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Flames Notes: Yelesin, Smith, Neal, Stajan

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In his latest “31 Thoughts” column, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman needed just one “thought” to drop several pieces of interesting information about the Calgary Flames. The insider begins with KHL defenseman Alexander Yelesin. Friedman follows up on his initial report about the Flames’ interest in the Russian rearguard by saying that the question is not “if” but “when” when it comes to a deal getting done. KHL free agency opened today, so it’s only a matter of time before a contract becomes official it seems. The 23-year-old is undersized and not overly productive, but that hasn’t stopped NHL teams from toying with the idea of signing him for several years due to his skating and dependable defensive play. Calgary will finally be the team to pull the trigger, despite their depth on the blue line. As of now, Yelesin would be behind Mark Giordano, Noah Hanifin, Travis Hamonic, and T.J. Brodie and competing for ice time with youngsters Rasmus Andersson, Juuso Valimaki, and Oliver Kylington. That’s a lot of capable defensemen in the mix and trade rumors will no doubt swirl this off-season about the Flames moving one of this group.

  • Next, Friedman mentions that the Flames have not yet closed the door on a return for veteran goaltender Mike Smith. The 37-year-old UFA netminder split starts with David Rittich this season, who also needs a new contract as a restricted free agent. Friedman doubts that a new deal to keep Smith in Calgary would be longer than a year, but the team could opt to go with the tandem that led them to the best record in the West this season for one more go-round. Smith put up pedestrian numbers in the regular season – an .898 save percentage and 2.72 GAA – but was significantly better in 2017-18 and could have another strong campaign in him. The postseason showed that, as Smith was arguably the Flames’ best player in their unexpected first-round loss. There will be other options available to Calgary on the free agent market and via trade, but if they are unable to add any of their top options, don’t be surprised to see them go with the devil they know.
  • Finally, Friedman writes that the problematic James Neal is not yet at the point that GM Brad Treliving would entertain attaching a high pick to make a move. After signing a five-year, $28.75MM contract with Calgary last summer, Neal responded with far-and-away the worst season of his career, recording just 19 points in 63 games (his previous low had been 37). It wasn’t just a case of poor PDO for the 31-year-old forward either; Neal often looked slow and lethargic in all three zones all season long and even more so in the playoffs. There’s no telling whether Neal can bounce back next year or whether this is only a sign of things to come, but the Flames will at least wait to find out if a fair trade doesn’t come around this summer. With just late first- and third-round picks in the first 100 selections of this year’s draft, it is no surprise that the team is unwilling to move a high pick this year or next year to rid themselves of Neal’s contract before giving the respected veteran scorer another chance to prove himself.
  • In non-Friedman news out of Calgary, long-time Flames forward Matt Stajan has announced his retirement. Stajan wrapped up a 16-year NHL career split between Calgary and the Toronto Maple Leafs when he departed for Europe last season at age 35. Stajan was actually very productive this season for German club EHC Munchen, registering 33 points in 52 games en route to a finals appearance, but it wasn’t enough to keep him in the game. Munchen released a statement today that named Stajan as one of several players leaving the team by way of retirement. Also hanging them up is fellow long-time NHLer and leading scorer John Mitchell and captain Michael Wolf, as EHC has their work cut out for them this off-season. Stajan leaves the game with more than 1000 NHL appearances to his credit, along with over 400 points and his reputation as a reliable two-way winger. Don’t be surprised to see Stajan end up back in hockey in another capacity before too long, perhaps even with the Flames.

 

John Mitchell Signs PTO With Columbus Blue Jackets

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Well that free agency didn’t last long. Just after the Chicago Blackhawks released John Mitchell from his professional tryout, the Columbus Blue Jackets have snatched him up and signed him to a similar agreement. The Jackets got a good look at Mitchell this week, when they took on the Blackhawks in Tuesday night’s preseason action.

Mitchell played just under 10 minutes in that game, but does have a longer track record of NHL success. He’s scored double-digit goals in five different seasons, and even had a career-high of 32 points in 2013-14. It’s unlikely that will translate into an NHL opportunity in Columbus, but he can provide some more experience and a fresh body to insert into the rest of the exhibition schedule.

Columbus has their fair share of young players vying for full-time roles, and bringing in veteran competition is a motivational tactic of many coaching staffs. Mitchell will certainly be incentivized to push as hard as he can, knowing that this could be his last chance in the NHL. At age 32, he’s only seen the playoffs a single time in his career and is coming off a dreadful season with the Colorado Avalanche.

Chicago Blackhawks Release Miller, Mitchell, Stuart From PTOs

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The Chicago Blackhawks made a few cuts today, but instead of sending young players back to junior they’re saying farewell to a few NHL veterans. Drew Miller, John Mitchell and Mark Stuart have all been released from their professional tryouts. The team is down to 54 players in camp.

All three veterans had relatively little chance of making the team, but were there in part to push the young Blackhawks prospects and show them what a professional lifestyle is like. Miller, who spent time in the minor leagues last year for the first time in almost a decade, actually recorded nearly five minutes of shorthanded time in the preseason opener as he tries to prove he can still contribute. Stuart and Mitchell both saw the ice rather sparingly, just helping the Hawks lengthen their lineup with enough NHL experience.

Interestingly, Cody Franson was not among those cut today as he continues to impress in Blackhawks camp. There is much speculation that Franson already has a handshake deal with the team in place, which was only furthered when he served as an alternate captain for Tuesday’s game. Franson also opened the scoring on a 5-on-3 powerplay, a situation he could see a lot this year.

More Tryouts Signed In Chicago, Ottawa

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Some more training camp rosters came out today, with several other professional tryouts included in Chicago and Ottawa. The Blackhawks will welcome Mark Stuart, Drew Miller and John Mitchell to camp, while according to Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen, the Senators have invited Chris VandeVelde to compete for a spot.

Stuart has spent the last six seasons with the Winnipeg Jets, but with the emergence of Josh Morrissey last season and the signing of Dmitri Kulikov, there was never going to be a match between the two for this season. Instead, he’ll try and prove, along with Cody Franson who is also in camp on a PTO, that he can still compete at the NHL level and add something to the Blackhawks’ defense group. The 33-year old has played 673 games in the NHL.

Miller, also 33, is coming off eight seasons with the Detroit Red Wings organization, where he admirably filled a fourth-line or thirteenth forward role. Never much of an offensive threat, Miller has nonetheless carved out a successful career for himself, playing 571 games and winning the Stanley Cup with Anaheim before ever suiting up for a regular season game.

The last of the three new tryouts, Mitchell saw his play fall off a cliff last season with the Colorado Avalanche, scoring just seven points all season. The 32-year old had previously been a fairly reliable bottom-six center, who registered a career-high of 32 points in 2013-14. As part of the Colorado collapse last year, Mitchell saw fewer and fewer minutes and couldn’t get anything going offensively. It may be close to the end for the former Maple Leafs draft pick.

For the Senators, they’ll bring in VandeVelde after he suited up in 81 of the Philadelphia Flyers’ games last season. The 30-year old tied his career-high with 15 points last season, but was a regular on the penalty kill nearly all season. He’ll try to earn a contract with the same work ethic that took him from a middling minor leaguer to a lineup stalwart in Philly.

 

Colorado Has Room To Fill Out Organization, Take Risks

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The Colorado Avalanche are at a bit of a crossroads, one that could play out in a number of different ways. As of this date in late July, the Avs only have 35 players locked into organizational contracts, with only 3 RFAs left to sign. Those players are Matt Nieto (who filed for arbitration, scheduled on July 31), Nikita Zadorov, and Rocco Grimaldi. Assuming they do sign all three, they are 12 players beneath the maximum 50 allowable contracts. For a team that completely lost the rails last season in the worst post-lockout season yet, this might be a cause for alarm. But it’s also an opportunity.

GM Joe Sakic has drawn lots of fire from around the league on his handling of the Matt Duchene trade sweepstakes. Many believe he has asked for too much in return or has been unrealistic about the player’s worth. That said, he still has a highly dynamic center on a reasonable contract who has every possibility of recouping some of his value come September. Ultimately, however, we might judge Sakic by his reluctance to re-sign aging players and to move on from veteran names. Although scoring will almost certainly take a hit, when in the midst of a dismal rebuild, it’s generally unwise to block roster positions from prospects.

Sakic let Francois Beauchemin (37), Rene Bourque (35), Fedor Tyutin (34), and John Mitchell (32) all walk, in addition to 8 other players. He unloaded Jarome Iginla (40) at the trade deadline for a pick, and sniped up David Warsofsky, Jonathan Bernier, and Nail Yakupov to relatively cheap deals this off-season. While none of these moves is particularly shocking, it shows that management is on the correct page when it comes to getting younger and embracing the inevitable tank. It will undoubtedly be a tough season again in Denver, but there does seem to be a plan starting to finally coalesce.

Perhaps what is most imperative from here forward, is that after figuratively clearing the deck, the organization fills the gaps with players that make long-term sense. Sakic should make a serious endeavor to fill remaining roster contracts to players on the right side of 30, preferably those who will provide solid production at the AHL level, who might have some chance of eventually becoming contributors. If he’s particularly sensible, Sakic would seek out as many young, undrafted college and overseas players with upside as he can. Conor Sheary type players are difficult to find, but every season it seems one or two players comes out of nowhere. Sakic should be beating the bushes for unknown quantities to fill out San Antonio. The Rampage finished with only 27 wins last season, which only made the defeated fanbase’s outlook bleaker. With the Avalanche looking primed to find themselves in the Central’s basement once again, it would be wise to build a competent squad down in the minors and hope that a winning mindset floats upward.

Notably, the Avalanche are thin on defense. They’ll need to rely upon unproven youngsters on the bottom pairing, as Zadorov, Erik Johnson, Tyson Barrie, and Mark Barberio, and Warsofsky are the only players with over 100 NHL games played. None inspires a ton of confidence. Anton Lindholm has 12 games experience, Duncan Siemens has 4, and Chris Bigras has 31. Andrei Mironov, 22 and coming over from Dynamo Moscow, will have a solid crack at a spot, but it’s too early to tell how well he’ll adapt to the North American game. If Sakic were to add another NHL body, it would almost surely be on the left side.

An important component of any franchise which can go unnoticed is the depth signings at the AHL level, in addition to drafting and scouting. Sakic has given himself the leeway to build a supporting cast as he sees fit, and now we will merely need to wait and see what path he decides to take.

Course Adjustment For Colorado

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Colorado needs to determine the road ahead for its franchise. The unexpected plummet to the 4th overall pick in the draft lottery did not help matters, to be sure, but the Avalanche need more than a Nolan Patrick to catapult them back into contention. The team has lacked identity for years and a team philosophy is hard to isolate. The team finished a league worst 22 wins, good for an embarrassingly bad 48 points. They were not expected to be serious cup contenders coming into the year, but this is a team that had veteran scorers and a decent goaltending duo to back up their young forward core. Yet they finished in dead last in both offensive and defensive categories – 1.74 goals for per 60, and 2.93 goals against. With such an incredible disparity it’s actually impressive they won as many contests as they did.

GM Joe Sakic needs to determine which pieces of his core (if any) are worth keeping. It seems probable that the team could consider trading away its captain in Gabriel Landeskog, and the case for doing so is strong. He potted only 18 goals and 15 assists this season, his 5th full campaign – at the exorbitant price of $5.5 MM (which will become $6 MM next season). The center has never developed into the offensive threat the franchise had hoped when he was selected 2nd overall in 2011. His point totals have dropped for the second season in a row. However, his Corsi For % was actually his career best at 52.8, and on a team that bled goals and chances, he performed admirably in his own end. Whether he is worth his deal is certainly a less pressing issue than stopping the bleeding. Unless an over-payment comes along the Avalanche would be wise to stick out at least another season with the still-promising left wing.

Speedy forward Matt Duchene is two years older, and fared only marginally better, with 18 goals and 23 assists. Duchene is not physically imposing a 5’11”, and he is more effective on the rush. His speed and versatility are his greatest assets. Duchene’s skating can burn defenders and his skating is among the tops in the league. When considering that the quick and fleet-footed Nathan MacKinnon is also on the team, it seems that Colorado might want to double down on the speed aspect of their negligible identity. Duchene would almost certainly draw more interest than Landeskog, as the forward did pot 30 goals just the previous season. Although the talk seems distant now, there was considerable conversation following the 2009 draft that the Islanders would have done better to draft Duchene than John Tavares. This is a player who can make a meaningful difference on the playmaking side of things, but saw a drastic drop off in play. Trading Duchene seems the most logical option, but his departure will only leave the center ice position more lackluster.

The Avalanche could toy with moving RFA center Mikhail Grigorenko, or RFA defenseman Patrick Wiercioch, but the returns after last season would be marginal at best. One can only assume that Sakicc attempted to unload forwards like Blake Comeau ($2.5 MM), and now UFA defenseman Fedor Tyutin to no avail. Thankfully the well-worn Jarome Iginla was shipped off to Los Angeles and there are indeed older players coming off the books. The 35 year-old Rene Bourque and 32 year-old John Mitchell will both be UFAs and will have difficulty finding work next season in the league.

Ultimately, the problem for the Avalanche wasn’t that their stars didn’t produce, although that certainly didn’t help their goal totals. Their team was filled with washed-up veterans and outside of the big 3 on offense there was really no threat to score. On the backend, once Erik Johnson went down, the rest of the defense was not nearly good enough to keep up. Tyson Barrie is the only player who should feel remotely safe, and the young RFA Nikita Zadorov is likely to hang around. Francois Beauchemin is not the defender he was even two seasons ago, and if he could somehow be traded it would help performance substantially.

Trading away the #4 selection is usually an unthinkable notion with a team at this stage of a rebuild, but if they can move it for substantial help on defense or on the wing, it should be considered. Especially considering how mediocre this draft class is, it might turn out to be a prudent maneuver. One of Landeskog or Duchene seems likely to depart, but without a king’s ransom coming back, it’s not likely to alter long-term prospects for the franchise. Colorado simply needs to draft better, develop better, and find a coach with the structure that a young, struggling squad will need. If they could make a serious pitch to Karl Alzner this off-season, or perhaps even Thomas Vanek on the wing, they would be in a better position to compete on a nightly basis. Their offensive stars are unlikely to be quite as dreadful in points production yet again. Perhaps the most positive aspect of the upcoming season will be the infusion of youth from the minor leagues, and the ditching of dead weight up and down the lineup. Sakic will need to provide stability for the franchise and perhaps even display some patience rather than dumping a slumping offensive talent for a lackluster package. Although fans may wish for change at any cost, ditching their core players for scraps is not likely the best way forward. Whatever course Colorado decides to take, fans around the league will be watching with interest this summer.

Trade Deadline Summary: Winners & Losers Of The Central Division

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The NHL Trade Deadline has come and gone, and while it wasn’t the most exciting deadline day in recent memory, there were quite a few notable moves. Here are the winners and losers of the “wild” Central Division:

Winners

Chicago Blackhawks:

Of course the Blackhawks are winners on deadline day. Did you expect any less? Although they didn’t make any major moves, Chicago brought in two players via trade that can help them immediately. Oduya, a former Blackhawk, is still familiar with the system and has played with many of the current players. Oduya should be able to step in right away, play major minutes, and form a shutdown pair with Niklas Hjalmarsson (when he’s healthy). Just like the good ’ol days. Meanwhile, like nearly any forward, Jurco has a skill set that will fit in well with Chicago’s star forwards and for just the cost of a third-rounder, could represent a long-term fit with the Blackhawks.

Dallas Stars:

The Stars are a tough team to place at the 2017 deadline. They are in the midst of an unforeseen epic collapse of a season and have done well to trade their impending free agents. If Patrick Sharp, Ales Hemsky, and Adam Cracknell weren’t all hurt, Dallas would be a deadline loser for not moving them. As it stands, they did hold on to Jiri Hudler, but traded their three other healthy upcoming UFAs. Eaves earned them great value in return and Korpikoski, a late off-season addition, nets a promising young defenseman in Heatherington. Even McNeill and a fourth-rounder for Oduya is a pretty good deal. So for those three moves anyway, GM Jim Nill did well. With that said, the Benn trade was ill-timed and doesn’t make your team better. Benn still had term on his contract and was the team’s best defensive defenseman and, of course, captain Jamie Benn’s older brother. Dallas will likely regret that move. The Stars are teetering on the edge of winner and loser, but they’ve been through enough this season, so we’ll call them winners.

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Declining Greatness: The Case For Jarome Iginla

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A few weeks ago Zach Leach profiled one of the greatest goal scorers in NHL history, Jarome Iginla. He started the piece by saying that Iginla was “a legend with very bad luck” and though he was talking about Iginla’s career, and how close (but yet so far) he has come on several occasions to being in the right place at the right time, he could have easily meant something else that teams should consider when looking at the 618-goal man this trade deadline.

No, it’s not his age—the fact that he’ll turn 40 this July is something everyone should be aware of, but not what this piece will be about. Not his cap hit either; the $5.33MM number is a tough pill to swallow for sure, but at least it expires at the end of the year. It’s his shooting percentage. Sure, Iginla might be a step slower than he has been in the past, and perhaps this legend is ready to ride off into the sunset. It’s just that there may be something left in the tank. Jarome Iginla

First of all, he’s playing on Colorado which has been a deathtrap for offensive players all season. Whether it’s the coaching of Jared Bednar, the horrible possession metrics almost everyone has put up, or some toxic attitude leaking down from the front office, nearly everyone has been underperforming. Matt Duchene is on a 52 point pace, which would be the lowest he’s recorded for a season where he played more than 70 games. Gabriel Landeskog may not crack 40, well below his career average. Even Nathan MacKinnon, who is currently leading the team in scoring doesn’t look like he’ll improve much on his 52 point effort from a year ago, in which he played only 72 games.

Iginla is right there along with them, scoring just 16 points in 58 games. But what do you expect from a guy who has lined up beside John Mitchell and Blake Comeau for most of the season, a duo that has a combined point total of 15. He’s also been given the least amount of icetime of his career, playing just 14:45 per night. Perhaps this is just because he’s no good anymore, but there may be a silver lining.

Yes, that’s the shooting percentage which currently sits at 6.1%, less than half of his career rate. He’s still generating shots, with 114 on the year but just nothing is going in for him. He’s on pace to almost match the shot total from each of the last two years, when he had 29 and 22 goals respectively, and doing it with much worse linemates. No, he’ll never be a defensive presence that drives possession, but he can be a goal scoring threat even at his advanced age. If he sat at his career shooting percentage we’d be talking about a 15-goal scorer instead, despite Mitchell and Comeau still being alongside him.

Playoff experience can’t exactly be quantified, but anecdotally the game slows down in the postseason. When the whistles are put away, a bit more obstruction takes place and physical goal scoring threats are extremely important. Iginla has scored 37 playoff goals in just 81 games, a better per-game pace than Sidney Crosby. It’s not that he’ll continue to be a legendary goal scoring threat, just that he may still be a fine secondary option for a team looking for some depth on the wing. He won’t cost much, and he might just get that one last chance at a Stanley Cup.

Can The Colorado Avalanche Be Fixed?

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Patrick Roy quit unexpectedly. The team has just 35 points. And Nikita Zadorov is out for the year after getting hurt in practice. The 2016-17 season has been an unmitigated disaster for the Avalanche and as the season slips away, there has to be a new blueprint for a once proud organization that once won two Stanley Cups in six seasons. Though that feels like a lifetime ago, hope isn’t all lost as the Avs have several pieces in place to build around. The real problem is what route is best when it comes to rebuilding a team in shambles?

The Denver Post’s Mike Chambers indicates that the Avs are in full sell mode. That’s pretty obvious when Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations/General Manager Joe Sakic has been honest in his assessment of making players available. It’s been widely reported that the asking price is high for anyone the Avs are willing to trade, whether it be Matt Duchene, or Gabriel Landeskog. Chambers includes Jarome Iginla, Fedor Tyutin, John Mitchell, Andreas Martinsen  Rene Bourque, and Cody Goloubef as pieces to trade off since they’re all set to be unrestricted free agents.

Though they could fetch a number of draft picks and prospects, especially if Landeskog or Duchene are moved, it might be something else the Avs should look at. Especially since the return on those trades are absolutely crucial.

Jun 27, 2013; New York, NY, USA; Colorado Avalanche executive vice president of hockey operations Joe Sakic arrives at the Westin Hotel for the NHL Board of Governors meeting. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

I asked about Joe Sakic’s role in all of this back in December, and nearly 73% of our readers thought he should be shown the door. But is it that easy? Would firing Sakic really change a team in turmoil? If anything, perhaps Sakic goes out and instead of green lighting someone from the “glory days” when he played, grabs a knowledgeable former general manager or up and coming assistant that could help sort out the mess. Outside of opinion pieces, there hasn’t been anything to suggest that Sakic is feeling heat. As one of the leaders of the organization, hiring another pair of eyes to help, whether it be in a scouting or management capacity, would help Sakic and the organization most. Especially if there is no urgency from ownership when it comes to firing him.

Aside from the 2013-14 season, the Avalanche haven’t seen a lot of success since getting bounced during the 2010 playoffs. Since then, they’ve only returned once, and that one time was with Sakic in charge. Even if he begins selling off assets to rebuild, it takes keen eyes to pull of a successful rebuild. They take time, patience, and a lot of smarts. Look at Toronto.

Fixing the Avalanche begins with ownership taking a good hard look at what task is in front of them. Keeping Sakic works if he’s surrounded with more experience. Otherwise, it’s nothing more than an organization living in the past while flailing in the present, and inevitably, the future.

 

Latest Colorado Trade Talk

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The Colorado Avalanche have been in discussions with the Boston Bruins regarding left winger and captain Gabriel Landeskog, reports longtime Colorado writer Adrian Dater, currently with Bleacher Report (all links to Twitter).

The Avs are in need of quality young defensemen and asked for rookie Brandon Carlo but the Bruins aren’t willing to move him at this time.  Dater suggests that young blueliners Jakub Zboril and Joe Morrow, as well as left wing prospect Jake DeBrusk could be part of a potential package for Landeskog along with their first round pick.  Making a trade like that, one where a top forward is going for predominantly a collection of futures, could constitute the beginning of a larger-scale rebuild and there’s no evidence to suggest that GM Joe Sakic is willing to consider that route at this time.

Earlier this week, TSN’s Darren Dreger reported the Avs had trade discussions regarding Landeskog around the Draft Lottery in April that would have seen them land an established defenseman in return.  The belief was that the blueliner in question was Winnipeg’s Jacob Trouba but talks regarding him never rematerialized.  Dreger also noted that Sakic is more inclined to move center Matt Duchene and that his preference is to keep Landeskog.

The 24 year old winger is in his sixth NHL season, all with Colorado and has struggled this season, collecting just 12 points (6-6-12) in 28 games.  He also carries a cap hit of just over $5.57MM, which most teams wouldn’t be able to absorb without sending some money back.  It’s worth noting that Boston is one of the few teams who could as they sit comfortably under the salary cap.

In a reader mailbag, Mike Chambers of the Denver Post suggests that Duchene is likely to fetch the biggest return but isn’t sure Sakic will move one of his top forwards now.  He wonders if the GM may wait until the offseason before deciding whether or not to change the core or to try and build around it.

The team does have several pending unrestricted free agents that could move as rental players.  Those are forwards Jarome Iginla, John Mitchell, Rene Bourque, and Andreas Martinsen plus defensemen Fedor Tyutin and Cody Goloubef although the Avalanche shouldn’t expect significant returns on any of those players.

With Colorado sitting at the bottom of the league standings with a 12-25-1 record and being 17 points out of a playoff spot, they’re a clear seller come trade deadline time.  There’s sure to be plenty of discussion regarding the likes of Landeskog and Duchene between now and then.   With so few guaranteed sellers, they’re certainly a team to watch in the weeks ahead.

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