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Latest On Anthony Duclair Trade Talks

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Word broke yesterday that Coyotes winger Anthony Duclair had requested a trade.  Despite the fact that he has struggled for the most part this season and did not play well in 2016-17, TSN’s Darren Dreger reported in an interview with TSN 1200 (audio link) that GM John Chayka is seeking either a comparably-aged player in a similar situation or a draft pick with the initial price believed to be as high as a second-rounder.

The first of those two options is palatable as that would make it a swap of underachieving players who could use a change of scenery and deals like that have happened with some frequency over the years.  Getting a second-round pick for someone who has been a healthy scratch recently is a tough ask though, even if Duclair is still just 22 with a 20-goal season under his belt already.

Anthony DuclairSportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported in a radio hit with Sportsnet 590 (audio link) that there hasn’t been much interest in Duclair throughout the league.  He adds that though the request was only made public on Thursday, teams have known about it since at least November.  Craig Morgan of Arizona Sports adds that the winger has been available considerably longer than that, stating that he has been available for over a year now.  Accordingly, Friedman notes that the asking price has dropped over time but clearly, there hasn’t been the right fit yet.

One team that isn’t believed to have interest is the Calgary Flames.  Friedman theorized that there could be a connection with them since Don Maloney, a pro scout with the Flames, was the GM with the Coyotes at the time that Duclair was brought over from the Rangers as part of a trade for defenseman Keith Yandle.  However, it doesn’t appear there’s any traction on a deal with them.  He adds that Montreal doesn’t appear to have much interest at this time as well as their focus is on finding a fit down the middle.  Meanwhile, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the Penguins don’t appear to be interested either.

Duclair is playing on a one-year, $1.2MM contract and will be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights in the summer.  The arbitration rights probably don’t help his value either as if Duclair were to struggle, they may serve as a deterrent to a qualifying offer which presents the potential of him working out more as a rental player than someone that could be a longer-term piece.  That makes acquiring him a higher-risk (albeit with the potential for a higher-reward) proposition, one that other teams haven’t had the appetite to do just yet.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Arizona Coyotes Claim Freddie Hamilton

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The brothers have been broken up. According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, Freddie Hamilton has been claimed by the Arizona Coyotes after being waived by the Calgary Flames yesterday, and will have to say goodbye to his brother Dougie as he heads to his next opportunity. In his absence, the Flames have recalled Marek Hrivik from the minor leagues.

It’s an interesting claim by Arizona, who obviously are hoping to unlock the offensive potential Hamilton has shown in junior and the minor leagues. The 26-year old forward has just six points in 67 career NHL games, but has been stuck in the press box as a healthy scratch for much of this season and last. When called upon, he’s been an effective energy player for the Flames but he’ll look to be more than that in Arizona.

Hrivik, 26, had been tearing up the minor leagues for the Stockton Heat, scoring 29 points in 28 games this season. The Slovakian forward became a Group VI free agent in the offseason after the New York Rangers gave him just 21 NHL games during his tenure, and signed a one-year deal with Calgary on July 1st. Earning the minimum, he’ll try to prove that he’s more than just a minor league player and secure a one-way deal for next season.

Morning Notes: Duclair, Ceci, Bruins-Panthers

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We’ve heard previously that the Arizona Coyotes are looking to give Anthony Duclair a “fresh start” somewhere else around the league, and now Craig Custance of The Athletic reports that it is because the young forward requested a trade out of the desert. Duclair hasn’t been able to reproduce his breakout 2015-16 season in which he scored 20 goals and 44 points, but is still young enough to have an impact in the right situation.

The Coyotes, who seem happy with their development even in the face of another wasted season, are again one of the most likely sellers at the upcoming trade deadline. Though Duclair has just seven goals and 13 points on the year, he’s the kind of acquisition who could explode if given an opportunity in the second half. The fact that he’s a restricted free agent with arbitration rights is no small thing, as his future salary is still very much up in the air.

  • Darren Dreger was on TSN 1260 radio this morning, and suggested that Edmonton had pursued a Taylor Hall-for-Cody Ceci trade before eventually dealing the winger to the New Jersey Devils for Adam Larsson. For the Ottawa Senators, who have had trouble scoring over the last few years, adding a player like Hall may have changed some fortunes. Still, Ceci is a player who continues to see his name bandied about in trade rumors around the league, despite the Senators being quite happy with his play. If Ceci is dealt this year, surely it won’t be for a piece as big as Hall.
  • The game tonight between the Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers has been cancelled due to inclement weather, as a huge snow storm is headed for the Boston area. The city could get up to 18 inches of snow, and travel to and from the game isn’t safe. It has yet to be rescheduled.

Quotable: Coyotes GM John Chayka On Struggles, Tocchet

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Despite making several big additions over the summer, the Arizona Coyotes have continued to struggle this season and find themselves dead last overall in the NHL with just 23 points in the first half.  Despite that, GM John Chayka told Craig Morgan of Arizona Sports that although he’s unhappy with the results, he’s pleased with the direction of the team:

“I’m satisfied with the way we draft, the way we develop, the way we scout, the way we coach, the way we teach. A lot of the stuff we’re doing off the ice is important and I think those things are all trending in the right direction, but it’s like a battleship. It takes a battleship a little while to turn. Once we get things squared away and are moving in the right direction, it will move that way for a long time.”

Nov 9, 2017; St. Louis, MO, USA; Arizona Coyotes center Clayton Keller (9) handles the puck during shootouts against the St. Louis Blues at Scottrade Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY SportsArizona has certainly had a lot of young players developing at the NHL level in recent years.  Forwards Clayton Keller, Max Domi, Christian Fischer, and Brendan Perlini are all 21 or younger and are regular players while Lawson Crouse, who is only 20, was a regular for most of last season.  Keller, in particular, has played very well this season, leading the Coyotes with 32 points.  Defenseman Jakob Chychrun is a key piece on their back end and is still just 19.

While most of those players could be viewed as success stories, it hasn’t been all good news.  Center Dylan Strome has been dominant at the AHL level this season (30 points in 19 games) but that hasn’t translated to much in the way of NHL success over a couple of stints with Arizona this year where he has just a single tally in 11 contests.  He’s still just 20 himself but as the third overall pick back in 2015, it’s safe to say that his development has not progressed as anyone would have hoped for so far.

Chayka pointed out to Morgan that over the past two years, the average age of Arizona’s top-five scorers has dropped by ten years from 33 to 23 which is certainly quite the drastic overhaul.

With the team scuffling even more than they were last year under Dave Tippett, some have questioned whether Rick Tocchet is still the right fit as head coach.   Chayka voiced his support for his bench boss while putting some pressure on his own shoulders at the same time:

“There’s a certain mindset and approach and mentality that goes into playing to win in this league and Rick is a guy who has done it at the highest level and done it for a number of years.

“In fairness to him as a manager, I think we can do a better job of getting him some more talent and putting them in the right positions to have success. Sometimes, when you look up and as a manager you’re evaluating it, there’s not a right solution to the problem you see, so he tries different things. Some of them might work; some of them might not, but in terms of his philosophy for how to play the game, I think we’re completely aligned. I do think he’s playing to their strengths and that’s something I want to see and do see. Once I get him some better players he’ll continue to be a better coach.”

Given where they are in the standings, it’s hard to imagine Arizona doing anything but selling at the trade deadline which will make it difficult for Chayka to add better players, at least in the short-term.  However, considering his willingness to make some bold moves last summer when he acquired Derek Stepan, Antti Raanta, and Niklas Hjalmarsson in a pair of trades, it will be interesting to see if he’s willing to do so again or if they take a swing in free agency.  Otherwise, if the hope is simply that another year of development from their young core will help them take a big step forward, they may be in for some more tough times beyond 2017-18.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Snapshots: Extensions, Senators, Coyotes

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As CapFriendly points out on Twitter, as of January 1st teams can sign extensions with players on one-year deals. While this immediately brings to mind some of the unrestricted free agents signed in the offseason that are having a strong impact on their team, it could have more of an impact with restricted free agents that settled on a short bridge deal.

One player in such a situation is Erik Gudbranson, who signed just a one-year deal with the Vancouver Canucks in the summer. That deal would bring him to unrestricted free agency this summer, and Rick Dhaliwal of NEWS 1130 caught up with Gudbranson’s agent Mark Guy. No discussions have been had between the two sides yet, but Guy expects they will come together soon to discuss a possible extension. That comes in the midst of trade rumors surrounding Gudbranson as a possible rental option for clubs looking to add some toughness to their defensive unit. The 25-year old brings just a $3.5MM cap hit on the season and has just two points this year.

  • The Ottawa Senators continue to struggle, and will try a surprising coaching change to try and right the ship. Head coach Guy Boucher told TSN 1200 radio that assistant coaches Marc Crawford and Martin Raymond have swapped duties and now coach the powerplay and penalty kill respectively, a change that is almost never done in-season. Ottawa ranks near the bottom of the league in both categories, and improvement is necessary if they have any chance of climbing out of the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings. They currently sit ahead of just Buffalo in the East, and have a -30 goal differential.
  • The Arizona Coyotes will remain at Gila River Arena for another year according to Craig Morgan of AZSports. The team had a chance to opt out of their lease before the end of 2017, but as expected did not exercise the clause. Their lease will renew for another season, though their long-term arena plans are still unclear.

Arizona Officially Terminates Emerson Etem’s Contract

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The Arizona Coyotes placed Emerson Etem on unconditional waivers on Sunday, and today officially announced that they had terminated his contract according to Craig Morgan of AZ Sports. Etem had informed the team that he didn’t want to continue playing in the AHL, and is now looking at other options to continue his playing career.

Etem, 25, signed a one-year deal with the Coyotes this summer and has played 16 games for the Tucson Roadrunners this year recording just five points. That’s a long way from the first-round, top prospect status he held when drafted by the Anaheim Ducks 29th-overall in 2010.  Etem never did fulfill that promise for Anahiem, though there were certainly flashes. In 2013-14 he scored 11 points in 29 games for the Ducks, while leading their AHL affiliate with 54 points in 50 contests. In 173 career NHL games, the winger has 46 points.

He’ll now likely look at Europe or the KHL, but there is another interesting opportunity that could arise. USA Hockey could potentially look at Etem as a late addition to the Olympic team if they deem him still fit enough to compete on the international stage. A native Californian, he was once a star in the US Development Program and participated in two World Junior tournaments, taking home a bronze medal. Team USA revealed their roster at yesterday’s Winter Classic, but could still make changes up to the February tournament.

The Season Is Already Over For The Arizona Coyotes

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Have the Arizona Coyotes already been eliminated from playoff contention in 2017-18? Mathematically, no. There are an almost infinite number of possibilities for the remainder of the NHL season, some which include the Coyotes winning many games and enough Western Conference contenders losing in turn, with Arizona miraculously qualifying for the playoffs. However, a quick look at their record and the standings out west would imply that yes, the ’Yotes are done for already. But just how true is that assumption?

It’s shockingly accurate, it turns out. In their 5-2 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday, the Coyotes became one of only two teams this season to already hit the midway mark with their 41st game. Halfway through the 2017-18 season, Arizona is 9-27-5 for 23 points. The Coyotes are on pace for only 46 points this season. In 2016-17, the Colorado Avalanche were historically bad, unlike any season this century. It was the sixth worst 82-game record of all time and, taking teams who were recent expansion franchises out of the equation, the ’16-’17 Avs were the worst established team of the modern era. Yet, Colorado finished with 48 points on the year and had 13 wins and 27 points at the midway mark. This year’s Coyotes, it seems, could be the new worst team ever.

So just how close is Arizona to being statistically eliminated on the first of the year? Even if the Coyotes were to win out – going 41-0-0 the rest of the way – they would finish with 105 points on the year. If everyone else in the Western Conference continues at their current pace, Arizona would only finish fifth in the West behind the Vegas Golden Knights, Nashville Predators, Los Angeles Kings, and Winnipeg Jets. The San Jose Sharks, in this scenario projected to finish sixth with 100 points, have played the fewest games in the NHL and have the most time to turn things around and improve on their record. If the Sharks finished with more than 105 points, then Arizona, having gone undefeated in the entire second half of the season, would still just be a wild card team out of the Pacific Division.

It’s far beyond the realm of possibility for a team to win that many games in a row in the NHL though. So, imagine instead (or at least try) that the Coyotes reverse their fortunes and play to the level of the league’s best team – the Tampa Bay Lightning – who have a .763 points percentage thus far. Arizona would take home 63 of their final 82 possible points; an amazing turnaround for the team. Where would that put them in the Western playoff picture? Way out of it. The Coyotes would finish with 86 points and, based on current projections, that would be good enough for only 13th in the conference. They would pass up Pacific foes Vancouver and Edmonton, both on pace for 78 points, and that is it. The Coyotes could be the best team in the league the rest of the way and it wouldn’t even make a difference.

The most realistic best case scenario for Arizona is that they play twice as well in the second half as they did in the first half, doubling their atrocious .280 points percentage to .560. The Coyotes would net 46 points between now and the end of the season for a total of 69 points in 2017-18. That total, despite their impressive progress in the second half, would currently project them to be the second-worst team in the NHL. Arizona could play twice as well through 41 more games and only pass the Buffalo Sabres in the league standings.

While “mathematically” the Coyotes are a ways off from being eliminated from contention this season, there is simply no way they even sniff the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs. Based on current projections, Arizona would need a points percentage north of .800 to make the playoffs and that isn’t happening. So, for anyone still holding out hope that the Coyotes have any semblance of a chance this season, please stop. The only notable thing that Arizona can do in 2018 is be the worst team in NHL history.

 

Eastern Notes: Hoffman, Claesson, Duclair, Trotz, Burakovsky

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The Ottawa Senators may be struggling in the standings, but that didn’t stop the team from holding their annual skills competition at the Canadian Tire Center with forward Mike Hoffman and defenseman Fredrik Claesson each winning the key awards of the afternoon, according to Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch.

Hoffman captured the speed award with a time of 13.944 seconds, just short of his time a year ago (13.836) when he won the same event. Ryan Dzingel finished second in the competition at 14.016 and Thomas Chabot placing third at 14.229.

“I always did power skating as a kid and played inline hockey growing up, which can help on your skating as well,” Hoffman added.

Claesson won the hardest shot competition at 104.6 mph in the preliminary rounds and then beat fellow defenseman Johnny Oduya in the finals with a 103.7 shot. Oduya had a 98.0 mph shot.

  • Larry Brooks of the New York Post recommends that in the wake of the Chris Kreider injury and the fact he could be out for two months, the New York Rangers should look into the price of acquiring Arizona Coyotes forward Anthony Duclair, a perfect buy-low candidate. With few options in the AHL, a cheap player with NHL experience might be perfect for New York.
  • Pointing out a suggested trade for Duclair as well, Tampa Bay Times’ Joe Smith also likes the idea of the Tampa Bay Lightning kicking the tires on acquiring the 22-year-old winger. Smith writes he would be a perfect low-risk, high reward option as a top-nine player for a team to fill out its depth. However, the scribe does add the team might want to focus more on defensive depth first, such as Ottawa’s Codi Ceci.
  • With the Washington Capitals victory Saturday, head coach Barry Trotz recorded his 737th victory, making him the fifth winningest coach in NHL history. Trotz, who is in his 19th year as a head coach, has 180 victories with the Capitals. He had spent the previous 15 years in Nashville.
  • Tarik El-Bashir of NBC Sports writes that young winger Andre Burakovsky, who many felt might have a breakout year, will have a hard time getting back into the Capitals’ lineup as he is one of four players fighting for time on the fourth line. He missed time this year after undergoing thumb surgery and has struggled since his return. “There’s some things that I feel like I’m not really back to after my injury,” said Burakovsky via the Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan. “I guess it’s been taking a little bit longer time than I was expecting.”

Injury Notes: Couture, Hjalmarsson, Callahan, Compher, Kadri

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The San Jose Sharks look like they will be getting one of their top scorers back soon, possibly even tonight, as head coach Peter DeBoer stated center Logan Couture is a game-time decision, according to The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz. In fact, since Couture has been practicing on the team’s power play, Kurz believes that he is probable to play against Dallas tonight.

Couture was reportedly working out in practice yesterday without wearing an orange non-contact jersey, suggesting he could be close to returning. The 28-year-old has missed the past four games with a concussion. He leads the team with 15 goals and is tied for the team lead in points with Joe Thornton with 26. The team, however, has fared well without him as they have won three of those four games Couture has missed.

  • Dave Vest of NHL.com writes that Arizona Coyotes defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson, who has been out with an upper-body injury for more than a month, could be returning to action soon. He practiced with the team Saturday. “He’s actually feeling better,” head coach Rick Tocchet said. “I don’t have an exact time frame, but he’s had some really good days the past couple days.”
  • Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times tweets that Tampa Bay Lightning winger Ryan Callahan was participating in practice with the penalty killing unit today. Smith adds that he believes Callahan will be ready sooner than one week. Callahan has missed the last six games with an upper-body injury. The 32-year-old has just one goal and five assists this year, but is the team’s top penalty killer.
  • BSN Denver’s Adrian Dater tweets that Colorado Avalanche forward J.T. Compher will be out the rest of the week with an upper-body injury and with a week-long bye after that, it’s likely the team won’t see the 22-year-old until Jan. 13. He was injured in Friday’s game against the Islanders. Compher has seven goals and six assists in 31 games this season.
  • Jonas Siegel of The Athletic reports that Toronto Maple Leafs center Nazem Kadri will miss his second-straight game today against Vegas with an upper-body injury he suffered Thursday against Arizona. The 27-year-old has 13 goals so far this season in 38 games.

 

Arizona Places Emerson Etem On Unconditional Waivers

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The Arizona Coyotes have placed winger Emerson Etem on unconditional waivers to terminate his contract, according to Elliotte Friedman. The 25-year-old was signed by the Coyotes this summer, but did not make the team out of training camp and was placed on waivers back on Sept. 27. He was recalled for one game this season on Oct. 11, but was a healthy scratch and was sent back down two days later. He played 16 games for the Tucson Roadrunners of the AHL and has had four goals and an assist.

A former first-round pick back in 2010, Etem has struggled, especially recently. He has played 173 games, but has never played what constitutes a full NHL season to date. The most NHL games he’s played in a season was back in the 2015-16 season when he played 19 games for the New York Rangers and then traded at midseason to the Vancouver Canucks, where he played another 39 games. He combined for seven goals and 15 points that year, his best in the NHL. Vancouver had hoped he would become a regular from that point on, but Etem failed to earn a spot in their lineup the following season and was placed on waivers. He was picked up by Anaheim last year, but only saw three NHL games.

Friedman also says that Edmonton Oilers defenseman Eric Gryba, who was placed on waivers Saturday, cleared. He will likely be assigned to the Bakersfield Condors of the AHL unless the team finds a trade partner.

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