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Derek Stepan

Senators Notes: Captains, Camp Roster, Brassard, Brannstrom

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The Senators have wasted little time determining their leadership group, announcing (via Twitter) that they will go without a captain and go with three alternates again this season.  It’s a brand-new trio from the ones that started the season in that role last year as all three departed either via trade or free agency.  Wearing the ‘A’ this season will be defensemen Thomas Chabot and Erik Gudbranson as well as winger Brady Tkachuk.  Chabot and Tkachuk are core pieces of Ottawa’s rebuild while Gudbranson, an Ottawa native, was acquired from Anaheim in the offseason.  The team has not had a full-time captain since trading Erik Karlsson to San Jose back in 2018.

More from Ottawa:

  • The Sens announced their training camp roster with some notable omissions. Recently-acquired veterans Derek Stepan, Cedric Paquette, and Braydon Coburn are all not on the max-sized roster nor is top prospect Tim Stuetzle who is still at the World Juniors.  Stepan is still in Arizona with his wife recently gave birth to their third child while Paquette and Coburn are currently quarantining and won’t be able to join the team for on-ice drills for another week.  Stuetzle will eventually make his way to camp as well but will also need to go through an isolation period which will eat up most of the remaining training camp time.
  • Ottawa has one player in camp on a PTO deal in goaltender Francois Brassard. The 26-year-old was actually drafted by the Sens back in 2012 but never signed with the team.  He spent last season with ECHL Maine, putting up a 2.76 GAA with a .908 SV% in 14 appearances.  He is likely hoping to land an AHL contract with a successful tryout as the Senators already have five netminders on NHL deals.
  • Defenseman Erik Brannstrom had requested that Ottawa allow him to try to play his off-side on defense but that request was denied, relays TSN 1200’s Shawn Simpson (Twitter link). The Sens prefer him to stay on his natural side although there is likelier an easier path to playing time if he was to switch.

Snapshots: Voluntary Opt-Out, Senators, Stepan, Schneider

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The first significant day of the NHL’s new calendar for the upcoming 2021 season is upon us as today is the deadline for NHL players to voluntarily opt-out of the season, according to TSN’s Frank Seravalli.

If a player wants to opt-out of the season, they must provide written notice to the league seven days before training camp starts, which means that the deadline has already passed for the seven non-playoff teams which start their training camps on Thursday. However, the rest of the league has until the end of the day today, if they don’t want to participate in the upcoming season.

Waivers are next, with it beginning Monday for the new season.

  • With many teams struggling to move out salary this year without requiring to include a sweetener to get the deal done, there were quite a few people surprised when the Ottawa Senators took on the contract of Derek Stepan last night and instead of receiving some type of sweetener, sent a second-round pick to Arizona instead. Quite a high price to pay. However, Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch points out that the move is very Ottawa-like as Stepan might have a $6.5MM cap hit for the upcoming season, but is only due $2MM in salary, as the Coyotes have already paid Stepan a $3MM salary bonus. The Senators have been well known to take on players who have less salary to be paid out than their cap hit. This trade is one of them.
  • Speaking of Stepan, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun notes that there is going to be a bit of a delay for Stepan to report to training camp in Ottawa. Besides the 14-day quarantine that will require him to miss part of training camp, Stepan is also waiting for the pending birth of his child, meaning that the 30-year-old could very well miss the start of the regular season. LeBrun reports, however, that Stepan’s agent, Matt Oates, says that the veteran is excited about joining Ottawa’s team as a team leader and is eager to arrive.
  • The IIHF will have a disciplinary committee hearing regarding the illegal hit to the head by Team Canada’s Braden Schneider vs. Germany’s Jan-Luca Schumacher, according to TSN’s Bob McKenzie. A decision is expected before Canada’s game vs. Slovakia later today. Schneider, a 2020 first-round pick of the New York Rangers, could be suspended, considering the IIHF has a no-tolerance policy on hits to the head. He was issued a game misconduct after the incident. McKenzie adds that Austria’s Philipp Wimmer is also expected to receive a hearing after his hit against USA’s Patrick Moynihan. UPDATE: Schneider received a one-game suspension for the hit, according to the IIHF.

Ottawa Senators Acquire Derek Stepan

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The Arizona Coyotes have shipped out one of their veteran leaders, sending Derek Stepan to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for a 2021 second-round pick (originally belonging to the Columbus Blue Jackets). Ottawa will take on the entire $6.5MM cap hit for the final season of Stepan’s contract, though notably, the forward is owed just $2MM in actual salary this season.

Stepan, 30, was one of the big moves that former Coyotes GM John Chayka pulled off in the 2017 offseason, coming to Arizona from the New York Rangers along with Antti Raanta in exchange for Tony DeAngelo and the seventh-overall pick (which turned out to be Lias Andersson). In an attempt to get more competitive that summer the Coyotes added the two Rangers, Nick Cousins, Niklas Hjalmarsson, and Jason Demers. Though it won’t be remembered as a supremely successful summer, it’s not like Stepan didn’t do exactly what he was brought in for. In his first year in Arizona, Stepan scored 56 points, trailing only Clayton Keller for the team lead. His consistent presence in the middle of the ice is valuable and it’s exactly what the Senators were after.

Stepan is just the latest move by Ottawa GM Pierre Dorion to try and surround his young core with more veteran names. Evgenii Dadonov, Alex Galchenyuk, Erik Gudbranson, and Matt Murray all have plenty of NHL experience and could make the Senators a sneaky competitive team in the All-Canadian division. That said, it’s not clear exactly where Stepan fits into a lineup that already had several options down the middle.

For both clubs, this is a nice move, as the Coyotes desperately needed some cap room and the Senators are just hoping to start turning a few losses into wins. Arizona now figures to have a little more than $3MM in space even before moving Marian Hossa to long-term injured reserve and could potentially have more moves coming. In Ottawa, after several years of turmoil, a respected leader like Stepan can provide some stability not only on the ice but in the locker room as well.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Arizona Coyotes

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Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM.  Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful.  Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2020-21 season.  This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL.  All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

Arizona Coyotes

Current Cap Hit: $84,270,284 (over the $81.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Barrett Hayton (two years, $894K)

Potential Bonuses

Hayton: $1.75MM

Once considered a team full of young players, the Coyotes have changed their image over the last few years and have only one young player on their team under a cheap entry-level deal with only a handful of entry-level players that are even close to joining the team. Hayton, however, could be ready for a breakout season after spending the season with the team last year. Unfortunately for Hayton, he would have benefitted the most with one year in the AHL, but wasn’t eligible to play there, so instead of returning him to his junior team, the Coyotes kept him around. He only appeared in 20 games (although he did miss time with a shoulder injury at the World Juniors), but showed enough potential that he should be an everyday player next season. A big year from the 2019 fifth-overall pick would be a boost to the team’s center position.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

F Derek Stepan ($6.5MM, UFA)
D Alex Goligoski ($5.48MM, UFA)
F Marian Hossa ($5.28MM, UFA)
D Niklas Hjalmarsson ($5MM, UFA)
G Antti Raanta ($4.25MM, UFA)
D Jason Demers ($3.94MM, UFA)
D Jordan Oesterle ($1.4MM, UFA)
D Ilya Lyubushkin ($1MM, UFA)
F Conor Garland ($775K, RFA)
F John Hayden ($750K, RFA)
F Dryden Hunt ($700K, RFA)

For a team that is looking to cut salary, the team has a lot of money coming off the books next year, suggesting the team could look drastically different in just one year. Some of those players could find themselves to be trade bait when the trade deadline comes around. The most interesting decision the team might have to make is what to do with Stepan, however. The 30-year-old was brought in from New York to stabilize their top line three years ago. He had four straight seasons of 50 or more points while with the Rangers and posted a 56-point season with the Coyotes in 2017-18. However, his production has taken a dive over the past two years as Stepan posted just 35 points (in 72 games) in 2018-19 and then dropped even further last year with just 28 points in 70 games. A team leader, the Coyotes have to hope that Stepan can return to form this season or the team could choose to move on from him.

The team’s defense is loaded with several high-priced veteran blueliners and almost all of their contracts come up next season, including Goligoski, Hjalmarsson and Demers. Goligoski is 35, but is still playing major minutes for Arizona and could be a candidate to return at a slightly lesser deal. Hjalmarsson is 33, but has seen his game break down a bit as he has dealt with numerous injuries the last couple of years, including a fractured fibula that cost him 43 games last year. The 32-year-old Demers also averaged more than 20 minutes of ATOI per game. The team may keep one or two of those players, but likely will not keep all three.

The team will also want to evaluate the play of Raanta, who has showed flashes of dominance, but also has dealt with injuries and inconsistent play at times as well. Raanta did play well last season, posting a .921 save percentage in 33 games and gives the team several options in the net. Raanta could easily be re-signed to new deal or could be a trade candidate as well.

The team will also finally be free of Hossa’s $5.28MM contract the team took on years ago.

Two Years Remaining

F Phil Kessel ($6.8MM, UFA)
G Darcy Kuemper ($4.5MM, UFA)
F Tyler Pitlick ($1.75MM, UFA)
F Lawson Crouse ($1.53MM, RFA)
F Johan Larsson ($1.4MM, UFA)
F Christian Fischer ($1MM, RFA)

The team brought in Kessel to bring in the firepower that the team needed as goal scoring remains one of the team’s biggest weak points. Unfortunately, the first year with Kessel didn’t turn out to be the big acquisition that the team was hoping for. After an 28-goal, 82-point season in 2018-19, the 33-year-old saw quite a decline in his play with just 14 goals and 38 points in 70 games. That’s way below what they were hoping for and Arizona has to hope that Kessel can return to form this year in hopes of increasing his value if the team wants to move him at the trade deadline or next offseason when he has just one year left on his deal.

Kuemper has become the Coyotes’ top asset as the 30-year-old has been nothing short of dominant over the past two years and remains on a manageable contract. His name came up in trade speculation this offseason, but with so many free-agent goalies available, Arizona didn’t get the offers it was hoping for. That could change down the road. Yet at the same time, Kuemper might be worth keeping around down the road.

Three Years Remaining

None

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Boston Bruins’ Jeremy Lauzon Suspended Two Games

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The Department of Player Safety announced that Boston Bruins defenseman Jeremy Lauzon has been suspended two games for his illegal check to the head of Arizona Coyotes forward Derek Stepan on Saturday.

The hit came at the end of the first period of the Bruins’ 4-2 win when Lauzon drove Stepan into the boards with a high hit that got some of Stepan’s head (video here). Stepan was shaken up and left for the final few seconds of the period, but was well enough to return to the game at the start of the second period. Lauzon received a five-minute major and a match penalty for the hit, but the league felt it deserved some supplementary discipline.

Lauzon, a rookie, has appeared in 23 total games over the past year, but has played in just seven for the Bruins this season. He has a goal, nine hits and five blocks in those seven games. The suspension further tasks a team that has several injured defenseman, including Connor Clifton and Kevan Miller. The team had already recalled defenseman Urho Vaakanainen from Providence in an emergency recall to fill Lauzon’s place for the next couple of games.

Evening Notes: Lauzon, Raanta, Kuemper, Hart, Olofsson

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The Department of Player Safety announced that they will have a hearing Sunday for Boston Bruins defenseman Jeremy Lauzon for an illegal check to the head of Arizona Coyotes forward Derek Stepan.

The incident happened at 19:34 of the first period of Saturday’s game between Boston and Arizona when Lauzon caught Stepan with a high hit against the boards (video here). Stepan was shaken up, but returned for the second period of the game. Lauzon received a five-minute major and a match penalty. The 22-year-old has appeared in seven games for Boston this season and has one goal.

  • Before their afternoon game Saturday, the Arizona Coyotes announced that Antti Raanta would start against the Boston Bruins. However, the team instead put backup Adin Hill into the starting lineup not long after. The Athletic’s Craig Morgan reports that it was announced after the game that Raanta missed the game due to a lower-body injury. That could be disastrous, Morgan adds that head coach Rick Tocchet did say that starter Darcy Kuemper, who has been out since Dec. 19 with a lower-body injury, is expected to practice with the team in Montreal on Sunday and, if all goes well, could be available for Monday’s game against the Canadiens. Kuemper has been terrific this season for the Coyotes in 29 appearances. He boasts a 2.17 GAA and a .929 save percentage.
  • Sam Carchidi of Philly.com writes that Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Carter Hart could be back as soon as Monday against Florida. The second-year goalie has been out since Jan. 13 with an abdomen injury. Head coach Alain Vigneault said that he believes Hart could be ready soon, but much will defend on how Hart feels on Sunday before a final decision can be made. The 21-year-old has a 2.61 GAA and a .905 save percentage in 32 games this season.
  • The Buffalo Sabres need to wait at least another week to get back rookie forward Victor Olofsson. Head coach Ralph Krueger said that Olofsson was close. “When you see a player back from an injury from this time period, you know that we are nearing a re-entry, but I would definitely say it will be a week or more still…We are really pleased to see him back out there today.” Getting Olofsson back would bring a much needed scorer back into the lineup. The 24-year-old has 16 goals and 35 points in 42 games before going down with a lower-body injury on Jan. 2.

Pacific Notes: Coyotes Offense, Eakin, Sheahan, Motte

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Having scored just one goal over their first two games, the Arizona Coyotes were definitely hoping for more offense after an offseason where they upgraded in major ways. Despite the slow start in the offensive end, head coach Rick Tocchet said he isn’t worried about the team’s offense yet, according to Matt Layman of AZ Sports.

“I’m not panicking. We’re a good hockey club,” Tocchet said. “These guys worked hard. These are winnable games. It’s a ‘woulda, coulda, shoulda,’ and I don’t play that game. But with a little bit of push here and there for some individuals, we could be 2-0. We need everybody to push a little bit harder, but I thought generally, the team played hard.”

One thing that Tocchet is happy with is the play of the team’s first line of Clayton Keller, Derek Stepan and Phil Kessel, who have already developed chemistry together. Against Boston on Saturday, Kessell and Keller each had five shots on goal each with several close goals. What the team needs to improve is the power play which is 0-for-3 this year and that same power play, coached by new assistant Phil Housley, is just 0-for-6 on faceoffs.

“We haven’t got much set up on the zone time,” Kessel said of the power play. “I mean if you can’t set it up, you’re not going to have much success. So we’ve got to get it set up and work for each other, and hopefully get it going.”

  • The Athletic’s Jesse Granger reports that the Vegas Golden Knights could get one of their injured players back soon. While he is not expected to play Tuesday against Boston, center Cody Eakin skated on his own. Head coach Gerard Gallant said that he could be ready to play after the Boston game. Eakin was expected to center the third line, but when he got hurt, the Golden Knights opted to keep Cody Glass on the roster and promoted him to the second line to center Mark Stone and Max Pacioretty, while shifting Paul Stastny to the third line. With everyone playing well, Eakin might be pushed down to the fourth line now.
  • The Edmonton Journal’s Kurt Leavins writes that the team has really missed center Riley Sheahan and the team is expecting the third-line center back in the lineup soon. With Sheahan out, Leon Draisaitl has had to take full penalty killing duties and has been averaging 26:26 of ATOI in the first two games, something that isn’t sustainable. However, once Sheahan returns, the team must decide whether to remove Colby Cave or Gaetan Haas from the lineup.
  • Postmedia’s Ben Kuzma writes that the Vancouver Canucks could get back forward Tyler Motte soon. The forward was seen practicing in a contact jersey Sunday. The 24-year-old scored nine goals and 16 points in 74 games last season and has provided solid depth on the team’s bottom-six.

Arizona, Columbus To Aggressively Pursue Matt Duchene

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While the Matt Duchene rumors have been quite exciting already, they show no sign of slowing down. Despite whispers that the top free-agent center is interested in joining the Nashville Predators, more teams keep coming up. The most recent interest comes from the Arizona Coyotes. The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun (subscription required) writes that the Coyotes, searching for another top-line center, intend to aggressively pursue Duchene, while the Columbus Blue Jackets haven’t given up on re-signing their deadline acquisition either.

The 28-year-old scored 31 goals and 70 points between Ottawa and Columbus last season, but a solid postseason in which he registered five goals and 10 points in 10 playoff games was enough to make him one of the most sought-after impending free agents, especially with teams in need at the center position.

Arizona used Derek Stepan as their top-line center this season, but the team would be better served moving Stepan to a second-line role and inserting a new name into the No. 1 spot, giving them two solid options down the middle and allowing Arizona to utilize other forwards like Nick Schmaltz and Alex Galchenyuk at the wing position. Arizona, which narrowly fell short of the playoffs this season, has made it clear that they want to upgrade their team and become playoff relevant after years sitting in the Pacific Division cellar.

As for Columbus, LeBrun writes that the franchise is still negotiating with Duchene’s agent, Pat Brisson, to bring the center back. One question that comes up is whether the team would be willing to offer eight years, and upwards of $80MM to Duchene, especially when they would also have to give Ottawa their 2020 first-round pick if they successfully re-sign him. While many have suggested that being aggressive at the trade deadline was good for Columbus, the team would look even better if it could retain at least one of Duchene, Artemi Panarin, Sergei Bobrovsky, or Ryan Dzingel this summer.

Snapshots: Hughes, Stepan, AHL Deals

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The news is positive for Quinn Hughes, as his recent testing came back negative for a broken bone in his foot. The top prospect is expected to start skating soon and still make his debut before the end of the regular season. Hughes, who injured his foot blocking a shot at the very end of his collegiate season, cannot burn a year of his entry-level deal or become eligible for the 2021 expansion draft now that the Canucks have just eight games remaining in the regular season.

The dynamic defenseman finished with 33 points in 32 games for the University of Michigan and is a finalist for the Hobey Baker award. The seventh-overall pick from 2018 is expected to be a game-changing talent for the Canucks on the back end, and will give their defense corps a completely new look next season.

  • Who needs recovery timelines anyway? Derek Stepan, a notoriously quick healer, is once again about to return before originally expected. Craig Morgan of The Athletic reports that the Arizona Coyotes forward is a game-time decision for tomorrow night’s game against the New Jersey Devils, just over three weeks after he was given a four to six week timetable for his lower-body injury. Stepan had been carrying a huge amount of responsibility for the Coyotes when he went down, and his return will only help them on their quest for the playoffs. Arizona currently sits tied with the Colorado Avalanche for the final wild card spot in the Western Conference with eight games to go.
  • The Toronto Marlies have signed Colton Conrad to a two-year AHL contract which will start next season. Conrad will join the Marlies on an amateur tryout for the rest of this year. The 21-year old forward played four years at Western Michigan University and scored 38 points this season. Not to be outdone, the Iowa Wild have signed University of Minnesota captain Tyler Sheehy to an amateur tryout, bringing the homegrown talent into the organization after his college career came to an end. Sheehy is from Burnsville and had an outstanding career at Minnesota, recording 149 points in 149 games over four years.

Injury Updates: De La Rose, Stepan, Chabot

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Red Wings center Jacob de la Rose was removed from Tuesday’s game against the Rangers due to a cardiac episode.  Today, head coach Jeff Blashill told reporters, including Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press, that while the youngster is doing okay now, he’s not expected to accompany the team as their road trip works its way out West.  This is the second time this season that de la Rose has had this issue as it crept up at the end of training camp when he was still with Montreal which resulted in him opening up the year on injured reserve.  Since joining the team via waivers, the 23-year-old has nine points in 60 games while winning just over 42% of his faceoffs.

Other injury notes around the league:

  • The Coyotes could be getting a key piece of their lineup back very soon. Head coach Rick Tocchet told Craig Morgan of The Athletic (Twitter link) that center Derek Stepan is “very very close” to returning and could play as soon as this weekend.  The veteran was pegged to miss four-to-six weeks with a lower-body injury but he appears to be slightly ahead of schedule.  Arizona has a narrow lead on the second and final Wild Card spot in the West and they would certainly benefit from getting their forward ice time leader back in their lineup.
  • The Senators could soon have their top defenseman back. Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that Thomas Chabot could return to the lineup on Saturday in Edmonton despite being listed as out week-to-week last Monday.  The sophomore has been one of the few bright spots in Ottawa this season and is the highest-scoring player on their roster with 49 points in 62 games.  He’s likely to receive an invite to participate at the upcoming World Championships assuming his broken toe doesn’t present any additional issues upon his return.

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