Central Notes: Tarasenko, Kunin, Kamenev, Ranta
When St. Louis Blues’ Vladimir Tarasenko separated his left shoulder on the final game of the season last year, he underwent surgery the following day and was expected to be out four to six months, which theoretically coincided with the start of the regular season if he needed the latter amount of time to recuperate.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Tom Timmermann writes that Tarasenko just hit the four-month date in his recovery and he expects to be ready for the start of training camp in a month. He was cleared to skate and began skating nearly a week ago, but he has yet to test his repaired shoulder.
“I need to talk about it with the doctors more,” Tarasenko told the team’s website, “but I’m cleared to skate with the group, but only with some contact right now. But I can shoot. I feel great and I feel stronger. I’m ready for the season.”
Assuming there are no setbacks, Tarasenko should be ready. With a group of new additions to the Blues this offseason, they will need the 26-year-old to be ready to go if they want a chance to compete for a playoff spot this year. Tarasenko had a bit of a down year, posting 33 goals and 66 points.
- NHL.com’s Dan Myers writes that Minnesota Wild forward Luke Kunin still is not 100 percent after tearing his ACL five months ago against the Detroit Red Wings and undergoing surgery four months ago to repair it. However, the 20-year-old has already been skating for three or four weeks now and feels that he should be ready for training camp in September. The team’s first-round pick in 2016 hopes to make the club out of camp after appearing in 19 games for the Minnesota Wild last season. “I try not to look too far ahead, just take it week-by-week, keep getting stronger and more comfortable on the ice and just get that confidence back,” Kunin said. “It was definitely nice to sort of check that off I guess, but it’s not a goal of mine to just be up and down. I want to be there full time, I want to be there for a long time and be an impact player that’s going to help the team win.”
- NHL.com’s Maddie Karr takes a look back at the disappointing rookie campaign of Colorado Avalanche winger Vladislav Kamenev. Considering the haul that the Avalanche received in the Matt Duchene trade from the Ottawa Senators, many people forgot about Kamenev who has become an afterthought after the team received defenseman Samuel Girard and the Senators 2019 first-round pick, which could potentially be the No. 1 pick. However, Kamenev looked to be a key piece as the team recalled him from the AHL just nine days after the trade, but the high-scoring winger instead suffered a broken arm in that first game and missed 50 games. Despite just getting into three NHL games with the Avalanche, Kamenev still has a good chance to break with the team as a bottom-six forward if all goes well. “I know that he’s a trusted defensive player, but he has a great skillset,” Colorado head coach Jared Bednar said. “He has good hands, good feet, smart player, committed on the defensive side of the puck.”
- Another Colorado Avalanche prospect, Sampo Ranta, the team’s third-round pick in this year’s draft who is expected to attend the University of Wisconsin, may not attend there after all, reports Providence Journal’s Mark Divver. The scribe writes that Ranta has hit an admission snag at Wisconsin and suggests the 6-foot-2 winger could find himself at Boston University.
Central Notes: Tarasenko, Schmaltz, Keith
The St. Louis Blues have done everything they can to retool their team to not only get them back into the playoffs, but make a deep run of it. They went out and acquired Ryan O’Reilly, signed Tyler Bozak, David Perron and Patrick Maroon and have two top prospects on the brink of joining their team in Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou.
However while answering mailbag questions, The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford (subscription required) suggests that the biggest improvement to the team should come from within as he believes that Vladimir Tarasenko has just scratched the surface of what he’s capable of. The 26-year-old has posted goal totals of 37, 40, 39 and 33 goals over the past four seasons, but he is more than capable of becoming the superstar that many felt he could be when he was drafted in the first round in 2010. Rutherford even compared him to Brett Hull.
However, the scribe says he needs to fix a few things if he wants to take that next step, including playing more relaxed and not let everything around him frustrate him. He also feels that although he’s coming off shoulder surgery this offseason, he needs to get into the best shape of his life and be more engaged on the ice.
- Chicago Blackhawks’ Nick Schmaltz has come a long way since being viewed as a prospect two years ago. Now the team’s second-line center, who many view as the eventual successor to Jonathan Toews on the first line, Schmaltz feels he’s ready to take on a bigger role with the team, according to Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times. However, the first thing the 22-year-old must do is improve on his faceoffs. Schmaltz has struggled with faceoffs for two straight years, winning just 31 percent of his faceoffs in his rookie year, while improving to 40 percent this year (321 faceoffs won out of 801). Unfortunately, that number is still not good enough as the team hopes for closer to 50 percent. “I’ve got some stuff that I’m going to continue to work on, especially in the faceoff circle,” Schmaltz said. “If I can continue to get that up, that’ll only help our team game with the puck.”
- John Dietz of the Daily Herald interviewed Duncan Keith at the 11th annual Fan Convention on Friday and Keith, who scored just two goals on 187 shots, was quick to take the blame for the Chicago Blackhawks’ struggles last season that had them missing the playoffs for the first time in 10 years. The 35-year-old defender has averaged 25:13 of ATOI throughout his career, but saw those numbers decline to 23:50 last year and it might drop even further in the future. “I definitely take some of the blame from last year, knowing that there were certain things I could do better,” Keith said. “On the good things, I’ll continue to do that. Other things, I’ll try to work on and be better at.”
Western Notes: Tarasenko, Horvat, Kaprisov
Many people had high hopes that St. Louis Blues winger Vladimir Tarasenko would take that next step this year and become that franchise player that everyone has been waiting for. However, despite those hopes, Tarasenko had a down year. After averaging close to 39 goals per season over the past three years, the 26-year old’s goal totals dropped to 33, while his point totals went from 75 to 66.
The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford (subscription required) writes that one possibility of Tarasenko’s struggles is the fact that the team traded away his three closest friends in Jori Lehtera, Ryan Reaves and Kevin Shattenkirk. Not having them around did have an effect on how Tarasenko handled himself around the team and the scribe said that both Shattenkirk and Reaves had a way of keeping the star level-headed and in check.
While the team would have little interest in bringing back Lehtera and unrealistic to bring back Shattenkirk, the team may consider bringing back Reaves, who will be an unrestricted free agent. The question there is whether the Blues could find playing time for the power forward. Reaves struggled with the Pittsburgh Penguins and has not played for the Vegas Golden Knights in the playoffs yet, which suggests he may not be the same player he once was. Regardless, Rutherford adds that if they do attempt to bring back Reaves, that would spell the end of Chris Thorburn, who essentially plays that same role.
- Vancouver Canucks Bo Horvat is playing for Team Canada in the World Championships with one thing in mind. The Vancouver Sun’s Ben Kuzma writes that the team captain was told by the team during exit interviews at the end of the season to keep working on his two-way game. Horvat, who had a career-high in goals scored with 22, has emphasized working on his skating while in Denmark. “For me, it’s to work on my skating — you can never be too fast,” said Horvat, who also said working on his defensive awareness is another skill he’s been working on.
- The Minnesota Wild have had no luck changing the mind of prospect Kirill Kaprisov, according to The Athletic’s Craig Custance (subscription required). The 21-year-old Russian prospect has been playing alongside long-time Detroit Red Wings star Pavel Datsyuk at the IIHF World Championships and the two have been a great combination. However, despite the youngster’s success and the Wild’s desperate need for a young scorer, his agent Dan Milstein reiterated that he will not come to the U.S. until his contract in the KHL expires. He still has two years remaining with CSKA Moscow. “Kirill has two years left on his KHL contract which he intends to fulfill. Long-term plan is to play in the NHL,” Milstein wrote via e-mail.
Vladimir Tarasenko To Undergo Shoulder Surgery
Wednesday: Tarasenko’s surgery was successful, and he will be re-evaluated at the beginning of training camp in September.
Tuesday: The St. Louis Blues were conducting season-ending media availability today, when Vladimir Tarasenko revealed that he has a dislocated shoulder and will undergo surgery tomorrow. The 26-year old sniper was forced out of the playoff deciding game against the Colorado Avalanche, and couldn’t help his team climb back and try to secure a postseason berth. Tarasenko expects to be ready for the start of the 2018-19 season.
The Blues’ superstar forward scored 33 goals this season, his fourth straight campaign with at least that many. Armed with one of the most dangerous shots in the league, his offense wasn’t enough to carry St. Louis into the playoffs. Tarasenko still has five years on his contract at $7.5MM, but could actually be a relative bargain for that amount as he heads into his late-twenties. With the salary cap going up and long-term deals becoming the norm for players coming out of their entry-level contracts, the Blues can be sure that they have a superstar locked in for a reasonable rate.
The team will have to look for an answer next season, as for much of this year they looked like one of the teams to beat in the Western Conference. A February swoon that included a seven-game losing streak would eventually come back to bite them, as they would miss the playoffs by just a single point.
Central Notes: Duclair, Siemens, Blues
With the Blackhawks having fallen well out of the playoff picture, this would have been a good time for midseason acquisition Anthony Duclair to get some extra playing time. However, the winger has been out of the lineup since March 10th with a lower-body injury and NHL.com’s Tracey Myers relays (Twitter link) that he is not close to resuming skating yet. Accordingly, it appears he may not be able to get back into the lineup this season. Duclair got off to a decent start after being acquired from Arizona but has just two goals in 23 games with Chicago. Now, with this injury and his struggles, he will be hard-pressed to command much of a raise on the $1.2MM he’s earning this season even though he is eligible for salary arbitration.
More from the Central:
- Avalanche defenseman Duncan Siemens has failed to live up to his draft hype and as a result, Mike Chambers of the Denver Post speculates that Colorado may consider not tendering him a qualifying offer this summer. The former 11th overall pick back in 2011 has spent the bulk of this season at the AHL level but has played a somewhat regular, albeit limited role over the past month with the NHL club. While they could choose to try to keep him around as depth for next year, Chambers wonders if they may be more inclined to give Conor Timmins, their second-round pick last June (32nd overall), a look instead.
- Blues winger Vladimir Tarasenko did not skate with the team today which has led head coach Mike Yeo to tell reporters, including Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, that their top goalscorer is doubtful to play on Wednesday against Boston. The 26-year-old is currently dealing with an upper-body injury. Goaltender Carter Hutton still isn’t ready to rejoin the team either although he did skate before practice with Yeo stating that he is getting closer to returning.
Western Notes: Jagr, Domi, Blues, Golden Knights
It’s a shame that the Hockey Hall of Fame voted long ago to abolish the selection committee’s ability to waive the three-year post-retirement waiting period for candidates that are exceptional. Because if there is someone that shouldn’t have to wait three years to gain entry into the Hockey Hall of Fame, Jaromir Jagr would seem to be a good bet that person, according to Larry Brooks of the New York Post.
While Jagr is not retired yet, as he remains on loan from the Calgary Flames to Kladno in the Czech League, his career has been exceptional and would deserve that immediate honor of getting his wait time waived that only 10 players have ever earned such as Wayne Gretzky, Gordie Howe and Mario Lemieux. However, that rule was removed back in 1999. Regardless, Jagr has played in 1,733 career NHL games, with 766 goals and 1,921 points.
- In the same article, Brooks also writes that he’s heard the Arizona Coyotes are offering young center Max Domi to teams for the right price. The 22-year-old former first-round pick in 2013 has been struggling in his third season in the NHL. After a solid rookie year in which he put up 18 goals and 34 assists, his numbers have declined as he put up just 38 points in 59 games last year and currently has just three goals in 52 games. The team already moved on from winger Anthony Duclair a month ago as the Coyotes are trying to find the right balance of youth and veterans to start winning some games.
- The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford (subscription required) responds to mailbag questions and suggests that if New York Islanders center John Tavares reaches free agency this summer, he believes the St. Louis Blues will be aggressive suitors for the 27-year-old center. The scribe writes that the team is expecting to have about $13MM available and it should cost between $10 and $12MM to sign Tavares. That will likely make for a tight cap, especially since the team still has to sign several of their own free agents including restricted free agent defenseman Joel Edmundson. However, with the salary cap likely going up and the ability to move out a contract or two, it is very possible the team can afford Tavares. Add in that Tavares is friends with defenseman Alex Pietrangelo and the team is already a playoff team with young winger Vladimir Tarasenko needing a star center to take that next step, there is a good chance he will strongly consider St. Louis. It’s still a long shot, but not unrealistic.
- NHL.com’s Gary Lawless tweets part of an interview with Vegas Golden Knights general manager George McPhee about the trade deadline. The veteran GM says that its still too early to know whether the team will be buyers, sellers or plan to stand pat. “We still don’t know what we’re going to do at the deadline,” said McPhee. “We’re still three weeks away. We’ll know more when we get there. Every team in the league has needs… We’ll see. I like our group. I don’t know if we’re going to do a lot, if anything.”
Central Notes: Tarasenko, Jets, Bouma
The St. Louis Blues extended the Edmonton Oilers’ misery with an 8-3 beating on Tuesday night. But who would have thought the beating would have come not only from the blades of the stick, but from Vladimir Tarasenko‘s fists, too? The St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Tom Timmermann highlights that Tarasenko’s Gordie Howe hat trick last night was just another sign that the Russian superstar is willing to do whatever it takes to keep the Blues as the top of the Western Conference. Tarasenko, along with winning the fight, added two goals, two helpers, and inspired the bench with his willingness to drop the gloves. Though its still early in the season and teams can fade down the stretch, there’s no denying that this tight-knit Blues squad is doing everything right so far.
- The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn writes (paid content) that no one saw the Winnipeg Jets being a top-five team at the start of the season. Even with a 79% chance to make the playoffs, according to Luszczyszyn’s projections, he does point out that some red flags exist despite the Jets’ hot start. Winnipeg is ranked in the bottom half of the league in Score-Adjusted Corsi. Additionally, as Luszczyszyn dives into the advanced stats, it reveals that the Jets are trending in the wrong direction statistically–indicating that the team is due to regress from its hot start. Luszczyszyn also presents some numbers that show a cause for concern about Blake Wheeler, who may be seeing his play decline at a quicker rate than many could have predicted.
- Lance Bouma has been a great addition and his simple approach to the game is paying dividends for the Blackhawks writes the Chicago Sun-Times Mark Lazerus. Though his scoresheet stats aren’t exactly setting the league ablaze, it’s his defensive responsibility that is getting the attention. Lazerus reports that aside from the physical side of his game, it’s his ability to advance the puck out of trouble that has kept him as a mainstay in coach Joel Quenneville‘s lineup. Bouma isn’t going to get fancy–instead he simply pushes to get the puck out of the defensive zone as quickly as he can. This simplicity, Lazerus writes, is something that some of his teammates could take note of.
Blues Notes: Steen, Dunn, Thompson, Stastny
Don’t be shocked if the St. Louis Blues put Alex Steen immediately onto the top line the moment he is healthy, which could be soon, according to The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford. Taking mailbag questions, the scribe writes that while most people, including himself, believed that Steen would come back to the team’s second line, the recent promotion of Samuel Blais might change things. The team believes that Blais might take off on the team’s second line. The 21-year-old prospect had a great preseason and started hot with the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage with three goals in two games. Rutherford believes that if Blais mixes in well with the second line, then the more likely option for Steen would be to move him to the first line with Vladimir Tarasenko and Paul Stastny. That would force Vladimir Sobotka to move down from the first line to the team’s third line, where the team has really struggled so far this year.
Steen, who scored 16 goals and 51 points a season ago broke his hand on Sept. 19 and is believed to be travelling with the team and close to returning to game action soon.
Other notes from Rutherford:
- The scribe writes that when defenseman Jay Bouwmeester returns, the team may be in for a tough decision. Bouwmeester, who is recovering from a fractured ankle, could come back within the next week or two, will force the team to cut a defenseman. While Rutherford writes that rookie blueliner Vince Dunn has been impressive through five games, including scoring his first goal and putting up five shots in his last game and looking solid on defense. However, it is likely the team will send Dunn down rather than bench defenseman Carl Gunnarsson when Bouwmeester returns.
- Rutherford adds that former 2016 first-rounder Tage Thompson‘s demotion is probably a good thing. He writes that Thompson is being groomed to be a top-six forward, not a bottom-six forward, so his development is critical and more time in San Antonio makes more sense. The 19-year-old center, who was playing hockey for the University of Connecticut a year ago, has only 26 games of AHL experience (playoffs included). Despite being a big player, Rutherford writes he got pushed around quite a bit, which often happens to young, inexperienced players.
- The scribe also writes that he believes that this could very likely be Stastny’s last year in St. Louis, unless the 31-year-old center is willing to take a pay cut to remain with the team. Stastny, who is in the final year of a four-year, $28MM deal, is currently making $7MM this season. Rutherford believes that while the team will likely keep their options open, the Blues will likely look at the free agent market first before deciding whether to re-sign Stastny. Stastny’s numbers have progressively been dropping over the last few years, with last year’s 40-point season being one of the lowest of his career. He is faring well so far with two goals and four assists in five games.
Salary Cap Deep Dive: St. Louis Blues
Navigating the Salary Cap is probably one of the more important tasks for any general manager to have. Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2017-18 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.
St. Louis Blues
Current Cap Hit: $72,569,167 (under the $75MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
F Robby Fabbri (One year remaining, $894K)
F Zachary Sanford (Two years remaining, $875K)
F Ivan Barbashev (Two years remaining, $742K)
Potential Bonuses
Fabbri: $425K
Barbashev: $183K
Sanford: $50K
Total: $658K
Much of the attention of the youth will fall on Fabbri, who many are hoping will have a breakout season this year. The former 2014 first-round pick has already played two full seasons with the club and combined for 29 goals, but many people feel this might be the year where he takes that next step. He looked to be having a solid year last year, but tore his ACL in February and missed the rest of the season. Now healthy, many believe the Blues will move him to center to take control of a top line.
Sanford and Barbashev are two youngsters who many feel may also take on regular roles in St. Louis this year. Sanford, a second-round pick in 2013 by the Washington Capitals, came to St. Louis in the Kevin Shattenkirk trade at the trade deadline last season. The 22-year-old joined the Blues for the final 13 games and scored two goals and five assists and many believe he should make a solid fourth-line center as he develops his game. Barbashev is a second-round pick from the 2014 draft and got a promotion for the season’s final 30 games. The 21-year-old picked up five goals and seven assists and showed that he deserves a chance to start, but may have to settle for a wing position to start the year.
One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level
F Paul Stastny ($7MM, UFA)
G Carter Hutton ($1.125MM, UFA)
D Joel Edmundson ($1.05MM, RFA)
F Dmitrij Jaskin ($1MM, RFA)
F Kyle Brodziak ($950K, UFA)
F Magnus Paajarvi ($800K, UFA)
F Oskar Sundqvist ($675K, RFA)
F Beau Bennett ($650K, RFA)
Obviously the team has to make a decision on what it plans to do with Stastny as he’s the biggest name amongst the team’s pending free agents next season. Stastny has been a solid contributor at center, but hardly spectacular and is probably not worth the $7MM AAV that he has received from St. Louis when they signed him in 2014. Injuries have played a major role for the 31-year-old veteran as he has missed 42 games in three seasons. On top of that, he only took 112 shots, one of the lowest of his career and his 22 assists last year is his career low, not including the strike-shortened 2012-13 season. The team has put some effort into developing some of their youngsters at the center position, including Fabbri, Barbashev and Sanford likely in hopes of eventually finding a replacement for Stastny in the near future.
After Stastny, the talent level drops, but the team will have several restricted free agents who will be in line for more money next year. Edmundson, entering his third full year in the league, who has struggled with injuries in his two years. He played in 67 games in 2015-16 and just 69 games last year. He put up three goals and 12 assists last year, but should get more playing time with Shattenkirk gone and if he can stay healthy, should put up even better numbers. Sundqvist also came to St. Louis in a recent trade. Acquired from Pittsburgh in the Ryan Reaves trade, Sundqvist hopes to break camp with the Blues. He couldn’t crack the lineup in Pittsburgh, managing just 28 games over the past two years, but he did score 20 goals for the Penguins’ AHL squad this year. The center has a good chance to win a bottom six center position this year.
Jaskin has had trouble staying in the lineup for the Blues. The 24-year-old has been with the team now for four seasons, but has never been able to a steady contributor. He only managed to get into 51 games last year, for one goal and 10 assists. If he can’t put together a solid season, it may be his last in St. Louis. Bennett, who was signed as a free agent this summer, must prove he can make the team first. The 25-year-old wing scored eight goals in 65 games for the New Jersey Devils last year.
Among unrestricted free agents, the team may want to bring back Hutton, who has served the Blues well as their backup goaltender. The 31-year-old played 29 games and finished the year with a 2.39 GAA and a .913 save percentage. The 33-year-old Brodziak makes for a good fourth-line player, but this could likely be his last year in St. Louis, while Paajarvi split time between the Blues and the Chicago Wolves and also could be at the end of the line if he can’t make the team out of training camp.
Blues Notes: Tarasenko, Schenn, Tavares, Barbashev
The St. Louis Blues have high hopes for the coming season and much of those hopes hinges on the play of star player Vladimir Tarasenko, who has been the team’s top scorer and has put up impressive numbers over the past several years. However, what Tarasenko has not done is show any improvement. In scoring, he’s put up 37, 40 and 39 goals. He put up 36 assists in 2014-15, 34 assists the following year and then 36 assists again last year. His numbers are virtually identical.
At 25 years of age, the question is whether his present numbers are as good as they are going to get. Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that his development will likely hinge on coach Mike Yeo’s coaching success. Now entering his first full year as head coach, the scribe writes that it will be Yeo’s job to push him to that elite level. Much of that will be finding the perfect linemates for him, which the team has failed to do in the past. Jaden Schwartz is a good fit with Tarasenko on the opposite wing, but who will man the center position remains up in the air.
- Gordon, in the same piece, writes that newly acquired forward Brayden Schenn has much to prove this coming season. There are many questions surrounding whether he is a true center or just a scorer. The Blues, who acquired Schenn from Philadelphia for their 2017 first-round pick and veteran Jori Lehtera, is expected to be a top-six player, but he has not proven to be a dominant center in the league so far, struggling with faceoffs and his defense. Schenn has scored 45 goals over the past two seasons.
- Don’t expect the Blues to go after John Tavares if he becomes available. With Tarasenko tied up until 2022-23, the Blues will not want to offer a $10MM per year contract and have two huge contracts on their cap. Gordon compared the situation to the Chicago Blackhawks and how difficult a time they are having keeping their team afloat with their two superstars on the roster.
- Finally Gordon suggests the two players who could take that “next step” are likely to be centers Ivan Barbashev and Zachary Sanford. Barbashev, the team’s second-round pick in 2014. He scored five goals and 12 points in 30 games at the end of last year and also scored 19 goals for the AHL’s Chicago Wolves. The 21-year-old center might be ready for a much bigger role next year. Gordon also feels that Sanford, a second-rounder in 2013, who the Blues acquired in the Kevin Shattenkirk trade, could take the next step. Between the Capitals and the Blues, he scored four goals in 39 games. The 22-year-old also tallied 11 goals for the AHL Hershey Bears.