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Morning Notes: Scotiabank Arena, Sanderson, Malkin

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It was a concerning scene last night, as a speaker near the ceiling of Scotiabank Arena caught fire, forcing the evacuation of the arena and the suspension of the Toronto Raptors vs. Indiana Pacers NBA game. Although the fire appeared small and contained, there were fears that the speaker could fall to the seats below and firefighters needed room to work. After the situation was under control, players and staff were permitted to return to the court and the game resumed without any fans in the arena.

An added concern now are continued events at Scotiabank Arena, including tonight’s Toronto Maple Leafs game against the Florida Panthers. However, as the Toronto Sun’s Lance Hornby Tweets, all necessary repairs to the arena are expected to be made in time for tonight’s game. It’s not immediately clear what, if any, effect this will have on the game or fans ability to attend, however it’s a positive sign for a team that has already had to reschedule many of its games this season.

  • After his NCAA season came to an end, University of North Dakota defenseman and Ottawa Senators prospect Jake Sanderson is expected to sign his first professional contract, reports Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun. Garrioch adds that despite potentially burning a year of his entry-level contract, the Senators still prefer to bring the defenseman in now. It’s also worth noting that Sanderson had hand surgery after a March 5th injury, but Ottawa is confident he will be able to debut before their last game on April 29th. Even still, Garrioch adds, the team wants to have Sanderson around to get accustomed to the team and NHL life, and to work with the team’s medical and training staff. The fifth overall pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, Sanderson put up 10 goals and 31 assists in 45 games on UND’s blueline.
  • According to Pittsburgh Penguins’ Head Coach Mike Sullivan, Penguins’ forward Evgeni Malkin is expected to be a game-time decision for tonight’s game against the Detroit Red Wings (link). Malkin missed Friday night’s game against the New York Rangers, a 5-1 loss for Pittsburgh, with a non-COVID illness and has been away from the team since. The star forward has played a key role for the Penguins this season after missing the first three months with an injury, recording 28 points in 29 games since returning.

Canadiens Notes: Drouin, Pezzetta, Tyler Pitlick, Price, Ylonen

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The Montreal Canadiens announced that forward Jonathan Drouin will remain out of the lineup after re-aggravating his injury Monday night against the Boston Bruins. The Canadiens say that it is possible Drouin will need surgery, however he is first going to seek a second opinion. Complicating the matter, however, is that Drouin is currently isolating after being in close-contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19. Therefore, Drouin will wait until he is out of isolation to seek that second opinion, further delaying the potential recovery for the injury.

Drouin has had a solid season when he’s in the lineup, putting up 20 points in 34 games for Montreal, but has struggled with injuries, missing 30 games. This IR stint will be Drouin’s third of the season and could potentially spell the end of his 2021-22 campaign. The forward has one more year at $5.5MM on his contract before hitting unrestricted free agency after the 2022-23 season.

  • TSN’s John Lu reports that forwards Michael Pezzetta and Tyler Pitlick will not travel with the team to New Jersey tonight ahead of tomorrow’s game against the New Jersey Devils. The two were injured in tonight’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs and did not return to the game.
  • Lu also notes that Carey Price may join the team on the road soon, however that will depend on his recovery from a non-COVID illness that recently flared up (link). Although the illness is certainly not a positive, Price’s possible return to travel for the team is encouraging, as his future had at times been questioned with his lower-body injury.
  • In the wake of the above injuries, the Canadiens announced they have recalled forward Jesse Ylonen on an emergency basis. Ylonen, Montreal’s second-round pick in 2018, has played just eight NHL games in his career, seven of which have come this season. In those seven games, Ylonen has one goal and one assist. In 45 games with the Laval Rocket of the AHL, Ylonen has 12 goals and 18 assists.

Latest On New York Islanders Offseason Plans

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After a tough season to date, rife with adversity, the New York Islanders find themselves well out of playoff position in the Eastern Conference after back-to-back trips to the Eastern Conference Finals. Considering their place in the standings, and the depth of veterans they carry, the team seemed poised to move a player or two ahead of the March 21st trading deadline. Instead, the team extended two veteran, pending UFAs in Zach Parise and Cal Clutterbuck. In his media availability after the trade deadline, Islanders’ GM Lou Lamoriello spoke candidly, saying that he had been working the phones leading up to the deadline, but mentioned that in order to get better, they would need to make a ’hockey trade’ that improved the team now and in the future.

Lamoriello’s comments lead many to wonder what the team’s offseason could look like with this in mind, and what sort of trades he could make to improve a veteran group that has certainly underperformed this season, and is sitting fairly close to the salary cap ceiling. Among those wondering were Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek of Sportsnet on their 32 Thoughts podcast. While Marek notes that the organization has many assets under control, Friedman adds that many of them the Islanders would almost certainly not move, including forwards Brock Nelson and Mathew Barzal, and defensemen Ryan Pulock and Adam Pelech. All four have been consistent, important contributors for the Islanders over the past few seasons, and all are signed to contracts with term. The only one that Friedman believes could be moved, in theory, is Barzal, but only if the team doesn’t feel they can re-sign him when his contract expires after next season. Even still, Barzal will be a RFA after the 2022-23 season, leaving the Islanders with control.

Instead, Marek wonders if a ’hockey trade’ could include either Jean-Gabriel Pageau or Anthony Beauvillier. Pageau was once perhaps Lamoriello’s biggest acquisition with the Islanders, when he was acquired at the 2020 trade deadline and subsequently extended. Pageau has impressed in the playoffs for the Islanders, but has taken his own step back this season. A ’hockey trade’ could be made difficult for the Islanders here, as Pageau, who turns 30 in November, carries a $5MM cap hit through the 2025-26 season.

Beauvillier, on the other hand, may be a perfect piece to help the organization get better. The forward has been a regular for the Islanders since his debut in 2016-17, but like Pageau has taken a step back this season. However, Beauvillier carries a $4.15MM cap hit through the 2023-24 season and is considerably younger than Pageau at just 24 years of age.

Marek and Friedman return to the idea of trading Nelson in a ’hockey trade,’ because, as they say, there likely isn’t a team in the NHL that wouldn’t want him. Nelson is in the third year of a six-year, $36MM contract he signed prior to the  2019-20 season and is having a career-year with 30 goals and 15 assists in 54 games so far this season. As talented as Nelson is, his contract is providing tremendous value and could therefore provide a favorable return for Lamoriello and the Islanders. That said, one of the Islanders’ primary struggles this year, and the previous few years, has been goal scoring, and trading talented forwards like Beauvillier or Nelson away won’t help.

For now, the team will focus on finishing this season strong in order to build confidence and momentum heading into next season, where they hope to rebound and be Stanley Cup contenders once again. What that group will look like at the start of 2022-23 does, however, remain a mystery.

Canada Notes: World Juniors, Coronato, Knies, Senators

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After the 2022 Men’s U20 World Junior Ice Hockey Championship (WJC) was cancelled amid an outbreak of COVID-19 in late December, the IIHF announced that it would hold the tournament in August, 2022 in Alberta, Canada. While this was certainly great news for Hockey Canada and the country itself, Hockey Canada may stay busy. In the wake of the IIHF pulling the 2023 WJC out of Russia, the organization has asked Hockey Canada if it would be able to host the 2023 tournament, reports Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek on Saturday night’s Hockey Night in Canada.

Currently, the IIHF is awaiting a response from Hockey Canada, but Marek adds that the belief is the tournament could be hosted in Ontario or to the east, perhaps somewhere in the Maritimes. Ontario has seen a World Juniors as recently as 2017, when the tournament was split between Toronto and Montreal (and consequently, Ontario and Quebec), but the tournament has not been held to the east since 2003, when it was held in Nova Scotia, split between Halifax and Sydney.

  • With Harvard University’s season coming to an end after a 4-3 loss to Minnesota State on Thursday, attention turned to Harvard forward and Calgary Flames prospect Matthew Coronato, to see if he may turn professional and sign with Calgary. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the Flames are going to talk to the forward, but the belief is that he will ultimately return to Harvard for another season. Friedman mentions the concern Flames fans may have with talented Harvard prospects after their experience with Adam Fox, but cautions that Coronato shouldn’t be an issue for Calgary. Coronato, the 13th overall selection in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, had 18 goals and 18 assists in 34 games this season for Harvard.
  • Friedman also touched on another big-time NCAA prospect while speaking on Hockey Night in Canada: Matthew Knies. Knies has been the focus of recent discussion after being named in alleged trade discussions between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Chicago Blackhawks. When asked about Knies, Friedman made it abundantly clear that there was an important distinction in these discussions, which is that Toronto was not shopping Knies, but instead that he was simply a demand of the Blackhawks in those discussions. After the discussions involving Knies and then-Blackhawks goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury were made public, attention was brought on the top prospect, drawing the ire of Toronto GM Kyle Dubas.
  • The Ottawa Senators will not face any subsequent fines or discipline for any role they may have played with the issues surrounding Evgenii Dadonov’s no-trade clause, reports Friedman, appearing to finally close the book on the non-trade. There had been speculation that the Ottawa Senators could be fined for the role they played in the matter, dating back to their trade of Dadonov to Vegas this offseason.

Snapshots: Oshie, Richardson, University of Denver

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Washington Capitals’ forward T.J. Oshie will return to the lineup tonight after missing the previous four games due to injury. Oshie’s return is a welcomed sight for the Capitals, who sit comfortably in the second Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference with 82 points, 14 ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets, but are fighting for every inch of playoff seeding in the East.

Oshie has struggled with injuries, playing in just 28 of the Capitals’ 66 games this season. Still, the 35-year-old is a vital piece of Washington’s core as a key contributor with 20 points in those 28 games, including three goals and four assists on the Capitals’ powerplay.

  • The Montreal Canadiens announced that Assistant Coach Luke Richardson was placed in COVID protocol and will miss tonight’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Richardson, who turned 53 today, is in his fourth season behind the bench for Montreal, but is likely to miss at least a few games as he is in protocol.
  • Earlier today, University of Denver’s men’s hockey team secured their spot in the NCAA’s Frozen Four with a 2-1 win over Minnesota-Duluth. The game-winning goal for Denver was scored by 2020 Edmonton Oilers’ fourth-round pick Carter Savoie, who has 44 points in 37 games this season for Denver. Philadelphia Flyers’ prospect Bobby Brink, who has also starred for Denver, has been speculated to join the Flyers after his NCAA season ended, but will have to wait a little longer on his NHL debut.

League Notes: World Cup, Combine, Trade Lists

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Although the trade deadline has passed and the draft and free agency are still months away, it hasn’t stopped TSN’s best from breaking significant news. In the latest “Insider Trading” segment, the group had plenty to say about upcoming events and changes for the NHL. Though down the road quite a ways, Darren Dreger reports that there could soon be a more concrete plan for the proposed 2024 and 2028 World Cups of Hockey. The NHL, NHLPA, IIHF, and individual national federations are meeting in Paris this week to discuss how the NHL-operated international tournament could look. One major issue at hand is the possibility of a play-in tournament to determine the eight participants in each World Cup. There are many questions as to who might automatically qualify for the World Cup versus who might take part in the play-in, but Dreger at least notes that the play-ins would be held during the summer prior to the tournament, which could mean August 2023 would mark the start of the selection process.

Dreger does not believe that Canada and the United States would be taking part in play-ins (and does not make mention of Team North America, a novel and entertaining concept from the 2016 World Cup but one that appears to be dead all the same). Whether all European nations or just those lower on the IIHF rankings would participate in play-ins remains to be seen, as does the viability of a Russian entry given the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and resulting IIHF sanctions. The most recent IIHF rankings have Finland and Russia among the top four hockey countries in the world with Canada and the U.S., with Germany, Czechia, Sweden, and Switzerland rounding out the top eight. The question becomes how many of these nations should earn automatic bids to the World Cup and how many spots should otherwise stay open for play-in winners. Slovakia, Latvia, Norway, and Denmark would certainly like a fair shot at qualification, especially given that each has NHL representation, while it might also be entertaining to see an expanded play-in field featuring some less established hockey countries like France and Great Britain, both of whom are currently within the top 16 globally. Dreger does not note the possibility of a return of Team Europe, encompassing players from non-qualifying nations, but that concept is likely to go the way of Team North America.  There is still plenty to figure out, but this week’s meetings in Paris could be a very productive step toward clarifying the return of the World Cup.

  • Dreger adds that another NHL-sponsored event making its return is the NHL Draft Combine. After being cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the league will again host the pre-draft evaluation event this year, returning to Buffalo. The combine will be held from May 29 to June 4, giving teams plenty of time to assess results before the 2022 NHL Draft on July 7-8. As usual, the NHL playoffs will still be ongoing during the combine, but active teams can manage. More concerning though is that the CHL playoffs will also still be underway, which has not typically been the case. Due to COVID delays to the regular season schedule, the OHL and WHL will not kick off their postseasons until late April while the QMJHL will not get started until early May, making crossover with the combine a month later impossible to avoid. Dreger notes that the NHL wanted to hold an in-person combine at all costs in an effort to get the draft process back to normal, even if that meant some prospects could not participate. The CHL leagues will have to determine for themselves whether they will allow players to leave their teams or potentially pause postseason action during the combine. Scheduling flexibility is limited with the Memorial Cup dates already set for June 20-29. However, the junior leagues and teams have stock in the draft success of their players and know that those top prospects still playing and unable to attend the combine could be put them at a disadvantage.
  • As the ripples of the Evgenii Dadonov saga continue to be felt far beyond Las Vegas and Anaheim, Pierre LeBrun reports that changes to how trade lists are documented appear likely. As the NHL GM’s prepare to meet this week, with the Dadonov fiasco still fresh in their minds, it is not only LTIR management that they will discuss. LeBrun notes that they will also recommend that the complete terms of trade protection be shared with the NHL Central Registry and the NHLPA. Currently, only teams and player agents know the full contents of trade and no-trade lists and are the only ones monitoring when and if those lists are submitted. Seeing how well that worked out in Dadonov’s case, having extra eyes on that process from both the team and player side only serves to benefit the entire process. Though there is concern about a higher likelihood of these lists becoming public, this is outweighed by the procedural positives of trade protection.

Evgenii Dadonov Trade Under Review

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March 22: After news broke last night that there was an issue with this trade, Darren Dreger of TSN tweets that it is still being reviewed by the NHL Central Registry and the NHLPA. The issue stems from a no-trade clause that was not disclosed by the Ottawa Senators when Dadonov was originally traded to Vegas, despite it being public knowledge at the time.

March 21:  After much speculation throughout the day, the Evgenii Dadonov trade has finally gone through this evening reports TSN’s Chris Johnston. In addition to Dadonov, also heading to the Anaheim Ducks is a conditional second-round draft choice, which will be determined by the conditions of a draft pick previously traded to the Buffalo Sabres. In exchange, the Vegas Gold Knights acquire defenseman John Moore and the contract of forward Ryan Kesler.

This deal had been reported and all but confirmed earlier today before the NHL’s 3:00 pm EST trading deadline, however it had not been processed through NHL Central Registry and was not official until this evening. As Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman explains, the trade would have been accepted had it been submitted to Central Registry before the deadline, however that would have made Dadonov and Moore ineligible to play for the rest of the season. However, it appears the trade was submitted in time.

This trade was, for the most part, a salary cap deal. By sending Dadonov to Anaheim, Vegas clears his $5MM salary cap hit for this year and next year. However, by acquiring Moore, they absorb his $2.75MM cap hit, but that will lower to $1.625MM if they bury Moore in the AHL. In acquiring Kesler’s contract, Vegas can put him straight onto LTIR and have no net impact on their salary cap. All told, Vegas, will save $3.375MM in cap space, in exchange for a second-round draft pick and any production they will miss from Dadonov.

For Anaheim, the team has allowed Vegas to navigate a tricky cap situation, and was compensated for doing so with a second-round draft choice. The condition on the draft pick, as mentioned, concerns the Jack Eichel trade with Buffalo. If Vegas’ first-round draft choice in 2022 is in the top ten, then Vegas will send their 2024 second-round pick to Buffalo instead of the 2023 second-round draft pick originally reported in the Eichel deal. In other words, if Vegas’ first-round pick in 2022 is in the top 10, Anaheim receives their 2023 second-round draft choice; otherwise, they will receive Vegas’ 2024 second-round draft choice. Regardless, this move represents further precedent of the cost of shedding salary cap for a team that desperately needs to do so.

Not to be forgotten, the Ducks also acquire Dadonov, who has played in 62 games for Vegas this year, amassing 15 goals and 12 assists in the process, which replaces a good deal of the production Anaheim lost by trading Rickard Rakell away to the Pittsburgh Penguins earlier today. Dadonov also has an additional year under contract at $5MM for next year.

Winnipeg Jets Extend Kristian Reichel

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The Winnipeg Jets capped off a surprisingly busy trade deadline day by signing forward Kristian Reichel to an extension this evening. The contract is a two-year, two-way deal that carries a $775K AAV. In the first year of the deal, 2022-23, Reichel will earn $750K at the NHL level, along with a $25K signing bonus, and the deal being worth $150K at the minor league level. In the second year, Reichel will earn $775K in the NHL and $175K in the minors. Reichel is currently in his final year of a two-year entry-level contract that he signed with the Jets in June of 2020.

Reichel’s extension comes in the midst of a difficult season for the 23-year-old, who has been called up and sent down several times, and been transferred on and off of Winnipeg’s taxi squad for a majority of the season. After all this, Reichel was placed on injured reserve on February 23rd and activated today. Reichel has played in both the NHL and AHL this season, putting up two points in 12 games for the Jets and 12 points in 26 games with the Manitoba Moose of the AHL.

The forward first played in North America with the Red Deer Rebels of the WHL in 2017-18, where he excelled with 34 goals and 23 assists in 63 games. Reichel would turn professional the following season and spend parts of the next four seasons with the Moose before making his NHL debut this season with the Jets.

Several Players Placed In COVID Protocol

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The Vegas Golden Knights announced that they have placed forward Michael Amadio, defenseman Zach Whitecloud, and assistant coach Ryan McGill in COVID protocol ahead of tonight’s game at the Minnesota Wild. In what would appear to be a related move, the team has also called up forwards Paul Cotter and Jonas Rondbjerg and defensemen Zack Hayes and Daniil Miromanov (link). While the team only placed two players in COVID protocol, the earlier trade of Evgenii Dadonov frees up some additional salary cap space to allow them to call two players up.

In losing Amadio and Whitecloud, Vegas loses two NHL regulars who help Vegas to roll out a complete lineup each night. However, it could certainly open up an opportunity for several young players to shine. Regardless, in these situations, the health of the player always comes first.

Unrelated to Vegas’ COVID protocol players is Buffalo Sabres’ forward John Hayden, who was placed in COVID protocol earlier today (link). While the Sabres don’t play tonight, COVID protocol affects all elements of a player’s involvement with the team, so an announcement of Hayden’s unavailability on an off day makes sense.

Harri Sateri, Brad Richardson, Derrick Pouliot Claimed On Waivers

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Trade Deadline day doesn’t mean trades are the only player movement. Three players were claimed on waivers today, with goalie Harri Sateri heading to Toronto from Arizona, forward Brad Richardson going to Vancouver from Calgary, and defenseman Derrick Pouliot going to Seattle from Vegas.

Sateri is a fresh NHL arrival. The Maple Leafs signed him to a contract yesterday, immediately placing him on re-entry waivers. Sateri had a .926 save percentage in 38 games with the KHL’s Novosibirsk Sibir this season, helping them to a 14-16-5 record with him in the net.

Richardson was placed on waivers yesterday as he’s been pushed out of the NHL lineup with the acquisitions of Tyler Toffoli and Calle Jarnkrok in Calgary. He had two goals and four points in 27 Flames games this year, and he’ll get a chance to supplement Vancouver’s bottom-six forward group as Brandon Sutter remains out with long COVID symptoms.

Pouliot signed an NHL contract earlier in the week after Vegas’ blueline was continually struck with injuries. He got into two games, notching one assist before the team attempted to send him back to AHL Henderson. He’ll now get another NHL shot in Seattle as they continue to ship out players at the deadline.

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