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Matt Calvert

Snapshots: Three Stars, Calvert, Matthews

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The NHL has named its three stars for the previous week, with goaltender Corey Crawford taking top honors. Crawford earned two shutouts for the Chicago Blackhawks last week, and recorded a .919 save percentage. Unfortunately, Chicago is still just 7-6-2 on the season after dropping last night’s game against Montreal 2-0. They’ll need more solid performances from Crawford going forward if they’re to really climb towards the top of the standings.

Josh Bailey and Martin Jones took home second and third respectively, after impressive weeks of their own. Bailey had an incredible seven assists last week and now has 15 on the season, and Jones led the Sharks to three straight wins. Both the Sharks and Islanders have climbed out of early holes to establish themselves as relevant playoff possibilities once again.

  • Matt Calvert will be out three to four weeks with an upper-body injury according to the Columbus Blue Jackets’ GM Jarmo Kekalainen. Calvert was injured in Saturday’s loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning and has been placed on injured reserve. Losing Calvert will test the Blue Jackets’ forward depth even more, as they’re already without Lukas Sedlak and Cam Atkinson for the time being. The team has not made a corresponding move yet, and will take on the New York Rangers tonight.
  • Auston Matthews is a game-time decision for the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight as he deals with “soreness” according to head coach Mike Babcock. If Matthews does miss the game, it would be the first time in his career he failed to suit up. In 97 career regular season games, Matthews now has 50 goals and is showing he could be even more dominant than anyone expected when he was selected first overall. The Maple Leafs can’t afford to lose him for very long though, as their slide continued with a 6-4 loss at the hands of the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night.
  • Unfortunately for the fans in Stockholm, Carl Soderberg may not be in the lineup when the Colorado Avalanche and Ottawa Senators play NHL regular season games in Sweden later this week. The Swedish-born forward did not travel with the team, instead staying at home in Denver with his pregnant wife. Since the couple is expecting the baby on Tuesday, he hasn’t yet been ruled out for the back-to-back games.

Metropolitan Notes: Bratt, Calvert, Letang, Wennberg

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A lot has been made this season of the impressive play of the New Jersey’s Jesper Bratt, who has gone from a training camp surprise to a major piece to the team’s success in a couple of months. The 19-year-old winger, who was drafted in the sixth round in 2016, shouldn’t be this successful at this point in his career, but the youngster has really improved in a short amount of time since coming over from Sweden this offseason.

Now with injuries to Kyle Palmieri and Marcus Johansson as well as the training camp injury to Travis Zajac, the team needs Bratt more than ever, who has now moved to the team’s second line, according to The Record’s Andrew Gross. He currently has five goals and six assists in 12 games. His ability to adapt quickly has impressed his teammates and coaches.

“I think he’s really been able to come in and fill a role in your quote-unquote top six but power play, penalty kill,” coach John Hynes said. “That’s a big void, without Kyle, without Johansson, without Travis, not only are those guys huge factors five on five but they all play such a key element on special teams, both power play and penalty kill. Jesper’s come in and done a good job. I think he’s alleviated some of those losses.”

  • Columbus Blue Jackets’ Matt Calvert has left the team’s road trip and is returning to Columbus after sustaining a big hit in the third period of Saturday’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, according to The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline (subscription required). He is listed as day-to-day with an upper body injury. The injury came when Lightning defender Dan Girardi knocked Calvert off his skates with a shoulder-to-shoulder hit that knocked his helmet off and slammed him into the boards.
  • The Pittsburgh Penguins defensive combination of Kris Letang and Olli Matta had to be broken up Saturday in their 4-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks as the pair struggled together. In fact, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazzette’s Jason Mackey, Letang struggled immensely in the game and was on the ice for all four goals against. He now has a minus-16 plus/minus rating this season, which is way below average for the 30-year-old veteran. Maatta is at minus-five.
  • Columbus Blue Jackets’ Alexander Wennberg’s struggles to put the puck in the net continue as he now has had just two goals in 34 games dating back to last season, according to The Hockey Writers Mark Scheig. Wennberg, who had a promising season last year with 13 goals and 46 assists has just one goal in eight games this season. While the 23-year-old is more of a passer, the team could use more goals from the third-year center.

Potential Buyout Options

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NHL fans are looking ahead to an offseason which will likely see a lot of movement, but will also feature teams tight up against a stagnant cap ceiling. Buyouts are always an option teams will weigh, although certainly an avenue of last resort. Dumping a contract isn’t as simple as taking the player’s salary off the books. They will count as 1/3 or 2/3 of the original cap hit, for twice the remaining years on that contract. So if a 26 year old player has two years remaining at $3 MM, he will cost $1 MM for four years against the team’s cap total. That means a substantial savings of $2 MM, but is a habit GMs will not want to fall into. For players over 26, the 2/3 rule applies, and that same player would count for $2 MM each of the next four seasons. In such a scenario, the savings are rarely worth it. However, teams can be backed into this corner when trade options completely vanish.

For the 2017 offseason, there is an extra component at play – the expansion draft. Players with full No-Movement Clauses must be protected by their team, exposing potentially better, younger, cheaper options to selection by the Vegas Golden Knights. Prior to the expansion draft, on June 15-17th, there will be a buyout window. Consequently, there will most likely be at least one case where a player who otherwise would not have been bought out will be due to a team’s long-term prospects. This certainly isn’t what the NHLPA had hoped for when they agreed to another 20+ players in the league with the expansion of Vegas, but is an unfortunate unforeseen consequence. Here are just some of the players who could be facing the buyout option this summer:

 

Antti Niemi – Dallas Stars

Both Niemi and fellow goalie Kari Lehtonen should be expecting this fate. With Ben Bishop signing a massive six-year contract with Dallas, their time as starters in this league look all but complete. Both are paid an asburd amount of money, but Niemi’s $4.5 MM is the more unpalatable total. His .892 save percentage through 37 games this year was only edged in ineptitude by Michal Neuvirth among tenders who got more than 15 starts. At his pricetag he is virtually unmoveable, and with only one year remaining on his contract, the hit would be worth it for 2 seasons to keep him away from the team.

Kevin Bieksa – Anaheim Ducks

Bieksa might seem an odd inclusion on this list, considering his age, but it should be remembered that he has a No-Movement Clause, meaning he would need to be protected by the Ducks. Needing to also protect Sami Vatanen, Cam Fowler, and Hampus Lindholm, even under the 8 player protection model, this would likely expose Josh Manson. Considering his play in this post-season, and Bieksa’s complete inability to remain healthy, this is a darkhorse candidate for a last-minute buyout. Bieksa’s Corsi is the worst on the backend for his team and his skating has looked quite problematic of late. The flare of his Vancouver days seems long past and with only one year remaining at $4 MM, he seems an easy target to eliminate.

Scott Hartnell – Columbus Blue Jackets

Hartnell is considered a gutsy character player, a net-front presence, and a veteran leader. However, he has seen his production shift from being that of a decent offensive threat (28 G, 32 A in 2014-15) to an average third liner (13 goals, 24 A in 2016-17). His problems run deeper, though, as his brand of physical hockey has taken its toll on his play. No longer quite the intimidating wrecking-ball of his Philadelphia days, Hartnell is not as effective on the forecheck as he once was. The reason he is included on this list, however, is because Columbus has a lot of young, promising players they will wish to protect in the expansion draft, and Hartnell has a No-Movement Clause. At 34 years old and in a quickly diminishing role, it will be difficult for GM Jarmo Kekalainen to save a space for Hartnell. With toughness adequately filled by hard-nosed forwards in Brandon Dubinsky, Boone Jenner, Nick Foligno, and Brandon Saad, he seems even more superfluous. Assuming Dubinsky (NMC), Brandon Saad, Jenner, Foligno (NMC), Cam Atkinson, and Matt Calvert are protected, Hartnell’s inclusion would sacrifice the 24 year-old William Karlsson. That’s a difficult concession for the Jackets to make, even if the youngster took a step back offensively this season. If they would opt to buy out Hartnell’s contract at $4.75 MM, it would mean $3.16 MM in dead space for 4 more seasons, a hefty pill to swallow.

 
There are certain to be other candidates for buyouts as well, but these are three that could easily find themselves looking for a new contract come June 18th.

Snapshots: Sedlak, Alzner, Polak

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The Columbus Blue Jackets will try a little tinkering to keep them alive in their playoff series against the defending champs. Lukas Sedlak will draw back into the lineup in place of Scott Hartnell, while Matt Calvert, Kyle Quincey and Markus Nutivaara will all play according to a TSN report.

Sedlak will be making his NHL playoff debut after a rookie season that saw him contribute 13 points in 62 games. The 24-year old was a huge part of the Lake Erie (now Cleveland) Monsters’ Calder Cup win last year, with 16 points in 17 AHL playoff games. Perhaps he can provide some of that magic as the Blue Jackets attempt to stave off elimination for one more game.

  • Karl Alzner won’t play in game four of the Capitals-Maple Leafs series according to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet. The pending unrestricted free agent sat out their game three overtime loss and was a noticeable absence. Though Nate Schmidt skated well, Alzner had previously been tasked with shutting down the Auston Matthews line, and without him they had their way with the Capitals. Scoring two goals and dominating possession—shot attempts were an insane 23-5 when William Nylander was on the ice—the Capitals need to find a way to slow down that line even without Alzner in the lineup.
  • Roman Polak will undergo surgery today to repair a broken right leg suffered on Saturday night. While there is no timetable for his return, he’ll likely try to make it back for the start of the 2017-18 season. Where he’ll be playing is still undecided, as he will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st. After an up-and-down season with the Leafs, he’ll be hard pressed to secure the same $2.25MM salary he earned this year.

Minor Playoff Notes: Milano, Klefbom, Acciari

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  • With the suspension of Matt Calvert, the Columbus Blue Jackets have promoted 2014 first-round pick Sonny Milano to take Calvert’s place in the lineup today for Game 3 against the Pittsburgh Penguins today. The 20-year-old wing will make his playoff debut for the Blue Jackets despite only seven games of NHL experience. This season he played four games for Columbus without registering a point. He played 63 games for the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters, totaling 18 goals and 47 points on the year.
  • The Edmonton Oilers confirmed defenseman Oscar Klefbom is good to go and is expected to play today for Game 3 against the San Jose Sharks. Klefbom, who has been one of the Oilers’ top defensemen in a breakout season, took a puck off the side inside of his foot during Game 2 and never returned. He did not skate yesterday and was considered day-to-day. Due to concern he might not be available for today’s game, the Oilers called up Griffin Reinhart from the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors as an emergency backup, but it doesn’t look like he will be needed. The Oilers also promoted goaltender Nick Ellis from Bakersfield as well. However, as the Condors’ season is over, he likely would have been promoted anyway.
  • Bruins’ fourth-liner Noel Acciari (upper body) is expected to play in Game 3 on Monday. Acciari, who missed the season finale and both Games One and Two against the Ottawa Senators this past week is instrumental on the team’s checking line alongside Dominic Moore and Riley Nash. Acciari tallied two goals in his final six games of the season before getting injured.

Calvert Suspended One Game For Kuhnhackl Cross-Check

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Columbus Blue Jacket Matt Calvert has indeed been suspended by the Department of Player Safety for one game for his cross-check Friday night on Tom Kuhnhackl. This is the first suspension of the 2017 postseason. As referenced by colleague Mike Furlano earlier in the day, this suspension was one which was difficult to predict. The Department of Player Safety has been notoriously inconsistent in its application of league rules, especially when the playoffs are concerned.

The last suspension for a cross-check was assessed to Mike Hoffman of the Ottawa Senators on December 14th of last year, for a length of two games. The video of the infraction can be viewed here, with commentary from the DoPS. Although this play is certainly reckless, it occurs in front of the net in a tied game, in what could conceivably be construed as a “hockey play”. Hoffman, like Calvert, had no previous fines or suspensions – “prior history” in the eyes of the league. The Calvert play, meanwhile, occurs at center ice with little time in a game that is virtually over. Perhaps most importantly is the difference between reactions of the two players, on the ice and off. Hoffman attempted to justify his actions by explaining the riding of his stick upwards on the back of Logan Couture. On the ice, he stumbled over the player after delivering the blow. Calvert, conversely, changed his path and doubled back to deliver a body check to the hunched Kuhnhackl’s head following the cross-check.

Perhaps the greatest grievance of hockey fans is the inconsistency when it comes to intent. Not unlike ethical dilemmas, we often choose to judge the severity of a misstep by the underlying intent. Was the offender malicious and knowing in his action, or was the action merely a result of circumstance? Society functions in this way, the law works this way, and even the NHL rulebook provides a separate match penalty towards those who attempt to injury opponents. A large reason why the Scott Stevens headshots have left the game is because the intent was not merely to separate the player from the puck, but to inflict grievous bodily harm. One can only hope that a Todd Bertuzzi incident won’t be necessary for the league to take more substantial, decisive action to protect its players, postseason or regular, star or 4th -liner, history or not.

Officiating will likely continue to pose an issue this post-season, as fans’ patience for situational leniency will be tested.

 

 

Potential Suspensions: Matt Calvert Edition

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The Columbus Blue Jackets may be down a player going forward in this year’s NHL playoffs. During last night’s Columbus Blue Jackets – Pittsburgh Penguins game 2 playoff match, Columbus forward Matt Calvert crosschecked an unsuspecting Pittsburgh forward Tom Kuhnhackl that should warrant league attention. Below we analyze the situation and past NHL playoff suspensions.

With less than a minute to go in the 4-1 Columbus loss, Calvert skated up to Kuhnhackl from behind and crosschecked him across the back/neck area—breaking his stick in the process—before turning around and shoving him in the face. (Video link). It looked like a deliberate cheap shot to the head area that would concern the Department of Player Safety.

Despite the hit’s optics, ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun tweets that he doesn’t think the NHL will suspend Calvert. The Columbus Dispatch’s Aaron Portzline corroborates, stating that his sense is that Calvert avoids a suspension. Pierre LeBrun thinks that the Department of Player Safety is concerned that the stick-breaking aspect of the play makes the play seem much worse, given that hockey sticks are prone to break easily.

If Calvert avoids a suspension, it will reiterate the League’s position that playoff games are more important than regular season games. It will also highlight a growing concern that the Department of Player Safety issues punishments haphazardly, and without any real consistency. As Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News points out, Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen received three games for a mistimed hit on Pittsburgh forward Jake Guentzel. The League has always been criticized for its inconsistency in handing out punishments, and if Calvert avoids a suspension that sentiment will only grow. Anything less than a suspension will also reignite the sentiment that the League governs by a different rule book during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Last season the NHL issues four suspensions during the 2015-16 NHL playoffs that directly affected future playoff games. Three suspensions were for one game each, and one was for three games.

The NHL suspended Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Pierre-Edouard Bellemare one game for a hit on Washington Capitals defenseman Dmitry Orlov (video link). Bellemare hit Orlov from behind a few feet from the boards, causing Orlov to crash headfirst into the boards.

Next, the NHL suspended Chicago Blackhawks forward Andrew Shaw one game for using a homophobic slur. He directed the slur to an on-ice official while sitting in the penalty box.

The NHL then issued its biggest suspension of that year’s postseason by suspending Washington Capitals defenseman Brooks Orpik three games for a late hit to the head of Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Olli Maatta (video link).

Finally, the NHL issued its last suspension to Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang, giving him one game for his late hit to the head of Washington Capitals forward Marcus Johansson (video link).

All the issued suspensions involving physical hits involved hits to the head. The NHL did not issue any suspensions for stick infractions. If the NHL was concerned with a play’s optics, it would issue Matt Calvert at least a one-game suspension. However, if the League has a strict standard when it comes to playoff suspensions, do not be surprised if Calvert walks away with just a lighter wallet.

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