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Brent Seabrook

Snapshots: Saad, Seabrook, Sobotka

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Brandon Saad has yet to even don a Colorado Avalanche jersey in practice nevertheless in game action, but the veteran winger already knows that he would like a long-term stay. Saad was acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks last month with just one year remaining on his current contract, a six-year, $36MM pact signed back in 2015. Having played in just nine postseason games since 2017, Saad is clearly happy to be back with a legitimate contender. Add in that he has been traded three times now in the past five years and it is no surprise that he would like to stay put in Colorado beyond this season. Saad told NHL. com’s “NHL@TheRink” Podcast that as much:

We haven’t had any discussions, I think it’s a bit early, especially with not really knowing what’s going on with the season and all that, but for me, thinking about it, Colorado has always been in my top because I want to win again. So to be in a great spot like that, on a great team, and then you hear wonders about the city, so really, it seems like a great place where I want to play for a long time. I’m looking forward to getting the season going because we have a hell of a team out there in Denver.

  • One of Saad’s former Chicago teammates, Brent Seabrook, is a player who many Blackhawks fans have wished was a former Chicago player himself over the past few years. Seabrook, 35, has seen his play in all three zones fall off considerably over the past few years, culminating in an injury-shortened and almost completely ineffective 2020-21 campaign. To make matters worse, Seabrook still has four years and $27.5MM remaining on what has become one of the more notorious contracts in the NHL. While many have speculated and perhaps hoped that Seabrook may retire, he tells The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun that he is not considering anything less than continuing his playing career to the best of his abilities. After several difficult years, on and off the ice, Seabrook tells LeBrun that he is feeling physically and mentally healthy and overall “rejuvenated”. Perhaps the Chicago mainstay can return to form this season and make the most of the remaining years of his contract.
  • While he continues to seek a permanent contract somewhere, Vladimir Sobotka has signed another month-long contract. While Sobotka played with SC Rapperswil-Jona of the Swiss NLA last month, he has landed in a more familiar spot and hopes to earn a longer stay this time around. Czech source Hokej.cz reports that Sobotka has signed a temporary contract with HC Sparta Praha of the Czech Extraliga. Sobotka came up through the program as a prospect and returned to the team during the 2012-13 lockout, making this a homecoming of sorts. While Sobokta made a minimal impact for the Buffalo Sabres this past season, he played in 69 games the year prior and is just a few years removed from a 31-point campaign with the St. Louis Blues. His experience and pedigree should earn him an extended stay with Praha, unless he opts to sign elsewhere.

Snapshots: Stars-Avalanche, Dubois, Seabrook

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The NHL hasn’t even finished the first round, with two series playing game six tonight, but they’re already moving on with at least one second-round series. The Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars are set to start their battle tomorrow night according to several reports including Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

The league obviously wants to take advantage of a Saturday night, but also is determined to get through the bubble-playoffs as quickly as possible. Both first-round game sevens, should they be needed, are scheduled for Sunday.

  • Pierre-Luc Dubois wasn’t able to carry the Columbus Blue Jackets to a first-round victory but did show that he’s an emerging star in the NHL. That will only help him when he negotiates his next contract this fall. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic examines the young center’s situation, explaining that he believes a three-year deal would make sense. Interestingly though, LeBrun writes that “if Dubois signs longer term, it’s going to be for tangibly more than [William] Nylander.” The Toronto Maple Leafs forward signed a six-year, $45MM deal in 2018.
  • The Chicago Blackhawks are still hoping that Brent Seabrook can be an impact player for them in 2020-21, even after his major surgeries limited him to just 32 games this season and took him out of the postseason. Seabrook, who rehabbed hard to try and be a part of the team in the bubble, will have his role “figured out in training camp” according to Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman, who spoke to reporters including John Dietz of the Daily Herald. The 35-year-old defenseman has four years remaining on his contract.

Brent Seabrook Won’t Return This Season

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The Blackhawks will be down at least one veteran defenseman for their Qualifying Round series against Edmonton as Brent Seabrook told reporters today, including Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago (Twitter link) that he will not be part of the roster that reports to the bubble later this weekend.

The veteran has had a rough year, to put it lightly.  He struggled considerably to start the season as his playing time dipped to 18:09 per game, a career low while his offensive output plummeted to just three goals and an assist in 32 contests.  At that time, he was shut down for the rest of the season due to injury.  Since then, Seabrook has had surgery on both hips and his right shoulder.

He resumed skating recently in the hopes of being available for their series against the Oilers but there would have been some risk in asking him to come back quicker than originally anticipated.  Instead, Seabrook will use the rest of this offseason to get ready for the 2020-21 campaign.  With training camps for that being roughly three months away as things stand, he should be ready to go.  Considering he still has four years left on his contract after this season with a $6.875MM cap hit, Chicago will certainly be hoping that with the extended recovery time, Seabrook will be able to provide more than third pairing minutes moving forward.

Blackhawks’ Brent Seabrook Will Try To Play In Qualifying Round, Postseason

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No one thought much about it when veteran Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook was declared out for the season in late December. The Blackhawks were not looking like a playoff team at the time and the aged and battered Seabrook was not going to be the difference between a postseason spot or not. Seabrook proceeded to have three separate surgeries – his right shoulder and each hip – and was expected to be ready to begin the 2020-21 season.

However, the extended pause in the league season due to COVID-19 has changed everything for the Blackhawks and Seabrook. Chicago was the final team in the Western Conference to qualify for the league’s expanded postseason and will have a chance to win a playoff spot in a “knockout round” match-up with the Edmonton Oilers later this summer. Meanwhile, Seabrook has had ample down time to rehab his injuries and has now resumed skating, reports Scott Powers of The Athletic. Powers rights that the next step would be for Seabrook to be cleared for contact, after which he could potentially join the Blackhawks for training camp, set to begin later this month.

Of course, actually being selected as one of the defensemen to play for Chicago in the qualifying round and beyond is a whole other issue entirely for the 35-year-old Seabrook. The veteran has not looked like himself for several years now and his four points in 32 games and career-low ice time this season implies that cracking the starting lineup may be an uphill battle even if Seabrook is completely healthy. With Calvin de Haan, similarly ruled out for the season but recently cleared to return, joining top-six regulars Duncan Keith, Connor Murphy, Adam Boqvist, Olli Maatta and Slater Koekkoek, Chicago’s starting defense may already be set. This also doesn’t include AHL depth options and the possibility that top defense prospect Ian Mitchell could also be in the mix.

Nevertheless, Seabrook will still work toward being cleared for action and could play an important locker room role and serve as valued depth at the very least for Chicago. The team will need all the help they can get to upset Edmonton and a tuned-up and refreshed Seabrook is just as likely as anyone to be that potential surprise x-factor in the qualifying round series, made even more surprising by the previous expectation that his season was over.

Snapshots: Blackhawks, Larmi, Poulin, Boychuk

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While many teams will be getting players back for when the play-in round gets underway, the Blackhawks may still be down a few players for their series against Edmonton.  Speaking with reporters yesterday, including Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago, GM Stan Bowman indicated that blueliners Calvin de Haan and Adam Boqvist plus winger Drake Caggiula will all be ready to play.  However, winger Andrew Shaw (concussion), center Zack Smith (back), and defenseman Brent Seabrook (shoulder, hips) may not be ready.  Smith and Seabrook are recovering from their respective surgeries but are likely to be out for a while yet.  As for Shaw, he last played in late November and Bowman didn’t have an update on his status.

Elsewhere around the NHL:

  • Penguins goaltending prospect Emil Larmi has been recalled to join the team in Pittsburgh as they continue preparations for their play-in series against Montreal, reports Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The rookie posted identical 3.55 GAA’s with AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (nine games) and ECHL Wheeling (11 games) this season.  While it’s expected that there will be a cap on the number of skaters that teams can carry when play resumes, there may not be one for goaltenders.  With that in mind, it appears that Pittsburgh will carry at least four as Casey DeSmith is a safe bet to be brought up as well.
  • Still with Pittsburgh, Louis Jean of TVA Sports reports (Twitter link) that prospect Samuel Poulin will be among their recalls as well. The Penguins took the 19-year-old 21st overall last June and he is coming off of a dominant season in the QMJHL.  After picking up 76 points in 67 games last season, he had 77 points in just 46 contests this year with Sherbrooke.  Poulin has already signed his entry-level deal.
  • Islanders defenseman Johnny Boychuk told Newsday’s Andrew Gross that his eye is close to being fully recovered. Boychuk was cut by the skate blade of Montreal winger Artturi Lehkonen in early March which required 90 stitches and plastic surgery to repair.  While Boychuk’s ice time decreased again this season for the fifth straight year, he was still a regular fixture on their third pairing and should play a similar role for them in their play-in series against Florida.  Although the Islanders have opened up their practice facility, Boychuk will remain in his native Edmonton and skate there for the time being.

West Notes: Oilers, Seabrook, Ward

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The Oilers clearly like what they’ve seen from some of their depth players this season and have already handed out extensions to center Gaetan Haas and winger Joakim Nygard.  They may not be done there yet either.  Postmedia’s Jim Matheson reports that the team has interest in re-signing center Riley Sheahan although he’d have to take an amount close to his current $900K price tag even though he has spent a fair bit of time on the third line this season.  While his production has tailed off in recent years, he still takes a lot of key faceoffs and can help on the penalty kill.  Matheson also suggests that there’s interest in re-signing Tyler Ennis, who didn’t look out of place after being acquired at the trade deadline.  However, after putting up 37 points between Ottawa and Edmonton and no longer being paid by Minnesota on his buyout, he may be seeking a fair bit more than his $800K salary.

More from out West:

  • Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook participated in a fundraiser for Chicago’s Community COVID-19 Response Fund earlier this week. NBC Sports Chicago’s Scott King relays an important note from the blueliner who mentioned that there haven’t been any setbacks from his three surgeries from earlier this season (both hips and his right shoulder) and that he’s hopeful to resume hockey-related activities in the next three to four months.  He has been a speculative buyout candidate as of late but even if there is a compliance buyout put in as a result of a levelled out salary cap due to this pandemic, the extended timeline to resume hockey activities may make him ineligible to be bought out unless the official offseason is delayed long enough for him to be cleared.
  • While Joel Ward is now retired, he’s hoping to rejoin the Sharks organization. Speaking with reporters including NBC Sports Bay Area’s Brian Witt, the former winger indicated that he has had some brief discussions already about potentially returning in a coaching role but that those talks are on hold until this pandemic passes.  While jumping behind an NHL bench right away seems unlikely, Ward could do like several other veterans have done in recent years and work in a player development role.

Potential Compliance Buyout Candidates: Part I

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As the current Coronavirus crisis wears on, it seems more and more likely that the NHL will not return to action soon and when play resumes, it will almost certainly not be the full remaining regular season schedule. That lost revenue is expected to impact the 2020-21 salary cap, perhaps even keeping the current $81.5MM upper limit in place. Given that teams expected an increase, initially projected to be between $84-88.2MM, this stagnation could have a harsh impact on a number of clubs’ cap situations. As such, many expect that compliance buyouts will return in some form or fashion to ease that pain. These buyouts, which do not count against the salary cap, would allow for teams to open up space that they otherwise expected from a cap increase.

Here is a rundown of the top compliance buyout candidates for the first third of NHL teams:

Anaheim Ducks: Adam Henrique

– The first team on the list is a tough call. Henrique has had a good season and the Ducks are not in significant cap trouble. However, with a long list of promising forward prospects and a defense that needs work, the team could opt to move on from the veteran forward and to create roster space and cap flexibility. Henrique, 30, is signed for four more years at $5.825MM.

Arizona Coyotes: Phil Kessel

– The Coyotes are in one of the worst positions in the league in terms of cap space, so the team would have to use a compliance buyout if the opportunity is offered to them. Kessel has been a relative bust in his first season with the ‘Yotes and is signed for two more years at $6.8MM. He has the potential to improve in year two, but Arizona may not have the luxury of taking the chance. The added cap space would be a major relief for the team.

Boston Bruins: John Moore

– Given the Bruins’ depth on defense in both veteran assets and budding prospects as well as Moore’s relegation to a backup role on the Boston blue line, he has become an expendable asset, especially if both Zdeno Chara and Torey Krug are back next season. Moore is signed longer than any current Bruins defenseman with three years and $8.25MM remaining, but the team’s commitment to him seems less than any of his fellow blue liners.

Buffalo Sabres: Kyle Okposo

– Unfortunately for the Sabres, the Okposo signing in 2016 has never panned out. His production dropped from 64 points with the New York Islanders in 2015-16 to just 45 points in his first year in Buffalo and that total has gone down in every year since. Okposo was on pace for just 24 points this year and may not even reach that mark. The Sabres would be quick to part ways with Okposo, who has three years at $6MM annually left on his contract, taking up valuable cap space that the team needs to use to improve the rest of their roster.

Calgary Flames: Milan Lucic

– Even with the salary being retained by the Edmonton Oilers on Lucic’s contract, his $5.25MM cap hit is still a pain for the Flames. The veteran power forward is not going to score 20+ goals or 50+ points in a season ever again and Calgary could do more with the added cap space over the next three years.

Carolina Hurricanes: Jake Gardiner

– For whatever reason, the Gardiner signing simply has not worked out as the Hurricanes had hoped. Gardiner, who was signed late last summer at a relative discount, has been a fine addition, but hasn’t been the point producer and power play ace that Carolina had hoped for. Following the deadline addition of Brady Skjei to arguably the deepest blue line in the NHL already, Gardiner and his remaining three years and $12.15MM are expendable.

Chicago Blackhawks: Brent Seabrook

– One of the more obvious choices on this list, Seabrook’s contract may the worst in the NHL right now. The 34-year-old has four years left at $6.875MM AAV on an eight-year, $55MM deal signed back in 2015. Over the term of the contract, Seabrook has declined rapidly and is a shell of his former self, regardless of health. The cap-strapped Blackhawks would not think twice about moving on.

Colorado Avalanche: Erik Johnson

– Johnson is a well-liked and well-respected long-time member of the Avalanche. However, as time has gone on the team has surrounded him with better, younger, and more affordable blue line options. As valuable as Johnson’s experience and leadership may be, he is an expendable piece without a clear future role. Signed through 2022-23 at a $6MM cap hit, Johnson is an expensive piece to keep around just for the intangibles and the Avs could look to use this opportunity to clear some space for some anticipated big game hunting this off-season.

Columbus Blue Jackets: Alexander Wennberg

– Blue Jackets fans have been calling for Wennberg’s head for years now and may finally get their wish. The once-promising young forward turned a 59-point 2016-17 season into a six-year, $29.4MM contract and then proceeded to regress immensely over the past few seasons instead of continuing to improve as expected. With another three years left at $4.9MM per, Wennberg doesn’t seem likely to get back to a level of play that would warrant his current cap hit and Columbus could move on, even from a 25-year-old homegrown product.

Dallas Stars: Andrew Cogliano

– The Stars are a team with numerous big names and long contracts, but their most inefficient name might just be Cogliano. Rather than using a buyout to move a heavy cap hit, Dallas could opt to trim the fat by removing a player that hasn’t been a good fit. Cogliano has showed that his six points in 32 games last season with the Stars following a trade from Anaheim was not a fluke; he followed it up with 14 points through 68 games this year. Expecting Cogliano to get back to 30+ point form in 2020-21 in his final year at $3.25MM seems hopeful at best and Dallas could use that space elsewhere with some lineup holes to fill this summer.

Stay tuned for Part II coming soon.

Brent Seabrook Undergoes Third Surgery

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The Chicago Blackhawks announced today that Brent Seabrook has undergone successful surgery on his right hip. That’s the third surgery he has had over the last two months, following left hip surgery in January and right shoulder surgery in December. The team expects Seabrook to be ready to return to action in five to six months. If that timeline proves accurate, the veteran defenseman would be ready for the start of the 2020-21 season.

Seabrook, 34, is often referenced as one of the worst contracts in the league thanks to his declining play over the last several years. Once a rock solid two-way defender for the Blackhawks, he was a huge part of all three Stanley Cup championships and received Norris Trophy votes on three separate occasions. Unfortunately, things have not gone so well lately, though there’s no way to tell how much these injuries had affected him. Seabrook had played in at least 78 games of every full-length season (and 47 in the lockout-shortened one) since his rookie campaign.

His contract still has four years remaining at a $6.875MM cap hit, and still includes a full no-movement clause for the next two. Hopefully Seabrook can regain some of his former success, but otherwise there are few ways out of his deal for the Blackhawks. Obviously, if he isn’t able to return to full fitness the team could place him on long-term injured reserve, though from all appearances the veteran wants to continue his career.

Five Key Stories: 12/23/19 – 12/29/19

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With the holiday week having come and gone as well as an NHL roster freeze, hockey news slows down quite a bit, yet there was plenty of news despite the three-game respite last week. Here are the five biggest stories of the past week:

World Junior Championships Get Underway: Perhaps even bigger than the NHL is the IIHF World Junior Championships that started on Dec. 26 and continues to be ongoing. The leagues top propsects or soon-to-be prospects find themselves competing in Ostrava and Trinec in the Czech Republic. All NHL teams have at least one representative at the tournament with several teams possessing a host of prospects. The Los Angeles Kings have nine prospects representing their organization, while the Arizona Coyotes have seven. Five teams have just one prospect at the tournament.

John McCarthy Retiring Due To Health Concerns: He only appeared in 88 career NHL games, but San Jose Sharks forward and a long-time minor league player for them, John McCarthy, announced his retirement due to health concerns. While he played in 18 games for the Barracuda this year, his season and career came to a halt after suffering an Ischemic stroke earlier this month. While he has made a complete recovery, those health concerns have ended his playing career. He was drafted by the Sharks back in 2006 and played for the Sharks’ organization his entire career and the Barracudas’ captain immediately took a coaching role with the team.

Brent Seabrook, Calvin De Haan Out For The Season: Just before play was supposed to resume after the Christmas hiatus, the Chicago Blackhawks announced that they are losing one-third of their defense. Two of their defensemen, Brent Seabrook and Calvin de Haan, will miss the season due to surgeries. Seabrook is expected to have surgery on both his hips, while de Haan will have shoulder surgery. De Haan has been a consistent part of the team’s defense, leading the team in hits and blocked shots. Seabrook has similar strengths, but has seen his playing time cut and has even been scratched three times so far this season. Regardless, these are tough losses for a franchise hoping to get back into the playoffs.

Alex Ovechkin To Skip NHL All-Star Game: For the second time in as many years, Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin has announced that he will be skipping the NHL All-Star Game. Ovechkin was voted in as Metropolitan Division captain, but he told media Friday that he will skip the all-star festivities to rest up for the second half of the season. Of course, Ovechkin will be suspended one game for skipping the league event. He must miss either the game before the all-star break or the game after. The team faces the rival New York Islanders, suggesting that Ovechkin will likely opt to miss the game after the break against the Montreal Canadiens.

Multiple Toronto Maple Leafs Players Injured: The Toronto Maple Leafs suffered three injuries upon their return from break. The team first revealed that forward Trevor Moore would be out indefinitely due to a concussion. Moore had been out with a shoulder injury and had only appeared in one game before getting injured once again. The team then lost winger Ilya Mikheyev who suffered a lacerated wrist after New Jersey’s Jesper Bratt ran sliced it with his skate. He is expected to miss a minimum of three months as he heals from the injury. Only hours after that, the Maple Leafs announced that defenseman Jake Muzzin would be considered week-to-week after suffering a fractured foot in that same game against the Devils. With all those injuries, it should make the team’s challenging of working their way up the Atlantic Division standings just a bit more difficult.

Brent Seabrook, Calvin De Haan Out For The Season

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Friday: In an update, the Blackhawks announced that both Seabrook and de Haan have undergone successful surgery. The recovery timeline for de Haan will be four to five months, while Seabrook’s will be revealed after he undergoes additional surgeries on his hips.

Thursday: The status quo in Chicago will shift dramatically when the team returns to action. The Blackhawks have announced that two of their starting defensemen will miss the remainder of the season due to injury. Both Brent Seabrook and Calvin de Haan will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery. Seabrook will also have surgery on both hips. The duo have been placed on Long-Term Injured Reserve.

This singular announcement means that one-third of the Blackhawks’ starting blue line is now out of action for the rest of the year. Seabrook and de Haan are not exactly offensive dynamos, combining for just ten points so far this year. However, their defensive presence will be missed. De Haan leads the team in both hits and blocked shots, and Seabrook is among the the best on the team in both categories as well. The pair also chew up considerable minutes, with each averaging nearly 20 minutes per game this season. While Chicago is not without hope on the back end, with Duncan Keith, Connor Murphy, Olli Maatta, sand Erik Gustafsson still present on a deep unit, but these losses will nevertheless still be felt.

Also on the sidelines for Chicago is Brandon Saad, announced as missing the next three weeks with a right ankle injury. Saad, while underwhelming so far this season, is still the Blackhawks’ second-leading goal-scorer and fifth in points on the team. With the Blackhawks already in the basement of the Central Division and now missing Saad for several weeks and Seabrook and de Haan for the rest of the year, today’s announcement will more or less mark the end of Chicago’s season, barring an unexpected boost in the absence of their established veterans.

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