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Ryan Spooner

Injury Notes: Bruins, Rakell, Weber, Wennberg, Sutter

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The Boston Bruins injury list keeps growing as the team is dealing with injuries to Brad Marchand, Anders Bjork, Ryan Spooner and Peter Cehlarik. However, the one good piece of news is that forward David Backes, who underwent surgery to have a piece of his colon removed on Nov. 1, has already been cleared for contact in practice, according to NBC Sports Joe Haggerty.

Originally estimated to be out for eight weeks, putting the timetable to early January, Backes has already been skating with the Bruins for a week and could be returning sooner than expected.

The other news isn’t as good, according to Haggerty, who says that Marchand will miss today’s game against the Edmonton Oilers and was still sporting a non-contact sweater in practice Saturday. Bjork is expected to miss another week with an upper-body injury, while neither Spooner or Cehalrik practiced Saturday. The scribe says only Spooner has a chance to play today.

  • Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register tweets that Anaheim Ducks center Rickard Rakell, who didn’t play in Saturday’s game against the Los Angeles Kings due to an upper-body injury, won’t travel with the team starts their road trip. Stephens adds that coach Randy Carlyle was vague about when Rakell would return to the team.
  • Montreal Canadiens defenseman Shea Weber, who has missed the past three games lower-body injury, missed practice today, according to the Montreal Gazette’s Stu Cowan. Instead, the veteran defenseman opted for therapy. He remains day-to-day as Montreal hosts Columbus on Monday.
  • Cowan also reports that defenseman David Schlemko, who is on a condidtioning stint with the Laval Rocket of the AHL, was practicing with the Canadiens today, suggesting a return could be near.
  • Columbus Blue Jackets center Alexander Wennberg, who has been out with an upper-body injury since Nov. 11, participated in practice fully today and is expected to travel with the team for Monday’s game against the Montreal Canadiens, according to The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline.
  • Vancouver Canucks center Brandon Sutter, who is expected to miss today’s game against the New York Rangers, is more than just “day-to-day,” according to Canucks head coach Travis Green. The coach adds that it’s nothing too serious, but in his place Alexander Burmistrov will fill in for him while he is out.
  • Dallas Morning News’ Mike Heika reports that defenseman Stephen Johns, who was suffered an upper-body injury in Friday’s game against the Calgary Flames, skated today and is expected to be ready for Tuesday’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights.

Atlantic Notes: Price, Spooner

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Carey Price is day-to-day with a “minor” injury. That was the message Friday after a Montreal Canadiens’ practice. And normally, the fact that the team’s superstar player is out would be a matter of major concern. However, it probably seems that no one is holding their breath like they normally would. Price, who posted a 2.33 GAA in 62 games a year ago and then proceeded to sign an eight-year, $84MM deal, has definitely had his share of problems this year. Through 11 games, Price has a 3-7-1 record with a 3.77 GAA and a .877 save percentage. Not your ordinary numbers for a prized goalie.

Perhaps a break might fix the goaltender. While much can be made about the Canadiens’ porous defense, the team has high hopes their goalie can figure it out and fix a lot of the team’s problems on his own, according to Arpon Basu of The Athletic (subscription required).

“I have no concern about the fact Carey will find his game and will be a big part of our success,” head coach Claude Julien said. “We know he’s going through a tough time, we won’t hide it. No one is hiding from it. But we know what kind of goalie he is. Unfortunately, a forward or a defenseman can go through something like this and it’s always a little harder to tell because he’s not the last person left to stop a goal. So when it’s a goalie, it’s obviously always worse.”

Basu, however, notes that we’ve seen these struggles before out of Price — in fact, it was just last year. From Dec. 22, to Jan. 21 of last season, Price had a 3-5-3 record with a 3.53 and an .877 save percentage — very similar to his present numbers. He allowed 38 goals in that 11-game span and compared to this span, he’s allowed 39 goals.

The scribe writes that the biggest difference is that his present day numbers are at the beginning of the year and you can’t hide those statistics, but he overcame them to have a dominant season. What he did to break out of that slump a year ago is unknown, but maybe a game or two off will make the difference.

  • Mike Lofus of the Providence Journal writes that Boston Bruins center Ryan Spooner, who was expected to miss four to six weeks on Oct. 15 after tearing a groin adductor, skated briefly this morning for the first time since the injury. While nothing official has been said, it’s possible me might be closer to the four-week estimate rather than the six-week estimate. Spooner has only appeared in five games this season, putting up one assist. Last year, the 25-year-old put up 11 goals and 39 assists.

Boston Bruins Make Three Transactions

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The Boston Bruins have completed three injury-related transactions, moving Ryan Spooner to injured reserve, activating David Backes and recalling goaltender Zane McIntyre to serve as backup in tonight’s game. Tuukka Rask, injured at practice yesterday will not dress for the Bruins when they take on the Vancouver Canucks.

Backes’ activation means that the veteran forward will make his season debut tonight after dealing with a bout of diverticulitis to start the year. His return will be a handy one for the Bruins, who have been leaning more and more on their young players recently. Patrice Bergeron, also close to a return is apparently a game-time decision but seems unlikely to play.

Rask’s injury has not been updated, but McIntyre will be on the end of the bench tonight as Anton Khudobin gets his second start of the year. Khudobin has stopped 38 of 40 shots in his two appearances this year, and may have to carry the load for at least a few games. The 27-year old has done it before, and actually has a .917 save percentage during his two separate stints in Boston.

If Khudobin falters McIntyre does actually have eight games of NHL experience, all of which came last season. The 25-year old has posted strong numbers in college and the minor leagues, but only posted a save percentage above .900 in one of his eight appearances. In the three games he started, he allowed 12 goals on 84 shots. Sufficed to say, the Bruins will cross their fingers that Rask’s injury is minor.

Ryan Spooner Out Four To Six Weeks With Groin Injury

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The Boston Bruins will be without another veteran forward for quite some time, as the team announced today that Ryan Spooner will be out for four to six weeks with a right groin adductor tear. The team already called up Kenny Agostino and Peter Cehlarik earlier today, and David Backes and Patrice Bergeron are on the cusp of returning to the lineup.

Ryan SpoonerStill, losing a player like Spooner for this long is never a good thing. Groin injuries are notorious for lingering, and the 25-year old was already struggling to make an impact in the early going. He’s been the subject of much ire from Bruins fans for the past few seasons, who see an extremely talented offensive player who has trouble performing on a consistent basis. Losing a chunk of the season early on will do nothing to assuage that frustration.

The Bruins, already relying on several rookies in their lineup, will have plenty of opportunity for young players to make an impact. Spooner’s best role was on the powerplay, where the team will likely have to get creative in the face of his injury. Agostino is obviously a potential piece for the man advantage, as his offensive ability has shown in the minor leagues.

In a year that was supposed to be a launch pad for a long-term contract, Spooner now will miss at least a dozen games and likely come back with a bit of rust. With just one point in his first five, this could turn into a disastrous negotiation point for the Bruins in arbitration next summer. The forward is earning $2.83MM this season, and is set to become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2019.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Ryan Spooner Signs With Boston Bruins

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The Boston Bruins have avoided arbitration with Ryan Spooner after all, signing the restricted free agent forward to a one-year $2.825MM contract. Spooner was scheduled for a hearing today, and had asked for a $3.85MM contract. The team had countered with $2MM. Ryan Spooner

Spooner was one of the more interesting RFAs to watch this summer, who has obvious offensive talent but has been criticized throughout his short career for both his defensive play and effort level. The Bruins release seems to echo that idea, with this statement from GM Don Sweeney:

We know Ryan has the offensive skills to be an impactful player, especially while on the power play. We expect Ryan to continue to take the necessary steps with his development to be an even more complete, two-way player.

One of the better powerplay forwards in the league, he had run-ins with both Claude Julien and Bruce Cassidy throughout the season, and was eventually benched in the playoffs to make room for Sean Kuraly. Spooner remains a top trade candidate, and this contract could even make it easier to facilitate a move somewhere else around the league.

While some obviously think he’ll never turn around his defensive liabilities, a 40-point forward for less than $3MM is still a valuable commodity. The fact that Spooner can play center ice adds to that, though it was clear Boston didn’t love using him in that role this past season. Next season the Bruins could move him to the wing full-time if they believe Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson is ready to take over at center ice, though that is far from decided at this point.

Since Spooner is 25, this contract leaves him as a restricted free agent again next summer and eligible for arbitration once again. If it is with Boston, another big offensive season would force their hand into either signing him long-term or moving him somewhere that would. It will be interesting to see if they continue to give him powerplay time, because without it much of his leverage is taken away in negotiations.

The Bruins retain more than $10MM in cap space with which to sign David Pastrnak, a deal that should extend long-term and carry a very substantial cap hit. With another big cap hit added up front, it will be a tight fit next summer to hand out term to Spooner unless he makes himself indispensable this season. The Bruins will have five forwards already making at least $6MM each, taking up nearly half of the entire salary cap.

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet was first to report the deal.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Boston Bruins, Ryan Spooner Exchange Arbitration Figures

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With an upcoming arbitration hearing on Wednesday July 26th, Ryan Spooner and the Boston Bruins have exchanged salary figures. According to Tim Wharnsby of CBC, the Bruins have offered a one-year deal worth $2MM, while Spooner is seeking a $3.85MM decision. As reported yesterday, it seems likely the two sides will reach the hearing without a deal in place.

Whatever you think of Spooner and his defensive deficiencies, he’s proven over the past two seasons that he can be a capable offensive player and is extremely dangerous on the powerplay. With 88 points over the past two seasons, he’d been extremely underpaid at just $950K per season. It’s clear he thinks he’s worth much more than that, and if any long-term deal is to be reached it would have to fairly compensate him for that production. A one-year deal through arbitration will keep Spooner under team control again next offseason as a restricted free agent, giving the Bruins another chance to evaluate him this year.

That is, if he remains on the Bruins roster to start the year. Trade rumors have surrounded Spooner for some time, especially after comments he made regarding fired head coach Claude Julien and a feeling of distrust. Though Spooner had expressed some hope to fix that relationship with Bruce Cassidy, the coach who replaced Julien and had worked with Spooner before in the minor leagues, his ice time actually decreased in the latter part of the season before being scratched in the playoffs for Sean Kuraly.

It’s rare that players are traded just before heading to arbitration, so there is a possibility the Bruins will argue for a lower number only to move him out in the near future. Otherwise, he’ll enter a lineup that is looking younger and younger as one of the pieces Cassidy will have to rely on for some consistent offensive production. What role he would be deployed in is unclear, as the Bruins will look at young college talents like Anders Bjork and Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson in camp as potential options up front.

Bruins Notes: Spooner, Possible FA Targets

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Although many arbitration cases have been settled early to avoid the hearings this offseason, the Boston Globe’s Fluto Shinzawa reports that it is unlikely that you’ll see the same in the case between restricted free agent Ryan Spooner and the Boston Bruins. While the two team’s numbers that were submitted to the arbitrator are not known, it is believed that the two sides are far apart. While Boston has a history of settling with their restricted free agents in advance of their arbitration hearings (they haven’t had one since Blake Wheeler in 2010) Shinzawa writes the Bruins will likely have to let the arbitrator come to a decision for them.

Spooner has been one of the team’s most valuable assets for the money he made. He signed a two-year, $1.9MM in 2015 and is now looking for a significant raise. Certainly the Bruins can argue his output decreased in the last year. In 2015-16, Spooner put up 13 goals and 36 assists for 49 points. However, those numbers went down last year as he finished with 11 goals and 28 assists. He was heavily shopped during the season this past year and had been under fire by previous coach Claude Julien. While he played somewhat better under interim and now current coach Bruce Cassidy, he disappeared in the playoffs. After four playoff games, Spooner was injured, but was still considered to be healthy enough to play. However, he was still replaced by Sean Kuraly and never got back into the lineup.

However, Spooner has numbers that go in his favor as well, according to Shinzawa. The 25-year-old center can argue that he is a valuable member of the power play, and had the second-most power play assists on the team. He produces 2.18 points in 60 minutes of all-situations play, which was higher than both David Krejci and Patrice Bergeron and the five-year veteran has spent very little time in the penalty box.

However, the advantage could easily end up in Spooner’s favor regardless if the arbitrator looks mainly at the numbers. The arbritrator will likely look at comparisons and it might be hard to ignore the two-year, $6.85MM extension the team gave to former Bruin, Reilly Smith, before the end of the 2014-15 season. Smith put up 33 goals and 58 assists for 91 points in those two years. That’s just three more points than Spooner, who had 88 points over the past two years. So, he could easily ask for $3MM per year. No matter what, that’s a substantial raise for a player who only made $950,000 last season.

  • Joe Haggerty of CSNNE listed several free agent options for the Bruins, who have been quiet this offseason. While the team likely hasn’t made a move since the team is loaded with a combination of veteran and young talent, he suggests a quiet pickup could be key for the Bruins. Among the top on his list are: former Colorado defenseman Eric Gelinas, 40-year-old veteran Jarome Iginla who bought a house in the Boston area, 45-year-old Jaromir Jagr, former Sabres captain Brian Gionta and goal-scoring veteran Thomas Vanek.

Boston Bruins Re-Sign Austin Czarnik

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Tuesday: The team has officially announced the signing.

Monday: A day after extending young goalies Zane McIntyre and Malcolm Subban, the Boston Bruins have come to terms with another one their restricted free agents. According to CapFriendly, two-way forward Austin Czarnik has re-signed with the Bruins on a one-year, two-way deal. Czarnik will make just $675K at the NHL level, which may end up being a bargain for GM Don Sweeney and company after a solid rookie season.

Czarnik, the former captain of the Miami University RedHawks and a highly sought-after college free agent in 2015, has found success in all aspects of the game so far in his pro career. In 2015-16, Czarnik, alongside Boston’s Frank Vatrano and former Bruin Seth Griffith, had a breakout campaign in the AHL with the Providence Bruins, scoring 61 points in 68 games in his first pro season. Czarnik led all AHL rookies in points, and that offensive production earned him an NHL shot last season. The small, shifty center took on an important bottom-six role for the first half of the season, recording 13 points in 49 games and leading the team’s third penalty kill unit. While Czarnik did not show the same offensive explosion, he proved that he had the intelligence, composure, and versatility to be an NHL player. Czarnik was eventually returned to Providence for much of the second half and the postseason, where he again was an offensive juggernaut with 23 points in 22 games, but has earned another shot in Boston in the near future. Czarnik is one of many young forwards who will fight for a roster spot this season, including fellow two-way forwards Noel Acciari and college teammate Sean Kuraly, veteran minor leaguers Tim Schaller and Kenny Agostino, and promising prospect scorers Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson, Zach Senyshyn, Jake DeBrusk, Anders Bjork, Peter Cehlarik, and Danton Heinen. Czarnik may need some luck to hold off a plethora of NHL-ready talent, but has the advantage of NHL experience on his side.

With Czarnik signed, the Bruins’ only two remaining restricted free agents are a couple of notable names: 21-year-old star winger David Pastrnak and play-making third-line center Ryan Spooner. While Boston is high on Czarnik and other young forwards, with more than enough competition as is, many also believe that they could stand to add another veteran winger into the mix as well. However, such a move will likely come after the extensions for Pastrnak and Spooner are over with. Negotiations with Pastrnak have been ongoing for a while now and Spooner has his arbitration date set for July 26th, so it’s only a matter of time before the Bruins have more news to announce. Re-upping Czarnik is another step in the right direction, but there’s still work to be done in Boston.

East Notes: Kuznetsov, Spooner, Athanasiou, Melanson

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Last weekend, the Capitals wasted little time locking up center Evgeny Kuznetsov to an eight year, $62.4MM deal and flipped Marcus Johansson to New Jersey to free up some cap space.  Newsday’s Arthur Staple reports that part of the reason that the Kuznetsov contract came together so quickly was the potential for an offer sheet.  Although there’s no word on which team may potentially have been sniffing around, it’s still interesting that even the possibility of one impacted the timetable for Kuznetsov.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Bruins forward Ryan Spooner was among the players to file for arbitration earlier this week. He’s coming off a contract that had a cap hit of just $950K and despite a bit of a down season compared to 2015-16, he still should be in line for a notable raise.  CSN New England’s Joe Haggerty suggests that a one year deal between $2-3MM seems to be a likely outcome given his 39 point season.  Spooner has long been the subject of trade speculation and if he is still in play, it may be more wise for GM Don Sweeney to try to move him before the hearing comes up.
  • Although Detroit is likely to be right up near the upper limit when they reach a new deal with winger Tomas Tatar, they’re not likely to move their other restricted free agent of note in winger Andreas Athanasiou, notes MLive’s Ansar Khan. While the 22 year old was in and out of the doghouse at times, he still has a combination of speed and finishing ability that would be hard to give up on unless he was part of a package for a top pairing defenseman which is highly unlikely.  Khan adds that the lack of cap space the Red Wings will have also plays a factor here as even if they decided to look at moving Athanasiou, they’d be restricted to trying to match money which would basically limit them to players on or near their entry-level contract, prospects, or picks.
  • The Devils announced the hiring of Roland Melanson as their new goaltending coach, replacing Chris Terreri. Melanson has previously served in that role with Montreal and Vancouver and will be reunited with one of his former netminders with the Canucks in Cory Schneider;  he was Schneider’s coach for three seasons.  The team also noted that Terreri will remain with the organization in a yet-to-be-determined capacity.

Offseason Keys: Boston Bruins

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While the expansion draft is set to headline a busy NHL offseason, there are still several other storylines for each team in the months ahead. Here is a closer look at what lies ahead for the Boston Bruins.

It was a bit of an up-and-down year for the Bruins.  They found themselves scuffling midseason which resulted in long-time coach Claude Julien being let go with Bruce Cassidy taking over.  That seemed to give them a lift as they worked their way into a playoff spot although they were ousted by Ottawa in the opening round.  One key decision has already been made by GM Don Sweeney when he lifted the interim tag off of Cassidy shortly after being eliminated.  What else will Boston be looking to accomplish this offseason?

New Deal For Pastrnak

After not taking a big step forward in his sophomore campaign, David Pastrnak changed that this past season in a big way.  He more than doubled his point production and finished second in the team in goals and points behind only Brad Marchand.  From a contractual standpoint, the breakout couldn’t have come at a better time as he’s slated to become a restricted free agent at the beginning of July.

Mar 5, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Bruins left wing David Pastrnak (88) lines up for a face-off during the second period against the Washington Capitals at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY SportsFortunately for Boston fans, progress is already being made on a new deal as Sweeney noted last week that talks were “moving in the right direction”.  Both sides are believed to be interested in foregoing the short-term bridge contract and are focusing on a lengthy agreement.

Given the type of season he just had, the 21 year old is going to land a massive raise from the $925K he has earned each of the last three seasons.  Based on some of the comparable contracts signed last summer (such as Calgary’s Sean Monahan, Nashville’s Filip Forsberg, and Winnipeg’s Mark Scheifele), there’s a strong case to be made that Pastrnak could see his cap hit around the $6MM mark for next year and beyond.

Decide On Spooner’s Future

After a strong 2015-16 season, expectations were high for Ryan Spooner.  Unfortunately for the Bruins, he didn’t live up to those expectations as his numbers took a dip across the board while seeing his ice time drop and his position changing from center to the wing most nights.  He also found himself a healthy scratch at one point in the playoffs.

As the year progressed, Spooner found himself mentioned in trade talk on quite a few occasions, something that has carried over into the early goings of the offseason as well.  It’s not surprising that there is interest around the league either as he’s just a year removed from a 49 point season and is still just 25 years old.  His time in Boston appears to be at a crossroads though.

Sweeney needs to decide whether or not Spooner is part of the plans long-term.  If so, then they’ll need to work out a new contract as the forward is heading for restricted free agency with arbitration eligibility.  If not, there’s a good chance that he’ll be on the move between now and the NHL Entry Draft later this month and couple be dangled to fill a hole on their back end.

Add A Top Four Left Shot Blueliner

At the age of 40, captain Zdeno Chara has shown that he could stand to benefit from a reduced workload as he enters the final year of his contract.  However, their depth on the left side isn’t particularly strong with only Torey Krug having proven himself as a top four defender.  There is cause for optimism on the opposite side with youngsters Brandon Carlo and Charlie McAvoy so the Bruins can focus on trying to add on the left side of the ice.

The free agent market isn’t particularly deep on the back end and while there are players who could slot into a second line role, most are only shorter-term solutions.  Sweeney has already suggested the team isn’t likely to be too active in free agency which means they’ll likely turn to the trade market.  Reports have Minnesota’s Jonas Brodin as a target although the Wild don’t appear to be ready to make a trade at the moment.

Boston has a lot going for them when it comes to seeking out a fit via trades.  For starters, they have a fair bit of cap space to work with as they have roughly $62.5MM committed to 18 players via CapFriendly with Pastrnak and Spooner as their most prominent players to re-sign.  They also have put together a strong prospect pool and could conceivably flip a couple for the right player.  Sweeney didn’t cash in some of his prospect chips last summer but that could certainly change this time around.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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