Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Ryan McDonagh

Morning Snapshots: Stamkos, McDonagh, Sherwood, Panarin, Quenneville

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

News and notes from around the NHL this morning:

  • Despite reports that Steven Stamkos may return to the Tampa Bay Lightning, Tampa Bay Times writer Joe Smith reports that Stamkos will not play tonight against the Dallas Stars. Stamkos took part in the morning skate but confirmed that he will not lace up the skates this weekend. The Lightning have four games left on the schedule, including one each against the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs—two teams the Lightning are chasing for the East’s final wildcard spot. If Stamkos returns from his knee injury, expect him to play in those high-stakes games.
  • The New York Rangers will most likely be without captain Ryan McDonagh for a second straight game. NHL.com’s Dan Rosen reports that McDonagh did not skate with the team this morning ahead of its game against the Philadelphia Flyers. The Rangers captain suffered an undisclosed injury this week and missed Friday’s game. Coach Alain Vigneault did not expand on McDonagh’s injury, but assured reporters that it is day-to-day rather than something serious. Leaving McDonagh out may be nothing more than precautionary as the Rangers have all but locked up the first wild card slot in the East.
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets have assigned forward Kole Sherwood to the AHL Cleveland Monsters this morning. The Blue Jackets signed the undrafted free agent in July 2015, and the Ohio native lit up the OHL with the Flint Firebirds this season. Sherwood scored 33G and 52A in 60 games, and an additional 4G and 1A in 5 playoff games. The Blue Jackets prospect may make his professional debut today against the Iowa Wild.
  • According to TheAthletic’s Scott Powers, Chicago Blackhawks forward Artemi Panarin would hit his $1.75MM Schedule B bonus as of today. Panarin can trigger that bonus by finishing in the top-ten forward in scoring this season. If the season ended today, Panarin would sit 11th overall, but because Brent Burns is a defenseman, Panarin remains the tenth highest-scoring forward this season. Panarin may be looking over his shoulder, however, as both Winnipeg Jets’ Blake Wheeler and Dallas Stars’ Tyler Seguin are only one point behind.
  • The New Jersey Devils have reassigned forward John Quenneville to the AHL Albany Devils. The Devils rookie has 1G and 3A in 12 NHL games, but 12G and 29A in 53 AHL games this season. With the New Jersey Devils well outside the NHL playoff picture, the organization now focuses on Albany, where the Devils hold a playoff spot by only two points.

Rangers Notes: Klein, Grabner, Glass

at CDT | by 1 Comment

Part of the reason the New York Rangers went out and traded for Brendan Smith from Detroit was his versatility on the back end. Despite being left-handed, Smith is experienced on both sides of the ice and has been playing with Ryan McDonagh to start his Rangers career. With both Kevin Klein and Dan Girardi out, New York has been playing five left-handed defenders.

There was hope that Kevin Klein would return sooner than later, but he won’t travel with the team as they head out on a four-game road trip according to Brett Cyrgalis of the NY Post. Head coach Alain Vigneault told Cyrgalis he’s “not really sure what’s going on there” when speaking about Klein, who hasn’t played since February 21st.

  • The Rangers have also been without Jesper Fast and Michael Grabner recently, but got some good news on one of them today. Grabner will travel with the team and test his hip tomorrow morning before their game in Tampa Bay—though he’s not expected to play. The team’s leading goal scorer, Grabner has had an unbelievable season with 26 markers. That’s his highest total since 2010-11 when he broke into the league with 34 as a 23-year old.
  • Despite many fans fears that Tanner Glass will get into tomorrow’s game at the expense of a young forward, Vigneault hasn’t made up his mind yet. Glass was recalled along with Steven Kampfer this morning, and would be making his 2016-17 debut for the Rangers if he got into the lineup. The 33-year old Glass is know for his bang-and-crash style, recording no fewer than 130 hits in any of his full NHL seasons. The Rangers’ current leader in hits among forwards is Chris Kreider with 102, with no one else breaking 100.

Metro Division Notes: Shattenkirk, Rangers, Schultz

at CDT | by 1 Comment

Since deciding they would need to deal veteran defenseman Kevin Shattnkirk rather than risk losing him for nothing as a free agent, the St. Louis Blues worked hard to find a team with whom the blue liner would agree to a long term extension and thus be able to extract top value from their asset via trade. Deals evidently fell through with Edmonton and Tampa Bay, however, due to Shattenkirk’s preference to test unrestricted free agency. Ultimately the Blues caved and marketed Shattenkirk as a rental, agreeing to send him to Washington for a fair return, though likely not as high a price as they originally hoped to secure.

But according to Isabelle Khurshudyan of The Washington Post, the idea of Shattenkirk representing only a rental may be a bit premature. The scribe notes that both sides would be open to the blue liner remaining with the Capitals beyond the 2016-17 postseason. However, as Khurshudyan also points out, the team has several other potential free agents that would likely take priority over re-signing Shattenkirk, who may be more of a luxury to the Caps than a vital cog. With $51MM already committed to the 2017-18 salary cap, it’s far more likely the team will focus their limited resources on bringing back potential UFA’s T.J. Oshie and Karl Alzner, while also working out an long-term extension with talented center Evgeny Kuznetsov. Those deals would easily eat up most of the Capitals available space, leaving it nearly impossible for them to also fit Shattenkirk in under the cap barring a surprising trade to clear salary elsewhere.

More from the Metro:

  • The New York Rangers, another team believed to have been interested in the aforementioned Shattenkirk, instead opted to shop in the second tier market, coming away with the solid, if unspectacular Brendan Smith at the deadline. It’s unclear whether the Blueshirts have enough talent to seriously contend for a Stanley Cup in a conference that includes the Capitals, Penguins and Blue Jackets, any one of whom has a decent shot to come out of the East. But one prominent former player thinks the team’s speed, skill and depth is enough to launch the Rangers into Stanley Cup contention. Justin Terranova of the New York Post spoke with former Blueshirts team captain Dave Maloney, and the MSG analyst contends the team is a far cry better than the one that flamed out in round one of last season’s playoffs and is good enough to win it all in 2017. He cites the changes made in how the team plays in their own end as a major difference between this year’s Rangers and last season’s edition. Maloney also adds that bringing in Smith addressed a team need and that while the blue liner hasn’t lived up to his billing as a former first-round pick, his size, mobility and familiarity with Ryan McDonagh and Derek Stepan, former teammates of his at the University of Wisconsin, make him a strong fit on the team’s back end. It remains to be seen whether the Rangers defense corps is good enough to slow down teams like Washington and Pittsburgh come playoff time, even after the addition of Smith.
  • While deadline day disappointed many given the lack of high profile deals, anyone who needs a refresher that often times less significant swaps turn out to ultimately have more impact than the blockbusters need look no further than Pittsburgh’s Justin Schultz. The defenseman entered the league with high expectations after a stellar college career, but Schultz struggled in three-plus seasons with Edmonton before a deadline deal to Pittsburgh just one year ago helped resurrect his career. Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette notes that the 26-year-old blue liner last night broke the 40-point plateau for the first time and may now be well on his way to scoring a lucrative multiyear extension as a restricted free agent this summer. Twelve months ago, in search of some skill and depth on the blue line, the Penguins shipped a third-round pick to Edmonton for Schultz and the former Wisconsin Badger ended up playing a significant role in the team’s run to the Stanley Cup championship. Now with 10 goals and 41 points on the season, he is among the league’s top offensive threats from the back end and may be in line for a huge raise over the $1.4MM salary he currently makes. Not bad for a relatively inconsequential trade deadline acquisition one year ago.

Breaking Down Potential Landing Spots For Kevin Shattenkirk

at CDT | by 6 Comments

The trade deadline is just over a month away, and there will be a lot of names brought up as potentially on the move. Expiring contracts are the easiest to move, as teams go for a Stanley Cup run while others rebuild. The most talked about name all year and likely for the next month is Kevin Shattenkirk.  The defensemen topped our mid-season list of 2017 UFAs and is having another excellent season.

It was recently reported by Darren Dreger that Shattenkirk would have interest in signing a long-term deal with Anaheim, Boston, Colorado, Detroit, New York (Rangers), San Jose, and Toronto this summer and many have suggested that one of these teams would be willing to be the top bidder at the deadline if they were able to work out an extension with him prior to the deal.

It doesn’t really make sense for some of these teams to make the deal, though the way the Eastern Conference is so tightly packed, everyone might think adding an elite right-handed defenseman would push them into a playoff spot.

A similar deal was made two years ago, when Keith Yandle was dealt to the Rangers. Though Yandle had one more year on his deal, he was a similarly productive offensive defensemen who logged huge minutes. The Rangers had to give up a young sniper in 19-year old Anthony Duclair, a (conditional) first-round pick and a second-round pick. The Rangers would go all the way to the Conference Finals that year, but get bounced out the next in the first round. Recouping some of their lost assets, they dealt Yandle’s rights to Florida where he signed long-term.

For Shattenkirk, imagine a slightly reduced package (unless an extension is reached) but still with substantial assets. Here are some Eastern Conference options for the Blues’ alternate captain.

New York Rangers

Would the Rangers go after another big-named defenseman at the deadline? Shattenkirk is from the area and many people believe they’re the early front-runners for his services this summer. The Rangers haven’t selected a player in the first-round since 2012, and if they go after the Blues’ defenseman they likely won’t this year either. Shattenkirk would look nice skating alongside captain Ryan McDonagh, but the team may not want to part with any young talent or high draft picks again this year.

Boston Bruins

The Bruins are slumping hard, losing again today 5-1 to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Acquiring Shattenkirk may be a fun idea, but it likely wouldn’t be enough to fix everything that’s going wrong right now. It’s unclear who they’d even waive as bait, with Brandon Carlo being their best trade chip. Moving out a young right-handed defenseman for a rental doesn’t sound like the best managing.

Toronto Maple Leafs

The Maple Leafs surprised everyone this year by being in the playoff hunt through the first half. Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner have played better than anyone expected in their rookie seasons, and their secondary scoring has been consistent. They do have a huge hole on the right side of their defense, but all signs point to Brendan Shanahan and company sticking to the rebuild and not giving up young assets. They may be a player in the summer for his services, but it would be shocking to see them move a pick or prospect for him in-season.

Philadelphia Flyers

If Philly wants to make the playoffs this year, they have to do something with their defense corps. After a scorching hot start, they’ve been one of the worst teams in the league the last month or so and can’t seem to keep the puck out of their own net. Shattenkirk would perhaps help them more than any other team, as currently Radko Gudas is their only right-handed defenseman.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Yes, the Penguins already have a stud who plays on the right side, but Kris Letang has been injured for much of the year. A team who often makes a big splash at the deadline for the playoffs, they currently have Justin Schultz, Chad Ruhwedel and Steve Oleksy playing the right side. Though Schultz is having a career season, the playoffs are a different story. The Penguins shouldn’t be considered anything more than a dark horse in the Shattenkirk sweepstakes, but it would be an interesting fit to be sure.

Ryan McDonagh Out With Flu

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

New York Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh has the flu and will miss tonight’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks. The Rangers’ captain was a game-time decision—as most flu cases are—and the defenseman will be replaced by Adam Clendening. McDonagh will be day-to-day and should not miss more than a couple of games.

McDonagh is off to a great start this year, scoring 1G and 16A in 30 games for the Rangers. He also leads the team in playing time with over four more minutes than any other non-goalie. McDonagh’s absence tonight on the blue line against the powerful Chicago Blackhawks could spell the end of Rangers backup goaltender Antti Raanta’s starting streak.

Replacing McDonagh is Adam Clendening, who has played 7 games this year and none since December 1st. He has 3A in those 7 games, but he is also riding a three-game point streak. He’ll play on the 3rd pairing with Brady Skjei, reports Steve Zipay of Newsday Sports. Kevin Klein will move up to 1st-pairing duties.

 

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

scroll to top