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Atlantic Notes: Yandle, Gionta, Duchene, Coreau

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Although things haven’t gone the way the Florida Panthers expected this season, GM and interim head coach Tom Rowe is quite pleased with the play of their key offseason acquisition, defenseman Keith Yandle, he told Harvey Fialkov of the Sun-Sentinel:

“He’s fit in terrific. He’s such a positive influence on our young guys and in our locker room in general. We targeted him as our No. 1 free agent signing [because we] thought he’d really complement our forwards.”

The team was hoping he’d add another dimension to their power play but injuries to Jonathan Huberdeau, Nick Bjugstad, and Aleksander Barkov has resulted in a drop from 2015-16’s 16.9% success rate.  However, Yandle, who signed a six year, $44.45MM contract after Florida traded for his negotiating rights, leads all Panther blueliners in points with 23 and is tied for the team lead in assists with 20 (while also tying for the team lead in power play points) so their struggles can’t all be attributed to him.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic:

  • Although he recently turned 38 and is slated to become an unrestricted free agent in July, Sabres captain Brian Gionta isn’t planning on retiring at the end of the season, writes John Vogl of the Buffalo News. The veteran added that he isn’t worried about his situation heading into the trade deadline either.  It’s worth noting that Gionta doesn’t have a full no-trade clause this year as he has a five team list that he can be traded to, per CapFriendly.  Gionta may not be the top six forward he was with New Jersey and Montreal but with 10 goals and 22 points on the season, he can still be a productive bottom six option on a contending team if he’s moved by March 1st.
  • While the Senators haven’t been linked to Colorado center Matt Duchene, Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen argues that they should make a run at acquiring him. Not only would he replace Clarke MacArthur who is out for the year with a concussion, his addition would also likely help their attendance, where they rank in the bottom ten league-wide.  Warren adds that the Ottawa’s window to win revolves around blueliner Erik Karlsson, whose contract expires after 2018-19 so they should be thinking about adding and winning now while he’s still on a below-market contract.  Duchene’s contract, by the way, also expires following the 2018-19 season.
  • Red Wings goalie Jared Coreau had an awful rookie professional season in 2013-14, winning just one of 25 appearances. It was there that he first met current Detroit bench boss Jeff Blashill who was very direct in telling him what needed to be done if he was to succeed as a pro, writes Nick Cotsonika of NHL.com.  Coreau credits his success since then to Blashill’s bluntness, which resulted in him losing weight, seeing a sports psychologist, and undergoing special vision training.  Having won five of his first eight decisions, the 25 year old has held his own since being recalled to cover for Jimmy Howard who has been out since late December with an MCL sprain.

Seravalli’s Latest: Team Priorities Leading To The Trade Deadline

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In his latest column, TSN’s Frank Seravalli looks at all 30 NHL teams (plus a note about the Vegas Golden Knights) and what their priorities are as they get closer to the deadline.  The whole article is well worth the read but here is a sampling of some of the highlights:

  • While the Sabres are likely to move pending unrestricted free agents Cody Franson and Brian Gionta, center Zemgus Girgensons (who is set to be a restricted free agent) could be someone teams look at as a reclamation project. Girgensons had a breakout year under former coach Ted Nolan in 2014-15 but has struggled since Dan Bylsma has taken over.  His role has considerably diminished this season which makes him an intriguing ‘change of scenery’ candidate.
  • The Blue Jackets could be poised to strike on what is shaping up to be a buyers’ market when it comes to goaltending. Given where the team finds themselves, Seravalli suggests that they may want a more proven backup behind Sergei Bobrovsky.  Youngsters Anton Forsberg and Joonas Korpisalo are poised to battle for the number two job with Curtis McElhinney now in Toronto but neither have much NHL experience.  One possible hiccup for Columbus could be the fact that a lot of the goalies believed to be available are signed beyond this season which may not appeal to them given the progress that Forsberg and Korpisalo have shown.
  • Although the Red Wings don’t appear to be entering selling mode any time soon, one area that GM Ken Holland may look to improve on is their cap situation. They have roughly $68MM committed for next year already (though Johan Franzen’s $3.95MM cap hit is including and he’ll be back on LTIR) and have a few restricted free agents including forwards Tomas Tatar and Andreas Athanasiou.  If they want to entertain the idea of keeping pending UFA Thomas Vanek around, they’ll need to free up some money and this might be the right time to accomplish that.
  • Seravalli wonders if this might be the year for the Senators to consider dealing away their first round pick. With Clarke MacArthur’s concussion symptoms not subsiding as quickly as anyone hoped, there is a void on the left side that needs to be addressed and their trade assets (such as Curtis Lazar and Nick Paul) won’t be enough by themselves to secure a legitimate top winger.
  • With the Canucks not likely to really be buyers or sellers at the deadline, they could be a team in the market for a reclamation project or two to try along the Sedins, similar to what Edmonton did with Patrick Maroon last year, a move that has worked out quite well this season. However, considering that they’re unwilling to move draft picks this year, being able to bring a player like that in may prove to be a bit more difficult.

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