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World Cup Snapshots: USA National Team, Getzlaf, Krueger

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Coming off a tremendously disappointing World Cup appearance, the USA National Team appears to be on the precipice of making some changes. Craig Custance broke down the World Cup roster’s chances of returning, should the NHL participate in the 2018 Olympics (ESPN Insiders link).

The obvious returning players, according to Custance, are Patrick Kane, Ryan Suter, Ryan McDonagh, John Carlson, and goalie Cory Schneider.

The “bubble” players are Joe Pavelski, Blake Wheeler, Ryan Kesler, Dustin Byfuglien, T.J. Oshie, and Ben Bishop. These guys will be in the conversation to appear in the red, white, and blue in two years.

Jonathan Quick headlines the “thank you for your service” category. Quick’s play sunk the Americans at the World Cup, with an 0.836 SV% and a 3.56 GAA in two games. The other notable players who Custance believes have played their last game for the USA at the national level are Zach Parise and Max Pacioretty, among the rest of the roster. Parise and Pacioretty have not performed well in best-on-best tournaments recently, and will need big efforts to survive the coming youth movement.

  • Ahead of the first game of the World Cup Final on Tuesday night, Team Canada forward Ryan Getlzaf is taking a maintenance day. Claude Giroux is taking his place alongside John Tavares and Steven Stamkos on the Canadian “third line”. He’s not expected to miss any of the final. Other than Getzlaf, the Canadians have not made any lineup changes.
  • Before the World Cup began, Team Europe coach Ralph Krueger said any team who wants to beat Canada will need a “magical day” and a “world-class goaltending performance”. TSN’s Frank Seravalli believes Krueger is the secret weapon that Europe will need to utilize to defeat Canada, citing Krueger’s defeat of Canada in the 2006 Olympics prior to joining the Canadian front office for Sochi. Canada GM Doug Armstrong said Europe is a big story, and “shame on [Canada] if we don’t take them seriously for what they’ve done to this point.”

Camp Notes: Marner, Grigorenko, Weal

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While it’s true that exhibition results and preseason predictions often mean nothing, fans of each team do like to see and hear strong results from some of their young players. In Toronto, uber-prospect Mitch Marner is really turning heads, as Rob Longley of the Toronto Sun writes. Marner is undersized by all accounts, but is starting to make believers out of his coaching staff and front office that he’ll be able to use his elite offensive ability to succeed right away at the next level. Even veteran teammates like Brooks Laich are impressed:

He’s good at tying up a stick so the other guy can’t make a play and then getting body position so he can kick the puck to his stick. I saw some little things that are very impressive.

Marner has to either make the NHL club or return to the OHL, a level which he absolutely dominated last season, winning every individual and team award available, including the Memorial Cup. While it wouldn’t ruin his career to head back to London for another season, he’s clearly too good for that level and would be at risk of slowing his development.

  • One of the big parts of the Ryan O’Reilly deal between Colorado and Buffalo was Mikhail Grigorenko, once selected 12th overall and considered a top prospect. While never delivering on his apparent high-ceiling offensively, Grigorenko did make strides last season in his first go-round with the Avs. Now considered a “veteran forward” by Terry Frei and the Denver Post, Grigorenko scored the only goal in an intrasquad game today and by all accounts has had a strong camp. Still only 22, he has plenty of time to develop into the strong two-way center Buffalo envisioned when spending such a high pick on him.
  • Another youngster is enjoying the World Cup, but not because of Team America. Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Jordan Weal has been suiting up on the top line in Flyers camp between Brayden Schenn and Wayne Simmonds while Claude Giroux is off in Toronto, and he’s been showing he may be ready for a full time NHL role as soon as this season. An elite AHL scorer (his last two seasons there he recorded 70 and 69 points), Weal spent all of last season trapped between the injured reserve list and the waiver wire, and only got into 14 total contests, all at the NHL level.

‘Yotes Notes: Rieder, Camp Cuts, OEL

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Sarah McLellan of AZCentral gives us a number of interesting tidbits from the Arizona Coyotes training camp, including one from Tobias Rieder’s agent Darren Ferris. The restricted free agent remains unsigned, and Ferris says that he will not report to camp without a deal.

Rieder is currently at the World Cup as part of the Cinderella Team Europe, but will not report after the tournament ends. There has been much discussion this offseason, though a deal does not seem close. Rieder scored 14 goals and 37 points last season, but has considered a move to the KHL if something cannot be worked out with the Coyotes.

  • In an expected move, the Coyotes have trimmed their roster at training camp, releasing Austin Lotz, Olivier LeBlanc and MacKenzie Braid. Head coach Dave Tippet says there will be more cuts on Wednesday and next weekend.  Braid is the son of the Coyotes skating coach Dawn Braid, and had only been brought to camp a few days ago out of Wilfred Laurier University in Ontario.
  • Oliver Ekman-Larsson of the recently eliminated Swedish World Cup team, will not be travelling back to the club today, and isn’t expected to get into an exhibition game until sometime next week. Larsson is set to begin his seventh season with the club, despite only being 25 years old. After back to back twenty-goal seasons from the back end, ’OEL’ is one of the most dangerous weapons on any team’s blueline, and is set to become a free agent after the 2018-19 season (when he’ll still only be 27, at least for a few more days).

Snapshots: Fortin, Flames, Team Europe

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When the Chicago Blackhawks invited Alexandre Fortin to prospect camp this summer, even they didn’t expect to sign him to a three-year entry level contract just a few weeks later. It’s a huge step for the twice-undrafted forward from the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies of the QMJHL.

The 19-year old is the nephew of former NHL goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere and never did really blow away scouts during his junior years.  But now, in Hawks rookie camp he turned enough heads to be kept around when the pro camp started, and then enough for the Hawks to invest in him.  As assistant coach Kevin Dineen says in Chris Kuc’s latest Chicago Tribune article:

He’s a smart, cerebral kid who has a nice offensive skill set that he’s been able to show here early. He’s off to a real good start and he’s working his way in to trying to find a way into one of our exhibition games.

The Hawks have found overlooked players before, most notably with last year’s Calder trophy winner Artemi Panarin, who, while on the hockey world’s radar, was never believed to be able to step into a top-line, all-star role right away. With Fortin, perhaps they found another late-bloomer who they can shape into an offensive dynamo.

  • The Flames have decided to send four players back to their individual WHL teams today; the group includes Brayden Burke, Aaron Hyman, Matthew Phillips and Nick Schneider. Only Phillips was actually drafted by the club (166th overall this year).  The team has also cut Dennis Kravchenko from the NHL camp, and invited him to their AHL camp (which he accepted).  Kravchenko has scored 61 points in 68 games the past two seasons while playing for UMass-Amherst in the NCAA. An undersized winger, he’s trying to follow the path of Johnny Gaudreau and prove offense is more important than stature.
  • Team Europe, the overwhelming underdogs of the World Cup, have now advanced to the final series following an overtime win against Team Sweden. Tomas Tatar, the young flashy Red Wings forward scored twice, including the winner, to send home the defensive powerhouse.  The makeshift squad will take on Canada in the best-of-three final series, starting Tuesday night.

Ekblad Practicing With Panthers

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Evidently the upper-body injury which prevented Aaron Ekblad from playing in either of Team North America’s final two games at the World Cup of Hockey is healing just fine. According to Alain Poupart, writing for the Panthers team site on NHL.com, Ekblad is back in Florida and was on the ice today doing some individual work.

Ekblad absorbed a hit from Team Finland’s Leo Komarov during North America’s first game of the round-robin portion of the tournament and was thought to have suffered a concussion as a result. However, it was later reported by Mark Spector of Sportsnet that was not the case and in fact was simply a neck injury.

The first overall selection in the 2014 draft, Ekblad is already one of the league’s best young defensemen and is a vital cog for Florida. He had a sensational debut campaign, scoring 12 goals and 39 points in 81 games and winning the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie for the 2014-15 season. Ekblad followed that up with an equally impressive sophomore year, potting 15 goals and assisting on 21 more.

The 20-year-old blue liner has been solid in his own end too with a plus-minus rating of +30 combined over his first two NHL seasons. Although plus-minus can be unreliable in gauging the quality of defensive play, Ekblad has performed well in the puck possession department, posting a career Corsi For % of 52.9% reinforcing the notion of Ekblad’s steady play in his own zone.

Central Notes: Wiercioch, Fleischmann, Jets Goalies

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The biggest hockey headline out of Colorado this summer was the unexpected departure of head coach and VP of operations Patrick Roy. Mike Chambers of The Denver Post told PHR in an earlier interview that his belief was that Roy insisted on acquiring a top defenseman this summer, perhaps at the cost of one of their top young forwards, but that GM Joe Sakic and his “support staff” wanted to stick with the core. In fact, the only blue line addition of note was the signing of free agent Patrick Wiercioch, who wore out his welcome in Ottawa and was not qualified as a RFA. But as Chambers writes, Weircioch may come to Colorado with little fanfare but his skill set is exactly what the Avalanche needs.

Wiercioch is a big defenseman – listed at 6-foot-5, 202 pounds – who can move the puck and contribute on the power play. Chambers also notes that the five-year veteran is a quality stick-handler and passer, which will hopefully help the team’s transition game. According to Chambers, Wiercioch was looking for a fresh start after five mostly disappointing seasons in Ottawa, and is looking forward to again playing in Colorado, where he played his college hockey for the University of Denver.

“Even before the trade deadline we were talking about what our avenues were. We both kind of decided if nothing were to happen, it’s not the end of the world because I have a wife and kid and it’s a tough transition to pick up and move for eight weeks.”

“But going into the summer I think we were both ready for the next chapter — for their organization and my career as well. It ended up being Colorado. When we looked at the options and the offers with more money, this was the franchise I really wanted to come play for. I really wanted to be excited about the opportunity here.”

Colorado agree to a one-year deal with Wiercioch worth $800K after which he will again become a RFA, thus giving the Avalanche additional contractual control. Wiercioch may not be the big name Roy wanted but he’ll have a tremendous opportunity to play a significant role for the Avalanche and could end up being a nice free agent bargain.

Other notes from the NHL’s Central Division:

  • As we noted yesterday, Tomas Fleischmann, who had agreed to a PTO with Minnesota, failed his physical. Mike Russo of the Star Tribune provides a further update saying the Czech-born forward will not be attending camp with the Wild, according to GM Chuck Fletcher. Neither head coach Bruce Boudreau nor Fletcher specified what issue caused the failed physical though Russo speculated it might be a recurrence of blood clots that Fleischmann had been diagnosed with in the past. Fletcher said about the veteran winger: “He’s such a good person, it’s unfortunate. So I hope he catches on somewhere else. It’s just a disappointment. I like him enough that I want to see him succeed somewhere.” Russo inferred from these comments that whatever the issue, it doesn’t seem as if it would necessarily keep Fleischmann from playing elsewhere, if another opportunity presents itself.
  • Ondrej Pavelec and young Connor Hellebuyck are expected to compete for the starters job between the pipes for the Jets this season. Both goalies participated in the World Cup of Hockey – Pavelec for the Czech Republic and Hellebuyck as part of Team North America – and say that experience has helped them as they prepare to battle for the #1 job, writes Mitchell Clinton for the Jets team site on NHL.com. Pavelec, who finished with a disappointing 90.4% save percentage in 33 games – 31 of which were starts – and would appear to be behind Hellebuyck entering camp. The rookie, who was a two-year starter at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, made 26 starts for the Jets and recorded a save percentage of 91.8%. Michael Hutchinson, who has started 68 contests over the last two seasons, is under contract with Winnipeg for two more years and is a solid backup should the Jets choose Hellebuyck as the starter and find a way to move Pavelec’s contract.

 

 

Latest On Jacob Trouba’s RFA Situation

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Quite a bit of digital ink has been spilled this summer over restricted free agent defenseman Jacob Trouba, and his continuing negotiations with the Winnipeg Jets for his next contract. While speculation has been rampant around a possible trade (at one point he was linked to Boston on an offer sheet) or other transaction, the team has continued to try and re-sign him long term.

Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun caught up with Jets’ GM Kevin Cheveldayoff today to talk about Trouba, and he said just as much.

For us, Jacob is a big part of our organization. He’s someone we drafted and really believe in, long-term and moving forward.

Wiebe also says that talks are ongoing, and now that Trouba is back from the World Cup the two sides will try even harder to get something done before the beginning of the season. We profiled Trouba’s RFA case back in August, and examined his contemporaries and comparable players.

It’s tough for Winnipeg to work something out long-term when they’re unsure of what Trouba is eventually going to become. While his advanced stats profile out to a top-pairing defenseman, he can battle consistency at times (like many young players) and is clearly third or fourth on the depth chart. With almost $20MM tied up already in Dustin Byfuglien, Toby Enstrom and Tyler Myers through 2018, extending a long-term deal at a high cap hit will be difficult.

For every day a contract isn’t done, Trouba loses time to work with his teammates and build up towards this season. While he’s already expected to be in good shape due to his stint at the World Cup, every minute of a missed training camp can effect how you perform on the ice in the first few months. If the Jets plan on pushing for a playoff spot this season, they need their entire compliment of defensemen playing at the top of their game from night one.

Injury Notes: Eakin, Shore, Maguire

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After news came down this morning that Matt Murray would miss 3-6 weeks after breaking his hand in the World Cup and Mark Stone had suffered a concussion and is out indefinitely, more injury news hit the wire.

In Dallas, Devin Shore left today’s scrimmage with an injury and will be out “some time”, according to Brandon Worley. Shore was competing for a job at the NHL level after being drafted in the second round in 2012 and making his debut last season after other injuries. More importantly, Lindy Ruff told Worley that Cody Eakin will be out for six weeks with a lower-body injury, meaning the centerman will be out until some time in November.

Eakin has been a solid contributor for the Stars throughout his career, putting up three straight seasons with at least 16 goals and 35 points. Only 25, the former third round pick put up 8 points in the Stars’ 13 playoff games, leading some to believe a breakout was in order for this season.

In Pittsburgh, Bill West of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that the Pens lost a second goaltender today for a lengthy period. It was announced that prospect Sean Maguire will miss 4-6 weeks with a lingering concussion issue from his college days. Maguire was exceptional in his three seasons at Boston University, and made his professional debut this spring with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the AHL.

Pens’ GM Jim Rutherford also told reporters that Bryan Rust and Oskar Sundqvist skated on their own this morning and will be able to start practicing in the coming few days. Each player was dealing with minor injuries and are expected to be fine for the beginning of the season.

World Cup Notes: Forsberg, Datsyuk, Marchand

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When the Washington Capitals traded away Filip Forsberg for Martin Erat in an attempt at the Stanley Cup a few years ago, they gave away one of the games most dynamic young players – one that has developed into a legitimate goal-scoring threat from anywhere on the ice.  They also lost their chance at having Forsberg potentially skate alongside Nicklas Backstrom and Alexander Ovechkin. It would likely have been an unstoppable offensive trio, and Backstrom said as much today when speaking with Dan Rosen of NHL.com:

He reminds me of playing with Alex with his quick release. He loves shooting the puck. He loves to go to the net. He loves creating stuff. In that way he reminds me of Ovi.

Forsberg, who has already scored 60 goals in his brief NHL career, has a long way to go to catch one of the all-time great goal scoring wingers but even without 50-per-season he’ll be an elite player. Swedish defenders like Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Roman Josi and Mattias Ekholm, all excellent players in their own right, agree that Forsberg is one player you can’t give much space. Had he stayed in Washington, playing with Backstrom and Ovechkin would have afforded him that room.

  • Pavel Datsyuk took the ice at team Russia’s morning skate prior to their evening matchup against Canada, but will still be a game-time decision. He didn’t take part in the entire practice, instead doing some skating at center ice by himself. He sat out the Russian’s final round-robin game against Finland with a “lower-body injury”, and hasn’t been the same dynamic force he used to be.
  • Always known for a good soundbite, Drew Doughty told reporters “that’s a bonus, that’s for sure” in regards to missing the first part of Kings camp due to the World Cup. While the players remaining won’t get to practice with their squads for at least a few more days, the work they’ve put in with and against the best players in the world should be more than enough to get them ready for the season.  The only worry is injuries, like the one suffered by Matt Murray which will now keep him out 3-6 weeks.
  • In his latest column, AP’s Stephen Whyno speculates that Brad Marchand may be a top target for the Pittsburgh Penguins if he reaches free agency next summer, due to the growing chemistry between the Boston winger and his Team Canada center Sidney Crosby. The two have scored seven points in three games and look like they are a natural fit together on the ice. Fitting Marchand into their salary structure may prove difficult however, if Marchand can duplicate his outstanding 37-goal campaign from a year ago.

Matt Murray Out 3-6 Weeks With Broken Hand

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According to Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Penguins’ goaltender Matt Murray will be out for three to six weeks after breaking his hand at the World Cup. Murray was pulled in team North America’s loss to Russia on Monday night, and originally thought he had just jammed his thumb.  He even said he was willing to play against Sweden if they needed him to, despite the pain he felt in his hand.

Murray, 22, was expected to head into camp with a real shot at taking over the #1 job in Pittsburgh from Marc-Andre Fleury after a wonderful playoff performance, but will now just hope to make it back by November. In 21 playoff games en route to the Stanley Cup, Murray went 15-6 with a .923 save percentage and 2.08 goals against average. The Penguins regular season starts October 13th, just under three weeks away.

For all the trade rumor that surrounded Fleury this summer, perhaps GM Jim Rutherford was correct in keeping both goaltenders to start the season. He’ll now be able to turn to a veteran netminder who has been elite in the past and can keep the Penguins on track as they try to defend their championship. It will be interesting to see what happens when Murray returns, especially if Fleury is playing well.

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