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Cody Franson Out 2-3 Weeks With Foot Injury

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Buffalo Sabres defenseman Cody Franson is set to miss some time after taking a shot to the foot in the team’s Thursday night contest against the Anaheim Ducks. Franson was seen in a walking boot yesterday and, when asked for an update today by the Buffalo News’ John Vogel, coach Dan Bylsma informed him that a bone bruise in the foot would keep the big blue liner out two to three weeks.

The injury is a double-whammy for the Sabres. Going into tonight’s game, Buffalo trails the Boston Bruins by eight points with three games in hand for the final playoff spot in the division and had a chance to gain ground on the division rival Toronto Maple Leafs with a win. Not only does Frason’s injury hurt their chances against Toronto, but it substantially weakens their defense in all nine of their remaining games this month. The other side of the injury, as Vogel notes, is that Franson may not return prior to the NHL Trade Deadline on March 1st, and even if he does, his trade value will certainly be affected. With Franson out, the Sabres have an even greater chance of falling further out of the postseason race and becoming sellers, but Franson is also one of their top trade chips. There are wide-ranging views of Franson’s NHL value, but a market would have surely developed for his service, as was discussed in his recent Trade Candidates profile. That market is less firm following this injury news.

Franson has three goals and 13 assists in 51 games this season for Buffalo. In the second year of this two-year deal that took all summer to sign in 2015, Franson has continued to disappoint as a Sabre. Franson remains a solid defensive player, but was also a major point-producer early in his career with the Nashville Predators and Toronto Maple Leafs; Franson has not met those lofty expectations in Buffalo. A large part of his struggle has been the team’s unwillingness to give him major ice time on the power play, where historically he has been most dangerous. Franson needs a new home where he can rediscover his offensive game and be put to better use and the Sabres were very unlikely to give him an extension anyway. A deadline trade seemed very likely, but now becomes a question mark as March 1st approaches.

Ryan Carter Attempting Return To Wild

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For the first time since April of last year, Ryan Carter will attend an NHL practice. The Star Tribune reports that the former Minnesota Wild forward will skate with his former teammates today and is expected to continue working with the team through the remainder of the month. Carter played for the Wild for the past two years, recording 25 points in 113 games as a regular on the team’s checking line. However, when the Minnesota native hit free agency this summer, he decided he would sign with his hometown team or not at all. Unable to commit to a contract for the 33-year-old, Minnesota invited Carter to camp this fall, but he was released due to issues with a lingering shoulder injury. Carter underwent a procedure on a torn labrum in his right shoulder four months ago, and is just now returning to full strength.

With experience not only playing with much of the current roster, but also with 46 playoff games under his belt, including two last spring, the Wild’s interest in reuniting with Carter makes sense. Although they have been one of the most dominant teams in the NHL this season, Minnesota is not without fault and a gritty veteran is on their wish list this Trade Deadline season. Rather than use up valuable picks and prospects to acquire such a player, they have the option of simply giving Carter a cheap pro-rated deal for the rest of the season. As long as the Wild make the signing official prior to March 1st, Carter will be eligible to play in the postseason.

If he truly is back at full strength, Carter would likely present an upgrade to the Wild’s current group of energy liners like Jordan Schroeder, Kurtis Gabriel, and Tyler Graovac. Carter is a veteran of 473 career regular seasons games, during which he has scored 41 goals and added 52 assists. He’s a physical player who knows how to check and win battles along the boards, and he’s also above average at the face-off dot. More than anything, what makes Carter so appealing to Minnesota at this point in the season is his playoff success. The journeyman grinder won a Stanley Cup with the Anaheim Ducks in 2007 and returned to the final in 2012 with the New Jersey, adding five goals for the Devils along the way. A return to the Wild lineup for a local guy who has had to fight his way back into the fold would be quite a story, and will be something to watch for over the next month.

 

Stars Targeting Marc-Andre Fleury

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Marc-Andre Fleury has done little to improve his draft stock this season. The veteran goaltender has a pedestrian 3.05 goals against average and .906 save percentage through 28 appearances in 2016-17. He’s been pulled from three games and has surrendered four or more goals ten times already, including in two of his last three starts. Matthew Murray, who stole the show in the postseason last year and led the Pittsburgh Penguins to a Stanley Cup title, has been back at this year, monopolizing the goal when healthy and forcing Fleury into a definitive backup role. However, for the Penguins to protect their prodigious young keeper in the upcoming Expansion Draft, they must find a way to rid themselves of Fleury and his no-movement clause. The best option for the team is to trade their longtime goalie, and Fleury has expressed a willingness to waive his clause to facilitate such a move. The problem now is that Fleury’s play had seemingly eliminated the market for his services. Many had speculated that any previous interest had dried up, and if the Penguins wanted to move Fleury out, they would have to send a top pick or prospect along with him to a cap space-rich squad.

That may not be the case, though. ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun reported in a radio interview this morning with Toronto’s TSN 1050 that the Dallas Stars have opened up preliminary talks with Pittsburgh regarding Fleury. If there’s any team in the league whose goaltenders have underachieved more than the Penguins’ vet, it’s the duo in Dallas. The Stars have long been considered a likely destination for Fleury due to their horrible situation in net. Kari Lehtonen has an 11-15-6 record in 36 appearances this season and is sporting a 2.89 GAA and .902 save percentage. He also has another year remaining on his contract, which carries an astronomical $5.9MM cap hit and limited no-trade clause. Antti Niemi has been even worse, posting a 10-8-4 record in 28 appearances with a 3.20 GAA and .901 save percentage. The former Vezina candidate has another year on his deal left as well, along with a limited no-trade clause of his own and a $4.5MM cap hit. The $10MM+ team has the Stars in 29th in the NHL in goals against in 2016-17, with a 3.17 average that is second-worst to only the lowly Colorado Avalanche. Last year, Dallas was able to overcome their 19th-ranked 2.78 average and make to the playoffs, but injuries and a loss of key contributors on the blue line have hurt the Stars’ scoring and team defense this year. Lehtonen’s struggles go back yet another year, to 2014-15, when he led the team to a 27th-ranked 3.13 team goals against and a tenth place finish in the Western Conference.

The Stars will be lucky if they finish tenth in the West in 2016-17. The team currently sits in sixth in the Central Division and tied for 12th overall in the conference, trailing the Calgary Flames by seven points for the final wild card spot. A closer look reveals that Dallas is averaging less than a point per game, putting them in a class with only the Avalanche, Arizona Coyotes, Winnipeg Jets, and Vancouver Canucks as the worst teams in the league. So, you might ask why the Stars should acquire Fleury with such little hope this season? The problem in Dallas extends beyond just this season. With Lehtonen and Niemi locked up for next year, unlikely to be tradeable assets or expansion selections, the team would be forced to buy out one or the other or stick with both of them for yet another season in 2017-18. The Stars also lack any promising prospects in the system to supplant either keeper. A trade with the Penguins seems to be the perfect fit to at least attempt to solve their goalie problems for a few reasons. First, Fleury can be the goalie of the future. At 32 years old, he is younger than both of their current options and was putting up high end numbers in each of the past two seasons. Fleury has shown an inability to play well as a backup, but when given an unchallenged starting role, has been much better. He also has two years remaining on his current contract with a $5.75MM cap hit, which is lower than Lehtonen’s. Any deal with Pittsburgh for Fleury would also help them to eliminate one of their two current goaltenders. If Pittsburgh deals away Fleury without finding a suitable veteran backup by the Trade Deadline, they will be left with the young Murray, who has had some injury troubles, and Tristan Jarry, who has yet to make an NHL appearance. An easy fix is to have the Stars throw in one of their goalies, likely Niemi, to serve as Murray’s backup. While he has been unimpressive in Dallas, Niemi at least has successful playoff experience should Murray get injured down the stretch or in the postseason. The Penguins can then always buy out Niemi after the season, which would be a much lesser burden in dollars and term than if they decide not to trade Fleury and are forced to buy him out instead. Finally, acquiring a solid starter in Fleury and trading Niemi (or Lehtonen) would allow the Stars, who have ample cap space heading into next season, to buyout their remaining backup, completely erasing the mistake that they made two years ago.

Despite Fleury’s struggles, he clearly presents an upgrade for the Stars. They also know that Pittsburgh is desperate to make a move to protect Murray. The fit is there and the cost will be cheap. Fleury to Dallas makes too much sense, so expect the chatter to only heat up as we head toward March 1st.

Deadline Primer: St. Louis Blues

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With the trade deadline now just weeks away, we’re going to start taking a closer look at each team.  Where do they stand, what do they need to do, and what assets do they have to fill those needs?

After earning a berth in the 2015-16 Western Conference Final, the St. Louis Blues were again expected to be among the top teams in the conference and to perhaps make it as far as the Stanley Cup Final. Unfortunately the Blues have underachieved on the season, ultimatley leading management to dismiss veteran bench boss Ken Hitchcock. More changes could be on the horizon as the team currently finds itself fighting for their playoff lives.

Record

27-22-5, 54 points, fourth in Central Division

Deadline Status

Buyer and perhaps seller

Draft Picks

2017: STL 1st, STL 2nd, STL 4th, BUF 5th, STL 6th, STL 7th

2018: STL 1st, STL 2nd, STL 3rd, CGY 3rd*, STL 4th, STL 5th, STL 6th, STL 7th

*Pick is conditional on whether Brian Elliot re-signs with Calgary

Trade Chips

It would be understandable if Blues GM Doug Armstrong doesn’t view this year’s edition of the team as a viable Stanley Cup contender and was therefore reluctant to part with either prospect or draft pick capital for rental players at the deadline. St. Louis boasts a shallow prospect pool after years of earning draft selections outside of the top-10. The team does possess their own first and second-round picks in each of the next two seasons and perhaps in the right deal they would be willing to include those assets but it would have to be a trade the brought back a young, controllable top-six forward.

Kevin Shattenkirk might represent both the team’s most valuable asset as well as the one most likely to be dealt. Stung by losing veterans David Backes and Troy Brouwer for nothing as free agents last summer, Armstrong might be motivated to cash in the puck-moving defenseman in order to avoid a similar fate in July. As a skilled, right-shot defenseman, Shattenkirk is a tremendously valuable commodity on the open market, especially if he agrees to an extension with an interested club prior to the deal being made, and could return multiple pieces to improve the team moving forward.

Team Needs

  1. A Starting Goaltender – The Blues took a risk in the offseason by splitting up the effective netminding duo of Brian Elliot and Jake Allen, moving the former to Calgary at the draft in exchange for picks. Allen was viewed as the goalie of the future but has struggled to stop the puck with any consistency this season. His backup, Carter Hutton, simply isn’t a starting-caliber backstop in this league. If the Blues decide to go for it this year, it would behoove them to look at the starting goalie market where one of Marc-Andre Fleury or Ben Bishop would easily solve their need.
  2. A Top-Line Center – Paul Stastny is a nice, #2 pivot but he’s miscast in St. Louis as their top option due to the absence of any other competent scoring line options. Patrik Berglund (20 points in 54 games) and Jori Lehtera (16 points in 49 games) simply haven’t gotten the job done. The team chose to let Backes go in free agency and it’s looking more and more like a mistake that they didn’t either bite the bullet and re-sign him or replace him in the offseason. If the Blues could find a top-line center under long-term control, they’d have to take a look at it.

 

Deadline Primer: Chicago Blackhawks

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With the trade deadline now just weeks away, we’re going to start taking a closer look at each team.  Where do they stand, what do they need to do, and what assets do they have to fill those needs?

The most recent dynasty in the NHL is looking win its fourth Stanley Cup in eight seasons. The Chicago Blackhawks have a highly skilled and expensive core surrounded by young players, and will be looking for inexpensive additions for a playoff run. They won’t be able to take on any players with a significant salary unless an equal contract is headed the other way.

Record

32-17-5, 2nd in the Central Division

Deadline Status

Buyer

Deadline Cap Space

Current cap space: $1.123MM
Deadline cap space: $1.769MM
43/50 contracts, via CapFriendly

Draft Picks

2017: CHI 1st, CHI 2nd, CHI 3rd, CHI 4th, CHI 5th, STL 5th, CAR 5th, CHI 6th, NYI 6th, CHI 7th
2018: CHI 1st, CHI 3rd, CHI 4th, CHI 5th, CHI 6th, CHI 7th

Trade Chips

The Blackhawks have not made a first-round pick since 2014, having traded the previous two picks in deadline deals for Antoine Vermette and Andrew Ladd, so there isn’t an obvious top prospect outside the NHL that they could move. They did snag Alex DeBrincat in the second round last year, but he has 44 goals and 92 points in just 45 games. They won’t be likely to move him unless it’s for a cost-controlled young forward, but teams aren’t looking to move those types of players.

They do have 10 picks in the upcoming draft, but don’t expect them to move high picks for rentals. The 2017 NHL Draft will be held in Chicago, and GM Stan Bowman is on record as saying he’s “probably going to try to hang on to those [high] picks.”

Players To Watch

C Marcus Kruger, D Trevor Van Riemsdyk, C Mark McNeill, D Ville Pokka

Team Needs

1) Top Line Left Winger – Of all the players that the Blackhawks have been forced to move for salary cap concerns, trading Brandon Saad to Columbus in June 2015 has likely been the toughest loss. Saad was coming off a 52-point season playing on the top line with Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa. Since then, Chicago has relied on the line of Patrick Kane, Artemi Panarin, and Artem Anisimov to run the offence. Toews is still an elite center in the NHL, but needs a younger offensive player to play alongside him. Bowman has been unable to find a replacement for Saad, and if he’s able to find someone to play alongside Toews then the Blackhawks would immediately become a favourite. Unfortunately, the team’s cap situation means this sort of acquisition is unlikely unless a significant salary is heading the other way. As an interim measure, players like Thomas Vanek or former Blackhawk Patrick Sharp could be decent acquisitions.

2) Bottom-Six Help — The Blackhawks bottom-six was absolutely dominant in their recent Cup victories, with players like Bryan Bickell, Dave Bolland, Michael Frolik, Ladd, Andrew Shaw, Sharp, Teuvo Teravainen, and Vermette all making big contributions to the championships. While Marcus Kruger and Andrew Desjardins are reliable options, the Blackhawks have mostly rookies in the bottom-half of their roster. Chicago Sun-Times writer Mark Lazerus writes that the improving the Blackhawks bottom-six could be the key to another deep playoff run; those deep Cup-winning rosters were much deeper than the 2011, 2012, 2014, and 2016 editions. Last year’s acquisition, Dale Weise, did not work out as the Blackhawks lost in round one to the Blues. Players like Radim Vrbata or Patrick Eaves could be solid targets to add bottom-six scoring and veteran presence.

Deadline Primer: Columbus Blue Jackets

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With the trade deadline now just weeks away, we’re going to start taking a closer look at each team.  Where do they stand, what do they need to do, and what assets do they have to fill those needs?

After struggling mightily in 2015-16, the Columbus Blue Jackets weren’t expected to be a big threat this year.  However, they have been one of the more pleasant surprises through the first half and not only find themselves in the thick of the playoff race but also in a battle for top spot league-wide.

Record

33-13-5, T-2nd in the Metropolitan Division

Deadline Status

Buyer

Deadline Cap Space

$9.1MM – full-season cap hit ($13.9MM with LTIR), 44/50 contracts, via CapFriendly

Draft Picks

2017: CBJ 1st, CBJ 2nd*, CBJ 3rd, CBJ 4th, CBJ 5th, CBJ 6th, CBJ 7th
2018: CBJ 1st, CBJ 2nd*, CBJ 3rd, CBJ 4th, CBJ 5th, CBJ 6th, CBJ 7th

* – Columbus owes one of those second round picks to Vancouver as compensation for hiring head coach John Tortorella.

Trade Chips

Given that they’re a top team, it’s unlikely that they’re going to deal anyone off of their active roster.  Accordingly, their trade bait consists of the draft picks noted above and youngsters who haven’t quite made the full-time jump to the NHL but would be intriguing to rebuilding teams.  Given what they’re likely to target GM Jarmo Kekalainen likely won’t consider giving up their top young assets such as wingers Oliver Bjorkstrand and Sonny Milano.

On top of that the Jackets have a pair of young netminders who are slated to be exposed in the Vegas expansion draft that could be of interest to some teams as potential backup goalies for next season.  It’s unlikely that they’d deal both but one moving would certainly be a possibility.

Five Players To Watch For: LW Paul Bittner, G Anton Forsberg, LW Markus Hannikainen, D Dillon Heatherington, G Joonas Korpisalo

Team Needs

1) Veteran Backup Goaltender – With Curtis McElhinney not holding down the backup job, youngsters Forsberg and Korpisalo have been splitting the number two duties behind Sergei Bobrovsky.  While both have fared well at the minor league level, neither have had enough NHL success for the team to be comfortable with one of them stepping in for Bobrovsky if he were to go down in the middle of a playoff series.  Getting a veteran with some postseason experience would be a useful addition and is one that shouldn’t cost one of their top young assets either.

2) Center Depth – Columbus has a pair of centers who struggle considerably at the faceoff dot in Alexander Wennberg and William Karlsson.  With matchups being exploited that much more in the postseason, the Blue Jackets would stand to benefit from adding someone who is above average on the draw.

While the team has several capable fill-in options on the wings at AHL Cleveland, the same can’t be said down the middle.  They have Boone Jenner who can shift over from the wing (who is also quite strong at the dot) but since they can’t really expect one of their minor league centers to step in, they’ll have to look outside the organization to add any further depth and with center being a crucial position, they would be wise to explore the market for some help at that spot.

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