- Steven Stamkos once again won’t be available for the Lightning as they look to wrap up the Stanley Cup tonight against Dallas, head coach Jon Cooper told reporters including Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston (Twitter link). The captain has been limited to just one game and 2:47 of playing time this postseason although he did score an important goal in Game Three of this series in that lone appearance.
Lightning Rumors
Draft Notes: Perfetti, Sanderson, Rossi
Several of the top-rated prospects for the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, coming up on October 6-7, spoke to the media today and there was no shortage of interesting quotes, courtesy of OHL insider Mark Scheig. Saginaw forward Cole Perfetti was certainly confident and didn’t mince his words when discussing his ideal NHL landing spot. “If I was under a head coach where I had to dump the puck in every time I go out over the red line and get on the forecheck, it would be frustrating and I wouldn’t be able to express how I really am as a player,” Perfetti stated. While many NHL teams have abandoned the dump-and-chase offense, it might not have been the best idea for the young forward to state so emphatically that he could have issues in a system different from the one he is used to. NHL GM’s probably would have preferred to hear him say that he is willing to work at fitting in to any offensive structure and that his ability can adapt to new systems. Although Perfetti’s talent will be the final determinant of his draft slot, he may have rubbed some interested executives the wrong way with his bold statement. We will find out for sure come draft day if the potential top-five pick falls down the draft board.
- Defenseman Jake Sanderson has flown up draft boards since the start of this season to the point that he is now considered a consensus top-10 or at least top-15 pick. That of course means that the U.S. National Team Development Program product has slipped past the realm of possibility for the Columbus Blue Jackets at No. 21 overall. Jake’s father, Geoff Sanderson, was an inaugural member of the Blue Jackets and played four seasons with the team, during which time Jake was born. Sanderson told the media today that he has indeed met with Columbus and there is a lot of familiarity still with the organization and the city. To make this pairing a reality, the Blue Jackets would absolutely need to trade up in the first round. However, they will likely wait until the draft has begun to see if such a move is even worth it. Sanderson revealed that he has also met with the New Jersey Devils twice and the cost for Columbus to move ahead of them at No. 7 is likely too high. If he does slip by the Devils, the race could be on for Columbus to move up the draft board.
- Have the Detroit Red Wings tipped their hand as to their selection at No. 4 overall? With Alexis Lafreniere locked in as the No. 1 pick to the New York Rangers and Quinton Byfield and Tim Stutzle going in some order at No. 2 and No. 3, the first real draft order question comes with Detroit’s pick. However, it seems like the mystery may have already been solved. Amidst existing rumors that the Red Wings had keyed in on OHL forward Marco Rossi as their selection, the Red Wings loaned one of their top prospects, Michael Rasmussen, to the Graz 99ers, the same team that Rossi is currently training with. Then today, Rossi reported that he has talked with the Red Wings not once or twice but three times. And while other prospects have noted that Detroit GM Steve Yzerman has merely been listening in on video calls with his computer screen off, Rossi stated that he has had several “good” chats directly with Yzerman. This is far from an absolute confirmation that the Red Wings will go Rossi at fourth overall, there is certainly enough evidence to make a strong case.
Steven Stamkos Returns To Lightning Lineup For Game Three Of Stanley Cup Final
After 211 days, Steven Stamkos is back. The Tampa Bay Lightning captain is officially in the lineup for Game Three of the Stanley Cup Final on Wednesday night, making his first appearance since February 25. After continually reiterating that Stamkos’ timeline to return was indefinite, head coach Jon Cooper and his team suddenly have their superstar back with a chance to take a 2-1 series lead over the Dallas Stars.
Stamkos makes his 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs debut nearly two months after the postseason began, a feat only made possible by his team’s ability to reach the Cup Final. Stamkos suffered a core injury in late February that required surgery. While he was initially given a six-to-eight week timeline, core surgery rehab often exceeds expectations. Yet, many still hoped that Stamkos would be ready for the beginning of the postseason. Cooper answered questions about Stamkos’ status throughout the playoffs, speaking about his hard work and dedication, but always stopped short of stating any expectation for when he might return. Only in the last week or so with Stamkos skating and occasionally participating in practice, did it finally seem like a Stamkos return was less puffery and more possibility. He finally makes his return on Wednesday follow not six-to-eight, but 30 weeks after his initial injury.
While Stamkos’ return to the lineup alone will be a boost for the team’s energy and morale, expectations of his actual contribution should remain low. Stamkos will likely show the same rust as others did when first entering the bubble, if not worse. He also took line rushes prior to the game with Lightning fourth-liners Cedric Paquette and Patrick Marron, indicating that he exposure may be limited in his debut. On top of all that, it worth remembering that Stamkos was a key contributor to Tampa’s first-round collapse last year, posting a -8 in a four-game sweep against the Columbus Blue Jackets, and that his career points per game fall well below his career pace in the regular season. Stamkos’ return is inspiring and makes for a good story, but the Bolts are not going to run away with the Stanley Cup now that the captain has returned. A hard-fought series with the Stars still awaits.
NHL Announces First And Second All-Star Teams, All-Rookie Team
Following the announcements of the final five NHL regular season awards, the league also revealed their three all-league rosters: the First-Team All-Stars, the Second-Team All-Stars, and the All-Rookie Team. Below are the 2019-20 honorees:
First All-Star Team (link)
G: Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets
D: Roman Josi, Nashville Predators
D: John Carlson, Washington Capitals
LW: Artemi Panarin, New York Rangers
C: Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers
RW: David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins
The 2020 First-Team All-Stars are a historic group, the first time since the inaugural all-league honors in 1930-31 that all six honorees are first-time members of the team. Unsurprisingly, this team also covers most of the league’s major awards with Draisaitl taking home the Hart, Ted Lindsay, and Art Ross, Josi winning the Norris, Hellebuyck winning the Vezina, and Pastrnak earning the Rocket Richard.
Second All-Star Team (link)
G: Tuukka Rask, Boston Bruins
D: Alex Pietrangelo, St. Louis Blues
D: Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning
LW: Brad Marchand, Boston Bruins
C: Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche
RW: Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning
The President’s Trophy-winning Boston Bruins finish with a league-best three players on All-Star rosters. Their division rival, and current Stanley Cup finalist, the Tampa Bay Lightning are the only other team with more than one inclusion on the all-star rosters. Noticeably absent from either all-star teams are future Hall of Famers Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals. This is just the third time since 2005-06 that at least one of the pair have not been on a postseason All-Star team, while they have both have been selected in the same year eight times in the past 15 years.
All-Rookie Team (link)
G: Elvis Merzlikins, Columbus Blue Jackets
D: Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche
D: Quinn Hughes, Vancouver Canucks
F: Victor Olofsson, Buffalo Sabres
F: Dominik Kubalik, Chicago Blackhawks
F: Nick Suzuki, Montreal Canadiens
The rookie elite, led by Calder Trophy-winner Makar, is an older group than usual. Merzlikins, Olofsson, and Kubalik, all 25 or older, played in Europe for a considerable amount of time before jumping to North America as a polished product, while Makar and Hughes each played a pair of seasons in the NCAA and Suzuki aged out of juniors before turning pro. Nevertheless, the first-year pros were all impressive and still have many quality years ahead of them.
Otto Somppi, Oskari Laaksonen Loaned To Lahti
Two more young players will spend the next several months playing overseas, as Otto Somppi of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Oskari Laaksonen of the Buffalo Sabres have been loaned to the Lahti Pelicans in Finland. Both players can be recalled when NHL training camps open.
Somppi, 22, is another one of Tampa Bay’s late-round draft picks that the organization has committed to developing. The 206th overall pick in 2016, Somppi has now been in their minor league system for two seasons, scoring 18 points in 45 games for the Syracuse Crunch this year. A 6’2″ center that exploded with 83 points in his final year of junior for the Halifax Mooseheads, he’ll be a restricted free agent after the 2020-21 season when his entry-level deal expires.
Laaksonen meanwhile has no experience on North American ice, having played the last three seasons with Ilves in Finland after his 2017 selection by Buffalo. The 21-year-old defenseman was a third-round pick and competed for Finland at the 2019 World Juniors, winning a gold medal alongside other talented defenders like Henri Jokiharju, Urho Vaakanainen and Ville Heinola.
Unlike Somppi, Laaksonen still has plenty of time under contract with the Sabres after only inking his entry-level deal a few months ago. It would be a lot less surprising to see him spend the entire 2020-21 season overseas, though at some point the Buffalo organization would likely want to see him compete in the AHL. That was likely the plan for this season, though Laaksonen was actually signed to his entry-level deal just a day before the team fired GM Jason Botterill.
East Notes: Stamkos, Zadina, Islanders, Lundqvist
The Tampa Bay Lightning are now down 1-0 in the Stanley Cup Finals and, of course, the question of Steven Stamkos’ availability came up in the most recent press conference. Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said he doubted that Stamkos would be ready for Game 2, but did speculate further on the possibility that Stamkos could make an appearance for the Lightning at some point in the series, according to The Athletic’s Joe Smith.
Cooper said that Stamkos is “inching closer” to a return and it’s “killing him” not to play, but the coach also said he refuses to put him in if he’s not ready. Cooper said the team needs to make sure his conditioning is up and both he and the medical staff are both comfortable with Stamkos on the ice.
- The Detroit Red Wings sent 2018 first-round pick Filip Zadina to the Czech Republic to continue playing until the 2020-21 begins, but already have felt the danger of loaning out one of their players. HC Ocelari Trinec announced that Zadina will miss the next few weeks with a upper-body injury that he sustained during a game Sunday. While there is no word on how serious the injury is, the diagnosis that he will be out a few weeks likely means it won’t threaten his availability when the NHL begins their 2020-21 season, which likely now won’t be until at least January 2021. Zadina took over a top-six spot late in the season, scoring eight goals and 15 points in 28 games and is a key component to the team’s 2020-21 season.
- With four pending unrestricted free agents coming up in the offseason, the New York Islanders have quite a few decisions to make about who they intend to keep. While general manager Lou Lamoriello was able to re-sign most of his UFA’s last season, that’s not likely to be the case. Newsday’s Andrew Gross reports that the team may only keep one of them this time around, suggesting that forward Matt Martin could be the only one to retain. The team isn’t likely to bring back goaltender Thomas Greiss now that Ilya Sorokin is on board, although Gross does add that Lamoriello does have a long-standing relationship with Andy Greene, so the team could potentially bring him back as well.
- USA Today’s Vince Mercogliano looks at the Rangers goaltending situation, suggesting the Rangers may have no choice but to buyout long-time Rangers icon Henrik Lundqvist when the buyout window opens on Sept. 25. General manager Jeff Gorton said he doesn’t plan to keep three goaltenders on the roster and word is the Rangers have not liked any offers they’ve received for Alexandar Georgiev, suggesting the team could save significant cap space in the future if they let go of Lundqvist, including $3MM next season and quite a bit more in 2021-22. With a trade unlikely for Lundqvist even if the Rangers retain half of his $8.5MM salary, the team could announce a buyout as soon as Friday, although at this point, anything is still possible.
Free Agent Focus: Tampa Bay Lightning
With free agency now less than a month away, many teams are already looking ahead to when it opens up. There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign. Tampa Bay’s players are certainly focused on beginning the Stanley Cup Final on Saturday but management is undoubtedly aware of some of the core players in need of new deals soon after.
Key Restricted Free Agents
F Anthony Cirelli – Last season was his first in the NHL and while he played well, he still was a little bit under the radar. That isn’t the case now. Despite the pandemic, he set a new career best with 44 points in 69 games while establishing himself as one of the top two-way centers in the league. Writers around the NHL certainly noticed as he finished fourth in Selke Trophy voting. So far in the playoffs, his production has tapered off a bit but he has logged more than 20 minutes a night while playing in a checking role. Cirelli isn’t arbitration-eligible but there will be teams that view him as a second liner and if that’s the case, he could be a candidate for an offer sheet (especially with the Lightning’s cap situation).
D Mikhail Sergachev – The 22-year-old hasn’t had that big leap offensively since he picked up 40 points in his rookie season; he hasn’t reached that mark since. However, he has gone from being a player who had to be sheltered on the third pairing into a capable top-four defender that has shown considerable improvement in his own end. That will undoubtedly catch the eye of any GM that wants to try an offer sheet and isn’t impressed with the current trade or UFA options. If one of those doesn’t materialize (which is the likelier scenario), a short-term contract will probably be the outcome since they don’t have much in the way of cap space to work with this offseason.
D Erik Cernak – He won’t blow anyone away offensively by any stretch but Cernak has settled into a strong defensive role and has been an anchor on what has been one of the better penalty kills among teams that have gone relatively deep into the playoffs. Like Cirelli and Sergachev, he isn’t eligible for salary arbitration which will hurt his earnings upside a bit so a bridge contract is expected. Even so, he should at least triple his $735K qualifying offer.
Other RFAs: F Ross Colton, F Mathieu Joseph, D Dominik Masin, F Gemel Smith, D Devante Stephens, F Mitchell Stephens, D Ben Thomas, F Carter Verhaeghe, F Alexander Volkov, F Dennis Yan
Key Unrestricted Free Agents
D Kevin Shattenkirk – While things didn’t work out well for him in New York, Shattenkirk has fared much better with the Lightning. Instead of being counted on to be an offensive catalyst as he was with the Rangers, he’s in more of a supporting cast role and has made the most of it, picking up 34 points in 70 regular season games and nine more in 19 postseason contests so far. He has done well to restore some value and while he won’t come anywhere close to the $6.65MM AAV of his contract that was eventually bought out, he should check in higher than $1.75MM he played for this year. A multi-year pact is certainly a possibility as well.
F Patrick Maroon – Gone are the days where there were teams hoping that he could be part of a top-six forward group but Maroon has shown that he can still contribute in a more limited role. Anyone looking for grit and leadership in their bottom six should show interest in Maroon, especially if he’s willing to take a deal close to the $900K he made this season. With many teams being limited in what they can spend this offseason, he should have a longer list of suitors this time around.
D Zach Bogosian – Expectations were quite low after his deal with the Sabres was terminated but he has fit in nicely with the Lightning. Between the regular season and playoffs, he has averaged around 18 minutes per game and has held his own. It was risky walking away from more guaranteed money had he reported to Buffalo’s AHL affiliate but had he done that, there’s a good chance he wouldn’t have had much interest in free agency. He should have several suitors now so this decision is one that has certainly worked out for him.
Other UFAs: G Mike Condon, D Cameron Gaunce, G Spencer Martin, D Jan Rutta, D Luke Schenn, D Patrick Sieloff, G Scott Wedgewood
Projected Cap Space
Tampa Bay has nearly $69MM in cap commitments for next season already, per CapFriendly. That spending only gets them a goalie, two defensemen, and seven forwards. With an $81.5MM cap, that leaves them less than $13MM to fill out half of their roster while having two of the top young restricted free agents needing new deals. There’s no sugar coating it – they need to clear out a notable contract or two. However, of the 10 players signed, only two don’t have trade protection and those two – Brayden Point and Andrei Vasilevskiy – aren’t going anywhere. GM Julien BriseBois will have his work cut out for him when their series against Dallas comes to an end.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Atlantic Notes: Krug, Point, Kulak, Ruggiero
After falling just short of winning the Stanley Cup in 2019, the Boston Bruins went home a little earlier than they hoped for this season, falling to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the second round. However, much of the criticism in Boston falls to the team’s lack of physicality against the Lightning’s bigger forwards, who really took advantage of the Bruins, especially against their smaller defenseman, Torey Krug and Matt Grzelcyk.
The Bruins saw this issue coming and traded for Nick Ritchie at the trade deadline to give the team a little added size, but Ritchie had some issues adjusting to the team immediately after the trade as the league was shutdown shortly thereafter and still didn’t fully adjust in the bubble during the playoffs.
With the need to get bigger and stronger this offseason, NBC Sports Joe Haggerty writes that the Bruins may be already thinking that it might make more sense to let the undersized Krug walk via free agency this year and take the money to invest in a blueliner who can provide more size and physicality rather than invest $7-8MM on bringing Krug back.
- Tampa Bay Lightning forward Brayden Point remains an unknown before Game 4 today. Head coach Jon Cooper refused to give an update on Point, saying “You’ll see in a couple hours,” Cooper said (via NHL.com’s Bryan Burns). Point sat out Game 3 with an undisclosed injury, although he has been practicing. Point has picked up 23 points in 15 playoff games so far and would be a big boost for the team if he returns.
- Assuming the Montreal Canadiens are able to sign defenseman Joel Edmundson after acquiring the blueliner in a trade with Carolina Saturday evening, The Athletic’s Arpon Basu (subscription required) writes that could be bad news for defensemen Brett Kulak and Victor Mete. With Ben Chiarot, rookie defenseman Alexander Romanov and potentially Edmundson playing on the left side, both Kulak and Mete will either have to fight for the seventh spot or the team could move one of the blueliners over to the right side. The scribe notes that Kulak, who was impressive in the playoffs, might be a potential trade candidate. He has averaged more than 17 minutes of ATOI over the past two years with the Canadiens. General manager Marc Bergevin wasn’t that posiitve on Kulak’s outlook, however, pointing out after the playoffs that while he could be a solid defender if he continues to play like he did, his inconsistency over the regular season has to be kept in mind as well.
- While the Florida Panthers eventually hired Bill Zito to be their new general manager, it did do an extensive search for candidates, looking at former Islanders GM Garth Snow to NHL Network analyst Kevin Weekes. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, on Hockey Night in Canada Saturday, also added another former candidate in Hall of Fame and Olympic gold medalist Angela Ruggiero. “During their search, the Panthers contacted four-time U.S. Olympian and member of the Hockey Hall of Fame Angela Ruggiero and asked her if she wanted to interview,” Friedman reported during Saturday’s Headlines. Ruggiero, 40, is the current CEO and co-founder of Sports Innovation Lab and asked the Panthers for a few days to consider whether she wanted to interview. By the time she got back to Florida, they had already hired Zito. Ruggiero has some experience in the front office with the New York Islanders years ago before going to Harvard for her MBA, but she could be a future candidate for other GM positions.
Alex Killorn Suspended One Game
The Department of Player Safety has made a ruling and the Tampa Bay Lightning will be without one of their most experienced playoff performers. Alex Killorn has received a one-game suspension for his hit on New York Islanders forward Brock Nelson last night. As the accompanying video explains:
It is important to note that this is not a case where a sudden or unexpected movement by Nelson just prior to contact, turns a legal hit into an illegal one. From the moment that Nelson initially collects the puck and until contact is made, Killorn sees nothing but his numbers. While we accept Tampa Bay’s assertion that Killorn makes some attempt to deliver this check from the side, this is still a forceful hit from behind on a defenseless player who is no longer in possession of the puck.
Killorn will effectively miss two full games because of the hit since he was given a game misconduct last night at 5:55 of the first period. Nelson did leave the game for a period of time but returned later.
The league also pointed out that Killorn does not have a significant disciplinary history, having been fined just once in his career. He’ll have to miss game three but can make a return to the Tampa lineup after that.
Alex Killorn To Have Hearing With Department Of Player Safety
The Department of Player Safety has some work to do today after Alex Killorn was assessed a five-minute major and game misconduct last night. The Tampa Bay Lightning forward hit Brock Nelson of the New York Islanders from behind after the puck had already been cleared away. Killorn will have a hearing today to determine any supplementary discipline, with a suspension expected. Nelson did return to the game (only to be hit from behind again later).
The Lightning managed to win even with a shortened bench, but it appears as though they’ll have to navigate at least the next game without Killorn from the very start. The 30-year-old forward has been a difference-maker again for the Lightning, scoring four goals and seven points in 15 postseason games. After settling into his role as a depth scorer in the last few years, Killorn exploded in 2019-20 with 26 goals in just 68 games. He meshes that scoring ability with a physical presence and under-your-skin attitude, making him an effective weapon for the Lightning in tight-checking series.
He’ll have to sit and watch for the time being, though the official announcement of how long the suspension will be won’t come until this evening at the earliest.