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Elias Pettersson

North Notes: Senators, Canucks Contract Talks, Amirov

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While rental players typically generate most of the trade interest at this time of year, it appears a pair of Senators signed beyond this season are garnering some attention.  Sportsnet’s Wayne Scanlan notes that teams have been calling about forwards Nick Paul and Connor Brown although he adds that the expectation is that neither will move.  Paul is logging over 16 minutes a night, a career high while his $1.35MM price tag for this season and next is the type of lower-cost acquisition that many teams will be restricted to targeting.  As for Brown, his offensive numbers have dipped a bit this year but he has still chipped in with a dozen goals and ten assists in 41 games while playing in both special teams roles as well.  He has two more years left after this at $3.6MM after avoiding arbitration this offseason and any interested team would likely be looking to move a contract the other way as part of any offer for him.

More from the North Division:

  • While the Canucks have started contract discussions with pending restricted free agents Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson, GM Jim Benning indicated to reporters, including NHL.com’s Kevin Woodley, that those talks have been centered around term and not money so far. Vancouver has over $64MM in commitments to just 12 players for next season per CapFriendly which would make it difficult to sign both to long-term deals.  If one is amenable to a bridge deal, that could give Benning a bit more cap flexibility to work with this offseason.  Discussions are expected to pick up over the next few weeks.
  • Contract talks between the Maple Leafs and prospect winger Rodion Amirov are expected to start next week, reports Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun (Twitter link). The 19-year-old was the 15th pick back in October and while his offensive numbers were limited this season (nine goals and four assists in 39 games), the fact that he was able to hold down basically a full-time spot in the KHL this season with Spartak was certainly impressive.  Toronto GM Kyle Dubas has indicated a willingness to move one of his top prospects to try to add by the deadline and teams will undoubtedly be inquiring about Amirov in those talks.

Snapshots: Expansion Draft, Novak, Pettersson

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The Seattle Kraken cannot yet make trades, but that won’t stop them from making a major impact on the upcoming NHL Trade Deadline. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that Kraken GM Ron Francis has begun to receive calls from a number of teams seeking input on potential deadline deals. Any team adding a valuable player who is not just an impending UFA rental is also adding another piece to their Expansion equation. In many cases, top contenders acquiring these quality players will either not be able to protect them or their addition will displace another valued player already on the roster. As a result, they have been reaching out to Francis to see what it would cost to make a side deal to protect assets that would be exposed by a potential deadline trade. According to LeBrun, the league’s other GM’s have not been happy with Francis’ responses. It seems the going rate for a side deal with Seattle to protect a player that they would otherwise be selecting is a first-round pick and a prospect. This price is scaring teams away from making major deals at the deadline, quieting a market that already has a number of restrictions working against it.

  • While a seventh-round pick may not mean much to the Ottawa Senators, especially given their immense pipeline of talent, it meant a lot to Bentley University. In 2018, the Senators’ final-round selection Jakov Novak became the first ever NHL Draft pick to attend Bentley, an Atlantic Hockey school who has never won their conference tournament nor qualified for the NCAA Tournament. The oft-forgotten Boston-area program was proud to add Novak, who has played up to expectations over the past three years. With 30 goals and 62 points in 87 games, including 17 points in 15 games this year, the power forward has been one of the best players in Atlantic Hockey – and other teams took notice. The junior winger is set to depart Bentley for greener pastures, leaving the program yet again absent of NHL talent. He’s not going far, though. Novak has announced that he will transfer to Northeastern University for next season. The Huskies exited the Hockey East Tournament early this year and did not qualify for the national stage, so they will be eager to add another talented forward with pro ability in hopes of taking a step forward next season. Novak hinted that 2021-22 could be the end of his NCAA career, but it only take one year for him to make a major impact at Northeastern. Vice versa, just one year playing alongside and against superior collegiate talent could be a major developmental leap for Novak that earns him a contract with Ottawa.
  • Vancouver Canucks star Elias Pettersson was eligible to be activated from the Long-Term Injured Reserve for the first time today, but his stay is not yet over. Head coach Travis Green tells NHL.com that the team underestimated Pettersson’s upper-body injury and he is not close to a return. “Definitely was more serious than we thought originally,” Green stated on Tuesday. “We didn’t think it was going to be this long. It hasn’t gotten any better to a point where he can play yet and I still think he’s going to be out for a few more games at least.” After a slow start to the season, the Canucks have been playing much better of late. In fact, they have the second-best record in their past ten games of any team in the North Division. However, still more than 100 percentage points back of a playoff spot, Vancouver will need Pettersson healthy if they want to complete the comeback.

North Notes: Pettersson, White, Anisimov, Harris

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The Canucks have transferred center Elias Pettersson to LTIR, CapFriendly reports (Twitter link).  It has been a tough season for the 22-year-old who had a particularly tough stretch to start the season and is now dealing with an upper-body injury, hardly the type of big season he was looking for heading into restricted free agency for the first time.  The move is largely procedural, however, as he has already missed eight games and wasn’t expected to play on the road trip.  The placement will give Vancouver – who has quietly won seven of the games that Pettersson has missed – some extra short-term salary cap flexibility.  The 24-day aspect of the LTIR rules suggests that Pettersson won’t be able to suit up until after Vancouver’s bye week which would peg March 31st as his possible return date.

More from the North Division:

  • The Senators are hoping to have Colin White available for Monday’s game against Calgary, notes Postmedia’s Ken Warren. The center has had an inconsistent year, struggling early to the point where he was made a healthy scratch but has still managed to put up eight goals and six assists in 28 games.  He missed Wednesday’s game due to an upper-body injury.  Meanwhile, center Artem Anisimov remains listed as day-to-day with an upper-body issue of his own.  He has missed the last four games and while he had been getting frequently shuffled to and from the taxi squad, he now needs to clear waivers upon getting cleared to return if Ottawa intends to continue to do that with him.
  • The Canadiens have made a contract offer to defense prospect Jordan Harris that would see the first year be burned this season, reports Sportsnet’s Eric Engels (Twitter link). The 20-year-old recently wrapped up his junior season with Northeastern and are awaiting the brackets for the Frozen Four tournament to see if their year will continue; no decision on whether to sign or stay in college will be made until the tournament is set on Sunday.  Engels notes that Montreal has offered to burn that first year in the NHL which suggests that they could have plans for him down the stretch.

Snapshots: ESPN, Pettersson, Wu

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The NHL has reached a seven-year agreement with ESPN to become one of the league’s media partners next season, according to reporting done by Chris Johnston of Sportsnet. The league has not announced the deal yet and Johnston does not have confirmation on the other media company that will be involved. The deal with ESPN is for one-half of the league’s U.S. media rights, which will include four Stanley Cup Finals between 2022 and 2028 in addition to streaming rights for Disney.

More information about the deal is obviously needed, but this could be a very strong step in the right direction for the league, at least in terms of getting back to full financial health. The flat cap which has hindered so many teams this season isn’t likely to change right away, but a strong broadcast deal could get the league on track to start increasing the ceiling once again.

  • The Vancouver Canucks will be without top forward Elias Pettersson for at least another week, according to head coach Travis Green. The team is actually on a three-game winning streak even despite his absence, but still have a long way to go if they want to climb up the North Division table. Vancouver currently sits just three points behind the Montreal Canadiens for the last playoff spot but has played five more games than them. Pettersson, 22, had 21 points in 26 games this season.
  • The Pittsburgh Penguins, in action already today against the New York Rangers, named Katerina Wu to the team’s hockey operations department earlier today. Wu will hold the position of data scientist and be asked to “design and implement new statistics to evaluate player and team performance.” She will report to Penguins’ director of hockey operations Sam Ventura and work closely with Nick Citrone, who was recently promoted to senior data scientist of hockey and business operations.

Snapshots: Three Stars, Vegas, Simmonds, Pettersson

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The NHL has released the Three Stars for last week, with Mark Stone leading the way after a few incredible performances. The Vegas Golden Knights captain scored ten points in four games including a five-assist outing against the Minnesota Wild. The two-way forward is off to the best start of his career with 27 points in his first 21 games and has the Golden Knights in first place with a 16-4-1 record.

Thatcher Demko of the Vancouver Canucks and Martin Necas of the Carolina Hurricanes take home the second and third stars after outstanding weeks of their own. Demko has really started to lay claim to the Vancouver crease with four strong performances in a row, including a .969 save percentage in his three appearances last week. The Canucks won all three games, not something the team has been able to say often this year. Necas meanwhile has broken out this season for the Hurricanes, recording 18 points in 21 games and looking like a potential top-line player for the team in the coming years. The 22-year-old has been strong at both ends of the rink and is working on a four-game point streak (2 G, 5 A).

  • Though Stone won the top honors, he may not play tonight for the Golden Knights. Justin Emerson of the Las Vegas Sun reports that Stone, Alex Pietrangelo, and Brayden McNabb are all game-time decisions for the matchup against the Wild tonight. The Golden Knights have four games between now and Saturday as they squeeze in matchups, including an important back-to-back against the St. Louis Blues.
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs presented a nice surprise this morning when Wayne Simmonds took the ice for the first time before practice. The 32-year-old broke his wrist on February 6 and was given a six-week recovery timeline. Toronto’s bottom-six has been playing well of late but there is no doubt they’d love to have Simmonds back in the fold, given how well he had been playing in the early going. The veteran forward had five goals in his first 12 games.
  • The Vancouver Canucks will be without Elias Pettersson again tonight as they look for their third consecutive win. After beating the Maple Leafs twice, Vancouver will try to slow down the Montreal Canadiens without their top forward. Pettersson was just starting to find his rhythm when he suffered this latest injury and has 21 points in 26 games this season.

Snapshots: Canucks, Rutta, Lehner, Gardiner

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One of the intriguing pending storylines for the Canucks is what will happen with pending RFAs Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes.  As part of his press conference on Friday, GM Jim Benning told reporters, including Postmedia’s Patrick Johnston, that although the pair are eligible to be extended now, they’ve decided to delay those discussions until after next month’s trade deadline.  Both youngsters are now represented by CAA’s Pat Brisson and the types of deals they sign will greatly affect Vancouver’s spending plans this offseason.  If both were to sign long-term contracts, they’d be extremely limited in trying to make any other moves but if one or both have to settle for bridge deals, they’d have some short-term wiggle room.  While they’re delaying those talks for now, Benning would undoubtedly like to have an idea of the cost to re-sign those two before getting too deep into their summer plans.

Elsewhere around the league:

  • Lightning defenseman Jan Rutta is day-to-day with a lower-body injury, the team announced (Twitter link). The veteran had played in every game for Tampa Bay until last night, notching six assists in 21 contests. The team doesn’t have enough room in LTIR to make another recall although they do still have six healthy blueliners on the roster for the time being.
  • While the Golden Knights have been without Robin Lehner for the last ten games, head coach Peter DeBoer told David Schoen of the Las Vegas Review-Journal that while the netminder isn’t currently on the road trip, he’s “very close to reintegrating in with the group”. That suggests that the 29-year-old is nearing a return which would be a welcome addition for a Vegas team that has had to use Marc-Andre Fleury a bit more than they’d have liked in recent weeks although the veteran has played quite well.
  • Carolina defenseman Jake Gardiner has declared himself ready to return from the upper-body injury that has caused him to miss five straight games, notes Michael Smith of the Hurricanes’ team site (Twitter link). Officially, he is listed as a game-time decision for tomorrow’s game against Florida.  Gardiner has seven assists in 16 contests this season but is averaging a career-low 15:55 per game.

Snapshots: Stempniak, Pettersson, Dubois

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The Arizona Coyotes announced a pair of front office additions today, including one name familiar to fans. Joining the ’Yotes in the hockey operations department are Matt Perri, hired as Director of Analytics, and long-time NHLer Lee Stempniak as Hockey Data Strategist. While Perri will oversee the team’s analytics, Stempniak’s role is to translate that data into something that coaches and players can understand and use. In a capacity that is the first of its kind, Stempniak will combine his experience as a player in the NHL for 14 seasons with his Ivy League education in Economics from Dartmouth College to become a valuable communicator between analytics and those involved in the actual on-ice product. After elevating the “journeyman” role during his playing days as an effective player for ten different organizations, Stempniak may now be forging a new path for former players with a knack for analytics.

  • Looking ahead to negotiating his next contract this off-season, young Vancouver Canucks star Elias Pettersson has switched agents, reports Patrick Johnston of The Province. Pettersson has joined CAA Sports and is now represented by super-agent Pat Brisson. Not only does Brisson’s track record lend some leverage to Pettersson’s side, but he is also the agent for Quinn Hughes, who will also be a crucial RFA for Vancouver this summer. Brisson will undoubtedly tie the two contracts together and ensure that both are well-compensated for a long time. In fact, the main beneficiary might actually be Hughes, who as a 10.2(c) free agent lacks the leverage of an offer sheet possibility, but gains the leverage of being linked to Pettersson. The two are the clear leaders of the Canucks and the club was unlikely to play hardball anyhow, but now Pettersson and Hughes are in even better shape this off-season (and so too will be Brisson).
  • Pierre-Luc Dubois is now a member of the Winnipeg Jets and as such we may never get an answer as to why he was unhappy being a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Dubois requested a trade out of Columbus, but never gave any of his teammates, coaches, or management a valid explanation, something that head coach John Tortorella publicly resented even before Dubois’ departure. While some speculated that this past off-season’s contract talks were the cause, GM Jarmo Kekalainen refuted that idea on TSN 1050 today, again begging the question of what drove Dubois out of town:

    That’s just flat out not true at all and he knows that, so I don’t know why he would say that or even insinuate something like that, because that’s not true… There was never any problem with the negotiation of this contract, it came to a conclusion very quickly and I thought what we signed was a fair deal for both sides…Once the player and the agent wanted to engage in the talks and we agreed on the length, it was a very easy process… It took all in all, I think 10 minutes to do his contract when we finally agreed on the length of the deal and we had everything from two years, to three years to eight years on the table… I wish that Pierre-Luc would tell the truth about why he wanted out. He hasn’t even told me; he hasn’t told his teammates or anybody else. It certainly wasn’t about contract negotiations; I can assure you of that.

Morning Notes: Penguins, Stützle, Fines

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The Pittsburgh Penguins will finally have Kasperi Kapanen in the lineup when they battle an old foe this evening, taking on the Washington Capitals for the second time in three nights. Kapanen has missed training camp and the first few games because of the COVID protocols, but his debut with Pittsburgh should be a welcome one given they are 1-2 through the early part of the season, having dropped two games already to the Philadelphia Flyers.

After winning their first game on Sunday with Casey DeSmith in net, he’ll be back in again over Tristan Jarry this evening. Though DeSmith didn’t post incredible numbers himself, Jarry looked lost at times during the first two games and currently carries a brutal .727 save percentage and 7.57 goals-against average. The Penguins certainly aren’t giving up on their young starter, but DeSmith offers a reliable option that they can go to frequently until Jarry gets his game in order.

  • The Ottawa Senators will be without top prospect Tim Stützle when the team welcomes in the Winnipeg Jets this evening, as he is dealing with a minor injury. The 19-year-old forward is listed as day-to-day and will be replaced by Alex Galchenyuk in the lineup. Stützle has been as advertised so far in the early season, scoring a highlight-reel goal for his first NHL tally and generally being one of the more dangerous offensive players in the lineup.
  • While the NHL decided against any suspensions from last night’s action, the Department of Player Safety did issue three fines. Nicolas Aube-Kubel has been fined $4,633.62 for roughing Rasmus Dahlin, Elias Pettersson has been fined $3,987.07 for his slash on Sean Monahan and Greg Pateryn has been fined $5,000 for his cross-check on Sonny Milano. All three fines are the maximum amount allowed under the CBA and are based on salary.

North Notes: Oilers, Pettersson, Heinola, Kerfoot

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It appears that the Oilers will be without a pair of forwards to start the season.  Head coach Dave Tippett told reporters Friday, including Reid Wilkins of 630 CHED (Twitter link), that he doesn’t expect winger James Neal or center Gaetan Haas to be available anytime soon.  Neal is skating while Haas hasn’t started to do so.

Neal had somewhat of a bounce-back year in 2019-20, notching 19 goals in 55 games.  While that’s not great production for a $5.75MM AAV, it was still certainly a step up from his seven-goal output the year before while finishing fourth on the team in that regard.  Haas, meanwhile, spent most of last season on Edmonton’s fourth line, tallying five goals and five assists in 58 games and was going to be in a battle for one of the final spots up front had he been healthy.

Elsewhere in the North Division:

  • The Canucks have yet to engage in extension talks with Elias Pettersson, reports Rick Dhaliwal of TSN 1040 and The Athletic (Twitter link). He’s entering the final year of his entry-level deal and with two straight 66-point seasons under his belt already, he will be in line for a huge raise on his current $925K price tag (before bonuses).  Today’s agreement with Mathew Barzal, a three-year, $21MM deal that guarantees a qualifying offer of $8.4MM at its expiration, could very well be used as a comparable whenever negotiations get underway.  While Vancouver has roughly $25MM in cap room for next season, more than half of that will be eaten up by new deals for Pettersson and Quinn Hughes.
  • Last season, defenseman Ville Heinola made Winnipeg’s roster out of training camp but it appears unlikely he’ll be able to do so this season, especially since he’s in quarantine until Thursday. Jets head coach Paul Maurice acknowledged to Ted Wyman of the Winnipeg Sun that he’s unsure of what the plans will be for the 19-year-old.  It looks like the team could enter the season with eight blueliners on the active roster which would make it difficult for Heinola to earn a spot and it may not be ideal for him to hang around on the taxi squad either although Maurice stated that keeping him up with that group is being considered.
  • Although he has resumed skating, Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe noted that Alexander Kerfoot’s availability for Wednesday’s opener against Montreal remains uncertain, relays TSN’s Kristen Shilton (Twitter link). The 26-year-old had a career-low nine goals and 19 assists in 65 games with Toronto last season and will likely reprise his role as their third-line center when he is cleared to return.

2020 NHL All-Star Skills Participants Announced

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Before Saturday’s All-Star Game three-on-three tournament, the NHL’s best will take the ice on Friday night in the annual All-Star Skills event. There has been considerable hype around this year’s competition, given both the new “Shooting Stars” event, in which players will fire the puck at targets on the ice from platforms in the stands, and the participation of stars from the women’s game, including their own three-on-three scrimmage. Now, the league has announced who specifically will be taking part in each event, both new and classic. Below is the lineup for each event:

Fastest Skater

Jack Eichel, Buffalo Sabres
Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche
Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
Mathew Barzal, New York Islanders
Chris Kreider, New York Rangers
Anthony Duclair, Ottawa Senators
Travis Konecny, Philadelphia Flyers
Quinn Hughes, Vancouver Canucks

Save Streak

David Rittich, Calgary Flames
Tristan Jarry, Pittsburgh Penguins
Jordan Binnington, St. Louis Blues
Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning
Frederik Andersen, Toronto Maple Leafs
Jacob Markstrom, Vancouver Canucks
Braden Holtby, Washington Capitals
Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets

Accuracy Shooting

Jaccob Slavin, Carolina Hurricanes
Tyler Bertuzzi, Detroit Red Wings
Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers
Jonathan Huberdeau, Florida Panthers
Nico Hischier, New Jersey Devils
Tomas Hertl, San Jose Sharks
Alex Pietrangelo, St. Louis Blues
Mark Scheifele, Winnipeg Jets

Hardest Shot

Mark Giordano, Calgary Flames
Seth Jones, Columbus Blue Jackets
Shea Weber, Montreal Canadiens
Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning
Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks
John Carlson, Washington Capitals

Shooting Stars

David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins
Matthew Tkachuk, Calgary Flames
Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks
Tyler Seguin, Dallas Stars
Brady Tkachuk, Ottawa Senators
David Perron, St. Louis Blues
Ryan O’Reilly, St. Louis Blues
Mitch Marner, Toronto Maple Leafs
American Women’s Elite All-Star (TBD)
Canadian Women’s Elite All-Star (TBD)

Women’s Three-On-Three

Team Canada: Meghan Agosta, Mélodie Daoust, Ann-Renée Desbiens, Renata Fast, Laura Fortino, Rebecca Johnston, Sarah Nurse, Marie-Philip Poulin, Natalie Spooner, Blayre Turnbull

Team USA: Kacey Bellamy, Alex Carpenter, Kendall Coyne Schofield, Brianna Decker, Amanda Kessel, Hilary Knight, Jocelyn Lamoureux-Davidson, Annie Pankowski, Alex Rigsby Cavallini, Lee Stecklein

All the action kicks off at 7:00pm local time in St. Louis, with coverage from NBCSN in the U.S and CBC, SN, and TVAS in Canada.

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