Metro Notes: Graves, Berard, Bowey
Josh Yohe of The Athletic wrote a brutally honest assessment of the conundrum the Pittsburgh Penguins are facing with highly paid healthy scratch Ryan Graves. Graves is a healthy scratch once again tonight and has sat out of the lineup for the Penguins’ last three games, which were all victories for Pittsburgh. In fact, the Penguins are 10-4-4 with Graves out of the lineup the last two seasons and 38-40-12 when he does play.
Now, it’s unfair to put all the blame on Graves for the Penguins’ struggles when he plays, but his play on the ice has certainly not come close to living up to his hefty $4.5MM cap hit. Pittsburgh general manager Kyle Dubas has made some shrewd moves to acquire young players since arriving in Pittsburgh, but the Graves contract and the four years remaining on it are one of the worst misfires of any general manager in recent memory.
In other Metropolitan Division notes:
- Colin Stephenson of Newsday reports that New York Rangers forward Brett Berard was back at practice today in a green no-contact jersey. The 22-year-old is currently listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury, an injury he most likely suffered on Saturday afternoon when he took a hit from Canadiens forward Kirby Dach. In four games this season with the Rangers, Berard has been solid, posting a goal and an assist while averaging 12:33 of ice time. The Rangers have a bit of a break this week and don’t play again until Friday against Pittsburgh, so Berard may still suit up depending on how he feels before then.
- The Columbus Blue Jackets AHL affiliate the Cleveland Monsters have signed defenseman Madison Bowey to an AHL contract for the rest of the 2024-25 season. Bowey has already suited up in 17 games this season for Cleveland, posting three assists while playing under a professional tryout. The 29-year-old is a veteran of 158 NHL games over four seasons with four different NHL teams. The Winnipeg, Manitoba native tallied five goals and 35 assists during his time in the NHL and was a regular for the Detroit Red Wings during the 2019-20 season before the league shutting down during the pandemic. Bowey would only play in four NHL games after that season, spending the bulk of his time in the AHL and KHL.
Penguins Notes: Graves, O’Connor, Jarry
Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Ryan Graves was a healthy scratch last night in favor of youngster Owen Pickering (as per Josh Yohe of The Athletic). Graves has become a magnet for criticism in Pittsburgh just a year and a bit into a six-year $27MM contract he signed in July 2023. Graves has had some better games this season but has been largely sheltered in a third-pairing role.
The scratch is another attempt by Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan to send a message to Pittsburgh’s veteran depth players who have played uninspired hockey for much of this season. Pickering picked up an assist in his NHL debut last night against San Jose and looked like the Penguins’ best defenseman in the game.
In other Pittsburgh Penguins notes:
- Jim Parsons of The Hockey News believes that Penguins forward Drew O’Connor will receive trade interest from other teams because of his inexpensive cap hit. O’Connor is an unrestricted free agent next summer and is making $925K this season in the final season of a two-year deal. O’Connor’s cap hit will make an attractive commodity as the 26-year-old is capable of being a solid depth scorer for any team that fancies themselves a contender. O’Connor has three goals and three assists in 20 games this season and has played both center and the wing for Pittsburgh.
- Penguins netminder Tristan Jarry returned to the NHL this week after a two-week stint in the American Hockey League. Jarry played well in the AHL but had a disastrous return to the NHL giving up five goals on 39 shots, including a goal on the first shot. He allowed goals on two of the first three shots he faced and never looked comfortable in his return. Jarry is likely unmovable at this point (as per Jim Parsons). with three years remaining on his contract (after this season) at an AAV of $5.375MM. PuckPedia’s Perri Salary Cap Relief Calculator estimates that it would take a top 10 NHL draft pick in order to move the remainder of Jarry’s salary, something the Penguins likely have no appetite to do.
Evening Notes: Myers, Graves, Alfredsson
Ben Kuzma of The Vancouver Province writes that Vancouver Canucks defenseman Tyler Myers is hoping to re-sign with the Canucks and remain in Vancouver. The 34-year-old had his best season in Vancouver, playing in a reduced role that saw him average less than 20 minutes per game for the first time in his career. The reduced playing time benefitted Myers and he posted five goals and 24 assists in 77 games which were his best numbers since his last year in Winnipeg back in 2018-19.
Kuzma writes that Myers is projected for a $3MM AAV on a three-year deal which would be much more palatable than the $6MM that Myers made this past season. If the Canucks can lock Myers up around that number it will allow them to pivot to their remaining free-agent defenseman Ian Cole, Filip Hronek, and Nikita Zadorov.
In other evening notes:
- After a poor first season with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Ryan Graves became a lightning rod for criticism from fans of the team. Dan Kingerski writes that the Pittsburgh Penguins would be best to avoid buying out the remaining five years of the contract which would lead to an annual cost of $750K for the next ten years. Penguins’ general manager Kyle Dubas has stated in the past that he prefers trades to buyouts and given the season that Graves just had it would be nearly impossible to find a trade partner unless the Penguins agree to take back a bad contract. The Penguins have a need for a top-6 forward as well as some depth scoring on their bottom two lines and have just under $13MM in available cap space. Moving Graves would go a long way to opening up the room to maneuver, but given the circumstances, it seems likely that he will be with the team next season.
- Ottawa Senators great Daniel Alfredsson is leaning towards returning to his assistant coaching role next season under new head coach Travis Green (as per Bruce Garrioch). The franchise’s all-time leading scorer was brought back to the franchise in a player-development role, but that role was changed when the Senators relieved previous head coach D.J. Smith of his duties. The Senators will have to fill out their coaching staff and have been linked to former NHL head coach Mike Yeo as well as former NHLer and current Manitoba Moose assistant coach Nolan Baumgartner.
Penguins Place Ryan Graves On LTIR, Recall Vinnie Hinostroza
The Penguins moved defenseman Ryan Graves to long-term injured reserve Thursday, Seth Rorabaugh of Tribune-Review Sports reports. The move rules him out of Pittsburgh’s four remaining regular season games, including a home tilt against the Red Wings tonight that, with a regulation win, could boost their playoff chances by nearly 20%. Placing Graves on LTIR creates the necessary cap space to add winger Vinnie Hinostroza, who Rorabaugh says was recalled from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in a corresponding move.
Graves, 28, hasn’t played since sustaining a concussion against the Blue Jackets on March 28. He’s been listed as day-to-day since and will miss his seventh consecutive game tonight.
The Nova Scotian has had a disappointing start to his Penguins tenure, which began after he inked a six-year, $27MM deal with trade protection in free agency last summer. The main drag has been his point production, registering 14 points (three goals, 11 assists) in 70 games after pacing at nearly 30 points per season over his previous two seasons with the Devils. His overall possession metrics haven’t been ghastly (48.7 CF%, 50.6 xGF%), although they’re south of his career average and don’t stand out much from his teammates. He’s been a turnover machine as well, logging 40 giveaways compared with 19 takeaways – the second-worst differential on the team. Erik Karlsson has him beat there but has compensated with some of the best possession metrics on the team, posting a +16 expected rating and 54.6 CF%.
Graves’ absence to end the regular season means more minutes for 24-year-old Pierre-Olivier Joseph, who has slid up to a top-pairing role alongside Karlsson as the Pens chase a playoff spot. He hasn’t been ruled out for postseason play, however, and could theoretically return as soon as Game 1 of a first-round series.
Hinostroza comes up as extra depth for the time being and won’t play against the Wings, per the team. The 30-year-old made 14 appearances with Pittsburgh earlier in the season, scoring a goal and two assists while averaging 9:45 per game. It’s the first recall for the Chicago native since he was added to the roster for three days in February without getting into game action. He hasn’t suited up for an NHL game since a 3-1 win over the Islanders on New Year’s Eve.
The diminutive winger is in his first season with the Pens after inking a one-year, one-way, league-minimum deal in July. He’s spent most of the season with WBS, where he’s been one of their most adept offensive talents. He’s taken on an alternate captain role with the farm club and is among their leaders in points per game with 32 points (15 goals, 17 assists) in 39 appearances.
Metropolitan Notes: Guhle, Graves, Fast
Canadiens defenseman Kaiden Guhle will have a hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety on Friday for slashing Flyers winger Travis Konecny in Thursday night’s win. The 22-year-old sophomore slashed Konecny’s wrist from the bench in retaliation for a hit he’d just laid on Montreal winger Juraj Slafkovsky but did not draw a penalty on the play (video via RDS). Given the minimal severity of the incident, it likely won’t be a long absence for Guhle. Still, retaliatory plays plus being involved in on-ice action from the bench is normally a recipe for supplemental discipline. The 2020 first-round pick has neither been fined nor suspended over his two-year, 112-game NHL career. After missing nearly half his rookie season due to injuries, Guhle is back on track this season with six goals and 15 assists for 21 points in 68 games while logging over 21 minutes per outing. Johnathan Kovacevic remains on the roster as an extra defenseman and will draw into the lineup if Guhle misses time.
Other updates from the Metropolitan Division:
- Penguins defenseman Ryan Graves sustained a concussion in last night’s win over the Blue Jackets, head coach Mike Sullivan told reporters today (via Rob Rossi of The Athletic). It’s unclear what play Graves was injured on, but he last skated with just over a minute left in the first period and did not return for the second. Pittsburgh thus rotated through five defenders for most of last night’s 3-2 victory, which kept their slim (2.9%, per MoneyPuck) playoff hopes alive. The Penguins haven’t issued a recovery timeline for Graves, although, given the nature of concussions, it’s feasible that he could be done for the regular season with 10 games remaining. If so, it ends a disappointing first season in Pittsburgh for the 28-year-old, who won himself a rather rich six-year, $27MM contract with limited trade protection from Penguins GM Kyle Dubas in free agency last July. He’s slowly fallen out of favor with head coach Mike Sullivan throughout the season, averaging 18:23 per game, the lowest since his 26-game rookie showing in 2018-19 with the Avalanche. He logged three goals and 14 points in 70 games, finishing in the middle of the pack among Penguins skaters in most advanced metrics.
- Hurricanes winger Jesper Fast will likely return tomorrow against the Canadiens, head coach Rod Brind’Amour said. He’s missed Carolina’s last five games and hasn’t played since March 19 with an undisclosed injury. If he’s not quite ready to go, he’ll re-enter the lineup against the Bruins next Thursday, per Brind’Amour. The 32-year-old Swede has six goals and 18 points in 66 games for the Canes after signing a two-year, $4.8MM extension to remain in Raleigh last summer.
Snapshots: Graves, St. Ivany, Krug, Oshie, Protas
The Pittsburgh Penguins have shared that defenseman Ryan Graves will be stepping away for a paternity leave, opening the door for rookie Jack St. Ivany to make his NHL debut. St. Ivany has flirted with his inaugural game for much of March, getting moved between the NHL and AHL four different times in the last week. He was clearly motivated by the string of moves, recording a career-high three-point night in his latest AHL game – his first since receiving the first NHL call-up of his career. The performance broke a 10-game scoring drought and accounted for a fifth of St. Ivany’s 15 points on the season. He’ll now have a golden chance to build on the hot night, potentially poised for a big role with Graves’ average of 19 minutes a night now up for grabs.
Other notes from around the league:
- St. Louis Blues defenseman Torey Krug is expected to return to the lineup on Friday after sititng out with a chest injury on Thursday, per NHL.com’s Jessi Pierce. It was Krug’s first absence of the year, after appearing in the Blues’ first 69 games. He’s managed three goals and 34 points in those games. This is Krug’s first time playing in more than 65 games since the 2017-18 season. His return is expected to bump Scott Perunovich back out of the lineup.
- The Washington Capitals will continue to be without T.J. Oshie and Aliaksei Protas, head coach Spencer Carbery told The Hockey News. Both players sat out of the team’s Wednesday night loss against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Oshie is bearing with an upper-body injury, while Protas has a lingering lower-body injury suffered on March 9th. The team will eagerly anticipate their return, now left to lean on Michael Sgarbossa and Ivan Miroshnichenko as top-six fill-ins.
Update On Erik Karlsson To Pittsburgh Rumblings
Rob Rossi of The Athletic wrote a column today with regard to the Erik Karlsson trade saga. While many of the updates offered were hardly surprising, there were a few pieces of information that gave some insights into how the Pittsburgh Penguins became involved in the trade talks. Pittsburgh always seemed like a team that couldn’t squeeze a player with Karlsson’s cap number into their lineup, but based on the recent reporting it appears that they are the front-runner.
Rossi begins the article by dropping the news that Kyle Dubas reportedly identified Erik Karlsson as a trade target while he was in the interview process with Penguins ownership. Now, aside from the Tristan Jarry extension to this point much of Dubas’ work has been to tinker around the edges of the Penguins lineup. But it does appear that he’s built up the club’s depth in the bottom six and their defense core for the possibility that some players could be shipped out very soon.
Another newer piece of information that Rossi mentions is that Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang have reportedly endorsed the potential Karlsson acquisition and in Letang’s case, he’s even agreed to make changes to his own role within the Penguins lineup. If a potential trade were to go through, Letang would remain as Pittsburgh’s number one defenseman, however, Letang would change his powerplay role to allow Karlsson to quarterback the Penguin’s powerplay.
San Jose was also reportedly interested in defenseman Marcus Pettersson being part of a potential blockbuster, however, Dubas has squashed that notion thus far as head coach Mike Sullivan sees Pettersson and newly acquired defender Ryan Graves as the top two options for the left side of Pittsburgh’s defensive group. Pettersson was terrific for Pittsburgh last season after seeing his name all over trade rumors boards for much of the summer of 2022.
Lastly, Dubas apparently wants to put top-5 protection on any first-round pick he trades in a Karlsson deal and has reportedly floated the idea of putting other conditions such as home-ice advantage on lower-round draft picks that could be involved in the deal.
While it appears that the Penguins are still the front-runner to land the reigning Norris Trophy winner, it doesn’t appear that a trade is imminent anytime soon. Pittsburgh would have to navigate an awful lot of moving parts to push the trade through, however, as we’ve seen in the past these trades can come together quickly when teams are motivated to make the move happen. Regardless of the outcome, it does look like Dubas has plans to continue his makeover of the Penguins roster before the start of the 2023-24 season.
Pittsburgh Penguins Sign Ryan Graves, Alex Nedeljkovic; Extend Tristan Jarry
The Pittsburgh Penguins have made likely their biggest moves of the day. They’ve signed hulking defenseman Ryan Graves from the New Jersey Devils, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Per a team release, the contract will be a six-year, $27MM contract, earning an AAV of $4.5MM. They’ve also announced a five-year extension with netminder Tristan Jarry, carrying a $5.375MM AAV. Furthermore, Friedman also reports that the team has brought in goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic as well, signing the young netminder to a one-year, $1.5MM contract.
These are two moves of major significance for the Penguins, especially the Jarry signing. By signing him to this extension, the Penguins have effectively committed to Jarry as the starting goalie for the rest of the careers of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang.
As the goal for Pittsburgh for the rest of their careers is to win the trio one last Stanley Cup, the franchise is effectively betting on Jarry to be a goalie capable of winning the Stanley Cup.
There are reasons to believe Jarry, 28, is up to the task. First and foremost, his 2021-22 season was exceptional (.919 save percentage in 58 games played), as was his 2019-20.
But Jarry has alternated each brilliant campaign with more sluggish ones, and while he still manages above-average numbers in those years they aren’t quite up to the quality expected from a goalie occupying a cap hit higher than $5MM.
For Pittsburgh to truly feel good about this signing, not only will Jarry have to have more consistency on a year-to-year basis, he’ll also need to prove that some of the playoff mistakes that cost the Penguins a playoff series against the New York Islanders in 2020-21 won’t resurface.
As for Graves, his addition gives Pittsburgh an upgrade over the departed Brian Dumoulin both offensively and defensively, as well as in the age department. The 28-year-old left-shot blueliner skates well for his size (six-foot-five, 220 pounds) and plays a respectable two-way game. He averaged around 20 minutes of ice time per night for the New Jersey Devils and was a regular penalty-kill contributor.
Graves will likely pair with either Letang or Jeff Petry, and perhaps Graves’ most promising fit is with Petry.
While the Penguins have reportedly been trying to trade Petry this offseason, his $6.25MM cap hit has proven to be a barrier to getting a deal across the line.
The best way to spur a bounce-back season from Petry could be to replicate the environment that saw him achieve so much success with the Montreal Canadiens.
Petry was at his best when partnered with Joel Edmundson, a steady defender whose abilities defensively afforded Petry the freedom to take risks and play more aggressively offensively.
Petry scored at a 63-point pace in 2020-21, largely stapled next to Edmundson, and many would argue that Graves is a better defenseman than Edmundson. So while Graves has definite value on his own, what he might be able to do to rehabilitate Petry’s on-ice effectiveness is a major bonus.
As for Nedeljkovic, the 27-year-old was sent to the Detroit Red Wings after a stellar rookie season for the Carolina Hurricanes. He posted a .932 save percentage in 23 games, leading many to believe Carolina had found their “goalie of the future.” Carolina wasn’t confident Nedeljkovic’s numbers were repeatable in a heavier workload, and Detroit found that out for themselves when they installed him as their number-one and he struggled mightily.
Nedeljkovic posted a .901 save percentage in 59 games played in 2021-22 and a .895 save percentage this past season, losing Detroit’s backup job to Magnus Hellberg. The hope likely is with this signing that Nedeljkovic can join with incumbent backup Casey DeSmith to form a strong support structure for Jarry, and with a lesser workload potentially get back to somewhere close to the way he played in Carolina.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
East Notes: Petry, Varlamov, Devils UFAs
It’s hard to claim Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Jeff Petry had a disappointing season. After being acquired from the Montreal Canadiens in a swap for defenseman Mike Matheson, Petry improved on his offensive totals from the season prior, recording 31 points in 61 games, and he still managed to average over 22 minutes per game. His defensive impacts were also in line with what we’ve come to expect from the veteran defender.
However, the Penguins were hoping for a resurgence to his 2020-21 form, which saw him finish 13th in Norris Trophy voting. It didn’t happen, and with interim general manager Kyle Dubas now at the helm, Petry finds himself on the trade block again after just one season in Pittsburgh, confirms The Athletic’s Rob Rossi. The market for right-shot defenders is generally strong, but with Petry locked in at a $6.25MM cap hit until 2025 and a potentially significant decline coming at any moment, Rossi says there aren’t many quality offers out there for his services.
More from the Eastern Conference rumor cycle today:
- Expect veteran netminder Semyon Varlamov to end up back on Long Island, says the Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta. The 35-year-old will likely sign a two-year deal, during which he’ll reprise his backup role to countryman Ilya Sorokin. After posting a save percentage north of .910 for four straight seasons, Varlamov would have been one of the better goaltending options available on the free agent market, especially for a team looking to solidify their backup position.
- The New Jersey Devils don’t have a ton of cap space after announcing a max-length extension for Timo Meier, and as expected, they won’t be making any other major re-signings before free agency opens on Saturday. Defenseman Ryan Graves and forwards Tomas Tatar and Miles Wood are going to test the open market, general manager Tom Fitzgerald confirmed today. Per CapFriendly, the team has around $10.2MM in space but needs to re-sign a quartet of restricted free agents and potentially add a goalie to complement Vitek Vanecek.
Latest On The New Jersey Devils
When the New Jersey Devils inked Jesper Bratt to an eight-year, $7.875MM cap-hit deal earlier this week, it may have come in a few dollars less than some expected, given his point production. Similar to Cole Caufield‘s long-term deal in Montreal, some attributed this to New Jersey’s desire to keep a strict salary hierarchy – at least among forwards – under star center Jack Hughes, who’s locked in at $8MM per season.
However, general manager Tom Fitzgerald refuted that notion today in an appearance on The Jeff Marek Show, prioritizing the importance of general market comparables over an internal hierarchy. As New Jersey Hockey Now’s James Nichols says, that likely generates a clearer range for what we could expect the cap hit to be on a pending extension for winger Timo Meier. The Swiss-born forward notched 40 goals for the first time in his career in 2022-23 in 78 games.
Given Meier’s experience (and, therefore, consistency) advantage over his teammate Bratt, $7.875MM per season is likely the floor for any Meier extension, as Nichols says. Previous reports suggested Meier was looking for north of $9MM per season when still a member of the San Jose Sharks, but Nichols surmises that may be the max on his negotiation given the comparable to Minnesota Wild star Kirill Kaprizov, who signed a five-year deal for $9MM per season in 2021.
Anything north of $9MM, which now seems unlikely for Meier, would make him the highest-paid player on the team ahead of defenseman Dougie Hamilton. Meier, while he obviously comes with an esteemed scoring pedigree, didn’t mesh as well as some hoped in New Jersey with 14 points in 21 games down the regular-season stretch.
A $9MM cap hit would also leave New Jersey with about $17.4MM in cap space to fill eight roster spots – seven among forwards and one on defense, potentially replacing (or re-signing) pending UFA Ryan Graves.