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Archives for January 2018

Ottawa Senators Claim Magnus Paajarvi

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The Ottawa Senators have claimed Magnus Paajarvi off waivers from the St. Louis Blues. The 26-year old forward was always a good candidate to be claimed, and he’ll now try to take the next step in his career in the Canadian capital.

With Jaden Schwartz returning from injury for the Blues, the team had to free up a roster spot and Paajarvi drew the short straw. The bottom-six forward played in 44 games for the Blues this season, recording just four points. That stat line isn’t out of the ordinary for Paajarvi, who came into the league with impressive offensive potential but has registered just 97 points through 352 games. Expected to be a force around the net and able to beat defensemen one-on-one with his speed, Paajarvi  instead settled into a defensive and energy role first in Edmonton and then St. Louis.

He’s never shown much creativity in the offensive zone, but for Ottawa a claim of Paajarvi gives them another lottery ticket down the stretch. As we’ve seen first hand in Vegas this season, sometimes a change of scenery can spark a new level of production in players, something Ottawa will certainly hope for. The Senators are for all intents and purposes out of the playoff race already, and can afford to give some playing time to a former top draft selection.

Earning just $800K this season, Paajarvi is actually scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in the summer. While he’ll certainly draw some interest from around the league as a depth player, a good second half could secure him even more. The Senators, expected to be sellers at the deadline, pick up a free asset that they could even flip if his production improves at all, or at least use him to fill in the gaps by any outgoing forwards.

Joe Thornton Out “Several Weeks” With Knee Injury

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Jan 26: Before the game last night, the Sharks released a vague statement saying that Thornton “underwent an arthroscopic procedure” on his right knee, though no timetable was given. For now, the team will have to operate without their bearded behemoth while we wait on news for how long he’ll be out.

Jan 24: The San Jose Sharks will lose a key piece for at least two weeks, with GM Doug Wilson telling media including Kevin Kurz of The Athletic that Joe Thornton will be out with a damaged MCL. The veteran forward is undergoing an MRI to determine the extent of the damage and gauge whether surgery is necessary. Thornton suffered the injury last night against the Winnipeg Jets, despite playing over 20 minutes in an overtime loss.

Joe ThorntonThornton, 38, revealed last spring that he had played with torn ligaments in his left knee and required surgery to correct them in the offseason. This newest injury is to the opposite knee, but still puts in jeopardy the next stretch of the season. The Sharks, who find themselves in second place in the Pacific Division, can ill afford a loss like Thornton at this point in the season.

The long-time Sharks forward is having quite the season, recording 36 points in 43 games and looking dangerous at both even strength and on the powerplay. The known playmaker is shooting more this season, which has resulted in 13 goals, on pace for his best season in nearly a decade before this latest injury.

San Jose had already been rumored to be in the market for some help at center, and though Thornton had recently stopped taking faceoffs altogether, his absence will still weaken their team down the middle. Whether it pushes them to make an acquisition, or allows a younger player to step into a larger role is still unclear.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

PHWA Announces Midseason Awards

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The Professional Hockey Writers Association this season asked their members to vote for the end of year awards at the halfway point, and today announced the winners. Votes were cast on all the awards given annually to the top players in the league, and though they may not actually win when the time comes it is is a good look into which players will be in consideration.

The results are as follows:

Hart Memorial Trophy (League MVP):

Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning

Second place: Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche
Third place: John Tavares, New York Islanders

James Norris Memorial Trophy (Top defenseman):

Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning

Second place: Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings
Third place: John Klingberg, Dallas Stars

Frank J. Selke Trophy (Top defensive forward):

Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins

Second place: Sean Couturier, Philadelphia Flyers
Third place: Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings

Calder Memorial Trophy (Rookie of the year):

Mathew Barzal, New York Islanders

Second place: Brock Boeser, Vancouver Canucks
Third place: Charlie McAvoy, Boston Bruins

Vezina Trophy (Top goaltender):

Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning

Second place: Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets
Third place: Pekka Rinne, Nashville Predators

Lady Byng Memorial Trophy (Sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct):

Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary Flames

Second place: Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs
Third place: Ryan O’Reilly, Buffalo Sabres

Jack Adams Award (Coach of the year):

Gerard Gallant, Vegas Golden Knights

Second place: Jon Cooper, Tampa Bay Lightning
Third place: Paul Maurice, Winnipeg Jets

General Manager of the Year:

George McPhee, Vegas Golden Knights

Second place: Steve Yzerman, Tampa Bay Lightning
Third place: Ray Shero, New Jersey Devils

Top Defensive Defenseman:

Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings

Second place: Zdeno Chara, Boston Bruins
Third place: Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning

Comeback Player of the Year:

Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning

Second place: Brian Boyle, New Jersey Devils
Third place: Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers

Mark Letestu’s Trade Value Dropping

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Veteran center Mark Letestu has been a hot name on the rumor mill this season. The 32-year-old is an impending free agent coming off a career-high 35 points last season. While not a statistical machine, Letestu has been the definition of reliable in his nine-year NHL career. He can play on the power play and penalty kill, excels at the face-off dot, and is hardly ever found taking a bad penalty. With the Edmonton Oilers struggling this season, it seemed that one silver lining could be the return they could get for the dependable Letestu.

That dream may have slipped away already though, as 2017-18 continues to be just as disappointing for Letestu as it has for the Oilers. Through 48 games, Letestu’s 16 points puts him well off his pace from last season and much of those offensive struggles have come lately. Letestu has not recorded a point in 14 games and his last assist came back on December 12th, as his production has dried up completely. Tack on Letestu’s -15 rating, the worst on the team, and the once-reliable forward has been both an offensive non-factor and defensive liability this season. As a result, his ice time has suffered. Letestu has skated in under 10 minutes in six games this season, including back-to-back eight-minute games last week; he had one such game last season.

Now, coach Todd McLellan has taken the next step. Even with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins sidelined with injury, the Oilers’ bench boss has decided he has had enough of Letestu’s lackluster play, making him a healthy scratch for tonight’s big game against their Alberta rivals, the Calgary Flames. Even taking into account the poor play of the entire Oilers team this year, it still does not excuse the drop-off in all around play by Letestu this season. Now, not only has he been objectively bad, but even his team has lost confidence in his ability. Perhaps this benching will jump start Letestu’s season and he can rebuild his trade value over the next month, ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline. Otherwise, GM Peter Chiarelli may essentially give away the expiring center, as he won’t come close to the once-promising return he may have gotten earlier in the year.

James Reimer Out Weeks With Lower Body Injury

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When the Florida Panthers recalled first-year goalie Samuel Montembeault yesterday to join fellow rookie keeper Harri Sateri, it was only a matter of time before the news came out about what injury had forced starter James Reimer to join the Panthers’ other dinged up veteran, Roberto Luongo, on the sidelines. That announcement came today, as head coach Bob Boughner told the media that Reimer will be out “a few weeks” with a pulled groin.

It’s more bad luck and tough timing for Florida, who will now have a hard time staying relevant in the Eastern Conference behind two goalies with a combined three games of NHL experience. The Cats are already 11 points outside of a wild card spot and, despite being fourth in points percentage in the Atlantic, are even farther behind for a divisional berth. Health in net has been no small factor, as both Luongo – out with a lower body injury of his own since December – and Reimer have missed time this season. In fact, the duo have only both been healthy for 21 of Florida’s 46 games. However, this will be the first time that both could be out for an extended period of time. Boughner did state today that he hopes Luongo back in practice next week, but stopped short of predicting his return to game action.

In the meantime, the bulk of the net action will fall to Sateri, beginning with the start tonight against the Metropolitan-leading Washington Capitals. Sateri, 28, isn’t your typical rookie. The Finnish journeyman returned to North America on a two-way deal with Florida following three seasons in the KHL. Prior to that, Sateri played four seasons with the AHL’s Worcester Sharks after being selected by San Jose in the fourth round in 2008 out of the Finnish Liiga. Montembeault, on the other hand, is a true rookie; the 21-year-old is in his first season out of the QMJHL after being selected by the Panthers in the third round in 2015.

Detroit Red Wings Ready To Sell

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The Detroit Red Wings were hoping for a better season in 2017-18 than the year before. In 2016-17, the storied franchise missed the playoffs for the first time in a quarter century, going 33-36-13 and finishing seventh in the Atlantic Division. They missed Nicklas Lidstrom, Pavel Datsyuk and other legendary Red Wings players, and relied too heavily on an aging Henrik Zetterberg for their offensive spark. They sold some assets at the traded deadline, knowing they weren’t headed for the playoffs. This year is much the same.

Through 47 games, the Red Wings are 19-20-8 and in almost exactly the same place they were a year prior—when they had a 20-19-8 record. Now that same selling decision has been made, according to a source for The Athletic’s Craig Custance (subscription required) and the Red Wings are one of the first teams to contact others around the league making it clear they’re ready to deal. Whether that means a full tear down or just expiring contracts isn’t clear, though Custance believes there is more “willingness to move players with term on their contracts,” at least for the right price. He details those that may be available, including pending free agent Mike Green who recently ranked tenth in our Midseason UFA Power Rankings.

The idea of a tear down in Detroit though poses another question. What happens to GM Ken Holland?

If the last two years have been viewed as a disappointment in Detroit, the salary structure going forward is a disaster. The team has few really exciting pieces, and yet find themselves at the very top of the league in terms of projected cap hit according to CapFriendly. They have quite a bit of dead money in the way of Johan Franzen’s long-term injury and Stephen Weiss’ buyout payments, and still have long-term deals on the books for players like Justin Abdelkader, Frans Nielsen and Danny DeKeyser.

The decision to tear down, or at least sell off a good portion of assets is probably the right move for the struggling club. Despite sitting in fourth place in the Atlantic, they are 13 points behind the Toronto Maple Leafs and would easily rank dead last in the Metropolitan. But if a real fire-sale is going to happen, allowing Holland to captain it seems like a vote of confidence in his role going forward. If the team has any plans of moving on from their long-time executive, why allow him to be the deciding voice on which assets to keep or jettison, or moreover which ones to bring in?

There have been several rumors over the past few months that Holland could be a new face in Vancouver, added to their front office group after Jim Benning’s contract expires at the end of the season. Whether there is any truth to that is still to be seen, but for now Holland remains in control of the Red Wings. A tear down is important and can be empowering for a franchise and its fans if done correctly. Before the decision is made on whether to trade Tomas Tatar or Gustav Nyquist, a similar one will have to be made a little higher up the food chain.

Prospects Begin To Feature In Trade Speculation

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The NHL’s trade deadline is just a month away, and any game-changing deals are yet to come. Though there were two big trades already this season—featuring Matt Duchene, Kyle Turris, Sami Vatanen and Adam Henrique—the market has been relatively quiet for nearly two months. Minor league deals, and the swap of Anthony Duclair not withstanding, fans are ready to land the big fish and take a run at the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Jordan KyrouFor some time now names like Max Pacioretty, Mike Hoffman, Patrick Maroon and Evander Kane have graced the Trade Bait board on TSN, but with today’s update Frank Seravalli gives us a few interesting additions. One, Ryan McDonagh, is very much like those previously mentioned, a very good player heading towards the free agent market (in the summer of 2019 in this case) that could be moved when his value is still near its highest point.

But there are a couple of other new entries, including St. Louis Blues prospect Jordan Kyrou. While McDonagh and most of the other players are in or past their prime, Kyrou hasn’t even begun his NHL career. Selected 35th-overall in 2016, the smooth skating forward has blossomed into one of the very top prospects in the entire league. In fact, Corey Pronman of The Athletic (subscription required) recently ranked him 19th among those already drafted. Five of the players ahead of him have already made their NHL debuts, including the likes of Kasperi Kapanen and Dylan Strome.

Seravalli speculates that Kyrou could be in a package to land Kane, one that according to Buffalo might need to include a first-round pick, conditional pick and an additional roster player. Kyrou’s potential shouldn’t be downgraded by the fact he fell out of the first round in his draft year, as he’s shown over and over how dynamic his offense and skating ability can be. At the recent World Juniors, he led Team Canada with ten points in seven games and was a threat every time he touched the puck. Even with the absence to attend the tournament, he still leads the OHL in points with 73 in just 35 games and has a real shot at winning the league’s Most Outstanding Player.

If a prospect like Kyrou is moved, it could be a trade deadline to remember for the ages. While there is no guarantee he or any other top name ever turns out to be an impact player in the NHL, the rental-for-prospect deals are often the ones looked back on years later with frustration. The Blues—and other teams like the Winnipeg Jets, from whom Seravalli mentions young players Nic Petan and Jack Roslovic as potential pieces—are looking for an impact player this season. They might just have to give up a future one in return.

Rangers Claim Cody McLeod; Blues Waive Magnus Paajarvi

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The New York Rangers have decided to add a little toughness to their lineup, today claiming Cody McLeod off waivers from the Nashville Predators. Nathan Gerbe, who was also on waivers after signing with the Columbus Blue Jackets, has cleared and will be assigned to the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL. In addition, Magnus Paajarvi has been waived by the St. Louis Blues.

Magnus PaajarviThis is the second time the Rangers have claimed a physical fourth-line presence this season after adding Adam Cracknell earlier in the year. While Cracknell was eventually flipped in a minor trade, McLeod could catch on as a bang-and-crash winger who is ready to drop the gloves in defense of a teammate. Though that style is rarely seen in the game these days, McLeod has continued to find work and will try to prove his value in New York.

The Rangers needed to make a corresponding roster move to fit McLeod in, and sent Daniel Catenacci to the minor leagues to make room. Vinni Lettieri and Anthony DeAngelo are the only players on the roster who are waiver exempt, however Peter Holland could’ve also still also been sent without having to clear waivers again, as he hasn’t been up long enough for his clock to reset.

Paajarvi’s inclusion on waivers is interesting, if not entirely unexpected. The Blues have activated Jaden Schwartz from injured reserve, and needed a roster spot for him to fit in. While Tage Thompson and Ivan Barbashev are both waiver-exempt, both have proven themselves as key parts of the forward group and won’t be sent down anytime soon.

Instead, it’s Paajarvi’s turn to be risked on waivers. The 10th-overall pick in 2009 hasn’t ever established himself as an offensive presence in the NHL, instead playing the roll of checking forward and penalty killer. In 352 career games, Paajarvi has 97 points including just four this season. While his age (26), size (6’3″ 206-lbs) and draft pedigree all suggest that there still could be another level to his play, nothing on the ice confirms it.

Still, he could be an interesting player for a contending team to add if they’re not happy with their own depth. Earning just $800K before hitting unrestricted free agency this summer, Paajarvi poses very little risk in terms of financial commitment. It’s important to note that Arizona, Toronto and Minnesota are all at their 50 contract limit, meaning they’d need to rid themselves of another player before making a claim.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Ottawa Reaches Preliminary Agreement To Build New Downtown Arena

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The Ottawa Senators have been trying for years to secure a downtown arena, and took a very positive step forward today. The National Capital Commission has reached a preliminary agreement with the RendezVous group led by Senators’ owner Eugene Melnyk, to develop the LeBreton Flats area including a new arena. The development will be completed in two phases, the first of which will include the a building for the Senators to move downtown. The major agreement is not in place yet, and will continue to be negotiated over the next 12-18 months. While that leaves wiggle room for the deal to collapse, this is a huge step forward for the Senators organization.

Even without the disappointing results of the 2017-18 season, the Senators have had a tumultuous recent history. Last year during a playoff run that went all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals, the team had trouble filling their current home, the Canadian Tire Centre, which is located outside of the city center and is difficult for many fans to reach. That was followed by Melnyk’s comments just prior to the team’s outdoor game this year, where the owner hinted at potential salary slashing measures if the fans wouldn’t increase their support of the team. Those comments hung over the head of GM Pierre Dorion, who is under immense pressure to sign his superstar defenseman Erik Karlsson before he reaches free agency in the summer of 2019. Karlsson was clear that he wouldn’t take a so-called “hometown discount” to stay with the Senators and expects to be paid his market value—a number that is likely in excess of $10MM per season.

While a downtown arena by no means fixes every problem the Senators have, the idea of a new home could catapult them into a different financial tier among NHL clubs. With easier access and a downtown presence, fan support should increase along with ticket sales and merchandising. While Ottawa is not likely ever going to become the brand powerhouses of Toronto or Montreal, moving downtown certainly affords them some level of security. After all, it was NHL commissioner Gary Bettman himself who proclaimed a downtown arena as “vitally important” to the Senators’ long-term future in Ottawa.

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