- For the second straight game, Blues starting goaltender Jake Allen will be a healthy scratch. Tom Timmerman of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that backup Carter Hutton will get the start tomorrow night after third-stringer Pheonix Copley started last game; Copley will back up Hutton. Allen is scheduled to start on Thursday, after what coach Ken Hitchcock called a week of “tech workload.” Allen has really struggled this season, with his SV% dropping below 0.900 after posting a 0.920 in 47 games last season. Allen begins a four-year, $17.4MM contract extension next season.
- Staying in the Central Division, the Dallas Stars announced via Twitter that Radek Faksa will miss the next two games with a lower-body injury and superstar center Tyler Seguin is questionable for tomorrow’s game with an illness. Seguin has quietly had a good season so far, with 45 points in 48 games. Meanwhile, Faksa has improved his point totals in his sophomore season with 22 points in 48 games, after posting 12 points in 45 games in his rookie year.
- A day after clearing waivers, Drew Miller has been loaned to the Grand Rapids Griffins. However, as Dana Wakiji of DetroitRedWings.com writes, Miller could be back up with the big club quickly because of recent injuries to Dylan Larkin and Thomas Vanek. Miller has has five goals and an assist in 34 games with the Red Wings, after re-signing him to a one-year, $1.025MM contract in July.
- The San Jose Sharks will get rookie Timo Meier back after missing two games with an upper-body injury. The 2015 ninth-0verall pick will play with Melker Karlsson and Tommy Wingels on the Sharks’ fourth line, according to Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. Meier has two goals and four points in 15 games with the Sharks, and 15 points in 17 game with the San Jose Barracudas of the AHL. Meanwhile Tomas Hertl is travelling with the team but will not play tomorrow night.
Jake Allen
Blue Notes: Shattenkirk, Copley, Allen, Coaching
Much digital ink has already been spilled on the St. Louis Blues and defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk.
As our Brian La Rose wrote yesterday, most hockey insiders believe Shattenkirk is committed to becoming an unrestricted free agent this summer. However, the Blues are not looking like a serious contender, having lost six of their last 10 games. Goaltender Jake Allen is sporting an ugly 0.897 SV% in his first year as the Blues’ starter.
TSN’s Bob McKenzie appeared on TSN Edmonton radio on Friday morning and suggested the Blues could raise their asking price for Shattenkirk by talking to him and his agent to find out his ideal landing spot. The Blues could facilitate contract talks before completing the rare sign and trade, meaning the new team could get Shattenkirk on an eight-year contract and the Blues can get a higher price for the offensive defenseman compared to trading him as a rental.
The Blues may not be opposed to that option, as they did something similar at last year’s NHL Draft. The Arizona Coyotes and Edmonton Oilers were both granted permission to speak with Shattenkirk. The Coyotes reportedly made some progress, but the Oilers were told Shattenkirk wasn’t interested in signing long-term. Had he expressed interest in signing in Edmonton, it’s entirely possible that Taylor Hall could have been a St. Louis Blue instead of a New Jersey Devil.
According to Darren Dreger, Shattenkirk could have interest in signing long-term with Anaheim, Boston, Colorado, Detroit, New York (Rangers), San Jose, and Toronto. The Rangers are believed to be the front-runners at this time.
- The Blues have recalled Pheonix Copley from the Chicago Wolves. Copley is 11-4-1 with a 0.920 SV% with the Wolves. Neither of the Blues’ current goaltenders are injured, but Allen and Carter Hutton have the worst combined SV% in the NHL at 0.895.
- On their morning roundtable, ESPN insiders discussed the pros and cons of the Blues’ two-coach system. Ken Hitchcock is in his final year while Mike Yeo was brought in to eventually replace him; both men are behind the bench this season, however. While they agree that neither the coaches nor the system are to blame for the Blues’ struggles, Pierre LeBrun wonders “whether [Hitchcock] will last the rest of the season if the Blues keep producing uneven results,” especially considering his replacement is already in place.
Extension Candidates: 2017 Restricted Free Agents
After Artemi Panarin signed a two-year extension earlier today that will pay him $6MM per season and take him right up to unrestricted free agency, the RFA pool for this summer got a little bit smaller. Other extensions that have already been signed include Aaron Ekblad (Eight years, $60MM), Jake Allen (Four years, $17.4MM) and Victor Hedman (Eight years, $63MM).
Even though these big names are already locked up long-term, there are a ton of other restricted free agents that will be negotiating extensions between now and July 1st. Here are a few big names who become RFAs this summer.
Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton: The former third-overall pick who once scored 192 points in 29 German junior-league games, has broken out this season with 31 points in 36 games. Already coming off a 50 point season, this 70 point pace puts him in elite territory up front. Only 21 years old, the Oilers will be looking to lock him up long-term to ride shotgun with Connor McDavid well into their peak years.
Alex Galchenyuk, Montreal: Another third-overall pick who put up a 50+ point season a year ago, Galchenyuk was off to a brilliant start before going down with injury early this month. Because he’ll be out for another month at least, Galchenyuk won’t rush into a contract that may not be representative of his development. This one might head into the summer, but if he comes back strong perhaps the two sides can come together before what looks like a long playoff run.
David Pastrnak, Boston: Not quite the same situation faces Pastrnak, who before this year showed promise but hadn’t played a full season in the NHL. With 26 points already he’s about to set his career-high and has a chance at a 40-goal season. Boston has a lot of money already tied up long-term in their forward group, with David Krejci, Patrice Bergeron, David Backes and Brad Marchand all under contract through at least 2020-21. They may not be able to afford buying out UFA years this summer, meaning a one or two year pact is more likely.
Central Notes: Blues, Blackhawks, Predators
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.
Blues Notes: Fabbri, Hutton, Gunnarsson
After scratching former first-overall pick Nail Yakupov for three straight games, St. Louis Blues head coach Ken Hitchcock will now sit down another highly regarded forward according to Lou Korac of NHL.com. Yakupov will dress tonight in place of Robby Fabbri, the Blues’ first-round pick from 2014. Hitchcock explained his decision (via Korac):
You have to make a decision whether you want to be in the group of 14, or you want to stay in that top 9 or 10.
It’s all connected to tenacity…goals and assists I don’t look at.
This will be the first time in his (albeit short) career that Fabbri will be a healthy scratch, after having a successful rookie campaign last season. The 20-year old scored 18 goals and 37 points playing most of the year as a teenager and looked like a future star in the league. Though this obviously doesn’t mean much for Fabbri’s future, sitting him in the press box is a strong message that they need more from him; he’s currently sitting on just four points in 14 games.
- The team announced that Carter Hutton will be in net tonight when they take on the Nashville Predators, his old team. Hutton spent the past three seasons with the club, recording a 33-23-12 record and strong .910 save percentage. After the Blues dealt Brian Elliott to the Flames this summer, they were in need of a backup to Jake Allen and Hutton fit the bill perfectly. The 30-year old took a little longer to develop, but is now showing his worth; he’s carrying a .926 through four games.
- The Blues have recalled Chris Butler for tonight’s game due to some lingering injuries on the back end. As Korac reports, it’s just precautionary should anyone not be able to go after the warmups. Hitchcock singled out Carl Gunnarsson as the most noticable injury. Butler has played eleven games for the Chicago Wolves of the AHL this season, recording two points and eight penalty minutes.
Calgary Begins Negotiations With Brian Elliott
After a season-long debacle in net last year, the Calgary Flames have re-built their goaltending situation by bringing in Chad Johnson and Brian Elliott to work between the pipes. Now, they’ve already started work on a long-term solution to the problem with the latter of the two.
According to Andy Strickland of Fox Sports, the team has begun extension negotiations with Elliott on a new deal. The 31-year old has just one season remaining on his current contract, and would become an unrestricted free agent next summer.
After beginning his career in Ottawa, the former ninth-round pick found great success in St. Louis, where he started 164 games with a 2.01 GAA and .925 sv%. Twice he was in the top 10 in Vezina trophy voting, and was a huge part in the Blues recent regular season success.
While the Blues have moved on and locked up Jake Allen long-term, the Flames will try and have Elliott backstop their squad for at least the next few years. With his success, he should be able to negotiate a substantial raise from the $2.5MM he’ll earn this year.
The Flames have ten other players who will become free agents (of some sort) next summer, making it a turning point for a franchise if they so wish. They also have Johnny Gaudreau to re-sign even now, as the 2016-17 season creeps ever closer.
Blues Notes: Steen, Shattenkirk, Hutton
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.
Snapshots: Blues, Hall, Seguin
The St. Louis Blues will have a vastly different look this season after a summer of big changes. In an online chat on the St. Louis Post-Dispatch website, Jeremy Rutherford chatted about some of the differences Blues fans can expect this coming season.
Regarding the Brian Elliott trade, Rutherford believed Blues GM Doug Armstrong made the trade to avoid losing him for nothing next summer when Elliott is a UFA. While the trade could go wrong if Jake Allen struggles or gets hurt, the trade makes sense, asset-management wise.
Former captain David Backes left town for a bigger contract in Boston; while Backes claimed Bruins forwards Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand convinced him to sign in Boston, Rutherford shut down that idea saying players will sign wherever is best for them and that if the Blues had offered Backes a fifth year, then it wouldn’t have mattered what Bergeron and Marchand said. As far as replacing Backes as captain, Rutherford felt it was safe to assume one of the remaining assistant captains (Alex Pietrangelo and Alex Steen) would be the new captain. The new assistant would likely be one of Paul Stastny, Jaden Schwartz, and Vladimir Tarasenko – who Rutherford believed was “pretty disappointed to not get an A last year”.
Here are some other notes from around the hockey world:
- It’s New Jersey Devils day on Pro Hockey Talk, and they have named Taylor Hall as their player under pressure this season. Adam Gretz justified the choice by saying while he knows Hall will produce, he’ll be under scrutiny because of the perception that he’s at fault for the Oilers misfortunes over the last six years and the high price that the Devils parted with to acquire him. Oscar Klefbom’s comments about Hall and Ben Scrivens subsequent agreement will also be weighing on Hall as he looks to prove his former team and teammates wrong.
- Speaking of top picks from the 2010 NHL Draft that Peter Chiarelli has traded, Dallas Stars center Tyler Seguin says he’s ready to go for the upcoming World Cup in September. Seguin missed all but one of the Stars playoff games with Achilles and calf injuries. Seguin told Steve Hunt of NHL.com it’s been “a bit of a different summer as far as training-wise just coming off an injury, but feeling great and looking forward to the World Cup”.
Central Notes: Blues, Jets, Predators
Jake Allen is the undisputed #1 goalie in St. Louis writes Jeremy Rutherford as the Blues are no longer looking to platoon the position. After being a tandem with Brian Elliott, who was dealt to Calgary, Allen is now the top goaltender in the organization. General manager Doug Armstrong, goalie coach Jim Corsi, and assistant manager Martin Brodeur believe that it’s Allen’s turn, and like many other clubs around the league, are willing to hand the reins to a younger netminder.
- While the Winnipeg Jets recently signed 2016 second overall pick Patrik Laine to an entry level deal, it’s the organization’s 2015 draft pick who is looking to make a stride within the organization. The Winnipeg Sun’s Ken Wiebe writes that Kyle Connor, a Hobey Baker finalist, is ready to take the next step as an NHL player. Connor spent last season with the University of Michigan and scored 35 goals in just 38 games. He also notched 71 points. Though the ice is crowded with forwards for the Jets, Connor is confident that if he does the right things, the impact he made at Michigan will be similar in Winnipeg.
- The Tennessean’s Adam Vingan writes about the impact of newly acquired P.K. Subban and how the larger than life defenseman will have no problem fitting into his new surroundings. While many speculated that Montreal bench boss Michel Therrien and Subban were at odds because of a personality clash, Vingan reports that Nashville coach Peter Laviolette is of a similar no-nonsense mentality. The difference, Vingan writes, is that the Preds stand to benefit from Subban’s “on the edge” and also takes chances, something he feels benefits the Predators style of play. Vingan goes further by quoting NHL Network analyst Kevin Weekes, who stated that Subban wanted to be with an organization that values him. Weekes added that he thought “there are so many similarities between a place like Nashville and P.K.”
Victor Hedman Signs Eight-Year Extension With Tampa Bay
The turning of the calendar into July also means that players under contract for just one more season can officially negotiate contract extensions. We already saw it with Jake Allen earlier today, and now the top 2017 UFA defenseman is off the board.
Victor Hedman has re-signed with Tampa Bay for eight seasons, according to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet. The 25-year old will earn $7.875MM annually, starting in 2017-18.
For the Lightning, this is the second huge contract extension of the last few days, following the Steven Stamkos deal on Wednesday afternoon. They have now guaranteed that their two best players will be playing with each other until 2023. With both players under contract for less than $17MM combined, GM Steve Yzerman has set up his club for long term success.
In Hedman, the Lightning are re-signing one of the best defensmen in the league. Since going second overall in the 2009 draft, Hedman has been a mainstay on the blueline, logging over 20 minutes a night since he was 19. The last few years have seen an increase in offensive production as well, with his point totals climbing to 55, 38, 47 in the past three seasons.
Generally regarded as an elite possession defenseman, Hedman is still only 25 and is probably going to continue to improve. There may be Norris trophies in the future for this Swede, as he follows in countryman Nicklas Lidstrom’s footsteps as a positionally sound, physical-when-he-needs-to-be shutdown defenseman.