Rangers Notes: Andersson, Chytil, Desharnais, Buchnevich
It’s rare that a pair of first rounders picked by the same from the latest draft crack the NHL roster right away but that could be the case for the Rangers. Head coach Alain Vigneault told reporters, including Justin Tasch of the New York Daily News, that both Lias Andersson (7th overall) and Filip Chytil (21st overall) could both break camp with the team to start the season. New York hasn’t really replaced Derek Stepan down the middle and both youngsters are natural centers. There will also be an opening on the roster for a few weeks thanks to winger Jesper Fast’s hip surgery this summer that will have him out for the first few weeks of the season. Andersson and Chytil can each play nine NHL games before burning the first year of their contracts.
More from Manhattan:
- The team signed David Desharnais with the idea that he can hold down the third line center spot despite struggling considerably last season, notes Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post. Although he is only two years removed from a 48 point campaign, he managed just 14 in 49 games between Montreal and Edmonton last year. From a depth perspective, the team may be better off starting with him as a fourth liner that can move up when injuries arise or someone struggles since he wasn’t able to hold down a full-time top-nine spot in 2016-17 with either team.
- The back issues that plagued rookie winger Pavel Buchnevich in his rookie season are a thing of the past, writes Newsday’s Steve Zipay. The Russian got off to a strong start despite playing through the pain but by the time the second half rolled around, he spent most of his time on the fourth line or in the press box. If he’s able to hold down a top-nine spot on the wing, that could also free the team up to try J.T. Miller down the middle as well.
Rangers New Defense Might Have Weakened Rest Of Team
The New York Rangers spent much of their offseason fixing one of their biggest weaknesses in their defense. The team went out and signed free agent Kevin Shattenkirk to a four-year, $26.6MM deal, then re-signed trade deadline rental Brendan Smith to a new four-year, $17.4MM deal. They traded away top center Derek Stepan and backup goaltender Antti Raanta for defenseman Anthony DeAngelo and a first-round pick. Perhaps more importantly, they bought out Dan Girardi, who was struggling. With all the changes, the Rangers should have one of the best defensive corps in the league. With Shattenkirk paired with Ryan McDonagh, Smith paired with veteran Marc Staal and young Brady Skjei paired with either Nick Holden or DeAngelo, the Rangers should be in fantastic shape.
But at what cost? The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn writes (subscription required) that the Rangers’ knee-jerk reaction to their second-round playoff loss to the Ottawa Senators have crippled the team in other areas. He writes the goaltending situation is now worse due to moving Raanta to Arizona. Instead, New York signed Ondrej Pavelec to a one-year deal, but there is a huge difference between the two backups. Raanta was a stud backup who now will get his chance to be an NHL starting goalie. Pavelec has been inconsistent in his time with the Jets, but has struggled so bad in the last couple of years that Winnipeg demoted him to the AHL’s Manitoba Moose. Incidentally, Pavelec played 18 games for Manitoba and finished with a 2.78 GAA in that span — which wouldn’t be acceptable in the NHL. Probably not the backup you would want when your starter Henrik Lundqvist, who is 35 years old, is coming off the worst season of his career. Lundqvist finished the year with a 2.74 GAA in 57 games and .910 save percentage. Those numbers suggest that his workload might need to be diminished in the future — probably not the best time to be trading your top backup.
The scribe also mentions that the team also has to wonder if they have enough offense to get through the season. The team traded away Stepan, who he admits isn’t that big of a loss, but considering that there is no true center who can take his place, that’s not a good sign. Yes, Mike Zibanejad will likely assume the top role, but he will likely be one of the worst top centers in the NHL. Their other three centers J.T. Miller, Kevin Hayes and David Desharnais are all acceptable, but none are outstanding centers. Luszczyszyn adds that what the Rangers really need is a big-name scorer, which they lack. The team instead relies on Chris Kreider and Mats Zuccarello, who are great players, but not two players you should have leading your offense.
All in all, the belief is the Rangers have traded one concern for many others. Will these offensive changes really change anything?
Rangers Ready To Move Nick Holden For Help At Center
Don’t be surprised if the New York Rangers move out defenseman Nick Holden in the coming weeks. After signing Kevin Shattenkirk and re-signing Brendan Smith to long-term contracts last week, the Rangers now have five solid defensemen and rather than have Holden languish on one of the bottom-six defensive rotation spots, the team may be ready to use the veteran defender as a trade chip to acquire a center. According to the New York Post’s Larry Brooks, the Rangers might be looking to use Holden to go after Toronto’s Tyler Bozak if the Maple Leafs make the 31-year-old center available now that they have signed Patrick Marleau to a three-year contract.
Toronto, which is currently over the cap by $3.9MM (via Cap Friendly) after the signing, must make a move to get them below the cap. Bozak would make sense as he is on the last year of his contract at $4.2MM and is not likely to be resigned with the Maple Leafs cap issues that will be greeting them in the future. Bozak had a productive season with Toronto last year, putting up 18 goals and 37 assists, while averaging 16:26 of time on the ice. The Rangers, who traded away center Derek Stepan to Arizona to free up some cap space to invest in their defense, must find help to fill that vacant center position as the team currently only has Kevin Hayes, Mika Zibanejad, J.T. Miller and recent free agent acquisition David Desharnais on its roster at that position. Bozak would provide that much needed depth and could even earn a spot as the team’s second center, according to Brooks.
The Rangers don’t need Holden as much on defense as they also have two young defenders who are ready to contribute on defense in 23-year-old Brady Skjei, who had a solid season for the Rangers last year, and 21-year-old Anthony DeAngelo, who they picked up in the Stepan deal. While the Leafs did just sign 36-year-old veteran Ron Hainsey from the Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins to add to their defense, adding a quality veteran like Holden might be a good fit and offer defensive depth they currently do not have.
New York Rangers Sign David Desharnais
Wednesday: The team has officially announced the signing.
Tuesday: The New York Rangers have been looking for some depth at center since moving Derek Stepan to the Arizona Coyotes, and they may have found it on the open market. David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period is reporting that the team has agreed to terms with free agent David Desharnais on a one-year contract, though the team has yet to announce any deal. Larry Brooks of the New York Post has it at $1MM.
Desharnais was ranked #42 on our list of the top free agents this year, projecting the same one-year, $1MM deal. The former 60-point player hasn’t had that sort of offensive success in several seasons, though did settle into a depth role with Edmonton after a mid-season trade. Now 30, the undersized center won’t be relied upon in anything more than a bottom-six role in New York, with Mika Zibanejad and Kevin Hayes likely starting the season in the top two center roles. While he won’t be replacing Stepan, the Rangers also lost Oscar Lindberg to the Vegas Golden Knights, and needed help down the middle in several different roles.
Still, for a team with dreams of another 100-point season, lining Desharnais up as your third-line center for the entire season is a recipe for disaster. He scored just 14 points last season split between Montreal and Edmonton, and though a bounce-back is definitely possible it’s far from probable. It will be interesting to see how they deploy him, and if they move another player—like J.T. Miller—into a center role or try to acquire another one by trade. Either way, they’ll hope the 5’7″ Desharnais will provide some value.
The other interesting note is the Rangers’ cap situation and how little room they have to re-sign Zibanejad and Jesper Fast. Though those are their only restricted free agents of note, a deal for Desharnais eating any more than $1MM would make it difficult to sign both without moving out other salary. Both are arbitration eligible and looking for their third contracts, and are coming off a combined $3.6MM in 2016-17. Already with just $8.35MM in cap space, there isn’t much wiggle room. If Kevin Klein does retire or go to Europe as rumored at one point, that would open up some more space or the team could potentially bury or buyout another contract to create some room. Either way, they’ll have to spend their dollars carefully before an arbitration decision could force them to make another move.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Free Agent Focus: Edmonton Oilers
The free agent period is now less than one week away from opening up and there are several prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign. Here is a breakdown of the Edmonton Oilers’ free agent situation.
Key Restricted Free Agents: F Leon Draisaitl. At 21 years old and coming off a 29-goal season (along with 77 total points), Draisaitl would likely be the most important restricted free agent in the entire NHL. The Oilers have already come out and stated they will match any offer, no matter how high to retain one of the franchise’s cornerstone pieces on their team and it will prove costly. The third overall pick in the 2014 draft has been unstoppable in just three short years and he’s nowhere close to his prime. Extending the young German forward is critical for the team and a big reason the team just traded Jordan Eberle to the Islanders to free as much cap space as it can to lock up Draisaitl and Connor McDavid, who they hope to extend this year as well.
Other RFA’s: F Zack Kassian, D Joey Laleggia, D David Musil, F Zachary Pochiro, F Henrik Samuelsson, D Dillon Simpson.
Key Unrestricted Free Agents: F Tyler Pitlick. A few days ago, veteran defender Kris Russell would have been in this spot, but the defender signed a four-year, $4MM per year deal to stay with the Oilers. That leaves very little to worry about on the unrestricted free agent front. However, if you really look, Pitlick still has a lot of potential. The only problem is the 25-year-old center is quite injury prone. In the last three years, he has not played in more than 37 games a season due to various injuries with the most recent being a torn ACL back in December. Although, he was having a strong season before that, scoring eight goals in those first 31 games. However, considering the Oilers may be looking for cheap players with potential, they might consider giving Pitlick one more chance.
Other UFA’s: F David Desharnais, F Justin Fontaine, D Mark Fraser, F Matt Hendricks, D Eric Gryba, D Jordan Oesterle.
Projected Cap Space: With the Eberle contract now off the books and Russell signed long-term, that allows Edmonton almost $20MM in cap space to work with and they will likely need a lot of that to give extensions to Draisaitl and McDavid. While McDavid is not a restricted free agent until next year, the team can lock him up starting this summer and would be smart to do so. With what’s left, the team may look to add a few veterans to fill out the lineup and help guide this young team even further next year.
Snapshots: Konecny, Duclair, Oilers-Red Wings
After missing nine games with an injured knee and ankle, Philadelphia Flyers rookie Travis Konecny will return to the lineup on Saturday night. That’s according to Tim Panaccio of CSN Philly.
It’s an early-than-expected return for Konecny, who was expected to miss 4-6 weeks when he was placed on IR three weeks ago. The rookie has seven goals and 22 points in 51 games so far this season, while averaging almost 15 minutes per night with solid possession numbers. His 22 points were good for fourteenth in rookie scoring when he was injured back in February. He’s now dropped to twentieth, having been passed by fellow Flyers rookie Ivan Provorov among others.
It’s not yet known who Konecny will line up with in Washington this evening. Forward Jordan Weal was called up to replace Konecny, and though he has just one goal in six games, he’s been lining up on the Flyers’ top line with Claude Giroux and Wayne Simmonds. The Flyers also added center Valtteri Filppula at the trade deadline, so the forward core looks slightly different than the one Konecny left last month.
- Much-maligned sophomore Anthony Duclair played his first NHL game in six weeks last night. He had been sent to the AHL in mid-January to find his scoring touch, which had been missing all season. Duclair scored 20 goals and 44 points in his rookie year, but has just three goals and nine points in 42 games this season. The main culprit appears to be his shooting percentage, which has gone from 19% down to 5.2%. It’s not as if Duclair lit up the AHL either, with just one goal and eight points in 16 games. However, it appears he’s back with the NHL club for the rest of the season. Sarah McLellan of AZ Central quoted Coyotes bench boss Dave Tippett as saying the rest of this season is Duclair’s chance to “re-establish himself as an NHL player.” The Coyotes clearly want to take a closer look at Duclair before making a decision on him this summer when he’s an RFA.
- It will be a tale of two teams heading in completely different directions when the Detroit Red Wings visit the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday night. The Oilers are comfortably in a playoff spot for the first time in a very long time, and the Red Wings are about to miss the playoffs for the first time since 1989-90. The last time the Oilers finished ahead of the Red Wings was the following year; twelve members of tonight’s Oilers were not yet born. In addition, this will be David Desharnais‘ first appearance in blue and orange since being acquired before the trade deadline, and he’ll line up Anton Slepyshev and Zack Kassian.
Trade Deadline Summary: Winners & Losers Of The Pacific Division
The NHL Trade Deadline has come and gone, and while it wasn’t the most exciting deadline day in recent memory, there were quite a few notable moves. Here are the winners and losers of the upstart Pacific Division:
Winners
Anaheim Ducks:
- Acquired Patrick Eaves from Dallas Stars for conditional second-round pick
The Ducks had one real need at the deadline and that was another top six winger. By getting ahead of the market and making the deal for Eaves earlier this week, Anaheim was already a winner at the deadline. The conditional second-rounder, which can become a first, is a steep price. However, given that Eaves is having a career year, the market value had yet to be set, and the Ducks desperation had grown due to the Antoine Vermette suspension, they were right to swing a deal when they had the chance. It was a quiet deadline day in Anaheim, but this is still a team that could make a lot of noise down the stretch.
Arizona Coyotes:
- Acquired 2017 third-round pick and conditional 2018 fifth-round pick from Calgary Flames for Michael Stone
- Acquired 2017 first-round pick, 2018 second-round pick, conditional 2019 fourth-round pick, and Grayson Downing from Minnesota Wild for Martin Hanzal, Ryan White, and 2017 fourth-round pick
- Acquired Teemu Pulkkinen from Minnesota Wild for “future considerations”
- Acquired Joe Whitney from Colorado Avalanche for Brandon Ranford
The Coyotes messed up by not trading Radim Vrbata (and might have been able to get more for Stone), but put that aside and what they were able to get from the Minnesota Wild is pretty extraordinary. The team wanted to re-sign Hanzal, but when talks fell apart, it became a foregone conclusion that he would be moved. Yet, that inevitability never drove the prices down and the Wild ended up offering an amazing deal for the career Coyote. The Avalanche should take note because this is how you work the trade deadline as one the league’s worst teams. In exchange for impending free agents who were not coming back in Hanzal and Stone, Arizona ends up with five picks and two prospects (assuming, as it often does, that “future considerations” means nothing) and the team has suffered almost no loss. If GM John Chayka has decided to deal Vrbata, he likely would have added another pair of good picks to that mix, but as it stands, the Coyotes still did pretty well.
Trade Deadline Summary: Winners & Losers Of The Atlantic Division
The NHL Trade Deadline has come and gone, and while it wasn’t the most exciting deadline day in recent memory, there were quite a few notable moves. Here are the winners and losers of the neck-and-neck Atlantic Division:
Winners
Boston Bruins:
- Acquired Drew Stafford from Winnipeg Jets for conditional 2017 sixth-round pick
GM Don Sweeney did not want a repeat of 2016, when he gave up second, third, fourth, and fifth-round picks for Lee Stempniak and John-Michael Liles, only for the team to miss the playoffs. In 2017, he succeeded in bringing in a reliable depth player and goal-scorer, Stafford, without having to pay the price of a top pick or any of Boston’s numerous high-end prospects. Sweeney deserves credit for not panicking when his divisional rivals all began making multiple moves, holding to his word of not overpaying and eventually getting a last-minute deal done at a bargain price for a good player.
Detroit Red Wings:
- Acquired 2017 third-round pick from Chicago Blackhawks for Tomas Jurco
- Acquired 2017 third-round pick and 2018 second-round pick from New York Rangers for Brendan Smith
- Acquired 2018 sixth-round pick from Montreal Canadiens for Steve Ott
- Acquired 2017 third-round pick and Dylan McIlrath from Florida Panthers for Thomas Vanek
As hard as it is to imagine, the Red Wings are going to miss the playoffs and were in a complete fire sale at the deadline. For as long as it has been since they were in such a position, the team did pretty well. GM Ken Holland may have been able to get a better deal for Vanek earlier in the season, but getting two high picks for Smith and anything at all for Ott was nice maneuvering. The Red Wings in essence added five picks for four players that were unlikely to be on the team in 2017-18 anyway. Could they have dealt Riley Sheahan and Drew Miller too? Possibly, but they did enough as is.
Oilers Acquire Desharnais From Canadiens For Brandon Davidson
Per TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie, the Montreal Canadiens have dealt David Desharnais to the Edmonton Oilers for Brandon Davidson. The Canadiens also retained 20% of Desharnais’ contract as well, according to ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun.
With the move, the Oilers grab a center they were seeking, who can slot in anywhere from second to third. In 31 games for the Habs, Desharnais had 10 points (4-6). Davidson has just one point in 28 games.
TSN’s Ryan Rishaug tweets that he’s been 47% in the circle, but injuries limited him this season. Additionally, he apparently fell out of favor with head coach Claude Julien. As for Davidson, the Edmonton Journal’s David Staples wrote an article last year praising the young defenseman. ESPN’s Scott Burnside agrees, writing that the Habs acquired “a promising defenseman”. Hockeybuzz’s Mike Augello argues that while the Canadiens have another depth defenseman, they are still in need of scoring.
Desharnais, though he fills a hole for the Oilers, has seen his performance steadily declined writes Spector Hockey’s Lyle Richardson. The move will ease the burden on Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, making it flexible to flip-flop him between a second and third line center.
Renaud Lavoie was the first to report the trade. Pierre LeBrun was the first to report the contract details.
Alexander Radulov Seeking Long-Term Deal
On Hockey Night In Canada between the second and third periods in the Ottawa-Toronto game, Nick Kypreos of Sportsnet reported that Montreal Canadiens forward Alexander Radulov is seeking a long-term deal that could be up to as many as six years. The Canadiens don’t necessarily want to go that long, but may do it if the AAV drops a bit. 
Kypreos mentioned the possibility of a short-term deal with a much higher salary, even as much as $7MM on a three-year deal. We listed Radulov at #2 on our ranking of the Top Midseason Free Agents, and it’s clear that he would have multiple suitors should he hit the open market again this summer.
For what it’s worth Washington Capitals head coach Barry Trotz, who maintains a friendship with Radulov from his days in Nashville, recently said that he would be “shocked” if Montreal and the Russian forward didn’t come to some sort of an agreement. Trotz said that Radulov loves it in Montreal, and if he is looking for a long-term deal he may be there for a while yet.
Montreal has a few contracts coming off the books next year, including David Desharnais and Andrei Markov but also will need to re-sign Alex Galchenyuk this summer. While he’s had a very up and down season, hit by injuries and inconsistency, Galchenyuk should get a very substantial upgrade to his current $2.8MM hit, especially if he gives up several free agent years.
Assigning upwards of $6MM per season to a soon-to-be 31-year old for more than five years would be a risky proposition regardless of his excellent production this year. The Canadiens already have Shea Weber on the wrong side of 30 earning a ton of money for a long time (nine more years in fact) and Jeff Petry signed until he’s 34.
It does seem like there is a deal to be worked out between the two sides, after Montreal convinced Radulov to come back from the KHL, but how long and for how many millions is still very much up in the air.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.