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World Cup

Snapshots: Team North America, Kaleta

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Dylan Larkin

News and notes from around the NHL this morning:

  • Team North America announced the lineup for its second World Cup of Hockey exhibition matchup against Team Europe today. According to Sportsnet’s Mark Spector, Todd McLellan decided to sit Jacob Trouba, J.T. Miller, and Matt Murray. Murray sitting means that John Gibson is set to play the full game. Healthy scratches in this format do not imply injuries—ESPN’s Craig Custance says JT Miller is completely healthy—but rather chances for coaches to see other fringe players in action. Last night Canada held out Sidney Crosby in its matchup with Team USA simply because the coaching staff knew what he could do, and wanted to see other players in action. For Team North America, this means both Dylan Larkin and Colton Parayko will get an opportunity to showcase their skills.
  • Patrick Kaleta spoke to the Buffalo News this week about his attempt to make an NHL comeback. Kaleta does not have a contract this season, but is working out in Buffalo with former teammates in an effort to reattain his former level of play. Kaleta is hoping to receive a PTO from a team this year, but expressed that he does not want to toil in the AHL again this season. Last year Kaleta tried out for the Buffalo Sabres in training camp before a groin injury cut his attempts short. He played only 26 games for the Rochester Americans—Buffalo’s AHL affiliate—due to injury and limited playing opportunities. The Buffalo native embodied the enforcer role during his NHL stint with the Sabres over nine years, never scoring more than 15 points in a season. In his last season with the big club he netter only 3A in 42 games. Look for Kaleta to garner a PTO from the Buffalo Sabres, if only because of his previous service to the club.

Snapshots: US-Canada Rivalry, Injury Updates

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Though the comments were tepid, many top tier Canadian players took exception to some of the late hits by Team USA during the American squad’s 4-2 victory yesterday. Jonathan Toews was careful with his comments, but was blunt about some of the questionable hits doled out by the aggressive Americans. Via the Chicago Tribune, Toews had this to say:

“Without saying too much, I think there were a couple of borderline hits there where our guys were put in some awkward positions and there’s not much you can do there. The one on Weber was the right call there. We just have to try and protect ourselves and expect that the officials are going to do what they have to do. We have no problem with the chippiness and the physical play (but) it doesn’t matter where you’re playing, I think you always have to respect the player when he has his back to you.”

Toews wasn’t the only one making careful comments. Captain Sidney Crosby and netminder Carey Price both agreed that some hits “crossed the line.” Nick Cotsonika writes that Mike Babcock put the onus on the referees to control the rough play during a game between two rivals:

“There were lots of scrums tonight. They were generated by the players. The referees can clean that up in two seconds. All you’ve got to do is put people in the box. No more scrums.”

The US and Canada meet again in exhibition play tonight.

In other hockey news:

  • The Chicago Tribune’s Chris Kuc writes about the concern every team has with the injuries as the World Cup begins its tournament play with an exhibition tilt. With injuries to Marian Hossa, and Marcus Kruger, Blackhawks players were understandably concerned when two significant players from their team suffered injuries. Hossa’s, as it turns out, will not limit him and Europe coach Ralph Krueger said it’s “all green lights” for Hossa to play in Saturday’s game. Kruger, Kuc reports, has a more mysterious upper body injury and will be held out of play during Saturday’s Sweden’s exhibition game against Finland. Both Patrick Kane and Toews, when asked about the possibility of injury, shrugged it off and attributed it to a risk that’s always there, regardless of the circumstance.

Snapshots: World Cup Power Rankings, Updates

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TSN’s Scott Cullen writes that Canada is the team to beat in the World Cup of Hockey. Cullen ranks Canada, Sweden, and North America ahead of the American squad, who he pegs as fourth in his tournament power rankings. Cullen expects the Americans to be competitive but can’t see a team squarely more concerned about a “tougher” style of play going very far in a tournament that emphasizes speed and skill. The US, Cullen writes, is all about smash mouth hockey, but their goalie tandem of Cory Schneider, Ben Bishop and Jonathan Quick could give those aforementioned skilled teams some fits. Cullen places Canada at the top simply because of the top end talent they boast on every line. Sweden, he writes, has an “absurd” defensive corps with Erik Karlsson, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Victor Hedman, Anton Stralman, Hampus Lindholm, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Mattias Ekholm all on the roster. He cautions that in order to knock off favorite Canada, they’ll need young forwards Filip Forsberg and Gabriel Landeskog to carry the team in scoring.

Team North America is one that Cullen believes could truly shock everyone. With young, fast, and skilled players like Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel, and John Gaudreau, the under 23 team could turn some heads, and possibly pull some upsets that could unseat the favorites. For the rest of his rankings, Cullen places Russia, Finland, Czech Republic, and Europe as the bottom four teams respectively.

In other World Cup of Hockey News:

  • The USA’s 4-2 victory over Canada featured a lot of aggressive play and injury scares that remained only as fears and nothing serious. Several high profile players took vicious hits, and some had to leave the ice. Flyers captain Claude Giroux took a hit from Joe Pavelski and didn’t return until later in the third period. Logan Couture also took a hard hit from T.J. Oshie in the second period but returned in the third. Though Shea Weber was slammed into the boards by Ryan Kesler in the second period, he didn’t miss any ice time. Kesler was assessed a boarding major and a game misconduct. Pavelski recorded the game winner while Derek Stepan sealed the game with an empty net goal in a contest that became more physical as it wore on. Earlier in the day, PHR recapped some of the other injury scares during exhibition play on Thursday.

Red Wings Notes: Sheahan, Larkin, Renouf

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The Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James writes that former Red Wings goaltender and current Wings analyst Chris Osgood believes that Riley Sheahan can be an elite center. Though Sheahan had a career best 14 goals last season, he slumped in terms of total production, notching only 25 points after posting 36 a season prior. Osgood, believes that the best is yet to come for the 24-year-old forward:

“To me, he has a nice offensive ability, he’s responsible defensively, he’s really strong. I think if you put him in the right spot, he’ll flourish. He’ll become one of the best third-line centers in the NHL. And he’s getting to be that age now where he’s a little more mature. He’s played a lot. He had some rough patches last year, and he’s learned from them. He’s a tough kid and he perseveres. So to me, he’s the guy to really look to be kind of that third-line center, power forward, leader, that’s going to get a lot of more points.”

Sheahan will be slotted in as the third line center as Dylan Larkin and Frans Nielsen are expected to center the top two lines.

In other Red Wings news:

  • Larkin was a healthy scratch in North America’s victory over Europe on Thursday, but Craig Custance tweets that Larkin will most likely see time on the fourth line during Sunday’s exhibition game against Team Europe. The the Detroit News’ Ted Kulfan reports that Larkin was excited nonetheless–prior to the game–about being part of the North American team and the World Cup of Hockey:

“Talking to other players that are in the tournament, they know we’re going to be pretty good. We’re just excited to get together and start playing some games. I don’t think we’re going to shock any teams. We’re definitely going to play our best. Teams know the kind of players we have. We hope to win the whole thing. It’s cool how players from Canada and the U.S. come together. It’s going to be a bit of a feeling out process, a lot of players from different teams, but it’ll go well and we’ll be an exciting team to watch.”

  • MLive’s Brendan Savage pens a piece on Red Wings prospect Dan Renouf and how he hopes to take the same road to the Red Wings as current defenseman Danny DeKeyser did. Renouf is hoping that his career trajectory follows that of DeKeyser, who signed with Detroit as an undrafted free agent out of Western Michigan and has been a mainstay on the blue line since. Renouf played six games with Detroit’s AHL affiliate Grand Rapids but spent the majority of his time with the University of Maine. Renouf was the leading scorer for all defenseman with 15 points (6-9).

Capitals Notes: Johansson, Eller, Holtby

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After playing last season on a one year, $3.75MM deal, Capitals forward Marcus Johansson is looking forward to having more stability this year, writes Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post.  Back in July, he inked a three year, $13.75MM contract, one that also affords him a small bit of no-trade protection in the form of a five team no-trade clause.  As Johansson notes, not having looming contract talks takes some of the pressure off:

“Especially family-wise, it feels good. You still always put pressure on yourself to do well, and I think that’s never going to change for anyone. It’s just mostly off the ice with the family and all, you can, you know, relax and settle in a little bit more and just focus on the game.”

Johansson is coming off his third straight 40+ point season, picking up 17 goals and 29 assists in 74 games while averaging 16:38 of ice time per game.  He also had a solid postseason, adding a pair of goals and five helpers in 12 contests with a 16:41 ATOI.

The 25 year old battled through an injury late in the year and told CSN Atlantic’s Tarik El-Bashir that he is 100% recovered although he wouldn’t specific what or where the injury actually was.

Last season, Johansson shifted between the left wing and center despite not playing the latter position much in the previous three seasons.  However, that shouldn’t be the case this season as the addition of Lars Eller from Montreal should free him up to focus primarily on the wing.  Johansson is certainly a fan of that as well, noting that it will be nice to just “focus on one thing at a time”.

With the roster as it stands, there’s a good chance that Johansson will start on the left side on the second line behind Alex Ovechkin at that position.

More from Washington:

  • Speaking of stability, Eller is looking forward to playing center full-time this season instead of shuffling positions, Khurshudyan wrote in a separate column. Eller spent time both there and on the left wing last year with the Canadiens but noted that he’s “never hidden the fact that I like to play center the most” and that he couldn’t be happier to be at center this season.  With both Evgeny Kuznetsov and Nicklas Backstrom at the World Cup of Hockey, Eller will open up camp as their top pivot, meaning he should have a chance to showcase his offensive skills before settling in to his two-way bottom six role when the season gets underway next month.
  • Goaltender Braden Holtby’s World Cup of Hockey mask features a tribute to Canadian band The Tragically Hip and he will auction it off with the proceeds intended to go to the charity of the band’s choice, reports Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston. Holtby enters the tournament as the presumed backup goaltender to Carey Price but he will have a chance to debut the mask on Saturday night as he is expected to play half the game in Canada’s second exhibition game against the USA.

Snapshots: Price, World Cup

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The World Cup of Hockey exhibition round kicked off on Thursday, with Russia beating Czech Republic, Finland defeating Sweden, and Team North America shutting out Team Europe. Though we’re only one day into the pre-tournament action, there have already been some injury concerns. With that in mind, the eyes of the hockey world will be on Team Canada goaltender Carey Price when the Canadians take on the United States in the first game of back-to-back exhibition contests. Price will make his hotly anticipated first start since November.

When asked about Price, Team Canada coach Mike Babcock said he expects him “to be great”, before asking that needed any elaboration.

USA left winger and Montreal Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty told TSN’s Mark Masters that, on a personal level, he’s happy to see Price “put on the pads again… because I know he suffered last year”. Pacioretty said he wasn’t able to share any secrets on scoring on Price because “there are no secrets on how to beat Carey”.

Snapshots: Quebec Expansion, Roy, Radulov, Trouba

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In a post for ESPN.com published this morning, Craig Custance provides a wealth of information on a wide array of topics. The entire piece is well worth the read but here are several of the highlights.

  • Custance relays an update on possible expansion into Quebec City, per comments from NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly. Daly said that while he would like to see the NHL return to Quebec, “hopefully at some point in my career,” there are currently no serious discussions of adding a 32nd team to the league. Daly: “We’ll recap the expansion process, but I don’t expect there will be any announcements on new expansion.” Further diminishing the chances of a Quebec entry any time in the near future, Daly also stated that despite the drawn out process, the Arizona Coyotes will “find a long-term arena in the Phoenix area,” thus eliminating any talk of possibly relocating the club. All together, the NHL is satisfied with 31 franchises and the existing geographical balance of those teams. While Daly’s comments appear to pour cold water on the idea of a Quebec franchise, it’s still a good possibility the league places a team there in the relatively near future.
  • During the first period of Team North America’s win over Team Europe, former Avalanche VP of hockey operations and head coach Patrick Roy met with the media. Roy is said to have resigned his position due to philosophical differences with other members of management and a loss of influence in the front office. When asked whether the Avs choice not to seriously pursue winger Alexander Radulov in free agency was a contributing factor to his decision to leave the organization, Roy indicated that while he vouched for his former Quebec Remparts star and would like to see him one day play for Colorado, the final call was always Joe Sakic’s and that Roy “respected his decision.” Roy would later suggest that the team is giving more thought to using analytics in their decision-making and that also may have played a part in his decision to leave.
  • Earlier today we touched on the lack of progress in talks between RFA Johnny Gaudreau and the Flames. But Gaudreau is far from the only remaining unsigned RFA of note. According to Custance, Winnipeg defenseman Jacob Trouba has not spoken to agent Kurt Overhardt since camp opened for the World Cup of Hockey. Custance also points out that one potential benefit to RFA’s participating in the tournament is the chance to further enhance their values with excellent performances at the tournament playing against many of the top players in the world. Trouba, for example, believes that he can fill a greater role with the Jets and if given a heave dose of responsibility with Team North America, perhaps he can prove to Winnipeg he is deserving of more ice time.

World Cup Injury Scares

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One reason team executives and coaching staffs aren’t too keen on tournaments like the World Cup of Hockey is the fear one of their top players might get hurt playing in a meaningless – to them anyway – exhibition. If, for example, the Capitals lost Alex Ovechkin for any significant duration due to an injury playing in the World Cup, Washington’s chances to compete for a Stanley Cup would take a major hit. So general managers and head coaches nervously watch these games with the hope that no one gets injured and thus consequently derailing a team’s playoff hopes.

We’re just one warm-up game and a handful of practices into the tournament and already have seen a number of injury scares to key players. Here’s a quick rundown.

  • Vladimir Sobotka of the Czech Republic was injured in Thursday’s game with Team Russia and according to early reports, was transported to the hospital with an apparent shoulder/clavicle injury. Tom Gulitti of NHL.com later reported that x-rays were negative and that there was a chance Sobotka would be available for Saturday’s return tilt against Russia. However, Gulitti followed up via Twitter this morning and said that Sobotka is indeed out for tomorrow’s contest. Roman Cervenka would have ultimately replaced Sobotka in the lineup but he won’t be available in time to suit up tomorrow. Instead the Czechs will be forced to ice seven defensemen and 11 forwards. Sobotka has spent the past two seasons in the KHL but was expected to return to North America and the Blues for the 2016-17 campaign. After losing Troy Brouwer and David Backes to free agency, the hope was Sobotka would be able to pick up some of the slack in St. Louis. Even though he may miss some time in the World Cup, the early indications are the injury isn’t too severe, much to the relief of the Blues and their fans.
  • The Chicago Blackhawks experienced a bit of a scare when Marian Hossa left Team Europe’s game against Team North America after a puck struck his right foot causing the veteran Slovak to sit out the third period. But after a quick trip to the hospital revealed just a bruise, Hossa is expected to continue on in the tournament though he might still sit out future World Cup exhibition games as a precaution, according to Scott Powers writing for The Athletic. The 37-year-old Hossa, whose offensive output dropped last season to just 33 points in 64 games, is still a vital cog in the Chicago lineup due to his outstanding two-way play.
  • Earlier it was reported that superstar goaltender Henrik Lundqvist may have injured himself while on a golf outing ahead of the World Cup of Hockey. However it was later revealed he took a shot to the ribs during a practice and that he was indeed good to go for the tournament. According to Dan Rosen of NHL.com (via Twitter), Lundqvist is in fact expected to get the start between the pipes tomorrow and play the whole game for Team Sweden.
  • The news isn’t quite as good for fellow Swede and Chicago Blackhawks forward Marcus Kruger. Again according to Rosen, Kruger suffered an upper body injury which caused the pivot to miss the final 7:39 of regulation and all of OT in the game against Finland (both links via Twitter). With Kruger out for tomorrow’s contest, Team Sweden will insert Mikael Backlund into the lineup in Kruger’s place. Backlund, of course, was added to the Swedish roster as a replacement for Henrik Zetterberg.

Snapshots: Gaudreau, Benson, McGrattan

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Time is running short for the Flames to ink star forward Johnny Gaudreau prior to the start of the 2016-17 campaign and it appears as if the two sides are still quite far apart in talks, according to Eric Francis of the Calgary Sun. Francis reports that Gaudreau’s camp is seeking $8MM annually while the Flames are countering with a figure somewhere in between what Sean Monahan’s recent extension pays out ($6.375MM) and what captain Mark Giordano earns on an annual basis ($6.75MM).

An unnamed source Francis spoke with stated: “He wants unrestricted money but he’s restricted.” The source would go on to point out that other players with track records similar in both length and production have signed for less, including Filip Forsberg ($6MM) and Nathan MacKinnon ($6.3MM). He also questions whether Gaudreau, while a terrific young talent, is better than than the two players he mentioned.

For his part, Gaudreau is leaving the heavy lifting to his agent, Lewis Gross, at least until after the World Cup has concluded at which point he has said he would become more involved.

Gauedreau is certainly a talented young player and one the Flames want to build around but the reality is he only has two seasons of NHL experience and almost no leverage to exercise in these negotiations. He could choose to sit out until he gets a deal to his liking or sign in the KHL but it’s unlikely he’d receive a comparable salary overseas to what the Flames are offering him today. The smart money is the deal gets wrapped up soon after he returns from the World Cup and that the AAV is closer to what Monahan received than what Gaudreau is said to be asking for at the moment.

  • According to the Elite Prospects website (via tweet) tough guy forward Brian McGrattan has left North America and accepted a deal to play for the Nottingham Panthers of the EIHL in England. The nine-year veteran who turned 35 just last week, did not see any action at the NHL level and instead suited up for 58 games for the Anaheim Ducks AHL affiliate in San Diego. McGrattan tallied nine goals and 17 points along with his usually high number of penalty minutes (144) for the Gulls. Anaheim loaded up yesterday on organizational depth, agreeing to deals with seven players to minor league deals. That McGrattan was not among them suggested a move elsewhere might be in the offing. McGrattan leaves North America (for now at least) having scored just 27 career points in 317 games and 609 minutes in penalties.
  • Bruce McCurdy of the Edmonton Journal wonders if 2016 second-round pick, Tyler Benson, can beat the odds and become an important contributor for the Oilers. McCurdy lists the 10 players the club has selected in the second round since 2007 and only two, Justin Schultz (266) and Anton Lander (193) has appeared in more than 27 NHL games to date. Second-round picks are still considered valuable choices and teams generally expect to land one quality NHL talent for every three players chosen in the round. It’s hard to say the Oilers have even developed one quality NHL player from their group as Schultz wasn’t even drafted by the Oilers and was dealt away to Pittsburgh at the 2016 trade deadline after failing to live up to expectations in Edmonton. Lander has yet to land a full-time role and it’s been suggested current management is not particularly high on the Swedish pivot.
  • Former Devils forward Stephen Gionta might be under consideration from the Islanders for a PTO, according to Arthur Staple of Newday (via tweet). Gionta doesn’t bring much offense to the table – just one goal last season and a career-best of five in 2014-15 – but would add energy to the team’s fourth line. He can also contribute on the penalty kill. The Islanders have boasted one of the game’s best fourth lines but they will undoubtedly have someone new skating with Casey Cizikas and Cal Clutterbuck after Matt Martin departed New York as a free agent. Gionta could provide another option for head coach Jack Capuano.

Connor McDavid Named Team North America Captain

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McDavid19 year-old Edmonton Oiler forward Connor McDavid was named Captain of Team North America in the World Cup of Hockey. Philadelphia Flyers’ Sean Couturier and Florida Panthers’ Aaron Ekblad were named Alternates.

McDavid leapfrogs older players on the roster such as Ryan Murray, Morgan Rielly, and Mark Scheifele, which speaks volumes about the faith GM Peter Chiarelli has with the young phenom. It is worth nothing that McDavid plays for Chiarelli’s Oilers in the NHL, and the Oilers are currently captain-less. If McDavid handles the captaincy well, there should be no doubt that he’ll be handed the ’C’ when he returns to Edmonton.

Team North America features the best American and Canadian players under 24 on the same team in the World Cup of Hockey. Alongside McDavid is 2016 1st overall pick Auston Matthews, as well as still-unsigned RFAs Jacob Trouba and Johnny Gaudreau.

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