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Henrik, Daniel Sedin Will “Not Play Anywhere Else”

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The Vancouver Canucks will have a decision on their hands after this season, when legendary forwards Henrik and Daniel Sedin are up for a new contract. Their effect has been dwindling the last few years, and the Canucks are headed in a new direction, but the twins have something to tell the fan base who has cheered them for so long. They’re not going anywhere else. In a wonderful piece in the Players’ Tribune, Daniel states just that.

When the time is right, we will sit down with management and discuss it. People say our window for winning a Cup has closed, but we have said it before, and we will say it again. We won’t play anywhere else. If we are going to win a Stanley Cup, if we are going to achieve our dream, we’d only want it to be in Vancouver. If we did it anywhere else, I don’t think it would feel the same.

As we discussed in our recent Canucks Season Primer, the team will be looking to the future this year with players like Bo Horvat and Brock Boeser. They made their case for a rebuild last trade deadline when they moved Jannik Hansen and Alex Burrows for two prospects, and have brought in a number of free agents this summer who could be flipped at the deadline. While it’s certainly possible that a rejuvenated Sedin duo and upstart young group could make an improbably playoff run a reality, it’s more likely that the Canucks will hope to see their name at the top of the draft lottery next spring.

What that means for the Sedin’s future is unclear. They could retire after the season, riding off into the sunset after Daniel joins Henrik in the 1000-point club, likely to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame together someday, or they could sign new short-term deals with the Canucks to be part of the rebuild. Right now, their $7MM cap hits are limiting Vancouver’s ability to do certain things like acquire bad contracts along with assets, but one year incentive-based deals could find a nice middle ground for the two sides.

Whatever happens, it won’t be anywhere but Vancouver. The pair, that were drafted second and third overall after some draft floor work by Brian Burke back in 1999 have played a combined 2,473 regular season games for the Canucks, scoring 2,007 points.

West Notes: Nugent-Hopkins, Sedins, Varlamov

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While it has long been assumed that the Oilers would have to trade center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins following the long-term, big money contracts handed out to Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl earlier this summer, GM Peter Chiarelli told TSN’s Bob McKenzie (video link) that this is far from a guarantee.

“I know that’s the speculation following signing Connor and Leon.  At the end of the day, you can’t put all of that money into three lines, into three centers. You can’t. It won’t work.  But having said that, we’ve had success with Leon on the wing. And if you look at models – and we’ve looked at them – for two lines, you can have that money on two lines.”

McDavid and Draisaitl will count for $21MM on Edmonton’s salary cap beginning in 2018-19 (McDavid remains on his entry-level contract this season).  Nugent-Hopkins enters 2017-18 with four years remaining on his deal at $6MM per and while the Oilers have plenty of cap room to fit him in this season, there’s bound to be a big squeeze next year, particularly with winger Milan Lucic signed through 2022-23 at $6MM as well.  Whether it’s Nugent-Hopkins or someone else, someone notable will have to be on the way out before the puck drops on 2018-19.

More from the West:

  • As the Sedin twins enter the final years of their contracts, some have speculated that they could be dealt if Vancouver is out of it at the deadline. In an interview with Sportsnet’s John Shannon (Twitter link), team president Trevor Linden put an end to that, stating that the duo won’t be dealt.  Both players have spent their entire NHL careers with the Canucks and carry no-move clauses with a $7MM cap charge.
  • After undergoing multiple hip surgeries last season, Avalanche goaltender Semyon Varlamov has fully recovered and has been skating since late July, notes Mike Chambers of the Denver Post. The 29-year-old is coming off of the worst statistical season of his NHL career and played in just 24 games as a result of the lingering groin issues.  Despite the struggles, Colorado clearly still has confidence in him as they elected to protect him from the Golden Knights in expansion.

West Notes: Jets, Sedins, Foote

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Although Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff said at the end of the season that head coach Paul Maurice has his “full support”, the bench boss remains without a contract extension more than four months later.  Paul Wiecek of the Winnipeg Free Press relays some speculation that Maurice wanted to see what direction Winnipeg went between the pipes before committing to an extension.

Solid goaltending hasn’t been something Maurice has received often in his 19-year coaching career as his goalies have combined for a .904 save percentage which is well below average.  That said, that average was still better than what the Jets’ netminders were able to put up in 2016-17, combining for a .900 mark.

Accordingly, Cheveldayoff acted quickly in free agency, bringing in Steve Mason to battle incumbent Connor Hellebuyck (who received a one-year bridge deal) for playing time.  While Mason is coming off of a down year himself, he still represents at least somewhat of an upgrade for Winnipeg.  Between that and an expected improvement from Hellebuyck, the Jets should be able to provide Maurice with better goaltending for 2017-18, regardless if the coach enters his walk year without a new contract in tow.

More from the West:

  • The Sedin twins are entering the final year of their respective four-year, $28MM contracts in 2017-18. Speaking with NHL.com’s Tim Campbell, Henrik acknowledged that both he and Daniel are thinking year-by-year when it comes to their playing futures.  They turn 37 next month and are coming off their worst years in terms of production since 2013-14.  While both players have stated in the past that they’d like to stay with the Canucks for their entire career, if Vancouver is out of contention at the trade deadline, their names are bound to come up in trade speculation.  It’s worth noting that both players have full no-move clauses so they would have a big say in whether or not they’d move.
  • After TSN’s Darren Dreger broke the news yesterday that Adam Foote was leaving his post as a development coach with Colorado, BSN Denver’s Adrian Dater reports that the long-time Avalanche blueliner chose to leave to spend more time with his family. Foote’s two sons are both playing with Kelowna of the WHL so the timing to step away makes some sense.  Considering this was an amicable departure, it will be interesting to see if Foote eventually rejoins Colorado sometime in the future.

A Quiet 2017 Off-Season

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By the time August rolls around each year, it seems like the off-season is dragging on. The July 1st free agent frenzy is long behind us and it’s been weeks since the last major signing. Fans are struggling to get their hockey fill and counting the days until the puck drops on preseason hockey. In 2017, fans have all the more reason to be sick of the off-season. When compared with the summer of 2016, this off-season has simply been boring. It was expected to be as such, but no one could have predicted just how quiet this summer could be.

As of today, August 6th, 2017, there have only been two unrestricted free agents signed to contracts worth more than $6MM per year: Kevin Shattenkirk to the New York Rangers (as predicted) and Alexander Radulov to the Dallas Stars. In contrast, there were four such deals signed on July 1st, 2016 alone. Drop that mark down to contracts worth more than $4MM annually, and you get uninspiring names this year like Evgeni Dadonov, Dmitry Kulikov, Nick Bonino, Karl Alzner, Martin Hanzal, and Steve Mason added to the list; hardly a superstar among them. 2016 saw high-profile players like Milan Lucic, David Backes, Loui Eriksson, Kyle Okposo, and Andrew Ladd all find new homes. Those signings came on the heels of the P.K. Subban – Shea Weber and Taylor Hall – Adam Larsson trades as well. The best swaps 2017 has to offer so far are Travis Hamonic or Marcus Johansson being dealt for draft picks. There have simply been a lack of franchise-altering moves made this summer.

Then you have the timeline of when deals got done. By August last year, the best unsigned free agents were Antoine Vermette, Jiri Hudler, and Jhonas Enroth. The year before, Cody Franson and David Schlemko highlighted the August market. In both cases, NHL teams got their deals done in July, filling the month with exciting signing news. This year? Not so much. Legendary players like Jaromir Jagr, Jarome Iginla, and Shane Doan remain available, alongside other able-bodied contributors like Thomas Vanek, Drew Stafford, and Daniel Winnik. That’s in addition to Franson and Hudler as well. Teams are simply waiting around on this market for reasons unknown. Could it end up as an exciting run of signing in August? Maybe, but don’t count on it.

The weak 2017 free agent market coupled with the challenge of preparing for June’s Expansion Draft has simply resulted in one of quietest off-seasons in recent memory. Several teams still have needs and spots to fill and signings and trades remain possible, but at this point the summer is a lost cause. Time to look forward to next season and even next summer when we *hope* to see the likes of John Tavares, Rick Nash, Evander Kane, James Neal, James van Riemsdyk, Paul Stastny, Mikko Koivu, Cam Atkinson, Jonathan Marchessault, Daniel and Henrik Sedin, Mike Green, Jack Johnson, Calvin de Haan, and Antti Raanta all hit the open market. Hopefully that list is enough excitement to get you through the rest of this one.

Deadline Approaches To Ask Players To Waive No-Movement Clauses

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On the heels of yesterday’s report that both Keith Yandle and Dion Phaneuf had been asked to waive their no-movement clauses in order to be exposed for the upcoming expansion draft, speculation is running rampant around the league on who else will be asked. Below is the full list of players who currently require protection due to their clauses. The deadline to submit a request to a player is 4pm CDT today, while the player must inform the team of his decision by the same time on Friday June 16th. Because the Stanley Cup Finals ended last night, Nashville and Pittsburgh will not receive an extension and will need to submit their requests at the same time as every other team.

Elliotte Friedman was on Sportsnet radio today and mentioned that the Anaheim Ducks have spoken with Kevin Bieksa about possibly waiving his clause, something examined at length in our recent Ducks Expansion Primer.

Anaheim (4)
Kevin Bieksa — Expected to be asked.
Ryan Getzlaf
Ryan Kesler
Corey Perry

Arizona (1)
Alex Goligoski

Boston (4)
David Backes
Patrice Bergeron
Zdeno Chara
David Krejci

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Learning From The Sedins

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The Vancouver Canucks are a team that is floundering to find a path forward. After nearly a decade of remarkable regular seasons and a painfully close Cup run in 2011, the Canucks are solidly in the rebuilding phase of their franchise. They start the 2017-18 off-season with the 5th overall pick and many decent, if unremarkable, options at the slot to help further that process. (An impact center is always a welcome piece.) The organization has struggled mightily to move on past the era of Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin, both of whom were consistently in the upper echelon of point-getters every season in their primes. Now 36 years-old, each player’s production has taken a nosedive. And the team hasn’t been able to draft difference makers up front to fill the void, despite this day being long anticipated.

Although wisdom is not often recognized as such until a later date, there was a sizable portion of the Canuck fanbase who had hope to move the Sedin twins just a few seasons ago. As soon as they missed the post-season in 2013-14 the writing was on the wall for the franchise. The move should have been made that season, or perhaps even the year prior. That season saw a massive decline in the twins’ production which has never fully recovered – Henrik down to 0.71 points per game from 0.93, and Daniel down to 0.64 PPG from 0.85.

The Sedins will undoubtedly have their numbers retired by the Vancouver organization and have given great years of hockey to the city. They may even be considered for the Hockey Hall of Fame, but without a Stanley Cup to their credit that will be a difficult sell. Regardless of all that, their value to the team as assets was ignored in favor of the long-shot hope that the Canucks could compete once more with their core players. Former GM Mike Gillis had an up-and-down tenure, but utterly failed to move on past aging players and his drafting didn’t help. With five 1st-round picks in his tenure, only 2013’s Bo Horvat amounted to an offensive threat for the franchise. Brendan Gaunce, Nicklas Jensen, Jordan Schroeder, and Cody Hodgson are all busts relative to their potential. Worse, their late round picks were even less successful, amounting to no notable NHLers at all. Jim Benning hasn’t exactly inspired either since taking over management duties.

Trading the Sedins would have been a phenomenally difficult undertaking, especially considering their desire to play together. But the potential return would have been substantial from any team able to fit them in (at a reduced rate). Now the hour is far too late, and the Sedins have only one season remaining on their contracts. At this point, it seems sensible to merely re-sign them and let them finish their days in British Columbia. But the opportunity squandered to recover some value from declining marquee names will haunt the franchise for years to come. That failure should serve as a warning to teams around the league that prolonging the rebuilding phase can have dire consequences.

Snapshots: Bylsma, Sedins, Red Wings

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While there has been some speculation that Sabres head coach Dan Bylsma could be on the hot seat (especially after GM Tim Murray didn’t give much of a vote of confidence yesterday), TSN’s Bob McKenzie doesn’t foresee a change being made behind the bench.  In an appearance on NBCSN, McKenzie had the following to say regarding Bylsma’s status (transcription courtesy of Fan Rag’s Chris Nichols):

“I would also think, absent some sort of cataclysmic disaster in the final two weeks of the season, that Dan Bylsma will also be back as head coach of this team next year; although that review process, as Murray said, still has to take place at the end of this season.

“I don’t think the Pegula family is keen on paying both Rex Ryan and Dan Bylsma not to coach the Bills and the Sabres, and they obviously made that decision with Rex Ryan and the Bills. At this point in time, I would suggest that Bylsma will be back.”

Bylsma is in his second season behind the Buffalo bench and while the team was clearly in a rebuilding mode when he took over, many expected the Sabres to take a significant step forward this season.  That hasn’t been the case though as they have just 72 points through 74 games and may not even match the 81 points they put up in 2015-16.

Elsewhere around the league:

  • Canucks GM Jim Benning plans to sit down with the Sedin twins at the end of the season to discuss their future with the club, reports ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun. However, LeBrun doesn’t expect that anything will happen aside from the twins playing out the final year of their contracts.  He notes that Vancouver greatly values their leadership especially as with the team being in the process of integrating several young players into their lineup.  Of course, with each player carrying a $7MM cap hit, that too will likely play a role in them sticking around for next season.
  • While the Red Wings won’t be making the postseason, they don’t plan on bringing their top prospects up to get their feet wet at the NHL level between now and the end of the year, head coach Jeff Blashill told Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press. Instead, the team wants to keep them with Grand Rapids of the AHL in the hopes of a lengthy postseason run and feels that’s more valuable than a short-term NHL appearance that could potentially disrupt their chances down there.  Accordingly, Detroit will look to their veterans (such as Ben Street who was shuffled up and down recently) at the minor league to fill any spots over these final few weeks.

Sidney Crosby Records 1,000th Point

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In just 787 games, Sidney Crosby has recorded his 1,000th NHL point. On a beautiful setup of Chris Kunitz, the assist made Crosby the 12th fastest player to the mark and the third to hit it this season (Alex Ovechkin and Henrik Sedin). With it, the Penguins released an interactive booklet showing the journey to 1,000 for “Sid”, who is widely considered one of the greatest players of all-time.

The booklet included quotes from players and alumni around the league, including Wayne Gretzky, Evgeni Malkin and Jonathan Toews. Malkin’s is borderline adorable as he gives it to his long-time teammate:

Hey Sid, I want to say congrats on your 1,000 points. It is a huge number. We both know that 999 [of those] points is because of my help. I have enjoyed playing with you. Every game, every night is so fun. Everyone knows that you are the best player.

Crosby hit the mark in six fewer games than another Pittsburgh legend, Jaromir Jagr, who recently recorded the 1900th point of his career. While Crosby has quite a few seasons left before he catches that ageless wonder, he is pushing himself further up the career lists. He’s only the 86th player in league history to make it to 1,000 and may even jump into the top-75 before the end of the season. He’s still 723 points behind the Penguins’ franchise leader Mario Lemieux, though it’s not so far-fetched that he may push to pass him eventually. At just 29 years old, Crosby has many years of solid hockey left to play. With no evidence of slowing down—in fact, some may say he’s speeding up—he’d need 547 more games at his current pace to tie Lemieux. That’s just six and a half seasons.

More likely he’ll go down as the best player of the post-lockout generation, and that’s still a heck of an accomplishment. Congratulations Sid.

Henrik Sedin, Alexander Ovechkin Approaching Milestone

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What better way to start the new year than by hitting a major career benchmark? We could see it happen twice this week, as Vancouver Canucks long-time center Henrik Sedin and Washington Capitals franchise forward Alexander Ovechkin are each within reach of 1,000 career regular season points. As the NHL begins it’s 100th season, just 83 players have scored 1,000 points in their career. Gordie Howe was the first to do it, back in 1960, and Patrick Marleau was the most recent addition, notching #1,000 last November. It took Marleau the most games to hit the mark, 1349 to be exact, while Wayne Gretzky did it the fastest, in 424 games, and had his second 1,000 in 857 games, just 433 games later, making him also the second fastest. The only active players on the list are Marleau, teammate Joe Thornton, Jarome Iginla, Marian Hossa and, of course, Jaromir Jagr. When will Sedin and Ovechkin join them?

Sedin currently sits at 996 points, just four points away from membership into the elite club. Sedin, and twin brother Daniel (965 career points), were drafted #2 and #3 overall by the Vancouver Canucks in 1999. They broke into the league together in 2000-01 and the rest is history. 16 years later, hockey’s ultimate siblings continue to be scoring machines in Vancouver. Henrik, now the captain of the Canucks, established himself as one of the best players in the NHL back in 2009-10, when he led the league with 83 assists and 112 points, earning both the Art Ross Trophy as the league’s top scorer and Hart Trophy as MVP. Sedin went on to lead the league in assists in each of the next two seasons. Just two years ago, in 2014-15, Sedin notched 55 assists on his way to a 73-point season, showing up those who suggested he was slowing down. Now 36 years old, both Henrik and Daniel are finally starting to show their age, but Henrik is still the main man in Vancouver, sharing the team points lead of 26 with Bo Horvat. With just four points to go until 1,000, Sedin faces three opponents this week who are not exactly the toughest to score against. Vancouver hosts the Arizona Coyotes tomorrow night and then takes on the Calgary Flames in a home-and-home on Friday and Saturday. Sedin has a strong chance to join the 1,000 point club by week’s end.

Meanwhile, Ovechkin prepares to hit 1,000 at just 31 years old. The dynamic winger currently has 994 points, just six points away from becoming the fastest to 1,000 in the 21st century. The first overall pick in 2004, Ovechkin has been a star since the beginning. In his rookie season in 2005-06, the 20-year-old scored 105 points, took home the Calder Trophy in a landslide, and has never looked back. Ovechkin has had four seasons of over 100 points, including leading the league with 112 in 2007-08. He has won the Maurice Richard Trophy as the league’s leading goal-scorer six times, including each of the past four years. He’s even two goals away from tying Maurice Richard himself for 29th all-time in goals. Ovechkin will hit 1,000 in no time and will likely be chasing 1,500 before we know it. But will he hit the mark this week? The Capitals square off against the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight, the upstart Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday, and then travel to Ottawa to face the Senators on Saturday night. Three good competitors are on the docket, but when it comes to scoring, never count out Ovechkin.

Pacific Division Notes: Gudbranson, Mueller

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The Vancouver Canucks finsihed 12 points behind Minnesota for the final playoff berth in the Western Conference in 2015-16 and with many of their best players – Henrik Sedin, Daniel Sedin, Alex Edler and Ryan Miller – all on the wrong side of 30, many thought it was time for the organization to embrace a full rebuild. Instead Vancouver inked veteran scoring forward Loui Eriksson in free agency and dealt young prospect Jared McCann along with a second-round pick to Florida for experienced defenseman Erik Gudbranson; moves that suggested the front office had every reason of contending in 2016-17. While the team sits just three points out of a playoff berth and with roughly two-thirds of the season remaining, it’s still more likely Vancouver will be a lottery team as opposed to a serious postseason contender. Now, with Gudbranson scheduled to reach restricted free agency next summer and likely in line for a marked raise over his $3.5MM cap hit, Vancouver will have to make a tough decision on what to do with the physical blue liner, as Jason Brough of Pro Hockey Talk writes.

As Brough explains, the Canucks have unexpectedly received strong play from rookie Troy Stecher, who has six points in 18 games, and already have Chris Tanev signed long term. Both are right-side defenders, as is Gudbranson, and a strong case can be made that they deserve top-four slots ahead of the former Florida Panther. In that case, Vancouver GM Jim Benning may not want to pay market value for Gudbranson, assuming he would be no more than a third-pair blue liner.

Benning has indicated that his newfound back end depth may allow him to trade a defenseman for a forward:

“We have depth on defense. We’ve rebuilt our defense. (Nikita) Tryamkin is 22 years old, (Troy) Stecher is 22 years old. (Alex) Edler at 30 is our oldest defenseman, so we have a young, good group back there. We have depth back there. So if we look to make a move, we’d have to use some of our depth on the blue line to add a forward.”

Gudbranson’s value is also difficult to project. The analytical community is not a fan, citing his substandard possession numbers – 48.7% career CF% – and his lack of offense. The towering blue liner has tallied just 48 career points in 336 NHL regular season games; good for a per-82-game-average of 11.7. With the league always looking for more offense and team’s prioritizing puck moving capabilities from its blue liners, there may not be as much of a trade market this summer for a player of Gudbranson’s ilk.

However, teams that value intangibles may be willing to overlook the advanced stats. But first, Vancouver has to decide whether they project Gudbranson to be a top-four defender and if not, are they going to be willing to extend the former third overall pick to a contract with an AAV in excess of $4MM or $5MM.

Elsewhere in the Pacific Division:

  • Defenseman Mirco Mueller has been recalled by the San Jose Sharks, according to the official website of their AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda. Curtis Pashelka of the San Jose Mercury News relays that the team’s head coach, Peter DeBoer, has not yet decided whether Mueller will be in the lineup this evening. However, Kevin Kurz of CSN Bay Area believes it is likely the former first-round pick will sit out tonight. Mueller has appeared in 50 NHL games with the Sharks, netting one goal and four points. He has yet to suit up this season for the Sharks. Mueller has six points in 17 games with the Barracuda.

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