Central Notes: Campbell, Yakupov, Avalanche, Nashville Injuries
Although defenseman Brian Campbell wound up declining a bigger contract offer from Florida both in terms of years and dollars, he told George Richards of the Miami Herald that he has no regrets about spurning that in order to return to Chicago:
“I’m smiling now, I’m happy. I don’t look back and I know I made the right decision when I signed here. I did it for my family and for myself as a hockey player. Hopefully I have a bunch of years left but I want to make the most of them.”
Back in June, GM Tom Rowe offered Campbell a two year, $8MM deal in the hopes that negotiations would ensue from there. However, the 37 year old had his heart set on going back to Chicago where he and his family kept a summer home there despite the fact that he had been traded from the Blackhawks back in 2011. Given that Chicago is perpetually hovering right near the salary cap though, they weren’t able to come close to matching Florida’s initial offer; he wound up for signing for a $1.5MM guarantee and a $750K games played bonus, one that has already been achieved.
Campbell is playing a smaller role than he had with the Panthers as his average ice time is down over three and a half minutes per game from last season. However, he has been a quality contributor so far for the Blackhawks in a depth role, picking up eight points in 24 games while logging a regular role on the power play.
Elsewhere in the Central Division:
- Although he has been a healthy scratch in seven of the last 12 games, St. Louis GM Doug Armstrong still stands by his acquisition of Nail Yakupov, writes Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Armstrong feels that the low acquisition price (a conditional third round pick and ECHL prospect Zach Pochiro) makes the move a worthwhile gamble, even if Yakupov only plays a sparing role. He also highlighted the recent play of right winger Dmitrij Jaskin as one of the reasons that Yakupov hasn’t played as much recently. Still, it’s fair to wonder if the former number one overall pick in 2012 could be in need of another change of scenery given that his $2.5MM cap hit is steep for the depth role Yakupov currently has.
- Colorado prospect left winger Sam Henley will make his NHL debut tonight against Columbus, reports Terry Frei of the Denver Post. Henley, an undrafted free agent signing back in 2014, has just four points in 19 games this season with AHL San Antonio but the team is interested in his ability to kill penalties as they’re set to take on the number one power play in the league. Gabriel Bourque, another checking forward, will also make his season debut and should see time on the penalty kill as well.
- The Predators have downgraded the status of left winger James Neal from day-to-day to week-to-week, The Tennessean’s Adam Vingan notes. He suffered an upper body injury against Winnipeg last week. Also, defenseman Anthony Bitetto, who just last week returned after missing 18 games with an upper body injured, suffered a broken hand on Tuesday and will be back on the shelf for another six weeks.
Central Division Snapshots: Arvidsson, Blues, Hawks, Johns, Oduya
Nashville Predators forward Viktor Arvidsson is establishing himself as a legitimate top-six forward in the league with a strong early performance in Music City. In a feature on the team’s official NHL.com website, John Glennon writes that Arvidsson, after going undrafted on two separate occasions before finally going in the fourth-round of the 2014 entry draft, is exceeding any expectations associated with someone of that pedigree.
The Swedish winger saw significant action during the 2015-16 campaign, appearing in 56 regular season games and all 14 postseason contests, but only flashed his on-ice abilities. Arvidsson tallied just eight goals and 16 points last year but through 20 games this season, the 24-year-old has nearly matched that level of production with six goals and 13 points. He’s on pace to register 20-plus goals and eclipse the 50-point plateau, which is production commensurate with a top-six forward.
After going undrafted in both the 2012 and 2013 entry drafts, Arvidsson worked hard in his native Sweden to turn himself into an energy player:
“When I got up to the Elite League in Sweden, they wanted me to work on my strength and stamina so that I could play at a high level every game and every shift. I worked really hard, and I think it helped me a lot. Since then, I’ve been an energy player. Before that, I was kind of an average player.”
Glennon compares Arvidsson to a popular former Predator, tough guy winger Jordin Tootoo, in that despite playing different styles, there is a “buzz” generated when they are on the ice.
Earlier this season, Arvidsson graduated to the team’s top line with center Ryan Johansen and winger James Neal. He’s currently fifth on the club in scoring and second behind only Neal in shots on goal with 61.
Arvidsson is just another example that procuring NHL talent is an inexact science at best. Quality players often go undrafted but with hard work can become regulars in the NHL.
Elsewhere in the Central Division:
- Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch provides updates on a couple of injured Blues. According to Rutherford, Alexander Steen returned to practice Saturday but it’s still unclear when he’ll return to action. Steen has missed the last five games due to an upper-body-injury. Meanwhile, the news is more optimistic for blue liner Joel Edmundson. He also returned to practice Saturday but Blues bench boss Ken Hitchcock indicated the 23-year-old defender could be ready to return to game action next week.
- After a 3 – 3 – 1 start to the campaign, the Chicago Blackhawks have turned their fortunes around, winning 11 of their last 16 decisions and accumulating 24 of a possible 32 standings points. This is despite boasting the league’s worst penalty kill, which allows nearly three goals for every 10 opportunities. The team has fared much better at even strength with a +13 goal differential in five-on-five man situations. But, as Chris Hine writes for the Chicago Tribune, the team feels as if they need to be even better. Head coach John Quenneville believes the team needs to generate more offensive opportunities at even strength: “We haven’t given up much five-on-five, but we haven’t generated what we’re looking for. A lot of games we’re neutralized (five-on-five), be it the neutral zone or both zones.”
- Lastly, Mike Heika of The Dallas Morning News discusses the juggling that Stars head coach Lindy Ruff is having to do with the team’s blue line. Dallas has eight NHL-caliber defenders on the roster but obviously can only dress six on any given night. Johnny Oduya is currently on IR with a lower-body-injury but Ruff has still found it difficult to get Stephen Johns into the lineup. Consequently, the team assigned Johns to their AHL affiliate to get some game action this weekend. Johns scored three goals in two games for Texas, earning a quick recall to the big club. Meanwhile, Oduya appears to be nearing a return, according to Heika.
Predators Make Handful Of Roster Moves
The Nashville Predators appear to have lost three key regulars to upper-body-injuries and to take their places the club has recalled four from Milwaukee of the AHL. James Neal, Ryan Ellis and Colton Sissons all missed either all or part of the team’s game Friday and each sat out practice today, according to the team’s official website. Jim Diamond, who covers the Predators for the AP, tweeted that the players were all listed on IR on the NHL media site.
Robby Stanley, the team correspondent for NHL.com, reported via Twitter that the team recalled forwards Kevin Fiala, Frederick Gaudreau and Michael Liambas along with blue liner Petter Granberg.
The loss of Neal is a particularly tough one for the Predators. The veteran winger leads the team in goals with 10 and his 15 points rank second on the team.
Ellis is one of the team’s top defenseman, averaging the third most ice time among skaters on the team. He has nine points in 19 games and is a plus-six on the season.
Fiala, one of Nashville’s top prospects, has appeared in 10 games this season with the Predators and has two goals. He has tallied two goals and eight points in seven AHL contests.
Liambas is known more for his toughness than for his skill. He has just one goal but 29 penalty minutes in 16 contests with Milwaukee. The 5-foot-10, 195-pound winger was originally signed as an undrafted free agent by the Chicago Blackhawks in July of 2015. The 27-year-old has yet to appear in an NHL game during his career.
Gaudreau played in one game earlier this season, the first NHL action of his career, seeing nine minutes of ice time and failing to register a point. He has nine points in 15 games for the Admirals.
Granberg appeared in a career-high 27 games last season with Nashville, recording two assists while averaging 13:43 of ice time. The 24-year-old was selected by Toronto in the fourth-round of the 2010 entry draft but was lost to Nashville on waivers last year. In 16 games for Milwaukee, Granlund has not registered a point.
Injury Notes: Zatkoff, van Riemsdyk, Little
After news broke earlier today that Jeff Zatkoff had injured himself in practice, and would be unable to continue, rumors swirled about how long the netminder would be out. While an exactly length hasn’t been given, Zatkoff has been placed on injured reserve and been replaced by emergency call-up Jack Campbell from the Ontario Reign.
To fill in for Campbell on an emergency basis, the Reign will dress Dusty Imoo tonight to back up his son Jonah Imoo. The elder Imoo is a goaltending coach for the Reign and was one the Olympic starter for Japan at the 1998 Nagano Olympics. He hasn’t played in a professional hockey game in almost a decade, when he skated for the Oji Eagles of the Asian League. The 46-year old will be cheering on his 22-year old son, who will be making his AHL debut.
- According to Joel Quenneville of the Chicago Blackhawks, Trevor van Riemsdyk will not need surgery following his shoulder injury suffered Friday night. Instead, the defender will be out about a month rehabbing. Van Riemsdyk played all 82 games for the Blackhawks last season, notching three goals and fourteen points. The 25-year old was expected to be a big part of their blueline this season.
- Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun spoke to Jets head coach Paul Maurice today, who said he still doesn’t have a definitive timetable on the return of Bryan Little, but should know more next week. Little was injured after a collision with the Hurricanes’ Bryan Bickell, and is out indefinitely.
- The Nashville Predators have come down with food poisoning, according to Adam Vingan of the Tennessean, causing them to call up five players on an emergency basis. Austin Watson, Frederick Gaudreau, Harry Zolnierczyk, Trevor Smith and Juuse Saros have all been brought up from the Milwaukee Admirals to play if some of the regulars can’t go. As James Neal said “We were going down pretty hard last night, I’ve never seen that many guys get sick.
Snapshots: ELC Bonuses, Neal On Subban, Nichushkin
The contact of the newest member of the New York Rangers is now confirmed. Jimmy Vesey will make the maximum allowable salary for a rookie: a base salary of $925K with $2.85MM in signing and performance bonuses. Vesey is just the fifth college player to sign for the maximum amount, according to Cap Friendly. The other four are Tyler Bozak with the Maple Leafs in 2009, Justin Schultz with the Oilers in 2012, Corban Knight with the Flames in 2013, and Vesey’s soon-to-be teammate Kevin Hayes in 2014.
There are 22 total players who have signed the maximum rookie contract since the first salary cap was instituted more than a decade ago. In addition to the five college players, the list includes all 13 first overall picks since Alex Ovechkin, notable second overall picks Evgeni Malkin and Jack Eichel, and two players who came from the KHL in Evgeni Kuznetsov and Sergei Plotnikov.
Here are some other notes from around the NHL:
- Predators sniper James Neal is looking forward to playing with his new teammate P.K. Subban, instead of against him. Neal told the Predators website that Subban is “a guy that gets under your skin, and plays the game well when he’s under a guy’s skin.” Neal is entering his third season with the Predators, having scored 54 goals and 95 points in his first two seasons.
- Mark Stepneski, writer for the Dallas Stars official website, reports that negotiations between the team and restricted free agent (RFA) winger Valeri Nichushkin are continuing. Nichushkin has struggled to build on a decent rookie season; he tallied 14 goals and 34 points in 79 games, but has only posted 30 points in the next 87 games after missing all but eight games of his sophomore season.