Jets Notes: Setoguchi, Trouba, Heritage Classic
In a heartbreaking (but wonderful) piece by David Pollak of The Hockey News yesterday, Devin Setoguchi comes clean about his history with alcoholism and how it almost destroyed his career. The former 8th overall pick was a thirty goal scorer in the NHL once upon a time, but yesterday signed a professional tryout with the Los Angeles Kings after spending last season in Switzerland.
It’s been six years since he last scored 20 goals in an NHL season, but is still only 29 years old and feels he has enough left to help a team on the ice – even if it’s at the AHL level or in Europe.
Today, on the Hustler and Lawless show on TSN 1290, Setoguchi related a story about how Evander Kane came to his house once while they were teammates on the Winnipeg Jets, and poured out all his alcohol in an attempt to help him break his addiction. Ironically, some may say, because of Kane’s own troubled history, it may have been a turning point in his battle and he now is working towards helping younger players understand the risks involved.
- Also on TSN 1290, former NHL executive Bill Watters opined that the Jacob Trouba camp “wants out of Winnipeg”. While Watters isn’t close enough to either side to have any particular insight past what his hockey sense tells him, it does continue the narrative that has been going on. Both Matt Larkin of The Hockey News and Darren Dreger of TSN spoke recently on the station about a possible Trouba deal, with Larkin going so far as saying “I’m seeing a trade in Trouba’s future, because the two camps seem to be so far apart in terms of how they value what Trouba has done in the NHL so far.” Indeed, Trouba is currently playing at the World Cup without a deal, and both sides seem just as far apart as ever on the future of the young defenseman.
- The final rosters for the legends game at the Heritage Classic were announced today, after having their first group presented last month. Among the final few additions were Curtis Joseph for the Edmonton Oilers, and Eddie Olczyk for the Winnipeg Jets. The game will take place on October 22nd, with Dale Hawerchuk leading the hometown Jets against a star-studded Oilers squad captained by Wayne Gretzky.
Snapshots: Canucks, Avalanche, Nielsen, Donskoi
Many pundits feel the Vancouver Canucks are a team lacking direction. On the one hand, they introduced some much-needed youth to their aging core last season with young forwards Jake Virtanen and Jared McCann given their first extended NHL looks and joining second-year pro Bo Horvat as possible future building blocks. On the other hand, Vancouver failed to advance their rebuild by dealing expiring assets at the trade deadline for draft picks and/or prospects. Trading Dan Hamhuis and/or Radim Vrbata would have netted the Canucks multiple futures to further the team’s roster reconstruction.
Instead, the Canucks surprised many this spring by parting with the aforementioned McCann as part of a package to acquire veteran defenseman Erik Gudbranson in what was clearly a move designed to help the team win now. The free agent addition of winger Loui Eriksson also signals that Vancouver is not committed to a rebuild and will rather try to slowly integrate younger players onto the roster while at the same time attempting to remain in the mix for a playoff spot.
It’s with this mentality that GM Jim Benning continues his search for an impact offensive LW, as Ben Kuzma of The Province writes. Daniel Sedin remains the team’s top port side winger and the team expects young Sven Baertschi – currently listed as the team’s #2 LW – to improve upon his 15-goal output in 2015-16. Beyond those two the Canucks have a few wingers who can line up on either side of center – including Eriksson – but don’t have enough depth to switch a player to the left without creating another hole on the right side.
Kuzma lists several candidates who could fill the role of impact LW, both internal and external. The most interesting might be Anton Rodin, the team’s second-round pick in 2009 and whom the Canucks signed to a one-year deal worth just $950K. Rodin enjoyed an excellent 2015-16 campaign, netting 16 goals and 37 points in 33 contests with Brynas IF of the Swedish Elite League while capturing the league’s MVP award.
As for possibilities currently outside the Canucks organization, Kuzma lists Evander Kane as a potential trade option – a notion we’ve reported on in the past – though he also brings up the off-ice issues surrounding Buffalo’s talented winger and suggests that might limit Vancouver’s interest. Kuzma also opines that the cost to acquire an established player like Kane would likely start with one of Chris Tanev or Horvat, and that’s simply a price the Canucks are unwilling to pay.
Surprisingly, Kuzma writes that the Canucks didn’t view Jiri Hudler as a short-term answer even though the Czech winger is just two seasons removed from a 76-point campaign and ultimately signed a one-year pact with Dallas worth $2MM. Hudler would have been a perfectly reasonable buy-low add for the Canucks. He’s capable of producing at a rate more than acceptable for a top-six forward and would have been a potentially valuable asset to possess at the 2017 deadline with contending teams always looking to augment their scoring depth.
Elsewhere in the NHL on this Labor Day:
- At his introductory news conference last week, new Colorado head coach Jared Bednar confirmed he would be keeping all three assistant coaches – Tim Army, Dave Farrish and Nolan Pratt – from the previous regime, according to Terry Frei of the Denver Post. It’s not much of a surprise given the late hiring of Bednar meant that many coaches he may have considered for positions were already committed elsewhere. Additionally, Pratt worked under Bednar as an assistant with Lake Erie in 2015-16 so there was already a comfort level between the two coaches. After talking with each of his assistants, Bednar is satisfied he has the right mix of experience and knowledge among his staff.
- An unheralded free agent signing by the Sharks in May of 2015, Joonas Donskoi would end up playing a key role for the Western Conference champions in 2015-16, scoring 11 goals and 36 points in 76 regular season games. He would ramp up his performance in the playoffs tallying six goals and 12 points in 24 contests. Now that Donskoi has established himself as an NHL regular, the expectations have been raised going into year two of his career, as Kevin Kurz of CSN Bay Area writes. After establishing solid chemistry with C Logan Couture, both down the stretch of the regular campaign and in the postseason, Donskoi is again likely to slot in on the right side of the skilled pivot. If he takes advantage of his opportunity to play with Couture, it’s conceivable Donskoi could approach 50 points in a full season.
- After losing superstar center Pavel Datsyuk, who chose to return home to Russia to be closer to his family, the Detroit Red Wings were left with a gaping hole down the middle of their lineup. They attempted to address that loss in part by signing solid two-way pivot Frans Nielsen to a lucrative six-year, $31.5MM free agent deal this summer. While he won’t be expected to replace Datsyuk’s offense, he will be counted on to play a responsible game and appear in all situations for the Wings, says Ansar Khan of MLive.com. Nielsen has only ever tallied 20 goals or 50 points on two occasions but is known as an excellent playmaker and someone who should help improve both the Wings PP and PK units. He is also an elite shootout performer who might be worth an extra few standings points a year to Detroit in that area alone.
Latest On Rasmus Ristolainen
The Buffalo Sabres have had a roller coaster of an offseason. While the team successfully brought in Kyle Okposo and Dmitry Kulikov to shore up two weaknesses, they’ve also had the headaches caused by Evander Kane‘s continuing legal issues, and were spurned by Jimmy Vesey after trading a third-round pick to obtain his negotiating rights. Now, you’d think all their attention would be on re-signing their two remaining restricted free agents, starting with their stud defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen.
Not so fast, as according to Sami Hoffren of Urheilusanomat (a Finnish sports publication) Ristolainen told him he or his camp “haven’t heard anything in a while” from the Buffalo side regarding a new contract and doesn’t expect to sign anything during the World Cup; Ristolainen is competing for Finland in the upcoming tournament.
After being drafted eighth overall in 2013, Ristolainen has shown a steady progression into one of the better right-handed defensemen in the league. With 41 points last season, he led the Buffalo blueline and ranked 23rd in the league among defensemen. Going forward, the 21-year old will be looking for a substantial bump if he’s to sign long-term, as he’s proven his ability at this level over the past two seasons.
Buffalo also has Zemgus Girgensons, another former first round pick who took a step backwards last season left to sign. Girgensons only scored 18 points after two consecutive seasons with at least 22, including a 15 goal output in just 61 games in 2014-15. Both players should eventually re-sign, but it is getting later and later into the summer without any news. The Sabres have just over $8MM in cap space currently, more than enough to get both under contract.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Roster Crunch: Atlantic Division
Over the past few days, we’ve looked at the final few spots on the roster for both the Pacific and Central divisions. This time, we’ll turn our attention to the East starting with the Atlantic. This division will be in turmoil over the next few years, with clubs like the Buffalo Sabres and Toronto Maple Leafs going through slow, deliberate rebuilds, and perennial contending squads like the Detroit Red Wings finally starting to slow down.
Florida Panthers – While the Panthers have pretty much accomplished everything they set out to do this off-season – improving the blueline with Keith Yandle and Jason Demers, getting a capable replacement for Roberto Luongo in James Reimer, and locking up their young core – they failed in one, big $5.5MM way. Dave Bolland failed his physical and therefor couldn’t be bought out. He’ll try to prove he deserves some playing time this season, but may find himself buried in the AHL to make room for Jared McCann, the prize Florida received when they dealt Erik Gudbranson to the Canucks.
Revisiting Vancouver’s Search For Scoring Line Wing
With franchise cornerstones Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin each nearing the end of their great careers and after missing the postseason by a whopping 12 points, it would appear the Vancouver Canucks should strongly consider tearing down then rebuilding their roster. Instead, Vancouver seems to be trying to walk the fine line between being competitive today while still trying to add youth to the organization to make them better tomorrow. The signing of Loui Eriksson and the trade for Erik Gudbranson – a deal that cost Vancouver young forward Jared McCann and a second-round pick – reinforces the idea the Canucks want to try to compete for a playoff berth this year, even if they sacrifice young talent to do so.
Along those lines, GM Jim Benning has been open about his efforts to add a scoring line winger, whether by trade or by signing one of the few remaining quality free agent forwards on the market, in an attempt to further improve his club’s chances at the postseason. The club has been linked to potential trade target Evander Kane, among others, this summer but James O’Brien, writing for NBC Sports, argues that Vancouver should steer clear of the trade market in their search for an “experienced 15-20 goal-scorer,” and instead add one of the skilled forwards left in free agency.
Vancouver likely has little chance to make the postseason in a division that includes three, near-certain playoff teams and three others who may have made enough roster improvements this summer to realistically challenge. Defending Western Conference champion San Jose should be a near lock for the playoffs, as should Los Angeles and Anaheim. Arizona, Calgary and Edmonton each made major moves that could result in postseason contention. With the playoffs unlikely, Vancouver shouldn’t give up any of the few valuable assets they have in exchange for a marginal increase in their postseason odds this year.
Considering a reunion with UFA Radim Vrbata is unlikely, signing one of Brandon Pirri or Jiri Hudler – two of PHR’s five top remaining UFA’s – would improve the Canucks on the ice for the 2016-17 campaign and won’t cost the team anything other than cash. Additionally, if either player has a productive season for Vancouver, the Canucks could move them at the deadline for future assets. Remember that Hudler, a pending free agent at the time, was dealt from Calgary to the Panthers for second and fourth-round draft choices. That’s exactly the type of move a club like Vancouver should make as opposed to dealing for a veteran player under contract long term.
Hudler, a three-time 20-goal-scorer, had a down season in 2015-16 but is just one year removed from a 31-goal campaign with the Flames. He still tallied 16 goals last year in 72 games, splitting the season with Calgary and Florida. But even in a “down” year, his goal-scoring rate was still comfortably that of a top-six winger. Hudler averaged 0.79 G/60 this past season, a total which ranked 91st overall among forwards who saw at least 500 minutes of even strength ice time. With 30 teams in the league, each with three top-line players, Hudler’s goal production ranks just outside what you would expect from a first-liner.
Pirri averaged 0.74 G/60 last season, good for the 105th best rate among forwards who played 500 minutes at even strength. As with Hudler, in terms of goal scoring alone Pirri is comfortably a second-line player. His career rate of 0.91 G/60 suggests that given more ice time, Pirri would easily exceed 20 goals in a full season.
If Vancouver is simply looking for a player who can put the puck in the net, signing Hudler or Pirri to a one-year deal makes far more sense than giving up assets to acquire a goal-scorer via trade. Considering how late in the summer we are and after seeing how much of a pay cut Sam Gagner took after a lackluster season, it’s likely Hudler is only worth around $2MM per at this point. Pirri probably would sign for less than that figure. Additionally, assuming the club signs one of those free agent wingers and they go on to produce solid numbers, the value Vancouver could extract from a contender at the deadline makes this route far and away the better option for a team that should be focusing more on the future than the present.
Snapshots: Kane, Russell, Staal, Parise
There’s little doubt that Buffalo GM Tim Murray has shown a penchant for making bold decisions during his tenure with the Sabres. As Bucky Gleason of the Buffalo News writes, Murray may be headed for another of those decisions when it comes to winger Evander Kane.
Kane pled not guilty earlier this week to charges of misdemeanor criminal trespass, non-criminal disorderly conduct, and four counts of non-criminal harassment. He was also previously charged with assault although that suit was later dropped. However, Gleason notes that Kane seems to have a penchant for finding trouble which has to be a concern for the Sabres.
Murray gave up a considerable amount to Winnipeg back in February of 2015, including defenseman Tyler Myers plus wingers Drew Stafford and Joel Armia as part of a package that also landed Buffalo blueliner Zach Bogosian. However, given the off-ice concerns and the fact that Kane has not yet become the top liner the team was hoping he would, it’s unlikely that a Kane trade would yield anywhere near the type of value Buffalo gave up to get him just 18 months ago.
Even if Murray can’t get top value, Gleason suggests that he should still consider trading him for a lesser return under the concept of addition by subtraction. Doing so would certainly be a bold move but the Buffalo GM hasn’t hesitated to make those types of deals yet so there’s little reason to think he’d do so now.
More from around the league:
- Defenseman Kris Russell remains the most prominent of the remaining unrestricted free agents. TSN’s Darren Dreger reports that Russell’s camp is still waiting for some interested teams to free up some cap space. It’s believed that Russell is still seeking a multi-year deal around the $4MM per year range but that may be a challenge at this stage of free agency. Regardless, it appears the 29 year old blueliner is content to play the waiting game for now. Dreger doesn’t mention any specific suitors but we took a look earlier at some teams that could potentially have a spot for Russell on their back end.
- In an interview with KFAN 100.3 in Minnesota (and transcribed by Chris Nichols of Today’s Slapshot), Minnesota head coach Bruce Boudreau expects newly-signed center Eric Staal to play between Zach Parise and Charlie Coyle to start next season. Boudreau also noted that Parise told him that he is fully healthy after missing the postseason with a back injury. Parise is slated to suit up for Team USA at next month’s World Cup of Hockey.
Snapshots: Kane, Bartkowski, Jets
Sabres forward Evander Kane pled not guilty at his arraignment in Buffalo court today stemming from charges last month, reports Aaron Besecker of the Buffalo News. Kane faces a charge of misdemeanor criminal trespass, non-criminal disorderly conduct, plus four counts of non-criminal harassment. WBEN’s Brian Mazurowski adds that the maximum sentence for Kane would be 90 days but that District Attorney Michael Flaherty noted that first time offenders rarely receive prison sentences.
Other news and notes from around the league:
- Free agent defenseman Matt Bartkowski has received a few offers so far but has yet to land with a new team, writes Jeff Paterson of the Vancouver Province. Bartkowski’s agent, Stephen Reich, suggests that a deal isn’t likely to come until later in the offseason but is optimistic that he will be able to land a one way contract. Bartkowski earned $1.75MM with Vancouver last season and got into 80 games with the Canucks, collecting six goals and 12 assists while averaging 18:37 of ice time per night.
- Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun takes a closer look at Winnipeg’s defense depth and notes that there could be a bit of a logjam, particularly when RFA Jacob Trouba inks his new deal. He speculates that 2013 first round pick Josh Morrissey could be ready for full-time NHL duty but the Jets may deem it would be better for him to play a #1 role in the AHL over a depth role with the big club. Wiebe also suggests that Paul Postma could be a candidate to be dealt between now and the start of next season.
Snapshots: Kane, Elliott, Mrazek, Hrivik, Gormley
Evander Kane‘s most recent legal woes has led to speculation Buffalo could look to move the talented yet troubled forward. One potential suitor might be the Vancouver Canucks, who are thought to be interested in adding a scoring line winger. Kane of course is a B.C. native and played his junior hockey as a member of the Vancouver Giants of the WHL. Along those lines, Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Sun makes the case the Canucks need a player of Kane’s ilk and should pursue a trade. Meanwhile, Jason Botchford, writing for The Province, takes the opposite position and lists five reasons the club should avoid Kane.
It’s hard to imagine Buffalo being able to find a trade partner at this point, at least until Kane’s legal issues are resolved. For one, the NHL is monitoring the situation and while they say they aren’t considering punishment for Kane, the possibility of such can’t be dismissed pending the results of the criminal proceedings. Second, at this point in the summer most clubs are capped out, making a move to acquire Kane and his $5.25MM cap charge difficult to complete.
More notes emanating around the NHL…..
- After finishing dead last in the league in both save percentage and goals against average, the Calgary Flames completely turned over their goaltending position, dealing for Brian Elliott at the Entry Draft and signing Chad Johnson as a free agent. The duo replaces the combination of Karri Ramo, Joni Ortio, Niklas Backstrom and Jonas Hiller between the pipes for the Flames. Elliott, the presumptive starter, was introduced to the Calgary media Wednesday and wasted little time endearing himself to the followers of his new team.
- The recent signing of RFA Petr Mrazek has pushed the Red Wings to a figure almost $5MM over the 2016-17 salary cap ceiling. As my colleague, Nate Brown, wrote earlier this morning, the concern is that GM Ken Holland has invested too much of his resources in role players and/or rewarding his own to exorbitant contract extensions. While the concern may be warranted, the Red Wings immediate issue is becoming cap compliant ahead of the start of the upcoming campaign. But as MLive’s Brendan Savage writes, the Wings will likely place veteran forwards Johan Franzen ($3.95MM cap hit) and Joe Vitale ($1.12MM cap charge) on LTIR, thus freeing up just more than $5MM in space and bringing the Red Wings into compliance.
- The New York Rangers have come to terms with their lone remaining RFA, agreeing to a new contract with F Marek Hrivik, per the club’s website. According to Larry Brooks of the New York Post, Hrivik received a two-way deal which will pay him $600K at the NHL level. Hrivik will go to camp and have an opportunity to compete for one of the final forward spots for the Rangers, though it’s likely he will again spend most of the year in the minors. Last season Hrivik saw action in five NHL games, picking up his first career point. In 68 AHL contests with Hartford, Hrivik netted a career-high 41 points and 29 assists.
- Former first-round pick Brandon Gormley has agreed to join the New Jersey Devils on a one-year contract worth $650K at the NHL level. Gormley, selected 13th overall in 2010 by Arizona, spent last season as a member of the Colorado Avalanche organization following a September trade. In 26 NHL games this past season, Gormley notched a single assist and recorded eight PIMs. Gormley looked to have a bright professional future after an accomplished junior career. He played for a QMJHL championship club with Moncton in 2010 and won a Memorial Cup as a member of Shawinigan in 2012. He has yet to translate his amateur success into a regular role in the NHL and looks to be earmarked for depth duty in the Devils organization.
Atlantic Notes: Kane, Ceci, Leafs
After turning himself in for arrest on July 22nd, Evander Kane was charged with four counts of non-criminal harassment and one count of criminal trespass which, according to Kane’s attorney Paul Cambria, he plans to plead not guilty to. Now, police documents acquired by WKBW Buffalo show (via Deadspin) sworn statements from multiple women and the bouncer at the club which the incident occurred.
“He grabbed my hair. He pulled it so hard he pulled my whole head. It hurt a lot.” claims one of the women, who also says Kane tried to force her to kiss his hand. Another woman claims that this is “how he always treats women. Aggressive and disrespectful.”
Immediately after news of the incident broke, trade speculation surrounding the former fourth-overall pick heated up, with many believing that his hometown of Vancouver would be a natural destination as they look to rebuild their club. Canucks’ beat writer Jason Botchford (The Province) fanned the flames today when he told TSN 1040 “there is no doubt about it. The Vancouver Canucks are going to be in on Evander Kane. Ownership loves Kane. Jim Benning really likes Kane. Trevor (Linden) is maybe a little ambivalent, but he can be won over.” Kane has two seasons remaining at $5.25MM, and scored just 35 points last season.
- The Ottawa Senators addressed one problem today when they re-signed RFA Mike Hoffman to a four-year deal, and will now turn their attention to defenseman Cody Ceci. Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun reports what many have thought, that Ceci is amiably working towards a deal with the Sens and will work something out before camp starts. Garrioch goes on to report that the sides are working on a two-year deal at the moment, though obviously anything can change before ink goes to paper. Ceci scored a career-high 10 goals last season and is a big part of the Senators’ top four.
- Martin Marincin represents the Toronto Maple Leafs’ last remaining arbitration case after re-signing Peter Holland and Frankie Corrado on Monday. While Marincin offers some intrigue to Leaf fans because of his improved play last year as Morgan Rielly‘s partner, there is more to his signing than meets the eye. Three days after Marincin signs (or has the arbitration dispute resolved at his August 2nd hearing), the Leafs will be awarded a second buyout window which they could use to free up some more cap space. With Jared Cowen having filed a grievance over the attempted buyout from the first window (he maintains that he’s still rehabbing an injury sustained during the season, which would make him exempt from any buyout), the team may be waiting until it’s resolved in order to use the second buyout to terminate his contract. Joffrey Lupul, Milan Michalek, Colin Greening and Brooks Laich all remain as other possible options for the second buyout window, should the Maple Leafs choose to use it.
Evander Kane Charged With Misdemeanor Trespassing
The Buffalo News reports that Sabres forward Evander Kane has voluntarily turned himself in to the authorities in Buffalo. Several other sources have confirmed the news as well. The News writes that Kane will face one misdemeanor count of criminal trespass and up to four counts of non-criminal harassment.
Kane’s lawyer told the News that Kane maintains his innocence, and plans to fight the charges.
The News reports that Kane turned himself in at around 11am. The charges stem from an incident in a bar this past June where Kane purportedly placed his hands on a bouncer and three different women during an early morning incident.
Two incidence reports were filed. Kane allegedly tried to engage in a physical confrontation with the bouncer and then reportedly became combative with two different women both inside and outside the bar. The News reports that authorities declined to comment when asked about Kane being intoxicated.
The Buffalo Police Department have released a statement indicating the charges.
Weeks ago, ESPN reported that Sabres general manager Tim Murray was displeased with the latest round of legal issues surrounding the 24-year-old forward. The story was written prior to the charges being filed. Darren Dreger tweets that while the NHL is monitoring the situation, they are not expected to take any disciplinary action at this time. They will, however, recommend him for behavioral health professionals for counseling if necessary.
Mike Harrington tweets that Kane will not be going anywhere. He reiterates that the charges stem from the incident on June 24th, and that nothing new was added. Harrington also bristles at the thought of Buffalo dealing Kane to another team.
The Sabres have issued a statement regarding Kane’s arrest: “We are aware of the charges against Evander Kane stemming from an incident last month. Our organization will have no further comment at this time.” Obviously, the team will collect all pertinent information before responding to the situation.