Vegas’ David Perron Out For Game Two
When the Vegas Golden Knights released their routine lineup for Game Two this evening, there was a name (or emoji) conspicuously missing. Despite no official word from the team – including no evidence that he is injured – David Perron will not suit up for the Knights as they look to even the Western Conference Finals series on the road against the Winnipeg Jets. Already reeling from a convincing Game One loss and likely without William Carrier for the series, this is another blow for Vegas and not ideal for matching up with the Jets.
While Perron’s status remains a mystery, one has to believe that his absence is injury related after his performance this season. Perron notched 66 points in 70 games, including a team-best 50 assists, and has added another seven points through nine games thus far in the playoffs. It has easily been the best season of the veteran winger’s 11-year career and head coach Gerard Gallant is not about to bench him for any reasons related to his play at this point in the team’s Stanley Cup run. Perron has yet to score a goal in the playoffs and has really struggled to even get the puck on net, but he has made up for it with a strong possession game and his play-making ability. He doesn’t seem at risk to be scratched at all. One possible reason for Perron missing the game could be a lingering issue related to the undisclosed injury that cost him the final six regular season games and first two postseason games. Another potential answer could be an injury related to a collision with teammate James Neal in Game One that left Perron looking shaken up. For one reason or another, Perron is out and there are no clues as to how long he will be out, but the Golden Knights must make do.
A lot of that burden will fall on the shoulders of Tomas Tatar. Vegas paid an exorbitant price at the deadline to acquire the young forward from the Detroit Red Wings, but thus far he has been a disappointment. Tatar recorded only six points and was -11 in the final 20 games of the regular season with the Knights and has found himself as a regular scratch in the postseason. In the four playoff games he has skated in, Tatar has looked good, but like Perron has had trouble getting the puck on net. As a result, he has been held scoreless. A one-shot-per-game pace simply won’t do for Tatar if he is to replace Perron successfully; the four-time 20-goal scorer needs to return to form as soon as possible. If not, the Jets’ Game One domination is only likely to continue against the shorthanded Knights.
Winnipeg Jets Recall 13 Players From AHL
Now that the Manitoba Moose have been eliminated from the AHL playoffs, the Winnipeg Jets have recalled their “Black Aces.” These players are unlikely to get into the playoff lineup, but will skate with the team and experience what it’s like to go through an NHL postseason. The team has recalled:
F Mason Appleton
F Chase De Leo
F Jansen Harkins
F Brendan Lemieux
F J.C. Lipon
F Nic Petan
F Michael Spacek
D Julian Melchiori
D Jan Kostalek
D Sami Niku
D Nelson Nogier
D Logan Stanley
Of special note is Stanley, who spent this season with the Kitchener Rangers of the OHL. The behemoth defenseman joined the Moose just recently, but didn’t get into a game with them. He’ll get a chance to see what his future holds, as Stanley is expected to make it to the NHL within the next few seasons. The first-round pick had an outstanding season after battling injury in 2016-17, and should be a fixture on the Moose blue line next year.
Many of the other players called up already have experience at the NHL level, including Niku who made his debut this season. The seventh-round pick won the AHL Defenseman of the Year award as a rookie, after putting up 54 points in 76 games. The Jets, who already have one of the deepest defense corps in the league, are well stocked for the future.
William Carrier’s Return For Vegas Is Uncertain
When William Carrier was first ruled out of the final game of the second round for the Golden Knights, a Game Six win over the San Jose Sharks, head coach Gerard Gallant simply said that he was “day-to-day” and did not disclose the nature of the injury. Carrier had left Game Five with just four minutes of ice time to show for his participation, but there was no specific incident in the game to cite for his exit. Instead, it seemed that perhaps this was just a minor nagging injury. Carrier then traveled with Vegas to Winnipeg for the start of the Western Conference Finals only to be ruled out of Game One. Now, beat writer Steve Carp reports that Carrier did not skate today at Knights practice and feels that the energy forward is unlikely to suit up in the series at all. If the Jets’ Game One domination continues, Carrier’s season may already be over.
Although no details have emerged about Carrier’s condition this time around, the physical winger has dealt with upper-body issues all year long. Carrier spent two separate stints on the injured reserve this season and was sidelined for 43 regular season games total. Yet, prior to each stint his injuries were downplayed and never considered serious, much like his latest problem. It could be that this is one injury that has been nagging Carrier all year or it could be bad luck and Carrier has suffered multiple injuries, but is too tough of a player for Gallant and company to realized just how serious his condition is initially.
When healthy this year, Carrier has been a physical force on the Knights’ fourth line. While his offense has been meager at best – three points in 37 regular games and scoreless so far in nine playoff games – look no further than Vegas’ first round series against the Los Angeles Kings to see Carrier’s true impact. The young forward racked up 25 hits in a four-game sweep during which time he saw just over 36 minutes of total ice time. That is checking efficiency at it’s finest, as Carrier was noticeably bothersome against the frustrated Kings, especially early in the series. In a match-up against the Jets where the Knights are clearly outmatched defensively, Carrier is much more of a loss than it may seem on paper. His hard-nosed style will be missed if Carp is right and he really cannot return during the Western Conference Final.
Poll: Which Conference Finals Team Benefitted The Most At Trade Deadline?
With a lot of attention that has gone towards the success of trade acquisition Paul Stastny in the playoffs this season, the Winnipeg Jets and general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff look to have scored at the trade deadline this offseason. The GM was able to pick up Stastny’s expiring contract (50 percent of which was retained) as the team traded away Providence College prospect Erik Foley as well as their 2018 first-rounder and a conditional 2020 fourth-rounder (if Foley doesn’t sign with the Blues before he can become an unrestricted free agent in 2019). While losing a prospect and a first-rounder, the Jets have defintely benefitted by Stastny’s play, especially in the playoffs. The 32-year-old center, alongside youngsters Nikolaj Ehlers and Patrik Laine has put up six goals and nine assists in 13 games during the playoffs and has helped vault Winnipeg into a one-game lead in the Western Conference finals.
Of the other three teams that remain in the playoffs, the trade deadline also seems to have benefitted the Tampa Bay Lightning. Their acquisition of defenseman Ryan McDonagh and forward J.T. Miller from the New York Rangers at the deadline also brought some stability to the Lightning from both players. McDonagh added a stable presence on the defense’s second line, while Miller has excelled playing next to Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov. McDonagh has aided the team’s offense with five assists in 11 games, while Miller has had two goals and five asissts in 11 games as well. In exchange for those two, the Lightning were able to avoid trading off any elite prospects to the Rangers, but still gave up a lot of pieces, including Vladislav Namestnikov, prospects Brett Howden and Libor Hajek, their 2018 first-rounder and another potential first-round pick in 2019 if Tampa Bay wins the Stanley Cup in either of the next two years.
The Washington Capitals, with little cap room to work with at the trade deadline, still were able to pull off a couple of small trades, although the addition of Michal Kempny has had a major affect on the Capitals’ defense. With a number of young, inexperienced blueliners and little money to add a high-profile player, the team traded the Toronto Maple Leafs’ third-round pick in 2018 for Kempny. While the former Blackhawks’ defenseman had never played a full season in the NHL, he is 27 and had quite a bit of experience in the KHL and Czech Republic.
Finally, the Golden Knights did make one big trade at the deadline, sending a 2018 first-round pick, a 2019 second-round pick and a 2021 third-round pick to acquire Tomas Tatar. While the addition of Tatar is not a rental like many of the others (he has three years left at $5.3MM AAV after this year), the team gave up a lot for a player who has made little impact in Vegas. The 27-year-old has been a healthy scratch for much of the playoffs, having only played in four games with no points.
So, which team has benefiited the most from this year’s trade deadline?
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Playoff Notes: Stastny, Carrier, Stralman, Paquette
The Vegas Golden Knights might have their hands full in their Western Conference Finals matchup with the Winnipeg Jets. The Golden Knights were rumored to have gotten involved in the Derick Brassard sweepstakes to assist the Pittsburgh Penguins in acquiring the veteran center instead of the rival Jets. However, Winnipeg countered by acquiring veteran Paul Stastny instead, a move that surprised many. That trade has paid dividends, according to NBC Sports Scott Billeck.
The 32-year-old center, who will be a unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, is definitely increasing his stock with a solid playoff performance. While combining to put up a solid 16 goals and 37 assists this year between St. Louis and Winnipeg, he’s dominated in the playoffs with six goals and eight assists for 14 points in just 12 games.
However, the bigger recipients of the deal might be his linemates, youngsters Patrik Laine and Nikolaj Ehlers, two of the team’s top prospects, who have really benefitted by his presence. Laine has 10 points in 12 games, while Ehlers has six assists this postseason serving on the team’s third line. Stastny, who is nicknamed Mr. Game 7 even before Thursday, continued to keep his nickname with three points in Thursday’s Game 7 when they eliminated the Nashville Predators. Now Vegas will have to face that player.
- Steve Carp of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that the Vegas Golden Knights will be without winger William Carrier in Game 1 today against the Winnipeg Jets with an undisclosed injury. While Carrier’s numbers are hardly impressive, the 23-year-old is a key piece to the team’s fourth-line “energy” line. While he travelled with the team to Winnipeg making him a possibility for Game 2, Carrier already had missed Game 6 of their matchup with the San Jose Sharks. While head coach Gerard Gallant didn’t disclose who would replace him, he did say he was impressed with the performance of the fourth line in Game 6 against the Sharks, suggesting that Ryan Reaves might play today in Carrier’s place.
- While Tampa Bay Lightning fans may have had a scare when defenseman Anton Stralman and winger Cedric Paquette both missed practice this morning (via NHL.com’s Dan Rosen), both are considered good to go for Game 2 against the Washington Capitals in the Eastern Conference Finals on Sunday, according to FoxSports Caley Chelios. Stralman missed the first 10 minutes of the third period with an undisclosed injury Friday. Jake Dotchin and Cory Conacher filled in for the two players in practice, but likely will not be needed Sunday.
Poll: Who Will Win The Western Conference Finals?
A month ago, before the playoffs began, we asked our readers who they thought would represent the Western Conference in the Stanley Cup Finals. What we got was a resounding cheer in favor of the Nashville Predators, with the Presidents Trophy-winning club receiving almost 36% of the vote. The Predators were the easy pick a year after challenging the Pittsburgh Penguins in the finals, and playing near-perfection in the regular season.
The Predators were eliminated yesterday.
Now, the Winnipeg Jets and Vegas Golden Knights are the final two teams battling for a Stanley Cup appearance. They happened to finish second and third in the previous vote, though the Los Angeles Kings—Vegas’ first-round matchup—trailed close behind. It was clear that fans still didn’t have full confidence in the Golden Knights, a feeling that should be long gone at this point.
It will be the Jets or Golden Knights in the Cup final, and one only needs four victories to get there. The Jets, fresh off that game seven win against the Predators look as dialed in as possible as they traverse unfamiliar playoff territory. The team is loaded with young talent and can play several different styles of hockey.
Unfamiliar territory is the definition of the Golden Knights though, who continue to prove everyone wrong. Their incredibly fast style and lock-down goaltending has allowed just 17 goals through two series, and knocked off classic West powerhouses in Los Angeles and San Jose. They can’t be stopped right now, and have had almost a full week to prepare for the opener tomorrow.
So who will win? Has your vote changed? Leave a comment down below to explain your thoughts!
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NHL Announces Schedule For Conference Finals
Even though the Nashville Predators and Winnipeg Jets still need to decide who is moving on to the next round, the NHL has released the schedule for the Eastern and Western Conference Finals. It’ll all get kicked off on Friday night when the Washington Capitals travel to Tampa Bay to take on Steven Stamkos and the Lightning. The full schedule can be found below:
All times listed in CT
Eastern Conference Finals
Friday, May 11 – 7:00pm Washington @ Tampa Bay
Sunday, May 13 – 7:00pm Washington @ Tampa Bay
Tuesday, May 15 – 7:00pm Tampa Bay @ Washington
Thursday, May 17 – 7:00pm Tampa Bay @ Washington
Saturday, May 19 – 6:15pm Washington @ Tampa Bay*
Monday, May 21 – 7:00pm Tampa Bay @ Washington*
Wednesday, May 23 – 7:00pm Washington @ Tampa Bay*
Western Conference Finals
Saturday, May 12 – 6:00pm Vegas @ Nashville/Winnipeg
Monday, May 14 – 7:00pm Vegas @ Nashville/Winnipeg
Wednesday, May 16 – 8:00pm Nashville/Winnipeg @ Vegas
Friday, May 18 – 7:00pm Nashville/Winnipeg @ Vegas
Sunday, May 20 – 2:00pm Vegas @ Nashville/Winnipeg*
Tuesday, May 22 – 8:00pm Nashville/Winnipeg @ Vegas*
Thursday, May 24 – 7:00pm Vegas @ Nashville/Winnipeg*
*If necessary
Logan Stanley Joins Manitoba Moose For AHL Playoffs
As if the Winnipeg Jets didn’t have enough talent in the system, Logan Stanley has been reassigned to the Manitoba Moose a week after his Kitchener Rangers were eliminated from the OHL playoffs. Stanley will join the Moose during their Calder Cup run, which has hit a snag against the Rockford IceHogs in the second round. Manitoba is down 0-2 in the series, which continues Wednesday evening.
Manitoba already has Sami Niku, the 21-year old seventh-round pick fresh off being named the AHL Defenseman of the Year, but will add another immensely talented blueliner for their playoff run. The 19-year old Stanley is a bit different than many of his contemporaries, standing 6’7″ 231-lbs and armed with a bomb of a shot. The monstrous defender put up 42 points in 61 games this season for the Rangers, adding another 16 in 19 playoff contests.
Stanley isn’t just big, he’s talented with the puck on his stick and can move it quickly to forwards up the ice. Selected in the first-round of the 2016 draft, he dealt with plenty of injuries last season but seemed to take a big step forward this year. Though he likely won’t be manning the Winnipeg blue line any time soon, there is obvious NHL upside in his play and even his floor should be good enough to be an asset on the penalty kill. We’ll see if he gets into any AHL games for the Moose as they basically are in do-or-die situations for the rest of the series.
Blake Wheeler & The 2019 Superclass
Over the past six months, plenty of digital ink has been spilled over the upcoming “Superclass” of unrestricted free agents scheduled for the summer of 2019. Among the impressive group of players, Drew Doughty, Erik Karlsson and Oliver Ekman-Larsson perhaps have drawn the most attention. Number one defensemen rarely hit free agency at all, let alone three that will all still be 29 or younger.
Beyond the trio of outstanding defensemen, Tyler Seguin sticks out as a potential franchise-level first-line center. Seguin will be just 27 next summer, and is currently coming off his fifth straight 70-point season. He scored 40 goals this year and many believe he started to embrace his role as a true two-way player under former head coach Ken Hitchcock.
The host of other game-changing talents is incredible, with names like Artemi Panarin, Matt Duchene, Logan Couture, Max Pacioretty, Jeff Skinner, Tyler Myers all potential huge free agent acquisitions. They all have drawn their fair share of speculation over the future, but one name seems to be often overlooked when talking about the class.
Blake Wheeler recorded a career-high 91 points this season despite having to deal with a position change—he moved to center when Mark Scheifele was injured—and regular time on the penalty kill. His play only seemed to improve when more responsibility was heaped upon his shoulders, and his leadership as captain of the Winnipeg Jets was never questioned. He now has the team on the brink of eliminating the Presidents Trophy-winning Nashville Predators, while recording 13 points through 10 games.
Wheeler is also a part of the 2019 UFA class, when he is scheduled to hit the open market as a 32-year old. The fact that he’s rarely talked about as a potential free agent may be because of how perfectly he seems to fit the Jets, but there is a real question over whether they’ll be able to keep him around.
As we examined in the case of Paul Stastny recently, the Jets are heading towards a tricky salary situation over the next few seasons. With extensions due for restricted free agents Jacob Trouba, Josh Morrissey, Connor Hellebuyck and others this summer, and Patrik Laine and Kyle Connor next, a lot of their cap space could be eaten up just by retaining their young talent.
Even if Stastny leaves this summer, the idea of keeping Myers and Wheeler in the summer of 2019 might be an impossible feat. Keeping even one of them may be unlikely, which brings us to the potential market for the big forward.
Wheeler would be one of the most sought after players on the market, and could even challenge to be the very top free agent available depending on who re-signs over the next year. After being fairly underpaid for the last few years—his 91-point 2017-18 made it 373 points in the last five seasons—Wheeler will be looking for one last long-term payday before he is forced to call it a career. What team wouldn’t want to add a 70-point forward who can play in all situations and move to center if needed?
While all the focus is on some younger names, no one should be surprised if Wheeler emerges as one of the absolute top options in 2019. That will also make him one of the most valuable trade chips in the league should the Jets take a step backwards, or even if they simply believe they won’t be able to re-sign him. We’ve seen playoff teams trade star rentals in the past to help them keep their window open, though that seems unthinkable at the moment with the Jets and their captain.
For now, we’ll continue to watch Wheeler and Winnipeg attempt to win the first Stanley Cup in franchise history. But if July 1st comes and goes with no extension, it won’t be long until the spotlight turns to a different topic for the Jets.
Poll: Will Paul Stastny Re-Sign With The Winnipeg Jets?
When the Winnipeg Jets decided to move a package that included a first-round pick and intriguing prospect Erik Foley at the deadline for 32-year old center Paul Stastny, some people raised an eyebrow in questioning the move. The Jets were good, no doubt, but after missing the playoffs the previous two seasons was this the right time to sacrifice future assets? After all, Stastny was a pending free agent who had just 12 goals on the season, a far cry from the 70-point player of his youth.
As the Jets—and Stastny—are proving now, sometimes you just have to go for it. Winnipeg would go 15-4-1 down the stretch, with Stastny contributing 13 points, and enter the playoffs as one of the hottest teams in the NHL. The performance of that pending free agent has continued through the first round and a half, registering 10 points in nine games and making quite the impact on his younger teammates. In a glowing examination of the trade by Luke Fox of Sportsnet, Jets captain Blake Wheeler is quoted:
[Stastny] is just incredibly consistent, professional, everything you’d want in a centreman, especially in tough series. There’s no ins and outs of his game. He plays extremely hard and does a lot of little things that go unnoticed and aren’t really taught to young players anymore.
Those little things have made him a perfect fit for the Jets, who look like they’ve opened a long window of contention this season, even if they don’t eventually get past the Nashville Predators—the series is tied 2-2 after a Predators win last night. Stastny has also solidified his place in the free agent market with his strong play down the stretch, to the point where he could end up the top center available. Mikael Backlund has already been re-signed, and the situation regarding John Tavares remains unclear. At worst Stastny will be second, and could command quite the contract.
The Jets have to be wondering if they can keep him, but it’s not as simple as offering him market value. Winnipeg has to worry about new contracts for a handful of players including top defensemen Jacob Trouba and Josh Morrissey this summer, and potentially Wheeler, Tyler Myers, Kyle Connor and Patrik Laine in 2019. It seems unlikely that Stastny would take a one-year deal, meaning they’ll have to carefully assess their finances going forward before making an offer.
Do you think Stastny will re-sign with the Jets? How much can he ask for on the open market? Who else will be after his services? Make sure to leave your thoughts in the comments.
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