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Carolina An Appealing Trade Partner

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In a recent article by ESPN’s Craig Custance titled “The NHL’s All-Trade-Candidates team“, his top line includes Colorado Avalanche center Matt Duchene, Toronto Maple Leafs winger James van Riemsdyk, and Detroit Red Wings winger Gustav Nyquist. The common denominator between all three of those struggling teams? They need defense. The team that Custance mentions as being willing and able to trade away a reliable top defenseman for one of these big-name forwards is the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Hurricanes have quietly put together one of the deepest group of blue liners in the entire league over the past few years. Even excluding All-Star defenseman Justin Faulk, the team is still loaded with talented youth on the back end. The team’s second pair of 22-year-olds Jaccob Slavin and Brett Pesce have established themselves as legitimate NHLers, and 19-year-old Noah Hanifin, the 5th overall pick in 2015, continues to develop into a star. Former first rounder Ryan Murphy has been pushed out of the starting lineup and is surely available. Top prospects Haydn Fleury, Roland McKeown, and Josh Wesley are ready to contribute at the NHL level, and Trevor Carrick has been ready for a while now. 2016 first-rounder Jake Bean projects to be an NHL playmaker in the near future as well. Something has to give in Raleigh, as they have more talented defensemen than they have room for on the roster.

However, their forward core is still a work in progress. The Hurricanes are performing much better than many expected they would, but they are still a long-shot for a playoff berth in 2016-17, playing in the Metropolitan Division “group of  death”. They could be better if it wasn’t for a middling and inconsistent offense. The re-build is coming along much faster than expected, and Jeff Skinner, Victor Rask, Elias Lindholm, Teuvo Teravainen, Sebastian Aho and their second 2016 first-round pick, Julien Gauthier, comprise a solid group of young scorers. However, the addition of a player in his prime like Duchene or van Riemsdyk may put them over the top, turning a rebuild into a contender. A mutually beneficial trade seems to be right around the corner.

Friedman On The Post-Freeze Trade Market

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With the NHL’s Holiday Roster Freeze underway, there won’t be any big deals to announce in the coming days. No team is getting Kevin Shattenkirk for Christmas or Jason Zucker for Hanukkah. However, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Frieman is filling the down time with some ideas as to what may happen once the trade market re-opens in his “30 Thoughts”.

There have been deals made immediately following the Holiday Freeze in each of the past three seasons and the end of the freeze always kicks off an active two months of transactions leading up to the NHL Trade Deadline. Friedman warns though that the 2016-17 is a year like no other before. Friedman says “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a trade market as paralyzed as this one (due to) so little cap room, so many teams chasing the playoffs and the expansion draft looming.” The reason only minor deals have gone down over the first few months of the season is because no identifiable market has yet formed. With so few teams outside a reasonable shot at the postseason and front offices proceeding with caution in regards to the upcoming NHL Expansion Draft, the market is barren right now. Friedman, and all hockey fans, hope that some excitement is on the way, but he has his doubts that major moves are in the near future this season.

If one big piece does move, Friedman speculates it could be Toronto Maple Leafs winger James van Riemsdyk. Friedman explains that last year the power forward was completely off the table, but this year interested teams are being told that he could be available for the right price. It will definitely be a high price in the current seller’s market. The 27-year-old van Riemsdyk, who has one year remaining on his current contract, is a bona fide scorer and one of the best in the league at net front presence. He’s hit 30 goals once before, in 2013-14, and is on pace to do so again this season. If the rebuilding Leafs decide that they want more young talent or perhaps a top defenseman, van Riemsdyk could net them that return. Eric Staal was traded by the Carolina Hurricanes to the New York Rangers last season for two second-round picks and a top prospect, and he was in the final year of his contract. The Leafs will likely get more than that if they decide to move long-time leader van Riemsdyk.

One team that could be interested is the Pittsburgh Penguins. Although they are pressed for cap space, GM Jim Rutherford seemingly always finds a way to bring in the players he wants and remain salary cap compliant. As Friedman points out, it’s been unusually quiet for Rutherford and the Penguins so far, but with a chance to repeat as Stanley Cup champs, he believes they’ll make a move sooner rather than later. However, Friedman believes the target for Pittsburgh will be a defenseman. With Kris Letang currently injured and always an injury risk regardless, the Penguins may want some added depth. It will have to be a rental though, as Pittsburgh is already in a tough situation in regards to the looming expansion draft and four blue liners – Letang, Brian Dumoulin, Olli Maatta, and Derrick Pouliot – they would like to keep protected and an eye on re-signing Justin Schultz as well.

The Penguins’ biggest trade chip is goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. Despite his struggles in 2016-17, Fleury remains a valuable asset and Pittsburgh needs to move him before expansion to protect Matt Murray. Friedman believes the perfect partner would be the Dallas Stars, who continue to get uninspiring performances from the duo of Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi. Any trade would almost definitely require a one-for-one swap of goalis, and while both Stars keepers are signed to significant contracts through next season, the Penguins will take any deal they can get to ensure Murray’s protection and potentially open up some cap space.

Joining van Riemsdyk and Fleury as big names that have been floated around this season is Arizona Coyotes pending free agent Martin Hanzal. At this point, an extension seems unlikely and Hanzal is almost sure to be moved. Additionally, Friedman believes there could be a market for career Coyote Shane Doan and bounce-back goalie Mike Smith. At age 40, Doan is finally showing some wear and tear, as his numbers are way off the usual pace. If this is his final season, Doan has never been close to a Stanley Cup and deserves a shot. Teams would love to add the toughness and heart of the veteran forward. Meanwhile, Smith has been playing great of late and may be of interest to contenders as well. There is a strong chance that Arizona is leaning towards protecting young backup Louis Domingue over their starter in the expansion draft and may like to jettison Smith while his value is high. Don’t be surprised if Radim Vrbata becomes another name mentioned as heading out of Arizona.

Read up on all of Friedman’s thoughts on the trade market here and enjoy the Holiday Roster Freeze before your team inevitably makes a move or two in the new year.

Maple Leafs Promote Froese, Place Smith On IR

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The Toronto Maple Leafs announced today that forward Ben Smith has been placed on injured reserve with an upper body injury. In his place, the team has called up forward Byron Froese. Froese is expected to be back in the lineup when the Leafs face the Colorado Avalanche tomorrow night.

Smith was originally considered day-to-day after sustaining an injury against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday, but after missing Toronto’s game against the Anaheim Ducks, a 3-2 loss on Tuesday night, as well as practice every day this week, he has been transferred to IR. Smith is currently in his second  stint with the Maple Leafs within the calendar year. Smith was originally traded to Toronto at the NHL Trade Deadline last year in the James Reimer deal with the San Jose Sharks. He scored six points in 16 games to finish off the 2015-16 season. However, Smith then chose to sign a one-year, two-way deal with the Colorado Avalanche late this summer. After just four games in Denver, without recording a point, Smith was placed on waivers and promptly scooped up yet again by the Leafs. In 24 games thus far, mostly spent on the Leafs’ checking line, Smith has two goals and an assist. While his absence may not affect Toronto much on the scoreboard, Smith is known as a character guy and is a favorite of coach Mike Babcock. He will be missed in the Leafs’ locker room while he recovers from injury.

In his stead, Froese returns to the lineup after playing in 56 games in his rookie season last year. A strong-willed player who has had to work his way through years of AHL and ECHL action to get his NHL shot, Froese bring a much-needed intensity to the Toronto lineup. Froese was nearly a point-per-game player with the AHL Marlies in 2014-15 and was on a similar pace this season, earning a call up to the big league squad after failing to make the team out of camp. Though he was only able to score five points in limited action for the Maple Leafs in 2015-16, Froese has a chance to easily top those numbers on a superior Toronto team this season if he can carve out a role for himself and stay at the NHL level.

Matthew Lombardi Retires

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It’s a name that hasn’t been heard in the NHL in a few years, and now never will again. Former two-way specialist and long-time Calgary Flames center Matthew Lombardi announced his retirement from pro hockey this weekend at the age of 34. The defensive forward has played the past three seasons with Geneve-Servette HC in the Swiss National League A.

Lombardi was once a rising star in the NHL. A third-round pick by the Flames in 2002, fresh off of a 130-point season for the QMJHL’s Victoriaville Tigres, Lombardi quickly became a highly regarded NHL prospect. He made his league debut in 2003-04, garnering Calder consideration as he scored 29 points and quickly established himself as a complete, defensively responsible player. In 2006-07, Lombardi put together his first 20-goal season as part of a 46-point effort. Altogether, Lombardi had 167 points in 347 games with the Flames and led the team in shorthanded time on ice and shorthanded goals during that span. However, by the NHL Trade Deadline in 2009, Lombardi had not progressed the way that Calgary had hoped. In need of more talent down the middle, the Flames traded Lombardi along with Brandon Prust and a first-round pick that would become Brandon Gormley to the Phoenix Coyotes for Olli Jokinen. Ironically, in the 2008-09 season split between Calgary and Phoenix, Lombardi matched his career high of 46 points and then topped it in his 2009-10 season in the desert with 53 points. Meanwhile, Jokinen performed worse on a point-per-game basis in the latter half of 2008-09 than Lombardi and had just 50 points in 2009-10 and was traded out of Calgary. Unfortunately, Lombardi was unable to keep besting his career bests. After signing a three-year, $10.5MM deal with the Nashville Predators in 2010, Lombardi suffered a concussion in just the second game of the season and missed the entire 2010-11 campaign. He would never suit up for the Predators again, as they traded he and Cody Franson to the Toronto Maple Leafs the following summer. Lombardi struggled to return to his pre-concussion performance level in Toronto, scoring just 18 points to the tune of -19 in 2011-12. Even when traded back to Arizona, where he had enjoyed the best year of his career, Lombardi struggled, scoring just eight points in 21 games as a part-time player for the Coyotes before being traded yet again, this time to the Anaheim Ducks.

Looking for a jump start to a career that had grown cold, Lombardi headed overseas to Switzerland in 2013 to play with the NLA’s Geneve-Servette. In his first year, Lombardi became a fan-favorite with a team-best 50 points in 46 games. However, injuries have slowed him down the past two years as he’s played in just 53 games. Yet, Lombardi continued to play with a scoring touch and a dominant defensive edge when active and was a leader for the team. Unsure about his future, Lombardi took the summer to decide on his commitment to hockey before calling it a career this weekend. Although he may not be as recognizable a name as some, Lombardi played a strong all-around game and had the potential to be ever better. Although that ceiling was never reached, Lombardi should be remembered for the success he did have and admired for always striving to be better.

Maple Leafs, Senators Recall Goalies

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It’s a good thing that the Maple Leafs’ AHL affiliate is also based in Toronto.

The team has demoted Jhonas Enroth and recalled Antoine Bibeau, according to TSN’s Kristen Shilton. This is the second time the team has swapped the two goaltenders in four days, and the third time this month. Because he has not spent 30 days on an NHL roster since clearing waivers, Enroth does not need to go through waivers to be sent down.

Shilton believes Bibeau will get the start in one of the Maple Leafs’ upcoming back-to-back against Colorado and Arizona. Bibeau has appeared in just one NHL game earlier this month against Colorado. The Maple Leafs lost 3-1 as Bibeau made 26 saves on 28 shots. He appeared in two AHL games in his most recent stint there, going 1-1-0.

Moving northeast, the Senators have recalled goaltender Matt O’Connor on an emergency basis, as Andrew Hammond is unable to backup for Mike Condon for tonight’s game versus the Chicago Blackhawks. O’Connor was a highly sought-after prospect goaltender following his time at Boston University, but he’s struggled to find his form since turning pro. He’s appeared in just one NHL game; O’Connor started for the Senators opposite his new crease-mate in Condon, when the latter was with the Canadiens last season.

Hammond injured his ankle on Sunday night, and has appeared in just three games so far this season as he battles different injuries. The Senators’ regular number one Craig Anderson is with his wife while she undergoes cancer treatment and is not expected to re-join the team before Christmas.

Evening Snapshots: Carolina-Detroit, Toronto-Anaheim

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A look at a couple of tonight’s games around the NHL:

  • 7:45 pm: Per St. James, who spoke with Red Wings general manager Ken Holland, the game has been cancelled.
  • 7:43pm: The next update looks to be in about 15 minutes tweets the Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James. More boos and St. James feesl the game may be called.
  • 7:08pm: The Detroit News’ Ted Kulfan tweets that repairs continue on the coolant that is causing the problems. Another update will be at 7:30pm CST. Kulfan reports that the crowd booed the announcement, which is understandable after the game was supposed to begin at 6:00pm CST.
  • The game tonight between the Carolina Hurricanes and the Detroit Red Wings will be delayed at least an hour (as of 6:55pm EST) due to a malfunctioning ice-cooling system. According to the team, they discovered a freon leak in the compressor and are working to fix the issue. Neither team has had its pre-game warmups yet, so fans are in for a bit of a wait. The Red Wings, however, are up against a time crunch because they play tomorrow night in Tampa Bay against the Lightning. According to Team President Don Waddell, the NHL imposes a “22-hour rule” between starts. That means that any game must start at least 22 hours before a team’s next start. If the ice cannot be repaired in time, the NHL may postpone the game to a mutually available time.
  • If the Detroit Red Wings end up playing, they will be without Tomas Jurco, reports the Detroit Free Press’s Helene St. James. Jurco has the flu and is considered day-to-day. Since returning from back surgery, the Czech forward remains scoreless in nine games and is averaging less than ten minutes of playing time a game.
  • Tonight’s matchup between the Anaheim Ducks and Toronto Maple Leafs marks returns for two people: current Ducks head coach Randy Carlyle, and current Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen. Carlyle coached the Toronto Maple Leafs from 2012-15 before management fired him midway through the 2014-15 season. Carlyle remained outside the NHL until the Ducks fired Bruce Boudreau and hired Carlyle this offseason. Andersen’s return pits him against his successor John Gibson. The Ducks decided to stick with the young Gibson, and trade the then-RFA Andersen to the Maple Leafs. Both goalies won the Jennings Trophy last year with the NHL’s fewest goals against.

Garrioch’s Latest: Vegas Coaching Candidates, Leafs, Kings, Hanzal

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The NHL’s roster freeze kicks in tonight and as Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun writes, it’s likely that there won’t be any sort of significant movement between now and then.  Multiple league executives told Garrioch that the sense is that teams are content to get through the holidays before really starting to entertain any potential trades.

Part of the problem right now is that cap space is at a premium for a lot of teams (16 teams either have someone on LTIR or are less than $1MM under the cap which doesn’t allow for much wiggle room) while only a handful of teams could be classified as sellers as things currently sit in the standings.  Add those two elements together and it’s not difficult to figure out why the trade market is quiet at this stage.

Garrioch also provides some other notes from around the league:

  • The Vegas Golden Knights are looking at former Philadelphia head coach Craig Berube (currently the head coach with AHL Chicago) and current Montreal associate coach Kirk Muller as potential options to be their inaugural bench boss. Garrioch expects that GM George McPhee will be looking for a good communicator to work with their roster and both of those coaches fit that bill.  He also suggests Rick Bowness, the associate coach in Tampa Bay, as a potential option and notes that his experience with an expansion team (Ottawa) would be an asset.
  • Add the Toronto Maple Leafs to the list of teams looking for an impact defenseman. The problem for the Leafs (and any other team) is that as many as half the teams around the league are looking for blueline help.  Given where Toronto is in the standings as well as where they are in their rebuilding process, it’s more than likely that they’d be looking for a longer-term fit than a rental player.
  • The Kings are looking to add another goaltender with Jonathan Quick still out for several months but haven’t discussed Ondrej Pavelec with the Jets since the GM meetings. Ottawa’s Andrew Hammond was also on their radar a while back but doesn’t appear to be now.  GM Dean Lombardi told reporters last week that he won’t overpay to bring in another netminder.  They have about $1.5MM in cap space at the moment per CapFriendly.
  • Arizona has been looking to move center Martin Hanzal but teams remain unsure about what the Coyotes are looking to get in a return. Hanzal, a pending unrestricted free agent, has 10 points in 26 games this season and would slide in as a third option on a lot of teams.  Garrioch notes that the sense is that the price will involve a quality prospect and at least a second round pick if a deal gets done.  With a cap hit of $3.1MM, Hanzal is likely to be one of the cheaper impact rental players on the block which should help draw interest from several teams.

Monday Morning Recalls And Demotions

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10:23am: TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that Mike Babcock announced that Tyler Bozak and Ben Smith are both considered day-to-day with a lower-body injury and an upper-body injury respectively.

In Nashville, the Predators have recalled defenseman Adam Pardy from the AHL, as P.K. Subban will be out of the lineup. Subban did not accompany the Predators on their current two-game road trip.

9:53am: A couple Ontario-based NHL teams have made roster moves on Monday morning.

The Ottawa Senators have assigned Casey Bailey and Ben Harpur to the Binghamton Senators of the AHL, according to Bruce Garrioch. The right-winger Bailey was held pointless in two games with the Senators, but has 14 points in 25 games with the AHL’s Senators. Harper appeared in one game and was also held pointless. The defenseman has three assists in 20 AHL games this season. Garrioch reports that the demotions were made because Fredrik Claesson is ready to return after suffering a lower-body injury earlier this month.

The Senators are not skating on Monday, so it’s not yet known how severe Andrew Hammond’s injury is. Hammond left Sunday night’s game just 16 minutes in with an apparent ankle injury. Should the Hamburglar be unable to go, Garrioch suggests that Matt O’Connor would get the call. Starting goaltender Craig Anderson is away from the team to be with his wife Nicholle, and is not expected back before Christmas.

Over to Toronto, where the Maple Leafs have announced the recall of center Frederik Gauthier. In a related move, injured defenseman Martin Marincin has been placed on injured reserve. Marincin is expected to be out for four-to-six weeks after sustaining a lower-body injury last week. Gauthier has four points in 16 games with the Toronto Marlies of the AHL. The Athletic’s David Alter reports Gauthier is centering the fourth line at practice on Monday morning.

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The Maple Leafs are without three regulars at practice this morning; defenseman Jake Gardiner, Tyler Bozak and Ben Smith were all missing, so Alter wonders if that explains Gauthier’s recall. Much-scratched defenseman Frankie Corrado was bounced between pairings throughout practice but will be in the lineup when the Maple Leafs host former coach Randy Carlyle and the Anaheim Ducks on Monday night.

Weekend Milestones: Meier, Zaitsev, Lundqvist

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It’s finally #TimoTime. After fans have been calling for him since the start of the season, the San Jose Sharks finally brought up prized prospect Timo Meier to the NHL after Logan Couture suffered an injury. The former top-ten pick showed his physical play early on, scoring a goal on his first NHL shot, a loose puck in front of Carey Price midway through the first period. Meier basically caught a shot from David Schlemko with his stick inches from the blue paint, then tucked it around the Montreal netminder on his backhand.

Though the 20-year old winger played just 10 minutes, he recorded three shots and two hits and flew around the ice.  His power-forward style is a perfect fit for a Sharks team that loves to forecheck and possess the puck as much as possible down low. If Meier can continue to put up points in limited minutes, perhaps he’ll move up the lineup as the season progresses. For now, he’ll just soak in every second of being in the NHL – even if it is coming easy to him thus far.

  • In Toronto on Saturday night, another player recorded his first NHL goal, though it is by no means his first professional one. Nikita Zaitsev, a Maple Leafs rookie who has played seven seasons in the KHL, notched his first in a 2-1 overtime victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Zaitsev only turned 25 a month ago, having played in the Russian professional league since he was 17. Skating alongside Morgan Rielly for the majority of his icetime, Zaitsev has 11 points in 30 games and has garnered high praise from head coach Mike Babcock. His best season in Russia was in 2014-15 when the Moscow native scored 32 points in 57 games for his hometown team. Logging 22 minutes a night, he’ll look to provide that kind of impact for the Maple Leafs this season. He’s a restricted free agent at the end of the year.
  • For one of the most well-respected goaltenders in the history of the game, Saturday night was just another win. In reality it put Henrik Lundqvist needs just one win away from tying Dominik Hasek as the leader all-time among European-born goaltenders. As Dan Rosen reports, Lundvist now has 388 wins in 708 games, while it took Hasek 735 to amass his 389. Passsing Hasek would put Lundqvist 12th all-time, and within striking distance of the top 10. The play of Antti Raanta may have caused some to question who the best goaltender in New York is currently, but if you ask people about the best in Rangers history, you’ll be sure to get a lot of ’King Henrik’ answers.
  • One of the most polarizing figures in hockey for his entire career has been John Tortorella. Always in the headlines for something he’s said or a new coaching method, he often wears out his welcome in cities sooner than later.  You can’t exactly argue with his resume though, with a Stanley Cup victory and Jack Adams award with his name on it. Not only does he have the upstart Columbus Blue Jackets in a playoff spot currently (and way ahead of their pace from last year) he’ll go for his 500th career win Sunday against Vancouver, the team that fired him in 2014 after just a single (disastrous) season. Only 23 other coaches have ever reached the mark, and at 58 he still has many years left. While he’ll never reach the all-time mark set by Scotty Bowman (1244 wins is still more than 400 more than second place, Joel Quenneville), he’ll likely end up somewhere in the top-20. If Columbus continues their current pace and development of young players, maybe he’ll go down as the first coach to take the franchise past the first round.

Leafs Recall Enroth; Reassign Bibeau To AHL

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The Maple Leafs have recalled goaltender Jhonas Enroth from their AHL affiliate in Toronto and reassigned fellow netminder Antoine Bibeau to the Marlies, according to James Mirtle of The Atlantic (Twitter link). Enroth struggled out of the gate for the Leafs after signing a free agent deal with the team in the offseason, posting a 3.94 GAA and a 0.872 Save % in six games. He was sent to the AHL after clearing waivers 10 days ago and has appeared in just one contest with the Marlies, stopping 24 of 27 shots in a Toronto win.

Bibeau made one start for the Leafs, backstopping the Leafs in a 3 – 1 loss to Colorado in the young net minder’s NHL debut. He allowed just two goals on 28 shots. Mirtle reports that the move is likely designed to get Bibeau more game action as the Leafs have just four games over the next 11 days and with Frederik Andersen playing well, it’s assumed the Danish goalie will get all of those starts.

The Leafs also added veteran Karri Ramo on an AHL PTO with the idea he would ultimately replace Enroth as Andersen’s understudy. However Ramo has struggled with the Marlies in three appearances in the minors. Ramo spent the summer recovering from major knee surgery and may simply need more playing time to round his game into shape.

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