Snapshots: DeBrincat, Kerdiles, Vegas Goaltending
Chicago Blackhawks prospect Alex DeBrincat was named the OHL’s Most Outstanding Player today, winning the Red Tilson trophy for 2016-17. DeBrincat follows a long line of future NHL players, including (in reverse order) Mitch Marner, Connor McDavid, Connor Brown and Vincent Trocheck. DeBrincat’s 65 goals and 127 points easily paced the league, and he’s added another league-leading 31 in the playoffs.
DeBrincat was held off the scoresheet in game one of the championship series against the Mississauga Steelheads last night, but he likely won’t be kept down for long. The OHL released a reel of every one of his goals, which provides a great example in how he seems to find open space in the slot on a consistent basis. He’ll have to keep that up at the next level, as goaltenders start to stop more of his wicked wrist shots.
- The Anaheim Ducks have recalled Nic Kerdiles from the San Diego Gulls, likely due to the fact that Patrick Eaves and Ondrej Kase are still not skating. The young Kerdiles made his NHL debut this year with the Ducks, and is beginning to show why the team took him 36th overall in 2012. In five playoff games with the Gulls, Kerdiles has six points including goals at even strength, shorthanded and on the powerplay.
- Matt Larkin of The Hockey News put together a list of fifteen possible options for the Vegas Golden Knights in net next season, which interestingly enough doesn’t include Ben Bishop. The Los Angeles Kings goaltender will be an unrestricted free agent this summer and likely the top option on the market. With the Golden Knights already showing they can hang with the big boys by recruiting Vadim Shipachyov, there is no reason to suspect that they couldn’t woo the former Vezina finalist on a short-term deal to show he’s still an elite goaltender. That would also let them take younger goaltenders in the expansion draft and let them develop behind Bishop for a couple of seasons.
Vegas Golden Knights Pursuing Evgeni Dadonov
According to Igor Eronko of Sport-Express, the Vegas Golden Knights might not be finished shopping in St. Petersburg. Eronko reports that the Golden Knights are trying to sign Evgeni Dadonov, the 28-year old winger that played this season alongside their latest signing Vadim Shipachyov.
Dadonov is the younger of the two KHL forwards, and also had an outstanding season offensively. With 66 points in 53 games, the former Florida Panthers draft pick has hit his stride and would likely have interest from all around the league should his price tag be set reasonably. That’s up for debate, as the last report had him looking for something around $3.5MM per season. While he may be worth that, it’s still up in the air whether his style will translate effectively to the NHL at all.
Both Dadonov and Shipachyov are currently playing for Russia at the World Championships, providing an interesting opportunity for NHL GMs to see them up close and in action against some of the best players in the world. It would definitely be interesting to see a Russian pairing on the top line for Vegas as they try to sell new hockey fans in their expansion market.
Vadim Shipachyov Turned Down $20MM Offer From KHL
The Vegas Golden Knights signed their second player in franchise history last night, inking Russian playmaker Vadim Shipachyov to a two-year, $9MM deal. It had been rumored for months that Shipachyov wanted to come to North America, but his old KHL squad did everything they could to keep him around. Eric Engels of Sportsnet reports that SKA St. Petersburg offered a four-year, $20MM deal to try and tempt him to stay in Russia. Apparently that wasn’t enough, as he decided to come to the NHL for less than half, albeit with a chance to hit the open market again at 32.
Engels also reports that though both sides have long said they weren’t interested in each other, the Shipachyov camp were in contract with the Montreal Canadiens as recently as ten days ago. Apparently Montreal didn’t want to offer more than the $9MM deal he ended up signing, or perhaps there were other reasons for heading to Vegas. Shipachyov will likely be their best player among a forward group that will include a lot of youth and a lot of declining talent. He’ll certainly get his chance to shine, centering one of the top two lines and likely playing on the power play.
St. Petersburg could be watching several players leave this summer, as Ilya Kovalchuk and Evgeni Dadonov are both rumored to also be heading back to the NHL. The team has just acquired the rights to Nail Yakupov though, and Shipachyov’s decision to sign in the NHL may put even more pressure on the squad to try and convince the former first-overall pick to return to Russia.
Golden Knights Sign Vadim Shipachyov
The Vegas Golden Knights have made their first big player acquisition, signing KHL star Vadim Shipachyov to a two-year contract.
Shipachyov will make $4.5MM per season, per the team’s media release. He joins rookie pro and former Brandon Wheat King center Reid Duke as the only two players currently under contract by the expansion Golden Knights franchise.
The 30-year-old center is a legitimate scoring threat in Russia, having scored 26 goals and 50 assists for 76 points in 50 games this season for SKA St. Petersburg. That was good for third in the KHL and second on SKA, behind only Ilya Kovalchuk. In Shipachyov’s nine-year career in the KHL, he has 137 goals and 412 points in 445 games. His points-per-game is slightly lessened by his early years; he’s scored 190 points in 153 games over the last three years. SKA has won the Gagarin Cup twice in those seasons.
Shipachyov is a highly-skilled offensive player, but isn’t a big body at 6’1, 190 lbs. Here’s how he’s described by Elite Prospects:
Shipachyov is a skilled center with excellent on-ice vision. He skates very well and with a fluid stride. Owns great offensive instincts and likes to have the puck on his stick. Could improve his all-around game. Isn’t overly efficient in physical battles.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported back in March that Vegas was exploring the possibility of signing the highly sought-after Russian star and his SKA teammate Yegveni Dadonov.
Even though this is Shipachyov’s first contract with an NHL club, he’s too old to sign an entry-level contract and will be a UFA at the expiry of the two-year deal, according to Cap Friendly. No word yet if he’ll wear his usual number 87 in the NHL. Only Sidney Crosby and Capitals minor-leaguer Liam O’Brien currently wear the number.
Shipachyov is currently with the Team Russia at the IIHF World Championships in Colonge, Germany.
NHL Draft Lottery Results
The lottery balls were picked, the cards were flipped, and the New Jersey Devils will be selecting first in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. New Jersey was the winner of this year’s NHL Draft Lottery, jumping up four spots to take over the top pick. Against all odds, just an 8.5% chance at #1, they will now have their pick of all the top available prospects come Friday, June 23rd. The Philadelphia Flyers will pick second and the Dallas Stars will pick third, as the balls fell their way as well. Philadelphia leaped forward eleven slots and Dallas up five slots.
With three teams “winning” the lottery, it’s a tough pill to swallow for the Colorado Avalanche. One of the worst teams in recent memory, the 2016-17 Colorado Avalanche finished the season with just 48 points, 21 less than the Vancouver Canucks at 29th. Yet, the Avs may miss out entirely on selecting a franchise player in a draft without a consensus star atop the charts. It’s also an unfortunate start for the expansion Vegas Golden Knights. Given the same odds at the third-worst team in the league, Vegas will instead select sixth and will be hard-pressed to find a player ready to jump immediately to the NHL, even though they’ll likely be hungry for help.
For Metropolitan Division foes New Jersey and Philadelphia, the question now becomes: who goes #1? Unlike the past two years – Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews – there is no consensus top prospect in 2017. Heading into 2016-17, Canadian forward Nolan Patrick, of the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings, was considered the favorite to go first overall. However, after a season filled with injuries, that status is far from a sure thing. The last player to be taken #1 following a final junior season spent mostly on the sidelines was Gord Kluzak by the Boston Bruins in 1982, and Kluzak played only four full NHL seasons before his injuries caught up with him. Patrick did score 46 points in 33 games this season, and racked up 102 points in just 72 games last season, but as they say, “the most important ability is availability”. Flying up draft boards over the last year has been Swiss center Nico Hischier of the QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads, and with questions lingering about Patrick, Hischier may wind up as 2017’s top pick. While Hischier doesn’t quite have the size and strength of Patrick, he has all the offensive ability. The swift scorer recorded 86 points in 57 games this season for Halifax and put on a show for Switzerland at the World Juniors.
It’s a difficult choice for the Devils, but one that GM Ray Shero and the New Jersey front office are happy to make. And GM Ron Hextall and the Flyers should be content with the runner-up.
NHL Draft Lottery Odds For First 15 Picks
In under two hours, a disappointing season for one team, or three depending on the results, won’t hurt as much if they are fortunate enough to land a top pick in the 2017 NHL Draft. The Draft Lottery kicks off at 8:00 PM ET and will determine which teams, if any, leapfrog their fellow non-playoff teams to earn a shot at one of the top prospects in the draft, coming up on June 23rd.
Starting in 2016, the NHL increased the stakes of the draft by putting pick #1 and picks #2 and #3 up for grabs, increasing the excitement of the lottery and also disincentivizing “tanking”, by making it possible for the worst team in the league to drop out of the top three entirely. In 2016-17, that was the Colorado Avalanche, who were historically bad with just 48 points on the year. For perspective, the Vancouver Canucks finished second-to-last with 69 points – 8 more wins than Colorado. Making things more difficult for the Avs tonight is the addition of the Vegas Golden Knights expansion team to the league starting this season. A lottery system normally based upon 14 teams was increased to 15, with everyone else’s odds being adjusted to accommodate the newcomers. Vegas was given the same odds as the third-worst team in the league, the Arizona Coyotes, and were guaranteed a top top six spot.
So, 15 teams have a shot at picks #1-#3 tonight and no team can slide more than three slots back from their regular season finish. Based upon the odds given to each team for a lottery pick, below are the complete odds of all 15 teams in the running for tonight’s NHL Draft Lottery. Be sure to check back in afterwards to see the results of tonight’s event – one that could re-shape the draft outlook in a major way.
NHL Draft Lottery Notes: Odds, History, Viewing
For the fourteen teams that missed the playoffs and the expansion Vegas Golden Knights, they have one thing in common: they’re hoping Bill Daly is holding a card with their logo on it, announcing that they have the first overall pick.
At 7pm central, NBC, CBC, and Sportsnet will show the NHL Draft Lottery as the Colorado Avalanche lead all teams in terms of percentage for receiving the #1 pick. Below are the odds:
Colorado Avalanche — 18.0%
Vancouver Canucks — 12.1%
Vegas Golden Knights — 10.3%
Arizona Coyotes — 10.3%
New Jersey Devils — 8.5%
Buffalo Sabres — 7.6%
Detroit Red Wings — 6.7%
Dallas Stars — 5.8%
Florida Panthers — 5.4%
Los Angeles Kings — 4.5%
Carolina Hurricanes — 3.2%
Winnipeg Jets — 2.7%
Philadelphia Flyers — 2.2%
Tampa Bay Lightning 1.8%
New York Islanders — 0.9%
TSN has a lengthy writeup on the history of the lottery and how the current format differs from other versions. The biggest change for the draft is that instead of the worst team being guaranteed, at worst, a second overall pick, they are only promised a top four pick. This was placed to discourage teams from “tanking” to draft top-end talent, which hasn’t completely negated the idea of tanking as Toronto won the right to draft Auston Matthews last season with the #1 pick while securing the worst record in the NHL.
What’s new to 2017? From Sportsnet:
For just the second time in NHL draft lottery history, the top three picks are in play. This rule was implemented by the league in 2016 to dull incentive for any team to finish lower in the standings (i.e., tanking).
The odds of winning the second and third draws increases on a proportional basis depending on which team claimed the previous draw.
The addition of a 15th lottery team, Vegas, into the mix also affects the winning percentages.
This draft is different too, since the top two picks for the first time in three seasons are not considered the “generational talent” that Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel, Matthews or Patrik Laine were when looking back at the one and two overall picks respectively.
This isn’t to besmirch the top two candidates, Nolan Patrick or Nico Hischier. After all, “can’t miss” prospects have fooled scouts and analysts before while prospects that scouts didn’t think were as good sometimes exceeded expectations.
But before the talent can be chosen, there needs to be an order. Tonight will determine that.
Specifics:
Time: 7pm CST
Where to watch: CBC, Sportsnet, NBC
Scott Darling Trade Reactions
The Chicago Blackhawks and Carolina Hurricanes hooked up yesterday for a rare April trade, with pending UFA goaltender Scott Darling departing the Windy City in return for a third-round draft pick in the 2017 entry draft. The Hawks get the third-rounder originally acquired by Carolina at the trade deadline from Ottawa in exchange for veteran winger Viktor Stalberg. The Canes, meanwhile, bring in Darling, who played well as Corey Crawford‘s understudy and was likely going to depart Chicago as a free agent to pursue a starting job elsewhere. Now it appears he’ll have that opportunity in Carolina, presuming he agrees to sign with the team rather than test the open market, of course.
On the surface this deal certainly wouldn’t qualify as a blockbuster, but all one has to do is look north to Edmonton to see what can happen when a quality backup goalie is given a chance to be a #1. Cam Talbot, previously Henrik Lundqvist‘s #2 in New York, has developed into a quality starter for the Oilers and has so far guided his team to a surprising 2 – 0 lead over Anaheim in their Western Conference semifinal match. Talbot also led NHL netminders this season in several categories, including games played, wins and shots against. While there is no guarantee Darling will follow Talbot’s career trajectory, the latter’s success is evidence that deals like this can sometimes pay off.
Here’s a rundown of reactions from around the league:
- Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun Times likes the deal from both perspectives, arguing that the Hawks got solid value for a player they had no room to re-sign while the Hurricanes add a potential long term starter between the pipes. Lazerus does, however, opine that the move, albeit inevitable, leaves the club perilously thin in goal. Beyond Crawford, Chicago has no goaltender in the organization with NHL experience, though Jeff Glass is around to meet the team’s expansion draft requirement of exposing one goalie under contract for 2017-18. The scribe also adds that Chicago gave no thought to extending Darling while attempting to move Crawford. Lazerus suspects Darling could get close to $4MM on the open market but the potential cap savings evidently wasn’t compelling enough to cause Chicago to reconsider their goaltending situation.
- Adam Gretz of NBC Sports Pro Hockey Talk writes that Carolina’s acquisition of Darling is “worth the risk,” borrowing a quote from Hurricanes GM Ron Francis. As Gretz notes, Carolina has long received substandard play between the pipes and it was more of the same in 2016-17. Cam Ward and Eddie Lack combined for a S% of just 0.901, good for just 26th in the league. In fact, Carolina has fared no better than 25th in that category in any of the previous five seasons. For a team looking to break an eight year playoff drought, improved play in net would go a long way to improve their postseason chances in 2017-18. Gretz also points out that the Hurricanes boast an impressive amount of 2017 draft capital, with their own first-rounder, three seconds and two thirds even after acquiring Darling’s rights. As a result, the team can afford to take this gamble given their enviable entry draft wealth.
- Luke DeCock of The News & Observer is satisfied to at least see Carolina attempt to make changes in goal, even if the team fails to extend Darling, after what he describes as “two unsatisfying years of the Cam Ward/Eddie Lack tandem.” According to DeCock, a third-round pick may be a substantial price to pay for just two months of exclusive negotiating rights but considering Carolina still has six choices in the first three rounds and 10 overall in 2017, it’s a reasonable cost assuming the Hurricanes can lock the 28-year-old goalie to a long term deal. The scribe feels Darling is just entering his prime and has the potential to solve the team’s longstanding issues between the pipes. DeCock believes the deal also means Carolina already has an agreement in place or feels confident in their ability to consummate one with the Vegas Golden Knights that would result in one of Ward or Lack being selected in the expansion draft. The duo accounts for a combined $6MM cap charge and with Darling expected to command around $4MM annually, a budget team like Carolina simply cannot afford to keep all three in the organization. Ultimately, DeCock feels entering the 2017-18 campaign with the Ward/Lack duo would have been “utter folly,” and considers any change “an improvement.”
Hurricanes Acquire Scott Darling From Blackhawks
Scott Darling was expected to hit unrestricted free agency for the first time in his career this summer, but that may not be happening after all. The Carolina Hurricanes announced this evening that they have acquired the goalie from the Chicago Blackhawks. In exchange, the Blackhawks will receive the Ottawa Senator’s 2017 third-round pick, originally acquired by the ‘Canes at the Trade Deadline for forward Viktor Stalberg.
Following this trade, Carolina now holds the exclusive right to sign Darling prior to the beginning of free agency on July 1st. The Vegas Golden Knights will have a 48-hour window to speak with Darling prior to the Expansion Draft on June 21st, but may only sign Darling if they then select him in the Expansion Draft. However, giving up a third-round pick for two months of exclusive talks with Darling seems to indicate that the Hurricanes are intent on signing the 28-year-old. That could mean that they sign Darling prior to June 21st and protect him in the draft or they could instead agree orally on a deal and use their one slot to protect another goalie, either longtime starter Cam Ward or 2015 off-season trade addition Eddie Lack. Darling greatly outperformed both as the backup in Chicago this season and the Hurricanes may not care if either is selected; they could simply protect Darling regardless of having a deal in place.
In a career-high 32 appearances in 2016-17, Darling was 18-5-5 with a .924 save percentage and a 2.38 goals against average. That performance was good enough for the sixth-best save percentage and the eleventh-best goals against average in the entire NHL. Although he is 28 years old, Darling has little wear on the tires and, if he continues to play this well with a greater workload, could be the Hurricanes starting goalie for quite a few years.
Anthony Stolarz And The Expansion Draft
The Philadelphia Flyers may not be desperate for a goalie, but they’re not in the best of shape either. Heading into the off-season, the Flyers will likely say goodbye to impending free agent starter Steve Mason, but re-signed Michal Neuvirth to a two-year, $5MM extension earlier this season. Behind Neuvirth, Philly has Anthony Stolarz, a 2012 second-round pick who looked great in seven appearances in his rookie season. The Flyers also have promising prospects Carter Hart and Felix Sandstrom in the system, but it seems unlikely that either is ready for NHL action just yet.
So it’ll be Neuvirth and Stolarz next season? That’s not too bad. However, this is the 2017 off-season approaching and nothing is that simple. Both Neuvirth and Stolarz are eligible for the upcoming NHL Expansion Draft and both should be attractive to GM George McPhee and the Vegas Golden Knights. Stolarz is young and under team control as a restricted free agent and could be valuable to Vegas as either an investment or a potential trade chip. Neuvirth is relatively cheap at $2.5MM per year through 2018-19 and was drafted by McPhee when he was with the Washington Capitals. He would immediately provide some veteran presence to a goalie group that is expected to skew very young.
The question then becomes: if Vegas has interest in both, who should Philadelphia protect? At first, the obvious answer seemed to be Stolarz. Not only is he much younger than Neuvirth, but he simply outplayed him when given the chance in 2016-17. Stolarz has just as good a chance to be the goalie of the future in Philly as any of the other Flyers’ keeper prospects. However, there was a wrinkle added to than plan recently when Stolarz was injured in an AHL game, suffering a serious knee injury that required surgery. Now, Stolarz is expected to be sidelined all summer and likely not ready for game action into next season. What that means for the Flyers is, if they stay the course and protect Stolarz, an expansion selection of Neuvirth leaves the Flyers with no goalies to start the 2017-18 campaign.
Is that threat enough for them to potentially lose a top-end young goalie? It might be. The Flyers already have about $60MM committed to just 16 players for their cap payroll next season, and while many of their reinforcements will come from the minor leagues, you can expect GM Ron Hextall to be on the lookout for some veteran assistance as well. That very well may include a goalie, even if they do retain Neuvirth and Stolarz. However, the Flyers may not have the cap flexibility to deal with a potential loss of Neuvirth on top of a Stolarz injury. Such a predicament may force Philly to look at top-end free agents like Ben Bishop or Ryan Miller or may cause them to have to add two mid-level options like Brian Elliott, Jonathan Bernier, or Darcy Kuemper or even a return to Mason. Either of those strategies would severely limit the team’s ability to add anyone else in free agency.
So that’s the situation: will the Flyers’ protect the future (Stolarz) at the possible expense of the present? Or will they play it safe (Neuvirth) and almost surely lose a talented young goalie? McPhee and the Knights would love to have Stolarz, but they may have their eye on Neuvirth as well. Either way, it’s your move Hextall.