Portzline also tweets that the Boston Bruins are also discussing a trade with Colorado over Duchene and that deal would likely center around Bruins defender Brandon Carlo, who just wrapped up his rookie campaign with the Bruins. The 20-year-old former second round pick in 2015 finished the season with six goals, 10 assists and 59 penalty minutes.

Up till now, Sakic has refused to comment on any trade rumors only creating further speculation that a trade may be coming soon. We will see if there is any trade movement today as there is quite a bit of anticipation to see a move made.

Expansion Primer: Boston Bruins

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We’re continuing to break down each team’s situation as it pertains to the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft, coming up next week: which players are eligible, and which will likely warrant protection or may be on the block. Each team is required to submit their protection lists by 4pm CDT on June 17th. The full rules on eligibility can be found here, and CapFriendly has provided a handy expansion tool to make your own lists.

While the Boston Bruins have a legion of talented young players pushing for major roles, they are still a team that is defined by a veteran core: 2011 Stanley Cup winners Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, David Krejci, Zdeno Chara, and Tuukka Rask. Add young mainstays like David Pastrnak and Torey Krug and 2016 free agent acquisition David Backes to the mix and it may seem like the Bruins would be in a tough position with expansion like many other deep veteran teams.

However, the expansion process, while burdensome for some, gives the Bruins just enough space to protect all of their most valuable players including that entire core. They still face some tough decisions, but none that will drastically alter the franchise on June 21st.

Eligible Players (Non-UFA)

Forwards
David Krejci (NMC), Patrice Bergeron (NMC), Brad Marchand, David Backes (NMC), Matt Beleskey, Jimmy Hayes, Riley Nash, David Pastrnak, Ryan Spooner, Tim Schaller, Alexander Khokhlachev

Defense
Torey Krug, Zdeno Chara (NMC), Adam McQuaid, Kevan Miller, Colin Miller, Joe Morrow

Goaltender
Tuukka Rask (NMC), Anton Khudobin, Malcolm Subban

Notable Exemptions

Charlie McAvoy, Brandon Carlo, Frank Vatrano, Austin Czarnik, Zane McIntyre

Key Decisions

With Bergeron, Krejci, and Backes having No-Movement clauses and Marchand and Pastrnak two of 2016-17 top scorers, Boston is locked into a 7-3 protection scheme. Chara also has a No-Movement clause and Krug isn’t going anywhere so that’s five forward spots and two defensive spots locked up (Rask has a NMC as well if that was even a question). So which three Bruins get the final spots?

There have been many rumors this off-season, and even before the season ended, that perhaps Ryan Spooner’s time had run out in Boston. The 25-year-old center clashed with former coach Claude Julien and, after a brief rejuvenation, also lost play time under replacement Bruce Cassidy, including scratches in the playoffs. However, Spooner is still a top-end passer and a power play expert and the Bruins won’t just let him go for nothing. If Spooner hasn’t been traded before protection lists are due, he is guaranteed a slot. Whether or not he is still traded after the Expansion Draft remains an unknown.

For the final forward spot, the Bruins face a tough decision, but one with few negative repercussions. Jimmy Hayes has been a disaster in Boston and Tim Schaller is nothing more than fourth liner, so neither likely even gets consideration, nor would Vegas be interested unless otherwise incentivized, as has been rumored with Hayes. Alexander Khokhlachev left the organization last summer to play in the KHL, and little attention has been paid to his absence. The Golden Knights have drawn the interest of Russian players, but drafting Khokhlachev, who never proved his NHL viability in  Thus, the decision comes down to Matt Beleskey and Riley Nash. Beleskey had a career year in Boston in 2015-16, the first of a five-year deal, and seemed to fit in well with the Bruins. After a brutal, injury-riddled 2016-17 campaign, that fit is in doubt and there have been rumors that the team might look to trade a pick to Vegas in order for them to take the remaining three years and $11.4MM off of their hands. However, a healthy Beleskey could be far more valuable than Nash, who struggled to produce in his first season with the Bruins. Yet, Nash is a versatile veteran forward and a key penalty killer who makes just $900K next year. Hayes, Beleskey, and Nash all fulfill the 40/70 qualification and two will be exposed, so the team won’t have to worry about that requirement.

On defense, the decision holds some more weight. If Boston is unable to entice the Knights into selecting Hayes or Beleskey, it seems most likely that a defenseman will be chosen. The team must choose whether they want to protect long-time Bruin Adam McQuaid, exciting young player Colin Miller, or perhaps the most complete player of the group, Kevan Miller. Joe Morrow was once a top prospect, but his time to reach those lofty expectations in Boston has come and gone and the Bruins would be happy if Vegas chose to take him instead of one of the other two. Assuming that doesn’t happen, this becomes a big decision. Colin Miller is just 24 years old and an offensively-minded puck-mover, whereas Kevan Miller and McQuaid are very similar stay-at-home types. Colin Miller was also a major piece of the Milan Lucic trade from just two years ago. However, his development has had its fair share of bumps and Kevan Miller has definitely established himself as a more complete player. McQuaid also is in the mix and could be the beneficiary of club loyalty and a desire to have a seasoned vet behind young centerpieces Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo on the right side of the blue line. All three players meet the 40/70 qualification and have term on their contracts, so again meeting that one-player quota won’t be a concern.

Projected Protection List

Scheme: 7F/3D/1G

Forwards

David Krejci (NMC)
Patrice Bergeron (NMC)
David Backes (NMC)
Brad Marchand
David Pastrnak
Ryan Spooner
Riley Nash

Defensemen

Zdeno Chara (NMC)
Torey Krug
Colin Miller

Goalie

Tuukka Rask (NMC)

The general rule of expansion (and just common sense) is that if you’re allegedly willing to trade a draft pick to move a player, like Matt Beleskey, you’re probably happy with taking the risk of leaving him unprotected as well. Riley Nash played his best hockey toward the end of the season and that effort level next season at only $900K is tough to pass up. Still, the Bruins are unlikely to lose a forward, unless they do make a trade, because of the superiority of the players that they could potentially expose on defense. Kevan Miller is likely the best defenseman of the three, but Colin Miller brings a unique skill set from he and Adam McQuaid and has youth and potential on his side. Vegas would likely jump on the chance to take a young, offensive defenseman like Colin Miller, while there may be several defenseman of similar caliber to Kevan Miller and McQuaid available. Protecting Colin Miller may in fact be the Bruins’ best chance of retaining all three. If Vegas does pass up on a defenseman, it will be to take a goalie. No, not Anton Khudobin. Khudobin finished the season with a stretch of some of his best play since his last stint in Boston, but Vegas has more than enough options for backups that Khudobin won’t be of interest. Instead, young keeper Malcolm Subban could be the pick. Subban has been passed up by Zane McIntyre on Boston’s organizational depth chart and simply doesn’t appear destined to be an NHL regular with the Bruins at any point. Vegas GM George McPhee has stated that the team will likely draft many goalies and a minor leaguer with some promise would not be a wasted pick. Subban would also be the most harmless pick the Bruins could endure.

Patrice Bergeron, Tuukka Rask Undergo Surgery

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The Boston Bruins kept things short and sweet in a press release today, as GM Don Sweeney announced that both Patrice Bergeron and Tuukka Rask underwent successful surgery over the past two days. Barring any unforeseen complications, both players are expected to make full recoveries and be ready for the start of the 2017-18 season.

Unlike defenseman Torey Krug, Brandon Carlo, and Adam McQuaid, whose injuries kept them out for the first round of the playoffs and seemed like the likely cause of the Bruins collapse at the hand of the Ottawa Senators, both Bergeron and Rask played through their ailments in the six-game series. It was revealed that Bergeron not only played through his injury, a sports hernia, for the postseason but the entire regular season as well. The Bruins’ alternate captain and perennial Selke candidate is no stranger to playing through pain; he memorably skated in Game Six of the 2013 Stanley Cup Final with a punctured lung. Rask is a different case, as he his physical and mental toughness has often been questioned by skeptics of the Boston keeper’s ability. Some minds may be changed after they find out that Rask played through a groin tear, perhaps the most taxing injury for a goalie, in the playoffs and still managed to post a .920 save percentage and 2.24 goals against average.

Luckily, both Bergeron and Rask – as well as half the defense – are on their way to health and should be ready to go for next season. Although Rask won a career-high 37 games, including a career-best and 2nd-best in the league 8 shutouts, and Bergeron scored 53 points, led the league in face-off wins, and was named a Selke finalist yet again, it was actually a down year for both players. Rask, the 2013-14 Vezina Trophy winner and the current holder of the best career save percentage all-time was streaky this season and helped him to finish a second straight season with an uninspiring .915 save percentage. Bergeron, who has the best Expected +/- all-time was just +12 on the year, third on the Bruins and outside the top 50 in the NHL. He also saw a drop off in goals from 32 in 2015-16 to just 21 in 2016-17 and with it a slight decrease in five-on-five and power play ice-time. Certainly neither player was disappointing this past season, but at full strength they can be better and the Bruins can build on their success this season with another impressive effort in 2017-18.

Atlantic Division Snapshots: Pastrnak, Brassard, Red Wings

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Despite a first round elimination at the hands of the Ottawa Senators, the 2016-17 campaign has to be considered a success for the Boston Bruins organization. The team returned to the postseason after back-to-back non-playoff seasons and showed tremendous resilience during their six-game series loss, nearly overcoming injuries to key regulars Brandon Carlo, David Krejci, Torey Krug and Adam McQuaid to push Ottawa to OT in game six. Perhaps the silver lining to the season was the development of young Czech winger David Pastnak, who in his third year saw a marked increase across the board in terms of offensive production, setting career-highs in goals (34) assists (36) and points (70). Pastrnak stuggled some in the postseason, finishing with just five shots on goal and regularly turning the puck over, but as Joe Haggerty of CSNNE writes, the 20-year-old will be a better player long term in part because of the playoff experience.

Pastrnak also wrapped up his ELC, making him a RFA this summer. Boston will have a decision to make; do they try to lock up the talented offensive right wing to a long term deal or employ a short term bridge contract to keep the AAV down? Should the team choose the latter, Haggerty speculates a deal similar to that given by Chicago to Artemi Panarin (two years, $12MM) could work for both sides. If Boston chooses the former, they might have to approach the value of the accord signed by Calgary winger Johnny Gaudreau last summer, in Haggerty’s estimation. According to Cap Friendly, the Bruins are projected to have around just $10MM in cap space available with Drew Stafford set to hit unrestricted free agency and Ryan Spooner joining Pastrnak as a RFA. The team should have room as it stands to accommodate a new Pastrnak contract regardless of whether it’s a lucrative long term pact or a shorter term bridge deal. Still, what Boston does will likely have a great impact on what other moves the team can make this summer to fill holes on the roster.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic Division:

  • One of the second round’s more interesting subplots involves Ottawa center Derick Brassard facing his old team, the New York Rangers, and the player for whom he was acquired just last July, fellow pivot Mika Zibanejad. Expecting to contend for the playoffs in 2016-17, Ottawa GM Pierre Dorion wanted to add the more experienced and established Brassard to his lineup. It also didn’t hurt that the skilled center from Hull, Quebec is a proven playoff performer known in some circles as “Big Game Brass.” For their part, the Rangers needed to get bigger and younger and did so by adding the talented Zibanejad to the team. Neither player had the regular season they hoped – Brassard finished with just 14 goals and 39 points while Zibanejad missed time with a broken leg and scored 37 points in 56 contests. With scoring expected to be at a premium in the series between Ottawa and New York, it was widely felt whoever performed better between the two would give their team a significant edge. Well, after one game, Don Brennan of the Ottawa Sun has the two players even, though the Senators are up in the series. As Brennan noted, neither player registered a point and both finished with roughly 17 minutes of ice time. Brassard was credited with five shots on goal, Zibanejad with four. While it would be unfair to paint the winner of the series as also the winner of last summer’s trade, it’s evident the two players will be heavily relied upon to help their respective team advance to the Eastern Conference Final and at this point in the season that’s really all that matters.
  • With their 25-season playoff streak broken, the Detroit Red Wings enter the offseason with a lot of work to do to reshape their roster into a contender, and without the resources (i.e. cap space) to easily tackle the challenge. In all probability, the team will be forced seek roster improvement via the trade market and with limited chips the team can afford to move, it’s likely Detroit will have to deal one of their starting-caliber goalies, if for no other reason than to open up much-needed cap space. Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press expressed the same belief in a recent mailbag feature. As the scribe notes, the Wings are currently projected to have less than $6MM in cap space with key forwards Andreas Athanasiou and Tomas Tatar scheduled to be RFA’s. The offseason goalie market is expected to be full of starting options, with Pittsburgh likely to entertain a trade of Marc-Andre Fleury rather than risk losing Matt Murray in the expansion draft. Ben Bishop, Brian Elliott, Jonathan Bernier and Ryan Miller headline the UFA crop of netminders and could represent viable starting options for any team looking for a #1. Those factors will hamstring the Red Wings in their attempt to move either Jimmy Howard or Petr Mrazek in return for fair value. In all likelihood, the team will have to be satisfied primarily with cap relief as opposed to acquiring young assets to further their retooling effort. Although St. James does offer up one intriguing possibility, noting that current Stars GM Jim Nill, formerly an assistant GM in Detroit, knows Mrazek and Howard well from his time with the Wings and could pursue one in an effort to upgrade his options between the pipes.

Injury Notes: Marincin, Krug, Vatanen

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Toronto’s defenseman Martin Marincin appears to be injured following a hit from Tom Wilson in the second period of Game 3. He took shifts after the hit but didn’t look particularly well, leaving the game in the third period. Marincin had stepped up in a big way since Roman Polak had gone down with  injury. Luckily for Leafs fans, Nikita Zaitsev is back. But the injury parade of the playoffs continues, with Toronto seemingly unable to ice their full squad. Further updates on Marincin are not available at this time.

  • Anaheim’s Sami Vatanen did not take the ice in Game 3, per Ducks’ beat writer Eric Stephens. Vatanen logs over 21 minutes a night, only trailing behind Cam Fowler and Hampus Lindholm. Vatanen has been depended upon by coach Randy Carlyle taking 55% of his starts in the offensive zone while registering 128 blocks on the season. Since Fowler has been sidelined with a knee injury, Vatanen’s role has only been increased. The injury is apparently upper-body related, though specifics are hard to come by. Anaheim will hope to depend upon 23 year-old Brandon Mantour, 21 year-old Shea Theodore, and the 25 year-old Josh Manson to pick up the slack against a desperate Calgary team.
  • Torey Krug has been seen walking on his own in TD Garden, which is good news for Boston fans. Regaining the services of the defenseman would be a huge boon to a team that is held together by duct tape on the backend. Brandon Carlo is also injuried, although he is progressing. Zdeno Chara is pushing the wrong side of 40 and cannot be expected to carry the load for the team, especially with the other injuries. The 19 year-old Charlie McAvoy is being tasked with top-pairing duties, and despite his talent, is being challenged by quite a difficult first outing into NHL playoff hockey. Krug has no official time-table to return.

Atlantic Notes: Price, Carlo, Krug, Acciari

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While Islanders center John Tavares is garnering the most attention publicly among the potential high-end unrestricted free agents in the summer of 2018, Canadiens goaltender Carey Price is set to head into the final year of his contract next season as well.  On a radio appearance with Sportsnet 590 in Toronto (audio link), Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was asked about the possibility of Price hitting the open market (transcription via Fan Rag’s Chris Nichols):

“When I talked to him (GM Marc Bergevin) last year, he basically said he was going to do whatever he could to keep Price. I see no reason why that would have changed. The only reason that you could see them saying, ‘We’re not going to do it,’ is if they decide, ‘You know what? The money is going to be so much that we have to spread ourselves somewhere else. We have to decide to do different things.’

“But I know that every decision he was kind of making was with the idea that he knew he was going to have to pay Carey Price a lot of money, and he was prepared to do it.”

Price will earn $7MM in salary with a cap hit of $6.5MM next season.  It’s expected that a new deal for him will likely come in above the $8.5MM cap hit that Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist is currently receiving to set the new benchmark for goaltenders around the league.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic:

  • Boston defenseman Brandon Carlo is making good progress as he continues to recover from an upper body issue that is believed to be a concussion, reports CSN New England’s Joe Haggerty. Head coach Bruce Cassidy noted that the Bruins are hoping to have him back in the lineup “sooner than later”.  He was injured in the final game of the season against Washington after being the only defender to suit up in all 82 regular season contests.  There remains no firm timetable for his return to the lineup.
  • Also from Haggerty, things don’t appear to be as promising for bellow injured blueliner Torey Krug. Cassidy wouldn’t go as far as calling him anything more than day-to-day at this point (a common refrain at this time of year) but stated that he didn’t want to speculate on his situation.  Krug was seen with a brace on his right knee after being injured in the penultimate game of the season against Ottawa.  With Colin Miller (lower body) also out and Adam McQuaid (upper body) being banged up today, the blueline depth for the Bruins is really getting tested.  As for injured winger Noel Acciari, the team is hopeful that he will be able to dress for Game Three of the series on Monday night.  Acciari has skated with the team a couple of times this week but was still in a non-contract jersey on Friday.

Bruins Notes: Krejci, C. Miller, Morrow, Subban

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Fresh off a 2-1 Game One win against the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday night without three starters in David Krejci, Torey Krug, and Brandon Carlo, it appears that the Boston Bruins will have to line up for Game Two with an even more short-handed roster. While the team has until their matinee puck drop on Saturday to make any official announcement, it sounds as though defenseman Colin Miller will join the growing list of injuries. Miller, who left the previous game after suffering a lower body injury on a trip from Mark Borowiecki, was on the ice for practice today, but left early due to pain and discomfort. After practice, head coach Bruce Cassidy made it sound very unlikely that Miller would be available for the next game.

With Miller out, in addition to Krug and Carlo, Joe Morrow is the next man up to slot in on the blue line. Morrow, a former first-round pick and a piece of the Tyler Seguin trade, has not been able to work his way into regular play time in years with the Bruins. With John-Michael Liles in the fold this season, Morrow was bumped down to eighth on the depth chart and has not played in almost three months. However, the Bruins were able to beat the Senators with just five defenseman for most of Game One, so even a cold Morrow could be an upgrade as Boston looks to take a stranglehold on the series with another road win.

  • Having Krejci back would certainly go a long way to help the Bruins take a 2-0 series lead, but Cassidy confirmed that Boston’s highest-paid player will miss another game. Cassidy did add the qualifier that “as of today” he would miss the game, and Krejci did suit up for warm-ups before being a late scratch in Game One,  however he missed practice today and all signs point to the Bruins playing is safe with their third-highest scorer.

Playoff Injury Notes: Senators, Bruins, Canadiens

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With the long regular season finally over, a new challenge has appeared for sixteen teams. The Stanley Cup playoffs represent one of the toughest grinds in all of professional sports, where intensity and physical play is increased and players are expected to skate through injuries. That said, some of the teams will start the postseason nursing injuries to some of their biggest stars, while others will welcome them back into the fold after a short rest.  Here are some injury updates from around the Eastern Conference playoff picture.

  • The Ottawa Senators will welcome back Erik Karlsson and Zack Smith for game one of their series against the Boston Bruins, GM Pierre Dorion confirmed today. The team may also get Marc Methot back into the lineup, less than three weeks since his finger was “shattered” by a Sidney Crosby slash. Inserting those three into the lineup will give the Senators a huge boost at both ends of the ice, as they continue to try and play their shutdown style.
  • The Bruins on the other hand will be without Torey Krug for the entire first round, and miss Brandon Carlo for at least game one. The team signed and activated Charlie McAvoy earlier today to replace them, though losing Krug for the whole round is a devastating blow. Whether McAvoy makes an immediate impact or not, Krug has been the Bruins’ best puck-moving defenseman this year and will be sorely missed. Carlo on the other hand has looked like a veteran this year while paired with Zdeno Chara, making up for some of the captain’s decline in effectiveness. The team will also be without Noel Acciari for game one according to Amalie Benjamin of NHL.com.
  • Montreal welcomed back an important face to practice today, as Shea Weber rejoined the team in a regular jersey and is expected to play in the first game of their series against the New York Rangers. Weber hasn’t played since March 1st, but will be a huge part of a Canadiens blue line trying to slow down the high-powered Rangers. While technically Montreal is the much higher seed, the Rangers finished with just one fewer point than them in the standings and should be considered at least even odds going into the series. Montreal needs all hands on deck to brush off what has been a roller coaster season and find some success in the playoffs this year.

Charlie McAvoy Signs Three-Year ELC, Will Play In First Round

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After the Boston Bruins lost both Torey Krug and Brandon Carlo in the last few games of the regular season, they’ve now been forced into something they hoped to avoid. Charlie McAvoy is at Bruins practice, and has signed a three-year, entry-level deal that will start this season.

McAvoy and the Bruins had been negotiating back and forth on whether to sign his deal for this season (2016-17) or start it next year (2017-18). He’s been playing on an amateur tryout with the Providence Bruins, where the team could make sure he was ready for the next step. Now, with the injuries that have befallen them in the last few days they have no choice but to get him under contract and insert him into the lineup.

The Bruins open their series on the road against the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday night, meaning McAvoy needed to be officially signed and activated by then. Krug was injured last week and seen with crutches, while Carlo suffered an upper-body injury after being run into the corner by Alex Ovechkin on Saturday night. Those two have likely been the Bruins best defenders this year, despite Carlo’s young age and relative inexperience. While it is not guaranteed that they won’t be able to go for Game 1, it does not look likely.

McAvoy was the Bruins first-round pick this past summer, going 14th overall before heading back to Boston University for his sophomore season. He put up another solid offensive year, while again showing that he can handle himself in the defensive end. One of the young defender’s best talents is his cool demeanor under pressure, easily collecting loose pucks and moving them out of the zone. While debuting in the playoffs would be a tough ask of anyone, McAvoy seems primed and ready for NHL action and should be able to impact the game positively.

Bob McKenzie of TSN was first to report that the team would sign him and activate him Monday, while Aaron Ward of TSN reported that he was at Bruins practice.

Brandon Carlo Leaves Game; Will Not Return

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Boston Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo has left this afternoon’s game with an upper-body injury, and will not return.

Carlo took a big hit from Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin in the corner. After being attended to by medical personnel, he left the game. There has been some debate over the legality of the play, as Ovechkin appeared to hit Carlo in the numbers as the young defenseman lost his balance (GIF of hit). There was no penalty on the play.

If Carlo is out of the lineup for any extended period of time, it would be a big loss for the Bruins. His 16 points in 81 games are good for third among Bruins defensemen, behind only Torey Krug (who is currently injured) and Zdeno Chara. Carlo has been a steadying presence as a rookie, averaging 21 minutes of ice-time per game. He was the Bruins’ second-round pick in 2015.

The Bruins have already clinched a playoff spot with 95 points in 81 games. The two possible matchups are the Ottawa Senators or the Capitals. In either series, Carlo would be counted on to contribute defensively against stars like Erik Karlsson and Ovechkin.

At the time this article is being written, the Bruins and Capitals are tied 1-1 in the second period. Should the Bruins win, they would clinch third in the Atlantic Division and a first round matchup with the Ottawa Senators. A loss would give the Maple Leafs the opportunity to pass them (Toronto would have to sweep Pittsburgh and Columbus this weekend). In that case, the Bruins would face the Capitals, who they’re playing right now. If today’s game is any indication, it would be a hard-fought series.

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