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Snapshots: Tkachuk, Provorov, Hutton, Pastrnak

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Although his entry-level contract expires after this season, Brady Tkachuk and the Ottawa Senators are not rushing into contract talks. Tkachuk spoke with the media on Wednesday, including The Ottawa Sun’s Ken Warren, and stated that he was happy with the club and not worried about negotiating an extension. “We’re not really talking about (a new contract),” Tkachuk said, “I don’t think that’s the focus for both sides. Our goal right now is to do everything we can to make the playoffs.” Neither side really has much to worry about anyhow. Tkachuk has continually stated that he enjoys playing for the team and living in Ottawa and seems committed to a long-term future with the Senators. And with more than $34MM in projected cap space for next season and few existing long-term contracts to worry about, the club should have no problem giving their young centerpiece whatever he wants in order to ensure a lengthy extension of their relationship.

  • No league discipline is coming for Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov in regards to a net front collision that injured Buffalo Sabres goaltender Carter Hutton on Tuesday. The play in question did look like it was at least partially caused by Hutton’s teammate, Brandon Montour, and there is not nearly enough evidence for NHL Player Safety to state that Provorov was definitively at fault. That hasn’t stopped Sabres head coach Ralph Krueger from publicly stating his disappointment with the situation, though. Krueger tells The Athletic’s Charlie O’Connor that Provorov’s actions were purposeful: “if you look at the way the elbow comes extended, you know what you’re doing.” Krueger believes his team has already been the victims of several bad hits to the head so far this season and is clearly to get some extra attention for the next time such a situation arises. Hutton continued on in the game following the collision, but did not return after the second intermission and is currently questionable for the Sabres’ next game.
  • The Boston Bruins’ scoring woes are one of the early season’s biggest stories, but help is on the way. NHL.com’s Amalie Benjamin writes that David Pastrnak is ahead of schedule in his recovery from off-season hip surgery. Initially expected to return around mid-February, Pastrnak has already re-joined practice as a non-contact participant. Head coach Bruce Cassidy now expects that he could return to action as early as late next week. The reigning Rocket Richard Trophy winner will be a welcome addition to a team that has yet to produce an even strength goal through three games.

Snapshots: Hurricanes, Babcock, Avalanche

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Not only have the Carolina Hurricanes had three forwards test positive for COVID-19 today, but Sara Civian of The Athletic also confirms that the reason Jordan Staal was placed on the COVID Protocol Related Absences list was because of a positive test result last week. Staal, who played the Red Wings the night before his positive result, has missed the last two games and is still in Detroit according to Civian. The three new players are likely to isolate in Nashville, while the rest of the team—those who have tested negative—fly back to Raleigh.

Though the Dallas Stars have still not begun their season thanks to an outbreak in training camp, this is the first incident of games being postponed day-of. It almost certainly won’t be the last.

  • Mike Babcock has broken his media silence, as he prepares to work with the NBC broadcast team this weekend. In an exclusive interview with Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, Babcock talks about the much-publicized incidents with Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner and Detroit Red Wings forward Johan Franzen. The veteran coach also explains that it is very unlikely that he would be back in the NHL this season and notes that it is “someone else’s turn” behind the bench for Canada at the Olympics, scheduled for next year in Beijing.
  • If you noticed some late-night roster movement by the Colorado Avalanche and wondered why they would need a goalie on an emergency recall, it was answered today when the team announced that Pavel Francouz is out with a lower-body injury. He’s joined on the sideline by Andre Burakovsky who is dealing with an upper-body ailment, with both players listed as day-to-day. The Avalanche will go with seven defensemen tonight and Hunter Miska will serve as the backup to Philipp Grubauer in net.

Snapshots: Quarantine, Lundqvist, Hoffman

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A lot of the focus for trade watchers right now is on Pierre-Luc Dubois and the Montreal Canadiens, but Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports pours some cold water on the wild speculation today, noting how difficult it will be for trades to be completed in-season. If Dubois—or anyone on a U.S.-based team for that matter—were to be acquired by the Canadiens, he’d face at minimum a 14-day quarantine. That means missing seven or eight games, a huge amount in a shortened 56-game schedule.

Still, for a player like Dubois who would be a core piece for the next several years, missing seven games doesn’t seem like it should really matter that much. If he does get traded midseason (which is far from a sure thing), dropping out of the bidding because of a two-week quarantine would probably be a mistake.

  • Henrik Lundqvist left the hospital yesterday after his open-heart procedure, tweeting out how happy he was to head home to his kids. The veteran goaltender will not play this season and instead is focusing on his health, though has not officially retired from playing yet. The Washington Capitals signed Craig Anderson this week and are using him instead as the third goaltender this season, while Lundqvist recovers from surgery. His one-year contract expires at the end of the season.
  • After getting his work visa issues dealt with, Mike Hoffman will be in the lineup for the St. Louis Blues this evening. He’ll be on the second line with Jaden Schwartz and Robert Thomas where he spent most of training camp. Sammy Blais, who is serving a two-game suspension, will come out of the lineup. Hoffman comes to St. Louis on a one-year deal to reset his free agent market after waiting nearly the entire offseason to sign.

Snapshots: Yandle, Podkolzin, Cizikas, Grubauer

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While no decisions have been made yet or will be made in the coming weeks, Florida Panthers head coach Joel Quenneville split his roster in practice, with the core of the team on one side and the fringe players on the other. One notable name on the wrong side of the ice was veteran defenseman Keith Yandle, who was working with the fringe players, according to FloridaHockeyNow’s George Richards.

Quenneville said those groups can change throughout this week, but he said he wants to see some of the team’s younger defensemen for a while. While it might be easy to dismiss a move like this, the team is trying to develop a better defense-first attitude, something that the highly-paid Yandle can struggle with at times. The 34-year-old blueliner still has three years remaining on his contract at $6.35MM per season, meaning there is a chance that Yandle may sit from time to time this season. Yandle’s playing time dropped last season under Quenneville after years of averaging more than 20 minutes. He averaged 19:42, almost three minutes less than the previous year.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman points out that this is worth keeping an eye on, especially since he is currently the top active player in the league in consecutive games with 866 and is fourth all-time.

  • The Vancouver Canucks are expected to sign and begin playing 2019 first-round pick Vasili Podkolzin later this season after his contract with KHL’s SKA-St. Petersburg expires on April 30. Of course after being a healthy scratch by SKA Saturday, rumors began that the 19-year-old Russian could be heading to Vancouver sooner than later. However, TSN’s Rick Dhaliwal reports that there is no truth to the rumor. According to his sources, the plan remains to leave the forward with SKA for the remainder of the season.
  • Despite an injury prone season last year, New York Islanders forward Casey Cizikas was hoping for a healthy season in 2021. Cizikas missed time with a left leg laceration and then suffered a detached retina in the postseason bubble last season. However injuries keep hitting the fourth-line forward. Newsday’s Andrew Gross reports that Cizikas went down Sunday in a team scrimmage. Linemate Matt Martin and Cizikas sandwiched defenseman Thomas Hickey along the boards during the scrimmage and Cizikas went down in pain. He was attended to on the ice, then on the bench and taken into the locker room after the game. “He’s getting checked out,” coach Barry Trotz said. “The first indication may be more positive than negative. But I don’t have a firm update.”
  • Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar said he expects goaltender Philipp Grubauer to be the team’s starting goaltender entering the season and expects him and Pavel Francouz to split games 60/40, according to The Athletic’s Peter Baugh. Bednar is confident that Grubauer, who missed the first three days of camp, will be ready for opening night.

Snapshots: Dubois, Sweden, Manitoba

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Though they haven’t commented on it, the overwhelming feeling after recent reports is that the Columbus Blue Jackets will have to trade Pierre-Luc Dubois at some point. The young center has requested a change of scenery and that kind of thing rarely seems to change, meaning GM Jarmo Kekalainen’s phone will likely be ringing all year long.

Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic has compiled a list of what he believes would be the seven best suitors, while also noting that he believes at least two-thirds of the league will check-in. Snuck into the bottom of the Dubois piece is also a note on Gabriel Landeskog, noting that the Colorado Avalanche captain is hoping to sign another long-term deal with the team in order to spend his entire career there.

  • Sweden has shut down its junior leagues for the rest of the season, ending any chance that scouts have to see some of the prospects for the 2021 draft. Many of those names could make an appearance at the pro level in the coming months if they haven’t already.
  • Like Ontario earlier this week, Manitoba has finally given its blessing to the Winnipeg Jets to host NHL games this season. The province joins the four others that house NHL franchises in allowing the professional league to continue, without fans, for the time being. That exemption was the final hurdle for the All-Canadian division, though the league had previously expressed confidence that they would receive permission from all five provinces.

Snapshots: 2021 UFAs, Ontario, Hoglander

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The NHL season is almost here, but with just 56 games and a condensed schedule, it will be over before you know it. Perhaps that doesn’t mean we should look past it already, but it didn’t stop Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic from taking a quick look at the 2021 unrestricted free agent field and giving his thoughts on a few of the top names. There are several elite players included, but like he does when he’s on the ice, Alex Ovechkin steals the spotlight of the piece. That doesn’t mean he’s leaving Washington though, as LeBrun’s colleague Tarik El-Bashir points out:

I’m going to cut to the chase: There’s a 0.00-percent chance of Ovechkin signing with another team, in my opinion. He wants to be a Washington Capital for life, and management and ownership have voiced a similar desire. The big question is how much longer does he want to play? To me, it makes a lot of sense for Ovi to sign an extension that lines up with the one Backstrom inked a year ago. Backstrom’s deal expires after the 2024-25 season.

Among the other players examined are winners of the Hart Trophy, Vezina Trophy, and Stanley Cup, making the entire thing a valuable read for those looking ahead to next offseason. It seems like a long way away right now, but it’ll be here before you know it.

  • Though we’re just a few days away and the schedule has been set, there was technically still some dispute over whether the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators would actually be allowed to host NHL games in their facilities given provincial restrictions. This afternoon, Lisa MacLeod, Ontario’s Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Minister released an official ruling allowing those North Division matches to take place. Of course, fans will not be allowed to attend those matches, a restriction that Ian Mendes of The Athletic points out is very unlikely to be relaxed at any point this season.
  • If you took a guess at who was turning heads in Vancouver Canucks camp, Elias Pettersson or Quinn Hughes may come to mind first. But perhaps the most interesting performance has been that of Nils Hoglander, who has routinely flashed his brilliant skill while lining up beside captain Bo Horvat and Tanner Pearson. Iain MacIntyre of Sportsnet highlights that Hoglander performance in his latest piece and suggests that the young forward may just make the NHL out of camp. Selected 40th overall in 2019, Hoglander only turned 20 a few weeks ago but has already wowed the hockey world on multiple occasions with his lacrosse goals.

Snapshots: Bratt, WJC Prospects, Kerfoot

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The New Jersey Devils could be without Jesper Bratt to start the season, as the restricted free agent is still unsigned. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that the 22-year-old forward is still in Sweden, noting that it would be tough even now to get in on time with visa complications and quarantine. Even those things would need a contract to be worked out first, something that may not be all that close. Friedman writes that though the two sides are still communicating there is “not a ton of talk, and there’s a bit of a gap at this time.”

Bratt, who was a sixth-round pick just a few years ago, has been one of the bright spots on a Devils team that has struggled the last few seasons. Though his play has certainly not been consistent, he still put up 16 goals and 32 points in just 60 games last season and figures to play a top-six role on the team this year once he signs. Of course, every day he misses leaves the door open for other players to impress, including newcomer Andreas Johnsson who has been skating next to Jack Hughes and Kyle Palmieri so far.

  • Speaking of missing time, several prospects at the World Junior Championship will waste none at all after their championship game this evening. Bob McKenzie of TSN reports that Trevor Zegras, Jamie Drysdale, Quinton Byfield, Alex Turcotte, Arthur Kaliyev, and Tobias Bjornfot will all be on a chartered flight back to Southern California to join the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings respective training camps. Because they are coming out of the bubble and will not be flying commercial, McKenzie reports that these players will likely not have to quarantine for seven days (though they will still have to adhere to NHL testing protocols). The same process will take Dylan Cozens and Jack Quinn to Buffalo Sabres camp.
  • Injuries are already popping up around the league and in Toronto the Maple Leafs could be without Alexander Kerfoot the next few days. Head coach Sheldon Keefe told reporters including Kristen Shilton of TSN that Kerfoot is day-to-day after suffering an injury today in practice. The Maple Leafs had split their training groups quite distinctly, meaning if Kerfoot is held out it would open the door for one of the expected non-roster players to get a chance.

Snapshots: Savoie, Perron, Ritchie

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The Dubuque Fighting Saints of the USHL made big news today, announcing that Matthew Savoie has decided to leave the AJHL and will join the team shortly. Savoie, 17, is one of the top prospects for the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, even though he was denied exceptional status by the WHL in 2019. Selected first overall in the WHL bantam draft that year, he played 22 games with the Winnipeg Ice in 2019-20 when he became eligible and had suited up four times for the Sherwood Park Crusaders of the AJHL this season.

Blazing speed and elite hockey sense are Savoie’s calling cards and they likely will get him selected in the first few picks come 2022. For now, he just needs to get back on the ice and continue his development as he prepares for a career in professional hockey. Meanwhile, his brother Carter Savoie, a fourth-round pick of the Edmonton Oilers in 2020, is lighting it up as a freshman at the University of Denver, scoring 13 points in his first 12 games and earning NCHC Rookie of the Month honors.

  • David Perron was available to the media today after the St. Louis Blues hit the ice for the second time and explained to reporters including Lou Korac of NHL.com that he underwent surgery for a sports hernia in the offseason. The 32-year-old forward had one of the best seasons of his career last year for the Blues, scoring 25 goals and registering 60 points in just 71 games. In the early part of training camp, he’s been lining up beside Ryan O’Reilly and Brayden Schenn on the top line, with no expectation he’ll be anything other than full strength when the season begins.
  • Though it hasn’t been announced by the team, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet writes that Brett Ritchie “is the mystery PTO possibility” for the Calgary Flames. Ritchie, 27, played in 27 games for the Boston Bruins last season, eventually clearing waivers to go to the minor leagues. He was not given a qualifying offer by the Bruins, meaning he’s an unrestricted free agent looking for work just like so many other fringe NHL players.

Snapshots: Laine, Dubois, Barzal, Kunin

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Training camp is underway all across the league and with it comes vast speculation on the future of discontented young stars. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reached out to several front office executives for their take on the Pierre-Luc Dubois and Patrik Laine situations, which are seemingly destined for trades at some point down the line. Both Dubois and Laine have expressed a desire for a “change of scenery,” though both are under contract and reported to Columbus Blue Jackets and Winnipeg Jets camps respectively.

That speculation seems to all lead to one point, and that is the team trading the best player in a deal is usually the one that loses. Columbus and Winnipeg will both have an extremely tough time winning any trade that includes Dubois or Laine (although, swapping them directly has also been mentioned).

  • At least Dubois and Laine have contracts, which can’t be said about Mathew Barzal as New York Islanders camp opened today. Barzal was on the team’s training camp roster but not on the ice, and Arthur Staple of The Athletic updates the situation with his report that talks continue between the two sides. Head coach Barry Trotz spun the news in a different direction, noting that while Barzal is out there is an opportunity for other players to impress.
  • Barzal has a spot locked up whenever he returns, but an absence may not be so beneficial to Luke Kunin, who is still without a contract with his new team, the Nashville Predators. Kunin will not report to Predators camp without one, according to Adam Vingan of The Athletic, though the team remains hopeful a deal will be made soon. The 23-year-old forward arrived in a trade from the Minnesota Wild earlier this offseason after finally establishing himself as a full-time NHL player last year, scoring 31 points in 63 games.

Snapshots: Stuetzle, Thornton, Duclair, Spurgeon

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The Ottawa Senators have already been in camp for several days already, but the team will get another big name player into camp soon as 2020 first-round pick Tim Stuetzle arrived in Ottawa Saturday night. The 18-year-old is coming off an impressive performance at the World Junior Championship after he led Team Germany to one of the countries best finishes ever. After a seven-day quarantine, he will join his team and is likely to start his NHL career, according to the Ottawa Citizen’s Bruce Garrioch.

“I hope I’m going to play in the NHL this season, that’s 100% my goal and I will work very hard for that,” Stuetzle told reporters in Edmonton following Germany’s elimination in the quarterfinals.

Stuetzle finished the World Juniors with five goals and 10 points in five games. The third-overall pick, who signed his entry-level deal last week, is likely going to play wing for the Senators this season.

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