Pacific Division Snapshots: Vermette, Heed, Mueller, Tryamkin
It came as a bit of a surprise when the Arizona Coyotes bought out the final season of forward Antoine Vermette‘s contract. Joining the ranks of the unemployed in August is not ideal for any free agent as most teams have already expended their available salary cap space and have essentially finalized their rosters by that point. Fortunately for Vermette, Anaheim decided to roll the dice and add the veteran pivot, signing him to a two-year deal with an AAV of $1.75MM. As Sarah McLellan of AZ Central writes, while Vermette was certainly disappointed to move on from Arizona, the situation in Southern California has worked out quite well for the former Coyote, Blue Jacket, Senator and Blackhawk.
Through 41 games with the Ducks, Vermette has scored seven goals and registered 18 points while winning 64.3% of the faceoffs he has taken. Anaheim head coach Randy Carlyle is glad to have the veteran two-way center around.
“We’re lucky to have him,” Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said. “He fits in with our group. He displays a work ethic, and (he’s) a true professional day-in, day-out. So (he) can’t help but be positive for our group.”
The buyout surprised Vermette but he focuses on the positives of his time in the desert and not the way it ended.
“I made some good friends,” Vermette said. “I had some good times. We had our share of success. Good memories collectively and personally, also. That’s not going to take it away. Obviously, I would have liked it to be different at the end, but that was absolutely out of my control and you gotta move on.”
Elsewhere in the Pacific Division:
- It’s been a busy week for San Jose Sharks defenseman Tim Heed. The 25-year-old was recalled from the AHL Thursday, reassigned to the Barracuda Friday, then brought back to the Sharks on an emergency basis in advance of Saturday’s game against Detroit. Fortunately Heed didn’t have to travel too far as both the Barracuda and Sharks were playing at home this weekend. Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer thought about inserting Heed into the lineup tonight in place of former first-round draft pick Mirco Mueller but ultimately decided against it, according to Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. “We think Mirco deserves a chance to play again here, but there’s people knocking on the door for that opportunity too,” DeBoer said, “and Mirco needs to understand that.” DeBoer’s remarks should be taken as a warning to Mueller that he isn’t performing up to expectations. However, Mueller is still just 21-years-old and has only two games of NHL experience this season. Defensemen tend to take longer to develop than forwards so there is still plenty of time to find his way in the league.
- Nikita Tryamkin, whose development into a reliable blue liner has been a bright spot this season for Vancouver, had trouble cracking the club’s lineup early in the campaign and at one point refused to accept a conditioning assignment to Utica, as the opt-out clause in his contract allowed him to do. Tryamkin believed in himself and knew he was able to contribute at the NHL level and as Jason Botchford writes in a piece for The Province, it’s now clear the Russian defenseman was correct. However, if Vancouver had not relented and had instead kept Tryamkin in the press box, it’s possible the young blue liner would have considered a return home. Fortunately for both parties, injuries on the blue line created an opportunity for Tryamkin and he has taken advantage of it. The 6-foot-7 defender is one of only two Canucks with a plus rating and has added five points in 31 games. One thing that made an impression on Canucks bench boss Willie Desjardins was Tryamkin’s work to get into game shape “You look where he is now, and you have to think he did a great job (of handling it),” head coach Willie Desjardins said. “He wanted to play. He did not want to sit. He was not happy when we didn’t play him. I felt, for him to be his best, he had to change his (fitness) to be ready. It’s not that he ever accepted it, but he worked at it and did it.”
Custance’s Latest: Sizing Up The Trade Market
With the trade deadline now less than two months away, we’re starting to see more speculation (and hope) regarding the state of the trade market. ESPN’s Craig Custance provides a pair of articles (one for the East and one for the West – Insider required for both) to provide an overview of how things are currently looking. The full articles are certainly worth a read but here are some of the highlights:
- The Coyotes are “asking for stupid returns because they know they can”. With them and the Avalanche basically being the only two guaranteed sellers, they know it’s a sellers’ market and can wait to see if someone wants to blink. Center Martin Hanzal and defenseman Michael Stone, both pending unrestricted free agents, are the most likely to move although right winger Radim Vrbata is also a potential UFA and could be a candidate to move.
- Given that Anaheim is largely capped out plus the pending expansion draft, Custance expects that if the Ducks are going to be active in the trade market, it will be more of a player-for-player ‘hockey trade’ than one that sees them move futures for short-term help. Anaheim is one of nine teams currently using LTIR to stay in compliance with the salary cap.
- There has been no movement on a potential contract extension for Blues defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk who is expected to be one of the top free agents this summer if he makes it to the open market. That puts a bit of pressure on GM Doug Armstrong – does he use him as an internal rental and risk letting a top free agent get away with no compensation in the summer like what happened with David Backes or trade him now, even if it hurts their postseason chances?
- While big name goaltenders are at the forefront, Blue Jackets youngster Anton Forsberg could be a name to watch for. Sergei Bobrovsky is still the starter for at least a couple more years and Forsberg is set to be left unprotected in the expansion draft. He’s pushing for a full-time roster spot with another strong season in AHL Cleveland and might garner some interest from teams that are lacking quality young netminders in their system.
- Although Washington GM Brian McLellan has a reputation for being conservative when it comes to the trade market, their free agent situation could force them to be a bit more active than usual. Forwards T.J. Oshie, Justin Williams, and defenseman Karl Alzner are among their potential UFAs and if they don’t believe they have the ability to keep or replace them all, their window to make a real push may be right now.
NHL Teams With Prospects On Both USA and Canada
The United States and Canada face off in the World Junior Championships gold medal game tonight. Each team is loaded with NHL draft picks, and it is inevitable that some teams have players from both teams. While these players may be part of the same organization, there is no love lost when the two countries play each other. Below are all the NHL teams who have prospects on both Canada and USA tonight:
Arizona Coyotes
F Dylan Strome (CAN) vs. F Clayton Keller (USA)
Boston Bruins
D Jeremy Lauzon (CAN) vs. D Ryan Lingren* and D Charlie McAvoy (USA)
*Lingren was a late scratch before the gold-medal game
Calgary Flames
F Dillon Dube (CAN) vs. G Tyler Parsons and D Adam Fox (USA)
Nashville Predators
D Dante Fabbro (CAN) vs. F Patrick Harper (USA)
New Jersey Devils
F Michael McLeod and F Blake Speers (CAN) vs. F Joey Anderson (USA)
New York Islanders
F Matthew Barzal (CAN) vs. F Kieffer Bellows (USA)
Ottawa Senators
D Thomas Chabot (CAN) vs. F Colin White (USA)
Philadelphia Flyers
G Carter Hart and D Phillipe Myers* (CAN) vs. F Tanner Laczynski (USA)
*Myers was injured in the CAN vs. USA preliminary game and was unable to play in the gold-medal game.
Coyotes Notes: Hanzal, White, Burmistrov
There are currently no contract talks between the Arizona Coyotes and center Martin Hanzal at the moment, reports Sarah McLellan of the Arizona Republic. Hanzal is set to become an unrestricted free agent in July if no deal is reached and he has commonly been suggested as one of the top rental players available on the trade market. Despite the fact the sides aren’t currently talking, there have been talks dating back to before the season started and Hanzal himself is on record saying he would like to stay and that he remains open to further discussions on a new deal.
The 29 year old Hanzal is having a quiet ‘walk’ year with just eight goals and six assists through 33 games this season. However, he’s coming off a career-best 41 point campaign in 2015-16 and at 6’5, he is the type of big presence down the middle many teams would covet for their middle six. It also helps that Hanzal is a consistently strong player at the faceoff dot, winning at least 54% of his draws the last four seasons.
GM John Chayka told McLellan that so far he has yet to receive a serious offer for Hanzal and provided an update on the situation.
“There’s not a lot going on. But at the same time, it’s one of those things where we kind of know where the player is at. The player knows where we’re at. If there was an opportunity to do something, I don’t think it would take too long. But still collecting information and working through the process.”
More from Arizona:
- Also from McLellan, injured center Ryan White skated on Tuesday but is now expected to rest for a few days and has not accompanied the team on their road trip. Head coach Dave Tippett acknowledged that the lower body injury he suffered over two weeks ago is not healing as quickly as they anticipated. White has five points (2-3-5) in 30 games this year while sitting fifth among NHL forwards in hits per game at 3.3.
- Center Alexander Burmistrov, who was claimed on waivers by the Coyotes earlier this week, is someone that their entire scouting staff was pushing for them to add, Chayka told Dave Lozo on the Coyotes’ team website. Burmistrov has struggled this season but is still just 25 and was a former top ten pick back in 2010. As he deals with visa issues, he’s not expected to play through the weekend.
Examining Recent January Trades
It’s been abnormally quiet on the trade front this season with completed deals primarily involving depth and/or minor league players switching teams. A combination of most clubs having limited cap space and so few far enough out of the playoff race to be considered obvious sellers has severely limited activities through roughly half of the 2016-17 schedule. It’s likely we’ll have to wait until the week of the March 1st deadline to see a thaw in trade discussions but if recent history is any indication, there is a good chance at least one trade of significance will be made in the month of January.
Here’s a brief rundown of notable transactions completed in January from the past three seasons:
- 1/16/2016 – Pittsburgh acquired Carl Hagelin from Anaheim in exchange for David Perron and Adam Clendening. The addition of Hagelin, one of the game’s swiftest skaters, helped pave the way for Mike Sullivan to implement a speedier attack that helped lead the Penguins all the way to a Stanley Cup championship. He has another three-years on his contract with an AAV of $4MM and has established himself as a key contributor in Pittsburgh’s top-nine. Perron, meanwhile, added some offense to Anaheim’s lineup, tallying 20 points in 28 games down the stretch last year but left the team as an unrestricted free agent in the summer, inking a two-year deal with St. Louis. Clendening was essentially a throw-in and didn’t see any action with Anaheim. He too left as a free agent, joining the New York Rangers in the offseason.
- 1/6/2016 – Nashville sent Seth Jones to Columbus for Ryan Johansen. This was a rare “hockey trade” that most considered a win-win for both teams at the time the deal was consummated. Columbus desperately needed a #1 defenseman and Jones has the potential to be just that player. Along with rookie blue liner Zach Werenski, Jones has added skill, quickness and puck-moving to the Blue Jackets back end. Johansen, meanwhile, addressed Nashville’s longstanding need for a top center and since the trade has registered 61 points in 79 contests in a Nashville sweater. To this point it’s fair to say this move has worked out just the way both parties planned it.
- 1/14/2015 – The Minnesota Wild added goaltender Devan Dubnyk in a deal with Arizona, sending a 2015 third-round pick to the Coyotes. Dubnyk was Edmonton’s first-round pick in 2004 but had yet to win a full-time starting gig until arriving in Minnesota, where he has evolved into one of the league’s top goalies. He won 27 of 39 starts following the trade and placed third in Vezina voting after the season. So far this year Dubnyk leads the league in both Save % (0.941) and GAA (1.75) and is 19 – 7 – 3 in 29 games. Arizona, who could certainly use Dubnyk between the pipes this year, ultimately chose left wing Brendan Warren with the draft choice acquired from Minnesota. Warren is in his sophomore season at the University of Michigan and has five points in 18 games.
- 1/22/14 – The New York Rangers dealt Michael Del Zotto to Nashville in exchange for fellow blue liner Kevin Klein. The Rangers, looking to balance their defense corps by adding another right-handed shot, got good value with Klein. The veteran defender had just begun the first year of a five-year, $14.5MM extension and for the most part he has been a good fit on the Rangers second pairing. He has struggled some this season but set or tied career highs in goals, assists and points in each of his first two full campaigns on Broadway. Del Zotto was brought to Music City for his offensive and puck-moving capabilities but didn’t perform well in Nashville, tallying just five points in 25 games as a Predator. He was not tendered a qualifying offer that summer and became a free agent, eventually signing in Philadelphia where he has been a solid producer for the Flyers the last three seasons.
Snapshots: Life After Hockey, Fixing Detroit’s Power Play
The Chicago Tribune’s Chris Kuc penned an insightful article about the post-hockey adjustments players make when their careers come to an end. For some, the years of abuse on the body take a toll mentally and physically, while for others, the completion of their career is a shock after a lifetime spent in hockey. Kuc profiled several former Blackhawks including Ben Eager, Daniel Carcillo, and Nick Boynton, all of whom have faced a mixture of different struggles after walking away from the sport. Boynton and Carcillo both faced dark thoughts, a combination of their careers ending and also from the damage inflicted after playing “hard nosed” hockey. Concussions, for all three players, certainly played a role in some of the “darkness” that all three players alluded to. All are involved with hockey after their professional careers–Carcillo and Eager both coaching youth hockey while Boynton is a radio analyst for the Arizona Coyotes. Carcillo also is the founder of Chapter 5, an organization designed to help former players transition into life after hockey.
- The Red Wings, who own the worst power play in hockey, are desperate to try anything–including the idea to give Steve Ott time on the man advantage. MLive’s Ansar Khan writes that the Wings are willing to do whatever it takes to wake their slumbering power play. The Red Wings have not scored a goal on the man advantage since October 19th, a span of 48 opportunities. Ott would replace Riley Sheahan, who has yet to score a goal this season, but the decision to replace the struggling Sheahan with a “grit-first” player in Ott seems counterproductive. Ott, who through 33 games has 4 points (2-2), was not signed for his goal scoring, and has on several occasions this season, taken penalties at inopportune times for Detroit. Ott did say that he realizes he isn’t the “answer.” From Khan:
The reason I would be there is to try to retrieve pucks and get pucks in the hands of players that make plays,” Ott said. “Sacrifice in front of the net, doing anything right now. We need to find ways to generate more momentum.”
Ott worked in with Henrik Zetterberg, Tomas Tatar, Anthony Mantha and Niklas Kronwall. The other unit would replace defenseman Brendan Smith with speedy forward Andreas Athanasiou, who would join Gustav Nyquist at the point. Frans Nielsen, Dylan Larkin and Thomas Vanek would play up front. Meanwhile, Prashanth Iyer of Winging It In Motown broke down Detroit’s power play zone entry, and how it appears from a quantitative standpoint.
Waiver Claims: Burmistrov, Boucher
Elliotte Friedman reports that the Arizona Coyotes have claimed Alexander Burmistrov from the Winnipeg Jets. The former eighth-overall pick hasn’t found his footing in Winnipeg (or Atlanta) since his draft, and will now open a new chapter.
Reid Boucher, the other player currently on waivers, is heading back to New Jersey after a short stint in Nashville. Boucher played just three games with the Predators, scoring one goal.
Burmistrov has long been expected to turn into a top-six forward, but has never turned into it. After two fairly successful seasons in the KHL, he returned to North America last year and only registered 21 points, despite playing in 81 games. Obviously, with his upside, the Coyotes will gladly take a risk on the 25-year old. Their team isn’t destined for anything big this season, and Burmistrov is still an RFA this summer. If he can find success in the desert, he could be a nice addition to that team.
For Boucher, he’ll head back to the only other franchise he’s ever known after a month away. The former fourth-round pick has had much success during his time in the Devils organization, and even scored 19 points in just 39 games last year for the Devils.
Anthony DeAngelo Receives Three Game Suspension
As rumored earlier today, Anthony DeAngelo of the Arizona Coyotes will face a three-game suspension for his abuse of official David Brisebois on Saturday night. He’ll be eligible for return on January 13th against the Winnipeg Jets.
After an altercation with the Flames’ Sam Bennett, DeAngelo argued with Brisbois and tried to forcefully remove himself from the linesman’s grasp. DeAngelo was given a match penalty for it during the game, and will now sit out for almost two weeks because of a schedule quirk for Arizona.
[Gif of the incident via Scouting The Refs]
Remember that DeAngelo was also suspended for eight games back in 2014 for violating the OHL’s abuse/diversity policy. The comments that caused his suspension were directed at a teammate in this case.
Despite his trouble with suspensions, DeAngelo remains a top prospect for the Coyotes, who acquired him from the Tampa Bay Lightning for a second-round pick (37th overall) this summer. His high upside has trumped any personal issues he’s had in the past, though this new offense is a serious one.
DeAngelo has nine points in 20 games in his rookie season this year, playing almost 19 minutes a night. He’s been a big part of their powerplay thus far, and has huge offensive upside to his game.
Western Notes: Jost, Dano, Coyotes
When the Colorado Avalanche picked Tyson Jost 10th overall this year out of Penticton, they knew he was headed to the NCAA. After all, Jost played in the BCHL, an NCAA breeding ground because they retain eligibility unlike the CHL. But now it sounds like it will be one-and-done for Jost at the University of North Dakota.
Mike Chambers of the Denver Post writes in his latest column that Jost will sign after his freshman season concludes and may even make his NHL debut this season. The 18-year old center has 18 points in 17 games for the Fighting Hawks, and is starring for Canada at the World Juniors. For a team that is starved for something positive this year, the development of Jost is something to look forward to. He will likely slot in full time next season with the club, especially if one of their other young forwards is moved out between now and then.
- After head coach Paul Maurice told us yesterday that Marko Dano would be out at least a few weeks, he clarified the diagnoses today. Dano will miss eight weeks with his lower-body injury, keeping him out until just before the trade deadline. The former first-round pick (by Columbus in 2013) has 10 points in 28 games this year, a solid pace for the 22-year old. He’ll have another setback now though as he misses more time. Jets fans will have to wait jut a little bit longer to see his potential come to fruition.
- The Arizona Coyotes will watch two of their prized prospects battle it out today in the Canada-USA World Junior game. Clayton Keller and Dylan Strome each lead their respective teams in scoring at the tournament, and will be big parts of the Coyotes in the future. While Strome got a taste of the NHL this season before heading back to Erie in the OHL, Keller has been starring as a freshman at Boston University all year. 15 points in his first 10 games in the NCAA it won’t be long until he jumps to the AHL. Both top-10 picks, the Coyotes have a bright future in this tournament.
Poll: 2005 NHL Draft Take Two: Twenty-Sixth Overall Pick
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 2005 NHL Draft, which kicked off the salary cap era and ushered in many of the current NHL superstars. The question we’re looking to answer is knowing now what we didn’t know then, how different would this draft look now with the benefit of hindsight?
Here are the results of our redraft so far:
1st Overall: Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins)
2nd Overall: Carey Price (Mighty Ducks of Anaheim)
3rd Overall: Anze Kopitar (Carolina Hurricanes)
4th Overall: Jonathan Quick (Minnesota Wild)
5th Overall: Kris Letang (Montreal Canadiens)
6th Overall: Tuukka Rask (Columbus Blue Jackets)
7th Overall: Bobby Ryan (Chicago Blackhawks)
8th Overall: Marc-Edouard Vlasic (San Jose Sharks)
9th Overall: Ben Bishop (Ottawa Senators)
10th Overall: James Neal (Vancouver Canucks)
11th Overall: T.J. Oshie (Los Angeles Kings)
12th Overall: Keith Yandle (New York Rangers)
13th Overall: Paul Stastny (Buffalo Sabres)
14th Overall: Marc Staal (Washington Capitals)
15th Overall: Patric Hornqvist (New York Islanders)
16th Overall: Niklas Hjalmarsson (Atlanta Thrashers)
17th Overall: Anton Stralman (Phoenix Coyotes)
18th Overall: Jack Johnson (Nashville Predators)
19th Overall: Matt Niskanen (Detroit Red Wings)
20th Overall: Justin Abdelkader (Florida Panthers)
21st Overall: Martin Hanzal (Toronto Maple Leafs)
22nd Overall: Andrew Cogliano (Boston Bruins)
23rd Overall: Kris Russell (New Jersey Devils)
24th Overall: Darren Helm (St. Louis Blues)
25th Overall: Cody Franson (Edmonton Oilers)
Now we move forward to the 26th pick, which was held by the Calgary Flames.
To recap how this works:
- We will go through the 2005 NHL Draft and have our readers select, through a voting process, who they think should have been taken with the selection.
- The entire first round will be redrafted, spanning picks one through thirty. The new selection is chosen by the majority of votes.
Back in 2005, the Flames took defenseman Matt Pelech from the Sarnia Sting. Since being drafted, Pelech played a total of 13 games in the NHL, tallying four points (1-3). Of those 13 games, Pelech spent five with the Flames and the other eight with San Jose. During the 2013-14 season, Pelech spent time in the ECHL with the Utah Grizzlies after playing for both San Jose and its AHL affiliate Worcester. A season later, Pelech recorded 39 games with the Rochester Americans. Last season, Pelech appeared in 49 games for the Schwenningen Wild Wings in the DEL (Germany) and has played the current season with Graz EC in the Austrian league.
With the 26th pick of the 2005 NHL Redraft, who should the Flames select? Cast your vote below! Mobile users, you can vote here!