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Trevor Smith Signs AHL Contract With San Antonio

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Journeyman forward Trevor Smith will be back in the AHL next season, but for the first time in his career it won’t be on an NHL contract. The long-time pro has played on a one- or two-year two-way contract since his first full season in 2007-08, but that streak has come to an end. Smith has signed a one-way minor league contract with the San Antonio Rampage, the AHL announced today.

Smith, 33, has been a constant presence in the AHL for a long time, with at least one game played in eleven of the past twelve years, for a total of 593 games. During that time, he has also skated in 107 NHL games, including a career-high 54 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2014-15. The University of New Hampshire alum signed with the New York Islanders to begin his pro career and has since signed contracts with the Anaheim Ducks, Tampa Bay Lightning, Pittsburgh Penguins, Toronto Maple Leafs, and most recently a two-year deal with the Nashville Predators. Smith has always had incredible production in the AHL – 438 total points and .75 points per game – but transitioning that offense has been a constant struggle; Smith has only 20 career NHL points and has never cracked double-digits in a single season.

As such, it is no surprise that the aging Smith is no longer considered a valued NHL asset. Although just last season he scored 43 points in 66 games in the AHL, he has only one scoreless NHL game on his resume over the past three years and has a history of being a non-factor at the top level. Nevertheless, he will still be a major boost for the Rampage in 2018-19. The former captain of both the Toronto Marlies and Milwaukee Admirals will play an important leadership role in San Antonio and his offensive experience and ability will help the team succeed as well as assist in the development of top young St. Louis Blues forward prospects like Jordan Kyrou, Klim Kostin, Erik Foley, and Nolan Stevens. Smith’s NHL days may be over, but he can still be a difference-maker in the AHL, where he has thrived for more than a decade.

Central Notes: Tarasenko, Schmaltz, Keith

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The St. Louis Blues have done everything they can to retool their team to not only get them back into the playoffs, but make a deep run of it. They went out and acquired Ryan O’Reilly, signed Tyler Bozak, David Perron and Patrick Maroon and have two top prospects on the brink of joining their team in Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou.

However while answering mailbag questions, The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford (subscription required) suggests that the biggest improvement to the team should come from within as he believes that Vladimir Tarasenko has just scratched the surface of what he’s capable of. The 26-year-old has posted goal totals of 37, 40, 39 and 33 goals over the past four seasons, but he is more than capable of becoming the superstar that many felt he could be when he was drafted in the first round in 2010. Rutherford even compared him to Brett Hull.

However, the scribe says he needs to fix a few things if he wants to take that next step, including playing more relaxed and not let everything around him frustrate him. He also feels that although he’s coming off shoulder surgery this offseason, he needs to get into the best shape of his life and be more engaged on the ice.

  • Chicago Blackhawks’ Nick Schmaltz has come a long way since being viewed as a prospect two years ago. Now the team’s second-line center, who many view as the eventual successor to Jonathan Toews on the first line, Schmaltz feels he’s ready to take on a bigger role with the team, according to Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times. However, the first thing the 22-year-old must do is improve on his faceoffs. Schmaltz has struggled with faceoffs for two straight years, winning just 31 percent of his faceoffs in his rookie year, while improving to 40 percent this year (321 faceoffs won out of 801). Unfortunately, that number is still not good enough as the team hopes for closer to 50 percent.  “I’ve got some stuff that I’m going to continue to work on, especially in the faceoff circle,” Schmaltz said. “If I can continue to get that up, that’ll only help our team game with the puck.”
  • John Dietz of the Daily Herald interviewed Duncan Keith at the 11th annual Fan Convention on Friday and Keith, who scored just two goals on 187 shots, was quick to take the blame for the Chicago Blackhawks’ struggles last season that had them missing the playoffs for the first time in 10 years. The 35-year-old defender has averaged 25:13 of ATOI throughout his career, but saw those numbers decline to 23:50 last year and it might drop even further in the future. “I definitely take some of the blame from last year, knowing that there were certain things I could do better,” Keith said. “On the good things, I’ll continue to do that. Other things, I’ll try to work on and be better at.”

Central Notes: Blackhawks Propsects, Kane, Allen

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The Chicago Blackhawks have come a long way over the last few years as the franchise has been forced to look for ways to develop young talent as their NHL club sits overloaded in bloated, unmovable contracts. Regardless, the team has done a solid job of integrating talent, including several key additions last year, most especially from Alex DeBrincat and the team was rewarded with a 28 goal season.

With the team’s development camp completed, The Athletic’s Scott Powers (subscription required) ranks all 59 of Chicago’s prospects, which he defines as players who have played less than 82 NHL games and haven’t clinched a full-time role with the team yet. One area the team has focused on has been signing collegiate undrafted free agents and Powers’ top prospect is Northeastern University signee Dylan Sikura, who signed with the team on March 25. The 23-year-old winger completed four years at Northeastern, posting 43 goals in the final two seasons and added three assists in five late-season games with the Blackhawks. The scribe expects Sikura to establish himself immediately in the team’s top-six and be a permanent fixture for a long time.

  • While not yet lumped in with likes of Brent Seabrook, Jonathan Toews and Duncan Keith, Chicago Blackhawks star Patrick Kane saw his numbers decline a bit this past season, which the 30-year-old star has taken note of, according to the Chicago Tribune’s Jimmy Greenfield and Shannon Ryan. Kane played a full season, posting solid numbers with 27 goals and 76 points, but those numbers pale in comparison to the 34 goals and 89 points in 2016-17 or the 46 goals and 106 points in 2015-16. In fact, Kane failed to post a point a game for the first time since the 2011-12 season. Regardless, Kane has worked hard since the World Championships (after being named MVP) and has focused his training on lateral movement, speed and explosiveness. “The way players train now it’s unbelievable the amount of preparation and work that goes into an offseason,” Kane said. “But you’re definitely going to see results.”
  • Although St. Louis Blues goaltender Jake Allen had said in April that he doesn’t intend to change his offseason training regimen after another turbulent season, the 27-year-old goaltender recently admitted that he has made some changes to his training this summer, according to Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic (subscription required). Allen, who has seen his numbers get worse every year since he posted a 2.28 GAA in 37 games in 2014-15, to the point in which he had a 2.75 GAA last season, refused to admit what changes he’s made to his routine this year. “I’m not going to get into it too much, but there’s definitely a different mantra for me this summer,” Allen said. “It’s not wrapped around a specific time (of the season) or moment, but I’m really taking a lot of responsibility this summer for improving those things. I’m definitely trying a new approach this summer, and to be honest, things have actually been going really well — better than I thought I was going to take it, because I’m a pretty laid-back guy.”

Petteri Lindbohm Signs In Switzerland

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The St. Louis Blues have done a miraculous job of both adding talent – bringing in Ryan O’Reilly, David Perron, Tyler Bozak, and Patrick Maroon to name a few – and retaining their own restricted free agent assets this off-season. The team has already signed Joel Edmundson, Dmitrij Jaskin, Robby Fabbri, and Oskar Sundqvist to reasonable extensions and had just two RFA’s left to sign. However, one of those players has decided to go elsewhere to continue his hockey career. Defenseman Petteri Lindbohm will not re-up in St. Louis, but instead sign with Lausanne of the Swiss NLA. The team announced the transaction today, making the one-year contract official. The Blues will retain Lindbohm’s NHL rights.

Lindbohm, 24, will likely be missed by some in the Blues organization but not by others. Although the 2012 sixth-round pick out of Helsinki, Finland showed promise, he never could quite put it all together. Both injuries and inconsistency impacted the development of a player some saw as a future top-four defenseman. When healthy, Lindbohm showed a well-rounded two-way game at the AHL level, but never stayed at the minor league level long enough to impress for a whole season. In the NHL, Lindbohm simply struggled to produce when given an opportunity and too often found himself on the wrong side of goals. This past season, Lindbohm did not make an appearance with the Blues for the first time since coming over to North America in 2014, yet he also suited up for only 23 games with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves and posted only three points. He was ruled out for the remainder of the season in early January with a shoulder injury.

The Blues may have been willing to offer Lindbohm a minimum salary two-way deal, or maybe just an AHL contract with the San Antonio Rampage, just to see if Lindbohm could ever string together a whole season of healthy, high-end play, but it seems unlikely that they would have matched the salary and certainly not the type of role that Lindbohm will get with Lausanne. The Swiss club struggled in 2017-18, having to fight off relegation, and will likely throw Lindbohm into a top pair position right away in hopes that his talent can help to jump start the new campaign, especially with the risk that he could be struck by injury at any time. Playing alongside other NHL transplants like Dustin Jeffrey and Joel Vermin, Lindbohm will look not only to improve his own stock, but also prove that he can lead a team to the postseason.

With Lindbohm departing, St. Louis has just defenseman Jordan Schmaltz to sign before they their restricted free agents are all tied up. The Blues are bankrupt for cap space, looking at just a $285K margin right now per CapFriendly, but the team won’t carry 15 forwards as projected and the demotion of a Jordan Nolan or Chris Thorburn should be enough to fit Schmaltz in under the cap for the coming season.

Blues Expect To Get A Deal Done With Jordan Schmaltz; Petteri Lindbohm Could Sign Overseas

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  • With Joel Edmundson re-signing with the Blues earlier today, the team is down to a pair of remaining restricted free agents in fellow defensemen Petteri Lindbohm and Jordan Schmaltz. GM Doug Armstrong told Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that they expect to get a deal done with Schmaltz but that there’s no rush to do so.  Meanwhile, Timmermann suggests that Lindbohm could potentially sign overseas given his uncertain status on the depth chart.  If that was to happen, St. Louis would retain his rights.

Joel Edmundson Avoids Arbitration, Re-Signs With St. Louis Blues

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The St. Louis Blues have avoided arbitration with Joel Edmundson, agreeing to terms with the defenseman on a one-year $3MM deal. Edmundson had a hearing scheduled for tomorrow, but won’t need to make the trip to Toronto. Edmundson will still be a restricted free agent at the end of the deal, and can start negotiating a long-term extension in January.

The 25-year old defenseman has grown from a second-round lottery ticket into a key part of the Blues defense corps over the last few seasons, logging nearly 21 minutes a night in 2017-18. That growth led to a career-high 17 points last season in 69 games, while averaging more than two minutes a night on the penalty kill and seeing virtually no powerplay time. That kind of responsibility should continue for Edmundson, especially given the other aging left-handed options for St. Louis.

Jay Bouwmeester, who has been a rock for the Blues for so many years, saw his ice time dwindle and injuries hold him to just 35 games last season. Though he’s expected to be ready for training camp despite undergoing hip surgery just a few months ago, Bouwmeester can’t be a long-term option for the Blues as he enters the final year of his current contract. He’ll turn 35 before the season begins and should see his role diminished even further this season. Carl Gunnarsson played 63 games for the Blues last season but is easily replaceable and also entering the final season of his current deal. It seems unlikely that either will be retained next summer for anything more than a one-year deal, giving Edmundson and others like Vince Dunn the chance to really put their stamp on the team.

Edmundson especially could set himself up for a big payday with a good season. Next summer he’ll be just one year away from unrestricted free agency, meaning any long-term contract will be buying out nearly exclusively UFA seasons. Every time that happens the cap hit goes up, which is also likely the reason for a one-year deal being the settling point this time around. The Blues have just over $1MM left in cap space and still have Jordan Schmaltz to re-sign, meaning there wasn’t enough space to pay Edmundson what he’d get on a longer deal. It seems extremely likely then that he’ll be extended in early 2019, and take his place as the top left-handed option for the Blues.

Central Notes: Blackhawks, Toews, Kyrou, Makar

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For a rare change of pace, the Chicago Blackhawks prospect camp was dominated by the team’s defensive prospects, which included several big names including 2018 first-round pick Adam Boqvist. The Athletic’s Scott Powers (subscription required), who posts his 20 takeaways from development camp, writes the most important fact is that of all their blueline talent, four of those players have the potential to develop into top-four talent, including Boqvist, 2017 first-rounder Henri Jokiharju. 2018 first-rounder Nicolas Beaudin and 2017 second-rounder Ian Mitchell.

That’s a big improvement for a club that hasn’t produced a top-four defenseman since they drafted Niklas Hjalmarsson back in 2005. The team has had multiple failures when drafting defenseman in the first two rounds since then or have traded them in deals to improve their NHL club instead, including Simon Danis-Pepin (2nd-2006), Akim Aliu (2nd-2007), Dylan Olsen (1st-2009), Justin Holl (2nd-2010), Stephen Johns (2nd-2010), Adam Clendening (2nd-2011), Dillon Fournier (2nd-2012) and Carl Dahlstrom (2nd-2013).

  • NHL.com’s Tracey Myers writes that Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews hit the ice for the second time this offseason last week and said he is working on little parts of his game to improve after a slightly down season last year that saw the Blackhawks miss the playoffs. While his 20 goals and 52 points were solid, his progression has shrunk in each of the last two seasons. “I think the biggest thing is just feeling good and getting back to feeling strong and fast,” Toews said. “As I’ve mentioned a few times, it’s just getting rid of old injuries and just feeling healthy again. I’m kind of taking advantage to work in that area.”
  • In a mailbag series, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Jeff Gordon writes that top prospect Jordan Kyrou, who has finished up his junior career, will have a tough time earning a spot in the St. Louis Blues’ rotation next season after the team went out and acquired David Perron, Tyler Bozak, Patrick Maroon as well as the potential return of Robby Fabbri from injury. With the exception of an amazing training camp, Kyrou is likely to start the season with the team’s AHL affiliate. Kyrou, who posted 39 goals and 109 points with the OHL’s Sarnia Sting last season, should be ready contribute soon as injuries at some point will likely allow the team to give Kyrou some time with the NHL club.
  • Rick Sadowski of NHL.com writes that Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar believes he needs more time in college before he is ready to step into the NHL. Makar, the Avalanche’s 2017 first-round pick (fourth overall), struggled out of the gate at the University of Massachussetts – Amherst, but started to pick it up in the second half of the season and improved even more after a stint at the World Junior Championship. “I had very high expectations going into my first NCAA season,” said Makar. “I’m very tough on myself. I think I’m my biggest critic. I want to work on my consistency. I struggled with that a little bit last year.”

Joel Edmundson Likely To Sign A Short-Term Deal

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Although he has yet to sign his new contract, the Blues shouldn’t have to move anyone once defenseman Joel Edmundson puts pen to paper on a new contract, suggests Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  Given GM Doug Armstrong’s comments following the season that suggested a long-term contract wasn’t likely for any of their RFAs, a short-term pact for the 25-year-old is likely.  That shouldn’t cost more than their roughly $4MM in cap space so while they once again don’t project to have room for in-season moves, they shouldn’t be forced to subtract anyone from their roster.  If they decide that they want some extra flexibility during the year, Gordon suggests veteran defenseman Carl Gunnarsson could be a candidate to be moved.  He has one year remaining on his contract with a $2.9MM cap hit.

Central Notes: Maroon, Predators, Kruger

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The St. Louis Blues had one of the best offseasons in the league when they managed to acquire Ryan O’Reilly, Tyler Bozak, David Perron with in the first few days of the start of free agency. The fact they were able to add those players without mortgaging their future prospects, make their offseason that much more successful. However, when the team signed winger Patrick Maroon to a one-year, $1.75MM deal, the team really looked at their offseason as a roaring success.

Maroon, who opted to give up both money and term so he could sign with his home-town Blues, could easily have gotten both elsewhere. Maroon, who made $2MM last year, has scored 44 goals in the past two years, making the 6-foot-3 physical forward an excellent, inexpensive addition. However, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Jeff Gordon writes don’t be surprised if Maroon gets an extension before the 2018-19 season ends. It’s likely the team will give him that deserved money and term when the team’s salary cap situation improves next season.

A lot of that will depend on how Maroon plays next season. The 30-year-old will likely find himself on the team’s third line, which could prove challenging to put up big numbers in. However, with his experience and ability to play along with top-line talent like he did alongside Connor McDavid in Edmonton, Maroon could easily find himself in a top-six role if injuries develop or lines don’t produce like the team hopes.

  • In a mailbag segment, the Tennessean’s Adam Vingan writes that he wonders whether the Nashville Predators insistence on not including no-movement clauses is what’s hurting the team from signing top free agents to their team. In fact, the scribe wonders whether the team can keep that policy up when it comes to re-signing defenseman Ryan Ellis. The problem with refusing to include no-movement clauses into contracts is that players will often take less money to stay with the Predators due to the lack of a state tax in Tennessee. However, the issue that many players have is that if the team trades them and the player then doesn’t receive the tax benefits. Only goaltender Pekka Rinne has a no-movement clause.
  • Mark Lazerus of The Chicago Sun-Times writes that despite the team lack of success when bringing back former Stanley Cup Champions to their lineup, the acquisition of Marcus Kruger is a minimal risk. The veteran forward, who was acquired in the Marian Hossa deal with the Arizona Coyotes, is in the last year of a three-year, $9.25MM deal in which he will only cost them $2.775MM against the cap. The forward struggled in Carolina last year, posting just six points in 48 games and played some time in the AHL as well. However, it turns out he played most of the season with a sports hernia injury. At just 28 years of age, the team should be thrilled if they can get some quality minutes out of him on the team’s fourth line.

 

Blues Plan To Pick Up Contract Talks With Joel Edmundson Next Week

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After being active in the early stages of free agency, the Blues will be turning their focus to re-signing their own players now.  The most notable of those is RFA defenseman Joel Edmundson.  GM Doug Armstrong told reporters, including Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, that they have had initial talks with him so far but plan to really pick up negotiations next week.

Edmundson is coming off of the best season of his brief career, one that saw him collect seven goals and ten assists in 69 games while averaging over 20 minutes per game for the first time.  He also led the Blues in blocked shots per game.  Edmundson filed for arbitration last week and his case has been set for July 25th which gives the two sides two weeks to hammer out a deal before going to the hearing.

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