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Torey Krug

Atlantic Notes: Red Wings, Krug, Reinhart, Kotkaniemi

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With the last piece of major housekeeping completed in Detroit after the Red Wings signed star Dylan Larkin to a five-year, $30.5MM deal, the team now has to take a look at their salary cap, which they will be over, even after they move forward Johan Franzen to LTIR. General manager Ken Holland told The Athletic’s Craig Custance, they will likely be “in the neighborhood” of $1MM over the cap.

“We’re very tight,” Holland said on Friday of the cap situation. “With this deal, we’re probably a dribble over. Not a lot, but we’re over. We’re going to have to make some decisions moving forward.”

One possibility would be to bury the contracts of Martin Frk and Luke Witkowski in the minors. However, if the team believes that veteran Henrik Zetterberg could end up missing the season as his injuries haven’t improved this summer, the team could place him on LTIR as well and wouldn’t have anything else to worry about. Custance adds, however, that if Zetterberg does return, that likely would end the chances of 2018 first-round pick Filip Zadina of making the roster out of training camp.

  • In a mailbag series, Joe Haggerty of NBC Sports writes that with eight quality NHL defenseman on the roster, the team will likely make a trade before the season starts. The team has Torey Krug, Zdeno Chara, Adam McQuaid, John Moore, Kevan Miller, Matt Grzelcyk, Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo on the roster. The scribe writes that could mean that the team might be ready to move Krug if the team can get a big return for the blueliner. And they would need to, as Krug is one of the top offensive defensemen in the league as only Erik Karlsson, Victor Hedman, Brent Burns and John Klingberg have more points over the last two seasons. He has 22 goals and 110 points combined in that time.
  • The Athletic’s Ryan Stimson (subscription required) wonders where restricted free agent Sam Reinhart should play next year in the Buffalo Sabres’ lineup once he signs. The 22-year-old center has been a decent center for the Sabres in the past, but saw his game blossom once he was moved up and played on the wing next to top-line center Jack Eichel. With the team moving on from Ryan O’Reilly and bringing in prospect Casey Mittelstadt, what should the team do with Reinhart? The scribe breaks down Reinhart’s game and wonders if it would be best for the youngster to take over the team’s No. 2 center position and ease Mittelstadt in.
  • The Athletic’s Mitch Brown (subscription required) ranks the Montreal Canadiens’ top five prospects with 2018 third-overall pick Jesperi Kotkaniemi listed as their top prospect. The young centerman, who flew up the draft boards in the final weeks, anchors a list of prospects that Brown believes is the most exciting in the last five or six years. He has been successful playing in the SM-liiga as an 18-year-old and is expected to fill that long-waited hole in the middle.

Atlantic Notes: Larkin, Lightning, Moore

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The Detroit Red Wings have two options in regards to signing restricted free agent Dylan Larkin this summer. The team could go short-term or long-term. With a solid, but hardly spectacular season, the Red Wings might want to wait and see how the 21-year-old develops over the next year or two and hand out short contracts to see if he’s worth the money. That makes sense considering the team is capped out with so many long-term deals having been handed out to veterans over the past few years.

However, NBC Sports’ James O’Brien writes that the team needs to look at the long-term option instead and lock up Larkin as quick as possible as he compares Larkin’s situation to that of Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers, who signed an eight-year, $68MM deal a year ago, which is starting to look like a bargain after the many signings since then.

Larkin, who has shown that he’s one of the few answers in Detroit still hasn’t broken out with the Red Wings. While his rookie campaign showed plenty of promise with 23 goals, he’s failed to duplicate that number since. However, while he did just tally 16 goals a season ago, his 47 assists was a career-high along with his 63 points, suggesting he might be due for a breakout season. Signing Larkin to a long-term deal now while his value isn’t through the roof might be better than waiting another two years when they will be forced to shell out top dollar in the future with the cap constantly increasing.

  • While it’s already been reported that the eight-year, $76MM extension that Nikita Kucherov signed will not take the Tampa Bay Lightning out of a potential Erik Karlsson trade, the team will have to make some moves if it does pull the trigger on a trade as the team has less than $3MM in cap space for this coming year. Brandon Schlager of the Sporting News writes that the most obvious candidates that would have to be moved would be forwards Ryan Callahan ($5.8MM AAV for two more years), Tyler Johnson ($5MM for six more years), Alex Killorn ($4.45MM for five more years) and defenseman Braydon Coburn ($3.7MM for one year).
  • Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe attempts to break down what the Boston Bruins defense will look like next season as well as what the team should expect out of their top free agent target, John Moore. The scribe writes that general manager Don Sweeney hasn’t struck gold yet with his long-term free agent deals, pointing to the contracts handed out to Matt Beleskey and David Backes. Beleskey was an outright failure, while Backes has been average, at best. Moore is just 27 years old and will be playing already for his fifth team, which isn’t a good sign. What the team’s plans are for his usage is also unknown as if the team intends to put him on the team’s second-line defensive pairings, then the team would force either Torey Krug or Brandon Carlo to the third-line pairing, which doesn’t make sense either unless the team intends to move Krug. However, there is still no proof that Moore is good enough to be a top-four player.

Boston’s Torey Krug Ruled Out For Series

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5:39 p.m. — The Boston Bruins released an update that Krug will miss the rest of the series with the Tampa Bay Lightning. According to team physician Dr. Peter Asnis, Krug suffered an ankle injury and will require more testing to determine the severity of the injury.

3:53 p.m. — The news doesn’t look good for the Boston Bruins. Already down to their last game as they trail the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-1, the Boston Bruins learned today that they will be without star defenseman Torey Krug for Game 5, according to The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa.

The blueliner went down with a lower-leg injury when he crashed into the boards Friday in Game 4 and was forced to leave the game, although he was able to walk off on his own. However, the injury could also be enough to rule him out for the season as well.

“He’s out [for Game 5],” said Boston Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy (via the Bruins). “He’s still getting evaluated, but doesn’t look good that it will be short term.”

A loss of Krug will be devastating as the team has used him to play big minutes all season, especially for the playoffs. He even played 25:16 in Game 3 against the Maple Leafs. Krug, who was one of the team’s healthiest defensemen this season, finished the season with 14 goals and 45 assists in 76 games. He has been an even greater offensive spark for his team with three goals and 12 points in 11 games. With a team that has already lost Brandon Carlo for the season with a fractured ankle, the team will have to step up if they have any hopes of winning three in a row. The team will move veteran Nick Holden into the lineup to play alongside Adam McQuaid.

Injury Notes: Jets And Bruins

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Two of the best teams in hockey, the Boston Bruins and Winnipeg Jets, are both in action today and will both see changes to their lineups due to injury. The Bruins take on the Minnesota Wild with a chance to climb within two points of the Atlantic-leading Tampa Bay Lightning while still holding a game in hand. The Jets need a win over the Central leading Predators to clinch a playoff spot with their own efforts, but could also get in today with at least one point and an Anaheim Ducks loss. However, the Jets will have to do so tonight and going forward down a man, whereas it seems like the Bruins task is about to get easier as their mountain of injuries is shrinking.

The Winnipeg Jets have a tough situation on their hands, but it could be worse. The team announced today that veteran defenseman Toby Enstrom will be shut down for the remainder of the regular season. Head coach Paul Maurice told TSN’s Brian Munz that Enstrom will not play again over the final two weeks as he nurses a lower-body injury. However, the important distinction is that this was the team’s choice and that it only includes the regular season. The team seems optimistic that some time off will give Enstrom a better chance of being ready to go in the postseason. With Dmitry Kulikov all but done for the year, the Jets could really use a healthy Enstrom if they want to make waves in the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Meanwhile, the Bruins also have their eye on the Cup and have somehow stayed on course through mounting injuries over the past month. Boston’s last two games in particular have lacked Patrice Bergeron, Charlie McAvoy, Zdeno Chara, Jake DeBrusk, David Backes, Rick Nash, and Torey Krug, yet the Bruins picked up a combined three points against the St. Louis Blues and Dallas Stars. Overall, the Bruins are shockingly 9-2-2 since Bergeron went down in late February, with McAvoy out since March 3rd and Chara and DeBrusk having missed the last two weeks. Now, the team is getting healthier, announcing that Bergeron and Krug are set to return to the lineup tonight and adding that Chara, McAvoy, and Backes are making their way back as well. That just leaves DeBrusk and Nash without an update and neither injury was reported to be overly serious when they first occurred, which means that Boston could be back at full strength before the start of the playoffs. Given the emergence of Ryan Donato and the strong play of Brian Gionta, Nick Holden, and others, that begs the question posed by beat writer Joe Haggerty today: who will start for the Bruins if everyone is healthy?

Pacific Notes: Arizona Ownership, Klefbom, Pettersson, Gaudette, Hague

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With the state of the franchise constantly in question, Arizona Coyotes chairman and governor Andrew Barroway is looking for potential partnerships for his ownership of the franchise and has spoken to several interested investors, according to Arizona Sports Craig Morgan.

While it’s too early to know what role or control the other investors would have over the Coyotes, Morgan writes that there is no timetable on when or if there will be a new ownership structure in Arizona. The idea of adding investors to its ownership group would be able to infuse the struggling franchise with more money, but it could also help the team to tackle bigger needs, such as building a new arena or even a new practice facility.

Ironically, Barroway has only been the team’s sole owner for less than a year. He bought out the previous ownership group, IceArizona, that bought the team back in 2013. He did say when he completed the buyout that he’d be open to adding investors.

  • The Edmonton Oilers could find themselves looking hard to find a puck-moving defenseman this offseason in hopes of replacing Oscar Klefbom, who has been struggling after being their No. 1 guy a year ago during their playoff run. The Athletic’s Allan Mitchell (subscription required) writes that the Oilers must decide whether injuries have slowed Klefbom’s success or whether he isn’t the player they thought he was. The 24-year-old put up 12 goals and 36 points last year, but his numbers have dropped to just four goals and 19 points this season. Mitchell writes the team will look at several options to add to their defense, including potentially trading for Carolina’s Justin Faulk, Colorado’s Tyson Barrie and Boston’s Torey Krug. If Klefbom can regain his form from the 2016-17 season, he does have a affordable contract which will count $4.17MM per year until the 2022-23 season. However, if he continues to play like he did this season, Klefbom’s contract doesn’t look nearly as good.
  • Sportsnet’s Rick Dhaliwal spoke to Vancouver Canucks scout Lars Lindgren about the impressive play of the team’s 2017 first-round pick Elias Pettersson, who won the SHL scoring title Saturday. A rookie in the SHL, the 19-year-old put up 24 goals and 56 points this season, but the question is when will he be ready to join Vancouver? “Tough question, impossible to say,” Lindgren said. “When you look at him he still needs to build power but he is such a smart, smart player. Hopefully he becomes a franchise player. He does not collect all his points on the power play and his plus minus is great and that is a very good sign for me. He has a little Nicklas Backstrom in him and I like that. It is a big summer for him to get to the next level.”
  • Another top Canucks prospect, center Adam Gaudette, broke the 30-goal barrier this year with Northeastern University, according to Dhaliwal. He is just the seventh player in the NCAA to reach the 30-goal plateau since 2012-13. Vancouver hopes to convince the college junior to sign with the team after his season is over. The former fifth-round pick in 2015 has put up 68 goals in three seasons with the Huskies.
  • Vegas Golden Knights defensive prospect Nicholas Hague has been making a name for himself, according to David Schoen of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The 2017 second-round pick broke the 30-goal mark last month with his OHL team, the Mississauga Steelheads, and became the first OHL defenseman since 2000 to reach that plateau. Already signed to an entry-level deal back in September, the 6-foot-6, 215 pound defender is another significant asset for the Golden Knights.

Cedric Paquette Handed One-Game Suspension

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A tough night in Boston continues to have repercussions for the Tampa Bay Lightning. After a 3-2 loss to the Bruins, a score that doesn’t accurately reflect the lack of effort shown by the Bolts, the physical, frustrated style the team fell into will have a lasting effect into their next game, a Saturday matinee against the San Jose Sharks. Cedric Paquette has received a one-game suspension for boarding, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced (video).

Down 2-0 early in the second period, after a dominant first period by the B’s, Paquette drove Boston defenseman Torey Krug into the boards and received a minor penalty for boarding for his efforts. Player Safety decided that wasn’t enough, and Paquette’s hearing today has resulted in a one-game ban. Paquette had ample time to pull up or change the angle of his contract on Krug, who turned his back to play the puck on the end board. Instead, Paquette came at full force and drove Krug into the boards, turning an otherwise legal check into an illegal, suspendable check.

Fortunately, Krug – one of many Bruins who has struggled with injuries this season – was not hurt on the play. Team mate Frank Vatrano was also quick to jump in and defend him. The real justice for Krug was the Bruins holding on for the win against the Atlantic’s top team, as Boston won their fifth game in the past six outings.

Injuries Unending In Boston; Krejci, DeBrusk Join Sidelined

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Boston Bruins beat writer Joe Haggerty could not have said it better: “You can’t make this stuff up”. The unbelievable rash of injuries continues in Boston, as center David Krejci and rookie winger Jake DeBrusk have been ruled out for Wednesday night’s match-up against the Atlantic-leading Tampa Bay Lightning.

The sheer number of injuries suffered by the Bruins this season, especially among the forward corps, is hard to comprehend. 22 games into the 2017-18 campaign the only forward to have played every game are David Pastrnak and energy-liners-turned-top-nine-mainstays Riley Nash, Sean Kuraly, and Tim Schaller. While there is no word yet on the extent of DeBrusk’s injury, the young scorer has been one of the Bruins’ more dependable forwards with 12 points in 21 games, but of course he now joins the long list of casualties. Currently out of the lineup alongwith DeBrusk and Krejci, who had only just returned to action, are 2016-17 leading scorer Brad Marchand, veteran David Backes, power play catalyst Ryan Spooner, promising rookies Anders Bjork and Peter Cehlarik and, of course, defenseman Adam McQuaid as well. Spooner just recently re-injured the groin that had kept him out all but eight games on the season. In the same game, Cehlarik suffered a leg injury that should keep him out at least a month. Marchand and Bjork have been sidelined since November 13th and there has been no concrete information on when exactly either can be expected back.  Backes has made a remarkably quick recovery from major surgery to cure his diverticulitis, but he too is not quite ready to return and there are doubts about how he will play once he is back. Other Bruins forward who have missed time already this season: Patrice Bergeron (5 games), Noel Acciari (13 games), and Matt Beleskey (2 games).

The defense has done a bit better though, with captain Zdeno Chara and talented youngsters Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo all suiting up for every game. Kevan Miller has missed only one game, while Torey Krug’s four-game absence seems like nothing. A platoon of Paul Postma, Rob O’Gara and Matt Grzelcyk has performed well enough in the absence of McQuaid.

In total, the Bruins have missed a whopping 100 man-games already this season, far more than any other team in the league and heavily weighted toward their forwards. That makes it all the more impressive that the team is still sitting pretty in the Atlantic Division. In terms of points percentage, the B’s are third in the Atlantic and just behind the two-time Cup-champion Pittsburgh Penguins overall. Their 60 goals for may a bottom-five number in the NHL, but what would you expect from a two-way team missing most of its offensive talent? A recent winning streak showed that the Bruins and head coach Bruce Cassidy can get it done, even with a makeshift roster. There is no sign of when Boston will get back to full strength, if ever this season, but if they do it could be dangerous for the rest of the NHL.

Minor Transactions: 11/21/17

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With just three games slated for today, but 15 scheduled for Wednesday, many teams may be looking to shore up their rosters for the next few days. Keep a lookout daily at updates on what teams are up to today:

  • The Boston Bruins announced they have recalled defenseman Matthew Grzelcyk from Providence and is expected to practice with the team today and travel with the team to New Jersey for tomorrow’s matchup with the Devils. Grzelcyk made the team out of training camp and played in one game, but was sent to Providence on Oct. 9. The diminutive defenseman has put up four assists in 14 games with 14 penalty minutes and a +4 plus/minus rating. His recall would suggest that Torey Krug will not be returning just yet after meeting with doctors yesterday, according to NBC Sports Joe Haggerty.
  • According to the AHL transaction page, Michael Leighton has been loaned to the Chicago Wolves. Leighton was recently traded by the Tampa Bay Lightning to the Arizona Coyotes, but didn’t have a spot at their affiliate Tucson. Instead, Leighton—who had been playing in the minor leagues already with Syracuse prior to the trade—will be the latest netminder in Chicago. The Wolves, who are affiliated with the Vegas Golden Knights but also house some St. Louis Blues prospects, have already had four goaltenders suit up for them this season (including Kasimir Kaskisuo, who actually belongs to the Toronto Maple Leafs—it gets confusing).
  • The Minnesota Wild have reassigned both Luke Kunin and Joel Eriksson Ek, calling up Zack Mitchell to replace them. Kunin and Eriksson Ek are both part of the next wave of Wild talent, but haven’t gotten off to quite the start they’d hoped for. The pair has combined for just seven points in 37 games, and would be better off playing big minutes in the AHL. With Charlie Coyle coming off injured reserve, there will be even less opportunity for the pair with the NHL club. Minnesota is right up against the cap and banks as much cap space as they can by riding just 21 players on off days, but Michael Russo of The Athletic doesn’t believe that’s the case this time.

Atlantic Notes: Pastrnak, Lightning, Hicketts, Krejci

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It wasn’t the best matchup for the Boston Bruins Saturday, but the team allowed right wing David Pastrnak to take the faceoff with 0.9 seconds remaining in their overtime game with the Los Angeles Kings. According to Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe, had Pastrnak just got a stick on the puck, things wouldn’t have spiraled out of control in that short amount of time. Instead, the Kings’ Anze Kopitar won a clean faceoff and passed it to Tyler Toffoli, who blasted it past Boston goaltender Tuuka Rask with 0.4 seconds left, allowing the Kings to walk away with a shocking victory. If you haven’t seen it, catch the video here.

According to Shinzawa, Pastrnak still was the best option for who was out there between Anders Bjork and Torey Krug, but he should have done anything, even illegal, to keep the Bruins from allowing a clean faceoff. A penalty would have only given the Kings an extra attacker, which would have made little difference with 0.9 seconds remaining, but it could have allowed Boston to substitute with a better face-off specialist like Patrice Bergeron.

“All we’re asking him to do is basically affect the puck there,” said coach Bruce Cassidy. “Not even win it. We don’t need to win it. We just need some sort of stick on it so it bounces toward the boards. I think that’s what David was thinking. If he could push it toward the boards, it has no chance of going backwards. Didn’t happen.”

  • Brandon Burns of NHL.com writes that special teams is what let the Tampa Bay Lightning down in Saturday’s 4-1 loss to the Anaheim Ducks. The scribe writes that it has been the team’s special teams that has made the difference in the team’s success this season. While the team only found itself in two penalty killing situations all game, Tampa Bay allowed goals both times, while the power play had four power play chances and couldn’t convert, something the team has done in 10 of 11 games. Neither Steven Stamkos or Nikita Kucherov were able to get on the scoreboard, breaking both of their scoring streaks at 11 games.
  • Katie Strang of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that the Detroit Red Wings should be taking a long look at Grand Rapids Griffins defenseman Joe Hicketts as a potential callup to fix the team’s defensive struggles. The 21-year-old undrafted free agent has impressed the organization and almost made the team out of training camp with his physical play, despite his 5-foot-8, 177-pound frame. The scribe breaks down Hicketts’ play and points out that he is the perfect player to shake up the team’s failing blueline.
  • The Boston Bruins tweeted that veterean center David Krejci will miss Monday’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets with what’s believed to be a back injury. Krejci, who missed Saturday’s game against the Kings, has one goal and five assists in six games, centering the Bruins top line. David Backes will likely fill in for him in that spot again.

Boston Bruins Assign Grzelcyk To Providence, Make Four IR Transactions

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The Boston Bruins have sent Matthew Grzelcyk to the AHL, while also flipping around their injured reserve statuses. Noel Acciari and David Backes have been placed on IR, while activating Austin Czarnik and Torey Krug.

Grzelcyk suited up for Boston’s opener, but played just 12 minutes on the third pairing. The 23-year old has a bright future after starring at Boston University and finding success in his first season in the AHL last year, but will have to wait for another chance to present itself. With Krug’s return, the need for an undersized puck moving defenseman is filled.

Krug broke his jaw late in training camp, but thanks to a useful quirk at the beginning of the year will likely only miss one game. The Bruins opened their season on Thursday October 5th but haven’t played since. They’ll take on the Colorado Avalanche tonight.

Backes was diagnosed with diverticulitis and will miss several weeks, a rough start to what was supposed to be a bounce-back campaign for the 33-year old. Last season—the first of a five-year, $30MM contract—Backes recorded just 38 points, his lowest total in a full season since 2007-08. The Bruins will be paying him $8MM this season, before his salary starts to decrease in his front-loaded contract. Still, the $6MM cap hit the team will have to deal with for the next four seasons has to start paying dividends or it will seriously limit their salary structure.

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