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Pacific Notes: Edler, Burns, Grabner, Veronneau, Hathaway

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A week ago, longtime Vancouver Canucks defenseman Alexander Edler refused to waive his no-trade clause and accommodate a team that was considering moving their veteran defenseman. Edler, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, has made it clear that he wants to remain in Vancouver for the rest of his career. The 32-year-old will be tested as the team will likely expect Edler to take less money after signing a six-year, $30MM contract ($5MM AAV) in 2013, according to Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre.

“I’ve been fortunate to have very good contracts with money,” he said. “But there are other things, too. It’s different when you have a family. There are a lot of factors you have to take into consideration. Those things are important.”

With plenty of cap room and the need for a solid veteran defensemen who could continue aiding the play of young future defenseman like Quinn Hughes and Olli Juolevi, the Canucks might want to bring him back too, but with an upcoming expansion draft, the team doesn’t want to be placed in a situation where they will have to protect Edler and lose a more talented young player, which likely could be the key to negotiations.

  • Despite rumors that he might miss a game, the Mercury News’ Paul Gackle reports that San Jose Sharks defenseman Brent Burns will play Sunday against Chicago. Burns was rumored to be questionable as he had been suffering from the flu and missed a practice. That means that he won’t jeopardize his iron man status of 454 straight games played.
  • The Athletic’s Craig Morgan (subscription required) writes that the Arizona Coyotes may get another player back soon as winger Michael Grabner could be back within the week. Grabner hasn’t played in a game since suffering a serious eye injury on Dec. 1. He has been fitted with a new contact lens, which is helping him eliminate his remaining vision issues, although the scribe adds that his return date could still be altered.
  • Mark Divver of the Providence Journal writes that the Los Angeles Kings are considered the frontrunners to sign Princeton University forward Max Veronneau, who will be an unrestricted free agent once his college team is done playing next weekend. Veronneau, a four-year player, has 13 goals and 36 points this season and has tallied 52 goals in his four-year career. Los Angeles has a history of dipping into the college free agent market, grabbing defenseman Daniel Brickley and forward Sheldon Rempal last year, while signing goaltender Calvin Petersen two seasons ago.
  • The Athletic’s Michael Russ reports that Calgary Flames forward Garnet Hathaway will not receive any supplementary discipline from the Department of Player Safety for driving Minnesota Wild’s Luke Kunin into the boards Saturday in the second period. Hathaway was given a match penalty and a game misconduct, but the league obviously didn’t feel the hit was intentional.

Western Notes: Canucks Defense, Fabbri, Benn, Parise

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With the playoffs being a longshot for the Vancouver Canucks, the team needs to start focusing on next year, especially with their defense. General manager Jim Benning recently said that the blueline needs work and the team could find themselves being active participants in free agency this summer.

“We’re going to look this summer to try and change things up in the back end. There’s work to be done on defence,” he told reporters.

The Vancouver Sun’s Patrick Johnston writes that the team will likely make a play for San Jose’s Erik Karlsson, Toronto’s Jake Gardiner and Winnipeg’s Tyler Myers or even try and deal for Jacob Trouba. All are possibilities, although many of them are likely to be longshots. In fact, there may not be many big-name defensive free agents that Vancouver can add.

However, while the team feels good about bringing Quinn Hughes on board later this year, possibly in the next few weeks, and have him take over a spot on the team’s top-four immediately, the Canucks have quite a few decisions of their own roster to make, including the status of defenseman Alexander Edler, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, but has indicated a willingness to return to the team even though a they haven’t managed to work out an extension yet. The team will also have to give a significant pay raise to defenseman Ben Hutton who has had a solid season in Vancouver this year.

The Canucks are expected to give a long look to blueliner Ashton Sautner, and still have high expectations for Olli Juolevi, who is out for the season with a knee injury. Regardless, the team will need to do something to improve the teams defense next season.

  • It hasn’t exactly been the year that St. Louis Blues forward Robby Fabbri would have hoped for, but the oft-injured winger feels that his play is starting to turn the corner for the Blues, according to Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Fabbri has appeared in just 29 games this season with just five points, but with injuries to Brayden Schenn and David Perron, Fabbri has been receiving those extra minutes as well as some time on the power play, showing some signs that interim head coach Craig Berube is starting to show some confidence in the 23-year-old forward, who has lost almost two seasons to serious knee injuries. “I’ve been feeling good, and I’ve been feeling good for a while,” Fabbri said. “But there’s nothing like playing games. There’s a lot of things during the game that you can only practice in-game. It’s nice that I’m getting that opportunity right now.” Coincidentally, Fabbri has been made a healthy scratch for Saturday’s game, replaced by Sammy Blais, according to NHL.com’s Lou Korac.
  • The Dallas Stars get a big boost on their offensive end as veteran forward Jamie Benn is expected back to their lineup Saturday against St. Louis, according to NHL.com’s Mark Stepneski. Benn was forced to leave their Feb. 24th game against the Chicago Blackhawks after suffering an upper-body injury early in the game and subsequently missed the next two games. “I’m good. Ready to go,” Benn said. “100 percent.” The team could use an offensive boost even though Benn hasn’t had his usual type of season with just 21 goals and just 20 assists in 61 games this season.
  • The Minnesota Wild will be without veteran forward Zach Parise, who will miss Saturday’s game in Calgary and is questionable for Sunday’s game against Nashville with a foot injury, according to The Athletic’s Michael Russo. The 34-year-old Parise is having a impressive season with 24 goals and 54 points and has been hot lately with a goal and four assists in his last five games.

Jim Benning Discusses The Future Of Vancouver’s Blue Line

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Vancouver Canucks GM Jim Benning was an open book during an interview on TSN 1040 radio in Vancouver today, going into great detail on the current state of his team and their outlook moving forward. Per Benning, the Canucks are currently negotiating with their “best defender”, Alex Edler, but have high hopes for their top prospects and AHL standouts on the blue line. Yet, he also stated that an offensive defenseman was one of the team’s biggest needs and said that he will explore “hockey trades” as the trade deadline approaches.

As for Edler, the 32-year-old has been very forthcoming about his desire to remain in Vancouver. An impending free agent, Edler has been a solid two-way contributor over his entire 13-year NHL career and would surely have suitors on the open market, but enjoys playing for the Canucks and wishes to stick with the promising young team. For his part, Benning said that Edler is an invaluable member of the team and they are hopeful that a new contract can be worked out. Benning stated that the team will not use the February 25th deadline as a deadline of their own for extending Edler and will continue negotiating with he and agent Mark Stowe for as long as possible. Answering a direct question, Benning added that he does not see the possibility of trading away and then re-signing Edler as feasible. With that said, Benning never ruled out trading Edler entirely, but did vouch for the veteran defenseman several times. “He’s our best defenseman, he’s a leader in our room, he’s a mentor… He’s a guy that sets the culture for our young players”, Benning stated, adding “if we can get something figured out with him, I’d like to try to (re-sign him)”. With mutual interest on both sides, the only thing stopping a new deal appears to be the price – Edler currently comes in at $5MM AAV – and term for the aging blue liner.

Should Edler walk, Benning still seems confident in the team’s defensive corps moving forward. In regards to top prospect Quinn Hughes, Benning stopped short of confirming that he would leave the University of Michigan after the collegiate season, but did say that they hoped to sign him and get him some pro experience down the stretch before his probable rookie season next year. Benning knows that the jump from the NCAA to the NHL is “a big step”, but believes in Hughes’ ability and is excited to see what he can do at the next level. In response to a question, Benning stated that the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft is not a concern when determining when to bring Hughes in, as he feels the team should not have coverage problems among their defenseman. Getting last year’s No. 7 overall pick into the lineup as soon as possible appears to be a priority for the Canucks.

Elsewhere in the organization, Benning also spoke highly of currently-injured recent top pick Olli Juolevi, who he still expects to be an impact pro despite recent struggles. He also spoke highly of AHLers Ashton Sautner, Jalen Chatfield, and Guillaume Brisebois and mentioned that the trio – along with forward Zack MacEwen – are candidates to receive a call-up during the stretch run. However, Benning spoke with the most excitement about 2018 second-rounder Jett Woo, who is currently second in the WHL in goals among defenseman. Benning believes that Woo, and the rest of these prospects, have the Canucks primed for a bright future on the back end.

Yet, Benning also stated that an offensive defenseman remains one of the team’s top needs, even with Hughes, Juolevi, and Woo on the horizon. However, don’t expect him to trade any of the trio away to meet that need. Benning stated that he is not willing to trade any of this year’s picks – after all, the draft will be held in Vancouver – nor any of his “blue chip prospects” this season. He is willing to make “hockey trades” to meet his needs on defense, as well as at forward, if the right deal presents itself. Forward Nikolay Goldobin, who has been rumored to be on the outs in Vancouver, was described as being in a “make or break” period and could be a prime candidate to be traded away. Benning expressed that anyone on the NHL or AHL roster could technically be traded if the right swap presented itself, although his young core is likely off the table. Benning described an active trade market it currently, so don’t be surprised to see the Canucks swing a deal this month.

With that said, Benning said that his preference is to draft and develop rather than use trades and free agency to meet his needs. Just as he spoke highly of his current stock of prospects, Benning is looking forward to a “deep” draft class this year. He believes that the top six or seven picks this season could be NHL contributors right away and the next ten or so picks, currently the range in which Vancouver would be expected to pick, will be “very good” prospects. Benning displayed hope and optimism about his team in this interview, but his trust in the pipeline and his belief in this draft class makes it seem like the Canucks could be more seller, with an eye on future assets, than buyer at the deadline.

What Your Team Is Thankful For: Vancouver Canucks

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With the holiday season now here, PHR continues its look at what teams are thankful for as the season heads towards the midway mark. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. Let’s take a look at what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Vancouver Canucks.  Click here for the other articles in this series. 

What are the Canucks most thankful for?

Many people had the Vancouver Canucks listed to be among the two worst teams in the NHL this season after an offseason that saw stars Henrik Sedin and Daniel Sedin both retire, leaving the team with a nucleus of young players. While some of those players like Bo Horvat and Brock Boeser were expected to lead a new wave of talent, few expected Vancouver to be a competitive team this season as many felt the franchise had a chance to compete for the No. 1 overall pick this season.

Halfway through the season and Vancouver is far from one of the worst teams in the league. In fact, the Canucks are actually one point away from a wild card spot as the team carries a 19-18-4 record for 42 points, just a point behind the Dallas Stars. While it’s a long season and much can change, the Canucks have shown the ability to play well as a young group with a sprinkling of veterans throughout their lineup.

Who are the Canucks most thankful for?

While Boeser looked like the star of the future and continues to put up solid numbers, the team got the star power they needed, much quicker than they expected as Elias Pettersson has dominated in his rookie campaign and looks like an obvious choice as a Calder Trophy candidate, barring injury of course. The 20-year-old had an impressive season in the SHL last season, breaking numerous records and while the team had planned to ease the rookie into their lineup, Pettersson has had other plans. He has 19 goals and 39 points in 35 games, good enough for a point per game production and looks to be the face of this franchise for many years.

What would the Canucks be even more thankful for?

While the team has had quite a bit of success from a number of young players, including Nikolay Goldobin, Jake Virtanen and recent addition Josh Leivo, several of their veteran players have been hampered by injuries and have seen little action this season, including Sven Baertschi, Jay Beagle and Brandon Sutter. Baertschi finally returned to the lineup Saturday after being out since Oct. 24 with a concussion. Beagle missed almost two months of the beginning of the season and is only now earning solid minutes after the team handed out a four-year, $12MM deal to him this summer. Sutter has yet to return to the team after suffering an upper-body injury in October. Combined the three players have played a total of 41 games combined. If the team can get some consistency from those veterans, that should only help the team fight for a potential playoff spot.

What should be on the Canucks’ Holiday Wish List?

The team needs defense and are salivating while watching the World Junior Championships as defenseman Quinn Hughes, the team’s first-round pick (sixth-overall) in the 2018 draft has dominated and looks to be ready to join the Canucks immediately after his season at the University of Michigan ends. Scouts say that Hughes should make an immediate impact once he arrives and with the struggles of former top defensive prospect Olli Juolevi up in the air (he’s out for the season after undergoing knee surgery), Hughes should be able to walk in and take over quarterbacking the power play and providing some offense from the blueline, something that Vancouver has struggled to do the last couple of years.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Vancouver Extends AHL Deal With Utica Comets

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The Vancouver Canucks have announced that they have agreed to an extension to keep the AHL’s Utica Comets as their primary minor-league affiliate for up to an additional six years. Ben Birnell of the Observer Dispatch adds that there is an option after two years. Jim Benning, General Manager of Canucks Sports and Entertainment, stated:

We are very pleased to continue our partnership with Utica. The Comets share our organization’s level of commitment and philosophy in player development, providing a strong environment for growth. We believe the culture in Utica, combined with the great fan support and atmosphere at games, will continue to be beneficial for the players in our system.”

The deal also means a more local affiliate will have to wait. There was hope in Vancouver that the organization might consider moving the team to Abbotsford, British Columbia, which would give them a much more nearby presence as opposed to having the team in Utica, New York, on the other side of the continent. Abbotsford has an empty arena and was a former affiliate for the Calgary Flames years ago before Calgary moved their affiliate to Stockton, California. However, the Canucks opted instead to stick with the current situation.

The Comets have been Vancouver’s AHL affiliate since the 2013-14 season when the team purchased the Peoria Rivermen and moved them to Utica. The two franchises have worked well together as they reached the Calder Cup finals in the 2014-15 season, and more importantly the team has been a financial success as they hold the AHL sellout streak record of 148 regular season and playoff games, which started on April 10, 2015. The Comets are a key piece to the Canucks franchise as Vancouver is loaded with solid prospects, including forwards Adam Gaudette, Jonathan Dahlen, Kole Lind, defenseman Olli Juolevi and goaltender Thatcher Demko.

 

Canucks’ Olli Juolevi Out For Season Following Knee Surgery

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Olli Juolevi continues to defy expectations, but not in a good way. The Vancouver Canucks’ first-round pick in 2016, No. 5 overall, was unable to win a roster spot with the team last season and was loaned back to his native Finland. So far this year, Juolevi had played exclusively with their AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets. Last month, the young defenseman suffered a knee injury, but was only expected to miss a couple of weeks. Juolevi even returned to practice with the Comets last week. Yet, the Canucks announced this evening that Juolevi underwent surgery on his knee today and will miss the remainder of the season.

Whether Juolevi’s knee injury was more severe than originally indicated or whether the team was simply playing it safe, the fact of the matter is that the recent top-five pick will go yet another season without making his NHL debut and could wait even longer. Vancouver does expect that he will make a full recovery by training camp, but in no way is he guaranteed a roster spot and will most likely have to prove that he is game-ready by beginning another season in the minors. The team press release stated that the Canucks’ medical staff felt that “surgery was… the best option for Juolevi’s long-term health and career”, but the decision also must have weighed whether or not the team felt they would need him this season or early next season, with the answer apparently being no.

If there was any question as to whether University of Michigan defenseman Quinn Hughes had bypassed Juolevi as Vancouver’s top defensive prospect, that debate is now over. Hughes, the seventh overall pick in June, is expected to step into a starting role with Canucks next season, if not sooner. Meanwhile, Juolevi’s future is a question mark, with his development now marred by injury in addition to underwhelming performance.

Pacific Notes: Pavelski, Schmidt, Carlyle, Juolevi

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Joe Pavelski has seen a number of teammates play through their expiring contracts and not let it affect them. Joe Thornton has done it twice in the last two seasons, while Patrick Marleau did it recently as well, although he opted to find a new home.

Now the San Jose Sharks’ center is in the exact same situation, explains Kevin Kurz of The Athletic (subscription required). The 34-year-old Pavelski is in the final year of a five-year, $30MM contract and so far, there have been no talks of an extension with the long-time Sharks’ veteran. Just like Thornton and Marleau at the time, the lack of a deal isn’t affecting Pavelski’s play as he’s put up 11 goals so far this season, which is already half way to the 22 goals he scored last year.

“(Thornton and Marleau) handled it different times throughout their careers, and they’ve handled it well,’ Pavelski said earlier this week. “Obviously, you probably understand some of the things that they’ve gone through in the past a little bit better. But they’ve never taken away from the group. It’s never been a distraction. You just respect them as people for how they want to contribute to the group.”

  • The Vegas Golden Knights should get a defensive boost Sunday night when No. 1 defenseman Nate Schmidt returns to the team after sitting out with a 20-game suspension. However, Adam Hill of The Las Vegas Review-Journal writes that the return of Schmidt won’t be some magic elixir, however, for a struggling Vegas team that sits at 8-11-1 this season. However, Schmidt should help the team out in two key areas, offense and defense. “He’s one of our best players so he’s going to make a difference all over the ice — I hope,” head coach Gerard Gallant said. “Always a solid guy, moves the puck, skates well. You know what kind of player he is and he’s a big part of our group, so hopefully he’s going to make a big difference.”
  • With an 8-9-4 record, many people wouldn’t be surprised if the Anaheim Ducks chose to make a coaching change and move on from head coach Randy Carlyle. However, while that thought is apparent in the Ducks’ locker room, Carlyle isn’t worrying about his job. “We’re at the 20-game mark and we said that you do an evaluation of where you’re at with our group. We’ve been inconsistent and nobody’s going to be here waving the banners but we have some positives within that group too,” Carlyle said. “We have some players that have never played before now (and) have some NHL games and NHL experience. We’re not that far away from the pack. We’re still hanging around. The key is now is to stay with the pack until we can get our group playing at a higher level and having some personnel back that we can grow our group as a team. We haven’t created an identity for our hockey club yet, and that’s been the most frustrating part for us.”
  • Mike Halford of The Athletic (subscription required) looks at the play of defenseman Olli Juolevi, who has been putting up quite a few points in his first season with the Utica Comets of the AHL, and wonders when the Canucks may be ready to bring the prospect up to the NHL squad. So far, Juolevi has 13 points in 16 games and the Canucks, who lack any offensive weapons on defense, could really use one for a team that has fared quite well so far this season with a 10-9-2 record so far. However, defense is also an issue as the 20-year-old sports a minus-11. Utica assistant coach Gary Agnew admits that he needs time to develop his game still. “Certainly he’s not fully responsible for all those minuses, Agnew said. “But when there’s a little bit of a trend, there’s a trend. Obviously it’s a part of the game that we’re working hard with him at, and he’s very receptive to coaching. He’s eager to learn and he wants to be better. He’s doing all the things that you hope a high prospect does, in terms of his coachability.”

Is Vancouver Looking To Make A Big Splash?

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It is no secret that the Vancouver Canucks do not operate like a typical rebuilding team. Make no mistake, the team has accrued plenty of talented young building blocks over the past few years: Bo Horvat, Brock Boeser, Elias Pettersson, Jonathan Dahlen, Adam Gaudette, Quinn Hughes, Olli Juolevi, Thatcher Demko, Michael DiPietro and the list goes on. However, the team has also gone about business as usual, signing free agents and at times even overpaying to add veterans to the roster. Over the past two off-seasons, Vancouver has taken roster spots away from younger players in order to sign the likes of Erik Gudbranson, Sam Gagner, Michael Del Zotto, Anders Nilsson, Thomas Vanek, Darren Archibald, Jay Beagle, Antoine Roussel, Tim Schaller and more. The moves have put the team no closer to being a contender. The Canucks have not advanced past the first round of the playoffs since their 2011 Stanley Cup Final appearance and have failed to reach the postseason altogether in each of the past three years. It seems unlikely that the trend will change any time soon, either.

The Province’s Ed Willes is worried that things might get even worse. Willes claims that recently departed team president Trevor Linden ” lost his job because he favored a patient, methodical approach to the team’s rebuild”. With Linden gone, the team has been even more aggressive than usual this summer in targeting older players. Vancouver made an offer to John Tavares that was rejected and more recently has been linked to Erik Karlsson. While he isn’t convinced the team has the means to acquire Karlsson, the fear is that some player will come along on the trade market that they can afford and will deplete their promising prospect ranks to acquire. Willes firmly believes that Benning and the Canucks are in the hunt for a cornerstone player, no matter the cost.

Just as it has in recent years, even adding an elite veteran player is unlikely to get the Canucks to where they want to be. As it is currently composed, the team lacks the supporting cast to be a true contender. The greatest strength of the organization is the youth waiting in the wings, with at least two goaltenders, four defensemen, and eight forwards under the age of 25 that are all almost universally expected to be NHL regulars for a long time to come. Yet, the cost of adding a marquee player would be a package of those exact players or upcoming (early) draft picks. The patient approach that Linden fought for could transform the Canucks into one of the league’s top teams in five years time. An impatient acquisition could cost them what progress they have made and, in Willes’ opinion, cost them fans as well. So perhaps the question is not “is Vancouver looking to make a big splash?”, but “should Vancouver be looking to make a big splash?” and the answer seems to be a convincing no.

Pacific Notes: Treliving, Pavelski, Bear, Sautner

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The Calgary Flames seem to gamble on their success every season lately when it comes to their offseason moves. This year, attempting to address their second-half collapse, general manager Brad Treliving made several key moves to revitalize the franchise, including trading away defenseman Dougie Hamilton, Micheal  Ferland and collegeiate defenseman Adam Fox for youngsters Noah Hanifin and Elias Lindholm. The team also went out and signed a 30-year-old James Neal to a five-year, $28.75MM deal as well as signing veteran bottom-six center to three-year, $9.38MM contract. Many of those moves will turn out to be quite a gamble.

The Athletic’s Kent Wilson (subscription required) wonders whether this might be the last year for Treliving if the team doesn’t show immediate improvement and return to respectability. Several of his gambles from previous seasons have failed, most especially last year’s trade for Travis Hamonic for a slew of draft picks. While the trade made sense at the time, the deal looks worse and worse as time passes.

Treliving also has used his draft assets to add players over the last two years as he has had just one pick in the top 105 over those two seasons to acquire players like Hamonic, Curtis Lazar, Michael Stone and veteran goaltender Mike Smith, most of which have made few contributions so far to the team. Throw in the team’s lack of uncertainty in net in the future and one has to wonder whether Treliving will survive the next season if the team doesn’t make immediate improvements.

  • The San Jose Sharks have done an impressive job of combining veteran talent with an infusion of youth over the years and none more than last year when several of their young players really stepped up, including Tomas Hertl, Chris Tierney, Timo Meier, Joonas Donskoi and Kevin Labanc. Even on defense, their youth took another step. However, how long can the veterans hold out? The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz (subscription required) wonders how much Joe Pavelski has left in the tank and how much the team depends on him? Despite missing just one game in the last five season, the 34-year-old veteran’s production dropped to just 22 goals last year, his worst season since the strike-shortened 2012-13 season. One of the reasons for his decline was that he was banged up early in the season with a wrist injury, a broken finger and some lower-body injuries. Although Pavelski’s days of scoring 40 goals is likely over, the team hopes they can count on Pavelski’s experience and skills to help lead the team on the top-six as there is no doubt the veteran will get the lion’s share of minutes on the team again this year.
  • The Athletic’s Allan Mitchell (subscription required) looks at the play of Edmonton Oilers defenseman Ethan Bear, who has been one of Edmonton’s top propsects. The 21-year-old played most of the season with the Bakersfield Condors of the AHL, but finally broke into the NHL in March, playing in 18 total games. However, Mitchell writes that while Bear showed some offensive prowess, he struggled in coverage and gap control and likely needs more time in the AHL to be successful. With the injury to Andrej Sekera, Bear could get another chance to make the Oilers out of training camp.
  • With few changes in their defensive personnel, the Vancouver Canucks have to look at as many internal defensive options if they want to get better. One option is Ashton Sautner, according to Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Sun. The 24-year-old agitator finally got recalled last season by Vancouver in hopes of providing the team with an energy presence. He played five games on an emergency recall and had an impressive showing. Unfortunately, Kuzma doesn’t think he has much of a chance to make the team out of training camp this season as the team has nine defenseman under contract, including 2016 first-round pick Olli Juolevi, giving him little to no chance in making the NHL squad.

Pacific Notes: Juolevi, Kase, Smith, Klefbom

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While asking the question of when will Vancouver Canucks prospect Olli Juolevi play his first NHL game, Ben Kuzma of The Province writes that his chances of making this year’s squad has already been hampered when he suffered a lower-back injury during offseason training. The 20-year–old fifth-overall pick in 2016 had a minimally invasive disk procedure to relieve pressure on his spinal nerve column, which was expected to sideline him for eight to 10 weeks.

Kuzma writes that defenseman Alexander Edler suffered a similar injury back in the 2010-11 season and needed a full 10 weeks to recover. Juolevi likely won’t begin full-intensive training until the end of August, therefore, and will only get about three weeks to get in shape for training camp. With his chances of making the team already a question mark before 2018 first-rounder Quinn Hughes announced he would return to the University of Michigan, what are his chances now?

“He’s on schedule,” said Canucks’ general manager Jim Benning. “He has been working out and will be ready for training camp. We expect him to come to put his best foot forward. We’ll see where he is at and go from there.”

  • Eric Stephens of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that with the signing of Ondrej Kase to three-year, $7.8MM deal, the Anaheim Ducks may have quite the logjam at the forward position this year as the team likely will have to find a more prominent role for Kase, which could be challenging. The team has a logjam at the right wing position as many believe that veteran Patrick Eaves could likely join Ryan Getzlaf on the team’s top line next year. The second line will be either manned by Jakob Silfverberg or Corey Perry, which could force Kase to move to the fourth line. That’s not likely to happen. So what can they do for Kase? Move him to the left side? Stephens writes that might work for temporary situations such as injuries that come up, but is hardly a permanent solution for the 22-year-old who is just starting to enter his prime. Stephens adds that a more likely possibility, especially if Ryan Kesler is not ready for the regular season, would be to move Silfverberg off the right side to accommodate Kase.
  • Kent Wilson of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that the Calgary Flames may have redesigned their team, but they are taking a big gamble in the net with 36-year-old Mike Smith. The veteran had an amazing first-half of the season before suffering an injury and never looked the same. While the hope is that Smith is fully recovered and should return to form for this season, Wilson writes that he’s entering the “danger age” for goaltenders who have historically fallen off a cliff at 36. If the team can’t get a big year from Smith, the team only has David Rittich and Jon Gillies as insurance, which could crush the team’s hopes for a playoff berth in a very deep Pacific Division.
  • Jamie Umbach of NHL.com takes a look at the Edmonton Oilers defenseman Oscar Klefbom, who regressed last season after a breakout season in the 2016-17 season in which he tallied 12 goals and 38 points. However, a shoulder injury sustained in the Western Conference Finals hovered over him all of last year to the point that he five goals and 21 points in 66 games before he opted to have season-ending surgery to repair his shoulder. Klefbom has been given a clean bill of health this offseason is ready to return for a big season next year. “It feels good going home knowing the shoulder is 100 percent so I don’t have to go through this again with medications and injections,” Klefbom said.

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