Archives for February 2018

Deadline Primer: Arizona Coyotes

February 10, 2018 at 6:52 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 3 Comments

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 Arizona Coyotes.

Despite a new coach and the belief that if they trade for a number of quality veteran players like Derek Stepan, Jason Demers and Niklas Hjalmarsson, the Coyotes could break their string of inept seasons and find themselves moving up in the standings with their core of talented young players. Instead, little has changed as the Coyotes boast the worst record in the NHL and now have to wonder what the next step in building a contender will consist of.

Record

13-32-9, sixth in Pacific Division

Deadline Status

Seller

Deadline Cap Space

$74.7MM full-season cap hit, 1/3 retained salary transactions, 50/50 contracts per CapFriendly

Draft Picks

2018: ARZ 1st, MIN 2nd, ARZ 3rd, ARZ 4th, ARZ 6th, ARZ 7th
2019: ARZ 1st, ARZ 2nd, ARZ 3rd, CAL 3rd*, ARZ 4th, ARZ 5th, ARZ 6th, PIT 6th, ARZ 7th

*- Pick becomes a 2019 second-round pick if the Calgary Flames make the playoffs.

Trade Chips

With the team unlikely to move defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson at the deadline, the Coyotes don’t necessarily have a big name to move as in previous years. There have been rumors the team might be willing to trade Max Domi, the young 22-year-old center who has regressed since a solid rookie season. However, unless the team can get equal value for Domi, its unlikely the team just wants to dump him for little in return.

One legitimate possibility would be winger Brad Richardson. No, the 33-year-old won’t provide any of the potential buyers with offense as Richardson provides little. He has just three goals and seven assists this year. However, Richardson is a quality fourth-line player who could add defensive skills to any team’s bottom line and can play the center position. His penalty killing skills might be valuable as well to any team that might want to prepare for teams like Pittsburgh, San Jose, Winnipeg or Tampa Bay, whose power play units are deadly.

Five Players To Watch For: D Kevin Connauton; D Jason Demers; C Max Domi; W/C Brad Richardson; D Luke Schenn

Team Needs

1) Impact Players: The team has learned that they need a mix of veterans and youth to make this team into a winner. Despite acquiring Stepan, Demers and Hjalmarsson, the team hasn’t improved, but the team still needs more impact players who aren’t necessarily in their 30’s to help lead the team and can work with some of the young players. The more veterans on the team that are producing, the more likely the youth can step in and begin helping.

2) Draft picks: The team also must continue to develop youth in hopes of developing more youngsters. They have quite a few, most of which have struggled to establish themselves into stars like Clayton Keller, Christian Dvorak and Domi, among many. However, picks will continue to streamline those players in, so the more they have, the better.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Snapshots: Blues, Thornton, Lewis, Lightning

February 10, 2018 at 5:37 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 4 Comments

In a mailbag column, The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford writes (subscription required) that while the Blues have been linked with a number of high-profile teams such as the Ottawa Senators, Buffalo Sabres, Montreal Canadiens, Edmonton Oilers and the New York Rangers, it’s unlikely the team will make a big move for a big name forward with years on his contract like a Max Pacioretty or a Mike Hoffman despite recent rumors to the contrary.

Due to the high trade demands being made for these players, Rutherford believes that trading a top prospect for a player who has a large contract to fit into their salary cap space doesn’t make a lot of sense as the team wants to have as much flexibility when free agency arrives this summer. Instead, the scribe believes the team needs to go the rental route and acquire a player (for a much cheaper price) so the team can make their run.

The team already is without their 2018 first-round pick which they traded for Brayden Schenn, so moving a top prospect could set the team back long-term. The team should look into a player such as Rick Nash, Michael Grabner or Patrick Maroon as options as they likely won’t cost them one of their top prospects in Jordan Kyrou, Robert Thomas or Klim Kostin.

The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz (subscription required) writes that alarms should sound after San Jose Sharks center Joe Thornton refused to say that he will definitely be back this season. That’s a surprise considering he is a player who last year played through torn MCL and ACL injuries during the playoffs. Historically, he’s been a player who goes out on the ice no matter how hurt he is, so the idea that he might not be back this season suggests the injury is worse than people think. Could he have already played his last game as a San Jose Shark?
Fox Sports West Patrick O’Neal tweets that Los Angeles Kings forward Trevor Lewis was sent back to Los Angeles to be re-evaluated after being injured in Friday’s game against the Florida Panthers. While indications are that the injury isn’t serious, head coach John Stevens wanted to have him evaluated after he sustained a serious crash against the boards.
Tampa Bay Times’ Joe Smith writes that the rumors of a potential Ottawa Senators-Tampa Bay Lightning deadline deal refuses to go away. He writes that there have been a number of rumors, including talk of Erik Karlsson, and points out that Ottawa’s chief scout is expected to be at the Tampa Bay game tonight.

Trade Candidate: David Perron

February 10, 2018 at 4:21 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 1 Comment

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.

Ever since the Vegas Golden Knights were contructed, the plan had always been to build through the draft, but add a few veteran players they could move at the trade deadline. While James Neal was an obvious choice when the team selected him from Nashville Predators, no one was as confident that veteran winger David Perron would be as successful. Yet one season in, Perron is having a one of his best seasons of his career. The question now is does the team still want to trade him?

Contract

Perron is in the final season of a two-year, $7.5MM contract—$3.75MM cap hit, $3.75MM salary that he signed with the St. Louis Blues. He will be a UFA in July, and a modified no-trade clause in which he can submit three teams he doesn’t want to be traded to.

2017-18

Perron has been fantastic on the Golden Knights’ second line along with Neal and Erik Haula this season. Acquired via the expansion draft from St. Louis, the original plan had been to move him at the trade deadline, but instead, he’s made himself a key top-six player on a team that has the best record in the Western Conference. While he has just 13 goals this year, that’s still on target for his best goal-scoring season since 2013-14 when he potted 28 goals when he was with the Edmonton Oilers.

However, what makes his game stand out more than anything is his ability to move the puck. His 36 assists puts him already at 49 points with still almost a third of a season left. That already gives him more points than he’s had since that 2013-14 season in Edmonton. Add that to his clutch play in key moments, which includes four game-winning goals and he’s become too good to move.

Season Stats

48 GP, 13 goals, 36 assists, 49 points, +7 rating, 36 PIM, 89 shots, 17:42 ATOI, 48.9 CF%

Potential Suitors

At this point, almost any team might want to get a hold of Perron as a player rental for the upcoming playoffs. Even at $3.75MM, that’s a pretty good deal for a 29-year-old player having a great season. However, there is little chatter considering where the Golden Knights stand at present. General manager George McPhee has been non-committal to whether they intend to be buyers or sellers, but most believe they won’t be sellers.

Likelihood Of A Trade

Extremely unlikely. While you can never say never, Perron is a fixture for a team that looks ready to make a deep playoff run in their first-ever season, which no one predicted. With the team’s chemistry operating at peak efficiency, moving one of their key pieces could wreck their success. Once considered a trade deadline candidate, it looks like Vegas will hold onto him as their own player rental. While there has been little early indication that Vegas intends to extend Perron’s contract, that’s still a possibility as well.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Vegas Places Malcolm Subban On Injured Reserve

February 10, 2018 at 2:49 pm CDT | by Zach Leach Leave a Comment

Just 54 games into their existence as an NHL franchise, perhaps no team in the league more familiar than the Vegas Golden Knights when it comes to injuries in goal. Other than their amazing success in their inaugural season, the other big story line for Vegas this season has been the unbelievable frequency with which their net minders get hurt. Marc-Andre Fleury, Malcolm Subban, Oscar Dansk, and Maxime Lagace have all missed time this season due to injury and much of it came at the same time. Their #1, #2, and #3 keepers were all injured in October and the unproven Lagace struggled in relief. Yet, the Knights stayed strong through it all and had put their goalie injury woes behind them.

Now, they’re back again. The Sin Bin reports that Subban is headed to the injured reserve for the second time this season. Subban sustained an upper-body injury on Thursday morning ahead of the team’s game with the San Jose Sharks. Vegas took a risk and still dressed Subban for the match-up, though The Sin Bin states that he was not actually available to play. Following a practice today in which the team’s emergency goalie was in attendance and Subban was not, came the official move to place him on IR.

The loss of Subban is not without some significant repercussions. While Fleury has been phenomenal for the Knights this season, Subban has also done very well for himself in his first full NHL season. After struggling to even win the AHL job with the Boston Bruins over the past few years, Subban has thrived in Vegas after coming over via waivers. The 24-year-old has an 11-3-1 record and seven quality starts, which has mattered more the to capable Golden Knights than his pedestrian .912 save percentage and 2.49 GAA.

Lagace has been tabbed as his replacement for now, as he has been recalled from the AHL’s Chicago Wolves. While Lagace’s NHL numbers earlier this season were far from Stellar, Dansk is still working his way back to full health, making Lagace the clear choice for the time being. Both young goaltenders could see action in Vegas while Subban remains sidelined. The last thing the Golden Knights want to do is overwork Fleury and risk injury to then end up with both NHL options on the shelf yet again.

Bruins Notes: Acciari, Czarnik, Donato

February 10, 2018 at 2:03 pm CDT | by Zach Leach Leave a Comment

The Boston Bruins have been on a roll for going on three months now. The team is 27-4-4 since November 16th – a whopping .829 points percentage in that span – and is neck-and-neck with the Tampa Bay Lightning for the best record in the NHL. A major part of that success has been balance and chemistry among the forward lines. Over this long streak of impressive play, the Bruins have been lining up the same four groupings in every game in which they have access to all twelve forwards. Outside of a recent Brad Marchand five-game suspension, during which the Bruins dropped their first regulation loss since December 14th, the only regular up front who has missed considerable time is energy line winger Noel Acciari. Acciari has been banged up for much of the campaign, including missing 13 games with a fractured finger early on, when the team was battling severe injury issues. However, his latest sidelining comes courtesy of a lower-body injury back in January. Since then, Acciari has missed the last six games and, according to coach Bruce Cassidy, will miss another tonight against the Buffalo Sabres. However, there is some optimism that Acciari could be ready to go tomorrow against the New Jersey Devils.

The question now becomes whether Acciari can reclaim his regular fourth-line role. His replacement, AHL All-Star Austin Czarnik, has performed admirably in his stead and has received praise from Cassidy for his play. The quick, skilled forward, who is one of the AHL’s top scorers with 42 points through 38 games with the Providence Bruins, has added a new dimension to the team’s bottom line. Playing alongside Czarnik, Sean Kuraly broke a 29-game goal drought on Tuesday night and then added another on Wednesday, while Tim Schaller scored this uncharacteristic highlight reel goal on Wednesday as well. Czarnik himself has a three-game points streak going and has fit in well in Boston. While it may be difficult to figure out how to fit Czarnik onto the roster long-term, it could be worth the effort. Acciari, in comparison, had just one point in eight games prior to his injury – though that stretch was preceded by a three-game goal-scoring outburst.

Czarnik’s immediate production, on Boston’s checking line no less, speaks both to the ability of the team and the depth of talent available to them. Another dark horse depth addition down the stretch – and yet another reason the deadline could be quiet for the Bruins – is a name that many will hear in the coming weeks: Ryan Donato. One of the four college players named to Team USA for the ongoing Olympic Games, Donato is not just expected to play for the U.S., but to star. A Harvard product and son of former Bruin and Crimson head coach Ted Donato, Ryan is arguably the best pure scorer on the American roster. He has recorded 21 goals in just 23 games this season, leading the NCAA in scoring and earning him a Hobey Baker Award nomination. That kind of ability is why there are big expectations for him in both Pyeongchang and in Boston. Many foresee the Bruins trying to sign Donato as soon as his junior year season ends and perhaps adding him to the roster for the playoffs, much like they did last year with Charlie McAvoy.

Central Notes: Predators, Mason, Blues

February 10, 2018 at 11:31 am CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

With the Predators having a very strong top-four on the back end plus four others on their active roster, GM David Poile acknowledged to NHL.com’s Mike Zeisberger that he’s happy with their situation on the back end and that if they look to add between now and the February 26th trade deadline, it would be up front. Last season, Nashville used 17 different forwards in the first two rounds of the playoffs due to injuries so it’s no surprise that Poile is a proponent of adding depth at that position. They’ll eventually get some depth down the middle when Mike Fisher officially signs so their focus may be to add on the wings over the next two weeks.

Capitals Sign Lars Eller To A Five-Year Contract Extension

February 10, 2018 at 9:54 am CDT | by Brian La Rose 4 Comments

The Capitals have locked up Lars Eller for the long haul as the team announced that they have signed the center to a five-year, $17.5MM contract extension. The $3.5MM cap hit on this new deal matches his AAV on his current contract.

The contract breaks down as follows, courtesy of team writer Mike Vogel:

2018-19: $4MM salary, $1MM signing bonus
2019-20: $3MM salary, $1MM signing bonus
2020-21: $2.5MM salary
2021-22: $3MM salary
2022-23: $3MM salary

Eller is in his second season with Washington after being acquired from Montreal back at the 2016 NHL Entry Draft for a pair of second-round draft picks. He has been a mainstay as their third line pivot since then and is currently is on pace for a career year. He has 11 goals and 17 assists through 53 games; his career high in points was 30 (set with Montreal in 2012-13).

In his career, the 28-year-old has played in 576 games between St. Louis (who drafted him 13th overall in 2007), Montreal, and Washington, tallying 96 goals and 113 assists. He has been quite consistent over that span, notching at least 25 points in each of the last seven seasons.

As was the case last offseason, Washington appears to be heading towards a summer where they will very little flexibility to work with. This signing now gives them more than $62MM committed to just 14 players for 2017-18, per CapFriendly. Even with the salary cap expected to increase for next season, that won’t give them a lot of room to work with to try to add to their roster.

However, Eller’s extension ensures that the Caps will have their center situation under control for at least the next two seasons as Nicklas Backstrom is signed through 2019-20 while Evgeny Kuznetsov is under contract through 2024-25. It also takes one of the more prominent middle men off the open market for free agency this summer. While Eller didn’t make the top-20 in our midseason Free Agent Power Rankings series, he did receive an honorable mention.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Minor Transactions: 2/10/18

February 10, 2018 at 9:42 am CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

It’s another busy Saturday around the NHL with 18 teams slated to be in action. As a result, there should be plenty of roster moves throughout the day. We’ll keep tabs on those here.

The Blue Jackets have flipped backup goalies, announcing that they have recalled Joonas Korpisalo from Cleveland of the AHL while re-assigning Jeff Zatkoff. The move comes as little surprise as Korpisalo had been sent down earlier this week to get into a game at the minor league level. Meanwhile, Zatkoff has played just four times this season, all with Cleveland after being acquired for future considerations last month.

The Rangers have recalled goaltender Alexandar Georgiev from AHL Hartford, per the AHL’s Transactions Page. This comes on the heels of goaltender Ondrej Pavelec leaving Friday’s game with a knee injury. Georgiev is in his first year in North America and has posted a 2.97 GAA with a .908 SV% in 31 minor league appearances so far this season.

Edmonton is perhaps looking to shake things up on the blue line, as they have recalled Keegan Lowe from the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors. The 24-year-old AHL veteran has just two NHL games to his credit, back in 2014-15 with the Carolina Hurricanes, but is currently enjoying the best offensive season of his minor league career. The Oilers already have eight defenseman on the roster right now, making Lowe’s call-up not a necessity, but instead a possible experiment to see how he plays at the next level.

Metropolitan Notes: Hurricanes, Cole, Devils

February 10, 2018 at 8:36 am CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

While the Hurricanes are sitting on the outside looking in at a playoff spot and haven’t made the postseason since 2009, don’t expect GM Ron Francis to be too aggressive in trying to shake up and add to Carolina’s roster over the next couple of weeks. Speaking with Tom Gulitti of NHL.com, Francis indicated that he won’t be deviating from his approach to building the team and has the backing of ownership to stay the course:

“If we feel it makes our team better, we’re going to do it, but we’re not going to give up key pieces or key picks just to try to get into the playoffs. We’re going to try to keep building this thing the right way to build a championship team. That philosophy is going stay the same.”

With the Metropolitan Division being so tight, there’s a good chance Francis will wait until just before the deadline before deciding whether to be a buyer, seller, or to stay put.

Elsewhere in the Metro:

Earlier in the season, it looked like a foregone conclusion that the Penguins would be dealing defenseman Ian Cole but Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette suggests that this may not be the case now. Cole has worked his way back into the lineup which lessens Pittsburgh’s desire to move him and they may simply want to hold on to him for depth purposes as well. It still seems that there’s a good chance Cole will leave as a free agent in July, however, as Mackey notes that there is some friction between the blueliner and head coach Mike Sullivan.
With Keith Kinkaid struggling and Cory Schneider (groin) still out of the lineup with no timetable for a return, Andrew Gross of The Record speculates that the Devils may have to consider adding a goaltender before the trade deadline. New Jersey also has veteran Eddie Lack who is currently the backup but he has struggled mightily in his limited NHL action so far this season. While it doesn’t appear as if too many goalies of note will be moved within the next couple of weeks, the asking price for some of the veteran depth options shouldn’t be too high.

West Notes: Blackhawks, Domi, Nilsson, Vanek

February 9, 2018 at 8:55 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 1 Comment

After years of being active buyers at the trade deadline, it looks like the Blackhawks won’t be doing so this season. They currently sit in last place in the Central Division and are eight points out of a playoff spot. Despite that, Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times cautions that Chicago isn’t likely to be overly active on the seller front either.

In terms of their pending free agents, there aren’t prominent ones that would draw considerable interest though blueliners like Jan Rutta and Michal Kempny could be of interest to teams looking for depth. One defender that they would likely want to move is Brent Seabrook who has struggled this season and still has six years left on his contract at $6.875MM. However, even if the Blackhawks could find a trade match, Lazerus reports that there is no way Seabrook would consider waiving his no-move clause to facilitate a deal.

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