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Evgeny Kuznetsov

World Championships Update: Shipachyov, Da Costa, Lundqvist

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As always, international play is a time for players to shine. While plenty of NHL regulars (Johnny Gaudreau, Artemi Panarin) are lighting the lamp quite easily, there are a few names that should be interesting General Managers out there. Prospects and lesser knowns have a chance to really prove they can be difference makers at the top tier of hockey.

  • Although no longer technically considered a prospect, offensive dynamo Vadim Shipachyov is looking like a brilliant pickup for the Vegas Golden Knights. Through 5 games he has already accumulated 10 points (2 G, 8 A) and is driving possession for his Russian squad. His skill with the puck on his stick and his vision to find teammates through traffic has been mightily impressive. He may be slotted down the lineup as Capital Evgeny Kuznetsov joins the fray, but he still has a reasonable shot at tournament MVP if he keeps this work up.
  • France’s Stephane da Costa has been nothing short of incredible for the home team, currently tied for the tournament lead in goals (6) and third in points (9). Da Costa is 27 years-old and went to play in the KHL following his up-and-down experience with Ottawa. He played 47 games for the Senators over 4 seasons but spent the majority of his time in the AHL’s Binghamton. Da Costa has played shortened seasons for the CSKA Moscow over the past three years, but has not entirely fallen off the radar of North American teams. He was even rumored to be linked to the Golden Knights in February by Dans les Coulisses journalist Max Truman, although there has been nothing since. This sort of performance could put him back in teams’ considerations.
  • Swedish goalie (and New York Ranger cornerstone) Henrik Lundqvist survived a scary hit to the head when an opposing Danish player crashed his crease at full speed. He eventually got up and continued to play in the game. Trainers say he is all right. His injury would be huge, both for the Swedish national team’s chances, and the Rangers franchise. Although he’s just turned 35 and is signed for four more seasons on an outrageously expensive contract, Lundqvist is still a top goaltender at the NHL level. The clip can be viewed here.

Finding Room For Oshie And Alzner

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T.J. Oshie has pretty clearly expressed his desire to remain in Washington, culminating in his most recent statement this Friday where he stated “I’m a Capital, and I feel that’s where I’ll be.” The difficulty for GM Brian McClellan obviously lies in fitting him under the team’s cap ceiling while affording other free agents, notably including RFA Evgeny Kuznetsov. Looking forward to next season, and barring any major trades, the Capitals will likely need to let go of the clutch Justin Williams in light of his impressive outing these playoffs. He will easily command $3 MM or more, and things are tight enough as is. Assuming the Capitals lose a defenseman in expansion, perhaps Dmitry Orlov, and the seemingly inevitable departure of Kevin Shattenkirk, their D-corps will look very different. Because of these losses, they will be pressed to find room for their shutdown defender Karl Alzner, also impending UFA.

If Oshie prices himself out, Alzner is a fantastic consolation prize. The ideal scenario for the team would be re-signing both, but contracts would absolutely need to be moved out. A realistic possibility the Capitals could consider is moving one of Brooks Orpik or Matt Niskanen. Both were signed in the summer of 2014, and both contracts would be difficult to move. Niskanen is undoubtedly the better hockey player at this juncture, but he also is under contract for another 4 seasons. At 30 years old, this is not too great of a risk, but his pricetag of $5.75 MM may prove too steep for a multitude of teams. He also has a limited No-Trade Clause, which would complicate any possible transaction.

The more preferable scenario would be to unload Orpik, but the 36 year old does not look long for the league, especially in this post-season. Although he is only under contract for 2 more seasons, his $5.5 MM would be quite the expense for many teams. Perhaps Vegas or a relatively young bottom dwelling team (Colorado, Buffalo) would be interested in his veteran savvy, but it would be a difficult sell. Orpik should not be considered a core piece, of the defense moving forward, especially with youngsters Dimitri Orlov and Nate Schmidt proving so valuable. His starts in the defensive zone have steadily declined over the past 6 seasons, and for a supposedly shutdown player, his quality of competition has also taken a nosedive. He contributes nearly nothing offensively for a team that thrives off of its offensive creativity, potting only 18 goals in over 1000 games played, including 0 this past season to go with 14 assists. His hitting ability is well-documented, but for a team that employs Tom Wilson, physicality will not be a problem. Finding a way before expansion to unload his contract would be a godsend, but it will take some maneuvering on the part of management.

Assuming the Capitals don’t move a contract out, they still will be left exposing one or both of Orlov and Schmidt. Up front, it’s obvious that Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Marcus Johansson, Kuznetsov, Wilson, and two of the Oshie (if re-signed), Andre Burakovsky(RFA), Lars Eller trio will be protected. (Eller himself could be an option in a move for cap relief) On the backend, Niskanen and John Carlson look like locks, and a decision will need to be made regarding the third protected player. The wildcard for Washington is that, considering his strong play in very limited action, backup goaltender Philipp Grubauer could instead be claimed by Vegas.

It’s difficult to foresee where the Capitals go from here, realizing there will be bidding wars for the two players they are likely to want to retain in Oshie and Alzner. Even in a best case scenario, this Capitals team will not have the strength it did in 2016-17.

Metro Division Notes: Capitals, Smith, Flyers, Shero

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With perhaps the most complete team top-to-bottom in franchise history, the Washington Capitals believed they had all the pieces to finally propel themselves past the arch-rival Pittsburgh Penguins and into the Eastern Conference Final for the first time in Alex Ovechkin’s 12-year NHL career. However, after yet another disappointing defeat at the hands of the Penguins, Washington must now once again go back to the drawing board in search of the right formula. Unlike in years past when the roster’s shortcomings were easy to identify, Capitals GM Brian McLellan will have a much tougher time this summer identifying an obvious solution to the team’s deficiencies, as Isabelle Khurshudyan of The Washington Post writes.

As Khurshudyan notes, since assuming the top job with the Caps, MacLellan has strategically set about filling holes on the roster as he attempted to construct a championship team. First he went to work to address the team’s defense corps, inking veteran blue liners Matt Niskanen and Brooks Orpik as free agents in the summer of 2014. The next year, the GM brought in Justin Williams and T.J. Oshie via free agency and trade respectively, to “bolster the top-six.” Last summer, MacLellan dealt two draft picks to Montreal for Lars Eller and signed Brett Connolly to add more speed and skill to the team’s third line. The cherry on top was acquiring prized, puck-moving defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk at the trade deadline, adding an impact player to an already stacked lineup while at the same time keeping him from going to a conference rival (it was believed Pittsburgh and the N.Y. Rangers were also in the Shattenkirk sweepstakes). While it all added up to perhaps the best team in the league on paper, in the end Washington couldn’t exorcise their postseason demons and once again are left wondering what could have been.

Clearly MacLellan will again try to construct a Stanley Cup-caliber club but with Oshie, Shattenkirk, Karl Alzner and Williams all scheduled to be UFA’s, and with less than $22MM available in projected cap space, it’s likely the team will lose at least two key contributors from that group. Complicating matters is the fact that Evgeny Kuznetsov, Andre Burakovsky and Dmitry Orlov will be RFA’s and in line for significant raises over their 2017 salaries. Barring some savvy salary cap maneuverings this summer, it’s quite possible the Capitals best chance to win a Stanley Cup with Ovechkin on the roster just passed them by.

More from the Metro:

  • Though many suspected the New York Rangers would land the aforementioned Shattenkirk at the trade deadline, the team instead balked at paying the higher price and made a less expensive move for fellow blue liner Brendan Smith. Like many deadline acquisitions, Smith struggled at times while settling into a new organization and adapting to a different system but the veteran blue liner found his stride in the postseason, providing much needed bite and steady play on the back end for the Blueshirts. It’s common knowledge the Rangers will attempt to upgrade the puck-moving ability and mobility on the team’s blue line but Smith showed he may be part of that solution and the Rangers might be wise to consider re-signing the pending UFA. For his part, Smith would welcome a return to Manhattan, according to Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post, saying: “I really enjoyed being here. I like the guys, the group.” After making $2.75MM in 2016-17, Smith will undoubtedly be able to generate offers in the range of $4MM annually on the open market. But at just 28 years old, re-signing Smith to a three or four-year pact at that price point might prove to be more prudent than luring the top prospective UFA blue liner, Shattenkirk, to the Blueshirts.
  • While the 2016-17 campaign will go down as a disappointing one for the Philadelphia Flyers, Dave Scott, president and CEO of the club’s parent company, Comcast Spectacor, would rather focus on the successful development of the organization’s younger players, as Sam Carchidi of Philly.com writes. GM Ron Hextall has avoided quick fixes in the free agent and trade markets and instead patiently rebuilt the team, focusing on the draft-and-develop model. Even though the team failed to qualify for a postseason berth, the successful debut of prized defense prospect Ivan Provorov served notice that Hextall’s plan is beginning to bear fruit. Carchidi noted that Scott is also excited about the potential of prospects Oskar Lindblom and Mike Vecchione. It also doesn’t hurt the Flyers rebuild that Philadelphia jumped several spots in the draft lottery, snagging the #2 overall selection and the opportunity to select one of Nolan Patrick, the consensus top talent in this draft for much of the last year, or Nico Hischier to further bolster an impressive pool of young talent. If Hextall can find a competent starting goaltender, either in free agency or via trade, it wouldn’t be out of the question to see Philadelphia make a huge leap in the standings in 2017-18 and qualify for the postseason.
  • The New Jersey Devils may not have enjoyed much on-ice success in 2016-17 but those struggles were mitigated at least somewhat by overcoming the odds to win the NHL draft lottery. Now the Devils will have the chance to add an impact offensive talent to a roster that badly needs more skill. But lost in the shuffle of New Jersey’s good fortune is the fact the team also has two second-round choices, their own and Boston’s courtesy of the 2016 trade deadline trade of Lee Stempniak to the Bruins. While not nearly as valuable as the first overall selection, boasting two second-round picks will give the club a chance to add two more good young players to the system. However, as Chris Ryan of NJ.com notes, Devils GM Ray Shero does not have a particularly good track record of success in the second round. Going back to his days as GM in Pittsburgh, Shero and his teams have made a total of eight choices in the second round. Of that group, Scott Harrington (#54 overall in 2011) leads the way in NHL games played (47), goals (1) and points (4). Of course it is fair to point out that Shero’s recent selections are still young enough to carve out successful big league careers. In fact, goaltender Tristan Jarry (#44 overall in 2013) would be in line to assume the understudy role in Pittsburgh, assuming the team moves Marc-Andre Fleury after the season. Still, if New Jersey’s rise back to relevance is to happen sooner rather than later, Shero would do well to find quality players with the team’s two second-rounders in June.

Snapshots: Hedman, Capitals, Daley

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Tampa Bay Lightning fans can breathe now, after Victor Hedman’s eye has been declared safe following his visor exploding at the World Championships today. Aftonbladet out of Sweden has photos of his laceration (*WARNING: GRAPHIC*), which needed four stitches to sew back up. Apparently it was the actual visor that cut him, after a shoulder or elbow broke the protective shield.

Hedman is an important part of the Swedish defense, but is perhaps even more important to the Lightning’s chances over the next few years. The Norris trophy finalist will be entering an eight-year extension in 2017-18 which will pay him $63MM over the duration. His point total exploded this season while his defensive play is as steady as ever.

Snapshots: Ovechkin, Sharks, Panik

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While Alex Ovechkin has been the butt of many jokes since his Washington Capitals were once again eliminated in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs by the Pittsburgh Penguins, it turns out that it’s not just his pride that has taken a beating this spring. The superstar forward will not join Team Russia at the World Championships because of a lower-body injury. Ovechkin apparently had been taking “pain numbing injections” just to stay on the ice for the Capitals, possibly because of the low hit he took from Nazem Kadri in the first round.

Ovechkin has played in the World Championships an amazing twelve times over his career, and has always been willing to suit up for his country on the international stage. Dmitry Orlov and Evgeny Kuznetsov will join Team Russia for the tournament. The pair are both restricted free agents this summer, and will be a big part of the introspective offseason Washington has ahead of them.

  • Henrik Lundqvist will also be attending the tournament to play for Sweden, who desperately need his help. The team is currently going with a duo of Viktor Fasth and Eddie Lack in net, a clear weakness on their otherwise impressive squad. With defenders like Victor Hedman, Jonas Brodin and Oliver Ekman-Larsson in front of him, Lundqvist should help the Swedes become a medal favorite if they weren’t already. He’ll also be joining brother Joel on the team, who is captaining this group.
  • According to Paul Gackle of the Mercury News, the San Jose Sharks are getting close to new contracts with restricted free agents Joonas Donskoi and Melker Karlsson. The pair represent two of the Sharks’ biggest tasks for the offseason, along with decisions on Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau. Donskoi and Karlsson both didn’t perform up to the lofty expectations they had after their early success in the league, with just 17 and 22 points respectively. It will be interesting to see where they both land salary wise, as the Sharks have Brent Burns’ extension kicking in along with upcoming deals for Martin Jones, Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Tomas Hertl to contend with next summer.
  • Richard Panik apparently was surprised by the Chicago Blackhawks’ first contract offer, and didn’t need to negotiate according to Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times. That offer was the two-year, $5.6M deal he signed earlier today, which will see the team keep a 20-goal man for under $3MM. Panik knows that playing with Jonathan Toews is likely the best scenario he’ll find anywhere in the league, but that he could earn a much bigger contract in two years when he hits unrestricted free agency. He’ll hit the open market at just 28, and if he has three 40-50 point seasons under his belt people will be lining up to hand him a long-term deal.

Metro Division Snapshots: Connolly, Kovalchuk, Rangers

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After dropping the opener of their Eastern Conference semifinal match-up against Pittsburgh, the Washington Capitals have elected to make at least one lineup change in advance of game two. According to a tweet from Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post, Paul Carey will draw into the lineup replacing Brett Connolly. As the scribe noted prior to the start of the series, Connolly had his ATOI cut back drastically in the latter half of their six-game series win over Toronto, averaging less than six minutes per contest in games four through six so perhaps a healthy scratch shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.

Limited ice time is nothing new this season for Connolly. The six-year vet averaged just 10:41 per game yet managed to set a career-high in the goal scoring department with 15. In fact, among all NHL players who reached that threshold, Connolly saw the lowest ATOI per game. The lack of playing time, both during the regular season and playoffs, would appear to inject some doubt as to how interested the Capitals will be in renewing their working relationship beyond the current campaign with the former first-round draft pick. Connolly is scheduled to be a RFA and will likely seek a significant bump in pay over his 2016-17 salary of $850K based on his solid goal scoring ouput. With several key regulars – T.J. Oshie, Kevin Shattenkirk, Karl Alzner and Justin Williams among them – approaching unrestricted free agency and with RFA’s Andre Burakovsky and Evgeny Kuznetsov also needing new contracts, the Capitals will have a difficult time re-signing or replacing all the talent they may lose with just $20MM in projected cap space. Salary cap considerations may also prompt the team to move on from Connolly this summer, meaning he might be available via trade for any interested parties.

Elsewhere in the Metro Division:

  • It’s been reported that Ilya Kovalchuk may be preparing a return to the NHL after four years of self-exile playing in the KHL. As it stands, he is still property of the New Jersey Devils, unless all 30 NHL GM’s agree to allow Kovy to sign with another team. Of course, while the Devils could certainly use the offensive boost Kovalchuk would bring, they likely aren’t close enough to serious contention to justify committing the necessary salary cap resources to an aging, albeit still skilled winger. In fact, they would benefit more by agreeing with an interested club on a sign-and-trade, which would allow Kovalchuk to go to a contending team of his choice with the Devils picking up assets needed to further their rebuild. Whether or not Kovalchuk ultimately returns to the NHL, one thing is certain; the Russian winger will not be representing Team Russia at the upcoming World Championships. According to a report from the Russian sports site SovSport.ru (link in Russian) – H/T to TSN’s Gord Miller for retweeting the link – Kovalchuk has, or will soon undergo knee surgery and is expected to miss the next month to recover. Evidently the knee was an issue throughout the KHL playoffs though it wasn’t enough to prevent Kovalchuk from helping his SKA St. Petersburg club from winning the Gagarin Cup. While he won’t have another chance to showcase his skills for interested NHL teams, it’s unlikely this injury will do much to stunt his market, should he elect to come back.
  • Newsday’s Steve Zipay retweeted a report from the Russian Prospects website indicating that coveted young winger Vladimir Tkachyov is slated to attend prospect camp this summer with the New York Rangers. It should be noted that Zipay had yet to independently confirm the report. Tkachyov, an undrafted free agent, spent last season skating with Admiral Vladivostok in the KHL, finishing with 14 goals and 39 points in 49 contests. Prior to returning to Russia, Tkachyov appeared in 66 QMJHL games split between Moncton and Quebec, tallying a combined 26 goals and 79 points. Scouting reports describe the 5-foot-10, 154-pound LW as a dynamic offensive talent and an explosive skater. Tkachyov has been linked to Toronto and Edmonton previously but at this point it looks like the Rangers may have the first chance to convince the skilled winger to join their organization. The Blueshirts interest is understandable as they favor skill and speed in their roster construction and with the lack of high draft choices in recent seasons due to sacrificing futures in pursuit of a Stanley Cup, adding a talent like Tkachyov helps the team keep the prospect pipeline producing NHL-caliber players.

RFAs Looking For Playoff Payouts

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Every post-season, players look to make their mark. Relative unknowns break onto the scene, rookies steal the show, and goaltenders go from backup to fan-embraced starter. Contracts are always in the back of management’s thinking, however, and a strong post-season showing for a player can cost a team in dollars. Here are some restricted free agents who could stand to earn a more lucrative deal depending on how far their teams go and how bright they shine individually.

 

Ryan Johansen – NSH

Johansen will look to get a slight raise from his current $4.0 MM cap hit. A large determinant for whether he will see a take-home pay ($6.0 MM) decrease or not will be his performance in these playoffs. Johansen’s past two seasons have been fruitful in terms of points, 60 in 15-16 and 61 in 16-17, but not quite the numbers of the marquee offensive star Nashville fans were hoping for. This is a player who scored 33 goals in the 13-14 season, and was projected to consistently flirt with 80 points. Johansen’s imposing frame and play-style is a challenge for opposing centers, and he has undeniably improved his defensive prowess. Johansen only potted 14 goals this year, but it is fair to say his game has become more well-rounded. His Corsi For % took a massive hop from last season, taking a solid 52.3% to a remarkable 55.9% this past outing. Considering his quality of competition and his ability to provide solid two-way play, Johansen will be looking to prove his worth this post-season with a deep post-season run with the Predators.

Evgeny Kuznetsov – WAS

Washington’s Kuznetsov should definitely be considered part of the team’s core. At 24 years old, the center has already tallied a 77 point season and had a 5-goal playoff run. His inconsistency in terms of production could hinder his payday, however, as he struggled to regain his footing in what was essentially his third full season. He returned to form on the backend of the season, totaling a respectable if unremarkable 59 points. The flashy forward already has 3 points through 5 games against Toronto,  and a strong playoff showing can only help his position. With Nicklas Backstrom taking first-line duties and the red-hot Justin Williams on his wing, Kuznetsov could easily find himself in the spotlight again. Whether his next contract is a bridge deal at a lower cost or a long-term lock-down, Kuznetsov is certain to see a raise from his measly $3 MM.

Leon Draisaitl – EDM

Anyone who has watched Edmonton this season in hopes of catching a glimpse of Connor McDavid has undoubtedly been shocked and/or awed by the dominance of his 21 year-old linemate Draisaitl. Draisaitl’s vision with the puck and dogged determination make him a beautiful sight to behold. He accumulated an absurd 77 points this season, 29 goals and 48 assists, in what was only his second full season. The forward is already flirting with a point per game, and has shown remarkable chemistry with the generational talent McDavid. His flexibility in being able to shift from center to wing only makes him that much more valuable to the franchise. The Oilers will obviously pay whatever price is needed to lock up Draisaitl long-term, but the deeper the team goes, the better his bargaining position. He’s obviously going to get a fair deal more than his current $3.4 MM, likely upwards of $6 MM.

Conor Sheary – PIT

Conor Sheary had an incredible breakout season that practically no one, even Penguins fans, expected. On Sidney Crosby’s wing, the short-statured winger made himself absolutely invaluable. The chemistry the two showed together hadn’t really been seen since the likes of Hossa in Pittsburgh’s Finals run of 2007-08. Sheary is in a bit of a bind, however, as Jake Guentzel has shown equal or even greater chemistry with the league’s marquee center since being placed on the top line. Sheary struggled to find his groove in the first round series, even being demoted to the third line in favor of Patric Hornqvist. Sheary is a good bet to string together solid showings in the next round, but if he does not, perhaps it impacts his case for a long-term contract. Regardless, Sheary will look to eat up a large portion of the money allocated this offseason in Pittsburgh, as his current $0.925 MM cap hit is one of the best bargains in the league. His 53 points in 61 games placed him at 23rd in the league in points per game, ahead of the likes of Phil Kessel and John Tavares.

Mika Zibanejad – NYR

The Rangers organization loves this player, and it is easy to see why. His point totals had steadily increased the past three seasons, and he was looking to do so again if he did not miss so many games to injury. Zibanejad is a strong center who takes pride in his two-way ability. He has a solid shot, although he might be criticized for under-utlizing it, and is often deployed against opposing team’s top players. Considering that New York gave up the solid veteran Derick Brassard to acquire his skillset, they are nearly certain to double down on Zibanejad’s continued improvement. His role will only expand as the leadership of the team ages and he will be expected to fill some of the leadership void left behind. Zibanejad is up for a new contract, and will look for a sizable raise over his current $2.625 MM. There is perhaps still untapped offensive potential left in Zibanejad’s game, but will he display it in these playoffs? He has already potted 4 points in 6 games in the team’s successful series against Montreal, including an overtime winner.

Snapshots: Kuznetsov, Michalek, Penguins

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Among the many pieces of interest in Isabelle Khurshudyan’s excellent profile of Evgeny Kuznetsov for the Washington Post, was the fact that the 24-year old center would love to stay in Washington for his whole career, and that Capitals’ GM Brian MacLellan admits a long-term deal could be in the future. Kuznetsov is a restricted free agent this summer and is coming off another excellent season with 59 points in 82 games—already the third season in which he’s played at least 80. That durability is a big part of why he’s such an important piece for the Capitals to lock up long-term, but it won’t be easy for them to do so this summer.

Washington has quite a bit of money coming off the books, and with Kuznetsov, Andre Burakovsky, Brett Connolly, Dmitry Orlov, Nate Schmidt, Phillip Grubauer and a host of minor league players all set to become restricted free agents, it is still going to be a tight squeeze. Should the team want to re-sign any of the excellent veterans—T.J. Oshie, Karl Alzner, Kevin Shattenkirk and Justin Williams to name a few—that are heading to unrestricted free agency, it will be even tighter. Handing out long-term deals may seem like a good idea, but it just might not be possible for everyone in Washington.

  • The Minnesota Wild have called up Steve Michalek from the AHL to serve as their third goaltender tonight. In the playoffs, teams often carry an emergency netminder in case something happens to one of theirs in the warm-up. As Michael Russo of the Star Tribune explains, this will likely be Alex Stalock after the next two Iowa Wild games. Stalock started two games down the stretch for the Wild over Darcy Kuemper, and it is still unknown who would go into the net should Devan Dubnyk falter or suffer an injury.
  • The Pittsburgh Penguins recent history with turning minor league players into capable NHLers helped them land one of the biggest NCAA prizes this spring, as Shawn P. Roarke of NHL.com writes in his latest piece. Zach Aston-Reese admits that it was part of his decision to sign there: “to see how much [AHL players] have grown as players and contributed to the team’s success at the NHL level, that was really attractive.” Conor Sheary, Bryan Rust and Tom Kuhnackl are all prime examples of what starting off your young players in the minors can do for their development, as the Penguins head into the playoffs with a lot riding on players like those three.

Metro Division Notes: Shattenkirk, Rangers, Schultz

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Since deciding they would need to deal veteran defenseman Kevin Shattnkirk rather than risk losing him for nothing as a free agent, the St. Louis Blues worked hard to find a team with whom the blue liner would agree to a long term extension and thus be able to extract top value from their asset via trade. Deals evidently fell through with Edmonton and Tampa Bay, however, due to Shattenkirk’s preference to test unrestricted free agency. Ultimately the Blues caved and marketed Shattenkirk as a rental, agreeing to send him to Washington for a fair return, though likely not as high a price as they originally hoped to secure.

But according to Isabelle Khurshudyan of The Washington Post, the idea of Shattenkirk representing only a rental may be a bit premature. The scribe notes that both sides would be open to the blue liner remaining with the Capitals beyond the 2016-17 postseason. However, as Khurshudyan also points out, the team has several other potential free agents that would likely take priority over re-signing Shattenkirk, who may be more of a luxury to the Caps than a vital cog. With $51MM already committed to the 2017-18 salary cap, it’s far more likely the team will focus their limited resources on bringing back potential UFA’s T.J. Oshie and Karl Alzner, while also working out an long-term extension with talented center Evgeny Kuznetsov. Those deals would easily eat up most of the Capitals available space, leaving it nearly impossible for them to also fit Shattenkirk in under the cap barring a surprising trade to clear salary elsewhere.

More from the Metro:

  • The New York Rangers, another team believed to have been interested in the aforementioned Shattenkirk, instead opted to shop in the second tier market, coming away with the solid, if unspectacular Brendan Smith at the deadline. It’s unclear whether the Blueshirts have enough talent to seriously contend for a Stanley Cup in a conference that includes the Capitals, Penguins and Blue Jackets, any one of whom has a decent shot to come out of the East. But one prominent former player thinks the team’s speed, skill and depth is enough to launch the Rangers into Stanley Cup contention. Justin Terranova of the New York Post spoke with former Blueshirts team captain Dave Maloney, and the MSG analyst contends the team is a far cry better than the one that flamed out in round one of last season’s playoffs and is good enough to win it all in 2017. He cites the changes made in how the team plays in their own end as a major difference between this year’s Rangers and last season’s edition. Maloney also adds that bringing in Smith addressed a team need and that while the blue liner hasn’t lived up to his billing as a former first-round pick, his size, mobility and familiarity with Ryan McDonagh and Derek Stepan, former teammates of his at the University of Wisconsin, make him a strong fit on the team’s back end. It remains to be seen whether the Rangers defense corps is good enough to slow down teams like Washington and Pittsburgh come playoff time, even after the addition of Smith.
  • While deadline day disappointed many given the lack of high profile deals, anyone who needs a refresher that often times less significant swaps turn out to ultimately have more impact than the blockbusters need look no further than Pittsburgh’s Justin Schultz. The defenseman entered the league with high expectations after a stellar college career, but Schultz struggled in three-plus seasons with Edmonton before a deadline deal to Pittsburgh just one year ago helped resurrect his career. Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette notes that the 26-year-old blue liner last night broke the 40-point plateau for the first time and may now be well on his way to scoring a lucrative multiyear extension as a restricted free agent this summer. Twelve months ago, in search of some skill and depth on the blue line, the Penguins shipped a third-round pick to Edmonton for Schultz and the former Wisconsin Badger ended up playing a significant role in the team’s run to the Stanley Cup championship. Now with 10 goals and 41 points on the season, he is among the league’s top offensive threats from the back end and may be in line for a huge raise over the $1.4MM salary he currently makes. Not bad for a relatively inconsequential trade deadline acquisition one year ago.

Expansion Draft Issues At The Trade Deadline: Forwards

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This trade season is one like never before. The addition of the Vegas Golden Knights in 2017-18 and the Expansion Draft that goes along with it add a whole other layer to trade-making this year. With each and every transaction, the expansion draft protection formula can change. Even in 2000, when the Minnesota Wild and Columbus Blue Jackets were welcomed into the league, the expansion rules were not a strict and general managers did not have to be as paranoid about their moves. This time around, everything is different. What does it all mean? For fans, there is a real possibility that this could be the quietest Trade Deadline in recent memory. Buyers interested in impending free agent rentals may not have to worry about the draft implications, but the sellers potentially taking back roster players with term certainly do. Trading is hard enough, especially in a season with very few teams significantly out of the playoff race, and expansion will only increase those barriers. Luckily, there are several teams that need to make moves prior to the deadline or they could risk being in very sticky situations when the Knights get ready to make their selections. With teams like the Minnesota Wild, Pittsburgh Penguins, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Anaheim Ducks, who have so much talented, veteran depth at multiple positions, there is really not much that they can do; they’re going to lose a good player. For others, a sensible contract extension can solve all of their problems. However, for these teams, making a trade before it’s too late may be exactly what they need. We’ve looked at the defense conundrums of the Calgary Flames, Carolina Hurricanes and the goaltending scenario of the Philadelphia Flyers, but there a quite a few more teams with problems up front that need solving:

Chicago Blackhawks

Luckily for the Blackhawks, it’s hard to remember a deadline where GM Stan Bowman didn’t add a veteran forward. This year they may really need one though, regardless of their Cup run condition, to protect young scorer Ryan Hartman. The 22-year-old winger has 13 goals and 10 assists in his first full season with Chicago, and if nothing changes it would likely be his last season in Chicago. In setting their protected list for the Expansion Draft, the Blackhawks must protect Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa, and Artem Anisimov due to their no-movement clauses. They would, of course, have protected those four anyway, but other than that group, the team has only two other players that meet the draft criteria of having two unprotected forwards that have played in 40 games this season or 70 games over the past two seasons and have term remaining on their contract: Marcus Kruger and Hartman. Kruger is not a great loss, but retaining Hartman is a major priority as the deadline approaches. The ‘Hawks could simply re-sign 30-year-old Andrew Desjardins or 34-year-old Jordin Tootoo, who both hit the 40/70 benchmark, but are impending free agents. However, the pair have combined for one point in 63 man-games this season and may not strike Bowman as players worth keeping, since they are nearly guaranteed to not be selected by Vegas. Richard Panik and Dennis Rasmussen are both restricted free agents who would also qualify if given an extension, but the team might think twice about exposing either player when they don’t have to. If push comes to shove, Chicago would surely rather lose Rasmussen or have to re-sign Desjardins if it means that Hartman is safe, but acquiring an affordable, serviceable forward with years remaining on his contract prior to the deadline may be the easier move for Bowman and company.

Dallas Stars

Despite their performance this season, the Stars are very much built like a team trying to make one last run at a Stanley Cup. Only five players on Dallas and on the AHL’s Texas Stars have both two years of professional play under their belt and term remaining on those contracts. The rest of the team is composed of impending unrestricted free agents and the AHL squad is mostly restricted free agents.  Jamie Benn and Jason Spezza have no-movement clauses and are obviously safe, as is All-Star Tyler Seguin. However, without any further moves, Dallas would have to leave 25-year-old center Cody Eakin and team enforcer Antoine Roussel exposed in the draft. With the likes of Radek Faksa, Brett Ritchie and (probably) Valeri Nichushkin needing to be protected as well, the Star’s may have to leave one or the other on the table, but certainly not both. Roussel is having a career year, on pace to beat his career-high 29 points while also skating a career-best 15 minutes per game. Eakin, who missed time earlier this year and has been held to just six points in 33 games, is regardless coming off of three straight seasons of 35+ points and is just entering his prime. If they want to protect one or both, moves need to be made. Dallas is not short on extension options, with UFA’s Patrick Sharp, Patrick Eaves, Jiri Hudler, Lauri Korpikoski, Adam Cracknell and even the injured Ales Hemsky meeting the 40/70 criterion. However, if the Stars want to make up for their disappointing season, trading several of those players for picks and prospects at the deadline seems likely may eliminate some choices. In the process of moving out that trade capital, it may simply be easier for GM Jim Nill to add one or two qualifying forwards along the way.

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