Western Conference Notes: Campbell, Hawks, Avalanche
It was evident after being eliminated in the first-round of last spring’s Stanley Cup tournament that the Chicago Blackhawks needed a boost on the blue line before seriously challenging for their fourth championship since 2010. The Hawks options would of course be limited by their lack of salary cap space. Fortunately veteran blue liner Brian Campbell, who spent three seasons with the Hawks earlier in his career and was part of the 2010 Stanley Cup championship roster, was willing to sign a deeply discounted deal to return to the Windy City to provide added versatility to Chicago’s defense corps. That versatility has proven to be vital given the way head coach Joel Quenneville utilizes and and assembles his defense pairs, as Chris Hine of the Chicago Tribune writes.
As Hine notes, Campbell has filled in as both a right and left side defender and has played with everyone from veterans Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith to rookie Gustav Forsling. The biggest difference between playing with experienced blue liners and younger players, according to Campbell, is communication.
“You have to be a little more assertive (with younger defensemen),” Campbell said. “Seabrook talks a lot and he expects you to talk a lot on the ice. Some guys are a little bit quieter. Young guys coming into the league are a little intimidated, but you need them to help you out as much as you’re hopefully helping them out.”
Niklas Hjalmarsson, who is also able to slide over to his off side, has spent a lot of time in his career opposite Keith, and the two have developed a rapport that enables them to keep each other on point. Hjalmarsson believes that relationship sets a standard that should apply across the blue line.
“(Keith and I) kind of know exactly what we get from each other night in and night out,” Hjalmarsson said. “It’s not too often we get on each other’s case, but we rely on each other to bring our best every night.
“That’s the standard for how it should be, and if you play with a first-year guy, you want to be talking more and be more active that way and help him out on the ice.”
While Campbell isn’t the offensive force he has been in the past, his addition gives Quenneville a multitude of options when it comes to his defense pairings and it allows the coach to spread out the minutes a little bit better than in the past. The Hawks still rely heavily on Keith – sixth in the NHL averaging better than 26:00 per game – and might prefer to scale back a bit on his ice time as the season wears on. The continued development of Forsling and Trevor van Riemsdyk may allow Quenneville to do just that.
Elsewhere in the Western Conference on this quiet evening:
- Mike Chambers of The Denver Post compares the Colorado Avalanche to the Blackhawks, both in terms of how the clubs were constructed and their current salary cap situations. Chambers points out that both teams have had the advantage of multiple high lottery draft picks – Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane for Chicago and Nathan MacKinnon, Matt Duchene and Gabriel Landeskog for Colorado – with which to build the foundation of their respective clubs. Additionally, as Chambers further argues, the two have invested heavily in keeping their core groups intact. The Hawks have more than $38MM allocated to just five players – Toews, Kane, Keith, Seabrook and Corey Crawford, while Colorado has more than $35MM annually tied up in their core – MacKinnon, Duchene, Landeskog, Erik Johnson, Tyson Barrie and Semyon Varlamov. The large investments in their core players limits how much each team has to spend on complementary pieces while also pushing them close to the cap ceiling. However that’s where the similarities end. While Chicago has been one of the league’s top teams since 2010, Colorado has been to the playoff just once in the last six seasons and this year is last in the NHL in goals scored, goals allowed and currently sit 30th in the league in the standings. Clearly where Chicago has excelled in putting the right pieces together on the ice, the Avalanche have failed to find the right mix. At some point the Avalanche is likely going to make a move or moves to change their core.
Allen’s Latest: US Juniors To Watch, 2017 Predictions
USA Today’s Kevin Allen writes a bit about the five must watch players for the US team as the World Junior Championships kick off today. Those on his watch list include Charlie McAvoy, Luke Kunin, Clayton Keller, Tage Thompson, and Colin White. Allen writes that White is versatile and expected to be a boon for the American squad as a difference maker. Thompson, according to Allen, is a younger version of Blake Wheeler, while Keller is the “gamebreaker” who has the potential to be a dynamic player someday in the NHL. Captain Kunin, according to USA general manager Jim Johannson, is the “engine” of the team. McAvoy is a physical presence, and according to bench boss Bob Motzko, wants to “knock you on your rear end and score a goal on the same shift. He is going to be a guy we lean on heavily in all situations.” The Americans will look to build on their bronze medal finish from last year’s tournament.
- Allen also lists his 10 bold predictions in 2017. Some of the bolder ones include Patrik Laine outscoring Alex Ovechkin this season and that the Blackhawks will pay Artemi Panarin $7MM to remain in Chicago. Allen expects Ralph Krueger to be back in the NHL, and that the Canucks will finally embrace a much needed rebuild. Allen writes:
It’s past time. The Canucks will be first class and ask the Sedin twins how they want the organization to handle their future. They have always loved living in Vancouver. If they wait until the summer, they might be able to trade them both to one team. Maybe the Sedins would be comfortable mentoring a young team.
Finally, Allen believes that Kevin Shattenkirk will head to free agency and be pursued by the Red Wings, Bruins, Rangers, and Lightning. In the same vein, he expects John Tavares to get the “Stamkos treatment” with his impending free agency. Whether it’s a monster contract from the Islanders or a pricier offer from another team, Allen believes it to be one of the main storylines in 2017.
Poll: 2005 NHL Draft Take Two: Twenty-Sixth Overall Pick
Hindsight is an amazing thing, and allows us to look back and wonder “what could have been.” Though perfection is attempted, scouting and draft selection is far from an exact science and sometimes, it doesn’t work out the way teams – or players – intended. For every Patrick Kane, there is a Patrik Stefan.
We’re looking back at the 2005 NHL Draft, which kicked off the salary cap era and ushered in many of the current NHL superstars. The question we’re looking to answer is knowing now what we didn’t know then, how different would this draft look now with the benefit of hindsight?
Here are the results of our redraft so far:
1st Overall: Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins)
2nd Overall: Carey Price (Mighty Ducks of Anaheim)
3rd Overall: Anze Kopitar (Carolina Hurricanes)
4th Overall: Jonathan Quick (Minnesota Wild)
5th Overall: Kris Letang (Montreal Canadiens)
6th Overall: Tuukka Rask (Columbus Blue Jackets)
7th Overall: Bobby Ryan (Chicago Blackhawks)
8th Overall: Marc-Edouard Vlasic (San Jose Sharks)
9th Overall: Ben Bishop (Ottawa Senators)
10th Overall: James Neal (Vancouver Canucks)
11th Overall: T.J. Oshie (Los Angeles Kings)
12th Overall: Keith Yandle (New York Rangers)
13th Overall: Paul Stastny (Buffalo Sabres)
14th Overall: Marc Staal (Washington Capitals)
15th Overall: Patric Hornqvist (New York Islanders)
16th Overall: Niklas Hjalmarsson (Atlanta Thrashers)
17th Overall: Anton Stralman (Phoenix Coyotes)
18th Overall: Jack Johnson (Nashville Predators)
19th Overall: Matt Niskanen (Detroit Red Wings)
20th Overall: Justin Abdelkader (Florida Panthers)
21st Overall: Martin Hanzal (Toronto Maple Leafs)
22nd Overall: Andrew Cogliano (Boston Bruins)
23rd Overall: Kris Russell (New Jersey Devils)
24th Overall: Darren Helm (St. Louis Blues)
25th Overall: Cody Franson (Edmonton Oilers)
Now we move forward to the 26th pick, which was held by the Calgary Flames.
To recap how this works:
- We will go through the 2005 NHL Draft and have our readers select, through a voting process, who they think should have been taken with the selection.
- The entire first round will be redrafted, spanning picks one through thirty. The new selection is chosen by the majority of votes.
Back in 2005, the Flames took defenseman Matt Pelech from the Sarnia Sting. Since being drafted, Pelech played a total of 13 games in the NHL, tallying four points (1-3). Of those 13 games, Pelech spent five with the Flames and the other eight with San Jose. During the 2013-14 season, Pelech spent time in the ECHL with the Utah Grizzlies after playing for both San Jose and its AHL affiliate Worcester. A season later, Pelech recorded 39 games with the Rochester Americans. Last season, Pelech appeared in 49 games for the Schwenningen Wild Wings in the DEL (Germany) and has played the current season with Graz EC in the Austrian league.
With the 26th pick of the 2005 NHL Redraft, who should the Flames select? Cast your vote below! Mobile users, you can vote here!
5 Key Stories: 12/19/16 – 12/24/16
The holiday roster freeze ensured that trades would not dominate the week’s headlines. Instead, injuries to key players would again be the theme. Here are five key stories from the week ending on Christmas Eve.
Ben Bishop Out For 3 – 4 Weeks
The Tampa Bay Lightning will have to manage without starting goaltender Ben Bishop for the next 3 – 4 weeks. Bishop injured his right leg in Tampa’s 4 – 1 win over Detroit and is set to miss the next nine games as a result. The 30-year-old netminder is slated to become a free agent next summer and is in the midst of a mediocre platform campaign with a GAA of 2.79 and a Save % of 0.907.
Detroit Will Be Without Jimmy Howard For 4 – 6 Weeks
Bishop’s counterpart Tuesday night, Detroit goalie Jimmy Howard, was also injured and is expected to miss anywhere from 4 – 6 weeks with a MCL sprain. Howard has adapted quite well to a reserve role with the Wings and has posted a GAA of 1.96 and a Save % of 0.934 through 17 appearances this season. His absence leaves the Red Wings with the inexperienced Jared Coreau as Petr Mrazek‘s backup between the pipes.
Tyler Pitlick To Miss Rest Of Season
Six years after being selected in the second-round by the Edmonton Oilers, Tyler Pitlick appeared to finally find his footing as NHL regular. The 6-foot, 202-pound forward had chipped in eight goals and 11 points in 31 games while playing mostly fourth-line minutes for the Oilers. Unfortunately, what was shaping up as a breakout season for Pitlick is now over, with the 25-year-old winger set to miss the rest of the season after tearing his ACL last Monday.
Longtime NHL Center David Legwand Retires From NHL
David Legwand will forever be remembered as the answer to a trivia question: Who was the first ever draft pick of the Nashville Predators franchise? Legwand was the second overall selection in the 1998 draft and after spending the first 14+ seasons with the Predators, the pivot was traded to Detroit at the 2014 trade deadline. He would wrap up his 17-year career spending a season each with Ottawa and Buffalo. He retires after nearly 1,200 regular season and postseason games.
Doan Reaches 400-Goal, 1,500 Game Plateau
Shane Doan became just the 17th NHL player to reach the 1,500 game mark when he suited up Friday night in the Arizona Coyotes 4 – 1 loss to Toronto Friday night. Doan, who has spent his entire 21-year career as a member of the Coyotes franchise, also tallied his 400th NHL goal in the contest.
Blackhawks Notes: Panarin, Crawford, Tootoo, Krys
Despite only being in his second year in the NHL, Artemi Panarin has rapidly developed into one of the Chicago Blackhawks most important players. After netting 30 goals and 77 points as a rookie, Panarin is producing at a point-per-game rate and currently ranks fifth in the league in scoring as a sophomore. Set to become a restricted free agent in the summer, Panarin is poised to cash in and score a substantial long-term contract from Chicago.
Given Chicago’s current salary cap situation, the team is going to have to make some difficult decisions to make in order to free up enough space to fit Panarin’s next pact under the cap ceiling. As it stands today, the Hawks have roughly $60.6MM in salary cap commitments to 14 players in 2017-18. Depending on exactly where the cap ceiling falls, that would leave Chicago with somewhere between $13MM and $15MM in available space. Unless the team makes other moves to shed salary, the Blackhawks will have a tough time fleshing out their roster if they sign Panarin to a market-value extension.
As they’ve had to do often in the past, it’s likely the club will end up moving some veteran talent to free up space. With backup goalie Scott Darling performing well in Corey Crawford‘s recent absence, some have speculated Chicago could look to move the latter and his $6MM cap charge. However, Chris Hine of the Chicago Tribune opines that moving Crawford is not the solution to the Blackhawks Panarin question.
While acknowledging that the team and their fans are likely tired of seeing some of their top young talent traded away due to salary cap concerns – Brandon Saad, Teuvo Teravainen and Andrew Shaw are a few of the players Chicago has drafted and developed only to see them moved elsewhere because of financial considerations – Hine believes any notion of dealing Crawford ignores the goalie’s importance to the team. Hine argues that Crawford has established himself as an elite netminder and his contributions to two Stanley Cup championships should not be ignored.
Additionally, Crawford has a modified NMC and there is little reason to believe he would waive it to facilitate a trade. While the specifics of the NMC are unknown, at the very least it would serve to limit Crawford’s market and complicate any potential trade. Further impacting the veteran goaltender’s hypothetical market is his $6MM cap charge. Few teams currently need a goalie and even fewer are in the position to take on that type of commitment.
Ultimately the Hawks will find a way to get a deal done with Panarin. He’s simply too talented and important to Chicago for them to let him get away. Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman will inevitably have to make a tough decision or two to free up the necessary cap space but moving Crawford likely won’t be one of them.
In other Blackhawks news:
- Despite being on the smaller side – 5-foot-9, 195 pounds – Jordin Tootoo has carved out a lengthy NHL career playing a tough, physical style and often fighting players much larger than himself. After a nine-point season with New Jersey in 2015-16, Tootoo hit free agency at a time when more teams are moving away from employing one-dimensional tough guys. Fortunately for the diminutive winger, Chicago found themselves in need of a veteran presence willing to work at or near the league minimum and inked the 33-year-old to a one-year deal worth just $750K. Tootoo recognizes the situation he now finds himself in and is willing to do whatever it takes to help his new team, as Scott Powers of The Athletic writes in a Q & A piece. Tootoo has yet to register a point on the season and is averaging just 6:44 of ice time per contest, but has done quality work as Chicago’s resident agitator and enforcer.
- Just days after Chicago forward prospect Alex DeBrincat was cut from Team USA’s WJC entry, fellow Blackhawks prospect Chad Krys was announced as the team’s final cut, CSN Chicago’s Charlie Roumeliotis reports. Krys, who represented Team USA last year in the same tournament, is in the midst of his freshman season at Boston University after the Hawks selected the defenseman in the second-round of the 2016 draft.
Last Minute Reassignments: Bibeau, Froese, Gazdic, Helgeson (Updated)
UPDATE: (3:30pm): Mike Russo of the Star Tribune tweeted earlier today that the Minnesota Wild have loaned Pat Cannone and Jordan Schroeder to Iowa of the AHL. As Russo points out, the Wild won’t play again until Tuesday thanks to the holiday break while Iowa is slated to host Rockford Monday night. Russo does say that unless Erik Haula or Zach Parise is healthy enough to return Tuesday, the Wild will have to recall a player or two, meaning Cannone and/or Schroeder could be back with Minnesota sooner rather than later. Cannone, who finally made his NHL debut at the age of 30 and after six professional campaigns, was held off the score sheet in three appearances with the Wild.
(1:15pm): While the NHL’s holiday roster freeze officially began at midnight of December 20th, a provision allows teams to reassign or loan waiver-exempt players originally recalled by the parent club after December 11th back to their minor league affiliates. The deadline for those roster transactions passed at 11:59pm on December 23rd (last night). With a majority of AHL teams in action the day after Christmas, a couple of NHL clubs took the opportunity to reassign players to their affiliates with the intent of getting them some game action during the Christmas break.
- The New Jersey Devils announced via their official Twitter account that they have reassigned rugged forward Luke Gazdic and defenseman Seth Helgeson to Albany of the AHL. Gazdic has appeared in four games with New Jersey, failing to register a point while accumulating seven penalty minutes. In 13 contests for Albany, the 6-foot-4, 225-pound winger has two assists and 19 penalty minutes. Helgeson has seen action in just two games, also failing to record a point. (New Jersey Devils Roster)
- Goaltender Antoine Bibeau, along with forwards Frederik Gauthier and Byron Froese were loaned by the Toronto Maple Leafs to the AHL Toronto Marlies ahead of last night’s deadline, as reported by Cap Friendly. Meanwhile Jhonas Enroth was recalled from the minors to fill the void as the Leafs backup netminder. Bibeau has appeared in just one game, his NHL debut, this season for Toronto and took the loss in a 3-1 defeat on December 11th against Colorado. Gauthier tallied his first career NHL goal and has added an assist in three games this season for the Leafs while Froese is scoreless in two outings. Enroth was inked by the Leafs this summer to serve as Frederik Andersen‘s understudy but failed to win a game in four starts for Toronto and posted a GAA of nearly four. His last appearance for the Leafs came on November 30th in a loss at Calgary. Enroth has seen action in just one contest for the Marlies since his demotion to the AHL. (Toronto Maple Leafs roster)
Atlantic Division Notes: Danault, Kennedy, Stamkos
Injuries to Alex Galchenyuk and David Desharnais have forced the Montreal Canadiens to shuffle their forward lines around as they try to survive without two of their top offensive players. The loss of Galchenyuk was particularly difficult as the fifth-year pivot was averaging nearly a point-per game (23 points in 25 games) as the team’s top center but the play of Phillip Danault has helped offset Galchenyuk’s absence of late, writes Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette.
With a scoring line of 6 – 6 – 14 through 34 contests, Danault has already bested last season’s totals (4 – 6 – 10) in 17 fewer games. In his last eight games, the 23-year-old center has tallied one goal and five points. As Cowan notes, Danault posted solid offensive numbers during his junior career, potting 18 goals and 71 points in 62 contests in his final junior season with Victoriaville, suggesting his recent rate of production for Montreal is sustainable.
Danault was originally drafted in the first-round of the 2011 draft by Chicago when current Habs GM Marc Bergevin was a member of the Blackhawks front office. Bergevin was able to acquire Danault at last season’s trade deadline as part of the deal that sent rental players Dale Weise and Tomas Fleischmann to the Hawks. Known as a strong two-way player in juniors, Danault is taking advantage of increased ice time of late to show the Canadiens what he can do at the NHL level.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic Division:
- Tim Kennedy hasn’t appeared in an NHL game in three years and despite a recent return to the organization with whom he made his NHL debut, it’s not likely that the veteran winger will make much of an impact for the Buffalo Sabres this year either. As John Vogl of The Buffalo News writes, Kennedy was signed by the club to add some offense and to serve as a mentor for the team’s prospects playing for the Rochester Americans in the AHL. Since suiting up for 37 games with the Coyotes during the 2013-14 campaign, Kennedy has made appearances for four different franchises in four different countries, including stops in the KHL, Swedish League and a 75-game stint with Hershey of the AHL in 2013-14. The piece provides an interesting insight into the life of a career minor-league player and his travels around the world in professional hockey.
- With the Tampa Bay Lightning struggling on the ice and in the standings, a return of franchise center Steven Stamkos could be just the spark the team needs to make a playoff push. Unfortunately, while Stamkos is progressing just fine after surgery to repair a torn meniscus, he is still looking at a mid-March return, as Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times reports. Stamkos is still on crutches and is a month or two away from even putting on skates. The 26-year-old pivot was off to a strong start, with nine goals and 20 points in 17 contests before the injury but if Tampa Bay is going to make a postseason run, it looks like it’s going to have to come without the assistance of Stamkos.
Where Does Kyle Okposo Rank In Islanders History?
Tonight marks the first time the New York Islanders will welcome in Kyle Okposo as an opponent, after the winger signed with the Buffalo Sabres in the offseason to a whopping seven-year, $56MM deal. After parts of nine seasons with the Islanders, the team couldn’t afford (or didn’t want to pay for) his services any longer and let him find a huge payday somewhere else.
Okposo was drafted by the Islanders seventh overall in 2006, right after Derick Brassard and just before Peter Mueller. The team had whiffed the previous two years (though they didn’t know it yet) with Ryan O’Marra (15th overall 2005) and Petteri Nokelainen (16th overall 2004) and needed a good young player after a very disappointing season. Okposo was the third USA-born player taken in the draft after Erik Johnson and Phil Kessel both went in the top five. It would turn out to be one of the strongest drafts ever for American players, with no less than nine going in the first round.
Despite knowing the Okposo would be headed to the University of Minnesota, the Islanders couldn’t pass up the skilled offensive forward. Within two years he was playing in the NHL, and would never look back.
While many still don’t see Okposo as a star, he’s provided solid production for the better part of a decade and has accumulated some numbers that shouldn’t be dismissed, even for a franchise with such a storied history.
With 369 points, Okposo ranks 14th all-time in Islanders history, despite being down at 24th on the games played list. He ranks in the top-15 in game winning goals, and has done all of it before his 30th birthday. While it’s obvious he’s not in the same category as Mike Bossy, Bryan Trottier, Denis Potvin or the other Islanders legends, he does deserve some recognition for what he’s accomplished for the franchise.
That’s what the Islanders did tonight as they honored him before the game. With a standing ovation, the crowd showed him what he meant to them, and how much they missed him now that he’s gone (the Islanders are desperate for some scoring off the wing). Islanders fans, where do you think Okposo fits into your franchise history? Tell us below.
Preliminary Round Schedule For IIHF World Junior Championship
On December 26th, the IIHF World Junior Championship will kick off for it’s yearly batch of holiday hockey. The annual tournament pits the best under-20 players in the world against each other and this year (like two years ago) will be held in Toronto and Montreal at their respective NHL arenas.
Teams from Canada, USA, Finland, Sweden, Russia, Denmark, Latvia, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Switzerland will duke it out for the three medals and bragging rights among young players around the world. This tournament is a breeding ground for NHLers, as most played for their country at one time or another.
The opening game will see Denmark face off against Sweden at noon (CST) on Monday, followed by three other matchups throughout the day. The gold medal game will be played on Thursday, January 5th at 6:30 (CST). Below is the full schedule for the preliminary round of the tournament, along with the venue (all times CST).
Snapshots: Clinton’s Latest, Crawford, Hossa
The Hockey News’ Jared Clinton breaks down five significant summer signings that haven’t quite lived up to their billing. While a number of players were given lucrative deals, Clinton gives the number one spot to Andrew Ladd, who after receiving a seven year, $38MM deal, has produced at an abysmal level. Ladd had only one assist in his first 12 games, and if his current pace of four goals and seven points continue, he is on pace for only 10 goals and 18 points. It’s hardly a return on investment.
Second on Clinton’s list is Mikkel Boedker, who inked a four-year, $16MM with San Jose. Boedker has six points (2-4) in 33 games, and Clinton wonders if this is why the winger barely fetched anything at the trade deadline last season. On the defensive side, Clinton looks at Dan Hamhuis, who appeared to be a great pickup for the Dallas Stars. It hasn’t worked out as such. Clinton notes that the veteran defenseman has been a healthy scratch twice, seen his average ice time drop by nearly two minutes, and has been relegated to a third line pairing.
With the salary cap not expected to move much in the next year, these signings could serve as a cautionary tale as to spending wisely instead of just spending to spend.
In other NHL news:
- Corey Crawford is set to return in net tonight writes the Chicago Tribune’s Chris Hine. The 31-year-old goaltender has been out since having an emergency appendectomy almost three weeks ago. Crawford will face the struggling Colorado Avalanche, who were dismantled 6-0 by Toronto last night. Crawford has been outstanding for the Hawks this season, posting a 12-6-2 mark with a .927 save percentage.
- With the good comes the bad, and Hine reports that Marian Hossa will miss his first game since suffering an upper body injury Tuesday night against Ottawa. In Hossa’s place will be Tanner Kero, who leads AHL affiliate Rockford in points this season. Kero worked in with Jordin Tootoo and Andrew Desjardins during practice. In addition to Hossa, Artem Anisimov is slated to miss his third straight game with an upper body injury.