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Lawrence Pilut Recalled By Buffalo Sabres

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Amidst the buzz of the 2018 draft season, it wouldn’t have been hard to miss the news that of an undersized defenseman from Sweden signing with the Buffalo Sabres. After all, Sabres fans had their eyes set on a much different Swedish prize, the eventual first-overall pick Rasmus Dahlin. The top pick has been as advertised, stepping right onto the NHL blue line and showing off his dazzling skill set, but that other signing may be joining him very soon. The Sabres have recalled defenseman Lawrence Pilut from the minor leagues, moving Patrik Berglund to injured reserve to make room.

With all the flash and publicity that Dahlin brings, there’s plenty of reason to think that Pilut could have almost as much impact right away. The 22-year old is the reigning SHL Defenseman of the Year after scoring 38 points in 52 games for HV71, and has torn apart the AHL as a rookie this year. In 15 games with the Rochester Americans, Pilut is tied for the league scoring title with 22 points and is a +16, good for second among all players.

There should be real excitement around Pilut, and while the comparison to Dahlin may be a big hyperbolic his presence should only add more skill to an already dynamic young team. The Sabres have rode that young core to a 13-6-2 record this season and are currently on a six-game winning streak as they look to challenge for a playoff spot in the Atlantic Division.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Snapshots: Schwartz, Wilson, Doughty, Scarlett

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The St. Louis Blues were rolling along just fine a year ago, but when winger Jaden Schwartz went down with an injury on Dec. 9th and missed six weeks with a lower-body injury, the team fell apart and had trouble finding its offense even after he came back as they found themselves outside a playoff spot.

Now, the team is in the exact same situation as Schwartz took a puck off the same leg he injured last year from his own teammate, Vladimir Tarasenko. While this injury is not considered to be as serious, the team feels more confident that they can survive without the winger this season with their improved depth, according to The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford.

The scribe points out that the team used Dmitrij Jaskin and Vladimir Sobotka in their top-six after last year’s Schwartz injury and the team’s third line featured Ivan Barbashev, Magnus Paajarvi and Patrik Berglund, which wasn’t a very deep team. Four of those players aren’t even with the team anymore.

This year, the team moves Sammy Blais into the top-six and still boast several key players on the third line, including Jordan Kyrou, Alex Steen and Tyler Bozak and that’s not including 19-year-old Robert Thomas. With the depth much deeper, the Schwartz injury shouldn’t have as significant effect as it did a year ago.

  • Washington Capitals winger Tom Wilson, currently sitting out 20 games for a preseason hit against St. Louis Blues’ Oskar Sundqvist pending appeal, was asked Sunday whether he intends to change the way he plays. “Yeah, for sure,” Wilson told The Athletic’s Chris Kuk. “The hitting aspect of the game is definitely changing a little bit and I have to be smart out there and I have to play within the rules.”
  • Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty took much of the blame as he said he “failed” in making a difference during the team’s 5-1 embarrassing loss to the Ottawa Senators Saturday as well as their 2-2-1 start. However, Fox Sports’ Jon Rosen writes that Doughty has hardly failed the team as no goals have been scored when Doughty has been on the ice this season and had a plus-1 rating in their loss to the Senators.
  • The Athletic’s Sean Shapiro reports that the Texas Stars, the AHL affiliate of the Dallas Stars, announced that defenseman Reece Scarlett will miss the rest of the season after tearing his ACL. The 25-year-old had a strong camp with Dallas and was expected to have a big season with the Texas Stars.

Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou Make St. Louis Opening Night Roster

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The St. Louis Blues have been one of the most interesting teams to follow this offseason, given the huge overhaul they performed on their forward group. Out are names like Patrik Berglund, Vladimir Sobotka and Tage Thompson, while the team has brought in veteran names like Tyler Bozak, David Perron and Ryan O’Reilly. Outside of those veteran additions though, fans were watching closely the development of several young players and hoping they’d get a chance to play in the NHL this season. Thanks to some injuries to start the year—including ones to Oskar Sundqvist, Robby Fabbri and Nikita Soshnikov, who will all start the season on injured reserve of one form or another—Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou, Samuel Blais and Ivan Barbashev have all earned spots on the opening night roster.

The early performance of each of these young forwards was enough to make the Blues place Dmitrij Jaskin on waivers, risking and eventually losing him to a claim by the Washington Capitals. While losing Jaskin for nothing isn’t an optimal scenario, opening up opportunities for talented youngsters is an important step towards contending for the Stanley Cup, something the Blues truly believe they can do in the near future.

They are real opportunities too, as the Blues will open the season with just 12 forwards on the roster meaning all the kids will be in the lineup Thursday night (provided nothing else happens over the next couple of days). Thomas and Kyrou especially will be under the microscope as they make their NHL debuts, both star prospects that could make an impact right away.

Thomas, an impressive two-way center that showed last season with the London Knights and Hamilton Bulldogs that he could play nearly any role needed (including defense during penalty kills on occasion), is a prized prospect for the Blues whose development could make or break the team’s fortunes over the next few seasons. Though he may not be able to step into an top offensive role immediately, the fact that St. Louis believes he’s ready to contribute should excite fans to no end.

Kyrou, the dynamic forward who put up 109 points in 56 games for the Sarnia Sting last season, can disrupt games using his incredible skating ability and nose for the net. There’s little reason to doubt that he can put up points at the NHL level too, but there is still work to be done with his physicality and overall game. Blais and Barbashev shouldn’t be overlooked, given their contributions to the club last season and strong preseasons to date.

There’s obviously changes to be made when the team starts to get healthier, but the Blues will have an intriguing forward group all season as they try to bounce back and make the playoffs in 2018-19. Though the goaltending situation with Jake Allen and Chad Johnson may be the biggest factor, all the pieces are there for contention this season in St. Louis.

Poll: Who Will Win The Calder Trophy In 2018-19?

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The Athletic’s NHL Draft and prospects guru Scott Wheeler has released the first definitive list of candidates for the Calder Trophy in 2018-19, and the order may surprise some people. Admittedly, the list is in the context of fantasy hockey, but Wheeler’s rankings are true to how he thinks Calder voting will unfold if each rookie hits their stat projections. As such, it’s not this year’s first overall pick, Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, at the top of the list, but presumptive top-six center for the Vancouver Canucks, Elias Pettersson. Pettersson will be put in a much better position to rack up points than will Dahlin, the next-best candidate, as potentially one of the three best scoring forwards for the Canucks and traditionally productive forwards have a better shot at the Calder than (relatively) equally productive defensemen.

Coming in at number three is Boston Bruins forward Ryan Donato, who led both the NCAA and Olympics in goals last season and will look to win a top-six role for Boston and continue to find the back of the net at an alarming rate. Playing alongside either Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron or David Krejci and Jake DeBrusk is an easy way for Donato to quickly become an elite scorer at the NHL level. The fourth-ranked candidate is second overall pick Andrei Svechnikov of the Carolina Hurricanes, who – like Pettersson – will be given an immense amount of responsibility right away as a top-six winger who is arguably already one of the three most skilled forwards on the team. However, Svechnikov is one of three Hurricanes rookies on Wheeler’s list, which could take away from his case. Rounding out the top five is Dahlin’s fellow rookie in Buffalo, center Casey Mittelstadt, who scored at nearly a point-per-game pace in the college ranks and in a brief stint with the Sabres to end the year. Mittelstadt should face favorable match-ups this season with the lines anchored by Jack Eichel and Patrik Berglund drawing considerable attention from the opposition.

Wheeler’s top twenty Calder Trophy candidates are as follows:

  1. C Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks
  2. D Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo Sabres
  3. RW Ryan Donato, Boston Bruins
  4. RW Andrei Svechnikov, Carolina Hurricanes
  5. C Casey Mittelstadt, Buffalo Sabres
  6. RW Filip Zadina, Detroit Red Wings
  7. C Dylan Strome, Arizona Coyotes
  8. C Henrik Borgstrom, Florida Panthers
  9. C Martin Necas, Carolina Hurricanes
  10. D Miro Heiskanen, Dallas Stars
  11. RW Dylan Sikura, Chicago Blackhawks
  12. RW Eeli Tolvanen, Nashville Predators
  13. C Filip Chytil, New York Rangers
  14. LW Brady Tkachuk, Ottawa Senators
  15. LW Valentin Zykov, Carolina Hurricanes
  16. RW Kailer Yamamoto, Edmonton Oilers
  17. C Anthony Cirelli, Tampa Bay Lightning
  18. LW Kristian Vesalainen, Winnipeg Jets
  19. C Sam Steel, Anaheim Ducks
  20. RW Vitaly Abramov, Columbus Blue Jackets

Honorable Mentions: C Vladislav Kamenev, Colorado Avalanche; LW Jordan Greenway, Minnesota Wild; C Robert Thomas, St. Louis Blues; LW Andreas Johnsson, Toronto Maple Leafs; C Michael Rasmussen, Detroit Red Wings; C Lias Andersson, New York Rangers; D Sami Niku, Winnipeg Jets; D Evan Bouchard, Edmonton Oilers; RW Daniel Sprong, Pittsburgh Penguins

What do you think? Who will be the NHL’s Rookie of the Year and take home the Calder Trophy at the end of the season? The favorite? The first overall pick? Another top candidate? Or a name not even mentioned here?

2018-19 Season Primer: St. Louis Blues

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With the NHL season now just a month away, it’s time to look at what each team has done this summer and what to watch for in the year to come. Today, we focus on the St. Louis Blues.

Last Season: 44-32-6 record (94 points), fifth in the Central Division (failed to reach the playoffs)

Remaining Cap Space: $284,845 per CapFriendly

Key Additions: F Ryan O’Reilly (trade, Buffalo Sabres); F Tyler Bozak (free agent, Toronto Maple Leafs); F David Perron (free agent, Vegas Golden Knights); F Patrick Maroon (free agent, New Jersey Devils); G Chad Johnson (free agent, Buffalo Sabres); F Brian Flynn (free agent, Dallas Stars); D Tyler Wotherspoon (free agent, Calgary Flames); F Jordan Nolan (free agent, Buffalo Sabres)

Key Departures: F Kyle Brodziak (free agent, Edmonton Oilers); G Carter Hutton (free agent, Buffalo Sabres); F Patrik Berglund (trade, Buffalo Sabres); F Vladimir Sobotka (trade, Buffalo Sabres); F Tage Thompson (trade, Buffalo Sabres); F Wade Megan (free agent, Detroit Red Wings); F Beau Bennett (free agent, Dinamo Minsk (KHL)); Petteri Lindbohm (free agent, Laussane (Swiss League))

[Related: Blues Depth Chart From Roster Resource]

Player To Watch: G Jake Allen — The team has upgraded its offense, already had a solid defense and has several of their top prospects banging on its door, hoping to get into their rotation this year. What they didn’t do much with is their goaltending. Allen, once considered the franchise goalie, has now struggled for more than a full season, but with three years at $4.35MM per season still on the books, he’s not going anywhere this year.

The 28-year-old netminder struggled down the stretch during the 2016-17 season, but his consistency got even worse last year when he posted a .906 save percentage and a 2.75 GAA in 59 games. The team was forced to use Hutton on many occasions to replace the struggling goaltender. In hopes of redeeming his job, Allen has said that he has changed some of his training methods this summer and hopes to come into camp and prove that he is the starting goaltender.

The team had better hope that he can, because the team lost Hutton to the Buffalo Sabres in the offseason and replaced him with Johnson, who struggled in a one-year stint in Buffalo, albeit behind an atrocious defense. The team does have prospect Ville Husso waiting in the AHL, but many believe he still needs at least one year of seasoning there before he can challenge Allen for his job.

Key Storyline: The offense has been thoroughly upgraded in the last few months and it will be up to the team to find a way to gel and make it work. One key story will be whether they can get the breakout performance that everyone in the NHL has been waiting for from Vladimir Tarasenko. The winger posted three impressive seasons coming into last year, including a 37, 40, 39-goal seasons. However, while the 26-year-old still had a solid season last year, his 33 goals was a disappointment for a player who many felt was closer to a 40-goal scorer than a 30-point scorer.

One possibility to Tarasenko’s season could come down to the addition of O’Reilly. Adding a top-line center will be critical and if the two can co-exist, then you might see the development of a superstar as Tarasenko and Paul Stastny had limited chemistry together. There is also a likelihood that Maroon, who played together with Connor McDavid in Edmonton for a while, could add his physicality to that first line and give Tarasenko an even better chance to have a big season.

Overall Outlook: Looking at the massive changes to the team, especially at the forward position means the team expects to win now. The franchise has put a lot of expectations on head coach Mike Yeo and the team as they are expected to not just make the playoffs, but compete for the Central Division title. That’s a tough chore for any Central Division team if you assume that the Nashville Predators and Winnipeg Jets will likely assume the first two spots in the division. That leaves just two playoffs spots for the rest of the division that includes the Minnesota Wild, who have been to the playoffs for six straight years, an improving Dallas Stars team, a young impressive Colorado Avalanche franchise and the Chicago Blackhawks who are trying to prove that their run isn’t over just yet. If the team fails to impress early on, that could put Yeo on the hot seat.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Buffalo Sabres Sign Nicholas Baptiste To One-Year Deal

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7/15: The team has officially announced the signing. Baptiste will carry a $787.5K cap hit at the NHL level and will be paid $70K in the minor leagues.

7/14: The Buffalo Sabres have signed restricted free agent Nicholas Baptiste to a one-year, two-way contract, according to TVA’s Renaud Lavoie. The 22-year-old winger will make $788K next season.

Baptiste has developed nicely in the Sabres’ system as he scored 25 goals with the Rochester Americans of the AHL in the 2016-17 season and followed that up by splitting time between Rochester and Buffalo this year. With injuries hampering the Sabres’ squad, Baptiste was able to get into 33 games this past season, putting up four goals and six points in limited time. Playing in a bottom-six role, he averaged just 9:58 of ATOI.

At 6-foot-1, 205 pounds, the forward has both the size and speed to be a solid player, but has struggled to put it all together at the NHL level as he has received some time at the top-six. The team may be looking at Baptiste as either a trade chip or more of a permanent bottom-six rotation player, but he will get one more year to prove that he can take that next step in Buffalo. That might be more challenging with the Sabres’ adding more talent this season, including some veterans like Patrik Berglund and Vladimir Sobotka, which could force Baptiste back to Buffalo.

Western Notes: Pettersson, Fabbri, Blues, Skinner

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The Vancouver Canucks top prospect Elias Pettersson received a gold medal today at the IIHF World Championships. While the 19-year-old center did not  play after fracturing his thumb last week in a game against finals opponent Switzerland, there is also no word on whether he intends to sign his entry-level deal with the Canucks either, according to Sportsnet’s Rick Dhaliwal.

Dhaliwal said he believes that Pettersson has yet to make up his mind about whether he wants to sign with Vancouver or stay another year in the SHL and play another year for Vaxjo. There is no timetable when the 2017 fifth-overall pick will make his decision.

  • In a mailbag edition, St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Jeff Gordon writes that the best option for both the St. Louis Blues and restricted free agent Robby Fabbri is a one-year deal. Fabbri who hasn’t played a game since Feb. 4, 2017, is recovering from a torn ACL injury and had to undergo surgery a second time in training camp this year when he reinjured the same knee. Gordon writes with his value at an all-time low, as many players have trouble coming back from double surgery to the same knee, so both teams would want a one-year deal, including Fabbri who would want to prove to everyone he’s healthy if he wants to cash in on a lucrative contract.
  • Sticking with the Blues, The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford (subscription required) writes that the St. Louis Blues continue to shop some of worst contracts in hopes of clearing some cap space, including Patrik Berglund, Vladimir Sobotka and goaltender Jake Allen, although it’s unlikely they would be able to move any of those contracts. The 29-year-old Berglund has a $3.85MM AAV deal for another four years. Sobotka has two more years at $3.5MM AAV, while Allen has three more years at $4.35MM.
  • The Athletic’s Allan Mitchell (subscription required) evaluates the play of Edmonton Oilers goaltending prospect Stuart Skinner, who has been a solid prospect, but had a really good stretch after he was traded to the WHL’s Swift Current Broncos. The 2017 third-rounder posted a .932 postseason save percentage in 26 games, leading Swift Current to the WHL title. Is he the goalie of the future for the Oilers? Mitchell compares the prospect to other top goaltending prospects, but still admits its too early to know how good he could be. Regardless, the Oilers have something to look forward to in the future.

 

Western Notes: Yeo, Bouwmeester, Nugent-Hopkins, Tolvanen, Kamenev, Bernier

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While they’ve hardly been eliminated from the playoffs, the St. Louis Blues are definitely having a disappointing season. With that in mind, the St. Louis Blues are likely to make some changes this offseason. The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford (subscription required) writes in a mailbag column that one change that shouldn’t happen is a coaching change. While the coach always must be held accountable for his actions, the scribe writes that it’s too early to push all the team’s failings on head coach Mike Yeo, who has only been with the team a little more than a year. Many of the leadership and chemistry issues that the team has were already there before Yeo got there.

While Rutherford does admit it’s disturbing that Yeo’s last coaching stint with the Minnesota Wild had many of the same issues, Yeo deserves more time to right the ship, which might require some personnel changes on the ice as many players are not pulling their weight.

One other issue is the team has struggled with key injuries to key players. The team failed to find an offensive replacement when Robby Fabbri or Jaden Schwartz were injured. In fact in 20 games without Schwartz, the team was 9-10-1.

  • In the same piece, Rutherford writes that while many people would like the team to buyout players who are struggling in St. Louis like Patrik Berglund, Jake Allen and Alex Steen, that won’t happen this offseason. All of their contracts would be too expensive to buyout. Berglund’s buyout cost would be $9.7MM, Allen’s would be $9MM and Steen’s contract would cost them $10.6MM. The most likely buyout candidate might be defenseman Jay Bouwmeester, who would only cost the team $3.6MM and would count just $1.8MM against the cap for the next two years.
  • The Edmonton Oilers announced they have activated center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins off of injured reserve Saturday. The 24-year-old has been out since Jan. 13 with a rib injury. While the former first overall pick will not be rejoining a team headed for the playoffs, he might bring up his own value with a good end of the season. Nugent-Hopkins could be a legitimate trade candidate this offseason. He was having a solid season in which he had 16 goals and 31 points in 46 games. With teams being desperate for centers and the Oilers having quite a few of them, they might find a taker for him.
  • The Eeli Tolvanen countdown continues as the Nashville Predators are awaiting their top prospect after his KHL team wraps up their season. The Tennessean’s Adam Vingan writes that Tolvanen’s team, Jokerit, opened their first-round playoff series Saturday with a double-overtime loss. The earliest possible day for Jokerit to be eliminated would be this Wednesday. If so, Tolvanen could join Nashville for their remainder of the season and the playoffs if they feel he can contribute. Of course, the Predators are loaded with depth since the trade deadline after acquiring Ryan Hartman and signing Mike Fisher.
  • Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar said that Vladislav Kamenev, who has been out with a broken arm since November after being injured in his first game for the Avalanche, has been cleared and might be assigned to the San Antonio Rampage of the AHL in the next couple of days for a conditioning assignment, according to Denver Post’s Mike Chambers. Kamenev, who was acquired on Nov. 6 in the three-team trade between Colorado, Ottawa and Nashville involving Kyle Turris and Matt Duchene, was injured while playing in his first game with Colorado. A key prospect included in the Avalanche’s haul for moving Duchene, Kamenev has played just 14 AHL games this year, having totaled three goals and nine assists. His return is just another talented player ready to step into the Avalanche’s lineup.
  • Chambers also mentioned in the same tweet that goalie Jonathan Bernier has also been cleared after suffering a concussion on Feb. 16. The Avalanche added that he was a full participant in practice Saturday and is expected to be activated soon.

Early Notes: Columbus, Hartman, Vermette

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The Columbus Blue Jackets added Mark Letestu yesterday for their playoff run, but had checked in on several other options before making the deal. Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times reports that the Blue Jackets offered a third-round pick for Artem Anisimov, hoping the Blackhawks would also retain some salary.

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet also believes that the Blue Jackets asked about Patrik Berglund and Vladimir Sobotka of the St. Louis Blues, but obviously didn’t make a deal. Letestu ended up only costing Columbus a fourth-round pick, which certainly doesn’t take them out of the running today for an additional upgrade.

  • Scott Powers of The Athletic reports that the Chicago Blackhawks are looking for a first-round pick plus another asset for Ryan Hartman, a big ask for a young player with just eight goals this season. Hartman, 23, is a versatile player that could draw interest from many teams, and is a restricted free agent this summer. That could be part of why the Blackhawks are considering moving the forward, as like most years they’ll have some tough decisions to make on their young free agents due to their ongoing cap crunch.
  • Antoine Vermette was held out of the lineup last night for the Anaheim Ducks, and John Shannon of Sportsnet reports on his eight-team approved trade list. Shannon explains that only two of those teams are currently in playoff spots, which could drastically limit any return should the Ducks decide to move him. Vermette is affordable and playoff-tested, but ultimately holds a lot of power in deciding whether he’ll be traded today.

Blues, Senators Discussing Derick Brassard And Mike Hoffman

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The Blues and Senators are discussing trade scenarios involving winger Mike Hoffman and center Derick Brassard, Blues beat writer Lou Korac reports on his personal blog.  He adds that the talks would see St. Louis acquire one or the other and not both players.

Among the players that Ottawa is believed to be interested in is winger Robby Fabbri, who has yet to play this season due to his second torn ACL.  Korac notes that the Sens have asked for permission to view Fabbri’s medical records.  The 22-year-old will become a restricted free agent for the first time this summer but will not have arbitration eligibility.

A pair of St. Louis centers are also on Ottawa’s radar as well as the scribe links Vladimir Sobotka and Patrik Berglund as part of the trade discussions.  Sobotka has two years left on his contract after this one with a $3.5MM cap hit although his deal was slightly front-loaded in terms of salary.  Berglund, meanwhile, has four years remaining at a $3.85MM cap charge; his contract is also front-loaded salary wise.  The 29-year-old Swede also has a full no-move clause in 2017-18.

Both Brassard and Hoffman would have the potential to be impact players with the Blues.  Brassard would give them another top-six option down the middle and give them a boost on the second line.  He would also serve as insurance if Paul Stastny, a pending unrestricted free agent, leaves the team in the summer.  He has one year left on his contract after this one with a $5MM cap hit but just a $3.5MM salary.

Hoffman has been linked to St. Louis in recent weeks and he would certainly give their attack a boost.  His 16 goals this season would rank fourth on the Blues in scoring while his 39 points would slot in fifth.  The 28-year-old has two years remaining on his deal with a cap hit just shy of $5.2MM and has a ten-team no-trade clause in his contract.

The salary cap will undoubtedly be a factor in any talks between the two teams as St. Louis has very limited space to work with this season.  They have the ability to add another $1.8MM in a full-season cap hit per CapFriendly but that includes Fabbri’s LTIR provision.  As a result, the finances will need to be pretty close for a trade to work here.

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