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Pacific Division Snapshots: Kings, Meier, Coyotes

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Like many teams in the league, the Los Angeles Kings have battled their fair share of injuries. Star sniper Marian Gaborik has appeared in just nine games this season and has posted just one goal and four points. Anze Kopitar, one of the league’s top, two-way centers has missed some time. And perhaps most importantly, Jonathan Quick has been out since season’s first game, forcing the team to rely on a combination of Jeff Zatkoff and Peter Budaj to hold down the fort until he returns. It’s not an ideal situation but the Kings have hung tough in the standings, as Helene Elliott of the Los Angeles Times writes, and currently hold one of two wild card slots in the Western Conference.

Because of injuries to Zatkoff, it’s been Budaj that has seen most of the action between the pipes for L.A. Originally signed to be the team’s third goalie, Budaj has posted a career-best 2.17 GAA while winning 14 of his 26 starts. While he’s had his ups and downs, Budaj has been good enough most nights to keep the Kings in games.

As Elliott notes, the team has managed to stay afloat thanks in large part to their work ethic. Now, the Kings are close to full health, though Quick is still expected to be out until February, and are just five points behind the San Jose Sharks for first place in the Pacific Division with one game in hand. Assuming Budaj can continue to play adequately enough, or the team finds a better stopgap option, and Gaborik can rediscover his scoring touch, the Kings have a good chance to again qualify for the postseason. Once there, anything can happen.

Elsewhere in the Pacific Division:

  • Highly-touted rookie Timo Meier made his debut with the San Jose Sharks last season and by all accounts it was a huge success, as Curtis Pashelka of the Mercury News recounts. Meier scored his first career NHL goal on his first shot last night and the Sharks erupted for three goals in the first period of their 4 – 2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens. Meier would finish with three shots on net in just more than 10 minutes of ice time. That’s exactly the type of spark the Sharks were hoping for when calling up the 2015 first-round draft pick. Meier’s insertion into the lineup pushed veteran forward Joel Ward to the press box last night and while it’s certain the first-year pro will remain in the San Jose lineup for the immediate future, it’s less clear how that fact will impact the rest of the Sharks forward group. As long as Meier produces, DeBoer will undoubtedly find a way to mix and match his forwards.
  • Desperate for help up the middle, the Arizona Coyotes recently acquired Peter Holland via trade from Toronto and added Josh Jooris off of waivers from the New York Rangers. Veteran center Brad Richardson is out indefinitely with multiple fractures in his right leg while rookie Dylan Strome failed to find consistency at the NHL level; two factors which created a need for Arizona. While it’s only a small sample, just two appearances for each player, the additions are already paying off for Arizona, writes Sarah McLellan of The Arizona Republic. Holland tallied two helpers in his Coyotes debut and scored the shootout winner in his return to Toronto. Again, it’s only to games but Holland’s play has helped the team to their first winning streak since late November; a stretch which saw the Coyotes earn just five of a possible 16 standings points.

Jonathan Quick Out Until Mid-February, Kings Not Willing To Overpay For Goaltender

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12:45pm: Lombardi is now telling Elliott that he misspoke today and though the worst case is still March, he actually expects Quick back in mid-February. While this lines up closer to what Sutter said on Monday, it still is a long-time for Quick to be sidelined.

11:45pm: The continuing saga of Jonathan Quick got another chapter today, as Los Angeles Kings GM Dean Lombardi told Helene Elliott of the LA Times that he’d be out until March. This comes after head coach Darryl Sutter said just two days ago that it’d be a month before the next step was even revealed.

Lombardi also told Elliott that he’s “not willing to throw the kitchen sink” at his goaltending situation, meaning that he doesn’t want to part with important assets to fix it. The team has been riding Peter Budaj this season to mixed success, as the 34-year old started hot but has struggled recently. Last night Budaj allowed four goals on 22 shots, marking four out of five games where he’s recorded a save percentage under .900. Jeff Zatkoff, brought in this offseason to be the backup, has struggled with injury and ineffectiveness himself, carrying an .882 save percentage through Wednesday.

The Kings, 14-12-2, are sitting fifth in the Pacific Division just outside a wild card spot but are in danger of slipping further and further should they not fix their goaltending situation. If Budaj can get back to the level he started the season at, perhaps the team would not need to find a solution outside the organization.

While there are talented options on the trade market – namely, Ben Bishop and Jimmy Howard – the Kings would have to take on a large amount of salary or give up substantial assets to get them. Though the team has a good amount of cap space currently due to Quick’s designation on LTIR, the team would be left unable to make any additional moves at the deadline for a playoff run, or in trouble should Quick make a return any earlier than expected.

A lesser option – like Ondrej Pavelec or Jonathan Bernier – comes with substantial risks as well and may not be any more effective than the Budaj-Zatkoff duo in the long run. For the Kings, it’s likely a game of trying to improve the team in front of them than spending assets for an answer in net.

Jonathan Quick Not Close To Returning

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It hasn’t been a very quick recovery for an injured Los Angeles Kings goaltender.

Jonathan Quick injured his groin in the Kings’ first game of the season, leaving Jeff Zatkoff and Peter Budaj to mind the net in his expected three-month-long absence. While the Kings have been better than many expected with a record of 14-11-2, they’re still just fifth in the Pacific Division and hanging on to the last Western Conference Wildcard spot.

Coach Darryl Sutter provided an update on his superstar goaltender’s recovery to L.A. Kings Insider:

“In terms of [his progress], he’s just starting moving to the end of training from therapy. He’s still very much in the rehab mode. They’re still talking about a month before he could even begin to say what that next step was. It’s not in this year [2016] before there’s any sort of update.”

That means the Kings will be without Quick until late January or early February. While Budaj has been decent at 0.910 SV%, it’s still below league-average goaltending. The Kings have gone the first two months of Quick’s injury without acquiring another goalie, with just Anders Lindback being brought in to their AHL team on a tryout basis. Quick will be very motivated on his return, as he was rather poor in his World Cup appearance. He was 0-2, with an 0.863 SV% and seven goals against in his two games. If Quick comes back and plays to the high level that he can, then the Pacific Division should be very wary of the Kings.

Snapshots: Golden Knights, Team Czech Republic, All-Time Lists

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The (probably) Golden Knights have hit another snag in their naming saga as the US Trademark office has denied their application due to the similarities to the College of Saint Rose Golden Knights. While this doesn’t seem like a real problem – in a statement given to Alex Prewitt of SI, the Vegas team says that these actions are “not at all unusual” and points out the many duplicate names across professional sports – it is just another public annoyance for a team that likely just wants to start playing hockey. With so much discussion over the name, logo and all the other minutia, the start of the 2017-18 season can’t come soon enough for George McPhee and his team.

  • Corey Pronman of ESPN has a look at the preliminary roster for Team Czech Republic at this year’s World Junior Championship. As the rosters of many of the other teams came out over the past few days, the Czech list was conspicuously missing. Among the highlights, are Red Wings’ prospect Filip Hronek who is off to an unbelievable start with Saginaw, scoring 20 points in 24 games (as a defenseman) and Senators’ prospect Filip Chlapik who ranks in the QMJHL top five in both scoring (44 points) and penalty minutes (58 PIM in 26 games).  The team will be dangerous with several high NHL draft picks on it and will likely be in the mix for a bronze medal at the tournament.
  • The NHL Network published their list of the top-40 goaltenders of all-time and as Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times put it, the list is “uh, interesting, in a lot of ways.”  The list has the regulars at the top – Martin Brodeur, Dominik Hasek, Patrick Roy, in that order – but gets “interesting” a little further down as they list active goaltenders like Jonathan Quick (#16) and Marc-Andre Fleury (#21) quite high. While obviously these lists are subjective, it does lend credence to the idea that goaltending is better than it ever has been before and is a major reason for the suppressed goal totals. Comparing players across eras will always be difficult, but I can imagine our readers will have a few different takes on the order of this list. Share your thoughts in the comments.

Injury Notes: Little, McNabb, Toews

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The Winnipeg Jets have scored a respectable 62 goals in 24 games, and they’ve done it without one of their top weapons. Bryan Little has been out since being injured just two and a half minutes into his season, but will return tonight against the New Jersey Devils on home ice. The 29-year old is a proven goal scorer in the NHL, with 163 to his name including four seasons of 20+. The Jets have placed Nic Petan on injured reserve retroactive to November 27th to make room.

While the media has focused on the Jets’ lack of faceoff success, Little thinks he can help the team in that department.

That’s one of my goals to come back. It’s something I feel like I can be good at right away again, to get back into the faceoff dot. I see the guys working on it every day, they’re talking to the coaches, watching video and practicing in practice.

I think we can all help each other a bit. Throughout the game we take faceoffs against different centermen on the other team…we’ve got some good communication through the centers of trying to work through things.

Little is actually a 48.6% faceoff man throughout his career, though he won just over half of his draws last season which led the Winnipeg centers.

  • According to Jon Rosen of NHL.com, Brayden McNabb took to the ice today for the first time since injuring his collarbone on October 29th. While he didn’t take part in any drills, it’s a step in the right direction for the big defenseman. Rosen passes on from head coach Darryl Sutter that McNabb is still “at least a month away”. The 25-year old had been logging over 20 minutes a night for the Los Angeles Kings before being injured, skating alongside Drew Doughty in what was considered by some to be the second-best pairing in the league. The Kings, not short on defenders, have continued to be tough to score against even without McNabb or Jonathan Quick, who remains out.
  • Jonathan Toews will miss his third straight game tonight when the Chicago Blackhawks take on the Florida Panthers. The team captain was seen in street clothes while the team was practicing, meaning his return might not be imminent. Chicago is 1-1-1 without Toews in the lineup, having lost to the Kings in overtime on Saturday.

Los Angeles Kings Assign Campbell To AHL; Zatkoff To Return

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The net has been a tough spot to be for Los Angeles Kings goaltenders this year, as both Jonathan Quick and Jeff Zatkoff have battled injuries all year. That might be coming to an end though, as according to Helene Elliott of the LA Times, the team has sent down Jack Campbell to the AHL following the news that Zatkoff will return this weekend.

Originally injured on October 22nd at practice, Zatkoff had been out of the lineup for almost a month. The Kings had to turn to Peter Budaj and Campbell, their planned AHL tandem, to fill in for the first month. Budaj received all fourteen starts however, Campbell only seeing the net in relief on November 1st. Obviously, he wasn’t trusted as well as the long-time NHL veteran. Budaj put up a strong-enough .914 save percentage over that stretch.

Zatkoff returning doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll take the starting job away from Budaj, though I imagine he would be in line for more work than Campbell. The former Pittsburgh Penguins netminder carries a career .912 save percentage and 2.72 GAA, but has never started more than 18 games in a single NHL season. Budaj, on the other hand is just two shy of 200 career starts, though has been relegated to the AHL in recent seasons.

Either way, the Kings have to figure out a way to start winning hockey games, as they are 8-9-1 and fourth in the Pacific Division.

LeBrun’s Latest: Budaj, Trouba, Hanzal

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When the Los Angeles Kings lost not just Jonathan Quick but Jeff Zatkoff as well in the span of a few days, panic immediately set in for a franchise known for its excellent goaltending over the years. Even with Peter Budaj, an experienced NHL netminder coming in to start, the team was looking everywhere to find some help in net.  That might have come to an end, says Pierre LeBrun in his latest column, as Budaj has performed extremely well and Zatkoff is back from injury. The team has stopped looking for help and is at least somewhat comfortable with the Budaj/Zatkoff tandem for now.

Budaj, the AHL goalie of the year in 2015-16, has posted a .912 save percentage and 2.06 GAA in ten games, including a shutout of the Calgary Flames on Saturday. The former Colorado and Montreal netminder has a ton of NHL experience over the years, and at 34 is still playing well enough to help the Kings. Zatkoff will likely figure in a bit more as the season stretches on, though he does have much less experience.

  • Even though Jacob Trouba has signed on for two years and said that he’s ’committed’ to the Winnipeg Jets, doesn’t sway LeBrun from thinking he’ll eventually be dealt. Though head coach Paul Maurice has said he’ll use Trouba in a variety of situations in order to keep him involved, the conviction that led to his holdout can’t possibly have all dissipated at this point. Trouba still wants to be a top pairing blueliner on the right side, something that simply won’t happen in Winnipeg, at least not right now.
  • It’s an open competition in Colorado now, as the net will be shared between Semyon Varlamov and Calvin Pickard. Though Varlamov came into the season as the clear No. 1, the younger Pickard has played extremely well and forced himself into the conversation. A .946 save percentage even if it is just a few games. With the Avalanche going after a playoff spot this year, they can’t afford to wait for Varlamov’s game to come around.
  • When you turn your calendar over to February in a few months, make sure you make a note to watch for Martin Hanzal rumors. LeBrun feels as though the Coyotes center – who’s injured at the moment – is an easy pick for a deadline deal. An unrestricted free agent at season’s end, he’s always had the talent to change a game. Health has always been a factor for Hanzal though, who just can’t seem to stick in a lineup for a full year. LeBrun believes that the Coyotes would need a young player, and not just picks, in return.

Snapshots: Kovalchuk, Sabres, Kings

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Could former NHL star Ilya Kovalchuk be looking to follow in Alexander Radulov’s footsteps next summer?

KHL analyst Aivis Kalniņš believes Kovalchuk wants to return to the NHL. The Russian sniper retired from the NHL back in 2013 in order to play in the KHL after 11 seasons in North America. He was just three seasons into a controversial 15-year, $100MM contract when he retired.

Kalniņš reported that CSKA has begun contract talks with former NHLers Kovalchuk and Viktor Tikhonov; while Tikhonov is considered close to an extension, Kovalchuk is not. It’s a similar situation to Radulov, in that CSKA attempted to sign him but he chose to leave money on the table to give the NHL another go.

Whether or not the NHL allows Kovalchuk to return is another question. Because he signed his voluntary retirement papers, all 30 NHL teams would have to approve the move. It’s unlikely that 29 teams would approve a competitor’s bid to sign a former consistent 30-plus goal scorer.

  • Brayton J. Wilson of WGR 550 in Buffalo reported a hard-to-believe stat about the Sabres. With their win over Minnesota, the Sabres are now 4-3-2, or one game over 0.500. Wilson reported that this is the first time the Sabres have been over 0.500 since the third game of the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season. That’s 299 games ago, and a sign of the harsh realities of being a struggling franchise in the NHL.
  • After being shut out for the third consecutive game, Los Angeles Kings coach Darryl Sutter told reporters his message to the team was “there’s nobody coming in on a white horse to play goal for us or score goals or to come up [from the minors].” The Kings have approximately $1MM in salary cap space, despite placing the injured Jonathan Quick on LTIR. While Quick’s injury does give them some space in the interim, that would go away when he returns in three months, which rules out trading for Jaroslav Halak and likely Ondrej Pavelec too.

Jeff Zatkoff Suffers Injury; Jack Campbell Recalled

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According to Lisa Dillman of the Los Angeles Times (via Helene Elliott), goaltender Jeff Zatkoff has suffered a lower-body injury at practice, and will be unable to play against the Vancouver Canucks tonight. The team has recalled Jack Campbell to take his place on the roster for the game.

With Jonathan Quick already on the shelf for months, any injury in the Kings’ crease weakens their cause even further. Peter Budaj will likely be in net tonight against the Canucks, but the 34-year old hasn’t been an effective NHL starter in years now. For a team who is still in win-now mode, the defense will need to tighten up even further for the next few days at least. As Jon Rosen of FOX Sports reports, Zatkoff’s groin ’tightened up’ after stopping a shot in practice. While it may not be a major injury yet, groin injuries often linger longer than initially expected.

Campbell, a former 11th overall pick by the Dallas Stars, has never been able to establish himself in the NHL. The 24-year old split the last two seasons between the AHL and ECHL, where he found mixed results. If Zatkoff stays on the shelf for very long, the Kings will need a combination of Budaj and Campbell to keep them competitive. The team sits at 1-3-0 through four games, and sixth in the Pacific Division.

LeBrun’s Latest: Lindholm, Fowler, Murray, Fleury, Condon

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Earlier today we referenced an item regarding the status of the Jacob Trouba trade discussions in Pierre LeBrun’s recent Rumblings column on ESPN.com. As it turns out, LeBrun covered a number of other worthwhile topics in his piece, which should naturally be read in its entirety. But in the meantime, we’ve got several of the highlights for your reading pleasure.

  • There’s been a lot of talk of late regarding the potential availability of Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler, in large part due to the team’s need to re-sign RFA Hampus Lindholm and Anaheim’s precarious salary cap situation. As it stands, the Ducks have less than $400K in space according to Cap Friendly. With Lindholm expected to receive in excess of $5MM annually on a new deal the team certainly has their work cut out for them. Dealing Fowler would clear $4MM in cap space, assuming of course they don’t take an NHL contract back in any trade. Anaheim also has Brandon Montour and Shea Theodore, both of whom appear to be NHL-ready, or close to it, and that could step into the vacancy should the club move Fowler – or any other defenseman for that matter. LeBrun, however, doesn’t believe trading Fowler is a “front-burner issue” and believes the club could keep Fowler. He suggests Anaheim could create some salary cap space and buy more time by placing Simon Despres on LTIR. Despres has been out since leaving the team’s first game with what is believed to be a concussion. Despres accounts for $3.7MM against the cap so the Ducks would likely have to make at least one more move to create enough space once Lindholm is re-signed.
  • Speaking of Lindholm’s contract talks, LeBrun believes the two sides continue to move closer on a new pact, with the defenseman likely using the recent extensions inked by Seth Jones and Rasmus Ristolainen – six years, $5.4MM AAV – as a comparable and the Ducks possibly countering with Morgan Rielly – six years, $5MM AAV. A six-year deal would buy out two of Lindholm’s potential free agent seasons, whereas the Jones and Ristolainen contracts only bought out one. That likely serves as justification for Lindholm’s pursuit of something more than $5.4MM annually.
  • Matt Murray’s recent extension with Pittsburgh shines the light on the decision the team will have to make ahead of next June’s expansion draft. LeBrun notes the team believes Marc-Andre Fleury’s NMC will force the Penguins to protect him, assuming he’s still on the roster. Assuming the Penguins decide Murray is their long-term answer between the pipes, the team would still have several options, as LeBrun writes. In addition to the NMC, Fleury’s contract contains a modified no-trade clause which allows him to list 18 teams to which he would accept a trade. The Penguins could attempt to move him to one of those clubs to whom the goalie would agree to go to. Or the Penguins could buy out Fleury’s contract after the season. Pittsburgh also might try to work out a separate deal with the Las Vegas franchise ensuring they don’t select Murray if the team is required to protect Fleury. The scribe did say he doesn’t believe the team has decided on a course of action as of yet. Whatever they decide, however, LeBrun believes the team will make sure Fleury is on board as they “greatly respect” their longtime #1 netminder.
  • Once Murray returns from injury, the team is likely to waive goalie Mike Condon with the intent of sending him down to the AHL. LeBrun believes he could be claimed and one interested party could be the Kings. With Jonathan Quick out for up to three months, Los Angeles may eventually look for a short-term upgrade between the pipes and they might conclude Condon fits the bill. Condon’s contract expires at the end of the season and currently makes just $575K. LeBrun suggests that Pittsburgh could call up the Kings and offer Condon in a trade with the idea that adding a late round draft pick would be better than losing the young goalie for nothing on waivers.

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