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Blackhawks Notes: Anisimov, Improved Play

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The Chicago Sun-Times Mark Lazerus writes on a couple of topics and one is the strong play of Artem Anisimov. The center, who was acquired by Chicago in 2015 in a deal that cost them Brandon Saad, has made his mark on a Hawks team transitioning several young players onto the roster. Anisimov, Lazerus reports, not only leads the league in scoring, but is also breaking out of the shadows of the more well known Blackhawks on the team. Though Anisimov had a slow start to the season, Lazerus points to the October 18th game against Philadelphia where Anisimov had two goals and two assists in the Hawks’ 7-4 victory. Linemate and reigning Hart Trophy winner Patrick Kane couldn’t be happier to have him on the team:

“You know what? He’s a really great person.  He’s one of those guys that’s always calm and relaxed, and [then] he’ll kind of surprise you with a comment here or there that’s really funny. He’s just a really great guy, and a great teammate, too.”

Chris Hine of the Chicago Tribune writes that Anisimov is trying not to overthink his hot start–which includes seven goals and 13 points. Hine adds that Anisimov is just two goals off of his career total of game winners–which stands at three through Wednesday.

  • Only a week ago Lazerus wrote about the anemic Blackhawks penalty, but things are certainly looking up in the Second City. The Hawks are 4-0-1 in their last five games (through Wednesday) and in a Central Division that has a bevy of surprises with Dallas and Nashville fighting to stay out of the basement. Chicago, meanwhile, finds itself in a tie for first place. Reasons for improvement? The Blackhawks have successfully killed off nine consecutive penalties, including four against Calgary during their 5-1 victory. And though the Hawks have a packed schedule that sees six games in a ten day span, Chicago is looking much better than they were just a week ago.

Ducks Notes: Raymond, Larsson, Fowler

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The Ducks made official what has been rumored for the last couple of days, that Mason Raymond has been released from his contract and is now a free agent. After Raymond cleared waivers, he didn’t report to the AHL San Diego Gulls citing personal reasons, and has now worked out a mutual termination with the Ducks.

Raymond signed a two-way deal in the summer, meaning at one point he had thought a move to the AHL was possible, though obviously something must have happened in the interim. A one time 20-goal man with the Vancouver Canucks, Raymond has never been able to make it back to that mark, coming closest in 2013-14 with the Maple Leafs. We wish him all the best with whatever is affecting his personal life, and will watch for where he signs on next.

  • The Ducks have also returned Jacob Larsson to Frolunda of the Swedish Hockey League, an expected move. Larsson was one of the players we wrote about when discussing the NHL’s slide-rule regarding young professionals. Playing in four games for each the Ducks and Gulls, Larsson recorded two points but was a dreadful -7. The first-round pick will go back to compete in the highest league in Sweden and develop his all around game.
  • Despite a lot of chatter over the past few months on Cam Fowler and his status as trade bait by the Anaheim Ducks, perhaps fans should think again about him moving. After another excellent start to the season, the former 12th overall pick has eight points in eleven games, including four goals already. His career high of ten, coming back in his rookie season, seems easily obtainable for the 24-year old. His stellar start will only elevate his trade value, making it even tougher for teams to provide a reasonable offer. With Simon Despres out indefinitely (and with his career seemingly at risk), perhaps the Ducks will hold onto their young defenseman a bit longer.
  • One last note from Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register, is that Shea Theodore has been sent back down to the AHL. This isn’t the first, and it won’t be the last time Theodore gets on a bus to San Diego this season, as he’s already been ping-ponged back and forth between the two levels.

Teenage Superstars On A Historic Pace

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The NHL has always been good to its young stars, allowing the top-tier talents to succeed at the earliest of ages. Teenage superstars are not something new, we’ve seen them with every generation. Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby, Eric Lindros, Mario Lemieux, Wayne Gretzky. All have had huge seasons before they were able to drink (in the US at least).

This year, there is a new crop trying to put their name in the history books. Auston Matthews, Patrik Laine, Zach Werenski, Travis Konecny are all off to blistering starts and look like all-stars already in the league.

There have only ever been 22 seasons in which a teenage player scored at a point-per-game pace (minimum 40 games), but that is what each of these players is close to. Obviously, to keep it up for an entire year is incredibly difficult but it isn’t so long since we’ve seen it happen.

McDavid fought through injury last season to put up 48 points in 45 games, though the second ranked teenage Jack Eichel only had  0.69 PPG. Both teenagers are leaders of their teams already, and expected to lead their franchises to the promised land.

We saw Crosby do it twice, in both 2005-06 and 2006-07. He recorded seasons of 102 and 120 points, actually setting the high mark for his career so far. He was alone though in the teenage group, as Alex Ovechkin lost out on his age-19 season due to a lockout (he’d go on to score 106 points as a 20-year old).

Perhaps the best example of a group this talented, this young, is way back in the early 80’s, when we saw the debuts of Larry Murphy, Denis Savard, Ron Francis, Dale Hawerchuk, Phil Housley and Steve Yzerman, among others. It was an unprecedented youth movement, that defined the game as we know it. While obviously this isn’t quite the same as those all-time greats (especially when speaking after just 10 games), this group should at least compete to have their names put in the all-time teenager lists.

Atlantic Division Snapshots: Spooner, Carlo, Detroit

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Until either Jacob Trouba signs a new deal with Winnipeg or is finally traded away to a club willing to meet the Jets high asking price, you can expect to see countless rumors linking the young blue liner to anyone in need of a right-shot defender. One of the latest comes courtesy of Nick Kypreos, who during an appearance on Hockey Night In Canada indicated the Jets had reportedly asked the Boston Bruins for a package highlighted by Ryan Spooner and Brandon Carlo in exchange for Trouba. However, from Boston’s perspective, any hypothetical trade package for Trouba should not include Carlo, opines Joe Haggerty of CSNNE.

Elliotte Friedman recently reported there was significant interest in Spooner and any team in the league would love to add a 19-year-old, right-shot defenseman like Carlo. While that type of package might be appealing to Winnipeg, it’s not something Boston should even consider, writes Haggerty. The scribe notes that already through nine NHL games, Carlo is already one of Boston’s best blue liners and at just 19 there is still plenty of room for growth in his game. Essentially, Haggerty is arguing that Carlo has the same kind of potential as Trouba and at least at this point in their respective careers is a lot cheaper than the Jets defenseman.

Now it should be apparent that if Winnipeg had actually proposed this deal to Boston that the Bruins rebuffed the Jets offer otherwise Trouba would be in Beantown today.

The other curious factor to this rumor is that Carlo is also a right-handed shot. All previous indications have had the Jets insisting on a left-shooting defender of comparable age and ability to Trouba. Of course it’s possible Winnipeg was simply willing to overlook that detail in order to land an overall package of talent they were comfortable with.

  • Detroit iced Stanley Cup contending teams throughout the late 1990’s and well into the 2000’s built around speed and skill. However, in 2016 the Red Wings are behind the rest of the league and need an infusion of speed and quickness, as Gregg Krupa of The Detroit News writes. He points out how the mid-season acquisition of Carl Hagelin appeared to represent a course change last season for the Penguins and helped turn that team into the speedy club that would eventually win the Stanley Cup. Of course skating speed is just part of the equation. Wings bench boss Jeff Blashill believes playing with pace and speed is as much a mentality as anything else: “But playing fast has way more to do with than just your team speed. It has to do with the mentality that every time you can, you want to beat people up the ice, the mentality that every time there’s a transition opportunity you’ve got to beat them up the ice.” Blashill also notes that this mentality was a big reason the team inked Darren Helm to a pricey extension in advance of the free agent signing period: “I think it’s both: It’s about our speed, but it’s also about our mentality of playing fast.We looked at it over the summer, and that is part of the reason that we wanted to make sure to get Darren Helm re-signed.” While the Wings realize their roster deficiencies and are doing what they can to overcome, the team does need to add quicker players to the organization.

Snapshots: Desjardins, Fisher, Gilbert, Chychrun

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Darren Dreger’s been making the radio rounds of late and today, while appearing on Ottawa’s TSN 1200, among many notes the NHL insider discussed was the suggestion that Vancouver bench boss Willie Desjardins could soon find himself on the hot seat if the Canucks can’t right the ship in short order. Dreger was clear that he didn’t believe that was the case as of this moment but the organization believes it has a roster capable of making the playoffs and if the team falls further out of the race, they could decide to make a change behind the bench.

“I’m not suggesting he’s on the hot seat today as we have this conversation. But Jim Benning, the general manager, had a much higher view of where he thought this team was coming out of training camp. He told many that he believed that the Vancouver Canucks are a playoff team and would definitely contend for a playoff spot. And they’re not playing that way right now.”

The Canucks got off to a surprisingly strong start winning their first four games but have since lost five straight to even their record at 4 – 4 – 1. Offense. or rather a lack of, is the biggest issue in Vancouver as the team is last in the league in goal scoring, averaging just 1.78 per contest. Their power play is also among the worst in the NHL converting just 10.7% of their opportunities, which ranks 26th overall.

The team invested heavily in skilled Swedish winger Loui Eriksson, to the tune of a six-year, $36MM contract this offseason but the former Bruin has failed to find the back of the net in nine games with Vancouver. Bo Horvat leads the club in goals with four but only five players have tallied more than once this season. At the other end of the scoring spectrum, the New York Rangers lead the league averaging four goals per contest with 10 players who have at least two markers on the campaign.

Chris Nichols of Today’s Slapshot relays a quote from Pierre LeBrun indicating the Canucks would like to pull the trigger on a deal for a proven 20-goal scorer, assuming they can find a trade partner. They’ve been rumored to be in that market since the summer but aside from inking Eriksson the Canucks have done little in the way of adding impact offensive talent.

Desjardins is in his third season as coach of the Canucks and owns a career mark of 83 – 71 -19. He guided the team to a 101-point season and a second place finish in the Pacific Division in 2014-15, his first as bench boss. Last season, Vancouver dropped 26 points in the standings and placed sixth in their division. Prior to being hired in Vancouver, Desjardins served as head coach of the Dallas Stars AHL affiliate and guided them to the Calder Cup championship in 2014.

Elsewhere around the league:

  • Mike Fisher, who was injured in Tuesday’s 5 – 1 win over Colorado, is being listed as day-to-day with an upper-body-injury, tweets Adam Vingan of The Tennessean. Fisher, who replaced Shea Weber as Nashville’s captain, is tied for second on the club in scoring with five points in eight games. Now in his 17th season in the NHL, Fisher has scored 261 goals with 287 assists in 1,024 contests.
  • According to the NHL Department of Player Safety (Twitter link) Los Angeles Kings defenseman Tom Gilbert will face a hearing for his hit on Nick Ritchie of the Anaheim Ducks Tuesday night. No penalty was assessed on the play but the league indicated the hearing is for boarding/charging. Eric Stephens of The Orange County Register provides an update on Ritchie and says the big winger won’t be in Anaheim’s lineup tonight as the Ducks host Pittsburgh. Gilbert has appeared in eight of L.A.’s 10 games this season and has recorded three points. Ritchie, meanwhile, has scored two goals and three points in 10 contests with Anaheim.
  • The Arizona Coyotes have elected to keep rookie defenseman Jakob Chychrun on the roster instead of returning the 18-year-old blue liner to his junior team, according to Craig Morgan of Arizona Sports. As a result, Chychrun will burn the first season of his three-year entry-level contract. The Coyotes made a trade with Detroit during the 2016 entry draft to move up four spots to select Chychrun and so far has rewarded management’s faith. Chychurn has averaged 17:15 of ice time and has three points in eight games so far.

Red Wings Notes: Leadership Questions

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George Sipple of the Detroit Free Press writes that while Detroit Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill appreciates Henrik Zetterberg taking one for the team, the Wings’ poor play against both Florida and Boston rests with him. From Blashill:

Ultimately, it’s on me. That’s my job … to make sure they’re ready. I appreciate Henrik saying that. I would say this — without question, you have to look yourself in the mirror and make sure you’re ready to go. We had too many guys not ready to go.

Zetterberg commented that it was on him to prepare the team better, and that Detroit needs to be play better at home. Blashill seemingly stamped out the question of leadership issues in the locker room. Blashill continued with MLive’s Ansar Khan:

“I have 100 percent belief in the group in this locker room, so I’m not concerned long-term at all,” Blashill said. “All I’m concerned about is tonight, which wasn’t good enough. I don’t have any worries about the level of leadership or the level of character that we have to a man in this locker room.”

Khan expanded further, speaking to several of the same players that Sipple did. Danny DeKeyser doesn’t believe there are leadership issues in Detroit, saying that:

“Leadership is important, but at the end of the day everyone is here in the NHL and they need to do whatever they need to do to get going and ready to play. I wouldn’t put much up on the captaincy or leadership, just guys doing what they need to do to be ready to go.”

If the Red Wings rip off another six game winning streak, the questions will fade. But should Detroit look listless through another pair of games,  the questions will likely multiply.

Penguins Notes: Crosby, Schultz, Defense

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Sidney Crosby is unquestionably one of, if not the very best player in the game today. Naturally the Penguins would much rather have Crosby in the lineup than out but over the years the team has done surprisingly well without their superstar center. This year was no exception as Pittsburgh went 3 – 2 – 1 with Crosby sidelined due to concussion-related symptoms. However, in the three games since he returned, Crosby has impacted the performance of the power play as much as anything else, as Sam Werner of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes.

With Crosby back in the lineup, the Penguins have cashed in on four of nine opportunities, good for a 44.4% success rate. In 25 chances without Crosby, Pittsburgh tallied five man-advantage goals, still a solid 20% mark. But as head coach Mike Sullivan notes, it isn’t simply the results; it’s that the power play creates a lot more high quality scoring chances with Crosby on the ice.

“One of the things that we like about our power play is the movement. That’s what makes it difficult to defend. We’ve had a lot of movement and that shot mentality, and Sid’s part of that group. He’s got great offensive instincts, so whether he’s beside the net or he’s on the half-wall or he’s in the slot, he’s a dangerous guy, whether he’s passing or shooting.”

In addition to his skills with the biscuit on his stick, Sullivan notes that his franchise pivot excels at gaining possession of the puck due to his ability to win faceoffs.

“It helps us to win that first faceoff so we can establish some zone time. He’s a threat, regardless of where he is on the rink.”

Of course, regardless of his proficiency on the power play, Crosby can affect a game in a multitude and the Penguins are simply a better and more dangerous team when he is healthy and playing.

More on the Penguins:

  • Speaking of the team’s power play success, Justin Schultz has done a fine job for the Penguins on the man advantage in the five games since stalwart defenseman Kris Letang went down with an injury, as Pro Hockey Talk’s Adam Gretz writes. Pittsburgh has been successful on five of 16 chances with Letang sidelined and Schultz has been on the ice for every one of those goals. Sullivan notes it’s Schultz’s willingness to simply fire the puck on goal that is key to this recent run of success: “Sometimes, when we put guys on our first power-play unit, there’s always a tendency to try to want to get the puck to (Sidney) Crosby or (Evgeni) Malkin or (Phil) Kessel when sometimes the right play is to put the puck on the net.” Letang appears to be nearing a return but at least Pittsburgh can breathe a bit easier knowing that Schultz has adequately replaced their best blue liner’s power play production.
  • Finally, in a piece for Today’s Slapshot, Dave Holcomb expresses his belief that the team’s sole weakness remains their blue line. That’s not a surprising position given that the Penguins boast two Stanley Cup winning goalies with Matt Murray and Marc-Andre Fleury along with two of the best players in the world in Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. But as Holcomb notes, while the team is still generating plenty of offense (seventh in the NHL in shots on goal per game), they are also allowing more chances against (second most shots allowed per game). Last season Pittsburgh finished with the second-best Corsi For % at 52.72. So far this season they are at 50%. Of course the team’s blue line was far from a strength last season when the won the Stanley Cup and it should also be noted again that Letang has missed more than half of the season so far. Pittsburgh smartly used the trade market a year ago to boost their defense corps, adding Trevor Daley and Schultz from Chicago and Edmonton respectively. That should serve as a reminder that Pittsburgh is likely to focus once more on improving the blue line as we draw nearer this season’s trade deadline.

PHR Originals

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Here’s a roundup of all of Pro Hockey Rumors original content for the week:

  • Zach Leach examined the precarious position the Pittsburgh Penguins may find themselves in ahead of the expansion draft with Marc-Andre Fleury’s NMC requiring the team to protect him and therefore leaving open the possibility Matt Murray might be available for Las Vegas to choose should the team not find another alternative.
  • Brett Barrett looks at the rookie players currently in the NHL who could see their entry-level contracts slide should they be returned to their respective Junior teams.
  • Gavin Lee posts the latest in the Franchise Faceoff series, comparing the Anaheim Ducks and Chicago Blackhawks.
  • Zach Leach ponders whether goalie Malcolm Subban, Boston’s first-round pick in 2012, is on the verge of being labeled a bust.
  • Brian La Rose continued with PHR’s 2005 Draft Take Two series, asking who the New York Islanders should select if they had a chance to do it all over again.

Early Calder Trophy Candidates: Matthews, Marner, Laine

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The Hockey News’ Mike Brophy writes a very preliminary guess as to the front runners for the Calder Trophy, awarded yearly for the league’s best rookie. Brophy concedes that it’s still very early in the season, but based on what he’s seen over the first three weeks, he lists some players to watch as the year progresses. Some names Brophy highlights:

  • Toronto Maple Leafs forward and #1 overall pick in 2016 Auston Matthews leads the pack, turning in a four goal performance in his first NHL game and following that up with being second overall in league scoring with 10 points (6-4). Linemate William Nylander is right behind him, with four goals and nine points in seven games.
  • Teammate Mitch Marner is also an early candidate, notching a goal and six points in seven games.
  • Winnipeg Jets rookie Patrik Laine has eight points (6-2) in seven games and is showing that he was absolutely worthy of the second overall pick in the 2016 draft.
  • Jimmy Vesey, the focus of nearly every team this summer as a free agent out of college, has proven the Rangers right so far. Vesey had four goals (4-1) in seven games thus far.
  • Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski had two goals and five points in just six games, being a bright spot on what has started out as a disappointing start for the Jackets.

Regardless of who wins, Brophy talks of how the injection of youth in the league is hopefully leading to another wave of talent. Further, Brophy talks about how the excitement of the player’s speed, and skill could hopefully bring back the excitement that Brophy feels has been missing for some time.

Snapshots: Oduya, Sproul, Trouba, Fowler

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Mike Heika writes that the development of Dallas’ young defenseman has been helped by the presence of Johnny Oduya. The four defenseman standing to benefit, Patrik Nemeth, Jamie Oleksiak, Stephen Johns and Esa Lindell, have the two-time Stanley Cup champion defenseman patrolling the blue line. General manager Jim Nill talked about Oduya’s professionalism and dedication to the sport and how it plays a huge role in the development of younger players:

“It’s hard to tell his age, because he’s in such great shape. He’s a consummate professional, and he’s the kind of guy that players naturally attract to. They want to ask him what he’s eating and why. They want to know how he’s working out.”

Oduya was signed as a free agent by the Stars in 2015 and defenseman Stephen Johns followed from Chicago when he was dealt along with Patrick Sharp to the big D. Johns commented on Oduya’s leadership, especially during a rough series for Johns against Minnesota during the 2016 playoffs. Johns said that Oduya’s words of wisdom were instrumental in his confidence growing.

Though the Stars are 3-3-1, the steady Oduya should help the younger defensive corps bring the Stars back to its expected perch as one of the best in the West.

In other NHL news:

  • The Red Wings have guaranteed one of their young defenseman an extended stay with the big club writes MLive’s Ansar Khan. Khan answered a number of questions and regarding young defenseman Ryan Sproul, the club has apparently told Sproul to a find a place to live in the Detroit area. Khan reports that Sproul will duke it out with Alexey Marchenko and Xavier Ouellet for a final spot on the blue line when Niklas Kronwall returns from a knee injury. When Tomas Jurco returns, Khan opines that it will most likely be Ouellet as the odd man out, which would mean being exposed to waivers.
  • Khan also answers about the Red Wings’ likelihood of obtaining Jacob Trouba or Cam Fowler via a trade, but from the sounds of it, Trouba is still a far fetched option while Fowler might end up staying in Anaheim after all. Khan says that the Ducks may reconsider moving Fowler should their offensive woes continue. Trouba, on the other hand, will simply cost too much for the Wings to trade for, and the young, left handed defenseman the Jets seek in return is something Detroit cannot provide.

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