Snapshots: Mayfield, Rodrigues, Barkov
Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield has been one of the better bargains in the league in recent seasons. A bit of a late bloomer, he opted to take a five-year deal with a cap hit of just $1.45MM, giving him some much-desired stability in the process. Since then, the 30-year-old has become an important part of their top four, logging nearly 20 minutes a night in a shutdown role. A pending UFA, Mayfield is now well-positioned to potentially more than double that price tag on his next deal and he made it clear to Newsday’s Andrew Gross that his desire is to remain with New York. The Isles already have over $73MM in commitments for next season per CapFriendly with a handful of roster spots to fill so they should have enough cap room to keep him in the fold unless GM Lou Lamoriello decides to shake things up next summer.
Elsewhere around the NHL:
- Avalanche forward Evan Rodrigues is officially listed as week to week but is expected to miss two to four weeks due to the lower-body injury sustained on Wednesday against Vancouver, relays Bennett Durando of The Denver Post (Twitter link). The timeline won’t allow Colorado to transfer him onto LTIR to add to their pool unless the team learns that he will be out for the longer end of that timeline. Rodrigues has been a useful addition this season as he has notched six goals and three assists through his first 18 games while spending some time both on the wing and down the middle.
- Panthers center Aleksander Barkov is listed as a game-time decision for tonight’s game against St. Louis due to an illness, notes Colby Guy of Florida Hockey Now (Twitter link). Florida remains in a situation where they can only afford to carry the minimum number of players on their roster so if the captain isn’t able to play, they will once again have to dress only 17 skaters tonight.
Snapshots: Hornqvist, Columbus, Colorado
When Anthony Duclair is eventually ready to return from his Achilles injury, the Florida Panthers are going to need to make some moves. The team is using up nearly all of his $3MM in long-term injured reserve flexibility even with a roster of 20 players, meaning that much will need to come off the books to activate him.
While the easy answer might be to trade Patric Hornqvist, who is playing fourth-line minutes on an expiring $5.3MM cap hit, it might not happen. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet discussed the situation on the 32 Thoughts podcast, and noted that even if there wasn’t a “guarantee” handed over that Hornqvist wouldn’t be traded, to get him to Florida in the first place that kind of agreement was made. While there isn’t anything technically stopping general manager Bill Zito from going back on his word, Friedman doesn’t expect it.
- Also on the podcast, Friedman and co-host Jeff Marek also brought up the Columbus Blue Jackets as the latest team connected to Jakob Chychrun. While the Blue Jackets aren’t going anywhere this year, they have plenty of young assets that could be of interest to the Arizona Coyotes and expect to be better next season when not dealing with a huge number of injuries. Chychrun looked quite good in his latest game for the Coyotes, recording an assist, eight shots on goal, and a +3 rating in a win over the Carolina Hurricanes.
- Now that the Colorado Avalanche don’t need to play today, they’ve returned Sampo Ranta and Anton Blidh back to the AHL. The depth forwards could be back up as early as tomorrow, when the team welcomes the Dallas Stars in.
Snapshots: Memorial Cup, Spengler Cup, Hanus
The CHL has officially announced the four clubs that have submitted applications to host the 2024 Memorial Cup. The Kingston Frontenacs, Niagara IceDogs, Saginaw Spirit, and Soo Greyhounds will send in bids before the deadline in January, with the winning club announced in March.
The tournament is moved through the leagues each year, meaning it was only open to OHL bids for 2024. The 2023 tournament will be held in Kamloops, British Columbia.
- Team Canada has its leadership for the Spengler Cup decided, with Shane Doan managing the roster and Travis Green taking head coaching duties, according to Darren Dreger of TSN. Green is still under contract with the Vancouver Canucks, though he hasn’t coached since being fired in the middle of 2021-22.
- The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins have parted ways with Clay Hanus, as the undrafted defenseman has decided to leave pro hockey and accept the education package given by his former junior club. Hanus had only played two games – both at the ECHL level – since signing an AHL deal in the summer.
Snapshots: Three Stars, Heinola, Samuelsson
The NHL released its Three Stars for last week, and first place went to one of the game’s legendary players. Sidney Crosby is back on top after scoring 11 points in four Pittsburgh Penguins matches, passing Bryan Trottier for 17th on the all-time points list. With 64 more points, he will become just the 15th player in NHL history to record 1,500 in a career.
Second and third place went to Pavel Buchnevich and Martin Jones, respectively, after their own impressive weeks. The St. Louis Blues forward had seven points in four games to help power the incredible turnaround that now has them on a six-game winning streak and sitting fourth in the Central Division. Jones, meanwhile continued his resurgent season and now carries a .913 save percentage through 15 appearances.
- The squeaky wheel is getting some grease in Winnipeg, where the Jets will dress Ville Heinola for the first time this season. Earlier this month, Heinola’s agent publicly requested some additional playing time for his client, who has been stuck in limbo somewhere between leagues for much of his professional career. Now 21, Heinola has seven points in 11 games for the Manitoba Moose but will make his season debut against the Carolina Hurricanes tonight, according to Scott Billeck of the Winnipeg Sun.
- Speaking of getting a defenseman into the lineup, the Buffalo Sabres are expecting to have Mattias Samuelsson dressed tomorrow night. The team has gone into a tailspin since he was injured earlier this season and is currently on an eight-game losing streak. Buffalo went 4-1 with Samuelsson, who signed a seven-year extension in early October.
Snapshots: Roslovic, Yamamoto, Barron
The Columbus Blue Jackets and Vancouver Canucks have been two of the most disappointing teams in the league to start the year. But over the summer, there were talks between the two teams about a potential Jack Roslovic trade, according to The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline.
Portzline reports the Canucks inquired about Roslovic, looking to add to what was becoming a deep forward core, but the Blue Jackets were reluctant to move him. While Columbus’ subsequent start and Roslovic’s mediocre stat line (one goal, six points in 15 games) may make it look like a poor decision in hindsight, it’s understandable why Columbus wanted to hold onto their assets in an effort to be competitive. Many viewed Roslovic as a potential candidate to center a line between Johnny Gaudreau and Patrik Laine after he broke out for a 22-goal campaign last year, but with Laine never really getting his feet under him, and Roslovic not playing up to the bar he set for himself, that trio has seen just 21 minutes together at even strength, per MoneyPuck.
- Edmonton Oilers winger Kailer Yamamoto has returned to the ice after sustaining an undisclosed injury over a week ago. Head coach Jay Woodcroft said today that Yamamoto skated on his own, and he remains hopeful Yamamoto joins the team “at some point” on their upcoming three-game New York/New Jersey road trip. The Oilers hope that Yamamoto can come back refreshed and help spark some depth scoring, which has been a serious issue for Edmonton this season.
- Winnipeg Jets team reporter Mitchell Clinton notes that forward Morgan Barron is back on the ice shooting after undergoing wrist surgery earlier this month. It’s a great sign for Barron, whose five-week timeline pegged a return date somewhere around December 8. The 23-year-old had gotten off to a solid start to 2022-23 with a goal and three assists in nine games.
Snapshots: McDonagh, Samsonov, Tarasenko
If the season were to end today, the Nashville Predators would, for a second straight season, find themselves in the playoffs as the eighth seed out of the Western Conference. Last season, the team was rewarded for its efforts with a 4-0 sweep in the first round at the hands of the eventual Stanley Cup Champions, the Colorado Avalanche. This season, should they make the playoffs, they’ll now have a new weapon: a veteran shutdown defenseman with Stanley Cup pedigree in that of defenseman Ryan McDonagh, who they acquired this offseason from the Tampa Bay Lightning. Though Nashville has had their struggles thus far, McDonagh has been the steady, reliable presence they’d hoped for, helping to keep them in the hunt early on.
However, as The Athletic’s Joe Smith details, there was a time when McDonagh was nearly on his way to the Columbus Blue Jackets this offseason. According to Smith’s discussions with McDonagh and agent Ben Hankinson, a deal to Columbus was rather close. But, on the morning of July 3rd, things began to change. As Smith writes, Lightning GM Julien BriseBois had set that day as a deadline to find a trade partner for McDonagh, who carried a no-movement clause on his contract. If they could not, Smith added, there was a chance McDonagh could have been placed on waivers. Instead, the story goes, Nashville and GM David Poile jumped into the mix that day and made the push to acquire McDonagh. Ultimately, it was the Predators who checked more boxes than any other interested team, McDonagh said.
- After Ilya Samsonov suffered a knee injury in a game against the Boston Bruins two weeks ago, many wondered how the Toronto Maple Leafs would resolve their issues in net, down both of their regular netminders. Toronto managed to bide their time, relying on Erik Kallgren, until Murray’s return this Tuesday, however they will need that pair to stay healthy for now, as Samsonov does not appear close to return. According to TSN’s Mark Masters, who spoke with Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe, Samsonov did not skate Friday. As Keefe says, Samsonov is still healing and not yet at the point to push himself every day and make the push to return. Fortunately for Toronto, the comments don’t appear to point to any setback in Samsonov’s recovery, even if his return is not clear.
- NHL.com’s Chris Pinkert reports that St. Louis Blues winger Vladimir Tarasenko will not play tonight due to illness. It doesn’t appear that the illness is in any way COVID related. Skating in his place will be Alexey Toropchenko, who will play alongside Pavel Buchnevich and Robert Thomas. The 23-year-old Toropchenko has just one goal in 11 games this season, but a chance to skate in the Blues’ top-six could reignite the winger.
Snapshots: Pastujov, Wedgewood, Kings Defense
We are, presumably, still a few months away from the NHL’s blockbuster trading season, however the hot stove in the WHL, QMJHL, and OHL is red hot, with a few blockbusters already completed. The OHL’s Sarnia Sting managed to make one of their own tonight too, acquiring forward and Anaheim Ducks prospect Sasha Pastujov from the Guelph Storm. Heading back to Guelph will be forward Max Namestnikov along with a 2022 second-round pick, 2024 third-round pick, 2025 fifth-round pick, and 2026 fifth -round pick, all in the OHL draft.
Pastujov, 19, was a third-round selection by the Anaheim Ducks in the 2019 NHL Draft, who has put up massive numbers for Sarnia since joining them after a stint with the USNTDP prior. In just 14 games to start this season, Pastujov has 11 goals and eight assists, building on his sensational 2021-22 campaign where he recorded 34 goals and 42 assists in 65 games.
- Having recently got goaltender Jake Oettinger back from injury, the Dallas Stars were surely hoping to keep their goaltending duo intact for as long as possible, however backup netminder Scott Wedgewood was forced to leave tonight’s game against the Florida Panthers, and it did not look good. The injury happened as Wedgewood made a stop against forward Anton Lundell on a breakaway. Lundell was kept off the scoresheet, but Wedgewood remained on the ice for some time before a stretcher was brought out to help the ailing goaltender off the ice. Through seven games to start the season coming into tonight, the 30-year-old carries a 3.21 goals-against average and .903 save-percentage. The Stars added that Wedgewood is “okay” and being further evaluated in their locker room. In this sense, okay may not necessarily mean uninjured, but instead as a reference to the scary situation as Wedgewood was unable to leave the ice himself.
- Earlier today on TSN’s Insider Trading segment, Pierre LeBrun touched on the Los Angeles Kings and their envious predicament of having too many defenseman. As a response, the team has placed defenseman Brandt Clarke on a conditioning loan in the AHL and Jordan Spence, who has proven to be a capable NHL defenseman, is currently a teammate of Clarke’s with the Ontario Reign of the AHL. LeBrun notes that teams have been wondering if the Kings are or will be willing to trade from their defensive depth, however it appears Los Angeles has indicated they are planning to hold onto their defenseman, at least for now.
Snapshots: Karlsson, Senators, Schedule
The hockey hot stove has been abuzz ever since San Jose Sharks general manager Mike Grier explained that he would listen to calls about star defenseman Erik Karlsson, but there’s one thing that much of the speculation seems to overlook. Karlsson has a full no-trade clause all the way through his contract, which keeps him wrapped up through 2026-27. He would need to sign off on any deal, so Corey Masisak of The Athletic asked him whether he would:
No, I mean, if that question ever arises, you know, it’s going to be between me and [Grier]. It has not. So there’s no point for me to think about that or speculate about that. I’m fully invested here at the moment. We are in a situation where we need to win a few games. I’m just worried about the next one. That’s all I can control. All that other stuff, it is nice for you guys to have something to talk about. I’ll let you have at it.
Suffice it to say, the 32-year-old isn’t interested in throwing any more gas onto the fire. Instead, he’ll just continue to rack up points in a resurgent year for the Sharks. Karlsson has 24 points in 18 games and played a whopping 34:12 on Sunday against the Minnesota Wild. Averaging the most ice time since he arrived in San Jose, he looks poised for a vintage season near the top of the defenseman scoring list.
- The Ottawa Senators, who happen to be brought up every time a Karlsson trade is discussed, will honor a different former defenseman next month. Wade Redden will be the second person and first player inducted into the team’s Ring of Honour, joining the late Bryan Murray. Redden, originally selected second overall by the New York Islanders in 1995, made his NHL debut in 1996 for the Senators after being part of a three-team trade and would go on to play 838 games for the franchise. That’s good for fourth all-time in franchise history, behind only Chris Phillips, Daniel Alfredsson, and Chris Neil. Phillips and Alfredsson have already been honored by the team with a jersey retirement.
- The league has announced several schedule changes for upcoming games, moving around start times and broadcast rights. These include some exclusive ESPN broadcasts, like the Tampa Bay Lightning and Edmonton Oilers on January 19. For all of the changes, check out the NHL press release.
Snapshots: Soderholm, Maple Leafs, Chychrun
One of the ongoing debates in the hockey world is when the NHL will start to broaden coaching searches outside of North America. The league has only really had two European head coaches in its history, and every summer there is talk about how someone like Rickard Gronborg could be an interesting candidate.
Well, take at least one name off the list for the time being, as Toni Soderholm has signed a contract to coach SC Bern in the Swiss National League until 2024. The 44-year-old Finn had been the head coach of the German national team for the last several years but used an out clause to terminate the deal and join Bern. Like most of the candidates that are brought up in this discussion, Soderholm has ties to North American hockey already, having played and even captained UMass.
- While the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrate their win over the Pittsburgh Penguins last night, the rest of the hockey world seems to be focused on finding them a new defenseman. Another piece came out today, this time from Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff, detailing several candidates to replace Jake Muzzin. One name that is listed is Vladislav Gavrikov of the Columbus Blue Jackets, a name that has also been brought up by The Fourth Period in relation to the Maple Leafs. Toronto has some additional cap flexibility due to the injury to Jake Muzzin, which is keeping him out indefinitely and could end his career.
- One of the names that is always brought up for defense-needy teams is Jakob Chychrun, and today he officially rejoined the Arizona Coyotes for practice. Speaking with Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, Coyotes general manager Bill Armstrong once again implied that he will not drop the asking price for Chychrun, which – according to LeBrun – is a package including two first-round picks.
Snapshots: 2024 Draft, Joseph, Dorion
There’s a lot of focus on the 2023 draft and for good reason. Connor Bedard leads an impressive group that could seriously shift the balance of power in the NHL depending on who goes where, and there are several teams tanking for the opportunity to pick as high as possible. But 2024 isn’t that far away, and Craig Button of TSN is already talking up the top name. Button believes Cole Eiserman from the USNTDP is the clear number one, and that he would go in the top five this year if he were eligible.
The 16-year-old left-shot forward absolutely dominated the World U17 Hockey Challenge with 12 goals and 20 points in just seven games, and is committed to play for the University of Minnesota in 2024-25. His older brother Shane Eiserman was a fourth-round pick of the Ottawa Senators in 2014, who played in the ECHL for a few years. So remember, if your team fails to secure the top spot – there’s always next year.
- Mathieu Joseph of the Ottawa Senators has received a $5,000 fine for high-sticking Sebastian Aho last night, avoiding any suspension. The 25-year-old forward hasn’t had quite the impact that some expected after his brilliant end to last season and has been held scoreless in his last six games. The Senators as a group aren’t doing much, losing eight of their last ten and sitting 29th in the league. Joseph has three points in 15 games so far.
- Speaking of the Senators, Pierre Dorion has been a busy man at the general manager meetings going on in Toronto. Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reports that Dorion admitted to having a lot of trade talks so far, though there were no specifics given. He certainly hasn’t been shy about pulling the trigger in recent months; the Senators have completed nine trades since March 20.