Snapshots: Blackhawks, Team Canada, Nutivaara
Although the Blackhawks finished 30th in the league in goals allowed this season, Jason Lieser of the Chicago Sun-Times cautions that there may not be big changes coming to their back end this summer. He notes that GM Stan Bowman has confidence in his existing group and hopes that head coach Jeremy Colliton will be able to establish some more significant changes to their current strategies, something he wasn’t completely able to do after taking over for Joel Quenneville early in the season. Veterans Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook are signed for at least the next four seasons with no-move clauses so there isn’t a lot of flexibility to work with; they will have to rely on both of them to pick up their level of play for next season.
Other notes from around the league:
- Canada has added several players to their team for the upcoming World Championships. TSN’s Darren Dreger reports (Twitter links) that Maple Leafs center John Tavares, Golden Knights winger, and Penguins goalie Matt Murray have all agreed to participate. Meanwhile, Sportsnet 650’s Rick Dhaliwal adds (Twitter link) that Canucks defenseman Troy Stecher will also be taking part in the tournament which gets underway on May 10th.
- Blue Jackets defenseman Markus Nutivaara resumed skating today for the first time since sustaining an upper-body injury back in the second game of their opening round series against Tampa Bay, notes Adam Jardy of the Columbus Post-Dispatch. He ranked fifth in average ice time on the back end in Columbus this season, logging nearly 18 minutes a night. There’s no word on his timetable for a return; the 24-year-old indicated he was unsure if he’d be able to return in this series. Adam Clendening will remain in the lineup in his absence.
Minor Transactions: 02/09/2019
It’s a busy Saturday slate for the NHL, with 28 teams set to square off today. All seven Canadian clubs are set to play, as the nation celebrates Hockey Day in Canada, while in the U.S. ten teams will get an early start with 1:00pm ET puck drops. With several other games in the late afternoon, evening, and late night, it’s a true all-day affair for the league. While you enjoy all the action, keep up with what should be a busy day for transactions as well:
- Attached to the trade yesterday that saw Laurent Dauphin and Adam Helewka head to the Nashville Predators from the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for Emil Petterson was an AHL exchange as well. The Tuscon Roadrunners, affiliate of the ‘Yotes, announced that they have acquired forward Jeremy Gregoire from the Preds’ affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals, for future considerations. Gregoire, a former Montreal Canadiens prospect, was not qualified by the team after last season and signed with the Admirals as a free agent. The 23-year-old center has 12 points in 42 AHL games this year. Arizona GM John Chayka has shown in the past that he values a postseason run for his minor league team, adding pieces at each of the past few trade deadlines to help his top prospects experience the postseason even if the Coyotes don’t qualify.
- CapFriendly reports that the Anaheim Ducks have recalled goaltender Kevin Boyle from the AHL’s San Diego Gulls. This is not a positive sign for the status of starter John Gibson, who left Thursday night’s game with an injury and did not practice yesterday. It seems likely that Boyle will back up Chad Johnson today when the Ducks visit the Philadelphia Flyers. Boyle, 26, has been with the Ducks organization for the past three seasons after signing as a free agent out of UMass – Lowell, but is still looking for his first NHL appearance.
- The Ottawa Senators have called up veteran grinder Darren Archibald, the team announced. Archibald, who turns 29 years old today, was acquired alongside Anders Nilsson from the Vancouver Canucks earlier this season. The big winger has two points in ten NHL games this year, but was held scoreless in his Ottawa debut early last month and then sent back down. Yet, as Archibald continues to quietly put together a productive AHL campaign and brings a heavy, physical presence to any lineup, he has earned another shot with the Senators. The impending UFA is trying to prove to possible suitors this off-season that he is more than just a minimum salary, two-way player.
- After their victory over Winnipeg earlier today, the Ottawa Senators announced they have returned Archibald to Belleville. He did not appear in today’s win.
- The New Jersey Devils have made a flurry of moves, according to CapFriendly. They report that the team has officially placed forward Miles Wood on the injured reserve and activated rookie winger Joey Anderson. Wood left the Devils’ last game with an arm injury, but his injury status had been unclear. Obviously, this is an injury that will keep Wood sidelined for some time. Hopefully Anderson can make up for his absence; the collegiate product had two points through eleven games this season before breaking his ankle in November. New Jersey has called up additional reinforcements from AHL Binghamton as well in forward Nick Lappin and recently-acquired defenseman Ryan Murphy. Lappin has yet to play in the NHL this season after suiting up for 49 games with the Devils over the past two years, but brings some added experience to the table among the options to replace Wood. Murphy, who came over from the Minnesota Wild last week, will hope to show that he can still produce at the NHL level. The 2011 twelfth overall pick has failed to live up to his draft position so far in his pro career.
- CapFriendly also notes that the St. Louis Blues have called up defenseman Chris Butler from the San Antonio Rampage of the AHL. The 32-year-old veteran has over 400 NHL games to his credit, but only 12 this season and 24 total over the past four seasons with St. Louis. However, Butler – the Rampage captain – has continued to be effective in the minors. With the Blues suddenly surging toward a playoff berth, a recent report indicated that they might prefer to hold on to one or both of their impending free agent defenseman on the roster, Jay Bouwmeester and Carl Gunnarsson. If that is the case, the team could be using this opportunity to showcase Butler for a potential trade to a contender so that they might walk away with some kind of return at the deadline without moving an established NHLer.
- Haydn Fleury’s recent stretch of bouncing back and forth between the NHL and the minors continues. The Hurricanes announced that they have sent the defenseman back to AHL Charlotte. It’s the third time in less than three weeks that they’ve done so with recalls coming shortly after each time, something that will likely be the case again this time. Fleury isn’t getting much playing time in Carolina so this is allowing him to at least get some game action in to stay ready in case he’s called upon by the big club.
- It didn’t take long for the Pittsburgh Penguins to get their starting goaltender back as Matt Murray is expected to back up Casey DeSmith Saturday. Therefore the Penguins announced they have returned Tristan Jarry to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the AHL. Jarry was recalled Thursday on an emergency basis while Murray was out, Jarry’s trip didn’t last long and he didn’t see any action with the club either.
- With Travis Hamonic officially back, the Calgary Flames opted to make a roster move with eight defenseman on their roster. The Flames announced they have assigned defenseman Rinat Valiev to the Stockton Heat of the AHL. The 23-year-old was recalled last Saturday as an emergency defenseman, but never saw the ice.
Tristan Jarry Recalled Under Emergency Conditions
The Pittsburgh Penguins are in action tomorrow night against the Florida Panthers, and aren’t expected to have Matt Murray in net. That’s because Murray is out with another injury, this time listed as day-to-day with an upper-body ailment. That means Tristan Jarry has been recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton under emergency conditions, not the first time he’s replaced Murray for injury reasons this year.
Head coach Mike Sullivan made it clear that the injury to Murray is not a concussion, but would not further elaborate. Unfortunately this seems to be par for the course when it comes to Murray, as the young goaltender can’t seem to stay healthy for any length of time. After dealing with another concussion earlier in the year, Murray was activated in mid-December and has looked good since, carrying a .930 save percentage over his last 15 games. That kind of production is exactly what the Penguins need, especially as they try to catch the New York Islanders and Washington Capitals for a higher playoff seed.
Jarry, who is still just 23 years old, has spent the majority of this season in the minor leagues where he has posted a .912 save percentage across 27 games. Having him in the system is integral for the Penguins even after extending DeSmith earlier this year, as they need someone who can step in and contribute in case of injury.
Metropolitan Notes: Holtby, Jarry, Van Riemsdyk, Hickey
The Washington Capitals look like they can breathe a sigh of relief as goaltender Braden Holtby was at practice Sunday after Columbus’ Cam Atkinson accidentally put his stick through a hole in Holtby’s mask into his left eye, forcing him to leave the game. It’s still unclear if the goaltender would start against St. Louis on Monday, the first of a back-to-back set, according to Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post.
“Obviously anything with your eyes is a little scary,” Holtby said. “It’s fortunate that it wasn’t anything too serious. You just move on. … I didn’t have the sight to keep going. I just wouldn’t have been a benefit to the team. it was one of those things. Eyes heal quickly, so just 24 hours and I’ll be back to normal.”
The incident on the ice Saturday in the second period and the immediate thought looked scary with many worrying that the team’s star goaltender could miss a significant amount of time. However, it looks like the injury isn’t as serious as originally thought. Head coach Todd Rierden said that the team doesn’t intend to recall a goaltender from the AHL at this moment with the general belief that the team could start Pheonix Copley Monday and start Holtby on Tuesday against Nashville on Tuesday.
- While there have been reports out of Pittsburgh that the team may be ready to move a defenseman, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes that general manager Jim Rutherford may also be ready to move third-string goaltender Tristan Jarry as well. The 23-year-old and second-round pick in 2013 is a solid prospect, but with 24-year-old Matt Murray locked in as the starter and the fact that backup Casey DeSmith was recently extended for another three years, Jarry could be a nice trade chip. He has one more year at $675K before he hits restricted free agency, although his two-way deal will turn into a one-way deal next season. NBC Sports’ Adam Gretz adds, however, that goaltenders don’t often bring a lot back in trades, pointing out that Filip Gustavsson was a better prospect and he was just one part of a package to get Derick Brassard last season.
- Sam Carchidi of Philly.com writes that Philadelphia Flyers forward James van Riemsdyk has a 50-50 chance of playing Monday after being banged up Saturday against New Jersey. Van Riemsdyk, who has struggled with injuries as well as production, had one of his better games of the season, playing 17:01 and scoring a goal and adding an assist, despite the loss. The 29-year-old has two goals and two assists in the last two games.
- Newsday’s Andrew Gross reports that New York Islanders defenseman Thomas Hickey, who has missed 11 straight games with an upper-body injury, has had a slowdown in his recovery, according to head coach Barry Trotz. Hickey has been skating on his own, but was held out of the team’s last full practice on Wednesday. “We want to do what’s best for the player,” Trotz said. “I don’t know if it’s a setback. We just want to be cautious with it. He’s real important for us and we’re not trying to rush him at all. We back him off a little bit and that’s on trainers’ orders.”
Matt Murray Activated From Injured Reserve
The Pittsburgh Penguins finally have their expected starter back. Matt Murray has been activated from injured reserve, while Tristan Jarry was sent back to the minor leagues. Now the question becomes how the Penguins will use Murray, given Casey DeSmith‘s stellar play as the starter in his absence. DeSmith has posted a .925 save percentage through 20 appearances this season, a number Murray has reached since 2016-17.
Back in October, head coach Mike Sullivan claimed that Murray was still obviously the team’s number one, despite DeSmith’s success early on. That assertion will be tested as the season progresses, and the Penguins attempt to continue their climb up the ladder of the Metropolitan Division standings.
After starting his career about as well as possible with back-to-back Stanley Cup championships, Murray has struggled recently to find an elite level capable of putting the Penguins over the edge. Some of that has to do with injury—Murray has suffered from multiple ailments including several concussions over his short career—and some with simple inconsistency. Both things will be tested now that he has ample competition for the starter role, in both DeSmith and top prospect Jarry. The team certainly can’t wait around for his play to rebound if they want to keep pace in the Metropolitan, where the Washington Capitals are starting to extend their lead and look like the dominant team that took home the Cup last season.
Metropolitan Notes: Neuvirth, Oshie, Wilson, Murray
While Blues goaltender Chad Johnson hit the waiver wire today, another veteran netminder could soon join him. Dave Isaac of the Cherry Hill Courier-Post suggests that Flyers goalie Michal Neuvirth could be waived once Brian Elliott returns from his groin injury which would pave the way for Anthony Stolarz to remain with the team.
Neuvirth has had a disastrous season thus far. He has missed most of it with multiple lower-body injuries and he has not fared well in his two appearances. Isaac notes that now-former GM Ron Hextall tried to trade the 30-year-old this summer but to no avail. Considering his start to the season, there isn’t likely to be any sort of market for Neuvirth’s services nor would it be ideal to keep him up so being waived appears to be a likely outcome at this point.
Elsewhere around the Metropolitan:
- Capitals winger T.J. Oshie participated in practice today and could receive the green light to return from his concussion on Tuesday, reports J.J. Regan of NBC Sports Washington (Twitter link). He has missed the last 11 games but a decision on his availability likely won’t be decided until closer to game time tomorrow as the team wants to assess how he feels on Tuesday first. His return would be a welcome one with the team currently without winger Tom Wilson (concussion); NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti notes (via Twitter) that the team hopes he can resume skating later this week.
- Penguins goalie Matt Murray is making significant progress in his recovery from his lower-body injury, head coach Mike Sullivan told reporters, including Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The team would like to get him some practice time but with the team playing eight times over the next two weeks, they’re only slated to practice once in that span. In the meantime, Casey DeSmith will remain as the number one starter in his absence and has fared quite well in that role thus far.
Detroit’s Jimmy Howard Drawing Trade Interest
The Detroit Red Wings are in the midst of a rebuild. Whether or not they’re willing to admit that fact or continue to try and push for a playoff spot this season, it is clear that the team is not set up for Stanley Cup contention as presently constructed. They do have plenty of good young talent in the NHL and on the way, but there just aren’t enough elite players to really push them into the upper echelon of the Atlantic Division, let alone the Eastern Conference. With that in mind, the Red Wings may very well see this season’s trade deadline as an opportunity to gather more assets for the future and continue building towards an eventual competitive window. One of the players who is already drawing interest from around the league is goaltender Jimmy Howard, who is having another excellent season and is in the final year of his current contract.
Recently, Darren Dreger of TSN reported that the St. Louis Blues had shown interest in the Detroit netminder given the struggles of both Jake Allen and Chad Johnson and today Frank Seravalli of TSN writes that the Pittsburgh Penguins also have interest. Seravalli notes that the Penguins have a first -round pick to “dangle” in front of the Red Wings, something that the Blues do not have after giving it up for Ryan O’Reilly this offseason. Howard comes with a $5.3MM cap hit this season but wouldn’t represent a long-term investment for any acquiring team.
Interestingly, in the same piece Seravalli also lists Penguins goaltender Matt Murray as a potential trade candidate due to his growing injury concerns and struggles this season. If the Penguins were to be pursuing someone like Howard, it would make some sense that they’d need to send one of their young netminders elsewhere. Pittsburgh has Casey DeSmith and Tristan Jarry manning the crease while Murray deals with his latest injury, a tandem that certainly doesn’t have the experience someone like Howard has.
From these reports it doesn’t seem like anything is close, but the fact that the Penguins would show interest in a veteran goaltender is something to keep an eye on. GM Jim Rutherford isn’t shy with in-season moves to improve his club, and Pittsburgh still believes they can compete this year. With the return of Sidney Crosby recently, the Penguins are now 10-8-5 on the season and just three points out of a Metropolitan Division playoff spot.
The Red Wings meanwhile now have Jonathan Bernier under contract through 2020-21 and little reason to not trade Howard before the deadline, unless they plan on re-signing the veteran netminder. The two sides have definitely discussed a multi-year extension, but if Detroit is offered a big enough package in return it will be hard to turn down.
Pittsburgh’s Patric Hornqvist Out With A Concussion
The injury ride continues in Pittsburgh as Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan announced that winger Patric Hornqvist is out with a concussion after leaving Friday’s game against Boston during the second period. While no timeline has been suggested, it’s just another blow for a team that is trying to turn around its slow start.
The Penguins find themselves tied for last place in the Metropolitan Division with an 8-8-5 record as the team has struggled out of the gate, while also dealing with multiple injuries, including injuries to Justin Schultz, Matt Murray, Derick Brassard and even losing Sidney Crosby for three games recently. The team lost nine of 10 games at one point and have done little to improve on that since.
Hornqvist’s loss won’t help either as the 31-year-old was putting up solid numbers as he has nine goals and 15 points in 21 games, providing the team with a reliable top-six presence. Concussions aren’t anything new for the veteran, however. This is Hornqvist’s third reported concussion in his career. He missed six games back in November of 2016 and then missed another five games during the same season in March of 2017.
Matt Murray Placed On Injured Reserve
Speak up if you’ve heard this before: Matt Murray is headed to injured reserve. The Pittsburgh Penguins announced today that their young goaltender will be headed back to the shelf while Tristan Jarry has been recalled from the minor leagues under emergency conditions. Jarry will join Casey DeSmith in the Pittsburgh crease. Head coach Mike Sullivan told reporters including Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the lower-body injury to Murray will keep him out “longer term.”
Now 24, Murray has struggled to stay healthy for the last few years despite such an incredible start to his career. Winning a Stanley Cup in 2016 after coming on late in the season, he was still technically considered a rookie the next year when he helped Pittsburgh win again. That impressive, lanky goaltender has been hard to find over the last 18 months though, as Murray posted a .907 save percentage last season and is off to an even worse start in 2018-19.
DeSmith has held the Penguins together through the first few weeks of the season, and with Jarry pushing for an NHL role the decision to sit Murray down was probably made a lot easier. Sullivan explained that the problem had been bothering Murray for some time, but has become bad enough to need a stint on injured reserve and a long recovery period. That means Pittsburgh, who welcomed back their captain last night, will be in the capable hands of DeSmith and Jarry for the time being. The way both have played—DeSmith has a .924 save percentage this season in the NHL, while Jarry has a .909 in the minor leagues—it actually may be a good thing for the team moving forward.
Snapshots: Outdoor Game, Penguins, Patrick
The 2019 NHL Winter Classic is still more than a month away and the 2019 NHL Stadium Series game even further, but that hasn’t stopped discussions about where the league could turn next for an outdoor game. Today, BSN Denver’s Adrian Dater reports that the Colorado Avalanche are likely to be an outdoor game host “sooner rather than later.” In talking with deputy commissioner Bill Daly, Dater learned that the league is very interested in placing a game at the nearby Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, where Falcon Stadium normally plays host to the Air Force football team and a capacity crowd of close to 47,000. Given the success of the NHL’s last foray into an outdoor game in Colorado – the 2016 showdown at Coors Field in Denver – and their special interest in games played at American military institutions, such as last year’s game at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, not to mention the successful Division I hockey program at Air Force, the school seems like a great fit to host a gme. For now though, the league remains focused on their next contest at a college football venue, when the Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks square off at Notre Dame on New Year’s Day.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins hope that their team is in much better shape when they take part in their outdoor game later this season, a match-up with the rival Flyers at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on February 23rd. The team continues to struggle and, even after his acquisition of forward Tanner Pearson, GM Jim Rutherford remains open for business per numerous sources. However, the next move might not be just a simple one-for-one to land a role player. TSN’s Bob McKenzie raised the stakes on the latest “Insider Trading” segment, stating that “anything and everything is on the table” in Pittsburgh. McKenzie says that the Penguins’ list of untouchables is rather short – just Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. McKenzie believes that anyone else could be move, perhaps adding fuel to the fire of recent rumors that Phil Kessel, Derick Brassard, Olli Maatta, and Matt Murray are among the names that could be on the move if things don’t improve.
- The Penguins did make a noteworthy move today, announcing that legendary executive Craig Patrick has re-joined the team as a pro scout. The 72-year-old Hall of Famer served as Pittsburgh’s GM for 17 years, from 1989 to 2006. Patrick was the architect of the 1991 and 1992 Stanley Cup-winning Penguins teams and much of the 2009 championship team and beyond were the products of Patrick’s regime, including Crosby and Malkin. Many will also recognize Patrick as an assistant coach to Herb Brooks on the famed “Miracle” 1980 U.S. Olympic team, while he also served as both coach and GM for the New York Rangers over a nine-year span in the 80’s. The extent of Patrick’s role is unclear, but particularly in the midst of a difficult season, this is a great hire by the Penguins if only for the wisdom and guidance of an experienced hockey guru.