Snapshots: Seattle, Ward, Michalek
While many expect that Seattle will eventually be awarded an expansion franchise, an important date in the process has now been set. Tod Leiweke, the president and CEO of the potential team, told 950 KJR (audio link) that his group will be meeting with the executive committee of the Board of Governors in early October (likely the 2nd) and assuming all goes well, they will then be granted an audience to the full membership after that. The prospective franchise has already been told what their fee to enter the league would be ($650MM) while their season ticket drive received over 25,000 deposits in less than a half an hour when the process opened up back in March. With that in mind, it’s hard to imagine that they won’t eventually be awarded a team unless something goes seriously awry in this meeting.
Other notes from around the hockey world:
- Winger Joel Ward finds himself without a contract but despite the fact he’s unsigned just a couple of weeks before training camp, he hasn’t given any thought to going overseas, reports John Matisz of The Score. The 37-year-old is only a couple of years removed from a 43-point last season but he struggled in 2017-18, notching just a dozen points in 52 games while spending time as a healthy scratch. If he wants to be at training camp, he will likely have to settle for a PTO at this point.
- Veteran defenseman Zbynek Michalek has not yet decided if he will play this upcoming season or retire, notes Arizona Sports’ Craig Morgan. The 35-year-old has been taking part in informal skates in Arizona but if he does decide to play in 2018-19, it wouldn’t be with the Coyotes. He spent last season with Sparta Praha of the Czech Extraliga and could look to return there. If Michalek does retire, he’ll finish up with 784 career NHL games under his belt, including 612 with the Coyotes.
Snapshots: Olympics, Coyotes, Carrick, Ferland
While there has been talk that some teams would be willing to let their players participate in the 2018 Olympics even if the NHL doesn’t shut down their schedule, the league plans to sit down and put together a league-wide policy regarding participation, Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly told Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun.
This comes on the heels of Senators owner Eugene Melnyk announcing that he wouldn’t allow Erik Karlsson to go if the NHL doesn’t stop their season late last week. On the flip side, Capitals owner Ted Leonsis has consistently said he wouldn’t stand in the way if his top players wanted to go. However, it appears the decision ultimately won’t be left to the individual teams. There remains no timetable for an official announcement on whether or not NHL players will be able to participate.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- The Coyotes announced the recalls of defenseman Zbynek Michalek and center Laurent Dauphin from Springfield of the AHL. Michalek cleared waivers at the beginning of the season and has been there ever since, playing in 43 games with the Roadrunners. As for Dauphin, he has been back and forth several times this year; he has two goals and an assist in 24 NHL games while adding 14 goals and eight helpers in 31 AHL contests. Sarah McLellan of the Arizona Republic notes (Twitter link) that Michalek’s recall is a regular one while Dauphin’s is on an emergency basis. That means that Arizona is down to one regular recall between now and the end of the season.
- The Maple Leafs are hoping to have defenseman Connor Carrick back in their lineup tomorrow against Boston, reports Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun. Carrick has been out for nearly a month with an upper body injury and will meet with team doctors tomorrow to get the final determination on whether or not he is ready to return to the lineup. The 22 year old is in his first full NHL season, collecting seven points in 55 games while averaging 16:31 per game in ice time in primarily a third pairing role.
- The recent mumps outbreak across the league may not be over just yet as the Flames announced on their team Twitter page that winger Micheal Ferland is being held out of tonight’s game against Los Angeles and is under observation for the mumps. Earlier this year, several players from the Canucks and Wild missed time with the disease. Ferland sits fifth in goals on Calgary with 14 in 67 games this season.
West Notes: Shattenkirk, Enroth, Avalanche, Michalek
While it has been speculated that St. Louis defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk would only be open to playing with an American team, Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos reports (video link) that a pair of Canadian squads are on a list of 12 that he would be interested in playing for beyond this season. Those two teams are the Canadiens and Maple Leafs.
Although the Blues are playing themselves back into the postseason hunt, many expect them to deal the pending UFA to ensure they get something in return instead of losing him for nothing in free agency. While he doesn’t have any no-trade protection and could be dealt anywhere (including the Oilers who had permission to speak to him last summer but couldn’t reach an agreement on an extension), it’s more likely that St. Louis will look to move him to a team that is on that list of 12, hoping the acquiring team may pay a bit more with the thought they’d have a shot at signing him long-term.
Other notes from the West:
- With the performance of goalie Jhonas Enroth with AHL San Diego, Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register wonders if his play could make Anaheim netminder Jonathan Bernier expendable. Enroth has a stellar 1.20 GAA and a .954 SV% since being acquired from Toronto and carries a cap hit of just $750K. Meanwhile, Bernier carries a $4.15MM cap hit (though they’re only responsible for $2.15MM as the Leafs paid his $2MM signing bonus back in July) and the Ducks find themselves using LTIR for Simon Despres to remain in cap compliance. If Anaheim needs to free up some cap space to make a move, moving Bernier and calling up Enroth is certainly an option for them.
- A large reason for Colorado’s current struggles is due to their continued struggles to draft quality defensemen, notes Terry Frei of the Denver Post. Over the past decade, the Avs have drafted several blueliners in the top two rounds but have really only hit on one. (That player happens to be Shattenkirk, who they dealt to the Blues back in 2011.) Now, they’re faced with the prospect of having to deal a top forward such as Matt Duchene or Gabriel Landeskog to fill an organizational void that hasn’t really been addressed under multiple management groups.
- Coyotes defenseman Zbynek Michalek has yet to decide if this is his final season, writes Sarah McLellan of the Arizona Republic. The 34 year old is in the final year of a two year contract that carries a cap hit and salary of $3.2MM. However, he was waived early in the year and cleared, in part due to his expensive contract. He’s suited up in 28 games at the minor league level this season and acknowledged he may be in tough to get a guaranteed NHL deal next year. There isn’t a great chance he’ll get moved at the deadline either unless the team is willing to retain a big chunk of his deal (they can hold back up to 50%) or take a similarly bad deal back in return.
Coyotes Send Zbynek Michalek To AHL
After clearing waivers just before the season started, the Arizona Coyotes have now sent Zbynek Michalek to their AHL affiliate Tucson Roadrunners, according to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet.
Michalek, a former stalwart of the Coyotes’ blueline has seen his play deteriorate greatly in recent seasons, perhaps due to the multiple concussion or concussion-like injuries he’s suffered on the ice. While the 33-year old isn’t the shutdown defender he once was, this move is clearly one to save cap space for a team who suddenly finds themselves right up against it.
John Chayka, the league’s youngest GM, has openly spoken about how valuable cap space is as an asset in the new NHL, and has used it often to acquire talent. Pavel Datsyuk, Dave Bolland, and Chris Pronger are all examples of the team using their space (but not neccessarily actual money) to gain prospects or draft picks to fuel their rebuild.
With Michalek earning $3.2MM this season, it will save the Coyotes close to a million dollars in cap space to bury him in the minors for the entire year. While the player might not like it, these are the realities of a cap-driven league.
Roster Crunch: Arizona’s Defense Corps
With training camps well underway, there are plenty of interesting battles for roster spots throughout the league. One of the more intriguing ones is happening in Arizona as the Coyotes now find themselves with a plethora of defensemen battling for a spot on their back end. Here’s a closer look at their blueline battle.
Locks
Oliver Ekman-Larsson – He is undoubtedly their number one defenseman and will be used in all situations. He’s also on a cap friendly deal for a top rearguard coming in with an AAV of just $5.5MM for the next three years.
Alex Goligoski – New GM John Chayka wasted little time with the former Dallas Star. He acquired his negotiating rights and quickly inked him to a five year, $27.375MM contract to be another anchor for their back end.
Connor Murphy – The former first rounder has seen his ice time increase each season and he surpassed the 20 minute average last year. He also signed a long-term deal this offseason, getting an average of $3.85MM over the next six years.
Zbynek Michalek – After rejoining the Coyotes last offseason, Michalek spent most of the year in a third pairing role, one he’s likely to reprise this season. While he could potentially be deemed expendable, he carries a cap hit of $3.2MM which may be difficult to unload in the current market and it’s unlikely that they would bury his contract in the minors given their status as a low-budget team.
Luke Schenn – Chayka brought the 26 year old in on a two year deal this offseason with a decent value at $1.25MM per year. While he projects as a third pairing player, it’s unlikely he’s going to get pushed off the roster so quickly after signing with the team.
Michael Stone – Stone had a career year last season and spent a lot of time on Arizona’s top pairing. While he may not have as big of a role this year, he’s a sure fire bet to start in their top four.
That’s six blueliners that are pretty much locks to start the season with the Coyotes, leaving them one or two (at most) spots to fill from a group of six other defensemen who could conceivably make a run at one of those positions.