Red Wings Notes: Trade Rumors, Athanasiou
The Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James writes that general manager Ken Holland is absolutely cognizant of the fact that the Red Wings are in “seller” mode. St. James quotes Holland as saying:
“I’m working the phones, I’m trying to see what the other teams in the league are thinking,” Holland said. “We are obviously not a buyer, we are not spending future assets to try to get in. We’ll see here over the next week what direction we are going, but I am aware we are eight points out and games are running out.”
The quote is nearly verbatim from last year, where Holland pulled the plug during early February and started dealing at the deadline. Beating the Anaheim Ducks last night, in a game where the Ducks outplayed and outshot the Red Wings, isn’t anything to mistake as a game that get Detroit into a playoff spot. The issue remaining is whether or not Holland will truly begin rotating players out to stockpile as much young talent and higher draft picks that he can. Where the verbiage has changed is that on a roster that Holland usually gives the nod to a veteran, he seems to be ready to open up spots for younger players:
“I’ve talked to lots of teams over the last week and 10 days, and I’m doubling back with a number of them,” Holland said. “We’d like to get assets, open up spots for a kid or two for next season.”
Holland has been gun shy when it comes to making trades in the Cap era, and he’s still working without a contract extension. With Mike Green, Jimmy Howard, Petr Mrazek, Gustav Nyquist, and even Tomas Tatar in trade conversations, it will be interesting to see if Holland really will make the deals he seems to be hinting at.
- Andreas Athanasiou is ready to make amends for his lackluster play that resulted in a third period benching reports the Detroit News’ Ted Kulfan. Punished for a lack of effort, Athanasiou played just one shift in yesterday’s 2-1 win during the third period. In spite of his athleticism, speed, and gamebreaker ability, Athanasiou has long been made an example by head coach Jeff Blashill when he hasn’t been at his best. Kulfan writes that consistency has been an issue for Athanasiou during his young career, but it’s an interesting take in that several players, especially higher priced ones, have been similarly inconsistent or turnover prone with the puck. Though he hasn’t scored in 11 games, Athanasiou still has more points than Darren Helm, and Justin Abdelkader, and is tied with Frans Nielsen, and Tomas Tatar, who have both played 10 more games than the 23-year-old forward. The combined cap hit for Abdelkader ($4.25MM), Nielsen ($5.25MM), Tatar ($5.3MM) and Helm ($3.85MM) is $18.65MM while Athanasiou makes a fraction of their individual salaries at $1.38MM. He’s also just a point behind Gustav Nyquist ($4.75MM), who also has ten more games to his name. Though it is fair to try and teach the young forward good habits, the larger issue in Detroit is once again giving large contracts to players who simply don’t produce the points to justify such payment.
Trade Candidate: Aaron Dell
With the trade deadline approaching, we will be profiling several players in the weeks ahead that have a good chance to be dealt by February 26th.
The San Jose Sharks find themselves in tough position when it comes to their backup goaltender Aaron Dell. The 28-year-old has only been in the league for two years, but has had quite a bit of success, especially this year. With the struggles of starter Martin Jones, Dell has had to take on bigger resposibities and, at times, has outplayed the veteran. Now, with the trade deadline three weeks away, the team must decide what it plans to do with the netminder.
Contract
Dell is in the final year of a two-year, $1.225MM contract he signed with the Sharks in July of 2016. His AAV is $625K.
2017-18
Dell was brought in two years ago as the backup to Jones and has thrived in that role. However, since December Jones has struggled, which has forced Dell into a larger role this year and he has done quite a good job filling in more often for Jones, often being the preferred starter over Jones. His numbers have been impressive, but more importantly, he has led the team to a 12-4-3 record this year.
His name has come up in trade rumors and the Sharks aren’t likely going to be able to keep the backup next year as Dell may look to seek a starting role or an opportunity to split time evenly with another goalie. On top of that, Dell should receive a significant pay raise from the $625K he is currently making.
Season Stats
22 GP, 12-4-3 record, 2.51 GAA, .917 SV%, 2 SO
Potential Suitors
Dell’s potential suitors aren’t going to be much different than any goaltender on the market whether it be Petr Mrazek, Jimmy Howard or Robin Lehner. The New York Islanders are likely looking for a goaltender, while another legitimate possibility could be the Ottawa Senators, who are struggling at that position and might want a fresh face to compete for playing time with one of their veterans. A third option could just be a trade to a elite team like the Pittsburgh Penguins or Tampa Bay Lightning who might want a more dependable backup for the playoff run.
Likelihood of Trade
A weeks ago, it seemed extremely unlikely the Sharks might move Dell as he was the team’s best goaltender. However, Jones seems to have recovered from his struggles as he has played better in his last two games and looks to have coach Peter DeBoer’s confidence again. Dell, on the other hand, hasn’t been on the ice once since the break, suggesting the team wants to make sure that Jones can handle the load if they move Dell. While San Jose is in second place in the Pacific Division, they have a number of teams right behind them and the team might be fighting to make sure they reach the playoffs as opposed to thinking about winning a Stanley Cup this season.
With the team attempting to re-tool as their veterans like Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski are aging, the team might want to pick up an asset for Dell before they lose him. The team can ensure they get a veteran back in a deal to fill Dell’s shoes for the remainder of the season.
Trade Candidate: Petr Mrazek
With the trade deadline approaching, we will be profiling several players in the weeks ahead that have a good chance to be dealt by February 26th.
After a particularly rough 2016-17 season, the Red Wings were hoping that goaltender Petr Mrazek would bounce back to the level of play from the year before that, one that saw him become a quality NHL starter. That hasn’t happened and as a result, he has been involved in trade speculation nearly all season long and those talks should only intensify over the next three weeks leading up to deadline day.
Contract
Mrazek is in the final year of a two-year, $8MM deal. He is due a qualifying offer of $4.15MM (his current salary) in June.
2017-18
The start of the season saw the 25-year-old put up even worse numbers than he did last season, notching a GAA of 3.64 with a .892 SV% through the first three months of the year and as a result, he found himself squarely behind Jimmy Howard on the pecking order.
Things started to turn for him in January, however. Following a loss to the Lightning where he allowed five goals, Mrazek allowed just six goals total in his last six appearances (five starts) and has started to shoulder more of the workload.
Despite that, there is still a legitimate question about whether he will have done enough to warrant receiving a qualifying offer in the summer. As a result, there’s a case to be made that he will not only to be looking to reclaim the starting job down the stretch but that he will be also trying to showcase himself for prospective suitors if he is let go.
Season Stats
18 GP, 7-5-2 record, 2.74 GAA, .914 SV%, 3 SO
Potential Suitors
Unlike forwards or defensemen, the trade market for goaltenders is a lot more limited but there are still some potential fits. The Islanders have had their own share of goalie woes this season and are tumbling down the Metropolitan Division as a result. They could conceivably look at Mrazek’s hot streak and view him as a short-term upgrade on their current tandem. I also wouldn’t rule out Pittsburgh depending on what else the Penguins are (or aren’t) able to do as they may want to have some experienced insurance behind Matt Murray.
In the West, Mrazek could represent a fallback option if the Sharks decide to part with their potential top trade chip in netminder Aaron Dell to add help up front before the deadline. They have the cap room to take his contract on without any concern. Chicago has less of a need now that Corey Crawford appears likely to return but if the Red Wings are willing to retain on his contract, he could still represent an upgrade as their backup if the Blackhawks are looking to make a playoff push.
Likelihood Of A Trade
This will come down to how much GM Ken Holland is looking for in a return. If the asking price is around where it was believed to be earlier in the season (a mid-round draft pick) with them being willing to retain on his contract if necessary, there is a decent chance that he will move despite there being a pretty limited goalie market overall. However, if they look to leverage his current stretch of games into a higher return, that may be enough to turn teams looking for depth between the pipes in other directions.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Minor Transactions — 1/7/18
After a nine-game schedule Saturday, the NHL has another busy day of action today as 20 teams will be on the ice. There have already been a few moves made and many more are likely:
- The Winnipeg Jets have activated veteran defenseman Tobias Enstrom off of injured reserve. The 33-year-old went down with a lower-body injury back on Nov. 18 and was deemed out for eight weeks. Slightly ahead of schedule, the defensive-minded Enstrom should improve the defensive play of Winnipeg, especially since they also just got back defenseman Dustin Byfuglien five days ago.
- The Colorado Avalanche announced they have made a three moves this morning, as defenseman Andrei Mironov and winger A.J. Greer and goaltender Andrew Hammond have all been assigned to the San Antonio Rampage. It’s likely that all three are being sent down to get regular playing time while the Avalanche begin their five-day bye week. The Avalanche don’t play again until next Saturday.
- After sending this group down one day ago, the Columbus Blue Jackets recalled center Zac Dalpe, defenseman Dean Kukan and goaltender Joonas Korpisalo, while returning goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks to the Cleveland Monsters. All were sent down to get in some playing time in the AHL in Cleveland’s 4-3 shootout loss to Rockford. Dalpe scored a goal, Kukan added an assist and Korpisalo stopped 37 shots on goal.
- The Detroit Red Wings announced they have recalled goaltender Jared Coreau from the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins. He will serve as the emergency backup for Petr Mrazek after it was reported Saturday that starter Jimmy Howard will sit out today’s game with a lower-body injury. Coreau played 14 games for the Red Wings last year, but hasn’t had as good of a season in Grand Rapids as he did a year ago. The 26-year-old netminder has a 2.77 GAA in 25 games so far this year with the Griffins. It will likely be a one-game stint for Coreau as the Red Wings go on a bye week and won’t play again until next Saturday.
- The Vancouver Canucks announced that they have reassigned winger Reid Boucher to the Utica Comets today. Boucher has been with the team since Dec. 13, but has appeared in just three games with the team. He has been a healthy scratch in five of the team’s past six games. The 24-year-old returns to Utica where he has 13 goals and 25 points this year in 25 games.
- After sending Marcus Sorensen down Friday night, the San Jose Sharks have recalled the young forward back to the team, according to CapFriendly. Sorensen has three goals in 13 games with the Sharks. Defenseman Dylan DeMelo was placed on IR to make room for Sorenson on the roster.
- The Los Angeles Kings have sent Jonny Brodzinski and Kevin Gravel to the minor leagues after losing yesterday to the Predators. The Kings are headed into their bye week, and won’t play again until next Saturday night.
- Following their game this afternoon, the Philadelphia Flyers announced that they have returned winger Tyrell Goulbourne to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. He played in two games while on recall, averaging 5:34 per game. The Flyers are also heading into their bye week and could potentially bring Goulbourne back up next weekend.
- The New York Islanders also made several roster moves following their matinee against the Devils. Forwards Anthony Beauvillier and Tanner Fritz as well as defenseman Sebastian Aho have all been sent down to Bridgeport. There is a good chance some of them will be recalled following the bye week.
Red Wings Notes: The Process, Athanasiou, Mantha
Count the Detroit News’ Gregg Krupa as one of the voices in the Detroit media calling it as he sees it. Through the ups and downs of what is considered an unacceptable season in Hockeytown, Krupa argues that “the process” of rebuilding on the fly is not working and a change is certainly due. What does that change look like? Playing the kids. Tyler Bertuzzi and Joe Hicketts, Krupa writes, should both be in Detroit getting minutes instead of, borrowing from general manager Ken Holland, “over-ripening.” Goaltender Petr Mrazek should be played and given chances to showcase his talent–which when confident–is immense. That same talent could be flipped for a draft pick or prospect. As for the “process” that head coach Jeff Blashill has extolled through the last few weeks of struggles, Krupa believes that such terminology is an affront to progress. The last 15 games are reason enough for the Red Wings to abandon any dim hopes of a playoff appearance, and instead, begin to plan for the future. But transactions through the last five seasons and coupled with comments this season seem to indicate the Red Wings front office believes in their plan.
- Andreas Athanasiou has struggled to replicate the success he saw last season, as the speedy forward is in the midst of an 11-game goal drought. Anthony Mantha also finds himself mired in a slump, having no points in six games while only having two goals and an assist in his last 13. MLive’s Ansar Khan writes that Blashill believes Athanasiou has actually played stronger while Mantha has struggled with turnovers. The 23-year-old Mantha likens his struggles to passing up shots and making things more complicated than they need to be. Athanasiou attributes his struggles to “bad bounces.” The one positive is that the supposed friction that existed between Blashill, and Athanasiou is apparently no more. Blashill complimented his young forward, saying he’s been “receptive” to coaching.
Snapshots: Mrazek, Mete, Nylander
Petr Mrazek has been in the news recently since we found out that the Edmonton Oilers had a passing interest in the Detroit Red Wings goaltender, but Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet now says it may have been more than just that. Friedman joined Sportsnet 960 radio out of Calgary this morning, and explained that one source told him it was even closer than he had originally thought.
I heard they were looking at Mrazek last week, and somebody told me after we mentioned it that it was a lot closer than I had kinda thought. I think they’d worked out that Detroit was going to keep about half the money, and they were trying to figure out the draft pick.
That would mesh with what we learned from Craig Custance of The Athletic recently, that a proposed asking price for Mrazek would be a second or third-round pick depending on whether Detroit was retaining salary. It might not matter anymore, as Edmonton seems to have cooled on Mrazek after watching him more closely and the team has just welcomed Cam Talbot back off injured reserve.
- Victor Mete is busy trying to make the Canadian World Junior team after spending the early portion of the season with the Montreal Canadiens, but may have an even bigger international tournament in his future. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports that Mete is very much on the radar of the Canadian Olympic team, but still has some hurdles if he ever were to be invited. The Canadiens could bring Mete back to the NHL squad after the World Junior tournament, and the CHL still doesn’t have an agreement with Hockey Canada on if it will lend players to the Olympic squad. Those decisions won’t be made until after the World Juniors are over, which end on January 5th.
- Speaking of World Junior decisions, the Buffalo Sabres still haven’t made a choice on Alexander Nylander according to Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News. Sabres GM Jason Botterill wants to see Nylander play more at the AHL level before making that decision, after an injury has taken away much of the young forward’s season so far. Nylander has been disappointing so far in his professional career, scoring just 32 points in 77 AHL games. The eighth-overall pick in 2016 has huge upside, but needs to get back on track this season.
More Interest In Petr Mrazek; Detroit Could Retain Salary
After hearing that there were at least some passing glances out of Edmonton for Detroit Red Wings goaltender Petr Mrazek, Craig Custance of The Athletic reports that there are still teams with “lukewarm” interest in pending RFA goaltender. Bob McKenzie of TSN adds that Detroit could be willing to retain salary in any Mrazek trade, in order to get the best deal.
As we discussed when hearing about the initial interest in Mrazek, his $4MM cap hit is an expensive add for any team, and essentially makes him an unrestricted free agent unless he shows something spectacular down the stretch. The $4.15MM qualifying offer that he’d need to remain under team control doesn’t look like it will be extended, regardless of which team he ends up on.
Custance has been told the likely price is either a third-round pick, or a second if the Red Wings were to retain a full 50% of Mrazek’s salary this season. That seems like a reasonable asset to spend on a goaltender that was once seen as an up-and-comer, but they’d need to see him “showcased” as Custance puts it. Mrazek has just an .888 save percentage this season, and hasn’t won a game for the Red Wings in more than a month.
Still, as we discussed in the linked article above, the goaltending market isn’t overflowing with talent at the moment and Mrazek still does have that intriguing past. In 2015-16 he posted a .921 save percentage in 54 appearances, a number most teams would take for their starter let alone a backup.
Remember that Detroit is right up against the cap, so retaining any salary is a tricky proposition. While moving Mrazek out of town would clear some room, they wouldn’t really be able to take any bodies back unless they made near the league minimum. Remember that they’ll need to pay someone to back up Jimmy Howard, even if that is Jared Coreau‘s $612K cap hit.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Petr Mrazek & The Goaltending Conundrum
In Elliotte Friedman’s latest 31 Thoughts column for Sportsnet, the venerable hockey insider reports that the Edmonton Oilers at one point had some interest in Detroit Red Wings goaltender Petr Mrazek. Friedman writes that Edmonton may have backed off after watching the 25-year old goaltender struggle recently, something that seems to be a common thread all around the league.
Several other teams are looking for goaltending help—Friedman himself mentions Florida and Pittsburgh—but there isn’t a shining option on the market at the moment. Mrazek could have been that star, if the aforementioned struggles hadn’t crept up on him again. Though he was once heralded as the goaltender of the future for Detroit, Mrazek has clashed with the front office in contract negotiations, and been generally outplayed by a resurgent Jimmy Howard over the past two seasons.
This year, Howard has taken the lion’s share of the work in the Detroit net, starting 22 of the team’s 29 games. He’s recorded a .905 save percentage in those games which, while not even league-average, is quite a bit better than his counterpart. Mrazek’s .888 mark is tied for fourth-worst in the league among goaltenders who’ve made at least 10 appearances. Only Maxime Lagace, Laurent Brossoit, Chad Johnson have been worse, while James Reimer clocks in at the same number.
Mrazek is young enough to improve, but his contract status as a pending restricted free agent that is already making $4.15MM is likely off-putting to many teams. A qualifying offer is likely too expensive for any team as a backup, and there is no guarantee he’d accept a lower number on a longer-term deal.
So, where else can you look around the league for goaltending help? Michael Hutchinson has been in the rumor mill lately, as the Winnipeg Jets get Steve Mason back healthy tonight. Unfortunately, Hutchinson injured himself in a minor league game this weekend (though the injury seems minor) and has been underwhelming at best during his NHL career.
Jonathan Bernier was signed by the Colorado Avalanche as potential trade deadline bait, but has been nearly as bad as Mrazek so far this year. His .891 save percentage doesn’t inspire much confidence, as consistency continues to be Bernier’s downfall.
Even a goaltender like Philipp Grubauer, who has been a potential trade target for some time due to a combination of outstanding play and clear role as the backup to Braden Holtby, hasn’t played well enough to trust this season. He, like Scott Darling and Antti Raanta this offseason, was seen as a future starting goaltender in the league just waiting for the right opportunity.
There’s not an easy answer here to the goaltending problems around the league. For teams like Edmonton and Florida, who already find themselves struggling to stay relevant in the playoff race, dealing assets for anything but a sure thing isn’t very appealing.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Options In Net For The Edmonton Oilers
Things went from bad to worse for the Edmonton Oilers’ 2017-18 season when dependable starting goaltender Cam Talbot went down with and upper body injury and landed on IR and could remain out through December. His replacement, Laurent Brossoit, is struggling and that’s putting it gently. In 8 appearances, Brossoit has one win, an .872 save percentage, and a 3.80 GAA. Neither of the backup options, Nick Ellis or Eddie Pasquale, has any NHL experience, nor has either been given a chance to gain any just yet, nor has either played remarkably well in the AHL as well. It’s a dire situation for a team that is desperate for wins, or else the face a familiar possibility of finishing as one of the league’s worst teams this season.
So what are the options? TSN’s Frank Servalli believes that Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli is scouring the trade market for help in net. Servalli lists Buffalo’s Chad Johnson, Winnipeg’s Michael Hutchinson, Philadelphia’s Michal Neuvirth, Toronto’s Calvin Pickard, and Detroit’s Petr Mrazek as the top targets for Edmonton.
Johnson, of course, is known to be on the trade block courtesy of the Sabres’ own struggles and seems to be the best fit of these options as a reliable veteran on a one-year deal. Servalli even states that Johnson, along with Neuvirth, were among the Chiarelli’s free agency targets to be Talbot’s backup. However, as Servalli points out, there could be other suitors for Johnson, which could drive the price up.
More affordable assets to acquire could be Hutchinson or Pickard, due to their teams’ depth in goal. The Maple Leafs acquired Pickard from the Vegas Golden Knights earlier this year, but with Frederik Andersen playing well, a veteran backup in Curtis McElhinney, and other promising young goalies in Garret Sparks and Kasimir Kaskisuo in line, Pickard is expendable. So too could be McElhinney or Sparks as well, if Chiarelli favors those Toronto alternatives. In Winnipeg, the thriving Jets are doing just fine with Connor Hellebuyck, rookie Eric Comrie, and expensive free agent acquistion Steve Mason as their net rotation. A solid goaltender with ties to Chiarelli from the Boston Bruins, fourth-string Hutchinson seems like a likely target.
Mrazek and Neuvirth less so. Mrazek is still young, is making $4MM, and will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season. It is likely that he would be costly to acquire and costly to re-sign, when the Oilers really just need a stopgap. Neuvirth, who has a year remaining at $2.5MM, could replace Brossoit as the long-term backup to Talbot if Chiarelli so chooses, but also seems like an unlikely acquisition. AHL goaltenders from both the Red Wings and Flyers – Jared Coreau and Alex Lyon – might actually make more sense.
Other options: Eddie Lack or David Rittich from the rival Calgary Flames, Colorado’s Andrew Hammond, Anaheim’s Reto Berra, L.A.’s Jack Campbell or Jeff Zatkoff, and several more. The options are there, so the pressure is on Chiarelli to find a fair deal and to do it soon. Edmonton may simply lose upcoming games regardless of who is in net, but if the team continues forward with only Brossoit, the blame will fall on the front office for not doing something to at least increase their chances.
Mrazek Ready To Bounce Back For Red Wings
One goaltender who has a lot to prove this season is Detroit’s Petr Mrazek. After struggling for the past year and a half to eventually losing his job to Jimmy Howard to being left exposed for the expansion draft (due to attitude issues) and then not even taken, the 25-year-old once franchise goaltender finds himself at a crossroad. Either Mrazek rediscovers his game or he will slowly disappear into a permanent backup role.
However, according to MLive’s Ansar Khan, the goaltender has been working hard all offseason to return to form. Now with just one year remaining on his $4MM deal, Khan writes that Mrazek has been humbled by recent events and has come into camp hungry to perform. His numbers must be improved on. While his 2015-16 numbers are respectable (2.33 GAA, .921 save percentage), his second half was not that good, while his 3.04 GAA last year and .901 save percentage were both the worst percentages of any in his career at any level.
Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said that Mrazek struggled through the boredom of working on his basic skills, comparing it to basketball players who get bored just constantly throwing free throws — however, those skills are critical to success. Blashill says that Mrazek has begun to get back to the basics and worked hard to fix his game, especially when it comes to his moving around in the crease. The goaltender struggled to stay calm in the net and has often made simple saves look challenging. He has spent hours watching video every day in hopes to make changes to his current play.
“Not to be flying in the net, just stay calm and stop as many pucks as I can,” Mrazek said Saturday, following the second day of training camp at Centre I.C.E.
However, according to Blashill, it’s his work ethic that has changed as well as his attitude. Since being exposed in the expansion draft in favor of 33-year-old Jimmy Howard, who Vegas would never have had any interest in, Mrazek has seen the light. While he must win back the starting job from Howard this season, he is also playing for his future. A poor season will not only limit his potential earnings next season, but will likely force him to accept a backup position, while a big year could net his a long-term deal with Detroit or another franchise.
“The season wasn’t the season I wanted to have, so I’m happy I’m back,” Mrazek said. “I have lots to give back to Detroit. We all know they gave me a chance to play my first NHL game and gave me a chance to play (144) games. So, I have lots to prove and give them back.”