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Snapshots: Kravtsov, Thornton, Bertuzzi

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The New York Rangers were hoping to convince Vitali Kravtsov to return and play for the Hartford Wolf Pack, but with the disgruntled forward back in Russia, it appears as though that’s off the table. That doesn’t mean there isn’t interest in him around the league though, as Nick Kypreos of Sportsnet tweets that as many as 15 teams have inquired.

Though he doesn’t list all of them, Kypreos does report that the Calgary Flames, Winnipeg Jets, and Ottawa Senators are among those 15. Inquired is certainly not a trade offer, but it does appear as though the Rangers will have suitors if they decide to move Kravtsov at some point this season.

  • The NHL Department of Player Safety has fined Joe Thornton of the Florida Panthers $1,875 for “slashing” Tampa Bay Lightning forward Boris Katchouk last night. While battling for a puck, Thornton completed a cup check on the young Katchouk, sending him to the ice in a heap of pain. The veteran forward received a two-minute penalty on the play and will have to pay a little bit extra for the trouble.
  • Tyler Bertuzzi is off to a scorching hot start to the season, with a league-leading five goals in three games. The Detroit Red Wings forward is coming off a season lost to injury and ready to show the league he’s still as dangerous as ever. Unfortunately, that hot start will be put on pause after tomorrow’s game against the Calgary Flames. The Red Wings will travel to Montreal for Saturday’s matchup against the Canadiens, and Bertuzzi confirmed to Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press that he’ll be watching from home. One of the few unvaccinated players in the league, Bertuzzi is unable to travel to Canada without serving a quarantine, so will remain in Detroit while the team goes on the road.

Snapshots: Draft Rankings, Golden Knights, Girard

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NHL Central Scouting released their list of “players to watch” for the upcoming 2022 NHL Draft, and potential first-overall pick Shane Wright is one of 23 players ranked as an “A” prospect. The others, which include names like Brad Lambert, Ivan Miroshnichenko, Conor Geekie, and Matthew Savoie, are obviously all names to keep in mind as this year progresses.

Notably, there are only five defensemen and no goaltenders ranked as “A” prospects, with forwards dominating the top of the list this year. The group is also tilted slightly toward North American skaters, with 13 of the 23 coming from this side of the pond.

  • The Vegas Golden Knights may have dodged a bullet when it comes to Mark Stone, who won’t need surgery according to Jesse Granger of The Athletic. The Golden Knights captain is somewhere “between day to day and week to week” says head coach Pete DeBoer. Mattias Janmark, meanwhile, is still in the COVID protocol and will not be available tomorrow night. DeBoer expects him to be cleared soon.
  • The first three players on each Olympic roster have already been announced, but a few days ago each participating nation also had to submit a “long list” of potential NHL candidates. Though it hasn’t been released to the public yet, at least one name won’t be included. Samuel Girard told reporters including Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press that received a call from Canada GM Doug Armstrong, who explained that he did not make the long list. It certainly would have been difficult for Girard to make the team anyway, but his exclusion even from the possible targets shows just how deep the Canadian blue line is.

Snapshots: Three Stars, Faksa, Rust

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The NHL has announced the Three Stars for week one of the NHL season, and it’s a throwback to years gone by. Anze Kopitar of the Los Angeles Kings takes home the top spot after recording four goals and seven points in two games. The Kings’ captain is off to an outstanding start in his 16th season and currently leads the league in both goals and points.

Alex Ovechkin and Steven Stamkos get second and third respectively, after similarly brilliant starts. That means the best players in the league this week were a trio that has 3,174 games in the league and five Stanley Cup championships. For all the talk the last few years about it becoming a young man’s league, Kopitar, Ovechkin, and Stamkos are still performing at an elite level.

  • Dallas Stars forward Radek Faksa has escaped suspension for his slash on Ottawa Senators forward Tim Stutzle, but will have to pay $5,000 in a fine for the incident. That’s the maximum allowable fine under the current CBA, but Faksa won’t have to miss any games. Stutzle, who left the game temporarily, didn’t suffer a major injury on the play, which likely kept a suspension off the table. The incident will be on Faksa’s record though, and considered in any future supplementary discipline.
  • Bryan Rust is out “week-to-week” with a lower-body injury, according to Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan. The Penguins are 2-0-1 through the first three games of the season, first in the NHL despite the absence of several top players. Sidney Crosby won’t play on Tuesday but is approaching a return, and Evgeni Malkin has started a skating program as he continues his rehab. Rust, meanwhile, looks to be out for a little while following his strong start to the season.

Snapshots: Krebs, Robertson, Ho-Sang

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As the Jack Eichel saga appears to potentially be nearing a conclusion, there’s now constant speculation about potential destinations and a potential return. While the Vegas Golden Knights have long been named as a potential suitor for Eichel, a report from the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s David Schoen says that the Knights view top prospect Peyton Krebs as untouchable in any Eichel deal. While the Golden Knights do still have some desirable young pieces available in a trade like defenseman Nicolas Hague, none have the potential upside of Krebs. If Vegas is to get an Eichel trade completed, they’ll likely have to give up a massive amount of draft capital in place of Krebs.

Other notes from around the NHL:

  • Toronto Maple Leafs top prospect Nick Robertson suffered a lower-body injury in tonight’s match with the Toronto Marlies against the Manitoba Moose, per Marlies head coach Greg Moore. Moore notes the extent of the injury is unknown and that Robertson will be assessed tomorrow. It’s a tough blow to the Leafs organization, which is already dealing with significant injuries in all areas. It’s especially concerning considering Robertson missed the majority of last season due to a knee injury. Toronto undoubtedly hopes it’s not a major injury.
  • Another Marlies forward is in some injury trouble as Moore also notes that Josh Ho-Sang was held out with a hip issue, but mostly as a precaution. Calling it a ’maintenance day,’ it’s a smart choice on the Marlies to not risk any further injury. Ho-Sang will be one of the team’s most important contributors considering his NHL experience, and a notable injury setback could negatively affect his chances of getting an NHL contract with the Maple Leafs later this season.

Snapshots: Eichel, Andersson, Colliton

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Though there’s still no real news on Jack Eichel and his continued standoff with the Buffalo Sabres, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet did give a bit of an update on the situation last night. Part of that update is that the Sabres do not want to retain salary on Eichel’s massive contract, which certainly isn’t unexpected but does make trade more difficult.

In fact, Friedman notes that the Colorado Avalanche called Buffalo about Eichel, but when the Sabres said they wouldn’t retain salary the conversation ended immediately. That’s likely not the only contender in that situation, as Eichel’s $10MM contract is difficult to fit in for anyone pushing the salary cap upper limit. Buffalo is willing to take contracts back, but it appears as though they don’t want to be tied to Eichel at all moving forward.

  • Calgary Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson has escaped without a suspension after his incident with Edmonton Oilers forward Kailer Yamamoto last night. Andersson has been fined $5,000, the maximum allowable under the CBA, for roughing. The two got into it and it appeared to many as though Andersson delivered a headbutt to Yamamoto’s face, but the league determined that the actual play did not rise to a level of suspension.
  • After three games and three losses, the Chicago Blackhawks find themselves in trouble to start the season and already there have been calls to change the coaching staff. Mark Lazerus of The Athletic examines the bad start and notes that head coach Jeremy Colliton’s seat is getting hot, while Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports writes about how the “urgency is building” despite it being so early in the season. The Blackhawks have allowed 13 goals in their first three games, tied with the Tampa Bay Lightning for the most in the NHL so far.

Snapshots: Konecny, Rieder, Flames

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Travis Konecny struggled at time last season but is refocused and ready to resume his upward trajectory as a budding star for the Philadelphia Flyers. However, the 2015 first-round pick could have been in a very different spot to being the new campaign. Sportset’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the Flyers received considerable interest in Konecny this off-season and “easily could have traded him”. However, the team felt their best option was instead to hold on to the young winger and hope that he gets back on track. Konecny’s 61 points in 66 games in 2019-20 had him looking like a future cornerstone player, so his regression to 34 points in 50 games last season caught many off guard. Philadelphia staying loyal to their promising forward could be the fuel he needs to bounce back this year.

  • After failing to earn a contract on a PTO, something he has previously done on more than one occasion, veteran forward Tobias Rieder may finally be moving on from the NHL. After seven seasons and nearly 500 games with five different NHL teams, Rieder’s tryout with the Anaheim Ducks could mark the end of his career in North America. John Matisz of The Score reports that Rieder is expected to sign with the SHL’s Vaxjo Lakers. Although it is only a one-year deal for a 28-year-old player, Rieder will likely have to tear it up in Sweden to get yet another look in the NHL.
  • The Calgary Flames have announced a plethora of hockey operations changes. The most notable move is a shift in coaching personnel with long-time assistant coach and former NHLer Martin Gelinas moving into a development coach role and fellow former assistant Ray Edwards taking on a front office position as Director of Player Development. The team has also added Derek Clancey as a pro scout and David Akerblom, Jason Taylor, and Trevor Hanson as area amateur scouts.

Snapshots: McAvoy, Kravtsov, Comeau

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Boston Bruins president Cam Neely set off a wave of excitement among fans today when he told reporters including Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic that the team hopes to “see something here in short order” regarding a Charlie McAvoy contract extension, but don’t assume the deal is done just yet. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic tweets that talks are ongoing but there is work to be done, and general manager Don Sweeney clarified by saying nothing is imminent.

If the Bruins do extend McAvoy in the coming months, you can bet the six-year, $57.5MM deal that Zach Werenski signed earlier this offseason will have been used as a comparable. The two took very similar paths to the league, playing two years of college hockey before jumping directly into the NHL, have registered points at a similar rate, and even signed almost identical three-year bridge deals ($15MM for Werenski, $14.7MM for McAvoy). Werenski is currently set to carry the third-highest cap hit among defensemen–$9.58MM–for the 2022-23 season when his extension kicks in.

  • Vitali Kravtsov and his representatives were given permission to seek a trade after he was sent to the AHL again, but it’s not like the New York Rangers are just going to give him away for free. Darren Dreger of TSN reports that while Kravtsov is willing to play in the AHL for another organization, the Rangers are expecting “the potential of a top-six talent” in return for the young forward. Now 21, Kravtsov was the ninth overall pick in 2018 and has four points in 20 career NHL games.
  • The Dallas Stars have placed Blake Comeau on injured reserve retroactive to October 7, according to Matthew DeFranks of The Dallas Morning News. The 35-year-old scored just four goals and 14 points in 51 games last season but was still likely to have a spot on the Stars opening night roster if healthy, as a bottom-six defensive option. The team will have to fill that spot and the one belonging to Jason Robertson, who also isn’t currently traveling with the team as they visit the New York Rangers tomorrow night. Both Comeau and Robertson could join the group later on the road trip according to DeFranks. The Stars aren’t set to play their first home game until October 22, the fifth game of the season.

Snapshots: Strome, Ekholm, Giroux

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The inevitable departure of Sabres star Jack Eichel? The sudden availability of young Ranger Vitali Kravtsov? A victim of one of a number of unresolved roster crunches? Any of these situations could provide the first trade of the 2021-22 season, but at least one insider believes the first deal of the year could come elsewhere. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that the Chicago Blackhawks are quietly shopping center Dylan Strome as they look to manage their surplus at center. With Jonathan Toews healthy and back in the lineup, the off-season acquisition of Tyler Johnson, and the presence down the middle of top prospect Kirby Dach as well as fellow youngsters Henrik Borgstrom and Mackenzie Entwistle, the Blackhawks suddenly find themselves with centers to spare and LeBrun notes that Strome appears to be the odd man out. At just 24 years old and still clinging to the draft pedigree of being the No. 3 overall pick in 2015, Strome has shown flashes of NHL greatness, but not enough consistency to establish himself as a concrete top-six player. Strome is on an expiring contract and will be a restricted free agent this summer and it looks as if his next contract will not be in Chicago. Interested teams have incentive to add Strome sooner rather than later to get a full-season look prior to negotiating that next deal, while LeBrun notes that the Blackhawks also want to make a move as soon as possible. The result could be a trade in a matter of days rather than weeks. The real question is whether Chicago will land a return commensurate with the Strome who recorded 51 points in 58 games in 2019-20 or if instead the lucky buyer can buy low on the skilled pivot given his 17 points in 40 games last year.

  • Who might be the first major impending UFA to sign a long-term extension this season? The Nashville Predators sure hope that the answer will be Mattias Ekholm. The Predators spurned trade offers for Ekholm last season and doubled down on their loyalty and reliance on the two-way defender when they moved Ryan Ellis this off-season, yet Ekholm is still playing on an expiring contract. Ekholm’s camp has stated that they will not negotiate a new deal during the season, so the clock is ticking for GM David Poile and company to come to terms on a critical contract. Fortunately for the Predators, LeBrun reports that both sides have been working hard over the past few days to hammer out the details of an extension. With Nashville beginning their season on Thursday, Ekholm will either re-sign in the next 48 hours or possibly not at all. It will be a long season for the Predators if the future of the top defender is in doubt all year.
  • Claude Giroux is in a similar situation with the Philadelphia Flyers as a career member of the franchise playing on an expiring deal. However, no contract is imminent for the Philly captain. LeBrun states that both sides have come to a mutual agreement to wait on extension talks until after the season, quite possibly setting up a separation between the veteran and his squad. It is hard to argue that Giroux is not still a star even at 33; he has scored at just about a point-per-game clip over the past four years and has only missed two games in that span as well. Yet, the Flyers could see his salary cap space as better used on younger assets as they continue to remake their roster. How both Giroux and Philadelphia perform this season will dictate their relationship moving forward.

Snapshots: Tkachuk, Sceviour, Kane, Blackwell

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While there has been a suggestion in recent days that signing bonuses have been a big part of the holdup in contract talks for Senators RFA winger Brady Tkachuk, that isn’t the case, reports Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch.  The scribe suggests that at this point, the biggest holdup is term and total salary in each option.  Ottawa’s known preference is a max-term eight-year deal while Tkachuk’s camp appears to be leaning towards preferring a bridge deal.  With Ottawa’s regular season getting underway on Thursday, time is running out to have the 22-year-old in the lineup on opening night.

Elsewhere around the NHL:

  • The Oilers are believed to have offered forward Colton Sceviour a two-way contract, suggests Postmedia’s Kurt Leavins. Sceviour attended camp with Edmonton on a PTO, getting into seven of eight games while collecting three assists.  The 32-year-old had 10 points in 46 games with Pittsburgh last season and is believed to be weighing his other options at the moment before making a final decision on whether or not to accept their offer.
  • The Sharks have released their season-opening roster and veteran winger Evander Kane is not on it. Instead, the team indicated that the 30-year-old is “is considered a non-roster player pending completion of the NHL’s investigation”.  Kane did not participate in training camp and there is some hope that the investigation will wrap up over the next few days.  Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News relays (Twitter link) that their cap situation as it pertains to Kane’s absence is still to be determined.
  • Kraken forward Colin Blackwell is out indefinitely with a lower-body injury, notes Marisa Ingemi of the Seattle Times (Twitter link). The 28-year-old didn’t play at all in the preseason with the injury and it doesn’t appear as if he’s close to returning.  That’s another regular player that will be missing on opening night on top of the five that are currently in COVID protocol.

Snapshots: Extensions, Varlamov, Francouz

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As is human nature, the 2021-22 season has not even started and discussion of the 2022 off-season has already begun. Tracking the impending free agent class, whose numbers inevitably decrease each year, is part of every season. Some will sign extensions soon, others will wait and see how the season progresses, and others are bound for the open market (and possibly the rental trade market beforehand). Pierre LeBrun writes for The Athletic that some of the biggest names among potential 2022 UFA’s are unlikely to become available. In fact, he believes the prize of the market, Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov, has quietly been making steady progress on a new deal and could sign soon. LeBrun also reports that the Dallas Stars and John Klingberg are having “good and constant dialogue” on an extension while, unsurprisingly, future Hall of Famer Patrice Bergeron will have the deal of his choosing from the Boston Bruins if he feels healthy this season and decides to extend his career. Less certain are the futures of Tomas Hertl and Morgan Rielly, who could be the top targets on the free agent market if they don’t re-sign with their current teams. The San Jose Sharks are still hopeful they can re-sign Hertl, but that could very well depend on their success this season and whether a continued relationship makes sense, especially if Hertl could be a trade deadline gold mine. LeBrun feels Hertl’s days in San Jose are numbered. Barring an unforeseen disaster, Rielly will remain with the Toronto Maple Leafs all year, but the team will have to do some serious work early next summer in order to clear the cap space for an extension. LeBrun does not expect a resolution, one way or another, until after the season. Pittsburgh Penguins veterans Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang are expiring contracts whose futures are still too early to call, among many others across the league including restricted free agents as well. There will plenty to watch, as usual, over the course of the coming season.

  • The New York Islanders are already facing some concerns in net. The team was taking a risky approach to their net depth as is by entering the season with cold veterans Cory Schneider and Ken Appleby as the backups to their NHL tandem of Ilya Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov. They may now be forced to call upon one of the two right away, as Newsday’s Andrew Gross reports that Varlamov will not play in either of the Isles’ final two preseason games and is unlikely to be available for opening night, per head coach Barry Trotz. Schneider and Appleby played a combined nine games last season, all with AHL Bridgeport. Appleby has not played an NHL game since 2017-18 and Schneider has a .903 save percentage and 3.07 GAA over his last 79 NHL appearances. If the Islanders need to rely on either at the NHL level for an extended period of time this season, it could mean trouble. New York is hoping Varlamov can get back to action soon.
  • The Colorado Avalanche dealt with their own goaltending depth problems last season when backup Pavel Francouz was lost for the year. While Philipp Grubauer was a workhorse for Colorado, the absence of an established understudy led to young Hunter Miska receiving NHL experience and eventually the acquisition of Jonas Johansson, who performed well late in the year. Fortunately for the Avs both are back this season, as Francouz is already back in the injury spotlight. Francouz suffered a lower-body injury in Tuesday night’s preseason game, reports Colorado Hockey Now’s Scott MacDonald. While head coach Jared Bednar denied that the issue was related to Francouz’s 2020-21 issues, it is hard to feel confident about the veteran goaltender playing on two surgically-repaired hips when he is already experiencing another injury. There is expected to be an update on Francouz’s condition later this week. Johansson would be the next man up if Francouz is unable to start the season, though new starter Darcy Kuemper is capable of being a workhorse himself if need be.

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