Snapshots: Couture, Matthews, Thomas
The San Jose Sharks entered the 2018-19 season with high expectations after their off-season blockbuster acquisition of Erik Karlsson. One of the best teams in all of sports over the past decade or so never to win a title, the Sharks have been the epitome of consistency, but have been unable to land that elusive Stanley Cup title. With Karlsson in the mix on a roster that is deep and talented in all areas, many felt this could finally be the season than San Jose puts it all together. More than a quarter of the way through the season, those expectations have yet to be met. The Sharks have been a fine team – their 29 points places them second in the Pacific Division – but in no way are they running away with a conference championship. At least one player on the team is fed up with the poor effort: star forward Logan Couture. After a third straight loss last night, Couture told the Canadian Press that things need to change:
“My personal opinion, I don’t think we’re close. We show spurts and signs that we’re capable (of playing with the best in the league) but we haven’t put together an effort against a top-quality team. … We gotta figure it out soon. I’m a believer that it takes time. (But) I’m a believer that it doesn’t take 26 games.”
Couture, who signed a long-term deal this off-season, is the centerpiece of the Sharks’ offense for the foreseeable future. Couture has as much right as anyone on the team to criticize their efforts, seeing as he has done his part so far with 25 points in 26 games. While Couture did not name names, it is easy to point at Karlsson, last year’s big acquisition, Evander Kane, and a lackluster bottom-six as those that need to step up if the Sharks wish to play to their potential. Perhaps Couture being open and honest about the team’s disappointing results that will flip a switch and turn this team into the true contender they should be.
- It was Auston Matthews and the Toronto Maple Leafs who took down the Sharks last night and the young superstar played very well in his return to the lineup. Even in the midst of the final days of the William Nylander drama, Toronto continues to win and remain focused on the present. But what if their struggles to sign Nylander are just the beginning? The Leafs face quite the cap crunch moving forward and there is concern that a Nylander signing could eventually push out either Matthews or Mitch Marner. Fox Sports’ Andy Strickland relays word from sources around the league that Matthews could be a prime target for an offer sheet this off-season. Although rare, due to their financial cost and draft pick cost, a maximum offer sheet isn’t out of the realm of possibility for a young player of Matthews’ caliber. Strickland asks what the Leafs could possibly do, with so many RFA’s and a defense in need of rebuilding this summer, if a team was to offer Matthews a contract worth $14MM per season? Such a situation seems far-fetched, but may be more grounded in reality than we know. It would be yet another difficult obstacle for the Maple Leafs who are truly having trouble with having so much talent on their roster.
- The Boston Bruins retired Rick Middleton‘s number tonight, making him the eleventh member of an illustrious group of all-time greats. The question now turns to who could be next to join the Bruins’ stars in the rafters? Of their recently retired players, the one who truly sticks out is two-time Vezina Trophy winner and Stanley Cup hero Tim Thomas. Although Thomas’ career was not a long one, he was one of the top goaltenders in the NHL for several years and is arguably the most clutch postseason keeper in NHL history, with the league’s all-time best playoff save percentage. The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa asked one of the Bruins’ retired numbers, and the team’s current president, Cam Neely, for his thoughts on Thomas’ case, but he didn’t seem optimistic about the odds. Neely points to longevity as working against Thomas, but did not rule him out completely. “There’s no question, that team in ’11, what it meant to Bruins fans and New England. Timmy, what he did in that playoffs, not just in the finals but all of the series, was pretty impressive”, but Neely added “I don’t want to rule anything out, but you look at some of the guys up there, they have a bigger sample size of what they did throughout their career in Boston.” It seems that Thomas, who was a star in his own right but simply over a short period of time, faces an uphill battle to have his No. 30 retired. Instead, current long-time players Patrice Bergeron and Zdeno Chara are likely next up to be immortalized by the Bruins.
Snapshots: Team Canada, Fletcher, Kovar
Held in the middle of the NHL season, the Spengler Cup in Switzerland is often an afterthought among international events. Yet, Team Canada has put together quite the formidable group to lead their entry into the late December tournament, in pursuit of a fourth consecutive title. Hockey Canada has announced that Sean Burke and Ron Francis will put the Spengler Cup team together as co-GM’s, while Kevin Dineen will lead the selections as the head coach. Not only does that trio have extensive NHL playing careers on their resumes, but each have had success in their off-ice roles as well. Dineen has spent 14 seasons behind an NHL bench, including three as the head coach of the Florida Panthers, and has international coaching experience as well. His assistants, Gordie Dwyer and Mike Kitchen, are no strangers to the job either. Burke, currently a scout for the Montreal Canadiens, is familiar with Team Canada, having served as GM for the 2018 Olympic team, part of the management group for past four IIHF World Championship entries, as well as the GM of the past two Spengler Cup teams. However, it is Francis that sticks out the most. The former Carolina Hurricanes GM is currently considered a candidate for the Philadelphia Flyers’ new vacancy and, should the position remain open through the end of the calendar year, Francis’ efforts to put together a winning Spengler Cup team could be seen as part of his case for the job.
- Another candidate for the Flyers’ GM vacancy – and perhaps the favorite – is former Minnesota Wild GM Chuck Fletcher. Fletcher was let go by the Wild this off-season and joined the New Jersey Devils as an executive, but is still held in high esteem by most in the game. Many pundits have suggested that he is the front runner for the job and now TSN’s Bob McKenzie reports that the wheels appear to be in motion. The Devils have given the Flyers permission to speak with Fletcher, McKenzie says, and reiterates the sentiment that he would be the preferred hire. Although Minnesota was unable to reach the ultimate goal, Fletcher had the team on a six-season postseason streak when he was dismissed and the Wild, currently with the third-best record in the Western Conference, have a core of veteran and young contributors that was by and large put together by Fletcher. The experienced executive would be a more than capable GM for Philadelphia.
- The Boston Bruins front office may soon be facing a decision, albeit to a much smaller extent. After he appeared to be weighing a return to Europe, Jan Kovar instead finds himself one step closer to his desired destination – another shot at the NHL. The Bruins announced this morning that Kovar, who has been playing with their AHL affiliate in Providence, was up practicing in Boston today. The question remains whether or not Kovar earns a contract with the Bruins, something that Lee Stempniak was unable to do despite ample practice time with the team. Boston is without Patrice Bergeron, but still has David Krejci and has been getting admirable efforts from rookie Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson and veteran Joakim Nordstrom in his unnatural position. Yet, the team scratched Sean Kuraly in their last game and is still struggling to get secondary scoring. It may be the exact scenario that Kovar needed to get a second chance after quickly flaming out with the New York Islanders earlier this season.
Snapshots: Three Stars, RFAs, Marleau
The NHL has released their latest Three Stars of the Week, and to absolutely no one’s surprise Patrik Laine finds himself on top. Despite plenty of other outstanding performances last week, Laine was the easy choice after scoring 11 goals in just four games including a five-goal effort on Saturday night. The young Winnipeg Jets forward set all kinds of franchise records with the outstanding performance, and joined an incredibly small group of players to post five goals in a game before their 21st birthday. Only Laine, Don Murdoch and Wayne Gretzky have ever done so; Laine will have to do it again this season to tie Gretzky with two such performances.
Coming in second and third this week are Marc-Andre Fleury and Nikita Kucherov, two players well versed in this award. Fleury earned third star honors just over a month ago, while Kucherov has been in the top three several times throughout his career. The Vegas Golden Knights goaltender and Tampa Bay Lightning forward will have to continue their strong play if they hope to compete for the Stanley Cup again this season, and may even find themselves on this list again down the road.
- While the William Nylander situation is still unresolved, Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (subscription required) looks ahead to how it could affect several other future restricted free agents. LeBrun lists a group of players including Laine, Auston Matthews, Brayden Point, Mikko Rantanen, Mitch Marner, Matthew Tkachuk, Kyle Connor, Sebastian Aho, Timo Meier and Brock Boeser that are all about to see their entry-level contracts expire, and will be watching closely to see what Nylander is eventually signed for. Speaking to several agents and executives, LeBrun puts forward the idea that this may not be the last contract negotiation we see leak deep into the regular season.
- Patrick Marleau will play his 1,600th career game tonight when the Toronto Maple Leafs take on the Boston Bruins, becoming just the 11th player to ever do so in the NHL. Marleau hasn’t missed a game since the 2008-09 season and very well could finish the year in fifth place all-time on the games played list behind just Gordie Howe (1,767 GP), Mark Messier (1,756), Jaromir Jagr (1,733) and Ron Francis (1,731). Marleau is currently tied with Nicklas Lidstrom on the all-time point list with 1,142, and will try to take sole possession of 54th overall tonight.
Snapshots: Canadiens, Valimaki, Maroon
It appears that clearing their logjam on the back end isn’t the only thing the Canadiens are looking to do with their defense corps. Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos reports (video link) that they may be eyeing a veteran left-shot player to add to their blueline, suggesting that the Blues and Kings could be potential targets. Montreal has a collection of inexperienced youngsters and depth players on that side and if they plan to hang around the playoff picture, adding a proven top-four defender would certainly help their chances. In the meantime, with Shea Weber expected to return on Tuesday, they will need to make a roster move between now and then.
Elsewhere around the league:
- Flames defenseman Juuso Valimaki is day-to-day with a lower-body injury, the team announced (Twitter link). The injury was sustained on Friday against Vegas and kept him out of the lineup earlier today in their win over Arizona. The 20-year-old has fared well in his first professional season as he made the team out of training camp and has held down a regular spot in the lineup while averaging a little over 15 minutes per night of ice time.
- While Blues winger Patrick Maroon was viewed as an early extension candidate when the calendar turns to January, that’s looking more unlikely at this point and if the Blues continue to struggle, he could be dealt as a rental. With that in mind, Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe notes that a trade would be a lot easier to accomplish beginning in February when his full no-trade clause drops to an eight-team one. The 30-year-old has just a single goal along with seven assists in 16 games this season and carries a cap hit of $1.75MM which will be of interest to some teams that have limited salary cap space.
Snapshots: McGeough, Luongo, Copp
Long-time NHL referee Mick McGeough has passed away from a stroke that he suffered last weekend. He was 62. McGeough worked as an NHL official for 21 years, spanning more than 1,000 games and was still working with the league in an off-ice capacity as a supervisor of officials. League Commissioner Gary Bettman released the following statement:
“The National Hockey League lost a true friend of the game last night with the passing of Mick McGeough. As one of the League’s top referees for 21 years from 1987-88 until his retirement following the 2007-08 season, Mick’s passion for the game shone through on a nightly basis. He earned and maintained respect from players, coaches, general managers and his peers throughout his career with a unique style that combined humility and humor with decisiveness and fairness.
Everyone here at PHR extends our condolences to McGeough’s friends and family.
Other news and notes from around the hockey world:
- While the Panthers received a scare on Friday with goaltender Roberto Luongo being injured late in the first period, the lower-body injury isn’t believed to be too serious, reports George Richards of The Athletic (Twitter link). He’s currently listed as day-to-day. The 39-year-old has had issues staying healthy in recent years and this marks the second time that he’s on the shelf already. James Reimer will once again take over the starting nod for the time being and will hope to improve upon a below-average 3.27 GAA and a .896 SV% that he has put up so far this season.
- Jets forward Andrew Copp left Friday’s game with a head injury, notes Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun. He was slated to go through the concussion protocol but if he clears it without any issues, there’s still a chance that he could play today against St. Louis. Copp has played in all 21 games so far this season, picking up three points while logging a little less than 13 minutes a night.
Snapshots: Ottawa, Weber, McLeod
The Ottawa Senators plan to build a new arena in the Lebreton Flats area near the downtown core has hit a snag, as the National Capital Commission has given a January deadline to fix what they call “internal partnership issues” among those looking to develop the land. Ottawa mayor Jim Watson was relatively blunt in his assessment of the situation and message to the Senators and Trinity Development Group:
A lot of work has gone into all of the preparatory documents, remediation, first nations consultation, the work that our city planning department has put into the whole exercise. So there’s a sense of disappointment and also a sense of frustration in the two groups that make up RendezVous LeBreton.
As I said in the board meeting, they have to get their act together plain and simple. Otherwise I think we’re going to have to move on in January.
The Senators currently play quite a bit outside the city center at an arena that is difficult for many fans to access, and have proposed a move closer to downtown for years. This announcement has to be taken as an extremely disappointing outcome at this stage, and will put a damper on any excitement that the project had built. The team now has just a few weeks to get their leadership in order, or risk losing the project altogether.
- In Montreal, things are looking much brighter. The Canadiens are expecting captain Shea Weber to make his season debut very soon, and could even see him join the lineup on Tuesday night. That’s quite a bit before the mid-December timeline that Weber was initially given, and should give the team a huge boost. Montreal has already exceeded expectations to start the year, and will now welcome back their best defenseman for a playoff push that seems much more realistic now than it did a few months ago. As we examined this morning, Weber’s return could also mean that the team has to move someone else out. Who that will be is still to be decided.
- Cody McLeod scored a goal last night for the first time since joining the New York Rangers, but subsequently injured his hand in a fight later in the game. That injury has now been revealed to be a fracture, meaning he’ll be out indefinitely. The team will be without his toughness and physicality as he deals with the injury.
Snapshots: Martinsson, Kovar, Niagara
Eric Martinsson‘s days with the Minnesota Wild seem to be numbered, but he’s not likely to be too upset about it. Swedish new source “Hockey News SE” reports that the Martinsson and the Wild have come to a mutual agreement that the recent free agent signing is to be placed on unconditional waivers in the near future for the purpose of terminating his contract. Martinsson, 26, signed with Minnesota back in May, looking to make the jump overseas after a successful stretch in the Swedish Hockey League with the Vaxjo Lakers. Instead of earning a spot on the NHL roster, Martinsson was in fact a relatively early cut from training camp. While the puck-moving blue liner has nine points through 13 games with the AHL’s Iowa Wild, he seems no closer to pushing for a chance in Minnesota than he did before the season began. As such, Martinsson would like to return home to Sweden and the Wild are expected to oblige him. Eric Martinsson is just the latest in a stream of players departing the North American minors to return to Europe this season, although Hockey New SE speculates that Martinsson’s return will be of considerable interest to many teams in the SHL.
- Veteran forward Jan Kovar is also pondering a return to Europe. Kovar signed with the New York Islanders this summer after years of success in the KHL and in his native Czech Republic. Kovar was expected to not only compete for a job with the Isles, but potentially even center a scoring line. Instead, Kovar proved to be a poor fit with the team in camp and did not crack the starting lineup. His contract was quickly terminated, but in holding out hope for another NHL opportunity, he signed with the AHL’s Providence Bruins. Kovar has nine points in ten games with Providence, while their parent club, the Boston Bruins, have struggled with injuries and consistency, but no contract offer seems to be coming. The Providence Journal’s Mark Divver now reports that Kovar has not practiced with the team in two days and is supposedly weighing overseas contract offers. Divver believes that Kovar has offers in the KHL and NLA, as well as back home in the Czech Republic, but no such opportunities in North America. Divver additionally questions whether Kovar plays with the requisite pace to succeed in the NHL, a criticism that has come up frequently during his brief efforts this season.
- Less than 25 games into the season doesn’t seem to be too early for a blockbuster trade in the Ontario Hockey League. The Kingston Frontenacs, with just seven win thus far the second-worst record in the league, have cashed in on two of their best assets. The Niagara Ice Dogs announced today that they have acquired Jason Robertson and Jacob Paquette from Kingston. Robertson, a second-round pick of the Dallas Stars in 2017, has back-to-back 80+ point seasons and is currently fourth among OHL scoring leaders with 38 points and second in goals with 23. Paquette, a seventh-round pick of the Nashville Predators in 2017, is a big, physical defender and a locker room leader as well. Niagara is currently tied for second in the Central Division and tied for sixth overall in the league, but will almost certainly see a considerable boost from this trade. Yet, Kingston also received a king’s ransom in the deal. The Ice Dogs surrendered a total of eleven future draft picks, including three second-rounders and three third-rounders, as well as promising draft-eligible defenseman Billy Constantinou and forward Ian Martin. The Frontenacs may have disappointed their fans by virtually giving up on the season less than halfway in, but will reward them with a solid flow of talent for years to come.
Snapshots: Outdoor Game, Penguins, Patrick
The 2019 NHL Winter Classic is still more than a month away and the 2019 NHL Stadium Series game even further, but that hasn’t stopped discussions about where the league could turn next for an outdoor game. Today, BSN Denver’s Adrian Dater reports that the Colorado Avalanche are likely to be an outdoor game host “sooner rather than later.” In talking with deputy commissioner Bill Daly, Dater learned that the league is very interested in placing a game at the nearby Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, where Falcon Stadium normally plays host to the Air Force football team and a capacity crowd of close to 47,000. Given the success of the NHL’s last foray into an outdoor game in Colorado – the 2016 showdown at Coors Field in Denver – and their special interest in games played at American military institutions, such as last year’s game at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, not to mention the successful Division I hockey program at Air Force, the school seems like a great fit to host a gme. For now though, the league remains focused on their next contest at a college football venue, when the Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks square off at Notre Dame on New Year’s Day.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins hope that their team is in much better shape when they take part in their outdoor game later this season, a match-up with the rival Flyers at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on February 23rd. The team continues to struggle and, even after his acquisition of forward Tanner Pearson, GM Jim Rutherford remains open for business per numerous sources. However, the next move might not be just a simple one-for-one to land a role player. TSN’s Bob McKenzie raised the stakes on the latest “Insider Trading” segment, stating that “anything and everything is on the table” in Pittsburgh. McKenzie says that the Penguins’ list of untouchables is rather short – just Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. McKenzie believes that anyone else could be move, perhaps adding fuel to the fire of recent rumors that Phil Kessel, Derick Brassard, Olli Maatta, and Matt Murray are among the names that could be on the move if things don’t improve.
- The Penguins did make a noteworthy move today, announcing that legendary executive Craig Patrick has re-joined the team as a pro scout. The 72-year-old Hall of Famer served as Pittsburgh’s GM for 17 years, from 1989 to 2006. Patrick was the architect of the 1991 and 1992 Stanley Cup-winning Penguins teams and much of the 2009 championship team and beyond were the products of Patrick’s regime, including Crosby and Malkin. Many will also recognize Patrick as an assistant coach to Herb Brooks on the famed “Miracle” 1980 U.S. Olympic team, while he also served as both coach and GM for the New York Rangers over a nine-year span in the 80’s. The extent of Patrick’s role is unclear, but particularly in the midst of a difficult season, this is a great hire by the Penguins if only for the wisdom and guidance of an experienced hockey guru.
Snapshots: Three Stars, Matthews, Dube
The NHL has released their Three Stars of the week, and Cam Atkinson will take home the top spot this time around. The diminutive Columbus Blue Jackets forward scored five goals and eight points in three games and is now producing at more than a point-per-game pace for the season. The 29-year old Atkinson is trying to put his injury plagued 2017-18 season behind him and get back to the 35-goal scorer he showed capable of being the year prior.
Corey Crawford and Joe Pavelski arrive at second and third respectively, and it’s the former whose performance is so impressive given his long way back from injury over the last year. Crawford now sits with a .922 save percentage on the season and is one of the sole reasons the Blackhawks are still within striking distance of a playoff spot in the Central Division. A team that has already fired their legendary coach and replaced him with the youngest bench boss in the league, Chicago will need Crawford to continue his strong play if they’re to have any chance at a postseason berth this year.
- Auston Matthews was back on the ice with the Toronto Maple Leafs this morning, and he wasn’t wearing the red no-contact jersey. While the Maple Leafs have made no indication that Matthews will be back ahead of schedule, his presence with the team can only give them another morale boost as they try to reclaim the top spot in the Atlantic Division. Even without their young superstar—and his usual linemate William Nylander, who is still without a contract—the Maple Leafs sit at 14-6-0 on the year and have the second best goal differential in the entire NHL.
- The Calgary Flames have inserted rookie Dillon Dube into the lineup 15 times this season, but have given him more than 13 minutes of ice time in only three of those contests. Still with just two points on the season, Dube is looking for his first NHL goal and a way to establish himself as a bigger presence at both ends of the ice. That opportunity is tough to carve out when the team has such solid depth up front, something that head coach Bill Peters is aware of. Speaking to reporters including Kristen Anderson of Postmedia, Peters explained that the team will soon have to decide whether keeping Dube in the NHL only to play a few minutes a game is really the best for his development. Instead, the team could send him back to the AHL where he has still yet to play a full season.
Snapshots: Draft Age, Capitals, Foligno, Fowler
Although we’re still nearly a full year away from potentially having CBA talks officially reopening, Larry Brooks of the New York Post mentions some of the early discussion points among the informal talks that have been held so far. Perhaps most noteworthy among them is the NHL’s preference to move to a draft age of 19 instead of 18 as it is currently. It would certainly aid in the scouting and evaluation process for teams but at the same time, it would prevent the top young players from making the jump to the NHL right away, something we’ve seen more of in recent years. The ability to reopen the CBA comes next September and these early discussions may wind up going a long way towards determining whether a deal can be reached or if another work stoppage will be on the horizon.
Elsewhere around the league:
- The Capitals aren’t expected to have center Evgeny Kuznetsov or winger T.J. Oshie back in the lineup on Monday in Montreal, notes Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post. Both players are dealing with head injuries and are listed as day-to-day. Washington may have goalie Braden Holtby available though as he took part in practice with the team today after missing the past three games.
- Nick Foligno has rejoined the Blue Jackets after missing their last game due to a personal matter, reports Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (Twitter link). After a down season in 2017-18, the winger is off to a better start this season with six goals and six assists in 19 games, good for a tie for fifth in team scoring.
- While the Ducks were originally planning to provide an update regarding defenseman Cam Fowler today, they’ve decided to wait a little longer before providing an estimate of how long he’ll be out, notes Elliott Teaford of the Orange County Register (Twitter link). Fowler underwent successful surgery to repair multiple facial fractures but it certainly sounds like he’ll be out for a while. That makes the news that fellow blueliner Hampus Lindholm is on injured reserve even worse for Anaheim.