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Klim Kostin

Trevor Smith Signs AHL Contract With San Antonio

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Journeyman forward Trevor Smith will be back in the AHL next season, but for the first time in his career it won’t be on an NHL contract. The long-time pro has played on a one- or two-year two-way contract since his first full season in 2007-08, but that streak has come to an end. Smith has signed a one-way minor league contract with the San Antonio Rampage, the AHL announced today.

Smith, 33, has been a constant presence in the AHL for a long time, with at least one game played in eleven of the past twelve years, for a total of 593 games. During that time, he has also skated in 107 NHL games, including a career-high 54 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2014-15. The University of New Hampshire alum signed with the New York Islanders to begin his pro career and has since signed contracts with the Anaheim Ducks, Tampa Bay Lightning, Pittsburgh Penguins, Toronto Maple Leafs, and most recently a two-year deal with the Nashville Predators. Smith has always had incredible production in the AHL – 438 total points and .75 points per game – but transitioning that offense has been a constant struggle; Smith has only 20 career NHL points and has never cracked double-digits in a single season.

As such, it is no surprise that the aging Smith is no longer considered a valued NHL asset. Although just last season he scored 43 points in 66 games in the AHL, he has only one scoreless NHL game on his resume over the past three years and has a history of being a non-factor at the top level. Nevertheless, he will still be a major boost for the Rampage in 2018-19. The former captain of both the Toronto Marlies and Milwaukee Admirals will play an important leadership role in San Antonio and his offensive experience and ability will help the team succeed as well as assist in the development of top young St. Louis Blues forward prospects like Jordan Kyrou, Klim Kostin, Erik Foley, and Nolan Stevens. Smith’s NHL days may be over, but he can still be a difference-maker in the AHL, where he has thrived for more than a decade.

St. Louis Blues Must Decide Who To Move If They Want To Improve

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One reason the St. Louis Blues struggled this past season was their lack of quality players in their top-six. If the Blues want to upgrade their center position this offseason which is believed to be their biggest need, the team must be willing to move some of their assets to do that. Some potential possibilities to fill that gap could range from the Buffalo Sabres’ Ryan O’Reilly to the Edmonton Oilers Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

In a mailbag segment, St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Jeff Gordon writes that the most obvious trade asset the team has is on defense. The team is loaded there with captain Alex Pietrangelo, Colton Parayko, Joel Edmundson, an expected bounce-back season of veteran Jay Bouwmeester, and the improved play of rookie Vince Dunn. The most obvious trade chip would be Parayko, a promising draft pick back in 2012, who has put up three solid seasons, but hasn’t taken that next step into a star player. Already locked in for another four years at $5.5MM AAV, the team may still not be ready to move on from him as their expectations are high on him.

Gordon writes if the team decides to make Parayko off-limits to teams, then the team would have to consider moving other key assets such as Edmundson and Dunn as well as a few of their young forward prospects such as Tage Thompson, Klim Kostin and Samuel Blais as well as the Winnipeg Jets’ 2018 first-round pick which they got in the Paul Stastny deal. While the preference would be for the team not to trade off any of their talented prospects, if they want to upgrade their roster, the team must consider moving some of them. While the team has made Jordan Kyrou, who is coming off an elite season in juniors, and Robert Thomas, their 2017 first-round pick who has dominated in the junior playoffs, the team might have no choice but to consider using Thompson, Kostin or Blais to bait a team into a trade.

Edmundson will be a restricted free agent this summer and while he has been hampered by injuries, he’s proven to be an excellent defensive blueliner. Dunn had a great first season as well. Thompson, the team’s 2016 first-rounder, split time between the Blues and the San Antonio Rampage of the AHL. He could earn a bigger role next year, but scored just three goals in 41 games in the NHL last year. Kostin, the team’s other first-round pick in the 2017 draft, struggled adjusting to the North American game as an 18-year-old in the AHL, but is considered to have great skills. Blais also split time between leagues, but managed to get into just 11 games with the Blues.

However, the real question is what will they be willing to give up for a top-six center? Or is there another way to get one.

 

Snapshots: Blues, Thornton, Lewis, Lightning

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In a mailbag column, The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford writes (subscription required) that while the Blues have been linked with a number of high-profile teams such as the Ottawa Senators, Buffalo Sabres, Montreal Canadiens, Edmonton Oilers and the New York Rangers, it’s unlikely the team will make a big move for a big name forward with years on his contract like a Max Pacioretty or a Mike Hoffman despite recent rumors to the contrary.

Due to the high trade demands being made for these players, Rutherford believes that trading a top prospect for a player who has a large contract to fit into their salary cap space doesn’t make a lot of sense as the team wants to have as much flexibility when free agency arrives this summer. Instead, the scribe believes the team needs to go the rental route and acquire a player (for a much cheaper price) so the team can make their run.

The team already is without their 2018 first-round pick which they traded for Brayden Schenn, so moving a top prospect could set the team back long-term. The team should look into a player such as Rick Nash, Michael Grabner or Patrick Maroon as options as they likely won’t cost them one of their top prospects in Jordan Kyrou, Robert Thomas or Klim Kostin.

  • The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz (subscription required) writes that alarms should sound after San Jose Sharks center Joe Thornton refused to say that he will definitely be back this season. That’s a surprise considering he is a player who last year played through torn MCL and ACL injuries during the playoffs. Historically, he’s been a player who goes out on the ice no matter how hurt he is, so the idea that he might not be back this season suggests the injury is worse than people think. Could he have already played his last game as a San Jose Shark?
  • Fox Sports West Patrick O’Neal tweets that Los Angeles Kings forward Trevor Lewis was sent back to Los Angeles to be re-evaluated after being injured in Friday’s game against the Florida Panthers. While indications are that the injury isn’t serious, head coach John Stevens wanted to have him evaluated after he sustained a serious crash against the boards.
  • Tampa Bay Times’ Joe Smith writes that the rumors of a potential Ottawa Senators-Tampa Bay Lightning deadline deal refuses to go away. He writes that there have been a number of rumors, including talk of Erik Karlsson, and points out that Ottawa’s chief scout is expected to be at the Tampa Bay game tonight.

Blues Notes: Allen, Kostin, Prospects

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While many in St. Louis look at the St. Louis goaltending situation and immediately wonder why backup Carter Hutton isn’t getting even more time in the net while starter Jake Allen is struggling, The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford (subscription required) writes that there is no reason to consider moving Allen or even suggesting that Hutton is the answer in net for St. Louis.

In a mailbag, Rutherford covers multiple topics, but is quick to point out that the team could consider moving Allen for a valuable winger to add to the team’s offense, but that would only create other problems next season. While there might be some merit to adding a top-six winger such as Ottawa’s Mike Hoffman for Allen, Hutton has not proven he can be a starting goaltender, nor has he proven he should be a tandem goaltender just yet. Sure, the 32-year-old Hutton is having a great season as he has a 1.84 GAA and an impressive .940 save percentage in 16 appearances, but can he continue to play at that level with an increased role? On top of that, Hutton will be an unrestricted free agent next season, meaning the Blues would either have to lock Hutton up the moment they trade Allen or they could spend less than half a season to observe Hutton, but take a chance they might get outbid for his services. And what if Hutton’s not the guy? The team would be out a netminder next season.

Rutherford also argues that the 27-year-old Allen has been quite successful in his career for St. Louis. While he currently has weak numbers this year with a 2.75 GAA and a .908 save percentage, he still boasts a career 108-60-14 career record. While his save percentage numbers have historically dropped as the season wears on, Allen has always been solid in the playoffs, boasting a .922 career save percentage and even had a .935 save percentage in the playoffs last year. Giving up on him is probably not the way to go.

  • Among many topics he weighs in on, Rutherford also notes that it is highly unlikely that general manager Doug Armstrong promised prospect Klim Kostin an opportunity to get called up if he performed well at the World Junior Championships, like Kostin claims. He doubts Armstrong would make a promise like that to anyone and considering that Kostin has no points in his last three games since returning from the WJC and he has two points in his last 12 games with the San Antonio Rampage of the AHL, it would seem even more unlikely that Kostin will get recalled soon. Kostin has even found himself on the Rampage’s fourth line lately, suggesting he’s still struggling to adjust to the North American game.
  • While Rutherford admits that the team is looking for wing help, he writes that it’s unlikely the team would move one of their four top prospects, Jordan Kyrou, Robert Thomas, Tage Thompson or Kostin to make that happen. One reason would be that if the team wanted to make a pitch for Hoffman or Montreal’s Max Pacioretty, they would also have to unload salary to make the deal work. Moving a top prospect and salaried players such as defenseman Carl Gunnarsson, plus another player would be too much. However, the scribe notes that if the right deal came along, the team could move one of them as they’d still have three top prospects remaining in their system.

Central Notes: Predators, Methot, Kostin

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If the Predators are going to make any moves between now and the trade deadline, it will likely come in the form of adding help up front, notes Adam Vingan of The Tennessean.  The team is certainly set on the back end and they’re in good shape between the pipes as well.  With winger Filip Forsberg out for the next month or so with a fractured hand though, Nashville could certainly benefit from bringing in a top-six forward in the weeks to come.  The Preds find themselves with the ability to take on nearly $6MM today in salary (per CapFriendly), an amount that increases to more than $13MM by the trade deadline so they should be able to be involved in talks for the top wingers on the market without any concerns of having to offset contracts.

Elsewhere in the Central:

  • The fact that Stars defenseman Marc Methot was a late scratch on Saturday shouldn’t be cause for concern. Head coach Ken Hitchcock told Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News that although the blueliner experienced some soreness in his knee following the warmup yesterday, he is expected to be ready to go following the conclusion of their bye week.  Methot had recently returned to the lineup after missing the previous 26 games with that knee issue.
  • Blues prospect Klim Kostin indicated to Sport-Express’ Alexey Shevchenko (link in Russian) that the team told him that they would bring him up to the NHL at some point this season if he had a strong showing at the World Juniors. Kostin certainly lived up to his end of the bargain, recording five goals and three assists in just five games for Russia in the tournament.  His first season in North America hasn’t gone as well though with just 11 points (2-9-11) in 28 contests with AHL San Antonio.  The 18-year-old also stated that he had promises to be drafted by Tampa Bay (14th overall), Calgary (16th), and Boston (18th) but instead, he wound up falling to 31st overall where St. Louis picked him up.

More NHL Prospects Named To Russian World Junior Roster

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Team Russia had already announced much of their preliminary roster for the World Junior Championships later this month, but had avoided any players currently in North America. Today they added ten names from various North American leagues to the roster, including several already drafted by NHL organizations. According to Igor Eronko of Sport-Express, the following ten are part of the preliminary roster, which will be whittled down before the tournament starts on December 26th.

F Klim Kostin (STL)
F Andrei Svechnikov (2018 eligible)
F German Rubtsov (PHI)
F Vitaly Abramov (CBJ)
F Dmitry Sokolov (MIN)
F Alexei Lipanov (TBL)

D Alexander Alexeyev (2018 eligible)
D Artyom Minulin (undrafted in 2017)
D Dmitri Samorukov (EDM)

G Mikhail Berdin (WPG)

While basically all of these names are very intriguing prospects for their respective clubs, Minulin might be one to watch for the entire league. Expected to go somewhere in the middle rounds in the 2017 draft, his name wasn’t called by any NHL team. The 6’2″ risk-taking defenseman put up 50 points in 70 games last year for the Swift Current Broncos, and returned to the team this season for the third time. It’s not clear why he wasn’t drafted, as he was actually ranked 58th by the NHL’s Central Scouting among North American skaters.

Svechnikov of course will also have all eyes on him at the tournament, as he’ll go head-to-head with the other potential first-overall picks. Rasmus Dahlin—the prospective favorite at the top of draft boards—will be representing Sweden and likely logging big minutes, making a matchup between the two clubs all the more interesting.

Snapshots: Walker, Penguins, Kostin

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As NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti writes, Nathan Walker will make history Saturday night when the Australian forward makes his NHL debut for the Washington Capitals. Though born in Wales, Walker was raised in Australian and will be the first player from the country to lace up his skates for an NHL game. It’s not a publicity stunt by any means either, Walker has worked hard and deserves this chance.

A third-round pick in 2014 as a 20-year old, the small but unstoppable Walker has one of the most interesting development stories in the league. From playing in the Czech professional ranks as a teenager before suiting up in the USHL, to playing almost an entire season in the AHL before being drafted, Walker has proved at every level he shouldn’t be overlooked. He’ll likely skate beside Jay Beagle and Devante Smith-Pelly in Saturday’s game, in what could be a very effective energy line for the team.

  • The Pittsburgh Penguins have been rumored to be after a third-line center for some time, but GM Jim Rutherford doesn’t think that was the problem with their first two games. Rutherford spoke to Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and confirmed that they likely still will make a change eventually. “Can we make that position stronger at some point? Yeah. We’re going to,” said Rutherford, who has been linked to players like Riley Sheahan and Jordan Staal in the past. While it doesn’t sound like either of those two options are going to happen at this point, the Penguins are sure to be active all season long as they look for a three-peat in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
  • Yesterday, despite being injured Klim Kostin was assigned to the San Antonio Rampage of the AHL. Kostin is working his way back from a lower-body injury suffered in camp, and will likely be asked to start in the AHL before getting another crack at the St. Louis Blues’ lineup. Kostin was impressive all summer after being drafted at the end of the first round, but is still just 18 years old. Of course, the Blues won’t have much say in how he’s deployed in San Antonio, as the AHL squad is actually the affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche for one more season. In 2018-19, St. Louis will be taking control after signing a long-term partnership with the club.

Snapshots: Brouwer, Kostin, LTIR

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With the addition of Jaromir Jagr to the Calgary Flames (which has still yet to actually be announced), there is something of a log jam for bottom-six wingers. Troy Brouwer, the most expensive one of the bunch, has now been rumored to be on his way out according to Rick Dhaliwal of News 1130 in Vancouver. While Dhaliwal makes it clear that nothing is imminent, a Brouwer trade would make sense for the Flames.

Last year, Calgary spent a second-round pick to acquire Curtis Lazar with the hope that he could develop into more than just a fourth-line player. Mark Jankowski, another first-round pick who the Flames have been waiting on impressed in camp and has earned a spot on the team. When added with Matt Stajan, Kris Versteeg and Freddie Hamilton the team clearly has enough bodies to handle a trade. Whether they swing a deal for Brouwer and his hefty salary ($4.5MM for each of the next three seasons) is still unclear, but Calgary is definitely a team to watch in the coming days.

  • Klim Kostin was on track to make the St. Louis Blues team out of camp but has suffered an injury according to Lou Korac of NHL.com. The young forward is set to miss 7-10 days and could start in the AHL to get his legs back under him before making an impact with the team. The Blues are without so many of their forwards to start the year that Kostin and other young players will likely have to play a role earlier than the team had wanted.
  • Speaking of the St. Louis Blues and young players, the team has announced an entry-level contract for Tanner Kaspick after spending some time with the club in camp this year. Kaspick is already back playing with his Brandon Wheat Kings of the WHL, where he has four points in four games. Kaspick was a fourth-round pick of the team in 2016 but has shown that there may be more upside to his game than originally thought. In 49 games with the Wheat Kings last year he registered 45 points, and should be given even more responsibility this season as the new captain.
  • Chris Johnston of Sportsnet asked Lou Lamoriello of the Toronto Maple Leafs if his team had been given any sort of decision from the league on the Joffrey Lupul situation, to which the GM said no. The league is set to decide whether Lupul and Chicago Blackhawks forward Marian Hossa can be placed on long-term injured reserve, a decision that should be made before long. If they are, both Toronto and Chicago could get more salary cap relief. The Blackhawks did place one player on LTIR today, moving defenseman Michal Rozsival there to free up another roster spot. Rozsival signed a contract last season in order to help the Blackhawks become expansion draft compliant, but did not pass his physical at the beginning of training camp.

Status Of 2017 First-Round Picks

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By the end of September it will be clear where each of the 2017 first-round picks will be heading to continue their hockey careers, but we already have quite a few that have signed their entry-level contracts. That doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re ticketed for the NHL or even North America, as most will have their deals slide for an additional season. Still, below you can find the current status of each player and their likely destination for the 2017-18 season. While they aren’t final, it will give you an early idea of where to catch them this year.

Nico Hischier – New Jersey Devils – Signed ELC on July 15th. Likely starts the year with New Jersey.

Nolan Patrick – Philadelphia Flyers – Signed ELC on July 17th. Likely starts the year with Philadelphia.

Miro Heiskanen – Dallas Stars – Signed ELC on July 8th. Will play for HIFK this season (Finland).

Cale Makar – Colorado Avalanche – Will play for UMass-Amherst this season (NCAA).

Elias Pettersson – Vancouver Canucks – Will play for Vaxjo this season (Sweden).

Cody Glass – Vegas Golden Knights – Signed ELC on July 15th. Will likely play for Portland this season (WHL).

Lias Andersson – New York Rangers – Signed ELC on July 13th. Will battle for roster spot with New York, but likely play for Frolunda this season (Sweden).

Casey Mittelstadt – Buffalo Sabres – Will play for the University of Minnesota this season (NCAA).

Michael Rasmussen – Detroit Red Wings – Signed ELC on August 5th. Will likely play for Tri-City this season (WHL).

Owen Tippett – Florida Panthers – Signed ELC on July 19th. Will battle for roster spot with Florida; could play for Mississauga this season (OHL).

Gabe Vilardi – Los Angeles Kings – Will likely play for Windsor this season (OHL).

Martin Necas – Carolina Hurricanes – Signed ELC on July 14th. Will likely play for Brno this season (Czech Republic).

Nick Suzuki – Vegas Golden Knights – Signed ELC on July 15th. Will likely play for Owen Sound this season (OHL)

Cal Foote – Tampa Bay Lightning – Will likely play for Kelowna this season (WHL).

Erik Brannstrom – Vegas Golden Knights – Signed ELC on July 15th. Will play for HV71 this season (Sweden).

Juuso Valimaki – Calgary Flames- Signed ELC on July 21th. Will likely play for Tri-City this season (WHL).

Timothy Liljegren – Toronto Maple Leafs – Signed ELC on July 12th. Will likely play for Rogle this season (Sweden).

Urho Vaakanainen – Boston Bruins – Will play for SaiPa this season (Finland)

Josh Norris – San Jose Sharks – Will play for the University of Michigan this season (NCAA).

Robert Thomas – St. Louis Blues – Will play for London this season (OHL).

Filip Chytil – New York Rangers – Signed ELC on July 14th. Will likely play for HC Zlin this season (Czech Republic); could play for Hartford (AHL).

Kailer Yamamoto – Edmonton Oilers – Signed ELC on August 10th. Will likely play for Spokane this year (WHL).

Pierre-Olivier Joseph – Arizona Coyotes – Will likely play for Charlottetown this season (QMJHL).

Kristian Vesalainen – Winnipeg Jets – Will play for HPK this season (Finland).

Ryan Poehling – Montreal Canadiens – Will play for St. Cloud State University this season (NCAA).

Jake Oettinger – Dallas Stars – Will play for Boston University this season (NCAA).

Morgan Frost – Philadelphia Flyers – Signed ELC on August 3rd. Will play for Sault Ste. Marie this season (OHL).

Shane Bowers – Ottawa Senators – Will play for Boston University this season (NCAA).

Henri Jokiharju – Chicago Blackhawks – Will likely play for Portland this season (WHL).

Eeli Tolvanen – Nashville Predators – Will battle for a roster spot with Nashville, but will likely play for Jokerit this season (KHL).

Klim Kostin – St. Louis Blues – Signed ELC on July 5th. Will battle for roster spot with St. Louis; could play in AHL (St. Louis doesn’t have an AHL affiliate for this season, but will be providing players for Chicago and other teams).

Poll: Which 2017 Draft Pick Will Make The Biggest Impact In 2017-18?

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It’s a difficult thing to ask a draft pick to jump straight from junior hockey to the NHL, and only a select few are able to do it with any success. Last season saw Auston Matthews, Patrik Laine, Matthew Tkachuk and Jakob Chychrun play the whole season for their respective clubs, while six others including Jesse Puljujarvi made their debuts at some point. Each found various levels of success but most were either in the running for this year’s Calder Trophy or are among those expected to compete for next year’s.  Auston Matthews

This year, Nico Hischier and Nolan Patrick were the consensus top-2 picks heading into the draft and ended up going to two Metropolitan Division teams who could use their help. New Jersey and Philadelphia will both provide ample opportunity for the youngsters to make an impact, but there are some others that could make the difficult jump.

Florida has been clear that they’ll give Owen Tippett the chance to break camp with the team, and the 10th-overall pick already possesses an NHL-level shot that could provide some immediate success. Tippett was injured in the World Junior Summer Showcase and didn’t play today for Canada, but doesn’t expect to miss much time. Lias Andersson impressed the New York Rangers organization at development camp, and already has experience playing in a professional league in Sweden. He showed off today in a loss to Team USA at the Showcase, scoring two goals and generally looking a step ahead of his competition despite being one of the younger players on the ice. Andersson was selected seventh overall and could make the jump to help New York’s center depth right away.

Even the last pick of the first round, Klim Kostin has a shot of playing in the NHL this season after he’s told the St. Louis Blues that he doesn’t want to play in the WHL where his junior rights are owned. Kostin turned just about every head in the building during development camp with a game that seemed ready to not only keep up but dominate at the professional level. After losing his entire season to injury in 2016-17, Kostin already looks like one of the steals of the draft and St. Louis took no time in signing him to his entry-level contract.

So who will make the biggest impact from this draft class in 2017-18? Will it be one of the top two star prospects, or a surprise in training camp? If Tkachuk had been in most other years, his 48 point 18-year old season would have been viewed as an outstanding accomplishment (it still was, even if overshadowed by Matthews and Laine). Vote below on who you think will have the biggest season, and leave why in the comments!

Included are all the first-round picks, but be sure to mention any middle round players you think could make the jump. Remember, even those who are headed for junior or college could make an impact at the end of the year or in the playoffs like Charlie McAvoy this season.

[Mobile users click here to vote!]

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