Snapshots: Stone, Harkins, Zohorna, Sergachev
The Vegas Golden Knights will be without Mark Stone for the next little while, announcing that he is week-to-week with an upper-body injury. That will scare a lot of fans worried about his back, but head coach Bruce Cassidy wouldn’t comment. As much as anything, Vegas’s return to contention has a lot to do with the play of Stone, who managed just 37 (rarely healthy) games last season.
Through 43 appearances this year, the 30-year-old forward has 17 goals and 38 points, and once again has taken his place as one of the best two-way players in the game. A lengthy absence will be a huge blow to the Golden Knights, especially given how close the standings are in the Pacific Division. Remember, Vegas led the division at this point last year too, only to fall out of the race and miss the playoffs completely by the end of the season.
- The Winnipeg Jets have recalled Jansen Harkins under emergency conditions as several forwards deal with a non-COVID illness. To make room, Ville Heinola has been sent back to the minor leagues. Harkins, 25, has scored five goals in 22 games this season with the Jets, but was getting just a handful of shifts the last couple of times he dressed in the NHL. Heinola, meanwhile, has appeared just eight times, recording his first point of the season earlier this month.
- Radim Zohorna continues his daily shuffle, this time headed back down to the AHL. The big forward has already been involved in five transactions this month, going down between games so that the Flames can save some cap space.
- Mikhail Sergachev‘s wallet is a little bit lighter after he was handed a $5,000 fine for punching Conor Garland in last night’s Tampa Bay Lightning-Vancouver Canucks game. The play went unpenalized by the on-ice officials, causing confusion among anyone watching the game. The Lightning are lucky Sergachev isn’t getting sat down for a game, though perhaps that has to do with the fact that Garland attempted a similar shot a few seconds earlier. Iain MacIntyre of Sportsnet reports that Sergachev apologized to Garland after the game and that the Vancouver forward was “used to it” because he has “played like a rat” since he was 16.
Snapshots: Tkachuk, Stars, Garland
With Drake Batherson now signed, the Senators can squarely turn their focus to getting a new deal done with RFA winger Brady Tkachuk. Speaking with reporters, including Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch, GM Pierre Dorion declined to comment on the status of negotiations, only stating that “We’ve had productive, positive discussions with Brady’s camp” which would contrast a recent report from TSN1200’s Shawn Simpson who relayed (Twitter link) that there is some frustration setting in with Tkachuk’s camp.
The 21-year-old could be eyeing Andrei Svechnikov’s eight-year, $62MM deal with Carolina as a legitimate comparable contract which would make him Ottawa’s highest-paid forward but would still keep him below Thomas Chabot’s $8MM AAV for the highest-paid player on the team. As some of Ottawa’s top youngsters come up for new deals, trying to keep all of those below Chabot’s price tag would seem like a viable strategy for the Senators in an effort to keep their window for contention open as long as possible.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- Stars head coach Rick Bowness told Matthew DeFranks of the Dallas Morning News that forwards Tyler Seguin (hip and knee), Roope Hintz (groin), Alexander Radulov (core), and defenseman Joel Hanley (core) have all recovered from their respective injuries and surgeries and will be ready for training camp. Seguin, in particular, will be a welcome return as he was only able to suit up in three games last season, managing a pair of goals in those contests. They’re still not fully healthy, however, as there is plenty of uncertainty surrounding goalie Ben Bishop’s future which is why Braden Holtby was surprisingly signed in free agency this summer.
- While winger Conor Garland believed the Bruins might show interest in him, he told Matt Porter of the Boston Globe that his camp never heard from Boston when Arizona was shopping him around the league. The 25-year-old Scituate native had identified Boston, Toronto, and Los Angeles as potential fits but he wound up being moved to Vancouver instead where he quickly signed a five-year, $24.75MM contract. Garland wouldn’t rule out the idea of playing for his hometown team down the road but it won’t be happening anytime soon.
Conor Garland Signs With Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks have inked newcomer Conor Garland to a five-year deal that will carry an average annual value of $4.95MM. The young forward was recently acquired from the Arizona Coyotes and was an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent. Canucks GM Jim Benning released a short statement on the deal:
We’re pleased to have reached a long-term deal with Conor today. He’s a skilled young player, who plays hard, produces offensively and will complement our top-six forward group.
PuckPedia provides the full contract breakdown, which does not include any trade protection:
- 2021-22: $3.75MM
- 2022-23: $4.0MM
- 2023-24: $6.0MM
- 2024-25: $6.0MM
- 2025-26: $5.0MM
It’s hard to imagine the Coyotes couldn’t have afforded this contract for Garland, which buys out three UFA seasons at a pretty reasonable price. Instead, they used Garland’s upside as a way to get out of Oliver Ekman-Larsson‘s contract, all for the benefit of the Canucks. The 25-year-old has been the most important forward in Arizona for the last two years, registering 39 points in just 49 games this season. Shifty, creative and skilled, the 5’10” Garland should step directly into the Canucks’ top-six and make an impact offensively.
For just under $5MM, the Canucks can’t afford him to take a step backward, given how much other money they’ll have to commit elsewhere. This is the player they’ve decided to invest in, as a good chunk of their remaining camp space will be owed to Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes, both restricted free agents waiting on new contracts. If the team can get a deal done to send Nate Schmidt packing they’ll have a little more to spend, but there are legitimate depth issues all over the roster that need to be filled as well.
So Garland is the play, and he’s certainly a good one to bet on right now. He not only excelled with increased responsibility in Arizona, but then went and dominated at the recent World Championships as part of Team USA. In ten games, he scored six goals and 13 points, trailing only Connor Brown in tournament scoring.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Vancouver Canucks Acquire Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Conor Garland
The Vancouver Canucks have landed their big fish, acquiring Oliver Ekman-Larsson from the Arizona Coyotes. The team will also land restricted free agent forward Conor Garland, according to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports. The Coyotes are expected to receive Vancouver’s first-round pick this year (9th overall), a 2022 second-round pick and forwards Antoine Roussel, Loui Eriksson and Jay Beagle, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, who also notes that the Coyotes will be retaining 12 percent of Ekman-Larsson’s salary. CapFriendly adds that a 2023 seventh-round pick will also be going to the Coyotes.
This is a huge deal in terms of salary, as the Canucks clear three bad contracts off the books to make room for Ekman-Larsson. The 30-year-old defenseman carries a cap hit of $8.25MM through the 2026-27 season, but is owed $10.5MM in actual salary each of the next three years. Even after the Coyotes retained a portion of it ($990K/season), Vancouver is taking on a huge risk that the veteran defenseman will be able to not only maintain his current level of play, but rebound to the levels that landed him that deal in the first place.
In 2018 when he signed the eight-year, $66MM extension, Ekman-Larsson was coming off a 14-goal, 42-point campaign with the Coyotes. He had previously received votes for the Norris Trophy on four occasions and had just posted his fifth consecutive season with double-digit goal totals. The risky part, even then, was that it was a true extension, signed with a full year still left on his previous deal. While that final year at $5.5MM was also very productive, this new contract hasn’t brought much success for the Swedish defender.
In 2019-20, he scored just nine goals and 30 points in 66 games, while seeing his possession numbers drop across the board. Despite still seeing prime powerplay time, his effectiveness with the man-advantage dropped, resulting in just seven powerplay points. This season, he scored just three times in 46 games, logging his lowest point total since the lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign. That came after a 2020 offseason filled with trade talks, with Vancouver and Boston the two teams he told Arizona he’d be willing to go to.
To make room for him in Vancouver, the team is moving out three contracts that total $12MM in cap room this season, but will actually require just $8.1MM in actual salary (minus some of the bonus payments that were likely already made by the Canucks) from the Coyotes. The most crucial part for Arizona is that each of Roussel, Beagle and Eriksson will become unrestricted free agents next season, meaning this is very little commitment from the Coyotes. A high first-round pick to swap Ekman-Larsson’s expensive deal for ones that will only affect the team this season is a steal, though there is of course that other player heading to Vancouver.
Garland, 25, has come on as the Coyotes most impressive forward in recent years, scoring 39 points in each of the last two seasons. His 47 goals in 164 games since entering the NHL will be a welcome addition to the Canucks lineup, though how much it will cost is still uncertain. Garland is an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent with quite a case, after his previous two-year, $1.55MM (total) deal expires.
In all, this is a risk from the Canucks standpoint. Betting on Ekman-Larsson to rediscover his top-end form in a flat-cap era is one that could cost them good, young players in the future, especially given the other negotiations that the Canucks have coming up this summer. Sure, they moved out some bad money for this year, but this deal has financial ramifications that far outreach the 2021-22 season.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Central Notes: Garland, Shalunov, Oleksiak
Last month, Conor Garland’s agent indicated there had been no progress in contract discussions between the Coyotes and the pending restricted free agent. It appears nothing has changed on that front as David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period relays (Twitter link) that there still have been no contract talks between the two sides and that Arizona appears to be trying to move him. The 25-year-old is coming off a career year that saw him collect 12 goals and 27 assists in 49 games but is arbitration-eligible for the first time. On the surface, it would appear as if the Coyotes are concerned about what contract he could be awarded in a hearing which makes him a name to watch for heading into Saturday’s transactions freeze.
Elsewhere in the Central Division:
- The Blackhawks have given the agent for forward Maxim Shalunov permission to speak to other NHL teams about finding a trade for his rights, reports Scott Powers of The Athletic (subscription link). Whether or not the 28-year-old will come back to North America (he played in the minors in 2013-14) has seemingly been an annual tradition for the last several years but with Chicago’s forward depth, there really isn’t a spot for him even if they wanted to sign him. Shalunov had 18 goals and 17 assists in 52 games with CSKA Moscow in the KHL this season and could be an intriguing acquisition for someone; Powers suggests that the asking price from Chicago wouldn’t be too high in order to give him a chance to try the NHL if they don’t have a spot for him.
- One player whose stock may have been boosted by the playoffs is Stars blueliner Jamie Oleksiak. Between that and recent contracts handed out to similar players, Matthew DeFranks of the Dallas Morning News posits that the 28-year-old pending unrestricted free agent should be able to land a contract of $3.5MM or more on the open market. That may be more than Dallas can afford knowing that Miro Heiskanen is up for a big-ticket contract in his first trip through restricted free agency this summer. Oleksiak told DeFranks that things have been quiet so in terms of discussions on a new deal.
No Progress In Contract Talks For Conor Garland
Coyotes winger Conor Garland is coming off a career season that saw him collect 12 goals and 27 assists in just 49 games. The timing of that year couldn’t have been better as while he played under a bargain deal the last two years with an AAV of just $775K, that contract is now over. Garland now gets to hit restricted free agency with salary arbitration eligibility which has him well-positioned for a significant raise.
On the surface, it would seem as if this would be a situation where GM Bill Armstrong might want to get a head start on discussions on a new deal but that doesn’t appear to be the case. Garland’s agent Peter Cooney told Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli that the team requested two types of contract proposals on May 20th. Those were submitted but Cooney notes that there has been no communication since then which calls into his question his future with Arizona.
It’s certainly not the first time this has been the case as there were reports before the trade deadline that the team was willing to move Garland for the right price, one that they obviously didn’t get. But clearly, Armstrong isn’t sold on the winger being a must-keep part of their long-term future which, for a team that struggles offensively, is a little odd.
The Coyotes have over $31MM in cap room this offseason per CapFriendly so the hesitancy certainly isn’t cap-related although Arizona’s internal budget could be a factor. They will have to rebuild a significant portion of their back end this summer with four regulars set to hit the open market and Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s future with the team in question as well. If they want to use Garland as a trade chip, he could be dangled to fill one of those holes on the back end although it would also create a big one to fill on the wing.
Lots can change between now and the deadline to file for arbitration which should come in near the beginning of August but for now, it certainly seems as if Garland’s time in Arizona is rather tenuous. He’ll be an interesting player to watch for on the trade market in the coming weeks as a result.
USA Hockey Announces World Championship Roster
The IIHF World Championship roster is always a little different. Because the tournament takes place during the NHL playoffs, many players are unable to attend. Many others choose not to participate because of injuries they sustained during the season, meaning there are often some interesting choices that compete for their country.
This season is perhaps even more difficult for U.S. Men’s National Team general manager Chris Drury. Not only does he have injuries and the postseason to deal with, but many players haven’t seen their families for months and just want to spend some quality time at home. With that in mind, this year’s team has both players not yet drafted and others that have already aged out of the NHL.
The full roster is as follows:
G Jake Oettinger
G Cal Petersen
G Anthony Stolarz
D Adam Clendening
D Matt Hellickson
D Zac Jones
D Connor Mackey
D Matt Roy
D Ryan Shea
D Matt Tennyson
D Chris Wideman
D Christian Wolanin
F Justin Abdelkader
F Matthew Beniers
F Colin Blackwell
F Brian Boyle
F Sasha Chmelevski
F Ryan Donato
F Jack Drury
F Conor Garland
F Kevin Labanc
F Trevor Moore
F Jason Robertson
F Eric Robinson
F Kevin Rooney
F Tage Thompson
The U.S. team will be coached by Jack Capuano. The tournament kicks off on May 21 in Riga, Latvia.
Conor Garland Out Week-To-Week
It’s been a bad little while for the Arizona Coyotes. Despite still technically holding onto the final playoff position in the West Division, you can bet they won’t have it much longer. The Coyotes are now 20-22-5 on the season, have gone 3-7 in their last ten, and are only ahead of the St. Louis Blues in total points, not points percentage. The Blues aren’t playing very well either, but do have four games in hand on the Coyotes and sit one point back. So do the Los Angeles Kings, who are just five points back, while the San Jose Sharks have one game in hand and are just four back even after a seven-game losing skid.
The race for the final spot in the West seems to be one of futility and now the Coyotes are losing one of their most important forwards at the worst time. Conor Garland has been designated as “week-to-week” with his lower-body injury, not a great sign with just a few weeks left in the regular season. Arizona has just nine more chances to add points to the total and two of those matches are against the Vegas Golden Knights, who became the first team in the NHL to clinch a playoff position last night.
Perhaps the most frustrating part of the Garland news is that he wasn’t even injured in a game. The shifty forward suffered the lower-body injury (which is believed to be his knee) at practice, leaving the ice on Tuesday and missing last night’s game (a 4-1 defeat). Garland is one of the more unappreciated talents in the league and arguably Arizona’s most consistent forward, with 10 goals and 32 points in 45 games this season. That trails just Phil Kessel‘s 35 and means that losing Garland is a huge blow to the Coyotes’ offense.
West Notes: Garland, Nieto, Avalanche
Losing a top point producer is never ideal but especially so in the midst of a playoff race. However, it appears that the Coyotes are in that situation as Craig Morgan of AZ Coyotes Insider reports that winger Conor Garland suffered a knee injury at practice on Tuesday and that there is internal concern that he will miss significant time. The 25-year-old is tied for second on Arizona in scoring with 10 goals and 22 assists in 45 games while logging over 17 minutes a night so any extended absence would significantly hurt their chances of snagging the last playoff spot in the West Division; they sit one point up on St. Louis but the Blues have three games in hand. Garland isn’t playing tonight and the team should know more about his status over the next day or two.
More from the West Division:
- Sharks winger Matt Nieto could return this season, or not. That’s certainly an odd way to update the status of a player but head coach Bob Boughner told Curtis Pashelka of the Mercury News (Twitter link) that it’s possible that Nieto can play next week but at the same time, “it might be a marginal call whether he goes back in or not”. Nieto has been dealing with a lower-body injury for the last month and it appears that they are going to ere on the side of caution when he is cleared and if there isn’t enough time left in the year (or they fall out of the playoff race entirely), he could just be shut down. Nieto has five goals and two assists in 28 games this season.
- While Bowen Byram is now off the CPRA list, he will not accompany the Avalanche on their three-game road trip to St. Louis, reports Peter Baugh of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 19-year-old rookie has played in 19 games so far this season, recording a pair of assists while logging 17:31 on the back end. Assuming he’s able to suit up after this trip, he’ll have a couple of weeks to work on his conditioning before the playoffs get underway. Meanwhile, Baugh adds that winger Logan O’Connor, who suffered a lower-body injury at the end of March, is on the trip. Initially an injury fill-in, O’Connor has three goals and two assists in 22 games this season.
The 2021 NHL Trade Deadline Deals That Didn’t Happen
The 2021 NHL Trade Deadline came and went with relatively little fanfare. Deadline day saw just 17 trades made (a new 8-year low) that involved only 26 players (a new 20-year low). The obvious downside to a quiet deadline is that it’s not very exciting to follow and doesn’t create the same number of stretch run storylines to follow. The upside? With so little news to cover, nothing slipped through the cracks. Insiders, such as Elliotte Friedman, have come out with more “almost-trades” than in most years and they have been compiled below. Enjoy reveling in what could have been:
Nicolas Deslauriers to the Pittsburgh Penguins
The Penguins and Anaheim Ducks came so close on a trade for Deslauriers that an article was published on the topic. Friedman reported that a deal was done, but then backtracked as talks fell apart. Pittsburgh ended up adding experience to their bottom-six from another West Division source, adding Jeff Carter from the Los Angeles Kings.
Jamie Oleksiak to the Edmonton Oilers
In the middle of the deadline day chaos, several pundits reported that Dallas Stars defenseman Oleksiak was on his way to Edmonton. Yet, as time ticked by and there was no announcement, it became clear that a deal had not been completed. Oleksiak had been linked to both Edmonton and the Toronto Maple Leafs but stay put, with the speculation now being the the Stars hope to re-sign him. The Oilers, who also missed out on Patrik Nemeth, ended up finding their stay-at-home defenseman in the New Jersey Devils’ Dmitry Kulikov.
Alex Goligoski, Vladislav Gavrikov, or Nikita Zadorov to the Winnipeg Jets
One of the biggest misses of the deadline was the Jets’ failure to add an impact defenseman. Winnipeg did add Jordie Benn late, but that hardly fills their gaping hole in the top-four. In retrospect, the mistake may have been focusing too much on defensemen who weren’t truly available. Friedman believes that the team tried to acquire either Gavrikov or Goligoski, or perhaps even both. Gavrikov would have been a very nice addition for the Jets, but by all accounts the young Columbus Blue Jackets defender was not really for sale. And while the Arizona Coyotes were expected to listen to offers for their expiring contracts, they ended up standing pat and not moving the veteran Goligoski. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that the Chicago Blackhawks were at least listening to offers for RFA blue liner Zadorov as well and the Jets made a push, but to no avail.
Taylor Hall to the New York Islanders or Vegas Golden Knights
Friedman began his post-deadline “31 Thoughts” by confirming the suspicions that Hall left the Buffalo Sabres little choice but to trade him to the Boston Bruins, stating that Hall had decided that was where he wanted to go and used his No-Movement Clause to make it happen. However, two other teams made a strong push and that was the Islanders and the Golden Knights. Hall was even open to joining New York, but once they acquired Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac he turned his focus to Boston even though the Isles maintained interest. The Sabres were seemingly very interested in making a deal with Vegas, as Friedman notes that multiple teams were contacted about acting as a salary cap broker for a potential deal. In the end, Hall preferred Boston and that is all that mattered.
Daniel Vladar or Jeremy Swayman to the Buffalo Sabres
Many have been critical of the Sabres’ return for Hall – a Boston second-round pick and forward Anders Bjork – but they tried their best to get more. Friedman reports that Buffalo asked Boston about moving one of their promising young keepers, as both Vladar and Swayman have shown NHL ability in recent weeks as the injury replacements in the Bruins net. However, once Boston knew that Hall wanted to go there and could control the decision, they held all the leverage. The team easily declined moving either talented netminder.
Conor Garland to the Toronto Maple Leafs or Vegas Golden Knights
While the team ended up acquiring Nick Foligno instead, Friedman notes that the Toronto Maple Leafs did express interest in affordable Arizona Coyotes forward Garland. Garland would have fit nicely under the cap, but would have been expensive to require and near impossible to re-sign for the cap-strapped Leafs. The team thus went in a different direction. The Golden Knights were also linked to Garland, but could not make a deal work with their division rival. Garland remaining with the Coyotes could be what is best for both parties in the long run anyhow.
Ryan Getzlaf to the Vegas Golden Knights or Montreal Canadiens
The Golden Knights just missed out on seemingly everyone, huh? Friedman notes that the team was close to adding Anaheim captain Getzlaf and the career Duck was open to the nearby move. However, Vegas allegedly was unwilling to meet the trade demands for the veteran center. For the same reason, the Canadiens likely missed out. Friedman notes that they had serious interest, but talks never got far. Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey Now adds that the Penguins kicked the tires on Getzlaf as well, but never made a serious offer. Anaheim clearly put a high price tag on the face of the franchise and never even approached him about waiving his No-Movement Clause.
Travis Zajac to the Pittsburgh Penguins
While it’s easy to lose track of when trades were made and talks were had around the deadline, per Friedman it seems the Penguins had their sights first set on Zajac from New Jersey, then Getzlaf, and finally Carter. The Kings veteran is not a bad acquisition for a third choice. The Penguins do have to face Zajac on a fellow East Division contender the rest of the way though and surely hope that Carter proves to be the superior player head-to-head.