- With the Lightning entering their bye, the team has sent goaltender Louis Domingue back to AHL Syracuse, per a team release. Domingue has made one appearance with Tampa Bay since being recalled, earning a victory over Detroit. That is his lone win this season as he struggled considerably in six appearances with Arizona earlier this season. CapFriendly notes via Twitter that Connor Ingram has been recalled to take Domingue’s spot and keep the team at the mandatory minimum goalies on the roster.
Lightning Rumors
Lightning Place J.T. Brown On Waivers
The Tampa Bay Lightning have placed right winger J.T. Brown on waivers, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link).
Brown is in his sixth NHL season, all spent with Tampa Bay. He has had more of a sparing role in 2017-18 though as he has played in only 24 games so far this season while spending considerable time as a healthy scratch. He has a goal and three assists on the year (his last point came more than two months ago) while averaging a career-low 9:22 per game in ice time. In his career, Brown has 19 goals and 42 assists in 286 games while adding six points in 37 postseason contests.
The 27-year-old is in the final season of a two-year contract that carries a cap hit of $1.25MM. As a result, if he clears waivers on Sunday and is sent to the minors, the Lightning will still carry a prorated cap charge of $225K on their books.
Peter Budaj Out Six-To-Eight Weeks
- Lightning goaltender Peter Budaj will be out for a while yet. GM Steve Yzerman told Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link) that Budaj’s leg injury will keep him out for six-to-eight weeks from December 29th, the day he was hurt. That means he will be out for the next month at a minimum so Louis Domingue will be sticking around as Andrei Vasilevskiy’s backup for the foreseeable future following their bye.
Red Wings Notes: Howard, Larkin, Holland
MLive’s Ansar Khan reports that Detroit Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard is slated to return for Saturday’s contest against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Howard was shelved with a lower body injury but Detroit’s bye week was a fortuitous opportunity for the veteran net minder to recover. Howard told DetroitRedWings.com’s Dana Wakiji that he’ll be ready for tomorrow’s game. In his last six starts, Howard has been 4-2 with a .952 save percentage, and a main reason the Red Wings have seen their fortunes trend up. Though they’re still out of the playoff hunt (and will stay that way most likely), Howard has been excellent for a team short on defense and elite talent.
- Khan takes questions in a mailbag next, indicating that he doesn’t expect any hitches as they did when Andreas Athanasiou held out as an RFA. Khan continues, writing that the Red Wings have $10MM with Mike Green and Petr Mrazek set to be free agents. With the cap rising as well, Khan doesn’t foresee any issues getting the important younger players, namely Dylan Larkin, Anthony Mantha and Athanasiou. Martin Frk and Tyler Bertuzzi are both in their final year of a contract but will come at a lower price than the aforementioned three.
- In another question, Khan writes that Henrik Zetterberg might have one season left before a new captain will have to be named. He sees Justin Abdelkader being the next Red Wing to wear the C while Larkin a future captain as well. Larkin was an alternate captain while playing in the World Juniors last May, but it wouldn’t be crazy to think that Larkin could be the next in line. Steve Yzerman was named captain at the ripe old age of 21, which just happens to be Larkin’s current age.
- The Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James has a mailbag of her own, and gives her thoughts on the future of general manager Ken Holland. She believes he will still be around, either in the GM chair or as an adviser. She also believes that Larkin will be the first of the three young building blocks (Larkin-Mantha-Athanasiou) to be re-signed by Detroit.
Victor Hedman Out Three To Six Weeks
After leaving last night’s game with an apparent lower-body injury, the Tampa Bay Lightning have announced that All-Star defenseman Victor Hedman will be out for three to six weeks. That’s a huge blow for the Lightning, who use Hedman in all situations for nearly 26 minutes of ice time a night. Still, it’s a better diagnosis than some were expecting since the damage appeared to be to his knee.
As we wrote recently, even before Hedman’s injury one of the places the Lightning could get better was the back half of their defense corps. Now with his injury, that group will be tested more than ever to try and keep the club at the very top of the Eastern Conference. In Hedman’s absence last night, Jake Dotchin led the club with almost 23 minutes (which didn’t include even a second of powerplay time), easily his highest mark of the season. It’s not clear how the team will cope with the loss of Hedman, but Dotchin and young Mikhail Sergachev will likely be leaned on even more than they had been.
The team does have the left-handed Slater Koekkoek waiting in the wings, but he’s never shown an ability to take on much of a lead role for the club. Instead, the team could go out and make an addition with the assets we’ve outlined previously. While a three week absence would have Hedman missing just seven games, there’s no telling how long it will take him to get back to full strength. The team already had some question marks on the bottom pair, and could use this as another reason to improve their defense corps through trade.
For another player in the Atlantic it provides a different opportunity. Hedman was ticketed to represent the Lightning at home during the upcoming All-Star weekend, meaning someone like Morgan Rielly, Torey Krug, Charlie McAvoy, or Keith Yandle could be selected to replace him. While it’s unfortunate that Hedman won’t be able to participate in front of his home crowd, but Tampa Bay fans are just pleased it’s not something more long-term.
Victor Hedman Leaves Game With Lower Body Injury
The Tampa Bay Lightning announced via Twitter that star defenseman Victor Hedman will not return after sustaining a lower body injury during the second period.
Bryan Burns, who writes for the team, indicated that Hedman needed assistance to leave the ice after a knee-to-knee hit by Calgary’s Garnet Hathaway. Hedman hasn’t missed a game all season, and as Burns notes, the loss is a major blow for the league leaders. The anchor of the Bolts’ blue line, players, fans, and staff will be holding their breath to see just how bad the injury turns out to be. The Score’s Ian McLaren tweeted a video of the hit.
A prolonged loss of Hedman would certainly put a dent in the Bolts’ hopes for a deep playoff run. Though the team has depth, losing a player of Hedman’s caliber is difficult–if not near impossible–to replace. Should it be a lengthy injury, it will be interesting to see how general manager Steve Yzerman plays his cards to replace such a significant loss.
2018 All-Star Rosters
The NHL released the rosters for this year’s All-Star game in Tampa Bay, leading to an inevitable onslaught of discussion over who missed out and who didn’t deserve to go. The event will take place on January 27-28th. The full rosters can be found below:
Atlantic Division:
F Steven Stamkos – Tampa Bay Lightning (captain)
F Nikita Kucherov – Tampa Bay Lightning
F Auston Matthews – Toronto Maple Leafs
F Aleksander Barkov – Florida Panthers
F Brad Marchand – Boston Bruins
F Jack Eichel – Buffalo Sabres
D Victor Hedman – Tampa Bay Lightning
D Erik Karlsson – Ottawa Senators
D Mike Green – Detroit Red Wings
G Andrei Vasilevskiy – Tampa Bay Lightning
G Carey Price – Montreal Canadiens
Head Coach: Jon Cooper
Metropolitan Division:
F Alex Ovechkin – Washington Capitals (captain)
F Taylor Hall – New Jersey Devils
F Sidney Crosby – Pittsburgh Penguins
F Josh Bailey – New York Islanders
F John Tavares – New York Islanders
F Claude Giroux – Philadelphia Flyers
D Seth Jones – Columbus Blue Jackets
D Noah Hanifin – Carolina Hurricanes
D Kris Letang – Pittsburgh Penguins
G Henrik Lundqvist – New York Rangers
G Braden Holtby – Washington Capitals
Head Coach: Barry Trotz
Central Division:
F Patrick Kane – Chicago Blackhawks
F Nathan MacKinnon – Colorado Avalanche
F Blake Wheeler – Winnipeg Jets
F Brayden Schenn – St. Louis Blues
F Eric Staal – Minnesota Wild
F Tyler Seguin – Dallas Stars
D P.K. Subban – Nashville Predators (captain)
D Alex Pietrangelo – St. Louis Blues
D John Klingberg – Dallas Stars
G Pekka Rinne – Nashville Predators
G Connor Hellebuyck – Winnipeg Jets
Head Coach: Peter Laviolette
Pacific Division:
F Connor McDavid – Edmonton Oilers (captain)
F Johnny Gaudreau – Calgary Flames
F Brock Boeser – Vancouver Canucks
F James Neal – Vegas Golden Knights
F Rickard Rakell – Anaheim Ducks
F Anze Kopitar – Los Angeles Kings
D Drew Doughty – Los Angeles Kings
D Brent Burns – San Jose Sharks
D Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Arizona Coyotes
G Jonathan Quick – Los Angeles Kings
G Marc-Andre Fleury – Vegas Golden Knights
Head Coach: Gerard Gallant
The Tampa Bay Lightning Can Get Even Better
There’s not much doubt that the Tampa Bay Lightning are currently the best team in the NHL, and the favorites to win the Stanley Cup. Even with the outstanding performance of the Vegas Golden Knights so far this season, not many would choose to face the Lightning over them in the first round of the playoffs. With two potential Hart Trophy candidates up front in Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos, the Vezina front-runner in Andrei Vasilevskiy and a perennial Norris-level defenseman in Victor Hedman, the Lightning have impeccable strength at every position.
Amazingly, it’s not just at the NHL level that they have talent. Brett Howden, Boris Katchouk, Taylor Raddysh and Cal Foote take home gold at the World Junior Championship, all four Tampa Bay Lightning prospects. Libor Hajek, who was traded earlier today in the WHL, logged huge minutes for his Czech squad en route to a fourth-place finish. That’s to say nothing of Mikhail Sergachev who could have represented Russia if he wasn’t already in the NHL, and the four other prospects who suited up last year. The Lightning have a true pipeline of talent coming through their system, and should be able to replace any outgoing players from within.
But for this season, perhaps that load of prospect capital could be used to improve. Whether through dealing actual players, or the picks that Tampa Bay doesn’t desperately need this season, the Lightning could be big spenders at the deadline to make them even tougher down the stretch.
When looking for cracks on the roster, there aren’t many. If there was one worry it could have been the play of Peter Budaj, who struggled until his recent injury. Louis Domingue may have solved that, acquired from the Arizona Coyotes and looking refreshed in the AHL and his Lightning debut this weekend. While Vasilevskiy is the clear starter, having a capable backup is key for any team looking for a Stanley Cup.
Up front they possess perhaps more depth than any other team in the league. An incredible six forwards already have 30 points for the Lightning, with Ondrej Palat and Alex Killorn additionally notching 27 and 24 respectively. Even though Chris Kunitz and Ryan Callahan aren’t scoring, they provide some experience for a Stanley Cup run. One more scoring threat could help, but it certainly isn’t necessary.
So then the last few spots on defense may be the easiest place to find an upgrade. Though Hedman and Anton Stralman are horses, they’re being relied on quite a bit for the Lightning both at even strength and on the penalty kill. Dan Girardi and Braydon Coburn, the other two penalty killing options for the club, aren’t very effective at even-strength. Both players have one more year on their contracts, but don’t seem particularly locked into a role for next season. Not, at least, if the Lightning can go out and find another top-4 option on the open market.
It’s not like they don’t have internal options. Sergachev and Jake Dotchin have their place on the club, and both are getting increased minutes of late. Slater Koekkoek and Andrej Sustr are both still there, but neither have shown that they’re ready to step into a bigger role.
Amazingly, the Lightning even have cap space to burn. Not going forward, as they’ll have to re-sign Kucherov before long and Vladislav Namestnikov is due for a new contract this summer. But for this year, according to CapFriendly they could add approximately $9MM in cap hits at the deadline and still stay cap compliant. That’s a huge number for a team that doesn’t have any glaring needs, and it could result in them stealing one of the top rentals to make them even better. That’s a scary thought for the rest of the Eastern Conference, and perhaps even the whole league.
Snapshots: Three Stars, Dahlin, Hajek
The NHL has released their three stars of last week, with Patrice Bergeron leading the way after his four-goal game against Carolina. Bergeron may not be as flashy as some of his contemporaries, but is undoubtedly still one of the very best players in the NHL. Brad Marchand, who played a big part in his linemate’s impressive performance, wasn’t surprised, telling Tim Rosenthal of Boston.com:
It’s pretty impressive.
I think winning the Olympics, winning the Cup, and him being Patrice Bergeron is above that.
Jonathan Bernier of the Colorado Avalanche and Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins took home second and third respectively, after their own impressive weeks. With Semyon Varlamov battling injury, Bernier has stepped in marvelously for the Avalanche, who continue to fight for a playoff spot in the Western Conference. Meanwhile, Crosby was up to his old tricks with eight points in four games.
- Craig Button of TSN has released his post-World Junior draft rankings, and he won’t be moving Rasmus Dahlin out of the top spot anytime soon. Button calls the 17-year old defenseman “franchise-defining,” and isn’t the only one. Corey Pronman of The Athletic wrote earlier today that Dahlin is “one of the all-time best defense prospects.” While Arizona remains in last place and has the best shot at the first-overall pick, the Buffalo Sabres aren’t far off from taking that title themselves. Remember though, that even the worst team in the league is actually more likely to lose the lottery and move down at least one spot.
- Speaking of impressive defense prospects, Libor Hajek has been traded in the WHL, heading from the Saskatoon Blades to the Regina Pats in exchange for a package of players and draft picks. Regina is hosting the Memorial Cup this season, and is loading up for the tournament. Hajek, a Tampa Bay Lightning prospect, was impressive at the World Juniors for the Czech Republic and will now join others like Josh Mahura (an Anaheim prospect who barely missed out on representing Canada) and Cale Fleury (a Montreal prospect who was acquired from Kootenay earlier this season) on an imposing blueline.
NHL Reveals Coaches For Upcoming All-Star Game
The NHL announced the coaches for the 2018 NHL All-Star game in Tampa Bay on Jan. 28, as Tampa Bay Lightning’s Jon Cooper, Vegas Golden Knights’ Gerard Gallant, Washington Capitals’ Barry Trotz and Nashville Predators’ Peter Laviolette will coach their respective divisions.
For the third straight season, the all-star game will feature a 3-on-3, three-game tournament, showcasing each division. Each divisional team will have six forwards, three defensemen and two goaltenders. The coaching selections were based on the team that had the highest point percentage as of Jan. 6, the halfway point of the season.
Cooper earned his first trip to the all-star game in six years as an NHL coach. Tampa Bay has the best record in hockey at 29-9-3. Gallant has earned the invite by taking a first-year expansion team and given them the second-best record in hockey at 28-10-2. It is his second all-star selection in seven years of NHL coaching. Trotz will make his third NHL all-star appearance in 19 years of coaching. The Capitals boast a 25-13-3 record. Laviolette will make his second appearance in 16 seasons as a coach. The Predators have a 25-11-6 record, tied for second in the Central Division, but have a slightly higher points percentage than Winnipeg Jets coach Paul Maurice, who has one more overtime loss.
Full all-star rosters will be released Wednesday. The all-star captains were already named by fan votes as Edmonton’s Connor McDavid (Pacific), Washington’s Alex Ovechkin (Metropolitan), Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos (Atlantic) and Nashville’s P.K. Subban (Central) were voted in.