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Snapshots: Team Canada, Kreider, Nutivaara, Copp

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The World Junior Championships got a gold medal game to remember as Canada pulled off a big comeback victory Saturday to win the gold as Los Angeles Kings’ prospect Akil Thomas scored the go-ahead goal to give Canada a 4-3 win over Russia on Sunday.

Canada was down 3-1 to Russia in the third, but got key goals from Washington Capitals’ prospect Connor McMichael and Arizona Coyotes forward Barrett Hayton to come back and tie the game. It’s the third time in six years that Canada has won the World Championships, but the first time since 2008 that they have won the title on Europe ice. Russia finished with the silver, while Sweden topped Finland for the bronze medal earlier today.

Projected top pick in the 2020 draft, Alexis Lafreniere was named the MVP of the tournament, by the IIHF, as well as the top forward. Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Rasmus Sandin was awarded the top defenseman award, while St. Louis prospect Joel Hofer won the top goaltender award.

  • One reason the Montreal Canadiens went through with signing forward Ilya Kovalchuk last week was that they realized they had little chance of acquiring New York Rangers forward Chris Kreider. The New York Post’s Larry Brooks notes that Kreider, who has a modified no-trade clause in which he has submitted an 11-team no-trade list, has all the Canadien teams on his list, meaning he has no interest in playing there. Kreider remains the top trade candidate at the trade deadline.
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets got some much needed depth back on their blueline as the team announced they have activated Markus Nutivaara off of injured reserve. The 25-year-old has been out since Nov. 5 when he suffered an upper-body injury and has now missed 27 games. The blueliner has two goals in 10 games this season, but should add a helping hand as the team has several defensemen on IR, including Ryan Murray, Dean Kukan and Andrew Peeke.
  • The Winnipeg Jets may have forward Andrew Copp back in the lineup as The Athletic’s Ken Weibe reports that the 25-year-old was a full participant in practice. Head coach Paul Maurice said that if he comes to the rink feeling as good as he left Sunday, that Copp should find himself back in the lineup. The forward has missed the past eight games with an upper-body injury.

 

Trade Rumors: Calgary, Baertschi, Sandin

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The Calgary Flames recently opened up significant salary cap space by trading away veteran forward Michael Frolik and his $4.3MM cap hit. The move occurred on Thursday and by Saturday the word was out that Calgary GM Brad Treliving was already on the hunt to fill that space. The Flames would like help up front and now have nearly $5MM to make and addition or perhaps even two. However, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that Treliving and company are not interested in the rental market. The team’s preference is to add a player with term as opposed to using up their newfound cap space on a short-term commitment, especially as they continue to sit outside the playoff picture in the Western Conference. Friedman feels that, if the Flames are comfortable with Elias Lindholm remaining at center, their trade focus will be on adding a right wing. While it is often hard to predict which term players may be available, some top-six right wing options that Calgary can afford and may be available could include New Jersey’s Kyle Palmieri, Montreal’s Joel Armia, Anaheim’s Ondrej Kase, or the Rangers’ Pavel Buchnevich. Of course, the team could also look into negotiating an extension with an available rental prior to making a deal, which would open up options like L.A.’s Tyler Toffoli or Florida’s Mike Hoffman or Evgenii Dadonov.

  • While one might assume that the Montreal Canadiens, currently in 13th in the Eastern Conference, would be sellers this season, the team proved otherwise this week by acquiring defenseman Marco Scandella and signing forward Ilya Kovalchuk. Friedman reports that the team was also considering Vancouver Canucks forward Sven Baertschi before pulling the trigger on Kovalchuk, although continued interest cannot be completely ruled out. It’s easy to forget about Baertschi’s availability, as the Canucks have kept him buried in the AHL for all but six games this season and have performed fine without him, currently riding the league’s longest winning streak in fact. Baertschi, who recorded 106 points in 216 games with the Canucks over the past four seasons, has been slowed by injuries in his career but productive when healthy. He has shown as much this year, scoring at an elite pace in the AHL. The risk-reward winger cleared waivers earlier this season, but as he continues to stay healthy and score in the minors, the Canadiens will not be the only team with interest. If Vancouver is willing to retain part of Baerstschi’s $3.367 cap hit through next season, that will only increase the likelihood that another team opts to take a chance on him.
  • While there has been some speculation that the red-hot Toronto Maple Leafs could turn to the trade market to add depth on the blue line, especially in light of recent injuries, Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston believes that the team may opt to fill the void internally instead. With Rasmus Sandin excelling overseas at the World Junior Championship, Johnston believes that Toronto’s opinion on playing the young defenseman this season has changed. Johnston does not believe that keeping Sandin under ten games of NHL action, so as to allow his entry-level contract to slide one more year, is a priority anymore for the team. He believes that when Sandin returns to Toronto, he will become a viable option for the remainder of the season. Sanin has already played in four games this season, so it would not take much time for him to burn the first year of his contract, but it may be worth it if the Leafs can solidify their back end.

Eastern Notes: Gostisbehere, Johnsson, Moore, Wolanin

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The Philadelphia Flyers have a lot to like as they sit in a playoff spot at the midway point of the season. While injuries have ruled the team’s first half, the team also has a lot of impressive play from members of the team. One member of the team who didn’t get much of a rating from The Athletic’s Charlie O’Connor (subscription required) — Shayne Gostisbehere.

While teammate Ivan Provorov has had quite the impact season, getting A’s across the board, Gostisbehere’s final grade was a C-. For a second straight season, the 26-year-old’s offense has disappeared as he is on pace for a 23-point season. What the big problem is, however, Gostisbehere’s defense has also disappeared and his usage is starting to drop. He has averaged just 18:24, more than three minutes below his career high of two years ago. The scribe writes that there is no positive spin on the blueliner and he must find his game quickly for the Flyers’ sake.

  • TSN’s Kristen Shilton reports that the Toronto Maple Leafs may be close to getting back a pair of forwards. Andreas Johnsson and Trevor Moore were both seen at Toronto’s morning optional skate. Johnsson, who has been out with a leg injury since Dec. 4, wore a non-contact jersey, while Moore, who has been out with a concussion since Dec. 23 was in a regular jersey, but hasn’t been cleared yet. “Very encouraging,” said Toronto head coach Sheldon Keefe. “They were skating a little bit while we were away, so today was a positive step. Both are still in non-contact situations but just to see them around the building and around the group is a good sign.”
  • The Athletic’s Graeme Nichols (subscription required) writes that the Ottawa Senators finally got an update on injured defenseman as general manager Pierre Dorion stated that Christian Wolanin, who has been out all season with a torn labrum, is targeting a return in mid to late February. Wolanin, who had surgery back on Sept. 21 and given a four-month timetable, is expected to immediately report to the Belleville Senators with the AHL once he’s been cleared to play. The 24-year-old could be with Ottawa in March if everything pans out.

Maple Leafs Assign Teemu Kivihalme To AHL

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  • The Maple Leafs announced (Twitter link) that they’ve assigned defenseman Teemu Kivihalme to AHL Toronto. The 24-year-old had spent the last few days as injury insurance but will return to the minors to get some playing time.  He has seven points in 28 AHL games so far this season.

Snapshots: Mikheyev, Phillips, Stalock

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If you were in a foreign country where you didn’t speak the language well, were away from your entire family and had just undergone emergency surgery to repair slashed tendons in your wrist, it might be a little overwhelming. That’s why Toronto Maple Leafs’ GM Kyle Dubas stayed with injured forward Ilya Mikheyev in New Jersey while he recovered from surgery. As Chris Johnston of Sportsnet reports however, Dubas’ goodwill may actually have a positive impact on player acquisition down the road. Dan Milstein of Gold Star Hockey, the agent for Mikheyev and many other Russian players, explained to Johnston that he has already told his other clients of how the situation was handled:

The agent has KHL free agents currently drawing significant NHL interest for next season and has made sure they’re all aware of the humanity the Leafs exhibited with Mikheyev, telling them: “You should know how Toronto took care of this particular accident.”

While that obviously doesn’t guarantee the Maple Leafs will get any sort of discount down the road, it certainly can’t hurt when they’re trying to convince the KHL’s top talent to come over to North America. The team will also have a negotiation with Mikheyev at some point, given that he will be a restricted free agent this summer.

  • The Los Angeles Kings have assigned minor league defenseman Markus Phillips to the Guelph Storm of the OHL, sending him back despite already having played in the ECHL and AHL this season. The 20-year old will re-join the Storm for the rest of his overage season, another addition to a team that is already 21-8-5 this season. Phillips was selected 118th overall in 2017 and had six points in 20 games for the Fort Wayne Komets this season.
  • Alex Stalock has been fined $2,000 for embellishment, following an incident that occurred against the Winnipeg Jets on December 21st. It was the second cited case of diving by Stalock, following an earlier incident against the Pittsburgh Penguins that incurred a warning from the league. Though it obviously isn’t a lot of money, embellishment comes with escalating fines that eventually are levied against the coach as well—something that never helps a player’s career.

Maple Leafs’ Depth Players Looking For More Opportunity

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The Toronto Maple Leafs are dealing with several injuries at the moment, with Trevor Moore, Andreas Johnsson and Ilya Mikheyev all out up front. None of the trio have a clear return date at this point, which has led to the team bringing up several of their minor league forwards over the last few weeks. Mason Marchment was the latest recall, following Pierre Engvall and Adam Brooks who have now worked their way into the lineup.

One player who many may have thought would be among the first recalls is Jeremy Bracco, who finished the 2018-19 season as the second-highest scorer in the AHL. Bracco’s 79 points in 75 games trailed only Carter Verhaeghe, who is now a regular for the Tampa Bay Lightning. The 22-year old Maple Leafs’ prospect hasn’t been given a look in the NHL yet however, partly because of the position his plays. Bracco is a right winger, the same side where Toronto already has Mitch Marner, William Nylander and Kasperi Kapanen locked into the top three lines.

That’s a tough group to crack, something that Bracco obviously understands. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet wrote yesterday in his 31 Thoughts column that the young forward has asked the organization to see if there is a better opportunity elsewhere. Friedman suggests that Dmytro Timashov and Ben Harpur have both also asked Toronto the same thing.

For Timashov especially, that may come as some surprise. The 23-year old made the Maple Leafs out of camp in surprise fashion and has played in 29 games this season for them. While he isn’t getting a ton of ice time playing on the fourth line, the fifth-round pick is at least in the NHL.

Harpur meanwhile is in a different situation. Included in the trade that sent Nikita Zaitsev and Connor Brown to the Ottawa Senators in the offseason, the 24-year old defenseman has played the entire year in the minor leagues with the Toronto Marlies. That demotion comes after seeing regular NHL minutes the last two seasons, playing 92 games for the Senators since the start of 2017-18.

Obviously, these three names don’t come with a ton of recognition around the league, but the Maple Leafs may not be willing to just give them away. Friedman ponders whether they could be part of a bigger deal, though Toronto will still have to deal with cap implications should they try to add anything to their NHL roster at the moment.

Minor Transactions: 01/01/20

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It’s the first day of a new decade and the NHL will celebrate by holding the 2020 Winter Classic in Dallas, Texas. The Cotton Bowl will be the site for the outdoor game between the Dallas Stars and Nashville Predators, a football stadium already surrounded by tailgating fans of both teams. While the festivities continue, we’ll keep track of all the day’s minor moves.

  • The Arizona Coyotes have sent Michael Chaput back to the minor leagues after just a day with the NHL club. The 27-year old has been a force for the Tucson Roadrunners this year with ten goals in just 22 games but is still waiting for a chance to get back into some NHL action. The Coyotes also recalled Kyle Capobianco from the AHL, while sending the recently waived Aaron Ness to the AHL.
  • After the Toronto Maple Leafs carried just 12 forwards to their game in Minnesota last night, they’ll bring up an extra body for some insurance. Mason Marchment has earned his first NHL call-up. The son of former NHL defenseman Bryan Marchment, the Maple Leafs’ prospect was given a minor league deal back in 2016 and developed slowly by the team over the last several years.
  • J.C. Beaudin has been returned to the AHL by the Ottawa Senators, who will host the Florida Panthers tomorrow night. Beaudin has played in 22 games this season for the Senators but has just a single point.  Rudolfs Balcers was recalled to take his place on the roster and should soon see his first NHL action of the season after playing in 36 games in 2018-19.
  • Louis Domingue is back with the New Jersey Devils, recalled by the team today after getting some playing time in the minor leagues. Gilles Senn has been sent down after appearing in two games.
  • The Montreal Canadiens have recalled Dale Weise from the AHL after Brendan Gallagher suffered an injury last night. Weise hasn’t played a game for the Canadiens this season but does have more than 500 games of NHL experience.
  • Nicolas Roy was recalled by the Vegas Golden Knights, something that has happened plenty of times this season. Roy has played in just seven games but was bouncing between the AHL and NHL almost every day earlier in the year.

Prospect Notes: Exceptional Status, Jenik, Sandin

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In 2005 John Tavares became the first player to be granted exceptional status by the OHL to start playing junior hockey a year early. Since then, five other young men have been granted the distinction: Aaron Ekblad, Connor McDavid, Sean Day, Joe Veleno and Shane Wright. None of those players have come from the WHL, though that may change next season.

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that three prospective WHL players have applied for the status: Connor Bedard, Riley Heidt and Brayden Yager. There’s no guarantee that any of the three will receive it, but they are obviously names to keep in mind down the road. All three will be eligible for the 2023 NHL Entry Draft.

  • The Czech Republic team at the World Juniors lost badly to the Canadians today, partly perhaps because they didn’t have alternate captain Jan Jenik in the lineup. Jenik has been one of the Czech’s best players in the tournament, but Frank Seravalli and Gord Miller of TSN report that his season is likely over thanks to the knee injury he suffered. That’s terrible news for the home fans at the tournament, but also for the Hamilton Bulldogs and Arizona Coyotes. Jenik was dominating in the OHL this season with 56 points in 27 games after being a third round pick in 2018.
  • Another scare went through Toronto Maple Leafs fans watching the tournament today when Rasmus Sandin skated off clutching his wrist during the Sweden game. Sandin was slashed hard and left the game, but x-rays were negative according to Henrik Sjoberg of hockeynews.se. Sandin of course may be needed by the Maple Leafs this season now that Jake Muzzin is out with a broken foot.

Justin Holl Signs Three-Year Extension

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have locked up one of their unexpected contributors, signing Justin Holl to a three-year extension. The deal will carry an average annual value of $2MM and keeps Holl under contract through the 2022-23 season.

If you want a success story based on hard work, determination and patience, look no further than Holl. The right-handed defenseman was originally a second-round pick of the Chicago Blackhawks in 2010, but after playing four years at the University of Minnesota failed to earn himself an NHL entry-level contract. Instead, Holl would take his talents to the ECHL where he played 66 games for the Indy Fuel and starred, resulting in an invitation to Toronto training camp in 2015.

That invitation wasn’t to play for the Maple Leafs though. Holl was with the Toronto Marlies for the training camp and eventually earned himself an AHL contract, a deal that would turn out to be very valuable to the Maple Leafs’ organization. After an excellent 2015-16 season with the Marlies–under Sheldon Keefe, who now coaches the Maple Leafs–Holl signed his first NHL contract. Still, he didn’t make his debut until the 2017-18 season and then was made a healthy scratch 71 times under Mike Babcock in 2018-19.

This year has been completely different. Taking a full-time role early in the year, Holl has developed into a legitimate top-four option for the Maple Leafs and arguably their best right-handed defensive option. While Tyson Barrie was brought in to provide offense, Holl has been a much more reliable player in his own end, even forming a sort of shutdown pairing with Jake Muzzin before the latter broke his foot recently.

When it came to the future on defense for the Maple Leafs, it was hard to know exactly what the plan was. Among the team’s regulars only Morgan Rielly was signed for next season, with Holl, Muzzin, Barrie, Cody Ceci and Martin Marincin all scheduled for unrestricted free agency. Travis Dermott is a restricted free agent and will also need a raise, something that complicates things for the Toronto front office. The team is already paying out so much money to their forward group that the budget for defense will be tight, and likely means at least one of Muzzin or Barrie will have to be let go.

This relatively cheap deal will help that situation, though there is still some risk in the contract. Holl has played only 51 NHL games to this point thanks to the year he spent in the press box, and will turn 28 in a month’s time. There’s no guarantee that he will continue to perform at a top level, or even provide $2MM in value. The Maple Leafs are already walking a tight rope in terms of cap flexibility, meaning there will be pressure on Holl to make sure he can stay in the lineup and performing for the next several years.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

NHL All-Star Selections Announced

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Although it took some time, with each individual team rolling out their own selections, the final rosters for All-Star Weekend have come into focus. Below are each of the four divisional team, set to face off in the Skills Competition on Friday, January 24th and the All-Star Game on Saturday, January 25th:

Atlantic Division

G Frederik Andersen, Toronto Maple Leafs
G Tuukka Rask, Boston Bruins
D Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning
D Shea Weber, Montreal Canadiens
F Tyler Bertuzzi, Detroit Red Wings
F Jack Eichel, Buffalo Sabres
F Anthony Duclair, Ottawa Senators
F Jonathan Huberdeau, Florida Panthers
F Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs
F David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins (C)

Metropolitan Division

G Braden Holtby, Washington Capitals
G Joonas Korpisalo, Columbus Blue Jackets
D John Carlson, Washington Capitals
D Dougie Hamilton, Carolina Hurricanes
D Seth Jones, Columbus Blue Jackets
F Mathew Barzal, New York Islanders
F Jake Guentzel, Pittsburgh Penguins
F Travis Konecny, Philadelphia Flyers
F Kyle Palmieri, New Jersey Devils
F Artemi Panarin, New York Rangers

Central Division

G Jordan Binnington, St. Louis Blues
G Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets
D Roman Josi, Nashville Predators
D Alex Pietrangelo, St. Louis Blues
F Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks
F Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche (C)
F Ryan O’Reilly, St. Louis Blues
F Mark Scheifele, Winnipeg Jets
F Tyler Seguin, Dallas Stars
F Eric Staal, Minnesota Wild

Pacific Division

G Marc-Andre Fleury, Vegas Golden Knights
G Darcy Kuemper, Arizona Coyotes
D Mark Giordano, Calgary Flames
F Logan Couture, San Jose Sharks
F Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers
F Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings
F Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers (C)
F Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks
F Jakob Silfverberg, Anaheim Ducks
F Matthew Tkachuk, Calgary Flames

Additionally, each divisional squad will have one more addition as decided by the Last Men In fan vote. Voting opens on January 1st and closes on the 10th. Here are the candidates:

Atlantic Division – Patrice Bergeron, Rasmus Dahlin, Dylan Larkin Aleksander Barkov, Max Domi, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Steven Stamkos, Mitch Marner

Metropolitan Division – Teuvo Teravainen, Nick Foligno, Nico Hischier, Brock Nelson, Mika Zibanejad, Claude Giroux, Kris Letang, T.J. Oshie

Central Division – Jonathan Toews, Cale Makar, Jamie Benn, Ryan Suter, Matt Duchene, David Perron Patrik Laine

Pacific Division – Ryan Getzlaf, Clayton Keller, Johnny Gaudreau, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Drew Doughty, Tomas Hertl, Quinn Hughes, Max Pacioretty

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