Latest On Jakob Chychrun
The Trade Deadline is still over a month away, but that hasn’t stopped activity from slowly beginning to increase across the league. That trend doesn’t appear to be stopping, as multiple big names are still on the market and could be moved prior to the deadline. One of those names is Arizona Coyotes defenseman Jakob Chychrun, who’s probably the best defenseman available.
Trade talk has surrounded Chychrun all throughout this season, as a tough year for the Coyotes has meant a tough year for him personally on the ice. Now, The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta reports that there’s an “increased level of activity” surrounding Chychrun trade discussions, and it appears as though the Los Angeles Kings are the current frontrunner in those talks.
While it’s obviously impossible to predict a return, Pagnotta reports that sources indicate the Coyotes are interested in a package from Los Angeles that includes prospect Gabriel Vilardi. Selected 11th overall back in 2017, Vilardi’s struggled with injury during his development process but looked at home in L.A. last season with 23 points in 54 games. With just one assist in 7 NHL games this season, though, he’s been spending a lot of time with the AHL’s Ontario Reign. There, he’s chugging along with 29 points in 29 games, a positive indicator there.
The Kings currently sit with 59 points and the second Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. While the team’s received strong play from Drew Doughty, Matt Roy, and Sean Durzi on the right side defensively, their left side lacks a higher-end, experienced NHL defenseman. While Chychrun is just 23, he’s at least been in the league for a few seasons and even has some brief playoff experience under his belt. There’s a natural fit for him atop the defensive depth chart on a pairing with Doughty, a situation that could help him rediscover the offensive side of his game.
Toronto Maple Leafs Acquire Ilya Lyubushkin, Ryan Dzingel
The Toronto Maple Leafs have added a pair of players tonight while moving out one frustrated winger. Ilya Lyubushkin and Ryan Dzingel are on their way to Toronto from the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for Nick Ritchie and a conditional draft pick. The Coyotes can select whether to receive Toronto’s third-round pick in 2023 or second-round pick in 2025. No salary is retained in the deal from either side.
Lyubushkin was referenced at the intermission of tonight’s Maple Leafs game by Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, and now just after the loss to the St. Louis Blues, Toronto has made their move. The big defenseman would bring something that the team doesn’t have much of, size and physicality on the back end. Now 27, Lyubushkin has racked up nearly 500 hits in a 180-game career, including 94 already this season. That number would easily lead the Maple Leafs, who currently have Jake Muzzin on top of that list with 81. It’s beside Muzzin that Lyubushkin could even potentially play, giving the team some extra length in something of a shutdown pair. Toronto has been looking to add depth on the right side for some time, as Justin Holl has taken a step backward this year and Timothy Liljegren is still very early in his career.
In fact, this addition could spell trouble for Holl, who played the fewest minutes of any Toronto defenseman tonight and has struggled to fill the top-four role he had with Muzzin in years past. By bringing in another penalty-killing defenseman, it’s unclear what his role will be, though there will have to be a roster spot of some sort by the Maple Leafs tomorrow to create enough cap space. When the team recently acquired Adam Brooks off waivers it was Liljegren who went down for the day.
There is also the addition of Dzingel, however, who adds another forward to the mix for Toronto. A 26-goal scorer in 2018-19, he has just four goals and seven points in 26 games this season for the Coyotes playing in a bottom-six role. Even those four goals are more than Ritchie, who had just two in 33 games for the Maple Leafs despite starting the season with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. The 26-year-old Ritchie had played his way right off the Toronto roster, recently having cleared waivers and been assigned to the minor leagues. From a Maple Leafs perspective, getting out from under Ritchie’s two-year deal may have been the most important part of the deal. He was set to earn $2.5MM against the cap again next year, something that a team working in the margins of the salary cap cannot afford if he’s not contributing.
Notably on Dzingel, if he fails to contribute anything, the Maple Leafs could bury his entire $1.1MM salary in the minor leagues. He would need to clear waivers to do it but that allows the team to not be stuck with any dead money if he isn’t a good fit. Lyubushkin meanwhile makes just $1.35MM against the cap, a reasonable number for a defenseman if he’s playing regularly and less than both Holl ($2MM) and Travis Dermott ($1.5MM) who was scratched again tonight.
As a member of the Coyotes, Ritchie certainly isn’t destined for the minor leagues. General manager Bill Armstrong explained that he was “excited” to add Ritchie to the roster, noting that he can give the team some more size and toughness. He also is a player signed for next season, something you can’t say about many other Coyotes. In fact, only Clayton Keller, Nick Schmaltz, Andrew Ladd, Jakob Chychrun, Conor Timmins, and Shayne Gostisbehere are on one-way contracts through next season, and several of them may find their way to other teams by the trade deadline. Ritchie, who did score 15 goals in 56 games for the Boston Bruins last season, could find his way to top-six minutes once again in the rebuilding Coyotes lineup.
For them, the big thing is adding another draft pick for expiring contracts. The Coyotes are hoarding selections in their rebuild and will be bringing a huge number of prospects into the system over the next few years.
East Notes: Chiarot, Lyubushkin, Poulin
There’s a gigantic Saturday night rumors dump, courtesy of Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek on Sportsnet’s Hockey Night in Canada. It starts with maybe the most-discussed name on the trade bait list in recent days in Montreal Canadiens defender Ben Chiarot. Talks are reportedly heating up, with Friedman singling the St. Louis Blues on the program as a team interested in Chiarot’s services. It’s entirely likely that Chiarot is another name gone before the deadline, as the Habs certainly don’t seem to be afraid to get out ahead of the action. Chiarot would give the Blues three options with considerable NHL experience at left defense, as Niko Mikkola, Jake Walman, and the injured Scott Perunovich have competed for ice time there this season as well. But none of them have the games played and playoff experience at the NHL level that Chiarot has.
More notes from the Eastern Conference today:
- The Arizona Coyotes are holding Ilya Lyubushkin out of the lineup as a healthy scratch, and Friedman names the Toronto Maple Leafs as one of the top teams interested in the Russian defender’s services. With Nick Ritchie falling out of favor in Toronto, and Arizona’s willingness to take on buried contracts, the fit seems logical as Friedman suggests. Lyubushkin would be a spectacular depth add for Toronto’s right side defensively, who, aside from T.J. Brodie, has faced inconsistency this season.
- Jeff Marek reports that prior to the commencement of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, the Montreal Canadiens reached out to the representatives of Canadian women’s forward Marie-Philip Poulin about what her career plans were after the games, suggesting Montreal had an interest in having Poulin within the organization. While no official job offer was ever made, all indications point to Poulin wanting to continue her on-ice career. The 30-year-old forward still has multiple opportunities to represent Canada on the international stage.
Dave Tippett Reportedly Plans To Retire From Coaching Career
PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan tweeted Saturday night that former NHL head coach Dave Tippett, who was let go by the Edmonton Oilers earlier in the season, plans to retire from his coaching career.
If true, that would conclude a 17-year NHL head coaching career for the now 60-year-old Tippett. He was fired by the Oilers after a 23-18-3 start to the season.
Tippett, a longtime NHL player as well, got his first crack as a head coach in the 2002-03 season with the Dallas Stars. After six seasons in Dallas, Tippett joined the Coyotes organization for the next eight years, serving as their head coach from 2009-2017. There, he guided the team to the 2012 Western Conference Finals and was the Jack Adams Award winner in 2010, his first year in Phoenix/Arizona. That year remains the only 50-win, 100-point season in franchise history.
Through 1,285 games as a head coach in the NHL, Tippett finishes with a 648-475-162 record. It’s an all-time points percentage of .567. In 82 playoff games, Tippett went 34-48.
Barrett Hayton To Return Saturday
While Blackhawks goalie Marc-Andre Fleury is unsure if he’ll be staying in Chicago past next month’s trade deadline, it seems like he’s making plans for next season. The veteran told reporters, including NHL.com’s Tracey Myers, that while his playing days are coming to a close, he’s hoping to play a 19th season in the NHL:
I don’t have that much left, right? So enjoy this season and hopefully next season again. After that, I don’t know.
Fleury is a pending unrestricted free agent and carries a pricey $7MM AAV but there has been some speculation of some contending teams being interested. While he doesn’t carry full trade protection, the Blackhawks have assured him that he will have a say on where he goes, if he winds up being moved. Fleury mentioned that while he has yet to speak to management about the possibility of a trade, he believes his agent Allan Walsh has been in touch with the team about that.
More from the Western Conference:
- While the Stars appear to be likely to part ways with pending UFA defenseman John Klingberg, they’re hoping to avoid a similar fate with center Joe Pavelski as Matthew DeFranks of the Dallas Morning News notes that Dallas is hoping to re-sign the 37-year-old. The veteran has a $7MM AAV and is on pace for a career high in points as he has 52 in just 47 games so far. There’s a strong case to be made that he’s worthy of a raise but the length of his next contract will be a big factor. If he was to go year-to-year, Pavelski could theoretically maximize his earnings but at this stage of his career, a multi-season commitment would certainly be appealing. With the Stars looking to keep the veteran, that should take him out of trade speculation for the time being.
- The Coyotes will welcome center Barrett Hayton back to the lineup on Saturday against Los Angeles, reports Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports (Twitter link). The 21-year-old has received a significant bump in ice time this season with his ATOI jumping up by more than five minutes a night but it hasn’t resulted in a jump in production as he has just two goals and four assists in 26 games so far. Hayton has been out for nearly six weeks with a hand injury and with his entry-level deal expiring this summer, he’ll be looking for a strong finish to his season to bolster his case for his second contract.
Construction Continues On ASU Facility
The NHL has released the Three Stars for last week and unsurprisingly, Jacob Markstrom takes the top spot. The Calgary Flames goaltender earned his league-leading eighth shutout, made 46 saves against the Toronto Maple Leafs, and then backstopped the Flames to another win against the New York Islanders. With a career-best .926 save percentage on the season, Markstrom has catapulted himself directly into the Vezina Trophy conversation in recent weeks and is one of the biggest reasons that Calgary has turned into a Stanley Cup contender.
The second and third spots went to Patrik Laine and Nico Hischier respectively, both coming off six-point weeks. Laine, who is heading into the summer as a pending restricted free agent once again, now has 27 points in 27 games for the Blue Jackets this season. His game-winning goal with just a few seconds left against the Montreal Canadiens was a perfect example of the incredible power he can generate, and why he’s such a feared goal scorer when playing his best. Hischier meanwhile had five goals of his own, taking him to 13 on the season. While he doesn’t generate the same kind of press that some other first-overall picks have, Hischier has quietly been an excellent performer for the Devils since entering the league in 2017, racking up 176 points in 273 career games while providing strong defensive play down the middle.
- Vancouver Canucks goaltender Jaroslav Halak has been clear that he doesn’t want to be traded, according to Elliotte Friedman who joined Rick Dhaliwal on CHEK TV today. While Halak’s name continues to be in the rumor mill, the goaltender holds full control of his future with a no-movement clause and will not be traded without his approval. The 36-year-old has a .903 save percentage in ten appearances and will earn a substantial performance bonus for his next start.
- If you want to get an idea of what Arizona Coyotes games will look like next season inside Arizona State University’s rather small facility, Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports was tweeting out photos of the construction. The small arena is expected to have a capacity somewhere between 3,000-5,000 when it is completed and will house both the ASU Sun Devils and Coyotes for the next several seasons.
Barrett Hayton Could Return From Injury Next Week
New Jersey Devils defenseman Dougie Hamilton isn’t returning to the ice for the team’s Super Bowl Sunday matchup against Pittsburgh, but Devils team reporter Amanda Stein says he’s getting closer to returning to the lineup from a jaw injury that’s kept him out of the lineup since the beginning of January. Hamilton has been practicing with the team but is still getting comfortable with the helmet protection required for him to safely play as his jaw continues to recover. New Jersey has won just four out of 15 games with Hamilton out of the lineup. They undoubtedly miss his production and play-driving ability from the back end.
Some more injury notes from around the NHL:
- Detroit Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill says forward Vladislav Namestnikov is questionable for tomorrow’s game against the Minnesota Wild, meaning that brothers Givani Smith and Gemel Smith could both draw in and play their first game together in the NHL. Defenseman Nick Leddy is also probable to return after sitting out with an upper-body injury for the past two weeks. Namestnikov has provided good value this season on his $2MM cap hit, proving to be an important depth piece for Detroit with 13 goals, 10 assists, and 23 points in 49 games. Detroit has played Gemel Smith in just one game since claiming him off waivers from the Tampa Bay Lightning almost a month ago.
- Per PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan, Arizona Coyotes general manager Bill Armstrong says that young center Barrett Hayton could return to the team’s lineup this coming week, potentially as soon as February 19th against the Los Angeles Kings. Hayton, selected fifth overall in 2018, had six points in 26 games this season prior to suffering a hand injury in early January. He’d been getting chances in a top-six role prior to the injury, something that’s likely to continue with his return.
Coyotes Close Deal To Use ASU Facility
Feb 10: The Coyotes have reached a multi-year agreement with ASU to play home games at the new multi-purpose facility starting next season and continuing through at least 2024-25. Team president Xavier A. Gutierrez released a statement on the deal:
We are thrilled that we have arranged to play our home games in Arizona State University’s new multi-purpose arena starting next season. This will be an incredible, intimate and exciting fan experience in a state-of-the-art new arena in a fantastic location in the heart of Tempe. We are very grateful to Dr. Crow, the ASU Administration, ASU Athletic Department, and the Arizona Board of Regents for agreeing to provide us with this temporary arena solution for our team as we continue our efforts to secure a long-term home for the Coyotes in the Valley.
The team has agreed to cover all costs involved in the new construction and will cover the entire lease agreement upfront.
Jan 27: The Arizona Coyotes have to find a new home for the 2022-23 season as the city of Glendale has ended their lease agreement at Gila River Arena, effective June 30. While they continue to try and secure a deal to build a new arena in the Tempe area, a potential short-term solution is being worked on. Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports reports that the Coyotes are in the “advanced stages” of discussions with Arizona State University to use the new multipurpose arena as a temporary home, negotiating a three-year deal with an option for a fourth should the construction on a Tempe rink take that long.
While getting the Coyotes into that area would start their migration to Tempe, the new multipurpose arena holds a maximum of just 5,000 spectators and would need millions of dollars in additional construction to house the NHL club. Bill Daly, NHL deputy commissioner, told Morgan that he would not rule out a plan that has the Coyotes playing in an arena with a seating capacity of 5,000.
The Coyotes, continually mired in relocation speculation since they arrived in 1996, currently average 11,575 fans per game according to ESPN. Cutting that number by more than 50 percent would obviously have a huge financial impact for the team and sink Arizona’s revenue even lower. Perhaps that is part of why the team has been so aggressive in shedding future salary, trading out big-ticket players like Oliver Ekman-Larsson over the last year.
In fact, Arizona currently has 15 players on the roster or injured reserve that are scheduled to become unrestricted free agents in the summer. They have just six players–Clayton Keller, Nick Schmaltz, Andrew Ladd, Jakob Chychrun, Shayne Gostisbehere, and Conor Timmins–signed to one-way contracts for 2022-23. Those six total less than $30MM in cap charges, with the salary owed even lower. Chychrun, who carries a cap hit of $4.6MM and is owed $4MM next season in salary, is expected to be traded before this year’s deadline.
A stay in the new ASU facility would come alongside the first few years of this scorched earth rebuild that the Coyotes have begun under new general manager Bill Armstrong. The team has continued to strip all valuable on-ice assets away while loading up with draft picks and prospects. The team holds eight draft picks in the first two rounds this year.
Latest On Lawson Crouse
The Vancouver Canucks have confirmed that Jaroslav Halak will start this evening against the New York Islanders, meaning a $1.25MM performance bonus will be triggered for playing in his tenth game of the season. In normal circumstances that wouldn’t be much of a concern but the Canucks are one of the many teams using long-term injured reserve this season to put together their current roster. If they can’t fit that $1.25MM in by the end of the season, whatever is left would be carried over to next season.
In fact, Halak has another potential bonus of $250K should he end the year with a save percentage over .905. He’s currently at .918 through his first nine appearances, meaning he would need some tough performances over the last few months to get it down below that threshold.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins have decided to loan Niclas Almari to Finland, after he failed to really catch on in the minor leagues. Almari, 23, was a fifth-round pick in 2016 that signed his entry-level contract in 2019, playing 51 games for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in 2019-20. This year though, his time has been split between WBS and the Wheeling Nailers, not seeing regular ice time at either stop. With the entry-level deal expiring at the end of the season, Almari is a prime candidate to go unqualified and become an unrestricted free agent.
- One of the Arizona Coyotes players that was thrown around in trade rumors earlier this season was Lawson Crouse, given his strong performance on the rebuilding club. Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports, one of the most plugged-in Coyotes reporters around, threw some cold water on any Crouse discussion when he replied “he’s not being traded” on Twitter today. Crouse, 24, will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season and is arbitration-eligible.
Scott Wedgewood Injured At Practice, Carter Hutton Resumes Skating
Earlier this season, Dallas was shopping goaltender Anton Khudobin and after they found no takers, they waived him and sent him to AHL Texas to try to get him back to his form from previous seasons. Now, while they could certainly benefit from shedding his $3.33MM cap hit that runs through 2022-23, GM Jim Nill indicated in an interview with Mike Heika of the Stars’ team site that they may elect to hold onto the netminder as injury insurance. If the Stars were willing to take a similarly-priced player back in a swap of bad contracts, it’s quite possible that they’d have been able to find a taker. Now, it appears that the 35-year-old will stick around and be a high-priced insurance policy in the minors.
More from the Central Division:
- Wild winger Marcus Foligno is expected to return to Minnesota’s lineup on Tuesday against Winnipeg, notes Michael Russo of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 30-year-old has missed the last two games with an upper-body injury, his first real blemish on an impressive season that has already seen him reach a career high in points with 27 in 39 games. Meanwhile, Russo adds in a separate tweet that the team is hopeful that defenseman Mathew Dumba will be able to play on Saturday after being placed on IR earlier today.
- Coyotes goaltender Scott Wedgewood was injured in practice today and did not accompany the team on their road trip to Vancouver, relays Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports (Twitter link). The veteran has done relatively well since joining Arizona, posting a .903 SV% in 18 games after being claimed on waivers early in the season. Ivan Prosvetov will be recalled from AHL Tucson with Carter Hutton not quite ready to return although he did skate before practice.