Pacific Notes: Chiarelli, Haula, Tanev
The Edmonton Oilers have been a team that has languished in mediocrity the last couple of years until the team fired head coach Doug McLellan and replaced him with Ken Hitchock. Since then the team seems almost unbeatable as the Oilers have produced a 9-2-2 record under the veteran head coach. Much of that credit might fall to general manager Peter Chiarelli.
With the sudden success of the team, The Athletic’s Daniel Nugent-Bowman (subcription required) interviewed Oilers’ CEO and vice-chair of Oilers Entertainment Group Bob Nicholson, who stated emphatically that if Edmonton makes the playoffs, Chiarelli’s job is safe.
“Yeah. There’s no question,” Nicholson. “I think there’s a lot of things that Peter hasn’t gotten credit for. He’s really started to build. You’re starting to see some of them come up now with the [Caleb] Joneses and the [Evan] Bouchards. We have a lot of assets, which this organization hadn’t had for a while. Peter deserves a lot of credit for that.”
Chiarelli has been highly criticized over the years after being hired in 2015, which included trading No. 1 overall pick Taylor Hall to New Jersey for defenseman Adam Larsson. He also made a few questionable acquisitions, including signing Milan Lucic to a seven-year, $42MM deal, which already looks like an albatross of a contract as there are still five years remaining, while Lucic is playing more of a bottom-six role for the team. Chiarelli also traded the team’s first and second-round picks to the New York Islanders for defenseman Griffin Reinhart, who played just 29 NHL games and is mired in the AHL for the Vegas Golden Knights. That first-round pick turned out to be Mathew Barzal.
However, the addition of Hitchcock and the signing of goaltender Mikko Koskinen have looked like solid moves this season. If the Oilers can continue on their torrid pace, Chiarelli may have done enough to stay on for a while longer.
- While Vegas Golden Knights’ Erik Haula was listed as “month-to-month” a month ago, Las Vegas Review-Journal’s David Schoen reports that general manager George McPhee admitted that Haula actually had surgery in November after suffering the lower-body injury after being driven into the boards by Toronto Maple Leafs’ Patrick Marleau on Nov. 6. “He did have surgery,” McPhee said, who added that the injury was not an ACL injury. “It’s a unique injury.” McPhee has no timetable on Haula’s injury and wouldn’t even speculate as to whether last year’s 30-goal scorer would return for the regular season or even the playoffs. “It’s really hard to know,” McPhee said. “It’s going to be some months, but we don’t know because it’s just such a different injury than any of us have seen before.”
- It’s possible that the Vancouver Canucks have waited too long to move defenseman Chris Tanev as a trade chip. According to Harman Dayal in The Athletic (subscription required), Tanev’s value has fallen quite a bit in the last few weeks and may not be a tradeable asset anymore. It’s believed that his inability to stay healthy is one problem and even though Tanev has played in 29 games this year, there are rumors that he’s hurt now and isn’t playing at his usual level of play. Whether his underwhelming play is a result of playing injured or rapidly declining play, it’s unlikely that Tanev could bring in anything back in value at the moment.
Erik Gudbranson Missed Last Game With Back Spasms
- Canucks defenseman Erik Gudbranson was held out of Thursday’s game due to back spasms, notes Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Province. This comes on the heels of him missing three games earlier this month with a neck issue. It’s worth noting that Vancouver has not pulled a blueliner up from AHL Utica, suggesting that they feel that this is a day-to-day issue. The 26-year-old has eight points and 45 penalty minutes while logging just over 19 minutes a night in 30 games this season.
Vancouver Canucks Sign Mitch Eliot To Entry-Level Contract
The Vancouver Canucks have signed undrafted free agent defenseman Mitch Eliot to a three-year, entry-level contract. The deal will kick in for this season given Eliot is already 20 years old, and expire after the 2020-21 season. He will also take up one of Vancouver’s 50 contract slots.
It didn’t take long for Eliot to show that he had more to give a hockey club than he was being allowed to at Michigan State University. Eliot, unable to show off his offensive abilities last season in college, left in February to join the Sarnia Sting of the OHL. After a late season run with the Sting, he returned this year as one of the team’s leaders on the back end and has recorded 28 points in 32 games—his career high at Michigan State was five.
Despite being relatively undersized for a defenseman, Eliot does not shy away from the physical side of the game and can battle hard in the corners and in front of the net. His offensive upside is likely what has earned him a contract at this point, but that hard-nosed effort level will be what he needs to continue in order to succeed at the next level. If he can’t keep up that competitiveness, he could very well get pushed around by much bigger foes.
Ottawa Could Make Sense As A Landing Spot For Sam Gagner
Canucks center Sam Gagner is known to be available after he was sent back to the AHL earlier this month. In an appearance on TSN 1040 (audio link), TSN’s Darren Dreger suggested that Ottawa could make sense as a fit for the 29-year-old given their rash of injuries up front. He also added that it would take them retaining on his $3.15MM per year (through 2019-20) to get something done. Gagner hasn’t fared too poorly in his NHL action this season but clearly, Vancouver is prioritizing defensive play with their forwards at the bottom of the lineup which has left him on the outside looking in. If the Sens don’t have much interest, it’s likely that Vancouver will have to wait until some other teams get hit with injuries and look to make an opportunistic deal.
Petrus Palmu Heading Back To Finland
After struggling to find consistent ice time with the Utica Comets, Vancouver Canucks prospect Petrus Palmu is heading back to Finland for the rest of the season according to Rick Dhaliwal of Sportsnet. Palmu signed his three-year entry-level contract last spring, leaving TPS in the Finnish Liiga to return to North America, where he’d played three years of junior hockey in the OHL. It’s unclear whether the Canucks will terminate his contract or simply loan him to a team in Finland at this point, but the latter seems more likely given agent Todd Diamond’s comments to Dhaliwal on the situation:
Young players have to play, Petrus is relieved. He is a competitive guy and just wants to play. He is still a part of the Canucks future, yes I believe that.
Palmu, 21, was selected in the sixth round of the 2017 draft after being overlooked previously and found great success last season. Scoring 36 points in 59 games in Finland on the same team as Olli Juolevi, he was one of the most impressive young forwards in the entire league. Still, his small size—Palmu stands just 5’6″—has him a long way from making an impact at the NHL level and limited him in the minor leagues.
The Canucks very likely still have a belief that he can help their organization, but there needs to be consistent playing time for him to continue his development. If the team wasn’t going to give him that in Utica, returning to Finland for the rest of the season might be the best possible answer. The team will be giving up control of his ice time, but will likely be in constant communication with his team to ensure he’s receiving fair treatment and development strategies.
Quinn Hughes To Sign With Vancouver After The Season
After the Vancouver Canucks selected defenseman Quinn Hughes out of the University of Michigan with the seventh overall pick last year, they nearly convinced the freshman phenom to leave school and sign right away. Instead, Hughes opted to return for his sophomore campaign and is again lightning up the score sheet for the Wolverines. Fortunately, the Canucks don’t have to worry about Hughes staying in the college ranks for much longer, as the stud prospect confirmed to Sportsnet that he plans to sign his entry-level contract with Vancouver when the season is over.
Of course, the season that Hughes is referring to is the college season, which at the latest ends with the National Championship game on April 13, but is cut short for non-tournament teams before the end of March. Michigan is currently ranked outside of the top 20 in the NCAA at the midway point of the college season, but it is not outside the realm of possibility that the team could push for a spot in the NCAA tournament. A Big Ten Conference Tournament win or a final ranking within the top ten or twelve teams in the nation would earn the Wolverines a spot in the 16-team postseason. Last year, Michigan took that opportunity and ran with it, earning a spot in the Frozen Four. They could do so again, leaving Vancouver without much of an opportunity to get Hughes signed and into game action, but it does seem right now that Hughes’ final season in college is more likely to end in March. He would then be likely to make his NHL debut this season.
For his part, Canucks GM Jim Benning recently stated that he feels Hughes could help the team right away. Hughes has 20 points in 17 games so far this season, currently leading all Michigan skaters in points – including fellow first-round pick Josh Norris – and trailing only Harvard’s Adam Fox, Quinnipiac’s Chase Priskie, and UMass’ Cale Makar in points-per-game among NCAA defenseman. Hughes will also be a star for Team USA and the World Juniors later this month, where he will again get a chance to shine against top cometition as he prepares for the jump to the NHL. An elite puck mover with a pro-ready eye for making plays, one of Hughes’ goals in returning to school was to get stronger, which he feels he has accomplished. Hughes told Sportsnet that he is confident in his abilities and in his chances of making a successful transition to the pros. Vancouver fans may not have much to root for right now in another difficult season, but the talent of their young players is certainly a bright spot and Hughes’ commitment to joining the team, continued improvement, and confidence in his own ability should make the Cancucks and their supporters very excited.
Prospect Notes: Demko, Makar, Laaksonen
After the Vancouver Canucks used a second-round draft pick on Thatcher Demko in 2014, following a breakout freshman campaign at Boston College, and he proceeded to improve over his next two seasons with the Eagles, many expected that it wouldn’t take long for him to take over as the starter for Vancouver. Now in his third pro season, Demko has suited up for only one game with the Canucks and continues to sit behind the likes of Jacob Markstrom and Anders Nilsson, who have been far from spectacular in that time. With the Vancouver duo currently combining for a save percentage below .900 and a goals against average over 3.00, this season would seem to be a prime opportunity for Demko to finally break through as an option at the NHL level. However, a concussion in training camp derailed the beginning of the season for the young keeper and he has only recently returned to the net for the AHL’s Utica Comets. The Athletic’s Jason Brough recently caught up with Demko to get an update on how his return from the “scary” injury has gone so far. Demko stated that he really wanted to take his time and ensure he was 100% before returning from the concussion, but feels good now. Demko continued that he has been working closely with the Canucks’ new goalie coach, Ian Clark, and is anxious to get his chance in Vancouver this season. Six games into his season in the AHL, Demko’s numbers aren’t as stellar as they were last season, but as he grows healthier and more comfortable in net, he’s likely to return to that high-level performance. Assuming he does, Demko should have far more than one NHL start on his resume by the end of this season.
- Colorado Avalanche top prospect and college hockey superstar Cale Makar was invited to play for Team Canada at the Olympics last year, but declined the opportunity. History has repeated itself this year, as The Athletic’s Julie Robenhymer reports that Makar was offered a spot on Canada’s entry into the Spengler Cup tournament in Switzerland later this month, but has again passed up the international experience. Robenhymer writes that Makar has opted to work on getting back to full health before the second half of the NCAA season begins in January. With UMass ranked as the top team in the country, they need their top defenseman ready to go as they chase a national championship this season. While the Avs may have liked to have seen Makar in a different context at the Spengler Cup, they won’t hesitate to sign him as soon as his college season is over regardless.
- One defenseman who may not be so eager to make the jump to the NHL is Buffalo Sabres prospect Oskari Laaksonen. Laaksonen, 19, was a third-round selection by the Sabres in 2017 and is a well-regarded young puck-mover. However, Laaksonen is comfortable staying in his native Finland for the time being, as Ilves has announced a two-year extension with their young stalwart. While the press release included a quote from Laaksonen that he is happy to stay with the team until something happens in the NHL, Buffalo certainly wouldn’t mind if he wanted to log some time in the AHL beforehand and it would help Laaksonen reach to top level much sooner. With Rasmus Dahlin, Lawrence Pilut, and Rasmus Ristolainen all relatively young and seemingly locked in to long-term starting roles, Laaksonen likely sees a lack of opportunity right now in Buffalo. However, he does seem willing to make the move once the blue line opens up somewhat with the Sabres.
Pacific Notes: Ekman-Larsson, Stastny, Roussel
It’s been a wildly inconsistent year for the Arizona Coyotes who have seen losing streaks like when they went 2-6-2 during one stretch, but have also had a four and a five-game winning streak as well this season. One issue has been the play of defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson. While his numbers have been similar to his yearly totals, coach Rick Tocchet wants to see more from his new captain, according to The Athletic’s Craig Morgan (subscription required).
Tocchet wants to see Ekman-Larsson be the best player on the ice every game, which hasn’t always been the case. In the past 11 games, Ekman-Larsson has just three assists, which just isn’t enough for a team that still remains short on fire power. Tocchet needs Ekman-Larson to take that next step in his development after the team gave him a six-year, $33MM extension last March and named him captain during the offseason.
“There’s no question I want him to take charge,” Tocchet said. “In a 2-2 game when he gets the puck, I want him to walk the blue line with that look like, ‘I’m going to make the play’ or ‘I’m going to shoot the puck.’ When you have those games – and we’ve all seen those games — where you walk off and say, ‘Wow, 23! What a game out there!’ It’s when he’s engaged.”
- The Vegas Golden Knights could be ready to get back one of their injured players as center Paul Stastny, who has been seen getting some skating and practice times in, will join the team on their upcoming road trip which starts Wednesday in New York and may even get into the lineup at some point during the trip, according to Las Vegas Review-Journal’s David Schoen.“Don’t be surprised if you see him early next week,” Vegas head coach Gerard Gallant said. Stastny has missed most of the season with a lower-body injury and has appeared in just three games so far this year. Stastny’s return should only add depth to a team that is still missing Erik Haula and has been forced to pair Max Pacioretty with third-liners Cody Eakin and Alex Tuch, although that line has fared quite well over the past few weeks.
- While there was plenty of criticism during the offseason when the Vancouver Canucks signed forward Antoine Roussel to a four-year, $12MM deal, The Province’s Ben Kuzma writes that Roussel is proving his value as he has quickly taken over the role that Derek Dorsett once had with the team. The 29-year-old has produced a bit on the ice as well with three goals, 12 points and 67 penalty minutes and is on-pace to eclipse his career high of 29 points. “The one thing about Roussel is his engine always runs hot and he’s always competing, and that reminds me a little bit of Dorsett,” Vancouver head coach Travis Green said. “They care about their teammates and want to win desperately. That’s part of the culture we’re trying to create.”
Western Notes: Vancouver-Seattle Rivalry, Baertschi, Pietrangelo, Vlasic
With Seattle becoming the NHL’s 32nd team, you might think the Vancouver Canucks wouldn’t be thrilled to have a team right on their doorstep. However, that’s not the case. In fact, Vancouver ownership and fans are thrilled to bring a natural rival for their team and hope that it will continue to spark interest not only in Seattle, but bring in more fans in Vancouver as well, according to the Associated Press.
”Vancouver is already a partner. They were the most enthusiastic team in the league about this. They love the idea of this rivalry,” Seattle team President Tod Leiweke said. ”I think for the two cities to connect like this, the two cities are 130 miles away but now they’re going to connect in a whole different way and I think that’s one of the great things that is going to come out of all this is a deep, deep visceral connection between Vancouver and Seattle and we’re going to play some great games.”
Both franchises hope that the rivalry will increase marketing, interest in the game and the hope that each franchise’s fanbase will travel back and forth between cities when they face off against each other. While there would normally be reason to worry that each franchise might take away from each other in terms of fans, there is no concern of that here as it is believed the U.S.-Canadien border is likely the perfect barrier for fans on which side they want to follow.
- Sticking with Vancouver, Canucks head coach Travis Green said that forward Sven Baertschi is progressing nicely and might be ready to practice with the team when in Vancouver on Monday and Tuesday. Baertschi has been out since Oct. 24 with a concussion. Baertschi has only appeared in 10 games for Vancouver this season and has three goals and three assists.
- While only a rumor, Sportsnet reports that Nick Kypreos reported on Hockey Night in Canada tonight that the St. Louis Blues are considering moving defenseman Alex Pietrangelo and the Toronto Maple Leafs could be the prime target, suggesting that the Maple Leafs are offering Nikita Zaitsev, picks and prospects as part of a package. While that would be a huge win for the Toronto Maple Leafs, expect much of the league to weigh in on Pietrangelo if St. Louis truly intends to trade him. Pietrangelo, who is currently on LTIR, could become a unrestricted free agent after the 2019-20 season.
- The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz (subscription required) writes that one of the biggest problems with the San Jose Sharks is the regression of veteran defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic, who is starting the first year of an eight-year, $56MM contract, pointing out that the 31-year-old Vlasic is playing like a third-line defenseman this season and his minus-14 plus/minus ratio is quite accurate as he has struggled mightily.
- Fox Sports Jon Rosen reports that Gabriel Vilardi is not in the lineup for the Ontario Reign of the AHL due to an injury and is expected to be evaluated on Monday by Los Angeles Kings doctors. The 19-year-old forward has been on a long-term conditioning assignment in Ontario, having posted one assist in four games there so far. He has missed significant time in each of the last two seasons due to back injury.
Canucks Continue To Look For NHL Fit For Sam Gagner
One of the more surprising decisions this season has come from the Vancouver Canucks, who found themselves with too many forwards to start the year. Because of that, the team waived and assigned veteran Sam Gagner to the minor leagues, loaning him to the Toronto Marlies so that he could be close to family if he were to be playing in the AHL. That looked like the end of his Canucks career, but amazingly just a few weeks later Vancouver found themselves in need and recalled Gagner once again. In fact, after his recall Gagner immediately went to an important spot in the lineup and rejoined a Canucks powerplay.
Now, the team has sent Gagner back to the minor leagues once again, and back to Toronto to play for the Marlies. Again it would seem like his time is over in Vancouver, but at this point no one can be sure. What is known though, is that Canucks GM Jim Benning is open to moving Gagner to another NHL team if he can find a good fit for him. The Vancouver executive told The Province that the team continues to look for opportunities for Gagner around the league and notes that as teams start incurring injuries there could be an opening.
Just this week, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet suggested that the Chicago Blackhawks could have some interest in Gagner, though Benning would not comment on specifics. As with almost any team acquiring the veteran forward, the finances might be tight. Gagner carries a cap hit of $3.15MM this season, but it’s the additional year on his current contract that quite severely limits his appeal. Taking him on at this point would be a risk for any team hoping to recapture some of the magic that made him a 50-point man in Columbus two seasons ago, a mark he had never reached previously in his career. If it goes south, like it has in Vancouver, being on the hook for another $3.15MM next season is a deal breaker for a team like Chicago.
If then it would take a retained salary transaction to move him, what is the benefit for the Canucks? The team currently has plenty of cap space to carry his buried contract, and he’s shown the ability to step right back into an NHL role and produce. Gagner did after all have three points in seven games after being recalled from Toronto, and played admirably given the circumstances. The value he brings as a veteran option that can be recalled at any time may be worth more than any return, meaning a trade would be entirely for his sake. That might be exactly what happens in this situation though, as Benning told The Province: “if something is there, we’ll do it.”