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Steve Ott

Detroit Red Wings Trade Steve Ott To Montreal Canadiens

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Despite being after midnight on the east coast, the Detroit Red Wings and Montreal Canadiens are still working. The Wings have sent Steve Ott—who was scratched from tonight’s game in a telling move—to the Montreal Canadiens for sixth-round pick in 2018. Steve Ott

While the Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs both added a little more toughness yesterday with their acquisitions of Alex Burrows and Brian Boyle respectively, the Montreal Canadiens have done the same late tonight. Ott is by no means the equal to either of those players on offense, but may be as big of a pest as either. He has made a career out of getting under other team’s skin and providing a physical presence in the corners.

The Canadiens have now acquired a handful of players and seem poised to make an even bigger deal at some point before the deadline. After winning again tonight in overtime against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Montreal has extended their lead in the Atlantic Division to six points. While they are no guarantee for the playoffs just yet, they are a good bet.

Ott will help them in that department, as he lends his experience and leadership to any room. His 55 games of playoff experience will be welcomed into a room that will be relying on certain players without much. The Canadiens top line of Max Pacioretty, Alex Galchenyuk and Alexander Radulov (if put together again) has a total of 72 postseason games combined.

For Detroit, moving another expiring veteran for a draft choice is a positive, regardless of the round. They’ve now moved out relatively small pieces and gained some valuable selections to start a rebuild with, and still have some much bigger named players yet to move if they choose.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Tuesday Evening Snapshots: Vanek, Ott, Trotz, Forsberg

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Prior to the Red Wings game against Vancouver, several reporters tweeted that Steve Ott was scratched while potential trade target Thomas Vanek was scheduled to be on the ice–meaning that Vanek is still a Red Wing for at least another night. Vanek, who many thought would be scratched to avoid injury prior to the deadline, will play limited minutes according to a tweet from the Red Wings’ Dana Wakiji. Ott, meanwhile, has been another name linked to trade discussions, and his absence, after being in the lineup over the past several games, certainly raises eyebrows. Ott is beloved by teammates and coaches for his “grit” and “locker room presence,” so it remains to be seen if Ott is shipped off to another team.

In other snapshots:

  • Washington bench boss Barry Trotz notched his 700th career win after the Capitals knocked off the Rangers 4-1. He was denied the other night by his former team, the Nashville Predators, and sits at #6 on the all-time-wins list for coaches. He’s behind only two active head coaches: Joel Quenneville, and Lindy Ruff.
  • Filip Forsberg continues his tear, and NBC Sports’ James O’Brien writes that Preds defenseman P.K. Subban believes Forsberg is the best player in the league right now. Forsberg has four three-point games in his last six contests for a cumulative total of 14 points (10-4). The Tennessean’s Adan Vignan writes that Forsberg finished February with 11 goals and 17 assists in just 13 games. It’s the type of stride the Preds need, still sitting third in the Central but certainly not having a desirable cushion.

Red Wings Notes: Burnside, Zetterberg, Ott, Larkin

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Count ESPN’s Scott Burnside as an impressed realist. Burnside notes that while the Red Wings are “cooked” and still sitting dead last in the Eastern Conference, they put on an impressive show when they beat the Washington Capitals Saturday and the Pittsburgh Penguins yesterday. Burnside reiterates that the Red Wings are all but out of the race, but that the fanbase should take solace in the fact that with its team showing such fight, the future isn’t so bleak after all. Petr Mrazek, in general, posted two strong games, and should Detroit improve its blue line, their return to prominence may not take as long as it could.

In other Red Wings news:

  • The Detroit News’ Ted Kulfan writes that captain Henrik Zetterberg is anything but done as he leads the team in points and continues to cobble together quality games despite the Red Wings’ struggles. Head coach Jeff Blashill is quoted as saying that with Zetterberg’s struggles as last year’s season wore on, he was prepared to slash the captain’s ice time. But this season hasn’t seen that fall. Zetterberg’s 45 points (13-32) are just five short of his total last season, and that’s impressive being that last season included Pavel Datsyuk on the roster. In the face of challenges not seen in over 25 years, the captain has still carried the team.
  • Kulfan continues, complimenting the play of forward Steve Ott, who added a goal and an assist of his own in yesterday’s victory over Pittsburgh. He quotes Blashill as saying that Ott “has a way about him in the locker room and he’s an asset to a hockey team.”
  • On the opposite end of the spectrum in terms of age and productivity, center Dylan Larkin has seen a dip in ice time due to some of his struggles writes the Detroit Free Press’ George Sipple. He reports that Larkin has played less than 12 minutes in his past three games, and Blashill states that its more of Larkin not being on the ice for power plays and penalty kills than punishment. The bench boss, does, however offers words for improvement, saying that the 20-year-old center needs to work on his stopping “all over the ice” to earn the trust from his coach–which leads to more ice time. Sipple adds that Blashill indicated that after a few talks with the young forward, it has already improved.

Red Wings Place Nielsen On IR, Activate Ott

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Detroit is down an All-Star, but at least they’re welcoming back a veteran contributor. The Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James reports that the Red Wings have placed Frans Nielsen on the injured reserve with a shoulder injury and have filled his roster spot by activating Steve Ott. She adds that the IR placement is retroactive to Saturday, meaning Nielsen is eligible to return after missing the Red Wings’ next two games, versus the Columbus Blue Jackets tomorrow night and visiting the Washington Capitals on Thursday night. Nielsen missed his first game of the season on Saturday, but Detroit was able to squeak out a 1-0 win over the Nashville Predators.

Despite being named to his first career All-Star Game, Nielsen is still searching for his identity in Detroit. One of the top free agents on the market this summer, the Red Wings scooped up the veteran center on July 1st with a six-year, $31.5MM contract. Thus far, he has only rewarded them with 10 goals and 16 assists through 51 games, which puts him on pace for about 40 points this season, assuming he only misses the next two games. Nielsen is at risk of having his worst full pro season in 2016-17. Nielsen scored 33 points as a rookie with the New York Islanders in 2008-09, but did so in just 59 games. The next season he scored 38 points in 76 games, a mark that he at least hopes to beat this year. In the first season of a deal that costs Detroit $5.25MM against the cap, the Red Wings were certainly hoping for more from the Danish pivot. However, the Red Wings can little afford to have any play-makers out of the lineup, and despite his struggles, Nielsen is still tied for the fourth-most points on the team. Hopefully he misses just the next two games and returns re-focused for a Detroit team that currently sits five points out of a playoff spot and in jeopardy of snapping their record 25-year postseason streak.

The return of Ott may help the cause as well. The 34-year-old grinder joined Nielsen as a free agent addition to this Red Wings team as a tough, seasoned veteran at an affordable rate. While Ott hasn’t been much of a scorer for the last five years or so, he still brings a gritty, hard-nosed game and veteran hockey sense that Detroit can use in their young forward corps. However, Ott has been out since January 12th with a shoulder injury and has played in just 37 games this season. He returns at an opportune time, with Nielsen out of the lineup. If Ott can return to form and help to fill the void up front with consistent two-way contribution, he may prove yet to be a smart signing by the Wings. Even if they struggle to make up ground in the standings, strong play by Ott could make him a valuable trade commodity for a contender by March 1st.

Snapshots: Granlund, Red Wings, MacKenzie, Bennett

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A big part of the reason that Wild forward Mikael Granlund is having a breakout season has been the decision to play him almost exclusively on the wing, writes Michael Russo of the Star Tribune.  Minnesota experimented with him on that side late last year under former interim head coach John Torchetti and new bench boss Bruce Boudreau decided to keep the duo of Granlund with Mikko Koivu at center together.

The call to keep them together has certainly worked out for the Wild.  Granlund has 36 points already this season (just eight shy of matching his career best from last year) while Koivu is on pace for a 60 point campaign, a mark he hasn’t reached since 2010-11.  Meanwhile, Minnesota leads the Western Conference in goals scored, something we’re not used to seeing from a club that had a long-time reputation as a defense-first squad.

Other notes from around the league:

  • In what appears to be merely a procedural move, the Red Wings will transfer goalie Jimmy Howard onto LTIR, reports Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press. There’s no indication of a setback for the netminder, who has been skating in recent days.  However, doing so will allow the team to activate Darren Helm off of LTIR without requiring any further roster moves as he is close to returning and could suit up tomorrow.  Helm has been out of the lineup since November 15th due to a dislocated shoulder.  If he is activated, center Steve Ott is expected to be placed on injured reserve with a shoulder injury to open a spot on the active 23-man roster.
  • Panthers captain Derek MacKenzie reached a rare milestone yesterday. By suiting up in his 500th career NHL game last night, he became just the eighth player to play in 500 games at both the NHL and AHL levels, via the AHL’s Communications Department (Twitter link).
  • The Flames announced that center Sam Bennett will be a healthy scratch for the first time this season. The fourth overall pick in 2014 has been mired in a major slump lately, scoring just three goals without any assists in his last 19 games.  Calgary also received some good news on the injury front today as winger Micheal Ferland is set to return from a lower body injury that caused him to miss the last three games.

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