Injury Updates: Marner, Bozak, Penguins
Injury notes around the NHL this morning:
- Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner will not play tonight against the Montreal Canadiens, reports Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston. Marner suffered an upper-body injury against the Columbus Blue Jackets last week, and will miss his fifth straight game. The rookie forward skated with the team this morning as a defenseman, so media had an inkling that he would not dress tonight. Coach Mike Babcock told media—in apparent disagreement with the team’s medical staff—that Marner “looked like the best player out there to me, I don’t know why he’s not in tonight.”
- The Toronto Maple Leafs may also be without forward Tyler Bozak tonight. The team announced that Bozak will be a game-time decision after missing the morning skate, reports the Toronto Sun’s Lance Hornby, but the team declined to specify what ails Bozak. Forward Ben Smith would replace Bozak, centering James van Riemsdyk and Connor Brown. Smith currently has 2G and 2A in 34 games for the Maple Leafs, and averaging under 12 minutes a night.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins announced that defenseman Kris Letang will miss tonight’s Stadium Series game against the Philadelphia Flyers. Coach Mike Sullivan called Letang day-to-day. Furthermore defenseman Justin Schultz will be a game time decision. If both Schultz and Letang miss tonight’s game, newly acquired defenseman Ron Hainsey should be expected to shoulder a large load. The Penguins are already missing Olli Maatta and Trevor Daley, so Ian Cole would become the top defenseman outside Hainsey. Tonight’s game takes place at Heinz Field, home of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Deadline Primer: Toronto Maple Leafs
With the trade deadline less than a week away, we continue to take a closer look at each team. Where do they stand, what do they need to do, and what assets do they have to fill those needs?
The Toronto Maple Leafs are one of the most interesting teams at this year’s trade deadline. Unexpectedly competing for a playoff spot and ripe with young talent, the Maple Leafs would stand to benefit in the short-term with an addition or two at the trade deadline. The team’s reliance on rookie scoring may not be sustainable in the playoffs, and most front offices would worry that the team does not have enough veteran experience to right the shift if the team suffers a playoff setback.
The Maple Leafs, however, do not have the typical front office. President Brendan Shanahan and GM Lou Lamoriello are both notoriously shrewd and notoriously tight-lipped. All season the tandem preached that the Maple Leafs will not stray from its rebuilding plan, despite experiencing success so early in the process. So while the Maple Leafs may not make a big splash at the deadline and mortgage their future, they could bring in veteran help at low cost to lead their young players through the playoffs.
Record
26-20-12, 3rd in the Atlantic Division
Deadline Status
Likely staying pat despite early rebuilding successes.
Deadline Cap Space
$4.4MM – but with up to $17.8MM using LTIR relief, 49/50 contracts per CapFriendly.
Draft Picks
2017: TOR 1st, 2 of TOR 2nd, SJ 2nd, and OTT 2nd*, TOR 4th, TOR 5th**, TOR 6th, TOR 7th
2018: TOR 1st, TOR 2nd, SJ 2nd, SJ 3rd, TOR 4th, TOR 5th, TOR 6th, ARI 6th***, TOR 7th, ANA 7th
——————
* Toronto traded away the middle pick of the three 2nd round picks it owns in 2017.
** If Columbus Blue Jackets forward Scott Harrington gets claimed through waivers, Columbus receives Toronto’s 5th round pick
*** Leafs receive this pick if the Arizona Coyotes re-signs or trades Peter Holland.
Trade Chips
Cap space is probably the biggest trade chip the Maple Leafs own. Using LTIR relief, the Maple Leafs can exceed the cap by $17.8MM. That means that they can take burdensome contracts in exchange for draft picks and prospects. The only limitation is how much ownership wants to pay buried players. Right now the Maple Leafs have $8.3MM tied up in three AHL players—Brooks Laich, Milan Michalek, and Colin Greening—and its unclear whether ownership is comfortable adding to that number.
The next potential trade chip are the Maple Leafs “B” prospects. Prospects like Nikita Soshnikov, Nikita Zaitsev, and Frank Corrado all get overshadowed by the strong play of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander, but hold their own on a surprisingly deep Maple Leafs team. The Leafs have received unprecedented production from its prospects. so now might be the time to sell high on players unlikely to crack the roster logjam next year
Finally, the Maple Leafs are known for trading away depth players that take playing time away from young prospects. This year forward Ben Smith and defensemen Roman Polak and Matt Hunwick could be moved to contenders in exchange for 2nd or 3rd draft picks.
Four Players To Watch: F Ben Smith, D Roman Polak, D Matt Hunwick, F Frank Corrado
Team Needs
1) Defense: Despite offering Roman Polak and Matt Hunwick to buying teams, the Maple Leafs still need to upgrade their defense. Rather than veteran minute-eaters, however, the Maple Leafs need a top-notch defender to ease the burden off of Morgan Rielly. The most obvious name available is St. Louis Blues defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk, but St. Louis’s asking price may be too high for a rental. The Maple Leafs would need Shattenkirk to agree to an extension before parting with any substantial assets.
2) Experience – The Maple Leafs started the season as the 2nd youngest team in the NHL, and potentially got younger as prospects Josh Leivo and Alexey Marchenko have stuck in the lineup. Not to say that youth is detrimental, but having experienced players in the lineup can smooth over the inevitable bumps in the road. That is why playoff-bound teams fight to acquire playoff veterans at the deadline. The Maple Leafs could benefit from a veteran insurance policy in case the surprising rookie production dries up.
Overall, it is likely that the Maple Leafs make a minor move or two at the deadline, depending on what presents itself. Toronto is in a position to trade for veteran help, almost-ready NHL prospects, and anything in between. They do not have any major assets to offload, and are not looking to make a big splash at the deadline.
Latest On Kevin Shattenkirk
As we learned yesterday, the St. Louis Blues have had three different deals fall through for Kevin Shattenkirk in the last nine or so months, starting with one that could have taken the star defenseman to Edmonton before they eventually dealt for Adam Larsson. As Bob McKenzie of TSN reported, the latest trade would have had Shattenkirk sign a seven year, $42MM extension upon the completion of the deal, and Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch thinks he knows which team it was.
While he can’t be sure, Rutherford writes that it was likely the Tampa Bay Lightning who had the deal completed in principal but needed the extension to pull the trigger. Just six weeks ago Shattenkirk vetoed it, which would have been right around the time the Lightning were 19-19-4 and struggling to get anything going in the Eastern Conference. It’s unclear what they would have given up, but Rutherford does mention that the Blues have shown interest in both Tyler Johnson and Jonathan Drouin in past discussions.
All this while Darren Dreger of TSN very much believes that the Toronto Maple Leafs are still involved in discussions about the right-handed defenseman, recently saying that they’ve had consistent interest in him. As yesterday, they still are balking at the asking price which has been talked about as a first round pick, prospect and perhaps even more. Dreger says that Shattenkirk has played himself into a perfect spot, where he can either stay where he is “comfortable” in St. Louis, or head to a playoff team—which St. Louis is currently—and then hit the open market in a few months.
For any player, signing a long-term extension with a team before you’ve set foot in their organization would be a tough decision. In free agency you can take your time and have several meetings, be shown the facilities and talk about the state of the club going forward. During the season none of that can take place, and agreeing to go live and work in a city that you may not know very well would be a life-changing decision. Shattenkirk looks more and more like a rental piece that you’ll have a few months to try and convince to stay, rather than get an extension done prior.
Many teams in the league should be happy with that, as even rentals of his caliber don’t come around very often. The bidding will be high, but likely will include some conditional picks hinging on the team’s ability to re-sign him. What we know though is that he obviously doesn’t want to rush into an extension, if he’s already turned down three.
Shattenkirk “More And More Likely” To Be Dealt As A Rental
We’ve now seen four trades made in the past week as the trade market picks up before next Wednesday’s trade deadline. On the latest edition of Insider Trading, TSN’s Bob McKenzie, Darren Dreger, and Pierre LeBrun dropped some tidbits about potential trade activity.
The main topic of discussion was the consensus best player available in St. Louis Blues defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk. McKenzie believes that the likelihood of Shattenkirk being dealt as a rental is becoming “more and more likely” as the days pass. Beginning with the Edmonton Oilers last June, three teams have had trades fall through because Shattenkirk wasn’t willing to sign long-term. The most recent team to have a deal in place was offering a seven-year, $42MM contract, according to McKenzie.
That’s a hefty price to pay for Shattenkirk, taking into account the acquisition cost. Blues GM Doug Armstrong is not wavering on his asking price of a first round pick, a top prospect, plus “something else.” While some teams may balk at that cost, Dreger reports that teams will continue to kick tires until the deadline. Dreger believes the Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers, and Tampa Bay Lightning have already been in touch but have concerns about the price.
While Shattenkirk may view himself as a rental, that’s not to say a team couldn’t acquire Shattenkirk with the intention of pitching him on staying beyond this year. As we reported earlier today, TSN’s Frank Seravalli believes that Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli should be confident in his ability to pitch his team to Shattenkirk, as they appear poised to be a top-ten team in the NHL for the next decade.
In other notes from the TSN insiders, the Minnesota Wild, Florida Panthers, and Chicago Blackhawks are all interested in bolstering their forward cores before the trade deadline. Minnesota and Chicago are likely pretty happy with their rosters as they sit atop the Western Conference. While neither team will be looking at making a big splash, both would like to add a depth forward. Specifically, the Blackhawks would like a player with a low cap hit who could be acquired with just a draft pick. That’s not likely to be a high draft pick, however, as Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman wants to keep picks for the upcoming draft, which will be held in Chicago. The suddenly hot Panthers aren’t necessarily buyers, despite winning eight of their last 10 games. If they do make a move, LeBrun believe they would be interested in adding a top nine forward in a rental capacity.
Those three teams will likely have interest in Dallas Stars winger Patrick Eaves. With 21 goals in 59 games and a $1MM cap hit, Eaves is drawing plenty of interest from around the NHL. There are as many as 10-12 teams inquiring about the gritty winger according to Dreger.
[Related: PHR’s profile of Patrick Eaves]
Another forward likely on the move is Martin Hanzal; LeBrun reports that most of the teams inquiring about the 6’6 center are from the Western Conference, but Montreal is one of the most interested clubs. Despite missing nine games this season, Hanzal already has 15 goals, which is one off his career-high from 2010-11. The Coyotes would like to move Hanzal by the end of the weekend, according to LeBrun. Of course, that’s depending of the offers available to rookie GM John Chayka.
[Related: PHR’s profile of Martin Hanzal]
The Vancouver Canucks are among the growing group of sellers, but the player drawing the most interest from rival teams is not a rental. Jannik Hansen has one year left at $2.5MM and has lots of teams interested in acquiring him. However, the Canucks aren’t looking for a draft pick in return; GM Jim Benning is asking for a top prospect or young NHLer in return for the long-time Canuck. That’s a steep price for a middle-six player who’s never scored more than 39 points in a season.
Snapshots: Penguins, Capitals, Jones
After Jim Rutherford pulled off his latest deadline deal, acquiring Ron Hainsey for a second-round draft pick today, he met the media to answer questions about his team and rest of the trade deadline. At the same time, Washington Capitals GM Brian MacLellan was meeting with media to discuss his team’s aspirations at the deadline. Here are the highlights from both, plus other news from the hockey world.
- Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported several things on Twitter, including that Rutherford thinks the next 24 hours will determine whether the Penguins add another defenseman at the deadline. Since the Penguins don’t play until Saturday, he’s likely referring to both Kris Letang and Justin Schultz and their battles with injury.
- Schultz hit practice without a non-contact sweater today and took part in nearly all the drills. After a successful practice, the plan is to get him into a game on Saturday night against the Flyers.
- Letang on the other hand is day-to-day with an upper body injury suffered Tuesday night against Carolina. His health is likely a determining factor in the deadline for Pittsburgh.
- Rutherford also mentioned, according to Mackey, that Olli Maatta and Trevor Daley who are both out for over a month, will not be placed on LTIR and could return before the end of the season. Six weeks from today would be April 6th, just a few days before the playoffs begin. The Penguins face the Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Rangers on back to back nights to end the season (April 8 and 9). Perhaps we’ll see them back by then.
- On the Capitals, Isabell Khurshudyan of the Washington Post gives us a series of tweets from MacLellan. He has been in touch with T.J. Oshie‘s camp and wants to sign him. He doesn’t think it will get done in-season though.
- MacLellan doesn’t think the team will do anything at the deadline except perhaps in the “fringes” of the roster. He mentioned a third goaltender as a possibility.
- Max Jones of the London Knights will face a 10 game suspension, according to Ryan Pyette of the London Free Press. Jones was the first-round pick of the Anaheim Ducks this past summer, and has faced multiple suspensions this year limiting him to just 29 games.
- The Alaska Aces of the ECHL will shut down their doors after this season, leaving the state without a professional hockey team. Winners of the Kelly Cup three times in their fifteen years, they once rostered players like Scott Gomez, Nate Thompson and Brandon Dubinsky and are currently the affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks.
Injury Notes: Marner, Senators, Johnson
The Maple Leafs escaped with two points last night against Winnipeg despite having to kill an Auston Matthews penalty in overtime, and got some more good news this morning. Though practice was cancelled for the majority of the team, Mitch Marner hit the ice and looked no worse for wear since sustaining a shoulder injury last week. Though coach Mike Babcock says he won’t play tomorrow night against the New York Rangers, he has a chance at playing on Saturday.
That would be a nice boost for the Maple Leafs who are actually just five points out of first place in the Atlantic Division. The continued brilliance of their rookies was on display again last night as Matthews recorded three assists in the victory.
- The Leafs will be without Connor Carrick however, who suffered an upper-body injury when he collided awkwardly with Mathieu Perreault and left the game. Alexey Marchenko will slot into the lineup in his place for the first time since being acquired off waivers from the Detroit Red Wings earlier this month. Carrick’s timeline for return is unknown.
- Pierre Dorion told the Ottawa Citizen that both Mike Hoffman and Mark Stone could play as early as Sunday, which is extremely important news for the Ottawa Senators. Getting the two wingers back would be a boost to a group that had trouble scoring last night in a 2-1 victory. The team generated just 23 shots on goal and needed Kyle Turris and Erik Karlsson—their two remaining offensive options—to each light the lamp in the win.
- Erik Johnson will return to the Colorado Avalanche lineup on Saturday according to Terry Frei of the Denver Post. The big defenseman has been out since the beginning of December and is finally skating without the non-contact jersey. As the Avalanche prepare for a busy trade deadline, Johnson looks like he’ll remain in Denver for the time being. His long contract and partial no-trade clause would make him difficult to move in-season even if there were people impressed enough by his return.
- Ryan Callahan had another surgery on his hip yesterday, and is out indefinitely for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Callahan only played in 18 games for the club this season and now sounds like he might be out for the remainder of the year. While he’s not an integral part of their offense, losing a player of his experience is never a good thing. About to turn 32, Callahan is signed for another three seasons in Tampa Bay at a cap-hit of $5.8MM. Steve Yzerman said just a few days ago that he was operating under the assumption that Callahan and Steven Stamkos would be back at some point along with their cap-hits, and perhaps this clears that up.
Minor Transactions: 02/22/17
It’s not just trades that are completed in the days prior to the deadline, but a lot of roster movement to get team’s ready for the big day. We’ll have all the day’s minor transactions right here, so keep checking back.
- The Detroit Red Wings have sent Jared Coreau to the minors on a conditioning stint, likely meaning Jimmy Howard is ready to rejoin the team from his latest setback. Coreau has gotten into 13 games for the Red Wings this season, recording an .893 save percentage and 3.27 goals against average. The 25-year old will return to the minors where he has played exceptionally well, with three straight seasons of a save percentage .922 or above.
- After falling the the Maple Leafs in overtime last night, the Winnipeg Jets have sent Julian Melchiori and Brandon Tanev to the AHL. The Jets start their bye-week today, and with it the usual roster movement so that young players can continue their development. Expect both to be back with the NHL squad in a few days.
- The New York Islanders have moved Shane Prince to injured reserve, retroactive to February 12th and called up Bracken Kearns on an emergency basis. Kearns is an AHL veteran who has 40 points this season. The 35-year old will likely take a spot of Cal Clutterbuck who exited last night’s game.
- According to Arthur Staple of Newsday the Islanders have also signed Connor Jones to a two-way deal for the rest of this year. He was on an AHL deal, but this will allow him to be called up if they need him down the stretch. The deal will pay him the league minimum $575K in the NHL and $75K at the minor league level, per CapFriendly.
- The Anaheim Ducks have brought up winger Nic Kerdiles from the AHL. He’s spent time with the Ducks before, but has never gotten into an NHL game. Drafted in the second round in 2012, he hasn’t developed into quite the player the Ducks had hoped for and has struggled with a concussion this season. At 23, we’ll see if he makes his debut before the Ducks hit their bye week on Sunday.
- The Arizona Coyotes have sent Marek Langhamer back to the AHL after just a few days with the NHL club. Louis Domingue is travelling with the club and looks ready to get back into some games for the Coyotes. Langhamer came on in relief of Mike Smith on Monday after the all-star goaltender took a hit to the head and had to leave to go through the concussion protocol.
- After scoring two goals this morning (yes, morning) against the Toronto Marlies, Cory Conacher is on his way to the NHL. The diminutive forward has been recalled by the Tampa Bay Lightning as insurance for Jonathan Drouin, who was absent from today’s practice. Though it was called a “maintenance day” for Drouin, you can never be too careful. Conacher is an established minor league scorer, and actually has 60 points in the NHL but has never found much consistency at the higher level.
Snapshots: Laich, Vermette, Bye Weeks
Brooks Laich isn’t happy. He’s making more than $4MM, playing in Toronto on a young team that has had a lot of recent success. The only problem is that it isn’t the Toronto Maple Leafs, it’s the Marlies. He’s been stuck in the AHL all season, and after telling The Athletic yesterday that he would like to be sent somewhere else if he wasn’t in their plans, he was placed on waivers today by the club. James Mirtle, the Editor-in-Chief of The Athletic penned a piece today that contained quotes from Laich’s agent, explaining that his client still believes he can contribute at the NHL level and deserves to have that chance.
Well he’s under contract. He’s not going to break the contract. He’s committed. [But] he’d like to be moved to a team that can use him and help that team make a run for it. Obviously Toronto is trying to fulfill that request.
It’s a tricky situation as Mirtle points out, because if Toronto were to trade him and retain half his salary, it would actually be a bigger cap-hit than leaving him buried in the minors. That’s not something a team does just to be nice, regardless of how much space they might have. It’s unfortunate that it has come to this for the former Washington Capitals forward, after he made such an excellent impression on the team and fan base last spring when he arrived .
- John Shannon of Sportsnet reports that the appeal of Antoine Vermette‘s 10-game suspension will happen on Thursday at 2pm in New York. The Ducks will be on their mandated bye-week following Saturday’s upcoming game against the Los Angeles Kings, which will encompass the trade deadline. The team because of Vermette, needs help up front as we outlined yesterday in the Ducks’ deadline primer. If the suspension is reduced, the Ducks will welcome Vermette back with open arms and could move Rickard Rakell back to the wing.
- Speaking of bye-weeks, it seems like the NHL isn’t happy with the much-publicized struggles of team’s coming back from them. Bill Daly was on TSN 1040 this afternoon discussing the possibility of having just two periods and splitting the teams in half instead of having them throughout the season. Daly said there have been concerns over this season’s schedule from pretty much every important group involved in the NHL, from the owners to the players. If the tweak goes through, teams will play each other coming off the bye-weeks, instead of going up against a squad that doesn’t have any rust. The 4-12-4 record for teams’ first game back off the bye—which includes one win from the Maple Leafs over the Rangers after they both ended their time off—is a clear sign that there was a competitive imbalance to the way things were scheduled this year.
20 Teams Interested In College Free Agent Neal Pionk
The NHL is a different place in 2017. With the advancement of analytics and systems, the increased speed and skill, and almost-extinction of the “goon” it’s like a whole new sport. Now, if you’re smaller than the prototypical center, or defenseman you have a chance in the NHL. You no longer have to be a hulking beast capable of rubbing people off the puck in the corners or protecting your star player with your fists. Or at least that’s what one college player is hoping.
Neal Pionk was passed over in his draft year due to his small size—5’11”, 170-lbs on the most generous of measurements—but is turning heads with his strong play at the University of Minnesota-Duluth as a sophomore. After scoring 17 points in an up-and-down rookie season, Pionk has 24 points in 30 games and is showing that he may be able to compete at the next level after all. Craig Custance of ESPN reports that as many as 20 teams have expressed interest in the Bulldog, including the expansion Vegas Golden Knights, who can sign college free agents in March like any other team (provided their final expansion payment goes through without a hitch).
Pionk attended the Washington Capitals development camp in 2015 before heading to school. It will be interesting to see if Washington will be back in the mix to sign him when his season ends. The right-handed defenseman likely has so many suitors because not only does he possess the puck-moving skill that usually accompanies the smaller defenseman at this level, but also has a slight nasty streak that leads him to physically challenge opposing forwards as well. Some might liken his play to Connor Carrick of the Toronto Maple Leafs (and previously those same Washington Capitals), who doesn’t let his height dictate the type of game he plays.
While this year’s crop of NCAA free agents doesn’t have a huge name leading the way, players like Pionk can still be valuable assets to any team. Look for Vegas to go hard after several of them as it tries to add depth to a system that will have very little of it to start. The Minnesota native is already 21 (and will turn 22 in July), meaning he’ll have to adapt quickly to the increased difficulty of the AHL and beyond, but if that many teams are interested, he’ll likely have a fighting chance.
Brooks Laich Placed On Waivers By Maple Leafs
After asking yesterday to be sent somewhere that he could pursue a Stanley Cup, the Maple Leafs have placed Brooks Laich on waivers today, according to Bob McKenzie of TSN. We wrote just yesterday about how the Leafs had some built in deadline depth in a trio of veterans stashed in the minors. Laich, Milan Michalek and Colin Greening all have extensive NHL experience and could help a team that hits injury trouble down the stretch. McKenzie adds that these are not unconditional waivers to terminate his contract. That means this is likely just a testing of the waters so to speak, to gauge interest prior to the deadline.
Laich has played 764 games in his NHL career, scoring 20+ goals three times during his run with the Washington Capitals. The 33-year old was acquired by the Maple Leafs as a salary dump along with Connor Carrick and a second round pick last season for Daniel Winnik. Though Laich spent the remainder of the 2015-16 season with the big club, he hasn’t played a game with them this season, instead buried in the AHL playing sparingly there too.
For a player who thinks he can still contribute to a team’s pursuit of the Stanley Cup, wasting away the last few years of your career in the minors mostly because of your cap hit must be extremely frustrating. Though Laich seemed happy to take on a leadership role earlier this season, that playoff itch seems to have surfaced once again. For what it’s worth, Laich does have 32 career playoff points in 65 games and one year averaged almost 22 minutes a night for the Capitals in the postseason. If playoff experience is what you’re after, he’s got it.