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Paul Stastny

Vegas’ Erik Haula Leaves Game On Stretcher With Leg Injury

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With Paul Stastny already sidelined with an injury, the Vegas Golden Knights were dealt a major blow tonight, with another center suffering what looks to be a serious injury. Erik Haula was stretchered off the ice in Toronto following a collision with Maple Leafs forward Patrick Marleau (video). Haula was immediately clutching his right leg and shouting in pain, with the optics and immediate reaction pointing toward a torn ACL. Haula is likely to miss a substantial period of time – perhaps the remainder of the season – if this is the case.

The incident occurred early in the third period on a rather innocuous play. As Haula was exiting the defensive zone, Marleau came in for a light hip check against the boards near the red line. As Haula fell awkwardly backward, his skate appeared to become jammed in the boards, twisting his knee as he fell. The pain was evident from his response and an injury of that magnitude in the knee area is almost certainly torn ligaments, likely the ACL. A stretcher was immediately brought out. While Haula was able to wave to the crowd, this was anything but a positive moment for the Golden Knights and their fans.

Haula, 27, has been a fixture in Vegas’ top-six so far this year and has seven points to his credit, third-best for the struggling club. Haula has also been very effective at the face-off dot and has the best possession numbers of any Knights forward. His injury and likely prolonged absence is no small matter. An ACL tear is generally a 6+ month recovery, putting Haula’s return this season in doubt if that is indeed the case. The Golden Knights await further clarification on the injury, but it’s not good news for a team who somehow need to turn things around this year, now down two top forwards.

Max Pacioretty, Victor Hedman Exit Game With Head Injuries

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UPDATE (10/27): Both teams have now issued updates statuses on the injured players. Despite the optics of each hit and the initial optimism from the Lightning, it seems that Hedman has likely suffered a worse injury than Pacioretty. Tampa Bay reports that their top defender will be re-evaluated in a week after an upper-body injury (while also noting that Ondrej Palat is day-to-day with a lower-body injury). Hedman will certainly miss the Bolts’ game against the Coyotes today and match-ups with New Jersey and Nashville later this week as well. His status for Tampa’s games against division rivals Montreal and Ottawa are in question. Meanwhile, Golden Knights head coach Gerard Gallant revealed that Pacioretty is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Given the time taken to update his condition, it is likely that Pacioretty was evaluated for a concussion but seemingly avoided one. Vegas also faces the Senators and Predators in upcoming games and the winger’s availability could be a game-time decision for each.

10/26: The Vegas Golden Knights are facing a possible absence from big off-season trade acquisition Max Pacioretty, while the Tampa Bay Lightning could be without defensive mainstay Victor Hedman. The veteran winger first left Friday night’s game between the two teams after suffering an apparent head injury. Lightning defenseman Braydon Coburn was the culprit, as he delivered a high hit on Pacioretty just five minutes into the contest. (video) Hedman was then the victim of an awkward collision with Knights forward Ryan Reaves in the second period that sent him toppling into the boards. Hedman appeared to injure his head/neck area as he landed. (video)

As the video shows, Pacioretty was carrying the puck and Coburn was simply playing his man. As Pacioretty cuts to the right, Coburn lands a shoulder right to his face. Pacioretty did get right back up, but quickly skated off and looked uneasy. “Patch” did not return to the game and Vegas has not issued an update on his status. An update should be expected soon, with the Golden Knights set to host the Ottawa Senators on Sunday and potentially in need of a roster move.

In contrast, Tampa Bay was quick to rule out Hedman, as The Athletic’s Joe Smith received word before the end of the period. Reaves hit itself was not bad, but caught Hedman off balance. The superstar defenseman crashed into the boards and quickly skated off the ice once he was back on his feet. It was unclear whether his head injury was more of a concussion concern, like Pacioretty’s, or instead a possible neck issue as a result of an awkward landing.

If Pacioretty did indeed suffer a serious head injury that will sideline him for some time, Vegas will have to make up for his offense. The former Montreal Canadiens star has only two goals through nine games, but is a five-time 60+ point player. Between he and Paul Stastny, out with a lower-body injury, the Knights would be without their two major off-season additions and expected top-six core contributors. Fortunately, the team has Alex Tuch back from the injured reserve to help pick up the slack. Cody Eakin, who has four points in six games while dealing with injuries of his own, will also be expected to step up. A Hedman absence would be a major loss for the Bolts, but not one that would be impossible to overcome. Between Ryan McDonagh, Mikhail Sergachev, and Coburn, the Tampa lefties will be leaned upon more. Slater Koekkoek would also be likely to see some action, filling Hedman’s roster spot. With a game tomorrow at the Arizona Coyotes, it would be no surprise to see the reigning Norris Trophy winner sit at least one game. More information on the status of both players should be available soon.

St. Louis Blues Scratch Jay Bouwmeester For First Time In Career

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St. Louis Blues head coach Mike Yeo said that veteran defenseman Jay Bouwmeester will be a healthy scratch for the first time in his career in today’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, according to Canadian Press’ Joshua Clipperton.

The 35-year-old is in the final year of a five-year, $27MM deal at $5.4MM AAV, but hasn’t been as effective as he’s usually been since missing all, but 35 games in the 2017-18 season. The team, which was expected to compete at a much higher level after acquiring a number of offensive players during the offseason, including Ryan O’Reilly, David Perron, Tyler Bozak and Pat Maroon, have struggled with a 1-5 start. The defense was supposed to be their strong point, but it has struggled this year. Bouwmeester, who is third on the team with an ATOI of 20:50, hasn’t helped with a minus-four this year in six games.

“Obviously decisions like this come when you’re not winning hockey games,” said Yeo (via the Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford). “We’re forced into a position where we have to make difficult decisions. I think part of it is that Schmaltz and Dunn have been playing very well for us. It’s a very, very difficult decision for me as a coach when you’ve got a player you respect like Bouw and what he’s accomplished in his career. Really what it comes down to is we see Bouw at a very high level and we value what he can bring… (But) we don’t feel it’s quite at that level. Maybe it’s the time off from last year, maybe it’s confidence, I’m not sure. But hopefully a game like this gives him a chance to reset and get to that level.”

The Blues are well-known for moving out contracts of veterans who are in their last year of their contract at the trade deadline even when they are fighting for a playoff spotand could be considering moving on from him later this season. The team moved Kevin Shattenkirk in 2016-17 and then moved out Paul Stastny last year. Bouwmeester has played 1,112 games over the course of his NHL career, 362 of which have come in St. Louis.

Paul Stastny Out Up To Two Months

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The whole league seems to be getting hit hard by injury lately, and the Vegas Golden Knights are no different. Head coach Gerard Gallant revealed today that Paul Stastny will be out up to two months with his latest lower-body injury. Jesse Granger of The Athletic believes it was suffered on a play at the end of the team’s game against the Buffalo Sabres, though it wasn’t expected to be very severe at the time.

Stastny, 32, was brought in this summer as a replacement for some of the outgoing talent in free agency. With James Neal and David Perron heading for greener pastures elsewhere, Stastny signed a three-year, $19.5MM contract with the Golden Knights and then saw his friend and international linemate Max Pacioretty added through trade. Things looked set up for success in Vegas, but after being held scoreless through three games Stastny now faces a long recovery period and some diminished totals for 2018-19.

The center hit the 50-point mark last season for the first time in several years, mainly because he finally had remained healthy. Stastny played in all 82 games for the first time since his rookie year in 2006-07, but won’t be able to repeat that feat this season. That’s troubling for the Golden Knights who have quite a bit of money invested in the veteran forward, and were expecting to have their second line built around him this season. Instead, Erik Haula has moved back to the middle of that unit and could get Alex Tuch back on his wing soon. Not exactly the start of the season the Golden Knights were hoping for, but one they’ll have to deal with for at least a little while.

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.

Snapshots: Stastny, Hextall, Klefbom

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The Vegas Golden Knights may have lost a pair of high-end forwards in James Neal and David Perron, but the team did bring in an important free agent this offseason when they signed center Paul Stastny to a three-year deal. The 32-year-old center showed off his impressive skills after he was traded to the Winnipeg Jets from St. Louis at the trade deadline. Stastny was given the role of anchoring a line with their star youngsters’ Patrik Laine and Nikolaj Ehlers and that line was a key part of the team’s deep playoff run, before being eliminated by Vegas.

Now ironically in Vegas and expected to center the team’s second line, Stastny said he spends a lot of his offseason training much differently considering that he’s entering that portion of a players’ career where a decline begins. Stastny told The Athletic’s Ryan Clark (subscription required) that he spends a lot of time focusing on off-ice things, especially his diet.

“Trying to keep up with your diet, trying to stay lean, trying to stay quick because as you get older, you might lose that step,” Stastny said. “The game’s changed from my first year where it was a lot heavier, stronger, touch and grabbing to know where it’s just not as much physical. A lot more skating and you gotta keep with that endurance as much as you can.”

Stastny, who posted 16 goals and 53 points between St. Louis and Winnipeg, expects to join the team’s second line between Alex Tuch and either Erik Haula or Tomas Tatar.

  • David Isaac of the Courier Post interviewed Philadelphia Flyers head coach Ron Hextall, who said in the Q&A that the team looked into upgrading their bottom-six this year in hopes of improving their penalty kill, which struggled last year, but felt they were unable to do that. The special teams’ unit played better over the final 25 games, according to Hextall, but he would still like to add a penalty killing forward, if possible. “I’m open to it, but it would probably be more of a lateral move on the market rather than a free agent,” Hextall said. “It would be a forward. We’d like to add a penalty-killing forward but to this point there’s been nothing there that’s made enough sense for us to move.”
  • The Edmonton Journal’s Kurt Leavins wonders if this is the year that defenseman Oscar Klefbom puts it all together, especially now that reports are coming in that say he’s 100 percent already with just a couple of weeks before training camp. The 25-year-old had a breakout season in 2016-17 when he tallied 12 goals and 38 points, but struggled through an injury-plagued 2017-18. Now healthy, the scribe believes this is the year he takes that next step.

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.

What To Expect From Tomas Tatar In 2018-19

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A seemingly innocuous interview with Vegas Golden Knights free agency prize Paul Stastny actually ended up revealing quite a lot about the strange state of one of his new teammates. SinBin’s Ken Boehlke writes that Stastny, while appearing on the Golden Knight’s podcast, was asked who he believes his line mates could be this season. His answer: Alex Tuch and Erik Haula. Stastny made no mention of Vegas’ big trade deadline acquisition, Tomas Tatar, and Boehlke infers that this could mean trouble for the young forward moving forward.

If Stastny’s prediction proves true, then he, Tuch, and Haula would join the surefire top line of William Karlsson between Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith in the Knights’ top six. That would leave Tatar with a bottom-six role and Vegas is not exactly shaping up to have an offensively inclined group in that bottom half. Tatar will be joined by veteran grinders Ryan Reaves, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, and William Carrier who all seem slotted for a fourth line role. That would leave Tatar with Cody Eakin and one of a number of prospects or fringe players on the third line. Among the candidates are Oscar Lindberg, Tomas Nosek, Ryan Carpenter, Daniel Carr, Tomas Hyka, and Curtis McKenzie. None of that group truly inspires confidence as the final piece of the line with Tatar and Eakin. This begs the question: what role does Tatar have on this team?

Even if you don’t put much stock in Stastny’s comments, there is no doubting that Tatar has been less than impressive since being traded to Vegas from the Detroit Red Wings. The three-time 45+ point scorer only registered six points in 20 games down the stretch for the Knights and was a frequent healthy scratch in the postseason, adding just two points in eight games. Tatar is a strong possession player who has proven to be a capable goal scorer in the past, but lacks the two-way game to make a living in a checking role. At $5.3MM, in addition to the trade cost of three high draft picks, it is hard to imagine that Vegas wants to play him in that role either. Tatar needs to find a fit on this roster, either on the second line with Stastny or as a transformative presence on the third line. The Golden Knights are far more shallow up front this season than they were last year and can hardly afford to deal with ineffective or inconsistent play from their biggest trade investment to date. If Tatar does struggle, he may easily wind up wearing out his welcome with the Knights as he did with the Red Wings.

Pacific Notes: Flames Forwards, Haula, Horvat

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The Calgary Flames have made quite a few moves this offseason in hopes of reshaping their roster after a dismal second half that saw them out of the playoffs. However, the Flames new signings may have caused other issues that the team will have to deal with in a few years — namely the expansion draft.

The Athletic’s Kent Wilson (subscription required) writes that the team might be in trouble if/when the unnamed Seattle franchise has its expansion draft in 2020. Assuming all the rules are the same as they were for Vegas, Calgary will have a logjam of players at the forward position and won’t have enough spaces to protect some quality players.

Assuming there are no changes among forwards over the next two seasons, the team would likely protect or have to protect Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan, Elias Lindholm, Mikael Backlund, Matthew Tkachuk, James Neal as six forwards they would likely protect. That would leave one spot open for players like Derek Ryan, Mark Jankowski, Sam Bennett, Andrew Mangiapane and Spencer Foo, which could leave several high quality players exposed to Seattle. Unless the team addresses these issues, the team may be giving Seattle a solid player.

  • Adam Hill of the Las Vegas Review-Journal writes that the Vegas Golden Knights still haven’t decided on a plan for what they intend to do with second-line center Erik Haula after they signed Paul Stastny away from the Winnipeg Jets this offseason. Haula had a great offensive season, centering the second line with 29 goals and 55 points, but the line (along with the departed Neal and David Perron) struggled defensively. In fact, Vegas’ second line was one of the worst defensive lines in the league. “It produced, but the goals against per 60 minutes was not good enough,” said Vegas general manager George McPhee. “We were actually dead last among second lines in the league. You can just sort of look the other way on that or you can address it. We’re trying to address it.”
  • J.D. Burke of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that he believes that Vancouver Canucks center Bo Horvat should continue to take his game to a new level as he has every year. However, if there is one area of Horvat’s game that could use some upgrading it would be his defensive game as that’s the weakest part of his game. The 23-year-old took his scoring game up a notch last year when he potted 22 goals, an improvement on his previous career-high of 20 goals, but Horvat missed 15 games last year, so to put up a career-high in goals is key. However, with the additions of players like Jay Beagle, Antoine Roussel and Tim Schaller, maybe defense won’t be that imperative.

Poll: Which Free Agent Contract Will Be Regretted The Most?

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Two years ago the unrestricted free agent was flooded with aging players who still looked like they might have a few effective seasons left in them. That led teams to get into bidding wars and overpay, hoping that they could inject some production into the lineup while dealing with the consequences later down the line. Unfortunately, most of these contracts blew up immediately and provided very little value.

The biggest contracts given out in the first few days of the 2016 UFA market were as follows:

Milan Lucic (EDM) – Seven years, $42MM

Kyle Okposo (BUF) – Seven years, $42MM

Andrew Ladd (NYI) – Seven years, $38.5MM

Loui Eriksson (VAN) – Six years, $36MM

Frans Nielsen (DET) – Six years, $31.5MM

David Backes (BOS) – Five years, $30MM

Jason Demers (FLA) – Five years, $22.5MM

Troy Brouwer (CGY) – Four years, $18MM

Mikkel Boedker (SJS) – Four years, $16MM

That list is uninspiring to say the least, with two of the players having already been traded and a third who was bought out this offseason. Some of the others are among the worst contracts in the league relative to their production, something that can be said a few seasons out of basically every UFA season. This year may be no different, though there seemed to be more talent available.

Here is a list of the biggest contracts handed out this time around:

John Tavares (TOR) – Seven years, $77MM

James van Riemsdyk (PHI) – Five years, $35MM

James Neal (CGY) – Five years, $28.75MM

Paul Stastny (VGK) – Three years, $19.5MM

Ilya Kovalchuk (LAK) – Three years, $18.75MM

Calvin de Haan (CAR) – Four years, $18.2MM

Jack Johnson (PIT) – Five years, $16.25MM

David Perron (STL) – Four years, $16MM

Tyler Bozak (STL) – Three years, $15MM

While there is an obvious difference at the very top, it does seem like teams were wary to hand out six or seven year contracts to forwards approaching or at 30 years of age. van Riemsdyk and Neal especially would have ranked among the very best available in 2016, and likely would have been able to negotiate seven-year contracts along the lines of Lucic and Okposo. Still, not all of these deals will be looked back upon fondly. Even two years from now teams may be considering trades or buyouts to get out from under the cap hit, or stuck in purgatory hoping for a bounce-back campaign.

Which contract do you think will be regretted the most? Is Tavares’ mega-deal going to bite the Maple Leafs when they need to re-sign their young forward group? Will Kovalchuk bolt for the KHL again and leave the Kings holding his big cap hit? Will van Riemsdyk be able to take on more responsibility in Philadelphia and live up to his big number?

Cast your vote below and explain why you think the contract will be regretted. If you think someone else deserves the title—perhaps an Islanders or Canucks signing?—make sure to leave a comment to include them in the conversation.

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