Snapshots: Tolvanen, Lowry, Senators
Adam Kimelman of NHL.com goes in depth on draft prospect Eevi Tolvanen in his latest article, detailing the move from Finland to the USHL for the undersized forward. Tolvanen put up a huge year for the Sioux City Musketeers this season with 54 points in 52 games, but it was his work at the defensive end that leads some to believe he can be an impact NHL player. While his offense is clearly his calling card, his willingness to work on the other parts of his game are what really excite scouts. Speaking to Kimelman, Sioux City GM Mark LeRose spoke of that defensive maturity:
I’m not going to say he’s defense-first, but he is responsible defensively. It’s not his passion to play defense, his passion is to score goals and create offense. But he does understand, especially this time of year with the playoffs starting, he can create offense from defense, so if he’s good defensively he’s going to get the puck in transition quicker.
That’s where Tolvanen will make his mark, not by being an elite defender but by doing just enough to keep the puck off his opponent’s stick and in the offensive zone. At a World Junior tournament that saw Finland do everything wrong, Tolvanen was one of the bright spots at just 17. Ranked #8 among the CSS final North American skaters, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him go in the top-10 in June.
- According to Victoria Sports News (h/t Mike Halford at NBC Pro Hockey Talk), Dave Lowry, head coach of the Victoria Royals and former NHL assistant with the Calgary Flames has been in talks with the Vancouver Canucks for up to six weeks about a possible coaching position of some sort. While there is no indication that it would be the head coaching job, Lowry would be a solid addition to a staff after his fifth straight winning season in Victoria. While Travis Green, coach of the AHL Utica Comets, keeps coming up regarding the NHL head coaching job, Lowry is clearly familiar to the Canucks having played there and coached in their backyard for the past few years.
- Brent Wallace of TSN reports that the Ottawa Senators had several new faces practicing with the starters today, including Marc Methot who took his normal place beside Erik Karlsson. As Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reports, a decision will be made on the defenseman tomorrow morning ahead of their game 2 tilt with the Boston Bruins. Methot has been out since his finger was shattered by a Sidney Crosby slash late in the season, and Ottawa has felt his absence in the defensive zone. After losing game one, they would be glad to welcome back the natural pair for Karlsson, and take some pressure off Dion Phaneuf and Mark Borowiecki. They’ll play at 2pm tomorrow, in the early slot of a full day of playoffs.
Injury Updates: Blackhawks, Methot, Stastny
The Blackhawks will be without defenseman Michal Rozsival when the puck drops on their series opener against Nashville on Thursday as they announced that the blueliner underwent surgery today to repair facial fractures sustained against the Ducks last week. The veteran was a depth player for Chicago for most of the season, getting into 22 games while averaging 15:30 per night in ice time. There is no timetable for his potential return but the team noted he’s expected to make a full recovery. Forward Andrew Desjardins, who also was injured against Anaheim, remains day-to-day with a lower body injury.
Chicago will get a boost up front against the Predators as center Artem Anisimov will return to the lineup after missing the last month with a leg injury, notes CSN Chicago’s Tracey Myers. He had been skating for the last week as he worked himself back into game shape. Anisimov is expected to rejoin wingers Artemi Panarin and Patrick Kane inside their top six forward group.
More injury news from around the NHL:
- Senators defenseman Marc Methot is listed as a game-time decision for Wednesday’s series opener against Boston, Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun notes. Head coach Guy Boucher calls Methot’s situation the only one he’ll have to make a decision on and that they could still opt to rest him up for a few more days. The blueliner has missed the last nine games with a lacerated finger suffered after being slashed by Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby on March 23rd.
- The Blues will likely be without center Paul Stastny when they open up their series against Minnesota tomorrow night, reports Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He suffered a broken foot back on March 21st against Colorado and has been out of the lineup since then. It’s expected that Ivan Barbashev will open up the series in his place on the top line alongside Jaden Schwartz and Vladimir Tarasenko.
- Bruins centers David Krejci and Dominic Moore missed practice today and while the team is hopeful that both will be ready to take on Ottawa tomorrow, head coach Bruce Cassidy told CSN New England’s Joe Haggerty that it’s not a guarantee that either will be available. He noted that both players are going through “maintenance work” at the moment. Krejci’s absence in particular is noteworthy as this is the second straight practice he missed. Not only has he been Boston’s top postseason scorer in two of their last four playoff appearances, he also led the NHL in playoff points in those two years.
Playoff Injury Notes: Senators, Bruins, Canadiens
With the long regular season finally over, a new challenge has appeared for sixteen teams. The Stanley Cup playoffs represent one of the toughest grinds in all of professional sports, where intensity and physical play is increased and players are expected to skate through injuries. That said, some of the teams will start the postseason nursing injuries to some of their biggest stars, while others will welcome them back into the fold after a short rest. Here are some injury updates from around the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
- The Ottawa Senators will welcome back Erik Karlsson and Zack Smith for game one of their series against the Boston Bruins, GM Pierre Dorion confirmed today. The team may also get Marc Methot back into the lineup, less than three weeks since his finger was “shattered” by a Sidney Crosby slash. Inserting those three into the lineup will give the Senators a huge boost at both ends of the ice, as they continue to try and play their shutdown style.
- The Bruins on the other hand will be without Torey Krug for the entire first round, and miss Brandon Carlo for at least game one. The team signed and activated Charlie McAvoy earlier today to replace them, though losing Krug for the whole round is a devastating blow. Whether McAvoy makes an immediate impact or not, Krug has been the Bruins’ best puck-moving defenseman this year and will be sorely missed. Carlo on the other hand has looked like a veteran this year while paired with Zdeno Chara, making up for some of the captain’s decline in effectiveness. The team will also be without Noel Acciari for game one according to Amalie Benjamin of NHL.com.
- Montreal welcomed back an important face to practice today, as Shea Weber rejoined the team in a regular jersey and is expected to play in the first game of their series against the New York Rangers. Weber hasn’t played since March 1st, but will be a huge part of a Canadiens blue line trying to slow down the high-powered Rangers. While technically Montreal is the much higher seed, the Rangers finished with just one fewer point than them in the standings and should be considered at least even odds going into the series. Montreal needs all hands on deck to brush off what has been a roller coaster season and find some success in the playoffs this year.
Senators Snapshots: Melnyk, Karlsson Daigle
As the 2017 trade deadline approached, the Ottawa Senators and owner Eugene Melnyk had a decision to make: would they be buyers or sellers? With Ottawa exceeding preseason expectations and in contention for a postseason slot, Melnyk authorized Senators GM Pierre Dorion to make two deadline deals, adding much-needed forward depth in the form of Alexandre Burrows and Viktor Stalberg, essentially betting on his club, as Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen writes. As injuries have mounted down the stretch, Ottawa needed every bit of that depth to lock up a playoff spot.
Garrioch notes that those additions added roughly $2.5MM to the team’s payroll, not an insubstantial amount for a budget team. Ultimately, Melnyk believed that the team had gelled under new head coach Guy Boucher and instead of saving the cash he invested it in making his club better. Burrows got off to a fast start in Ottawa, netting four goals and six points in his first six contests with his new team. All told, Burrows and Stalberg have contributed eight goals and 12 points in 35 games combined.
The cost to acquire the veteran forwards, prospect Jonathan Dahlen It remains to be seen just how long the Senators postseason run will last, but it’ clear Melnyk’s faith has been rewarded with an opportunity to find out.
In other Senators news:
- With the Senators locked in a heated battle to secure a postseason spot and injuries to key players mounting, Boucher took a calculated risk in sitting star defenseman and team captain Erik Karlsson down the stretch, writes Ken Warren, also of the Ottawa Citizen. Karlsson, who leads the Senators in scoring with 71 points, is a likely Norris Trophy candidate and may well garner Hart Trophy consideration as well. Yet Boucher elected to give his team’s best player time to recuperate from a heel issue and it appears likely he’ll hold Karlsson out of the lineup this weekend despite Ottawa having a chance to secure home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The strategy has the potential to pay huge dividends if Karlsson returns even close to 100%. Ottawa also hopes to welcome Marc Methot, Zack Smith and Bobby Ryan back to the lineup and a healthy Sens team could surprise come playoff team.
- Lastly, while Alexandre Daigle‘s name is almost synonymous with the word bust, the Ottawa Citizen’s Don Brennan hypothesizes that Daigle was simply ahead of his time. Daigle, the top overall selection in the 1993 entry draft by the Senators, had the size and speed to be a star in any era but after scoring 20 goals and 51 points as an 18-year-old rookie, he struggled to find success in a league where clutching, holding and grabbing was common. Brennan believes had Daigle begun his career a decade later, when the NHL cracked down on obstruction, the gifted center would have reached his potential and been the superstar many projected him to be. For his part, Daigle has no regrets though he is hopeful his five-year-old son Vincent, who has just taken up the sport, will become a defenseman rather than an offensive forward like his dad. In Daigle’s mind there is too much pressure on forwards to score goals while defensemen can carve out a long pro career simply by mastering the ability to “chip the puck out.” Obviously those comments were not meant to be taken seriously but it likely does speak to how the style of game played during Daigle’s formative professional years stifled offense.
Snapshots: Crosby, World Championships, Oilers
It was a controversial week for Sidney Crosby.
He appeared to slash Sabres forward Ryan O’Reilly in a sensitive area, then broke Senators defenseman Marc Methot‘s finger in half with another whack. The latter incident resulted in a pretty ugly injury (NSFW) and some angry comments from Senators owner Eugene Melnyk.
Melnyk told TSN 1200 that the league needs to “hammer these [players who slash]… you say you know what? You are done for 10 games. We all know who [Crosby] is. The guy is a whiner beyond belief. You do this kind of stuff—I don’t care who you are in the league, I don’t care if you’re the number one player in the league—you should sit out a long time for this kind of crap.”
The comments were criticized by fans and media; Mike Johnson called the comments “off base” and tweeted a video of Senators players slashing opponents. Senators captain Erik Karlsson defended Crosby by saying plays like that “happen all the time.”
Ahead of Sunday’s game versus Philadelphia, Crosby responded to Melnyk’s comments. After declining to comment, Crosby said “he likes to hear himself talk, so let’s leave it.”
Superstars like Crosby are often the target of those little “whacks”; small slashes that go uncalled. Earlier this season, Johnny Gaudreau missed 10 games after being whacked at least 20 times by different Wild players in the same game.
“I’d love to see them crack down on it,” said Crosby. “It’s something that happens a lot… Obviously [Methot is] an example where if you get it in the wrong spot, it can hurt. Hopefully he’s back out there soon.”
- The USA Women’s National Team is boycotting the upcoming Women’s World Championships over a dispute with USA Hockey. The players are currently paid just $6K for the six months leading up to the Olympics, and nothing else. The players want fair wages and for USA Hockey to put more money into the program to grow the women’s game. USA Hockey has been asking (and being declined by) high school players to play in their stead. Now the Men’s Program may be getting involved. Player Agent Allan Walsh reported that American NHL players may refuse to play in this spring’s World Championships in solidarity; the NHLPA has already come out in support of the women. Last year, the American side finished fourth in the tournament, the rosters for which are populated by NHLers who are no longer in Cup contention and the occasional draft-eligible player.
- After Leon Draisaitl cracked the 70-point barrier on Saturday night, the Edmonton Oilers will have two 70-point scorers (the other being Connor McDavid with 88 points) for the first time in 11 years. The last time they did, it was Ales Hemsky and Shawn Horcoff with 77 and 73 points respectively in 2005-06. Incidentally, that’s the last time they made the playoffs. The Oilers have also surpassed 90 points for the first time since 05-06, and if they manage to finish first in their division (currently tied with San Jose and Anaheim for first), then it will mark the first division win since 1986-87.
Morning Notes: Crosby, Patrick, Cangelosi
Last night, during the Pittsburgh Penguins-Ottawa Senators game, Sidney Crosby delivered a hard slash across the hands of Marc Methot resulting in one of the nastiest injuries this season in the NHL (*WARNING: GRAPHIC*). Senators’ head coach Guy Boucher said after the game that Methot would be out “weeks” with a “destroyed” and “shattered” finger, and owner Eugene Melnyk was upset about it this morning on TSN 1200 (via Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia and Frank Seravalli of TSN):
You hammer these [players who slash], you take away their money, and you say you know what? You are done for 10 games. We all know who [Crosby] is. The guy is a whiner beyond belief. You do this kind of stuff—I don’t care who you are in the league, I don’t care if you’re the number one player in the league—you should sit out a long time for this kind of crap.
Melnyk said that he was sure the league would be looking at it, but Pierre LeBrun of ESPN reports Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly will not be evaluating it further. Crosby will receive no discipline for this incident, just as he faced no penalty for his spear in an unfortunate area of Ryan O’Reilly‘s lower body.
- For anyone hoping to catch Nolan Patrick in the first round of the WHL playoffs, you might have to wait a few days. Mike Morreale of NHL.com reports that the projected top pick in the upcoming entry draft won’t play in game one due to a lower-body injury. The Brandon Wheat Kings take on the Medicine Hat Tigers in the first round of the WHL playoffs.
- The Calgary Flames have sent Garnet Hathaway back down to the Stockton Heat. The 25-year old forward didn’t play in his most recent call up, after Micheal Ferland returned earlier from his mumps quarantine. With Matthew Tkachuk now eligible to play after serving his two-game suspension, the need for Hathaway has lifted. Playing in 26 games for Calgary this season, Hathaway registered five points in under 10 minutes a night.
- Similarly, the Minnesota Wild have sent Gustav Olofsson down to the minors, liking meaning Christian Folin is ready to return to game action. Olofsson has played in 13 games for the Wild this season, but will have to wait until next year to really make his mark at the NHL level. The 22-year old will try to help the Iowa Wild make the postseason for the first time in their short history.
- Tom Gulitti of NHL.com reports that the Albany Devils have signed Austin Cangelosi to a two-year AHL contract. The 22-year old forward just graduated from Boston College where he had back-to-back 20-goal seasons the past two years. The 5’7″ forward will try to prove that his size won’t stop his skill from shining through at the professional level, as he moves up to the next challenge in his hockey career.
Expansion Draft Issues At The Trade Deadline: Forwards
This trade season is one like never before. The addition of the Vegas Golden Knights in 2017-18 and the Expansion Draft that goes along with it add a whole other layer to trade-making this year. With each and every transaction, the expansion draft protection formula can change. Even in 2000, when the Minnesota Wild and Columbus Blue Jackets were welcomed into the league, the expansion rules were not a strict and general managers did not have to be as paranoid about their moves. This time around, everything is different. What does it all mean? For fans, there is a real possibility that this could be the quietest Trade Deadline in recent memory. Buyers interested in impending free agent rentals may not have to worry about the draft implications, but the sellers potentially taking back roster players with term certainly do. Trading is hard enough, especially in a season with very few teams significantly out of the playoff race, and expansion will only increase those barriers. Luckily, there are several teams that need to make moves prior to the deadline or they could risk being in very sticky situations when the Knights get ready to make their selections. With teams like the Minnesota Wild, Pittsburgh Penguins, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Anaheim Ducks, who have so much talented, veteran depth at multiple positions, there is really not much that they can do; they’re going to lose a good player. For others, a sensible contract extension can solve all of their problems. However, for these teams, making a trade before it’s too late may be exactly what they need. We’ve looked at the defense conundrums of the Calgary Flames, Carolina Hurricanes and the goaltending scenario of the Philadelphia Flyers, but there a quite a few more teams with problems up front that need solving:
Chicago Blackhawks
Luckily for the Blackhawks, it’s hard to remember a deadline where GM Stan Bowman didn’t add a veteran forward. This year they may really need one though, regardless of their Cup run condition, to protect young scorer Ryan Hartman. The 22-year-old winger has 13 goals and 10 assists in his first full season with Chicago, and if nothing changes it would likely be his last season in Chicago. In setting their protected list for the Expansion Draft, the Blackhawks must protect Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa, and Artem Anisimov due to their no-movement clauses. They would, of course, have protected those four anyway, but other than that group, the team has only two other players that meet the draft criteria of having two unprotected forwards that have played in 40 games this season or 70 games over the past two seasons and have term remaining on their contract: Marcus Kruger and Hartman. Kruger is not a great loss, but retaining Hartman is a major priority as the deadline approaches. The ‘Hawks could simply re-sign 30-year-old Andrew Desjardins or 34-year-old Jordin Tootoo, who both hit the 40/70 benchmark, but are impending free agents. However, the pair have combined for one point in 63 man-games this season and may not strike Bowman as players worth keeping, since they are nearly guaranteed to not be selected by Vegas. Richard Panik and Dennis Rasmussen are both restricted free agents who would also qualify if given an extension, but the team might think twice about exposing either player when they don’t have to. If push comes to shove, Chicago would surely rather lose Rasmussen or have to re-sign Desjardins if it means that Hartman is safe, but acquiring an affordable, serviceable forward with years remaining on his contract prior to the deadline may be the easier move for Bowman and company.
Dallas Stars
Despite their performance this season, the Stars are very much built like a team trying to make one last run at a Stanley Cup. Only five players on Dallas and on the AHL’s Texas Stars have both two years of professional play under their belt and term remaining on those contracts. The rest of the team is composed of impending unrestricted free agents and the AHL squad is mostly restricted free agents. Jamie Benn and Jason Spezza have no-movement clauses and are obviously safe, as is All-Star Tyler Seguin. However, without any further moves, Dallas would have to leave 25-year-old center Cody Eakin and team enforcer Antoine Roussel exposed in the draft. With the likes of Radek Faksa, Brett Ritchie and (probably) Valeri Nichushkin needing to be protected as well, the Star’s may have to leave one or the other on the table, but certainly not both. Roussel is having a career year, on pace to beat his career-high 29 points while also skating a career-best 15 minutes per game. Eakin, who missed time earlier this year and has been held to just six points in 33 games, is regardless coming off of three straight seasons of 35+ points and is just entering his prime. If they want to protect one or both, moves need to be made. Dallas is not short on extension options, with UFA’s Patrick Sharp, Patrick Eaves, Jiri Hudler, Lauri Korpikoski, Adam Cracknell and even the injured Ales Hemsky meeting the 40/70 criterion. However, if the Stars want to make up for their disappointing season, trading several of those players for picks and prospects at the deadline seems likely may eliminate some choices. In the process of moving out that trade capital, it may simply be easier for GM Jim Nill to add one or two qualifying forwards along the way.
Atlantic Division Notes: Lazar, Bylsma, Tampa Bay
The Ottawa Senators have reportedly been perusing the trade market since early on in the campaign in search of a scoring forward, albeit without success to this point. With the recent news that Clarke MacArthur will not be returning this season due to lingering issues related to a concussion suffered in the preseason, the Senators search now has added urgency with the trade deadline approaching. However, as Don Brennan of the Ottawa Sun writes, the Sens should not be willing to include Curtis Lazar in any potential trade for an upgrade at forward.
Even though Lazar has failed to register a single point in 23 games this season for Ottawa, Brennan sees parallels between the 21-year-old forward and another former Senators first-round pick, Nick Foligno. Selected with the 28th overall choice in the 2006 draft, Foligno spent the first five seasons of his NHL career with Ottawa but never scored more than 17 goals or 47 points in any single campaign and ultimately was dealt to Columbus in exchange for defenseman Marc Methot. Since the trade, Foligno has developed into a terrific power forward with a 30-goal campaign to his credit and is on pace for 60-plus points this season. To be fair, Methot has been a solid defender for Ottawa but a physical forward that can score, something Brennan believes Lazar can become, is exactly what this Senators club needs and the team should be hesitant to pull the plug too early on his development.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic Division:
- The recent rumors pertaining to Claude Julien‘s job security prompted Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News to compile a list of head coaches he feels also may be in jeopardy of losing their current gig. Chief among them is Buffalo Sabres bench boss Dan Bylsma. In the scribe’s estimation, the Sabres have no excuse to be sitting near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings despite injuries to several key regulars, and the coach deserves his share of the blame. However, whether it would be warranted or not, Harrington doesn’t believe team owner Terry Pegula will pull the trigger on a coaching change in large part because the Buffalo Bills, also owned by Pegula, recently dismissed their high-profile head coach, Rex Ryan, who like Bylsma was in the second year of a five-year contract at the time of his termination.
- The Tampa Bay Lightning’s success in recent seasons has had a lot to do with a stingy defense, one that allowed the fifth fewest goals last year. It’s been a much different story this season, as the team has allowed nearly half-a-goal more per game and the Lightning are far closer to the bottom of the standings than the top as a result. However, in the midst of a crucial six-game road trip, it’s Tampa Bay’s offense that has let the team down and further jeopardized their playoff chances, as Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times writes. The Lightning have found the back of the net five times in their last four games while managing to amass just three points halfway through what Smith refers to as a “make-or-break” road trip. Conversely, the club’s defense has tightened up, allowing just four regulation markers during that span. There is plenty of scoring talent on the roster and it’s likely just a matter of time before the goals start coming in bunches, but will that happen soon enough to save the team’s season? The answer to that question may well dictate whether the team is a buyer or a seller at the trade deadline.
Senators Notes: Injury Updates, Searching For Depth
The Ottawa Senators have placed winger Bobby Ryan on Injured Reserve, retroactive to November 29.
Ryan broke his finger two weeks ago, but only missed two games before returning. It appears he’s aggravated the injury in some way. Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that it’s not clear whether Ryan will go with the Senators on their upcoming road trip, as he’s not eligible to return until next Thursday in San Jose.
It’s been a tough year for Ryan, who has just 8 points in 21 games. With a price tag of $7.25MM, the Senators will be expecting better production when Ryan returns from injury.
Meanwhile, Ducks forward Jakob Silfverberg has double Ryan’s points in just three more games. Silfverberg was the main piece acquired by the Ducks in the 2013 trade that sent Ryan to Ottawa.
- Marc Methot is nearly ready to return to the Senators lineup. In an interview on TSN 1200, GM Pierre Dorion said Erik Karlsson‘s preferred defensive partner could return as soon as Saturday.
- The Senators have recalled Max McCormick from Binghamton and assigned Andreas Englund and Buddy Robinson.
- When winger Clarke MacArthur was concussed early in training camp, some analysts wondered if his career was over. MacArthur missed all but four games in 2015-16 with a concussion. However, Dorion said MacArthur has been making progress and “will play this year.”
- With Ryan and MacArthur out of the lineup, the Senators search for forward depth is picking up. Dorion said he’s “very” active in searching for scoring depth, though Garrioch doesn’t believe he’s close to making any deals.