Western Notes: Tanev, Anisimov, Boedker
The Vancouver Canucks may be ready to ship off several players such as Thomas Vanek and Erik Gudbranson, but one player whose name doesn’t come up as often is defenseman Chris Tanev. Of course, in the past Vancouver has been reluctant to trade their top defenseman, who is a club leader and one of the longest-tenured players in Vancouver.
However, The Athletic’s Mike Halford (subscription required) writes that this is the perfect time for the team to move the 28-year-old Tanev. While there are some solid defensemen likely to be available at the deadline, most are pending unrestricted free agents like Detroit’s Mike Green or Pittsburgh’s Ian Cole or are locked into long-term deals such as Ottawa’s Dion Phaneuf ($7MM AAV through 2021). The Canucks might get quite a return for someone like Tanev, who is locked up at a reasonable price at 4.45MM for another two years after this one. Tanev, who is known for making everyone better around him, could likely slide into more than half of any playoff team’s top four, making him quite valuable.
“He would get great value. There would be large demand for Chris Tanev and his services around the NHL, that’s for sure,” TSN’s Mike Johnson said in the article. “He’s a first-rounder [in return]. From a good team that’s going to pick 28th or 29th, at the bottom of the first round? I think so. Or maybe not the best prospect, but the third or fourth best prospect in an organization.”
- Tracey Myers of NHL.com tweets that Chicago Blackhawks center Artem Anisimov, who has missed the last eight games with an upper-body injury attempted to practice today, but coach Joel Quenneville said he was “just OK” and might miss even more time. The 29-year-old Anisimov has 13 goals for Chicago this year.
- The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz writes (subscription required) that the San Jose Sharks are hoping to get more production from winger Mikkel Boedker after he was a healthy scratch in the team’s last game before their bye-week started. The veteran who signed with the team two offseasons ago, is struggling even more in his second year with the team. He had 10 goals and 26 points last year and so far has only three goals and six assists. “We need some production out of him,” head coach Peter DeBoer said. “That’s the bottom line. If he’s not producing points, he’s got to at least be producing chances to score. When he’s not, he can’t help us.”
Canucks Assign Nikolay Goldobin To Utica
- The Canucks announced via Twitter that they have assigned winger Nikolay Goldobin to AHL Utica. The 22-year-old has been reasonably productive this season with four points in 14 games but saw just 6:32 of ice time last night as Sven Baertschi‘s return dropped him down the depth chart. He’ll be in line for much more playing time with the Comets where he has averaged more than a point per game (19 points in 18 contests) so far this season.
Pacific Notes: Vancouver’s Defense, Kane, Muzzin, Sekera
The Vancouver Canucks have been hurting for offense for quite some time. Yet despite adding veteran Thomas Vanek and rookie sensation Brock Boeser to the team’s lineup, the team is ranked 27th in the league in scoring. The Vancouver Sun’s Jason Botchford writes that the main reason is due to the defense’s inability to move the puck forward and help create offense.
Vancouver lacks a true offensive defenseman as the team seems to have little, but defensive blueliners in their rotations. The team’s top offensive defenseman is offseason acquisition Michael Del Zotto, who has 12 points this year, but Botchford says that the 27-year-old has rarely been the answer this season. The teams had hoped that third-year defenseman Ben Hutton might improve on his rookie year’s 25 points. Yet he has no goals and just six assists so far this year. Alexander Edler also has failed to improve on his offense as well.
Botchford says the team does have one possibility in AHL’s Philip Holm, who has seven goals and 19 points in 30 games this year in Utica. However, the team has not used him this year despite their need for an offensive spark. The team has a logjam of defenders and a trade deadline deal to move out Erik Gudbranson might be the best thing for the Canucks as it would allow the team to start playing the 26-year-old Holm.
- The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz (subscription required) writes that while he believes that San Jose Sharks might be interested in acquiring Buffalo Sabres forward Evander Kane at the trade deadline, there are definitely some issues with doing that. While Kane would provide the Sharks an immediate top scorer (his 35 points would make him San Jose’s top point-getter) which could offer the Sharks the depth needed to field three solid lines, there are other factors San Jose would have to consider before making a trade. The current asking price by Buffalo is a first-rounder, a top prospect and a conditional pick. The team lacks resources as they attempt to retool their franchise, so moving those three assets would be tough to do. On top of that, the team would have to have confidence to re-sign Kane to a long-term deal and would they want to do that. He has a history of concerning incidents in his past, including a recent scuffle with teammate Justin Falk. Would the team want to sign him to a seven or eight year deal?
- Los Angeles Kings defenseman Jake Muzzin is listed as doubtful, according to Fox Sports’ Jon Rosen. Muzzin, who had played in a consecutive 281 games, broke that streak last Saturday when he missed a game against Nashville with an undisclosed injury. He is not expected to play tonight against the Ducks, but is making progress.
- Bruce McCurdy of the Edmonton Journal grades the performances of all the Oilers after Friday’s victory over Arizona and points out the defenseman Andrej Sekera has improved every game he’s played since returning and is already looking more as himself since returning from a torn ACL.
Morning Notes: Maple Leafs, Hoffman, Lockwood
The Toronto Maple Leafs are in their bye week after a pair of one-goal losses, and though the points totals say they’re tied with the Boston Bruins for second in the Atlantic Division, they actually trail behind. That’s because Toronto has played five more games than the Bruins, who are tied for the fewest GP so far in the league. As the Maple Leafs rest up from a grueling first half, GM Lou Lamoriello spoke with Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun and discussed a potential deadline trade:
I certainly like our roster. I think it’s solid. We’ll have to wait and see what is transpiring, but you’re never good enough.
To do something for the sake of doing something is never a good thing. You don’t even want to use the word ‘substantial.’ Sometimes the smallest things become the biggest.
Lamoriello has maintained his position all along that he’ll only make a trade to improve the club if something presents itself, and isn’t out there knocking down doors to improve the Maple Leafs defense corps. While it does sound like there may be some minor tweaks out of Toronto as we head closer to the deadline, a major move might not be in the cards.
- Lamoriello’s contemporary from Ottawa however could be barking up a very different tree. Darren Dreger joined TSN 1200 radio yesterday to discuss several Senators topics, including the potential trade of Mike Hoffman. Dreger reported that the market is strong for Hoffman, mentioning teams like St. Louis, Edmonton and Calgary as potential destinations. Hoffman has 29 points on the season but has recently found quite a bit of chemistry with Matt Duchene. Whether that duo is broken up is still to be seen, but the Senators will likely try to wait as long as possible to make a decision.
- Unfortunately, for another Canadian team, it’s surgery for one of their top prospects. Vancouver Canucks prospect Will Lockwood, who injured his shoulder in the World Juniors for Team USA, is set to have surgery according to Rick Dhaliwal of NEWS 1130. Utica Comets GM Ryan Johnson told Dhaliwal that Lockwood would have the surgery in two weeks, and be out around six months. That’s a tough break for the University of Michigan, where Lockwood was having another strong season. He’ll have to make a decision on whether or not to turn pro after the season is over.
Penguins Notes: Trade Challenges, Hornqvist, Hagelin
While it has been reported over the past several weeks that the Penguins have been aggressive in talking trades and that they could try to do something sooner than later, GM Jim Rutherford acknowledged to Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that making further changes may not be what the team actually needs at the moment:
“Some of the things that I see, I don’t believe changing player personnel is going to do it. As a group, we have to be more consistent and do what we do best.”
Mackey notes a couple of factors that could work against the Penguins in any trade discussions. For starters, they have limited trade chips aside from defenseman Ian Cole. They’re not likely to be willing to part with their pending unrestricted free agents and while they’d likely want to move Carl Hagelin’s contract ($4MM through 2018-19), they’re going to have a hard time finding some takers. Prospect Daniel Sprong will certainly garner interest but considering how he has fared since being recalled, they’re going to want to hold onto him as well.
The other issue at play will be the salary cap. As is the case with a lot of contenders, their room to work with is limited; per CapFriendly, they can add a player making just over $2.3MM but that’s only if they wait until trade deadline day to make that move. Most impact players make considerably more which means that Rutherford may need to be creative if he wants to add someone of consequence to the roster. Otherwise, they will have to try to turn things around with the personnel they have.
More from Pittsburgh:
- Also from Mackey’s column, Rutherford confirmed that there “hasn’t been any movement” when it comes to contract extension discussions for winger Patric Hornqvist. The 31-year-old is on pace for his fifth straight 20-goal season which should have him positioned for a raise on his current $4.25MM cap hit. With more than $60MM committed to 13 players for next season already, the Pens will be in tough to commit to another big-ticket deal without clearing some money off the books for next season.
- Hagelin finds himself with just seven points (2-5-7) through 43 games, well below his career averages. Jonathan Bombulie of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review speculates that fatigue could be a factor as he has played the fourth most games of any player (regular season and playoffs) over the past six seasons. For his part, Hagelin doesn’t want to use fatigue as a reason for his struggles but has admitted that he has lacked energy at times this year. It will be interesting to see if Pittsburgh rests him a bit in the second half hoping that doing so will get him going a bit more.
2018 All-Star Rosters
The NHL released the rosters for this year’s All-Star game in Tampa Bay, leading to an inevitable onslaught of discussion over who missed out and who didn’t deserve to go. The event will take place on January 27-28th. The full rosters can be found below:
Atlantic Division:
F Steven Stamkos – Tampa Bay Lightning (captain)
F Nikita Kucherov – Tampa Bay Lightning
F Auston Matthews – Toronto Maple Leafs
F Aleksander Barkov – Florida Panthers
F Brad Marchand – Boston Bruins
F Jack Eichel – Buffalo Sabres
D Victor Hedman – Tampa Bay Lightning
D Erik Karlsson – Ottawa Senators
D Mike Green – Detroit Red Wings
G Andrei Vasilevskiy – Tampa Bay Lightning
G Carey Price – Montreal Canadiens
Head Coach: Jon Cooper
Metropolitan Division:
F Alex Ovechkin – Washington Capitals (captain)
F Taylor Hall – New Jersey Devils
F Sidney Crosby – Pittsburgh Penguins
F Josh Bailey – New York Islanders
F John Tavares – New York Islanders
F Claude Giroux – Philadelphia Flyers
D Seth Jones – Columbus Blue Jackets
D Noah Hanifin – Carolina Hurricanes
D Kris Letang – Pittsburgh Penguins
G Henrik Lundqvist – New York Rangers
G Braden Holtby – Washington Capitals
Head Coach: Barry Trotz
Central Division:
F Patrick Kane – Chicago Blackhawks
F Nathan MacKinnon – Colorado Avalanche
F Blake Wheeler – Winnipeg Jets
F Brayden Schenn – St. Louis Blues
F Eric Staal – Minnesota Wild
F Tyler Seguin – Dallas Stars
D P.K. Subban – Nashville Predators (captain)
D Alex Pietrangelo – St. Louis Blues
D John Klingberg – Dallas Stars
G Pekka Rinne – Nashville Predators
G Connor Hellebuyck – Winnipeg Jets
Head Coach: Peter Laviolette
Pacific Division:
F Connor McDavid – Edmonton Oilers (captain)
F Johnny Gaudreau – Calgary Flames
F Brock Boeser – Vancouver Canucks
F James Neal – Vegas Golden Knights
F Rickard Rakell – Anaheim Ducks
F Anze Kopitar – Los Angeles Kings
D Drew Doughty – Los Angeles Kings
D Brent Burns – San Jose Sharks
D Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Arizona Coyotes
G Jonathan Quick – Los Angeles Kings
G Marc-Andre Fleury – Vegas Golden Knights
Head Coach: Gerard Gallant
Vancouver Canucks Not Worried About Signing Adam Gaudette
In the next few months, we’ll start to hear more and more about the impressive prospects playing at the NCAA level and whether they’ll be turning to the professional ranks. The National Championship game will be held on April 7th, marking the last game many draft picks will play in college.
The Vancouver Canucks are keeping a close eye on one collegiate player in particular, and their director of amateur scouting Judd Brackett joined Sportsnet radio earlier today to speak about Adam Gaudette. Gaudette, 21, has been tearing up the NCAA since he debuted for Northeastern University in 2015, and has 30 points in just 20 games this season. This is his third year in school, and he’ll have a chance to sign with the Canucks or go back to finish his NCAA career in 2018-19. When asked about the chances the Canucks sign him this spring, Brackett seemed very positive:
[Gaudette’s] very excited about beginning a pro career. I think that’s a safe bet, but you know, other things have happened before. I think Adam is excited to become a Canuck.
Drafted in the fifth round in 2015, Gaudette transitioned beautifully from the USHL to college, scoring 30 points as a freshman and showing that his all-around game could hold up against players several years older than him. Now an alternate captain for Northeastern, the forward can make creative plays in the offensive zone and is responsible in his own end.
Vancouver knows first hand what kind of talent the NCAA has, as they watched Brock Boeser jump from the University of North Dakota to scoring his first NHL goal in less than 24 hours last spring. Though Gaudette isn’t expected to make the same kind of impact at the professional level, he’s certainly done everything right in his development to this point. An entry-level contract is likely waiting for him when his season is over.
Sven Baertschi To Return, Chris Tanev Needs Surgery
The Canucks are set to get a boost up front tonight against Montreal as winger Sven Baertschi is expected to be activated off injured reserve, notes Jason Botchford of the Vancouver Province. He suffered a jaw injury back on December 9th and despite being out of the lineup since then, he still sits fourth on the team in goals.
It isn’t all good news for Vancouver, however. After taking a puck to the mouth and losing multiple teeth on Saturday, defenseman Chris Tanev will not play tonight, reports Sportsnet’s Dan Murphy (Twitter link). He adds that there is nothing broken but that he will still need surgery. However, Tanev’s plan at this point is to play the next three games after tonight and then have the surgery when the Canucks have their bye week.
Minor Transactions — 1/7/18
After a nine-game schedule Saturday, the NHL has another busy day of action today as 20 teams will be on the ice. There have already been a few moves made and many more are likely:
- The Winnipeg Jets have activated veteran defenseman Tobias Enstrom off of injured reserve. The 33-year-old went down with a lower-body injury back on Nov. 18 and was deemed out for eight weeks. Slightly ahead of schedule, the defensive-minded Enstrom should improve the defensive play of Winnipeg, especially since they also just got back defenseman Dustin Byfuglien five days ago.
- The Colorado Avalanche announced they have made a three moves this morning, as defenseman Andrei Mironov and winger A.J. Greer and goaltender Andrew Hammond have all been assigned to the San Antonio Rampage. It’s likely that all three are being sent down to get regular playing time while the Avalanche begin their five-day bye week. The Avalanche don’t play again until next Saturday.
- After sending this group down one day ago, the Columbus Blue Jackets recalled center Zac Dalpe, defenseman Dean Kukan and goaltender Joonas Korpisalo, while returning goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks to the Cleveland Monsters. All were sent down to get in some playing time in the AHL in Cleveland’s 4-3 shootout loss to Rockford. Dalpe scored a goal, Kukan added an assist and Korpisalo stopped 37 shots on goal.
- The Detroit Red Wings announced they have recalled goaltender Jared Coreau from the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins. He will serve as the emergency backup for Petr Mrazek after it was reported Saturday that starter Jimmy Howard will sit out today’s game with a lower-body injury. Coreau played 14 games for the Red Wings last year, but hasn’t had as good of a season in Grand Rapids as he did a year ago. The 26-year-old netminder has a 2.77 GAA in 25 games so far this year with the Griffins. It will likely be a one-game stint for Coreau as the Red Wings go on a bye week and won’t play again until next Saturday.
- The Vancouver Canucks announced that they have reassigned winger Reid Boucher to the Utica Comets today. Boucher has been with the team since Dec. 13, but has appeared in just three games with the team. He has been a healthy scratch in five of the team’s past six games. The 24-year-old returns to Utica where he has 13 goals and 25 points this year in 25 games.
- After sending Marcus Sorensen down Friday night, the San Jose Sharks have recalled the young forward back to the team, according to CapFriendly. Sorensen has three goals in 13 games with the Sharks. Defenseman Dylan DeMelo was placed on IR to make room for Sorenson on the roster.
- The Los Angeles Kings have sent Jonny Brodzinski and Kevin Gravel to the minor leagues after losing yesterday to the Predators. The Kings are headed into their bye week, and won’t play again until next Saturday night.
- Following their game this afternoon, the Philadelphia Flyers announced that they have returned winger Tyrell Goulbourne to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. He played in two games while on recall, averaging 5:34 per game. The Flyers are also heading into their bye week and could potentially bring Goulbourne back up next weekend.
- The New York Islanders also made several roster moves following their matinee against the Devils. Forwards Anthony Beauvillier and Tanner Fritz as well as defenseman Sebastian Aho have all been sent down to Bridgeport. There is a good chance some of them will be recalled following the bye week.
No Extension Talks Looming Between Canucks And Benning; Horvat Out Until After All-Star Game
After the Blues locked up GM Doug Armstrong to a four-year extension last week, the focus has shifted to other managers in the final year of their contracts. One of those is Canucks GM Jim Benning. Speaking with the press, including Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre, team president Trevor Linden indicated that there will be no discussions on a new deal anytime soon. While he stated that he is pleased with the current direction of the team, Linden prefers to leave those discussions for the offseason. Benning is in his fourth season at the helm of the team.
Linden also indicated that center Bo Horvat may take longer than expected to make it back to the lineup than originally anticipated. While he was initially supposed to miss four-to-six weeks after breaking his foot on December 5th, the Canucks are now expected to be without their top pivot until after the All-Star break which falls three weeks from now.