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St. Louis Blues Scratch Jay Bouwmeester For First Time In Career

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St. Louis Blues head coach Mike Yeo said that veteran defenseman Jay Bouwmeester will be a healthy scratch for the first time in his career in today’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, according to Canadian Press’ Joshua Clipperton.

The 35-year-old is in the final year of a five-year, $27MM deal at $5.4MM AAV, but hasn’t been as effective as he’s usually been since missing all, but 35 games in the 2017-18 season. The team, which was expected to compete at a much higher level after acquiring a number of offensive players during the offseason, including Ryan O’Reilly, David Perron, Tyler Bozak and Pat Maroon, have struggled with a 1-5 start. The defense was supposed to be their strong point, but it has struggled this year. Bouwmeester, who is third on the team with an ATOI of 20:50, hasn’t helped with a minus-four this year in six games.

“Obviously decisions like this come when you’re not winning hockey games,” said Yeo (via the Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford). “We’re forced into a position where we have to make difficult decisions. I think part of it is that Schmaltz and Dunn have been playing very well for us. It’s a very, very difficult decision for me as a coach when you’ve got a player you respect like Bouw and what he’s accomplished in his career. Really what it comes down to is we see Bouw at a very high level and we value what he can bring… (But) we don’t feel it’s quite at that level. Maybe it’s the time off from last year, maybe it’s confidence, I’m not sure. But hopefully a game like this gives him a chance to reset and get to that level.”

The Blues are well-known for moving out contracts of veterans who are in their last year of their contract at the trade deadline even when they are fighting for a playoff spotand could be considering moving on from him later this season. The team moved Kevin Shattenkirk in 2016-17 and then moved out Paul Stastny last year. Bouwmeester has played 1,112 games over the course of his NHL career, 362 of which have come in St. Louis.

Washington’s Options At Backup Goalie

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The Washington Capitals have four goaltenders under contract for the coming season, Vezina Trophy-winning starter Braden Holtby and three unproven young backups: Pheonix Copley, Vitek Vanecek, and Ilya Samsonov. The defending Stanley Cup champions do not necessarily need to make any changes to their current depth chart and would most likely be fine this season with a tandem of Holtby and the hot hand among the three prospect keepers, with Copley getting the job initially.

However, championships are built on being prepared to handle the worst. This current iteration of the Capitals, while almost identical to the team that hoisted the Cup just months ago, is not. The only major departure out of D.C. this off-season was backup Philipp Grubauer, who was traded away to the Colorado Avalanche where he could compete for the starting job. Grubauer was far from a typical backup last season; the 26-year-old made 35 appearances, including 28 starts, which was tied for 37th-most in the league, among the NHL’s most active backups. When Holtby went through a rough patch down the stretch, Grubauer took over the reins as the starter and even got the call in the Capitals’ first two postseason contests. His 2.35 GAA was fifth among goalies with 30+ appearances, while his .923 save percentage was eighth among the same group. Grubauer was as solid as they come last season. Meanwhile, Holtby quietly had the worst season of his NHL career. His .907 save percentage and 2.99 GAA were a major deviation from his career performance, as he struggled with streaky play all year long. Without Grubauer, the Capitals likely would have had a worse playoff seeding and potentially would not have won the Stanley Cup.

So what happens if Holtby struggles again? Normally, it would be easy to say that the star goalie will regress positively back to the numbers that made him a top ten NHL stopper. However, after a deep playoff run added 23 appearances to his workload and significantly shortened his summer, it is hard to imagine that Holtby is fully refreshed and ready to be back in Vezina shape. His play last year may not be an indication of what is to come, but it may be a more accurate comparison for Holtby’s probable performance in 2018-19 than would his three prior seasons of dominant play. Without a reliable backup, the Capitals may be hesitant to lessen Holtby’s workload, but if they don’t they could risk another breakdown. Either way, the Washington backup goalie will not be a non-factor this season.

The first option behind Holtby will likely be Copley. Copley, 26, is a career minor leaguer with just two NHL appearances. In contrast, every team in the NHL last season began the year with a backup goaltender that had more than two previous appearances. Copley is also far from a prodigy; his numbers with the AHL’s Hershey Bears last season were poor and he only returned to Washington as nothing more than a toss-in to the Kevin Shattenkirk trade. So far in the preseason, Copley has made 41 saves on 46 shots for a paltry save percentage of .891. While the Capitals have put their faith in Copley to this point to be a serviceable backup, the undrafted free agent out of Michigan Tech has never been considered anything but minor league depth before now. Jumping to a primary backup for a goalie who may need substantial assistance is quite the task. Next up would likely be Vanecek, the Captials’ 2014 second-round pick who has not yet lived up to expectations. Vanecek is still only 22 and has room to improve, but since coming to North America three years ago, he has impressed at the ECHL level and failed to do so in the AHL. Vanecek’s numbers while splitting time with Copley on the Hersey Bears last year were even worse; Copley had an .896 save percentage and 2.91 GAA, while Vanecek had an .888 save percentage and 3.04 GAA. Vanecek has potential, but is not ready to be an NHL backup. Samsonov, in his first season in North America, is easily the most talented of the group. A 2015 first-round pick, Samsonov has been playing significant minutes in the KHL since he was 18. In three seasons with Metallurg Magnitogorsk, Samsonov was the primary backup to Vasili Koshechkin and posted a .925 save percentage or better each year. Some hope that young Samsonov can step in and immediately provide that same level of support for Holtby. However, the adjustment to the NHL – and even AHL – can be a difficult one when coming over from Europe. There is no guarantee that Samsonov’s performance will immediately translate. There is also a question of whether Washington will want to harm their heir apparent’s development by costing him starts as the NHL backup. As such, the Capitals are likely to play it safe with Samsonov this season.

Washington’s in-house options to back-up Holtby are not inspiring. The team could absolutely move forward with this group and hope that Holtby can make 65+ starts without a hitch, but there is ample risk involved with that strategy. Normally, it would be tough to significantly upgrade the goaltender position at this time of year, but not this season. Intriguing names are already available and more soon will be. On the free agent market, veterans Kari Lehtonen and Steve Mason remain unsigned. The Capitals do not have much cap space, but if either is willing to take a show-me deal, they would become a massive improvement on the team’s goalie depth. However, both players have been available for much of the off-season and the Caps have yet to pull the trigger. They may instead have their eye on younger, more affordable options. Michael Hutchinson, a free agent signing of the Florida Panthers this summer, is one possibility, as he was already placed on waivers at the earliest possible time. St. Louis’ Jordan Binnington and Vegas’ Oscar Dansk are other waiver options who may have slightly more upside than Copley. That is just the first subset of the backup goalie market though. Teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs (Curtis McElhinney, Garret Sparks, Calvin Pickard), Philadelphia Flyers (Michal Neuvirth, Anthony Stolarz, Alex Lyon), and Los Angeles Kings (Peter Budaj, Jack Campbell, Cal Petersen) have major logjams in goal that are prime for a trade or waiver claim. Washington could also wait to target one of a number of third-string goalies trying to be slipped through waivers, such as Al Montoya, Eddie Lack, Andrew Hammond, Anton Forsberg, Zane McIntyre, Jared Coreau, or J-F Berube. The opportunities are out there to upgrade at backup goalie. The only question is whether the Capitals make the move before it’s too late and those opportunities have disappeared.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: New York Rangers

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Navigating the Salary Cap is probably one of the more important tasks for any general manager to have. Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2018-19 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

New York Rangers

Current Cap Hit: $73,823,569 (under the $79.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Pavel Buchnevich (one year remaining, $925K)
D Neal Pionk (one year remaining, $925K)
F Lias Andersson (three years remaining, $894K)
F Filip Chytil (three years remaining, $894K)
D Anthony DeAngelo (one year remaining, $863K)
G Alexandar Georgiev (two years remaining, $793K)

Potential Bonuses

Pionk: $850K
Andersson: $850K
Deangelo: $400K
Chytil: $350K

Total: $2.45MM

With the team in quick rebuild mode, there are some entry-level deals already and if the team continues to trend in that direction, they will have quite a bit more. The team’s most prominent player at the NHL level to date would be Buchnevich, who improved on his rookie campaign with a 14-goal, 43-point season last year. He saw more ice time as well, improving from 13:16 ATOI to 15:01 as well as saw significant time on the team’s power play, potting five goals and 11 assists with the man advantage and has earned himself a solid spot in the team’s top-six. Another improved season could see him being an expensive restricted free agent.

The team has high expectations for their two 2017 first-rounders in Andersson and Chytil. Both have shown excellent skills and have received some time playing for the NHL with Andersson seeing seven games, while saw nine games. Both are expected to earn time with the Rangers out of training camp, but both may find themselves on bottom-six lines unless they can prove that they can center the second or third lines in training camp.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

F Kevin Hayes ($5.18MM, UFA)
F Mats Zuccarello ($4.5MM, UFA)
D Rob O’Gara ($874K, RFA)
F Cody McLeod ($750K, UFA)
D Fredrik Claesson ($863K, RFA)
F Peter Holland ($675K, UFA)
D Steven Kampfer ($650K, UFA)
G Marek Mazanec ($650K, UFA)

The team agreed to a one-year deal with Hayes, avoiding arbitration, but now face the possibility that Hayes could walk away at the end of the season as he will be unrestricted, which will force the team into two possible directions, including attempting to work out a long-term deal with the team after Jan. 1, 2019, or trading him, possibly at the trading deadline if the two sides can’t agree on anything. Hayes, who has been a jack of all trades playing multiple positions, seems to have developed into a solid center as he produced his best season ever, which included 25 goals, eight more than any previous year. The question is, do the Rangers view him as a fixture in their lineup as they continue to rebuild?

At age 30, Zuccarrello still puts up solid numbers, but despite the high-end minutes that the veteran gets, he falls into a similar category to that of Hayes where you have to ask whether he is in the team’s long-term plans. The winger is penciled in to play on the team’s top line once again, but has only put up 31 goals over the past two seasons. He does produce quite a few assists (81 over the past two years), but what the Rangers need more than anything is goals. Zuccarello will also turn 32 before he begins his next contract and at that age, how long are the Rangers willing to commit to him?

Two Years Remaining

F Chris Kreider ($4.63MM, UFA)
F Ryan Spooner ($4MM, UFA)
F Vladislav Namestnikov ($4MM, UFA)
F Jimmy Vesey ($2.28MM, UFA)
F Matt Beleskey ($1.9MM, UFA)
F Jesper Fast ($1.85MM, UFA)

Kreider is coming off a tough year in which he had to deal with blood clots and had surgery to relieve the pressure and missed almost two months of time. The 27-year-old didn’t have as solid of a season as he tallied just 16 goals in 58 games, which is a far cry from the 28 goals he scored in 2016-17 although a lot of that is due to the fact that his playing time dipped as the team didn’t want to play him too many minutes due to the blood clot issue. Regardless with a full offseason to rest and recuperate, Kreider should be able to bounce back as one of the team’s top scorers.

The team also have high expectations from two other forwards that the team acquired through at the trade deadline a year ago in Namestnikov and Spooner. Namestnikov was the biggest name to arrive in New York in the Ryan McDonagh trade with Tampa Bay. He was a key player for the Lightning, posting 20 goals and 44 points with them, but he actually lost playing time once he arrived in New York and put up just two goals and four points in 19 games. The team hopes that a new coach and proper training camp with his new team will make quite a difference. Spooner came over in the Rick Nash trade with Boston and has posted solid numbers with the Bruins over the past few seasons and could turn out to be a top-six wing or third-line center in New York. Between the two teams, Spooner combined for 13 goals and 28 assists.

The team also expect big things from Vesey, who signed as a undrafted collegiate free agent a couple of years ago and if finally starting to show that he belongs in the NHL. The 25-year-old winger has put up solid numbers for two years, but could find himself getting more opportunities in the team’s rebuild. In two years, he’s combined for 33 goals and 55 points.

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Poll: Who Is The Most Likely To Bounce Back The Best From Injury?

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Injuries plague teams every year and are often hard to predict or prepare for. Yet every season, several key players find their seasons ruined due to an injury. While the league didn’t really lose a superstar player like the Tampa Bay Lightning did in 2016-17 when Steven Stamkos went down with a torn lateral meniscus in his knee and appeared in just 17 games. However, there quite a few players who went down for a chunk of time that definitely diminished their seasons. However, assuming everyone is back healthy, who will come back and have the best season next year?

Among those that missed the most time include Jeff Carter of the Los Angeles Kings, who missed 55 games with a leg injury. The 33-year-old posted a solid 13 goals and 22 points in 27 games when he returned and should be poised to put up big numbers next season, centering the second line likely alongside Tanner Pearson and Tyler Toffoli. The question is when will Father Time catch up with him. Speaking of Father Time, San Jose Sharks center Joe Thornton missed quite a bit of time in the second half of the season when he suffered a knee injury that knocked him out for 35 games. The 39-year-old posted 13 goals and 36 points last season in just 47 games and could put up more impressive numbers if he can get in a full season.

Several players suffered through injuries, but also saw their numbers decline due to the lack of success of their franchises, including the New York Rangers’ Chris Kreider. The 27-year-old was looked to a year ago to lead the team in scoring after he posted a 28-goal season in 2016-17, and had 11 goals before being diagnosed with a blood clot, requiring surgery. He came back to add another five, but was far from the star forward the struggling Rangers needed. Montreal Canadiens’ Max Pacioretty also struggled last year, posting just 17 goals in the first 64 games before going down for the season with a knee injury. That production was a far cry from the four straight 30+ goal seasons he has put together before that. Can he bounce back to form whether that’s with Montreal or another team?

The Rangers also were without their star defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk for 36 games with a knee injury. The team signed to a four-year, $26.6MM deal last offseason and was looked upon to quarterback the Rangers’ offense. However, the 29-year-old managed just five goals and 18 assists in 46 games. Defenseman Justin Schultz also didn’t produce the big season that the Pittsburgh Penguins were hoping for as the 28-year-old blueliner missed 19 games with a lower-body injury. He went from a 12-goal and 51-point season in 2016-17 season to just four goals and 27 points this past year.

Goaltending also has quite a few options on players hoping to bounce back and while the Chicago Blackhawks’ Corey Crawford might be an obvious candidate, the veteran goalie did post excellent numbers (2.28 GAA, .929 save percentage) before he went down with what is believed to be a concussion. However, Montreal’s Carey Price was struggling quite a bit when he went down with a concussion. Price, who had just signed an eight-year, $88MM extension last summer, did get into 49 games, but finished with a poor 3.11 GAA and a disappointing .900 save percentage. Price has bounced back before from a down season, so there is hope the superstar goaltender can bounce back. Finally Colorado’s Semyon Varlamov struggled with injuries the past two seasons, needing two hip surgeries a year ago and then had knee issues this year. In 51 games, Varlamov finished with a 2.68 GAA, but also now has to share duties with newly acquired Philipp Grubauer if he wants to bounce back, especially since he will be an unrestricted free agent in a year.

So which player will be able to rebound from injury and return themselves to an elite player?

Pro Hockey Rumors app users, click here to vote.

Metropolitan Notes: Rangers, Grant, Guentzel, Ho-Sang

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The New York Rangers have made a few changes, but so far remain quiet this offseason as the real changes the team has made has been in their coaching staff. From new head coach David Quinn to assistant coaches Greg Brown and David Oliver, the team expects many of the changes to be within the organization as new coaches mean using players in different ways, which could see several players see big improvements.

Shayna Goldman of The Athletic (subscription required) breaks down some of the changes the coaching staff intends to implement this season and suggests the team could get boosts in performance from multiple players, targeting Kevin Hayes, Pavel Buchnevich, Brady Skjei and Kevin Shattenkirk.  Assuming Hayes isn’t traded this offseason as has been rumored, the team could see him take another step in his development.

Shifted into a shutdown role more recently, Hayes has been successful, but he has the skills to be a top offensive forward if needed, which could happen this season. Buchnevich is another offensive force who has been slowed by injuries, while the team has high expectations for Skjei and Shattenkirk (finally healthy) to return to form as top-four defenders.

  • The Athletic’s Josh Yohe (subscription required) explains the reasoning behind the Pittsburgh Penguins’ recent signing of center Derek Grant. While there has been recent talk about the excessive amount of centers the team has, there have been even more after the team added Grant. Yet, Yohe writes that the Penguins feel the team needs as many centers as they can find for depth purposes and that Grant could find himself playing either center or wing, depending on how training camp shakes out. However, the possibility the team might still make a late offseason trade remains a legitimate possibility, suggesting that Derick Brassard could be moved still.
  • The Athletic’s Nick Kelly (subscription required) writes that Pittsburgh Penguins Jake Guentzel is enjoying his offseason this year, while playing in Da Beauty League, because he got some extra time off when the Penguins were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs this past year. While he has no wish to get that extra time off again, Guentzel has spent his time this offseason in the weight room in hopes of becoming a more well-rounded player. He hopes to take his game to the next level after a full season in which he tallied 22 goals and 48 points last year. However, he scored just two goals in his final 20 games, suggesting he needs to work on his strength and conditioning to take that next step.
  • Newsday’s Andrew Gross writes that the New York Islanders Joshua Ho-Sang should get a clean slate with a new coaching staff and management coming into the fold. Ho-Sang is expected to take on a full-time roll with the organization this year after he spent most of last season in the AHL due to issues with Ho-Sang’s attitude. The 22-year-old criticized management about how they were handling their development. He started the season in New York, posting solid numbers, including two goals and 12 points in 22 games, but was sent down to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers to work on other parts of his game and played 50 games there, but struggled at times, finishing with just eight goals.

Capitals’ Barry Trotz Likely To Cash In On Big Pay Day

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Washington Capitals head coach Barry Trotz might be the ultimate free agent. With many thinking early on that the Capitals planned to move on from their long-time coach after this season, Trotz instead has bet on himself and taken the Capitals for a long playoff ride, taking a once dejected and weakened Washington team this season and leading them to a surprising Stanley Cup Finals berth.

And despite the fact that Washington Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan said Friday that Trotz’ contract extension will not be addressed until the end of the season, Trotz looks to be in a great position to get a big raise from the $1.5MM that the 55-year-old coach is making this season, according to The Washington Times’ Matthew Paras.

The team had a two-year window which ended last season after two straight playoff losses to the rival Pittsburgh Penguins. With the window closed, the team lost multiple players in the offseason as defensemen Kevin Shattenkirk and Karl Alzner along with winger Justin Williams all walked in free agency. The team even traded winger Marcus Johansson to the New Jersey Devils to free up cap room and then lost defenseman Nate Schmidt to the Vegas Golden Knights. Yet, the Capitals have made an unlikely Stanley Cup run and now have a chance to win the title under Trotz’ direction.

“He’s probably going to benefit from this too,” MacLellan said. “It’s not all not good for him. I think he’s done a good job managing it. To come in this year with so many questions — not from my point of view, the lineup questions were that big a deal — but just the emotional state of our team coming in to start the year and how to handle that, I think he’s done an outstanding job.”

Trotz admits that he’s made changes, including being more loose and relaxed during the playoffs and has made some key strategic moves that seems to have motivated the team, including the key decision to turn the goaltending reigns back to Braden Holtby in the playoffs after initially taking his starting job away. Another key decision was when the coach scratched a struggling Andre Burakovsky and then re-inserting him into the lineup where he notched two goals in Game 7 against Tampa Bay.

Trotz said he isn’t worried about his contract status and didn’t have much to say when asked what he would do if he wasn’t brought back.

“I’ll move on. So be it,” Trotz said.

 

Rangers Must Continue To Upgrade Their Defense

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The New York Rangers still have to hire a coach, but the team’s top goal is to continue to improve its blueline this offseason. Just a year ago, the Rangers invested heavily into a veteran defense that was expected to be among the best in the league. The team went out and signed highly coveted free agent Kevin Shattenkirk and re-signed Brendan Smith to go with captain Ryan McDonagh and Marc Staal and a rising Brady Skjei.

Instead the defense struggled mightily as they were ranked fourth in goals against, allowing 3.21 goals per game during the 2017-18 season. Now with McDonagh gone and the team in a rebuild, the Rangers must make more changes to improve their struggling blueline.

The Athletic’s Shayna Goldman (subscription required) writes that a few pieces are certain. A healthy Shattenkirk should boost the team’s defense after the team shut him down in the middle of the year with a torn meniscus. Throw in a much improved year for Staal and the Rangers have a couple of solid pieces to aid them. The team still has high hopes for Skjei, despite his second-year struggles, but Smith is a complete unknown as it will be up to him to get into game shape and prove he was worth the four-year, $17.4MM deal he signed last offseason. The team did like the way rookie Neal Pionk played in his 28-game trial at the end of the year. Even defenseman Anthony DeAngelo showed improvement at the end of the year as well. The team also added a number of new young d-men at the trade deadline that aren’t too far off, including Ryan Lindgren, Libor Hajek and Yegor Rykov.

Regardless, the team could use a boost from an experienced young defenseman that can help stabilize last year’s crew or at the very least, more young talent that will be ready within a year. The New York Post’s Larry Brooks writes that the team should consider offering up either Kevin Hayes or Mike Zibanejad in exchange for defensive help, assuming the player they get back is a current or future top-four defenseman. While he believes that Dougie Hamilton would be the perfect trade target, he doubts the Calgary Flames would move him. However, Calgary is loaded with defensive prospects that are stuck behind their veteran defense, suggesting the Rangers go after prospect Adam Fox, who is a top defenseman at Harvard University, and who was the former partner of Lindgren. Trading one of those young veterans could work as centermen are in high demand right now with few available on the free agent market and with the Rangers putting much of their hopes on both of last year’s first-round picks in Lias Andersson and Filip Chytil at center next season.

No matter what, the team will have to make some changes if they hope to improve on their disappointing 2017-18 season.

Western Notes: Tarasenko, Horvat, Kaprisov

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Many people had high hopes that St. Louis Blues winger Vladimir Tarasenko would take that next step this year and become that franchise player that everyone has been waiting for. However, despite those hopes, Tarasenko had a down year. After averaging close to 39 goals per season over the past three years, the 26-year old’s goal totals dropped to 33, while his point totals went from 75 to 66.

The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford (subscription required) writes that one possibility of Tarasenko’s struggles is the fact that the team traded away his three closest friends in Jori Lehtera, Ryan Reaves and Kevin Shattenkirk. Not having them around did have an effect on how Tarasenko handled himself around the team and the scribe said that both Shattenkirk and Reaves had a way of keeping the star level-headed and in check.

While the team would have little interest in bringing back Lehtera and unrealistic to bring back Shattenkirk, the team may consider bringing back Reaves, who will be an unrestricted free agent. The question there is whether the Blues could find playing time for the power forward. Reaves struggled with the Pittsburgh Penguins and has not played for the Vegas Golden Knights in the playoffs yet, which suggests he may not be the same player he once was. Regardless, Rutherford adds that if they do attempt to bring back Reaves, that would spell the end of Chris Thorburn, who essentially plays that same role.

  • Vancouver Canucks Bo Horvat is playing for Team Canada in the World Championships with one thing in mind. The Vancouver Sun’s Ben Kuzma writes that the team captain was told by the team during exit interviews at the end of the season to keep working on his two-way game. Horvat, who had a career-high in goals scored with 22, has emphasized working on his skating while in Denmark. “For me, it’s to work on my skating — you can never be too fast,” said Horvat, who also said working on his defensive awareness is another skill he’s been working on.
  • The Minnesota Wild have had no luck changing the mind of prospect Kirill Kaprisov, according to The Athletic’s Craig Custance (subscription required). The 21-year-old Russian prospect has been playing alongside long-time Detroit Red Wings star Pavel Datsyuk at the IIHF World Championships and the two have been a great combination. However, despite the youngster’s success and the Wild’s desperate need for a young scorer, his agent Dan Milstein reiterated that he will not come to the U.S. until his contract in the KHL expires. He still has two years remaining with CSKA Moscow. “Kirill has two years left on his KHL contract which he intends to fulfill. Long-term plan is to play in the NHL,” Milstein wrote via e-mail.

Draft Lottery Can Change Many Franchises’ Futures

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A lottery it really is this year.

While the NHL draft lottery always garners quite a bit of attention, some years are just a bit different if the top pick is a game-changer, whether you’re talking about Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews or this year’s No. 1 option. With prospect Rasmus Dahlin listed as the consensus top pick this year, and described by many as having no weaknesses, he is considered to be one of the top defensive prospects to enter the league in possible decades. The 18-year-old defenseman out of Sweden should immediately change the state of any franchise that wins tonight.

With the lottery just hours away, how will each club look if they were to get lucky and win it?

Buffalo Sabres (18.5%) — The Sabres franchise would get a huge boost with the addition of Dahlin plus some badly needed luck that they seem to never have. Already boasting one of the worst defenses in the league and sudden talk that the team shouldn’t consider Rasmus Ristolainen a No. 1 defenseman, the team and general manager Jason Botterrill’s job would get much easier if they can win the lottery.

Ottawa Senators (13.5%) — Winning the lottery should make their tough decision easier as they traded away their top pick in the Matt Duchene trade, which is, fortunately for them, top-three protected. Winning the lottery is a no-brainer as they would take Dahlin who could either join star defenseman Erik Karlsson or allow the team to trade the veteran, knowing they already have his replacement. However, the real issue is they end up in the top three, do they keep the pick or send it to Colorado to avoid giving Colorado an unprotected first-rounder in 2019.

Arizona Coyotes (11.5%) — Despite having the third-worst record in the league this year, the Coyotes seem to be heading in the right direction as they went 19-12-4 in their final 35 games of the season as many of the team’s young players had started to figure things out. What better way to improve on that then to add Dahlin, who could convince fellow countryman Oliver Ekman-Larsson to stay on with the team for many years to come.

Montreal Canadiens (9.5%) — With the injury struggles of aging defenseman Shea Weber and little else defensive help nearby, the team could use the infusion of a franchise-changing defenseman joining the team. With Weber and goaltender Carey Price on huge contracts, a cheap franchise player could move the team in the right direction.

Detroit Red Wings (8.5%) — What better way to finally start the rebuild, then by adding a young, talented defender to join the team. With few defensive prospects on the horizon, the team’s suspect defense could get a huge boost with Dahlin. With the return of Mike Green unknown, and a group of aging veterans, the team needs someone to take over as the face of the franchise.

Vancouver Canucks (7.5%) — The Canucks rebuild is looking better and better with players like Adam Gaudette, Elias Pettersson, Jonathan Dahlen and defenseman Olli Juolevi about to arrive. Throw in Brock Boeser, Bo Horvat and a number of other prospects on the way, Dahlin would only quicken this team’s rise of young players. On top of that, the team is loaded with defensive-minded blueliners and could use an offensive power-play quarterback.

Chicago Blackhawks (6.5%) — While a lottery victory by the Blackhawks might infuriate the rest of the league, the Blackhawks do need to bolster their defensive depth and Dahlin could easily vault a struggling team back into the playoffs as he could take a lot of pressure off veterans Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook.

New York Rangers (6%) — Just started a rebuild and they walk away with a generational talent? While many people believe the Rangers intend to have a quick rebuild and compete for a playoff spot within the next year or two, having Dahlin on the roster would only jettison the team to that goal quicker and putting him alongside Brady Skjei and Neal Pionk along with veteran Kevin Shattenkirk would help stabilize their blueline.

New York Islanders (6% total with 3.5% from their pick and Calgary’s 2.5%) — Perhaps winning the lottery would be enough to convince John Tavares to stay. Regardless, adding Dahlin to their defensive woes would only stabilize a team that has the offense to reach the playoffs. He could be a cornerstone the franchise hasn’t had there since Denis Potvin. Add in the fact that the Islanders also have the Calgary Flames’ pick, the team has a better chance to winning the lottery than quite a few teams.

Edmonton Oilers (5%) — Angry fans might protest Edmonton walking away as another lottery winner, but adding Dahlin to, again, a failing defense would allow a team that already has McDavid and Leon Draisaitl should bounce back to where they left off one year ago. Dahlin would provide the team with the No. 1 defenseman that they currently lack

Carolina Hurricanes (3%) — As the percentage begin to really drop, Carolina would only get richer as the team is already loaded in quality young defensemen and would allow the team to move other defenseman like Justin Faulk and acquire more scoring, which the team badly needs.

Dallas Stars (2%) — The addition of Dahlin along with last year’s third overall pick in Finnish defenseman Miro Heiskanen would make for a deadly combo and that’s not including John Klingberg.

Philadelphia Flyers (1.5% from St. Louis Blues) — Adding Dahlin could put Philadelphia at the same level with Pittsburgh, Washington and Tampa Bay.

Florida Panthers (1%) — The hottest team that didn’t make the playoffs would get a much needed boost if they could hit that 1/100 chance.

 

 

Metropolitan Notes: Rangers, Boychuk, Pulock, Ward, Kempny

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

With the New York Rangers being the first team in almost a year to be looking for a head coach after firing Alain Vigneault Saturday evening, the team has said it will commence with their search immediately. The team must decide whether they are looking for a big name coach, a up-and-coming coach or a coach that is good at working with young players.

The New York Post’s Larry Brooks offers 10 potential candidates to replace Vigneault, leading those suggestions with three collegiate coaches, including the University of Denver’s Jim Montgomery, Boston University’s David Quinn and Union College’s Rick Bennett. He also suggests Toronto Marlies coach Sheldon Keefe of the AHL would be a good fit.

According to Brooks, there are also several veteran NHL coaches available, including Dan Bylsma, Darryl Sutter, Dave Tippett and Patrick Roy.

  • Andrew Gross of Newsday reports that veteran defenseman Johnny Boychuk will undergo surgery Monday, but would not reveal what it is for. The 34-year-old defenseman missed quite some time this season, playing in just 58 games this season. He is expected to be 100 percent by June.
  • Arthur Staple of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that while little has gone right this year, one bright spot has been the strong finish of rookie defenseman Ryan Pulock. The 23-year-old blueliner finished with 10 goals, most in the NHL for rookie defensemen. His 18:24 of average ice time was second among rookie defensemen behind Boston’s Charlie McAvoy. Staple suggests that his improvement on the defensive end could potentially make him a top-pairing defenseman.
  • The Charlotte Observer’s Chip Alexander wonders what will happen to long-time goaltender Cam Ward now that the season is over. The veteran goalie who has spent 13 years with the organization will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason and at 34 years old, the team must decide whether they want to bring him back or go in a different direction. Despite taking a backup role this year, Ward still played in 43 games and finished with a 2.78 GAA and a .906 save percentage as he had to fill in for a struggling Scott Darling. Of course, with no general manager in place yet, it might be a while before the team sorts that out.
  • After going out a year ago and trading for star defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk and then being eliminated in the first round, the Washington Capitals have taken the opposite course this year, quietly trading for Michal Kempny from the Chicago Blackhawks. While hardly a headlining defenseman, Kempny has been a good fit with Washington and has changed their defense for the better, according to Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan. Kempny, who was often a healthy scratch for Chicago has filled in as a top-four defenseman and is averaging 16:46 per game. As the team prepares for a matchup with the Columbus Blue Jackets in the first round of the playoffs, they hope the improvement of their defense might help them with a long playoff run.

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