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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.

Ilya Samsonov Out For The Postseason

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One of the more notable absences during training camp has been Washington goaltender Ilya Samsonov.  It turns out that his injury that was suffered before camp will be enough to hold him out for the entire postseason as the team announced to reporters, including Samantha Pell of the Washington Post (Twitter link) that he will remain in Washington to undergo treatment and was not on the playoff-eligible roster that was submitted on Friday.

That means that veteran Braden Holtby will be the starter this postseason.  The veteran is coming off the worst statistical season of his career as he posted a 3.11 GAA with a .897 SV% in 48 appearances for the Caps.  Those numbers are below the league average for a backup let alone a starter.  That had presented the possibility that Samsonov, their goalie of the future, would get a chance to play in the playoffs but that’s clearly not an option now.

This will give Holtby one last chance to boost his value before hitting the open market in October as an unrestricted free agent.  Given the cap crunch and Samsonov’s presence, it seems quite unlikely that the Capitals will be able to retain him this summer.

Meanwhile, the Capitals will likely use these next two weeks to determine who will serve as Holtby’s backup.  Pheonix Copley, last year’s backup, is the presumptive favorite while Vitek Vanecek, who had the better numbers this season with AHL Hershey, is also in the mix.

Washington has also made their final cuts to get down to the 31-player roster.  Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that forwards Shane Gersich and Garrett Pilon are the ones that will not participate in the postseason.  Both players played exclusively in the AHL this season.

Metropolitan Notes: Murray, Samsonov, Hamilton

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have a choice to make in net when they head into the 24-team playoff, deciding whether to use Matt Murray or Tristan Jarry as their starter. Though he admits it is the coach’s decision, Penguins GM Jim Rutherford told Josh Yohe of The Athletic that he believes Murray will be the choice after seeing how well the more experienced netminder performed in this week’s practices.

Murray, 26, is only a year older than Jarry but has the added benefit of two Stanley Cups and 48 playoff games under his belt. The 6’4″ netminder struggled mightily this season, however, posting an .899 save percentage. Jarry meanwhile put up a .921 and was selected to the All-Star game, but has never appeared in the postseason. The Penguins will start things off with a qualification round against the Montreal Canadiens.

  • There is another interesting goaltending situation to keep an eye on in the Metropolitan Division, and that’s what is happening in Washington. The Capitals still haven’t gotten a single practice out of young star netminder Ilya Samsonov, who has been “unfit to play” for the entire training camp so far. When asked, head coach Todd Reirden wouldn’t comment on whether Samsonov will be traveling with the team to Toronto in a few days as the Capitals enter the “bubble.” For now, Braden Holtby remains the default choice as starter for Washington despite his own struggles—to the tune of an .897 save percentage—this season.
  • After leaving practice yesterday, Dougie Hamilton was absent again for the Carolina Hurricanes this morning. The defenseman was in “visible discomfort” when leaving yesterday according to team reporter Michael Smith, who also notes that the Hurricanes are already missing Brett Pesce thanks to his shoulder surgery in March. While Pesce hasn’t been ruled out completely from participating in the playoffs, Hamilton was expected to be back to full strength after missing the last two months of the regular season. Given the league’s policy on not giving out injury information, there’s no way of telling what exactly happened to Hamilton or how long he’ll be out.

NHL Releases Qualifying Round, Round Robin Schedules

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July 20: The NHL has announced some minor changes to the schedule for the round robin. The Boston Bruins-Washington Capitals game that was scheduled for August 8 will now be played on August 9. The Philadelphia Flyers-Tampa Bay Lightning game that was originally scheduled for August 9, will now be played on August 8.

July 14: After revealing the schedule earlier today for the exhibition games occurring after the conclusion of training camp, the NHL has followed up with the schedules for the games that actually matter. The league has announced the full schedule for the best-of-five qualifying round match-ups, four each per conference between the teams seeded No. 5 to No. 12, as well as the six round robin games per conference between the teams seeded No. 1 to No. 4. As a reminder, the qualifying round will serve as a knockout round to trim the list of postseason teams to 16 for a standard playoff format while the round robin games will serve as a means to seed the top team in each conference. Teams will re-seed following the conclusion of the qualifying round and each subsequent round.

The full schedule is as follows (all times ET):

Saturday, Aug. 1

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Best-of-5 series

New York Rangers vs. Carolina Hurricanes, Game 1, 12 p.m.
Florida Panthers vs. New York Islanders, Game 1, 4 p.m.
Montreal Canadiens vs. Pittsburgh Penguins, Game 1, 8 p.m.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Best-of-5 series

Chicago Blackhawks vs. Edmonton Oilers, Game 1, 3 p.m.
Winnipeg Jets vs. Calgary Flames, Game 1, 10:30 p.m.

Sunday, Aug. 2

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Round-robin

Philadelphia Flyers vs. Boston Bruins, 3 p.m.

Best-of-5 series

Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Toronto Maple Leafs, Game 1, 8 p.m.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Best-of-5 series

Arizona Coyotes vs, Nashville Predators, Game 1, 2 p.m.
Minnesota Wild vs. Vancouver Canucks, Game 1, 10:30 p.m.

Round-robin

St. Louis Blues vs. Colorado Avalanche, 6:30 p.m.

Monday, Aug. 3

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Best-of-5 series

New York Rangers vs. Carolina Hurricanes, Game 2, 12 p.m.
Montreal Canadiens vs. Pittsburgh Penguins, Game 2, 8 p.m.

Round-robin

Washington Capitals vs. Tampa Bay Lightning, 4 p.m.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Best-of-5 series

Winnipeg Jets vs. Calgary Flames, Game 2, 2:30 p.m.
Chicago Blackhawks vs. Edmonton Oilers, Game 2, 10:30 p.m.

Round-robin

Dallas Stars vs. Vegas Golden Knights, 6:30 p.m.

Tuesday, Aug. 4

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Best-of-5 series

Florida Panthers vs. New York Islanders, Game 2, 12 p.m.
Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Toronto Maple Leafs, Game 2, 4 p.m.
Carolina Hurricanes vs. New York Rangers, Game 3, 8 p.m.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Best-of-5 series

Arizona Coyotes vs. Nashville Predators, Game 2, 2:30 p.m.
Calgary Flames vs. Winnipeg Jets, Game 3, 6:45 p.m.
Minnesota Wild vs. Vancouver Canucks, Game 2, 10:45 p.m.

Wednesday, Aug. 5

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Best-of-5 series

New York Islanders vs. Florida Panthers, Game 3, 12 p.m.
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Montreal Canadiens, Game 3, 8 p.m.

Round-robin

Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Boston Bruins, 4 p.m.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Best-of-5 series

Nashville Predators vs. Arizona Coyotes, Game 3, 2:30 p.m.
Edmonton Oilers vs. Chicago Blackhawks, Game 3, 10:30 p.m.

Round-robin

Colorado Avalanche vs. Dallas Stars, 6:30 p.m.

Thursday, Aug. 6

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Best-of-5 series

Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Columbus Blue Jackets, Game 3, TBD
Carolina Hurricanes vs. New York Rangers, Game 4*, TBD

Round-robin

Washington Capitals vs. Philadelphia Flyers, TBD

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Best-of-5 series

Vancouver Canucks vs. Minnesota Wild, Game 3, TBD
Calgary Flames vs. Winnipeg Jets, Game 4*, TBD

Round-robin

Vegas Golden Knights vs. St. Louis Blues, TBD

Friday, Aug. 7

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Best-of-5 series

New York Islanders vs. Florida Panthers, Game 4*, TBD
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Montreal Canadiens, Game 4*, TBD
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Columbus Blue Jackets, Game 4*, TBD

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Best-of-5 series

Nashville Predators vs. Arizona Coyotes, Game 4*, TBD
Vancouver Canucks vs. Minnesota Wild, Game 4*, TBD
Edmonton Oilers vs. Chicago Blackhawks, Game 4*, TBD

Saturday, Aug. 8

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Best-of-5 series

New York Rangers vs. Carolina Hurricanes, Game 5*, TBD
Montreal Canadiens vs. Pittsburgh Penguins, Game 5*, TBD

Round-robin

Boston Bruins vs. Washington Capitals, TBD

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Best-of-5 series

Winnipeg Jets vs. Calgary Flames, Game 5*, TBD
Chicago Blackhawks vs. Edmonton Oilers, Game 5*, TBD

Round-robin

Vegas Golden Knights vs. Colorado Avalanche, TBD

Sunday, Aug. 9

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Best-of-5 series

Florida Panthers vs. New York Islanders, Game 5*, TBD
Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Toronto Maple Leafs, Game 5*, TBD

Round-robin

Philadelphia Flyers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning, TBD

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Best-of-5 series

Minnesota Wild vs. Vancouver Canucks, Game 5*, TBD
Arizona Coyotes vs. Nashville Predators, Game 5*, TBD

Round-robin

Dallas Stars vs. St. Louis Blues, TBD

With round robin games scheduled through August 9, the first round will not begin until August 10 at the earliest. However, given that exhibition games don’t even begin until July 28, the NHL is about to cram a lot of hockey into a span of just a dozen days.

2020 Norris Trophy Finalists Announced

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The NHL continues to release their award finalists, this time announcing the three nominees for the Norris Trophy. The award is given out to the top defenseman “who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position.” Last year’s winner was Mark Giordano of the Calgary Flames.

This year’s finalists are John Carlson of the Washington Capitals, Roman Josi of the Nashville Predators, and Victor Hedman of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Carlson comes with a built-in argument in his favor, given the outstanding offensive performance he put together this season. After scoring 70 points in 80 games last year and finishing fourth in Norris voting, he improved those totals again to lead all defensemen with 75 points in just 69 games. He was 12th in the entire league in scoring when the season shut down, and ten points ahead of the next highest defenseman (Josi). That pure offensive dominance will make him a solid contributor, but as always he comes with questions about his defensive ability. Despite scoring 49 of his points at even-strength, Carlson was still just a +12 on the year and had the worst possession numbers of the three finalists. Given the still relatively subjective nature of judging defensive impact, Carlson’s candidacy is not a sure thing even with his offensive numbers.

Josi meanwhile comes with an even longer history of Norris expectations, receiving votes for the award in each of the last five seasons and coming in the top-7 in four of those. The Predators captain recorded 65 points in 69 games and had extremely strong possession numbers on the year—the best of his career in fact. Among the major individual awards, the Norris, in particular, has a reputation that it is given “eventually” to a player long-deserving. Josi could be that candidate this season after such a strong campaign. That’s not to say he isn’t deserving, as any Predators fan will tell you how much the team relied on him this season to create offense when the rest of the group was struggling.

Hedman meanwhile is the only one of the three finalists with a Norris win already under his belt, taking home the award in 2018. The backbone of the Lightning team, Hedman managed to record 55 points in 66 games and was once again one of the most consistent defensive players in the league. If you were crafting a defenseman in a lab, you might end up with something looking similar to the 6’6″ Swede, who has been a finalist or winner in each of the last three seasons. Hedman may have not had the offensive seasons of Carlson or Josi, but his reputation on the defensive side of the puck will help him secure plenty of votes once again.

Capitals Notes: Holtby, McMichael, Restart

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Heading into the season, it looked like it could very well be Braden Holtby’s final season with Washington.  Ilya Samsonov, their goalie of the future, had arrived and with expansion looming, keeping both carried some risk.  Nicklas Backstrom’s in-season extension further increased the likelihood of Holtby leaving and now the flattened salary cap has done the same.  Despite that, the goaltender told reporters, including J.J. Regan of NBC Sports Washington, that he’s still holding out faint hope of a return:

My focus right now is to win a championship and moving forward, is to find the next best place to win a championship with. Hopefully, it is here. Hopefully, everything works out but you never know.

Holtby is coming off his worst statistical season of his career (.897 SV%, 3.11 GAA) which certainly doesn’t bolster his leverage heading into what looks to be a deflated market.  However, with a handful of other teams on the lookout for starting goaltenders, he still should be able to land a good contract but unless he’s willing to take a sizable discount, it probably won’t be with the Capitals.

More from Washington:

  • With Lars Eller planning to leave the team to be with his wife for the birth of their second child early next month, head coach Todd Reirden told Samantha Pell of The Washington Post that 2019 first-round pick Connor McMichael is among those being considered to fill that spot in the lineup. There would certainly be some risk to having McMichael make his NHL debut in a playoff situation (or during seeding games at a minimum) but the upside is certainly there.  He had a dominant season in the OHL, recording 47 goals and 55 assists in just 52 games with London so he should be able to hold his own at the very least.  If he does play, he’ll be subject to the usual games played threshold to not burn a year of his contract but by the time he gets to that tenth game, Eller should be back.
  • Washington is one of the teams that really benefitted from the stoppage, suggests Matthew Paras of The Washington Times. The Capitals had lost 10 of 15 games before the pandemic arrived while the mini training camp also allows them to get Ilya Kovalchuk and Brendan Dillon integrated into the lineup, something they didn’t get much of a chance to do after both were brought in near the trade deadline.

Snapshots: Stingrays, Beaudin, Koivu

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The Washington Capitals and South Carolina Stingrays of the ECHL have renewed their affiliation, signing a three-year extension that will keep them together moving forward. The Stingrays were first affiliated with the Capitals between 2004-2012, and were reunited in 2014. The two teams, along with the Hershey Bears of the AHL, have experienced plenty of success as one of the strongest three-tiered development system in professional hockey.

Perhaps the best-known success story is Braden Holtby, who spent time with the Stingrays in 2009-10 before eventually moving up the depth chart. The ECHL is routinely used to give raw goalie prospects a chance to hone their talents in game situations and will continue to be a valuable development path for the Capitals.

  • With the shortened season the league had to institute a pro-rating system for things like the entry-level slide rule in the new CBA. Previously, players had to eclipse ten games for their entry-level contract to kick in. That changed slightly with the new rules, but according to CapFriendly the new formula will only actually affect one player—Nicolas Beaudin. The Chicago Blackhawks prospect could see his first year burned if he is to play in eight more games, even though he only played one in the regular season. There are still many players who could see their first year kick in should they play enough games in the playoffs, but those thresholds remain at 10 games. CapFriendly has the entire list right here.
  • Mikko Koivu is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year, but he hasn’t made a decision yet on whether he’ll continue to play. The 37-year old Minnesota Wild captain told Michael Russo of The Athletic that he would make that decision after his season is over. After several major injuries and the slow march of time Koivu isn’t the same two-way monster he was for so many years, but he did still contribute 21 points in 55 games for the Wild this season. He’ll get a chance to strengthen his legacy with a playoff run, but the Wild will have to dispatch the Vancouver Canucks in their qualification round first.

Snapshots: Eller, Panthers, Mikheyev

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Washington Capitals forward Lars Eller has decided against opting out of the return to play tournament, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be there for the whole thing. Eller told reporters including Greg Wyshynski of ESPN that he will leave the “bubble” at some point for the birth of his child. The expected due date is August 8th, right in the middle of the qualification round that the Capitals will not be taking part in.

As Wyshynski explains, leaving the bubble is relatively easy—it requires extenuating circumstances like the birth of a child and a GM’s approval—getting back in is not. Eller will be subject to several tests before being allowed to return, including a potential 14-day quarantine depending on where they have traveled.

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