Trade Rumors: Georgiev, Sharks, Canadiens
On Sportsnet’s “Saturday Headlines” segment last night, Elliotte Friedman made it very clear that trade talks are heating up and teams have begun issuing league-wide statements on where they stand ahead of next month’s trade deadline. The top story belongs to the New York Rangers, who have informed their competitors that they are willing to listen to offers for young goaltender Alexandar Georgiev. The team’s stance has changed in just a matter of days since recalling top goalie prospect Igor Shesterkin from the AHL, who proceeded to win his first two starts, including a 46-save performance on Thursday. Shesterkin, though an older prospect at 24, was actually an established superstar in the KHL before coming over this season and looks like the heir apparent to Henrik Lundqvist. Georgiev, still only 23, has performed well in three seasons with the Rangers, but doesn’t project to be the type of player that Shesterkin is, making him expendable. Both Lundqvist and Shesterkin are under contract through next season and the team cannot continuing carrying three goalies that whole time. Additionally, the Rangers have Adam Huska playing well in the AHL in his first pro season, Tyler Wall dominating the NCAA in his senior year at UMass Lowell, and 2018 second-round pick Olof Lindbom waiting in the wings in Sweden. It’s an embarrassment of riches in net for the Rangers’ organization and Georgiev looks like the odd man out.
With that said, New York will not give him away. Friedman reports that the asking price for Georgiev is a young roster forward or a pro-ready forward prospect. The Rangers are looking to add young building blocks up front and feel they can land one young asset by trading away another. Friedman stressed that the Rangers are just listening right now and will wait for a deal to their liking before moving Georgiev. The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta reports that the Toronto Maple Leafs, New Jersey Devils, and San Jose Sharks are the teams rumored to be most interested in Georgiev, but are they willing to pay the asking price?
- When it comes to the Sharks, the answer may be no. Friedman reports that the Sharks have let it be known that they are not willing to move any core pieces this season. Friedman cites the 2014-15 campaign, when San Jose last missed the playoffs, as management resisted a tear-down in that year as well and ended up going to the Stanley Cup Final the next season. The Sharks have many good pieces in place and believe they can be contenders again in 2020-21, so they will only entertain trade offers for impending free agents this season. Defenseman Brenden Dillon is a name that is very much in the rumor mill, while fellow blue liners Tim Heed and Radim Simek and forward Melker Karlsson will also be for sale. It remains to be seen whether the Sharks would be willing to move future Hall of Famers Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau or backup goalie Aaron Dell. Moving forward, the Sharks will have to address their issues in net, so perhaps the one exception to their rule about only moving rentals this season could be a deal a top prospect for a new goalie, but they could wait until the off-season to make a move.
- Fans of the Montreal Canadiens don’t want their team to wait any longer to make a trade. The Habs are 2-7-1 in their past ten games and currently in 13th in the Eastern Conference, seven points back of a playoff spot with more games played than all but one of the teams ahead of them in the wild card chase. It seems like all hope is lost for this season, but Friedman reports that the team won’t be making a move any time soon. GM Marc Bergevin is being careful with his next steps, especially when his job could be on the line. He has told potential trade partners that he will wait until after the team’s pre-All-Star break meetings to make a move. Meanwhile, the Canadiens are about to play four games in six nights, during which suitors can see more from potential trade chips, but with those players exposed to the risk of potential injury as well. Montreal will have their “bye week” leading up All-Star weekend, giving Bergevin and company plenty of time to discuss their options, but there is no telling how the trade market could change in the meantime. Eventually, the team will make a decision on their direction in the coming weeks, but there is no expectation as to what that might be. Some have speculated that they could play it safe, opting to deal expiring contracts like grinders Nate Thompson, Dale Weise, and Matthew Peca and recent additions Ilya Kovalchuk and Marco Scandella. Others believe that the team is eyeing a complete rebuild and could move Tomas Tatar, Jonathan Drouin, or Jeff Petry or even ask Carey Price and Shea Weber if they would like to move on. Only time will tell, but that time will come a little bit later than some have hoped.
Minor Transactions: 01/11/20
The Red Wings picked up their 12th win of the season on Friday night (albeit against the Senators), while the injury-riddled Penguins won their 13th game since the beginning of December alone and miraculously have the most points in the league since Sidney Crosby went down with an injury. Two of just six teams in action last night, both Detroit and Pittsburgh will take a seat tonight while 22 other teams hit the ice. They return to action on Sunday as two of just twelve teams, as the NHL has just 20 games scheduled from Friday night through Sunday in a relatively quiet weekend. With substantial off-time for many teams, look for the focus to instead be on roster transactions as teams prepare for the coming week. Keep up with all of the action right here:
- Late last night (or this morning on the east coast), the Vegas Golden Knights made a swap up front. The team announced that Nicolas Roy had been reassigned to the AHL’s Chicago Wolves, with Keegan Kolesar promoted to replace him. Roy has been a competent part-time player for the Knights this season, recording five points in eleven games, but Vegas is clearly looking for a different type of presence in bringing up Kolesar. The hard-hitting winger has just ten points on the season in the minors but brings a valuable physical element. However, Vegas timed the recall well if they’re hoping to see a little offense, as Kolesar scored his first two goals of the season with the Wolves just last night. This would be Kolesar’s NHL debut if he does draw into the lineup on this recall.
- CapFriendly reports that the San Jose Sharks also made a move late last night, sending rookie forward Joachim Blichfeld back to the AHL. Blichfeld had only been recalled the day before, but fortunately it is a short walk from the Sharks’ locker room to the Barracuda’s. The Danish winger has been a point-per-game player in the AHL this year, but has been held off the score sheet in two NHL games.
- Yet another Pacific Division team has made a move, though this one occurring this morning, as the Vancouver Canucks have announced the demotion of forward Zack MacEwen. The big, 23-year-old winger has the size and ability to be a difference-maker and has proved as much in the AHL over the last few years, but since the beginning of last season, he has been held to just one goal and three points in a dozen games with the Canucks. He will continue to be a top depth option from the Utica Comets, but will have a hard time finding a full-time role in Vancouver without more consistent production.
- The Washington Capitals have reassigned a healthy Christian Djoos to the AHL’s Hershey Bears. Djoos, who received a $1.25MM salary in arbitration this summer, has nevertheless been relegated to the minors for much of the year, mostly as a cap-saving measure. Djoos has played in just two games with the Capitals this year after skating in more than 100 since the start of the 2017-18 season. The move leaves Washington with just six defensemen on the roster for the time being, further proving that Djoos’ experience and AHL production this season will not be enough to keep on the league-leaders’ roster this year.
- The Laval Rocket, farm team to the Montreal Canadiens, have come to terms on a contract with defenseman Evan McEneny for the remainder of the year. McEneny played ten games on a PTO with Laval prior to his status with the team becoming official. The former Vancouver Canucks prospect was a productive AHL defenseman with the Utica Comets over the past three seasons and is deserving of a pro contract.
- With MacKenzie Blackwood out with an upper-body injury, the Devils have recalled goaltender Evan Cormier from Binghamton of the AHL. Cormier has split the season between the AHL and ECHL and will likely only serve as the backup to Louis Domingue until Blackwood returns. To make room on the roster, Ben Street was transferred to IR.
- The San Jose Sharks have recalled forward Lukas Radil from the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL, according to CapFriendly. The 29-year-old has a goal and five points in eight games with the Barracuda after failing to register a point in 14 contests with the Sharks.
- The New York Islanders announced they have recalled defenseman Sebastian Aho from the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the AHL. Aho was initally recalled when defenseman Adam Pelech went down with an injury and then sent down on Thursday as the team wasn’t playing again until Saturday. Now he’s back and he’ll serve as an extra defenseman. Just an hour later, Aho was assigned back to Bridgeport. Go figure.
- The Arizona Coyotes announced that they have recalled goaltender Ivan Prosvetov from the Tucson Roadrunners of the AHL, while assigning defenseman Kyle Capobianco to Tucson. Prosvetov’s recall suggests that Arizona still needs a backup to Adin Hill, while the team hopes one of their starting netminders will get healthy. Obviously, they are not ready yet. The 20-year-old has fared quite well in his first pro season as he has a 2.38 GAA and a .931 save percentage in 15 appearances. Capobianco has one goal in seven games for the Coyotes.
Logan Couture To Miss Several Weeks With Broken Ankle
Though reporters had caught wind of it last night, the San Jose Sharks didn’t make an official announcement until today regarding Logan Couture. GM Doug Wilson released a short statement confirming that the Sharks’ captain has a small fracture in his left ankle and will miss “several weeks.” The team has recalled Joachim Blichfeld from the minor leagues.
Couture suffered the injury on Tuesday against the St. Louis Blues, a game which the Sharks were on the losing end of once again. It has been an absolute disaster of a season for San Jose, who now hold the worst goal differential in the Western Conference at -30. Their record of 19-22-4 is actually relatively flattering given they have scored just 121 goals while allowing 151, more than anyone other than the Detroit Red Wings. For a team that has $26.5MM in cap space eaten up by three defensemen for at least the next five seasons, that’s not exactly ideal.
More notably however might be the fact that the Sharks’ first-round pick belongs to the Ottawa Senators. That pick was originally a conditional 2019 selection, but after San Jose made the playoffs it pushed forward to this year. It can’t get pushed any further, meaning the Senators will have at least two chances at the draft lottery unless one of the teams completes a miraculous comeback in the second half of the season.
Without Couture, that will be difficult. The 30-year old forward took over the captaincy this season when Joe Pavelski left in free agency, and was without a doubt the team’s best player so far. His 36 points leads the group while contributing in all situations and providing his normal two-way presence. Couture is averaging nearly two minutes on the penalty kill a night while also logging nearly three minutes on the powerplay. His +/- rating of -1 is (amazingly) second on the team among regulars, only behind Barclay Goodrow‘s +1. Basically, this is a huge loss for the team as they try to salvage their season, and should only push their expiring contracts further into the trade speculation spotlight.
Logan Couture Has A Fractured Ankle
It appears that the injury that Sharks captain Logan Couture sustained last night is going to keep him out of the lineup for a while. Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that the center has a fractured ankle and will be given a week-to-week designation but that the issue should keep him out for six weeks. That would be a devastating blow to a San Jose team that is already eight points out of a playoff spot as the 30-year-old is one of the few players who is producing at a rate that’s at least comparable to expectations as he leads the team in scoring with 36 points (14-22-36) in 45 games this season. If San Jose wasn’t already leaning towards selling by the trade deadline, this could certainly push them in that direction.
Minor Transactions: 01/08/20
After an interesting night of NHL hockey, the league is back with three games this evening including the Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers in a Metropolitan battle. The Flyers are in fifth place in the division but still within striking distance of the top three. As they and the rest of the league prepare, we’ll keep track of the minor moves right here:
- Joachim Blichfeld has been returned to the minor leagues by the San Jose Sharks after failing to get into a game during this call-up. Blichfeld has just two NHL games under his belt at this point, and needs to keep playing to continue his development.
- The Philadelphia Flyers have decided to call up Mark Friedman, sending Andy Andreoff back to the minors in the process. Friedman, 24, made his NHL debut last season and has ten points in 28 games for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms this year.
- Barrett Hayton has been officially added back to the Arizona Coyotes roster after winning gold at the World Juniors. Hayton suffered a shoulder injury during the tournament, but played through it and scored the tying goal for Canada in the final.
- With Robin Lehner ready to return to action for the Chicago Blackhawks, Kevin Lankinen has been returned to the minor leagues. Lankinen didn’t get any NHL action in his recent call-up, but did get a little extra money and some experience from being up at the highest level.
What Your Team Is Thankful For: San Jose Sharks
As the holiday season is upon us, PHR will continue its look at what teams are thankful for as we get closer to the halfway point. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the San Jose Sharks.
What are the Sharks most thankful for?
Considering how disappointing San Jose has been this season, it may come as some surprise that they’ve been one of the healthiest teams in the league all things considered. Defenseman Radim Simek is the only full-time regular that has missed more than five games and while he’s a regular, he’s also on their third defense pairing. Most of their core forwards haven’t missed a game this year aside from Tomas Hertl (four games due to a lower-body issue). Things haven’t been pretty for them in 2019-20 but so far, they’ve at least managed to stay healthy.
Who are the Sharks most thankful for?
Going into the season, the duo of Erik Karlsson and Brent Burns would have been the logical pick but both of them have underachieved mightily. One player who isn’t quite in that category is Logan Couture. The long-time Shark has seen his offensive numbers dip a little bit this season (pretty much everyone has) but he continues to lead the way. He’s the team leader in scoring, on pace for his second straight 65-point campaign, and is logging nearly 19 minutes a night. The captain is also signed through 2026-27 at an $8MM price tag and unlike the expensive blueliners, he should be able to provide a decent level of return on that contract for close to its entirety.
What would the Sharks be even more thankful for?
More production from, well, just about everyone. Their high-priced back end has underachieved considerably so far; Burns and Karlsson have combined for just ten goals in 81 games. For perspective, Burns alone has averaged more than 20 a year over the past six seasons. The goaltending duo of Martin Jones and Aaron Dell have a combined .895 save percentage which is among the lowest in the league. Timo Meier may not reach 50 points after scoring 66 last season. Joe Thornton has just one goal so far. Kevin Labanc is well off last year’s pace (and there are others in that situation as well). Some of them returning to form would be a huge boost for them in the second half.
What should be on the Sharks’ Holiday Wish List?
Barring a turnaround over the next few weeks, it’s looking like San Jose is going to be selling which means picks and prospects will be what GM Doug Wilson is looking for. Defenseman Brendan Dillion should yield a reasonable return while depth pieces like Melker Karlsson and Marcus Sorenson may draw some interest. This core is probably going to be given another opportunity as it stands though unless they have to move a key player out for a goalie. That move, if it happens, seems like more of an offseason deal than one before next month’s trade deadline.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
NHL All-Star Selections Announced
Although it took some time, with each individual team rolling out their own selections, the final rosters for All-Star Weekend have come into focus. Below are each of the four divisional team, set to face off in the Skills Competition on Friday, January 24th and the All-Star Game on Saturday, January 25th:
Atlantic Division
G Frederik Andersen, Toronto Maple Leafs
G Tuukka Rask, Boston Bruins
D Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning
D Shea Weber, Montreal Canadiens
F Tyler Bertuzzi, Detroit Red Wings
F Jack Eichel, Buffalo Sabres
F Anthony Duclair, Ottawa Senators
F Jonathan Huberdeau, Florida Panthers
F Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs
F David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins (C)
Metropolitan Division
G Braden Holtby, Washington Capitals
G Joonas Korpisalo, Columbus Blue Jackets
D John Carlson, Washington Capitals
D Dougie Hamilton, Carolina Hurricanes
D Seth Jones, Columbus Blue Jackets
F Mathew Barzal, New York Islanders
F Jake Guentzel, Pittsburgh Penguins
F Travis Konecny, Philadelphia Flyers
F Kyle Palmieri, New Jersey Devils
F Artemi Panarin, New York Rangers
Central Division
G Jordan Binnington, St. Louis Blues
G Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets
D Roman Josi, Nashville Predators
D Alex Pietrangelo, St. Louis Blues
F Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks
F Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche (C)
F Ryan O’Reilly, St. Louis Blues
F Mark Scheifele, Winnipeg Jets
F Tyler Seguin, Dallas Stars
F Eric Staal, Minnesota Wild
Pacific Division
G Marc-Andre Fleury, Vegas Golden Knights
G Darcy Kuemper, Arizona Coyotes
D Mark Giordano, Calgary Flames
F Logan Couture, San Jose Sharks
F Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers
F Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings
F Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers (C)
F Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks
F Jakob Silfverberg, Anaheim Ducks
F Matthew Tkachuk, Calgary Flames
Additionally, each divisional squad will have one more addition as decided by the Last Men In fan vote. Voting opens on January 1st and closes on the 10th. Here are the candidates:
Atlantic Division – Patrice Bergeron, Rasmus Dahlin, Dylan Larkin Aleksander Barkov, Max Domi, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Steven Stamkos, Mitch Marner
Metropolitan Division – Teuvo Teravainen, Nick Foligno, Nico Hischier, Brock Nelson, Mika Zibanejad, Claude Giroux, Kris Letang, T.J. Oshie
Central Division – Jonathan Toews, Cale Makar, Jamie Benn, Ryan Suter, Matt Duchene, David Perron Patrik Laine
Pacific Division – Ryan Getzlaf, Clayton Keller, Johnny Gaudreau, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Drew Doughty, Tomas Hertl, Quinn Hughes, Max Pacioretty
Minor Transactions: 12/30/19
With just one game on the schedule for this evening, teams are licking their wounds waiting for the New Year and the second half of the NHL season. The Ottawa Senators and Pittsburgh Penguins will be in action, but even those on a rest day will be making minor tweaks. As those come in, we’ll list them here.
- The Toronto Maple Leafs recalled Timothy Liljegren and Teemu Kivihalme, two defensemen yet to make their NHL debuts. The Maple Leafs already lost Jake Muzzin to a broken foot and need to replace him on the roster. It seems Kivihalme will get the first shot, as Liljegren has already been returned to the AHL Marlies.
- With Charlie McAvoy going onto injured reserve, the Boston Bruins have recalled Jeremy Lauzon under emergency conditions. McAvoy hasn’t played since before Christmas, though the injury isn’t expected to keep him out long-term. The Bruins got some good news on the injury front as well, activating forward Karson Kuhlman from the injured reserve and assigning him to AHL Providence.
- Calvin Pickard has been recalled by the Detroit Red Wings once again, giving them another healthy goaltender. Pickard has ended up playing two games for Detroit this season, but has a 5.32 GAA and .818 save percentage.
- Mathieu Joseph is heading back to the minor leagues once again, something the Tampa Bay Lightning have done several times this month. The young forward has still spent most of his season with the NHL club, but is bouncing back and forth lately.
- The San Jose Sharks have recalled forward Joachim Blichfield from the AHL Barracuda, giving the youngster another opportunity after he made his NHL debut early last month. Blichfield has been one San Jose’s best minor league forwards this season and the struggling Sharks could use an offensive boost if he can translate his game to the next level.
- Daniel Sprong is back in the NHL after a brief layover with the AHL’s San Diego Gulls. The Anaheim Ducks called up the young forward, who has spent considerable time with the team this year, but has only actually played in one game. Sprong recorded 19 points in 47 games with the Ducks last year and already has 19 points in 25 games with the Gulls, so he has the potential to make an impact in Anaheim if given the chance.
- With the Minnesota Wild activating captain Mikko Koivu, the team has reassigned rookie forward Nico Sturm to AHL Iowa. Sturm, a highly sought-after college free agent last spring, has 12 points in 25 games wIowa this year and a pair of points in six games with Minnesota as well.
Five Key Stories: 12/23/19 – 12/29/19
With the holiday week having come and gone as well as an NHL roster freeze, hockey news slows down quite a bit, yet there was plenty of news despite the three-game respite last week. Here are the five biggest stories of the past week:
World Junior Championships Get Underway: Perhaps even bigger than the NHL is the IIHF World Junior Championships that started on Dec. 26 and continues to be ongoing. The leagues top propsects or soon-to-be prospects find themselves competing in Ostrava and Trinec in the Czech Republic. All NHL teams have at least one representative at the tournament with several teams possessing a host of prospects. The Los Angeles Kings have nine prospects representing their organization, while the Arizona Coyotes have seven. Five teams have just one prospect at the tournament.
John McCarthy Retiring Due To Health Concerns: He only appeared in 88 career NHL games, but San Jose Sharks forward and a long-time minor league player for them, John McCarthy, announced his retirement due to health concerns. While he played in 18 games for the Barracuda this year, his season and career came to a halt after suffering an Ischemic stroke earlier this month. While he has made a complete recovery, those health concerns have ended his playing career. He was drafted by the Sharks back in 2006 and played for the Sharks’ organization his entire career and the Barracudas’ captain immediately took a coaching role with the team.
Brent Seabrook, Calvin De Haan Out For The Season: Just before play was supposed to resume after the Christmas hiatus, the Chicago Blackhawks announced that they are losing one-third of their defense. Two of their defensemen, Brent Seabrook and Calvin de Haan, will miss the season due to surgeries. Seabrook is expected to have surgery on both his hips, while de Haan will have shoulder surgery. De Haan has been a consistent part of the team’s defense, leading the team in hits and blocked shots. Seabrook has similar strengths, but has seen his playing time cut and has even been scratched three times so far this season. Regardless, these are tough losses for a franchise hoping to get back into the playoffs.
Alex Ovechkin To Skip NHL All-Star Game: For the second time in as many years, Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin has announced that he will be skipping the NHL All-Star Game. Ovechkin was voted in as Metropolitan Division captain, but he told media Friday that he will skip the all-star festivities to rest up for the second half of the season. Of course, Ovechkin will be suspended one game for skipping the league event. He must miss either the game before the all-star break or the game after. The team faces the rival New York Islanders, suggesting that Ovechkin will likely opt to miss the game after the break against the Montreal Canadiens.
Multiple Toronto Maple Leafs Players Injured: The Toronto Maple Leafs suffered three injuries upon their return from break. The team first revealed that forward Trevor Moore would be out indefinitely due to a concussion. Moore had been out with a shoulder injury and had only appeared in one game before getting injured once again. The team then lost winger Ilya Mikheyev who suffered a lacerated wrist after New Jersey’s Jesper Bratt ran sliced it with his skate. He is expected to miss a minimum of three months as he heals from the injury. Only hours after that, the Maple Leafs announced that defenseman Jake Muzzin would be considered week-to-week after suffering a fractured foot in that same game against the Devils. With all those injuries, it should make the team’s challenging of working their way up the Atlantic Division standings just a bit more difficult.
John McCarthy Retiring Due To Health Concerns
After a decade of professional hockey, San Jose Barracuda captain John McCarthy has announced his retirement. The forward experienced an Ischemic stroke earlier this month and though he has made a complete recovery from that incident, health concerns will end his playing career. McCarthy will immediately join Barracuda coaching staff, starting a new chapter behind the bench. McCarthy released a lengthy statement, explaining that even before the year started he was considering making it his final season:
I went into this year thinking I’m 33-years-old, I’ve been playing for a long time, this could be my last year playing,” said McCarthy. “The Sharks and Barracuda have been great, Joe (Will) and Doug (Wilson) have both been unbelievable to me as far as giving me a chance to play so when I suffered the stroke that decision kind of accelerated for me. It’s not something you can prepare for or see coming so I took some time. I spoke to some people whose opinions I value and, although it’s not out of the question that I could return after an extended period of time, I think it’s a good time for me to step away from playing.
Though he hasn’t played a game in the NHL since the 2015-16 season, it doesn’t mean he wasn’t an important part of the San Jose Sharks organization. A seventh-round pick in 2006, he became the captain of Boston University as a senior in 2008 and made his NHL debut the following season. An extremely hard worker, McCarthy has overcome a lack of real elite skill by polishing his game at both ends of the rink.
In 2018, McCarthy was part of Team USA at the Olympic Games when the NHL decided not to attend the tournament. An NCAA champion, he has served as captain of the Barracuda for the last four seasons and set a strong example for many of the organization’s prospects. He’ll now do the same as part of the coaching staff.