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Brandon Pirri

Will The San Jose Sharks Make A Move?

July 7, 2017 at 9:04 pm CDT | by Zach Leach Leave a Comment

It’s hard to make an argument for any other team in the NHL as having a less exciting start to the 2017 off-season than the San Jose Sharks. Yes, the Sharks are just a year removed from a Stanley Cup appearance and have re-signed Norris Trophy-winner Brent Burns as well as Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Joe Thornton, and Martin Jones since then. You can get excited about new deals for Ryan Carpenter and Tim Heed last month too if you like. Yet, other than re-signing their own players, what have the Sharks added to their 2017-18 squad?

We know what they’ve lost. Patrick Marleau, a career-Shark and the franchise leader in goals (power play, short-handed, and even strength), points, and games played, is now a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs. David Schlemko, a 2016 free agency addition, was selected by the Vegas Golden Knights in the Expansion Draft and then flipped to the Montreal Canadiens. Micheal Haley (Florida Panthers) and Buddy Robinson (Winnipeg Jets) are also gone.

The only additions for San Jose thus far, as they look to plug the holes formed by lost free agents as well as improve upon their 2016-17 performance: left wing Brandon Bollig and goaltender Antoine Bibeau. Bollig, 30, is a physical, fourth-line caliber forward, but doesn’t produce enough on a consistent basis to be a regular player. Bollig hit his career-high in points in 2013-14 with the Chicago Blackhawks when he scored 14 points in 82 games. Soon after, he was traded to the Calgary Flames, where he scored just nine points in 116 games over two seasons before being buried in the AHL for the entirety of the 2016-17 season. The big winger posted 11 goals and 11 assists in 60 games for the AHL’s Stockton Heat, but still brings little to the the table for the Sharks other than grit and experience. As for Bibeau, the 23-year-old keeper was not tendered a qualifying offer by the Toronto Maple Leafs after a disappointing season. Bibeau had an .894 save percentage and 3.08 GAA in 32 regular season appearances for the AHL’s Toronto Marlies and performed even worse in his one playoff game. Bibeau had clearly fallen behind Garret Sparks and Kasimir Kaskisuo to fifth in the Leafs’ organizational depth chart, and so he was not retained. In San Jose, Bibeau will be no greater than fourth behind Jones, Aaron Dell, and Troy Grosenick and may never get another NHL start.

Bollig and Bibeau, two players destined for the AHL, are not exactly an inspiring pair, which begs the question: will the Sharks make another move? The team is far from perfect and could use some help. Jones and Dell proved to be a solid duo last season and the blue line is as deep as any in the NHL, but San Jose is not without needs up front. The Sharks ranked just 19th in scoring last season, and also boasted on of the worst power play’s in the NHL, below average face-off numbers, and poor possession stats. Burns (a defenseman) was the team’s leading scorer last year and tied for the team lead in goals, while the since-departed Marleau was fifth in scoring and third in goals. The rest of the top five scorers –  Joe Pavelski, Logan Couture, and Joe Thornton – will return, but the 38-year-old Thornton is recovering from a torn ACL and MCL, an injury that occurred after he scored all *seven* of his goals. Beyond those three forwards, the production dropped way off in 2016-17 to the likes of disappointments such as Mikkel Boedker and Joel Ward and young, developing players like Chris Tierney and Tomas Hertl. The Sharks have a clear need for secondary scoring, especially with Marleau gone, and could use a power play catalyst as well. Brandon Bollig is not going to cut it and a full season of Jannik Hansen, acquired at the Trade Deadline, likely won’t either.

Top options for the Sharks include Thomas Vanek, Drew Stafford, and Jiri Hudler, while taking a waiver on a veteran like Jaromir Jagr, Jarome Iginla, P.A. Parenteau, or Mike Ribeiro or on a younger player like Alex Chiasson or Brandon Pirri could work as well. Given the Sharks’ scoring needs, their sufficient cap space, and the complete dullness of their off-season to this point, perhaps maybe two of those players could find their way to San Jose. If not, the Sharks do have pieces to make a move to acquire a scorer, potentially a Matt Duchene or Evander Kane, if they so choose. One way or another, GM Doug Wilson needs to do something, and quick, or not only will he have a team that has surely gotten worse since the end of the season, but he will have a disappointed fan base on his hands as well.

Doug Wilson| Free Agency| San Jose Sharks Aaron Dell| Alex Chiasson| Antoine Bibeau| Brandon Pirri| Brent Burns| Buddy Robinson| David Schlemko| Drew Stafford| Evander Kane| Jannik Hansen| Jarome Iginla| Jaromir Jagr| Jiri Hudler| Joe Pavelski| Joe Thornton| Joel Ward| Logan Couture| Marc-Edouard Vlasic| Martin Jones| Matt Duchene| Micheal Haley| Mike Ribeiro| Mikkel Boedker| Patrick Marleau| Pro Hockey Rumors Originals

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Blackhawks Announce Qualifying Offers

June 25, 2017 at 8:37 pm CDT | by Zach Leach Leave a Comment

With tomorrow’s 5:00 PM ET deadline fast approaching for teams to submit qualifying offers to their impending free agents, names are about to flood in over the next 24 hours. Most RFA’s of any value are usually qualified and their teams retain sole control over their rights, while all others become unrestricted free agents. Each year, there are always some surprises though. Some names, like the New York Rangers’ Brandon Pirri, Adam Clendening, and Mackenzie Skapski, have already been leaked over the past few weeks as not being qualified. On the other hand, all RFA’s who were protected in the Expansion Draft had to first be extended a qualifying offer. That still leaves a long list of players to be determined tomorrow.

Count the Chicago Blackhawks as one team that won’t be scrambling tomorrow. Chicago has already made public which of their restricted free agents were and were not qualified. Among those whose negotiation rights the Blackhawks will retain are forwards Dennis Rasmussen and Tomas Jurco and defensemen Ville Pokka and Erik Gustafsson. Who is headed for unrestricted free agency? Forwards Michael Latta and Kenton Helgesen and defenseman Nolan Valleau. There is no official word, but it is overwhelmingly likely that the Blackhawks will qualify recently-acquired goalie Anton Forsberg, who GM Stan Bowman called the team’s 2017-18 backup at the draft this weekend.

There isn’t much surprise to Bowman’s decisions regarding his RFA’s. The 26-year-old Rasmussen has been a key bottom-six forward for the Blackhawks, skating in 112 games and recording 17 points while serving an important role as a defensive forward and penalty kill contributor. His qualifying offer was just $650K, the 2017-18 league minimum and well worth the services of a good, young two-way forward. Jurco, still just 24, made his NHL debut with the Red Wings back in 2013 and was an “up-and-coming prospect” in Detroit for a long time. It cost the Blackhawks a third-round pick to pry him from the Red Wings and they’ll look to make up for that loss by developing a player with undeniable talent who hasn’t been able to put it all together. Even though he’ll likely cost the cap-strapped ’Hawks $1MM or more per year, expect a deal to get done. Pokka, while he has not yet made his NHL debut, has been the top blue liner for the AHL’s Rockford Ice Hogs for two years now and will certainly get his shot in the coming season for a weakened Chicago defense. One of the main pieces in the Nick Leddy trade, the Blackhawks have plans for the Finnish defender.  Gustafsson played 41 games for the Blackhawks just two years ago and posted 14 points while playing to a +11 rating and seeing significant ice time. He may not have appeared in 2016-17, he seemed to be a viable candidate for a role this season as well. Valleau not so much. The 24-year-old out of Bowling Green University has struggled to produce in two AHL seasons and his -19 rating compared to just eight points this past season was likely his ticket out of town. Laatta, perhaps the most recognizable name on this list, is still not much of a surprise. As a young player with the Washington Capitals, Laatta showed promise as a career checking line player, but even in that role there were holes in his game. After signing with the Los Angeles Kings last summer, Laatta was dealt to the Blackhawks mid-season for another Capitals cast-off, Cameron Schilling. In neither L.A. nor Chicago did Laatta make an NHL appearance and may be a career minor leaguer moving forward. Helgesen is surely a career minor league player; he has spent the entirety of the past two seasons in the ECHL with nearly no production.

While Chicago’s qualifying moves are fairly straightforward, they don’t always go that way. Stay tuned for more qualifying offer announcements over the next 24 hours.

AHL| Chicago Blackhawks| ECHL| Free Agency| RFA Adam Clendening| Brandon Pirri| Michael Latta| Nick Leddy

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Rangers Not Expected To Qualify Clendening Or Pirri

June 11, 2017 at 5:39 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 3 Comments

Seemingly minor news in a major article from the New York Post’s Larry Brooks today may have a substantial impact on the New York Rangers and this summer’s free agent market. Brooks reports that the New York Rangers do not plan to extend qualifying offers to impending restricted free agents Adam Clendening and Brandon Pirri. If restricted free agents are not tendered a qualifying offer, they become unrestricted free agents. The qualifying offer process, while not straightforward , is relatively pain-free for the team. For 2017, players must be offered 110% of their previous year’s salary if they made $660K or less last season, 105% if they made between $660K and $1MM, and 100% if they made over $1MM. The offer must also be a one-way contract if the player played in 180 games over the past three seasons, 60 games in 2016-17, and did not clear waivers this past season. While this may sound convoluted, it simply means that the New York Rangers only had to offer Clendening a two-way contract worth $660K, as he made $600K this past season and played in only 31 games, and Pirri a two-way contract worth $1.1MM, as he made $1.1MM this past season and played in only 170 games over the past three seasons, in order to maintain their negotiating rights. It seems as though the Rangers do not want to shoulder that burden however.

This is a familiar situation for Pirri, who was non-tendered by the Anaheim Ducks last season as well. Just 25 years old, Pirri has struggled to find a long-term NHL home, having played with four different teams in his last four seasons. He has a knack for scoring goals, which he was especially adept at in parts of three seasons with the Florida Panthers, but failed to put the puck in the net very often in New York, scoring just eight goals and 18 points total in 60 games. Though $1.1MM is not an extraordinary commitment for a young player with a good shot, the Blueshirts apparently do not feel he is worth that much when they have only limited cap space and more pressing needs to fill this summer. Pirri will again become an intriguing name on the free agent market, as some team takes a chance on an unproven player with one proven quality: goal-scoring.

The scenario with Clendening is a little more puzzling, especially taking into account the Rangers’ extension of Steven Kampfer. Much like Pirri, Clendening too has had a tough time finding his place in the NHL, having been traded three times, claimed on waivers, and non-tendered last season. That comes out to a total of six teams for a player with three years of NHL experience. Yet, Clendening had a career year in New York, posting career-highs in games played (31), points (11), and hits (22). The analytics community was especially fond of Clendening, who had an overwhelmingly positive impact on possession. Unlike Pirri, the Rangers seemed to be a good fit for the 24-year-old. Yet, the team inked the 28-year-old journeyman Kampfer to a two-year, two-way deal worth $650K (just $10,000 less than Clendending’s qualifying offer), when Kampfer is older and far less productive. In fact, the only thing that Kampfer will likely be better than Clendening at in 2017-18 is not being claimed on waivers. Perhaps that is the sole reason the Rangers chose one over the other. If not, it seems to be another evaluation mistake by the New York brass in regards to defense. With more of a bona fide resume after this past season, Clendening too should drum up some interest on the free agent market.

Free Agency| New York Rangers Adam Clendening| Brandon Pirri

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Expected Extensions Prior To Expansion

June 1, 2017 at 6:46 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 2 Comments

Over the next few weeks, leading up to  June 17th, when each team must submit their list of protected players from the Expansion Draft, there is going to be a flurry of activity. The Vegas Golden Knights are expected to make several side deals regarding the selection process, while the other 30 teams will be working through trade proposals with one another as well. Many teams will also make smaller moves, such as extensions and buyouts, to make the expansion process easier on themselves. Examples could include potential extensions by Carolina or San Jose if they decide they would like to protect Lee Stempniak or Mikkel Boedker respectively. However, there remain several teams that must re-sign a current player, following logic anyway, prior to Saturday the 17th, or else risk having to expose and possibly losing a major piece instead. Each team must expose two forwards and one defenseman that played in at least 40 games this season or 70 games over the past two seasons and also have term remaining on their contract. While meeting these quotas is not a problem for some teams, others lack the roster depth in long-term contracts to do so. No team wants to be pressured into exposing a valued player just to fill that quota, so instead they will sign another current player with the caveat that he will be left unprotected in the Expansion Draft. Such situations played out all year long, with Blackhawks’ forward Jordin Tootoo, Hurricanes’ defenseman Klas Dahlbeck, and, the most publicized of all, Flames’ defenseman Matt Bartkowksi. Yet, unsolved situations still exist. Below are some of the most dire situations and who could benefit from an extension in the near future in order for their team to comply with Expansion Draft rules:

Team: New Jersey Devils

Situation: The re-building Devils nonetheless have a solid core of forwards that they would like to keep together: Taylor Hall, Kyle Palmieri, Adam Henrique, Travis Zajac, and Mike Cammalleri. New Jersey should be within their means to protect this group, expect that it leaves only Devante Smith-Pelly as a forward meeting the 40/70 qualification. Even for those who doubt the effectiveness going forward of the oft-injured 34-year-old Cammalleri, surely the Devils could find a better player to sacrifice than he or Smith-Pelly if they so choose.

Expected Extension: As a young team, the devils are chock full of impending restricted free agents. However, not all RFAs are created equal. Beau Bennett, Jacob Josefson, and Stefan Noesen are all candidates for extension and exposure, but Bennett played a bigger role for New Jersey than even Smith-Pelly in 2016-17 and Noesen played the best hockey of his young career after a mid-season trade from the Anaheim Ducks. Josefson has shown next to no progress in six years in New Jersey. Look for the Devils to try to work out an extension with the 25-year-old center to fill the hole in their expansion plan.

 

Team: New York Rangers

Situation: The Devils’ cross-town rivals are in a similar situation. The Rangers have put together a core of forwards that is the envy of most teams in the league, but it could soon be torn apart. Many feel that backup goalie Antti Raanta will be Vegas’ choice, but New York doesn’t want to give them any reason not to go that route and instead steal a good young forward. The team is already reserved to the fact that 2016-17 breakout star Michael Grabner has to be exposed, but they would rather protect all five of Derek Stepan, Chris Kreider, Mats Zuccarello, J.T. Miller and Kevin Hayes, in addition to Rick Nash, whose No-Movement Clause prevents exposure, and impending RFA Mika Zibanejad. The only problem is that this protection scheme leaves only Grabner as a 40/7o forward.

Expected Extension: The Rangers are not without options for a forward to extend and expose. RFA’s Jesper Fast, Oscar Lindberg, Brandon Pirri, and Matt Puempel would all meet the quota criteria if handed a new deal, as would UFA Tanner Glass. While New York may not be eager to lose any of the four, none significantly outshine Raanta or Grabner in terms of selection value anyway, giving the team every reason to get an extension done with one or more. Fast seems certain to get a new contract from the Rangers anyway, so don’t be surprised if such a deal lands in the next week or two.

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Team: Washington Capitals

Situation: The reigning President’s Trophy winners may have a handshake agreement in place with pending UFA T.J. Oshie, but there is a reason that they’ll wait to make it official: the Capitals face expansion problems as is and can’t afford to add another contract to the mix. Most of Washington’s protection lineup is straightforward: Alexander Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Marcus Johansson, and impending RFA’s Evgeny Kuztensov and Andre Burakovsky. This leaves two forward slots open to choose between Lars Eller, Jay Beagle, and Tom Wilson. This is a difficult decision in itself, but unless a move is made, the Capitals would actually have to choose just one, leaving the other two to meet the 40/70 quota. That is a real tough situation for the Capitals.

Expected Extension: Adding to the confusion of the situation is upcoming RFA Brett Connolly, who by all accounts outplayed all three of the players he is competing for protection with. Other than re-signing UFA Daniel Winnik, Connolly presents the only real extend-and-expose option for Washington. The Capitals would definitely like to retain Connolly, but if they choose to re-sign and sacrifice him to save one of the others, Vegas might just take the bait. Like the Rangers, Caps backup goalie Philipp Grubauer is expected to be a target of the Knights and who Washington chooses to expose at forward may be inconsequential. However, there is risk there. Washington could overpay Connolly in salary or term in an attempt to ward off a selection, but that could come back to bite an often cap-strapped squad. A lot remains unknown in the Capitals’ expansion strategy.

 

Team: Winnipeg Jets

Situation: Unlike many teams whose youth has benefited them in the expansion process, as their core is mostly ineligible as first or second-year players, the Jets have many players who are just over that hump and in need of protection. Unfortunately, to protect all of those players, the Jets also fall short of the two-forward quota. Locks for protection are captain Blake Wheeler, Mark Scheifele, Bryan Little, and Mathieu Perreault, but Winnipeg would clearly like to make youngsters Adam Lowry, Joel Armia, and Andrew Copp part of that mix too. Veteran center Shawn Matthias was underwhelming in his first year and Winnipeg and is up for exposure, but he is the last man left who meets the 40/70 qualification. In order to protect all seven of these key forwards, the Jets must extend another player currently on the roster who fits the bill

Expected Extension: The situation seems obvious – long-time winger Chris Thorburn, whose days with the organization date back to Atlanta, is an impending unrestricted free agent who has remained loyal to the franchise throughout his career as they have in turn. Extending Thorburn would be completely harmless, as he stands almost no chance to be selected and can then continue to anchor the Jets checking line for another year or two. The only other 40/70 player is Marko Dano, who has incredible upside, but has yet to put it together at the NHL level. Vegas may have interest in Dano, but Winnipeg should stick to protecting their established young players and let the Golden Knights take the risk of selecting and trying to negotiate a new deal with the under-performing RFA.

 

Expansion| George McPhee| Kevin Cheveldayoff| New Jersey Devils| New York Rangers| Ray Shero| Vegas Golden Knights| Washington Capitals| Winnipeg Jets Antti Raanta| Beau Bennett| Brandon Pirri| Brett Connolly| Daniel Winnik| Jacob Josefson| Jay Beagle| Jesper Fast| Lars Eller| Matt Puempel| Michael Grabner| Mike Cammalleri| Oscar Lindberg| Philipp Grubauer

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Expansion Draft Issues: Post-Trade Deadline

March 5, 2017 at 6:51 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 3 Comments

Last month, we looked at several teams facing some tough situations in regards to the upcoming NHL Expansion Draft and offered potential solutions to how they could address their needs for forwards, defensemen and goalies at the NHL Trade Deadline. With March 1st over and done with, many of those squads have solved their problems with signings or acquisitions.

Calgary Flames

Problem: Defense

Status: Solved

The Flames solved their problem of otherwise having to expose Mark Giordano, T.J. Brodie, or Dougie Hamilton with the ingenious signing of Matt Bartkowski, the only defenseman on the planet who was both free to acquire and automatically eligible for exposure in the draft. It’s a good thing they signed him too, since they ended up trading away their best fall-back option, young defenseman Jyrki Jokipakka.

Carolina Hurricanes

Problem: Defense

Status: Unsolved

It was a pretty quiet deadline in Raleigh, as the ’Canes shipped out Ron Hainsey and Viktor Stalberg and then called it a day. What they didn’t do was acquire another body on the blue line to help solve their lack of a defenseman to expose. Carolina is still facing the problem of All-Star Justin Faulk being the only defenseman on the roster currently meeting the criteria for mandated exposure, due to the majority of their defensemen being too young to be eligible altogether. There is no way that Faulk is there for the taking by Vegas, but GM Ron Francis is left with only two choices: extend impending RFA Klas Dahlbeck or extend impending UFA Matt Tennyson and make sure he plays in seven more games this season, as he’s currently short of the 40-game mark.

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Chicago Blackhawks

Problem: Forwards

Status: Solved

While the Blackhawks are always a threat to make a surprising change, GM Stan Bowman went a more traditional route in solving his expansion draft. Faced with the possibility of losing young Ryan Hartman, one of just two players who, at the time, met the criteria for exposure, Bowman simply decided to extend grinder Jordin Tootoo for another year. Tootoo qualifies for the two-forward quota, so regardless of his lack of production, he was a cheap solution to Chicago’s problem.

Dallas Stars

Problem: Forwards

Status: Unsolved

The Stars’s problem wasn’t as simple as trading for or acquiring just one player. They likely will have to decide between exposing Antoine Roussel and Cody Eakin when push comes to shove, but they shouldn’t have to expose both. That is the current state of the Stars after they shipped away several impending free agents at the deadline, but failed to bring in anyone that meets the Expansion Draft criteria. Luckily, they have quite a few options in-house that they could extend and expose such as Ales Hemsky, Jiri Hudler, Adam Cracknell, and Curtis McKenzie. 

New Jersey Devils

Problem: Forwards

Status: Unsolved

The Devils got what they could for their free agent pieces at the deadline, trading away P.A. Parenteau for a draft pick and Kyle Quincey for Dalton Prout. However, they missed out on the chance to fix their forward problem in the Expansion Draft in the process. The Devils want to protect their core five of Taylor Hall, Kyle Palmieri, Adam Henrique, Mike Cammalleri, and Travis Zajac, but that leaves Devante Smith-Pelly as the lone forward who qualifies for the quota. Now, New Jersey and GM Ray Shero are in a position where they must re-sign a young forward like Jacob Josefson, Beau Bennett, or Stefan Noesen (if he plays in 13 more games) and subsequently make them available, which they likely would have preferred not to.

New York Rangers

Problem: Forwards

Status: Unsolved

The Rangers also passed up a chance at solving their draft conundrum on deadline day. New York acquired two forward, Daniel Catenacci and Taylor Beck, but neither one qualifies for exposure. In order for the Rangers to protect all of their impressive, young core forwards, they’ll now need to extend one of Brandon Pirri, Jesper Fast, Oscar Lindberg or potentially Matt Puempel or Tanner Glass if either one plays another handful of games this season. Regardless, the Rangers don’t need to be overly worried about who they expose as their second forward, as they’ve likely come to grips with the strong possibility that their first forward, Michael Grabner, will be targeted by Vegas GM George McPhee.

Ottawa Senators

Problem: Forwards

Status: Unsolved

The Senators were busy at the deadline and their biggest move was also the move that impacts their expansion plans the most, the acquisition and extension of Alexandre Burrows. Although the Senators gave up a potential future star in Jonathan Dahlen to get Burrows, an extension prior to playing a single minute with the team means that GM Pierre Dorian had expansion on his mind. Yet, Burrows only solves one issue, as the Senators needed two eligible forwards – assuming they plan on protecting Bobby Ryan – if they also want to keep Mike Hoffman, Mark Stone, Derick Brassard, Kyle Turris, and Zack Smith out of the Golden Knights’ grasp. Luckily, they have a veritable laundry list of extension options on the roster now, ranging from recent additions Tommy Wingels and Viktor Stalberg to veterans Chris Neil, Chris Kelly, and Tom Pyatt. 

Philadelphia Flyers

Problem: Goaltending

Status: Solved

Not too many people were excited about this move, but the Flyers announced on deadline day that they had extended struggling goalie Michal Neuvirth for two more years at $2.5MM per year. This means that they can expose Neuvirth to meet the one-goalie quota and protect promising prospect Anthony Stolarz. However, Philly overpaid to make this happen and it seems very unlikely that the Knights would bite on Neuvirth’s new contract. They’re likely saddled with his .887 save percentage and 2.90 goals against average for another two seasons. So really one problem solved, another created.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Problem: Forwards

Status: Solved

The Leaf’s expansion problem was never a big one, it was just that they would have to expose and potentially lose Leo Komarov when they really didn’t have to. They understood the scenario was though and did what was expected of many teams but actually done by no one else: threw in a qualifying forward to an existing deal. Toronto’s trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins was centered around Frank Corrado and a fourth-round pick, but by tossing Eric Fehr into the mix, especially after he cleared waiver, the Leafs now have a body that can occupy the other forward spot in the Expansion Draft and can then be forgotten in the AHL if he isn’t selected. A smart move by the legend, Lou Lamoriello.

Washington Capitals

Problem: Forwards

Status: Unsolved

Finally, the Caps may have made the biggest splash at the trade deadline, but did nothing to help their Expansion Draft situation with two important forwards. Because they can only protect seven forwards, Washington will have to expose one of Lars Eller and Jay Beagle. While it’s a toss up between the two – Eller has had a disappointing season but was acquired just this summer for two second-rounders, Beagle is a career Cap who is a face-off wizard and always good for moderate production – they certainly don’t want to expose both, as they currently would have to. The easiest solution is to extend and expose either Daniel Winnik or Brett Connolly. The again, if the Capitals are confident that Philipp Grubauer is going to be Vegas’ pick, as many are speculating, maybe they just bite the bullet and leave both Eller and Beagle unprotected after all.

 

Calgary Flames| Carolina Hurricanes| Chicago Blackhawks| Dallas Stars| Expansion| George McPhee| New Jersey Devils| New York Rangers| Ottawa Senators| Philadelphia Flyers| Pierre Dorion| Toronto Maple Leafs| Vegas Golden Knights| Washington Capitals Adam Cracknell| Ales Hemsky| Beau Bennett| Bobby Ryan| Brandon Pirri| Brett Connolly| Chris Neil| Cody Eakin| Daniel Winnik| Derick Brassard| Dougie Hamilton| Eric Fehr| Jacob Josefson| Jesper Fast| Jiri Hudler| Justin Faulk| Jyrki Jokipakka| Klas Dahlbeck| Kyle Palmieri| Kyle Quincey| Lars Eller| Mark Giordano| Mark Stone| Matt Bartkowski| Matt Puempel| Matt Tennyson| Michael Grabner| Michal Neuvirth| Mike Cammalleri| Mike Hoffman| Oscar Lindberg

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Deadline Primer: New York Rangers

February 25, 2017 at 4:30 pm CDT | by Glen Miller 3 Comments

At times this season the New York Rangers have looked the part of legitimate Stanley Cup contender. With a talented a deep group of forwards, the Blueshirts have shown the ability to score goals in bunches and have been among the top offensive teams in the NHL all season long. Certainly they boast enough firepower to keep pace with anyone in the league.

At other times the defensive lapses that derailed their 2015-16 campaign have reappeared and may again threaten to undermine the Rangers playoff hopes. It looks more likely than ever that Dan Girardi and Kevin Klein are simply ill-suited for the fast paced style the Rangers want to employ and just can’t cut it in top-four roles. Either would be decent options on the third pair but right now one of them has to play on one of the team’s top two pairings.

So what exactly are the Rangers? Are they a team one savvy blue line addition away from competing for the Stanley Cup? Or are they a team whose window is all but closed; one that needs too much help to reasonably expect to contend and who should resist the urge to mortgage yet more of their future in what will almost surely be another fruitless effort to win it all? That’s the question that GM Jeff Gorton and his staff have to answer in the coming days.

Record

39 – 19 – 2, 80 points, currently in third place in the Metro Division.

Deadline Status

They’re the Rangers and have essentially been all-in for the last several seasons. The Blueshirts have added Martin St. Louis, Keith Yandle and Eric Staal at the deadline at each of the last three trade deadlines respectively and they’ll be a buyer yet again. But don’t necessarily expect a splashy move. Gorton has already displayed a strong desire to protect the organization’s limited pool of prospects and draft picks. They’ll look to make a deal but likely are not willing to sacrifice much in the way of young NHL talent or futures in any move.

Deadline Cap Space

According to Cap Friendly, the Rangers will have just more than $10.1MM in cap space with which to play with. Again, a significant departure from past versions of the Rangers but a welcome one all the same as the team won’t necessarily have to pay a higher price due to requiring their trade partner to retain salary.

Draft Picks

2017: NYR 1st, NYR 3rd, Florida 4th, NYR 5th, Vancouver 6th, NYR 7th

2018: NYR 1st, NYR 2nd, Ottawa 2nd, NYR 3rd, NYR 4th, NYR 5th, NYR 6th, Florida 7th*

*Contingent on Dylan McIlrath appearing in at least 30 NHL games in 2016-17.

Trade Chips

Shockingly, the Rangers still have their first round pick for 2017. The Blueshirts haven’t exercised a pick in the draft’s opening round since 2012, when they chose defenseman Brady Skjei 28th overall. Should they choose to hold onto that pick, they do own multiple second round picks in 2018 thanks to the Derick Brassard–Mika Zibanejad swap. Perhaps they’ll be willing to make one of those choices available.

After failing to earn a spot with the Rangers AHL affiliate in Hartford, Ryan Gropp returned to the Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL, where he has registered a 25-41-66 scoring line in 55 games. He was the Rangers second round pick in 2015 and could be viewed by some teams as a potential late bloomer. The Rangers are fairly deep between the pipes in their system with Igor Shesterkin leading the way. Adam Huska and Tyler Wall are both playing NCAA hockey this season and are legitimate NHL prospects. The Rangers have done an excellent job as an organization identifying unheralded goaltending prospects and seeing them develop into quality pro netminders and Huska and Wall have a chance to continue that trend.

The Rangers will be reluctant to move anyone on the NHL roster but might consider including one of Jesper Fast or Oscar Lindberg in a package to upgrade the blue line given the amount of depth up front. They might also be willing to part with Matt Puempel or Brandon Pirri but neither player likely carries much trade value. Other clubs will come calling on young forwards like Kevin Hayes, J.T. Miller and Chris Kreider, players just beginning to hit reach their respective ceilings in the NHL, but it would take a substantial offer to pry one of them away.

Players to watch: Kevin Klein (recent back issues could increase the Rangers need on the blue line); Lindberg; Fast; Gropp; Wall;

Team Needs

  1. Defense: The question is whether one legitimate top-four blue liner is enough or will the team need to add two new defensive options.
  2. Defense: See above
  3. Defense: See above the above.

 

Deadline Primer 2017| New York Rangers| St. Louis Blues| WHL Brandon Pirri| Chris Kreider| Dan Girardi| Derick Brassard| Dylan McIlrath| Eric Staal| J.T. Miller| Keith Yandle| Kevin Hayes| Matt Puempel| Mika Zibanejad| Oscar Lindberg

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Expansion Draft Issues At The Trade Deadline: Forwards

February 11, 2017 at 5:32 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 1 Comment

This trade season is one like never before. The addition of the Vegas Golden Knights in 2017-18 and the Expansion Draft that goes along with it add a whole other layer to trade-making this year. With each and every transaction, the expansion draft protection formula can change. Even in 2000, when the Minnesota Wild and Columbus Blue Jackets were welcomed into the league, the expansion rules were not a strict and general managers did not have to be as paranoid about their moves. This time around, everything is different. What does it all mean? For fans, there is a real possibility that this could be the quietest Trade Deadline in recent memory. Buyers interested in impending free agent rentals may not have to worry about the draft implications, but the sellers potentially taking back roster players with term certainly do. Trading is hard enough, especially in a season with very few teams significantly out of the playoff race, and expansion will only increase those barriers. Luckily, there are several teams that need to make moves prior to the deadline or they could risk being in very sticky situations when the Knights get ready to make their selections. With teams like the Minnesota Wild, Pittsburgh Penguins, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Anaheim Ducks, who have so much talented, veteran depth at multiple positions, there is really not much that they can do; they’re going to lose a good player. For others, a sensible contract extension can solve all of their problems. However, for these teams, making a trade before it’s too late may be exactly what they need. We’ve looked at the defense conundrums of the Calgary Flames, Carolina Hurricanes and the goaltending scenario of the Philadelphia Flyers, but there a quite a few more teams with problems up front that need solving:

Chicago Blackhawks

Luckily for the Blackhawks, it’s hard to remember a deadline where GM Stan Bowman didn’t add a veteran forward. This year they may really need one though, regardless of their Cup run condition, to protect young scorer Ryan Hartman. The 22-year-old winger has 13 goals and 10 assists in his first full season with Chicago, and if nothing changes it would likely be his last season in Chicago. In setting their protected list for the Expansion Draft, the Blackhawks must protect Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa, and Artem Anisimov due to their no-movement clauses. They would, of course, have protected those four anyway, but other than that group, the team has only two other players that meet the draft criteria of having two unprotected forwards that have played in 40 games this season or 70 games over the past two seasons and have term remaining on their contract: Marcus Kruger and Hartman. Kruger is not a great loss, but retaining Hartman is a major priority as the deadline approaches. The ‘Hawks could simply re-sign 30-year-old Andrew Desjardins or 34-year-old Jordin Tootoo, who both hit the 40/70 benchmark, but are impending free agents. However, the pair have combined for one point in 63 man-games this season and may not strike Bowman as players worth keeping, since they are nearly guaranteed to not be selected by Vegas. Richard Panik and Dennis Rasmussen are both restricted free agents who would also qualify if given an extension, but the team might think twice about exposing either player when they don’t have to. If push comes to shove, Chicago would surely rather lose Rasmussen or have to re-sign Desjardins if it means that Hartman is safe, but acquiring an affordable, serviceable forward with years remaining on his contract prior to the deadline may be the easier move for Bowman and company.

Dallas Stars

Despite their performance this season, the Stars are very much built like a team trying to make one last run at a Stanley Cup. Only five players on Dallas and on the AHL’s Texas Stars have both two years of professional play under their belt and term remaining on those contracts. The rest of the team is composed of impending unrestricted free agents and the AHL squad is mostly restricted free agents.  Jamie Benn and Jason Spezza have no-movement clauses and are obviously safe, as is All-Star Tyler Seguin. However, without any further moves, Dallas would have to leave 25-year-old center Cody Eakin and team enforcer Antoine Roussel exposed in the draft. With the likes of Radek Faksa, Brett Ritchie and (probably) Valeri Nichushkin needing to be protected as well, the Star’s may have to leave one or the other on the table, but certainly not both. Roussel is having a career year, on pace to beat his career-high 29 points while also skating a career-best 15 minutes per game. Eakin, who missed time earlier this year and has been held to just six points in 33 games, is regardless coming off of three straight seasons of 35+ points and is just entering his prime. If they want to protect one or both, moves need to be made. Dallas is not short on extension options, with UFA’s Patrick Sharp, Patrick Eaves, Jiri Hudler, Lauri Korpikoski, Adam Cracknell and even the injured Ales Hemsky meeting the 40/70 criterion. However, if the Stars want to make up for their disappointing season, trading several of those players for picks and prospects at the deadline seems likely may eliminate some choices. In the process of moving out that trade capital, it may simply be easier for GM Jim Nill to add one or two qualifying forwards along the way.

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New Jersey Devils

As previewed in their Trade Deadline Primer, the Devils have a similar conundrum to the Stars. Outside of their core forwards, the young New Jersey team is mostly made up of impending restricted free agents. There’s no reason that New Jersey should have to break up their strong group of Taylor Hall, Kyle Palmieri, Adam Henrique, Travis Zajac, and Mike Cammalleri with no other priority protectorates, but as of now one of that group would have to join Devante Smith-Pelly as potential future Knights. No one else on the roster currently meets the 40/70 mark and also has term remaining on their current deal. Upcoming unrestricted free agent P.A. Parenteau could be exposed if re-signed, but he represents one of New Jersey’s best trade chips at the deadline as they look to continue their rebuild. Beau Bennett and Jacob Josefson would also qualify if re-signed, but Josefson has struggled all season and is either a trade candidate or a player the Devils could move on from and it’s doubtful that New Jersey would expose Bennett after just trading for him at the NHL Draft last June. The easiest move for GM Ray Shero is probably to just bring in another body to expose via trade prior to March 1st.

New York Rangers

The Rangers are going to lose a talented forward in the expansion draft, there’s no question about that. However, they would currently have to expose two top forwards instead of just one. New York has seven forwards who meet exposure criteria – Rick Nash, Derek Stepan, Chris Kreider, Mats Zuccarello, J.T. Miller, Kevin Hayes, and Michael Grabner – and another player in obvious need of protection in RFA center Mika Zibanejad. The draft rules allow them to protect seven forwards, and given Nash’s no-movement clause, the odd man out is likely the 2016-17 rebound star Grabner. However, until another player becomes exposure-eligible or an eligible player is acquired, another Rangers’ impact forward would have to join Grabner and would be even more likely to be selected. Now, the fact that New York has seven forwards already lined up for protection actually helps them. They don’t have to consider whether or not they want to expose other impending restricted free agents, because they don’t have that option. They probably have already come to grips with the fact that they will likely lose Grabner. Thus, the extension and subsequent exposure of Jesper Fast, Brandon Pirri, Oscar Lindberg, or possibly even Matt Puempel would satisfy the two-forward criteria. However, the other route that remains is to acquire an a qualifying forward and save RFA negotiations for the summer.

Ottawa Senators

The streaking Senators are in the midst of a surprising playoff-caliber season, but may need to turn some attention to Expansion Draft preparation before it’s too late, because they have a few different issues to consider. Recent reports have indicated that Ottawa may ask Dion Phaneuf to waive his no-movement clause so that they can protect Erik Karlsson, Cody Ceci, and Marc Methot along with seven forwards. Another newsworthy rumor has been that the Senators may leave struggling star Bobby Ryan and his $7MM yearly cap hit exposed in the draft. If Ottawa cannot get Phaneuf to waive his clause and choose instead to protect all four defensemen, then their expansion problem with forwards is beyond help; they will lose a talented scorer whether they expose Ryan or not. That seems highly unlikely though, so assume for now that Phaneuf agrees or the Sens expose Methot. Unfortunately, they are still not out of the weeds, with or without Ryan. The Senators have six forwards who qualify for exposure by having years remain on their contracts and playing 40 games this year or 70 over the past two: Ryan, Mike Hoffman, Mark Stone, Derick Brassard, Kyle Turris, and Zack Smith. Stone, Hoffman, and Turris lead the team in goal-scoring, while Brassard is recently-acquired and Smith is fresh off a contract extension. Ottawa has no interest in losing any of those five, and the Ryan rumor would mostly serve to open up another spot to add both RFA’s Ryan Dzingel and Curtis Lazar to the protected list. However, just exposing Ryan wouldn’t be enough; the Senators need another qualifying forward to meet the two-player quota. Should they trade Lazar, which has been talked about, and decide to keep Ryan, then Ottawa will need two qualifying forwards. The Senators are quietly facing quite the conundrum. Luckily, their recent move to bring in Tommy Wingels from the San Jose Sharks could help them solve their problems. Ottawa will likely want to steer away from extensions for ineffective veterans Chris Neil and Chris Kelly, but if they can re-sign Wingels and Jean-Gabriel Pageau prior to the Expansion Draft, then they will cover their bases. Two new extensions during trade deadline season, the stretch run, and the postseason is somewhat of a daunting task for the Sens though, who may choose to bring in one or two qualifying forwards via trade instead.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Despite the immense number of Leafs forwards in their first or second pro seasons, the team’s expansion problems are not all that bad. In fact, their controversy comes down to one player: Leo Komarov. Toronto can comfortably protect centerpieces Nazem Kadri, Tyler Bozak and James van Riemsdyk from exposure, and probably don’t have to worry about the massive Matt Martin contract being scooped up by Vegas either. However, the only other Toronto player who meets the 40/70 rule and has remaining term is Komarov. If the Leafs had to make a tough call, Komarov just turned 30 and is having a down year, so the loss wouldn’t be huge. They shouldn’t have to make that call though. There is more than enough room for Kadri, Bozak, van Riemsdyk, Komarov, Connor Brown, and even two more on the protected list. Nearly a 20-goal scorer last year and reportedly a great mentor for some of the Leafs’ young stars, Komarov has earned his spot in Toronto and the team likely wants to keep him around. Unfortunately, it’s not an easy extension fix. Brooks Laich and, if he plays seven more games, Ben Smith present the only players who could meet qualification if they were to re-sign and Laich has been buried in the minors all season while Smith has just three points in 29 games. Of every team in trouble with balancing their forwards for the Expansion Draft, Toronto seems the most likely to go out and get a forward to expose via trade if they want to protect Komarov.

Washington Capitals

The Capitals are in nearly an identical situation to the Dallas Stars. Qualifiers Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Marcus Johansson, and Tom Wilson are safe, as are impending restricted free agents Evgeny Kuznetsov and Andre Burakovsky. However, there is one spot left on the protected list, but the number of unrestricted free agents on the team make it that Lars Eller and Jay Beagle are the only other forwards who can cover the two 40/70 exposure slots. The team faces a chance of losing one, but they shouldn’t have to offer up both. Eller is in his first year in Washington and it cost two second-round picks to get him, while Beagle is a career Cap and a face-off dynamo. The Capitals likely know which one they would prefer to keep, but will need to make a move to protect him. Expensive extensions for T.J. Oshie or Justin Williams just to then let Vegas take them doesn’t make any sense, but that strategy may work for veteran Daniel Winnik. Also, the team would probably like to bring back 24-year-old sniper Brett Connolly, but he likely doesn’t make the extension short list. They might look to re-sign him to meet the quota in hopes that the Knights take goaltender Philipp Grubauer instead as has been rumored.

Chicago Blackhawks| Dallas Stars| Expansion| Jim Nill| New Jersey Devils| New York Rangers| Ottawa Senators| RFA| Ray Shero| Stan Bowman| Toronto Maple Leafs| Transactions| Vegas Golden Knights| Washington Capitals Adam Cracknell| Ales Hemsky| Alex Ovechkin| Andre Burakovsky| Andrew Desjardins| Artem Anisimov| Beau Bennett| Ben Smith| Bobby Ryan| Brandon Pirri| Brett Connolly| Brooks Laich| Chris Kreider| Chris Neil| Cody Ceci| Cody Eakin| Curtis Lazar| Daniel Winnik| Derick Brassard| Dion Phaneuf| Erik Karlsson| Evgeny Kuznetsov| J.T. Miller| Jacob Josefson| James van Riemsdyk| Jamie Benn| Jason Spezza| Jiri Hudler| Jonathan Toews| Jordin Tootoo| Kevin Hayes| Kyle Palmieri| Lars Eller| Lauri Korpikoski| Marc Methot| Marcus Johansson| Marcus Kruger| Marian Hossa| Mark Stone| Matt Puempel| Michael Grabner| Mika Zibanejad| Mike Cammalleri| Mike Hoffman| Nazem Kadri| Nicklas Backstrom| Oscar Lindberg| Patrick Kane| Patrick Sharp| Ryan Hartman| Trade Deadline Previews

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Trade Deadline Reflection: Finding Value In The Margins

February 1, 2017 at 8:00 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee Leave a Comment

The trade deadline now more than ever is a tough time to impact your team. With the tightening cap structure, long-term deals for young players and league-wide parity (however falsely constructed), finding a deal that works for both teams in a time-sensitive manner is a struggle. While every year there are one or two big name players moved, shocking deals (in the manner of Shea Weber for P.K. Subban) usually wait until the summer.

It’s because of this that fans and media alike must learn to love the small deals, the hockey swaps and the fresh starts. In these trades, teams can find a player that fits perfectly into their system and adds depth for a playoff run. Under-performing teams can take chances on fallen stars, prospects who have been labeled as early busts, or veterans who can make an impact in the development of a young player.

Though deals for Kevin Shattenkirk and Matt Duchene might sound fun, it’s often the Patrick Eaves or Ron Hainsey addition that makes a meaningful impact. To take a page from baseball, adding value anywhere is equal; upgrading the bottom pairing by a lot may be as important as improving your first line by a little. Last year, there were several deals of this nature.

Anaheim added goal scoring to their lineup by bringing in Jamie McGinn and Brandon Pirri on deadline day. The two would score 11 goals in 30 games (total), with McGinn scoring another pair in the playoffs. Edmonton would benefit from the deals as it let the Ducks part with Patrick Maroon later that day. Maroon made an immediate impact for the Oilers and has continued it with an 18 goal season  this year (though playing with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl doesn’t hurt). Justin Schultz

Florida was only able to deal Pirri away because they’d added depth of their own in Teddy Purcell and Jiri Hudler. The pair of upcoming UFAs would each perform quite well for Florida down the stretch helping them lock up first place in the Atlantic Division.

Pittsburgh may have been the biggest winners in late-February without making a huge splash. On the 27th, just a couple of days before the deadline they made the small move of acquiring Justin Schultz. It only cost them a third-round pick (which would be #91 after the Penguins won the Cup). Though Schultz made an impact down the stretch with eight points in 18 games, this season that he has really shone. It’s been 35 points in 47 games for the former Edmonton Oiler.

It’s interesting to watch all the fanfare surround deals like Andrew Ladd, Kris Russell and Eric Staal. None of those deals worked out that well for their teams, despite the huge price tags. So when approaching this deadline don’t shrug off the little deals. They may be just as important, and much more affordable, than going after the big fish.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Anaheim Ducks| Dallas Stars| Edmonton Oilers| Pittsburgh Penguins| Players Andrew Ladd| Brandon Pirri| Connor McDavid| Eric Staal| Jamie McGinn| Jiri Hudler| Justin Schultz| Kevin Shattenkirk| Kris Russell| Leon Draisaitl| Matt Duchene| P.K. Subban| Patrick Maroon

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Metro Division Snapshots: Nash, Capitals, Devils

October 23, 2016 at 5:00 pm CDT | by Glen Miller Leave a Comment

New York Rangers forward Rick Nash is the team’s highest-paid skater with an annual salary cap charge of $7.8MM. Since being acquired from Columbus, Nash has been expected to lead the Rangers offensive attack while serving as a vital cog on a Stanley Cup contender. The team has made it to the Eastern Conference Final on two occasions and appeared in the 2014 Stanley Cup Final since the gifted winger joined the team. However, following a first-round playoff exit and a disappointing, injury-filled season from Nash in 2015-16, the Rangers focused on adding youth and speed to the forward ranks this summer, and as Brandon Cohen of Today’s Slapshot writes, the spotlight does not shine as brightly on Nash anymore.

As Cohen noted, in the past when the Rangers offense would struggle to put the puck in the net or convert on the power play, Nash “would have a target on his back.” But with the additions made in the offseason, and the continued development of players already on the roster, Nash can be just another one of the guys, so to speak, and essentially function in a complementary role.

Jimmy Vesey was the team’s most notable addition, signing with New York as a college free agent following a four-year career at Harvard. Through five games, the 23-year-old rookie winger has three goals and has proven he belongs in the top-six of a playoff team.

Michael Grabner and Brandon Pirri add depth and serve as specialists, with Grabner seeing a lot of action on the penalty kill and Pirri with the man advantage. They’ve combined to tally four goals while playing mostly fourth-line minutes.

New #1 center Mika Zibanejad is off to a fine start, averaging better than a point-per-game with two goals and four assists. He’s been fantastic in the face-off circle winning nearly 60% of his draws and his right-handed shot gives the team an added dimension on the power play.

On top of the new additions, Mats Zuccarello, Derek Stepan and Chris Kreider have combined to add five goals and 15 points. For his part, Nash has two goals and an assist through five games and is playing his usually terrific two-way game. With the talent and depth added up front, it appears Nash no longer has to be relied on to carry the load for the Rangers.

Elsewhere in the Metro Division:

  • After losing to eventual Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh in the second round of the playoffs last season, Washington, much like the Rangers, went to work in the offseason to add speed to their lineup. Those efforts resulted in a rebuilt third line with Lars Eller, acquired in a draft-day trade with Montreal, centering a combination of Brett Connolly, rookie Zach Sanford and Justin Williams. As the Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan writes, the new line is beginning to pay dividends for the Capitals. Eller, who cost the Capitals two, second-round choices, replaces veteran Mike Richards at the pivot position and tallied his first marker for his team in Washington’s 4 – 2 loss last night to the Rangers. Richards was signed during the 2015-16 campaign to fill a role on the third line but was a shadow of his former self, scoring just five points in 39 games with the Caps. Connolly was originally selected sixth overall in the 2010 draft but has yet to fulfill his potential at the NHL level. Still just 24, the untapped upside exists for this to turn out to be a smart signing for Washington. Sanford was inked after playing two years at Boston College and while he’s yet to find the score sheet, he’s had several quality scoring chances his last couple of games.
  • The New Jersey Devils, who finished last in goals scored in 2015-16, made it a point to upgrade in that department this offseason. The team traded for Taylor Hall and Beau Bennett and added P.A. Parenteau via waivers just prior to the beginning of the season. Those additions were expected to boost the goal-scoring output for New Jersey, but as Chris Ryan of NJ.com opines, it hasn’t worked out as planned quite yet. Hall is off to a good start with three goals in five games, including the OT winner last night, but the Devils have managed to pot just eight so far this season. Fortunately for the Devils, they’ve allowed just nine goals and with Cory Schneider between the pipes should remain one of the stingiest defensive teams in the league. But if they want to challenge for a playoff spot, the Devils need to get their offense cranked up.

 

Injury| NHL| New Jersey Devils| New York Rangers| Players| Snapshots| Waivers| Washington Capitals Brandon Pirri| Chris Kreider| Cory Schneider| Jimmy Vesey| Lars Eller| Mika Zibanejad| Mike Richards| Salary Cap

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Snapshots: Russell, Lucic, Ducks, Pardy, Rangers

October 15, 2016 at 5:15 pm CDT | by Glen Miller 2 Comments

Following yet another disappointing campaign for Edmonton in 2015-16, GM Peter Chiarelli orchestrated several changes to his team’s roster this offseason in an effort to build a playoff contender. Chiarelli dealt away two former first overall draft picks, Taylor Hall and Nail Yakupov (receiving Adam Larsson, a marginal prospect and a conditional draft choice in return), while signing free agents Milan Lucic and Kris Russell in free agency. Many in the hockey community at large weren’t particularly fond of Chiarelli’s moves and while it’s far too early to make any definitive judgement, through two games Lucic and Russell have done exactly what the Oilers and Chiarelli hoped for, as David Staples of the Edmonton Journal writes.

Staples has been tracking scoring chances for and against for every Oilers skater through two games. His research shows that Connor McDavid, who has simply been phenomenal already with six points on the young season, has been Edmonton’s best player by far, helping to generate better than six more scoring chances for than against, per 15 minutes of ice time. Lucic is second in that category with a differential of 4.82. Russell leads the defense corps with a 2.34 differential per 15 minutes of ice time. Incredibly, Russell has yet to make a single error leading to an opposition scoring chance through two games, based on Staples’ tracking.

Again, it’s too early to conclude anything for certain but the early returns on Lucic and Russell have to be encouraging for Chiarelli and Co. Obviously this team will only go as far as their superstar captain McDavid will lead, but should his two prized free agent acquisitions continue to perform at this level, Edmonton might yet prove the pundits wrong and compete for a playoff spot in 2016-17.

Elsewhere in the NHL:

  • Could the Anaheim Ducks soon find themselves at a crossroads with a roster core too old to compete for a Stanley Cup? Eric Stepens, who covers the team, asks that question in a post that appears in the Los Angeles Daily News. Stephens notes that the team’s three best forwards, Ryan Getzlaf (31), Corey Perry (31) and Ryan Kesler (32) are all on the wrong side of 30. At the same time, many of the league’s top stars – Johnny Gaudreau (23), McDavid (19), Auston Matthews (19) – are in their early-20’s or even younger. Getzlaf, Perry and Kesler also account for $23.75MM, or nearly one-third of this year’s salary cap, now that Kesler’s massive extension kicked in. These commitments leaves less space for the Ducks to flesh out the rest of their roster with quality talent as evidenced by their struggles to reach agreements with restricted free agents Rickard Rakell and Hampus Lindholm.
  • After being released from his PTO with Florida, Adam Pardy has agreed to sign an AHL deal with the Panthers organization, tweets Harvey Fialkov. Pardy will report to Springfield and provide an experienced blue line depth option for Florida. He has appeared in 338 NHL games over parts of eight seasons. Pardy previously has seen action in the league with Calgary, Buffalo, Edmonton, Dallas and Winnipeg.
  • New York Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault was quite specific in how he put his forward lines together to start the 2016-17 campaign. By design, the team would ice three lines capable of scoring while the fourth line was to be comprised of “penalty killers and defensive specialists.” But after introducing rookies Pavel Buchnevich and Jimmy Vesey to the lineup, a couple of skilled veterans slid down the depth chart and onto the team’s fourth line. As Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post writes, the presence of Brandon Pirri and Michael Grabner at the bottom of the Rangers lineup has already paid dividends for the Blue Shirts. Grabner, a once tallied 34 goals as a member of the Islanders, netted the first marker of the season for the Rangers. Pirri, meanwhile, assisted on Grabner’s goal and potted his first as a New York Ranger on the power play. As long as the duo remain defensively-responsible, their ability to put the puck in the net will be welcome on the teams fourth line.

AHL| Anaheim Ducks| Dallas Stars| Edmonton Oilers| Florida Panthers| Free Agency| NHL| New York Islanders| New York Rangers| Snapshots Adam Larsson| Auston Matthews| Brandon Pirri| Connor McDavid| Corey Perry| Hampus Lindholm| Jimmy Vesey| Johnny Gaudreau| Kris Russell| Milan Lucic| Nail Yakupov| Rickard Rakell| Ryan Getzlaf| Salary Cap| Taylor Hall

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