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Jacob Trouba

Central Notes: Trouba, Campbell, Hossa, Yakupov

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While making an appearance on NBCSN last night, TSN’s Bob McKenzie provided an update on the Jacob Trouba situation.  At this time, the Jets appear to be no closer to trading the restricted free agent as GM Kevin Cheveldayoff continues to ask for a young, left shot blueliner with plenty of upside.  In other words, they’re looking for a left handed version of Trouba.  While many teams have interest in the 22 year old, very few of them have that type of player that they’re willing to part with.

McKenzie also believes that the Jets would still be willing to keep Trouba with the team despite the trade request, similar to Tampa Bay’s Jonathan Drouin, who left the team midseason to await a trade, only to return closer to the start of the playoffs.  Whether Trouba is willing to have a change of heart remains to be seen but it appears this particular situation will drag on for a while yet without a resolution in sight.

Elsewhere from the Central Division:

  • The Blackhawks are likely to make free agent acquisition Brian Campbell a healthy scratch on Friday night, notes Brian Hedger of the Chicago Sun-Times. Head coach Joel Quenneville stated that he doesn’t want the same defensemen sitting each night, suggesting the scratching isn’t necessarily performance-related.  Campbell is off to a quiet start with Chicago, picking up an assist in four games while averaging 17:03 per night, down more than five minutes a game from last season in Florida.
  • Also from Hedger, Chicago right winger Marian Hossa is questionable for the next couple of games after getting injured from blocking a shot from Philadelphia’s Shayne Gostisbehere on Tuesday night. Hossa has four points in four games so far this season.
  • Louis right winger Nail Yakupov makes his return to Edmonton tonight as he faces off against his former team for the first time. Despite frequent struggles with the team, he told Robert Tychkowski of the Edmonton Sun that he doesn’t have any ill will towards the Oilers for trading him.  Yakupov is off to a decent start in a limited role with St. Louis this season, picking up a goal and an assist in four games.  Head coach Ken Hitchock noted that they expect that it will take a lot of the season for the team to figure out what they have in Yakupov and whether or not he’s a top line option or more of a middle six forward.

Trade Suitors For Jacob Trouba

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TSN’s Bob McKenzie debuted ‘The Bobcast’ yesterday, weighing in on a variety of topics around the league.  Among those was Winnipeg defenseman Jacob Trouba and who has shown interest in him so far.  McKenzie highlighted the Avalanche, Bruins, Coyotes, Rangers, and Red Wings as teams that have significant interest.  Let’s take a closer look at where Trouba would fit in on those teams and if they have the young left-shooting blueliner that the Jets reportedly are coveting in return.

Arizona: The Coyotes already have a very deep blueline but GM John Chayka hasn’t hesitated to add to their defensive depth since taking over in the offseason.  Trouba would conceivably fit in as their top pairing defender alongside Oliver Ekman-Larsson which would give them a pretty dynamic duo as their anchors for years to come.

With Ekman-Larsson and newcomer Alex Goligoski both signed long-term, they’re not going anywhere and those are Arizona’s top two left shot defensemen.  Behind them currently are first rounder Jakob Chychrun, Kevin Connauton (injured), and Jarred Tinordi (suspended).  The latter two wouldn’t come close to securing a player like Trouba but the Jets are a draft-and-develop type of team and could have interest in Chychrun as a long-term piece, even if he isn’t ready to step into a top four role right away.

Boston: With Zdeno Chara starting to show his age and several blueliners that are better suited as bottom pairing options than top four players, there is a definite need for an impact defenseman and Trouba would arguably slot in as their number one option of the short and long-term.  In the short-term, he could play alongside Chara, giving the 39 year old a mobile partner that could help take some of the pressure off of him.

Aside from Torey Krug, the Bruins don’t have the young left shooting defender that the Jets have been looking for.  Boston just committed to Krug on a long-term deal this summer and with a cap hit of $5.25MM, he may be too pricey to fit into Winnipeg’s budget moving forward.  That said, a power play pairing of Krug along with Dustin Byfuglien could be among the best in the league in a hurry.

Colorado: While the Avalanche haven’t been known for their defensive prowess in recent years, the current right side of their back end is a strength, anchored by Erik Johnson and Tyson Barrie who are signed through 2023 and 2020 respectively.  On the surface, this would appear to present Trouba with the same issue he faces in Winnipeg (wanting to play top four on his natural side) unless one of Johnson or Barrie were willing to move to their off-side.

Colorado also doesn’t have a young impact NHL-ready left shot defender readily available either.  Their lefties on the blueline currently consist of a veteran (Francois Beauchemin) and a couple of recent castaways from other teams (Fedor Tyutin and Eric Gelinas).  Nikita Zadorov and Chris Bigras are two prospects who have some upside that could interest Winnipeg but neither would be ready to play a key role right away.

Detroit: The Red Wings have never really replaced Nicklas Lidstrom since his retirement in 2012 and have been rumored to have interest in pretty much any top four blueliner that has been available since then.  Mike Green is Detroit’s top right-shot option so Trouba, a Michigan native, would definitely be able to step into a big role immediately.  Continued knee problems for Niklas Kronwall, even though he’s a lefty, may very well be another factor in their interest.

Detroit doesn’t really have a young, impact left-shooting rearguard to move, however.  Kronwall and Danny DeKeyser (who is signed through 2022) are their top options while Brendan Smith, who’s next in line, is a pending UFA.  Xavier Ouellet has long been viewed as a youngster with NHL potential but he isn’t advanced enough in his development to be a key piece involved in any deal for Trouba.

New York: Their top right handed defensemen are veterans Kevin Klein and Dan Girardi while they are lacking in quality prospects as well which makes them a team that could very much use Trouba.  However, they’re already spending over $22MM on their back end and adding another expected sizable salary in Trouba would put them amongst the top spenders in the league at that position and likely force them to move one of their better forwards to make room.

Like many of the other teams that McKenzie singled out, the Rangers don’t really have the young left hander on the blueline to part with.  Brady Skjei is a former first rounder with some upside but has all of 13 NHL games under his belt and isn’t ready to play a key role in the NHL just yet.  New York does, however, have some young forwards that could potentially move if Winnipeg GM Kevin Cheveldayoff wants to expand his options.

On top of the above squads, McKenzie highlighted several other teams that have shown interest between the offseason and today, the Kings, Lightning, Maple Leafs, Panthers, and Penguins.

Trouba has until December 1st to sign a contract or else he would be deemed ineligible for the remainder of the season.  At this time, that seems to be the firm deadline towards getting something done unless Trouba decides to rescind his trade request and re-sign with Winnipeg which doesn’t seem to be a likely option at this point in time.

Winnipeg Notes: Trouba, Morrissey, Pavelec

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With the regular season now underway and youngster Josh Morrissey showing well in the opener and the preseason, Paul Wiecek of the Winnipeg Free Press suggests that RFA holdout Jacob Trouba may already be starting to lose some of his negotiating leverage.

Trouba is one of two remaining restricted free agents (the other being from Anaheim defenseman Hampus Lindholm).  While Lindholm and his representation are negotiating over money and term, Trouba’s hold out stems from a trade request due to Winnipeg’s desire to play him on his off-side.

While the firm deadline date to have a deal in place is a little over six weeks away (he must be signed by December 1st; if not, he would be ineligible for the rest of the year), Wiecek believes that Morrisey’s efforts early on in the spot that would have been Trouba’s lessen any sort of possible pressure on General Manager Kevin Cheveldayoff to get a deal done sooner rather than later.

In his tenure as Winnipeg’s GM, Cheveldayoff has been very patient and deliberate.  While Trouba and his representatives (and maybe some other teams) were hoping that he would act quickly, it’s expected that the asking price will remain high on Trouba and that Cheveldayoff will only move him if he gets the exact deal he’s looking for.  Last week, it was reported that the asking price included a young left-handed rearguard but if Morrissey continues to impress, that requirement could change which would then open up some other options for the Jets to potentially consider.

Elsewhere in Winnipeg, who received some bad news earlier today with Bryan Little being out for the longer-term:

  • Recently-demoted goaltender Ondrej Pavelec wasn’t surprised to find himself the odd man out this year, Free Press columnist Jason Bell writes. The 29 year old suited up in just one preseason contest while Michael Hutchinson played in three games and opening night starter Connor Hellebuyck in two.  Pavelec acknowledges that he’s unsure what his role will be in the AHL as the Jets have a quality prospect in Eric Comrie down there and will likely want him to get as much playing time as possible.  With a cap hit of $3.9MM and a salary of $4.75MM, the Jets will have a hard time finding a taker for Pavelec unless they’re willing to retain on his salary/cap hit in any sort of trade.

Sabres Agree To Terms With Ristolainen

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Buffalo Sabres GM Tim Murray has confirmed earlier reports that the team has signed Rasmus Ristolainen to a new contract, as John Vogl of The Buffalo News tweets. Terms of the new arrangement are unknown at this point.

Ristolainen developed into the team’s top blue liner in 2015-16, scoring nine goals with 32 helpers. The three-year veteran has tallied 19 goals and 65 points in 194 games during his career.

Bob McKenzie adds that the deal is for six years and worth an average of $5.4MM annually. He notes the contract is identical to the one recently agreed to between fellow right-handed defenseman Seth Jones and Columbus.

The signing leaves the Sabres with just a shade less than $2MM of cap space with 23 players under contract – 14 forwards, seven defensemen and two goalies – as Cap Friendly notes.

With Ristolainen under contract, only three prominent RFAs remain unsigned: Hampus Lindholm, Rickard Rakell and Jacob Trouba. Mckenzie speculates that the Ristolainen contract represents the absolute floor for Lindholm. It will be interesting to see whether this agreement helps push the negotiations between Lindholm and the Ducks any closer to a resolution.

 

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.

Snapshots: Trouba, Stoll, Bjugstad

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Recently it was learned that RFA defenseman Jacob Trouba and his representation formally requested a trade from the Winnipeg Jets. The young blue liner cited his wish for consistent playing time on the right side and dismissed the notion his request was based on either money or a desire to leave the city of Winnipeg. The Jets understandably are placing a high price on Trouba and it’s been said the team wants a left-shooting defender of comparable talent and age to the 22-year-old native of Michigan.

One team thought to have been on the hunt for a top-four blue liner this summer and linked in the past to Trouba is Boston. The Bruins essentially admitted that interest when team president Cam Neely appeared last month on CSN’s Great American Hockey Show:

“Basically from April to now everybody is talking about our back end, and not being able to land a top-four defenseman. We still have an opportunity as far as cap space goes if something shakes free, and I know Don [Sweeney] has been working hard trying to do something. But I feel like as a group we can do better than we did last year.”

While Boston, like many teams, might love to add a young talent the ilk of Trouba, Joe Haggerty of CSN New England believes the acquisition cost would simply be too high. Haggerty reasons that in order to meet the Jets supposed asking price, the Bruins would have to part with highly-skilled defenseman Torey Krug in exchange. Krug is a “leader-in-the-making,” who adds toughness and attitude to the lineup according to Haggerty.

At the end of the day, even while highlighting Krug’s strengths, Haggerty admits it’s unlikely that would be enough on its own to pry Trouba away from the Jets. Ultimately he believes the combination of a pricey new contract for Trouba and the cost in terms of players and/or other assets is simply more than the Bruins should be willing to pay.

More from around the NHL:

  • It’s unclear at this point whether or not Jarret Stoll makes the final roster of the Columbus Blue Jackets but what is clear is that the veteran pivot is not ready to call it a career, according to Tom Reed of The Columbus Dispatch. “I definitely think I have a lot left in the tank and my body feels good. I understand the game is getting younger – young, skilled and fast — but I feel like I can still contribute.” Reed goes on to write that Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella did not express “strong feelings either way” with regards to Stoll’s recent performance against Pittsburgh. Stoll, who is one of four players on PTOs remaining with the Blue Jackets, is an excellent faceoff guy and expereinced penalty-killer who has been part of two Stanley Cup championship teams while a member of the Kings. He left Los Angeles as a free agent and signed with the New York Rangers last summer. After 29 games with the Blue Shirts, Stoll was off to Minnesota after the Wild claimed him on waivers. He would finish the campaign with just nine points in 80 games in 2015-16. Perhaps most troubling is that he was among the worst drivers of puck possession in the league, finishing with a CF% of just 37.34%, a rate which was actually last in the NHL.
  • After winning the Atlantic Division in 2015-16, the Florida Panthers appear poised to take the next step following an active offseason. The team invested huge resources this summer to upgrade the blue line in an effort to support a talented and deep group of forwards. As Harvey Fialkov writes, while the team’s top two lines are essentially set in stone, the club is still searching for the right wingers to play with third-line pivot Nick Bjugstad. Fialkov believes Jared McCann, acquired in an offseason deal with Vancouver, Colton Sceviour and Jon Marchessault, who were both inked as free agents this summer, are the likeliest candidates to line up next to Bjugstad this season. McCann, a former first-round draft choice, was specifically targeted by the Panther front office to fill a top-nine role, as Fialkov writes. Sceviour is quick and has averaged 10 goals and 25 points playing the last two seasons for Dallas. Marchessault is undersized, 5-foot-9 and 174 pounds, but has plenty of skill. Bjugstad believes that finding chemistry with the right linemates is the most critical factor: “It’s more about learning the system and getting that effort. Everyone’s getting more and more comfortable with each other, especially the younger guys. We’re figuring out how guys work out on the ice and see which guys click with each other. I think there’s a lot of different options and that’s what’s good about this team. We have a lot of depth.’’ 

RFA Update: Gaudreau, Trouba, and Kucherov

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News and notes concerning the NHL’s remaining unsigned restricted free agents:

  • Johnny Gaudreau and the Flames are inching toward a deal, says TSN Insider Darren Dreger. Dreger refrained from saying that a deal is imminent, but that he expects an agreement within the week. The latest reports on negotiations from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, however, paints a bleaker picture. Friedman interviewed Gaudreau’s agent Lewis Gross and uncovered that the Flames had not talked to Gaudreau’s camp since September 9th. That was around the time that the Calgary Sun’s Eric Francis reported that Gaudreau was looking for something in the $8MM range while the Flames wanted to keep the contract under $6.75MM. It is important to note that Gaudreau lacks leverage in these negotiations because he is not eligible for an offer sheet.
  • A deal for Jacob Trouba is no closer to happening, says Darren Dreger on TSN 1040 Vancouver. Winnipeg is still looking for a 22-23 year old left shooting defenseman in return, and are not budging from that position. Dreger points to an ideal trade partner in Detroit, but the lack of that type of defenseman has stymied any potential deal. Expect Winnipeg to wait this out just like Tampa Bay did with Jonathan Drouin.
  • TSN’s Bob MacKenzie opined on a Nikita Kucherov offer sheet, stating that of all the unsigned RFAs, Kucherov is the most attractive offer sheet candidate. The Lightning are tight against the cap—both this year and in the future—and may not be able to pay Kucherov market value. MacKenzie gauges Kucherov’s market value at around $6-7MM, but the Lightning only have around $5.5MM in cap space. Even if they move players around to fit a matched contract this year, contracts to impending RFAs Jonathan Drouin, Ondrej Palat, and Tyler Johnson next summer pose serious cap consideration.

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.

Central Division Notes: Trouba, Carle, Rozsival, Tuch

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Despite Jacob Trouba’s recently publicized trade request, the Jets should only move him if it’s on their terms because of the bad precedent it would set for future RFAs, opines Ted Wyman of the Winnipeg Sun. As Wyman notes, the Jets are a draft-and-develop organization given their status as a small market team and the difficulties they face in competing for marketable free agents. Acquiescing to Trouba’s request would harm the club’s leverage when it comes to future negotiations with players like Nikolaj Ehlers, Kyle Connor and Patrick Laine when they reach restricted free agency. A small market club needs to be able to retain as much of their best young talent as possible and the Jets must be able to keep the salaries of their RFAs in line while those players are still under team control.

Wyman also believes that since Trouba has yet to live up to his full potential in his first three seasons on the league, he should be willing to accept a fair market contract and to play wherever his coach wants him to play. If he wants to move over to the right side, as he has indicated, he needs to beat out one of the incumbents – Dustin Byfuglien and Tyler Myers.

As Wyman writes further, it’s likely Trouba’s insistence on playing on the right side is in fact a smoke screen and the reality is the young defenseman simply wants out of Winnipeg. Of course Trouba and his agent, Kurt Overhardt, have both insisted his request is based solely on his desire to be a right-side defenseman and has nothing to do with the city or the organization.

More from the NHL’s Central Division:

  • Four seasons ago, Matt Carle’s stock was such that the 27-year-old defender received the second-largest contract inked by any player during the summer of 2011. Last season, he fell out of favor in Tampa Bay and despite the Lightning often suiting up seven blue liners, Carle still couldn’t crack the lineup. It was no surprise, then, that the Lightning opted to buy out the remaining two years of his deal as the team looked to save as much money as possible in order to re-sign several important free agents. Carle would end up signing a one-year deal with Nashville worth just $700K, where the 11-year veteran will be reunited with head coach Peter Laviolette. Under Laviolette, Carle had some of his best yearss, statistically, while a member of the Flyers, tallying at least 35 points in each of his final three seasons with the team. Carle hopes that at age-32 and playing for a coach with whom he is both comfortable and familiar, that he can once again be an important player for a contending team. The Predators do boast one of the league’s most talented blue lines but there is room for a veteran to stabilize the unit, particularly after dealing away team captain Shea Weber this summer.
  • Veteran defenseman Michal Rozsival has carved out a solid 15-year NHL career and realizes his days in the league are numbered. Rozsival has spent the past four seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks and was brought back by the club for what the 38-year-old defender hopes will be his fifth campaign in the windy city. But after the 2015-16 season, Rozsival wasn’t sure he would be back in Chicago and despite signing a one-year, $600K deal, he isn’t even sure what his role with the Hawks will be, as Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune writes. “Right now, I still don’t know what my role is. It might be determined by the way I play. The last four years I’ve played 20 games, I’ve played 30 games and I’ve played 50 games. I’m ready for anything and for any kind of role. Obviously, I would love to be playing. I’m always trying to fight for my ice time.” It’s likely the Blackhawks value his experience and will find a spot for him on the roster, even if it is as the seventh or eighth defenseman.
  • Minnesota entered training camp with a few openings at forward and plenty of candidates to earn those jobs. Unfortunately for the Wild, none of those candidates have impressed head coach Bruce Boudreau to this point in the preseason, according to Michael Russo of the Star Tribune. Veteran role players Zac Dalpe and Ryan Carter have failed to make a mark while youngsters Alex Tuch, Kurtis Gabriel, Joel Eriksson Ek and Tyler Graovac have yet to grab hold of a job. Whether this might prompt GM Chuck Fletcher to explore his alternatives or not is unclear but he may have to if the in-house options continue their collectively mediocre play.

 

2016-17 Season Preview: Detroit Red Wings

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With the NHL preseason underway, PHR continues to look at every team prior to the regular season. Today, we look at the Detroit Red Wings.

Last season: 41-30-11 (93 points); Finished 3rd in the Atlantic; Lost 4-1 to Tampa Bay in the first round.

Cap Space Remaining: -$4.24MM via CapFriendly.

Key Newcomers: F Thomas Vanek (signed as free agent); F Frans Nielsen (signed as free agent from New York Islanders); F Steve Ott (signed as free agent from St. Louis), F Dylan Sadowy (acquired from San Jose).

Key Departures: D Kyle Quincey (signed with New Jersey).

Player to Watch: Gustav Nyquist and Tomas Tatar: Both saw their numbers fall last season, but a lot of that, after looking at advanced stats and ice time, show a difference in terms of how the two were utilized. Not having two players on the ice who have a knack to score goals is detrimental to their development, confidence, and ultimately, the team’s success. Both Tatar and Nyquist were supposed to have the baton handed to them as Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk slowed. But head coach Jeff Blashill, who admitted his own culpability in their regression, has to be better in deploying the two goal scorers. Nyquist and Tatar, should they see the ice time they were afforded in the past, should return to their true form. Blashill has promised more minutes and a greater insistence on them.

Key Storylines: Will the Red Wings entrust this team to younger, faster, and hungrier players? Looking at teams who have seen success by allowing their younger players to play, the Red Wings are at a critical juncture in the salary cap era. Ken Holland is being scrutinized by fans and analysts for his summer of “the same” where he brought back familiar faces at much higher prices–Darren Helm immediately comes to mind. This makes some fans leery as Holland promised big changes–though he did add Vanek, and Nielsen, players who should improve the scoring woes. Reports from Darren Dreger cite that Holland balked at the asking price for Jacob Trouba and while it can be speculated that either Anthony Mantha or Dylan Larkin were asked for, Holland felt comfortable enough with his defense, though others aren’t as sure. Much was written about the Wings’ need for defense, but Holland apparently is happy with what already sits in the pipeline.

The mindset for the Wings brass seems to be one that is fine limping into the playoffs only to be bounced early. It’s a team that has for too long, relied on veterans in a league that favors the younger, speedier player. Training camp will reveal clues early should Andreas Athanasiou and Mantha both be sent down, or be healthy scratches while Drew Miller, Luke Glendening and Steve Ott play on the fourth line. Will this team learn from the sins of season’s past? Or will the organization still continue its “just do enough” strategy to make the playoffs instead of looking ahead to what could be a very painful future?

Detroit Depth Chart

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