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Prospect Notes: Kuokkanen, Hughes, Caufield, Malone

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The Carolina Hurricanes are down a depth option with the playoffs approaching, but the bigger hit will be to the Charlotte Checkers, the top team in the AHL. Checkers head coach Mike Vellucci has revealed that forward Janne Kuokkanen is done for the year. The top prospect has missed more than a month now with an upper-body injury, but both the ’Canes and Checkers hoped he would be able to return. Instead, Kuokkanen is scheduled for surgery in two weeks that will end his season. The 2016 second-round pick is in his second pro season and had been on pace to put up major numbers in the minors. Prior to his injury, Kuokkanen had 38 points in 48 games, close to his 60-game total from last year, and remains second on the team in per-game production. Kuokkanen has also played eleven games with Carolina, including seven this season, and likely would have been a top injury replacement consideration. The talented forward will instead have to focus on his recovery and will likely be given a chance to break camp with the Hurricanes next season.

  • On one goal last night, history was made for two players in the U.S. National Team Development Program writes NHL.com’s Mike Morreale. Facing the USHL’s Green Bay Gamblers, presumptive 2019 first-round picks Jack Hughes and Cole Caufield connected for a goal late in the third period of a lopsided blowout; it was yet another of countless the duo have combined for in their time with the program. The assist to Hughes, the favorite to go No. 1 overall in June, was his 190th point in his two-year stint with the program, passing Clayton Keller for the most all-time. It was his fifth assist of the game and his 130th as a member of the USNTDP. Hughes now tops a list that includes Keller, Phil Kessel, Patrick Kane, Jeremy Bracco, and Auston Matthews next in line. The goal for Caufield was his sixth of the game and somehow more impressively his 105th for the USNTDP, the new all-time high. Caufield takes the overall title away from Kessel and is just four goals away from passing Matthews for most goals in a single season. Although just 5’7″, Caufield is an elite sniper whose game has been complemented nicely by Hughes’ next-level play-making abilities. Questions about his size and ability to produce when not surrounded by top talent persist, but the University of Wisconsin-bound forward is still expected to be picked in the first half of the first round this spring. Hughes and Caufield are now names for the USNTDP record books, but soon they’ll be topping charts as NHL prospects and even NHL scorers sooner rather than later.
  • A recent University of Wisconsin standout had a nice night of his own. Seamus Malone, who wrapped up an impressive four-year career with the Badgers last week, signed a tryout deal with the AHL’s Utica Comets. In his pro debut, Malone also picked up his first career goal. An undersized, but capable center, Malone was a model of consistency at Wisconsin, recording 23+ points in 35+ games in each of his four seasons. However, his senior campaign also showed that he has developed into a more well-rounded two-way contributor. Malone was a player that some were surprised to see go undrafted during his years of eligibility, but now the 22-year-old may end up in the NHL after all. He is bound for far more than just a tryout deal and will likely land an AHL contract, if not an entry-level contract for next season, especially if he keeps scoring in his current stint with the Comets.

NHL Announces All-Star Skills Competitors

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The NHL All-Star Skills Competition is scheduled for this evening, and though Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon have both pulled out due to illness and injury there are still an incredible amount of talented players taking part. Most notable however may be the final entrant in the fastest skater competition: Kendall Coyne. A member of the US Women’s National Team, Coyne will take MacKinnon’s place after the Colorado Avalanche forward suffered a foot injury this week. The Olympic gold medalist is known for her speed and posted a 14.226 yesterday during event testing according to Emily Kaplan of ESPN. Though that wouldn’t have been enough to dethrone Connor McDavid last year, it would have put her ahead of Zach Werenski, Noah Hanifin and Josh Bailey in the competition. We’ll see what Coyne can do tonight, along with the rest of the competitors:

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Snapshots: Three Stars, Seabrook, Flynn

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After all the struggles the New York Islanders have had over the last few years finding a reliable starting goaltender, one can understand why it is surprising to see one of them at the top of the Three Stars list for last week. Robin Lehner, who was left unqualified by the Buffalo Sabres last summer, took home the first star of the week after stopping 65 of 67 shots. Lehner has played himself into a potential extension with the Islanders or a long-term deal on the open market this summer with his .930 save percentage this season for the resurgent Islanders.

Second and third stars went to two forwards on teams out of the playoffs, as Mika Zibanejad and Patrick Kane did their usual damage. Zibanejad is one of the few players on the New York Rangers that seems off the trade block this season given his relative youth and affordable contract, though of course nothing is set in stone at this point. Kane on the other hand is having another incredible season in a lost year for the Blackhawks, with 70 points in 49 games. He too is untouchable, of course.

  • Kane also made headlines today for coming to the defense of teammate Brent Seabrook. With the Blackhawks in the midst of another failed season, the scrutiny of Seabrook’s contract – considered by many to be one of the worst in the league – hasn’t gone away. Seabrook, 33, is signed for five more years at a cap hit of $6.875MM, but already appears to be on the decline. His offensive totals have decreased in each of the past two seasons and, while they are on pace to improve this year, his defense has noticeably dropped off in the current campaign. Seabrook has struggled to maintain his previous high level of play and has not been able to avoid criticism, given the price tag on his participation. Yet, Kane fired back at media members after practice on Monday when Seabrook’s name came up yet again during questioning about the performance of Chicago’s core players, NBC Sports’ Charlie Roumeliotis writes. Kane argued that Seabrook is underpaid in the eyes of his teammates due to his leadership and locker room presence, calling him the “heart and soul” of the team. Kane’s defense of his long-time teammate may keep the critics of his back for the time being, but if Seabrook doesn’t improve, his contract will continue to be a focal point of the Blackhawks struggles.
  • It didn’t take long for Brian Flynn to find a new team. Just two days after clearing unconditional waivers and having his contract terminated by the St. Louis Blues, the veteran forward is on his way to Switzerland. EV Zug of the NLA has announced a one-year contract with Flynn, who is making his first foray into European hockey. Zug is currently the top team in the NLA; however, the team finished second overall in the regular season last year, only to be upset in the first round of the playoffs. Looking to avoid a similar fate, they have brought in Flynn who should make an immediate impact. The 30-year-old has 275 NHL games under his belt, as well as another 137 in the AHL and 153 in the NCAA as a star for the University of Maine. In stops with the Buffalo Sabres and Montreal Canadiens, Flynn showed that he could be a reliable role player, while his collegiate years and AHL stints with the Rochester Americans and Texas Stars also displayed high-end offensive ability. Playing alongside fellow NHL vets like Dennis Everberg, Carl Klingberg, and Raphael Diaz, as well as leading scorer Lino Martschini – who has garnered some NHL attention this season – Flynn should be able to step in and be a difference-maker right away for Zug.

2019 All-Star Rosters Announced

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The NHL has announced the four rosters for the 2019 All-Star Game today, scheduled to be held on January 26th in San Jose. Earlier today, Alex Ovechkin, who was elected captain of Metropolitan Division squad, told the league that he wouldn’t be attending and will accept the punishment of missing one game either before or after the break. Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, and Auston Matthews will represent the Pacific, Central and Atlantic respectively, as the other captains. A replacement Metropolitan captain for Ovechkin has yet to be named.

The full rosters are as follows:

Pacific Division

G John Gibson (ANA)
G Marc-Andre Fleury (VGK)

D Erik Karlsson (SJS)
D Brent Burns (SJS)
D Drew Doughty (LAK)

F Connor McDavid (EDM)*
F Johnny Gaudreau (CGY)
F Joe Pavelski (SJS)
F Elias Pettersson (VAN)
F Clayton Keller (ARI)

Central Division

G Pekka Rinne (NSH)
G Devan Dubnyk (MIN)

D Roman Josi (NSH)
D Miro Heiskanen (DAL)

F Nathan MacKinnon (COL)*
F Mikko Rantanen (COL)
F Blake Wheeler (WPG)
F Patrick Kane (CHI)
F Mark Scheifele (WPG)
F Ryan O’Reilly (STL)

Atlantic Division

G Jimmy Howard (DET)
G Carey Price (MTL)

D Keith Yandle (FLA)
D Thomas Chabot (OTT)

F Auston Matthews (TOR)*
F Nikita Kucherov (TBL)
F Steven Stamkos (TBL)
F John Tavares (TOR)
F David Pastrnak (BOS)
F Jack Eichel (BUF)

Metropolitan Division

G Henrik Lundqvist (NYR)
G Braden Holtby (WAS)

D John Carlson (WSH)
D Seth Jones (CBJ)

F Sidney Crosby (PIT)
F Taylor Hall (NJD)
F Mathew Barzal (NYI)
F Claude Giroux (PHI)
F Cam Atkinson (CBJ)
F Sebastian Aho (CAR)

*Denotes team captain

One final skater spot on each roster has yet to be announced, as it will be determined by the “Last Man In” fan ballot, a concept borrowed from Major League Baseball. The format of the current All-Star Game, which requires one representative from each team on these smaller 3-on-tournament rosters, was bound to cause some confusion with the initial selections. Seven top-twenty scorers were not selected – Mitch Marner, Brayden Point, Leon Draisaitl, Sean Monahan, Matthew Tkachuk, Phil Kessel, and Gabriel Landeskog – and several will inevitably remain out of All-Star participation even after the fan ballot additions. Morgan Rielly, the league’s top-scoring defenseman, and Mark Giordano, enjoying an elite season on both sides of the puck, are two surprising omissions on the blue line. Several of the league’s top goalies are also going to miss out, ineligible for the fan ballot, including Ben Bishop, Frederik Andersen, and Andrei Vasilevskiy. The “Last Man In” will be an intriguing new addition to the All-Star process, with nominees to be named shortly, but more than a few notable names will be left out regardless. Meanwhile, the health of players like Price and Chabot for Team Atlantic and Hall for Team Metropolitan will bear watching, as those players may opt to skip the All-Star festivities, opening up more players to selection.

Snapshots: Three Stars, Lehtera, Caggiula

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The NHL released the Three Stars for last week, and at the top is a man who has been there before. Patrick Kane, the electric winger for the Chicago Blackhawks comes in at the top spot, after recording five goals in just two games. The Blackhawks haven’t had much to celebrate this season, but Kane provided the fans with two game-winners to get them on the right track around Christmas. Even in an extremely down year for Chicago, Kane is having an outstanding season with 50 points in 40 games. He’s on track to record the second 40-goal, 100-point season of his career, which in 2016 won him the Art Ross, Hart and Ted Lindsay trophies as the league’s best player.

In the other two spots are a pair of youngsters trying to stand up to players like Kane. Second place goes to Mathew Barzal, who finished his week by showing New York Islanders fans that they don’t need John Tavares anymore. Barzal recorded a hat trick while the team demolished Tavares and the Maple Leafs 4-0 on Saturday night. In third is a newcomer to the list, MacKenzie Blackwood. The New Jersey Devils goaltender has exploded onto the scene and posted another shutout this afternoon to improve his numbers even further. The Devils may have found their goaltender of the present, let alone the future.

  • Philadelphia Flyers forward Jori Lehtera has been charged with buying cocaine in Finland, according to Tricia L. Nadolny of the Philadelphia Inquirer, though the NHL denies that he has actually been legally served at this point. Lehtera denies all charges, while the prosecutors are seeking a five-month sentence. Obviously there is more to come in this story, but for now deputy commissioner Bill Daly has told the Inquirer “we will not be intervening at this point and will continue to monitor the legal proceedings.”
  • Drake Caggiula is part of the Chicago Blackhawks organization today, but it could have happened years ago had he made a different decision. According to Charlie Roumeliotis of NBCS Chicago, the Blackhawks pursued Caggiula out of college at the University of North Dakota and were a finalist for his services before he decided to sign and play with his childhood friend Connor McDavid in Edmonton. The team followed his progress and jumped at the chance to acquire him yesterday.

Central Notes: Jost, Zadorov, Nichushkin, Kane

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With a dominant top line that includes Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen, the Colorado Avalanche can’t be happier as they have combined for 75 points so far this season. However, the biggest concern for the team has been their secondary scoring, which most recently seems to have improved when the team re-inserted center Tyson Jost together with wingers Alex Kerfoot and Colin Wilson, according to Kyle Newman of the Denver Post.

Jost had spent some time with that line earlier this year, but between a demotion to the team’s fourth line and an injury that kept him out for four games, Jost finally got a chance to center the two wingers and has made the most of his opportunity with a pair of goals in the past week as well as improved play from both Wilson and Kerfoot.

“It’s tough to score every night, but I want to see them generate chances every night and I want to see them doing the right things defensively,” Colorado head coach Jared Bednar said. “They’re starting to earn more trust on the defensive side of the puck as a young line, and they’re finding ways to chip in, and the last (few games) are a prime example.”

  • Sticking with the Avalanche, Ryan S. Clark of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that Bednar has lost faith for the time being in defenseman Nikita Zadorov, who led the league in hits with 278 last year and averaged 19:28 of ice time last season. However, his role has changed as he is averaging just 15:12, was benched in the third period Wednesday against Boston and then finally was a healthy scratch for the team’s game against Washington on Friday. “We’ve got some D that are playing well,” Bednar said. “Like I said, we’ve got the depth at D now, seven (defensemen) and sometimes you gotta make tough decisions. … Sometimes that means moving around the lineup, elevating guys, lowering guys in the lineup with their minutes. Other times it means you have to make tough decisions and scratch some guys. That’s what we did with Nikita. He’s going to get an opportunity to go back in and continue to play. We’ll see how the game goes.”
  • Dallas Stars winger Valeri Nichushkin hasn’t scored an NHL goal in 989 days. Granted, he just spent the last two season in the KHL, which has something to do with that statistic. However, Nichushkin went 26 combined regular season and playoff games without scoring back in 2016 and now has gone 14 straight goalless games this season, according to SportsDay’s Matthew DeFranks. His struggles are not stopping him, however. “Tough start, but I feel better every game, especially the last three games, I had a lot of moments,” Nichushkin said. “I need to score and I think everything will be good. Team’s winning so I don’t care. I know I will be better.”
  • Chicago Blackhawks new head coach Jeremy Colliton has utilized the strategy of playing Patrick Kane as much as possible since he’s taken over, but another interesting stat is that Colliton has used Kane almost entirely on the power play, according to the Chicago Tribune’s Jimmy Greenfield. In fact, Kane has been used for 16:50 of power play time under Colliton in a total of 17:52, an unbelievable usage rate for a 30-year-old player. “I don’t think it’s been a problem so far, and I think the power play’s moving in the right direction,” Colliton said. “I thought the power play was better tonight than it was against St. Louis, but we scored against St. Louis so it (wasn’t) a talking point. We’ve just got to work on it.”

Central Notes: Predators, Saad, Kane, Schenn, Niederreiter

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With the recent re-signing of goaltender Pekka Rinne to a new extension with a no-movement clause, the Nashville Predators are likely to be heavily scouted over the next couple of years by the Seattle expansion team, who are expected to have their own expansion draft in 2020, assuming everything goes as planned. If that’s the case, then the Predators might be forced to expose young goaltender Juuse Saros in the expansion draft if they can’t convince Rinne to waive his NMC.

In a mailbag series, The Athletic’s Adam Vingan (subscription required) writes that with the expansion rules expected to be the same as Vegas, the Predators will likely be expected to protect all four of their top defensemen (assuming Roman Josi agrees to an extension), which might limit the amount of forwards they can protect down the road, suggesting that Seattle will either get a top-rated goaltender (in Saros or a willing Rinne) or receive a top-end forward to jumpstart their new franchise.

  • Chicago Blackhawks forward Brandon Saad has had a rough go of it this week in practice. He took a puck to the face in practice Wednesday that required a lengthy trip to the dentist, according to Scott Powers of The Athletic (subscription required). Now, Chicago Sun-Times’ Mark Lazerus reports that Saad then injured his arm in practice Friday, forcing him to miss today’s game and he is considered day-to-day for Monday’s game at Carolina.
  • Sticking with the Blackhawks, Lazerus also points out that new head coach Jeremy Colliton has already pressed Patrick Kane into a big role. Already the biggest leader in minutes on the forward line, Kane played the most he’s ever played in a regular-season game, a record 27:43 Thursday against Carolina. He followed that up with 24:33 against Philadelphia Saturday. “It’s fun,” Kane said. “It’s always fun coming back to the bench after a shift and hearing your name called up for the next shift to go out. It’s exciting. I like it, it gets me into the game, too. I’ve actually been trying to figure out how to get that excitement and energy into my game in the first and second period, because there’s some crazy stats where I’ve got way more goals this year in the third period than any other period.”
  • It looks like St. Louis Blues center Brayden Schenn will miss his third-straight game Sunday with what is believed to be a strained oblique muscle, according to Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He did practice Saturday, suggesting he’s getting closer to a return. “I would say that he’s doubtful for tomorrow, but encouraging that he’s getting closer,” coach Mike Yeo said. “He looked good in practice today. I talked to him afterward. We just have to make sure we’re smart.”
  • The Minnesota Wild’s Nino Niederreiter finally broke a 27-goal scoring streak Thursday when he scored his first goal of the season and was quick to point out that staying positive was the most challenging thing for him while waiting out that streak. He said the mental challenges were taxing on him and his play, according to the StarTribune’s Sarah McLellan. “That’s the toughest thing, staying positive in those moments,” Niederreiter said. “But it makes it a lot easier that we’ve been doing well, and as long as the team is winning, it makes it a lot easier. But it was definitely frustrating at some points.”

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Chicago Blackhawks

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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.

Chicago Blackhawks

Current Cap Hit: $74,008,045 (under the $79.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Nick Schmaltz (one year, $925K)
F Dylan Sikura (one year, $925K)
F Dominik Kahun (two years, $925K)
F David Kampf (one year, $925K)
F Victor Ejdsell (one year, $834K)
F Alex DeBrincat (two years, $778K)

Potential Bonuses:

Kahun: $2.85MM
Sikura: $925K
Schmaltz: $850K
DeBrincat: $133K

Total: $4,76MM

The team has a number of quality youngsters who will eventually cost them a good deal of money. However, the team has high expectations for Schmaltz, who had a breakout season and was one of the few bright spots in Chicago during a dismal season. Schmaltz, in his second year, scored 21 goals and added 52 points and is expected to be the team’s No. 2 center for a number of years in the future. The only key issue that Schmaltz continues to work on is his struggles in the face-off circle as he had just a 40.1 percent faceoff winning percentage last year, which is horrible.

The team’s other major bright spot was the play of DeBrincat. The 20-year-old made the team and then tallied 28 goals in his rookie campaign and looks to be another solid scorer for Chicago to work with in the top-six. The team hopes for a similar season from Sikura, who the team signed out of Northeastern University, where he posted 58 goals over four seasons there. The 23-year-old winger looks to have a solid chance of joining DeBrincat in the top six this season.

Two other interesting names, who could make an impact with the team are Ejdsell and Kahun. Ejdsell, who the team acquired in the Ryan Hartman trade at the deadline, has an opportunity to beat out Sikura for a top-six spot if he has a good training camp, while Kahun, signed to a two-year deal out of Germany, is another candidate to make the team and contribute immediately.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

G Cam Ward ($3MM, UFA)
F Marcus Kruger ($2.78MM, UFA)
D Jan Rutta ($2.3MM, UFA)
F Chris Kunitz ($1MM, UFA)
F Jordan Schroeder ($650K, UFA)
F Tyler Sikura ($650K, UFA)

While the Blackhawks offseason was relatively quiet, the team did make a splash in the goaltending market after the team went for much of the season last year without their starting goaltender. Because of their lack of depth, the team added Ward to help fill the backup role, who could also take over starting duties if needed. The 35-year-old Ward played 43 games for Carolina a year ago and posted a .906 save percentage along with two shutouts. While those numbers aren’t great, they are better than the goalies they carried a season ago.

The team also brought in some grit, bringing back Kruger as well as signing 38-year-old Kunitz. Both should fill significant roles in the bottom-six and hopefully boost the production of those lines. Kruger struggled since leaving Chicago. He posted just one goal and five assists in 48 games last season and was demoted to the AHL for 19 games. However, in the offseason, Kruger admitted he played the entire season with a hernia, which is what affected his play. Now, fully healthy, Kruger might be able to bounce back. Both are solid one-year options.

The 28-year-old Rutta showed some solid signs of progress in his rookie campaign. He averaged 19:15 of ATOI, scoring six goals and 20 points, as well as having a (minus) one plus/minus ratio. Another season could boost his production as a top-four defenseman.

Two Years Remaining

G Corey Crawford ($6MM, UFA)
D Brandon Manning ($2.25MM, UFA)
D Erik Gustafsson ($1.2MM, UFA)
F John Hayden ($750K, RFA)

The Blackhawks success will likely fall on Crawford, who missed most of the season last year with concussion-like symptoms and the 33-year-old netminder has already indicated that he likely won’t be ready for training camp and could miss part of the season next year.

With those issues, there isn’t necessarily a guarantee that he will bounce back and put up similar numbers from his 2015-16 season when he put up a .919 save percentage in 55 games. His numbers were actually even better in the 2017-18 season before he was injured, posting a .929 save percentage to go with two shutouts in 28 games.

Chicago will rely on Gustafsson and Murphy to help man their defense. Both will need to improve quite a bit to improve their weakened defense. Gustafsson showed some promise after being recalled late in the season from Rockford of the AHL and he posted 16 points in 35 games. The defensive-minded Murphy, who came over in the Niklas Hjalmarsson trade was solid, if not unspectacular on defense. Both will be needed if the team wants to return to the playoffs next year.Read more

Central Notes: Heiskanen, Kane, Thomas, Kyrou, Gurianov

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While many people are talking about the impact that rookie defenseman Rasmus Dahlin will make on the Buffalo Sabres, many are forgetting that the Dallas Stars have an impact defenseman of their own entering the league this year in Miro Heiskanen. The third-overall pick from the 2017 draft is expected to make an immediate impact to aid the Stars’ defense, but he is expected to be brought along slowly to start the season, according to SportsDay’s Matthew DeFranks.

In a personal profile of the 19-year-old, the scribe writes that the team will likely ease him into the lineup as he will likely either be paired with shutdown defenseman Stephen Johns or fellow countryman Julius Honka on the second or third line, depending on how quickly he can adjust to the North American style of game. He has spent the last two seasons in Finland, playing against men in Liiga for HIFK, where he was named the league’s top defenseman last season.

  • Tracey Myers of NHL.com writes that Chicago Blackhawks’ star Patrick Kane is ready to wipe the slate clean from last year’s disappointing season and the goal is to get the team back into the playoffs. Kane had a down season compared to the previous two years as he tallied 27 goals and 79 points. Normally a solid season, it still paled in comparison to the 106 points he posted in 2015-16 or the 89 points in 2016-17. “We all have that feeling within us where it’s like, we did some good things, but you’re restarting now and you have to prove yourself again,” Kane said. “It’s a long season, and I think maybe we got ahead of ourselves a little bit last year.”
  • With all the talent the St. Louis brought in this season, including Ryan O’Reilly, David Perron, Tyler Bozak and Patrick Maroon, it might seem unlikely that the team’s two top prospects, Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou, might be shoved out of the way next season. In a mailbag story, St. Louis Post Dispatch’s Jim Thomas said that is very unlikely when it comes to Robert Thomas, saying that he can’t picture a scenario where the team doesn’t keep Thomas, who is likely to center the team’s fourth line next season. Thomas, who dominated the OHL last season, would either have to make the club or be returned to juniors for another year and the scribe believes sending him back to Hamilton isn’t going to help him. So he’s best off learning on the fly in the NHL. Kyrou, on the other hand, very likely will end up with the AHL San Antonio Rampage. Now that Kyrou is finished with juniors, he can learn in the AHL for a season before coming over. Thomas doesn’t have the AHL option open to him.
  • In a mailbag article, The Athletic’s Sean Shapiro (subscription required) writes that it seems less and less likely that Dallas Stars prospect Denis Gurianov will be success in the NHL. The 12th-overall pick in the 2015 NHL draft struggled in the AHL at times this season. He finished the season with 19 goals in 74 games, but also was scratched during the Texas Stars’ playoff run. Shapiro writes that he doesn’t believe that Gurianov has the hockey IQ to be successful in the league. He is a hard worker, but doesn’t understand the game. When he was scratched, it was an organizational decision, according to Shapiro, not a coaching decision.

Central Notes: Seguin, Jets’ Second-Line, Boqvist

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While negotiations continue between Tyler Seguin and the Dallas Stars, there has been no progress when it comes to locking up the Stars’ star forward to a long-term deal. In fact, in a mailbag edition in The Athletic (subscription required), Sean Shapiro writes that it is unlikely the team and Seguin will be able to reach an agreement on an extension before the season starts, which could put a tremendous amount of pressure on Dallas management, especially if the team struggles in Jim Montgomery’s first season as head coach.

With three coaches in the past three years and a slow start out of the gate, many might feel that Dallas could be forced to consider trading Seguin rather than eventually losing him for nothing like the New York Islanders did with John Tavares this past offseason. However, Shapiro writes that the only way general manager Jim Nill trades Seguin is if he’s on the way out as it would signify that he has failed in his bid to assemble a great team. So, it’s likely Nill and the team will do everything it can, which could include an eventual trade for another top-six player, to help convince Seguin to stay in Dallas long-term.

  • Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun writes that the Winnipeg Jets will have a battle for their No. 2 center position in training camp this year. While the position was manned at the end of the year by trade acquisition Paul Stastny at the end of the season, the veteran has moved on to Vegas, opening up a competition between Bryan Little, Jack Roslovic and Adam Lowry. Roslovic might have the upper hand as the 21-year-old is an emerging talent after posting impressive numbers in the AHL last year after he posted more than a point a game with the Manitoba Moose, where he scored 15 goals and 35 points in just 32 games, while adding another five goals with the Jets in a limited role in 31 games. The 30-year-old little had a disappointing season that saw him score 16 goals and 43 points, some of the worst numbers of his career. Lowry managed to appear in just 45 games last season after dealing with multiple shoulder injuries, but may also have found his niche as a checking line center.
  • Scott Powers of The Athletic (subscription required) examines why the Chicago Blackhawks intend to allow the OHL London Knights to develop Adam Boqvist, their top pick in the 2018 NHL draft. The eighth-overall pick is expected to breathe both talent and youth in a depleted blue line within the next year or two. While he’s not expected to be ready yet to make those contributions, the franchise had multiple options in where they could send him, including sending him back to Sweden, sending him to the Rockford IceHogs in the AHL or back to Sweden for another season. Powers said that returning him to Sweden wasn’t the best option as he only received 7:27 of ATOI with his SHL team, Brynas, last season and while that likely would increase, he would never average 20 minutes a game there. That left two options. They felt that the five-foot-nine, 157-pound blueliner wasn’t ready for the AHL, so that left sending him to juniors. London is a team they have familiarity with as Patrick Kane played there for one  season as well as the fact that the Knights have a top coach in Dale Hunter and Blackhawks’ scout Jim McKellar spent 13 years with the London organization as well, which makes them feel that Boqvist should get plenty of playing time and a chance to further develop his skills.

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