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Eastern Notes: Nylander, Zuccarello, Weber, Kovar

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With just over a week remaining in the Toronto Maple Leafs’ deadline to sign William Nylander contract this season, many people are voicing their opinions on the impasse. Among them is Don Cherry, who chimed in on the contract negotiations Saturday on Hockey Night in Canada. The former coach said that Nylander isn’t competing with the contracts of John Tavares or the future deal of Auston Matthews, but Cherry believes he is as good as Mitch Marner and wants to make sure that Marner won’t make more money than him down the road.

“Here’s the deal, it’s not Tavares and it’s not Matthews he’s thinking of, he’s thinking of Marner,” Cherry said. “What happens if he signs a six-year contract and Marner gets another million or million and more? He’s not worried about the other two guys, but he thinks he’s as good as Marner. What he’s worried about is that he signs a contract and Marner signs [for] a couple more million and he’s stuck with the contract.”

Cherry advises Nylander to agree to a bridge deal as he believes that there is no way that Nylander can beat Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas, who must prove to the team and the city that he is worthy of the title and isn’t going to give in to him.

“You’re not going to beat Dubas because for Dubas this is his one shot, he can’t give in on this one,” Cherry said.

  • Newsday’s Colin Stephenson writes that the New York Rangers scratched forward Mats Zuccarello Saturday as a precaution, but head coach David Quinn insists that the 31-year-old veteran is fine. He says that he didn’t want to play him in back-to-back games after recently returning from a groin injury. “Two games, back-to-back, so we’re just being cautious,’’ Quinn said, adding that Zuccarello felt fine after Friday’s game and declared himself available for Saturday. But the plan always had been to not play him in both weekend games. “We kind of chose, get him in, play him [Friday], not go back-to-back.’’
  • As had been rumored earlier, John Lu of TSN reports that Montreal Canadiens captain Shea Weber will make his season debut Tuesday against Carolina, barring a setback, after missing the first half of the season after offseason knee surgery. The team will consider how Weber feels after Monday’s practice, followed by a final assessment by team doctors. Weber hasn’t played in a games since Dec. 16, 2017.
  • Despite a report that Jan Kovar has been contemplating a return to Europe after failing to make the New York Islanders and finally agreeing to a PTO with the Providence Bruins, the 28-year-old has decided to stay with the AHL team for now, according to the Providence Journal’s Mark Divver. The scribe writes that Kovar took some time off to evaluate his options and returned to Providence for Saturday’s game against Lehigh Valley. Kovar has four goals and nine points in 10 games while with Providence, but no NHL team has come forward with an NHL contract.

Snapshots: Ottawa, Weber, McLeod

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The Ottawa Senators plan to build a new arena in the Lebreton Flats area near the downtown core has hit a snag, as the National Capital Commission has given a January deadline to fix what they call “internal partnership issues” among those looking to develop the land. Ottawa mayor Jim Watson was relatively blunt in his assessment of the situation and message to the Senators and Trinity Development Group:

A lot of work has gone into all of the preparatory documents, remediation, first nations consultation, the work that our city planning department has put into the whole exercise. So there’s a sense of disappointment and also a sense of frustration in the two groups that make up RendezVous LeBreton.

As I said in the board meeting, they have to get their act together plain and simple. Otherwise I think we’re going to have to move on in January.

The Senators currently play quite a bit outside the city center at an arena that is difficult for many fans to access, and have proposed a move closer to downtown for years. This announcement has to be taken as an extremely disappointing outcome at this stage, and will put a damper on any excitement that the project had built. The team now has just a few weeks to get their leadership in order, or risk losing the project altogether.

  • In Montreal, things are looking much brighter. The Canadiens are expecting captain Shea Weber to make his season debut very soon, and could even see him join the lineup on Tuesday night. That’s quite a bit before the mid-December timeline that Weber was initially given, and should give the team a huge boost. Montreal has already exceeded expectations to start the year, and will now welcome back their best defenseman for a playoff push that seems much more realistic now than it did a few months ago. As we examined this morning, Weber’s return could also mean that the team has to move someone else out. Who that will be is still to be decided.
  • Cody McLeod scored a goal last night for the first time since joining the New York Rangers, but subsequently injured his hand in a fight later in the game. That injury has now been revealed to be a fracture, meaning he’ll be out indefinitely. The team will be without his toughness and physicality as he deals with the injury.

Montreal Canadiens Facing Difficult Decision On Defense

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The Montreal Canadiens are coming off another loss, this time at the hands of the New Jersey Devils who scored five goals in the first two periods. Montreal now sits fifth in the Atlantic Division with 26 points and a -3 goal differential. That’s not very impressive, but it does at least keep them in the playoff race as they await the return of their captain. Shea Weber is ahead of schedule and could be back on the ice before long, which while obviously good news also likely means the end of someone else’s tenure on the NHL roster. That’s what Eric Engels details in his latest for Sportsnet, breaking down the various options that the Canadiens have to make room for Weber.

The most startling of these options may be the idea that the Canadiens could waive Karl Alzner, less than 18 months after signing him to a five-year contract worth more than $23MM. The team has already sat the veteran defenseman in the press box for most of the season, getting him into just six games over their first 22. Importantly though, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet adds in his latest 31 Thoughts column that the Canadiens have been looking to trade a defenseman instead of risking them on waivers. In Alzner’s case it doesn’t seem like much of a risk given his high salary, but for some of the others—Jordie Benn, David Schlemko and Xavier Ouellet are mentioned as trade options in Engels’ piece—there would certainly be teams willing to take a shot.

Montreal is not in a place to be giving away assets for free, given their current balancing act on the line between competitiveness and concern. The team has played well this season to say in the mix and has some promising chemistry forming up front between Max Domi and Jonathan Drouin. Still, even with the emergence of Jesperi Kotkaniemi the team is lacking real impact prospects and could need to try and retool over the next few seasons.

So a trade, given the circumstances, seems the most beneficial option. Whether that will come to pass is still to be seen, especially given the fact that the rest of the league can see the situation that GM Marc Bergevin is in. Noah Juulsen’s injury may buy him a bit more time, but at some point something will have to happen on the Montreal blue line. Defense-needy teams will be watching closely.

Shea Weber Ahead Of Schedule With Injury Rehab

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After 33-year-old Shea Weber underwent knee surgery this off-season, the Montreal Canadiens announced an expected return date of mid-December and even that seemed optimistic. Yet, Weber practiced with the team for the first time this week and now a mid-December return looks very realistic if not excessive. TVA’s Renaud Lavoie reports that Weber is considered to be “two weeks ahead” of schedule and could possibly make his season debut by the end of November or first week of December.

Weber is entering his third season with the Canadiens since coming over from the Nashville Predators in the blockbuster trade that sent P.K. Subban packing. Weber’s first season in Montreal was a huge success; the six-time All-Star registered 42 points and a +20 rating in 78 games. Last season was quite different, as the torn meniscus in his right knee limited Weber to just 26 games.

When Weber returns to the ice, it will likely be more than eleven months since his last game action. The Athletic’s Arpon Basu asks the fair question of whether or not the Canadiens should expect Weber to be the same player when he returns. Perhaps the even better questions should be just how much Montreal should ask of Weber once he is deemed healthy. Normally, a player of Weber’s age and experience is often expected to jump right back in to his regular role. However, Weber still has eight years left remaining on his contract and the Habs need to consider his long-term health just as much as his immediate impact. Allowing the veteran to ease back into his role gives the team the best chance to once again enjoy his Norris-caliber play, even if it is not this season. Montreal is certainly excited to have Weber back, but considering how well the team has played early on this year, they can afford to give their captain all the time he needs to get back to full strength.

Atlantic Notes: Weber, Athanasiou, Pysyk, Kovar

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The Montreal Canadiens have had a nice start to the season with an 8-5-3 record to start the season. However, more good news could be on the way as there was a Shea Weber sighting today as the veteran defenseman took the ice this morning along with David Schlemko, Brendan Gallagher, Noah Juulsen and Carey Price, according to TVA’s Renaud Lavoie.

The team captain was originally scheduled to return sometime in December, so it still may be a while before he fully returns, but this is a step in the right direction for the veteran. Weber could add another key element to a young team that seems to have found some offense from a number of young names and gotten some solid goaltending from Price. Adding Weber to their blueline could only make the team stronger as they start hitting the middle of their season schedule.

  • The Detroit Red Wings like what they see from winger Andreas Athanasiou so far this year. What the 24-year-old has always lacked was competive consistency, which they are finally starting to see everyday, according to MLive’s Ansar Khan. Athanasiou has always had the speed that many people felt he could put up big numbers if he figured things out. However, the best the Red Wings have gotten out of him has been 18 goals, two years ago. Through 13 games so far this season, he already has six goals and nine points and doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. “I know those chances are going to come, so it’s just playing hard when I get out there and capitalizing on those chances,” Athanasiou said.
  • George Richards of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that Florida Panthers defenseman Mark Pysyk remains a healthy scratch for the seventh straight time despite being medically cleared to play again on Thursday, but can’t seem to work his way back into Florida’s lineup. He was knocked out of the lineup after taking a hit from Washington’s Alex Ovechkin on Oct. 19. The hope is he will be in the lineup on Sunday.
  • Jan Kovar was brought overseas with the intention of plugging him in the New York Islanders’ lineup. Two months later has the 28-year-old Kovar playing on a PTO with the Providence Bruins of the AHL, but faring quite well with five goals and nine points in eight games. Could a promotion be in order? “Smart player,” said Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney (via Providence Journal’s Mark Divver). “I really like the skills, top of the circles down in the offensive zone. What probably surprises me a little bit, coming from (the KHL), is how gritty he is, as far as playing in high traffic, possession.”
  • The Tampa Bay Lightning announced that defenseman Anton Stralman and forward Adam Erne were out tonight and are listed as day-to-day, both with upper-body injuries. With the return of defenseman Victor Hedman, it looked as if the team’s defense was almost healthy. Instead, the team will be without Stralman for the time being, who was the one to fill many of Hedman’s minutes. Slater Koekkoek remains in the lineup.

 

Injury Notes: Weber, Deslauriers, Murray

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The Montreal Canadiens are off to a better start than many expected in the 2018-19 season, taking the Toronto Maple Leafs to overtime before demolishing the Pittsburgh Penguins on the road. That success is coming thanks to a healthy Carey Price and young speedy lineup that is playing without any expectations. The group got some more good news today when captain Shea Weber took to the ice for a short session to test out his injured knee.

Despite all the negative things that came out of Montreal this summer, Weber remains a beacon of hope for many fans as he works his way back from injury. The newest captain is a rock on defense for the team and should improve any chances they have of battling for a playoff spot this season, or in the development of their younger defensemen. Head coach Claude Julien has already made his stance clear by scratching veteran options like Tomas Plekanec and Karl Alzner, but would obviously love to get Weber back into the lineup as soon as possible. There has been no update to his timetable, which had him scheduled to return at some point in December.

  • One player closer to a return for the Canadiens though is Nicolas Deslauriers, who suffered a facial fracture in the preseason but was also on the ice today. Deslauriers is by no means the offensive engine of the Canadiens, but did fit in nicely with the group last season by providing a physical presence and chipping in 10 goals. The big, heavy winger is a good skater and will find his way back into the lineup before long, as long as he’s deemed healthy.
  • The Pittsburgh Penguins will go with Casey DeSmith as their starting goaltender tonight, but there’s reason to believe that Matt Murray could be back sooner than expected. Murray suffered the third concussion of his young career recently, but was back on the ice today and took shots from teammates during an optional skate. Though Tristan Jarry will serve as the backup for tonight and likely split duties with DeSmith as long as Murray is out, that might only end up being a short stint.

Shea Weber Named Captain Of Montreal Canadiens

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Though he isn’t expected back on the ice for several months, Shea Weber has been named the next captain of the Montreal Canadiens. The team had a vacancy in the role since trading Max Pacioretty earlier this offseason, and Weber seemed the easy choice. The team has also named Paul Byron and Brendan Gallagher as alternates for the upcoming season. Interestingly, the accompanying press release notes that the decision was made by team management.

Weber, 33, came to the Canadiens by way of trade in 2016, leaving the Nashville Predators behind in a swap for P.K. Subban. Weber had been serving as the Predators captain, and quickly took on a leadership role with his new club in Montreal. Unfortunately, after playing in 78 games during his first season with the Canadiens Weber was limited to just 26 contests in 2017-18 and is expected to be out until December this time around. Those injury woes are concerning for Montreal, as their new captain heads into the latter stage of his career with some chronic issues and uncertainty surrounding his level of play upon returning.

Still, there little doubt that Weber would be named the 30th captain in franchise history. Among the most well respected players in the NHL, the big defenseman has been known for his excellent two-way play for more than a decade and has been a Norris Trophy finalist several times. In fact, before his injury-shortened 2017-18 campaign Weber had finished in the top ten in Norris voting for nine consecutive seasons, though he has never actually won the award.

Other than the Norris and the still-elusive Stanley Cup though, Weber has had tremendous success throughout his hockey career. A two-time Olympic gold medalist with Team Canada, Weber has also won a WHL Championship, Memorial Cup, World Cup, World Championship, and World Junior Championship. If he ever were to raise the Stanley Cup, he’d enter a very exclusive club with titles at nearly every level of play both domestic and internationally.

Still, that’s a tough ask for Weber and the Canadiens given the current state of the organization. After Pacioretty’s departure and some offseason injuries, there are very low expectations for Montreal as the season begins and an extremely tough Atlantic Division ready to pounce on any weakness. With teams like the Tampa Bay Lightning, Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs all considered legitimate Cup contenders, it would be a surprise to see the Canadiens push for the playoffs this season. With that said, a healthy Carey Price from the beginning of the season, impressive young players like Jesperi Kotkaniemi making their debuts, and a potential mid-season return from their new captain could lead to some surprising results for the franchise. Weber will be tasked with keeping this group’s focus over the coming months, until he can get onto the ice with them on a daily basis and lead by example during games.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

The Salary Cap Implications Of A Shea Weber Early Retirement

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When Shea Weber signed a 14-year, $110MM offer sheet from the Philadelphia Flyers in 2012, everyone knew right away that it would end badly. Yes, Weber was 27 years old and one of the top defensemen in the league, but the contract was top-heavy and carried a $7.86MM cap hit through his age-40 season. The chances of him playing to a level matching that value over a full 14 years was very slim. The Flyers knew this and specifically structured it in a way that they hoped would scare the Nashville Predators and frugal GM David Poile away – it didn’t. The Predators had just watched Ryan Suter walk in free agency and couldn’t afford to let Weber leave as well. They matched the deal and held on to their superstar defenseman.

When Weber was then traded to the Montreal Canadiens for P.K. Subban in 2016, the risk in Weber’s contract increased exponentially. The league had since banned all similarly long-term contracts – setting a limit of seven years on the open market and eight years for an extension –  nevertheless the front-loaded, cap-circumventing type that Weber had signed. To combat teams continuing to front-load contracts, the NHL implemented salary cap recapture penalties. This system punishes teams for lengthening contracts with low-salary seasons in order to lower the cap hit during prime years by issuing a salary cap charge if the player retires prior to the end of the contract, thereby negating the years that lowered his cap hit. The calculation is the difference in total salary and total cap hit over the course of the contract with which the player played with the team, divided by the number of years remaining on the contract after retirement. In Weber’s case, the scenario looks like this:

Year           Team           Cap Hit           Salary           Difference
2012-13        NSH             $7.857MM        $14MM           $6.143MM
2013-14        NSH             $7.857MM        $14MM           $6.143MM
2014-15        NSH             $7.857MM        $14MM           $6.143MM
2015-16        NSH             $7.857MM        $14MM           $6.143MM
2016-17        MTL             $7.857MM        $12MM           $4.143MM
2017-18        MTL             $7.857MM        $12MM           $4.143MM
2018-19        MTL             $7.857MM        $6MM           -$1.857MM
2019-20       MTL*           $7.857MM        $6MM           -$1.857MM
2020-21       MTL*           $7.857MM        $6MM           -$1.857MM
2021-22       MTL*           $7.857MM        $6MM           -$1.857MM
2022-23       MTL*           $7.857MM        $3MM          -$4.857MM
2023-24       MTL*           $7.857MM        $1MM          -$6.857MM
2024-25       MTL*           $7.857MM        $1MM          -$6.857MM
2025-26       MTL*           $7.857MM        $1MM          -$6.857MM

So far over the course of Weber’s contract, both Nashville and Montreal have paid him far beyond what his cap hit would suggest. If Weber was to retire today, they would both be penalized. Nashville’s total penalty is $24.572MM, while Montreal’s is fluid. However, next season marks a drop for Weber below his cap number for the remaining eight years of his contract. Now, Weber is not going to retire this off-season. However, the chances that he retires early are very high. Earlier this week, it was reported that Weber had undergone a second off-season surgery and would likely be out until mid-season. Many expected when Weber was traded to Montreal that he still had many years left of strong play in him, but it appears that the deterioration of his body has already begun. Facing a decreasing salary for the remainder of his contract and concerns about his long-term health, it would be no surprise to see Weber retire in the next two years or so nevertheless by the end of the remaining eight years. By year, here is how the penalties would play out for both Nashville and Montreal:

If Weber retires before:      Penalty per year – NSH         Penalty per year – MTL
2019-20                                          $3.51MM                                              $918K
2020-21                                          $4.1MM                                                $762K
2021-22                                          $4.91MM                                              $543K
2022-23                                          $6.14MM                                             $215K
2023-24                                           $8.19MM                                             None
2024-25                                           $12.29MM                                           None
2025-26                                           $24.57MM                                           None

Obviously, the Predators have a lot to lose if Weber retires early. It is very unlikely that Weber, if he makes it that far, is likely to retire with one or even two years left on his contract. At that point, it is likely the Canadiens would just place him on long-term injured reserve to finish his career, as has become a growing trend in the NHL. However, if Weber is unable to get over the injuries that have plagued him in Montreal, could he call it quits within the next few years and stick Nashville with a $3.5-$5MM yearly penalty? Absolutely. It is a scary possibility for the Predators and a situation worth watching as Weber battles back from injury yet again next season and beyond.

All salary and cap figures are approximations. Data courtesy of CapFriendly.com.

Shea Weber Out Five To Six Months Following Knee Surgery

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The Montreal Canadiens have been hit with injury after injury that will take several players out for the beginning of the 2018-19 season. What they didn’t need was another surgery for one of their best players, and yet today announced that Shea Weber will be out for five to six months. Weber underwent knee surgery to repair a meniscal tear on June 19th, and will be out until mid-December. The team had already announced earlier this offseason that Paul Byron would miss six months after shoulder surgery, prospect Joni Ikonen needs six months to come back from a knee injury, and Andrew Shaw won’t be ready for the start of the season due to his own knee surgery in April.

While all three of those prior injury updates hurt, the Weber news is crushing for the Canadiens as they try to bounce back in 2018-19. The team struggled tremendously without Weber in the lineup last season, and simply don’t have anyone on the roster who can provide the kind of impact expected of him. The blue line will have to rely on veterans like Karl Alzner and Jeff Petry, while hoping young Victor Mete and Noah Juulsen can make an impact right away. Weber will be 33 when he makes his return, and played just 26 games last season while dealing with a foot injury.

The Canadiens maintain that they’re trying to make the playoffs this season, and goaltender Carey Price is just entering his eight-year $84MM contract extension. Still, after holding onto the third-overall pick to take Jesperi Kotkaniemi and with rumors persisting about a potential Max Pacioretty trade, the team seems to be headed into a sort of mini-rebuild. After spending very little on the free agent market—bringing back Tomas Plekanec on a $3.5MM performance bonus-laden deal was their biggest commitment—the team still has nearly $13MM in cap space with some restricted free agents left to sign.

The most frustrated in the whole situation is likely Weber, who last played on December 16th, 2017 meaning it may be an entire year before he’s back on the ice for Montreal. That’s an enormous weight to carry when earning a huge salary, though as of this season the Canadiens financial burden did reduce some. Weber is owed just $6MM this season and $30MM over the next eight years, despite carrying a cap hit of just under $7.86MM through 2025-26.

Montreal Would Rather Trade Pacioretty Than Extend Him

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While it’s common knowledge the Montreal Canadiens have been considering trading their captain Max Pacioretty. The 10-year Canadiens’ veteran survived the trade deadline, but TSN’s Insider Bob McKenzie said on his most recent TSN Hockey Bobcast to expect Montreal to shop Pacioretty as the team must find a way to re-tool their roster, since rebuilding with the contracts of both Carey Price and Shea Weber is impossible.

Pacioretty, who has one more year on a reasonable six-year, $27MM deal he signed in 2012, had a major drop in performance this year. After tallying 30 or more goals for four straight seasons, Pacioretty managed just 17 in a forgettable 2017-18.

“I don’t believe that the way things currently stand, barring a change, that Montreal wants to make a long-term commitment to Pacioretty,” McKenzie said. “He’s got a year left on his deal. I think that they want to explore some different options and that possibly trading Pacioretty would satisfy those… I think Pacioretty, in a perfect world, would love to stay on Montreal on so many levels. I think he considers it home now, and he loves playing for the Canadiens. But I’m not sure that it’s a marriage that’s necessarily working at this point, so I would expect Pacioretty’s name to be front and center in a lot of trade talk between now and the NHL draft.”

The bigger issue is what the team hopes to get back in return for him. His value is presently quite low, so it seems unlikely the team will get a major return for the 29-year-old.

“But by the same token, they can’t give him away,” McKenzie added. “And he didn’t have a great year this year. The Montreal Canadiens didn’t have a great year. But he’s still a pretty consistent goal scorer, and you can’t give these guys away.”

However, with the team in desperate need for help at the center position, the team may need to use Pacioretty as a trade chip to fill that hole in their lineup. At the moment, the team had been using Jonathan Drouin and Phillip Danault as their top two centers. Neither belongs in those spots as the team has been trying to convert Drouin into a center, which hasn’t gone well so far, while Danault may just not be a top-six player. To make matters worse, the Canadiens have the third pick in the upcoming draft, but this year’s crop of prospects is weak at the center position. And with few other trade chips, they may have little to no choice, especially if the team is hesitant to sign Pacioretty to a long-term extension next year.

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