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Tom Wilson To Have In-Person Hearing With Department Of Player Safety

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It was obvious that Tom Wilson would face some supplemental discipline from the league after his hit on St. Louis Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist, and today the Department of Player Safety announced that the Washington Capitals forward will have an in-person hearing on Wednesday morning. The Capitals are set to open their season that evening when they welcome the Boston Bruins to town, but will likely be without Wilson. If a decision is not reached in time for the game he would still not be allowed to play given his match penalty, but because it is an in-person hearing the league now has the right to deliver a suspension upwards of five games.

There is no hiding that Wilson is in trouble here, as he has an extremely long history with the league’s disciplinary group. Just during the 2017-18 season alone he was suspended three times, and was involved in several other incidents that were looked at by the league. Wilson himself has admitted that he has to try and avoid his dangerous hits, but so far there is little indication that he can realistically do it. In fact, that physical style may be what secured him such a healthy contract in the offseason. Wilson signed a six-year, $31MM contract with the Capitals in July despite scoring just 104 points in his 391 career regular season games. Granted, he was a dominant force in the postseason for Washington en route to a Stanley Cup but there are few comparable contracts in terms of offensive production. It’s his on-the-edge play that sets him apart, but also may lead to his demise for the start of the year and for long stretches throughout the contract.

It’s been this way for Wilson for a long time, turning a nine-goal campaign with the Plymouth Whalers in 2011-12 into a first-round draft selection and then fighting and checking his way to a spot beside Evgeny Kuznetsov and Alex Ovechkin on the Capitals top line. He’s an extremely important player for the team, but incidents like this will only continue to escalate in punishment going forward. If the league hands out a long suspension to start the year, he’ll be treading on thin ice every time he uses his size and speed to attack an opponent physically.

Snapshots: Waiver Wire, Sundqvist, Burdasov

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With the waiver wire having received a lot of action over the past week or more, don’t be surprised if there is even more significant action on Monday, reports TSN’s Frank Seravalli. It’s the last day for a team to place a player on waivers to have him clear prior to teams are asked to submit their opening day rosters on Tuesday afternoon.

So far only the Tampa Bay Lightning and New Jersey Devils have claimed a player when Tampa took forward Danick Martel from the Philadelphia Flyers and New Jersey took Jean-Sebastien Dea from Pittsburgh, but that could change within the next day or two as teams have been holding off placing some of their top players on waivers. For instance, Toronto must make a decision on a backup goalie and could be placing two goalies on waivers on Monday, including Garret Sparks. Especially with a rash of injuries over the last few days, teams may be looking to fill voids on the depth chart now that their training camp roster has been determined.

  • After taking a hit to the head from Tom Wilson during a preseason game today, St. Louis Blues coach Mike Yeo reports that forward Oskar Sundqvist is “not good,” according to NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti. While there has been no official diagnosis yet, Yeo said he has a couple of upper-body injuries and expects him to be out a while. The 24-year-old had been penciled in as a bottom-six player for this year’s squad, but now may miss a part of the season.
  • NHL general managers may be looking at another possible free agent available to teams next season as NHL.com’s Igor Eronko reports that one of the KHL’s current points leaders, Anton Burdasov, has expressed interest in trying to make it in the NHL next year when he’s an unrestricted free agent. The 27-year-old Burdasov has averaged 16 goals per season in his previous two seasons, but has taken off this year, having already scored eight times in Ufa Salavat Yulayev’s first 12 games.

Metropolitan Notes: Wilson, Darling, Islanders, Vorobyev

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Twitter went into an uproar today after Washington Capitals’ Tom Wilson was ejected after another high hit to the head, this time to St. Louis Blues Oskar Sundqvist during the second period of their preseason game. The link to the video is here. Sundqvist had to be helped off the ice and has not returned.

It’s almost a guarantee that Wilson will be suspended to start the year once again, like he was last year.  The Department of Player Safety announced that he has been offered an in-person hearing, allowing them to suspend him for more than five games if they so desire.

Wilson has been known for his hits, especially against the Blues in the preseason. He was suspended twice last preseason for hits against the Blues. He was suspended two preseason games for a late hit on Robert Thomas and then was suspended for four regular season games for boarding Samuel Blais in the final preseason game.

This could be the fourth suspension that Wilson has received in a year as he also received a third suspension during the Pittsburgh Penguins in the playoffs last season when he hit Zach Aston-Reese, giving him a concussion and a broken jaw. Wilson has taken on a bigger role in the past year, moving up to the first line and then signing a six-year, $31MM contract in the offseason, but with so many repeat offenses, could end up with a significant suspension.

  • The Carolina Hurricanes are concerned after goaltender Scott Darling had to leave their preseason game today with what they listed as a lower-body injury, according to NHL.com’s Michael Smith. “It’s a concern,” said head coach Rod Brind’Amour. “I’m not 100 percent sure what it is yet. He tweaked something in the lower body.” The team was counting on Darling to step up after a down season last year, his first as a full-time starter. The goaltender had been praised this offseason for an improved work-ethic, but now could miss some time early on in the season. The team may have to turn to Petr Mrazek to fill in for him.
  • Newsday’s Andrew Gross reports that the New York Islanders will wait until the last possible second to make its final roster moves. He writes that general manager Lou Lamoriello is a big believer of using every minute it has available to it, so coach Barry Trotz won’t release his final roster until 48 hours before their first game, which will be on Tuesday. Trotz added that Lamoriello has been working the phones hard to try and add some available talent.
  • The Philadelphia Flyers have confirmed they will be keeping forward Mikhail Vorobyev on their opening day roster, according to NHL.com’s Bill Meltzer.  “He came in and made an impact, and that’s what you’re looking for with young players,” said general manager Ron Hextall. “He’s a real good two-way player. With many young players, you worry about the defensive side of the puck.” Vorobyev impressed Flyers’ brass after posting seven points in seven preseason games.

Central Notes: Josi, Sundqvist, Methot

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Many would suggest that Predators defenseman Ryan Ellis left some money on the table when he signed his eight-year, $50MM contract extension earlier this summer.  Fellow blueliner Roman Josi certainly felt that way and hinted to Adam Vingan of The Athletic (subscription required) that he may be willing to do the same once he is eligible to sign an extension next July:

“Whatever Ryan did was the right mindset. You’ve got to make sure we can keep that core together. For that (to happen), you’ve got to do your part, too.”

Josi is on one of the bigger bargain contracts in the league, one that carries a cap hit of $4MM through 2019-20.  The team already has $19MM committed to their other three top-four defenders for 2020-21 and beyond so the Predators may be in tough to keep that core together.  However, Ellis did his part to help earlier this summer and it appears that their captain is willing to do the same when the time comes.

More from the Central:

  • Last season, the Blues kept center Oskar Sundqvist on the roster in part because they were concerned he might clear waivers, notes Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. However, he adds they don’t seem to have that same worry now.  Sundqvist played a sparing role last year, collecting a goal and four assists in 42 games while averaging 10:29 per night in ice time.  With several youngsters vying for a roster spot though, there’s a real possibility that his spot is in jeopardy.
  • Stars defenseman Marc Methot dealt with knee issues last season and it doesn’t appear that those have completely gone away. He mentioned to Matthew DeFranks of the Dallas Morning News that his knee is still tender at times but that the situation is more manageable.  Even so, that has to be at least a little concerning for the team considering he’s their highest-paid defender and is someone they’ll be counting on to have much more of an impact if they want to make it back to the postseason.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: St. Louis Blues

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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.

St. Louis Blues

Current Cap Hit: $79,915,155 (under the $79.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Robert Thomas (three years, $894K)
F Zachary Sanford (one year, $875K)
G Ville Husso (one year, $848K)
F Jordan Kyrou (three years, $758K)
F Ivan Barbashev (one year, $742K)
D Vince Dunn (one year, $723K)
F Samuel Blais (one year, $673K)

Potential Bonuses:

Kyrou: $183K
Dunn: $183K
Sanford: $50K
Blais: $3K

Total: $419K

Considering the amount of veterans this team has, its surprising to see so many young players on the team as the Blues have done a nice job over the years of drafting quality players and developing them. Perhaps the most interesting of the lot will be Thomas, the team’s first-round pick in the 2017 draft. The 19-year-old dominated his junior league last season and many people believe he has a great shot at winning a roster spot this season as the team feels that there is no reason to return him back to his junior team. The team also has Kyrou, another top-rated prospect, but the team is more likely to send him to their AHL affiliate as he no longer needs to be returned to juniors. Regardless, however, if he fares well, he could see time with the Blues throughout the season.

Dunn has been a major revelation after surprising a few when he made the Blues out of training camp last season. He had a remarkable season, playing solid defense, producing five goals and 21 points and eventually quarterbacked the team’s top power play line. The team may also start seeing more of Husso, who is their goalie of the future, but needs more seasoning in the AHL. The 23-year-old had a .922 save percentage in 38 games in the AHL last year.

Other interesting prospects include Sanford, Barbashev and Blais who will have to fight for playing time, but all have the skill to work their way in at some point this season.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

D Jay Bouwmeester ($5.4MM, UFA)
D Joel Edmundson ($3MM, RFA)
D Carl Gunnarsson ($2.9MM, UFA)
F Patrick Maroon ($1.75MM, UFA)
G Chad Johnson ($1.75MM, UFA)
D Robert Bortuzzo ($1.15MM, UFA)
F Dmitrij Jaskin ($1.1MM, RFA)
F Robby Fabbri ($925K, RFA)
F Chris Thorburn ($900K, UFA)
F Nikita Soshnikov ($800K, RFA)
F Oskar Sundqvist ($700K, RFA)
F Jordan Nolan ($650K, UFA)

The team should find themselves with extra money next season as the contracts of several defenseman expire, including Bouwmeester’s $5.4MM deal and Gunnarsson’s $2.9MM. Both have been excellent players in the past, but the with emergence of younger defensemen, the team is likely to move on from them or look for them to return at a significantly reduced rate. Some of that available money could end up in the hands of Edmundson who has done an excellent job of replacing Bouwmeester on the top defensive line.

The team also will be keeping a close eye on Fabbri, who has spent much of last year training and conditioning his knee for the upcoming season after undergoing two procedures on his knee. If the scoring winger can stay healthy, he could provide the Blues with an extra dose of offense they weren’t counting on. The team also has high hopes for Maroon, who opted to take less to return home to St. Louis this year. There are rumors that the team will reward him next season for being willing to accept much less than he was worth.

Johnson has been working on one-year deals for a little while, but the veteran backup could be needed if Allen falters in goal this year. While his numbers in Buffalo were horrible, many believe that he could easily bounce back considering the quality defense he’ll have in front of him in St. Louis.

Two Years Remaining

D Alex Pietrangelo ($6.5MM, UFA)
F Brayden Schenn ($5.13MM, UFA)
D Jordan Schmaltz ($700K, RFA)

The team has been thrilled with the play of Pietrangelo, who continues to improve offensively as the team’s No. 1 defender. He is used that way too as he averaged 25:44 of ice time last year, ranking him sixth in the NHL. The 28-year-old has now posted double-digit goals for the second straight years and posted a career-high 54 points this season. He’s finally receiving that respect around the league as he was voted to the all-star game as well as got some consideration for the Norris Trophy this past season.

Schenn is another key player that the team got a tremendous amount of production from this year after acquiring him from Philadelphia in the offseason. Schenn, who likely will move to the second line this year, posted career-highs in goals (28) and points (70) and was a big hit in St. Louis. Read more

Petteri Lindbohm Signs In Switzerland

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The St. Louis Blues have done a miraculous job of both adding talent – bringing in Ryan O’Reilly, David Perron, Tyler Bozak, and Patrick Maroon to name a few – and retaining their own restricted free agent assets this off-season. The team has already signed Joel Edmundson, Dmitrij Jaskin, Robby Fabbri, and Oskar Sundqvist to reasonable extensions and had just two RFA’s left to sign. However, one of those players has decided to go elsewhere to continue his hockey career. Defenseman Petteri Lindbohm will not re-up in St. Louis, but instead sign with Lausanne of the Swiss NLA. The team announced the transaction today, making the one-year contract official. The Blues will retain Lindbohm’s NHL rights.

Lindbohm, 24, will likely be missed by some in the Blues organization but not by others. Although the 2012 sixth-round pick out of Helsinki, Finland showed promise, he never could quite put it all together. Both injuries and inconsistency impacted the development of a player some saw as a future top-four defenseman. When healthy, Lindbohm showed a well-rounded two-way game at the AHL level, but never stayed at the minor league level long enough to impress for a whole season. In the NHL, Lindbohm simply struggled to produce when given an opportunity and too often found himself on the wrong side of goals. This past season, Lindbohm did not make an appearance with the Blues for the first time since coming over to North America in 2014, yet he also suited up for only 23 games with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves and posted only three points. He was ruled out for the remainder of the season in early January with a shoulder injury.

The Blues may have been willing to offer Lindbohm a minimum salary two-way deal, or maybe just an AHL contract with the San Antonio Rampage, just to see if Lindbohm could ever string together a whole season of healthy, high-end play, but it seems unlikely that they would have matched the salary and certainly not the type of role that Lindbohm will get with Lausanne. The Swiss club struggled in 2017-18, having to fight off relegation, and will likely throw Lindbohm into a top pair position right away in hopes that his talent can help to jump start the new campaign, especially with the risk that he could be struck by injury at any time. Playing alongside other NHL transplants like Dustin Jeffrey and Joel Vermin, Lindbohm will look not only to improve his own stock, but also prove that he can lead a team to the postseason.

With Lindbohm departing, St. Louis has just defenseman Jordan Schmaltz to sign before they their restricted free agents are all tied up. The Blues are bankrupt for cap space, looking at just a $285K margin right now per CapFriendly, but the team won’t carry 15 forwards as projected and the demotion of a Jordan Nolan or Chris Thorburn should be enough to fit Schmaltz in under the cap for the coming season.

Remaining 2018 Arbitration Dates

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As usual, arbitration hearings scheduled for later this month have been getting cancelled every day as teams lock up their restricted free agents. Hearings are scheduled each year between July 20th and August 4th, but we’ve already seen 18 players that filed for player-elected salary arbitration reach a settlement with their respective teams. Those players are listed below, with their contract details:

Elias Lindholm (CGY) – 6 years, $4.85MM AAV
Trevor van Riemsdyk (CAR) – 2 years, $2.3MM AAV
Matthew Nieto (COL) – 2 years, $1.98MM AAV
Devin Shore (DAL) – 2 years, $2.3MM AAV
Joel Armia (MTL) – 1 year, $1.85MM AAV
Phillip Danault (MTL) – 3 years, $3.08MM AAV
Blake Coleman (NJD) – 3 years, $1.8MM AAV
Stefan Noesen (NJD) – 1 year, $1.73MM AAV
Jimmy Vesey (NYR) – 2 years, $2.28MM AAV
Taylor Leier (PHI) – 1 year, $720K AAV
Alex Lyon (PHI) – 2 years, $750K AAV
Jamie Oleksiak (PIT) – 3 years, $2.14MM AAV
Dmitrij Jaskin (STL) – 1 year, $1.1MM AAV
Oskar Sundqvist (STL) – 1 year, $700K AAV
Colin Miller (VGK) – 4 years, $3.88MM AAV
Liam O’Brien (WSH) – 1 year, $650K AAV
Connor Hellebuyck (WPG) – 6 years, $6.17MM AAV
Tomas Nosek (VGK) – 1 year, $962.5K AAV

The remaining arbitration schedule looks like this:

July 20

Chris Tierney (SJS)
Jacob Trouba (WPG)

July 22

Adam Lowry (WPG)

July 23

Brett Kulak (CGY)
Mathew Dumba (MIN)

July 24

Brandon Montour (ANA)

July 25

Joel Edmundson (STL)
Brandon Tanev (WPG)

July 27

Mark Jankowski (CGY)

July 28

David Rittich (CGY)
Jason Zucker (MIN)

July 29

Troy Stecher (VAN)

July 30

Garnet Hathaway (CGY)
MacKenzie Weegar (FLA)
Marko Dano (WPG)

July 31

Brady Skjei (NYR)

August 1

Cody Ceci (OTT)
Gemel Smith (DAL)

August 2

Miikka Salomaki (NSH)
Kevin Hayes (NYR)

August 3

Mattias Janmark (DAL)
Mark Stone (OTT)
Brock Nelson (NYI)

August 4

Ryan Spooner (NYR)
Patrik Nemeth (DAL)
William Karlsson (VGK)

St. Louis Blues Sign Oskar Sundqvist, Jordan Binnington

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The St. Louis Blues have avoided arbitration with one of their restricted free agents, signing Oskar Sundqvist to a one-year contract worth $700K. Sundqvist had filed for arbitration yesterday, but won’t need to have a hearing now. Sundqvist will be eligible for Group VI unrestricted free agency at the end of the deal should he fail to play in 10 games this season.

Sundqvist, 24, has just nine points in his 70 career NHL games and hasn’t been able to secure a full-time role. It’s unclear where he would fit in best in an NHL lineup, as he’s been a good power forward in the minor leagues but doesn’t possess a ton of high-end skill. Sundqvist was part of the trade that send Pittsburgh Ryan Reaves, but wasn’t as important as the first round pick that came along with him. In fact, he played just 42 games for the Blues last season and wasn’t given much of an opportunity to play an offensive game.

He’ll likely play much of the same role for the Blues, coming in and out of the lineup when necessary in 2018-19. Still, with the added depth up front that the team has added there’s no clear path to playing time for Sundqvist. A deal just slightly over league minimum is a reasonable amount of risk for the Blues, and doesn’t guarantee anything for the young Swedish forward.

The team has also signed goaltender Jordan Binnington to a one-year, two-way contract. Binnington didn’t file for arbitration yesterday after spending another season in the minor leagues, but will be rewarded anyway with a quick deal. The 24-year old had an excellent season for the Providence Bruins, spending the year on loan given the Blues didn’t have a primary AHL affiliate of their own. With a .926 save percentage during the season, he showed once again that he could be a backup NHL option at some point. That won’t come in St. Louis anytime soon though with Chad Johnson’s addition and the continued presence of Jake Allen and Ville Husso, which may lead to him becoming a free agent next summer. Binnington will qualify for Group VI UFA status in 2019 if he fails to play in 30 games this season.

Free Agent Focus: St. Louis Blues

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Free agency is now a little less than a month away from opening up and there are quite a few prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign.  Here is a breakdown of St. Louis’ free agent situation.

Key Restricted Free Agents: F Robby Fabbri – Things haven’t gone smoothly for Fabbri over the past few years, as he’s faced multiple injuries that have robbed him of all but 51 games since the end of the 2015-16 season. After scoring 18 goals and 37 points as a rookie, and starting his sophomore season on an even better pace, the Blues had big plans for their 2014 first-round pick.

Now, after two straight major knee surgeries and more than a year away from NHL action, it’s not clear where he sits in their future. It was obvious that if he was healthy he could help the team offensively, but negotiations this summer are not leaning in his favor. A short-term deal seems likely for a player that is both an injury risk and hopes to prove himself again in 2018-19.

D Joel Edmundson – The 2011 second-round pick has turned into quite the player for the Blues, and found himself logging more than 20 minutes a night this season while they dealt with injuries to Jay Bouwmeester and inconsistent play from Carl Gunnarsson and Robert Bortuzzo. The Blues have young Vince Dunn expected to make an even bigger contribution next season, but Edmundson could take another step forward as he enters his mid-twenties.

The 24-year old defenseman is coming off a two-year $2.1MM contract, and should earn more than that in just a single year on his next deal. If St. Louis believes he can be a core piece of their blue line for the coming years, there could be a long-term deal in order. He’ll turn 25 before July 1st, meaning a two-year contract takes him to unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2020.

Other RFAs: F Dmitrij Jaskin, F Oskar Sundqvist, F Nikita Soshnikov, D Jordan Schmaltz, F Justin Selman, F Beau Bennett, F Mackenzie MacEachern, D Thomas Vannelli, G Jordan Binnington, D Petteri Lindbohm

Key Unrestricted Free Agent: G Carter Hutton – The Blues moved out their most intriguing free agent at the deadline when they traded Paul Stastny to Winnipeg, but Hutton could prove to have an even bigger market. The 32-year old goaltender led the league with a .931 save percentage this season among netminders with at least 20 starts, and could be looking for an opportunity to play an even bigger role with a team.

Jake Allen didn’t do much this season to prove that he can handle a full-time starter workload, meaning the Blues will likely make every effort to re-sign Hutton this summer. For a player who has never earned more than $1.13MM in a single season though, you can bet he’s intrigued by the opportunity free agency presents.

Other UFAs: F Scottie Upshall, F Kyle Brodziak, F Wade Megan

Projected Cap Space: The Blues, like many teams this summer have plenty of room to work with under the cap. With Stastny and others coming off the books they’ll have somewhere around $18MM in cap space depending on where the upper limit lands and could be big players in the market.

The team has recently admitted that they’re on the lookout for an upgrade at center, and many have speculated that they could enter the John Tavares sweepstakes should the superstar center reach unrestricted free agency. With plenty of young talent coming through the system on cheap contracts, landing a big fish like Tavares is a reasonable target for GM Doug Armstrong to aim at—whether he’ll get there is a different story.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Minor Transactions: 02/13/18

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A busy night in the NHL, with 12 games on tap for tonight. Among them are some huge divisional matchups between St. Louis-Nashville and Philadelphia-New Jersey. Both games could have huge implications on the playoffs, with each team trying to take two points in regulation.

  • The St. Louis Blues have recalled Oskar Sundqvist from his conditioning stint ahead of their game. Sundqvist had been a healthy scratch for some time, so was loaned to the San Antonio Rampage to get into some game action. In six games with the AHL club this year, the 23-year old center has six points.
  • According to Mark Scheig of The Hockey Writers, the Cleveland Monsters have loaned Andre Benoit to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers for the remainder of the season. The veteran defenseman returned from Sweden to play in the AHL this season, where he has five points in 31 games.
  • The Colorado Avalanche have sent Andrei Mironov to the AHL, bringing up Duncan Siemens in his spot. Siemens has played just four NHL games so far in his career, despite his high draft position at 11th-overall in 2011. In 45 games with the San Antonio Rampage this season, he has seven points.
  • With the Canucks dealing with several injuries, including one to defenseman Chris Tanev, the team has recalled Philip Holm from the minor leagues. Holm was signed last May out of the Swedish Hockey League, and has found immediate success in the AHL with the Utica Comets.
  • Marcus Pettersson has been given his first NHL recall, brought up by the Anaheim Ducks in place of the waived Korbinian Holzer. Pettersson, a second-round pick from 2014, is in his first season in North America. In 44 games with the San Diego Gulls, the 6’4″ rangy defenseman has 14 points.

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