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Snapshots: Cizikas, Coyotes Arena, Stalock

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Injuries are beginning to pile up for the New York Islanders. After moving Kyle Palmieri and Semyon Varlamov to injured reserve earlier today, the team announced that forward Casey Cizikas is also out day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Unlike the other two, he’s yet to land on injured reserve.

That could be a good sign for the Islanders and Cizikas, but they do not need to put him on injured reserve with 18 healthy skaters still ready to go on the active roster. In Cizikas’ absence, 2021 second-round pick Aatu Räty is expected to make his NHL debut tonight, centering the fourth line. In the second season of a six-year, $15MM contract, Cizikas has just seven points in 34 games.

  • In another small step toward securing their future in Arizona, the Coyotes have collected the necessary signatures to send all parts of their Tempe arena and entertainment district plan to a referendum, according to PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan. Public voting on whether or not to approve the team’s plan to build a home in Tempe will occur on May 16, 2023, after the 2022-23 season concludes.
  • Chicago Blackhawks goalie Alex Stalock is returning to the lineup tonight after missing nearly two months with a concussion sustained in a November 1 game against the New York Islanders. He’s statistically been Chicago’s best netminder this season with a .914 save percentage in seven appearances, and despite missing so much time, still has the most wins of any Blackhawks goalie with three.

What Your Team Is Thankful For: New York Rangers

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With American Thanksgiving now behind us and the holiday season coming up, PHR continues its look at what teams are thankful for in 2022-23. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the New York Rangers.

Who are the Rangers thankful for?

Adam Fox

Finding a defenseman that can play shutdown defense as well as Fox or drive offense as well as he does is a very, very difficult thing for any team to do and generally involves a bit of luck. Finding one defenseman that does both seems to be a once-in-a-generation type of player, and that’s just who the Rangers have in Fox.

The defenseman’s 31 points in 31 games to date represents the best point-percentage of his career thus far and his 10.9% shooting percentage is up significantly from the 7.0% career-high he had last year. Outside of getting the puck into the net, Fox’s 60.9% Corsi and 61.0% Fenwick represent career-high’s to date, fantastic numbers even considering his 58.9% offensive-zone starts. While Fox’s play is representative of the players around him to an extent, his ability to play elite hockey at both ends is invaluable to any team and his ability to take another step even after winning a Norris Trophy is special on its own.

What are the Rangers thankful for?

A Shutdown Blueline

The Rangers come into today with a 16-10-5 record, good enough for the first Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference, in the middle of a five-game winning streak, and fresh off a regulation win over the white-hot Toronto Maple Leafs. This short streak has certainly helped to get things going in the right direction for the team after a rather shaky start to the season, but amid the ups and downs to this point, one positive has stood out for the Rangers: the puck has stayed out of the net.

The team currently ranks 9th in the NHL in goals against, down from their second-place finish a season ago, however reigning Vezina Trophy winning goaltender Igor Shesterkin has taken a step back this season. Shesterkin’s struggles at points this season has been well documented, and this stretch has shown he could be turning things back to his 2021-22 ways, however it seems to be the Rangers defense this season that has made things easier for the team and netminder thus far.

According to Natural Stat Trick, the Rangers have two defense pairs in the top-12 league-wide, featuring Jacob Trouba and K’Andre Miller as well as Fox and Ryan Lindgren. What’s more, just two of their defensemen, Trouba and Zachary Jones (16 games) are minuses. Although their blueliners aren’t driving play offensively (omitting Fox), the team’s top forwards, and Fox, have been getting the job done well enough so far, thanks in part to the superb defense putting them in that position.

What would the Rangers be even more thankful for?

Kaapo Kakko and Alexis Lafreniere taking the next step

If you ask enough people, you’re likely to get a mixed bag of opinions on the Rangers’ development of young players and prospects. On one hand, the team can be praised for putting players like Fox and Shesterkin in positions to become elite, for helping good young players like Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad, and Ryan Strome and making them stars over time, and for turning prospects like Ryan Lindgren and K’Andre Miller into some of the league’s best shutdown defenseman. On the other hand, many would argue that Fox and Shesterkin came to the team ready for stardom while the team failed with it’s own blue-chip youngsters like Kakko, Lafreniere, and Vitali Kravtsov. Both are fair points.

One thing that should be conceded is the Rangers have done well to develop Miller, Lindgren, and center Filip Chytil, who’s enjoying a breakout season himself. In other words, this is an organization that can, has, and does develop young talent, whether or not that’s a strength is a separate argument. Now, what’s become of Kakko and Lafreniere, then? Second and first overall picks, respectively, both have clearly shown in their short careers that they are more than capable of playing NHL hockey. Both have been, overall, pretty good. Kakko has tallied 69 points over 188 career games, adding some physicality and two-way hockey into the mix, while Lafreniere has chipped in 66 points in 166 games, showing some flashes of the talent that made him a clear choice for the first overall selection.

Kakko and Lafreniere have produced, but neither has hit the ceiling expected of them or shown clear signs of getting there shortly. It’s not too late for either to get there and neither are at risk of ending their NHL careers any time soon, but a 30 or 40 point performance with a little extra from time to time isn’t the expectation of a top two pick.

On the team’s end, one would think they’d be happy to keep the pair around and see what happens, however as we’ll see in the next section, the Rangers could certainly use another top-six point-producer and with limited cap room, a breakout from even one of these two would be perfect timing.

What should be on the Rangers’ holiday wishlist?

Another top-nine scoring threat

The Rangers came into this evening 15th in the NHL in goals for, a near match to the 16th position they finished last season in. Though that’s impressive in a sense considering the team lost Andrew Copp and Frank Vatrano this offseason (Ryan Strome and Vincent Trocheck a wash offensively) and still has roughly the same offense, it does show what the team might be able to do if they could add a piece like that, or perhaps one even better, into the mix. As suggested above, a breakout of Kakko or Lafreniere starting right about now would be preferable, but at this point, that’s far less out of the Rangers’ control than bringing in a proven commodity.

There’s been plenty of rumors connecting Chicago Blackhawks superstar winger Patrick Kane to the Rangers and though that would obviously fit the bill, bringing Kane to the Big Apple would require a rather complex trade, given the Rangers, as of right now, have just over $1.6MM in cap space. Even if Chicago ate half of Kane’s salary, more work would have to be done, all of this before considering the size of the return the Blackhawks would expect.

More affordable from a salary cap perspective is Vancouver Canucks center Bo Horvat, who the team appears set to trade. However, the price to acquire Horvat could be greater than that of Kane, given his sensational goal-scoring pace. The Rangers have the assets to make a splash, including a pair of 2023 first-round picks, several prospects headlined by Brennan Othmann, and young roster players like Braden Schneider, Jones, Lafreniere, and Kakko.

The Rangers could also look to Vancouver for winger Brock Boeser, who would likely be cheaper to acquire, but does come with two more years after this one carrying a $6.65MM cap hit, a tougher sell given Boeser’s struggles this season. Beyond Kane, Horvat, and Boeser, the Rangers could look to more affordable options such as Nick Ritchie of the Arizona Coyotes or Max Domi and Andreas Athanasiou, both of the Blackhawks, though how much of an upgrade of their current group those players represent is a fair question.

Latest On Brock Boeser

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Earlier this evening, it was reported that Brock Boeser would be a healthy scratch for the Vancouver Canucks when they host the Arizona Coyotes this evening. However, after taking warmups with the team, Boeser was placed into the lineup for tonights game, says Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

Later this evening, on tonight’s 32 Thoughts segment Friedman added a bit more fuel to the fire if you will, discussing what might be happening off the ice. Friedman reports that the Canucks have given permission to Boeser’s representatives to talk to other teams about a potential move, though he cautions that neither the team nor Boeser’s agents have specifically confirmed this.

From afar, Vancouver deciding now is the time to trade Boeser might seem a bit confusing. For one, after struggling out of the gate this season, the team has rebounded nicely to put themselves in the playoff discussion at this point in the season, even if on the fringes. On top of that, Boeser has recorded 14 points in 18 games this season, good for 0.77 points-per-game, which is almost perfectly in-line with his career average of 0.79 points-per-game prior to this season.

However, known as a sharpshooter, Boeser’s 8.1% shooting-percentage is down from his career 13.2% he had prior to this season, not to mention he’s been shooting the puck less altogether, averaging 2.83 shots-per-game before this season, down to 2.05 in 2022-23. That’s resulted in just three of his 14 points coming on goals this season. Adding on to the problem, Boeser’s previous six games haven’t been his best, combining for just three points to go with a -6 rating and seven shots total.

What’s next for Boeser and Vancouver isn’t completely clear, but Friedman’s report does raise some eyebrows. For one, despite his struggles, Boeser is undoubtedly a dynamic offensive player that any number of teams would want to add into their lineup. When teams give permission for a player to speak with other teams, generally the reason for doing so is to see if they can work out an extension ahead of time, hopefully giving them a bigger return in a trade, however Boeser is still signed for another two seasons, bringing with him a $6.65MM cap hit.

Another fairly common reason a player may have permission to speak with other teams is to see who’s plans he might fit into with regards to playing time and role, perhaps if that player has been squeezed out in his current situation. Despite his struggles, it’s hard to imagine many teams wouldn’t view Boeser as anything but a valuable addition. Still, given Boeser’s rather large cap hit compared to his production, these conversations may be had to assure an acquiring team knows exactly what to expect in the case they have to absorb Boeser’s entire cap hit or pay Vancouver to retain some of it.

Jakub Voracek Out Indefinitely Due To Concussion

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have issued updates on several players, the most concerning of which has to do with Jakub Voracek. The veteran forward has not been medically cleared to resume hockey activities and is out indefinitely following a concussion last month. General manager Jarmo Kekalainen released the following:

Jake has had a number of head injuries during his career, and after the most recent was advised by doctors to take some time off to see if his ongoing symptoms subside to the point that will allow him to come back and play. We don’t expect a resolution in the near future and will give Jake as much time as he needs as his long-term health is the most important factor here.

Meanwhile, Jake Bean underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in his shoulder and will miss four to six months. Zach Werenski, who had already been ruled out for the season, also underwent surgery on a torn labrum.

It’s scary news for Voracek, who despite declining goal totals has remained one of the best powerplay passers in the league. Last season he had six goals and 56 assists for 62 points in 79 games, 23 of those helpers with the man advantage. He also crossed the 1,000-game threshold last year, and reached 800 points for his career.

Now 33, it sounds like the team won’t rush him back this season even if he does start seeing some improvement over the next few months. The team is unlikely to challenge for the playoffs thanks to a long list of injuries, meaning there’s not much for the veteran forward to fight for. He’s already signed through next season and will earn $7.5MM ($8.25MM cap hit), meaning he can just focus on his day-to-day quality of life at this point.

For Bean this surgery likely means his season is also over. Despite the suggestion that a four-month recovery is possible, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to rush him back either. The Blue Jackets signed him to a three-year contract in 2021, which takes him through the 2023-24 season at a $2.33MM cap hit. He’ll be an arbitration-eligible RFA after that, so returning to pile up some counting stats may be beneficial for his future negotiation, but if there is any risk of re-injury they might as well wait until the summer to ramp things up.

Columbus has been ravaged by injuries and sit dead last in the Eastern Conference, only ahead of the Anaheim Ducks league-wide. They have a real chance at landing the first-overall pick or at least being one of the two lottery winners, adding another top offensive talent to the pipeline.

2008 NHL Draft Take Two: Thirteenth Overall Pick

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Hindsight is an amazing thing, and allows us to look back and wonder “what could have been.”  Though perfection is attempted, scouting and draft selection is far from an exact science, and sometimes, it doesn’t work out the way teams – or players – intended. For every Patrick Kane, there is a Patrik Stefan.

We’re looking back at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft and asking how it would shake out knowing what we do now.  Will the first round remain the same, or will some late-round picks jump up to the top of the board?

The results of our redraft so far are as follows with their original draft position in parentheses:

1st Overall: Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning (1)
2nd Overall: Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings (2)
3rd Overall: Roman Josi, Atlanta Thrashers (38)
4th Overall: Alex Pietrangelo, St. Louis Blues (4)
5th Overall: Erik Karlsson, Toronto Maple Leafs (15)
6th Overall: John Carlson, Columbus Blue Jackets (27)
7th Overall: Jacob Markstrom, Nashville Predators (31)
8th Overall: Braden Holtby, Phoenix Coyotes (93)
9th Overall: Jordan Eberle, New York Islanders (22)
10th Overall: Jared Spurgeon, Vancouver Canucks (156)
11th Overall: Cam Atkinson, Chicago Blackhawks (157)
12th Overall: T.J. Brodie, Buffalo Sabres (114)

After a pair of sixth-round selections in Spurgeon and Atkinson came off the board in our redraft, a fourth-round pick will make his way up the chart. It’s quite a climb for a player that was considered a bit of a reach even at 114, given how little excitement there was about him at the time.

Brodie, who has never been overly physical, was a third-round pick in the OHL draft by the Saginaw Spirit and had only just completed his first full season in major junior. The smooth-skating defenseman had put up 30 points in 68 games but it was hard to know really what he could bring to the next level. In the final NHL Central Scouting rankings, he was all the way down at 164th among North American skaters (coincidentally enough just three spots ahead of future NHLers Tyler Johnson and Anders Lee).

That made him the 56th-ranked defenseman just in NA alone, and certainly not a player that would be expected to be a top-12 pick all these years later. But Brodie has enjoyed an exceptional career, which has now spanned nearly 800 games. The two-way defender has 308 career points and after a decade in Calgary has now settled into a top-four role in Toronto.

So now it’s down to the 13th selection, which belonged at the time to the Los Angeles Kings after some draft day dealing to move up (and then back down). They had a chance to pair top talent with Doughty, who they had taken second overall, and set the club up to become even more successful than they already would be. Unfortunately, while the first five defensemen taken in 2008 have all played at least 730 games in the NHL, the sixth – Colten Teubert – played just 24.

After taking Doughty, no one would have faulted the Kings for going with a homerun swing with their second top-15 pick. A small but incredibly talented defenseman like Erik Karlsson, a sniper like Jordan Eberle, or even an undersized scorer like Tyler Ennis might have seemed like the natural way to go. Instead, they went after a big, physical defenseman from the WHL, who happened to also be right-handed.

Perhaps they were thinking that while Doughty took on big minutes on the top pairing, Teubert could play the penalty-killing, shutdown role behind him. Remember, they had picked Thomas Hickey fourth overall in 2007 and had 2005 third-overall pick Jack Johnson on the team already. With Doughty and Teubert coming in, it was set up to be an incredible group for the Kings. There were immediate comparisons between the big BC-born defenseman and Shea Weber, who had already been patrolling the Nashville Predators for a few years. Teubert was praised for his physicality and leadership, but unfortunately, those traits weren’t enough to get him to the NHL with the Kings.

After two more years in junior, and a half season in the minor leagues, the team had seen enough and traded Teubert to the Edmonton Oilers for Dustin Penner. He would crack the Edmonton lineup in 2011-12 for 24 games and then leave for Europe in 2013. After dealing with concussion issues while playing in the DEL, he retired at the age of 29, having only ever recorded a single point at the NHL level.

So there is no doubt that it was a mistake to pick Teubert with the 13th pick. There were plenty of useful NHL players to be found later, and even in our redraft there are several names that could have helped the Kings. Who should they have selected? Cast your vote below and explain why in the comments.

[Mobile users click here to vote!]

Simon Nemec Signs Entry-Level Contract

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The second-overall pick has inked his deal, as the New Jersey Devils announced a three-year entry-level contract with Simon Nemec. The contract comes with an average annual value of $950K. Per PuckPedia, Nemec’s three-year deal has the same structure every season, earning him the max entry-level salary of $855K, max signing bonus of $95K, and max Schedule A performance bonus of $1MM. It also includes a Schedule B performance bonus of $2.25MM and an AHL salary of $82.5K.

Nemec, 18, was the top defenseman in this year’s draft after an excellent season with Nitra in the Slovakian league, including a playoff where he put up 17 points in 19 games. A member of the bronze medal-winning Olympic team, alongside top pick Juraj Slafkovsky, and Slovakia’s World Championship entry, he already has experience playing against NHL talent.

In fact, it was at the Worlds where he showed off his elite skating ability and range, scoring six points in eight games to lead all Slovakian defenders. Future New Jersey teammate Tomas Tatar was also on that team serving as captain and would have gotten a good look at the young defenseman.

After the draft, Nemec told reporters that he is ready to play in North America right away, even if that means the AHL. That will be decided at training camp but getting his entry-level deal done was the first step toward an NHL future, whenever that actually happens.

Philadelphia Flyers Hire Brad Shaw

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After the news was broken previously by his former club, Brad Shaw has now been officially introduced as an associate coach of the Philadelphia Flyers. New head coach John Tortorella is getting the band back together, having previously worked together with the Columbus Blue Jackets as recently as 2020-21. He released a statement on his new addition:

The familiarity in working closely with Brad in the past and knowing his approach to the game will be a big benefit to our club. Brad’s experience both as a former defenseman and the many years in the coaching ranks has allowed him to implement a style which make his teams hard to play against while allowing players to thrive in their role.

Shaw, who played nearly 400 games in the NHL, mostly with the Hartford Whalers and expansion Ottawa Senators, has previous experience working as an associate coach under a Jack Adams winner. During Ken Hitchcock’s run as head coach of the St. Louis Blues, Shaw rose from assistant to associate, taking on more responsibilities as his experience grew. He even has a bit of experience as a head coach in the NHL, leading the New York Islanders for 40 games in 2005-06 after Steve Stirling was shown the door.

In Philadelphia, he’ll try to fix a defensive unit that was in shambles this season, despite several highly-paid talents. Ivan Provorov, Rasmus Ristolainen, Travis Sanheim, and Ryan Ellis all carry cap hits of at least $4.675MM (though the latter may not be ready for the season), and must be better this time around if the team has any chance of reaching the postseason.

Follow NBA Free Agency At HoopsRumors

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NBA free agency kicks off tomorrow at 5pm CT, and our sister site Hoops Rumors (@HoopsRumors on Twitter) has all the latest news, rumors and transactions for each of the league’s 30 teams.

The Knicks are considered the strong frontrunners to land Mavericks guard Jalen Brunson, reportedly being willing to offer a four-year deal in the range of $110MM. To free up cap space to sign Brunson, New York is trading some of their excess draft picks and a few veteran players to Detroit. The Knicks are also rumored to be pursuing Spurs All-Star Dejounte Murray via trade, so clearly they’re trying to make a splash and bolster their backcourt.

Kyrie Irving decided to pick up his $36.9MM player option for next season, ending rampant speculation that the Nets might be forced to tear down the roster if Kevin Durant asked to be traded. The Clippers have already been active, agreeing to an extension with starting center Ivica Zubac, and are reportedly set to land five-time All-Star John Wall once he clears waivers after being bought out by the Rockets.

The Hornets have said they’re going to bring back restricted free agent Miles Bridges, but will they being willing to match a maximum-salary offer sheet if a rival team offers it? What will happen with Suns center Deandre Ayton, another restricted free agent who has reportedly grown unhappy in Phoenix? Will the former No. 1 overall pick land the max deal he covets?

For the latest updates on those stories and more, check out Hoops Rumors today! There will be a whirlwind of activity over the next couple of weeks as teams reshape their rosters for next season, and we’ll be covering it all. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter – @HoopsRumors.

Check Out Hoops Rumors For NBA Draft Coverage

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Draft day is here for the NBA, and Hoops Rumors has all the latest news and rumors! Last season saw several teams jockeying for position to land coveted draft picks, and the expectation is that there will be plenty of trades tonight. We’ve already seen three significant deals leading up to the draft, but that was just the tip of the iceberg, because the rumor mill is buzzing about several other possibilities.

The top of the draft looks pretty set, as ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported this morning that a projected top three of Jabari Smith to the Magic at No. 1, Chet Holmgren to the Thunder at No. 2, and Paolo Banchero to the Rockets at No. 3 looks “increasingly firm.” The three big men are widely considered the top prospects in the draft.

If Wojnarowski is right and there are no major surprises in the top three, tonight’s fun could begin at No. 4, where the Kings have been linked to both Jaden Ivey and Keegan Murray and are reportedly considering trading the pick. The Trail Blazers are also trying to improve their squad after a disappointing season, so a win-now move for a veteran in exchange for their No. 7 pick is reportedly being considered as well.

Over at Hoops Rumors, we’ll be keeping tabs on all the latest NBA news and rumors tonight, in addition to tracking each of this year’s 58 draft picks. With the draft upon us and free agency only one week away, this is the most eventful time of year for the NBA rumor mill, so be sure to visit Hoops Rumors and follow @HoopsRumors on Twitter for all the latest updates!

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