Mammoth Rumors

Nick Schmaltz Fined $5K For Boarding Incident

March 27, 2021 at 2:56 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 2 Comments

With Jordan Binnington signing an extension and taking himself off the UFA market, Avalanche netminder Philipp Grubauer may be the top goalie that is set to hit free agency this summer. With the season he’s having, Mike Chambers of the Denver Post suggests that the 29-year-old could be in a position to double his current $3.33MM AAV over the offseason, a price tag that Colorado may not be able to afford. With a 1.69 GAA and a .931 SV% in 27 games this season, he’s first in the league in GAA and second in SV% so even in this market, doubling his price tag isn’t unreasonable. For his part, Grubauer isn’t worried about his contract status:

We are so busy and my main focus lays on Vegas and stopping the puck. Everything else is going to take care of itself. If it’s now or in a week or a couple months or like after the season — I don’t think there is any rush to do that right now.

Grubauer is one of several key Avalanche players in need of a new contract for next season, joining wingers Gabriel Landeskog and Brandon Saad (UFA) plus defenseman Cale Makar (RFA). With more than $56MM in commitments for next season already per CapFriendly, they won’t be able to afford to keep them all.

Snapshots: Canadiens, Pitlick, Juulsen, Barron

March 25, 2021 at 3:47 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 2 Comments

The Montreal Canadiens are sitting fourth in the North Division as they deal with a COVID shutdown through Sunday, but have played fewer games than all of their division foes. One might think that would push GM Marc Bergevin to add to his squad and try to climb even higher in the standings, but the Montreal executive once again downplayed the idea at media availability today.

As Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic tweets, Bergevin was asked multiple times about his trade deadline plans and repeatedly explained that no one should expect much from the Canadiens because of difficult cap restraints. Of course, no matter how many times he says it, Bergevin isn’t convincing some of his peers. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet wrote earlier this week that some other managers around the league believe the Canadiens made a push for Mattias Ekholm. Bergevin’s availability was before the report came out about Canada potentially reducing the quarantine for NHL players to seven days, though it is unclear if that would have any effect on Montreal’s deadline plans.

If you thought Tyler Pitlick could make for a good depth addition at the deadline, perhaps not. The Arizona Coyotes forward is out “week-to-week” with a lower-body injury. The 29-year-old Pitlick has 11 points in 33 games this season for the Coyotes and is signed through next season at a $1.75MM cap hit. He had been seeing more and more ice time recently, including a whopping 24:08 earlier this month in an overtime loss to the Colorado Avalanche.
The New York Rangers have several wingers at the NHL level that were selected at the very top of the draft, but perhaps it is one that went 174th overall that fans should be excited about. Morgan Barron scored another two goals today for the Hartford Wolf Pack and now has seven in his first 11 professional games. The sixth-round pick was a star at Cornell University, becoming a Hobey Baker finalist and scoring 32 points in 29 games during the 2019-20 campaign. Standing 6’4″ with enviable skill, he’s turning heads at the minor league level already.
The Florida Panthers have assigned Noah Juulsen to the AHL on a conditioning loan as he works his way back from injured reserve. Juulsen hasn’t played since February 25 and has just four appearances on the season. The 23-year-old has been injured basically his entire professional career, never playing more than 54 games in a season at all levels combined. The Panthers have also recalled Eetu Luostarinen from the taxi squad, sending Brett Connolly back to it in his place.

Antti Raanta Injured Again; Niklas Hjalmarsson Placed On IR

March 23, 2021 at 7:56 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 2 Comments

Bruins defenseman John Moore last suited up on February 26th and it appears that will be the last game he plays for a while. Head coach Bruce Cassidy confirmed to reporters, including Matt Porter of the Boston Globe (Twitter link), that Moore recently underwent surgery. The nature of the injury nor the timeline for a return were specified. It’s the latest in what has been a series of frustrations since he inked a five-year, $13.75MM contract back in the 2018 offseason. Since then, Moore has held a limited role in the lineup, spending time as a healthy scratch.

With how much time he has missed and now the news that he has had surgery, the Bruins are eligible to transfer Moore to LTIR. It’s a move that they don’t need to make for now as they’ve had ample cap space to recall a short-term replacement but if it happened to be a season-ending injury, it would give GM Don Sweeney a bit more flexibility heading into next month’s trade deadline. For now though, Moore is one of four Boston blueliners currently on IR, joining Brandon Carlo, Jeremy Lauzon, and Kevan Miller.

Other injury news from around the league:

Coyotes goaltender Antti Raanta is injured once again, reports Craig Morgan of AZ Coyotes Insider (Twitter link). The 31-year-old has had a hard time staying in the lineup in recent years, a trend that has continued this season. A pending UFA, Raanta has been speculated as a possible trade chip at the trade deadline but missing any time due to injury doesn’t help his value. Ivan Prosvetov is up from the taxi squad to serve as Adin Hill’s backup for tonight’s game.
Also from Morgan’s note, defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson is out due to an upper-body issue. The injury was sustained in Monday’s loss to Colorado and there is no word on how long he will miss. The team announced (via Twitter) that both Raanta and Hjalmarsson were placed on injured reserve.
Sabres winger Kyle Okposo isn’t expected to join the team for the remainder of their current road trip, relays John Vogl of The Athletic (Twitter link). The veteran is dealing with an upper-body injury and interim head coach Don Granato indicated that the hope is that Okposo will be able to return next week. It has been another tough year for the 32-year-old who has scored just once in 24 games this season.

Trade Candidate: Alex Goligoski

March 21, 2021 at 7:50 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

With the trade deadline quickly approaching, we continue our closer look at some of the players who have a good chance of being on the move between now and April 12th.

For more than a decade, Alex Goligoski had been one of the more consistent secondary offensive blueliners. From 2009-10 through 2019-20, the 35-year-old had just one year below 30 points while averaging more than 20 minutes of ice time per game. It was reasonable to expect the same from him coming into this season.

However, that hasn’t been the case at all which hasn’t helped an Arizona attack that wasn’t the strongest to begin with. Now, the Coyotes find themselves out of a playoff spot with several veterans set to become unrestricted free agents. If they wind up selling, he will be a name to keep an eye on.

Contract

Goligoski is in the final season of a five-year, $27.375MM contract ($5.475MM AAV) with a $4MM salary. Per CapFriendly, his deal contains an eight-team no-trade clause. He will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.

2020-21

Goligoski had an assist in Arizona’s season opener and since then, he has just one assist in a 30-game stretch. This type of offensive drought is simply unprecedented for him and has certainly come at an inopportune time both in terms of trying to help his market value for free agency and his trade value for the Coyotes.

It’s not all negative, however. He has been an anchor on Arizona’s top penalty killing unit, one that is well above the league average; it’s that element that may be the most appealing to teams looking to upgrade on the back end. He also has been more disciplined than usual with just four minor penalties despite logging more than 22 minutes per night so far.

Is that a great return on such a high price tag? Certainly not but the fact remains that Goligoski is still a capable defender but this season, he has been more of a shutdown option than the two-way player he had been for so long. Who knows, perhaps a change of scenery would help revive his offensive game as well?

Season Stats

31 GP, 0 goals, 2 assists, 2 points, -1 rating, 8 PIMS, 36 shots, 22:24 TOI, 46.6 CF%

Potential Suitors

Quite a few teams will be on the lookout for defensive upgrades although Goligoski’s season and contract will have him a little lower on the wish list at this time. However, as other options are either dealt or pulled off the market, they could pivot to him closer to the April 12th trade deadline.

In the Central, Chicago is a possible fit. They have the cap space with Brent Seabrook (and others) on LTIR which makes them one of the few potential playoff teams that can make a move without requiring Arizona to retain money. They’ve had varying degrees of success from their youngsters but if they are serious about trying to make the postseason, adding someone like Goligoski would upgrade their third pairing and penalty kill without costing much in terms of future assets.

Among East Division teams, Boston has been hit hard by the injury bug and has been going with a by-committee approach for most of the season. Goligoski would give them a stable option on the third pairing at a minimum with the potential to move up if needed. At this point, they’re probably setting their sights higher in terms of a rental to pursue but if those don’t pan out, they could pivot to Goligoski and depending on who returns between now and then, they may not need an offset as well. A similar case can be made for Philadelphia who is believed to have interest in him if other moves don’t pan out.

In the North, Winnipeg has a definite need to add to their back end, particularly on the left side. However, they’re already into LTIR and don’t have enough room in there to absorb his full cap hit. Unlike regular cap room, it doesn’t accrue on a daily basis either so some sort of offset would be needed. Montreal has a void to fill with Ben Chiarot out for six-to-eight weeks but with minimal cap space, making such a move work would be difficult.

As for the West, there isn’t a great fit unless Los Angeles was to go on a bit of a run over the next few weeks to pull themselves into the race. If that happened, they could benefit from a veteran like Goligoski on the back end and have more than enough cap space to bring him in. If that doesn’t happen though, Arizona will have to look outside the division for a trade partner.

Likelihood Of A Trade

Simply because of his contract, a Goligoski trade can’t be pegged as a certainty. There will be cheaper options to choose from (the Coyotes have several other veteran rentals with lower cap hits) and there is a possibility that by the time the dust settles, contenders opt for those lower-priced players and there isn’t a fit for him. However, Goligoski is better than quite a few of the other rentals out there even with the season he’s having which is important. A lot will depend on their willingness to retain salary and/or take a contract back to offset some of the money and if that happens, there’s a better chance than not that he moves.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Arizona Coyotes Willing To Move Conor Garland For Right Price

March 21, 2021 at 2:32 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 7 Comments

The Arizona Coyotes are currently in fifth place in the West Division. However, the team remains six points out of a playoff spot with the Los Angeles Kings one point behind them, making their chances of a playoff spot challenging, at best. Throw in the expectation that the Coyotes could soon undergo a rebuild with 11 unrestricted free agents currently on their roster and taxi squad and the team could find themselves sellers at the trade deadline.

Not coincidentally, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported late Saturday on the Headlines segment during Hockey Night in Canada, that the Coyotes have received significant inquiries about forward Conor Garland, who has been one of the bright spots on the team.

“I’m hearing Arizona’s been asked about him,” Friedman said. “And it’s not something I think they really want to do, but if the offer is big enough that it allows them to restock, I think they’re going to at least consider it.”

The 25-year-old Garland is no longer a prospect, but has emerged as one of the team’s top players. He currently leads the team with 25 points and is tied for second in goals behind Clayton Keller (10) with nine. Garland will be a restricted free agent this season with arbitration right and will receive a significant raise from his current $775K contract.

Garland broke out in a midseason callup during the 2018-19 season when he jumped into the league and tallied 13 goals in 47 games. He followed that up with a solid season last year, scoring 22 goals and 39 points in 68 games. However, Garland has been even more impressive this year, not too far off from being a point-per-game player, something that all teams could use to bolster their lineups, plus offer long-term firepower considering his age.

Friedman notes that the Coyotes would prefer not to trade Garland, but the young forward could bring in quite a return from teams looking to boost their scoring. On top of that, while many salary-capped teams have limited options to trade for with little to no wiggle-room under the salary cap, Garland would be a cheap option for any team, making his trade value significantly higher than many other trade deadline options.

There is a strong belief that many players in Arizona are trade deadline options, including a large contingent of defenders, including Alex Goligoski, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Jason Demers, Jordan Oesterle and Ilya Lyubushkin (all UFAs). However, if Arizona put Garland on the market, it could be one of the team’s biggest returns.

Arizona Coyotes Sign Vladislav Provolnev

March 19, 2021 at 1:05 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 5 Comments

March 19: The Coyotes have officially announced the signing of Provolnev to a one-year entry-level contract for the 2021-22 season. GM Bill Amstrong released a short statement on his newest defenseman:

We are very pleased to sign Vladislav. He is a big, strong defenseman who skates well and plays a physical style. He also has a good shot and can contribute offensively. He will be another good blueline prospect for us.

March 18: The Arizona Coyotes are adding some depth to their defensive group, as according to Craig Morgan of AZ Coyotes Insider, the team has agreed to terms with Vladislav Provolnev. The 25-year-old defenseman will be limited to a one-year entry-level contract that should start in 2021-22 as he is an undrafted free agent, not a member of the Coyotes’ reserve list, though Morgan does not specify and the team has not officially announced it yet.

Provolnev broke out offensively this season in the KHL, scoring 10 goals and 20 points in 48 games for Cherepovets Severstal. That number dwarfed his previous career-high of eight points and could well be an outlier in his career. The 6’3″ defenseman certainly isn’t known for his offense, but instead brings a high level of physicality and defensive play.

The Coyotes will have plenty of room on their blue line next season, given the apparent departures of almost the entire current group. Alex Goligoski, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Jason Demers, Jordan Oesterle and Ilya Lyubushkin are all scheduled to hit unrestricted free agency after this season. That will leave just Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Jacob Chychrun among the regulars, with several prospects vying for full-time roster spots. Provolnev should be one of those, though the transition from the KHL to the NHL has proven difficult for many defensemen in the past.

Flyers Believed To Have Some Interest In Alex Goligoski

March 12, 2021 at 6:50 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 6 Comments

With the trade deadline now a month away, teams are starting to set their list of potential targets. For the Flyers, that list is believed to include Coyotes defenseman Alex Goligoski, reports Pierre LeBrun in his latest piece for The Athletic (subscription link).

That Philadelphia is looking to add help on the back end should come as no surprise. Matt Niskanen’s retirement came as a surprise last offseason and the team never really properly replaced that role. They added Erik Gustafsson but he is more of an offensive-minded blueliner with a much different skill set than what Niskanen brought to the table.

Goligoski isn’t quite the same type of player as Niskanen either but he’d be able to replace some elements, particularly on the penalty kill front. The 35-year-old is logging 3:25 per night on Arizona’s back end when shorthanded, second-most on the team. Considering that the Flyers have a success rate of 73.7% (25th in the league), adding someone that could conceivably jump onto their top penalty kill unit would be a nice addition.

However, Goligoski also isn’t someone who provides much in the way of offense like he used to. He has averaged 35 points over the last seven seasons but this year, he has just two assists in 26 games despite still logging over 22 minutes a night. He also carries a $5.475MM cap charge, something that the Flyers wouldn’t be able to afford right now without either sending money the other way or Arizona retaining some salary.

Those two factors will likely keep Goligoski’s trade value a little lower, presenting a situation where GM Chuck Fletcher could conceivably keep this on the back burner for the time being and turn back to it if more desirable options don’t pan out. But at the very least, something like this – a small upgrade on a back end that’s in need of improvement at a reasonable acquisition cost – is something that Philadelphia would be wise do to over the next month.

Arizona Coyotes Move Darcy Kuemper To Injured Reserve

March 9, 2021 at 5:17 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee Leave a Comment

The Arizona Coyotes won’t say quite how bad it is yet, but things aren’t looking good for Darcy Kuemper. The team placed the goaltender on injured reserve today and Craig Morgan of AZ Coyotes Insider tweeted earlier today that there is fear he could miss as many as four weeks. Kuemper is heading back to Arizona for further evaluation, meaning he’ll likely miss at least the last six games of the current road trip.

The Coyotes have recalled Ivan Prosvetov from the AHL to serve as the taxi squad goaltender while Adin Hill and Antti Raanta take over the active roster duties. Frederik Gauthier and Michael Chaput have also swapped spots between the roster and taxi squad.

Losing Kuemper is a huge blow for Arizona, though not one they should be unfamiliar with. The 30-year-old goaltender has dealt with injuries throughout his entire career, but certainly since arriving in Arizona during the 2017-18 season. Still, he’s also been one of the very best goaltenders in the league during that time, at least whenever healthy enough to be in the net. As a Coyote, Kuemper has posted a .922 save percentage in the regular season and finished in the top-seven of Vezina Trophy voting in each of the last two years.

While Raanta and Hill are certainly talented enough to hold the fort, an injury like this could have interesting trade deadline ramifications. It seemed likely that if the Coyotes ended up selling, at least one of Kuemper or Raanta would be moved, given the latter is on an expiring contract and the former can be a legitimate game-changer. Now, with Kuemper out for a while, those plans could be complicated. The Coyotes aren’t flush with goaltending depth in the organization past Hill, with the 22-year-old Prosvetov having just 34 games of AHL experience under his belt. David Tendeck, the only other goalie signed to an NHL deal, only just started his pro career and hasn’t suited up higher than the ECHL.

With three goalies required at the NHL level (one can be on the taxi squad) at all times, it doesn’t leave a lot of room for moves over the next few weeks.

Trade Deadline Primer: Arizona Coyotes

March 6, 2021 at 7:09 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 3 Comments

Although we’re not even two months into the season, the trade deadline is just over a month away. Where does each team stand and what moves should they be looking to make? We begin our look around the league with the Arizona Coyotes.

Despite the Arizona front office creating headlines for all the wrong reasons, the Coyotes have been competitive all season long. A recent slide has put them four points out of a playoff spot in the West, but there have been enough bright spots to make many believe they can contend for the postseason once again this year. The next few weeks will be crucial in deciding their deadline stance.

Record

10-10-3, 6th in West Division

Deadline Status

Likely sellers

Deadline Cap Space

$7,546,715 in full-season cap space, 0/3 retention slots used, 46/50 contracts used per CapFriendly.

Upcoming Draft Picks

2021: ARI 2nd, CBJ 2nd, ARI 4th, PIT 4th, ARI 5th, ARI 6th
2022: ARI 1st, ARI 2nd, ARI 3rd, ARI 4th, ARI 5th, ARI 6th, ARI 7th

Trade Chips

If the Coyotes decide to sell, they’ll have a huge number of veteran players available for contenders around the league. Even if they find themselves in the playoff mix, Alex Goligoski may be approaching the end of his time in the desert. The Coyotes are already listening to offers on the 35-year-old defenseman, knowing they can cash in before he hits unrestricted free agency in the summer. Goligoski has been a rock for Arizona since the 2016-17 season, recording at least 27 points in each of the last four years. He has just a single assist this year though, a dramatic decline after losing his powerplay spot.

It’s not just Goligoski on the blueline though. Niklas Hjalmarsson, Jason Demers, Jordan Oesterle, and Ilya Lyubushkin are all on expiring deals and set to hit the open market after the season is over. Though it seems unlikely that all of them will be gone, the Coyotes do have pieces to sell if they decide to.

Perhaps the most interesting chip though is Clayton Keller, who was recently listed at No. 6 on The Athletic’s Trade Deadline Big Board. The 2016 seventh-overall pick has never become the dominant offensive force that many expected, failing to even crack 20 goals or 50 points since his rookie season. If the Coyotes decide to rebuild the draft pipeline and shed salary, trading Keller could be the easiest to pull off. His eight-year $57.2MM contract is just starting and the no-trade clause doesn’t kick in until 2024-25. Even though he may be available, it does seem more like an offseason trade than a deadline one.

Others to watch for: G Darcy Kuemper, G Antti Raanta, F Derick Brassard, F Lawson Crouse

Team Needs

1) Draft picks – The Coyotes had to wait and watch other teams make 110 selections in the 2020 draft before they got involved, and when they did they picked controversial prospect Mitchell Miller, who they have since renounced the rights to. That means their 2020 draft class consists of Carson Bantle (142nd overall), Filip Barklund (173rd), Elliot Ekefjard (192nd), and Ben McCartney (204). It’s entirely possible that the team never gets a single NHL game out of that group, meaning it was a lost year entirely. They already don’t have a first-round pick for the 2021 draft, meaning they’ll need to refill the system in one way or another at some point.

2) Young(ish) defense – Even if they move some of those expiring contracts, it doesn’t mean the Coyotes are completely giving up. There may be an appetite to add some defensemen in the 22-26 range that can step into the vacant spots and help the team right away. Names like Brandon Montour that need a fresh start or even someone like Jake Bean who is blocked in a deeper system could certainly be attractive to a team like Arizona, though how they would afford them (asset-wise) isn’t really clear.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Alex Goligoski Expected To Be Traded Before Deadline

March 2, 2021 at 6:51 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 1 Comment

As trade talks heat up, one player that certainly seems more likely than not to be finishing the season on a different team is veteran defenseman Alex Goligoski. TSN’s Frank Seravalli reports that the Arizona Coyotes are listening to offers for Goligoski and are expected to move him before the trade deadline in six weeks. Goligoski was also listed at No. 22 on The Athletic’s Trade Deadline Board and labeled “the most attractive” of Arizona’s five impending free agent defensemen.

Goligoski, 35, is in the final season of a five-year, $27.375MM contract that he signed with Arizona back in 2016. Although Goligoski has enjoyed some of his best seasons over the course of the contract, Seravalli states that there have been no extension talks with the Coyotes and Goligoski is expected to hit free agency this summer. With Arizona currently at .500 and sitting in sixth place in the West Division, looking unlikely to contend for a playoff spot, Goligoski is worth far more as a trade chip than he is remaining on the roster.

The Coyotes, uniquely in need of draft picks this year, stand a good chance of getting a nice return for Goligoski. Seravalli believes that there is already interest in the mobile defenseman and that interest could grow as the deadline grows closer. Goligoski brings experience and ability to any team willing to give up the pieces needed to get him. And while his contract carries a $5.475MM AAV, Goligoski is only making $4MM in actual salary, which could appeal to teams that are being careful about their finances. Seravalli also points out that teams are impressed by Goligoski’s ability to eat minutes, even late in his career, as well as his versatility as a left-shot who is equally comfortable on the right side. All these factors could produce a wide pool of suitors of Goligoski in the coming weeks.

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