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Archives for February 2018

Snapshots: Leivo, Danault, Smith

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Not so long ago it was reported that Josh Leivo had requested a trade away from the Toronto Maple Leafs. The 24-year old forward has barely played over the last few seasons, spending more time in the press box than the bench. It was natural for him to want a fresh start somewhere, and a chance to prove he is a full-time NHL player.

This morning, speaking with reporters including Jonas Siegal of The Athletic, Maple Leafs’ GM Lou Lamoriello expressed that he never did receive a trade request from Leivo despite the widespread reports. When asked about the trade request earlier this month, Leivo’s agent wouldn’t confirm it but did say that the forward “simply needs to play regularly.”

  • Phillip Danault is back travelling with the Montreal Canadiens, and says the only symptom he suffered after taking a Zdeno Chara shot to the head was vertigo. Danault hasn’t played in nearly a month, but was actually having a nice season for the Canadiens with 23 points in 43 games. He could rejoin the lineup on Wednesday evening.
  • Eric Francis of Sportsnet reports that Calgary Flames goaltender Mike Smith’s injury may not be as bad as it looked, though no clarification past that is given. Smith had to be helped off the ice by the training staff and two teammates, just at the end of their game against the New York Islanders. Smith has been a huge part of the Flames season so far, and a long-term injury could be devastating to their playoff hopes.

Anaheim Ducks Place Dennis Rasmussen On Unconditional Waivers

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The Anaheim Ducks have placed Dennis Rasmussen on unconditional waivers, which could be followed by a mutual termination of his contract. Rasmussen hasn’t played in the NHL since the middle of December, and could likely find work back in Sweden or another European league.

If they do come to a mutual termination of his contract, the Ducks would receive no cap relief. Rasmussen’s one-year, $725K contract is already completely buried in the minor leagues.

It hasn’t been a good match for Anaheim and the 27-year old forward. Though he had ample experience at center in the past, the Ducks rarely used Rasmussen in the middle and limited his ice time through the first part of the season. Registering four points in 27 games, the former Chicago Blackhaws forward could head back to the SHL where he was once a top scoring threat for Vaxjo. In 139 NHL games, he had just 21 points.

Minor Transactions: 02/12/18

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Just two weeks remain until the NHL trade deadline, and the rumor mill is starting to heat up. To make room for trades, teams often make minor moves to open up a roster spot or change the make up of the team. We’ll keep track of all those minor transactions right here.

  • The Dallas Stars have sent Jason Dickinson and Dillon Heatherington back to the AHL, at least for the next few days. The Stars don’t play again until February 16th, and can save some cap space by sending the pair down. The Texas Stars don’t play until the 17th, so they won’t be needed during that time. We’ll have to wait and see if they are recalled in a few days.
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs plan on recalling Nikita Soshnikov from his conditioning stint later today, but will keep him on injured reserve for the time being. Though there has been some confusion over a “deadline” of sorts to activate Soshnikov, players on long-term injury conditioning loans do not have to be activated when such a loan ends. Instead, Toronto will take their time to decide how to fit Soshnikov back into their roster picture.
  • The Calgary Flames have recalled Jon Gillies from the AHL under emergency conditions, thanks to Mike Smith’s injury last night. The team also moved Troy Brouwer to injured reserve retroactive to February 8th. Gillies and David Rittich will have to hold the net while Smith recovers from an injury that isn’t as bad as expected.
  • Cory Schneider is finally on injured reserve for the New Jersey Devils, retroactive to his last game on January 23rd. In the meantime, the club has used the roster spot to recall forward Nick Lappin from the minor leagues. The 25-year old Lappin has 29 points in 42 games for the Binghamton Devils this season.
  • Paul Thompson has been returned to the Chicago Wolves after just one day up with the Vegas Golden Knights, and will have to wait for another opportunity to make his 2017-18 NHL debut. The 29-year old forward has 24 games of NHL experience, but has been a solid AHL offensive player for years.

Florida Panthers Extend Colton Sceviour

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The Florida Panthers have reached a three-year extension with forward Colton Sceviour, putting him under contract through the 2020-21 season. Bob McKenzie of TSN reports that the deal comes with a $1.2MM average annual value, giving Sceviour a slight raise on his current $900K cap hit.

Sceviour, 28, has quietly become an effective player for the Panthers over the last few years. A solid penalty killer, he has seven short-handed points over the last two seasons and chips in 20-25 total points annually. Though he isn’t going to be promoted to the top line anytime soon, he’s a relatively inexpensive option for the Panthers to use in the bottom-six of their lineup.

Florida now has 10 players signed through the 2020-21 season, including two goaltenders and three defensemen. Though things haven’t gone exactly according to plan this season, the Panthers have their core locked up for the next few years and will have to try and fix things with this group. Signing players like Sceviour, who are reliable and cheap, gives you the opportunity to pursue more expensive options to fill the other holes on the roster.

Five Key Stories: 2/5/18 – 2/11/18

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Although the trades have yet to pick up in frequency despite the trade deadline coming quickly, there was still plenty of news around the hockey world.  Here are the top five stores from the past week.

1) Kovalchuk To Test NHL Market: Here we go again.  Ilya Kovalchuk is intending to test the NHL free agent market this summer.  This was the case last year as well but there is one notable difference.  Kovalchuk will soon turn 35 which means that the Devils will no longer hold his rights and teams won’t be required to trade for his rights to try to sign him.  The winger is once again dominating the KHL as he leads the league in scoring with 63 points (32-32-63) in 53 games.  There’s no guarantee he signs this time around but he will be an interesting addition to the free agent market nonetheless.

2) Rangers Letter To Fans: There has been plenty of speculation in recent weeks regarding whether or not the Rangers would be buyers or sellers at the trade deadline.  The team put an end to that themselves, issuing a letter to their fans where they acknowledged that they will be looking to get younger and will be moving out some veterans.  That would indicate that their pending unrestricted free agents will be on the move at the very least and it will be interesting to see if players like Mats Zuccarello and Ryan McDonagh will follow suit or if decisions on them will wait until the summer instead.

Rick Nash3) High Price For Nash: Speaking of pending unrestricted free agents on the Rangers, winger Rick Nash submitted his 18-team no-trade list although he acknowledged he may be willing to go to some of the teams on that list.  For the dozen teams that weren’t on it, they will need to be prepared to pay a particularly high asking price.  GM Jeff Gorton is currently asking for a return comparable to what Buffalo is seeking for winger Evander Kane, a first-round draft pick, a top prospect, plus a lesser draft choice or prospect.  Presumably, New York will be willing to retain a significant portion of Nash’s $7.8MM cap hit (they can retain up to 50%) in order to help facilitate a trade.

4) Five Years For Eller: The Capitals locked up one of their pending unrestricted free agents by signing center Lars Eller to a five-year, $17.5MM contract extension.  The $3.5MM AAV matches what he is receiving on his current contract.  Eller is in his second season with the Caps as their third line pivot and is on pace for a career year in points as he sits just two points behind his career-best 30 with two months remaining in the season.  They still have a prominent UFA to deal with in defenseman John Carlson who is in line for a significant raise on his current deal that carries a cap hit just shy of $4MM.

5) Burrows Gets Ten: Senators winger Alex Burrows was handed a ten-game suspension by the league for his kneeing of Devils winger Taylor Hall (who, fortunately, was not injured on the play).  This was the longest suspension handed down by the Department of Player Safety this season and Burrows will forfeit over $125K in salary.  He also elected not to appeal and will be out of Ottawa’s lineup until March 2nd.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Ottawa Senators Put High Price On Derick Brassard

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The Ottawa Senators have deemed Derick Brassard available, but only for a very high price. According to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, the team is looking for a first-round pick, top prospect and a third piece of some sort in exchange for the veteran center. Brassard is under contract for 2018-19, and does hold an eight team no-trade clause.

Senators’ GM Pierre Dorion was recently extended in Ottawa, after laying out his long-term plan for the franchise with owner Eugene Melnyk. While it’s unclear exactly what that entails, especially regarding the upcoming free agency of Erik Karlsson, making Brassard available indicates a willingness to retool the core of the organization. The team already traded Kyle Turris earlier this season, and now seem ready to move another veteran center. With Zack Smith and Jean-Gabriel Pageau also in the rumor mill, the center depth of the club could be devastated in the next few weeks.

Ottawa is in a fight for the first-overall pick this season, despite some better play of late. They currently sit in 29th place, and Brassard hasn’t been able to do anything to change the outcome most nights this year. Though he does have 14 goals and 30 points, he hasn’t been able to create much on the powerplay and is under 50% in the faceoff dot.

Still, for years Brassard has been a positive possession player. For any team looking to add a solid middle-six center who can drive play while also being responsible in his own end, the 30-year old could be a good fit. His $5MM cap hit is a little high for teams looking to use him in a third-line role, but the actual salary is much lower—a prorated amount of $2MM this season, and just $3.5MM total next.

Bruins Interested In Patrick Maroon

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The Bruins are looking to add some help on the wing between now and the trade deadline and have shown interest in Oilers winger Patrick Maroon, reports NBC Sports Boston’s Joe Haggerty.  He notes that Boston has been scouting Edmonton for the last couple of games while Oilers VP of Hockey Operations Craig MacTavish was keeping tabs on the Bruins on Saturday night.

Nov 24, 2017; Buffalo, NY, USA; Edmonton Oilers left wing Patrick Maroon (19) against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center. Buffalo beats Edmonton 3 to 1. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY SportsMaroon is positioned to be one of the more sought-after rental players between now and the trade deadline.  He has shown that he can do well in a scoring role with Edmonton but before his time there, he had success in a crash-and-bang role, something the Bruins may be looking to add to the equation.

[Related: Maroon’s Trade Candidate Profile]

This season, the 29-year-old has 13 goals and 14 assists through 52 games while averaging a career-high 17:01 in ice time per game.  He’s also no stranger to the postseason having played in 42 playoff contests where he has thrived, tallying 26 points (12-14-26) in that span.

There is mutual interest between Maroon and the Oilers in terms of working out a contract extension but with Connor McDavid’s new $12.5MM deal set to kick in next season, Edmonton’s payroll flexibility may be too limited to get something done.  He will undoubtedly be looking for a considerable raise on the $2.1MM salary ($2.0MM cap hit; Anaheim is paying 25% of that this season) he is currently getting and that may be too rich for them to afford.

From Boston’s perspective, they have several quality young wingers in their system that will be pushing for NHL jobs soon so they would likely view Maroon as a pure rental and not someone that they would look to re-sign after the season.  While they don’t have a ton of cap room to work with – just shy of $3.4MM in full-season salary on trade deadline day per CapFriendly, that’s still enough to absorb Maroon’s deal and still have enough left over to try to add another piece to their roster.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Atlantic Notes: Hoffman, Deslauriers, Czarnik

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At least five teams have shown interest in Senators winger Mike Hoffman, Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports.  Interestingly enough, not all of them are teams that are expected to be buyers in the next couple of weeks either as the Sabres are among the group that also includes the Blues, Devils, Hurricanes, and Sharks.

Hoffman is having a quieter year offensively than he has had the last couple of seasons but he still sits second on Ottawa in scoring with 37 points (15-22-37) in 54 games.  He also has two years left after this one on his contract with a cap hit just shy of $5.2MM so if the Senators do decide to move him, they’ll be justified in a high asking price.  Garrioch notes that the team is torn on what to do as they know they can get a strong return in a trade but he has started to show some chemistry recently with Matt Duchene who has one more year left on his current deal.

More from around the Atlantic:

  • There is mutual interest between the Canadiens and winger Nicolas Deslauriers regarding a contract extension, Renaud Lavoie and Louis Jean of TVA Sports report (link in French). Deslauriers started the season in the minors after clearing waivers back when he was with Buffalo but has been a regular since being recalled back in mid-November and already has set a career high in goals with seven.  However, Montreal’s preference is to get an extension signed before the February 26th trade deadline; otherwise, they may look to trade him and then try to work out a contract in free agency.
  • With Boston winger Noel Acciari returning to the lineup tonight, the Bruins announced that they have sent down winger Austin Czarnik to AHL Providence. The timing of this is significant as Czarnik is just one more NHL game away from being waiver-eligible.  If he is someone that they intend to use as a trade chip before the deadline – something our Zach Leach suggested earlier in the week – he likely holds a little more value while he’s in the minors and waiver exempt where the potential acquiring team could then decide whether to call him up or keep him at the minor league level.

Kings’ Dustin Brown Suspended For One Game

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7:15 PM: Brown has been suspended for one game, the Department of Player Safety announced (Twitter link).  He will sit out Tuesday night against Carolina and return on Thursday versus Pittsburgh.

1:38 PM: The Department of Player Safety announced this afternoon that they will have a hearing today for the Los Angeles Kings Dustin Brown for kneeing Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Mikhail Sergachev during Saturday nights game. The knee-to-knee hit can be seen here.

Brown, who is not new to the Department of Player Safety hearings, had a hearing only last month for cross-checking Pittsburgh Penguins’ Justin Schultz. In that incident, Brown got a surprisingly gently slap on the wrist as he was not suspended despite receiving a five-minute major and a game misconduct for the hit. He was fined $10,000. Brown had been suspended two games 18 months previous to that for a hit against Jason Pominville, then with the Minnesota Wild.

While he wasn’t necessarily classified as a repeat offender in his hearing in January, that won’t be the case this time around as a suspension would seem likely. With the Kings fighting to stay in the Western Conference playoff race (currently holding the third spot in the Pacific Division), losing Brown for any amount of time could be crippling. The 33-year-old wing has 16 goals and 38 points. He also has accumulated 52 penalty minutes, the most since he had 66 in the 2013-14 season.

Deadline Primer: Washington Capitals

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With the trade deadline fast approaching, we will be taking a closer look at the situation for each team.  Where do they stand, what do they need to do, and what assets do they have to fill those needs?  Next up is a look at the Washington Capitals.

Some thought that this would be the season that Washington would take a bit of a step back after losing several key players in free agency.  They’ve been tap-dancing around the salary cap for most of the year and have depth issues but they once again find themselves sitting atop the Metropolitan Division with high expectations heading into the deadline.

Record

32-17-6, first in Metropolitan Division

Deadline Status

Buyer

Deadline Cap Space

$1.9MM full-season cap hit, 0/3 retained salary transactions, 44/50 contracts per CapFriendly

Draft Picks

2018: WSH 1st, FLA 2nd, TOR 3rd, WSH 3rd, WSH 4th, WSH 6th, WSH 7th
2019: WSH 1st, WSH 2nd, WSH 3rd, WSH 4th, WSH 5th, WSH 6th, WSH 7th

Trade Chips

Apr 4, 2017; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Washington Capitals goaltender Philipp Grubauer (31) makes a save against the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Air Canada Centre. Washington defeated Toronto 4-1. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY SportsIt’s not often that teams looking to buy could be moving players off the current roster but the Caps could wind up being an exception.  Goaltender Philipp Grubauer is known to be coveting a larger workload and he appears to be a likely candidate to be on the move by the summer with Washington hoping to sign top prospect Ilya Samsonov for next season.  They would have to acquire a backup in any trade (or have a follow-up move ready) but if a rebuilding team thinks Grubauer could be their starter of the future, the Capitals may be better off moving him now than waiting for the offseason.

Because Washington has limited cap room to work with, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them look to try to free up a bit of space with a couple of struggling players.  Defenseman Brooks Orpik is a buyout candidate for the summer but if they’re willing to retain on his contract, perhaps there’s a move to be made now.  Winger Andre Burakovsky is having a particularly tough year as well and while they’re unlikely to simply give up on the 23-year-old, he’s the type of player that selling teams may covet in the hopes that a change of scenery may turn his season around.

Five Players To Watch For: RW Riley Barber, LW/RW Andre Burakovsky, LW/RW Brett Connolly, G Philipp Grubauer, C Liam O’Brien

Team Needs

1) Middle-Six Winger: Washington’s salary cap situation has really limited their depth up front.  When everyone is healthy, they’re in good shape but once injuries strike, that changes quickly.  Finding someone that can slot in on the third line with a full lineup but move into the top-six should be high on the priority list for GM Brian MacLellan.  Given their lack of payroll room, this will probably need to be a rental player.

2) Defensive Depth: While the Capitals would undoubtedly like to add a top-four defender, they will be hard-pressed to do so, especially if they add help up front as well.  Accordingly, they will likely turn to teams shopping depth defenders to hedge against injuries and perhaps give them a different dimension for matchups for the postseason.  Fortunately for them, there projects to be a lot of those types of blueliners available so this should be something that Washington can address without having to pay too high of a price.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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