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Quotable: Crosby, Wheeler, McDavid

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Sidney Crosby didn’t start 2015-16 the way he wanted. Through his first 30 games, the Pittsburgh Penguins captain had only 19 points, and was struggling to a -7 rating. Crosby had never finished a season with fewer points than games played, but it looked like he was in danger of putting up the worst season of his career.  It wouldn’t happen, as Crosby would remind the world why he is one of the best players in the world, finishing with 85 points on the season and trailing just Patrick Kane and Jamie Benn for the league lead.

In an enlightening article for SI.com yesterday, Crosby writes about his struggles last season and how much the media and fan reaction got to him.

…when the media repeats the same questions — particularly when the team isn’t winning consistently — you already know that whatever is being said out there, it isn’t good. You can feel the atmosphere in the arena and see the look in people’s eyes. It’s hard not to hold the stick a little bit tighter. It’s hard not to want to fix it all with one big game. It’s hard not to over-think and over-work and try to make perfect plays instead of just playing.

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Snapshots: Seguin, Injury Impact On Red Wings Roster

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Dallas Stars center Tyler Seguin believes the Stars window to win is wide open writes The Hockey News’ Ryan Kennedy. A healthy Seguin makes Dallas a favorite Kennedy reports and with Jiri Hudler now in the fold, the Stars are quietly stronger.

Seguin believes that the second round loss to St. Louis will only intensify the “appetite” for the team to win. From Kennedy:

“A lot of it has to do with that experience,” he said. “Getting that taste in your mouth of winning a playoff round, losing a playoff round, getting closer and knowing what that feels like. Knowing the atmosphere. We’ve got that taste now.”

Seguin’s health comes at a crucial time as Jamie Benn is currently recovering from his own injury. Kennedy writes that the key to the Stars’ success comes with both Benn and Seguin being on the ice together.

Speaking of injuries:

  • The Detroit Red Wings crossed two names off the list for the near future as Niklas Kronwall and Tomas Jurco are both injured and will most likely not be ready for the beginning of the season. Jurco has a back injury, aggravated during off season work outs and aside from the 4-6 weeks off and then shelved for another month following. Jurco’s absence creates a roster spot in the Red Wings current logjam at forward. Without Jurco until what appears to be late October or early November, it provides a chance for a young forward to step up in his place. While Jurco is still young himself, the winger struggled last season to find his footing on the roster. More interesting in all of this injury talk is that after speaking with Dan Rosen, Ken Holland felt that Kronwall was healthy and feeling better. Then came today’s news of Kronwall not playing in the World Cup of Hockey, and perhaps sitting longer. This provides an interesting situation for the Red Wings, a team apprehensive to place trust in younger players. Without Kronwall, and without making a deal to grab the top four defenseman Holland seeks, the Wings are now forced to consider younger players like Xavier Ouellet and Ryan Sproul to step into the spot.

World Cup Roster Changes: Keith, Bouwmeester, Kronwall, Lindholm

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Earlier today Hockey Canada added St. Louis Blues defenseman Jay Bouwmeester to its World Cup team to replace Chicago blue liner Duncan Keith. Keith is still not 100% as he continues to rehab from a right knee injury suffered last season. Blackhawks team physician, Dr. Michael Terry, had this to say about Keith’s recovery:

“As Duncan continues offseason rehabilitation on the right knee injury that he sustained last season, we understand his decision not to participate in next month’s World Cup of Hockey. We believe it is in his best interests to focus on getting stronger and not risk further injury.”

Bouwmeester joins Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Jake Muzzin as the only left-handed shooters on Canada’s blue line. That’s likely the primary reason Bouwmeester was chosen over right-handed options such as Kris Letang and P.K. Subban. It was also somewhat surprising that Bouwmeester was added over Mark Giordano of the Flames.

Giordano tallied 21 goals and 56 points while playing a full slate of games for Calgary. He has developed into one of the league’s best offensive defenseman over the last three seasons and like Bouweester, is a left-handed shot.

Bouwmeester, conversely, recorded just 19 points and was had a plus-minus rating of -4 in 72 games for the Blues. In all probability, Hockey Canada favored Bouwmeester’s extensive experience representing his home country. He was a part of the 2004 World Cup-winning team and also won a gold with Team Canada at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

This is the second change in as many days to Team Canada’s roster. Yesterday, Logan Couture was added to replace Jamie Benn.

Team Canada is obviously still going to be one of the tournament’s favorites but if there is a weakness, it may well be the team’s blue line.

Elsehwere, Anaheim Ducks defender Hampus Lindholm, currently a RFA, has been named to Team Sweden to replace Niklas Kronwall. Kronwall is still recovering from knee surgery performed in January.

Lindholm, 22, scored 10 goals and 28 points last season for the Ducks and is considered one of the up-and-coming young defensemen in the league. He’ll join an excellent blue line group anchored by Erik Karlsson from Ottawa and Victor Hedman of Tampa Bay.

Sweden is expected, along with Team USA, to be one of the biggest threats to Canada’s chances in this tournament. In addition to an excellent defense corps, Sweden will have Henrik Lundqvist between the pipes. Up front they have plenty of skill led by the Sedin twins, Daniel and Henrik, Filip Forsberg and Nicklas Backstrom. Obviously Sweden boasts a formidable roster with plenty of talent.

Logan Couture To Replace Jamie Benn At World Cup

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After undergoing core muscle surgery earlier this summer, Jamie Benn will not play for Canada at the upcoming World Cup of Hockey in Toronto.  Instead, Logan Couture will join the team in his place.

Benn was originally given a six-week timeline for his injury recovery, endangering his World Cup status. Six weeks will have passed this Thursday, but that doesn’t mean that Benn is at the level necessary to play in a tournament of this nature.  He’s still expected to be ready for the start of the regular season.

Couture will edge out a group of talented forwards headlined by Corey Perry and Taylor Hall for Benn’s roster spot, after a spectacular playoff run with the San Jose Sharks last season. The 27-year old put up 30 points in the postseason, almost matching his output for the entire season after battling injury – one that almost cost him his leg.

As Dan Rosen of NHL.com points out, with the swap of Benn for Couture, Team Canada trades one of their few remaining wingers for another center. Brad Marchand is now the team’s only true winger, though many have played there at times during their careers.

Couture will be joining fellow Sharks Joe Thornton, Brent Burns, and Marc-Edouard Vlasic on Team Canada, while Tyler Seguin now remains as the only member from the Dallas Stars to make the team. Seguin was also presumably set to skate alongside Benn, and will now be matched with other linemates.

Dallas Stars Notes: Niemi, Lehtonen, Nichushkin

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The Dallas Stars surprised many by taking the Central Division crown and finishing with the most points in the Western Conference in 2016-17, just one season removed from missing the postseason entirely. Their success was driven primarily by the most prolific offense in the league as Jamie Benn (41), Tyler Seguin (33) and Jason Spezza (33) led the way with hugely productive seasons. However, while the team had no problem putting the puck in the opposition’s net, they did have plenty of issues keeping it out of their own. Along those lines, Jason Brough of Pro Hockey Talk writes that the club’s “biggest question mark” entering the new season remains between the pipes in Big D.

Antti Niemi and Kari Lehtonen combined to stop just 90.6% of the shots they faced during the regular season a year ago. Lehtonen (90.6%) ranked 38th and Niemi (90.5%) 40th overall among qualified net minders in that category. They were even worse come playoff time with neither goalie able to stop 90% of the shots against.

The Stars were thought to be considering the possibility of acquiring another goalie, with Ben Bishop named as one possibility but it’s not clear whether any substantive talks with the Lightning or any other club ever took place. Nevertheless, Jim Nill seems confident his goaltending tandem will rebound enough to give the club at least capable play between the pipes. Each has had success in the recent past and it wasn’t that long ago that Niemi backstopped the Chicago Blackhawks to a Stanley Cup so there is some reason for Nill’s optimism.

For more on the Stars…..

  • In a separate piece for Pro Hockey Talk, Brough identifies Stars winger Valeri Nichushkin as being “under pressure.” Despite playing on the most prolific offensive team in the league, the 21-year-old Nichushkin struggled, netting just nine goals in 79 regular season contests. He followed that up with a lone point, an assist, in 10 playoff games. Nichushkin, the 10th overall selection in the 2013 entry draft, has a ton of ability and as veteran scorers Patrick Sharp and Ales Hemsky each enter the final years of their respective contracts, the club may well need the young Russian to step into one of those spots sooner rather than later.
  • Revisiting the goaltending situation in Dallas, Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News addressed a reader’s question on the subject as part of a recent chat. Specifically, Heika was asked how much salary the Stars would need to retain in order to facilitate a trade of one of Niemi or Lehtonen. Heika speculated that any team that would look to acquire either goalie would want Dallas to keep 50% of the player’s salary on their books. On the other hand, Heika says that GM Jim Nill doesn’t seem too keen on the idea and would rather hang on to the duo in the hope that one or both can rebuild value with solid 2016-17 performances. At this point it seems most likely that the Stars will at least open the season with Niemi and Lehtonen manning the net. But should they again scuffle and with plenty of teams perhaps willing to move a goalie prior to the 2017 expansion draft, Dallas could look to upgrade the position ahead of the trade deadline.

 

Salary Cap Report: Central Division

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As the hockey world takes its collective breath before the World Cup, training camps, and the regular season, most teams have checked off their boxes and marked their ledgers. Some teams are not finished building their rosters, with RFAs still to sign and trades to explore. Some teams have plenty of space to maneuver with; other teams will need to get creative to stay under the cap.

We’ll complete our Salary Cap Reports by taking a look at the Central Division. Of note:

  • The Central Division has the two highest paid players in the NHL in Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews. The Blackhawks captain and leading scorer signed matching eight-year, $84MM extensions in the summer of 2014.
  • After June’s blockbuster trade, the NHL’s highest paid defenseman is now in the Central: P.K. Subban and his $9MM cap hit are now members of the Nashville Predators. The Predators also have the highest paid goalie in the division, with Pekka Rinne making $7MM per season.
  • With Dallas captain Jamie Benn signed to a long-term extension already, there aren’t any superstar pending-UFAs in the Central, but veteran scoring wingers Patrick Sharp and Alex Steen are both up at the end of this season. Calder Trophy winner Artemi Panarin and Ryan Johansen headline next summer’s RFAs.

By the numbers:

Also in the Salary Cap Report series: Atlantic Division, Metropolitan Division, and Pacific Division.

Snapshots: Nyquist, Bishop, Benn

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The Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James reports that Red Wings forward Gustav Nyquist expects to bounce back following a disappointing 2015-16 campaign. Nyquist failed to reach the 20 goal mark for the first time since becoming a Wings regular. After being counted on to step up as one of the core players, Nyquist’s production slipped with 43 points (17-26) and just one goal in five playoff games. Though St. James believes Nyquist could recover with a new assistant coach in John Torchetti, she also writes that the 26-year-old Swede could be packaged in a deal to acquire a defenseman. With the Red Wings logjam at forward and Nyquist’s disappointing return last season, it’s a realistic scenario with forward Tomas Tatar due a hefty raise following the 2015-16 season.

In other NHL news:

  • The Hockey News’ Jared Clinton indicates that Ben Bishop believes he’ll be ready for the World Cup of Hockey. Clinton recaps the injury that torpedoed the Lightning’s attempt at a second straight Stanley Cup Final appearance, but writes that Bishop does feel better and plans on taking his recovery slow. Even if he does recover in time, Clinton reports that Bishop could easily be the third option behind Jonathan Quick and Cory Schneider.  Entering his final season in Tampa, Bishop could be shuttled to another team or kept as an insurance option during the post-season. Arguably a pre-season favorite to win the Stanley Cup, Bishop could once again backstop a deep run in the playofs should he remain healthy.
  • Clinton also reports that Dallas Stars’ forward Jamie Benn should also be ready for the World Cup of Hockey after undergoing surgery for a core muscle injury. While Benn believes he will suit up for the Canadian squad, Clinton writes that the Stars will have final say, especially after they inked their captain to an eight-year, $76MM extension.

West Notes: Klefbom, Henderson, Benn

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In a translated interview with Ola Winther of Hockey Sverige (Sweden), Oilers’ defenseman Oscar Klefbom was quoted talking about Taylor Hall and the impact he made last season: “He (Hall) never played his best games against the tougher teams, which we really needed it. However, he was fantastic when we met the little inferior teams.”

While this quote obviously might have been slightly lost in translation, the overall sentiment of it has been shared many times over recently by fans and media alike surrounding Hall’s exit from Edmonton. As seems to be the building tradition when a star player is traded or leaves in free agency, Hall’s weaknesses have drawn more focus than his strengths, despite his obvious offensive talent.  New Jersey won’t be focusing on the weaknesses however, as they’ve created a solid young group of forwards that will be capable of putting up vast amounts of points next season.

For a team who ranked dead last in goals for last season, the Devils will take some defensive lapses to get Hall’s elite scoring ability. For the record, Hall scored 23 points in 28 games (0.82 PPG) against teams who finished in the top-10 of the league last season. He had 42 in the remaining 54 (0.78 PPG).

  • In saddening news related to last season’s Dennis Wideman incident, there is now some doubt that NHL linesman Don Henderson will be able to continue his career on the ice. According to Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe, friends close to the situation have told him that Henderson underwent surgery to repair two ruptured disks in his neck, and is unsure whether he’ll officiate another NHL game. The friend is quoted as saying “He attacked him from behind, the puck was nowhere near the two of them, and now Henderson’s career may be finished. I don’t see much difference between what he did and Wayne Maki cracking his stick over Teddy Green’s head.’’ Wideman is still involved in a dispute over the suspension that was shortened by an arbitrator last season.
  • Many teams hoped that Jamie Benn was headed for free agency after next season, but after the Dallas Stars’ captain re-signed for another eight years, he’s sure to be in green for a while. Benn told Mike Heika of The Dallas News that he “didn’t have even one thought of leaving this place. I fell in love with Dallas, Texas ever since I got down here.”  Benn ranked second in scoring last season, and has three straight 30-goal seasons.  He’s under contract now through 2024-25, and should go down as one of the best Stars of all-time, should he continue his current path.

The Richest Contracts In NHL History

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Friday was a very busy day for Jamie Benn.  First, he underwent surgery to repair an injured core muscle that leaves his availability for Team Canada at the World Cup in question.  Then the good news for him came in the form of an eight year, $76MM extension that makes him the highest paid player in team history.  It’s one of the richest deals in league history but falls just short of the top-10 of all time, at least in part.  Here’s a closer look at the priciest NHL deals ever.

1) Alex Ovechkin (13 years, $124MM) – Following his entry-level deal, Ovechkin essentially signed a two-pronged extension, one for six years at $9MM per season and then another at seven years and $10MM per year.  While you can’t call his contract a bargain, he has been one of the NHL’s top players for many years and is expected to continue to do so for a long time to come.

2) Shea Weber (14 years, $110MM) – Offer sheets have been few and far between in recent years but Weber was the most prominent to receive one as the Flyers inked him to a heavily frontloaded one in the summer of 2012.  Interestingly enough, offer sheets cannot contain any trade restrictions which likely played a role in Weber’s trade to the Canadiens last month.

3) Sidney Crosby (12 years, $104.4MM) – Prior to the current CBA which set a term limit of eight years on any contract, Crosby inked a highly frontloaded deal to stay with the Penguins until he’s 38.  The extra money up front was enough to keep Crosby at an $8.7MM cap hit, matching his sweater number.

4) Ilya Kovalchuk (15 years, $100MM) – New Jersey’s second attempt at a Kovalchuk deal in the summer in 2010 was enough to avoid another cap circumvention penalty.  That’s really the only good news that came from it as just three years later, Kovalchuk ‘retired’ to return to play in the KHL.  The Devils are dealing with a salary cap recapture penalty of $250K until 2024-25.

5) Alexei Yashin (10 years, $87.5MM) – This was an outright disaster for the Islanders, who inked Yashin to this deal back in 2001. He failed to come close to expectations and wound up being bought out with four years left on the deal at a cost of over $17.6MM.  On top of that, the Isles traded Zdeno Chara and the draft pick that yielded Jason Spezza as part of the package to land Yashin.

6) Vincent Lecavalier (11 years, $85MM) – Tampa Bay was hoping they had a fair deal with their franchise player at the time when they signed him to this deal back in 2009.  However, like Yashin, he struggled under the weight of the new deal while injuries took a toll as well.  The Lightning bought him out in 2013 and are in the midst of paying him over $32.6MM not to play for them through 2026-27.  Lecavalier retired earlier this offseason.

7/8) Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews (8 years, $84MM) – Chicago inked their two superstars to identical contracts two years ago, a year before each were eligible for unrestricted free agency.  The Blackhawks continue to find ways to stay under the cap for now but that could become more of a challenge if the salary cap continues to stay close to where it is now as the years progress.

9) Anze Kopitar (8 years, $80MM) – Back in January, the Kings reached this deal with their new captain to avoid the risk of losing him to free agency this summer.  Kopitar has been Los Angeles’ most consistent forward for many years now and should remain their franchise forward for many years to come.

10) Jaromir Jagr (7 years, $77MM) – Washington signed Jagr back in 2001 to what was the richest deal in league history at that time.  However, the lockout in 2004-05 introduced a 24% rollback just two years into the contract which cost Jagr over $21.5MM in salary.  Jagr, now 44, is still going strong in the NHL and signed a one year, $4MM guaranteed deal with Florida in May.  He could also earn another $1.515M in games played and award bonuses.

If you take Jagr’s deal off because of the subsequent rollback, Benn’s new $76MM contract as well as Evgeni Malkin’s current identical pact with the Penguins become tenth on the all-time list.

Stars Re-Sign Jamie Benn To Eight-Year Deal

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As reported by the team, the Dallas Stars have re-signed Jamie Benn to an eight-year deal worth approximately $9.5MM AAV. Mark Stepneski confirmed the dollar amount via Twitter. Stephen Whyno tweets that the total amount of the deal is $76MM. This was confirmed in the Stars’ press release.

The Stars captain will be paid handsomely after posting back to back 30+goal seasons. In 2014-15, Benn registered 87 points (35-52) and then followed it up in 2015-16 with an 89 point season (41-48). In 13 playoff games, Benn had 15 points (5-10).

The 26-year-old winger will get a $4.25MM raise from the $5.25MM he was making per season through 2015-16. This also makes him the highest paid player on the team, and one of the highest in the league. Only four other players make more per season–Patrick Kane ($10.4MM), Jonathan Toews ($10.4MM) Anze Kopitar ($10MM) and Alex Ovechkin ($9.54MM). Evgeni Malkin also makes $9.5MM AAV.

Earlier today, it was reported that Benn would miss six weeks to repair an injured core muscle.

Dallas Stars Depth Chart

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