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Erik Haula

Snapshots: Karlsson, Haula, Lightning, Stolarz

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While there has been plenty of talk recently about players potentially signing contract extensions, don’t expect that to be the case between the Golden Knights and center William Karlsson.  In an appearance on Fox Sports Las Vegas (audio link), GM George McPhee indicated that there is no push to get a deal done with his top pivot.  He noted that both sides came into the season looking for clarity and that they will re-assess the situation over the summer.  Karlsson signed a one-year, $5.25MM last summer following a breakout year that saw him collect 78 points, well above his previous career best of 25 so there were plenty of questions regarding whether or not he could duplicate that.  The 26-year-old has slowed down a bit with 30 points in 47 games and will once again be a restricted free agent this summer with arbitration rights.

McPhee also commented on center Erik Haula’s status.  He noted that his rehab is going well but there is no timetable for his return and they remain unsure if he’ll be able to return this season.  Haula sustained what McPhee called a rare injury for hockey players (the exact details are unknown but it pertains to his knee) and has been out of the Golden Knights lineup since early November.

More from around the league:

  • The Lightning hope to have forward J.T. Miller back in their lineup sometime during their upcoming three-game road trip, notes Diana C. Nearhos of the Tampa Bay Times. He has missed the last six games due to an upper-body injury.  Meanwhile, winger Ryan Callahan is also expected to return during this trip.  Head coach Jon Cooper indicated that the veteran re-aggravated something in his upper body (he has missed time with back and shoulder issues) which has caused him to miss the last two games.
  • Flyers goaltender Anthony Stolarz took part in a full practice today, reports Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News (Twitter link). He appears to be on track to return following the All-Star break.  Stolarz has struggled this season, posting a 3.90 GAA and a .880 SV% in nine appearances but he will give Philadelphia another option between the pipes.  They could then opt to waive the recently-acquired Mike McKenna or perhaps return Carter Hart to the minors although that scenario seems unlikely at this point given how the youngster has fared so far.  The Flyers carried three goalies earlier in the season and could do that again although they’d need to free up a roster spot first to do so.

Pacific Notes: Chiarelli, Haula, Tanev

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The Edmonton Oilers have been a team that has languished in mediocrity the last couple of years until the team fired head coach Doug McLellan and replaced him with Ken Hitchock. Since then the team seems almost unbeatable as the Oilers have produced a 9-2-2 record under the veteran head coach. Much of that credit might fall to general manager Peter Chiarelli.

With the sudden success of the team, The Athletic’s Daniel Nugent-Bowman (subcription required) interviewed Oilers’ CEO and vice-chair of Oilers Entertainment Group Bob Nicholson, who stated emphatically that if Edmonton makes the playoffs, Chiarelli’s job is safe.

“Yeah. There’s no question,” Nicholson. “I think there’s a lot of things that Peter hasn’t gotten credit for. He’s really started to build. You’re starting to see some of them come up now with the [Caleb] Joneses and the [Evan] Bouchards. We have a lot of assets, which this organization hadn’t had for a while. Peter deserves a lot of credit for that.”

Chiarelli has been highly criticized over the years after being hired in 2015, which included trading No. 1 overall pick Taylor Hall to New Jersey for defenseman Adam Larsson. He also made a few questionable acquisitions, including signing Milan Lucic to a seven-year, $42MM deal, which already looks like an albatross of a contract as there are still five years remaining, while Lucic is playing more of a bottom-six role for the team. Chiarelli also traded the team’s first and second-round picks to the New York Islanders for defenseman Griffin Reinhart, who played just 29 NHL games and is mired in the AHL for the Vegas Golden Knights. That first-round pick turned out to be Mathew Barzal.

However, the addition of Hitchcock and the signing of goaltender Mikko Koskinen have looked like solid moves this season. If the Oilers can continue on their torrid pace, Chiarelli may have done enough to stay on for a while longer.

  • While Vegas Golden Knights’ Erik Haula was listed as “month-to-month” a month ago, Las Vegas Review-Journal’s David Schoen reports that general manager George McPhee admitted that Haula actually had surgery in November after suffering the lower-body injury after being driven into the boards by Toronto Maple Leafs’ Patrick Marleau on Nov. 6. “He did have surgery,” McPhee said, who added that the injury was not an ACL injury. “It’s a unique injury.” McPhee has no timetable on Haula’s injury and wouldn’t even speculate as to whether last year’s 30-goal scorer would return for the regular season or even the playoffs. “It’s really hard to know,” McPhee said. “It’s going to be some months, but we don’t know because it’s just such a different injury than any of us have seen before.”
  • It’s possible that the Vancouver Canucks have waited too long to move defenseman Chris Tanev as a trade chip. According to Harman Dayal in The Athletic (subscription required), Tanev’s value has fallen quite a bit in the last few weeks and may not be a tradeable asset anymore. It’s believed that his inability to stay healthy is one problem and even though Tanev has played in 29 games this year, there are rumors that he’s hurt now and isn’t playing at his usual level of play. Whether his underwhelming play is a result of playing injured or rapidly declining play, it’s unlikely that Tanev could bring in anything back in value at the moment.

Pacific Notes: Ekman-Larsson, Stastny, Roussel

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It’s been a wildly inconsistent year for the Arizona Coyotes who have seen losing streaks like when they went 2-6-2 during one stretch, but have also had a four and a five-game winning streak as well this season. One issue has been the play of defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson. While his numbers have been similar to his yearly totals, coach Rick Tocchet wants to see more from his new captain, according to The Athletic’s Craig Morgan (subscription required).

Tocchet wants to see Ekman-Larsson be the best player on the ice every game, which hasn’t always been the case. In the past 11 games, Ekman-Larsson has just three assists, which just isn’t enough for a team that still remains short on fire power. Tocchet needs Ekman-Larson to take that next step in his development after the team gave him a six-year, $33MM extension last March and named him captain during the offseason.

“There’s no question I want him to take charge,” Tocchet said. “In a 2-2 game when he gets the puck, I want him to walk the blue line with that look like, ‘I’m going to make the play’ or ‘I’m going to shoot the puck.’ When you have those games – and we’ve all seen those games — where you walk off and say, ‘Wow, 23! What a game out there!’ It’s when he’s engaged.”

  • The Vegas Golden Knights could be ready to get back one of their injured players as center Paul Stastny, who has been seen getting some skating and practice times in, will join the team on their upcoming road trip which starts Wednesday in New York and may even get into the lineup at some point during the trip, according to Las Vegas Review-Journal’s David Schoen.“Don’t be surprised if you see him early next week,” Vegas head coach Gerard Gallant said. Stastny has missed most of the season with a lower-body injury and has appeared in just three games so far this year. Stastny’s return should only add depth to a team that is still missing Erik Haula and has been forced to pair Max Pacioretty with third-liners Cody Eakin and Alex Tuch, although that line has fared quite well over the past few weeks.
  • While there was plenty of criticism during the offseason when the Vancouver Canucks signed forward Antoine Roussel to a four-year, $12MM deal, The Province’s Ben Kuzma writes that Roussel is proving his value as he has quickly taken over the role that Derek Dorsett once had with the team. The 29-year-old has produced a bit on the ice as well with three goals, 12 points and 67 penalty minutes and is on-pace to eclipse his career high of 29 points. “The one thing about Roussel is his engine always runs hot and he’s always competing, and that reminds me a little bit of Dorsett,” Vancouver head coach Travis Green said. “They care about their teammates and want to win desperately. That’s part of the culture we’re trying to create.”

Erik Haula Out Month-To-Month

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When Vegas Golden Knights forward Erik Haula went down after absorbing a hit from Patrick Marleau of the Toronto Maple Leafs, it immediately looked as though he was facing serious injury. Haula shouted in pain as he clutched his leg, which had been caught underneath him as he fell. A stretcher was brought onto the ice to get him to safety, and today Vegas head coach Gerard Gallant described the injury as “month-to-month.” Haula is on injured reserve, and is facing a long recovery period.

The Golden Knights have gotten off to a rough start in their second season, currently sitting at 7-10-1 and only ahead of the hapless Los Angeles Kings in the Pacific Division. That at least is in part due to the injury troubles they’ve had up front, missing players like Paul Stastny, Alex Tuch and now Haula for long stretches. Add that to Nate Schmidt’s absence from his PED suspension and the team hasn’t been able find the same magic it had all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals last season. That’s a tough position for a team that invested heavily this offseason in their core and went out to acquire players like Stastny and Max Pacioretty at great cost. Every team deals with injury, but they’ll need to find a way around these quickly or risk being left behind in the Western Conference playoff race.

For Haula, it’s a tough break for a player right in his prime. The 27-year old forward scored 29 goals last season after being given a bigger role in Vegas, and was off to a fine start with seven points in his first 15 games. After signing a three-year, $8.25MM deal with the Golden Knights during the expansion draft process, he was setting himself up for a huge contract in the summer of 2020 when he would be an unrestricted free agent still under the age of 30. Now he’ll have to try and work through this injury recovery and rediscover that scoring touch or risk being left out in the cold by a Golden Knights salary structure that is getting more and more crowded.

Snapshots: Bouchard, Raanta, Schmidt

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The London Knights have announced their new leadership group for the 2018-19 season now that several key players have returned, and Edmonton Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard has been given the captaincy once again. Bouchard played seven games for the Oilers before being sent back to junior for the rest of the year, and should immediately step into his role playing nearly 30 minutes a night for London. One of the most effective players in the OHL, Bouchard will also likely be a key member of the Canadian World Junior squad in the coming months.

Joining him with letters for the Knights are several other well known prospects, including Alex Formenton of the Ottawa Senators and Liam Foudy of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Formenton played nine games for the Senators this season and scored his first NHL goal, while Foudy was the 18th-overall pick in June after dominating the NHL Draft Combine. William Lochead and Cole Tymkin, both undrafted, will round out the group of alternates for the Knights this season.

  • Antti Raanta will be out at least a few days with a lower-body injury for the Arizona Coyotes, meaning they were forced to recall Hunter Miska under emergency conditions. Craig Morgan of The Athletic adds that Raanta has subsequently been placed on IR and will be out until November 13th at the earliest.  Miska will serve as the backup to Darcy Kuemper for tomorrow’s game in Philadelphia, but perhaps he will be forced into action before too long given the team has a back-to-back against Pittsburgh and Washington that are scheduled fewer than 24 hours apart.
  • Though the Vegas Golden Knights will be without Erik Haula for at least a few games—and perhaps many more given the optics of last night’s injury—they welcomed back another familiar face to practice today. Nate Schmidt was back on the ice with the team, and can now take full part of practice as he waits out the last ten days of his PED suspension. November 18th is the first game action Schmidt is eligible for, when the Golden Knights head to Edmonton to take on Connor McDavid and the Oilers.

Vegas’ Erik Haula Leaves Game On Stretcher With Leg Injury

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With Paul Stastny already sidelined with an injury, the Vegas Golden Knights were dealt a major blow tonight, with another center suffering what looks to be a serious injury. Erik Haula was stretchered off the ice in Toronto following a collision with Maple Leafs forward Patrick Marleau (video). Haula was immediately clutching his right leg and shouting in pain, with the optics and immediate reaction pointing toward a torn ACL. Haula is likely to miss a substantial period of time – perhaps the remainder of the season – if this is the case.

The incident occurred early in the third period on a rather innocuous play. As Haula was exiting the defensive zone, Marleau came in for a light hip check against the boards near the red line. As Haula fell awkwardly backward, his skate appeared to become jammed in the boards, twisting his knee as he fell. The pain was evident from his response and an injury of that magnitude in the knee area is almost certainly torn ligaments, likely the ACL. A stretcher was immediately brought out. While Haula was able to wave to the crowd, this was anything but a positive moment for the Golden Knights and their fans.

Haula, 27, has been a fixture in Vegas’ top-six so far this year and has seven points to his credit, third-best for the struggling club. Haula has also been very effective at the face-off dot and has the best possession numbers of any Knights forward. His injury and likely prolonged absence is no small matter. An ACL tear is generally a 6+ month recovery, putting Haula’s return this season in doubt if that is indeed the case. The Golden Knights await further clarification on the injury, but it’s not good news for a team who somehow need to turn things around this year, now down two top forwards.

Snapshots: Stastny, Hextall, Klefbom

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The Vegas Golden Knights may have lost a pair of high-end forwards in James Neal and David Perron, but the team did bring in an important free agent this offseason when they signed center Paul Stastny to a three-year deal. The 32-year-old center showed off his impressive skills after he was traded to the Winnipeg Jets from St. Louis at the trade deadline. Stastny was given the role of anchoring a line with their star youngsters’ Patrik Laine and Nikolaj Ehlers and that line was a key part of the team’s deep playoff run, before being eliminated by Vegas.

Now ironically in Vegas and expected to center the team’s second line, Stastny said he spends a lot of his offseason training much differently considering that he’s entering that portion of a players’ career where a decline begins. Stastny told The Athletic’s Ryan Clark (subscription required) that he spends a lot of time focusing on off-ice things, especially his diet.

“Trying to keep up with your diet, trying to stay lean, trying to stay quick because as you get older, you might lose that step,” Stastny said. “The game’s changed from my first year where it was a lot heavier, stronger, touch and grabbing to know where it’s just not as much physical. A lot more skating and you gotta keep with that endurance as much as you can.”

Stastny, who posted 16 goals and 53 points between St. Louis and Winnipeg, expects to join the team’s second line between Alex Tuch and either Erik Haula or Tomas Tatar.

  • David Isaac of the Courier Post interviewed Philadelphia Flyers head coach Ron Hextall, who said in the Q&A that the team looked into upgrading their bottom-six this year in hopes of improving their penalty kill, which struggled last year, but felt they were unable to do that. The special teams’ unit played better over the final 25 games, according to Hextall, but he would still like to add a penalty killing forward, if possible. “I’m open to it, but it would probably be more of a lateral move on the market rather than a free agent,” Hextall said. “It would be a forward. We’d like to add a penalty-killing forward but to this point there’s been nothing there that’s made enough sense for us to move.”
  • The Edmonton Journal’s Kurt Leavins wonders if this is the year that defenseman Oscar Klefbom puts it all together, especially now that reports are coming in that say he’s 100 percent already with just a couple of weeks before training camp. The 25-year-old had a breakout season in 2016-17 when he tallied 12 goals and 38 points, but struggled through an injury-plagued 2017-18. Now healthy, the scribe believes this is the year he takes that next step.

What To Expect From Tomas Tatar In 2018-19

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A seemingly innocuous interview with Vegas Golden Knights free agency prize Paul Stastny actually ended up revealing quite a lot about the strange state of one of his new teammates. SinBin’s Ken Boehlke writes that Stastny, while appearing on the Golden Knight’s podcast, was asked who he believes his line mates could be this season. His answer: Alex Tuch and Erik Haula. Stastny made no mention of Vegas’ big trade deadline acquisition, Tomas Tatar, and Boehlke infers that this could mean trouble for the young forward moving forward.

If Stastny’s prediction proves true, then he, Tuch, and Haula would join the surefire top line of William Karlsson between Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith in the Knights’ top six. That would leave Tatar with a bottom-six role and Vegas is not exactly shaping up to have an offensively inclined group in that bottom half. Tatar will be joined by veteran grinders Ryan Reaves, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, and William Carrier who all seem slotted for a fourth line role. That would leave Tatar with Cody Eakin and one of a number of prospects or fringe players on the third line. Among the candidates are Oscar Lindberg, Tomas Nosek, Ryan Carpenter, Daniel Carr, Tomas Hyka, and Curtis McKenzie. None of that group truly inspires confidence as the final piece of the line with Tatar and Eakin. This begs the question: what role does Tatar have on this team?

Even if you don’t put much stock in Stastny’s comments, there is no doubting that Tatar has been less than impressive since being traded to Vegas from the Detroit Red Wings. The three-time 45+ point scorer only registered six points in 20 games down the stretch for the Knights and was a frequent healthy scratch in the postseason, adding just two points in eight games. Tatar is a strong possession player who has proven to be a capable goal scorer in the past, but lacks the two-way game to make a living in a checking role. At $5.3MM, in addition to the trade cost of three high draft picks, it is hard to imagine that Vegas wants to play him in that role either. Tatar needs to find a fit on this roster, either on the second line with Stastny or as a transformative presence on the third line. The Golden Knights are far more shallow up front this season than they were last year and can hardly afford to deal with ineffective or inconsistent play from their biggest trade investment to date. If Tatar does struggle, he may easily wind up wearing out his welcome with the Knights as he did with the Red Wings.

Pacific Notes: Flames Forwards, Haula, Horvat

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The Calgary Flames have made quite a few moves this offseason in hopes of reshaping their roster after a dismal second half that saw them out of the playoffs. However, the Flames new signings may have caused other issues that the team will have to deal with in a few years — namely the expansion draft.

The Athletic’s Kent Wilson (subscription required) writes that the team might be in trouble if/when the unnamed Seattle franchise has its expansion draft in 2020. Assuming all the rules are the same as they were for Vegas, Calgary will have a logjam of players at the forward position and won’t have enough spaces to protect some quality players.

Assuming there are no changes among forwards over the next two seasons, the team would likely protect or have to protect Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan, Elias Lindholm, Mikael Backlund, Matthew Tkachuk, James Neal as six forwards they would likely protect. That would leave one spot open for players like Derek Ryan, Mark Jankowski, Sam Bennett, Andrew Mangiapane and Spencer Foo, which could leave several high quality players exposed to Seattle. Unless the team addresses these issues, the team may be giving Seattle a solid player.

  • Adam Hill of the Las Vegas Review-Journal writes that the Vegas Golden Knights still haven’t decided on a plan for what they intend to do with second-line center Erik Haula after they signed Paul Stastny away from the Winnipeg Jets this offseason. Haula had a great offensive season, centering the second line with 29 goals and 55 points, but the line (along with the departed Neal and David Perron) struggled defensively. In fact, Vegas’ second line was one of the worst defensive lines in the league. “It produced, but the goals against per 60 minutes was not good enough,” said Vegas general manager George McPhee. “We were actually dead last among second lines in the league. You can just sort of look the other way on that or you can address it. We’re trying to address it.”
  • J.D. Burke of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that he believes that Vancouver Canucks center Bo Horvat should continue to take his game to a new level as he has every year. However, if there is one area of Horvat’s game that could use some upgrading it would be his defensive game as that’s the weakest part of his game. The 23-year-old took his scoring game up a notch last year when he potted 22 goals, an improvement on his previous career-high of 20 goals, but Horvat missed 15 games last year, so to put up a career-high in goals is key. However, with the additions of players like Jay Beagle, Antoine Roussel and Tim Schaller, maybe defense won’t be that imperative.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Vegas Golden Knights

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Navigating the Salary Cap is probably one of the more important tasks for any general manager to have. 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 2018-19 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

Vegas Golden Knights

Current Cap Hit: $70,812,500 (under the $79.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Alex Tuch (One year remaining, $925K)
D Zach Whitecloud (Two years remaining, $925K)

Among the many things that went right for Vegas was the play of Tuch, who was a surprise in training camp and quickly earned himself a full-time role. The 6-foot-4, 222-pound winger had an impressive rookie season with the Golden Knights, scoring 15 goals and 37 points with much of his playing time coming with the team’s third line. He only improved over time, showing an ability to get into the corners and extend offensive opportunities for the team. He tallied six goals in the playoffs as well, which allowed the Golden Knights to let go veterans James Neal and David Perron, knowing that the 22-year-old Tuch is ready to take his game to the next level. With one year remaining on his entry-level deal, expect him to become a key restricted free agent for the team next season.

Potential Bonuses

Tuch: $93K
Whitecloud: $93K

Total: $186K

One Year Remaining, Non Entry-Level

F William Karlsson ($5.25MM, RFA)
D Nate Schmidt ($2.23MM, UFA)
F Oscar Lindberg ($1.7MM, UFA)
D Deryk Engelland ($1.5MM, UFA)
F Pierre-Edouard Bellemare ($1.45MM, UFA)
F Tomas Nosek ($963K, RFA)
F Ryan Carpenter ($650K, UFA)
D Brad Hunt ($650K, UFA)
G Malcolm Subban ($650K, RFA)

The most important piece the Vegas Golden Knights need to lock up is Karlsson, who just signed a one-year deal with Vegas Saturday. However, now the team has just one year to lock up Karlsson, the team’s top scorer, to a long-term extension. Less than a year, actually, as the team can’t agree to an extension until Jan. 1, 2019. That gives Vegas time to see how 25-year-old will respond in his second year. After piling up 43 goals last season (and seven more in the playoffs), the team wants to see that he can put up similar numbers before handing him a major deal considering the most he’s ever scored in his NHL career was nine goals.

The team will also have to lock up the speedy Schmidt, as well to a long-term deal at some point. The 27-year-old was a key figure on the Golden Knights defense, posting career highs of five goals and 36 points, but also showed his mettle in the playoffs, putting up another three goals and seven points. He could easily get a similar deal to the one that Miller signed with the team (four years, $15.5MM) earlier in the offseason. With an influx of prospects likely to hitting the team for the 2019-20 season, several veterans will have to prove they deserve new contracts this coming  year, including Lindberg, Bellemare, Engelland, Carpenter, Hunt and Subban, although unless someone has a breakout year, none should cost the team too much.

Two Years Remaining

F David Clarkson ($5.25MM, UFA)
F Cody Eakin ($3.85MM, UFA)
F Ryan Reaves ($2.78MM, UFA)
F Erik Haula ($2.75MM, UFA)
D Nick Holden ($2.2MM, UFA)
D Jonathon Merrill ($1.38MM, UFA)
F William Carrier ($725K, RFA)

The team likely will have to pay up if they want to keep Haula. The team’s second-line center may move to the third line now that the team locked up Stastny to a free agent deal. However, if Huala can continue to produce like he did last season, the 27-year-old should be able to fetch a nice contract. He had a career-high in goals last season as he scored 29 and 55 points.

The team should also recoup some of their losses as well in two years as Clarkson’s deal will expire, so that will free up $5.25MM for the team as the team currently has to wait till the start of the season before they can place his contract on LTIR. Others like Eakin and Reaves will likely have to earn another deal over the next two seasons. Both had solid showings for Vegas this year, but will have to prove their consistency. While Reaves deal looks overpaid on paper, the team opted to give him three years worth of money as long as he only signed for two years.

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