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Snapshots: Canadiens, Staal, Brown

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The Montreal Canadiens are getting closer to naming a new general manager, as Eric Engels of Sportsnet reports they’ve narrowed their search to just three candidates. Engels believes that Daniel Briere and Mathieu Darche are two of those three, and notes that some of the other candidates interviewed could still land different positions with the organization.

Montreal has been without a GM since firing Marc Bergevin in November, but with Jeff Gorton in place as executive vice president of hockey operations, there was no rush to fill the position. Even the new hire isn’t expected to carry the same weight of responsibility that Bergevin did over the last decade and was always expected to be someone with less experience in NHL front offices. While Darche has been with the Tampa Bay Lightning since 2019, Briere has been serving as GM and president of the Maine Mariners of the ECHL the last several years.

  • While Eric Staal is focused on the Olympics with Team Canada, he spoke to Michael Russo of The Athletic and indicated that he would gladly drop that dream to sign in the NHL immediately, if a team offered him a contract. It isn’t likely that contract is going to come with the Minnesota Wild, even though Staal is currently with their AHL affiliate on a professional tryout. Staal currently sits at 1,293 regular season games played and could become just the 64th player in NHL history to break 1,300 should he sign for the stretch run this year.
  • Connor Brown played more than 19 minutes last night, scoring a goal and an assist in the Ottawa Senators win over the Calgary Flames. He did it all with a broken jaw, apparently, as head coach D.J. Smith told TSN radio today that the forward was hit with a puck in the warm-up that caused the injury. He’ll is considered out week-to-week now as he recovers. Brown has five goals and 19 points in 26 games this season.

Snapshots: Hertl, Allen, Byron

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The San Jose Sharks’ unexpected rise back to relevancy this season has answered a lot of questions, but the Tomas Hertl situation still hangs over the team’s heads. On TSN’s Insider Trading program today, Pierre LeBrun says he expects the Sharks to “circle back” with Hertl and give him an extension offer. The pending unrestricted free agent has 31 points in 37 games this season. The team’s lone 20-goal scorer so far is in the final year of a four-year, $22.5MM contract. In the case that Hertl doesn’t agree to an extension prior to the trade deadline, though, LeBrun notes the trade front is still an option. Hertl has a modified no-trade clause that allows him to submit a list of three teams to which he’ll accept a trade. LeBrun believes the New York Rangers would be an option, a team that would obviously be heavily interested in some added forward depth.

Some other notes, this time out of Montreal:

  • After leaving last night’s loss against Boston, Canadiens goalie Jake Allen will be out of the lineup for at least a week, per coach Dominique Ducharme. It’s been a really tough season for Allen, who’s faced injuries and COVID that have limited him to 24 games. He’s Montreal’s undisputed starter, still posting a save percentage above .900 on the worst team in the league. The team has a compressed schedule in the near future, meaning Allen could miss three or four games before he’s ready to dress again.
  • Montreal could be getting a name back from injury soon, though, as forward Paul Byron, who hasn’t played all year due to offseason hip surgery, could be cleared from COVID protocol by the weekend and could join the team on the road. Byron had six points in 22 games last year during Montreal’s playoff run. He’s one of the bigger voices in the room for the Habs, and his leadership presence will be greatly appreciated during this tough season.

Snapshots: Staal, Carter, Reichel

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It wasn’t so long ago that Eric Staal was scoring 42 goals during the 2017-18 season for the Minnesota Wild. A 22-goal and a 19-goal campaign followed, but then 2020-21 was a mess. He started with the Buffalo Sabres before ending up with the Montreal Canadiens, struggling in both cities.

Now, as he prepares to represent Canada at the Olympics instead of playing in the NHL, Staal is expected to sign an AHL professional tryout contract with the Iowa Wild, according to Ken Campbell of Hockey Unfiltered. Staal hasn’t been officially named to the roster yet, but without any professional games to his name this season he’ll need some sort of competitive action to prove he’s ready.

  • Speaking of Canadian Olympians getting closer to the end of their playing days, Jeff Carter recently turned 37 and will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. When Josh Yohe of The Athletic asked him about whether or not tomorrow’s Pittsburgh Penguins game would be the last time Carter plays in Los Angeles, the veteran forward suggested he is still hoping to play a few more years. Carter is having another strong year for the Penguins with 11 goals and 20 points in 29 games, and certainly appears as though there is more for him to give over the next few seasons. Now going on more than 1,100 games at the NHL level, the veteran forward will be an interesting case to follow this offseason should he hit the open market.
  • On the other end of the spectrum is Lukas Reichel, who was recalled to the Chicago Blackhawks taxi squad today. Interim head coach Derek King confirmed to reporters including Charlie Roumeliotis of NBCS Chicago that Reichel’s NHL debut will come tomorrow night and it certainly seems like he’ll be a legitimate part of the gameplan. The 20-year-old forward was practicing with Patrick Kane and Dylan Strome today, but King did caution that “it’s a marathon, not a sprint” in terms of developing prospects, and that he’ll likely be sent back down after a few games. Reichel has 20 points in 20 games in Rockford and was the 17th overall pick in 2020.

Snapshots: Eichel, Jones, Stalock

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Jack Eichel was on the ice at practice today for the Vegas Golden Knights, not even two months since undergoing artificial disk replacement surgery. At the time, Eichel was given a three-month recovery timeline and when speaking with the media today, he said he feels like everything is going well.

The recovery to be completely honest was pretty smooth. I was pretty fortunate to be in the hands of Dr. Mark Lindsay and I just let him do what he does best. We had a good plan all along and–knock-on-wood–there weren’t any setbacks. It felt like the first few weeks I was getting used to how I felt, the next few weeks it was like ’okay I’m starting to feel better.’ The last few weeks I feel really good now, I basically feel back to normal. 

With Max Pacioretty out, the Golden Knights have options for how to play the cap when Eichel is ready to return. It could still precipitate a trade of some sort, but suddenly a first-place Vegas squad appears to be close to adding a top-line center to the mix. Eichel hasn’t played since March 7, 2021, but scored 355 points in his first 375 games in the league.

  • When Seth Jones was not available to the media following morning skate, a few eyebrows were raised given the situation. The star defenseman was set to play in Columbus tonight for the first time since the offseason trade, but that now is in jeopardy. Though the team hasn’t officially announced his placement in the COVID protocol yet, he is no longer listed on the Blackhawks official roster and Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports that Jones tested positive for coronavirus. The team is likely waiting for the result to be confirmed, but it looks like Jones may not get to face his old mates after all. (UPDATE: The Blackhawks have officially announced Jones’ placement in the protocol, along with another staff member. He will not play tonight.)
  • Alex Stalock, who has missed the entire season so far with a heart condition, is attempting a comeback according to Michael Russo of The Athletic. He will report to the Bakersfield Condors where he’ll take a physical, but he would need to clear waivers in order to be officially assigned to the minor league club (though a conditioning stint may be possible in this case). The Edmonton Oilers netminder was claimed off waivers last March but still hasn’t actually played for the club. In his career, he has a .909 save percentage in 151 appearances.

Snapshots: Malkin, Canucks, Robertson

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Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan spoke to reporters today, saying that injured center Evgeni Malkin is taking line rushes in his normal second-line center spot and is taking scrimmages on the top power play. He’ll officially be listed as a game-time decision for tomorrow’s game against Anaheim. If Malkin is healthy enough to go, it’ll be his first NHL game since May 26, 2021, his first in six and a half months. Malkin was expected to be out indefinitely after undergoing knee surgery in June 2021. Now, after missing Pittsburgh’s first 34 games of the season, he’s hopefully fully healthy and ready to go for the stretch run.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Three Vancouver Canucks forwards who were previously in COVID protocol – Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser, and Jason Dickinson – are likely to return when the Canucks kick off a road trip on Tuesday against Florida, per NHL.com’s Kevin Woodley. All three exited protocol today and practiced with the team. It will be Vancouver’s first game since New Years Day, a 5-2 win against Seattle.
  • Top Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Nick Robertson is recovering from a leg injury that’s sidelined him since mid-October 2021, and their AHL head coach, Greg Moore, says Robertson is skating with the Toronto Marlies again and could play in a “couple of weeks.” It’s great news for Robertson, who’s been taken out of the lineup by long-term injuries each of the past two seasons. He has 19 points in 29 games between the NHL and AHL since the beginning of 2020-21.

Snapshots: Kane, Ryan, LaFontaine

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The San Jose Sharks officially filed the termination of Evander Kane’s contract yesterday, but it was met with a grievance from the NHLPA last night, according to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. How it will all work out is still very much unclear, but for now, Kane and his representatives have begun searching for a new home.

In fact, Dan Milstein, Kane’s agent, told LeBrun that there is a lot of interest in his client who will be signing a one-year deal for the rest of this season. Darren Dreger of TSN said on the radio today that 15-20 teams have expressed some level of interest, with the Edmonton Oilers being one of them.

  • It appears as though Bobby Ryan’s bid to represent the United States again at the Olympics won’t come to fruition, as former NHL player Marc Methot tweets that Ryan hasn’t made the roster. The veteran forward was supposed to play at the recent Spengler Cup in preparation, but it was canceled due to COVID concerns. Interestingly, that means that Ryan could potentially be on the radar for NHL teams looking to add a little bit of depth down the stretch.
  • Jack LaFontaine has been assigned to the Carolina Hurricanes taxi squad and spoke to Sara Civian of The Athletic about what he calls a “golden” opportunity to start his NHL career. Civian reports that it is likely that LaFontaine gets at least one game with the Hurricanes this season. The young goaltender left his college career behind to sign with Carolina and will be a restricted free agent this summer whether he plays in the NHL or not.

Snapshots: Rask, Matthews, Team Canada

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Unrestricted free agent goaltender Tuukka Rask still needs to be medically cleared to return to action, but that could come as early as this weekend according to Amalie Benjamin of NHL.com. The return would likely come at the AHL level for the Providence Bruins, who play against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Friday and Sunday.

Rask, 34, hasn’t played a game in the AHL since the 2008-09 season when he went 33-20-4 for Providence and led them to the Eastern Conference Finals. He would likely sign a professional tryout contract in order to suit up at that level, as an NHL contract would require him to pass through waivers before being assigned to Providence. A conditioning loan, which would be another potential way of getting him time in the AHL while under an NHL contract, would not remove Rask from the 23-man roster, meaning Boston would be at a disadvantage while the veteran goaltender got up to speed. A PTO for Providence doesn’t have these restrictions, meaning there could be one coming down the pipe in the next few days if he’s cleared.

  • Auston Matthews’ positive COVID result from a rapid test yesterday was not confirmed today, as his PCR result returned negative. While he was still held out from practice, there is still a chance he avoids the protocol and can play for the team tomorrow night. Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe told reporters including Luke Fox of Sportsnet that they are awaiting the results of another test that should be known tomorrow morning.
  • The Canadian women’s hockey team will not play again before the Olympics as they try to avoid any further COVID-19 cases. According to the Canadian Press, the group will enter a bubble for the next few weeks in order to ensure they can all travel to Beijing in time for the tournament, which kicks off on February 2–actually a few days ahead of the opening ceremonies. The team must make three cuts from the 26 players they currently have, but will no longer play the tune-up matches against the United States or the AJHL.

Snapshots: Three Stars, Greeley, Wild

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The NHL has released its Three Stars for last week, with Jordan Kyrou taking home the top spot. The St. Louis Blues forward had seven points in two games, including a four-point effort in the Winter Classic. With 79 points in 128 career games, including 32 in 29 this season, the 2016 second-round pick is establishing himself as a top offensive performer in the NHL.

Second and third place went to Jack Hughes and Jonathan Huberdeau respectively, after their own outstanding weeks. The New Jersey Devils center had eight points in three games and figured into two more overtime victories for the club. Huberdeau meanwhile continues his incredible run and is now up to 41 points in 32 games this season.

  • The Dallas Stars have hired Steve Greeley as their new Director of Hockey Strategy/Scouting and Development, bringing him in to oversee the club’s analytics department. Greeley was previously an assistant general manager with the Buffalo Sabres under Jason Botterill and an assistant director of player personnel with the New York Rangers.
  • The Minnesota Wild may be giving a young prospect their first chance at the NHL level, as Michael Russo of The Athletic tweets Matt Boldy and/or Marco Rossi could be coming up for Thursday’s game. The Wild placed Jordan Greenway in the COVID protocol today and are already without Joel Eriksson Ek. Boldy, as Russo points out, is the only top-20 pick from 2019 yet to play in an NHL game, while Rossi is only a year removed from his myocarditis diagnosis which put his career on pause.

Snapshots: Paquette, Zuccarello, Canadiens Quarantine

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The Montreal Canadiens are absolutely ravaged at the moment by injuries and COVID, and bad turned to worse today when forward Cedric Paquette didn’t finish Saturday’s game against the Florida Panthers due to a neck injury, per TVA’s Renaud Lavoie. Montreal dressed just 11 forwards and five defensemen for that game, a 5-2 loss. They had just three players dressed with a cap hit greater than $1MM, with the majority of their lineup filled out by rookies and AHL call-ups. Paquette played a third-line role, centering Lukas Vejdemo and Alex Belzile. Paquette’s only played in 18 games this season, missing some time due to injury and suspension, but he only has one assist while averaging 9:11 per game. More injury news is certainly concerning for the 28-year-old Paquette, who signed a one-year deal with Montreal this offseason.

More notes from around the league on the first day of 2022:

  • With the Minnesota Wild missing captain Jared Spurgeon from tonight’s Winter Classic due to a lower-body injury, The Athletic’s Michael Russo tweets that right wing Mats Zuccarello will serve as the third alternate captain for the outdoor spectacle. Matt Dumba and Marcus Foligno are healthy and will serve as the other two alternates, as per usual. Zuccarello fought back from an early-season injury to have one of the most productive starts of his career, posting 24 points through 24 games. The Norwegian winger will likely reprise his role on the team’s top line, playing alongside Kirill Kaprizov and Ryan Hartman.
  • The Canadiens aren’t playing again until January 12th at the earliest as their entire upcoming four-game homestand is postponed. The team won’t complain due to the aforementioned excessive amount of lineup absences, but now, head coach Dominique Ducharme says that a five-day quarantine for the entire team upon their return to Montreal is possible and will be discussed. While it won’t affect their playing schedule, it could give a chance for players to stay healthy and help their lineup get back to having experienced NHLers in the mix.

Snapshots: Canucks, Ruff, Canadiens, Robinson

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While Jim Rutherford has a tendency to swing big in trades, it doesn’t appear he’ll do that with the Canucks.  In an appearance on Sportsnet 650 (audio link), the team president acknowledged that any trades they make will be for draft picks and younger players, suggesting he won’t try to add some veterans in an effort to aid Vancouver’s push to get back into the playoff picture (they sit three points out of the last Wild Card spot).  Rutherford also mentioned that their new GM will likely be a first-timer in the role.  There’s no timeline for when they want to get that spot filled.

More from around the hockey world:

  • The Devils announced (Twitter link) that head coach Lindy Ruff has been placed in COVID protocol. Assistant coach Alain Nasreddine will take over as interim bench boss until Ruff is able to return.  It won’t be the first time that Nasreddine has been in charge of the bench for New Jersey as he served as interim head coach for them for 43 games back in 2019-20.
  • Canadiens prospect Jacob Olofsson has signed a contract through the 2022-23 season with IF Bjorkloven, the Allsvenskan team announced. The 21-year-old was a second-round pick of Montreal back in 2018 (56th overall) and must sign with them by June to retain his NHL rights.  This contract, along with a tough showing in 25 SHL games this season, suggests that’s unlikely to happen.
  • Still with Montreal, the Canadiens announced that winger Brandon Baddock has been placed in COVID protocol. The 26-year-old made his NHL debut last night in Carolina due to Montreal’s long list of injuries and COVID protocol, playing a little over eight minutes and recording six hits.
  • Blue Jackets winger Eric Robinson has cleared COVID protocol, relays Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 26-year-old has a dozen points in 28 games this season while averaging a career-high 14:04 per game.

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