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Hampus Lindholm

Friedman’s Latest: RFAs, Yakupov, Datsyuk

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Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman published his weekly 30 Thoughts column today and devoted a significant portion to the big name RFAs who remain unsigned. His first note was on Nikita Kucherov, whose agent – Scott Greenspun – Friedman believes has met with at least one club on the subject of an offer sheet. Due to Tampa’s precarious cap situation, both in the short and long term, the Lightning would be vulnerable to an offer sheet, particularly this close to the start of the regular season when all teams must be in cap compliance. The Lightning have roughly $5.5MM in available cap space but Kucherov may well be able to land significantly more than that from another club. GMs tend to steer clear of offer sheets for fear of angering their colleagues but Kucherov’s talent and track record might eventually prove too tempting for one manager to resist.

The full column is always worth the read but here are a few more key points from Friedman:

  • With regards to Johnny Gaudreau, Friedman believes there has been progress made since the two sides met earlier this week. He also notes that negotiations could again reach a stalemate if and when the two sides have moved far enough. The key, Friedman says, is how many unrestricted free agent years the Flames will be buying out, suggesting the longer the term, the higher the AAV. Gaudreau has five years remaining before reaching free agency meaning a max, eight-year term would buy out three free agent seasons.
  • There may be as many as six teams with serious interest in trading for Winnipeg Jets RFA defenseman Jacob Trouba. The scribe lists Buffalo, N.Y. Rangers, Detroit, Colorado, Boston and Arizona as the clubs looking at making a deal for the talented young blue liner. Of course given Winnipeg’s believed asking price – a left defenseman of similar ability and age – it’s difficult to fathom any of the aforementioned clubs being a match. Evidently that thought has also occurred to the Jets and that has prompted interested suitors to try to engage a third team to help meet Winnipeg’s demands. One obvious team that could facilitate a trade would be Anaheim as Friedman notes. The Ducks still have Hampus Lindholm to come to terms with and recently sent both Brandon Montour and Shea Theodore – two of the team’s top blue line prospects – to San Diego in the AHL. They certainly have the depth to meet Winnipeg’s needs.
  • Apparently the Jets also asked Trouba’s camp to provide the numbers it would take to convince the 22-year-old to re-up in Winnipeg but they were told as long as the situation on the right side of the team’s defense remained the same that re-signing “wasn’t going to happen.”
  • Friedman wonders whether the St. Louis Blues will employ the newly acquired Nail Yakupov as a power play specialist and if so, would they play him with two right-shooting forwards. He notes that Yakupov’s man-advantage shooting percentage with Edmonton was 14.8% when on the ice with at least two right-handed forwards and just 7.1% otherwise. The problem with the theory is that the Blues list just three forwards who fire the puck from the starboard side and of those, just David Perron is likely to see much power play time. St. Louis does have four right-handed blue liners so the coaching staff could get creative if they have in fact given any thought to Friedman’s suggestion.
  • When the Arizona Coyotes agreed to take on the final year of Pavel Datsyuk’s contract from Detroit, it was thought their primary motivation was moving up in the 2016 draft four slots to secure the rights to talented young blue liner Jakob Chychrun. Secondarily, Datsyuk’s $7.5MM cap charge would help the team exceed the cap floor. However, Friedman reports that first-year GM John Chayka had something else entirely in mind. With Datsyuk already committed to signing in the KHL, Chayka tried to convince St. Petersburg to allow the Coyotes to speak with two of their players, Yevgeni Dadonov (perhaps misidentified in Friedman’s post as Evgeny Davydov) and Vadim Shipachyov, in exchange for releasing Datsyuk’s rights. Obviously it didn’t work out for Chayka but it shows his willingness to look at outside-the-box for ways to upgrade his roster.

Clayton Stoner Clears Waivers; Stays With Ducks

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After placing Clayton Stoner on waivers this week, the Anaheim Ducks were hoping a team would take a shot at the veteran defender and take the entirety of his cap hit off their hands.  Instead, the 31-year old has cleared and will remain in camp according to Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register.

Stoner has become the odd man out in Anaheim after the development of their young defense corps, and is dead cap space for a team trying desperately to re-sign Hampus Lindholm and Rickard Rakell. The two young stars are still both without contracts as opening day approaches, with some believing that the team doesn’t have enough room to sign both to long-term deals.

The Anaheim blueline is very crowded even without Lindholm in camp however, as the team sent down two blue-chip prospects in Brandon Montour and Shea Theodore today. As discussed previously, the team will have to sort out the situation before next year’s expansion draft, or risk losing one of them for nothing.

Stoner for now will continue to skate in camp, and may perhaps find a spot on the team if Lindholm is not signed in time. More likely however, the veteran of 346 career NHL games will be buried in the AHL to save as much money as possible.

Compelling RFA Cases For 2017: Gostisbehere, Dumoulin

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Jacob Trouba, Johnny Gaudreau and Nikita Kucherov highlight a strong and deep group of restricted free agents that remain unsigned at the moment. While they will each ultimately cash in and receive substantial contracts for the 2016-17 campaign and likely beyond, their status as restricted free agents has certainly complicated their respective negotiation processes.

Next summer, another quality group of players are set to hit restricted free agency, unless they can agree to terms on a new deal prior to the 2017-18 league year. In a series of posts, Pro Hockey Rumors will profile the top pending 2017 RFAs and examine what kind of contract they could elicit assuming they put up a strong performance during their platform year. Today we continue in the Metro.

Shayne Gostisbehere (Philadelphia): Gostisbehere exploded upon the scene in 2015-16, netting 17 goals and 46 points – in just 64 games – to lead all rookies in those categories. The former Union College defenseman quickly became one of the league’s most exciting blue liners and earned a spot on the Team North America entry in the World Cup.

The agents for this year’s top remaining unsigned RFA defenders – Hampus Lindholm and Rasmus Ristolainen – are pointing to the recently-signed and massive extension signed by Aaron Ekblad as the target. Ekblad of course inked an eight-year, $60MM deal with Florida and while Lindholm and Ristolainen are probably not at the level the Panthers blue liner is, they will still likely pocket something in the vicinity of $6MM annually when they finally sign.

Chances are Gostisbehere is also going to use the Ekblad deal as a comparable. Ekblad hasn’t produced offense at the same rate as Gostisbehere (0.72 PPG for “The Ghost” versus 0.47 PPG for Ekblad) but is a former #1 overall pick and projects as a perennial Norris Trophy candidate.

It’s likely the Lindholm and Ristolainen deals will actually serve as a better framework for a new contract for Gostisbehere. Assuming they each get something close to $6MM per, it’s fair to guess the Flyers young blue liner will also land in the same neighborhood.

Brian Dumoulin (Pittsburgh): Dumoulin tallied just 16 points in 79 contests and failed to net a single goal in 2015-16. Ordinarily those numbers wouldn’t be reflective of a guy who is going to cash in but Dumoulin showed in the postseason he has more to offer the Penguins. In 24 playoff games, Dumoulin scored two goals and eight points while averaging 21:31 of ice time per game. If he can carry over that level of play into the 2016-17 regular season, Dumoulin will surely be rewarded handsomely on his next contract.

A similar comparable could be Dmitry Orlov, who eventually signed a one-year deal with Washington worth $2.57MM. Orlov has clearly been a superior offensive producer, averaging 0.30 PPG during his career while Dumoulin has averaged just 0.19. But at 25, Dumoulin is just entering his prime and as we saw in the playoffs, he is capable of producing more offense in the right role. Currently he is listed opposite Kris Letang on the Penguins top blue line pair which could result in a higher point total for Dumoulin.

Even if Dumoulin doesn’t produce much offensively, there is still plenty of value in a steady and reliable performer on the back end. If both team and player elect for a one or two-year bridge deal, an AAV close to $2.5MM would seem fair. A long-term deal buying out free agent years could take the price up north of $3MM annually.

Ducks Looking To Make Trade To Clear Cap Space For RFAs

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Pierre McGuire today spoke with Blake Price of TSN 1040 in Vancouver and ssiad that the Ducks were in talks with a team in the Eastern Conference to “unload a significant contract,” presumably in order to clear enough space to re-sign RFAs Hampus Lindholm and Rickard Rakell, according to this tweet from Price. We discussed Lindholm’s situation specifically earlier today, and if McGuire is accurate it would seem the Ducks and the Swedish-born defenseman have made enough progress on a new contract to prompt Anaheim to scour the trade market.

Earlier reports have placed Linholm’s asking price to be in the $6MM – $6.5MM range annually with the Ducks preferring to keep the AAV at around $5.5MM. For his part Rakell is looking for a contract similar to that which fellow Swede Victor Rask signed this summer: six years with an AAV of $4MM. Even if the parties meet somewhere in the middle of their respective positions, it looks like Anaheim will need somewhere between $9MM and $10MM of cap space to re-sign Lindholm and Rakell.

At this moment, the Ducks have around $7.5MM in available space according to Cap Friendly; meaning they will need to free up an additional $2MM to $3MM. It’s long been suggested Anaheim could move one of their other defensemen – Cam Fowler has been mentioned frequently – if needed, and they do have five on the roster – not counting Lindholm – slated to earn upwards of $3MM in 2016-17. The Ducks also boast enough young defensive depth in Shea Theodore and Brandon Montour to make the hypothetical loss of a veteran blue liner manageable.

Detroit has long been thought to be in the market for a top-four blue liner and has been linked to Fowler in the past. However it must be noted that the Ducks wouldn’t appear to be interested in taking back much, if any salary in a trade. Detroit is currently over the cap – though placing Johan Franzen and Joe Vitale on LTIR would bring the club within compliance – and would therefore seem a long shot to add salary without sending a contract back in the exchange.

Boston is another club who could use some help on the back end. They have enough room under the cap ceiling but may rather elect to see if some of their younger defenders evolve into top-four options as opposed to swinging a deal for an expensive veteran.

A wild card might come in the form of New Jersey, who could conceivably be interested in bringing in more blue line depth even after inking Kyle Quincey to a one-year contract earlier this week. The Devils have plenty of cap space and created a void on the back end earlier in the offseason in the Taylor Hall-for-Adam Larsson trade. Plus it’s interesting to note Devils GM Ray Shero was running things in Pittsburgh when the Penguins  drafted Simon Despres in the first round and perhaps Shero would be interested in reuniting with another of his former charges. Shedding Despres’ $3.7MM cap charge would free up the needed space for the Ducks to re-sign both Lindholm and Rakell, though the notion of trading Sespres is purely speculative.

RFA Notes

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It’s been an unusual off-season in the NHL, with seven high profile Restricted Free Agents (RFAs) remaining a week into training camp. Compared to last off-season, when teams moved quickly to sign or trade players to avoid the threat of offer sheets.

In a series of tweets, TSN’s Bob McKenzie sent out the latest in negotiations from across the league.

Anaheim Ducks – Hampus Lindholm and Rickard Rakell – The Ducks are using Morgan Rielly and Seth Jones as comparable contracts, while Lindholm’s camp is pointing to Aaron Ekblad’s $7.5MM AAV. McKenzie clarifies that Lindholm isn’t asking for $7.5MM, more in the $6MM-plus range. McKenzie hasn’t been able to determine the range of numbers from the Rakell negotiations yet.

Arizona Coyotes – Tobias Rieder – The two sides are less than $500K apart. Rieder is currently looking for two years at $2.5MM per season, while the Coyotes aren’t budging on their offer of two years in the low $2MM range. Rieder does have KHL offers to consider, or McKenzie suggests he could ask for a trade or hold out.

Buffalo Sabres – Rasmus Ristolainen – The Sabres and Ristolainen are in the same situation as the Ducks and Lindholm, according to McKenzie. The two sides are at least $1MM apart, with each side standing firm with their comparables.

Calgary Flames – Johnny Gaudreau – This is likely the most fascinating case, as Gaudreau isn’t technically an RFA because he falls under the 10.2(c) CBA clause. Because Gaudreau hasn’t accrued three years experience, he isn’t eligible for an offer sheet and therefore has basically no power, other than holding out. McKenzie believes the Flames want Gaudreau to sign in the same range as Sean Monahan (six-years, $6.375MM per) and no higher than captain Mark Giordano ($6.75MM per), while Gauderau is looking for more than $8MM per season. The two sides have not negotiated recently, according to McKenzie, who called the situation “bit of a Cold War”.

Tampa Bay Lightning – Nikita Kucherov – If not Gaudreau, then Kucherov is definitely the most complex RFA situation due to the Lightning’s cap issues. While Kucherov has a long list of comparable contracts in the six-year, $36MM range, that’s not possible in the Lightning’s current state. They’ll need to move someone to accommodate another $6MM; McKenzie believes Ben Bishop will be traded sometime this season, but expects he’ll start the season in Tampa.

Winnipeg Jets – Jacob Trouba – There has been plenty of digital ink spilled on Trouba’s trade request, but the only new information from McKenzie was that Trouba is not interested in signing an offer sheet, because the Jets would not be allowed to trade him for a calendar year, should they match. That defeats the purpose of wanting to be traded.

It is still early in the season, but there is a firm deadline coming up: December 1st. Should an RFA not be signed by then, then he will be ineligible to play for the remainder of the season.

This is likely only a consideration for Trouba, with the Jets’ habit of slow-playing trade requests and waiting out poor trade offers.

Jets’ High Asking Price For Trouba

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TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie discussed Jacob Trouba’s trade request out of Winnipeg on TSN 690 in Montreal on Monday morning, saying, based on the asking price of a similar caliber left-shot defenseman, “not all that many teams that are positioned well to get him.”

On Sunday, Pro Hockey Rumors’ Zach Leach explored some of the teams that would have interest in the young Trouba.

The asking price has lead to names like Hampus Lindholm and Darnell Nurse being floated about. McKenzie doesn’t believe the Ducks are willing to move Lindholm for Trouba, as Lindholm is more proven at this time.

TSN’s Ryan Rishaug appeared on TSN 1260 in Edmonton later on Monday morning, saying if he was the Oilers he wouldn’t be willing to move Nurse to acquire Trouba, because the money wouldn’t make sense for someone who hasn’t shown an ability to produce on the power-play. Nurse has “home-run potential”, and Rishaug couldn’t guarantee that Trouba would be better than Nurse in four years.

Rishaug would be more willing to move young left-handed defenseman Brandon Davidson, who blossomed into a top-four defenseman last season, while adding draft picks.

The Jets have to ask for the moon initially, as a public trade request has a certain way of tanking a player’s perceived trade value. It’s why the Lightning ultimately didn’t trade Jonathan Drouin; the trade offers that come in for players publicly on the trading block are dramatically lower than what the team is willing to accept.

However, the Jets are right to ask for a major haul in exchange for Trouba according to Travis Yost, analytics columnist for TSN. Yost wrote that Trouba’s advanced stats are a “recipe to earmark a young player for a long career as a first-pairing type in the NHL.”

Training Camp Competitions: Vesey, Buchnevich, Montour

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Despite an apparently dire need to fortify their blue line corps, the New York Rangers instead spent a vast majority of their offseason resources adding depth to the forward ranks. After a flurry of free agent transactions, the Blueshirts added Brandon Pirri, Jimmy Vesey, Josh Jooris, Nathan Gerbe and Michael Grabner giving the club 15 forwards with a realistic shot to contribute this season on Manhattan. This depth is sure to create competition and provide head coach Alain Vigneault with plenty of alternatives to guard against injuries or ineffectiveness.

Vesey joins top prospect Pavel Buchnevich as rookies who hope to provide a significant impact in their first seasons in New York. But given the Rangers depth up front, the two youngsters don’t have their spots in the lineup guaranteed as Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post writes. For his part, Vesey understands that he will have to earn ice time and accepts it as part of being a professional.

“Nothing is given in sports. At the end of the day, I have to go and make the team. It’s my first camp, and I’m looking to definitely turn some heads and earn a roster spot.”

The talented youngsters are already getting a head start as they are part of the Rangers prospect contingent that is participating in the annual Traverse City tournament. Newsday’s Steve Zipay reports that Buchnevich and Vesey are skating together on a line centered by University of Michigan Wolverine Cristoval “Boo” Nieves.

Ultimately, Vesey and Buchnevich will have their fair share of opportunities to contribute this season for the Rangers. Their upside trumps their lack of experience and should ensure they earn regular roles up front with the Blueshirts.

Elsewhere around the NHL:

  • Once the Ducks get Hampus Lindholm signed to a new contract, the team will have seven NHL-caliber defensemen on their roster. That doesn’t count top prospect Shea Theodore, who saw his first NHL action in 2015-16 and had a solid showing, collecting eight points in 19 games. This enviable depth has fueled rumors all summer that the team could look to move one of their pricier d-men in a deal to acquire a scoring left wing. While a trade has not yet transpired, were it to happen, Theodore would not be the only blue liner to potentially benefit. Brandon Montour, the Ducks second-round pick in 2014, has added needed muscle and strength this offseason to aid his quest to make his NHL debut in 2016-17, writes Kyle Shohara of the Ducks official website. Montour was named to the AHL All-Rookie Team on the heels of an impressive 12-goal, 57-point season with the San Diego Gulls. Even if the Ducks do deal one of their defenders, it’s likely Montour will again spend a majority of his time in San Diego but it’s conceivable the 22-year-old will make his NHL debut.
  • Long one of the best offensive defenseman in the AHL, T.J. Brennan has yet to parlay his minor league success into consistent work in the NHL. Now Brennan has joined his hometown Philadelphia Flyers with the hope that he can suit up at some point this season for the team he grew up rooting for, as Sam Carchidi reports. Brennan, 27, has appeared in 443 AHL contests and his 113 goals rank fifth all time among defensemen in that league. As Carchidi points out, Brennan’s struggles in his own end are likely the reason the offensively-inclined blue liner has accumulated just 53 games of NHL experience. The Flyers boast a wealth of defensive prospects which will likely work against Brennan’s chances of making the team. But he should at least serve the organization well as a mentor for those prospects joining him with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

Snapshots: World Cup Power Rankings, Updates

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TSN’s Scott Cullen writes that Canada is the team to beat in the World Cup of Hockey. Cullen ranks Canada, Sweden, and North America ahead of the American squad, who he pegs as fourth in his tournament power rankings. Cullen expects the Americans to be competitive but can’t see a team squarely more concerned about a “tougher” style of play going very far in a tournament that emphasizes speed and skill. The US, Cullen writes, is all about smash mouth hockey, but their goalie tandem of Cory Schneider, Ben Bishop and Jonathan Quick could give those aforementioned skilled teams some fits. Cullen places Canada at the top simply because of the top end talent they boast on every line. Sweden, he writes, has an “absurd” defensive corps with Erik Karlsson, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Victor Hedman, Anton Stralman, Hampus Lindholm, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Mattias Ekholm all on the roster. He cautions that in order to knock off favorite Canada, they’ll need young forwards Filip Forsberg and Gabriel Landeskog to carry the team in scoring.

Team North America is one that Cullen believes could truly shock everyone. With young, fast, and skilled players like Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel, and John Gaudreau, the under 23 team could turn some heads, and possibly pull some upsets that could unseat the favorites. For the rest of his rankings, Cullen places Russia, Finland, Czech Republic, and Europe as the bottom four teams respectively.

In other World Cup of Hockey News:

  • The USA’s 4-2 victory over Canada featured a lot of aggressive play and injury scares that remained only as fears and nothing serious. Several high profile players took vicious hits, and some had to leave the ice. Flyers captain Claude Giroux took a hit from Joe Pavelski and didn’t return until later in the third period. Logan Couture also took a hard hit from T.J. Oshie in the second period but returned in the third. Though Shea Weber was slammed into the boards by Ryan Kesler in the second period, he didn’t miss any ice time. Kesler was assessed a boarding major and a game misconduct. Pavelski recorded the game winner while Derek Stepan sealed the game with an empty net goal in a contest that became more physical as it wore on. Earlier in the day, PHR recapped some of the other injury scares during exhibition play on Thursday.

Potential 2016-17 Impact Rookies: Theodore, Strome, Dvorak, Shinkaruk

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The Pacific Division has its fair share of intriguing prospects, placing five players among the first 14 names on Corey Pronman’s list of top 120 prospects compiled recently for ESPN.com (Insider required). The Coyotes lead the way overall with nine prospects making the cut. Today we profile four talented young players in the division who should have a chance to contribute to their teams this season.

Shea Theodore (Anaheim) – The Ducks already boast a strong complement of defenders with Hampus Lindholm and Sami Vatanen leading the way. But with the NHL moving more to a speed and skill game there is always room for a smooth two-way blue liner who knows how to move the puck and that’s exactly what Theodore is.

Theodore was drafted in the first round by the Ducks in the 2013 draft out of the WHL. In 258 games with the Seattle Thunderbirds, Theodore scored 58 goals and 212 points and won the Bill Hunter award as the league’s top defenseman in 2014-15. After turning pro, Theodore would appear in 63 AHL contests over parts of three seasons, culminating in an impressive 2015-16 showing with the San Diego Gulls where he tallied 37 points in 50 games as a 20-year-old. He would also chip in eight points in 19 regular season games with the Ducks in his first taste of NHL action.

There have been rumors much of the summer that the Ducks could look to move one of their defensemen – Cam Fowler specifically has been linked to several trade rumors – in an effort to acquire a scoring-line LW. If Anaheim should succeed in those purported efforts, Theodore’s path to a regular NHL job becomes much clearer.

Dylan Strome (Arizona) – The third overall choice in the 2015 entry draft, Strome is one of the game’s top prospects after tearing up the OHL the last two seasons. Strome combined to tally 82 goals and 240 points in just 124 games for the Erie Otters. That averages out to nearly two points per game over the last two campaigns. He also led the OHL in scoring with 129 points during the 2014-15 campaign.

The 6-foot-3, 185 pound pivot has drawn comparisons from scouts to a young Ryan Getzlaf in terms of his frame and strong skating stride. Of course there are no guarantees Strome will ever impact the game the way that Getzlaf has but it does speak to the youngster’s high skill level and potential ceiling.

The Coyotes spent the summer remaking their roster into one they hope can compete for a playoff spot in 2016-17, though they didn’t add any centers from outside the organization. The top returning pivot is Martin Hanzal, who is a fine two-way player and scored a career-best 41 points in 2015-16. But he hasn’t played a full schedule of games since 2009-10 and is best suited as a #2 or even a #3 center for a contending team. Consequently, the Coyotes are likely to give Strome every opportunity to win a job centering one of the team’s top two lines. That would put him in position to share the ice at times with Anthony Duclair and Max Domi, which should ease his transition to the NHL.

Christian Dvorak (Arizona) – Dvorak, is yet another talented young forward who could force his way onto the Coyotes roster. The Coyotes used their second-round selection in the 2014 draft on Dvorak after a mediocre debut campaign with London of the OHL where he scored just 14 points in 33 games. But Dvorak took his game to another level the next two seasons, combining to score 93 goals and 230 points over that time. He would augment that performance with an impressive 35-point output in 18 games during the 2015-16 postseason and added another seven goals and 12 points in four Memorial Cup games for the Knights.

Assuming the Coyotes can get RFA Tobias Rieder re-signed, he would join free agent addition Jamie McGinn, Duclair and Domi as top-six wingers. A good performance in camp could earn Dvorak a job on the third or fourth line since Arizona’s depth up front is somewhat shallow, though it wouldn’t hurt his development to get some seasoning in the AHL first.

Hunter Shinkaruk (Calgary) – Shinkaruk, who was originally drafted in the first round by Vancouver, was acquired by Calgary in exchange for center Markus Granlund during the 2015-16 season. He made his debut this past season with the Canucks and appeared in another seven games after his trade to the Flames, with whom he scored his first two NHL goals. Shinkaruk also suited up for 62 AHL contests, tallying 27 goals and 51 points between Utica and Stockton.

The Flames have terrific young forward talent already on their NHL roster. Johnny Goudreau and Sean Monahan have already established themselves as two of the best young players in the game and could soon be joined by Sam Bennett. Free agent addition Troy Brouwer brings needed size and experience to the club’s top-six. Center Mikael Backlund, coming off a career-high 47-point campaign, and Michael Frolik, 32 points in 64 games, add more offensive punch. But there is room on the LW for a skilled player to join the Flames’ top-six and Shinkaruk may get the first crack to fill that role.

(All depth charts courtesy of Roster Resource)

World Cup Roster Changes: Keith, Bouwmeester, Kronwall, Lindholm

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Earlier today Hockey Canada added St. Louis Blues defenseman Jay Bouwmeester to its World Cup team to replace Chicago blue liner Duncan Keith. Keith is still not 100% as he continues to rehab from a right knee injury suffered last season. Blackhawks team physician, Dr. Michael Terry, had this to say about Keith’s recovery:

“As Duncan continues offseason rehabilitation on the right knee injury that he sustained last season, we understand his decision not to participate in next month’s World Cup of Hockey. We believe it is in his best interests to focus on getting stronger and not risk further injury.”

Bouwmeester joins Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Jake Muzzin as the only left-handed shooters on Canada’s blue line. That’s likely the primary reason Bouwmeester was chosen over right-handed options such as Kris Letang and P.K. Subban. It was also somewhat surprising that Bouwmeester was added over Mark Giordano of the Flames.

Giordano tallied 21 goals and 56 points while playing a full slate of games for Calgary. He has developed into one of the league’s best offensive defenseman over the last three seasons and like Bouweester, is a left-handed shot.

Bouwmeester, conversely, recorded just 19 points and was had a plus-minus rating of -4 in 72 games for the Blues. In all probability, Hockey Canada favored Bouwmeester’s extensive experience representing his home country. He was a part of the 2004 World Cup-winning team and also won a gold with Team Canada at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

This is the second change in as many days to Team Canada’s roster. Yesterday, Logan Couture was added to replace Jamie Benn.

Team Canada is obviously still going to be one of the tournament’s favorites but if there is a weakness, it may well be the team’s blue line.

Elsehwere, Anaheim Ducks defender Hampus Lindholm, currently a RFA, has been named to Team Sweden to replace Niklas Kronwall. Kronwall is still recovering from knee surgery performed in January.

Lindholm, 22, scored 10 goals and 28 points last season for the Ducks and is considered one of the up-and-coming young defensemen in the league. He’ll join an excellent blue line group anchored by Erik Karlsson from Ottawa and Victor Hedman of Tampa Bay.

Sweden is expected, along with Team USA, to be one of the biggest threats to Canada’s chances in this tournament. In addition to an excellent defense corps, Sweden will have Henrik Lundqvist between the pipes. Up front they have plenty of skill led by the Sedin twins, Daniel and Henrik, Filip Forsberg and Nicklas Backstrom. Obviously Sweden boasts a formidable roster with plenty of talent.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

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