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Marc Methot

Duchene Tops List Of Likely Trade Candidates

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Count Colorado Avalanche’s Matt Duchene as the most likely player to be traded in the offseason. TSN released its Trade Bait list Saturday with Duchene, Montreal’s Alex Galchenyuk and Ottawa defenseman Dion Phaneuf leading the list of players who are likely to find themselves a new home for the 2017-18 season. A Duchene trade has been rumored since before the regular season ended and been talked about by most NHL teams so far. The Avalanche, who finished the regular season with the worst record in the league, feel this might be the best time to move the 26-year-old center after a disappointing season. He scored 18 goals and had 23 assists last year, a far cry from his 2015-16 season in which he tallied 30 goals and 29 assists in a breakout season. Much of the belief is that he lacks quality line mates around him and would thrive on a different team. While the Avalanche failed to move him before the draft, it is considered inevitable that a trade happens.

Galchenyuk is considered expendable after the Montreal Canadiens acquired Jonathan Drouin on June 15. Just like Duchene, Galchenyuk scored 17 goals in 61 games, a far cry from his 30-goal output in 2015-16. However, the Canadiens are looking to bolster their defense and feel the 23-year-old might be the best path to do that. The Minnesota Wild are often suggested as a good match for the Canadiens, but many teams wouldn’t mind getting the third-overall pick in 2013. Phaneuf, who refused to waive his no-movement clause before the expansion draft, therefore forcing the Senators to expose and lose Marc Methot (coincidentally #4 on the list), is still expected to be moved. The 32-year-old had a solid season and his trade value might be at its highest. However, the franchise will have to convince teams to accept the remaining four years on his contract at $7MM a season.

Of the 15 players on the list, the Vegas Golden Knights have three players (all defensemen) on the list, including Methot, Luca Sbisa (#8), and Alexei Emelin (#12). The Avalanche have two players on the list with Duchene at the top as well as defenseman Tyson Barrie (#7). The Minnesota Wild are the only other team with multiple players on the list with Marco Scandella (#5) and Mathew Dumba (#10), although it is believed that the Wild will likely just trade one of its young defenseman and keep the other. Scandella is the more likely of the two to get traded.

For a full list, you can find it here.

Trade Block Notes: Demers, Duchene, Methot

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After leaving him unprotected in the expansion draft, Jason Demers is apparently available in trade from the Florida Panthers. That from Pierre LeBrun of TSN, who notes it would have to be for the “right price.” Demers was given a five-year, $22.5MM deal last summer but, like Reilly Smith who was already moved out, it didn’t come from new-old GM Dale Tallon.

The newly turned 29-year old Demers put up 28 points this season, another solid showing offensively from a defenseman who has turned into one of the more consistent point producers around the league. While he’s never going to compete with the likes of Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson, Demers is a solid right-handed defenseman capable of 25-30 points every year, something that is in high demand around the league.

  • Darren Dreger of TSN reports that the Nashville Predators have shown interest in Matt Duchene, something that goes back to before the Seth Jones–Ryan Johansen deal according to Mike Chambers of the Denver Post. While Duchene would be a huge add for the Predators, they would be remiss to move any of their top-4 defensemen for him and past that it’s hard to see a fit between the two clubs. Perhaps Dante Fabbro, the Predators first-round pick from last summer could be involved, but it would take more than that to outbid the rest of the league on Duchene.
  • Marc Methot continues to be the root of speculation surrounding the Dallas Stars, but as Bob McKenzie of TSN points out he would rather stay in Vegas than alter his current no-trade clause to facilitate a trade from his new club. Methot was selected in the expansion draft, and is expected to be flipped right away for assets. It’s unclear whether the Stars are on his current NTC, which allows him to block deals to ten different clubs.

Post-Draft Trades Will Be Announced Tomorrow

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The Vegas Golden Knights were busy on the trade front tonight, completing ten different deals with teams to steer their expansion draft picks. While all of the trades can be seen here, there are several more that are due to come early Thursday morning. The trade freeze ends tomorrow morning at 7am CDT, making for quite an interesting morning after. Trevor van Riemsdyk

Vegas GM George McPhee had already told us that his team would need to flip some defensemen after the draft, and it seems as though the deals will come right away. The Golden Knights selected 13 defensemen (and acquired even more in trade), most of whom will never see the ice in T-Mobile Arena.

Bob McKenzie of TSN reported during the event that former Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk could be flipped to Carolina tomorrow, and interesting move for a team who already has several young defensemen fighting for ice time. If TvR does make it to Raleigh, it likely would signal another move is coming for a forward down the line for Carolina.

On the note of van Riemsdyk, it had been widely reported that his exposure was tied to a trade that would bring Marcus Kruger to Vegas as a cap-dump for the Chicago Blackhawks. That didn’t happen tonight, and as we wrote earlier could be because of the Marian Hossa long-term injury situation that broke this morning. Kruger still could be moved, but it isn’t directly tied to the van Riemsdyk expansion selection.

Marc MethotMcKenzie also tells us that the Dallas Stars are interested in Marc Methot, selected by the Golden Knights from the Ottawa Senators. The Stars have been looking for a left-handed defenseman that is capable of logging big minutes, and with Methot’s successful history alongside Erik Karlsson could be the perfect fit for John Klingberg in Texas. Methot has two years left on his contract and does hold a limited no-trade clause that allows him to block deals to ten teams.

The Minnesota Wild have already made a trade with the Golden Knights that sent Alex Tuch to Vegas to help protect Mathew Dumba and others, but there is more coming in the next few days. Michael Russo of the Star Tribune spoke with Wild GM Chuck Fletcher, who told him the team could “absolutely” trade a defenseman by the weekend. Marco Scandella remains the most likely option, but now that the draft is in the past everyone is likely being discussed.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Rumored Vegas Golden Knights Expansion Selections

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The Vegas Golden Knights will reveal their expansion selections at tonight’s NHL Awards show, but details have started to come in on who each team will lose. There are many rumors floating around, but these are the most reputable. As with anything, nothing is final until the actual selections are announced tonight. This page will be updated with new information as it comes in.

Here are the latest rumored selections along with their source:

Anaheim Ducks: Clayton Stoner — Bob McKenzie of TSN

Arizona Coyotes: 

Boston Bruins: Colin Miller — Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet

Buffalo Sabres: William Carrier — Frank Seravalli of TSN

Calgary Flames: Deryk Engelland — John Shannon of Sportsnet

Carolina Hurricanes:

Chicago Blackhawks: Trevor van Riemsdyk — Frank Seravalli of TSN

Colorado Avalanche:

Columbus Blue Jackets: William Karlsson — Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch

Dallas Stars: Cody Eakin — Jim Toth of TSN

Detroit Red Wings: Tomas Nosek — Craig Custance of The Athletic.

Edmonton Oilers: Griffin Reinhart — John Shannon of Sportsnet

Florida Panthers: Jon Marchessault — Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet

Los Angeles Kings: Brayden McNabb — John Shannon of Sportsnet

Minnesota Wild: Erik Haula — Michael Russo of the Star Tribune

Montreal Canadiens: Alexei Emelin — Eric Engels of Sportsnet

Nashville Predators: James Neal — Bob McKenzie of TSN

New Jersey Devils: Jon Merrill — Frank Seravalli of TSN

New York Islanders: Jean-Francois Berube — Bob McKenzie of TSN

New York Rangers: Oscar Lindberg — Larry Brooks of the New York Post and Frank Seravalli of TSN.

Ottawa Senators: Marc Methot — Pierre LeBrun of TSN

Philadelphia Flyers: Pierre-Edouard Bellemare — Craig Custance of The Athletic

Pittsburgh Penguins: Marc-Andre Fleury – Bob McKenzie of TSN

San Jose Sharks: David Schlemko — Pierre LeBrun of TSN

St. Louis Blues: David Perron — James Mirtle of The Athletic

Tampa Bay Lightning:

Toronto Maple Leafs: Brendan Leipsic — Darren Dreger of TSN

Vancouver Canucks:

Washington Capitals: Nate Schmidt — Pierre LeBrun of TSN

Winnipeg Jets:

No Deal In Place Between Ottawa, Vegas

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Both Pierre LeBrun of TSN and Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia believe as of the end of yesterday the Ottawa Senators did not have a deal in place with the Vegas Golden Knights. From Vegas GM George McPhee’s own mouth came the idea that they wouldn’t talk trade after last night, meaning Marc Methot and others will indeed be left exposed in the expansion draft.

In our recent mock expansion draft, our staff picked Methot from the Senators though not unanimously. Bobby Ryan received two votes and a lot more support from the PHR community, and the Senators would probably be happy if he was the selection over Methot. Ryan’s contract will pay him $7.25MM for the next five seasons, and similar to the situation with Dion Phaneuf, the Senators have to believe his price tag will be enough to keep him out of the Golden Knights dressing room. There are other options on defense, with Chris Wideman, Mark Borowiecki and Fredrik Claesson all going unprotected. While those three all have some value, Methot could move into a leadership role with the Golden Knights or could be a top trade candidate as his contract comes to an end in the summer of 2018.

If it is Methot that heads to the strip, the Senators will need to find another player to ride shotgun with Erik Karlsson for next season. Claesson seems to be the only real option for that for the time being, as Borowiecki plays a much different game and Phaneuf has found a chemistry with Cody Ceci on the second pair. Top prospect Thomas Chabot should make an impact eventually, but plays the same side as Karlsson.

Snapshots: Methot, Karlsson, Marchessault

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The Ottawa Senators were put in a rough predicament when Dion Phaneuf turned down the team’s request to waive his no-trade clause. The organization is very high on Cody Ceci, and considering the depth of forwards they needed to protect, they were forced to expose Marc Methot. Many mock drafts have the veteran defender headed to Vegas, including our own. Some have even contemplated whether Methot could find himself in a captaincy position in Nevada. Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun explains how difficult a decision that was for Pierre Dorion and his staff, and how they tried to trade Phaneuf up until the last minute. Ottawa could theoretically try to bribe Vegas with the #28 pick, but considering that the team only has 4 picks overall, that seems unlikely. The more probable scenario is that Ottawa merely takes the blow and moves on.

  • The Blue Jackets truly want to hang onto their youngest talents, according to Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch. They are supposedly surrendering their 1st round selection to Vegas in order to keep Josh Anderson and Joonas Korpisalo. What makes nearly no sense is the apparent fact that this deal also warns the Knights off of veteran defenseman Jack Johnson. Johnson is an average defender, and with the rise of Zach Werenski and others he doesn’t seem to be a pivotal piece any longer. Vegas will probably choose William Karlsson or Ryan Murray as low-risk claims and run away happy from this deal. The valuation of a first-rounder is probably the lowest in ages, and the anxiety surrounding the protection lists has seemingly reduced their value even further.
  • Harvey Fialkov of the Sun Sentinel has Jonathan Marchessault headed to Vegas, based on the reports he’s been hearing. Defenders Jason Demers and young forward Reilly Smith are also available as high-value options for the Knights. According to Marchessault himself in an interview on TVA Sports, Tallon wasn’t able to negotiate a protection deal with Vegas. He was certainly being shopped in the lead up to Sunday. The entire Florida protection list was confusing, but Marchessault’s exposure was a truly unforced error by GM Dale Tallon. The 30-goal scorer will almost certainly find a home in Vegas’ top six, and the loss of this quality of player for absolutely nothing is perplexing the entire league. It’s certainly possible Marchessault has a down year after a career one, but asset management was completely blown in this case, and Vegas looks to reap that reward.

Atlantic Division Offers Scoring, Depth Players

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The Atlantic Division was arguably the weakest in the league, but Vegas should be happy to know that they can claim two previous 30-goal scorers from the group. Some teams offer very little, such as Buffalo, because of their lack of depth, and Toronto, because of good planning. But others, such as Montreal and Detroit, will provide interesting options at multiple positions.

The Boston Bruins have one of the weakest lists of the lot, but there are still a few names which could help the Golden Knights organization. Vegas could opt for the overpaid but serviceable Matt Beleskey in hopes of his return to form as a solid 3rd-line piece. They might instead select a defenseman, either the puck possession defender in Colin Miller or physical presence in Adam McQuaid – but there may be better defenseman available elsewhere. A very probable scenario is that they opt for a project player in defenseman Joe Morrow or goalie Malcolm Subban. The Toronto Maple Leafs probably released one of the best lists today. Veteran Brooks Laich is an option, but McPhee may opt for 25 year-old Martin Marincin in hopes that he can build upon his last two seasons. Neither loss would impact the team’s ascendance in the slightest. Something to keep an eye out for is the perennially injured Joffrey Lupul – it’s certainly possible GM Lou Lamoriello will use Vegas to take his contract off the books. It wouldn’t take much of a sweetener.

The Montreal Canadiens left veteran defenseman Alexei Emelin exposed, which some predicted – but it could still set their defense back in the short-term. GM Marc Bergevin did well to utilize that final forward protection spot, trading for Jonathan Drouin and locking him up long-term. A potential player to watch is Alexander Radulov and whether Vegas will pursue the unrestricted free agent in the next few days. They do have a head-start, and he would be a potent addition. The Detroit Red Wings made what I consider to be a very surprising move in exposing goalie Petr Mrazek over Jimmy Howard. It could pay dividends if Vegas opts to go in a different goaltending direction, but it seems quite likely they will go the best player available route. Xavier Ouellet is also left exposed, which could decimate their defensive hopes. Unfortunately for Wings fans, Ken Holland very well will pay extortion-level prices for not being more aggressive in the trade market when he had the opportunity.

The Ottawa Senators will contribute one of the top three players to Vegas, regardless of his very hefty $7 MM contract. Bobby Ryan is bound for Nevada unless something unforeseen happens – he’s a former 30 goal scorer, is coming off a hot playoff, and an overpaid contract won’t break this team off the start. They could opt to speak with Mike Condon or go the less expensive route and take the veteran Marc Methot, but neither seems likely. Losing Ryan might hurt the Senators’ depth in the short term but is a solid cap-centric decision. The Buffalo Sabres will not lose much at all. Vegas could take a chance on the surprisingly available young forward William Carrier, or claim an average defenseman in Josh Gorges or Zach Bogosian. Vegas fans who were banking on a Tyler Ennis jersey will have to re-think their potential first purchase.

The Florida teams took completely different approaches to their expansion lists, and its clear that Tampa took the wiser route. Although they lost Jonathan Drouin, they re-couped a solid defenseman and made certain they didn’t lose an asset for nothing. Instead of losing Vladislav Namestnikov, they will instead look to probably surrender one of Cedric Paquette or J.T. Brown. There are a lot of mid-tier options available for Vegas, and I wouldn’t count out Cory Conacher as a darkhorse UFA signing considering his dominant performance in the Calder Cup playoffs. The Florida Panthers produced an inexcusably bad list. They will almost certainly lose their top scorer by not protecting the undersized Jonathan Marchessault. He had a breakout season with 30 goals in 75 games and his loss up front could really sting next season. Also of note is the decision to leave Roberto Luongo unprotected, although nothing likely will come of it.

Ultimately, the Atlantic division has a few players that will provide offensive punch to the Golden Knights, and a couple interesting decisions. McPhee could opt for safer veteran options, or take some gambles – only time will tell.

 

The original article had mistakenly replaced Collin Miller’s name on the protection list with Kevan Miller.

Keith Yandle, Dion Phaneuf Asked To Waive No-Movement Clauses

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With the Expansion Draft fast approaching, many players are expected to be approached themselves about waiving the No-Movement clauses attached to their contracts as their teams look to strategically navigate the strict expansion process. In his weekly “30 Thoughts” article posted this afternoon, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman states that he has heard that two big-name defenseman, Dion Phaneuf and Keith Yandle, have already been asked for such a waiver by their respective teams.

The news on Phaneuf is not unexepected; in fact many people have suspected all season long that the Ottawa Senators may ask the veteran to waive his No-Movement clause. The Senators have too much forward depth to apply the eight-skater protection scheme for the Expansion Draft and must instead use the 7-3 scheme. Thus, only three Ottawa defenseman can be protected. All-world blue liner Erik Karlsson is an obvious lock and presumably the other two spots would go to shutdown two-way man Marc Methot and young Cody Ceci if Phaneuf does choose to waive. If he doesn’t, the Sens would face a difficult choice between the two or would be forced into striking a trade over the next week. Phaneuf’s situation is interesting in that he actually outscored Ceci and Methot combined in 2016-17 and he has was more or less a complete success in his first full season in Ottawa, capped off by a strong playoff. The ideal scenario for Ottawa is to retain all three defenseman, but after the season that Phaneuf had, as well as his status as a well-known player, it could entice the Golden Knights and a waiver could mean the Senators end up losing their second-best defenseman. On the other hand, exposing Ceci, and to some extent Methot, would almost ensure losing either of them as well.

The situation with Yandle is a much bigger story. The Florida Panthers acquired Yandle’s negotiating rights from the New York Rangers around this time last year and inked him to a massive seven-year, $44.45MM contract. Yandle bypassed free agency and potentially more money to become the long-term partner of Calder-winner Aaron Ekblad and, at age 30, seemed poised to be a Panther for the rest of his career. Now it seems that might not be true. After just one year, Florida appears open to moving on from Yandle. The Panthers face a difficult expansion scenario on defense with, like the Senators, too many promising forwards to protect four defenseman. Even if they could, Florida would really like to protect five: Ekblad, Yandle, Jason Demers, another 2016 free agency splurge, and young play-makers Alex Petrovic and Mark Pysyk. All five defenseman meet the number of games needed (40 this past season or 70 over the past two seasons) to qualify for the one-defenseman exposure quota, but Petrovic and Pysyk are impending restricted free agents and the other half of the exposure criteria is term remaining on a contract. Thus, only Ekblad, Yandle, or Demers could fill the quota, unless Petrovic, Pysyk, or Jakub Kindl were re-signed just to be exposed. With Ekblad untouchable and Yandle having a No-Movement clause, at this time Demers is the only choice to be the sacrificial lamb. Vegas will surely have some interest in the 28-year-old righty, whether it be to lead their own defense or to flip to another suitor. However, by asking Yandle to waive his clause, it appears that Florida is instead leaning toward keeping Demers to themselves. Why? In his first season with Florida, Yandle did play in all 82 games and recorded 41 points, a good season by any measure, but it was in fact the worst production of any full season to date for the 11-year veteran. The Panthers may be worried that, at 30-years-old, Yandle is already on the decline, while Demers and his cap hit of nearly $2MM less for four more years may be a better investment. It will be interesting to see whether Yandle indeed waives his clause or not, but make no mistake: like Demers, if Yandle is exposed he will be an easy choice for Vegas to select to either highlight their blue line or trade to a contender.

Ottawa’s Expansion Conundrum

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The Ottawa Senators are in for a tough decision come the completion of their playoff run, whenever that might be. Ottawa has a team which is built upon depth and scoring by committee, but each NHL team can only protect 7 forwards, 3 defensemen, and 1 goaltender – or alternatively, 8 total skaters and 1 goaltender in the upcoming expansion draft. The Senators are in a situation where they will likely prefer to lose a veteran with a large contract. This seems doubly true because the organization is believed to have an internal cap for financial reasons, and will need to clear space in order to hand out hefty raises to Mark Stone and Kyle Turris following the 2017-18 campaign.

Obviously, Erik Karlsson, Stone, Turris, and Mike Hoffman will be protected. Karlsson is a perennial Norris favorite, captain of the team, and one of the best offensive defensemen the game has seen in decades. Stone and Hoffman are the driving forces behind offensive production, and are both on the young end of their primes. Turris has finally, fully come into his own as a number one center, posting  a 27 goal, 55 point season. Considering the price to acquire him (Mika Zibanejad) and the relative value of centers to this team which isn’t too formidable up the middle, Derick Brassard also seems a certainty to stay. Craig Anderson is the obvious pick in net. He’s been an absolute rock that the team has depended on the past few seasons, and this year was simply extraordinary. Cody Ceci is also a rather safe bet, consider minutes logged, age, and his role on the back-end. Marc Methot should seemingly be a core piece to the defense as well, but as we will soon see, his situation is far more complicated. So, in terms of definitely protected players:

Forward:    Hoffman, Stone, Turris, Brassard

Defense:    Karlsson, Ceci

Goalie:    Anderson

That leaves 3 forwards and 1 defensemen, or, alternatively, 2 total skaters to protect. It seems somewhat unlikely (although not impossible) that they will opt for the latter option. If we look at the potential list of who can be protected, there are no easy answers. Up front, Alexandre Burrows seems to have been a solid fit, as he has played well since being promoted to Turris’ right wing on the top line, and his cap hit drops to a measly $2.5 MM going forward. Zack Smith has been a more-than-capable third-line center, and is signed to a cap-friendly deal for four years after this. Bobby Ryan is incredibly overpaid ($7.25 MM) considering his performance this past year (25 points), but has expressed his profound disappointment in his own season to the relative acceptance of the fanbase. It doesn’t hurt his cause that he has been Ottawa’s best skater this post-season by far, leading the team with 7 points through 6 games. Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Ryan Dzingel could also receive consideration for a protected forward spot, but only one is likely to remain unguarded.

In terms of defense, Dion Phaneuf has a bloated contract which would be especially helpful to be rid of. Phaneuf is getting an absurd $7 MM per year , but he is on the “must-protect” list due to his modified no-trade, no-movement clause. The team could ask him to waive, but considering his solid play of late, this is more difficult to conceive. There is also no guarantee that Vegas would be interested in the player. The up-and-coming Fredrik Claesson is exempt from the expansion draft and needs no protection. Therefore, it seems likely that Methot ($4.9 MM) will be the odd man out, as he would likely be exposed in the 7-3 option. This would be a difficult pill for Ottawa fans to swallow, as Methot has arguably been their best shutdown player and he logs a ton of tough minutes.

For a team that has worked so hard to shore up its back-end and add depth up front, there are no easy solutions for GM Pierre Dorion. If you lose Methot, you lose your best defensive defenseman – if you expose a resurgent Ryan, you surrender a creative offensive weapon. Either way, Vegas is likely going to pick one of its integral players from Canada’s capital city.

Senators Update: Marc Methot, Ryan Dzingel

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The Ottawa Senators should welcome the return of two players tonight in Game 2 playoff action against the Boston Bruins. Forward Ryan Dzingel and defenseman Marc Methot may make their 2016-17 playoff debuts after missing game one.

Methot is suffering from a lacerated finger after being slashed by Pittsburgh Penguins forward Sidney Crosby on March 23rd. He has not played since the injury, but Post Media’s Bruce Garrioch and the Ottawa Citizen’s Ken Warren think he’ll play tonight. Coach Guy Boucher said that decision will be made after the pre-game warm-ups, and that Methot is “more than close.” Ken Warren thinks the Senators will dress seven defenseman in case Methot cannot finish the game.

Ottawa made Dzingel a healthy scratch in game one, but will dress him tonight, reports Ken Warren. Dzingel finished the year with 14G and 18A, but struggled down the stretch with only 2G and 1A in his last twenty games. Boucher initially opted for veteran Tommy Wingels over Dzingel in game one, but Wingels played under ten minutes with no notable effect. In an interview with media today, Boucher expects Dzingel’s speed to complement the Senators’ fast-paced play.

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