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Washington Capitals Loan Aliaksei Protas To The KHL

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The list of young players and prospects who will at least begin the 2020-21 season overseas continues to grow, with the Washington Capitals’ Aliaksei Protas now joining the list. The team announced that the young forward has been loaned to the KHL’s Dinamo Minsk in his native Belarus. Washington does specify though that Protas is expected to be recalled from the loan at the start of the WHL season or for Capitals training camp later this winter.

Protas, 19, was a third-round pick of the Capitals in last year’s NHL Draft and signed his entry-level contract with Washington almost immediately. A hulking center who stands 6’6” and 210 pounds, Protas’ skill finally caught up with his size this year as he recorded 31 goals and 80 points in 58 games to lead the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders in both categories and help the team to a division title. With top 2020 prospects like Kaiden Guhle and Ozzy Weisblatt also on the roster, the Raiders could return to the top ranks of the WHL next season if Protas returns as expected.

In the meantime though, Protas joins a Minsk squad that has been collecting NHL prospects and should be a fun team to watch early next season. Florida’s Vladislav Kolyachonok, Minnesota’s Ivan Lodnia, Philadelphia’s Maxim Sushko, and New Jersey’s Yegor Sharangovich – all of Belarussian descent – will also join the team on loan, joining NHL vets such as Ryan Spooner and Rob Klinkhammer.

Injury Notes: Carlson, Schmaltz, Huberdeau

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The Washington Capitals are getting closer to having their Norris Trophy finalist back in the lineup, as John Carlson will be a game-time decision when the team takes on the Philadelphia Flyers later today. Carlson missed the team’s first round-robin game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, a match they ended up losing in a shootout.

The team will also be without Lars Eller after he left the bubble for the birth of his child, and head coach Todd Reirden told reporters including J.J. Regan of NBC Sports that Travis Boyd will be inserted in his place. While the round-robin doesn’t carry the same weight as an elimination series, the Capitals don’t want to end up at the bottom of the seeding and have to take on tougher opponents throughout the playoffs.

  • After defeating the Nashville Predators yesterday and coming within a game of advancing to the first round of the playoffs, the Arizona Coyotes must be feeling pretty good about themselves. Now they’re getting more good news as Nick Schmaltz is set to skate again today as he continues his recovery from a hit in the exhibition game. The team’s leading scorer during the regular season, Schmaltz has yet to get into a qualification game. Antti Raanta, who left yesterday’s game with an injury despite only being the backup, will not skate today according to Craig Morgan of AZ Coyotes Insider.
  • Florida Panthers forward Jonathan Huberdeau left yesterday’s game against the New York Islanders with an apparent injury, but head coach Joel Quenneville told reporters including Dan Rosen of NHL.com that he should be ready for game four. The Panthers staved off elimination with an impressive win, but now have to try and become one of the only teams to ever climb all the way back from 0-2 in a five-game series.

Lars Eller Leaves Bubble

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The Washington Capitals will be without one of their centers for the next while, as Lars Eller has left the bubble in Toronto to return to Washington for the birth of his second child. Eller will be required to quarantine in his hotel room for four days and provide four consecutive negative COVID-19 tests before rejoining the Capitals.

This was expected, but it still doesn’t make it any easier for the Capitals who will have to try and win their final two round-robin games without Eller. Washington lost their first game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, in which Eller played more than 17 minutes, recording an assist and five hits.

While the round-robin is obviously not as important as elimination games, securing a top seed would only help the Capitals in their pursuit of another Stanley Cup. For now, they’ll have to wait and see how long it takes Eller to return to quarantine before seeing if he’ll be available to start round one of the playoffs.

This may not be the only time the team has to deal with something like this, depending on how the playoffs go. Carl Hagelin is also expecting the birth of a child in September.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Washington Capitals Loan Damien Riat, Tobias Geisser To NLA

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The Washington Capitals have found some playing time for a pair of prospects, loaning Damien Riat and Tobias Geisser to the NLA for the 2020-21 season. Riat will play for Geneve-Servette HC, while Geiser will suit up for EV Zug. Both players will continue in Switzerland until NHL training camps open, likely sometime in November.

It’s not like these two will be unfamiliar with the league, as both played in the NLA this season and in the past. Riat spent 2019-20 with Biel HC, scoring 22 points in 36 games, but played three seasons with Geneve-Servette between 2015-2018. The fourth-round pick will have to wait to come over to North America after signing his two-year entry-level contract in March.

Geisser meanwhile has a little different of a story. The 21-year old signed his entry-level deal in 2018 and played the entire 2018-19 season with the Hershey Bears. That’s where he started 2019-20 as well, but he ended up loaned back to Switzerland (EV Zug in particular) after just seven games. Geisser has just a single point in 54 career AHL games, but has always been known more for his play in the defensive end.

Goaltending Notes: Halak, Korpisalo, Holtby

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The Boston Bruins will be without their top option in goal tonight when they take on the Philadelphia Flyers in the round-robin. Tuukka Rask has been ruled unfit to play by head coach Bruce Cassidy, meaning Jaroslav Halak will be in net for the Bruins.

Perhaps more than any other team in the playoffs, the Bruins have prepared for a situation like this all season. Halak is much more than a backup for Boston, playing in 31 games during the shortened regular season and posting a .919 save percentage. That’s a number most teams would be happy to get from their starter, but it still is a step down from Rask’s .929. One of the advantages of being a top seed in each conference is this round-robin structure, which will allow the team to get healthy without the risk of elimination for the first week.

  • One team not in quite as strong a situation is the Columbus Blue Jackets, who start a best-of-five series against the Toronto Maple Leafs later today. The Blue Jackets have two young excellent goaltenders of their own, but head coach John Tortorella has decided to go with Joonas Korpisalo in game one. While Elvis Merzlikins may have received more press this season due to it being his first in North America, it was easy to forget that Korpisalo was actually named to the All-Star game before suffering an injury. He posted a .911 save percentage on the season but has a strong history against the Maple Leafs and much more experience at the NHL level.
  • It may not come as much of a surprise, but Braden Holtby will be in net when the Washington Capitals start their own round-robin tomorrow afternoon. Holtby will start over Vitek Vanacek according to Samantha Pell of the Washington Post when the Capitals take on the Tampa Bay Lightning. Once Ilya Samsonov was ruled out due to injury the obvious choice was Holtby given his experience, but it is also important to remember that he was far from his dominant self this season. In fact, Holtby posted an .897 save percentage on the season, putting him 52nd among NHL goaltenders who appeared in at least 20 games.

No Extension Talks For Alex Ovechkin Until Playoffs End

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As part of the new CBA agreement, teams don’t have to wait until the start of the 2020-21 league year (slated for some time in November) to begin working on contract extensions for 2021 free agents.  While they’re eligible to do so, the Capitals have decided that they will not be doing so with winger Alex Ovechkin, Washington GM Brian MacLellan told reporters, including NHL.com’s Tracey Myers.

The 34-year-old will be entering the final season of his 13-year, $124MM contract next season.  At the time, the deal seemed rather largesse at the time as it came close to the maximum 20% of the cap which is as high as a deal can go.  However, with the Upper Limit of the cap increasing substantially since then (from $56.7MM in 2008 when the pact was signed to $81.5MM this season), the contract has even looked like a bargain at times.

There’s no denying that Ovechkin is an elite goal scorer and when all is said and done, the future first-ballot Hall of Famer might actually hold the NHL record.  He sits eighth all-time with 706 tallies and while he’s still 190 shy of Wayne Gretzky’s record, he still has several years left in him.  It’s not entirely crazy to think that the length of his next contract will ultimately determine whether or not he gets that top spot.

Ovechkin has led the league in goals for three straight years, scoring at least 48 in each of them.  While it’s fair to say that he will slow down eventually, it would seem as if he has at least a few years left as a top scorer in the game.  Undeniably, there will be plenty of interest in him if he was to make it to the open market in 2021.

Having said that, given his commitment to the Capitals organization and the mutual admiration, it seems likely that they’ll eventually be able to work out a new contract before he gets to free agency.  Accordingly, the decision to wait until after the postseason seems like a wise one.

The big question then becomes how long the deal will be as at this point, it’s reasonable to think that Ovechkin’s cap hit on his next contract will be around the current $9.5MM AAV.  It will be a 35-plus deal which makes it less likely that a cheap year or two is tacked on to try to artificially lower the cap hit.  There is a new provision in the CBA that takes away the 35-plus risk (Section 64 of the Memorandum of Understanding) but that only applies if “(1) total compensation (Player Salary and Bonuses) that is either the same as or increases from one League Year to the immediately subsequent League Year, and (2) a Signing Bonus, if any, that is payable in the first year of the SPC only.”  In other words, the risks only go away with a uniform salary with minimal signing bonuses which takes away some of the incentives to front-loading the contract.

That will be one of the factors that MacLellan and Ovechkin’s camp consider over the coming months.  It will be a little while longer before it gets done but right now, they’ll solely focus on Washington’s upcoming playoff run which will unofficially get underway on Monday with the first of three round robin games to determine postseason seeding.

Injury Notes: Hamilton, DeAngelo, Carlson

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Dougie Hamilton won’t be in the lineup when the Carolina Hurricanes open their qualification round against the New York Rangers tomorrow. Head coach Rod Brind’Amour told team reporter Michael Smith that Hamilton is still unfit to play, although he is “getting better” after suffering an injury in training camp.

Martin Necas, the other important player that has been sitting out for the Hurricanes, could be in the lineup after looking “really good” at practice. Losing Hamilton is a big deal for a team that is already operating without Brett Pesce as he continues to rehab. Remember the qualification rounds are a best-of-five, with the Hurricanes playing the first three games by Tuesday.

  • The Rangers may be without their own right-handed defenseman, however, as Tony DeAngelo didn’t practice today and is a game-time decision for tomorrow. While he is sometimes overlooked among the top offensive defensemen in the league, DeAngelo did have 53 points in 68 games this season, good enough for fourth on the entire Rangers roster.
  • Though they won’t have Ilya Samsonov, the Washington Capitals are expected to have John Carlson back in the lineup for the round-robin. Capitals GM Brian MacLellan told reporters including Samantha Pell of the Washington Post that Carlson should be skating with the team tomorrow and play on Sunday. Carlson had to leave the team’s exhibition game after falling awkwardly into the boards.

Ilya Samsonov Injured, Did Not Pass Physical

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If Braden Holtby wants to improve his free agent stock, here’s his chance. Washington Capitals GM Brian MacLellan told reporters today including Samantha Pell of the Washington Post that Ilya Samsonov suffered an off-ice injury in Russia during the pause and failed his physical after returning to North America. Pell tweets that Samsonov “should be good to go for the start of next season.”

An injury to Samsonov makes a tough decision for the team as to who will start in their round-robin. Holtby obviously has the experience and was the goaltender who helped carry the team to a Stanley Cup in 2018, but is also coming off his worst season as a professional. The 30-year old goaltender posted just an .897 save percentage in 48 appearances, seeing his goals-against average balloon to 3.11.

That kind of performance paled in comparison to the .913 save percentage that Samsonov recorded in his first year in the NHL, when he went 16-6-2 in 26 appearances. The 23-year old netminder was simply better than Holtby and likely would have pushed for a chance to take the net in the playoffs.

This week in their exhibition game, the Capitals had Vitek Vanacek serve as the backup for Holtby but they also have Pheonix Copley who played 27 games for them in 2018-19. They’ll have options should Holtby struggle, but not ones quite as exciting as Samsonov.

Injury Notes: Carlson, Ritchie, Johnsson

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The Washington Capitals were without Norris Trophy finalist John Carlson at practice today after he left yesterday’s game. Carlson fell awkwardly into the boards after a collision, but head coach Todd Reirden told reporters today including Samantha Pell of the Washington Post that the hope is to have him back on the ice on Saturday.

Losing Carlson would be a huge blow for the Capitals, though they do have the round-robin games to prepare before getting into elimination territory. The 30-year old had 75 points in 69 games this season to lead all defensemen.

  • Nick Ritchie was back on the ice for the Boston Bruins at their optional practice this morning, along with a good number of other players. The deadline addition won’t play tonight for the team when they take on the Columbus Blue Jackets, but is obviously getting closer to a return for the team. Ritchie came over from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Danton Heinen and had two points in seven games before the shutdown.
  • Speaking of players returning, Andreas Johnsson took part in special teams practice for the Toronto Maple Leafs today. The depth winger was given a six-month recovery timeline in February when he underwent knee surgery and could potentially return for Toronto should they get a little deeper into the playoffs.

Metropolitan Notes: Lindblom, Flyers, Sorokin, Islanders, McMichael

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The Philadelphia Flyers announced their 31-man roster for the upcoming Qualifying Round with one name that stands out significantly as the team kept forward Oskar Lindblom on the roster despite talk that they team might wait until the 2020-21 season before returning the young forward on the ice after being diagnosed and treated for Ewing’s sarcoma in December.

Of course, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the 23-year-old will be amongst the starters on the ice for the Flyers when the team returns to play, but to just be on the roster is quite an accomplishment for the young forward, who recently signed a three-year extension with the team. He could be a valuable substitute if injuries arise for the team after tallying 11 goals in 30 games before being diagnosed with cancer.

The team had a few other noteworthy players when it came to their roster. The team cut Carsen Twarynski, German Rubtsov, Tyler Wotherspoon and Nate Prosser from their training camp roster. However, the Flyers did keep undrafted prospect Egor Zamula on their roster, who played in just 28 junior games in the WHL last season, but dominated on the international stage.

Philadelphia Inquirer’s Sam Carchidi also reported that goaltender Carter Hart participated in his first full team practice Saturday since he left Tuesday’s scrimmage midway through the game with back spasms. The goalie claims that he expects to be 100 percent in time for their first game against Boston on Aug. 2.

  • The Athletic’s Arthur Staple (subscription required) writes that general manager Lou Lamoriello said that while newly signed KHL goaltender Ilya Sorokin is not eligible to play in the 24-team tournament, the netminder is expected to join the team in Toronto to get acclimated to his new team. Sorokin has been quarantining on Long Island and will join the team in Toronto once he has passed all his COVID-19 protocols.
  • Staple also released the Islanders playoff roster, which did not include several of the Islanders top AHL prospects. The team left behind forwards Kieffer Bellows, Oliver Wahlstrom, defenseman Grant Hutton and goaltender Jakub Skarek. Bellows was a bit of a surprise after a solid NHL debut in eight games this season.
  • No major surprises on the Washington Capitals roster, although the Capitals have decided to keep 2019 first-round pick Connor McMichael on their roster, although it’s more likely to give the 19-year-old a chance to soak in the playoff atmosphere in hopes he might be able to eventually challenge for a roster spot in 2020-21. McMichael is coming off an impressive season in the OHL with a breakout 47 goals and 102 points with the London Knights.

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