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Craig Anderson

Craig Anderson Signs Two-Year Extension

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The Ottawa Senators have signed Craig Anderson to a two-year contract extension worth $4.75MM per year. The deal will kick in for the 2018-19 season, after his current contract expires. Both sides had recently discussed an extension, which will no longer be a distraction during the season. The deal includes a ten team no-trade list, and the salary will break down as follows:

  • 2018-19: $5.5MM
  • 2019-20: $4.0MM

Craig AndersonSince Anderson is already 36 years old, this deal will come with some restrictions. Should Anderson retire or be bought out before the end of the contract, his full cap hit will still be applied for the Senators. While he’ll turn 37 at the end of this season, he’s already shown that he can still be a near-elite goaltender in the league in his mid-thirties, and has the added safety of Mike Condon behind him in the net.

The Senators relied on a strong defensive system and excellent goaltending last year, and it appears as though they’ll do the same for the next several years. With Condon’s own new deal, the tandem will earn $7.15MM over Anderson’s extension, a hefty price if they’re not among the league leaders. Ottawa clearly believes they can be, especially after Anderson posted a .926 save percentage last year during the regular season, only to carry a .922 in the playoffs and help the Senators reach the Eastern Conference Finals.

Still, it comes with some worry. Ottawa has some big names up for new contracts in the coming seasons, with Mark Stone, Kyle Turris and Cody Ceci all free agents of some sort next summer. The year after that, Erik Karlsson and Derick Brassard come up, all the while the team will still be paying a combined $14.25MM to Bobby Ryan and Dion Phaneuf. Obviously things can change in an instant, but locking in a 37-year old goaltender for nearly $5MM per season is risky at best.

Anderson had one of the most emotional seasons in recent memory a year ago. After his wife Nicholle was diagnosed with cancer early in the season, Anderson was away from the team for some time. In his heart-wrenching return, he stopped all 37 shots to earn a shutout and would go on to post one of the best seasons of his career. By the end of the season, Nicholle would announce she was in remission just days after Craig did everything he could to keep the Senators in the playoffs. Stopping 39 of 42 shots, but losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins in overtime, the city of Ottawa would rally around the couple. Anderson took home the Masterton Trophy for perseverance and sportsmanship.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Snapshots: Anderson, Mashinter, Top 100

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The Ottawa Senators re-signed Mike Condon this offseason to a three-year contract despite the fact that they still had Craig Anderson under contract as the de facto starter, and that situation could last even more than just one season. James Gordon of The Athletic spoke with Anderson today, who said he’s leaving any extension negotiations to his agent and GM Pierre Dorion. For his part, Dorion apparently sounded positive on the matter, bringing up an interesting question for the Senators. How much is Anderson really worth?

After an incredibly emotional and inspiring season, Anderson heads into the year at age-36 and coming off a .926 save percentage. There is no question he’s still a near-elite level goaltender in the league, but for how much longer can that continue? Condon signed for $2.4MM per season, leaving plenty of room to keep Anderson under contract in a tandem, but the Senators are not usually a cap team—instead operating on an internal budget—and will have to issue big extensions to some of their players before long. Erik Karlsson leads that list as a pending free agent in the summer of 2019, but he’s joined by Mark Stone, Kyle Turris, Derick Brassard and Cody Ceci who will all need contracts in one form or another during that period.

  • Brandon Mashinter has signed a contract with the San Jose Sharks for the upcoming season, and though the news release doesn’t specify financials it is expected to be a two-way deal since it was announced by Joe Will, the GM of the AHL Barracuda. Mashinter, 28, played all of last season for the Rockford Ice Hogs of the AHL, scoring 30 points in 61 games. A veteran of 64 NHL games, he was originally signed by the Sharks out of the OHL after going undrafted. He’ll be in a depth role for the Barracuda, who were one of the league’s best teams last season.
  • The Athletic’s Corey Pronman has released the first half of his Top 100 Under 25 list, which also includes a healthy honorable mention group. One of the most immediate takeaways surely is how many extremely talented players are in this bottom half, showing how incredibly young the league has skewed in recent years. Players like Adam Larsson and J.T. Miller find themselves lower on the list not because of any lack of talent, but because of the infusion the last few drafts have given the league. When 19-year old players like Auston Matthews and Connor McDavid can come in with such an impact right away, it pushes everyone else down. Carolina leads the way with five names in the 50-100 range, and even Vegas gets onto the list with the inclusion of Shea Theodore.

The Oldest NHL Rosters, Looking Forward

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The average age of a team is a stat which gets thrown around rarely, but it can be quite telling when it comes to salary cap planning and drafting. The youngest teams tend to have exceptionally talented stars under the age of 25 (Oilers, Blue Jackets), or find themselves out of contention entirely, banking on the rebuilding process (Arizona, Colorado). At the opposite end of the spectrum are the most aged teams, some past their windows of contention and almost all struggling with an identity crisis. However, there are outliers in the group – for instance, Florida is the 5th oldest team at present, while most of the top talent is still in their primes. Still, the Ottawa Senators, Detroit Red Wings, and Los Angeles Kings all have Father Time looming ominously above their franchises. All of these teams could re-structure themselves and find themselves back on the right track, if their drafting improves and their general managers cut loose harmful contracts while able.

Ottawa Senators

The most recently successful of the three, Ottawa fans likely aren’t expecting another Conference Finals finish. The team lost Marc Methot in expansion, and their largest move in the off-season was the signing of 35-year-old Johnny Oduya. With an average age of 29.73, they should be see the effects of age start to impact their performance. Although 36 year-old Craig Anderson was pivotal in their 2016-17 success, he has one year remaining on his contract and Marcus Hogberg will be looking for an opening in the mid-term future. If Anderson’s workload drastically increases, he could find difficulty in maintaining his above average numbers, and that could spell trouble. By re-signing the steady Mike Condon, however, they at least alleviated that concern.

The team had a chance to unload 30 year-old Bobby Ryan to Vegas, but opted against it. They’ll now have his contract on the books until he’s 35. 36 year-old Alex Burrows has two years remaining on his deal, while 32 year-old Clarke MacArthur has three. 32 year-old defenseman Dion Phaneuf has hard mileage on him with his physical style of play, and has four years remaining on his deal. Outside of Colin White, Cody Ceci, and Fredrik Claesson, everyone on the roster is over the age of 25. If Logan Brown pans out, he should go a long way in rejuvenating the forward corps. Filip Chlapik of Charlottestown is certainly no slouch either. On the defensive side, Thomas Chabot has the talent to make a significant impact, but there’s a logjam of older veterans in his way. While Ottawa obviously doesn’t need to entertain a full rebuild, they need to allow their prospects a chance to make the NHL squad and embrace a youth infusion. Signing the Oduyas of the world only prolongs that necessity.

Detroit Red Wings

The Red Wings have paid out far too much money to mediocre talent, and it has been death by a thousand papercuts for Ken Holland. The team now finds itself $3.9 MM over the salary ceiling, desperately trying to find a way to shed salary and slip under before year’s start while still signing RFA Andreas Athanasiou. This is another franchise who opted to go with an established veteran on the backend this summer, Trevor Daley (33), when the team was in desperate need of younger legs. The team finds itself second oldest league-wide, with an average age of 29.27. Part of the reason Detroit consistently finds itself among the oldest franchises in the league is that the organization places extreme value on fully maturing its prospects, usually in the AHL, before regularly dressing for the big club. This is a fine ideal, but it usually results in more expensive contracts for RFAs, as the totals posted by well-groomed players are usually superior to those of untested rookies. In the Salary Cap era, having productive players on ELCs is a huge contributor to success.

Henrik Zetterberg, 36, has four more years on his deal, and logs exceptionally taxing minutes. Johan Franzen, 37,  is already burning cap space, as his LTIR will be on the books for another 3 seasons. Once the year begins, its not a great issue, but it complicates matters in the off-season. Frans Nielsen, 33, is no spring chicken himself and also takes on greater responsibility in Detroit than he ever did in Long Island. With 5 years remaining on his deal, it begs the question of whether he will be performing at a Selke-caliber when he’s turning 38. Only Xavier Ouellet and Danny DeKeyser are under the age of 30 on defense, with Daley, Mike Green, Niklas Kronwall, and Jonathan Ericsson all having no-trade clauses. The Wings have some enticing prospects on the horizon, but with so many immovable and long-term contracts, it will be difficult for them to find places on the team in the short-term. Dylan Larkin and Anthony Mantha are both ready for larger roles, but true talents like Michael Rasmussen should get the opportunity to shine in a top-six role. Detroit is in no position to seriously compete, and perhaps it’s time to embrace the necessary partial rebuild. Trading some of the dead-weight contracts would be a solid start.

Los Angeles Kings

Los Angeles is only a few years removed from a Stanley Cup win, but it seems like ages past. They have the third-oldest roster on paper at the moment, with an average age of 29.14. The Kings don’t actually have any players over the age of 35, so in that sense, they’ve avoided serious headaches. Marian Gaborik (35) and Mike Cammalleri (35) are the team’s greybeards, and while both had down seasons, they could each realistically rebound under new leadership. The problem for Los Angeles is that they don’t have any bonafide prospects pushing the issue. Adrian Kempe is the surest best to make the roster this year, as he could slot into a bottom-six role quite easily. Defenseman Paul LaDue should see his fair share of work this year as well. Beyond that, they’ll have no players playing on entry-level contracts. It’s simply unsustainable to draft in such a poor manner for so long, and Los Angeles is seeing the hurt now. If Jonny Brodzinski, a former 5th-rounder, could make the leap permanent, it would be a great help.

The Kings are over $6.8 MM under the cap ceiling, so unlike the Wings and Senators the franchise isn’t overly concerned about money. Dustin Brown’s contract is particularly egregious, but there’s not much to be done about it. Los Angeles can still turn things around, but they’ll need more recent draft picks to find a way to contribute going forward. Gabriel Viladri will head back to Windsor for the season, but he could inject a serious shot of youthful speed and creativity into the roster in 2018-19. There’s just not a ton of excitement when it comes to Kings prospects, and considering that Vilardi was the first first-round pick since 2014 (Kempe), it’s easy to see why. Still, Tanner Pearson (25) and Tyler Toffoli (25) should have more prominent offensive roles this year, while some older defensemen were abandoned, so management seems to be righting the ship.

Senators Passed Up Chance To Unload Ryan

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One of the few players who was heavily anticipated to become a Vegas Golden Knight did not – Bobby Ryan. Despite an above-average playoff performance in the Senators’ heartbreaking Conference Final run, Ryan has vastly under-performed relative to his contract. Instead of coordinating a deal to unload that contract to Vegas, they instead lost Marc Methot, perhaps the second best defenseman on the team in that Cinderella story. Methot’s contract was not perfect, to be sure, but Ryan’s deal still looms large over the team for years.

It should be noted that Ryan has been a consistent 50+ point producer prior to this season, where he tallied only 25 through 62 contests. He’s been on pace for over 50 every year since he was a rookie. That said, his fall from grace in 2016-17was concerning and dramatic. His puck control seriously declined, his decision making faltered, and his production took a nosedive. With only 12 goals, and coming off a hot post-season, the time was ripe for GM Pierre Dorion to take advantage of Vegas’ unique situation and rid himself of a bad contract. Earning $7.25 MM AAV for the next five seasons, Ryan is the 36th highest paid forward in the league, and second-highest on the payroll behind Erik Karlsson.

For those who believe such an arrangement could not have been worked out, merely look at some of the contracts Vegas did take on. The essentially retired David Clarkson’s $5.25 MM for the next 3 seasons was shipped out at the price of a first and a 2020 second. The perennially concussed Mikhail Grabovski was dealt for a similar package, which also protected some of the Islanders’ players. Vegas also didn’t shy away from taking veteran players with value – they selected James Neal (29 years old) from Nashville as well as David Perron from the Blues (29 years old). Certainly, with a little encouragement, George McPhee might have entertained the possibility of Ryan as a Knight. The price may have been steep, but Karlsson is in the prime of his career, while many players are looking for raises in the immediate future. Clearing Ryan’s albatross off the books may have gone a long way towards building toward a consistent contender.

Ultimately, Dorion decided against unloading a bloated contract in hopes that Ryan’s post-season revival was no mirage. With the UFA crop available, it’s difficult to blame the management for doubling down on the struggling winger. Five roster players will be UFA after this season, including Craig Anderson and Kyle Turris, while Mark Stone (RFA) has earned a raise. Karlsson will then be due a raise for 2019-20, as will five other forwards. The team will need to rely upon cost-effective ELC players and bargain contracts to continue holding pace with the rest of the Atlantic division. Only time will tell whether the Ryan decision was the correct one.

Snapshots: Backes, Ikonen, Luongo

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Although he was listed among the worst contracts for 2017-18 earlier this evening, David Backes is hoping for a bounceback year in Boston. Per an article penned by NBC Sports’ Adam Gretz, Backes realizes that he has underperformed thus far during his Massachusetts tenure. In an interview, Backes highlighted that he will focus this off-season on improving his agility and acceleration, which were severely lacking last year. As Gretz mentioned, however, he is 33 years old and cannot be expected to transform overnight. Adjusting to the increased speed of the NHL game could prove a challenge for Backes, but Boston has little choice but to hope that he can become the asset that he was in St. Louis as their long-time captain. The contract is relatively unmovable unless salary is retained and there are four years left on the deal. If nothing else, Backes could learn to fit into a more sheltered third-line shutdown role, as his defensive ability is absolutely still present.

  • Center Joni Ikonen is a cause for optimism in Montreal, or so says Grant McCagg of Recrutes. Ikonen’s performance in the recent Summer Showcase was truly head-turning, as the flash he displays on a regular basis is highly intriguing. He also produced enough for fourth-best in the tournament, while looking defensively capable all the while. He finished the tournament with an impressive hat trick in a loss to Sweden. Ryan Poehling, another prospect at the showcase, also played well enough to attract praise. Poehling is less dynamic that Ikonen, but he already has an NHL-ready body and two-way mindset. He, like Ikonen, netted 5 points in 5 games in the brief tournament. The comparisons to Ryan Kesler may be relatively premature, but he seems a solid bet to make an impact. If either, or both, players make the Canadiens roster in the next few seasons, it would go a long way towards alleviating the massive center-ice issues the team has struggled with for at least a decade. Alex Galchenyuk will still likely have to take the reigns for this year, however.
  • The Panthers are hoping to run with the Roberto Luongo / James Reimer goalie tandem for the near future, and are seemingly OK with that. Cat Silverman wrote a piece for FanRag Sports that details how the combination might work out this season to propel the team into the post-season yet again. The duo performed admirably last year through a long down spell and a coaching change, with Reimer claiming 42 of the starts. Luongo’s save percentage was a respectable .915, just behind Reimer’s .920. Luongo will have every opportunity to return to his “starter” status, but competition isn’t always a bad thing. Luongo’s contract, with 5 years remaining at 38, looks really formidable though, so the organization has to hope he can maintain his form well enough to grind out at least 3 more seasons. Craig Anderson is still going strong at 36, and Tim Thomas had his best years after the age of 34. Lightening Luongo’s yearly load will go a long way towards keeping him fresh. Ultimately, GM Dale Tallon had a solid, if unremarkable off-season, and is staying patient with the progress of his young core. As long as neither goalie’s performance totally implodes, they should at least challenge for a playoff spot.

NHL Awards Preview

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Caught up in the excitement of the Expansion Draft, it’s easy to forget that there is also an awards show tonight. Yes, the best trophy in all of sports, the Stanley Cup, has already been presented to the Pittsburgh Penguins, as has the Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP to their captain, Sidney Crosby. Crosby also already locked up the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy for the most regular season goals. Edmonton Oilers wunderkind Connor McDavid captured the Art Ross Trophy for the most regular season points as well. Braden Holtby locked up the William M. Jennings Trophy already too, as the Washington Capitals allowed the least amount of goals against in the regular season. Yet, all three of these players and many more still have a lot on the line tonight. Here are the nominees for tonight’s NHL Awards:

Hart Trophy – Most Valuable Player

Sergei Bobrovsky, Columbus Blue Jackets

  • Star goalie helped to lead the Blue Jackets to their best record in franchise history, all while topping the league in save percentage (.931) and goals against average (2.06)

Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins

  • The NHL’s leading goal-scorer and back-to-back winner of the Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe Trophy

Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers

  • 20-year-old phenom led the league in points and assists and took his team from the draft lottery to the second round of the playoffs

Norris Trophy – Best Defenseman

Brent Burns, San Jose Sharks

  • Not only led all defenseman in scoring with 76 points, but finished ninth overall among some of the league’s most dynamic forwards. Can check with the best of them as well.

Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning

  • A down year for the Bolts was a career year for Hedman, who finished just four points behind Burns with 72, and led all blue liners with 56 assists

Erik Karlsson, Ottawa Senators

  • If this award had been voted on after the playoffs, it might have been a different result. The NHL’s best puck-mover may still pull it off behind a 71-point campaign and an improved defensive game

Read more

Craig Anderson Will Be Protected From Expansion Draft

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Though it doesn’t come as much of a surprise, Ottawa Senators GM Pierre Dorion confirmed today that Craig Anderson will be the goalie protected for the team in the upcoming expansion draft. With Mike Condon set to become an unrestricted free agent, that means the Golden Knights will get a chance to negotiate with him prior to the draft, and also puts into question whether the Senators will look to retain him on a longer-term contract after the season. Anderson has just a single year left on his contract, but at 36 was one of the biggest reasons the Senators reached game 7 of the Eastern Conference final.

While protecting Anderson seems like the obvious choice after his excellent season—the veteran goaltender put up a .926 save percentage despite his personal issues—Condon looks more like the future in Ottawa should they be able to sign him. Dorion mentioned during his press conference that if they can’t sign Condon (which would confirm that they’re trying to) that Andrew Hammond could be in as the backup to Anderson, and though Hammond had a Cinderella-like run when his career started, he had a terrible season fighting injury and is already 29-years old. Dorion admits talks with Condon haven’t gone well so far, but that he will speak to his agent next week.

In terms of other players being protected, Dorion was less forthcoming. He put it simply:

We’re going to lose a player. That’s part of the deal. Las Vegas payed a lot of money to get in this league, and that’s part of the deal. Are you mad about it? No. That’s part of the deal. We’ve got enough depth that I don’t see any radical changes to this team.

There has been much speculation about the possibility of Bobby Ryan being exposed, though when Ian Mendes of TSN asked if Dorion had changed his mind during the playoffs about certain players, the GM said that they have to take everything into account. Ryan exploded in the playoffs after a dreadful season, turning into one of the team’s best forwards. After scoring just 25 points in the regular season, Ryan put up 15 in the Senators’ 19 playoff games and may have done enough to warrant protection once again. Supremely talented, Ryan has the biggest cap-hit on the team and is signed through the 2021-22 season.

Morning Notes: MacArthur, Jagr, Darling

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Ottawa’s Clarke MacArthur is day-to-day following an injury sustained in the second period of Game 2 versus the New York Rangers. MacArthur took a rather routine, if tough, hit from New York captain Ryan McDonagh. MacArthur appears to have gotten his hands up to absorb some of the high body check, but with MacArthur’s recent history, another concussion is always the fear. MacArthur missed the bulk of this and last season (8 games combined) to lingering concussion symptoms, and would likely have been a finalist for the Masterton had he not been on the same squad as goalie Craig Anderson. The 32 year-old left winger had dealt with quality-of-life issues and was forced to even contemplate retirement. Although coach Guy Boucher did not express major concern, Senators fans will certainly be holding their breath in hopes that nothing serious was sustained. As Boucher said, “it’s something he had last game and he aggravated today” – whatever it was, he had already played through once. It’s difficult to see a coach taking chances with concussion symptoms in this day and age, with this player – even in the playoffs. Whether he returns for Game 3 or at all this series is up in the air.

  • As expected, the Carolina Hurricanes organization will attempt to sign Scott Darling to a contract as soon as they are able. The Hurricanes took a bit of a gamble in acquiring an impending UFA for a 3rd-round draft pick. Certainly they have the inside track with regard to signing the goaltender, but there is every possibility he could choose to test the market. His phenomenal season as the backup in Chicago would certainly attract a few suitors, and by heading to July 1st, he only improves his leverage. Carolina was already in a pickle as to which goaltender they would protect. If Darling signs before June 18th, the team would expose both Cam Ward and Eddie Lack in the expansion draft, which could be quite financially beneficial. If they cannot sign him before that date, they could choose to leave Darling unprotected. It’s unlikely that Vegas would opt to choose a UFA who is seemingly holding out (considering they would have a limited negotiation period), but he might be one of the few UFAs that would be intriguing enough for them to roll the dice.
  • Jaromir Jagr’s agent is expected to meet with Florida Panthers management in hopes of negotiating a new contract. The 45 year-old future Hall of Famer has played for 8 separate franchises, but has spent his last 3 seasons in the sunshine state. Dale Tallon, newly re-instated, has nothing but praise for the tough, creative winger. This season, however, Jagr showed signs of slowing down, literally and figuratively. He posted a career low 16 goals and personally substandard 46 points. The totals were still good for 4th on the team, behind youngsters Vincent Trocheck, Aleksander Barkov, and Jonathan Marchessault. Jagr has repeatedly expressed his desire to keep playing until his body fails him, even proclaiming the goal of playing until the age of 60. Jagr will likely be able to find a fit for next season in Florida if his salary demands aren’t too excessive.

Ottawa’s Expansion Conundrum

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The Ottawa Senators are in for a tough decision come the completion of their playoff run, whenever that might be. Ottawa has a team which is built upon depth and scoring by committee, but each NHL team can only protect 7 forwards, 3 defensemen, and 1 goaltender – or alternatively, 8 total skaters and 1 goaltender in the upcoming expansion draft. The Senators are in a situation where they will likely prefer to lose a veteran with a large contract. This seems doubly true because the organization is believed to have an internal cap for financial reasons, and will need to clear space in order to hand out hefty raises to Mark Stone and Kyle Turris following the 2017-18 campaign.

Obviously, Erik Karlsson, Stone, Turris, and Mike Hoffman will be protected. Karlsson is a perennial Norris favorite, captain of the team, and one of the best offensive defensemen the game has seen in decades. Stone and Hoffman are the driving forces behind offensive production, and are both on the young end of their primes. Turris has finally, fully come into his own as a number one center, posting  a 27 goal, 55 point season. Considering the price to acquire him (Mika Zibanejad) and the relative value of centers to this team which isn’t too formidable up the middle, Derick Brassard also seems a certainty to stay. Craig Anderson is the obvious pick in net. He’s been an absolute rock that the team has depended on the past few seasons, and this year was simply extraordinary. Cody Ceci is also a rather safe bet, consider minutes logged, age, and his role on the back-end. Marc Methot should seemingly be a core piece to the defense as well, but as we will soon see, his situation is far more complicated. So, in terms of definitely protected players:

Forward:    Hoffman, Stone, Turris, Brassard

Defense:    Karlsson, Ceci

Goalie:    Anderson

That leaves 3 forwards and 1 defensemen, or, alternatively, 2 total skaters to protect. It seems somewhat unlikely (although not impossible) that they will opt for the latter option. If we look at the potential list of who can be protected, there are no easy answers. Up front, Alexandre Burrows seems to have been a solid fit, as he has played well since being promoted to Turris’ right wing on the top line, and his cap hit drops to a measly $2.5 MM going forward. Zack Smith has been a more-than-capable third-line center, and is signed to a cap-friendly deal for four years after this. Bobby Ryan is incredibly overpaid ($7.25 MM) considering his performance this past year (25 points), but has expressed his profound disappointment in his own season to the relative acceptance of the fanbase. It doesn’t hurt his cause that he has been Ottawa’s best skater this post-season by far, leading the team with 7 points through 6 games. Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Ryan Dzingel could also receive consideration for a protected forward spot, but only one is likely to remain unguarded.

In terms of defense, Dion Phaneuf has a bloated contract which would be especially helpful to be rid of. Phaneuf is getting an absurd $7 MM per year , but he is on the “must-protect” list due to his modified no-trade, no-movement clause. The team could ask him to waive, but considering his solid play of late, this is more difficult to conceive. There is also no guarantee that Vegas would be interested in the player. The up-and-coming Fredrik Claesson is exempt from the expansion draft and needs no protection. Therefore, it seems likely that Methot ($4.9 MM) will be the odd man out, as he would likely be exposed in the 7-3 option. This would be a difficult pill for Ottawa fans to swallow, as Methot has arguably been their best shutdown player and he logs a ton of tough minutes.

For a team that has worked so hard to shore up its back-end and add depth up front, there are no easy solutions for GM Pierre Dorion. If you lose Methot, you lose your best defensive defenseman – if you expose a resurgent Ryan, you surrender a creative offensive weapon. Either way, Vegas is likely going to pick one of its integral players from Canada’s capital city.

Snapshots: Masterton Finalists, Sabres, Worlds

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The NHL has announced its finalists for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy. The Masterton is awarded to the player “who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to ice hockey”. Each team nominates their own candidate for consideration, and the top three vote-getters are announced before the awards. The final three are Ottawa’s Craig Anderson, Carolina’s Derek Ryan, and Anaheim’s Andrew Cogliano.

Anderson was forced to take an extended hiatus while his wife was battling cancer. The netminder returned to action after a long stretch away from the rink, and immediately posted a shutout against the New York Islanders in February as he continued his dominance of the crease. His .926 save percentage this season was second among goalies who had played more than 30 games, and was a huge factor in his team making the playoffs. Ryan is a 30 year-old rookie, and spent his entire career toiling in the minors and overseas before finally getting his shot at an NHL roster spot. Cogliano has been unbelievably resilient and tough in his impressive ironman streak, playing over 800 straight games since entering the league. If he has another few seasons of perfect attendance, he could break ironman records thought hopelessly lost to ancient hockey history. The Masteron winner will be announced on June 21st at the NHL Awards show in Las Vegas, which will also feature the announcement of the Golden Knights’ roster selections.

  • The Athletic’s Scott Powers gave insight into Blackhawks players possibly travelling to compete in the World Championships. Ville Pokka will not compete for Finland, apparently due to a contract issue. Artem Anisimov will not play for Russia, which is a big blow for that squad, as his size and unique skillset would have been useful. He is still nursing a lower-body injury which impacted his play in the team’s first-round exit. Patrick Kane is unlikely to play for the United States, but has made no official comment on the matter.
  • The Buffalo News reflects on the season-long failure of the Sabres to provide their goalies support. Looking forward to a new GM and head coach hire, fans are hopeful for higher standards and less streakiness. This offseason, it seems as though providing goal support for Jack Eichel will be paramount, as the team struggled mightily to find steady production. Comments from players are looking forward to revamping their play style next season at even strength, by not allowing such a disparity in shot opportunities. Offensive help in terms of UFAs will be difficult to find, as there is sparse selection. T.J. Oshie, Radim Vrbata, Kris Versteeg, and Patrick Eaves are all names that should intrigue the Buffalo front-office – though it is uncertain which will still remain unsigned come July 1st.

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