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Canadiens Eyeing Alex Burrows

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With a loss earlier today to the Boston Bruins, the Vancouver Canucks are falling further and further out of postseason contention. The Canucks sit six points behind the Nashville Predators and Los Angeles Kings for a wild card berth in the Western Conference. They also have just one win in their last six games face powerhouses like the Pittsburgh Penguins and San Jose Sharks in their upcoming games leading to the NHL Trade Deadline on March 1st. Though in many ways Vancouver has exceeded expectations in 2016-17, they are trending more toward being sellers at the deadline than buyers.

One of Vancouver’s top trade pieces is none other than career-Canuck Alexandre Burrows. The agitating forward is still a strong two-way contributor, but his offensive production has been tailing off for years. A rebuilding Canucks squad seems unlikely to re-sign Burrows yet again, and would be especially willing to move on if they can get something in return. A destination may already be in mind: the Montreal Canadiens. As The Province’s Ben Kuzma writes, Burrows and teammate Jannik Hansen could command a good return for Vancouver if the GM Jim Benning only asks them to waive their no-trade clauses.

We here at PHR have already connected Hansen to Montreal, but according to Kuzma, the Canadiens have been heavily scouting the Canucks and may have interest in Burrows as well, if not more. While the first item on Montreal’s wish list is a top-six center, they have also made it known that they are in the market for other forward help. In fact, many expect the Canadiens to be one of the biggest players in what otherwise could be a quiet deadline market. In Burrows, Montreal would receive a gritty forward who is able to win battles along the boards, make his presence felt around the net, and, more than anything, help out on the penalty kill and in improving the team defense. The Quebec native seems like a suitable fit for a team whose GM and coach, Marc Bergevin and Michel Therrien, have emphasized two-way play from their forward corps in recent years, so look for the Canucks to pull the trigger on a deal if it develops.

Snapshots: Rust, Chara, Maple Leafs

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News and notes from around the NHL this evening:

  • Pittsburgh Penguins forward Bryan Rust will miss Saturday’s game against the Arizona Coyotes, reports KDKA’s Bob Pompeani. Rust suffered an injury midway through last night’s game against the Colorado Avalanche. Avalanche defenseman Mark Barberio hit Rust in front of the Colorado net and Rust did not return after leaving the ice. In Rust’s stead comes Josh Archibald, fresh off of a recall from the AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, as reported by the Tribune-Review’s Jonathan Bombulie. Archibald has 11G and 11A in 48 games so far with WBS. This will be Archibald’s second game ever in the NHL.
  • Boston Bruins defenseman—and captain—Zdeno Chara should return tomorrow afternoon against the visiting Vancouver Canucks. Chara missed Thursday’s game with an illness he has been battling for weeks. In 49 games this season Chara has 4G and 11A, but more remarkably still leads all Bruins skaters in average ice-time. Details about the illness are scarce, but Chara spoke to NHL.com and implied that he was generally fatigued and under the weather.
  • ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun pointed out that the Toronto Maple Leafs have not yet used any LTIR space, and could get $13.5MM in cap relief should they have to hit the cap ceiling. Stephane Robidas, Joffrey Lupul, and Nathan Horton all remain sidelined indefinitely with various long-term injuries. If they want to bring in a experienced rental to further mentor their young prospects, they have the cap space to do so.

Western Conference Snapshots: DeBoer, Canucks, Spezza

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Player development is instrumental to a team’s success in today’s NHL. The salary cap forces teams to waive goodbye to key veterans every year and integrating young players on ELC’s is the most effective way to replace the talent lost. Having a coaching staff that can mold young talent into quality NHL players simplifies that process and speeds up the player’s development. Kevin Kurz of CSN Bay Area writes that Sharks bench boss Pete DeBoer has done an exemplary job of doing just that in San Jose, despite a reputation from his previous job that suggested otherwise.

One of the reasons DeBoer was fired in New Jersey was his apparent unwillingness to utilize the team’s younger players. However, as Kurz points out, Stefan Matteau, Mattias Tedenby and Eric Gelinas, prospects DeBoer was criticized for not developing while with the Devils, have managed little in the way of NHL success since the coach was let go by New Jersey. On the flip side, the way DeBoer has handled players like Tomas Hertl, Dylan DeMelo and Kevin Lebanc has demonstrated he knows which buttons to push and when to push them in order to further a prospect’s development. And as Kurz notes, when DeBoer recognizes a player is simply not ready for big league action, he has no problem shipping that player back to the minors even if the decision doesn’t sit well with fans.

Elsewhere in the Western Conference:

  • In a highly entertaining piece for The Province, Jason Botchford touches on a number of Canuck-related topics. Chief among them is his assertion that veteran defenseman Alex Edler would be a valuable addition to any contending team’s blue line. It’s an interesting notion as Edler certainly would add loads of experience and is still an effective second-pair defender at this stage of his career. He has been a top-pair blue liner for Vancouver this season, averaging better than 24 minutes a contest while registering 10 points in 39 games, but would certainly be better off with less ice time on a playoff contender. Teams may also be hesitant to absorb the remaining two years on his deal, which come with an AAV of $5MM each. Edler also owns a NTC as part of his contract but might be willing to waive that for the right situation. It’s not inconceivable that a contender desperate for a boost on the back end would give the Canucks a call to see what it would take to pry the veteran Swede away from Vancouver.
  • The Dallas Stars announced this afternoon that they have placed veteran center Jason Spezza on IR retroactive to February 2nd. The team has been ravaged by injuries to key contributors all season and Spezza is just the latest example of the Stars bad luck with health. Spezza has just eight goals on the season but is fifth on the team in points with 31. He will be eligible to be activated off of IR tomorrow. Mike Heika of The Dallas Morning News adds that the move might be procedural to allow the team to recall a player from the minors, either to practice with the club or for tomorrow’s game. The team was at the 23-man roster limit but now have an open spot should they decide to take that course of action.

Sven Baertschi Suffers Concussion

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The Vancouver Canucks will be without forward Sven Baertschi for the foreseeable future.

Baertschi was forced to leave Tuesday night’s game in Nashville early in the first period after a collision with Cody McLeod (YouTube link). Interestingly, the Canucks immediately labelled Baertschi’s injury a concussion instead of the standard upper-body injury.

McLeod will not face any supplemental discipline for the hit, which has been deemed accidental according to ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun. Canucks coach Willie Desjardins said after the game that he feels McLeod knew Baertschi was there before he hit him. McLeod was not penalized on the play.

The Canucks have now lost four games in a row and are seven points out of the final wildcard spot. Last night was the first game of a six-game road trip, which will likely make or break the Canucks’ playoff chances. They visit Columbus, Boston, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis in the next week.

Baertschi has 13 goals and 27 points in 50 games this season. He was originally the Flames’ 13th overall pick in the 2011 draft. He was acquired by the Canucks at the 2015 deadline for a second round pick.

Latest From Insider Trading: Coaches, Jets, Canucks

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The all-star reporter panel at TSN comprised of Darren Dreger, Bob McKenzie and Pierre LeBrun took to the air again today with their latest segment of Insider Trading. They touched on both Claude Julien and Ken Hitchcock, two of the big coaching names that have been fired recently, saying both will likely wait until the summer to take another job. McKenzie said that Hitchcock would consider a move to a long-term situation if he finds a fit, but wouldn’t “come out of the bullpen” so to speak.

It will be interesting to see what this means for the Vegas club, which now has a very established list of coaches to try to bring in if they choose to go that way. It’s been said before that Vegas likely wants a big presence for their first coach to try and make a splash in the market, and it’s not clear if Julien, Hitchcock or even Gerard Gallant would fit that mold.

  • LeBrun insisted again that the Chicago Blackhawks sound like they’ll be very quiet at the deadline this year because of their cap issues. As much as Stan Bowman keeps saying that the Hawks won’t make another bold move at the deadline, it’s hard to believe that they won’t try to make at least a slight upgrade for another run. They still need help on the wing and remember that they do have three extra (albeit late round) draft picks for this season in hand.
  • The Vancouver Canucks are falling out of the picture after a successful middle stretch of the season, and will now start to field questions for their top players. McKenzie relates that even though GM Jim Benning said prior to the season that he would not ask any players to waive their no-trade clauses, he now admits that he would got to them with options if teams were calling on them. Goaltender Ryan Miller and forward Alex Burrows were mentioned specifically, but remember that Alex Edler and Brandon Sutter also have NTCs and would bring back solid returns in trade should the Canucks decide to completely tear it down.
  • After the Jets got some terrible news on the defensive front with Tyler Myers undergoing another surgery, Dreger says they’ll be hard pressed to find a replacement. GM Kevin Cheveldayoff had already been looking around for some depth on the blueline, and now has even more problems to try and fix. It will be interesting to see where the Jets are in another two weeks and whether they need to add to try and make a deep playoff push or sell off some expiring assets.
  • LeBrun does also mention the past reports that the Ottawa Senators kicked the tires on both Matt Duchene and Gabriel Landeskog, but says that it didn’t get very far. Ottawa isn’t willing to part with the kind of package that the Avalanche are currently asking for, though would be open to negotiation should it fall. Both Avalanche forwards seem like tough bets to move in-season, but if the team is committed to shaking up the core, Ottawa could come back to the table in the summer.

Anton Rodin Undergoes Knee Surgery, Out Six Months

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After being shut down earlier in January because he re-injured his knee, Vancouver Canucks forward Anton Rodin underwent successful surgery today to repair it, but will be out for at least six months. He should be ready for the start of the 2018 season, though he’s still a long way from knowing for certain.

Rodin has had a nightmare season in his first year back from Sweden. After scoring 37 points in 35 games for Brynas last season in his home country, he returned to North America to try to make an impact for the Canucks. He has only played in three games for the NHL club this season, adding another three down with the Utica Comets of the AHL. Injury has stolen basically his entire year, as he’ll now miss the remainder of the season.

The 26-year old winger signed a one-year deal with the Canucks for $950,000 which they could now move to LTIR to get a little additional cap relief if they needed. He’ll still be a restricted free agent this offseason, but it is still to be seen if he decides to stay in North America. After being drafted in the second round in 2009, he has only played two seasons in the AHL before this. He made his NHL debut for the team this season.

Minor Transactions: 2/6/2017

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Derek Grant is headed back to Buffalo. The Nashville Predators had claimed Grant from the Sabres earlier this season, but after addressing their need for grit by trading for Cody McLeod and more recently Vernon Fiddler, Grant became expendable. The Predators placed Grant on waivers yesterday and the Buffalo News now reports that his former team has picked him up. If the Sabres were the only team to put a claim in on Grant, they now have the flexibility to reassign him to the AHL over the next 30 days if they so choose, as the team that previously placed him on waivers. Grant has four assists this season, three in 35 games with Buffalo and one in six appearances with Nashville. The 26-year-old grinder is far from an NHL-caliber offensive contributor, but is a capable of being a reliable energy line player and isn’t afraid to drop the gloves.

In other news around the league:

  •  A day after sending Karl Stollery to the AHL’s Albany Devils, New Jersey has recalled the defenseman. John Moore has begun skating with the team, but is not ready to return to action. Stollery provides a good option for blue line depth in the meantime. He has three assists in nine games for the Devils this season, while logging over 16 minutes of ice time per game.
  • The Nashville Predators have swapped goaltenders with their AHL affiliate, sending Juuse Saros to Milwaukee and recalling Marek Mazanec. Saros is 5-3-2 with the Predators, and has an excellent 0.941 SV% and 1.79 GAA. In the AHL, he’s 12-2 with a 0.932 SV% and 1.92 GAA. Meanwhile Mazanec has struggled this season, with two losses in four appearances with the Predators. He has a rough 0.839 SV% and a 4.72 GAA. He’s been a little better with the AHL’s Admirals, going 12-10 with a 0.910 SV% and a 2.61 GAA.
  • The Vancouver Canucks have demoted forward Brendan Gaunce to Utica of the AHL. The former first round pick has five assists in 47 games with the Canucks. He had just one goal in 20 games last season, but has been much better with the Comets, scoring 17 goals and 38 points in 46 games last season. The Canucks will need Gaunce to pick up his offensive game if he’s going to be an impact player like he was in the OHL where he scored 236 points in 258 games.
  • Forwards Timo Meier and Marcus Sorensen have been recalled to the San Jose Sharks. Meier has four points in 21 games with the Sharks and 15 points in 18 games with the Barracuda, while Sorensen has 27 points in 39 games at the AHL.
  • In a corresponding move, the Sharks have also assigned Tim Heed and Kevin Labanc to the AHL, as per Kevin Kurz of CSN.

Pro Hockey Rumors’ Zach Leach contributed to this post.

Trade Candidates: Jannik Hansen

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The Vancouver Canucks can choose from a few different reasons why they should trade Jannik Hansen. 1) The injuries are becoming a concern; after missing 15 games last year, he’s played in only 18 games this season. 2) They probably won’t end up protecting him in the upcoming Expansion Draft and would then very likely lose him for nothing. Hansen has been a hard-working and loyal contributor, but you don’t risk losing a Sven Baertschi or Markus Granlund to keep an injury-prone 30-year-old. 3) Whether they think so or not, the team is in a rebuild and they can get a quality return for a forward with a year remaining at $2.5MM who scored almost 40 points and posted a +16 in 2015-16. The playoffs always seemed to be out of reach for this Canucks team this season, and despite their best efforts, it just doesn’t seem likely to happen this year. If there is any consolation, Vancouver can become bona fide sellers at the Trade Deadline, of which there are very few, and can find a fair deal for Hansen.

Contract

Hansen is in the third year of a four-year, $10MM extension with the Canucks. While his cap hit will count for under $900K at the deadline, any team that acquires him will be on the hook for another year at a $2.5MM cap hit and $3MM salary.

2016-17

Hansen’s 2016-17 season has been forgettable to this point, due primarily to the fact that he has barely played. Hansen missed all but three games in the month of November with broken ribs and returned in mid-December, only to suffer a knee injury just two weeks later. Hansen has not played since December 22nd, and there has been little noise about an impending return. While you can say he was on a career-high pace with nine points through 18 games, that’s a lot of speculation based on a small sample size. It’s more fair to call this season a wash for Hansen, at least so far. Lucky for him, last season was one of the best of his career and the last five years tell the story of one of the most under-rated players in the NHL. Hansen had 157 points in 348 games over the past five seasons and before that was a key piece of the team’s 2011 Stanley Cup run, all while making under $2MM per year on average.

Season Stats

18 games: 5 goals, 4 assists, 9 points, even +/-, 30 shots, 16:11 ATOI

Potential Suitors

The Edmonton Oilers would be an excellent fit for Hansen. The team is playoff-bound and lacks a right-shot scorer other than Jordan Eberle. They also have a young team, but not much cap flexibility, and a good, affordable veteran for next season and possibly beyond could go a long way. By March 1st, Vancouver should be far enough outside the postseason picture that they would be willing to deal even with their division rival.

However, if the Canucks are uncomfortable with the thought of facing Hansen, a nice bargain that they have kept to themselves all of these years, on a regular basis in 2017-18, they may seek an option outside of the Pacific. The Montreal Canadiens could be willing to move some capital to make Hansen part of the team. Another team in a cap crunch and in desperate need of a right-handed scorer behind Brendan Gallagher, Hansen would be able to help the Habs in the postseason this year and help them to get back to the postseason next year. Other Atlantic teams like the Ottawa Senators and Boston Bruins could also use another scoring winger, and both have plenty of cap space next season, such that $2.5MM would hardly make a dent. Watch out for the Columbus Blue Jackets as well, who need a right-shot forward this year and may need one even more next year if they are unable to retain Sam Gagner.

Likelihood Of A Trade

Hansen is a rare commodity in this market. He is not an impending free agent, nor does he carry a long and expensive contract. Instead, he has just one year remaining at an affordable cap hit, and with many concerns over the salary cap not increasing next season, that is very valuable. The Canucks are often believed to be disillusioned with the state of their franchise, seemingly trying to build a contender when their success implies a need for a rebuild. It’s possible that Vancouver passes on moving Hansen and decides to protect him over a younger asset in the Expansion Draft. However, GM Jim Benning is not that short-sighted. If he can figure out a way to keep Hansen without hurting his squad, he probably will, but the odds are that his best bet is to trade the career Canuck a get a good return for him. Teams may not be lining up for a player with only 18 games under his belt this season, but Hansen’s value extends past the stretch run and the postseason and several squads will surely jump at that opportunity.

Pacific Division Snapshots: Marleau, Miller, Oilers D

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Prior to the start of the season, it seemed to be virtually a foregone conclusion that it would be Patrick Marleau’s last in San Jose. After all, the veteran of 19 NHL campaigns will turn 38 before opening night in 2017-18 and will reportedly be seeking a multiyear pact this summer as a free agent. However, a recent hot streak that has seen Marleau record seven goals in his last five games may have moved the needle some on the likelihood he remains in Northern California. According to Kevin Kurz of CSN Bay Area, his return may ultimately hinge entirely on his willingness to accept a one-year deal worth something in the neighborhood of $3MM to $4MM.

Kurz compares the current situation with Marleau to that of Dan Boyle, who hit free agency at the age of 37 in the summer of 2014 and left the Sharks because the two sides couldn’t agree on the length of a new deal. Boyle would ink a two-year deal with the New York Rangers and as Kurz writes, the longtime Sharks blue liner was “devastated” to leave the Bay Area. Marleau has tallied 19 goals in 52 games this season and could attract multiyear offers on the open market this summer based on that strong production, in which case it’s probable he won’t be donning a Sharks jersey in 2017-18.

Elsewhere in the Pacific Division:

  • Like Marleau, it seemed likely that Vancouver goalie Ryan Miller would have a new home by the time the 2017-18 season started. The Canucks were expected by many to be a lottery team in 2016-17 and with Miller in the final year of his deal he would have represented an interesting rental asset the team could have cashed in to advance their rebuild. However, with Vancouver surprisingly still in the playoff hunt and with Miller turning in a solid performance between the pipes, the chances of the 36-year-old sticking around for another year or two have increased, as Ben Kuzma writes in a piece for the Vancouver Sun. Kuzma notes that good teams need quality play in net, pointing out the difference between former Canucks bench boss Alain Vigneault and the recently fired Ken Hitchcock of St. Louis. Vigneault, who has been fortunate to have Henrik Lundqvist, Cory Schneider and Roberto Luongo man the pipes during his coaching career, just inked a two-year extension and received a raise to $4MM annually. The Blues have received lackluster play in goal this season and that fact played a role in Hitch’s termination. If Miller is willing to take a short-term deal to stay with Vancouver, he could provide a solid bridge to top prospect Thatcher Demko.
  • While the Oilers have received better play from their blue line in 2016-17, the team’s top-four has struggled of late, leading David Staples of the Edmonton Journal to suggest shuffling not just the defense corps but also the club’s forward lines. Staples tracks contributions that lead to scoring chances for and mistakes which lead to scoring chances against, and of late too many of the team’s key players are responsible for more of the latter than the former. The scribe feels the team could elevate Matt Benning and/or Brandon Davidson into the top-four, spreading the defensive responsibilities around some. Up front Staples thinks it’s time to split up Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid, perhaps putting the struggling Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on McDavid’s wing. Ultimately, if the team continues to struggle, it’s possible Edmonton will circle back to the trade market to seek additional depth.

AHL Announces Realignment For 2017-18

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The AHL is set to make some changes to its league structure yet again. The AHL’s president and CEO, Dave Andrews, made the annual AHL All-Star League Address this morning, and NHL.com’s Patrick Williams was on hand to relay the news. While Andrews commented on many issues across the minor league, the main announcement was that of divisional realignment coming before next season, to accommodate the movement of existing teams. The two new teams, of course, are re-located Canadian squads. The Montreal Canadiens’ affiliate, the St. John’s Ice Caps, are moving to Laval, Quebec to become the Laval Rocket. The Ottawa Senators are moving their affiliate, the Binghamton Senators of upstate New York, across the border to Belleville, Ontario.

The realignment plans come as somewhat of a surprise to many. The AHL has gone through massive alignment in recent years, with the move of many franchises to the west coast, including the rookie franchise Tuscon Roadrunners, but appeared to have found a good balance. The league is currently structured as the inverse of the NHL, with eight teams in each Western Conference division and seven teams in each Eastern Conference division, and neither of next year’s moves appears to be in conflict with that formula. While the Laval Rocket will no longer be as far east as St. John’s, Newfoundland, they will still be the most northeastern team in the league and were expected to remain in the North Division with fellow Canadian team, the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Marlies franchise. Similarly, the move from Binghamton to Belleville is not exactly a geographic jump, and the AHL Senators were also expected to remain in the North Division. The AHL has not announced the specifics of the 2017-18 realignment just yet, but if it is prompted by these two moves, it is difficult at this point to pinpoint what changes may be made.

The AHL also has to consider future changes when realigning for next season.  With the Ottawa Senators moving their team out of Binghamton to fill the void left by the OHL’s Belleville Bulls, the New Jersey Devils have jumped at a similar opportunity, announcing that the Albany Devils will replace the Senators in Binghamton, beginning in 2018-19. There is also the possibility that a 31st AHL franchise will be added as soon as next year to serve as the Vegas Golden Knight’s affiliate, and will certainly be added at some point in the next few years. Andrews briefly touched on the topic of new AHL locations, stating that the AHL will not be going to Kansas City, Missouri next year, nor have they had any talks with the abandoned Nassau Coliseum about putting a team in the Islanders’ old home. Andrews did confirm that talks of new locations are exclusive only to a new franchise right now, as there have been no discussions about moving the Vancouver Canucks’ affiliate, the Utica Comets, from New York to the west coast and the Carolina Hurricanes’ Charlotte Checkers franchise will not be moving either, but will potentially transfer to the Eastern Conference as part of realignment to better accommodate their coastal location. With many questions still yet to be answered regarding the structure of the AHL for next year and beyond, expect more news to continue coming out over the course of the next few months.

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