Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Sharks Rumors

Pacific Division Snapshots: Meier, Ward, Theodore, Gagner

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

In an effort to spark a struggling offensive attack, the San Jose Sharks promoted their 2015 first-round pick, Timo Meier, to the big league team where it is expected he will make his NHL debut tonight, as was reported earlier today. Meier has appeared in 17 games for the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL and has tallied nine goals and 15 points in his first professional campaign. One consequence of inserting the rookie into the lineup, as Kevin Kurz of CSN Bay Area writes, is that it creates more competition and at least for tonight, respected veteran Joel Ward will be the odd-man out of the lineup.

Ward is off to a slow start this season with just two goals and nine points through 30 contests but is just one year removed from a 21-goal, 43-point campaign. He also adds value on the penalty kill, where the 10-year veteran ranks 4th among San Jose Sharks forwards in shorthanded ice time.

Sharks bench boss Peter DeBoer admits it isn’t easy to make the decision to scratch Ward, saying “those aren’t easy conversations.” But as Kurz points out, the Sharks rank just 21st in the league in scoring and after qualifying for the Stanley Cup Final last season, the pressure is on to take the next step. In order to do so, it’s evident DeBoer wants to generate more offense and is willing to tinker with the lineup to accomplish that goal.

“We’re 30 games in,” DeBoer said after Friday’s morning skate at Bell Centre. “We were good last year. We had a great season, but we weren’t good enough. It’s clear the mandate here is to take another step this year. 

“Guys build up equity on what they did last year to a certain point, and then…we have to see some results. We’ve got a lot of depth here, and a lot of young guys knocking on the door. That’s the message.”

Elsewhere in the Pacific:

  • Defenseman Shea Theodore has been one of the Anaheim Ducks top prospects since the moment he was drafted in the first-round of the 2013 draft. He saw his first NHL action a season ago and registered three goals and eight points in 19 contests but saw his production and ice time dip in the playoffs. Nonetheless, he was expected to challenge for a regular role in training camp but after failing to do so, Theodore was reassigned to San Diego of the AHL to start the season. However, the 21-year-old blue liner has earned another opportunity, and as Eric Stephens of The Orange County Register reports, Theodore is working hard to take advantage of it. Theodore has appeared in nine straight games and 11 of the last 12 for the Ducks. Anaheim head coach Randy Carlyle is a “no-nonsense type,” and it can be difficult for young players to earn his trust, as Stephens notes. But, Cam Fowler earned his stripes as a 19-year-old blue liner while playing under Carlyle and it’s feasible Theodore is able to do the same. Stephens adds that because both Clayton Stoner and Simon Despres remain out, the latter expected to be on the shelf long term with concussion-related symptoms, Theodore is likely to stick in the lineup for the immediate future.
  • Forward Sam Gagner burst onto the scene as an 18-year-old fresh out of junior hockey, scoring 49 points in 76 games as a rookie for the Edmonton Oilers during the 2007-08 season. But in the eight full seasons since his flashy debut, Gagner failed to improve upon his rookie performance and bounced around from Edmonton to Arizona and then on to Philadelphia – although he did register at least 37 points in each campaign through 2014-15. Last season was a disaster, however, as he recorded just eight goals and 16 points in 53 games with the Flyers and found himself skating in the AHL at one point. In large part because of that disappointing performance, Gagner received little interest as a free agent this offseason, but ultimately landed on his feet, signing a one-year deal with Columbus. As Robert Tychkowski of the Edmonton Sun argues, the match between the former Oiler and the Blue Jackets couldn’t have worked out any better for the two parties. Gagner already has 12 goals and 21 points in just 26 games and is a key contributor to the Jackets #1 ranked power play unit. The 27-year-old forward is thoroughly enjoying his time in Columbus: “I’ve gotten a great opportunity to play some important minutes. I’m out there at important times of the games and I really relish that opportunity. And it’s a winning team, we’re all playing well. That’s something that’s been really fun for me.” If Gagner continues to produce at his current pace, he’ll finish with 30+ goals and around 60 points. That would prove to be an excellent return on Columbus’ minimal investment.

 

Snapshots: Sabres, McDavid, Meier, Burakovsy

at CDT | by 2 Comments

The Buffalo Sabres will be getting back a defenseman soon.

NHL Buffalo correspondent Joe Yerdon reported that one Sabres coach Dan Bylsma expects one of Zach Bogosian or Taylor Fedun to travel with the team on their upcoming road trip. Meanwhile, injured forward Tyler Ennis is skating on his own as he makes his way back from groin surgery. Bogosian and Ennis have been out since early November, while Fedun has been out since the beginning of December.

The Sabres host the New York Islanders on Friday night, so new Sabres winger Kyle Okposo will face his former team for the first time after nine years on Long Island/ Brooklyn. Okposo leads the Sabres in scoring with 21 points in 29 games, while his replacement on the Islanders, Andrew Ladd, has just seven points in that stretch. Okposo’s 21 points would rank second on the Islanders, behind only John Tavares.

  • Edmonton Oilers center and budding superstar Connor McDavid should win the Hart Trophy, argues Ryan Lambert of Puck Daddy. Lambert took a look at the Oilers advanced stats with McDavid on the ice compared to when he’s not on the ice, and it isn’t pretty: when McDavid isn’t on the ice, the Oilers are in the bottom-half in every category for each stat for all teams from 2007-2016, but jump to mostly the top end (including some NHL bests) when McDavid is on the ice. Lambert compares McDavid’s affect to that of Taylor Hall’s tenure in Edmonton, in that the Oilers are awful without but the player is so strong that he lifts them to respectability. David Staples of the Edmonton Journal suggests that the Oilers need Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jordan Eberle to “twist the throttle harder” in order to boost their scoring numbers. Eberle has 23 points in 32 games but could have more, having missed some glorious opportunities while being set up by McDavid; Nugent-Hopkins has struggled with a 5.7% shooting percentage and 15 points in 32 game. More was expected from the pair of $6MM men to help mitigate the loss of Hall.
  • San Jose Sharks rookie Timo Meier will play his first NHL game on Friday night in Montreal, according to lineups posted by TSN 690’s Amanda Stein. Meier, who played junior in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, has 15 points in 17 games in the AHL so far this season. He was the Sharks’ first pick, ninth overall, in the 2015 NHL draft.
  • The Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan reports that the Capitals have no timetable for getting Andre Burakovsky back into the lineup. Burakovsky was a healthy scratch in the Capital’s last game, a 4-2 win over the Islanders. He has just two goals and 10 points in 28 games this season.

San Jose Sharks Call Up Timo Meier

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Finally, the savior is coming up in San Jose – or, so the fans would have you believe. Timo Meier is on his way up to San Jose after just 17 games in the AHL. The injury to Logan Couture last night against the Ottawa Senators forced the Sharks hand, as they’re also without Tomas Hertl for the immediate future.

Meier was the 9th overall pick in the 2015 draft after dominating the QMJHL with 90 points in 61 games. His next year, he scored 87 in just 52 despite having to deal with being traded mid season. This year, the 20-year old is scoring at almost a point-per-game pace in the AHL, and showing that he can use his physical style in the professional game.  A power-forward through and through, Meier can get in penalty trouble with his aggressive game, but can already dominate at times against much older players.

Since the Sharks are missing Couture and Hertl, Meier may well find his way into the top-six immediately, with Joe Pavelski sliding back to the middle to solidify the second line. While nothing is set in stone, it’ll be interesting to see the line rushes tomorrow morning when the Sharks prepare for their game against the Montreal Canadiens.

Amazingly, the player sent down to make room for Meier is Mirco Mueller, who has been involved in more transactions than one can count in the last few days. Also a former first-round pick, Mueller has spent many days with the Sharks this season without getting into a single contest. He was just called up on Monday, his third time in seven days.

Snapshots: Best Player, Lightning, Darling

at CDT | by 2 Comments

Who is the best player in the NHL right now? If you were to ask 100 people, in 100 different cities you might get 100 (okay, maybe you’d get five) different answers. The debate between Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid has been raging since the young Oiler hit the ice last season. Could he immediately take the mantle of the NHL’s top dog?

ESPN posed the question to several other players around the league, and it’s a resounding win for the old-timer. Here is a taste of some of the quotes:

Oh, Sidney Crosby. I’m a Sidney Crosby fan. He’s ultracompetitive. Great speed, great shot, great passer. — Joe Thornton, San Jose Sharks

Sid is playing great, but man, Connor McDavid is good, oh my God. But I still think today. … I’ve got to say I still think Sid. It’s tough but I really do. — Zach Parise, Minnesota Wild

I think Sidney Crosby has established himself with what he’s doing right now. It’s amazing to see how he just does whatever he needs to do. — Shane Doan, Arizona Coyotes

While McDavid does get some love, the overwhelming sentiment seems to be that Crosby is still at the top of the NHL food chain. Perhaps in a year or two things will be different, but for now it’s still the soft spoken kid from Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia.

  • In a piece for the Chicago Sun Times, Mark Lazerus profiles backup goaltender Scott Darling and the Blackhawks upcoming decision on whether they can afford to extend him in the summer. Darling will be an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career, and is showing that he may be ready to be a starter somewhere in the league. While even Darling says Chicago is “bar none, the best place to be” a backup, the intrigue of perhaps becoming “the guy” somewhere else is still there. With Corey Crawford entrenched as the starter in Chicago, and the team needing every penny it can save to re-sign sniper Artemi Panarin this summer, Darling’s time is likely running out.
  • Pierre LeBrun of ESPN caught up with Steve Yzerman for his latest piece, discussing the struggling Tampa Bay Lightning and what they may be after on the trade market. While Yzerman knows better than to say exactly what he wants, LeBrun opines that the team is after a top-four defenseman. It doesn’t seem like anything is imminent however, as Yzerman frustratingly tells LeBrun, “as I’ve said time and time again, I’ve got to find someone who’s willing to work with me.” For the Stamkos-less Lightning, it has been a struggle of late, losing seven of their last eight games with only a shootout victory over the Capitals during that stretch. At 30 points, they’re only four points behind Boston for a playoff spot, but also only two from last place in the division.

Ottawa Senators Send Down Robinson, Varone

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

After a weekend that saw the Ottawa Senators outscored 9-2 and lose two games on the west coast, the team has sent both Buddy Robinson and Philip Varone back to the AHL. Both players will head to Binghamton for their Wednesday night matchup against the St. John’s IceCaps.

Robinson and Varone have combined for just eight games for the Senators this season, with neither registering a single point. With 47 games, Varone is the more experienced NHLer but both are not expected to be much more than 13th forwards or injury replacements for their careers. They’ll head back to the AHL where each is having a productive season, and wait for another chance at a big league job.

After Bobby Ryan returned this weekend, Curtis Lazar is expected to be back with the team for Wednesday night against the San Jose Sharks. The team is also expecting Clarke MacArthur’s return to the ice at some point this season, as the forward was cleared for contact just a few days ago. Both Lazar and MacArthur are coming off concussions, though for the latter it has been a consistent problem. At one point, it looked like MacArthur wouldn’t be able to return to the NHL after suffering his latest head injury in training camp, but through hard work he’s positioned himself for a mid-season return on a team vying for a playoff spot.

Comparative Standings: One Year Ago

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

With the first third of the season completed for all but Columbus (who have amazingly played just 26 games, six fewer than the Winnipeg Jets), there have been some huge swings from a year ago.

Those Blue Jackets are the league’s most improved team, with a staggering 18 more points through 26 games than last season. Their huge swing is only matched by the Dallas Stars equally amazing drop-off of 18 points the other way. The Jackets can attest their improvement to the development of young players like Zach Werenski and Alexander Wennberg, while the Stars have seen a litany of injuries to their star players including Jason Spezza, Patrick Sharp and Johnny Oduya.

The Central Division as a whole is off to a slower start this year, with only the Chicago Blackhawks bettering their 2015-16 record. The Colorado Avalanche, expected to take a step forward with their young core has suffered the exact same fate with 23 points through 27 games.

The two biggest Canadian rebuild stories, Edmonton and Toronto have both improved, though not as largely as the fan bases in each city might have you believe. Four points for the Maple Leafs and five for the Oilers lend credence to the idea that it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish that counts. Though both franchises have a lot to look forward to, keeping up an advanced pace for an entire season is extremely difficult. The two teams finished last season with just 69 and 70 points respectively.

Below are the current standings. In parenthesis is the difference in points through the same amount of games last year.

Read more

Carolina Hurricanes Send Phil Di Giuseppe To AHL

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

As the Carolina Hurricanes come home from a three game west coast road trip to play the next four on home ice, they’ve decided to send Phil Di Giuseppe to the minors to have him get some more ice time. After playing just 7:31 on Saturday night’s loss to the San Jose Sharks, Di Giuseppe had clearly lost the confidence of the coaching staff.

A gritty forechecking winger, Di Giuseppe had been called up most recently to replace Jordan Staal after the Canes alternate captain suffered a concussion late last month. In 18 games for the club this season, Di Giuseppe had only registered two points, despite initially getting ample playing time with a number of skilled players.

With Elias Lindholm closing in on a return from his lower-body injury, it figures that he’ll likely get back into the lineup Tuesday night against the Vancouver Canucks. The Hurricanes, at 11-11-6, are struggling to find much early season success despite a developing blue line and youth-infused lineup. With only 68 goals through 28 games, the team will need players like Lindholm to start producing like they’re capable of. The 22-year old had a career high 17 goals in 2014-15, but has notched only two so far this season. He has a long way to match the 39 points he’s scored in back to back seasons, let alone improving on those numbers as expected.

Shark Notes: Mueller, Injuries, Grosenick

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The San Jose Sharks have got to be playing a trick. Just a day after his latest assignment to the AHL, Mirco Mueller has been recalled by the team. This marks the defenseman’s third call up in the past week as the team plays ping-pong with his contract. The amazing thing is that he still hasn’t played in a single game for the Sharks, while dressing 18 times for the Barracuda between callups. The 21-year old former first-round pick has fallen victim to the waivers game since he is the Sharks best option that is exempt from the process. With seven points in his AHL games the big puck moving defender is off to a nice start despite all the up and downs.

  • Mueller will again possibly see some NHL action this week as both David Schlemko and Marc-Edouard Vlasic are considered day-to-day with lower body injuries. According to Curtis Pashelka of the Mercury News, Vlasic didn’t skate with the team Sunday (though it was only a half-hour optional practice) and is unsure of his status for Tuesday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs. While not clear even when it happened during the Carolina game on Saturday night, he’s literally taking it day by day: “I’m thinking today and today I’m trying to get better. We’ll see tomorrow and it’s going to be the same thing.”
  • Schlemko, out the last three games is closer to returning, but still isn’t 100% either. He took part in the optional Sunday skate, but will likely be a game-time decision on Tuesday night. Dylan DeMelo has been filling in for Schlemko, but is right-handed and may not be able to fill in for Vlasic should he miss the upcoming games; Mueller does play the left side, and would be a natural replacement if much less experienced than the elite shutdown defender.
  • Pashelka also tells us that Troy Grosenick has been chosen as the AHL player of the week. The netminder amazingly stopped all 64 shots he faced this week after coming back from injury to rejoin the Barracuda. The 27-year old undrafted pro has a 1.98 goals against average this year and is holding a steady .928 save percentage. Grosenick made his NHL debut in 2014-15 with the Sharks, playing in two games and allowing just three goals. While last year was a bit of a disaster for the veteran AHLer, it’s not inconceivable for him to get a look as an NHL backup at some point down the road if he can keep up this excellence. He’ll hit unrestricted free agency for the first time this summer, and would be an interesting option for a team looking for a cheap option in net.

Western Conference Notes: Stars, Red Wings, Labanc, Toews, Seabrook

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

A year after riding the league’s most prolific offense to a Central Division title, the Dallas Stars have been beset by injuries and currently sit on the outside looking in at a postseason berth. Obviously the absences of key players like Ales Hemsky, Patrick Sharp, Jiri Hudler, Mattias Janmark and Cody Eakin for parts – or in the case of Janmark, all – of the season has played a role. However, Mike Heika addressed another possible factor for the team’s on-ice struggles in a recent mailbag feature.

When asked what trade he would make if he were the GM to improve the Stars, Heika suggested making a relatively minor deal sending blue liner Patrik Nemeth to Detroit for a goalie prospect. While on the surface it’s difficult to envision a trade of this nature having much of an impact on the ice for either team, Heika reasons that moving one of the eight defensemen on the roster would “alleviate the pressure of eight defensemen for the players and the coaching staff and that could immediately make a player such as Jamie Oleksiak better.” 

Ordinarily having quality depth is considered a good thing but perhaps not when it comes to the Stars blue line. As Heika suggests, carrying seven blue liners may allow head coach Lindy Ruff to more easily identify consistent defense pairings.

While this does not qualify as an actual trade rumor, Heika’s hypothetical deal does provide a look at what the Stars brass may actually consider at some point. The team does have solid depth on the back end and with neither Antti Niemi nor Kari Lehtonen performing well between the pipes for Dallas, the Stars could certainly find themselves in the market for a young goaltender-of-the-future.

  •  Highly-regarded rookie Kevin Labanc isn’t exactly lighting up the league with just three goals and five points in the first 14 games of his NHL career. But after going scoreless in his first four, the 20-year-old winger – 21 on December 12th – has been more productive of late with all of his points coming in the last 10 contests. As Kevin Kurz of CSN Bay Area writes, the mini outburst from Labanc has already helped the youngster leapfrog veteran forwards Joonas Donskoi, Joe Thornton and Mikkel Boedker in the goal-scoring department. As Kurz notes, Labanc’s contributions have likely earned him a regular role on the Sharks for the balance of 2016-17.
  • Chris Hine of the Chicago Tribune provides an update on the status of Jonathan Toews and Brent Seabrook. Toews has missed the past eight contests with a back problem while Seabrook missed his first game of the season with an upper-body-injury. Hawks bench boss Joel Quennville has already said that before returning to the lineup, both players will need to skate with the team. To this point, neither player has been able to do so, though Seabrook’s injury is a recent development. The injury to Toews has to be of great concern to the Blackhawks. There is no timetable for a return and back injuries can be problematic, leading to the possibility Chicago’s top pivot could be odd for a while yet.

Pacific Division Notes: Gudbranson, Mueller

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Vancouver Canucks finsihed 12 points behind Minnesota for the final playoff berth in the Western Conference in 2015-16 and with many of their best players – Henrik Sedin, Daniel Sedin, Alex Edler and Ryan Miller – all on the wrong side of 30, many thought it was time for the organization to embrace a full rebuild. Instead Vancouver inked veteran scoring forward Loui Eriksson in free agency and dealt young prospect Jared McCann along with a second-round pick to Florida for experienced defenseman Erik Gudbranson; moves that suggested the front office had every reason of contending in 2016-17. While the team sits just three points out of a playoff berth and with roughly two-thirds of the season remaining, it’s still more likely Vancouver will be a lottery team as opposed to a serious postseason contender. Now, with Gudbranson scheduled to reach restricted free agency next summer and likely in line for a marked raise over his $3.5MM cap hit, Vancouver will have to make a tough decision on what to do with the physical blue liner, as Jason Brough of Pro Hockey Talk writes.

As Brough explains, the Canucks have unexpectedly received strong play from rookie Troy Stecher, who has six points in 18 games, and already have Chris Tanev signed long term. Both are right-side defenders, as is Gudbranson, and a strong case can be made that they deserve top-four slots ahead of the former Florida Panther. In that case, Vancouver GM Jim Benning may not want to pay market value for Gudbranson, assuming he would be no more than a third-pair blue liner.

Benning has indicated that his newfound back end depth may allow him to trade a defenseman for a forward:

“We have depth on defense. We’ve rebuilt our defense. (Nikita) Tryamkin is 22 years old, (Troy) Stecher is 22 years old. (Alex) Edler at 30 is our oldest defenseman, so we have a young, good group back there. We have depth back there. So if we look to make a move, we’d have to use some of our depth on the blue line to add a forward.”

Gudbranson’s value is also difficult to project. The analytical community is not a fan, citing his substandard possession numbers – 48.7% career CF% – and his lack of offense. The towering blue liner has tallied just 48 career points in 336 NHL regular season games; good for a per-82-game-average of 11.7. With the league always looking for more offense and team’s prioritizing puck moving capabilities from its blue liners, there may not be as much of a trade market this summer for a player of Gudbranson’s ilk.

However, teams that value intangibles may be willing to overlook the advanced stats. But first, Vancouver has to decide whether they project Gudbranson to be a top-four defender and if not, are they going to be willing to extend the former third overall pick to a contract with an AAV in excess of $4MM or $5MM.

Elsewhere in the Pacific Division:

  • Defenseman Mirco Mueller has been recalled by the San Jose Sharks, according to the official website of their AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda. Curtis Pashelka of the San Jose Mercury News relays that the team’s head coach, Peter DeBoer, has not yet decided whether Mueller will be in the lineup this evening. However, Kevin Kurz of CSN Bay Area believes it is likely the former first-round pick will sit out tonight. Mueller has appeared in 50 NHL games with the Sharks, netting one goal and four points. He has yet to suit up this season for the Sharks. Mueller has six points in 17 games with the Barracuda.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

scroll to top