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Metro Division Snapshots: Williams, Calvert, Di Pauli

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Now in the midst of his 16th NHL campaign, Washington Capitals winger Justin Williams has carved out a solid career as an excellent two-way player that excels at driving possession and one who is a proven playoff performer. In more than 1,000 regular season contests, Williams has tallied 251 goals with 387 assists while compiling a Corsi For % of better than 57%. Despite his past success, Williams finds himself mired in a deep slump this season, though as Isabelle Khurshudyan writes, the three-time Stanley Cup winner is trying to stay positive.

On the season, Williams has potted just two goals and four points in 22 games for the Capitals; a scoring pace which if maintained would result in the lowest full-season output of his career. But even at 35, it’s likely Williams still has enough gas in the tank to turn his season around. Last year, Williams tallied 22 goals and 52 points, totals which suggest there should be plenty of quality hockey left.

Khurdshudyan notes that Williams’ season to date can be summarized by a sequence during the Capitals recent tilt against the Islanders. Late in the first frame, Williams appeared to cash in on a cross-ice feed from Evgeny Kuznetsov but replays showed the puck crossed the line just after time expired in the period.

Williams’ struggles can be attributed at least in part to a shooting percentage well off his career rate. For his career, Williams has found the back of the net on 9.3% of his shots on goal. To this point in the campaign his success rate is just 4.1%. Williams is still generating shots near his career average – 2.64 per to 2.22 – which reinforces the belief that it’s likely just a matter of time before the veteran winger starts putting the biscuit in the basket again with regular frequency.

Elsewhere in the Metro Division:

  • The Columbus Blue Jackets announced that they have activated veteran checking winger Matt Calvert from IR. Calvert, who had missed the past five contests with an upper-body injury, has two goals and three points in 17 appearances for the Blue Jackets this season. Rob Mixer, who covers the Jackets for the team’s official website, adds that Calvert is likely going to be in the lineup tomorrow night when Columbus travels to Arizona to take on the Coyotes.
  • Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Thomas Di Pauli underwent back surgery today and is expected to miss up to 12 weeks, according to a tweet from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins official Twitter account. Di Pauli signed with the club as a college free agent this summer, spurning overtures by the Washington Capitals, the team that originally drafted the young center in the fourth-round of the 2012 draft. In his first pro campaign, Di Pauli has just one point, a goal, in eight games.

Minor Transactions: Ottawa, Colorado, Boston, Arizona

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The Ottawa Senators have re-assigned forward Max McCormick to the AHL’s Binghamton Senators and recalled Buddy Robinson and Andreas Englund. McCormick was used sparingly over the last month with the team, playing in just five games. Even when he did play, McCormick averaged just seven minutes of ice time each game. He has been held scoreless so far this season and has just five shots on goal. The demotion will allow McCormick to get some play time, and the Senators will see if Robinson can bring more to the table in his stead. With just three NHL games under his belt, Robinson is still an unknown at the highest level, but did have a goal and an assist and was a +2 in his short stint with the team last season.

Meanwhile, this is the first career call-up for the young Swedish defenseman Englund. A 2014 second-round pick, Englund is a big, physical defenseman who can bring some added toughness to Ottawa. With Marc Methot day-to-day, it stands to reason that Englund will make his NHL debut tomorrow against the Florida Panthers.

Other promotions and demotions include:

  • The Colorado Avalanche have returned both Samuel Henley and Gabriel Bourque to the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage. Henley made his NHL debut last night and scored his first career goal, but the Avs fell 3-2 to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Considering that Colorado is a team that should take all the scoring it can get (ranked 29th in scoring and goal differential), it seems odd that the team was so quick to send Henley back down. The 23-year-old has not put up big numbers thus far in his pro career, but is just three years removed from being a 30-goal scorer in the QMJHL. With just over five minutes of ice time on his NHL resume, the Avs were quick on the trigger to return this prospect. Bourque, on the other hand, has yet to register a point in six games with Colorado this season. He’s looked more like the player who had four points in 22 games with the Predators in 2015-16 than the player who looked like a future stud in Nashville with 16 points in 34 games in the lockout season of 2012-13. His chances at redemption may be running out.
  • The Boston Bruins have promoted Anton Blidh from the Providence Bruins of the AHL, giving the young Swedish winger his first career call-up. He is expected to make his debut tomorrow in Buffalo, skating on the Bruins’ fourth line. Blidh brings the toughness and intensity that the Bruins love and coach Claude Julien has applauded his work ethic. A Boston team that has a lot of talent but whose effort has been suspect at times this season may just need the boost that a high-energy kid looking to make a name for himself can bring. The 21-year-old has nine points in 16 games and has posted a +8 in Providence. The leap in production from his first season in North America last year to this year has been apparent.
  • The Arizona Coyotes have re-called Tyler Gaudet from the AHL’s Tuscon Roadrunners. A young team with deep minor league depth, Arizona has made frequent moves between Tuscon this season. Maybe it’s the shorter distance compared to when their affiliate was in Springfield, Massachusetts last season. Whatever the reason, the ease by which the Coyotes have promoted and demoted has not benefited Gaudet. The 23-year-old center was able to stick around for longer chunks of time last season, playing in 14 games, and was expected to carve out a role for himself in 2016-17. Instead, he has played in just one game despite being on the active roster multiple different times. Hopefully for Gaudet, he gets to stick around, but don’t be surprised if he’s back in Tuscon by week’s end.

Trade Snapshots: Hamilton, Duclair, Oduya

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Brian Burke has been doing the rounds to try and squash the idea that Dougie Hamilton was ever on the block. He’s said that the rumors all stem from one team who called Brad Treliving with an “insulting” offer for the young defenseman, and Darren Dreger things he knows who that was. In today’s edition of Insider Trading on TSN, Dreger reported that the Arizona Coyotes offered Anthony Duclair and a draft pick for Hamilton around the time of the draft, but were quickly turned down.

In his wave of interviews, Burke did seem to think that a single GM had made it known to others that he’d made an offer, so if it was indeed John Chayka, perhaps this is simply a case of a new young GM not knowing (or agreeing with) the “way things are done”. The Coyotes have continued to make Duclair available in trade talks as the 21-year old continues to struggle through his second full season in the NHL.

In a segue of professional levels, Pierre LeBrun moved on to the Ottawa Senators who decidedly are not in on Duclair but have been working the phones looking for a bottom-six forward. While the team isn’t looking for a ’big name’, they do need help with secondary scoring and GM Pierre Dorion has apparently been working the phones to try and find some help. A name that is interesting, though not mentioned in the segment, is the recently waived Reid Boucher of the New Jersey Devils.

LeBrun also mentions that the Dallas Stars are looking to deal from a position of strength as the season continues. Their blueline has been solidified by the breakout of Julius Honka this season, and may spell the end for Johnny Oduya who is a free agent this summer and still an effective puck mover. Even though the team lost Jason Demers, Kris Russell and Alex Goligoski this summer, they continue to pump out solid defenders and now have one too many. For now they’re content in waiting for everyone to get healthy, but as teams around the league struggle to find defensemen, they may find an offer that they just can’t refuse.

Coyotes Could Deal Anthony Duclair

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TSN’s Darren Dreger reported today that the Arizona Coyotes are open to dealing forward Anthony Duclair. The Coyotes are not shopping Duclair, says Dreger, but they would listen and consider the right offer.

Duclair burst onto the scene as a rookie last year, scoring 20G and 24A in 81 games. He has failed to pick up where he left off, however, and has only 1G and 3A in 20 games this season. Duclair is shooting at a drastically low 4% success rate—which should improve as time goes on—but this slow start is concerning for both the Coyotes and the potential trade market.

Despite Duclair’s struggles, the Coyotes will not sell low at the moment. Dreger stated that the Coyotes want a centerman in return, but a good centerman is a hot commodity in the NHL. If a team does move a centerman for Duclair, there’s a good chance that it is a team who will have trouble protecting all their most valuable players in the expansion draft.

Pacific Division Notes: Boedker, Canucks, Peters, Gaudet

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After losing to Pittsburgh in the Stanley Cup Final, the San Jose Sharks, with most of their roster set to return, made just a couple of minor changes in the summer. Their headline acquisition was the signing of unrestricted free agent winger Mikkel Boedker to a four-year deal worth $16MM. The Sharks concluded after watching the Penguins storm through the postseason with a quick and deep roster that they needed an infusion of skill and speed and went out on the first day of free agency and signed Boedker to add those elements.

Unfortunately for Boedker and the Sharks, the adjustment to his new team isn’t going as smoothly as hoped. Through 22 games, the Danish forward has just two goals and is averaging less than one shot per contest. Last season, Boedker scored 17 goals and averaged better than two shots per game. Despite the presence of high-end offensive talent up front, Boedker has yet to develop chemistry with any of his fellow forwards. It got bad enough last night that Sharks coach Pete DeBoer benched Boedker for the third period of a game the Sharks would lose 3 – 2, as Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News writes.

DeBoer didn’t mince words in postgame comments regarding the benching:

“Again, we were behind going into the third. Some guys it was just circumstance. Some guys didn’t deserve to play.”

Ryan Carpenter and Micheal Haley, two fourth-line forwards, also didn’t play in the third but that would seem to be due to circumstance, as DeBoer put it.

It’s obviously far too early to label the Boedker signing a bust but it’s clear that 22 games in the investment isn’t paying off to this point for the Sharks.

Elsewhere in the Pacific:

  • Jason Botchford pens a piece for The Province listing 10 reasons to feel good about the Vancouver Canucks. Despite internal expectations to compete for a playoff spot, most pundits felt the team simply doesn’t have enough talent still in their prime to challenge for the postseason. Unfortunately for Vancouver, the latter group has proven write. But as Botchford points out, even in the midst of a bad season, there still can be reasons to feel good about the Canucks. Perhaps the topic most relevant for us was Botchford’s mention of Erik Gudbranson’s potential free agent asking price. Gudbranson was acquired in an offseason deal with Florida and is scheduled to be a restricted free agent next summer. Botchford believes that a figure of $5MM annually has been floated but suggests the early struggles, both of the team and of Gudbranson, could serve to bring that number down to something more palatable for the Canucks.
  • The Arizona Coyotes called up a couple of players in advance of their game today against Edmonton – a contest they would win 2 – 1. Sarah McClellan of AZ Central Sports reports that the team recalled goaltender Justin Peters from Tucson to backup starter Mike Smith. Louis Domingue is currently day-to-day with a lower-body-injury. According to Arizona head coach Dave Tippett, the injury is “nothing serious,” but the Coyotes wanted a fully healthy net minder up if needed. Meanwhile, according to KPNX 12 News Sports, Arizona also recalled center Tyler Gaudet from the Tucson Roadrunners of the AHL. Gaudet has made one other appearance this season for the Coyotes and has 17 games overall of NHL experience. In 11 games with the Roadrunners, Gaudet has two goals and seven points. Neither player saw action this afternoon for Arizona.

 

Allen’s Latest: Hamilton, Kane, Shattenkirk, Hanzal, Murphy

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The USA Today’s Kevin Allen is more than happy to suggest a holiday wish list for a handful of NHL teams. Allen offers advice to the follow clubs:

  • New York Rangers: Allen suggests that the Rangers could snap up Dougie Hamilton from the Calgary Flames should they be willing to give up J.T. Miller. But just as quickly as he suggests it, he provides rationale as to why it might be far fetched. First, the financials wouldn’t work with Hamilton’s $5.75MM cap hit. Second, Miller is playing well with 18 points in 21 games while Hamilton has been struggling. For the deal to work, Allen believes the Rangers would have to shed another contract to either Calgary or another team in need of a defenseman (Allen suggests Kevin Klein).
  • New York Islanders: The team in Brooklyn is Allen’s next focus and he suggests Evander Kane to the Isles. The losses of Kyle Okposo, Matt Martin, and Frans Nielsen coupled with the poor production from pricey free agent pickup Andrew Ladd makes Kane a reasonable target. However, Allen points out that the Isles do not have the cap room to add Kane’s bulky contract and would have to do some “juggling” in order to make it work. Allen adds that a defenseman would help out Buffalo’s cause if they were willing to talk about Kane.
  • Boston Bruins: How many people have suggested Kevin Shattenkirk to Boston? Allen chimes in here as well, believing that the right handed defenseman would be the perfect addition to the blue line. Further, Allen writes that if Boston can convince Shattenkirk to re-sign with them, overpaying a bit would be well worth it.
  • Montreal Canadiens: Arizona’s Martin Hanzal would be a great target for the Habs, who Allen feels could use another scorer to make a Stanley Cup run. What would it take? Allen believes a young player and a draft pick.
  • Detroit Red Wings: It hasn’t been easy to fill the enormous hole that Nicklas Lidstrom left four seasons ago, and the Wings have struggled to find any solutions. Allen believes the Carolina Hurricanes could provide some help in the way of defenseman Ryan Murphy. Allen predicts that the Red Wings could trade a young forward to land him, but also sees a number of potential suitors for Murphy, namely the Colorado Avalanche, Arizona Coyotes and Vancouver Canucks.

 

Pacific Division Snapshots: Brown, Strome, Russell

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Dustin Brown spent eight seasons as the captain of the Los Angeles Kings, helping the team to two Stanley Cup championships during that time. He scored 54 points in 2011-12, the fifth consecutive campaign of at least 22 goals and 53 points, but since has seen his performance decline. Brown did tally 18 goals during the strike-shortened 2012-13 season but in the three full seasons since he’s averaged just 0.35 points-per-game. That performance regression in part prompted the Kings to remove the “C” from Brown’s sweater in order to give it to Anze Kopitar.

The Kings did look to move Brown this summer but with six seasons remaining on a contract that calls for an AAV of just shy of $6MM, there wasn’t much interest. Brown was critical of the decision, particularly in how the situation was handled, but the 13-year veteran has handled his business like a pro this season. In fact, as Josh Cooper of Yahoo writes, not having the responsibilities of the position any longer allows Brown to focus on playing hockey and his play has improved this season as a result.

“I’m not taking the game home with me, which in years past was a difficult thing not to do, partly because I … just as a competitor you want to take everything personally. Now I’m kind of detached a little bit from it, which is a good thing. So I get to come to work every day and do my job. It has been much easier to leave it here, which has been much healthier.”

Brown has six points in 20 games, a per-game average of 0.45. That prorates to a full, 82-game total of about 37 points. Brown has been part of an effective third line with Devin Setoguchi and Nic Dowd and for the first time in a long while he says he is enjoying the game:

“This is probably the first time I’ve had fun playing hockey in a couple of years. I know in saying that we play a game for a living. But I always say no matter if you’re playing a game or whatever you’re doing in life if you’re not having fun it’s tough to do.”

Even with the uptick in production it’s unlikely Brown will ever again be worth his cap charge. But the Kings must nonetheless be pleased to see even a moderate improvement from their former captain.

Elsewhere in the Pacific Division:

  • Dylan Strome has tons of skill and plenty of hockey instincts. But Arizona GM John Chayka and team bench boss Dave Tippett believe the one thing holding him back at this point in his young career is a lack of physical maturity, as Craig Morgan of Arizona Sports writes. Strome was recently returned to the Erie Otters of the OHL after a seven game spin at the NHL level. He tallied just a single assist and was a minus-5 while averaging 13:41 of ice time per game. Strome’s struggles represent one of the issues regarding Canadian junior players. His development won’t be helped by returning to the OHL as he’s simply too good for that level. But as we’ve seen, he isn’t physically ready for the challenges of the NHL and he can’t be sent to the AHL to play against other professionals due to the rules in place. However, as Morgan notes, Strome will be eligible to represent Canada at the upcoming Word Juniors, which as Chayka points out, will allow him to serve as a leader on the Canadian squad: “I think that’s important to be in Canada for him,” Chayka said. “He should be a big part of that team; a big part of that leadership group.”
  • Kris Russell has his critics as a player, particularly among the analytical community. Yet the Edmonton Oilers, who signed the veteran defender late in the offseason, are pleased with what he has brought to the table, as Robert Tychkowski of the Edmonton Journal writes. The numbers that matter most to the Oilers is the team’s won-loss record when he is in the lineup versus when he is out. Edmonton is 9 – 3 – 1 with Russell playing and just 2 – 5 – 0 when he does not play. While he isn’t putting up big counting numbers, in the opinion of bench boss Todd McLellan, Russell has helped add stability to a unit that has been below-average over the last several seasons: “I don’t think it’s coincidence. I think he does bring enough stability back there that he has an impact on the outcome of games.” Russell had to wait through the summer before landing a deal with Edmonton but if he continues to impress Oilers management, the team could look to lock up the 10-year vet before he hits the free agency next July.

Coyotes Could Make Anthony Duclair Available

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The Arizona Coyotes could make left winger Anthony Duclair available in a trade, reports Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos.  Duclair is in his second season in the desert but has struggled considerably so far this year.

Last season, Duclair was part of a dynamic rookie duo with the Coyotes alongside center Max Domi.  He had 20 goals and 24 assists in 81 games despite seeing predominantly second and third line ice time.  This season, however, he has just a goal and two helpers through 17 games.

While Kypreos reports that Duclair “could be had for the right price”, it doesn’t appear that GM John Chayka is actively shopping him by any means and that the asking price would still be quite high.

A third round pick of the Rangers back in 2013, Duclair is in the final year of his entry level deal with a cap hit of just over $770K.  He will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season.

As for the other half of the rookie duo from last year, Domi – who has 13 points (2-11-13) in 17 games this season, remains untouchable according to Kypreos.

[Related: Coyotes Depth Chart]

Coyotes Assign Dylan Strome To Junior

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The Arizona Coyotes announced that they have returned center Dylan Strome to his junior team, the Erie Otters of the OHL.  GM John Chayka commented on the decision to send him back:

“Dylan has made exceptional progress and continues to make strides to being an elite center in this league.  At this point in time we felt it was best for his development to get him back playing in junior, but his future in the NHL is very bright.”

The third overall pick back in 2015, Strome made Arizona’s roster out of training camp but has only played sparingly so far.  He has seen action in just seven of 17 games, collecting one assist while playing 13:41 per game.  Because he didn’t suit up in ten NHL games this year, Strome’s entry-level contract will not officially begin this season and instead will slide to 2017-18.

In the last two seasons with Erie, Strome has a whopping 82 goals and 158 assists in just 124 games.  However, as he’s just 19 years of age and was drafted out of the Canadian junior circuit, he’s ineligible to play in the AHL this season (at least until Erie’s season comes to an end).  At least by returning him to junior, Strome can play regularly, even if it is at a level that he has already dominated.  It’s highly likely that he’ll face a stiffer junior test next month as he’s expected to play for Team Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championships.

[Related: Coyotes Depth Chart]

Craig Cunningham In Hospital After Collapsing On Ice

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UPDATE 11/21 (1:30pm CT): Coyotes head coach Dave Tippet has issued an update on Cunningham’s condition on behalf of the team. Tippet says that Cunningham is stable, but remains in critical condition. The 26-year-old is believed to have suffered a heart attack and is still dealing with the related cardiac complications. Tippet added that the team will not comment any further, allowing Cunningham and his family their space.

It was a scary scene in Tucson on Saturday night.

Tuscon Roadrunners captain Craig Cunningham suffered a “medical emergency” on the ice prior to Tucson’s game versus the Manitoba Moose. He is currently in hospital receiving treatment, according to Arizona Coyotes GM John Chayka.

Mike Christy of the Arizona Daily Star reported that the 26-year-old Cunningham collapsed just moments before puck drop and appeared to convulse after hitting the ice. Medics cut away his jersey and did chest compressions before removing him from the ice and taking him to a local hospital. The players were sent back to their dressing rooms and the game was postponed to a later date.

Global BC’s Jay Janower tweeted that the Trail, BC-native Cunningham had a heart attack and is in critical condition, with his mom at his side. Janower added that Cunningham’s blood pressure has increased, which is a good sign. In the team’s statement, Chayka did not confirm any specifics, but promised to “provide a medical update once we receive more information.”

Cunningham is a very good AHL forward, with 203 points in 319 games. His 13 points in 11 games lead his team in scoring this season. Cunningham has eight points in 63 NHL games with Boston and Arizona over the past three seasons. He is also considered a good leader and teammate; he’s served as captain of the Providence Bruins and Springfield Falcons before Arizona moved the Falcons to Tucson this past summer.

John Buccigross of ESPN SportsCenter tweeted a link to a story he wrote on Cunningham’s incredible journey to the NHL back in 2014 when he first cracked the Bruins lineup. Get-well messages have come in from around North America, including Landon Ferraro, who grew up with Cunningham, and Milan Lucic, who called Cunningham “one of [his] best friends.”

Lucic was quoted in Buccigross’ article as saying Cunningham was “a great fit” on the Bruins, before comparing him, somewhat ominously, to Rich Peverley. Peverley was a solid two-way player, before he suffered a cardiac event on the bench during a March 2014 game, which forced him to retire.

We here at Pro Hockey Rumors wish Cunningham and his family all the best during this difficult time.

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