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Free Agent Focus: Calgary Flames

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Free agency is now a little less than a month away from opening up and there are quite a few prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign.  Here is a breakdown of Calgary’s free agent situation.

Key Restricted Free Agents: F Mark Jankowski – Heading into the 2017-18 season, there’s no question that fans were frustrated with waiting for Jankowski. He had just turned 23 and was more than five years from being drafted with just a single NHL game under his belt. Sure, he’d impressed in his first full season in the AHL but after waiting so long Flames fans wanted impact, and they wanted it now.

After starting in the minor leagues once again he was given a chance with the NHL club and didn’t look back, recording 17 goals and 25 points in 72 games. Those numbers were inflated some by the four-goal game he had at the very end of the season, but regardless Jankowski has found a full-time roll on the club going forward. The question is how much is that role worth, as the first-round pick heads into free agency for the first time. With less than a full season of games under his belt there isn’t a ton of leverage from his side, but they may not want to lock him into a long-term deal before really showing what he’s capable of. It seems like a one or two-year bridge deal is in order here, limiting the risk on both sides.

G Jon Gillies/David Rittich – The Flames have to make a decision on who their backup goaltender is going to be next season, and it might as well be one of Gillies or Rittich. Both were inconsistent when given the chance to help out at the NHL level, and have Tyler Parsons and other goaltending prospects chasing them down from behind. With Mike Smith set to come back as the starter, we’ll get a good indication of who will be behind him from the contracts that Gillies and Rittich receive. Both would become Group VI unrestricted free agents in the summer of 2019 if not given an NHL opportunity this year.

Other RFAs: F Nick Shore, F Garnet Hathaway, D Brett Kulak, F Hunter Shinkaruk, F Austin Carroll, F Morgan Klimchuk, F Hunter Smith, F Emile Poirier

Key Unrestricted Free Agents: F Kris Versteeg – The Flames lucked out when Versteeg decided to sign with them in the fall of 2016 despite being in training camp with the Edmonton Oilers, and were rewarded with a 37-point season. That earned the journeyman forward another contract for the most recent season worth $1.75MM, but he was unfortunately limited to just 24 games because of injury.

Even if Versteeg were willing to come back for a reduced price, it’s not clear if the Flames have room for him any longer. With the emergence of young players like Jankowski, Hathaway and Curtis Lazar, there might not be any reason to re-sign the 32-year old winger. Still, depending on what happens this summer they may bring him back as a veteran option to fill out their top-nine and give them a little more secondary scoring, provided he’s healthy enough to contribute.

F Matt Stajan – It’s amazing that Stajan is still just 34, despite seeming to have been in the league for two decades. The veteran pivot celebrated his 1,000th game in the NHL this season, but is clearly slowing down as he enters his mid-thirties. With just 12 points in 68 games, Stajan put up the worst offensive numbers of his career and saw the ice for fewer than 11 minutes a night. Though he’s still a positive veteran presence on a team that needs a bounce-back season, there likely isn’t much room on the roster going forward.

Whether Stajan gets another shot elsewhere in the NHL is still very much in doubt. Unfortunately he’s just slightly too young to qualify for a contract that includes performance bonuses, meaning he’ll likely be looking at offers near the league minimum. If that’s acceptable, perhaps he continues his career as a part-time fourth-line center for a contender. If it’s the end, he’ll have a long successful career to look back on even if he didn’t get to the playoffs very often.

Other UFAs: F Tanner Glass, F Chris Stewart, F Marek Hrivik, D Matt Bartkowski, F Luke Gazdic, D Tyler Wotherspoon, D Cody Goloubef, D Dalton Prout

Projected Cap Space: The Flames project to have around $17MM in cap space this summer, depending on where the upper limit lands, and without any premiere restricted free agents could go after some big fish on the free agent market. They do have to worry about extensions for Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk past this season, but still should have some room to play with if they want to add.

It wouldn’t be surprising to see the team let all of their unrestricted free agents go, as none of them figure to be long-term contributors to the Flames success. Even if they do sign some of the minor ones, the biggest impact this summer will likely come through trade or big ticket shopping. Calgary struggled this season and doesn’t have a pick in the first three rounds of the upcoming draft. Things have to change, and they have to change fast for them to see any success in the near future.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Minor Transactions: 02/17/18

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Though teams made several transactions yesterday to make their younger players eligible for the AHL playoffs, the rest of the season will still be filled with call-ups to help out the NHL team. Remember, after the trade deadline that though rosters have no limits in terms of total players, teams are allowed only four non-emergency recalls.

  • The Washington Capitals have recalled Travis Boyd, who had been playing with the Hershey Bears of the AHL. For the third consecutive season, Boyd is among the scoring leaders for Hershey with 44 points in 56 games. While it’s unclear if he’s scheduled to enter the Capitals lineup right away, he can definitely give them some offensive punch if inserted down the stretch.
  • Cory Schneider was assigned to the Binghamton Devils on a conditioning stint today, but is expected to be brought back on Wednesday to rejoin New Jersey on their current road trip. While that doesn’t guarantee he’ll be back in the crease right away, it is a good sign that he’s approaching his return to the lineup.
  • The Pittsburgh Penguins have recalled Tristan Jarry on an emergency loan after announcing that Matt Murray has been diagnosed with a concussion. Jarry had been sent down to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, but will now have to help Casey DeSmith with the NHL duties. DeSmith is expected to start tonight for the Penguins, but Jarry has more experience in the starting role and could be asked to take over while Murray is out.
  • The Calgary Flames announced that they have sent Andrew Mangiapane to the AHL, but the move was actually completed yesterday to make sure he was eligible for the minor league playoffs. With the addition of Chris Stewart off waivers, Mangiapane was likely looking at some healthy scratches and now can help the Stockton Heat instead.
  • The Buffalo Sabres have recalled Seth Griffith from the AHL, spending one of their recalls to bring up the 25-year old forward. Griffith has played 76 NHL games over his career and is a point-per-game player at the minor league level. The undersized forward has excellent creativity and playmaking ability, but hasn’t ever been given an extended chance in a team’s top-6.
  • As expected, the Minnesota Wild have brought Luke Kunin back up from the minor leagues. The Wild are extremely close to the cap, and needed to move out some salary at the deadline in order to bring Kunin up for the stretch run while keeping enough room to sign Jordan Greenway. Kunin has just 19 points for the Iowa Wild this season, but is a hard working two-way center that could jump right into the lineup for the Wild.
  • Ethan Bear will be one of the Edmonton Oilers’ four call-ups for the remainder of the season, and will get a chance to show what he can do after an outstanding junior career. Bear was a 70-point defenseman in his final season with the Seattle Thunderbirds, and was a huge part of their qualifying for the Memorial Cup in 2017. The undersized but super-skilled Bear has 16 points in his first professional season for the Bakersfield Condors.
  • The Anaheim Ducks have returned winger Kalle Kossila and goalie Reto Berra to San Diego of the AHL, notes Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register.  Berra’s demotion was expected with John Gibson likely to return to the lineup on Friday. As for Kossila, he didn’t get into any games after being recalled back on the 24th; he has a goal and an assist in ten contests with Anaheim from earlier this season.

Waiver Claims: Stewart, Oduya, Alt

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As is often the case on trade deadline day, there have been several waiver claims around the league.  Winger Chris Stewart has been claimed by Calgary (first reported by Michael Russo of The Athletic), blueliner Johnny Oduya is on his way to the Flyers (first reported by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman), while defender Mark Alt has been picked up by Colorado (first reported by Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic).

Stewart has put up a respectable nine goals in 47 games with Minnesota this season but has also been a frequent healthy scratch as his game-to-game consistency has been a concern, something that has been the case throughout his career.  However, he should still serve as a fourth line option for the Flames and with a $1.15MM cap hit, is certainly an affordable option to add.  Meanwhile, the Wild now free up a bit more cap space to work with which is important if they look to bring youngsters Luke Kunin and Jordan Greenway into the fold down the stretch.  Stewart will be an unrestricted free agent in July.

Oduya is no stranger to being moved around the trade deadline day although this is the first time he will do so via a waiver claim.  The veteran had been shopped by the Sens prior to him being waived but evidently there were no takers.  He has four goals and four assists in 51 games with Ottawa this season but is averaging a career-low 17:12 per night of ice time.  It’s worth noting that if Oduya plays in 14 more regular season games, the Flyers will owe him a $250K bonus plus another $250K if they hold onto a playoff position.  He also has $250K in bonuses if he finishes in the top-five and top-three in average ice time per game.

Alt has spent the majority of the season while Philadelphia’s AHL affiliate in Lehigh Valley, posting five goals and five assists in 23 games.  He also has suited up in eight games with the Flyers, being held off the scoresheet while averaging 13:26 per game.  Alt will likely be a depth blueliner for Colorado and will be eligible for Group VI unrestricted free agency at the end of the season.

The other players on waivers from Sunday all cleared.  Those players are:

Christopher Breen (Boston)
Paul Postma (Boston)
Jussi Jokinen (Columbus)
Cody Goloubef (Calgary)
Lance Bouma (Chicago)
Alexandre Burrows (Ottawa)
Jim O’Brien (Ottawa)
John Muse (Philadelphia)
Chris Thorburn (St. Louis)

Multiple Players Placed On Waivers

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With today being the last day to place players on waivers, many teams have placed players on waivers in hopes of adding some roster flexibility for the remainder of the season. According to Bob McKenzie, many players have been placed on waivers, including defensemen Christopher Breen and Paul Postma of the Boston Bruins, forward Jussi Jokinen of the Columbus Blue Jackets, defenseman Cody Goloubef of the Calgary Flames, forward Lance Bouma of the Chicago Blackhawks, forward Chris Stewart of the Minnesota Wild, forwards Alexandre Burrows and Jim O’Brien and defenseman Johnny Oduya of the Ottawa Senators, defenseman Mark Alt and goaltender John Muse of the Philadelphia Flyers and forward Chris Thorburn of the St. Louis Blues.

McKenzie adds that New York Rangers forward cleared waivers today.

Of teams that are still in the playoff race, the New York Islanders will likely get the first shot on many of these players if the team is looking to add more depth after trading for defenseman Brandon Davidson Saturday.

While several of these players are AHL players who aren’t seeing time, there are several veteran players who are affected by the moves. Two of the most obvious are Burrows and Oduya. The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch writes that the team failed to find anyone interested in trading for either players, so the hope is a team might be willing to claim them without having to give anything up.

Burrows is one of those the team would like to close the book on. Acquired at the trade deadline a year ago for prized prospect Jonathan Dahlen, the team then made it worse by signing him to a two-year extension, worth $2.5MM per season. While he scored 15 goals between Vancouver and Ottawa last year, Burrows has struggled, having tallied just three goals in 51 games. Oduya was signed in the offseason and the veteran could be a solid candidate to be claimed by a team that needs some defensive depth.

Another player who is likely to be claimed is Stewart, who the Minnesota Wild placed on waivers as the team wants to make room for adding 2016 first-rounder Luke Kunin or if the team signs Boston University star Jordan Greenway. The veteran is an excellent locker room presence, has quite a bit of experience and can score as he has nine goals in 47 games this year. Jokinen who has already been on waivers this year returns to it and could be claimed if a team wants some depth to their forward line. Chicago’s Bouma is another who could be claimed as he has fallen out of the Blackhawks lineup, but provides forward depth that could be useful for a team making a playoff run. He’s played in 53 games this year, totaling three goals, six assists and +1 plus/minus ratio.

Other players like Alt and Postma are likely just heading to the AHL to join their playoff rosters. Alt has played just eight games in Philadelphia, spending most of his season in Lehigh Valley. Postma has been with the Bruins all year and might be heading to the Providence Bruins to help the team with their playoff push. He has appeared in just 12 games all season for Boston.

Both Breen, O’Brien, Muse and Goloubef each signed two-way contracts in the last 24 hours and had to be passed through waivers in order to assign them to their respective NHL teams. O’Brien signed a two-way contract today, while Goloubef signed yesterday. FlamesNation’s Ryan Pike reports that Muse signed a two-way deal today.

 

 

Wild Notes: Dubnyk, Vezina Finalists, Yeo

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It was a tough day for the Wild’s Devan Dubnyk tweets Sportsnet’s John Shannon, who allowed the game-winning overtime goal to Magnus Paajarvi in today’s Game 5. The veteran goaltender, who is coming off a great 2016-17 season, yielded four goals in what turned out to be their season-ending game. To make matters worse, Dubnyk, who was a candidate to be a finalist for the Vezina Trophy this year, was not selected. The NHL announced their finalists today as Washington Capitals’ Braden Holtby, Columbus Blue Jackets’ Sergei Bobrovsky and Montreal Canadiens’ Carey Price.

Still, the 30-year-old Dubnyk remains a cornerstone for the franchise after finishing the season, having played 65 games with a 2.25 GAA and a .925 save percentage. He is also locked up contractually until the 2020-21 season.

The team should be expected to contend for another few years as they also have the core of their team locked up for the next few years behind veterans Mikko Koivu, Zach Parise, Jason Pominville and defenseman Ryan Suter. The team’s youth is also ripening with solid seasons from Mikael Granlund, Nino Niederreiter and defenders Jared Spurgeon, Mathew Dumba and Jonas Brodin.

The team may have some tough decisions for the upcoming expansion draft. The veteran team is sure to lose a quality player, and must contend with the No Movement Clauses of Koivu, Pominville, Parise and Suter. That leaves only a handful of spots left, depending on which path the Wild chooses to take. Tough decisions will have to be made about several players, including Jason Zucker, Erik Haula, Chris Stewart as well as veteran Eric Staal, who went down during Game 5. Even young defensemen like Brodin and Dumba could be exposed as well.

The team only has a handful of unrestricted free agents, namely Martin Hanzal and Ryan White, both acquired at the trade deadline from Arizona to help with their playoff run. The team must decide if they want or able to being one or both veterans back to the team next season.

  • One consequence to the Wild’s ouster in the playoffs will benefit the Arizona Coyotes. When Minnesota traded for Hanzal and White at the trade deadline, the team sent their 2017 first-round pick, a 2018 second-round pick and a conditional fourth-round pick in 2019 as well as prospect Grayson Downing. To the Wild’s benefit, that 2019 conditional fourth-rounder will remain a fourth-rounder. However, the series loss will allow the Coyotes to get a better pick than they had expected. The Wild at the time of the trade had the top record in the Western Conference and many figured that the pick would land in the high 20’s. Now the Wild could be handing a pick as early as No. 23 to the Coyotes for Hanzal and White, who are both unrestricted free agents in the offseason.
  • Blues head coach Mike Yeo said he has no special feelings about beating the Wild, the team that fired him during the 2015-16 season. “It’s not about me. I’ve been sincere when I’ve said that. I don’t think that what I’m feeling right now would be any different if it was any other team.”

Injury Updates: Wild, Okposo, Carlson, McDonagh

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Minnesota received some good news on the injury front on Wednesday as winger Jason Zucker will return to the lineup tomorrow night, notes Dan Myers on the Wild’s team website.  Zucker missed the last three games with a lower body injury and is in the midst of a career season with 46 points in 77 games.

The team also learned that defenseman Jared Spurgeon, who left Tuesday’s game early with a lower body issue of his own, isn’t expected to be out for long.  In fact, head coach Bruce Boudreau wouldn’t rule him out from playing in one of the final two games before the playoffs get underway.

Still with the Wild, winger Chris Stewart is questionable to play on Thursday night as he continues to battle an illness.

Other injury notes from around the league:

  • The Sabres have ruled out right winger Kyle Okposo for their remaining three games, reports Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News (Twitter link). Head coach Dan Bylsma noted that Okposo isn’t dealing with a case of the mumps although he added that team doctors are still trying to diagnose what the exact issue is.  The mystery illness has kept Okposo out of the lineup for the past week.  Okposo finishes his season with 19 goals and 26 assists in 65 games, matching the lowest output in a full campaign since 2011-12.
  • Capitals blueliner John Carlson will sit for a second straight game tonight with a lower body issue. Head coach Barry Trotz noted to CSN Mid-Atlantic’s Tarik El-Bashir (Twitter link) that it’s not a serious issue, classifying it as “day-to-day, hour-to-hour”.  With Washington close to locking down top spot in the East (which could happen as early as tonight), they can afford to be cautious in order to ensure the team is as healthy as possible for the playoffs.
  • Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh will resume skating tomorrow, notes NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti (Twitter link). The captain has missed two straight games with an unspecified injury.  Head coach Alain Vigneault suggested that he’d be comfortable with inserting McDonagh back into the lineup for the first game of the playoffs without getting him into another regular season game so it appears he will likely be out through the weekend as well.

Deadline Primer: Minnesota Wild

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With the trade deadline now just a week away, we continue to take a closer look at each team. Where do they stand, what do they need to do, and what assets do they have to fill those needs?

After slipping into the playoffs last year with less than 90 points and the final wildcard position, only to get punched in the mouth by the Dallas Stars and go home early, the Minnesota Wild needed a change. They’d fired their coach halfway through the season, and were relying on an aging (but excellent) core of Mikko Koivu, Zach Parise and Ryan Suter too much to succeed.

Enter Bruce Boudreau and the kids. After good solid seasons from the young guns a year ago, many of them have exploded to the forefront of the team this season, with Mikael Granlund, Nino Niederreiter, Charlie Coyle, and Jason Zucker all already setting career-highs in points through 59 games. They’re leading the Western Conference by five points and look poised for a deep playoff run.

Record

39-14-6, 1st in Central Division

Deadline Status

Buyer

Deadline Cap Space

$5.20MM – full-season cap hit, 47/50 contracts per CapFriendly.

Draft Picks

2017: MIN 1st, MIN 3rd, MIN 4th, MIN 5th, MIN 6th, MIN 7th
2018: MIN 1st, MIN 2nd, MIN 3rd, MIN 4th, MIN 5th, MIN 6th, MIN 7th

Trade Chips

Minnesota will almost surely avoid trading anything off the roster that has put them in prime position for a Stanley Cup run, meaning they’ll have to use draft picks and prospects as bait if they want to add anything next week. It’s a shame they don’t have their second-round pick from this season—which they traded to Buffalo for Chris Stewart back in 2015—since they are used so often in rental deals. Jason Pominville

The Wild do however have a fairly stocked cupboard of prospects that could be waived in front of a team looking to get younger. Their drafting the last decade (or longer) though not perfect in the first round has unearthed plenty of talent in later selections. They’ve picked players like Cal Clutterbuck (3rd), Justin Falk (4th), Marco Scandella (2nd), Erik Haula (7th), Darcy Kuemper (6th), Zucker (2nd) and Johan Larsson (2nd) all outside of the first round and found excellent value in each.

If a team really wants to go after youth, they could ask for prospects like Jordan Greenway, who showed off his skills at the most recent World Juniors. Kirill Kaprisov is tearing up the KHL as a 19-year old, and it was recently reported that he’ll play for CSKA next season. Alex Tuch is showing his ability at the AHL level after a dominating NCAA career, and Luke Kunin continues to captain the University of Wisconsin up the college hockey rankings. It would be crazy to trade any of these names for a rental, but if the Wild want to enter the ring of possible long-term upgrades, they have the pieces to do it.

One Player To Watch: F Jason Pominville, who has a big cap-hit and is playing much less due to the emergence of the young guns is a contract that the Wild may look to move out if they’re to make any improvements.

Team Needs

1) Wing Depth – The Wild would like to move Coyle back to center ice if possible, but they’d need a winger who can jump into their top-six to do it. Jannik Hansen has been rumored to be on their radar, but a player like Patrick Eaves seems a better fit. It’s not guaranteed that they’ll do anything, though GM Chuck Fletcher has said that they have some “unproven depth” at forward.

2) Center – The nice thing about having Coyle is that if you can’t find the upgrade at the wing you could always acquire a center instead and leave him out there. Arizona’s Martin Hanzal was quoted today by Chris Hine of the Chicago Tribune as saying he wants to stay in the middle even if traded, which would still be possible for the Wild.

Wild Notes: Dumba, Niederreiter, Spurgeon, Stewart, Haula

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Mike Russo of the Minneapolis Star Tribune had a productive morning today, publishing an article with news and notes on a number of intriguing Minnesota Wild-related topics. The full post is of course worth a read but here are some of the highlights:

  • Mathew Dumba was set to be scratched for Thursday night’s game against Toronto but drew into the lineup because Marco Scandella was ill and could not suit up. Wild bench boss Bruce Boudreau thinks the threat of a benching alone might have served as a wakeup call for the talented, fourth-year pro: “I think the fact he was supposed to sit out one game and go back in could be the Wally Pipp syndrome. It might have opened his eyes for him to start playing the way he’s capable of playing.” Dumba agreed with his coach, saying: “I didn’t like it. I took it in a way that if I got back in the lineup I was never going to let that happen again. That’s the kind of motivation that I have. Just pride as a player. I hold myself to a higher standard. Just what the be the best I can for my teammates.” The 22-year-old Dumba tallied an assist in the Leafs game and followed that up with a solid performance against New Jersey last night, finishing with four shot attempts and five hits, according to Russo. Dumba was moved up to the top pairing to play with Ryan Suter since Jared Spurgeon – more on him in a bit – sat out with an upper-body-injury.
  • Through five games this season, six-year veteran winger Nino Niederreiter is averaging just 12:18 of ice time per game. That’s down 1 1/2 minutes off his average from 2015-16. The diminished ice time might be a factor in Niederreiter’s sluggish start – two points, both assists – but as Russo writes, Boudreau hasn’t seen enough from Niederreiter to award him additional ice time: “Not enough. Not enough. Granted he hasn’t played a lot of minutes, probably averaged 10 ½ minutes, 11 minutes a game. He’s a big, strong guy with a good shot. He’s got to get more.” When asked whether moving him up in the lineup would spark the Swiss left-wing, the coach said: “I don’t think you get anything for free in this league. Hopefully he’ll earn them. I thought he was better last night than he was the previous night, which is good. So he might get a few more minutes tonight.” Niederreiter has posted back-to-back campaigns of 20 or more goals and has averaged 1.9 shots-per-game over the last two years. The Wild need Niederreiter to be better though the usual disclaimer about small-sample sizes applies here.
  • As noted above, Jared Spurgeon missed Saturday’s game with the Devils due to an upper-body-injury he originally suffered Thursday when Matt Martin of the Leafs crunched the Wild defender against the boards. As Russo indicates, Spurgeon will miss his second consecutive game tonight and there doesn’t appear to be a timetable for his return.
  • Erik Haula, like Spurgeon, is expected to be held out of the lineup tonight. According to Russo, Haula has been wearing a walking boot since the home opener though last night was the first time the injury has kept him out of the lineup. Russo considers a potential lengthy absence of Haula “a significant loss for the Wild.”
  • Finally, free agent addition Chris Stewart, who inked a two-year pact with the Wild over the summer, is off to a slow start despite recording three points in five games. The big winger was signed to add physicality and some scoring punch to the club’s bottom-six. However, Stewart has just two hits and three shots on goal while averaging better than 13 minutes per contest. During a career which has spanned 524 regular season games, Stewart has averaged 1.25 hits and more than two shots per game, numbers which suggest the big winger does in fact have more to offer the Wild on the ice.

Yakupov Trade Reactions

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For the second time in a few months Edmonton Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli has traded away a former #1 overall draft pick, sending RW Nail Yakupov to St. Louis in exchange for a minor league prospect and a conditional draft choice. At least when the team moved Taylor Hall, they did it to fill a dire need by acquiring right-shooting defenseman Adam Larsson. With yesterday’s trade of Yakupov, the Oilers simply appear to have made the best deal possible in order to satisfy both the player’s and team’s desire to move on from one another.

While Yakupov has failed to live up to his superstar billing, the trade is still notable on a number of fronts and there has been no shortage of opinions of the deal. Here’s a roundup of some of those reactions.

  • David Staples of the Edmonton Journal feels the two sides failed each other: Yakupov for his lackluster practice habits and for failing to work on his two-way game and the Oilers for too frequently playing the skilled winger with weak teammates. Ultimately Staples feels it was time to move on as it was made evident head coach Todd McLellan didn’t see Yakupov as “part of a winning equation.”
  • Considering the relatively low price paid to acquire Yakupov – Zach Pochiro and a conditional pick – the deal is a classic low risk investment for the Blues, as Benjamin Hochman of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes. Hochman compares the trade to that which sent another former #1 pick, Erik Johnson from St. Louis to Colorado. At the time of that trade, Johnson also had yet to live up to his lofty status as the top pick in his draft year, but since moving on to the Avalanche, he has developed into a pretty good defenseman. It should be noted that unlike the Oilers, the Blues received a sizable package in return that included Kevin Shattenkirk and Chris Stewart. Hochman also calculates that if Yakupov follows the same sort of career trajectory as Johnson, the Blues will be pleasantly surprised. He points out that even if the worst case scenario plays out – an output of 8 – 10 goals – then Yakupov will have sufficiently replaced the expected production of Vladimir Sobotka, who was expected to return to the NHL but now appears stuck in the KHL.
  • Even though the Oilers received very little in return aside from cap savings, Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Sun believes the trade is an instance of addition by subtraction. Matheson points out that the Oilers coaches simply did not trust Yakupov to play a responsible two-way game and that his offense simply wasn’t enough to offset his poor defensive play. The lack of consistent linemates also played a role in Yakupov’s struggles, according to Matheson, and although he found good chemistry with Connor McDavid for a brief time last season, McLellan was of the belief a former #1 overall pick should have been able to make the players around him better.
  • The Oilers may have sold low on Yakupov and in return did not acquire any assets likely to help the team today, but The Score’s Sean O’Leary says the team still has a brighter future today after the trade. O’Leary also argues that Oilers fans will soon forget Yakupov, even if the talented winger does realize his vast potential in St. Louis. Lastly, O’Leary reasons that with McDavid now leading the way and after trading away the likes of Taylor Hall and Yakupov, the Oilers have changed their culture for the better.

Minnesota Wild Notes: Boudreau, Staal, Tuch

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Pro Hockey Talk continues their run through the NHL, each day covering a different team. Today the Minnesota Wild are in the cross-hairs as Joey Alfieri of NBC Sports reviews Minnesota’s summer and previews the upcoming campaign for the Wild.

Alfieri highlights the hiring of former Washington Capital and Anaheim Duck head coach Bruce Boudreau to replace John Torchetti behind the Minnesota bench. He cites Boudreau’s past regular season success and suggests establishing a “winning culture” is the first order of business for the new coach.

Despite his postseason failures, the primary reason he was relieved of his duties in Anaheim, Boudreau is still an excellent coach and is well respected throughout the league. His teams generally excel in the puck possession department and have always played a solid two-way style. The Ducks got off to a slow start last season and it was rumored the team was considering making a mid-season change behind the bench before Boudreau was able to right the ship. Ultimately the Ducks would come all the way back to win the Pacific Division regular season crown but were eliminated by Nashville in the first round of the playoffs. It marked the second, first-round playoff exit in Boudreu’s four full seasons at the helm in Anaheim.

Minnesota is an interesting team in that they have enough talent to be considered a solid contender to qualify for the postseason, yet maybe not enough to realistically challenge for a Cup. They are also not bad enough to miss the playoffs altogether. Consequently they don’t have the resources to dramatically improve the roster to compete today but are also not in a position to add high impact young talent through the draft to build for the future. Hiring Boudreau has an excellent chance of paying off in the short term as he should be able to guide the team to the playoffs for the fifth consecutive campaign. Once the postseason begins, though, all bets are off.

  • The biggest offseason player acquisition for Minnesota came in the form of free agent signee Eric Staal. Alfieri calls the three-year, $10.5MM deal Staal received from Minnesota “team friendly,” and while it was expected he would receive more lucrative offers on the open market, it’s important to note the veteran pivot posted his worst season since his rookie campaign back in 2003-04. Staal scored just 13 goals and 39 points while playing 83 regular season games – 63 with Carolina and 20 for the New York Rangers. He is still expected to center a scoring line for Minnesota and even if $3.5MM annually is a relatively small sum for a top-six forward, the Wild will need more production out of Staal if they wish to compete in the Central Division.
  • In a separate post for Pro Hockey Talk, Jason Brough identifies young RW Alex Tuch as one of the team’s few top prospects and a player who could compete for a roster spot this season. Tuch, 20, is listed at 6’4″ and 220 pounds and was the Wild’s first round selection (18th overall) in the 2014 draft. He played two seasons with Boston College and scored 32 goals in 77 NCAA games skating for the Eagles. Brough believes Tuch is most likely destined to open the season playing for Iowa in the AHL but he also notes the big winger could conceivably make the team with a strong camp. The club did sign a similar player in Chris Stewart, to a two-year contract which should make him a presumptive favorite to beat out Tuch for a roster spot should it come down to a competition between the two.

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