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Pacific Notes: Burrows, Doan, Domi, Donskoi

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While his name has been in trade rumblings for several years now, Vancouver winger Alex Burrows isn’t particularly worried about whether or not he gets traded by the March 1st trade deadline, he told Sportsnet’s Carol Schram.  Burrows has a full no-trade clause and at this point he hasn’t been approached about waiving it, nor has he gone to the team to ask for a move.

With 16 points (7-9-16) in 44 games this season, the 35 year old would likely represent a bottom six upgrade for some teams at the deadline.  However, with a cap hit of $4.5MM, the amount of teams that will be able to afford him will be limited.

The Canucks are still in the playoff hunt as they sit just three points out of a Wild Card spot.  However, it doesn’t seem likely that Burrows will be back next season so it will be interesting to see if they approach him about waiving his no-trade clause even if they stay in the postseason race.

More from the Pacific:

  • While the report last month that suggested Coyotes right winger Shane Doan might be open to a trade had many speculating about where he could go, GM John Chayka noted in an interview with 98.7 FM Arizona Sports that there haven’t been any discussions on that front for several weeks. He added that the trade deadline still a month away, there’s no rush on either side to see if there’s a potential move to be made or if he wants to stay in Arizona.
  • Still with the Coyotes, left winger Max Domi practiced for the first time on Wednesday as he recovers from a broken hand, notes Bob McManaman of the Arizona Republic. Domi has been out of the lineup since late December with the injury.  Dave Vest of Arizona’s team site adds (Twitter link) that Domi will be a game-time decision tonight against Chicago.  The sophomore forward is fifth in scoring on the Coyotes despite playing in just 26 games this season, collecting 16 points.  His point per game total is the highest on the team.
  • Sharks right winger Joonas Donskoi is dealing with a re-aggravation of an upper body injury he suffered back in early January against Calgary, reports CSN Bay Area’s Kevin Kurz. Donskoi has played in just three games since then and is not with the team in Vancouver for their matchup tonight.  He’s expected to be out for another week, adds Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News (Twitter link). The 24 year old isn’t having the success he had in his rookie season where he put up 36 points in 76 games; he has just six goals and nine assists through 45 contests this year.

Max Domi Out Indefinitely

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The Arizona Coyotes announced today that Max Domi is out indefinitely after suffering a hand injury on December 8th. Domi had successful hand surgery today following his injury.

Domi suffered the injury while fighting Garnet Hathaway of the Calgary Flames on December 8th. Domi left that game and did not return. The sophomore forward is primarily a goal scorer but will not shy away from dropping the gloves if necessary—a trait likely inherited from his father Tie Domi.

Domi’s absence hurts the Coyotes. His 5G and 11A in 26 games is good for 2nd in team scoring on a team ranked 28th in goals for. This is another blow for a Coyotes team that was looking to make a step forward with its youth and smart signings. Domi’s absence, however, provides an opportunity for fellow sophomore forward Anthony Duclair to turn around a terrible start and try to regain last year’s form.

Newly-acquired Peter Holland will also have an expanded opportunity to prove to his former team—the Toronto Maple Leafs—that they were wrong about his place in this league. Holland could not crack the Maple Leafs’ roster, and did not play until he was traded to Arizona for a conditional sixth round draft pick.

 

Pacific Division Notes: Noesen, Domi, Jooris, Gryba, Davidson

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Sometimes things just have a way of working out for the best. That turned out to be the case for the Anaheim Ducks back in the 2011 NHL draft. Curtis Zupke of the Los Angeles Times relays the story of Stefan Noesen, who was a first-round draft pick of the Ottawa Senators in 2011, but has spent the last five seasons working to establish himself as an NHL regular. During that span he has overcome two major leg injuries – torn knee ligaments in his first pro season and a lacerated Achilles the next year – and was part of a trade package Ottawa sent to Anaheim for Bobby Ryan. As Zupke notes, Noesen may not be a household name but he has an opportunity to win a job with the Ducks on the team’s fourth line.

Interestingly enough, the Ducks, who owned the 22nd choice in the 2011 draft were prepared to select Noesen but the Senators took the American winger one pick before Anaheim could pull the trigger. With their top option off the board the Ducks decided to move down the board, dealing the 22nd pick to Toronto for the 30th and 39th overall selections. The Leafs selected Tyler Biggs, who has yet to appear in the NHL and is currently playing for the Kalamazoo Wings of the ECHL. The Ducks, on the other hand, took forward Rickard Rakell at 30 and goaltender John Gibson at 39; two key contributors for Anaheim.

Meanwhile, the Ducks would get Noesen anyway when the winger was acquired from Ottawa along with Jakob Silfverberg and a first-round pick – the Ducks would choose Nick Ritchie with that selection – in exchange for Ryan.

Elsewhere in the Pacific Division:

  • Yesterday it was learned that the Arizona Coyotes had placed Max Domi on IR with what was believed to be a hand injury. Officially Domi was listed as week-to-week but Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos reports (via video link) that the sophomore winger will have surgery on his injured hand and could miss as much as six weeks. When asked about the report, Coyotes GM John Chayka declined comment, according to Craig Morgan (Twitter link).
  • Earlier today it was announced that the Coyotes were awarded their waiver claim on Josh Jooris, formerly of the New York Rangers. In a corresponding transaction to clear a roster space, the club reassigned Tyler Gaudet to Tucson of the AHL (Twitter link). Gaudet has appeared in four games for the Coyotes this season and has just one assist while averaging nearly 13 minutes of ice time.
  • The Edmonton Oilers have been beset this season by injuries on their blue line but now it appears as if reinforcements may be on the way. The team tweeted today that injured defensemen Eric Gryba and Brandon Davidson could be back in the team’s lineup as soon as Tuesday. The possible return of Davidson has to be especially good news for the Oilers. The 25-year-old blue liner established himself as a steady presence on the team’s back end as a rookie last season.

Coyotes Place Max Domi On IR

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usatsi_9733523_168380616_lowresThe Arizona Coyotes have placed sophomore forward Max Domi on Injured Reserved, reported first by AZSports Craig Morgan. The move is retroactive to last Thursday when Domi exited the Coyotes game against the Flames after fighting Flames forward Garnet Hathaway.

The Coyotes called Domi week-to-week, and the earliest he can return is next Saturday against the Minnesota Wild. Domi will be missed—he’s second in team scoring with 5G and 11A. Domi is on pace to match last year’s surprising rookie production of 18G and 34A in 81 games. The team is 28th in scoring right now, and Domi’s absence will not help matters.

Domi’s injury gives struggling forward—and fellow sophomore prospect—Anthony Duclair an opportunity to turn his fate around. Duclair has struggled mightily this season with only 1G and 3A in 25 games. A midseason improvement could spark interest in the forward after rumors circulated that the Coyotes would entertain offers for the young forward.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Coyotes Could Make Anthony Duclair Available

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The Arizona Coyotes could make left winger Anthony Duclair available in a trade, reports Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos.  Duclair is in his second season in the desert but has struggled considerably so far this year.

Last season, Duclair was part of a dynamic rookie duo with the Coyotes alongside center Max Domi.  He had 20 goals and 24 assists in 81 games despite seeing predominantly second and third line ice time.  This season, however, he has just a goal and two helpers through 17 games.

While Kypreos reports that Duclair “could be had for the right price”, it doesn’t appear that GM John Chayka is actively shopping him by any means and that the asking price would still be quite high.

A third round pick of the Rangers back in 2013, Duclair is in the final year of his entry level deal with a cap hit of just over $770K.  He will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season.

As for the other half of the rookie duo from last year, Domi – who has 13 points (2-11-13) in 17 games this season, remains untouchable according to Kypreos.

[Related: Coyotes Depth Chart]

2016-17 Season Preview: Arizona Coyotes

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With training camps opening around the league and the new season less than three weeks away, we continue our series of team previews with a look at the Arizona Coyotes.

Last Season: 35 – 39 – 8 (78 points), fourth place in the Pacific Division. Missed the playoffs.

Salary Cap Space Remaining: $2.347MM (per Cap Friendly). The Coyotes will be able to free up to an additional $10.5MM by placing Dave Bolland and Chris Pronger on LTIR.

Key Newcomers: Alex Goligoski (D) – trade with Dallas; Jamie McGinn (LW) – free agent from Anaheim; Luke Schenn (D) – free agent from L.A. Kings; Radim Vrbata (RW) – free agent from Vancouver; Lawson Crouse (LW) – trade with Florida.

Key Departures: Antoine Vermette (C) – contract buyout – signed with Anaheim as free agent; Alex Tanguay (LW) – free agent; Boyd Gordon (C) – signed with Philadelphia as a free agent.

Players to Watch: Mike Smith and Goligoski. The Coyotes allowed the third most goals in the entire league which was a function of substandard goaltending and a mediocre defense corps. GM John Chayka addressed the defense, dealing a fifth-round pick to Dallas in exchange for the negotiating rights to Goligoski and subsequently signed the veteran puck-mover to a five-year contract.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson is the Coyotes #1 blue liner but Goligoski adds a reliable veteran to the mix who can play in all situations and will strengthen the team’s top-four. Last season he tallied 37 points for the Stars and has averaged 40 points for every 82 games he has played during his career. Goligoski was a horse on the back end in 2015-16, averaging nearly 24 minutes a game for the Central Division champs.

Meanwhile, the team is hopeful Smith will be healthy and provide steady play between the pipes for the Coyotes. The team finished 23rd overall in goalie save percentage with Smith appearing in just 32 games. On a promising note, Smith led all NHL goalies with 15 or more games played in 2015-16 in High Danger Save % (HDsV%) with a mark of 87.4% and has stopped at least 84% of those high quality chances in three of the last four seasons.

Smith was superlative in 2011-12 – the last season the Coyotes qualified for the playoffs – winning 38 games and finishing with a Sv% of 93.0%. He has the ability to single-handedly keep the Coyotes in games and if Goligoski can help clean up the defensive end, the Coyotes will be a contender.

Storylines: The John Chayka experiment and the development of the kids. Chayka is not only the league’s youngest GM but he’s also the first to come from a more analytically-oriented background. Fair or not, how the Coyotes perform with the roster he has assembled will have a major impact on how analytics and advanced stats are perceived in the league. If he can build a winner in Arizona with a limited payroll, it might encourage more clubs to actively embrace the role of analytics in the game.

By all accounts Chayka is a bright guy and most of his offseason moves were met with positive reactions from hockey pundits. His actual reliance on analytics in roster construction may be overstated but there is no question old school managers and coaches will be watching with interest.

Although improved goaltending and more contributions from the club’s blue liners will be important, perhaps the key to this upcoming season is the continued development of its young talent. Max Domi and Anthony Duclair are already well on their way to becoming stars in this league but the team does lack an established #1 center. Fortunately, they do have Dylan Strome, the third overall pick in the 2015 entry draft and one of the game’s top prospects. Strome has been among the most explosive scorers in junior hockey, totaling 240 points in 124 games with Erie of the OHL, averaging nearly two points per contest. No one expects the young pivot to immediately fill the void at #1 but if he can establish himself as a legitimate NHL regular it will take some of the pressure of the team’s returning centers. Assuming Duclair, Domi and the team’s other young players take the next step in their development and Strome proves to be ready for the NHL, Arizona has a realistic shot at playoff contention.

Potential 2016-17 Impact Rookies: Theodore, Strome, Dvorak, Shinkaruk

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The Pacific Division has its fair share of intriguing prospects, placing five players among the first 14 names on Corey Pronman’s list of top 120 prospects compiled recently for ESPN.com (Insider required). The Coyotes lead the way overall with nine prospects making the cut. Today we profile four talented young players in the division who should have a chance to contribute to their teams this season.

Shea Theodore (Anaheim) – The Ducks already boast a strong complement of defenders with Hampus Lindholm and Sami Vatanen leading the way. But with the NHL moving more to a speed and skill game there is always room for a smooth two-way blue liner who knows how to move the puck and that’s exactly what Theodore is.

Theodore was drafted in the first round by the Ducks in the 2013 draft out of the WHL. In 258 games with the Seattle Thunderbirds, Theodore scored 58 goals and 212 points and won the Bill Hunter award as the league’s top defenseman in 2014-15. After turning pro, Theodore would appear in 63 AHL contests over parts of three seasons, culminating in an impressive 2015-16 showing with the San Diego Gulls where he tallied 37 points in 50 games as a 20-year-old. He would also chip in eight points in 19 regular season games with the Ducks in his first taste of NHL action.

There have been rumors much of the summer that the Ducks could look to move one of their defensemen – Cam Fowler specifically has been linked to several trade rumors – in an effort to acquire a scoring-line LW. If Anaheim should succeed in those purported efforts, Theodore’s path to a regular NHL job becomes much clearer.

Dylan Strome (Arizona) – The third overall choice in the 2015 entry draft, Strome is one of the game’s top prospects after tearing up the OHL the last two seasons. Strome combined to tally 82 goals and 240 points in just 124 games for the Erie Otters. That averages out to nearly two points per game over the last two campaigns. He also led the OHL in scoring with 129 points during the 2014-15 campaign.

The 6-foot-3, 185 pound pivot has drawn comparisons from scouts to a young Ryan Getzlaf in terms of his frame and strong skating stride. Of course there are no guarantees Strome will ever impact the game the way that Getzlaf has but it does speak to the youngster’s high skill level and potential ceiling.

The Coyotes spent the summer remaking their roster into one they hope can compete for a playoff spot in 2016-17, though they didn’t add any centers from outside the organization. The top returning pivot is Martin Hanzal, who is a fine two-way player and scored a career-best 41 points in 2015-16. But he hasn’t played a full schedule of games since 2009-10 and is best suited as a #2 or even a #3 center for a contending team. Consequently, the Coyotes are likely to give Strome every opportunity to win a job centering one of the team’s top two lines. That would put him in position to share the ice at times with Anthony Duclair and Max Domi, which should ease his transition to the NHL.

Christian Dvorak (Arizona) – Dvorak, is yet another talented young forward who could force his way onto the Coyotes roster. The Coyotes used their second-round selection in the 2014 draft on Dvorak after a mediocre debut campaign with London of the OHL where he scored just 14 points in 33 games. But Dvorak took his game to another level the next two seasons, combining to score 93 goals and 230 points over that time. He would augment that performance with an impressive 35-point output in 18 games during the 2015-16 postseason and added another seven goals and 12 points in four Memorial Cup games for the Knights.

Assuming the Coyotes can get RFA Tobias Rieder re-signed, he would join free agent addition Jamie McGinn, Duclair and Domi as top-six wingers. A good performance in camp could earn Dvorak a job on the third or fourth line since Arizona’s depth up front is somewhat shallow, though it wouldn’t hurt his development to get some seasoning in the AHL first.

Hunter Shinkaruk (Calgary) – Shinkaruk, who was originally drafted in the first round by Vancouver, was acquired by Calgary in exchange for center Markus Granlund during the 2015-16 season. He made his debut this past season with the Canucks and appeared in another seven games after his trade to the Flames, with whom he scored his first two NHL goals. Shinkaruk also suited up for 62 AHL contests, tallying 27 goals and 51 points between Utica and Stockton.

The Flames have terrific young forward talent already on their NHL roster. Johnny Goudreau and Sean Monahan have already established themselves as two of the best young players in the game and could soon be joined by Sam Bennett. Free agent addition Troy Brouwer brings needed size and experience to the club’s top-six. Center Mikael Backlund, coming off a career-high 47-point campaign, and Michael Frolik, 32 points in 64 games, add more offensive punch. But there is room on the LW for a skilled player to join the Flames’ top-six and Shinkaruk may get the first crack to fill that role.

(All depth charts courtesy of Roster Resource)

‘Yotes Notes: Front Office, Prospects, Braid

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The Arizona Coyotes have had a busy offseason, between hiring the youngest GM in NHL history, the first full-time female coach and using their cap-space to build a great young pool of players. Today, they announced that they’d done some more hiring, this time to beef up their scouting staff. The team has brought on Jim Hammett, Rick Beckfeld and Sergei Kuznetsov as amateur scouts, Brett Stewart as a development coach, Brad Rossen as Director of Statistical Science and Al Ambrosia as the Hockey Operations Coordinator.

Other news from the desert:

  • ESPN released their annual top 120 prospect rankings (subscription needed), and the Coyotes fared very well coming in with four players in the top 40 and nine players in total. Dylan Strome and Clayton Keller led the list at #4 and #6 respectively, while Jakob Chychrun and Lawson Crouse, both acquired through the use of cap space, came in at #32 and #37. Solid drafting, combined with a shrewd use of every advantage has led the Coyotes to have one of the best young crops in the league, and this list even excludes players like Max Domi and Anthony Duclair.
  • After all the fanfare that has surrounded the hiring of Dawn Braid as the first full-time female coach in the NHL, she’s quick to heap praise on other people. In a piece by Alex Prewitt of Sports Illustrated today, Braid admits it’s “a little bit overwhelming”, and quickly lists other skating coaches Barbara Underhill (Toronto) and Tracy Tutton (Colorado) as deserved of the same praise. It was her father who had pushed her into helping hockey teams, and Braid continues to remember why she started: “It’s the opportunity to honor my father again. Every day I teach or I coach or I consult I think about him. It is part of what drives me on the ice to do what I do. He’s always in the back of my head.”

Roster Crunch: Pacific Division

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While the NHL season is still more than two months away, it seems as though most teams have finished their free agent shopping and are now focused internally on roster decisions they’ll have to make. We’ll take a look at some of the options teams will have this fall, starting with the Pacific Division.

Anaheim Ducks – 2015-16 division winners Anaheim were discussed at length last weekend, with seemingly way too many bodies than roster spots on their blueline. With between seven and ten players who deserve to be in the NHL next season (depending on how you feel about youngsters Shea Theodore and Andy Welinski), the team is still expected to make a move to shore up their forward group.

Los Angeles Kings – Like the Ducks, the Kings have quite a few options on their back-end after signing Tom Gilbert to a one-year contract.  With four spots locked up between Drew Doughty, Jake Muzzin, Alec Martinez and Brayden McNabb, the last two will be some combination of Gilbert, veteran Rob Scuderi and Matt Greene. That’s to say nothing of NCAA transplant Paul LaDue who will figure into the Kings’ plans before long.

San Jose Sharks – It’s said that depth down the middle is a key to success in the NHL, and the Sharks have that in spades.  It looks like they’ll go into next season with at least six forwards who are capable of playing center. Often last season the top line was made up of three of them, with Joe Thornton between Tomas Hertl and Joe Pavelski. If the team wants to move the young Hertl back to his natural position (as they did at points last season), they’ll have to find ice-time for him behind Thornton and Logan Couture.

Arizona Coyotes – The crunch has already started to affect Arizona, as the team bought out veteran Antoine Vermette recently to open up a spot for one of their young forwards. With Dylan Strome and Christian Dvorak both leaving junior after huge seasons, they’ll look to make the jump to the NHL this season. The Coyotes may ice one of the youngest lines in the league this year, if Strome ends up between Max Domi and Anthony Duclair like many have speculated. Another spot could open up if RFA Tobias Rieder ends up overseas next season, as has been rumored lately.

Calgary Flames – Will top pick Matthew Tkachuk break camp with the Flames, and where will he play? Many eyes will be focused on the second-generation NHLer this fall, as he tries to force his way onto the Flames roster. Otherwise, the Flames have some decisions to make on the blueline if Ladislav Smid declares himself healthy enough to start the season and Dennis Wideman remains on the roster. Jyrki Jokipakka hopes he did enough last season to deserve a spot, but if both veterans are around when October 12th roles around, he may find himself on the outside looking in.

Vancouver Canucks – The Canucks are one of the hardest teams to figure out in the league, as they seem caught somewhere between rebuilding and trying to contend. Outside of their top-four, it’ll be a battle for the defensemen in camp to lock up a spot.  Luca Sbisa has a contract that will probably guarantee him a spot, but his diminished play and injury history makes him a poor choice for the Canucks. If they decide to contend, icing him every night ahead of younger, more effective defensemen seems unwise.

Edmonton Oilers – It’s been long said that the Oilers don’t have any defensemen, and while it may still be figuratively true based on the overall skill, the team actually has too many bodies for their back end under contract. After trading for Adam Larsson, the team has eight defenders worthy of NHL time, including Jordan Oesterle who many believe proved his ability last season. One of them though, former captain Andrew Ference, may be on his own way out as he has stated more than once he’s heading to retirement if the Oilers’ buy him out.  They haven’t been able to yet because of Ference’s lingering injury, but the two sides should come to an agreement before camp.

West Notes: Blues, Horvat, Domi

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When center David Backes left St. Louis to sign a five year, $30MM contract with Boston at the beginning of the month, he vacated the captaincy for the Blues in the process.  Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch suggests that defenseman Alex Pietrangelo may be ready to take over the role.

Pietrangelo has been a mainstay on the back end for St. Louis for the past six seasons and has been among their leaders in ice time and points from the blueline in each year.  In 2015-16, he served as an alternate captain and played in 73 games with the Blues, picking up 37 points while averaging 26:18 of ice time per game, the sixth highest average in the league.

Blues GM Doug Armstrong had plenty of good things to say about Pietrangelo when it comes to his leadership:

“He was an assistant captain at a young age and he has leadership qualities that we’ve seen.  As he gets more and more comfortable in the leadership role he’s certainly growing into an elite player that has a presence on the ice.”

If the Blues decide to go with more of a veteran as their next captain, Alex Steen, who has spent the last nine seasons with St. Louis, is the other likely candidate for the post.

More from the Western Conference:

  • In an interview with Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Province, Canucks center Bo Horvat acknowledged that the plan last season was for him to ease into a second line role. However, multiple injuries to Brandon Sutter thrusted Horvat into that role quicker than planned which played a part in his early-season struggles.  While he finished strong last year (27 of his 40 points came in the second half), Horvat may be pencilled in behind Sutter and Henrik Sedin on the depth chart to start next season.
  • Coyotes forward Max Domi is a big fan of Arizona’s additions this offseason, telling TSN.ca that their moves have been “amazing”. The Coyotes have added blueliners Alex Goligoski and Luke Schenn as well as winger Jamie McGinn in the last month.  Domi was Arizona’s top point getter amongst their forwards last season as a rookie, collecting 18 goals and 34 assists in 81 games.  The 21 year old also believes the Coyotes can take another step forward in 2016-17 and reach the playoffs for the first time since 2012.

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