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NHL All-Star Selections Announced

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Although it took some time, with each individual team rolling out their own selections, the final rosters for All-Star Weekend have come into focus. Below are each of the four divisional team, set to face off in the Skills Competition on Friday, January 24th and the All-Star Game on Saturday, January 25th:

Atlantic Division

G Frederik Andersen, Toronto Maple Leafs
G Tuukka Rask, Boston Bruins
D Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning
D Shea Weber, Montreal Canadiens
F Tyler Bertuzzi, Detroit Red Wings
F Jack Eichel, Buffalo Sabres
F Anthony Duclair, Ottawa Senators
F Jonathan Huberdeau, Florida Panthers
F Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs
F David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins (C)

Metropolitan Division

G Braden Holtby, Washington Capitals
G Joonas Korpisalo, Columbus Blue Jackets
D John Carlson, Washington Capitals
D Dougie Hamilton, Carolina Hurricanes
D Seth Jones, Columbus Blue Jackets
F Mathew Barzal, New York Islanders
F Jake Guentzel, Pittsburgh Penguins
F Travis Konecny, Philadelphia Flyers
F Kyle Palmieri, New Jersey Devils
F Artemi Panarin, New York Rangers

Central Division

G Jordan Binnington, St. Louis Blues
G Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets
D Roman Josi, Nashville Predators
D Alex Pietrangelo, St. Louis Blues
F Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks
F Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche (C)
F Ryan O’Reilly, St. Louis Blues
F Mark Scheifele, Winnipeg Jets
F Tyler Seguin, Dallas Stars
F Eric Staal, Minnesota Wild

Pacific Division

G Marc-Andre Fleury, Vegas Golden Knights
G Darcy Kuemper, Arizona Coyotes
D Mark Giordano, Calgary Flames
F Logan Couture, San Jose Sharks
F Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers
F Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings
F Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers (C)
F Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks
F Jakob Silfverberg, Anaheim Ducks
F Matthew Tkachuk, Calgary Flames

Additionally, each divisional squad will have one more addition as decided by the Last Men In fan vote. Voting opens on January 1st and closes on the 10th. Here are the candidates:

Atlantic Division – Patrice Bergeron, Rasmus Dahlin, Dylan Larkin Aleksander Barkov, Max Domi, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Steven Stamkos, Mitch Marner

Metropolitan Division – Teuvo Teravainen, Nick Foligno, Nico Hischier, Brock Nelson, Mika Zibanejad, Claude Giroux, Kris Letang, T.J. Oshie

Central Division – Jonathan Toews, Cale Makar, Jamie Benn, Ryan Suter, Matt Duchene, David Perron Patrik Laine

Pacific Division – Ryan Getzlaf, Clayton Keller, Johnny Gaudreau, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Drew Doughty, Tomas Hertl, Quinn Hughes, Max Pacioretty

Five Key Stories: 12/23/19 – 12/29/19

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With the holiday week having come and gone as well as an NHL roster freeze, hockey news slows down quite a bit, yet there was plenty of news despite the three-game respite last week. Here are the five biggest stories of the past week:

World Junior Championships Get Underway: Perhaps even bigger than the NHL is the IIHF World Junior Championships that started on Dec. 26 and continues to be ongoing. The leagues top propsects or soon-to-be prospects find themselves competing in Ostrava and Trinec in the Czech Republic. All NHL teams have at least one representative at the tournament with several teams possessing a host of prospects. The Los Angeles Kings have nine prospects representing their organization, while the Arizona Coyotes have seven. Five teams have just one prospect at the tournament.

John McCarthy Retiring Due To Health Concerns: He only appeared in 88 career NHL games, but San Jose Sharks forward and a long-time minor league player for them, John McCarthy, announced his retirement due to health concerns. While he played in 18 games for the Barracuda this year, his season and career came to a halt after suffering an Ischemic stroke earlier this month. While he has made a complete recovery, those health concerns have ended his playing career. He was drafted by the Sharks back in 2006 and played for the Sharks’ organization his entire career and the Barracudas’ captain immediately took a coaching role with the team.

Brent Seabrook, Calvin De Haan Out For The Season: Just before play was supposed to resume after the Christmas hiatus, the Chicago Blackhawks announced that they are losing one-third of their defense. Two of their defensemen, Brent Seabrook and Calvin de Haan, will miss the season due to surgeries. Seabrook is expected to have surgery on both his hips, while de Haan will have shoulder surgery. De Haan has been a consistent part of the team’s defense, leading the team in hits and blocked shots. Seabrook has similar strengths, but has seen his playing time cut and has even been scratched three times so far this season. Regardless, these are tough losses for a franchise hoping to get back into the playoffs.

Alex Ovechkin To Skip NHL All-Star Game: For the second time in as many years, Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin has announced that he will be skipping the NHL All-Star Game. Ovechkin was voted in as Metropolitan Division captain, but he told media Friday that he will skip the all-star festivities to rest up for the second half of the season. Of course, Ovechkin will be suspended one game for skipping the league event. He must miss either the game before the all-star break or the game after. The team faces the rival New York Islanders, suggesting that Ovechkin will likely opt to miss the game after the break against the Montreal Canadiens.

Multiple Toronto Maple Leafs Players Injured: The Toronto Maple Leafs suffered three injuries upon their return from break. The team first revealed that forward Trevor Moore would be out indefinitely due to a concussion. Moore had been out with a shoulder injury and had only appeared in one game before getting injured once again. The team then lost winger Ilya Mikheyev who suffered a lacerated wrist after New Jersey’s Jesper Bratt ran sliced it with his skate. He is expected to miss a minimum of three months as he heals from the injury. Only hours after that, the Maple Leafs announced that defenseman Jake Muzzin would be considered week-to-week after suffering a fractured foot in that same game against the Devils. With all those injuries, it should make the team’s challenging of working their way up the Atlantic Division standings just a bit more difficult.

Alex Ovechkin To Skip NHL All-Star Game

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One of the NHL’s very best will miss the league’s celebration of its top players yet again. Alex Ovechkin, voted as the captain of the Metropolitan Division team for the upcoming All-Star Weekend, told the media after the Washington Capitals’ game last night that he would skip the festivities to focus on resting up for the second half of the season. It should not come as much surprise that Ovechkin will be absent in St. Louis on January 24th and 25th, as he declined the invitation to participate in the All-Star Game last season in San Jose as well.

Ovechkin did not hesitate to provide his reasoning for again skipping the event:

Thanks, first of all, fans for voting me. It’s a hard decision, but I have to listen to my body. I have to get ready for the second half of the year. I have to be healthy and focus on different things. It’s a hard decision, obviously, being the captain and missing the All-Star Game, but I have to do [what is] best for me and for my team.

Ovechkin’s decision will impact more than just All-Star festivities, though. The Capitals superstar will also be suspended for one game for skipping the event, a league rule that does not allow for any exceptions other than injury. Ovechkin understood the repercussions of his decision, which will see him miss either the game before All-Star break, against the rival New York Islanders, or more likely the game after players return from break, versus the Montreal Canadiens.

You don’t want to miss the game, but the rules are the rules, I’m healthy, thank God, and I just made this decision because I have to be in good shape and I have to be ready and good in the playoffs. The most important thing is not the regular year, it’s the playoffs.

For the 34-year-old Ovechkin, who plays as hard as anyone in the league, the decision is completely reasonable. With that said, it is a shame that the NHL will again be missing one of it’s biggest names and most popular personalities at All-Star Weekend. The league can only hope that Ovechkin is the first and last player to do so this season.

NHL Draft Picks Participating In The World Junior Championship

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The 2020 IIHF World Junior Championship is underway from Ostrava and Trinec in the Czech Republic. The tournament began today and will run through the championship game on January 5th. Each of the NHL’s 31 teams has at least one representative at the WJC. Five teams have only one draft pick participating, while the Los Angeles Kings (9) and Arizona Coyotes (7) each have more than those teams combined. However, it only takes one player and one moment to make history at the WJC. Check out which future NHLers will have that chance this year:

Anaheim Ducks (2):

G Lukas Dostal, Czech Republic
F Trevor Zegras, USA

Arizona Coyotes (7):

F Barrett Hayton, Canada
F Jan Jenik, Czech Republic
F Matias Maccelli, Finland
D Aku Raty, Finland
D Victor Soderstrom, Sweden
F Valentin Nussbaumer, Switzerland
D Ty Emberson, USA

Boston Bruins (3):

F Jakub Lauko, Czech Republic
F John Beecher, USA
F Curtis Hall, USA

Buffalo Sabres (4):

F Dylan Cozens, Canada
F Matej Pekar, Czech Republic
G Erik Portillo, Sweden
D Mattias Samuelsson, USA

Calgary Flames (1):

G Dustin Wolf, USA

Carolina Hurricanes (5):

D Anttoni Honka, Finland
F Lenni Killinen, Finland
F Patrik Puistola, Finland
F Dominik Bokk, Germany
F Jack Drury, USA

Chicago Blackhawks (2):

F Antti Saarela, Finland
F Michal Teply, Czech Republic

Colorado Avalanche (4):

D Bowen Byram, Canada
G Justus Annunen, Finland
F Sampo Ranta, Finland
D Daniil Zhuravlyov, Russia

Columbus Blue Jackets (4):

F Liam Foudy, Canada
F Kirill Marchenko, Russia
F Dmitri Voronkov, Russia
D Tim Berni, Switzerland

Dallas Stars (3):

F Ty Dellandrea, Canada
F Oskar Back, Sweden
F Albin Eriksson, Sweden

Detroit Red Wings (5):

D Jared McIsaac, Canada
F Joseph Veleno, Canada
D Moritz Seider, Germany
F Jonatan Berggren, Sweden
F Jesper Eliasson, Sweden

Edmonton Oilers (4):

F Raphael Lavoie, Canada
G Olivier Rodrigue, Canada
F Matej Blumel, Czech Republic
D Philip Broberg, Sweden

Florida Panthers (3):

Justin Schutz, Germany
F Grigori Denisenko, Russia
G Spencer Knight, USA

Los Angeles Kings (9):

F Aidan Dudas, Canada
F Akil Thomas, Canada
F Lukas Parik, Czech Republic
F Rasmus Kupari, Finland
D Kim Nousiainen, Finland
D Tobias Bjornfot, Sweden
F Samuel Fagemo, Sweden
F Arthur Kaliyev, USA
F Alex Turcotte, USA

Minnesota Wild (1):

F Alexander Khovanov, Russia

Montreal Canadiens (4):

D Alexander Romanov, Russia
D Mattias Norlinder, Sweden
F Cole Caufield, USA
D Jordan Harris, USA

Nashville Predators (1):

D Spencer Stastney, USA

New Jersey Devils (5):

D Kevin Bahl, Canada
D Ty Smith, Canada
D Daniil Misyul, Russia
F Nikola Pasic, Sweden
G Akira Schmid, Switzerland

New York Islanders (2):

F Jacob Pivonka, USA
F Oliver Wahlstrom, USA

New York Rangers (5):

D Nico Gross, Switzerland
F Karl Henriksson, Sweden
D Nils Lundkvist, Sweden
D Zachary Jones, USA

D K’Andre Miller, USA

Ottawa Senators (3):

D Jacob Bernard-Docker, Canada
D Lassi Thomson, Finland
F Shane Pinto, USA

Philadelphia Flyers (4):

F Egor Zamula, Russia
D Adam Ginning, Sweden
F Bobby Brink, USA
D Cameron York, USA

Pittsburgh Penguins (1):

D Calen Addison, Canada

San Jose Sharks (1):

Santeri Hatakka, Finland

St. Louis Blues (2):

G Joel Hofer, Canada
F Nikita Alexandrov, Russia

Tampa Bay Lightning (3):

F Nolan Foote, Canada
F Maxim Cajkovic, Czech Republic
G Hugo Alnefelt, Sweden

Toronto Maple Leafs (3):

D Mikko Kokkonen, Finland
D Rasmus Sandin, Sweden
F Nicholas Robertson, USA

Vancouver Canucks (4):

F Karel Plasek, Czech Republic
D Toni Utunen, Finland
F Vasily Podkolzin, Russia
F Nils Hoglander, Sweden

Vegas Golden Knights (3):

F Pavel Dorofeyev, Russia
F Ivan Morozov, Russia
G Isaiah Saville, USA

Washington Capitals (2):

F Connor McMichael, Canada
D Martin Has, Czech Republic

Winnipeg Jets (2):

F David Gustafsson, Sweden
D Ville Heinola, Finland

Snapshots: Kapanen, Canucks, Holtby

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The Toronto Maple Leafs roared back to take an afternoon tilt against the Carolina Hurricanes today, scoring eight goals in total (while giving up six against). That kind of offensive firepower is because of the team’s depth up front, even with lineup regulars Trevor Moore and Andreas Johnsson still out with injury. That depth, along with a tough cap situation and defense corps that has struggled has led many to speculate on the future of Kasperi Kapanen, who recently signed a three-year, $9.6MM deal with the team. Pierre LeBrun spoke on TSN radio before the game about Kapanen’s future with the team:

I still talk to some teams that value him and like him. If he were to be made available I don’t think the Leafs would have a hard time gaining value in a trade involving him. In fact, it wouldn’t shock me if they did deal him. I think it’s probably in the offseason that it is before February 24th.

But again, because of the pressure of the cap and the pressure of having to figure out the defense moving forward next year, I think he’ll be one of the expendable parts. Not because I think the Leafs’ front office thinks any different of him, I think it’s just he’s at a certain number and I think they can get cheaper players to play those roles. It wouldn’t shock me if he was involved in a trade in the offseason.

Kapanen, 23, has eight goals and 19 points in 38 games this season. This is the second time recently a major hockey insider has spoken about the ease in which Toronto could trade the young winger, after Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet included a note about Kapanen’s value in his 31 Thoughts column earlier this month. Though there has been no indication that the Maple Leafs are leaning that way at this point, he’ll obviously be a player to watch in the summer.

  • The Vancouver Canucks have gotten standout performances from several young players this season, but as Chris Johnston of Sportsnet points out that may actually have a consequence moving forward. Johnston notes that the performance bonuses of players like Elias Pettersson, Quinn Hughes and Adam Gaudette could add up to more than $4MM this season, a total that would be carried over against next year’s cap if they don’t have the room on this year’s books. The Canucks already have buyout hits and cap recapture penalties that add up to more than $4MM as well, meaning they could be playing with a much diminished pocket book in 2020-21.
  • Friedman also noted over the weekend that negotiations with Braden Holtby of the Washington Capitals have been put off until after the season is over, something that makes his future with the team even more interesting. Holtby has been a rock for the Capitals for nearly a decade now, winning a Vezina Trophy in 2016 and earning all 16 wins in their Stanley Cup championship in 2018. That said, the team now has young netminder Ilya Samsonov showing what he can do at the NHL level (9-2-1 with a .916 save percentage in 12 appearances) and cap issues to solve with Nicklas Backstrom due for a new deal in 2020 and Alex Ovechkin in 2021. Friedman was clear to point out that the Capitals have extended other players like John Carlson and T.J. Oshie after the season previously, but Holtby may be a different situation entirely.

Latest On Nicklas Backstrom

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While all of the focus may be on Taylor Hall as the top player headed for unrestricted free agency, the Metropolitan Division-leading Washington Capitals have two big names of their own on expiring deals. Braden Holtby is in the final year of his deal and could be the next goaltender to land a huge contract on the open market, and franchise icon Nicklas Backstrom is about to see his current 10-year contract come to an end with the only team he’s ever known. Backstrom notably is negotiating with the Capitals on his own and as Samantha Pell of the Washington Post reports, the two sides are still trying to find common ground when it comes to contract length.

Pell suggests that the 32-year old Backstrom would prefer a five-year term, while the team may be looking at a three-year deal for their long-time center.

Since being selected fourth overall in 2006, Backstrom has been nothing but outstanding for a Capitals organization that put faith in him from the very beginning. Debuting in the NHL during the 2007-08 season, the slick playmaker recorded 69 points in 82 games and established himself as a star right out of the box. In the decade plus since, Backstrom has been a consistent presence at the top of the lineup, scoring at nearly a point-per-game over more than 900 contests.

If he can stay healthy, Backstrom will likely hit the 1,000 point and 1,000 game mark next season, be it in Washington or elsewhere. He’s still playing at a high level and impacting the game positively, though any team would have to move forward with caution given his age.

Having just turned 32, any contract extension at this point is buying years of decline and could bite the Capitals if there is a precipitous drop in his effectiveness. The team is already dancing with the salary cap ceiling and notably has another big contract nearing its conclusion. Alex Ovechkin’s 13-year, $124MM deal comes to an end after the 2020-21 season, the same time that young snipe Jakub Vrana will be looking for his final deal as a restricted free agent. Any deal for Backstrom (or Holtby, for that matter) will impact how much flexibility the Capitals have down the road, though at this point it seems both sides are on track to work something out.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

NHL Announces All-Star Captains

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The 2020 NHL All-Star captains were revealed today as three of the names remain the same from last season as Washington Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin, Edmonton Oilers’ Connor McDavid and Colorado Avalanche’s Nathan MacKinnon headline the captains for each division as picked by the fans. The new name on the captain’s list is Boston Bruins winger David Pastrnak.

Pastrnak replaces Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews who was captain at the 2019 all-star game. The 23-year-old is having a dominant season with Boston this year. Having scored a career-high 38 goals last season, Pastrnak is already closing in on that number in almost half that time. The winger already has 28 goals and 50 points in just 36 games as he heads for another career-high this season. Last year was Pastrnak’s first year as an all-star, who was also the “accuracy shooting” winner.

McDavid continues to improve every year. The 22-year-old has continued to put up more and more scoring each year and is on pace to have a career-high in points once again this year. McDavid has 20 goals and 59 points this season through 38 games. MacKinnon is also have another impressive season for the Avalanche, boasting 21 goals and 53 points so far in 35 games this year. The veteran of the group, Ovechkin will make his 11th all-star appearance this season as the 34-year-old has 22 goals this season.

The all-star game will be in St. Louis this season, which will be Jan. 24-26.

Washington Capitals Loan Tobias Geisser To NLA

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The Washington Capitals have decided that the best thing for Tobias Geisser’s development is to return to Switzerland. The team has announced a loan of Geisser to EV Zug of the Swiss NLA after just seven games with the Hershey Bears.

Geisser, 20, was a fourth-round pick of the Capitals in 2017 and spent last season in the AHL, but has had trouble bringing any sort of offensive game to North America. The 6’4″ defenseman has just one point in 54 career AHL games.

While offense was obviously never his calling card, he’ll have to be able to move the puck more effectively if he wants to continue moving up the depth chart in Washington.

Golden Knights Acquire Chandler Stephenson

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Tuesday: The deal has official gone through. Vegas acquired Stephenson in exchange for a 2021 fifth-round pick.

Monday: The Capitals and Golden Knights appear to be nearing an agreement on a trade involving Washington center Chandler Stephenson, according to reports from David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period (Twitter link) and TSN’s Darren Dreger (Twitter link).

Stephenson is in his third full season as an NHL player but his hold on a roster spot has been tenuous at best.  He has played in 24 games with the Caps this season, recording three goals and an assist while averaging just shy of 12 minutes per night.  With a $1.05MM cap hit, he costs a fair bit more than the players making the $700K league minimum and with the Capitals being extremely tight to the salary cap, a prorated few hundred thousand can make a big difference.  Winger Carl Hagelin is nearing a return from LTIR which is providing an impetus to make a move to free up a bit of cap room.

As for what may interest Vegas in the 25-year-old, center Cody Eakin is out week-to-week with an upper-body injury, creating an opening on the penalty kill which is an area that Stephenson can help in as he regularly kills penalties with Washington.  The Golden Knights are currently in action so any move won’t likely be announced until after the conclusion of their game.

Snapshots: Three Stars, Backstrom, Wilson

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The NHL has released their Three Stars for last week, and a familiar name is at the very top. Nathan MacKinnon finds himself awarded top honors once again after nine points in three games. The Colorado Avalanche center has been carrying the offensive weight without his usual running mates Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog as they deal with injury, but shows no sign of slowing down.

Second and third place go to a pair of goaltenders who have battled hard to stay in their respective roles. David Rittich stopped 95 of 101 shots last week to help the Calgary Flames potentially save their season, while Martin Jones is a huge reason why the San Jose Sharks are back in the playoff race at all. Both netminders have had their share of adversity over the years, but are playing inspired hockey at the moment.

  • It was reported recently that Nicklas Backstrom is representing himself in negotiations with the Washington Capitals, and he confirmed as much today to reporters including Samantha Pell of the Washington Post. Pell reports that Backstrom actually wanted to get an extension done with the team before the season began, but feels he “can be honest” with the organization after so many years together. The 32-year old center is in the final season of a ten-year contract he signed with the Capitals in 2010 and carries a $6.7MM cap hit.
  • Speaking of Colorado injuries, Colin Wilson will undergo surgery on a lower-body injury and is out for a while, according to Ryan S. Clark of The Athletic. Wilson has only played nine games this season and is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year. It’s not clear exactly how long he will be out.

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