Jacob De La Rose Placed On Waivers
The Montreal Canadiens knew they were heading towards a roster crunch, but weren’t able to trade away their problems in time. Today the team has placed Jacob de La Rose on waivers, and risk losing him to another organization. The 23-year old forward had been dealing with a minor health concern to start the year, but with his return to action along with the impending return of Nicolas Deslauriers, the team had to make a decision on who to send down. With only Jesperi Kotkaniemi still waiver-exempt among the forward group, de La Rose has drawn the short straw and will be available for claim. Stephen Gionta, the only player on waivers yesterday, has cleared for the New York Islanders.
There is certainly reason to believe that de La Rose will be claimed by someone around the league, given his relatively high draft pedigree and still youthful career. Selected 34th overall in 2013, there were plenty who believed the Swedish forward could develop into a solid two-way player capable of using his size and speed to create offense on a regular basis. That hasn’t happened at any level, with de La Rose recording his professional high of 31 points in a combined 71 games in 2016-17. He experienced a minor cardiac episode earlier this summer which has kept him out of the lineup, but it’s his on-ice performance that’s put him in a situation like this.
It’s hard not to like the package though, as de La Rose stands 6’3″ and can skate extremely well for his size. Any number of teams may believe that he represents an upgrade on their fourth line, and a worthwhile investment. There is of course the fact that he is signed to a two-year, one-way contract with a cap hit of $900K, something that teams may not want to take on with no guaranteed production. That might help the Canadiens slip him through waivers and allow them to send de La Rose to the minor leagues, at which point they would still owe him the full salary but his cap hit would be removed from their books.
Montreal Canadiens Making Depth Forwards Available
The Montreal Canadiens are coming up to a roster crunch given the face that Jacob de La Rose and Nicolas Deslauriers are both nearing a return from injury and during the TSN broadcast of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings game today, Bob McKenzie explained that GM Marc Bergevin is “open for business” when it comes to trading one of his depth forwards:
They’re getting into a bit of a crunch here where they’re going to have to move some bodies to the minors, and some of those guys require waivers. So I guess Bergevin is just testing the waters to see what interest there might be in some of his guys and could he get something instead of instead of losing someone potentially on waivers.
Even before de La Rose and Deslauriers come back the Canadiens find themselves with 14 forwards on the roster, and only star rookie Jesperi Kotkaniemi is waiver-exempt. Unless they decide to send Kotkaniemi away to continue his development somewhere else, the team is already sitting players like Tomas Plekanec on a nightly basis. That’s not ideal, but the team also doesn’t have a lot of leverage with other clubs knowing they’ll have to put someone on waivers eventually.
If the team can get something for one of their depth forwards, it likely won’t be a big return. de La Rose and Nikita Scherbak, who can’t seem to find a way into the lineup either, are both high draft picks that haven’t quite worked out to this point. Still, a 22-year old first round pick that has only played 29 NHL games and produced well at the minor leagues has to have a little bit of value, if the Canadiens decide that Scherbak is the easiest one to deal away. The decision still probably doesn’t have to be made for a few days, but expect some movement in Montreal in the near future.
Injury Notes: Weber, Deslauriers, Murray
The Montreal Canadiens are off to a better start than many expected in the 2018-19 season, taking the Toronto Maple Leafs to overtime before demolishing the Pittsburgh Penguins on the road. That success is coming thanks to a healthy Carey Price and young speedy lineup that is playing without any expectations. The group got some more good news today when captain Shea Weber took to the ice for a short session to test out his injured knee.
Despite all the negative things that came out of Montreal this summer, Weber remains a beacon of hope for many fans as he works his way back from injury. The newest captain is a rock on defense for the team and should improve any chances they have of battling for a playoff spot this season, or in the development of their younger defensemen. Head coach Claude Julien has already made his stance clear by scratching veteran options like Tomas Plekanec and Karl Alzner, but would obviously love to get Weber back into the lineup as soon as possible. There has been no update to his timetable, which had him scheduled to return at some point in December.
- One player closer to a return for the Canadiens though is Nicolas Deslauriers, who suffered a facial fracture in the preseason but was also on the ice today. Deslauriers is by no means the offensive engine of the Canadiens, but did fit in nicely with the group last season by providing a physical presence and chipping in 10 goals. The big, heavy winger is a good skater and will find his way back into the lineup before long, as long as he’s deemed healthy.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins will go with Casey DeSmith as their starting goaltender tonight, but there’s reason to believe that Matt Murray could be back sooner than expected. Murray suffered the third concussion of his young career recently, but was back on the ice today and took shots from teammates during an optional skate. Though Tristan Jarry will serve as the backup for tonight and likely split duties with DeSmith as long as Murray is out, that might only end up being a short stint.
Atlantic Notes: Daley, Larsson, Paquette, Canadiens
Detroit’s defense corps is already shaken up considerably and they’ll now be missing another regular. Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press notes that Trevor Daley is dealing with an upper-body injury and will not be available for tonight’s game in Anaheim; no further information about a potential return to action is available yet. He is the fourth regular out of their lineup, joining Mike Green, Jonathan Ericsson, and Niklas Kronwall and as a result, the Red Wings will be dressing four rookies on their back end as they wrap up their road trip. Detroit, although well into their LTIR allotment, still has enough cap space remaining to bring someone up if none of their players are close to returning.
More from the Atlantic:
- The Sabres will soon be facing a tough decision with center Johan Larsson soon, suggests Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald. While he didn’t suit up today against Vegas, he’s close to returning from the lower-body injury he sustained in the preseason. However, Buffalo has a full roster and while they have a pair of waiver-exempt forwards in Tage Thompson and Casey Mittelstadt, it wouldn’t make sense to send one of them down to make room for Larsson. Accordingly, they’re going to have to decide if there’s still a place for the 26-year-old on the roster or if they’re going to need to try to either trade or waive him in the coming days. Larsson carries a $1.475MM cap hit and will be a restricted free agent next summer.
- Tampa Bay center Cedric Paquette was only able to participate in part of practice today. He left Saturday’s game early after having his glove stepped on but head coach Jon Cooper indicated to reporters, including Bryan Burns of the Lightning’s team website (Twitter link), that his injury isn’t too serious. The team is off until Thursday so there’s a chance that the 25-year-old may be back in the lineup without even missing a game.
- Canadiens center Jacob de la Rose returned to practice today for the first time since suffering a cardiac episode following their final preseason game last month, notes Postmedia’s Pat Hickey. However, he has not yet received the green light from doctors to resume playing so he’ll remain on injured reserve for now. Meanwhile, winger Nicolas Deslauriers is also skating on his own and Hickey suggests that the veteran could return to the lineup next week. With 14 forwards already on the roster, it appears as if Montreal will soon be facing a roster crunch.
Nicolas Deslauriers Out Indefinitely With Facial Fracture
The bad news continues to come for the Montreal Canadiens, who today announced that physical forward Nicolas Deslauriers needed surgery to repair a facial fracture and is out indefinitely. The injury was the result of a fight with New Jersey Devils forward Brandon Braddock during a preseason game on Monday night.
Despite his offensive shortcomings, Deslauriers was a well-liked and effective forward for the Canadiens last season. Using his size and skating ability, the 27-year old pounded opposing defensemen to the tune of 238 hits in just 58 games, and even contributed 10 goals and 14 points. While he shouldn’t be expected to tally double digit goal totals every season, there is a real use for him in the bottom-six for Montreal this season given their questionable depth up front and likely reliance on young players.
Unfortunately, Deslauriers will now join the lengthy list of walking wounded for the Canadiens as the season approaches. It’s not clear if this injury will keep him from playing in any regular season games, though he may have to tone down the physical part of his game for at least a little while. The team is already without other physical players like Shea Weber and Andrew Shaw for the beginning of the season, but could get speedy forward Paul Byron back in time for the first game after a quick recovery this summer.
Salary Cap Deep Dive: Montreal Canadiens
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.
Montreal Canadiens
Current Cap Hit: $71,687,975 (under the $79.5MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
F Jesperi Kotkaniemi (three years, $925K)
F Nikita Scherbak (one year, $863K)
D Noah Juulsen (two years, $863K)
F Artturi Lehkonen (one year, $839K)
D Victor Mete (two years, $748K)
Potential Bonuses:
Kotkaniemi: $2.5MM
Juulsen: $425K
Mete: $183K
Scherbak: $175K
Total: $3.28MM
It’s too early to tell if the Canadiens intend to thrust Kotkaniemi onto an NHL roster. Most people feel that the third-overall pick from this year’s draft still needs another year to get bigger and develop his skills, but Montreal is desperate for help at the center position and could consider the 18-year-old to make the leap. Regardless, whether he comes to the NHL now of in the near future, the team does have a franchise center they can look forward to placing into the top-six soon.
Mete had a turbulent rookie season after surprising many by making the team out of training camp. The 20-year-old was brought in to complement Weber due to his speed and puckhandling skills, but he struggled at times and eventually was moved out of the top four and was almost sent back to juniors. In the end, the youngster played 49 games, but with a year of experience under his belt, he is expected to take on a top-four role this season. Juulsen is another solid prospect who should get some time, although more likely in a third-pairing situation.
Scherbak could be the most interesting player. The 22-year-old was a point-a-game player with the Laval Rocket in the AHL, but when recalled to Montreal, he was immediately injured and wasn’t able to capitalize on his opportunity. Scherbak didn’t get the minutes once he returned, scoring four goals in 26 games. However, he might get a chance to gain a regular role this year if he can make a strong impression in camp this year.
One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level
F Max Pacioretty ($4.5MM, UFA)
F Tomas Plekanec ($2.25MM, UFA)
F Joel Armia ($1.85MM, RFA)
F Paul Byron ($1.17MM, UFA)
D Jordie Benn ($1.1MM, UFA)
G Antti Niemi ($950K, UFA)
D Mike Reilly ($725K, RFA)
D Xavier Ouellet ($700K, RFA)
F Charles Hudon ($650K, UFA)
Much has been said about Pacioretty over the past few months and even in the past week, but as of now, it looks like the 29-year-old is going to end up back on the first line, barring a trade. The team captain is coming off a disappointing 17-goal season after five straight years of 30-goal campaigns (not including the strike-shortened season in 2012-13). The team will have to determine whether they believe last year’s season was a fluke or whether he’s beginning to decline. The team has already committed to several major contracts and adding another one could be detrimental to a team who should rebuild. If he can prove his value with a bounce back season, the team may look to lock him up.
The 35-year-old Plekanec returns after the team traded him away at the trade deadline. He lacks the offense from the old days, but Plekanec still provides an excellent presence as a bottom-six center who has the experience and solid face-off skills, although his six goals and 20 assists is a career low. Byron is coming off a pair of 20-goal seasons for the Canadiens, but is expected to miss part of the season after undergoing shoulder surgery in April. However, the 29-year-old has to prove that he can continue his goal-scoring ways.
The team hopes to get a boost from Armia, who came over when the Canadiens took on Steve Mason‘s contract from Winnipeg. The 25-year-old got a full season in with a loaded Jets roster and tallied 12 goals and 29 points. With a bigger role in Montreal, he could become a solid 20-goal scorer. The remainder of players will have to prove their value if they want to come back.
Two Years Remaining
F Max Domi ($3.15MM, RFA)
D David Schlemko ($2.1MM, UFA)
F Matthew Peca ($1.3MM, UFA)
F Nicolas Deslauriers ($950K, UFA)
F Jacob de La Rose ($900, UFA)
The Canadiens gave up a quality player in Alex Galchenyuk in order to acquire Domi. The highly-touted winger has struggled in the NHL over the past couple of years and it probably isn’t a good sign that the Arizona Coyotes gave up on the 23-year-old already, suggesting they didn’t feel that he was going to contribute to their team this year. After a impressive rookie season in which he scored 18 goals and 52 points, he has failed to break double-digits in goals in each of the past two seasons since then. Regardless, Montreal is ready to hand him top-six minutes to prove his value and show that he’s better than Arizona thought he was.
Schlemko provides the team with another depth defenseman, but likely isn’t going to play top-four minutes for the team, while the team has high hopes that Deslauriers can duplicate a 10-goal season on the team’s energy line.
Three Years Remaining
D Jeff Petry ($5.5MM, UFA)
F Brendan Gallagher ($3.75MM, UFA)
F Phillip Danault ($3.08MM, UFA)
G Charlie Lindgren ($750K, UFA)
While many players had down years, Gallagher was the bright spot for the Canadiens as the 26-year-old broke the 30-goal mark last season for the first time and has established himself as top right wing on the team. It was a big improvement from his injury-riddled 10-goal campaign the previous year. Suddenly, at $3.75MM over the next three years, his contract is likely the best value on the team. The team also gave Danault a solid three-year extension. The 25-year-old only had eight goals and 25 points, but would be a more ideal third-line center. Unfortunately, with a hole at the second-line center, Danault has been thrust into a role he wasn’t ready for. We’ll see if he can handle that same role this season.
The team is paying a lot of money for Petry, who is one of the team’s most experienced defenseman with the injury to Weber, and the veteran should be able to handle the No. 1 duties for the time being. The 30-year-old blueliner showed off some offensive skills last year, posting a career-high 12 goals and 42 points.
Four Or More Years Remaining
G Carey Price ($10.5MM through 2025-26)
D Shea Weber ($7.86MM through 2025-26)
F Jonathan Drouin ($5.5MM through 2022-23)
D Karl Alzner ($4.63MM through 2021-22)
F Andrew Shaw ($3.9MM through 2021-22)
The timing of Price’s poor season could have been better after the team extended the netminder last offseason. Now after a major drop off in performance after many felt he was the best goaltender in the world, the $10.5MM deal that kicks in this season, suddenly looks quite undesirable. After a season in which he posted a 2.23 GAA and a .923 save percentage in 62 games, Price struggled with injuries and struggled all year behind Montreal’s weakened blueline. He put up a 3.11 GAA and a .900 save percentage in 49 games. The question is which Price will come back this year? If he can bounce back and perform even close to his 2016-17 statistics, that contract wouldn’t look to be quite as bad.
Unfortunately, Weber’s contract is another story. The 33-year-old blueliner still has eight years left on his contract, only managed to play 26 games last season after he was forced to undergo surgery on a torn tendon in his foot and now is expected to miss a large chunk of the season with the possibility of returning in mid-December. While a dominant defenseman when healthy, one has to wonder whether a major foot injury may alter the impact that Weber makes for the rest of his career, considering his advancing age and the way that speed has taken the league over recently. Whether the team can keep him on the ice for another year or two, let alone eight, will be something to closely monitor.
The team has high expectations will be able to bounce back after his struggles to adapt to the center position. Drouin will continue to play there this season and with a full season of experience and a chance to train there in the preseason, Drouin should be much more comfortable, centering the team’s top line. The third-overall pick from the 2013 draft, Drouin has all the talent to make the adjustment and give the team a top-six center. However, his numbers took a hit with the change in positions as he managed just 13 goals and 46 points on the year. The team also has high expectations that Alzner, the team’s big free-agent signing a year ago, will bounce back as well. The veteran defenseman had trouble getting integrated with his new team as well as having to deal with the expectations that came with the contract he signed. However, with a year of experience, he should be able to settle into top-four role this season.
Buyouts
G Mason ($1.37MM through 2019-20)
Retained Salary Transactions
None
Still To Sign
None
Best Value: Gallagher
Worst Value: Weber
(Excluding entry-level contracts)
Looking Ahead
The team has all the contracts of a team trying to rebuild with youth. Unfortunately, it also has two contracts that are going to weigh down the franchise for eight more years, which is a long time, especially when some of the young players begin to develop and will need new contracts of their own. While the contract of Price might not seem as bad if the veteran goaltender can rebound, it’s likely that Weber’s deal will be a major albatross and it’s way too early to even consider trading that contract or buying it out. Regardless, the team needs to rebuild despite their strange salary cap situation. The addition of Kotkaniemi, regardless of when he arrives to the team, is a start to the rebuild, even if the team won’t acknowledge that’s what they’re doing.
Montreal Canadiens Sign Nicolas Deslauriers To Two-Year Extension
The Montreal Canadiens have apparently liked what they’ve seen from Nicolas Deslauriers this season, and have signed the forward to a two-year extension worth $950K per season. Deslauriers was set to become an unrestricted free agent in July, but will now stay with the Canadiens through the 2019-20 season.
Deslauriers, 26, was acquired from the Buffalo Sabres at the start of the season in exchange for Zach Redmond, and has made quite the impact in Montreal. The third-round pick has played a heavy game for the Canadiens, finishing his checks and providing a bit of secondary scoring. With seven goals through 36 games, Deslauriers has already set his career-high in goals and actually is tied with or has more than other more high profile players like Tomas Plekanec, Artturi Lehkonen and Phillip Danault.
Though he’ll never be expected to be a top line option, locking in a useful bottom-six forward for less than $1MM per season doesn’t pose much risk. Even if Deslauriers takes a step backwards, the Canadiens can easily bury his cap hit in the minor leagues. Though this won’t fix Montreal’s problems, it’s a nice reward for a player that has performed admirably even in a minor role.
Atlantic Notes: Hoffman, Deslauriers, Czarnik
At least five teams have shown interest in Senators winger Mike Hoffman, Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports. Interestingly enough, not all of them are teams that are expected to be buyers in the next couple of weeks either as the Sabres are among the group that also includes the Blues, Devils, Hurricanes, and Sharks.
Hoffman is having a quieter year offensively than he has had the last couple of seasons but he still sits second on Ottawa in scoring with 37 points (15-22-37) in 54 games. He also has two years left after this one on his contract with a cap hit just shy of $5.2MM so if the Senators do decide to move him, they’ll be justified in a high asking price. Garrioch notes that the team is torn on what to do as they know they can get a strong return in a trade but he has started to show some chemistry recently with Matt Duchene who has one more year left on his current deal.
More from around the Atlantic:
- There is mutual interest between the Canadiens and winger Nicolas Deslauriers regarding a contract extension, Renaud Lavoie and Louis Jean of TVA Sports report (link in French). Deslauriers started the season in the minors after clearing waivers back when he was with Buffalo but has been a regular since being recalled back in mid-November and already has set a career high in goals with seven. However, Montreal’s preference is to get an extension signed before the February 26th trade deadline; otherwise, they may look to trade him and then try to work out a contract in free agency.
- With Boston winger Noel Acciari returning to the lineup tonight, the Bruins announced that they have sent down winger Austin Czarnik to AHL Providence. The timing of this is significant as Czarnik is just one more NHL game away from being waiver-eligible. If he is someone that they intend to use as a trade chip before the deadline – something our Zach Leach suggested earlier in the week – he likely holds a little more value while he’s in the minors and waiver exempt where the potential acquiring team could then decide whether to call him up or keep him at the minor league level.