2020 NHL All-Star Skills Participants Announced
Before Saturday’s All-Star Game three-on-three tournament, the NHL’s best will take the ice on Friday night in the annual All-Star Skills event. There has been considerable hype around this year’s competition, given both the new “Shooting Stars” event, in which players will fire the puck at targets on the ice from platforms in the stands, and the participation of stars from the women’s game, including their own three-on-three scrimmage. Now, the league has announced who specifically will be taking part in each event, both new and classic. Below is the lineup for each event:
Fastest Skater
Jack Eichel, Buffalo Sabres
Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche
Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
Mathew Barzal, New York Islanders
Chris Kreider, New York Rangers
Anthony Duclair, Ottawa Senators
Travis Konecny, Philadelphia Flyers
Quinn Hughes, Vancouver Canucks
Save Streak
David Rittich, Calgary Flames
Tristan Jarry, Pittsburgh Penguins
Jordan Binnington, St. Louis Blues
Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning
Frederik Andersen, Toronto Maple Leafs
Jacob Markstrom, Vancouver Canucks
Braden Holtby, Washington Capitals
Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets
Accuracy Shooting
Jaccob Slavin, Carolina Hurricanes
Tyler Bertuzzi, Detroit Red Wings
Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers
Jonathan Huberdeau, Florida Panthers
Nico Hischier, New Jersey Devils
Tomas Hertl, San Jose Sharks
Alex Pietrangelo, St. Louis Blues
Mark Scheifele, Winnipeg Jets
Hardest Shot
Mark Giordano, Calgary Flames
Seth Jones, Columbus Blue Jackets
Shea Weber, Montreal Canadiens
Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning
Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks
John Carlson, Washington Capitals
Shooting Stars
David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins
Matthew Tkachuk, Calgary Flames
Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks
Tyler Seguin, Dallas Stars
Brady Tkachuk, Ottawa Senators
David Perron, St. Louis Blues
Ryan O’Reilly, St. Louis Blues
Mitch Marner, Toronto Maple Leafs
American Women’s Elite All-Star (TBD)
Canadian Women’s Elite All-Star (TBD)
Women’s Three-On-Three
Team Canada: Meghan Agosta, Mélodie Daoust, Ann-Renée Desbiens, Renata Fast, Laura Fortino, Rebecca Johnston, Sarah Nurse, Marie-Philip Poulin, Natalie Spooner, Blayre Turnbull
Team USA: Kacey Bellamy, Alex Carpenter, Kendall Coyne Schofield, Brianna Decker, Amanda Kessel, Hilary Knight, Jocelyn Lamoureux-Davidson, Annie Pankowski, Alex Rigsby Cavallini, Lee Stecklein
All the action kicks off at 7:00pm local time in St. Louis, with coverage from NBCSN in the U.S and CBC, SN, and TVAS in Canada.
Pittsburgh Penguins Activate Justin Schultz From IR
The Pittsburgh Penguins do not return to action for more than a week, when they square off with the rival Philadelphia Flyers on January 31st. However, fans now have even more to look forward to than just the return of their team. Joining them back on the ice will be defenseman Justin Schultz, who CapFriendly reports has been activated from the injured reserve.
This news comes just days after Schultz made his return to practice for the first time since his injury occurred back on December 17. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Seth Rorabaugh wrote on Tuesday that Schultz was all but ready to return than night – also against the Flyers – after participating fully in practice, but the team had opted to exercise caution with the long break ahead. While Shultz has reportedly been activated today, it is nothing more than a paper move with the team disbanded for the All-Star Game and bye week. He will get extra rest during this time, with the hope being that he can hit the ground running in his return.
Schultz suffered his lower-body injury in mid-December as part of a rash of injuries for the Penguins. Captain Sidney Crosby has recently returned from the injury he suffered in November, but Pittsburgh still awaits the returns of Schultz, fellow defenseman Brian Dumoulin, and forward Nick Bjugstad, who has been out the longest with a core muscle injury. Evgeni Malkin and Bryan Rust have also missed substantial time due to injury this season, while Jake Guentzel saw his season ended by a shoulder injury not long after Schultz went down.
It has been a difficult season health-wise for the Penguins, but their absences have not been all that apparent. The team has had miraculous success given their numerous injuries, not only keeping pace in the competitive Metropolitan Division, but in fact making a play for the division lead. Pittsburgh sits just four point back of the Washington Capitals with the third-best record in the Eastern Conference. If they are able to accomplish that with so many big names out the lineup, who knows how they might perform once everyone is healthy. There is hope that Dumoulin and Bjugstad will soon be healthy, but in the meantime the return of Schultz should make an immediate impact. The 29-year-old defenseman, who is in the final year of his contract, struggled with injuries last season as well, but when healthy has recorded 109 points in 215 games since arriving in Pittsburgh in 2015. Capable of playing big minutes and putting up big points, with a history of playing his best in the postseason, plus the additional motivation of a free agency payday, Schultz could be a game-changing asset for the Penguins in his return.
Snapshots: Three Stars, Penguins, Miller
The Metropolitan Division is well represented in the NHL’s Three Stars of the Week, as the league announced that the Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin and the Blue Jackets’ Elvis Merzlikins have been named the first and second stars, respectively. Ovechkin is no stranger to the honor, but was certainly deserving of recognition once again with a whopping eight goals in three games, including back-to-back hat tricks. The 34-year-old trails only David Pastrnak in the NHL goals race right now and is eight goals away from cracking 700 in his career. Meanwhile, Merzlikins is brand new to both the NHL and any sort of league recognition. The young goaltender, who dominated the Swiss ranks for many years, got off to a rocky start this season after signing with Columbus last spring. However, he has performed admirably in the place of injured All-Star Joonas Korpisalo, including winning each of his past four start with three shutouts mixed in. In 20 appearances on the year, Merzlikins is now up to a .928 save percentage and 2.36 GAA in an impressive rookie campaign. The third star of the week belong to another familiar name, Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews. Toews shook off a cold spell, recording three goals and nine points in four games this week, extending his point streak to six games. As Toews goes, so do the Blackhawks, who have been surging of late back into the postseason conversation.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins are among the top-five NHL teams in man-games lost this season and first in lost production due to injury. However, they have weathered the storm, not just maintaining through their losses, but actually improving. Now, they are getting healthy once again, with Sidney Crosby now back (and red-hot) and defenseman Justin Schultz getting close, per a team report. Schultz was cleared for full participation in practice today and appears ready to go, but stated that he and the team will be “smart” with the decision, especially with the All-Star break approaching and the opportunity for even more rest if they opt not to rush him back this week. Meanwhile, after leaving Sunday’s game, Dominik Simon has avoided any lasting injury, the Penguins The same can’t be said for Dominik Kahun, who suffered a head injury and has entered the concussion protocol. That just seems to be how things have gone for Pittsburgh this year though – for every player back to full strength, there’s another player sidelined.
- One of the Penguins’ biggest rivals for the Eastern Conference title could be getting a somewhat forgotten player back in the mix. The Boston Bruins, after not having an update on defenseman Kevan Miller for some time, surprised the media by stating that he returned to the ice with the team yesterday. Miller has not played a single game this season, nor has he even been part of the active roster. The veteran defenseman has suffered multiple setback in his return to health after a litany of injuries last season. Should he reach the point that he is fully able to return to action, the Bruins would welcome him back, despite their logjam on the blue line, as Miller would bring the physicality and checking ability that the team has been missing too often this year. Of course, his return could pose some cap problems in addition to roster questions, but given Miller’s inability to get healthy this season, that is a bridge that the team will cross if and when they come to it.
Alex Ovechkin To Sit The First Game After The All-Star Break
- Capitals winger Alex Ovechkin has selected which game he will sit out under suspension as a result of skipping the NHL All-Star game, reports Samantha Pell of the Washington Post. He has chosen to miss their first game after the break against Montreal, a reasonable decision considering their final game before it is against the Islanders, a division rival.
What Your Team Is Thankful For: Washington Capitals
We’re in the home stretch in our thankful series where PHR will continue its look at what teams are thankful for as the second half of the season gets underway. We’ll examine what has gone well in the first half and what each team may be looking for at the trade deadline. Next up is Washington Capitals.
What are the Capitals most thankful for?
Firepower and plenty of it. Washington is averaging over 3.5 goals per game which has allowed them to overcome some shaky goaltending at times to sit atop the Eastern Conference in points while being tied with St. Louis for the league lead. They already have seven players that have reached double digits in goals and the new $9.2MM man Nicklas Backstrom isn’t even one of them (he’s at nine tallies on the year). They’re a team that is designed to have two high-scoring lines and so far, they’ve been exactly that which has made them tough to beat most nights.
Who are the Capitals most thankful for?
It would be very easy to pick Alex Ovechkin here. He’s once again among the league leaders in goals and just keeps getting it done. But the season that John Carlson is having is too much to overlook. He’s on pace for 98 points which would blow past his previous career high of 70. He has more goals than the rest of Washington’s back end combined. He’s once again logging heavy minutes, checking in at 24:49 per night, the team high by a considerable margin. He plays in all situations. At this stage, he’s the hands-on favorite for the Norris Trophy. And they’re especially thankful that he’s signed through 2025-26 on what is looking like more and more of a team-friendly deal worth $8MM per season, well below what he’d be getting if he was hitting the open market this summer.
What would the Capitals be even more thankful for?
More consistency from Braden Holtby. While there are still some nights where he plays up to the top level he has been at before, there have been more where he has been average at best. Ilya Samsonov, their goalie of the future, has been the better of the two netminders almost all season long. With their eyes on a lengthy playoff run, it’s unlikely that they’ll consider trading him by the deadline even though they run the risk of losing him for nothing in free agency in July, an outcome that is looking more probable following Backstrom’s new deal. Holtby playing like the Holtby of old would make that call much less painful.
What should be on the Capitals’ Wish List?
In a perfect world, a top-four defenseman would be added to serve as an upgrade over Nick Jensen and Radko Gudas. However, that’s probably not a realistic addition with their salary cap situation. While Washington is no longer at the point where they can only afford to dress 11 forwards for a game, they’re not near a point where they can say they have a lot of flexibility either. As a result, they’ll have to set their sights lower. A veteran third pairing blueliner to give them some injury insurance or matchup flexibility would be a useful addition and if they could find a way to add some more offense in their bottom six group (someone that could move up when injuries strike), that would be a nice added bonus as well.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
MacLellan: Capitals Likely To Pursue Depth Additions
- With Nicklas Backstrom now signed and talks for Braden Holtby on hold, the focus for Washington will likely shift to the trade deadline. GM Brian MacLellan told NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti (Twitter link) that they’ll likely be focusing on depth additions. While the Capitals have freed up some cap room over the past couple of months, it’s still not enough to add an impact player, especially if they opt to try to add more than one player to give them some injury insurance.
Nicklas Backstrom Signs Five-Year Extension
The Washington Capitals weren’t going to let one of their franchise icons go anywhere. Nicklas Backstrom has agreed to a five-year contract extension that will delay his unrestricted free agency until the summer of 2025. Backstrom negotiated the deal himself, and will get a hefty raise. The contract is worth a total of $46MM, meaning the veteran center will carry a $9.2MM cap hit starting next season. The full breakdown is as follows:
- 2020-21: $6.0MM salary + $6.0MM signing bonus
- 2021-22: $5.0MM salary + $5.0MM signing bonus
- 2022-23: $3.0MM salary + $3.0MM signing bonus
- 2023-24: $5.0MM salary + $5.0MM signing bonus
- 2024-25: $2.0MM salary + $6.0MM signing bonus
According to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, the deal also includes a full no-movement clause in the first three years and a 15-team no-trade clause in the final two. Backstrom currently carries a $6.7MM cap hit, though that deal was signed back in 2010 and was actually worth the same cap percentage at the time as his new one.
There was little doubt that the two sides would eventually get something done, as Backstrom is not only a franchise icon but still one of their most productive players. The 32-year old center has had six consecutive seasons of at least 70 points and is well on his way to that mark again with 35 points in his first 39 games. The dynamic playmaker may never match his career-highs of 33 goals and 101 points set back in 2009-10, but he is still a force on the powerplay and can carry a top-six line.
Still, signing any 32-year old to a five year extension carries a fair amount of risk. The fact that it makes him the 17th highest-paid forward in the league next season only exacerbates that risk, meaning the Capitals have to make sure they are still surrounding their aging duo of Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin with enough young talent to compete. Luckily, the team has been hesitant to trade their first round picks in recent years meaning they have prospects like Connor McMichael and Alex Alexeyev on the way.
The focus in Washington now turns to Braden Holtby, another piece of their core that is scheduled for unrestricted free agency. Holtby’s situation is quite different than Backstrom’s however, given the play of Ilya Samsonov this season. The young goaltender has quite clearly outplayed Holtby and looks ready to take on a starting role in the NHL. Even in a bad year, the veteran Capitals goaltender will command a huge contract on the open market thanks to his long history of success and playoff triumphs.
For now though it is a day to celebrate Backstrom’s new deal, which will almost certainly allow him to become the second player in Capitals history to score 1,000 points with the franchise. He is already the all-time franchise leader in assists with 668, and is likely on his way to the Hall of Fame one day.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Eastern Notes: Trouba, Panik, Palmieri, Hughes, Johnsson
The Department of Player Safety announced that New York Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba has been fined $5,000, the maximum allowable under the CBA, for slashing St. Louis Blues defenseman Vince Dunn Saturday. The incident happened during the third period when Dunn circled around the Rangers’ net with Trouba following who proceeded to slash at Dunn. That started a shoving match, which eventually led to a fight.
Trouba received a five-minute penalty for slashing and a 10-game misconduct, while Dunn received a two-minute penalty for roughing. Trouba has been in trouble before as he received a two-game suspension back in 2017 after a hit to the head of Mark Stone.
- No lost time on the ice for Washington Capitals forward Richard Panik. The forward was back at practice Sunday with a full face shield after being cut in the lower lip by the stick of New Jersey Devils forward Miles Wood, according to NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti. In fact, Panik said that his lower lip was separated from his gums and required 20 stitches. Fortunately, his teeth are fine.
- The New Jersey Devils have lost one forward and gained another. NHL.com’s Amanda Stein reports that forward Kyle Palmieri is out Sunday for their game against Tampa Bay. The forward suffered a lower-body injury during Saturday’s game against Washington. He did block a shot off his foot and was reportedly hurting on the bench, but didn’t leave the game. No indication on how serious the injury is, however. The 28-year-old has 16 goals this season. However, the team announced it is expecting to get center Jack Hughes back in the lineup. The 18-year-old has missed five games with an upper-body injury.
- Toronto Maple Leafs head coach said that the team will be activating forward Andreas Johnsson off of injured reserve and he is expected to take warm-ups before today’s game against Florida and will be a game-time decision, according to TSN’s Mark Masters. The has been out since Dec. 4 with a leg injury and should be able to provide the Maple Leafs with some offensive depth as he has six goals and 16 points through 30 games. The Maple Leafs added that the team has placed defenseman Jake Muzzin on IR to make room for Johnsson. Muzzin has been out with a broken foot since Dec. 27.
Four More Players Voted In To All-Star Game
The vote is in as four more players were added to the NHL All-Star Game as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that Toronto Maple Leafs’ Mitch Marner, Washington Capitals’ T.J. Oshie, St. Louis Blues’ David Perron and Vancouver Canucks’ Quinn Hughes were voted in by fans as the Last Men In.
For Marner, it will be the forward’s first all-star appearance despite posting a 94-point performance in the 2018-19 season. However, Marner remains on a similar pace and has impressive numbers once again. He currently has 11 goals and 42 points in just 34 games this season, putting him at a 100-goal pace had he not missed several weeks with a high ankle sprain. He joins Auston Matthews and Frederik Andersen as a third member of the team on the Atlantic Division roster.
Oshie will also be attending the all-star game for the first time in his career. The 33-year-old has had a solid career, but gets voted in as he has 18 goals through the first 45 games of the season and looks to be heading for a 30-goal pace. He will join defenseman John Carlsson and goaltender Braden Holtby. Alex Ovechkin was also supposed to go, but has opted to skip it for a second straight year. Head coach Todd Reirden is also going as coach of the Metro Division.
Perron is another addition for Stanley Cup champions, who will be the hosts of the all-star game, and gives the team four players on the Central Division squad. The 31-year-old looks to be heading for one of the best seasons of his career as he already has 19 goals through 45 games, including four overtime goals so far this year. Perron will be joined by forwards Ryan O’Reilly, defenseman Alex Pietrangelo and goaltender Jordan Binnington.
Finally, a defenseman was added in the Pacific Division, a much needed position for that squad, which had just Mark Giordano on the roster until the fan vote. Hughes has been a revelation for Vancouver and while fellow rookie Cale Makar gets most of the headlines, Hughes has posted four goals and 30 points in 43 games and is averaging 21:22 of ATOI in his first full season. He will join forward Elias Petersson and goaltender Jacob Markstrom as the Canucks’ representatives.
Minor Transactions: 01/11/20
The Red Wings picked up their 12th win of the season on Friday night (albeit against the Senators), while the injury-riddled Penguins won their 13th game since the beginning of December alone and miraculously have the most points in the league since Sidney Crosby went down with an injury. Two of just six teams in action last night, both Detroit and Pittsburgh will take a seat tonight while 22 other teams hit the ice. They return to action on Sunday as two of just twelve teams, as the NHL has just 20 games scheduled from Friday night through Sunday in a relatively quiet weekend. With substantial off-time for many teams, look for the focus to instead be on roster transactions as teams prepare for the coming week. Keep up with all of the action right here:
- Late last night (or this morning on the east coast), the Vegas Golden Knights made a swap up front. The team announced that Nicolas Roy had been reassigned to the AHL’s Chicago Wolves, with Keegan Kolesar promoted to replace him. Roy has been a competent part-time player for the Knights this season, recording five points in eleven games, but Vegas is clearly looking for a different type of presence in bringing up Kolesar. The hard-hitting winger has just ten points on the season in the minors but brings a valuable physical element. However, Vegas timed the recall well if they’re hoping to see a little offense, as Kolesar scored his first two goals of the season with the Wolves just last night. This would be Kolesar’s NHL debut if he does draw into the lineup on this recall.
- CapFriendly reports that the San Jose Sharks also made a move late last night, sending rookie forward Joachim Blichfeld back to the AHL. Blichfeld had only been recalled the day before, but fortunately it is a short walk from the Sharks’ locker room to the Barracuda’s. The Danish winger has been a point-per-game player in the AHL this year, but has been held off the score sheet in two NHL games.
- Yet another Pacific Division team has made a move, though this one occurring this morning, as the Vancouver Canucks have announced the demotion of forward Zack MacEwen. The big, 23-year-old winger has the size and ability to be a difference-maker and has proved as much in the AHL over the last few years, but since the beginning of last season, he has been held to just one goal and three points in a dozen games with the Canucks. He will continue to be a top depth option from the Utica Comets, but will have a hard time finding a full-time role in Vancouver without more consistent production.
- The Washington Capitals have reassigned a healthy Christian Djoos to the AHL’s Hershey Bears. Djoos, who received a $1.25MM salary in arbitration this summer, has nevertheless been relegated to the minors for much of the year, mostly as a cap-saving measure. Djoos has played in just two games with the Capitals this year after skating in more than 100 since the start of the 2017-18 season. The move leaves Washington with just six defensemen on the roster for the time being, further proving that Djoos’ experience and AHL production this season will not be enough to keep on the league-leaders’ roster this year.
- The Laval Rocket, farm team to the Montreal Canadiens, have come to terms on a contract with defenseman Evan McEneny for the remainder of the year. McEneny played ten games on a PTO with Laval prior to his status with the team becoming official. The former Vancouver Canucks prospect was a productive AHL defenseman with the Utica Comets over the past three seasons and is deserving of a pro contract.
- With MacKenzie Blackwood out with an upper-body injury, the Devils have recalled goaltender Evan Cormier from Binghamton of the AHL. Cormier has split the season between the AHL and ECHL and will likely only serve as the backup to Louis Domingue until Blackwood returns. To make room on the roster, Ben Street was transferred to IR.
- The San Jose Sharks have recalled forward Lukas Radil from the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL, according to CapFriendly. The 29-year-old has a goal and five points in eight games with the Barracuda after failing to register a point in 14 contests with the Sharks.
- The New York Islanders announced they have recalled defenseman Sebastian Aho from the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the AHL. Aho was initally recalled when defenseman Adam Pelech went down with an injury and then sent down on Thursday as the team wasn’t playing again until Saturday. Now he’s back and he’ll serve as an extra defenseman. Just an hour later, Aho was assigned back to Bridgeport. Go figure.
- The Arizona Coyotes announced that they have recalled goaltender Ivan Prosvetov from the Tucson Roadrunners of the AHL, while assigning defenseman Kyle Capobianco to Tucson. Prosvetov’s recall suggests that Arizona still needs a backup to Adin Hill, while the team hopes one of their starting netminders will get healthy. Obviously, they are not ready yet. The 20-year-old has fared quite well in his first pro season as he has a 2.38 GAA and a .931 save percentage in 15 appearances. Capobianco has one goal in seven games for the Coyotes.