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Neal Pionk

Rangers Must Continue To Upgrade Their Defense

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The New York Rangers still have to hire a coach, but the team’s top goal is to continue to improve its blueline this offseason. Just a year ago, the Rangers invested heavily into a veteran defense that was expected to be among the best in the league. The team went out and signed highly coveted free agent Kevin Shattenkirk and re-signed Brendan Smith to go with captain Ryan McDonagh and Marc Staal and a rising Brady Skjei.

Instead the defense struggled mightily as they were ranked fourth in goals against, allowing 3.21 goals per game during the 2017-18 season. Now with McDonagh gone and the team in a rebuild, the Rangers must make more changes to improve their struggling blueline.

The Athletic’s Shayna Goldman (subscription required) writes that a few pieces are certain. A healthy Shattenkirk should boost the team’s defense after the team shut him down in the middle of the year with a torn meniscus. Throw in a much improved year for Staal and the Rangers have a couple of solid pieces to aid them. The team still has high hopes for Skjei, despite his second-year struggles, but Smith is a complete unknown as it will be up to him to get into game shape and prove he was worth the four-year, $17.4MM deal he signed last offseason. The team did like the way rookie Neal Pionk played in his 28-game trial at the end of the year. Even defenseman Anthony DeAngelo showed improvement at the end of the year as well. The team also added a number of new young d-men at the trade deadline that aren’t too far off, including Ryan Lindgren, Libor Hajek and Yegor Rykov.

Regardless, the team could use a boost from an experienced young defenseman that can help stabilize last year’s crew or at the very least, more young talent that will be ready within a year. The New York Post’s Larry Brooks writes that the team should consider offering up either Kevin Hayes or Mike Zibanejad in exchange for defensive help, assuming the player they get back is a current or future top-four defenseman. While he believes that Dougie Hamilton would be the perfect trade target, he doubts the Calgary Flames would move him. However, Calgary is loaded with defensive prospects that are stuck behind their veteran defense, suggesting the Rangers go after prospect Adam Fox, who is a top defenseman at Harvard University, and who was the former partner of Lindgren. Trading one of those young veterans could work as centermen are in high demand right now with few available on the free agent market and with the Rangers putting much of their hopes on both of last year’s first-round picks in Lias Andersson and Filip Chytil at center next season.

No matter what, the team will have to make some changes if they hope to improve on their disappointing 2017-18 season.

Draft Lottery Can Change Many Franchises’ Futures

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A lottery it really is this year.

While the NHL draft lottery always garners quite a bit of attention, some years are just a bit different if the top pick is a game-changer, whether you’re talking about Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews or this year’s No. 1 option. With prospect Rasmus Dahlin listed as the consensus top pick this year, and described by many as having no weaknesses, he is considered to be one of the top defensive prospects to enter the league in possible decades. The 18-year-old defenseman out of Sweden should immediately change the state of any franchise that wins tonight.

With the lottery just hours away, how will each club look if they were to get lucky and win it?

Buffalo Sabres (18.5%) — The Sabres franchise would get a huge boost with the addition of Dahlin plus some badly needed luck that they seem to never have. Already boasting one of the worst defenses in the league and sudden talk that the team shouldn’t consider Rasmus Ristolainen a No. 1 defenseman, the team and general manager Jason Botterrill’s job would get much easier if they can win the lottery.

Ottawa Senators (13.5%) — Winning the lottery should make their tough decision easier as they traded away their top pick in the Matt Duchene trade, which is, fortunately for them, top-three protected. Winning the lottery is a no-brainer as they would take Dahlin who could either join star defenseman Erik Karlsson or allow the team to trade the veteran, knowing they already have his replacement. However, the real issue is they end up in the top three, do they keep the pick or send it to Colorado to avoid giving Colorado an unprotected first-rounder in 2019.

Arizona Coyotes (11.5%) — Despite having the third-worst record in the league this year, the Coyotes seem to be heading in the right direction as they went 19-12-4 in their final 35 games of the season as many of the team’s young players had started to figure things out. What better way to improve on that then to add Dahlin, who could convince fellow countryman Oliver Ekman-Larsson to stay on with the team for many years to come.

Montreal Canadiens (9.5%) — With the injury struggles of aging defenseman Shea Weber and little else defensive help nearby, the team could use the infusion of a franchise-changing defenseman joining the team. With Weber and goaltender Carey Price on huge contracts, a cheap franchise player could move the team in the right direction.

Detroit Red Wings (8.5%) — What better way to finally start the rebuild, then by adding a young, talented defender to join the team. With few defensive prospects on the horizon, the team’s suspect defense could get a huge boost with Dahlin. With the return of Mike Green unknown, and a group of aging veterans, the team needs someone to take over as the face of the franchise.

Vancouver Canucks (7.5%) — The Canucks rebuild is looking better and better with players like Adam Gaudette, Elias Pettersson, Jonathan Dahlen and defenseman Olli Juolevi about to arrive. Throw in Brock Boeser, Bo Horvat and a number of other prospects on the way, Dahlin would only quicken this team’s rise of young players. On top of that, the team is loaded with defensive-minded blueliners and could use an offensive power-play quarterback.

Chicago Blackhawks (6.5%) — While a lottery victory by the Blackhawks might infuriate the rest of the league, the Blackhawks do need to bolster their defensive depth and Dahlin could easily vault a struggling team back into the playoffs as he could take a lot of pressure off veterans Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook.

New York Rangers (6%) — Just started a rebuild and they walk away with a generational talent? While many people believe the Rangers intend to have a quick rebuild and compete for a playoff spot within the next year or two, having Dahlin on the roster would only jettison the team to that goal quicker and putting him alongside Brady Skjei and Neal Pionk along with veteran Kevin Shattenkirk would help stabilize their blueline.

New York Islanders (6% total with 3.5% from their pick and Calgary’s 2.5%) — Perhaps winning the lottery would be enough to convince John Tavares to stay. Regardless, adding Dahlin to their defensive woes would only stabilize a team that has the offense to reach the playoffs. He could be a cornerstone the franchise hasn’t had there since Denis Potvin. Add in the fact that the Islanders also have the Calgary Flames’ pick, the team has a better chance to winning the lottery than quite a few teams.

Edmonton Oilers (5%) — Angry fans might protest Edmonton walking away as another lottery winner, but adding Dahlin to, again, a failing defense would allow a team that already has McDavid and Leon Draisaitl should bounce back to where they left off one year ago. Dahlin would provide the team with the No. 1 defenseman that they currently lack

Carolina Hurricanes (3%) — As the percentage begin to really drop, Carolina would only get richer as the team is already loaded in quality young defensemen and would allow the team to move other defenseman like Justin Faulk and acquire more scoring, which the team badly needs.

Dallas Stars (2%) — The addition of Dahlin along with last year’s third overall pick in Finnish defenseman Miro Heiskanen would make for a deadly combo and that’s not including John Klingberg.

Philadelphia Flyers (1.5% from St. Louis Blues) — Adding Dahlin could put Philadelphia at the same level with Pittsburgh, Washington and Tampa Bay.

Florida Panthers (1%) — The hottest team that didn’t make the playoffs would get a much needed boost if they could hit that 1/100 chance.

 

 

U.S. Announces 2018 Men’s National Roster

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USA Hockey announced their initial 2018 national roster for the upcoming 2018 IIHF Men’s World Championships on May 4-20 in Copenhagen and Herning, Denmark, headlined by Chicago Blackhawks star Patrick Kane.

Kane, who announced he’d play this summer after his Blackhawks season ended with no trip to the playoffs, represented the U.S. twice in both the 2010 and 2014 Olympic Games, leading the U.S. to a silver medal in 2010, was named the captain of this team back on April 9. He will be joined by four others with World Championship experience, including Detroit Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin, New York Islanders forward Anders Lee, Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Connor Murphy and the Calgary Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau.

The one interesting roster note is the addition of 18-year-old Quinn Hughes, who is considered to be a likely top-10 pick in the upcoming NHL draft. The full roster can be found below:

G Scott Darling
G Keith Kincaid
G Charlie Lindgren

D Will Butcher
D Quinn Hughes
D Nick Jensen
D Alec Martinez
D Connor Murphy
D Jordan Oesterle
D Neal Pionk

F Cam Atkinson
F Blake Coleman
F Alex DeBrincat
F Johnny Gaudreau
F Brian Gibbons
F Patrick Kane
F Chris Kreider
F Dylan Larkin
F Anders Lee
F Sonny Milano
F Derek Ryan
F Tage Thompson
F Colin White

 

New York Rangers Swap Brendan Smith, John Gilmour

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After clearing waivers, the New York Rangers have officially assigned Brendan Smith to the Hartford Wolf Pack of the AHL. Despite already recalling Neal Pionk yesterday to fill the roster spot, the team has also recalled defenseman John Gilmour. Though they don’t actually have Marc Staal listed on injured reserve as of this writing, that move is expected to create room for Gilmour, as he hasn’t played since February 3rd and is dealing with a neck injury.

Gilmour, 24, is a speed demon on defense that recently won the AHL All-Star Fastest Skater competition. He has 26 points in 44 games this season, his second year in the AHL after signing out of Providence College. Originally a Calgary Flames seventh-round draft pick, Gilmour completed all four years at Providence and then waited to reach free agency in the summer of 2016.

The Rangers told their fans yesterday that they’d be going after youth and speed, something that Gilmour certainly provides. While he is unproven at the NHL level, the team is looking to see what they have before making any further decisions in the offseason. Giving Gilmour and Pionk a chance down the stretch can’t hurt their development, and will give the Rangers an idea of where they stand going forward.

Brendan Smith, Marcus Kruger, Josh Jooris Clear Waivers

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Friday: All three players have cleared, and can now be assigned to their respective AHL affiliates.

Thursday: The New York Rangers are not having the season they expected. Today, according to Larry Brooks of the New York Post, they have placed Brendan Smith on waivers less than a year after re-signing the defenseman to a four-year $17.4MM contract. He’s joined by Marcus Kruger and Josh Jooris of the Carolina Hurricanes according to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic.

The Rangers recalled Neal Pionk earlier in the day and needed to make a corresponding move, but many expected it to be Marc Staal headed for injured reserve with his continued neck troubles. Instead, the team has decided to make Smith available to the rest of the league in an attempt to rid themselves of his contract. New York have allowed 35 goals in their last eight games and seen Henrik Lundqvist chased from the net three times, seemingly unable to complete simple defensive rotations at times. While Smith is still a capable NHL player, his extension is quickly looking like a mistake.

Kruger and Jooris are the first victims of a Carolina team that has said recently that they can’t keep running the same group out every night. Head coach Bill Peters and GM Ron Francis believe this team is good enough to compete right now, but still find themselves struggling near the bottom of the Metropolitan Division. Kruger, acquired in the offseason from the Vegas Golden Knights after he was part of the Chicago Blackhawks’ expansion package, comes with a $3.1MM cap hit for this year and next. Jooris is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent again this summer.

The Rangers and Hurricanes will both save the prorated version of $1.025MM in cap space by sending Smith and Kruger to the minors (along with the entirety of Jorris’ $775K hit) if they should clear, but this seems more about giving other players a chance. Both teams are fed up with how their seasons have gone, and are starting to bring in new blood to try and turn things around down the stretch. While the Rangers prepare to sell at the deadline, Carolina still seems undecided over which path they will follow.

Morning Notes: McDonagh, Ekman-Larsson, Kane

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The New York Rangers haven’t encountered this type of season often before, if ever. The team seems to be a bubble team with no true chance of making a deep playoff run or even winning a Stanley Cup. Yet, the team also finds itself with a handful of expiring contracts who could be utilized as key trade chips to refuel their retooling process.

New York Post’s Larry Brooks writes the Rangers need to think about dealing players like Rick Nash, Michael Grabner and Nick Holden and get what they can for them. The scribe believes that general manager Jeff Gorton will have one of the biggest challenges in front of him in a long time as he will have to make a decision on which direction the team should go. Could Nash bring back a first-rounder in next year’s draft and if they can, would it be worth his value anyway? What can they get for Grabner? Should the team go full in and start shopping captain Ryan McDonagh now?

The latter claim, Brooks writes, might make the most sense. The Rangers should be able to bring in a huge haul for McDonagh, who is still in his prime, is locked up until 2019 and is one of the top defensemen in the league. As there are quite a few playoff teams in need of defense, like the Toronto Maple Leafs, Edmonton Oilers and the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Rangers could truly change the way the franchise is heading at the trade deadline.

New York wouldn’t be better off without McDonagh, but with long-term deals already having been handed out to Kevin Shattenkirk, Marc Staal and Brendan Smith and the young talent the team has on defense in Brady Skjei, Neal Pionk and Anthony DeAngelo, the team should be able to survive without him if they can get a talented scorer in his place.

  • Hidden among yesterday’s stories was TSN’s Bob McKenzie refuting rumors that the Arizona Coyotes are thinking about dealing defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson to the Toronto Maple Leafs for William Nylander. McKenzie writes that as of Sunday, there had not been one conversation between the two teams about Ekman-Larsson. He also points out that since most teams do not view Nylander as a center, he wouldn’t bring enough of a return for Ekman-Larsson as just a sniper. However, from what McKenzie can see, the Coyotes are not willing to discuss moving Ekman-Larsson as of now. The Atheltic’s Sean Tierney tweeted today that with general manager John Chayka in charge, it’s hard to see the team trading Ekman-Larsson at all.
  • John Vogl of The Buffalo News writes that frustration is hitting in Buffalo as the 5-12-1 Sabres continue to struggle, yet one player is thriving in Evander Kane. Dating back to last year, the 26-year-old wing has scored 40 goals in his last 79 games. He also has 11 points in the last 11 games. Kane added his 12th goal of the season Monday in the team’s 3-2 loss to Columbus. The secret to his success? Shooting the puck. He leads the team with 96 shots on goal this year.

Training Camp Cuts: 09/28/17

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Just a few more days until the 2017-18 NHL regular season is underway, and teams are starting to make their final roster decisions. We saw tons of cuts yesterday, and today should be no different. We’ll keep track of all the day’s movement right here.

Anaheim Ducks

F Mitch Hults – San Diego (AHL)
D Brian Cooper – San Diego (AHL)
D Marcus Pettersson – San Diego (AHL)
D Andy Welinski – San Diego (AHL)
F Scott Sabourin – Waivers for purpose of assignment
F Corey Tropp – Waivers for purpose of assignment
F Sam Carrick – Waivers for purpose of assignment
F Mike Liambas – Waivers for purpose of assignment
D Steven Oleksy – Waivers for purpose of assignment

Buffalo Sabres

F Nicholas Baptiste – Rochester (AHL)
G Linus Ullmark – Rochester (AHL)

Carolina Hurricanes

F Nicolas Roy – Charlotte (AHL)
F Valentin Zykov – Charlotte (AHL)
F Aleksi Saarela – Charlotte (AHL)
F Jeremy Smith – Waivers for purpose of assignment
D Jake Chelios – Waivers for purpose of assignment
D Trevor Carrick – Waivers for purpose of assignment

Chicago Blackhawks

G Collin Delia – Rockford (AHL)

Edmonton Oilers

F Brad Malone – Waivers for purpose of assignment

Florida Panthers

G Harri Sateri – Waivers for purpose of assignment

Los Angeles Kings

F Michael Mersch – Ontario (AHL)
F Andrew Crescenzi – Ontario (AHL)

Montreal Canadiens

D Matt Taormina – Laval (AHL)
F Chris Terry – Waivers for purpose of assignment

New York Rangers

F Lias Andersson – Frolunda (SHL)
F Vinny Lettieri – Hartford (AHL)
F Boo Nieves – Hartford (AHL)
D Neal Pionk – Hartford (AHL)
D Ryan Graves – Hartford (AHL)
F Matt Puempel – Waivers for purpose of assignment
F Bobby Farnham – Released from PTO

Ottawa Senators

G Andrew Hammond – Waivers for purpose of assignment

Pittsburgh Penguins

F Tom Sestito – Waivers for purpose of assignment

St. Louis Blues

F Beau Bennett – Chicago (AHL)
D Petteri Lindbohm – Chicag0 (AHL)
D Chris Butler – San Antonio (AHL)

Washington Capitals

F Travis Boyd – Hershey (AHL)
D Tyler Lewington – Hershey (AHL)
D Jonas Siegenthaler – Hershey (AHL)
G Pheonix Copley – Hershey (AHL)

Winnipeg Jets

G Eric Comrie – Manitoba (AHL)

New York Rangers Sign NCAA Defenseman Neal Pionk

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After many teams tried to court University of Minnesota-Duluth defenseman Neal Pionk this spring, the young free agent has decided on the New York Rangers. The team did not reveal any details on the contract, but it will be a three-year entry-level deal and likely start next season. As recently as February up to twenty teams were after Pionk, including the Washington Capitals who even had him attend their development camp in 2015. The small-but-fiesty defenseman has a cannon of a shot and could legitimately make the jump to the NHL as soon as next season.

Unlike many college free agents, Pionk is only 21-years old and still has a lot of time to develop his game in the right system. New York seems a perfect fit for him, as they’ve had trouble on the right side for several years, and could use a powerplay option outside of Ryan McDonagh and Brady Skjei (both left-handed). In 42 games for UMD this season, Pionk scored 34 points and helped the Bulldogs reach the championship game against the University of Denver.

While the Rangers continue to play for the Stanley Cup, the team has already added Alexei Bereglazov from the KHL and signed Steven Kampfer to a contract extension, while adding Vinni Lettieri and now Pionk from the NCAA ranks. It’s been a busy spring for Jeff Gorton and Chris Drury, as they look to prepare their team for the future while battling for the present. Pionk and Bereglazov are of special interest, as their arrival in New York seems to give the team too many options on the blueline. Should they decide to move on from one or two of their veteran defenders, they would have a tough time moving the big contracts. Both Marc Staal and Dan Girardi have no-movement clauses and are still signed long-term, though interestingly Girardi’s clause drops to a 15-team no-trade list on July 1st.

In all, Pionk has entered a situation where he will not be relied upon as the savior or a building-block, but a complementary piece on a team that already has its sights set on the playoffs every year. Should he show the ability to transition well to the NHL game, he’ll be rewarded handsomely in the future with one of the richest teams in the league. The Rangers have been doing a great job in recruiting young players from the college and European ranks, making up for their lack of draft picks in recent years.

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet was first to report that Pionk had come to terms with the Rangers.

Neal Pionk And The College Standout Situation

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Minnesota-Duluth’s defenseman Neal Pionk has decided to leave his college and pursue a pro hockey contract, per Elliotte Friedman. Colleague Gavin Lee wrote a wonderful piece about the small but hard-nosed defenseman late in this February, which is definitely worth a re-read. The 5’11” defenseman was named USHL defenseman of the year in 2014-15, and potted 7 goals and 27 assists in 42 games to go with his +24 rating this past season. His teammate Alex Iafello signed with the Los Angeles Kings just earlier this afternoon.

Undrafted college talents are all the rage in the modern NHL, and with their relative success at the NHL level, it’s easy to see why. Anyone who watched Jake Guentzel’s hat trick last night may be interested to know that his linemate, Conor Sheary, went undrafted and nearly unsigned out of college. He never had spectacular numbers, and his small stature forced him to sign a PTO with a depleted Wilkes-Barre squad to even get a shot. He posted only 9 goals in 34 games for UMass-Amherst in his senior year before a solid showing of 11 points in 15 games in the Calder Cup Playoffs in 2013-14. Now, he’s playing with Sidney Crosby on the top line of a Cup contender, with a Stanley Cup ring on his mantle at home. It’s easy to see how prospects can get overlooked. Martin St. Louis is always cited as the go-to example for players with extreme success despite going undrafted. With his 1033 career points, lots of teams were certainly kicking themselves that they didn’t take a flyer on the winger. The likely future hall-of-famer gave defensive squads fits with his knack for staying on his feet and making plays. His creativity in playmaking made him an asset right up until the day he retired. So why did so many scouts miss out on him?

Scouting is an imperfect science, as any team official will tell you. At 17 years old, it can be near-impossible to project how mid-level talents will look in 3 years, let alone 7 or 8. For goalies and defensemen this problem is seemingly amplified. Goalies don’t normally hit their stride until their mid-to-late twenties. There are the obvious exceptions, such as John Gibson or Matt Murray, but years of minor league seasoning and perfecting technical aspects of their games can derail seemingly surefire careers. Malcolm Subban is such a case, where he has struggled mightily to convert his Junior dominance into even 20 wins at the AHL level. There is a reason that only two goalies have ever gone first overall – Rick DiPietro who is now out of the league and Marc-Andre Fleury who in hindsight was probably not worthy of the pick in a deep draft.

Defensemen have a particularly tough path in front of them, too. There is a need for physical maturation to make an impact in shutting down top NHL talent. Skating agility and speed need to be upped. The hits are harder, the forecheckers are faster, and players are far better at finding gaps in coverage. While a young forward can sometimes get by with fourth-line duty until the holes in his game are patched, defensemen can be exposed on any single play. The breakouts are more difficult, the pretty passes don’t work quite as well, and you have a second less to make that pivotal decision at the blue line to pinch or retreat. How every teenager deals with these challenges to mold their game varies wildly. The older the defenseman, the easier it is to tell how they are adapting.

So why not take a chance on a 21 or 22 year old defenseman who has shown flashes of brilliance? Late bloomers are in bloom this spring, and Pionk will certainly not be the only collegiate talent to catch the eye of teams looking to restock the cupboards.

College Notes: Vegas, Schuldt, Butcher, Flyers

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Although many have speculated that the Golden Knights would be highly active in the college free agent market, that isn’t going to be the case, GM George McPhee told ESPN’s Craig Custance (Insider required).  The team is focusing at this point on targeting players who they believe have NHL upside in the near-term instead of signing several to fill spots at the minor league level for next season.

Custance adds that one of the players that Vegas has interest in is defenseman Neal Pionk.  The Minnesota-Duluth sophomore is expected to have quite a few teams interested in his services should he decide to turn pro.  Although he’s undersized at just 5’11, he boasts a powerful shot that could make him a strong power play threat down the road.

Other news and notes from the NCAA:

  • While he was likely to draw NHL interest, St. Cloud defenseman Jimmy Schuldt has decided to not go pro and instead return for his junior NCAA season, reports Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News (Twitter link). This isn’t the first time the 21 year old has spurned overtures to sign with an NHL team as he was one of the more sought after blueliners on the market last season.  In 36 games with the Huskies this season, Schuldt had eight goals and 11 assists.
  • The Avalanche plan to offer a contract to defenseman Will Butcher in the coming days, reports BSNDenver’s Adrian Dater. Colorado drafted the 22 year old back in the fifth round (123rd overall) back in 2013.  If he doesn’t come to terms on a contract, he would be eligible for unrestricted free agency in mid-August.  This season with the University of Denver, Butcher has six goals and 29 assists in 39 games.
  • Flyers GM Ron Hextall landed one of the more notable college free agents last season in goaltender Alex Lyon and told CSN Philly’s Jordan Hall that he’s hopeful that they will be able to add someone in the coming weeks. However, he noted that Philadelphia’s depth of young prospects at all positions could ultimately work against them as players may opt to pursue a spot with an organization that doesn’t have as many youngsters to compete with for a spot.

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