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Playoff Notes: Leafs, Dansk, Pacioretty

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The Toronto Maple Leafs were back on the ice today to prepare for their Thursday night matchup against the Washington Capitals, and as expected had Frederik Andersen in the net. What they didn’t have, was many defenders in front of him as both Roman Polak and Nikita Zaitsev—who suffered injuries in the final game of the season against Columbus—were absent. Tyler Bozak and Nikita Soshnikov were also both nowhere to be seen, though Bozak is still expected to play.

It’s not clear if the two defenders are actually out or just staying off the ice, as the Maple Leafs have not made a call-up from the minors to replace them. Instead, Josh Leivo was skating as the sixth defender; something that will definitely not be in the plans for game 1. For a team that faced almost no injury controversy during the season, the past few weeks have been a trying period with multiple head injuries for Andersen and now two key defenders out. They’ll need all hands on deck if they want to beat the President’s Trophy winning Capitals.

Morning Notes: Draft, RFAs, Galchenyuk

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Craig Button of TSN updated his rankings for the NHL Entry Draft, and there is big movement among the first round. After Timothy Liljegren has remained in the conversation for top-3 for so long, Button has now dropped him to eighth, as he struggles to find ice time in Sweden. Martin Necas slides into the spot following Nolan Patrick and Nico Hischier, as Button compares the Czech center to a young Claude Giroux.

Cale Makar from the AJHL has made his way into the top five, an impressive feat for someone playing in a “lesser league”. Button doesn’t consider this a problem, as he is focused on evaluating where they will be at the next level, not their current competition. Makar has 75 points in 54 games as a defenseman, and has received many comparisons to Erik Karlsson in the way that he handles the puck.

  • Columbus extended three restricted free agents yesterday when they inked Markus Hannikainen, Lukas Sedlak and Scott Harrington to two-year deals. The team still has three RFAs left for this summer, and according to Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch the Blue Jackets aren’t worried about signing them. Alexander Wennberg, Josh Anderson and Joonas Korpisalo all require new deals, and the Jackets are going to be tight on money once again. Depending on who is taken at the expansion draft, they may have to consider some sort of salary dump—like Scott Hartnell, who will be scratched tonight in favor of Sedlak—in order to keep their cap structure in tact.
  • The Montreal Canadiens experienced a heartbreaking loss last night to one of the worst teams in the conference when they fell 2-1 in overtime to the Detroit Red Wings. Again their expected top line of Max Pacioretty, Alex Galchenyuk and Alexander Radulov was broken up in the third period, something that has become far too common. Eric Engels of Sportsnet writes about how Galchenyuk in particular had a rough night, and doesn’t seem to mesh well with Radulov in terms of play style. The young forward had a breakout 30-goal campaign last season, but has struggled all year with his consistency and defensive play. With just nine games remaining until the playoffs, most first-place teams don’t have the kind of doubt Montreal is feeling with their #1 centerman.

Alexander Radulov Out With Lower Body Injury

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As the Montreal Canadiens prepare to face the New York Rangers tonight in what very well could be a preview of a first-round playoff series, they do so without star forward Alexander Radulov. Radulov is considered day-to-day with a lower body injury and is out of the lineup tonight. The big winger blocked a P.K. Subban shot in the Canadiens’ last game, and while it was likely much appreciated by new coach Claude Julien, it also is likely the cause of his current absence.

Radulov has had a remarkable comeback season in 2016-17, his first full NHL season since 2007-08, after coming over from the KHL this summer. Criticized at first for giving the Russian enigma a $5.75MM contract, the deal has paid off for Montreal as Radulov has scored 15 goals and added 31 assists for 46 points, just 12 points off his NHL career-high 58 set almost a decade ago with the Nashville Predators. Radulov trails only captain Max Pacioretty in scoring on the Atlantic-leading Canadiens. Offensive depth has been an issue all season for the Habs, but they would have been in even deeper trouble without Radulov. The two sides are rumored to have already agreed upon an extension, but don’t expect an announcement until after the Expansion Draft.

While Radulov rests for the next few games in all likelihood, the Canadiens will get to see what their newly-acquired muscle can do. With a right wing spot opened up, former Colorado Avalanche bruiser Andreas Martinsen will draw into the lineup tonight. Also making his debut is Steve Ott, as he replaces rookie Michael McCarron in the lineup. The latter move may not go over as well as the former, but the new-look Habs will be interesting to watch regardless.

Evening Snapshots: Radulov, Fleury, Oilers

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If not for a certain one-for-one swap in late June, Alexander Radulov would have been the most fascinating move of the summer for the Montreal Canadiens.

Radulov spent the better part of eight seasons in the KHL, with two controversial stints in Nashville, before signing a one-year, $5.75MM contract with the Canadiens. The term suggested this was very much a “show-me” contract, and show them he has. Radulov has been one of the Canadiens best players, with 42 points in 59 games thus far. Now, the Canadiens will have to lock up their Russian star long-term.

They won’t be the only team with interest in the big winger. TVA’s Renaud Lavoie reported that Radulov is a “strong position” to negotiate with the Canadiens (link in French). Radulov and T.J. Oshie are the only big names under the age of 35 set to hit unrestricted free agency. The KHL is also an outside option for Radulov, but staying in the NHL with Montreal appears to be his first choice.

[Related: PHR’s Midseason UFA Power Rankings]

This advantage give Radulov “every reason” to wait until July 1st, according Lavoie. Even though he’s expressed interest in staying in Montreal, this summer is likely his last chance to hit a home run in free agency. His former coach and friend Barry Trotz suggested he would be “shocked” if Radulov didn’t end up signing long-term in Montreal. Last Saturday, Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos reported that Radulov wants to sign long-term, perhaps even looking for a six-year pact. That would take him to age 37, which might make the Canadiens uncomfortable. Power forwards tend to drop off a cliff sometime in their mid-thirties, so GM Marc Bergevin would be taking a risk to sign Radulov for that kind of term.

Kypreos suggested the Canadiens could offer Radulov a five or six year contract worth somewhere around $4.5 or $5MM per season, but would need to go to the $7MM neighbourhood to keep the term to three years. The Canadiens have some money coming off their cap this summer, but have Radulov, franchise goaltender Carey Price, and captain Max Pacioretty due for new contracts in each of the next three summers. With those big money signings on the horizon, it’s no wonder that Bergevin is considered “all-in” on this playoff run.

  • Despite needing to address his goaltending situation before this June’s expansion draft, Penguins GM Jim Rutherford would prefer to keep both Matt Murray and Marc-Andre Fleury for the remainder of this campaign, according to Adam Gretz of NBC Sports. Murray has been significantly better this season, and with Fleury’s no-move clause (NMC), the Penguins need to make a move to avoid losing their young starter. If Rutherford doesn’t trade Fleury before next Wednesday, then the wily GM will have to convince him to waive his NMC in the spring for either the Golden Knights or a trading partner. Two teams to watch are the Calgary Flames and Winnipeg Jets. Bob McKenzie of TSN reported on Thursday that the Flames are looking to improve their current goaltending duo of Brian Elliott and Chad Johnson; while there hasn’t been any reports of interest on the part of Winnipeg, they’re currently two points out of a wildcard spot while only one of their three goaltenders have a SV% above 0.900 (Connor Hellebuyck). Should the Jets get stable netminding, then they could be a darkhorse candidate in the Western Conference.
  • Speaking of goaltenders, an interesting tidbit came out of Edmonton today regarding their 2015 acquisition of Cam Talbot. The Oilers acquired Talbot at the 2015 NHL Draft, trading three picks (2nd, 3rd, and 7th) for the then-unproven goalie and a seventh round pick. While discussing the Oilers’ interest in trading for Kevin Shattenkirk, TSN’s Frank Seravalli reported that Talbot “told the Oilers point-blank ’don’t trade for me because I’m not going to re-sign here.'” Just six months later, Talbot signed a three-year extension to stay with the rising Oilers. Talbot has been the Oilers’ MVP (non-Connor McDavid category) with 30 wins and a 0.921 SV% in 54 games so far this season. Seravalli’s anecdote is notable as Talbot and Shattenkirk share an agent, and it shows GM Peter Chiarelli has previously been able to pitch Edmonton to players who were originally not interested in staying long-term.

Atlantic Notes: Maple Leafs, Bruins, Canadiens

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For the Maple Leafs, the past calendar year has been one of wild swings. In the last 12 months (and a few days) the team dealt team captain Dion Phaneuf to Ottawa for cap relief, finished last in the NHL, drafted the future face of the franchise and vaulted themselves into playoff contention. In the last few weeks though the team has held on tight as the roller-coaster has tilted up on two wheels.

The team currently sits tied with Philadelphia for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot, but has had trouble keeping the puck out of their own net in recent weeks. After two back-to-back shutouts over Calgary and Detroit in late January, the team has allowed 30 goals in eight games and gone 2-4-2. Kristen Shilton of TSN reports on their mediocrity and where the team’s mindset is as they try to turn things around. One of the positive notes has been the play of William Nylander, who after an early season demotion to the fourth line has recharged his defensive tanks and become a leader on a shutdown line with Nazem Kadri and Leo Komarov.

The team has no time to settle in though, with a condensed schedule and eight games in the fifteen nights remaining in February. They’ll take on the New York Islanders tomorrow on home ice.

  • The Boston Bruins are 3-0 with their new head coach, getting a boost from the new voice of Bruce Cassidy behind the bench. They tore apart their rival Montreal Canadiens last night 4-0 and have put some space between them and the struggling Maple Leafs. Perhaps the coaching move was the right choice, but they’re in for a tough road trip when they come back off their mandated bye-week. The team will hit the road on the west coast with matchups against San Jose, Anaheim, Los Angeles and Dallas out of the break—a tough schedule for anyone.
  • Montreal could do with a little of that coaching magic, writes Michael Traikos of the National Post. While the Bruins surge, the Canadiens flounder at the top of the Atlantic Division, now only six points ahead of the Ottawa Senators despite having played five more games. For what at one point looked like a lock for the top see in the division, Montreal now faces a tough final stretch of games. Traikos opines that Michel Therrien should be fired like his Boston counterpart, despite still holding onto that top seed. For now he remains with the team an they’ll come out of their break against the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday.
  • Hopefully they will return with some help, says Ken Campbell of The Hockey News. In his latest column, Campbell examines the Canadiens need for some secondary scoring help behind the top duo of Max Pacioretty and Alexander Radulov. After Colorado Avalanche GM Joe Sakic and AGM Chris McFarland were seen in attendance at the Bruins-Habs matchup on Sunday, hope sprung in Montreal about a possible addition of one of the two young players on the Avalanche trade-block. Both Matt Duchene and Gabriel Landeskog would provide a nice punch to the second line for the Habs, though the asking price remains as high as ever.

Snapshots: Pacioretty, Deadline Sellers, CWHL All-Star Game

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Montreal fans can breathe a sigh of relief as reports of Max Pacioretty’s absence from the morning skate is a result of the flu according to the Montreal Gazette’s Stu Cowan. TSN has a video report of Pacioretty’s impact this season, highlighting the captain’s recent strong performance. Leading the Habs in both goals and points (27-21-48), he was lauded by bench boss Michel Therrien in Montreal’s 5-4 victory over Arizona Thursday night. Suffice it to say, the Habs–and their fans–are relieved to hear that the flu, and not injury, is keeping Pacioretty out.

  • The Hockey News has hedged their bets for the trade deadline sellers. Lyle Richardson lists the Dallas Stars, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Detroit Red Wings as potential sellers, indicating their sub-par seasons gives them the incentive to start selling off pieces for a brighter future. He quotes Elliotte Friedman as saying that Thomas Vanek may go to Chicago, while the Lightning could go shopping out West, trying to pry a defenseman from the Anaheim Ducks. General manager Steve Yzerman isn’t short assets, having a number of players to deal away with another cap crunch on its way in Tampa. As for Jim Nill’s Stars, Richardson sees Patrick Sharp, and Patrick Eaves as targets to be moved. But he also adds that should Marc-Andre Fleury waive his no-trade clause, he might just be what the Stars need to get back into the playoff hunt.
  • Speaking of buyers and sellers, be sure to check out PHR’s  takes on the Devils, Blackhawks, Blues, and Blue Jackets as the deadline approaches.
  • The CWHL is set for the All-Star game in Toronto this afternoon at the Air Canada Center. Maple Leafs blog Pension Plan Puppets has a writeup on some of the players to watch while the CWHL’s official site has even more, including the rosters of both teams following yesterday’s fantasy draft.

Snapshots: Ericsson, Canadiens, Oilers

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After leaving Thursday night’s game with an upper-body injury, Red Wings defenseman Jonathan Ericsson will undergo surgery next week and will be out for the next 12 weeks, effectively ending his season, GM Ken Holland told MLive’s Brendan Savage (Twitter link).  Originally, the team was hopeful he’d only miss six-to-eight weeks.

Ericsson was injured after an awkward hit by Washington’s Nicklas Backstrom (video link). Backstrom hit Ericsson into the boards as the defenseman was skating towards the boards behind his own net.

He has nine points in 50 games this season, while averaging 19:29 minutes a night on Detroit’s second pairing. This is the third year of Ericsson’s six-year, $25.5MM contract.

  • The Montreal Canadiens have a short window to win the Stanley Cup with their current roster. Superstar goaltender Carey Price has one more year left at $6.5MM and captain Max Pacioretty has two years left at a steal of $4.5MM. That combined $11MM will likely jump to $17MM or so, which will cause quite the cap crunch. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman has suggested that GM Marc Bergevin “has got his fingers in everything” (transcribed by Chris Nichols of FanRagSports). On Toronto radio this morning, Friedman shared an anecdote from Bergevin’s time in Chicago, where the Blackhawks had a chance to trade for Chris Pronger in the summer of 2006 but passed on making the deal because they “weren’t ready [to contend].” As Friedman put it, Bergevin’s philosophy is to hit singles to build a team, then swing for the fences when his team has a chance to win. Following this philosophy, Friedman suggested that “if there’s a big name, you can assume that Montreal has inquired.”
  • Speaking of windows of contention, Jonathan Willis wrote a piece for Sportsnet arguing that the Edmonton Oilers need to be a legitimate Stanley Cup contender by next season to follow the paths set out by Chicago and Pittsburgh. This means a deep playoff run while Connor McDavid is still on his entry-level contract. No team has a smooth ride to the top, Willis writes, pointing at Chicago and Boston’s struggles to keep their teams together as their stars take up more money. If the Oilers aren’t a serious contender in 2017-18, then “they may be too far behind Pittsburgh and Chicago to catch up” to their path to the Cup.

Barry Trotz Thinks Alexander Radulov Will Re-Sign In Montreal

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After signing for a relatively modest one-year contract this summer with the Montreal Canadiens, Alexander Radulov has returned to the NHL with a vengeance. The former Nashville Predators forward came back from the KHL for $5.75MM, and has performed exceptionally well. 41 points in 52 games and the question has now become where will he sign this summer when he becomes an unrestricted free agent once again.

While Pierre McGuire was speaking to Mitch Gallo on TSN 690 in Montreal, he related a conversation he had with Washington Capitals head coach Barry Trotz. “I would be shocked if Radulov doesn’t sign with Montreal, he loves it there” said Trotz, making it clear he things the Russian playmaker will stay long-term in the French-Canadian city. Trotz likely has a bit of inside information on Radulov, as the two spent parts of three seasons together in Nashville after Trotz and the Predators drafted him 15th overall in 2004.

For Montreal, signing Radulov would be a big boost to their offensive production going into next season. With Tomas Plekanec slowing down considerably, and David Deharnais looking like a shadow of his former 50-point self, the Habs have serious question marks up front for next season. Radulov has looked like the elite player many believed he was during the short time he was in the NHL, skating mostly beside Max Pacioretty and Phillip Danault – though when Alex Galchenyuk is healthy, he is an obvious fit for the top line.

We ranked Radulov second among our mid-season free agents, stating that he had already done enough to warrant a long-term deal with someone. Be advised Montreal fans, that just because Trotz knows he loves it there, doesn’t mean he will definitely re-sign. If we’ve come to learn anything about professional athletes (and really anyone in general) it’s that money dictates where they go. If the Canadiens don’t offer Radulov the best (or close to the best) offer, he’ll be taking his talents somewhere else. The KHL is always an option, though it seems as though he’s made a decision to come and try to win in North America for the time being.

Galchenyuk, Markov Nearing Return For Habs

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The Canadiens got some good news today with word that center Alex Galchenyuk and defenseman Andrei Markov are rejoining the club tonight and will practice with the team tomorrow. Montreal reported the news this afternoon via their official Twitter account.

Galchenyuk was in the midst of a breakout campaign as Montreal’s #1 center with 23 points in 25 appearances before suffering a knee injury which caused the talented 22-year-old pivot to miss the last month. To be fair, Galchenyuk had a pretty good 2015-16, netting 30 goals and tying Max Pacioretty for the team lead. While the Canadiens managed to post a 7 – 3 – 4 record in his absence, they undoubtedly are better with Galchenyuk on the ice.

Meanwhile, Markov also appears poised to rejoin the team after an eight-game absence due to a lower-body injury. The 38-year-old Russian may no longer be an elite top-pair blue liner but he is still a productive player who posted 21 points in 31 games to start this season. Last year, Markov registered 44 points in 82 games while averaging nearly 24 minutes a game.

Max Pacioretty Injured At Practice

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Just hours ahead of Shea Weber’s return to Nashville tonight, he may have significantly crippled his chances of pulling out a win in his homecoming. The Montreal Canadiens defenseman, known for his heavy shot, hit captain Max Pacioretty with a shot while the team was working on their power play at practice earlier today. The puck struck Pacioretty in the right foot and he went down immediately. Pacioretty was unable to put any weight on his right leg and had to be helped off the ice. Habs coach Michel Therrien reports that Pacioretty will be a game time decision tonight, but those in attendance at the morning skate say that it is very doubtful that he suits up.

Since the Canadiens lost top forwards Alex Galchenyuk and David Desharnais to injury early in December, it has been Pacioretty that has picked up the slack on offense. Many expected Montreal to fall off the torrid pace that they began the season with as a result of the injuries, but there had been only a marginal difference in their winning ability until very recently. A lot of credit is due to Pacioretty who, since then-leading scorer Galchenyuk went down, had 10 goals and 5 assists in just 14 December games. He now leads the team with 15 goals and 30 points.

However, Pacioretty is just one person. The Canadiens are thin up front, and their lack of scoring depth has shown through, as they have won just one of their last five games. With Pacioretty now likely out for at least tonight and possibly longer, the Habs have their work cut out for them. The likes of Daniel Carr, Michael McCarron, and Chris Terry have already been called upon from the minors to play major NHL minutes, and now Bobby Farnham, promoted yesterday, will likely enter the mix as well.

Weber would surely have liked to win in his return to Nashville, but the fate of just one game is nothing compared to the consequences of any long-term absence for Pacioretty. With Galchenyuk and Desharnais both not expected back for another month, the Canadiens will be very short on scorers. Hopefully, the captain is not out long, but there has been no official word on the extent of his injury yet. Stay tuned for more information.

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