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Snapshots: Rescheduling, Avalanche, Wild, Thompson

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In a season that has been disrupted by several COVID-19 outbreaks and historically-bad weather in Texas, the NHL schedule maker has been forced to constantly snip and edit things to fit in all 56 games. Today, the league announced that tomorrow’s game between the Chicago Blackhawks and Carolina Hurricanes will be postponed to another date, with the Hurricanes taking on Tampa Bay Saturday night instead. The Lightning and Hurricanes were already set to start a three-game series on Monday, meaning they’ll now face each other in four consecutive games. The Blackhawks-Hurricanes game? It doesn’t have a date yet.

Some more updates from around the league:

  • The Colorado Avalanche have almost everyone available for tomorrow’s outdoor game at Lake Tahoe, including captain Gabriel Landeskog and defenseman Samuel Girard, who were recently on the COVID Protocol Related Absences list. That doesn’t necessarily mean Girard, who was still on the list as of yesterday, will play but he is eligible to. According to Dan Rosen of NHL.com, Cale Makar is still a game-time decision as he continues to deal with an upper-body injury.
  • The Minnesota Wild also welcomed back several familiar faces to practice today, now that the team is down to just Andrew Hammond on the COVID Protocol list. Michael Russo of The Athletic reports that Dakota Mermis, Luke Johnson and Kyle Rau have all been sent to the taxi squad to make room for the returning players, though Calen Addison will currently stay on the active roster.
  • Nate Thompson has been activated from injured reserve by the Winnipeg Jets and he is expected to be in the lineup tonight when the team faces off against the Vancouver Canucks. Thompson has played just four games for the Jets this season after signing a one-year, $750K deal in October. The veteran forward is expected to take the spot of Kristian Vesalainen, who is still looking for his first NHL goal.

Snapshots: Blues Defensemen, Stars-Predators, Thompson

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The Blues held out defenseman Marco Scandella from today’s seventh and final game against Arizona as they were hesitant to part with a winning lineup, reports Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic (Twitter link).  The veteran has missed the last couple of weeks with an upper-body injury and has averaged nearly 19 minutes per game in nine contests this season.

Meanwhile, the Blues announced that blueliner Torey Krug sustained an upper-body injury in today’s game and is listed as day-to-day.  Krug leads all St. Louis defenders with nine points in 16 games so far this season.  If he’s unable to suit up on Thursday against San Jose, that could provide the opportunity for Scandella to return to the lineup.

Elsewhere around the league:

  • Tonight’s game between the Stars and Predators was postponed. This had nothing to due with COVID-19 but instead, Matthew DeFranks of the Dallas Morning News notes that the decision was made at the request the Mayor of Dallas due to ongoing power issues from the storm that has hit the area hard.  DeFranks adds that a similar request could be made for tomorrow’s game.  The league has not yet decided when the game will be rescheduled for.
  • After welcoming winger Jansen Harkins back from injured reserve today, the Jets may soon be doing the same for center Nate Thompson. Sportsnet’s Ken Wiebe reports (Twitter link) that the team expects the veteran to be available to play soon.  Thompson has played in four games on Winnipeg’s fourth line this season after signing a one-year, $750K contract in free agency.

Patrik Laine Moved To Injured Reserve

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The Winnipeg Jets have made several transactions today, not the least of which was moving Patrik Laine to injured reserve. Laine has played in just one game so far this season and will not play tomorrow against the Ottawa Senators. Nate Thompson joins Laine on injured reserve, while Dylan DeMelo has been activated and David Gustafsson has been brought up from the minors to the taxi squad.

While Laine won’t play, it is good news to see DeMelo activated after missing the first four games. The 27-year-old defenseman will be a welcome addition for the Jets who have shuffled their defense around on a daily basis this season, especially after he fit in so well down the stretch in 2020. DeMelo was acquired at the deadline from the Ottawa Senators and logged more than 21 minutes a night in ten regular season games with the Jets, before seeing big minutes again in the postseason bubble.

Murat Ates of The Athletic isn’t sure whether it will be Logan Stanley or Ville Heinola coming out for DeMelo, but does note that the later is still a slide candidate should he play fewer than seven games this season. Heinola has played just one so far, meaning they could potentially send him to the minors and allow his entry-level contract to extend another year. Stanley, who is already 22, will become a restricted free agent in the summer no matter how many games he plays this season.

After a tumultuous offseason that saw Laine’s agent suggest a trade would be best for his client, the 22-year-old forward can’t seem to get back into the lineup thanks to his somewhat mysterious injury. Head coach Paul Maurice told Ken Wiebe of Sportsnet that Laine had more testing done today and that “nothing new came up on it.” In that one game Laine has played, he registered two goals and one assist.

Winnipeg Jets Sign Nate Thompson

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The flat cap market isn’t going to be kind to a number of free agents. Veteran center Nate Thompson is an example. After a strong season split between the Montreal Canadiens and Philadelphia Flyers, arguably one of the best of his long career, Thompson has settled for a one-year deal and a pay decrease. TSN’s Darren Dreger was the first to report that Thompson has signed with the Winnipeg Jets for $750K, after making $1MM last year and $1.65MM the season prior.

Thompson, 36, is admittedly getting older and a multi-year deal may have been out of the question. However, he did not look any different last season than in seasons past, as he still works hard and plays a physical game. Thompson’s defensive intelligence and disruptive nature helps him to create turnovers and turn them into offense. A solid fourth-line center who excelled in Montreal last year and was effective even without a concrete fit with Philadelphia, Thompson seemed like he would be back at a seven-digit salary again this year.

Thompson’s loss in Winnipeg’s gain. The Jets get a veteran leader and capable fourth line anchor at a bargain price. While the team is very deep up front, Thompson fills a specific need and may be able to excel with a mix of big, physical veterans and young, skilled forwards in Winnipeg’s bottom six.

Contract Notes: Miller, Thompson, Gallagher

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Ryan Miller may have turned 40 this summer but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s done with a playing career that has him climbing the all-time lists. The Anaheim Ducks backup goaltender is without a contract for next season and will wait to see what the 2020-21 season looks like before making a decision on his future, according to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. Quite succinctly, Miller explained that if the NHL moves to full-season bubbles it wouldn’t be fair to his family for him to sign up and leave for nine months, a notion that is likely shared by many around the league.

Miller is currently 15th on the all-time wins list for NHL goaltenders, just two behind another former Buffalo Sabres legend, Dominik Hasek. That was a player Miller was hoping to catch as recently as May, though it’s still unclear if he’ll get that chance. Even at his age, the veteran of 17 NHL seasons recorded a .907 save percentage in 2019-20, better than many backups around the league.

  • Nate Thompson isn’t put off by the Philadelphia Flyers disappointing playoff loss, in fact, he’s “very interested” in returning to the team next season if possible. Thompson told reporters today that he wants to be a part a “window of winning” that he sees in Philadelphia. The 35-year-old forward was outstanding in the faceoff dot for Philadelphia this postseason, winning more than 60% of his 168 draws. He’s coming off a one-year contract worth $1MM and recorded 15 points in the regular season.
  • Though his contract doesn’t end until 2021, Brendan Gallagher was asked today about his future with the Montreal Canadiens. As he spoke to reporters including Arpon Basu of The Athletic, Gallagher (who is still recovering from a broken jaw), explained that his agent has had preliminary discussions with the team about his next deal. Gallagher, 28, has turned into one of the biggest bargains in the entire league at his current cap hit of $3.75MM, given he has scored 86 goals over his past 223 regular season games (an 82-game pace of nearly 32 goals). Add in all the intangibles he brings to the team, including leadership and his innate ability to get under the opponent’s skin and Gallagher is one of the Canadiens’ most important players.

Nate Thompson Out With Knee Sprain

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The Philadelphia Flyers were starting to show what they’re capable of, but now will have to battle through injury. After losing Philippe Myers recently, the team has now announced that trade deadline acquisition Nate Thompson will miss a minimum of two weeks with a knee sprain. Connor Bunnaman has been recalled in his place, while Mark Friedman was also recalled earlier today.

Thompson, 35, was brought over from the Montreal Canadiens at the deadline to give the Flyers a little more depth in their bottom-six and some versatility. Able to play both center and the wing while never being afraid to engage physically, Thompson had fit right in and was getting just over 12 minutes a night.

Those 12 minutes will have to go to someone else now that he’s out, and his absence certainly doesn’t come at the most opportune time. While a two-week vacation may not be the end of the world in the middle of the regular season, the Flyers only have 13 games remaining in the season and need all hands on deck if they are to catch the Washington Capitals.

Two weeks likely means Thompson will miss at least the next seven games.

Flyers Acquire Nate Thompson

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The Flyers have added some depth down the middle as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that they’ve acquired Nate Thompson from Montreal in exchange for a 2021 fifth-round pick.

Thompson isn’t much of a point producer at this stage of his career but he remains an effective defensive forward.  In 63 games this season, he has four goals and ten assists but Philadelphia will be most interested in his 55.1% success rate at the faceoff dot.  The Flyers are already one of the better teams on the draw this season with a team success rate of 54.3% rate and Thompson will only bolster that strength.

The Canadiens acquired Thompson along with a fifth-round pick from the Kings last season for a fourth-rounder and then turned around and gave the 35-year-old a one-year, $1MM extension last offseason.  They are not retaining any salary in the trade.  Montreal now has nine selections for the 2021 draft and with 13 already in June’s draft it’s not surprising that they looked to add one in a future draft.

Trade Rumors: Canucks, Tatar, Petry, Maple Leafs, Pageau

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With little cap space anyway, many were not expecting the Vancouver Canucks to be particularly active at the trade deadline. However, that viewpoint may have changed after forward Brock Boeser suffered an upper-body injury Saturday against the Calgary. While the extent of the injury is unknown, head coach Travis Green said after the game that Boeser would be out “for a bit.”

NHL.com’s Tracey Myers writes that the Canucks may be looking for a forward at the trade deadline, especially with the team hanging on to first place in the Pacific Division by just one point with four teams breathing down their necks. The team is expecting to get back forward Micheal Ferland soon, but Ferland isn’t likely to provide the offense the team gets from Boeser, who has 16 goals and 45 points, third on the team in scoring.

  • Plenty of rumors have come up regarding two players with the Montreal Canadiens, including defenseman Jeff Petry and forward Tomas Tatar. Both Petry and Tatar would be valuable trade chips for the Canadiens as they both have one year remaining after this one with reasonable contracts ($5.5MM for Petry; $4.8MM for Tatar). Both are having impressive seasons as well, making them even more intriguing. However, TVA’s Renaud Lavoie reports that he has been told that neither player is being shopped and the team will wait until they are closer to the deadline to see whether they are any closer in the standings to competing for a playoff spot before deciding on whether they would move any of their unrestricted free agents, which could include Ilya Kovalchuk, Nate Thompson or Marco Scandella.
  • Now that the backup goaltender position has been taken care of, the Toronto Maple Leafs are thought to need to add to their defense before the deadline. However, Elliotte Friedman on Hockey Night in Canada reports that the Maple Leafs intend to wait until closer to the deadline before they consider making another move. The team currently has Cody Ceci on long-term injured reserve and the team wants to wait to see his status in a couple weeks before making a final decision. “Toronto is going to wait,” Friedman said. “Morgan Rielly has a doctor’s appointment next week, they still want to see what his future is, also the health of Cody Ceci, which they’ll know more about probably in a couple of weeks.”
  • On the same Hockey Night in Canada last night, Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston reports that while the New York Rangers have started negotiating with soon-to-be unrestricted free-agent Chris Kreider to see if a reasonable deal can be worked out, the Ottawa Senators have not started to negotiate with Jean-Gabriel Pageau, suggesting that he is a strong candidate to be dealt at the trade deadline with several suitors likely lining up to acquire him.

Trade Deadline Primer: Montreal Canadiens

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With the trade deadline now less than a month away, 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?  Next up is a look at the Montreal Canadiens.

The Montreal Canadiens looked to be a team on the rise with many thinking that they might challenge for a playoff spot this year after finishing two points out of a playoff spot last year. Instead, the team has had an inconsistent that has shown some glimpses of the future, but has also saw the team struggled on numerous occasions. There is still time for the Canadiens to make up some ground, but down six points in a deep Eastern Conference could alter the way that general manager Marc Bergevin looks at the upcoming trade deadline.

Record

26-23-7, fifth in the Atlantic Division

Deadline Status

Seller

Deadline Cap Space

$17.45MM in a full-season cap hit (using LTIR), 0/3 used salary cap retention slots, 49/50 contracts per CapFriendly

Upcoming Draft Picks

2020: MON 1st, MON 2nd, CHI 2nd, MON 3rd, MON 4th, ANA 4th, WIN 4th, MON 5th, FLR 5th, MON 6th, CHI 7th
2021: MON 1st, MON 2nd, MON 3rd, CHI 3rd, MON 4th, MON 5th, OTT 5th, MON 6th

Trade Chips

The most publicized trade chip that the Candiens have is forward Ilya Kovalchuk. The team signed the 36-year-old to a minimum-salary deal on Jan. 3rd after Kovalchuk was released from his contract with the Los Angeles Kings after one and a half disappointing seasons. Montreal took a chance, hoping that his skills hadn’t depleted as much as many had thought. Kovalchuk, however, has had a resurgence, posting five goals and 11 points in 14 games and is a top candidate to be dealt. With a salary of just $700K, plenty of teams with salary cap troubles wouldn’t complain to add someone of Kovalchuk’s talent and leadership abilities in the locker room. The Canadiens were rumored to be interested in a second-round pick for the veteran, but rumors have surfaced that no team is willing to give more than a middle-round pick. That could change as we get closer to the deadline, however.

While Tomas Tatar has been putting up nice numbers in Montreal, the forward might also be a valuable trade chip. The 25-year-old is on the way towards a career-year in goals as he has already hit the 20-goal in just 56 games. However, teams might pay a premium if Bergevin is ready to move on from him. He has just one year remaining on his deal after this one at just $4.8MM, but would be a valued addition if the team was ready to acquire him.

Another interesting option is also a possibility. Although there is no guarantee that the team might move him, there have been rumblings that Bergevin might consider trading defenseman Jeff Petry, who could be a valuable commodity for any team. The 32-year-old has one more year after this one on his contract at a reasonable $5.5MM. On top of that, Petry is playing some of his best hockey. He is playing 23:25 ATOI and has shown a flare for offense the past few years.

The Canadiens also have several players who will be unrestricted free agents next summer, including solid depth option in veteran Nate Thompson. The team also wouldn’t mind it if they could find a taker for Marco Scandella, who the team acquired recently from Buffalo.

Five Players To Watch For: F Ilya Kovalchuk, D Jeff Petry, D Marco Scandella, F Tomas Tatar, F Nate Thompson

Team Needs

1) Young NHL-Ready Players: Montreal can see the light at the end of the tunnel and could get to the playoffs this year with a little success in the final third of the season, but one thing it needs more of are young players, who can step in quickly and contribute immediately. They have quite a youth movement going on, but the team is just about ready to re-establish themselves as a playoff team within the next year or two, but the more talent that can come their way would be invaluable.

2) Draft Picks: If you look at the team’s draft picks above, it’s obvious that Bergevin has been stockpiling picks and is still interested in adding more of them. Not only does the team want young players to step right in, but he is looking to create a pipeline that will have the team be competitive for a long time.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Trade Rumors: Connor, Gostisbehere, Center Market

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With the Winnipeg Jets continuing to slide further and further from playoff contention this season, the team will have to begin entertaining trade offers. While impending free agents like Dmitry Kulikov, Luca Sbisa, and Gabriel Bourque could be the most likely trade casualties, Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press writes that the team is receiving considerable interest in top line winger Kyle Connor. Normally, a player like Connor, who is skating more than 20 minutes per night and leading the team in goal scoring at the age of 23, would be untouchable. However, the Jets are deep up front and in desperate need of a new cornerstone on defense and the possibility of landing an elite young player or prospect who could fill that void may have them at least listening to offers for Connor. The division rival Colorado Avalanche are reportedly leading the hunt, with 2019 No. 4 overall pick Bowen Byram being the core piece that would head to the Jets. A young defenseman of Byram’s caliber would be a huge addition to the Winnipeg pipeline, but would not be able to play a top-pair role for a few years still to come. Is that enough to part with a player like Connor? McIntyre is skeptical and reiterates that in no way are the Jets shopping their young star. After all, they just signed Connor to a seven-year, $50MM extension back in September. However, given their disappointing season and bleak outlook on the blue line, it cannot be ruled out that the right price – Byram or otherwise – could entice the Jets to move Connor.

  • A difficult season for Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere continued not only in his last game, but in his last practice as well. Gostisbehere, who has missed 13 games this season due to injury and has struggled even when healthy, drew back into the Flyers’ lineup on Thursday night. The team proceeded to drop an embarrassing 5-0 loss to the New Jersey Devils, in which the pairing of Gostisbehere and Justin Braun were of little help. The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Ed Barkowitz recounts that Gostisbehere’s frustration boiled over in practice on Friday. The blue liner whiffed on a shot late in practice and responded by hurling his stick over the glass and storming off the ice. While Barkowitz makes no mention of any possible discipline for Gostisbehere as a result of this incident, there is a strong chance that he will take a seat for Saturday’s match-up against the Washington Capitals. While it may seem like Gostisbehere is wearing out his welcome in Philly with lacking results and now visible distress, head coach Alain Vigneault did acknowledge to Barkowitz that the team likely erred in rushing Gostisbehere back from his knee surgery rather than allowing him to serve a rehab stint in the AHL. But with the deed done, both sides have to live with the current situation. Or do they? Gostisbehere remains a hot name on the trade market and with the Flyers fighting for a playoff spot and needing help up front, a trade seems like a strong possibility. Gostisbehere is only 26 and has three years remaining on his current contract, but this seems like a situation where both sides might benefit from a fresh start. With each of their next five games coming against an Eastern Conference team currently in playoff position, a crucial stretch for the Flyers’ own postseason hopes, perhaps a Gostisbehere deal will come sooner rather than later.
  • The Flyers are one of a number of teams who could benefit from bringing in a center at the deadline. However, TSN’s Frank Seravalli points out that this is the weakest position in the current trade market. The top available option is Ottawa’s Jean-Gabriel Pageau, who some believe the team would rather re-sign than deal. Beyond that, the only other two centers on TSN’s Trade Bait List are Nashville’s Kyle Turris, and his remaining four years and $24MM, and Detroit’s veteran pivot Valtteri Filppula. Beyond that, Seravalli lists impending UFA’s Derek Grant of Anaheim and Nate Thompson of Montreal and younger players like San Jose’s Barclay Goodrow and Ottawa’s Chris Tierney as the top options. Once Pageau is off the board – or worse, if he isn’t traded at all – it is slim pickings down the middle on the trade market. Seravalli lists the Oilers, Capitals, and Jets as teams joining Philadelphia in the pursuit of a center, but not all of these teams will leave the deadline happy.

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