Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Connor McDavid

Teenage Superstars On A Historic Pace

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The NHL has always been good to its young stars, allowing the top-tier talents to succeed at the earliest of ages. Teenage superstars are not something new, we’ve seen them with every generation. Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby, Eric Lindros, Mario Lemieux, Wayne Gretzky. All have had huge seasons before they were able to drink (in the US at least).

This year, there is a new crop trying to put their name in the history books. Auston Matthews, Patrik Laine, Zach Werenski, Travis Konecny are all off to blistering starts and look like all-stars already in the league.

There have only ever been 22 seasons in which a teenage player scored at a point-per-game pace (minimum 40 games), but that is what each of these players is close to. Obviously, to keep it up for an entire year is incredibly difficult but it isn’t so long since we’ve seen it happen.

McDavid fought through injury last season to put up 48 points in 45 games, though the second ranked teenage Jack Eichel only had  0.69 PPG. Both teenagers are leaders of their teams already, and expected to lead their franchises to the promised land.

We saw Crosby do it twice, in both 2005-06 and 2006-07. He recorded seasons of 102 and 120 points, actually setting the high mark for his career so far. He was alone though in the teenage group, as Alex Ovechkin lost out on his age-19 season due to a lockout (he’d go on to score 106 points as a 20-year old).

Perhaps the best example of a group this talented, this young, is way back in the early 80’s, when we saw the debuts of Larry Murphy, Denis Savard, Ron Francis, Dale Hawerchuk, Phil Housley and Steve Yzerman, among others. It was an unprecedented youth movement, that defined the game as we know it. While obviously this isn’t quite the same as those all-time greats (especially when speaking after just 10 games), this group should at least compete to have their names put in the all-time teenager lists.

Connor McDavid’s Next Contract

at CDT | by 2 Comments

He may be eight months away from being able to sign it, and 20 months before it takes effect, but Connor McDavid’s second contract is already a topic of conversation in the hockey world.

Despite being only 19-years-old and 55 games into his NHL career, McDavid is already a top-five player in the NHL. Of course, he’s scored 60 points in those 55 games, and is currently sitting tied for second in NHL scoring. He’s also the youngest captain in NHL history and the unquestioned face of the Oilers franchise.

McDavid is currently in the second year of his three-year entry-level contract. Including bonuses, McDavid can make $3.775MM per season. He’s eligible to negotiate and sign a contract extension on July 1, 2017. The longest term possible is eight years, something that’s a given for the Oilers but perhaps a point of worry for the McDavid camp. On Tuesday night’s Insider Trading, TSN and ESPN insider Pierre Lebrun floated the idea that the potential lockout in 2020 or 2022 could affect the player agent’s willingness to sign through that. He followed that up on Wednesday morning on TSN radio in Vancouver, pointing to the past CBA’s effects on player contracts. In 2005, there was a 24% salary rollback to all players; in 2013 they added cap recapture penalties to so-called “cheat deals” like Shea Weber’s. While Lebrun isn’t saying McDavid doesn’t want to sign an eight-year extension in Edmonton, he does point out the possibility of a four-year deal because “there’s some concern that when the CBA ends, maybe they need to protect themselves because the rules may change on existing contracts.”

Numbers-wise, McDavid is a very likely candidate to become the highest-paid player in the NHL. Chris Johnston discussed McDavid on Tuesday night’s Sportsnet Hockey Central, opining that he “doesn’t see any” situation where McDavid doesn’t become the highest-paid player in the NHL. Currently, Blackhawks forwards Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane’s $10.5MM cap hits are the highest in the NHL. Kings captain Anze Kopitar is the only other player making $10MM or more.

Of course, the Oilers could luck out if McDavid is as superstitious as the previous “next one” Sidney Crosby. Following his standard entry-level contract, Crosby has signed two separate contracts with an AAV of $8.7MM, which of course is the same as his number. Getting McDavid signed at under $10MM per season would be a major win for the Oilers and allow them to build a stronger team around him. Both sides can look no further than the Blackhawks struggles to keep their team together with Toews and Kane accounting for a combined $21MM against the cap.

Including LTIR-relief from former captain Andrew Ference (career-ending hip surgery), the Oilers are around $5MM below the cap. Things will change in the summer, when Leon Draisaitl is an RFA. Look for depth defenseman Mark Fayne to bought out or traded with salary retained to clear most of his $3.625MM cap hit, and perhaps a trade involving a bigger salaried player. McDavid and Darnell Nurse finish their entry-level contracts in 2018, and then Jesse Puljujärvi in 2019 (presuming he stays in the NHL this year and doesn’t slide.

While negotiations cannot begin until July, Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli and his management team are already having internal discussions about the contract, and so are McDavid’s agents, Jeff Jackson and Bobby Orr. Expect a similar timeline to fellow exceptional status recipient and first-overall pick Aaron Ekblad signing his extension with Florida; the two sides agreed in principle to a new deal early in the morning of July 1st.

Johnston was dead-on when he called extending McDavid the “biggest decision the Oilers are going to have for the next decade.”

Chiarelli Cautiously Optimistic About Oilers Start

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Edmonton Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli is cautiously optimistic about his team’s 5-1-0 start to the 2016-17 NHL season. In an appearance on Sportsnet 590 The Fan, Chiarelli told Bob McCown that he “wouldn’t call it that dramatic yet. Let’s wait 20 or 25 games. We’ve had a good start.”

The Oilers find themselves leading the NHL’s Western Conference with 10 points, which is good for second in the NHL behind the Montreal Canadiens. One of the big reasons for the Oilers early turnaround is a bolstered defense, improving their ability to break out the puck and defend, a change that Chiarelli called “basically 180 degrees.”

“We’ve added Larsson; we’ve added Russell, and effectively we added Klefbom.”

Adam Larsson was added at a great cost, while Kris Russell was signed to a one-year contract in early October. Oscar Klefbom was a breakout player in the end of 2014-15 and beginning of 2015-16, but broke his finger in early December and a subsequent staph infection kept him out of the remainder of the season.

Add those three to Andrej Sekera and the Oilers have a decent top-four defense for the first time since 2008-09 when they had Sheldon Souray, Tom Gilbert, Denis Grebeshkov, and Lubomir Visnovsky all post more than 30 points. The Oilers had 85 points that season, and they haven’t topped 74 since.

Besides the defense, Connor McDavid and Cam Talbot have been very solid so far this season, with both being named the NHL’s first star of the week in the first two weeks of the season. McDavid has 4 goals and 5 assists for 9 points in 6 games, while Talbot is 5-1-0 with a 0.919 SV% and one shutout.

The Oilers will face a stiff test on Wednesday night when they host Alex Ovechkin and the reigning President’s Trophy winners, the Washington Capitals. Washington is sitting third in the Metropolitan with a 3-1-1 record.

Franchise Faceoff: Maple Leafs vs Oilers

at CDT | by 9 Comments

It’s a tough thing rebuilding. For all the excitement and hope that prospects give fans, many of them don’t fulfill the promise they show, or just don’t seem to fit into the system you’re trying to build.

For two teams, last year was another one bouncing off the bottom of the league standings, jockeying for the first overall pick.  The Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers both have storied histories, championships and hall of fame alumni. But even as one finally retires the numbers of some of its greats, and the other welcomes back the greatest of all time, they both look to young players to find that excitement, and hope.

McDavid, Draisaitl, Eberle or Matthews, Marner, Rielly. Both have a wonderful group of young players led by generational talents, and have shown them off this week. The top two stars of the NHL were Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews this week, both 19-year old kids leading their teams out of the basement.

[Maple Leafs Depth Chart vs Oilers Depth Chart]

We’d love to hear what you think about these two teams. If you were buying a roster (not all the franchise perks that go with it) to build a championship team, which would you take?

Snapshots: Russell, Lucic, Ducks, Pardy, Rangers

at CDT | by 2 Comments

Following yet another disappointing campaign for Edmonton in 2015-16, GM Peter Chiarelli orchestrated several changes to his team’s roster this offseason in an effort to build a playoff contender. Chiarelli dealt away two former first overall draft picks, Taylor Hall and Nail Yakupov (receiving Adam Larsson, a marginal prospect and a conditional draft choice in return), while signing free agents Milan Lucic and Kris Russell in free agency. Many in the hockey community at large weren’t particularly fond of Chiarelli’s moves and while it’s far too early to make any definitive judgement, through two games Lucic and Russell have done exactly what the Oilers and Chiarelli hoped for, as David Staples of the Edmonton Journal writes.

Staples has been tracking scoring chances for and against for every Oilers skater through two games. His research shows that Connor McDavid, who has simply been phenomenal already with six points on the young season, has been Edmonton’s best player by far, helping to generate better than six more scoring chances for than against, per 15 minutes of ice time. Lucic is second in that category with a differential of 4.82. Russell leads the defense corps with a 2.34 differential per 15 minutes of ice time. Incredibly, Russell has yet to make a single error leading to an opposition scoring chance through two games, based on Staples’ tracking.

Again, it’s too early to conclude anything for certain but the early returns on Lucic and Russell have to be encouraging for Chiarelli and Co. Obviously this team will only go as far as their superstar captain McDavid will lead, but should his two prized free agent acquisitions continue to perform at this level, Edmonton might yet prove the pundits wrong and compete for a playoff spot in 2016-17.

Elsewhere in the NHL:

  • Could the Anaheim Ducks soon find themselves at a crossroads with a roster core too old to compete for a Stanley Cup? Eric Stepens, who covers the team, asks that question in a post that appears in the Los Angeles Daily News. Stephens notes that the team’s three best forwards, Ryan Getzlaf (31), Corey Perry (31) and Ryan Kesler (32) are all on the wrong side of 30. At the same time, many of the league’s top stars – Johnny Gaudreau (23), McDavid (19), Auston Matthews (19) – are in their early-20’s or even younger. Getzlaf, Perry and Kesler also account for $23.75MM, or nearly one-third of this year’s salary cap, now that Kesler’s massive extension kicked in. These commitments leaves less space for the Ducks to flesh out the rest of their roster with quality talent as evidenced by their struggles to reach agreements with restricted free agents Rickard Rakell and Hampus Lindholm.
  • After being released from his PTO with Florida, Adam Pardy has agreed to sign an AHL deal with the Panthers organization, tweets Harvey Fialkov. Pardy will report to Springfield and provide an experienced blue line depth option for Florida. He has appeared in 338 NHL games over parts of eight seasons. Pardy previously has seen action in the league with Calgary, Buffalo, Edmonton, Dallas and Winnipeg.
  • New York Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault was quite specific in how he put his forward lines together to start the 2016-17 campaign. By design, the team would ice three lines capable of scoring while the fourth line was to be comprised of “penalty killers and defensive specialists.” But after introducing rookies Pavel Buchnevich and Jimmy Vesey to the lineup, a couple of skilled veterans slid down the depth chart and onto the team’s fourth line. As Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post writes, the presence of Brandon Pirri and Michael Grabner at the bottom of the Rangers lineup has already paid dividends for the Blue Shirts. Grabner, a once tallied 34 goals as a member of the Islanders, netted the first marker of the season for the Rangers. Pirri, meanwhile, assisted on Grabner’s goal and potted his first as a New York Ranger on the power play. As long as the duo remain defensively-responsible, their ability to put the puck in the net will be welcome on the teams fourth line.

Yakupov Trade Reactions

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

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.

Oilers Name McDavid Team Captain

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

As expected, the Edmonton Oilers have announced that Connor McDavid will be the team’s captain for the 2016-17 season and likely well beyond. At just 19-years-old, McDavid becomes the youngest team captain in NHL history, as the team tweeted, edging out Vincent Lecavalier for the honor by about six weeks.

The top overall selection in the 2015 draft, McDavid has the potential to be a generational talent. McDavid was one of only five players last season to average better than a point-per-game, tallying 48 in 45 contests as a rookie. It’s likely had he not missed nearly half the season due to injury that he would have been an easy choice for the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie.

Despite his youth, McDavid appears perfectly suited for the role of captain. He served in the same capacity for both his junior club, the Erie Otters, and for Team North America at the World Cup.

In addition to giving McDavid the “C,” the Oilers also appointed Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jordan Eberle and Milan Lucic as alternates.

While it’s a near-certainty McDavid will soon be one of, if not the best hockey player on the planet, it remains to be seen whether he can finally lead the long-suffering Oilers back to the postseason in 2016-17. The Oilers have long boasted tremendous talent and skill but have failed to reach the playoffs in a decade. After several high-profile offseason acquisitions and with their best player now leading the way, Edmonton looks poised to make a jump in the standings.

Snapshots: McKenzie’s ’17 Draft Prospects, ‘Jackets, North America

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

It’s never too early to scout talent. Bob McKenzie released his preseason top 15 prospect list for the 2017 NHL Draft and the top slot wasn’t even close. Brandon Wheat Kings center Nolan Patrick is the clear #1 prospect, being voted the top prospect by ten out of ten scouts McKenzie spoke with. Though it’s not clearly as exciting as the Jack Eichel–Connor McDavid or Auston Matthews-Patrik Laine debates, the report on Patrick is his ability to score goals. But he doesn’t boast the same franchise type standing as McDavid, Eichel, Matthews or Laine. After Patrick, however, the draft seems to dip in terms of overall talent. McKenzie writes that the draft is “not as exciting a group” as years past.  Further, McKenzie reports that the top ten talent isn’t nearly as defined as in the past. McKenzie lists Patrick, D Timothy Liljegren, F Klim Kostin, F Maxime Comtois, F Eeli Tolvanen, F Gabe Vilardi, F Kristian Vesalainen, F Owen Tippett, D Cal Foote, and F Lias Andersson as the top ten best prospects in the 2017 Draft.

In other hockey news:

  • Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno can’t wait to see the new talent make their way to Columbus writes Alison Lukan. Foligno was one of many Jackets to congratulate the prospects in Cleveland who captured the Calder Cup this past summer. Now, Foligno is ready to welcome any of those prospects who can make an impact in Columbus.

“If you’re going to come and help us, we’re going to welcome you with open arms. We’re excited to see who is going to rise to the occasion and come and help our group. But it’s my job to be competitive and push everybody. If you want to be here, then you’ve got to beat me.”

Lukan reports that after a disappointing 2015-16 season, the Jackets will look to their younger players to push for playing time and help the team improve this year.

  • Team North America captured the attention of the hockey world, and gave a glimpse of the future of the NHL writes the Chicago Tribune’s Chris Kuc. Canada coach Mike Babcock called the “young guns” team “one of the most exciting things of the tournament,” while saying that they would garner the attention of a whole new group of fans. Kuc described the North American team as the “darlings” of the tournament with a style of play that caused fans to experience “whiplash.” Amalie Benjamin adds that it was hockey at its “most brilliant, most entertaining, and most delightful.”

2016-17 Season Preview: Edmonton Oilers

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

With the NHL season just weeks away, PHR is taking an in-depth look at each team. Today: the Edmonton Oilers.

Last Season: 31-43-8 (70 points), 7th place in the Pacific Division. Did not qualify for the playoffs.

Cap Space Remaining: $8.92MM  via CapFriendly.

Key Newcomers: Adam Larsson (RHD) – trade (New Jersey); Milan Lucic (LW) – free agency (Los Angeles); Jesse Puljujärvi (RW) – NHL Draft (4th overall)

Key Departures: Taylor Hall (LW) – trade (New Jersey); Lauri Korpikoski (LW) – buyout

Professional Tryouts: Kris Versteeg (RW)

Player to Watch: Connor McDavid – Who else? The most hotly anticipated prospect since Sidney Crosby didn’t disappoint on the ice, scoring 48 points in 45 games. Unfortunately for McDavid and the Oilers, a broken collarbone kept him out of the lineup from November to February, and when he returned the Oilers were too far out of the playoffs for him to make a real difference in the standings. His effect on his line-mates is remarkable; Patrick Maroon scored 14 points in 16 games with McDavid, surpassing his 56-game total with the Anaheim Ducks. McDavid has had a transcendent effect on the organization, and is widely expected to be one of the top scorers in the NHL this season.

Key Storylines: Will GM Peter Chiarelli’s bold summer pay off? Trading the third-best left winger in the NHL for Larsson represents a major overpayment, but it also gives the Oilers a long-term fix with a young top pairing of Oscar Klefbom and Larsson playing 24 minutes per night. Adding Larsson and a healthy Klefbom allows Andrej Sekera, Brandon Davidson, Darnell Nurse, and Mark Fayne to play more effective minutes. Chiarelli is also heavily rumored to be looking at adding an offensive-minded defenseman, like Cody Franson, to the mix.

Can McDavid play 70-plus games? McDavid’s health will be a major factor in how the Oilers do this season. He’s already one of the top players in the league, so he’ll be counted on to take the next step and lead the Oilers to the playoffs. Look for him to boost the offensive numbers of Lucic and Jordan Eberle on the top line, and allow Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Leon Draisaitl, and rookie Puljujärvi to see less of other team’s top pairings.

Oilers’ Depth Chart

World Cup Players Set To Make Their NHL Debut This Season

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

At the World Cup of Hockey this year, there are a few players who are playing internationally for their countries before ever suiting up for a professional game in North America. For various reasons, not all of these men will ever come across to join the best league in the world. Some, however, will do so as soon as this year.  Here’s a look at a few of the players who are set to make their NHL debut just after the World Cup concludes.

Auston Matthews  (Maple Leafs) – Obviously, one of the biggest story lines at the tournament has been the young guns squad, captained by Connor McDavid. As we wrote earlier today however, Auston Matthews has made quite an impression on head coach Todd McClellan, and will suit up on the top line today in their opener.  Matthews is the youngest player on the youngest team, and is asserting himself at the highest level already.  He’ll get to greet the Maple Leaf faithful before he pulls a blue and white sweater over his back.

2015-16 stats (Switzerland) – 36 GP, 24 G, 22 A, 46 P, +16 rating

Patrik Laine (Jets) – On a Finnish team loaded up front, 18-year old Patrick Laine will take on a huge role. Even though the #2 overall pick has yet to play a professional game on the small rink, he’s already being compared to some of the greatest goal scorers of all time. Laine is following up a World Championship where he was named tournament MVP, and should step into a scoring role with the Jets immediately.  His shot, skating ability and nose for the net will create an offensive dynamo, especially if he ends up skating with Mark Scheifele or Blake Wheeler.

2015-16 stats (Finland) – 46 GP, 17 G, 16 A, 33 P, +6 rating

Nikita Zaitsev (Maple Leafs) – Though Russia isn’t known for its defensive capabilities, one to keep an eye on is young Nikita Zaitzev who will be headed over to make his debut for the Maple Leafs this season.  A right-handed shot who can play in all situations, Zaitzev is skating on both the powerplay and penalty kill at this tournament. If somehow he can develop some chemistry during the season with Leafs #1 Morgan Rielly, they could form a dynamic puck moving duo for years to come.

2015-16 stats (KHL) – 46 GP, 8 G, 18 A, 26 P, +21 rating 

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

scroll to top