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Marc-Andre Fleury

Pacific Notes: Neal, Hughes, Golden Knights

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Already atop the Pacific Division, the Calgary Flames hope to get even stronger after veteran winger James Neal returned to the lineup Saturday night. Neal, who signed a five-year, $28.75MM deal in the offseason, has struggled in his time with the Flames with both injury and production, posting just five goals in 56 games. However, Calgary hopes they can get the 31-year-old going just in time for the playoffs, giving them another weapon they haven’t really had all season.

Neal, who has had 10 straight season with 20 goals or more throughout his career, fared well in his first game back.

“I thought he was real good,” said Flames’ head coach Bill Peters after Saturday’s win. “Really happy with Nealer’s play. I thought he was physical. I thought he was engaged in the game. I thought he played real well.”

Neal has one other key statistic — he has 100 games of playoff experience — a quality that few Flames have, which could be another big asset for the team.

“It felt like a long time (out), but my body feels good and I’m excited to get going,” Neal said prior to Saturday’s welcome-back against the Canucks. “It’s always tough when you get injured but for me, just the way everything was going, I just kind of took it as a positive and rested up and got ready for a big playoff run.”

  • The debut of Vancouver Canucks top prospect, Quinn Hughes, could be fast approaching as Postmedia’s Ben Kuzma reports that Hughes was out on the ice this morning, skating effortlessly during skills session. The 19-year-old had a recent test that cleared him of having a broken bone in his foot that he suffered with Michigan during the Big 10 playoffs while blocking a shot. The Canucks hope they can get their 2018 first-rounder out on the ice before their season ends.
  • Steve Carp of SinBin.vegas writes that one advantage that the Vegas Golden Knights have, almost guaranteed to be locked into a playoff battle with the San Jose Sharks in the first round, is the team can afford to give injured players some rest. That has been evidenced by forward Max Pacioretty, who landed awkwardly after taking a hit from Winnipeg’s Jacob Trouba on Thursday and is listed as day-to-day and with little incentive left until the playoffs, the team is giving him the time he needs to rest up. The same goes from heavily used Marc-Andre Fleury, who is out with a lower-body injury and has missed four straight games. Even Erik Haula, who has missed most of the season, is skating regularly and could be ready to practice when the playoffs start.

Minor Transactions: 03/17/19

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After a 12-game schedule on Saturday, the NHL has another seven games to wrap up the weekend, including several with playoff implications. Perhaps one of the most important will be the Minnesota Wild hosting the New York Islanders. A victory by the Wild would put them into a tie with the Arizona Coyotes for the final wild card spot in the West. In the meantime, teams continue to tweak their rosters throughout the day. Check to see what they’ve done:

  • The Vegas Golden Knights announced they have recalled goaltender Maxime Lagace from the Chicago Wolves of the AHL on an emergency basis. The Golden Knights reported that Marc-Andre Fleury has a lower-body injury and is day-to-day. Fleury did not show for the morning skate and it is believed that Malcolm Subban will get the start Sunday. The 26-year-old Lagace has been playing well in Chicago with a 2.33 GAA and a .917 save percentage.
  • Nick Lappin has been busy lately, at least on paper. After being promoted from AHL Binghamton on Friday, the Devils forward was demoted yesterday. He’s now back with New Jersey, according to CapFriendly. The 26-year-old winger played in his tenth game this season with New Jersey the other night, but has yet to record a point. He has 27 points in 45 games with the minor league Devils.
  • Matt Read has also been a constant on the transaction wire, again being called up to the Minnesota Wild on an emergency basis, the team announced. A free agent addition this season, Read has played in seven games with Minnesota and another 53 with AHL Iowa, recording 33 points. If the Wild do manage to make the postseason, Read will be a valuable veteran depth option. If they miss, he can continue to be a core player for the farm team.

Minor Transactions: 03/10/19

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After 24 teams were in action Saturday, the NHL should be a bit quieter on Sunday with just five games slated for the day. Regardless, there should be some key matches on the slate as the Metropolitan Division leader Washington Capitals will go up against the Central Divison leading Winnipeg Jets. The Calgary Flames, losers of four straight, will also be in action Sunday as well, in an attempt to reclaim the Pacific Division lead as they go up against the red-hot Vegas Golden Knights. With the playoff race getting more intense, teams continue to shuffle their rosters. Make sure to check back throughout the day to get all the team’s transactions for the day.

  • The New Jersey Devils announced they have assigned forward Brandon Gignac back to the Binghamton Devils of the AHL. Gignac was recalled Saturday due to the massive amount of injuries the Devils have sustained recently and made his NHL debut. The 21-year-old played 9:04 of ice time, registering one shot, one blocked shot and a minus-two rating. With 20 forwards on the active roster, his assignment likely means that one of the Devils’ injured forwards will be ready to go.
  • With the need to add a player to their roster, the Calgary Flames announced they have recalled forward Alan Quine from the Stockton Heat of the AHL. The Flames assigned Curtis Lazar to Stockton Saturday, as the team was more interested in bringing in a veteran minor leaguer to add to their roster. Quine has been quite successful this season as he has proven to be better-than point-a-game player with 19 goals and 52 points in 41 games with Stockton. The 26-year-old has also shown some success at the NHL level with three goals and an assist in nine games for the Flames.
  • The up-and-down feeling for Dylan Gambrell continues as the San Jose Sharks have recalled the rookie once again, according to CapFriendly. Gambrell was recalled Thursday to San Jose, assigned back to the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL Friday and now has been recalled once again. With the Barracuda, Gambrell has been practically a point-per-game player with 16 goals and 38 points in 40 games. However, in six games with the Sharks, he has zero points and is averaging just 8:11 of ATOI.
  • While there has been no explanation yet for the transaction, Las Vegas Review-Journal’s David Schoen reports that the Vegas Golden Knights have recalled goaltender Maxime Lagace from the Chicago Wolves of the AHL on an emergency basis, suggesting that one of the team’s goaltenders, either Marc-Andre Fleury or Malcolm Subban, is injured, although there is no confirmation of that. The 26-year-old has been having a solid season with the Wolves with a 2.30 GAA and a .916 save percentage in 28 appearances.

Snapshots: Three Stars, Rule Changes, Percy

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The NHL has released their three stars for last week, and familiar names occupy each spot. Marc-Andre Fleury is in the top spot after going 3-0 with two shutouts for the Vegas Golden Knights. Fleury allowed just one goal on 77 shots and is now carrying a .911 save percentage on the year. While that number is down from last season, Fleury leads the league with 32 wins and eight shutouts while also having played the most minutes of any goaltender. The Golden Knights are leaning heavily on their starter, a strategy that will be tested when the playoffs roll around.

Blake Wheeler and Sidney Crosby were awarded second and third respectively, each scoring eight points in three games. Wheeler’s performance was capped by a four-goal game against the Columbus Blue Jackets yesterday, giving him 80 points on the season. Crosby, who has 83 this year is actually on pace to record his best offensive season since 2009-10 and crack the 100-point mark for the sixth time in his career.

  • The GM meetings began this week in Florida, and Frank Seravalli of TSN examines ten potential rule changes that the group will be discussing. These include things like changing standings tiebreaker rules, changing how much a player can be fined for certain incidents, and perhaps even forcing players to wear helmets during warm-ups. It doesn’t sound like any huge changes will come out of this week’s discussions, but there might be a few tweaks.
  • The AHL trade deadline passed today with very little fanfare, but not for Stuart Percy. The former top prospect was traded from the Belleville Senators to the Providence Bruins in exchange for Austin Fyten. Percy, originally selected in the first round eight years ago, has just 12 NHL games under his belt and is currently on a minor league contract.

Deadline Primer: Vegas Golden Knights

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With the trade deadline fast approaching, we will be taking a closer look at the situation for each team over the coming weeks.  Where do they stand, what do they need to do, and what assets do they have to fill those needs? We start with a look at the Vegas Golden Knights.

This is a somewhat different year for the Vegas Golden Knights who took the league by storm last season in route to a Stanley Cup Finals appearance. While Vegas remains playoff bound as they are firmly entrenched in third place with 62 points. However, this Vegas team has shown inconsistency throughout the year. While it looked like the Golden Knights had turned the corner throughout December and January, the team suddenly finds itself in a four-game losing streak with the Tampa Bay Lightning in front of them next. After trading a first, second and third-round pick to acquire Tomas Tatar at the deadline, who turned out to be a major disappointment, the team might be more reluctant to make a big trade at the deadline and may be more inclined to just add some depth options this time around.

Record

29-21-4, third in the Pacific Division

Deadline Status

Buyer

Deadline Cap Space

$15.554MM in a full-season cap hit, 2/3 used salary cap retention slots, 47/50 contracts per CapFriendly

Upcoming Draft Picks

2019: VGK 1st, VGK 2nd, VGK 3rd, NSH 3rd, WPG 3rd, VGK 4th, MON 5th, MIN 5th, VGK 5th
2020: VGK 1st, VGK 2nd, DAL 2nd, PIT 2nd, VGK 3rd, VGK 4th, VGK 5th, VGK 6th, VGK 7th

Trade Chips

Perhaps the biggest trade chips that the Golden Knights possess are their draft picks. General manager George McPhee has already sent off quite a few to acquire Tatar and then flip him along with top prospect Nick Suzuki and another second-rounder to pry Max Pacioretty from Montreal. However, as the team keeps an eye the future, the team also full well knows it may not want to move any more of their top picks in the next few years. That doesn’t mean they don’t have some later picks that they could move, including three third-rounders this year and three second-round picks in 2020 if they want to add some depth to their team. If they really want to make a splash, the team could include a first-rounder, but they may be reluctant to do so.

The team also has significant cap room, although that has been slowly disappearing. The team still has to lock up center William Karlsson, who will be a restricted free agent against after signing a one-year deal, but the team has all their key players locked up for at least the next two years, so they could take on an expensive contract for a discount.

The forward lines look pretty set even without Erik Haula, who could miss the entire season, but the team has a number of depth forwards who they could move like Oscar Lindberg, Ryan Carpenter or even Tomas Nosek to free up a valuable roster space. The question is whether other teams would be interested in any of those options. Carpenter could be of value to a team needing a bottom-six depth option, while Nosek is still young enough to offer some potential. As for defense, while the team could use an upgrade, the Golden Knights already traded away Brad Hunt, suggesting they are unlikely to move another defenseman now and although they have several interesting young defenseman waiting in the wings in the AHL, it’s unlikely the team is going to move out a player to make space for a prospect.

Five Players To Watch For: F Carpenter, D Nicolas Hague, D Nick Holden, F Nosek, G Malcolm Subban

Team Needs

1) Top-Four Defenseman: While the team doesn’t really need a big-name forward at the trade deadline, defense could be a different matter. The Golden Knights defense is good, but the team was almost desperate to acquire Erik Karlsson last season from Ottawa, but came up just short. They followed that up by adding Nick Holden during the offseason, but that’s hardly the answer either. With Deryk Engelland starting to show his age, Holden struggling and star prospect Erik Brannstrom not yet ready to contribute, the team could use a defenseman that can help protect goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. Plenty of rumors seem to have Vegas focused on one of St. Louis’ top defenders, including Alex Pietrangelo or Colton Parayko, but the team would obviously have to move more than a few middle-round picks to acquire either of them.

2) Back-up Goaltender: Vegas has struggled finding a solid backup. While Subban has the skills, the 25-year-old is just 2-5 this season with a 2.95 GAA and a .904 save percentage and is currently injured. On top of that, he has made just eight appearances this season, which isn’t really helping a 34-year-old Fleury who has already appeared in 46 games this season, the same number he played in during the regular season a year go. With no prospects in the wings, it might make sense for Vegas to go out and get a Keith Kinkaid, Jimmy Howard or another veteran goalie to fill the void for the remainder of the season and give them an option to re-sign them this summer if they work out.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NHL Announces All-Star Skills Competitors

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The NHL All-Star Skills Competition is scheduled for this evening, and though Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon have both pulled out due to illness and injury there are still an incredible amount of talented players taking part. Most notable however may be the final entrant in the fastest skater competition: Kendall Coyne. A member of the US Women’s National Team, Coyne will take MacKinnon’s place after the Colorado Avalanche forward suffered a foot injury this week. The Olympic gold medalist is known for her speed and posted a 14.226 yesterday during event testing according to Emily Kaplan of ESPN. Though that wouldn’t have been enough to dethrone Connor McDavid last year, it would have put her ahead of Zach Werenski, Noah Hanifin and Josh Bailey in the competition. We’ll see what Coyne can do tonight, along with the rest of the competitors:

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PHWA Announces 2018-19 Midseason Awards

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Though they have no bearing on the eventual winners, last season the Professional Hockey Writers Association brought back their Midseason Awards to give fans an idea of who was leading the charge around the NHL at the halfway point. Today those ballots have been tallied and the midseason trophies were given out:

Hart Trophy – Most valuable player

1. Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning
2. Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary Flames
3. Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers

Norris Trophy – Best defenseman

1. Mark Giordano, Calgary Flames
2. Morgan Rielly, Toronto Maple Leafs
3. Brent Burns, San Jose Sharks

Selke Trophy – Best defensive forward

1. Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins
2. Aleksander Barkov, Florida Panthers
3. Mark Stone, Ottawa Senators

Calder Trophy – Best rookie

1. Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks
2. Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo Sabres
3. Miro Heiskanen, Dallas Stars

Lady Byng Trophy – Sportsmanship & gentlemanly conduct

1. Aleksander Barkov, Florida Panthers
2. Morgan Rielly, Toronto Maple Leafs
3. Sean Monahan, Calgary Flames

Vezina Trophy – Best goaltender

1. John Gibson, Anaheim Ducks
2. Marc-Andre Fleury, Vegas Golden Knights
3. Frederik Andersen, Toronto Maple Leafs

Jack Adams Award – Best coach

1. Barry Trotz, New York Islanders
2. Bill Peters, Calgary Flames
3. Jon Cooper, Tampa Bay Lightning

GM of the Year Award

1. Brad Treliving, Calgary Flames
2. Doug Wilson, San Jose Sharks
3. Lou Lamoriello, New York Islanders

Rod Langway Award – Best defensive defenseman

1. Mattias Ekholm, Nashville Predators
2. Mark Giordano, Calgary Flames
3. Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning

Comeback Player of the Year Award

1. Robin Lehner, New York Islanders
2. Jeff Skinner, Buffalo Sabres
3. Zach Parise, Minnesota Wild

Pacific Notes: Chychrun, Smith, Vlasic

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While Arizona Coyotes oft-injured defenseman Jakob Chychrun will be playing in his 30th game Sunday, the defenseman still isn’t 100 percent after offseason surgery on his right ACL. The 20-year-old is already in his third season in the NHL, but he hasn’t played more than 68 games in a season due to injuries. The most recent injury, he knows he’ll just have to play through, according to The Athletic’s Craig Morgan (subscription required).

“My knee can get a little sore still sometimes, which can be a little frustrating,” he said. “Last year, I didn’t really have that because last year was just a repair (left meniscus). This one they had to take another part of my body and make that into a new ACL. Taking that piece of patellar tendon, it can get really sore. It’s pretty up and down and it’s one thing I have been dealing with. It can feel great or it can feel terrible.”

Regardless, Chychrun has been making the most of his time as the defenseman has three goals and 10 points while averaging 20:12 in ATOI this season with 41 hits and 41 blocked shots. Arizona head coach Rick Tocchet has been impressed with Chychrun’s play despite his struggles with injury.

“He’s a 20-year-old kid that didn’t have a training camp and doesn’t have a ton of games under his belt and I’m playing him 20-plus minutes, playing him penalty kill, power play. We’re giving him a lot. My thing is to see how he reacts after bad games and they are fewer and farther between — you don’t get as many in a row and I think that’s a big step for him.”

  • When you think of the Vegas Golden Knights’ best player, you think of names such as Marc-Andre Fleury, William Karlsson, Jon Marchessault or Alex Tuch. However, when The Athletic’s Jesse Granger (subscription required) went around the locker room and asked that question, he got a surprise answer — Reilly Smith. The forward has been out of the lineup with a leg injury since Jan. 6 and while there is talk that the Golden Knights missed defenseman Nate Schmidt desperately while he missed 20 games at the start of the season with a suspension, the players feel that Smith’s offense is missed even more. “It’s been big,” defenseman Shea Theodore said. “I think he’s by far one of the most underrated players in the league. He’s a great two-way player who wins a lot of battles in the defensive zone. He’s a big guy on the penalty kill as well. When you look at that, and look behind his numbers, I think it’s been a huge loss for us.”
  • Saturday’s matchup between the San Jose Sharks and Tampa Bay Lightning was played without star defenseman Erik Karlsson, who chose to sit out with a lower-body injury. Reports suggest that Karlsson might sit out the team’s final two games on Monday and Tuesday, to rest up until after the All-Star break. However, while that loss is significant to the team, fellow defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic missed his eighth game and The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz (subscription required) writes that the team may not be missing Vlasic much at all. The team has outscored their opponents 24-15 with Vlasic out. That along with his minus-13 rating might suggest that the team might be better off using a more offensive-minded defenseman in his stead like Tim Heed.

2019 All-Star Rosters Announced

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The NHL has announced the four rosters for the 2019 All-Star Game today, scheduled to be held on January 26th in San Jose. Earlier today, Alex Ovechkin, who was elected captain of Metropolitan Division squad, told the league that he wouldn’t be attending and will accept the punishment of missing one game either before or after the break. Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, and Auston Matthews will represent the Pacific, Central and Atlantic respectively, as the other captains. A replacement Metropolitan captain for Ovechkin has yet to be named.

The full rosters are as follows:

Pacific Division

G John Gibson (ANA)
G Marc-Andre Fleury (VGK)

D Erik Karlsson (SJS)
D Brent Burns (SJS)
D Drew Doughty (LAK)

F Connor McDavid (EDM)*
F Johnny Gaudreau (CGY)
F Joe Pavelski (SJS)
F Elias Pettersson (VAN)
F Clayton Keller (ARI)

Central Division

G Pekka Rinne (NSH)
G Devan Dubnyk (MIN)

D Roman Josi (NSH)
D Miro Heiskanen (DAL)

F Nathan MacKinnon (COL)*
F Mikko Rantanen (COL)
F Blake Wheeler (WPG)
F Patrick Kane (CHI)
F Mark Scheifele (WPG)
F Ryan O’Reilly (STL)

Atlantic Division

G Jimmy Howard (DET)
G Carey Price (MTL)

D Keith Yandle (FLA)
D Thomas Chabot (OTT)

F Auston Matthews (TOR)*
F Nikita Kucherov (TBL)
F Steven Stamkos (TBL)
F John Tavares (TOR)
F David Pastrnak (BOS)
F Jack Eichel (BUF)

Metropolitan Division

G Henrik Lundqvist (NYR)
G Braden Holtby (WAS)

D John Carlson (WSH)
D Seth Jones (CBJ)

F Sidney Crosby (PIT)
F Taylor Hall (NJD)
F Mathew Barzal (NYI)
F Claude Giroux (PHI)
F Cam Atkinson (CBJ)
F Sebastian Aho (CAR)

*Denotes team captain

One final skater spot on each roster has yet to be announced, as it will be determined by the “Last Man In” fan ballot, a concept borrowed from Major League Baseball. The format of the current All-Star Game, which requires one representative from each team on these smaller 3-on-tournament rosters, was bound to cause some confusion with the initial selections. Seven top-twenty scorers were not selected – Mitch Marner, Brayden Point, Leon Draisaitl, Sean Monahan, Matthew Tkachuk, Phil Kessel, and Gabriel Landeskog – and several will inevitably remain out of All-Star participation even after the fan ballot additions. Morgan Rielly, the league’s top-scoring defenseman, and Mark Giordano, enjoying an elite season on both sides of the puck, are two surprising omissions on the blue line. Several of the league’s top goalies are also going to miss out, ineligible for the fan ballot, including Ben Bishop, Frederik Andersen, and Andrei Vasilevskiy. The “Last Man In” will be an intriguing new addition to the All-Star process, with nominees to be named shortly, but more than a few notable names will be left out regardless. Meanwhile, the health of players like Price and Chabot for Team Atlantic and Hall for Team Metropolitan will bear watching, as those players may opt to skip the All-Star festivities, opening up more players to selection.

Snapshots: Three Stars, RFAs, Marleau

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The NHL has released their latest Three Stars of the Week, and to absolutely no one’s surprise Patrik Laine finds himself on top. Despite plenty of other outstanding performances last week, Laine was the easy choice after scoring 11 goals in just four games including a five-goal effort on Saturday night. The young Winnipeg Jets forward set all kinds of franchise records with the outstanding performance, and joined an incredibly small group of players to post five goals in a game before their 21st birthday. Only Laine, Don Murdoch and Wayne Gretzky have ever done so; Laine will have to do it again this season to tie Gretzky with two such performances.

Coming in second and third this week are Marc-Andre Fleury and Nikita Kucherov, two players well versed in this award. Fleury earned third star honors just over a month ago, while Kucherov has been in the top three several times throughout his career. The Vegas Golden Knights goaltender and Tampa Bay Lightning forward will have to continue their strong play if they hope to compete for the Stanley Cup again this season, and may even find themselves on this list again down the road.

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