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Elliotte Friedman

Friedman’s Latest: Deadline Dealing

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In his latest 30 Thoughts column, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet gets into some of the details of trade deadline day. It’s a wonderful read as always, from one of the most connected men in hockey.

  • Friedman reports that there was a lot of interest in Detroit Red Wings forward Riley Sheahan before they ultimately decided to keep him. Sheahan has zero goals this season and has been part of the problem in Detroit, but could be part of the solution too. The former-first round pick still has excellent upside and could be a huge part of a Red Wing rebuild. With another year on his current deal and a restricted free agent afterwards, Detroit wasn’t pressured to move him now.
  • The Boston Bruins were in on both Radim Vrbata and Dmitry Kulikov before eventually settling for just Drew Stafford on deadline day. Arizona essentially dug in their heels at a certain asking price—Friedman thinks a second-round pick—and were happy to keep him.
  • The Calgary Flames are mentioned in association with both Ben Bishop and Marc-Andre Fleury, though obviously both never materialized. The situation in Calgary is an interesting one, as Brian Elliott has turned around his play recently and muddled the situation once again for this summer. If they think it was just a comfort thing, perhaps they will look to get back into a contract negotiation with the 31-year old netminder.
  • Friedman also touches on Kelly Hrudey’s rant about the way trade deadline coverage has evolved, making note of a player who texted him upset about potentially being involved in a deal. In the Maple Leafs game last night, the broadcast crew also touched on how it looked as though James van Riemsdyk had a piano lifted from his back after two weeks of constant rumor. As Greg Millen of Sportsnet put it after a particularly good shift from van Riemsdyk: “If you don’t think it affects these players, you’re wrong.”

Deadline Day Waiver Update

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One player is headed to a new team today, and not via trade. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the Vancouver Canucks have claimed forward Joseph Cramarossa off waivers from the Anaheim Ducks. Cramarossa was one of seven players placed on the waiver wire yesterday, but Friedman reports that Eric Fehr (PIT), Marc-Andre Bergeron (CBJ), Jyrki Jokipakka (CAL),  Mike Weber (MIN), Chris DiDomenico (OTT), and Gabriel Dumont (TB) have all cleared today.

Cramarossa, 24, had finally developed into an NHL-caliber player this season in Anaheim, after earning skating in his first pro game earlier this season. The rookie winger has been a mainstay on the Ducks’ fourth line, skating in 49 games and recording ten points, while playing a physical two-way game. He’ll now bring that aggressive, high-energy style to Vancouver. A third-round pick of the Ducks in 2011, it may have taken Cramarossa a while to get to the NHL, but the Canucks can now capitalize on years of development in Anaheim by bringing an NHL-ready checking line forward into the fold.

Cramarossa will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season, so expect the stretch run to be a tryout for an extension in Vancouver.

Detroit Red Wings Trade Thomas Vanek To Florida Panthers

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Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet is reporting that Thomas Vanek is headed to the Sunshine state. The Detroit Red Wings will trade the winger to the Florida Panthers in exchange for Dylan McIlrath and a third-round pick. The Red Wings will also retain 50% of his salary for this season. Darren Dreger reports that if the Panthers make the playoffs, the pick will be Arizona’s third-round selection, not Florida’s. Thomas Vanek

Earlier this month Dale Tallon told the media that he’d like to add something on the powerplay, and Vanek surely fills that need. The former 40-goal scorer has 129 career tallies on the PP and still has the ability to score from anywhere below the hash marks.

The 33-year old is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season after signing just a one-year deal this summer with the Red Wings. At $2.6MM he already didn’t cost very much from this point in the season, and with Detroit retaining half the Panthers will be paying less than $1MM to add him.

Many Detroit fans may be disappointed with the return, as a third-round pick is the same thing they got for Tomas Jurco in a previous deal. Vanek is obviously much more established than Jurco, but the questions about his defensive ability have haunted him for a long time.

McIlrath is a former 10th-overall pick, but was never expected to go that high. He very predictably hasn’t become a defenseman you can trust with much more than a fight, despite several chances in the NHL. Perhaps Detroit believes they can turn his career around, just as Florida did earlier this year.

Vanek was the first domino to fall today (unless you count the deals last night) and should push along the markets for Radim Vrbata and Jarome Iginla. Vrbata stands as probably the best option for a top-six left on the market, which isn’t saying much.

Dallas Stars May Miss Chance To Trade Patrick Sharp Due To Injury

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Mar. 1: Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reports that Sharp’s injury is significant enough that it will stop him from being traded today.

Feb. 28, 4:00pm: If you’re a fan of the Dallas Stars and you hate that they’ve begun to sell off expiring assets this year, you may be in luck. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet is reporting that team doctors will meet with Patrick Sharp at the conclusion of the Stars game against Pittsburgh to discuss a nagging injury. Though he is able to play through it—he played two nights ago and is expected to be in the lineup tonight—it may keep him off the trading block.

Friedman says that Stars GM Jim Nill has been very up front with teams who have inquired about the pending free agent. Though this doesn’t by any means guarantee that he won’t be moved, any team looking for an immediate impact in their top six may look elsewhere.

Sharp is in the last year of a five-year, $29.5MM deal that he signed with the Chicago Blackhawks back in 2011 and is easily one of the most decorated scoring threats on the rental market. With eight 20+ goal seasons (including four in which he scored at least 33) he presented an opportunity to get a player who could provide a real impact with top-line players for the remainder of the season and in the playoffs.

We profiled Sharp a month ago and listed no less than seven teams that could have been interested in the three-time Stanley Cup winner. The fact that he has 47 goals in 142 playoff games and is only owed an actual salary of $5MM this season was just icing on the cake. Sharp is admittedly getting older at 35 and has seen his production slip this year because of concussion problems, but when the market is paying solid prospects for Alex Burrows and second-round picks for Brian Boyle, he still looked likely to command a hefty return.

Again, this doesn’t mean he’s guaranteed to stay with the Stars but it could definitely cool the market on him if he’s deemed to injured to help immediately. Teams may still acquire him if he had a shot at returning for the playoffs, but it would likely have heavy conditions on any picks sent back to Dallas. Obviously the type or extent of the injury isn’t known, but Michael Russo of the Star Tribune guesses that it may have been a collision with Nino Niederreiter on February 16th for which the Minnesota forward was given a five-minute major and game misconduct (video of hit).

Regardless of when it happened, it’s bad timing for the Stars if they wanted to get anything out of Sharp at the deadline.

Ottawa Senators Acquire Viktor Stalberg From Carolina

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The Ottawa Senators aren’t finished. The team has acquired winger Viktor Stalberg from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2017 draft.<a rel=

As noted when the team traded for Alex Burrows yesterday, the Senators have needed depth on the wing all season and have now added both size and scoring potential in their two new players. Stalberg is a big bodied winger with speed to burn and a 20-goal season in his past, though he’s used more as an intimidating forchecker and penalty killer these days. A role-player in the Chicago Blackhawks 2013 Stanley Cup, he does have 43 games of playoff experience and will fit well into the bottom-six of the Senators.

With Ottawa just four points back of Montreal for first place in the Atlantic (with two games in hand mind you), owner Eugene Melnyk gave a clear directive for the Sens front office to follow. Playoffs or bust in 2017. The Senators are an internal budget team that relies on playoff revenue to continue to operate slightly above the cap floor, and with the two additions they’ve helped their case down the final 20 games. Though a third-round pick may seem pricey for a rental in Stalberg, they will likely recoup some of their lost draft selections with other trades—like a possible Curtis Lazar swap—before the draft this year.

For the Hurricanes, this represents an excellent value for Stalberg after signing him in the summer to a one-year deal. Though they had hoped that a playoff run was on the table this season, they still have an excellent young team and now own seven selections in the first three rounds of this summer’s draft. With the Metropolitan looking like a juggernaut for at least this season, but several teams (see: Washington) having multiple free agents leaving them this summer the slow burn of a Carolina rebuild may eventually pay off.

The Hurricanes still have Jay McClement and Lee Stempniak as possible veteran additions or a handful of young defenders to waive in front of team’s noses for the next 25 hours. They could easily acquire even more picks, or perhaps another young scoring forward before the deadline.

Pierre LeBrun of ESPN was first to break the deal on Twitter after Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet heard rumblings earlier today. Darren Dreger of TSN chimed in with a confirmation and the details on the pick going to Carolina.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Eric Fehr Headlines Tuesday Waivers

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Eric Fehr was placed on waivers today along with a few other names in different situations. Joseph Cramarossa (ANH), Marc-Andre Bergeron (CBJ), Jyrki Jokipakka (CAL),  Mike Weber (MIN), Chris DiDomenico (OTT), Gabriel Dumont (TB) all hit the wire today as well, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

Fehr, 31, has seen his role in Pittsburgh diminished greatly this season and has just eleven points in 51 games. Though he still has another year left on his current deal at $2MM, the team has reduced his minutes to under 11 per night and are likely seeing what kind of interest there is around the league. The former 20-goal scorer could head to the minors to save the Pens some cap-room for the rest of the season if they are looking to make another deal before the deadline. The team is currently into their LTIR room.

Most of the other names won’t come as much of a surprise, though Jokipakka will likely gather some interest from around the league after a solid start to the season went downhill. DiDomenico and Bergeron both just signed deals and need to clear waivers to become eligible. Weber, a veteran of 351 NHL games who was dealt at last year’s trade deadline had been acting as the Iowa Wild’s captain in the AHL before signing his NHL deal today. He is a solid depth piece for the Wild as they look to go deep into the playoffs this season.

Bryan Bickell Cleared To Return To Professional Hockey

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After what has been a long and tough road back for the Carolina Hurricanes’ Bryan Bickell, he has finally been cleared to play and set to the Charlotte Checkers for a conditioning stint. He’s also been placed on waivers, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sporstnet because he will need longer than the two-weeks allowed on a normal loan. Bickell was diagnosed with Multiple Scleroris back in November, and immediately announced that he wanted to play hockey again and would work to find a way to continue his career. Now, just a few months later he is returning in what is one of the feel-good stories of the year.

Bickell was traded to Carolina as part of a salary dump this summer along with Teuvo Teravainen, the latest victims of the Chicago Blackhawks cap crunches. Bickell was part of all three Stanley Cup winning teams, though he played a small role as a 23-year old in 2010. Known for his high compete level and relentless forecheck, Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer says that his goal is to play in the NHL again this season. Coach Bill Peters told Alexander to “not bet against him” in his quest.

For the Hurricanes, this is great news after a morning that saw one of their key players shipped off to Pittsburgh to pursue a Stanley Cup. Ron Hainsey was sent out which will likely leave a leadership hole on the team, one that Bickell could fill admirably. Everyone here at PHR wishes him well in his recovery and hopes to see him on the ice again in the NHL soon.

Snapshots: Memorial Cup, Rozsival, Brodin

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The Maple Leafs announced the four additions to their Legends Row tonight before the start of their game against the Ottawa Senators. Charlie Conacher, Red Kelly, Frank Mahovlich and Wendel Clark will all have statues revealed in the fall alongside the other 10 players.

Brendan Shanahan (via James Mirtle of The Athletic) spoke at the ceremony, saying “it is our sincere hope that we will soon have reason to expand this bench to recognize future Leafs heroes.” One player Leaf fans are hoping will be in that group one day, Mitch Marner, is out tonight and tomorrow with a shoulder injury, forcing the Maple Leafs to shake up their lines. William Nylander is back skating with Auston Matthews, while Connor Brown has been dropped into Marner’s spot.

  • Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet tells us that the 2018 Memorial Cup will be held in Regina, Saskatchewan. The CHL tournament is a huge stage for young players to showcase their skills, and the host city is entered automatically. Hopefully for the Regina Pats, Sam Steel will still be with them next season. The 30th-overall pick by Anaheim at the most recent draft has 103 points in 50 games and is still only 18 years old.
  • According to Chris Hine of the Chicago Tribune, Chicago will be getting a little veteran depth back on the blueline as early as tomorrow. Michal Rozsival, who hasn’t played since January 15th due to a foot injury is set to return to the lineup Sunday against the Buffalo Sabres. The veteran of 955 games gives the Hawks an extra body that can be trusted in a limited role. With the team on their way back to the playoffs, they’ll need all the health they can get.
  • Just before their game started, Michael Russo of the Star Tribune told us the Minnesota Wild activated Jonas Brodin from injured reserve. Brodin hasn’t played since January 17th, and will be a big addition to the Wild as they look to continue their dominance in the Western Conference. The team has 82 points already, easily pacing the west and seven points ahead of the Blackhawks for first in the Central Division.
  • Lou Korac of NHL.com adds that the St. Louis Blues have sent Kenny Agostino back down to the Chicago Wolves of the AHL, despite playing well in his short stint. The Blues have Paul Stastny returning and had a roster crunch up front. Agostino will head back to the AHL where he was the league’s top scorer at the time of his call up—and still is. 60 points in 48 games for the former fifth-round pick, who has turned into an excellent playmaker at the age of 24.

Friedman’s Latest: Dallas, Colorado, Flyers, MVP

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Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman made his weekly appearance on Edmonton radio, and commented on a few topics from around the NHL.

Friedman broke down some potential sellers, saying he could see “a lot of teams throwing themselves at Johnny Oduya” out of Dallas. The Stars have lost six of their last seven games, and are now seven points out of the final wildcard spot. Other names out of Dallas include pending UFAs Patrick Eaves and Patrick Sharp, and “maybe” Ales Hemsky. The latter was expected to be done for the season, but will play again this season according to Mike Heika of the Dallas News.

One of the few clear sellers, the Colorado Avalanche, has set a “very high price” for their players, according to Friedman. However, there may be a wider market than many realized. Friedman listed Pittsburgh among others as unexpected teams calling GM Joe Sakic. Citing GM Jim Rutherford’s willingness to win now and “sort things out” in the offseason, Friedman speculated that the Penguins could consider moving Olli Maatta as part of a package for Matt Duchene. To be clear, Friedman isn’t suggesting the Penguins have made an offer, simply that they’re interested and Maatta is the kind of player that the Avalanche would be interested in. Another potential suitor for Duchene could be Montreal, but GM Marc Bergevin “doesn’t like the price.”

Former Canadiens forward and Flyers UFA signing Dale Weise will be a healthy scratch in Edmonton tonight; he has just two goals and five points in 46 games after signing a four-year contract worth $2.35MM per season. Friedman pointed out that many players struggle in their first year with a new team, but the Canadiens won’t be interested in re-acquiring Weise at his current term.

Staying in Philadelphia, Friedman said it’s not just Shayne Gostisbehere who “doesn’t look like himself.” The whole team is looking for answers; after their ten-game winning streak earlier this season, they’ve won just eight games of their last 25. Friedman told Oilers Now host Bob Stauffer that several teams scouted Gostisbehere “to death” over the summer, and he hasn’t been able to adjust his style.

It remains to be seen what will happen in the next couple weeks, as the GMs are all playing “one big poker game” leading up to the deadline, according to Friedman.

Trade deadline aside, Friedman chatted about the MVP race this season. With Brent Burns sitting between Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby at the top of the scoring race, Friedman predicted a scoring title would guarantee an MVP title for Burns. However, he also said that if Edmonton makes the playoffs, then Friedman “doesn’t know how [he’s] not going to vote for Connor McDavid.”

Another consideration is goal scoring. Both Burns and Crosby are outscoring McDavid considerably, but Friedman pointed out that McDavid has clearly put the Oilers on his shoulders and elevated them to a playoff team.

Friedman’s Latest: Galchenyuk, Gionta, Fowler, Boyle

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On top of today’s coaching change, Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin may have a decision to make sooner than later regarding center Alex Galchenyuk, writes Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman in his latest 30 Thoughts column.  The 23 year old is set to become a restricted free agent at the end of the season (with a $3.1MM qualifying offer) and has two years of team control remaining before he’s eligible for unrestricted free agency.

However, despite a strong season so far with 29 points in 37 games, the team doesn’t appear to be set in thinking that he can be a full-time center.  He has just a 42.3% success rate at the faceoff dot which isn’t ideal for a top line quality forward.  Could the team be persuaded to move him for someone that they feel is a better fit down the middle?  If Bergevin hasn’t made that decision already, he will need to soon.

As always, the full column is well worth a read but are a handful of the highlights:

  • Sabres captain Brian Gionta has asked the team to not move him. The 38 year old is in the final season of a three year, $12.75MM deal he signed back in 2015.  He has had a nice season with Buffalo, posting 27 points in 56 games and has a good chance at surpassing the 33 points he put up last season which made him a player that many expected to go as a rental in the coming weeks.  Worth noting is that Gionta’s trade protection only allows for him to be dealt to five teams; he can block a deal to the other 24.
  • Although he has been thought of as a strong candidate to be dealt dating back to the draft back in June, the belief around the league is that the Ducks will look to strike a long-term extension with Cam Fowler. The blueliner is well on his way to a career year with 30 points in 57 games and will undoubtedly get a nice raise from the $4MM cap hit he currently has.  Teams can’t sign any extensions until there is one year remaining on the contract meaning that July 1st is the earliest anything could be done.
  • Edmonton, Columbus, and Toronto are among the teams interested in Tampa Bay center Brian Boyle. He’s in the final year of his deal with a very manageable cap hit of $2MM which will make him particularly attractive to some cap-strapped teams as well.  In a radio interview earlier, Friedman suggested that a first round pick (which doesn’t carry as much value this year due to a weaker draft class) could wind up being what it costs to secure Boyle, who is set to be a UFA at the end of the season.  We took a closer look at Boyle last week as part of our Trade Candidates series.

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