Snapshots: Barrie, Varone, Kovalchuk
The NHL playoffs had quite the night on Thursday evening, with illegal checks being thrown in nearly every game. Tom Wilson and Josh Anderson have already gotten through unscathed, and Ryan Johansen will join them as players that didn’t receive disciplinary hearings. Johansen collided with Tyson Barrie, but will not receive any supplementary discipline as the league ruled it a “full body hit” according to Greg Wyshynski of ESPN.
Barrie and Colorado GM Joe Sakic are both upset about the decision, with Barrie going so far as to suggest to Adrian Dater of BSN Denver more players will take “runs” at opponents knowing they can get away with it. While it looks like Nazem Kadri will be given the second suspension of the postseason (the first being Drew Doughty for his hit on Vegas forward William Carrier), things threaten to get even more out of control in the coming games.
- Phil Varone has been named AHL MVP for the 2017-18 season, after scoring 70 points in 73 games for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (with a few games remaining). Varone, a seven year professional, has always been an excellent offensive player in the minor leagues, but has just 50 NHL games under his belt. Drafted in the fifth round by the San Jose Sharks, his longest big league stint came with the Buffalo Sabres in 2014-15, when he recorded five points in 28 games.
- Though it never did seem like a great fit, rumors persisted about the New York Rangers and Ilya Kovalchuk, with some even going so far to say a deal had already been agreed to. Kovalchuk himself denied that today when speaking to Russian media, saying he hasn’t had any connection with NHL teams so far. That would make sense, as he isn’t supposed to be talking to anyone until he becomes an unrestricted free agent on Sunday. Kovalchuk can’t sign with anyone until June 1st, and still lists team success as one of the driving forces. The Rangers, entering a period of rebuild and dedication to their young players, don’t seem like the perfect landing spot for a veteran looking to compete for the Stanley Cup in short order.
Snapshots: Appleton, Goaltenders, Turgeon
Mason Appleton has been named the AHL Rookie of the Year, joining teammate Sami Niku as a Winnipeg Jets prospect with an individual trophy. Appleton was also named to the All-Rookie and First All-Star Teams after a huge season with the Manitoba Moose. The sixth-round pick recorded 63 points in his first professional season, leading the Moose to one of the league’s best records.
Appleton is just another example of the fine draft and development work the Jets have accomplished over the last few years. Though there is no guarantee he will find success at the NHL level, getting any sixth round pick to perform this well in the AHL is an organizational accomplishment.
- The Washington Capitals have recalled Pheonix Copley to serve as their third goaltender for tonight’s game. Philipp Grubauer is set to start, and Copley will only be called upon if someone gets injured in warm-up. Similarly, the San Jose Sharks have recalled Antoine Bibeau for the same reason. Teams almost always carry a third goaltender in the playoffs, to avoid a Scott Foster situation where an amateur is forced into the net.
- Dominic Turgeon won’t be available for the Grand Rapids Griffins for some time, as the team announced that the Detroit Red Wings prospect has been diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome. It caused a blood clot in his arm, but after a procedure yesterday and another today he is expected to make a full recovery. Turgeon, the son of former player and Los Angeles Kings assistant coach Pierre Turgeon, made his NHL debut this season for the Red Wings.
Snapshots: Awards, Holland, Leiweke
The NHL will hold their annual awards ceremony on June 20th, a few days before the 2018 Entry Draft. The event will be held in Las Vegas once again, an exciting proposition for the Golden Knights who could be coming off a historic Stanley Cup victory in their first season.
Finalists will start to be announced in just a few days on April 17th, with the Vezina Trophy kicking things off. This awards season has been even more debated than usual, with almost a dozen legitimate candidates for the Hart Trophy and no consensus on other top awards like the Norris or Selke.
- Ken Holland is back in the Detroit Red Wings front office, but he is willing to bring in some more voices to help strengthen the club’s decision making. That’s what Craig Custance of The Athletic (subscription required) examines in his latest piece, digging into who could be potential additions. An interesting name that comes up is Kyle Raftis, GM of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and successor to Toronto whiz-kid Kyle Dubas.
- Tod Leiweke has officially been announced as CEO and President of the prospective Seattle expansion team, joining his brother Tim Leiweke who is already part of the Oak View Group that placed the bid and will be minority owner. The pair have tons of experience running professional sports teams, including Tod’s stint as CEO of the Seattle Seahawks in the past.
Snapshots: Luongo, Johansson, Spurgeon
Although his salary is set to be cut in half for next season and the fact that he recently turned 39, Florida goaltender Roberto Luongo has no intention of retiring, he told reporters, including Jameson Olive of the Panthers’ team website. While the netminder still has four years on his contract left after this one, it’s highly unlikely he plays for all of those considering that the combined salary for those seasons is $7MM; for comparison, he made nearly $27MM the past four years. Not surprisingly, this is a contract that is still subject to salary cap recapture if he happens to retire before his contract finishes. Luongo is coming off an injury-riddled season but played quite well when he was in the lineup, posting a .929 SV%, his best mark since 2003-04.
Elsewhere around the league:
- Although he has been cleared to participate in a full practice, it appears that Devils center Marcus Johansson is slated to be a scratch for their playoff opener on Thursday night, reports Abbey Mastracco of The Record. The 27-year-old has been out of the lineup since suffering his second concussion of the season back on January 23rd. While his production had dipped prior to the injury, his return to full health should be a boost for New Jersey as they get set to take on Tampa Bay.
- While the Wild will be without blueliner Ryan Suter for their postseason run, they are getting closer to getting a key defender back in the lineup. John Shipley of the Pioneer Press notes that Jared Spurgeon made it through a full practice for the second straight day but head coach Bruce Boudreau is calling him a game-time decision for Wednesday’s game against Winnipeg. Spurgeon tore his hamstring back on March 13th and was initially diagnosed to be out for a minimum of a month so it appears he is right on schedule. If Spurgeon can’t play in Game One, Shipley suggests that Ryan Murphy will make his postseason debut instead.
Snapshots: World Championships, Wild, Mariners
Jeff Blashill will once again be the head coach of Team USA at the upcoming World Championships, with Dan Bylsma, Don Granato and Seth Appert joining him behind the bench. Blashill coached last year’s squad to a fifth-place finish, but he’ll be getting some star power this time around.
Patrick Kane has announced that he will suit up for the tournament, and he will serve as captain of Team USA. Alex DeBrincat will also be joining Kane for the US squad, a nice reward after an outstanding rookie season that saw him lead the Blackhawks with 28 goals.
- The Minnesota Wild have recalled Carson Soucy, and expect him to be in the lineup for Game 1 of their Western Conference playoff series against the Winnipeg Jets. They might get another huge boost on the blue line though, as Jared Spurgeon was back on the ice today at practice. Spurgeon hasn’t yet been cleared to return to game action, but was paired with Soucy at practice and will attempt to get into the lineup for Wednesday’s match.
- The New York Rangers have signed an affiliation with the Maine Mariners of the ECHL that will start in 2018-19. The Rangers had previously been affiliated with the Greenville Swamp Rabbits, but will now have both of their minor league partners—their AHL affiliate is the Hartford Wolf Pack—located in the northeast.
Snapshots: Hutton, Jarnkrok, Stone
Just a couple of years ago, Canucks defenseman Ben Hutton was viewed as a key cog in their future plans. Fast forward to today and the 24-year-old is coming off a campaign where he failed to score a goal in 61 games and spent considerable time as a healthy scratch. Following their loss on Saturday, he acknowledged to Jason Botchford of the Vancouver Province that “a restart button would be nice”.
While the implication in the article is that Hutton would welcome a fresh start with Vancouver next season after being called out on multiple occasions by head coach Travis Green, Botchford notes that many around the team have Hutton pegged as a possible trade candidate this summer. He carries a cap hit of $2.8MM through next year which also serves as his qualifying offer in June of 2019 and if his role doesn’t change with the Canucks for next season, he’d certainly be a non-tender candidate. Accordingly, it may make sense for the team to look to move him this offseason even though they’d be selling low.
More from around the league:
- The Predators are getting closer to getting one of their forwards back, potentially in time for the start of the playoffs. GM David Poile told reporters, including NHL.com’s Robby Stanley (Twitter link) that center Calle Jarnkrok is making progress and is now listed as day-to-day. The 26-year-old has been out for nearly a month due to an upper-body injury. His eventual return should boost an already-deep Nashville lineup that heads into the postseason as the Presidents’ Trophy winners.
- While many are wondering if the Senators will be spending big on a possible contract extension for defenseman Erik Karlsson, that’s not the only big-money decision they’ll have to make. Winger Mark Stone is heading for restricted free agency this summer and is coming off his third 60-plus point season in the past four years. What’s particularly noteworthy about that mark this year is that he recorded 62 points (20-42-62) in just 58 games. Accordingly, Postmedia’s Ken Warren speculates that a new deal for Stone could approach $8MM per year which would represent a significant jump on the $4.5MM salary he earned this season (with a cap hit of $3.5MM). He is one year away from unrestricted free agency eligibility so the team won’t be able to use multiple RFA years to lower the cap hit a little bit.
Snapshots: Gaudette, Jagr, Capitals
Canucks prospect Adam Gaudette has won the Hobey Baker Award for the top player in men’s NCAA hockey, his now-former college squad, the Northeastern Huskies, announced (Twitter link). The 21-year-old had a dominant junior year, recording 30 goals and 30 assists in just 38 games to lead all Division I players in scoring and becomes the first Vancouver prospect to win the award. Gaudette recently signed his entry-level deal and has played in four games with the Canucks this season, logging just shy of 13 minutes per game in ice time. Henrik Borgstrom (Florida) and Ryan Donato (Boston) were the other finalists for the award.
More from around the hockey world:
- Jaromir Jagr’s time with Calgary didn’t go too well and he wound up clearing waivers and being loaned back to his hometown team in Kladno. Despite that, he told Tal Pinchevsky of the New York Times that he is hoping to return to the NHL next season and isn’t planning on retiring just yet. The 46-year-old wound up playing in just five games in the second Czech division before being sidelined with a knee injury that has held him out for the remainder of the season. Jagr will be an unrestricted free agent in July (his contract wasn’t terminated after clearing waivers as the Flames opted to loan him instead, reserving the right to recall him that way) and between the injury and his struggles this season, he may have to settle for a tryout if he wants to take one more crack at an NHL roster spot.
- The Capitals have decided to wait until after the postseason before making a decision on whether or not they try to re-sign defenseman John Carlson or head coach Barry Trotz, GM Brian MacLellan told NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti. Carlson is poised to land a considerable raise on his current $3.967MM cap hit as he will likely come close to doubling that if he makes it to the open market. Meanwhile, Trotz has made it through his ‘lame duck’ year with another strong regular season record but it has been intimated previously that it will be their postseason success (or lack thereof) that ultimately determines his fate and MacLellan’s comments all but seals that.
Snapshots: O’Ree, World Championships, Yamamoto
The NHL has announced a new award to be given out annually, named the Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award. It will be given to the a person not affiliated with the league or any club, who “best utilizes hockey as a platform for participants to build character and develop important life skills for a more positive family experience.”
The award is named after Willie O’Ree, the NHL’s first black player who has spent decades working to bring the sport of hockey to those who may not normally be exposed to it or able to afford to play. O’Ree was honored this year on the 50th anniversary of his NHL debut—suiting up for the Boston Bruins on January 18th, 1958.
- Several players have announced their intention to play at the upcoming World Championships, including Thomas Chabot (Canada), Chris Kreider (USA) and Casey Mittelstadt (USA). The tournament is loading up on talent this season, perhaps in part as a response to the lack of Olympics participation. The teams should be filled with talent, as others like Connor McDavid and Mathew Barzal have already expressed interest.
- Tyler Benson and Dmitri Samorukov will be joining the Bakersfield Condors for the end of the season, but Kailer Yamamoto will not. The Edmonton Oilers’ first-round pick from 2017 suffered an injury in the WHL playoffs and will focus on his health instead. Yamamoto played just nine games with the Oilers at the beginning of the season, meaning he won’t burn a year of his entry-level contract. Watch for him to make an impact at training camp next fall, and try to secure a full-time roster spot.
Snapshots: Eaves, Francouz, Kravtsov
According to Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register, the Anaheim Ducks confirmed today that Patrick Eaves would not return at any point this season or playoffs. Any potential return for Eaves would be at training camp for next season, but even that seems up in the air at this point.
Back in October, after playing just two games on his new three-year contract, Eaves was taken to hospital and diagnosed with Guillan-Barre Syndrome. A disorder that affects the nervous system and can cause paralysis if left unchecked, was caught early enough that Eaves was stabilized quickly. There hasn’t been many updates along the way, and now we’ll have to wait to see if he’ll return to the team next season.
- Another name we might see in the NHL next season is Pavel Francouz, a 27-year old goaltender who has put together quite the year. Though his KHL team was just eliminated from the Gagarin Cup playoffs, Francouz posted a .949 save percentage in 12 games along the way. Add that to his .946 in the regular season and an impressive showing for the Czech Republic at the Olympics, and Francouz is more than just on the radar of NHL teams. Igor Eronko of Sport-Express reports that he will indeed look for an NHL contract this summer, after his current deal in the KHL expires at the end of this month.
- Vitaly Kravtsov, who also plays for Traktor in the KHL, was asked about his future after they were eliminated. In a report from RIA Novosti (a Russian news agency), Kravtsov said he had no plans on coming to North America and would play in the KHL again next season. The 18-year old is eligible for the upcoming NHL Draft, and is ranked 10th among all European skaters. Like other Russian stars, his draft position will be wholly decided by whether teams believe he will ever come over, though spending one more season in the KHL isn’t usually a problem. Kravtsov is currently under contract until April 2019.
Snapshots: Bozak, World Championships, Fast
The Vancouver Canucks received some financial certainty today, when Henrik and Daniel Sedin confirmed their intention to retire at the end of the season. With their decision comes the fact that the Canucks have $14MM coming off the books, and should have ample room to make a splash in free agency if they choose.
Rick Dhaliwal of News 1130 notes that he’s hear Tyler Bozak‘s name as a player the Canucks could have interest in, should he go unsigned by Toronto and reach free agency. Bozak, 32, isn’t a top-line player anymore (if he ever was) but should still command a multi-year deal as one of the better center options on the open market. Where he fits into a Canucks rebuild isn’t clear, but the Vancouver front office has been clear that they aren’t willing to turn the entire franchise over to the young guns, and want some experience to help guide them through the next few years.
- The World Championships are coming fast, and several players indicated their intentions today over whether to play in it or not. Matt Duchene told media that he wouldn’t play for Team Canada in the upcoming tournament, while Ryan O’Reilly confirmed to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic that he would be. O’Reilly has competed five times previously, including being named an alternate captain last year. With two golds and one silver, he will be a welcome addition to a team that looks like it could be a powerhouse.
- Jesper Fast will likely not play again for the New York Rangers this season, after suffering a groin injury that should keep him out the rest of the year. That ends what has been a career year for the 26-year old, with 33 points in 71 games. The Rangers will hope that progression can continue over the next two years of his current contract, as he’ll be relied upon as a key forward while the team rebuilds with their eyes on contention down the road.