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Snapshots: Francis, Maple Leafs, Pavelski

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If you’re looking for someone to credit for the success that the Carolina Hurricanes are having right now, it’s easy to name head coach Rod Brind’Amour, GM Don Waddell or even new owner Tom Dundon. One person who may be deserving of a good chunk of that credit though is former GM Ron Francis, who was let go before this season even started.

No, Francis wasn’t the man to pull the trigger on the Dougie Hamilton or Nino Niederreiter trades, but his fingerprints are still all over the roster. He was the GM who signed captain Justin Williams to a two-year, $9MM contract despite the forward being over 35. He orchestrated contract extensions for Brett Pesce ($4.025MM AAV) and Jaccob Slavin ($5.3MM) that look like absolute steals right now, and he was the one who selected Sebastian Aho with the 35th pick in 2015. On Sportsnet radio today Francis admitted that he is interested in returning to management, and John Shannon notes that his contract expires on June 30th. It will be interesting to see where Francis lands, and in what role.

  • The Toronto Maple Leafs are expecting to add a Russian on Wednesday according to Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star, though it is not exactly clear who that would be. McGran suggests it is likely either Yegor Korshkov, a draft pick of the Maple Leafs who is expected to sign his entry-level contract this summer, or Ilya Mikheyev, who has been linked to the team in recent weeks. With the KHL season officially ending today and contracts expiring, many names will be signing over the next several days.
  • The San Jose Sharks will still be without captain Joe Pavelski when they take on the Colorado Avalanche today, as he did not travel with the team to Denver. The Sharks haven’t listed exactly what Pavelski is dealing with, but he hasn’t played since suffering the scary head injury against the Vegas Golden Knights in the first round. Gustav Nyquist, who flew home for the birth of his child, is expected to play for the Sharks.

San Jose Sharks Sign Mario Ferraro

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The San Jose Sharks have inked a top college prospect, signing Mario Ferraro to a three-year entry-level contract. Ferraro recently finished his sophomore season at UMass. Sharks GM Doug Wilson released this statement about his newest recruit:

Mario had another stellar season at UMass and has consistently proven his capacity to compete and lead at an elite level. His offensive skills, ability to make plays from the blueline and the energy he brings to the rink are impressive and we look forward to seeing him continue his growth at the professional level.

Ferraro, 20, was selected 49th overall in 2017 after an outstanding rookie season in the USHL and has continued that solid progression at the NCAA level. The left-handed defenseman combined with Cale Makar to make one of the most dynamic pairings—freshmen or not—in the country last year before head coach Greg Carvel split them up this season to give his team a deeper attack.

While he may not be Makar in terms of his upside, Ferraro is no slouch at either end of the rink. In fact, the Colorado Avalanche star prospect’s presence may have actually stifled Ferraro’s production at times, given the fact that UMass would rely heavily on the latter in the defensive end while letting the former run wild with the puck on offense. Ferraro can move the puck effectively and may bring more offense at the next level, but the Sharks will be pleased with the defensive zone polish he’s received at college. Even though he doesn’t bring intimidating size, Ferraro can play physical when he needs to an shuts down plays routinely at his blue line.

That kind of defensive responsibility may be the perfect fit for the Sharks, who already have Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson (if re-signed) to move the puck and attack the opposing team. It will be interesting to see if Ferraro can compete for a spot on the NHL squad out of training camp, or if they feel he’ll need more seasoning in the minor leagues.

Snapshots: Willie O’Ree Award, Hurricanes’ Injuries, Haley

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The NHL revealed the finalists for the Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award. The award was established last year, named after O’Ree who was the NHL’s first black player and spent decades bringing the sport of hockey to people who might normally not be exposed to it, to honor people not directly affiliated with the NHL or any teams.

The finalists are Anthony Benevides, Tammi Lynch and Rico Phillips. Benevides has built an affordable hockey program in Detroit, which serves Latino youth in impoverished areas. Lynch, a hockey mom, started a movement called Players Against Hate after her son’s teammate was a victim of racial slurs. Phillips has run a free hockey program in the inner city of Flint, Michigan, which he has run for the last six years.

Pacific Notes: Brodie, Haula, Nyquist

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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.

Golden Knights Owner Pushing For Major Penalty Review

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A series-defining call, or mistake in the minds of many, has lit a fire underneath the owner of the NHL’s newest team. Vegas Golden Knights owner Bill Foley has already begun lobbying the league to make all major penalty calls reviewable after a controversial major ended up costing his team in the first round.

With a 3-0 lead over the San Jose Sharks in the third period of Game Seven, Vegas center Cody Eakin was issued a five-minute major and game misconduct for cross-checking Sharks counterpart Joe Pavelski, who fell awkwardly to the ice, had to leave the game, and remains sidelined for San Jose. Over the course of that five-minute penalty, the Sharks scored four times and ultimately won in overtime to eliminate the Golden Knights. The penalty was a blatant cross-check and worthy of a two-minute minor, but it’s hard to argue that a major was the right call. In fact, the NHL has reportedly apologized to the club for the call.

While Knights GM George McPhee said that he and the team would not dwell on the call, he apparently wasn’t speaking for his owner. In a press conference on Thursday, Foley informed the media that he believed a major penalty should be reviewable via coach’s challenge. It is unlikely that this was a passion project of the owner prior to his team’s controversial elimination, but it certainly is now. Foley stated that he has already spoken with league officials and fellow owners about the issue and expects it to be a topic of conversation at the summer Board of Governors meeting.

Foley insisted that if a major penalty review process had been in place, the call on Eakin would have been overturned and the Golden Knights would have won the game and advanced to the next round. However, the owner is only focusing on one part of the problem. Bad calls happen, but if your team cannot allow less than four goals over one five-minute penalty, it would seem that the penalty kill is a bigger issue than the league’s policies and procedures.

Joonas Donskoi To Miss The Start Of The Second Round

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  • On top of missing Joe Pavelski for tonight’s series opener against Colorado, the Sharks will also be without winger Joonas Donskoi, notes Kevin Kurz of The Athletic (Twitter link). He suffered an upper-body injury back in the sixth game of the first round against Vegas.  Despite having a career-best 37 points this season, the pending UFA has seen limited action so far this postseason, even when healthy.  There is no timetable for his return.

San Jose Sharks Sign Danil Yurtaikin

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The San Jose Sharks have inked another international free agent, this time signing Danil Yurtaikin to a two-year entry-level contract. Yurtaikin was undrafted and played this season with Lokomotiv in the KHL. GM Doug Wilson released a statement on his newest forward:

Danil is an explosive skater who uses his speed to create and sustain production in the offensive zone. His offensive talents led him to finish in the top three in scoring among players under 22 in the KHL. He has a championship pedigree as a two-time MHL champion and experience with the Russian national team. We’re excited for him to join our organization.

Yurtaikin, 21, was actually ranked 63rd among international skaters for the 2015 draft by the NHL’s Central Scouting but was a relatively unknown talent and ended up going undrafted. He ended up playing in the World Juniors for Russia in 2017, recording three points and helping to secure a bronze medal. Still, the Sharks are taking a chance on a player that doesn’t have a ton of experience at the professional level, with just 58 games under his belt in the KHL.

The Sharks have been aggressive in how they’ve added players from around the world over the last few offseasons, and appear to be following that trend again this year. Yurtaikin and Joel Kellman are just the latest lottery tickets for Wilson, who continues to build an excellent program in San Jose.

Joel Kellman Signs With San Jose Sharks

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Wednesday: The deal has been officially announced by the Sharks, who included this statement from GM Doug Wilson:

Joel has consistently proven his skill and hockey IQ, as is evident in his continued improvement in juniors, Allsvenskan, and the Swedish Hockey League. He has proven himself at each level, including over 200 games before the age of 24 at Sweden’s highest level, which is an accomplishment on its own. His intelligence and responsibility on the ice are going to be a huge asset to our organization and we look forward to his joining us.

Tuesday: The San Jose Sharks have signed Swedish forward Joel Kellman, according to Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports. The deal is a one-year entry-level contract.

Kellman, 24, has played the last four seasons in the SHL and recorded 34 points in 45 games this season for Brynas. The talented offensive player has long been an effective weapon in the Swedish ranks, but never drew much NHL or international attention. That has apparently ended now that he’s on his way to San Jose, where he can battle for a spot with the team in 2019-20.

The Sharks are not new to the European free agent scene, having signed players like Lukas Radil and Radim Simek out of the Czech Republic in recent years. The team knows that with so much capital tied up in veterans like Brent Burns, Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Logan Couture, they need to fill out the fringes of the roster with cheap, effective talent. While there’s no guarantee that Kellman can bring his level of production to the NHL, he does offer plenty of professional experience while still only earning an entry-level salary.

Minor Transactions: 04/25/19

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The second round is coming up and all four wild card entries are still alive. The NHL playoffs is a wild and crazy ride this season but hockey fans everywhere are loving it. As the eight remaining teams prepare for action in the coming days, we’ll keep track of all the minor moves right here.

  • Clark Bishop is back up with the Carolina Hurricanes as the team prepares for their second round matchup with the New York Islanders. Bishop has bounced up and down during the postseason due to the injuries to Andrei Svechnikov and Micheal Ferland, and will once again be considered an insurance policy for the start of round two.
  • The Boston Bruins have recalled Zane McIntyre to serve as a third goaltender while they get set to face the Columbus Blue Jackets. In addition, the team has assigned Kyle Keyser to the minor leagues after his OHL team was eliminated from the junior playoffs.
  • Joe Cannata is on his way to the Colorado Avalanche, recalled today from the minor leagues. Cannata played most of the season at the ECHL level, but can give the team an extra practice goaltender for the time being.
  • Dylan Gambrell, Lukas Radil and Josef Korenar are on their way to San Jose, joining the Sharks after their AHL club was eliminated from the playoffs last night. The San Jose Barracuda lost in four games to the San Diego Gulls, meaning the Sharks will have some extra bodies hanging around for their playoff run.

NHL Announces Second Round Playoff Schedule

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The NHL was ready for either outcome last night in Game Seven between the Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals, although they waited alongside the rest of us as the game went to double overtime. The Hurricanes emerged victorious, knocking out the defending champions, as well as the fourth and final division leader. The stage is now set for the next round of playoff action, as this unpredictable postseason rolls on. Per the league release, here is the lineup for the remaining eight teams over the next few weeks:

Eastern Conference

A2 Boston Bruins vs. WC2 Columbus Blue Jackets

Thursday, April 25th @ 7pm ET
Saturday, April 27th @ 8pm ET
Tuesday, April 30th @ 7pm ET
Thursday, May 2nd @ 7:30pm ET
Saturday, May 4th (if necessary)
Monday, May 6th (if necessary)
Wednesday, May 8th (if necessary)

M2 New York Islanders vs. WC1 Carolina Hurricanes

Friday, April 26th @ 7pm ET
Sunday, April 28th @ 3pm ET
Wednesday, May 1st @ 7pm ET
Friday, May 3rd @ 7pm ET
Sunday, May 5th (if necessary)
Tuesday, May 7th (if necessary)
Wednesday, May 8th (if necessary)

Western Conference

P2 San Jose Sharks vs. WC2 Colorado Avalanche

Friday, April 26th @ 10pm ET
Sunday, April 28th @ 7:30pm ET
Tuesday, April 30th @ 10pm ET
Thursday, May 2nd @ 10pm ET
Saturday, May 4th (if necessary)
Monday, May 6th (if necessary)
Wednesday, May 8th (if necessary)

C3 St. Louis Blues vs. WC1 Dallas Stars

Thursday, April 25th @ 9:30pm ET
Saturday, April 27th @ 3pm ET
Monday, April 29th @ 8pm ET
Wednesday, May 1st @ 9:30pm ET
Friday, May 3rd (if necessary)
Sunday, May 5th (if necessary)
Tuesday, May 7th (if necessary)

 

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