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Zack Stortini

Tucson Roadrunners Hire Zack Stortini

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Another familiar face to NHL fans will be joining the AHL coaching ranks, as the Tucson Roadrunners have hired Zack Stortini as an assistant. The former NHL tough guy has been with the Sudbury Wolves of the OHL the last two seasons but will join Steve Potvin for the upcoming season.

Arizona Coyotes assistant general manager John Ferguson released the following statement:

Zack’s extensive professional playing experience as a team-first competitor combined with his rise on the coaching side make him the ideal complement to John Slaney in supporting and executing Steve Potvin’s head coaching strategies while developing each player’s individual skills and capabilities.

Stortini, 36, played 257 games in the NHL, all but one of them with the Edmonton Oilers, and racked up 725 penalty minutes as one of the league’s top enforcers. The 6’4″ forward had a whopping 81 fighting majors in his time in the NHL, including consecutive years with at least 23. Those numbers were nothing compared to his minor league totals, which included 33 fights in the 2013-14 season alone.

Perhaps that influence can be seen in the Wolves, who led the OHL in penalty minutes this past season, racking up 91 more than any other team.

Given his close to 1,000 games of professional hockey Stortini should be able to relay some wisdom to the Roadrunners squad, which has become a crucial development stage in the Coyotes rebuild. The experience of winning a Calder Cup in 2007 should also come in handy as he transitions to behind a minor league bench.

Revisiting The January Trade Market

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As front offices around the league call and text trying to find the right fit for their rosters, fans are waiting with bated breath wondering who could be pulling on their favorite sweater in the next few weeks. Will a superstar change hands and take over as the new face of a franchise? Will a veteran finally find his way to the Stanley Cup promised land? The deadline is now less than six weeks away.

We may not have to wait until the very end to answer these questions though, as January has been a busy month for trade action in the past. We’ve already had two moves this year, and several more could be finalized before the calendar turns over. For now, let’s take a look back at the last few years to see what kind of moves are made in the dawn of the new year.

2018:

January 4th: Edmonton acquires Al Montoya from Montreal in exchange for a 2018 conditional fourth-round pick.

January 10th: Chicago acquires Anthony Duclair and Adam Clendening from Arizona for Richard Panik and Laurent Dauphin.

2017:

January 1st: Arizona acquires Mitchell Moroz from Edmonton in exchange for Henrik Samuelsson.

January 11th: Anaheim acquires Jhonas Enroth from Toronto for a 2018 seventh-round pick.

January 13th: Nashville acquires Cody McLeod from Colorado in exchange for Felix Girard.

January 19th: Nashville acquires Andrew O’Brien from Anaheim for Max Gortz.

January 21st: Los Angeles acquires Cameron Schilling from Chicago for Michael Latta.

January 24th: Ottawa acquires Tommy Wingels in exchange for Zack Stortini, Buddy Robinson and a 2017 seventh-round pick.

January 26th: Montreal acquires Nikita Nesterov from Tampa Bay in exchange for Jonathan Racine and a 2017 sixth-round pick.

Obviously 2017 wasn’t filled with the most blockbuster trades in the month of January, but several teams did add small pieces for potential playoff runs. Nesterov didn’t really work out in Montreal, and Wingels couldn’t find his scoring touch in Ottawa.

2016:

January 3rd: Chicago acquires Richard Panik from Toronto in exchange for Jeremy Morin.

January 6th: Los Angeles acquires Vincent Lecavalier and Luke Schenn from Philadelphia in exchange for Jordan Weal and a 2016 third-round pick.

January 6th: Nashville acquires Ryan Johansen from Columbus in exchange for Seth Jones.

January 7th: Montreal acquires Max Friberg from Anaheim in exchange for Dustin Tokarski.

January 8th: Vancouver acquires Emerson Etem from New York in exchange for Nicklas Jensen and a 2017 sixth-round pick.

January 14th: Ottawa acquires Conor Allen from Nashville in exchange for Patrick Mullen.

January 15th: Montreal acquires Victor Bartley and John Scott from Arizona in exchange for Jarred Tinordi and Stefan Fournier.

January 15th: Arizona acquires Victor Bartley from Nashville in exchange for Stefan Elliott.

January 16th: Anaheim acquires David Perron and Adam Clendening from Pittsburgh in exchange for Carl Hagelin.

January 21st: Anaheim acquires Ryan Garbutt from Chicago in exchange for Jiri Sekac.

2016 was a much more active January, with big names like Lecavalier, Johansen and Jones all dealt. While the Nashville-Columbus trade might have had the biggest impact long-term, Pittsburgh’s acquisition of Hagelin was a big part of their Stanley Cup run, as he scored 27 points down the stretch and added another 16 in the playoffs.

There is certainly value to be had in January trades, and it’s clear that teams like Nashville and Anaheim aren’t scared of making an early move. While those two might not be the most watched teams on the trade market this year, don’t rule them out of making tweaks once again.

5 Key Stories: 1/23/17 – 1/29/17

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Congratulations to the members of the Metro Division All-Star team, who capped off an entertaining three-on-three tournament by defeating the Pacific Division 4 – 3. It’s time for PHR’s weekly roundup of the five key stories from the week of 1/23/17 through 1/29/17.

Colorado center Matt Duchene, the subject of trade rumors for much of the season, expressed a willingness to being dealt to another club in comments made to The Denver Post this week. The talented pivot has two years remaining on a contract that comes with an AAV of $6MM and is sure to attract plenty of trade interest. The team is reportedly hoping to land at least a young, top-four defenseman and a high draft pick in return.

The Ottawa Senators added some bottom-six depth by acquiring veteran winger Tommy Wingels from the San Jose Sharks for minor leaguers Zack Stortini and Buddy Robinson along with a seventh-round draft pick. Still just 28, Wingels could prove to be a solid pickup for the Senators. During the 2012-13 and 2013-14 campaigns, the seven-year veteran combined for 31 goals and that’s the kind of production the Senators are hoping for. From the Sharks perspective, the trade cleared needed cap space with Tomas Hertl poised to come off of IR.

Looking for additional defensive depth, the Montreal Canadiens picked up Nikita Nesterov from Tampa Bay in exchange for minor league prospect Jonathan Racine and a sixth-round draft choice. Nesterov has tallied 12 points in 35 games this season and could provide solid value for the Habs as a long-term fit on their blue line. He carries a cap hit of $725K and will be a RFA this summer.

As he draws nearer unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2018, New York Islanders franchise center John Tavares indicated he is open to inking a long-term extension to remain on Long Island despite the team’s struggles this season. It’s not a surprising position for the #1 overall selection in the 2009 draft to take. There’s no point in limiting any option this far from free agency and a lot can change between now and July 1, 2018. Any way you look at it, Tavares is going to land a lucrative long-term deal, whether it’s with the Islanders or another franchise.

Semyon Varlamov, Colorado’s starting goaltender, will miss the rest of the season following surgery to repair a groin injury. Like many of his teammates, the 2016-17 campaign has not been a good one for the Russian netminder and now his season is going to be cut short. Varlamov will have two years remaining on a deal that comes with a $5.9MM cap hit and it will be interesting to see what the Avalanche, already rumored to be considering significant roster changes, do with their goaltending situation.

 

 

Senators Acquire Tommy Wingels From Sharks

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The Ottawa Senators announced that they have acquired center/right winger Tommy Wingels from San Jose in exchange for minor league wingers Zack Stortini, Buddy Robinson, and a 2017 7th round pick.

"JanWingels has struggled so far this season with the Sharks, spending most of the season mired on the fourth line or as a healthy scratch.  In 37 games this year, he has five goals and three assists while recording 61 hits (he has had at least 200 in each of the last three seasons).  He is averaging just 10:03 of ice time per game, his lowest in any full NHL season.

The 28 year old had spent his entire career with San Jose after being selected by the Sharks in the sixth round (177th overall) in 2008.  In 337 games, he has 122 points (51-71-122), 197 penalty minutes, and 968 hits.  Wingels is in the final year of his contract and is slated to become an unrestricted free agent in July.  The Sharks will retain 30% of his $2.475MM cap hit and $2.6MM salary as part of the deal.

Robinson, a 25 year old left winger, has spent the majority of the season with Ottawa’s AHL affiliate in Binghamton.  In 33 games with the Baby Sens, he has seven goals, five assists, and 18 penalty minutes.  He has also got into four games with Ottawa this year, being held off the scoresheet while averaging just under seven minutes of ice time per game.  He carries a cap hit of $750K in the NHL with a minor league salary of $75K and is heading for Group VI unrestricted free agency this summer as he will have less than 80 career NHL games played at the end of the season and has the required number of professional seasons to qualify.

Stortini is a veteran of 257 NHL games with Edmonton and Nashville but last saw NHL action back in 2011-12.  The 31 year old enforcer has 41 points (14-27-41) in that span while recording 725 penalty minutes.  Since then, he has bounced around with several minor league teams and was in his second season with Binghamton.  In 22 AHL games this season, he has two goals and an assist to go along with 20 penalty minutes.  He has a $600K cap hit at the NHL level and is earning $200K in the minors.  Both he and Robinson have been sent to the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda.

While Wingels isn’t exactly a top six forward at this stretch of his career, he’ll add some grit and some depth to Ottawa’s bottom six while providing some insurance in case of injury at a very small acquisition cost.  He’s only a couple of years removed from pair of 35+ point seasons so perhaps a change in scenery will give him a boost for the stretch run which would go a long way towards restoring some of his value heading into free agency.

As for the Sharks, this clears up a roster spot and a little over $730K in cap space per CapFriendly (Twitter link) which should come in handy with winger Tomas Hertl nearing a return to the lineup from his knee injury.  CSN Bay Area’s Kevin Kurz reports (Twitter link) that there’s a very good chance that Hertl will be ready to return to the lineup on Thursday against Edmonton.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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