Metropolitan Notes: Namestnikov, Brown, Werenski, Siegenthaler, Malkin
While a buyout of one of the New York Rangers defensemen seems like a popular option to fix the fact that the team is currently projected to be over the salary cap after New York paid out $19.65MM AAV for both Artemi Panarin and Jacob Trouba, there are still other options that might make even more sense.
With plenty of rumors that New York could choose to buyout Kevin Shattenkirk, Brendan Smith or Marc Staal when their buyout window opens on Monday, The Athletic’s Rick Carpiniello (subscription required) writes that the team might be better off saving their future cap room from carrying extra dead weight. One way to do that is move forward Vladislav Namestnikov, who carries a $4MM cap hit this year before becoming a unrestricted free agent. While teams might have shown little interest in the 26-year-old who scored just 11 goals last season, one better option would be to retain some of his salary, which could easily make him a more attractive trade option and wouldn’t cost the team future cap costs. Namestnikov is only one year removed from a 22-goal, 48-point season.
- Sticking with the Rangers, the team announced the passing of former great Arnie Brown Saturday. The defenseman died at the age of 77, but played a total of 12 seasons for five different teams, but made his mark with New York after playing seven seasons (from 1964-1971) for the franchise and is listed among the top 100 players in Rangers history. Brown played 681 games over the course of his career, posting 44 goals and 185 points. Everyone at PHR wishes the best for the family and friends of Brown at this time.
- The Columbus Dispatch’s Michael Arace writes that little progress has been made between the Columbus Blue Jackets and restricted free agent Zach Werenski. While the team hopes that it can lock up the 22-year-old to a long-term deal, there is always the possibility that Werenski could be a training camp holdout if the two sides can’t find an equitable arrangement. Blue Jackets fans have already seen that as several players, including Josh Anderson and Ryan Johansen have done that in past seasons. Werenski has proven to be a top pairing defenseman, having tallied 38 goals and 128 points over the course of three seasons. With key losses this offseason of Panarin, Sergei Bobrovsky and Matt Duchene, the team could benefit if they can convince Werenski to sign long-term.
- After signing defenseman Christian Djoos and forward Chandler Stephenson to one-year deals last week, the Washington Capitals once again find themselves over the salary cap by $1.3MM. While one option to reduce their cap hit would be to send Jonas Siegenthaler to the AHL like the team did last year, NBC Sports Washington’s J.J. Regan writes that won’t be possible. While Siegenthaler is still waiver exempt, the team only has seven NHL defensemen under contract and even if they felt that Tyler Lewington could be the team’s seventh defenseman, he wouldn’t save the team a significant amount of money to make the move worth it. Unfortunately for general manager Brian MacLellan, the team will have to make a different move this year to get under the cap.
- The Athletic’s Scott Burnside (subscription required) looks at candidates who could bounce back from disappointing seasons and marks Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin as a player who should return to his 90-point ways. The 32-year-old went from a 42-goal season in 2017-18 to half that total last year (21 goals) and went from 98 points to 72. Burnside writes that the team will need more goal scoring after losing Phil Kessel and Malkin will be looked to even more to fill that gap.
Pacific Notes: Kadri, Wright, Lindholm, Doughty
Before the Colorado Avalanche acquired Nazem Kadri from the Toronto Maple Leafs in a big deal involving Tyson Barrie, the Calgary Flames were close to acquiring the veteran center. However, Kadri refused to waive his 10-team no-trade clause that would have sent him in a deal that would have included defenseman T.J. Brodie.
The Calgary Sun’s Wes Gilbertson writes that Kadri did admit that he rejected the deal to Calgary in hopes of convincing the Maple Leafs that he wanted to stay with the team.
“What happened is they had a deal in place and they wanted me to move my no-trade clause,” Kadri explained. “Obviously, for me, it was no disrespect to Calgary or the Flames organization — I love their team and I love the direction they’re headed. I just figured that had I declined, I would have had a better opportunity of being a Maple Leaf next year, and that’s really what it came down to. “I wanted to play for the Leafs next year. I wanted to be a part of that. In declining that trade, I had aspirations of being a Leaf, and we know clearly that didn’t happen.”
Instead he did get traded to Colorado and now will take over as the team’s second-line center in hopes of developing a powerful secondary scoring line after their top line of Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog.
- The Athletic’s Daniel Nugent-Bowman (subscription required) delves into the drafting success of the Edmonton Oilers’ new director of amateur scouting, Tyler Wright, noting that while the long-time executive with the Columbus Blue Jackets and Detroit Red Wings has had lukewarm success drafting in the first round, he has been successful in the later rounds of drafts, having nabbed several key players late in the draft, including Josh Anderson, Boone Jenner, Oliver Bjorkstrand and Filip Hronek and could provide value for Edmonton who hasn’t had as much luck later in the draft.
- In a mailbag piece, The Athletic’s Eric Stephens (subscription required) writes that while defenseman Hampus Lindholm is a solid top-pairing defenseman, his offense still hasn’t come around and at age 25, time is running out. The blueliner posted 34 points in his second season back in the 2014-15 season and hasn’t reached that target since then. However, Stephens writes that Lindholm was never a big fan of Randy Carlyle‘s system and could thrive under new head coach Dallas Eakins and show off some more offense, potentially becoming a regular at 40 points.
- Looking back at the recent history of signings by the Los Angeles Kings, The Athletic’s Lisa Dillman (subscription required) looks at the best and worst deals handed out since 2009. Unfortunately for the Kings, the top bad contract is only kicking in this year as the eight-year, $88MM contract that star defenseman Drew Doughty signed a year ago is about to kick in at age 29. After a down season last year, the 29-year-old blueliner will be getting paid $11MM until he turns 37 years old. Not a good sign if people think that before he’s even started getting paid.
Central Notes: Wild Physicality, Heinola, Boqvist
Paul Fenton and the Minnesota Wild have made a lot of moves since the trade deadline last year and the general manager has started to put his mark on the franchise after taking over more than a year ago. However, one thing that many have noted is that the Wild have gotten much smaller over the last year with many wondering if that could affect the team’s success down the road.
The Athletic’s Michael Russo (subscription required) was asked that exact question in his most recent mailbag as the scribe notes that the Wild have traded off Charlie Coyle (6-foot-3) and Nino Niederreiter (6-foot-2), while getting back smaller, more finesse players in Kevin Fiala and Ryan Donato as the team seems to be without that physical edge that most teams feel they need to survive a 82-game season, something that the Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues had an abundance of this past year.
Russo admits it’s a concern, but the team does have a number of smaller players, who are physical, including newly acquired Ryan Hartman, Luke Kunin and the team’s hopes that Jordan Greenway will begin to use his size to be more physical.
- While the Winnipeg Jets’ trade of Jacob Trouba has been panned by almost everyone, the Winnipeg Free Press’ Mike McIntyre writes that one aspect of the trade that many haven’t thought of is the value of the 2019 first-round pick they got along with unheralded defenseman Neal Pionk. The team selected defenseman Ville Heinola with the 20th pick in the draft as part of the deal. The blueliner almost immediately moves to the top of Winnipeg’s prospect list and could develop into a top-four option for years, although it could take a year or two until he arrives. Regardless, if Heinola does become a top-four regular and Pionk becomes a reliable option on defense as well, the deal doesn’t look that bad after all.
- With the trade of Henri Jokiharju, the Chicago Blackhawks could find themselves with the potential need of a young player to step up for the team this season. NBC Sports Chicago’s Charlie Roumeliotis writes that Adam Boqvist is expected to turn pro this year and is expected to play for the Rockford Ice Hogs in the AHL if he doesn’t make the Blackhawks’ team out of training camp. That’s good news for Chicago as Boqvist could have returned to the OHL for another year. The team’s first-round pick in 2018 (eighth-overall) scored 20 goals and 60 points in 54 games for the London Knights in his only season there.
Greg Johnson Passes Away At 48
Former NHLer Greg Johnson passed away on Monday at the far too young age of 48. USA Today’s Kevin Allen relays the news today from Johnson’s friend and former agent Tom Laidlaw, who says Johnson died at his home near Detroit, Michigan. No cause of death was provided, but Johnson was forced to retire early in 2006 due to an irregular heartbeat, making the cardiac ailment the likely cause.
Johnson played 785 games in the NHL, but will be remembered most for the 502 spent with the Nashville Predators. An inaugural member of the 1998 expansion Predators, Johnson led the team in points per game in its first year of existence with a career-best 50 points in 68 games. He would go on to captain the team for the final four years of his career as well. Laidlaw recalls that Johnson cherished his role with Nashville and took less money to stay with the Predators, while former teammate Chris Mason says that Johnson was “a big part of establishing the identity of the franchise.”
Johnson was also well known for being both the captain and star forward of the University of North Dakota in the early 90’s. He had been drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in the second round in 1989 after a near-100 point season in the USHL and quickly proved he was the real deal, recording 272 points in 155 games in his NCAA career. Johnson broke into the NHL with the Detroit Red Wings and also spent time with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Chicago Blackhawks. He accumulated 224 in 785 games in his NHL career and became known for his two-way play and work ethic.
Most importantly though, Johnson is remembered as a great teammate. Allen writes that Johnson was a soft-spoken and caring type of captain, who prioritized taking care of his team. Mason calls Johnson “one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met” and “the kind of guy that Predators wanted their other players to be like on or off the ice.” The Predators themselves released a statement calling their former captain ” a consummate professional and terrific teammate who was an integral part of our community and in developing the Predators culture that we experience today.”
Everyone at PHR wishes the best for the family and friends of Johnson at this time.
Evening Notes: Sharks Lineup, Gaudette, Johansson
The San Jose Sharks had to cast off a number of forwards this offseason after they inked star defenseman Erik Karlsson to an eight-year, $92MM contract three weeks ago. The team let Joe Pavelski and Joonas Donskoi off and there continue to be rumors that they may have to trade off Melker Karlsson later on this summer to free up more cap room.
Of course, San Jose is expected to re-sign Joe Thornton and are likely to also bring back Patrick Marleau. Yet, despite those signings, there are likely going to be some holes in their lineup. In fact, The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz (subscription required) writes that there could be a major change in the top-six. The scribe writes that San Jose might look to its prospect depth to fill one of the wing positions on the second line this season as Sasha Chmelevski and Ivan Chekovich could be the beneficiaries of that job.
Chmelevski, a sixth-round gem found in the 2017 draft, has scored 70 goals and 151 points in the past two seasons with the Ottawa 67s of the OHL. Chekovich, a seventh-round stud picked up in the 2017 draft as well, scored 43 goals and 105 points last season in the QMJHL, but also gotten some time in the AHL with three goals and seven points in nine AHL games. Kurz writes that the only way they would make the team is if one of them played on the second line. A spot on the bottom-six would make less sense, however, as they could get valuable minutes with the San Jose Barracuda instead.
- The Vancouver Canucks have been quite active this offseason and have added quite a bit of depth to their team. However, Patrick Johnson of the Vancouver Sun writes that the team will have a significant roster jam at the forward position this fall. The team currently has 13 healthy forwards under NHL deals and still have to sign Nikolay Goldobin and Brock Boeser to deals. Throw in the injured Antoine Roussel, the team has a lot of forwards with only 12 spots. That could put the spot of Adam Gaudette, who many people feel deserves a spot as the team’s third-line center, in jeopardy as the 22-year-old is the only player on the team (minus Elias Pettersson and Boeser) who can be sent down without having to pass through waivers. Unless Gaudette can have a dominant camp and beat out some of the others like Brandon Sutter, he could find himself starting the year off in Utica of the AHL.
- The two-year deal that winger Marcus Johansson signed Saturday with the Buffalo Sabres includes a modified no-trade clause, according to CapFriendly. Johansson has the ability to provide Buffalo with a list of 10 teams he cannot be traded to during both his seasons. That’s an improvement on his previous deal where for the past two years he could submit five teams he couldn’t be traded to.
Latest On Phil Kessel, Pittsburgh Penguins
Saturday: While he can’t get confirmation from either team, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the Penguins and the Arizona Coyotes are are currently working on a Kessel deal. No word on what the deal might consist of, but Arizona is one team that Kessel would be interested in playing for as he is close to Coyotes head coach Rick Tocchet, who was an assistant coach for the Penguins before taking the Arizona job.
Friday: The Pittsburgh Penguins had a trade worked out earlier this month that would have seen Phil Kessel head to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for Jason Zucker. It didn’t happen because of a no-trade clause that Kessel refused to waive, something he had negotiated into his contract years ago when he first signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Exercising his clause to block a trade was well within his right, and it seemed to quiet things down for a while in regards to the Penguins. GM Jim Rutherford admitted that a Kessel trade this offseason was now unlikely, but that hasn’t stopped reports surfacing on consecutive days that the team is still trying to unload their enigmatic star.
Yesterday, Josh Yohe of The Athletic (subscription required) reported that trade talks for the Penguins were “heating up” though it wasn’t clear exactly what Rutherford was trying to accomplish, other than dealing Kessel while making the team younger and faster. Today, another detailed piece was released by Rob Rossi of The Athletic that examines exactly what has gone wrong in Pittsburgh between Kessel and the organization and how the star player is currently holding the rest of their offseason “hostage.” Rossi quotes multiple sources that feel a Kessel trade was priority number one this offseason, in order to accomplish a sort of culture reset in Pittsburgh.
The 31-year old Kessel has three years remaining on his current contract and carries a $6.8MM cap hit thanks to a portion being retained by the Maple Leafs from an earlier trade. The deal owes him even less in actual salary, and Kessel is coming off another outstanding offensive season with 82 points in 82 games. He’s also currently on an iron man streak that hasn’t seen him miss a game since the 2009-10 season. Point-per-game wingers don’t get traded very often, but a deal this summer would be the third time Kessel is traded in his career.
Still, there is the problem of a no-trade clause that lists just eight teams that the Penguins can send Kessel to without his permission. Players in that situation usually list teams that would have little interest or that would hesitate to deal in-division. Teams like Philadelphia, Washington, Toronto and Boston all seem unlikely to get into real discussions for one reason or another, meaning his list could basically be limited to just a handful of potential destinations. With Rutherford after a “hockey trade” that brings back a player (or players) that can help the Penguins immediately, a deal might be extremely hard to find.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Morning Notes: Bruins’ Long Wait, Kapanen, Kakko, Svechnikov
During his press conference on Saturday, Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said the team would go outside the organization for advice on how utilize their time correctly considering they don’t play again until May 27, which is still eight days away. The Athletic’s Joe McDonald (subscription required) adds that Sweeney was talking about consulting the New England Patriots of the NFL, a team that has spent quite a bit of time playing in Super Bowl games.
In fact, Boston’s four major franchises have combined for 12 titles this century, but with six Super Bowl Championships, the Patriots may know how to stay sharp more than anyone. The team hopes to take some of Bill Belichick‘s tips to heart. “Hopefully they’ll be able to share some information with us,” Sweeney said.
There was initially some talk of an intra-squad game, but there is no real way to simulate a Stanley Cup Finals game, nor is the team thrilled about opening up their players to possible injury. In the end, rest might be the best course of action.
In the short term, it’s really beneficial for our group. We’ve been pedal to the metal here, mentally and physically, for a while. I do believe in the short term it will help us a lot. Then it’s incumbent upon us to simulate the best we can with what’s going to be required going forward.
- TVA Sports (translation required) suggests that while there are plenty of rumors surrounding the Montreal Canadiens being interested in putting together an offer sheet to pry Mitch Marner away from the Toronto Maple Leafs, the writer suggests instead the team should use an offer sheet instead to get Kasperi Kapanen, which would have a much higher chance of success. If the Canadiens offer Kapanen a deal anywhere from $4.23MM to $6.63MM for at least three years, the compensation would only be a first and a third-round pick, which would likely be worth the acquisition.
- The New York Post’s Joseph Staszewski reports 2019 draft prospect Kaapo Kakko said that his goal is to become the No. 1 pick in the NHL draft to the New Jersey Devils. Kakko is currently expected to be the second-overall pick in the draft, slated to go to the New York Rangers with prospect Jack Hughes expected to end up in New Jersey. However, an impressive showing so far at the World Championships for Finland might be enough to push him one notch higher. “This is a big thing for me for the draft,” Kakko told NHL.com through a translator. “I think I can be the first [pick]. “I’ve played well. I haven’t paid much attention to Jack Hughes and his game, but I’m confident I’ve been able to let everyone see my skills and the level of my game. It’s not going to be an easy choice for the teams.”
- Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press looks back at the Detroit Red Wings’ 2015 NHL draft, analyzing its success. The team drafted Evgeny Svechnikov that year, who lost some valuable development time last season when he was forced to undergo ACL surgery in September. While the team still has a few pending prospects from that draft, the key to the draft will be Svechnikov, who so far has just two goals in 16 games and needs a bounce-back season if they don’t want to look at that draft as a failure.
Ottawa Senators To Interview Dallas Assistant Rick Bowness
The Ottawa Senators continue their search for a head coach as the team has asked and received permission to interview Dallas Stars assistant coach and former Ottawa head coach Rick Bowness, according to TSN’s Bob McKenzie. He is the sixth coach to receive an interview with the Senators.
Bowness, the Senators first-ever head coach, coached Ottawa in between 1992 and 1995, finished his tenure with the Senators with a 39-178-18 record, although expectations weren’t as great back then considering that expansion franchises didn’t get the same advantages that the Vegas Golden Knights have received and soon-to-be Seattle franchise will receive. Bowness has been the head coach of several struggling franchises over the years, including coaching the original Winnipeg Jets, Boston Bruins, New York Islanders and Phoenix Coyotes, with an overall coaching record of 123-289-48 record. His last coaching gig was a 20-game stint with the Coyotes back in 2004 as the team’s interim coach after the team fired Bob Francis.
However, while his head coaching record may not be stellar, Bowness has made a name for himself as a top assistant coach, who helped the Vancouver Canucks in their glory years from 2006 to 2013, including one trip to the Stanley Cup Finals. He then moved over to work with Jon Cooper and the Tampa Bay Lightning for the next five years before joining the Jim Montgomery and the Dallas Stars last summer, helping the Stars reach the second-round of the playoffs this year.
Bowness, 64, will be the sixth coach interviewed as the Senators have already interviewed Marc Crawford, Troy Mann, Jacques Martin, D.J. Smith and Nate Leaman. McKenzie added that there is no hurry for Ottawa to hire a head coach as he could see the team waiting until the end of the month before hiring a coach.
Pacific Notes: Brodie, Haula, Nyquist
With an early and somewhat shocking first-round exit in the playoffs, many feel that the Calgary Flames are likely to make some changes this season to continue building their team into a contender. With plenty of salary cap issues already upon the franchise, the Flames will likely have to move on or trade some of their players in order to free up some much-needed cap room.
In a roundtable discussion, Postmedia’s Danny Austin, Wes Gilbertson and Kristin Andersen suggested several of those players, with defenseman T.J. Brodie potentially being the top name on the list. The 28-year-old Brodie has been a solid defenseman in Calgary for years, but with the emergence of rookies Rasmus Anderson, Juuso Valimaki and Oliver Kylington, the team might be better served by trading Brodie for another top-six forward after the disastrous signing of James Neal. Brodie, who will still has one year remaining on the five-year, $23.2MM contract he signed in 2014 at an AAV of $4.65MM, might garner quite a bit of interest from teams that need to upgrade their defense.
Other suggestions of players who likely won’t be back included 37-year-old UFA goaltender Mike Smith, who might be let go to give David Rittich a chance to become the starting goaltender next season, and forward Michael Frolik, who has had issues with the team due to his lack of playing time this season.
- The Athletic’s Jesse Granger (subscription required) profiles the injury of Vegas Golden Knights forward Erik Haula, who suffered a gruesome knee injury on Nov. 6 that saw his season come to an end after appearing in just 15 games. Interesting enough, he was close to returning to Vegas’ lineup during the playoffs had the team not been eliminated by San Jose in the first round. “He was probably a week to 10 days away from being able to practice with the team, and maybe three weeks away from playing,” Vegas general manager George McPhee said. However, Haula will scale back his aggressive rehab after the Golden Knights’ exit and now has four months to get close to 100% to begin next season. He is already penciled in to center the team’s third line next to wingers Alex Tuch and KHL star Nikita Gusev next season, which should be one of the strongest third lines in the league.
- The San Jose Sharks were forced to play without one of their top players in Game 1 in Joe Pavelski. The veteran forward suffered an upper-body injury in Game 7 of their first-round series after he hit his head following being cross-checked by Vegas’ Cody Eakin. However, despite being without Pavelski against the Colorado Avalanche in Game 1, head coach Peter DeBoer praised his replacement, Gustav Nyquist, who moved up to the team’s second line and scored a goal in the team’s 5-2 win over Colorado, according to Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. “I thought he was really good,” said DeBoer. “We’ve been waiting for that kind of impact. The effort has been there, but we haven’t had the impact on the game like we got last night, which is something he needs to build on and bring some more of.” Nyquist will continue to play on the second line until Pavelski is ready to return. Pavelski is currently listed as day-to-day.
Florida Panthers Fire Head Coach Bob Boughner
The Florida Panthers wasted no time in making major moves at the start of their premature off-season. The team has announced that head coach Bob Boughner has been relieved of his duties. Boughner just finished his second season as the coach of the Panthers, his first NHL head coaching position. Assistant coach Paul McFarland has also been fired.
The team release from GM Dale Tallon read as follows:
We made a tough decision today and have relieved Bob Boughner of his duties as head coach. We didn’t meet expectations this season and share responsibility for that fact. After careful evaluation, we have determined that this is a necessary first step for our young team and we will seek to identify a transformative, experienced head coach with Stanley Cup pedigree to lead our team going forward. We’re grateful to Bob, Paul, and their families for their hard work and their dedication to the Panthers organization and we wish them the best of luck in their future endeavors.
Boughner’s departure should not come as any great surprise. As a first-time NHL head coach, Boughner was on a short leash from the start. After a slow beginning to his tenure, the Panthers were one of the best teams in the NHL down the stretch last season, but just narrowly missed the playoffs nonetheless. The expectation was that the team would ride that streak right into the new campaign, but 2018-19 did not go as planned. The team could never quite keep things together long enough to stick around the playoff picture. It was a disappointing finish for a team with high expectations.
If the Panthers were a rebuilding club, perhaps two finishes just outside the top-16 would have been enough for Boughner to keep his job. However, Florida is a deep, talented team with many players in the primes of their careers. Especially up front, the Cats had enough talent that they should have rivaled nearly any team in the league. Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau each cracked 90 points this season, while Mike Hoffman and Evgenii Dadonov reached 70. The Panthers were the first squad this season to have five 20-goal scorers, finished ninth as a team in goals for per game, and their power play – led by McFarland – was second only tot the rival Tampa Bay Lightning. Where Boughner and his staff clearly fell short was in preventing goals to the same extent they scored them. The Panthers were 28th in the league in goals against per game, allowing ten goals on average over a three-game stretch. Ironically, that did not come from allowing too many shots or struggling on the penalty kill, as Florida largely succeeded in both areas. Instead, Boughner’s scheme seemed to allow for too many high-danger chances and put his defensemen and struggling goaltenders in tough situations.
Admittedly, it’s not all Boughner’s fault. Roberto Luongo, 40, and James Reimer, 31, were a tired and injury-prone duo from the start that made keeping pucks out of the net a difficult task. The defense corps also lacked difference makers behind Keith Yandle and Aaron Ekblad, as Mike Matheson took a step back and others on the blue line were overexposed. However, as a former standout defenseman himself, the expectation was likely that Boughner could adjust to his personnel and do a better job of defending against goals. Given the individual talent of many of his forwards, the team could have survived with a more conservative style. However, that move was never made and it likely cost Boughner his job.
As for the next bench boss in Florida, the team’s desire for a “transformative, experienced head coach with Stanley Cup pedigree” is likely a not-so-subtle plea to former Chicago Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville. Quenneville is the best free agent coach available and really the only name that fits that description. He also shares a history with Tallon. Additionally, the Panthers are expected to pursue both Columbus Blue Jackets stars Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky this summer and know Quenneville could be the key to bringing in former Blackhawk Panarin and his best friend. Quenneville has been linked to other teams around the NHL, but while other vacancies have since been filled by interim coaches who will receive further consideration, the job is open right now in Florida and Quenneville could be tempted to take it.