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Robert Hagg

Eastern Notes: Zacha, Dahlin, Neuvirth, Hagg, Martin

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While there were a number of people that were shocked when the New Jersey Devils assigned Pavel Zacha to Binghamton of the AHL, head coach John Hynes felt that the team needed to do something that would have an impact on the 21-year-old first-rounder. Despite having already played 150 NHL games in his career, Zacha was pointless in 10 games and Hynes felt just scratching him wasn’t going to be enough to spark him, according to Chris Ryan of NJ.com.

“To scratch him one game and put him back in, we’re still not in a position right now where we could rely on him in key situations, and that’s what we need from him,” Hynes said. “We think it’s important that it’s not, ’Hey, sit in the stands for one game and watch.’ That is effective in some situations, but we need him to go down and play, and play a lot of minutes and play in situations and earn his confidence back and get his game back.”

The sixth-overall pick in 2015, Zacha hasn’t developed into the franchise player the team thought they were getting when they drafted him. He has so far only managed to total eight goals in two straight seasons, suggesting the team may have needed to give him time in the AHL before bringing him to the NHL. Zacha, who has played in just three AHL games in his career, needs to have time to regain his confidence while playing lots of minutes, something that he wasn’t going to get with the Devils.

  • While there is no official word on the injury, Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, who was forced to leave Saturday’s game against Ottawa in the second period after taking a shot off his leg, is expected to travel with the team to New York, suggesting that his injury may not be too serious, according to the Buffalo News’ Mike Harrington. There is swelling, which means the team won’t be able to determine his status until tomorrow, according to The Athletic’s Jon Vogl. The team plays the Rangers on Sunday.
  • The Philadelphia Flyers announced that goaltender Michal Neuvirth has left the team and returned to Philadelphia to be checked out by doctors and could soon find himself back on injured reserve. The 30-year-old injury-prone goalie played in one game since being recalled from a conditioning stint on Oct. 25th, but allowed six goals in that lone start to the Islanders two days later, and now currently holds a .727 save percentage.
  • Charlie O’Connor of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that one interesting development in Philadelphia is the offensive improvement surrounding Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Robert Hagg. The 23-year-old sophomore currently leads all defenseman, including Shayne Gostisbehere and Ivan Provorov, with seven points (just two points shy of his totals last year). The scribe says that Hagg has seemed more comfortable joining the rush and going deeper into the offensive zone than he was willing last season.
  • New York Islanders head coach Barry Trotz said fourth-line forward Matt Martin remains day-to-day with an upper-body injury, according to Newsday’s Andrew Gross. The 29-year-old has combined with Cal Clutterbuck and Casey Cizikas to form an impressive energy line for the Islanders. Martin already has equaled last year’s goal total of three in just 11 games.

Snapshots: Bobrovsky, Flyers Defense, O’Reilly, Holden, Gurianov

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This offseason could be a very interesting one assuming that teams don’t lock all the potential unrestricted free agents to contract extensions in the coming months. The Athletic’s Craig Custance (subscription required) breaks down the top 25 UFA’s this coming offseason with an update on how contract negotiations are going.

One interesting note is for the No. 3 UFA in Columbus Blue Jackets’ Sergei Bobrovsky, who is rumored to be asking for Carey Price money (around $10.5MM). That might be too much money for Columbus to offer, especially for a 30-year-old goaltender. Custance adds that the team could easily get outbid for the netminder’s services by the New York Islanders who might be extremely aggressive in adding a franchise-changing goaltender. Islanders’ general manager Lou Lamoriello is known to be a big fan of impact goaltenders, which goes all the way back to Martin Brodeur when he was in New Jersey.

After all, in 315 games between Philadelphia and Columbus, Bobrovsky has a .922 save percentage, two Vezina Trophies and has finished in the top 10 in Vezina voting four times.

  • The Philadelphia Flyers had lost four of six games before Saturday’s game and Sam Carchidi of Philly.com writes that head coach Dave Hakstol decided to make a change as he separated his top pair defensemen in Shayne Gostisbehere and Ivan Provorov which turned out to be key in their 5-2 win over New Jersey. Gostisbehere was matched with Christian Folin, while Provorov was paired with Robert Hagg. The top four held to the Devils to just 21 shots on goal in the victory. Provorov was also much more noticeable on the offensive end of the ice. Previously held to just one point in the first seven games of the season, the 21-year-old posted two assists on Saturday. “(Hagg) is a little heavier body to play with Provy in some of those situations,” said Hakstol. “He obviously has a different look than Ghost. He doesn’t do as much with the puck, but he provides a heavier presence, so that changes the look of that pair.”
  • Speaking of lines, the St. Louis Blues shook up their lines Saturday as well as center Ryan O’Reilly found himself with two new wingers Zachary Sanford and David Perron on the second line, according to St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Jim Thomas. After his line put up two goals and three assists Saturday (including O’Reilly’s first goal as a member of the Blues), that line may not break up any time soon. “I thought ’O’Ry’ was outstanding obviously in all areas of the game,” Yeo said. “So that line gave us some really good minutes.”
  • NHL.com’s Gary Lawless writes that some of the Vegas Golden Knights’ success in their last three games comes from moving defenseman Nick Holden into the top-four. The veteran defenseman was originally signed to serve as a third pairing defenseman this offseason, but with Nate Schmidt (suspension) and Deryk Engelland (injury) both out, Holden has filled in admirably, averaging 18:54 ATOI. Holden did have a similar role back in 2016-17 when he was with the New York Rangers, so the 31-year-old already has quite a bit of experience playing in that role.
  • After a postseason run last year where Dallas Stars prospect Denis Gurianov was often a healthy scratch and was beginning to look like a bust, the 21-year-old seems to have turned the corner early this season as he has been dominant as he enters his third year with the AHL, writes SportsDay’s Matthew DeFranks. The 12th-overall pick in the 2015 draft is starting to show off his potential as he is riding a five-game scoring streak and has five goals and seven points in seven games.

Metropolitan Notes: Riikola, Duclair, Mrazek, Hagg

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The Pittsburgh Penguins are already loaded at the defense position, but the team is finding it harder and harder not to notice Finnish defenseman Juuso Riikola, who has dominated the preseason with his impressive play. The 24-year-old did it again today with a highlight-reel goal (link here) in a 7-3 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets. However, it isn’t just his offense, a few minutes later Riikola made an impressive defensive play on the other end of the ice.

“His hockey sense jumps out at you,” Pittsburgh head coach Mike Sullivan said. “He’s a real good puck mover. He can skate. He’s a mobile guy. What’s really surprised me is his willingness to embrace the physical aspect of the game. He’s not afraid to stick his nose in battles, and he’s done a real good job in that regard.”

Jonathan Bombulie of the Tribune Review writes that while it’s hard to imagine Riikola bumping one of the team’s top-six defensemen, his well-rounded game may be having Pittsburgh management consider keeping eight defensemen instead of holding onto 14 forwards.

“We’ll let the training camp play out,” Sullivan said. “But certainly, he’s a guy that has raised eyebrows and he’s going to make decisions for the coaching staff very difficult.”

  • Brian Hedger of NHL.com writes that Columbus Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella has made it his mission to try to figure out how to harness the speed and skill that winger Anthony Duclair has and how to take those abilities and turn him into a dominant NHL player. Duclair who is already on his fourth team at the age of 23 has struggled since his rookie campaign when he netted 20 goals. Since then, his totals have decreased to five in his sophomore campaign and 11 between two teams last year. “I need to watch,” Tortorella said. “Why is this his fourth team? I need to ask that question. Why? Maybe I can find out by watching and maybe I can help him by watching, to maybe have him stop some habits that made this happen, as far as him bouncing around. This guy here, talking to a couple of his [former] teammates, there’s so much there. I think we have to take a little responsibility to try to get it out of him, but it has to be a two-way street [and] he has to give too. So, we’ll see where it goes.”
  • Michael Smith of NHL.com writes that Carolina Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour has been quite impressed with goaltender Petr Mrazek, who has been sharp in two consecutive outings, though he’s only faced 19 shots in 70 minutes so far. Is that enough to choose a starter? “Well, for me it certainly is,” Brind’Amour joked. “For him, I don’t know. He’s looked good from day one, and he looked good again tonight. Just real calm in there. The one goal he had zero chance on. It was a breakdown on our part.”
  • After struggling early in preseason, Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Robert Hagg is slowly working his way back “up to speed,” according to NHL.com. Head coach Dave Hakstol has been impressed with the physicality that the 6-foot-2, 204-pounder brings, but has worked Hagg hard on other areas of his game that have been weak, including managing gaps and being more clean with the puck. Hakstol has frequently played Hagg in the preseason, so he can work on those key skills.

Andrew MacDonald Out Six Weeks After Off-Season Injury

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The regular season is a month away and training camps have not even opened up yet, but the Philadelphia Flyers have already suffered a major loss. The team announced this morning that defenseman Andrew MacDonald has suffered a lower-body injury and will be out for an estimated six weeks. MacDonald reportedly suffered the injury during a workout away from the team, according to GM Ron Hextall. 

MacDonald, 32, is in his sixth season with the Flyers and his eleventh overall. The veteran defenseman has had ups and downs in his career, but provides experience and leadership on the young Philly blue line. An alternate captain for the team and the oldest skater on the roster, MacDonald’s loss, especially at the start of the season, could be a blow to the Philadelphia locker room. With a six week window for recovery, MacDonald is sure to miss all of camp and the preseason and will likely miss the first two weeks or more of the regular season.

In his absence, the Flyers will need to lean more on their young defensive core. Shayne Gostisbehere, Ivan Provorov, and Robert Hagg have established themselves as the next wave of top defenders for Philadelphia and were primed to take ice time and responsibility from MacDonald this season regardless. Now they will especially be thrust into more responsibility, as will veteran Radko Gudas. Travis Sanheim and Christian Folin will now begin the season with guaranteed starting jobs now that MacDonald is out, giving the Flyers a rounded out top six. With Samuel Morin sidelined for at least a few more months with an ACL injury, one big question now is who begins the season as the Flyers’ extra defender until MacDonald can return.

Flyers Re-Sign Robert Hagg To Two-Year Deal

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UPDATE: The Flyers have now confirmed the extension with Hagg.

The Philadelphia Flyers have signed their final restricted free agent, agreeing to an extension with defenseman Robert Hagg. TVA’s Renaud Lavoie was the first to report that the two sides have come to terms on a two-year, $2.3MM contract. CapFriendly adds that Hagg will make $1MM this year and $1.3MM next year, with a cap hit of $1.15MM. The 2013 second-rounder will again be a restricted free agent at the end of this deal.

This is a very team-friendly conclusion to lengthy negotiations between the Flyers and Hagg. Although Hagg was a rookie last season, the 22-year-old showed positioning and composure of a much older, more experienced blue liner. Hagg led all rookies with 238 hits, a mark that was also tied for seventh-best among all players. He also did so with just 32 penalty minutes on the year. Additionally, Hagg led all rookies in blocked shots. He stepped into a top-four role with the Flyers without any difficulty and showed the potential to be a dominant shutdown defender.

As such, many expected that the Flyers would jump into an expensive, long-term deal for the young rearguard. Instead, the played it safe, taking a short term and very comfortable salary instead of trying to figure out long-term value. Philadelphia has a plethora of talented young defenseman, including Ivan Provorov who will need an extension next summer, and were smart not to set a precedent that they all deserve massive extensions. The team will likely enjoy great value for Hagg over the next two years, after which they will have to pay him his due for a strong defensive game that few others his age possess.

Contract Talks Between Flyers And Robert Hagg Are Progressing

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Contract talks with restricted free agent defenseman Robert Hagg are progressing, GM Ron Hextall told reporters, including Sam Donnellon of the Philadelphia News.  The team is targeting a two-year bridge contract for the Swedish blueliner.

The 23-year-old completed his first full season at the NHL level in 2017-18 and acquitted himself fairly well.  While his offensive numbers weren’t anything special (3-6-9 in 70 games), he was a strong physical presence on their back end, recording 238 hits which ranked as the seventh-most in the NHL.  He also logged more than 18 minutes a night in the regular season.

It’s likely that Hagg will slot in on the third pairing once again next season, especially following the departure of Brandon Manning to Chicago in free agency.  That will allow him to ease his way into a larger workload while still providing Philadelphia with plenty of salary cap flexibility heading into next summer when wingers Wayne Simmonds, Travis Konecny, and defenseman Ivan Provorov are all in need of new contracts.

Hextall was also asked if the Flyers plan to pursue any other free agents or trades this summer but he indicated that the team is probably done shopping and that they are comfortable with internal options for their remaining vacancies, such as third line center.  That means that once Hagg (their last remaining RFA) is signed, we probably won’t be hearing much from then until training camp opens up in mid-September.

Flyers Sign RFA’s Taylor Leier And Tyrell Goulbourne

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The Philadelphia Flyers have had a busy morning, announcing new one-year contracts for both Taylor Leier and Tyrell Goulbourne and confirming the signing of Danick Martel, also to a one-year deal which had been previously reported. While Martel simply accepted his qualifying offer, the other two contracts were negotiated. No salary terms were revealed by the team, but CapFriendly reports that Leier will make $720K on a one-way deal, while Goulbourne will likely play on a two-way deal similar to Martel’s.

Leier’s contract is interesting for many reasons. The first, and most pressing, is that it negates an August 3rd arbitration hearing date. Leier had filed for salary arbitration after spending the entire 2017-18 season in Philadelphia. While Leier only played in 39 games, it is easy to see why he might not be agreeable to a two-way deal after avoiding the AHL for an entire campaign. However, Leier’s qualifying offer was of a two-way nature. Rather than agree to that deal, the two sides worked out a contract that actually comes in below the qualifying offer value, but with a one-way status. Leier, 24, collected five points last season and will be looking to improve his production in the coming season.

Goulbourne finally cracked the NHL last season after his first two pro years were spent entirely in the minors, including half a season in the ECHL. The 24-year-old managed to get into nine games with the Flyers, though he was held scoreless and saw under six minutes of ice time per night in a fill-in role. Goulbourne wasn’t super productive with the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms either, recording just 19 points in 63 games. Although Goulbourne is a more defensive-minded forward, he’ll need to show a more well-rounded offensive game if he wants to earn another long stay in Philadelphia.

With these three forwards locked up, Philadelphia has just two more restricted free agents to deal with. Defenseman Robert Hagg, who was very reliable in 70 games as a rookie on the Flyers’ blue line, is a interesting case to follow, as the team needs to be careful about the length and value of the contracts they hand out to their many promising young defenseman, as setting a bad precedent could bury them. The situation with goaltender Anthony Stolarz is also curious, as the young keeper missed most of last season due to injury after previously looking like a future star in seven starts with Philly in 2016-17. He now has to compete with Alex Lyon and Carter Hart for the honor of “heir apparent” and the Flyers might be wondering if that is one goalie too many to compete or at least how much they are willing to pay to keep another young backstop around.

Eastern Notes: Carolina GM Search, Simmonds, Islanders

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With just a 9.9 percent chance to finish in the top three, the Carolina Hurricanes beat the odds Saturday when they moved up from a team with the 11th-worst record in the league and were awarded the No. 2 pick in the 2018 draft. While that gives the franchise lots of new options that they weren’t expecting, it also makes their general manager and coaching openings much more attractive, according to Chip Alexander of the News & Observer.

The general manager position, which has been open since the team transitioned former general manager Ron Francis to President of Hockey Operations on Mar. 7, was not a popular destination after new owner Tom Dundon ousted Francis and multiple candidates declined to interview, forcing to team to announce they would wait until the offseason to address their needs. On top of that, the team then lost head coach Bill Peters when he triggered an out-clause in his contract and took the head coaching position with the Calgary Flames.

However, Alexander writes both openings are now more intriguing with the No. 2 pick as adding an impact player immediately after they take the job is always a positive. Adding a winger like Andrei Svechnikov could change the team dramatically as he would likely be the No. 1 overall pick if Rasmus Dahlin not been there.

  • NHL.com’s Bill Meltzer writes the Philadelphia Flyers have a lot of work ahead of them this offseason. To start with, the team must depend on the continued development of their youth, including Nolan Patrick, Travis Konecny, Oskar Lindblom, Travis Sanheim, Robert Hagg and Samuel Morin. However, general manager Ron Hextall intends to make many roster changes to improve the team with the idea of adding more speed, especially to the special teams. Hextall, who is known for making offseason trades, is likely to be active again on the trade market and could attempt to move winger Wayne Simmonds. While Simmonds has said he wants to stay, the team could get a good return as the 30-year-old will enter the final year of a reasonable $3.975MM deal. With plenty of youth in their system working their way up, it would seem unlikely the Flyers would extend his contract.
  • With two picks in the lottery, the New York Islanders have multiple options in front of them, writes Arthur Staple of The Athletic (subscription required). While the team could use the 11th and 12th picks in the 2018 NHL Draft to trade down and pick up a top forward, the team could also stay where they are and rebuild the team’s prospect pool, which isn’t as strong as it once was. The scribe also adds that the team could use one of the picks in a package to acquire a veteran defenseman who could help fix their leaky blueline.

 

Philadelphia Flyers Must Look To Future

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The Philadelphia Flyers dropped their 10th straight game today against the Boston Bruins and while that losing streak is hard to take, Philly.com’s Sam Carchidi writes that there are positives despite all the negatives the team has been enduring this year. The team is playing well at even strength, struggling mainly on special teams and the team should be getting defenseman Radko Gudas back from a 10-game suspension on Dec. 12, so there is hope for this season.

Regardless, the scribe writes fans may have to look towards the future rather then at this year’s production. While fans are angry about the offseason trade in which the Flyers traded away center Brayden Schenn, who is currently putting up good numbers in St. Louis with 10 goals and 20 assists, there are long-term assets to consider. The team took on Jori Lehtera’s contract in exchange, and the veteran is making that deal more challenging to analyze as he hasn’t scored a goal for Philadelphia this year. However, the team also got back two first round picks in that deal. The team drafted center Morgan Frost this past year, who is playing well in the OHL with 13 goals and 27 assists in 26 games. The team is also getting another first-rounder in the bountiful 2018 draft as well.

Carchidi writes the team should have ample cap room next year when the contracts of Valtteri Filppula ($5MM AAV) and Matt Read ($3.63 AAV) expire. If the team chooses to buyout the final year of Lehtera’s deal, the team should have ample space to sign a free agent this offseason when players such as John Tavares, Evander Kane and James van Riemsdyk are available.

However, the team also has quite a few prospects starting with 19-year-old goaltender Carter Hart, a 2016 second-round pick, who looks like the team’s goaltender of the future. After recovering from a bout of mononucleosis, he has put up huge numbers in the WHL, including a 1.58 GAA and a .953 save percentage in 13 games. He is expected to be Canada’s starting goaltender in the upcoming World Juniors and some believe he could be ready to be the Flyers starter in the 2019-20 season after a year in the AHL.

If you include that with the large amount of young players under the age of 25 on the Flyers current roster such as Sean Couturier, Nolan Patrick, Travis Konecny, Shayne Gostisbehere, Ivan Provorov, Travis Sanheim, Robert Hagg and a bunch of other youngsters who still must prove themselves, the core is already there. Along with the success of a lot of their young players in the minors, this team has a lot to look forward to in the future.

 

Philadelphia Calls Up Samuel Morin

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Given the rash of recent injuries on the Philadelphia blue line, it came as no surprise when the Flyers announced this evening that they had recalled rookie defenseman Samuel Morin from the AHL’s Adirondack Phantoms. Morin is expected to suit up for the team when they host the Arizona Coyotes tomorrow night.

In Saturday night’s contest against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Shayne Gostisbehere left early with injury and his status is still unknown. With Andrew MacDonald out long-term with a lower body injury, an extended absence for Gostisbehere would have left the Flyers down two starters with only five defenseman on the roster. Morin rounds that number back up to six and provides Philly with another capable defenseman.

However, the Flyers may need to think about looking around for another defenseman, if they aren’t already. The “future is now” mentality may be exciting, but Philadelphia will square off with the Coyotes tomorrow with three rookies – Morin, Robert Hagg, and Travis Sanheim – and 20-year-old Ivan Provorov, a severe lack of experience on the back end. Add in just two stay-at-home defenders in Radko Gudas and Brandon Manning as their veteran support, and Philadelphia could benefit from another body on the blue line. With four waiver-exempt assets, the Flyers have the flexibility to add another defenseman without causing themselves any sort of roster crunch down the road.

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