Central Notes: Landeskog, Rinne, Schmaltz
Colorado Avalanche forward Gabriel Landeskog has made quite a name for himself as he currently is tied for the NHL lead in goals scored with 11. That’s quite a feat for a player, who has averaged 20 goals a season for the past seven seasons, a number he could surpass before Thanksgiving. Regardless, Landeskog says most of his success comes from a combination of playing with the top line of Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen, as well as his growing skills and confidence on the ice, according to Sean Keeler of the Denver Post.
“It’s just a combination of luck and hard work and confidence, and being in the right place at the right time,” Landeskog said. “I think, right now, I don’t think there’s a reason maybe other than our line’s played really well and has been able to create some scoring chances. Together with those two guys, yeah, I’ve been able to put some in the back of the net.”
While Landeskog’s game could easily drop back to earth at any time, many feel that the 25-year-old, a former second-overall pick back in 2011, may just have finally found his game.
“I think he’s worked on (his shooting), he’s worked on his touch around the net,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “He’s getting into those areas more, and he’s coming up with rebounds and loose pucks. And part of that is his teammates being able to move the puck into those areas on a more consistent basis.”
- The Athletic’s Adam Vingan reports that one potential problem that could come with Pekka Rinne‘s new two-year extension that he signed earlier today would be that there could be some expansion ramifications for the Nashville Predators. The scribe notes that since Rinne will have the same no-movement clause in his next contract, the Predators could be forced to protect Rinne and have to expose Juuse Saros to the Seattle expansion franchise in a couple of years. However, Rinne could opt to waive the no-movement clause as well and allow himself to be taken by Seattle like Marc-Andre Fleury did in Pittsburgh. Regardless, it’s too early to speculate, especially since the Seattle team hasn’t been formally approved.
- After being scratched Thursday night, Chicago Blackhawks center Nick Schmaltz feels that he has learned his lesson after picking up just one assist in the last five games, according to the Chicago Sun-Times’ Mark Lazerus. “I don’t think I was playing as good as I can — especially in Vancouver, I didn’t think I had a very good game,” said Schmaltz. “Take it as a learning lesson and move on from it and make sure that I’m playing to stick in the lineup every night.”
Salary Cap Deep Dive: Chicago Blackhawks
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.
Chicago Blackhawks
Current Cap Hit: $74,008,045 (under the $79.5MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
F Nick Schmaltz (one year, $925K)
F Dylan Sikura (one year, $925K)
F Dominik Kahun (two years, $925K)
F David Kampf (one year, $925K)
F Victor Ejdsell (one year, $834K)
F Alex DeBrincat (two years, $778K)
Potential Bonuses:
Kahun: $2.85MM
Sikura: $925K
Schmaltz: $850K
DeBrincat: $133K
Total: $4,76MM
The team has a number of quality youngsters who will eventually cost them a good deal of money. However, the team has high expectations for Schmaltz, who had a breakout season and was one of the few bright spots in Chicago during a dismal season. Schmaltz, in his second year, scored 21 goals and added 52 points and is expected to be the team’s No. 2 center for a number of years in the future. The only key issue that Schmaltz continues to work on is his struggles in the face-off circle as he had just a 40.1 percent faceoff winning percentage last year, which is horrible.
The team’s other major bright spot was the play of DeBrincat. The 20-year-old made the team and then tallied 28 goals in his rookie campaign and looks to be another solid scorer for Chicago to work with in the top-six. The team hopes for a similar season from Sikura, who the team signed out of Northeastern University, where he posted 58 goals over four seasons there. The 23-year-old winger looks to have a solid chance of joining DeBrincat in the top six this season.
Two other interesting names, who could make an impact with the team are Ejdsell and Kahun. Ejdsell, who the team acquired in the Ryan Hartman trade at the deadline, has an opportunity to beat out Sikura for a top-six spot if he has a good training camp, while Kahun, signed to a two-year deal out of Germany, is another candidate to make the team and contribute immediately.
One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level
G Cam Ward ($3MM, UFA)
F Marcus Kruger ($2.78MM, UFA)
D Jan Rutta ($2.3MM, UFA)
F Chris Kunitz ($1MM, UFA)
F Jordan Schroeder ($650K, UFA)
F Tyler Sikura ($650K, UFA)
While the Blackhawks offseason was relatively quiet, the team did make a splash in the goaltending market after the team went for much of the season last year without their starting goaltender. Because of their lack of depth, the team added Ward to help fill the backup role, who could also take over starting duties if needed. The 35-year-old Ward played 43 games for Carolina a year ago and posted a .906 save percentage along with two shutouts. While those numbers aren’t great, they are better than the goalies they carried a season ago.
The team also brought in some grit, bringing back Kruger as well as signing 38-year-old Kunitz. Both should fill significant roles in the bottom-six and hopefully boost the production of those lines. Kruger struggled since leaving Chicago. He posted just one goal and five assists in 48 games last season and was demoted to the AHL for 19 games. However, in the offseason, Kruger admitted he played the entire season with a hernia, which is what affected his play. Now, fully healthy, Kruger might be able to bounce back. Both are solid one-year options.
The 28-year-old Rutta showed some solid signs of progress in his rookie campaign. He averaged 19:15 of ATOI, scoring six goals and 20 points, as well as having a (minus) one plus/minus ratio. Another season could boost his production as a top-four defenseman.
Two Years Remaining
G Corey Crawford ($6MM, UFA)
D Brandon Manning ($2.25MM, UFA)
D Erik Gustafsson ($1.2MM, UFA)
F John Hayden ($750K, RFA)
The Blackhawks success will likely fall on Crawford, who missed most of the season last year with concussion-like symptoms and the 33-year-old netminder has already indicated that he likely won’t be ready for training camp and could miss part of the season next year.
With those issues, there isn’t necessarily a guarantee that he will bounce back and put up similar numbers from his 2015-16 season when he put up a .919 save percentage in 55 games. His numbers were actually even better in the 2017-18 season before he was injured, posting a .929 save percentage to go with two shutouts in 28 games.
Chicago will rely on Gustafsson and Murphy to help man their defense. Both will need to improve quite a bit to improve their weakened defense. Gustafsson showed some promise after being recalled late in the season from Rockford of the AHL and he posted 16 points in 35 games. The defensive-minded Murphy, who came over in the Niklas Hjalmarsson trade was solid, if not unspectacular on defense. Both will be needed if the team wants to return to the playoffs next year.Read more
West Notes: Schmaltz, Peeters, Talbot
The five-year, $30.5MM contract that the Red Wings gave center Dylan Larkin last week could serve as a template for the Blackhawks when it comes to their dealings with fellow pivot Nick Schmaltz next summer, suggests Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago. Both players were picked in the middle of the first round back in 2014 and have put up comparable point production while largely playing a similar role. They also happen to be represented by the same agent in Kurt Overhardt.
Chicago has been fairly quiet this offseason even after unloading the remainder of Marian Hossa’s contract to Arizona. With Schmaltz and winger Alex DeBrincat both in need of new contracts following next season, it certainly seems like GM Stan Bowman is shying away from adding any more money to their books beyond then knowing that they will be adding a significant amount to their books in the not-too-distant future.
Elsewhere out West:
- Still with the Blackhawks, goaltending prospect Wouter Peeters will not be returning to USHL Youngstown next season, reports Scott Powers of The Athletic (subscription required). The 20-year-old made the trek to North America for 2017-18 after spending his post-draft year in Jokerit’s junior program. Powers notes that Peeters could still wind up with another USHL squad or head back overseas but that Chicago’s preference would likely be to keep him stateside where the player development staff can work with him more often.
- The Oilers face a bit of a conundrum regarding goalie Cam Talbot, notes NBC Sports’ Scott Billeck. The veteran is coming off of a substandard season and the team is certainly going to be counting on him to help get them back into contention. However, he’s entering the final year of his contract and a top-notch campaign could very well result in Talbot pricing himself out of what Edmonton can afford given all of the money on their books long-term. For now, they’ll certainly hope that he can get back to his 2016-17 form but they will have to get even more creative with their cap room if they want him to be their netminder for the long-term.
Central Notes: Tarasenko, Schmaltz, Keith
The St. Louis Blues have done everything they can to retool their team to not only get them back into the playoffs, but make a deep run of it. They went out and acquired Ryan O’Reilly, signed Tyler Bozak, David Perron and Patrick Maroon and have two top prospects on the brink of joining their team in Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou.
However while answering mailbag questions, The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford (subscription required) suggests that the biggest improvement to the team should come from within as he believes that Vladimir Tarasenko has just scratched the surface of what he’s capable of. The 26-year-old has posted goal totals of 37, 40, 39 and 33 goals over the past four seasons, but he is more than capable of becoming the superstar that many felt he could be when he was drafted in the first round in 2010. Rutherford even compared him to Brett Hull.
However, the scribe says he needs to fix a few things if he wants to take that next step, including playing more relaxed and not let everything around him frustrate him. He also feels that although he’s coming off shoulder surgery this offseason, he needs to get into the best shape of his life and be more engaged on the ice.
- Chicago Blackhawks’ Nick Schmaltz has come a long way since being viewed as a prospect two years ago. Now the team’s second-line center, who many view as the eventual successor to Jonathan Toews on the first line, Schmaltz feels he’s ready to take on a bigger role with the team, according to Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times. However, the first thing the 22-year-old must do is improve on his faceoffs. Schmaltz has struggled with faceoffs for two straight years, winning just 31 percent of his faceoffs in his rookie year, while improving to 40 percent this year (321 faceoffs won out of 801). Unfortunately, that number is still not good enough as the team hopes for closer to 50 percent. “I’ve got some stuff that I’m going to continue to work on, especially in the faceoff circle,” Schmaltz said. “If I can continue to get that up, that’ll only help our team game with the puck.”
- John Dietz of the Daily Herald interviewed Duncan Keith at the 11th annual Fan Convention on Friday and Keith, who scored just two goals on 187 shots, was quick to take the blame for the Chicago Blackhawks’ struggles last season that had them missing the playoffs for the first time in 10 years. The 35-year-old defender has averaged 25:13 of ATOI throughout his career, but saw those numbers decline to 23:50 last year and it might drop even further in the future. “I definitely take some of the blame from last year, knowing that there were certain things I could do better,” Keith said. “On the good things, I’ll continue to do that. Other things, I’ll try to work on and be better at.”
Chicago Pro Hockey League Is Launched
Since the success of Da Beauty League in Minnesota, a summer league featuring plenty of NHL talent during their offseason, other summer professional leagues have started to pop up. Today saw the launch of the Chicago Pro Hockey League (CPHL) which will take place in Chicago this summer and include more than 80 players from professional leagues across North America.
In their press release, the league states that Vinnie Hinostroza, Nick Schmaltz, Jordan Oesterle, Connor Carrick, Ryan Hartman, Tommy Wingels, Christian Fischer, Ryan Dzingel, T.J. Tynan, Robbie Russo, Alex Broadhurst, Garret Sparks, Christian Dvorak, Anders Bjork, Tommy Di Pauli and Louis Belpedio will all be a part of the inaugural season.
Leagues like this are often a good proving ground for junior or NCAA prospects, as well as a chance for fans to see their favorite players for a lower price. The season begins on July 11th, and tickets will cost just five dollars. Games will be held at the Chicago Blackhawks’ practice facility, and a portion of the proceeds are given to charity each week.
Chicago Blackhawks’ Improvement Coming From Within
2017-18 wasn’t a success for the Chicago Blackhawks. For a team that registered 109 points in the previous season, anything short of Stanley Cup contention would seem disappointing. Disappointment may have been the nicest way of expressing how fans felt after the season began and the team immediately, obviously, wasn’t the same beast that had finished first in the Western Conference in 2016-17.
Maybe that should have been expected after an offseason saw incredible turnover to the roster, with Artemi Panarin, Marian Hossa, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Trevor van Riemsdyk, Brian Campbell, Marcus Kruger, Scott Darling and several others fail to return for a variety of reasons. But, with familiar faces like Brandon Saad and Patrick Sharp back in town, there was hope that they could maintain their Stanley Cup window.
It wasn’t to be, as Chicago recorded just 76 points and failed to even be in the playoff race for much of the season. Saad failed to record 20 goals, Jonathan Toews registered the worst offensive season of his career, and Corey Crawford struggled through injury.
Disappointing, to say the least.
But, with all of those negatives sticking out there may be some who have overlooked the positives from this season’s edition of the Chicago Blackhawks. Alex DeBrincat burst onto the scene with 28 goals an 52 points as a rookie, just a year after he was cut from the US World Junior team. His knack for finding open ice didn’t disappear at the NHL level, and the 20-year old winger looks like he should have several 30-goal seasons in his career.
Jordan Oesterle went from NHL cast-off to 20-minute defenseman overnight, and looks like a legitimate top-4 player for the coming years. He’ll cost the Blackhawks just $650K next season, an incredible value for a player that they’ll rely on heavily.
That brings us to Nick Schmaltz, who proved he could be an offensive contributor in the NHL with 52 points, and is the key to much of the Blackhawks success going forward. Players like Schmaltz, who were selected relatively high by Chicago in recent years, must start paying off if they’re to get back to their championship level.
Toews, Kane, Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith aren’t getting any younger, and their contracts will continue to be tough to build around. There aren’t any free agent saviors coming to Chicago without further complicating their salary structure, perhaps to the point where it is untenable. No, the team must find success through internal development, and it looks like that is starting to happen.
The team traded Ryan Hartman, their top pick from 2013, for another first-round selection this season and prospect Victor Ejdsell. That likely won’t be happening with Schmaltz (the top selection from 2014) or DeBrincat (2016), or with Henri Jokiharju (2017) who could be a key to the whole thing. Jokiharju has developed wonderfully so far in the WHL, where he recorded 71 points in 63 games this year for the Portland Winterhawks and could be a real difference-maker on the NHL blue line in short order.
Chicago holds eight picks in this year’s draft, and they must use them to bring more talent into the system. The only way Toews, Kane and others get back to the level of success they’re used to, is if internal options take another step forward.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Chicago Blackhawks Focused On Keeping Young Talent
The Chicago Blackhawks have an interesting summer in front of them, as they try to turn around what was a disastrous season and compete again in 2018-19. The core of Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook and Corey Crawford will all be on the wrong side of 30 by the middle of November, making a rebuild out of the question.
Because of that group and how much cap space is needed to retain them, the Blackhawks have been forced to trade away young talent over the years. That’s not the plan anymore, as GM Stan Bowman explained to reporters today at an end-of-year press conference (via Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times):
Our No. 1 priority as we move forward is to make sure we can keep these young players: [Alex] DeBrincat, [Nick] Schmaltz and [Vinnie] Hinostroza and some other young players. That’s the direction we’re headed.
While it’s true that the Stanley Cup-winning core is heading out of their prime, the young blood that has joined the team is something to look forward to. DeBrincat led the team with 28 goals as a rookie and would be getting more attention for the Calder trophy in a regular year (that is, one without the outstanding crop of first-year players the league has seen) while Schmaltz slid into a role beside Kane and recorded 52 points.
Only Hinostroza, who played only 50 games and recorded 25 points, is scheduled to become a restricted free agent this summer. His deal shouldn’t be financially crippling, especially because of the room afforded by Marian Hossa‘s long-term injury. Bowman spoke on that as well, telling reporters that there is “no indication that he’s going to play next season.”
With the cap increasing by somewhere around $5MM, the Blackhawks should have a little money to play with in free agency if they so choose. As Lazerus reports though, Chicago won’t be handing out any long-term deals—meaning they’ll probably be out of the running on most of the top names. While that may be disappointing, the team has to still think of where their salary structure will sit in a few seasons when Schmaltz, DeBrincat and others do need raises.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Blackhawks Notes: Bowman, Crawford
FanRag’s Craig Morgan takes aim at Chicago Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman as the reason for Chicago’s dizzying descent this season. After a 6-1 loss to lowly Arizona last night, the Blackhawks are not only staring down their first playoff-less season since 2007-08, but a crack at their first losing season since 2006-07. Morgan writes that after six straight losses, the Hawks are 10 points behind Minnesota for the final wild card spot. While there are whispers that head coach Joel Quenneville is in trouble, it’s Bowman, Morgan believes, who should face the brunt of the firing squad.
There are rumors swirling that Quenneville’s job could be in jeopardy if the Hawks don’t snap out of this funk soon. The timeworn clichés of “he’s lost the team” and “he isn’t using players properly” are the dullest forms of the shallow analysis littering social media.
If you go one level deeper you’ll find the real problems.”
What isn’t a secret is that Chicago has struggled to replenish the pipeline with talent following drafts that haven’t produced the players necessary to keep the Hawks at a top level (Nick Schmaltz and Alex DeBrincat are exceptions to this). Some of this is due to picks being traded for Cup runs, which is understandable. But mining the later rounds for NHL talent to supplant what is lost at the pro level is the only way a team can stay afloat. Many players the Hawks were counting on, namely Ryan Hartman, have struggled after showing promise last season.
Worse for the Hawks, captain Jonathan Toews‘ struggles continue and the move to get Brandon Saad, who is also struggling, was supposed to help Toews. The mismanagement of personnel, Morgan writes, has seen a flux of talent leave via trade, which is on Bowman. Though he’s been deft in walking the tightrope that is the cap, it seems that the luck may be running out.
All that remains to be seen is who pays for those struggles once the season is over.
- NBC Sports’ Adam Gretz believes the Blackhawks have hit “rock bottom” as he reports that the 6-1 loss against Arizona may have buried a team so many thought were due to rebound. Gretz points to the goaltending conundrum, where the loss of Corey Crawford has certainly hurt the team between the pipes. Backup goalie Anton Forsberg was yanked after the third goal and Jeff Glass, despite his inspiring ascent to the NHL, hasn’t been the answer either. Even if Crawford would return, Gretz doesn’t see much of a chance for Chicago to make up the ground necessary to make the playoffs. The Sun-Times Mark Lazerus believes that even if he’s better, Crawford shouldn’t be rushed back in what he dubbed a “lost season.”
Central Notes: Blackhawks, Anderson, Dotchin
Always known for their offensive prowess on the ice, the Chicago Blackhawks have hit hard times. Sure, the team isn’t at the bottom when it comes to team scoring (13th overall), but the usual names aren’t showing up in the box scores, according to Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times.
Patrick Kane broke out of his slump on Wednesday with a pair of goals, but he had been fighting a one goal in 10-game slump. Jonathan Toews has two goals in the past 16 games, while Richard Panik hasn’t scored in 12 games. Nick Schmaltz has one goal in 17 games, while defenseman Duncan Keith hasn’t scored yet this season. Throw in Brandon Saad and Nick Schmaltz, who each have one goal in the last 15 and 17 games, respectively.
“It never gets easy,” said Patrick Sharp, who hasn’t scored in the last 15 games. “You think about it all the time. You feel that pressure in tight games, and in losses, definitely. You leave the rink thinking that you could have helped the team in some way.”
Lazerus writes that despite their offensive struggles, the team has been winning, going 3-1-1 in their past five games, which takes a lot of the pressure off the players. With Kane’s two-goal game, many players hope that signifies that the end of some of these slumps may be forthcoming.
- James Gordon of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that while many people are blaming the Ottawa Senators for the team’s struggles this year, that’s not where the blame should be pointed. The scribe instead looks at the team’s goaltending, particularly the play of veteran Craig Anderson, who last year put up an impressive season in which he had a 2.28 GAA and a .926 save percentage to lead the team into a deep playoff run. Fast forward to this year and the 36-year-old goaltender has a 2.94 GAA and a .896 save percentage. Backup Mike Condon isn’t faring any better and his analysis suggests that both goalies are just making inexcusable mistakes.
- Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Jake Dotchin (undisclosed injury) has been placed on injured reserve, according to Tampa Bay Times’ Joe Smith. Smith also says that Dotchin will be eligible to return on Tuesday and might return by then, but he will sit out two games before he is eligible to return. Cory Conacher will take his place on the roster.
Snapshots: Turris, Senators, Schmaltz, Cole
During his weekly Saturday Headlines segment (video link), Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman provided an update on the Kyle Turris contract situation in Ottawa on the heels of a report earlier in the week that suggested a trade could be a possibility. Friedman reports that Turris and the Senators are very close in terms of the dollar value per season on an extension (believed to be somewhere around $6MM per season) but they are not particularly close on the term of a new deal. He suggested that at one point in the preseason, there were teams that thought a trade might happen but now that the regular season is underway, Ottawa isn’t particularly anxious to deal him for the time being.
Elsewhere around the league:
- Still with the Senators, they are considering recalling a pair of defensemen from their AHL affiliate in Belleville, reports TSN’s Brent Wallace (Twitter link). On top of missing Erik Karlsson who has yet to play this year, they remain without Johnny Oduya who suffered a lower-body injury in the opener while his replacement, Ben Harpur, is dealing with an upper-body issue sustained against Detroit on Saturday. Ottawa is set to head out for a three-game Western road trip this week.
- After suffering an upper-body injury in Saturday’s win over the Blue Jackets, Blackhawks winger Nick Schmaltz will miss at least the next two games as the team announced (via Twitter) that he will not join the team on their two-game Canadian road trip. The sophomore is off to a strong start this season with two goals and an assist through Chicago’s first two games of the season.
- Penguins defenseman Ian Cole is out indefinitely after taking a Roman Josi shot to the mouth in last night’s game versus Nashville, notes Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Cole lost several teeth on the play as well as suffering a jaw injury. While he’s out, Chad Ruhwedel will likely draw into the lineup after being a healthy scratch for the first three games of the season.