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Eastern Notes: Hurricanes, Nash, McDonagh, Van Riemsdyk

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The Carolina Hurricanes are by no means out of the playoff hunt. Afterall, they have won two in a row and currently are clinging to the second and final wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference. However, the team might end up being sellers at the trade deadline as the young team have quite a few trade chips that could help this team down the road, according to The Athletic’s Eric Duhatschek (subscription required).

The scribe writes that the Hurricanes have quite a bit of depth on the blueline and it should get deeper soon. The team already has captain Justin Faulk leading the defense and although he’s not having as good of a campaign as a year ago, he might make for a good trade chip especially as the defensive salary cap will rise for the team next season. Carolina already have Jaccob Slavin and Brett Pesce under contract and both their extensions will kick in next year at a combined $9.325MM. Defenseman Noah Hanifin will be a restricted free agent next year and should get a solid raise. The team has rookie Haydn Fleury back next year and likely will have 2016 first-rounder Jake Bean coming in. This might be the right time to make a move for a scoring forward.

Duhatschek also notes that the team, who recently waived Marcus Kruger and Josh Jooris, could also look to move another pair of veterans at the deadline including Derek Ryan and Lee Stempniak. Ryan is an excellent face-off specialist and would make a solid bottom-six center and is an excellent story, while Stempniak, is starting to find his groove after missing much of the season. Ryan has 11 goals and 26 points this season, while Stempniak has played in just 14 games, but has one goal and five assists so far.

  • The New York Post’s Larry Brooks writes that New York Rangers winger Rick Nash has set his 12-team trade approved list and the veteran revealed that he chose teams based on their chances to win the Stanley Cup this season. “I included the teams that I think have the best chance of winning the Stanley Cup and are also places I think would be good for my family,” the 33-year-old father of two young children said. “And, yes, that does include teams in Canada. I’m not excluding that as a possibility.” Nash says he would consider changing the list if a certain team not on the list shows interest in him. Brooks adds that several teams have shown interest including the Dallas Stars, Nashville Predators, San Jose Sharks, St. Louis Blues, Boston Bruins, Winnipeg Jets, Tampa Bay Lightning and possibly the Toronto Maple Leafs.
  • Brooks also notes that the Tampa Bay Lightning have quite a bit of interest in adding defenseman Ryan McDonagh at the trade deadline. They believe that with Victor Hedman and McDonagh at the blueline, the chances Tampa Bay could win a Stanley Cup would increase heavily. However, the scribe notes that the Rangers should demand 19-year-old defensive rookie Mikhail Sergachev as the asking price for the veteran defenseman.
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs have gotten some interest in veteran forward James van Riemsdyk recently, Sportsnet’s Mike Johnston said during Saturday’s Headlines’ segment on Hockey Night in Canada. Johnston said two teams were told they have no plans to trade van Riemsdyk before the deadline. The 28-year-old goal scorer, who has 22 goals so far this year, will be an unrestricted free agent this year, but according to Johnston, has not received any contract extension offers yet. Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos added on the segment that the main reason is because van Riemsdyk refuses to take a hometown discount.

Hendricks Activated Off IR; Hutchison Placed On It

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  • The Winnipeg Jets announced they have activated veteran center Matt Hendricks off of injured reserve and placed goaltender Michael Hutchinson on injured reserve to make room for him. Hendricks, who was signed to a one-year deal this offseason, was out with an upper body injury and has missed the past two games. The team’s fourth-line center, Hendricks has put up a solid season with four goals and eight assists. Hutchinson was placed on IR, retroactive to Feb. 6. He was called up to replace backup Steve Mason, who went down with a concussion. However, Hutchinson himself suffered a concussion in a pre-game skate on that date. Eric Comrie is filling in as an emergency backup.

Mason Skates In Consecutive Days For First Time Since Suffering Concussion

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  • Jets goaltender Steve Mason took a small step forward in his recovery this week when he skated on his own in consecutive days for the first time since being diagnosed with his second concussion of the season, notes Postmedia’s Ken Wiebe. Despite that, he is still likely at least several weeks away from returning to the lineup.  For the time being, Eric Comrie will remain the number two in Winnipeg with Michael Hutchinson also on the shelf with a concussion of his own.

Injury Notes: Scheifele, Brouwer, Boychuk

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Mark Scheifele will return to the Winnipeg Jets lineup tonight for the first time in 2018, more than six weeks since his last NHL game. During that time, the Jets have continued to win and find themselves tied with the Nashville Predators for first place in the Central Division with 73 points.

Scheifele’s return will once again make the Jets forward group one of the most fearsome in the league, now armed with the added knowledge that Blake Wheeler can handle center responsibilities and still perform at an elite level. Winnipeg will take on St. Louis in a key divisional matchup that could bring the two teams within two points of each other once again.

  • Troy Brouwer is week-to-week in Calgary after suffering a facial fracture last night, but isn’t expected to be out long-term. Brouwer actually returned to the game but will have to take a seat for at least a little while, opening another opportunity for some of the young Flames forwards. Brouwer was playing better of late, but still has just 15 points on the season in the second year of his $18MM contract.
  • The New York Islanders are starved for defensive help, and they’ll get some tonight as the team activated Johnny Boychuk off injured reserve. Boychuk hasn’t played since December 27th, but is expected to be back in the lineup against the Detroit Red Wings. If the Islanders think they can truly reach and then compete in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, they’ll need to greatly improve their defensive play—Boychuk is a good first step.

Injury Notes: Hutchinson, McCabe, Kuhnhackl

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Even though Connor Hellebuyck has been a revelation this season for the Winnipeg Jets, the goaltending position as a whole has been anything but solid. Steve Mason, brought in to battle for the starting job has suffered multiple concussions, and now his replacement Michael Hutchinson is in the same boat.

Hutchinson suffered the concussion in the pre-game skate on Tuesday according to Paul Friesen of the Winnipeg Sun, and will be out indefinitely while Eric Comrie comes up to fill the role. Hutchinson is one of the more interesting goaltenders to watch over the next few months, as he heads towards unrestricted free agency.

  • In Buffalo, the Sabres’ season hasn’t gone according to plan. Expected to take a step forward with a healthy Jack Eichel and improved defense, the team is once again at the very bottom of the Eastern Conference. Now, Jake McCabe will be out for at least three weeks after undergoing surgery on his thumb. While there isn’t a ton left to play for this season in Buffalo, new head coach Phil Housley will use it to try and create some building blocks for the club going forward. With McCabe only signed for one more season after 2017-18, his role is far from certain.
  • The Pittsburgh Penguins have surged up to second in the Metropolitan Division, but will have to play without one of their most physical forwards for a while. Josh Yohe of The Athletic reports that Tom Kuhnhackl is out for multiple weeks after suffering an injury early in the game against the Vegas Golden Knights. Kuhnhackl is also a key penalty killer on the Penguins, a role that will have to be filled by someone else for the time being.

Minor Transactions: 02/05/18

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After a light Sunday schedule because of the Super Bowl, the NHL has just four games on tap for Monday night. Despite the lack of on-ice action, there will be plenty of minor moves around the league. As always, we’ll keep track of all of them right here.

Trade Candidate: Patrick Maroon

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With the trade deadline approaching, we will be profiling several players in the weeks ahead that have a good chance to be dealt by February 26th.

Despite possessing star center Connor McDavid, the Edmonton Oilers haven’t fared as well as the team would have hoped after making a deep playoff run one season ago. With the team floundering near the bottom of the Pacific Division with a 22-24-4 record and the fact the team will have to factor in the salary cap hit of McDavid, whose eight year, $100MM extension kicks in next year. the team might be starting a firesale soon. With McDavid’s $12.5MM AAV along with Leon Draisaitl’s $8.5MM deal, the team will have to keep an eye on their budget from now on and might be ready to move out some expiring contacts such as Patrick Maroon.

Contract

Maroon is in the final year of a three-year, $6MM contract he signed with the Anaheim Ducks in 2014. While he has an AAV of $2MM, the Ducks still are retaining $500K of his salary for this year.

2017-18

The 29-year-old Maroon has served well alongside of McDavid in the past, including a 27-goal season last year. He hasn’t been on McDavid’s line for parts of the season this year and his numbers have indicated that. Regardless, Maroon remains on pace to have another 20-goal season, which should generate some interest from teams in need of scoring. At 6-foot-3, 225 pounds, Maroon can play the role of both physical instigator and scorer which is a rare combination.

However, his streakiness as a player has definitely come into play this year. Through December and January, Maroon was held to just one goal over 15 games. However, Maroon seems to have more recently found his scoring touch as he has scored four goals in his last seven games.

Season Stats

48 GP, 13 goals, 13 assists, 13 points, +7 plus/minus, 55 PIM, 113 shots, 17:04 TOI, 55.7 CF%

Potential Suitors

There should be quite a few teams that would be willing to pay up for Maroon’s services. With his added size and the ability to put the puck in the net, he is a perfect addition to a playoff team. There are several logical teams that might be ready to make a move for him, including the Minnesota Wild. Having already played for head coach Bruce Boudreau when he coached in Anaheim, Maroon would already have familiarity with the veteran coaches’ system. The team is in need of scoring as it has struggled getting their young players to put up any consistent numbers. The St. Louis Blues who are looking for a scorer might also have interest in the St. Louis native even if he is a rental player. Teams like the Nashville Predators and the Winnipeg Jets might also be good fits.

Likelihood of Trade

While Maroon has said publically, he would like to stay with the Oilers, it’s likely he will be asking for a significant contract, which Edmonton is probably not prepared to pay. The team will be facing plenty of salary cap issues over the next few years and making a long-term investment in a 29-year-old streaky winger may not be the way to go.

Rather than lose Maroon for nothing, it should be a forgone conclusion that he will be on his way out. Most indications suggest the Oilers likely couldn’t get a first-round pick for him, but a second-round pick would be a legitimate possibility for a team that needs to retool their roster with less splashy moves.

Steve Mason Resumes Skating

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  • Jets goaltender Steve Mason skated on his own on Thursday for the first time since being diagnosed with his second concussion of the season, notes Postmedia’s Ken Wiebe.  As a result, he is still a while away from returning which could very well take Michael Hutchinson out of the equation as a possible trade option as they may prefer to keep him around as insurance if Mason’s recovery goes slower than expected.

Morning Notes: Predators, Hearings, Interference

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The Nashville Predators are going to make a trade deadline acquisition no one expected, as they announced Mike Fisher would sign in the next few weeks and join the team for the last part of the season. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic though believes that they might not be done there.

On TSN’s Insider Trading last night, LeBrun reported that Nashville would still like a top-six winger if possible, though there is an obvious lack of urgency in GM David Poile. The Predators will strike only if there is a deal they really like, especially after the addition of Fisher improves their forward group.

Winnipeg Jets Recall Michael Hutchinson To Start

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The Winnipeg Jets have recalled Michael Hutchinson to start tonight’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, sending down Eric Comrie. Additionally, Adam Lowry has been activated from injured reserve while Jacob Trouba takes his place among the wounded.

Head coach Paul Maurice and the front office decided to give Connor Hellebuyck the night off after he participated in the All-Star festivities this past weekend, meaning Hutchinson will get his first opportunity of the season. That is very important for the 27-year old goaltender, as he is a pending unrestricted free agent and will take any opportunity to show that he belongs in the NHL.

Hutchinson is one of the more interesting cases over the next few weeks, as he’s been one of the best goaltenders in the minor leagues all season and has a history of relative success in the NHL. In 99 career games, he carries a .910 save percentage, though that is skewed by his extreme success early on in his career.

Still, he could be an option for a team looking to strengthen their goaltending depth before the deadline. If the Jets believe that Comrie and Steve Mason—currently dealing with the effects of his second concussion of the season—are enough depth behind Hellebuyck, they could sell Hutchinson to the highest bidder. Otherwise, he will be an interesting free agent case in the summer.

Hellebuyck is clearly the starter now in Winnipeg, after taking a huge step forward this season and establishing himself as one of the better goaltenders in the NHL. Mason though was just signed to a two-year, $8.2MM contract and is too expensive to bury in the minor leagues. When healthy, he’ll have a role on this team meaning there isn’t much room for Hutchinson. Instead, he could try to catch on somewhere else around the league as a backup, or even try to compete for a starting job on a rebuilding club.

A chance to prove himself against one of the top teams in the league doesn’t come every day, and you can bet many eyes around the NHL are tuning in to see what happens. Whether he’ll play another game as a Winnipeg Jet isn’t guaranteed, though he certainly has a good opportunity right now.

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