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Minnesota Notes: Free Agent Targets, No-Trade Lists, Rau, Mittelstadt

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In a loaded article for The Athletic today, Michael Russo addresses the Minnesota Wild’s plans for the off-season with new GM Paul Fenton through his first draft and ready for free agency. While Russo speculates that the Wild could look more toward the trade market than the UFA market this summer, he does name a few player who he feels the team has interest in and are likely to be good fits. Among those named are top-six scorers – and two of the biggest names on the market – James Neal and David Perron of the Vegas Golden Knights, as well as two-way contributors Michael Grabner and Jay Beagle. Russo also adds that the team is likely to take a look at upgrading the backup goalie position. Perhaps the deepest free agent position group this summer is at #2 netminder, where some of the league’s best backups from last season, several veteran former starters, and a few young keepers in need of a change compose a large group of possibilities. The Wild used Alex Stalock as their primary backup in 2017-18 and he performed well enough, but the veteran still has a year left on a two-way contract and the team could easily stash him in the AHL if they can woo a superior option to Minnesota.

  • While the following information could frighten fans of the Wild, particularly given the team’s interest in exploring the trade market, don’t be too alarmed. Russo reports that Fenton has requested updated No-Trade lists from starting goaltender Devan Dubnyk, top-pair defenseman Jared Spurgeon, and top scorer Eric Staal. However, Russo believes that this is just a formality that the new GM wanted to get out of the way. With Minnesota expected to be a playoff team again next season, it is very unlikely that any of these three star players are likely to be traded any time soon.
  • Russo believes that fan-favorite local product Kyle Rau is unlikely to test the free agent market is instead close on a two-year extension with the Wild. There has been no official word on the contract, but Russo believes it is a done deal. A former “Mr. Hockey”-winning Minnesota high school phenom and a star at the University of Minnesota, Rau signed as a free agent with the Wild last summer after two years with the Florida Panthers. Although he only played in three games with Minnesota this season, he was an offensive force with AHL Iowa, posting 50 points in 69 games. The 25-year-old forward would likely draw some interest on the open market, but seems more inclined to re-sign and fight for a roster spot with the Wild
  • Over at Rau’s alma mater, the University of Minnesota, the Gophers hope that they have two more future stars on the way. John and Luke Mittelstadt, the younger brothers of former Gopher and top Buffalo Sabres’ forward prospect Casey Mittelstadt, have announced their commitments to the university. John, 16, is a forward who produced well in his first season at Eden Prairie High School and Luke, 15, is a defenseman who will be a freshman at Eden Prairie in the fall. Like brother Casey, the Mittelstadt’s are undersized and not elite athletes, but make up for it with tremendous skill and hockey sense. They will arrive at Minnesota in 2020 and 2021, respectively, and will join the likes of Blake McLaughlin, Bryce Brodzinski and others on a top program that has been gaining some major commitments over the past few months.

Free Agent Focus: Minnesota Wild

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Free agency is now less than a month away from opening up and there are quite a few prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign. Here is a breakdown of Minnesota’s free agent situation.

Key Restricted Free Agents: F Jason Zucker — Zucker has put himself into a great position, posting career numbers in a contract season. Two years ago, Minnesota handed him a two-year prove-it deal, which he certainly has responded to. After the 26-year-old posted 22 goals in 2016-17, he responded with 33 goals this year. In fact, he posted personal bests in games played with 82, goals, assists with 31, points with 64, power play goals with seven and shots with 222. Now a three-time 20 goal scorer and a one-time 30-goal scorer, the team must decide whether it intends to give him a long-term contract, which won’t be that easy considering the team has little room under the cap. His lack of playoff success is also a factor as he’s scored just four goals in 31 career playoff games and just one in the last three years. Regardless, after making $2MM, Zucker should get quite a pay raise.

D Mathew Dumba — The Wild also have another key restricted free agent they must lock up as well as Dumba also has stepped up his game in a bigger role this season. While the blueliner averaged 20:20 of ATOI in the 2016-17 season, it increased even more as Dumba averaged 23:49 of ATOI this season. He picked up several personal bests, including games played (82), goals (14), assists (36) points (50) and shots (176). Most importantly, he took on the role as the team’s No. 1 defenseman when filling in for both Ryan Suter and Jared Spurgeon, who both missed time at the end of the season. So now, after finishing up a two-year bridge deal at $2.55MM AAV, he is in line to get a big payday as well from Minnesota.

Other RFA’s: F Adam Gilmour, D Dylan Labbe, G Steve Michalek, D Ryan Murphy, D Nick Seeler.

Key Unrestricted Free Agents: F Matt Cullen — Fortunately for the Wild, their unrestricted free agent issues aren’t as important than their restricted free agents. The 41-year-old Cullen put up a solid season in his second trip to his hometown state, posting 11 goals and 22 points in a bottom-six role. The real question is whether Cullen even wants to return for another season in the NHL. He has already played in 1,445 career games and has little more he needs to accomplish. He took a long time to decide last year whether he wanted to return as he didn’t sign with Minnesota until August of last year. Now with changes in management, do the Wild even want him back. He wouldn’t be too expensive as it’s likely he would make something around the $1MM offer he made last year.

F Daniel Winnik — Another depth option for Minnesota, the Wild must decide if they want to bring Winnik back after a one-year deal at $660K. The 33-year-old veteran played in 81 games for the Wild as a bottom-six wing. While averaging 13:34 of ATOI, he struggled to produce points, putting up just six goals on the season. With little productivity in hits and just a 44.7 percent faceoff percentage with 199 faceoffs taken, he didn’t provide as much as the team had hoped other than veteran and playoff leadership.

Other UFA’s: F Patrick Cannone, F Kurtis Gabriel, D Alex Grant, F Zack Mitchell, D Zach Palmquist, F Kyle Rau, D Kyle Quincey.

Projected Cap Space: With a lot of heavily-laden contracts on the books as well as re-signing several of their restricted free agents (don’t forget about Seeler either), there is little cap room to work with at the moment. CapFriendly has them with $7.4MM in available cap space. Don’t be shocked, however, that new general manager Paul Fenton makes some trades to shake up the team, which hopefully will free up some of their cap space and give the team an opportunity to compete for more than just making the playoffs in the near future.

Snapshots: Luongo, Johansson, Spurgeon

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Although his salary is set to be cut in half for next season and the fact that he recently turned 39, Florida goaltender Roberto Luongo has no intention of retiring, he told reporters, including Jameson Olive of the Panthers’ team website.  While the netminder still has four years on his contract left after this one, it’s highly unlikely he plays for all of those considering that the combined salary for those seasons is $7MM; for comparison, he made nearly $27MM the past four years.  Not surprisingly, this is a contract that is still subject to salary cap recapture if he happens to retire before his contract finishes.  Luongo is coming off an injury-riddled season but played quite well when he was in the lineup, posting a .929 SV%, his best mark since 2003-04.

Elsewhere around the league:

  • Although he has been cleared to participate in a full practice, it appears that Devils center Marcus Johansson is slated to be a scratch for their playoff opener on Thursday night, reports Abbey Mastracco of The Record. The 27-year-old has been out of the lineup since suffering his second concussion of the season back on January 23rd.  While his production had dipped prior to the injury, his return to full health should be a boost for New Jersey as they get set to take on Tampa Bay.
  • While the Wild will be without blueliner Ryan Suter for their postseason run, they are getting closer to getting a key defender back in the lineup. John Shipley of the Pioneer Press notes that Jared Spurgeon made it through a full practice for the second straight day but head coach Bruce Boudreau is calling him a game-time decision for Wednesday’s game against Winnipeg.  Spurgeon tore his hamstring back on March 13th and was initially diagnosed to be out for a minimum of a month so it appears he is right on schedule.  If Spurgeon can’t play in Game One, Shipley suggests that Ryan Murphy will make his postseason debut instead.

Snapshots: World Championships, Wild, Mariners

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Jeff Blashill will once again be the head coach of Team USA at the upcoming World Championships, with Dan Bylsma, Don Granato and Seth Appert joining him behind the bench. Blashill coached last year’s squad to a fifth-place finish, but he’ll be getting some star power this time around.

Patrick Kane has announced that he will suit up for the tournament, and he will serve as captain of Team USA. Alex DeBrincat will also be joining Kane for the US squad, a nice reward after an outstanding rookie season that saw him lead the Blackhawks with 28 goals.

  • The Minnesota Wild have recalled Carson Soucy, and expect him to be in the lineup for Game 1 of their Western Conference playoff series against the Winnipeg Jets. They might get another huge boost on the blue line though, as Jared Spurgeon was back on the ice today at practice. Spurgeon hasn’t yet been cleared to return to game action, but was paired with Soucy at practice and will attempt to get into the lineup for Wednesday’s match.
  • The New York Rangers have signed an affiliation with the Maine Mariners of the ECHL that will start in 2018-19. The Rangers had previously been affiliated with the Greenville Swamp Rabbits, but will now have both of their minor league partners—their AHL affiliate is the Hartford Wolf Pack—located in the northeast.

Injury Notes: Bruins, Suter, Johansson, Callahan, Antipin

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For a team having the success that they have had, the Boston Bruins are also at the top of the Atlantic Division despite suffering through countless injuries throughout the season. While many of those players like David Backes and Patrice Bergeron have done a nice job of working their way back at different points in the season, the injuries continue to pile up.

The team lost defenseman Brandon Carlo to injury as he was taken off on a stretcher Saturday with a leg injury and while there is no official word on the specifics or the severity of the injury, NBC’s Joe Haggerty tweets that head coach Bruce Cassidy said it’s probably serious and it is likely that he could miss the playoffs. Add to that, veteran Riley Nash, who took a puck to his head in Saturday’s game. According to Boston Globe’s Fluto Shinzawa, Nash required 40 stitches in and around his ear.

“You know what? That’s what it is this year and how it’s going to be,” said Bruce Cassidy (via Haggerty). “It’s become a bit of our fight song. We can do it with guys going in and out, and other guys stepping up. It’s worked out well in terms of how the guys have responded.”

On a positive note, the team got back winger Jake Debrusk, who kicked in two goals and an assist Saturday and veteran defenseman Zdeno Chara is playing today. However, the team is still without defenseman Charlie McAvoy, who could return Tuesday, according to Haggerty.

  • StarTribune’s Sarah McLellan writes that Minnesota Wild veteran defenseman Ryan Suter will be out indefinitely after suffering a foot injury during Saturday’s game against Dallas. The 33-year-old went down during the second period when his foot awkwardly collided against the boards after taking a hit from the Stars’ Remi Elie. It’s another blow for the Wild, who had previously lost Suter’s partner Jared Spurgeon who went down with a hamstring injury more than two weeks ago. The Wild currently hold the third playoff spot in the Central Division, but need some key wins in the coming days to hold onto that spot. Suter averages 26:46 of ATOI, which is second in the NHL. He has six goals and 51 points, which is tied for his career-high.
  • The New Jersey Devils announced they have activated Marcus Johansson off of injured reserve Sunday. The winger has been out with a concussion since Jan. 23. He is expected to be in the lineup today with Montreal. After acquiring the 27-year-old from Washington in the offseason, Johansson has been plagued by injuries as he’s only appeared in 29 games for the Devils putting up five goals and nine assists this season.
  • NHL.com’s Bryan Burns tweets that veteran winger and penalty killing specialist Ryan Callahan is expected to return today after being out with an upper body injury. The 33-year-old has missed the past five games since being injured on March 22 against Toronto. Callahan has four goals and 15 points in 63 games this season.
  • The Buffalo Sabres announced the defenseman Victor Antipin has been diagnosed with a concussion after taking a hit Saturday from Nashville’s Scott Hartnell. He also suffered facial lacerations, a broken nose and dental injuries. He is out indefinitely.

Jared Spurgeon Out Four Weeks With Torn Hamstring

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The Minnesota Wild have been dealt a crushing blow with the announcement that Jared Spurgeon will be out for a minimum of four weeks after partially tearing his right hamstring on Tuesday night. Spurgeon had to be helped off the ice after slipping and falling awkwardly into the boards. Michael Russo of The Athletic tweets that the next week is very important in the healing process and could determine when Spurgeon is ready to return.

Spurgeon is one of Minnesota’s most important player, though he still lacks some recognition league-wide. The 28-year old defenseman logs a ton of ice time for the Wild and has 37 points on the season. He trails only Ryan Suter in both powerplay and penalty kill time, and leads the team in blocked shots.

For the Wild, losing a defenseman of Spurgeon’s ability this late in the season could have devastating effects. The team is currently in third place in the Central Division, but after losing to the Colorado Avalanche last night are now just three points ahead of them and the Dallas Stars, and only five points removed from missing the playoffs entirely. Though they obviously have the inside track on a playoff spot, it is by no means locked up.

The Wild have recalled Ryan Murphy and Zack Mitchell after announcing the injury.

Tampa Bay’s Ondrej Palat Out Indefinitely

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The Tampa Bay Lightning will be without one of their top forwards as Tampa Bay Times writer Joe Smith reports that forward Ondrej Palat went back to Tampa for further medical testing and is out indefinitely after being speared by Minnesota Wild’s Jared Spurgeon in the third period of Saturday’s 5-2 loss.

Despite having the best record in the league at 31-12-3, the Lightning have been struggling of late, having lost three in a row and five of their last seven games. The loss of Palat will not help the slumping team, especially while Tampa Bay is on an eight-game road trip, which started Saturday in Minnesota. The 26-year-old Palat has eight goals and 22 assists this year in 46 games. He has one goal and four assists in the team’s last five games despite their struggles.

The Tampa Bay Lightning announced they have recalled center Matthew Peca and wing Michael Bournival from the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL. The 24-year-old Peca has been having a solid season with Syracuse with eight goals and 23 assists in 42 games and was recently named as an AHL All-Star. He leads the team in both assists and points. The 25-year-old Bournival has 13 goals and 14 assists in 40 games with the Crunch. He already has 108 career NHL games under his belt between Tampa Bay and the Montreal Canadiens.

Injury Notes: Spurgeon, Devils, Matthews, Couture, Josefson, McQuaid

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The Minnesota Wild activated defenseman Jared Spurgeon today off of injured reserve and is expected to play tonight against the Chicago Blackhawks, according to Michael Russo of The Athletic (subscription required). Spurgeon had been rumored to be returning after having missed nine games with a groin injury. The team had already sent defenseman Ryan Murphy back to Iowa yesterday to make room for Spurgeon.

The 28-year-old blueliner has three goals and 12 assists in 23 games this year. He is not expected to rejoin partner Ryan Suter right away, however. Mathew Dumba filled in for Spurgeon while he was out and the combination of Suter and Dumba has worked well for the Wild as Dumba’s play has improved since the change.

  • The New Jersey Devils are closing in on being fully healthy, according to northjersey.com’s Andrew Gross. Both Taylor Hall and Kyle Palmieri are expected to play in Monday’s game against the Anaheim Ducks. Hall has missed the past two games with a knee contusion, while Palmieri will be activated off of injured reserve after missing 12 games with a broken right foot. There is also a possibility, although Gross said it’s slim, that winger Marcus Johansson could also play Monday after missing three games with an ankle bruise. If not, then he will be expected to return on Thursday against the New York Rangers. All three players practiced Sunday.
  • Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews (possible concussion) is starting to slowly work his way back. The 20-year-old center skated for 20 minutes Sunday, but did not practice with the team, according to TSN’s Kristen Shilton. She added that coach Mike Babcock is not sure when he’ll be able to play, but added there are no plans to shut him down for a stretch either.
  • The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz tweets that San Jose Sharks leading scorer Logan Couture will miss Monday’s game against Edmonton at minimum after sustaining a head injury in Friday’s game against Vancouver. The Mercury News’ Paul Gackle tweets that head coach Peter DeBoer confirmed Couture suffered a concussion and remains day-to-day. In a separate story, Gackle writes the team will be in trouble if Couture injury keeps him out of the lineup for an extended period of time.
  • NHL.com’s Jourdon LaBarber writes that Buffalo Sabres center Jacob Josefson practiced today with the team and hopes to be ready to play soon after missing 24 games with an ankle injury. Josefson did attempt to come back on Nov. 22 and played two games before re-injuring his ankle. The 26-year-old has only managed to play in nine games for Buffalo after signing a one-year, $700K deal in the offseason. Coach Phil Housley said he will be re-evaluated on Monday. Josefson has one goal and one assist in the nine games he’s played in.
  • Boston Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid might be ready as soon as Monday from a broken fibula he suffered on Oct. 19, according to NHL.com’s Michael Tolvo. The veteran has missed 24 games since then. “I don’t know if Monday he’ll be cleared, but he is close,” added head coach Bruce Cassidy. “He is getting close. He has practiced with us, so it is imminent for him. I just don’t want to pinpoint an exact date.”

 

Minor Transactions: 12/16/17

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It’s an action-packed day in the NHL with eleven games on tap, including the NHL 100 Classic, an outdoor re-match of the first game in NHL history back in 1917 between the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators. With some teams focused on games tonight, others focused on preparing for the upcoming week, and a pair of teams focused on what will likely be their most important game of the season, there promises to be some transaction action across the league today:

  • The New Jersey Devils have reassigned Nick Lappin to the AHL’s Binghamton Devils in a move that likely means more than its face value. Lappin played in two games with New Jersey on this most recent recall – his first two NHL games of the season – and looked impressive in both outings. Lappin was involved in the offense, even contributing a goal in last night’s win over the Dallas Stars, and played well in an energy role. The former Brown Bear has also been on fire in the AHL, with 12 goals in 23 games. His demotion, if not for performance, must be an indication that the Devils are adding another healthy body to the lineup. With Taylor Hall, Kyle Palmieri, and Marcus Johansson all banged up, the loss of Lappin is likely good news that one or more of that talented trio is ready to return.
  • The Dallas Stars announced they have sent forward Jason Dickinson to the Texas Stars of the AHL today. He was called up on Dec. 10 and has played a total of five games this season for the Stars with all the injuries the team has dealt with recently. Dickinson hasn’t scored any points, but has been praised for his enthusiastic play for the Stars. He has 13 goals in 20 AHL games, and is a great depth guy when Dallas needs him. The team has recently gotten back both Martin Hanzal and Antoine Roussel from injury, so the need for the 22-year-old has waned.
  • The Minnesota Wild announced after their game today against the Edmonton Oilers that they have assigned defenseman Ryan Murphy to the Iowa Wild of the AHL. Despite playing well, the move is most likely due to the fact that the team intends to activate defenseman Jared Spurgeon, who has been out for the past nine games with a groin injury. Murphy, a first-round pick in 2011, is expected to get more minutes while in Iowa. He has had one goal and one assist in nine games so far this year.

 

Injury Notes: Blues, Coburn, Spurgeon, Carrier, Franson, Rutta, Jagr

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Injury news seems to be a daily affair in St. Louis as the St. Louis Blues are dealing multiple injuries at once, especially after the team learned that defenseman Jay Bouwmeester is expected to miss the weekend after he was put on injured reserve Friday with an unspecified injury, according to Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Now, Chris Pinkert of NHL.com writes that the team has a new injury to worry about as the team’s fourth-line center, Kyle Brodziak, is likely to miss Saturday’s game and is day-to-day with an unknown injury.

“He’s a little dinged up, that’s why he didn’t practice yesterday. We were hoping he could come in and feel better today, but that wasn’t the case,” Blues head coach Mike Yeo said. “Hopefully he feels better tomorrow.”

Timmerman adds in a tweet that defenseman Alex Pietrangelo is making progress, but his status for Sunday’s game (the first game he is eligible for against the Winnipeg Jets is unknown. The scribe points out, however, that since it’s the second game of a home-and-home against the Jets, it’s unlikely the team would carry just six defensemen for two straight games, which suggests the team is confident that Pietrangelo will likely play on Sunday. Another factor on defense was the status of veteran defenseman Carl Gunnarsson, whose status was questionable Friday after taking a shot off his right leg, which forced him to leave practice yesterday. Pinkert adds that he’s OK and is expected to play Saturday.

Other injury notes in the NHL:

  • Tampa Bay Times’ Joe Smith tweets that defenseman Braydon Coburn is likely to return tonight against the Avalanche. Coburn has missed seven games and hasn’t played since Nov. 29 with a lower-body injury. The 32-year-old veteran has seven assists in 25 games this season.
  • With Minnesota Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon not playing in today’s matchup against the Oilers, The Athletic’s Michael Russo tweets that it’s likely that Spurgeon will return to the Wild for tomorrow’s matchup with the Blackhawks. He has missed nine games for Minnesota with a groin injury. The 28-year-old has three goals and 12 assists in 23 games this season.
  • Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Steve Carp tweets that winger William Carrier, who has missed nine straight games with an upper-body injury, continues to practice in a non-contact jersey, but a return could be coming soon. Carrier’s presence and toughness has been missed. He has one goal and one assist in 20 games.
  • The Chicago Tribune’s Chris Hine tweets that Cody Franson and Jan Rutta could be back on the ice soon, possibly even tomorrow, according to coach Joel Quenneville. Franson has missed three games with an upper-body injury, while Rutta missed Thursday’s game against Winnipeg with an apparent head injury.
  • Postmedia’s Wes Gilbertson tweets that Jaromir Jagr is expected back into the lineup today after missing the past six games with a lower-body injury. He is expected to play on the team’s fourth line tonight.

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