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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.

Oilers Notes: Maksimov, Green

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Prospect winger Kirill Maksimov has the opportunity to develop into a potent offensive weapon down the line for the Edmonton Oilers, but he’ll need the right situation to do so, per David Staples of the Edmonton Journal. Maksimov, 21, put up 13 points in 53 games for the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors before the shutdown this season. On his potential moving forward, Staples writes: “Maksimov is never going to be a big driver of the play. He is a true complimentary winger, who thrives with playmaking centres capable of getting him the puck while he finds open spots on the ice. He does have quick hands and underrated playmaking ability, but needs that speedy and/or skilled pivot on his line who can push the pace. Basically, he’s the type of player who plays better with better talent around him.” Luckily for Maksimov, he plays for an organization with no current shortage of star players. Speaking of, let’s check in on the Oilers and their plans for the Stanley Cup Qualifier showdown with the Blackhawks…

  • The Oilers are the heavy favorites to advance past the Blackhawks to the Western Conference playoffs after a .585 points percentage during the season. Chicago has an interesting mix of been-there-done-that veterans and undercooked up-and-comers, but they were the last team added to the play-in round and haven’t shown a consistent enough approach to tackle the star-studded Oilers. Edmonton, meanwhile, figures to be fully healthy with defenseman Mike Green the only key injury after an MCL sprain knocked out the veteran blueliner. Green expects to be ready to join Kris Russell on the Oiler’s third pairing, per Tracey Myers of NHL.com.
  • Green played just two games with the Oilers after being acquired from Detroit in late February. Paired with a veteran like Russell, there would be less concern about finding the right working chemistry, but the Oilers have depth options if Green proves unready. Matt Benning is in his fourth season with the team, and youngsters Caleb Jones and William Lagesson also saw ice time this year. All things being equal, however, Green figures to be the guy on the ice. Green has appeared in 76 career playoff games with the Washington Capitals and Detroit Red Wings, putting up a noteworthy 37 points (10 goals, 37 assists) over that span. Green will be an unrestricted free agent at season’s end.

East Notes: Capitals Defense, Montreal Offer Sheet, Debrusk

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The Washington Capitals may be considered one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference, but they have their work cut out for them. The team struggled in the last two months before play was suspended with a mediocre 8-9-3 over their past 20 games. Much of their struggle is due to the team’s poor defense where head coach Todd Reirden was seen experimenting with different defensive combinations over that stretch, which included removing veteran Radko Gudas from the rotation altogether.

In a panel of writers, The Athletic’s Tarik El-Bashir (subscription required) writes that a new training camp couldn’t come at the right time for the Capitals who now have a second chance to find the right pairings and fix their leaky blueline. Much will depend on the players and how they perform at training camp, but there is hope that defenseman Michal Kempny might have more confidence now in his surgically repaired hamstring. The team will also hope Gudas can bounce back and push his way back into the lineup. The team might also get a boost from trade deadline acquisition Brenden Dillon, who will get a training camp to adjust to his new team. El-Bashir also notes the team could look to prospect Martin Fehervary, who will also be on the Capitals’ roster.

  • In a recent mailbag column, The Athletic’s Arpon Basu (subscription requires) responds to a question about offer sheets and St. Louis Blues defenseman Vince Dunn. Basu wonders whether the Montreal Canadiens might be an interesting destination for the 23-year-old blue liner since St. Louis is currently cap-strapped and have to deal with the contract of Alex Pietrangelo as well as the future contracts of Jaden Schwartz and Jordan Binnington. A significant offer sheet at around $4.2MM AAV would be very challenging for the Blues to match and would bring quite a few questions on whether Dunn is worth that much since. especially since he’s not even eligible for arbitration. That offer would only cost the Canadiens a second-round pick in compensation as well. Montreal is also the most recent team to use an offer sheet, having tried to pry away Carolina’s Sebastian Aho last offseason to no avail.
  • The Boston Globe’s Kevin Paul Dupont writes that head coach Bruce Cassidy is stuck once again with answering the question, ’Who will play alongside David Krejci?’ on the team’s second line. The scribe writes that while Jake Debrusk would seem to be a solid candidate to take that role, training camp could open up the possibilities of moving Nick Ritchie and Ondrej Kase into those roles where chemistry might not be that big of an issue with time to acclimate with Krejci. That would not be good for Debrusk’s stock as he will be a restricted free agent at the end of the year and finding himself on the third line wouldn’t help is value.

Capitals Sign Will Graber To An AHL Deal

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  • The Capitals have signed Will Graber to a minor league contract, their AHL affiliate in Hershey announced.  The 24-year-old recently wrapped up what was a strong career at Dartmouth and ranged between 25 and 27 points in each of his final three seasons with the team.  While his primary position is on defense, he did spend time up front with the Big Green as well and if he’s able to do that successfully in the pros, his value will certainly go up.

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