Snapshots: US-Canada Rivalry, Injury Updates
Though the comments were tepid, many top tier Canadian players took exception to some of the late hits by Team USA during the American squad’s 4-2 victory yesterday. Jonathan Toews was careful with his comments, but was blunt about some of the questionable hits doled out by the aggressive Americans. Via the Chicago Tribune, Toews had this to say:
“Without saying too much, I think there were a couple of borderline hits there where our guys were put in some awkward positions and there’s not much you can do there. The one on Weber was the right call there. We just have to try and protect ourselves and expect that the officials are going to do what they have to do. We have no problem with the chippiness and the physical play (but) it doesn’t matter where you’re playing, I think you always have to respect the player when he has his back to you.”
Toews wasn’t the only one making careful comments. Captain Sidney Crosby and netminder Carey Price both agreed that some hits “crossed the line.” Nick Cotsonika writes that Mike Babcock put the onus on the referees to control the rough play during a game between two rivals:
“There were lots of scrums tonight. They were generated by the players. The referees can clean that up in two seconds. All you’ve got to do is put people in the box. No more scrums.”
The US and Canada meet again in exhibition play tonight.
In other hockey news:
- The Chicago Tribune’s Chris Kuc writes about the concern every team has with the injuries as the World Cup begins its tournament play with an exhibition tilt. With injuries to Marian Hossa, and Marcus Kruger, Blackhawks players were understandably concerned when two significant players from their team suffered injuries. Hossa’s, as it turns out, will not limit him and Europe coach Ralph Krueger said it’s “all green lights” for Hossa to play in Saturday’s game. Kruger, Kuc reports, has a more mysterious upper body injury and will be held out of play during Saturday’s Sweden’s exhibition game against Finland. Both Patrick Kane and Toews, when asked about the possibility of injury, shrugged it off and attributed it to a risk that’s always there, regardless of the circumstance.
Snapshots: World Cup Power Rankings, Updates
TSN’s Scott Cullen writes that Canada is the team to beat in the World Cup of Hockey. Cullen ranks Canada, Sweden, and North America ahead of the American squad, who he pegs as fourth in his tournament power rankings. Cullen expects the Americans to be competitive but can’t see a team squarely more concerned about a “tougher” style of play going very far in a tournament that emphasizes speed and skill. The US, Cullen writes, is all about smash mouth hockey, but their goalie tandem of Cory Schneider, Ben Bishop and Jonathan Quick could give those aforementioned skilled teams some fits. Cullen places Canada at the top simply because of the top end talent they boast on every line. Sweden, he writes, has an “absurd” defensive corps with Erik Karlsson, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Victor Hedman, Anton Stralman, Hampus Lindholm, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Mattias Ekholm all on the roster. He cautions that in order to knock off favorite Canada, they’ll need young forwards Filip Forsberg and Gabriel Landeskog to carry the team in scoring.
Team North America is one that Cullen believes could truly shock everyone. With young, fast, and skilled players like Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel, and John Gaudreau, the under 23 team could turn some heads, and possibly pull some upsets that could unseat the favorites. For the rest of his rankings, Cullen places Russia, Finland, Czech Republic, and Europe as the bottom four teams respectively.
In other World Cup of Hockey News:
- The USA’s 4-2 victory over Canada featured a lot of aggressive play and injury scares that remained only as fears and nothing serious. Several high profile players took vicious hits, and some had to leave the ice. Flyers captain Claude Giroux took a hit from Joe Pavelski and didn’t return until later in the third period. Logan Couture also took a hard hit from T.J. Oshie in the second period but returned in the third. Though Shea Weber was slammed into the boards by Ryan Kesler in the second period, he didn’t miss any ice time. Kesler was assessed a boarding major and a game misconduct. Pavelski recorded the game winner while Derek Stepan sealed the game with an empty net goal in a contest that became more physical as it wore on. Earlier in the day, PHR recapped some of the other injury scares during exhibition play on Thursday.
Snapshots: Tampa’s Goalies, Lindberg, Kane, Fraser
While it has long been speculated that the Tampa Bay Lightning will have to move one of their two goalies in the near future, GM Steve Yzerman isn’t ruling out keeping both around in the hopes of having above average goaltending for every game this season, writes Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times.
After signing Andrei Vasilevskiy to a three year, $10.5MM extension that begins in 2017-18, Bishop has been speculated as being the odd one out. Those thoughts have become even more prevalent recently with the report that Bishop was close to being dealt to Calgary back at the draft. Yzerman did add that he expects both goalies to be available when they open their season on October 13th.
With Bishop projected to be the top goaltender in next summer’s UFA market, the Lightning could be faced with a situation where they lose him for nothing if they don’t trade him. However, as we saw last season with Steven Stamkos, Yzerman isn’t afraid to hold on to his pending free agents and use them as internal rentals to aid in what they hope to be a lengthy postseason run.
With the goalie market pretty well dried up at this point, they’ll likely have to wait until midseason to see if anyone struggles out of the gate or gets injured before determining whether or not it’s worth pursuing dealing Bishop who has been the Lightning’s starter each of the last three seasons.
Other news and notes from around the hockey world:
- Rangers center Oscar Lindberg has been skating for the past three weeks as he continues to rehab from hip surgery back in May, reports Newsday’s Steve Zipay. The 24 year old had a quality rookie campaign with New York last season, recording 13 goals and 15 assists in 68 games. With the team adding extra forward depth in players like Michael Grabner, Josh Jooris, Brandon Pirri, and Nathan Gerbe, Lindberg will be in a tough battle for a spot in the lineup when he returns to the lineup.
- Prosecutors have submitted additional evidence against Sabres winger Evander Kane in his pending court case, writes John Wawrow of the Associated Press. Kane is facing four counts of non-criminal harassment, one count of disorderly conduct, and one count of misdemeanour trespass. He pled not guilty to all charges back in August and is scheduled to next appear in ourt on October 31st.
- Chicago UFA winger Matt Fraser has signed a one year deal with Rogle BK of the SHL, the Swedish team announced (link in Swedish). The Blackhawks acquired him as part of the Andrew Ladd trade prior to the last trade deadline although he never got into a game with the team; he last suited up in the NHL in 2014-15 where he played 60 games between Edmonton and Boston. The Blackhawks declined to tender him a qualifying offer back in June.
Snapshots: Vegas Name, Concussion Protocol, Cowen Hearing
The Las Vegas something Knights.
What that something will be has yet to be announced, but owner Bill Foley confirmed on Friday that will be the basis for the team’s name. Foley appeared on Brian Blessing’s Sportsbook Radio show on Friday. According to Blessing, the team and league are still fine-tuning the logo, but the name and colors have been chosen.
Throughout the last couple weeks, Foley has trademarked several team nicknames, though he admitted they were a “ruse” to “irritate” people. It’s been long speculated that Foley wanted the team to be nicknamed the Knights, but trademark issues with the OHL’s London Knights will likely squash that.
The Las Vegas something Knights will make their NHL debut for the 2017-18 season.
Elsewhere in the hockey world:
- Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman has an new piece up on sportsnet.ca about some changes coming to the NHL’s concussion protocol. Currently, team-affiliated “spotters” are responsible for noting if players have sustained a traumatic injury and are supposed to pull the player off the bench to a quiet room for further evaluation. However, there has been some debate that the spotters aren’t always doing their jobs properly. Now, Friedman reports, there will be four independent spotters watching all games on television. Should they see any visible signs of a concussion, they will notify the team that their player must be pulled from the game for observation. The in-house spotters will remain in each arena. According to Friedman, the full protocol will be revealed shortly before the start of the regular season.
- Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun reported that a resolution between the Maple Leafs and Jared Cowen won’t come for another month. Horby tweeted that the hearing will not take place until early or mid October. The Leafs acquired Cowen in the Dion Phaneuf trade back in February, mainly because of a quirk in his contract that would give the Leafs a salary cap credit if he’s bought out. Cowen underwent surgery after the season on doctor’s orders, and claims he is still injured and therefore ineligible to be bought out. Cowen is entering the final year of his contract, which pays him $3.1MM per season.
Snapshots: Price, World Cup
The World Cup of Hockey exhibition round kicked off on Thursday, with Russia beating Czech Republic, Finland defeating Sweden, and Team North America shutting out Team Europe. Though we’re only one day into the pre-tournament action, there have already been some injury concerns. With that in mind, the eyes of the hockey world will be on Team Canada goaltender Carey Price when the Canadians take on the United States in the first game of back-to-back exhibition contests. Price will make his hotly anticipated first start since November.
When asked about Price, Team Canada coach Mike Babcock said he expects him “to be great”, before asking that needed any elaboration.
USA left winger and Montreal Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty told TSN’s Mark Masters that, on a personal level, he’s happy to see Price “put on the pads again… because I know he suffered last year”. Pacioretty said he wasn’t able to share any secrets on scoring on Price because “there are no secrets on how to beat Carey”.
- Speaking of players competing against their NHL goaltenders, Team Canada forward Steven Stamkos and American goaltender Ben Bishop have been teammates in Tampa Bay for three and a half seasons, so Bishop has seen plenty of Stamkos in practice. However, Stamkos claims he shoots different spots in practice and that he’s going to “ring one by [Bishop]’s head first” then shoot somewhere else next.
- Also from the Team Canada camp, Coach Babcock confirmed that Corey Perry and Jay Bouwmeester will be healthy scratches tonight. Both men were injury replacements, for Jeff Carter and Duncan Keith respectively. Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston spoke with Babcock about how he plans on telling NHL stars that they will be scratched: “I’m just going to tell them. I’ve found in life when someone’s giving me bad news I like it fast.”
- Despite beating Team Europe pretty soundly last night, Team North America changed up their lines this morning. ESPN’s Craig Custance reported Flames RFA Johnny Gaudreau and Sabres sophomore Jack Eichel are now on the top line with captain Connor McDavid. Coach Todd McLellan said they will be making adjustments, and “the overall vision and hockey IQ” of McDavid, Eichel, and Gaudreau made it easy to put them together.
Snapshots: Quebec Expansion, Roy, Radulov, Trouba
In a post for ESPN.com published this morning, Craig Custance provides a wealth of information on a wide array of topics. The entire piece is well worth the read but here are several of the highlights.
- Custance relays an update on possible expansion into Quebec City, per comments from NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly. Daly said that while he would like to see the NHL return to Quebec, “hopefully at some point in my career,” there are currently no serious discussions of adding a 32nd team to the league. Daly: “We’ll recap the expansion process, but I don’t expect there will be any announcements on new expansion.” Further diminishing the chances of a Quebec entry any time in the near future, Daly also stated that despite the drawn out process, the Arizona Coyotes will “find a long-term arena in the Phoenix area,” thus eliminating any talk of possibly relocating the club. All together, the NHL is satisfied with 31 franchises and the existing geographical balance of those teams. While Daly’s comments appear to pour cold water on the idea of a Quebec franchise, it’s still a good possibility the league places a team there in the relatively near future.
- During the first period of Team North America’s win over Team Europe, former Avalanche VP of hockey operations and head coach Patrick Roy met with the media. Roy is said to have resigned his position due to philosophical differences with other members of management and a loss of influence in the front office. When asked whether the Avs choice not to seriously pursue winger Alexander Radulov in free agency was a contributing factor to his decision to leave the organization, Roy indicated that while he vouched for his former Quebec Remparts star and would like to see him one day play for Colorado, the final call was always Joe Sakic‘s and that Roy “respected his decision.” Roy would later suggest that the team is giving more thought to using analytics in their decision-making and that also may have played a part in his decision to leave.
- Earlier today we touched on the lack of progress in talks between RFA Johnny Gaudreau and the Flames. But Gaudreau is far from the only remaining unsigned RFA of note. According to Custance, Winnipeg defenseman Jacob Trouba has not spoken to agent Kurt Overhardt since camp opened for the World Cup of Hockey. Custance also points out that one potential benefit to RFA’s participating in the tournament is the chance to further enhance their values with excellent performances at the tournament playing against many of the top players in the world. Trouba, for example, believes that he can fill a greater role with the Jets and if given a heave dose of responsibility with Team North America, perhaps he can prove to Winnipeg he is deserving of more ice time.
Snapshots: Gaudreau, Benson, McGrattan
Time is running short for the Flames to ink star forward Johnny Gaudreau prior to the start of the 2016-17 campaign and it appears as if the two sides are still quite far apart in talks, according to Eric Francis of the Calgary Sun. Francis reports that Gaudreau’s camp is seeking $8MM annually while the Flames are countering with a figure somewhere in between what Sean Monahan‘s recent extension pays out ($6.375MM) and what captain Mark Giordano earns on an annual basis ($6.75MM).
An unnamed source Francis spoke with stated: “He wants unrestricted money but he’s restricted.” The source would go on to point out that other players with track records similar in both length and production have signed for less, including Filip Forsberg ($6MM) and Nathan MacKinnon ($6.3MM). He also questions whether Gaudreau, while a terrific young talent, is better than than the two players he mentioned.
For his part, Gaudreau is leaving the heavy lifting to his agent, Lewis Gross, at least until after the World Cup has concluded at which point he has said he would become more involved.
Gauedreau is certainly a talented young player and one the Flames want to build around but the reality is he only has two seasons of NHL experience and almost no leverage to exercise in these negotiations. He could choose to sit out until he gets a deal to his liking or sign in the KHL but it’s unlikely he’d receive a comparable salary overseas to what the Flames are offering him today. The smart money is the deal gets wrapped up soon after he returns from the World Cup and that the AAV is closer to what Monahan received than what Gaudreau is said to be asking for at the moment.
- According to the Elite Prospects website (via tweet) tough guy forward Brian McGrattan has left North America and accepted a deal to play for the Nottingham Panthers of the EIHL in England. The nine-year veteran who turned 35 just last week, did not see any action at the NHL level and instead suited up for 58 games for the Anaheim Ducks AHL affiliate in San Diego. McGrattan tallied nine goals and 17 points along with his usually high number of penalty minutes (144) for the Gulls. Anaheim loaded up yesterday on organizational depth, agreeing to deals with seven players to minor league deals. That McGrattan was not among them suggested a move elsewhere might be in the offing. McGrattan leaves North America (for now at least) having scored just 27 career points in 317 games and 609 minutes in penalties.
- Bruce McCurdy of the Edmonton Journal wonders if 2016 second-round pick, Tyler Benson, can beat the odds and become an important contributor for the Oilers. McCurdy lists the 10 players the club has selected in the second round since 2007 and only two, Justin Schultz (266) and Anton Lander (193) has appeared in more than 27 NHL games to date. Second-round picks are still considered valuable choices and teams generally expect to land one quality NHL talent for every three players chosen in the round. It’s hard to say the Oilers have even developed one quality NHL player from their group as Schultz wasn’t even drafted by the Oilers and was dealt away to Pittsburgh at the 2016 trade deadline after failing to live up to expectations in Edmonton. Lander has yet to land a full-time role and it’s been suggested current management is not particularly high on the Swedish pivot.
- Former Devils forward Stephen Gionta might be under consideration from the Islanders for a PTO, according to Arthur Staple of Newday (via tweet). Gionta doesn’t bring much offense to the table – just one goal last season and a career-best of five in 2014-15 – but would add energy to the team’s fourth line. He can also contribute on the penalty kill. The Islanders have boasted one of the game’s best fourth lines but they will undoubtedly have someone new skating with Casey Cizikas and Cal Clutterbuck after Matt Martin departed New York as a free agent. Gionta could provide another option for head coach Jack Capuano.
Snapshots: Duchene, Weise, Hronek
When the Colorado Avalanche were stunned by head coach Patrick Roy walking away from the organization on August 11th, many pointed to a perceived rift between Roy and superstar forward Matt Duchene over some of the exuberant celebrations he performed after scoring goals. One goal in particular, scored in a 5-1 loss to St. Louis on April 4th, prompted much scrutiny from the media after Roy said “Are you kidding me? What is that? It’s not the (reaction) that we want from our guys. Not at all.”
In Mike Zeisberger’s new column in the Toronto Sun, he gets Duchene to set the record straight about their feud:
At the end of the day it wasn’t anything against me. He was just trying to set a precedent for the team and make an example of me. He expected me to be a leader and at that moment I let him down. We had a great chat the next day and right then everything was fine. It was blown out of proportion in the media. It was really nothing after that.
Zeisberger reiterates that Duchene’s main message is that there was no feud between the two, and that Roy called him just hours after he had made his decision to leave. It’s not, then, a problem with the 25-year old sniper that made the hall of fame goaltender leave the team.
- In a piece by Sam Carchidi of The Inquirer, Dale Weise opens up about the mid-season trade to the Chicago Blackhawks and how excited he is about his new deal with the Philadelphia Flyers. “Going to Chicago was a disaster because I played like five minutes a night.It’s pretty tough to do anything when you play so little. It was a new experience for me.” says Weise, who had no goals in fifteen games with the Hawks down the stretch. He signed a four-year, $9.4 million deal with the Flyers this offseason, and thinks he “can play on any line and any role” with them this year.
- Dan Wakiji for the Detroit Red Wings team site writes about Filip Hronek (the Wings’ second-round pick this year) and his journey in hockey thus far. Taken 53rd overall, Hronek has very little experience on the North American ice, but will get some this season; he’s heading to Saginaw to join the OHL. Only weighing 163 pounds currently, Hronek’s biggest challenge will be getting stronger and tougher in his own end.
Snapshots: World Cup Camps Update, Daly
Tyler Seguin and Jonathan Drouin are both feeling it Tuesday morning, with Seguin missing Team Canada’s practice due to an unspecified illness and Drouin possibly hurting his arm after being hit into an open bench door by Team North America teammate Jacob Trouba.
To replace Seguin, who Canadian officials told to stay at the hotel, Steven Stamkos is now on right wing with center Jonathan Toews and center-turned-left-winger Logan Couture, bumping Corey Perry up from extra forward to the third line right wing with John Tavares on left wing and Ryan Getzlaf at center.
Over at Team North America, Drouin is sticking it out and staying on the ice. Toronto Maple Leafs’ first overall pick Auston Matthews moved out of the extra forward slot to the third line with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Nathan MacKinnon. Red Wings sophomore Dylan Larkin is also taking rushes with Nugent-Hopkins and MacKinnon.
Mark Spector tweeted out the North American first unit PP, and it should compete with its Canadian counterpart for most dangerous in the tournament. The under-23 team will roll out Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel, Mark Scheifele, Brandon Saad, and Aaron Ekblad; Team Canada has Sidney Crosby, Getzlaf, Stamkos, Tavares, and Drew Doughty.
Elsewhere in the hockey world:
- NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly appeared on Sirius XM NHL on Tuesday morning, where he expressed satisfaction with the current Collective Bargaining Agreement. Daly talked about the potential premature end to the agreement in 2020, when both the league and Players Association have the right to opt out. Despite some talk about how bonus laden contracts (designed to ensure players would be payed during a potential lockout) could actually lead to a lockout. Daly says there is “general satisfaction” with how the current system works. With the qualifier that it’s still early, the deputy commissioner doesn’t see “any storm clouds on the horizen – at least yet”.
Snapshots: Rieder’s Contract Talks, Senyshyn, World Cup Captaincies
While a contract doesn’t appear to be imminent, contract talks continue between the Arizona Coyotes and RFA winger Tobias Rieder. Speaking with AZCentral’s Sarah McLellan, GM John Chayka had the following to say about their discussions:
“We continue to discuss things and made a series of very fair offers – different ways, shapes and forms. Nothing yet that’s in agreement yet with his camp. We like the player a lot. We think he’s a very good player. He adds a lot of value to our team and impact, and we hope and expect him to be at camp and be a part of our group.”
Rieder is coming off a strong sophomore NHL season, setting career bests in goals (14), assists (23), points (37), and ice time (17:08 per game) and projects as a top six forward for the Coyotes this season if a deal can be reached.
Last month, Arizona Sports columnist Craig Morgan reported that the team had submitted a two year offer between $2MM and $2.3MM per year and a three year offer that would be closer to $2.5MM annually. Meanwhile, Rieder’s agent Darren Ferris was seeking $2.75MM per season on two or three year contracts or $3MM on a four year pact. It’s also believed that Rieder has at least two KHL offers on the table if they can’t come to terms on a new deal.
Rieder will be suiting up for Team Europe at the upcoming World Cup and will be insured to play by the league and Players’ Association since he isn’t under contract.
Elsewhere around the league:
- Boston prospect Zach Senyshyn underwent a successful appendectomy on Monday, the team announced. Senyshyn, a 2015 first round pick (15th overall), has been ruled out of rookie camp while his readiness for the opening of their main training camp is unknown. He recorded 45 goals in just 66 OHL games last season and could conceivably make a push to open the year with the big club if he has a strong preseason. As a junior-aged player, he could suit up in nine or fewer NHL games without burning the first year of his entry-level contract.
- With pre-tournament games set to begin this week, World Cup teams are finalizing their leadership cores. Team Sweden named Henrik Sedin as their new captain, replacing Henrik Zetterberg. In speaking with NHL.com’s Dan Rosen, Sedin called it an honor but wouldn’t go as far as calling it a dream come true as he never envisioned himself wearing the ‘C’ for the Tre Kronor. Despite getting the nod, Sedin anticipates the team will be captained more by committee than by himself. Henrik is one of three members of the Swedish squad who also won Olympic gold ten years ago in Italy; the others are his brother Daniel and Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist.
- Team Finland announced that they have appointed Tampa Bay center Valtteri Filppula and Florida left wing/center Jussi Jokinen as alternate captains. Minnesota’s Mikko Koivu was named team captain two weeks ago.