Trade Deadline Notes: Bertuzzi, Boeser, Van Riemsdyk, Watson, Kravtsov
As we inch closer to the March 3rd trade deadline, trade winds across the league are beginning to pick up. The 32 Thoughts segment of yesterday’s Hockey Night in Canada broadcast offered quite a few updates on notable trade situations across the NHL, including that of Detroit Red Wings forward Tyler Bertuzzi, who is a pending unrestricted free agent. Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek noted that brief extension talks between the Red Wings and Bertuzzi “didn’t go anywhere,” leaving it more likely that he is dealt before the deadline.
Marek reported that the Red Wings are expected to set a high price for Bertuzzi, who scored 62 points in 68 games last season and plays the sort of rugged, physical game many teams covet. Marek called the price “something substantial” in his report. Teams such as the Dallas Stars, who are reportedly seeking a player to play next to Tyler Seguin on a more regular basis, Edmonton Oilers, and Tampa Bay Lightning were all linked by Marek as teams holding varying degrees of interest in acquiring the talented Red Wings forward.
Some other notes from this news-filled 32 Thoughts segment:
- While Vancouver Canucks winger Brock Boeser could be one of the more talented wingers on the trade market over the next month or so, he could be in for a bit of a wait until it’s determined whether or not he’s dealt. On 32 Thoughts, Friedman reported that Boeser may be widely seen as a possible backup plan for teams that fail in their pursuit of San Jose Sharks forward Timo Meier. As a result, his status in terms of a trade could be stuck in a “holding pattern” until there is more clarity in Meier’s situation.
- Another name that was brought up as being on the market is that of veteran Philadelphia Flyers forward James van Riemsdyk. The 33-year-old has scored a healthy 21 points in 34 games this season, and would in all likelihood give a team additional scoring help at a lower cost than some of the other forward options on the market, such as Meier or Bertuzzi. Marek linked van Riemsdyk to three teams: the Winnipeg Jets, Minnesota Wild, and Vegas Golden Knights.
- If teams are looking to acquire some more toughness and grit for their bottom six as they gear up for the war of attrition that is the NHL playoffs, Ottawa Senators forward Austin Watson could be a quality option. Marek reports that Watson has been made available to other teams in advance of the March 3rd deadline, and would likely come at a relatively affordable price. The 31-year-old is a valued leader in the Senators’ locker room and averages two minutes per night on the team’s above-average penalty kill. He’s on an expiring $1.5MM AAV deal and will be an unrestricted free agent in the summer barring an extension.
- Another new name to enter the trade deadline mix is that of 2018 ninth-overall pick Vitali Kravtsov, with Friedman reporting that the 23-year-old Russian “has been made available” to other clubs for trade in the aftermath of his being healthy scratched for the team’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes. Kravtsov has been given opportunities to shine in New York this season and had an opportunity to establish himself in the NHL given the openings the Rangers had at right wing before the Vladimir Tarasenko trade. With Tarasenko now in the mix, it seems Kravtsov’s leash is beginning to run short, and with just six points in 28 games a change-of-scenery trade could be in order.
Evening Notes: Boeser, IIHF/Russia, NHLPA Leadership
After the Bo Horvat trade yesterday, the floodgates appear to be opening on the trade front. That’s especially true for the Vancouver Canucks, who have some desirable trade assets other than Horvat that could find their way out of town by the trade deadline.
One of those is Brock Boeser, who TSN’s Darren Dreger said today continues to receive interest from around the league. However, he reported that any Boeser trade, and the corresponding interest, hinges on how much salary Vancouver is willing to retain in a potential trade. Boeser is signed to a steep cap hit of $6.65MM for the next three seasons. With so many teams already dipping into LTIR pools to stay cap-compliant, Vancouver is unlikely to find a trade partner willing to take the full brunt of the deal. The 25-year-old has nine goals and 30 points in 41 games this season. That’s a 60-point pace over 82 games.
- TSN’s Chris Johnston also reported on today’s edition of Insider Trading that the IIHF has a council meeting set up for March to discuss the status of Russian and Belarusian players in future international hockey events. Johnston notes that any changes to the current ban on those athletes participating won’t be lifted by the World Championship events in Spring 2023. Still, there could be a change in policy heading into the 2024 calendar of events. The conversation was reignited by the International Olympic Committee’s decision to allow Russian athletes to participate in the 2024 Paris Olympics. However, they likely would have to compete under a neutral flag.
- As the NHLPA continues its search to name a new executive director, NHL analyst John Shannon today reported the list of players comprising the organization’s search committee. Ian Cole (TBL), Jacob Trouba (NYR), James van Riemsdyk (PHI), Justin Faulk (STL), Kevin Shattenkirk (ANA), Kyle Okposo (BUF), Mattias Ekholm (NSH), Nate Schmidt (WPG), Sam Gagner (WPG), and Zach Hyman (EDM) are the members who will determine the replacement for outgoing director Donald Fehr.
Injury Notes: Sabres, Canucks Illnesses, Aho, Capitals
Things haven’t necessarily gone as planned for the Buffalo Sabres to start this season, the team coming into tonight with a 14-14-2 record thus far, tying them with the Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens for the bottom three positions in the Atlantic Division. There are some bright spots, such as the further breakouts of Tage Thompson and Rasmus Dahlin, or that record being partially influencex by an eight game losing streak that came with zero points, and there are reasons for the struggles, such as poor goaltending and a myriad of injury issues. Those injury issues continue to persist, but with injuries does come injury updates and the Sabres were able to provide a few of those today.
Forwards Jeff Skinner, who was suspended, and Kyle Okposo, will both rejoin the lineup tonight, reports Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News. Okposo had only missed one game, Thursday at the Colorado Avalanche, but has dealt with his share of injuries this season. Harrington adds that defensemen Owen Power and Jacob Bryson, who both missed Thursday’s game will not play this evening. Fortunately for Power, he’s only considered day-to-day, however Bryson has been shutdown for the remainder of the road trip and will be re-evaluated when the team gets home. Their road trip concludes Monday in Vegas. Lastly, per Harrington, defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin, who is currently on IR and hasn’t played since November 28th, is still not ready to return.
- The Vancouver Canucks could be down a pair of star forwards this evening, with both Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser under the weather according to Sportsnet’s Brendan Batchelor, who spoke with head coach Bruce Boudreau. Boeser also missed Wednesday’s game with an illness and while Pettersson did not, recall that he had actually been sent home from practice on Sunday after showing up sick. Even with the turmoil surrounding Boeser and the likelihood that he ends up being dealt this season, Vancouver will need both players in the lineup with the hope that they can produce and get their season back on track going forward. Boeser has 16 points in 22 games thus far, while Pettersson appears to be taking the next step with 34 points in 29 games to date.
- Carolina Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho, who has been out of the lineup since December 6th with a lower-body injury will not play tonight against the Dallas Stars or tomorrow afternoon against the Pittsburgh Penguins, says Hurricanes team reporter Walt Ruff, who spoke with head coach Rod Brind’Amour prior to tonight’s game. On a positive note, Brind’Amour added that Aho was on the ice earlier today, indicating a return could be sooner rather than later. Interestingly, Carolina has done just fine without Aho in the lineup, going 3-0-0 in the process, including back-to-back shutouts of the New York Islanders and Detroit Red Wings. Obviously, the team would still prefer to get one of the NHL’s very best centers back into their lineup as soon as possible, especially considering schedule doesn’t get any easier after tomorrow, facing the New Jersey Devils and the Penguins again this week.
- Washington Capitals forward Nic Dowd will miss tonight’s game with a lower-body injury, reports The Athletics Tarik El-Bashir. It’s unclear what exactly is ailing Dowd or how serious the injury might be, however he did leave Thursday’s game a touch early, playing just 9:39 in the game, down from his season average of 13:03. Also of note, goaltender Hunter Shepard has been ruled out of tonight’s game with an upper-body injury, which would explain the team’s earlier recall of netminder Zachary Fucale.
Snapshots: Blackhawks, Boeser, Boucher
The Chicago Blackhawks are the team to watch when it comes to selling at the trade deadline, with so much focus on Patrick Kane‘s potential destination. Scott Powers of The Athletic examined the situation regarding Kane and Jonathan Toews, but also touched on the trade market for lesser players like Max Domi and Andreas Athanasiou.
Signing those two always seemed like a move destined to lead to trade deadline flips, but the Blackhawks may not get as much as they think for them. One executive told Powers that Domi and Athanasiou would likely cost third or fourth-round picks in a trade, though admitted things can change if teams get “desperate.”
- Brock Boeser‘s camp has been given permission to seek a trade, and Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic wrote yesterday that agent Ben Hankinson already spoke to at least six teams last week, with more talks planned. LeBrun uses the word “inevitable” to describe a Boeser trade before the end of the season.
- Reid Boucher, who pleaded guilty in relation to a 2011 sexual assault case involving his 12-year-old “billet sister,” and was sentenced earlier this year, has re-signed with Avangard Omsk for another year. Boucher is fourth in KHL scoring this season, with 36 points in 37 games.
Latest On Brock Boeser
Earlier this evening, it was reported that Brock Boeser would be a healthy scratch for the Vancouver Canucks when they host the Arizona Coyotes this evening. However, after taking warmups with the team, Boeser was placed into the lineup for tonights game, says Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
Later this evening, on tonight’s 32 Thoughts segment Friedman added a bit more fuel to the fire if you will, discussing what might be happening off the ice. Friedman reports that the Canucks have given permission to Boeser’s representatives to talk to other teams about a potential move, though he cautions that neither the team nor Boeser’s agents have specifically confirmed this.
From afar, Vancouver deciding now is the time to trade Boeser might seem a bit confusing. For one, after struggling out of the gate this season, the team has rebounded nicely to put themselves in the playoff discussion at this point in the season, even if on the fringes. On top of that, Boeser has recorded 14 points in 18 games this season, good for 0.77 points-per-game, which is almost perfectly in-line with his career average of 0.79 points-per-game prior to this season.
However, known as a sharpshooter, Boeser’s 8.1% shooting-percentage is down from his career 13.2% he had prior to this season, not to mention he’s been shooting the puck less altogether, averaging 2.83 shots-per-game before this season, down to 2.05 in 2022-23. That’s resulted in just three of his 14 points coming on goals this season. Adding on to the problem, Boeser’s previous six games haven’t been his best, combining for just three points to go with a -6 rating and seven shots total.
What’s next for Boeser and Vancouver isn’t completely clear, but Friedman’s report does raise some eyebrows. For one, despite his struggles, Boeser is undoubtedly a dynamic offensive player that any number of teams would want to add into their lineup. When teams give permission for a player to speak with other teams, generally the reason for doing so is to see if they can work out an extension ahead of time, hopefully giving them a bigger return in a trade, however Boeser is still signed for another two seasons, bringing with him a $6.65MM cap hit.
Another fairly common reason a player may have permission to speak with other teams is to see who’s plans he might fit into with regards to playing time and role, perhaps if that player has been squeezed out in his current situation. Despite his struggles, it’s hard to imagine many teams wouldn’t view Boeser as anything but a valuable addition. Still, given Boeser’s rather large cap hit compared to his production, these conversations may be had to assure an acquiring team knows exactly what to expect in the case they have to absorb Boeser’s entire cap hit or pay Vancouver to retain some of it.
Snapshots: Sabres, Boeser, Schedule
The Sabres could have defenseman Jacob Bryson back in the lineup tomorrow against San Jose, relays Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News (Twitter link). The 25-year-old has missed the last couple of weeks with a lower-body injury sustained against St. Louis. Bryson is in his second full NHL campaign and has a goal and five assists in 20 games this season while averaging a little under 18 minutes a night.
Meanwhile, Lysowski also tweets that winger Vinnie Hinostroza left practice early today as he’s battling what’s believed to be a minor injury. The veteran missed Thursday’s game against Colorado with the injury as well. Hinostroza was a capable depth scorer last season with 13 goals in 62 games but is still looking for his first of the season. However, with eight assists in 15 games, Hinostroza is averaging the best assist-per-game rate of his eight-year career.
Elsewhere around the NHL:
- It has been a bit of a tough season so far for Canucks winger Brock Boeser and there’s more tough news coming for him as head coach Bruce Boudreau confirmed to Sportsnet 650’s Brendan Batchelor (Twitter link) that winger Brock Boeser will be a healthy scratch tonight against Arizona. Boeser has just three goals so far through his first 18 games (although he does have 11 assists) and Boudreau is calling this decision “tough love”. It sounds like this is a short-term decision but Vancouver will certainly need more from Boeser if they want to get back into the playoff picture; they sit five points out of the last Wild Card heading into today’s action.
- Last month, the Predators had a pair of their games postponed due to a water main break in their arena. Today, the league announced the makeup dates for those contests. Nashville will host the Blue Jackets on January 17th while they will host the Avalanche on April 14th, one day after the regular season is set to conclude.
Vancouver Canucks Activate Brock Boeser
The Vancouver Canucks announced Tuesday afternoon that winger Brock Boeser has been activated from injured reserve. In a corresponding transaction, forward Sheldon Dries has been assigned to AHL Abbotsford.
Boeser has missed the team’s last six games with a hand injury. In that span, the team has gone 3-2-1, rebounding somewhat from an 0-4-2 start. Prior to his injury, Boeser tallied four assists in six games while averaging 16:39 of ice time per game. In his return to the lineup tonight against the Ottawa Senators, Boeser is expected to slot in on a line alongside Tanner Pearson and J.T. Miller.
Dries returns to the minors after playing four games in Boeser’s absence. The 28-year-old AHL veteran registered an assist in his season debut against Seattle on October 27, but failed to register a point in his following three appearances. He returns to Abbotsford as one of their top players, registering four points through his two appearances there this season. He’s coming off a 2021-22 campaign in the AHL where he registered 62 points in 54 games.
Latest On Brock Boeser, Travis Dermott
As the Vancouver Canucks continue to rally back from an awful start, their team health is improving along with their play. While the jury remains out on how long they can consistently string together wins, the team is indeed getting healthier and will get even closer to full strength soon.
Head coach Bruce Boudreau said today that he doesn’t think forward Brock Boeser will play tomorrow, but he’s just day-to-day as he waits for a re-opened scar on his hand to close. He also said that it’s possible defenseman Travis Dermott, who’s yet to play this season with a concussion, will rejoin the team for their road trip next week to make his season debut.
Boeser had four points in six games to begin the season, but he hasn’t played since October 24 with the previously undisclosed injury. Nils Hoglander currently sits in the team’s top six in his absence, and the young Swede has been limited to just one assist in eight games.
Dermott’s concussion has kept him out on a week-to-week basis, and he could solidify what’s looking like a much-improved Canucks defense when healthy with his return. The acquisitions of Ethan Bear and a healthy Dermott go a long way toward improving the team’s depth, and the Canucks are hoping that it can help them erase the bad taste of their 0-5-2 start.
West Notes: Golden Knights, Boeser, Blackhawks
It has been an eventful first few seasons in the NHL for the Golden Knights. Vegas reached the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural year but they haven’t made it back since while the team has made several shakeup trades plus a pair of coaching changes. Despite the heavy turnover, owner Bill Foley told Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Sun that he has full confidence in the management team of GM Kelly McCrimmon and President of Hockey Operations George McPhee:
We’re a team. I’m 100% in with them and with Bruce. I didn’t get involved in this team to just be another team that goes along like a typical expansion team, winning 24 games in their first season, then win 30 the next season, make the playoffs in six or seven years.
We’ve been all-in from Day 1. I know a lot of fans are saying, “Gee, you’ve made so many changes.” It was all done with the design to win. That’s what we’re doing. George and Kelly are right there with me. I believe we’ve put together a solid group of solid core players.
With Robin Lehner being out for the season, expectations were a little lower heading into this year. However, the tandem of Logan Thompson and Adin Hill has fared quite well so far with the Golden Knights allowing the fewest goals in the league heading into today’s action. That has them in first in the Pacific in the early going but with only $16 in LTIR space left, they’ll be hard-pressed to add to their roster.
Elsewhere in the West:
- On top of potentially getting Quinn Hughes back soon, the Canucks could also get some help up front as Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Province relays (Twitter link) that winger Brock Boeser is expected to meet with team doctors on Monday in the hopes of being cleared to return. The 25-year-old has missed the last three games with an undisclosed injury and was placed on IR on Wednesday. He has to miss seven days and it doesn’t appear as if the placement was backdated so Tuesday’s game might not be doable for Boeser but it looks like his absence will be a short one.
- Blackhawks defenseman Ian Mitchell was initially ruled out for six weeks with a hand injury that occurred nearly six weeks ago. However, Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times notes (Twitter link) that the 23-year-old has just resumed stickhandling and is nowhere near a return. Mitchell is in the final year of his entry-level deal and after spending most of last season with AHL Rockford, a longer-than-expected absence isn’t exactly the start to the year he was hoping for. Meanwhile, goaltender Petr Mrazek has resumed skating but the team will be cautious and inch him along for the time being.
Vancouver Canucks Place Curtis Lazar, Brock Boeser On Injured Reserve
The nightmare season for the Vancouver Canucks continues, this time with two regular forwards headed to injured reserve. Curtis Lazar and Brock Boeser have been moved to IR, with the team recalling William Lockwood and Sheldon Dries in their place.
Boeser was listed as out day-to-day on Monday, so his move to IR is a little curious. The 25-year-old is off to a brutal start to the season (like so many other Canucks), with no goals in his first six games. While he does have four points, Boeser has always been his best when he’s putting the puck in the net, and this year he has only generated nine shots on goal.
Perhaps that is because of this injury, as he did receive a “maintenance” day earlier in the week as well before they called it an injury. General manager Patrik Allvin told reporters including Harman Dayal of The Athletic that Boeser is still considered day-to-day, though did not speculate when he will be able to return.
Lazar meanwhile played in Monday’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes, playing 11:09 and registering two shots and two hits. Allvin did not give the specific injury but noted that he is expected to miss three to four weeks.
The depth forward has turned into an energy and penalty-killing option for the Canucks, after having his best professional season with the Boston Bruins last year. Still, given how little upside he offers offensively and his rather pedestrian short-handed performance so far, losing him from the lineup shouldn’t weaken the overall chances for the Canucks very much.
Still, as they whittle away at their depth, it’s only going to be more difficult to dig themselves out of the 0-5-2 hole they are in to start the year. While the front office doesn’t want to rebuild, it does seem like the Canucks are headed for a finish a lot closer to the first-overall pick than the Stanley Cup.