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Jaden Schwartz

Expansion Primer: St. Louis Blues

June 10, 2017 at 7:10 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 5 Comments

We’re continuing to break down each team’s situation as it pertains to the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft, coming up next week: which players are eligible, and which will likely warrant protection or may be on the block. Each team is required to submit their protection lists by 4pm CDT on June 17th. The full rules on eligibility can be found here, and CapFriendly has provided a handy expansion tool to make your own lists.

The St. Louis Blues did pretty well for themselves at the 2016 Trade Deadline when they swapped Kevin Shattenkirk for a package including prospect Zach Sanford and a first-round pick only to make just as far in the postseason as the Washington Capitals, the conference semifinals. Not only did they get value for an impending free agent, but they also acquired pieces that didn’t effect the expansions process, while additionally simplifying their decision on defense. Armed with a large core of forwards in their prime and the likes of Sanford and other ready to replace any potential losses up front to lower-tier players, the Blues are in pretty good shape heading into the Expansion Draft.

Eligible Players (Non-UFA)

Forwards
Vladimir Tarasenko, Paul Stastny, Alexander Steen, Jaden Schwartz, Jori Lehtera, Patrik Berglund, David Perron, Vladimir Sobotka, Ryan Reaves, Dmitrij Jaskin, Kyle Brodziak, Magnus Paajarvi, Nail Yakupov, Jacob Doty, Landon Ferraro, Jordan Caron, Ty Rattie

Defense
Alex Pietrangelo, Jay Bouwmeester, Carl Gunnarsson, Robert Bortuzzo, Joel Edmundson, Petteri Lindbohm

Goaltender
Jake Allen, Carter Hutton, Jordan Binnington

Notable Exemptions

Colton Parayko, Robby Fabbri, Zachary Sanford, Ivan Barbashev, Jordan Schmaltz

Key Decisions

Not many decisions to be made for St. Louis. In net, Jake Allen is the present and future and is a lock for protection. On defense, captain Alex Pietrangelo and veteran Jay Bouwmeester make up one of the top pairs in the league and are signed long-term. They’re not going anywhere. With young stalwart Colton Parayko exempt, his equally youthful pair Joel Edmundson, who is fresh off a strong sophomore campaign, is an easy choice for the third and final defensive spot.

Where things get a little less clear is at forward. Superstar Vladimir Tarasenko, line mate Jaden Schwartz, and long-time Blues Alexander Steen and Patrik Berglund, both of whom signed extensions this past season, are all as good as protected. After returning to St. Louis and having an outstanding season, David Perron is also likely safe, as is veteran leader Paul Stastny. Barring an unexpected decision regarding any of those six players, that leaves just one forward spot left. Heading into the 2016-17 season, that core also included center Jori Lehtera. However, the 29-year-old played in just 64 games this season scoring only 22 points, a major drop-off from the year before and a second straight season with steep decline. The salary cap-strapped Blues might not mind losing Lehtera and his two remaining seasons with a $4.7MM cap hit. After all, St. Louis did push to bring Vladimir Sobotka back from the KHL, a task they finally accomplished toward the end of the season, and Sobotka rewarded them with six points in 11 playoff games. It would certainly be strange to work so hard to bring the two-way ace back from Russia just to lose him to the Golden Knights for nothing. However, there are a handful of young players that St. Louis will have to consider as well, namely Magnus Paajarvi, Dmitrij Jaskin, and Nail Yakupov. Paajarvi has been in the NHL for seven years, but is still just 25. He’s never been able to carve out a full-time role with the Blue and Gold, but perhaps the team sees something in him. The homegrown Jaskin has also struggled to be a regular player for the Blues, but has certainly shown upside from time to time and only recently turned 24. Lastly, Yakupov, a former #1 overall pick, was acquired just last off-season from the Edmonton Oilers, but was never given a real role in St. Louis this year. Yakupov has a ton of potential, but the Blues are chasing a championship and may not be concerned with waiting around to see if he pans out at the cost of a true contributor.

Projected Protection List

Scheme: 7F/3D/1G

Forwards

Vladimir Tarasenko
Jaden Schwartz
Alexander Steen
David Perron
Paul Stastny
Patrik Berglund
Vladimir Sobotka

Defensemen

Alex Pietrangelo
Jay Bouwmeester
Joel Edmundson

Goalie

Jake Allen

It would simply be too strange to let a valuable, versatile player like Sobotka go after just re-gaining his talents. Vegas GM George McPhee would surely jump at the opportunity to add a player with Sobotka’s skills to his new team. There is less certainty surrounding a player on the decline in Lehtera or unproven commodities like Paajarvi, Jaskin, or Yakupov. For the Knights though, certainty is a luxury they can’t afford, as they will surely pick up several project players. Lehtera could provide some veteran leadership and solid player down the middle, but it seems more likely that talented player in need of more opportunity, like Jaskin or Yakupov, would be the choice. St. Louis will also expose two dependable veteran defenseman in Carl Gunnarsson and Robert Bortuzzo, both signed to reasonable contracts through 2018-19, but the Knights will see a lot of good defenseman in the draft and neither player really jumps out. Expect the pick to be a project forward, whose loss may not impact the Blues much, but could pay off well for Vegas.

Expansion| George McPhee| St. Louis Blues| Vegas Golden Knights Alex Pietrangelo| Alexander Steen| Carter Hutton| Colton Parayko| David Perron| Dmitrij Jaskin| Expansion Primer| Ivan Barbashev| Jaden Schwartz| Jake Allen| Jay Bouwmeester| Joel Edmundson| Jori Lehtera| Kyle Brodziak| Landon Ferraro| Nail Yakupov| Patrik Berglund| Paul Stastny

5 comments

Injury Notes: Goalie Pads, Stastny, Dumba

February 20, 2017 at 1:35 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee Leave a Comment

Since February 4th, every goaltender in the league has had to wear the new tighter fitting pants in games. While some goalies like Robin Lehner and Pekka Rinne have come out in favor of the new style, others are having difficulty adjusting. Eric Engels of Sportsnet spoke to both Carey Price and Al Montoya about them, who told him they are considering sending pictures of the new bruises they’ve suffered because of the lack of protection. Price in particular showed Engels that he got hit in the inside of his thigh with a shot, where there is almost no protection.

While it’s unclear if the two would actually send the pictures, it is a concern as the league moves forward with smaller equipment. With shots becoming harder and harder in the game, and players moving at a faster pace, protection of goaltenders is still a huge point of contention for the NHL and NHLPA. While the league (and many players) wants higher scoring and believe that reducing equipment would help that, safety is still of a high importance. When a player of Price’s caliber speaks out, the player’s union is sure to listen.

  • Paul Stastny is back in the lineup tonight for the St. Louis Blues after missing the previous four games with a  lower-body injury.  He’ll skate with Alex Steen and Vladimir Tarasenko tonight on a line that has found tremendous success in the past. Patrik Berglund will be the second line center besides Jaden Schwartz and Magnus Paajarvi, while Ivan Barbashev—who has impressed in his short time with the club—will move to the wing beside Jori Lehtera.
  • Mathew Dumba, who hasn’t played since February 10th is physically ready to play according to head coach Bruce Boudreau. The coach hasn’t committed to letting him play tomorrow against the Chicago Blackhawks, and since Jonas Brodin has returned recently he could play it a little slowly with Dumba to make sure he is at no risk of re-injuring himself.
  • Mike Chambers of the Denver Post reports that Erik Johnson and Rene Bourque both skated today at Colorado Avalanche practice. Both players were in red non-contact sweaters, but it is a good sign for them going forward. Bourque has just 13 points this season, but could be someone who could fill a bottom-six role on a contender if he can prove he’s healthy enough to contribute.

Bruce Boudreau| Colorado Avalanche| Injury| St. Louis Blues Al Montoya| Alex Steen| Carey Price| Jaden Schwartz| Jonas Brodin| Jori Lehtera| Patrik Berglund| Paul Stastny| Pekka Rinne

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Injury Updates: Rask, Krug, Carlson, Rielly, Gallagher

January 23, 2017 at 11:40 am CDT | by Zach Leach 1 Comment

After exiting the Boston Bruins’ 5-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins yesterday midway through the game with a migraine, Tuukka Rask was also not in attendance at practice today. The Bruins are losers of four straight games and have an important re-match with the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday, who they gave up a three-goal lead to last Wednesday en route to a shootout defeat. The last thing they can afford is to lose their best player this season, as Rask has been excellent with 22 wins, a .920 save percentage, and 2.11 goals against average, especially when rookie backup Zane McIntyre has struggled to adjust to the NHL thus far with an .860 save percentage and 3.95 goals against average. There has been no word on Rask’s availability for tomorrow night’s game and no recall has yet to be made, so Rask may just be taking the day off to rest and recover. The Bruins certainly hope that’s the case and they need their star keeper at full strength if they want to right the ship.

Torey Krug was another notable name who did not practice for the Bruins today. The speedy defenseman was the recipient of a bad hit yesterday by the Penguins’ Jake Guentzel (who deservedly got a boarding penalty). Not only did Krug continue playing, but he led all Bruins in ice time. That effort combined with a harsh hit likely earned him the day off today. Krug is tenth among NHL defensemen in points this season with four goals and 25 assists and is another player the Bruins cannot afford to lose right now. On a positive note, all of the Bruins other defensemen were full participants in practice today, including both Colin Miller and Kevan Miller who have missed the last few games with injury.

In other injury news around the league:

  • Another struggling team who needs a healthy roster is the St. Louis Blues. However, prominent contributors Jaden Schwartz and Jay Bouwmeester did not skate today. Schwartz took a shot to the inside of the knee in Saturday’s 5-3 loss to the Winnipeg Jets and was reportedly limping badly after the game. Bouwmeester remains out with a lower-body injury, though is considered day-to-day. Both players appear questionable to suit up for St. Louis against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
  • Capitals fans will be happy to hear that top defenseman John Carlson skated with the team today, but should not expect to see the big blue liner back in the lineup right away. With Washington rolling of late (11-0-2 in their last 13), the team can afford to ease Carlson back into the lineup. He has been ruled out for both tonight’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes and tomorrow’s against the Ottawa Sentors. He may play Thursday against the New Jersey Devils, but it seems likely that they will hold him out through the All-Star break to give him another week of rest.
  • Another defenseman on the mend is Toronto’s Morgan Rielly, who was a full participant at Maple Leafs practice today. While he’s been ruled out for tonight’s match-up with the Calgary Flames, coach Mike Babcock has left open the possibility that he could return before the All-Star break as the Leafs play twice later in the week.
  • The Montreal Canadiens were happy to have hard-working Brendan Gallagher back at practice today, but Habs fans should not hold their breath for a swift return. Gallagher still appears to be a ways out from game action, as he wore a white non-contact jersey and used a stick with no blade. Gallagher admitted that when returning from a similar injury to his left hand last year, he began shooting too soon and caused damage. The team doctors didn’t take that chance this time around, removing the blade to also remove the temptation. Even when he returns, Gallagher said he will likely have to wear protection on his hand for the rest of his career after multiple surgeries. An eight-week timeline was set for the gritty winger when he was injured at the beginning of January, so Gallagher could still be a month away from playing for the Canadiens again.

Boston Bruins| Injury| Montreal Canadiens| St. Louis Blues| Toronto Maple Leafs| Washington Capitals Brendan Gallagher| Jaden Schwartz| Jay Bouwmeester| John Carlson| Morgan Rielly| Torey Krug| Tuukka Rask

1 comment

Central Notes: Maurice, Colorado Trade Talk, Panarin, Toews, Schwartz

December 13, 2016 at 12:40 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 3 Comments

While there are some mitigating factors to their struggles, some of the blame for the struggles of the Winnipeg Jets this season has to fall at the feet of head coach Paul Maurice, argues Ted Wyman of the Winnipeg Sun.  After missing the playoffs last season, the Jets have only shown marginal improvements in offense (despite the presence of Patrik Laine whose 17 goals sit third league-wide) while their special teams play is largely the same; the power play is slightly better and the penalty kill is a little bit worse.

The Jets have had a tough schedule so far, leading the league in games played with 32.  As a result, they’re facing some lighter weeks ahead which Wyman suggests will be critical for Maurice’s future.  If they pick up their play and get back into the postseason hunt, that might be enough to demonstrate that he remains the right coach for the job.  If they don’t do that and some of the concerns continue (such as being one of the least discipline teams in the league), then questions about his future will certainly start to swirl.  Improved goaltending would certainly help as well as the Jets have a team save percentage of just .901, ranking them tied for 26th overall.

Other notes from the Central Division:

  • The Avalanche are looking to be active on the trade market, reports Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun. While it’s believed that GM Joe Sakic is not willing to move center Nathan MacKinnon, all other Colorado players could be open for discussion.  Garrioch suggests that the pressure is off of Sakic to win this season with the departure of Patrick Roy which could make them a team to watch between now and the trade deadline.
  • Chicago left winger Artemi Panarin is in some rare company, writes CSN Chicago’s Charlie Roumeliotis. With his goal against Dallas on Sunday, Panarin hit 100 points for his career, doing so in just 110 games.  Panarin is only the 27th player in league history to reach 100 points in that few of games.  Coincidentally, the last player to do so was teammate Patrick Kane.
  • The Blackhawks will have center Jonathan Toews return to the lineup tonight, reports Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times (Twitter link). The captain has missed the last nine games with a back injury but despite the layoff, he doesn’t anticipate having to play reduced minutes.
  • The Blues are shifting Jaden Schwartz to center tonight against the Predators, notes Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He has played primarily on the left wing this season but the swap allows St. Louis to load up their three top scorers on one line in Schwartz, Vladimir Tarasenko, and Robby Fabbri.  The move also allows Alex Steen to return to his natural left wing position, a spot he hasn’t played in more than a month.

Colorado Avalanche| Paul Maurice Artemi Panarin| Jaden Schwartz| Jonathan Toews

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Central Division Snapshots: Lehtera, Parise, Avalanche

December 3, 2016 at 8:30 pm CDT | by Glen Miller Leave a Comment

In his latest chat feature appearing in The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Jeremy Rutherford tackles an array of reader questions yesterday. A popular topic for Blues fans are the ongoing struggles of center Jori Lehtera, who St. Louis made a healthy scratch for this evening’s game against Winnipeg.

Lehtera posted a strong rookie campaign in 2014-15, finishing with 14 goals and 44 points in 75 games. He followed that up with a 34-point campaign last season, a noticeable drop off in output but still enough to convince the Blues to ink the 28-year-old Finnish pivot to a three-year deal with an AAV of $4.7MM. As Rutherford noted, the Blues might have been better off waiting another year to prove himself but the team decided to get that deal done so as to allow themselves to focus on re-signing David Backes and Jaden Schwartz. With just seven points in 20 games this season it’s looking like that extension may have indeed been premature.

Rutherford also believes it’s more likely now that the team will leave Lehtera unprotected and available to be taken by the Vegas Golden Knights in next June’s expansion draft. He projects the Blues will choose to protect 10 skaters – seven forwards and three blue liners – but has Lehtera and Ty Rattie as two the team will leave unprotected.

Elsewhere in the Central Division:

  •  Mike Russo of the Star Tribune reports that Zach Parise is indeed healthy, according to the team’s bench boss, Bruce Boudreau. There was concern after the veteran winger blocked a shot in the first period of Minnesota’s recent loss to Calgary. Boudreau described Parise’s skating as “sluggish” and “methodical,” in post-game remarks, which led to the questions pertaining to Parise’s health status. The long-time NHL coach did sit down with Parise along with winger Charlie Coyle, and plans to do the same with center Eric Staal to discuss the line’s recent struggles. As Russo notes, the line is pointless in its last two contests and the trio combined for just two even-strength shots in the Calgary game.
  • Lastly, Colorado GM Joe Sakic is sticking by the team’s core group despite a rough start to the 2016-17 campaign, writes Terry Frei of The Denver Post. The Avalanche are currently tied with Arizona for last place in the Western Conference and are seven points out of a playoff berth. With their season on the verge of slipping away, Sakic still expresses faith in his core – Matt Duchene, Gabriel Landeskog, Semyon Varlamov, Tyson Barrie, Erik Johnson and Nathan MacKinnon – and feels the team needs to play with more urgency in order to get their season back on track: “I have faith in them. But to me, the start is not a core thing; it’s a team thing. I think you see we’re trying to hold people accountable. We know we have certain guys who can give more, and those guys know they can give more, but it’s not like it’s a whole thing. We’re not as consistent as we need to be. We didn’t win two straight Cups and have that leeway. We have to play with that urgency every night on a consistent basis to be successful.” Sakic’s reluctance to break up the team’s core played at least some part in the division between the GM and former head coach Patrick Roy. Unless the Avalanche can turn things around relatively quickly, it’s going to look like Roy, and not Sakic, was correct in his assessment.

Bruce Boudreau| Colorado Avalanche| Expansion| Joe Sakic| NHL| Patrick Roy| Snapshots| St. Louis Blues| Vegas Golden Knights Charlie Coyle| David Backes| Eric Staal| Gabriel Landeskog| Jaden Schwartz| Jori Lehtera| Matt Duchene| Nathan MacKinnon| Semyon Varlamov| Ty Rattie| Tyson Barrie| Zach Parise

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Central Notes: Blues, Blackhawks, Predators

November 23, 2016 at 12:59 pm CDT | by natebrown Leave a Comment

The Blues offense have received a spark in their offensive production writes the St. Louis Dispatch’s Tom Timmermann. It’s been the shifting of lines that has opened up the scoring for the Blues, who were struggling to put the puck in the net. Timmermann reports that Hitchcock began tinkering with his lines after the second period began during their 4-2 vicotry over Boston, and success was born. Timmermann adds that Hitchcock is a big fan of Jaden Schwartz and Paul Stastny on a line and they’ve seen a bump in their production with the pairing. Timmermann also writes about Jake Allen’s dominance in net, stopping all 64 shots he’s faced in third periods dating back to November 3. In his last four games, Allen has allowed two goals or less, and has posted a .953 save percentage.

In other Central Division news:

  • Mark Lazerus writes that the Blackhawks’ stars are struggling on their long Circus Trip that takes them away from Chicago for seven consecutive games. Lazerus reports that while the bigger name players filed out of the locker room after a 5-0 loss to Edmonton, it was Corey Crawford who stayed to answer the tough questions for the teammates who have been bailed out several times by his performances this season. Lazerus goes on:

Jonathan Toews hasn’t scored a goal in seven games, and hasn’t had a point in all four games on the trip. Patrick Kane hasn’t scored on the trip, and has one goal in his last seven games. After his blistering start, Artem Anisimov has no goals and one assist in his last six games. Artemi Panarin — who is emerging as one of the Hawks’ most important players, given his line’s consistently great possession numbers, and given the way he has rejuvenated Marian Hossa the same way he elevated Kane’s play last season — has just one goal in his last six games.  Even Richard Panik, who actually led the NHL in goals through six games, hasn’t scored in 14 games, and is pointless in his last 10.

About the only one who Lazerus feels is pulling his weight on the trip is Hossa, who has helped the Hawks through a tough road trip where they’ve managed to come back several times from large deficits and poor performances.

  • The Nashville Predators stunned the hockey world when they acquired P.K. Subban and according to the defenseman’s parents, the change has not been as simple as people thought it would be. Adam Vingan writes that the transition to Nashville has been made simpler because Montreal wasn’t always the best fit for him. But it doesn’t completely cushion the shock that Subban felt when he was dealt. His parents are both confident that he will acclimate to his new surroundings because P.K. is one who “never halfheartedly tackles life’s problems.”
  • In other Preds news,  Matt Carle and Cody Bass were waived tweets Chris Johnston. Carle was signed to a one-year deal for $700K back in July. Cody signed a two-year deal back in June.

Chicago Blackhawks| Dallas Stars| NHL| Nashville Predators| Players| St. Louis Blues Artemi Panarin| Jaden Schwartz| Jake Allen| Jonathan Toews| Marian Hossa| Matt Carle| P.K. Subban| Patrick Kane| Paul Stastny

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Injury Notes: Schwartz, Crosby, Hartman, Bitetto, McGinn

October 15, 2016 at 3:57 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

St. Louis forward Jaden Schwartz has started skating as he continues to recover from an elbow injury sustained late in September, Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.  While he will accompany the team on their road trip to Western Canada early next week, he still isn’t ready just yet to return to the lineup.

Schwartz was originally expected to miss at least a month with the injury and it’s about halfway into that timeline currently.  Head coach Ken Hitchcock doesn’t have a firm expectation of when Schwartz should return to the lineup but it would appear he’s pretty much on schedule at this time.

With the departures of David Backes and Troy Brouwer this offseason, Schwartz will be expected to take on a larger role in the offense for the Blues this year.  In an injury-riddled 2015-16 campaign, he had 22 points in 33 games but put up point totals of 63 and 56 in the previous two seasons.  St. Louis inked him to a five year, $26.75MM extension back in July.

Other injury news and notes from around the league:

  • Penguins center Sidney Crosby skated on his own for the fifth straight day after being diagnosed with a concussion back on Monday, Sam Werner of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes. Head coach Mike Sullivan is encouraged by Crosby’s progress but there remains no timetable for his return to game action.  He has yet to receive the green light to participate in contact drills.
  • Chicago right winger Ryan Hartman suffered a lower body injury in a goalmouth scramble in just his second shift in Friday’s loss to Nashville, Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times notes. Head coach Joel Quenneville didn’t provide a projected timeframe for his return but added that Hartman will “miss some time”.  The 22 year old has a goal and an assist in two games so far this season.
  • Predators defenseman Anthony Bitetto suffered an upper body injury in a fight against Nashville’s Jordin Tootoo on Friday night. He left the game and did not return.  Thomas Willis of the Predators website reports (via Twitter) that he will not play tonight.  Instead, Yannick Weber will make his season debut.  Bitetto is expected to be re-evaluated on Monday.
  • Coyotes left winger Jamie McGinn will have to wait a little while longer to make his regular season debut with Arizona as he continues to recover from an upper body injury, AZ Central’s Sarah McLellan notes via Twitter. Head coach Dave Tippett said he remains day-to-day and that it’s questionable that he will travel with the team for their upcoming Eastern Conference road trip next week.

Injury Anthony Bitetto| Jaden Schwartz| Jamie McGinn| Ryan Hartman| Sidney Crosby

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Injury Notes: Janmark, Ekblad, Schwartz, Fabbri, Nosek

September 29, 2016 at 3:51 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

Dallas center Mattias Janmark was spotted leaving the arena today on crutches, Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News was among those to report.  No update has been provided on his condition although one is expected later today.

The Stars have been bit hard by the injury bug early on with center Cody Eakin (knee), right winger Ales Hemsky (groin), and center Tyler Seguin (heel) all down already.

Janmark had a solid rookie campaign last season, scoring 15 goals and 14 assists in 73 regular season games while averaging 14:10 per game.  He had a slightly bigger role in the postseason, recording two goals and three helpers in 12 contests while logging 14:41 per night in ice time.

Dallas has one of the strongest and deepest forward groups in the league but it is getting put to the test early on.

Other injury news and notes:

  • Florida defenseman Aaron Ekblad was dealing with whiplash and not a concussion from a hit sustained as the World Cup of Hockey, writes George Richards of the Miami Herald. The symptoms from the neck issue mimicked those of a concussion, causing the early confusion.  Ekblad was given the green light to return to practice on Wednesday.
  • Blues left winger Jaden Schwartz suffered a minor upper body injury (believed to be a hand/wrist issue) in practice today, report Tom Timmermann and Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Schwartz will be held out through the weekend for precautionary reasons.  From the same report, Robby Fabbri (upper body) missed his fourth straight day of practice but is believed to be close to being able to return.
  • Detroit center Tomas Nosek has started skating as he continues to recover from a knee injury, notes Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press. Nosek got into six games with the Red Wings last season and will likely see time as an injury recall during the year if he doesn’t earn a spot in training camp.  He sustained the injury in a collision with teammate Steve Ott in a scrimmage game.

Injury Aaron Ekblad| Jaden Schwartz| Mattias Janmark| Robby Fabbri| Tomas Nosek

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Snapshots: Schwartz, Ottawa Affiliates, Burns, Rangers

September 26, 2016 at 4:54 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

Although he returned to the lineup for the playoffs last season, St. Louis forward Jaden Schwartz was far from 100% healthy when he came back, he told Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  With a full offseason to heal up, Schwartz feels he has much more mobility in his previously injured ankle now:

“It was pretty locked up, so you’ve got to get a lot of soft-tissue work and get a little bit more movement and strength and there’s things that you do for that to try to get it back as close as you can to what it was before. It helps skating and all around it feels better.”

Schwartz played in just 33 regular season games last season, scoring eight goals and 14 assists.  Despite playing at less than 100%, he fared a bit better in the playoffs, recording four goals and 10 helpers in 20 contests while logging nearly a minute per game more than his regular season average.

With the departure of David Backes and the continued uncertainty surrounding Vladimir Sobotka, head coach Ken Hitchcock noted that the Blues are likely to test out Schwartz at center (along with youngster Robby Fabbri) during the preseason.

Other news from around the hockey world:

  • The Ottawa Senators will be moving their AHL affiliate to Belleville, Ontario for the 2017-18 season. At a press conference today, owner Eugene Melnyk confirmed that the Sens have purchased the ownership for their farm team in Binghamton, NY and have signed an eight year agreement.  Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun notes that the move still requires approval from the AHL’s Board of Governors but that there shouldn’t be any issues there.  This will mark the second pending move by a Canadian team already for next season as the Montreal Canadiens announced earlier this summer that their farm team will move to Laval to begin play in 2017-18.
  • While the San Jose Sharks and Brent Burns’ agent (Ron Salcer) are in discussions regarding a contract extension, TSN’s Bob McKenzie reports that talks are not close to being at an advanced stage at this time and that there is no indication that they are nearing a deal. Burns is currently pegged to be the top unrestricted free agent next offseason if the two sides can’t lock down an extension.  Last week, we took a closer look at what it might cost to keep Burns in San Jose on a long-term deal.
  • Rangers GM Jeff Gorton considered making significant changes to their roster this offseason, writes Justin Tasch of the New York Daily News. Instead, he opted to make only one notable trade involving the core, dealing away Derick Brassard to the Senators in exchange for Mika Zibanejad.  Gorton noted that the team has had a fair amount of playoff success in recent years and believes that some in the organization have more faith with the current team than those outside the team do.

New York Rangers| Ottawa Senators| Snapshots Brent Burns| Jaden Schwartz

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Blues Notes: Steen, Shattenkirk, Hutton

September 24, 2016 at 12:15 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee Leave a Comment

When David Backes left the St. Louis Blues this offseason, they saw one of their longest tenured player and leaders depart without much fanfare. Backes slipped into free agency and landed a big deal with the Boston Bruins to work down in their lineup and give them some secondary scoring and two-way play.  With Backes gone, the Blues decided to lock up one of their other cornerstone forwards, giving Alex Steen a four-year extension on Friday.

As Matt Larkin of The Hockey News opines in his latest column, it was Backes’ departure that made it necessary to lock up Steen and not completely turn the keys over to the new wave of St. Louis stars (namely Vladimir Tarasenko and Jaden Schwartz). To do it, they may have overpaid slightly. Larkin emphasizes Steen’s checkered injury history when discussing the terms, and he’s right to do so. Steen hasn’t played in 80+ games since 2006-07 when he was with the Maple Leafs, and indeed has only suited up for more than 70 twice in his eight-year Blues career.

  • Kevin Shattenkirk was going to be traded. There were no doubts in his mind that at the draft or during free agent frenzy he’d be on the move out of St. Louis. It just made too much sense to everyone involved. As Louie Korac of NHL.com writes however, Shattenkirk didn’t get dealt and is very excited about it. “The grass isn’t always as greener. It’s a cliché, but it kind of fits in this sense. Don’t just leave to leave, make sure that it’s a good fit for you. St. Louis has been a great fit ever since I stepped foot here, ” Shattenkirk says, when talking about the potential trade. He also notes that being given the alternate-captain role for this upcoming season (the Blues named Alex Pietrangelo their newest captain) was a huge moment for him, as he’d been dreading a phone call from GM Doug Armstrong during the trade rumors. Even though he wasn’t dealt this summer, don’t think the rumors will go away – an elite talent on an expiring contract is exactly the type of player that moves at the trade deadline.
  • When the Blues signed Jake Allen to a huge extension, and dealt Brian Elliott to the Flames they needed a new full-time backup for the upcoming season. Carter Hutton, the man who eventually was given that job, says it was a no-brainer to come to St. Louis. After three years with Nashville, the 30-year old backup puts it simply: “It’s one of those things. If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.”  Hutton has faced the Blues six times in his career and is 0-2-3 with an .882 save percentage and 3.42 GAA.

Boston Bruins| Calgary Flames| Dallas Stars| Free Agency| Injury| NHL| St. Louis Blues| Toronto Maple Leafs Alex Pietrangelo| Alex Steen| Brian Elliott| Carter Hutton| David Backes| Jaden Schwartz| Jake Allen| Kevin Shattenkirk| Vladimir Tarasenko

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