- Tampa Bay has recalled forward Cory Conacher according to an announcement from their AHL team in Syracuse. Conacher leads the Crunch in scoring this season with 13 points (6-7-13) in 17 games. While this will be his first NHL stint in 2017-18, the 27-year-old did relatively well in his NHL action with the Lightning last year when he recorded a goal and three helpers in 11 contests. GM Steve Yzerman told Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link) that a couple of forwards are dealing with minor injuries so Conacher’s recall is insurance as the team heads into back-to-back games.
Lightning Rumors
Central Notes: Blackhawks, Anderson, Dotchin
Always known for their offensive prowess on the ice, the Chicago Blackhawks have hit hard times. Sure, the team isn’t at the bottom when it comes to team scoring (13th overall), but the usual names aren’t showing up in the box scores, according to Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times.
Patrick Kane broke out of his slump on Wednesday with a pair of goals, but he had been fighting a one goal in 10-game slump. Jonathan Toews has two goals in the past 16 games, while Richard Panik hasn’t scored in 12 games. Nick Schmaltz has one goal in 17 games, while defenseman Duncan Keith hasn’t scored yet this season. Throw in Brandon Saad and Nick Schmaltz, who each have one goal in the last 15 and 17 games, respectively.
“It never gets easy,” said Patrick Sharp, who hasn’t scored in the last 15 games. “You think about it all the time. You feel that pressure in tight games, and in losses, definitely. You leave the rink thinking that you could have helped the team in some way.”
Lazerus writes that despite their offensive struggles, the team has been winning, going 3-1-1 in their past five games, which takes a lot of the pressure off the players. With Kane’s two-goal game, many players hope that signifies that the end of some of these slumps may be forthcoming.
- James Gordon of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that while many people are blaming the Ottawa Senators for the team’s struggles this year, that’s not where the blame should be pointed. The scribe instead looks at the team’s goaltending, particularly the play of veteran Craig Anderson, who last year put up an impressive season in which he had a 2.28 GAA and a .926 save percentage to lead the team into a deep playoff run. Fast forward to this year and the 36-year-old goaltender has a 2.94 GAA and a .896 save percentage. Backup Mike Condon isn’t faring any better and his analysis suggests that both goalies are just making inexcusable mistakes.
- Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Jake Dotchin (undisclosed injury) has been placed on injured reserve, according to Tampa Bay Times’ Joe Smith. Smith also says that Dotchin will be eligible to return on Tuesday and might return by then, but he will sit out two games before he is eligible to return. Cory Conacher will take his place on the roster.
Lightning Claim Chris DiDomenico Off Waivers From Senators
Tampa Bay has added some depth up front by claiming forward Chris DiDomenico off waivers from the Senators, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link).
DiDomenico cleared waivers at the end of training camp but injuries up front gave him a chance to be recalled early on. He made quite the impact as well, recording five points in his first five games. However, his ice time decreased in recent games and he picked up just a lone assist in his final seven games with the team.
Lightning GM Steve Yzerman acknowledged earlier today with their recall of Cory Conacher that a couple of forwards were nursing minor injuries so adding DiDomenico should serve as insurance in the short-term.
Intriguingly, this claim comes just two days after Ottawa claimed forward Gabriel Dumont off waivers from the Lightning. It was DiDomenico who wound up losing his roster spot as a result of Dumont’s addition so in essence, this wound up being a trade completed over the span of several days.
Senators Claim Gabriel Dumont Off Waivers
The Ottawa Senators have made the best kind of in-season roster addition, the kind that doesn’t cost them anything. After trading away substantial resources for Matt Duchene, it would have been easy to assume that the Sens would stand pat for the remainder of the season. However, that is not the case, as Ottawa has announced that they have claimed forward Gabriel Dumont off of waivers.
Dumont, 27, has been a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning for the past year plus, after leaving the Montreal Canadiens to sign with Tampa in 2016. While it may not look like much, Dumont’s 39 games, two goals, and four points last season were all career highs, as the undersized forward carved out a role for himself as an energy liner and reliable AHL depth. Before coming to Tampa, Dumont was a high-scoring AHLer for the Canadiens, but has settled into a more gritty, two-way role that better serves his NHL pursuits. In seven games so far in 2017-18, Dumont has been held scoreless, but is averaging over ten minutes of ice time per night for the first time in his NHL career.
Yet, Dumont has cleared waivers multiple times since signing with the Bolts. Why now have the Senators claimed him? It may have less to do with Dumont’s talent and more to do with Ottawa’s lack of talent. Dealing with many different injuries this season, at times the Senators lineup has featured a majority of players best suited for their minor league affiliate in Belleville. Rather than continue to depend on the likes of Nick Paul, Chris DiDomenico, Jack Rodewald, Max McCormick and even defenseman Ben Harpur at forward, Dumont brings some experience and fourth-line reliability that the Senators could really use.
Poll: Who Is The (Second) Best Team In The East?
The 2017-18 NHL season has not gone to plan. Ask any prognosticator from the preseason where their projected standings compare to those today and you’ll get grim looks and uninterested shrugs. The Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers, Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild and Montreal Canadiens are all far underachieving, while Vegas, Detroit, Winnipeg, Los Angeles and New Jersey are all showing that they shouldn’t be counted out so soon.
Tampa Bay of course, leads the entire league with 32 points and a whopping +28 goal differential through 20 games. Their dominance this year has led to just three regulation losses, and two early favorites for the Hart Trophy (three, if you think Andrei Vasilevskiy has a shot). Right now most would call them the class of the Eastern Conference, and who would disagree? With the best line in hockey, a stud defenseman entering his prime and an up-and-coming Vezina candidate they’re poised to compete for the Stanley Cup for at least the next few years.
But who does that leave in the second slot? Several teams have claims to stake on the silver podium, but each have their warts. Toronto had a struggling goaltender through the first month of the season, while Columbus can’t get their powerplay working properly. The Penguins have been blown out several times while the Devils have won just three of their last nine games.
Vote below on who you think is the second best team in the east, and make sure to leave a comment if you disagree with the original premise of Tampa Bay as the class of the conference. We’ve included all of the teams within 10 points of the Lightning.
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Danis Zaripov Settles Appeal, Suspension Reduced
It looked as though Danis Zaripov was headed for the NHL when he was handed a two-year doping suspension by the IIHF. That restricted the Russian forward from playing in any European league including the KHL where he had suited up since the league’s inception. Now, the governing hockey body has settled with Zaripov and reduced his suspension to six months, which will mean he’s free to sign anywhere on November 23rd.
Several teams in the NHL had rumored interest in Zaripov, including the St. Louis Blues and Tampa Bay Lightning at various points. Evgeni Malkin even spoke out about how he’d like to have him in Pittsburgh, as the pair has lined up together at several international tournaments. Zaripov is a legendary player in Russia, with incredible playoff and international results. A four-time KHL champion and five-time World Championship medalist it’s likely that he’ll re-sign in Russia to finish his career.
At 36, there was a chance Zaripov could still be relevant to an NHL team but with the suspension reduced that outcome seems even more unlikely. Instead, he’ll go down as one of the most successful players to never suit up in a North American professional league. He did have a short stint in the WHL many years ago, but wasn’t drafted and returned to Russia after just one year.
Gabriel Dumont, Ziyat Paigin Placed On Waivers
According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the Tampa Bay Lightning have placed Gabriel Dumont on waivers Tuesday. Both Matt Read and Anton Rodin, who were waived yesterday, have cleared. While Read could end up in the minor leagues, Rodin is headed for the NLA in Switzerland. Additionally, Edmonton has placed Ziyat Paigin on unconditional waivers, likely to terminate his contract and allow the young defender to return to Russia.
Dumont has had the unfortunate luck to be part of the hottest team in the NHL, and couldn’t find a way to regularly get into the lineup. In seven games this season he’s been held scoreless, but won’t have to wait long in the AHL. Dumont has consistently been excellent in the minor leagues, with seasons of 49 and 45 points in recent years.
Paigin was drafted by the Oilers in 2015, but only signed his entry-level contract this past April. Since then, he’s played just 13 games total for the Bakersfield Condors of the AHL, and it looks like that experiment might be coming to an end. It was just a few months ago that Paigin told Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal that he would be willing to go to the minor leagues if that’s what the Oilers wanted for him. The towering defenseman never did register a point in North America.
Morning Notes: McDonagh, Ekman-Larsson, Kane
The New York Rangers haven’t encountered this type of season often before, if ever. The team seems to be a bubble team with no true chance of making a deep playoff run or even winning a Stanley Cup. Yet, the team also finds itself with a handful of expiring contracts who could be utilized as key trade chips to refuel their retooling process.
New York Post’s Larry Brooks writes the Rangers need to think about dealing players like Rick Nash, Michael Grabner and Nick Holden and get what they can for them. The scribe believes that general manager Jeff Gorton will have one of the biggest challenges in front of him in a long time as he will have to make a decision on which direction the team should go. Could Nash bring back a first-rounder in next year’s draft and if they can, would it be worth his value anyway? What can they get for Grabner? Should the team go full in and start shopping captain Ryan McDonagh now?
The latter claim, Brooks writes, might make the most sense. The Rangers should be able to bring in a huge haul for McDonagh, who is still in his prime, is locked up until 2019 and is one of the top defensemen in the league. As there are quite a few playoff teams in need of defense, like the Toronto Maple Leafs, Edmonton Oilers and the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Rangers could truly change the way the franchise is heading at the trade deadline.
New York wouldn’t be better off without McDonagh, but with long-term deals already having been handed out to Kevin Shattenkirk, Marc Staal and Brendan Smith and the young talent the team has on defense in Brady Skjei, Neal Pionk and Anthony DeAngelo, the team should be able to survive without him if they can get a talented scorer in his place.
- Hidden among yesterday’s stories was TSN’s Bob McKenzie refuting rumors that the Arizona Coyotes are thinking about dealing defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson to the Toronto Maple Leafs for William Nylander. McKenzie writes that as of Sunday, there had not been one conversation between the two teams about Ekman-Larsson. He also points out that since most teams do not view Nylander as a center, he wouldn’t bring enough of a return for Ekman-Larsson as just a sniper. However, from what McKenzie can see, the Coyotes are not willing to discuss moving Ekman-Larsson as of now. The Atheltic’s Sean Tierney tweeted today that with general manager John Chayka in charge, it’s hard to see the team trading Ekman-Larsson at all.
- John Vogl of The Buffalo News writes that frustration is hitting in Buffalo as the 5-12-1 Sabres continue to struggle, yet one player is thriving in Evander Kane. Dating back to last year, the 26-year-old wing has scored 40 goals in his last 79 games. He also has 11 points in the last 11 games. Kane added his 12th goal of the season Monday in the team’s 3-2 loss to Columbus. The secret to his success? Shooting the puck. He leads the team with 96 shots on goal this year.
Canadiens Notes: Potential Rebuild, Bergevin, Price
The Montreal Canadiens find themselves at a crossroads. Expecting to compete for a playoff spot this year and beyond after what fans considered a solid offseason in which they traded for sniper Jonathan Drouin , signed veteraen defenseman Karl Alzner away from the Washington Capitals and locked up their star goaltender Carey Price for another eight years, the team has struggled all season, including a recent three-game losing streak to Columbus, Arizona and Saturday’s 6-0 loss to the rival Toronto Maple Leafs. The Canadiens suddenly find themselves 8-11-2 with little optimism that things might get better.
In fact, NBC Sports Joey Alfieri writes that it might be time to break up this team now and begin a proper rebuild. Up until now, general manager Marc Bergevin has been unwilling to trade the team’s veteran players such as center Max Pacioretty, but that could change soon as it doesn’t look as the team is a quick-fix away from repairing its on-ice problems. Saturday night on “Headlines,” Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos said that ownership and management would soon have a discussion about the direction of the team. Pacioretty would be a prime trade candidate, who has one more year on his contract at $4.5MM.
The scribe looks at their offseason moves and wonders if the team’s big trade to acquire Drouin might be looked as a major blunder as the team did trade away star defensive prospect Mikhail Sergachev, who is thriving for the league-leading Tampa Bay Lightning. He is also quick to point out that it was a major mistake to let go of Alexander Radulov and veteran defenseman Andrei Markov for nothing when the team quite obviously needed them.
- Jack Todd of the Montreal Gazette writes that this latest 6-0 defeat to the Maple Leafs could spell the end for not just the current roster, but also for Bergevin, who has been responsible for constructing this roster and look to be going no where. The GM has been running the team for six years now and has little to show for it, but a team heading towards a lottery selection in June next year. The general belief is that if you aren’t competing for a playoff spot by the American Thanksgiving, then you have little shot of reaching the playoffs and the Canadiens aren’t close to competing. The scribe writes that while many feel that the team’s trade of P.K. Subban was the start of the downfall of the team, Todd suggests that Shea Weber is not to blame, but things may not look so bad had the team kept both Markov and Sergachev to form a Big Three. Instead, the team only has Weber to show for it, which falls under Bergevin’s domain.
- Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette writes that the team has always had an identity, starting with their goaltender and then with a solid defense in front of him. Boring, but respectable. Instead, the scribe writes, the team is starting to look like the 2015-16 team that had lost Price for most of the season and finished in 13th place in the Eastern Conference. Now the team has gutted their defense and have removed their identity, which the franchise so often has depended on.
- After a column in which he questioned the health of Price, Stu Cowan tweets that Price was the first out to practice Monday morning.
Atlantic Notes: Eichel, Housley, Red Wings, Lightning
The Buffalo News’ Mike Harrington writes how Buffalo’s struggles are just as perplexing as those affecting its franchise player, Jack Eichel. The third year pro has looked frustrated and lethargic this season as the Sabres sink to the bottom of the Atlantic, and the Eastern Conference even before the (American) Thanksgiving holiday. Harrington writes:
There’s one gnawing issue that keeps growing: What’s going on with Jack Eichel?
Forget about an elephant in the room. This is an entire herd. Eichel is not the guy we’ve seen the last two years. He was invisible again for long stretches Saturday — not getting a single shot on goal for more than 48 minutes.
He continues on the subject of Eichel, stating that the “dirty secret” amongst Sabres fans is that Eichel is essentially lolly-gagging around the ice when he should be skating harder. Worse, he pinpoints a play during the Sabres 3-1 loss to Carolina Saturday night where Eichel was a non-factor in what would be the game winning score. It’s Eichel, Harringon pens, who got his wish when former coach Dan Bylsma was fired. Which leads Harrington to his next subject: new bench boss Phil Housley.
- Calling him “Pollyanna Phil,” Harrington opines that while the first year coach finally talked tough following an uninspiring loss to Detroit, he was back to his passive ways Saturday. Where Harrington points out that Eichel may need to be shown how lackluster his play has been, Housley has instead gone a more positive route, choosing to highlight what he believes Eichel has done well. If you have a future captain, inked to an expensive long term deal, Harrington suggests that it may behoove the Sabres to call things as they truly are with Eichel.
- The Detroit News’ Gregg Krupa highlights the Red Wings’ young players as the reason for the team’s latest reversal of fortune. It’s been an uptick in usage of Andreas Athanasiou, Dylan Larkin, and Anthony Mantha that has helped the team while captain Henrik Zetterberg has taken a lesser role while still playing at a high level. Krupa adds that nine players on the team have four or more goals, showing that the more even distribution of ice time has benefitted the team.
- Tampa Bay hasn’t lost much this season, but when they have, it’s provided a “reality check” writes the Tampa Bay Times’ Roger Mooney. The Bolts have lost for only the third time this season, and as it was in the other two contests, they came out flat and ran out of time. Mooney points out that the team was resilient after both early season losses, ripping off a couple winning streaks after. Bench boss John Cooper likened it to the old Forrest Gump quote: “That stuff happens.” Regardless, it doesn’t seem to have fazed them in the slightest. Simply put, Mooney quoted Ondrej Palat as saying, “We have to be better,”