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Johan Larsson

Atlantic Notes: Daley, Larsson, Paquette, Canadiens

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Detroit’s defense corps is already shaken up considerably and they’ll now be missing another regular.  Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press notes that Trevor Daley is dealing with an upper-body injury and will not be available for tonight’s game in Anaheim; no further information about a potential return to action is available yet.  He is the fourth regular out of their lineup, joining Mike Green, Jonathan Ericsson, and Niklas Kronwall and as a result, the Red Wings will be dressing four rookies on their back end as they wrap up their road trip.  Detroit, although well into their LTIR allotment, still has enough cap space remaining to bring someone up if none of their players are close to returning.

More from the Atlantic:

  • The Sabres will soon be facing a tough decision with center Johan Larsson soon, suggests Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald. While he didn’t suit up today against Vegas, he’s close to returning from the lower-body injury he sustained in the preseason.  However, Buffalo has a full roster and while they have a pair of waiver-exempt forwards in Tage Thompson and Casey Mittelstadt, it wouldn’t make sense to send one of them down to make room for Larsson.  Accordingly, they’re going to have to decide if there’s still a place for the 26-year-old on the roster or if they’re going to need to try to either trade or waive him in the coming days.  Larsson carries a $1.475MM cap hit and will be a restricted free agent next summer.
  • Tampa Bay center Cedric Paquette was only able to participate in part of practice today. He left Saturday’s game early after having his glove stepped on but head coach Jon Cooper indicated to reporters, including Bryan Burns of the Lightning’s team website (Twitter link), that his injury isn’t too serious.  The team is off until Thursday so there’s a chance that the 25-year-old may be back in the lineup without even missing a game.
  • Canadiens center Jacob de la Rose returned to practice today for the first time since suffering a cardiac episode following their final preseason game last month, notes Postmedia’s Pat Hickey. However, he has not yet received the green light from doctors to resume playing so he’ll remain on injured reserve for now.  Meanwhile, winger Nicolas Deslauriers is also skating on his own and Hickey suggests that the veteran could return to the lineup next week.  With 14 forwards already on the roster, it appears as if Montreal will soon be facing a roster crunch.

Snapshots: Sweden, Voynov, Yawney

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Sweden released their preliminary roster for the upcoming World Championships, and it is loaded with NHL talent. John Klingberg, Adam Larsson, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Erik Gustafsson, Adrian Kempe, Mikael Backlund, Johan Larsson, Mattias Janmark, Lias Andersson, Jacob de La Rose, Magnus Paajarvi and Mika Zibanejad will all be heading to the tournament for the Swedes.

Though obviously this group is missing some of their top options like Erik Karlsson and Henrik Zetterberg, it will also have some very interesting young players filling the gaps. Vegas Golden Knights draft pick Erik Brannstrom will be among the defense corps, and Rick Dhaliwal of News 1130 in Vancouver expects Elias Pettersson will be added soon.

  • There have been some conflicting reports on Slava Voynov’s potential return to the NHL, but Arthur Staple of The Athletic can make one thing very clear. The New York Islanders have not reached out to anyone connected to the former NHL player, and have “zero interest” in bringing him aboard. Whether or not any team will actually sign the 28-year old defenseman is still unclear.
  • The Anaheim Ducks will not bring back assistant coach Trent Yawney next season, choosing not to renew his contract. Yawney has been with the Ducks organization for seven seasons, first as head coach of their AHL affiliate (Syracuse, then Norfolk) and the last four seasons as an assistant to Bruce Boudreau and Randy Carlyle in the NHL.

Ten NHL Players Announced For Swedish World Championship Roster

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After Canada announced their first 18 players yesterday, Sweden has now given us 10 NHL names that will suit up for them at the upcoming World Championships in Denmark. Like usual, their group will include several professional players from the SHL—though top prospect Rasmus Dahlin has already said he won’t be attending.

The confirmed NHL players are below:

Goaltenders:

Anders Nilsson, Vancouver Canucks

Defensemen:

Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Arizona Coyotes
John Klingberg, Dallas Stars
Erik Gustafsson, Chicago Blackhawks
Adam Larsson, Edmonton Oilers

Forwards:

Mika Zibanejad, New York Rangers
Mikael Backlund, Calgary Flames
Jacob de La Rose, Montreal Canadiens
Johan Larsson, Buffalo Sabres
Magnus Paajarvi, Ottawa Senators

Early Notes: Hanzal, Grundstrom, Larsson

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Martin Hanzal was part of a big Dallas Stars offseason that was supposed to vault them back to the playoffs. Along with Alexander Radulov, Marc Methot and Ben Bishop, the team had strengthened their core and were ready to take on the Western Conference. Unfortunately that didn’t happen with the team missing the playoffs entirely, and some may point to Hanzal’s struggles as a big reason why. The 31-year old center played 38 games and recorded just 10 points, dealing with injury basically the entire season.

In Sean Shapiro’s new piece for The Athletic (subscription required) he goes deep into how a serious back injury affected Hanzal’s play, and how he’s hoping to be ready for the start of the 2018-19 season. The surgery came with a six to nine month recovery timeline, that puts him on track from anywhere between training camp and a good chunk of the way into the season. As Shapiro puts it, Hanzal is “cautiously optimistic” about a return to form, something that would be a huge boost since the Stars still owe him $9MM over the next two seasons.

  • Carl Grundstrom is on his way back to the Toronto Marlies for another playoff run, as the young Swedish forward was re-assigned from Frolunda today by the Maple Leafs. Grundstrom, a second-round pick in 2016, played six games for the Marlies last spring before heading back to Sweden for one more year. The 20-year old is expected to come to North America full-time in 2018-19, where he could even challenge for a place on the Maple Leafs in training camp. Grundstrom once again showed off his ability to score goals this year, notching 17 in 35 games for his club team.
  • Another Swede, Johan Larsson, isn’t as excited about his future in North America. The Buffalo Sabres forward spoke to Swedish reporter Sven Gustafsson and explained that he is tired of the situation, and will wait to see what the team has in store for him. Larsson is under contract for another season, but with personnel changes expected in Buffalo after another season at the bottom of the standings, his future for the team is far from secure. Larsson hasn’t turned into the two-way, middle-six center many had hoped he would become, scoring just four goals and 17 points this season.

Johan Larsson Suspended Two Games For Cross-Checking

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The NHL’s Department of Player Safety has announced another ruling, this time suspending Buffalo Sabres forward Johan Larsson for two games following his cross-check last night on Vincent Trocheck. As the accompanying video explains:

Players are responsible for their stick at all times. When a player attempts to intentionally use his stick to deliver a blow to an opponent, he cannot necessarily be excused of all responsibility when the blow lands in an unintentional place.

Larsson clearly attempted to cross-check Trocheck in the shoulder, but will now serve an extra two games and sacrifice some salary for the mistake. It also will put a first strike on his record that had otherwise been free of any supplementary discipline.

The Sabres will now have to go without one of their centers for the next few games, in which they take on tough matchups against the St. Louis Blues and Anaheim Ducks. Larsson is eligible to return on February 8th.

Morning Notes: Predators, Hearings, Interference

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The Nashville Predators are going to make a trade deadline acquisition no one expected, as they announced Mike Fisher would sign in the next few weeks and join the team for the last part of the season. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic though believes that they might not be done there.

On TSN’s Insider Trading last night, LeBrun reported that Nashville would still like a top-six winger if possible, though there is an obvious lack of urgency in GM David Poile. The Predators will strike only if there is a deal they really like, especially after the addition of Fisher improves their forward group.

Eastern Notes: Sabres Breakdown, Aho, Giroux

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Despite all the attention that had been given to the Buffalo Sabres’ new leadership of general manager Jason Botterill and new head coach Phil Housley at the start of the season, much of that fanfare is gone after the Sabres have reached the midway point with a disappointing 10-23-9 record. Their 29 points is the second worst record in the NHL with just the Arizona Coyotes struggling to do worse.

The Buffalo News’ John Vogl writes his mid-season assessment and writes that despite their disappointing play this season, there are some positives, including the play of young center Jack Eichel. While many had hopes that Eichel would be putting up similar numbers to that of Connor McDavid, that hasn’t happened. However, Vogl points out that his most recent play has set him up to have career highs in goals and points (30 goals and 70 points). He could easily have found himself on a different list after he had put up just eight goals in the team’s first 32 games, but has put up seven goals in his last nine games. Evander Kane’s success is also a positive to look at, although he is likely to be traded at the deadline.

However, much of the team’s fault, Vogl writes, falls to center Sam Reinhart, who is really struggling this year. The 22-year-old is having his worst season ever, which is unacceptable for someone who was the team’s second-overall pick in 2014. He has seven goals and just six assists this year. Six of his 13 points have come on the power play, suggesting that he really disappears in 5-on-5 play. Kyle Okposo is another obvious player, who has underperformed. His numbers were acceptable a year ago, but Okposo was brought in to score goals and produce offense. Instead, Okposo has scored just six goals for 19 points and hasn’t looked like the player the team locked up to. Rasmus Ristolainen, Chad Johnson and Johan Larsson all received poor grades for their first half performance.

  • NHL.com’s Michael Smith writes that after the Carolina Hurricanes consulted with doctors, they have listed winger Sebastian Aho as day-to-day with a lower-body injury after going down Saturday in a game against Boston. The 20-year-old Aho has been a key contributor for Carolina and has 13 goals and 20 assists, which would put him on pace for career-highs. They play next on Tuesday against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
  • Philly.com’s Sam Carchidi writes that after a disappointing season a year ago, Philadelphia Flyers center Claude Giroux is proving to the league that he is an elite center in the NHL. The 29-year-old center was coming off a season in which he tallied 14 goals and 58 points — solid, but hardly great. Yet, it looks like Giroux has found his game again as he has dominated on offense this year. He has already equalled the 14 goals he had last year and is just seven points shy of tying his points total — at mid-year. Suddenly, Giroux is on pace for a career year. “I’m not surprised at anything G does,” coach Dave Hakstol said after Giroux’s three-point performance keyed Saturday afternoon’s 6-3 win over St. Louis at the Wells Fargo Center. “You guys know the hockey player and the person a little bit. But to know the person and know the competitiveness that burns inside of him, no, I’m not surprised.”

Buffalo Sabres Receiving Calls On Multiple Players

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Though Evander Kane is clearly the one to watch—especially after yesterday’s report that the Pittsburgh Penguins were interested in him—the Buffalo Sabres have several players who could have different crests on their sweaters over the next few weeks. Craig Custance, in his Trade Deadline Primer for The Athletic, reports that the Sabres are also receiving interest in Benoit Pouliot, Johan Larsson and Jacob Josefson.

Pouliot has long been expected to make a big impact in the league, but after his latest disappointing season in Edmonton was bought out in the summer. Buffalo jumped on the chance to bring in the fourth-overall pick from 2005, and signed him to a one-year $1.15MM contract on July 1st. Pouliot has been better than last season, with 11 points in 39 games, but that’s not saying much. The 31-year old has been killing penalties for the Sabres, and still brings fine possession numbers, but there isn’t a lot to be excited about even with his relatively low salary.

Larsson and Josefson bring much of the same, just in younger bodies. With six and three points respectively, neither is going to change the offensive outlook of an acquiring team. What they can do, is give you responsible minutes on the fourth line and penalty kill, while providing some depth down the middle. Both can play center reasonably well, though neither are very good in the faceoff dot.

In all, every player not named Jack Eichel is likely available for the right price in Buffalo. The problem is there isn’t a lot of value in many of them, because of either poor performance, age or salary. Kane remains their big chip to make a splash at the deadline, but expect them to be very busy selling off smaller pieces over the next few weeks.

Sabres Re-Sign Johan Larsson To Two Year Deal

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The Sabres have locked up one of their remaining restricted free agents, announcing the re-signing of center Johan Larsson to a two year contract.  The deal will carry a cap hit of $1.475MM.

Larsson was originally a second round pick of the Wild (56th overall) in 2010 but has spent the majority of his career with Buffalo after being traded there in April of 2013.  This past season, he played in 36 games with the Sabres, collecting 11 points (6-5-11) along with 20 penalty minutes.  He did, however, miss the final 46 games of the year due to a wrist injury sustained in late December.

The 24 year old has played in 178 career NHL games, 177 with Buffalo and one with Minnesota.  He has 22 goals and 26 assists thus far.  Larsson will likely slot in their bottom six behind top centers Ryan O’Reilly and Jack Eichel.

Buffalo GM Jason Botterill still has four more players that have filed for arbitration to re-sign, defenseman Nathan Beaulieu, goaltender Robin Lehner, and forwards Evan Rodrigues plus Zemgus Girgensons.  They have plenty of cap space to work with as they currently sit nearly $15MM below the salary cap per CapFriendly.

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