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Snapshots: Three Stars, Marino, Dumoulin, Kempny

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The NHL announced its Three Stars for the month of February and Edmonton Oilers center Leon Draisaitl was an obvious choice. The 24-year-old scored 10 goals and 23 points in February in 14 games and his two goals and three points on Saturday, pushed Draisaitl over the 100-point mark in just 65 games, the fastest Oilers to have accomplished that since the 1989-90 season when Mark Messier accomplished it in 62 games. Draisaitl has reached the 100-point mark once before, last season when he notched 105 points in 82 games.

New York Rangers Mika Zibanejad and Boston Bruins David Pastrnak round out the second and third stars of the month. Zibanejad has led the Rangers to 11 February victories by tallying 11 goals and 20 points. The 26-year-old has already tied his career-high in goals scored with 30 and looks to be headed for a career year. Pastrnak scored 10 goals of his own in the month of February, padding his NHL-leading 47 goals. The 23-year-old had four game-winning goals in helping Boston win 11 games throughout the month.

  • While not a true contender for the Calder Trophy, The Athletic’s Josh Yohe (subscription required) writes that the Pittsburgh Penguins are just 3-7-1 without rookie defenseman John Marino since the blueliner was hit in the face with a puck and required surgery. However, the scribe does add that Marino and teammate Brian Dumoulin (ankle) are both close to returning, possibly as early as Tuesday, which could be a big boost for the Penguins. Both players were full participants in practice on Thursday.
  • Just two years ago, the Washington Capitals traded for Michal Kempny and got an incredible boost from the blueliner for the stretch run. Unfortunately, his play two years later hasn’t been particularly impressive. The Washington Post’s Samantha Pell writes that Kempny and Capitals head coach Todd Reirden had a long conversation about the 29-year-old’s play. Since the Capitals picked up Brendan Dillon from San Jose at the trade deadline, Kempny has seen himself go from the first pairing to the third. “We were honest with each other, all the time — [even] when I [first] got here,” Kempny said. “I told him how I feel, how I felt, and so we had a pretty good discussion and conversation. And I believe it is going to help me be myself, to be Michal Kempny, you know? The one everybody knows. There is no excuses for me. We had a good conversation, and it is going to help me for sure.”

Snapshots: Kubalik, Gostisbehere, Tarasenko, Clutterbuck

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The Blackhawks have started preliminary talks about a new contract for winger Dominik Kubalik, reports Scott Powers of The Athletic (subscription required).  GM Stan Bowman recently met with Kubalik’s agent while in Prague and the expectation is that they will meet again before the season comes to an end.  The 24-year-old rookie has been a pleasant surprise in Chicago this year as he leads the team in goals with 29 and has certainly been worth the fifth-round pick they sent Los Angeles to get his rights last season.  Even though he’s only in his rookie season, Kubalik is arbitration-eligible this summer which will only make things that much more complicated.  A short-term deal given Chicago’s salary structure is the likely outcome here.

Elsewhere around the league:

  • Although Shayne Gostisbehere had been out with recurring knee issues, the Flyers still received some interest in the defenseman leading up to the trade deadline, reports Dave Isaac of the Courier-Post. However, GM Chuck Fletcher opted to hold onto the 26-year-old who has seen his offensive numbers fall off considerably this season as he has just a dozen points in 41 games which isn’t a great return on a $4.5MM AAV.  Gostisbehere is now healthy but is currently serving as Philadelphia’s seventh defender.  However, despite being out of the lineup for now, he indicated that he is happy to remain with the Flyers, the only NHL team he has played for.
  • Blues winger Vladimir Tarasenko will begin participating in contact drills on their upcoming road trip, notes Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. That’s a big development for the veteran who has been out since late October with a shoulder injury.  The expectation that he’d return late in the year played a big role in a quiet trade deadline for St. Louis but if he’ll be starting contact drills next week, he could be back a bit earlier than expected which would be a big boost for a team that’s already in the top ten in goals scored this season.
  • The Islanders announced (via Twitter) that they’ve activated Cal Clutterbuck off LTIR in advance of today’s game against Boston. The winger has missed more than two months due to a wrist injury sustained just before the holiday break.  While he won’t make a big difference offensively, the physical dimension he brings will certainly be welcomed for the stretch run.

Snapshots: Islanders, Stone, D’Aoust

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Randi F. Marshall of Newsday is reporting today that New York governor Andrew Cuomo will announce tomorrow the New York Islanders will play any playoff games this season at Nassau Coliseum. Not only that, but the team will also play the entire 2020-21 season at the Coliseum, while waiting for the new arena at Belmont Park to be completed.

That would mean the Islanders’ unfortunate stay at the Barclays Center will end in less than two months. Through all of the frustration and uncertainty, the Islanders have rebuilt their organization and found success on the ice. The team seems prepared to start the era at Belmont off on the right foot.

  • The Vegas Golden Knights have lost Mark Stone to a lower-body injury, though it’s not clear for how long. Head coach Peter DeBoer told reporters today that his star forward is still being evaluated, but this couldn’t have come at a worse time for the Golden Knights. On a seven-game winning streak, the Golden Knights have finally established themselves as the leaders in the Pacific Division. Stone is a huge part of that as the team’s leading scorer and best defensive forward.
  • The Charlotte Checkers, short on forwards after a busy NHL trade deadline, have acquired Alexis D’Aoust from the Manitoba Moose in exchange for future considerations. The 23-year old D’Aoust has 26 points in 36 games for the ECHL’s Jacksonville Icemen this season, but does have more than 100 games of AHL experience.

Snapshots: Post-Deadline Moves, Thornton, Lindholm

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Even though it is referred to as the trade deadline in the NHL, this Monday was not actually that. In fact, teams are still allowed to make basically any move they want, with one caveat—players switching squads will not be eligible for the postseason. With that limitation in place it almost never makes sense for a team to make a trade in the weeks following the deadline but perhaps in one specific situation this year it could.

The Toronto Maple Leafs announced earlier today that Jake Muzzin will be out a month with a broken hand, leaving them with a handful of defenders that were almost all playing in the minor leagues a few years ago. Tyson Barrie stands as the only real defenseman with any experience, at least until Muzzin, Morgan Rielly and Cody Ceci return down the road. Perhaps the Maple Leafs could break with tradition and acquire a depth defender just to help them for the next few weeks, given their precarious hold on an Atlantic Division playoff spot.

  • Speaking of Toronto, the latest edition of 31 Thoughts by Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet includes an interesting nugget regarding the Maple Leafs. When examining the Joe Thornton situation and his recent comments about being disappointed he didn’t move at the deadline, Friedman speculates that the veteran forward could find his way to Toronto should he decide the San Jose Sharks aren’t in a position to compete next season. In fact, Friedman believes that the Maple Leafs considered adding him this year, though there were obvious obstacles in the way. In the summer of 2017 when the Maple Leafs signed Patrick Marleau as a free agent there were plenty of rumors about Thornton joining him there, but will there even be an opportunity for him next season at age-41?
  • After leaving last night’s game with an upper-body injury, Hampus Lindholm wasn’t at practice today for the Anaheim Ducks according to Eric Stephens of The Athletic. Brendan Guhle has been recalled in his absence. Losing Lindholm for any length of time would really test the rest of the Anaheim defenders, perhaps even giving them a chance to see what they have in some of their younger options. The 26-year old logs more than 23 minutes a night for the team, and has 22 points in 55 games.

Snapshots: Barrie, Nemirovsky, Suspensions

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Leading up to the trade deadline yesterday there was plenty of speculation about the future of Tyson Barrie. Several teams had inquired on the defenseman, but when it was all said and done he was still part of the Toronto Maple Leafs and ready to try and get them to the playoffs. Chris Johnston of Sportsnet reports that Barrie was only told he wasn’t going to be traded shortly before the deadline, confirming that he was available if the right package came along.

Bob McKenzie was on TSN radio in Vancouver today, explaining just how that package didn’t materialize. The insider explained that the Maple Leafs set a price for Barrie comparable to the Kevin Shattenkirk trade from a few years ago, but only received offers similar to the ones that landed Sami Vatanen and Erik Gustafsson.

Snapshots: Three Stars, Vegas’ Pick, Marleau, Sheahan, Archibald

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The NHL announced its Three Stars for last week with Colorado Avalanche goaltender Pavel Francouz getting the top honors. Francouz, filling in for the injured Philipp Grubauer went 3-0-1 for the week, posting a 1.46 GAA and a .941 save percentage along with a 1-0 shutout over the Anaheim Ducks on Friday. Francouz is in his first full season with the Avalanche and had done an exceptional job as their emergency starter where he ranks fifth in the league with a 2.27 GAA and tied for fourth in the league with a .927 save percentage.

Mika Zibanejad of the New York Rangers received the second star, scoring three goals and five assists over three games for the Rangers. He helped lead New York to three victories as the rebuilding franchise suddenly is within four points of a playoff spot. Calgary Flames forward Andrew Mangiapane takes the third star honors with five goals and six points in three games, which includes his first-career hat trick against Anaheim on Feb. 17.

  • The Vegas Golden Knights have been quiet so far on Monday, but the team still managed to pick up a fifth-round pick in 2021 from the Carolina Hurricanes, a condition of the Erik Haula deal this offseason, according to Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston. Haula was traded earlier today to Florida as part of a package for Vincent Trocheck, which enacted a condition in the Golden Knights trade which stated that the Hurricanes would send a fifth-round pick to Vegas if Haula was traded to another team for a player.
  • The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz adds that even though the San Jose Sharks have traded away veteran forward Patrick Marleau to Pittsburgh earlier today, the veteran is expected to be welcome back next year to San Jose if he is interested. The 40-year-old is just 53 games away from breaking Gordie Howe’s all-time games played mark. A reunion would allow him to do it in a Sharks sweater next season.
  • The Athletic’s Daniel Nugent-Bowman reports that the Edmonton Oilers are currently working on getting extensions worked out for forwards Riley Sheahan and Josh Archibald, both who will be unrestricted free agents at the end of the season. Both players are key players on the team’s penalty kill with Sheahan logging the second-most minutes on the PK, while Archibald is fourth. Both players have fared well after singing one-year pacts this summer. Sheahan has seven goals and 14 points in 57 games, while Archibald has with 10 goals and 17 points in 53 games.

Snapshots: Sorokin, Bruins, Fines

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Some confusion erupted today when reports surfaced that New York Islanders draft pick Ilya Sorokin’s rights had been traded to the Chicago Blackhawks, but things were quickly cleared up. Igor Eronko of Sport-Express once again reported that Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello has met with Sorokin’s agent at gives it a “99% chance” that the young goaltender comes to the NHL next season.

Sorokin is considered by many to be the best goaltender outside of the NHL, after completely dominating the KHL since he was a teenager. Following his 28-6-4, .940 sv% season with CSKA Moscow in 2018-19, he has a 25-9-3 record this year with a .936. His deal in Russia expires at the end of April, so Islanders fans will have to wait a little longer to find out if he’s really planning on coming over.

  • With the big move today to acquire Ondrej Kase from the Anaheim Ducks, the Boston Bruins may be considered out of the running for some other names. Not so fast, according to several reporters around the league. Eric Engels of Sportsnet tweets that the Bruins are still in the running for Ilya Kovalchuk, while Joe McDonald of The Athletic (subscription required) suggests that when Boston GM Don Sweeney said he’s “in it to win it” today he could mean players like Brandon Saad or Joe Thornton are still a possibility. At any rate, the Bruins certainly aren’t a team to forget about now that they’ve moved David Backes’ contract off the books (well, at least 75% of it).
  • A pair of fines were handed out today from the Department of Player Safety, who are still working despite the deadline taking up most of the news cycle. Matt Niskanen was given a $5,000 fine for his vicious slash across the hands of Gustav Nyquist, while Scott Sabourin gets a $1,881.72 fine for unsportsmanlike. Sabourin squirted water from the Ottawa Senators bench. These fines are the maximum allowable and based on player salary.

Snapshots: Sharks, Marchenko, Hronek

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Call it the thinnest of silver linings, but the numerous injuries of the San Jose Sharks may actually help the team to make something of their season. In a year in which everything has gone wrong in San Jose, including the season-ending injuries of Erik Karlsson and Tomas Hertl, the team is now in a position to take on considerable salary due to those absences and reap the rewards of doing so, writes NBC Sports’ Marcus White. The once cap-strapped Sharks now have more than $6MM in salary cap space following the trade of defenseman Brenden Dillon and that number could increase if more deals are made. This could allow for San Jose to land a pick or prospect from a contender lacking in cap flexibility who has been weighed down by a bad contract. Of course, the team would likely be looking for expiring contracts so as not to carry the added cap weight into next season, when they hope to be healthy and competitive once again. Still, there are a number of bad contracts out there that the Sharks could take on, making the most of a deadline in which they otherwise don’t have many valuable pieces to trade away.

  • Former NHL defenseman Alexey Marchenko is eyeing a return to North America and KHL insider Igor Eronko thinks that he has identified the most likely landing spot. Eronko notes that Marchenko’s teammate with CSKA Moscow is Montreal Canadiens’ top defensive prospect Alexander Romanov and the highest likelihood that Romanov could make the jump next year would be if he is joined by a familiar face. Marchenko, who struggled to carve out an NHL role for himself previously, has improved in the KHL and could be a suitable replacement on the Montreal blue line for impending free agents such as Christian Folin or Xavier Ouellet.
  • One of the few bright spots of the Detroit Red Wings’ dismal season has been the continued growth of defenseman Filip Hronek, who has become a dependable all-around defender for the franchise. However, fans can’t even cling to that as a reason to tune in to games for the next few weeks, as the Red Wings have placed Hronek on injured reserve. His injury is not expected to be serious, but the team also lacks any reason to rush him back to action. Long-time depth asset Brian Lashoff has been recalled to take Hronek’s roster spot for the time being.

Snapshots: Muzzin, Jaskin, Trocheck

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have defensive issues that go beyond this season, as Jake Muzzin, Tyson Barrie and Cody Ceci are all scheduled to become unrestricted free agents. That is about to change however, as another report—this time from Darren Dreger of TSN—confirms that the Maple Leafs have an agreement in place with Muzzin on a four-year extension that will carry a cap hit just over $5.5MM.

The deal, according to Dreger, will be “heavily front-loaded” and if completed will be announced later due to the “tagging” concerns that have been brought up previously. Teams have a limit to how much cap space they can have on the books for the following year, meaning the official announcement will likely not come until next month should everything go according to plan.

  • Dmitrij Jaskin is having an outstanding season in the KHL after not receiving a qualifying offer from the Washington Capitals, scoring 62 points in 55 games while playing with former Vegas Golden Knights forward Vadim Shipachyov. His stay overseas may last just one season however, as Igor Eronko of Sport-Express reports that Jaskin has two NHL offers. The 26-year old forward has just 69 points in 303 NHL games, most of which came with the St. Louis Blues.
  • Both Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (subscription required) and Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet have written today on Vincent Trocheck, who is apparently generating interest despite being a big piece of the puzzle for the Florida Panthers. LeBrun suggests that given Florida’s defensive issues they “have no choice but to listen.” Obviously a deal for someone like that is complicated, especially when the Panthers are just two points out of an Atlantic Division playoff spot. Trocheck comes with a $4.75MM cap hit through the 2021-22 season.

Snapshots: Matheson, Toffoli, Handemark

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The Florida Panthers iced a unique lineup on Tuesday night with not one, but two defensemen skating as forwards. While Mark Pysyk has served in that hybrid role frequently this season, Michael Matheson also tried his hand. The result was a win and goal and two assists for Matheson. While Matheson does not receive a tremendous amount of attention, the Boston College product has been a reliable two-way blue liner for Florida since day one and other teams are beginning to take notice. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the Panthers have explored the trade market for Matheson this season. He believes that a number of teams are interested and after Tuesday’s display of versatility and offensive touch, there may now be a few more. The stumbling block to any trade though would be Matheson’s contract. The dependable defender actually has a very fair $4.875MM cap hit, but it is term that could be a problem. Matheson is in just the second year of a maximum eight-year contract that carries through the 2025-26 season. Any team looking to acquire Matheson has to be more than just interested, they have to be dedicated, as Matheson could be around for a long time. The Panthers probably won’t take a discount on a return due to the term of the deal though. Florida was happy to have Matheson in the fold for many years to come just a couple of seasons back and they likely will not move the homegrown defenseman without a strong return.

  • Los Angeles Kings forward Tyler Toffoli continues to be one of the hottest names on the market with a number of potential suitors. However, some think that the Philadelphia Flyers have emerged as the favorite to land the two-way winger. Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer added fuel to that fire by reporting that former Flyers GM Ron Hextall, now an employee of the Kings, is in Florida scouting Flyers-Panthers on Thursday night. The Kings have been scouting the Flyers frequently, but Hextall’s presence takes things up a notch. No one in L.A. knows Philadelphia better than Hextall and the team would likely not make a move without his seal of approval. Perhaps they will get that nod from Hextall on a potential return for Toffoli after tonight’s game.
  • The Detroit Red Wings are hardly buyers in the trade market, but they will be looking to add in the off-season. One player that the team has been linked to is Swedish forward Fredrik Handemark. The 26-year-old center is a big, two-way center who has impressed for several years with the Malmo Redhawks of the SHL. In a season in which he has already matched his career high in points with weeks still to play, the consensus is that Handemark has outgrown Sweden and will look to make the jump to the NHL next season. Swedish news source Aftonbladet reports that there is interest from NHL teams, including the Red Wings, who Handemark calls his childhood favorite. Detroit has had great success with Swedes in the past, including a fellow two-way pivot in Henrik Zetterberg, and Handemark could be an affordable, effective addition for GM Steve Yzerman’s rebuilding club. Aftonbladet also mentions Orebro’s Mathias Brome, Farjestad’s Gustaf Rydahl, and HK Sochi’s Malte Strömwall as other Swedish standouts who have been linked to the Red Wings this season.

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