West Notes: Duchene, Jets, Stoll
While many expected the Avalanche to deal Matt Duchene by now, he remains in Colorado with no trade on the immediate horizon. BSN Denver’s Adrian Dater notes that the holdup stems from GM Joe Sakic’s insistence on getting a proven defenseman and more in any return. The fact that Duchene is coming off just a 41 point season (the second lowest of his career) is causing other general managers some concern and questions as to whether or not he’s still a legitimate top line forward. Teams aren’t likely going to willingly part with a top defender for someone they have doubts about being a top forward. Sakic has remained firm on his asking price dating back towards the trade deadline so it will be interesting to see if he sticks to his guns or lowers his ask as the offseason progresses.
Elsewhere in the West:
- While the Jets made a couple of signings in free agency (notably goaltender Steve Mason and defenseman Dmitry Kulikov), they were moves that signalled the team isn’t ready to go all in, suggests Paul Wiecek of the Winnipeg Free Press. He argues that their time to go for it is now considering the fact that several core players will need new contracts next summer. Among those are defenseman Jacob Trouba and Josh Morrissey, winger Nikolaj Ehlers (all restricted free agents) as well as center Bryan Little, who’s slated to be an unrestricted free agent. Keeping all of those players in the fold will create quite the cap crunch next summer and as a result, this may be Winnipeg’s deepest roster for the next little while.
- After joining the Kings midseason on a player development internship, long-time NHL center Jarret Stoll will remain with Los Angeles in a part-time consulting role, reports Jon Rosen of LA Kings Insider. Stoll suggested as recently as January that he still hadn’t ruled out returning to playing and the part-time aspect of this position suggests that he still hasn’t completely given up hope on returning to the ice as a player. Stoll will continue to work primarily with the center prospects throughout the organization.
Predicting The Next “Bartkowski Deal”
The genius that was the Matt Bartkowski signing should not be understated. By now, the extension for the purpose of Expansion Draft exposure has become commonplace, but what GM Brad Treliving and the Calgary Flames did was unique. They went outside the organization to sign a player to a multi-year deal who fulfilled the criteria of having played in 40 games this season or 70 games over the past two years. Except Bartkowski hadn’t played a single NHL game this season; he had been on a minor league contract with the AHL’s Providence Bruins. What that means is Bartkowski had to have played in over 70 games last season alone, and indeed he had skated in 80 games with the Vancouver Canucks in 2015-16. In fact, Bartkowksi was the only defenseman on the planet who played in over 70 games last season yet was not signed to an NHL contract this season. Therein lies the genius that was the unassuming signing of Bartkowski. The Flames picked up the only player on the market who could automatically fill their need for an exposure-eligible defenseman.
With a reportedly quiet trade market this season, there are bound to be teams facing expansion protection problems after the March 1st Trade Deadline comes and goes, whether it’s on the blue line or up front. Will someone follow in Treliving’s footsteps and scoop up a player who played in 70 or so games last season but remains unsigned as of now? The short answer is probably not.
Looking at the short list of players who meet the games played criteria, it very well could be that Bartkowski stands alone as an unsigned player looking to continue playing hockey, even if that means signing a two-year, two-way contract and likely logging major AHL minutes. Especially on defense, a team like the Carolina Hurricanes is likely out of luck if they want to replicate the Bartkowksi maneuver. The only unsigned player who qualifies for exposure is Matt Carle, who played in 64 games with the Tampa Bay Lightning last year and six earlier this year with the Nashville Predators. However, Carle announced his retirement in November when he cleared waivers and was likely going to be moved to the AHL. Carle seems content with collecting buyout checks from the Lightning and almost certainly would have no interest is returning to hockey with a two-year, two-way deal. There are really no other defensemen that even have a reasonable chance of meeting the 40/70 criteria. Bartkowski was essentially it.
Snapshots: First Round Picks, Pouliot, Stoll, Streit
With more and more teams getting tighter to the salary cap, draft picks have become quite an important commodity. In recent years, most teams have been unwilling to part with their first rounders as those picks are expected to serve as cheap talent before too long. As a result of what’s expected to be a weaker draft class, that may not be the case this season, suggests ESPN’s Craig Custance (Insider required).
A pair of executives suggested to Custance that they’d be willing to part with their first round pick this year but only if they’re getting someone under contract or team control beyond this season.
Last year, only one first rounder was dealt at the trade deadline when Chicago dealt theirs to Winnipeg as part of the return for rental forward Andrew Ladd, a move that didn’t exactly pan out well for them. If some players with term left on their deal get moved by the deadline, we could see more first rounders changing hands over the next month or so.
Other tidbits from around the league:
- In a reader chat, Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette notes that the Penguins would be willing to move young blueliner Derrick Pouliot in a trade, something that wasn’t the case earlier. The former first round pick has not yet progressed to the point where he can be called a regular NHL defender and is in the final year of his entry level contract. He has eight points in 18 AHL games this season and has been held off the scoresheet in seven NHL contests.
- Although center Jarret Stoll is currently working in a player development capacity with the Kings, he emphasized to Puck Daddy’s Josh Cooper that he has not retired. The 34 year old split last season between the Rangers and Wild and attended training camp with the Blue Jackets on a PTO but was unable to secure a deal. However, given his prowess on the penalty kill and at the faceoff dot, he could be a serviceable replacement forward should a team get hit with some injuries up front.
- The Flyers have not made any decisions regarding their pending unrestricted free agents, GM Ron Hextall told Wayne Fish of the Burlington County Times. If Philadelphia falls out of the playoff race between now and the trade deadline, a potential rental option would be blueliner Mark Streit. While he agrees there’s not much point in opening extension talks at the moment, he indicated that he’s hoping to remain with the team: “At this point, I just want to play and I want to make it into the playoffs with the Flyers. That’s on my mind. I love it here, love playing for the Flyers.” Streit carries a cap hit of $5.25MM and has a list of ten teams that he would accept a trade to as part of his modified no-trade clause.