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Mikhail Sergachev

Tampa Bay Still Trying To Acquire A Defenseman

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Even though they’ve already acquired one of the best defensive prospects in the game, the Tampa Bay Lightning are looking for more immediate help on the back end. That’s what Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times writes, saying that he thinks they might land one tonight at the draft. The Lightning of course opened up one spot when they moved Jason Garrison to the Vegas Golden Knights, and aren’t yet guaranteeing an NHL role for Mikhail Sergachev to start the year.

With rumors bouncing around about Travis Hamonic, Marco Scandella and the crop of defenders Vegas selected, there shouldn’t be any lack of options for the Lightning. Both the Islanders and Wild are rumored to be asking for a first-round pick (and in New York’s case two) to start the negotiations, something that they may not want to part with. If the Lightning did move it, they wouldn’t pick until #48, a selection they received for Brian Boyle at the deadline.

With Victor Hedman and Anton Stralman firmly entrenched as two of the top four, and Jake Dotchin expected to fill a role after a surprisingly good rookie debut, the other three spots are more up in the air. Braydon Coburn, Andrej Sustr and Slater Koekkoek would slot into those spots right now, but the former is becoming less effective by the day and the latter two are both still currently restricted free agents (as is Dotchin). As above, Sergachev could find his way into that group at the beginning of the season or the team could go with several other minor league or prospect types, but it’s clear they’d like a real improvement somewhere.

After moving so much salary out in the last few months, the Lightning could legitimately go after an unrestricted free agent as well, something that was completely out of the question before moving Garrison, Jonathan Drouin and Valtteri Filppula. If they don’t find a solution at the draft or in the next few days, expect them to start talking to free agents when the negotiation windows open next week.

Expansion Primer: Tampa Bay Lightning

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We’re continuing to break down each team’s situation as it pertains to the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft, coming up next week: which players are eligible, and which will likely warrant protection or may be on the block. Each team is required to submit their protection lists by 4pm CDT on June 17th. The full rules on eligibility can be found here, and CapFriendly has provided a handy expansion tool to make your own lists.

Steve Yzerman fired the first shot in the pre-expansion draft trade market by acquiring  Mikhail Sergachev from Montreal for Jonathan Drouin, a move that gave the Lightning flexibility both with the cap and their expansion protection list. It also filled a need with the Bolts on defense. With that in mind, it makes Yzerman and the Lightning’s decisions slightly easier as to who to protect and who to expose. But there are still some tough choices to make.

Eligible Players (Non-UFA)

Forwards: Steven Stamkos (NMC), Ryan Callahan (NMC), Nikita Kucherov, Alex Killorn, Vladislav Namestnikov, J.T. Brown, Erik Condra, Cedric Paquette, Ondrej Palat (RFA), Tyler Johnson 

Defensemen: Victor Hedman (NMC), Jason Garrison, Anton Stralman, Braydon Coburn, Andrej Sustr (RFA), Slater Koekkoek, Jake Dotchin

Goaltender: Andrei Vasilevskiy, Kristers Gudlevskis (RFA)

Notable Exemptions

Mikhail Sergachev, Brett Howden

Key Decisions

Unloading Drouin certainly helped from a financial and expansion list aspect.  This makes it somewhat easier for forwards to put on the protected list.

Ondrej Palat and Alex Killorn are both choices that benefitted from Drouin being moved. Killorn netted 19 goals while Palat will continue to get better. Stamkos and Callahan both have NMCs. Despite fighting injury and not matching his production from 2014-15, Johnson is too good of a talent to leave exposed.

It’s on defense where tougher decisions need to be made, and it will come down to three players. Hedman and Stralman will both be protected, Hedman because he has a no-movement clause and Stralman is key to the Lightning blueline. Jason Garrison and Braydon Coburn are both carrying heavier hits for the cap and will most likely be left alone when they’re exposed. Garrison could hypothetically be taken with his deal ending at the conclusion of the 2017-18 season, but the $4.6MM hit would probably scare Vegas away.

May 24, 2016; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning center <a rel=That leaves three choices to protect: Andrej Sustr, Jake Dotchin, and Slater Koekkoek. Sustr is a restricted free agent and won’t be able to command much in the way of money after having a down year. That doesn’t make him exempt from being exposed. If anything, seeing his numbers drop with a number of other options pounding on the door for the big club could make him the odd man out. However, he’s still an economical option and any leverage he had took a hit with the acquisition of Sergachev, who if scouting is correct, should find time on the Tampa blueline next season. But the problem with protecting Sustr is that Tampa would risk losing two young, and talented defensemen for nothing. In the same breath, would the Bolts want to possibly lose a steady defenseman who is only 26?

That leads to Dotchin and Koekkoek. Dotchin just turned 23, and registered 11 points in 35 games this season. The problem is, as Lightning blog Raw Charge pointed out, his sample size was limited compared to Koekkoek while being paired with Hedman. The 23-year-old Koekkoek logged 41 games over the past two seasons,  but played strong for AHL affiliate Syracuse during the Calder Cup playoffs. Picking between them is essentially splitting hairs. Koekkoek  appears to have the higher ceiling, and plays a cleaner game than Dotchin. Though they play different games, Yzerman might prefer a more disciplined, puck moving defenseman when choosing who to protect. At the same time, Dotchin plays a physical game, and can move the puck as well. He’s not afraid to muck it up, and provides a presence that protects his teammates on the ice–while still contributing on the score sheet. As Tampa Bay Times beat writer Joe Smith wrote, Dotchin has stood out to management, especially in the NHL and AHL during Syracuse’s Calder Cup Final run.

With two younger defensive prospects and after having a less than stellar season, predict Sustr to be exposed and Koekkoek protected. Don’t be surprised, as many others have written, if Yzerman pulls something off to keep all of his young defensemen so Dotchin remains in the fold.

Projected Protection List

F – Steven Stamkos (NMC)
F – Ryan Callahan (NMC)
F – Tyler Johnson (RFA)
F – Nikita Kucherov
F – Vladislav Namestnikov
F – Alex Killorn
F – Ondrej Palat (RFA)

D – Victor Hedman (NMC)
D – Anton Stralman
D –Slater Koekkoek (RFA)

G – Andrei Vasilevskiy

Vasilevskiy is truly the only option to protect as 24-year-old netminder Kristers Gudlevskis is unlikely to be taken with other options presumably available from other teams. Of the decisions, it seems to be the least of Tampa’s worries.

The Lightning, despite missing the playoffs and sustaining injuries to one key player after another, still have a strong lineup that will absolutely compete next season. Peddling Drouin off certainly helped matters, but the third player to protect defensively is a tough decision to make. At the end of the day, though, Yzerman has shown skills deft enough to take a challenging situation and somehow make it work out. Don’t be surprised if he finds a way to do it again.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Analysts Weigh In On Sergachev-Drouin Deal

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The trade between Montreal and Tampa Bay that sent Jonathan Drouin and a 2018 conditional sixth round pick to the Habs for Mikhail Sergachev and a 2018 conditional second round pick was intriguing on a number of levels. It resulted in the Canadiens immediately inking Drouin to a six-year, $33MM deal, and flipped a defenseman to the Lightning, bolstering the blue line. It’s a deal that could not only begin the onslaught of trades that many have expected in the hockey world, but could have what Darren Dreger and Pierre LeBrun called a “major ripple effect” for Montreal. Here are some thoughts and musings from many in the hockey world.

  • Sportsnet’s Craig Hagerman details the expansion implications that the deal has. Getting rid of Drouin, Hagerman writes, offers Vegas a significantly less talented forward to choose from when they peruse Tampa’s choices.  Additionally, Sergachev is exempt from the expansion draft.  Montreal, on the other hand, still has a number of forwards they will have to expose. Hagerman adds that Tampa Bay general manager Steve Yzerman acted when the Lightning were looking at some tough choices on who to protect and expose.Oct 4, 2016; Quebec City, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens defenseman Mikhail Sergachev (22) checks Boston Bruins forward David Krejci (46) during the third period of a preseason hockey game at Centre Videotron. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports
  • TSN’s Frank Seravalli adds that the Bolts snagged a defenseman they desperately needed while the Canadiens grab the French-Canadian impact player they’ve been dreaming of since Stephane Richer, Pierre Turgeon, and Vincent Damphousse. Seravalli knows the trade was influenced by Tampa’s cap issues and its expansion draft decision. It gives them a chance to grow a potential top four d-man, while surrounding him with significant talent and other Russian influences on the team. Montreal adds a much needed goal scoring presence who has yet to even hit the prime of his career. The best part? He comes at a bargain.
  • The USA Today’s Kevin Allen sees this as a “do-over” for Yzerman in acquiring a top pairing defenseman. Allen writes that Yzerman chose Drouin over Seth Jones in the 2013 draft, and now has the chance to make up for that decision in acquiring Sergachev. He believes it’s a win for both sides, with the Habs acquiring a young scoring forward who is French-Canadian. The Canadiens, Allen writes, lost nothing on their current roster to add a dynamic scoring presence. For the Bolts, they gain an exceptional skater and a young defenseman who could possibly be on the roster next season.
  • But it’s not sunshine and rainbows for every writer. The Tampa Bay Times’ Martin Fennelly warns that it could be a deal Yzerman regrets. While he outlines the chance that Drouin doesn’t live up to what Montreal expects, he points out that the deal could “haunt” them as they’ll see Montreal often within the Atlantic Division scheduling, while adding that Drouin is an already established talent who will most likely delight in beating his former team. While Fennelly admits Sergachev to be a great prospect and saying that Yzerman hasn’t made many “bad” deals,  he believes this one has the potential to blow up in his face.

All photographs courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Montreal Canadiens Acquire Jonathan Drouin

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The Montreal Canadiens have pulled off the first big trade of the offseason, acquiring Jonathan Drouin and a conditional 2018 sixth-round pick for Mikhail Sergachev and a conditional 2018 second rounder. The picks are conditional on Sergachev not playing in at least 40 games (regular season and playoffs combined) for the Lightning next season, meaning if he spends more than half the season with Tampa Bay it is a one-for-one swap. Jonathan Drouin

The third-overall pick from 2013, Drouin was a restricted free agent this summer after a breakout campaign in Tampa Bay. After a dispute over playing time limited him to just 21 games in 2015-16, the extremely talented young forward scored 53 points in 73 games for the Lightning this season, showing off some of the potential that had led to his high draft selection. The 22-year old will be looking for a big contract coming off his entry-level deal, something that the Lightning were going to have trouble affording this summer.

Tampa Bay also has Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat hitting restricted free agency this summer, and with recent extensions to Victor Hedman, Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov and Alex Killorn, were going to be very tight to the cap. Not only will this open up some of that room, but it also helps fix some of their expansion draft worries.

Partly because of Ryan Callahan’s no-movement clause and partly because of their impressive depth up front, the Lightning were set to lose a talented forward in the draft with many speculating it could be Vladislav Namestnikov. By moving Drouin for an expansion-exempt Sergachev, they’ve given themselves an extra slot to play with and with it the power to protect almost everyone important.

Mikhail SergachevSergachev himself is an outstanding prospect, who was selected ninth-overall last summer but likely should have gone even higher. Coming off Rookie of the Year and Defenseman of the Year honors in the OHL in 2015-16, he spent a few games at the beginning of the season with Montreal before heading back to the Windsor Spitfires to help them to a Memorial Cup victory on home ice. His play at both ends of the rink is that of a future top-pairing defenseman, though he may still be several years from filling that role for Tampa Bay.

For Montreal, this brings home a native son to try and build as the next Canadiens’ superstar. Drouin grew up a Montreal fan within driving distance of the city, and told agent Allan Walsh (who relayed the information on TSN 690):

“This is my dream come true. This is my childhood dream.” 

Though Drouin doesn’t necessarily solve the problem at center, though he has played the position sparingly in the past. More than likely it gives them a potential elite scoring threat on the wing for many years, as he is still five seasons away from becoming a free agent and is already in talks on a long-term deal with the club. If he can’t switch to the middle or move to right wing, it does crowd things for the Canadiens who also currently have Max Pacioretty and Alex Galchenyuk on the left side. That would seem to point to a possible trade of Galchenyuk in the near future, something that has been rumored for a while.

In terms of the expansion draft, Montreal had room to add Drouin without losing something of real value. Their final forward protection slot looked like it would go to Charles Hudon, but even with his exemplary play at the AHL level has yet to make an impact at the top level.

No, this the negative effects of this trade will be felt more on the blue line for the future as Montreal has an aging group that was set to get a jolt of youth next season with Sergachev. They still do have Nathan Beaulieu ready to make a bigger impact, and Noah Juulsen coming quickly from the junior ranks. That said, losing Sergachev does darken the horizon on defense for the time being.

Pierre LeBrun of TSN provided details on the draft pick conditions.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Memorial Cup: How To Watch And What To Look For

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The Canadian Hockey League (CHL) is the top development league in the world for junior-aged players. Comprising of three separate entities—the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), Western Hockey League (WHL) and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)—it houses players from all over the world as they pursue their eventual dream of playing professional hockey. Though countries around the world have different development models, the CHL still provides the largest number of NHL-drafted players each season. Last summer, exactly 15 of the 30 first round picks came out of the CHL. Matthew Tkachuk

Though each of the three leagues has their own playoff structure, the overall CHL champion is crowned by a 10-day tournament at the end of the year called the Memorial Cup. In it, the winner of each league faces off along with the host city in a round-robin before entering do-or-die one-game playoffs. This season, the Windsor Spitfires of the OHL will host the tournament while the Erie Otters (OHL), Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL) and Saint John Sea Dogs (QMJHL) will represent their respective leagues.

Tonight marks the opening of the tournament with the Sea Dogs taking on the host Spitfires, and there are plenty of reasons to tune in. Here are some of the top players on each team that you should keep an eye on.

Windsor Spitfires

F Gabriel Vilardi – All eyes will be on Vilardi as he plays the last few games before likely going in the top-5 at next month’s NHL Entry Draft. He scored 61 points in 49 games this season for the Spitfires, and is still just 17 years old. His advanced size and strength has given him a leg up on similarly aged players, though his skating does still remain a question mark among certain scouts. A good showing at the Memorial Cup would go a long way to convince #3 Dallas (or whoever ends up with that pick) that he is the best option after Nolan Patrick and Nico Hischier, neither of which will be taking part in the tournament.

Mikhail SergachevD Mikhail Sergachev – The ninth-overall pick from last summer returned to the Spitfires after a short stint with the Montreal Canadiens and followed up his incredible rookie season with another outstanding year. With 43 points in 50 games, Sergachev has made a mockery of the league using his size and offensive ability to dominate almost every shift. He’ll have a good shot at making the NHL next season, making this likely his last chance at a Memorial Cup.

Seattle Thunderbirds

F Mathew Barzal – You can’t mention the Thunderbirds without mentioning Barzal, as the New York Islanders prospect has lit up the WHL since returning from two-game stint in the NHL. With 79 points (including 69 assists) in 41 games, Barzal has shown an elite playmaking ability and is ready for the next level. Turning 20 next week, this is Barzal’s last taste of junior action before moving to professional hockey next season. Defensemen of the other three teams have to be wary whenever the puck is on his stick.

D Ethan Bear – While some may argue that he won’t be able to produce at the next level, watching Bear rack up points in junior is something special. The fifth-round pick of Edmonton scored 28 goals and 70 points in 67 games this season, and had another 26 on the Thunderbirds championship run. His shot release might be the quickest among CHL defenders, and Seattle sometimes even uses him at the top of the circle on the powerplay (think Alex Ovechkin). Don’t get into penalty trouble against the Thunderbirds, or Bear will make you pay.

Erie Otters

F Alex DeBrincat – What else is there to say about DeBrincat? He was named the OHL Most Outstanding Player after scoring 127 points in 63 games, his third straight 100+ point season. He added another 38 points en route to an OHL championship, and is basically unstoppable when skating with Tampa Bay prospect Taylor Raddysh and Arizona forward Dylan Strome. Erie has some of the most potent offensive weapons in the tournament, and are extremely difficult to slow down.

F Ivan Lodnia – Lodnia was looking like he might creep into the first-round at next month’s NHL draft until he was completely shut down in the OHL playoffs. In 22 games with Erie he scored just two points but don’t let that sway your opinion of him. He’s still extremely talented, and should shine when the top line of the Otters all move on to pro hockey next season. Scoring 56 points in 66 games this season, he could really bump his draft stock back up with an impressive performance in the Memorial Cup.

Saint John Sea Dogs Thomas Chabot

D Thomas Chabot – Chabot has turned into one of the best defensive prospects in the game, by evening out his two-way play while continuing to shine on the biggest stages. At the World Juniors this winter, he was easily Canada’s top defenseman—possibly even top player overall—and he stepped up in the QMJHL playoffs for Saint John. Scoring 23 points in 18 games, Chabot showed he can still put up huge offensive numbers when he needs to. It’s the all-around development that has the Senators so happy, and he’ll likely be matched with some of the top players in the tournament.

F Joe Veleno – Veleno turned 17 just a few months ago, but has already completed two full seasons in the CHL. That’s because he was granted exceptional status when he was just 15. He impressed this year with 40 points in 43 games and put up a solid 11 in the playoffs. While he’s not the top offensive option for the Sea Dogs, it’s important to remember that he isn’t even draft eligible until 2018. Already standing over six-feet tall, Veleno will likely keep growing and turn into a dominant forward next season. A Memorial Cup this year could help him continue a quest to go at the top of the draft next summer.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

What Jakub Jerabek Means For Nathan Beaulieu

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Yesterday when the Montreal Canadiens signed Jakub Jerabek to a one-year deal, many fans wondered where exactly he would play next season. The team already has Alexei Emelin, Brandon Davidson and Nathan Beaulieu on the left side, with prospect Mikhail Sergachev surely destined for the NHL next season. Veteran Andrei Markov also made it clear that he wanted to return, and they’ll have to take a long look at him after another successful season. Eric Engels of Sportsnet writes that the Jerabek signing likely signals the end for Beaulieu, expecting the team to trade him before expansion draft next month. Nathan Beaulieu

When CapFriendly reported last night that Jerabek’s deal contained a European Assignment clause, it made it even more clear that the Canadiens would need to clear some room for him next season. The clause means that if the Canadiens want to send Jerabek down to the American Hockey League at any time, he instead can bolt and head back to the KHL or another professional league in Europe. Quite simply, it means he’s in the NHL to stay for next season.

Unless the Canadiens deem Sergachev unfit for full-time duty—which seems unlikely after his second outstanding year with the Windsor Spitfires—and choose not to bring back Markov, it does seem like Beaulieu is the most likely to be moved. The 24-year old actually had an excellent season, with 28 points in 74 games while skating over 19 minutes a night, and has shown the potential that made him a first-round pick in 2011. While he is set to become a restricted free agent this year, his next contract shouldn’t be prohibitive for whichever team that signs it.

For a team like the Canadiens who have been linked to several forwards over the past 12 months, Beaulieu seems a perfect candidate to be involved in the deal. Since they’re not going after the top Russian name to help up front, it is almost certain that Marc Bergevin will pursue names like Matt Duchene, Jonathan Drouin or James van Riemsdyk should they truly become available. While Beaulieu obviously isn’t enough for them straight up (at least not the first two), he could easily headline a package for them. It will be interesting to see what the league values him as; whether he’s a true top-4 with potential to be even more, or a role-player capable of providing solid minutes on the third pair.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Minor Transactions: 4/8/2017

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With the NHL set to wrap up the 2016-17 regular season this weekend, several clubs with postseason seeds locked in are taking the opportunity to rest key players. This gives several minor league players a chance to earn a late season call-up and to see some NHL action in the season’s closing days. We’ll recap the day’s minor transactions in this post.

  • The Pittsburgh Penguins announced via Twitter that they have recalled forward Kevin Porter and netminder Tristan Jarry from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL. Porter has spent the entire season so far with the baby Penguins but does bring plenty of NHL experience to the table with 247 regular season appearances over parts of seven seasons. For his career, the 5-foot-11, 191-pound winger has netted 29 goals and 58 points while averaging 12:39 of action per game. Porter was a key penalty killer last season in Pittsburgh and saw action in 41 game s before suffering a season-ending injury. He has 46 points in 67 AHL games this season, helping Wilkes-Barre/Scranton earn their 15th consecutive playoff berth. Jarry, who has yet to make his NHL debut, has been outstanding between the pipes for the baby Pens. He’s won 25 of 45 decisions and posted a GAA of 2.15 and a Save % of 0.925 in 45 contests. Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette suggests the recalls mean the Penguins intend on resting “someone.” After wrapping up the second seed in the Metro Division and a first round playoff date set with Columbus, it wouldn’t be shocking if the team gave superstar center Sidney Crosby and #1 goalie Matt Murray the weekend off, though that is simply my own speculation. That scenario would give Jarry a solid shot at making his NHL debut.
  • The Buffalo Sabres have inked center Sean Malone, their sixth-round draft choice in 2013, to a two-year, entry level deal, the club announced this morning. Malone, a native of West Seneca, New York, recently concluded his senior year at Harvard and finished the 2016-17 campaign with 18 goals and 42 points in 36 games. Malone and his Harvard teammates saw their season end in stunning fashion during their Frozen Four semifinal game when Minnesota-Duluth broke a 1 – 1 tie with 26.6 seconds remaining in regulation. Malone closes out his college career with 42 goals and 99 points in 115 NCAA games.
  • Taylor Beck, who was recalled from Hartford yesterday, will make his New York Rangers debut tonight, the club announced via Twitter. The 25-year-old RW was acquired by the Rangers from Edmonton at the trade deadline in exchange for fellow forward Justin Fontaine. Beck has had a terrific AHL campaign, registering 63 points in 54 games split between Bakersfield and Hartford. In 9 career NHL contests, the 6-foot-2, 203-pound Beck has tallied 11 goals and 23 points. He failed to record a point in three earlier appearances with the Oilers this season. Beck will draw into the lineup for New York as the Rangers plan to rest forwards Derek Stepan, Jesper Fast, Mats Zuccarello and Rick Nash, the latter three for the second straight game.
  • Montreal has recalled junior defenseman and 2016 first round pick Mikhail Sergachev from Windsor of the OHL. Normally, once a prospect has been returned to junior by his parent club, they cannot be recalled but the Canadiens took advantage of a little-used provision that allows them to do so in certain scenarios. Cap Friendly, via Twitter, provides the details of this provision in the CBA. In this case, since Windsor’s season is now over following their elimination from the OHL playoffs and with Montreal having already recalled a defender from the minor leagues on an emergency basis, the Habs were able to bring Sergachev up, also on an emergency basis. Sergachev appeared in three games earlier this season with Montreal before being returned to Windsor. The blue liner, still just 18, registered 43 points in 50 regular season games and another three in the playoffs for the Spitfires.
  • Philadelphia Flyers GM Ron Hextall announced this morning that the club has recalled goaltender Anthony Stolarz from Lehigh Valley of the AHL. Stolarz has appeared in six games with the Flyers on the season, starting three times. He has posted a 0.932 Save % and a GAA of just 1.93 in his first taste of NHL action. Sam Carchidi, who covers the team for the Philadelphia Inquirer adds via Twitter that Stolarz will back up Steve Mason tonight with the Flyers on the road in Columbus and will likely get the starting assignment tomorrow as the team closes out its campaign at home against Carolina.

Vancouver Canucks Sign Jalen Chatfield To Three-Year ELC

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The Vancouver Canucks have dipped into the 20-year old CHL free agent market, signing Jalen Chatfield from the Windsor Spitfires to a three-year, entry-level contract. The defenseman will stay with the Spitfires through their Memorial Cup run—the team is hosting the tournament this year and will get automatic entry. GM Jim Benning had this to say about his newest prospect:

Jalen is a good two-way defenceman that sees the ice well and makes good decisions in all three zones. He moves the puck well and can join the rush. Jalen is another addition to our young prospect pool and we look forward to his continued development playing in Windsor.

Indeed, Chatfield can contribute at both ends of the rink and he trails just (first-round pick) Mikhail Sergachev and (exceptional status) Sean Day in points among Spitfires defenders. The right-handed defenseman doesn’t have any standout skill, but plays a solid all-around game that will likely transition well to the AHL. He’s most definitely not a lock for the NHL, but does add another name to a prospect cupboard that is suddenly finding itself more full than expected.

After acquiring Nikolay Goldobin and Jonathan Dahlen at the deadline and looking like they’ll get another top-10 pick in this year’s draft, the Canucks rebuild could be off to a very quick start. Filling in the cracks with CHL free agents will help, and don’t count them out of the college sweepstakes either. Just today, Bob McKenzie linked them to Zach Aston-Reese, arguably the top prize among the college ranks this year.

Prospect Snapshots: DeBrincat, Second Round, Sergachev

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Since Chicago Blackhawks prospect Alex DeBrincat was cut from the United States World Junior team in late December, he’s determined to prove that it was a mistake. When he was dropped, he was the OHLs leading goal-scorer and trailed only teammate Taylor Raddysh (who played for Canada at the tournament) in points. He hasn’t slowed down at all, scoring four more points today for the Erie Otters and extending his lead in the scoring race. He now has 92 points in 45 games and is a clear leader in goals scored.

The Blackhawks signed DeBrincat to a three-year entry-level contract earlier this season, and it looks like he’ll be making an impact in professional hockey as soon as he makes the leap. His 39th-overall selection looks like a steal now, as he’s about to post his third straight 100+ point season in the OHL and possibly help his team to a Memorial Cup.

  • Over at Fan Rag Sports, Hannah Stuart took a look at five potential second-round steals in the upcoming draft. It even includes one Erie Otter rookie who will be getting a ton of extra ice time next season when DeBrincat, Raddysh and Ryan Strome all leave for greener pastures. Ivan Lodnia, the Otters’ young sniper has 21 goals and 45 points in his OHL debut. She also mentions Boston University’s Jake Oettinger, who sat in the press box at the World Juniors behind Tyler Parsons and Joseph Woll on Team USA. Despite being ranked 3rd on Central Scouting’s goaltender list, Stuart believes big things are ahead for the NCAA standout.
  • The Montreal Canadiens are in the thick of trade talks all around the league, and Darren Dreger of TSN says that GM Marc Bergevin is “all in” on upgrading this season. That has sparked some talk about the possibility of dealing last summer’s first-round pick Mikhail Sergachev, but The Fourth Period has shut that down. The report says that while Sergachev is basically untouchable, Noah Juulsen may be in play when it comes to big upgrades down the middle for the NHL club. Juulsen is the captain of the Everett Silvertips in the WHL and was Montreal’s first-round selection in 2015.

The Disastrous Duty Of Drafting Defensemen

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In professional sports, there is an oft-quoted saying that suggests that “defense wins championships”. It’s no surprise that in the NHL, the best of the best are getting extensions like Aaron Ekblad (8 years, $60MM) and Victor Hedman (8 years, $63MM). They’re valuable assets in a league that doesn’t have enough capable defenders.

Back in the summer, we looked at the increasing value of right-handed defensemen, with players like Jason Demers (5 years, $22.5MM), Ben Lovejoy (3 years $8MM) and Roman Polak (1 year, $2.25MM) all getting contracts that seemed expensive for their on-ice value.

Perhaps it’s not just the right-handed ones though. Prices for defensemen are skyrocketing on both the open market and in trade negotiations, and it’s because even though teams want to draft and develop their own blueliners, it’s incredibly difficult to do so.

In the 2007 entry draft, there were 60 defensemen selected and only 13 of them have played more than 200 NHL games. Even that group includes players like Keaton Ellerby, Ian Cole and Yannick Weber who would not inspire much confidence at the top of anyone’s depth chart (apologies to Cole, who is having a fine season in Pittsburgh).

In comparison this is actually a fairly good draft, as in 2006 just six out of the 65 defensemen chose have crossed that 200 games threshold. While 2006 is perhaps the most stark example, as Erik Johnson (drafted first overall) is the only high-end defenseman in the entire draft – his competition for that title are the likes of Andrew MacDonald, Jeff Petry and Mike Weber.

Drafting defensemen is even more of a crap shoot, as often they develop later than forwards and rely more on experience and positioning than raw skill. In 2006, eight were taken in the first round and only Johnson is still in the NHL. Ty Wishart, Bobby Sanguinetti and Chris Summers highlight the rest of the round.

This past draft nine defenders were taken in the first round, with Jakob Chychrun in Arizona and a three-game taste from Montreal’s Mikhail Sergachev being the only forays into the NHL so far. Obviously, it’s much too early to tell whether any of these will be long-term options, but the past seems to say that many won’t.

For teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs or Edmonton Oilers, whose fan bases and media members have said for years to ’just draft a defenseman’, it’s much more difficult than it seems. Even using your first round pick on a blueliner does not guarantee success, or even an NHL player. It’s hard to find those elite defensemen, even if you sink your whole draft into them.

With only a few successful ones coming out each year, it’s no wonder players like Jacob Trouba and Cam Fowler have huge price tags on their heads. Their teams may never get a chance at a player of their caliber again (although, Anaheim seems to buck this trend and have success with a high number of defensive draft picks).

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