Bryan Little

Central Notes: Colorado’s Defense, Little, Kiviranta

September 8, 2019 at 12:30 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 2 Comments

After impressive performances on the ice at their rookie tournament over the past two days, the Colorado Avalanche dream of a dominant group of franchise defensemen are much closer than they had initially imagined. The team already has two established cornerstones on defense in Samuel Girard and Cale Makar, but the play of 2019 first-round pick Bowen Byram and 2017 second-rounder Conor Timmins suggest they might be closer to join the other two sooner rather than later, according to Mike Chambers of the Denver Post.

Both will be with the team on Friday when training camp begins. Byram will have to prove that he’s ready for the challenges of the NHL already as a recently-turned 18-year-old. He broke out in a big way in the WHL with the Vancouver Giants, scoring 26 goals and 71 points, but he either must make the Avalanche or be returned to Vancouver. Timmins is a different story. The 20-year-old missed the entire 2018-19 season last year after dealing with concussion-like symptoms and likely will begin the season in the AHL until he gets some game experience, but could be recalled at any time if Colorado needs him.

One story that has been an issue for years in Winnipeg has been the Jets’ need to establish a No. 2 center. The team has gone with veteran Bryan Little over the years only to acquire a second-line center at the trade deadline the previous two years in Paul Stastny back in 2018 and Kevin Hayes in 2019. Unfortunately, due to cap issues, the Jets were unable to retain either player and are once again on the lookout for someone internally to step up into that role. For Little, the job remains his to lose. The 31-year-old’s numbers continue to decline little by little, scoring 15 goals and 41 points (his least productive season since 2009-10), but he remains the top option, according to Winnipeg Free Press’ Mike McIntyre. The only other options look to be Andrew Copp and Jack Roslovic, both of which seem like longshots to claim that role.
The Dallas Stars have a number of young prospects who might have a chance to make their opening day roster, including prospects Ty Dellandrea, Jason Robertson, Denis Gurianov and Riley Tufte amongst many. However, the Stars might have another player who could step up after Joel Kiviranta scored a hat trick against the New York Rangers squad Saturday, suggesting that the recently signed forward out of Finland could make an immediate impact for Dallas, according to NHL.com’s Mike Heika. The 23-year-old Kiviranta is still adjusting to the smaller North American ice, but has a lot of experience playing amongst men in Finland after five years there. He has tallied 35 goals over the past two years there.

Central Notes: Byfuglien, Little, Crawford

February 16, 2019 at 4:58 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg Leave a Comment

Winnipeg Jets fans can breathe a sigh of relief when they learned that defenseman Dustin Byfuglien will be out Saturday in their game against the Ottawa Senators as head coach Paul Maurice indicated that the injury is a minor one and is in no way related to the ankle injury that kept the 6-foot-5, 260-pound blueliner out of 15 games earlier this season, according to Paul Friesen of the Winnipeg Sun.

“It’s another minor one that’s not going to help the original one,” Maurice said. “The original one’s fine enough to play. It’s strong, and it’s getting stronger. He wasn’t going to be able to perform very well, and we think in a few days he’ll settle right in.”

Winnipeg doesn’t play another game until Wednesday and Maurice believes that Byfuglien should be ready to return for that game in Colorado. With the loss of Joseph Morrow, the Jets will be shorthanded on defense, although Sami Niku was recalled earlier today to step into the lineup.

Sticking with the Jets, rumors have been thriving about the Jets’ attempts to pick up a top rental player before the trade deadline. However, that acquisition may have to prove themselves to work their way into the Jets’ top six as Maurice defended second-line center Bryan Little, suggesting that Little will not be leaving the team’s second line even if the team acquires a big-name player, according to TSN. “Other than the 16 points in the last 17 games, he’s gotta tighten that up, doesn’t he?” Maurice said. “He’s playing with two really young, unique players (Patrik Laine and Jack Roslovic/Nikolaj Ehlers) and he’s done that for the last year and a half and he’s carried them in so many ways. Maybe it’s only the coach’s point of you to see how hard he works to get in and make things happen, but also to get out, to be on the right side of the puck, to battle every shift, to work with these kids who are really unique players.”
Jason Lieser of the Chicago Sun-Times writes that goaltender Corey Crawford has been cleared to return to the ice after sitting out for the last two months with another concussion. However, the team wants to be cautious before throwing him back in and won’t activate him for Saturday’s game. Lieser reports the team is considering putting him in the lineup on Monday when the host Ottawa, setting the veteran up with an easy home matchup to ease him back into the lineup. Crawford’s return could also force Collin Delia to return to the AHL despite faring well since being recalled.

Central Notes: Bowman, Bishop, Laine, Edmundson

November 25, 2018 at 5:57 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 1 Comment

While he may not be the most popular person in Chicago lately, Chicago Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman sat down with The Athletic’s Scott Powers (subscription required) in an in depth interview, going over the state of the franchise. While Bowman is aware of fans’ displeasure with the recent firing of coach Joel Quenneville as well as the state of the team’s salary cap over the past few years, Bowman said he must remain focused on the present.

“It definitely comes with the job,” Bowman said. “When you take this job, you understand that part of it is the fans have a passion for the team, which I wouldn’t want any other way. So, yeah, I don’t follow it in the sense that whatever people say, they’re going to say, and I need to do what I think is right because I believe in it. If I start getting into the weeds and trying to follow it, then it can just distract me from I have a job to do.”

Bowman did say that although many fans feel that he waited too long to trade the contract of Marian Hossa to Arizona this summer (the trade happened on July 12), but that was the first time that the Coyotes agreed to take on Hossa’s contract. Regardless, fans were upset that the team wasn’t able to use the extra $4.5MM in cap space created by that trade as most offseason work was already done by teams at that point. Bowman said he intends to be patient in using that cap space.

“The one thing you don’t want to do is just use it to just to get somebody who doesn’t really fit, and it’s going to preclude you from doing something else later,” Bowman said. “I’m not sitting on it to sit on it, but nothing has come along. Like there’s been potential trades, but the guy’s got two more years on his deal. Like he could help us in the short term, but we’re going to be able to do better than that. You just got to be patient. That’s the thought process.”

Mike Heika of NHL.com writes that the Dallas Stars may be close to getting back starting goaltender Ben Bishop who has been out for almost a week with a lower-body injury. Heika writes that Anton Khudobin is expected to start Tuesday in Edmonton, followed likely be Landon Bow on Wednesday in Calgary. However, the scribe writes that Bishop might be ready for the team’s game in Vancouver on Saturday. Bishop is having a impressive season with a 2.33 GAA and a .923 save percentage in 15 games.
Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun writes that while Patrik Laine knew he’d break out of his 19-game five-on-five scoreless slump earlier this season, it did weigh on him as it wore on. However, after scoring eight of his 11 goals this week on five-on-five, Laine feels more confident than ever, but credits his new linemates’ Bryan Little and Kyle Connor for much of his success. Much of Laine’s success has been with his recent chemistry with Little. The two struggled connecting for the past two years, especially last season. Those five-on-five struggles disappeared after the team added Paul Stastny at the trade deadline, but the Laine and Little finally seem to have found that connection this year.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Tom Timmermann writes that St. Louis Blues defenseman Joel Edmundson has been working hard lately to avoid penalties. In his last 11 games, Edmondson has been called for a penalty in eight of those games and the 25-year-old leads the team with 29 penalty minutes. “I think I’m getting a little wild with my stick,” Edmundson said. “Sometimes the game gets the better half of me and I take out my frustrations. I’m looking to be smarter in that department. Sometimes I get worked up a bit and anger takes over. Coach (Berube) has talked to me. I just have to settle down a bit.”

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Winnipeg Jets

October 6, 2018 at 3:58 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg Leave a Comment

Navigating the Salary Cap is probably one of the more important tasks for any general manager to have. Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2018-19 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

Winnipeg Jets

Current Cap Hit: $74,274,122 (under the $79.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Patrik Laine (one year, $925K)
F Kyle Connor (one year, $925K)
F Kristian Vesalainen (three years, $925K)
F Jack Roslovic (two years, $894K)
F Brendan Lemieux (one year, $839K)
D Sami Niku (two years, $775K)

Potential Bonuses:

Laine: $2.65MM
Connor: $850K
Roslovic: $213K
Lemieux: $200K
Niku: $183K

Total: $4.1MM

The Jets were hit hard when many of their entry-level deals expired a year ago and next year won’t be too much different as the team, which is now starting to feel the strain of the salary cap, will have to find a way to hand over a lot of money to Laine, who could receive a long-term deal at an extremely high price. Of course, the 20-year-old is worth that money. The winger scored 36 goals in his rookie campaign and topped that with a 44-goal season last year. If he can reach numbers even close to that, he could be one of the highest players in the league in a year.

Connor should also cost the team a good deal of money as the 21-year-old winger posted 31 goals in his first full NHL season last year and looks to be heading in a similar direction and could also get himself a contract in the $5MM+ range in one season. The team gets another year for Roslovic, who is currently playing in the bottom-six, but don’t be surprised if the 21-year-old center might eventually move into the top-six at some point in the season.

It’s still too early to know where Vesalainen stands, but the highly-touted prospect will get time immediately in a bottom-six role and develop his skills. With three years on his entry-level deal, the team hopes it can get some cheap scoring options from him for a few years.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

D Jacob Trouba ($5.5MM, RFA)
D Tyler Myers ($5.5MM, UFA)
D Ben Chiarot ($1.4MM, UFA)
F Brandon Tanev ($1.15MM, UFA)
F Andrew Copp ($1MM, RFA)
D Joseph Morrow ($1MM, RFA)
F Nic Petan ($874K, RFA)
F Marko Dano ($800K, RFA)
G Laurent Brossoit ($650K, RFA)

While the team is deep in forwards, their defense has many long-term questions surrounding them. Two of those players have contracts that will expire at the end of the season. Trouba is the most interesting. Despite holding out several years ago and showing little interest in Winnipeg, it looked like things were improving after Winnipeg enjoyed an impressive season last year that took them to the Western Conference Finals. However, another difficult negotiations that failed to bring in a long-term deal and the team may be forced to move on from Trouba sooner than later. He can be an unrestricted free agent after the 2019-20 season.

Myers is also a candidate for the team to move on from as the veteran is on the final year of a seven-year, $38.5MM deal. While Myers is still a very productive player, the long term deals the team has already signed off on as well as potential deals with Laine and Connor could make him a cap casualty as well. The team has Niku, among others, sitting in the AHL waiting for a spot to open and some could open up at the end of the year.

Two Years Remaining

D Dmitry Kulikov ($4.33MM, UFA)
D Josh Morrissey ($3.15MM, RFA)

The team made a couple of free agent signings last offseason, including bringing in goalie Steve Mason and signing Kulikov. Mason has already been traded away after a disappointing season, while Kulikov has had trouble fitting in as well, even being held out of several playoff games last year. The 27-year-old is barely holding onto his spot as a third-line defender and could find himself fighting for time eventually if he can’t improve his game.

Morrissey is a different story. The partner to Trouba has been a solid defender and has continued to improve his game and will still be a restricted free agent in a few years, giving the team another opportunity to lock him up long-term.

Three Years Remaining

D Dustin Byfuglien ($7.6MM, UFA)
F Mathieu Perreault ($4.13MM, UFA)
F Adam Lowry ($2.92MM, UFA)

Byfuglien is locked up long-term and in many ways is the face of the franchise, who produces both physicality and offense for the team. The 6-foot-5, 260-pound blueliner did just provide eight goals last year, one of the lowest totals of his career, but the 33-year-old still managed to produce 45 points. The team needs the veteran to continue his dominant play for a few years more if the team intends to continue a long-term Western Conference run.

The team also needs Perreault to continue playing solid hockey as one of their best bottom-six forwards. The 30-year-old posted 17 goals last year, one goal shy of his career-high. The 25-year-old Lowry is another player who the team needs to step up for the franchise. He posted 15 goals in 2016-17, but managed to score just eight goals last year in 45 games. However, his passing game showed quite a bit of improvement.

Four Or More Years Remaining

G Connor Hellebuyck ($6.19MM through 2023-24)
F Mark Scheifele ($6.13MM through 2023-24)
F Nikolaj Ehlers ($6MM through 2024-25)
F Blake Wheeler ($5.6MM in 2018-19; $8.25MM through 2023-24)
F Bryan Little ($5.29MM through 2023-24)

The franchise has quite a few blue-chip players already locked up long-term with the most important position, goaltending, looking to be in good shape after the team signed Hellebuyck to a six-year, $37MM deal. The 25-year-old posted an impressive breakout season that saw him post a 2.37 GAA and a .924 save percentage and should be a major positive for the team over the next six years.

The team signed Wheeler, their captain, to a long-term extension this offseason. He will finish out his previous deal at $5.6MM, but will start on a four-year extension at $8.25MM. Wheeler posted 20 goals for the fifth-straight season, but also saw his points total surge as the 32-year-old put up a career-high 91 points last year, way better than his previous career-high of 78 points.

Ehlers signed a seven-year extension at this time last season and the 22-year-old posted a career-high 29 goals last season playing on the other side of Laine and producing one of the team’s most dangerous lines. The team also has Little working as a second-line center, although many believe that he’d be better off with a bottom-six role down the road, which would make him an expensive long-term cost at $5.29MM.

Buyouts

F Mark Stuart ($583K in 2018-19)

Retained Salary Transactions

None

Still To Sign

None

Best Value: Scheifele
Worst Value: Kulikov

(Excluding entry-level contracts)

Looking Ahead

The Winnipeg Jets have done an incredible job so far drafting and developing high-end talent and so far have done an excellent job keeping them in the fold for what the team hopes to be a solid five year run for a Stanley Cup. The team has already locked up many of their top players and while they still have a few more to go, they look well on their way to doing that. The only real question is how general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff handles his defense as he has a pair of major decisions to make within the next year when it comes to dealing with Trouba and Myers.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Central Notes: Seguin, Jets’ Second-Line, Boqvist

August 25, 2018 at 2:30 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg Leave a Comment

While negotiations continue between Tyler Seguin and the Dallas Stars, there has been no progress when it comes to locking up the Stars’ star forward to a long-term deal. In fact, in a mailbag edition in The Athletic (subscription required), Sean Shapiro writes that it is unlikely the team and Seguin will be able to reach an agreement on an extension before the season starts, which could put a tremendous amount of pressure on Dallas management, especially if the team struggles in Jim Montgomery’s first season as head coach.

With three coaches in the past three years and a slow start out of the gate, many might feel that Dallas could be forced to consider trading Seguin rather than eventually losing him for nothing like the New York Islanders did with John Tavares this past offseason. However, Shapiro writes that the only way general manager Jim Nill trades Seguin is if he’s on the way out as it would signify that he has failed in his bid to assemble a great team. So, it’s likely Nill and the team will do everything it can, which could include an eventual trade for another top-six player, to help convince Seguin to stay in Dallas long-term.

Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun writes that the Winnipeg Jets will have a battle for their No. 2 center position in training camp this year. While the position was manned at the end of the year by trade acquisition Paul Stastny at the end of the season, the veteran has moved on to Vegas, opening up a competition between Bryan Little, Jack Roslovic and Adam Lowry. Roslovic might have the upper hand as the 21-year-old is an emerging talent after posting impressive numbers in the AHL last year after he posted more than a point a game with the Manitoba Moose, where he scored 15 goals and 35 points in just 32 games, while adding another five goals with the Jets in a limited role in 31 games. The 30-year-old little had a disappointing season that saw him score 16 goals and 43 points, some of the worst numbers of his career. Lowry managed to appear in just 45 games last season after dealing with multiple shoulder injuries, but may also have found his niche as a checking line center.
Scott Powers of The Athletic (subscription required) examines why the Chicago Blackhawks intend to allow the OHL London Knights to develop Adam Boqvist, their top pick in the 2018 NHL draft. The eighth-overall pick is expected to breathe both talent and youth in a depleted blue line within the next year or two. While he’s not expected to be ready yet to make those contributions, the franchise had multiple options in where they could send him, including sending him back to Sweden, sending him to the Rockford IceHogs in the AHL or back to Sweden for another season. Powers said that returning him to Sweden wasn’t the best option as he only received 7:27 of ATOI with his SHL team, Brynas, last season and while that likely would increase, he would never average 20 minutes a game there. That left two options. They felt that the five-foot-nine, 157-pound blueliner wasn’t ready for the AHL, so that left sending him to juniors. London is a team they have familiarity with as Patrick Kane played there for one season as well as the fact that the Knights have a top coach in Dale Hunter and Blackhawks’ scout Jim McKellar spent 13 years with the London organization as well, which makes them feel that Boqvist should get plenty of playing time and a chance to further develop his skills.

Western Notes: Little, Tanev, Stecher, Sundqvist

November 18, 2017 at 6:53 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg Leave a Comment

Winnipeg Jets’ forward Bryan Little has seen a lot over the 11 years he’s been with the Jets franchise. However, one thing he hasn’t seen is his team dominating out of the gate in a season. After Saturday’s 5-2 win over the New Jersey Devils, Little finds his team boasting a 12-4-3 record good enough for second place in the Western Conference.

That may not be entirely true. Little was with the Atlanta Thrashers (before they moved to Winnipeg) and witnessed a 12-3-3 start, but that was the year before he joined the franchise, writes Winnipeg Sun’s Paul Friesen. Little, however, is thrilled to see Winnipeg finally work their way into a position where they are not chasing a playoff spot.

“It takes a bit of the pressure off,” Little said. “You’re able to play more relaxed and more confident. When you’re fighting to get back early in the season, it’s mentally stressful. You know you’ve got to win games, and that puts a lot of pressure on everyone.”

Steve Ewan of The Province writes that Vancouver Canucks defensemen Chris Tanev and Troy Stecher are closing in on returning to the lineup. Tanev, who is recovering from a thumb injury and has missed four games, and Stecher, who is recovering from a knee injury and has only appeared in eight games this season, are both expected to travel with the team on their upcoming roadtrip which opens in Philadelphia on Tuesday. Both skated with the team today, but skated late suggesting they are not expected to play tonight against the St. Louis Blues.
The St. Louis Post Dispatch’s Jim Thomas writes that center Oskar Sundqvist, who left Thursday’s game against the Edmonton Oilers after taking a puck to the foot, was a full participant in practice today and is expected to play in tonight’s game against the Vancouver Canucks.

Bryan Little Signs Six-Year Extension With Winnipeg Jets

September 14, 2017 at 8:29 am CDT | by Gavin Lee Leave a Comment

As training camp opens and some teams are still worried about signing their restricted free agents, the Jets have been working on extensions instead. The team today signed Bryan Little to a six-year extension worth $31.75MM ($5.29MM AAV). Little was heading into the final season of the five-year contract he signed in 2013, and will have a cap hit of $4.7MM this season.

The new deal will take Little through his age-36 season, and though that is definitely a bit longer than they probably hoped it’s paying off by keeping the cap hit fairly reasonable. Just this summer 30-year old T.J. Oshie, a player with only slightly better production over the years, signed an eight-year deal to stay in Washington that will pay him $5.5MM per season. Little hasn’t had a 30-goal season since he was a sophomore in Atlanta, but is still a consistent point producer on a team with its eye on the playoffs and is a capable two-way center that can drive a line.

Last year Little put up 21 goals and 47 points in just 59 games, missing the first part of the season after suffering an injury on opening night. That marked the fifth 20-goal season of his career, but also unfortunately was the second year in a row he played fewer than 60 games. That injury risk is a real one, but he obviously still has the skill to be a big part of the Jets team going forward.

The Jets now have their top two centers locked in long term, with Little slotting in behind Mark Scheifele who signed what has turned out to be a very team-friendly eight-year contract last summer. Scheifele exploded for 82 points this season, giving the Jets a pair down the middle easily capable of 150 points if everything breaks right. That’s an incredible feeling to have for a franchise that has made the playoffs just twice in their entire history, and have yet to even win a game when they get there. Inking Little to this extension proves that they have no interest in rebuilding anymore, and that this is the group they intend to contend with.

Next summer will still bring quite a bit of uncertainty. The Jets have 24 players who will hit free agency in one way or another, and though the vast majority are restricted free agents the team will still have to wisely plan out their salary structure. While new deals for Jacob Trouba, Nikolaj Ehlers and Josh Morrissey are important, they must retain the flexibility to pay Patrik Laine when his contract is up in two seasons. Locking Little in gives them some certainty in that regard, and will look just fine if the cap increases at all through the duration.

Jamie Thomas of Jets TV was first to report the contract, while Darren Dreger of TSN gave us the financial details.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Winnipeg Jets

September 9, 2017 at 8:42 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg Leave a Comment

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2017-18 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.