Mikael Granlund

Central Notes: Byfuglien, Smith, Perron, Read

March 3, 2019 at 2:17 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg Leave a Comment

The Winipeg Jets got some good news about a pair of their defensemen as head coach Paul Maurice said today that the team expects defensive star Dustin Byfuglien begin skating again later this week, according to Winnipeg Sun’s Ken Wiebe. The 33-year-old has struggled all season with multiple injuries and hasn’t played since Feb. 14 after injuring his ankle. Byfuglien has appeared in just 37 games, but has shown his value in those games as he has four goals and 30 points in that span.

Wiebe also added that defenseman Joseph Morrow skated for the first time since suffering a lower-body injury. He has missed six straight games and is expected to be out Sunday, but could be back later this week. Morrow has six points in 39 games this season.

The Nashville Predators may be getting back one of their top forwards for today’s matchup against Minnesota as The Athletic’s Adam Vingan reports that Craig Smith has been activated off of injured reserve and is expected to join Kyle Turris and Mikael Granlund on the Predators’ second line. Smith has been out with a lower-body injury since Feb. 16 and has 16 goals this season in 61 games. The team might need him as the Wild have won five in a row.
After scoring no more than two goals per game over their last six, the St. Louis Blues are in desperate need for offense and the team, which has gone 2-3-1 after winning 11 straight. The team truly seems to miss injured forwards Brayden Schenn and David Perron, the latter of which could be ready to return to the lineup soon, according to St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Tom Timmermann. With the team not playing again for three days, that could be the time they need, especially with Perron, who has looked good in practice lately. More information will come Monday after the team’s practice.
The Minnesota Wild got an impressive performance from emergency callup Matt Read, who scored a goal and played an all-around great game Saturday night in Minnesota’s win over the Calgary Flames, according to The Athletic’s Mike Russo (subscription required). Unfortunately, with veteran Zach Parise expected to play Sunday, that could spell the end for Read unless they use one of their official recalls on him.

2019 Trade Deadline Day Recap

February 25, 2019 at 5:31 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 4 Comments

The trade deadline for the 2018-19 season has come and gone, with teams all around the league loading up for a Stanley Cup run. This year saw a nearly unprecedented level of skill available, though things got started quite early. Before deadline day, names like Matt Duchene, Brandon Montour, Mats Zuccarello, Charlie Coyle, Ryan Dzingel, Gustav Nyquist and Nick Jensen all switched teams. However, the day was no disappointment; a slow pace early on ended in fireworks right before the deadline and as deal trickled in right after. Below is a complete list of the 21 trades featuring all but seven of the NHL’s teams made on February 25th alone (chronologically):

To Anaheim Ducks:
D Patrick Sieloff

To Ottawa Senators:
F Brian Gibbons

To New Jersey Devils:
2022 fifth-round pick

To Columbus Blue Jackets:
G Keith Kinkaid

To Winnipeg Jets:
F Kevin Hayes

To New York Rangers:
F Brendan Lemieux
2019 first-round pick (top-3 protected)
2022 conditional fourth-round pick (if Winnipeg wins Stanley Cup)

To Montreal Canadiens:
F Jordan Weal

To Arizona Coyotes:
F Michael Chaput

To Florida Panthers:
F Cliff Pu
Future Considerations

To Carolina Hurricanes:
F Tomas Jurco (AHL contract)
Future Considerations

To Colorado Avalanche:
F Derick Brassard
2020 conditional sixth-round pick (no pick if Brassard re-signs)

To Florida Panthers:
2020 third-round pick

To Columbus Blue Jackets:
D Adam McQuaid

To New York Rangers:
D Julius Bergman
2019 fourth-round pick
2019 seventh-round pick

Nashville Predators Acquire Mikael Granlund

February 25, 2019 at 1:47 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 7 Comments

The Nashville Predators have landed a big fish from a Central Division rival. The Minnesota Wild fire sale continues, as TSN’s Bob McKenzie reports that that center Mikael Granlund has been traded to Nashville. In exchange, the Predators send young winger Kevin Fiala back to Minnesota. The deal is a straight one-for-one swap.

Granlund, 26, was not immediately considered a likely trade candidate this season, as he has one year remaining on his current contract. However, once the Wild began listening on nearly every player on the roster, Granlund emerged as a potential casualty. Earlier today, it was confirmed that Nashville was among the teams interested in Granlund and managed to get the deal done. The well-rounded forward has topped 60 points in each of the past two seasons and is on pace to do so again this year. At a $5.75MM cap hit through 2019-20, the Predators land a great value and a relatively young piece that could be a long-term fit in Nashville.

Meanwhile, Fiala is a return that is unlikely to excite Minnesota fans. The player himself is a great young piece; the 22-year-old was a 2014 first-round pick and already has 97 points in 204 career NHL games. However, in a one-for-one swap with an established player like Granlund, he will have to grow into a much better player. Fortunately, GM Paul Fenton knows Fiala well from his time in Nashville and could see him as a potential top forward in the future.

Predators Interested In Mikael Granlund

February 25, 2019 at 9:00 am CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

The Predators have expressed a strong interest in acquiring Wild forward Mikael Granlund, reports Michael Russo of The Athletic (subscription required). Other teams have made viable offers for the 26-year-old as well.

Granlund sits second on Minnesota in scoring this season with 15 goals and 34 assists through 63 games while splitting time between center and the wing. He has one year left on his contract after this one with a $5.75MM AAV so if they are planning on entering a short-term rebuild, moving him now where the acquiring team can get two playoff runs out of Granlund might ultimately yield a better return. If not, they’ll be looking into what it costs to lock him up to a long-term extension this summer.

Russo notes that Predators winger Kevin Fiala is someone that Minnesota has shown interest in this season. That shouldn’t come as much surprise considering that GM Paul Fenton was with Nashville when Fiala was drafted so he’s quite familiar with him. Even though he’s having a quieter year than his breakout campaign last season, the 22-year still has a respectable 10 goals and 22 assists in 64 games so far in 2018-19. Fiala is in the final year of his entry-level contract with a required qualifying offer of just under $875K this offseason.

There have been a couple of big changes in Minnesota already this season with Nino Niederreiter and Charlie Coyle being on the move already. Between those, the earlier report of Jason Zucker’s availability, and now this, it appears that more changes could soon be in store.

Deadline Primer: Minnesota Wild

January 24, 2019 at 8:27 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 4 Comments

With the trade deadline fast approaching, we will be taking a closer look at the situation for each team over the coming weeks. Where do they stand, what do they need to do, and what assets do they have to fill those needs? As we continue with the Central Division, here is a look at the Minnesota Wild.

First-year GM Paul Fenton said it himself today that the Wild “can’t trade draft picks” this year due to their lack of depth in the pipeline. Yet, did they not just trade a fifth-round pick for defenseman Brad Hunt a few days ago? Fenton’s message is clear that the team is worried about their lack of youth on the NHL roster and few elite prospects in the system. He surely does not intend for Minnesota to be a “buyer” in the traditional sense this year. However, there is no reason to think that all of the Wild’s draft picks and prospects are off the table.

Minnesota has quietly won eight of their past twelve games and, while the myriad other teams competing for the final spot in the Central Division or a wild card berth continue to struggle to make up ground, the Wild have pulled away with a three-point lead over the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche. There are still many games left, but Minnesota is starting to differentiate themselves as a legitimate playoff team. With that status comes a need to strengthen the roster and address problem areas – especially the 24th-ranked offense – to make the most of a postseason opportunity. Perhaps Fenton and company can succeed in those goals with pure hockey trades, but odds are the team will warm up to moving more late picks or middling prospects if that’s what it takes.

Record

26-21-3, third in the Central Division

Deadline Status

Buyer

Deadline Cap Space

$11.87MM of full-season cap hit, 0/3 used salary cap retention slots, 47/50 contracts per CapFriendly

Upcoming Draft Picks

2019: MIN 1st, MIN 2nd, MIN 3rd, MIN or WAS 5th*, MIN 6th, MIN 7th
2020: MIN 1st, MIN 2nd, MIN 3rd, MIN 4th, MIN 5th, MIN 6th, MIN 7th
* – Wild owe the Vegas Golden Knights the better of their two 2019 fifth-round picks in return for Brad Hunt

Trade Chips

If you believe what Fenton says, then the Wild will be unwilling to move their best trade capital this deadline season. While he namely is talking about high draft picks, that likely also includes top prospects like forwards Kirill Kaprizov, Luke Kunin, and Ivan Lodnia, defenseman Filip Johansson, and goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen. The recent emergence of Jordan Greenway at the NHL level also makes him untouchable. If a team is looking to land a top young player for their rental at the deadline, they likely won’t find one from Minnesota.

However, Fenton’s willingness to make hockey trades – one-for-one player swaps – opens up many other possibilities. 26-year-old forward Charlie Coyle has long been a fixture on the trade block and this could be the year that the Wild finally move the two-way contributor and his team-friendly contract. The other roster forward that could garner considerable attention is 22-year-old Joel Eriksson Ek, who just can’t seem to find his way at the NHL level and could use a change of scenery. With defenseman Mathew Dumba potentially sidelined for the season, Minnesota would be hard-pressed to remain a factor in the Western Conference playoff race while also trading away any of their blue line regulars. However, AHLers Louie Belpedio and Carson Soucy could be intriguing options for rebuilding teams.

Outside of the pro ranks, some other prospects who could be on the move include Providence College forward Brandon Duhaime or London Knights defenseman Jacob Golden, but the Wild will likely be hesitant to move younger prospects if they don’t have to.

With every win, the Wild become less and less likely to entertain any offers for their own impending free agents. In what is already a buyer’s market, Minnesota is unlikely to get great value for their UFA’s and would be better served to hold on to them, whether that’s star veteran Eric Staal or valued depth like forward Eric Fehr, defenseman Nate Prosser, and goaltender Alex Stalock. One piece that could move is current third-string goaltender Andrew Hammond, if a contending team is willing to pay for depth in net.

Five Players To Watch For: F Charlie Coyle, F Joel Eriksson Ek, D Carson Soucy, F Mason Shaw, G Andrew Hammond

Team Needs

1) Scoring Winger: To Fenton’s credit, he has addressed many of Minnesota’s needs already, adding Hunt to improve defensive depth, trading for Victor Rask to add another capable center, and even grabbing Pontus Aberg to help improve scoring. However, the slumping Rask and unproven Aberg alone are not going to turn around one the league’s least impressive offenses, especially with Nino Niederreiter now gone. Outside of Zach Parise and Mikael Granlund, no Wild forward has wowed offensively this season. The team needs to add another goal-scoring forward, preferably a winger, and they need to do it this year if they want to compete with other contenders in the postseason. If Fenton wants to make long-term hockey trades, he could look at adding someone like the Los Angeles Kings’ Tyler Toffoli or the New York Rangers’ Chris Kreider in a deal for a player like Eriksson Ek. If he comes around to the idea of an affordable rental, the Rangers’ Mats Zuccarello may be a better option, while the Ottawa Senators’ Ryan Dzingel or the Detroit Red Wings’ Gustav Nyquist could also be fits. It will all depend on the asking price. If they can add two scoring wingers, even better.

2) Draft Picks: One thing is certain – Fenton’s assessment of the team’s pipeline is not wrong. The Wild lack almost any prospects who realistically project to be top NHL players and desperately need to reload the system with some talent. When it comes to moving pieces around, especially if they do opt to trade away impending free agents, Minnesota would be wise to continue to protect their own high draft picks while trying to add more valuable picks along the way.

Central Notes: Crawford, Morrow, Greenway, Granlund, Zadorov

September 16, 2018 at 4:52 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg Leave a Comment

The Chicago Blackhawks are hoping that goaltender Corey Crawford returns to action sooner than later after admitting that he’s been dealing with concussion issues when he went down last season. Still experiencing difficulties with concussions, head coach Joel Quenneville said the goal is to have the veteran goaltender out on the ice during practice as long as he can manage it, according to the Chicago Sun-Times Mark Lazerus.

“Good progress. Comparable over the last week and a half that when he’s on the ice, he’s better and he’s stronger and he’s feeling better. It’s all encouraging.”

The team desperately hopes that Crawford, upon return, will return to his elite form. He posted a 2.27 GAA and an impressive .929 save percentage in 28 games before going down. While it is unknown how much longer Crawford will be out, the Blackhawks are preparing to use Cam Ward as their primary starter if they have to.

With the loss of Toby Enstrom, who opted to leave the NHL after 11 years with the Winnipeg Jets, the Jets have an opening for a defenseman and that candidate is likely to be Joseph Morrow, according to Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun. Morrow, who the team acquired at the trade deadline a year ago. The blueliner didn’t get a lot of playing time when he arrived in Winnipeg as his ATOI dropped from 17:47 in Montreal to 14:30 with the Jets. However, he now has a chance to crack a spot in the top four as he did fare well in limited time next to Dustin Byfuglien. “Yeah, that’s a dream to play with Big Buff and be able to match that guy’s personality,” Morrow said. “I got to play with him a bit last year and we were pretty successful together.”
The Minnesota Wild and head coach Bruce Boudreau have added a couple wrinkles into the early stages of camp as rookie Jordan Greenway has been playing the center position, while Mikael Granlund has been quarterbacking the first-unit power play, according to Mike Russo of The Athletic (subscription required). Greenway, normally a winger, was used at center during his junior year at Boston University by David Quinn. Boudreau wanted to keep him there as he led a line along with Joel Eriksson Ek and Charlie Coyle, which was a big success in their first scrimmage. Granlund also showed that he could handle the pressure of running a power play on the left wall and looked impressive in that role. “I thought the best testament was all the other forwards want to play the right half wall the way he was feeding them up there,” Boudreau said. “He can make that play. He can even put the behind-the-back pass to Suts. Granny has probably been our most skilled player. I don’t think I’m dissing anybody by saying that. When he’s got the puck, he’s pretty special.”
Unlike last year when Colorado Avalanche defenseman Nikita Zadorov came into camp overweight and out of shape, this year, the bruising 23-year-old did just the opposite, according to Mike Chambers of the Denver Post. He’s come into camp in good shape and has changed his diet to accommodate his conditioning. The 6-foot-5, 230-pound blueliner started in Jared Bednar’s doghouse for the early part of the season due to his conditioning, but slowly worked his way back into the rotation before finally settling in next to veteran Tyson Barrie and that hasn’t changed so far in training camp. Now, with the team much happier with his development, he has a chance to develop into a solid NHL defenseman.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Minnesota Wild

September 15, 2018 at 8:05 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg Leave a Comment

Navigating the Salary Cap is probably one of the more important tasks for any general manager to have. Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2018-19 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

Minnesota Wild

Current Cap Hit: $77,729,424 (under the $79.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Luke Kunin (two years, $925K)
F Jordan Greenway (two years, $917K)
F Joel Eriksson Ek (one year, $894K)

Potential Bonuses:

Kunin: $500K
Eriksson Ek: $425K
Greenway: $400K

Total: $1.35MM

The team has just three entry-level players and all three will be critical to the team over the next couple of years. Their 2016 first-rounder, Kunin, suffered an ACL injury in April that required surgery. While he is close to be ready to return, he’s still being held out to allow his knee to fully heal. Regardless, the team has high expectations for him. He struggled to capture a full-time role with Minnesota last year, but scored 10 goals in the AHL in just 36 appearances there, while getting 19 games in with the NHL club. The team will need him to step into a full-time role as soon as he’s healthy. Eriksson Ek, the team’s 2015 first-rounder, got himself a full-time role, but struggled to put up points in the bottom-six, posting six goals in 75 games. A bigger role could allow him to take that next step.

The team also has big hopes for Greenway, who the team pried away from Boston University this spring. The 6-foot-6, 226-pound winger should provide the team with a solid power forward, who could jump into the team’s top-six immediately.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

F Eric Staal ($3.5MM, UFA)
F Eric Fehr ($1MM, UFA)
D Gustav Olofsson ($725K, RFA)
F Matt Hendricks ($700K, UFA)
F Matt Read ($650K, UFA)
D Nate Prosser ($650K, UFA)
G Alex Stalock ($650K, UFA)
G Andrew Hammond ($650K, UFA)

The team will have an interesting decision to make on Staal at the end of this season. Staal, who was coming off a disappointing 13-goal season a few years ago, signed a three-year, $10.5MM deal, which has been one of the team’s best signings in their history. Staal, who many thought might be slowing down, responded with 28 goals in 2016-17 and followed that up with a 42-goal season last year. Now at age 33, what will Minnesota do in a year when he’s 34 and in need of another deal? If he posts another impressive season, the Wild will have to pay up to keep his services. A disappointing year could mean the end of a thrilling ride.

The rest of the group are full of one-year deals in which the players must prove their worth. The team brought in Fehr, Hendricks and Read to shore up their fourth line, which struggled at times last year, while the team also has a pair of veteran netminders fighting for the backup goalie spot in Stalock and Hammond.

Two Years Remaining

F Mikael Granlund ($5.75MM, UFA)
F Mikko Koivu ($5.5MM, UFA)
D Jared Spurgeon ($5.18MM, UFA)
F Charlie Coyle ($3.2MM, UFA)
F J.T. Brown ($688K, UFA)

The team gave Koivu a two-year extension a year ago, but the 35-year-old is starting to fade after a 14-goal, 31-point performance last season and could be moved down a line, especially if Eriksson Ek continues to improve. Koivu still remains the all-time leader in both games played and points, however, but this could very likely be his last contract.

Granlund could also be an interesting situation. The 26-year-old has improved his game over the last two season, posting a combined 47 goals and he had a career-high in assists last year with 46. His second half was also a big success as he posted 45 points in 46 games, almost a point a game. If he can keep that production up, the Wild should look good. Fortunately, the team has two more years to monitor his success before they have to offer him a new contract. Coyle is another player, who has the ability to put up big points, yet Coyle has struggled more recently, posting just 11 goals and 37 points in 66 games. However, a broken fibula could have been a cause of his on-ice struggles. The team hopes that he can bounce back and prove he belongs in the team’s top-six.

Spurgeon has been perhaps the team’s best defenseman this season. The 28-year-old missed 21 games with a partially torn hamstring and rushed back for the playoffs, but wasn’t 100 percent. Already injury-prone, the team still has the veteran for another couple of years before they have to decide on another long-term contract.Read more

Three Years Remaining

G Devan Dubnyk ($4.33MM, UFA)
D Jonas Brodin ($4.17MM, UFA)
F Marcus Foligno ($2.88MM, UFA)
D Greg Pateryn ($2.25MM, UFA)
D Nick Seeler ($725K, UFA)

Dubnyk has been solid for the team even though plenty have their doubts about the goalie. Regardless, he has played 60 or more games for three straight years and hasn’t had a save percentage lower than .918 in any of those year. The 32-year-old is locked up for three years, so the team will have to look into a long-term replacement soon as the years will eventually add up on Dubnyk. While his 2.52 GAA last year was the worst in several years, the veteran still posted 35 wins.

Brodin will likely end up playing alongside Spurgeon this season and should be able to complement them well. He adds a highly-regarded defensive presence to the team’s top-four. Both Pateryn and Seeler could conceivably fill out the team’s third pairing. Pateryn may be one of the team’s more underrated signings this offseason, while Seeler impressed with his toughness and mobility in a 22-game limited viewing at the end of the year.

Foligno struggled early on last year after coming over from Buffalo, but started to figure out the Wild’s system by the end of the year and was impressive in the playoffs. If he continues on that same course, he should provide the team’s fourth line with some much-needed hard-hitting.

Four Or More Years Remaining

F Zach Parise ($7.54MM through 2024-25)
D Ryan Suter ($7.54MM through 2024-25)
D Mathew Dumba ($6MM through 2022-23)
F Jason Zucker ($5.5MM through 2022-23)
F Nino Niederreiter ($5.25MM through 2021-22)

The team’s toughest contracts are the ones that will be held over the team for another seven seasons, but it’s Parise’s deal that will prove truly costly. The Wild signed both Suter and Parise to matching 13-year, $98MM contracts back in 2012. While Suter is still providing solid value (albeit his recent injury), Parise has struggled with injuries. The 34-year-old sat out most of the first half due to back surgery, the veteran came back and performed quite well during a 16-game stretch when he scored 12 goals. However, a broken sternum at the end of the year, knocked him out of the playoffs. The team hopes he can bounce back this year, while Suter also suffered a broken fibula which could have ended his career. However, he has fought back from that injury and is expected to be ready for the start of the season. Suter had 51-point season before going down with his injury.

The team locked up both Dumba and Zucker in the offseason as they both received five-year deals. Dumba provides offense as he’s scored double-digit goals in three straight seasons and could find himself playing next to Suter this year if coach Bruce Boudreau gets what he wants. The 24-year-old had a breakout season as he posted a career-high 50 points. Zucker was handed a two-year “prove it” bridge deal two years ago and he responded with a combined 55 goals, and was rewarded for that with a five-year, $27.5MM contract and will stay on the team’s top line.

The big unknown is Niederreiter, who had three straight 20-goal seasons, but struggled with injuries all season. If he can bounce back, his contract may not look too bad, but the team had high hopes he might take that next step and develop into a 30-goal scorer, which he has so far failed to do. The team really needs Niederreiter to show that he is as good as his contract if the Wild want to return to the playoffs for a seventh straight year.

Buyouts

F Tyler Ennis ($2.17MM in 2018-19; $1.22MM in 2019-20)

Retained Salary Transactions

None

Still To Sign

None

Best Value: Staal
Worst Value: Parise

(Excluding entry-level contracts)

Looking Ahead

The Wild have a new general manager in Paul Fenton, but so far there has been little change. Whether he’s waiting to see if some of his players have bounce-back seasons before shipping some of them off or whether the team has too much money invested in its veterans, the team is at a crossroads. If players like Coyle, Niederreiter, Parise and Granlund can return to form, the team may be able to take that next step in the playoffs. However, the team just as easily could go the other way and start a rebuilding project around players like Zucker, Dumba and Greenway and do a proper rebuild. This will be the year that will determine which direction the team intends to go.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Young Talent Fills Finland’s World Championship Roster

April 30, 2018 at 1:01 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee Leave a Comment

Finland has announced their final roster for the upcoming World Championship, and it is filled with young NHL talent. The Dallas Stars will be quite pleased with the results, as both Miro Heiskanen and Julius Honka will be present on defense. The entire group is as follows:

Affiliated NHL organization in parenthesis

Goaltenders:

Ville Husso (St. Louis Blues)
Eero Kilpelainen
Harri Sateri (Florida Panthers)

Defensemen:

Miro Heiskanen (Dallas Stars)
Julius Honka (Dallas Stars)
Niko Mikkola (St. Louis Blues)
Markus Nutivaara (Columbus Blue Jackets)
Tommi Kivisto
Miika Koivisto
Ville Pokka (Ottawa Senators)
Juuso Riikola

Forwards:

Sebastian Aho (Carolina Hurricanes)
Marko Anttila
Mikael Granlund (Minnesota Wild)
Pekka Jormakka
Kasperi Kapanen (Toronto Maple Leafs)
Sakari Manninen
Saku Maenalanen
Mika Niemi
Olli Palola
Janne Pesonen
Mikko Rantanen (Colorado Avalanche)
Veli-Matti Savinainen
Antti Suomela
Teuvo Teravainen (Carolina Hurricanes)

Heiskanen’s presence on the team is especially noteworthy given that he is only 18 years old still, and made it over other top young players like Olli Juolevi. The third pick in the 2017 draft, Heiskanen is an incredibly mobile two-way defender that should be an impact player in the NHL before long. The Stars will watch to see if he and Honka get any time together and can start to build chemistry, as the pair could be used together for years to come.

For Rantanen, a good performance at the Worlds would be just another feather in his cap for the 2017-18 season. After scoring 20 goals last season on a dreadful Colorado team, he and Nathan MacKinnon formed one of the league’s most dangerous duos this season and racked up the accolades. Rantanen finished with 84 points, a huge total for a 21-year old winger still learning how to best use his big frame in the NHL.

Snapshots: Round Two And World Championships

April 24, 2018 at 6:15 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 2 Comments

The NHL is expected to wait on the result of Game Seven tomorrow night between the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs before announcing a full schedule for the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. However, they have at least put an end to the wait on the dates and times of the series openers. No one is more relieved than the Vegas Golden Knights, who have already been inactive for a week after sweeping the Los Angeles Kings. The Knights will host the San Jose Sharks, also fresh off a sweep of the Anaheim Ducks, at 10 PM ET on Thursday, April 26th. The second round will kick off earlier that evening with the third-straight postseason collision between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals. With their Metropolitan Division rivals out of the way, that series will get underway in Washington at 7 PM ET on Thursday. Friday night, the 27th, will feature the much-anticipated match-up between the Nashville Predators and Winnipeg Jets, the top two teams in the NHL in the regular season. That series starts in Nashville at 8 PM ET on Friday. Finally, the Tampa Bay Lightning await the winner of Bruins-Maple Leafs and the decision also affects when their second round begins on Saturday, the 28th. If the Bruins win on Wednesday night, they’ll travel to Tampa for a 3 PM ET puck drop, but if the Leafs pull off the comeback and take the series, they’ll take the ice against the Lightning later in the day at 8 PM ET. Stay tuned for more Round Two schedule updates in the next 36 hours or so.

Meanwhile, the “consolation playoffs”, the IIHF World Championships, will begin in Denmark on May 4th and teams continue to add talent from those NHL teams who have been eliminated from the postseason. Insider Juha Hiitela adds another name to the list, confirming that Minnesota Wild forward Mikael Granlund will suit up for Finland at the tournament. Granlund scored at the highest clip of his career in 2017-18, recording 67 points in 77 games, including a career-high 46 assists. He added another three points in Minnesota’s first round playoff series versus Winnipeg, but the Wild were outmatched by the Jets and fell in five games. Now, Granlund will have a chance to return to the World Championships, where last he scored 12 points in 10 games to lead Finland to a second-place finish.
However, Hiitela adds that New Jersey Devils top defenseman Sami Vatanen will not be joining Granlund in Denmark. Per Hiitela, Vatanen suffered a concussion in the Devils opening series against the Tampa Bay Lightning. This adds some clarity to the recent situation in which Vatanen missed most of Game Four and all of the deciding Game Five with an undisclosed upper-body injury. Just as he was missed by New Jersey, he’ll be missed by Finland at the World Championships. This would have been the first appearance at the tournament for the five-year NHL veteran.

Minnesota Wild Will Have To Make Decisions On Staal, Zucker Soon

March 3, 2018 at 2:07 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 2 Comments

While the Minnesota Wild will likely need to fight every game for the rest of the season to reach the playoffs, there isn’t a lot of talk about what the team intends to do in the offseason, yet there are key decisions the Wild will have to make in the coming months, including what to do with a pair of their top forwards in Eric Staal and Jason Zucker.

While the team is already loaded in forwards who are locked up long-term, both Staal and Zucker have been key players for this year’s team. Staal still has another year remaining at $3.5MM, but would be eligible for an extension on July 1. At 33 years of age, the team is in a tough situation as it wants to make sure they don’t get stuck with a long-term deal with another aging player like it did with Mikko Koivu. However, Staal has put up 61 goals in two seasons for Minnesota and doesn’t look like he’s slowing down. The Athletic’s Michael Russo (subscription required) writes that the team should consider a three-year extension in the $5MM range. He writes he doesn’t see a true slow-down by the veteran. It shows on back-to-back games, but the scribe writes that both his hands and legs haven’t slowed a bit. The real question is Staal still has another year. What if he declines before an extension kicks in? It’s a gamble either way.

Zucker is another player who has taken that next step every year in Minnesota. He has already passed his 22-goal career high from last year. Now with 26 goals, he finds himself on his last restricted free-agent year before becoming a unrestricted free agent after the 2018-19 season. The fear is the Wild could lose Zucker at that point to higher-profile teams, so locking the 26-year-old up this offseason makes the most sense. Russo writes that it could take a six or seven-year offer in the $5MM range to get a deal done. He might be open to signing now as he has quite a few community ties, including the fact that his wife is from Minnesota.

Both players would like to get money that is close to Nino Niederreiter or Mikael Granlund money, which could cause some problems. The team already has six forwards that are locked up until 2020, not including Staal or Zucker. They also have three defensemen locked up long-term as well, so the team might have to find to move out some contracts in the near future to make their cap situation work out the best. To make matters worse, the two players whose deals might hurt the team the most belong to Zach Parise and Koivu. Parise has struggled all season with injuries and, as expected, his 13-year deal he signed back in 2012 is starting to hurt the team. The 33-year-old still will be locked up until the 2025 season at $7.5MM per year with a no-movement clause (another issue if there is another expansion draft in two years). Koivu has had a down year as well. At 34, he just signed a two year extension at $5.5MM at the start of this season which kicks in next year. After putting up 56 points or more in each of the last two years, he has just 35 points in 65 games this year.

One other option, according to Russo, would be to trade Tyler Ennis, who has one year remaining on his deal at $4.6MM AAV. The 28-year-old has just 18 points this year, but if the team retains his salary, they might be able to trade him off to free up some cap room. A buyout of Marcus Foligno is also a legitimate possibility this summer.

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