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Archives for March 2018

New York Rangers Open To Trading First-Round Pick

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The New York Rangers were busier than any other team at the trade deadline, tearing down their old core by trading players like Rick Nash, Nick Holden, Michael Grabner, J.T. Miller and of course Ryan McDonagh. Those moves came with the benefit of stockpiling draft picks, but that’s not necessarily where the work finishes.

Speaking with Craig Custance of The Athletic (subscription required) at the GM meetings in Florida, Rangers’ GM Jeff Gorton admitted he’s open to trading away one of the first-round picks he holds in the upcoming draft. New York has their own pick—which with every loss is getting higher and higher—along with those of the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning. Both of those picks will be closer to the end of the round.

Custance’s piece goes in depth on several other subjects from the meetings, but one thing remains clear. This Rangers rebuild isn’t going to be a long project. With the additions of prospects like Libor Hajek, Brett Howden and Ryan Lindgren, and promotions of some of their other young players, the Rangers could be just a few years from competitiveness. That’s good news for Henrik Lundqvist, who just turned 36 and has three years remaining on his current contract.

The Rangers have just 13 players in the NHL who are signed through next season, meaning this summer will bring many more decisions on who will be retained to be part of the solution. Players like Ryan Spooner, Kevin Hayes and Vladislav Namestnikov are all restricted free agents, and are already in the middle of their twenties. Gorton will be one of the most popular men on the draft floor, with many teams trying to mine his roster and draft stockpile for assets.

Boston Bruins Sign Wiley Sherman To Entry-Level Contract

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Another Harvard product is joining the Boston Bruins, as Wiley Sherman has signed his entry-level contract with the club. The hulking defenseman will join the Providence Bruins for the remainder of the season on an amateur tryout, meaning his ELC will kick in for the 2018-19 season.

Sherman, 22, stands 6’7″ and was an imposing figure on the Harvard defense corps this season. Selected in the fifth round in 2013, he doesn’t have huge offensive upside but some believe he could crack the NHL in a shutdown role at some point. That is still up for debate, but his reach and size obviously give him an early advantage.

Opportunity will be tough to come by in Boston though, as their NHL blueline has at least five players already signed for next season with a deal for Zdeno Chara still likely to come after the season. There are also several other defensive prospects that Sherman will have to pass, but it’s hard to underestimate a player of his size.

Ottawa Senators Sign Christian Wolanin To Entry-Level Contract

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The Ottawa Senators have inked another draft pick, signing Christian Wolanin to a two-year-entry-level contract. Wolanin’s junior season came to an end when the University of North Dakota failed to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. The 23-year old defenseman led UND in scoring, but will now turn pro and join the Senators for the rest of the season.

Originally selected in the fourth round, Wolanin would find success right away in the college ranks by winning the National Championship with UND in 2016. It’s easy to see where he gets his talent from, as he is the son of former NHL Stanley Cup Champion Craig Wolanin, who played 695 games in the league after being selected third overall in 1985. Though Christian Wolanin comes with a lower draft pedigree than his father, he also comes with a lot more offensive spark. A talented puck-mover, Senators GM Pierre Dorion had this to say in the press release:

Christian is talented player that has displayed high-end offensive skill from the blueline during his career at the University of North Dakota. He made the decision to turn professional and we are happy to have him under contract. Christian will join our team in Ottawa for the remainder of the season, which will present a tremendous opportunity for him to learn and develop.

Though there is little evidence that he will be able to step in and be an impact player at the NHL level, adding a player like Wolanin only strengthens the organization’s blue line depth. There should be some opportunity in Ottawa for a player like him, after Dion Phaneuf was traded and Chris Wideman becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer. Puck-moving is always at a premium in the NHL, and Ottawa will need mobile defenders who can take some of the load off Erik Karlsson as they look to extend their franchise player.

Snapshots: Matthews, Johnson, Bishop, Mittelstadt

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It’s quite rare that there could be an upside to a team losing their top player but in the case of the Maple Leafs and center Auston Matthews, that may actually be the case.  James Mirtle of The Athletic (subscription required) examines the pending benefit to Toronto’s salary cap for next season that has come about due to Matthews’ injuries.  Due to the number of games he has missed, it is becoming increasingly unlikely that he will reach his $2MM Schedule B bonus and with the Leafs fully using long-term injury reserve, that’s essentially $2MM that they were expecting to have on their salary cap next season that shouldn’t be there now.  That type of extra flexibility should come in handy this offseason.

Elsewhere around the league:

  • The Kings have inked 2014 fourth-rounder Steve Johnson to a minor league tryout agreement, notes Jon Rosen of LA Kings Insider (Twitter link). Johnson just wrapped up his four-year NCAA career with the University of Minnesota and collected three goals and 12 assists in 38 games this past season.  Los Angeles has until August 15th to sign him to an NHL contract or lose his rights so it appears that they will use these next few weeks to help determine if he’s worth signing to an entry-level deal.
  • Stars netminder Ben Bishop indeed reinjured his left knee on Sunday against Winnipeg, Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News notes via Twitter. He missed five games earlier this month due to the issue and while he was initially expected to be re-evaluated in two weeks, Heika reports that a better idea of his timeline to recovery should be known on Thursday.
  • The Sabres expect to get a better idea of winger Casey Mittelstadt’s plans by the end of the week, reports Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston. Buffalo is hopeful that he will be willing to turn pro instead of going back to the University of Minnesota for his sophomore year and might be willing to burn the first year of his entry-level deal now in order to get him to sign.  It will be interesting to see if today’s earlier news of long-time head coach Don Lucia departing the Golden Gophers will play a role in Mittelstadt’s decision.

Anaheim Ducks Announce Signing Of Kiefer Sherwood

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6:52 PM: The Ducks have officially announced the signing of Sherwood to a two-year, entry-level deal.

3:03 PM: Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (subscription required) and Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register are both reporting that Kiefer Sherwood of Miami University (Ohio) has signed with the Anaheim Ducks, and that the contract will be officially announced later today. Portzline writes that Sherwood will be assigned and could make his debut for the San Diego Gulls as early as this weekend, suggesting that the two-year entry-level contract will kick in for this season.

Though Portzline writes that the contract is a three-year deal, the 22-year old Sherwood can only sign a two-year entry-level contract because of age restrictions. If it does in fact start in 2017-18, that means he would become a restricted free agent after next season. The playmaking forward could strengthen the Ducks’ prospect group even further, which already should get a big boost the next few seasons with Sam Steel, Max Jones and others graduating from junior hockey.

Sherwood is the older brother of Kole Sherwood, who signed his entry-level deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets way back in 2015 after going undrafted. He’s playing for the Kitchener Rangers this season, but will likely jump into the professional ranks not long after his brother.

Central Notes: Duclair, Siemens, Blues

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With the Blackhawks having fallen well out of the playoff picture, this would have been a good time for midseason acquisition Anthony Duclair to get some extra playing time.  However, the winger has been out of the lineup since March 10th with a lower-body injury and NHL.com’s Tracey Myers relays (Twitter link) that he is not close to resuming skating yet.  Accordingly, it appears he may not be able to get back into the lineup this season.  Duclair got off to a decent start after being acquired from Arizona but has just two goals in 23 games with Chicago.  Now, with this injury and his struggles, he will be hard-pressed to command much of a raise on the $1.2MM he’s earning this season even though he is eligible for salary arbitration.

More from the Central:

  • Avalanche defenseman Duncan Siemens has failed to live up to his draft hype and as a result, Mike Chambers of the Denver Post speculates that Colorado may consider not tendering him a qualifying offer this summer. The former 11th overall pick back in 2011 has spent the bulk of this season at the AHL level but has played a somewhat regular, albeit limited role over the past month with the NHL club.  While they could choose to try to keep him around as depth for next year, Chambers wonders if they may be more inclined to give Conor Timmins, their second-round pick last June (32nd overall), a look instead.
  • Blues winger Vladimir Tarasenko did not skate with the team today which has led head coach Mike Yeo to tell reporters, including Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, that their top goalscorer is doubtful to play on Wednesday against Boston. The 26-year-old is currently dealing with an upper-body injury.  Goaltender Carter Hutton still isn’t ready to rejoin the team either although he did skate before practice with Yeo stating that he is getting closer to returning.

Poll: Will Washington Re-Sign John Carlson?

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John Carlson is having an outstanding season, and he’s doing it as the fourth-highest paid defenseman on the Washington Capitals. Despite the fact that he’s tied for the league lead in points from a defenseman, a legitimate candidate for the Norris Trophy, and logging almost two minutes more each game than anyone else on the Capitals, he’s being paid just $4.0MM this season. Matt Niskanen, Dmitry Orlov and Brooks Orpik all carry much higher cap hits, and are earning more actual salary.

But boy, is Carlson about to get paid.

In the upcoming free agent class, no defenseman comes anywhere close to providing the impact Carlson has, and if it weren’t for a certain center in New York he’d have a good shot at being the top name on the board at any position. Calvin de Haan, Mike Green and Jack Johnson might be nice names to add, but Carlson is on another level.

So, why would the Capitals let him go? Part of the reason may lie in the fact that he’s the fourth name down when looking at the salaries on their blue line. With so much money tied up in Niskanen, Orlov and Orpik, there might just not be enough left for Carlson if he demands a deal approaching some of his contemporaries. Giving him something like $7MM per season (or perhaps even more) would make navigating the cap very tricky, given their long-term commitments to so many other players.

But they also can’t really afford to lose him. Though Madison Bowey and Christian Djoos have showed they can play at the NHL level, they’re not about to pick up the slack for a departing Norris candidate (or winner). Orpik is a buyout candidate once again, but at this point it doesn’t save a ton of money going forward and it might just be easier to ride out his last year in 2018-19.

So will Carlson stay? The Capitals have made it clear they will try to re-sign him, and they’ve shown a willingness in the past to give out max-length deals to keep the cap hit as low as possible. Cast your vote below, and leave a comment with where you think he’ll end up in the future.

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NCAA Notes: Lucia, Canucks, Lindgren

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It’s the end of an era for the University of Minnesota, as head coach Don Lucia has stepped down after 19 years with the program. Those years included back-to-back National Championships in 2002 and 2003, and guiding a long pipeline of talent to professional hockey. Superstar talents like Blake Wheeler and Phil Kessel played under Lucia during their time at Minnesota, and most recently top prospect Casey Mittelstadt has taken huge strides under his guidance.

Though obviously the program will continue without Lucia, it is interesting to watch what Mittelstadt does this summer. The Buffalo Sabres have already reached out about potentially signing the 19-year old phenom, and the departure of the legendary coach could impact his decision.  If Mittelstadt feels ready for professional hockey, perhaps this is the last straw that pushes him to sign his entry-level deal and join Jack Eichel in Buffalo next season. Either way, this will be a huge change for the Golden Gophers, who were the highest ranked team not to make it into the NCAA tournament this season.

  • Another one of those changes could be in the form of Ryan Lindgren, who according to Larry Brooks of the New York Post is considering turning pro now that the Minnesota season is over. Lindgren was acquired by the New York Rangers as part of the Rick Nash trade earlier this year, but was always expected to return to Minnesota for another year. Perhaps the depature of Lucia has affected those plans, though Brooks is clear to point out that the defenseman is just weighing his options at this point. If the Rangers can coax Lindgren out of college, he would be another solid addition to a young prospect group that is quickly positioning New York for future success.
  • The Vancouver Canucks have been mining the NCAA ranks for talent recently, and Rick Dhaliwal of News 1130 reports they have their eyes on two more players. Brady Keeper from the University of Maine and Colton Poolman from the University of North Dakota are both expected to take part in Vancouver’s development camp this summer according to Dhaliwal. The defensemen are both undrafted and can still return to school if they can’t find a professional contract this offseason. The college ranks are giving more and more talent to the NHL every season, and players like Keeper and Poolman could be diamonds in the rough.

Arizona Coyotes Sign Merrick Madsen To Entry-Level Contract

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The Arizona Coyotes have signed goaltender Merrick Madsen to his two-year entry-level contract, now that Harvard’s season has come to an end. The 22-year old goaltender could have become an unrestricted free agent in August, but will get into the Coyotes organization right away.

Madsen’s draft rights were acquired by the Coyotes as part of the Nick Cousins trade last June, after originally being selected by the Philadelphia Flyers. His deal is likely scheduled to start in the 2018-19 season, though there is a chance he could get into some AHL action on an amateur tryout.

In Madsen, the Coyotes are adding a prototypical NHL goaltending prospect. Standing 6’5″ 190-lbs, Madsen has the length and flexibility to succeed at the next level, though he’ll have to continue to refine his game in the minor leagues. With a .918 save percentage this season for Harvard, he was the backbone of the Ryan Donato-led squad that unfortunately was not selected for the NCAA tournament. That was actually his lowest full-season mark during his time as the starter, which included a .931 mark as a sophomore in 2015-16. It’s not a sure thing that Madsen ever makes the NHL, but with the future in goal still unclear for Arizona, adding a prospect of his caliber is still a step in the right direction.

Jacob Trouba Diagnosed With Concussion

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Though Paul Maurice wanted to wait until all the tests had been completed, today he announced what was expected by many. Jacob Trouba has a concussion, and is out indefinitely. Trouba suffered the injury on a hit from Jamie Benn this weekend, after which he was forced out of the game and did not return.

Losing Trouba at this point of the season is a huge blow to the Jets, but it could be worse. Nashville’s winning streak has pulled them away in the Central Division, and though the Jets could technically still be caught by the Minnesota Wild for second place, a six-point lead with a game in hand makes it unlikely. Instead, Trouba and the Jets will have ten games and three weeks to get him back to game ready for the playoffs, where they look just as dangerous as anyone in the Western Conference.

While holding out to start 2016-17, Trouba’s camp repeatedly said that they wanted to secure a larger role for the defenseman. Stuck behind Tyler Myers and Dustin Byfuglien on the right side of the Jets defense, there didn’t seem to be a future for him as a top-tier player. That changed last year when Myers faced injury, and Trouba showed he could be a top pair option by logging 25 minutes a night and recording 33 points in just 60 games. Though his minutes have come back down this season, negotiations this summer will be extremely interesting to follow. Trouba is a restricted free agent once again, and will likely be looking for a long-term big money deal to stay in Winnipeg.

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