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Montreal Canadiens Acquire Jake Allen

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The Montreal Canadiens have acquired another goaltender, nabbing Jake Allen from the St. Louis Blues. Allen comes to Montreal along with a 2022 seventh-round pick, while the Blues will receive a 2020 third-round selection (WSH) and a 2020 seventh-round pick (CHI). The Blues will not retain any of Allen’s $4.35MM cap hit for next season.

For the Blues, a deal like this immediately brings up speculation that the team is trying to clear cap space in order to re-sign Alex Pietrangelo. St. Louis carried nearly $9MM in cap hits from goaltenders this season after signing Jordan Binnington, a number that wasn’t tenable if they wanted to bring their superstar captain back. Pietrangelo is a pending UFA, but the team had already handed much of his $6.5MM salary off in extensions to Justin Faulk and Brayden Schenn.

Alternatively, the Canadiens will now have close to $15MM in cap hits from their goaltending tandem given Carey Price’s $10.5MM price tag. That is an incredibly high amount, though getting an experienced backup for Price seemed like a top priority this offseason. The Canadiens have relied so heavily on the star netminder for the last few years that some believe his play was being hindered by overuse—Price led all goaltenders with 58 appearances in the shortened 2019-20 season. A fully rested Price showed in the playoffs exactly why he is still considered one of the best in the game; in ten appearances he recorded a .936 save percentage and helped carry Montreal through the qualification round.

Allen himself experienced a resurgence in 2019-20 after two down years in St. Louis. Playing second fiddle to Binnington, he recorded a .927 save percentage in 24 appearances, the best performance of his career. By the time the playoffs rolled around, he ended up taking over in net and posted a .935 in five appearances.

The Canadiens also have cap space to spare as they rely more and more on their young talent to carry the roster. Max Domi and Victor Mete are the only pending restricted free agents that are set to get substantial raises and at least the former has had some trade speculation surrounding him lately anyway. There will be some bigger deals to be made with names like Brendan Gallagher and Phillip Danault to start the 2021-22 season, but by then Allen’s current cap hit will be off the books.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the deal is that one of the goaltenders expected to be on the market is now gone, meaning teams that are scrambling for a starter this summer will have one fewer to choose from. Allen could have been a replacement in places like Dallas or Edmonton who could see one half of their tandem leave in free agency. The Blues also add a third-round pick as they shed salary, a nice little prize even though it was unlikely Allen could stay.

The Blues will likely hand the crease back to Binnington for next season with Ville Husso a candidate to serve as backup, but it doesn’t come without risk. The 27-year old Binnington could not recapture the magic that helped lead St. Louis to a Stanley Cup in 2019 and recorded just a .912 save percentage in the regular season. His playoff performance was brutal, going 0-5 with an .851 before Allen took over. If he can’t find his game, the Blues may be in trouble next season. With that in mind, St. Louis could be a contender to bring in a more experienced backup this offseason, but they would have to come considerably cheaper than Allen’s current cap hit.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Central Notes: Jets’ Offseason, Zadorov, Bishop

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The Winnipeg Jets have quite a few of their franchise players under contract for the next four years, so the team is in a win-now mode. With all the injuries and distractions the team suffered during the 2019-20 season, many were thrilled that head coach Paul Maurice and the Jets even managed to make the playoffs. However, having just won two of their last six playoff series in the last few years, Ken Wiebe of Sportsnet writes that the Jets must make changes to their roster to return to the top of the Central Conference.

One way to do that, suggests the scribe, would be for the team to use what remaining cap room that it has and spend on a top free agent defenseman. There will potentially be a few difference-makers available and with the salary cap leveling out at $81.5MM, the Jets could take advantage of several cap-strapped teams and bring in a big-name player.

There are two key possibilities, including St. Louis Blues’ Alex Pietrangelo and Boston Bruins’ Torey Krug. Both are looking for big paydays and may have to look outside the organization unless their respective teams are ready to move out salary to accommodate them. Wiebe notes that Pietrangelo might be a better fit for the Jets as he is right-handed and would be a good fit leading the team’s power play. Both players could be persuaded to sign in Winnipeg with big short-term offers.

  • Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar said that defenseman Nikita Zadorov is expected to play tonight in Game 4 of their series against the Dallas Stars, according to Adrian Dater of Colorado Hockey Now. The 6-foot-6, 235-pound blueliner didn’t play during the third period of Game 3 on Wednesday due to an undisclosed injury, but is expected to be ready now. The 25-year-old had a goal and an assist in that game, but it will be his physical presence the team will need if Colorado hopes to even the series against Dallas.
  •  Speaking of the Stars, Matthew DeFranks of the Dallas Morning News reports that there has been a slight change in the status of starting goaltender Ben Bishop. The netminder skated, but remains unfit to play. The team, however, hasn’t been forced to rush Bishop back as backup Anton Khudobin is playing quite well in his place. Khudobin has a 6-4 record with a 2.75 GAA and a .913 save percentage. “Dobby’s been great, but listen, Bish is unfit to play,” said coach Rick Bowness. “It’s as simple as that. I think we’ll just leave it right there.”

Blues Have Made A Recent Offer To Alex Pietrangelo

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While cap space is next to non-existent for St. Louis right now, they did make an offer to pending unrestricted free agent Alex Pietrangelo this week, reports TSN’s Darren Dreger (Twitter link).  The veteran is the top defenseman available in this free agent class and that should keep his market rather robust, even in the face of a flattened salary cap.  The Blues already have more than $79MM in payroll commitments for next season which doesn’t leave much room to work with on an $81.5MM Upper Limit and Pietrangelo likely commanding anywhere from $8MM to $10MM per season.  However, teams can be over the cap by up to 10% in the offseason so if they can reach an agreement with the 30-year-old, they can have him sign it and then focus on freeing up cap room to be in compliance once 2020-21 gets underway.

Free Agent Notes: Top-10, Pietrangelo, Crawford

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After the morning news was dominated by the Toronto Maple Leafs and Pittsburgh Penguins completing a trade, you might be wondering what is next for clubs looking to improve their lot. While the trade market is apparently open, free agency—set to start in October—is where a number of exceptional names will be available for nothing more than money. Frank Seravalli of TSN breaks down the ten names he believes are at the top of the list, including three different Florida Panther forwards.

Mike Hoffman, Evgeni Dadonov and Erik Haula are all set to hit the open market and it is not clear if the Panthers will try to retain any of them. In fact, it’s not very clear what the Panthers want to do with any members of their team given the uncertainty in the front office. Florida is still on the search for a new general manager, who will have to quickly make some tough decisions (or engage in brief negotiations) with his trio of pending free agent forwards.

  • The very top name on Seravalli’s list however is Alex Pietrangelo, the St. Louis Blues captain and one of the best defensemen in the entire league. Pietrangelo actually spoke with reporters including Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic today and explained how much the Blues franchise means to him after a decade manning the blueline in St. Louis. Pietrangelo has always indicated a desire to remain in St. Louis, but in a flat-cap world it’s not going to be easy for the Blues to pull off. The team currently has nearly $79.5MM in salary committed to next season already including expensive extensions that kick in for Brayden Schenn and Justin Faulk. That doesn’t leave room for Pietrangelo, meaning they’d have to clear the deck if they want to bring the 30-year old back.
  • Speaking of players who want to stay put, Corey Crawford was clear in his intentions when speaking with reporters today. As Mark Lazerus of The Athletic reports, Crawford explained that he’s “definitely leaning towards staying in Chicago” but that he does want to be a starter still. Crawford admitted that a short-term deal might work for both him and the Blackhawks—which makes sense given the salary cap situation and the fact that Crawford will turn 36 in December.

Snapshots: Montour, Barbashev, Coyotes

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The Buffalo Sabres have a new GM and need a new identity for their team, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be throwing away assets this offseason. Speculation has run rampant lately that the team will leave Brandon Montour unqualified after the defenseman’s up-and-down start with the organization, but when GM Kevyn Adams was asked about it today he told reporters including Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News “that’s definitely not something we’ve talked about.”

The 26-year old defenseman will require a $3.525MM qualifying offer in order for the Sabres to retain his rights as a restricted free agent and is eligible to argue for an even bigger raise in arbitration. Montour has 28 points in 74 games since coming to Buffalo in 2019 but hasn’t quite turned into the top-pairing option they were hoping for. Remember that if Montour opts for arbitration, he can force his way to UFA status in 2021 with a one-year contract award.

  • The St. Louis Blues lost Vladimir Tarasenko when he left the bubble today, but are getting back one of their important bottom-six names. Ivan Barbashev has cleared the quarantine protocols after returning from the birth of his first child, meaning he can be inserted back into the lineup by head coach Craig Berube. The Blues were able to tie their series against the Vancouver Canucks, but have been noticeably missing the physical presence that Barbashev provided last year when he led all players with 87 hits in the postseason.
  • The Arizona Coyotes are holding onto the postseason by a thread after being dismantled by the Colorado Avalanche last night, but could still be missing two of their most important forwards when they start game five. Head coach Rick Tocchet told reporters including Craig Morgan of AZ Coyotes Insider that Conor Garland didn’t practice today and is “uncertain” for tomorrow’s match. The same can be said about Nick Schmaltz, who is still recovering from the hit he took in the exhibition from Ryan Reaves. Schmaltz, the team’s leading scorer during the regular season, hasn’t played a single game in the postseason.

Vladimir Tarasenko To Leave Bubble

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When Vladimir Tarasenko was cleared to return to action for the St. Louis Blues as the season restarted, it was a huge boost for a club looking to repeat as Stanley Cup champions. After suiting up just four times and being held scoreless, however, there was obviously something wrong with the superstar winger.

Tarasenko will now leave the bubble in Edmonton to return to St. Louis and consult with team doctors on his surgically-repaired shoulder. An update will be given next Monday, meaning he will not be available for the rest of their first-round series against the Vancouver Canucks.

The 28-year old winger missed games three and four against the Canucks, despite playing nearly 22 minutes in a game two overtime loss. Before the restart, he had last played on October 24, 2019, missing almost the entire 2019-20 season due to his shoulder surgery.

Ivan Barbashev Leaves Bubble

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Aug 11: Baby Barbashev arrived last night, but Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the forward is not expected back in Edmonton until “around August 14.” At that point he would still need to finish his four-day quarantine, meaning Barabashev may not be ready to return until game five of the Blues’ series against the Vancouver Canucks.

Aug 4: As expected, Ivan Barbashev has left the bubble in Edmonton for the birth of his first child. The St. Louis Blues forward has returned home to be with his wife, meaning he’ll have to go through several protocols when he is able to return. The Blues were in full support of the decision, with GM Doug Armstrong releasing the following statement:

We felt it was important for Ivan to be with us for the first two games of the restart and we were prepared for him leaving to go back to St. Louis to be with Ksenia. We wish them both the best and look forward to seeing Ivan back in Edmonton during the first round of the playoffs.

Barbashev will be required to quarantine in his hotel room for four days after returning to Edmonton, while also receiving four negative COVID-19 tests before returning to practice.

The Blues play Thursday and Sunday to complete their round-robin, both games that Barbashev is expected to miss.

Blues Make Final Roster Cuts

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  • There were no surprise cuts from the Blues’ roster. Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports (Twitter link) that defenseman Tyler Tucker and goalie Joel Hofer are the two that won’t be participating.  Tucker split the season between Barrie and Flint of the OHL but wasn’t eligible since his entry-level deal doesn’t start until 2020-21.  Hofer technically was eligible but he also is coming off a season strictly spent in junior with WHL Portland.  Louis is opting to carry three goalies on their roster which took Hofer out of the mix quickly.

Ivan Barbashev To Leave Blue Bubble During Round-Robin

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The St. Louis Blues will have Ivan Barbashev in the lineup when they start their round-robin games in Edmonton, but will be losing him soon after. Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Barbashev will be leaving after one or two games for the birth of his child. Barbashev will have to test negative for COVID-19 four times in four days upon returning to the bubble, meaning he could potentially miss the start of the first round depending on timing.

Barbashev, 24, recorded six points in 25 playoff games for the Blues last season en route to the first Stanley Cup in franchise history. He played a key role physically for the team, recording 87 hits as St. Louis pounded teams into submission with a grueling, grinding playstyle. This season he picked up right where he left off, punishing defenders with 144 hits in 69 games, but also was producing offensively at the highest rate of his young career. In 69 games he put up 11 goals and 26 points while averaging just over 13 minutes a game.

Head coach Craig Berube was clear that when Barbashev returns he will re-enter the lineup, but he’s also preparing MacKenzie MacEachern for playing time.

The Blues, as one of the top teams in the Western Conference, get the advantage of playing this round-robin to determine playoff seeding. Had they been one of the teams in the qualification round, Barbashev could be missing the team’s chance to advance. Instead, like Lars Eller who will also be leaving the bubble at some point to attend the birth of a child, Barbashev may only end up missing a few tune-up games.

NHL Releases Qualifying Round, Round Robin Schedules

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July 20: The NHL has announced some minor changes to the schedule for the round robin. The Boston Bruins-Washington Capitals game that was scheduled for August 8 will now be played on August 9. The Philadelphia Flyers-Tampa Bay Lightning game that was originally scheduled for August 9, will now be played on August 8.

July 14: After revealing the schedule earlier today for the exhibition games occurring after the conclusion of training camp, the NHL has followed up with the schedules for the games that actually matter. The league has announced the full schedule for the best-of-five qualifying round match-ups, four each per conference between the teams seeded No. 5 to No. 12, as well as the six round robin games per conference between the teams seeded No. 1 to No. 4. As a reminder, the qualifying round will serve as a knockout round to trim the list of postseason teams to 16 for a standard playoff format while the round robin games will serve as a means to seed the top team in each conference. Teams will re-seed following the conclusion of the qualifying round and each subsequent round.

The full schedule is as follows (all times ET):

Saturday, Aug. 1

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Best-of-5 series

New York Rangers vs. Carolina Hurricanes, Game 1, 12 p.m.
Florida Panthers vs. New York Islanders, Game 1, 4 p.m.
Montreal Canadiens vs. Pittsburgh Penguins, Game 1, 8 p.m.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Best-of-5 series

Chicago Blackhawks vs. Edmonton Oilers, Game 1, 3 p.m.
Winnipeg Jets vs. Calgary Flames, Game 1, 10:30 p.m.

Sunday, Aug. 2

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Round-robin

Philadelphia Flyers vs. Boston Bruins, 3 p.m.

Best-of-5 series

Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Toronto Maple Leafs, Game 1, 8 p.m.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Best-of-5 series

Arizona Coyotes vs, Nashville Predators, Game 1, 2 p.m.
Minnesota Wild vs. Vancouver Canucks, Game 1, 10:30 p.m.

Round-robin

St. Louis Blues vs. Colorado Avalanche, 6:30 p.m.

Monday, Aug. 3

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Best-of-5 series

New York Rangers vs. Carolina Hurricanes, Game 2, 12 p.m.
Montreal Canadiens vs. Pittsburgh Penguins, Game 2, 8 p.m.

Round-robin

Washington Capitals vs. Tampa Bay Lightning, 4 p.m.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Best-of-5 series

Winnipeg Jets vs. Calgary Flames, Game 2, 2:30 p.m.
Chicago Blackhawks vs. Edmonton Oilers, Game 2, 10:30 p.m.

Round-robin

Dallas Stars vs. Vegas Golden Knights, 6:30 p.m.

Tuesday, Aug. 4

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Best-of-5 series

Florida Panthers vs. New York Islanders, Game 2, 12 p.m.
Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Toronto Maple Leafs, Game 2, 4 p.m.
Carolina Hurricanes vs. New York Rangers, Game 3, 8 p.m.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Best-of-5 series

Arizona Coyotes vs. Nashville Predators, Game 2, 2:30 p.m.
Calgary Flames vs. Winnipeg Jets, Game 3, 6:45 p.m.
Minnesota Wild vs. Vancouver Canucks, Game 2, 10:45 p.m.

Wednesday, Aug. 5

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Best-of-5 series

New York Islanders vs. Florida Panthers, Game 3, 12 p.m.
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Montreal Canadiens, Game 3, 8 p.m.

Round-robin

Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Boston Bruins, 4 p.m.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Best-of-5 series

Nashville Predators vs. Arizona Coyotes, Game 3, 2:30 p.m.
Edmonton Oilers vs. Chicago Blackhawks, Game 3, 10:30 p.m.

Round-robin

Colorado Avalanche vs. Dallas Stars, 6:30 p.m.

Thursday, Aug. 6

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Best-of-5 series

Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Columbus Blue Jackets, Game 3, TBD
Carolina Hurricanes vs. New York Rangers, Game 4*, TBD

Round-robin

Washington Capitals vs. Philadelphia Flyers, TBD

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Best-of-5 series

Vancouver Canucks vs. Minnesota Wild, Game 3, TBD
Calgary Flames vs. Winnipeg Jets, Game 4*, TBD

Round-robin

Vegas Golden Knights vs. St. Louis Blues, TBD

Friday, Aug. 7

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Best-of-5 series

New York Islanders vs. Florida Panthers, Game 4*, TBD
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Montreal Canadiens, Game 4*, TBD
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Columbus Blue Jackets, Game 4*, TBD

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Best-of-5 series

Nashville Predators vs. Arizona Coyotes, Game 4*, TBD
Vancouver Canucks vs. Minnesota Wild, Game 4*, TBD
Edmonton Oilers vs. Chicago Blackhawks, Game 4*, TBD

Saturday, Aug. 8

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Best-of-5 series

New York Rangers vs. Carolina Hurricanes, Game 5*, TBD
Montreal Canadiens vs. Pittsburgh Penguins, Game 5*, TBD

Round-robin

Boston Bruins vs. Washington Capitals, TBD

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Best-of-5 series

Winnipeg Jets vs. Calgary Flames, Game 5*, TBD
Chicago Blackhawks vs. Edmonton Oilers, Game 5*, TBD

Round-robin

Vegas Golden Knights vs. Colorado Avalanche, TBD

Sunday, Aug. 9

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Best-of-5 series

Florida Panthers vs. New York Islanders, Game 5*, TBD
Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Toronto Maple Leafs, Game 5*, TBD

Round-robin

Philadelphia Flyers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning, TBD

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Best-of-5 series

Minnesota Wild vs. Vancouver Canucks, Game 5*, TBD
Arizona Coyotes vs. Nashville Predators, Game 5*, TBD

Round-robin

Dallas Stars vs. St. Louis Blues, TBD

With round robin games scheduled through August 9, the first round will not begin until August 10 at the earliest. However, given that exhibition games don’t even begin until July 28, the NHL is about to cram a lot of hockey into a span of just a dozen days.

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