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J.T. Miller

Poll: Which Conference Finals Team Benefitted The Most At Trade Deadline?

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With a lot of attention that has gone towards the success of trade acquisition Paul Stastny in the playoffs this season, the Winnipeg Jets and general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff look to have scored at the trade deadline this offseason. The GM was able to pick up Stastny’s expiring contract (50 percent of which was retained) as the team traded away Providence College prospect Erik Foley as well as their 2018 first-rounder and a conditional 2020 fourth-rounder (if Foley doesn’t sign with the Blues before he can become an unrestricted free agent in 2019). While losing a prospect and a first-rounder, the Jets have defintely benefitted by Stastny’s play, especially in the playoffs. The 32-year-old center, alongside youngsters Nikolaj Ehlers and Patrik Laine has put up six goals and nine assists in 13 games during the playoffs and has helped vault Winnipeg into a one-game lead in the Western Conference finals.

Of the other three teams that remain in the playoffs, the trade deadline also seems to have benefitted the Tampa Bay Lightning. Their acquisition of defenseman Ryan McDonagh and forward J.T. Miller from the New York Rangers at the deadline also brought some stability to the Lightning from both players. McDonagh added a stable presence on the defense’s second line, while Miller has excelled playing next to Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov. McDonagh has aided the team’s offense with five assists in 11 games, while Miller has had two goals and five asissts in 11 games as well. In exchange for those two, the Lightning were able to avoid trading off any elite prospects to the Rangers, but still gave up a lot of pieces, including Vladislav Namestnikov, prospects Brett Howden and Libor Hajek, their 2018 first-rounder and another potential first-round pick in 2019 if Tampa Bay wins the Stanley Cup in either of the next two years.

The Washington Capitals, with little cap room to work with at the trade deadline, still were able to pull off a couple of small trades, although the addition of Michal Kempny has had a major affect on the Capitals’ defense. With a number of young, inexperienced blueliners and little money to add a high-profile player, the team traded the Toronto Maple Leafs’ third-round pick in 2018 for Kempny. While the former Blackhawks’ defenseman had never played a full season in the NHL, he is 27 and had quite a bit of experience in the KHL and Czech Republic.

Finally, the Golden Knights did make one big trade at the deadline, sending a 2018 first-round pick, a 2019 second-round pick and a 2021 third-round pick to acquire Tomas Tatar. While the addition of Tatar is not a rental like many of the others (he has three years left at $5.3MM AAV after this year), the team gave up a lot for a player who has made little impact in Vegas. The 27-year-old has been a healthy scratch for much of the playoffs, having only played in four games with no points.

So, which team has benefiited the most from this year’s trade deadline?

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.

Playoff Notes: Tortorella, Miller, Devils

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The Washington Capitals, who have tortured their fans with crushing playoff losses in the past, are a game away from digging out of a 2-0 hole and advancing to the second round. After beating Columbus 4-3 in overtime this afternoon, Washington has a chance to wrap the series up Monday night in Columbus. But it won’t be that easy, writes the Washington Post’s Roman Stubbs, who quotes Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella as saying there will be another game in D.C.:

“We will be back here for Game 7,” he said, before doubling down after another question about how he would prepare his team for the next game. “I won’t have to say a damn word to them. We’ll be back here for Game 7.”

As Stubbs points out, this isn’t the first person to guarantee victory, as the Caps’ Alex Ovechkin vowed that his team would rally from the two game deficit. Last season, Mike Babcock guaranteed a seventh game against the Capitals, but as Stubbs notes, that guarantee “rang hollow.” The Jackets’ bench boss is most likely trying to deflect the pressure that builds after squandering a two game series lead, or as Caps coach Barry Trotz said after hearing of Tortorella’s guarantee: “He wants to get it out there he believes in his team, just as I believe in my team.”

  • J.T. Miller is thriving with the Tampa Bay Lightning and the former Ranger has been a key part in Tampa’s first round success writes Newsday’s Colin Stephenson. With four points in five games, Stephenson reports that being on a line with Steven Stamkos certainly helps his performance, but it’s Miller’s grit and tenacity that has made him so valuable on a team loaded with skill. Whether it’s his work on the ice leading to goals, like his screen of Cory Schneider during Nikita Kucherov’s goal, or his knack to win crucial faceoffs (currently 56% through five games), he’s a guy, according to Tampa Bay head coach Jon Cooper, who “can make plays.”
  • Emily Kaplan of ESPN (Insider Subscription needed) offers a post-mortem of the Devils season and writes that the team has to add some defensive depth as it was a glaring need during the five game loss to the Lightning. She writes that both Sami Vatanen and Will Butcher are great building blocks for a strong defensive corps, but “reinforcements” are needed to get the Devils back into the playoffs and beyond. She also touches on predictions for next season, and what the Devils should do concerning Patrick Maroon and Michael Grabner.

New York Rangers Fire Coach Alain Vigneault

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Hours after putting up an egg in their 5-0 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday, the New York Rangers fired their head coach Alain Vigneault after five years. After four playoff appearances, the Rangers struggled, finishing 34-39-9 on the season. In all, however, Vigneault had quite a bit of success in his time in New York, which included taking the Rangers to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2013-14, his first season with the team. He led the team to a 226-147-37 record over the five years.

The firing also came after Vigneault himself stated in his post-game press conference that he deserved to stay and defended his record, according to Newsday’s Colin Stephenson.

“Yes, yes. Without a doubt,’’ he said when asked if he thought he would hold on to his job despite the Rangers’ 34-39-9 record, which caused them to miss the playoffs for only the second time since the NHL lockout that canceled the 2004-05 season. “I think my staff is the right staff for this job. I think — and this is just my opinion — but I think one of the strongest assets of this organization is its coaching staff and their experience.’’

Some of Vigneault’s struggles were not his doing as the Rangers decided to rebuild on the fly, sending out a letter on Feb. 7, telling fans about their decision to rebuild the team. The Rangers followed that by selling off several veterans including Michael Grabner, Rick Nash, Nick Holden, J.T. Miller and captain Ryan McDonah.

However, Stephenson also points out several issues that came up this season that forced the Rangers to head in that direction. After re-designing its defense with the acquisitions of star free agent Kevin Shattenkirk and re-signing Brendan Smith, the team was hoping to possess one of the best defenses in the league. Instead, the team started slowly at 1-6-2 in its first nine games and was 3-7-2 after 12 in which Vigneault almost lost his job. The team was able to right the ship after that, but only because of the impressive play of both the team’s goaltenders in Henrik Lundqvist and Ondrej Pavelec. Neither goalie was able to sustain their great play.

Injuries also played a part. Shattenkirk was playing hurt, while Smith came into camp out of shape and never returned to form before eventually being sent down to the AHL. Winger Chris Kreider missed 24 games due to a blood clot that led to surgery on his ribs. Center Mika Zibanejad missed nine games with a concussion, while Shattenkirk had knee surgery in January and never came back.

The Athletic’s Rick Carpiniello writes (subscription required) that there were other reasons as well that stand out when it came to Vigneault. The coach’s lack of success at the blueline have been issues for years as his system had failed repeatedly. Vigneault had undergone three different defensive assistant coaches in three years, including Ulf Samuelsson, Jeff Beukeboom and Lindy Ruff and replaced most of the defense and still failed to get them going. His tough love was also an issue as he butted heads with many players, especially Miller and Pavel Buchnevich. However, the most telling numbers is the team’s record from Jan. 7 to Feb. 25, when Vigneault led the team to just a 5-16-1 record.

Vigneault has a 648-435-98 overall record throughout his career with the Montreal Canadiens, Vancouver Canucks and the Rangers. He won the Jack Adams Award as Coach of the Year in 2007.

TSN’s Bob McKenzie was the first to report the news.

Post-Trade Notes: McDonagh, Kane, Tatar

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The biggest deadline deal of the day was Tampa Bay’s acquisition of Ryan McDonagh that gave the Lightning a huge upgrade on the blue line while solving some later financial issues in unloading Vladislav Namestnikov to the Rangers. The deal again shows the wizardry of general manager Steve Yzerman, who had been linked to Mike Green, and Erik Karlsson, and yet still came away with the best defenseman that the market had to bear after Green and Karlsson were never moved. Not to be lost in the deal was the acquisition of J.T. Miller and suddenly, the Bolts got the jolt they needed as they head into the playoffs in just over a month. The Sporting News’ Jim Cerny awarded the Lightning an “A” in the deal, stating that Yzerman so badly wanted to fortify his defense corps and that he did. Cerny handed a B+ to the Rangers who are clearly back in rebuild mode.

  • Evander Kane is excited to be in San Jose but the Sporting News didn’t have great things to say about the deal for the Sabres. Awarding the Sabres an F, the first round pick that is contingent upon the Sharks either winning the Cup or re-signing Kane doesn’t bode well for a Sabres’ squad desperately trying to escape a rebuild-hell that seems to drag on every year. Kane was the best bargaining chip Buffalo had and a mini-slump mixed with a buyers market certainly complicated matters for first-year general manager Jason Botterill.  The Buffalo News’ John Vogl isn’t as harsh, writing that the rookie GM didn’t have a lot of options to choose from and it appears, according to Botterill himself, it was only one. Evander KaneColleague Mike Harrington, however, isn’t so kind. Calling it a “dud,” Harrington indicates that Botterill’s short honeymoon in Buffalo is now officially over, and the pressure to turn the Sabres around certainly ratcheted up after swinging and missing at the deadline. Writing that the roster is a “disaster,” Harrington retells a recent incident where Botterill was furious after a tepid Sabres showing against Los Angeles. Though the fire and indignation over a poor roster is there, Harrington wonders if Botterill can turn around a team that is as low as it can get.
  • Detroit Red Wings general manager called the trade of Tomas Tatar a move for “the future,” but it doesn’t solve any major issues right away.  The Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James indicates that according to Holland, the move opened up door for Tyler Bertuzzi and prospects Evgeny Svechnikov and Michael Rasmussen to get a chance in Detroit. It’s a philosophical shift for Holland who in the past deferred to his veterans and would let prospects “overripen” in the minors. The trade for Tatar is a beginning, but hardly the end of the work that Holland, or possibly his replacement, will need to accomplish with a slew of veterans locked into expensive, long-term deals. Holland is still without a contract extension and though THN’s Ken Campbell believes Holland may have saved his job with the trade (despite never thinking it was in trouble),  much of the Red Wings’ issues are a result of Holland’s missteps with contracts, drafting, and an inability to use the trade market to improve the team.

Trade Deadline Recap: Eastern Conference

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After a month of lead up, a sprinkling of trades over the last week or so, and a wild deadline day today, NHL teams are done with transactions for the 2017-18 NHL season. Here are the deals that improved contenders in the Eastern Conference:

Deadline Day

Tampa Bay Lightning receive:
D Ryan McDonagh
F J.T. Miller

New York Rangers receive:
F Vladislav Namestnikov
F Brett Howden
D Libor Hajek
2018 first-round pick
Conditional 2019 second-round pick

 

Columbus Blue Jackets receive:
F Thomas Vanek

Vancouver Canucks receive:
F Tyler Motte
F Jussi Jokinen

 

Columbus Blue Jackets receive:
D Ian Cole

Ottawa Senators receive:
F Nick Moutrey
2020 third-round pick

 

New Jersey Devils receive:
F Patrick Maroon

Edmonton Oilers receive:
F J.D. Dudek
2019 third-round pick

 

New York Islanders receive:
F Chris Wagner

Anaheim Ducks receive:
F Jason Chimera

 

Boston Bruins receive:
F Tommy Wingels

Chicago Blackhawks receive:
Conditional 2019 fifth-round pick

 

Pittsburgh Penguins receive:
F Josh Jooris

Carolina Hurricanes receive:
F Greg McKegg

Read more

Metropolitan Notes: Miller, Zuccarello, Calvert, Devils, Capitals

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The Rangers are receiving plenty of interest in center J.T. Miller and winger Mats Zuccarello, reports TSN’s Darren Dreger (Twitter link).  However, he adds that the offers haven’t been enough to suggest a trade is likely.  New York is in full selloff mode and have already dealt their top pending unrestricted free agents so now the focus shifts to players under team control beyond this season.  Miller is set to be a restricted free agent this summer with a $2.75MM qualifying offer while Zuccarello is making $4.5MM through 2018-19.  The two players lead the Rangers in scoring this season with Zuccarello recording 43 points and Miller 40.

Elsewhere in the Metropolitan:

  • The Blue Jackets have yet to engage in extension talks with pending UFA winger Matt Calvert, reports Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (subscription required). The 28-year-old is the longest-tenured player with the team after they drafted him back in the fifth round back in 2008.  Calvert has spent most of this season in a bottom-six role and has seven goals with ten assists in 50 games in 2017-18 while logging 13:50 per night in ice time and is making $2.2MM this season.
  • After picking up Michael Grabner last week, Andrew Gross of The Record suggests that the Devils are likely to be quiet today as GM Ray Shero may be hesitant to part with more future assets. However, that could change if they could find a way to add to their back end.
  • Another team likely to be inactive before the deadline is the Capitals, reports Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post. The Caps have already made a pair of depth moves to shore up the depth on their back end with the acquisitions of Michal Kempny and Jakub Jerabek last week and while they have some flexibility when it comes to waiver-exempt players that could be sent down to free up cap space, they do not appear interested in moving anyone off their current roster which will limit what they’re able to do.

Snapshots: Lecavalier, Miller, Rodrigues

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The Tampa Bay Lightning will retire the second number in their franchise history this season, when they raise Vincent Lecavalier’s #4 to the rafters on February 10th. Lecavalier, who last played in 2015-16, is the franchise leader in goals and was once the NHL’s youngest ever captain (since broken by multiple players) when he was given the “C” at just 19.

In 1,037 games with the Lightning, the 1998 first-overall pick scored 874 points and led them to a Stanley Cup in 2004. Twice he was nominated for the Hart Trophy as league MVP, including 2006-07 when he led the league in goals with 52. A prototypical number-one center, Lecavalier played an exceptional all around game that combined speed, power and skill. He finished his career with 949 points in 1,212 games.

  • Despite spending time in the middle during the preseason, J.T. Miller will be back in his familiar wing position when the season starts, Alain Vigneault confirmed today to a group of reporters including Dan Rosen of NHL.com. Vigneault has been impressed with the play of 2017 first-round draft picks Lias Andersson and Filip Chytil, as well as former University of Michigan standout Boo Nieves. While it has been expected for a while that just one of the young players would make the roster with David Desharnais taking the other center role, there is a growing suspicion that both Andersson and Chytil could start the year with the Rangers. That would be quite the turnaround for a team that hadn’t even drafted in the first round for several years.
  • Buffalo Sabres forward Evan Rodrigues was injured this weekend in a preseason game against the Toronto Maple Leafs when Andreas Borgman crumpled him into the boards, and will be held out for the time being with a hand injury. Head coach Phil Housley was non-committal when asked if it would linger into the regular season, similar to the way he spoke about Jake McCabe’s upper-body injury. Both players were expected to be in the lineup for opening night, which now could open spots for some others to start the year in Buffalo instead of Rochester.

Minor Moves: McGrattan, Miller, Flyers

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Noted NHL enforcer Brian McGrattan is back with the Calgary Flames organization, joining the team today as a player development coach. The veteran of 317 games actually played last season for the Nottingham Panthers of the Elite Ice Hockey League in England, where he registered 19 points and 138 penalty minutes in 47 games.

  • J.T. Miller will begin camp with the New York Rangers as a center, in order to get him used to the position again should they need him to take on that role. The Rangers currently project to have Mika Zibanejad and Kevin Hayes as their top two options, while the third line pivot is something of a mystery. Miller, Lias Andersson, David Desharnais and Boo Nieves are the leading candidates, though Vinni Letieri and Andrew Desjardins could be options as well. Miller was outstanding as a winger last year, but definitely has the skill to lead the third line if it’s asked of him.
  • The Philadelphia Flyers have sent four players back to junior, cutting Morgan Frost, Isaac Ratcliffe, Matthew Strome and Maksim Sushko from their training camp roster. All four took part in the rookie camp, but will now head back to their respective OHL teams to continue their development. Frost was the team’s second first-round pick this year, and is coming off a breakout season with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. Undersized but already a capable two-way player, he’ll try to improve his offensive game and come into next summer’s training camp with something to prove.

Rangers New Defense Might Have Weakened Rest Of Team

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The New York Rangers spent much of their offseason fixing one of their biggest weaknesses in their defense. The team went out and signed free agent Kevin Shattenkirk to a four-year, $26.6MM deal, then re-signed trade deadline rental Brendan Smith to a new four-year, $17.4MM deal. They traded away top center Derek Stepan and backup goaltender Antti Raanta for defenseman Anthony DeAngelo and a first-round pick. Perhaps more importantly, they bought out Dan Girardi, who was struggling. With all the changes, the Rangers should have one of the best defensive corps in the league. With Shattenkirk paired with Ryan McDonagh, Smith paired with veteran Marc Staal and young Brady Skjei paired with either Nick Holden or DeAngelo, the Rangers should be in fantastic shape.

But at what cost? The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn writes (subscription required) that the Rangers’ knee-jerk reaction to their second-round playoff loss to the Ottawa Senators have crippled the team in other areas. He writes the goaltending situation is now worse due to moving Raanta to Arizona. Instead, New York signed Ondrej Pavelec to a one-year deal, but there is a huge difference between the two backups. Raanta was a stud backup who now will get his chance to be an NHL starting goalie. Pavelec has been inconsistent in his time with the Jets, but has struggled so bad in the last couple of years that Winnipeg demoted him to the AHL’s Manitoba Moose. Incidentally, Pavelec played 18 games for Manitoba and finished with a 2.78 GAA in that span — which wouldn’t be acceptable in the NHL.  Probably not the backup you would want when your starter Henrik Lundqvist, who is 35 years old, is coming off the worst season of his career. Lundqvist finished the year with a 2.74 GAA in 57 games and .910 save percentage. Those numbers suggest that his workload might need to be diminished in the future — probably not the best time to be trading your top backup.

The scribe also mentions that the team also has to wonder if they have enough offense to get through the season. The team traded away Stepan, who he admits isn’t that big of a loss, but considering that there is no true center who can take his place, that’s not a good sign. Yes, Mike Zibanejad will likely assume the top role, but he will likely be one of the worst top centers in the NHL. Their other three centers J.T. Miller, Kevin Hayes and David Desharnais are all acceptable, but none are outstanding centers. Luszczyszyn adds that what the Rangers really need is a big-name scorer, which they lack. The team instead relies on Chris Kreider and Mats Zuccarello, who are great players, but not two players you should have leading your offense.

All in all, the belief is the Rangers have traded one concern for many others. Will these offensive changes really change anything?

 

Rick Nash’s Future In New York

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While it may be premature to look ahead to the 2018 off-season and those players who will become unrestricted free agents, it seems that general managers are already turning their focus toward the future. Notably, Cam Fowler, Martin Jones, Carey Price, Marc-Edouard Vlasic have already signed extensions, while the Islanders are clearly making a John Tavares extension their top priority. When one looks at the list of 2018 UFAs so far out, there are many enticing names, including John Carlson, Kyle Turris, Cam Atkinson and many more. Yet, with perhaps the exception of James van Riemsdyk, most of the names on the list appear destined to re-sign with their current clubs, barring unforeseen developments. Of the names that seem possible to move on, Rick Nash jumps out above many others.

Since Nash came into the league in 2002-03, he’s been a remarkably productive winger. Among active players, his 771 career points puts him at 18th. The only younger players above him on the list? Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, Eric Staal, Evgeni Malkin, and Ryan Getzlaf. Granted, Nash has started to show a serious drop-off in his production the last two season. He missed 35 games since the start of 2015-16 to injury, and totaled only 74 points in the 127 games he played. That’s not a poor figure, but when 23 goals for Nash is considered a positive season, it’s obvious that his prime years may be relegated to memory. Perhaps just as disheartening is his negative possession trend over that same time frame. His Fenwick and Corsi relative have consistently declined since 2012-13, and last season he posted a career worst 46.3% Corsi For.

With all that said, Nash is still an effective tool. He won’t make the $7.8 MM on his current contract, but considering how sparse the 2018 free agent list might actually be, he could find himself a long-term contract elsewhere in the league. The Rangers are already toward their cap ceiling with $71.9 MM on the books, and will have multiple RFAs to re-sign at the conclusion of the year. Notably Kevin Hayes, J.T. Miller, Jimmy Vesey, and Brady Skjei will all be due moderate raises. The team should have enough space to re-sign Nash to a reduced contract (assuming the cap continue to rise around $2 MM), but the team may be interested in accelerating a youth movement. Nash hasn’t under-performed since coming to Manhattan, but he hasn’t been the dominant marquee offensive player when they’ve needed him to be. Through 73 playoff games for NYR, he’s only scored 14 goals.

Nash has accumulated hard mileage due to the way he’s played the game, particularly early in his career. He was the primary offensive force for Columbus for many years, and consistently had to fend off multiple attackers using his frame. As the game has gotten faster over the last few seasons, size has meant less than it probably ever has. Nash is no slowpoke, but his power forward style is becoming less common and less effective as the game has transitioned. Nash will turn 34 at the conclusion of this contract, and he will likely seek out a longer term to assure his career safety. If New York is unwilling to make that commitment, he does have a modified no-trade clause which would complicate matters for GM Jeff Gorton would decide to move him. Nash has a list of 12 teams which he is allowed to be traded to, short of waiving the clause. It also seems unlikely that he will be traded, considering his still substantial role in the offense. If New York looks to be playoff bound when the deadline rolls around, it would be very difficult to ship him off for future assets. Consequently, there’s a very solid chance that this may be Nash’s last season in the Big Apple, and that he could attract a serious market next July. Despite his warts, Nash is a big-bodied winger who has shown he can finish, and shouldn’t be incredibly expensive.

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