Snapshots: Three Stars, Calvert, Matthews
The NHL has named its three stars for the previous week, with goaltender Corey Crawford taking top honors. Crawford earned two shutouts for the Chicago Blackhawks last week, and recorded a .919 save percentage. Unfortunately, Chicago is still just 7-6-2 on the season after dropping last night’s game against Montreal 2-0. They’ll need more solid performances from Crawford going forward if they’re to really climb towards the top of the standings.
Josh Bailey and Martin Jones took home second and third respectively, after impressive weeks of their own. Bailey had an incredible seven assists last week and now has 15 on the season, and Jones led the Sharks to three straight wins. Both the Sharks and Islanders have climbed out of early holes to establish themselves as relevant playoff possibilities once again.
- Matt Calvert will be out three to four weeks with an upper-body injury according to the Columbus Blue Jackets’ GM Jarmo Kekalainen. Calvert was injured in Saturday’s loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning and has been placed on injured reserve. Losing Calvert will test the Blue Jackets’ forward depth even more, as they’re already without Lukas Sedlak and Cam Atkinson for the time being. The team has not made a corresponding move yet, and will take on the New York Rangers tonight.
- Auston Matthews is a game-time decision for the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight as he deals with “soreness” according to head coach Mike Babcock. If Matthews does miss the game, it would be the first time in his career he failed to suit up. In 97 career regular season games, Matthews now has 50 goals and is showing he could be even more dominant than anyone expected when he was selected first overall. The Maple Leafs can’t afford to lose him for very long though, as their slide continued with a 6-4 loss at the hands of the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night.
- Unfortunately for the fans in Stockholm, Carl Soderberg may not be in the lineup when the Colorado Avalanche and Ottawa Senators play NHL regular season games in Sweden later this week. The Swedish-born forward did not travel with the team, instead staying at home in Denver with his pregnant wife. Since the couple is expecting the baby on Tuesday, he hasn’t yet been ruled out for the back-to-back games.
Snapshots: Matheson, Vlasic, Hanzal, Luongo
Michael Matheson’s eight-year, $39MM contract extension with the Panthers last month caught many by surprise. He is the least-experienced player to receive a max-term deal and his is the cheapest by $7MM. Alex Prewitt of Sports Illustrated reports that the eight-year contract wasn’t even on the mind of the team when they first approached him about an early extension as GM Dale Tallon proposed both a bridge deal and a longer-termed one of five or six years in length. Instead, Matheson’s camp preferred to look for eight years, something that Tallon and the Panthers were clearly amenable to. Despite their confidence in him, Matheson has struggled out of the gate this season with just one assist through 12 games while his ATOI is down by over two minutes a night but his new contract doesn’t get underway until 2018-19.
Elsewhere around the league:
- Still with Florida, despite participating in practice this week, Panthers goaltender Roberto Luongo remains listed as week-to-week, notes Matthew DeFranks of the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel. The veteran has missed the last six games with a right-hand injury while James Reimer and recently-claimed Antti Niemi have struggled lately in his absence.
- Although Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer was initially very optimistic about defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic not needing to miss too much time due to a head injury, Paul Gackle of the Mercury News notes that the bench boss chose his words a bit more carefully on Friday. While he’s still hopeful that Vlasic won’t be out long, he did acknowledge that these injuries can be prone to setbacks. The blueliner was injured on Wednesday night against Nashville and did not skate either Thursday or Friday.
- Dallas center Martin Hanzal, who has missed the last two games with a lower-body injury, will miss at least the next two games as well, head coach Ken Hitchcock told Mark Stepneski of the Stars’ team website. As Gavin noted earlier, Hanzal has not started well with his new team after signing a three-year, $14.25MM contract early in free agency as he has just a lone goal through 11 games in the early going of the season. The team is targeting November 10th as a potential return date.
Snapshots: Nyquist, Makar, Price
The Detroit Red Wings have dropped below .500 again with their loss last night to the Ottawa Senators, and the groans from hockey fans in Michigan are beginning again. Yesterday, our Nate Brown took a look at the coaching staff’s part in the sluggish start, and today Craig Custance of The Athletic went in depth on the trade value of a certain first-line asset.
Gustav Nyquist is an interesting piece for the Red Wings, under contract through the end of next season. The 28-year old forward was once one of the hottest scoring threats in the league, registering 48 points in 57 games in the 2013-14 season. That garnered him some Hart Trophy votes and a place on the Swedish Olympic team, but he hasn’t had quite the same impact since. Custance has some great quotes from scouts and front office types around the league on his perceived value, which isn’t as high as it could be if he can find some kind of consistency over the next few months.
- Cale Makar is off to quite a start at UMass reports Craig Button of TSN. The fourth-overall pick of 2017 is a shining light for the Colorado Avalanche in their continued defensive struggles. Makar is the kind of defenseman who can bring you to your feet at any moment, and is starting to adapt to playing against higher competition. It will be interesting to see how long he stays in the college ranks, before being recruited to jump to the NHL with the Avalanche.
- Although it’s clearly not serious, Carey Price wasn’t present at Montreal Canadiens practice today as he nursed a lower-body injury. The team is expected to recall a goaltender and will have Al Montoya start on Saturday night against the Winnipeg Jets. It might be good for Price to get some time off, as he’s struggled mightily through the early part of the season. With an .877 save percentage through 11 games, he’s leading the league in goals allowed and losses. About to start an eight-year, $84MM contract extension next season, the Canadiens need Price to get back to his all-world ways as soon as possible.
Snapshots: Raanta, Golden Knights, Maple Leafs
Antti Raanta has been activated off injured reserve and is expected to start tonight against the Buffalo Sabres according to Craig Morgan of AZ Sports. Raanta hasn’t played in three weeks with a lower-body injury after being acquired this summer to be the Coyotes starting goaltender. He’ll head to the crease with a new backup in Scott Wedgewood, a tandem that could prove capable for Arizona as they try to climb out of the bottom of the standings.
The team unfortunately will not have Niklas Hjalmarsson on the ice however, meaning Dakota Mermis will make his NHL debut on the blueline. The Coyotes are currently last in the league with just one win in their first 13 games, and right now look like the odds-on favorite for the first-overall pick next June.
- The Vegas Golden Knights will not trade for another goaltender, according to general manager George McPhee. The front office boss told Steve Carp of the Las Vegas Review-Journal that the Golden Knights will “ride it out with who we have.” Currently who they have is Maxime Lagace and 19-year old Dylan Ferguson, the last two goaltenders in the entire organization on NHL contracts. The team has given up six goals in back to back games, and still have four games remaining on their current road trip. Riding it out is likely the best move long-term for the organization, but it won’t feel good for Vegas fans who were on cloud nine after the team’s early season success. That excellent record could evaporate if they can’t find some stability in net soon.
- The Toronto Maple Leafs are clearly not settled with the fringes of their lineup, as even after a win last night in Anaheim head coach Mike Babcock intends on shaking things up. Chris Johnston of Sportsnet reports that Kasperi Kapanen and Roman Polak will draw back into the lineup in place of Josh Leivo and Connor Carrick for tonight’s matchup with Los Angeles. That uncertainty will be an interesting one to follow as the Maple Leafs’ season continues. For a team that is expected to compete not only for a playoff spot, but for a considerable seeding in the postseason, they have several unresolved issues with their lineup. James van Riemsdyk, Tyler Bozak and Leo Komarov are all unrestricted free agents, and remain possible mid-season trade candidates. If they are moved, the rotating bottom-pairing on the Toronto blueline is likely the target of upgrade.
Snapshots: Streit, Sharks, Three Stars
Mark Streit has decided to call it quits after he couldn’t make it in the NHL this season. The 39-year old defenseman has retired from professional hockey according to the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation. Streit was signed by the Montreal Canadiens this summer, but was eventually waived and came to a mutual termination of the deal.
It’s interesting that Streit’s news was announced by the national program, as many assumed he would suit up for the Swiss Olympic team in the upcoming Pyeongchang Games. If it is the last we see of Streit, it’s the end of a fantastic career that includes 786 games, a Stanley Cup and the honor of being the first Swiss-born captain in the NHL.
- The San Jose Sharks have been involved in trade talks surrounding Chris Tierney, Paul Martin and Mikkel Boedker according to Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun. It seems unlikely that the team would move any of the three just yet, but with the team just treading water at 5-5 perhaps a shake up is on the horizon. Tierney would likely hold the most value out of the three, as Boedker and Martin’s contracts are both prohibitive.
- The NHL released their three stars for the previous week, naming John Tavares the top player of the week. Vegas goaltender Oscar Dansk came in as the second star, while Ottawa forward Jean-Gabriel Pageau came in third. For Dansk especially it’s quite a performance, as his three starts were the first few of his career. The goaltender jumped into the spotlight vacated by injuries to Marc-Andre Fleury and Malcolm Subban, and stopped 71 of 74 shots faced.
Snapshots: Shipachyov, Mete, Eaves
Vadim Shipachyov has reported to the Chicago Wolves and was on the ice practicing with them today, meaning he’ll likely accept his demotion to the AHL and avoid suspension from the team. The 30-year old forward will still earn his full $5MM salary ($2MM of which was already paid out as a signing bonus) while in the minor leagues, but the team will benefit from a bit of cap relief. Still, with his agent apparently talking to other teams about potential trades he may not be there for long.
Representatives from Shipachyov’s former team SKA St. Petersburg in Russia made clear to KHL reporter Aivis Kalnins that they cannot negotiate with him while he’s still under contract with the Golden Knights or any other NHL team. There can be no talks until a mutual termination is achieved which both seems unlikely for a number of reasons, and has never been intimated by Shipachyov or his representatives. For now, he’ll have to just continue to try and adjust to the North American game while playing in the AHL.
- Victor Mete played in his tenth NHL game this season last night for the Montreal Canadiens, crossing the threshold to burn the first year of his entry-level contract. There is another (sometimes more important) threshold at 40 games, in which the player moves a year closer to unrestricted free agency, but Mete seems destined to clear that as well. The team today told him to find a place to live according to Richard Labbe of La Presse, as he won’t be sent back to junior anytime soon. Mete has been a shining light in an otherwise dark start to the season for the Canadiens, serving as their lone true puck-moving defenseman. The 19-year old is undersized, but has shown all the makings of a top-4 defenseman for the long-term. While Montreal has many problems to start the year, Mete isn’t one of them.
- Lastly, some great news out of Anaheim. After Ducks’ forward Patrick Eaves was hospitalized with Guillain-Barre syndrome earlier this month, he announced on his Twitter page that he’s home and resting with his family. Eaves is expected to make a full recovery, though there is no clear timetable on his return to the ice. For now, the Ducks will need to move on without the 33-year old forward, whose long-term health is much more important than the games he is missing.
Snapshots: Athanasiou, Sateri, Blackhawks
Andreas Athanasiou is back. The 23-year old forward that has spent the last few weeks holding out for a new contract, was on the ice for the Detroit Red Wings today, practicing with Frans Nielsen and Darren Helm. While there’s no clear indication when Athanasiou will get back into the lineup, it was a promising sign to have him working with the team.
After a summer that was filled with speculation, rumor and intrigue, the Red Wings will welcome back their talented young sniper. Athanasiou has excellent speed and skill, and had just scratched the surface of his offensive potential last season, scoring 18 goals and 29 points. That number could increase this year even with the lost time, especially if given plenty of powerplay opportunities. The Red Wings, now losers of five straight, could use some offensive punch. They’ve scored just one goal in their last two games.
- Harri Sateri has been sent back to the AHL by the Florida Panthers, after the team claimed Antti Niemi off waivers yesterday. The 27-year old Sateri didn’t get into a game, and has a slow start in his return to North America. Originally a draft pick of the San Jose Sharks, Sateri left for the KHL in 2014 where he found immediate success. Earlier this summer he turned down an extension with his KHL club in order to try and secure and NHL job, and eventually signed a two-way deal with Florida to essentially be their #3. With a .859 save percentage in the AHL, and now Niemi in the fold, he’ll have to play better if he wants to get a crack at a full-time NHL role (even as a backup) down the road.
- Shane Doan has found the next chapter in his NHL career, as Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports that the former Arizona Coyotes’ captain will join the league’s Hockey Operations group. Working with Colin Campbell, Doan will follow the path set out by other former players like Brendan Shanahan and Rob Blake. Shanahan and Blake of course are now running franchises in Toronto and Los Angeles.
- The Chicago Blackhawks have made quite a few moves over the years to get their core group under the salary cap, but perhaps never so many as this offseason. The team saw Artemi Panarin, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Marcus Kruger, Trevor van Riemsdyk and Scott Darling all leave through trade, Brian Campbell retire and of course Marian Hossa kept out with a chronic skin condition. That’s a lot of talent to have leave in one offseason, but as GM Stan Bowman tells Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times, he’s pretty happy with how it’s turned out. Chicago is 5-3-2 so far this season, but on most nights still look like a team that could compete for the Stanley Cup. In terms of improvement, Chicago doesn’t have to make a deal, as they have talented players sitting in the press box or AHL most nights. Or, as Bowman puts it: “I’m not, like, itching to make a trade.”
Snapshots: Koekkoek, Schroeder, Farnham
When the Vancouver Canucks announced that Troy Stecher would be absent from their blueline for at least a month, questions started popping up over who the Canucks would promote to a starting role. While Alex Biega is set to get the first crack at his spot, he’s shown before that he doesn’t bring anything close to the type of game that Stecher was known for. Patrick Wiercioch is also up with the team, but similarly doesn’t represent much upside for the Canucks.
Cue the speculation, and an interesting name out of News 1130’s Rick Dhaliwal. Dhaliwal reports that an agent asked him “if [he has] heard the Canucks are talking to Tampa Bay about Slater Koekkoek.” While it’s not clear if that means they have in fact had any conversations, the possibility is interesting. With Mikhail Sergachev confirmed as staying with the team past the nine-game threshold, there isn’t a ton of ice time for Koekkoek. He’s clearly the odd man out in Tampa’s rotation, but would require waivers to be sent to the minor leagues.
- Jordan Schroeder has indeed been sent to the Columbus Blue Jackets’ AHL affiliate, even with the injury to Lukas Sedlak. Schroeder cleared waivers earlier today, and will head to Cleveland to continue his season. The Blue Jackets, now down to 13 forwards, are currently carrying an extra roster spot. Whether that’s filled with another forward, or an eighth defenseman is still to be decided.
- The Ottawa Senators have signed Jack Rodewald to a two-year entry-level contract. Rodewald had been playing with their AHL affiliate Belleville this season on a minor-league deal, but could now be called up to the NHL should his play warrant it. The undrafted forward scored 85 points in his final year of junior for the Moose Jaw Warriors, and has four points in his first five games this season in the AHL.
- Bobby Farnham has signed a professional tryout with the Springfield Thunderbirds according to Mark Divver of the Providence Journal. Farnham had appeared in New York Rangers’ training camp on a tryout earlier this summer, but failed to make the team. The undrafted forward has 67 NHL games under his belt, but is know more for his rough play than his scoring ability. He has just 10 career points, all with New Jersey in 2015-16.
Snapshots: Parise, Mironov, Schroeder
The Minnesota Wild could have some bad news to announce very soon, as Michael Russo of The Athletic reports that Zach Parise is considering back surgery to repair a herniated disk. The disk is giving him leg pain, and could take him out for up to two months. Russo reports the update will likely come on Tuesday.
The Wild had Mikael Granlund back in the lineup, but losing Parise for another two months would certainly hurt. Though he’s not the high-flying 45-goal man of his youth, the 33-year old forward is still a very effective two way player and a key part of the Minnesota team. Last year he recorded 42 points in 69 games, marking only the second time he hadn’t cracked 20 goals and 50 points in a non-lockout season since his rookie year. The first was a year lost completely to injury, when he tore the meniscus in his knee and needed surgery in 2010. Hopefully he doesn’t fall to a similar fate in 2017-18.
- Dan Milstein of Gold Star Hockey tweets that his client Andrei Mironov will be recalled by the Colorado Avalanche today, returning him after just a few days with the San Antonio Rampage. Mironov was sent on a conditioning stint to get him into game action, since he was just sitting in the press box for the Avalanche. The Rampage had three consecutive games this weekend (all against the Texas Stars, a quirk of AHL scheduling), in which Mironov scored two points. He’ll try to get back into the Colorado lineup on a more regular basis in his first year in North America.
- Jordan Schroeder, placed on waivers earlier today by the Columbus Blue Jackets, has also technically been recalled from his conditioning stint. Schroeder played in three games for the Cleveland Monsters, and will likely return to the AHL squad if he clears tomorrow. With him on the roster temporarily the Blue Jackets have 23 men, but are expected to activate Gabriel Carlsson from injured reserve in the next few days.
NHL Snapshots: MacDonald, Haula, Marchessault, Bennett
The Philadelphia Flyers announced today that defenseman Andrew MacDonald will miss four to six weeks with a lower body injury. According to NHL.com’s Bill Meltzer, MacDonald stepped into a path of a slap shot from Edmonton’s Milan Lucic during a penalty killing shift of Saturday’s 2-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers. It hit his knee and MacDonald suffered a deep bone bruise, according to CSN’s Tim Panaccio.
Despite the injury, MacDonald stayed in the game. In fact, after taking the hit and going down, he still forced himself to get up and help clear the puck. The 31-year-old blueliner had a dominant performance against the Oilers, as he recorded three shots on goal, six blocked shots and played the second-most minutes on the team at 22:03.
No corresponding moves have been made, although its possible the Flyers will promote defenseman Samuel Morin, who made the team out of training camp, but was a healthy scratch for four games before he was sent down to Lehigh Valley. In five games with the AHL team, he has put up a goal, three assists, 10 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of +3.
- While the Vegas Golden Knights await the injury status of goaltender Malcolm Subban, Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Steve Carp tweets out that Erik Haula, who was put on injured reserve eight days ago, practiced with the team today and told Carp he is ready to return to the team, but wouldn’t say when. David Schoen of the Las Vegas Review-Journal tweets that Jon Marchessault, who was placed on injured reserve on Oct. 15, also says he is ready to return to the Golden Knights lineup and said he expects to be activated for Tuesday’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks after practicing today. The team may reverse their transactions from last week and send Vadim Shipachyov and Alex Tuch back to the AHL. Both Shipachyov and Tuch tallied no points and neither had any shots on goal in Saturday’s game against the St. Louis Blues. Shipachyov received only 10:22 of ice time, while Tuch had 8:49.
- Kent Wilson of The Athletic (subscription required) answers mailbag questions about Calgary Flames center Sam Bennett, who has zero points after eight games. Wilson writes the lack of offense would be acceptable if he was impacting the game in other ways, but that isn’t the case. Bennett, whose first full season showed a lot of promise two years ago when he finished with 18 goals and 18 assists, took a step down last year when he only had 13 goals and 13 assists. Now his numbers look even more bleak. Wilson suggests the team move the 2014 fourth-overall pick to the wing in hopes of helping the 21-year-old’s success and promoting Mark Jankowski, who is tearing up the AHL right now with five goals and four assists in six games.