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Poll: What Does Your Team Need For Christmas?

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The holiday season is a time to give gifts to show how much you appreciate others, but hungry front offices around the NHL have already begun to think about what they want to receive instead. What exactly does your team need the most this year? We’ve asked this same question for the last two years, and gotten very different answers.

2016 was the year of the top-four defenseman, with Kevin Shattenkirk dominating headlines as one of the top targets. Shattenkirk was eventually dealt to the Washington Capitals in a deal that certainly didn’t turn out as well as they hoped. The Capitals would be knocked out of the playoffs once again, and the offensive defenseman would hit unrestricted free agency only to sign with a division rival.

In 2017 readers were more focused on a scoring winger, with Evander Kane the big prize that everyone was discussing. Kane would eventually find his way to the San Jose Sharks, who liked him so much that they handed him a seven-year $49MM extension just a few months later. That extension cost them a conditional draft pick as well, but Kane seemed to fit in beautifully with the Sharks down the stretch. Though he’s still been fine for the team, a pace of 23 goals and 49 points isn’t exactly what the Sharks were hoping for out of their $7MM man.

This season’s trade deadline is shaping up to have even more talent available than previous years, and teams could very well acquire a game-changing player at any position. So if your team had a chance to pick up a piece in early January for a run at the playoffs, or to solidify their status as a Cup contender, what would it be? Cast your vote below and be sure to leave a comment explaining your decision.

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Poll: Who Will Be The Biggest Seller?

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The NHL holiday transaction freeze starts in just a few days, and already we’ve heard rumblings from several teams around the league that are in dire need of shake up. The St. Louis Blues seem to be on the minds of nearly every broadcaster in North America, with markets wondering how Alex Pietrangelo, Vladimir Tarasenko or Colton Parayko would look in some new colors.

While none of those three may eventually get moved, the Blues are one of the teams worth monitoring as we move through the holiday season and approach the 2019 trade deadline. Very little has gone right this season for St. Louis, and even after their recent two-game winning streak the team still sits in sixth place in the Central Division. The only team behind them, the Chicago Blackhawks, are another team looking to change their fortunes at some point. On a 1-8-1 streak, the Blackhawks now sit last in the entire NHL with a -32 goal differential and are right in the thick of the draft lottery race for star prospect Jack Hughes. Chicago doesn’t have a lot of assets that aren’t locked into seemingly unmovable contracts, but could try to really change their culture by moving out one of their core Cup-winning faces.

The Los Angeles Kings, another team soaring towards the first-overall pick, have been in the news lately because of Jeff Carter. Their second-line center doesn’t hold any trade protection in his contract, but has another type of armor to help decide where he could be traded to. Carter could potentially use retirement as a weapon against both the acquiring team and the Kings, given that it would cause a cap recapture penalty against Los Angeles. There’s little chance that the team wouldn’t work with him to find a soft landing spot, but even then there may be several complications in a trade.

That takes us to the Eastern Conference, where the Ottawa Senators are starting to slide closer to where many believed they would finish the season. After a stronger than expected start, the Senators now carry a -20 goal differential and sit just two points ahead of the Florida Panthers for last place in the Atlantic Division, despite having played three additional games. Ottawa is perhaps the most interesting team to watch in the entire league as the deadline approaches, given the pending unrestricted free agent status of both Matt Duchene and Mark Stone. The Senators, who owe their top pick to the Colorado Avalanche this June, would love to get back into the first round somehow to help their rebuild continue.

Then there is Philadelphia, who is considering a coaching change after bringing in a new GM and could make several moves to alter the direction of the organization. Chuck Fletcher has been rumored interested in making trades before the freeze kicks in on Wednesday, but with just a few days left that could have to wait. The Flyers too have an unrestricted free agent in Wayne Simmonds, and a potential glut of young offensive-minded defensemen who could help many teams around the league.

So who will put up the “For Sale” sign first and start uprooting their foundation? Who will be first on the phone when the trade freeze lifts? Where will playoff-hungry executives show up to try and make a deal?

Cast your vote below for who you think will be the biggest seller of the season, and leave a comment to explain your choice.

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Submit Your Questions For The #PHRMailbag

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We’re now more than two months into the NHL season and finally starting to see some separation in the standings. All four divisions have a gap of at least 11 points between first and last place, with the Metropolitan continuing to be the tightest race. As the holiday transaction freeze approaches, teams are starting to call around to garner interest on potential trade bait or look for ways to plug their roster holes.

With that in mind, it’s time again to run a mailbag and answer any questions you may have. Our own Brian La Rose will be on hand to give his insight, and break down all your queries and concerns. Submit a question on Twitter by including #PHRMailbag, or leave a comment down below. The mailbag will run this weekend, so check back in a few days.

When Brian released our last mailbag in November, he touched on several topics including the William Nylander saga, the Vancouver Canucks hot start and Joel Quenneville’s most likely landing spots. You can read that issue right here, including the part where he noted that Mike Yeo and Todd McLellan were close to losing their jobs.

PHR Originals: 11/19/18 – 11/25/18

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Here’s a rundown of the original content here at PHR over the past seven days.

The William Nylander saga is likely coming to an end sometime between now and Saturday as if he’s unsigned by then, he’ll sit for the remainder of the season.  How will this eventually end?  Will he be dealt, re-sign, or go past the deadline without a contract?  Voting is very close so far but there’s still time to make your prediction.

With American Thanksgiving coming and going, our Thankful For series has returned.  I took a look at the Ducks and Bruins, Gavin assessed the Coyotes, and Holger reviewed the Sabres who have been one of the bigger surprises through the opening quarter of the season.

Bruins winger David Pastrnak set a career high in goals last season with 35.  Boston fans were hoping that the logical next step would be for him to push to reach the 40-goal mark but to say he has gone a step further than that would be an understatement.  He’s already at 17 through just 23 games and if that pace is maintained, he’d wind up with 61 tallies.  Only one player has reached that plateau in the past decade; can he be the second?  Make your pick here.

Gavin held his weekly Thursday live chat.  Topics this week included his prediction on what happens with Nylander, potential trade targets in Anaheim, Edmonton’s decision to hire Ken Hitchcock, Western Conference predictions, Boston’s secondary scoring concerns, and more.

We’re nearing the end of our 2006 redraft series as we’re up to the 29th pick, held by the then-Phoenix Coyotes.  While the top players have already been scooped up, there are still several capable forwards on the board to choose from.

What Your Team Is Thankful For: Arizona Coyotes

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As the holiday season approaches, PHR will take a look at what teams are thankful for as the season heads past the one-quarter mark. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. Let’s take a look at what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Arizona Coyotes.

What are the Coyotes most thankful for?

The weak start by almost the entire Pacific Division.

Despite sitting at 9-9-2 through their first 20 games and currently holding down seventh spot in the division, the Coyotes are by no means out of the playoff race at this point. In fact, they sit only seven points behind the division-leading Calgary Flames with two fewer games played, and are one of only three teams without a negative goal differential. The Coyotes haven’t played anywhere near their best through the first two months of the season, but still sit in prime position to battle for the postseason because of the middling efforts from former playoff teams like Anaheim, Vegas and Los Angeles.

Who are the Coyotes most thankful for?

Darcy Kuemper.

Anyone that did project the Coyotes to be competitive this season did it with one huge caveat: Antti Raanta must stay healthy. That hasn’t happened through the first quarter of the season, and Kuemper has been forced to start 11 of the team’s 20 games. He’s 4-5-2 in those games, but his .914 save percentage has been more than good enough to keep the Coyotes’ head above water as they await the return of their star goaltender. Raanta was activated off injured reserve today, and if he can return to form immediately the Coyotes actually may have one of the best tandems in the entire league.

While Raanta has the ability to contend for the Vezina Trophy, there’s no doubt that Kuemper will be needed again at some point this season. The 28-year old has now done nothing but provide solid backup play at three Western Conference stops, recording save percentages of .910, .932 and .907 in Minnesota, Los Angeles and Arizona respectively.

What would the Coyotes be even more thankful for?

A little bit of shot luck, and a healthy defense.

It’s a good thing the Coyotes have received solid goaltending from Raanta and Kuemper, because they aren’t scoring enough to win games 6-5. The team has just 50 goals on the season through 20 games, and is shooting a near league-worst 7.9%—only Carolina and Los Angeles are below them. Young forwards like Dylan Strome, Brendan Perlini, Christian Fischer and Lawson Crouse are all shooting under 10% on the season, while the entire defense corps has only combined for five goals.

That defense is where the real issue has been lately, as for a while the team was without Jason Demers, Alex Goligoski and Jakob Chychrun, three of their top four options. While Demers is out for the rest of the season, the other two are back in action and should help the team moving forward. Perhaps they can even chip in a goal or two while the forward group figures out how to put the puck in the net.

What should be on the Coyotes’ Holiday Wish List?

Secondary scoring.

There are lots of teams looking to balance out their forward group with an acquisition or two this season, but luckily there are plenty of options expected to be on the market come the start of 2019. Even with the New York Rangers doing better than expected there will likely be one or two veteran names on the move out of Madison Square Garden, while the Ottawa Senators and Los Angeles Kings could be in fire sale mode by February. It’s not very likely that the Coyotes go after any of the big expensive names, but adding a few wingers who can lengthen out their forward group could do them a world of good down the stretch.

PHR Originals: 11/5/18 – 11/11/18

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Here’s a rundown of the original content here at PHR over the last seven days.

It has now been a full year since the Senators surprisingly acquired center Matt Duchene in a three-way swap that has worked out well for the other two teams involved (Colorado and Nashville) but not Ottawa.  Zach examined what needs to happen for the Sens to get the best they can out of this trade and why a decision on whichever route they choose to go happens as soon as possible.

Gavin held his weekly Thursday live chat.  Topics discussed included Evgeni Malkin’s hit on T.J. Oshie (that did not draw supplemental discipline), Randy Carlyle’s future in Anaheim, Max Domi’s surprising start in Montreal, Buffalo’s Rasmus Ristolainen, Arizona’s start to the season, and more.

We’re getting closer to the conclusion of our 2006 redraft series.  The Stars are up with the 27th selection and will undoubtedly wind up with a more productive player than their original selection who played just a handful of games.  Who should they take?  Cast your vote here.

I took questions about Joel Quenneville’s future, potential trade targets for the Bruins, the ongoing William Nylander contract squabble, plus whether Vancouver’s strong start is a sign of things to come in our latest mailbag.

It’s Hall of Fame weekend and with that in mind, Zach took a look at center Eric Staal’s case.  The veteran tallied his 400th career goal recently and will probably reach the 1,000 point mark sometime next season.  Those numbers would put him ahead of quite a few notable players that have already been enshrined and he is young enough that he’ll add to them in the years to come.  Is that enough to make him worthy of the honor?  Weigh in with your opinion here.

Submit Your Questions For The #PHRMailbag

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It’s been an explosive week in the NHL, with two prominent coach firings and another firestorm brewing in Ottawa. Changes are coming for everyone, even those finding success early on. A restricted free agent remains unsigned now well into November, and the race for the Calder and Hart trophies are well under way. We’ve seen recent contracts given out to undrafted forwards and franchise icon goaltenders.

With that, we’re going to run another mailbag here at PHR. Our very own Brian La Rose will be back this weekend to answer all of your questions, and give you his take on the recent changes around the league. Can the Edmonton Oilers turn a hot start into a playoff run? Will the Los Angeles Kings bounce back under Willie Desjardins? What’s next for the Ottawa Senators’ franchise?

If you’ve missed the chance to ask a question during our weekly Live Chat on Thursday evenings, here’s your chance. Submit using #PHRMailbag on Twitter, or by commenting down below. We’ll run the mailbag this weekend and try to get to each and every question.

Make sure to check out our most recent edition, in which Brian touches on the Florida Panthers, Philadelphia Flyers and Dallas Stars situations while also giving some insight into any potential coaching change in St. Louis. With Joel Quenneville on the market now, his thoughts could be even more applicable.

2006 NHL Draft Take Two: Twenty-Third Overall Pick

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Hindsight is an amazing thing, and allows us to look back and wonder “what could have been.” Though perfection is attempted, scouting and draft selection is far from an exact science and sometimes, it doesn’t work out the way teams – or players – intended. For every Patrick Kane, there is a Patrik Stefan.

Our look back at the 2006 NHL Entry Draft is now in full swing as we poll the PHR community to see who would have been selected in the first round and in what order knowing what we know now. Through the first 21 picks, we’ve already seen potential Hall of Fame players switch teams, and multiple captains move up and down the draft board.

Here are the results of the redraft so far:

1st Overall: Jonathan Toews (St. Louis Blues)
2nd Overall: Claude Giroux (Pittsburgh Penguins)
3rd Overall: Nicklas Backstrom (Chicago Blackhawks)
4th Overall: Brad Marchand (Washington Capitals)
5th Overall: Phil Kessel (Boston Bruins)
6th Overall: Jordan Staal (Columbus Blue Jackets)
7th Overall: Milan Lucic (New York Islanders)
8th Overall: Kyle Okposo (Phoenix Coyotes)
9th Overall: Erik Johnson (Minnesota Wild)
10th Overall: Derick Brassard (Florida Panthers)
11th Overall: Bryan Little (Los Angeles Kings)
12th Overall: Nick Foligno (Atlanta Thrashers)
13th Overall: Semyon Varlamov (Toronto Maple Leafs)
14th Overall: Artem Anisimov (Vancouver Canucks)
15th Overall: Michael Grabner (Tampa Bay Lightning)
16th Overall: Patrik Berglund (San Jose Sharks)
17th Overall: Jeff Petry (Los Angeles Kings)
18th Overall: Jonathan Bernier (Colorado Avalanche)
19th Overall: Mathieu Perreault (Anaheim Ducks)
20th Overall: Michael Frolik (Montreal Canadiens)
21st Overall: Cal Clutterbuck (New York Rangers)
22nd Overall: James Reimer (Philadelphia Flyers)

Considering Philadelphia’s long-term struggles between the pipes, it’s only fitting that they wind up with Reimer, a goaltender, with this selection.  While he wouldn’t have come close to providing the value that Giroux (their original selection) did, he would have at least given them another NHL-caliber option between the pipes at a time where the Flyers had churned through a lot of different netminders.

Reimer gets quite a boost from his original selection as the Maple Leafs selected him with the 99th pick.  As is often the case with goaltenders, it took a while for him to make his mark as he didn’t make his NHL debut until 2010-11 after spending time at both the AHL and ECHL levels.

The 30-year-old has been remarkably consistent when it comes to his playing time.  In each of his eight NHL seasons (not including 2018-19), he has played between 32 and 44 games.  In other words, he has basically been a platoon player for most of his career but Reimer has still posted decent numbers, including a .914 SV%.  For comparison purposes, Philadelphia has only had a team save percentage above that mark in one of those years.

We now move on to the twenty-third pick which was held by the Washington Capitals.  The Caps used that pick on Semyon Varlamov, who they viewed as their goalie of the future (and our readers viewed as the top goalie of this draft class as he went thirteenth to Toronto).  It didn’t take too long for him to make an impact as he became a starter in the RSL (now the KHL) in his post-draft year and he was in North America for the 2008-09 season where he got into six games with the big club.  One year later, he was their full-time backup.

However, with Michal Neuvirth already in the fold and Braden Holtby close to being NHL-ready, Washington decided to deal him to Colorado for a 2011 first-round pick (used on Filip Forsberg) and a 2012 second-round pick (that they later dealt away).

In his time with the Avalanche, Varlamov has been their number one netminder (when he has been healthy, something that hasn’t always been the case).  In parts of eight years with the team, he has posted a quality .917 save percentage.  He led the league in wins in 2013-14 and is off to a fine start this season, leading the league with a .953 save percentage through his first seven starts.  Interestingly enough, his future in Colorado past this season is uncertain after history repeated itself in the summer with the Avs acquiring Phillip Grubauer from Washington with the idea that he will be their goalie of the future.

Although Washington’s original choice is no longer available, there are still some quality players to choose from.  Who should they take with the twenty-third selection?  Have your say by voting in the poll below.

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Submit Your Questions For The #PHRMailbag

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We’re now a few weeks into the NHL season, and the most asked question from the last mailbag is still unanswered: when will William Nylander sign? Contract negotiations between the Toronto Maple Leafs and their young forward continue, and Nick Kypreos of Sportsnet is the latest to report that things may be heading towards a six-year deal. That’s exactly what our own Brian La Rose had to say when asked to assess the situation earlier this month:

Ultimately, if I had to handicap what’s going to happen, I’d guess that the focus becomes a six-year deal, one that buys out just one year of UFA eligibility which will ultimately lower Nylander’s demand on the AAV with fewer UFA years than a max-term contract.  Toronto will up their offer to closer to $7MM and they’ll settle there with Nylander’s camp knowing that he will be in the prime of his career when he hits the open market where an even bigger contract will await him.

That’s not all Brian had to say about the young forward, as we ran a special Nylander-centric edition of the #PHRMailbag in addition to our regular feature. Now is time for another one, hopefully with some more varied questions. Submit a question on Twitter using the #PHRMailbag hashtag or by commenting down below. We’ll do our best to answer each and every one, and it will appear this weekend.

If you’re sick of hearing about the Maple Leafs core, check out the other half of the most recent edition where Brian dives into the rash of injuries around the league and the effect of sending Filip Zadina to the AHL.

2006 NHL Draft Take Two: Twenty-Second Overall Pick

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Hindsight is an amazing thing, and allows us to look back and wonder “what could have been.” Though perfection is attempted, scouting and draft selection is far from an exact science and sometimes, it doesn’t work out the way teams – or players – intended. For every Patrick Kane, there is a Patrik Stefan.

Our look back at the 2006 NHL Entry Draft is now in full swing as we poll the PHR community to see who would have been selected in the first round and in what order knowing what we know now. Through the first 21 picks, we’ve already seen potential Hall of Fame players switch teams, and multiple captains move up and down the draft board.

Here are the results of the redraft so far:

1st Overall: Jonathan Toews (St. Louis Blues)
2nd Overall: Claude Giroux (Pittsburgh Penguins)
3rd Overall: Nicklas Backstrom (Chicago Blackhawks)
4th Overall: Brad Marchand (Washington Capitals)
5th Overall: Phil Kessel (Boston Bruins)
6th Overall: Jordan Staal (Columbus Blue Jackets)
7th Overall: Milan Lucic (New York Islanders)
8th Overall: Kyle Okposo (Phoenix Coyotes)
9th Overall: Erik Johnson (Minnesota Wild)
10th Overall: Derick Brassard (Florida Panthers)
11th Overall: Bryan Little (Los Angeles Kings)
12th Overall: Nick Foligno (Atlanta Thrashers)
13th Overall: Semyon Varlamov (Toronto Maple Leafs)
14th Overall: Artem Anisimov (Vancouver Canucks)
15th Overall: Michael Grabner (Tampa Bay Lightning)
16th Overall: Patrik Berglund (San Jose Sharks)
17th Overall: Jeff Petry (Los Angeles Kings)
18th Overall: Jonathan Bernier (Colorado Avalanche)
19th Overall: Mathieu Perreault (Anaheim Ducks)
20th Overall: Michael Frolik (Montreal Canadiens)
21st Overall: Cal Clutterbuck (New York Rangers)

While the Rangers were looking for a defenseman to pair with Marc Staal for the next decade, perhaps they should have been looking at a breakout winger in the OHL instead. During the 2005-06 season the Oshawa Generals gave feisty Cal Clutterbuck a chance to play a bigger role and he immediately paid dividends with 35 goals and 68 points in 66 games. The Generals were one of the worst teams in the league, but had a future superstar in 15-year old John Tavares who was already dominating the league.

Clutterbuck, a slightly older and much more physically mature winger, was given the job to skate alongside the Generals’ prized youngster and keep the other team from inflicting too much damage. He’d put up 139 penalty minutes that season but still came third in team scoring thanks to his talented centerman.

In the draft though, Clutterbuck wasn’t seen as a player who could drive a line himself and slipped all the way to the third round. The Minnesota Wild snatched him up with the 72nd pick, but by then all 30 teams had passed on him at least once. It was clear that people considered him a long shot even to make the league, let alone become the consistent bottom-six presence he is today. Clutterbuck made his NHL debut in the 2007-08 season, and then became a full-time player the next season. He’s never looked back, playing in 721 career games and scoring 207 points including a career-high 34 in 2010-11.

The Wild eventually traded Clutterbuck for Nino Niederreiter, squeezing even more value out of their third-round pick. It would turn out to be an incredible selection for them, and one the Rangers could have made late in the first round.

Now we’ll move on to the twenty-second overall pick of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, which was originally held by the Philadelphia Flyers.

There’s not much to say about the Flyers pick, other than it was arguably one of the best of the entire draft. Despite picking in the back third of the first round, Philadelphia picked their future captain and MVP candidate Claude Giroux, at the time an undersized forward out of the QMJHL.

Giroux had just scored more than 100 points as a CHL rookie for the Gatineau Olympiques, but was measured at just 169-lbs and ranked outside of the first round entirely by the NHL Central Scouting. In fact, Giroux was 38th among North American skaters in the final list and wouldn’t have been a surprise to see available in the second round.

The Flyers would have none of that though, and snatched up the extremely talented forward wit their first pick. He currently has 688 points through 747 career games, and was picked second overall in our redraft.

Philadelphia is maybe the biggest loser in this experiment, as they needed no hindsight to know Giroux was the right pick. If he wasn’t available though, they’d have to make a decision on one of the others. With the twenty-second pick of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, who should the Philadelphia Flyers select?

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