Minor Transactions: 01/23/19
Six games will finish up the unofficial first half of the season before teams break for the All-Star game in San Jose this weekend. Among those six is a must-see matchup between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Nashville Predators, two teams battling for position in the Western Conference. It’s never a love affair when these clubs get together, and with a little extra time off after the game you can bet every player will leave it all on the ice tonight.
- The Toronto Maple Leafs have recalled Trevor Moore under emergency conditions and will insert him into the lineup tonight over Andreas Johnsson. Johnsson suffered a concussion recently and will take the break to try and recover.
- Christian Wolanin and Rudolfs Balcers have been returned to the minor leagues by the Ottawa Senators in order for them to continue playing over the break. It will also save the Senators some money given they’re on two-way contracts.
- Similarly, the Calgary Flames have returned Juuso Valimaki and Andrew Mangiapane to the Stockton Heat for at least a few days, giving the young players a chance to stay fresh.
- The San Jose Sharks have done the same by sending Dylan Gambrell and Jacob Middleton back to the minors, neither of whom are seeing much time in the NHL anyway.
- The Colorado Avalanche have one more game tonight and have recalled Ryan Graves for it, sending Anton Linholm back down. Graves has impressed during his short stint with the Avalanche and may get a longer look in the second half of the season.
- Marek Mazanec is on his way back to the minor leagues while Dustin Tokarski has been recalled. This was done in order to have both Mazanec and Alexander Georgiev in the minors over the break, meaning Tokarski will likely be on his way back down in a few days.
- The Detroit Red Wings announced that defenseman Filip Hronek is headed back to the Grand Rapids Griffins. The rookie blue liner has looked good in 23 NHL games this season and even better in 20 AHL games. He’ll spend some time in the minors while Detroit is on a break to keep the momentum of his season going.
- Both Devon Toews and Michael Dal Colle are on their way down to the AHL, as the Islanders have opted to give them some work over the bye week. Both players have double-digit games played for the surging Isles this season and have carved out roles for themselves recently, despite having just four NHL games between them prior to this season. The Bridgeport Sound Tigers will be happy to have the two talented player back in the lineup for a short time.
Toronto Maple Leafs Making Progress On Auston Matthews Extension
A topic of speculation for years around the hockey world has been offer sheets and how teams could use them as predatory strikes against rivals, driving up cap hits or attempting to steal their best players. One team in particular that is targeted with hypothetical situations is the Toronto Maple Leafs, who have heard that just about every team in the league is preparing to sign both Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner to offer sheets this summer. The Maple Leafs are in a tricky financial situation after signing William Nylander and John Tavares to expensive long-term deals, meaning it would be tough for them to match the lucrative offers some other franchises could wave in front of their other young stars.
There are so many barriers before anything like that actually happens though, and one of them is simply the Maple Leafs signing Matthews or Marner to a long-term extension before they even reach restricted free agency in the first place. Though that won’t take place with Marner, whose representatives have made it clear they will wait until after the season to start negotiating, it very well may happen with Matthews. Today, when speaking with reporters in Toronto including Chris Johnston of Sportsnet, GM Kyle Dubas explained that the team has “made progress” on an extension for their explosive sniper. Dubas would like the deal done before the trade deadline if possible.
Matthews, 21, is having another fantastic season for the Maple Leafs with 20 goals and 42 points in 34 games. Though he missed a fair chunk of time earlier in the year—and is in something of a slump at the moment—he’s still poised to have quite the resume when discussing any long-term extension.
When Connor McDavid signed his record-setting eight-year $100MM extension in 2017, he had just 148 points in 127 games. McDavid had missed nearly half of his rookie season with injury, but was fresh off an 100-point year and a pile of individual awards. Jack Eichel meanwhile had just 113 points in 142 games when he signed his eight-year $80MM extension with the Buffalo Sabres, who were betting on his potential more than his production in the early part of his career. He too missed games as a sophomore, and didn’t have quite the lofty statistics that McDavid had recorded.
Matthews then may fall somewhere in the middle given what he’s done so far. The Toronto center has 174 points in 178 games including a 40-goal campaign and Calder Trophy as a rookie in 2016-17. He ranks seventh in goals since the start of that season with 94, despite averaging fewer than 18 minutes a night over that span.
The salary cap has gone up since McDavid and Eichel signed their contracts though, meaning the same percentage would be worth more if Matthews were to sign today. For instance, if he matched the same 13.33% that the Sabres gave to Eichel, Matthews’ deal would come in around $10.6MM per season going with this year’s $79.5MM cap. That would seem to be his floor, though the Maple Leafs will surely try to get him in at the lowest possible number.
Toronto already has an $11MM player in Tavares, and very well could have two more eight-digit earners in Matthews and Marner next season depending on how negotiations go. That kind of commitment to a handful of forwards will put a strain on the rest of their roster, especially given that young players like Kasperi Kapanen and Andreas Johnsson are also set to hit restricted free agency. Getting Matthews under contract as soon as possible will give the front office more time to figure out how everything is going to work, and decide whether or not they can actually acquire a player with any kind of term at the upcoming trade deadline.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Andreas Johnsson Out With Concussion
If you were a team holding onto a defensive asset hoping the Toronto Maple Leafs would come calling at the trade deadline, one of your biggest targets may have just been knocked out of the lineup. Andreas Johnsson, one of the Maple Leafs’ young forwards that has speculated as a potential trade chip this season has been ruled out of Wednesday’s action with a concussion suffered in last night’s game against the Arizona Coyotes. Johnsson was hit by Niklas Hjalmarsson in the corner and did not return to the game.
Johnsson, 24, is in his first full season in the NHL after winning the Calder Cup playoff MVP last year. The Swedish forward has 22 points in 43 games while bouncing up and down the lineup, seeing time beside Auston Matthews of late. TSN’s Frank Seravalli had recently listed Johnsson at #24 on his Trade Bait board, just behind fellow Maple Leafs forward Kasperi Kapanen. Both players are pending restricted free agents and could be cut loose given Toronto’s upcoming cap crunch.
For now though, the Maple Leafs will have to operate without Johnsson in the lineup and find out a way to get back on the right track. The team has lost four of five games and is loosening their grasp on the second spot in the Atlantic Division. If that sparks action in the front office, it’s unclear whether they would be able to get full value for Johnsson now that he is out indefinitely with the second reported concussion of his North American career.
Eastern Notes: Nylander, Patrick, Donato
Since signing his six-year, $45MM contract in December, Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander has found himself struggling mightily with just one goal and three points in 19 games (and a current seven-game scoreless streak). Nylander, who admitted to being in the worst slump of his career, showed up to practice this morning both clean-shaven and on a new line as the 22-year-old has been moved down to the team’s fourth line along with Frederik Gauthier and Par Lindholm, according to TSN’s Kristen Shilton.
“He’s getting in his own way. He thought things were going to come easier, and when it didn’t come, you’re pressing and then you press some more,” explained head coach Mike Babcock ahead of the Leafs’ matchup Sunday night against the Arizona Coyotes. “It’s not like he’s not trying, and it’s not like we’re not trying to help him. We’re doing all that; it’s just not going as good for him. Ideally this will allow him to take some heat off himself and get playing.”
Babcock pointed out that Nylander has always been used to being a dominant player who shoots the puck with confidence. However, the opposite of that is true as he has just six shots on goal in his last four games, and even worse, holds a minus-seven rating.
- There has been much concern over the struggles of 2017 second-overall pick Nolan Patrick this season, especially concerning his lack of production considering a week ago, he had five goals and 11 points in 38 games. The 20-year-old has finally responded with two multi-point games in his last three, including a two-goal, two-assist performance Monday, followed by another two-goal game Saturday. Charlie O’Connor of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that Patrick’s confidence seems to be soaring and the youngster seems to be figuring things out. Patrick, who tallied 13 goals and 30 points last season as a rookie, is beginning to show his assertiveness like he did a year ago during the second half of the season.
- The latest Boston Bruins’ player to find himself scratched was Ryan Donato, according to Matt Porter of The Boston Globe. And while many would think that he found himself in the press box due to scoring just one goal in the past 10 games, head coach Bruce Cassidy had a different reason. The coach wants Donato to work harder on his strength on the puck. Donato needs to learn how to get the upper hand on larger and stronger defenseman, something that many young players struggle to do. “It’s not like a flat tire you put air in and it gets fixed,” Cassidy said. “It takes a while. Some guys have it naturally.”
Maple Leafs Still Seeking Right-Shot Defenseman
The Toronto Maple Leafs are undoubtedly one of the top contenders for the Stanley Cup this season, but many would agree that they face an uphill battle if they don’t improve their defense corps. For years, the right side of the defense has been an issue in Toronto and nothing has changed. Nikita Zaitsev and Igor Ozhiganov are the only right-shot defenders that play regularly for the Maple Leafs and the former has struggled all season long – to the point that the team is actively shopping him and his lengthy contract – and the latter is still adjusting to an NHL pace of play. The only other righty on the blue line is Justin Holl, who is scoreless in two games so far this season as a total non-factor. Toronto needs more production, better checking, and all around more cohesion among their defensemen and it all starts with fixing the right side.
It comes as no surprise then that Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos reports that the team is still actively scouring the market for a solution on the right side, preferably a top-four caliber defender. Kypreos again mentions the St. Louis Blues’ Alex Pietrangelo, a player that the Maple Leafs were linked to earlier this season, as a possibility, but questions his availability. Colleague Elliotte Friedman also mentions Los Angeles Kings’ off-side lefty Jake Muzzin and Philadelphia Flyers’ bruiser Radko Gudas as options. The problem, and one addressed by Kypreos, is that the prices are high on these top right-side defensemen with term remaining on their contracts and he believes that the Maple Leafs are unwilling to part with young roster forwards like Kasperi Kapanen or Andreas Johnsson or top blue line prospect Rasmus Sandin to get a deal done. Kypreos lists the team’s first-round pick and AHL defensemen Timothy Liljegren and Calle Rosen as their top bargaining chips, but that likely will not be enough to land one of the top long-term defensemen on the market.
The prices will be lower on the rental market, but the options are also less appealing. The best right-handed defensemen who are impending free agents all belong to top contenders – Erik Karlsson, Anton Stralman, Dan Girardi, Tyler Myers – and even some of the more moderate options play for teams not looking to sell, such as the Golden Knights’ Deryk Engelland and the Bruins’ Steven Kampfer. If the Leafs feel adding a solid, stay-at-home righty would give them the boost they desire, the New Jersey Devils’ Ben Lovejoy or the New York Rangers’ Adam McQuaid would both be serviceable options. If they instead want a puck-mover, they could try to pry Nick Jensen from the Detroit Red Wings or Taylor Fedun from the Dallas Stars, but neither are guaranteed to be available. There simply isn’t a great market right now at right-shot defense, typical of the position that has become one of the most valuable in hockey due to scarcity. It may be the one piece that the Maple Leafs need to put them over the top, but making a deal is going to be easier said than done.
Nikita Zaitsev's Name Has Come Up In Trade Talks
- Although there has been some talk that the Maple Leafs will look to add a defenseman before the deadline, one of their current rearguards is also involved in trade discussions as well. In an appearance on Sportsnet 590 (audio link), Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston reports that Nikita Zaitsev’s name is out there as someone that teams believe they can acquire. The 27-year-old has five years remaining on his contract after this one with a $4.5MM cap hit so finding a way to shed that contract would give Toronto some extra salary cap flexibility. However, Johnston acknowledged that they may need to attach another asset in order to get someone to take the contract and a follow-up move to acquire a right-shot replacement would need to be in place before pulling the trigger on a Zaitsev deal.
Trade Rumors: Hurricanes, Oilers, Nylander
The Carolina Hurricanes struck arguably the biggest trade of the regular season so far when they acquired Nino Niederreiter from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for Victor Rask earlier today. However, GM Don Waddell is likely far from done. Not long after the deal was announced this afternoon, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun stated that the Hurricanes are still looking to add to their roster. LeBrun speculates that the team will add another top-six forward and will try to tap into their surplus of defensemen and defensive prospects to do so. The Hurricanes have the NHL’s longest playoff drought at nine seasons and would very much like to get back to the postseason this year and are well within striking distance of that goal past the midpoint of the season. While the team has succeeded in many areas this season, they continue to have struggles with scoring and, as LeBrun points out, could desperately use another talented forward. Yet, at the same time, the Hurricanes are also reportedly open to moving one of their most successful scoring forwards this season, Micheal Ferland. Ferland is on pace for a career season in his first year in Carolina, but the two sides had been unable to come to terms on an extension. Following the addition of a very similar player in Niederreiter, Ferland’s time in Carolina could soon be coming to an end. Between listening to offers on one highly-sought after rental forward and actively in pursuit of another top name on the market, the Hurricanes promise to remain in the rumor mill through the trade deadline next month and should have some more fireworks in store.
- Another team desperate to make the playoffs this season are the Edmonton Oilers. While the Oilers are reportedly willing to move a number of assets for long-term forward help, the hype surrounding a possible Jesse Puljujarvi trade appears to be cooling off and GM Peter Chiarelli may opt for adding an affordable rental rather than making another high-risk trade. In his latest “31 Thoughts” column, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman names the Oilers as a suitor for the New York Rangers’ Mats Zuccarello. The veteran winger has been hot lately and could certainly help with Edmonton’s scoring woes down the stretch. As Friedman points out, and the Oilers surely know as well, Zuccarello also should not be too expensive to acquire. The Rangers received a second-round pick and middling prospect from the New Jersey Devils at the trade deadline last season for Michael Grabner, who was in the midst of a season not dissimilar from Zuccarello’s this year and was also an impending free agent. Chiarelli and company would likely be happy to give up a package such as that to add much-needed help up front.
- William Nylander is finally under contract and playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs, but it’s been a slow start for the young forward in his return to action and an equally disappointing result for his team since his return. Making too much of that could be a mistake, but facing an impending salary cap crunch and mounting Stanley Cup expectations, GM Kyle Dubas and the Leafs brass have little room for error. Count former Toronto GM Brian Burke among those who would jettison Nylander as soon as possible if they were in Dubas’ shoes. Burke said on Sportsnet today that the front-loaded nature of Nylander’s contract should allow the team to move him and he expects that trade to occur this off-season. Burke acknowledges that Nylander is a talented player, but doesn’t agree with his nearly $7MM yearly cap hit and feels he is too similar to other players on the Leafs’ roster and considers him to be a costly “surplus player”. Whether Dubas and company agree with that assessment remains to be seen, but a Nylander trade this summer is certainly not out of the question.
Maple Leafs Open To Dealing Their First Round Pick
In recent years, the Maple Leafs have been looking to build through the draft and have held onto their top pick. That may not be the case this season, however. In the latest TSN Insider Trading (video link), Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reported that GM Kyle Dubas is open to moving his first rounder between now and the trade deadline.
TSN’s Bob McKenzie followed up on that report in an appearance on TSN 1050 (audio link), noting that their target would be an impact defenseman and that it’s likely that one of their young wingers in Kasperi Kapanen or Andreas Johnsson would be gone as a part of any deal as well.
Making a deal like that would certainly involve a defender that is either signed or is under team control for multiple years which falls in line with Dubas’ stated preference to avoid the rental market. It would also give them some insurance for next season as it’s unlikely that they will be able to retain pending unrestricted free agent Jake Gardiner.
Both Kapanen and Johnsson are slated to become restricted free agents this summer with the latter also having salary arbitration eligibility. Kapanen sits fifth on the team in scoring with 28 points in 45 games and is set to earn a sizable raise on his entry-level salary of just over $830K. With Toronto’s other prominent RFAs this summer in Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews, they may not be able to afford to give Kapanen that type of pay increase.
Johnsson had a quiet start to the year but is up to a respectable 21 points in 40 contests. Between that and the arbitration eligibility, he’ll certainly earn more than his current $787K salary but likely not as much as Kapanen would be able to get.
A package of one of those youngsters plus Toronto’s first rounder may be enticing to some rebuilding teams and with the Maple Leafs looking to shore up their back end, that may be enough to land a blueliner of note as they look to make a push in the Eastern Conference.
Minor Transactions: 01/16/19
Just five games are on tap for tonight in the NHL but those matchups feature some of the brilliant young stars around the league. The Colorado Avalanche kick things off when they travel to see Matt Duchene and the Ottawa Senators in a chance to get back moving in the right direction. Colorado beat the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday to record just their second win in the last ten games, far from a dominant stretch for a team expecting to be in the playoffs this season. As the Avalanche and other teams prepare for tonight’s action, we’ll keep track of all the minor moves around the league.
- The Winnipeg Jets have recalled Cameron Schilling from the minor leagues, an insurance policy with Ben Chiarot dealing with a minor injury. Schilling played four games with the Jets earlier this season, his first NHL action since 2014-15.
- After six games with the Dallas Stars, Erik Condra is heading back to the AHL. Condra was reassigned today after registering just one point in those six games. The 32-year old veteran is one of the Texas Stars’ best players and leads the club with 35 points in just 32 games.
- Karl Alzner was sent back to the minor leagues late last night, something the Montreal Canadiens can still do without putting him through waivers again. The Canadiens don’t play again until Friday and can save a substantial amount of cap space with each day Alzner spends in the minor leagues, though he is expected to travel with the team tomorrow when they head to Columbus.
Schedule For Upcoming NHL “Bye Weeks”
For the third year in a row, the NHL has scheduled a mandated multi-day break for each team in the middle part of the season. Meant to give each team a rest, much like the bye week in the National Football League, this break also includes limits on practice, including several days in which all team activities are prohibited. A seven-day break this season, on paper an increase from the original five-day break, the “bye week” is actually less intrusive this season than it has been in the past despite the longer length. All 31 teams will take their break either right before or right after the upcoming All-Star Weekend, with those two days counting toward the seven and simply extending what has always been a short break for non-participants. Below are the lists of teams who will take leave on one side of All-Star festivities or the other:
Before All-Star Weekend (January 20 – 24)
Boston Bruins
Buffalo Sabres
Columbus Blue Jackets
Dallas Stars
New Jersey Devils
New York Rangers
Philadelphia Flyers
Pittsburgh Penguins
Tampa Bay Lightning
Winnipeg Jets
After All-Star Weekend (January 27 – 31)
Anaheim Ducks
Arizona Coyotes
Calgary Flames
Carolina Hurricanes
Chicago Blackhawks
Colorado Avalanche
Detroit Red Wings
Edmonton Oilers
Florida Panthers
Los Angeles Kings
Minnesota Wild
Montreal Canadiens
Nashville Predators
New York Islanders
Ottawa Senators
San Jose Sharks
St. Louis Blues
Toronto Maple Leafs
Vancouver Canucks
Vegas Golden Knights
Washington Capitals
How each team feels about taking an extended break in the middle of the season generally varies based on situational factors. While many players would enjoy getting to spend some time away with their families, others would rather keep the pedal to the metal mid-season. More specifically, a team that is playing well and stringing together wins would rather keep playing and not lose out on that momentum. Another team may be in a slump or struggling with injuries and desperately in need of a break. Either way, not every team will be in favor of the bye week each season.
There also remains some scheduling flaws with the mandated break, as most teams will only get the actual seven days or an eighth day off for travel, but others are set to go ten or eleven days without a contest. The “bye week” seems to be a move by the NHL that has enough support to continue in future seasons, but the league could work on sharpening the schedule so as to give teams as close to an even break as their competition as possible.