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Cal Clutterbuck

East Notes: Jacobs, Flyers, Clutterbuck

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The Boston Bruins have new ownership. Jeremy Jacobs, owner of the team since 1975, has transferred the ownership to his six children according to Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe. The franchise will obviously stay in the family, but will no longer be in the hands of the 80-year old owner who is known as one of the most powerful in the league.

Jacobs, 80, was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2017 and as of now still serves as chairman of the NHL board of governors. He holds immense power among the other owners around the league, though it is not clear if this transition will affect that at all.

  • The Philadelphia Flyers have added more names to their front office as Chuck Fletcher continues to put his stamp on the organization. Martin Gendron has been hired as an amateur scout, coming from the Minnesota Wild where Fletcher had originally hired him. Angelo Ricci has been hired as a skills coach, and Vincent Yula is in as assistant video coach. Yula had already been assisting, though will now be part of the staff in an official capacity.
  • Cal Clutterbuck underwent surgery to fix multiple back injuries earlier this year, but is feeling much better as he prepares for the season. The New York Islanders forward told Andrew Gross of Newsday that he has “no issues” with his back anymore and that he felt better immediately after surgery. Even while battling through injury last season Clutterbuck played in 73 games and recorded 23 points, but if the 31-year old is at all improved the Islanders could have an even more dangerous bottom-six.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: New York Islanders

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Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM. 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 2019-20 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.

New York Islanders

Current Cap Hit: $74,746,666 (under the $81.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Oliver Wahlstrom (three years, $925K)
D Sebastian Aho (one year, $925K)
D Noah Dobson (three years, $894K)
F Mathew Barzal (one year, $863K)

Potential Bonuses:

Wahlstrom: $538K
Dobson: $538K
Barzal: $400K
Aho: $100K

Barzal will be an interesting case as the young center saw his numbers drop off after an amazing rookie campaign as the 22-year-old got more attention from top defenders without John Tavares to protect him. While his goals only dropped by four (18) last year, he saw his assist numbers slip from 63 to 44. However, many people feel that Barzal should take that next step and establish himself as top-line center. While the Islanders can only hope that this will happen, it could also prove to be costly for New York as Barzal will be wrapping up the final year of his entry-level contract and could be in line for a major deal as the youngster is likely keeping a close eye on all the unsigned restricted free-agents on the market currently.

The Islanders have quite a bit of talent in the system and several of their top picks from 2018 could be ready to contribute this season. Wahlstrom, the 11th-overall pick, played well in his one season at Boston College, but looked even more impressive in a short showcase with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the AHL. He played five regular season games, scoring two goals, but added another two goals and four points in five playoff games. Dobson, the team’s 12th-overall pick last season, could be ready to take a key spot in the Islanders defense.

While the defense could add Dobson this season, another addition could be Toews who looks to be ready for an increased role with the Islanders. The 25-year-old put up 18 points in 48 games last season and looks ready to contribute.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

G Thomas Greiss ($3.33MM, UFA)
F Matt Martin ($2.5MM, UFA)
D Ryan Pulock ($2MM, RFA)
F Derick Brassard ($1.2MM, UFA)
F Tom Kuhnhackl ($850K, UFA)
D Devon Toews ($700K, RFA)

While Robin Lehner received all the attention for his stellar play in goal, Islanders’ fans were just as pleased with the play of Greiss, who just a couple of years ago was considered to have an untradeable contract. However, no one is complaining after Greiss put up impressive numbers last year. The 33-year-old had a .927 save percentage and a 2.28 GAA in 43 appearances and should be a key piece for New York in his final year, although with several prospects getting closer to being NHL ready, this is likely to be his last year with the Islanders.

The 24-year-old Pulock continued to improve his game, especially offensively. He finished the season with nine goals and 37 assists, which is impressive considering the team’s offense dropped off quite a bit since the 2017-18 season as the defenseman continues to work on his defensive game. He could be prime for another big contract if he can take his game to another level.

Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello is a big believer in a veteran bottom-six and has done well with both Martin and Kuhnhackl as well as Brassard, who the team signed recently and could always get a new contract if they continue to perform well.

Two Years Remaining

F Casey Cizikas ($3.35MM, UFA)
D Adam Pelech ($1.6MM, UFA)
F Michael Dal Colle ($700K, RFA)
F Tanner Fritz ($700K, UFA)

The 28-year-old Cizikas had a breakout season last year. Not only did he finally break the double-digit barrier, he actually reached 20 goals. The hope is that Cizikas can repeat that success as he is expected to continue playing on the team’s impressive fourth line. The team also has hopes that Dal Colle can win a regular spot. The 23-year old got a 27 game trial, scoring three goals and seven points last season.

The defensive minded Pelech has been a solid player for the Islanders and is quite a bargain at $1.6MM. Perhaps the top left-handed defenseman, he has received solid minutes and should continue to get good minutes this season. The team

Three Years Remaining

D Johnny Boychuk ($6MM, UFA)
D Nick Leddy ($5.5MM, UFA)
F Cal Clutterbuck ($3.5MM, UFA)
F Leo Komarov ($3MM, UFA)
D Thomas Hickey ($2.5MM, UFA)
F Ross Johnston ($1MM, UFA)

At age 35, the team will be paying for Boychuk’s late years and there does seem to be a decline in his play as both his ATOI and his points dropped. On the positive, his 74 games played is the most he’s played since he was with the Bruins back in 2013-14. However, he saw his minutes drop by almost two per game and picked up just 19 points last season. That could mean a reduced role for the veteran this season as he could slide outside the top four and move into a bottom-pairing role. The 28-year-old Leddy, however, continues to play well as he broke the 20-minute mark for the fifth-straight season. His offense, however, took a hit as he only tallied 26 points after three straight 40-point seasons, but with a defense-first philosophy, that might not be surprising. The team also has high hopes that Hickey, who missed quite a bit of time due to an upper-body injury, will stay healthy this season. The two-way blueliner will be a key addition for the team, but he will have to earn his playing time, especially if Dobson makes the roster out of training camp.

With Cizikas and Martin, Clutterbuck gives the Islanders a physical and offensive fourth-line that is one of the best in the league and the 31-year-old has been putting up 200-plus hits 10 of the last 11 years and is expected to continue that success. Komarov also has put up big hits (203), giving the team quite a bit of physicality for the next few years.

Four Or More Years Remaining

F Anders Lee ($7MM through 2025-26)
F Brock Nelson ($6MM through 2024-25)
F Jordan Eberle ($5.5MM through 2023-24)
F Andrew Ladd ($5.5MM through 2022-23)
G Semyon Varlamov ($5MM through 2022-23)
F Josh Bailey ($5MM through 2023-24)
D Scott Mayfield ($1.45MM through 2022-23)

Lamoriello was busy this offseason, signing four of these long-term deals this summer. The team was hoping to steal Artemi Panarin from the New York Rangers at the last minute, but when that fell through, the team immediately locked up their captain to a seven-year deal. Lee posted solid numbers, scoring 28 goals and 51 points, while showing off a plus-20 rating on the ice. Nelson, who many believed was the most likely to bolt the Islanders, surprised many by signing a six-year deal at $6MM after career-high 53 points and netted four goals in eight playoff games last year. Eberle was another key signing as the team committed five years and $5.5MM per season to him despite a down year where he had just 37 points, one of the lowest numbers of his career. However, a strong playoff performance might have been enough to prove his worth after he tallied four goals and nine points in eight playoff games.

The team made a shocking move this offseason when they opted not to keep the fan-favorite Lehner and instead signed Russian goaltender Semyon Varlamov away from Colorado. One reason for that was because the team still hopes to convince top Russian goalie prospect Ilya Sorokin to come to the U.S., which might be easier with Lehner out of the way and a veteran countryman in place to ease him into the NHL. However, Varlamov has the potential to be quite successful with the Islanders’ defensive system. He has been quite successful over the years, but has had to deal with many injuries as well.

Bailey may be one of the better deals the teams has. The pass-first winger put up another solid season, putting up 16 goals and 56 points and added four goals in the playoffs and is a key player on the team’s top-six. On the other hand, Ladd may have the contract that looks the worst on the team. The 33-year-old veteran continues to deal with injury issues. This time, the veteran only appeared in 26 games, putting up just three goals for the team. He put up a 23-goal season back in the 2016-17 season, but the team rewarded him with a seven-year, $38.5MM deal, which so far looks like a disaster after he has scored just 15 goals in two seasons and isn’t likely to get the minutes he needs to make that deal look decent.

Buyouts

None

Retained Salary Transactions

None

Salary Cap Recapture

None

Still To Sign

F Anthony Beauvillier

This will be a key year for Beauvillier once he signs. A 2015 first-round pick, the 22-year-old winger struggled in a top-six role last year, putting up 18 goals and 10 assists and he must show that he can take his game to another level. He likely will command some kind of bridge deal to prove his value to the franchise as he hasn’t necessarily shown enough to warrant a long-term deal. However, if he can’t show that he belongs on the top-six, he could find himself falling to the third line soon.

Best Value: Bailey
Worst Value: Ladd

Looking Ahead

The Islanders put all their eggs in one basket this summer. Lamoriello had all the cap space he needed to shape the franchise any way he wanted, but in the end, he brought back almost all of his key unrestricted free agents and has committed to keep his team. The team broke all expectations last season as few expected the team to even make the playoffs, let alone sweep their first-round opponent. Regardless, the belief that under head coach Barry Trotz, the team will continue to get better and battle for a Stanley Cup for the next few years. The team has committed to its core and now have to hope that their farm system can continue to develop their young players and add to the Islanders team for the next few years.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Morning Notes: Islanders, Wild GM Search, Lovejoy

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The Islanders still have three restricted free agents in wingers Anthony Beauvillier, Michael Dal Colle, and Joshua Ho-Sang.  However, GM Lou Lamoriello told Newsday’s Andrew Gross that the team has already reached an agreement with two of them but the contracts have yet to formally be signed and registered with the league.  He declined to indicate which two players had agreed.  Lamoriello also expressed his confidence in getting the third player signed without much difficulty so it appears they’ll have their full squad intact for training camp.

The GM also provided injury updates on a pair of veteran wingers.  Cal Clutterbuck (back surgery) has resumed skating and should be ready for the start of the season.  Meanwhile, Andrew Ladd (ACL surgery) has also started skating but will likely start the season on the Islanders injured reserve list.

Other early news and notes from around the league:

  • Bill Guerin isn’t the only Minnesota GM candidate to get a second interview thus far. Fox Sports Midwest’s Andy Strickland reports (Twitter link) that Montreal assistant GM Scott Mellanby has also had a second interview with the Wild.  Tom Kurvers, who is currently battling cancer, is currently serving as their interim GM but does not appear to be under consideration for the full-time role.
  • Stars team reporter Mike Heika noted via Twitter that it’s unlikely that defenseman Ben Lovejoy will return to the team. While he played a regular role for them down the stretch and in the postseason, the team believes that fellow blueliner Stephen Johns will be ready to go after missing all of last season due to a concussion.  His presence would basically fill the spot that Lovejoy would otherwise be able to potentially occupy.

Islanders Notes: Clutterbuck, Ho-Sang, Sorokin, Prospects

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In a detailed piece for The Athletic, Arthur Staple talks to New York Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello and fills the gaps in some of the latest rumors surrounding the team. While much of the discussion is on players who could push for roles with the Isles next season, the main topic is regarding a player whose role is already a lock – if he’s healthy that is. Staple writes that veteran forward Cal Clutterbuck has already undergone off-season surgery, after revealing following the team’s playoff exit that he had been playing through several back injuries, including slipped discs, rotated vertebrae, and a stress fracture. Facing either a regiment of rest and rehab in hopes the pain would subside or instead invasive surgery for a more permanent solution, Clutterbuck chose the later and went under the knife late last month. Lamoriello states that doctors hoped the surgery would still leave Clutterbuck enough time to recuperate before training camp, but there is some doubt. One way or another, it will be close and the physical forward likely won’t be at full strength for the start of the preseason. With Andrew Ladd already expected to miss the start of next season, New York hopes to have Clutterbuck ready for the season opener and Lamoriello expects that to be the case, but it will be a process worth monitoring this summer and into the fall.

  • Lamoriello confirmed to Staple that polarizing forward Joshua Ho-Sang will be back with the Islanders next season. A restricted free agent, Ho-Sang requires a qualifying offer to remain Isles’ property and Lamoriello and company will give him just that. Beyond a QO, the GM would not guarantee anything else for Ho-Sang though. Lamoriello said that the 2014 first-round pick, who played in just ten games with New York this season, will “be in camp and like all the young players, he’ll determine his future.” If Ho-Sang refuses to sign his qualifying offer or does so and then becomes unhappy with his role again next season, he will be a prime trade candidate for the Islanders.
  • One young player who won’t be in camp and likely won’t don an Islanders jersey at all next season is Russian goaltender Ilya Sorokin. Sorokin, 23, has been dominating the KHL for four years now as arguably the best goalie in the league. There is little doubt that he will find success when he does make the jump to the NHL. However, he still has a year remaining on his contract with CSKA Moscow and Lamoriello reports that this makes it next to impossible for him to come over before the end of next season. Yet, the two sides stay in constant contact about the possibilities. “There’s certainly dialogue all the time, but he does have a contract so there are extenuating circumstances. He’s someone we’d love to have come over as soon as possible.” With Sorokin not an option for next season, the Islanders still have a tough decision to make in net, with Vezina Trophy candidate Robin Lehner hitting free agency and in search of a long-term deal.
  • Lamoriello and the Islanders are understandably excited by the development of 2018 first-round pick Noah Dobson, who just won his second consecutive Memorial Cup and Memorial Cup All-Star nod. The well-rounded defenseman seems ready for the pros and Lamoriello specifically said that he “can’t get any higher in junior hockey than he’s gotten.” Dobson will be given the chance to break camp with the Islanders, but unfortunately for him he may have a disadvantage again fellow top defensive prospect Bode Wilde. As a teenage Canadian junior player, Dobson is ineligible to play in the AHL next season and would need to be returned to the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies of the QMJHL if he does not stick with the Islanders. Wilde, a second-round pick last year, also plays Canadian junior but was drafted out of the U.S. junior system and thus faces a different set of AHL eligibility rules. If Wilde, who is also coming off a strong season, shows well in camp, he could be the preferred prospect to stick based on that two-way flexibility. With the Islanders’ depth on defense, it’s hard to see either player having a major role in New York next season regardless, but the team could opt to deal from a position of strength this off-season to open up space for either Dobson or Wilde to have a shot at regular ice time next season.

Cal Clutterbuck Dealing With Several Back Injuries

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The New York Islanders have some time off to decompress and get ready for next season, but it looks like Cal Clutterbuck will have a summer full of rehab. Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post tweets that Clutterbuck is dealing with a “plethora of things wrong” in his back, and is talking to doctors about surgery. Arthur Staple of The Athletic tweets that Clutterbuck has a stress fracture, two slipped disks and two rotated vertebrae. Cyrgalis notes that it could be four to six weeks, or four to six months depending on the procedure.

Clutterbuck played in three of the Islanders’ games against the Carolina Hurricanes and all four in their first-round sweep of the Pittsburgh Penguins. The physical veteran forward was held without a single point in the playoffs, but still collected 33 hits over the seven contests. Even without much offensive production he is an important part of the Islanders line up, even regularly starting the game for head coach Barry Trotz.

The 31-year old forward still has three years remaining on his current contract but could be in jeopardy of missing the beginning of the season if he does face the six month recovery timeline. The Islanders have plenty of other forwards to worry about over the summer as they try to re-sign Anders Lee, Brock Nelson and Jordan Eberle, but will hope Clutterbuck can find his way back to the ice quickly.

East Notes: Washington Goaltending, Pominville, Clutterbuck

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While the Seattle expansion process is still two and a half years away, there are already some interesting decisions presenting themselves for teams to deal with when the time comes.  NBC Sports Washington’s J.J. Regan takes a look at the one for the Capitals which involves their goaltending.  The situation appears to be parallel to the one Pittsburgh faced back in 2017.

Starter Braden Holtby’s contract is up in 2020 but it’s believed they’ll want to keep him around to mentor youngster Ilya Samsonov who will also require protection.  However, will Holtby be willing to re-sign if he feels the Capitals will leave him unprotected a year later if they prefer to keep their presumed starter of the future in Samsonov?  Would Washington commit to a no-move clause to keep Holtby around?  While we’re still a long way away from Seattle’s team being formed, Holtby can sign an extension as early as this July so it’s going to be a question on the front burner for GM Brian MacLellan fairly soon.

Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference:

  • While he was transferred to injured reserve on Saturday, Sabres winger Jason Pominville appears to be close to returning from his upper-body injury. Head coach Phil Housley told Bill Hoppe of the Times Herald that the veteran skated on Saturday and is getting close to returning.  Buffalo was eligible to back-date his IR placement to December 19th which means he’ll have missed the requisite seven days in advance of their next game on Thursday.  Pominville is having a nice bounce-back season after a quiet 2017-18; he has nine goals and nine assists through 33 games so far.
  • Although there’s no official word yet on the severity of Islanders winger Cal Clutterbuck’s lower-body injury that he sustained on Sunday, head coach Barry Trotz told reporters, including Newsday’s Andrew Gross (Twitter link) that the issue is “nothing major” and is possibly a strain. The rugged veteran is once again a physical presence up front for New York, averaging just over 2.65 hits per game while logging a little more than 13 minutes a night of playing time.  If he’s not available to suit up on Friday, the Isles won’t need to recall someone from AHL Bridgeport as they have wingers Tom Kuhnhackl and Ross Johnston on the roster as extras already.

Eastern Notes: Zacha, Dahlin, Neuvirth, Hagg, Martin

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While there were a number of people that were shocked when the New Jersey Devils assigned Pavel Zacha to Binghamton of the AHL, head coach John Hynes felt that the team needed to do something that would have an impact on the 21-year-old first-rounder. Despite having already played 150 NHL games in his career, Zacha was pointless in 10 games and Hynes felt just scratching him wasn’t going to be enough to spark him, according to Chris Ryan of NJ.com.

“To scratch him one game and put him back in, we’re still not in a position right now where we could rely on him in key situations, and that’s what we need from him,” Hynes said. “We think it’s important that it’s not, ’Hey, sit in the stands for one game and watch.’ That is effective in some situations, but we need him to go down and play, and play a lot of minutes and play in situations and earn his confidence back and get his game back.”

The sixth-overall pick in 2015, Zacha hasn’t developed into the franchise player the team thought they were getting when they drafted him. He has so far only managed to total eight goals in two straight seasons, suggesting the team may have needed to give him time in the AHL before bringing him to the NHL. Zacha, who has played in just three AHL games in his career, needs to have time to regain his confidence while playing lots of minutes, something that he wasn’t going to get with the Devils.

  • While there is no official word on the injury, Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, who was forced to leave Saturday’s game against Ottawa in the second period after taking a shot off his leg, is expected to travel with the team to New York, suggesting that his injury may not be too serious, according to the Buffalo News’ Mike Harrington. There is swelling, which means the team won’t be able to determine his status until tomorrow, according to The Athletic’s Jon Vogl. The team plays the Rangers on Sunday.
  • The Philadelphia Flyers announced that goaltender Michal Neuvirth has left the team and returned to Philadelphia to be checked out by doctors and could soon find himself back on injured reserve. The 30-year-old injury-prone goalie played in one game since being recalled from a conditioning stint on Oct. 25th, but allowed six goals in that lone start to the Islanders two days later, and now currently holds a .727 save percentage.
  • Charlie O’Connor of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that one interesting development in Philadelphia is the offensive improvement surrounding Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Robert Hagg. The 23-year-old sophomore currently leads all defenseman, including Shayne Gostisbehere and Ivan Provorov, with seven points (just two points shy of his totals last year). The scribe says that Hagg has seemed more comfortable joining the rush and going deeper into the offensive zone than he was willing last season.
  • New York Islanders head coach Barry Trotz said fourth-line forward Matt Martin remains day-to-day with an upper-body injury, according to Newsday’s Andrew Gross. The 29-year-old has combined with Cal Clutterbuck and Casey Cizikas to form an impressive energy line for the Islanders. Martin already has equaled last year’s goal total of three in just 11 games.

Minor Transactions: 10/31/18

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It’s Halloween and the NHL has just a single game on tap, as the Chicago Blackhawks will take on the Vancouver Canucks this evening. As teams hand out tricks or treats to their fringe roster players, we’ll be right here to keep track of all the movement.

  • Ville Husso has been returned to the minor leagues by the St. Louis Blues, after Jake Allen rejoined the team at practice. Allen’s injury is apparently not as serious as originally feared, meaning Husso can go back to starting for the San Antonio Rampage for now. The 23-year old goaltender is still waiting for his first shot at the NHL, but has to clean up his game at the AHL level first.
  • Colby Cave, who was up on emergency conditions for the Boston Bruins, has been returned to the AHL. Cave, who played three games for the Bruins last season, is a hugely important forward for the AHL’s Providence Bruins, but was only brought up as insurance for some of the banged up NHL players. He’ll likely see some game action with Boston later on this season, but for now will return and try to extend his excellent start to the year.
  • The Minnesota Wild have reassigned Matt Read to the AHL, after seeing him play just five games in the NHL. The veteran forward will be used as an extra man this season and bounce up and down, clearing waivers when required.
  • Wade Megan has been recalled by the Detroit Red Wings, while Joe Hicketts is on his way back to the Grand Rapids Griffins. This is Megan’s first recall of the season after clearing waivers just before the end of training camp. The 28-year old forward has four points in eight games with the Griffins, and will be looking to play just his fifth career NHL game if he can get into the Detroit lineup.
  • The Los Angeles Kings have sent Austin Wagner and Sean Walker back to the Ontario Reign, partly as a cap-saving move. The Kings find themselves pressed right up against the cap ceiling given their current roster, and are trying to save space by sending players down on short term assignments. The team will likely recall a forward before tomorrow’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers, though since they’re in a long homestand could use the proximity of Ontario to their advantage and remain at a roster of 21 for as long as possible.
  • The New York Islanders have recalled Christopher Gibson under emergency conditions as Robin Lehner is dealing with a minor injury. Sending Tom Kuhnhackl down to the minor leagues in his place could mean that Cal Clutterbuck is ready to return, but for now the focus is on the goaltending position and how long Lehner will be out. Coach Barry Trotz didn’t believe it was a serious injury, but with Lehner playing so well to start the season it’s tough to see him taken off the ice at all.
  • Aaron Ness has been recalled by the Washington Capitals, while Travis Boyd has been sent down on a long-term injury conditioning loan. With Brooks Orpik dealing with a minor injury, Ness will serve as insurance for any pregame injuries.
  • The Carolina Hurricanes announced that they’ve recalled defenseman Haydn Fleury from Charlotte of the AHL.  The 22-year-old played in four games with the Checkers while on loan from Carolina and while he may once again be the odd man out on their back end to start, he’ll at least be in better game shape when called upon.

Snapshots: Edler, Ritchie, Clutterbuck, Eaves

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The test results are in for Canucks defenseman Alex Edler and the team announced (via Twitter) that they will be without their top defender for three-to-six weeks due to an MCL sprain.  Edler has had issues staying healthy in recent years as he hasn’t played a full season since 2010-11 and has missed at least a dozen games to injuries in four of the last five year, a streak that is likely to continue now.  This will likely slow down the trade speculation for the 32-year-old after it was noted earlier this week that there has been an uptick in scouts watching him.  The pending unrestricted free agent has a $5MM cap hit this season and a full no-trade clause.

Elsewhere around the league:

  • While the Stars were missing Brett Ritchie for their game against the Red Wings due to an upper-body injury, they won’t be without him for long. Matthew DeFranks of the Dallas Morning News notes (Twitter link) that the winger is likely to return to the lineup on Tuesday versus Montreal.  Ritchie had played in all nine games before today on the fourth line, collecting an assist and 17 hits while logging 9:31 per night.
  • Islanders winger Cal Clutterbuck is dealing with an upper-body injury, reports Newsday’s Andrew Gross (Twitter link). He didn’t suit up earlier today against Carolina but he is expected to accompany New York on their road trip which opens up in Pittsburgh on Tuesday night.  The veteran hasn’t contributed much offensively this season with just a single assist in nine games but as usual, he has been quite physical, contributing 22 hits in the early going.
  • While Ducks winger Patrick Eaves has returned to practice, it doesn’t appear that a return is imminent. Eric Stephens of The Athletic reports (subscription required) that the veteran is still dealing with periodic setbacks with his shoulder and that while he’s being re-evaluated weekly, he doesn’t want to project when he might be able to return.  Eaves hasn’t played in more than a calendar year due to this injury and the illness that cost him all but two games last season.

Anders Lee Named Captain Of New York Islanders

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The New York Islanders were one of several teams to lose their captain this summer after John Tavares left for the Toronto Maple Leafs, but they’re no longer without a leader. The team today named Anders Lee as the 15th captain in team history, while announcing that Josh Bailey, Cal Clutterbuck and Andrew Ladd will serve as alternates this season.

This announcement follows the news that the Islanders and Lee are discussing a long-term extension, and likely signals that a deal will happen before Lee becomes an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year. With the turnover the organization has had on the ice, behind the bench and in the front office, naming a player captain only to see him walk out the door a few months later would be tough to swallow.

Lee, 28, has evolved into one of the best goal scorers in the league in recent years, recording 34 and 40 in the past two seasons. The big winger can do a little bit of everything on the ice, and should be able to ride shotgun with Mathew Barzal for many years at the front of the New York offense. There were few who saw this coming when Lee was selected in the sixth round in 2009, but his fall was more because of the competition he had faced playing in the Minnesota high school circuit than anything he’d done on the ice. Lee dominated in high school and kept that production going through his year in the USHL and a three-year career at Notre Dame, where he became one of the best forwards in the country.

It’s hard to argue with this choice for the Islanders unless a contract isn’t reached, as Lee is an emotional leader on the ice and should be the one head coach Barry Trotz can lean on to spark his team. While Barzal may be the future superstar center for the Islanders, Lee will be asked to lead this team back to the playoffs and try to contend for the Stanley Cup. Ladd, a former captain himself, will be there along the way to help out along with Bailey and Clutterbuck who have been integral parts of the roster for years.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

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