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Blues Notes: Fabbri, Hutton, Gunnarsson

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After scratching former first-overall pick Nail Yakupov for three straight games, St. Louis Blues head coach Ken Hitchcock will now sit down another highly regarded forward according to Lou Korac of NHL.com. Yakupov will dress tonight in place of Robby Fabbri, the Blues’ first-round pick from 2014. Hitchcock explained his decision (via Korac):

You have to make a decision whether you want to be in the group of 14, or you want to stay in that top 9 or 10.

It’s all connected to tenacity…goals and assists I don’t look at.

This will be the first time in his (albeit short) career that Fabbri will be a healthy scratch, after having a successful rookie campaign last season. The 20-year old scored 18 goals and 37 points playing most of the year as a teenager and looked like a future star in the league. Though this obviously doesn’t mean much for Fabbri’s future, sitting him in the press box is a strong message that they need more from him; he’s currently sitting on just four points in 14 games.

  • The team announced that Carter Hutton will be in net tonight when they take on the Nashville Predators, his old team. Hutton spent the past three seasons with the club, recording a 33-23-12 record and strong .910 save percentage. After the Blues dealt Brian Elliott to the Flames this summer, they were in need of a backup to Jake Allen and Hutton fit the bill perfectly. The 30-year old took a little longer to develop, but is now showing his worth; he’s carrying a .926 through four games.
  • The Blues have recalled Chris Butler for tonight’s game due to some lingering injuries on the back end. As Korac reports, it’s just precautionary should anyone not be able to go after the warmups. Hitchcock singled out Carl Gunnarsson as the most noticable injury. Butler has played eleven games for the Chicago Wolves of the AHL this season, recording two points and eight penalty minutes.

Pacific Division Notes: Flames, Canucks, Oilers

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The Calgary Flames have struggled in the early stretches of this season, and some of their fans have found a scapegoat: “The Wideman Effect”.

The belief is that since January 2016, when Dennis Wideman ran linesman Don Henderson from behind, ending the latter’s career, the referees have been biased against the Flames. Despite the catchy name, it appears that the perception just isn’t true. Sportsnet’s Mark Spector broke down the penalties called in the 47 games before the incident and the 46 since. While the Flames did see a nearly 50 per cent increase in penalties last season after the attack, they still spent more time on the power-play. Moving to this season, the Flames are the second-most penalized team in the NHL after the Bruins. But they’ve also had the fifth-most power-play opportunities of any team.

Fans can look no further than the struggles of Sean Monahan, Johnny Gaudreau, and Brian Elliott, and some questionable lineup choices on the blue line. Fresh off signing new contracts for $6.375MM and $6,75MM respectively, Monahan and Gaudreau have combined for just 11 points through 12 games. That’s eight less than last season at this time.

Elliott was traded for to stabilize the Flames wretched goaltending from last season, and so far has a sub-900 save percentage and a GAA over 3. Backup Chad Johnson has been better, but is still below league-average.

Finally, the Flames new coach Glen Gulutzan’s usage of Dougie Hamilton has been weird this season. Hamilton scored 43 points last season while playing just under 20-minutes per game, but has fallen below 19 minutes this season and has been playing third-pairing at even-strength with lesser players.

  • It has been an ugly stretch for the Canucks, who have lost seven games in a row after starting 4-0-0. They’ve fallen from first in the NHL to 26th. Even worse, the Canucks have scored just seven goals in that stretch and have been shutout in four of their last five games. The Blue Jackets outscored the Canucks’ entire losing streak in 38-minutes on Friday night, and they weren’t even done yet. Coach Willie Desjardins said he believes in their players and thinks they can turn it around, despite admitting this season’s losing has been tough on him. Desjardins is on the hot seat, considering GM Jim Benning believes the Canucks are a playoff team. However, Benning may not be entirely accurate in that belief: the Canucks are averaging just 1.45 goals-per-game, nearly a goal-and-a-half less than the league-average. Most prognosticators have the Canucks pegged as a real contender, not for the playoffs, but for the best draft lottery odds.
  • Meanwhile, the Edmonton Oilers are sitting in first in the Western Conference after a hot start. They’ve cooled down a little, going 0-2-1 in the last week. Spector echoed a common sentiment about the team: if they can get their hands on a legit point-threat for their floundering power-play, then watch out. The Oilers were linked to Kevin Shattenkirk, P.K. Subban and Tyson Barrie over the summer, and more recently pending-UFA Brent Burns. In his article, Spector suggests Jason Garrison might be available in Tampa Bay as a cap casualty, though he’s another lefty; when healthy, five of the Oilers top-six defenders are left-handed.

Snapshots: Westpoint, Kings’ Goaltenders, Lindholm

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On tonight’s Hockey Night In Canada broadcast, the Sportsnet team revealed some interesting tidbits about stories around the league. One of which, coming on the heels of today’s hugely popular alumni game in Winnipeg (which the Jets won 6-5 on the back of Teemu Selanne’s five points and last second penalty shot goal), is that the league is considering non-conventional venues for upcoming outdoor games.

The military academy Westpoint is one of these out-of-the-box ideas, but seems to have legs. Elliotte Friedman says the league is considering it for next season. The New York Rangers would play in the game, but wouldn’t necessarily be the home team. Friedman also mentions South Bend (home of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish) as another possibility.

  • Friedman talks about the goaltending situation in Los Angeles, which got even more dire today when Jeff Zatkoff went down with a groin injury. Peter Budaj, expected to be the AHL starter this season, may get an extended chance with the big club due to the contracts or trade demands of other goaltenders around the league. The Kings have reportedly looked into Ondrej Pavelec, Steve Mason, Reto Berra, Mike Condon but haven’t found a fit. Friedman opines that Jonathan Bernier may be an option for the team, due to his familiarity with the organization and expected availability.
  • Kelly Hrudey thinks that Brian Elliott isn’t fazed by his recent struggles for the Calgary Flames. Elliott isn’t starting tonight for the Flames, but that doesn’t mean that he’s in any danger of losing the #1 job in Calgary. If anything, his poor start might just buy the Flames a few dollars in their ongoing negotiations with the netminder.
  • A final point from Friedman was on the Hampus Lindholm situation in Anaheim and the Winnipeg negotiations with Jacob Trouba. Apparently Anaheim wants Lindholm to sign for less than $5.4MM per season, while the player wants more than that. On Trouba, apparently the asking price of Kevin Cheveldayoff hasn’t dropped any even with the holdout lasting into the season. If Trouba is moved, it will be for the big return that the Jets’ GM has been looking for all summer.

Franchise Faceoff: Calgary Flames vs Montreal Canadiens

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There is a common theme among teams that miss the playoffs: weak goaltending.  That’s what is credited as the biggest contributor to the demise of the Calgary Flames and Montreal Canadiens last season. The Habs lost all-world goaltender Carey Price early enough to torpedo their chances at the post season, while the Flames have been looking for a reliable netminder since the heyday of Miikka Kiprusoff.

This summer saw a fix for both clubs as the Canadiens got their Vezina winner back from injury, and the Flames brought in two established NHL goalies in Brian Elliott and Chad Johnson. While obviously these are different paths, they’ve provided the same hope to both fan bases. A return to the playoffs is certainly possible for both, though they’re off to much different starts.

Montreal is undefeated in regulation through four games and leads the Atlantic Division with seven points, while the Flames have struggled out of the gate to a 1-3-1 record.  The season is very young however, and both teams have more success planned for their immediate future.

The Flames locked up their top two players this summer, inking Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau to long-term deals, while the Habs have youngsters Brendan Gallagher and Alex Galchenyuk looking like stars in their own right.  Both franchises have questions on their blueline past their big #1’s (Mark Giordano and Shea Weber), but have intriguing young players filling the holes.

[Calgary Flames Depth Chart vs Montreal Canadiens Depth Chart]

On Monday we asked who would you rather have, the Oilers or Maple Leafs roster and it was remarkably close after almost 500 votes were cast. This week we’ll ask the same of two other teams north of the border.

If you were buying a roster (not all the franchise perks that go with it) to build a championship team, which would you take?

Calgary Begins Negotiations With Brian Elliott

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After a season-long debacle in net last year, the Calgary Flames have re-built their goaltending situation by bringing in Chad Johnson and Brian Elliott to work between the pipes. Now, they’ve already started work on a long-term solution to the problem with the latter of the two.

According to Andy Strickland of Fox Sports, the team has begun extension negotiations with Elliott on a new deal. The 31-year old has just one season remaining on his current contract, and would become an unrestricted free agent next summer.

After beginning his career in Ottawa, the former ninth-round pick found great success in St. Louis, where he started 164 games with a 2.01 GAA and .925 sv%. Twice he was in the top 10 in Vezina trophy voting, and was a huge part in the Blues recent regular season success.

While the Blues have moved on and locked up Jake Allen long-term, the Flames will try and have Elliott backstop their squad for at least the next few years.  With his success, he should be able to negotiate a substantial raise from the $2.5MM he’ll earn this year.

The Flames have ten other players who will become free agents (of some sort) next summer, making it a turning point for a franchise if they so wish. They also have Johnny Gaudreau to re-sign even now, as the 2016-17 season creeps ever closer.

Blues Notes: Steen, Shattenkirk, Hutton

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When David Backes left the St. Louis Blues this offseason, they saw one of their longest tenured player and leaders depart without much fanfare. Backes slipped into free agency and landed a big deal with the Boston Bruins to work down in their lineup and give them some secondary scoring and two-way play.  With Backes gone, the Blues decided to lock up one of their other cornerstone forwards, giving Alex Steen a four-year extension on Friday.

As Matt Larkin of The Hockey News opines in his latest column, it was Backes’ departure that made it necessary to lock up Steen and not completely turn the keys over to the new wave of St. Louis stars (namely Vladimir Tarasenko and Jaden Schwartz). To do it, they may have overpaid slightly. Larkin emphasizes Steen’s checkered injury history when discussing the terms, and he’s right to do so. Steen hasn’t played in 80+ games since 2006-07 when he was with the Maple Leafs, and indeed has only suited up for more than 70 twice in his eight-year Blues career.

  • Kevin Shattenkirk was going to be traded. There were no doubts in his mind that at the draft or during free agent frenzy he’d be on the move out of St. Louis. It just made too much sense to everyone involved. As Louie Korac of NHL.com writes however, Shattenkirk didn’t get dealt and is very excited about it. “The grass isn’t always as greener. It’s a cliché, but it kind of fits in this sense. Don’t just leave to leave, make sure that it’s a good fit for you. St. Louis has been a great fit ever since I stepped foot here, ” Shattenkirk says, when talking about the potential trade. He also notes that being given the alternate-captain role for this upcoming season (the Blues named Alex Pietrangelo their newest captain) was a huge moment for him, as he’d been dreading a phone call from GM Doug Armstrong during the trade rumors. Even though he wasn’t dealt this summer, don’t think the rumors will go away – an elite talent on an expiring contract is exactly the type of player that moves at the trade deadline.
  • When the Blues signed Jake Allen to a huge extension, and dealt Brian Elliott to the Flames they needed a new full-time backup for the upcoming season. Carter Hutton, the man who eventually was given that job, says it was a no-brainer to come to St. Louis. After three years with Nashville, the 30-year old backup puts it simply: “It’s one of those things. If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.”  Hutton has faced the Blues six times in his career and is 0-2-3 with an .882 save percentage and 3.42 GAA.

2016-17 Season Preview: St. Louis Blues

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With the NHL season just weeks away, PHR is looking at each team, in-depth. Today: the St. Louis Blues.

Last Season: 49-24-9 (107 points), 2nd place in the Central Division. Lost 4-2 to San Jose Sharks in Western Conference Finals.

Cap Space Remaining:  $3.96MM via CapFriendly.

Key Newcomers: David Perron (signed as a free agent from Anaheim); Carter Hutton (signed as a free agent from Nashville); Landon Ferraro (signed as free agent from Boston).

Key Departures: David Backes (signed with Boston); Troy Brouwer (signed with Calgary); Brian Elliott (traded to Calgary).

Player to Watch: Kevin Shattenkirk. Rumors swirled that Shattenkirk was on his way out and then in mid-July, general manager Doug Armstrong told Craig Custance that he expects Shattenkirk to spend the season in St. Louis. When Custance pushed him on what he meant,  Armstrong clarified that Shattenkirk would stay in St. Louis. However, with the Blues weaker than last season, it will be interesting to see what happens should Shattenkirk’s stock rise more by the trade deadline. If negotiations don’t go well for a new contract, it’s not crazy to think Shattenkirk will be shipped somewhere else for a king’s ransom.

Key Storyline: The Blues finally pushed through the Blackhawks in the playoffs and survived through the Conference Finals, where they were dispatched by the Sharks in six games. Then started the purge. Elliott was dealt to Calgary, Brouwer packed up and followed his former teammate there, and Backes went east to Boston. Though they still have talent on the roster, this is a weaker St. Louis team than last season. Nashville certainly improved with the addition of P.K. Subban and the Western Conference improved almost everywhere. Playing the always competitive Central Division will be more perilous than usual.  Ken Hitchcock will be handing the reins over to Mike Yeo, and after an up and down tenure in Minnesota, what will Yeo do differently with the Blues? While the team is still strong with the likes of Vladimir Tarasenko and Alex Pietrangelo to name a few, they may be a step back from what St. Louis has been accustomed to.

St. Louis Depth Chart

Top Ten 2017 UFAs (Part 2)

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With 2016’s free agency frenzy all but over, it’s high time to start looking at next year’s free agent crop. True, some of the following may sign extensions over the course of the year, but others may want to take advantage of the period before July 1st where players can talk with other teams. Another variable in the mix is the expansion draft, and teams may want to hold off of on signing players until after the draft to maximize protection slots. Here are the second five of our top-ten 2017 UFAs:

Patrick Marleau

Long-time San Jose Shark Patrick Marleau is entering his 18th season this year, and like teammate Joe Thornton, it is unclear whether the former Sharks captain will retire at its end. Unlike Thornton, however, Marleau’s numbers dropped, though he still managed 25G and 23A in 82 games—and an additional 5G and 8A in 24 playoff games.

He may not be the offensive powerhouse he once was, but Marleau still has a lot to offer. His previous contract was $6.66MM a year for three years but Marleau will most likely take a small pay cut to returns. With Brent Burns and Joe Thornton also needing new deals, however Marleau may be the odd man out in San Jose.

Karl Alzner

Karl Alzner sits as a top-three defenseman potentially available this summer, and like another potential UFA Kevin Shattenkirk, Alzner’s value is obscured by playing with other very good defenseman. The Washington Capitals have an embarrasment of riches on the blueline with John Carlson, Matt Niskanen, Dmitry Orlov (unsigned RFA), and Brooks Orpik. Alzner held his own, though, and put up 4G and 17A in 82 games while playing over 21 minutes a night.

Alzner’s last contract was for four years at $2.8MM a year. He’ll likely get a significant raise despite his low production because of his age and defensive prowess. He may have to take a hometown discount, however, if he wants to remain with the Caps—a team poised to challenge for the Stanley Cup for the foreseeable future.

Brian Elliott

Brian Elliott posted excellent numbers last year—a 2.06GAA and a league leading .930SV%—and yet he was shipped off to Calgary to make way for the younger Jake Allen. Elliott has dodged criticism his entire career that his numbers belied his true talent, but he has consistently performed in both Ottawa and St. Louis.

Now that Elliott is the clear starter in Calgary, he has an opportunity to silence his doubters and earn a large pay raise in the offseason. Elliott is in his last year of a three-year, $2.5MM AAV contract, and a strong performance this season should net him a significant raise. If Calgary is prudent they will lock Elliott up midseason if he is performing well.

Alex Steen

Alex Steen put up above-average career numbers last season, scoring 17G and 35A in 67 games for the Blues, and an additional 4G and 6A in 20 playoff games. He may not produce like a top line forward but his two-way skills are invaluable in today’s NHL. Steen is a dependable and responsible playmaker that consistently performs.

Steen enters the final year of a three-year $5.8MM AAV contract with the St. Louis Blues and will probably take a small pay cut to stay with the team. St. Louis has enough cap room next year to re-sign both Steen and Shattenkirk, and there’s no glaring reason why the Blues would part ways with their alternate captain.

Ryan Miller

Ryan Miller may be in the twilight of his career, but the 36 year-old goaltender still has enough to offer teams looking for a one or two year stopgap veteran goaltender. Miller put up a 2.70GAA and a .916SV% in 51 games for the Vancouver Canucks—numbers similar to his dominant years in Buffalo. The Canucks will probably reduce Miller’s playing time this season to make way for future starter Jacob Markstrom, which may hamper his negotiating position come summertime.

Miller, Bishop, and Elliot represent the cream of the free agent goaltending crop next summer, so Miller should find some suitors looking for a starter or 1B goaltender. He will probably take a pay cut from his current three-year, $6MM a year contract as he will be 37 at the start of next season.

Kevin Allen’s Latest: Early Predictions, Pivotal Players

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Kevin Allen writes that the Detroit Red Wings are one of five teams in danger of missing the playoffs this season. Similar to his reports while speaking with PHR, Allen lists a questionable defensive corps, inconsistent goaltending and whether or not goal scorers like Tomas Tatar and Gustav Nyquist will find the net as they should as reasons why they may not make it back for a 26th straight season. Though he could see them sneaking in, the Wings are more vulnerable than ever before. It all depends on youth and everything coming together.

Allen also lists the Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers, New York Islanders, and St. Louis Blues as candidates to possibly miss. With the Kings, Allen believes that the Calgary Flames and Arizona Coyotes, if better, could push the Kings who lost Milan Lucic to Edmonton. The Flyers, a surprise team in the playoffs last season, will have more competition in the Metropolitan Division while the Canadiens, who struggled after Carey Price’s injury, will also be better in the Atlantic, making the Eastern Conference a lot tougher.

The Islanders, Allen writes, lost some key players in Frans Nielsen, and Kyle Okposo. Though he calls it “sinful” to bet against a John Tavares led team, he still wonders if they grabbed enough to compensate for their losses. Finally, with the Blues, Allen reports that they took a “half step” back while division foes Chicago, Minnesota, and Nashville all improved. Further, Arizona and Calgary are better, crowding the already tight Western Conference. Losing David Backes, Brian Elliott, and Troy Brouwer also doesn’t help for depth purposes.

  • Earlier in the week, Allen also compiled a list of the ten most pivotal players heading into the season. Number one on that list is Kari Lehtonen, who will make an early push to be the primary option between the pipes for the Stars. Though he has struggled in the past, he has the opportunity to backstop a potential Stanley Cup contender. Should he not, the Stars have been an oft-reported  team to land Ben Bishop should he be available. Other names Allen included were Brian Campbell, a player he believes could solidify the Blackhawks defense, and Elliott, who could finally give the Flames a strong goaltending option.

Flames Were Close To Acquiring Ben Bishop At Draft

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Ben Bishop is entering this season without a guaranteed starting role in Tampa Bay after Andrei Vasilevskiy played extremely well down the stretch and into the playoffs last season. In an interview with the Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times on Friday, he said that “(a trade) looked like for a little bit it was going to happen. At kind of the last minute (the Flames) went out and got Elliott. It was close, but there was never… It wasn’t that close, obviously.”

While the Flames would eventually trade for Brian Elliott to fill their crease, a move including Bishop might still be on the horizon.  The netminder is owed $5.95MM this year in the final season of his deal, and was overtaken by Vasilevskiy in the playoffs after he injured his ankle.  While Bishop is unsure of his future, the Lightning inked Vasilevskiy to a three-year extension this summer that will pay him $3.5MM per season through 2019-20.

If GM Steve Yzerman decides to start the season with the two goaltenders, he’ll surely receive plenty of interest throughout the year as other netminders go down to injury. While he can’t keep both long-term, as an expansion draft for the new Las Vegas franchise would surely select one of them should they both be under contract, Bishop could be a huge piece to dangle should something similar to the Carey Price injury happen to another team this season.

For now, Bishop is just trying to push all the trade speculation out of his head, and focus on hockey.  He’s one of the goaltenders set to report to Team USA camp for the upcoming World Cup in a few days, though it’ll be another fight to get ice-time – Cory Schneider and Jonathan Quick are the other two.

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